was that every post from London bore urgent
demands for money, and that the future held possibilities which he did
not care to contemplate. He was in the unfortunate position of having
numerous pensioners to support, men and women who had served him in
various ways and whose approval, but what was more important, whose
loyalty, depended largely upon the regularity of their payments.

"I shall gamble or do something desperate," he said with a frown.
"Unless you can bring off a coup that will produce twenty thousand
pounds of ready money we are going to get into all kinds of trouble,
Jean."

"Do you think I don't know that?" she asked contemptuously. "It is
because of this urgent need of money that I have taken a step which I
hate."

He listened in amazement whilst she told him what she had done to
relieve her pressing needs.

"We are getting deeper and deeper into Mordon's hands," he said, shaking
his head. "That is what scares me at times."

"You needn't worry about Mordon," she smiled. Her smile was a little
hard. "Mordon and I are going to be married."

She was examining the toe of her shoe attentively as she spoke, and Mr.
Briggerland leapt to his feet.

"What!" he squeaked. "Marry a chauffeur? A fellow I picked out of the
gutter? You're mad! The fellow is a rascal who has earned the guillotine
time and time again."

"Who hasn't?" she asked, looking up.

"It is incredible! It's madness!" he said. "I had no idea----" he
stopped for want of breath.

Mordon was becoming troublesome. She had known that better than her
father.

"It was after the 'accident' that didn't happen that he began to get a
little tiresome," she said. "You say we are getting deeper and deeper
into his hands? Well, he hinted as much, and I did not like it. When he
began to get a little loving I accepted that way out as an easy
alternative to a very unpleasant exposure. Whether he would have
betrayed us I don't know; probably he would."

Mr. Briggerland's face was dark.

"When is this interesting event to take place?"

"My marriage? In two months, I think. When is Easter? That class of
person always wants to be married at Easter. I asked him to keep our
secret and not to mention it to you, and I should not have spoken now if
you had not referred to the obligation we were under."

"In two months?" Mr. Briggerland nodded. "Let me know when you want this
to end, Jean," he said.

"It will end almost immediately. Please do not troub