A few weeks later, when the Professor had sufficiently recovered to resume his normal occupations, Mary the parlourmaid announced to him that a lady and gentleman wished to see him on business. They proved to be Ted and Ivy, very shy, and apparently wholly unable to express the object of their visit. At last, by strenuous efforts, the Professor and Harold between them got Ted to the point. “It’s like this, sir,” he said. “You know all about that will of Mr. Lud——, Dr. Morlandson’s, I should say, sir.” “Yes, I know all about it,” replied the Professor. “I must congratulate you upon receiving some compensation at least for that man’s crimes.” “I’m sure it’s very good of you, sir,” said Ted, obviously ill at ease. “We were wondering—that is, Miss Tovey and myself, sir, seeing that we’re not so to speak familiar with these lawyer folk—if you’d be so good as to help us, sir.” “Help you? Of course I will help you to the best of my ability,” replied the Professor heartily. “What is it that you want me to do for you?” The direct question was too much for Ted, who flushed scarlet and stammered feebly. It was Ivy who stepped into the breach. “We want to arrange that our shares should be put together in one lump, Dr. Priestley,” she said. “We don’t either of us quite know how to ask about it. I think it could be managed, don’t you?” The Professor’s eyes twinkled. “I feel sure it could,” he replied. “That is, of course, if there were a sufficiently good reason for such a procedure.” Ivy suddenly became intensely interested in the pattern of the carpet. “There is a—a very good reason,” she said, in a voice hardly above a whisper. The Professor glanced from one to the other and smiled with the smile of an old man who has not yet lost his sympathy with the dreams of youth. “Will you tell me the reason, Miss Tovey?” he asked. “We’re going to get married,” replied Ivy, blushing prettily. The End Transcriber’s Notes This transcription follows the text of the edition published by A. L. Burt Company in 1928. The following alterations have been made to correct what are believed to be unambiguous printing errors: * Five occurrences of invalid quotation marks have been corrected; * “Cooperdock” has been changed to “Copperdock” (Chapter IV); * “pleny” has been changed to “plenty” (Chapter VI); * “antangible” has been changed to “intangible” (Chapter IX); * “his his” has been changed to “his” (Chapter IX); * “might might” has been changed to “might” (Chapter XVII); * “conemned” has been changed to “condemned” (Chapter XXIII).