Ravenshoe. By Henry Kingsley.

122 RAVENSHOE.
The days flew by, and, as you know, there came no news from
Ellen. The household had been much saddened by her disappearance and by Norah's death, though not one of the number
ever guessed what had passed between Mary and Marston. They
were not a very cheerful household; scarce one of them but had
some secret trouble. Father Tiernay came back after a week or
so; and, if good-natured, kindly chatter could have cheered them
at all, he would have done it. But there was a settled gloom on
the party which nothing could overcome. Even Lord Welter,
boisterous as his spirits usually were, seemed often anxious and
distraught; and, as for poor Cuthbert, he would, at any time,
within the knowledge of man, have acted as a " damper " on the
liveliest party. His affection for Charles seemed, for some reason,
to increase day by day, but it was sometimes very hard to keep
the peace between, Welter and him. If there was one man beyond another that Cuthbert hated, it was Lord Welter; and sometimes, after dinner, such a scene as this would take place.
You will, perhaps, have remarked that I have never yet represented Cuthbert as speaking to Mary. The real fact is, that
he never did speak to her, or to any woman, anything beyond
the merest commonplaces,- a circumstance which made Charles
very much doubt the truth of Ellen's statement, - that the priest
had caught them talking together in the wood. However, Cuthbert was, in his way, fond enough of the bonny little soul (I swear
I am in love with her myself, over head and ears); and so, one
day, when she came crying in, and told him - as being the first
person she met - that her little bantam-cock had been killed by
the dorking, Cuthbert comforted her, bottled up his wrath, till
his father had gone into the drawing-room with her after dinner,
and the others were sitting at their wine. Then he said, suddenly, -
" Welter, did you have any cock-fighting to-day?"
"O yes, by the by, a splendid turn-up. There was a noble
little bantam in an enclosed yard challenging a great dorking, and
they both seemed so very anxious for sport that I thought it
would be a pity to balk them; so I just let the bantam out. I
give you my word, it is my belief that the bantam would have
been the best man, but that he was too old. His attack was
splendid; but he met the fate of the brave."
"You should not have done that, Welter," said Charles; "that
was Mary's favorite bantam."
"I don't allow any cock-fighting at Ravenshoe, Welter," said
Cuthbert.
" You don't allow it i" said Lord Welter, scornfully.
"No, by heaven," said Cuthbert, " I don't allow it!"
"Don't you?" said Welter; "you are not master here, nor