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 guided, or rather propelled, him firmly up the aisle. Grizel clutched Pollyooly's hand with the vigor of a drowning man clutching a straw, and held it tight till they reached the altar. During the ceremony she bore herself with a far more composed and intelligent air than did the bridegroom, though she was very pale, and he was very red. The Honorable John Ruffin, who hated to leave anything to chance, produced the ring at the right moment, and the pair were firmly wedded.

The ordeal at an end, the bridegroom, under the spur of his new responsibilities, recovered some control of himself; and after a short, stern discussion, the Honorable John Ruffin decided that he might trust him to get his bride to Fenchurch Street Station without falling out of the taxicab. He hailed one; Grizel kissed Pollyooly with very much the air of a drowning man clutching at yet another straw; the Honorable John Ruffin shook hands with them and wished them happiness; they got into the taxicab and glided away.

The Honorable John Ruffin wiped his beaded brow with an air of extreme relief. "Marrying