He had left with Dr. Schneeberger the money that had been sent to Phil by the lawyer; but he was put out and vexed to find, when he had got twelve hours on his way to England, that he had carelessly left behind amongst Phil’s things the £500 he had drawn out of his own bank, which was nearly all in English notes. He remembered how the blunder had been made; it was during the exchange of personal effects. He had exchanged pocket-books and had omitted to change the contents, and the £500 was left in the possession of his friend. It was too late to recover the money now, he could not go back for it; and he was not afraid that anyone in that simple, primitive household would even discover its existence, much less appropriate it. In his easy-going way he decided to let it remain there, unknown to anyone, until he visited Phil, and then he could decide what was to be done. ‘After all, it does not much matter,’ he said to himself; ‘that £500 must be Phil’s, and I will draw out £500 of his in its place. I meant only to use his money for the house and estate; but after all, when I first arrive it would seem odd not to want any cash for personal expenses. Yes; I must be careful not to do anything to excite suspicion. Nobody will have any reason to be suspicious, that I can see; still Uncle Belassis would be an ugly customer to deal with, I doubt not, if he did get any idea of the sort into his head, and he will naturally pry into everything, until I have succeeded in kicking him out. I shall do that as speedily as possible, but undue rashness and heat may defeat their own ends. I must be circumspect.’ So Tor smoked and meditated and slept at intervals, during his hasty night and day journey, and became more and more at home with his new name and dignity. On board the boat that bore him across the Channel, the idea of the meeting with his kindred was the uppermost in his mind. ‘I suppose I must kiss Maud—a man is always expected to kiss his sisters, of course. Well, she won’t be shy, so I suppose I need not be either; and at my time of life it would be a needless fabrication to pretend I had never kissed a pretty girl before—nobody would believe it. It may be a little awkward for us both when the true hero appears, but that cannot be helped, and I shall so soon vanish into obscurity that matters cannot become trying. ‘I fancy in the capacity of nephew I must embrace Aunt Olive, too. What a capital thing it is the old lady and Maud being such cronies! Maud could never have come to Ladywell without the aunt, and I should have been sadly put about for an excuse for keeping her away; but with the two there appearances will be saved, Mrs. Grundy silenced (when the true heir turns up), and I can come and go as I please.