“SawmuelBishopriggs，“hewenton，glibly。“Careo’DavieDow，flesher；Cowgate；Embro。MyPatmosintheweelderness，miss，forthetimebeing。“
Blanchereceivedtheaddresswithasenseofunspeakablerelief。
IfshehadoncemoreventuredontakingSirPatrick’splace，andoncemorefailedinjustifyingherrashnessbytheresults，shehadatleastgainedsomeatoningadvantage，thistime，byopeningameansofcommunicationbetweenheruncleandBishopriggs。“YouwillhearfromSirPatrick，“shesaid，andnoddedkindly，andreturnedtoherplaceamongtheguests。
“I’llhearfromSirPaitrick，wullI？“repeatedBishopriggswhenhewasleftbyhimself。“SirPaitrickwillwarknaethinglessthanameeracleifhefindsSawmuelBishopriggsattheCowgate，Embro!“
Helaughedsoftlyoverhisowncleverness；andwithdrewtoalonelyplaceintheplantation，inwhichhecouldconsultthestolencorrespondencewithoutfearofbeingobservedbyanylivingcreature。Oncemorethetruthhadtriedtostruggleintolight，beforethedayofthemarriage，andoncemoreBlanchehadinnocentlyhelpedthedarknesstokeepitfromview。
AFTERanewandattentivereadingofAnne’slettertoGeoffrey，andofGeoffrey’slettertoAnne，Bishopriggslaiddowncomfortablyunderatree，andsethimselfthetaskofseeinghispositionplainlyasitwasatthatmoment。
TheprofitabledisposalofthecorrespondencetoBlanchewasnolongeramongthepossibilitiesinvolvedinthecase。AsfortreatingwithSirPatrick，BishopriggsdeterminedtokeepequallydearoftheCowgate，Edinburgh，andofMrs。Inchbare’sinn，solongastherewasthefaintestchanceofhispushinghisowninterestsinanyotherquarter。Nopersonlivingwouldbecapableofsocertainlyextractingthecorrespondencefromhim，onsuchruinouslycheaptermsashisoldmaster。“I’llno’putmyselfunderSirPaitrick’sthumb，“thoughtBishopriggs，“tillI’veganemyainroundsamongthelaveo’themfirst。“
RenderedintointelligibleEnglish，thisresolutionpledgedhimtoholdnocommunicationwithSirPatrick——untilhehadfirsttestedhissuccessinnegotiatingwithotherpersons，whomightbeequallyinterestedingettingpossessionofthecorrespondence，andmoreliberalingivinghush-moneytothethiefwhohadstolenit。
Whowerethe“otherpersons“athisdisposal，underthesecircumstances？
HehadonlytorecalltheconversationwhichhehadoverheardbetweenLadyLundieandMrs。Delamayntoarriveatthediscoveryofoneperson，tobeginwith，whowasdirectlyinterestedingettingpossessionofhisownletter。Mr。GeoffreyDelamaynwasinafairwayofbeingmarriedtoaladynamedMrs。Glenarm。AndherewasthissameMr。GeoffreyDelamayninmatrimonialcorrespondence，littlemorethanafortnightsince，withanotherlady——whosignedherself“AnneSilvester。“
Whateverhispositionbetweenthetwowomenmightbe，hisinterestinpossessinghimselfofthecorrespondencewasplainbeyondalldoubt。ItwasequallyclearthatthefirstthingtobedonebyBishopriggswastofindthemeansofobtainingapersonalinterviewwithhim。Iftheinterviewledtonothingelse，itwoulddecideoneimportantquestionwhichstillremainedtobesolved。TheladywhomBishopriggshadwaitedonatCraigFerniemightwellbe“AnneSilvester。“WasMr。GeoffreyDelamayn，inthatcase。thegentlemanwhohadpassedasherhusbandattheinn？
Bishopriggsrosetohisgoutyfeetwithallpossiblealacrity，andhobbledawaytomakethenecessaryinquiries，addressinghimself，nottothemen-servantsatthedinner-table，whowouldbesuretoinsistonhisjoiningthem，buttothewomen-servantsleftinchargeoftheemptyhouse。
