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a good deal of public work during the war, subscriptions and things, but I never actually came across her. She's a fine-looking woman still, Campbell told me—by the way, there was no reticence about Campbell. He showed me a more recent portrait of her which he was very proud of, and told me he thought it was a pity a lady like that didn't marry. Altogether, we seem to have struck a public character, and a very good woman, by all that's said of her."

"H'm," said Reeves, "and Brotherhood kept a portrait of her—or rather, Brotherhood in his capacity as Davenant kept a portrait of her, and took it away with him when he meant to leave these parts for a bit. It seems to me she ought to be able to tell us something about him."

"Good Lord!" said Marryatt, "you aren't going to introduce yourself to her as the Daily Mail reporter? Hang it all, it's one thing to take in Mrs. Bramston———"

"And another thing to take in Miss Rendall-Smith, because she's a lady? I'm afraid that seems to me mere sentimentalism."

"What I meant was, if you present yourself to Miss Rendall-Smith as a reporter, she'll turn you out of the house."

"Ye-es. There's something in that. But then, I wouldn't say I'd come from the Daily Mail; I'd say I'd come from the County Herald, and that I was commissioned to do a write-up of Brotherhood as a prominent local personage."