



Produced by Al Haines









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
be'ind 'im with a stick."

"Hullo, Hannah!" said Nancy.  "As talkative as ever!  Come along, Joan.
She can look after the things."

The two girls went out through the booking-office, at the door of which
the station-master expressed respectful pleasure at the return of the
traveller, and got into the carriage waiting for them.  There was a
luggage cart as well, and the groom in charge