ing of her own
free will--"

"It is not for you to interfere, eh, my friend?" I broke in jocosely.
"You will now let us proceed in peace, and for your trouble you will
no doubt accept this token of my consideration." And, groping in the
darkness, I found the rough hand of the gendarme, and speedily pressed
into it the crisp note which my adored one had given to me.

"Ah!" he said, with very obvious gratification. "If Monsieur Ratichon
will assure me that Mademoiselle here is indeed his affianced wife, then
indeed it is not a case of abduction, and--"

"Abduction!" I retorted, flaring up in righteous indignation. "Who
dares to use the word in connexion with this lovely lady? Mademoiselle
Goldberg, I swear, will be Madame Ratichon within the next four and
twenty hours. And the sooner you, Sir Gendarme, allow us to proceed on
our way the less pain will you cause to this distressed and virtuous
damsel."

This settled the whole affair quite comfortably. The gendarme shut the
carriage door with a bang, and at my request gave the order to the
driver to proceed. The latter once again cracked his whip, and once
again the cumbrous vehicle, after an awkward lurch, rattled on its way
along the cobblestones of the sleeping city.

Once more I was alone with the priceless treasure by my side--alone
and happy--more happy, I might say, than I had been before. Had not my
adored one openly acknowledged her love for me and her desire to stand
with me at the hymeneal altar? To put it vulgarly--though vulgarity
in every form is repellent to me--she had burnt her boats. She had
allowed her name to be coupled with mine in the presence of the
minions of the law. What, after that, could her father do but give his
consent to a union which alone would save his only child's reputation
from the cruelty of waggish tongues?

No doubt, Sir, that I was happy. True, that when the uncouth gendarme
finally slammed to the door of our carriage and we restarted on our
way, my ears had been unpleasantly tickled by the sound of prolonged
and ribald laughter--laughter which sounded strangely and unpleasantly
familiar. But after a few seconds' serious reflection I dismissed the
matter from my thoughts. If, as indeed I gravely suspected, it was
Fernand Rochez who had striven thus to put a spoke in the wheel of my
good fortune, he would certainly not have laughed when I drove
triumphantly away with my conquered bride by my side. And, of course,
my ears _mus