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\ Oe WILD MARGARET. 208
sat by George! as I said, you dare not speak to him now.
If one of us were to drop a word signifying that be was
going to the devil—well, by jingo! he’d send us there our-
selves, and pretty sharp.”’
‘“‘T suppose it was some love affair?’ said the colonel,
thoughtfully.
‘*Don’t know. Perhaps so. There is one fellow who
could(\tell us, and that’s that fellow Austin Ambrose.”
The colonel made a grimace. .
-“Thate that fellow more than ever,’’ he said. ‘‘ He’s
back, too, by the way. Shouldn’t wonder if he has been
with Blair all the time, and isn’t, in some way or other,
mixed up with the business. I never thought that fellow
up to much.” .
‘Don’t see what harm he could_be up to,” said the
young marquis. ‘‘And so the fair Violet won’t go down
to Scotland this autumn, eh, Floyd?”
‘*No,” said the colonel, ruefully; ‘‘and so I can’t,
either, confound it! Not that, there seems much use in
panging about, for one can’t get a civil word from her
lately.’ | .
“They say,” whispered the marquis, ‘‘that she’s still
sweet on Blair.” : .
a The colonel glanced over at him and shrugged his shoul-
ers.
‘Then she’s wasting that same sweetness on desert air,
Aldy, for to my certain knowledge he hasn’t been near
Park Lane since he came back. Hallo, talk of the devil
' —here is that fellow!" Loe, .
For Austin Ambrose entered the room in his peculiar
noiseless fashion, and, bestowing a nod upon the colonel
and the marquis, crossed the room to Blair’s chair,
Blair looked up as Austin’ Ambrose greeted him, looked
up with that listless, spiritless glance which speaks so elo-
quently of the wrecked hopes and consequent despair.
‘Well, Blair,” said Austin Ambrose, with his slow
smile. “Thought I should find you here! You've dined, -
of course?”’ -
‘ Blair thought a moment as if he were trying to recol-
ect.
‘*No, I haven’t,’’ he said. ;
‘‘No?” cheerfully. ‘‘Come and have some grilled bones
with me.”’
“T hate grilled bones,’’ was the listless response,
Austin Ambrose laughed and dropped into a chair.
“So do I, if it comes to that, but man must eat to live,
but never mind the bones. Blair,’ and he leaned forward,
‘“you have seen the evening paper?”’