“Have you seen him tonight?”

“I forgot to look for him when I was last out,” returned Eugene with the calmest indifference; “but I dare say he was there. Come! Be a British sportsman and enjoy the pleasures of the chase. It will do you good.”

Lightwood hesitated; but, yielding to his curiosity, rose.

“Bravo!” cried Eugene, rising too. “Or, if Yoicks would be in better keeping, consider that I said Yoicks. Look to your feet, Mortimer, for we shall try your boots. When you are ready, I am⁠—need I say with a Hey Ho Chivey, and likewise with a Hark Forward, Hark Forward, Tantivy?”

“Will nothing make you serious?” said Mortimer, laughing through his gravity.

“I am always serious, but just now I am a little excited by the glorious fact that a southerly wind and a cloudy sky proclaim a hunting evening. Ready? So. We turn out the lamp and shut the door, and take the field.”