or him, once her charm went.
But--that something in human beings which is unaccountable, when they
are well bred, made him join the French Foreign Legion immediately war
broke out, and behave with great gallantry."

"What brought on the last episode?"

"He was probably bored in the dull post where he was, with not much
fighting to do lately, and resorted to his old game to cover up losses,
which he could not pay, and had the bad luck to be caught for the second
time. I told you he was a fool and did not know how to calculate the
price of his follies."

"When did you hear of this?"

"Only last night on my return, and there will be a disgusting scandal,
and the old story will be raked up and it is pretty beastly for
Englishmen."

"Can money keep it quiet, George?"

"I expect so, but who would be fool enough to pay for such a fellow?"

"I would, and will, if you can manage it without letting my name
appear."

"My dear boy, how does it interest you? Why should you do such a
quixotic thing? It is twenty-five thousand francs."

"Only twenty-five thousand francs! I'll give you the cheque this minute
George, if you can, in your own way, free the poor devil."

"But Nicholas--you must be mad my dear boy!--Or you have some strong
motive I do not know of."

"Yes, I have--I want this chap freed from disaster, not for his sake,
but for the sake of the family. What must that poor lady have gone
through, and that poor girl!"

George looked at me with his whimsical cynical eye.

"It's awfully decent of you, Nicholas," was all he said though, and I
reached for my cheque-book, and wrote a cheque for thirty thousand
francs with my stylo.

"You may need the extra five thousand, George--to make sure of the
thing, and I count on you to patch it up as soon as you can."

He left after that, promising to see into the affair at once, and
telephone me the result--and when he had gone I tried to think over what
it all means?

Alathea did not know of this when I asked her to marry me last week. She
must never know that I am paying, even if that makes matters easy enough
for her to refuse me. The reason of her long silence is because this
fresh trouble has fallen upon them, I am sure. I feel so awfully, not
being able to comfort her. The whole burden upon those young
shoulders.--

Just as I wrote that yesterday, Burton came in to say that Miss Sharp
was in the little salon, and wished to see me, and I sent him to pray
her to c