opportunity."

Guly turned away heart-sick; he felt it was useless arguing the matter,
and knew that had not Arthur been half intoxicated at the time, he would
never have given him so much of his confidence; for he rarely now took
an opportunity to say anything to him unless it was when extra draughts
of wine had taken all restraint from his tongue.

It being the busy season of the year, Guly had of late been so confined
to business that it had been impossible for him to slip away and visit
Blanche as he had done formerly. Occasionally, he had written her a note
and sent it by his friend the dwarf, making such errands the occasion of
a round remuneration to the miserable cripple.

He would always hobble his way back after performing the errand,
although the walk was long, to say to Guly: "Hih, hih, Monsieur, but
she's a beauty, one of her pretty smiles is as good as a picayune to me;
bless her heart; I think, Monsieur, she make you very happy one of these
days when you both get old enough for the priest to pronounce you man
and wife; hih, hih, that I do."

These were honest words; the dwarf meant every syllable of them; and the
reward he received in Guly's bright smile, and sometimes an additional
bit of silver, had nothing to do with calling them out, however joyfully
such tokens were received.

The second evening after Guly's conversation with Arthur, the former
stood in the store door waiting anxiously for the customers to leave
that he might "close up" and visit Blanche. Arthur had already gone out,
and he felt a nervous and anxious dread for which he could not account,
and which made him all the more eager to be free. As he stood thus, he
felt some one sieze the hand which was hanging at his side, and looking
down, beheld Richard the dwarf.

"Hih! hih! Monsieur, very long walk, very much tired. She looks more
beautiful than ever to-night, though she sheds very much tears. She say
to me to-day, when I went by: 'Come to me to-night, Richard, grandpapa
is very ill; I may have a message to send by you.' So to-night I went; I
tapped at the door with my longest crutch, she come out, cry very much,
and tell me give you this."

Guly took the little note the dwarf handed up to him, and hastened up to
the light to read it.

It merely stated that her grandpapa was very, _very_ ill, and begged him
to get word to Mr. Wilkins and sister Della, who were her only friends,
beside himself, and old Eliza who gave her medici