"Do you wish me to introduce you?"

"Oh, hang it! Be serious, Essington. The point
is--will she marry me if she does know me?"

"Himmel! Yes, certainly!" cried the Baron.

"Who is she?" asked their host, more seriously.

"Her father is Darius P. Maddison, the American
Silver King."

The other two could not withhold an exclamation.

"He has only two children, a son and a daughter, and
he wants to marry his daughter to an English peer--or
a Scotch, it's all the same. My aunt knows 'em pretty
well, and she has recommended me."

"An excellent selection," commented his host.

"But the trouble is, they want rather a high-class
peer. Old Maddison is deuced particular, and I believe
the girl is even worse."

"What are the qualifications desired?"

"Oh, he's got to be ambitious, and a promising young
man--and elevated tastes--and all that kind of nonsense."