"Is it possible!" I cried in surprise. "Let me congratulate thee. She is a lovely girl, and I have no doubt is as amiable as she is beautiful. Dame Fortune has indeed smiled upon thee," and I shook his hand heartily. "Thank thee," he replied. "We were thrown together a great deal during the voyage, and I grew to know and love her for her courage and beauty. We came a short distance in the pirate ship, and then they transferred us to a Spanish merchant vessel in which we went to Cadiz. I found there that I had lost something of value--my heart--and that a Spanish maiden was the finder. What could I do but ask her to give me back hers in exchange? She consented, and we were married there, and then we came on to England. She had a good deal of property, and with it we have bought a splendid home in the country, where we live most of the time, and I am as happy as a king. "Often have we talked of thee, and have wondered whether thou wert still alive or not. Twice have I set sail to find thy whereabouts, and each time have been driven back. Once by shipwreck, in which I narrowly escaped with my life; the second time we sailed out into the west for two months, but finally we had to give up the search and come back, as I had no idea where thou wert." "And where is Mistress Steele?" I said. "Is she in London?" "No," he replied. "She is in Hampshire. I grieve that she is not here, for I know that she would wish to see thee." "And didst thou give my message to the Lady Margaret Carroll?" I asked. "And if so, what did she say?" "Yes," he replied, his face brightening. "I gave it into the hands of the fair lady herself. She blushed as prettily as the dawn, and wept when I told her the situation in which I had left thee; and her eye kindled as I related how thou hadst given thy life into the hands of the Count DeNortier that an unknown Spanish maid might go free. When I had finished, she said no word, only sat in silence for a moment, and then she raised her head, and I saw her bonny blue eyes were full of tears. 'He is the knightliest gentleman that I have ever known,' she said softly, and then she gave me this trinket." He took from the pocket of his doublet a little gold pin and held it out to me. "I would ask a favor of thee," I said, as I took the little ornament in my hands. "Once thou didst think thyself under some little obligation to me. Wouldst thou cancel the debt?" "If I could," he replied. "Ask anything in my power and I will do it." "Tis a simple thing," I said. "I would only ask thee for this pin." "It is thine," he replied. "I saved it for thee, should I ever see thee again, for I guessed that thou wouldst wish for it. The lady loves thee," he said, his eyes upon my face.