He was quite sincere in this statement, for beyond a few perfunctory efforts to trace the missing girl the Aubrey-Blythes had appeared piously resigned to the decree of a discerning Providence which had seen fit to remove so disturbing an element from their midst. Still it was annoying, not to say intolerable, to have one's acquaintances at the club and elsewhere preface their ordinary remarks with the query "Found your niece yet, Blythe?" or "Hear you've a deuced unhappy mystery to unravel at your house," with an occasional dubious reference to the morgue and the workhouse. So it was with genuine relief and pleasure that Mr. Aubrey-Blythe learned of the speedy and successful _dénouement_ of Mr. Towle's foreign adventures. "I am shocked and--er--grieved at what you tell me of the girl's present position," he added, with genuine mortification depicted upon his rotund countenance. "An _Aubrey-Blythe_ in a _kitchen_--actually _working_ with her _hands_! Preposterous, Towle, preposterous! I shall at once take steps to remove her." "Hum--ah," murmured Mr. Towle; "better leave her where she is for a while longer." "What is that you are saying?" inquired the other fussily. "No, no; that would never do, Towle--never in the world! Bless my soul; what will my wife, Lady Agatha Aubrey-Blythe, say to all this! Really, Towle, I dislike to disturb her ladyship with the shocking intelligence." "I beg that you will not inform her of it," Mr. Towle said, rather sharply. "There is nothing to be gained by doing so, and much to be lost." "The girl has never been a favorite with Lady Agatha," observed Mr. Aubrey-Blythe. "They seem to be--er--totally uncongenial." "I can quite believe that," said the other dryly. He stared hard at his friend in silence for some minutes before he spoke again. "I believe you--er--informed me that your niece, Miss Jane Aubrey-Blythe, was-- That is to say, you gave me to understand that she was entirely without fortune. Am I correct in this--er--particular?" "And I," burst out Mr. Aubrey-Blythe, "understood you to say that the fact made no difference in your--ah-- But, I beg your pardon, Towle; of course this--er--unfortunate escapade of the girl's ends all that--of course, of course! I shouldn't have spoken as I did." "You misunderstand me, Robert," said Mr. Towle patiently. "My sentiments toward Miss Blythe are entirely unchanged; quite so, in fact. What I wished to say is this: I should like to settle some money on Miss Blythe, and--er--I don't know how to go about it. You must advise me, Robert." "You would like to settle some money! Yes, I see; but this is no time to talk of marriage settlements, my dear fellow, with the girl in America, and----"