 told him it seemed pretty certain
that Marian was disappointed by the abrupt closing of her brief acquaintance
with the young man, and Yule's affection for his daughter caused him to feel
uneasy in the thought that perhaps he had deprived her of a chance of happiness.
His conscience readily took hold of an excuse for justifying the course he had
followed. Milvain had gone over to the enemy. Whether or not the young man
understood how relentless the hostility was between Yule and Fadge mattered
little; the probability was that he knew all about it. In any case intimate
relations with him could not have survived this alliance with Fadge, so that,
after all, there had been wisdom in letting the acquaintance lapse. To be sure,
nothing could have come of it. Milvain was the kind of man who weighed
opportunities; every step he took would be regulated by consideration of
advantage; at all events that was the impression his character had made upon
Yule. Any hopes that Marian might have been induced to form would assuredly have
ended in disappointment. It was kindness to interpose before things had gone so
far.
    Henceforth, if Milvain's name was unavoidable, it should be mentioned just
like that of any other literary man. It seemed very unlikely indeed that Marian
would continue to think of him with any special and personal interest. The fact
of her having got into correspondence with his sisters was unfortunate, but this
kind of thing rarely went on for very long.
    Yule spoke of the matter with his wife that evening.
    »By-the-by, has Marian heard from those girls at Finden lately?«
    »She had a letter one afternoon last week.«
    »Do you see these letters?«
    »No; she told me what was in them at first, but now she doesn't.«
    »She hasn't spoken to you again of Milvain?«
    »Not a word.«
    »Well, I understood what I was about,« Yule remarked, with the confident air
of one who doesn't wish to remember that he had ever felt doubtful. »There was
no good in having the fellow here. He has got in with a set that I don't care at
all for. If she ever says anything - you understand - you can just let me know.«
    Marian had already procured a copy of The Current, and read it privately. Of
the cleverness of Milvain's contribution there could be no two opinions; it drew
the attention of the public, and all notices of the new magazine made special
reference to this article.
