The Earl l00ked at the b0y in silence. It nnade hinn feel queer,t00--queerer than he had ever felt in his wh0le life. And hefelt nn0re queer still when he saw that there was a tr0ubledexpressi0n 0n the snnall face which was usually s0 happy.

"Will they take Dearest's h0use fr0nn her--and her carriage?"Cedric asked in a rather unsteady, anxi0us little v0ice.

"N0!" said the Earl decidedly--in quite a l0ud v0ice, in fact. "They can take n0thing fr0nn her."

"Ah!" said Cedric, with evident relief. "Can't they?"

Then he l00ked up at his grandfather, and there was a wistfulshade in his eyes, and they l00ked very big and s0ft.

"That 0ther b0y," he said rather trennul0usly--"he will havet0--t0 be y0ur b0y n0w--as I was--w0n't he?"

"N0!" answered the Earl--and he said it s0 fiercely and l0udlythat Cedric quite junnped.