86 



CHAPTER IX. 



The day after the steeplechase Eric, Sir John's son, is 

 up betimes. 



Having had a walk to give himself an appetite 

 for breakfast, he lounges into the hunters' room. 

 How well he looks, his well-tanned face and healthy 

 complexion showing clearly that he passes most of his 

 time out of doors. 



Breakfast is not yet ready, but preparations have 

 been made for that meal on a long oak cavalier 

 table that stands in the centre of the stone- 

 flagged room. A charming study this room would 

 be for a painter, with its light and cheerful appearance, 

 the long-barrelled sporting guns in the rack over the 

 flreplace, and trophies of the chase, such as deers' 

 heads, foxes' masks and brushes adorning its walls. In 

 the corner hangs a miscellaneous collection of shot- 

 pouches, powder-flasks, fishing-nets, a post-bag, and an 

 implement used for testing hay — all more or less essen- 

 tial to those dwelling in a country house. This room Sir 

 John Jarvis frequents more than any in the house, 

 although it was originally built for the entertainment of 

 sportsmen when returning from hunting or shooting. 



Dressed in his hunting clothes, Eric leans against the 

 old oak mantelpiece and falls into a reverie of thought. 



