n the room.
That well-meant experiment only left him feebler than ever.

"What possessed her brother to make her Carmina's guardian?" he
asked--with the nearest approach to irritability of which he was
capable.

The lawyer was busy with his own thoughts. He only enlightened Mr.
Gallilee after the question had been repeated.

"I had the sincerest regard for Mr. Robert Graywell," he said. "A
better husband and father--and don't let me forget it, a more
charming artist--never lived. But," said Mr. Mool, with the air of one
strong-minded man appealing to another: "weak, sadly weak. If you will
allow me to say so, your wife's self-asserting way--well, it was
so unlike her brother's way, that it had its effect on him! If Lady
Northlake had been a little less quiet and retiring, the matter might
have ended in a very different manner. As it was (I don't wish to put
the case offensively) Mrs. Gallilee imposed on him--and there she is, in
authority, under the Will. Let that be. We must protect this poor girl.
We must act!" cried Mr. Mool with a burst of energy.

"We must act!" Mr. Gallilee repeated--and feebly clenched his fist, and
softly struck the table.

"I think I have an idea," the lawyer proceeded; "suggested by something
said to me by Miss Carmina herself. May I ask if you are in her
confidence?"

Mr. Gallilee's face brightened at this. "Certainly," he answered. "I
always kiss her when we say good-night, and kiss her again when we say
good-morning."

This proof of his friend's claims as Carmina's chosen adviser, seemed
rather to surprise Mr. Mool. "Did she ever hint at an idea of hastening
her marriage?" he inquired.

Plainly as the question was put, it thoroughly puzzled Mr. Gallilee. His
honest face answered for him--he was _not_ in Carmina's confidence. Mr.
Mool returned to his idea.

"The one thing we can do," he said, "is to hasten Mr. Ovid's return.
There is the only course to take--as I see it."

"Let's do it at once!" cried Mr. Gallilee.

"But tell me," Mr. Mool insisted, greedy for encouragement--"does my
suggestion relieve your mind?"

"It's the first happy moment I've had to-day!" Mr. Gallilee's weak voice
piped high: he was getting firmer and firmer with every word he uttered.

One of them produced a telegraph-form; the other seized a pen. "Shall we
send the message in your name?" Mr. Mool asked.

If Mr. Gallilee had possessed a hundred names he would have sent them
(and paid for them) all.