d Prisoner of Love

repeat what I have already said, Mr. Gor- don. I want Kilmeny for my wife.”

The older man leaned forward and looked at the floor in a troubled fashion, drawing his bushy eyebrows down and tapping the calloused tips of his fingers together uneasily. He was evidently puz- zled by this unexpected turn of the con- versation, and in grave doubt what to say.

“What would your father say to all this, Master? ” he queried at last.

“ I have often heard my father say that a man must marry to please himself,” said Eric, with a smile. “ If he felt tempted to go back on that opinion I think the sight of Kilmeny would convert him. But, after all, it is what I say that matters in this case, isn’t it, Mr. Gordon? I am well educated and not afraid of work. I can make a home for Kilmeny in a few years even if I have to depend entirely on my own resources. Only give me the chance to win her—that is all I ask.”

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