ervice, and I have reason to believe that my
son, Graf Albrecht von Rosenau, a lieutenant in his Imperial and Royal
Majesty's 99th Croat Regiment, has made a runaway match with a certain
Signorina Bianca Marinelli of Venice. Are you prepared to give me your
word of honour as a gentleman and an Englishman that you are not privy
to this affair?"

At these terrible words I felt my blood run cold. I may have lost my
presence of mind; but I don't know how I could have got out of the
dilemma even if I had preserved it.

"Your son has not yet arrived," I stammered.

He pounced upon me like a cat upon a mouse, and gripped both my arms
above the elbow. "Is he married?" he hissed, with his red nose a couple
of inches from mine.

"No," I answered, "he is not. Perhaps I had better say at once that if
you use personal violence I shall defend myself, in spite of your age."

Upon this he was kind enough to relax his hold.

"And pray, sir," he resumed, in a somewhat more temperate tone, after a
short period of reflection, "what have you to do with all this?"

"I am not bound to answer your questions, Herr Graf," I replied; "but,
as things have turned out, I have no special objection to doing so. Out
of pure good-nature to your son, who was detained by duty in Venice
at the last moment, I consented to bring the Signorina Marinelli here
yesterday, and to await his arrival, which I am now expecting."

"So you ran away with the girl, instead of Albrecht, did you? Ho, ho,
ho!"

I had seldom heard a more grating or disagreeable laugh.

"I did nothing of the sort," I answered, tartly. "I simply undertook to
see her safely through the first stage of her journey."

"And you will have the pleasure of seeing her back, I imagine; for as
for my rascal of a boy, I mean to take him off home with me as soon as
he arrives; and I can assure you that I have no intention of providing
myself with a daughter-in-law in the course of the day."

I began to feel not a little alarmed. "You cannot have the brutality
to leave me here with a young woman whom I am scarcely so much as
acquainted with on my hands!" I ejaculated, half involuntarily. "What in
the world should I do?"

The old gentleman gave vent to a malevolent chuckle. "Upon my word,
sir," said he, "I can only see one course open to you as a man of
honour. You must marry her yourself."

At this I fairly lost all patience, and gave the Graf my opinion of his
conduct in terms the plainnes