poverty, his obscurity, his attempts that had come to nothing, his
abilities for which there was nothing to show? Mrs. Ryves was not
exactly a success, but she was a greater success than Peter Baron.
Poor as he was he hated the sordid (he knew she didn't love it), and
he felt small for talking of marriage. Therefore he didn't put the
question in the words it would have pleased him most to hear himself
utter, but he compromised, with an angry young pang, and said to her:
"What will you do for me if I put an end to them?"

She shook her head sadly--it was always her prettiest movement. "I
can promise nothing--oh, no, I can't promise! We must part now," she
added. "You'll miss your train."

He looked at his watch, taking the hand she held out to him. She
drew it away quickly, and nothing then was left him, before hurrying
to the station, but to catch up Sidney and squeeze him till he
uttered a little shriek. On the way back to town the situation
struck him as grotesque.



CHAPTER V.



It tormented him so the next morning that after threshing it out a
little further he felt he had something of a grievance. Mrs. Ryves's
intervention had made him acutely uncomfortable, for she had taken
the attitude of exerting pressure without, it appeared, recognising
on his part an equal right. She had imposed herself as an influence,