"I want to marry her," he declared.
Van Teyl learned back in his chair and gazed at his vis-a-vis in blank astonishment.
"You must be a damned fool, Fischer!" he exclaimed.
"You think so?" was the unruffled reply. "I wonder why?"
"I'll tell you why, if you want to know," Van Teyl continued bluntly. "I know of four of the richest and best-looking young men in America, two ambassadors, an English peer, and an Italian prince, who have proposed to Pamela during the last twelve months alone. She refused every one of them."
"Well," Fischer remarked, "she must marry some time."
Van Teyl looked at him insolently.
"I shouldn't think you'd have a dog's chance," he pronounced.
There was a little glitter behind Fischer's spectacles.
"Up till now," he admitted smoothly, "I have not been fortunate. I must confess, however, that I was hoping for your good offices."