TheDukeofDatchet，comingoutofthebank，lingeredforamomentonthesteps。Inonehandhecarriedacanvasbagwhichseemedwellweighted。Onhiscountenancetherewasanexpressionwhichtoacasualobservermighthavesuggestedthathisgracewasnotcompletelyathisease。Thatcasualobserverhappenedtocomestrollingby。IttooktheformofIvorDacre。
　　Mr。DacrelookedtheDukeofDatchetupanddowninthatlanguidwayhehas。Heperceivedthecanvasbag。Thenheremarked，possiblyintendingtobefacetious:
　　“Beenrobbingthebank？ShallIcallacart？“
　　NobodymindswhatIvorDacresays。Besides，heistheduke’sowncousin。Perhapsalittleremoved；still，thereitis。Sothedukesmiledasicklysmile，asifMr。Dacre’sdelicatewithadgivenhimapassingtouchofindigestion。
　　Mr。Dacrenoticedthatthedukelookedsallow，sohegavehisprettysenseofhumoranotherairing。
　　“Kitchenboilerburst？WhenIsawtheduchessjustnowIwonderedifithad。“
　　Hisgracedistinctlystarted。Healmostdroppedthecanvasbag。
　　“Yousawtheduchessjustnow，Ivor！When？“
　　Thedukewasevidentlymoved。Mr。Dacrewasstirredtolanguidcuriosity。“Ican’tsayIclockedit。Perhapshalfanhourago；
　　perhapsalittlemore。“
　　“Halfanhourago！Areyousure？Wheredidyouseeher？“
　　Mr。Dacrewondered。TheDuchessofDatchetcouldscarcelyhavebeenelopinginbroaddaylight。Moreover，shehadnotyetbeenmarriedayear。Everyoneknewthatsheandthedukewerestillasfondofeachotherasiftheywerenotmanandwife。So，althoughtheduke，forsomecauseorother，wasevidentlyinanoddstateofagitation，Mr。Dacresawnoreasonwhyheshouldnotmakeacleanbreastofallheknew。
　　“Shewasgoinglikeblazesinahansomcab。“
　　“Inahansomcab？Where？“
　　“DownWaterlooPlace。“
　　“Wasshealone？“
　　Mr。Dacrereflected。Heglancedatthedukeoutofthecornersofhiseyes。Hislanguidutterancebecameapositivedrawl。
　　“Iratherfancythatshewasn’t。“
　　“Whowaswithher？“
　　“Mydearfellow，ifyouweretooffermethebankIcouldn’ttellyou。“
　　“Wasitaman？“
　　Mr。Dacre’sdrawlbecamestillmorepronounced。
　　“Iratherfancythatitwas。“
　　Mr。Dacreexpectedsomething。Thedukewassoexcited。Buthebynomeansexpectedwhatactuallycame。
　　“Ivor，she’sbeenkidnaped！“
　　Mr。Dacredidwhathehadneverbeenknowntodobeforewithinthememoryofman——hedroppedhiseyeglass。
　　“Datchet！“
　　“Shehas！Somescoundrelhasdecoyedheraway，andtrappedher。
　　He’salreadysentmealockofherhair，andhetellsmethatifI
　　don’tlethimhavefivehundredpoundsingoldbyhalf-pastfivehe’llletmehaveherlittlefinger。“
　　Mr。Dacredidnotknowwhattomakeofhisgraceatall。Hewasasoberman——itCOULDN’Tbethat！Mr。Dacrefeltreallyconcerned。
　　“I’llcallacab，oldman，andyou’dbetterletmeseeyouhome。“
　　Mr。Dacrehalfraisedhissticktohailapassinghansom。Thedukecaughthimbythearm。
　　“Youass！Whatdoyoumean？Iamtellingyouthesimpletruth。
　　Mywife’sbeenkidnaped。“
　　Mr。Dacre’scountenancewasathingtobeseen——andremembered。
　　“Oh！Ihadn’theardthattherewasmuchofthatsortofthingaboutjustnow。Theytalkofpoodlesbeingkidnaped，butasforduchesses——You’dreallybetterletmecallthatcab。“
　　“Ivor，doyouwantmetokickyou？Don’tyouseethattomeit’saquestionoflifeanddeath？I’vebeenintheretogetthemoney。“
　　Hisgracemotionedtowardthebank。“I’mgoingtotakeittothescoundrelwhohasmydarlingathismercy。Letmebuthaveherhandinmineagain，andheshallcontinuetopayforeverysovereignwithtearsofblooduntilhedies。“
　　“Lookhere，Datchet，Idon’tknowifyou’rehavingajokewithme，orifyou’renotwell——“
　　Thedukesteppedimpatientlyintotheroadway。
