Merwyn, having been on duty all day, obtained a leave of absence till the following morning, and, availing himself of his old device to save time and strength, went to a livery stable near the station-house and obtained a hack by payment of double the usual fare.  Mounting the box with the driver, and avoiding crowds, he was borne rapidly towards Mr. Vosburgh’s residence.  He was not only terribly exhausted, but also consumed with anxiety as to the safety of the girl who had never been absent long from his thoughts, even in moments of the fiercest conflict.

CHAPTER XLIX.

One facing hundreds.

The evening was growing dusky when Merwyn dismissed his carriage and hastened to Mr. Vosburgh’s residence.  Marian and her father had waited for him until their faces were clouded with anxiety by reason of his long delay.  The young girl’s attempt to dine with her father was but a formal pretence.

At last she exclaimed, “Something must have happened to Mr. Merwyn!”

“Do not entertain gloomy thoughts, my dear.  A hundred things besides an injury might have detained him.  Keep a good dinner ready, and I think he’ll do justice to it before the evening is over.”

Even then the German servant announced his presence at the basement door, which, in view of the disguises worn, was still used as the place of ingress and egress.

Mr. Vosburgh hastened to welcome him, while Marian bustled around to complete her preparations.  When he entered the dining-room he did indeed appear weary and haggard, a fair counterpart of the rioters whom he had been fighting.

“Only necessity, Miss Vosburgh, compels me to present myself in this scarecrow aspect,” he said.  “I’ve had no time or chance for anything better.  I can soon report to your father all that is essential, and then can go home and return later.”

“I shall be much hurt if you do so,” said Marian, reproachfully.  “I kept a lunch prepared for you during the afternoon, and now have a warm dinner all ready.  It will be very ungracious in you to go away and leave it.”

“But I look like a coal-heaver.”

“Oh, I’ve seen well-dressed men before.  They are no novelty; but a man direct from a field of battle is quite interesting.  Will you please take this chair?  You are not in the least like my other friends.  They obey me without questionings.”

“You must remember,” he replied, “that the relation is to me as new and strange as it is welcome.  I shall need a great deal of discipline.”

“When you learn what a martinet I can be you may repent, like many another who has obtained his wish.  Here we shall reverse matters.  Everything is topsy-turvy now, you know, so take this coffee at the beginning of your dinner.”

“I admit that your orders differ widely from those of police captains.”  Then he added, with quiet significance, “No; I shall not repent.”