“Here’stheinformationIwant，“hesaidtoAnne；“ifIonlyknewhowtogetatit。’Down’——’Up’——’A。M。’——P。M。’Whatacursedconfusion!Ibelievetheydoitonpurpose。“
Annejoinedhimatthefire-place。
“Iunderstandit——I’llhelpyou。Didyousayitwastheuptrainyouwanted？“
“Whatisthenameofthestationyoustopat？“
Arnoldtoldher。Shefollowedtheintricatenet-workoflinesandfigureswithherfinger——suddenlystopped——lookedagaintomakesure——andturnedfromthetime-tablewithafaceofblankdespair。Thelasttrainforthedayhadgoneanhoursince。
Inthesilencewhichfollowedthatdiscovery，afirstflashoflightningpassedacrossthewindowandthelowrollofthundersoundedtheoutbreakofthestorm。
“What’stobedonenow？“askedArnold。
Inthefaceofthestorm，Anneansweredwithouthesitation，“Youmusttakeacarriage，anddrive。“
“Drive？Theytoldmeitwasthree-and-twentymiles，byrailway，fromthestationtomyplace——letalonethedistancefromthisinntothestation。“
“Whatdoesthedistancematter？Mr。Brinkworth，youcan’tpossiblystayhere!“
Asecondflashoflightningcrossedthewindow；therollofthethundercamenearer。EvenArnold’sgoodtemperbegantobealittleruffledbyAnne’sdeterminationtogetridofhim。Hesatdownwiththeairofamanwhohadmadeuphismindnottoleavethehouse。
“Doyouhearthat？“heasked，asthesoundofthethunderdiedawaygrandly，andthehardpatteringoftherainonthewindowbecameaudibleoncemore。“IfIorderedhorses，doyouthinktheywouldletmehavethem，insuchweatherasthis？And，iftheydid，doyousupposethehorsescouldfaceitonthemoor？No，no，MissSilvester——Iamsorrytobeintheway，butthetrainhasgone，andthenightandthestormhavecome。Ihavenochoicebuttostayhere!“
Annestillmaintainedherownview，butlessresolutelythanbefore。“Afterwhatyouhavetoldthelandlady，“shesaid，“thinkoftheembarrassment，thecruelembarrassmentofourposition，ifyoustopattheinntillto-morrowmorning!“
“Isthatall？“returnedArnold。
Annelookedupathim，quicklyandangrily。No!hewasquiteunconsciousofhavingsaidanythingthatcouldoffendher。Hisroughmasculinesensebrokeitswayunconsciouslythroughallthelittlefemininesubtletiesanddelicaciesofhiscompanion，andlookedthepositionpracticallyinthefaceforwhatitwasworth，andnomore。“Where’stheembarrassment？“heasked，pointingtothebedroomdoor。“There’syourroom，allreadyforyou。Andhere’sthesofa，inthisroom，allreadyfor_me。_IfyouhadseentheplacesIhavesleptinatsea——!“
Sheinterruptedhim，withoutceremony。Theplaceshehadsleptin，atsea，wereofnoearthlyimportance。Theonequestiontoconsider，wastheplacehewastosleepinthatnight。
“Ifyoumuststay，“sherejoined，“can’tyougetaroominsomeotherpartofthehouse？“
Butonelastmistakeindealingwithher，inherpresentnervouscondition，waslefttomake——andtheinnocentArnoldmadeit。“Insomeotherpartofthehouse？“herepeated，jestingly。“Thelandladywouldbescandalized。Mr。Bishopriggswouldneverallowit!“
Sherose，andstampedherfootimpatientlyonthefloor。“Don’tjoke!“sheexclaimed。“Thisisnolaughingmatter。“Shepacedtheroomexcitedly。“Idon’tlikeit!Idon’tlikeit!“
Arnoldlookedafterher，withastareofboyishwonder。
“Whatputsyououtso？“heasked。“Isitthestorm？“
Shethrewherselfonthesofaagain。“Yes，“shesaid，shortly。
“It’sthestorm。“
Arnold’sinexhaustiblegood-naturewasatoncerousedtoactivityagain。
“Shallwehavethecandles，“hesuggested，“andshuttheweatherout？“Sheturnedirritablyonthesofa，withoutreplying。“I’llpromisetogoawaythefirstthinginthemorning!“hewenton。
“Dotryandtakeiteasy——anddon’tbeangrywithme。Come!come!
