"May I inquire what is your reply?" asked Arundel.
"How canst thou doubt? Surely, where honor and good deeds invite, no true knight can turn back."
"I am to understand, then, that you have accepted the office of mediator?"
"I have accepted the trust, hoping that good may grow out thereof."
"And when is it you purpose to depart?"
"Incontinently. The matter brooks no delay."
"Then have I a petition to prefer, which, I hope, will meet with the same favor as the Governor's. Let me attend thee on this journey."
The suddenness of the request appeared to embarrass the Knight for an instant; but it was only for an instant.
"Hast thou fully considered," he asked, "the perils whereunto thou dost expose thy young life? What would be the condition of Eveline Dunning shouldst thou never return?"
"My life is not more valuable than thine, and the situation of Eveline would be no worse than that of thine own relative."