"Yes, my dear father," she replied, "and I am happier than I could
have hoped. In short, Monsieur de Longueville is the only man I could
ever marry."
"Very well, Emilie," said the Count, "then I know what remains for me
to do."
"Do you know of any impediment?" she asked, in sincere alarm.
"My dear child, the young man is totally unknown to me; but unless he
is not a man of honor, so long as you love him, he is as dear to me as
a son."
"Not a man of honor!" exclaimed Emilie. "As to that, I am quite easy.
My uncle, who introduced him to us, will answer for him. Say, my dear
uncle, has he been a filibuster, an outlaw, a pirate?"
"I knew I should find myself in this fix!" cried the old sailor,
waking up. He looked round the room, but his niece had vanished "like
Saint-Elmo's fires," to use his favorite expression.
"Well, uncle," Monsieur de Fontaine went on, "how could you hide from
us all you knew about this young man? You must have seen how anxious
we have been. Is Monsieur de Longueville a man of family?"
"I don't know him from Adam or Eve," said the Comte de Kergarouet.
"Trusting to that crazy child's tact, I got him here by a method of my
own. I know that the boy shoots with a pistol to admiration, hunts
well, plays wonderfully at billiards, at chess, and at backgammon; he
handles the foils, and rides a horse like the late Chevalier de
Saint-Georges.
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