“He sent Anna’s portrait, and mine. He offered either of us in marriage. To give him peace we had consented to this. I--I was the one selected; but the reward was, apparently, not great enough for Balmacenso.” “Not great enough!” “He wanted money as well.” The truth flashed upon Kenyon. “And that was his price--that check that you gave me in the cab?” “Yes,” she answered, almost in a whisper. His eyes searched her face for a space. Heavens! Balmacenso must have been a fool as well as a knave. “What sort of a portrait of you was it that was sent him?” asked Kenyon. “A very good one.” “It couldn’t have been,” disagreed he, briefly. Then he took a folded slip of paper from his pocket. Opening it he said: “Then Hong Yo signed the checks for Austin & Co.?” “Either he or Mr. Forrester.” Kenyon touched one end of the slip to a flame that shot up from the grate. In an instant the check was in ashes. [Illustration: KENYON TOUCHED ONE END OF THE SLIP TO A FLAME] “I don’t want anything to boot,” said he. “You are enough for me.” “Oh!” She was upon her feet quickly, startled. “Wait!” He, also, arose, and stood before her, very calmly, and quite master of himself once more. “The man who so deceived your guardian and impersonated me was an unscrupulous villain. But he showed a taste that I would not have credited him with.” She made an involuntary movement away from him; he put out his hand as though to touch her, but let it fall without doing so. “It is not often,” he said, “that a man has another select his wife for him, and without his knowing anything about it.” He waited for an answer; but as none came he proceeded: “But more seldom still, when it does occur, is the right girl selected.” Again he paused, and still there was silence. “I would not have allowed this man to select a sword blade for me. I would not have had sufficient confidence in him. And yet he has selected for me the one woman in the world whom I would make my wife.” One step took him to her side, and he looked down into her face. “Will you?” asked he. “Are you--are you sure that you want me?” she whispered. And the next instant she was in his arms and his first kiss was upon her lips. THE END. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original.