n house near East Orange, and described the place so he
could easily find it. The young man questioned her eagerly, but aside
from the information that the girl was well and uninjured she
vouchsafed no further comment.

It was enough, however. Arthur, in wild excitement, rushed to the
rescue.

CHAPTER XXI

THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

Madame Cerise, well knowing she had accelerated the march of events to a
two-step, calmly sat herself down in the little housekeeper's room off
the lower hall and, leaving Louise to her moody solitude upstairs,
awaited the inevitable developments.

Outside the weather was cold and blustering. The wind whirled its burden
of snowflakes in every direction with blinding, bewildering
impartiality. It was a bad day to be out, thought the old Frenchwoman;
but a snowstorm was not likely to deter an anxious lover. She calculated
the time it would take Monsieur Weldon to arrive at the mansion: if he
was prompt and energetic he could cover the distance in an hour and a
half by train or three hours by motor car. But he must prepare for the
journey, and that would consume some time; perhaps she need not expect
him within two hours at the earliest.

She read, to pass away the time, selecting a book from a shelf of
well-worn French novels. Somehow she did not care to face her tearful
prisoner again until she could restore the unhappy girl to the arms of
her true lover. There was still romance in the soul of Madame Cerise,
however withered her cheeks might be. She was very glad that at last she
had summoned courage to act according to the dictates of her heart.

Eh? What is this? A rumble of wheels over the frozen snow caused her to
glance at the clock above the mantel. Not by any possibility could
Monsieur Weldon arrive so soon. Who, then, could it be?

She sat motionless while the doorbell rang, and rang again. Nothing must
interfere with the pretty _denouement_ she had so fondly anticipated
when Louise's faithful knight came to her.

But the one who had just now alighted was persistent. The vehicle had
been sent away--she heard the sound of receding wheels--and the new
arrival wanted to get in. The bell jerked and jangled unceasingly for a
time and then came a crash against the door, as if a stalwart shoulder
was endeavoring to break it down.

Madame Cerise laid down her book, placed her _pince-nez_ in the case,
and slowly proceeded down the hall. The door shook with another powerful
im