Heeasilyobtainedthenecessarydirectionsforfindingthecottage。ButhewaswarnedthatMr。GeoffreyDelamayn’strainerallowednobodytoseehispatronatexercise，andthathewouldcertainlybeorderedoffagainthemomentheappearedonthescene。
Bearingthiscautioninmind，Bishopriggsmadeacircuit，onreachingtheopenground，soastoapproachthecottageattheback，undershelterofthetreesbehindit。OnelookatMr。
GeoffreyDelamaynwasallthathewantedinthefirstinstance。
Theywerewelcometoorderhimoffagain，aslongasheobtainedthat。
Hewasstillhesitatingattheouterlineofthetrees，whenheheardaloud，imperativevoice，callingfromthefrontofthecottage，“Now，Mr。Geoffrey!Time’sup!“Anothervoiceanswered，“Allright!“and，afteraninterval，GeoffreyDelamaynappearedontheopenground，proceedingtothepointfromwhichhewasaccustomedtowalkhismeasuredmile。
Advancingafewstepstolookathismanmoreclosely，Bishopriggswasinstantlydetectedbythequickeyeofthetrainer。“Hullo!“criedPerry，“whatdoyouwanthere？“
Bishopriggsopenedhislipstomakeanexcuse。“Whothedevilareyou？“roaredGeoffrey。Thetraineransweredthequestionoutoftheresourcesofhisownexperience。“Aspy，Sir——senttotimeyouatyourwork。“Geoffreyliftedhismightyfist，andsprangforwardastep。Perryheldhispatronback。“Youcan’tdothat，Sir，“hesaid；“theman’stooold。Nofearofhisturningupagain——you’vescaredhimoutofhiswits。“Thestatementwasstrictlytrue。TheterrorofBishopriggsatthesightofGeoffrey’sfistrestoredtohimtheactivityofhisyouth。Heranforthefirsttimefortwentyyears；andonlystoppedtorememberhisinfirmities，andtocatchhisbreath，whenhewasoutofsightofthecottage，amongthetrees。
Hesatdowntorestandrecoverhimself，withthecomfortinginnerconvictionthat，inonerespectatleast，hehadgainedhispoint。Thefurioussavage，withtheeyesthatdartedfireandthefistthatthreateneddestruction，wasatotalstrangertohim。Inotherwords，_not_themanwhohadpassedasthelady’shusbandattheinn。
Atthesametimeitwasequallycertainthathe_was_themaninvolvedinthecompromisingcorrespondencewhichBishopriggspossessed。Toappeal，however，tohisinterestinobtainingtheletterwasentirelyincompatibleaftertherecentexhibitionofhisfistwiththestrongregardwhichBishopriggsfeltforhisownpersonalsecurity。Therewasnoalternativenowbuttoopennegotiationswiththeoneotherpersonconcernedinthematterfortunately，onthisoccasion，apersonofthegentlersex，whowasactuallywithinreach。Mrs。GlenarmwasatSwanhaven。ShehadadirectinterestinclearingupthequestionofapriorclaimtoMr。GeoffreyDelamaynonthepartofanotherwoman。Andshecouldonlydothatbygettingthecorrespondenceintoherownhands。
“PraiseProvidencefora’itsmercies!“saidBishopriggs，gettingonhisfeetagain。“I’vegottwastrings，astheysay，tomyboo。
Itrowthewoman’sthecannystringo’thetwa——andwe’lleentrythetwangingofher。“
Hesetforthonhisroadbackagain，tosearchamongthecompanyatthelakeforMrs。Glenarm。
ThedancehadreacheditsclimaxofanimationwhenBishopriggsreappearedonthesceneofhisduties；andtheranksofthecompanyhadbeenrecruited，inhisabsence，bytheverypersonwhomitwasnowhisforemostobjecttoapproach。
Receiving，withsupplesubmission，areprimandforhisprolongedabsencefromthechiefoftheservants，Bishopriggs——keepinghisoneobservanteyecarefullyonthelook-out——busiedhimselfinpromotingthecirculationoficesandcooldrinks。
