The story of the rings not being known to the other ladies present, nothing further was said on the subject. Mr. Hall was not present, having an engagement in town, and thus missed something which might have interested him.
CHAPTER III.
When Mr. Stafford retired from business in New York, and came back to England, he was very wealthy. He purchased quite an estate with the greater part of the money, and was living on it at the time our story opens.
Few men can retire from active business life and settle down to a quiet, humdrum existence; and, although such had been Mr. Stafford's ideal life during his business career, he soon began to speculate—at first successfully, but later disastrously.
In his efforts to regain what he had lost he gradually sunk deeper and deeper in the mire, until at length the entire estate was mortgaged. The interest on some of these mortgages was coming due about the time Richard Martin had come upon the scene, and as he was not quite ready to pay it, Mr. Stafford intended to go to London, and ask the attorney to whom he made his payments for time. There had been no difficulty about this previously, and he anticipated none now. He announced his intention of going, one morning at breakfast; but as his family were in blissful ignorance of the existence of any mortgages on their home, he gave them to understand that he was going to attend a stockholders' meeting.
Breakfast over, Mr. Stafford strolled out with his pipe and Hall to keep him company, and sat down under the trees near the spot where Kate had been upset.
They were hardly seated before Hall said:
"Mr. Stafford, I don't exactly know how you look upon that compact between yourself and my father, but I promised my father when only a child to keep my part. When I grew older, and realized its full significance, I must confess I looked upon it as nonsensical, and I came as much from curiosity as anything else, but now—now——"
"Proceed, Mr. Hall."