youwouldn’tturnadogout，MissSilvester，onsuchanightasthis!“
Hewasirresistible。Themostsensitivewomanbreathingcouldnothaveaccusedhimoffailingtowardherinanysingleessentialofconsiderationandrespect。Hewantedtact，poorfellow——butwhocouldexpecthimtohavelearnedthatalwayssuperficialandsometimesdangerousaccomplishment，inthelifehehadledatsea？Atthesightofhishonest，pleadingface，Annerecoveredpossessionofhergentlerandsweeterself。Shemadeherexcusesforherirritabilitywithagracethatenchantedhim。“We’llhaveapleasanteveningofityet!“criedArnold，inhisheartyway——andrangthebell。
ThebellwashungoutsidethedoorofthatPatmosinthewilderness——otherwiseknownasthehead-waiter’spantry。Mr。
Bishopriggsemployinghisbriefleisureintheseclusionofhisownapartmenthadjustmixedaglassofthehotandcomfortingliquorcalled“toddy“inthelanguageofNorthBritain，andwasjustliftingittohislips，whenthesummonsfromArnoldinvitedhimtoleavehisgrog。
“Haudyerscreechin’tongue!“criedMr。Bishopriggs，addressingthebellthroughthedoor。“Ye’rewaurthanawomanwhenyeaincebegin!“
Thebell——likethewoman——wentonagain。Mr。Bishopriggs，equallypertinacious，wentonwithhistoddy。
“Ay!ay!yemaye’enringyerheartout——butyewon’tpartaScotchmanfromhisglass。It’smaybetheendoftheirdinnerthey’llbewantin’。SirPaitrickcam’inatthefairbeginningofit，andspoiltthecollops，likethedourdeevilheis!“Thebellrangforthethirdtime。“Ay!ay!ringawa’!Idootyonyounggentleman’slittlebetterthanabelly-god——there’sascandaloushastetocomfortthecarnalparto’himina’thisringin’!Heknowsnaethingo’wine，“addedMr。Bishopriggs，onwhosemindArnold’sdiscoveryofthewateredsherrystilldweltunpleasantly。
Thelightningquickened，andlitthesitting-roomhorriblywithitsluridglare；thethunderrollednearerandnearerovertheblackgulfofthemoor。Arnoldhadjustraisedhishandtoringforthefourthtime，whentheinevitableknockwasheardatthedoor。Itwasuselesstosay“comein。“TheimmutablelawsofBishopriggshaddecidedthatasecondknockwasnecessary。Stormornostorm，thesecondknockcame——andthen，andnottillthen，thesageappeared，withthedishofuntasted“collops“inhishand。
“Candles!“saidArnold。
Mr。Bishopriggssetthe“collops“inthelanguageofEngland，mincedmeatuponthetable，litthecandlesonthemantle-piece，facedaboutwiththefireofrecenttoddyflaminginhisnose，andwaitedforfurtherorders，beforehewentbacktohissecondglass。Annedeclinedtoreturntothedinner。ArnoldorderedMr。
Bishopriggstoclosetheshutters，andsatdowntodinebyhimself。
“Itlooksgreasy，andsmellsgreasy，“hesaidtoAnne，turningoverthecollopswithaspoon。“Iwon’tbetenminutesdining。
Willyouhavesometea？“
Annedeclinedagain。
Arnoldtriedheroncemore。“Whatshallwedotogetthroughtheevening？“
“Dowhatyoulike，“sheanswered，resignedly。
Arnold’smindwassuddenlyilluminatedbyanidea。
“Ihavegotit!“heexclaimed。“We’llkillthetimeasourcabin-passengersusedtokillitatsea。“HelookedoverhisshoulderatMr。Bishopriggs。“Waiter!bringapackofcards。“
“What’sthatye’rewantin’？“askedMr。Bishopriggs，doubtingtheevidenceofhisownsenses。
“Apackofcards，“repeatedArnold。
“Cairds？“echoedMr。Bishopriggs。“Apacko’cairds？Thedeevil’sallegoriesinthedeevil’sowncolors——redandblack!Iwunnaexecuteyerorder。Foryerainsaul’ssake，Iwunnadoit。Ha’yelivedtoyourtimeo’life，andareyeno’awakenedyettotheawfu’seenfulnesso’gamblin’wi’thecairds？“
“Justasyouplease，“returnedArnold。“Youwillfindmeawakened——whenIgoaway——totheawfulfollyoffeeingawaiter。“
“Doesthatmeanthatye’rebentonthecairds？“askedMr。
Bishopriggs，suddenlybetrayingsignsofworldlyanxietyinhislookandmanner。
“Yes——thatmeansIambentonthecards。“
“Itak’upmytestimonyagainst’em——butI’mno’tellingyethatIcannalaymyhandon’emifIlike。Whatdotheysayinmycountry？’HimthatwilltoCoupar，mauntoCoupar。’Andwhatdotheysayinyourcountry？’Needsmustwhenthedeevildrives。’“
Withthatexcellentreasonforturninghisbackonhisownprinciples，Mr。Bishopriggsshuffledoutoftheroomtofetchthecards。
Thedresser-drawerinthepantrycontainedachoiceselectionofmiscellaneousobjects——apackofcardsbeingamongthem。Insearchingforthecards，thewaryhandofthehead-waitercameincontactwithamorselofcrumpled-uppaper。Hedrewitout，andrecognizedtheletterwhichhehadpickedupinthesitting-roomsomehourssince。
“Ay!ay!I’lldoweel，Itrow，tolookatthiswhilemymind’srunnin’onit，“saidMr。Bishopriggs。“Thecairdsmaye’enfindtheirwaytotheparlorbyotherhandsthanmine。“
HeforthwithsentthecardstoArnoldbyhissecondincommand，closedthepantrydoor，andcarefullysmoothedoutthecrumpledsheetofpaperonwhichthetwoletterswerewritten。Thisdone，hetrimmedhiscandle，andbeganwiththeletterinink，whichoccupiedthefirstthreepagesofthesheetofnote-paper。
Itranthus：