Whilehewasthusoccupied，hisattentionwasattractedbytwopersonswho，inverydifferentways，stoodoutprominentlyasmarkedcharactersamongtherankandfileoftheguests。
Thefirstpersonwasavivacious，irascibleoldgentleman，whopersistedintreatingtheundeniablefactofhisageonthefootingofascandalousfalsereportsetafloatbyTime。Hewassuperblystrappedandpadded。Hishair，histeeth，andhiscomplexionweretriumphsofartificialyouth。Whenhewasnotoccupiedamongtheyoungestwomenpresent——whichwasveryseldom——heattachedhimselfexclusivelytotheyoungestmen。Heinsistedonjoiningeverydance。Twicehemeasuredhislengthuponthegrass，butnothingdauntedhim。Hewaswaltzingagain，withanotheryoungwoman，atthenextdance，asifnothinghadhappened。Inquiringwhothiseffervescentoldgentlemanmightbe，Bishopriggsdiscoveredthathewasaretiredofficerinthenavy；
commonlyknownamonghisinferiorsas“TheTartar；“moreformallydescribedinsocietyasCaptainNewenden，thelastmalerepresentativeofoneoftheoldestfamiliesinEngland。
Thesecondperson，whoappearedtooccupyapositionofdistinctionatthedanceintheglade，wasalady。
TotheeyeofBishopriggs，shewasamiracleofbeauty，withasmallfortuneforapoormancarriedaboutherinsilk，lace，andjewelry。Nowomanpresentwastheobjectofsuchspecialattentionamongthemenasthisfascinatingandpricelesscreature。Shesatfanningherselfwithamatchlessworkofartsupposedtobeahandkerchiefrepresentinganislandofcambricinthemidstofanoceanoflace。Shewassurroundedbyalittlecourtofadmirers，whofetchedandcarriedatherslightestnod，likewell-traineddogs。Sometimestheybroughtrefreshments，whichshehadaskedfor，onlytodeclinetakingthemwhentheycame。Sometimestheybroughtinformationofwhatwasgoingonamongthedancers，whichtheladyhadbeeneagertoreceivewhentheywentaway，andinwhichshehadceasedtofeelthesmallestinterestwhentheycameback。Everybodyburstintoejaculationsofdistresswhenshewasaskedtoaccountforherabsencefromthedinner，andanswered，“Mypoornerves。“Everybodysaid，“Whatshouldwehavedonewithoutyou!“——whenshedoubtedifshehaddonewiselyinjoiningthepartyatall。Inquiringwhothisfavoredladymightbe，Bishopriggsdiscoveredthatshewasthenieceoftheindomitableoldgentlemanwho_would_dance——or，moreplainlystill，nolessapersonthanhiscontemplatedcustomer，Mrs。Glenarm。
WithallhisenormousassuranceBishopriggswasdauntedwhenhefoundhimselffacingthequestionofwhathewastodonext。
ToopennegotiationswithMrs。Glenarm，underpresentcircumstances，was，foramaninhisposition，simplyimpossible。
But，apartfromthis，theprospectofprofitablyaddressinghimselftothatladyinthefuturewas，tosaytheleastofit，besetwithdifficultiesofnocommonkind。
SupposingthemeansofdisclosingGeoffrey’spositiontohertobefound——whatwouldshedo，whenshereceivedherwarning？Shewouldinallprobabilityapplytooneoftwoformidablemen，bothofwhomwereinterestedinthematter。Ifshewentstraighttothemanaccusedofattemptingtomarryher，atatimewhenhewasalreadyengagedtoanotherwoman——Bishopriggswouldfindhimselfconfrontedwiththeownerofthatterriblefist，whichhadjustlyterrifiedhimevenonadistantandcursoryview。If，ontheotherhandsheplacedherinterestsinthecareofheruncle——Bishopriggshadonlytolookatthecaptain，andtocalculatehischanceofimposingtermsonamanwhoowedLifeabillofmorethansixtyyears’date，andwhoopenlydefiedtimetorecoverthedebt。