"Not a bad idea, Mr. Merton," said the Colonel, with his baleful grin. "You are the young warrior who rescues the damsel from the giant's castle, and in gratitude the damsel--though she did not care for him before--of course bestows her hand on him, and they live happy ever after." "No, by my solemn soul, no! In all human probability I shall never set eyes upon Miss Stafford again; but I should like to know that some honest man's home was cheered by her presence, some honest man's children called her mother, although such happiness is not in store for me." "Look here, Mr. Merton," said the Colonel. "I have let you run on to a certain length without interrupting you, because you explained at once that you wished to talk off straight away. But I think now I must pull you up, if you please. You have made out a very pretty story, hanging well together, and that kind of thing; and I have not contradicted you because I am not in the habit of lying, and I don't choose to stoop even to what is called prevarication. So, supposing we take all this for granted, I say to you, 'Why don't you speak to the young lady herself? The matter rests with her; it is she who has to decide it.' I shall not appear in George Street with a band of freebooters to carry her off, nor will she be seized upon by any men in black masks as she walks home to her lodgings. This is the latter half of the nineteenth century, when such actions are not common. A simple Yes or No is all she has to say, and the affair is entirely in her hands." "I told you at once that I did not deny your perspicacity in reading character. You showed it in your selection of my sister as your agent; you show it further in your selection of Miss Stafford"--here John Merton's voice sank to a whisper, and he spoke through his teeth--"to be what you propose to make her. You know that you have exactly gauged the mind and temperament of this girl; that, strong-minded in some things, she is weak in others; vain, too sensitive and too refined for the people with whom she is brought into contact, and longing for luxuries which, while they are denied to her, she sees other people enjoy." "I must reciprocate your compliment about the knowledge of character, Mr. Merton," said the Colonel; "your description of Miss Stafford appears to me quite exact." "Knowing this, you know equally well," continued John Merton, "that she is the style of person to be caught by the temptations which you have thought fit to offer her; you know perfectly well that her hesitation in deciding on your proposition is simply caused by the small remnants of the influence of proper bringing-up and self-respect struggling with her wishes and inclinations." "If Miss Stafford's wishes and inclinations prompt her to do what I am asking her to do, I really cannot see why I should be expected to consent to thwart them and upset my own plans."