"Well, papa says he must see you. He has fought duels in his day, and he thinks you a splendid shot; but it was naughty of you to fight without consulting me. He might have killed you."
Fernando was now the happiest man on earth.
"Miss Lane, don't think because I did not consult you, I did not think of you. You were in my mind as much as any other person at that trying ordeal, unless it was my mother."
"Oh, don't grow sentimental. Now that it is all over and not much harm done, let us laugh at it;--but I want to scold you."
"Why?"
"You did not obey me on that night. I told you to drink no more wine, and after I left, you drank too much, which provoked the quarrel."
Fernando, who really had no clear idea of the subject-matter of the quarrel, answered:
"I plead guilty, Miss Lane, to being disobedient. Forgive me, and I promise to make amends in the future. Do you know him, Lieutenant Matson?"
"Know Lieutenant Matson? Certainly I do; I have known him for four years. Father has known him longer."
[Illustration: "YOU SURRENDER EASILY.">[