And it was Miss Davenport who answered. She was taken aback—taken quite breathless, for a moment, and I don’t suppose that had happened very often. She took a step backward, clasped her hands over her heart, and said:

“But—but this is…Signor Rolipolio!”

Chapter Three

And he was, too.

And in spite of Max, who maintained that he was Doctor Cadaverezzi, and in spite of the sergeant, who said that, on the contrary, he was Luigi Brilliantini—and under arrest, what’s more—it was Miss Davenport who had the last word on the subject.

“To me,” she said firmly, glaring at the sergeant, “he will always be Rolipolio.”

“Well,” said Count Max Karlstein, “that settles it, I reckon, Sergeant. If he ain’t Cadaverezzi and he ain’t Brilliantini either, he can’t have done whatever he did, can he? Stands to reason. You’ll have to let him go.”

“Count Karlstein,” said Doctor Cadaverezzi, “you are too kind. But allow me…” He held his manacled hands in the air, gave them a little shake—and the chain came loose from his wrists and fell ringing to the ground. He bowed, the audience clapped, and the sergeant gaped. “I was going to escape later on,” explained Cadaverezzi-Brilliantini-Rolipolio, “but now I don’t have to. Miss Davenport!” he said, turning to that lady and bowing very low before taking her hand, “I have been searching for you for many years—ever since our paths were separated long ago. And my good fortune is only equaled by my happiness, now that I have found you again!” And the two of them wandered away, talking very closely together. There was a gentle cough from Meister Haifisch. “Count Karlstein,” he said, “there is a great deal to see to….”

Which is a good place to finish, I think. Because after that all the things that happened were simple things, ordinary, happy things, like marriages. And like the castle having a good spring-clean from top to bottom, and like me getting my job back. It was odd at first having Max as the master, and he found it odd, too, and there were times when he thought he wouldn’t manage it. But common sense and fair play and good humor see you through most things, and he had a fund of those qualities. And Eliza, Countess Karlstein, was and is the perfect wife for a great lord.