LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 SAN DIEGO
 
 3 1822 01101 8454 
 
 M
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 AND OTHER STORIES
 
 Why, it s Gallcghcr," said the night editor.
 
 THE NOVELS AND STORIES OF 
 RICHARD HARDING DAVIS 
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 AND OTHER STORIES 
 
 BY 
 
 RICHARD HARDING DAVIS; 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 E. L. BURLINGAME 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 
 
 1917
 
 "Gidlegher," copyright, 1891, by CHARLES SCRIBNBR S SONS. 
 
 The Princess, Aline, copyright, 1885, by HARPER & BROTHERS. 
 
 Tfce Kie s Jackal," copyright, im, 1889, by CHARLES SCRIBNBR S SONS. 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS
 
 TO 
 
 MY MOTHER
 
 RICHARD HARDING DAVIS 
 
 ONE of the most attractive and inspiring things 
 about Richard Harding Davis was the simple, al 
 most matter-of-course way in which he put into prac 
 tise his views of life in which he acted, and in fact 
 was, what he believed. With most of us, to have 
 opinions as to what is the right thing to do is at the 
 best to worry a good deal as to whether we are 
 doing it; at the worst to be conscious of doubts as 
 to whether it is a sufficient code, or perhaps whether 
 it isn t beyond us. Davis seemed to have neither of 
 these wasters of strength. He had certain simple, 
 clean, manly convictions as to how a man should 
 act; apparently quite without self-consciousness in 
 this respect, whatever little mannerisms or points 
 of pride he may have had in others fewer than 
 most men of his success and fastidiousness he went 
 ahead and did accordingly, untormented by any 
 alternatives or casuistries, which for him did not 
 seem to exist. He was so genuinely straightforward 
 that he could not sophisticate even himself, as al 
 most every man occasionally does under temptation. 
 He, at least, never needed to be told 
 
 " Go put your creed into your deed 
 Nor speak with double tongue." 
 
 vii
 
 RICHARD HARDING DAVIS 
 
 It is so impossible not to think first of the man, 
 as the testimony of every one who knew him shows, 
 that those who have long had occasion to watch and 
 follow his work, not merely with enjoyment but 
 somewhat critically, may well look upon any de 
 tailed discussion of it as something to be kept till 
 later. But there is more to be said than to recall 
 the unfailing zest of it, the extraordinary freshness 
 of eye, the indomitable youthfulness and health 
 of spirit all the qualities that we associate with 
 Davis himself. It was serious work in a sense 
 that only the more thoughtful of its critics had 
 begun of late to comprehend. It had not inspired a 
 body of disciples like Kipling s, but it had helped 
 to clear the air and to give a new proof of the vitality 
 of certain ideals even of a few of the simpler ones 
 now outmoded in current masterpieces; and it was 
 at its best far truer in an artistic sense than it was 
 the fashion of its easy critics to allow. Whether 
 Davis could or would have written a novel of the 
 higher rank is a useless question now; he himself, 
 who was a critic of his own work without illusions 
 or affectation, used to say that he could not; but it 
 is certain that in the early part of "Captain Mack- 
 lin" he displayed a power really Thackerayan in 
 kind. 
 
 Of his descriptive writing there need be no fear of 
 speaking with extravagance; he had made himself, 
 especially in his later work, through long practise 
 
 vifi
 
 RICHARD HARDING DAVIS 
 
 and his inborn instinct for the significant and the 
 fresh aspect, quite the best of all contemporary cor 
 respondents and reporters; and his rivals in the past 
 could be easily numbered. 
 
 E. L. BURLINGAME.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Richard Harding Davis E. L. Burlingame 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GALLEGHER: A NEWSPAPER STORY i 
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 55 
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 173
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 WHY, IT S GALLEGHER," SAID THE NIGHT 
 EDITOR Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PACE 
 
 "FOR GOD S SAKE," HADE BEGGED, "LET ME 
 
 GO" 34 
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE OF HOHENWALD . . 66 
 
 A MAN WAS TALKING; HE SPOKE IN ENGLISH, 
 WITH AN ACCENT 96 
 
 "I SUPPOSE IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE FIGHT 
 ING FOR YOUR HOME" 248 
 
 HE SWUNG THE CROWN PRINCE HIGH UPON 
 HIS SHOULDER 298
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 A NEWSPAPER STORY
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 A NEWSPAPER STORY 
 
 WE had had so many office-boys before Gal- 
 legher came among us that they had begun to 
 lose the characteristics of individuals, and be 
 came merged in a composite photograph of 
 small boys, to whom we applied the generic 
 title of "Here, you"; or "You, boy." 
 
 We had had sleepy boys, and lazy boys, and 
 bright, "smart" boys, who became so familiar 
 on so short an acquaintance that we were forced 
 to part with them to save our own self-respect. 
 
 They generally graduated into district-mes 
 senger boys, and occasionally returned to us in 
 blue coats with nickel-plated buttons, and pat 
 ronized us. 
 
 But Gallegher was something different from 
 anything we had experienced before. Galle 
 gher was short and broad in build, with a solid, 
 muscular broadness, and not a fat and dumpy 
 shortness. He wore perpetually on his face a 
 happy and knowing smile, as if you and the 
 world in general were not impressing him as 
 seriously as you thought you were, and his 
 
 3
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 eyes, which were very black and very bright, 
 snapped intelligently at you like those of a 
 little black-and-tan terrier. 
 
 All Gallegher knew had been learnt on the 
 streets; not a very good school in itself, but one 
 that turns out very knowing scholars. And 
 Gallegher had attended both morning and eve 
 ning sessions. He could not tell you who the 
 Pilgrim Fathers were, nor could he name the 
 thirteen original States, but he knew all the 
 officers of the twenty-second police district by 
 name, and he could distinguish the clang of a 
 fire-engine s gong from that of a patrol-wagon 
 or an ambulance fully two blocks distant. It 
 was Gallegher who rang the alarm when the 
 Woolwich Mills caught fire, while the officer on 
 the beat was asleep, and it was Gallegher who 
 led the "Black Diamonds" against the "Wharf 
 Rats, when they used to stone each other to 
 their heart s content on the coal-wharves of 
 Richmond. 
 
 I am afraid, now that I see these facts written 
 down, that Gallegher was not a reputable char 
 acter; but he was so very young and so very 
 old for his years that we all liked him very 
 much nevertheless. He lived in the extreme 
 northern part of Philadelphia, where the cotton 
 and woollen mills run down to the river, and 
 how he ever got home after leaving the Press 
 
 4
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 building at two in the morning, was one of the 
 mysteries of the office. Sometimes he caught 
 a night car, and sometimes he walked all the 
 way, arriving at the little house, where his 
 mother and himself lived alone, at four in the 
 morning. Occasionally he was given a ride on 
 an early milk-cart, or on one of the newspaper 
 delivery wagons, with its high piles of papers 
 still damp and sticky from the press. He knew 
 several drivers of "night hawks" those cabs 
 that prowl the streets at night looking for be 
 lated passengers and when it was a very cold 
 morning he would not go home at all, but would 
 crawl into one of these cabs and sleep, curled 
 up on the cushions, until daylight. 
 
 Besides being quick and cheerful, Gallegher 
 possessed a power of amusing the Press s young 
 men to a degree seldom attained by the ordi 
 nary mortal. His clog-dancing on the city 
 editor s desk, when that gentleman was up 
 stairs fighting for two more columns of space, 
 was always a source of innocent joy to us, and 
 his imitations of the comedians of the variety 
 halls delighted even the dramatic critic, from 
 whom the comedians themselves failed to force 
 a smile. 
 
 But Gallegher s chief characteristic was his 
 love for that element of news generically classed 
 as "crime."
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 Not that he ever did anything criminal him 
 self. On the contrary, his was rather the work 
 of the criminal specialist, and his morbid inter 
 est in the doings of all queer characters, his 
 knowledge of their methods, their present 
 whereabouts, and their past deeds of transgres 
 sion often rendered him a valuable ally to our 
 police reporter, whose daily feuilletons were 
 the only portion of the paper Gallegher deigned 
 to read. 
 
 In Gallegher the detective element was ab 
 normally developed. He had shown this on 
 several occasions, and to excellent purpose. 
 
 Once the paper had sent him into a Home 
 for Destitute Orphans which was believed to be 
 grievously mismanaged, and Gallegher, while 
 playing the part of a destitute orphan, kept his 
 eyes open to what was going on around him so 
 faithfully that the story he told of the treat 
 ment meted out to the real orphans was suffi 
 cient to rescue the unhappy little wretches from 
 the individual who had them in charge, and to 
 have the individual himself sent to jail. 
 
 Gallegher s knowledge of the aliases, terms 
 of imprisonment, and various misdoings of the 
 leading criminals in Philadelphia was almost as 
 thorough as that of the chief of police himself, 
 and he could tell to an hour when "Dutchy 
 Mack" was to be let out of prison, and could 
 
 6
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 identify at a glance "Dick Oxford, confidence 
 man," as "Gentleman Dan, petty thief." 
 
 There were, at this time, only two pieces of 
 news in any of the papers. The least impor 
 tant of the two was the big fight between the 
 Champion of the United States and the Would- 
 be Champion, arranged to take place near 
 Philadelphia; the second was the Burrbank 
 murder, which was filling space in newspapers 
 all over the world, from New York to Bombay. 
 
 Richard F. Burrbank was one of the most 
 prominent of New York s railroad lawyers; he 
 was also, as a matter of course, an owner of 
 much railroad stock, and a very wealthy man. 
 He had been spoken of as a political possibility 
 for many high offices, and, as the counsel for a 
 great railroad, was known even further than the 
 great railroad itself had stretched its system. 
 
 At six o clock one morning he was found by 
 his butler lying at the foot of the hall stairs 
 with two pistol wounds above his heart. He 
 was quite dead. His safe, to which only he 
 and his secretary had the keys, was found open, 
 and $200,000 in bonds, stocks, and money, 
 which had been placed there only the night 
 before, was found missing. The secretary was 
 missing also. His name was Stephen S. Hade, 
 and his name and his description had been tele 
 graphed and cabled to all parts of the world. 
 
 7
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 There was enough circumstantial evidence to 
 show, beyond any question or possibility of 
 mistake, that he was the murderer. 
 
 It made an enormous amount of talk, and 
 unhappy individuals were being arrested all 
 over the country, and sent on to New York for 
 identification. Three had been arrested at 
 Liverpool, and one man just as he landed at 
 Sydney, Australia. But so far the murderer 
 had escaped. 
 
 We were all talking about it one night, as 
 everybody else was all over the country, in the 
 local room, and the city editor said it was worth 
 a fortune to any one who chanced to run across 
 Hade and succeeded in handing him over to 
 the police. Some of us thought Hade had 
 taken passage from some one of the smaller 
 seaports, and others were of the opinion that 
 he had buried himself in some cheap lodging- 
 house in New York, or in one of the smaller 
 towns in New Jersey. 
 
 "I shouldn t be surprised to meet him out 
 walking, right here in Philadelphia," said one 
 of the staff. "He ll be disguised, of course, 
 but you could always tell him by the absence 
 of the trigger finger on his right hand. It s 
 missing, you know; shot off when he was a boy." 
 
 You want to look for a man dressed like a 
 tough," said the city editor; "for as this fellow 
 
 8
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 is to all appearances a gentleman, he will try 
 to look as little like a gentleman as possible." 
 
 "No, he won t," said Gallegher, with that 
 calm impertinence that made him dear to us. 
 "He ll dress just like a gentleman. Toughs 
 don t wear gloves, and you see he s got to wear 
 em. The first thing he thought of after doing 
 for Burrbank was of that gone finger, and how 
 he was to hide it. He stuffed the finger of that 
 glove with cotton so s to make it look like a 
 whole finger, and the first time he takes off 
 that glove they ve got him see, and he knows 
 it. So what youse want to do is to look for a 
 man with gloves on. I ve been a-doing it for 
 two weeks now, and I can tell you it s hard 
 work, for everybody wears gloves this kind of 
 weather. But if you look long enough you ll 
 find him. And when you think it s him, go up 
 to him and hold out your hand in a friendly 
 way, like a bunco-steerer, and shake his hand; 
 and if you feel that his forefinger ain t real flesh, 
 but just wadded cotton, then grip to it with 
 your right and grab his throat with your left, 
 and holler for help." 
 
 There was an appreciative pause. 
 
 "I see, gentlemen," said the city editor, 
 dryly, "that Gallegher s reasoning has im 
 pressed you ; and I also see that before the week 
 is out all of my young men will be under bonds 
 
 9
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 for assaulting innocent pedestrians whose only 
 offense is that they wear gloves in midwinter." 
 
 It was about a week after this that Detective 
 Hefflefmger, of Inspector Byrnes s staff, came 
 over to Philadelphia after a burglar, of whose 
 whereabouts he had been misinformed by tele 
 graph. He brought the warrant, requisition, 
 and other necessary papers with him, but the 
 burglar had flown. One of our reporters had 
 worked on a New York paper, and knew Hefffe- 
 fmger, and the detective came to the office to 
 see if he could help him in his so far unsuccess 
 ful search. 
 
 He gave Gallegher his card, and after Galle- 
 gher had read it, and had discovered who the 
 visitor was, he became so demoralized that he 
 was absolutely useless. 
 
 "One of Byrnes s men" was a much more 
 awe-inspiring individual to Gallegher than a 
 member of the Cabinet. He accordingly seized 
 his hat and overcoat, and leaving his duties to 
 be looked after by others, hastened out after 
 the object of his admiration, who found his 
 suggestions and knowledge of the city so valu 
 able, and his company so entertaining, that 
 they became very intimate, and spent the rest 
 of the day together. 
 
 10
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 In the meanwhile the managing editor had 
 instructed his subordinates to inform Gallegher, 
 when he condescended to return, that his ser 
 vices were no longer needed. Gallegher had 
 played truant once too often. Unconscious of 
 this, he remained with his new friend until late 
 the same evening, and started the next after 
 noon toward the Press office. 
 
 As I have said, Gallegher lived in the most 
 distant part of the city, not many minutes 
 walk from the Kensington railroad station, 
 where trains ran into the suburbs and on to 
 New York. 
 
 It was in front of this station that a smoothly 
 shaven, well-dressed man brushed past Galle 
 gher and hurried up the steps to the ticket 
 office. 
 
 He held a walking-stick in his right hand, 
 and Gallegher, who now patiently scrutinized 
 the hands of every one who wore gloves, saw 
 that while three fingers of the man s hand were 
 closed around the cane, the fourth stood out in 
 almost a straight line with his palm. 
 
 Gallegher stopped with a gasp and with a 
 trembling all over his little body, and his brain 
 asked with a throb if it could be possible. But 
 possibilities and probabilities were to be dis 
 covered later. Now was the time for action. 
 
 ii
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 He was after the man in a moment, hanging 
 at his heels and his eyes moist with excitement. 
 
 He heard the man ask for a ticket to Torres- 
 dale, a little station just outside of Philadelphia, 
 and when he was out of hearing, but not out 
 of sight, purchased one for the same place. 
 
 The stranger went into the smoking-car, and 
 seated himself at one end toward the door. 
 Gallegher took his place at the opposite end. 
 
 He was trembling all over, and suffered from 
 a slight feeling of nausea. He guessed it came 
 from fright, not of any bodily harm that might 
 come to him, but of the probability of failure 
 in his adventure and of its most momentous 
 possibilities. 
 
 i The stranger pulled his coat collar up around 
 his ears, hiding the lower portion of his face, 
 but not concealing the resemblance in his 
 troubled eyes and close-shut lips to the like 
 nesses of the murderer Hade. 
 
 They reached Torresdale in half an hour, and 
 the stranger, alighting quickly, struck off at a 
 rapid pace down the country road leading to 
 the station. 
 
 Gallegher gave him a hundred yards start, 
 and then followed slowly after. The road ran 
 between fields and past a few frame-houses set 
 far from the road in kitchen gardens. 
 
 Once or twice the man looked back over his 
 
 12
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 shoulder, but he saw only a dreary length of 
 road with a small boy splashing through the 
 slush in the midst of it and stopping every now 
 and again to throw snowballs at belated spar 
 rows. 
 
 After a ten minutes walk the stranger turned 
 into a side road which led to only one place, the 
 Eagle Inn, an old roadside hostelry known now 
 as the headquarters for pothunters from the 
 Philadelphia game market and the battle 
 ground of many a cock-fight. 
 
 Gallegher knew the place well. He and his 
 young companions had often stopped there 
 when out chestnutting on holidays in the 
 autumn. 
 
 The son of the man who kept it had often 
 accompanied them on their excursions, and 
 though the boys of the city streets considered 
 him a dumb lout, they respected him somewhat 
 owing to his inside knowledge of dog and cock 
 fights. 
 
 The stranger entered the inn at a side door, 
 and Gallegher, reaching it a few minutes later, 
 let him go for the time being, and set about 
 finding his occasional playmate, young Kep- 
 pler. 
 
 Keppler s offspring was found in the wood 
 shed. 
 
 "Tain t hard to guess what brings you out 
 13
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 here," said the tavern-keeper s son, with a grin; 
 "it s the fight." 
 
 "What fight?" asked Gallegher, unguardedly. 
 
 "What fight? Why, the fight," returned his 
 companion, with the slow contempt of superior 
 knowledge. "It s to come off here to-night. 
 You knew that as well as me; anyway your 
 sportin editor knows it. He got the tip last 
 night, but that won t help you any. You 
 needn t think there s any chance of your get 
 ting a peep at it. Why, tickets is two hundred 
 and fifty apiece!" 
 
 "Whew!" whistled Gallegher, "where s it to 
 be?" 
 
 " In the barn," whispered Keppler. " I helped 
 em fix the ropes this morning, I did." 
 
 "Gosh, but you re in luck," exclaimed Galle 
 gher, with flattering envy. "Couldn t I jest 
 get a peep at it?" 
 
 "Maybe," said the gratified Keppler. 
 " There s a winder with a wooden shutter at 
 the back of the barn. You can get in by it, if 
 you have some one to boost you up to the sill." 
 
 "Sa-a-y," drawled Gallegher, as if something 
 had but just that moment reminded him. 
 "Who s that gent who come down the road just 
 a bit ahead of me him with the cape-coat ! 
 Has he got anything to do with the fight?" 
 
 "Him?" repeated Keppler in tones of sin- 
 
 14
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 cere disgust. "No-oh, he ain t no sport. He s 
 queer, Dad thinks. He come here one day 
 last week about ten in the morning, said his 
 doctor told him to go out en the country for 
 his health. He s stuck up and citified, and 
 wears gloves, and takes his meals private in 
 his room, and all that sort of ruck. They was 
 saying in the saloon last night that they thought 
 he was hiding from something, and Dad, just 
 to try him, asks him last night if he was com 
 ing to see the fight. He looked sort of scared, 
 and said he didn t want to see no fight. And 
 then Dad says, I guess you mean you don t 
 want no fighters to see you. Dad didn t mean 
 no harm by it, just passed it as a joke; but Mr. 
 Carleton, as he calls himself, got white as a 
 ghost an says, Til go to the fight willing 
 enough, and begins to laugh and joke. And 
 this morning he went right into the bar-room, 
 where all the sports were setting, and said he 
 was going into town to see some friends; and 
 as he starts off he laughs an says, This don t 
 look as if I was afraid of seeing people, does 
 it? but Dad says it was just bluff that made 
 him do it, and Dad thinks that if he hadn t 
 said what he did, this Mr. Carleton wouldn t 
 have left his room at all." 
 
 Gallegher had got all he wanted, and much 
 more than he had hoped for so much more 
 
 15
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 that his walk back to the station was in the 
 nature of a triumphal march. 
 
 He had twenty minutes to wait for the next 
 train, and it seemed an hour. While waiting he 
 sent a telegram to HefHefmger at his hotel. It 
 read: 
 
 Your man is near the Torresdale station, on Pennsyl 
 vania Railroad; take cab, and meet me at station. Wait 
 until I come. GALLEGHER. 
 
 With the exception of one at midnight, no 
 other train stopped at Torresdale that evening, 
 hence the direction to take a cab. 
 
 The train to the city seemed to Gallegher to 
 drag itself by inches. It stopped and backed 
 at purposeless intervals, waited for an express 
 to precede it, and dallied at stations, and when, 
 at last, it reached the terminus, Gallegher was 
 out before it had stopped and was in the cab 
 and off on his way to the home of the sporting 
 editor. 
 
 The sporting editor was at dinner and came 
 out in the hall to see him, with his napkin in 
 his hand. Gallegher explained breathlessly that 
 he had located the murderer for whom the po 
 lice of two continents were looking, and that he 
 believed, in order to quiet the suspicions of the 
 people with whom he was hiding, that he would 
 be present at the fight that night. 
 
 The sporting editor led Gallegher into his 
 
 16
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 library and shut the door. "Now," he said, 
 "go over all that again." 
 
 Gallegher went over it again in detail, and 
 added how he had sent for Hefflefmger to make 
 the arrest in order that it might be kept from 
 the knowledge of the local police and from the 
 Philadelphia reporters. 
 
 "What I want HefHefmger to do is to arrest 
 Hade with the warrant he has for the burglar," 
 explained Gallegher; "and to take him on to 
 New York on the owl train that passes Torres- 
 dale at one. It don t get to Jersey City until 
 four o clock, one hour after the morning papers 
 go to press. Of course, we must fix Hefflefmger 
 so s he ll keep quiet and not tell who his prisoner 
 really is." 
 
 The sporting editor reached his hand out to 
 pat Gallegher on the head, but changed his 
 mind and shook hands with him instead. 
 
 "My boy," he said, "you are an infant phe 
 nomenon. If I can pull the rest of this thing 
 off to-night it will mean the $5,000 reward and 
 fame galore for you and the paper. Now, I m 
 going to write a note to the managing editor, 
 and you can take it around to him and tell 
 him what you ve done and what I am going to 
 do, and he ll take you back on the paper and 
 raise your salary. Perhaps you didn t know 
 you ve been discharged?" 
 
 17
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 "Do you think you ain t a-going to take me 
 with you?" demanded Gallegher. 
 
 "Why, certainly not. Why should I? It all 
 lies with the detective and myself now. You ve 
 done your share, and done it well. If the man s 
 caught, the reward s yours. But you d only be 
 in the way now. You d better go to the office 
 and make your peace with the chief." 
 
 "If the paper can get along without me, I 
 can get along without the old paper," said Gal 
 legher, hotly. "And if I ain t a-going with 
 you, you ain t neither, for I know where Heffle- 
 finger is to be, and you don t, and I won t tell 
 you." 
 
 "Oh, very well, very well," replied the sport 
 ing editor, weakly capitulating. "I ll send the 
 note by a messenger; only mind, if you lose 
 your place, don t blame me." 
 
 Gallegher wondered how this man could value 
 a week s salary against the excitement of seeing 
 a noted criminal run down, and of getting the 
 news to the paper, and to that one paper alone. 
 
 From that moment the sporting editor sank 
 in Gallegher s estimation. 
 
 Mr. Dwyer sat down at his desk and scribbled 
 off the following note: 
 
 I have received reliable information that Hade, the 
 Burrbank murderer, will be present at the fight to-night. 
 We have arranged it so that he will be arrested quietly 
 
 18
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 and in such a manner that the fact may be kept from all 
 other papers. I need not point out to you that this will 
 be the most important piece of news in the country to 
 morrow. Yours, etc., 
 
 MICHAEL E. DWYER. 
 
 The sporting editor stepped into the waiting 
 cab, while Gallegher whispered the directions to 
 the driver. He was told to go first to a district- 
 messenger office, and from there up to the Ridge 
 Avenue Road, out Broad Street, and on to the 
 old Eagle Inn, near Torresdale. 
 
 It was a miserable night. The rain and snow 
 were falling together, and freezing as they fell. 
 The sporting editor got out to send his message 
 to the Press office, and then lighting a cigar, and 
 turning up the collar of his great-coat, curled up 
 in the corner of the cab. 
 
 "Wake me when we get there, Gallegher," he 
 said. He knew he had a long ride, and much 
 rapid work before him, and he was preparing 
 for the strain. 
 
 To Gallegher the idea of going to sleep seemed 
 almost criminal. From the dark corner of the 
 cab his eyes shone with excitement, and with 
 the awful joy of anticipation. He glanced every 
 now and then to where the sporting editor s 
 cigar shone in the darkness, and watched it as 
 it gradually burnt more dimly and went out. 
 
 19
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 The lights in the shop windows threw a broad 
 glare across the ice on the pavements, and the 
 lights from the lamp-posts tossed the distorted 
 shadow of the cab, and the horse, and the 
 motionless driver, sometimes before and some 
 times behind them. 
 
 After half an hour Gallegher slipped down to 
 the bottom of the cab and dragged out a lap- 
 robe, in which he wrapped himself. It was 
 growing colder, and the damp, keen wind swept 
 in through the cracks until the window-frames 
 and woodwork were cold to the touch. 
 
 An hour passed, and the cab was still moving 
 more slowly over the rough surface of partly 
 paved streets, and by single rows of new houses 
 standing at different angles to each other in 
 fields covered with ash-heaps and brick-kilns. 
 Here and there the gaudy lights of a drug-store, 
 and the forerunner of suburban civilization, 
 shone from the end of a new block of houses, 
 and the rubber cape of an occasional policeman 
 showed in the light of the lamp-post that he 
 hugged for comfort. 
 
 Then even the houses disappeared, and the 
 cab dragged its way between truck farms, with 
 desolate-looking glass-covered beds, and pools 
 of water, half-caked with ice, and bare trees, 
 and interminable fences. 
 
 Once or twice the cab stopped altogether, and 
 
 20
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 Gallegher could hear the driver swearing to 
 himself, or at the horse, or the roads. At last 
 they drew up before the station at Torresdale. 
 It was quite deserted, and only a single light 
 cut a swath in the darkness and showed a por 
 tion of the platform, the ties, and the rails glis 
 tening in the rain. They walked twice past 
 the light before a figure stepped out of the 
 shadow and greeted them cautiously. 
 
 "I am Mr. Dwyer, of the Press" said the 
 sporting editor, briskly. " You ve heard of me, 
 perhaps. Well, there shouldn t be any diffi 
 culty in our making a deal, should there? This 
 boy here has found Hade, and we have reason 
 to believe he will be among the spectators at 
 the fight to-night. We want you to arrest him 
 quietly, and as secretly as possible. You can 
 do it with your papers and your badge easily 
 enough. We want you to pretend that you 
 believe he is this burglar you came over after. 
 If you will do this, and take him away without 
 any one so much as suspecting who he really is, 
 and on the train that passes here at 1.20 for 
 New York, we will give you $500 out of the 
 $5,000 reward. If, however, one other paper, 
 either in New York or Philadelphia, or any 
 where else, knows of the arrest, you won t get 
 a cent. Now, what do you say?" 
 
 The detective had a great deal to say. He 
 
 21
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 wasn t at all sure the man Gallegher suspected 
 was Hade; he feared he might get himself into 
 trouble by making a false arrest, and if it 
 should be the man, he was afraid the local police 
 would interfere. 
 
 "We ve no time to argue or debate this mat 
 ter," said Dwyer, warmly. "We agree to point 
 Hade out to you in the crowd. After the fight 
 is over you arrest him as we have directed, and 
 you get the money and the credit of the arrest. 
 If you don t like this, I will arrest the man 
 myself, and have him driven to town, with a 
 pistol for a warrant." 
 
 Hefflefinger considered in silence and then 
 agreed unconditionally. "As you say, Mr. 
 Dwyer," he returned. "I ve heard of you for 
 a thoroughbred sport. I know you ll do what 
 you say you ll do; and as for me I ll do what 
 you say and just as you say, and it s a very 
 pretty piece of work as it stands." 
 
 They all stepped back into the cab, and then 
 it was that they were met by a fresh difficulty, 
 how to get the detective into the barn where 
 the fight was to take place, for neither of the 
 two men had $250 to pay for his admittance. 
 
 But this was overcome when Gallegher re 
 membered the window of which young Keppler 
 had told him. 
 
 In the event of Hade s losing courage and 
 22
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 not daring to show himself in the crowd around 
 the ring, it was agreed that Dwyer should come 
 to the barn and warn HefHefinger; but if he 
 should come, Dwyer was merely to keep near 
 him and to signify by a prearranged gesture 
 which one of the crowd he was. 
 
 They drew up before a great black shadow of 
 a house, dark, forbidding, and apparently de 
 serted. But at the sound of the wheels on the 
 gravel the door opened, letting out a stream of 
 warm, cheerful light, and a man s voice said, 
 "Put out those lights. Don t youse know no 
 better than that?" This was Keppler, and he 
 welcomed Mr. Dwyer with effusive courtesy. 
 
 The two men showed in the stream of light, 
 and the door closed on them, leaving the house 
 as it was at first, black and silent, save for the 
 dripping of the rain and snow from the eaves. 
 
 The detective and Gallegher put out the cab s 
 lamps and led the horse toward a long, low shed 
 in the rear of the yard, which they now noticed 
 was almost filled with teams of many different 
 makes, from the Hobson s choice of a livery 
 stable to the brougham of the man about town. 
 
 "No," said Gallegher, as the cabman stopped 
 to hitch the horse beside the others, "we want 
 it nearest that lower gate. When we news 
 paper men leave this place we ll leave it in a 
 hurry, and the man who is nearest town is 
 
 23
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 likely to get there first. You won t be a-fol- 
 lowing of no hearse when you make your return 
 trip." 
 
 Gallegher tied the horse to the very gate-post 
 itself, leaving the gate open and allowing a clear 
 road and a flying start for the prospective race 
 to Newspaper Row. 
 
 The driver disappeared under the shelter of 
 the porch, and Gallegher and the detective 
 moved off cautiously to the rear of the barn. 
 "This must be the window," said Hefflefmger, 
 pointing to a broad wooden shutter some feet 
 from the ground. 
 
 "Just you give me a boost once, and I ll get 
 that open in a jiffy," said Gallegher. 
 
 The detective placed his hands on his knees, 
 and Gallegher stood upon his shoulders, and 
 with the blade of his knife lifted the wooden 
 button that fastened the window on the inside, 
 and pulled the shutter open. 
 
 Then he put one leg inside over the sill, and 
 leaning down helped to draw his fellow-con 
 spirator up to a level with the window. " I feel 
 just like I was burglarizing a house," chuckled 
 Gallegher, as he dropped noiselessly to the floor 
 below and refastened the shutter. The barn 
 was a large one, with a row of stalls on either 
 side in which horses and cows were dozing. 
 There was a hay-mow over each row of stalls, 
 
 24
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 and at one end of the barn a number of fence- 
 rails had been thrown across from one mow 
 to the other. These rails were covered with 
 hay. 
 
 In the middle of the floor was the ring. It 
 was not really a ring, but a square, with wooden 
 posts at its four corners through which ran a 
 heavy rope. The space enclosed by the rope 
 was covered with sawdust. 
 
 Gallegher could not resist stepping into the 
 ring, and after stamping the sawdust once or 
 twice, as if to assure himself that he was really 
 there, began dancing around it, and indulging 
 in such a remarkable series of fistic manoeuvres 
 with an imaginary adversary that the unimag 
 inative detective precipitately backed into a 
 corner of the barn. 
 
 "Now, then," said Gallegher, having appar 
 ently vanquished his foe, "you come with me." 
 His companion followed quickly as Gallegher 
 climbed to one of the hay-mows, and crawling 
 carefully out on the fence- rail, stretched him 
 self at full length, face downward. In this po 
 sition, by moving the straw a little, he could 
 look down, without being himself seen, upon 
 the heads of whomsoever stood below. This 
 is better n a private box, ain t it?" said Gal 
 legher. 
 
 The boy from the newspaper office and the 
 
 25
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 detective lay there in silence, biting at straws 
 and tossing anxiously on their comfortable bed. 
 
 It seemed fully two hours before they came. 
 Gallegher had listened without breathing, and 
 with every muscle on a strain, at least a dozen 
 times, when some movement in the yard had 
 led him to believe that they were at the 
 door. 
 
 And he had numerous doubts and fears. 
 Sometimes it was that the police had learnt of 
 the fight, and had raided Keppler s in his ab 
 sence, and again it was that the fight had been 
 postponed, or, worst of all, that it would be put 
 off until so late that Mr. Dwyer could not get 
 back in time for the last edition of the paper. 
 Their coming, when at last they came, was 
 heralded by an advance-guard of two sporting 
 men, who stationed themselves at either side of 
 the big door. 
 
 "Hurry up, now, gents," one of the men 
 said with a shiver, "don t keep this door open 
 no longer n is needful." 
 
 It was not a very large crowd, but it was 
 wonderfully well selected. It ran, in the ma 
 jority of its component parts, to heavy white 
 coats with pearl buttons. The white coats 
 were shouldered by long blue coats with astra 
 khan fur trimmings, the wearers of which pre 
 served a cliqueness not remarkable when one 
 
 26
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 considers that they believed every one else 
 present to be either a crook or a prize-fighter. 
 
 There were well-fed, well-groomed club-men 
 and brokers in the crowd, a politician or two, a 
 popular comedian with his manager, amateur 
 boxers from the athletic clubs, and quiet, close- 
 mouthed sporting men from every city in the 
 country. Their names if printed in the papers 
 would have been as familiar as the types of the 
 papers themselves. 
 
 And among these men, whose only thought 
 was of the brutal sport to come, was Hade, with 
 Dwyer standing at ease at his shoulder, Hade, 
 white, and visibly in deep anxiety, hiding his 
 pale face beneath a cloth travelling-cap, and 
 with his chin muffled in a woollen scarf. He 
 had dared to come because he feared his danger 
 from the already suspicious Keppler was less 
 than if he stayed away. And so he was there, 
 hovering restlessly on the border of the crowd, 
 feeling his danger and sick with fear. 
 
 When HefHefinger first saw him he started 
 up on his hands and elbows and made a move 
 ment forward as if he would leap down then and 
 there and carry off his prisoner single-handed. 
 
 "Lie down," growled Gallegher; "an officer of 
 any sort wouldn t live three minures in that 
 crowd." 
 
 The detective drew back slowly and buried 
 
 27
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 himself again in the straw, but never once 
 through the long fight which followed did his 
 eyes leave the person of the murderer. The 
 newspaper men took their places in the foremost 
 row close around the ring, and kept looking at 
 their watches and begging the master of cere 
 monies to "shake it up, do." 
 
 There was a great deal of betting, and all of 
 the men handled the great rolls of bills they 
 wagered with a flippant recklessness which 
 could only be accounted for in Gallegher s 
 mind by temporary mental derangement. Some 
 one pulled a box out into the ring and the mas 
 ter of ceremonies mounted it, and pointed out 
 in forcible language that as they were almost 
 all already under bonds to keep the peace, it 
 behooved all to curb their excitement and to 
 maintain a severe silence, unless they wanted 
 to bring the police upon them and have them 
 selves "sent down" for a year or two. 
 
 Then two very disreputable-looking persons 
 tossed their respective principals high hats 
 into the ring, and the crowd, recognizing in 
 this relic of the days when brave knights threw 
 down their gauntlets in the lists as only a sign 
 that the fight was about to begin, cheered 
 tumultuously. 
 
 This was followed by a sudden surging for 
 ward, and a mutter of admiration much more 
 
 28
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 flattering than the cheers had been, when the 
 principals followed their hats and, slipping out 
 of their great-coats, stood forth in all the physi 
 cal beauty of the perfect brute. 
 
 Their pink skin was as soft and healthy-look 
 ing as a baby s, and glowed in the lights of the 
 lanterns like tinted ivory, and underneath this 
 silken covering the great biceps and muscles 
 moved in and out and looked like the coils of a 
 snake around the branch of a tree. 
 
 Gentleman and blackguard shouldered each 
 other for a nearer view; the coachmen, whose 
 metal buttons were unpleasantly suggestive of 
 police, put their hands, in the excitement of the 
 moment, on the shoulders of their masters; the 
 perspiration stood out in great drops on the 
 foreheads of the backers, and the newspaper 
 men bit somewhat nervously at the ends of 
 their pencils. 
 
 And in the stalls the cows munched content 
 edly at their cuds and gazed with gentle curi 
 osity at their two fellow-brutes, who stood wait 
 ing the signal to fall upon and kill each other, 
 if need be, for the delectation of their brothers. 
 
 Take your places," commanded the master 
 of ceremonies. 
 
 In the moment in which the two men faced 
 each other the crowd became so still that, save 
 for the beating of the rain upon the shingled 
 
 29
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 roof and the stamping of a horse in one of the 
 stalls, the place was as silent as a church. 
 
 "Time," shouted the master of ceremonies. 
 
 The two men sprang into a posture of de 
 fense, which was lost as quickly as it was taken, 
 one great arm shot out like a piston-rod; there 
 was the sound of bare fists beating on naked 
 flesh; there was an exultant indrawn gasp of 
 savage pleasure and relief from the crowd, and 
 the great fight had begun. 
 
 How the fortunes of war rose and fell, and 
 changed and rechanged that night, is an old 
 story to those who listen to such stories; and 
 those who do not will be glad to be spared the 
 telling of it. It was, they say, one of the bit 
 terest fights between two men that this country 
 has ever known. 
 
 But all that is of interest here is that after 
 an hour of this desperate, brutal business the 
 champion ceased to be the favorite; the man 
 whom he had taunted and bullied, and for 
 whom the public had but little sympathy, was 
 proving himself a likely winner, and under his 
 cruel blows, as sharp and clean as those from 
 a cutlass, his opponent was rapidly giving way. 
 
 The men about the ropes were past all con 
 trol now; they drowned Keppler s petitions for 
 silence with oaths and in inarticulate shouts of 
 anger, as if the blows had fallen upon them, and 
 
 30
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 in mad rejoicings. They swept from one end 
 of the ring to the other, with every muscle 
 leaping in unison with those of the man they 
 favored, and when a New York correspondent 
 muttered over his shoulder that this would be 
 the biggest sporting surprise since the Heenan- 
 Sayers fight, Mr. Dwyer nodded his head sym 
 pathetically in assent. 
 
 In the excitement and tumult it is doubtful 
 if any heard the three quickly repeated blows 
 that fell heavily from the outside upon the big 
 doors of the barn. If they did, it was already 
 too late to mend matters, for the door fell, torn 
 from its hinges, and as it fell a captain of police 
 sprang into the light from out of the storm, 
 with his lieutenants and their men crowding 
 close at his shoulder. 
 
 In the panic and stampede that followed, sev 
 eral of the men stood as helplessly immovable 
 as though they had seen a ghost; others made a 
 mad rush into the arms of the officers and were 
 beaten back against the ropes of the ring; others 
 dived headlong into the stalls, among the horses 
 and cattle, and still others shoved the rolls of 
 money they held into the hands of the police 
 and begged like children to be allowed to escape. 
 
 The instant the door fell and the raid was 
 declared Hefflefinger slipped over the cross rails 
 on which he had been lying, hung for an instant
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 by his hands, and then dropped into the centre 
 of the fighting mob on the floor. He was out 
 of it in an instant with the agility of a pick 
 pocket, was across the room and at Hade s 
 throat like a dog. The murderer, for the mo 
 ment, was the calmer man of the two. 
 
 "Here," he panted, "hands off, now. There s 
 no need for all this violence. There s no great 
 harm in looking at a fight, is there? There s a 
 hundred-dollar bill in my right hand; take it 
 and let me slip out of this. No one is looking. 
 Here." 
 
 But the detective only held him the closer. 
 
 "I want you for burglary," he whispered 
 under his breath. :< You ve got to come with 
 me now, and quick. The less fuss you make, 
 the better for both of us. If you don t know 
 who I am, you can feel my badge under my 
 coat there. I ve got the authority. It s all 
 regular, and when we re out of this d d row 
 I ll show you the papers." 
 
 He took one hand from Hade s throat and 
 pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. 
 
 " It s a mistake. This is an outrage," gasped 
 the murderer, white and trembling, but dread 
 fully alive and desperate for his liberty. "Let 
 me go, I tell you ! Take your hands off of me ! 
 Do I look like a burglar, you fool?" 
 
 "I know who you look like," whispered the 
 32
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 detective, with his face close to the face of his 
 prisoner. "Now, will you go easy as a burglar, 
 or shall I tell these men who you are and what 
 I do want you for? Shall I call out your real 
 name or not? Shall I tell them? Quick, speak 
 up; shall I?" 
 
 There was something so exultant something 
 so unnecessarily savage in the officer s face that 
 the man he held saw that the detective knew 
 him for what he really was, and the hands that 
 had held his throat slipped down around his 
 shoulders, or he would have fallen. The man s 
 eyes opened and closed again, and he swayed 
 weakly backward and forward, and choked as 
 if his throat were dry and burning. Even to 
 such a hardened connoisseur in crime as Gal- 
 legher, who stood closely by, drinking it in, 
 there was something so abject in the man s 
 terror that he regarded him with what was 
 almost a touch of pity. 
 
 "For God s sake," Hade begged, "let me go. 
 Come with me to my room and I ll give you 
 half the money. I ll divide with you fairly. 
 We can both get away. There s a fortune for 
 both of us there. We both can get away. 
 You ll be rich for life. Do you understand 
 for life!" 
 
 But the detective, to his credit, only shut his 
 lips the tighter. 
 
 33
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 :< That s enough," he whispered, in return. 
 "That s more than I expected. You ve sen 
 tenced yourself already. Come !" 
 
 Two officers in uniform barred their exit at 
 the door, but Hefflefmger smiled easily and 
 showed his badge. 
 
 "One of Byrnes s men," he said, in explana 
 tion; "came over expressly to take this chap. 
 He s a burglar; Arlie Lane, alias Carleton. 
 I ve shown the papers to the captain. It s all 
 regular. I m just going to get his traps at the 
 hotel and walk him over to the station. I guess 
 we ll push right on to New York to-night." 
 
 The officers nodded and smiled their admira 
 tion for the representative of what is, perhaps, 
 the best detective force in the world, and let 
 him pass. 
 
 Then Hefflefmger turned and spoke to Galle- 
 gher, who still stood as watchful as a dog at 
 his side. "I m going to his room to get the 
 bonds and stuff," he whispered; "then I ll 
 march him to the station and take that train. 
 I ve done my share; don t forget yours!" 
 
 "Oh, you ll get your money right enough," 
 said Gallegher. "And, sa-ay," he added, with 
 the appreciative nod of an expert, "do you 
 know, you did it rather well." 
 
 Mr. Dwyer had been writing while the raid 
 was settling down, as he had been writing while 
 
 34
 
 For God s sake," Hade begged, "let me go."
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 waiting for the fight to begin. Now he walked 
 over to where the other correspondents stood 
 in angry conclave. 
 
 The newspaper men had informed the offi 
 cers who hemmed them in that they represented 
 the principal papers of the country, and were 
 expostulating vigorously with the captain, who 
 had planned the raid, and who declared they 
 were under arrest. 
 
 "Don t be an ass, Scott," said Mr. Dwyer, 
 who was too excited to be polite or politic. 
 "You know our being here isn t a matter of 
 choice. We came here on business, as you did, 
 and you ve no right to hold us." 
 
 "If we don t get our stuff on the wire at 
 once," protested a New York man, "we ll be 
 too late for to-morrow s paper, and 
 
 Captain Scott said he did not care a profanely 
 small amount for to-morrow s paper, and that 
 all he knew was that to the station-house the 
 newspaper men would go. There they would 
 have a hearing, and if the magistrate chose to 
 let them off, that was the magistrate s business, 
 but that his duty was to take them into cus 
 tody. 
 
 "But then it will be too late, don t you un 
 derstand?" shouted Mr. Dwyer. " You ve got 
 to let us go now, at once." 
 
 " I can t do it, Mr. Dwyer," said the captain, 
 35
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 "and that s all there is to it. Why, haven t I 
 just sent the president of the Junior Republi 
 can Club to the patrol-wagon, the man that 
 put this coat on me, and do you think I can 
 let you fellows go after that? You were all 
 put under bonds to keep the peace not three 
 days ago, and here you re at it fighting like 
 badgers. It s worth my place to let one of you 
 off." 
 
 What Mr. Dwyer said next was so uncompli 
 mentary to the gallant Captain Scott that that 
 overwrought individual seized the sporting edi 
 tor by the shoulder, and shoved him into the 
 hands of two of his men. 
 
 This was more than the distinguished Mr. 
 Dwyer could brook, and he excitedly raised his 
 hand in resistance. But before he had time to 
 do anything foolish his wrist was gripped by one 
 strong little hand, and he was conscious that 
 another was picking the pocket of his great 
 coat. 
 
 He slapped his hands to his sides, and looking 
 down, saw Gallegher standing close behind him 
 and holding him by the wrist. Mr. Dwyer had 
 forgotten the boy s existence, and would have 
 spoken sharply if something in Gallegher s inno 
 cent eyes had not stopped him. 
 
