When Mr. Talbot had entered the house, Dan was not far off. Later, he saw him at the window with Virginia.
"I suppose that's his young lady," thought Dan. "All right! I guess he's safe for this evening."
CHAPTER XVIII. TWO KNIGHTS OF THE HIGHWAY.
Stocks took an upward turn, so that Talbot's brokers were willing to carry them for him longer without an increase of margin. The market looked so uncertain, however, that he decided to sell, though he only made himself whole. To escape loss hardly satisfied him, when it was so essential to make money.
He was deeply in love with Virginia Conway, but there was no hope of obtaining her consent to a marriage unless he could raise money enough to gratify her desires.
How should he do it?
He was returning to his boarding-house at a late hour one night, when, in an unfrequented street, two figures advanced upon him from the darkness, and, while one seized him by the throat, the other rifled his pockets.
Talbot was not a coward, and having only a few dollars in his pocket-book, while his watch, luckily, was under repair at Tiffany's, he submitted quietly to the examination.