Quass was glad when he saw the plump back of the cross little man, who so pertinaciously followed what everyone else had abandoned.
"Life was too short," grumbled Quass, "to be bothered in that way." The wooing of Archie and Lucy went on smoothly, and the Professor showed no sign of wishing to break the engagement.

But Hope, as he confided to Lucy, was somewhat worried, as his pauper uncle, on an insufficient borrowed capital, had begun to speculate in South African mines, and it was probable that he would lose all his money.

In that case Hope fancied he would be once more called upon to make good the avuncular loss, and so the marriage would have to be postponed.

But it so happened that the pauper uncle made some lucky speculative shots and acquired money, which he promptly reinvested in new mines of the wildcat description.

Still, for the moment all was well, and the lovers had a few halcyon days of peace and happiness.
Then came a bolt from the blue in the person of Captain Hervey, who called a fortnight after the funeral to see the Professor.