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"Well, of all the hare-brained proposals I ever listened to, this takes the bun"; and Felix Muller adjusted his pince-nez and lay back in his chair and laughed softly. "But why hare-brained?" asked his companion, seriously. "Singular, I admit it may be; startling if you like, but I do not see that there is anything in it to laugh at." "You don't?" and the lawyer's face became suddenly grave. "Do you realise what your proposal implies?"

The voice was soft and musical, but the tone was imperative. "I say, young man, open that gate." The young man addressed turned slowly from the stile on which he had been leaning, and regarded the speaker attentively. She was seated on a high-stepping horse with that easy grace born of long familiarity with the saddle, and yet she seemed a mere girl, with soft round cheeks and laughing blue eyes. "Come, wake up," she said, in tones more imperious than before, "and open the gate at once."