"It was so important; and now that I could have more hope than
before."
It must not be presumed that the young man exulted over the reported
insolvency. He fervently prayed that Marguerite Verne should have
moral courage to bear up under the pressure of circumstances that
must necessarily follow, but he hoped that a life of usefulness
would be more acceptable than that of luxury hitherto enjoyed.
"If it were only in my power to pay off every farthing of those
enormous debts gladly I would do it for her sake though she might
never know who was her benefactor."
Such were the tenor of Mr. Lawson's thoughts as he advanced towards
Mr. Verne and received a hearty welcome--almost an ovation.
"Mr. Lawson, you cannot imagine how much I missed you, else you
surely could not have stayed so long!" exclaimed the host springing
from his chair like a boy of sixteen.
"Only five days in all, sir, since I was here."
"Five days!" cried Mr. Verne drawing his hand across his furrowed
forehead as if to gain clearer perception, "five days! dear me, it
seems like five months--five months."
Mr. Verne seemed for a moment or so to have forgotten that he had a
guest for he was lost in thought.
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