"When I asked him, he said that he wished you to marry Random, who is
rich. I pointed out that you loved me and not Random, and that Random
was on a yachting cruise, while I was on the spot. He then said that he
could not wait for the return of Random, and would give me a chance."
"What did he mean by that?"
"Well, it seems that he was in a hurry to get this Green Mummy from
Malta, as he feared lest some other person should snap it up. This was
two months ago, remember, and Professor Braddock wanted the cash at
once. Had Random been here he could have supplied it, but as Random was
away he told me that if I handed over one thousand pounds to purchase
the mummy, that he would permit our engagement now, and our marriage in
six months. I saw my chance and took it, for your step-father has always
been an obstacle in our path, Lucy, dear. In a week Professor Braddock
had the money, as I sold out some of my investments to get it. He then
sent Bolton to Malta in a tramp steamer for the sake of cheapness, and
now expects him back with the Green Mummy."
"Has Sidney bought it?"
"Yes. He got it for nine hundred pounds, the Professor told me, and is
bringing it back in The Diver--that's the same tramp steamer in which
he went to Malta. So that's the whole story, and you can see there is
no question of you being bought. The thousand pounds went to get your
father's consent."
"He is not my father," snapped Lucy, finding nothing else to say.
"You call him so."
"That is only from habit. I can't call him Mr. Braddock, or Professor
Braddock, when I live with him, so `father' is the sole mode of address
left to me. And after all," she added, taking her lover's arm, "I
like the Professor; he is very kind and good, although extremely
absent-minded. And I am glad he has consented, for he worried me a lot
to marry Sir Frank Random. I am glad you bought me."
"But I didn't," cried the exasperated lover.
"I think you did, and you shouldn't have diminished your income by
buying what you could have had for nothing."
Archie shrugged his shoulders. It was vain to combat her fixed idea.
"I have still three hundred a year left. And you were worth buying."