THE GIANT'S ROBE BY F. ANSTEY AUTHOR OF 'VICE-VERSA' 'Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe Upon a dwarfish thief'--Macbeth _THIRD EDITION_ LONDON SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE 1884 [_All rights reserved_]PREFACE.It has been my intention from the first to take this opportunity ofstating that, if I am indebted to any previous work for the centralidea of a stolen manuscript, such obligation should be ascribed to ashort tale, published some time ago in one of the Christmasnumbers--the only story upon the subject which I have read at present.It was the story of a German student who, having found in the libraryof his university an old scientific manuscript, by a writer long sincedead and forgotten, produced it as his own; and it is so probable thatthe recollection of this incident became quite unconsciously the germof the present book that, although the matter is not of generalimportance, I feel it only fair to mention it here.I trust, nevertheless, that it is not necessary to insist upon anyclaim to the average degree of originality; for if the book does notbear the traces of honest and independent work, that is a defect whichis scarcely likely to be removed by the most eloquent andargumentative of prefaces. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. AN INTERCESSOR 1 II. A LAST WALK 15 III. GOOD-BYE 23 IV. MALAKOFF TERRACE 36 V. NEIGHBOURS 52 VI. SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR 64 VII. IN THE FOG 69 VIII. BAD NEWS 82 IX. A TURNING-POINT 90 X. REPENTE TURPISSIMUS 103 XI. REVOLT 110 XII. LAUNCHED 124 XIII. A 'THORN AND FLOWER PIECE' 133 XIV. IN THE SPRING 148 XV. HAROLD CAFFYN MAKES A DISCOVERY 158 XVI. A CHANGE OF FRONT 170 XVII. IN WHICH MARK MAKES AN ENEMY AND RECOVERS A FRIEND 177 XVIII. A DINNER PARTY 186 XIX. DOLLY'S DELIVERANCE 194 XX. A DECLARATION--OF WAR 197 XXI. A PARLEY WITH THE ENEMY 208 XXII. STRIKING THE TRAIL 216 XXIII. PIANO PRACTICE 221 XXIV. A MEETING IN GERMANY 232 XXV. MABEL'S ANSWER 240 XXVI. VISITS OF CEREMONY 251 XXVII. CLEAR SKY--AND A THUNDERBOLT 256 XXVIII. MARK KNOWS THE WORST 262 XXIX. ON BOARD THE 'COROMANDEL' 273 XXX. THE WAY OF TRANSGRESSORS 288 XXXI. AGAG 301 XXXII. AT WASTWATER 311 XXXIII. IN SUSPENSE 323 XXXIV. ON THE LAUFENPLATZ 335 XXXV. MISSED FIRE 345 XXXVI. LITTLE RIFTS 349 XXXVII. MARK ACCEPTS A DISAGREEABLE DUTY 358 XXXVIII. HAROLD CAFFYN MAKES A PALPABLE HIT 366 XXXIX. CAFFYN SPRINGS HIS MINE 383 XL. THE EFFECTS OF AN EXPLOSION 401 XLI. A FINAL VICTORY 420 XLII. FROM THE GRAVE