The din it was that had attracted him as he passed by on his
way to the Episcopal Palace where a part of his company was on
guard duty. Thither he now pursued his way, bearing with him
the letter which so opportunely he had become possessed of, and
which he hoped might throw further light upon Kenneth's
relations with the Ashburns.

But as he reached the palace there was a quick step behind him.
and a hand fell upon his arm. He turned.

"Ah, 'tis you, Kenneth," he muttered, and would have passed on,
but the boy's hand took him by the sleeve.

"Sir Crispin," said he, "I came to thank you."

"I have done nothing to deserve your thanks. Give you good
evening." And he made shift to mount the steps when again
Kenneth detained him.

"You are forgetting the letter, Sir Crispin," he ventured, and
he held out his hand to receive it.

Galliard saw the gesture, and for a moment it crossed his mind
in self-reproach that the part he chose to play was that of a
bully. A second he hesitated. Should he surrender the letter
unread, and fight on without the aid of the information it
might bring him? Then the thought of Ashburn and of his own
deep wrongs that cried out for vengeance, overcame and stifled
the generous impulse. His manner grew yet more frozen as he