him yet, and no one is ever likely to do so. He is rather an interesting character, for there is scarcely anything he has not done. He was in the Venezuelan army; then he was a horse-tamer; afterwards a bullfighter; and now, when he is not wrestling, he goes in for lion-taming. I saw him some months ago in Paris. Look! here he comes.'

At that moment, Signor Ercole Derelicto entered the arena and bowed to the spectators. He was a remarkably fine-looking man, of magnificent physique, and, although he wore a long drooping moustache, looked very unlike an Italian. He was followed by a crowd of men anxious to compete for the wrestling prize: huge, overgrown, bloated brutes, absurdly out of condition, weighing, on an average, about twenty

stone.

As Talbot had said, Signor Ercole threw them as he liked, and the scene was an amusing one to watch, and called forth roars of laughter from the spectators. His antagonists had not the faintest conception of the science of wrestling, and seemed to imagine that weight alone would tell. At last, all were disposed of but one, and he, taller and fatter than any of his predecessors, advanced with a smile, for he fancied himself not a little. The Signor played with him for a short time, then, running in underneath him, he caught him on his shoulders and threw him over his head.

Such an exhibition of strength called forth vociferous plaudits, amidst which the Signor bowed himself out.

"How contemptible a fellow feels compared to a man like that," said Rupert. "I always feel so ashamed of myself when I see a splendid chap like that, that I always determine to go into training the very next day. Don't you think he is splendid, Vita ?"

"Yes, I think him splendid," said Vita, and her

thoughts went back to Tom and the feats of strength she had seen him perform.

"Miss Goring, do you see that woman in the box nearly opposite to us, talking to the two officers in uniform? That is Lady Sybil Caldecott, the most beautiful and the unhappiest woman in Europe," said Talbot, while Rupert gave him a kick which nearly made him cry out.

Vita looked in the direction pointed out, and saw Sybil as described; her peculiarly pale complexion, always remarkable, seemed whiter than ever, but she was unspeakably beautiful.

"She seems very happy. Why do you say she is not so?" she asked of Talbot.

"Oh, that's all put on. Her husband treats her abominably. He is the vilest little wretch on the face of the earth, and no decent fellow will speak to him."

Vita gazed at Sybil with a concentrated look of hatred and abhorrence. She put down all their misfortunes and unhappiness to her, and believed her scarcely less vile than her husband. It seemed a mockery to Vita that Sybil should be receiving men's admiration and worship when she deserved their contempt and loathing.

Vita was strangely moved to-night. The per

formances in the circus did not interest her much. She was engrossed in a drama that was taking place in her own mind.

Suddenly there was a shout, which awoke her from her reverie. She saw a huge cage, containing two lions, being drawn into the arena, accompanied by Signor Ercole Derelicto. The cage stopped near her box. The gas was turned down low, the limelight was reflected on the cage, and Signor Ercole stepped into the den, his back being turned towards Vita.

The lions were apparently in a bad humour, and

growled incessantly; but the Signor put them through sundry performances, such as jumping through a hoop, leaping over one another, laying down on the floor as if dead, and rearing themselves up on their hind legs in the corners of the cage.

There was something uncanny about the performance, which was watched with breathless excitement. Suddenly the lime-light failed, and the circus was cast in gloom. One of the lions took advantage of the darkness and made a spring at the Signor.

It was impossible to distinguish accurately what was taking place in the cage. A confused mass of moving forms could be seen, and the Signor's voice could be heard remonstrating with his lions, not in dulcet Italian, but nervous Anglo-Saxon: "Down, Nero, you d-d brute. Down, Cæsar, you sneaking son of a gun;" while heavy thuds of blows were heard amid the snarling of the lions. Again the lime-light was revived, and the Signor was seen standing holding one lion by the throat with one hand against the side of the cage, while he dealt it terrific blows with his disengaged fist. The other lion was stroking a closed eye with its paw, and looking like an overgrown cat.

The yells of the people ascended in a deafening roar as the Signor withdrew from the cage. He did not seem to be very much the worse for the encounter, except that his tunic was torn away from one shoulder and the sleeve was saturated with blood. As the cage was drawn out of the ring there was a commotion in one of the boxes, and it was observed that Lady Sybil Caldecott was being carried out in a dead faint.

Rupert turned to see what effect the scene had on Vita, and exclaimed:

"Good Heavens! Vita, what is the matter?"

Vita's face looked exactly like a statue, all colour

had left it; her eyes were wide open and motionless, her lips were parted, and she seemed to have ceased to breathe. She did not answer Rupert at first, but gradually she awoke from her trance and said: "It was Tom."

"What!" answered Rupert, jumping up, "Tom! By Jove! I believe you are right," and without waiting another second, he seized his coat and hat and rushed out, remarking, "I will bring him to your house to-night."

Talbot took Mrs. Forbes and Vita home, and left them. Vita was shivering with excitement, and was very silent. She could not even talk to Mrs. Forbes, but wanted to be left alone, and think.

Twelve o'clock struck, then the half-hour, and at last one. Mrs. Forbes tried to persuade Vita to go to bed, but the latter replied simply, "Rupert said he would bring him here to-night.'

About a quarter past one, there was a knock at the door and Rupert entered alone.

"I would not keep you waiting any longer tonight," he said, "as I could not find him. Directly he came out, he drove off in a fiacre to get a doctor to dress his arm, which was badly clawed by one of the lions, but is not dangerously hurt. He is not very well known by the circus people, as he has only lately joined this show; and not a soul could tell me where he lodged. However, I will find him out the first thing in the morning. I discovered one thing, though, which is that Signor What's-his-name is an Englishman, and I'll bet all Lombard Street to a last year's tennis ball that he answers to the name of Thomas Marston."

CHAPTER XLII.

SALVED

VITA went to bed, but scarcely slept at all. She tossed about in a feverish state all night; and if she did drop off in slumber for a few minutes, it was to have some horrible dream that Tom was saving Sybil from being devoured by lions, or that Sybil was nursing him after he had been wounded by them.

She rang the bell for her maid as soon as it was daylight, and having dressed, went for a walk by herself in the gardens of the Villa Reale.

It was then about eight o'clock, and scarcely anybody was in the gardens, except some children playing, and a few workmen going to their work. She sought the most unfrequented paths, and eventually sat down on a bench near the sea shore.

The beautiful, deep blue bay of Naples lay before her, with the island of Capri in the distance. A thin column of smoke was issuing from Vesuvius, which, after ascending perpendicularly for some height, widened out horizontally, and formed a mushroomshaped cloud. The blue mountains behind Sorrento and Castellamare were lovely in their colouring, and the white buildings along the shore formed a pretty feature in the scene. In front of her was a group of picturesque Neapolitan fishermen, who had lately landed from their boats. Some were arguing excitedly, the others were indulging in that dolce far niente so dear to the Neapolitans. Further along the shore, but in the gardens, was a crowd of children who were evidently watching something