deed!"

"Yes, Jeff. You had no right, my dear boy, to bring that child away
from her home in such a hurry."

"But," said I remonstratively, "her home at the time I carried her off
was destroyed--indeed, most of the village was a smoking ruin, and
liable at any moment to be replundered by the irregular troops of both
sides, while Ivanka's parents were reported dead--what could I do?"

"I don't know what you could do in those circumstances, but I know what
you can do now, and that is, pack your portmanteau and prepare to take
Ivanka to Venilik. The child must be at once restored to her parents.
I cannot bear to think of their remaining in ignorance of her being
alive. Very likely Nicholas and Bella will be persuaded to extend their
honeymoon to two, or even three, months, and join you in a tour through
the south of Europe, after which you will all come home strong and well
to spend the winter with me."

"Agreed, mother; your programme shall be carried out to the letter, if I
can manage it."

"When," asked my mother, "did your friend say he passed through that
village?"

I opened his letter to ascertain, when my eye fell on a postscript which
had escaped me on the first perusal. It ran thus--

"P.S. I see no reason why I should not ask you to wish me joy. I'm
going to be married, my boy, to Blue-eyes! I could not forget her. I
had no hope whatever of discovering her. I had settled in my mind to
live and die an old bachelor, when I suddenly met her. It was in
Piccadilly, when I was home, some months ago, in reference to an
increase of my nominal salary from the _EI_ (which by the way came to
nothing--its original figure). I entered a 'bus and ran my head
against that of a lady who was coming out. I looked up to apologise,
and was struck dumb. It was Blue-eyes! I assisted her to alight, and
stammered, I know not what, something like--`A thousand pardons--
surely we have met--excuse me--a mistake--_Thunderer_--captain, great
guns, torpedoes, and blazes--' in the midst of which she smiled,
bowed, and moved on. I moved after her. I traced her (reverentially)
to a house. It was that of a personal friend! I visited that friend,
I became particularly intimate with that friend, I positively bored
that friend until he detested me. At last I met her at the house of
that friend and--but why go on? I am now `captain' of the Blue-eyes,
and would not exchange places with any