Cashel Byron's Profession

"Perhaps I am wrong. I hardly understand what passed. You seemed to

drop from the clouds."

"Aha! You were glad when you found me at your elbow, in spite of

your talk. Come now; weren't you glad to see me?"

"I was--very glad indeed. But by what magic did you so suddenly

subdue that man? And was it necessary to sully your hands by

throttling him?"

"It was a satisfaction to me; and it served him right."

"Surely a very poor satisfaction! Did you notice that some one in

the crowd called out your name, and that it seemed to frighten the

man terribly?"

"Indeed? Odd, wasn't it? But you were saying that you thought I

dropped from the sky. Why, I had been following you for five minutes

before! What do you think of that? If I may take the liberty of

asking, how did you come to be walking round Soho at such an hour

with a little ragged boy?"

Lydia explained. When she finished, it was nearly dark, and they had

reached Oxford Street, where, like Lucian in Regent's Park that

afternoon, she became conscious that her companion was an object of

curiosity to many of the young men who were lounging in that

thoroughfare.

"Alice will think that I am lost," she said, making a signal to a

cabman. "Good-bye; and many thanks. I am always at home on Fridays,

and shall be very happy to see you."

She handed him a card. He took it, read it, looked at the back to

see if there was anything written there, and then said, dubiously, "I suppose there will be a lot of people."

"Yes; you will meet plenty of people."

"Hm! I wish you'd let me see you home now. I won't ask to go any

further than the gate."

Lydia laughed. "You should be very welcome," she said; "but I am

quite safe, thank you. I need not trouble you."

"But suppose the cabman bullies you for double fare," persisted

Cashel. "I have business up in Finchley; and your place is right in

any way there. Upon my soul I have," he added, suspecting that she

doubted him. "I go every Tuesday evening to the St. John's Wood

Cestus Club."

"I am hungry and in a hurry to got home," said Lydia. "'I must be

gone and live, or stay and die.' Come if you will; but in any case

let us go at once."