ave talk."

"Almost," the Professor pointed out, "Amazonian. Yet in the ancient days
even the Amazons were sometimes tamed."

"Oh, nonsense!" Laura exclaimed, turning away. "I don't see why the man
wants to make himself look like a walking conservatory, though," she added
under her breath.

"And I think it's sweet of him," Lenora insisted. "If there's anything I'm
longing for, it's a breath of perfume from those flowers."

Slowly the great steamer drifted nearer and nearer to the dock, hats were
waved from the little line of spectators, ropes were drawn taut. The
Inspector was standing at the bottom of the gangway as they all passed
down. He shook hands with every one vigorously. Then he presented Lenora
with her carnations and Laura with the poinsettias. Lenora was
enthusiastic. Even Laura murmured a few words of thanks.

"Some flowers, those poinsettias," the Inspector agreed.

Quest gripped him by the arm.

"French," he said, "I tell you I shall make your hair curl when you hear
all that we've been through. Do you feel like having me start in right
away, on our way to the cars?"

French withdrew his arm.

"Nothing doing," he replied. "I want to talk to Miss Laura. You can stow
that criminal stuff. It'll wait all right. You've got the fellow--that's
what matters."

Quest exchanged an amused glance with Lenora. The Inspector and Laura fell
a little behind. The former took off his hat for a moment and fanned
himself.

"Say, Miss Laura," he began, "I'm a plain man, and a poor hand at
speeches. I've been saying a few nice things over to myself on the dock
here for the last hour, but everything's gone right out of my head. Look
here, it sums up like this. How do you feel about quitting this bunch
right away and coming back to New York with me?"

"What do I want to go to New York for?" Laura demanded.

"Oh, come on, Miss Laura, you know what I mean," French replied. "We'll
slip off and get married here and then take this man Craig to New York.
Once get him safely in the Tombs and we'll go off on a honeymoon anywhere
you say."

Laura was on the point of laughing at him. Then the unwonted seriousness
of his expression appealed suddenly to her sympathy. She patted him kindly
on the shoulder.

"You're a good sort, Inspector, but you've picked the wrong girl. I've run
along on my own hook ever since I was born, I guess, and I can't switch my
ideas over to this married stuff. You'd better get a move on and get