ance for six months. I am under the
impression that he wrote to her and she to him. The thrust in his
arm, which would otherwise have been of small moment, his own decisive
act had converted into a rather bad open wound, and, as it healed very
slowly, under advice he resigned from the army and for a time remained
in Paris, where we were much together. In December he left for Italy.
I was not surprised to receive in the spring an invitation to the
marriage of the two actors in this notable affair. I ought to add that
Le Moyne lost his place in the Foreign Office, but, being of an
influential family, was later employed in the diplomatic service.

Circumstances, as Alphonse remarked, made it desirable for him to
disappear. Merton was additionally generous and my valet married and
became the prosperous master of a well-known restaurant in New York.

XVI

Late in 1868 Merton rejoined the army, and I did not see him again
until in 1869, when I was American minister at The Hague. In June of
that year Colonel and Mrs. Merton became my guests. When I told Mrs.
Merton that Count le Moyne was the French ambassador in Holland, she
said to her husband:

"I told you we should meet, and really I should like to tell him how
sorry I was for him."

"I fancy," said I, "that the count will hardly think a return to that
little corner of history desirable."

"Even," said Merton, laughing, "with the belated consolation of the
penitence of successful crime."

"But I am not, I never was penitent. I was only sorry."

"Well," said I, "you will never have the chance to confess your
regret."

I was wrong. A week later the countess left cards for my guests, and
an invitation to dine followed. If Merton hesitated, Mrs. Merton did
not, and expecting to find a large official dinner, we agreed among us
that the count had been really generous and that we must all accept.
In fact, if Mrs. Merton might be embarrassed by meeting in his own
house the man she had so seriously injured, Merton and I were at ease,
seeing that we were entirely unknown to the count as having been
receivers of the property which so mysteriously disappeared.

We were met by the count and Madame le Moyne with the utmost
cordiality. To my surprise, there were no other guests. All of those
thus brought together may have felt just enough the awkwardness of the
occasion to make them quick to aid one another in dispersing the
slight feeling of aloofness natural to a s