lmanly thing to do, affer we'd put up our money. We
coul'n' afford have him runnin' away with you. So we had him locked in a
room on top floor of the hotel, where he can't get out 'n' leave us to
hold the bag, don't you see. He almos' cried an' said you'd be waitin'
at the church or--or something like that bally song, don't you know, an'
as a lash reshort, to keep him quiet like a good ferrer--feller, we said
we'd come an' get you an' 'splain everything saffis--sasfac--ahem!
sassisfac'rly."

She looked at then with burning eyes. Slow rage was coming to the
flaming point; And for this she had sat and suffered for hours in a
street restaurant! For this! Her eyes fell upon the limp horses and the
dejected stable-boy. Two hours!

"You will release him at once!" she stormed. "Do you hear? It is
outrageous!"

Without another word to the dazed trio, she rushed to the curb and
commanded the boy to assist her into the saddle. He did so, in stupid
amazement. Then she instructed him to mount and follow her to the Tirol
as fast as he could ride. The horses were tearing off in the darkness a
moment later.

The three guardians stood speechless until the clatter died away in the
distance. Then Mr. Rodney pulled himself together with an effort and
groaned in abject horror.

"By thunner, the damn girl is stealin' somebody's horshes!"

CHAPTER VIII

THE PRODIGAL HUSBAND

The unlucky Brock, wild with rage and chagrin, had paced his temporary
prison in the top storey of the Tirol from eleven o'clock till two,
bitterly cursing the fools who were keeping him in durance more vile
than that from which they had generously released him. He realised that
it would be unwise to create a disturbance in the house by clamouring
for freedom, because, in the first place, there already had been scandal
enough, and in the second place, his distrustful bondsmen had promised
faithfully to seek out the devoted Connie and apprise her of his
release. He had no thought, of course, that in the mean time she might
be duped into paying a bribe to the guard.

Not only was he direfully cursing the trio, but also the addlepated
Medcroft and his own addlepated self. It is to be feared that he had
harsh thoughts of all the Medcrofts, as far down as Raggles. His dream
of love and happiness had turned into a nightmare; the comedy had become
a tragic snarl of all the effects known to melodrama. Bitterly he
lamented the fact that now he could not go bef