　　“Ivor，you’reafool！Can’tyoutelljestfromearnest，healthfromdisease？I’moff！Areyoucomingwithme？ItwouldbeaswellthatIshouldhaveawitness。“
　　“Whereareyouoffto？“
　　“TotheotherendoftheArcade。“
　　“Whoisthegentlemanyouexpecttohavethepleasureofmeetingthere？“
　　“HowshouldIknow？“Theduketookaletterfromhispocket——itwastheletterwhichhadjustarrived。“Thefellowistowearawhitetophat，andagardeniainhisbuttonhole。“
　　“Whatisityouhavethere？“
　　“It’stheletterwhichbroughtthenews——lookforyourselfandsee；
　　but，forGod’ssake，makehaste！“Hisgraceglancedathiswatch。
　　“It’salreadytwentyafterfive。“
　　“Anddoyoumeantosaythatonthestrengthofalettersuchasthisyouaregoingtohandoverfivehundredpoundsto——“
　　ThedukecutMr。Dacreshort。
　　“Whatarefivehundredpoundstome？Besides，youdon’tknowall。
　　Thereisanotherletter。AndIhaveheardfromMabel。ButIwilltellyouallaboutitlater。Ifyouarecoming，come！“
　　Foldinguptheletter，Mr。Dacrereturnedittotheduke。
　　“Asyousay，whatarefivehundredpoundstoyou？It’saswelltheyarenotasmuchtoyouastheyaretome，orI’mafraid——“
　　“Hangit，Ivor，doproseafterwards！“
　　Thedukehurriedacrosstheroad。Mr。Dacrehastenedafterhim。
　　AstheyenteredtheArcadetheypassedaconstable。Mr。Dacretouchedhiscompanion’sarm。
　　“Don’tyouthinkwe’dbetteraskourfriendinbluetowalkbehindus？Hisneighborhoodmightbehandy。“
　　“Nonsense！“Thedukestoppedshort。“Ivor，thisismyaffair，notyours。Ifyouarenotcontenttoplaythepartofsilentwitness，besogoodastoleaveme。“
　　“MydearDatchet，I’mentirelyatyourservice。Icanbeeverywhitasinsaneasyou，Idoassureyou。“
　　SidebysidetheymovedrapidlydowntheBurlingtonArcade。Thedukewasobviouslyinastateoftheextremestnervoustension。
　　Mr。Dacrewasequallyobviouslyinastateofthemostsupremeenjoyment。Peoplestaredastheyrushedpast。Thedukesawnothing。Mr。Dacresaweverything，andsmiled。
　　WhentheyreachedthePiccadillyendoftheArcadethedukepulledup。Helookedabouthim。Mr。Dacrealsolookedabouthim。
　　“Iseenothingofyourwhite-hattedandgardenia-buttonholedfriend，“saidIvor。
　　Thedukereferredtohiswatch。
　　“It’snotyethalf-pastfive。I’muptotime。“
　　Mr。Dacreheldhisstickinfrontofhimandleanedonit。Heindulgedhimselfwithabeatificsmile。
　　“Itstrikesme，mydearDatchet，thatyou’vebeenthevictimofoneofthefinestthingsinhoaxes——“
　　“IhopeIhaven’tkeptyouwaiting。“
　　ThevoicewhichinterruptedMr。Dacrecamefromtherear。Whiletheywerelookinginfrontofthemsomeoneapproachedthemfrombehind，apparentlycomingoutoftheshopwhichwasattheirbacks。
　　Thespeakerlookedagentleman。Hesoundedlikeone，too。
　　Costume，appearance，manner，werebeyondreproach——evenbeyondthecriticismoftwosuchkeencriticsaswerethese。ThegloriousattireofaLondondandywassurmountedwithabeautifulwhitetophat。Inhisbuttonholewasamagnificentgardenia。
　　Inagethestrangerwasscarcelymorethanaboy，andasunny-
　　faced，handsomeboyatthat。Hischeekswerehairless，hiseyeswereblue。Hissmilewasnotonlyinnocent，itwasbland。NeverwasthereamoreconspicuousillustrationofthatreposewhichstampsthecasteofVeredeVere。
　　Thedukelookedathimandglowered。Mr。Dacrelookedathimandsmiled。
　　“Whoareyou？“askedtheduke。
　　“Ah——thatisthequestion！“Thenewcomer’srefinedandmusicalvoicebreathedtheverysoulofaffability。“Iamanindividualwhoissounfortunateastobeinwantoffivehundredpounds。“
　　“Areyouthescoundrelwhosentmethatinfamousletter？“
　　Thecharmingstrangerneverturnedahair。
　　“IamthescoundrelmentionedinthatinfamousletterwhowantstoaccostyouatthePiccadillyendoftheBurlingtonArcadebeforehalf-pastfive——aswitnessmywhitehatandmygardenia。“
