ELSTER'S FOLLY

A NOVEL BY

MRS. HENRY WOOD

AUTHOR OF "EAST LYNNE," "THE CHANNINGS," "JOHNNY LUDLOW," ETC.

1916

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.--By the Early Train
CHAPTER II.--Willy Gum
CHAPTER III.--Anne Ashton
CHAPTER IV.--The Countess-Dowager
CHAPTER V.--Jealousy
CHAPTER VI.--At the Bridge
CHAPTER VII.--Listeners
CHAPTER VIII.--The Wager Boats
CHAPTER IX.--Waiting for Dinner
CHAPTER X.--Mr. Pike's Visit
CHAPTER XI.--The Inquest
CHAPTER XII.--Later in the Day
CHAPTER XIII.--Fever
CHAPTER XIV.--Another Patient
CHAPTER XV.--Val's Dilemma
CHAPTER XVI.--Between the Two
CHAPTER XVII.--An Agreeable Wedding
CHAPTER XVIII.--The Stranger
CHAPTER XIX.--A Chance Meeting
CHAPTER XX.--The Stranger Again
CHAPTER XXI.--Secret Care
CHAPTER XXII.--Asking the Rector
CHAPTER XXIII.--Mr. Carr at Work
CHAPTER XXIV.--Somebody Else at Work
CHAPTER XXV.--At Hartledon
CHAPTER XXVI.--Under the Trees
CHAPTER XXVII.--A Tête-à-Tête Breakfast
CHAPTER XXVIII.--Once More
CHAPTER XXIX.--Cross-questioning Mr. Carr
CHAPTER XXX.--Maude's Disobedience
CHAPTER XXXI.--The Sword Slipped
CHAPTER XXXII.--In the Park
CHAPTER XXXIII.--Coming Home
CHAPTER XXXIV.--Mr. Pike on the Wing
CHAPTER XXXV.--The Shed Razed
CHAPTER XXXVI.--The Dowager's Alarm
CHAPTER XXXVII.--A Painful Scene
CHAPTER XXXVIII.--Explanations

ELSTER'S FOLLY

CHAPTER I.

BY THE EARLY TRAIN.

The ascending sun threw its slanting rays abroad on a glorious August morning, and the little world below began to awaken into life—the life of another day of sanguine pleasure or of fretting care.

Not on many fairer scenes did those sunbeams shed their radiance than on one existing in the heart of England; but almost any landscape will look beautiful in the early light of a summer's morning. The county, one of the midlands, was justly celebrated for its