ed by a lashing rain from the south-west, and the time had hung heavily upon the hands of Mr. Povey. He appreciated now to the full how he had cut hims

l aimlessly through the steep and narrow streets or stand and gaze out over the froth-capped waves of the bay to where St. Michael's

stery, and Edward could only speculate on the way things were going

of his mission. It had seemed to him a far easier course than telling her all the details personally. He referred her to her nurse for all particulars, a

black cravat and black suède gloves as a mark of respect for the tragedy in the case. This he looked upon as an inspiration and one calculated to make a good impression upon the Princess. His brown shoes,

lfilled, and the sun shone a glorious augury on t

en. Across the moor broken stone hedges straggled out at odd angles, and buildings falling into decay, roofless and with floorings of rank vegetation, spoke of the time when this district was populated by men engaged in wresting the wealth of tin from its fastnesses in Mother Earth. A cluster of dead mine build

topped the rise and stood looking down upon the peaceful hamlet with its square church tower, he asked himself whether Baxendale had been wise to wish to destroy the bliss of the Princes

rse bushes and the ivy-covered boulders down to a trim little house that stood at th

d and the Princess came smilingly down the path to meet him. She walked with the

d Edward seen such a perfectly proportioned little figure, nor such a graceful carriage. She was dres

gine that she very often did smile. The eyes, large and dark, laughed and danced beneath a pair of perfectly drawn brows, fairly thick and arching, and taperi

ney, is

ed and rai

he Princess Mi

finger to her

oor, I am Miss Galva Baxendale-my friend

rangea, veronica and fuchsia, to the house. The garden on either side of the shingle p

Edward had ever seen. She received him graciously, and led the way into a room to the right of the little passage. It was an apartment larger

hings and engravings, mostly of local scenery, in narrow black frames. The table laid for luncheon was tastefully dec

iated to the full the well-served meal. The subject of the "mission"

to do with me, Mr. Sydney?" th

me. I'm merely here if I'm wanted, as it were." He turned to the elder lady. "There

anda spoke, a suggestion of sadness had come into her voic

s you have been away from your native land. There must be many thin

d her fine eyes t

r, there are many t

the wild waste of heath aglow with its tints of cinnamon and mauve.

white-haired lady-and again a unit

eping unavenged for fifteen years, sleeping on a royal breast in a tomb emblazoned with the arms of the Estratos. What had been the anguish of this mother

and took from his pocket the things that Mr. Nixon had given him, a few articl

R LU

Mendar

rb

overlooked that could prove the truth of Miranda's parentage. The jewellery comprised two or three rings an

letter, two days previous, Anna had told her charge the whole history. To her mind, the evidence was not as complete as she might have

him. There could be no harm in that. They would travel under the names of Mr. Sydney and Miss Baxendale, his ward, and, with the money at their disposal, could stay in Corbo and see how the land lay. There would be nothing in their appearance or manner to single them out from the other famili

found to look after it during their absence. In the mean time, Mr. Sydney (as Edward mus

*

h the afterglow of the setting sun. Around them the desolate moors stretched out in gentle undulations, shadowy and mysterious. In the clear twilight the lights of the coast shone out; below them, the four flashes of Pendeen,

the dusk; here and there a yellow light twinkl

I fear sometimes at the journey we are taking-perhaps we wil

er arm tenderly roun

now the colours that the Yeldo hills take in the evening; the sea, too, is be

with my child. No-don't pity me, Miranda; the time of tears is long past, but the grief is here still. But we won't ta

ectionately they wal