　　“Where’smywife？“
　　Thestrangergentlyswunghisstickinfrontofhimwithhistwohands。Heregardedthedukeasamerry-heartedsonmightregardhisfather。Thethingwasbeautiful！
　　“Hergracewillbehomealmostassoonasyouare——whenyouhavegivenmethemoneywhichIperceiveyouhaveallreadyformeinthatscarcelyelegant-lookingcanvasbag。“Heshruggedhisshouldersquitegracefully。“Unfortunately，inthesemattersonehasnochoice——oneisforcedtoaskforgold。“
　　“Andsuppose，insteadofgivingyouwhatisinthiscanvasbag，I
　　takeyoubythethroatandchoketheliferightoutofyou？“
　　“Orsuppose，“amendedMr。Dacre，“thatyoudobetter，andcommendthisgentlemantothetendermerciesofthefirstpolicemanweencounter。“
　　ThestrangerturnedtoMr。Dacre。Hecondescendedtobecomeconsciousofhispresence。
　　“Isthisgentlemanyourgrace’sfriend？Ah——Mr。Dacre，Iperceive！
　　IhavethehonorofknowingMr。Dacre，though，possibly，Iamunknowntohim。“
　　“Youwere——untilthismoment。“
　　Withanairylittlelaughthestrangerreturnedtotheduke。Hebrushedaninvisiblespeckofdustoffthesleeveofhiscoat。
　　“Ashasbeenintimatedinthatinfamousletter，hisgraceisatperfectlibertytogivemeintocustody——whynot？Only“——hesaiditwithhisboyishsmile——“ifaparticularcommunicationisnotreceivedfrommeincertainquarterswithinacertaintimetheDuchessofDatchet’sbeautifulwhitearmwillbehackedoffattheshoulder。“
　　“Youhound！“
　　Thedukewouldhavetakenthestrangerbythethroat，andhavedonehisbesttochoketheliferightoutofhimthenandthere，ifMr。
　　Dacrehadnotintervened。
　　“Steady，oldman！“Mr。Dacreturnedtothestranger。“Youappeartobeaprettysortofascoundrel。“
　　Thestrangergavehisshouldersthatalmostimperceptibleshrug。
　　“Oh，mydearDacre，Iaminwantofmoney！Ibelievethatyousometimesareinwantofmoney，too。“
　　EverybodyknowsthatnobodyknowswhereIvorDacregetshismoneyfrom，sotheallusionmusthavetickledhimimmensely。
　　“You’reacoolhand，“hesaid。
　　“Somemenarebornthatway。“
　　“SoIshouldimagine。Menlikeyoumustbeborn，notmade。“
　　“Precisely——asyousay！“Thestrangerturned，withhisgracefulsmile，totheduke:“Butarewenotwastingprecioustime？Icanassureyourgracethat，inthisparticularmatter，momentsareofvalue。“
　　Mr。Dacreinterposedbeforethedukecouldanswer。
　　“Ifyoutakemystronglyurgedadvice，Datchet，youwillsummonthisconstablewhoisnowcomingdowntheArcade，andhandthisgentlemanovertohiskeeping。Idonotthinkthatyouneedfearthattheduchesswillloseherarm，orevenherlittlefinger。
　　Scoundrelsofthisone’skidneyaremostamenabletoreasonwhentheyhavehandcuffsontheirwrists。“
　　Thedukeplainlyhesitated。Hewould——andhewouldnot。Thestranger，asheeyedhim，seemedmuchamused。
　　“Mydearduke，byallmeansactonMr。Dacre’svaluablesuggestion。
　　AsIsaidbefore，whynot？Itwouldatleastbeinterestingtoseeiftheduchessdoesordoesnotloseherarm——almostasinterestingtoyouastoMr。Dacre。Thoseblackmailing，kidnapingscoundrelsdousesuchemptymenaces。Besides，youwouldhavethepleasureofseeingmelockedup。Myimprisonmentforlifewouldrecompenseyouevenforthelossofhergrace’sarm。Andfivehundredpoundsissuchasumtohavetopay——merelyforawife！Whynot，therefore，actonMr。Dacre’ssuggestion？Herecomestheconstable。“Theconstablereferredtowasadvancingtowardthem——hewasnotadozenyardsaway。“Letmebeckontohim——Iwillwithpleasure。“Hetookouthiswatch——agoldchronographrepeater。“TherearescarcelytenminutesleftduringwhichitwillbepossibleformetosendthecommunicationwhichIspokeof，sothatitmayarriveintime。