Yes, to the dregs; for though I have never known the
want of life's common necessaries, I have known humiliations which are
at least as hard to bear."
The many windows of the manor-house were all a-blaze with light as the
hunting-party entered the gates. Fires burned brightly in all the
rooms, and the interior of that comfortable house formed a very
pleasant contrast to the cheerless darkness of the night, the muddy
roads, and damp atmosphere.
The butler stood in the hall ready to welcome the returning guests with
stately ceremony; while the under-servants bustled about, attending to
the wants of the mud-bespattered huntsmen.
"Mr. Dale is at home, I suppose?" Douglas said, as he warmed his hands
before the great wood fire.
"At home, sir!" replied the butler; "hasn't he come home with you,
sir?"
"No; we never saw him after the meet. I imagine he must have been
called away on parish business."
"I don't know, sir," answered the butler; "my master has certainly not
been home since the morning."
A feeling of vague alarm took possession of almost everyone present.
"It is very strange," exclaimed Squire Mordaunt. "Did no one come here
to inquire after your master this morning?"
"No one, sir," replied the butler.
"Send to the stables to see if my brother's horse has been brought
home," cried Douglas, with alarm very evident in his face and manner.
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