The
Honour of the Clintons

By

Archibald Marshall

Author of
"Elton Manor," "The Squire's Daughter,"
"The Eldest Son," etc.

New York
Dodd, Mead and Company
1919

COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY

To
ARTHUR MARWOOD

CONTENTS

BOOK I

CHAPTER

I    A Home-Coming
II    A Vulgar Theft
III    The Squire Is Drawn In
IV    Joan Gives Her Evidence
V    A Quiet Talk
VI    The Young Birds
VII    The Verdict

BOOK II

I    Bobby Trench Is Asked to Kencote
II    Joan and Nancy
III    Humphrey and Susan
IV    Coming Home from the Ball
V    Robert Recumbent
VI    Joan Rebellious
VII    Disappointments
VIII    Proposals

BOOK III

I    The Squire Confronted
II    A Very Present Help
III    The Burden
IV    This Our Sister

BOOK IV

I    A Return
II    Payment
III    The Straight Path
IV    A Conclave
V    Waiting
VI    The Power of the Storm
VII    Thinking It Out
VIII    Skies Clearing
IX    Skies Clear

BOOK I

CHAPTER I

A HOME-COMING

The lilacs in the station-yard at Kencote were heavy with their trusses of white and purple; the rich pastures that stretched away on either side of the line were yellow with buttercups.

Out of the smiling peace of the country-side came puffing the busy little branch-line train. It came to and fro half a dozen times a day, making a rare contact between the outside world and this sunny placid corner of meadow and brook and woodland. Here all life that one could see was so quiet and so contented that the train seemed to lose its character as it crept across the bright levels, and to be less a noisy determined machine of progress than a trail of white steam, floating out over the grazing cattle and the willows by the brookside, as much in keeping with the scene as the wisps of cloud that made delicate the blue of the fresh spring sky.

The white cloud detached itself from the engine and melted away into the sky, and the train slid with a cheerful rattle alongside the platform and came to a stand-still. Nancy Clinton, who had been awaiting its arrival with some impatience, waved her hand and hurried to the carriage from which she had seen looking out a face exactly like her own. By the time she had reached it her twin sister, Joan, had alighted, and was ready with her greeting.

"Hullo, old girl!"

"You're nearly ten minutes late."

The twins had been parted for a fortnight, which had very seldom happened to them before in the whole nineteen years of their existence, and both of them were pleased to be together once more. If they had been rather less pleased they might have said rather more.

More was, in fact, said by the maid who stood at the carriage door with Joan's dressing-bag in her hand.

"Good-afternoon, Miss Nancy. Lor, you are looking well, and a sight for sore eyes. We've come back again, you see, and don't want to go away from you no more. Miss Joan, please ketch 'old of this, and I'll get the other things out. Where's that porter? He wants somebody