 Gallegher s hand was still in that pocket, in 
 which Mr. Dwyer had shoved his note-book 
 
 36
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 filled with what he had written of Gallegher s 
 work and Hade s final capture, and with a run 
 ning descriptive account of the fight. With his 
 eyes fixed on Mr. Dwyer, Gallegher drew it out, 
 and with a quick movement shoved it inside 
 his waistcoat. Mr. Dwyer gave a nod of com 
 prehension. Then glancing at his two guards 
 men, and finding that they were still interested 
 in the wordy battle of the correspondents with 
 their chief, and had seen nothing, he stooped 
 and whispered to Gallegher: "The forms are 
 locked at twenty minutes to three. If you 
 don t get there by that time it will be of no use, 
 but if you re on time you ll beat the town and 
 the country too." 
 
 Gallegher s eyes flashed significantly, and 
 nodding his head to show he understood, started 
 boldly on a run toward the door. But the offi 
 cers who guarded it brought him to an abrupt 
 halt, and, much to Mr. Dwyer s astonishment, 
 drew from him what was apparently a torrent 
 of tears. 
 
 " Let me go to me father. I want me father, * 
 the boy shrieked, hysterically. "They ve rest 
 ed father. Oh, daddy, daddy. They re a-goin 
 to take you to prison." 
 
 "Who is your father, sonny?" asked one of 
 the guardians of the gate. 
 
 "Keppler s me father," sobbed Gallegher. 
 37
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 "They re a-goin to lock him up, and I ll never 
 see him no more." 
 
 "Oh, yes, you will," said the officer, good- 
 naturedly; "he s there in that first patrol- 
 wagon. You can run over and say good-night 
 to him, and then you d better get to bed. This 
 ain t no place for kids of your age." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," sniffed Gallegher, tear 
 fully, as the two officers raised their clubs, and 
 let him pass out into the darkness. 
 
 The yard outside was in a tumult, horses 
 were stamping, and plunging, and backing the 
 carriages into one another; lights were flashing 
 from every window of what had been appar 
 ently an uninhabited house, and the voices of 
 the prisoners were still raised in angry expos 
 tulation. 
 
 Three police patrol-wagons were moving 
 about the yard, filled with unwilling passengers, 
 who sat or stood, packed together like sheep 
 and with no protection from the sleet and rain. 
 
 Gallegher stole off into a dark corner, and 
 watched the scene until his eyesight became 
 familiar with the position of the land. 
 
 Then with his eyes fixed fearfully on the 
 swinging light of a lantern with which an officer 
 was searching among the carriages, he groped 
 his way between horses hoofs and behind the 
 wheels of carriages to the cab which he had 
 
 38
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 himself placed at the furthermost gate. It was 
 still there, and the horse, as he had left it, with 
 its head turned toward the city. Gallegher 
 opened the big gate noiselessly, and worked 
 nervously at the hitching strap. The knot was 
 covered with a thin coating of ice, and it was 
 several minutes before he could loosen it. But 
 his teeth finally pulled it apart, and with the 
 reins in his hands he sprang upon the wheel. 
 And as he stood so, a shock of fear ran down 
 his back like an electric current, his breath left 
 him, and he stood immovable, gazing with wide 
 eyes into the darkness. 
 
 The officer with the lantern had suddenly 
 loomed up from behind a carriage not fifty feet 
 distant, and was standing perfectly still, with 
 his lantern held over his head, peering so di 
 rectly toward Gallegher that the boy felt that 
 he must see him. Gallegher stood with one 
 foot on the hub of the wheel and with the other 
 on the box waiting to spring. It seemed a 
 minute before either of them moved, and then 
 the officer took a step forward, and demanded 
 sternly, "Who is that? What are you doing 
 there? * 
 
 There was no time for parley then. Galle 
 gher felt that he had been taken in the act, and 
 that his only chance lay in open flight. He 
 leaped up on the box, pulling out the whip as 
 
 39
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 he did so, and with a quick sweep lashed the 
 horse across the head and back. The animal 
 sprang forward with a snort, narrowly clear 
 ing the gate-post, and plunged off into the 
 darkness. 
 
 "Stop!" cried the officer. 
 
 So many of Gallegher s acquaintances among 
 the longshoremen and mill hands had been 
 challenged in so much the same manner that 
 Gallegher knew what would probably follow 
 if the challenge was disregarded. So he slipped 
 from his seat to the footboard below, and ducked 
 his head. 
 
 The three reports of a pistol, which rang out 
 briskly from behind him, proved that his early 
 training had given him a valuable fund of use 
 ful miscellaneous knowledge. 
 
 "Don t you be scared," he said, reassuringly, 
 to the horse; "he s firing in the air." 
 
 The pistol-shots were answered by the im 
 patient clangor of a patrol-wagon s gong, and 
 glancing over his shoulder Gallegher saw its 
 red and green lanterns tossing from side to side 
 and looking in the darkness like the side-lights 
 of a yacht plunging forward in a storm. 
 
 "I hadn t bargained to race you against no 
 patrol-wagons," said Gallegher to his animal; 
 "but if they want a race, we ll give them a 
 tough tussle for it, won t we?" 
 
 40
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 Philadelphia, lying four miles to the south, 
 sent up a faint yellow glow to the sky. It 
 seemed very far away, and Gallegher s brag 
 gadocio grew cold within him at the loneliness 
 of his adventure and the thought of the long 
 ride before him. 
 
 It was still bitterly cold. 
 
 The rain and sleet beat through his clothes, 
 and struck his skin with a sharp, chilling touch 
 that set him trembling. 
 
 Even the thought of the over-weighted pa 
 trol-wagon probably sticking in the mud some 
 safe distance in the rear, failed to cheer him, 
 and the excitement that had so far made him 
 callous to the cold died out and left him weaker 
 and nervous. 
 
 But his horse was chilled with the long stand 
 ing, and now leaped eagerly forward, only too 
 willing to warm the half-frozen blood in its 
 veins. 
 
 "You re a good beast," said Gallegher, plain 
 tively. "You ve got more nerve than me. 
 Don t you go back on me now. Mr. Dwyer 
 says we ve got to beat the town." Gallegher 
 had no idea what time it was as he rode through 
 the night, but he knew he would be able to find 
 out from a big clock over a manufactory at a 
 point nearly three-quarters of the distance from 
 Keppler s to the goal. 
 
 41
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 He was still in the open country and driving 
 recklessly, for he knew the best part of his ride 
 must be made outside the city limits. 
 
 He raced between desolate-looking corn-fields 
 with bare stalks and patches of muddy earth 
 rising above the thin covering of snow; truck 
 farms and brick-yards fell behind him on either 
 side. It was very lonely work, and once or 
 twice the dogs ran yelping to the gates and 
 barked after him. 
 
 Part of his way lay parallel with the railroad 
 tracks, and he drove for some time beside long 
 lines of freight and coal cars as they stood rest 
 ing for the night. The fantastic Queen Anne 
 suburban stations were dark and deserted, but 
 in one or two of the block-towers he could see 
 the operators writing at their desks, and the 
 sight in some way comforted him. 
 
 Once he thought of stopping to get out the 
 blanket in which he had wrapped himself on 
 the first trip, but he feared to spare the time, 
 and drove on with his teeth chattering and his 
 shoulders shaking with the cold. 
 
 He welcomed the first solitary row of dark 
 ened houses with a faint cheer of recognition. 
 The scattered lamp-posts lightened his spirits, 
 and even the badly paved streets rang under 
 the beats of his horse s feet like music. Great 
 mills and manufactories, with only a night- 
 
 42
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 watchman s light in the lowest of their many 
 stories, began to take the place of the gloomy 
 farm-houses and gaunt trees that had startled 
 him with their grotesque shapes. He had been 
 driving nearly an hour, he calculated, and in 
 that time the rain had changed to a wet snow, 
 that fell heavily and clung to whatever it 
 touched. He passed block after block of trim 
 workmen s houses, as still and silent as the 
 sleepers within them, and at last he turned the 
 horse s head into Broad Street, the city s great 
 thoroughfare, that stretches from its one end 
 to the other and cuts it evenly in two. 
 
 He was driving noiselessly over the snow and 
 slush in the street, with his thoughts bent only 
 on the clock-face he wished so much to see, 
 when a hoarse voice challenged him from the 
 sidewalk. "Hey, you, stop there, hold up!" 
 said the voice. 
 
 Gallegher turned his head, and though he saw 
 that the voice came from under a policeman s 
 helmet, his only answer was to hit his horse 
 sharply over the head with his whip and to 
 urge it into a gallop. 
 
 This, on his part, was followed by a sharp, 
 shrill whistle from the policeman. Another 
 whistle answered it from a street-corner one 
 block ahead of him. "Whoa," said Gallegher, 
 pulling on the reins. " There s one too many 
 
 43
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 of them," he added, in apologetic explanation. 
 The horse stopped, and stood, breathing heav 
 ily, with great clouds of steam rising from its 
 flanks. 
 
 "Why in hell didn t you stop when I told you 
 to?" demanded the voice, now close at the 
 cab s side. 
 
 "I didn t hear you," returned Gallegher, 
 sweetly. "But I heard you whistle, and I 
 heard your partner whistle, and I thought 
 maybe it was me you wanted to speak to, so 
 I just stopped." 
 
 "You heard me well enough. Why aren t 
 your lights lit?" demanded the voice. 
 
 "Should I have em lit?" asked Gallegher, 
 bending over and regarding them with sudden 
 interest. 
 
 "You know you should, and if you don t, 
 you ve no right to be driving that cab. I don t 
 believe you re the regular driver, any\vay. 
 Where d you get it?" 
 
 "It ain t my cab, of course," said Gallegher, 
 with an easy laugh. "It s Luke McGovern s. 
 He left it outside Cronin s while he went in to 
 get a drink, and he took too much, and me 
 father told me to drive it round to the stable 
 for him. I m Cronin s son. McGovern ain t 
 in no condition to drive. You can see your 
 self how he s been misusing the horse. He puts 
 
 44
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 it up at Bachman s livery stable, and I was just 
 going around there now/ 
 
 Gallegher s knowledge of the local celebrities 
 of the district confused the zealous officer of 
 the peace. He surveyed the boy with a steady 
 stare that would have distressed a less skilful 
 liar, but Gallegher only shrugged his shoulders 
 slightly, as if from the cold, and waited with ap 
 parent indifference to what the officer would 
 say next. 
 
 In reality his heart was beating heavily 
 against his side, and he felt that if he was kept 
 on a strain much longer he would give way and 
 break down. A second snow-covered form 
 emerged suddenly from the shadow of the 
 houses. 
 
 "What is it, Reeder?" it asked. 
 
 "Oh, nothing much," replied the first officer. 
 "This kid hadn t any lamps lit, so I called to 
 him to stop and he didn t do it, so I whistled to 
 you. It s all right, though. He s just taking 
 it round to Bachman s. Go ahead," he added, 
 sulkily. 
 
 "Get up !" chirped Gallegher. "Good night," 
 he added, over his shoulder. 
 
 Gallegher gave a hysterical little gasp of 
 relief as he trotted away from the two police 
 men, and poured bitter maledictions on their 
 heads for two meddling fools as he went. 
 
 45
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 They might as well kill a man as scare him 
 to death," he said, with an attempt to get back 
 to his customary flippancy. But the effort was 
 somewhat pitiful, and he felt guiltily conscious 
 that a salt, warm tear was creeping slowly down 
 his face, and that a lump that would not keep 
 down was rising in his throat. 
 
 Tain t no fair thing for the whole police 
 force to keep worrying at a little boy like me, * 
 he said, in shame-faced apology. "I m not 
 doing nothing wrong, and I m half froze to 
 death, and yet they keep a-nagging at me." 
 
 It was so cold that when the boy stamped his 
 feet against the footboard to keep them warm, 
 sharp pains shot up through his body, and 
 when he beat his arms about his shoulders, as 
 he had seen real cabmen do, the blood in his 
 finger-tips tingled so acutely that he cried aloud 
 with the pain. 
 
 He had often been up that late before, but 
 he had never felt so sleepy. It was as if some 
 one was pressing a sponge heavy with chloro 
 form near his face, and he could not fight off 
 the drowsiness that lay hold of him. 
 
 He saw, dimly hanging above his head, a 
 round disk of light that seemed like a great 
 moon, and which he finally guessed to be the 
 clock-face for which he had been on the look 
 out. He had passed it before he realized this; 
 
 46
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 but the fact stirred him into wakefulness again, 
 and when his cab s wheels slipped around the 
 City Hall corner, he remembered to look up at 
 the other big clock-face that keeps awake over 
 the railroad station and measures out the night. 
 
 He gave a gasp of consternation when he saw 
 that it was half-past two, and that there was 
 but ten minutes left to him. This, and the 
 many electric lights and the sight of the famil 
 iar pile of buildings, startled him into a semi- 
 consciousness of where he was and how great 
 was the necessity for haste. 
 
 He rose in his seat and called on the horse, 
 and urged it into a reckless gallop over the slip 
 pery asphalt. He considered nothing else but 
 speed, and looking neither to the left nor right 
 dashed off down Broad Street into Chestnut, 
 where his course lay straight away to the office, 
 now only seven blocks distant. 
 
 Gallegher never knew how it began, but he 
 was suddenly assaulted by shouts on either side, 
 his horse was thrown back on its haunches, and 
 he found two men in cabmen s livery hanging 
 at its head, and patting its sides, and calling it 
 by name. And the other cabmen who have 
 their stand at the corner were swarming about 
 the carriage, all of them talking and swearing 
 at once, and gesticulating wildly with their 
 whips. 
 
 47
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 They said they knew the cab was McGov- 
 ern s, and they wanted to know where he was, 
 and why he wasn t on it; they wanted to know 
 where Gallegher had stolen it, and why he had 
 been such a fool as to drive it into the arms of 
 its owner s friends ; they said that it was about 
 time that a cab-driver could get off his box to 
 take a drink without having his cab run away 
 with, and some of them called loudly for a po 
 liceman to take the young thief in charge. 
 
 Gallegher felt as if he had been suddenly 
 dragged into consciousness out of a bad dream, 
 and stood for a second lil^e a half-awakened 
 somnambulist. 
 
 They had stopped the cab under an electric 
 light, and its glare shone coldly down upon the 
 trampled snow and the faces of the men around 
 him. 
 
 Gallegher bent forward, and lashed savagely 
 at the horse with his whip. 
 
 "Let me go," he shouted, as he tugged im- 
 potently at the reins. "Let me go, I tell you. 
 I haven t stole no cab, and you ve got no right 
 to stop me. I only want to take it to the Press 
 office," he begged. "They ll send it back to 
 you all right. They ll pay you for the trip. 
 I m not running away with it. The driver s 
 got the collar he s rested and I m only 
 a-going to the Press office. Do you hear me?"
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 he cried, his voice rising and breaking in a 
 shriek of passion and disappointment. "I tell 
 you to let go those reins. Let me go, or I ll 
 kill you. Do you hear me? I ll kill you." 
 And leaning forward, the boy struck savagely 
 with his long whip at the faces of the men 
 about the horse s head. 
 
 Some one in the crowd reached up and 
 caught him by the ankles, and with a quick 
 jerk pulled him off the box, and threw him on 
 to the street. But he was up on his knees in a 
 moment, and caught at the man s hand. 
 
 "Don t let them stop me, mister," he cried 
 "please let me go. I didn t steal the cab, sir. 
 S help me, I didn t. I m telling you the truth. 
 Take me to the Press office, and they ll prove 
 it to you. They ll pay you anything you ask 
 em. It s only such a little ways now, and I ve 
 come so far, sir. Please don t let them stop 
 me," he sobbed, clasping the man about the 
 knees. "For Heaven s sake, mister, let me go !" 
 
 The managing editor of the Press took up 
 the india-rubber speaking-tube at his side, and 
 answered, "Not yet," to an inquiry the night 
 editor had already put to him five times within 
 the last twenty minutes. 
 
 Then he snapped the metal top of the tube 
 49
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 impatiently, and went up-stairs. As he passed 
 the door of the local room, he noticed that the 
 reporters had not gone home, but were sitting 
 about on the tables and chairs, waiting. They 
 looked up inquiringly as he passed, and the city 
 editor asked, "Any news yet?" and the man 
 aging editor shook his head. 
 
 The compositors were standing idle in the 
 composing-room, and their foreman was talk 
 ing with the night editor. 
 
 "Well," said that gentleman, tentatively. 
 
 "Well," returned the managing editor, "I 
 don t think we can wait; do you?" 
 
 "It s a half-hour after time now," said the 
 night editor, "and we ll miss the suburban 
 trains if we hold the paper back any longer. 
 We can t afford to wait for a purely hypothet 
 ical story. The chances are all against the 
 fight s having taken place or this Hade s hav 
 ing been arrested." 
 
 "But if we re beaten on it " suggested the 
 chief. "But I don t think that is possible. If 
 there were any story to print, Dwyer would 
 have had it here before now." 
 
 The managing editor looked steadily down at 
 the floor. 
 
 "Very well," he said, slowly, "we won t 
 wait any longer. Go ahead," he added, turn 
 ing to the foreman with a sigh of reluctance. 
 
 50
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 The foreman whirled himself about, and began 
 to give his orders; but the two editors still 
 looked at each other doubtfully. 
 
 As they stood so, there came a sudden shout 
 and the sound of people running to and fro in 
 the reportorial rooms below. There was the 
 tramp of many footsteps on the stairs, and 
 above the confusion they heard the voice of the 
 city editor telling some one to "run to Mad- 
 den s and get some brandy, quick." 
 
 No one in the composing-room said any 
 thing; but those compositors who had started 
 to go home began slipping off their overcoats, 
 and every one stood with his eyes fixed on the 
 door. 
 
 It was kicked open from the outside, and in 
 the doorway stood a cab-driver and the city 
 editor, supporting between them a pitiful little 
 figure of a boy, wet and miserable, and with 
 the snow melting on his clothes and running in 
 little pools to the floor. "Why, it s Gallegher," 
 said the night editor, in a tone of the keenest 
 disappointment. 
 
 Gallegher shook himself free from his sup 
 porters, and took an unsteady step forward, 
 his fingers fumbling stiffly with the buttons of 
 his waistcoat. 
 
 Mr. Dwyer, sir," he began faintly, with 
 nis eyes fixed fearfully on the managing editor, 
 
 5 1
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 "h*, got arrested and I couldn t get here no 
 sooner, cause they kept a-stopping me, and 
 they took me cab from under me but he 
 pulled the note-book from his breast and held 
 it out with its covers damp and limp from the 
 rain "but we got Hade, and here s Mr. Dwyer s 
 copy." 
 
 And then he asked, with a queer note in his 
 voice, partly of dread and partly of hope, "Am 
 I in time, sir?" 
 
 The managing editor took the book, and 
 tossed it to the foreman, who ripped out its 
 leaves and dealt them out to his men as rapidly 
 as a gambler deals out cards. 
 
 Then the managing editor stooped and picked 
 Gallegher up in his arms, and, sitting down, 
 began to unlace his wet and muddy shoes. 
 
 Gallegher made a faint effort to resist this 
 degradation of the managerial dignity; but his 
 protest was a very feeble one, and his head fell 
 back heavily on the managing editor s shoulder. 
 
 To Gallegher the incandescent lights began 
 to whirl about in circles, and to burn in dif 
 ferent colors; the faces of the reporters kneel 
 ing before him and chafing his hands and feet 
 grew dim and unfamiliar, and the roar and rum 
 ble of the great presses in the basement sounded 
 far away, like the murmur of the sea. 
 
 And then the place and the circumstances 
 
 52
 
 GALLEGHER 
 
 of it came back to him again sharply and with 
 sudden vividness. 
 
 Gallegher looked up, with a faint smile, into 
 the managing editor s face. "You won t turn 
 me off for running away, will you?" he whis 
 pered. 
 
 The managing editor did not answer immedi 
 ately. His head was bent, and he was think 
 ing, for some reason or other, of a little boy of 
 his own, at home in bed. Then he said quietly, 
 "Not this time, Gallegher." 
 
 Gallegher s head sank back comfortably on 
 the older man s shoulder, and he smiled compre 
 hensively at the faces of the young men crowded 
 around him. "You hadn t ought to," he said, 
 with a touch of his old impudence, " cause I 
 beat the town." 
 
 53
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 I 
 
 H. R. H. THE PRINCESS ALINE OF HOHEN- 
 WALD came into the life of Morton Carlton or 
 "Morney" Carlton, as men called him of New 
 York City, when that young gentleman s affairs 
 and affections were best suited to receive her. 
 Had she made her appearance three years 
 sooner or three years later, it is quite probable 
 that she would have passed on out of his life 
 with no more recognition from him than would 
 have been expressed in a look of admiring curi 
 osity. 
 
 But coming when she did, when his time and 
 heart were both unoccupied, she had an influ 
 ence upon young Mr. Carlton which led him 
 into doing several wise and many foolish things, 
 and which remained with him always. Carlton 
 had reached a point in his life, and very early 
 in his life, when he could afford to sit at ease 
 and look back with modest satisfaction to what 
 he had forced himself to do, and forward with 
 pleasurable anticipations to whatsoever he might 
 choose to do in the future. The world had ap- 
 
 57
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 predated what he had done, and had put much 
 to his credit, and he was prepared to draw 
 upon this grandly. 
 
 At the age of twenty he had found himself 
 his own master, with excellent family connec 
 tions, but with no family, his only relative 
 being a bachelor uncle, who looked at life from 
 the point of view of the Union Club s windows, 
 and who objected to his nephew s leaving Har 
 vard to take up the study of art in Paris. In 
 that city (where at Julian s he was nicknamed 
 the Junior Carlton, for the obvious reason that 
 he was the older of the two Carltons in the class, 
 and because he was well dressed) he had shown 
 himself a harder worker than others who were 
 less careful of their appearance and of their 
 manners. His work, of which he did not talk, 
 and his ambitions, of which he also did not 
 talk, bore fruit early, and at twenty-six he had 
 become a portrait-painter of international repu 
 tation. Then the French government pur 
 chased one of his paintings at an absurdly 
 small figure, and placed it in the Luxembourg, 
 from whence it would in time depart to be 
 buried in the hall of some provincial city; and 
 American millionaires and English Lord May 
 ors, members of Parliament and members of 
 the Institute, masters of hounds in pink coats 
 and ambassadors in gold lace, and beautiful 
 
 58
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 women of all nationalities and conditions sat 
 before his easel. And so when he returned to 
 New York he was welcomed with an enthusiasm 
 which showed that his countrymen had feared 
 that the artistic atmosphere of the Old World 
 had stolen him from them forever. He was 
 particularly silent, even at this date, about 
 his work, and listened to what others had to 
 say of it with much awe, not unmixed with 
 some amusement, that it should be he who was 
 capable of producing anything worthy of such 
 praise. We have been told what the mother 
 duck felt when her ugly duckling turned into a 
 swan, but we have never considered how much 
 the ugly duckling must have marvelled also. 
 
 "Carlton is probably the only living artist," 
 a brother artist had said of him, "who fails to 
 appreciate how great his work is." And on this 
 being repeated to Carlton by a good-natured 
 friend, he had replied cheerfully, "Well, I m 
 sorry, but it is certainly better to be the only 
 one who doesn t appreciate it than to be the 
 only one who does." 
 
 He had never understood why such a respon 
 sibility had been intrusted to him. It was, as 
 he expressed it, not at all in his line, and young 
 girls who sought to sit at the feet of the master 
 found him making love to them in the most 
 charming manner in the world, as though he 
 
 59
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 were not entitled to all the rapturous admira 
 tion of their very young hearts, but had to sue 
 for it like any ordinary mortal. Carlton al 
 ways felt as though some day some one would 
 surely come along and say: "Look here, young 
 man, this talent doesn t belong to you; it s 
 mine. What do you mean by pretending that 
 such an idle, good-natured youth as yourself is 
 entitled to such a gift of genius?" He felt that 
 he was keeping it in trust, as it were; that it 
 had been changed at birth, and that the proper 
 guardian would eventually relieve him of his 
 treasure. 
 
 Personally, Carlton was of the opinion that 
 he should have been born in the active days of 
 knights-errant to have had nothing more seri 
 ous to do than to ride abroad with a blue rib 
 bon fastened to the point of his lance, and with 
 the spirit to unhorse any one who objected to 
 its color, or to the claims of superiority of the 
 noble lady who had tied it there. There was 
 not, in his opinion, at the present day any suf 
 ficiently pronounced method of declaring ad 
 miration for the many lovely women this world 
 contained. A proposal of marriage he consid 
 ered to be a mean and clumsy substitute for 
 the older way, and was uncomplimentary to the 
 many other women left unasked, and marriage 
 itself required much more constancy than he 
 
 60
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 could give. He had a most romantic and old- 
 fashioned ideal of women as a class, and from 
 the age of fourteen had been a devotee of hun 
 dreds of them as individuals; and though in 
 that time his ideal had received several severe 
 shocks, he still believed that the "not impossi 
 ble she" existed somewhere, and his conscien 
 tious efforts to find out whether every woman 
 he met might not be that one had led him not 
 unnaturally into many difficulties. 
 
 "The trouble with me is," he said, "that I 
 care too much to make Platonic friendship pos 
 sible, and don t care enough to marry any par 
 ticular woman that is, of course, supposing 
 that any particular one would be so little par 
 ticular as to be willing to marry me. How em 
 barrassing it would be, now," he argued, "if 
 when you were turning away from the chancel 
 after the ceremony you should look at one of 
 the bridesmaids and see the woman whom you 
 y-salfy should have married ! How distressing 
 tiat would be ! You couldn t very well stop 
 and say: I am very sorry, my dear, but it 
 Seems I have made a mistake. That young 
 woman on the right has a most interesting and 
 beautiful face. I am very much afraid that she 
 is the one. It would be too late then; while 
 now, in my free state, I can continue my search 
 without any sense of responsibility." 
 
 61
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "Why" he would exclaim "I have walked 
 miles to get a glimpse of a beautiful woman in 
 a suburban window, and time and time again 
 when I have seen a face in a passing brougham 
 I have pursued it in a hansom, and learned 
 where the owner of the face lived, and spent 
 weeks in finding some one to present me, only 
 to discover that she was self-conscious or unin 
 teresting or engaged. Still I had assured my 
 self that she was not the one. I am very con 
 scientious, and I consider that it is my duty to 
 go so far with every woman I meet as to be 
 able to learn whether she is or is not the one, 
 and the sad result is that I am like a man 
 who follows the hounds but is never in at the 
 death." 
 
 "Well," some married woman would say, 
 grimly, "I hope you will get your deserts some 
 day; and you will, too. Some day some girl 
 will make you suffer for this." 
 
 "Oh, that s all right," Carlton would answer, 
 meekly. "Lots of women have made me suffer, 
 if that s what you think I need." 
 
 "Some day," the married woman would 
 prophesy, "you will care for a woman so much 
 that you will have no eyes for any one else. 
 That s the way it is when one is married." 
 
 "Well, when that s the way it is with me," 
 Carlton would reply, "I certainly hope to get 
 
 62
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 married; but until it is, I think it is safe for all 
 concerned that I should not." 
 
 Then Carlton would go to the club and com 
 plain bitterly to one of his friends. 
 
 "How unfair married women are!" he would 
 say. "The idea of thinking a man could have 
 no eyes but for one woman ! Suppose I had 
 never heard a note of music until I was twenty- 
 five years of age, and was then given my hear 
 ing. Do you suppose my pleasure in music 
 would make me lose my pleasure in every 
 thing else? Suppose I met and married a girl 
 at twenty-five. Is that going to make me for 
 get all the women I knew before I met her? I 
 think not. As a matter of fact, I really deserve 
 a great deal of credit for remaining single, for 
 I am naturally very affectionate; but when 
 I see what poor husbands my friends make, I 
 prefer to stay as I am until I am sure that I 
 will make a better one. It is only fair to the 
 woman." 
 
 Carlton was sitting in the club alone. He 
 had that sense of superiority over his fellows 
 and of irresponsibility to the world about him 
 that comes to a man when he knows that his 
 trunks are being packed and that his state-room 
 is engaged. He was leaving New York long 
 before most of his friends could get away. He 
 did not know just where he was going, and pre- 
 
 63
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 ferred not to know. He wished to have a com 
 plete holiday, and to see Europe as an idle 
 tourist, and not as an artist with an eye to his 
 own improvement. He had plenty of time and 
 money; he was sure to run across friends in the 
 big cities, and acquaintances he could make or 
 not, as he pleased, en route. He was not sorry 
 to go. His going would serve to put an end to 
 what gossip there might be of his engagement 
 to numerous young women whose admiration 
 for him as an artist, he was beginning to fear, 
 had taken on a more personal tinge. "I wish," 
 he said, gloomily, "I didn t like people so well. 
 It seems to cause them and me such a lot of 
 trouble." 
 
 He sighed, and stretched out his hand for a 
 copy of one of the English illustrated papers. 
 It had a fresher interest to him because the 
 next number of it that he would see would be in 
 the city in which it was printed. The paper 
 in his hands was the St. James Budget, and it 
 contained much fashionable intelligence con 
 cerning the preparations for a royal wedding 
 which was soon to take place between members 
 of two of the reigning families of Europe. 
 There was on one page a half-tone reproduc 
 tion of a photograph, which showed a group of 
 young people belonging to several of these 
 reigning families, with their names and titles 
 
 64
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 printed above and below the picture. They 
 were princesses, archdukes, or grand dukes, 
 and they were dressed like young English men 
 and women, and with no sign about them of 
 their possible military or social rank. 
 
 One of the young princesses in the photo 
 graph was looking out of it and smiling in a 
 tolerant, amused way, as though she had 
 thought of something which she could not wait 
 to enjoy until after the picture was taken. 
 She was not posing consciously, as were some 
 of the others, but was sitting in a natural atti 
 tude, with one arm over the back of her chair, 
 and with her hands clasped before her. Her 
 face was full of a fine intelligence and humor, 
 and though one of the other princesses in the 
 group was far more beautiful, this particular 
 one had a much more high-bred air, and there 
 was something of a challenge in her smile that 
 made any one who looked at the picture smile 
 also. Carlton studied the face for some time, 
 and mentally approved of its beauty; the 
 others seemed in comparison wooden and un- 
 individual, but this one looked like a person 
 he might have known, and whom he would 
 certainly have liked. He turned the page and 
 surveyed the features of the Oxford crew with 
 lesser interest, and then turned the page again 
 and gazed critically and severely at the face
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 of the princess with the high-bred smile. He 
 had hoped that he would find it less interest 
 ing at a second glance, but it did not prove to 
 be so. 
 
 The Princess Aline of Hohenwald, he 
 read. "She s probably engaged to one of those 
 Johnnies beside her, and the Grand Duke of 
 Hohenwald behind her must be her brother." 
 He put the paper down and went in to lunch 
 eon, and diverted himself by mixing a salad 
 dressing; but after a few moments he stopped 
 in the midst of this employment, and told 
 the waiter, with some unnecessary sharpness, 
 to bring him the last copy of the St. James 
 Budget. 
 
 "Confound it!" he added, to himself. 
 
 He opened the paper with a touch of impa 
 tience and gazed long and earnestly at the face 
 of the Princess Aline, who continued to return 
 his look with the same smile of amused toler 
 ance. Carlton noted every detail of her tailor- 
 made gown, of her high mannish collar, of her 
 tie, and even the rings on her hand. There 
 was nothing about her of which he could fairly 
 disapprove. He wondered why it was that she 
 could not have been born an approachable New 
 York girl instead of a princess of a little Ger 
 man duchy, hedged in throughout her single 
 life, and to be traded off eventually in mar- 
 
 66
 
 The Princess Aline of Hohemvald.
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 riage with as much consideration as though she 
 were a princess of a real kingdom. 
 
 "She looks jolly, too," he mused, in an in 
 jured tone; "and so very clever; and of course 
 she has a beautiful complexion. All those 
 German girls have. Your Royal Highness is 
 more than pretty," he said, bowing his head 
 gravely. "You look as a princess should look. 
 I am sure it was one of your ancestors who dis 
 covered the dried pea under a dozen mattresses." 
 He closed the paper, and sat for a moment with 
 a perplexed smile of consideration. "Waiter," 
 he exclaimed, suddenly, "send a messenger-boy 
 to Brentano s for a copy of the St. James Budget, 
 and bring me the Almanach de Gotha from 
 the library. It is a little fat red book on the 
 table near the window." Then Carlton opened 
 the paper again and propped it up against a 
 carafe, and continued his critical survey of the 
 Princess Aline. He seized the Almanach, when 
 it came, with some eagerness. 
 
 "Hohenwald (Maison de Grasse)," he read, 
 and in small type below it: 
 
 "i. Ligne cadette (regnante) grand-ducale: Hohen 
 wald et de Grasse. 
 
 "Guillaume - Albert - Frederick - Charles - Louis, 
 Grand-Due de Hohenwald et de Grasse, etc., etc., etc." 
 
 That s the brother, right enough," mut 
 tered Carlton. 
 
 67
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 And under the heading "Soeurs" he read: 
 
 "4. Psse Aline. Victoria-Beatrix-Louise-Helene/ Alt. 
 Gr.-Duc. Nee a Grasse, Juin, 1872." 
 
 "Twenty-two years old," exclaimed Carl- 
 ton. "What a perfect age! I could not have 
 invented a better one." He looked from the 
 book to the face before him. "Now, my dear 
 young lady," he said, "I know all about you. 
 You live at Grasse, and you are connected, to 
 judge by your names, with all the English roy 
 alties; and very pretty names they are, too 
 Aline, Helene, Victoria, Beatrix. You must 
 be much more English than you are German; 
 and I suppose you live in a little old castle, and 
 your brother has a standing army of twelve 
 men, and some day you are to marry a Rus 
 sian Grand Duke, or whoever your brother s 
 Prime Minister if he has a Prime Minister 
 decides is best for the politics of your little toy 
 kingdom. Ah ! to think," exclaimed Carlton, 
 softly, "that such a lovely and glorious crea 
 ture as that should be sacrificed for so insig 
 nificant a thing as the peace of Europe when 
 she might make some young man happy?" 
 
 He carried a copy of the paper to his room, 
 and cut the picture of the group out of the page 
 and pasted it carefully on a stiff piece of card 
 board. Then he placed it on his dressing-table, 
 
 68
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 in front of a photograph of a young woman in 
 a large silver frame which was a sign, had the 
 young woman but known it, that her reign for 
 the time being was over. 
 
 Nolan, the young Irishman who "did for" 
 Carlton, knew better than to move it when he 
 found it there. He had learned to study his 
 master since he had joined him in London, and 
 understood that one photograph in the silver 
 frame was entitled to more consideration than 
 three others on the writing-desk or half a dozen 
 on the mantel-piece. Nolan had seen them 
 come and go; he had watched them rise and 
 fall; he had carried notes to them, and books 
 and flowers; and had helped to depose them 
 from the silver frame and move them on by 
 degrees down the line, until they went inglori- 
 ously into the big brass bowl on the side table. 
 Nolan approved highly of this last choice. He 
 did not know which one of the three in the 
 group it might be; but they were all pretty, 
 and their social standing was certainly distin 
 guished. 
 
 Guido, the Italian model who ruled over the 
 studio, and Nolan were busily packing when 
 Carlton entered. He always said that Guido 
 represented him in his professional and Nolan 
 in his social capacity. Guido cleaned the 
 brushes and purchased the artists materials;
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 Nolan cleaned his riding-boots and bought his 
 theatre and railroad tickets. 
 
 "Guido," said Carlton, "there are two 
 sketches I made in Germany last year, one of 
 the Prime Minister, and one of Ludvvig the 
 actor; get them out for me, will you, and pack 
 them for shipping. Nolan," he went on, "here 
 is a telegram to send." 
 
 Nolan would not have read a letter, but he 
 looked upon telegrams as public documents, 
 the reading of them as part of his perquisites. 
 This one was addressed to Oscar Von Holtz, 
 First Secretary, German Embassy, Washing 
 ton, D. G, and the message read: 
 
 Please telegraph me full title and address Princess 
 Aline of Hohenwald. Where would a letter reach her? 
 
 MORTON CARLTON. 
 
 The next morning Nolan carried to the ex 
 press office a box containing two oil-paintings 
 on small canvases. They were addressed to the 
 man in London who attended to the shipping and 
 forwarding of Carlton s pictures in that town. 
 
 There was a tremendous crowd on the New 
 "York. She sailed at the obliging hour of eleven 
 in the morning, and many people, in conse 
 quence, whose affection \vould not have stood 
 in the way of their breakfast, made it a point 
 
 70
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 to appear and to say good-by. Carlton, for his 
 part, did not notice them; he knew by experi 
 ence that the attractive-looking people always 
 leave a steamer when the whistle blows, and 
 that the next most attractive-looking, who re 
 main on board, are ill all the way over. A man 
 that he knew seized him by the arm as he was 
 entering his cabin, and asked if he were cross 
 ing or just seeing people off. 
 
 "Well, then, I want to introduce you to Miss 
 Morris and her aunt, Mrs. Downs; they are 
 going over, and I should be glad if you would 
 be nice to them. But you know her, I guess?" 
 he asked, over his shoulder, as Carlton pushed 
 his way after him down the deck. 
 
 " I know who she is," he said. 
 
 Miss Edith Morris was surrounded by a 
 treble circle of admiring friends, and seemed 
 to be holding her own. They all stopped when 
 Carlton came up, and looked at him rather 
 closely, and those whom he knew seemed to 
 mark the fact by a particularly hearty greeting. 
 The man who had brought him up acted as 
 though he had successfully accomplished a 
 somewhat difficult and creditable feat. Carl- 
 ton bowed himself away, leaving Miss Morris 
 to her friends, and saying that she would prob 
 ably have to see him later, whether she wished 
 it or not. He then went to meet the aunt, who
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 received him kindly, for there were very few 
 people on the passenger list, and she was glad 
 they were to have his company. Before he 
 left she introduced him to a young man named 
 Abbey, who was hovering around her most 
 anxiously, and whose interest, she seemed to 
 think it necessary to explain, was due to the 
 fact that he was engaged to Miss Morris. Mr. 
 Abbey left the steamer when the whistle blew, 
 and Carlton looked after him gratefully. He 
 always enjoyed meeting attractive girls who 
 were engaged, as it left him no choice in the 
 matter, and excused him from finding out 
 whether or not that particular young woman 
 was the one. 
 
 Mrs. Downs and her niece proved to be ex 
 perienced sailors, and faced the heavy sea that 
 met the New York outside of Sandy Hook with 
 unconcern. Carlton joined them, and they 
 stood together leaning with their backs to the 
 rail, and trying to fit the people who flitted past 
 them to the names on the passenger list. 
 
 "The young lady in the sailor suit," said 
 Miss Morris, gazing at the top of the smoke 
 stack, "is Miss Kitty Flood, of Grand Rapids. 
 This is her first voyage, and she thinks a steamer 
 is something like a yacht, and dresses for the 
 part accordingly. She does not know that it 
 is merely a moving hotel." 
 
 72
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "I am afraid," said Carlton, "to judge from 
 her agitation, that hers is going to be what the 
 professionals call a * dressing-room* part. Why 
 is it," he asked, "that the girls on a steamer 
 who wear gold anchors and the men in yacht 
 ing-caps are always the first to disappear? 
 That man with the sombrero," he went on, "is 
 James M. Pollock, United States Consul to 
 Mauritius; he is going out to his post. I know 
 he is the consul, because he comes from Fort 
 Worth, Texas, and is therefore admirably fitted 
 to speak either French or the native language 
 of the island." 
 
 "Oh, we don t send consuls to Mauritius," 
 laughed Miss Morris. "Mauritius is one of 
 those places from which you buy stamps, but 
 no one really lives or goes there." 
 
 "Where are you going, may I ask?" in 
 quired Carlton. 
 
 Miss Morris said that they were making their 
 way to Constantinople and Athens, and then 
 to Rome; that as they had not had the time 
 to take the southern route, they purposed 
 to journey across the Continent direct from 
 Paris to the Turkish capital by the Orient Ex 
 press. 
 
 "We shall be a few days in London, and in 
 Paris only long enough for some clothes," she 
 replied. 
 
 73
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "The trousseau," thought Carlton. "Weeks 
 is what she should have said." 
 
 The three sat together at the captain s table, 
 and as the sea continued rough, saw little of 
 either the captain or his other guests, and were 
 thrown much upon the society of each other. 
 They had innumerable friends and interests in 
 common; and Mrs. Downs, who had been 
 everywhere, and for long seasons at a time, 
 proved as alive as her niece, and Carlton con 
 ceived a great liking for her. She seemed to 
 be just and kindly minded, and, owing to her 
 age, to combine the wider judgment of a man 
 with the sympathetic interest of a woman. 
 Sometimes they sat together in a row and read, 
 and gossiped over what they read, or struggled 
 up the deck as it rose and fell and buffeted with 
 the wind; and later they gathered in a corner 
 of the saloon and ate late suppers of Carlton s 
 devising, or drank tea in the captain s cabin, 
 which he had thrown open to them. They had 
 started knowing much about one another, and 
 this and the necessary proximity of the ship 
 hastened their acquaintance. 
 
 The sea grew calmer the third day out, and 
 the sun came forth and showed the decks as 
 clean as bread-boards. Miss Morris and Carl- 
 ton seated themselves on the huge iron riding- 
 bits in the bow, and with their elbows on the 
 
 74
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 rail looked down at the whirling blue water, and 
 rejoiced silently in the steady rush of the great 
 vessel, and in the uncertain warmth of the 
 March sun. Carlton was sitting to leeward of 
 Miss Morris, with a pipe between his teeth. 
 He was warm, and at peace with the world. 
 He had found his new acquaintance more than 
 entertaining. She was even friendly, and 
 treated him as though he were much her junior, 
 as is the habit of young women lately married or 
 who are about to be married. Carlton did not 
 resent it; on the contrary, it made him more 
 at his ease with her, and as she herself chose 
 to treat him as a youth, he permitted himself 
 to be as foolish as he pleased. 
 
 "I don t know why it is," he complained, peer 
 ing over the rail, "but whenever I look over 
 the side to watch the waves a man in a greasy 
 cap always sticks his head out of a hole below 
 me and scatters a barrelful of ashes or potato 
 peelings all over the ocean. It spoils the effect 
 for one. Next time he does it I am going to 
 knock out the ashes of my pipe on the back of 
 his neck." Miss Morris did not consider this 
 worthy of comment, and there was a long, lazy 
 pause. 
 
 :< You haven t told us where you go after 
 London," she said; and then, without waiting 
 for him to reply, she asked, "Is it your profes- 
 
 75
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 sional or your social side that you are treating 
 to a trip this time?" 
 
 "Who told you that?" asked Carlton, smiling. 
 
 "Oh, I don t know. Some man. He said 
 you were a Jekyll and Hyde. Which is 
 Jekyll? You see, I only know your professional 
 side." 
 
 "You must try to find out for yourself by 
 deduction," he said, "as you picked out the 
 other passengers. I am going to Grasse," he 
 continued. "It s the capital of Hohenwald. 
 Do you know it?" 
 
 :< Yes," she said; "we were there once for a 
 few days. We went to see the pictures. I sup 
 pose you know that the old Duke, the father of 
 the present one, ruined himself almost by buy 
 ing pictures for the Grasse gallery. We were 
 there at a bad time, though, when the palace 
 was closed to visitors, and the gallery too. I 
 suppose that is what is taking you there?" 
 
 "No," Carlton said, shaking his head. "No, 
 it is not the pictures. I am going to Grasse," 
 he said, gravely, "to see the young woman with 
 whom I am in love." 
 
 Miss Morris looked up in some surprise, and 
 smiled consciously, with a natural feminine in 
 terest in an affair of love, and one which was a 
 secret as well. 
 
 "Oh," she said, "I beg your pardon; we I 
 had not heard of it."
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "No, it is not a thing one could announce 
 exactly," said Carl ton; "it is rather in an em 
 bryo state as yet in fact, I have not met the 
 young lady so far, but I mean to meet her. 
 That s why I am going abroad." 
 
 Miss Morris looked at him sharply to see if 
 he were smiling, but he was, on the contrary, 
 gazing sentimentally at the horizon-line, and 
 puffing meditatively on his pipe. He was ap 
 parently in earnest, and waiting for her to make 
 some comment. 
 
 "How very interesting!" was all she could 
 think to say. 
 
 Yes, when you know the details, it is, 
 very interesting," he answered. "She is the 
 Princess Aline of Hohenwald," he explained, 
 bowing his head as though he were making the 
 two young ladies known to one another. "She 
 has several other names, six in all, and her age 
 is twenty-two. That is all I know about her. 
 I saw her picture in an illustrated paper just 
 before I sailed, and I made up my mind I would 
 meet her, and here I am. If she is not in Grasse, 
 I intend to follow her to wherever she may be." 
 He waved his pipe at the ocean before him, and 
 recited, with mock seriousness: 
 
 4 Across the hills and far away, 
 
 Beyond their utmost purple rim, 
 And deep into the dying day, 
 
 The happy Princess followed him. 
 
 77
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "Only in this case, you see," said Carlton, 
 "I am following the happy Princess. * 
 
 "No; but seriously, though," said Miss Mor 
 ris, "what is it you mean? Are you going to 
 paint her portrait?" 
 
 "I never thought of that," exclaimed Carl- 
 ton. "I don t know but what your idea is a 
 good one. Miss Morris, that s a great idea." 
 He shook his head approvingly. "I did not do 
 wrong to confide in you," he said. "It was 
 perhaps taking a liberty; but as you have not 
 considered it as such, I am glad I spoke." 
 
 "But you don t really mean to tell me," ex 
 claimed the girl, facing about, and nodding her 
 head at him, "that you are going abroad after 
 a woman whom you have never seen, and be 
 cause you like a picture of her in a paper?" 
 
 "I do," said Carlton. "Because I like her 
 picture, and because she is a Princess." 
 
 "Well, upon my word," said Miss Morris, 
 gazing at him with evident admiration, "that s 
 what my younger brother would call a distinctly 
 sporting proposition. Only I don t see," she 
 added, "what her being a Princess has to do 
 with it." 
 
 You don t?" laughed Carlton easily. 
 
 That s the best part of it that s the plot. 
 
 The beauty of being in love with a Princess, 
 
 Miss Morris," he said, "lies in the fact that 
 
 78
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 you can t marry her; that you can love her 
 deeply and forever, and nobody will ever come 
 to you and ask your intentions, or hint that 
 after such a display of affection you ought to 
 do something. Now, with a girl who is not a 
 Princess, even if she understands the situation 
 herself, and wouldn t marry you to save her 
 life, still there is always some one a father, or 
 a mother, or one of your friends who makes 
 it his business to interfere, and talks about it, 
 and bothers you both. But \vith a Princess, 
 you see, that is all eliminated. You can t 
 marry a Princess, because they won t let you. 
 A Princess has got to marry a real royal chap, 
 and so you are perfectly ineligible and free to 
 sigh for her, and make pretty speeches to her, 
 and see her as often as you can, and revel in 
 your devotion and unrequited affection." 
 
 Miss Morris regarded him doubtfully. She 
 did not wish to prove herself too credulous. 
 "And you honestly want me, Mr. Carlton, to 
 believe that you are going abroad just for 
 this?" 
 
 You see," Carlton answered her, "if you 
 only knew me better you would have no doubt 
 on the subject at all. It isn t the thing some 
 men would do, I admit, but it is exactly what 
 any one who knows me would expect of me. I 
 should describe it, having had acquaintance 
 
 79
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 with the young man for some time, as being 
 eminently characteristic. And besides, think 
 what a good story it makes ! Every other man 
 who goes abroad this summer will try to tell 
 about his travels when he gets back to New 
 York, and, as usual, no one will listen to him. 
 But they will have to listen to me. You ve 
 been across since I saw you last. What did 
 you do? they ll ask, politely. And then, in 
 stead of simply telling them that I have been 
 in Paris or London, I can say, Oh, I ve been 
 chasing around the globe after the Princess 
 Aline of Hohenwald. That sounds interesting, 
 doesn t it? When you come to think of it," 
 Carlton continued, meditatively, "it is not so 
 very remarkable. Men go all the way to Cuba 
 and Mexico, and even to India, after orchids, 
 after a nasty flower that grows in an absurd 
 way on the top of a tree. Why shouldn t a 
 young man go as far as Germany after a beau 
 tiful Princess, who walks on the ground, and 
 who can talk and think and feel? She is much 
 more worth while than an orchid." 
 
 Miss Morris laughed indulgently. "Well, I 
 didn t know such devotion existed at this end 
 of the century," she said; "it s quite nice and 
 encouraging. I hope you will succeed, I am 
 sure. I only wish we were going to be near 
 enough to see how you get on. I have never 
 
 80
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 been a confidante when there was a real Prin 
 cess concerned," she said; "it makes it so much 
 more amusing. May one ask what your plans 
 are?" 
 
 Carlton doubted if he had any plans as yet. 
 "I have to reach the ground first," he said, 
 "and after that I must reconnoitre. I may 
 possibly adopt your idea, and ask to paint her 
 portrait, only I dislike confusing my social and 
 professional sides. As a matter of fact, though," 
 he said, after a pause, laughing guiltily, "I 
 have done a little of that already. I prepared 
 her, as it were, for my coming. I sent her 
 studies of two pictures I made last winter in 
 Berlin. One of the Prime Minister, and one of 
 Ludwig, the tragedian at the Court Theatre. 
 I sent them to her through my London agent, 
 so that she would think they had come from 
 some one of her English friends, and I told the 
 dealer not to let any one know who had for 
 warded them. My idea was that it might help 
 me, perhaps, if she knew something about me 
 before I appeared in person. It was a sort of 
 letter of introduction written by myself." 
 
 "Well, really," expostulated Miss Morris, 
 "you certainly woo in a royal way. Are you in 
 the habit of giving away your pictures to any 
 one whose photograph you happen to like? 
 That seems to me to be giving new lamps for 
 
 81
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 old to a degree. I must see if I haven t some 
 of my sister s photographs in my trunk. She 
 is considered very beautiful." 
 
 "Well, you wait until you see this particular 
 portrait, and you will understand it better," 
 said Carlton. 
 
 The steamer reached Southampton early in 
 the afternoon, and Carlton secured a special 
 compartment on the express to London for Mrs. 
 Downs and her niece and himself, with one ad 
 joining for their maid and Nolan. It was a 
 beautiful day, and Carlton sat with his eyes 
 fixed upon the passing fields and villages, ex 
 claiming with pleasure from time to time at the 
 white roads and the feathery trees and hedges, 
 and the red roofs of the inns and square towers 
 of the village churches. 
 
 "Hedges are better than barbed-wire fences, 
 aren t they?" he said. "You see that girl 
 picking wild flowers from one of them? She 
 looks just as though she were posing for a pic 
 ture for an illustrated paper. She couldn t pick 
 flowers from a barbed-wire fence, could she? 
 And there would probably be a tramp along the 
 road somewhere to frighten her; and see the 
 chap in knickerbockers farther down the road 
 leaning on the stile. I am sure he is waiting for 
 her; and here comes a coach," he ran on. 
 "Don t the red wheels look well against the 
 
 82
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 hedges? It s a pretty little country, England, 
 isn t it? like a private park or a model vil 
 lage. I am glad to get back to it I am glad 
 to see the three-and-six signs with the little 
 slanting dash between the shillings and pennies. 
 Yes, even the steam-rollers and the man with 
 the red flag in front are welcome." 
 
 "I suppose," said Mrs. Downs, "it s because 
 one has been so long on the ocean that the ride 
 to London seems so interesting. It always pays 
 me for the entire trip. Yes," she said, with a 
 sigh, "in spite of the patent-medicine signs they 
 have taken to putting up all along the road. 
 It seems a pity they should adopt our bad 
 habits instead of our good ones." 
 
 "They are a bit slow at adopting anything," 
 commented Carlton. "Did you know, Mrs. 
 Downs, that electric lights are still as scarce in 
 London as they are in Timbuctoo? Why, I 
 saw an electric-light plant put up in a West 
 ern town in three days once; there were over a 
 hundred burners in one saloon, and the engi 
 neer who put them up told me in confidence 
 that- 
 
 What the chief engineer told him in confi 
 dence was never disclosed, for at that moment 
 Miss Morris interrupted him with a sudden 
 sharp exclamation. 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Carlton," she exclaimed, breath- 
 
 83
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 lessly, "listen to this!" She had been reading 
 one of the dozen papers which Carlton had pur 
 chased at the station, and was now shaking one 
 of them at him, with her eyes fixed on the open 
 page. 
 
 "My dear Edith," remonstrated her aunt, 
 "Mr. Carlton was telling us ! 
 
 "Yes, I know," exclaimed Miss Morris, 
 laughing, "but this interests him much more 
 than electric lights. Who do you think is in 
 London?" she cried, raising her eyes to his, 
 and pausing for proper dramatic effect. "The 
 Princess Aline of Hohenwald!" 
 
 "No?" shouted Carlton. 
 
 "Yes," Miss Morris answered, mocking his 
 tone. "Listen. The Queen s Drawing-room* 
 em e m on her right was the Princess of 
 Wales em m. Oh, I can t find it no yes, 
 here it is. Next to her stood the Princess Aline 
 of Hohenwald. She wore a dress of white silk, 
 with train of silver brocade trimmed with fur. 
 Ornaments emeralds and diamonds; orders 
 Victoria and Albert, Jubilee Commemora 
 tion Medal, Coburg and Gotha, and Hohen 
 wald and Grasse. 
 
 "By Jove!" cried Carlton, excitedly. "I 
 say, is that really there? Let me see it, please, 
 for myself." 
 
 Miss Morris handed him the paper, with her 
 84
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 finger on the paragraph, and picking up an 
 other, began a search down its columns. 
 
 "You are right," exclaimed Carlton, sol 
 emnly; "it s she, sure enough. And here I ve 
 been within two hours of her and didn t know 
 it?" 
 
 Miss Morris gave another triumphant cry, 
 as though she had discovered a vein of gold. 
 
 :< Yes, and here she is again," she said, "in 
 the Gentlewoman: The Queen s dress was of 
 black, as usual, but relieved by a few violet rib 
 bons in the bonnet; and Princess Beatrice, 
 who sat by her mother s side, showed but little 
 trace of the anxiety caused by Princess Ena s 
 accident. Princess Aline, on the front seat, in a 
 light-brown jacket and a becoming bonnet, gave 
 the necessary touch to a picture which Lon 
 doners would be glad to look upon more 
 often. " 
 
 Carlton sat staring forward, with his hands 
 on his knees, and with his eyes open wide from 
 excitement. He presented so unusual an ap 
 pearance of bewilderment and delight that Mrs. 
 Downs looked at him and at her niece for some 
 explanation. The young lady seems to in 
 terest you," said she, tentatively. 
 
 "She is the most charming creature in the 
 world, Mrs. Downs," cried Carlton, "and I was 
 going all the way to Grasse to see her, and now 
 
 85
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 it turns out that she is here in England, within 
 a few miles of us." He turned and waved his 
 hands at the passing landscape. "Every min 
 ute brings us nearer together." 
 
 "And you didn t feel it in the air!" mocked 
 Miss Morris, laughing. "You are a pretty poor 
 sort of a man to let a girl tell you where to find 
 the woman you love." 
 
 Carlton did not answer, but stared at her 
 very seriously and frowned intently. "Now I 
 have got to begin all over again and readjust 
 things," he said. "We might have guessed she 
 would be in London, on account of this royal 
 wedding. It is a great pity it isn t later in the 
 season, when there would be more things going 
 on and more chances of meeting her. Now 
 they will all be interested in themselves, and, 
 being extremely exclusive, no one who isn t a 
 cousin to the bridegroom or an Emperor would 
 have any chance at all. Still, I can see her ! I 
 can look at her, and that s something." 
 
 "It is better than a photograph, anyway," 
 said Miss Morris. 
 
 "They will be either at Buckingham Palace 
 or at Windsor, or they will stop at Brown s," 
 said Carlton. "All royalties go to Brown s. I 
 don t know why, unless it is because it is so ex 
 pensive; or maybe it is expensive because roy 
 alties go there; but, in any event, if they are 
 
 86
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 not at the palace, that is where they will be, 
 and that is where I shall have to go too/ 
 
 When the train drew up at Victoria Station, 
 Carlton directed Nolan to take his things to 
 Brown s Hotel, but not to unload them until 
 he had arrived. Then he drove with the ladies 
 to Cox s, and saw them settled there. He 
 promised to return at once to dine, and to tell 
 them what he had discovered in his absence. 
 You ve got to help me in this, Miss Morris," 
 he said, nervously. "I am beginning to feel 
 that I am not worthy of her." 
 
 "Oh, yes, you are !" she said, laughing; "but 
 don t forget that it s not the lover who comes 
 to woo, but the lover s way of wooing, and that 
 faint heart and the rest of it." 
 
 "Yes, I know," said Carlton, doubtfully; 
 "but it s a bit sudden, isn t it?" 
 
 "Oh, I am ashamed of you ! You are fright 
 ened." 
 
 "No, not frightened, exactly," said the 
 painter. "I think it s just natural emotion." 
 
 As Carlton turned into Albemarle Street he 
 noticed a red carpet stretching from the door 
 way of Brown s Hotel out across the sidewalk 
 to a carriage, and a bareheaded man bustling 
 about apparently assisting several gentlemen 
 to get into it. This and another carriage and 
 Nolan s four-wheeler blocked the way; but
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 without waiting for them to move up, Carlton 
 leaned out of his hansom and called the bare 
 headed man to its side. 
 
 " Is the Duke of Hohenwald stopping at your 
 hotel?" he asked. The bareheaded man an 
 swered that he was. 
 
 "AH right, Nolan," cried Carlton. "They 
 can take in the trunks." 
 
 Hearing this, the bareheaded man hastened 
 to help Carlton to alight. "That was the Duke 
 who just drove off, sir; and those," he said, 
 pointing to three muffled figures who were step 
 ping into a second carriage, "are his sisters, the 
 Princesses." 
 
 Carlton stopped midway, with one foot on the 
 step and the other in the air. 
 
 "The deuce they are!" he exclaimed; "and 
 which is J: he began, eagerly, and then, re 
 membering himself, dropped back on the cush 
 ions of the hansom. 
 
 He broke into the little dining-room at Cox s 
 in so excited a state that two dignified old gen 
 tlemen who were eating there sat open-mouthed 
 in astonished disapproval. Mrs. Downs and 
 Miss Morris had just come down-stairs. 
 
 "I have seen her!" Carlton cried, ecstati 
 cally; "only half an hour in the town, and I ve 
 seen her already!" 
 
 "No, really?" exclaimed Miss Morris. "And
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 how did she look? Is she as beautiful as you 
 expected?" 
 
 "Well, I can t tell yet," Carlton answered. 
 There were three of them, and they were all 
 muffled up, and which one of the three she was 
 I don t know. She wasn t labelled, as in the 
 picture, but she was there, and I saw her. The 
 woman I love was one of those three, and I 
 have engaged rooms at the hotel, and this very 
 night the same roof shelters us both."
 
 II 
 
 "THE course of true love certainly runs 
 smoothly with you," said Miss Morris, as they 
 seated themselves at the table. "What is your 
 next move? What do you mean to do now?" 
 
 "The rest is very simple/ said Carlton. 
 "To-morrow morning I will go to the Row; I 
 will be sure to find some one there who knows 
 all about them where they are going, and who 
 they are seeing, and what engagements they 
 may have. Then it will only be a matter of 
 looking up some friend in the Household or in 
 one of the embassies who can present me." 
 
 "Oh," said Miss Morris, in the tone of keen 
 est disappointment, "but that is such a com 
 monplace ending ! You started out so roman 
 tically. Couldn t you manage to meet her in a 
 less conventional way?" 
 
 "I am afraid not," said Carlton. "You see, I 
 want to meet her very much, and to meet her 
 very soon, and the quickest way of meeting 
 her, whether it s romantic or not, isn t a bit 
 too quick for me. There will be romance 
 enough after I am presented, if I have my way." 
 
 But Carlton was not to have his way; for he 
 90
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 had overlooked the fact that it requires as many 
 to make an introduction as a bargain, and he 
 had left the Duke of Hohenwald out of his con 
 siderations. He met many people he knew in 
 the Row the next morning; they asked him to 
 lunch, and brought their horses up to the rail, 
 and he patted the horses heads, and led the 
 conversation around to the royal wedding, and 
 through it to the Hohenwalds. He learned that 
 they had attended a reception at the German 
 Embassy on the previous night, and it was one 
 of the secretaries of that embassy who informed 
 him of their intended departure that morning 
 on the eleven o clock train to Paris. 
 
 "To Paris!" cried Carlton, in consternation. 
 "What! all of them?" 
 
 "Yes, all of them, of course. Why?" asked 
 the young German. But Carlton was already 
 dodging across the tan-bark to Piccadilly and 
 waving his stick at a hansom. 
 
 Nolan met him at the door of Brown s Hotel 
 with an anxious countenance. 
 
 "Their Royal Highnesses have gone, sir," he 
 said. "But I ve packed your trunks and sent 
 them to the station. Shall I follow them, sir?" 
 
 "Yes," said Carlton. "Follow the trunks 
 and follow the Hohenwalds. I will come over 
 on the Club train at four. Meet me at the sta 
 tion, and tell me to what hotel they have gone.
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 Wait; if I miss you, you can find me at the 
 Hotel Continental; but if they go straight on 
 through Paris, you go with them, and telegraph 
 me here and to the Continental. Telegraph at 
 every station, so I can keep track of you. Have 
 you enough money?* 
 
 "I have, sir enough for a long trip, sir." 
 
 "Well, you ll need it," said Carlton, grimly. 
 "This is going to be a long trip. It is twenty 
 minutes to eleven now; you will have to hurry. 
 Have you paid my bill here?" 
 
 "I have, sir," said Nolan. 
 
 "Then get off, and don t lose sight of those 
 people again." 
 
 Carlton attended to several matters of busi 
 ness, and then lunched with Mrs. Downs and her 
 niece. He had grown to like them very much, 
 and was sorry to lose sight of them, but con 
 soled himself by thinking he would see them a 
 few days at least in Paris. He judged that he 
 would be there for some time, as he did not 
 think the Princess Aline and her sisters would 
 pass through that city without stopping to visit 
 the shops on the Rue de la Paix. 
 
 "AH women are not princesses," he argued, 
 "but all princesses are women." 
 
 "We will be in Paris on Wednesday," Mrs. 
 Downs told him. "The Orient Express leaves 
 there twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, 
 
 92
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 and we have taken an apartment for next Thurs 
 day, and will go right on to Constantinople." 
 
 "But I thought you said you had to buy a lot 
 of clothes there?" Carlton expostulated. 
 
 Mrs. Downs said that they would do that on 
 their way home. 
 
 Nolan met Carlton at the station, and told 
 him that he had followed the Hohenwalds to the 
 Hotel Meurice. "There is the Duke, sir, and 
 the three Princesses," Nolan said, "and there 
 are two German gentlemen acting as equerries, 
 and an English captain, a sort of A. D. C. to the 
 Duke, and two elderly ladies, and eight servants. 
 They travel very simple, sir, and their people 
 are in undress livery. Brown and red, sir." 
 
 Carlton pretended not to listen to this. He 
 had begun to doubt but that Nolan s zeal would 
 lead him into some indiscretion, and would end 
 disastrously to himself. He spent the evening 
 alone in front of the Cafe de la Paix, pleasantly 
 occupied in watching the life and movement of 
 that great meeting of the highways. It did not 
 seem possible that he had ever been away. It 
 was as though he had picked up a book and 
 opened it at the page and place at which he had 
 left off reading it a moment before. There was 
 the same type, the same plot, and the same char 
 acters, who were doing the same characteristic 
 things. Even the waiter who tipped out his 
 
 93
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 coffee knew him; and he knew, or felt as 
 though he knew, half of those who passed, or 
 who shared with him the half of the sidewalk. 
 The women at the next table considered the 
 slim, good-looking young American with friendly 
 curiosity, and the men with them discussed him 
 in French, until a well-known Parisian recog 
 nized Carlton in passing, and hailed him joy 
 ously in the same language, at which the women 
 laughed and the men looked sheepishly con 
 scious. 
 
 On the following morning Carlton took up 
 his post in the open court of the Meurice, with 
 his coffee and the Figaro to excuse his loitering 
 there. He had not been occupied with these 
 over-long before Nolan approached him, in 
 some excitement, with the information that 
 their Royal Highnesses as he delighted to call 
 them were at that moment "coming down the 
 lift." 
 
 Carlton could hear their voices, and wished 
 to step around the corner and see them; it was 
 for this chance he had been waiting; but he 
 could not afford to act in so undignified a man 
 ner before Nolan, so he merely crossed his legs 
 nervously, and told the servant to go back to 
 the rooms. 
 
 "Confound him !" he said; "I wish he would 
 let me conduct my own affairs in my own way. 
 
 94
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 If I don t stop him, he ll carry the Princess 
 Aline off by force and send me word where he 
 has hidden her." 
 
 The Hohenwalds had evidently departed for a 
 day s outing, as up to five o clock they had not 
 returned; and Carlton, after loitering all the 
 afternoon, gave up waiting for them, and went 
 out to dine at Laurent s, in the Champs-EIy- 
 sees. He had finished his dinner, and was lean 
 ing luxuriously forward, with his elbows on the 
 table, and knocking the cigar ashes into his 
 coffee-cup. He was pleasantly content. The 
 trees hung heavy with leaves over his head, a 
 fountain played and overflowed at his elbow, 
 and the lamps of the fiacres passing and re- 
 passing on the Avenue of the Champs-EIysees 
 shone like giant fire-flies through the foliage. 
 The touch of the gravel beneath his feet em 
 phasized the free, out-of-door charm of the place, 
 and the faces of the others around him looked 
 more than usually cheerful in the light of the 
 candles flickering under the clouded shades. 
 His mind had gone back to his earlier student 
 days in Paris, when life always looked as it did 
 now in the brief half-hour of satisfaction which 
 followed a cold bath or a good dinner, and he 
 had forgotten himself and his surroundings. 
 It was the voices of the people at the table be 
 hind him that brought him back to the present 
 
 95
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 moment. A man was talking; he spoke in 
 English, with an accent. 
 
 "I should like to go again through the Lux 
 embourg," he said; "but you need not be 
 bound by what I do." 
 
 "I think it would be pleasanter if we all keep 
 together," said a girl s voice, quietly. She also 
 spoke in English, and with the same accent. 
 
 The people whose voices had interrupted him 
 were sitting and standing around a long table, 
 which the waiters had made large enough for 
 their party by placing three of the smaller ones 
 side by side; they had finished their dinner, 
 and the women, who sat with their backs toward 
 Carlton, were pulling on their gloves. 
 
 "Which is it to be, then?" said the gentle 
 man, smiling. "The pictures or the dress 
 makers?" 
 
 The girl who had first spoken turned to the 
 one next to her. 
 
 "Which would you rather do, Aline?" she 
 asked. 
 
 Carlton moved so suddenly that the men be 
 hind him looked at him curiously; but he turned, 
 nevertheless, in his chair and faced them, and 
 in order to excuse his doing so beckoned to one 
 of the waiters. He was within two feet of the 
 girl who had been called "Aline." She raised 
 her head to speak, and saw Carlton staring
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 open-eyed at her. She glanced at him for an 
 instant, as if to assure herself that she did not 
 know him, and then, turning to her brother, 
 smiled in the same tolerant, amused way in 
 which she had so often smiled upon Carlton 
 from the picture. 
 
 "I am afraid I had rather go to the Bon 
 Marche," she said. 
 
 One of the waiters stepped in between them, 
 and Carlton asked him for his bill; but when 
 it came he left it lying on the plate, and sat 
 staring out into the night between the candles, 
 puffing sharply on his cigar, and recalling to 
 his memory his first sight of the Princess Aline 
 of Hohenwald. 
 
 That night, as he turned into bed, he gave 
 a comfortable sigh of content. " I am glad she 
 chose the dressmakers instead of the pictures," 
 he said. 
 
 Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris arrived in Paris 
 on Wednesday, and expressed their anxiety to 
 have Carlton lunch with them, and to hear him 
 tell of the progress of his love-affair. There 
 was not much to tell; the Hohenwalds had 
 come and gone from the hotel as freely as any 
 other tourists in Paris, but the very lack of 
 ceremony about their movements was in itself 
 a difficulty. The manner of acquaintance he 
 could make in the court of the Hotel Meurice 
 
 97
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 with one of the men over a cup of coffee or a 
 glass of bock would be as readily discontinued 
 as begun, and for his purpose it would have 
 been much better if the Hohenwalds had been 
 living in state with a visitors book and a 
 chamberlain. 
 
 On Wednesday evening Carlton took the 
 ladies to the opera, where the Hohenwalds 
 occupied a box immediately opposite them. 
 Carlton pretended to be surprised at this fact, 
 but Mrs. Downs doubted his sincerity. 
 
 "I saw Nolan talking to their courier to 
 day," she said, "and I fancy he asked a few 
 leading questions. * 
 
 "Well, he didn t learn much if he did," he 
 said. "The fellow only talks German." 
 
 "Ah, then he has been asking questions!" 
 said Miss Morris. 
 
 "Well, he does it on his own responsibility," 
 said Carlton, "for I told him to have nothing 
 to do with servants. He has too much zeal, has 
 Nolan; I m afraid of him." 
 
 "If you were only half as interested as he 
 is," said Miss Morris, "you would have known 
 her long ago." 
 
 "Long ago?" exclaimed Carlton. "I only 
 saw her four days since." 
 
 "She is certainly very beautiful," said Miss 
 Morris, looking across the auditorium. 
 
 Q8
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "But she isn t there," said Carlton. "That s 
 the eldest sister; the two other sisters went out 
 on the coach this morning to Versailles, and 
 were too tired to come to-night. At least, so 
 Nolan says. He seems to have established a 
 friendship for their English maid, but whether 
 it s on my account or his own I don t know. I 
 doubt his unselfishness." 
 
 "How disappointing of her!" said Miss 
 Morris. "And after you had selected a box 
 just across the way, too. It is such a pity to 
 waste it on us." Carlton smiled, and looked 
 up at her impudently, as though he meant to 
 say something; but remembering that she was 
 engaged to be married, changed his mind, and 
 lowered his eyes to his programme. 
 
 "Why didn t you say it?" asked Miss Mor 
 ris, calmly, turning her glass to the stage. 
 "Wasn t it pretty?" 
 
 "No," said Carlton "not pretty enough." 
 
 The ladies left the hotel the next day to take 
 the Orient Express, which left Paris at six 
 o clock. They had bidden Carlton good-by 
 at four the same afternoon, and as he had come 
 to their rooms for that purpose, they were in 
 consequence a little surprised to see him at the 
 station, running wildly along the platform, fol 
 lowed by Nolan and a porter. He came into 
 their compartment after the train had started, 
 
 99
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 and shook his head sadly at them from the 
 door. 
 
 "Well, what do you think of this?" he said. 
 "You can t get rid of me, you see. I m going 
 with you." 
 
 "Going with us?" asked Mrs. Downs. 
 "How far?" 
 
 Carlton laughed, and, coming inside, dropped 
 onto the cushions with a sigh. "I don t know," 
 he said, dejectedly. "All the way, I m afraid. 
 That is, I mean, I m very glad I am to have 
 your society for a few days more; but really I 
 didn t bargain for this." 
 
 "You don t mean to tell me that they are on 
 this train?" said Miss Morris. 
 
 "They are," said Carlton. "They have a 
 car to themselves at the rear. They only made 
 up their minds to go this morning, and they 
 nearly succeeded in giving me the slip again; 
 but it seems that their English maid stopped 
 Nolan in the hall to bid him good-by, and so he 
 found out their plans. They are going direct 
 to Constantinople, and then to Athens. They 
 had meant to stay in Paris two weeks longer, it 
 seems, but they changed their minds last night. 
 It was a very close shave for me. I only got 
 back to the hotel in time to hear from the con 
 cierge that Nolan had flown with all of my 
 things, and left word for me to follow. Just 
 
 100
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 fancy ! Suppose I had missed the train, and 
 had had to chase him clear across the conti 
 nent of Europe with not even a razor 
 
 "I am glad," said Miss Morris, "that Nolan 
 has not taken a fancy to me. I doubt if I could 
 resist such impetuosity." 
 
 The Orient Express, in which Carlton and 
 the mistress of his heart and fancy were speed 
 ing toward the horizon s utmost purple rim, 
 was made up of six cars, one dining-car with a 
 smoking-apartment attached, and five sleep 
 ing-cars, including the one reserved for the 
 Duke of Hohenwald and his suite. These cars 
 were lightly built, and rocked in consequence, 
 and the dust raised by the rapid movement of 
 the train swept through cracks and open win 
 dows, and sprinkled the passengers with a fine 
 and irritating coating of soot and earth. There 
 was one servant to the entire twenty-two pas 
 sengers. He spoke eight languages, and never 
 slept; but as his services were in demand by 
 several people in as many different cars at the 
 same moment he satisfied no one, and the 
 complaint-box in the smoking-car was stuffed 
 full to the slot in consequence before they had 
 crossed the borders of France. 
 
 Carlton and Miss Morris went out upon one 
 of the platforms and sat down upon a tool-box. 
 "It isn t as comfortable here as in an observa- 
 
 101
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 tion-car at home, * said Carlton, "but it s just 
 as noisy." 
 
 He pointed out to her from time to time the 
 peasants gathering twigs, and the blue-bloused 
 gendarmes guarding the woods and the fences 
 skirting them. "Nothing is allowed to go to 
 waste in this country," he said. "It looks as 
 though they went over it once a month with a 
 lawn-mower and a pruning-knife. I believe 
 they number the trees as we number the houses." 
 
 "And did you notice the great fortifications 
 covered with grass?" she said. "We have 
 passed such a lot of them." 
 
 Carlton nodded. 
 
 "And did you notice that they all faced only 
 one way?" 
 
 Carlton laughed, and nodded again. c * To 
 ward Germany," he said. 
 
 By the next day they had left the tall poplars 
 and white roads behind them, and were cross 
 ing the land of low, shiny black helmets and 
 brass spikes. They had come into a country of 
 low mountains and black forests, with old for 
 tified castles topping the hills, and with red- 
 roofed villages scattered around the base. 
 
 "How very military it all is!" Mrs. Downs 
 said. "Even the men at the lonely little sta 
 tions in the forests wear uniforms; and do you 
 notice how each of them rolls up his red flag 
 
 1 02
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 and holds it like a sword, and salutes the train 
 as it passes?" 
 
 They spent the hour during which the train 
 shifted from one station in Vienna to the other 
 driving about in an open carriage, and stopped 
 for a few moments in front of a cafe to drink 
 beer and to feel solid earth under them again, 
 returning to the train with a feeling which was 
 almost that of getting back to their own rooms. 
 Then they came to great steppes covered with 
 long thick grass, and flooded in places with lit 
 tle lakes of broken ice; great horned cattle 
 stood knee-deep in this grass, and at the vil 
 lages and way-stations were people wearing 
 sheepskin jackets and waistcoats covered with 
 silver buttons. In one place there was a wed 
 ding procession waiting for the train to pass, 
 with the friends of the bride and groom in their 
 best clothes, the women with silver breastplates, 
 and boots to their knees. It seemed hardly pos 
 sible that only two days before they had seen 
 another wedding party in the Champs-EIysees, 
 where the men wore evening dress, and the 
 women were bareheaded and with long trains. 
 In forty-eight hours they had passed through 
 republics, principalities, empires, and king 
 doms, and from spring to winter. It was like 
 walking rapidly over a painted panorama of 
 Europe. 
 
 103
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 On the second evening Carlton went off into 
 the smoking-car alone. The Duke of Hohen- 
 wald and two of his friends had finished a late 
 supper, and were seated in the apartment ad 
 joining it. The Duke was a young man with a 
 heavy beard and eye-glasses. He was looking 
 over an illustrated catalogue of the Salon, and 
 as Carlton dropped on the sofa opposite the 
 Duke raised his head and looked at him curi 
 ously, and then turned over several pages of 
 the catalogue and studied one of them, and 
 then back at Carlton, as though he were com 
 paring him with something on the page before 
 him. Carlton was looking out at the night, 
 but he could follow what was going forward, 
 as it was reflected in the glass of the car win 
 dow. He saw the Duke hand the catalogue to 
 one of the equerries, who raised his eyebrows 
 and nodded his head in assent. Carlton won 
 dered what this might mean, until he remem 
 bered that there was a portrait of himself by a 
 French artist in the Salon, and concluded it had 
 been reproduced in the catalogue. He could 
 think of nothing else which would explain the 
 interest the two men showed in him. On the 
 morning following he sent Nolan out to pur 
 chase a catalogue at the first station at which 
 they stopped, and found that his guess was a 
 correct one. A portrait of himself had been 
 
 104
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 reproduced in black and white, with his name 
 below it. 
 
 "Well, they know who I am now," he said to 
 Miss Morris, "even if they don t know me. 
 That honor is still in store for them." 
 
 "I wish they did not lock themselves up so 
 tightly," said Miss Morris. " I want to see her 
 very much. Cannot we walk up and down the 
 platform at the next station? She may be at 
 the window." 
 
 "Of course," said Carlton. " You could have 
 seen her at Buda-Pesth if you had spoken of it. 
 She was walking up and down then. The next 
 time the train stops we will prowl up and down 
 and feast our eyes upon her." 
 
 But Miss Morris had her wish gratified with 
 out that exertion. The Hohenwalds were 
 served in the dining-car after the other passen 
 gers had finished, and were in consequence only 
 to be seen when they passed by the doors of the 
 other compartments. But this same morning, 
 after luncheon, the three Princesses, instead of 
 returning to their own car, seated themselves 
 in the compartment adjoining the dining-car, 
 while the men of their party lit their cigars and 
 sat in a circle around them. 
 
 "I was wondering how long they could stand 
 three men smoking in one of the boxes they call 
 cars," said Mrs. Downs. She was seated be- 
 
 105
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 tween Miss Morris and Carlton, directly oppo 
 site the Hohenwalds, and so near them that she 
 had to speak in a whisper. To avoid doing this 
 Miss Morris asked Carlton for a pencil, and 
 scribbled with it in the novel she held on her 
 lap. Then she passed them both back to him, 
 and said, aloud: "Have you read this? It has 
 such a pretty dedication." The dedication read, 
 "Which is Aline?" And Carlton, taking the 
 pencil in his turn, made a rapid sketch of her 
 on the fly-leaf, and wrote beneath it: This is 
 she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand 
 miles to see her?" 
 
 Miss Morris took the book again, and glanced 
 at the sketch, and then at the three Princesses, 
 and nodded her head. "It is very beautiful," 
 she said, gravely, looking out at the passing 
 landscape. 
 
 "Well, not beautiful exactly," answered Carl- 
 ton, surveying the hills critically, "but cer 
 tainly very attractive. It is worth travelling a 
 long way to see, and I should think one would 
 grow very fond of it." 
 
 Miss Morris tore the fly-leaf out of the book, 
 and slipped it between the pages. "May I keep 
 it?" she said. Carlton nodded. "And will 
 you sign it?" she asked, smiling. Carlton 
 shrugged his shoulders, and laughed. "If you 
 wish it," he answered. 
 
 1 06
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 The Princess wore a gray cheviot travelling- 
 dress, as did her sisters, and a gray Alpine hat. 
 She was leaning back, talking to the English 
 captain who accompanied them, and laughing. 
 Carlton thought he had never seen a woman 
 who appealed so strongly to every taste of 
 which he was possessed. She seemed so sure of 
 herself, so alert, and yet so gracious, so easily 
 entertained, and yet, when she turned her eyes 
 toward the strange, dismal landscape, so seri 
 ously intent upon its sad beauty. The Eng 
 lish captain dropped his head, and with the 
 pretense of pulling at his mustache, covered 
 his mouth as he spoke to her. When he had 
 finished he gazed consciously at the roof of the 
 car, and she kept her eyes fixed steadily at the 
 object toward which they had turned when he 
 had ceased speaking, and then, after a decent 
 pause, turned her eyes, as Carlton knew she 
 would, toward him. 
 
 "He was telling her who I am," he thought, 
 "and about the picture in the catalogue." 
 
 In a few moments she turned to her sister 
 and spoke to her, pointing out at something in 
 the scenery, and the same pantomime was re 
 peated, and again with the third sister. 
 
 "Did you see those girls talking about you, 
 Mr. Carlton?" Miss Morris asked, after they 
 had left the car. 
 
 107
 
 Carlton said it looked as though they were. 
 
 "Of course they were," said Miss Morris. 
 That Englishman told the Princess Aline some 
 thing about you, and then she told her sister, 
 and she told the eldest one. It would be nice 
 if they inherit their father s interest in painting, 
 wouldn t it?" 
 
 "I would rather have it degenerate into an 
 interest in painters myself," said Carlton. 
 
 Miss Morris discovered, after she had re 
 turned to her own car, that she had left the 
 novel where she had been sitting, and Carlton 
 sent Nolan back for it. It had slipped to the 
 floor, and the fly-leaf upon which Carlton had 
 sketched the Princess Aline was lying face 
 down beside it. Nolan picked up the leaf, and 
 saw the picture, and read the inscription below: 
 This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four 
 thousand miles to see her?" 
 
 He handed the book to Miss Morris, and was 
 backing out of the compartment, when she 
 stopped him. 
 
 "There was a loose page in this, Nolan," she 
 said. "It s gone; did you see it?" 
 
 "A loose page, miss?" said Nolan, with some 
 concern. "Oh, yes, miss; I was going to tell 
 you; there was a scrap of paper blew away 
 when I was passing between the carriages. Was 
 it something you wanted, miss?" 
 
 1 08
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "Something I wanted!" exclaimed Miss 
 Morris, in dismay. 
 
 Carlton laughed easily. "It is just as well I 
 didn t sign it, after all," he said. "I don t want 
 to proclaim my devotion to any Hungarian 
 gypsy who happens to read English." 
 
 "You must draw me another, as a souvenir," 
 Miss Morris said. 
 
 Nolan continued on through the length of the 
 car until he had reached the one occupied by 
 the Hohenwalds, where he waited on the plat 
 form until the English maid-servant saw him 
 and came to the door of the carriage. 
 
 "What hotel are your people going to stop at 
 in Constantinople?" Nolan asked. 
 
 "The Grande-Bretagne, I think," she an 
 swered. 
 
 That s right," said Nolan, approvingly. 
 "That s the one we are going to. I thought I 
 would come and tell you about it. And, by the 
 way," he said, "here s a picture somebody s 
 made of your Princess Aline. She dropped it, 
 and I picked it up. You had better give it back 
 to her. Well," he added, politely, "I m glad 
 you are coming to our hotel in Constantinople; 
 it s pleasant having some one to talk to who can 
 speak your own tongue." 
 
 The girl returned to the car, and left Nolan 
 alone upon the platform. He exhaled a long 
 
 109
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 breath of suppressed excitement, and then 
 gazed around nervously upon the empty land 
 scape. 
 
 "I fancy that s going to hurry things up a 
 bit, * he murmured, with an anxious smile; 
 "he d never get along at all if it wasn t for me. * 
 
 For reasons possibly best understood by the 
 German ambassador, the state of the Hohen- 
 walds at Constantinople differed greatly from 
 that which had obtained at the French capital. 
 They no longer came and went as they wished, 
 or wandered through the show-places of the city 
 like ordinary tourists. There was, on the con 
 trary, not only a change in their manner toward 
 others, but there was an insistence on their part 
 of a difference in the attitude of others toward 
 themselves. This showed itself in the reserv 
 ing of the half of the hotel for their use, and in 
 the haughty bearing of the equerries, who ap 
 peared unexpectedly in magnificent uniforms. 
 The visitors book was covered with the auto 
 graphs of all of the important people in the 
 Turkish capital, and the Sultan s carriages stood 
 constantly before the door of the hotel, await 
 ing their pleasure, until they became as familiar 
 a sight as the street dogs, or as cabs in a hansom- 
 cab rank. 
 
 And in following out the programme which 
 had been laid down for her, the Princess Aline 
 
 110
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 became even less accessible to Carlton than be 
 fore, and he grew desperate and despondent. 
 
 "If the worst comes," he said to Miss Morris, 
 " I shall tell Nolan to give an alarm of fire some 
 night, and then I will run in and rescue her 
 before they find out there is no fire. Or he 
 might frighten the horses some day, and give 
 me a chance to stop them. We might even wait 
 until we reach Greece, and have her carried off 
 by brigands, who would only give her up to 
 
 me." 
 
 " There are no more brigands in Greece," said 
 Miss Morris; "and besides, why do you sup 
 pose they would only give her up to you?* 
 
 "Because they would be imitation brigands," 
 said Carlton, "and would be paid to give her 
 up to no one else." 
 
 "Oh, you plan very well," scoffed Miss Mor 
 ris, "but you don t do anything." 
 
 Carlton was saved the necessity of doing any 
 thing that same morning, when the English 
 captain in attendance on the Duke sent his 
 card to Carlton s room. He came, he explained, 
 to present the Prince s compliments, and would 
 it be convenient for Mr. Carlton to meet the 
 Duke that afternoon? Mr. Carlton suppressed 
 an unseemly desire to shout, and said, after a 
 moment s consideration, that it would. He 
 then took the English captain down-stairs to 
 
 in
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 the smoking-room, and rewarded him for his 
 agreeable message. 
 
 The Duke received Carlton in the afternoon, 
 and greeted him most cordially, and with as 
 much ease of manner as it is possible for a man 
 to possess who has never enjoyed the benefits 
 of meeting other men on an equal footing. He 
 expressed his pleasure in knowing an artist with 
 whose work he was so familiar, and congratu 
 lated himself on the happy accident which had 
 brought them both to the same hotel. 
 
 " I have more than a natural interest in meet 
 ing you," said the Prince, "and for a reason 
 which you may or may not know. I thought 
 possibly you could help me somewhat. I have 
 within the past few days come into the posses 
 sion of two of your paintings; they are studies, 
 rather, but to me they are even more desirable 
 than the finished work; and I am not correct 
 in saying that they have come to me exactly, 
 but to my sister, the Princess Aline." 
 
 Carlton could not withhold a certain start of 
 surprise. He had not expected that his gift 
 would so soon have arrived but his face showed 
 only polite attention. 
 
 The studies were delivered to us in Lon 
 don," continued the Duke. "They are of Lud- 
 wig the tragedian and of the German Prime 
 Minister, two most valuable works, and espe- 
 
 112
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 cially interesting to us. They came without any 
 note or message which would inform us who had 
 sent them, and when my people made inquiries, 
 the dealer refused to tell them from whom they 
 had come. He had been ordered to forward 
 them to Grasse, but, on learning of our pres 
 ence in London, sent them direct to our hotel 
 there. Of course it is embarrassing to have so 
 valuable a present from an anonymous friend, 
 especially so for my sister, to whom they were 
 addressed, and I thought that, besides the plea 
 sure of meeting one of whose genius I am so 
 warm an admirer, I might also learn something 
 which would enable me to discover who our 
 friend may be." He paused, but as Carlton 
 said nothing, continued: "As it is now, I do 
 not feel that I can accept the pictures; and yet 
 I know no one to whom they can be returned, 
 unless I send them to the dealer." 
 
 "It sounds very mysterious," said Carlton, 
 smiling; "and I am afraid I cannot help you. 
 What work I did in Germany was sold in Ber 
 lin before I left, and in a year may have changed 
 hands several times. The studies of which you 
 speak are unimportant, and merely studies, and 
 could pass from hand to hand without much 
 record having been kept of them; but person 
 ally I am not able to give you any information 
 which would assist you in tracing them."
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "Yes," said the Duke. "Well, then, I shall 
 keep them until I can learn more; and if we can 
 learn nothing, I shall return them to the dealer." 
 
 Carlton met Miss Morris that afternoon in a 
 state of great excitement. "It s come!" he 
 cried "it s come ! I am to meet her this week. 
 I have met her brother, and he has asked me 
 to dine with them on Thursday night; that s 
 the day before they leave for Athens; and he 
 particularly mentioned that his sisters would 
 be at the dinner, and that it would be a pleasure 
 to present me. It seems that the eldest paints, 
 and all of them love art for art s sake, as their 
 father taught them to do; and, for all we know, 
 he may make me court painter, and I shall spend 
 the rest of my life at Grasse painting portraits 
 of the Princess Aline, at the age of twenty-two, 
 and at all future ages. And if he does give me 
 a commission to paint her, I can tell you now 
 in confidence that that picture will require more 
 sittings than any other picture ever painted by 
 man. Her hair will have turned white by the 
 time it is finished, and the gown she started to 
 pose in will have become forty years behind the 
 fashion !" 
 
 On the morning following, Carlton and Mrs. 
 Downs and her niece, with all the tourists in 
 Constantinople, were placed in open carriages 
 by their dragomans, and driven in a long pro- 
 
 114
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 cession to the Seraglio to see the Sultan s trea 
 sures. Those of them who had waited two 
 weeks for this chance looked aggrieved at the 
 more fortunate who had come at the eleventh 
 hour on the last night s steamer, and seemed to 
 think these latter had attained the privilege 
 without sufficient effort. The ministers of the 
 different legations as is the harmless custom 
 of such gentlemen had impressed every one 
 for whom they had obtained permission to see 
 the treasures with the great importance of the 
 service rendered, and had succeeded in making 
 every one feel either especially honored or es 
 pecially uncomfortable at having given them 
 so much trouble. This sense of obligation, and 
 the fact that the dragomans had assured the 
 tourists that they were for the time being the 
 guests of the Sultan, awed and depressed most 
 of the visitors to such an extent that their man 
 ner in the long procession of carriages suggested 
 a funeral cortege, with the Hohenwalds in front, 
 escorted by Beys and Pashas, as chief mourn 
 ers. The procession halted at the palace, and 
 the guests of the Sultan were received by nu 
 merous effendis in single-button frock-coats 
 and freshly ironed fezzes, who served them with 
 glasses of water, and a huge bowl of some sweet 
 stuff, of which every one was supposed to take 
 a spoonful. There was at first a general fear 
 
 115
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 among the Cook s tourists that there would 
 not be enough of this to go round, which was 
 succeeded by a greater anxiety lest they should 
 be served twice. Some of the tourists put the 
 sweet stuff in their mouths direct and licked the 
 spoon, and others dropped it off the spoon into 
 the glass of water, and stirred it about and 
 sipped at it, and no one knew who had done the 
 right thing, not even those who happened to 
 have done it. Carlton and Miss Morris went 
 out onto the terrace while this ceremony was 
 going forward, and looked out over the great 
 panorama of waters, with the Sea of Marmora 
 on one side, the Golden Horn on the other, and 
 the Bosporus at their feet. The sun was shin 
 ing mildly, and the waters were stirred by great 
 and little vessels; before them on the opposite 
 bank rose the dark green cypresses which marked 
 the grim cemetery of England s dead, and 
 behind them were the great turtle-backed 
 mosques and pencil-like minarets of the two 
 cities, and close at hand the mosaic walls and 
 beautiful gardens of Constantine. 
 
 "Your friends the Hohenwalds don t seem to 
 know you this morning," she said. 
 
 "Oh, yes; he spoke to me as we left the 
 hotel," Carlton answered. "But they are on 
 parade at present. There are a lot of their coun 
 trymen among the tourists." 
 
 116
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "I feel rather sorry for them," Miss Morris 
 said, looking at the group with an amused 
 smile. "Etiquette cuts them off from so much 
 innocent amusement. Now, you are a gentle 
 man, and the Duke presumably is, and why 
 should you not go over and say, Your High 
 ness, I wish you would present me to your sis 
 ter, whom I am to meet at dinner to-morrow 
 night. I admire her very much/ and then you 
 could point out the historical features to her, 
 and show her where they have finished off a 
 blue-and-green-tiled wall with a rusty tin roof, 
 and make pretty speeches to her. It wouldn t 
 hurt her, and it would do you a lot of good. 
 The simplest way is always the best way, it 
 seems to me." 
 
 "Oh, yes, of course," said Carlton. "Sup 
 pose he came over here and said: Carlton, I 
 wish you would present me to your young Ameri 
 can friend. I admire her very much. I would 
 probably say: Do you? Well, you will have 
 to wait until she expresses some desire to meet 
 you. No; etiquette is all right in itself, only 
 some people don t know its laws, and that is 
 the one instance to my mind where ignorance 
 of the law is no excuse." 
 
 Carlton left Miss Morris talking with the 
 Secretary of the American Legation, and went 
 to look for Mrs. Downs. When he returned he 
 
 117
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 found that the young Secretary had apparently 
 asked and obtained permission to present the 
 Duke s equerries and some of his diplomatic 
 confreres, who were standing now about her in 
 an attentive semicircle, and pointing out the 
 different palaces and points of interest. Carl- 
 ton was somewhat disturbed at the sight, and 
 reproached himself with not having presented 
 any one to her before. He was sure now that 
 she must have had a dull time of it; but he 
 wished, nevertheless, that if she was to meet 
 other men, the Secretary had allowed him to 
 act as master of ceremonies. 
 
 "I suppose you know," that gentleman was 
 saying as Carlton came up, "that when you 
 pass by Abydos, on the way to Athens, you will 
 see where Leander swam the Hellespont to meet 
 Hero. That little white light-house is called 
 Leander in honor of him. It makes rather an 
 interesting contrast does it not? to think of 
 that chap swimming along in the dark, and then 
 to find that his monument to-day is a light 
 house, with revolving lamps and electric ap 
 pliances, and with ocean tramps and bridges 
 and men-of-war around it. We have improved 
 in our mechanism since then," he said, with an 
 air, "but I am afraid the men of to-day don t 
 do that sort of thing for the women of to-day." 
 
 "Then it is the men who have deteriorated," 
 118
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 said one of the equerries, bowing to Miss Mor 
 ris; "it is certainly not the women." 
 
 The two Americans looked at Miss Morris 
 to see how she received this, but she smiled 
 good-naturedly. 
 
 " I know a man who did more than that for a 
 woman," said Carlton, innocently. "He crossed 
 an ocean and several countries to meet her, and 
 he hasn t met her yet." 
 
 Miss Morris looked at him and laughed, in 
 the safety that no one understood him but her 
 self. 
 
 "But he ran no danger," she answered. 
 
 "He didn t, didn t he?" said Carlton, look 
 ing at her closely and laughing. "I think he 
 was in very great danger all the time." 
 
 "Shocking!" said Miss Morris, reprovingly; 
 "and in her very presence, too." She knitted 
 her brows and frowned at him. "I really be 
 lieve if you were in prison you would make 
 pretty speeches to the jailer s daughter." 
 
 Yes," said Carlton, boldly, "or even to a 
 woman who was a prisoner herself." 
 
 "I don t know what you mean," she said, 
 turning away from him to the others. "How 
 far was it that Leander swam?" she asked. 
 
 The English captain pointed out two spots on 
 either bank, and said that the shores of Abydos 
 were a little over that distance apart. 
 
 119
 
 "As far as that?" said Miss Morris. "How 
 much he must have cared for her !" She turned 
 to Carlton for an answer. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," he said. He was mea 
 suring the distance between the two points with 
 his eyes. 
 
 "I said how much he must have cared for 
 her ! You wouldn t swim that far for a girl." 
 
 "For a girl!" laughed Carlton, quickly. "I 
 was just thinking I would do it for fifty dol 
 lars." 
 
 The English captain gave a hasty glance at 
 the distance he had pointed out, and then 
 turned to Carlton. "I ll take you," he said, 
 seriously. "I ll bet you twenty pounds you 
 can t do it." There was an easy laugh at Carl- 
 ton s expense, but he only shook his head and 
 smiled. 
 
 "Leave him alone, captain," said the Ameri 
 can Secretary. "It seems to me I remember a 
 story of Mr. Carlton s swimming out from 
 Navesink to meet an ocean liner. It was about 
 three miles, and the ocean was rather rough, 
 and when they slowed up he asked them if it 
 was raining in London when they left. They 
 thought he was mad." 
 
 "Is that true, Carlton?" asked the English 
 man. 
 
 "Something like it," said the American, "ex- 
 120
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 cept that I didn t ask them if it was raining in 
 London. I asked them for a drink, and it was 
 they who were mad. They thought I was drown 
 ing, and slowed up to lower a boat, and when 
 they found out I was just swimming around 
 they were naturally angry." 
 
 "Well, I m glad you didn t bet with me," 
 said the captain, with a relieved laugh. 
 
 That evening, as the Englishman was leaving 
 the smoking-room, and after he had bidden 
 Carlton good-night, he turned back and said: 
 "I didn t like to ask you before those men this 
 morning, but there was something about your 
 swimming adventure I wanted to know: Did 
 you get that drink?" 
 
 "I did," said Carlton "in a bottle. They 
 nearly broke my shoulder." 
 
 As Carlton came into the breakfast-room on 
 the morning of the day he was to meet the Prin 
 cess Aline at dinner, Miss Morris was there 
 alone, and he sat down at the same table, oppo 
 site to her. She looked at him critically, and 
 smiled with evident amusement. 
 
 To-day/ she quoted, solemnly, the 
 birthday of my life has come. 
 
 Carlton poured out his coffee, with a shake of 
 his head, and frowned. "Oh, you can laugh," 
 he said, "but I didn t sleep at all last night. I 
 lay awake making speeches to her. I know they 
 
 121
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 are going to put me between the wrong sisters," 
 he complained, "or next to one of those old 
 ladies-in-waiting, or whatever they are." 
 
 "How are you going to begin?" said Miss 
 Morris. "Will you tell her you have followed 
 her from London or from New York, rather 
 that you are young Lochinvar, who came out 
 of the West, and " 
 
 "I don t know," said Carlton, meditatively, 
 "just how I shall begin; but I know the curtain 
 is going to rise promptly at eight o clock about 
 the time the soup comes on, I think. I don t 
 see how she can help but be impressed a little 
 bit. It isn t every day a man hurries around 
 the globe on account of a girl s photograph; and 
 she is beautiful, isn t she?" 
 
 Miss Morris nodded her head encouragingly. 
 
 "Do you know, sometimes," said Carlton, 
 glancing over his shoulders to see if the waiters 
 were out of hearing, "I fancy she has noticed 
 me. Once or twice I have turned my head in 
 her direction without meaning to, and found 
 her looking well, looking my way, at least. 
 Don t you think that is a good sign?" he asked, 
 eagerly. 
 
 "It depends on what you call a good sign, 
 said Miss Morris, judicially. " It is a sign you re 
 good to look at, if that s what you want. But 
 you probably know that already, and it s noth- 
 
 122
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 ing to your credit. It certainly isn t a sign that 
 a person cares for you because she prefers to 
 look at your profile rather than at what the 
 dragomans are trying to show her." 
 
 Carlton drew himself up stiffly. "If you 
 knew your Alice better," he said, with severity, 
 "you would understand that it is not polite to 
 make personal remarks. I ask you, as my con 
 fidante, if you think she has noticed me, and 
 you make fun of my looks ! That s not the 
 part of a confidante." 
 
 "Noticed you!" laughed Miss Morris, scorn 
 fully. "How could she help it? You are al 
 ways in the way. You are at the door when 
 ever they go out or come in, and when we are 
 visiting mosques and palaces you are invariably 
 looking at her instead of the tombs and things, 
 with a wistful far-away look, as though you saw 
 a vision. The first time you did it, after you 
 had turned away I saw her feel to see if her hair 
 was all right. You quite embarrassed her." 
 
 "I didn t I don t!" stammered Carlton, 
 indignantly. "I wouldn t be so rude. Oh, I 
 see I ll have to get another confidante; you are 
 most unsympathetic and unkind." 
 
 But Miss Morris showed her sympathy later 
 in the day, when Carlton needed it sorely; for 
 the dinner toward which he had looked with 
 such pleasurable anticipations and loverlike 
 
 123
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 misgivings did not take place. The Sultan, so 
 the equerry informed him, had, with Oriental 
 unexpectedness, invited the Duke to dine that 
 night at the Palace, and the Duke, much to his 
 expressed regret, had been forced to accept what 
 was in the nature of a command. He sent word 
 by his equerry, however, that the dinner to 
 Mr. Carlton was only a pleasure deferred, and 
 that at Athens, where he understood Carlton 
 was also going, he hoped to have the pleasure 
 of entertaining him and making him known to 
 his sisters. 
 
 "He is a selfish young egoist," said Carlton 
 to Mrs. Downs. "As if I cared whether he was 
 at the dinner or not ! Why couldn t he have 
 fixed it so I might have dined with his sisters 
 alone? We would never have missed him. I ll 
 never meet her now. I know it; I feel it. Fate 
 is against me. Now I will have to follow them 
 on to Athens, and something will turn up there 
 to keep me away from her. You ll see; you ll 
 see. I wonder where they go from Athens?" 
 
 The Hohenwalds departed the next morning, 
 and as their party had engaged all the state 
 rooms in the little Italian steamer, Carlton was 
 forced to wait over for the next. He was very 
 gloomy over his disappointment, and Miss Mor 
 ris did her best to amuse him. She and her 
 aunt were never idle now, and spent the last 
 
 124
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 few days of their stay in Constantinople in the 
 bazaars or in excursions up and down the river. 
 
 "These are my last days of freedom," Miss 
 Morris said to him once, "and I mean to make 
 the most of them. After this there will be no 
 more travelling for me. And I love it so !" she 
 added, wistfully. 
 
 Carlton made no comment, but he felt a cer 
 tain contemptuous pity for the young man in 
 America who had required such a sacrifice. 
 "She is too nice a girl to let him know she is 
 making a sacrifice," he thought, "or giving up 
 anything for him, but she won t forget it." And 
 Carlton again commended himself for not hav 
 ing asked any woman to make any sacrifices 
 for him. 
 
 They left Constantinople for Athens one 
 moonlight night, three days after the Hohen- 
 walds had taken their departure, and as the 
 evening and the air were warm, they remained 
 upon the upper deck until the boat had entered 
 the Dardanelles. There were few passengers, 
 and Mrs. Downs went below early, leaving Miss 
 Morris and Carlton hanging over the rail, and 
 looking down upon a band of Hungarian gypsies, 
 who were playing the weird music of their 
 country on the deck beneath them. The low, 
 receding hills lay close on either hand, and ran 
 back so sharply from the narrow waterway that 
 
 125
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 they seemed to shut in the boat from the world 
 beyond. The moonlight showed a little mud 
 fort or a thatched cottage on the bank fantas 
 tically, as through a mist, and from time to 
 time as they sped forward they saw the camp- 
 fire of a sentry, and his shadow as he passed 
 between it and them, or stopped to cover it with 
 wood. The night was so still that they could 
 hear the waves in the steamer s wake washing 
 up over the stones on either shore, and the muf 
 fled beat of the engines echoed back from either 
 side of the valley through which they passed. 
 There was a great lantern hanging midway from 
 the mast, and shining down upon the lower deck. 
 It showed a group of Greeks, Turks, and Ar 
 menians, in strange costumes, sleeping, huddled 
 together in picturesque confusion over the bare 
 boards, or wide-awake and voluble, smoking 
 and chatting together in happy company. The 
 music of the tizanes rose in notes of passionate 
 ecstasy and sharp, unexpected bursts of melody. 
 It ceased and began again, as though the mu 
 sicians were feeling their way, and then burst 
 out once more into shrill defiance. It stirred 
 Carlton with a strange, turbulent unrest. From 
 the banks the night wind brought soft odors 
 of fresh earth and of heavy foliage. 
 
 The music of different countries," Carlton 
 said at last, "means many different things. But 
 
 126
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 it seems to me that the music of Hungary is 
 the music of love." 
 
 Miss Morris crossed her arms comfortably on 
 the rail, and he heard her laugh softly. "Oh 
 no, it is not," she said, undisturbed. "It is a 
 passionate, gusty, heady sort of love, if you 
 like, but it s no more like the real thing than 
 burgundy is like clear, cold, good water. It s 
 not the real thing at all." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said Carlton, meekly. 
 "Of course I don t know anything about it." 
 He had been waked out of the spell which the 
 night and the tizanes had placed upon him as 
 completely as though some one had shaken him 
 sharply by the shoulder. "I bow," he said, "to 
 your superior knowledge. I know nothing about 
 it." 
 
 "No; you are quite right. I don t believe 
 you do know anything about it," said the girl, 
 "or you wouldn t have made such a compari 
 son." 
 
 "Do you know, Miss Morris," said Carlton, 
 seriously, "that I believe I m not able to care 
 for a woman as other men do at least as some 
 men do; it s just lacking in me, and always will 
 be lacking. It s like an ear for music; if you 
 haven t got it, if it isn t born in you, you ll 
 never have it. It s not a thing you can culti 
 vate, and I feel that it s not only a misfortune, 
 
 127
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 but a fault. Now I honestly believe that I care 
 more for the Princess Aline, whom I have never 
 met, than many other men could care for her 
 if they knew her well ; but what they feel would 
 last, and I have doubts from past experience 
 that what I feel would. I don t doubt it while 
 it exists, but it never does exist long, and so I 
 am afraid it is going to be with me to the end 
 of the chapter." He paused for a moment, but 
 the girl did not answer. "I am speaking in 
 earnest now," he added, with a rueful laugh. 
 
 "I see you are," she replied, briefly. She 
 seemed to be considering his condition as he 
 had described it to her, and he did not interrupt 
 her. From below them came the notes of the 
 waltz the gypsies played. It was full of the 
 undercurrent of sadness that a waltz should 
 have, and filled out what Carlton said as the 
 music from the orchestra in a theatre heightens 
 the effect without interrupting the words of the 
 actor on the stage. 
 
 "It is strange," said Miss Morris. "I should 
 have thought you were a man who would care 
 very much and in just the right way. But I 
 don t believe really I m sorry, but I don t be 
 lieve you do know what love means at all." 
 
 "Oh, it isn t as bad as that," said Carlton. 
 "I think I know what it is, and what it means 
 to other people, but I can t feel it myself. The 
 
 128
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 best idea I ever got of it the thing that made it 
 clear to me was a line in a play. It seemed to 
 express it better than any of the love-poems I 
 ever read. It was in Shenandoah. 
 
 Miss Morris laughed. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said Carlton. 
 
 "I beg yours," she said. "It was only the 
 incongruity that struck me. It seemed so odd 
 to be quoting Shenandoah here in the Dar 
 danelles, with these queer people below us and 
 ancient Troy on one hand it took me by sur 
 prise, that s all. Please go on. What was it 
 impressed you?" 
 
 "Well, the hero in the play," said Carlton, "is 
 an officer in the Northern army, and he is lying 
 wounded in a house near the Shenandoah Val 
 ley. The girl he loves lives in this house, and 
 is nursing him; but she doesn t love him, be 
 cause she sympathizes with the South. At least 
 she says she doesn t love him. Both armies are 
 forming in the valley below to begin the battle, 
 and he sees his own regiment hurrying past to 
 join them. So he gets up and staggers out on 
 the stage, which is set to show the yard in front 
 of the farm-house, and he calls for his horse to 
 follow his men. Then the girl runs out and begs 
 him not to go; and he asks why, what does it 
 matter to her whether he goes or not? And 
 she says, But I cannot let you go; you may be 
 
 129
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 killed. And he says again, What is that to 
 you? And she says: It is everything to me. 
 I love you. And he makes a grab at her with 
 his wounded arm, and at that instant both ar 
 mies open fire in the valley below, and the 
 whole earth and sky seem to open and shut, 
 and the house rocks. The girl rushes at him 
 and crowds up against his breast, and cries: 
 What is that? Oh, what is that? and he 
 holds her tight to him and laughs, and says: 
 That ? That s only a battle you love me. 
 
 Miss Morris looked steadfastly over the side 
 of the boat at the waters rushing by beneath, 
 smiling to herself. Then she turned her face 
 toward Carlton, and nodded her head at him. 
 "I think," she said, dryly, "that you have a 
 fair idea of what it means; a rough working- 
 plan at least enough to begin on." 
 
 "I said that I knew what it meant to others. 
 I am complaining that I cannot feel it myself." 
 
 "That will come in time, no doubt," she said, 
 encouragingly, with the air of a connoisseur; 
 "and let me tell you," she added, "that it will 
 be all the better for the woman that you have 
 doubted yourself so long." 
 
 "You think so?" said Carlton, eagerly. 
 
 Miss Morris laughed at his earnestness, and 
 left him to go below to ask her aunt to join 
 them, but Mrs. Downs preferred to read in the 
 
 130
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 saloon, and Miss Morris returned alone. She 
 had taken off her Eton jacket and pulled on a 
 heavy blue football sweater, and over this a 
 reefer. The jersey clung to her and showed 
 the lines of her figure, and emphasized the free 
 dom and grace with which she made every 
 movement. She looked, as she walked at his 
 side with her hands in the pockets of her coat and 
 with a flat sailor hat on her head, like a tall, 
 handsome boy; but when they stopped and 
 stood where the light fell full on her hair and the 
 exquisite coloring of her skin, Carlton thought 
 her face had never seemed so delicate or fair as 
 it did then, rising from the collar of the rough 
 jersey, and contrasted with the hat and coat of a 
 man s attire. They paced the deck for an hour 
 later, until every one else had left it, and at 
 midnight were still loath to give up the beauti 
 ful night and the charm of their strange sur 
 roundings. There were long silent places in 
 their talk, duringwhich Carlton tramped beside 
 her with his head half turned, looking at her 
 and noting with an artist s eye the free, light 
 step, the erect carriage, and the unconscious 
 beauty of her face. The captain of the steamer 
 joined them after midnight, and falling into 
 step, pointed out to Miss Morris where great 
 cities had stood, where others lay buried, and 
 where beyond the hills were the almost inacces-
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 sible monasteries of the Greek Church. The 
 moonlight turned the banks into shadowy sub 
 stances, in which the ghosts of former days 
 seemed to make a part; and spurred by the 
 young girl s interest, the Italian, to entertain 
 her, called up all the legends of mythology and 
 the stories of Roman explorers and Turkish 
 conquerors. 
 
 "I turn in now," he said, after Miss Morris 
 had left them. "A most charming young lady. 
 Is it not so?" he added, waving his cigarette 
 in a gesture which expressed the ineffectiveness 
 of the adjective. 
 
 "Yes, very," said Carlton. "Good-night, 
 
 > 
 sir. 
 
 He turned, and leaned with both elbows on 
 the rail, and looked out at the misty banks, puff 
 ing at his cigar. Then he dropped it hissing into 
 the water, and, stifling a yawn, looked up and 
 down the length of the deserted deck. It 
 seemed particularly bare and empty. 
 
 "What a pity she s engaged!" Carlton said. 
 "She loses so much by it." 
 
 They steamed slowly into the harbor of the 
 Piraeus at an early hour the next morning, with 
 a flotilla of small boats filled with shrieking por 
 ters and hotel-runners at the sides. These men 
 tossed their painters to the crew, and crawled up 
 them like a boarding crew of pirates, running 
 
 132
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 wildly about the deck, and laying violent hands 
 on any piece of baggage they saw unclaimed. 
 The passengers trunks had been thrown out 
 in a heap on the deck, and Nolan and Carlton 
 were clambering over them, looking for their 
 own effects, while Miss Morris stood below, as 
 far out of the confusion as she could place her 
 self, and pointed out the different pieces that 
 belonged to her. As she stood there one of the 
 hotel-runners, a burly, greasy Levantine in pur 
 suit of a possible victim, shouldered her inten 
 tionally and roughly out of the way. He shoved 
 her so sharply that she lost her balance and fell 
 back against the rail. Carlton saw what had 
 happened, and made a flying leap from the top 
 of the pile of trunks, landing beside her, and in 
 time to seize the escaping offender by the col 
 lar. He jerked him back off his feet. 
 
 "How dare you he began. 
 
 But he did not finish. He felt the tips of Miss 
 Morris s fingers laid upon his shoulder, and her 
 voice saying, in an annoyed tone: "Don t; 
 please don t." And, to his surprise, his fingers 
 lost their grip on the man s shirt, his arms 
 dropped at his side, and his blood began to flow 
 calmly again through his veins. Carlton was 
 aware that he had a very quick temper. He 
 was always engaged in street rows, as he called 
 them, with men who, he thought, had imposed 
 
 133
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 on him or on some one else, and though he was 
 always ashamed of himself later, his temper 
 had never been satisfied without a blow or an 
 apology. Women had also touched him before, 
 and possibly with a greater familiarity; but 
 these had stirred him, not quieted him; and 
 men who had laid detaining hands on him had 
 had them beaten down for their pains. But 
 this girl had merely touched him gently, and 
 he had been made helpless. It was most per 
 plexing; and while the custom-house officials 
 were passing his luggage, he found himself rub 
 bing his arm curiously, as though it were numb, 
 and looking down at it with an amused smile. 
 He did not comment on the incident, although 
 he smiled at the recollection of his prompt 
 obedience several times during the day. But 
 as he was stepping into the cab to drive to 
 Athens, he saw the offending ruffian pass, drip 
 ping with water, and muttering bitter curses. 
 When he saw Carlton he disappeared instantly 
 in the crowd. Carlton stepped over to where 
 Nolan sat beside the driver on the box. "No- 
 Ian," he said, in a low voice, "isn t that the fel 
 low who " 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Nolan, touching his hat 
 gravely. "He was pulling a valise one way, 
 and the gentleman that owned it, sir, was pull 
 ing it the other, and the gentleman let go sud- 
 
 134
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 den, and the Italian went over backward off 
 the pier." 
 
 Carlton smiled grimly with secret satisfac 
 tion. 
 
 "Nolan," he said, "you re not telling the 
 truth. You did it yourself." Nolan touched 
 his cap and coughed consciously. There had 
 been no detaining fingers on Nolan s arm. 
 
 135
 
 Ill 
 
 "You are coming now, Miss Morris," ex 
 claimed Carlton from the front of the carriage 
 in which they were moving along the sunny 
 road to Athens, "into a land where one restores 
 his lost illusions. Anybody who wishes to get 
 back his belief in beautiful things should come 
 here to do it, just as he would go to a German 
 sanatorium to build up his nerves or his appe 
 tite. You have only to drink in the atmosphere 
 and you are cured. I know no better antidote 
 than Athens for a siege of cable-cars and muddy 
 asphalt pavements and a course of * Robert 
 Elsmeres and the Heavenly Twins. Wait 
 until you see the statues of the young athletes 
 in the Museum," he cried, enthusiastically, 
 "and get a glimpse of the blue sky back of 
 Mount Hymettus, and the moonlight some 
 evening on the Acropolis, and you ll be con 
 vinced that nothing counts for much in this 
 world but health and straight limbs, and tall 
 marble pillars, and eyes trained to see only 
 what is beautiful. Give people a love for beauty 
 and a respect for health, Miss Morris, and the 
 result is going to be, what they once had here, 
 
 136
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 the best art and the greatest writers and sat 
 irists and poets. The same audience that ap 
 plauded Euripides and Sophocles in the open 
 theatre used to cross the road the same day to 
 applaud the athletes who ran naked in the 
 Olympian games, and gave them as great honor. 
 I came here once on a walking tour with a chap 
 who wasn t making as much of himself as he 
 should have done, and he went away a changed 
 man, and became a personage in the world, and 
 you would never guess what it was that did it. 
 He saw a statue of one of the Greek gods in the 
 Museum which showed certain muscles that he 
 couldn t find in his own body, and he told me he 
 was going to train down until they did show; 
 and he stopped drinking and loafing to do it, 
 and took to exercising and working; and by the 
 time the muscles showed out clear and strong 
 he was so keen over life that he wanted to make 
 the most of it, and, as I said, he has done it. 
 
 That s what a respect for his own body did for 
 
 h 
 im. 
 
 The carriage stopped at the hotel on one side 
 of the public square of Athens, with the palace 
 and its gardens blocking one end, and yellow 
 houses with red roofs, and gay awnings over the 
 cafes, surrounding it. It was a bright sunny 
 day, and the city was clean and cool and pretty. 
 
 "Breakfast?" exclaimed Miss Morris, in an- 
 J 37
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 swer to Carlton s inquiry; "yes, I suppose so, 
 but I won t feel safe until I have my feet on that 
 rock." She was standing on the steps of the 
 hotel, looking up with expectant, eager eyes at 
 the great Acropolis above the city. 
 
 " It has been there for a long time now," sug 
 gested Carlton, "and I think you can risk its 
 being there for a half-hour longer." 
 
 "Well," she said, reluctantly, "but I don t 
 wish to lose this chance. There might be an 
 earthquake, for instance." 
 
 "We are likely to see them this morning," said 
 Carlton, as he left the hotel with the ladies and 
 drove toward the Acropolis. "Nolan has been 
 interviewing the English maid, and she tells 
 him they spend the greater part of their time 
 up there on the rock. They are living very sim 
 ply here, as they did in Paris; that is, for the 
 present. On Wednesday the King gives a din 
 ner and a reception in their honor." 
 
 "When does your dinner come off?" asked 
 Miss Morris. 
 
 "Never," said Carlton, grimly. 
 
 "One of the reasons why I like to come back 
 to Athens so much," said Mrs. Downs, "is be 
 cause there are so few other tourists here to 
 spoil the local color for you, and there are al 
 most as few guides as tourists, so that you can 
 
 138
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 wander around undisturbed and discover things 
 for yourself. They don t label every fallen 
 column, and place fences around the temples. 
 They seem to put you on your good behavior. 
 Then I always like to go to a place where you 
 are as much of a curiosity to the people as they 
 are to you. It seems to excuse your staring 
 about you." 
 
 " A curiosity !" exclaimed Carlton; "I should 
 say so ! The last time I was here I tried to wear 
 a pair of knickerbockers around the city, and 
 the people stared so that I had to go back to 
 the hotel and change them. I shouldn t have 
 minded it so much in any other country, but I 
 thought men who wore Jaeger underclothing 
 and women s petticoats for a national costume 
 might have excused so slight an eccentricity as 
 knickerbockers. They had no right to throw 
 the first stone." 
 
 The rock upon which the temples of the 
 Acropolis are built is more of a hill than a rock. 
 It is much steeper upon one side than the other, 
 with a sheer fall a hundred yards broad; on the 
 opposite side there are the rooms of the Hos 
 pital of ^Esculapius and the theatres of Dionysus 
 and Herodes Atticus. The top of the rock holds 
 the Parthenon and the other smaller temples, 
 or what yet remains of them, and its surface is 
 littered with broken marble and stones and 
 
 139
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 pieces of rock. The top is so closely built over 
 that the few tourists who visit it can imagine 
 themselves its sole occupants for a half-hour at 
 a time. When Carlton and his friends arrived, 
 the place appeared quite deserted. They left 
 the carriage at the base of the rock, and climbed 
 up to the entrance on foot. 
 
 "Now, before I go on to the Parthenon," said 
 Miss Morris, " I want to walk around the sides, 
 and see what is there. I shall begin with that 
 theatre to the left, and I warn you that I mean 
 to take my time about it. So you people who 
 have been here before can run along by your 
 selves, but I mean to enjoy it leisurely. I am 
 safe by myself here, am I not?" she asked. 
 
 "As safe as though you were in the Metro 
 politan Museum," said Carlton, as he and Mrs. 
 Downs followed Miss Morris along the side of 
 the hill toward the ruined theatre of Herodes, 
 and stood at its top, looking down into the 
 basin below. From their feet ran a great semi 
 circle of marble seats, descending tier below 
 tier to a marble pavement, and facing a great 
 ruined wall of pillars and arches which in the 
 past had formed the background for the actors. 
 From the height on which they stood above the 
 city they could see the green country stretching 
 out for miles on every side and swimming in 
 the warm sunlight, the dark groves of myrtle 
 
 140
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 on the hills, the silver ribbon of the inland wa 
 ter, and the dark blue yEgean Sea. The bleat 
 ing of sheep and the tinkling of the bells came 
 up to them from the pastures below, and they 
 imagined they could hear the shepherds piping 
 to their flocks from one little hill-top to an 
 other. 
 
 The country is not much changed," said 
 Carlton. "And when you stand where we are 
 now, you can imagine that you see the proces 
 sion winding its way over the road to the Eleu- 
 sinian Mysteries, with the gilded chariots, and 
 the children carrying garlands, and the priest 
 esses leading the bulls for the sacrifice." 
 
 "What can we imagine is going on here?" 
 said Miss Morris, pointing with her parasol to 
 the theatre below. 
 
 "Oh, this is much later," said Carlton. 
 This was built by the Romans. They used 
 to act and to hold their public meetings here. 
 This corresponds to the top row of our gallery, 
 and you can imagine that you are looking down 
 on the bent backs of hundreds of bald-headed 
 men in white robes, listening to the speakers 
 strutting about below there." 
 
 "I wonder how much they could hear from 
 this height?" said Mrs. Downs. 
 
 "Well, they had that big wall for a sounding- 
 board, and the air is so soft here that their 
 
 141
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 voices should have carried easily, and I believe 
 they wore masks with mouth-pieces, that con 
 veyed the sound like a fireman s trumpet. If 
 you like, I will run down there and call up to 
 you, and you can hear how it sounded. I will 
 speak in my natural voice first, and if that 
 doesn t reach you, wave your parasol, and I 
 will try it a little louder." 
 
 "Oh, do!" said Miss Morris. "It will be 
 very good of you. I should like to hear a real 
 speech in the theatre of Herodes," she said, as she 
 seated herself on the edge of the marble crater. 
 
 "I ll have to speak in English," said Carlton, 
 as he disappeared; "my Greek isn t good 
 enough to carry that far." 
 
 Mrs. Downs seated herself beside her niece, 
 and Carlton began scrambling down the side of 
 the amphitheatre. The marble benches were 
 broken in parts, and where they were perfect 
 were covered with a fine layer of moss as smooth 
 and soft as green velvet, so that Carlton, when 
 he was not laboriously feeling for his next foot 
 hold with the toe of his boot, was engaged in 
 picking spring flowers from the beds of moss 
 and sticking them, for safe-keeping, in his but 
 ton-hole. He was several minutes in making 
 the descent, and so busily occupied in doing it 
 that he did not look up until he had reached 
 the level of the ground, and jumped lightly from 
 
 142
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 the first row of seats to the stage, covered with 
 moss, which lay like a heavy rug over the mar 
 ble pavement. When he did look up he saw a 
 tableau that made his heart, which was beating 
 quickly from the exertion of the descent, stand 
 still with consternation. The Hohenwalds had, 
 in his short absence, descended from the en 
 trance of the Acropolis, and had stopped on 
 their way to the road below to look into the cool 
 green and white basin of the theatre. At the 
 moment Carlton looked up the Duke was 
 standing in front of Mrs. Downs and Miss Mor 
 ris, and all of the men had their hats off. Then, 
 in pantomime, and silhouetted against the blue 
 sky behind them, Carlton saw the Princesses ad 
 vance beside their brother, and Mrs. Downs and 
 her niece courtesied three times, and then the 
 whole party faced about in a line and looked 
 down at him. The meaning of the tableau was 
 only too plain. 
 
 "Good heavens !" gasped Carlton. "Every 
 body s getting introduced to everybody else, 
 and I ve missed the whole thing ! If they think 
 I m going to stay down here and amuse them, 
 and miss all the fun myself, they are greatly 
 mistaken." He made a mad rush for the front 
 first row of seats; but there was a cry of remon 
 strance from above, and, looking up, he saw all 
 of the men waving him back. 
 
 143
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 "Speech!" cried the young English captain, 
 applauding loudly, as though welcoming an 
 actor on his first entrance. "Hats off!" he 
 cried. " Down in front ! Speech!" 
 
 "Confound that ass!" said Carlton, drop 
 ping back to the marble pavement again, and 
 gazing impotently up at the row of figures out 
 lined against the sky. " I must look like a bear 
 in the bear-pit at the Zoo," he growled. 
 They ll be throwing buns to me next." He 
 could see the two elder sisters talking to Mrs. 
 Downs, who was evidently explaining his pur 
 pose in going down to the stage of the theatre, 
 and he could see the Princess Aline bending for 
 ward, with both hands on her parasol, and 
 smiling. The captain made a trumpet of his 
 hands, and asked why he didn t begin. 
 
 "Hello! how are you?" Carlton called back, 
 waving his hat at him in some embarrassment. 
 "I wonder if I look as much like a fool as I 
 feel?" he muttered. 
 
 "What did you say? We can t hear you," 
 answered the captain. 
 
 "Louder! louder!" called the equerries. 
 Carlton swore at them under his breath, and 
 turned and gazed round the hole in which he 
 was penned in order to make them believe that 
 he had given up the idea of making a speech, 
 or had ever intended doing so. He tried to 
 
 144
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 think of something clever to shout back at them, 
 and rejected "Ye men of Athens" as being too 
 flippant, and "Friends, Countrymen, Romans," 
 as requiring too much effort. When he looked 
 up again the Hohenwalds were moving on their 
 way, and as he started once more to scale the 
 side of the theatre the Duke waved his hand at 
 him in farewell, and gave another hand to his 
 sisters, who disappeared with him behind the 
 edge of the upper row of seats. Carlton turned 
 at once and dropped into one of the marble 
 chairs and bowed his head. When he did reach 
 the top Miss Morris held out a sympathetic 
 hand to him and shook her head sadly, but he 
 could see that she was pressing her lips tightly 
 together to keep from smiling. 
 
 "Oh, it s all very funny for you," he said, 
 refusing her hand. "I don t believe you are in 
 love with anybody. You don t know what it 
 means." 
 
 They revisited the rock on the next day and 
 on the day after, and then left Athens for an 
 inland excursion to stay overnight. Miss Mor 
 ris returned from it with the sense of having 
 done her duty once, and by so doing having 
 earned the right to act as she pleased in the 
 future. What she best pleased to do was to 
 wander about over the broad top of the Acrop 
 olis, with no serious intent of studying its his- 
 
 145
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 torical values, but rather, as she explained it, 
 for the simple satisfaction of feeling that she 
 was there. She liked to stand on the edge of 
 the low wall along its top and look out over the 
 picture of sea and plain and mountains that lay 
 below her. The sun shone brightly, and the 
 wind swept by them as though they were on the 
 bridge of an ocean steamer, and there was the 
 added invigorating sense of pleasure that comes 
 to us when we stand on a great height. Carl- 
 ton was sitting at her feet, shielded from the 
 wind by a fallen column, and gazing up at her 
 with critical approval. 
 
 "You look like a sort of a Winged Victory 
 up there," he said, "with the wind blowing your 
 skirts about and your hair coming down." 
 
 "I don t remember that the Winged Vic 
 tory* has any hair to blow about," suggested 
 Miss Morris. 
 
 "I d like to paint you," continued Carlton, 
 "just as you are standing now, only I would put 
 you in a Greek dress; and you could stand a 
 Greek dress better than almost any one I know. 
 I would paint you with your head up and one 
 hand shielding your eyes, and the other pressed 
 against your breast. It would be stunning." 
 He spoke enthusiastically, but in quite an im 
 personal tone, as though he were discussing the 
 posing of a model. 
 
 146
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 Miss Morris jumped down from the low wall 
 on which she had been standing, and said, sim 
 ply, "Of course I should like to have you paint 
 me very much." 
 
 Mrs. Downs looked up with interest to see if 
 Mr. Carlton was serious. 
 
 "When?" said Carlton, vaguely. "Oh, I 
 
 don t know. Of course this is entirely too nice 
 
 to last, and you will be going home soon, and 
 
 then when I do get back to the States you will 
 
 you will have other things to do." 
 
 "Yes," repeated Miss Morris, "I shall have 
 something else to do besides gazing out at the 
 yEgean Sea." She raised her head and looked 
 across the rock for a moment with some inter 
 est. Her eyes, which had grown wistful, lighted 
 again with amusement. "Here are your 
 friends," she said, smiling. 
 
 "No!" exclaimed Carlton, scrambling to 
 his feet. 
 
 "Yes," said Miss Morris. "The Duke has 
 seen us, and is coming over here." 
 
 When Carlton had gained his feet and turned 
 to look, his friends had separated in different 
 directions, and were strolling about alone or in 
 pairs among the great columns of the Parthe 
 non. But the Duke came directly toward them, 
 and seated himself on a low block of marble in 
 front of the two ladies. After a word or two 
 
 147
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 about the beauties of the place, he asked if they 
 would go to the reception which the King gave 
 to him on the day following. They answered 
 that they should like to come very much, and 
 the Prince expressed his satisfaction, and said 
 that he would see that the chamberlain sent 
 them invitations. "And you, Mr. Carlton, 
 you will come also, I hope. I wish you to be 
 presented to my sisters. They are only ama 
 teurs in art, but they are great admirers of your 
 work, and they have rebuked me for not hav 
 ing already presented you. We were all disap 
 pointed," he continued, courteously, "at not 
 having you to dine with us that night in Con 
 stantinople, but now I trust I shall see some 
 thing of you here. You must tell us what we 
 are to admire." 
 
 That is very easy," said Carlton. "Every 
 thing." 
 
 "You are quite right," said the Prince, bow 
 ing to the ladies as he moved away. "It is all 
 very beautiful." 
 
 "Well, now you certainly will meet her," 
 said Miss Morris. 
 
 "Oh, no, I won t," said Carlton, with resig 
 nation. "I have had two chances and lost 
 them, and I ll miss this one too." 
 
 "Well, there is a chance you shouldn t miss," 
 said Miss Morris, pointing and nodding her 
 
 148
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 head. There she is now, and all alone. She s 
 sketching, isn t she, or taking notes? What is 
 she doing?" 
 
 Carlton looked eagerly in the direction Miss 
 Morris had signified, and saw the Princess Aline 
 sitting at some distance from them, with a book 
 on her lap. She glanced up from this now and 
 again to look at something ahead of her, and 
 was apparently deeply absorbed in her occu 
 pation. 
 
 "There is your opportunity," said Mrs. 
 Downs; "and we are going back to the hotel. 
 Shall we see you at luncheon?" 
 
 "Yes," said Carlton, "unless I get a position 
 as drawing-master; in that case I shall be here 
 teaching the three amateurs in art. Do you 
 think I can do it?" he asked Miss Morris. 
 
 "Decidedly," she answered. "I have found 
 you a most educational young person." 
 
 They went away together, and Carlton moved 
 cautiously toward the spot where the Princess 
 was sitting. He made a long and roundabout 
 detour as he did so, in order to keep himself 
 behind her. He did not mean to come so near 
 that she would see him, but he took a certain 
 satisfaction in looking at her when she was alone, 
 though her loneliness was only a matter of the 
 moment, and though he knew that her people 
 were within a hundred yards of her. He was in 
 
 149
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 consequence somewhat annoyed and surprised 
 to see another young man dodging in and out 
 among the pillars of the Parthenon immedi 
 ately ahead of him, and to find that this young 
 man also had his attention centred on the young 
 girl, who sat unconsciously sketching in the 
 foreground. 
 
 "Now what the devil can he want?" muttered 
 Carlton, his imagination taking alarm at once. 
 "If it would only prove to be some one who 
 meant harm to her," he thought "a brigand, 
 or a beggar, who might be obligingly insolent, 
 or even a tipsy man, what a chance it would 
 afford for heroic action!" 
 
 With this hope he moved forward quickly 
 but silently, hoping that the stranger might 
 prove even to be an anarchist with a grudge 
 against royalty. And as he advanced he had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the Princess glance 
 over her shoulder, and, observing the man, rise 
 and walk quickly away toward the edge of the 
 rock. There she seated herself with her face 
 toward the city, and with her back firmly set 
 against her pursuer. 
 
 "He is annoying her!" exclaimed Carlton, 
 delightedly, as he hurried forward. "It looks 
 as though my chance had come at last." But 
 as he approached the stranger he saw, to his 
 great disappointment, that he had nothing more 
 
 150
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 serious to deal with than one of the interna 
 tional army of amateur photographers, who had 
 been stalking the Princess as a hunter follows 
 an elk, or as he would have stalked a race-horse 
 or a prominent politician or a Lord Mayor s 
 show, everything being fish that came within 
 the focus of his camera. A helpless statue and 
 an equally helpless young girl were both good 
 subjects and at his mercy. He was bending 
 over, with an anxious expression of counte 
 nance, and focussing his camera on the back of 
 the Princess Aline, when Carlton approached 
 from the rear. As the young man put his finger 
 on the button of the camera, Carlton jogged his 
 arm with his elbow, and pushed the enthusias 
 tic tourist to one side. 
 
 "I say," exclaimed that individual, "look 
 where you re going, will you? You spoiled that 
 plate." 
 
 "I ll spoil your camera if you annoy that 
 young lady any longer," said Carlton, in a low 
 voice. 
 
 The photographer was rapidly rewinding his 
 roll, and the fire of pursuit was still in his 
 eye. 
 
 "She s a Princess," he explained, in an ex 
 cited whisper. 
 
 "Well," said Carlton, "even a Princess is en 
 titled to some consideration. Besides," he said, 
 
 151
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 in a more amicable tone, "y u haven t a permit 
 to photograph on the Acropolis. You know you 
 haven t." Carlton was quite sure of this, be 
 cause there were no such permits. 
 
 The amateur looked up in some dismay. " I 
 didn t know you had to have them," he said. 
 "Where can I get one?" 
 
 "The King may give you one," said Carlton. 
 "He lives at the palace. If they catch you up 
 here without a license, they will confiscate your 
 camera and lock you up. You had better van 
 ish before they see you." 
 
 Thank you. I will," said the tourist, anx 
 iously. 
 
 "Now," thought Carlton, smiling pleasantly, 
 "when he goes to the palace with that box and 
 asks for a permit, they ll think he is either a 
 dynamiter or a crank, and before they are 
 through with him his interest in photography 
 will have sustained a severe shock." 
 
 As Carlton turned from watching the rapid 
 flight of the photographer, he observed that the 
 Princess had remarked it also, as she had no 
 doubt been a witness of what had passed, even 
 if she had not overheard all that had been said. 
 She rose from her enforced position of refuge 
 with a look of relief, and came directly toward 
 Carlton along the rough path that led through 
 the debris on the top of the Acropolis. Carlton 
 
 152
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 had thought, as he watched her sitting on the 
 wall, with her chin resting on her hand, that she 
 would make a beautiful companion picture to 
 the one he had wished to paint of Miss Morris 
 the one girl standing upright, looking fear 
 lessly out to sea, on the top of the low wall, with 
 the wind blowing her skirts about her, and her 
 hair tumbled in the breeze, and the other seated, 
 bending intently forward, as though watching 
 for the return of a long-delayed vessel; a beau 
 tifully sad face, fine and delicate and noble, the 
 face of a girl on the figure of a woman. And 
 when she rose he made no effort to move away, 
 or, indeed, to pretend not to have seen her, but 
 stood looking at her as though he had the right 
 to do so, and as though she must know he had 
 that right. As she came toward him the Prin 
 cess Aline did not stop, nor even shorten her 
 steps; but as she passed opposite to him she 
 bowed her thanks with a sweet impersonal 
 smile and a dropping of the eyes, and contin 
 ued steadily on her way. 
 
 Carlton stood for some short time looking 
 after her, with his hat still at his side. She 
 seemed farther from him at that moment than 
 she had ever been before, although she had for 
 the first time recognized him. But he knew 
 that it was only as a human being that she had 
 recognized him. He put on his hat, and sat 
 
 153
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 down on a rock with his elbows on his knees, 
 and filled his pipe. 
 
 " If that had been any other girl," he thought, 
 "I would have gone up to her and said, Was 
 that man annoying you? and she would have 
 said, Yes; thank you, or something; and I 
 would have walked along with her until we had 
 come up to her friends, and she would have told 
 them I had been of some slight service to her, 
 and they would have introduced us, and all 
 would have gone well. But because she is a 
 Princess she cannot be approached in that way. 
 At least she does not think so, and I have to 
 act as she has been told I should act, and not as 
 I think I should. After all, she is only a very 
 beautiful girl, and she must be very tired of her 
 cousins and grandmothers, and of not being al 
 lowed to see any one else. These royalties 
 make a very picturesque show for the rest of 
 us, but indeed it seems rather hard on them. 
 A hundred years from now there will be no more 
 kings and queens, and the writers of that day 
 will envy us, just as the writers of this day 
 envy the men who wrote of chivalry and tourna 
 ments, and they will have to choose their heroes 
 from bank presidents, and their heroines from 
 lady lawyers and girl politicians and type-writ 
 ers. What a stupid world it will be then !" 
 
 The next day brought the reception to the 
 154
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 Hohenwalds; and Carlton, entering the read 
 ing-room of the hotel on the same afternoon, 
 found Miss Morris and her aunt there together 
 taking tea. They both looked at him with ex 
 pressions of such genuine commiseration that 
 he stopped just as he was going to seat himself 
 and eyed them defiantly. 
 
 "Don t tell me," he exclaimed, "that this has 
 fallen through too!" 
 
 Miss Morris nodded her head silently. 
 
 Carlton dropped into the chair beside them, 
 and folded his arms with a frown of grim resig 
 nation. "What is it?" he asked. "Have 
 they postponed the reception?" 
 
 "No," Miss Morris said; "but the Princess 
 Aline will not be there." 
 
 "Of course not," said Carlton, calmly, "of 
 course not. May I ask why? I knew that she 
 wouldn t be there, but I may possibly be al 
 lowed to express some curiosity." 
 
 "She turned her ankle on one of the loose 
 stones on the Acropolis this afternoon," said 
 Miss Morris, "and sprained it so badly that 
 they had to carry her 
 
 "Who carried her?" Carlton demanded, 
 fiercely. 
 
 "Some of her servants." 
 
 "Of course, of course!" cried Carlton. 
 "That s the way it always will be. I was there 
 
 155
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 the whole afternoon, and I didn t see her. I 
 wasn t there to help her. It s Fate, that s what 
 it is Fate! There s no use in my trying to 
 fight against Fate. Still," he added anxiously, 
 with a sudden access of hope, "she may be well 
 by this evening." 
 
 "I hardly think she will," said Miss Mor 
 ris, "but we will trust so." 
 
 The King s palace and gardens stretch along 
 one end of the public park, and are but just 
 across the street from the hotel where the Ho- 
 henwalds and the Americans were staying. As 
 the hotel was the first building on the left of 
 the square, Carlton could see from his windows 
 the illuminations, and the guards of honor, and 
 the carriages arriving and departing, and the 
 citizens of Athens crowding the parks and peer 
 ing through the iron rails into the King s gar 
 den. It was a warm night, and lighted grandly 
 by a full moon that showed the Acropolis in 
 silhouette against the sky, and gave a strangely 
 theatrical look to the yellow house fronts and 
 red roofs of the town. Every window in the 
 broad front of the palace was illuminated, and 
 through the open doors came the sound of music, 
 and one without could see rows of tall servants 
 in the King s blue and white livery, and the 
 men of his guard in their white petticoats and 
 black and white jackets and red caps. Carlton 
 
 156
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 pulled a light coat over his evening dress, and, 
 with an agitation he could hardly explain, 
 walked across the street and entered the pal 
 ace. The line of royalties had broken by the 
 time he reached the ball-room, and the not 
 over-severe etiquette of the Greek court left 
 him free, after a bow to those who still waited 
 to receive it, to move about as he pleased. 
 His most earnest desire was to learn whether 
 or not the Princess Aline was present, and with 
 that end he clutched the English adjutant as 
 that gentleman was hurrying past him, and 
 asked eagerly if the Princess had recovered from 
 her accident. 
 
 "No," said the officer; "she s able to walk 
 about, but not to stand, and sit out a dinner, 
 and dance, and all this sort of thing. Too bad, 
 wasn t it?" 
 
 "Yes," said Carlton, "very bad." He re 
 leased his hand from the other s arm, and 
 dropped back among the men grouped about 
 the doorway. His disappointment was very 
 keen. Indeed, he had not known how much 
 this meeting with the Princess had meant to 
 him until he experienced this disappointment, 
 which was succeeded by a wish to find Miss 
 Morris, and have her sympathize and laugh 
 with him. He became conscious, as he searched 
 with growing impatience the faces of those pass- 
 
 157
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 ing and repassing before him, of how much the 
 habit of going to Aliss Morris for sympathy in 
 his unlucky love-affair had grown of late upon 
 him. He wondered what he would have done 
 in his travels without her, and whether he should 
 have had the interest to carry on his pursuit 
 had she not been there to urge him on, and to 
 mock at him when he grew faint-hearted. 
 
 But when he finally did discover her he stood 
 quite still, and for an instant doubted if it were 
 she. The girl he saw seemed to be a more beau 
 tiful sister of the Miss Morris he knew a taller, 
 fairer, and more radiant personage; and he 
 feared that it was not she, until he remem 
 bered that this was the first time he had ever 
 seen her with her hair dressed high upon her 
 head, and in the more distinguished accessories 
 of a decollete gown and train. Miss Morris had 
 her hand on the arm of one of the equerries, 
 who was battling good-naturedly with the 
 crowd, and trying to draw her away from two 
 persistent youths in diplomatic uniform who 
 were laughing and pressing forward in close pur 
 suit on the other side. Carlton approached her 
 with a certain feeling of diffidence, which was 
 most unusual to him, and asked if she were 
 dancing. 
 
 "Mr. Carlton shall decide for me," Miss Mor 
 ris said, dropping the equerry s arm and stand 
 ing beside the American. " I have promised all
 
 of these gentlemen," she explained, "to dance 
 with them, and now they won t agree as to 
 which is to dance first. They ve wasted half 
 this waltz already in discussing it, and they 
 make it much more difficult by saying that no 
 matter how I decide, they will fight duels with 
 the one I choose, which is most unpleasant for 
 me." 
 
 "Most unpleasant for the gentleman you 
 choose, too," suggested Carlton. 
 
 "So," continued Miss Morris, "I have de 
 cided to leave it to you." 
 
 "Well, if I am to arbitrate between the pow 
 ers," said Carlton, with a glance at the three 
 uniforms, "my decision is that as they insist 
 on fighting duels in any event, you had better 
 dance with me until they have settled it be 
 tween them, and then the survivor can have 
 the next dance." 
 
 "That s a very good idea," said Miss Mor 
 ris; and taking Carlton s arm, she bowed to 
 the three men and drew away. 
 
 "Mr. Carlton," said the equerry, with a bow, 
 " has added another argument in favor of main 
 taining standing armies, and of not submit 
 ting questions to arbitration." 
 
 "Let s get out of this," said Carlton. "You 
 don t want to dance, do you? Let us go where 
 it s cool." 
 
 He led her down the stairs, and out onto the 
 159
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 terrace. They did not speak again until they 
 had left it, and were walking under the trees in 
 the Queen s garden. He had noticed as they 
 made their way through the crowd how the men 
 and women turned to look at her and made way 
 for her, and how utterly unconscious she was 
 of their doing so, with that unconsciousness 
 which comes from familiarity with such dis 
 crimination, and Carlton himself held his head 
 a little higher with the pride and pleasure the 
 thought gave him that he was in such friendly 
 sympathy with so beautiful a creature. He 
 stopped before a low stone bench that stood on 
 the edge of the path, surrounded by a screen 
 of tropical trees, and guarded by a marble 
 statue. They were in deep shadow themselves, 
 but the moonlight fell on the path at their feet, 
 and through the trees on the other side of the 
 path they could see the open terrace of the pal 
 ace, with the dancers moving in and out of the 
 lighted windows. The splash of a fountain 
 came from some short distance behind them, 
 and from time to time they heard the strains 
 of a regimental band alternating with the softer 
 strains of a waltz played by a group of Hun 
 garian musicians. For a moment neither of 
 them spoke, but sat watching the white dresses 
 of the women and the uniforms of the men mov 
 ing in and out among the trees, lighted by the 
 
 1 60
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 lanterns hanging from the branches, and the 
 white mist of the moon. 
 
 "Do you know," said Carlton, "I m rather 
 afraid of you to-night!" He paused, and 
 watched her for a little time as she sat upright, 
 with her hands folded on her lap. "You are 
 so very resplendent and queenly and altogether 
 different," he added. The girl moved her bare 
 shoulders slightly and leaned back against the 
 bench. 
 
 " The Princess did not come," she said. 
 
 "No," Carlton answered, with a sudden 
 twinge of conscience at having forgotten that 
 fact. " That s one of the reasons I took you 
 away from those men," he explained. "I 
 wanted you to sympathize with me." 
 
 Miss Morris did not answer him at once. 
 She did not seem to be in a sympathetic mood. 
 Her manner suggested rather that she was tired 
 and troubled. 
 
 "I need sympathy myself to-night," she said. 
 "We received a letter after dinner that brought 
 bad news for us. We must go home at once." 
 
 "Bad news!" exclaimed Carlton, with much 
 concern. "From home?" 
 
 "Yes, from home," she replied; "but there 
 is nothing wrong there; it is only bad news for 
 us. My sister has decided to be married in 
 June instead of July, and that cuts us out of a 
 
 161
 
 month on the Continent. That s all. We shall 
 have to leave immediately to-morrow. It 
 seems that Mr. Abbey is able to go away sooner 
 than he had hoped, and they are to be married 
 on the first." 
 
 "Mr. Abbey!" exclaimed Carlton, catching 
 at the name. "But your sister isn t going to 
 marry him, is she?" 
 
 Miss Morris turned her head in some sur 
 prise. "Yes why not?" she said. 
 
 "But I say!" cried Carlton, "I thought 
 your aunt told me that you were going to marry 
 Abbey ; she told me so that day on the steamer 
 when he came to see you off." 
 
 "I marry him my aunt told you impos 
 sible!" said Miss Morris, smiling. "She prob 
 ably said that her niece was going to marry 
 him; she meant my sister. They had been en 
 gaged some time." 
 
 "Then who are you going to marry?" stam 
 mered Carlton. 
 
 " I am not going to marry any one," said Miss 
 Morris. 
 
 Carlton stared at her blankly in amazement. 
 "Well, that s most absurd!" he exclaimed. 
 
 He recognized instantly that the expression 
 was hardly adequate, but he could not read 
 just his mind so suddenly to the new idea, and 
 he remained looking at her with many confused
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 memories rushing through his brain. A dozen 
 questions were on his tongue. He remembered 
 afterward how he had noticed a servant trim 
 ming the candle in one of the orange-colored 
 lanterns, and that he had watched him as he 
 disappeared among the palms. 
 
 The silence lasted for so long a time that it 
 had taken on a significance in itself which Carl- 
 ton recognized. He pulled himself up with a 
 short laugh. "Well," he remonstrated, mirth 
 lessly, "I don t think you ve treated me very 
 well." 
 
 "How, not treated you very well?" Miss 
 Morris asked, settling herself more easily. She 
 had been sitting during the pause which fol 
 lowed Carlton s discovery with a certain rigid 
 ity, as if she was on a strain of attention. But 
 her tone was now as friendly as always, and 
 held its customary suggestion of amusement. 
 Carlton took his tone from it, although his 
 mind was still busily occupied with incidents 
 and words of hers that she had spoken in their 
 past intercourse. 
 
 "Not fair in letting me think you were en 
 gaged," he said. "I ve wasted so much time; 
 I m not half civil enough to engaged girls," he 
 explained. 
 
 "You ve been quite civil enough to us," said 
 Miss Morris, "as a courier, philosopher, and 
 
 .63
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 friend. I m very sorry we have to part com 
 pany." 
 
 "Part company!" exclaimed Carlton, in 
 sudden alarm. "But, I say, we mustn t do 
 that." 
 
 "But we must, you see," said Miss Morris. 
 "We must go back for the wedding, and you 
 will have to follow the Princess Aline." 
 
 "Yes, of course," Carlton heard his own 
 voice say. " I had forgotten the Princess Aline." 
 But he was not thinking of what he was saying, 
 nor of the Princess Aline. He was thinking of 
 the many hours Miss Morris and he had been 
 together, of the way she had looked at certain 
 times, and of how he had caught himself watch 
 ing her at others; how he had pictured the 
 absent Mr. Abbey travelling with her later over 
 the same route, and without a chaperon, sitting 
 close at her side or holding her hand, and tell 
 ing her just how pretty she was whenever he 
 wished to do so, and without any fear of the 
 consequences. He remembered how ready she 
 had been to understand what he was going to 
 say before he had finished saying it, and how 
 she had always made him show the best of him 
 self, and had caused him to leave unsaid many 
 things that became common and unworthy 
 when considered in the light of her judgment. 
 He recalled how impatient he had been when 
 
 164
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 she was late at dinner, and how cross he was 
 throughout one whole day when she had kept 
 her room. He felt with a sudden shock of de 
 lightful fear that he had grown to depend upon 
 her, that she was the best companion he had 
 ever known; and he remembered moments 
 when they had been alone together at the table, 
 or in some old palace, or during a long walk, 
 when they had seemed to have the whole world 
 entirely to themselves, and how he had con 
 soled himself at such times with the thought 
 that no matter how long she might be Abbey s 
 wife, there had been these moments in her life 
 which were his, with which Abbey had had 
 nothing to do. 
 
 Carlton turned and looked at her with strange 
 wide-open eyes, as though he saw her for the 
 first time. He felt so sure of himself and of his 
 love for her that the happiness of it made him 
 tremble, and the thought that if he spoke she 
 might answer him in the old, friendly, mock 
 ing tone of good-fellowship filled him with 
 alarm. At that moment it seemed to Carlton 
 that the most natural thing in the world for 
 them to do would be to go back again together 
 over the road they had come, seeing every 
 thing in the new light of his love for her, and 
 so travel on and on forever over the world, 
 learning to love each other more and more each 
 
 165
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 succeeding day, and leaving the rest of the uni 
 verse to move along without them. 
 
 He leaned forward with his arm along the 
 back of the bench, and bent his face toward 
 hers. Her hand lay at her side, and his own 
 closed over it, but the shock that the touch of 
 her fingers gave him stopped and confused the 
 words upon his tongue. He looked strangely 
 at her, and could not find the speech he needed. 
 
 Miss Morris gave his hand a firm, friendly 
 little pressure and drew her own away, as if he 
 had taken hers only in an exuberance of good 
 feeling. 
 
 "You have been very nice to us," she said, 
 with an effort to make her tone sound kindly 
 and approving. "And we 
 
 "You mustn t go; I can t let you go," said 
 Carlton, hoarsely. There was no mistaking his 
 tone or his earnestness now. "If you go," 
 he went on, breathlessly, "I must go with 
 you." 
 
 The girl moved restlessly; she leaned forward, 
 and drew in her breath with a slight, nervous 
 tremor. Then she turned and faced him, al 
 most as though she were afraid of him or of her 
 self, and they sat so for an instant in silence. 
 The air seemed to have grown close and heavy, 
 and Carlton saw her dimly. In the silence he 
 heard the splash of the fountain behind them, 
 
 166
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 and the rustling of the leaves in the night wind, 
 and the low, sighing murmur of a waltz. 
 
 He raised his head to listen, and she saw in 
 the moonlight that he was smiling. It was as 
 though he wished to delay any answer she 
 might make to his last words. 
 
 "That is the waltz," he said, still speaking 
 in a whisper, "that the gypsies played that 
 night He stopped, and Miss Morris an 
 swered him by bending her head slowly in as 
 sent. It seemed to be an effort for her to even 
 make that slight gesture. 
 
 You don t remember it," said Carlton. "It 
 meant nothing to you. I mean that night on 
 the steamer when I told you what love meant 
 to other people. What a fool I was!" he said, 
 with an uncertain laugh. 
 
 "Yes, I remember it," she said "last Thurs 
 day night, on the steamer." 
 
 "Thursday night!" exclaimed Carlton, in 
 dignantly. "Wednesday night, Tuesday night, 
 how should I know what night of the week it 
 was? It was the night of my life to me. That 
 night I knew that I loved you as I had never 
 hoped to care for any one in this world. When 
 I told you \hat I did not know what love meant 
 I felt all the time that I was lying. I knew that 
 I loved you, and that I could never love any 
 one else, artd that I had never loved any one 
 
 167
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 before; and if I had thought then you could 
 care for me, your engagement or your promises 
 would never have stopped my telling you so. 
 You said that night that I would learn to love 
 all the better, and more truly, for having 
 doubted myself so long, and, oh, Edith," he 
 cried, taking both her hands and holding them 
 close in his own, " I cannot let you go now ! I 
 love you so! Don t laugh at me; don t mock 
 at me. AH the rest of my life depends on you." 
 And then Miss Morris laughed softly, just as 
 he had begged her not to do, but her laughter 
 was so full of happiness, and came so gently 
 and sweetly, and spoke so truly of content, that 
 though he let go of her hands with one of his, 
 it was only that he might draw her to him, until 
 her face touched his, and she felt the strength 
 of his arm as he held her against his breast. 
 
 The Hohenwalds occupied the suite of rooms 
 on the first floor of the hotel, with the privilege 
 of using the broad balcony that reached out from 
 it over the front entrance. And at the time 
 when Mrs. Downs and Edith Morris and Carl- 
 ton drove up to the hotel from the ball, the 
 Princess Aline was leaning over the balcony 
 and watching the lights go out in the upper part 
 of the house, and the moonlight as it fell on the 
 trees and statues in the public park below. Her 
 
 1 68
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 foot was still in bandages, and she was wrapped 
 in a long cloak to keep her from the cold. In 
 side of the open windows that led out on to the 
 balcony her sisters were taking off their orna 
 ments, and discussing the incidents of the night 
 just over. 
 
 The Princess Aline, unnoticed by those be 
 low, saw Carlton help Mrs. Downs to alight 
 from the carriage, and then give his hand to 
 another muffled figure that followed her; and 
 while Mrs. Downs was ascending the steps, and 
 before the second muffled figure had left the 
 shadow of the carriage and stepped into the 
 moonlight, the Princess Aline saw Carlton draw 
 her suddenly back and kiss her lightly on the 
 cheek, and heard a protesting gasp, and saw 
 Miss Morris pull her cloak over her head and 
 run up the steps. Then she saw Carlton shake 
 hands with them, and stand for a moment after 
 they had disappeared, gazing up at the moon 
 and fumbling in the pockets of his coat. He 
 drew out a cigar-case and leisurely selected a 
 cigar, and with much apparent content lighted 
 it, and then, with his head thrown back and his 
 chest expanded, as though he were challenging 
 the world, he strolled across the street and dis 
 appeared among the shadows of the deserted 
 park. 
 
 The Princess walked back to one of the open 
 169
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 windows, and stood there leaning against the 
 side. "That young Mr. Carlton, the artist," 
 she said to her sisters, "is engaged to that beau 
 tiful American girl we met the other day." 
 
 "Really!" said the elder sister. "I thought 
 it was probable. Who told you?" 
 
 "I saw him kiss her good-night," said the 
 Princess, stepping into the window, "as they 
 got out of their carriage just now." 
 
 The Princess Aline stood for a moment look 
 ing thoughtfully at the floor, and then walked 
 across the room to a little writing-desk. She 
 unlocked a drawer in this and took from it two 
 slips of paper, which she folded in her hand. 
 Then she returned slowly across the room, and 
 stepped out again on to the balcony. 
 
 One of the pieces of paper held the picture 
 Carlton had drawn of her, and under which he 
 had written: "This is she. Do you wonder I 
 travelled four thousand miles to see her?" 
 And the other was the picture of Carlton him 
 self, which she had cut out of the catalogue of 
 the Salon. 
 
 From the edge of the balcony where the Prin 
 cess stood she could see the glimmer of Carl- 
 ton s white linen and the red glow of his cigar 
 as he strode proudly up and down the path of 
 the public park, like a sentry keeping watch. 
 She folded the pieces of paper together and tore 
 
 170
 
 THE PRINCESS ALINE 
 
 them slowly into tiny fragments, and let them 
 fall through her fingers into the street below. 
 Then she returned again to the room, and stood 
 looking at her sisters. 
 
 "Do you know," she said, "I think I am a 
 little tired of travelling so much. I want to go 
 back to Grasse." She put her hand to her fore 
 head and held it there for a moment. " I think 
 I am a little homesick," said the Princess Aline.
 
 THE KING S JACKAL
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 I 
 
 THE private terrace of the Hotel Grande-Bre- 
 tagne, at Tangier, was shaded by a great awn 
 ing of red and green and yellow, and strewn with 
 colored mats, and plants in pots, and wicker 
 chairs. It reached out from the King s apart 
 ments into the Garden of Palms, and was hid 
 den by them on two sides, and showed from 
 the third the blue waters of the Mediterranean 
 and the great shadow of Gibraltar in the dis 
 tance. 
 
 The Sultan of Morocco had given orders from 
 Fez that the King of Messina, in spite of his 
 incognito, should be treated during his stay in 
 Tangier with the consideration due to his rank, 
 so one-half of the Hotel Grande-Bretagne had 
 been set aside for him and his suite, and two 
 soldiers of the Bashaw s Guard sat outside of 
 his door with drawn swords. They were an 
 swerable with their heads for the life and safety 
 of the Sultan s guest, and as they could speak 
 no language but their own, they made a visit to 
 his Majesty more a matter of adventure than 
 of etiquette. 
 
 175
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Niccolas, the King s major-domo, stepped 
 out upon the terrace and swept the Mediter 
 ranean with a field-glass for the third time since 
 sunrise. He lowered it, and turned doubtfully 
 toward the two soldiers. 
 
 The boat from Gibraltar has she arrived 
 yet?" he asked. 
 
 The two ebony figures shook their heads 
 stiffly, as though they resented this introduc 
 tion of a foreign language, and continued to 
 shake their heads as the servant addressed the 
 same question to them in a succession of strange 
 tongues. 
 
 "Well," said Colonel Erhaupt, briskly, as he 
 followed Niccolas out upon the terrace, "has 
 the boat arrived? And the launch from the 
 yacht," he continued, "has it started for shore 
 
 yet?" 
 
 The man pointed to where the yacht lay, a 
 mile outside the harbor, and handed him the 
 glass. 
 
 "It is but just now leaving the ship s side," 
 he said. "But I cannot make out who comes in 
 her. Ah, pardon," he added quickly, as he 
 pointed to a stout elderly gentleman who walked 
 rapidly toward them through the garden. ; The 
 Gibraltar boat must be in, sir. Here is Baron 
 Barrat coming up the path." 
 
 Colonel Erhaupt gave an exclamation of satis-
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 faction, and waved his hand to the newcomer 
 in welcome. 
 
 "Go tell his Majesty," he said to the servant. 
 
 The man hesitated and bowed. "His Ma 
 jesty still sleeps." 
 
 "Wake him," commanded Erhaupt. "Tell 
 him I said to do so. Well, Baron," he cried, 
 gayly, as he stepped forward, "welcome or 
 are you welcome?" he added, with an uneasy 
 laugh. 
 
 "I should be. I have succeeded," the other 
 replied gruffly, as he brushed past him. "Where 
 is the King?" 
 
 "He will be here in a moment. I have sent 
 to wake him. And you have been successful? 
 Good. I congratulate you. How far success 
 ful?" 
 
 The Baron threw himself into one of the 
 wicker chairs, and clapped his hands impa 
 tiently for a servant. Twelve thousand pounds 
 in all," he replied. That s more than he ex 
 pected. It was like pulling teeth at first. I 
 want some coffee at once," he said to the at 
 tendant, "and a bath. That boat reeked with 
 Moors and cattle, and there was no wagon-lit 
 on the train from Madrid. I sat up all night, 
 and played cards with that young Cellini. 
 Have Madame Zara and Kalonay returned? I 
 see the yacht in the harbor. Did she succeed?" 
 
 177
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "We do not know; the boat only arrived at 
 daybreak. They are probably on the launch 
 that is coming in now." 
 
 As Barrat sipped his coffee and munched his 
 rolls with the silent energy of a hungry man, the 
 Colonel turned and strode up and down the ter 
 race, pulling at his mustache and glancing side 
 ways. When the Baron had lighted a cigarette 
 and thrown himself back in his chair, Erhaupt 
 halted and surveyed him in some anxiety. 
 
 You have been gone over two weeks," he 
 said. 
 
 " I should like to see you accomplish as much 
 in as short a time," growled the other. "You 
 know Paris. You know how hard it is to get 
 people to be serious there. I had the devil s 
 own time at first. You got my cablegram?" 
 
 Yes; it wasn t encouraging." 
 
 "Well, I wasn t hopeful myself. They 
 wouldn t believe a word of it at first. They 
 said Louis hadn t shown such great love for 
 his country or his people since his exile that 
 they could feel any confidence in him, and that 
 his conduct in the last six years did not war 
 rant their joining any undertaking in which he 
 was concerned. You can t blame them. They ve 
 backed him so many times already, and they ve 
 been bitten, and they re shy, naturally. But 
 I swore he was repentant, that he saw the
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 error of his ways, that he wanted to sit once 
 more before he died on the throne of his ances 
 tors, and that he felt it was due to his son that 
 he should make an effort to get him back his 
 birthright. It was the son won them. Ex 
 hibit A/ I call him. None of them would hear 
 of it until I spoke of the Prince. So when I saw 
 that, I told them he was a fine little chap, 
 healthy and manly and brave, and devoted to 
 his priest, and all that rot, and they began to 
 listen. At first they wanted his Majesty to 
 abdicate, and give the boy a clear road to the 
 crown, but of course I hushed that up. I told 
 them we were acting advisedly, that we had 
 reason to know that the common people of Mes 
 sina were sick of the Republic, and wanted 
 their King; that Louis loved the common peo 
 ple like a father; that he would re-establish 
 the Church in all her power, and that Father 
 Paul was working day and night for us, and 
 that the Vatican was behind us. Then I dealt 
 out decorations and a few titles, which Louis 
 has made smell so confoundedly rank to Heaven 
 that nobody would take them. It was like a 
 game. I played one noble gentleman against 
 another, and gave this one a portrait of the King 
 one day, and the other a miniature of Exhibit 
 A the next, and they grew jealous, and met 
 together, and talked it over, and finally un- 
 
 179
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 locked their pockets. They contributed about 
 9,000 between them. Then the enthusiasm 
 spread to the women, and they gave me their 
 jewels, and a lot of youngsters volunteered for 
 the expedition, and six of them came on with 
 me in the train last night. I won two thou 
 sand francs from that boy Cellini on the way 
 down. They re all staying at the Continental. 
 I promised them an audience this morning." 
 
 "Good," commented the Colonel, "good 
 9,000. I suppose you took out your com 
 mission in advance?" 
 
 "I took out nothing," returned the other, 
 angrily. "I brought it all with me, and I have 
 a letter from each of them stating just what he 
 or she subscribed toward the expedition, the 
 Duke Dantiz, so much; the Duke D Orvay, 
 50,000 francs; the Countess Mattini, a dia 
 mond necklace. It is all quite regular. I 
 played fair." 
 
 The Colonel had stopped in his walk, and 
 had been peering eagerly down the leafy path 
 through the garden. "Is that not Zara coming 
 now?" he asked. "Look, your eyes are better 
 than mine." 
 
 Barrat rose quickly, and the two men walked 
 forward, and bowed with the easy courtesy 
 of old comrades to a tall, fair girl who came 
 hurriedly up the steps. The Countess Zara 
 
 1 80
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 was a young woman, but one who had stood 
 so long on guard against the world, that the 
 strain had told, and her eyes were hard and un- 
 trustful, so that she looked much older than 
 she really was. Her life was of two parts. 
 There was little to be told of the first part; she 
 was an English girl who had come from a manu 
 facturing town to study art and live alone in 
 Paris, where she had been too indolent to work, 
 and too brilliant to remain long without com 
 panions eager for her society. Through them 
 and the stories of her wit and her beauty, she 
 had come to know the King of Messina, and 
 with that meeting the second part of her life 
 began; for she had found something so attrac 
 tive, either in his title or in the cynical humor 
 of the man himself, that for the last two years 
 she had followed his fortunes, and Miss Muriel 
 Winter, art student, had become the Countess 
 Zara, and an uncrowned queen. She was beau 
 tiful, with great masses of yellow hair and won 
 derful brown eyes. Her manner when she spoke 
 seemed to show that she despised the world 
 and those in it almost as thoroughly as she 
 despised herself. 
 
 On the morning of her return from Messina, 
 she wore a blue serge yachting suit with a golf 
 cloak hanging from her shoulders, and as she 
 crossed the terrace she pulled nervously at her 
 
 181
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 gloves and held out her hand covered with 
 jewels to each of the two men. 
 
 "I bring good news," she said, with an ex 
 cited laugh. "Where is Louis?" 
 
 "I will tell his Majesty that you have come. 
 You are most welcome," the Baron answered. 
 
 But as he turned to the door it opened from 
 the inside and the King came toward them, 
 shivering and blinking his eyes in the bright 
 sunlight. It showed the wrinkles and creases 
 around his mouth and the blue veins under the 
 mottled skin, and the tiny lines at the corners 
 of his little bloodshot eyes that marked the pace 
 at which he had lived as truthfully as the rings 
 on a tree-trunk tell of its quiet growth. 
 
 He caught up his long dressing-gown across 
 his chest as though it were a mantle, and with a 
 quick glance to see that there were no other 
 witnesses to his dishabille, bent and kissed the 
 woman s hand, and taking it in his own stroked 
 it gently. 
 
 "My dear Marie," he lisped, "it is like heaven 
 to have you back with us again. We have felt 
 your absence every hour. Pray be seated, and 
 pardon my robe. I saw you through the blinds 
 and could not wait. Tell us the glorious news. 
 The Baron s good words I have already over 
 heard; I listened to them with great enter 
 tainment while I was dressing. I hoped he 
 
 182
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 would say something discourteous or foolish, 
 but he was quite discreet until he told Erhaupt 
 that he had kept back none of the money. Then 
 I lost interest. Fiction is never so entertain 
 ing to me as the truth and real people. But 
 tell us now of your mission and of all you did; 
 and whether successful or not, be assured you 
 are most welcome." 
 
 The Countess Zara smiled at him doubtfully 
 and crossed her hands in her lap, glancing anx 
 iously over her shoulder. 
 
 "I must be very brief, for Kalonay and 
 Father Paul are close behind me," she said. 
 "They only stopped for a moment at the cus 
 tom-house. Keep watch, Baron, and tell me 
 when you see them coming." 
 
 Barrat moved his chair so that it faced the 
 garden-path, the King crossed his legs com 
 fortably and wrapped his padded dressing-robe 
 closer around his slight figure, and Erhaupt 
 stood leaning on the back of his chair with his 
 eyes fixed on the fine, insolent beauty of the 
 woman before them. 
 
 She nodded her head toward the soldiers 
 who sat at the entrance to the terrace, as silent 
 and immovable as blind beggars before a mosque. 
 "Do they understand?" she asked. 
 
 "No," the King assured her. "They under 
 stand nothing but that they are to keep people 
 
 183
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 away from me and they do it very well. I 
 wish I could import them to Paris to help Nic- 
 colas fight off creditors. Continue, we are most 
 impatient." 
 
 "We left here last Sunday night, as you 
 know," she said. "We passed Algiers the next 
 morning and arrived off the island at mid-day, 
 anchoring outside in the harbor. We flew the 
 Royal Yacht Squadron s pennant, and an own 
 er s private signal that we invented on the way 
 down. They sent me ashore in a boat, and Ka- 
 lonay and Father Paul continued on along the 
 southern shore, where they have been making 
 speeches in all the coast-towns and exciting 
 the people in favor of the revolution. I heard 
 of them often while I was at the capital, but 
 not from them. The President sent a company 
 of carbineers to arrest them the very night they 
 returned and smuggled me on board the yacht 
 again. We put off as soon as I came over the 
 side and sailed directly here. 
 
 "As soon as I landed on Tuesday I went to 
 the Hotel de Messina, and sent my card to the 
 President. He is that man Palaccio, the hotel- 
 keeper s son, the man you sent out of the coun 
 try for writing pamphlets against the mon 
 archy, and who lived in Sicily during his exile. 
 He gave me an audience at once, and I told my 
 story. As he knew who I was, I explained that 
 
 184
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 I had quarrelled with you, and that I was now 
 prepared to sell him the secrets of an expedition 
 which you were fitting out with the object of 
 re-establishing yourself on the throne. He 
 wouldn t believe that there was any such expe 
 dition, and said it was blackmail, and threat 
 ened to give me to the police if I did not leave 
 the island in twenty-four hours he was ex 
 ceedingly rude. So I showed him receipts for 
 ammunition and rifles and Maxim guns, and 
 copies of the oath of allegiance to the expedi 
 tion, and papers of the yacht, in which she was 
 described as an armored cruiser, and he rapidly 
 grew polite, even humble, and I made him 
 apologize first, and then take me out to lunch 
 eon. That was the first day. The second day 
 telegrams began to come in from the coast- 
 towns, saying that the Prince Kalonay and 
 Father Paul were preaching and exciting the 
 people to rebellion, and travelling from town 
 to town in a man-of-war. Then he was fright 
 ened. The Prince with his popularity in the 
 south was alarming enough, but the Prince and 
 Father Superior to help him seemed to mean the 
 end of the Republic. 
 
 "I learned while I was down there that the 
 people think the father put some sort of a ban 
 on every one who had anything to do with driv 
 ing the Dominican monks out of the island and 
 
 185
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 with the destruction of the monasteries. I 
 don t know whether he did or not, but they be 
 lieve he did, which is the same thing, and that 
 superstitious little beast, the President, cer 
 tainly believed it; he attributed everything 
 that had gone wrong on the island to that cause. 
 Why, if a second cousin of the wife of a brother 
 of one of the men who helped to fire a church 
 falls off his horse and breaks his leg they say 
 that he is under the curse of the Father Supe 
 rior, and there are many who believe the Repub 
 lic will never succeed until Paul returns and the 
 Church is re-established. The Government 
 seems to have kept itself well informed about 
 your Majesty s movements, and it has never 
 felt any anxiety that you would attempt to re 
 turn, and it did not fear the Church party be 
 cause it knew that without you the priests could 
 do nothing. But when Paul, whom the common 
 people look upon as a living saint and martyr, 
 returned hand in hand w r ith your man Friday, 
 they were in a panic and felt sure the end had 
 come. So the President called a hasty meeting 
 of his Cabinet. And such a Cabinet ! I wish 
 you could have seen them, Louis, with me in 
 the centre playing on them like an advocate 
 before a jury. They were the most dreadful 
 men I ever met, bourgeois and stupid and ugly 
 to a degree. Two of them were commission- 
 
 186
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 merchants, and one of them is old Dr. Gusta- 
 vanni, who kept the chemist s shop in the 
 Piazza Royale. They were quite silly with 
 fear, and they begged me to tell them how they 
 could avert the fall of the Republic and prevent 
 your landing. And I said that it was entirely 
 a question of money; that if we were paid suf 
 ficiently the expedition would not land and we 
 would leave them in peace, but that 
 
 The King shifted his legs uneasily, and 
 coughed behind his thin, pink fingers. 
 
 That was rather indiscreet, was it not, 
 Marie?" he murmured. "The idea was to 
 make them think that I, at least, was sincere; 
 was not that it? To make it appear that 
 though there were traitors in his camp, the 
 King was in most desperate earnest? If they 
 believe that, you see, it will allow me to raise 
 another expedition as soon as the money we 
 get for this one is gone; but if you have let 
 them know that I am the one who is selling out, 
 you have killed the goose that lays the golden 
 eggs. They will never believe us when we cry 
 wolf again 
 
 "You must let me finish," Zara interrupted. 
 " I did not involve you in the least. I said that 
 there were traitors in the camp of whom I was 
 the envoy, and that if they would pay us 300,- 
 ooo francs we would promise to allow the ex- 
 
 .87
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 pedition only to leave the yacht. Their troops 
 could then make a show of attacking our land 
 ing-party and we would raise the cry of treach 
 ery and retreat to the boats. By this we would 
 accomplish two things, we would satisfy those 
 who had contributed funds toward the expedi 
 tion that we had at least made an honest effort, 
 and your Majesty would be discouraged by 
 such treachery from ever attempting another 
 attack. The money was to be paid two weeks 
 later in Paris, to me or to whoever brings this 
 ring that I wear. The plan we finally agreed 
 upon is this: The yacht is to anchor off Basnai 
 next Thursday night. At high tide, which is 
 just about daybreak, we are to lower our boats 
 and land our men on that long beach to the 
 south of the breakwater. The troops of the 
 Republic are to lie hidden in the rocks until our 
 men have formed. Then they are to fire over 
 their heads, and we are to retreat in great con 
 fusion, return to the yacht, and sail away. Two 
 weeks later they are to pay the money into my 
 hands, or," she added, with a smile, as she held 
 up her fourth finger, "to whoever brings this 
 ring. And I need not say that the ring will not 
 leave my finger." 
 
 There was a moment s pause, as though the 
 men were waiting to learn if she had more to tell, 
 and then the King threw back his head and 
 
 1 88
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 laughed softly. He saw Erhaupt s face above 
 his shoulder, filled with the amazement and in 
 dignation of a man who as a duellist and as a 
 soldier had shown a certain brute courage, and 
 the King laughed again. 
 
 "What do you think of that, Colonel?" he 
 cried, gayly. "They are a noble race, my late 
 subjects." 
 
 "Bah!" exclaimed the German. "I didn t 
 know we were dealing with a home for old 
 women." 
 
 The Baron laughed comfortably. "It is like 
 taking money from a blind beggar s hat," he 
 said. 
 
 "Why, with two hundred men that I could 
 pick up in London," Erhaupt declared, con 
 temptuously, "I would guarantee to put you 
 on the throne in a fortnight." 
 
 "Heaven forbid!" exclaimed his Majesty. 
 "So they surrendered as quickly as that, did 
 -they?" he asked, nodding toward Madame 
 Zara to continue. 
 
 The Countess glanced again over her shoulder 
 and bit her lips in some chagrin. Her eyes 
 showed her disappointment. "It may seem an 
 easy victory to you," she said, consciously, "but 
 I doubt, knowing all the circumstances, if any of 
 your Majesty s gentlemen could have served 
 you as well. It needed a woman and 
 
 189
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "It needed a beautiful woman," interrupted 
 the King quickly, in a tone that he would have 
 used to a spoiled child. "It needed a woman 
 of tact, a woman of courage, a woman among 
 women the Countess Zara. Do not imagine, 
 Marie, that we undervalue your part. It is 
 their lack of courage that distresses Colonel 
 Erhaupt." 
 
 "One of them, it is true, did wish to fight," 
 the Countess continued, with a smile; "a 
 Frenchman named Renauld, whom they have 
 put in charge of the army. He scoffed at the 
 whole expedition, but they told him that a for 
 eigner could not understand as they did the 
 danger of the popularity of the Prince Kalonay, 
 who, by a speech or two among the shepherds 
 and fishermen, could raise an army." 
 
 The King snapped his fingers impatiently. 
 
 "An army of brigands and smugglers!" he 
 exclaimed. "That for his popularity!" But 
 he instantly raised his hands as though in pro 
 test at his own warmth of speech and in apology 
 for his outbreak. 
 
 "His zeal will ruin us in time. He is deucedly 
 in the way," he continued, in his usual tone of 
 easy cynicism. "We should have let him into 
 our plans from the first, and then if he chose to 
 take no part in them we would at least have 
 had a free hand. As it is now, we have three 
 
 190
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 different people to deceive : this Cabinet of shop 
 keepers, which seems easy enough; Father Paul 
 and his fanatics of the Church party; and this 
 apostle of the divine right of kings, Kalonay. 
 And he and the good father are not fools 
 
 At these words Madame Zara glanced again 
 toward the garden, and this time with such evi 
 dent uneasiness in her face that Barrat eyed 
 her with quick suspicion. 
 
 "What is it?" he asked, sharply. " There is 
 something you have not told us." 
 
 The woman looked at the King, and he 
 nodded his head as though in assent. "I had 
 to tell them who else was in the plot besides 
 myself," she said, speaking rapidly. "I had 
 to give them the name of some man who, they 
 knew, would be able to do what I have promised 
 we could do who could put a stop to the revo 
 lution. The name I gave was his Kalonay s." 
 
 Barrat threw himself forward in his chair. 
 
 "Kalonay s?" he cried incredulously. 
 
 "Kalonay s?" echoed Erhaupt. "What mad 
 ness, Madame ! Why name the only one who 
 is sincere?" 
 
 "She will explain," said the King, in an un 
 easy voice; "let her explain. She has acted 
 according to my orders and for the best, but I 
 confess I 
 
 "Some one had to be sacrificed," returned 
 191
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 the woman, boldly, "and why not he? In 
 deed, if we wish to save ourselves, there is every 
 reason that it should be he. You know how 
 mad he is for the King s return, how he himself 
 wishes to get back to the island and to his old 
 position there. Why, God only knows, but it 
 is so. What pleasure he finds in a land of mists 
 and fogs, in a ruined castle with poachers and 
 smuggling fishermen for companions, I cannot 
 comprehend. But the fact remains, he always 
 speaks of it as home and he wishes to re 
 turn. And now, suppose he learns the truth, 
 as he may at any moment, and discovers that 
 the whole expedition for which he is staking his 
 soul and life is a trick, a farce; that we use it 
 only as a bait to draw money from the old no 
 bility, and to frighten the Republic into paying 
 us to leave them in peace? How do we know 
 what he might not do? He may tell the whole 
 of Europe. He may turn on you and expose 
 you, and then what have we left? It is your 
 last chance. It is our last chance. We have 
 tried everything else, and we cannot show our 
 selves in Europe, at least not without money 
 in our hands. But by naming Kalonay I have 
 managed it so that we have only to show the 
 written agreement I have made with the Re 
 public and he is silenced. In it they have prom 
 ised to pay the Prince Kalonay, naming him 
 
 192
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 in full, 300,000 francs if the expedition is with 
 drawn. That agreement is in my hands, and 
 that is our answer to whatever he may think 
 or say. Our word is as good as his, or as bad; 
 we are all of the same party as far as Europe 
 cares, and it becomes a falling out among 
 thieves, and we are equal." 
 
 Baron Barrat leaned forward and marked 
 each word with a movement of his hand. 
 
 "Do I understand you to say," he asked, 
 "that you have a paper signed by the Repub 
 lic agreeing to pay 300,000 francs to Kalonay? 
 Then how are we to get it?" he demanded, in 
 credulously. "From him?" 
 
 "It is made payable to him," continued the 
 woman, "or to whoever brings this ring I wear 
 to the banking-house of the Schlevingens two 
 weeks after the expedition has left the island. 
 I explained that clause to them by saying that 
 Kalonay and I were working together against 
 the King, and as he might be suspicious if we 
 were both to leave him so soon after the failure 
 of the expedition we would be satisfied if they 
 gave the money to whichever one first presented 
 the ring. Suppose I had said," she went on, 
 turning to the King, "that it was either Barrat 
 or the Colonel here who had turned traitor. 
 They know the Baron of old, when he was 
 Chamberlain and ran your roulette-w r heel at 
 
 193
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 the palace. They know he is not the man to 
 turn back an expedition. And the Colonel, if 
 he will pardon me, has sold his services so often 
 to one side or another that it would have been 
 difficult to make them believe that this time he 
 is sincere. But Kalonay, the man they fear 
 most next to your Majesty to have him turn 
 traitor, why, that was a master stroke. Even 
 those boors, stupid as they are, saw that. When 
 they made out the agreement they put down 
 all his titles, and laughed as they wrote them in. 
 * Prince Judas they called him, and they were 
 in ecstasies at the idea of the aristocrat suing 
 for blood-money against his sovereign, of the 
 man they feared showing himself to be only a 
 common blackmailer. It delighted them to find 
 a prince royal sunk lower than themselves, this 
 man who has treated them like curs like the 
 curs they are," she broke out suddenly "like 
 the curs they are!" 
 
 She rose and laughed uneasily as though at 
 her own vehemence. 
 
 "I am tired," she said, avoiding the King s 
 eyes; "the trip has tired me. If you will ex 
 cuse me, I will go to my rooms through your 
 hallway, if I may." 
 
 "Most certainly," said the King. "I trust 
 you will be rested by dinner-time. Au revoir, 
 my fair ambassadrice." 
 
 194
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 The woman nodded and smiled back at him 
 brightly, and Louis continued to look after her 
 as she disappeared down the corridor. He 
 rubbed the back of his fingers across his lips, 
 and thoughtfully examined his finger-nails. 
 
 " I wonder," he said, after a pause, looking up 
 at Barrat. The Baron raised his eyebrows with 
 a glance of polite interrogation. 
 
 " I wonder if Kalonay dared to make love to 
 her on the way down." 
 
 The Baron s face became as expressionless as 
 a death-mask, and he shrugged his shoulders in 
 protest. 
 
 Or did she make love to Kalonay?" the 
 King insisted, laughing gently. "I wonder 
 now. I do not care to know, but I wonder." 
 
 According to tradition the Kalonay family 
 was an older one than that of the House of Ar- 
 tois, and its name had always been the one next 
 in importance to that of the reigning house. 
 The history of Messina showed that different 
 members of the Kalonay family had fought 
 and died for different kings of Artois, and had 
 enjoyed their favor and shared their reverses 
 with equal dignity, and that they had stood 
 like a rampart when the kingdom was invaded 
 by the levelling doctrines of Republicanism 
 and equality. And though the Kalonays were 
 men of stouter stuff than their cousins of Ar- 
 
 195
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 tois, they had never tried to usurp their place, 
 but had set an example to the humblest shep 
 herd of unfailing loyalty and good-will to the 
 King and his lady. The Prince Kalonay, who 
 had accompanied the Dominican monk to Mes 
 sina, was the last of his race, and when Louis 
 IV had been driven off the island, he had fol 
 lowed his sovereign into exile as a matter of 
 course, and with his customary good-humor. 
 His estates, in consequence of this step, had 
 been taken up by the Republic, and Kalonay 
 had accepted the loss philosophically as the 
 price one pays for loving a king. He found 
 exile easy to bear in Paris, and especially so as 
 he had never relinquished the idea that some 
 day the King would return to his own again. 
 So firmly did he believe in this, and so keenly 
 was his heart set upon it, that Louis had never 
 dared to let him know that for himself exile in 
 Paris and the Riviera was vastly to be pre 
 ferred to authority over a rocky island hung 
 with fogs, and inhabited by dull merchants and 
 fierce banditti. 
 
 The conduct of the King during their resi 
 dence in Paris would have tried the loyalty of 
 one less gay and careless than Kalonay, for he 
 was a sorry monarch, and if the principle that 
 "the King can do no wrong" had not been bred 
 in the young Prince s mind, he would have de- 
 
 196
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 serted his sovereign in the early days of their 
 exile. But as it was, he made excuses for him 
 to others and to himself, and served the King s 
 idle purposes so well that he gained for himself 
 the name of the King s Jackal, and there were 
 some who regarded him as little better than the 
 King s confidential blackguard, and man Fri 
 day, the weakest if the most charming of his 
 court of adventurers. 
 
 At the first hint which the King gave of his 
 desire to place himself again in power, Kalonay 
 had ceased to be his Jackal and would have 
 issued forth as a commander-in-chief, had the 
 King permitted him; but it was not to Louis s 
 purpose that the Prince should know the real 
 object of the expedition, so he assigned its 
 preparation to Erhaupt, and despatched Ka 
 lonay to the south of the island. At the same 
 time Madame Zara had been sent to the north 
 of the island, ostensibly to sound the sentiment 
 of the old nobility, but in reality to make capi 
 tal out of the presence there of Kalonay and 
 Father Paul. 
 
 The King rose hurriedly when the slim figure 
 of the Prince and the broad shoulders and ton 
 sured head of the monk appeared at the farthest 
 end of the garden-walk. 
 
 They are coming!" he cried, with a guilty 
 chuckle; "so I shall run away and finish dress- 
 
 197
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 ing. I leave you to receive the first shock of 
 Kalonay s enthusiasm alone. I confess he bores 
 me. Remember, the story Madame Zara told 
 them in the yacht is the one she told us this 
 morning, that none of the old royalists at the 
 capital would promise us any assistance. Be 
 careful now, and play your parts prettily. We 
 are all terribly in earnest." 
 
 Kalonay s enthusiasm had not spent itself 
 entirely before the King returned. He had still 
 a number of amusing stories to tell, and he re 
 viewed the adventures of the monk and himself 
 with such vivacity and humor that the King 
 nodded his head in delight, and even the priest 
 smiled indulgently at the recollection. 
 
 Kalonay had seated himself on one of the 
 tables, with his feet on a chair and with a 
 cigarette burning between his fingers. He was 
 a handsome, dark young man of thirty, with the 
 impulsive manner of a boy. Dissipation had left 
 no trace on his face, and his eyes were as inno 
 cent of evil and as beautiful as a girl s, and as 
 eloquent as his tongue. "May the Maria San- 
 tissima pity the girls they look upon," his old 
 Spanish nurse used to say of them. But Ka 
 lonay had shown pity for every one save him 
 self. His training at an English public school, 
 and later as a soldier in the cole Polytechnique 
 at Paris, had saved him from a too early fall, 
 
 198
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 and men liked him instinctively, and the women 
 much too well. 
 
 "It was good to be back there again," he 
 cried, with a happy sigh. "It was good to see 
 the clouds following each other across the old 
 mountains and throwing black shadows on the 
 campagna, and to hear the people s patois and 
 to taste Messinian wine again and to know it 
 was from your own hillside. AH our old keep 
 ers came down to the coast to meet us, and told 
 me about the stag-hunt the week before, and 
 who was married, and who was in jail, and who 
 had been hanged for shooting a customs officer, 
 and they promised fine deer stalking if I get 
 back before the snow leaves the ridges, for they 
 say the deer have not been hunted and are run 
 ning wild." He stopped and laughed. "I for 
 got," he said, "your Majesty does not care for 
 the rude pleasures of my half of the island." 
 Kalonay threw away his cigarette, clasping his 
 hands before him with a sudden change of 
 manner. 
 
 "But seriously," he cried, "as I have been 
 telling them I wish your Majesty could have 
 heard the offers they made us, and could have 
 seen the tears running down their faces when 
 we assured them that you would return. I 
 wished a thousand times that we had brought 
 you with us. With you at our head we can 
 
 199
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 sweep the island from one end to the other. 
 We will gather strength and force as we go, as 
 a landslide grows, and when we reach the capi 
 tal we will strike it like a human avalanche. 
 
 "And I wish you could have heard him 
 speak," Kalonay cried, his enthusiasm rising as 
 he turned and pointed with his hand at the 
 priest. "There is the leader! He made my 
 blood turn hot with his speeches, and when he 
 had finished I used to find myself standing on 
 my tiptoes and shouting with the rest. With 
 out him I could have done nothing. They knew 
 me too well; but the laziest rascals in the vil 
 lage came to welcome him again, and the 
 women and men wept before him and brought 
 their children to be blessed, and fell on their 
 knees and kissed his sandals. It was like the 
 stories they tell you when you are a child. He 
 made us sob with regret and he filled us with 
 fresh resolves. Oh, it is very well for you to 
 smile, you old cynics," he cried, smiling at his 
 own fervor, "but I tell you, I have lived since 
 I saw you last!" 
 
 The priest stood silent with his hands hidden 
 inside his great sleeves, and his head rising 
 erect and rigid from his cowl. The eyes of the 
 men were turned upon him curiously, and he 
 glanced from one to the other, as though mis 
 trusting their sympathy. 
 
 200
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "It was not me it was the Church they 
 came to welcome. The fools," he cried bitterly, 
 "they thought they could destroy the faith of 
 the people by banishing the servants of the 
 Church. As soon end a mother s love for her 
 children by putting an ocean between them. 
 For six years those peasants have been true. I 
 left them faithful, I returned to find them 
 faithful. And now he concluded, looking 
 steadily at the King as though to hold him to 
 account, "and now they are to have their re 
 ward." 
 
 The King bowed his head gravely in assent. 
 They are to have their reward," he repeated. 
 He rose and with a wave of his hand invited 
 the priest to follow him, and they walked to 
 gether to the other end of the terrace. When 
 they were out of hearing of the others the King 
 seated himself, and the priest halted beside his 
 chair. 
 
 "I wish to speak with you, father," Louis 
 said, "concerning this young American girl, 
 Miss Carson, who has promised to help us to 
 help you with her money. Has she said yet 
 how much she means to give us," asked the 
 King, "and when she means to let us have it? 
 It is a delicate matter, and I do not wish to urge 
 the lady, but we are really greatly in need of 
 money. Baron Barrat, who arrived from Paris 
 
 201
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 this morning, brings back no substantial aid, 
 although the sympathy of the old nobility, he 
 assures me, is with us. Sympathy, however, 
 does not purchase Maxim guns, nor pay for ra 
 tions, and Madame Zara s visit to the capital 
 was, as you know, even less successful." 
 
 "Your Majesty has seen Miss Carson, then? * 
 the priest asked. 
 
 "Yes, her mother and she have been staying 
 at the Continental ever since they followed you 
 here from Paris, and I have seen her once or 
 twice during your absence. The young lady 
 seems an earnest daughter of our faith, and she 
 is deeply in sympathy with our effort to re-es 
 tablish your order and the influence of the 
 Church upon the island. I have explained to 
 her that the only way in which the Church can 
 regain her footing there is through my return 
 to the throne, and Miss Carson has hinted that 
 she is willing to make even a larger contribu 
 tion than the one she first mentioned. If she 
 means to do this, it would be well if she did it 
 at once." 
 
 "Perhaps I have misunderstood her," said the 
 priest, after a moment s consideration; "but I 
 thought the sum she meant to contribute was 
 to be given only after the monarchy has been 
 formally established, and that she wished what 
 ever she gave to be used exclusively in rebuild- 
 
 202
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 ing the churches and the monastery. I do not 
 grudge it to your Majesty s purpose, but so I 
 understood her." 
 
 "Ah, that is quite possible," returned Louis, 
 easily; "it may be that she did so intend at 
 first, but since I have talked with her she has 
 shown a willing disposition to aid us not only 
 later, but now. My success means your suc 
 cess," he continued, smiling pleasantly as he 
 rose to his feet, "so I trust you will urge her to 
 be prompt. She seems to have unlimited re 
 sources in her own right. Do you happen to 
 know from whence her money comes?" 
 
 "Her mother told me," said the priest, "that 
 Mr. Carson before his death owned mines and 
 railroads. They live in California, near the 
 Mission of Saint Francis. I have written con 
 cerning them to the Father Superior there, and 
 he tells me that Mr. Carson died a very rich 
 man, and that he was a generous servant of the 
 Church. His daughter has but just inherited 
 her father s fortune, and her one idea of using 
 it is to give it to the Church, as he would have 
 done." 
 
 The priest paused and seemed to consider 
 what the King had just told him. "I will 
 speak with her," he said, "and ask her aid as 
 fully as she can give it. May I inquire how 
 far your Majesty has taken her into our plans?" 
 
 203
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "Miss Carson is fully informed," the King 
 replied briefly. "And if you wish to speak 
 with her you can see her now; she and her 
 mother are coming to breakfast with me to 
 hear the account of your visit to the island. You 
 can speak with her then and, father," the 
 King added, lowering his eyes and fingering 
 the loose sleeve of the priest s robe, "it would 
 be well, I think, to have this presentation of 
 the young nobles immediately after the lunch 
 eon, while Miss Carson is still present. We 
 might even make a little ceremony of it, and 
 so show her that she is fully in our confidence 
 that she is one of our most valued supporters. 
 It might perhaps quicken her interest in the 
 
 cause. 
 
 
 
 I see no reason why that should not be," 
 said the priest, thoughtfully, turning his eyes 
 to the sea below them. "Madame Zara," he 
 added, without moving his eyes, "will not be 
 present." 
 
 The King straightened himself slightly, and 
 for a brief moment of time looked at the priest 
 in silence, but the monk continued to gaze stead 
 ily at the blue waters. 
 
 "Madame Zara will not be present," the 
 King repeated, coldly. 
 
 "There are a few fishermen and mountain 
 eers, your Majesty," the priest continued, turn- 
 
 204
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 ing an unconscious countenance to the King, 
 "who came back with us from the island. 
 They come as a deputation to inform your Maj 
 esty of the welcome that waits you, and I have 
 promised them an audience. If you will par 
 don me I would suggest that you receive these 
 honest people at the same time with the others, 
 and that his Highness the Crown Prince be also 
 present, and that he receive them with you. 
 Their anxiety to see him is only second to their 
 desire to speak to your Majesty. You will find 
 some of your most loyal subjects among these 
 men. Their forefathers have been faithful to 
 your house and to the Church for many gen 
 erations." 
 
 "Excellent," said the King; "I shall receive 
 them immediately after the deputation from 
 Paris. Consult with Baron Barrat and Ka- 
 lonay, please, about the details. I wish either 
 Kalonay or yourself to make the presentation. 
 I see Miss Carson and her mother coming. 
 After luncheon, then, at, say, three o clock- 
 will that be satisfactory?" 
 
 "As your Majesty pleases," the priest an 
 swered, and with a bow he strode across the 
 terrace to where Kalonay stood watching them. 
 
 205
 
 II 
 
 MRS. CARSON and her daughter came from 
 the hotel to the terrace through the hallway 
 which divided the King s apartments. Baron 
 Barrat preceded them and they followed in sin 
 gle file, Miss Carson walking first. It was a 
 position her mother always forced upon her, and 
 after people grew to know them they accepted 
 it as illustrating Mrs. Carson s confidence in 
 her daughter s ability to care for herself, as well 
 as her own wish to remain in the background. 
 
 Patricia Carson, as she was named after her 
 patron saint, or "Patty" Carson, as she was 
 called more frequently, was an exceedingly 
 pretty girl. She was tall and fair, with a smile 
 that showed such confidence in every one she 
 met that few could find the courage to unde 
 ceive her by being themselves, and it was easier, 
 in the face of such an appeal as her eyes made 
 to the best in every one, for each to act a part 
 while he was with her. She was young, impres 
 sionable, and absolutely inexperienced. As a 
 little girl she had lived on a great ranch, where 
 she could gallop from sunrise to sunset over her 
 own prairie land, and later her life had been 
 
 206
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 spent in a convent outside of Paris. She had 
 but two great emotions, her love for her father 
 and for the Church which had nursed her. Her 
 father s death had sanctified him and given 
 him a place in her heart that her mother could 
 not hold, and when she found herself at twenty- 
 one the mistress of a great fortune, her one idea 
 as to the disposal of it was to do with it what 
 would best please him and the Church which 
 had been the ruling power in the life of both of 
 them. She was quite unconscious of her beauty, 
 and her mode of speaking was simple and eager. 
 
 She halted as she came near the King, and 
 resting her two hands on the top of her lace 
 parasol, nodded pleasantly to him and to the 
 others. She neither courtesied nor offered him 
 her hand, but seemed to prefer this middle 
 course, leaving them to decide whether she 
 acted as she did from ignorance or from choice. 
 
 As the King stepped forward to greet her 
 mother, Miss Carson passed him and moved 
 on to where the Father Superior stood apart 
 from the others, talking earnestly with the 
 Prince. What he was saying was of an unwel 
 come nature, for Kalonay s face wore an ex 
 pression of boredom and polite protest which 
 changed instantly to one of delight when he 
 saw Miss Carson. The girl hesitated and made 
 a deep obeisance to the priest. 
 
 207
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "I am afraid I interrupt you," she said. 
 
 "Not at all," Kalonay assured her, laughing. 
 "It is a most welcome interruption. The good 
 father has been finding fault with me, as usual, 
 and I am quite willing to change the subject." 
 
 The priest smiled kindly on the girl, and 
 while he exchanged some words of welcome 
 with her, Kalonay brought up one of the huge 
 wicker chairs, and she seated herself with her 
 back to the others, facing the two men, who 
 stood leaning against the broad balustrade. 
 They had been fellow-conspirators sufficiently 
 long for them to have grown to know each other 
 well, and the priest, so far from regarding her 
 as an intruder, hailed her at once as a probable 
 ally, and endeavored to begin again where he 
 had ceased speaking. 
 
 "Do you not agree with me, Miss Carson?" 
 he asked. "I am telling the Prince that zeal 
 is not enough, and that high ideals, unless they 
 are accompanied by good conduct, are futile. 
 I want him to change, to be more sober, more 
 strict 
 
 "Oh, you must not ask me," Miss Carson 
 said, hurriedly, smiling and shaking her head. 
 "We are working for only one thing, are we 
 not? Beyond that you know nothing of me, 
 and I know nothing of you. I came to hear of 
 your visit," she continued; "am I to be told 
 
 208
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 anything?" she asked, eagerly, looking from 
 one to the other. "It has been such an anxious 
 two weeks. We imagined all manner of things 
 had happened to you. * 
 
 Kalonay laughed happily. "The Father was 
 probably never safer in his life," he said. "They 
 took us to their hearts like brothers. They 
 might have suffocated us with kindness, but 
 we were in no other danger." 
 
 "Then you are encouraged, Father?" she 
 asked, turning to the priest. "You found them 
 loyal? Your visit was all you hoped, you can 
 depend upon them?" 
 
 "We can count upon them absolutely," the 
 monk assured her. "We shall start on our re 
 turn voyage at once, in a day, as soon as his 
 Majesty gives the word." 
 
 "There are so many things I want to know," 
 the girl said; "but I have no right to ask," she 
 added, looking up at him doubtfully. 
 
 "You have every right," the monk answered. 
 "You have certainly earned it. Without the 
 help you gave us we could not have mcved. 
 You have been more than generous- 
 Miss Carson interrupted him with an im 
 patient lifting of her head. "That sort of gen 
 erosity is nothing," she said. "With you men it 
 is different. You are all risking something. 
 You are actually helping, while I must sit still 
 
 209
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 and wait. I hope, Father," she said, smiling, 
 "it is not wrong for me to wish I were a 
 man." 
 
 "Wrong!" exclaimed Kalonay, in a tone of 
 mock dismay; "of course it s wrong. It s 
 wicked." 
 
 The monk turned and looked coldly over his 
 shoulder at Kalonay, and the Prince laughed. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," he said, "but we are 
 told to be contented with out lot," he argued, 
 impenitently. He only is a slave who com 
 plains/ and that is true even if a heretic did 
 say it." 
 
 The monk shook his head and turned again to 
 Miss Carson with a tolerant smile. 
 
 "He is very young," he said, as though Ka 
 lonay did not hear him, "and wild and foolish 
 and yet," he added, doubtfully, "I find I 
 love the boy." He regarded the young man 
 with a kind but impersonal scrutiny, as though 
 he were a picture or a statue. "Sometimes I 
 imagine he is all I might have been," he said, 
 "had not God given me the strength to over 
 come myself. He has never denied himself in 
 anything; he is as wilful and capricious as a 
 girl. He makes a noble friend, Miss Carson, 
 and a generous enemy; but he is spoiled irre 
 trievably by good fortune and good living and 
 good health." The priest looked at the young 
 
 210
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 man with a certain sad severity. Unstable 
 as water, thou shalt not excel/ " he said. 
 
 The girl, in great embarrassment, turned her 
 head away, glancing from the ocean to the sky; 
 but Kalonay seated himself coolly on the broad 
 balustrade of the terrace with his hands on his 
 hips, and his heels resting on the marble tiling, 
 and clicked the soles of his boots together. 
 
 "Oh, I have had my bad days, too, Father," 
 he said. He turned his head on one side, and 
 pressed his lips together, looking down. 
 
 "Unstable as water that is quite possible," 
 he said, with an air of consideration; "but 
 spoiled by good fortune oh, no, that is not fair. 
 Do you call it good fortune, sir," he laughed, 
 "to be an exile at twenty-eight? Is it good for 
 tune to be too poor to pay your debts, and too 
 lazy to work; to be the last of a great name, 
 and to have no chance to add to the glory of it, 
 and no means to keep its dignity fresh and se 
 cure? Do you fancy I like to see myself drifting 
 farther and farther away from the old standards 
 and the old traditions; to have English brew 
 ers and German Jew bankers taking the place 
 I should have, buying titles with their earn 
 ings and snubbing me because I can only hunt 
 when some one gives me a mount, and because 
 I choose to take a purse instead of a cup when 
 we shoot -at Monte Carlo?" 
 
 211
 
 "What child s talk is this?" interrupted the 
 priest angrily. "A thousand horses cannot 
 make a man noble, nor was poverty ever 
 ignoble. You talk like a weak boy. Every 
 word you say is your own condemnation. Why 
 should you complain? Your bed is of your 
 own making. The other prodigal was forced 
 to herd with the swine you have chosen to 
 herd with them." 
 
 The girl straightened herself and half rose 
 from her chair. 
 
 "You are boring Miss Carson with my delin 
 quencies," said the Prince, sternly. His face 
 was flushed, and he did not look either at the 
 girl or at the priest. 
 
 "But the prodigal s father?" said Miss Car 
 son, smiling at the older man. "Did he stand 
 over him and upbraid him? You remember, 
 he went to meet him when he was yet a great 
 way off. That was it, was it not, Father?" 
 
 "Of course he did," cried Kalonay, laugh 
 ing like a boy, and slipping lightly to the ter 
 race. "He met him half-way and gave him the 
 best he had." He stepped to Miss Carson s 
 side and the two young people moved away 
 smiling, and the priest, seeing that they were 
 about to escape him, cried eagerly, "But that 
 prodigal had repented. This one 
 
 "Let s run," cried the Prince. "He will get 
 212
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 the best of us if we stay. He always gets the 
 best of me. He has been abusing me that way 
 for two weeks now, and he is always sorry 
 afterward. Let us leave him alone to his sor 
 row and remorse.** 
 
 Kalonay walked across the terrace with Miss 
 Carson, bending above her with what would 
 have seemed to an outsider almost a proprie 
 tary right. She did not appear to notice it, 
 but looked at him frankly and listened to what 
 he had to say with interest. He was speaking 
 rapidly, and as he spoke he glanced shyly at 
 her as though seeking her approbation, and 
 not boldly, as he was accustomed to do when 
 he talked with either men or women. To look 
 at her with admiration was such a cheap form 
 of appreciation, and one so distasteful to her, 
 that, had he known it, Kalonay s averted eyes 
 were more of a compliment than any words he 
 could have spoken. His companions who had 
 seen him with other women knew that his man 
 ner to her was not his usual manner, and that 
 he gave her something he did not give to the 
 others; that he was more discreet and less 
 ready, and less at ease. 
 
 The Prince Kalonay had first met Miss Car 
 son and her mother by chance in Paris, at the 
 rooms of Father Paul, where they had each gone 
 on the same errand, and since that meeting his 
 
 213
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 whole manner toward the two worlds in which 
 he lived had altered so strangely that mere ac 
 quaintances noticed the change. 
 
 Before he had met her, the little the priest 
 had said concerning her and her zeal for their 
 common desire had piqued his curiosity, and his 
 imagination had been aroused by the picture of 
 a romantic young woman giving her fortune to 
 save the souls of the people of Messina; his peo 
 ple, whom he regarded and who regarded him 
 less as a feudal lord than as a father and a com 
 rade. He had pictured her as a nervous, angu 
 lar woman with a pale, ascetic face, and with 
 the restless eyes of an enthusiast, dressed in 
 black and badly dressed, and with a severe and 
 narrow intelligence. But he had prepared him 
 self to forgive her personality, for the sake of 
 the high and generous impulse that inspired 
 her. And when he was presented to her as she 
 really was, and found her young, lovable, and 
 nobly fair, the shock of wonder and delight had 
 held him silent during the whole course of her 
 interview with the priest, and when she had 
 left them his brain was in a tumult and was 
 filled with memories of her words and gestures, 
 and of the sweet fearlessness of her manner. 
 Beautiful women he had known before as beau 
 tiful women, but the saving grace in his nature 
 had never before been so deeply roused by what 
 
 214
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 was fine as well as beautiful. It seemed as 
 though it were too complete and perfect. For 
 he assured himself that she possessed every 
 thing those qualities which he had never val 
 ued before because he believed them to be un 
 attainable, and those others which he had made 
 his idols. She was with him, mind and heart 
 and soul, in the one desire of his life that he 
 took seriously; she was of his religion, she was 
 more noble than his noble sisters, and she was 
 more beautiful than the day. In the first glow 
 of the meeting it seemed to him as though fate 
 had called them to do this work together, she 
 from the far shore of the Pacific, and he from 
 his rocky island in the Middle Sea. And he 
 saw with cruel distinctness, that if there were 
 one thing wanting, it was himself. He wor 
 shipped her before he had bowed his first good- 
 by to her, and that night he walked for miles up 
 and down the long lengths of the Avenue of the 
 Champs-EIysees, facing the great change that 
 she had brought into his life, but knowing him 
 self to be utterly unfit for her coming. He felt 
 like an unworthy steward caught at his master s 
 return unprepared, with ungirt loins and un- 
 lighted lamp. Nothing he had done since he 
 was a child gave him the right to consider him 
 self her equal. He was not blinded by the ap 
 proaches which other daughters and the moth- 
 
 215
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 ers of daughters had made him. He knew that 
 what was enough to excuse many things in 
 their eyes might find no apology in hers. He 
 looked back with the awakening of a child at 
 the irrevocable acts in his life that could not 
 be altered nor dug up nor hidden away. They 
 marked the road he had trodden like heavy 
 milestones, telling his story to every passer-by. 
 She could read them, as every one else could 
 read them. He had wasted his substance, he 
 had bartered his birthright for a moment s 
 pleasure; there was no one so low and despicable 
 who could not call him comrade, to whom he 
 had not given himself without reserve. There 
 was nothing left, and now the one thing he 
 had ever wanted had come, and had found him 
 like a bankrupt, his credit wasted and his cof 
 fers empty. He had placed himself at the beck 
 and call of every idle man and woman in Paris, 
 and he was as common as the great clock-face 
 that hangs above the boulevards. 
 
 Miss Carson s feelings toward Kalonay were 
 not of her own choosing, and had passed through 
 several stages. When they had first met she 
 had thought it most sad that so careless and 
 unprincipled a person should chance to hold so 
 important a part in the task she had set her 
 self to do. She knew his class only by hearsay, 
 but she placed him in it, and, accordingly, at 
 
 216
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 once dismissed him as a person from her mind. 
 Kalonay had never shown her that he loved her, 
 except by those signs which any woman can 
 read and which no man can conceal; but he 
 did not make love to her, and it was that which 
 first prepossessed her in his favor. One or two 
 other men who knew of her fortune, and to 
 whom she had given as little encouragement as 
 she had to Kalonay, had been less considerate. 
 But his attitude toward her was always that of 
 a fellow-worker in the common cause. He 
 treated her with a gratitude for the help she 
 meant to give his people which much embar 
 rassed her. His seriousness pleased her with 
 him, seeing, as she did, that it was not his na 
 ture to be serious, and his enthusiasm and love 
 for his half-civilized countrymen increased her 
 interest in them, and her liking for him. She 
 could not help but admire the way in which he 
 accepted, without forcing her to make it any 
 plainer, the fact that he held no place in her 
 thoughts. And then she found that he began 
 to hold more of a place in her thoughts than she 
 had supposed any man could hold of whom she 
 knew so little, and of whom the little she knew 
 was so ill. She missed him when she went to 
 the priest s and found that he had not sent for 
 Kalonay to bear his part in their councils; and 
 at times she felt an unworthy wish to hear 
 
 217
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Kalonay speak the very words she had admired 
 him for keeping from her. And at last she 
 learned the truth that she did love him, and it 
 frightened her, and made her miserable and 
 happy. They had not seen each other since he 
 had left Paris for Messina, and though they 
 spoke now only of his mission to the island, 
 there was back of what they said the joy for 
 each of them of being together again and of find 
 ing that it meant so much. What it might 
 mean to the other, neither knew. 
 
 For some little time the King followed the 
 two young people with his eyes, and then joined 
 them, making signs to Kalonay that he wished 
 him to leave them together; but Kalonay re 
 mained blind to his signals, and Barrat, seeing 
 that it was not a tete-a-tete, joined them also. 
 When he did so Kalonay asked the King for a 
 word, and laying his hand upon his arm walked 
 with him down the terrace, pointing ostensibly 
 to where the yacht lay in the harbor. Louis 
 answered his pantomime with an appropriate 
 gesture, and then asked, sharply, "Well, what 
 is it? Why did you bring me here? And what 
 do you mean by staying on when you see you 
 are not wanted?" 
 
 They were some distance from the others. 
 Kalonay smiled and made a slight bow. Your 
 Majesty," he began, with polite emphasis. The 
 King looked at him curiously. 
 
 218
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "In the old days under similar circum 
 stances," the Prince continued, with the air 
 of a courtier rather than that of an equal, "had 
 I thought of forming an alliance by marriage, 
 I should have come to your Majesty first and 
 asked your gracious approval. But those days 
 are past, and we are living at the end of the 
 century; and we do such things differently." 
 He straightened himself and returned the King s 
 look of amused interest with one as cynical as 
 his own. "What I wanted to tell you, Louis," 
 he said, quietly, "is that I mean to ask Miss 
 Carson to become the Princess Kalonay." 
 
 The King raised his head quickly and stared 
 at the younger man with a look of distaste and 
 surprise. He gave an incredulous laugh. 
 
 "Indeed?" he said at last. "There was al 
 ways something about rich women you could 
 never resist." 
 
 The Prince made his acknowledgment with 
 a shrug of his shoulders and smiled indiffer 
 ently. 
 
 "I didn t expect you to understand," he 
 said. "It does seem odd; it s quite as difficult 
 for me to understand as for you. I have been 
 through it a great many times, and I thought 
 I knew all there was of it. But now it seems 
 different. No, it does not seem different," he 
 corrected himself; "it is different, and I love the 
 lady and I mean to ask her to do me the honor 
 
 219
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 to marry me. I didn t expect you to under 
 stand, I don t care if you do. I only wanted 
 to warn you." 
 
 "Warn me?" interrupted the King, with an 
 unpleasant smile. "Indeed! against what? 
 Your tone is a trifle peremptory but you are 
 interesting, most interesting ! Kalonay in a 
 new role, Kalonay in love ! Most interesting ! 
 Warn me against what?" he repeated sharply. 
 
 :< Your Majesty has a certain manner," the 
 Prince began, with a pretense of hesitation, "a 
 charm of manner, I might say, which is prover 
 bial. It is, we know, attractive to women. 
 Every woman acknowledges it. But your Ma 
 jesty is sometimes too gracious. He permits 
 himself to condescend to many women, to any 
 woman, to women of all classes 
 
 "That will do," said the King; "what do 
 you mean?" 
 
 "What I mean is this," said Kalonay, lower 
 ing his voice and looking into the King s half- 
 closed eyes. "You can have all of Miss Car 
 son s money you want all you can get. I 
 don t want it. If I am to marry her at all, I 
 am not marrying her for her money. You can t 
 believe that. It isn t essential that you should. 
 But I want you to leave the woman I hope to 
 make my wife alone. I will allow no pretty 
 speeches, nor royal attentions. She can give 
 
 220
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 her money where she pleases, now and always; 
 but I ll not have her eyes opened to as you 
 can open them. I will not have her annoyed. 
 And if she is 
 
 "Ah, and if she is?" challenged the King. 
 His eyes were wide apart now and his lips were 
 parted and drawn back from his teeth, like a 
 snarling cat 
 
 "I shall hold whoever annoys her responsi 
 ble," Kalonay concluded, impersonally. 
 
 There was a moment s pause, during which 
 the two men stood regarding each other warily. 
 
 Then the King stiffened his shoulders and 
 placed his hands slowly behind his back. "That 
 sounds, my dear Kalonay," he said, "almost 
 like a threat." 
 
 The younger man laughed insolently. "I 
 meant it, too, your Majesty," he answered, 
 bowing mockingly and backing away. 
 
 As the King s guests seated themselves at 
 his breakfast-table Louis smiled upon them 
 with a gracious glance of welcome and approval. 
 His manner was charmingly condescending, and 
 in his appearance there was nothing more seri 
 ous than an anxiety for their better entertain 
 ment and a certain animal satisfaction in the 
 food upon his plate. 
 
 In reality his eyes were distributing the peo 
 ple at the table before him into elements favor- 
 
 221
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 able or unfavorable to his plans, and in his mind 
 he shuffled them and their values for him or 
 against him as a gambler arranges and rear 
 ranges the cards in his hand. He saw himself 
 plainly as his own highest card, and Barrat and 
 Erhaupt as willing but mediocre accomplices. 
 In Father Paul and Kalonay he recognized his 
 most powerful allies or most dangerous foes. 
 Miss Carson meant nothing to him but a source 
 from which he could draw the sinews of war. 
 What would become of her after the farce was 
 ended, he did not consider. He was not capable 
 of comprehending either her or her motives, 
 and had he concerned himself about her at all, 
 he would have probably thought that she was 
 more of a fool than the saint she pretended to 
 be, and that she had come to their assistance 
 more because she wished to be near a Prince 
 and a King than because she cared for the souls 
 of sixty thousand peasants. That she would 
 surely lose her money, and could hardly hope 
 to escape from them without losing her good 
 name, did not concern him. It was not his duty 
 to look after the reputation of any American 
 heiress who thought she could afford to be un 
 conventional. She had a mother to do that for 
 her, and she was pretty enough, he concluded, 
 to excuse many things, so pretty that he 
 wondered if he might brave the Countess Zara 
 
 222
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 and offer Miss Carson the attentions to which 
 Kalonay had made such arrogant objections. 
 The King smiled at the thought, and let his 
 eyes fall for a moment on the tall figure of the 
 girl with its crown of heavy golden hair, and on 
 her clever, earnest eyes. She was certainly 
 worth waiting for, and in the meanwhile she 
 was virtually unprotected and surrounded by 
 his own people. According to his translation 
 of her acts, she had already offered him every 
 encouragement, and had placed herself in a posi 
 tion which to his understanding of the world 
 could have but one interpretation. What 
 Kalonay s sudden infatuation might mean he 
 could not foresee; whether it promised good 
 or threatened evil, he could only guess, but he 
 decided that the young man s unwonted show 
 of independence of the morning must be pun 
 ished. His claim to exclusive proprietorship 
 in the young girl struck the King as amusing, 
 but impertinent. It would be easy sailing in 
 spite of all, he decided; for somewhere up above 
 them in the hotel sat the unbidden guest, the 
 woman against whom Father Paul had raised 
 the ban of expulsion, but who had, neverthe 
 less, tricked both him and the faithful Jackal. 
 
 The breakfast was drawing to an end and 
 the faithful Niccolas was the only servant re 
 maining in the room. The talk had grown in- 
 
 223
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 timate and touched openly upon the successful 
 visit of the two ambassadors to the island, and 
 of Barrat s mission to Paris. Of Madame Zara s 
 visit to the northern half of the island, which 
 was supposed to have been less successful, no 
 mention was made. 
 
 Louis felt as he listened to them like a man 
 at a play, who knows that at a word from him 
 the complications would cease, and that were 
 he to rise in the stalls and explain them away, 
 and point out the real hero and denounce the 
 villain, the curtain would have to ring down on 
 the instant. He gave a little purr of satisfac 
 tion, and again marshalled his chances before 
 him and smiled to find them good. He was 
 grandly at peace with himself and with the 
 world. Whatever happened, he was already 
 richer by some 300,000 francs, and in a day, if 
 he could keep the American girl to her promise, 
 would be as rich again. When the farce of 
 landing his expedition had been played he 
 would be free, free to return to his clubs and 
 to his boulevards and boudoirs, with money 
 enough to silence the most insolent among his 
 creditors, and with renewed credit; with even a 
 certain glamour about him of one who had 
 dared to do, even though he had failed in the 
 doing, who had shaken off the slothfulness of 
 ease and had chosen to risk his life for his 
 
 224
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 throne with a smoking rifle in his hand, until a 
 traitor had turned fortune against him. 
 
 The King was amused to find that this pros 
 pect pleased him vastly. He was surprised to 
 discover that, careless as he thought himself 
 to be to public opinion, he was still capable 
 of caring for its approbation; but he consoled 
 himself for this weakness by arguing that it 
 was only because the approbation would be 
 his by a trick that it pleased him to think of. 
 Perhaps some of his royal cousins, in the light 
 of his bold intent, might take him under their 
 protection instead of neglecting him shame 
 fully, as they had done in the past. His armed 
 expedition might open certain doors to him; 
 his name and he smiled grimly as he imagined 
 it would ring throughout Europe as the Sol 
 dier King, as the modern disciple of the divine 
 right of kings. He saw, in his mind s eye, even 
 the possibility of a royal alliance and a pension 
 from one of the great Powers. No matter where 
 he looked he could see nothing but gain to him 
 self, more power for pleasure, more chances of 
 greater fortune in the future, and while his lips 
 assented to what the others said, and his eyes 
 thanked them for some expression of loyalty 
 or confidence, he saw himself in dreams as 
 bright as an absinth drinker s, back in his be 
 loved Paris: in the Champs-EIysees behind fine 
 
 225
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 horses, lolling from a silk box at the opera, deal 
 ing baccarat at the Jockey Club, or playing host 
 to some beautiful woman of the hour, in the 
 new home he would establish for her in the dis 
 creet and leafy borders of the Bois. 
 
 He had forgotten his guests and the moment. 
 He had forgotten that there were difficulties 
 yet to overcome, and with a short, indrawn 
 sigh of pleasure, he threw back his head and 
 smiled arrogantly upon the sunny terrace and 
 the green palms and the brilliant blue sea, as 
 though he challenged the whole beautiful world 
 before him to do aught but minister to his suc 
 cess and contribute to his pleasures. 
 
 And at once, as though in answer to his chal 
 lenge, a tall, slim young man sprang lightly up 
 the steps of the terrace, passed the bewildered 
 guards with a cheery nod, and, striding before 
 the open windows, knocked with his fist upon 
 the portals of the door, as sharply and as con 
 fidently as though the King s shield had hung 
 there, and he had struck it with a lance. 
 
 The King s dream shattered and faded away 
 at the sound, and he moved uneasily in his 
 chair. He had the gambler s superstitious re 
 gard for trifles, and this invasion of his privacy 
 by a confident stranger filled him with sudden 
 disquiet. 
 
 He saw Kalonay staring at the open windows 
 226
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 with an expression of astonishment and dis 
 may. 
 
 "Who is it? * the King asked, peevishly. 
 "What are you staring at? How did he get in?" 
 
 Kalonay turned on Barrat, sitting at his 
 right. "Did you see him?" he asked. Barrat 
 nodded gloomily. 
 
 The devil !" exclaimed the Prince, as though 
 Barrat had confirmed his guess. "I beg your 
 pardon," he said, nodding his head toward the 
 women. He pushed back his chair and stood 
 irresolutely with his napkin in his hand. "Tell 
 him we are not in, Niccolas," he commanded. 
 
 "He saw us as he passed the window," the 
 Baron objected. 
 
 "Say we are at breakfast, then. I will see him 
 myself in a moment. What shall I tell him?" 
 he asked, turning to Barrat. "Do you think 
 he knows? He must know, they have told him 
 in Paris." 
 
 "You are keeping us waiting," said the King. 
 "What is it? Who is this man?" 
 
 "An American named Gordon. He is a cor 
 respondent," Kalonay answered, without turn 
 ing his head. His eyes were still fixed on the 
 terrace as though he had seen a ghost. 
 
 The King slapped his hand on the arm of the 
 chair. "You promised me," he said, "that we 
 should be free from that sort of thing. That is 
 
 227
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 why I agreed to come here instead of going 
 to Algiers. Go out, Barrat, and send him 
 away." 
 
 Barrat pressed his lips together and shook 
 his head. 
 
 "You can t send him away like that," he 
 said. "He is a very important young man." 
 
 "Find out how much he will take, then," ex 
 claimed the King, angrily, "and give it to him. 
 I can better afford to pay blackmail to any 
 amount than have my plans spoiled now by 
 the newspapers. Give him what he wants a 
 fur coat they always wear fur coats or five 
 thousand francs, or something anything but 
 get rid of him." 
 
 Barrat stirred uneasily in his chair and 
 shrugged his shoulders. "He is not a boule 
 vard journalist," he replied, sulkily. 
 
 "Your Majesty is thinking of the Hungarian 
 Jews at Vienna," explained Kalonay, "who 
 live on chantage and the Monte Carlo propa 
 ganda fund. This man is not in their class; he 
 is not to be bought I said he was an Ameri 
 
 can." 
 
 "An American!" exclaimed Mrs. Carson 
 and her daughter, exchanging rapid glances. 
 "Is it Archie Gordon you mean?" the girl 
 asked. "I thought he was in China." 
 
 "That is the man Archie Gordon. He 
 228
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 writes books and explores places," Kalonay 
 answered. 
 
 " I know him. He wrote a book on the slave 
 trade in the Congo," contributed Colonel Er- 
 haupt. " I met him at Zanzibar. What does he 
 want with us?" 
 
 "He was in Yokohama when the Japanese- 
 Chinese war broke out," said Kalonay, turning 
 to the King, "and he cabled a London paper 
 he would follow the war for it if they paid him 
 a hundred a week. He meant American dollars, 
 but they thought he meant pounds, so they 
 cabled back that they d pay one-half that sum. 
 He answered, One hundred or nothing, and 
 they finally assented to that, and he started; 
 and when the first week s remittance arrived, 
 and he received five hundred dollars instead of 
 tfie one hundred he expected, he sent back the 
 difference." 
 
 "What a remarkable young man !" exclaimed 
 the King. "He is much too good for daily 
 wear. We don t want any one like that around 
 here, do we?" 
 
 "I know Mr. Gordon very well," said Miss 
 Carson. "He lived in San Francisco before he 
 came East. He was always at our house, and 
 was a great friend of the family; wasn t he, 
 mother? We haven t seen him for two years 
 now, but I know he wouldn t spoil our plans for 
 
 229
 
 the sake of his paper, if he knew we were in 
 earnest, if he understood that everything de 
 pended upon its being kept a secret." 
 
 "We are not certain that he knows any 
 thing," the King urged. "He may not have 
 come here to see us. I think Father Paul 
 should talk with him first." 
 
 "I was going to suggest," said Miss Carson, 
 with some hesitation, "that if I spoke to him I 
 might be able to put it to him in such a way 
 that he would see how necessary it 
 
 "Oh, excellent!" exclaimed the King, ea 
 gerly, and rising to his feet; "if you only would 
 be so kind, Miss Carson." 
 
 Kalonay, misunderstanding the situation 
 altogether, fastened his eyes upon the table 
 and did not speak. 
 
 "He has not come to see you, Patricia," said 
 Mrs. Carson, quietly. 
 
 "He does not know that I am here," Miss 
 Carson answered; "but I m sure if he did he 
 would be very glad to see us again. And if we 
 do see him we can make him promise not to do 
 anything that might interfere with our plans. 
 Won t you let me speak to him, mother?" 
 
 Mrs. Carson turned uncertainly to the priest 
 for direction, and his glance apparently reas 
 sured her, for she rose, though still with a 
 troubled countenance, and the two women left 
 
 230
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 the room together, the men standing regarding 
 each other anxiously across the table. When 
 they had gone the King lit a cigarette and, 
 turning his back on his companions, puffed at 
 it nervously in silence. Kalonay sat moodily 
 studying the pattern on the plate before him, 
 and the others whispered together at the far 
 ther end of the table. 
 
 When Miss Carson and her mother stepped 
 out upon the terrace, the American was standing 
 with his back toward them and was speaking 
 to the guards who sat cross-legged at the top 
 of the steps. They showed no sign of surprise 
 at the fact of his addressing them in their own 
 tongue further than that they answered him 
 with a show of respect which they had not ex 
 hibited toward those they protected. The 
 American turned as he heard the footsteps be 
 hind him, and, after a startled look of astonish 
 ment, hurried toward the two women, exclaim 
 ing, with every expression of pleasure. 
 
 "I had no idea you were stopping here," he 
 said, after the first greetings were over. "I 
 thought you were somewhere on the Continent. 
 I am so glad I caught you. It seems centuries 
 since I saw you last. You re looking very well, 
 Mrs. Carson and as for Patty I am almost 
 afraid of her I ve been hearing all sorts of 
 things about you lately, Patty," he went on, 
 
 231
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 turning a smiling countenance toward the girl. 
 "About your engagements to princes and dukes 
 all sorts of disturbing rumors. What a ter 
 rible swell you ve grown to be! I hardly recog 
 nize you at all, Mrs. Carson. It isn t possible 
 this is the same young girl I used to take buggy 
 riding on Sunday evenings?" 
 
 " Indeed, it is not. I wish it were," said Mrs. 
 Carson, plaintively, sinking into a chair. "I m 
 glad to see you re not changed, Archie," she 
 added, with a sigh. 
 
 "Why, he s very much changed, mother," 
 the girl said. "He s taller, and, in comparison 
 with what he was, he s almost wasted away, 
 and so sunburnt I hardly knew him. Except 
 round the forehead," she added, mockingly, 
 "and I suppose the sun couldn t burn there be 
 cause of the laurel-wreaths. I hear they bring 
 them to you fresh every morning." 
 
 c< They re better than coronets, at any rate," 
 Gordon answered, with a nod. " They re not 
 so common. And if I m wasted away, can you 
 wonder? How long has it been since I saw you, 
 Patty?" 
 
 "No, I m wrong, he s not changed," Miss 
 Carson said dryly, as she seated herself beside 
 her mother. 
 
 "How do you two come to be stopping 
 here?" the young man asked. "I thought this 
 hotel had been turned over to King Louis?" 
 
 232
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "It has," Mrs. Carson answered. "We are 
 staying at the Continental, on the hill there. 
 We are only here for breakfast. He asked us to 
 breakfast." 
 
 "He?" repeated Gordon, with an incredu 
 lous smile. "Who? Not the King not that 
 blackguard?" 
 
 Miss Carson raised her head, and stared at 
 him in silence, and her mother gave a little 
 gasp, apparently of relief and satisfaction. 
 
 "Yes," Miss Carson answered at last, coldly. 
 "We are breakfasting with him. What do you 
 know against him?" 
 
 Gordon stared at her with such genuine as 
 tonishment that the girl lowered her eyes, and 
 bending forward in her chair, twirled her para 
 sol nervously between her fingers. 
 
 "What do I know against him? Why, 
 Patty!" he exclaimed. "How did you meet 
 him, in Heaven s name?" he asked, roughly. 
 "Have you been seen with him? Have you 
 known him long? Who had the impudence to 
 present him?" 
 
 Mrs. Carson looked up, now thoroughly 
 alarmed. Her lower lip was trembling, and she 
 twisted her gloved hands together in her lap. 
 
 "What do you know against him?" Miss 
 Carson repeated, meeting Gordon s look with 
 one as full of surprise as his own. 
 
 The young man regarded her steadily for a 
 
 233
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 few moments, and then, with a change of man 
 ner, as though he now saw the situation was 
 much more serious than he had at first supposed, 
 drew up a chair in front of the two women and 
 seated himself deliberately. 
 
 "Has he borrowed any money from you yet?" 
 he asked. Miss Carson s face flushed crimson 
 and she straightened her shoulders and turned 
 her eyes away from Gordon with every sign of 
 indignation and disapproval. The young man 
 gave an exclamation of relief. 
 
 "No? That s good. You cannot have known 
 him so very long. I am greatly relieved." 
 
 "Louis of Messina," he began more gently, 
 "is the most unscrupulous rascal in Europe. 
 Since they turned him out of his kingdom he 
 has lived by selling his title to men who are 
 promoting new brands of champagne or float 
 ing queer mining shares. The greater part of 
 his income is dependent on the generosity of the 
 old nobility of Messina, and when they don t 
 pay him readily enough, he levies blackmail on 
 them. He owes money to every tailor and 
 horse-dealer and hotel-keeper in Europe, and 
 no one who can tell one card from another will 
 play with him. That is his reputation. And to 
 help him live up to it he has surrounded himself 
 with a parcel of adventurers as rascally as him 
 self: a Colonel Erhaupt who was dropped from 
 
 234
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 a German regiment, and who is a Colonel only 
 by the favor of the Queen of Madagascar; a 
 retired croupier named Barrat; and a fallen 
 an gel called Kalonay, a fellow of the very best 
 blood in Europe and with the very worst morals. 
 They call him the King s Jackal, and he is one 
 of the most delightful blackguards I ever met. 
 So is the King for that matter, a most enter 
 taining individual if you keep him in his place, 
 but a man no woman can know. In fact, Mrs. 
 Carson," Gordon went on, addressing himself 
 to the mother, "when you have to say that a 
 woman has absolutely no reputation whatever 
 you can best express it by explaining that she 
 has a title from Louis of Messina. That is his 
 Majesty s way of treating his feminine friends 
 when they bore him and he wants to get rid of 
 them. He gives them a title. 
 
 "The only thing the man ever did that was 
 to his credit and that could be discussed in po 
 lite society is what he is doing now at this place, 
 at this moment. For it seems," Gordon whis 
 pered, drawing his chair closer, "that he is 
 about to show himself something of a man af 
 ter all, and that he is engaged in fitting out an 
 armed expedition with which he hopes to re 
 cover his kingdom. That s what brought me 
 here, and I must say I rather admire him for 
 attempting such a thing. Of course, it was Ka-
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 lonay who put him up to it; he would never 
 have stirred from the boulevards if that young 
 man had not made him. But he is here, never 
 theless, waiting for a favorable opportunity to 
 sail, and he has ten thousand rifles and three 
 Maxim guns lying in his yacht out there in the 
 harbor. That s how I came to learn about it. 
 I was getting an estimate on an outfit I was 
 thinking of taking into Yucatan from my old 
 gunsmith in the Rue Scribe, and he dropped a 
 hint that he had shipped ten thousand rifles to 
 Tangier, to Colonel Erhaupt. I have met Er- 
 haupt in Zanzibar, and knew he was the King s 
 right-hand man, so I put two and two together 
 and decided I would follow them up, and 
 
 "Yes, and now," interrupted Miss Carson, 
 sharply "and now that you have followed 
 them up, what do you mean to do?" 
 
 Gordon looked his surprise at her earnestness, 
 but answered that he did not know what he 
 would do; he thought he would either ask them 
 to give him a commission in their expedition, 
 and let him help them fight, and write an ac 
 count of their adventures later, or he would 
 telegraph the story at once to his paper. It was 
 with him, he said, entirely a question as to 
 which course would be of the greater news 
 value. If he told what he now knew, his paper 
 would be the first of all others to inform the 
 
 236
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 world of the expedition and the proposed revo 
 lution; while if he volunteered for the expedi 
 tion and waited until it had failed or succeeded, 
 he would be able to tell more eventually, but 
 would have to share it with other correspon 
 dents. 
 
 Miss Carson regarded him with an expression 
 in which indignation and entreaty were curi 
 ously blended. 
 
 "Archie," she said, in a low voice, "you do 
 not know what you are doing or saying. You 
 are threatening to spoil the one thing in my life 
 on which I have set my heart. The return of 
 this man to his throne, whether he is worthy or 
 not, means the restoration of the Catholic 
 Church on that island; it means the return of 
 the monks and the rebuilding of the monaster 
 ies, and the salvation of sixty thousand souls. I 
 know all that they mean to do. I am the one 
 who paid for those rifles that brought you here; 
 you have told me only what I have known for 
 months, and for which I have been earnestly 
 working and praying. I am not blinded by 
 these men. They are not the creatures you de 
 scribe; but no matter what they may be, it is 
 only through them, and through them alone, 
 that I can do what I have set out to do." 
 
 Gordon silenced her with a sweep of his hand. 
 
 "Do you mean to tell me," he demanded, 
 237
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "that you are mixed up in this with these 
 that they have taken money from you, and told 
 you they meant to use it to re-establish the 
 Church? Mrs. Carson," he exclaimed bitterly, 
 turning upon her, "why have you allowed this 
 what have you been doing while this was 
 going on? Do you suppose those scoundrels 
 care for the Church the Church, indeed ! Wait 
 until I see them any of them Erhaupt by 
 choice, and I ll make them give up every franc 
 you ve lent them, or I ll horsewhip and expose 
 them for the gang of welshers and thimble-rig 
 gers they are; or if they prefer their own meth 
 ods, I ll call them out in rotation and shoot 
 their arms and legs off." He stopped and drew 
 a long breath, either of content that he had dis 
 covered the situation in time to take some part 
 in it, or at the prospect of a fight. 
 
 "The idea of you two helpless females wan 
 dering into this den of wolves!" he exclaimed, 
 indignantly. "It s about time you had a man 
 to look after you ! You go back to your hotel 
 now, and let me have a chat with Louis of Mes 
 sina. He s kept me waiting some twenty min 
 utes as it is, and that s a little longer than I can 
 give him. I m not a creditor." He rose from 
 his chair; but Miss Carson put out her hand 
 and motioned him to be seated. 
 
 "Archie," she said, "I like the way you take 
 
 238
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 this, even though you are all wrong about it, 
 because it s just like you to fly into a passion 
 and want to fight some one for somebody. If 
 your conclusions were anywhere near the truth, 
 you would be acting very well. But they are 
 not. The King is not handling my money, nor 
 the Prince Kalonay. It is in the keeping of 
 Father Paul, the Father Superior of the Do 
 minican monks, who is the only one of these 
 people I know or who knows me. He is not a 
 swindler, too, is he, or a retired croupier? Lis 
 ten to me now, and do not fly out like that at 
 me, or at mother. It is not her fault. Last sum 
 mer mother and I went to Messina as tourists, 
 and one day, when passing through a seaport 
 town, we saw a crowd of people on the shore, 
 standing or kneeling by the hundreds in a great 
 semicircle close to the water s edge. There was 
 a priest preaching to them from an open boat. 
 It was like a scene from the New Testament, 
 and the man, this Father Paul, made me think 
 of one of the disciples. I asked them why he 
 did not preach on the land, and they told me 
 that he and all of the priests had been banished 
 from the island six years before, and that they 
 could only return by stealth and dared not land 
 except by night. When the priest had finished 
 speaking, I had myself rowed out to his boat, 
 and I talked a long time with him, and he told 
 
 239
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 me of this plan to re-establish himself and his 
 order. I offered to help him with my money, 
 and he promised me a letter to Cardinal Na- 
 poli. It reached me on my return to Rome, and 
 through the influence of the Cardinal I was 
 given an audience with the Pope, and I was en 
 couraged to aid Father Paul as far as I could. 
 I had meant to build a memorial church for 
 father, but they urged me to give the money 
 instead to this cause. All my dealings until to 
 day have been with Father Paul alone. I have 
 seen a little of the Prince Kalonay because they 
 are always together; but he has always treated 
 me in a way to which no one could take excep 
 tion, and he is certainly very much in earnest. 
 When Father Paul left Paris mother and I came 
 on here in order to be near him, and that is how 
 you find me at Tangier. And now that you 
 understand how much this means to me, I know 
 you will not do anything to stand in our way. 
 Those men inside are afraid that you came here 
 for just the reason that apparently has brought 
 you, and when they saw you a little while ago 
 through the windows they were greatly dis 
 turbed. Let me tell them that you mean to vol 
 unteer for the campaign. The King cannot re 
 fuse the services of a man who has done the 
 things you are always doing. And I promise 
 you that for a reward you shall be the only one 
 
 240
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 to tell the story of our attempt. I promise you," 
 she repeated earnestly, "that the day we enter 
 the capital, you can cable whatever you please 
 and tell our story to the whole of Europe." 
 
 "The story be hanged!" replied Gordon. 
 "You have made this a much more serious 
 business than a newspaper story. You misun 
 derstand me utterly, Patty. I am here now 
 because I am not going to have you compro 
 mised and robbed." 
 
 The girl stood up and looked down at the 
 young man indignantly. 
 
 "You have no right whatever to use that tone 
 to me," she said. "I am of age and my own 
 adviser. I am acting for the good of a great 
 number of people, and according to what my 
 conscience and common sense tell me is right. 
 I shall hate you if you attempt to interfere. 
 You can do one of two things, Archie. I give 
 you your choice: you can either go with them 
 as a volunteer, and promise to keep our secret; 
 or you can cable what you know now, what you 
 know only by accident, but if you do, you will 
 lose your best friend, and you will defeat a good 
 and a noble effort." 
 
 Gordon leaned back in his chair, and looked 
 up at her steadily for a brief moment, and then 
 rose with a smile, and bowed to the two women 
 in silence. He crossed the terrace quickly with 
 
 241
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 an amused and puzzled countenance, and walked 
 into the breakfast-room, from the windows of 
 which, as he rightly guessed, the five conspira 
 tors had for some time observed him. He 
 looked from one to the other of the men about 
 the table, until his eyes finally met those of the 
 King. 
 
 "I believe, sir, you are leading an expedition 
 against the Republic of Messina? * Gordon 
 said. "I am afraid it can t start unless you 
 take me with you." 
 
 242
 
 Ill 
 
 THE presence in Tangier of the King of Mes 
 sina and his suite, and the arrival there of the 
 French noblemen who had volunteered for the 
 expedition, could not escape the observation 
 of the resident Consuls-General and of the for 
 eign colony, and dinners, riding and hunting 
 parties, pig-sticking, and excursions on horse 
 back into the outlying country were planned 
 for their honor and daily entertainment. Had 
 the conspirators held aloof from these, the resi 
 dents might have asked, since it was not to enjoy 
 themselves, what was the purpose of their stay 
 in Tangier; and so, to allay suspicion as to their 
 real object, different members of the expedition 
 had been assigned from time to time to repre 
 sent the visitors at these festivities. On the 
 morning following the return of the yacht from 
 Messina, an invitation to ride to a farm-house 
 some miles out of Tangier and to breakfast 
 there had been sent to the visitors, and the King 
 had directed the Prince Kalonay, and half of 
 the delegation from Paris, to accept it in his 
 name. 
 
 They were well content to go, and rode forth 
 gayly and in high spirits, for the word had been 
 
 243
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 brought them early in the morning that the ex 
 pedition was already prepared to move, and that 
 same evening at midnight the yacht would set 
 sail for Messina. They were careless as to what 
 fortune waited for them there. The promise of 
 much excitement, of fighting and of danger, of 
 possible honor and success, stirred the hearts 
 of the young men gloriously, and as they gal 
 loped across the plains, or raced each other 
 from point to point, or halted to jump their 
 ponies across the many gaping crevices which 
 the sun had split in the surface of the plain, they 
 filled the still, warm air with their shouts and 
 laughter. In the party there were many ladies, 
 and the groups changed and formed again as 
 they rode forward, spread out on either side of 
 the caravan-trail and covering the plain like a 
 skirmish line of cavalry. But Kalonay kept 
 close at Miss Carson s stirrup, whether she 
 walked her pony or sent him flying across the 
 hard, sun-baked soil. 
 
 "I hope you won t do that again," he said, 
 earnestly, as she drew up panting, with her 
 sailor hat and hair falling to her shoulders. 
 They had been galloping recklessly over the 
 open crevices in the soil. 
 
 "It s quite the nastiest country I ever saw," 
 he said. " It looks as though an earthquake had 
 shaken it open and had forgotten to close it 
 
 244
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 again. Believe me, it is most unsafe and dan 
 gerous. Your pony might stumble He 
 stopped, as though the possibilities were too 
 serious for words, but the girl laughed. 
 
 "It s no more dangerous than riding across 
 our prairie at dusk when you can t see the 
 barbed wire. You are the last person in the 
 world to find fault because a thing is danger 
 ous," she added. 
 
 They had reached the farm, where they went 
 to breakfast, and the young Englishman who 
 was their host was receiving his guests in his 
 garden, and the servants were passing among 
 them, carrying cool drinks and powdered sweets 
 and Turkish coffee. Kalonay gave their ponies 
 to a servant and pointed with his whip to an 
 arbor that stood at one end of the garden. 
 
 "May we sit down there a moment until they 
 call us?" he said. "I have news of much im 
 portance and I may not have another chance," 
 he begged, looking at her wistfully. The girl 
 stood motionless; her eyes were serious, and 
 she measured the distance down the walk to 
 the arbor as though she saw it beset with dan 
 gers more actual than precipices and twisted 
 wire. The Prince watched her as though his 
 fate was being weighed in his presence. 
 
 "Very well," she said at last, and moved on 
 before him down the garden-path. 
 
 245
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 The arbor was open to the air with a low, 
 broad roof of palm-leaves that overhung it on 
 all sides and left it in deep shadow. Around it 
 were many strange plants and flowers, some na 
 tive to Morocco and some transplanted from 
 their English home. From where they sat they 
 could see the other guests moving in and out 
 among the groves of orange and olive trees 
 and swaying palms, and standing, outlined 
 against the blue sky, upon the low, flat roof of 
 the farm-house. 
 
 " I have dared to ask you to be so good as to 
 give me this moment," the Prince said humbly, 
 "only because I am going away, and it may be 
 my last chance to speak with you. You do not 
 mind? You do not think I presume?" 
 
 "No, I do not mind," said the girl, smiling. 
 "In my country we do not think it a terrible 
 offense to talk to a girl at a garden-party. But 
 you said there was something of importance you 
 wanted to say to me. You mean the expedi 
 tion?" 
 
 "Yes," said Kalonay. "We start this eve 
 ning." 
 
 The girl raised her head slightly and stared 
 past him at the burning white walls and the 
 burning blue sky that lay outside the circle of 
 shadow in which they sat. 
 
 "This evening " she repeated to herself. 
 246
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "We reach there in two days," Kalonay con 
 tinued; "and then we then we go on until 
 we enter the capital." 
 
 The girl s head was bent, and she looked at her 
 hands as they lay in her lap and frowned at them, 
 they seemed so white and pretty and useless. 
 
 Yes, you go on," she repeated, "and we 
 stay here. You are a man and able to go on. I 
 know what that means. And you like it," she 
 added, with a glance of mingled admiration and 
 fear. "You are glad to fight and to risk death 
 and to lead men on to kill other men." 
 
 Kalonay drew lines in the sand with his rid 
 ing-whip, and did not raise his head. 
 
 "I suppose it is because you are fighting for 
 your home," the girl continued, "and to set 
 your country free, and that you can live with 
 your own people again, and because it is a holy 
 war. That must be it. Now that it is really 
 come, I see it all differently. I see things I had 
 not thought about before. They frighten me," 
 she said. 
 
 The Prince raised his head and faced the girl, 
 clasping the end of his whip nervously in his 
 hand. 
 
 " If we should win the island for the King," 
 he said, "I believe it will make a great change 
 in me. I shall be able to go freely then to my 
 home, as you say, to live there always, to give 
 
 247
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 up the life I have led on the Continent. It has 
 been a foolish life a dog s life and I have no 
 one to blame for it but myself. I made it worse 
 than it need to have been. But if we win, I 
 have promised myself that I will not return to 
 it; and if we fail I shall not return to it, for the 
 reason that I shall have been killed. I shall 
 have much power if we win. When I say much 
 power, I mean much power in Messina, in that 
 little corner of the world, and I wish to use it 
 worthily and well. I am afraid I should not 
 have thought of it," he went on, naively, as 
 though he were trying to be quite fair, "had 
 not Father Paul pointed out to me what I should 
 do, how I could raise the people and stop the 
 abuses which made them drive us from the 
 island. The people must be taxed less heavily, 
 and the money must be spent for them and not 
 for us, on roads and harbors and schools, not 
 at the Palace on banquets and fetes. These 
 are Father Paul s ideas, not mine, but now I 
 make them mine." He rose and paced the 
 length of the little arbor, his hands clasped be 
 hind him and his eyes bent on the ground. 
 "Yes, that is what I mean to do," he said. 
 That is the way I mean to live. And if we 
 fail, I mean to be among those who are to die 
 on the fortifications of the capital, so that with 
 me the Kalonay family will end, and end fight- 
 
 248
 
 " I suppose it is because you are fighting for your home."
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 ing for the King, as many of my people have 
 done before me. There is no other way. For 
 me there shall be no more idleness nor exile. I 
 must either live on to help my people, or I must 
 die with them." He stopped in his walk and 
 regarded the girl closely. You may be think 
 ing, it is easy for him to promise this, it is easy 
 to speak of what one will do. I know that. I 
 know that I can point back at nothing I have 
 done that gives me any right to ask you to be 
 lieve me now. But I do ask it, for if you be 
 lieve me believe what I say it makes it easier 
 for me to tell you why after this I must live 
 worthily. But you know why? You must 
 know; it is not possible that you do not know." 
 He sat down beside her on the bench, lean 
 ing forward and crushing his hands together on 
 his knee. "It is because I love you. Because 
 I love you so that everything which is not 
 worthy is hateful to me, myself most of all. It 
 is the only thing that counts. I used to think 
 I knew what love meant; I used to think love 
 was a selfish thing that needed love in return, 
 that it must be fed on love to live, that it 
 needed vows and tender speeches and caresses, 
 or it would die. I know now that when one 
 truly cares, he does not ask whether the other 
 cares or not. It is what one gives that counts, 
 not what one receives. You have given me 
 
 249
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 nothing nothing not a word nor a look; yet 
 since I have known you I have been more madly 
 happy in just knowing that you live than I 
 would have been had any other woman in all 
 the world thrown herself into my arms and said 
 she loved me above all other men. I am not 
 fit to tell you this. But to-night I go to try 
 myself, either never to see you again, or to 
 come back perhaps more worthy to love you. 
 Think of this when I am gone. Do not speak 
 to me now. I may have made you hate me for 
 speaking so, or I may have made you pity me; 
 so let me go not knowing, just loving you, wor 
 shipping you, and holding you apart and above 
 all other people. I go to fight for you, do you 
 understand? Not for our Church, not for my 
 people, but for you, to live or die for you. And 
 I ask nothing from you but that you will let me 
 love you always." 
 
 The Prince bent, and catching up Miss Car 
 son s riding-gloves that lay beside her on the 
 bench, kissed them again and again, and then, 
 rising quickly, walked out of the arbor into the 
 white sunshine, and, without turning, mounted 
 his pony and galloped across the burning desert 
 in the direction of Tangier. 
 
 Archie Gordon had not been invited to join 
 the excursion into the country, nor would he 
 
 250
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 have accepted it, for he wished to be by him 
 self that he might review the situation and con 
 sider what lay before him. He sat with his 
 long legs dangling over the broad rampart 
 which overlooks the harbor of Tangier. He 
 was whistling meditatively to himself and beat 
 ing an accompaniment to the tune with his 
 heels. At intervals he ceased whistling while 
 he placed a cigar between his teeth and pulled 
 upon it thoughtfully, resuming his tune again 
 at the point where it had been interrupted. 
 Below him the waves ran up lazily on the level 
 beach and sank again, dragging the long sea 
 weed with them, as they swept against the 
 sharp rocks, and exposed them for an instant, 
 naked and glistening in the sun. On either side 
 of him the town stretched to meet the low, 
 white sand-hills in a crescent of low, white 
 houses pierced by green minarets and royal 
 palms. A warm sun had sent the world to sleep 
 at mid-day, and an enforced peace hung over 
 the glaring white town and the sparkling blue 
 sea. Gordon blinked at the glare, but his eyes 
 showed no signs of drowsiness. They were, on 
 the contrary, awake to all that passed on the 
 highroad behind him, and on the sandy beach 
 at his feet, while at the same time his mind was 
 busily occupied in reviewing what had occurred 
 the day before, and in adjusting new condi- 
 
 251
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 tions. At the hotel he had found that the situa 
 tion was becoming too complicated, and that it 
 was impossible to feel sure of the truth of any 
 thing, or of the sincerity of any one. Since the 
 luncheon hour the day before he had become a 
 fellow-conspirator with men who were as ob 
 jectionable to him in every way as he knew he 
 was obnoxious to them. But they had been 
 forced to accept him because, so they sup 
 posed, he had them at the mercy of his own 
 pleasure. He knew their secret, and in the 
 legitimate pursuit of his profession he could, 
 if he chose, inform the island of Messina, with 
 the rest of the world, of their intention toward 
 it, and bring their expedition to an end, though 
 he had chosen, as a reward for his silence, to 
 become one of themselves. Only the Countess 
 Zara had guessed the truth, that it was Gordon 
 himself who was at their mercy, and that so 
 long as the American girl persisted in casting 
 her fortunes with them her old young friend was 
 only too eager to make any arrangement with 
 them that would keep him at her side. 
 
 It was a perplexing position, and Gordon 
 turned it over and over in his mind. Had it 
 not been that Miss Carson had a part in it he 
 would have enjoyed the adventure, as an ad 
 venture, keenly. He had no objections to fight 
 ing on the side of rascals, or against rascals. He 
 
 252
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 objected to them only in the calmer moments of 
 private life; and as he was of course ignorant 
 that the expedition was only a make-believe, 
 he felt a certain respect for his fellow-conspira 
 tors as men who were willing to stake their 
 lives for a chance of better fortune. But that 
 their bravery was of the kind which would 
 make them hesitate to rob and deceive a help 
 less girl he very much doubted; for he knew 
 that even the bravest of warriors on their way 
 to battle will requisition a herd of cattle or stop 
 to loot a temple. The day before, Gordon had 
 witnessed the brief ceremony which attended 
 the presentation of the young noblemen from 
 Paris who had volunteered for the expedition 
 in all good faith, and he reviewed it and analyzed 
 it as he sat smoking on the ramparts. 
 
 It had been an impressive ceremony, in spite 
 of the fact that so few had taken part in it, but 
 the earnestness of the visitors and the enthu 
 siasm of Kalonay and the priest had made up for 
 the lack of numbers. The scene had appealed 
 to him as one of the most dramatic he had wit 
 nessed in the pursuit of a calling in which look 
 ing on at real dramas was the most frequent 
 duty, and he had enjoyed the strange mixture 
 of ancient terms of address and titles with the 
 modern manners of the men themselves. It 
 had interested him to watch Baron Barrat bring 
 
 253
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 out the ancient crown and jewelled sceptre 
 which had been the regalia of all the Kings of 
 Messina since the Crusades and spread them 
 out upon a wicker tea-table, from which Nicco- 
 las had just removed some empty coffee- 
 cups, half filled with the ends of cigarettes, 
 some yellow-backed novels, and a copy of the 
 Paris Figaro. It was also interesting to him to 
 note how the sight of the little heir-apparent 
 affected both the peasants from the mountains 
 and the young nobles from the Club Royale. 
 The former fell upon their knees with the tears 
 rolling down the furrows in their tanned cheeks, 
 while the little wise-eyed boy stood clinging to 
 his nurse s skirts with one hand and to his 
 father s finger with the other, and nodded his 
 head at them gravely like a toy mandarin. 
 
 Then the King had addressed them in a dig 
 nified, earnest, and almost eloquent speech, and 
 had promised much and prophesied the best of 
 fortunes, and then, at the last, had turned sud 
 denly toward Miss Carson, where she stood in 
 the background between her mother and Father 
 Paul. 
 
 " Every cause has its Joan of Arc, or its Maria 
 Theresa," he cried, looking steadfastly at Miss 
 Carson. "No cause has succeeded without some 
 good woman to aid it. To help us, my friends, 
 we have a daughter of the people, as was Joan 
 
 254
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 of Arc, and a queen, as was Maria Theresa, for 
 she comes from that country where every woman 
 is a queen in her own right, and where the love 
 of liberty is inherent." The King took a quick 
 step backward, and taking Miss Carson s hand 
 drew her forward beside him and placed her 
 facing his audience, while the girl made vain 
 efforts to withdraw her hand. "This is she," 
 he said earnestly, "the true daughter of the 
 Church who has made it possible for us to re 
 turn to our own again. It is due to her that 
 the King of Messina shall sit once more on his 
 throne; it is through her generosity alone that 
 the churches will rise from their ruins and that 
 you will once again hear the Angelus ring across 
 the fields at sunset. Remember her, my friends 
 and cousins, pray for her as a saint upon earth, 
 and fight gloriously to help her to success!" 
 
 Gordon had restrained himself with difficulty 
 while this scene was being enacted; he could 
 not bear the thought of the King touching the 
 girl s hand. He struggled to prevent himself 
 from crying out at the false position into which 
 he had dragged her; and yet there was some 
 thing so admirably sincere in the King s words, 
 something so courteous and manly, that it 
 robbed his words of all the theatrical effect they 
 held, and his tribute to the girl filled even Gor 
 don with an emotion which on the part of the 
 
 255
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 young nobles found expression in cheer upon 
 cheer. 
 
 Gordon recalled these cheers and the looks of 
 wondering admiration which had been turned 
 upon Miss Carson, and he grew so hot at the 
 recollection that he struck the wall beside him 
 savagely with his clinched fist, and damned the 
 obstinacy of his young and beautiful friend with 
 a sincerity and vigor that was the highest ex 
 pression of his interest in her behalf. 
 
 He threw his cigar into the rampart at his 
 feet and dropped back into the highroad. It 
 was deserted at the time, except for the presence 
 of a tall, slightly built stranger, who advanced 
 toward him from the city gates. The man was 
 dressed in garments of European fashion and 
 carried himself like a soldier, and Gordon put 
 him down at a glance as one of the volunteers 
 from Paris. The stranger was walking leisurely, 
 stopping to gaze at the feluccas in the bay, and 
 then turning to look up at the fortress on the 
 hill. He seemed to have no purpose in his walk 
 except the interest of a tourist, and as he drew 
 up even with Gordon he raised his helmet po 
 litely and, greeting him in English, asked if he 
 were on the right road to the Bashaw s Palace. 
 Gordon pointed to where the white walls of the 
 palace rose above the other white walls about 
 it. 
 
 256
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "That is it," he said. "All the roads lead to 
 it. You keep going up hill." 
 
 "Thank you," said the stranger. "I see I 
 have taken a long way." He put his white um 
 brella in the sand, and, removing his helmet, 
 mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. 
 "It is a curious old town, Tangier," he said, 
 affably, "but too many hills, is it not so? Al 
 giers I like better. There is more life." 
 
 "Yes, Algiers is almost as good as the boule 
 vards," Gordon assented, "if you like the boule 
 vards. I prefer this place because it is unspoiled. 
 But, as you say, there is not much to do here." 
 
 The stranger s eyes fell upon the Hotel Grande- 
 Bretagne, which stood a quarter of a mile away 
 from them on the beach. 
 
 "That is the Hotel Bretagne, is it not?" he 
 asked. Gordon answered him with a nod. 
 
 The King Louis of Messina, so the chasseur 
 at the hotel tells me, is stopping there en suite?" 
 the stranger added, with an interrogative air of 
 one who volunteers an interesting fact, and who 
 asks if it is true at the same moment. 
 
 "I can t say, I m sure," Gordon replied. "I 
 only arrived here yesterday." 
 
 The stranger bowed his head in recognition 
 of this piece of personal information, and, put 
 ting on his helmet, picked up his umbrella as 
 though to continue his stroll. As he did so his 
 
 257
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 eyes wandered over the harbor and were ar 
 rested with apparent interest by the yacht, 
 which lay a conspicuous object on the blue 
 water. He pointed at it with his umbrella. 
 
 "One of your English men-of-war is in the 
 harbor, I see. She is very pretty, but not large; 
 not so large as many," he said. 
 
 Gordon turned his head obligingly and gazed 
 at the yacht with polite interest. "Is that a 
 man-of-war? I thought it was a yacht," he 
 said. "I m not familiar with the English war- 
 vessels. I am an American." 
 
 "Ah, indeed!" commented the affable 
 stranger. "I am French myself, but I think 
 she is a man-of-war. I saw her guns when I 
 passed on the steamer from Gibraltar." 
 
 Gordon knew that the steamer did not pass 
 within half a mile of where the yacht lay at 
 anchor, but he considered it might be possible 
 to see her decks with the aid of a glass. 
 
 "You may be right," he answered, indiffer 
 ently. As he turned his eyes from the boat he 
 saw a woman, dressed in white, and carrying a 
 parasol, leave the gardens of the Hotel Bre- 
 tagne and come toward them along the beach. 
 The Frenchman, following the direction of his 
 eyes, saw her also, and regarded her instantly 
 with such evident concern that Gordon, who 
 had recognized her even at that distance as the 
 
 258
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Countess Zara, felt assured that his inquisitor 
 held, as he had already suspected, more than a 
 tourist s interest in Tangier, 
 
 "Well, I will wish you a good-morning," said 
 the Frenchman, hurriedly. 
 
 "Good-morning," Gordon replied, and taking 
 a cigar from his case, he seated himself again 
 upon the rampart. As he walked away the 
 stranger glanced back over his shoulder, but 
 Gordon was apparently absorbed in watching 
 the waves below him, and had lost all interest 
 in his chance acquaintance. But he watched 
 both the woman and the Frenchman as they ad 
 vanced slowly from opposite directions and 
 drew nearer together, and he was not alto 
 gether surprised, when the man was within 
 twenty feet of her, to see her start and stand 
 still, and then, with the indecision of a hunted 
 animal, move uncertainly, and then turn and 
 run in the direction of the hotel. Something 
 the man apparently called after her caused her 
 to stop, and Gordon observed them now with 
 undisguised interest as they stood conversing 
 together, oblivious of the conspicuous mark 
 they made on the broad white beach under the 
 brilliant sun. 
 
 "I wonder what he s up to now?" Gordon 
 mused. "He was trying to pump me, that s 
 evident, and he certainly recognized the lady, 
 
 259
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 and she apparently did not want to recognize 
 him. I wonder if he is a rejected lover, or an 
 other conspirator. This is a most amusing 
 place, nothing but plots and counterplots and 
 Hello!" he exclaimed aloud. The man had 
 moved quickly past Madame Zara, and had 
 started toward the hotel, and Zara had held 
 out her hand to him, as though to entreat him 
 to remain. But he did not stop, and she had 
 taken a few uncertain steps after him, and had 
 then, much to the American s dismay, fallen 
 limply on her back on the soft sand. She was 
 not a hundred yards distant from where he sat, 
 and in an instant he had slipped from the wall, 
 and dropped on his hands and knees on the 
 beach below. When Gordon reached her the 
 Frenchman had returned, and was supporting 
 her head on his knee and covering her head with 
 her parasol. 
 
 "The lady has fainted!" he exclaimed, ea 
 gerly. His manner was no longer one of idle in 
 dolence. He was wide awake now and visibly 
 excited. 
 
 "The sun has been too much for her," he 
 said. "It is most dangerous walking about at 
 this time of day." 
 
 Gordon ran down the beach and scooped up 
 some water in his helmet, and dipping his hand 
 kerchief in it bathed her temples and cheek. 
 He had time to note that she was a very beau- 
 
 260
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 tiful girl, and the pallor of her face gave it a 
 touch of gentleness that he had not seen there 
 before. 
 
 "I will go to the hotel and bring assistance," 
 said the stranger, uneasily, as the woman 
 showed signs of regaining consciousness. 
 
 "No," said Gordon, "you ll stay where you 
 are and shade her with her umbrella. She ll be 
 all right in a minute." 
 
 The girl opened her eyes, and looking up 
 saw Gordon bending over her. She regarded 
 him for a moment and made an effort to rise, 
 and in her endeavor to do so her eyes met those 
 of the Frenchman, and with a sharp moan she 
 shut them again and threw herself from Gor 
 don s knee to the sand. 
 
 "Give me that umbrella," said Gordon, "and 
 go stand over there out of the way." 
 
 The man rose from his knee without showing 
 any resentment and walked some little distance 
 away, where he stood w r ith his arms folded, 
 looking out to sea. He seemed much too occu 
 pied with something of personal interest to con 
 cern himself with a woman s fainting-spell. 
 The girl lifted herself slowly to her elbow, and 
 then, before Gordon could assist her, rose with 
 a quick, graceful movement and stood erect 
 upon her feet. She placed a detaining hand for 
 an instant on the American s arm. 
 
 " Thank you very much," she said. "I am 
 261
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 afraid I have been imprudent in going out into 
 the sun." Her eyes were fixed upon the French 
 man, who stood moodily staring at the sea and 
 tearing one of his finger-nails with his teeth. 
 He seemed utterly oblivious of their presence. 
 The girl held out her hand for the parasol she 
 had dropped and took it from Gordon with a 
 bow. 
 
 "May I walk back with you to your hotel?" 
 he asked. "Unless this gentleman : 
 
 " Thank you," the girl said, in tones which 
 the Frenchman could have easily overheard had 
 he been listening. " I am quite able to go alone 
 now; it is only a step." 
 
 She was still regarding the Frenchman closely; 
 but as he was obviously unconscious of them 
 she moved so that Gordon hid her from him, 
 and in an entirely different voice she said, 
 speaking rapidly, 
 
 !< You are Mr. Gordon, the American who 
 joined us last night. That man is a spy from 
 Messina. He is Renauld, the Commander-in- 
 Chief of their army. He must be gotten away 
 from here at once. It is a matter for a man to 
 attend to. Will you do it?" 
 
 "How do you know this?" Gordon asked. 
 "How do you know he is General Renauld? I 
 want to be certain." 
 
 The girl tossed her head impatiently. 
 262
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "He was pointed out to me at Messina. I 
 saw him there in command at a review. He has 
 just spoken to me that was what frightened 
 me into that fainting-spell. I didn t think I was 
 so weak," she said, shaking her head. "He 
 offered me a bribe to inform him of our plans. 
 I tell you he is a spy." 
 
 That s all right," said Gordon, reassuringly; 
 "you go back to the hotel now and send those 
 guards here on a run. I ll make a charge against 
 him and have him locked up until after we sail 
 to-night. Hurry, please; I ll stay here." 
 
 Gordon felt a pleasurable glow of excitement. 
 It was his nature to throw himself into every 
 thing he did and to at once become a partisan. 
 It was a quality which made his writings at 
 tractive to the reader, and an object of concern 
 to his editor. At the very word "spy," and at 
 this first hint of opposition to the cause in 
 which he had but just enlisted, he thrilled as 
 though it had always been his own, and he re 
 garded the Frenchman with a personal dislike 
 as sudden as it was unfounded. 
 
 The Frenchman had turned and was walking 
 in the direction of the city gate. His eyes were 
 bent on the sandy beach which stretched before 
 him, and he made his way utterly unmindful 
 of the waves that stole up to his feet and left 
 little pools of water in his path. Gordon beck- 
 
 263
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 oned impatiently to the two soldiers who came 
 running toward him at the hotel, and moved 
 forward to meet them the sooner. He took one 
 of them by the wrist and pointed with his other 
 hand at the retreating figure of the Frenchman. 
 
 "That man," he said, "is one of the King s 
 enemies. The King is in danger while that man 
 is here. Your duty is to protect the King, so he 
 gives this foreigner into your charge." 
 
 The soldier nodded his head in assent. 
 
 "The King himself sent us," he replied. 
 
 "You will place him in the Civil Prison," 
 Gordon continued, "until the King is safe on 
 his yacht, and you will not allow him to send 
 for the French Consul-General. If he sees the 
 ConsuI-General he will tell him a great many 
 lies about you, and a great war-ship will come 
 and your Bashaw will be forced to pay the for 
 eigners much money. I will go with you and 
 tell this man in his own tongue what you are 
 going to do with him." 
 
 They walked hurriedly after the Frenchman, 
 and when they had overtaken him Gordon 
 halted and bowed. 
 
 "One moment, please," he said. "These sol 
 diers have an order for your arrest. I speak 
 the language, and if you have anything to say 
 to them I will interpret for you." 
 
 The Frenchman stared from Gordon to the 
 264
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 guards and then laughed incredulously but with 
 no great confidence. He had much to say, but 
 he demanded to know first why he should be 
 arrested. 
 
 "The lady you insulted," Gordon answered, 
 gravely, "happened, unfortunately for you, to 
 be one of the King s guests. She has com 
 plained to him, and he has sent these soldiers 
 to put you where you cannot trouble her again. 
 You see, sir, you cannot annoy women with 
 impunity even in this barbarous country." 
 
 "Insult her! I did not insult her," the man 
 retorted. "That is not the reason I am ar 
 rested." 
 
 "You annoyed her so much that she fainted. 
 I saw you," said Gordon, backing away with 
 the evident purpose of abandoning the foreigner 
 to his guards. 
 
 "She has lied," the man cried, "either to the 
 King or to me. I do not know which, but I am 
 here to find out. That is why I came to Tangier, 
 and I intend to learn the truth." 
 
 You ve begun rather badly," Gordon an 
 swered, as he still retreated. "In the Civil 
 Prison your field of investigation will be lim 
 ited." 
 
 The Frenchman took a hasty step toward 
 him, shrugging off the hand one of the soldiers 
 had placed on his shoulder. 
 
 265
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "Are you the Prince Kalonay, sir?" he de 
 manded. "But surely not," he added. 
 
 "No, I am not the Prince," Gordon an 
 swered. "I bid you good-morning, sir." 
 
 :< Then you are on the other side," the man 
 called after him eagerly, with a tone of great re 
 lief. "I have been right from the very first. I 
 see it plainly. It is a double plot, and you are 
 one of that woman s dupes. Listen to me I 
 beg of you, listen to me I have a story to tell." 
 
 Gordon paused and looked back at the man 
 over his shoulder, doubtfully. 
 
 "It s like the Arabian Nights," he said, with 
 a puzzled smile. " There was once a rich mer 
 chant of Bagdad and the Sultan was going to 
 execute him, but they put off the execution 
 until he could tell them the story of the Beau 
 tiful Countess and the French Envoy. I am 
 sorry," he added, shaking his head, "but I can 
 not listen now. I must not be seen talking to 
 you at all, and every one can see us here." 
 
 They were as conspicuous figures on the flat 
 surface of the beach as two palms in a desert, 
 and Gordon was most anxious to escape, for 
 he was conscious that he could be observed 
 from every point in the town. A hundred yards 
 away, on the terrace of the hotel, he saw the 
 King, Madame Zara, Barret, and Erhaupt 
 standing together watching them. 
 
 266
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "If the American leaves him now, we are 
 safe," the King was saying. He spoke in a 
 whisper, as though he feared that even at that 
 distance Gordon and the Frenchman could 
 overhear his words. "But if he remains with 
 him he will find out the truth, and that means 
 ruin. He will ruin us." 
 
 "Look, he is coming this way," Zara an 
 swered. "He is leaving him. The danger is 
 
 . 
 past. 
 
 The Frenchman raised his eyes and saw the 
 four figures grouped closely together on the ter 
 race. 
 
 "See, what did I tell you?" he cried. "She 
 is with the King now. It is a plot within a plot, 
 and I believe you know it," he added, furiously. 
 You are one of these brave blackmailers your 
 self that is why you will not let me speak." 
 
 "Blackmailers!" said Gordon. "Confound 
 your impudence, what the devil do you mean by 
 that?" 
 
 But the Frenchman was staring angrily at 
 the distant group on the terrace, and Gordon 
 turned his eyes in the same direction. Some 
 thing he saw in the strained and eager attitude 
 of the four conspirators moved him to a sudden 
 determination. 
 
 "That will do, you must go," he commanded, 
 pointing with his arm toward the city gate; 
 
 267
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 and before the Frenchman could reply, he gave 
 an order to the guards, and they seized the for 
 eigner roughly by either arm and hurried him 
 away. 
 
 "Thank God!" exclaimed the King, piously. 
 They have separated, and the boy thinks he is 
 rendering us great service. Well, and so he is, 
 the young fool." 
 
 The group on the piazza remained motion 
 less, watching Gordon as he leisurely lit a cigar 
 and stood looking out at the harbor until the 
 Frenchman had disappeared inside the city 
 wall. Then he turned and walked slowly after 
 him. 
 
 "I do not like that. I do not like his follow 
 ing him," said Barrat, suspiciously. 
 
 "That is nothing," answered the King. "He 
 is going to play the spy and see that the man is 
 safely in jail. Then he will return and report to 
 us. We must congratulate him warmly. He 
 follows at a discreet distance, you observe, and 
 keeps himself well out of sight. The boy knows 
 better than to compromise himself by being 
 seen in conversation with the man. Of course, 
 if Renauld is set free we must say we had no 
 part in his arrest, that the American made the 
 arrest on his own authority. What a conve 
 nient tool the young man is. Why, his coming 
 really frightened us at first, and now now we 
 
 268
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 make a cat s-paw of him." The King laughed 
 merrily. "We undervalue ourselves sometimes, 
 do we not?" 
 
 "He is a nice boy," said Zara. "I feel rather 
 sorry for him. He looked so anxious and dis 
 tressed when I was so silly as to faint on the 
 beach just now. He handled me as tenderly as a 
 woman would have done not that women have 
 generally handled me tenderly," she added. 
 
 "I was thinking the simile was rather mis 
 placed," said the King. 
 
 Gordon passed the city wall and heard the 
 gates swing to behind him. The Frenchman 
 and his two captors were just ahead, toiling 
 heavily up the steep and narrow street. Gor 
 don threw his cigar from him and ran leaping 
 over the huge cobbles to the Frenchman s side 
 and touched him on the shoulder. 
 
 "We are out of sight of the hotel, now, Gen 
 eral," he said. He pointed to the dark, cool re 
 cesses of a coffee-shop and held back the rug 
 that hung before it. "Come in here," he said, 
 "and tell me that story." 
 
 269
 
 IV 
 
 BARON BARRAT was suspicious by education 
 his experience of life and his own conduct 
 had tended to render him so; and accordingly 
 when, three hours after he had seen Gordon 
 apparently commit the French officer to jail, 
 he found them leaving a cafe in the most friendly 
 and amicable spirit, he wasted no time in in 
 vestigation, but hurried at once to warn the 
 King. 
 
 "What we feared would happen, has hap 
 pened," he said. :< The Frenchman has told 
 Gordon that Zara and Kalonay sold the secret 
 of the expedition, and Gordon will be coming 
 here to warn you of it. Now, what are you 
 going to do? We must act quickly/ 
 
 "I shall refuse to believe the Frenchman, of 
 course," said the King. "I shall ask Zara in 
 his presence to answer his charges, and she will 
 tell him he lies. That is all there will be of it. 
 What does it matter what he says? We sail at 
 midnight. We can keep him quiet until then." 
 
 " If he is troublesome I can call for help from 
 this room, and the servants of the hotel and 
 the guards will rush in and find us struggling 
 together. We will charge him with an attempt 
 
 270
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 at assassination, and this time he surely will 
 go to jail. By to-morrow morning we shall be 
 many miles at sea." 
 
 "But he can cable to Messina, by way of 
 Gibraltar, and head us off," objected Barrat. 
 
 "What can he cable?" demanded the King. 
 "Nothing the people of the Republic do not 
 already know. It is our friends here that must 
 not find us out. That is the main thing. Thank 
 Heaven!" he exclaimed, "Kalonay and Paul 
 are out of the way, and those crazy boys from 
 Paris. We will settle it here among ourselves 
 in five minutes." 
 
 "And the American?" asked Zara. "He 
 knows, he will come with him. Suppose he be 
 lieves, suppose he believes that Kalonay and I 
 have sold you out, but suspects that you know 
 it?" 
 
 The American can go to the devil," said 
 the King. "Confound him and his insolence. 
 I ll have him in the prison, too, if he interferes. 
 Or Erhaupt can pick a quarrel with him here 
 and fight it out behind the sand-hills before the 
 others get back from their picnic. He has done 
 as much for me before." 
 
 Zara stood up. She was trembling slightly, 
 and she glanced fearfully from Erhaupt to the 
 King. 
 
 "You will not do that," she said. 
 271
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "And why not, madame?" demanded Louis. 
 
 "Because it will be murder," Zara whispered, 
 "He will murder him as he did that boy in the 
 Park at Pesth." 
 
 "What does the woman mean?" growled the 
 German. "Is she mad? Send her to her room, 
 Louis." 
 
 "You know what I mean," Zara answered, 
 her voice rising, in her excitement. "You fired 
 before they gave the word. I know you did. 
 Oh, Louis," she cried, "you never warned me it 
 might come to this. I am afraid. I am afraid 
 to meet that man 
 
 She gave a sudden cry. "And Kalonay!" 
 She held out her hands appealingly. " Indeed," 
 she cried, "do not let Kalonay question me." 
 
 "Silence!" commanded the King. "You are 
 acting like a fool." He advanced toward her, 
 and clasped her wrist firmly in his hand. "No 
 nerves, now," he said. "I ll not have it. You 
 shall meet Kalonay, and you shall swear that 
 he is in the plot against me. If you fail us now, 
 we are ruined. As it is, we are sure to lose the 
 bribe from the Republic, but we may still get 
 Miss Carson s money if you play your part. It 
 is your word and the word of the Frenchman 
 against Kalonay s. And we have the paper 
 signed by you for Kalonay as evidence. Have 
 you got it with you?" 
 
 272
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Zara bowed her head. "It is always with 
 me," she answered. 
 
 "Good," said the King. "It will be a diffi 
 cult chance, but if you stand to your story, and 
 we pretend to believe you, the others may be 
 lieve you, too/ 
 
 "But I cannot," Zara cried. "I know I can 
 not. I tell you if you put me face to face with 
 Kalonay, I shall fail you. I shall break down. 
 They will see that I am lying. Send me away. 
 Send me away before they come. Tell them I 
 saw the Frenchman, and suspected I had been 
 found out, and that I have gone away. Tell 
 them you don t know where I am." 
 
 "I believe she s right," Erhaupt said. "She 
 will do us more harm than good. Let her go 
 to her room and wait there." 
 
 "She will remain where she is," said the 
 King, sternly. "And she will keep her courage 
 and her wits about her, or 
 
 He was interrupted by an exclamation from 
 Barrat. "Whatever you mean to do, you must 
 do it at once," he said, grimly. He was stand 
 ing at the window which overlooked the beach. 
 "Here they come now," he continued. The 
 American has taken no chances, he is bringing 
 an audience with him." 
 
 The King and Erhaupt ran to the window, 
 and peered over Barrat s shoulder. 
 
 273
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Advancing toward them along the beach, 
 some on foot, and some on horseback, were all 
 the members of the expedition, those who had 
 been of the riding-party and those who had re 
 mained in Tangier. Gordon and the French 
 man Renauld were far in the lead, walking by 
 themselves and speaking earnestly together; 
 Father Paul was walking with Mrs. Carson and 
 her daughter, and Kalonay was riding with 
 two of the volunteers, the Count de Rouen and 
 Prince Henri of Poitiers. 
 
 When the King and Erhaupt turned from 
 the window the Countess Zara had disappeared. 
 "It is better so," said Erhaupt; "she was so 
 badly frightened she would have told the 
 truth." 
 
 The King stood leaning on the back of a 
 large arm-chair. "Well, the moment has come, 
 it is our last chance," he said. "Send for the 
 Crown Prince, Baron. I shall be discovered 
 in the act of taking a tender farewell of my 
 son." 
 
 Barrat made an eager gesture of dissent. 
 
 "I would not do that," he cried. "If we are 
 to make charges against the Jackal do not have 
 the boy present; the boy must not hear them. 
 You know how Kalonay worships the child, 
 and it would enrage him more to be exposed 
 before the Prince than before all the rest of the 
 
 274
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 world. He will be hard enough to handle with 
 out that. Don t try him too far." 
 
 "You are absurd, Barrat," exclaimed the 
 King. "The boy won t understand what is 
 said." 
 
 "No, but the Jackal will," Barrat returned. 
 :< You don t understand him, Louis, he is like a 
 woman; he has sentiment and feelings, and 
 when we all turn on him he will act like a mad 
 man. Keep the boy out of his sight, I tell you. 
 It s the only thing he cares for in the world. 
 He has been a better father to him than you 
 ever have been." 
 
 That was quite natural; that was because 
 it was his duty," said the King, calmly. "A 
 Kalonay has always been the protector and 
 tutor of the heir-apparent. If this one chooses 
 to give his heart with his service, that is not my 
 concern. Why, confound them, they all think 
 more of the child than they do of me. That is 
 why I need him by me now." 
 
 Barrat shook his head. "I tell you it will 
 make trouble," he persisted. "Kalonay will 
 not stand it. He and the child are more like 
 comrades than a tutor and his pupil. Why, 
 Kalonay would rather sit with the boy in the 
 Champs-EIysees and point out the people as 
 they go by than drive at the side of the pret 
 tiest woman in Paris. He always treats him 
 
 275
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 as though he saw the invisible crown upon his 
 head; he will throw over any of us to stay in 
 the nursery and play tin soldiers with him. 
 And when he was ill Barrat nodded his 
 head significantly. "You remember." 
 
 "That will do," said the King. "We have 
 no time to consider the finer feelings of the 
 Jackal; he is to be sacrificed, and that is all 
 there is of it. The presence of the child may 
 make him more unmanageable, but it will cer 
 tainly make it easier for me. So go, bring the 
 boy here as I bid you." 
 
 Barrat left the room and returned immedi 
 ately, followed by the Crown Prince and his 
 nurse. The Prince was a dark, handsome little 
 fellow of four years. His mother had died when 
 he was born, and he had never played with 
 children of his own age, and his face was ab 
 surdly wise and wistful; but it lighted with a 
 sweet and grateful smile when any one showed 
 him kindness or sought to arouse his interest. 
 To the Crown Prince Kalonay was an awful 
 and wonderful being. He was the one person 
 who could make him laugh out of pure happi 
 ness and for no reason, as a child should laugh. 
 And people who had seen them together asked 
 which of the princes was the older of the two. 
 When the child entered the room, clinging to 
 Barrat s finger, he carried in his other hand a 
 
 276
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 wooden spade and bucket, still damp with 
 sand, and he was dressed in a shabby blue 
 sailor suit which left his little legs bare, and ex 
 posed the scratches and bruises of many falls. 
 A few moments later, when the conspirators 
 entered the King s salon, preceded by Erhaupt, 
 they found the boy standing by his father s 
 knee. The King had his hand upon the child s 
 head, and had been interrupted apparently in 
 a discourse on the dignity of kingship, for the 
 royal crown of Messina had been brought out 
 and stood beside him on the table, and his 
 other hand rested on it reverently. It was an 
 effective tableau, and the visitors observed it 
 with varying emotions, but with silence. 
 
 The King rose, taking his son s hand in his, 
 and bowed, looking inquiringly from Barrat to 
 the Prince Kalonay. 
 
 "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" 
 he asked. "Was it discreet of you to come to 
 gether in this way ? But you are most welcome. 
 Place chairs for the ladies, Barrat." 
 
 Kalonay glanced at the others, and they 
 nodded to him as though to make him their 
 spokesman. He pointed at Gordon with his cap. 
 
 "We are here on the invitation of this gen 
 tleman, your Majesty," he said. "He took it 
 upon himself to send after those of us who had 
 gone into the country, and came in person for 
 
 277
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 the others who remained in town. He tells us 
 he has news of the greatest importance to com 
 municate, which he cannot disclose except to 
 you, and in the presence of all of those who are 
 to take part in the expedition. We decided to 
 accompany him here, as he asked us, and to 
 leave it to your Majesty to say whether or not 
 you wished us to remain." Kalonay smiled in 
 apology at the King, and the King answered 
 him with a smile. 
 
 "The procedure is perhaps unconventional," 
 the King said, "but in America they move 
 quickly. No doubt our young companion has 
 acted as he thought was for the best. If he has 
 taken a liberty, the nature of his news will prob 
 ably excuse him. Perhaps, Mr. Gordon," he 
 added, turning to the American, "you had bet 
 ter first tell me what this discovery is, and I 
 will decide whether it is best to discuss it in 
 open council." 
 
 Gordon did not appear to be the least dis 
 turbed by the criticism Kalonay and the King 
 had passed upon his conduct. He only smiled 
 pleasantly when the King had finished speak 
 ing, and showed no inclination to accept a pri 
 vate audience. 
 
 "What I have to say, your Majesty," he be 
 gan, "is this. I have learned that all the se 
 crets of your expedition have been sold to the 
 
 278
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Republic of Messina. One of those now pres 
 ent in this room is charged with having sold 
 them. Shall I go on," he asked, "or do you 
 still think it advisable for any one to leave the 
 
 o 
 
 room f 
 
 He paused and glanced from the King to the 
 double row of conspirators, who were standing 
 together in a close semicircle facing the King 
 and himself. The instant he ceased speaking 
 there rose from their ranks an outburst of con 
 sternation, of anger, and of indignant denial. 
 The King s spirits rose within him at the 
 sound, although he frowned and made a ges 
 ture as though to command silence. 
 
 "Mr. Gordon, this is a serious charge you 
 make," he said, smiling grimly. "One that 
 may cost you a great deal it might cost you 
 your life perhaps." He paused significantly, 
 and there was a second outburst, this time from 
 the younger men, which came so suddenly that 
 it was as though Louis had played upon cer 
 tain chords on a keyboard, and the sounds he 
 wanted had answered to his touch. 
 
 "Pardon me, that is not the question," said 
 Gordon. "That I make charges or run risks in 
 making charges is not important. That your 
 expedition has failed before it has even started 
 is, however, of great importance, at least so it 
 seems to me." 
 
 279
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 There was a movement in the circle, and 
 Father Paul pushed his way forward from his 
 place beside Miss Carson s chair. He was so 
 greatly moved that when he spoke his voice 
 was harsh and broken. "What is your au 
 thority for saying we have failed?" he de 
 manded. 
 
 Gordon bowed gravely and turned and pointed 
 to the Frenchman. "This gentleman," he said, 
 "is General Renauld, Commander-in-Chief of 
 the army of Messina. He is my authority. He 
 knows all that you mean to do. If he knows it, 
 it is likely, is it not, that his army and the 
 President of the Republic know it also, and that 
 when we attempt to land they will be waiting 
 for us." 
 
 The King silenced the second outburst that 
 followed this by rising and holding up his 
 hand. 
 
 "Silence! I believe I can explain," he said. 
 He was smiling, and his bearing was easy and 
 so full of assurance that the exclamations and 
 whispers died away on the instant. "I am 
 afraid I see what has happened," the King said. 
 "But there need be no cause for alarm. This 
 gentleman is, as Mr. Gordon says, the Com 
 mander-in-Chief of the Messinian army, and it 
 is true he suspected that an armed force would 
 invade the island. It is not strange that he 
 
 280
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 should have suspected it, and it needed no 
 traitor to enlighten him. The visit of Father 
 Paul and the Prince Kalonay in the yacht, and 
 their speeches inciting the people to rebellion, 
 would have warned the Government that an ex 
 pedition might soon follow. The return of our 
 yacht to this place has no doubt been made 
 known in Messina through the public press, 
 and General Renauld followed the yacht here 
 to learn what he could of our plans of our in 
 tended movements. He came here to spy on 
 us, and as a spy I ordered Mr. Gordon to ar 
 rest him this morning on any charge he pleased, 
 and to place him out of our way until after to 
 night, when we should have sailed. I chose 
 Mr. Gordon to undertake this service because 
 he happened to speak the language of the coun 
 try, and it was necessary to deal directly with 
 the local authorities without the intervention 
 of an outsider. What has happened is only too 
 evident. The spy, who when he came here 
 only suspected, now, as Mr. Gordon says, knows 
 the truth, and he could have learned it only from 
 one person, to whom he has no doubt paid a 
 pretty price for the information." The King 
 took a step forward and pointed with his hand 
 at the American. "I gave that man into your 
 keeping, sir," he cried, "but I had you watched. 
 Instead of placing him in jail you took him to 
 
 281
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 a cafe and remained there with him for three 
 hours, and from that cafe you came directly here 
 to this room. If he knows the truth, he learned 
 it in that cafe, and he learned it from you!" 
 There was a ring of such earnestness and sin 
 cerity in the King s speech, and he delivered it 
 with such indignation and bitter contempt that 
 a shout of relief, of approbation and conviction, 
 went up from his hearers, and fell as quickly on 
 the words as the applause of an audience drowns 
 out the last note of a great burst of song. Bar- 
 rat, in the excess of his relief, turned his back 
 sharply on the King, glancing sideways at 
 Erhaupt and shaking his head in speechless 
 admiration. 
 
 "He is wonderful, simply wonderful," Er 
 haupt muttered; "he would have made a great 
 actor or a great diplomat." 
 
 "He is wasted as a King," whispered Barrat. 
 
 There was a menacing movement on the part 
 of the younger men toward Gordon and Gen 
 eral Renauld, which the King noted, but which 
 he made no effort to check. Neither Gordon 
 nor General Renauld gave any sign that they 
 observed it. The American was busily en 
 gaged in searching his pockets, and from one 
 of these he produced two pieces of paper, which 
 he held up above his head, so that those in the 
 room might see them. 
 
 282
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "One moment, please," he began, and then 
 waited until the tumult in the room had ceased. 
 "Again, I must point out to you," he said, in 
 brisk, business-like tones, "that we are digress 
 ing. The important thing is not who did, or 
 did not, sell out the expedition, but that it is in 
 danger of failing altogether. What his Ma 
 jesty says is in part correct. I did not take this 
 gentleman to jail; I did take him to a cafe, and 
 there he told me much more concerning the 
 expedition than I had learned from those di 
 rectly interested. His information, he told me, 
 had been sold to the Republic by one who 
 visited the island and who claimed to act for 
 one other. I appreciated the importance of 
 what he said, and I also guessed that my word 
 and his unsupported might be doubted, as you 
 have just doubted it. So I took the liberty of 
 verifying what General Renauld told me by 
 cabling to the President of Messina." 
 
 There was a shout of consternation at these 
 words, but Gordon s manner was so confident 
 and the audacity of his admission so surprised 
 his hearers that they were silent again imme 
 diately, and waited, with breathless interest, 
 while Gordon unfolded one of the pieces of 
 paper. 
 
 This is a copy of the cablegram I sent the 
 President," he said, "and to which, with his 
 
 283
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 permission, I signed General Renauld s name. 
 It is as follows: 
 
 The President. The Palace, Messina. They will not 
 believe you are fully informed. Cable at once the exact 
 hour when they will leave Tangier, at what hour they 
 expect to land, at what place they expect to land, what 
 sum you have promised to pay for this information, and 
 the names of those to whom it is to be paid. 
 
 RENAULD. 
 
 Gordon lowered the paper. "Is that quite 
 clear?" he asked. "Do you follow me? I have 
 invited the enemy himself to inform you of 
 your plans, and to tell you who has betrayed 
 them. His answer, which was received a half- 
 hour ago, removes all suspicion from any save 
 those he names. General Renauld and myself 
 cease to be of the least consequence in the mat 
 ter; we are only messengers. It is the Presi 
 dent of Messina who will speak to you now. 
 If you still doubt that the secret of your expe 
 dition is known to the President you will have 
 to doubt him." 
 
 The King sprang quickly to his feet and 
 struck the arm of his chair sharply with his 
 open hand. 
 
 " I shall not permit that message to be read," 
 he said. "If we have a traitor here, he is a 
 traitor against me. And I shall deal with him 
 as I see fit, in private." 
 
 284
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 There was a murmur of disappointment and 
 of disapproval even, and the King again struck 
 the arm of his chair for silence. Kalonay ad 
 vanced toward him, shaking his head and hold 
 ing out his hands in protest. 
 
 ;< Your Majesty, I beseech you," he began. 
 This concerns us all," he cried. "It is too 
 evident that we have been betrayed; but it is 
 not fair to any of us that we should all lie under 
 suspicion, as we must unless it is told who has 
 been guilty of this infamy. I beg your Majesty 
 to reconsider. There is no one in this room who 
 is not in our secret, and whoever has betrayed 
 us must be with us here and now. I, who have 
 an interest second only to your own, ask that 
 that cablegram be read." 
 
 There was a murmur of approbation from the 
 conspirators, and exclamations of approval and 
 entreaty. Miss Carson, in her excitement, had 
 risen to her feet and was standing holding her 
 mother s hand. The King glanced uncertainly 
 at Kalonay, and then turned to Barrat and 
 Erhaupt as if in doubt. 
 
 Gordon s eyes were fixed for a moment on 
 Kalonay with a strange and puzzled expression. 
 Then he gave a short sigh of relief, and turning 
 quickly searched the faces of those around him. 
 What he saw seemed to confirm him in his pur 
 pose, for he folded the paper and placed it in 
 
 285
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 his pocket. "His Majesty is right," he said. 
 "I shall not read this." 
 
 Kalonay and Father Paul turned upon him 
 angrily. You have no choice in the matter, 
 sir," Kalonay cried. "It has passed entirely 
 out of your hands." 
 
 "I beg your Majesty that the cablegram be 
 read," the priest demanded, in a voice that held 
 less the tone of a request than of a command. 
 
 "I shall not read it," persisted Gordon, "be 
 cause the person chiefly concerned is not pres 
 ent." 
 
 That is all the more reason for reading it," 
 said Kalonay. Your Majesty must recon 
 sider." 
 
 The King whispered to Barrat, and the others 
 waited in silence that expressed their interest 
 more clearly than a chorus of questions would 
 have done. 
 
 "It shall be as you ask," the King said, at 
 last. ; You may read the message, Mr. Gor 
 don." 
 
 Gordon opened the paper and looked at it 
 for some seconds of time with a grave and per 
 plexed expression, and then, with as short 
 breath, as one who takes a plunge, read it aloud. 
 c This is it," he said. 
 
 To General Renauld. Cable Office, Tangier. They 
 leave Tangier Tuesday at midnight, they land at day- 
 
 286
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 break Thursday morning on the south beach below the 
 old breakwater. The secret of the expedition was sold 
 us for three hundred thousand francs by the Countess 
 Zara and the Prince Kalonay. 
 
 Gordon stuck the paper in his pocket, and, 
 crossing to Kalonay, held out his hand, with a 
 smile. "I don t believe it, of course," he said; 
 "but you would have it." 
 
 Kalonay neither saw the gesture nor heard 
 the words. He was turning in bewilderment 
 from the King to Father Paul, and he laughed 
 uncertainly. 
 
 "What nonsense is this?" he demanded. 
 "Whose sorry trick is this? The lie is not even 
 ingenious." 
 
 General Renauld had not spoken since he 
 had entered the room, but now he advanced in 
 front of Kalonay and faced him with a threat 
 ening gesture. 
 
 The President of Messina does not lie, sir," 
 he said, sternly. "I myself saw the Countess 
 Zara write out that paper, which I and others 
 signed, and in which we agreed to pay to her 
 and to you the money you asked for betraying 
 your King." 
 
 Father Paul pressed his hand heavily on Kalo- 
 nay s shoulder. "Do not answer him," he 
 commanded. Gordon had moved to Kalonay s 
 other side, and the three men had unconsciously 
 
 287
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 assumed an attitude of defense, and stood back 
 to back in a little group facing the angry circle 
 that encompassed them. The priest raised his 
 arm to command a hearing. 
 
 "Where is Madame Zara?" he cried. 
 
 "Ah, where indeed?" echoed the King, sink 
 ing back into his chair. "She has fled. It is 
 all too evident now; she has betrayed us and 
 she has fled." 
 
 But on his words, as if in answer to the 
 priest s summons, the curtains that hid the 
 door into the King s private room were pulled 
 to one side, and Madame Zara appeared be 
 tween them, glancing fearfully at the excited 
 crowd before her. As she stood hesitating on 
 the threshold, she swayed slightly and clutched 
 the curtains for a moment as though for sup 
 port. The priest advanced, and led her to the 
 centre of the room. She held a folded paper in 
 her hand, which she gave to him in silence. 
 
 "You have heard what has passed?" he 
 asked, with a toss of his head toward the heavy 
 curtains. The woman raised her head and 
 bowed. The priest unfolded the paper. 
 
 "Am I to read this?" he asked. The woman 
 bowed again. 
 
 There was silence in the room while the 
 priest s eyes ran quickly over the paper. He 
 crushed it in his hand. 
 
 288
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "It is as General Renauld says," he ex 
 claimed. "In this the Republic of Messina 
 agrees to pay the Countess Zara and the Prince 
 Kalonay three hundred thousand francs, if the 
 expedition is withdrawn after it has made a 
 pretense of landing on the shores of Messina." 
 
 He took a step forward. "Madame Zara," 
 he cried, in a tone of warning, "do you pretend 
 that the Prince Kalonay was your accomplice 
 in this; that he knew what you meant to do?" 
 
 Madame Zara once more bowed her head. 
 
 "No! You must speak," commanded the 
 priest. "Answer me!" 
 
 Zara hesitated, in evident distress, and glanced 
 appealingly at the King; but the expression on 
 his face was one of grief and of unrelenting 
 virtue. 
 
 "I do," she said, at last, in a low voice. 
 "Kalonay did know. He thought the revolu 
 tion would not succeed; he thought it would 
 fail, and so and so and we needed money. 
 They made me I, O my God, I cannot I can 
 not!" she cried, suddenly, sinking on her 
 knees and hiding her face with her hands. 
 
 Kalonay stepped toward her and lifted her 
 gently to her feet; but when she looked and saw 
 who it was that held her, she gave a cry and 
 pulled herself free. She staggered and would 
 have fallen, had not Gordon caught and held 
 
 289
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 her by the arm. The King rose from his chair 
 and pointed at the shrinking figure of the 
 woman. 
 
 "Stand aside from her," he said, sternly. 
 "Why should we pity her, what pity has she 
 shown for us for me? She has robbed me of 
 my inheritance. But let her go, she is a woman; 
 we cannot punish her. Her sins rest on her own 
 head. But you you," he cried, turning fiercely 
 on Kalonay, his voice rising to a high and mel 
 ancholy key, "you whom I have heaped with 
 honors, whom I have leaned upon as on the arm 
 of a brother, that you should have sold me for 
 silver, that you should have turned Judas!" 
 
 The crowd of volunteers, bewildered by the 
 rapid succession of events, and confused and 
 rendered desperate by the failure of their expe 
 dition, caught up the word, and pressing for 
 ward with a rush, surrounded Kalonay in an 
 angry circle, crying "Judas!" " Traitor!" and 
 "Coward!" 
 
 Kalonay turned from side to side. On some 
 he smiled bitterly in silence, and at others he 
 broke out into swift and fierce denunciations; 
 but the men around him crowded closer and 
 would not permit him to be heard. He had 
 turned upon them, again challenging them to 
 listen, when there was an opening in the circle 
 and the men stepped back, and Miss Carson 
 
 290
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 pushed her way among them and halted at 
 Kalonay s side. She did not look at him, but 
 at the men about him. She was the only calm 
 figure in the group, and her calmness at such a 
 crisis, and her youth, and the fineness and fear 
 lessness of her beauty, surprised them into a 
 sudden quiet. There was instantly a cry for 
 order, and the men stood curious and puzzled, 
 watching to see what she would do. 
 
 "Gentlemen," she said, in a clear, grave voice. 
 "Gentlemen," she repeated, sharply, as a few 
 murmurs still greeted her, "if you are gentle 
 men, let this lady speak. She has not finished." 
 She crossed quickly and took the Countess Zara 
 by the hand. "Go on, madame," she urged, 
 gently. " Do not be afraid. You say they made 
 you do it. Who made you do it? You have 
 told us a part of the truth. Now tell us the 
 whole truth." For a moment the girl seemed 
 much the older of the two, and as Zara glanced 
 up at her fearfully, she smiled to reassure her, 
 and stroked the woman s hand with her own. 
 "Who made you do it?" she repeated. "Not 
 the Prince Kalonay, surely. You cannot hope 
 to make us believe that. We trust him abso 
 lutely. Who was it, then?" 
 
 The King sprang forward with an oath; his 
 apathy and mock dignity had fallen from him 
 like a mask. His face was mottled, and his 
 
 291
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 vicious little eyes flashed with fear and anger. 
 Erhaupt crowded close behind him, crouching 
 like a dog at his heels. 
 
 "She has lied enough already," the King 
 cried. "We will not listen to her. Take her 
 away." 
 
 "Yes, let her go," shouted Erhaupt, with a 
 laugh. "If she had been a decent woman- 
 There was a quick parting in the group and 
 the sound of a heavy blow as Kalonay flung 
 himself upon Erhaupt and struck him in the 
 face, so that he staggered and fell at length 
 upon the floor. Gordon stood over him, his 
 fingers twitching at his side. 
 
 "Stand up, you bully," he said, "and get 
 out of this, before we throw you out." 
 
 Zara s face had turned a pitiful crimson, but 
 her eyes flashed and burned with resolve and in 
 dignation. She stood erect and menacing, like 
 an angry goddess, and more beautiful in her 
 indignation than they had ever seen her. 
 
 "Now, I shall tell them the truth," she said, 
 sternly. "That man," she cried, pointing her 
 finger at the King, "that man whom they call a 
 King that man who would have sacrificed the 
 only friend who serves him unselfishly is the 
 man who sold your secret to the enemy. It was 
 he who made me do it. He sent me to Messina, 
 and while the priest and the Prince Kalonay 
 
 292
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 were working in the south, I sold them to the 
 Government at the capital. Barrat knew it, 
 Erhaupt knew it, the King himself planned it 
 to get money. He has robbed all of his own 
 people; he had meant to rob this young girl; 
 and he is so mean and pitiful a creature that to 
 save himself he now tries to hide behind the 
 skirts of a woman, and to sacrifice her, the 
 woman who has given her soul to him. And 
 for this my God!" she cried, her voice rising 
 in an accent of agony and bitter contempt "for 
 this!" 
 
 There was a grim and momentous silence in 
 the room while Zara turned, and without wait 
 ing to learn what effect her words might have, 
 made her way swiftly through the crowd and 
 passed on out of the room and on to the terrace 
 beyond. 
 
 The King crouched back in his chair like a 
 common criminal in the dock, glancing fear 
 fully from under his lowered eyebrows at the 
 faces about him, and on none did he see the least 
 question of doubt but that Zara had at last 
 spoken the truth. 
 
 "She lies," the King muttered, as though an 
 swering their unspoken thoughts, "the woman 
 lies." 
 
 There was no movement from the men about 
 him. Shame for him, and grief and bitter disap- 
 
 293
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 pointment for themselves, showed on the face 
 of each. From outside a sea-breeze caught up 
 the sand of the beach and drove it whispering 
 against the high windows, and the beat of the 
 waves upon the shores filled out and marked the 
 silence of the room. 
 
 The Prince Kalonay stepped from the circle 
 and stood for a moment before the King, re 
 garding him with an expression of grief and bit 
 ter irony. The King s eyes rose insolently, and 
 faltered, and sank. 
 
 "For many years, your Majesty," the Prince 
 said, but so solemnly that it was as though he 
 were a judge upon the bench, or a priest speak 
 ing across an open grave, "the Princes of my 
 house have served the Kings of yours. In times 
 of war they fought for the King in battle, they 
 beggared themselves for him in times of peace; 
 our women sold their jewels for the King, our 
 men gave him their lives, and in all of these 
 centuries the story of their loyalty, of their de 
 votion, has had but one sequel, and has met 
 with but one reward, ingratitude and selfish 
 ness and treachery. You know how I have 
 served you, Louis. You know that I gave up 
 my fortune and my home to go into exile with 
 you, and I did that gladly. But I did more 
 than that. I did more than any king or any man 
 has the right to expect of any other man. I 
 
 294
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 served your idle purposes so well that you, your 
 self, called me your Jackal, the only title your 
 Majesty has ever bestowed that was deserved. 
 There is no low thing nor no base thing that I 
 have not done for you. To serve your plea 
 sures, to gain you money, I have sunken so low 
 that all the royal blood in Europe could not 
 make me clean. But there is a limit to what a 
 man may do for his King, and to the loyalty a 
 King may have the right to demand. And to 
 day and here, with me, the story of our devo 
 tion to your house ends, and you go your way 
 and I go mine, and the last of my race breaks 
 his sword and throws it at your feet, and is 
 done with you and yours forever." 
 
 Even those in the room who held no sym 
 pathy in their hearts for the sentiment that had 
 inspired the young man, felt that at that mo 
 ment and in their hearing he had renounced 
 what was to him his religion and his faith, and 
 on the faces of all was the expression of a deep 
 pity and concern. Their own adventure, in 
 the light of his grief and bitterness of spirit, 
 seemed selfish and little, and they stood mo 
 tionless, in an awed and sorrowful silence. 
 
 The tense strain of the moment was broken 
 suddenly by the advent on the scene of an actor 
 who had, in the rush of events, been neglected 
 and forgotten. The little Crown Prince had 
 
 295
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 stood clinging to his nurse s skirts, an uncom 
 prehending spectator of what was going for 
 ward. But he now advanced slowly, feeling 
 that the silence invited him to claim his father s 
 notice. He halted beside the chair in which 
 Louis sat, his head bent on his hands, and made 
 an effort to draw himself up to his father s 
 knee. 
 
 But the King pushed him down, and hid his 
 face from him. The child turned irresolutely, 
 with a troubled countenance, and, looking up, 
 saw that the attention of all was fixed upon 
 him. At this discovery a sudden flood of shy 
 ness overtook him, and he retreated hastily 
 until his eyes fell on the Prince Kalonay, stand 
 ing alone, with his own eyes turned resolutely 
 away. There was a breathless hush in the room 
 as the child, with a happy sigh, ran to his for 
 mer friend and comrade, and reached up both 
 his arms. The tableau was a familiar one to 
 those who knew them, and meant only that 
 the child asked to be lifted up and swung to 
 the man s shoulder; but following as it did on 
 what had just passed, the gesture and the atti 
 tude carried with them the significance of an 
 appeal. Kalonay, as though with a great effort, 
 lowered his eyes to the upturned face of the 
 child below him, but held himself back and 
 stood stifHy erect. A sharp shake of the head, 
 
 296
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 as though he argued with himself, was the only 
 sign he gave of the struggle that was going on 
 within him. 
 
 At this second repulse, the child s arms 
 dropped to his side, his lips quivered, and he 
 stood, a lonely little figure, glancing up at the 
 circle of men about him, and struggling to press 
 back the tears that came creeping to his eyes. 
 
 Kalonay regarded him steadfastly for a brief 
 moment, as though he saw him as a stranger, 
 searching his face with eyes as pitiful as the 
 child s own; and then, with a sudden, sharp 
 cry, the Prince dropped on his knee and caught 
 the child toward him, crushing him against his 
 heart, and burying his face on his shoulder. 
 There was a shout of exultation from the nobles, 
 and an uttered prayer from the priest, and in 
 a moment the young men had crowded in around 
 them, struggling to be the first to kiss the child s 
 hands, and to ask pardon of the man who held 
 him in his arms. 
 
 "Gentlemen," Kalonay cried, his voice laugh 
 ing through his tears, "we shall still sail for the 
 island of Messina. They shall not say of us 
 that we visited the sins of the father on a child. 
 I was weak, my friends, and I was credulous. 
 I thought I could break the tradition of cen 
 turies. But our instincts are stronger than our 
 pride, and the house I have always served I 
 
 297
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 shall serve to the last." He swung the Crown 
 Prince high upon his shoulder, and held his 
 other arm above his head. "You will help me 
 place this child upon his throne," he com 
 manded, and the room rang with cheers. You 
 will appeal to his people," he cried. "Do you 
 not think they will rise to this standard-bearer, 
 will they not rally to his call? For he is a true 
 Prince, my comrades, who comes to them with 
 no stain of wrong or treachery, without a taint, 
 as untarnished as the white snow that lies 
 summer and winter in the hollow of our hills, 
 and a child shall lead us, and a child shall set 
 them free/ To the yacht!" he shouted. "We 
 will sail at once, and while they wait for us to 
 be betrayed into their hands at the north, we 
 shall be landing in the south, and thousands will 
 be hurrying to our standard." 
 
 His last words were lost in a tumult of cheers 
 and cries, and the young men poured out upon 
 the terrace, running toward the shore, and fill 
 ing the soft night-air with shouts of "Long live 
 the Prince Regent!" "Long live our King!" 
 
 As the room grew empty Kalonay crossed it 
 swiftly and advancing to Miss Carson took her 
 hand. His face was radiant with triumph and 
 content. He regarded her steadily for a mo 
 ment, as though he could not find words to tell 
 his feelings. 
 
 298
 
 He swung the crown prince high upon his 
 shoulder.
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 "You had faith in me," he said, at last. 
 "Can I ever make you understand how much 
 that means to me? When all had turned 
 against me you trusted me, you had faith in 
 me, in the King s Jackal." 
 
 "Silence; you must never say that again," 
 the girl commanded, gently. "You have shown 
 it to be the lie it always was. We shall call you 
 the Defender of the Faith now; you are the 
 guardian of a King." She smiled at the little 
 boy in his arms, and made a slight courtesy to 
 them both. "You have outgrown your old 
 title," she said; "you have a proud one now, 
 you will be the Prince Regent." 
 
 Kalonay, with the child in his arms, and Miss 
 Carson were standing quite alone. General 
 Renauld had been led away, guarded by a 
 merry band of youngsters; the King still 
 crouched in his chair, with Barrat bowed be 
 hind him, but pulling, with philosophic calm, 
 on a cigarette, and Father Paul and Gordon 
 were in close conversation with Mrs. Carson at 
 the farther end of the room. The sun had set, 
 and the apartment was in semi-darkness. Kalo 
 nay moved closer to Miss Carson and looked 
 boldly into her eyes. "There is a prouder title 
 than that of the Regent," he whispered; "will 
 you ever give it me?" 
 
 The girl started, breathing quickly, and 
 299
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 turned her head aside, making an effort to free 
 her hand, but Kalonay held it closer in his own. 
 "Will you give it me?" he begged. 
 
 Then the girl looked up at him smiling, but 
 with such confidence and love in her eyes that 
 he read his answer, though she shook her head, 
 as though to belie the truth her eyes had told 
 him. 
 
 "When you have done your work," she said, 
 "come to me or send for me, and I shall come 
 and give you my answer; and whether you fail 
 or succeed the answer will be the same." 
 
 Kalonay stooped quickly and kissed her hand, 
 and when he raised his face his eyes were smil 
 ing with such happiness that the little child in 
 his arms read it there, and smiled too in sym 
 pathy, and pressed his face closer against his 
 comrade s shoulder. 
 
 Gordon at this moment moved across the 
 room and bowed, making a deep obeisance to 
 the child. 
 
 "Might I be permitted," he asked, "to kiss 
 his Royal Highness? I should like to boast of 
 the fact, later," he explained. 
 
 The Crown Prince turned his sad, wise eyes 
 on him in silence, and gravely extended a little 
 hand. 
 
 "You may kiss his Highness s hand," said 
 Kalonay, smiling. 
 
 300
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 Gordon laughed and pressed the fingers in his 
 own. 
 
 "When you talk like that, Kalonay," he said, 
 "you make me feel like Alice in the court-room 
 with the Kings and Queens around her. A 
 dozen times this afternoon I ve felt like say 
 ing, After all, they are only a pack of cards. J 
 
 Kalonay shook his head and glanced toward 
 Miss Carson for enlightenment. 
 
 "I don t understand," he said. 
 
 "No, you couldn t be expected to," said 
 Gordon; "you have not been educated up to 
 that. It is the point of view." 
 
 He stuck out the middle finger of his hand, 
 and drove it three times deliberately into the 
 side of the Crown Prince. The child gasped 
 and stared open-mouthed at the friendly 
 stranger, and then catching the laugh in Gor 
 don s eyes, laughed with him. 
 
 "Now," said Gordon, "I shall say that I have 
 dug the King of Messina in the ribs that is 
 even better than having kissed him. God bless 
 your Royal Highness," he said, bowing gravely. 
 "You may find me disrespectful at times," he 
 added; "but then, you must remember, I am 
 going to risk a valuable life for you. At least 
 it s an extremely valuable one to me." 
 
 Kalonay looked at Gordon for a moment with 
 serious consideration, and then held out his 
 
 301
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 hand. "You also had faith in me," he said. 
 "I thank you. Are you in earnest; do you 
 really wish to serve us?" 
 
 "I mean to stay by you until the boy is 
 crowned," said the American, "unless we sepa 
 rate on our several paths of glory where they 
 will lead depends, I imagine, on how we have 
 lived." 
 
 "Or on how we die," Kalonay added. "I 
 am glad to hear you speak so. If you wish, I 
 shall attach you to the person of the Crown 
 Prince. You shall be on the staff with the rank 
 of Colonel." 
 
 Gordon made a low and sweeping bow. 
 
 "Rise, Sir Archibald Gordon," he said. "I 
 thank you," he added. "We shall strive to 
 please." 
 
 Miss Carson shook her head at him, and 
 sighed in protest. 
 
 "Will you always take everything as a joke, 
 Archie?" she said. 
 
 "My dear Patty," he answered, "the situa 
 tion is much too serious to take in any other 
 way." 
 
 They moved to the door, and there the priest 
 and Mrs. Carson joined them; but on the 
 threshold Kalonay stopped and looked for the 
 first time since he had addressed him at the 
 King. 
 
 302
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 He regarded him for some seconds sternly in 
 silence, and then pointed, with his free hand, 
 at the crown of Messina, which still rested on 
 the table at the King s elbow. "Colonel Gor 
 don," he said, in a tone of assured authority, 
 "I give the crown of Messina into your keep 
 ing. You will convey it, with all proper regard 
 for its dignity, safely on board the yacht, and 
 then bring it at once to me." 
 
 When he had finished speaking the Prince 
 turned and, without looking at the King, passed 
 on with the others across the terrace and dis 
 appeared in the direction of the shore, where 
 the launch lay waiting. 
 
 Gordon crossed the room and picked up the 
 crown from the table, lifting it with both hands, 
 the King and Barrat watching him in silence as 
 he did so. He hesitated, and held it for a mo 
 ment, regarding it with much the same expres 
 sion of awe and amusement that a man shows 
 when he is permitted to hold a strange baby in 
 his arms. Turning, he saw the sinister eyes of 
 the King and of Barrat fastened upon him, and 
 he smiled awkwardly, and in some embarrass 
 ment turned the crown about in his hands, so 
 that the jewels in its circle gleamed dully in the 
 dim light of the room. Gordon raised the crown 
 and balanced it on his finger-tips, regarding it 
 severely and shaking his head. 
 
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 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 " There are very few of these left in the world 
 now, your Majesty, * he said, cheerfully, "and 
 the number is getting smaller every year. We 
 have none at all in my country, and I should 
 think seeing they are so few that those who 
 have them would take better care of them, and 
 try to keep them untarnished, and brushed up, 
 and clean." He turned his head and looked in 
 quiringly at the King, but Louis made no sign 
 that he heard him. 
 
 "I have no desire, you understand me," con 
 tinued Gordon, unabashed, "to take advantage 
 of a man when he is down, but the tempta 
 tion to say I told you so* seems almost impos 
 sible to resist. What?" he asked "I beg your 
 pardon, I thought you spoke." But the King 
 continued scornfully silent, and only a con 
 temptuous snort from Barrat expressed his 
 feelings. 
 
 Gordon placed the crown carefully under his 
 arm, and then removed it quickly, with a guilty 
 look of dismay at its former owner, and let it 
 swing from his hand; but this fashion of carry 
 ing it seemed also lacking in respect, so he held 
 it up again with both hands and glanced at the 
 King in some perplexity. 
 
 " There ought to be a sofa-cushion to go with 
 this, or something to carry it on," he said, in a 
 grieved tone. "You see, I am new at this sort 
 
 304
 
 THE KING S JACKAL 
 
 of thing. Perhaps your Majesty would kindly 
 give me some expert information. How do you 
 generally carry it?" 
 
 The King s eyes snapped open and shut again. 
 
 "On my head," he said grimly. 
 
 Gordon laughed in great relief. 
 
 "Now, do you know, I like that," he cried. 
 "That shows spirit. I am glad to see you take 
 it so cheerfully. Well, I must be going, sir," he 
 added, nodding, and moving toward the door. 
 "Don t be discouraged. As some one says, 
 It s always morning somewhere, and in my 
 country there s just as good men out of office as 
 there are in it. Good night." 
 
 While the sound of Gordon s footsteps died 
 away across the marble terrace, the King and 
 Barrat remained motionless and silent. The 
 darkness in the room deepened and the silence 
 seemed to deepen with it; and still they re 
 mained immovable, two shadowy figures in the 
 deserted apartment where the denunciations of 
 those who had abandoned them still seemed to 
 hang and echo in the darkness. What thoughts 
 passed through their minds or for how long a 
 time they might still have sat in bitter contem 
 plation can only be guessed, for they were sur 
 prised by the sharp rattle of a lock, the two 
 great doors of the adjoining room were thrown 
 wide open, and a broad and brilliant light 
 
 305
 
 flooded the apartment. Niccolas, the King s 
 major-domo, stood between the doors, a black 
 silhouette against the glare of many candles. 
 
 "His Majesty is served!" he said. 
 
 The King lifted his head sharply, as though 
 he found some lurking mockery in the words, or 
 some fresh affront; but in the obsequious bow 
 of his major-domo there was no mockery, and 
 the table beyond glistened with silver, while a 
 pungent and convincing odor of rich food was 
 wafted insidiously through the open doors. 
 
 The King rose with a gentle sigh, and nodded 
 to his companion. 
 
 "Come, Barrat," he said, taking the baron s 
 arm in his. "The rascals have robbed us of our 
 throne, but, thank God, they have had the 
 grace to leave me my appetite." 
 
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