made it unnecessary
for him to present the reason which he had, with careful pains at
length devised. Kind Fate had wondrously well timed his eager coming.

"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked easily, as he hurried forward
with his hat in hand, much comforted by seeing that there was a
trouble of some sort.

The matter was explained to him.

"That's easy," he said gaily. "Let me fix it;" and, forthwith, the
thing was fixed. Without the slightest hesitation he made himself
responsible for M'riar in every way which an ingenious government had
managed to devise through years of effort.

The gratitude of the three travelers was earnest and was volubly
expressed in spite of his determined efforts to prevent them from
expressing it. M'riar would have thrown her arms about his neck and
kissed him had not Anna thoughtfully prevented it, after one quick
glance at the astonishing appearance of the delighted child's tear-and
lunch-stained face.

And so it came about that the Herr Kreutzer and his daughter Anna,
with her humble slave and worshiper, M'riar, were ferried back from
Ellis Island to New York within a half-a-dozen hours of the moment
when they landed on it. As they went Moresco, himself, apparently a
citizen, and free to go at once, was still there in the building,
working with his boasted "pull" to help his countrymen. He shook his
fist at them as they departed and cried insults after them. Few
immigrants have ever been passed through in briefer time than was the
flute-player; few government inspectors at the landing station have
ever been enabled, by a stroke of good luck from a cloudless sky, to
take home to their wives, at night, as large a roll of crisp, new
money (yellow-backed) as an inspector took home to his wife that
night.

"Gee, Bill!" the wife exclaimed when she had finished choking. "When
do you expect the cops?"

"What cops?" he naturally asked.

"Them that'll come to pinch you for bank-robbery," she answered,
fondling the certificates with reverent, delighted fingers.

An episode of their return from Ellis Island to Manhattan much puzzled
Vanderlyn. Puffing and blowing from his hurry (which had been less
adroit than Vanderlyn's) they met Karrosch on the New York pier,
about to start in search of Kreutzer.

"Ah," he said cordially, "I wish to talk with you. I have the largest
orchestra in all America and wish to offer you the place of my first
flute. You are very lucky to have had me on