. "When will you
want to start?"

"He doesn't care whether he sails this evening or to-morrow morning."

"Well, we will say to-morrow morning at daybreak."

"Where will you land him?"

"At Cherbourg or one of the villages near; most likely at Cherbourg if the
coast is clear, for I have friends there who work with me."

They went to an hotel for the night. In the morning Will gave Lucien a
small package containing a very handsome gold watch and chain which he had
bought in London.

"Give this to Marie from me," he said; "I promised that she should have
one for her wedding-day. Here are a thousand francs of French money, which
will carry you comfortably from Cherbourg to Verdun and give you a bit of
a start there. No, you need not refuse it, I am a rich man, and can afford
it without in the least hurting myself. Give my love to Marie," he said,
"and tell her that I shall never forget her kindness."

Lucien was profuse in his gratitude, but Will cut him short by hurrying
him down to the boat, which was lying at the quay with her sails already
hoisted. Will watched the boat till it was well out to sea, and then took
the next coach back to London, filled with pleasure that he had been able
to carry out his plan and to repay the kindness that Marie had shown him.

He had given Lucien the address of his London agent, so that on his
arrival at Verdun he could write him a letter saying how he had fared, and
when he and Marie were to be married. This letter he received on his
return from the next cruise. It contained the warmest thanks of Marie and
her lover, and the information that they were to be married the following
week, and that the young man had an offer of good employment in the town.

When he reached London, Will obtained the address of a respectable
solicitor, and called upon him to ask his advice as to advertising to try
to discover a family bearing the arms on his seal.

"I should advise you," the lawyer said, "to leave the matter until you
return from sea again. Questions of this sort always require a good deal
of time to answer. You would have to be present to give information, and
when the matter is taken up it should be pressed through vigorously. Of
course there would be difficulties to face. The mere fact of this seal
being in the possession of your father, that is, if he was your father,
would not be sufficient to prove his identity, and there would be all
sorts of investigations to make, which would