dinand, in a faint voice; 'I am the happiest
man that ever lived; I hope you will be, I am sure you will be;
Katherine is an angel. But I cannot speak. It is so strange.'

'My dear fellow, you really must take a glass of brandy,' said Lord
Montfort. 'It is strange, certainly. But we are all happy.'

'I hardly know where I am,' said Ferdinand, after a few minutes. 'Am I
really alive?'

'Let us think how we are to get out of this place. I suppose they will
take my cheque. If not, I must be off.'

'Oh, do not go,' said Ferdinand. 'If you go I shall not believe it is
true. My dear Montfort, is it really true?'

'You see, my dear Armine,' said Lord Montfort, smiling, 'it was fated
that I should marry a lady you rejected. And to tell you the truth, the
reason why I did not get to you yesterday, as I ought to have done, was
an unexpected conversation I had with Miss Grandison. I really think
this arrest was a most fortunate incident. It brought affairs to a
crisis. We should have gone on playing at cross purposes for ever.'

Here the little waiter entered again with a note and a packet.

'The same messenger brought them?' asked Ferdinand.

'No, sir; the Count's servant brought the note, and waits for an answer;
the packet came by another person.'

Ferdinand opened the note and read as follows:--

'Berkeley-square, half-past 7, morning.

'Mon Ami,--Best joke in the world! I broke Crocky's bank three times.
Of course; I told you so. I win 15,000L. Directly I am awake I will send
you the three thousand, and I will lend you the rest till your marriage.
It will not be very long. I write this before I go to bed, that you may
have it early. Adieu, _cher ami_.

'_Votre affectionne_,

'De Mirabel.

'My arrest was certainly the luckiest incident in the world,' said
Ferdinand, handing the note to Lord Montfort. 'Mirabel dined here
yesterday, and went and played on purpose to save me. I treated it as
a joke. But what is this?' Ferdinand opened the packet. The handwriting
was unknown to him. Ten bank notes of 300L. each fell to the ground.

'Do I live in fairyland?' he exclaimed. 'Now who can this be? It cannot
be you; it cannot be Mirabel. It is wondrous strange.'

'I think I can throw some light upon it,' said Lord Montfort. 'Katherine
was mysteriously engaged with Glastonbury yesterday morning. They were
out together, and I know they went to her lawyer's. There is no doubt it
is Katherine. I think, under the circu