ht very well pass for your grandpapa;
yet the only demands he makes upon you are that you will swear to be his
wife, and will honour him as your husband. If you like, he and you shall
live in two separate counties, and you shall only see him when you
choose to invite him to come and see you. Will you accept his offer?' If
the girl says, 'No,' I will be quite content with her answer. We will
say no more about the matter, and I will trouble you no further. You
will but have done your duty as a guardian. I will give her a week to
make up her mind. In a week's time, my confidential agent, who is
cooling his heels outside by my carriage, will be sent here--I don't
want to carry my basket home myself[10]--to inquire if by any chance I
left a diamond ring behind me here. If the answer be a rejection, you
will send back this ring by him; if, on the other hand, my proposal be
accepted, you will answer that I must come for it myself."

[Footnote 10: In Hungarian, as in German, a rejected lover is said to
"receive a basket."]

And with that the gentleman arose, pressed Master Boltay's hand
amicably, and left him in a perfect chaos of conflicting thoughts.
Impatiently, Boltay began pacing up and down the room. What was he to
do? He felt within himself that Karpathy had spoken the truth. The girl
would not be able to resist the tempting prospect, and would accept the
offer. And thus she must needs be unhappy; and what would be the end of
it all? At first he had half a mind to conceal the whole thing from her.
But no, that would be unworthy of him; a man really worthy of the name
must never conceal the truth.

Suddenly a good idea occurred to him. He had discovered a way out of the
difficulty. He hastened to consult Alexander.

That worthy youth had just finished his masterpiece--a splendid
writing-table, magnificently carved, with secret drawers impossible to
discover. He was quite absorbed in his work.

"Alexander," said his old master, "your handiwork is really a
masterpiece."

"I am proud of it myself. I think of it night and day."

"Night and day? And don't you think of anything else, then?"

"I? What else should I think of, pray?"

"Why, that you will be a full master-carpenter the day after to-morrow.
Suppose I say that?"

"Oh, I'm sure of that."

"Well, what would you say if I resolved to hand over the whole of my
business to you?"

"Ah, sir, you are jesting. Why should you give it all to me?"

"Because I am