THE SILVER FOX 137 



excitement that fed his anger was due to the 

 imminence of that trouble, forgotten or no. 



" I think advice would be rather thrown 

 away on her just now," replied Slaney, think- 

 ing of what lay by the pool, and of the wet 

 torn face that the dog smelt at; *' even Irish 

 people feel things sometimes." 



She suddenly became aware of the spring 

 of tears that lies at the back of a shock, and 

 she bit her lip and drove her stick hard into 

 the ground as she walked. 



" I can only suppose then," he said, *' that 

 you don't object to hearing your friends 

 publicly libelled." 



He held the gate of the wood open for 

 her, and she walked through as stiff as a 

 dart. She knew quite well what sentence 

 of Maria Quin's it was that was foremost 

 on his ear, and it was intolerable that he 

 should take his stand beside Lady Susan. 

 Her distrust of him had become so invincible 

 that she felt Lady Susan to be a bird in the 

 snare of the fowler; she could not think of 

 her as a confederate. 



