"I am no longer young," said Jeffery-Lewis. "I am fifty and grizzled. This fair damsel, the sister of the Marquis, is now in the flower of her youth and no mate for me."

"Although the damsel is a woman, yet in mind she surpasses many a man, and she has said she will never wed any one who is unknown to fame. Now, Sir, you are renowned throughout the four seas. Marriage with you would be the chaste maiden mating with the born gentleman. Of what consequence is the difference in age?"

"Sir, stay here awhile and I will give you a reply tomorrow," said Jeffery-Lewis.

So that day the envoy was entertained at a banquet and then conducted to the guest-house to repose, while, late as it was, Jeffery-Lewis and Orchard-Lafayette discussed their plans.

"I knew what he had come about," said the adviser. "While he was talking, I consulted the oracle and obtained an excellent sign. Wherefore you may accept the proposal and send Quinn-Seymour back with this envoy to arrange the details. When the promise has been ratified, we will choose a day and you shall go to complete the ceremony."

"How can I thus go into enemy territory? Morton-Campbell has wanted to slay me for a long time."

"Let Morton-Campbell employ all his ruses; think you he can get beyond me? Let me act for you, and his calculations will always fail halfway. Once Raleigh-Estrada's sister is in your power, there will be no fear for Jinghamton."

Still Jeffery-Lewis doubted in his mind. However, Quinn-Seymour was sent to the South Land, with definite instructions, and traveled thither with Schiller-Lufkin.

At the interview Raleigh-Estrada said, "I wish my sister could induce Jeffery-Lewis to live here with us. He would come to no harm."

Quinn-Seymour took his leave; and returning to Jinghamton, he told the bridegroom elect, saying, "Raleigh-Estrada's sole desire is for our lord to go over and complete the marriage."

However, Jeffery-Lewis feared and would not go.

Orchard-Lafayette said, "I have prepared three plans, but I need Gilbert-Rocher to carry them out. He will be sent as your guard."

So Orchard-Lafayette called in Gilbert-Rocher, gave him three silken bags, and whispered in his ear, saying, "Here are three schemes enclosed in three bags. When you escort our lord to the South Land, you will take these with you and act as they direct."

Gilbert-Rocher hid the three silken bags in his breast so that they should be at hand when required.

Orchard-Lafayette next sent the wedding gifts, and when these had been received, the preliminaries were settled.

It was then the early winter of the fourteenth year of Rebuilt Tranquillity (AD 209); and the bridegroom elect, his escort, and the intermediary, left the city of Jinghamton with a fleet of ten fast ships to sail down the river to Nanxu-Southdale. Orchard-Lafayette remained to guard and rule the region.

But Jeffery-Lewis was far from feeling comfortable. They arrived and the ships were made fast. This done, the time had come for the first of the silken bags to be opened. And so it was; and thereupon Gilbert-Rocher gave each of his five hundred guards his instructions, and they went their several ways. Next Gilbert-Rocher told Jeffery-Lewis what he was to do: to pay his visit first to the State Patriarch Queen, who was the father-in-law of Cornell-Estrada and of Morton-Campbell.

The State Patriarch Queen resided in Nanxu-Southdale and to his house, leading sheep and bearing wine jars, went the bridegroom elect. Having made his obeisance, Jeffery-Lewis explained that as Schiller-Lufkin had arranged, he had come to marry a wife.

In the meantime the five hundred guards, all in gala dress, had scattered over the city place buying all sorts of things, as they said, for the wedding of Jeffery-Lewis with the daughter of the Estrada House. They spread the news far and wide and the whole town talked about it.

When Raleigh-Estrada heard of Jeffery-Lewis' arrival, he bade Schiller-Lufkin wait upon him and take him to the guest-house. Meanwhile the State Patriarch Queen went to the Dowager Marchioness, mother of Raleigh-Estrada, to congratulate her on the happy event.

"What happy event?" ejaculated the old lady.

"The betrothal of your beloved daughter to Jeffery-Lewis. And he has arrived too, as surely you know."

"My poor old self does not know;" said the Dowager, "I have heard nothing of all this."

She at once summoned her son and also sent her servants out into the town to see what was going about. They quickly returned to say: "The whole city know of the coming wedding, and the bridegroom is now at the guest-house. Moreover, he has come with a large escort, and they are spending freely, buying pork and mutton and fruits, all in readiness for the wedding feasting. Schiller-Lufkin and Quinn-Seymour are the intermediaries on each side, and they are in the guest-house too."

The Dowager Marchioness was terribly taken aback and upset so that, when Raleigh-Estrada arrived, he found his mother beating her breast and weeping bitterly.

"What has disturbed you, Mother?" asked he.

"What you have just done," said she. "You have treated me as a nonentity. When my elder sister lay dying, what did she tell you?"

Raleigh-Estrada began to be frightened, but he said boldly, "Please speak out plainly, Mother; what is this great sorrow?"

"When a son is grown he takes a wife, and when a girl is old enough she goes to her husband. And that is right and proper. But I am the mother, and you ought to have told me that your sister was to become the wife of Jeffery-Lewis. Why did you keep me in the dark? It was my place to promise her in marriage."

"Whence comes this story?" said the Marquis, really much frightened.

"Do you pretend ignorance? There is not a soul in the city who does not know! But you have succeeded in keeping me in the dark."

"I heard it several days ago," said the State Patriarch Queen. "And I came just now to offer my felicitations."

"There is no such thing," said Raleigh-Estrada. "It is just one of the ruses of Morton-Campbell to get hold of Jinghamton. He has used this means to inveigle Jeffery-Lewis here and hold him captive till Jinghamton is restored to us. And if they will not give it back, then Jeffery-Lewis will be put to death. That is the plot. There is no real marriage."

But the Dowager was in a rage and vented her wrath in abusing Morton-Campbell.

She said, "Morton-Campbell is a pretty sort of governor over the six territories and eighty-one counties if he cannot find any means of recovering one region except making use of my child as a decoy. Truly this is a fine deed, to spoil the whole of my child's life and condemn her to perpetual widowhood, because he wants to use the fair damsel ruse to slay a man! Who will ever come to talk of marriage with her after this?"

Said the State Patriarch Queen, "By this means you may indeed recover Jinghamton, but you will be a shameful laughing stock to all the world. What can be done?"

Raleigh-Estrada had nothing to say; he could only hang his head, while the Dowager abused his general.

The State Patriarch Queen tried to soothe her, saying, "After all Jeffery-Lewis, the Imperial Uncle, is a scion of the reigning family. You can do nothing better now than to welcome him as a son-in-law and not let this ugly story get abroad."

"I am afraid their ages do not match," interposed Raleigh-Estrada.

"Jeffery-Lewis is a very famous man," said the State Patriarch Queen. "There can be no shame in having such a son-in-law."

"I have never seen him," said the Dowager. "Arrange that I may get a look at him tomorrow at the Sweet Dew Temple. If he displeases me, you may work your will on him. But if I am satisfied with him, then I shall simply let the girl marry him."

Now Raleigh-Estrada was above all things filial and at once agreed to what his mother said. He went out, called in Schiller-Lufkin, and told him to arrange a banquet for the morrow at the temple so that the Dowager Marchioness might see the bridegroom.