r was admitted to this family council.

The good old people tried to find out the name of the unknown nobleman,
as they wanted to send back to him the whole of the money that he had
forwarded to Fanny. A debtor under such an obligation could not feel
free. They wanted to pay him back as soon as possible, in just the same
coin, florin for florin, three thousand down in one lump, lest any one
should say he did not get back exactly what he had given.

Yes, but how were they to find out his name? Fanny herself did not know
it, and she would not have pointed him out in the street if she had had
to die for it. Boltay took the trouble to frequent the coffee-houses and
the meetings of the merchants, and listened with all his ears in case he
might hear any talk of a shop-girl who had accepted earnest money from
a rich gentleman as the price of her virtue. But there was no such talk
anywhere. This was reassuring in one way, as tending to show that nobody
knew anything about it, and therefore the trouble was not so great as it
might have been; but the name, the name?

At last Abellino himself came to help them in their search.

Alexander used to go every Sunday to the church which Dame Kramm
frequented, and, leaning against a column, would watch to see with whom
the spinster conversed.

On the third Sunday Abellino appeared upon the scene also.

The worthy spinster told him the marvellous story of how Fanny and her
aunt had unexpectedly disappeared one night without telling her whither
they had gone, which was not very nice of them; but she suspected that
they had flitted to Mr. Boltay's house, and Teresa had kept it quiet, no
doubt, because there had been certain relations between her and Boltay
in their younger days, or perhaps she went to see him because Boltay's
adopted son wanted to marry Fanny. As for herself, she did not mean to
trouble her head about them any more.

Abellino bit his lips till the blood came, he was so angry. Could these
Philistines smell a rat, then?

"What sort of an artisan is this Boltay?" he inquired of Dame Kramm.

"A carpenter," was the reply.

"A carpenter!" and in a moment Abellino had a new plan already in his
head.

"Well, God be with you, madam!" said he; and, having no further use of
her, he hurried out of the building, with Alexander at his heels. So at
last, then, he had found the tempter in church.

Abellino marched rapidly to the corner of the street, with Alexander
after him