"
"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.
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