Our hero stared.
"Then he has met with other losses?"
"Yes, sir."
"It is possible I can aid you in this other matter."
"No, no, the grave has closed over the one object that would have made my master's heart glad. He is an old man—will soon go to the grave himself—and with him ends the male line of the great and ancient house of Prince ——."
Our hero's heart stood still, and strange, wild thoughts flashed through his mind. He did not speak of certain facts at that moment, nor did he make further inquiries. He had the one business on hand. He said:
"We have the robbers. It will be necessary for you to communicate with the Italian consul-general and proceed in a regular and legal manner to secure the extradition of the criminals."
"Yes, I will proceed at once."
The occurrences of the succeeding two weeks would not interest our readers, as our hero's time and attention were devoted to the furnishing of the evidence that was needed to extradite the robbers. As good luck would have it, at the last moment, as is often the case, one of the men "squeaked," as the vulgar professional saying has it; that is, made a full confession implicating every one of his late pals. Then the road was clear and our hero met the representative by appointment to receive his reward and payment for services. Oscar was not unmindful of the assistance he had received from Caroline Metti and she received a handsome sum as her share, and she did not refuse it, for under the advice of our hero she had determined upon her future course.
Having settled the matter as concerned Caroline Metti our hero said: