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diff --git a/old/40844-h/40844-h.htm b/old/40844-h/40844-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ae50790..0000000 --- a/old/40844-h/40844-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16631 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Diva's Ruby, by F. 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Marion Crawford - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Diva's Ruby - -Author: F. Marion Crawford - -Illustrator: J. Montgomery Flagg - -Release Date: September 23, 2012 [EBook #40844] -[Last updated: November 24, 2015] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DIVA'S RUBY *** - - - - -Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="tnbox"> -<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p> -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the original -document have been preserved.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="358" height="550" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - -<h1 class="p6">THE DIVA'S RUBY</h1> - -<div class="figcenter p6"> -<img src="images/logo.jpg" width="100" height="33" alt="Printer's Logo" /> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> -<span class="s05">NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO</span><br /> -<span class="s05">ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO</span></p> - -<p class="center">MACMILLAN & CO., <span class="smcap">Limited</span><br /> -<span class="s05">LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA</span><br /> -<span class="s05">MELBOURNE</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span> -<span class="s05">TORONTO</span> -</p> - -<div class="figcenter p6"><a name="i_004" id="i_004"></a> -<img src="images/i_004.jpg" width="408" height="550" alt=""Apparently looking down at his loosely hanging hands."—numberp 92." /> -<p class="caption">"Apparently looking down at his loosely hanging hands."—<a href="#numberp_92">numberp 92.</a></p> -</div> - -<p class="center p6"> -<span class="b15">THE</span><br /> -<span class="b20">DIVA'S RUBY</span></p> - -<p class="center p2">A SEQUEL TO<br /> -"PRIMADONNA" AND "FAIR MARGARET"</p> - -<p class="center p4">BY<br /> -<span class="b13">F. MARION CRAWFORD</span><br /> -<span class="s08">AUTHOR OF "SARACINESCA," "ARETHUSA,"</span><br /> -<span class="s08">ETC., ETC.</span></p> - -<p class="center p4"><span class="s08">WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</span><br /> -<span class="s08">BY J. MONTGOMERY FLAGG</span></p> - -<p class="center p4">New York<br /> -<span class="b13">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -1908</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="s08"><i>All rights reserved</i></span></p> - -<p class="center p6 s05"> -<span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1907,<br /> -<span class="smcap">By</span> F. MARION CRAWFORD.</p> -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="center s05">Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1908.</p> - -<p class="center s05 p4"> -Norwood Press<br /> -J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.<br /> -Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.</p> - -<p class="p6 center b12">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</p> -<table summary="List of Illustrations"> -<tr> -<td> -"Apparently looking down at his loosely hanging hands"</td> -<td class="tdr"><i><a href="#i_004">Frontispiece</a></i></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td> </td> -<td class="tdr"><span class="s05">FACING PAGE</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"'Funny idea of honour,' observed the American"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_075">62</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"'You want my blessing, do you, Miss Barrack?'"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_127">116</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"Margaret gazed at him in surprise while she might have -counted ten"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_167">154</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"She was aware of his slight change of position without -turning her eyes"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_185">170</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"She grasped Lady Maud's arm"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_215">198</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"She watched him intently while he read the printed report"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_245">226</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"The two dined on deck"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_305">284</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"'What has happened?' she cried. 'Are you ill, dear?'"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_317">294</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"She buried her handsome face in the splendid flowers"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_365">340</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"Their eyes met"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_375">348</a></td> - -</tr> -<tr> -<td>"The man was not Boris Leven"</td> -<td class="tdr"><a href="#i_451">422</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - -<p class="center b13 p6">THE DIVA'S RUBY</p> - -<p> -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER 1</h2> - -<p class="p2">There is a ruby mine hidden in the heart of the mountains -near a remote little city of Central Asia, unknown -to European travellers; and the secret of the treasure -belongs to the two chief families of the place, and has -been carefully guarded for many generations, handed -down through the men from father to son; and often -the children of these two families have married, yet -none of the women ever learned the way to the mine -from their fathers, or their brothers, or their husbands, -none excepting one only, and her name was Baraka, -which may perhaps mean 'Blessed'; but no blessing -came to her when she was born. She was much whiter -and much more beautiful than the other girls of the -little Tartar city; her face was oval like an ostrich egg, -her skin was as the cream that rises on sheep's milk at -evening, and her eyes were like the Pools of Peace in -the Valley of Dark Moons; her waist also was a slender -pillar of ivory, and round her ankle she could make her -thumb meet her second finger; as for her feet, they -were small and quick and silent as young mice. But -she was not blessed.</p> - -<p>When she was in her seventeenth year a traveller -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> -came to the little city, who was not like her own people; -he was goodly to see, and her eyes were troubled by the -sight of him, as the Pools of Peace are darkened when -the clouds lie on the mountain-tops and sleep all day; -for the stranger was tall and very fair, and his beard was -like spun gold, and he feared neither man nor evil spirit, -going about alone by day and night. Furthermore, he -was a great physician, and possessed a small book, -about the size of a man's hand, in which was contained -all the knowledge of the world. By means of this book, -and three small buttons that tasted of mingled salt and -sugar, he cured Baraka's father of a mighty pain in -the midriff which had tormented him a whole week. -He brought with him also a written letter from a holy -man to the chiefs of the town; therefore they did not -kill him, though he had a good Mauser revolver with -ammunition, worth much money, and other things useful -to believers.</p> - -<p>Satan entered the heart of Baraka, and she loved -the traveller who dwelt in her father's house, for she was -not blessed; and she stood before him in the way when -he went out, and when he returned she was sitting at -the door watching, and she took care to show her cream-white -arm, and her slender ankle, and even her beautiful -face when neither her father nor her mother was near. -But he saw little and cared less, and was as grave as -her father and the other greybeards of the town.</p> - -<p>When she perceived that he was not moved by the -sight of her, she watched him more closely; for she said -in her girl's heart that the eyes that are blind to a beautiful -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> -woman see one of three things: gold, or power, -or heaven; but her sight was fixed only on him. Then -her throat was dry, her heart fluttered in her maiden -breast like a frightened bird, and sometimes, when she -would have tried to speak, she felt as if her tongue were -broken and useless; the fire ran lightly along her delicate -body, her eyes saw nothing clearly, and a strange -rushing sound filled her ears; and then, all at once, a -fine dew wet her forehead and cooled it, and she trembled -all over and was as pale as death—like Sappho, when -a certain god-like man was near. Yet the stranger -saw nothing, and his look was bright and cold as a winter's -morning in the mountains.</p> - -<p>Almost every day he went out and climbed the foot-hills -alone, and when the sun was lowering he came back -bringing herbs and flowers, which he dried carefully -and spread between leaves of grey paper in a large book; -and he wrote spells beside them in an unknown tongue, -so that no one dared to touch the book when he went -out, lest the genii should wake and come out from between -the pages, to blind the curious and strike the gossips -dumb, and cast a leprosy on the thief.</p> - -<p>At night he lay on the roof of the fore-house beside -the gate of the court, because it was cool there. Baraka -came to him, before midnight, when her mother was in -a deep sleep; she knelt at his side while he slept in the -starlight, and she laid her head beside his, on the sack -that was his pillow, and for a little while she was happy, -being near him, though he did not know she was there. -But presently she remembered that her mother might -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> -wake and call her, and she spoke very softly, close to -his ear, fearing greatly lest he should start from his -sleep and cry out.</p> - -<p>'The ruby mine is not far off,' she said. 'I know -the secret place. Rubies! Rubies! Rubies! You -shall have as many as you can carry of the blood-red -rubies!'</p> - -<p>He opened his eyes, and even in the starlight they -were bright and cold. She stroked his hand softly and -then pressed it a little.</p> - -<p>'Come with me and you shall know the great secret,' -she whispered. 'You shall fill this sack that is under -your head, and then you shall take me with you to -Egypt, and we will live in a marble palace and have -many slaves, and be always together. For you will -always remember that it was Baraka who showed you -where the rubies were, and even when you are tired of -her you will treat her kindly and feed her with fig paste -and fat quails, such as I hear they have in the south -all winter, and Frank rice, and coffee that has been -picked over, bean by bean, for the great men.'</p> - -<p>She said all this in a whisper, stroking his hand; and -while she whispered he smiled in his great golden beard -that seemed as silvery in the starlight as her father's.</p> - -<p>'That is women's talk,' he answered. 'Who has -seen mines of rubies? and if you know where they are, -why should you show them to me? You are betrothed. -If you had knowledge of hidden treasures you would -keep it for your husband. This is some trick to destroy -me.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span></p> - -<p>'May these hands wither to the wrists if a hair of -your head be harmed through me,' she answered; and -as she knelt beside him, the two little hands held his -face towards her very tenderly, and then one of them -smoothed the thick hair back from his forehead.</p> - -<p>'You are betrothed,' he repeated, 'and I am your -father's guest. Shall I betray him?'</p> - -<p>'I care nothing, neither for father, nor mother, nor -brothers, nor betrothed,' Baraka answered. 'I will -give you the riches of Solomon if you will take me, for -I will have no other man.'</p> - -<p>'There are no rubies,' said the stranger. 'Show -them to me and I will believe.'</p> - -<p>The girl laughed very low.</p> - -<p>'Did I not know you for a man of little faith?' she -asked. 'I have shown you my arm from the wrist to -the shoulder. Is it not like the tusk of a young elephant? -Yet you have not believed. I have shown you my ankles, -and you have seen me span them with my fingers -as I sat at the door, yet you believed not. I have unveiled -my face, which it is a shame to do, but you could -not believe. I have come to you in the starlight when -you were asleep, and still you have no faith that I love -you, though I shall be cast out to perish if I am found -here. But I will give you a little handful of rubies, -and you will believe, and take me, when I have shown -you where you may get thousands like them.'</p> - -<p>She took from her neck a bag of antelope skin, no -larger than her closed hand, and gave it to him with -the thin thong by which it had hung. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span></p> - -<p>'When you have seen them in the sun you will want -others,' she said. 'I will take you to the place, and -when you have filled your sack with them you will -love me enough to take me away. It is not far to the -place. In two hours we can go and come. To-morrow -night, about this time, I will wake you again. It will -not be safe to unbar the door, so you must let me down -from this roof by a camel rope, and then follow me.'</p> - -<p>When Baraka was gone the stranger sat up on his -carpet and opened the small bag to feel the stones, for -he knew that he could hardly see them in the starlight; -but even the touch and the weight told him something, -and he guessed that the girl had not tried to deceive -him childishly with bits of glass. Though the bag had -been in her bosom, and the weather was hot, the stones -were as cold as jade; and moreover he felt their shape -and knew at once that they might really be rough rubies, -for he was well versed in the knowledge of precious -stones.</p> - -<p>When the day began to dawn he went down from the -roof to the common room of the fore-house, where guests -were quartered, yet although there was no other stranger -there he would not take the bag from his neck to -examine the stones, lest some one should be watching -him from a place of hiding; but afterwards, when he -was alone in the foot-hills and out of sight of the town, -searching as usual for new plants and herbs, he crept -into a low cave at noon, and sat down just inside the -entrance, so that he could see any one coming while -still a long way off, and there he emptied the contents -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> -of the little leathern wallet into his hand, and saw that -Baraka had not deceived him; and as he looked closely -at the stones in the strong light at the entrance of the -cave, the red of the rubies was reflected in the blue of -his bright eyes, and made a little purple glare in them -that would have frightened Baraka; and he smiled -behind his great yellow beard.</p> - -<p>He took from an inner pocket a folded sheet on which -a map was traced in black and green ink, much corrected -and extended in pencil; and he studied the map thoughtfully -in the cave while the great heat of the day lasted; -but the lines that his eye followed did not lead towards -Persia, Palestine, and Egypt, where Baraka wished -to live with him in a marble palace and eat fat quails -and fig paste.</p> - -<p>She came to him again that night on the roof, bringing -with her a small bundle, tightly rolled and well -tied up. He wrapped his blanket round her body, -and brought it up under her arms so that the rope should -not hurt her when her weight came upon it, and so he -let her down over the edge of the roof to the ground, -and threw the rope after her; and he let himself over, -holding by his hands, so that when he was hanging -at the full length of his long arms he had only a few -feet to drop, for he was very tall and the fore-house -was not high, and he wished to take the rope with him.</p> - -<p>Baraka's house was at the head of the town, towards -the foot-hills; every one was sleeping, and there was -no moon. She followed the stony sheep-track that -struck into the hills only a few hundred paces from -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> -the last houses, and the stranger followed her closely. -He had his sack on his shoulder, his book of plants -and herbs was slung behind him by a strap, and in his -pockets he had all the money he carried for his travels -and his letters to the chiefs, and a weapon; but he had -left all his other belongings, judging them to be of no -value compared with a camel-bag full of rubies, and -only a hindrance, since he would have to travel far on -foot before daylight, by dangerous paths.</p> - -<p>The girl trod lightly and walked fast, and as the -man followed in her footsteps he marked the way, turn -by turn, and often looked up at the stars overhead as -men do who are accustomed to journeying alone in -desert places. For some time Baraka led him through -little valleys he had often traversed, and along hillsides -familiar to him, and at last she entered a narrow ravine -which he had once followed to its head, where he had -found that it ended abruptly in a high wall of rock, at -the foot of which there was a clear pool that did not -overflow. It was darker in the gorge, but the rocks -were almost white, so that it was quite possible to see -the way by the faint light.</p> - -<p>The man and the girl stood before the pool; the still -water reflected the stars.</p> - -<p>'This is the place,' Baraka said. 'Do you see anything?'</p> - -<p>'I see water and a wall of rock,' the man answered. -'I have been here alone by day. I know this place. -There is nothing here, and there is no way up the wall.'</p> - -<p>Baraka laughed softly. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span></p> - -<p>'The secret could not have been kept by my fathers -for fourteen generations if it were so easy to find out,' -she said. 'The way is not easy, but I know it.'</p> - -<p>'Lead,' replied the traveller. 'I will follow.'</p> - -<p>'No,' returned the girl. 'I will go a little way down -the gorge and watch, while you go in.'</p> - -<p>The man did not trust her. How could he tell but -that she had brought him to an ambush where he was -to be murdered for the sake of his money and his good -weapon? The rubies were real, so far as he could tell, -but they might be only a bait. He shook his head.</p> - -<p>'Listen,' said Baraka. 'At the other side of the -pool there is a place where the water from this spring -flows away under the rock. That is the passage.'</p> - -<p>'I have seen the entrance,' answered the traveller. -'It is so small that a dog could not swim through it.'</p> - -<p>'It looks so. But it is so deep that one can walk -through it easily, with one's head above water. It is -not more than fifty steps long. That is how I found it, -for one day I wandered here alone in the morning for -shade, when the air was like fire; and being alone I -bathed in the clear pool to cool myself, and I found the -way and brought back the stones, which I have hidden -ever since. For if my father and brothers know that -I have seen the treasure they will surely kill me, because -the women must never learn the secret. You see,' -she laughed a little, 'I am the first of us who has known -it, since many generations, and I have already betrayed -it to you! They are quite right to kill us when we find -it out!' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span></p> - -<p>'This is an idle tale,' said the traveller. 'Go into -the pool before me and I will believe and follow -you under the rock. I will not go and leave you -here.'</p> - -<p>'You are not very brave, though you are so handsome! -If they come and find me here, they will kill -me first.'</p> - -<p>'You say it, but I do not believe it. I think there -is a deep hole in the passage and that I shall slip into -it and be drowned, for no man could swim in such a -place. I have but one life, and I do not care to lose it -in a water-rat's trap. You must go in and lead the -way if you wish me to trust you.'</p> - -<p>Baraka hesitated and looked at him.</p> - -<p>'How can I do this before you?' she asked.</p> - -<p>'I will not go alone,' the man answered, for he suspected -foul play. 'Do as you will.'</p> - -<p>The girl took from her head the large cotton cloth -with which she veiled herself, and folded it and laid -it down on the rock by the pool; then she let her outer -tunic of thin white woollen fall to the ground round her -feet and stepped out of it, and folded it also, and laid it -beside her veil, and she stood up tall and straight as -a young Egyptian goddess in the starlight, clothed only -in the plain shirt without sleeves which the women of -her country wear night and day; and the traveller saw -her cream-white arms near him in the soft gloom, and -heard her slip off her light shoes.</p> - -<p>'I will go before you,' she said; and she stepped into -the pool and walked slowly through the water. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span></p> - -<p>The traveller followed her as he was, for he was unwilling -to leave behind him anything he valued, and -what he had was mostly in the pockets of his coat, and -could not be much hurt by water. Even his pressed -herbs and flowers would dry again, his cartridges were -quite waterproof, his letters were in an impervious case, -and his money was in coin. When he entered the pool -he took his revolver from its place and he held it above -the water in front of him as he went on. With his -other hand he carried the sack he had brought, which -was one of those that are made of Bokhara carpet and -are meant to sling on a camel.</p> - -<p>Baraka was almost up to her neck in the water when -she reached the other side of the pool; a moment later -she disappeared under the rock, and the traveller bent -his knees to shorten himself, for there was only room -for his head above the surface, and he held up his revolver -before his face to keep the weapon dry, and also -to feel his way, lest he should strike against any jutting -projection of the stone and hurt himself. He counted -the steps he took, and made them as nearly as possible -of equal length. He felt that he was walking on perfectly -smooth sand, into which his heavily shod feet -sank a very little. There was plenty of air, for the gentle -draught followed him from the entrance and chilled the -back of his neck, which had got wet; yet it seemed hard -to breathe, and as he made his way forward his imagination -pictured the death he must die if the rock should -fall in behind him. He was glad that the faint odour -of Baraka's wet hair came to his nostrils in the thick -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> -darkness, and it was very pleasant to hear her voice -when she spoke at last.</p> - -<p>'It is not far,' she said quietly. 'I begin to see the -starlight on the water.'</p> - -<p>The passage did not widen or grow higher as it went -on. If it had been dry, it would have been a commodious -cave, open at each end, wide at the bottom and narrowing -to a sharp angle above. But the pool was fed by -a spring that never failed nor even ebbed, though it -must sometimes have overflowed down the ravine -through which the two had reached the pool.</p> - -<p>They came out from under the rock at last, and were -in the refreshing outer air. The still water widened -almost to a circle, a tiny lake at the bottom of a sort -of crater of white stone that collected and concentrated -the dim light. On two sides there were little crescent -beaches of snow-white sand, that gleamed like silver. -The traveller looked about him and upward to see if -there were any way of climbing up; but as far as he -could make out in the half-darkness the steep rock was -as smooth as if it had been cut with tools, and it sloped -away at a sharp angle like the sides of a funnel.</p> - -<p>Baraka went up towards the right, and the bottom -shelved, so that presently the water was down to her -waist, and then she stood still and pointed to a dark -hollow just above the little beach. Her wet garment -clung to her, and with her left hand she began to wring -the water from her hair behind her head.</p> - -<p>'The rubies are there,' she said, 'thousands upon -thousands of them. Fill the sack quickly, but do not -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> -take more than you can carry, for they are very -heavy.'</p> - -<p>The traveller waded out upon the beach, and the water -from his clothes ran down in small rivulets and made -little round holes in the white sand. He put down his -revolver in a dry place, and both his hands felt for the -precious stones in the shadowy hollow, loosening small -fragments of a sort of brittle crust in which they seemed -to be clustered.</p> - -<p>'You cannot choose,' Baraka said, 'for you cannot -see, but I have been here by daylight and have seen. -The largest are on the left side of the hollow, near the -top.'</p> - -<p>By the stars the traveller could see the pieces a little, -as he brought them out, for the white rocks collected -the light; he could see many dark crystals, but as to -what they were he had to trust the girl.</p> - -<p>'Do not take more than you can carry,' she repeated, -'for you must not throw them away to lighten the -burden.'</p> - -<p>'You can carry some of them,' answered the traveller.</p> - -<p>He broke up the crust of crystals with a small geologist's -hammer and tore them out like a madman, and -his hands were bleeding, for though he was a philosopher -the thirst for wealth had come upon him when he felt -the riches of empires in his grasp, and the time was short; -and although he knew that he might some day come -back with armed men to protect him, and workmen -to help him, he knew also that to do this he must share -the secret with the over-lord of that wild country, and -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> -that his portion might be the loss of his head. So he -tore at the ruby crust with all his might, and as he was -very strong, he broke out great pieces at once.</p> - -<p>'We cannot carry more than that, both of us together,' -said Baraka, though she judged more by the sound of -his work than by what she could see.</p> - -<p>He lifted the sack with both his hands, and he knew -by its weight that she was right. Under the water it -would be easy enough to carry, but it would be a heavy -load for a man to shoulder.</p> - -<p>'Come,' Baraka said, 'I will go back first.'</p> - -<p>She moved down into the deeper water again, till it -was up to her neck; and feeling the way with her hands -she went in once more under the rock. The traveller -followed her cautiously, carrying the heavy sack under -water with one hand and holding up his revolver with -the other, to keep it dry.</p> - -<p>'I begin to see the starlight on the water,' Baraka -said, just as before, when they had been going in.</p> - -<p>When she had spoken, she heard a heavy splash not -far off, and the water in the subterranean channel rose -suddenly and ran past her in short waves, three of which -covered her mouth in quick succession and reached to -her eyes, and almost to the top of her head, but sank -again instantly; and they passed her companion in the -same way, wetting his weapon.</p> - -<p>'Go back,' Baraka said, when she could speak; 'the -rock is falling.'</p> - -<p>The traveller turned as quickly as he could, and she -came after him, gaining on him because he carried the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> -heavy sack and could not move as fast as she. He -felt his damp hair rising with fear, for he believed that, -after all, she had brought him into a trap. They reached -the opening and came out into the pool again.</p> - -<p>'You have brought me here to die,' he said. 'Your -father and your brothers have shut up the entrance -with great stones, and they will go up the mountain -and let themselves down from above with ropes and -shoot me like a wolf in a pit-fall. But you shall die -first, because you have betrayed me.'</p> - -<p>So he cocked his revolver and set the muzzle against -her head, to kill her, holding her by her slender throat -with his other hand; for they were in shallow water -and he had dropped the sack in the pool.</p> - -<p>Baraka did not struggle or cry out.</p> - -<p>'I would rather die by your hand than be alive in -another man's arms,' she said, quite quietly.</p> - -<p>He let her go, merely because she was so very brave; -for he did not love her at all. She knew it, but that -made no difference to her, since no other woman was -near; if they could get out alive with the rubies she -was sure that he would love her for the sake of the great -wealth she had brought him. If they were to starve -to death at the bottom of the great rock wall in the mountains, -she would probably die first, because he was so -strong; and then nothing would matter. It was all -very simple.</p> - -<p>The traveller fished up the sack and waded out upon -the tiny beach, and again the water ran down from his -clothes in rivulets and made round holes in the white -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span> -sand. He looked up rather anxiously, though he could -not have seen a head looking down from above if there -had been any one there. There was not light enough. -He understood also that if the men were going to shoot -at him from the height they would wait till it was daylight. -Baraka stood still in the water, which was up -to her waist, and he paid no attention to her, but sat -down to think what he should do. The night was warm, -and his clothes would dry on him by degrees. He would -have taken them off and spread them out, for he thought -no more of Baraka's presence than if she had been a -harmless young animal, standing there in the pool, but -he could not tell what might happen at any moment, -and so long as he was dressed and had all his few belongings -about him, he felt ready to meet fate.</p> - -<p>Baraka saw that he did not heed her, and was thinking. -She came up out of the water very slowly, and -she modestly loosened her wet garment from her, so -that it hung straight when she stood at the end of the -beach, as far from the traveller as possible. She, also, -sat down to dry herself: and there was silence for a -long time.</p> - -<p>After half-an-hour the traveller rose and began to -examine the rock, feeling it with his hands wherever -there was the least shadow, as high as he could reach, -to find if there was any foothold, though he was already -sure that there was not.</p> - -<p>'There is no way out,' Baraka said at last. 'I have -been here by day. I have seen.'</p> - -<p>'They will let themselves down from above with -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> -ropes, till they are near enough to shoot,' the traveller -answered.</p> - -<p>'No,' replied Baraka. 'They know that you have a -good weapon, and they will not risk their lives. They -will leave us here to starve. That is what they will -do. It is our portion, and we shall die. It will be easy, -for there is water, and when we are hungry we can drink -our fill.'</p> - -<p>The traveller knew the people amongst whom he had -wandered, and he did not marvel at the girl's quiet tone; -but it chilled his blood, for he understood that she was -in earnest; and, moreover, she knew the place, and that -there was no way out.</p> - -<p>'You said well that I had brought you here to die,' -she said presently, 'but I did not know it, therefore -I must lose my life also. It is my portion. God be -praised.'</p> - -<p>He was shamed by her courage, for he loved life well, -and he held his head down and said nothing as he thought -of what was to come. He knew that with plenty of -good water a man may live for two or three weeks without -food. He looked at the black pool in which he could -not even see the reflections of the stars as he sat, because -the opening above was not very wide, and he was low -down, a good way from the water's edge. It seemed -a good way, but perhaps it was not more than three -yards.</p> - -<p>'You will die first,' Baraka said dreamily. 'You -are not as we are, you cannot live so long without -food.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span></p> - -<p>The traveller wondered if she were right, but he said -nothing.</p> - -<p>'If we had got out with the treasure,' continued Baraka, -'you would have loved me for it, because you would -have been the greatest man in the world through me. -But now, because we must die, you hate me. I understand. -If you do not kill me you will die first; and -when you are dead I shall kiss you many times, till I -die also. It will be very easy. I am not afraid.'</p> - -<p>The man sat quite still and looked at the dark streak -by the edge of the pool where the water had wet it -when the falling boulder outside had sent in little waves. -He could see it distinctly. Again there was silence for -a long time. Now and then Baraka loosened her only -garment about her as she sat, so that it might dry more -quickly; and she quietly wrung out her thick black -hair and shook it over her shoulders to dry it too, and -stuck her two silver pins into the sand beside her.</p> - -<p>Still the traveller sat with bent head, gazing at the -edge of the pool. His hands were quite dry now, and -he slowly rubbed the clinging moisture from his revolver. -Some men would have been thinking, in such -a plight, that if starving were too hard to bear, a bullet -would shorten their sufferings in the end; but this man -was very full of life, and the love of life, and while he -lived he would hope.</p> - -<p>He still watched the same dark streak where the sand -was wet; he had not realised that he had been so far -from it till then, but by looking at it a long time in the -starlight his sight had probably grown tired, so that he -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> -no longer saw it distinctly. He raised himself a little -on his hands and pushed himself down till it was quite -clearly visible again, and he looked at the rock opposite -and up to the stars again, to rest his eyes. He was not -more than a yard from the water now.</p> - -<p>The place was very quiet. From far above a slight -draught of air descended, warm from the rocks that -had been heated all day in the sun. But there was no -sound except when Baraka moved a little.</p> - -<p>Presently she did not move any more, and when the -traveller looked he saw that she was curled up on the -sand, as Eastern women lie when they sleep, and her -head rested on her hand; for her garment was dry now, -and she was drowsy after the walk and the effort she -had made. Besides, since there was no escape from -death, and as the man did not love her, she might as -well sleep if she could. He knew those people and -understood; and he did not care, or perhaps he also -was glad. He was a man who could only have one -thought at a time. When he had left the house of -Baraka's father he had been thinking only of the rubies, -but now that he was in danger of his life he could think -only of saving it, if there were any way. A woman could -never be anything but a toy to him, and he could not -play with toys while death was looking over his shoulder. -He was either too big for that, or too little; every man -will decide which it was according to his own measure. -But Baraka, who had not been taught to think of her -soul nor to fear death, went quietly to sleep now that -she was quite sure that the traveller would not love her. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span></p> - -<p>He had been certain of the distance between his feet -and the water's edge as he sat; it had been a yard at -the most. But now it was more; he was sure that it -was a yard and a half at the least. He rubbed his eyes -and looked hard at the dark belt of wet sand, and it was -twice as wide as it had been. The water was still running -out somewhere, but it was no longer running in, -and in an hour or two the pool would be dry. The -traveller was something of an engineer, and understood -sooner than an ordinary man could have done, that -his enemies had intentionally stopped up the narrow -entrance through which he had to come, both to make -his escape impossible, and to hasten his end by depriving -him of water. The fallen boulder alone could not -have kept out the overflow of the spring effectually. -They must have shovelled down masses of earth, with -the plants that grew in it abundantly and filled it with -twining threadlike roots, and they must have skilfully -forced quantities of the stuff into the openings all -round the big stone, making a regular dam against the -spring, which would soon run down in the opposite -direction. They knew, of course, that Baraka had led -him to the place and had gone in with him, for she had -left all her outer garments outside, and they meant -that she should die also, with her secret. In a week, -or a fortnight, or a month, they would come and dig -away the dam and pry the boulder aside, and would -get in and find the white bones of the two on the sand, -after the vultures had picked them clean; and they -would take the traveller's good revolver, and his money. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span></p> - -<p>He thought of all these things as he sat there in the -dim light, and watched the slow receding of the water-line, -and listened to the girl's soft and regular breathing. -There was no death in her dream, as she slept -away the last hours of the night, though there might -not be many more nights for her. He heard her breath, -but he did not heed her, for the water was sinking -before him, sinking away into the sand, now that it was -no longer fed from the opening.</p> - -<p>He sat motionless, and his thoughts ran madly from -hope to despair and back again to hope. The water -was going down, beyond question; if it was merely -draining itself through the sand to some subterranean -channel, he was lost, but if it was flowing away through -any passage like the one by which he had entered, there -was still a chance of escape,—a very small chance. -When death is at the gate the tiniest loophole looks -wide enough to crawl through.</p> - -<p>The surface of the pool subsided, but there was no -loophole; and as the traveller watched, hope sank in -his heart, like the water in the hollow of the sand; but -Baraka slept on peacefully, curled up on her side like -a little wild animal. When the pool was almost dry -the traveller crept down to the edge and drank his fill, -that he might not begin to thirst sooner than need be; -and just then day dawned suddenly and the warm -darkness gave way to a cold light in a few moments.</p> - -<p>Immediately, because it was day, Baraka stretched -herself on the sand and then sat up; and when she saw -what the traveller was doing she also went and drank -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> -as much as she could swallow, for she had understood -why he was drinking as soon as she saw that the pool -was nearly dry. When she could drink no more she -looked up at the rocks high overhead, and they were -already white and red and yellow in the light of the -risen sun; for in that country there is no very long -time between dark night and broad day.</p> - -<p>Baraka sat down again, on the spot where she had -slept, but she said nothing. The man was trying to -dig a little hole in the wet sand with his hands, beyond -the water that was still left, for perhaps he thought -that if he could make a pit on one side, some water -would stay in it; but the sand ran together as soon as -he moved it; and presently, as he bent over, he felt -that he was sinking into it himself, and understood -that it was a sort of quicksand that would suck him -down. He therefore threw himself flat on his back, -stretching out his arms and legs, and, making movements -as if he were swimming, he worked his way from -the dangerous place till he was safe on the firm white -beach again. He sat up then, and bent his head till his -forehead pressed on his hands, and he shut his eyes to -keep out the light of day. He had not slept, as Baraka -had, but he was not sleepy; perhaps he would not be -able to sleep again before the end came. Baraka -watched him quietly, for she understood that he despaired -of life, and she wondered what he would do; -and, besides, he seemed to her the most beautiful man -in the world, and she loved him, and she was going to -die with him. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span></p> - -<p>It comforted her to think that no other woman could -get him now. It was almost worth while to die for -that alone; for she could not have borne that another -woman should have him since he despised her, and if -it had come to pass she would have tried to kill that -other. But there was no danger of such a thing now; -and he would die first, and she would kiss him many -times when he was dead, and then she would die also.</p> - -<p>The pool was all gone by this time, leaving a funnel-shaped -hollow in the sand where it had been. If any -water still leaked through from without it lost itself -under the sand, and the man and the girl were at the -bottom of a great natural well that was quite dry. -Baraka looked up, and she saw a vulture sitting in the -sun on a pinnacle, three hundred feet above her head. -He would sit there till she was dead, for he knew what -was coming; then he would spread his wings a little -and let himself down awkwardly, half-flying and half-scrambling. -When he had finished, he would sit and -look at her bones and doze, till he was able to fly away.</p> - -<p>Baraka thought of all this, but her face did not -change, and when she had once seen the vulture she -did not look at him again, but kept her eyes fixed, -without blinking, on her companion's bent head. To -her he seemed the most handsome man that had ever -lived. There, beside him, lay his camel bag, and in it -there were rubies worth a kingdom; and Baraka was -very young and was considered beautiful too, among -the wild people to whom she belonged. But her father -had chosen her name in an evil hour, for she was indeed -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> -not blessed, since she was to die so young; and the man -with the beard of spun gold and the very white skin -did not love her, and would not even make pretence -of loving, though for what was left of life she would -have been almost satisfied with that.</p> - -<p>The hours passed, and the sun rose higher in the sky -and struck deeper into the shady well, till he was almost -overhead, and there was scarcely any shadow left. It -became very hot and stifling, because the passage -through which the air had entered with the water was -shut up. Then the traveller took off his loose jacket, -and opened his flannel shirt at the neck, and turned up -his sleeves for coolness, and he crept backwards into -the hollow where the ruby mine was, to shelter himself -from the sun. But Baraka edged away to the very -foot of the cliff, where there remained a belt of shade, -even at noon; and as she sat there she took the hem -of her one garment in her hands and slowly fanned her -little feet. Neither he nor she had spoken for many -hours, and she could see that in the recess of the rock -he was sitting as before, with his forehead against his -hands that were clasped on his knees, in the attitude -and bearing of despair.</p> - -<p>He began to be athirst now, in the heat. If he had -not known that there was no water he could easily have -done without it through a long day, but the knowledge -that there was none, and that he was never to drink -again, parched his life and his throat and his tongue till -it felt like a dried fig in his mouth. He did not feel -hunger, and indeed he had a little food in a wallet he -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> -carried; but he could not have eaten without water, -and it did not occur to him that Baraka might be -hungry. Perhaps, even if he had known that she was, -he would not have given her of what he had; he would -have kept it for himself. What was the life of a wild -hill-girl compared with his? But the vulture was -watching him, as well as Baraka, and would not move -from its pinnacle till the end, though days might -pass.</p> - -<p>The fever began to burn the traveller, the fever of -thirst which surely ends in raving madness, as he knew, -for he had wandered much in deserts, and had seen -men go mad for lack of water. His hands felt red hot, -the pulses were hammering at his temples, and his -tongue became as hot as baked clay; he would have -borne great pain for a time if it could have brought sleep, -for this was much worse than pain, and it made sleep -impossible. He tried to take account of what he felt, -for he was strong, and he was conscious that the heat of -the fever, and the throbbing in his arteries, and the -choking dryness in his mouth and throat, were not -really his main sensations, but only accessories to it or -consequences of it. The real suffering was the craving -for the sight, the touch, and the taste of water; to see -it alone would be a relief, even if he were not allowed -to drink, and to dip his hands into a stream would be -heaven though he were not permitted to taste a drop. -He understood, in a strangely clear way, that what -suffered now was not, in the ordinary sense, his own -self, that is, his nerves, but the physical composition -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> -of his body, which was being by degrees deprived of the -one prime ingredient more necessary than all others. -He knew that his body was eight-tenths water, or -thereabouts, but that this proportion was fast decreasing -by the process of thirst, and that what tormented -him was the unsettling of the hydrostatic balance which -nature requires and maintains where there is any sort -of life in animals, plants, or stones; for stones live and -are not even temporarily dead till they are calcined to -the state of quicklime, or hydraulic cement, or plaster -of Paris; and they come to life again with furious violence -and boiling heat if they are brought into contact -with water suddenly; or they regain the living state by -slow degrees if they are merely exposed to dampness. -The man knew that what hurt him was the battle -between forces of nature which was being fought in his -flesh, and it was as much more terrible than the mere -pain his fleshly nerves actually suffered from it, as real -death is more awful than the most tremendous representation -of it that ever was shown in a play. Yet a -stage tragedy may draw real burning tears of sorrow -and sympathy from them that look on.</p> - -<p>The traveller was a modern man of science, and -understood these things, but the knowledge of them did -not make it easier to bear thirst or to die of hunger.</p> - -<p>Baraka was not thirsty yet, because she had drunk -her fill in the morning, and was not used to drink often; -it was enough that she could look at the man she loved, -for the end would come soon enough without thinking -about it. All day long the traveller crouched in the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> -hollow of the ruby cave, and Baraka watched him from -her place; when it grew dark the vulture on the pinnacle -of rock thrust its ugly head under its wing. As -soon as Baraka could not see any more she curled herself -up on the white sand like a little wild animal and -went to sleep, though she was thirsty.</p> - -<p>It was dawn when she awoke, and her linen garment -was damp with the dew, so that the touch of it refreshed -her. The traveller had come out and was lying prone -on the sand, his face buried against his arm, as soldiers -sleep in a bivouac. She could not tell whether he was -asleep or not, but she knew that he could not see her, -and she cautiously sucked the dew from her garment, -drawing it up to her mouth and squeezing it between -her lips.</p> - -<p>It was little enough refreshment, but it was something, -and she was not afraid, which made a difference. -Just as she had drawn the edge of her shift down and -round her ankles again, the man turned on his side -suddenly, and then rose to his feet. For an instant -he glared at her, and she saw that his blue eyes were -bloodshot and burning; then he picked up the heavy -camel bag, and began to make his way round what had -been the beach of the pool, towards the passage through -which they had entered, and which was now a dry -cave, wide below, narrow at the top, and between six -or seven feet high. He trod carefully and tried his -way, for he feared the quicksand, but he knew that -there was none in the passage, since he had walked -through the water and had felt the way hard under -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> -his feet. In a few moments he disappeared under the -rock.</p> - -<p>Baraka knew what he meant to do; he was going to -try to dig through the dam at the entrance to let the -water in, even if he could not get out. But she was -sure that this would be impossible, for by this time -her father and brothers had, no doubt, completely -filled the spring with earth and stones, and had turned -the water in the other direction. The traveller must -have been almost sure of this too, else he would have -made the attempt much sooner. It was the despotism -of thirst that was driving him to it now, and he had no -tool with which to dig—it would be hopeless work with -his hands.</p> - -<p>The girl did not move, for in that narrow place and in -the dark she could not have helped him. She sat and -waited. By and by he would come out, drenched with -sweat and yet parching with thirst, and he would glare -at her horribly again; perhaps he would be mad when -he came out and would kill her because she had brought -him there.</p> - -<p>After some time she heard a very faint sound overhead, -and when she looked up the vulture was gone -from his pinnacle. She wondered at this, and her eyes -searched every point and crevice of the rock as far as -she could see, for she knew that the evil bird could -only have been frightened away; and though it fears -neither bird nor beast, but only man, she could not -believe that any human being could find a foothold -near to where it had perched. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span></p> - -<p>But now she started, and held her breath and steadied -herself with one hand on the sand beside her as she -leaned back to look up. Something white had flashed -in the high sun, far up the precipice, and the sensation -the sight left was that of having seen sunshine on a -moving white garment.</p> - -<p>For some seconds, perhaps for a whole minute, she -saw nothing more, though she gazed up steadily, then -there was another flash and a small patch of snowy -white was moving slowly on the face of the cliff, at -some distance above the place where the vulture had -been. She bent her brows in the effort to see more by -straining her sight, and meanwhile the patch descended -faster than it seemed possible that a man could climb -down that perilous steep. Yet it was a man, she knew -from the first, and soon she saw him plainly, in his loose -shirt and white turban. Baraka thought of a big -white moth crawling on a flat wall. She was light of -foot and sure of hold herself, and could step securely -where few living things could move at all without -instant danger, but she held her breath as she watched -the climber's descent towards her. She saw him plainly -now, a brown-legged, brown-armed man in a white -shirt and a fur cap, and he had a long gun slung across -his back. Nearer still, and he was down to the jutting -pinnacle where the vulture had sat, and she saw his -black beard; still nearer by a few feet and she knew -him, and then her glance darted to the mouth of the -cave, at the other end of which the man she loved was -toiling desperately alone in the dark to pierce the dam -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> -of earth and stones. It was only a glance, in a second -of time, but when she looked up the black-bearded -man had already made another step downwards. Baraka -measured the distance. If he spoke loud now she -could understand him, and he could hear her answer. -He paused and looked down, and he saw her as plainly -as she saw him. She knew him well, and she knew why -he had come, with his long gun. He was her father's -brother's son, to whom she was betrothed; he was Saäd, -and he was risking his life to come down and kill her -and the man whom she had led to the ruby mines for -love's sake.</p> - -<p>He would come down till he was within easy range, -and then he would wait till he had a fair chance at them, -when they were standing still, and she knew that he was -a dead shot. The traveller's revolver could never carry -as far as the long gun, Baraka was sure, and Saäd could -come quite near with safety, since he seemed able to -climb down the face of a flat rock where there was not -foothold for a cat. He was still descending, he was -getting very near; if the traveller were not warned he -might come out of the cave unsuspiciously and Saäd -would shoot him. Saäd would wish to shoot him first, -because of his revolver, and then he would kill Baraka -at his leisure. If he fired at her first the traveller -would have a chance at him while he was reloading his -old gun. She understood why he had not killed her yet, -if indeed he wanted to, for it was barely possible that he -loved her enough to take her alive.</p> - -<p>After hesitating for a few moments, not from fear -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> -but in doubt, she gathered herself to spring, and made -a dash like an antelope along the sand for the mouth -of the cave, for she knew that Saäd would not risk -wasting his shot on her while she was running. She -stopped just under the shelter of the rock and called -inward.</p> - -<p>'Saäd is coming down the rock with his gun!' she -cried. 'Load your weapon!'</p> - -<p>When she had given this warning she went out again -and stood before the mouth of the cave with her back -to it. Saäd was on the rock, not fifty feet above the -ground, at the other side of the natural wall, but looked -as if even he could get no farther down. He was standing -with both his heels on a ledge so narrow that more -than half the length of his brown feet stood over it; he -was leaning back, flat against the sloping cliff, and he -had his gun before him, for he was just able to use both -his hands without falling. He pointed the gun at her -and spoke.</p> - -<p>'Where is the man?'</p> - -<p>'He is dead,' Baraka answered without hesitation.</p> - -<p>'Dead? Already?'</p> - -<p>'I killed him in his sleep,' she said, 'and I dragged -his body into the cave for fear of the vulture, and buried -it in the sand. Be not angry, Saäd, though he was my -father's guest. Come down hither and I will tell all. -Then you shall shoot me or take me home to be your -wife, as you will, for I am quite innocent.'</p> - -<p>She meant to entice him within range of the stranger's -weapon. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span></p> - -<p>'There is no foothold whereby to get lower,' he -answered, but he rested the stock of his gun on the -narrow ledge behind him.</p> - -<p>'Drag out the man's body, that I may see it.'</p> - -<p>'I tell you I buried it. I killed him the night before -last; I cannot dig him up now.'</p> - -<p>'Why did you run to the mouth of the cave when -you saw me, if the man is dead?'</p> - -<p>'Because at first I was afraid you would shoot me -from above, therefore I took shelter.'</p> - -<p>'Why did you come out again, if you were in fear?'</p> - -<p>'After I had run in I was ashamed, for I felt sure -that you would not kill me without hearing the truth. -So I came out to speak with you. Get down, and I -will show you the man's grave.'</p> - -<p>'Have I wings? I cannot come down. It is impossible.'</p> - -<p>Baraka felt a puff of hot air pass her, just above -her right ankle, and at the same instant she heard a -sharp report, not very loud, and more like the snapping -of a strong but very dry stick than the explosion of -firearms. She instinctively sprang to the left, keeping -her eyes on Saäd.</p> - -<p>For a moment he did not move. But he was already -dead as he slowly bent forward from the rock, making -a deep obeisance with both arms hanging down before -him, so that his body shot down perpendicularly to -the sand, where it struck head first, rolled over and lay -motionless in a heap. The traveller's was a Mauser -pistol that would have killed as surely at five hundred -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> -yards as fifty; and the bullet had gone through the -Tartar's brain.</p> - -<p>Baraka sprang up the sandy slope and ran along the -narrow beach to the body. In an instant she had -detached the large brown water-gourd from the thong -by which it had hung over Saäd's shoulder, and she felt -that it was full. Without a thought for herself she -hastened back to the mouth of the cave where the -traveller was now standing. His face was dripping -with perspiration that ran down into his matted golden -beard, his eyes were wild, his hands were bleeding.</p> - -<p>'Drink!' cried Baraka joyfully, and she gave him -the gourd.</p> - -<p>He gripped it as a greedy dog snaps at a bit of meat, -and pulling out the wooden plug he set the gourd to -his lips, with an expression of beatitude. But he was -an old traveller and only drank a little, knowing that -his life might depend on making the small supply last. -A gourd of water was worth more than many rubies just -then.</p> - -<p>'Are you very thirsty yet?' he asked in a harsh -voice.</p> - -<p>'No,' answered Baraka bravely; 'keep it for yourself.'</p> - -<p>His hand closed round the neck of the gourd and he -looked up towards the rocks above. The vulture had -come back and was circling slowly down.</p> - -<p>'You had better bury the body, while I go on working,' -said the traveller, turning back into the cave and -taking the gourd with him. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span></p> - -<p>Baraka had marked the place where he had tried to -dig for water and had almost disappeared in the quicksand. -She took from the body the wallet, in which -were dates and some half-dry bread, and then dragged -and pushed, and rolled the dead man from the place -where he had fallen. The vulture sat on the lowest -ledge where his claws could find a hold, and though -he watched her with horrible red eyes while she robbed -him of his prey, he did not dare go nearer.</p> - -<p>The body sank into the moving sand, and Baraka -had to roll herself back to firmer ground in haste to -escape being swallowed up with the dead man. The -last she saw of him was one brown foot sticking up. It -sank slowly out of sight, and then she went to the -hollow where the ruby mine was and took up a piece of -the broken crust, full of precious stones, and threw it -at the vulture as hard as she could. It did not hit him, -but he at once tumbled off the ledge into the air, opened -his queer, bedraggled wings and struck upwards.</p> - -<p>Then Baraka sat down in the shade and slowly brushed -away the dry sand that had got into the folds of her -linen garment, and looked steadily at the mouth of the -cave and tried not to realise that her throat was parched -and her lips almost cracking with thirst, and that the -traveller had a gourd almost full of water with him. For -she loved him, and was willing to die that he might live -a little longer; besides, if he succeeded in digging his -way out, there would be plenty to drink, and when he -was free she was sure that he would love her because -she had made him so rich. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span></p> - -<p>The sun rose higher and at last shone down to the -bottom of the chasm, and she sat in the narrow strip of -shade, where she had passed most of the previous day. -She was very thirsty and feverish, and felt tired, and -wished she could sleep, but could not. Still the traveller -toiled in the darkness, and from time to time she heard -sounds from far away as of stones and loose earth -falling. He was still working hard, for he was very -strong and he was desperate.</p> - -<p>Baraka thought that if he was able to dig through -the dam the water would run in again, and she watched -the sand for hours, but it was drier than ever. The -shadow broadened again, and crept up the rock quickly -as the afternoon passed.</p> - -<p>It was a long time since she had heard any sound -from the cave; she went to the entrance and listened, -but all was quite still. Perhaps the traveller had fallen -asleep from exhaustion, too tired even to drag himself -out into the air when he could work no longer. She sat -down in the entrance and waited.</p> - -<p>An hour passed. Perhaps he was dead. At the -mere inward suggestion Baraka sprang to her feet, and -her heart beat frantically, and stood still an instant, -and then beat again as if it would burst, and she could -hardly breathe. She steadied herself against the rock, -and then went in to know the truth, feeling her way, -and instinctively shading her eyes as many people do -in the dark.</p> - -<p>A breath of cool air made her open them, and to her -amazement there was light before her. She thought -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> -she must have turned quite round while she was walking, -and that she was going back to the entrance, so -she turned again. But in a few seconds there was light -before her once more, and soon she saw the dry sand, -full of her footprints and the traveller's, and then the -hollow where the mine was came in sight.</p> - -<p>She retraced her steps a second time, saw the light as -before, ran forward on the smooth sand and stumbled -upon a heap of earth and stones, just as she saw the sky -through an irregular opening on the level of her face. -Scarcely believing her senses she thrust out her hand -towards the hole. It was real, and she was not dreaming; -the traveller had got out and was gone, recking -little of what might happen to her, since he was free -with his treasure.</p> - -<p>Baraka crept up the slope of earth as quickly as she -could and got out; if she had hoped to find him waiting -for her she was disappointed, for he was nowhere to be -seen. He had got clear away, with his camel-bag full -of rubies. A moment later she was lying on the ground, -with her face in the little stream, drinking her fill, and -forgetful even of the man she loved. In order to deprive -them of water the men had dug a channel by -which it ran down directly from the spring to the ravine -on that side; then they had blocked up the entrance -with stones and earth, believing that one man's strength -could never suffice to break through, and they had gone -away. They had probably buried or burnt Baraka's -clothes, for she did not see them anywhere.</p> - -<p>She ate some of the dates from the dead man's wallet, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> -and a bit of the dry black bread, and felt revived, since -her greatest need had been for water, and that was -satisfied. But when she had eaten and drunk, and had -washed herself in the stream and twisted up her hair, -she sat down upon a rock; and she felt so tired that -she would have fallen asleep if the pain in her heart -had not kept her awake. She clasped her hands together -on her knees and bent over them, rocking herself.</p> - -<p>When nearly an hour had passed she looked up and -saw that the sun was sinking, for the shadows were -turning purple in the deep gorge, and there was a -golden light on the peaks above. She listened then, -holding her breath; but there was no sound except -the tinkling of the tiny stream as it fell over a ledge at -some distance below her, following its new way down -into the valley.</p> - -<p>She rose at last, looked upward, and seemed about -to go away when a thought occurred to her, which -afterwards led to very singular consequences. Instead -of going down the valley or climbing up out of it, she -went back to the entrance of the cave, taking the wallet -with her, dragged herself in once more over the loose -stones and earth, reached the secret hollow where the -pool had been, and made straight for the little mine of -precious stones. The traveller had broken out many -more than he had been able to carry, but she did not -try to collect them all. She was not altogether ignorant -of the trade carried on by the men of her family for -generations, and though she had not the least idea of -the real value of the finest of the rubies, she knew very -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> -well that it would be wise to take many small ones which -she could exchange for clothing and necessaries with -the first women she met in the hills, while hiding the -rest of the supply she would be able to carry in the -wallet.</p> - -<p>When she had made her wise selection, she looked -once more towards the quicksand, and left the place -for ever. Once outside she began to climb the rocks as -fast as she could, for very soon it would be night and -she would have to lie down and wait many hours for -the day, since there was no moon, and the way was very -dangerous, even for a Tartar girl who could almost -tread on air.</p> - -<p>High up on the mountain, over the dry well where -Baraka and the stranger had been imprisoned, the -vulture perched alone with empty craw and drooping -wings. But it was of no use for him to wait; the living, -who might have died of hunger and thirst, were gone, -and the body of dead Saäd lay fathoms deep in the -quicksand, in the very maw of the mountain. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> - -<p class="p2">There was good copy for the newspapers on both sides -of the Atlantic in the news that the famous lyric soprano, -Margarita da Cordova, whose real name was Miss Margaret -Donne, was engaged to Monsieur Konstantin -Logotheti, a Greek financier of large fortune established -in Paris, and almost as well known to art-collectors as -to needy governments, would-be promoters, and mothers -of marriageable daughters. The mothers experienced a -momentary depression such as Logotheti himself felt -when an historical Van Dyck which he wanted was -secretly sold out of a palace in Genoa to a rival collector -and millionaire for a price which he would willingly -have given; the people he knew shrugged their shoulders -at the news that he was to marry a singer, or shook their -heads wisely, or smiled politely, according to the scale -of the manners they had inherited or acquired; the -shopkeepers sent him thousands of insinuating invitations -to inspect and buy all the things which a rich man -is supposed to give to his bride, from diamonds and lace -and eighty horse-power motor-cars to dressing-cases, -stationery and silver saucepans; and the newspapers -were generously jubilant, and rioted for a few days in a -perfect carnival of adjectives.</p> - -<p>The people who made the least fuss about the marriage -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> -were Cordova and Logotheti themselves. They -were both so well used to perpetual publicity that they -did not resent being written and talked about for a -time as if they were a treaty, a revolution, a divorce, -or a fraudulent trust. But they did not encourage the -noise, nor go about side by side in an offensively happy -way, nor accept all the two hundred and eighty-seven -invitations to dine out together which they received -from their friends during three weeks. It was as much -as their overworked secretaries could do to answer all -these within a reasonable and decent time.</p> - -<p>The engagement was made known during the height -of the London season, not long after they had both been -at a week-end party at Craythew, Lord Creedmore's -place in Derbyshire, where they had apparently come -to a final understanding after knowing each other -more than two years. Margaret was engaged to sing -at Covent Garden that summer, and the first mention -of the match was coupled with the information that she -intended to cancel all her engagements and never appear -in public again. The result was that the next time she -came down the stage to sing the Waltz Song in <i>Romeo -and Juliet</i> she received a tremendous ovation before -she opened her handsome lips, and another when she -had finished the air; and she spent one of the happiest -evenings she remembered.</p> - -<p>Though she was at heart a nice English girl, not much -over twenty-four years of age, the orphan daughter of -an Oxford don who had married an American, she had -developed, or fallen, to the point at which very popular -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> -and successful artists cannot live at all without applause, -and are not happy unless they receive a certain amount -of adulation. Even the envy they excite in their rivals -is delicious, if not almost necessary to them.</p> - -<p>Margaret's real nature had not been changed by a -success that had been altogether phenomenal and had -probably not been approached by any soprano since -Madame Bonanni; but a second nature had grown upon -it and threatened to hide it from all but those who -knew her very well indeed. The inward Margaret was -honest and brave, rather sensitive, and still generous; -the outward woman, the primadonna whom most -people saw, was self-possessed to a fault, imperious -when contradicted, and coolly ruthless when her artistic -fame was at stake. The two natures did not -agree well together, and made her wretched when -they quarrelled, but Logotheti, who was going to take -her for better, for worse, professed to like them both, -and was the only man she had ever known who did. -That was one reason why she was going to marry him, -after having refused him about a dozen times.</p> - -<p>She had loved another man as much as she was -capable of loving, and at one time he had loved her, -but a misunderstanding and her devotion to her art -had temporarily separated them; and later, when she -had almost told him that she would have him if he asked -her, he had answered her quite frankly that she was no -longer the girl he had cared for, and he had suddenly -disappeared from her life altogether. So Logotheti, -brilliant, very rich, gifted, gay, and rather exotic in -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> -appearance and manner, but tenacious as a bloodhound, -had won the prize after a struggle that had lasted two -years. She had accepted him without much enthusiasm -at the last, and without any great show of feeling.</p> - -<p>'Let's try it,' she had said, and he had been more -than satisfied.</p> - -<p>After a time, therefore, they told their friends that -they were going to 'try it.'</p> - -<p>The only woman with whom the great singer was at -all intimate was the Countess Leven, Lord Creedmore's -daughter, generally called 'Lady Maud,' whose husband -had been in the diplomacy, and, after vainly trying -to divorce her, had been killed in St. Petersburg by -a bomb meant for a Minister. The explosion had been -so terrific that the dead man's identity had only been -established by means of his pocket-book, which somehow -escaped destruction. So Lady Maud was a childless -widow of eight-and-twenty. Her father, when he had -no prospect of ever succeeding to the title, had been a -successful barrister, and then a hard-working Member -of Parliament, and he had been from boyhood the close -friend of Margaret's father. Hence the intimacy that -grew up quickly between the two women when they at -last met, though they had not known each other as -children, because the lawyer had lived in town and his -friend in Oxford.</p> - -<p>'So you're going to try it, my dear!' said Lady -Maud, when she heard the news.</p> - -<p>She had a sweet low voice, and when she spoke now it -was a little sad; for she had 'tried it,' and it had failed -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> -miserably. But she knew that the trial had not been -a fair one; the only man she had ever cared for had -been killed in South Africa, and as she had not even -the excuse of having been engaged to him, she had -married with indifference the first handsome man with -a good name and a fair fortune who offered himself. -He chanced to be a Russian diplomatist, and he turned -out a spendthrift and an unfaithful husband. She -was too kind-hearted to be glad that he had been blown -to atoms by dynamite, but she was much too natural -not to enjoy the liberty restored to her by his destruction; -and she had not the least intention of ever 'trying -it' again.</p> - -<p>'You don't sound very enthusiastic,' laughed Margaret, -who had no misgivings to speak of, and was -generally a cheerful person. 'If you don't encourage -me I may not go on.'</p> - -<p>'There are two kinds of ruined gamblers,' answered -Lady Maud; 'there are those that still like to watch -other people play, and those who cannot bear the sight -of a roulette table. I'm one of the second kind, but -I'll come to the wedding all the same, and cheer like -mad, if you ask me.'</p> - -<p>'That's nice of you. I really think I mean to marry -him, and I wish you would help me with my wedding-gown, -dear. It would be dreadful if I looked like -Juliet, or Elsa, or Lucia! Everybody would laugh, -especially as Konstantin is rather of the Romeo type, -with his almond-shaped eyes and his little black moustache! -I suppose he really is, isn't he?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Perhaps—just a little. But he is a very handsome -fellow.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud's lips quivered, but Margaret did not -see.</p> - -<p>'Oh, I know!' she cried, laughing and shaking her -head. 'You once called him "exotic," and he is—but -I'm awfully fond of him all the same. Isn't that -enough to marry on when there's everything else? -You really will help me with my gown, won't you? -You're such an angel!'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, I'll do anything you like. Are you going -to have a regular knock-down-and-drag-out smash at -St. George's? The usual thing?'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud did not despise slang, but she made it -sound like music.</p> - -<p>'No,' answered Margaret, rather regretfully. 'We -cannot possibly be married till the season's quite over, -or perhaps in the autumn, and then there will be nobody -here. I'm not sure when I shall feel like it! Besides, -Konstantin hates that sort of thing.'</p> - -<p>'Do you mean to say that you would like a show -wedding in Hanover Square?' inquired Lady Maud.</p> - -<p>'I've never done anything in a church,' said the -Primadonna, rather enigmatically, but as if she would -like to.</p> - -<p>'"Anything in a church,"' repeated her friend, -vaguely thoughtful, and with the slightest possible -interrogation. 'That's a funny way of looking at it!'</p> - -<p>Margaret was a little ashamed of what she had said -so naturally. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I think Konstantin would like to have it in a chapel-of-ease -in the Old Kent Road!' she said, laughing. -'He sometimes talks of being married in tweeds and -driving off in a hansom! Then he suggests going to -Constantinople and getting it done by the Patriarch, -who is his uncle. Really, that would be rather smart, -wouldn't it?'</p> - -<p>'Distinctly,' assented Lady Maud. 'But if you do -that, I'm afraid I cannot help you with the wedding-gown. -I don't know anything about the dress of a -Fanariote bride.'</p> - -<p>'Konstantin says they dress very well,' Margaret -said. 'But of course it is out of the question to do -anything so ridiculous. It will end in the chapel-of-ease, -I'm sure. He always has his own way. That's -probably why I'm going to marry him, just because -he insists on it. I don't see any other very convincing -reason.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud could not think of anything to say in -answer to this; but as she really liked the singer she -thought it was a pity.</p> - -<p>Paul Griggs, the veteran man of letters, smiled -rather sadly when she met him shopping in New Bond -Street, and told him of Margaret's engagement. He -said that most great singers married because the only -way to the divorce court led up the steps of the altar. -Though he knew the world he was not a cynic, and -Lady Maud herself wondered how long it would be -before Logotheti and his wife separated.</p> - -<p>'But they are not married yet,' Griggs added, looking -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> -at her with the quietly ready expression of a man -who is willing that his indifferent words should be -taken to have a special meaning if the person to whom -he has spoken chooses, or is able, to understand them -as they may be understood, but who is quite safe from -being suspected of suggesting anything if there is no -answering word or glance.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud returned his look, but her handsome face -grew rather cold.</p> - -<p>'Do you know of any reason why the marriage should -not take place?' she inquired after a moment.</p> - -<p>'If I don't give any reason, am I ever afterwards to -hold my peace?' asked Griggs, with a faint smile on -his weather-beaten face. 'Are you publishing the bans? -or are we thinking of the same thing?'</p> - -<p>'I suppose we are. Good-morning.'</p> - -<p>She nodded gravely and passed on, gathering up her -black skirt a little, for there had been a shower. He -stood still a moment before the shop window and -looked after her, gravely admiring her figure and her -walk, as he might have admired a very valuable -thoroughbred. She was wearing mourning for her husband, -not because any one would have blamed her if -she had not done so, considering how he had treated -her, but out of natural self-respect.</p> - -<p>Griggs also looked after her as she went away because -he felt that she was not quite pleased with him for -having suggested that he and she had both been thinking -of the same thing.</p> - -<p>The thought concerned a third person, and one who -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> -rarely allowed himself to be overlooked; no less a man, -in fact, than Mr. Rufus Van Torp, the American potentate -of the great Nickel Trust, who was Lady Maud's -most intimate friend, and who had long desired to make -the Primadonna his wife. He had bought a place adjoining -Lord Creedmore's, and there had lately been a -good deal of quite groundless gossip about him and -Lady Maud, which had very nearly become a scandal. -The truth was that they were the best friends in the -world, and nothing more; the millionaire had for some -time been interested in an unusual sort of charity -which almost filled the lonely woman's life, and he had -given considerable sums of money to help it. During -the months preceding the beginning of this tale, he -had also been the object of one of those dastardly -attacks to which very rich and important financiers are -more exposed than other men, and he had actually -been accused of having done away with his partner's -daughter, who had come to her end mysteriously during -a panic in a New York theatre. But, as I have -told elsewhere, his innocence had been proved in the -clearest possible manner, and he had returned to the -United States to look after the interests of the Trust.</p> - -<p>When Griggs heard the news of Margaret's engagement -to Logotheti, he immediately began to wonder -how Mr. Van Torp would receive the intelligence; -and if it had not already occurred to Lady Maud that -the millionaire might make a final effort to rout his -rival and marry the Primadonna himself, the old author's -observation suggested such a possibility. Van -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> -Torp was a man who had fought up to success and -fortune with little regard for the obstacles he found in -his way; he had worked as a cowboy in his early youth, -and was apt to look on his adversaries and rivals in -life either as refractory cattle or as dangerous wild -beasts; and though he had some of the old-fashioned -ranchero's sense of fair-play in a fight, he had much -of the reckless daring and ruthless savagery that characterise -the fast-disappearing Western desperado.</p> - -<p>Logotheti, on the other hand, was in many respects -a true Oriental, supremely astute and superlatively -calm, but imbued, at heart, with a truly Eastern contempt -for any law that chanced to oppose his wish.</p> - -<p>Both men had practically inexhaustible resources -at their command, and both were determined to marry -the Primadonna. It occurred to Paul Griggs that a -real struggle between such a pair of adversaries would -be worth watching. There was unlimited money on -both sides, and equal courage and determination. -The Greek was the more cunning of the two, by great -odds, and had now the considerable advantage of having -been accepted by the lady; but the American was -far more regardless of consequences to himself or to -others in the pursuit of what he wanted, and, short of -committing a crime, would put at least as broad an -interpretation on the law. Logotheti had always lived -in a highly civilised society, even in Constantinople, -for it is the greatest mistake to imagine that the upper -classes of Greeks, in Greece or Turkey, are at all deficient -in cultivation. Van Torp, on the contrary, had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> -run away from civilisation when a half-educated boy, -he had grown to manhood in a community of men who -had little respect for anything and feared nothing at -all, and he had won success in a field where those who -compete for it buy it at any price, from a lie to a life.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud was thinking of these things as she disappeared -from Griggs's sight, and not at all of him. -It might have surprised her to know that his eyes had -followed her with sincere admiration, and perhaps she -would have been pleased. There is a sort of admiration -which acknowledged beauties take for granted, -and to which they attach no value unless it is refused -them; but there is another kind that brings them -rare delight when they receive it, for it is always given -spontaneously, whether it be the wondering exclamation -of a street boy who has never seen anything so -beautiful in his life, or a quiet look and a short phrase -from an elderly man who has seen what is worth seeing -for thirty or forty years, and who has given up making -compliments.</p> - -<p>The young widow was quite unconscious of Griggs's -look and was very busy with her thoughts, for she was -a little afraid that she had made trouble. Ten days -had passed since she had last written to Rufus Van -Torp, and she had told him, amongst other things, that -Madame da Cordova and Logotheti were engaged to -be married, adding that it seemed to her one of the most -ill-assorted matches of the season, and that her friend -the singer was sure to be miserable herself and to make -her husband perfectly wretched, though he was a very -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> -good sort in his way and she liked him. There had -been no reason why she should not write the news to -Mr. Van Torp, even though it was not public property -yet, for he was her intimate friend, and she knew him -to be as reticent as all doctors ought to be and as some -solicitors' clerks are. She had asked him not to tell -any one till he heard of the engagement from some one -else.</p> - -<p>He had not spoken of it, but something else had -happened. He had cabled to Lady Maud that he was -coming back to England by the next steamer. He often -came out and went back suddenly two or three times -at short intervals, and then stayed away for many -months, but Lady Maud thought there could not be -much doubt as to his reason for coming now. She knew -well enough that he had tried to persuade the Primadonna -to marry him during the previous winter, and -that if his passion for her had not shown itself much of -late, this was due to other causes, chiefly to the persecution -of which he had rid himself just before he went to -America, but to some extent also to the fact that Margaret -had not seemed inclined to accept any one else.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud, who knew the man better than he knew -himself, inwardly compared him to a volcano, quiescent -just now, so far as Margaret was concerned, but ready -to break out at any moment with unexpected and -destructive energy.</p> - -<p>Margaret herself, who had known Logotheti for years, -and had seen him in his most dangerous moods as well -as in his very best moments, would have thought a -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> -similar comparison with an elemental force quite as -truly descriptive of him, if it had occurred to her. The -enterprising Greek had really attempted to carry her -off by force on the night of the final rehearsal before -her first appearance on the stage, and had only been -thwarted because a royal rival had caused him to be -locked up, as if by mistake, in order to carry her off -himself; in which he also had failed most ridiculously, -thanks to the young singer's friend, the celebrated -Madame Bonanni. That was a very amusing story. -But on another occasion Margaret had found herself -shut up with her Oriental adorer in a room from which -she could not escape, and he had quite lost his head; -and if she had not been the woman she was, she would -have fared ill. After that he had behaved more like -an ordinary human being, and she had allowed the -natural attraction he had for her to draw her gradually -to a promise of marriage; and now she talked to Lady -Maud about her gown, but she still put off naming a -day for the wedding, in spite of Logotheti's growing -impatience.</p> - -<p>This was the situation when the London season -broke up and Mr. Van Torp landed at Southampton -from an ocean greyhound that had covered the distance -from New York in five days twelve hours and thirty-seven -minutes, which will doubtless seem very slow -travelling if any one takes the trouble to read this tale -twenty years hence, though the passengers were pleased -because it was not much under the record time for -steamers coming east. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span></p> - -<p>Five hours after he landed Van Torp entered Lady -Maud's drawing-room in the little house in Charles -Street, Berkeley Square, where she had lived with the -departed Leven from the time when he had been attached -to the Russian Embassy till he had last gone away. -She was giving it up now, and it was already half dismantled. -It was to see Van Torp that she was in town -in the middle of August, instead of with her father at -Craythew or with friends in Scotland.</p> - -<p>London was as hot as it could be, which means that -a New Yorker would have found it chilly and an Italian -delightfully cool; but the Londoners were sweltering -when Van Torp arrived, and were talking of the oppressive -atmosphere and the smell of the pavement, not at -all realising how blessed they were.</p> - -<p>The American entered and stood still a moment to -have a good look at Lady Maud. He was a middle-sized, -rather thick-set man, with rude hands, sandy -hair, an over-developed jaw, and sharp blue eyes, that -sometimes fixed themselves in a disagreeable way when -he was speaking—eyes that had looked into the barrel -of another man's revolver once or twice without wavering, -hands that had caught and saddled and bridled -many an unridden colt in the plains, a mouth like a -carpet-bag when it opened, like a closed vice when it -was shut. He was not a handsome man, Mr. Rufus -Van Torp, nor one with whom any one short of a prize-fighter -would meddle, nor one to haunt the dreams of -sweet sixteen. It was not for his face that Lady Maud, -good and beautiful, liked him better than any one in -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> -the world, except her own father, and believed in him -and trusted him, and it was assuredly not for his money. -The beggar did not live who would dare to ask him for -a penny after one look at his face, and there were not -many men on either side of the Atlantic who would have -looked forward to any sort of contest with him without -grave misgivings.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, advancing the last step after that -momentary pause, and taking the white hand in both -his own, 'how have you been? Fair to middling? -About that? Well—I'm glad to see you, gladder than -a sitting hen at sunrise!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud laid her left hand affectionately on the -man's right, which was uppermost on hers, and her -voice rippled with happiness.</p> - -<p>'If you had only said a lark instead of a hen, Rufus!' -she laughed.</p> - -<p>'We could get along a great sight better without -larks than without hens,' answered her friend philosophically. -'But I'll make it a nightingale next time, if -I can remember, or a bald eagle, or any bird that strikes -you as cheerful.'</p> - -<p>The terrible mouth had relaxed almost to gentleness, -and the fierce blue eyes were suddenly kind as they -looked into the woman's face. She led him to an old-fashioned -sofa, their hands parted, and they sat down -side by side.</p> - -<p>'Cheerful,' he said, in a tone of reflection. 'Yes, -I'm feeling pretty cheerful, and it's all over and -settled.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Do you mean the trouble you were in last spring?'</p> - -<p>'N—no—not that, though it wasn't as funny as -a Sunday School treat while it lasted, and I was thankful -when it was through. It's another matter altogether -that I'm cheerful about—besides seeing you, my dear. -I've done it, Maud. I've done it at last.'</p> - -<p>'What?'</p> - -<p>'I've sold my interest in the Trust. It won't be made -known for some time, so don't talk about it, please. -But it's settled and done, and I've got the money.'</p> - -<p>'You have sold the Nickel Trust?'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud's lips remained parted in surprise.</p> - -<p>'And I've bought you a little present with the proceeds,' -he answered, putting his large thumb and finger -into the pocket of his white waistcoat. 'It's only a -funny little bit of glass I picked up,' he continued, -producing a small twist of stiff writing-paper. 'You -needn't think it's so very fine! But it's a pretty -colour, and when you're out of mourning I daresay -you'll make a hat-pin of it. I like handsome hat-pins -myself, you know.'</p> - -<p>He had untwisted the paper while speaking, it lay -open in the palm of his hand, and Lady Maud saw -a stone of the size of an ordinary hazel-nut, very perfectly -cut, and of that wonderful transparent red colour -which is known as 'pigeon's blood,' and which it is -almost impossible to describe. Sunlight shining through -Persian rose-leaf sherbet upon white silk makes a little -patch of colour that is perhaps more like it than any -other shade of red, but not many Europeans have ever -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> -seen that, and it is a good deal easier to go and look at -a pigeon's blood ruby in a jeweller's window.</p> - -<p>'What a beautiful colour!' exclaimed Lady Maud -innocently, after a moment. 'I didn't know they -imitated rubies so well, though, of course, I know nothing -about it. If it were not an impossibility, I should -take it for a real one.'</p> - -<p>'So should I,' assented Mr. Van Torp quietly. 'It'll -make a pretty hat-pin anyway. Shall I have it mounted -for you?'</p> - -<p>'Thanks, awfully, but I think I should like to keep -it as it is for a little while. It's such a lovely colour, -just as it is. Thank you so much! Do tell me where -you got it.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, well, there was a sort of a traveller came to New -York the other day selling them what they call privately. -I guess he must be a Russian or something, for he has a -kind of an off-look of your husband, only he wears a -beard and an eyeglass. It must be about the eyes. -Maybe the forehead too. He'll most likely turn up in -London one of these days to sell this invention, or -whatever it is.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud said nothing to this, but she took the -stone from his hand, looked at it some time with evident -admiration, and then set it down on its bit of -paper, upon a little table by the end of the sofa.</p> - -<p>'If I were you, I wouldn't leave it around much,' -observed Mr. Van Torp carelessly. 'Somebody might -take a fancy to it. The colour's attractive, you see, -and it looks like real.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Oh, I'll be very careful of it, never fear! I can't -tell you how much I like it!' She twisted it up tightly -in its bit of paper, rose to her feet, and put it away in -her writing-table.</p> - -<p>'It'll be a sort of souvenir of the old Nickel Trust,' -said her friend, watching her with satisfaction.</p> - -<p>'Have you really sold out all your interest in it?' -she asked, sitting down again; and now that she returned -to the question her tone showed that she had -not yet recovered from her astonishment.</p> - -<p>'That's what I've done. I always told you I would, -when I was ready. Why do you look so surprised? -Would you rather I hadn't?'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud shook her head and her voice rippled -deliciously as she answered.</p> - -<p>'I can hardly imagine you without the Nickel Trust, -that's all! What in the world shall you do with yourself?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, various kinds of things. I think I'll get married, -for one. Then I'll take a rest and sort of look -around. Maybe something will turn up. I've concluded -to win the Derby next year—that's something -anyway.'</p> - -<p>'Rather! Have you thought of anything else?'</p> - -<p>She laughed a little, but was grave the next moment, -for she knew him much too well to believe that he had -taken such a step out of caprice, or a mere fancy for -change; his announcement that he meant to marry -agreed too well with what she herself had suddenly -foreseen when she had parted with Griggs in Bond -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> -Street a few days earlier. If Margaret had not at last -made up her mind to accept Logotheti—supposing -that her decision was really final—Rufus Van Torp -would not suddenly have felt sure that he himself must -marry her if she married at all. His English friend -could not have put into words what she felt had taken -place in his heart, but she understood him as no one -else could, and was certain that he had reached one -of the great cross-roads of his life.</p> - -<p>A woman who has been married for years to such a -man as Leven, and who tries to do good to those fallen -and cast-out ones who laugh and cry and suffer out -their lives, and are found dead behind the Virtue-Curtain, -is not ignorant of the human animal's instincts -and ways, and Lady Maud was not at all inclined to -believe her friend a Galahad. In the clean kingdom of -her dreams men could be chaste, and grown women -could be as sweetly ignorant of harm as little children; -but when she opened her eyes and looked about her -she saw, and she understood, and did not shiver with -delicate disgust, nor turn away with prim disapproval, -nor fancy that she would like to be a mediæval nun and -induce the beatific state by merciless mortification of -the body. She knew very well what the Virtue-Curtain -was trying to hide; she lifted it quietly, went behind -it without fear, and did all she could to help the unhappy -ones she found there. She did not believe in other -people's theories at all, and had none herself; she did -not even put much faith in all the modern scientific -talk about vicious inheritance and degeneration; much -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> -more than half of the dwellers behind the scenes had -been lured there in ignorance, a good many had been -dragged there by force, a very considerable number -had been deliberately sold into slavery, and nine out -of ten of them stayed there because no one really tried -to get them out. Perhaps no one who did try was -rich enough; for it is not to be expected that every -human sinner should learn in a day to prefer starving -virtue to well-fed vice, or, as Van Torp facetiously -expressed it, a large capital locked up in heavenly stocks -to a handsome income accruing from the bonds of sin. -If Lady Maud succeeded, as she sometimes did, the -good done was partly due to the means he gave her for -doing it.</p> - -<p>'Come and be bad and you shall have a good time -while you are young,' the devil had said, assuming -the appearance, dress, and manner of fashion, without -any particular regard for age.</p> - -<p>'Give it up and I'll make you so comfortable that -you'll really like not being bad,' said Lady Maud, and -the invitation was sometimes accepted.</p> - -<p>Evidently, a woman who occupied herself with this -form of charity could not help knowing and hearing -a good deal about men which would have surprised -and even shocked her social sisters, and she was not in -danger of taking Rufus Van Torp for an ascetic in disguise.</p> - -<p>On the contrary, she was quite able to understand -that the tremendous attraction the handsome singer -had for him might be of the most earthly kind, such as -she herself would not care to call love, and that, if she -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span> -was right, it would not be partially dignified by any of -that true artistic appreciation which brought Logotheti -such rare delight, and disguised a passion not at all -more ethereal than Van Torp's might be. In refinement -of taste, no comparison was possible between -the Western-bred millionaire and the cultivated Greek, -who knew every unfamiliar by-way and little hidden -treasure of his country's literature and art, besides very -much of what other nations had done and written. Yet -Lady Maud, influenced, no doubt, by the honest friendship -of her American friend, believed that Van Torp -would be a better and more faithful husband, even to a -primadonna, than his Oriental rival.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding her opinion of him, however, she -was not prepared for his next move. He had noticed -the grave look that had followed her laughter, and he -turned away and was silent for a few moments.</p> - -<p>'The Derby's a side show,' he said at last. 'I've -come over to get married, and I want you to help me. -Will you?'</p> - -<p>'Can I?' asked Lady Maud, evasively.</p> - -<p>'Yes, you can, and I believe there'll be trouble unless -you do.'</p> - -<p>'Who is she? Do I know her?' She was trying to -put off the evil moment.</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, you know her quite well. It's Madame -Cordova.'</p> - -<p>'But she's engaged to Monsieur Logotheti——'</p> - -<p>'I don't care. I mean to marry her if she marries -any one. He shan't have her anyway.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span></p> - -<p>'But I cannot deliberately help you to break off her -engagement! It's impossible!'</p> - -<p>'See here,' answered Mr. Van Torp. 'You know that -Greek, and you know me. Which of us will make the -best husband for an English girl? That's what Madame -Cordova is, after all. I put it to you. If you were -forced to choose one of us yourself, which would you -take? That's the way to look at it.'</p> - -<p>'But Miss Donne is not "forced" to take one of -you——'</p> - -<p>'She's going to be. It's the same. Besides, I said -"if." Won't you answer me?'</p> - -<p>'She's in love with Monsieur Logotheti,' said Lady -Maud, rather desperately.</p> - -<p>'Is she, now? I wonder. I don't much think so -myself. He's clever and he's obstinate, and he's just -made her think she's in love, that's all. Anyhow, that's -not an answer to my question. Other things being -alike, if she had to choose, which of us would be the -best husband for her?—the better, I mean. You -taught me to say "better," didn't you?'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud tried to smile.</p> - -<p>'Of two, yes,' she answered. 'You are forcing my -hand, my dear friend,' she went on very gravely. 'You -know very well that I trust you with all my heart. If -it were possible to imagine a case in which the safety -of the world could depend on my choosing one of you -for my husband, you know very well that I should take -you, though I never was the least little bit in love with -you, any more than you ever were with me.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well, but if you would, she ought,' argued Mr. Van -Torp. 'It's for her own good, and as you're a friend of -hers, you ought to help her to do what's good for her. -That's only fair. If she doesn't marry me, she's certain -to marry that Greek, so it's a forced choice, it -appears to me.'</p> - -<p>'But I can't——'</p> - -<p>'She's a nice girl, isn't she?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, very.'</p> - -<p>'And you like her, don't you?'</p> - -<p>'Very much. Her father was my father's best -friend.'</p> - -<p>'I don't believe in atavism,' observed the American, -'but that's neither here nor there. You know what -you wrote me. Do you believe she'll be miserable with -Logotheti or not?'</p> - -<p>'I think she will,' Lady Maud answered truthfully. -'But I may be wrong.'</p> - -<p>'No; you're right. I know it. But marriage is a -gamble anyway, as you know better than any one. -Are you equally sure that she would be miserable with -me? Dead sure, I mean.'</p> - -<p>'No, I'm not sure. But that's not a reason——'</p> - -<p>'It's a first-rate reason. I care for that lady, and I -want her to be happy, and as you admit that she will -have a better chance of happiness with me than with -Logotheti, I'm going to marry her myself, not only -because I want to, but because it will be a long sight -better for her. See? No fault in that line of reasoning, -is there?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span></p> - -<p>'So far as reasoning goes——' Lady Maud's tone -was half an admission.</p> - -<p>'That's all I wanted you to say,' interrupted the -American. 'So that's settled, and you're going to -help me.'</p> - -<p>'No,' answered Lady Maud quietly; 'I won't help -you to break off that engagement. But if it should -come to nothing, without your interfering—that is, -by the girl's own free will and choice and change of -mind, I'd help you to marry her if I could.'</p> - -<p>'But you admit that she's going to be miserable,' -said Van Torp stubbornly.</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry for her, but it's none of my business. It's -not honourable to try and make trouble between engaged -people, no matter how ill-matched they may -be.'</p> - -<p>'Funny idea of honour,' observed the American, -'that you're bound to let a friend of yours break her -neck at the very gravel pit where you were nearly -smashed yourself! In the hunting field you'd grab -her bridle if she wouldn't listen to you, but in a matter -of marriage—oh, no! "It's dishonourable to interfere," -"She's made her choice and she must abide by -it," and all that kind of stuff!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud's clear eyes met his angry blue ones -calmly.</p> - -<p>'I don't like you when you say such things,' she said, -lowering her voice a little.</p> - -<p>'I didn't mean to be rude,' answered the millionaire, -almost humbly. 'You see I don't always know. I -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> -learnt things differently from what you did. I suppose -you'd think it an insult if I said I'd give a large sum of -money to your charity the day I married Madame -Cordova, if you'd help me through.'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_075" id="i_075"></a> -<img src="images/i_075.jpg" width="550" height="412" alt=""'Funny idea of honour,' observed the American."" /> -<p class="caption">"'Funny idea of honour,' observed the American."</p> -</div> - -<p>'Please stop.' Lady Maud's face darkened visibly. -'That's not like you.'</p> - -<p>'I'll give a million pounds sterling,' said Mr. Van -Torp slowly.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud leaned back in her corner of the sofa, -clasping her hands rather tightly together in her lap. -Her white throat flushed as when the light of dawn kisses -Parian marble, and the fresh tint in her cheeks deepened -softly; her lips were tightly shut, her eyelids quivered -a little, and she looked straight before her across the -room.</p> - -<p>'You can do a pretty good deal with a million pounds,' -said Mr. Van Torp, after the silence had lasted nearly -half a minute.</p> - -<p>'Don't!' cried Lady Maud, in an odd voice.</p> - -<p>'Forty thousand pounds a year,' observed the millionaire -thoughtfully. 'You could do quite a great deal -of good with that, couldn't you?'</p> - -<p>'Don't! Please don't!'</p> - -<p>She pressed her hands to her ears and rose at the same -instant. Perhaps it was she, after all, and not her -friend who had been brought suddenly to a great cross-road -in life. She stood still one moment by the sofa -without looking down at her companion; then she left -the room abruptly, and shut the door behind her.</p> - -<p>Van Torp got up from his seat slowly when she was -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span> -gone, and went to the window, softly blowing a queer -tune between his closed teeth and his open lips, without -quite whistling.</p> - -<p>'Well——' he said aloud, in a tone of doubt, after a -minute or two.</p> - -<p>But he said no more, for he was much too reticent -and sensible a person to talk to himself audibly even -when he was alone, and much too cautious to be sure -that a servant might not be within hearing, though the -door was shut. He stood before the window nearly a -quarter of an hour, thinking that Lady Maud might -come back, but as no sound of any step broke the silence -he understood that he was not to see her again that -day, and he quietly let himself out of the house and -went off, not altogether discontented with the extraordinary -impression he had made.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud sat alone upstairs, so absorbed in her -thoughts that she did not hear the click of the lock as -he opened and shut the front door.</p> - -<p>She was much more amazed at herself than surprised -by the offer he had made. Temptation, in any reasonable -sense of the word, had passed by her in life, and -she had never before understood what it could mean -to her. Indeed, she had thought of herself very little -of late, and had never had the least taste for self-examination -or the analysis of her conscience. She had done -much good, because she wanted to do it, and not at -all as a duty, or with that idea of surprising the Deity -by the amount of her good works, which actuates many -excellent persons. As for doing anything seriously -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> -wrong, she had never wanted to, and it had not even -occurred to her that the opportunity for a wicked deed -could ever present itself to her together with the slightest -desire to do it. Her labours had taken her to strange -places, and she knew what real sin was, and even crime, -and the most hideous vice, and its still more awful consequences; -but one reason why she had wrought fearlessly -was that she felt herself naturally invulnerable. -She knew a good many people in her own set whom she -thought quite as bad as the worst she had ever picked -up on the dark side of the Virtue-Curtain; they were -people who seemed to have no moral sense, men who -betrayed their wives wantonly, young women who took -money for themselves and old ones who cheated at -bridge, men who would deliberately ruin a rival in -politics, in finance, or in love, and ambitious women -who had driven their competitors to despair and destruction -by a scientific use of calumny. But she had never -felt any inclination towards any of those things, which -all seemed to her disgusting, or cowardly, or otherwise -abominable. Her husband had gone astray after -strange gods—and goddesses—but she had never -wished to be revenged on them, or him, nor to say -what was not true about any one, nor even what was -true and could hurt, nor to win a few sovereigns at cards -otherwise than fairly, nor to wish anybody dead who -had a right to live.</p> - -<p>She was eight-and-twenty years of age and a widow, -when temptation came to her suddenly in a shape of -tremendous strength, through her trusted friend, who -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> -had helped her for years to help others. It was real -temptation. The man who offered her a million pounds -to save miserable wretches from a life of unspeakable -horror, could offer her twice as much, four, five, or ten -millions perhaps. No one knew the vast extent of his -wealth, and in an age of colossal fortunes she had often -heard his spoken of with the half-dozen greatest.</p> - -<p>The worst of it was that she felt able to do what he -asked; for she was inwardly convinced that the great -singer did not know her own mind and was not profoundly -attached to the man she had accepted. Of -the two women, Margaret was by far the weaker character; -or, to be just, the whole strength of her nature -had long been concentrated in the struggle for artistic -supremacy, and could not easily be brought to exert -itself in other directions. Lady Maud's influence over her -was great, and Logotheti's had never been very strong. -She was taken by his vitality, his daring, his constancy, -or obstinacy, and a little by his good looks, as a mere -girl might be, because the theatre had made looks seem -so important to her. But apart from his handsome -face, Logotheti was no match for Van Torp. Of that -Lady Maud was sure. Besides, the Primadonna's -antipathy for the American had greatly diminished -of late, and had perhaps altogether given place to a -friendly feeling. She had said openly that she had -misjudged him, because he had pestered her with his -attentions in New York, and that she even liked him -since he had shown more tact. Uncouth as he was in -some ways, Lady Maud knew that she herself might -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span> -care for him more than as a friend, if her heart were -not buried for ever in a soldier's grave on the Veldt.</p> - -<p>That was the worst of it. She felt that it was probably -not beyond her power to bring about what Van Torp -desired, at least so far as to induce Margaret to break -off the engagement which now blocked his way. Under -cover of roughness, too, he had argued with a subtlety -that frightened her now that she was alone; and with -a consummate knowledge of her nature he had offered -her the only sort of bribe that could possibly tempt -her, the means to make permanent the good work she -had already carried so far.</p> - -<p>He had placed her in such a dilemma as she had never -dreamed of. To accept such an offer as he made, would -mean that she must do something which she felt was -dishonourable, if she gave 'honour' the meaning an -honest gentleman attaches to it, and that was the one -she had learned from her father, and which a good many -women seem unable to understand. To refuse, was to -deprive hundreds of wretched and suffering creatures -of the only means of obtaining a hold on a decent existence -which Lady Maud had ever found to be at all -efficacious. She knew that she had not done much, -compared with what was undone; it looked almost -nothing. But where law-making had failed altogether, -where religion was struggling bravely but almost in -vain, where enlightened philanthropy found itself paralysed -and bankrupt, she had accomplished something -by merely using a little money in the right way.</p> - -<p>'You can do quite a great deal of good with forty -thousand pounds a year.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span></p> - -<p>Van Torp's rough-hewn speech rang through her -head, and somehow its reckless grammar gave it strength -and made it stick in her memory, word for word. In the -drawer of the writing-table before which she was sitting -there was a little file of letters that meant more to her -than anything else in the world, except one dear memory. -They were all from women, they all told much the same -little story, and it was good to read. She had made -many failures, and some terrible ones, which she could -never forget; but there were real successes, too, there -were over a dozen of them now, and she had only been -at work for three years. If she had more money, she -could do more; if she had much, she could do much; -and she knew of one or two women who could help her. -What might she not accomplish in a lifetime with the -vast sum her friend offered her!—the price of hindering -a marriage that was almost sure to turn out badly, -perhaps as badly as her own!—the money value of -a compromise with her conscience on a point of honour -which many women would have thought very vague -indeed, if not quite absurd in such a case. She knew -what temptation meant, now, and she was to know even -better before long. The Primadonna had said that she -was going to marry Logotheti chiefly because he insisted -on it.</p> - -<p>The duel for Margaret's hand had begun; Van Torp -had aimed a blow that might well give him the advantage -if it went home; and Logotheti himself was quite -unaware of the skilful attack that threatened his happiness. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> - -<p class="p2">A few days after she had talked with Lady Maud, and -before Mr. Van Torp's arrival, Margaret had gone abroad, -without waiting for the promised advice in the matter -of the wedding-gown. With admirable regard for the -proprieties she had quite declined to let Logotheti cross -the Channel with her, but had promised to see him at -Versailles, where she was going to stop a few days with -her mother's old American friend, the excellent Mrs. -Rushmore, with whom she meant to go to Bayreuth to -hear <i>Parsifal</i> for the first time.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore had disapproved profoundly of Margaret's -career, from the first. After Mrs. Donne's death, -she had taken the forlorn girl under her protection, and -had encouraged her to go on with what she vaguely -called her 'music lessons.' The good lady was one of -those dear, old-fashioned, kind, delicate-minded and -golden-hearted American women we may never see -again, now that 'progress' has got civilisation by the -throat and is squeezing the life out of it. She called -Margaret her 'chickabiddy' and spread a motherly -wing over her, without the least idea that she was rearing -a valuable lyric nightingale that would not long be -content to trill and quaver unheard. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span></p> - -<p>Immense and deserved success had half reconciled -the old lady to what had happened, and after all Margaret -had not married an Italian tenor, a Russian prince, -or a Parisian composer, the three shapes of man which -seemed the most dreadfully immoral to Mrs. Rushmore. -She would find it easier to put up with Logotheti -than with one of those, though it was bad enough to -think of her old friend's daughter marrying a Greek -instead of a nice, clean Anglo-Saxon, like the learned -Mr. Donne, the girl's father, or the good Mr. Rushmore, -her lamented husband, who had been an upright pillar -of the church in New York, and the president of a Trust -Company that could be trusted.</p> - -<p>After all, though she thought all Greeks must be what -she called 'designing,' the name of Konstantin Logotheti -was associated with everything that was most honourable -in the financial world, and this impressed Mrs. -Rushmore very much. Her harmless weakness had -always been for lions, and none but the most genuine -ones were allowed to roar at her garden-parties or at her -dinner table. When the Greek financier had first got -himself introduced to her more than two years earlier, -she had made the most careful inquiries about him and -had diligently searched the newspapers for every mention -of him during a whole month. The very first -paragraph she had found was about a new railway which -he had taken under his protection, and the writer said -that his name was a guarantee of good faith. This -impressed her favourably, though the journalist might -have had reasons for making precisely the same statement -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> -if he had known Logotheti to be a fraudulent promoter. -One of the maxims she had learned in her youth, -which had been passed in the Golden Age of old New -York, was that 'business was a test of character.' Mr. -Rushmore used to say that, so it must be true, she -thought; and indeed the excellent man might have -said with equal wisdom that long-continued rain generally -produces dampness. He would have turned in -his well-kept grave if he could have heard a Wall Street -cynic say that nowadays an honest man may get a -bare living, and a drunkard has been known to get rich, -but that integrity and whisky together will inevitably -land anybody in the workhouse.</p> - -<p>Logotheti was undoubtedly considered honest, however, -and Mrs. Rushmore made quite sure of it, as well -as of the fact that he had an immense fortune. So far -as the cynic's observation goes, it may not be equally -applicable everywhere, any more than it is true that all -Greeks are blacklegs, as the Parisians are fond of saying, -or that all Parisians are much worse, as their own novelists -try to make out. If anything is more worthless -than most men's opinion of themselves, it is their opinion -of others, and it is unfortunately certain that the -people who understand human nature best, and lead -it whither they will, are not those that labour to save -souls or to cure sickness, but demagogues, quacks, -fashionable dressmakers, and money-lenders. Mrs. -Rushmore was a judge of lions, but she knew nothing -about humanity.</p> - -<p>At Versailles, with its memories of her earlier youth, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span> -the Primadonna wished to be Margaret Donne again, -and to forget for the time that she was the Cordova, -whose name was always first on the opera posters in -New York, London, and Vienna; who covered her face -with grease-paint two or three times a week; who loved -the indescribable mixed smell of boards, glue, scenery, -Manila ropes and cotton-velvet-clad chorus, behind the -scenes; who lived on applause, was made miserable -now and then by a criticism which any other singer -would have thought flattery, and who was, in fact, -an extraordinary compound of genius and simplicity, -generosity and tetchiness, tremendous energy in one -direction and intellectual torpidity and total indifference -in all others. If she could have gone directly from -Covent Garden to another engagement, the other self -would not have waked up just then; but she meant to -take a long holiday, and in order not to miss the stage -too much, it was indispensable to forget it for a while.</p> - -<p>She travelled incognito. That is to say, she had sent -her first maid and theatrical dresser Alphonsine to see -her relations in Nancy for a month, and only brought -the other with her; she had, moreover, caused the stateroom -on the Channel boat to be taken in the name of -Miss Donne, and she brought no more luggage to Versailles -than could be piled on an ordinary cart, whereas -when she had last come from New York her servants -had seen eighty-seven pieces put on board the steamer, -and a hat-box had been missing after all.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore came out to meet her on the steps -in the hot sunshine, portly and kind as ever, and she -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> -applied an embrace which was affectionate, yet imposing.</p> - -<p>'My dearest child!' she cried. 'I was sure I had not -quite lost you yet!'</p> - -<p>'I hope you will never think you have,' Margaret -answered, almost quite in her girlish voice of old.</p> - -<p>She was very glad to come back. As soon as they -were alone in the cool drawing-room, Mrs. Rushmore -asked her about her engagement in a tone of profound -concern, as though it were a grave bodily ailment which -might turn out to be fatal.</p> - -<p>'Don't take it so seriously,' Margaret answered with -a little laugh; 'I'm not married yet!'</p> - -<p>The elderly face brightened.</p> - -<p>'Do you mean to say that—that there is any hope?' -she asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed now, but in a gentle and affectionate -sort of way.</p> - -<p>'Perhaps, just a little! But don't ask me, please. -I've come home—this is always home for me, isn't it?—I've -come home to forget everything for a few weeks.'</p> - -<p>'Thank heaven!' ejaculated Mrs. Rushmore in a tone -of deep relief. 'Then if—if he should call this afternoon, -or even to-morrow—may I tell them to say that -you are out?'</p> - -<p>She was losing no time; and Margaret laughed again, -though she put her head a little on one side with an -expression of doubt.</p> - -<p>'I can't refuse to see him,' she said, 'though really -I would much rather be alone with you for a day or -two.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span></p> - -<p>'My darling child!' cried Mrs. Rushmore, applying -another embrace, 'you shall! Leave it to me!'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore's delight was touching, for she could -almost feel that Margaret had come to see her quite for -her own sake, whereas she had pictured the 'child,' -as she still called the great artist, spending most of her -time in carrying on inaudible conversations with Logotheti -under the trees in the lawn, or in the most remote -corners of the drawing-room; for that had been the -accepted method of courtship in Mrs. Rushmore's -young days, and she was quite ignorant of the changes -that had taken place since then.</p> - -<p>Half-an-hour later, Margaret was in her old room -upstairs writing a letter, and Mrs. Rushmore had given -strict orders that until further notice Miss Donne was -'not at home' for any one at all, no matter who might call.</p> - -<p>When the letter already covered ten pages, Margaret -laid down her pen and without the least pause or hesitation -tore the sheets to tiny bits, inking her fingers in -the process because the last one was not yet dry.</p> - -<p>'What a wicked woman I am!' she exclaimed aloud, -to the very great surprise of Potts, her English maid, -who was still unpacking in the next room, the door being -open.</p> - -<p>'Beg pardon, ma'am?' the woman asked, putting in -her head.</p> - -<p>'I said I was a wicked woman,' Margaret answered, -rising; 'and what's more, I believe I am. But I quite -forgot you were there, Potts, or I probably should not -have said it aloud.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, ma'am,' answered Potts meekly, and she went -back to her unpacking.</p> - -<p>Margaret had two maids, who were oddly suited to -her two natures. She had inherited Alphonsine from -her friend the famous retired soprano, Madame Bonanni, -and the cadaverous, clever, ill-tempered, garrulous -dresser was as necessary to Cordova's theatrical existence -as paint, limelight, wigs, and an orchestra. The -English Potts, the meek, silent, busy, and intensely -respectable maid, continually made it clear that her -mistress was Miss Donne, an English lady, and that -Madame Cordova, the celebrated singer, was what Mr. -Van Torp would have called 'only a side-show.'</p> - -<p>Potts was quite as much surprised when she heard -Miss Donne calling herself a wicked woman as Alphonsine -would have been if she had heard Madame Cordova -say that she sang completely out of tune, a statement -which would not have disturbed the English maid's -equanimity in the very least. It might have pleased -her, for she always secretly hoped that Margaret would -give up the stage, marry an English gentleman with a -nice name, and live in Hans Crescent or Cadogan Gardens, -or some equally smart place, and send Alphonsine -about her business for ever.</p> - -<p>For the English maid and the French maid hated -each other as whole-heartedly as if Cressy or Agincourt -had been fought yesterday. Potts alluded to Alphonsine -as 'that Frenchwoman,' and Alphonsine spoke of -Potts as 'l'Anglaise,' with a tone and look of withering -scorn, as if all English were nothing better than animals. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> -Also she disdained to understand a word of their 'abominable -jargon'; and Potts quietly called the French -language 'frog-talk,' but spoke it quite intelligibly, -though without the least attempt at an accent. Nevertheless, -each of the two was devoted to Margaret, and -they were both such excellent servants that they never -quarrelled or even exchanged a rude word—to Margaret's -knowledge. They treated each other with almost -exaggerated politeness, calling each other respectively -'Meess' and 'Mamzell'; and if Alphonsine's black eyes -glared at Potts now and then, the English maid put on -such an air of sweetly serene unconsciousness as a woman -of the world might have envied.</p> - -<p>The letter that had been torn up before it was finished -was to have gone to Lady Maud, but Margaret -herself had been almost sure that she would not send -it, even while she was writing. She had poured out -her heart, now that she could do so with the consoling -possibility of destroying the confession before any one -read it. She had made an honest effort to get at the -truth about herself by writing down all she knew to -be quite true, as if it were to go to her best friend; but -as soon as she realised that she had got to the end -of her positive knowledge and was writing fiction—which -is what might be true, but is not known to be—she -had the weakness to tear up her letter, and to call -herself names for not knowing her own mind, as if every -woman did, or every man either.</p> - -<p>She had written that she had done very wrong in -engaging herself to Logotheti; that was the 'wickedness' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> -she accused herself of, repeating the self-accusation -to her astonished maid, because it was a sort of -relief to say the words to somebody. She had written -that she did not really care for him in that way; that -when he was near she could not resist a sort of natural -attraction he had for her, but that as soon as he was -gone she felt it no longer and she wished he would not -come back; that his presence disturbed her and made -her uncomfortable, and, moreover, interfered with her -art; but that she had not the courage to tell him so, -and wished that some one else would do it for her; -that he was not really the sort of man she could ever -be happy with; that her ideal of a husband was so and -so, and this and that—and here fiction had begun, -and she had put a stop to it by destroying the whole -letter instead of crossing out a few lines,—which was -a pity; for if Lady Maud had received it, she would -have told Mr. Van Torp that he needed no help from -her since Margaret herself asked no better than to be -freed from the engagement.</p> - -<p>Logotheti did not come out to Versailles that afternoon, -because he was plentifully endowed with tact -where women were concerned, and he applied all the -knowledge and skill he had to the single purpose of -pleasing Margaret. But before dinner he telephoned -and asked to speak with her, and this she could not -possibly refuse. Besides, the day had seemed long, and -though she did not wish for his presence she wanted -something—that indescribable, mysterious something -which disturbed her and made her feel uncomfortable -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> -when she felt it, but which she missed when she did not -see him for a day or two.</p> - -<p>'How are you?' asked his voice, and he ran on -without waiting for an answer. 'I hope you are not -very tired after crossing yesterday. I came by Boulogne—decent -of me, wasn't it? You must be sick -of seeing me all the time, so I shall give you a rest for -a day or two. Telephone whenever you think you can -bear the sight of me again, and I'll be with you in -thirty-five minutes. I shall not stir from home in this -baking weather. If you think I'm in mischief you're -quite mistaken, dear lady, for I'm up to my chin in -work!'</p> - -<p>'I envy you,' Margaret said, when he paused at last. -'I've nothing on earth to do, and the piano here is out -of tune. But you're quite right, I don't want to see -you a little bit, and I'm not jealous, nor suspicious, nor -anything disagreeable. So there!'</p> - -<p>'How nice of you!'</p> - -<p>'I'm very nice,' Margaret answered with laughing -emphasis. 'I know it. What sort of work are you -doing? It's only idle curiosity, so don't tell me if you -would rather not! Have you got a new railway in -Brazil, or an overland route to the other side of beyond?'</p> - -<p>'Nothing so easy! I'm brushing up my Tartar.'</p> - -<p>'Brushing up what? I didn't hear.'</p> - -<p>'Tartar—the Tartar language—T-a-r—'he began -to spell the word.</p> - -<p>'Yes, I hear now,' interrupted Margaret. 'But what -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> -in the world is the use of knowing it? You must be -awfully hard up for something to do!'</p> - -<p>'You can be understood from Constantinople to the -Pacific Ocean if you can speak Tartar,' Logotheti -answered in a matter-of-fact tone.</p> - -<p>'I daresay! But you're not going to travel from -Constantinople to the Pacific Ocean——'</p> - -<p>'I might. One never can tell what one may like -to do.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, if it's because Tartar is useful "against the bites -of sharks,"' answered Margaret, quoting Alice, 'learn -it by all means!'</p> - -<p>'Besides, there are all sorts of people in Paris. I'm -sure there must be some Tartars. I might meet one, -and it would be amusing to be able to talk to him.'</p> - -<p>'Nonsense! Why should you ever meet a Tartar? -How absurd you are!'</p> - -<p>'There's one with me now—close beside me, at my -elbow.'</p> - -<p>'Don't be silly, or I'll ring off.'</p> - -<p>'If you don't believe me, listen!'</p> - -<p>He said something in a language Margaret did not -understand, and another voice answered him at once in -the same tongue. Margaret started slightly and bent -her brows with a puzzled and displeased look.</p> - -<p>'Is that your teacher?' she asked with more interest -in her tone than she had yet betrayed.</p> - -<p>'Yes.'</p> - -<p>'I begin to understand. Do you mind telling me -how old she is?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span></p> - -<p>'It's not "she," it's a young man. I don't know -how old he is. I'll ask him if you like.'</p> - -<p>Again she heard him speak a few incomprehensible -words, which were answered very briefly in the same -tongue.</p> - -<p>'He tells me he is twenty,' Logotheti said. 'He's -a good-looking young fellow. How is Mrs. Rushmore? -I forgot to ask.'</p> - -<p>'She's quite well, thank you. But I should like to -know——'</p> - -<p>'Will you be so very kind as to remember me to her, -and to say that I hope to find her at home the day after -to-morrow?'</p> - -<p>'Certainly. Come to-morrow if you like. But please -tell me how you happened to pick up that young Tartar. -It sounds so interesting! He has such a sweet voice.'</p> - -<p>There was no reply to this question, and Margaret -could not get another word from Logotheti. The communication -was apparently cut off. She rang up the -Central Office and asked for his number again, but the -young woman soon said that she could get no answer -to the call, and that something was probably wrong -with the instrument of Number One-hundred-and-six-thirty-seven.</p> - -<p>Margaret was not pleased, and she was silent and -absent-minded at dinner and in the evening.</p> - -<p>'It's the reaction after London,' she said with a smile, -when Mrs. Rushmore asked if anything was the matter. -'I find I am more tired than I knew, now that it's all -over.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore was quite of the same opinion, and -it was still early when she declared that she herself -was sleepy and that Margaret had much better go to -bed and get a good night's rest.</p> - -<p>But when the Primadonna was sitting before the -glass and her maid was brushing out her soft brown hair, -she was not at all drowsy, and though her eyes looked -steadily at their own reflection in the mirror, she was -not aware that she saw anything.</p> - -<p>'Potts,' she said suddenly, and stopped.</p> - -<p>'Yes, ma'am?' answered the maid with meek interrogation, -and without checking the regular movement -of the big brush.</p> - -<p>But Margaret said no more for several moments. -She enjoyed the sensation of having her hair brushed; -it made her understand exactly how a cat feels when -some one strokes its back steadily, and she could almost -have purred with pleasure as she held her handsome -head back and moved it a little in real enjoyment under -each soft stroke.</p> - -<p>'Potts,' she began again at last, 'you are not very imaginative, -are you?'</p> - -<p>'No, ma'am,' the maid answered, because it seemed -to be expected of her, though she had never thought -of the matter.</p> - -<p>'Do you think you could possibly be mistaken about -a voice, if you didn't see the person who was speaking?'</p> - -<p>'In what way, ma'am?'</p> - -<p>'I mean, do you think you could take a man's voice -for a woman's at a distance?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Oh, I see!' Potts exclaimed. 'As it might be, at -the telephone?'</p> - -<p>'Well—at the telephone, if you like, or anywhere -else. Do you think you might?'</p> - -<p>'It would depend on the voice, ma'am,' observed -Potts, with caution.</p> - -<p>'Of course it would,' assented Margaret rather impatiently.</p> - -<p>'Well, ma'am, I'll say this, since you ask me. When -I was last at home I was mistaken in that way about -my own brother, for I heard him calling to me from -downstairs, and I took him for my sister Milly.'</p> - -<p>'Oh! That's interesting!' Margaret smiled. 'What -sort of voice has your brother? How old is he?'</p> - -<p>'He's eight-and-twenty, ma'am; and as for his voice, -he has a sweet counter-tenor, and sings nicely. He's -a song-man at the cathedral, ma'am.'</p> - -<p>'Really! How nice! Have you a voice too? Do -you sing at all?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no, ma'am!' answered Potts in a deprecating -tone. 'One in the family is quite enough!'</p> - -<p>Margaret vaguely wondered why, but did not inquire.</p> - -<p>'You were quite sure that it was your brother who -was speaking, I suppose,' she said.</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, ma'am! I looked down over the banisters, -and there he was!'</p> - -<p>Margaret had the solid health of a great singer, and -it would have been a serious trouble indeed that could -have interfered with her unbroken and dreamless sleep -during at least eight hours; but when she closed her -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span> -eyes that night she was quite sure that she could not -have slept at all but for Potts's comforting little story -about the brother with the 'counter-tenor' voice. Yet -even so, at the moment before waking in the morning, -she dreamt that she was at the telephone again, and -that words in a strange language came to her along the -wire in a soft and caressing tone that could only be a -woman's, and that for the first time in all her life she -knew what it was to be jealous. The sensation was not -an agreeable one.</p> - -<p>The dream-voice was silent as soon as she opened her -eyes, but she had not been awake long without realising -that she wished very much to see Logotheti at once, and -was profoundly thankful that she had torn up her letter -to Lady Maud. She was not prepared to admit, -even now, that Konstantin was the ideal she should -have chosen for a husband, and whom she had been -describing from imagination when she had suddenly -stopped writing. But, on the other hand, the mere -thought that he had perhaps been amusing himself in -the society of another woman all yesterday afternoon -made her so angry that she took refuge in trying to -believe that he had spoken the truth and that she had -really been mistaken about the voice.</p> - -<p>It was all very well to talk about learning Tartar! -How could she be sure that it was not modern Greek, -or Turkish? She could not have known the difference. -Was it so very unlikely that some charming compatriot -of his should have come from Constantinople to spend -a few weeks in Paris? She remembered the mysterious -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> -house in the Boulevard Péreire where he lived, the -beautiful upper hall where the statue of Aphrodite -stood, the doors that would not open like other doors, -the strangely-disturbing encaustic painting of Cleopatra -in the drawing-room—many things which she -distrusted.</p> - -<p>Besides, supposing that the language was really -Tartar—were there not Russians who spoke it? She -thought there must be, because she had a vague idea -that all Russians were more or less Tartars. There -was a proverb about it. Moreover, to the English as -well as to the French, Russians represent romance and -wickedness.</p> - -<p>She would not go to the telephone herself, but she -sent a message to Logotheti, and he came out in the -cool time of the afternoon. She thought he had never -looked so handsome and so little exotic since she had -known him. To please her he had altogether given -up the terrific ties, the lightning-struck waistcoats, the -sunrise socks, and the overpowering jewellery he had -formerly affected, and had resigned himself to the dictation -of a London tailor, who told him what he might, -could, should, and must wear for each circumstance and -hour of daily life, in fine gradations, from deer-stalking -to a royal garden-party. The tailor, who dressed kings -and made a specialty of emperors, was a man of taste, -and when he had worked on the Greek financier for -a few weeks the result was satisfactory; excepting for -his almond-shaped eyes no one could have told Logotheti -from an Englishman by his appearance, a fact -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> -which even Potts, who disapproved of Margaret's -choice, was obliged to admit.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore was amazed and pleased.</p> - -<p>'My dear,' she said afterwards to Margaret, 'what a -perfectly wonderful change! Think how he used to -look! And now you might almost take him for an -American gentleman!'</p> - -<p>He was received by Mrs. Rushmore and Margaret -together, and he took noticeable pains to make himself -agreeable to the mistress of the house. At first Margaret -was pleased at this; but when she saw that he -was doing his best to keep Mrs. Rushmore from leaving -the room, as she probably would have done, Margaret -did not like it. She was dying to ask him questions -about his lessons in Tartar, and especially about his -teacher, and she probably meant to cast her inquiries -in such a form as would make it preferable to examine -him alone rather than before Mrs. Rushmore; but he -talked on and on, only pausing an instant for the good -lady's expressions of interest or approval. With diabolical -knowledge of her weakness he led the conversation -to the subject of political and diplomatic lions, -and of lions of other varieties, and made plans for -bringing some noble specimens to tea with her. She -was not a snob; she distrusted foreign princes, marquises, -and counts, and could keep her head well in the -presence of an English peer; but lions were irresistible, -and Logotheti offered her a whole menagerie of them, -and described their habits with minuteness, if not with -veracity. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span></p> - -<p>He was telling her what a Prime Minister had told -an Ambassador about the Pope, when Margaret rose -rather abruptly.</p> - -<p>'I'm awfully sorry,' she said to Mrs. Rushmore, by -way of apology, 'but I really must have a little air. -I've not been out of the house all day.'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore understood, and was not hurt, though -she was sorry not to hear more. The 'dear child' should -go out, by all means. Would Monsieur Logotheti stay -to dinner? No? She was sorry. She had forgotten -that she had a letter to write in time for the afternoon -post. So she went off and left the two together.</p> - -<p>Margaret led the way out upon the lawn, and they -sat down on garden chairs under a big elm-tree. She -said nothing while she settled herself very deliberately, -avoiding her companion's eyes till she was quite ready, -and then she suddenly looked at him with a sort of -blank stare that would have disconcerted any one less -superlatively self-possessed than he was. It was most -distinctly Madame de Cordova, the offended Primadonna, -that spoke at last, and not Miss Margaret Donne, -the 'nice English girl.'</p> - -<p>'What in the world has got into you?' she inquired -in a chilly tone.</p> - -<p>He opened his almond-shaped eyes a little wider, -with an excellent affectation of astonishment at her -words and manner.</p> - -<p>'Have I done anything you don't like?' he asked in -a tone of anxiety and concern. 'Was I rude to Mrs. -Rushmore?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span></p> - -<p>Margaret looked at him a moment longer, and then -turned her head away in silence, as if scorning to answer -such a silly question. The look of surprise disappeared -from his face, and he became very gloomy and thoughtful -but said nothing more. Possibly he had brought about -exactly what he wished, and was satisfied to await the -inevitable result. It came before long.</p> - -<p>'I don't understand you at all,' Margaret said less -icily, but with the sad little air of a woman who believes -herself misunderstood. 'It was very odd yesterday, at -the telephone, you know—very odd indeed. I suppose -you didn't realise it. And now, this afternoon, -you have evidently been doing your best to keep Mrs. -Rushmore from leaving us together. You would still -be telling her stories about people if I hadn't obliged -you to come out!'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Logotheti asserted with exasperating calm and -meekness, 'we should still be there.'</p> - -<p>'You did not want to be alone with me, I suppose. -There's no other explanation, and it's not a very flattering -one, is it?'</p> - -<p>'I never flatter you, dear lady,' said Logotheti gravely.</p> - -<p>'But you do! How can you deny it? You often -tell me that I make you think of the Victory in the -Louvre——'</p> - -<p>'It's quite true. If the statue had a head it would -be a portrait of you.'</p> - -<p>'Nonsense! And in your moments of enthusiasm -you say that I sing better than Madame Bonanni in -her best days——' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes. You know quite as much as she ever did, you -are a much better musician, and you began with a -better voice. Therefore you sing better. I maintain it.'</p> - -<p>'You often maintain things you don't believe,' -Margaret retorted, though her manner momentarily -relaxed a little.</p> - -<p>'Only in matters of business,' answered the Greek -with imperturbable calm.</p> - -<p>'Pray, is "learning Tartar" a matter of business?' -Her eyes sparkled angrily as she asked the question.</p> - -<p>Logotheti smiled; she had reached the point to which -he knew she must come before long.</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes!' he replied with alacrity. 'Of course it is.'</p> - -<p>'That accounts for everything, since you are admitting -that I need not even try to believe it was a man -whom I heard speaking.'</p> - -<p>'To tell the truth, I have some suspicions about that -myself,' answered Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'I have a great many.' Margaret laughed rather -harshly. 'And you behave as if you wanted me to -have more. Who is this Eastern woman? Come, be -frank. She is some one from Constantinople, isn't she? -A Fanariote like yourself, I daresay—an old friend -who is in Paris for a few days, and would not pass -through without seeing you. Say so, for heaven's sake, -and don't make such a mystery about it!'</p> - -<p>'How very ingenious women are!' observed the -Greek. 'If I had thought of it I might have told you -that story through the telephone yesterday. But I -didn't.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span></p> - -<p>Margaret was rapidly becoming exasperated, her eyes -flashed, her firm young cheeks reddened handsomely, -and her generous lips made scornful curves.</p> - -<p>'Are you trying to quarrel with me?'</p> - -<p>The words had a fierce ring; he glanced at her quickly -and saw how well her look agreed with her tone. She -was very angry.</p> - -<p>'If I were not afraid of boring you,' he said with quiet -gravity, 'I would tell you the whole story, but——' he -pretended to hesitate.</p> - -<p>He heard her harsh little laugh at once.</p> - -<p>'Your worst enemy could not accuse you of being -a bore!' she retorted. 'Oh, no! It's something quite -different from boredom that I feel, I assure you!'</p> - -<p>'I wish I thought that you cared for me enough to be -jealous,' Logotheti said earnestly.</p> - -<p>'Jealous!'</p> - -<p>No one can describe the tone of indignant contempt -in which a thoroughly jealous woman disclaims the -least thought of jealousy with a single word; a man -must have heard it to remember what it is like, and -most men have. Logotheti knew it well, and at the -sound he put on an expression of meek innocence which -would have done credit to a cat that had just eaten a -canary.</p> - -<p>'I'm so sorry,' he cried in a voice like a child's. 'I -didn't mean to make you angry, I was only wishing -aloud. Please forgive me!'</p> - -<p>'If your idea of caring for a woman is to make her -jealous——' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span></p> - -<p>This was such an obvious misinterpretation of his -words that she stopped short and bit her lip. He -sighed audibly, as if he were very sorry that he could -do nothing to appease her, but this only made her feel -more injured. She made an effort to speak coldly.</p> - -<p>'You seem to forget that so long as we are supposed -to be engaged I have some little claim to know how you -spend your time!'</p> - -<p>'I make no secret of what I do. That is why you -were angry just now. Nothing could have been easier -than for me to say that I was busy with one of the -matters you suggested.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, of course! Nothing could be easier than to -tell me an untruth!'</p> - -<p>This certainly looked like the feminine retort-triumphant, -and Margaret delivered it in a cutting tone.</p> - -<p>'That is precisely what you seem to imply that I did,' -Logotheti objected. 'But if what I told you was -untrue your argument goes to pieces. There was no -Tartar lesson, there was no Tartar teacher, and it was -all a fabrication of my own!'</p> - -<p>'Just what I think!' returned Margaret. 'It was -not Tartar you spoke, and there was no teacher!'</p> - -<p>'You have me there,' answered the Greek mildly, -'unless you would like me to produce my young friend -and talk to him before you in the presence of witnesses -who know his language.'</p> - -<p>'I wish you would! I should like to see "him"! I -should like to see the colour of "his" eyes and hair!'</p> - -<p>'Black as ink,' said Logotheti. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span></p> - -<p>'And you'll tell me that "his" complexion is black -too, no doubt!'</p> - -<p>'Not at all; a sort of creamy complexion, I think, -though I did not pay much attention to his skin. He -is a smallish chap, good-looking, with hands and feet -like a woman's. I noticed that. As I told you, a doubt -occurred to me at once, and I will not positively swear -that it is not a girl after all. He, or she, is really a -Tartar from Central Asia, and I know enough of the -language to say what was necessary.'</p> - -<p>'Necessary!'</p> - -<p>'Yes. He—or she—came on a matter of business. -What I said about a teacher was mere nonsense. Now -you know the whole thing.'</p> - -<p>'Excepting what the business was,' Margaret said -incredulously.</p> - -<p>'The business was an uncut stone,' answered Logotheti -with indifference. 'He had one to sell, and I -bought it. He was recommended to me by a man in -Constantinople. He came to Marseilles on a French -steamer with two Greek merchants who were coming -to Paris, and they brought him to my door. That is -the whole story. And here is the ruby. I bought it -for you, because you like those things. Will you take -it?'</p> - -<p>He held out what looked like a little ball of white -tissue-paper, but Margaret turned her face from him.</p> - -<p>'You treat me like a child!' she said.</p> - -<p>To her own great surprise and indignation, her voice -was unsteady and she felt something burning in her -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> -eyes. She was almost frightened at the thought that -she might be going to cry, out of sheer mortification.</p> - -<p>Logotheti said nothing for a moment. He began to -unroll the paper from the precious stone, but changed -his mind, wrapped it up again, and put it back into his -watch-pocket before he spoke.</p> - -<p>'I did not mean it as you think,' he said softly.</p> - -<p>She turned her eyes without moving her head, till -she could just see that he was leaning forward, resting -his wrists on his knees, bending his head, and apparently -looking down at his loosely hanging hands. His attitude -expressed dejection and disappointment. She was glad -of it. He had no right to think that he could make her -as angry as she still was, angry even to tears, and then -bribe her to smile again when he was tired of teasing her. -Her eyes turned away again, and she did not answer him.</p> - -<p>'I make mistakes sometimes,' he said, speaking still -lower, 'I know I do. When I am with you I cannot be -always thinking of what I say. It's too much to ask, -when a man is as far gone as I am!'</p> - -<p>'I should like to believe that,' Margaret said, without -looking at him.</p> - -<p>'Is it so hard to believe?' he asked so gently that she -only just heard the words.</p> - -<p>'You don't make it easy, you know,' said she with a -little defiance, for she felt that she was going to yield -before long.</p> - -<p>'I don't quite know how to. You're not in the least -capricious—and yet——'</p> - -<p>'You're mistaken,' Margaret answered, turning to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span> -him suddenly. 'I'm the most capricious woman in the -world! Yesterday I wrote a long letter to a friend, -and then I suddenly tore it up—there were ever so -many pages! I daresay that if I had written just the -same letter this morning, I should have sent it. If that -is not caprice, what is it?'</p> - -<p>'It may have been wisdom to tear it up,' Logotheti -suggested.</p> - -<p>'I'm not sure. I never ask myself questions about -what I do. I hate people who are always measuring -their wretched little souls and then tinkering their consciences -to make them fit! I don't believe I wish to do -anything really wrong, and so I do exactly what I like, -always!'</p> - -<p>Possibly she had forgotten that she had called herself -a wicked woman only yesterday; but that had been -before the conversation at the telephone.</p> - -<p>'If you will only go on doing what you like,' Logotheti -answered, 'it will give me the greatest pleasure in -the world to help you. I only ask one kindness.'</p> - -<p>'You have no right to ask me anything to-day. -You've been quite the most disagreeable person this -afternoon that I ever met in my life.'</p> - -<p>'I know I have,' Logotheti answered with admirable -contrition. 'I'll wait a day or two before I ask anything; -perhaps you will have forgiven me by that -time.'</p> - -<p>'I'm not sure. What was the thing you were going -to ask?'</p> - -<p>He was silent now that she wished to know his thought. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Have you forgotten it already?' she inquired with -a little laugh that was encouraging rather than contemptuous, -for her curiosity was roused.</p> - -<p>They looked at each other at last, and all at once she -felt the deeply disturbing sense of his near presence -which she had missed for three days, though she was -secretly a little afraid and ashamed of it; and to-day -it had not come while her anger had lasted. But now -it was stronger than ever before, perhaps because it -came so unexpectedly, and it drew her to him, under -the deep shadow of the elm-tree that made strange -reflections in their eyes—moving reflections of fire -when the lowering sun struck in between the leaves, -and sudden, still depths when the foliage stirred in the -breeze and screened the glancing ray.</p> - -<p>He had played upon her moods for an hour, as a -musician touches a delicate and responsive instrument, -and she had taken all for earnest and had been angry and -hurt, and was reconciled again at his will. Yet he had -not done it all to try his power over her, and surely not -in any careless contempt of her weaknesses. He cared -for her in his way, as he was able, and his love was great, -if not of the most noble sort. He was strong, and she -waked his strength with fire; he worshipped life, and -her vital beauty thrilled the inner stronghold of his -being; when she moved, his passionate intuition felt -and followed the lines of her moving grace; if she -rested, motionless and near him, his waking dream -enfolded her in a deep caress. He felt no high and -mystic emotion when he thought of her; he had never -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span> -read of St. Clement's celestial kingdom, where man -and woman are to be one for ever, and together neither -woman nor man, for such a world could never seem -heavenly to him, whose love was altogether earthly. -Yet it was Greek love, not Roman; its deity was beauty, -not lust; the tutelary goddess of its temple was not -Venus the deadly, the heavy-limbed, with a mouth like -a red wound and slumbrous, sombre eyes, but Cyprian -Aphrodite, immortal and golden, the very life of the -sparkling sky itself sown in the foam of the sea.</p> - -<p>Between the two lies all the distance that separates -gross idolatry from the veneration of the symbol; the -gulf that divides the animal materialism of a twentieth-century -rake from the half-divine dreams of genius; -the revolting coarseness of Catullus at his worst from -himself at his best, or from an epigram of Meleager or -Antipater of Sidon; a witty Greek comedy adapted by -Plautus to the brutal humour of Rome from Swinburne's -immortal <i>Atalanta in Calydon</i>. Twenty-five centuries of -history, Hellenic, Byzantine and modern, have gone to -make the small band of cultivated Greeks of to-day -what they are, two thousand and five hundred years of -astounding vicissitudes, of aristocracy, democracy and -despotism, of domination and subjection, mastery, -slavery and revolution, ending in freedom more than -half regained. We need not wonder why they are not -like us, whose forefathers of a few centuries ago were -still fighting the elements for their existence, and living -and thinking like barbarians.</p> - -<p>The eyes of the Greek and the great artist met, and -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> -they looked long at one another in the shade of the -elm-tree on the lawn, as the sun was going down. Only -a few minutes had passed since Margaret had been very -angry, and had almost believed that she was going to -quarrel finally, and break her engagement, and be free; -and now she could not even turn her face away, and -when her hand felt his upon it, she let him draw it -slowly to him; and half unconsciously she followed -her hand, bending towards him sideways from her seat, -nearer and nearer, and very near.</p> - -<p>And as she put up her lips to his, he would that she -might drink his soul from him at one deep draught—even -as one of his people's poets wished, in the world's -spring-time, long ago.</p> - -<p>It had been a strange love-making. They had been -engaged during more than two months, they were -young, vital, passionate; yet they had never kissed -before that evening hour under the elm-tree at Versailles. -Perhaps it was for this that Konstantin had -played, or at least, for the certainty it meant to him, -if he had doubted that she was sincere. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> - -<p class="p2">Without offending Mr. Van Torp, Lady Maud managed -not to see him again for some time, and when he understood, -as he soon did, that this was her wish, he made -no attempt to force himself upon her. She was probably -thinking over what he had said, and in the end she -would exert her influence as he had begged her to do. -He was thoroughly persuaded that there was nothing -unfair in his proposal and that, when she was convinced -that he was right, she would help him. In a -chequered career that had led to vast success, he had -known people who called themselves honest and respectable -but who had done unpardonable things for a -hundredth part of what he offered. Like all real financiers, -he knew money as a force, not as a want, very -much as any strong working man knows approximately -how much he can lift or carry, and reckons with approximate -certainty on his average strength. To speak in -his own language, Mr. Van Torp knew about how many -horse-power could be got out of any sum of money, -from ten cents to more millions than he chose to speak -of in his own case.</p> - -<p>And once more, before I go on with this tale, let me -say that his friendship for Lady Maud was so honest -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> -that he would never have asked her to do anything -he thought 'low down.' To paraphrase a wise saying -of Abraham Lincoln's, some millionaires mean to be -bad all the time, but are not, and some are bad all the -time but do not mean to be, but no millionaires mean -to be bad all the time and really are. Rufus Van Torp -certainly did not mean to be, according to his lights, -though in his life he had done several things which he -did not care to remember; and the righteous had -judged him with the ferocious integrity of men who -never take a penny unjustly nor give one away under -any circumstances.</p> - -<p>But when he had taken the first step towards accomplishing -his purpose, he was very much at a loss as to -the next, and he saw that he had never undertaken anything -so difficult since he had reorganised the Nickel -Trust, trebled the stock, cleared a profit of thirty -millions and ruined nobody but the small-fry, who of -course deserved it on the principle that people who -cannot keep money ought not to have any. Some -unkind newspaper man had then nicknamed it the -Brass Trust, and had called him Brassy Van Torp; but -it is of no use to throw mud at the Golden Calf, for the -dirt soon dries to dust and falls off, leaving the animal -as beautifully shiny as ever.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp did not quite see how he could immediately -apply the force of money to further his plans -with effect. He knew his adversary's financial position -in Europe much too well to think of trying to attack -him on that ground; and besides, in his rough code it -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> -would not be fair play to do that. It was 'all right' -to ruin a hostile millionaire in order to get his money. -That was 'business.' But to ruin him for the sake of -a woman was 'low down.' It would be much more -'all right' to shoot him, after fair and due warning, and -to carry off the lady. That was impossible in a civilised -country, of course; but as it occurred to him, while he -was thinking, that he might find it convenient to go -somewhere in a hurry by sea, he bought a perfectly -new yacht that was for sale because the owner had died -of heart disease the week after she was quite ready to -take him to the Mediterranean. The vessel was at -least as big as one of the ocean liners of fifty years ago, -and had done twenty-two and one-tenth knots on her -trial. Mr. Van Torp took her over as she was, with her -officers, crew, cook and stores, and rechristened her. -She had been launched as the <i>Alwayn</i>; he called her -the <i>Lancashire Lass</i>—a bit of sentiment on his part, -for that was the name of a mare belonging to Lady -Maud's father, which he had once ridden bareback -when he was in an amazing hurry.</p> - -<p>He had one interview with the Captain.</p> - -<p>'See here, Captain,' he said, 'I may not want to take -a trip this season. I'm that sort of a man. I may or -I may not. But if I do want you, I'll want you quick. -See?'</p> - -<p>With the last word, he looked up suddenly, and the -Captain 'saw,' for he met a pair of eyes that astonished -him.</p> - -<p>'Yes, I see,' he answered mechanically. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span></p> - -<p>'And if you're in one place with your boat, and I -wire that I want you in another, I'd like you to get -there right away,' said Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'They say she'll do twenty-two and a tenth,' continued -the owner, 'but when I wire I want you I'd like -her to do as much more as she can without bursting a -lung. If you don't think you've got the kind of engineer -who'll keep her red-hot, tell me right off and we'll -get another. And don't you fuss about burning coal, -Captain. And see that the crew get all they can eat -and not a drop of drink but tea and coffee, and if you -let 'em go on shore once in a way, see that they come -home right side up with care, Captain, and make each -of 'em say "truly rural" and "British Constitution" -before he goes to bed, and if he can't, you just unship -him, or whatever you call it on a boat. Understand, -Captain?'</p> - -<p>The Captain understood and kept his countenance.</p> - -<p>'Now, I want to know one thing,' continued the new -owner. 'What's the nearest sea-port to Bayreuth, -Bavaria?'</p> - -<p>'Venice,' answered the Captain without the least -hesitation, and so quickly that Mr. Van Torp was -immediately suspicious.</p> - -<p>'If that's so, you're pretty smart,' he observed.</p> - -<p>'You can telephone to Cook's office, sir, and ask -them,' said the Captain quietly.</p> - -<p>The instrument was on the table at Mr. Van Torp's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> -elbow. He looked sharply at the Captain, as he unhooked -the receiver and set it to his ear. In a few -seconds communication was given.</p> - -<p>'Cook's office? Yes. Yes. This is Mr. Van Torp, -Rufus Van Torp of New York. Yes. I want to know -what's the nearest sea-port to Bayreuth, Bavaria. Yes. -Yes. That's just what I want to know. Yes. I'll -hold the wire while you look it up.'</p> - -<p>He was not kept waiting long.</p> - -<p>'Venice, you say? You're sure you're right, I -suppose? Yes. Yes. I was only asking. No thank -you. If I want a ticket I'll look in myself. Much -obliged. Good-bye.'</p> - -<p>He hung the receiver in its place again, and turned -to his Captain with a different expression, in which -admiration and satisfaction were quite apparent.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, 'you're right. It's Venice. I must -say that, for an Englishman, you're quite smart.'</p> - -<p>The Captain smiled quietly, but did not think it -worth while to explain that the last owner with whom -he had sailed had been Wagner-mad and had gone -to Bayreuth regularly. Moreover, he had judged his -man already.</p> - -<p>'Am I to proceed to Venice at once, sir?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'As quick as you can, Captain.'</p> - -<p>The Englishman looked at his watch deliberately, -and made a short mental calculation before he said -anything. It was eleven in the morning.</p> - -<p>'I can get to sea by five o'clock this afternoon, sir. -Will that do?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp was careful not to betray the least -surprise.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he said, as if he were not more than fairly -satisfied, 'that'll do nicely.'</p> - -<p>'Very well, sir, then I'll be off. It's about three -thousand miles, and she's supposed to do that at eighteen -knots with her own coal. Say eight days. But as -this is her maiden trip we must make allowance for -having to stop the engines once or twice. Good-morning, -sir.'</p> - -<p>'Good-day, Captain. Get in some coal and provisions -as soon as you arrive in Venice. I may want to -go to Timbuctoo, or to Andaman Islands or something. -I'm that sort of a man. I'm not sure where I'll go. -Good-bye.'</p> - -<p>The Captain stopped at the first telegraph office -on his way to the Waterloo Station and telegraphed -both to his chief engineer, Mr. M'Cosh, and his chief -mate, Mr. Johnson, for he thought it barely possible -that one or the other might be ashore.</p> - -<p>'Must have steam by 4 <span class="s08">P.M.</span> to-day to sail at once -long voyage. Coming next train. Owner in hurry. -Send ashore for my wash. Brown, Captain.'</p> - -<p>When the clocks struck five on shore that afternoon, -and the man at the wheel struck two bells from the -wheel-house, and the look-out forward repeated them -on the ship's bell, all according to the most approved -modern fashion on large steamers, the beautiful <i>Lancashire -Lass</i> was steaming out upon Southampton Water.</p> - -<p>Out of the merest curiosity Mr. Van Torp telegraphed -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> -to Cowes to be informed of the exact moment at which -his yacht was under way, and before six o'clock he had -a message.</p> - -<p>'Yacht sailed at four thirty-nine.'</p> - -<p>The new owner was so much pleased that he actually -smiled, for Captain Brown had been twenty-one minutes -better than his word.</p> - -<p>'I guess he'll do,' thought Mr. Van Torp. 'I only -hope I may need him.'</p> - -<p>He was not at all sure that he should need the <i>Lancashire -Lass</i> and Captain Brown; but it has often been -noticed that in the lives of born financiers even their -caprices often turn out to their advantage, and that -their least logical impulses in business matters are -worth more than the sober judgment of ordinary men.</p> - -<p>As for Captain Brown, he was a quiet little person -with a rather pink face and sparkling blue eyes, and he -knew his business. In fact he had passed as Extra -Master. He knew that he was in the service of one of -the richest men in the world, and that he commanded -a vessel likely to turn out one of the finest yachts afloat, -and he did not mean to lose such a berth either by -piling up his ship, or by being slow to do whatever his -owner wished done, within the boundaries of the possible; -but it had not occurred to him that his owner might -order him to exceed the limits of anything but mere -possibility, such, for instance, as those of the law, -civil, criminal, national, or international.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp had solid nerves, but when he had -sent his yacht to the only place where he thought he -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> -might possibly make use of it, he realised that he was -wasting valuable time while Logotheti was making all -the running, and his uncommon natural energy, finding -nothing to work upon as yet, made him furiously -impatient. It seemed to hum and sing in his head, -like the steam in an express engine when it is waiting -to start.</p> - -<p>He had come over to England on an impulse, as -soon as he had heard of Cordova's engagement. Until -then he had not believed that she would ever accept -the Greek, and when he learned from Lady Maud's -letter that the fact was announced, he 'saw red,' and -his resolution to prevent the marriage was made then -and there. He had no idea how he should carry it out, -but he knew that he must either succeed or come to -grief in the attempt, for as long as he had any money -left, or any strength, he would spend both lavishly for -that one purpose.</p> - -<p>Yet he did not know how to begin, and his lack -of imagination exasperated him beyond measure. He -was sleepless and lost his appetite, which had never -happened to him before; he stayed on in London -instead of going down to his place in Derbyshire, because -he was always sure that he meant to start for the Continent -in a few hours, with an infallible plan for success; -but he did not go.</p> - -<p>The most absurd schemes suggested themselves. -He was disgusted with what he took for his own stupidity, -and he tried to laugh at the sentimental vein that -ran through all his thoughts as the thread through a -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> -string of beads. He grew hot and cold as he recalled -the time when he had asked Margaret to marry him, -and he had frightened her and she had fled and locked -herself into her own room; his heart beat faster when -he thought of certain kindly words she had said to him -since then, and on which he built up a great hope now, -though they had meant nothing more to her than a -general forgiveness, where she really had very little to -forgive. A genuine offer of marriage from a millionaire -is not usually considered an insult, but since she had -chosen to look at it in that light, he was humble enough -to be grateful for her pardon. If he had not been so -miserably in love he would have been even more amazed -and alarmed at his own humility, for he had not shown -signs of such weakness before. In a life which had -been full of experience, though it was not yet long, he -had convinced himself that the 'softening' which comes -with years, and of which kind people often speak with -so much feeling, generally begins in the brain; and the -thought that he himself was growing less hard than he -had been, already filled him with apprehension. He -asked himself why he had withdrawn from the Nickel -Trust, unless it was because his faculties were failing -prematurely. At the mere thought, he craved the long-familiar -excitement of making money, and risking it, -and he wished he had a railway or a line of steamers -to play with; since he could not hit upon the scheme -for which he was racking his brains. For once in his -life, too, he felt lonely, and to make it worse he had not -received a line from his friend Lady Maud since she -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> -had abruptly left him in her own drawing-room. He -wondered whether she had yet made up her mind to -help him.</p> - -<p>He was living in a hotel in London, though he did -not like it. Americans, as a rule, would a little rather -live in hotels than in houses of their own, perhaps -because it is less trouble and no dearer, at least not in -American cities. Housekeeping in New York can be -done with less risk by a company than by an individual, -for companies do not succumb to nervous prostration, -whatever may happen to their employees.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Van Torp was an exception to the rule, for -he liked privacy, and even solitude, and though few -men were better able to face a newspaper reporter in -fair fight, he very much preferred not to be perpetually -on the look-out lest he should be obliged to escape by -back stairs and side doors, like a hunted thief. He -felt safer from such visits in London than in New York -or Paris, but only relatively so.</p> - -<p>He was meditating on the future one morning, over -an almost untouched breakfast, between nine and -ten o'clock, when his man Stemp brought a visiting -card.</p> - -<p>'Reporter?' he inquired, without looking up, as he -leaned far back in his chair, his gaze riveted on the cold -buttered toast.</p> - -<p>'No, sir. It's some sort of a foreigner, and he talks -a heathen language.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, he does, does he?' The question was asked in -a tone of far-away indifference. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>A long silence followed. Mr. Van Torp still stared -at the buttered toast and appeared to have forgotten -all about the card. Stemp endeavoured very tactfully -to rouse him from his reverie.</p> - -<p>'Shall I get you some more hot toast, sir?' he inquired -very gently.</p> - -<p>'Toast? No. No toast.'</p> - -<p>He did not move; his steady gaze did not waver. -Stemp waited a long time, motionless, with his little -salver in his hand. At last Van Torp changed his -position, threw his head so far back that it rested on the -top of the chair, thrust his hands deep into the pockets -of his trousers and stared at the ceiling as intently as -he had gazed at the plate. Then he spoke to his man -again.</p> - -<p>'Stemp.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'What do you suppose that fellow wants, now, -Stemp? Do you suppose he thinks I speak his heathen -language? What does he come bothering me for? -What's the good?'</p> - -<p>'Well, sir,' answered Stemp, 'I can't quite say, but -I believe there's something written on the card if you -care to look at it, sir, and he has a person with him -that speaks a little English. Shall I throw him out, -sir?'</p> - -<p>Stemp asked the question with such perfect gravity -that, being an Englishman, he might very well have been -thought to mean the words literally. But he did not. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span> -He merely adopted Mr. Van Torp's usual way of expressing -that the master was not at home.</p> - -<p>'I'll look at the card, anyway.'</p> - -<p>He stretched out one hand without turning his eyes -towards it; the careful Stemp promptly brought the -little salver into contact with the large fingers, which -picked up the card and raised it deliberately to the line -of vision. By this means Mr. Van Torp saved himself -the trouble of turning his head.</p> - -<p>It was a rather large card, bearing in the middle -two or three odd-looking signs which meant nothing -to him, but underneath them he read in plain characters -the single work 'Barak.'</p> - -<p>'Barrack!' grumbled the American. 'Rubbish! -Why not "teapot," or "rocking-horse," or anything -else that's appropriate?'</p> - -<p>As he paused for an answer, Stemp ventured to speak.</p> - -<p>'Can't say, sir. P'rhaps it's the only word he knows, -sir, so he's had it printed.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp turned his head at last, and his eyes glared -unpleasantly as he examined his valet's face. But the -Englishman's features were utterly impassive; if they -expressed anything it was contempt for the heathen -person outside, who only knew one word of English.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp seemed satisfied and glanced at the -card again.</p> - -<p>'I guess you didn't mean to be funny,' he said, as if -acknowledging that he had made a mistake.</p> - -<p>'Certainly not, sir,' answered Stemp, drawing himself -up with an air of injured pride, for he felt that his professional -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span> -manners were suspected, if not actually criticised.</p> - -<p>'That's all right,' observed Mr. Van Torp, turning -the card over. 'Oh, the writing's on the back, I see. -Yes. Now, that's very curious, I must say,' he said, -after reading the words. 'That's very curious,' he -repeated, laying strong and equal emphasis on the last -two words. 'Ask him to walk in, Stemp.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. With the man who speaks English for -him, I suppose, sir?'</p> - -<p>'No. He can wait outside till I want him, and you -can go away too. I'll see the man alone.'</p> - -<p>'Very good, sir.'</p> - -<p>As the valet went out Mr. Van Torp turned his chair -half round without getting up, so that he sat facing -the door. A moment later Stemp had ushered in the -visitor, and was gone.</p> - -<p>A slim youth came forward without boldness, but -without the least timidity, as if he were approaching -an equal. He had an oval face, no moustache, a complexion -like cream, short and thick black hair and very -clear dark eyes that met the American's fearlessly. -He was under the average height, and he wore rather -thin, loose grey clothes that had been made by a good -tailor. His hands and feet were smaller than a European's.</p> - -<p>'So you're Mr. Barrack,' Mr. Van Torp said, nodding -pleasantly.</p> - -<p>The young face smiled, and the parted lips showed -quite perfect teeth. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Barak,' answered the young man, giving the name -the right sound.</p> - -<p>'Yes, I understand, but I can't pronounce it like you. -Take a chair, Mr. Barrack, and draw up to the table.'</p> - -<p>The young man understood the gesture that explained -the speech and sat down.</p> - -<p>'So you're a friend of Mr. Logotheti's, and he advised -you to come to me? Understand? Logotheti of -Paris.'</p> - -<p>Barak smiled again, and nodded quickly as he recognised -the name. The American watched his face -attentively.</p> - -<p>'All right,' he continued. 'You can trot out your -things now, right on the table-cloth here.'</p> - -<p>He had seen enough of Indians and Mexicans in his -youth to learn the simple art of using signs, and he -easily made his meaning clear to his visitor. Barak -produced a little leathern bag, not much bigger than -an ordinary purse, and fastened with thin thongs, -which he slowly untied. Mr. Van Torp watched the -movements of the delicate fingers with great interest, -for he was an observant man.</p> - -<p>'With those hands,' he silently reflected, 'it's either -a lady or a thief, or both.'</p> - -<p>Barak took several little twists of tissue paper from -the bag, laid them in a row on the table-cloth, and then -began to open them one by one. Each tiny parcel -contained a ruby, and when the young man counted -them there were five in all, and they were fine stones -if they were genuine; but Mr. Van Torp was neither -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> -credulous nor easily surprised. When Barak looked -to see what impression he had produced on such a -desirable buyer, he was disappointed.</p> - -<p>'Nice,' said the American carelessly; 'nice rubies, -but I've seen better. I wonder if they're real, anyway. -They've found out how to make them by chemistry -now, you know.'</p> - -<p>But Barak understood nothing, of course, beyond the -fact that Mr. Van Torp seemed indifferent, which was a -common trick of wily customers; but there was something -about this one's manner that was not assumed. -Barak took the finest of the stones with the tips of his -slender young fingers, laid it in the palm of his other -hand, and held it under Mr. Van Torp's eyes, looking at -him with an inquiring expression. But the American -shook his head.</p> - -<p>'No rubies to-day, thank you,' he said.</p> - -<p>Barak nodded quietly, and at once began to wrap up -the stones, each in its own bit of paper, putting the -twists back into the bag one by one. Then he drew the -thongs together and tied them in a neat sort of knot -which Mr. Van Torp had never seen. The young man -then rose to go, but the millionaire stopped him.</p> - -<p>'Say, don't go just yet. I'll show you a ruby that'll -make you sit up.'</p> - -<p>He rose as he spoke, and Barak understood his smile -and question, and waited. Mr. Van Torp went into the -next room, and came back almost immediately, bringing -a small black morocco case, which he set on the table and -unlocked with a little key that hung on his watch-chain. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span> -He was not fond of wearing jewellery, and the box held -all his possessions of that sort, and was not full. There -were three or four sets of plain studs and links; there -were half a dozen very big gold collar-studs; there was a -bit of an old gold chain, apparently cut off at each end, -and having one cheap little diamond set in each link; -and there was a thin old wedding-ring that must have -been a woman's; besides a few other valueless trinkets, -all lying loose and in confusion. Mr. Van Torp shook -the box a little, poked the contents about with one large -finger, and soon found an uncut red stone about the size -of a hazel-nut, which he took out and placed on the -white cloth before his visitor.</p> - -<p>'Now that's what I call a ruby,' he said, with a smile -of satisfaction. 'Got any like that, young man? Because -if you have I'll talk to you, maybe. Yes,' he continued, -watching the Oriental's face, 'I told you I'd -make you sit up. But I didn't mean to scare you bald-headed. -What's the matter with you, anyway? Your -eyes are popping out of your head. Do you feel as if you -were going to have a fit? I say! Stemp!'</p> - -<p>Barak was indeed violently affected by the sight of -the uncut ruby, and his face had changed in a startling -way; a great vein like a whipcord suddenly showed itself -on his smooth forehead straight up and down; his lids -had opened so wide that they uncovered the white of -the eye almost all round the iris; he was biting his lower -lip so that it was swollen and blood-red against the little -white teeth; and a moment before Mr. Van Torp had -called out to his servant, the young man had reeled -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span> -visibly, and would perhaps have collapsed if the American -had not caught the slender waist and supported the -small head against his shoulder with his other hand.</p> - -<p>Stemp was not within hearing. He had been told -to go away, and he had gone, and meant to be rung for -when he was wanted, for he had suffered a distinct slight -in being suspected of a joke. Therefore Mr. Van Torp -called to him in vain, and meanwhile stood where he was -with his arm round Barak, and Barak's head on his -shoulder; but as no one came at his call, he lifted the -slim figure gently and carried it towards the sofa, and -while he was crossing the large room with his burden the -palpable truth was forced upon him that his visitor's -slimness was more apparent than real, and an affair of -shape rather than of pounds. Before he had quite -reached the lounge, however, Barak stirred, wriggled in -his arms, and sprang to the floor and stood upright, -blinking a little, like a person waking from a dream, but -quite steady, and trying to smile in an apologetic sort of -way, though evidently still deeply disturbed. Mr. Van -Torp smiled, too, as if to offer his congratulations on the -quick recovery.</p> - -<p>'Feel better now?' he inquired in a kindly tone, and -nodded. 'I wonder what on earth you're up to, young -lady?' he soliloquised, watching Barak's movements.</p> - -<p>He was much too cautious and wise to like being left -alone for many minutes with a girl, and a good-looking -one, who went about London dressed in men's clothes -and passed herself for a ruby merchant. Mr. Van Torp -was well aware that he was not a safe judge of precious -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> -stones, that the rubies he had seen might very well be -imitation, and that the girl's emotion at the sight of the -rough stone might be only a piece of clever acting, the -whole scene having been planned by a gang of thieves -for the purpose of robbing him of that very ruby, which -was worth a large sum, even in his estimation; for it was -nearly the counterpart of the one he had given Lady -Maud, though still uncut.</p> - -<p>Therefore he returned to the table and slipped the gem -into his pocket before going to the door to see whether -Stemp was within hail.</p> - -<p>But Barak now understood what he was going to do, -and ran before him, and stood before the door in an attitude -which expressed entreaty so clearly that Mr. Van -Torp was puzzled.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, standing still and looking into the -beautiful imploring eyes, 'what on earth do you want -now, Miss Barrack? Try and explain yourself.'</p> - -<p>A very singular conversation by signs now began.</p> - -<p>Barak pointed to the waistcoat-pocket into which he -had put the stone. The matter concerned that, of course, -and Van Torp nodded. Next, though after considerable -difficulty, she made him understand that she was asking -how he had got it, and when this was clear, he answered -by pretending to count out coins with his right hand on -the palm of his left to explain that he had bought it. -There was no mistaking this, and Barak nodded quickly -and went on to her next question. She wanted to know -what kind of man had sold him the ruby. She improvised -a pretty little dumb show in which she represented -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> -the seller and Mr. Van Torp the buyer of the ruby, and -then by gestures she asked if the man who sold it was -tall.</p> - -<p>Van Torp raised his hand several inches higher than -his own head. He had bought the ruby from a very tall -man. Putting both hands to her chin and then drawing -them down as if stroking a long beard, she inquired if the -man had one, and again the answer was affirmative. -She nodded excitedly and pointed first to Van Torp's -sandy hair and then to her own short black locks. The -American pointed to his own, and then touched his -watch-chain and smiled. The man's hair was fair, and -even golden. By a similar process she ascertained that -his eyes were blue and not black, and her excitement -grew. Last of all she tried to ask where the man was, -but it was some time before she could make Mr. Van -Torp understand what she meant. As if to help her -out of her difficulty, the sun shone through the clouds -at that moment and streamed into the room; she pointed -to it at once, turned her back to it, and then held out her -right hand to indicate the east, and her left to the west.</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes,' said Van Torp, who had seen Indians do the -same thing, 'it was west of here that I bought it of him, -a good way west.'</p> - -<p>He pointed in that direction, and thrust out his arm -as if he would make it reach much further if he could. -At this Barak looked deeply disappointed. Several -times, to show that she meant London, or at least England, -she pointed to the floor at her feet and looked inquiringly -at Van Torp, but he shook his head and pointed -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span> -to the west again, and made a gesture that meant crossing -something. He spoke to her as if she could understand.</p> - -<p>'I've got your meaning,' he said. 'You're after the -big man with the yellow beard, who is selling rubies from -the same place, and has very likely gone off with yours. -He looked like a bad egg in spite of his handsome face.'</p> - -<p>He turned his eyes thoughtfully to the window. -Barak plucked gently at his sleeve and pretended to -write in the palm of her left hand, and then went through -all the descriptive gestures again, and then once more -pretended to write, and coaxingly pushed him towards a -little table on which she saw writing materials.</p> - -<p>'You'd like to have his address, would you, Miss Barrack? -I wonder why you don't call in your interpreter -and tell me so. It would be much simpler than all this -dumb crambo.'</p> - -<p>Once more he made a step towards the door, but she -caught at his sleeve, and entreated him in her own language -not to call any one; and her voice was so deliciously -soft and beseeching that he yielded, and sat -down at the small table and wrote out an address from -memory. He handed her the half-sheet of paper when -he had dried the writing and had looked over it carefully.</p> - -<p>'Poor little thing!' he said in a tone of pity. 'If -you ever find him he'll eat you.'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_127" id="i_127"></a> -<img src="images/i_127.jpg" width="403" height="550" alt=""'You want my blessing, do you, Miss Barrack?'"" /> -<p class="caption">"'You want my blessing, do you, Miss Barrack?'"</p> -</div> - -<p>Barak again showed signs of great emotion when she -put the address into an inside pocket of her man's coat, -but it was not of the same kind as before. She took -Van Torp's big hand in both her own, and, bending down, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span> -she laid it on her head, meaning that he might dispose of -her life ever afterwards. But he did not understand.</p> - -<p>'You want my blessing, do you, Miss Barrack? Some -people don't think Brassy Van Torp's blessing worth -much, young lady, but you're welcome to it, such as it -is.'</p> - -<p>He patted her thick hair and smiled as she looked up, -and her eyes were dewy with tears.</p> - -<p>'That's all right, my dear,' he said. 'Don't cry!'</p> - -<p>She smiled too, because his tone was kind, and, standing -up, she took out her little leathern bag again quickly, -emptied the twists of paper into her hand, selected one -by touch, and slipped the rest back. She unwrapped a -large stone and held it up to the light, turning it a little -as she did so. Van Torp watched her with curiosity, -and with an amused suspicion that she had perhaps -played the whole scene in order to mollify him and induce -him to buy something. So many people had played much -more elaborate tricks in the hope of getting money from -him, and the stones might be imitations after all, in spite -of Logotheti's pencilled line of recommendation.</p> - -<p>But Barak's next action took Van Torp by surprise. -To his amazement, she pressed the ruby lightly to her -heart, then to her lips, and last of all to her forehead, and -before he knew what she was doing she had placed it in -his right hand and closed his fingers upon it. It was a -thank-offering.</p> - -<p>'Nonsense!' objected the millionaire, smiling, but -holding out the stone to her. 'It's very sweet of you, -but you don't mean it, and I don't take presents like -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span> -that. Why, it's worth a thousand pounds in Bond -Street any day!'</p> - -<p>But she put her hands behind her back and shook her -head, to show that she would not take it back. Then -with her empty hand she again touched her heart, her -lips, and forehead, and turned towards the door.</p> - -<p>'Here, stop!' said Mr. Van Torp, going after her. -'I can't take this thing! See here, I say! Put it back -into your pocket!'</p> - -<p>She turned and met him, and made a gesture of protest -and entreaty, as if earnestly begging him to keep the -gem. He looked at her keenly, and he was a judge of -humanity, and saw that she was hurt by his refusal. As -a last resource, he took out his pocket-book and showed -her a quantity of folded bank-notes.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, 'since you insist, Miss Barrack, I'll -buy the stone of you, but I'll be everlastingly jiggered if -I'll take it for nothing.'</p> - -<p>Barak's eyes suddenly flashed in a most surprising -way, her lower lip pouted, and her cheek faintly changed -colour, as a drop of scarlet pomegranate juice will tinge -a bowl of cream.</p> - -<p>She made one step forwards, plucked the stone from -his fingers, rather than took it, and with a quick, but -girlishly awkward movement, threw it towards the window -as hard as she could, stamping angrily with her -little foot at the same moment. Mr. Van Torp was extremely -disconcerted, as he sometimes was by the sudden -actions of the sex he did not understand. Fortunately -the stone hit the wall instead of going out of the window. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I'm really very sorry, Miss Barrack,' he said in a -tone of humble apology, and he went quickly and picked -up the gem. 'I hadn't quite understood, you see.'</p> - -<p>She watched him, and drew back instinctively towards -the door, as if expecting that he would again try to give -it back to her. But he shook his head now, bowed with -all the grace he could affect, which was little, and by way -of making her feel that he accepted the gift, he pressed -it to his heart, as she had done, and to his lips, but not -to his forehead, because he was afraid that might cause -some new mistake, as he did not know what the gesture -meant.</p> - -<p>Barak's face changed instantly; she smiled, nodded, -and waved her hand to him, to say that it was all right, -and that she was quite satisfied. Then she made a sort -of salute that he thought very graceful indeed, as if she -were taking something from near the floor and laying it -on her forehead, and she laughed softly and was out of -the room and had shut the door before he could call her -back again.</p> - -<p>He stood still in the middle of the room, looking at the -gem in his hand with an expression of grave doubt.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said to himself, and his lips formed the -words, though no sound articulated them, 'that's a -queer sort of a morning's work, anyway.'</p> - -<p>He reflected that the very last thing he had ever expected -was a present of a fine ruby from a pretty heathen -girl in man's clothes, recommended to him by Logotheti. -Though he almost laughed at the thought when it occurred -to him, he did not like the idea of keeping the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> -stone; yet he did not know what to do with it, for it -was more than probable that he was never to see Barak -again, and if he ever did, it was at least likely that she -would refuse to take back her gift, and as energetically -as on the first occasion.</p> - -<p>At that moment it occurred to him that he might sell -it to a dealer and give the proceeds to Lady Maud for -her good work. His recollections of Sunday School -were very misty, poor man, but a story came back to -him about some one who had observed that something -valuable might have been sold and the money given to -the poor. If he had remembered the rest, and especially -that the person who made the suggestion had been -Judas Iscariot, he would certainly have hesitated, for -he would have been sure that there was something -wrong with any advice that came from that quarter. -But, happily for the poor, the name of Judas had dropped -out of his memory in connexion with the incident.</p> - -<p>'At least it will do some good to somebody, and I -shall not be keeping what I've no right to.'</p> - -<p>A mere acquaintance, judging him by his hard face -and his extraordinary financial past, would not have -believed that such a simple and highly moral reflexion -could occur to him. But Lady Maud, who knew him, -would have given him credit for this and much more, -even though she felt that he had lately tempted her to -do something which her father would call dishonourable, -and that the temptation had not yet quite taken itself -off to the bottomless pit, where temptations are kept in -pickle by the devil's housekeeper. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp took his hat and gloves, but as he was -really a good American, he had no stick to take; and -he went out without even telling Stemp that he was -going. In spite of what Londoners were calling the -heat, he walked, and did not even feel warm; for in -the first place he had lately come from Washington and -New York, where a Hottentot would be very uncomfortable -in July, and, moreover, he had never been at -all sensitive to heat or cold, and lived as soberly as -an Arab in the desert. Therefore London seemed as -pleasantly cool to him with the thermometer at eighty -as it seems to a newly landed Anglo-Indian who has -lately seen the mercury at a hundred and thirty-five -on the shady side of the verandah.</p> - -<p>He walked up at a leisurely pace from his hotel by -the river to Piccadilly and Bond Street, and he entered -a jeweller's shop of modest appearance but ancient -reputation, which had been in the same place for nearly -a century, and had previously been on the other side -of the street.</p> - -<p>Outside, two well-dressed men were looking at the -things in the window; within, a broad-shouldered, -smart-looking man with black hair and dressed in perfectly -new blue serge was sitting by the counter with -his back to the door, talking with the old jeweller himself. -He turned on the chair when he heard the newcomer's -step, and Mr. Van Torp found himself face to -face with Konstantin Logotheti, whom he had supposed -to be in Paris.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, without betraying the surprise he -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> -felt, 'this is what I call a very pleasant accident, Mr. -Logotheti.'</p> - -<p>The Greek rose and shook hands, and the American -did not fail to observe on the counter a small piece of -tissue paper on which lay an uncut stone, much larger -than the one he had in his pocket.</p> - -<p>'If you are in any hurry,' said Logotheti politely, -'I don't mind waiting in the least. Mr. Pinney and -I are in the midst of a discussion that may never end, -and I believe neither of us has anything in the world -to do.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Pinney smiled benignly and put in a word in the -mercantile plural, which differs from that of royalty in -being used every day.</p> - -<p>'The truth is, we are not very busy just at this time -of the year,' he said.</p> - -<p>'That's very kind of you, Mr. Logotheti,' said Van -Torp, answering the latter, 'but I'm not really in a -hurry, thank you.'</p> - -<p>The stress he laid on the word 'really' might have -led one to the conclusion that he was pretending to be, -but was not. He sat down deliberately at a little distance, -took off his hat, and looked at the gem on the -counter.</p> - -<p>'I don't know anything about such things, of course,' -he said in a tone of reflexion, 'but I should think that -was quite a nice ruby.'</p> - -<p>Again Mr. Pinney smiled benignly, for Mr. Van Torp -had dealt with him for years.</p> - -<p>'It's a very fine stone indeed, sir,' he said, and then -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span> -turned to Logotheti again. 'I think we can undertake -to cut it for you in London,' he said. 'I will weigh it -and give you a careful estimate.'</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact, before Van Torp entered, Logotheti -had got so far as the question of setting the gem -for a lady's ring, but Mr. Pinney, like all the great -jewellers, was as discreet and tactful as a professional -diplomatist. How could he be sure that one customer -might like another to know about a ring ordered for a -lady? If Logotheti preferred secrecy, he would only -have to assent and go away, as if leaving the ruby to -be cut, and he could look in again when it was convenient; -and this was what he at once decided to do.</p> - -<p>'I think you're right, Mr. Pinney,' he said. 'I shall -leave it in your hands. That's really all,' he added, -turning to Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Really? My business won't take long either, and -we'll go together, if you like, and have a little chat. -I only came to get another of those extra large collar-studs -you make for me, Mr. Pinney. Have you got -another?'</p> - -<p>'We always keep them in stock for your convenience, -sir,' answered the famous jeweller, opening a special -little drawer behind the counter and producing a very -small morocco case.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp did not even open it, and had already -laid down the money, for he knew precisely what it -cost.</p> - -<p>'Thanks,' he said. 'You're always so obliging about -little things, Mr. Pinney.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Thank you, sir. We do our best. Good-morning, -sir, good morning.'</p> - -<p>The two millionaires went out together. Two well-dressed -men stood aside to let them pass and then -entered the shop.</p> - -<p>'Which way?' asked Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'Your way,' answered the American. 'I've nothing -to do.'</p> - -<p>'Nor have I,' laughed the Greek. 'Nothing in the -world! What can anybody find to do in London at -this time of year?'</p> - -<p>I'm sure I don't know,' echoed Van Torp, pleasantly. -'I supposed you were on the Continent somewhere.'</p> - -<p>'And I thought you were in America, and so, of course, -we meet at old Pinney's in London!'</p> - -<p>'Really! Did you think I was in America? Your -friend, the heathen girl in boy's clothes, brought me -your card this morning. I supposed you knew I was -here.'</p> - -<p>'No, but I thought you might be, within six months, -and I gave her several cards for people I know. So -she found you out! She's a born ferret—she would -find anything. Did you buy anything of her?'</p> - -<p>'No. I'm not buying rubies to-day. Much obliged -for sending her, all the same. You take an interest in -her, I suppose, Mr. Logotheti? Is that so?'</p> - -<p>'I?' Logotheti laughed a little. 'No, indeed! -Those days were over long ago. I'm engaged to be -married.'</p> - -<p>'By the bye, yes. I'd heard that, and I meant to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span> -congratulate you. I do now, anyway. When is it -to be? Settled that yet?'</p> - -<p>'Some time in October, I think. So you guessed that -Barak is a girl.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, that's right. I guessed she was. Do you know -anything about her?'</p> - -<p>'What she told me. But it may not be true.'</p> - -<p>'Told you? Do you mean to say you understand -her language?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes. Tartar is spoken all over the East, you -know. It's only a sort of simplified Turkish, and I -picked it up in the Crimea and the Caucasus when I -was travelling there some years ago. She comes from -some place in Central Asia within a possible distance -of Samarkand and the Transcaucasian railway, for -that was the way she ultimately got to the Caspian and -to Tiflis, and then to Constantinople and Paris. How -a mere girl, brought up in a Tartar village, could have -made such a journey safely, carrying a small fortune -with her in precious stones, is something nobody can -understand who has not lived in the East, where anything -is possible. A woman is practically sacred in -a Mohammedan country. Any man who molests her -stands a good chance of being torn to ribands by the -other men.'</p> - -<p>'It used to be something like that in the West, when -I punched cattle,' observed Mr. Van Torp, quietly. -'A man who interfered with a lady there was liable to -get into trouble. Progress works both ways, up and -down, doesn't it? Bears at one end and rots at the -other. Isn't that so?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span></p> - -<p>'It's just as true of civilisation,' answered the -Greek.</p> - -<p>'They're the same thing, I should say,' objected Mr. -Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Oh, not quite, I think!'</p> - -<p>Logotheti smiled at his own thoughts. To his thinking, -civilisation meant an epigram of Meleager, or -Simonides' epitaph on the Spartans who fell at Thermopylæ, -or a Tragedy of Sophocles, or the Aphrodite -of Syracuse, or the Victory of the Louvre. Progress -meant railways, the Paris Bourse, the Nickel Trust, and -Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Well,' said the latter, 'you were telling me about -Miss Barrack.'</p> - -<p>'Is that what you call her?' Logotheti laughed -lightly.</p> - -<p>He seemed to be in very good humour. Men often -are, just before marriage; and sometimes, it is said, -when they are on the eve of great misfortunes which -they cannot possibly foresee. Fate loves unexpected -contrasts. Logotheti told his companion the story of -the ruby mine, substantially as it was narrated at the -beginning of this tale, not dreaming that Van Torp had -perhaps met and talked with the man who had played -so large a part in it, and to find whom Baraka had traversed -many dangers and overcome many difficulties.</p> - -<p>'It sounds like the <i>Arabian Nights</i>,' said Mr. Van Torp, -as if he found it hard to believe.</p> - -<p>'Exactly,' assented Logotheti. 'And, oddly enough, -the first of these stories is about Samarkand, which is -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> -not so very far from Baraka's native village. It seems -to have taken the girl about a year to find her way to -Constantinople, and when she got there she naturally -supposed that it was the capital of the world, and that -her man, being very great and very rich, thanks to her, -must of course live there. So she searched Stamboul -and Pera for him, during seven or eight months. She -lived in the house of a good old Persian merchant, under -the protection of his wife, and learned that there was -a world called Europe where her man might be living, -and cities called Paris and London, where people pay -fabulous prices for precious stones. Persian merchants -are generally well-educated men, you know. At last -she made up her mind to dress like a man, she picked -up an honest Turkish man-servant who had been all -over Europe with a diplomatist and could speak some -French and English as well as Tartar, she got a letter -of recommendation to me from a Greek banker, through -the Persian who did business with him, joined some -Greeks who were coming to Marseilles by sea, and here -she is. Now you know as much as I do. She is perfectly -fearless, and as much more sure of herself than -any man ever was, as some young women can be in -this queer world. Of course, she'll never find the brute -who thought he was leaving her to be murdered by her -relations, but if she ever did, she would either marry -him or cut his throat.'</p> - -<p>'Nice, amiable kind of girl,' remarked Mr. Van Torp, -who remembered her behaviour when he had refused -her proffered gift. 'That's very interesting, Mr. Logotheti. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span> -How long do you count on being in London this -time? Three or four days, maybe?'</p> - -<p>'I daresay. No longer, I fancy.'</p> - -<p>'Why don't you come and take dinner with me some -night?' asked the American. 'Day after to-morrow, -perhaps. I'd be pleased to have you.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you very much,' Logotheti answered. 'Since -you ask me, I see no reason why I should not dine with -you, if you want me.'</p> - -<p>They agreed upon the place and hour, and each suddenly -remembered an engagement.</p> - -<p>'By the way,' said Mr. Van Torp without apparent -interest, 'I hope Madame Cordova is quite well? -Where's she hiding from you?'</p> - -<p>'Just now the hiding-place is Bayreuth. She's gone -there with Mrs. Rushmore to hear <i>Parsifal</i>. I believe -I'm not musical enough for that, so I'm roving till it's -over. That's my personal history at this moment! -And Miss Donne is quite well, I believe, thank you.'</p> - -<p>'I notice you call her "Miss Donne" when you speak -of her,' said Van Torp. 'Excuse me if I made a mistake -just now. I've always called her Madame Cordova.'</p> - -<p>'It doesn't matter at all,' answered Logotheti carelessly, -'but I believe she prefers to be called by her -own name amongst friends. Good-bye till day after -to-morrow, then.'</p> - -<p>'At half after eight.'</p> - -<p>'All right—half-past—I shall remember.'</p> - -<p>But at two o'clock, on the next day but one, Logotheti -received a note, brought by hand, in which Mr. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span> -Van Torp said that to his very great regret he had been -called away suddenly, and hoped that Logotheti would -forgive him, as the matter was of such urgent importance -that he would have already left London when the -note was received.</p> - -<p>This was more than true, if possible, for the writer -had left town two days earlier, very soon after he had -parted from Logotheti in Pall Mall, although the note -had not been delivered till forty-eight hours later. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> - -<p class="p2">Mr. Van Torp knew no more about Bayreuth than about -Samarkand, beyond the fact that at certain stated times -performances of Wagner's operas were given there with -as much solemnity as great religious festivals, and that -musical people spoke of the Bayreuth season in a curiously -reverent manner. He would have been much -surprised if any one had told him that he often whistled -fragments of <i>Parsifal</i> to himself and liked the sound of -them; for he had a natural ear and a good memory, and -had whistled remarkably well when he was a boy.</p> - -<p>The truth about this seemingly impossible circumstance -was really very simple. In what he called his -cow-punching days, he had been for six months in company -with two young men who used to whistle softly -together by the hour beside the camp fire, and none of -the other 'boys' had ever heard the strange tunes they -seemed to like best, but Van Torp had caught and remembered -many fragments, almost unconsciously, and -he whistled them to himself because they gave him a -sensation which no 'real music' ever did. Extraordinary -natures, like his, are often endowed with unnoticed gifts -and tastes quite unlike those of most people. No one -knew anything about the young men who whistled Wagner; -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span> -the 'Lost Legion' hides many secrets, and the two -were not popular with the rest, though they knew their -business and did their work fairly well. One of them -was afterwards said to have been killed in a shooting -affray and the other had disappeared about the same -time, no one knew how, or cared, though Mr. Van Torp -thought he had recognised him once many years later. -They were neither Americans nor Englishmen, though -they both spoke English well, and never were heard to -use any other language. But that is common enough -with emigrants to the United States and elsewhere. -Every one who has been to sea in an American vessel -knows how the Scandinavian sailors insist on speaking -English amongst themselves, instead of their own language.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp was fond of music, quite apart from his -admiration for the greatest living lyric soprano, and since -it was his fancy to go to Bayreuth in the hope of seeing -her, he meant to hear Wagner's masterpiece, and supposed -that there would not be any difficulty about such -a simple matter, nor about obtaining the sort of rooms -he was accustomed to, in the sort of hotel he expected to -find where so many rich people went every other year. -Any one who has been to the holy place of the Wagnerians -can imagine his surprise when, after infinite difficulty, he -found himself, his belongings and his man deposited in -one small attic room of a Bavarian tanner's house, with -one feather-bed, one basin and one towel for furniture.</p> - -<p>'Stemp,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'this is a heathen town.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I suppose I'm thought close about money,' continued -the millionaire, thinking aloud, 'but I call five dollars a -day dear, for this room, don't you?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir, I do indeed! I call it downright robbery. -That's what I call it, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Well, I suppose they call it business here, and quite -a good business too. But I'd like to buy the whole thing -and show 'em how to run it. They'd make more in the -end.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. I hope you will, sir. Beg pardon, sir, but -do you think it would cost a great deal?'</p> - -<p>'They'd ask a great deal, anyway,' answered the millionaire -thoughtfully. 'Stemp, suppose you get me out -some things and then take a look around, while I try -to get a wash in that—that tea-service there.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp eyed the exiguous basin and jug with -some curiosity and much contempt. Stemp, impassive -and correct under all circumstances, unstrapped a valise, -laid out on the bed what his master might need, and -inquired if he wished anything else.</p> - -<p>'There isn't anything else,' answered Mr. Van Torp, -gloomily.</p> - -<p>'When shall I come back, sir?'</p> - -<p>'In twenty-five minutes. There isn't half an hour's -wash in that soup-plate, anyway.'</p> - -<p>He eyed the wretched basin with a glance that might -almost have cracked it. When his man had gone, he -proceeded to his toilet, such as it was, and solaced himself -by softly whistling as much of the 'Good Friday' -music as he remembered, little dreaming what it was, or -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span> -that his performance was followed with nervous and almost -feverish interest by the occupant of the next room -in the attic, a poor musician who had saved and scraped -for years to sit at the musical feast during three days.</p> - -<p>'E sharp!' cried an agonised voice on the other side -of the closed door, in a strong German accent. 'I know -it is E sharp! I know it!'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp stopped whistling at once, lowered his -razor, and turned a mask of soapsuds in the direction -whence the sound came.</p> - -<p>'Do you mean me?' he inquired in a displeased tone.</p> - -<p>'I mean who whistles the "Good Friday" music,' answered -the voice. 'I tell you, I know it is E sharp in that -place. I have the score. I shall show you if you believe -not.'</p> - -<p>'He's mad,' observed Mr. Van Torp, beginning to shave -again. 'Are you a lunatic?' he asked, pausing after a -moment. 'What's the matter with you anyhow?'</p> - -<p>'I am a musician, I tell you! I am a pianist!'</p> - -<p>'It's the same thing,' said Mr. Van Torp, working -carefully on his upper lip, under his right nostril.</p> - -<p>'I shall tell you that you are a barbarian!' retorted -the voice.</p> - -<p>'Well, that doesn't hurt,' answered Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>He heard a sort of snort of scorn on the other side -and there was silence again. But before long, as he -got away from his upper lip with the razor, he unconsciously -began to whistle again, and he must have -made the same mistake as before, for he was interrupted -by a deep groan of pain from the next room. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Not feeling very well?' he inquired in a tone of dry -jocularity. 'Stomach upset?'</p> - -<p>'E sharp!' screamed the wretched pianist.</p> - -<p>Van Torp could hear him dancing with rage, or pain.</p> - -<p>'See here, whoever you are, don't call names! I don't -like it. See? I've paid for this room and I'm going on -whistling if I like, and just as long as I like.'</p> - -<p>'You say you make noises you like?' cried the infuriated -musician. 'Oh, no! You shall not! There are -rules! We are not in London, sir, we are in Bayreuth! -If you make noises, you shall be thrown out of the house.'</p> - -<p>'Shall I? Well, now, that's a funny sort of a rule for -a hotel, isn't it?'</p> - -<p>'I go complain of you,' retorted the other, and Mr. Van -Torp heard a door opened and shut again.</p> - -<p>In a few minutes he had done all that the conditions -would permit in the way of making himself presentable, -and just as he left the room he was met by Stemp, the -twenty-five minutes being just over.</p> - -<p>'Very good, sir. I'll do what I can, sir,' said the excellent -man, as Mr. Van Torp pointed to the things that lay -about.</p> - -<p>As he went out, he recognised the voice of his neighbour, -who was talking excitedly in voluble German, -somewhere at the back of the house.</p> - -<p>'He's complaining now,' thought Mr. Van Torp, with -something like a smile.</p> - -<p>He had already been to the best hotel, in the hope of -obtaining rooms, and he had no difficulty in finding it -again. He asked for Madame da Cordova. She was at -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> -home, for it was an off-day; he sent in his card, and was -presently led to her sitting-room. Times had changed. -Six months earlier he would have been told that there -had been a mistake and that she had gone out.</p> - -<p>She was alone; a letter she had been writing lay -unfinished on the queer little desk near the shaded window, -and her pen had fallen across the paper. On the -round table in the middle of the small bare room there -stood a plain white vase full of corn-flowers and poppies, -and Margaret was standing there, rearranging them, or -pretending to do so.</p> - -<p>She was looking her very best, and as she raised her -eyes and greeted him with a friendly smile, Mr. Van Torp -thought she had never been so handsome before. It had -not yet occurred to him to compare her with Lady Maud, -because for some mysterious natural cause the beautiful -Englishwoman who was his best friend had never exerted -even the slightest feminine influence on his being; he -would have carried her in his arms, if need had been, as -he had carried the Tartar girl, and not a thrill of his nerves -nor one faster beat of his heart would have disturbed his -placidity; she knew it, as women know such things, and -the knowledge made her quite sure that he was not really -the coarse-grained and rather animal son of nature that -many people said he was, the sort of man to whom any -one good-looking woman is much the same as another, -a little more amusing than good food, a little less satisfactory -than good wine.</p> - -<p>But the handsome singer stirred his blood, the touch -of her hand electrified him, and the mere thought -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> -that any other man should ever make her his own was -unbearable. After he had first met her he had pursued -her with such pertinacity and such utter ignorance of -women's ways that he had frightened her, and she had -frankly detested him for a time; but he had learned a -lesson and he profited by it with that astounding adaptability -which makes American men and women just what -they are.</p> - -<p>Margaret held out her hand and he took it; and -though its touch and her friendly smile were like a taste -of heaven just then, he pressed her fingers neither too -much nor too little, and his face betrayed no emotion.</p> - -<p>'It's very kind of you to receive me, Miss Donne,' he -said quietly.</p> - -<p>'I think it's very kind of you to come and see me,' -Margaret answered. 'Come and sit down and tell me -how you got here—and why!'</p> - -<p>'Well,' he answered slowly, as they seated themselves -side by side on the hard green sofa, 'I don't suppose I -can explain, so that you'll understand, but I'll try. -Different kinds of things brought me. I heard you were -here from Lady Maud, and I thought perhaps I might -have an opportunity for a little talk. And then—oh, -I don't know. I've seen everything worth seeing except -a battle and <i>Parsifal</i>, and as it seemed so easy, and you -were here, I thought I'd have a look at the opera, since -I can't see the fight.'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed a little.</p> - -<p>'I hope you will like it,' she said. 'Have you a good -seat?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I haven't got a ticket yet,' answered Mr. Van Torp, -in blissful ignorance.</p> - -<p>'No seat!' The Primadonna's surprise was almost -dramatic. 'But how in the world do you expect to get -one now? Don't you know that the seats for <i>Parsifal</i> -are all taken months beforehand?'</p> - -<p>'Are they really?' He was very calm about it. -'Then I suppose I shall have to get a ticket from a -speculator. I don't see anything hard about that.'</p> - -<p>'My dear friend, there are no speculators here, and -there are no tickets to be had. You might as well ask -for the moon!'</p> - -<p>'I can stand, then. I'm not afraid of getting tired.'</p> - -<p>'There are no standing places at all! No one is allowed -to go in who has not a seat. A week ago you -might possibly have picked up one in Munich, given up -by some one at the last moment, but such chances are -jumped at! I wonder that you even got a place to -sleep!'</p> - -<p>'Well, it's not much of a place,' said Mr. Van Torp, -thoughtfully. 'There's one room the size of a horsebox, -one bed, one basin, one pitcher and one towel, and -I've brought my valet with me. I've concluded to let -him sleep while I'm at the opera, and he'll sit up when -I want to go to bed. Box and Cox. I don't know what -he'll sit on, for there's no chair, but he's got to sit.'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed, for he amused her.</p> - -<p>'I suppose you're exaggerating a little bit,' she said. -'It's not really quite so bad as that, is it?'</p> - -<p>'It's worse. There's a lunatic in the next room who -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span> -calls me E. Sharp through the door, and has lodged a -complaint already because I whistled while I was shaving. -It's not a very good hotel. Who is E. Sharp, anyway? -Maybe that was the name of the last man who occupied -that room. I don't know, but I don't like the idea of -having a mad German pianist for a neighbour. He may -get in while I'm asleep and think I'm the piano, and hammer -the life out of me, the way they do. I've seen a perfectly -new piano wrecked in a single concert by a fellow -who didn't look as if he had the strength to kick a mosquito. -They're so deceptive, pianists! Nervous men -are often like that, and most pianists are nothing but -nerves and hair.'</p> - -<p>He amused her, for she had never seen him in his -present mood.</p> - -<p>'E sharp is a note,' she said. 'On the piano it's the -same as F natural. You must have been whistling -something your neighbour knew, and you made a mistake, -and nervous musicians really suffer if one does -that. But it must have been something rather complicated, -to have an E sharp in it! It wasn't "Suwanee -River," nor the "Washington Post" either! Indeed I -should rather like to know what it was.'</p> - -<p>'Old tunes I picked up when I was cow-punching, -years ago,' answered Mr. Van Torp. 'I don't know -where they came from, for I never asked, but they're -not like other tunes, that's certain, and I like them. -They remind me of the old days out West, when I had -no money and nothing to worry about.'</p> - -<p>'I'm very fond of whistling, too,' Margaret said. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> -'I study all my parts by whistling them, so as to save -my voice.'</p> - -<p>'Really! I had no idea that was possible.'</p> - -<p>'Quite. Perhaps you whistle very well. Won't you -let me hear the tune that irritated your neighbour the -pianist? Perhaps I know it, too.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'I suppose I could. I should -be a little shy before you,' he added, quite naturally. -'If you'll excuse me, I'll just go and stand before the -window so that I can't see you. Perhaps I can manage -it that way.'</p> - -<p>Margaret, who was bored to the verge of collapse on -the off-days, thought him much nicer than he had formerly -been, and she liked his perfect simplicity.</p> - -<p>'Stand anywhere you like,' she said, 'but let me hear -the tune.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp rose and went to the window and she -looked quietly at his square figure and his massive, sandy -head and his strong neck. Presently he began to whistle, -very softly and perfectly in tune. Many a street-boy -could do as well, no doubt, and Mrs. Rushmore would -have called it a vulgar accomplishment, but the magnificent -Primadonna was too true a musician, as well as a -singer, not to take pleasure in a sweet sound, even if it -were produced by a street-boy.</p> - -<p>But as Mr. Van Torp went on, she opened her eyes -very wide and held her breath. There was no mistake -about it; he was whistling long pieces from <i>Parsifal</i>, -as far as it was possible to convey an idea of such -music by such means. Margaret had studied it before -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span> -coming to Bayreuth, in order to understand it better; -she had now already heard it once, and had felt the -greatest musical emotion of her life—one that had -stirred other emotions, too, strange ones quite new to -her.</p> - -<p>She held her breath and listened, and her eyes that -had been wide open in astonishment, slowly closed again -in pleasure, and presently, when he reached the 'Good -Friday' music, her own matchless voice floated out -with her unconscious breath, in such perfect octaves -with his high whistling that at first he did not understand; -but when he did, the rough hard man shivered -suddenly and steadied himself against the window-sill, -and Margaret's voice went on alone, with faintly breathed -words and then without them, following the instrumentation -to the end of the scene, beyond what he had ever -heard.</p> - -<p>Then there was silence in the room, and neither of the -two moved for some moments, but at last Van Torp -turned, and came back.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' he said, in a low voice.</p> - -<p>Margaret smiled and passed her hand over her eyes -quickly, as if to dispel a vision she had seen. Then she -spoke.</p> - -<p>'Do you really not know what that music is?' she -asked. 'Really, really?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, quite honestly I don't!'</p> - -<p>'You're not joking? You're not laughing at me?'</p> - -<p>'I?' He could not understand. 'I shouldn't dare!' -he said. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span></p> - -<p>'You've been whistling some of <i>Parsifal</i>, some of -the most beautiful music that ever was written—and -you whistle marvellously, for it's anything but easy! -Where in the world did you learn it? Don't tell me -that those are "old tunes" you picked up on a Californian -ranch!'</p> - -<p>'It's true, all the same,' Van Torp answered.</p> - -<p>He told her of the two foreigners who used to whistle -together in the evenings, and how one was supposed -to have been shot and the other had disappeared, no -one had known whither, nor had cared.</p> - -<p>'All sorts of young fellows used to drift out there,' -he said, 'and one couldn't tell where they came from, -though I can give a guess at where some of them must -have been, since I've seen the world. There were -younger sons of English gentlemen, fellows whose -fathers were genuine lords, maybe, who had not brains -enough to get into the army or the Church. There were -cashiered Prussian officers, and Frenchmen who had -most likely killed women out of jealousy, and Sicilian -bandits, and broken Society men from New York. -There were all sorts. And there was me. And we all -spoke different kinds of English and had different kinds -of tastes, good and bad—mostly bad. There was only -one thing we could all do alike, and that was to ride.'</p> - -<p>'I never thought of you as riding,' Margaret said.</p> - -<p>'Well, why should you? But I can, because I was -just a common cow-boy and had to, for a living.'</p> - -<p>'It's intensely interesting—what a strange life -you have had! Tell me more about yourself, won't you?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span></p> - -<p>'There's not much to tell, it seems to me,' said Van -Torp. 'From being a cow-boy I turned into a miner, -and struck a little silver, and I sold that and got into -nickel, and I made the Nickel Trust what it is, more -by financing it than anything else, and I got almost -all of it. And now I've sold the whole thing.'</p> - -<p>'Sold the Nickel Trust?' Margaret was quite as -much surprised as Lady Maud had been.</p> - -<p>'Yes. I wasn't made to do one thing long, I suppose. -If I were, I should still be a cow-boy. Just now, I'm -here to go to <i>Parsifal</i>, and since you say those tunes are -out of that opera, I daresay I'm going to like it very much.'</p> - -<p>'It's all very uncanny,' Margaret said thoughtfully. -'I wonder who those two men were, and what became -of the one who disappeared.'</p> - -<p>'I've a strong impression that I saw him in New -York the other day,' Van Torp answered. 'If I'm -right, he's made money—doing quite well, I should -think. It wouldn't surprise me to hear he'd got together -a million or so.'</p> - -<p>'Really? What is he doing? Your stories grow more -and more interesting!'</p> - -<p>'If he's the fellow we used to call Levi Longlegs on -the ranch, he's a Russian now. I'm not perfectly sure, -for he had no hair on his face then, and now he has a -beard like a French sapper. But the eyes and the nose -and the voice and the accent are the same, and the age -would about correspond. Handsome man, I suppose -you'd call him. His name is Kralinsky just at present, -and he's found a whole mine of rubies somewhere.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Really? I love rubies. They are my favourite -stones.'</p> - -<p>'Are they? That's funny. I've got an uncut one -in my pocket now, if you'd like to see it. I believe it -comes from Kralinsky's mine, too, though I got it -through a friend of yours, two or three days ago.'</p> - -<p>'A friend of mine?'</p> - -<p>He was poking his large fingers into one of the pockets -of his waistcoat in search of the stone.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Logotheti,' he said, just as he found it. 'He's -discovered a handsome young woman from Tartary -or somewhere, who has a few rubies to sell that look -very much like Kralinsky's. This is one of them.'</p> - -<p>He had unwrapped the stone now and he offered it -to her, holding it out in the palm of his hand. She -took it delicately and laid it in her own, which was so -white that the gem shed a delicate pomegranate-coloured -light on the skin all round it. She admired it, turned -it over with one finger, held it up towards the window, -and laid it in her palm again.</p> - -<p>But Van Torp had set her thinking about Logotheti -and the Tartar girl. She put out her hand to give back -the ruby.</p> - -<p>'I should like you to keep it, if you will,' he said. -'I shan't forget the pleasure I've had in seeing you like -this, but you'll forget all about our meeting here—the -stone may just make you remember it sometimes.'</p> - -<p>He spoke so quietly, so gently, that she was taken -off her guard, and was touched, and very much surprised -to feel that she was. She looked into his eyes rather -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span> -cautiously, remembering well how she had formerly -seen something terrifying in them if she looked an instant -too long; but now they made her think of the eyes of a -large affectionate bulldog.</p> - -<p>'You're very kind to want to give it to me,' she -answered after a moment's hesitation, 'but I don't like -to accept anything so valuable, now that I'm engaged -to be married. Konstantin might not like it. But -you're so kind; give me any little thing of no value -that you have in your pocket, for I mean to remember -this day, indeed I do!'</p> - -<p>'I gave nothing for the ruby,' said Van Torp, still -not taking it from her, 'so it has no value for me. I -wouldn't offer you anything that cost me money, now, -unless it was a theatre for your own. Perhaps the -thing's glass, after all; I've not shown it to any jeweller. -The girl made me take it, because I helped her in a -sort of way. When I wanted to pay for it she tried -to throw it out of the window. So I had to accept -it to calm her down, and she went off and left no address, -and I thought I'd like you to have it, if you would.'</p> - -<p>'Are you quite, quite sure you did not pay for it?' -Margaret asked. 'If we are going to be friends, you -must please always be very accurate.'</p> - -<p>'I've told you exactly what happened,' said Van -Torp. 'Won't you take it now?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, I will, and thank you very much indeed. I -love rubies, and this is a beauty, and not preposterously -big. I think I shall have it set as it is, uncut, and only -polished, so that it will always be itself, just as you -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span> -gave it to me. I shall think of the "Good Friday" -music and the Chimes, and this hideous little room, -and your clever whistling, whenever I look at it.'</p> - -<p>'You're kind to-day,' said Mr. Van Torp, after a -moment's debate as to whether he should say anything -at all.</p> - -<p>'Am I? You mean that I used to be very disagreeable, -don't you?' She smiled as she glanced at him. -'I must have been, I'm sure, for you used to frighten -me ever so much. But I'm not in the least afraid of -you now!'</p> - -<p>'Why should any one be afraid of me?' asked Van -Torp, whose mere smile had been known to terrify Wall -Street when a 'drop' was expected.</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed a little, without looking at him.</p> - -<p>'Tell me all about the Tartar girl,' she said, instead -of answering his question.</p> - -<p>She would not have been the thoroughly feminine -woman she was—far more feminine, in the simple -human sense, than Lady Maud—if she had not felt -satisfaction in having tamed the formidable money-wolf -so that he fawned at her feet; but perhaps she was -even more pleased, or amused, than she thought she -could be by any such success. The man was so very -much stronger and rougher than any other man with -whom she had ever been acquainted, and she had once -believed him to be such a thorough brute, that this final -conquest flattered her vanity. The more dangerous the -character of the wild beast, the greater the merit of the -lion-tamer who subdues him. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Tell me about this handsome Tartar girl,' she said -again.</p> - -<p>Van Torp told her Baraka's history, as far as he knew -it from Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'I never heard such an amusing set of stories as you -are telling me to-day,' she said.</p> - -<p>'That particular one is Logotheti's,' he answered, -'and he can probably tell you much more about the -girl.'</p> - -<p>'Is she really very pretty?' Margaret asked.</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Van Torp, quoting a saying of his favourite -great man, 'for people who like that kind of thing, I -should think that would be the kind of thing they'd -like.'</p> - -<p>The Primadonna smiled.</p> - -<p>'Can you describe her?' she asked.</p> - -<p>'Did you ever read a fairy story about a mouse that -could turn into a tiger when it liked?' inquired the -American in a tone of profound meditation, as if he -were contemplating a vision which Margaret could not -see.</p> - -<p>'No,' said she, 'I never did.'</p> - -<p>'I don't think I ever did, either. But there might -be a fairy story about that, mightn't there?' Margaret -nodded, with an expression of displeased interest, and -he went on: 'Well, it describes Miss Barrack to a T. -Yes, that's what I call her. She's put "Barak" on -her business card, whatever that means in a Christian -language; but when I found out it was a girl, I christened -her Miss Barrack. People have to have names of -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span> -some kind if you're going to talk about them. But -that's a digression. Pardon me. You'd like a description -of the young person. I'm just thinking.'</p> - -<p>'How did you find out she was a girl?' Margaret -asked, and her tone was suddenly hard.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp was not prepared for the question, -and felt very uncomfortable for a moment. In his conversation -with women he was almost morbidly prudish -about everything which had the remotest connexion -with sex. He wondered how he could convey to Margaret -the information that when he had been obliged to -carry the pretended boy across the room, he had been -instantly and palpably convinced that he was carrying -a girl.</p> - -<p>'It was a question of form, you see,' he said awkwardly.</p> - -<p>'Form? Formality? I don't understand.' Margaret -was really puzzled.</p> - -<p>'No, no!' Mr. Van Torp was actually blushing. -'I mean his form—or her form——'</p> - -<p>'Oh, her figure? You merely guessed it was a girl -in boy's clothes?'</p> - -<p>'Certainly. Yes. Only, you see, he had a kind of -fit—the boy did—and I thought he was going to -faint, so I picked him up and carried him to a sofa, -and—well, you understand, Miss Donne. I knew I -hadn't got a boy in my arms, that's all.'</p> - -<p>'I should think so!' assented the Englishwoman—'I'm -sure I should! When you found out she was a -girl, how did she strike you?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Very attractive, I should say; very attractive,' he -repeated with more emphasis. 'People who admire -brunettes might think her quite fascinating. She has -really extraordinary eyes, to begin with, those long -fruity Eastern eyes, you know, that can look so far to -the right and left through their eyelashes. Do you -know what I mean?'</p> - -<p>'Perfectly. You make it very clear. Go on, please.'</p> - -<p>'Her eyes—yes.' Mr. Van Torp appeared to be -thinking again. 'Well, there was her complexion, too. -It's first-rate for a dark girl. Ever been in a first-class -dairy? Do you know the colour of Alderney cream -when it's ready to be skimmed? Her complexion's -just like that, and when she's angry, it's as if you -squeezed the juice of about one red currant into the -whole pan of cream. Not more than one, I should -think. See what I mean?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. She must be awfully pretty. Tell me more. -Has she nice hair? Even teeth?'</p> - -<p>'I should think she had!' answered Mr. Van Torp, -with even more enthusiasm than he had shown yet. -'They're as small and even and white as if somebody -had gone to work and carved them all around half a -new billiard ball, not separate, you understand, but all -in one piece. Very pretty mouth they make, with -those rather broiled-salmon-coloured lips she has, and -a little chin that points up, as if she could hold her own. -She can, too. Her hair? Well, you see, she's cut it -short, to be a boy, but it's as thick as a beaver's fur, I -should say, and pretty black. It's a silky kind of hair, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span> -that looks alive. You know what I mean, I daresay. -Some brunettes' hair looks coarse and dusky, like -horsehair, but hers isn't that kind, and it makes a sort -of reflection in the sun, the way a young raven's wing-feathers -do, if you understand.'</p> - -<p>'You're describing a raving beauty, it seems to me.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no,' said the American innocently. 'Now if our -friend Griggs, the novelist, were here, he'd find all the -right words and things, but I can only tell you just -what I saw.'</p> - -<p>'You tell it uncommonly well!' Margaret's face -expressed anything but pleasure. 'Is she tall?'</p> - -<p>'It's hard to tell, in men's clothes. Three inches -shorter than I am, maybe. I'm a middle-sized man, I -suppose. I used to be five feet ten in my shoes. She -may be five feet seven, not more.'</p> - -<p>'But that's tall for a woman!'</p> - -<p>'Is it?' Mr. Van Torp's tone expressed an innocent -indifference.</p> - -<p>'Yes. Has she nice hands?'</p> - -<p>'I didn't notice her hands. Oh, yes, I remember!' -he exclaimed, suddenly correcting himself. 'I did -notice them. She held up that ruby to the light and -I happened to look at her fingers. Small, well-shaped -fingers, tapering nicely, but with a sort of firm look -about them that you don't often see in a woman's -hands. You've got it, too.'</p> - -<p>'Have I?' Margaret looked down at her right hand. -'But, of course, hers are smaller than mine,' she said.</p> - -<p>'Well, you see, Orientals almost all have very small -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span> -hands and feet—too small, I call them—little tiny -feet like mice.'</p> - -<p>Margaret's own were well-shaped, but by no means -small.</p> - -<p>'The girl is in London, you say?' Her tone made -a question of the statement.</p> - -<p>'She was there two days ago, when I left. At least, -she had been to see me that very morning. Almost -as soon as she was gone I went out, and in the first -shop I looked into I met Logotheti. It was Pinney's, -the jeweller's, I remember, for I bought a collar stud. -We came away together and walked some time, and he -told me the Tartar girl's story. I asked him to dine -to-day, but I was obliged to leave town suddenly, and -so I had to put him off with a note. I daresay he's -still in London.'</p> - -<p>'I daresay he is,' Margaret repeated, and rising suddenly -she went to the window.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp rose too, and thought of what he -should say in taking his leave of her, for he felt that -he had stayed long enough. Strange to say, too, he -was examining his not very sensitive conscience to -ascertain whether he had said anything not strictly -true, but he easily satisfied himself that he had not. -If all was fair in love and war, as the proverb said, -it was certainly permissible to make use of the plain -truth.</p> - -<p>The Primadonna was still looking out of the window -when the door opened and her English maid appeared -on the threshold. Margaret turned at the sound. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span></p> - -<p>'What is it?' she asked quietly.</p> - -<p>'There's Mr. Van Torp's man, ma'am,' answered -Potts. 'He wants to speak to his master at once.'</p> - -<p>'You had better tell him to come up,' Margaret -answered. 'You may just as well see him here without -going all the way downstairs,' she said, speaking -to Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'You're very kind, I'm sure,' he replied; 'but I think -I'd better be going anyway.'</p> - -<p>'No, don't go yet, please! There's something else I -want to say. See your man here while I go and speak -to Mrs. Rushmore. Send Mr. Van Torp's man up, -Potts,' she added, and left the room.</p> - -<p>The American walked up and down alone for a few -moments. Then the impassive Stemp was ushered in -by the maid, and the door was shut again.</p> - -<p>'Well?' inquired Mr. Van Torp. 'Has anything -happened?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir,' Stemp answered. 'They have turned us -out of the house, sir, and your luggage is in the street. -Where shall I have it taken, sir?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, they've turned us out, have they? Why?'</p> - -<p>'Well, sir, I'm afraid it's partly my fault, but there -must be some misunderstanding, for I'm quite sure I -didn't whistle in your room, sir.'</p> - -<p>'So am I, Stemp. Quite sure. Go on. What happened?'</p> - -<p>'Well, sir, you hadn't been gone more than ten -minutes when somebody knocked, and there was the -landlord, if that's what he calls himself, and a strange -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span> -German gentleman with him, who spoke English. -Rather shabby-looking, sir, I thought him. He spoke -most uncivilly, and said I was driving him half crazy -with my whistling. I said I hadn't whistled, and he -said I had, and the landlord talked German at me, as -it were, sir. I said again I hadn't whistled, and he said -I had, the shabby gentleman, I mean, speaking most -uncivilly, sir, I assure you. So when I saw that they -doubted my word, I put them out and fastened the -door, thinking this was what you would have ordered, -sir, if you'd been there yourself, but I'm afraid I did -wrong.'</p> - -<p>'No, Stemp. You didn't do wrong.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you, sir.'</p> - -<p>'I suppose, though, that when you put them out -they didn't exactly want to go, did they?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir, but I had no trouble with them.'</p> - -<p>'Any heads broken?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir, I was careful of that. I sent the landlord -downstairs first, as he was a fat man and not likely to -hurt himself, and the shabby gentleman went down on -top of him quite comfortably, so he did not hurt himself -either. I was very careful, sir, being in a foreign -country.'</p> - -<p>'What happened next? They didn't come upstairs -again and throw you out, I suppose.'</p> - -<p>'No, sir. They went and got two of these German -policemen with swords, and broke into the room, and -told me we must move at once. I didn't like to resist -the police, sir. It's sometimes serious. The German -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">{153}</a></span> -gentleman wanted them to arrest me, so I offered to -pay any fine there was for having been hasty, and we -settled for two sovereigns, which I thought dear, sir, -and I'd have gone to the police station rather than pay -it, only I knew you'd need my services in this heathen -town, sir. I'm highly relieved to know that you approve -of that, sir. But they said we must turn out -directly, just the same, so I re-packed your things and -got a porter, and he's standing over the luggage in the -street, waiting for orders.'</p> - -<p>'Stemp,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'I'd been whistling -myself, before you came in, and the lunatic in the next -room had already been fussing about it. It's my -fault.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'</p> - -<p>'And it will be my fault if we have to sleep in a cab -to-night.'</p> - -<p>The door opened while he was speaking, and Margaret -heard the last words as she entered the room.</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry,' she said, 'I thought you had finished. I -could not help hearing what you said about sleeping in -a cab. That's nonsense, you know.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'they've just turned us -out of the one room we had because I whistled <i>Parsifal</i> -out of tune.'</p> - -<p>'You didn't whistle it out of tune,' Margaret answered, -to Stemp's great but well-concealed astonishment. -'I know better. Please have your things -brought here at once.'</p> - -<p>'Here?' repeated Mr. Van Torp, surprised in his turn. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">{154}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes,' she answered, in a tone that forestalled contradiction. -'If nothing else can be had you shall have -this room. I can do without it.'</p> - -<p>'You're kindness itself, but I couldn't do that,' said -Mr. Van Torp. 'Bring our things to this hotel, anyway, -Stemp, and we'll see what happens.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>Stemp disappeared at once, and his master turned to -Margaret again.</p> - -<p>'Nothing will induce me to put you to such inconvenience,' -he said, and his tone was quite as decided as -hers had been.</p> - -<p>She smiled.</p> - -<p>'Nothing will induce me to let a friend of mine be -driven from pillar to post for a lodging while I have -plenty of room to spare!'</p> - -<p>'You're very, very kind, but——'</p> - -<p>'But the mouse may turn into a tiger if you contradict -it,' she said with a light laugh that thrilled him with -delight. 'I remember your description of the Tartar -girl!'</p> - -<p>'Well, then, I suppose the hyæna will have to turn -into a small woolly lamb if you tell him to,' answered -Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' laughed Margaret. 'Be a small, woolly lamb -at once, please, a very small one!'</p> - -<p>'Knee-high to a kitten; certainly,' replied the millionaire -submissively.</p> - -<p>'Very well. I'll take you with me to hear <i>Parsifal</i> -to-morrow, if you obey. I've just asked Mrs. Rushmore -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">{155}</a></span> -if it makes any difference to her, and she has -confessed that she would rather not go again, for it -tires her dreadfully and gives her a headache. You -shall have her seat. What is it? Don't you want to -go with me?'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_167" id="i_167"></a> -<img src="images/i_167.jpg" width="383" height="550" alt=""Margaret gazed at him in surprise while she might have counted ten."" /> -<p class="caption">"Margaret gazed at him in surprise while she might have counted ten."</p> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp's face had hardened till it looked like -a mask, he stared firmly at the wall, and his lips were -set tightly together. Margaret gazed at him in surprise -while she might have counted ten. Then he spoke -slowly, with evident effort, and in an odd voice.</p> - -<p>'Excuse me, Miss Donne,' he said, snapping his words -out. 'I'm so grateful that I can't speak, that's all. -It'll be all right in a second.'</p> - -<p>A huge emotion had got hold of him. She saw the -red flush rise suddenly above his collar, and then sink -back before it reached his cheeks, and all at once he was -very pale. But not a muscle of his face moved, not a -line was drawn; only his sandy eyelashes quivered a -little. His hands were thrust deep into the pockets of -his jacket, but the fingers were motionless.</p> - -<p>Margaret remembered how he had told her more than -once that she was the only woman the world held for -him, and she had thought it was nonsense, rather vulgarly -and clumsily expressed by a man who was not -much better than an animal where women were concerned.</p> - -<p>It flashed upon her at last that what he had said was -literally true, that she had misjudged an extraordinary -man altogether, as many people did, and that she was -indeed the only woman in the whole world who could -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">{156}</a></span> -master and dominate one whom many feared and hated, -and whom she had herself once detested beyond words.</p> - -<p>He was unchanging, too, whatever else he might be, -and, as she admitted the fact, she saw clearly how -fickle she had been in her own likes and dislikes, except -where her art was concerned. But even as to that, she -had passed through phases in which she had been foolish -enough to think of giving up the stage in the first flush -of her vast success.</p> - -<p>While these thoughts were disturbing her a little, -Mr. Van Torp recovered himself; his features relaxed, -his hands came out of his pockets, and he slowly turned -towards her.</p> - -<p>'I hope you don't think me rude,' he said awkwardly. -'I feel things a good deal sometimes, though people -mightn't believe it.'</p> - -<p>They were still standing near together, and not far -from the door through which Margaret had entered.</p> - -<p>'It's never rude to be grateful, even for small things,' -she answered gently.</p> - -<p>She left his side, and went again to the window, -where she stood and turned from him, looking out. He -waited where he was, glad of the moments of silence. -As for her, she was struggling against a generous impulse, -because she was afraid that he might misunderstand -her if she gave way to it. But, to do her justice, -she had never had much strength to resist her own -instinctive generosity when it moved her.</p> - -<p>'Lady Maud told me long ago that I was mistaken -about you,' she said at last, without looking at him. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">{157}</a></span> -'She was right and I was quite wrong. I'm sorry. -Don't bear me any grudge. You won't, will you?'</p> - -<p>She turned now, rather suddenly, and found him -looking at her with a sort of hunger in his eyes that -disappeared almost as soon as hers met them.</p> - -<p>'No,' he answered, 'I don't bear you any grudge, I -never did, and I don't see how I ever could. I could -tell you why, but I won't, because you probably know, -and it's no use to repeat what once displeased you.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' said Margaret, she scarcely knew -why.</p> - -<p>Her handsome head was a little bent, and her eyes -were turned to the floor as she passed him going to the -door.</p> - -<p>'I'm going to see the manager of the hotel,' she said. -I'll be back directly.'</p> - -<p>'No, no! Please let me——'</p> - -<p>But she was gone, the door was shut again, and Mr. -Van Torp was left to his own very happy reflections for -a while.</p> - -<p>Not for long, however. He was still standing before -the table staring at the corn-flowers and poppies without -consciously seeing them when he was aware of the -imposing presence of Mrs. Rushmore, who had entered -softly during his reverie and was almost at his elbow.</p> - -<p>'This is Mr. Van Torp, I presume,' she said gravely, -inclining her head. 'I am Mrs. Rushmore. You have -perhaps heard Miss Donne speak of me.'</p> - -<p>'I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Rushmore,' -said the American, bowing low. 'I've often heard Miss -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">{158}</a></span> -Donne speak of you with the greatest gratitude and -affection.'</p> - -<p>'Certainly,' Mrs. Rushmore answered with gravity, -and as she established herself on the sofa she indicated -a chair not far from her.</p> - -<p>It was only proper that Margaret should always speak -of her with affection and gratitude. Mr. Van Torp -sat down on the chair to which she had directed rather -than invited him; and he prepared to be bored to the -full extent of the bearable. He had known the late Mr. -Rushmore in business; Mr. Rushmore had been a -'pillar' of various things, including honesty, society, -and the church he went to, and he had always bored -Mr. Van Torp extremely. The least that could be expected -was that the widow of such an estimable man -should carry on the traditions of her deeply lamented -husband. In order to help her politely to what seemed -the inevitable, Mr. Van Torp mentioned him.</p> - -<p>'I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Rushmore,' he -said in the proper tone of mournfully retrospective admiration. -'He was sincerely lamented by all our business -men.'</p> - -<p>'He was,' assented the widow, as she would have said -Amen in church, in the right place, and with much the -same solemn intonation.</p> - -<p>There was a moment's pause, during which the millionaire -was trying to think of something else she might -like to hear, for she was Margaret's friend, and he -wished to make a good impression. He was therefore -not prepared to hear her speak again before he did, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">{159}</a></span> -much less for the subject of conversation she introduced -at once.</p> - -<p>'You know our friend Monsieur Logotheti, I believe?' -she inquired suddenly.</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly,' answered Van Torp, brightening at -once at the mention of his rival, and at once also putting -on his moral armour of caution. 'I know him quite -well.'</p> - -<p>'Indeed? Have you known many Greeks, may I -ask?'</p> - -<p>'I've met one or two in business, Mrs. Rushmore, but -I can't say I've known any as well as Mr. Logotheti.'</p> - -<p>'You may think it strange that I should ask you about -him at our first meeting,' said the good lady, 'but I'm -an American, and I cannot help feeling that a fellow-countryman's -opinion of a foreigner is very valuable. -You are, I understand, an old friend of Miss Donne's, -though I have not had the pleasure of meeting you -before, and you have probably heard that she has made -up her mind to marry Monsieur Logotheti. I am -bound to confess, as her dear mother's oldest friend, that -I am very apprehensive of the consequences. I have -the gravest apprehensions, Mr. Van Torp.'</p> - -<p>'Have you really?' asked the millionaire with caution, -but sympathetically. 'I wonder why!'</p> - -<p>'A Greek!' said Mrs. Rushmore sadly. 'Think of a -Greek!'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp, who was not without a sense of humour, -was inclined to answer that, in fact, he was thinking of -a Greek at that very moment. But he abstained. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">{160}</a></span></p> - -<p>'There are Greeks and Greeks, Mrs. Rushmore,' he -answered wisely.</p> - -<p>'That is true,' answered the lady, 'but I should like -your opinion, as one of our most prominent men of business—as -one who, if I may say so, has of late triumphantly -established his claim to respect.' Mr. Van -Torp bowed and waved his hand in acknowledgment of -this high praise. 'I should like your opinion about -this—er—this Greek gentleman whom my young -friend insists upon marrying.'</p> - -<p>'Really, Mrs. Rushmore——'</p> - -<p>'Because if I thought there was unhappiness in store -for her I would save her, if I had to marry the man -myself!'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp wondered how she would accomplish -such a feat.</p> - -<p>'Indeed?' he said very gravely.</p> - -<p>'I mean it,' answered Mrs. Rushmore.</p> - -<p>There was a moment's silence, during which Mr. Van -Torp revolved something in his always active brain, -while Mrs. Rushmore looked at him as if she expected -that he would doubt her determination to drag Logotheti -to the matrimonial altar and marry him by sheer -strength, rather than let Margaret be his unhappy bride. -But Mr. Van Torp said something quite different.</p> - -<p>'May I speak quite frankly, though we hardly know -each other?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'We are both Americans,' answered the good lady, -with a grand national air. 'I should not expect anything -but perfect frankness of you.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">{161}</a></span></p> - -<p>'The truth is, Mrs. Rushmore, that ever since I had -the pleasure of knowing Miss Donne, I have wanted -to marry her myself.'</p> - -<p>'You!' cried the lady, surprised beyond measure, -but greatly pleased.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' said Mr. Van Torp quietly, 'and therefore, in -my position, I can't give you an unbiassed opinion about -Mr. Logotheti. I really can't.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mrs. Rushmore, 'I am surprised!'</p> - -<p>While she was still surprised Mr. Van Torp tried to -make some running, and asked an important question.</p> - -<p>'May I ask whether, as Miss Donne's oldest friend, -you would look favourably on my proposal, supposing -she were free?'</p> - -<p>Before Mrs. Rushmore could answer, the door opened -suddenly, and she could only answer by an energetic -nod and a look which meant that she wished Mr. Van -Torp success with all her excellent heart.</p> - -<p>'It's quite settled!' Margaret cried as she entered. -'I've brought the director to his senses, and you are to -have the rooms they were keeping for a Russian prince -who has not turned up!' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">{162}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> - -<p class="p2">In the sanctuary of Wagnerians the famous lyric Diva -was a somewhat less important personage than in any -of those other places which are called 'musical centres.' -Before the glories of the great Brunhilde, or the supreme -Kundry of the day, the fame of the 'nightingale soprano' -paled a little, at least in the eyes of more than half the -people who filled the Bayreuth theatre. But she did -not pass unnoticed by any means. There were distinguished -conductors of Wagner's music who led the -orchestra for other operas too; there were Kundrys -and Brunhildes who condescended to be Toscas sometimes, -as a pure matter of business and livelihood, and -there were numberless people in the audience who preferred -<i>Cavalleria Rusticana</i> to the <i>Meistersinger</i> or the -<i>Götterdämmerung</i>, but would not dare to say so till they -were at a safe distance; and all these admired the -celebrated Cordova, except the few that were envious -of her, and who were not many. Indeed, for once it -was the other way. When Margaret had come back -to her own room after hearing <i>Parsifal</i> the first time, -she had sat down and hidden her face in her hands for a -few moments, asking herself what all her parts were -worth in the end compared with Kundry, and what -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">{163}</a></span> -comparison was possible between the most beautiful of -Italian or French operas and that one immortal masterpiece; -for she thought, and rightly perhaps, that all the -rest of Wagner's work had been but a preparation for -that, and that <i>Parsifal</i>, and <i>Parsifal</i> alone, had set the -genius of music beside the genius of poetry, an equal, -at last, upon a throne as high. On that night the sound -of her own voice would have given her no pleasure, for -she longed for another tone in it; if by some impossible -circumstance she had been engaged to sing as Juliet -that night, she would have broken down and burst into -tears. She knew it, and the knowledge made her angry -with herself, yet for nothing she could think of would -she have foregone the second hearing of <i>Parsifal</i>, and the -third after that; for she was a musician first, and then -a great singer, and, like all true musicians, she was -swayed by music that touched her, and never merely -pleased by it. For her no intermediate condition of the -musical sense was possible between criticism and delight; -but beyond that she had found rapture now, and ever -afterwards she would long to feel it again. Whether, -if her voice had made it possible to sing the part of -Kundry, she could have lifted herself to that seventh -heaven by her own singing, only the great Kundrys -and Parsifals can tell. In lyric opera she knew the -keen joy of being both the instrument and the enthralled -listener; perhaps a still higher state beyond -that was out of any one's reach, but she could at least -dream of it.</p> - -<p>She took Van Torp with her to the performance the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">{164}</a></span> -next day, after impressing upon him that he was not -to speak, not to whisper, not to applaud, not to make -any sound, from the moment he entered the theatre till -he left it for the dinner interval. He was far too happy -with her to question anything she said, and he obeyed -her most scrupulously. Twenty-four hours earlier she -would have laughed at the idea that his presence beside -her at such a time could be not only bearable, but -sympathetic, yet that seemed natural now. The Diva -and the ex-cowboy, the accomplished musician and the -Californian miner, the sensitive, gifted, capricious woman -and the iron-jawed money-wolf had found that they had -something in common. Wagner's last music affected -them in the same way.</p> - -<p>Such things are not to be explained, and could not -be believed if they did not happen again and again -before the eyes of those who know how to see, which is -quite a different thing from merely seeing. Margaret's -sudden liking for the man she had once so thoroughly -disliked had begun when he had whistled to her. It -grew while he sat beside her in the darkened theatre. -She was absorbed by the music, the action, and the -scene, and at this second hearing she could follow the -noble poem itself; but she was subconscious of what -her neighbour felt. He was not so motionless merely -because she had told him that he must sit very still; he -was not so intent on what he heard and saw, merely to -please her; it was not mere interest that held him, still -less was it curiosity. The spell was upon him; he was -entranced, and Margaret knew it. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">{165}</a></span></p> - -<p>Even when they left the theatre and drove back to -the hotel, he was silent, and she was the first to speak. -Margaret hated the noise and confusion of the restaurant -near the Festival Theatre.</p> - -<p>'You have enjoyed it,' she said. 'I'm glad I brought -you.'</p> - -<p>'I've felt something I don't understand,' Van Torp -answered gravely.</p> - -<p>She liked the reply for its simplicity. She had perhaps -expected that he would summon up his most -picturesque language to tell her how much pleasure -the music had given him, or that he would perhaps -laugh at himself for having been moved; but instead, -he only told her that he did not understand what he had -felt; and they walked on without another word.</p> - -<p>'Go and get something to eat,' she said when they -reached the hotel, 'and I'll meet you here in half an -hour. I don't care to talk either.'</p> - -<p>He only nodded, and lifted his hat as she went up the -steps; but instead of going to eat, he sat down on a -bench outside, and waited for her there, reflecting on -the nature of his new experience.</p> - -<p>Like most successful men, he looked on all theories -as trash, good enough to amuse clever idlers, but never -to be taken into consideration in real life. He never -asked about the principle on which any invention was -founded; his first and only question was, 'Will it work?'</p> - -<p>Considering himself as the raw material, and the -theatre he had just left as the mill, he was forced to -admit that <i>Parsifal</i> 'worked.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">{166}</a></span></p> - -<p>'It works all right,' he inwardly soliloquised. 'If -that's what it claims to do, it does it.'</p> - -<p>When he had reached this business-like conclusion, -his large lips parted a little, and as his breath passed -between his closed teeth, it made soft little hissing -sounds that had a suggestion of music in them, though -they were not really whistled notes; his sandy lashes -half veiled his eyes and he saw again what he had lately -seen: the King borne down to the bath that would -never heal his wound, and the dead swan, and the -wondering Maiden-Man brought to answer for his bow-shot, -the wild Witch-Girl crouching by the giant trees, -and the long way that led upward through the forest, -and upward ever, to the Hall of the Knights, and last -of all, the mysterious Sangreal itself, glowing divinely -in the midst.</p> - -<p>He did not really understand what he had seen and -saw again as he half closed his eyes. That was the -reason why he accepted it passively, as he accepted -elemental things. If he could by any means have told -himself what illusion it was all intended to produce upon -his sight and hearing, he would have pulled the trick -to pieces, mentally, in a moment, and what remained -would have been the merely pleasant recollection of -something very well done, but not in itself different -from other operas or plays he had heard and seen elsewhere, -nothing more than an 'improvement on <i>Lohengrin</i>,' -as he would probably have called it.</p> - -<p>But this was something not 'more,' but quite of -another kind, and it affected him as the play of nature's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">{167}</a></span> -forces sometimes did; it was like the brooding of the -sea, the rising gale, the fury of the storm, like the leaden -stillness before the earthquake, the awful heave of the -earth, the stupendous crash of the doomed city, the long -rolling rumble of falling walls and tumbling houses, big -with sudden death; or again, it was like sad gleams of -autumn sunshine, and the cold cathedral light of primeval -forests in winter, and then it was the spring stirring -in all things, the rising pulse of mating nature, the burst -of May-bloom, the huge glow of the earth basking in -the full summer sun.</p> - -<p>He did not know, and no one knew, what nature -meant by those things. How could nature's meaning -be put into words? And so he did not understand what -he had felt, nor could he see that it might have significance. -What was the 'interpretation' of a storm, of -an earthquake, or of winter and summer? God, perhaps; -perhaps just 'nature.' He did not know. Margaret -had told him the story of the opera in the evening; -he had followed it easily enough and could not forget -it. It was a sort of religious fairy-tale, he thought, -and he was ready to believe that Wagner had made a -good poem of it, even a great poem. But it was not -the story that could be told, which had moved him; -it was nothing so easily defined as a poem, or a drama, -or a piece of music. A far more cultivated man than -he could ever become might sit through the performance -and feel little or nothing, of that he was sure; just as he -could have carried beautiful Lady Maud in his arms -without feeling that she was a woman for him, whereas -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">{168}</a></span> -the slightest touch of Margaret Donne, the mere fact of -being near her, made the blood beat in his throat.</p> - -<p>That was only a way of putting it, for there was no -sex in the music he had just heard. He had sat so close -to Margaret that their arms constantly touched, yet he -had forgotten that she was there. If the music had been -<i>Tristan and Isolde</i> he could not have been unaware of -her, for a moment, for that is the supreme sex-music of -Wagner's art. But this was different, altogether different, -though it was even stronger than that.</p> - -<p>He forgot to look at his watch. Margaret came out -of the hotel, expecting to find him waiting for her within -the hall, and prepared to be annoyed with him for taking -so long over a meal. She stood on the step and -looked about, and saw him sitting on the bench at a -little distance. He raised his eyes as she came towards -him and then rose quickly.</p> - -<p>'Is it time?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' she said. 'Did you get anything decent to -eat?'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he answered vaguely. 'That is, now I think -of it, I forgot about dinner. It doesn't matter.'</p> - -<p>She looked at his hard face curiously and saw a dead -blank, the blank that had sometimes frightened her by -its possibilities, when the eyes alone came suddenly to life.</p> - -<p>'Won't you go in and get a biscuit, or a sandwich?' -she asked after a moment.</p> - -<p>'Oh, no, thanks. I'm used to skipping meals when -I'm interested in things. Let's go, if you're ready.'</p> - -<p>'I believe you are one of nature's Wagnerites,' Margaret -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">{169}</a></span> -said, as they drove up the hill again, and she -smiled at the idea.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he answered slowly, 'there's one thing, if you -don't mind my telling you. It's rather personal. Perhaps -I'd better not.'</p> - -<p>The Primadonna was silent for a few moments, and -did not look at him.</p> - -<p>'Tell me,' she said suddenly.</p> - -<p>'It's this. I don't know how long the performance -lasted, but while it was going on I forgot you were close -beside me. You might just as well not have been -there. It's the first time since I ever knew you that -I've been near you without thinking about you all the -time, and I hadn't realised it till I was sitting here by -myself. I hope you don't mind my telling you?'</p> - -<p>'It only makes me more glad that I brought you,' -Margaret said quietly.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' he answered; but he was quite sure -that the same thing could not happen again during the -Second Part.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, it happened. For a little while, they -were man and woman, sitting side by side and very -near, two in a silent multitude of other men and women; -but before long he was quite motionless, his eyes were -fixed again and he had forgotten her. She saw it and -wondered, for she knew how her presence moved him, -and as his hands lay folded on his knee, a mischievous -girlish impulse almost made her, the great artist, forget -that she was listening to the greatest music in the world -and nearly made her lay her hand on his, just to see -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">{170}</a></span> -what he would do. She was ashamed of it, and a little -disgusted with herself. The part of her that was Margaret -Donne felt the disgust; the part that was Cordova -felt the shame, and each side of her nature was restrained -at a critical moment. Yet when the 'Good Friday' -music began, she was thinking of Van Torp and he was -unconscious of her presence.</p> - -<p>It could not last, and soon she, too, was taken up into -the artificial paradise of the master-musician and borne -along in the gale of golden wings, and there was no passing -of time till the very end; and the people rose in -silence and went out under the summer stars; and all -those whom nature had gifted to hear rightly, took with -them memories that years would scarcely dim.</p> - -<p>The two walked slowly back to the town as the crowd -scattered on foot and in carriages. It was warm, and -there was no moon, and one could smell the dust, for -many people were moving in the same direction, though -some stopped at almost every house and went in, and -most of them were beginning to talk in quiet tones.</p> - -<p>Margaret stepped aside from the road and entered a -narrow lane, and Van Torp followed her in silence.</p> - -<p>'This leads out to the fields,' she said. 'I must -breathe the fresh air. Do you mind?'</p> - -<p>'On the contrary.'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_185" id="i_185"></a> -<img src="images/i_185.jpg" width="410" height="550" alt=""She was aware of his slight change of position without turning her eyes."" /> -<p class="caption">"She was aware of his slight change of position without turning her eyes."</p> -</div> - -<p>He said nothing more, and she did not speak, but -walked on without haste, dilating her nostrils to the -sweet smell of grass that reached her already. In a -little while they had left the houses behind them, and -they came to a gate that led into a field. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">{171}</a></span></p> - -<p>Van Torp was going to undo the fastening, for there -was no lock.</p> - -<p>'No,' she said, 'we won't go through. I love to lean -on a gate.'</p> - -<p>She rested her crossed arms on the upper rail and Van -Torp did the same, careful that his elbow should not -touch hers, and they both stared into the dim, sweet-scented -meadow. He felt her presence now and it -almost hurt him; he could hear his slow pulse in his -ears, hard and regular. She did not speak, but the -night was so still that he could hear her breathing, and -at last he could not bear the warm silence any longer.</p> - -<p>'What are you thinking about?' he asked, trying to -speak lightly.</p> - -<p>She waited, or hesitated, before she answered him.</p> - -<p>'You,' she said, after a time.</p> - -<p>He moved involuntarily, and then drew a little further -away from her, as he might have withdrawn a foot from -the edge of a precipice, out of common caution. She -was aware of his slight change of position without -turning her eyes.</p> - -<p>'What made you say what you did to Mrs. Rushmore -yesterday afternoon?' she asked.</p> - -<p>'About you?'</p> - -<p>'Yes.'</p> - -<p>'She asked me, point-blank, what I thought of Logotheti,' -Van Torp answered. 'I told her that I couldn't -give her an unbiassed opinion of the man you meant to -marry, because I had always hoped to marry you myself.'</p> - -<p>'Oh—was that the way it happened?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">{172}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Mrs. Rushmore could hardly have misunderstood -me,' said Van Torp, gathering the reins of himself, so -to say, for anything that might happen.</p> - -<p>'No. But it sounds differently when you say it -yourself.'</p> - -<p>'That was just what I said, anyhow,' answered Van -Torp. 'I didn't think she'd go and tell you right away, -but since she has, I don't regret having said that much.'</p> - -<p>'It was straightforward, at all events—if it was all -true!' There was the faintest laugh in her tone as she -spoke the last words.</p> - -<p>'It's true, right enough, though I didn't expect that -I should be talking to you about this sort of thing to-night.'</p> - -<p>'The effect on Mrs. Rushmore was extraordinary, -positively fulminating,' Margaret said more lightly. -'She says I ought to break off my engagement at once, -and marry you! Fancy!'</p> - -<p>'That's very kind of her, I'm sure,' observed Mr. Van -Torp.</p> - -<p>'I don't think so. I like it less and less, the more I -think of it.'</p> - -<p>'Well, I'm sorry, but I suppose it's natural, since -you've concluded to marry him, and it can't be helped. -I wasn't going to say anything against him, and I -wouldn't say anything for him, so there was nothing -to do but to explain, which I did. I'm sorry you think -I did wrong, but I should give the same answer again.'</p> - -<p>'Mrs. Rushmore thinks that Konstantin is a designing -foreigner because he's a Greek man of business, and that -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">{173}</a></span> -you are perfection because you are an American business -man.'</p> - -<p>'If I'm perfection, that's not the real reason,' said -Van Torp, snatching at his first chance to steer out of -the serious current; but Margaret did not laugh.</p> - -<p>'You are not perfection, nor I either,' she answered -gravely. 'You are famous in your way, and people -call me celebrated in mine; but so far as the rest is -concerned we are just two ordinary human beings, and -if we are going to be friends we must understand each -other from the first, as far as we can.'</p> - -<p>'I'll try to do my share,' said Van Torp, taking her -tone.</p> - -<p>'Very well. I'll do mine. I began by thinking you -were amusing, when I first met you. Then you frightened -me last winter, and I hated you. Not only that, -I loathed you—there's no word strong enough for what -I felt. When I saw you in the audience, you almost -paralysed my voice.'</p> - -<p>'I didn't know it had been as bad as that,' said Mr. -Van Torp quietly.</p> - -<p>'Yes. It was worse than I can make you understand. -And last spring, when you were in so much trouble, I -believed every word that was said against you, even that -you had murdered your partner's daughter in cold blood -to get rid of her, though that looked as incredible to -sensible people as it really was. It was only when I -saw how Lady Maud believed in you that I began to -waver, and then I understood.'</p> - -<p>'I'm glad you did.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">{174}</a></span></p> - -<p>'So am I. But she is such a good woman herself that -nobody can be really bad in whom she believes. And -now I'm changed still more. I like you, and I'm sure -that we shall be friends, if you will make me one promise -and keep it.'</p> - -<p>'What is it?'</p> - -<p>'That you will give up all idea of ever marrying me, -no matter what happens, even if I broke——'</p> - -<p>'It's no use to go on,' interrupted Van Torp, 'for I -can't promise anything like that. Maybe you don't -realise what you're asking, but it's the impossible. -That's all.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, nonsense!' Margaret tried to laugh lightly, but -it was a failure.</p> - -<p>'No, it's very far from nonsense,' he replied, almost -sternly. 'Since you've spoken first, I'm going to tell -you several things. One is, that I accepted the syndicate's -offer for the Nickel Trust so as to be free to take -any chance that might turn up. It had been open some -time, but I accepted it on the day I heard of your -engagement. That's a big thing. Another is, that I -played a regular trick on Logotheti so as to come and -see you here. I deliberately asked him to dine with -me last night in London. I went right home, wrote a -note to him, antedated for yesterday afternoon, to put -him off, and I left it to be sent at the right hour. Then -I drove to the station, and here I am. You may call -that pretty sharp practice, but I believe all's fair in -love and war, and I want you to understand that I -think so. There's one thing more. I won't give up -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">{175}</a></span> -the hope of making you marry me while you're alive -and I am, not if you're an old woman, and I'll put up -all I have in the game, including my own life and other -people's, if it comes to that. Amen.'</p> - -<p>Margaret bent her head a little and was silent.</p> - -<p>'Now you know why I won't promise what you -asked,' said Van Torp in conclusion.</p> - -<p>He had not raised his voice; he had not laid a heavy -stress on half his words, as he often did in common -conversation; there had been nothing dramatic in his -tone; but Margaret had understood well enough that -it was the plain statement of a man who meant to succeed, -and whose strength and resources were far beyond -those of ordinary suitors. She was not exactly frightened; -indeed, since her dislike for him had melted away, -it was impossible not to feel a womanly satisfaction in -the magnitude of her conquest; but she also felt -instinctively that serious trouble and danger were not -far off.</p> - -<p>'You have no right to speak like that,' she said rather -weakly, after a moment.</p> - -<p>'Perhaps not. I don't know. But I consider that -you have a right to know the truth, and that's enough -for me. It's not as if I'd made up my mind to steal -your ewe-lamb from you and put myself in its place. -Logotheti is not any sort of a ewe-lamb. He's a man, -he's got plenty of strength and determination, he's got -plenty of money—even what I choose to call plenty. -He says he cares for you. All right. So do I. He -says he'll marry you. I say that I will. All right again. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">{176}</a></span> -You're the prize put up for the best of two fighting men. -You're not the first woman in history who's been fought -for, but, by all that's holy, there never was one better -worth it, not Helen of Troy herself!'</p> - -<p>The last few words came with a sort of stormy rush, -and he turned round suddenly, and stood with his back -against the gate, thrusting his hands deep into his coat-pockets, -perhaps with the idea of keeping them quiet; -but he did not come any nearer to her, and she felt she -was perfectly safe, and that a much deeper and more -lasting power had hold of him than any mere passionate -longing to take her in his arms and press his iron lips -on hers against her will. She began to understand why -he was what he was, at an age when many successful -men are still fighting for final success. He was a crown-grasper, -like John the Smith. Beside him Logotheti -was but a gifted favourite of fortune. He spoke of -Helen, but if he was comparing his rival with Paris he -himself was more like an Ajax than like good King -Menelaus.</p> - -<p>Margaret was not angry; she was hardly displeased, -but she was really at a loss what to say, and she said the -first sensible thing that suggested itself and that was -approximately true.</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry you have told me all this. We might -have spent these next two days very pleasantly together. -Oh, I'm not pretending what I don't feel! It's impossible -for a woman like me, who can still be free, not to -be flattered when such a man as you cares for her in -earnest, and says the things you have. But, on the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">{177}</a></span> -other hand, I'm engaged to be married to another man, -and it would not be loyal of me to let you make love to -me.'</p> - -<p>'I don't mean to,' said Van Torp stoutly. 'It won't -be necessary. If I never spoke again you wouldn't -forget what I've told you—ever! Why should I say -it again? I don't want to, until you can say as much -to me. If it's time to go, hitch the lead to my collar -and take me home! I'll follow you as quietly as a -spaniel, anywhere!'</p> - -<p>'And what would happen if I told you not to follow -me, but to go home and lie down in your kennel?' -She laughed low as she moved away from the gate.</p> - -<p>'I'm not sure,' answered Van Torp. 'Don't.'</p> - -<p>The last word was not spoken at all with an accent -of warning, but it was not said in a begging tone either. -Margaret's short laugh followed it instantly. He took -the cue she offered, and went on speaking in his ordinary -manner.</p> - -<p>'I'm not a bad dog if you don't bully me, and if you -feed me at regular hours and take me for a walk now -and then. I don't pretend I'm cut out for a French pet, -because I'm not. I'm too big for a lap-dog, and too -fond of sport for the drawing-room, I suppose. A good -useful dog generally is, isn't he? Maybe I'm a little -quarrelsome with other dogs, but then, they needn't -come bothering around!'</p> - -<p>Margaret was amused, or pretended to be, but she -was also thinking very seriously of the future, and asking -herself whether she ought to send for Logotheti at once, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">{178}</a></span> -or not. Van Torp would certainly not leave Bayreuth -at a moment's notice, at her bidding, and if he stayed -she could not now refuse to see him, with any show of -justice. She thought of a compromise, and suddenly -stood still in the lane.</p> - -<p>'You said just now that you would not say over -again any of those things you have told me to-night. -Do you mean that?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, I mean it.'</p> - -<p>'Then please promise that you won't. That's all I -ask if you are going to spend the next two days here, -and if I am to let you see me.'</p> - -<p>'I promise,' Van Torp answered, without hesitation.</p> - -<p>She allowed herself the illusion that she had both -done the right thing and also taken the position of -command; and he, standing beside her, allowed himself -to smile at the futility of what she was requiring of -him with so much earnestness, for little as he knew of -women's ways he was more than sure that the words he -had spoken that night would come back to her again -and again; and more than that he could not hope at -present. But she could not see his face clearly.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' she said. 'That shall be our compact.'</p> - -<p>To his surprise, she held out her hand. He took it -with wonderful calmness, considering what the touch -meant to him, and he returned discreetly what was -meant for a friendly pressure. She was so well satisfied -now that she did not think it necessary to telegraph -to Logotheti that he might start at once, though even -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">{179}</a></span> -if she had done so immediately he could hardly have -reached Bayreuth till the afternoon of the next day -but one, when the last performance of <i>Parsifal</i> would -be already going on; and she herself intended to leave -on the morning after that.</p> - -<p>She walked forward in silence for a few moments, -and the lights of the town grew quickly brighter.</p> - -<p>'You will come in and have some supper with us, of -course,' she said presently.</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly, since you're so kind,' answered Van -Torp.</p> - -<p>'I feel responsible for your having forgotten to dine,' -she laughed. 'I must make it up to you. By this time -Mrs. Rushmore is probably wondering where I am.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said the American, 'if she thinks I'm perfection, -she knows that you're safe with me, I suppose, -even if you do come home a little late.'</p> - -<p>'I shall say that we walked home very slowly, in order -to breathe the air.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. We've walked home very slowly.'</p> - -<p>'I mean,' said Margaret quickly, 'that I shall not say -we have been out towards the fields, as far as the gate.'</p> - -<p>'I don't see any harm if we have,' observed Mr Van -Torp indifferently.</p> - -<p>'Harm? No! Don't you understand? Mrs. Rushmore -is quite capable of thinking that I have already—how -shall I say?——' she stopped.</p> - -<p>'Taken note of her good advice,' he said, completing -the sentence for her.</p> - -<p>'Exactly! Whereas nothing could be further from -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">{180}</a></span> -my intention, as you know. I'm very fond of Mrs. -Rushmore,' Margaret continued quickly, in order to -get away from the dangerous subject she had felt -obliged to approach; 'she has been a mother to me, -and heaven knows I needed one, and she has the best -and kindest heart in the world. But she is so anxious -for my happiness that, whenever she thinks it is at stake, -she rushes at conclusions without the slightest reason, -and then it's very hard to get them out of her dear old -head!'</p> - -<p>'I see. If that's why she thinks me perfection, I'll -try not to disappoint her.'</p> - -<p>They reached the hotel, went upstairs, and separated -on the landing to get ready for supper. Margaret went -to her own room, and before joining Mrs. Rushmore she -wrote a message to Alphonsine, her theatre maid, who -was visiting her family in Alsatia. Margaret generally -telegraphed her instructions, because it was much less -trouble than to write. She inquired whether Alphonsine -would be ready to join her in Paris on a certain day, -and she asked for the address of a wig-maker which she -had forgotten.</p> - -<p>On his side of the landing, Mr. Van Torp found Stemp -waiting to dress him, and the valet handed him a telegram. -It was from Captain Brown, and had been re-telegraphed -from London.</p> - -<p>'Anchored off Saint Mark's Square to-day, 3.30 <span class="s08">P.M.</span> -Quick passage. No stop. Coaling to-morrow. Ready -for sea next morning.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp laid the message open on the table in -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">{181}</a></span> -order to save Stemp the trouble of looking for it afterwards.</p> - -<p>'Stemp,' he asked, as he threw off his coat and kicked -off his dusty shoes, 'were you ever sea-sick?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir,' answered the admirable valet, but he -offered no more information on the subject.</p> - -<p>During the silence that followed, neither wasted a -second. It is no joke to wash and get into evening -dress in six minutes, even with the help of a body-servant -trained to do his work at high speed.</p> - -<p>'I mean,' said Van Torp, when he was already fastening -his collar, 'are you sea-sick nowadays?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir,' replied Stemp, in precisely the same tone -as before.</p> - -<p>'I don't mean on a twenty-thousand-ton liner. Black -cravat. Yes. I mean on a yacht. Fix it behind. -Right. Would you be sea-sick on a steam yacht?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Sure?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Then I'll take you. Tuxedo.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you, sir.'</p> - -<p>Stemp held up the dinner-jacket; Mr. Van Torp's -solid arms slipped into the sleeves, he shook his sturdy -shoulders, and pulled the jacket down in front while -the valet 'settled' the back. Then he faced round -suddenly, like a soldier at drill.</p> - -<p>'All right?' he inquired.</p> - -<p>Stemp looked him over carefully from head to foot in -the glare of the electric light. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">{182}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp left the room at once. He found Mrs. -Rushmore slowly moving about the supper-table, more -imposing than ever in a perfectly new black tea-gown -and an extremely smart widow's cap. Mr. Van Torp -thought she was a very fine old lady indeed. Margaret -had not entered yet; a waiter with smooth yellow hair -stood by a portable sideboard on which there were covered -dishes. There were poppies and corn-flowers in -a plain white jar on the table. Mrs. Rushmore smiled -at the financier; it would hardly be an exaggeration to -say that she beamed upon him. They had not met -alone since his first visit on the previous afternoon.</p> - -<p>'Miss Donne is a little late,' she said, as if the fact -were very pleasing. 'You brought her back, of course.'</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly,' said Mr. Van Torp with an amiable -smile.</p> - -<p>'You can hardly have come straight from the theatre,' -continued the lady, 'for I heard the other people in the -hotel coming in fully twenty minutes before you did.'</p> - -<p>'We walked home very slowly,' said Mr. Van Torp, -still smiling amiably.</p> - -<p>'Ah, I see! You went for a little walk to get some -air!' She seemed delighted.</p> - -<p>'We walked home very slowly in order to breathe the -air,' said Mr. Van Torp—'to breathe the air, as you -say. I have to thank you very much for giving me your -seat, Mrs. Rushmore.'</p> - -<p>'To tell the truth,' replied the good lady, 'I was very -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">{183}</a></span> -glad to let you take my place. I cannot say I enjoy -that sort of music myself. It gives me a headache.'</p> - -<p>Margaret entered at this point in a marvellous 'creation' -of Chinese crape, of the most delicate shade of -heliotrope. Her dressmaker called it also a tea-gown, -but Mr. Van Torp would have thought it 'quite appropriate' -for a 'dinner-dance' at Bar Harbor.</p> - -<p>'My dear child,' said Mrs. Rushmore, 'how long you -were in getting back from the theatre! I began to fear -that something had happened!'</p> - -<p>'We walked home very slowly,' said Margaret, with -a pleasant smile.</p> - -<p>'Ah? You went for a little walk to get some -air?'</p> - -<p>'We just walked home very slowly, in order to breathe -the air,' Margaret answered innocently.</p> - -<p>It dawned on Mr. Van Torp that the dignified Mrs. -Rushmore was not quite devoid of a sense of humour. -It also occurred to him that her repetition of the question -to Margaret, and the latter's answer, must have -revealed to her the fact that the two had agreed upon -what they should say, since they used identically the -same words, and that they therefore had an understanding -about something they preferred to conceal from her. -Nothing could have given Mrs. Rushmore such profound -satisfaction as this, and it revealed itself in her bright -smiles and her anxiety that both Margaret and Van -Torp should, if possible, over-eat themselves with the -excellent things she had been at pains to provide for -them and for herself. For she was something of an -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">{184}</a></span> -epicure and her dinners in Versailles were of good fame, -even in Paris.</p> - -<p>Great appetites are generally silent, like the sincerest -affections. Margaret was very hungry, and Mr. Van -Torp was both hungry and very much in love. Mrs. -Rushmore was neither, and she talked pleasantly while -tasting each delicacy with critical satisfaction.</p> - -<p>'By the bye,' she said at last, when she saw that the -millionaire was backing his foretopsail to come to anchor, -as Captain Brown might have expressed it, 'I hope -you have not had any further trouble about your rooms, -Mr. Van Torp.'</p> - -<p>'None at all, that I know of,' answered the latter. -'My man told me nothing.'</p> - -<p>'The Russian prince arrived this evening while you -were at the theatre, and threatened the director with -all sorts of legal consequences because the rooms he -had ordered were occupied. He turns out to be only a -count after all.'</p> - -<p>'You don't say so,' observed Mr. Van Torp, in an -encouraging tone.</p> - -<p>'What became of him?' Margaret asked, without -much interest.</p> - -<p>'Did Potts not tell you, my dear? Why, Justine -assisted at the whole interview and came and told me -at once.'</p> - -<p>Justine was Mrs. Rushmore's Parisian maid, who -always knew everything.</p> - -<p>'What happened?' inquired Margaret, still not much -interested. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">{185}</a></span></p> - -<p>'He arrived in an automobile,' answered Mrs. Rushmore, -and she paused.</p> - -<p>'What old Griggs calls a sudden-death-cart,' Mr. -Van Torp put in.</p> - -<p>'What a shocking name for it!' cried Mrs. Rushmore. -'And you are always in them, my dear child!' She -looked at Margaret. 'A sudden-death-cart! It quite -makes me shiver.'</p> - -<p>'Griggs says that all his friends either kill or get killed -in them,' explained the American.</p> - -<p>'My throat-doctor says motoring is very bad for the -voice, so I've given it up,' Margaret said.</p> - -<p>'Really? Thank goodness your profession has been -of some use to you at last, my dear!'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed.</p> - -<p>'Tell us about the Russian count,' she said. 'Has he -found lodgings, or is he going to sleep in his motor?'</p> - -<p>'My dear, he's the most original man you ever heard -of! First he wanted to buy the hotel and turn us all -out, and offered any price for it, but the director said -it was owned by a company in Munich. Then he sent -his secretary about trying to buy a house, while he dined, -but that didn't succeed either. He must be very wealthy, -or else quite mad.'</p> - -<p>'Mad, I should say,' observed Mr. Van Torp, slowly -peeling a peach. 'Did you happen to catch his name, -Mrs. Rushmore?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes! We heard nothing else all the afternoon. -His name is Kralinsky—Count Kralinsky.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp continued to peel his peach scientifically -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">{186}</a></span> -and economically, though he was aware that -Margaret was looking at him with sudden curiosity.</p> - -<p>'Kralinsky,' he said slowly, keeping his eyes on the -silver blade of the knife as he finished what he was -doing. 'It's not an uncommon name, I believe. I've -heard it before. Sounds Polish, doesn't it?'</p> - -<p>He looked up suddenly and showed Margaret the -peeled peach on his fork. He smiled as he met her eyes, -and she nodded so slightly that Mrs. Rushmore did not -notice the movement.</p> - -<p>'Did you ever see that done better?' he asked with -an air of triumph.</p> - -<p>'Ripping!' Margaret answered. 'You're a dandy -dab at it!'</p> - -<p>'My dear child, what terrible slang!'</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry,' said Margaret. 'I'm catching all sorts -of American expressions from Mr. Van Torp, and when -they get mixed up with my English ones the result is -Babel, I suppose!'</p> - -<p>'I've not heard Mr. Van Torp use any slang expressions -yet, my dear,' said Mrs. Rushmore, almost severely.</p> - -<p>'You will,' Margaret retorted with a laugh. 'What -became of Count Kralinsky? I didn't mean to spoil -your story.'</p> - -<p>'My dear, he's got the Pastor to give up his house, by -offering him a hundred pounds for the poor here.'</p> - -<p>'It's cheap,' observed Mr. Van Torp. 'The poor -always are.'</p> - -<p>'You two are saying the most dreadful things to-night!' -cried Mrs. Rushmore. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">{187}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Nothing dreadful in that, Mrs. Rushmore,' objected -the millionaire. 'There's no investment on earth like -charity.'</p> - -<p>'We are taught that by charity we lay up treasures -in heaven,' said the good lady.</p> - -<p>'Provided it's not mentioned in the newspapers,' retorted -Mr. Van Torp. 'When it is, we lay up treasures -on earth. I don't like to mention other men in that -connexion, especially as I've done the same thing myself -now and then, just to quiet things down; but I suppose -some names will occur to you right away, don't they? -Where is the Pastor going to sleep, now that the philanthropist -has bought him out?'</p> - -<p>'I really don't know,' answered Mrs. Rushmore.</p> - -<p>'Then he's the real philanthropist,' said Van Torp. -'If he understood the power of advertisement, and -wanted it, he'd let it be known that he was going to -sleep on the church steps without enough blankets, -for the good of the poor who are to have the money, -and he'd get everybody to come and look at him in his -sleep, and notice how good he was. Instead of that, -he's probably turned in under the back stairs, in the coal-hole, -without saying anything about it. I don't know -how it strikes you, Mrs. Rushmore, but it does seem to -me that the clergyman's the real philanthropist after all!'</p> - -<p>'Indeed he is, poor man,' said Margaret, a good deal -surprised at Van Torp's sermon on charity, and wondering -vaguely whether he was talking for effect or merely -saying what he really thought.</p> - -<p>An effect certainly followed. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">{188}</a></span></p> - -<p>'You put it very sensibly, I'm sure,' said Mrs. Rushmore, -'though of course I should not have looked for -anything else from a fellow-countryman I respect. You -startled me a little at first, when you said that the poor -are always cheap! Only that, I assure you.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' answered the American, 'I never was very -good at expressing myself, but I'm glad we think alike, -for I must say I value your opinion very highly, Mrs. -Rushmore, as I had learned to value the opinion of your -late husband.'</p> - -<p>'You're very kind,' she said, in a grateful tone.</p> - -<p>Margaret was not sure that she was pleased as she -realised how easily Van Torp played upon her old friend's -feelings and convictions, and she wondered whether he -had not already played on her own that night, in much -the same way. But with the mere thought his words -and his voice came back to her, with his talk about the -uselessness of ever repeating what he had said that once, -because he knew she could never forget it. And her -young instinct told her that he dealt with the elderly -woman precisely as if she were a man, with all the ease -that proceeded from his great knowledge of men and -their weaknesses; but that with herself, in his ignorance -of feminine ways, he could only be quite natural.</p> - -<p>He left them soon after supper, and gave himself up -to Stemp, pondering over what he had accomplished in -two days, and also about another question which had -lately presented itself. When he was ready to send his -valet to bed he sat down at his table and wrote a -telegram: -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">{189}</a></span></p> - -<p>'If you can find Barak, please explain that I was -mistaken. Kralinsky is not in New York, but here in -Bayreuth for some days, lodging at the Pastor's house.'</p> - -<p>This message was addressed to Logotheti at his lodgings -in London, and Van Torp signed it and gave it to -Stemp to be sent at once. Logotheti never went to -bed before two o'clock, as he knew, and might very -possibly get the telegram the same night.</p> - -<p>When his man was gone, Van Torp drew his chair to -the open window and sat up a long time thinking about -what he had just done; for though he held that all was -fair in such a contest, he did not mean to do anything -which he himself thought 'low-down.' One proof of -this odd sort of integrity was that the telegram itself -was a fair warning of his presence in Bayreuth, where -Logotheti knew that Margaret was still stopping.</p> - -<p>As for the rest, he was quite convinced that it was -Kralinsky himself, the ruby merchant, who had suddenly -appeared at Bayreuth, and that this man was no -other than the youth he had met long ago as a cow-boy -in the West, who used to whistle <i>Parsifal</i> with his companion -in exile, and who, having grown rich, had lost -no time in coming to Europe for the very purpose of -hearing the music he had always loved so well. And -that this man had robbed the poor Tartar girl, Mr. Van -Torp had no manner of doubt; and he believed that -he had probably promised her marriage and abandoned -her; and if this were true, to help her to find Kralinsky -was in itself a good action. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">{190}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> - -<p class="p2">When Van Torp and Logotheti left Mr. Pinney's shop, -the old jeweller meant to have a good look at the ruby -the Greek had brought him, and was going to weigh it, -not merely as a matter of business, for he weighed every -stone that passed through his hands from crown diamonds -to sparks, but with genuine curiosity, because in -a long experience he had not seen very many rubies of -such a size, which were also of such fine quality, and -he wondered where this one had been found.</p> - -<p>Just then, however, two well-dressed young men -entered the shop and came up to him. He had never -seen either of them before, but their looks inspired him -with confidence; and when they spoke, their tone was -that of English gentlemen, which all other Englishmen -find it practically impossible to imitate, and which had -been extremely familiar to Mr. Pinney from his youth. -Though he was the great jeweller himself, the wealthy -descendant of five of his name in succession, and much -better off than half his customers, he was alone in his -shop that morning. The truth was that his only son, -the sixth Pinney and the apple of his eye, had just been -married and was gone abroad for a honeymoon trip, -and the head shopman, who was Scotch, was having his -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">{191}</a></span> -month's holiday in Ayrshire, and the second man had -been sent for, to clean and restring the Duchess of Barchester's -pearls at her Grace's house in Cadogan Gardens, -as was always done after the season, and a couple of -skilled workmen for whom Mr. Pinney found occupation -all the year round were in the workshop at their tables; -wherefore, out of four responsible and worthy men who -usually were about, only the great Mr. Pinney himself -was at his post.</p> - -<p>One of the two well-dressed customers asked to see -some pins, and the other gave his advice. The first -bought a pin with a small sapphire set in sparks for ten -guineas, and gave only ten pounds for it because he -paid cash. Mr. Pinney put the pin into its little morocco -case, wrapped it up neatly and handed it to the purchaser. -The latter and his friend said good-morning -in a civil and leisurely manner, sauntered out, took a -hansom a few steps farther down the street, and drove -away.</p> - -<p>The little paper twist containing Logotheti's ruby was -still exactly where Mr. Pinney had placed it on the counter, -and he was going to examine the stone and weigh -it at last, when two more customers entered the shop, -evidently foreigners, and moreover of a sort unfamiliar -to the good jeweller, and especially suspicious.</p> - -<p>The two were Baraka and her interpreter and servant, -whom Logotheti had called a Turk, and who was really -a Turkish subject and a Mohammedan, though as to -race, he was a half-bred Greek and Dalmatian. Now -Dalmatians are generally honest, truthful, and trustworthy, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">{192}</a></span> -and the low-class Greek of Constantinople is -usually extremely sharp, if he is nothing more definitely -reprehensible; and Baraka's man was a cross between -the two, as I have said, and had been brought up as a -Musulman in a rich Turkish family, and recommended -to Baraka by the Persian merchant in whose house she -had lived. He had been originally baptized a Christian -under the name of Spiro, and had been subsequently -renamed Selim when he was made a real Moslem at -twelve years old; so he used whichever name suited the -circumstances in which he was placed. At present he -was Spiro. He was neatly dressed in grey clothes made -by a French tailor, and he wore a French hat, which -always made a bad impression on Mr. Pinney. He had -brown hair, brown eyes, a brown moustache, and a -brown face; he looked as active as a cat, and Mr. Pinney -at once put him down in his mind as a 'Froggy.' But -the jeweller was less sure about Baraka, who was dressed -like any young Englishman, but looked like no European -he had ever seen. On the whole, he took the newcomer -for the son of an Indian rajah sent to England to be -educated.</p> - -<p>The interpreter spoke broken but intelligible English. -He called Baraka his master, and explained that the -latter wished to see some rubies, if Mr. Pinney had any, -cut or uncut. The young gentleman, he said, did not -speak English, but was a good judge of stones.</p> - -<p>For one moment the jeweller forgot the little paper -twist as he turned towards his safe, pulling out his -keys at the same time. To reach the safe he had to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">{193}</a></span> -walk the whole length of the shop, behind the counter, -and before he had gone half way he remembered the -stone, turned, came back, and slipped it into his waistcoat -pocket. Then he went and got the little japanned -strong-box with a patent lock, in which he kept loose -stones, some wrapped up in little pieces of paper, and -some in pill-boxes. He brought it to his customers, -and opened it before them.</p> - -<p>They stayed a long time, and Spiro asked many -questions for Baraka, chiefly relating to the sliding-scale -of prices which is regulated by the weight of the -stones where their quality is equally good, and Baraka -made notes of some sort in a little English memorandum-book, -as if she had done it all her life; but Mr. Pinney -could not see what she wrote. He was very careful, -and watched the stones, when she took them in her -fingers and held them up against the light, or laid -them on a sheet of white paper to look at them -critically.</p> - -<p>She bought nothing; and when she had seen all he -had to show her, she thanked him very much through -Spiro, said she would come back another day, and -went out with a leisurely, Oriental gait, as if nothing -in the world could hurry her. Mr. Pinney counted the -stones again, and was going to lock the box, when his -second man came in, having finished stringing the -Duchess's pearls. At the same moment, it occurred to -Mr. Pinney that he might as well go to luncheon, and -that he had better put Logotheti's ruby into the little -strong-box and lock it up in the safe until he at last -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">{194}</a></span> -had a chance to weigh it. He accordingly took the -screw of paper from his waistcoat pocket, and as a -matter of formality he undid it once more.</p> - -<p>'Merciful Providence!' cried Mr. Pinney, for he was -a religious man.</p> - -<p>The screw of paper contained a bit of broken green -glass. He threw his keys to his shopman without -another word, and rushed out into the street without -his hat, his keen old face deadly pale, and his beautiful -frock-coat flying in his wake.</p> - -<p>He almost hurled himself upon a quiet policeman.</p> - -<p>'Thief!' he cried. 'Two foreigners in grey clothes—ruby -worth ten thousand pounds just gone—I'm Pinney -the jeweller!'</p> - -<p>You cannot astonish a London policeman. The one -Pinney had caught looked quietly up and down the -street, and then glanced at his interlocutor to be sure -that it was he, for he knew him by sight.</p> - -<p>'All right,' he said quickly, but very quietly. 'I'll -have them in a minute, sir, for they're in sight still. -Better go in while I take them, sir.'</p> - -<p>He caught them in less than a minute without the -slightest difficulty, and by some odd coincidence two -other policemen suddenly appeared quite close to him. -There was a little stir in the street, but Baraka and -Spiro were too sensible and too sure of themselves to -offer any useless resistance, and supposing there was -some misunderstanding they walked back quietly to -Mr. Pinney's shop between two of the policemen, while -the third went for a four-wheeler at the nearest stand, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">{195}</a></span> -which happened to be the corner of Brook Street and -New Bond Street.</p> - -<p>Mr. Pinney recognised his late customers without -hesitation, and went with them to the police station, -where he told his story and showed the piece of green -glass. Spiro tried to speak, but was ordered to hold his -tongue, and as no rubies were found in their pockets -he and Baraka were led away to be more thoroughly -searched.</p> - -<p>But now, at last, Baraka resisted, and with such -tremendous energy that there would have been serious -trouble if Spiro had not called out something which at -once changed the aspect of matters.</p> - -<p>'Master is lady!' he yelled. 'Lady, man clothes!'</p> - -<p>'That makes a pretty bad case,' observed the sergeant -who was superintending. 'Send for Mrs. Mowle.'</p> - -<p>Baraka did not resist when she saw the matron, and -went quietly with her to a cell at the back of the station. -In less than ten minutes Mrs. Mowle came out and -locked the door after her. She was a cheery little -person, very neatly dressed, and she had restless bright -eyes like a ferret. She brought a little bag of soft -deerskin in her hand, and a steel bodkin with a wrought -silver handle, such as southern Italian women used to -wear in their hair before such weapons were prohibited. -Mrs. Mowle gave both objects to the officer without -comment.</p> - -<p>'Any scars or tattoo-marks, Mrs. Mowle?' he inquired -in his business-like way.</p> - -<p>'Not a one,' answered Mrs. Mowle, who had formerly -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">{196}</a></span> -taken in washing at home and was the widow of a -brave policeman, killed in doing his duty.</p> - -<p>In the bag there were several screws of paper, which -were found to contain uncut rubies of different sizes -to a large value. But there was one, much larger than -the others, which Mr. Van Torp had not seen that -morning. Mr. Pinney looked at it very carefully, -held it to the light, laid it on a sheet of paper, and -examined it long in every aspect. He was a conscientious -man.</p> - -<p>'To the best of my belief,' he deposed, 'this is the -stone that was on my counter half an hour ago, and for -which this piece of green glass was substituted. It is -the property of a customer of mine, Monsieur Konstantin -Logotheti of Paris, who brought it to me this morning -to be cut. I think it may be worth between nine and -ten thousand pounds. I can say nothing as to the -identity of the paper, for tissue paper is very much alike -everywhere.'</p> - -<p>'The woman,' observed the officer in charge of the -station, 'appears to steal nothing but rubies. It looks -like a queer case. We'll lock up the two, Mr. Pinney, -and if you will be kind enough to look in to-morrow -morning, I'm sure the Magistrate won't keep you -waiting for the case.'</p> - -<p>Vastly relieved and comforted, Mr. Pinney returned -to his shop. Formality required that the ruby itself, -with the others in the bag, should remain in the keeping -of the police till the Magistrate ordered it to be returned -to its rightful owner, the next morning; but Mr. Pinney -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">{197}</a></span> -felt quite as sure of its safety as if it were in the japanned -strong-box in his own safe, and possibly even a little -more sure, for nobody could steal it from the police -station.</p> - -<p>But after he was gone, Spiro was heard calling loudly, -though not rudely or violently, from his place of confinement.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Policeman! Mr. Policeman! Please come -speak!'</p> - -<p>The man on duty went to the door and asked what he -wanted. In his broken English he explained very -clearly that Baraka had a friend in London who was -one of the great of the earth, and who would certainly -prove her innocence, vouch for her character, and cause -her to be set at large without delay, if he knew of her -trouble.</p> - -<p>'What is the gentleman's name?' inquired the policeman.</p> - -<p>The name of Baraka's friend was Konstantin Logotheti, -and Spiro knew the address of the lodgings he -always kept in St. James's Place.</p> - -<p>'Very well,' said the policeman. 'I'll speak to the -officer at once.'</p> - -<p>'I thank very much, sir,' Spiro answered, and he made -no more noise.</p> - -<p>The sergeant looked surprised when the message was -given to him.</p> - -<p>'Queer case this,' he observed. 'Here's the thief -appealing to the owner of the stolen property for help; -and the owner is one of those millionaire financiers; -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">{198}</a></span> -and the thief is a lovely girl in man's clothes. By the -bye, Sampson, tell Mrs. Mowle to get out some women's -slops and dress her decently, while I see if I can find -Mr. Logotheti by telephone. They'll be likely to know -something about him at the Bank if he's not at home, -and he may come to find out what's the matter. If -Mrs. Foxwell should look in and want to see the girl, -let her in, of course, without asking me. If she's in town, -she'll be here before long, for I've telephoned to her -house, as usual when there's a girl in trouble.'</p> - -<p>There was a sort of standing, unofficial order that -in any case of a girl or a young woman being locked up, -Mrs. Foxwell was to know of it, and she had a way of -remembering a great many sergeants' names, and doing -kind things for their wives at Christmas-time, which -further disposed them to help her in her work. But -the London police are by nature the kindliest set of men -who keep order anywhere in the world, and they will -readily help a man or woman who tries to do good in a -sensible, practical way; and if they are sometimes a -little prejudiced in favour of their own perspicuity in -getting up a case, let that policeman, of any other -country, who is quite without fault, throw the first -stone at their brave, good natured heads.</p> - -<p>Logotheti was not at his lodgings in St. James's -Place, and from each of two clubs to which the officer -telephoned rather at random, the only answer was that -he was a member but not in the house. The officer -wrote a line to his rooms and sent it by a messenger, -to be given to him as soon as he came in. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">{199}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_215" id="i_215"></a> -<img src="images/i_215.jpg" width="550" height="412" alt=""She grasped Lady Maud's hand."" /> -<p class="caption">"She grasped Lady Maud's hand."</p> -</div> - -<p>It was late in the hot afternoon when Mrs. Foxwell -answered the message by coming to the police station -herself. She was at once admitted to Baraka's cell -and the door was closed after her.</p> - -<p>The girl was lying on the pallet bed, dressed in a -poor calico skirt and a loose white cotton jacket, which -Mrs. Mowle had brought and had insisted that she -must put on; and her man's clothes had been taken -from her with all her other belongings. She sat up, -forlorn, pale and lovely, as the kind visitor entered -and stood beside her.</p> - -<p>'Poor child!' exclaimed the lady, touched by her sad -eyes. 'What can I do to help you?'</p> - -<p>Baraka shook her head, for she did not understand. -Then she looked up into eyes almost as beautiful as -her own, and pronounced a name, slowly and so distinctly -that it was impossible not to hear each syllable.</p> - -<p>'Konstantin Logotheti.'</p> - -<p>The lady started, as well she might; for she was no -other than Lady Maud, who called herself by her own -family name, 'Mrs. Foxwell,' in her work amongst the -poor women of London.</p> - -<p>Baraka saw the quick movement and understood -that Logotheti was well known to her visitor. She -grasped Lady Maud's arm with both her small hands, -and looked up to her face with a beseeching look that -could not be misunderstood. She wished Logotheti -to be informed of her captivity, and was absolutely -confident that he would help her out of her trouble. -Lady Maud was less sure of that, however, and said so, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">{200}</a></span> -but it was soon clear that Baraka did not speak a word -of any language known to Lady Maud, who was no -great linguist at best. Under these circumstances -it looked as if there were nothing to be done for the -poor girl, who made all sorts of signs of distress, when -she saw that the English woman was about to leave -her, in sheer despair of being of any use. Just then, -however, the sergeant came to the door, and informed -the visitor that the girl had an accomplice who spoke -her language and knew some English, and that by -stretching a point he would bring the man, if Mrs. Foxwell -wished to talk with him.</p> - -<p>The result was that in less than half an hour, Lady -Maud heard from Spiro a most extraordinary tale, of -which she did not believe a single word. To her plain -English mind, it all seemed perfectly mad at first, and -on reflection she thought it an outrageous attempt to -play upon her credulity; whereas she was thoroughly -convinced that the girl had come to grief in some way -through Logotheti and had followed him from Constantinople, -probably supporting herself and her companion -by stealing on the way. Lady Maud's husband had been -a brute, but he knew the East tolerably well, having -done some military duty in the Caucasus before he -entered the diplomatic service; his stories had chiefly -illustrated the profound duplicity of all Asiatics, and -she had not seen any reason to disbelieve them.</p> - -<p>When Spiro had nothing more to say, therefore, she -rose from the only seat there was and shook her head -with an air of utter incredulity, mingled with the sort -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">{201}</a></span> -of pitying contempt she felt for all lying in general. -She could easily follow the case, by the help of the -sergeant and the Police Court reports, and she might -be able to help Baraka hereafter when the girl had -served the sentence she would certainly get for such -an important and cleverly managed theft. The poor -girl implored and wept in vain; Lady Maud could do -nothing, and would not stay to be told any more inane -stories about ruby mines in Tartary. She called the -sergeant, freed herself from Baraka's despairing hold -on her hand and went out. Spiro was then marched -back to his cell on the men's side.</p> - -<p>Though it was hot, Lady Maud walked home, as -Mr. Van Torp had done that same morning when he -had left Mr. Pinney's shop. She always walked when -she was in any distress or difficulty, for the motion -helped her to think, since she was strong and healthy, -and only in her twenty-ninth year. Just now, too, -she was a good deal disturbed by what had happened, -besides being annoyed by the attempt that had been -made to play on her credulity in such a gross way.</p> - -<p>She was really fond of Margaret Donne, quite apart -from any admiration she felt for the Primadonna's -genius, by which she might have been influenced. In -her opinion, the Tartar girl's appeal for help to reach -Logotheti could only mean one thing, and that was very -far from being to his credit. If the girl had not been -positively proved to be a thief and if she had not attempted -to impose upon her by what seemed the most -absurd falsehoods, Lady Maud would very probably -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">{202}</a></span> -have taken her under her own protection, as far as the -law would allow. But her especial charity was not for -criminals or cheats, though she had sometimes helped -and comforted women accused of far worse crimes than -stealing. In this instance she could do nothing, and -she did not even wish to do anything. It was a flagrant -case, and the law would deal with it in the right way. -The girl had come to grief, no doubt, by trusting Logotheti -blindly, and he had thrown her off; if she had sunk -into the dismal depths of woe behind the Virtue-Curtain, -as most of her kind did, Lady Maud would have gone -in and tried to drag her out, as she had saved others. -But Logotheti's victim had taken a different turn, had -turned thief and had got into the hands of justice. -Her sin would be on his head, no doubt, but no power -could avert from her the just consequences of a misdeed -that had no necessary connexion with her fall.</p> - -<p>Thus argued Lady Maud, while Baraka lay on her -pallet bed in her calico skirt and white cotton jacket, -neither weeping, nor despairing by any means, nor -otherwise yielding to girlish weakness, but already -devising means for carrying on her pursuit of the man -she would still seek, even throughout the whole world, -though she was just now a penniless girl locked up as a -thief in a London police station. It was not one of the -down-hearted, crying sort that could have got so far -already, against such portentous odds.</p> - -<p>She guessed well enough that she would be tried the -next morning in the Police Court; for Spiro, who knew -much about Europe, and England in particular, had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">{203}</a></span> -told her a great deal during their travels. She had -learned that England was a land of justice, and she -would probably get it in the end; for the rest, she was -a good Musulman girl and looked on whatsoever befell -her as being her portion, for good or evil, to be accepted -without murmuring.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud could not know anything of this and -took Baraka for a common delinquent, so far as her -present situation was concerned. But when the Englishwoman -thought of what must have gone before, -and of the part Logotheti had almost certainly played -in the girl's life, her anger was roused, and she sat down -and wrote to Margaret on the impulse of the moment. -She gave a detailed account of her experience at the -police station, including especially a description of the -way Baraka had behaved in trying to send a message -to Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'I tell you quite frankly,' Lady Maud wrote in conclusion, -'that my friend Mr. Van Torp has begged me -very urgently to use any friendly influence I may possess, -to induce you to reconsider your engagement, because -he hopes that you will accept him instead. You will -not think any less well of him for that. A man may -ask his best friend to help him to marry the girl he is -in love with, I am sure! I told him that I would not -do anything to make trouble between you and Logo. -If I am making trouble now, by writing all this, it is -therefore not to help Mr. Van Torp, but because the -impression I have had about Logo has really frightened -me, for you. I made such a wretched failure of my -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">{204}</a></span> -own married life that I have some right to warn a friend -who seems to be on the point of doing just the same -thing. I don't forget that in spite of all your celebrity—and -its glories—you are nothing but a young girl -still, under twenty-five; but you are not a schoolgirl, -my dear, and you do not expect to find that a man like -Logo, who is well on towards forty now, is a perfect -Galahad. Even I didn't flatter myself that Leven -had never cared for any one else, when I married him, -and I had not half your knowledge of the world, I -fancy. But you have a right to be sure that the man -you marry is quite free, and that you won't suddenly -meet a lovely Eastern girl of twenty who claims him -after you think he is yours; and your friend has a -right to warn you, if she feels sure that he is mixed up -in some affair that isn't over yet. I'm not sure that I -should be a good friend to you if I held my tongue. -Our fathers were very close friends before us, Margaret, -and there is really a sort of inheritance in their friendship, -between you and me, isn't there? Besides, if you -think I'm doing wrong, or that I'm making trouble out -of nothing, just to help Mr. Van Torp, you can tell -me so and we shall part I suppose, and that will be the -end of it! Except that I shall be very, very sorry to -lose you.</p> - -<p>'I don't know where Logo is, but if he were near -enough I should go to him and tell him what I think. -Of course he is not in town now—nobody is, and I've -only stayed on to clear everything out of my house, -now that I'm giving it up. I suppose he is with you, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">{205}</a></span> -though you said you did not want him at Bayreuth! -Show him this letter if you like, for I'm quite ready to -face him if he's angry at my interference. I would even -join you in Paris, if you wanted me, for I have nothing -to do and strange to say I have a little money! I've -sold almost all my furniture, you know, so I'm not such -a total pauper as usual. But in any case answer this, -please, and tell me that I have done right, or wrong, -just as you feel about it—and then we will go on being -friends, or say good-bye, whichever you decide.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud signed this long letter and addressed it to -Miss Margaret Donne, at Bayreuth, feeling sure that it -would be delivered, even without the name of the hotel, -which she did not know. But the Bayreuth post-office -was overworked during the limited time of the performances, -and it happened that the extra assistant -through whose hands the letter passed for distribution -either did not know that Miss Donne was the famous -Cordova, or did not happen to remember the hotel at -which she was stopping, or both, and it got pigeonholed -under D, to be called for. The consequence was -that Margaret did not receive it until the morning after -the performance of <i>Parsifal</i> to which she had taken -Van Torp, though it had left London only six hours after -him; for such things will happen even in extremely -well-managed countries when people send letters insufficiently -addressed.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, it also happened that Logotheti was -cooling himself on the deck of his yacht in the neighbourhood -of Penzance, while poor Baraka was half-stifled -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">{206}</a></span> -in the Police Station. For the yacht, which was -a very comfortable one, though no longer new, and not -very fast according to modern ideas, was at Cowes, -waiting to be wanted, and when her owner parted from -Van Torp after promising to dine on the next day but -one, it occurred to him that the smell of the wood pavements -was particularly nasty, that it would make no -real difference whether he returned to Pinney's at once -or in two days, or two weeks, since the ruby he had left -must be cut before it was mounted, and that he might -just as well take the fast train to Southampton and -get out to sea for thirty-six hours. This he did, after -telegraphing to his sailing-master to have steam as soon -as possible; and as he had only just time to reach the -Waterloo Station he did not even take the trouble to -stop at his lodgings. He needed no luggage, for he had -everything he wanted on board, and his man was far -too well used to his ways to be surprised at his absence.</p> - -<p>The consequence of this was that when Baraka's case -came up the next morning there was no one to say a -word for her and Spiro. Mr. Pinney identified the ruby -'to the best of his belief' as the one stolen from his -counter, the fact that Baraka had been disguised in -man's clothes was treated as additional evidence, and -she and Spiro were sent to Brixton Gaol accordingly, -Spiro protesting their innocence all the while in eloquent -but disjointed English, until he was told to hold -his tongue.</p> - -<p>Further, Lady Maud read the Police Court report in -an evening paper, cut it out and sent it to Margaret as a -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">{207}</a></span> -document confirming the letter she had posted on the -previous evening; and owing to the same insufficiency -in the address, the two missives were delivered together.</p> - -<p>Lastly, Mr. Pinney took the big ruby back to his -shop and locked it up in his safe with a satisfaction and -a sense of profound relief such as he had rarely felt in -a long and honourable life; and he would have been -horrified and distressed beyond words if he could have -even guessed that he had been the means of sending an -innocent and helpless girl to prison. The mere possibility -of such a mistake would have sent him at the -greatest attainable speed to Scotland Yard, and if -necessary in pursuit of the Home Secretary himself. -The latter was in the north of Scotland, on a friend's -moor, particularly preoccupied about his bag and -deeply interested in the education of a young retriever -that behaved like an idiot during each drive instead of -lying quiet behind the butts, though it promised to turn -out a treasure in respect of having the nose and eye of -a vulture and the mouth of a sucking-dove. The comparisons -are those of the dog's owner, including the -'nose' of the bird of prey, and no novelist can be held -responsible for a Cabinet Minister's English.</p> - -<p>One thing more which concerns this tale happened -on that same day. Two well-dressed young men drove -up to the door of a quiet and very respectable hotel in -the West End; and they asked for their bill, and packed -their belongings, which were sufficient though not -numerous; and when they had paid what they owed -and given the usual tips, they told the porter to call -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">{208}</a></span> -two hansoms, and each had his things put on one of -them; and they nodded to each other and parted; and -one hansom drove to Euston and the other to Charing -Cross; and whether they ever met again, I do not know, -and it does not matter; but in order to clear Baraka's -character at once and to avoid a useless and perfectly -transparent mystery, it is as well to say directly that it -was the young man who drove to Euston, on his way -to Liverpool and New York, who had Logotheti's ruby -sewn up in his waistcoat pocket; and that the ruby -really belonged to Margaret, since Logotheti had already -given it to her, before he had brought it to Mr. Pinney -to be cut and set. But the knowledge of what is here -imparted to the reader, who has already guessed this -much of the truth, would not help Baraka out of Brixton -Gaol, where the poor girl found herself in very bad -company indeed; even worse, perhaps, than that in -which Spiro was obliged to spend his time. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">{209}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> - -<p class="p2">Margaret received her friend's letter and the account -of Baraka's trial by the same post on the morning after -she and Mr. Van Torp had been to hear <i>Parsifal</i> together, -and she opened the two envelopes before reading her -other letters, though after assuring herself that there -was nothing from Logotheti. He did not write every -day, by any means, for he was a man of the world and -he knew that although most women demand worship -at fixed hours, few can receive it so regularly without -being bored to the verge of exasperation. It was far -better, Logotheti knew, to let Margaret find fault with -him for writing too little than to spoil her into indifference -by writing too much. Women are often like doctors, -who order their patients to do ten things and are -uncommonly glad if the patient does one.</p> - -<p>So Margaret had no letter from Logotheti that morning, -and she read Lady Maud's and the enclosure before -going on to the unpaid bills, religious tracts, appeals for -alms, advertisements of patent medicines, 'confidential' -communications from manufacturers of motor cars, requests -to sing for nothing at charity concerts, anonymous -letters of abuse, real business letters from real -business men, and occasional attempts at blackmail, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">{210}</a></span> -which are the usual contents of a celebrity's post-bag, -and are generally but thinly salted with anything like -news from friends.</p> - -<p>The Primadonna, in her professional travels, had -grown cautious of reading her letters in a room where -there were other people; she had once surprised a colleague -who was toying with an opera-glass quite absently, -ten paces away, as if trying its range and focus, but who -frequently directed it towards a letter she was perusing; -and short-sighted people had dropped a glove or a -handkerchief at her very feet in order to stoop down -and bring their noses almost against a note she held in -her hand. The world is full of curious people; curiosity -is said, indeed, to be the prime cause of study and therefore -of knowledge itself. Margaret assuredly did not -distrust Mrs. Rushmore, and she did not fear Potts, but -her experience had given her the habit of reading her -important letters alone in her own room, and sometimes -with the door locked. Similarly, if any one came near -her when she was writing, even about the most indifferent -matters, she instinctively covered the page with her -hand, or with a piece of blotting-paper, sometimes so -hastily as to lead a person to believe that she was -ashamed of what she had written. Natural habits of -behaviour remind us how we were brought up; acquired -ones recall to us the people with whom we have lived.</p> - -<p>Margaret read the newspaper cutting first, supposing -that it contained something flattering about herself, -for she had been a little short of public admiration for -nearly a fortnight. Baraka's case was reported with -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">{211}</a></span> -the rather brutal simplicity which characterises such -accounts in the English papers, and Logotheti's name -appeared in Mr. Pinney's evidence. There had been -the usual 'laughter,' duly noted by the stenographer, -when the poor girl's smart man's clothes were produced -before the magistrate by the policeman who had arrested -her. The magistrate had made a few stern remarks -when ordering the delinquents to prison, and had called -Baraka 'hardened' because she did not burst into tears. -That was all, and there were barely five-and-twenty -lines of small print.</p> - -<p>But the Primadonna bit her handsome lip and her -eyes sparkled with anger, as she put the cutting back -into the first envelope, and took the folded letter out -of the other. The girl had not only stolen a ruby, but -it was Margaret's ruby, her very own, the one Logotheti -had given her for her engagement, and which she had -insisted upon having set as a ring though it would cover -more than half the space between her knuckle and the -joint of her third finger. Further, it had been stolen -by the very girl from whom Logotheti had pretended -that he had bought it, a fact which cast the high light -of absurdity on his unlikely story! It was natural -enough that she should have seen it, and should have -known that he was taking it to Pinney's, and that she -should have been able to prepare a little screw of paper -with a bit of glass inside, to substitute for it. The improbabilities -of such an explanation did not occur to -Lady Maud, who saw only the glaring fact that the -handsome Tartar girl had accompanied Logotheti, between -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">{212}</a></span> -London and Paris, disguised as a man, and had -ultimately robbed him, as he richly deserved. She had -imposed upon Van Torp too, and had probably tried -to sell him the very stone she had stolen from Logotheti, -and the one she had made him take as a gift was nothing -but a bit of glass, as he said it might be, for all he knew.</p> - -<p>She devoured Lady Maud's letter in a few moments, -and then read it twice again, which took so long that -Mrs. Rushmore sent Justine to tell Potts to ask if Miss -Donne did not mean to go out that morning, though -the weather was so fine.</p> - -<p>Great singers generally develop a capacity for flying -into rages, even if they have not been born with hot -tempers. It is very bad for the voice, but it seems to -be a part of the life. Margaret was very angry, and -Potts became as meek and mild as a little lamb when -she saw the storm signals in her mistress's face. She -delivered her message in a pathetic and oppressed tone, -like a child reciting the collect for the day at a Sunday -school.</p> - -<p>The Primadonna, imposing as a young lioness, walked -slowly backwards and forwards between her window -and the foot of the iron bedstead. There was an angry -light in her eyes and instead of flushing, as her cheeks -did for any ordinary fit of temper, they were as white -as wax. Potts, who was a small woman, seemed to -shrink and become visibly smaller as she stood waiting -for an answer. Suddenly the lioness stood still and -surveyed the poor little jackal that served her.</p> - -<p>'Ask Mrs. Rushmore if she can wait half an hour,' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">{213}</a></span> -she said. 'I'm very angry, Potts, and it's not your -fault, so keep out of the way.'</p> - -<p>She was generous at all events, but she looked dangerous, -and Potts seemed positively to shrivel through the -crack of the door as she disappeared. She was so extremely -glad to keep out of the way! There were legends -already about the great singer's temper, as there are -about all her fellow-artists. It was said, without the -slightest foundation, that she had once tossed a maid -out of the window like a feather, that on another occasion -she had severely beaten a coachman, and that she -had thrown two wretched lap-dogs into a raging fire in -a stove and fastened the door, because they had barked -while she was studying a new part. As a matter of fact, -she loved animals to weakness, and was kindness itself -to her servants, and she was generally justified in her -anger, though it sometimes made her say things she -regretted. Œdipus found the right answer to the -Sphinx's riddle in a moment, but the ingenious one -about truth propounded by Pontius Pilate has puzzled -more than sixty generations of Christians. If the -Sphinx had thought of it, Œdipus would never have -got to Thebes and some disgustingly unpleasant family -complications would have been prevented by his premature -demise.</p> - -<p>Margaret's wrath did not subside quickly, and as it -could not spend itself on any immediate object, it made -her feel as if she were in a raging fever. She had never -been ill in her life, it was true, and therefore did not -know what the sensation was. Her only experience of -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">{214}</a></span> -medical treatment had been at the hands of a very famous -specialist for the throat, in New York, to whom she -went because all her fellow-artists did, and whose mere -existence is said by grateful singers to effectually counteract -the effects of the bad climate during the opera season. -He photographed her vocal chords, and the diagrams -produced by her best notes, made her breathe pleasant-smelling -sprays and told her to keep her feet dry in rainy -weather. That was the sum of her experience with -doctors, and it was not at all disagreeable.</p> - -<p>Now, her temples throbbed, her hands trembled and -were as hot as fire, her lips were drawn and parched, -and when she caught sight of herself in the looking-glass -she saw that she was quite white and that her -eyes were bloodshot.</p> - -<p>But she was really a sensible English girl, although she -was so very angry.</p> - -<p>'This is ridiculous!' she said aloud, with emphasis. -'I won't be so silly!' And she sat down to try and -think quietly.</p> - -<p>It was not so easy. A Tartar girl indeed! More -probably a handsome Greek. How could they know -the difference in a London Police Court? She was not -aware that in London and other great cities the police -disposes of interpreters for every known language, from -the Malay dialects to Icelandic. Besides, it did not -matter! She would have been angry if Logotheti had -made love to the Duchess of Barchester, or to Lady -Dick Savory, the smartest woman in London, or to Mrs. -Smythe-Hockaday, the handsomest woman in England; -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">{215}</a></span> -she would have been angry of course, but not so furious -as she was now, not in a white rage that made her teeth -chatter, and her eyes burn as if they were red-hot in her -head. An ignorant Eastern girl! A creature that followed -him about in man's clothes! A thief! Pah! -Disgusting!</p> - -<p>Each detail that occurred to her made it more unbearable. -She remembered her conversation with him -through the telephone when she was at Versailles, his -explanation the next day, which she had so foolishly -accepted, his kiss! Her blood raged in her eyes, and -her hands shook together. On that evening he had -refused to stay to dinner; no doubt he had gone back -to his house in Paris, and had dined with the girl—in -the hall of the Aphrodite! It was not to be believed, -and after that memorable moment under the elm-tree, -too, when the sun was going down—after an honest -girl's first kiss, the first she had given any man since -she had been a child and her lips had timidly touched -her dead father's forehead! People would not believe -it, perhaps, because she was an artist and an opera-singer; -but it was true.</p> - -<p>It was no wonder that they had succeeded in deceiving -her for a while, the two Orientals together! They had -actually made Rufus Van Torp believe their story, which -must have been a very different matter from lying to a -credulous young woman who had let herself fall in love! -But for her friend Lady Maud she would still be their -victim. Her heart went out to the woman who had -saved her from her fate, and with the thought came the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">{216}</a></span> -impulse to send a message of gratitude; and the first -fury of her anger subsided with the impulse to do so. -By and by it would cool and harden to a lasting resentment -that would not soften again.</p> - -<p>Her hand still shook so that she could hardly hold the -pen steady while she wrote the telegram.</p> - -<p>'Unspeakably grateful. If can join me here will -gladly wait for you. Must see you at once. Do come.'</p> - -<p>She felt better as she rose from the table, and when -she looked at herself in the mirror she saw that her face -had changed again and that her natural colour was -returning. She rang for Potts, remembering that the -half-hour must be almost up.</p> - -<p>The maid appeared at once, still looking very small -and mild; but one glance told her that the worst was -past. She raised her head, threw back her shoulders -and stood up straight, apparently growing visibly till -she regained her ordinary size.</p> - -<p>'Potts,' Margaret said, facing round upon her, 'I've -been in a rage, but I'm only angry now. Do I look like -a human being again?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, ma'am,' answered the maid, inspecting her -gravely. 'You are still a bit pale, ma'am, and your -eye is a trifle wild, I may say. A motor veil, perhaps, -if you are thinking of going out, ma'am.'</p> - -<p>'I haven't got such a thing, have I? I never motor -now.'</p> - -<p>Potts smiled the smile of the very superior maid, and -moved towards a perfectly new leather hat-box that -stood in the corner. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_217" id="page_217">{217}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I always put in two for sea, ma'am,' she said. 'You -wore one when we crossed the Channel the last time, if -you remember.'</p> - -<p>'Potts, you're a treasure!'</p> - -<p>'Yes, ma'am,' Potts answered vaguely in her meek -voice, as she dived into one of the curious secret pockets -of the hat-box. 'That is, ma'am,' she said, correcting -herself, 'I mean, it's very kind of you to say so.'</p> - -<p>Without further consulting Margaret, who had seated -herself before the dressing-table, Potts proceeded to -fasten a broad-brimmed black straw hat on the thick -brown hair; she then spread an immense white veil -over it, drew it under her mistress's chin and knotted -in a way that would have amazed a seaman.</p> - -<p>When Margaret was putting on her gloves, Mrs. Rushmore -herself came to the door, knocked and opened -discreetly before there was any answer.</p> - -<p>'My dear child,' she asked, 'what in the world is the -matter? Nothing serious, I trust?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, nothing,' Margaret answered, going forward to -meet her, and finding her natural voice. 'I'm sorry if -I've kept you waiting.'</p> - -<p>'It's so unlike you, my dear,' Mrs. Rushmore said, -with emphasis; 'and Potts looked quite grave when she -brought me your message half an hour ago.'</p> - -<p>'You would have been more surprised if she had burst -out laughing,' Margaret said viciously.</p> - -<p>'My dear,' Mrs. Rushmore answered, 'I'm astonished -at you! I know something has happened. I know it. -You are not yourself this morning.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_218" id="page_218">{218}</a></span></p> - -<p>This was a statement so evidently absurd that it -could not be answered except by a flat contradiction; -so Margaret said nothing, and went on working her -hand into a perfectly new glove.</p> - -<p>'I see that you have not even opened your letters,' -Mrs. Rushmore continued severely. 'Except that,' she -added, noticing the loose sheets of Lady Maud's letter -on the toilet-table.</p> - -<p>Margaret gathered them up hastily, folded them into -a crumpled package and thrust them into the empty -envelope. For once, she had forgotten her caution, but -she retrieved herself by pushing the thick letter into her -long glove, much to Potts' distress, for it made an ugly -lump. She made it worse by forcing in the second -envelope, which contained the newspaper cutting.</p> - -<p>'I'm ready now,' she said.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore turned and led the way with stately -steps; she was always imposing, but when she was -offended she was monumental. The two went out in -silence, opened their parasols, the one black, the other -scarlet, and walked slowly down the straight, dull street -side by side. Mrs. Rushmore spoke first, after they had -gone some distance.</p> - -<p>'I know,' she said, 'that something has happened. -It was in that letter. You cannot deny it, Margaret. -It was in the letter you folded in that hurried manner.'</p> - -<p>'The news was,' answered the Primadonna, still vicious.</p> - -<p>'I told you so. My dear child, it's not of the slightest -use to try to deceive me. I've known you since you were -a child.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">{219}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I'm not trying to deceive you.'</p> - -<p>'When I asked what had happened, you answered, -"Nothing." I do not call that very frank, do -you?'</p> - -<p>'Potts was there, to begin with,' explained Margaret -rather crossly.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Rushmore no longer heard. Her head was -up, her parasol lay back upon her shoulder, her faded -eyes were brighter than before, and the beginning of a -social smile wreathed her hitherto grave lips. There -was game about, and she was pointing; there were -lions to windward.</p> - -<p>'There's Mr. Van Torp, my dear,' she said in quite -another tone, and very low, 'and unless I'm much mistaken—yes, -I knew it! He's with Count Kralinsky. -I saw the Count from the window yesterday when he -arrived. I hope our friend will present him.'</p> - -<p>'I daresay,' Margaret answered indifferently, but surveying -the two men through the white mist of her thick -veil.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' said Mrs. Rushmore with delight, and almost -whispering in her excitement. 'He has seen us, and -now he's telling the Count who we are.'</p> - -<p>Margaret was used to her excellent old friend's ways -on such occasions, and gave no more heed to them than -she would have given to a kitten scampering after a ball -of string. The kitten would certainly catch the ball in -the end, and Mrs. Rushmore would as surely capture -the lion.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp raised his hat when he was within four -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">{220}</a></span> -or five paces of the ladies, and his companion, who was -a head and shoulders taller than he, slackened his pace -and stopped a little way behind him as Mrs. Rushmore -shook hands and Margaret nodded pleasantly.</p> - -<p>'May I present Count Kralinsky?' asked the American. -'I've met him before, and we've just renewed our -acquaintance.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp looked from Mrs. Rushmore to Margaret, -and tried to see her expression through her veil. -She answered his look by a very slight inclination of the -head.</p> - -<p>'We shall be delighted,' said the elder lady, speaking -for both.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp introduced the Count to Mrs. Rushmore -and then to Margaret, calling her 'Miss Donne,' and she -saw that the man was handsome as well as tall and -strong. He had a magnificent golden beard, a clear -complexion, and rather uncertain blue eyes, in one of -which he wore a single eyeglass without a string. He -was quietly dressed and wore no jewellery, excepting -one ring, in which blazed a large 'tallow-topped' ruby. -He had the unmistakable air of a man of the world, and -was perfectly at his ease. When he raised his straw hat -he disclosed a very white forehead, and short, thick fair -hair. There was no sign of approaching middle age in -his face or figure, but Margaret felt, or guessed, that he -was older than he looked.</p> - -<p>In her stiffly correct French, Mrs. Rushmore said that -she was enchanted to make his acquaintance, and Margaret -murmured sweetly but unintelligibly. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">{221}</a></span></p> - -<p>'The Count speaks English perfectly,' observed Mr. -Van Torp.</p> - -<p>He ranged himself beside Margaret, leaving the foreigner -to Mrs. Rushmore, much to her gratification.</p> - -<p>'We were going to walk,' she said. 'Will you join -us?' And she moved on.</p> - -<p>'It is a great pleasure to meet you,' Kralinsky said -by way of opening the conversation. 'I have often -heard of you from friends in Paris. Your little dinners -at Versailles are famous all over Europe. I am sure -we have many mutual friends, though you may never -have heard my name.'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore was visibly pleased, and as the way -was not very wide, Margaret and Van Torp dropped -behind. They soon heard the other two enumerating -their acquaintances. Kralinsky was surprised at the -number of Mrs. Rushmore's friends, but the Count -seemed to know everybody, from all the Grand Dukes -and Archdukes in Russia, Germany, and Austria, to -the author of the latest successful play in Paris, and -the man of science who had discovered how to cure -gout by radium. Kralinsky had done the cure, seen the -play, and dined with the royalties within the last few -weeks. Mrs. Rushmore thought him one of the most -charming men she had ever met.</p> - -<p>In the rear Mr. Van Torp and the Primadonna were -not talking; but he looked at her, she looked at him, -they both looked at Kralinsky's back, and then they -once more looked at each other and nodded; which -meant that Van Torp had recognised the man he had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">{222}</a></span> -met selling rubies in New York, and that Margaret -understood this.</p> - -<p>'I'll tell you something else that's quite funny, if you -don't mind dropping a little further behind,' he said.</p> - -<p>Margaret walked still more slowly till a dozen paces -separated them from the other two.</p> - -<p>'What is it?' she asked in a low tone.</p> - -<p>'I believe he's my old friend from whom I learned to -whistle <i>Parsifal</i>,' answered the American. 'I'm pretty -sure of it, in spite of a good many years and a beard—two -things that change a man. See his walk? See -how he turns his toes in? Most cow-boys walk like -that.'</p> - -<p>'How very odd that you should meet again!' Margaret -was surprised, but not deeply interested by this -new development.</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Van Torp thoughtfully, 'if I'd known I -was going to meet him somewhere, I'd have said this -was as likely a place as any to find him in, now that I -know what it was he whistled. But I admit that the -other matter has more in it. I wonder what would -happen if I asked him about Miss Barrack?'</p> - -<p>'Nothing,' Margaret answered confidently. 'Nothing -would happen. He has never heard of her.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp's sharp eyes tried in vain to penetrate the -veil.</p> - -<p>'That's not quite clear,' he observed. 'Or else this -isn't my good day.'</p> - -<p>'The girl fooled you,' said Margaret in a low voice. -'Did she mention his name to you?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">{223}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well, no——'</p> - -<p>'She never saw him in her life, or if she ever did, it -was she who robbed him of rubies; and it was not the -other way, as you supposed. Men are generally inclined -to believe what a nice-looking girl tells them!'</p> - -<p>'That's true,' Van Torp admitted. 'But all the same, -I don't quite understand you. There's a meaning in your -voice that's not in the words. Excuse me if I'm not -quick enough this morning, please. I'm doing my best.'</p> - -<p>'Your friend Baraka has been arrested and sent -to prison in London for stealing a very valuable ruby -from the counter in Pinney's,' Margaret explained. 'The -stone had just been taken there by Monsieur Logotheti -to be cut. The girl must have followed him without his -knowing it, and watched her chance, though how old -Pinney can have left such a thing lying on the counter -where any one could take it is simply incomprehensible. -That's what you heard in my voice when I said that -men are credulous.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp thought he had heard even more in -her accent when she had pronounced Logotheti's name. -Besides, she generally called him 'Logo,' as all his friends -did. The American said nothing for a moment, but he -glanced repeatedly at the white veil, through which he -saw her handsome features without their expression.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said at last, almost to himself, for he hardly -expected her to understand the language of his surprise, -'that beats the band!'</p> - -<p>'It really is rather odd, you know,' responded Margaret, -who understood perfectly. 'If you think I've -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">{224}</a></span> -adorned the truth I'll give you the Police Court report. -I have it in my glove. Lady Maud sent it to me with -a letter.' She added, after an instant's hesitation, -'I'm not sure that I shall not give you that to read too, -for there's something about you in it, and she is your -best friend, isn't she?'</p> - -<p>'Out and out. I daresay you'd smile if I told you -that I asked her to help me to get you to change your -mind.'</p> - -<p>'No,' Margaret answered, turning slowly to look at -him. 'She tells me so in this letter.'</p> - -<p>'Does she really?' Van Torp had guessed as much, -and had wished to undermine the surprise he supposed -that Margaret had in store for him. 'That's just like -her straightforward way of doing things. She told me -frankly that she wouldn't lift a finger to influence you. -However, it can't be helped, I suppose.'</p> - -<p>The conclusion of the speech seemed to be out of the -logical sequence.</p> - -<p>'She has done more than lift a finger now,' Margaret -said.</p> - -<p>'Has she offended you?' Van Torp ventured to ask, -for he did not understand the constant subtone of anger -he heard in her voice. 'I know she would not mean to -do that.'</p> - -<p>'No. You don't understand. I've telegraphed to -ask her to join us here.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp was really surprised now, and his face showed -it.</p> - -<p>'I wish we were somewhere alone,' Margaret continued. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">{225}</a></span> -'I mean, out of the way of Mrs. Rushmore. -She knows nothing about all this, but she saw me cramming -the letters into my glove, and I cannot possibly let -her see me giving them to you.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, well, let me think,' said the millionaire. 'I -guess I want to buy some photographs of Bayreuth and -the <i>Parsifal</i> characters in that shop, there on the right. -Suppose you wait outside the door, so that Mrs. Rushmore -can see you if she turns around. She'll understand -that I'm inside. If you drop your parasol towards her -you can get the letters out, can't you? Then as I come -out you can just pass them to me behind the parasol, -and we'll go on. How's that? It won't take one second, -anyhow. You can make-believe your glove's -uncomfortable, and you're fixing it, if anybody you -know comes out of the shop. Will that do? Here -we are. Shall I go in?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. Don't be long! I'll cough when I'm ready.'</p> - -<p>The operation succeeded, and the more easily as Mrs. -Rushmore went quietly on without turning her head, -being absorbed and charmed by Kralinsky's conversation.</p> - -<p>'You may as well read the newspaper cutting now,' -Margaret said when they had begun to walk again. -'That cannot attract attention, even if she does look -round, and it explains a good many things. It's in -the thinner envelope, of course.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp fumbled in the pocket of his jacket, and -brought out the slip of newspaper without the envelope, -a precaution which Margaret noticed and approved. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">{226}</a></span> -If she had been able to forget for a moment her anger -against Logotheti she would have been amazed at the -strides her intimacy with Van Torp was making. He -himself was astounded, and did not yet understand, but -he had played the great game for fortune against adversaries -of vast strength and skill, and had won by -his qualities rather than his luck, and they did not -desert him at the most important crisis of his life. The -main difference between his present state of mind and -his mental view, when he had been fighting men for -money, was that he now felt scruples wholly new to him. -Things that had looked square enough when millions -were at stake appeared to him 'low down' where Margaret -was the prize.</p> - -<p>She watched him intently while he read the printed -report, but his face did not change in the least. At -that short distance she could see every shade of his -expression through the white veiling, though he could -not see hers at all. He finished reading, folded the slip -carefully, and put it into his pocket-book instead of -returning it to the envelope.</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_245" id="i_245"></a> -<img src="images/i_245.jpg" width="393" height="550" alt=""She watched him intently while he read the printed report."" /> -<p class="caption">"She watched him intently while he read the printed report."</p> -</div> - -<p>'It does look queer,' he said slowly. 'Now let me ask -you one thing, but don't answer me unless you like. -It's not mere inquisitiveness on my part.' As Margaret -said nothing, though he waited a moment for her -answer, he went on. 'That ruby, now—I suppose it's -to be cut for you, isn't it?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. He gave it to me in Versailles, and I kept it -some days. Then he asked me to let him have it to -take to London when I came here.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">{227}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Just so. Thank you. One more question, if I may. -That stone I gave you, I swear I don't know that it's -not glass—anyhow, that stone, does it look at all like -the one that was stolen?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no! It's quite another shape and size. Why -do you ask? I don't quite see.'</p> - -<p>'What I mean is, if these people are around selling -rubies, there may be two very much alike, that's all.'</p> - -<p>'Well, if there were? What of it?'</p> - -<p>'Suppose—I'm only supposing, mind, that the girl -really had another stone about her a good deal like the -one that was stolen, and that somebody else was the -thief. Queer things like that have happened before.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. But old Pinney is one of the first experts in -the world, and he swore to the ruby.'</p> - -<p>'That's so,' said Van Torp thoughtfully. 'I forgot -that.'</p> - -<p>'And if she had the other stone, she had stolen it from -Monsieur Logotheti, I have not the least doubt.'</p> - -<p>'I daresay,' replied the millionaire. 'I'm not her -attorney. I'm not trying to defend her. I was only -thinking.'</p> - -<p>'She was at his house in Paris,' Margaret said, quite -unable to keep her own counsel now. 'It was when I -was at Versailles.'</p> - -<p>'You don't say so! Are you sure of that?'</p> - -<p>'He admitted it when I was talking to him through -the telephone, and I heard her speaking to him in a -language I did not understand.'</p> - -<p>'Did you really? Well, well!' Mr. Van Torp was -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">{228}</a></span> -beginning to be puzzled again. 'Nice voice, hasn't -she?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. He tried to make me think he wasn't sure -whether the creature was a boy or a girl.'</p> - -<p>'Maybe he wasn't sure himself,' suggested the American, -but the tone in which she had spoken the word -'creature' had not escaped him.</p> - -<p>He was really trying to put the case in a fair light, -and was not at all manœuvring to ascertain her state -of mind. That was clear enough now. How far she -might go he could not tell, but what she had just said, -coupled with the way in which she spoke of the man to -whom she was engaged as 'Monsieur Logotheti,' made -it quite evident that she was profoundly incensed against -him, and Van Torp became more than ever anxious not -to do anything underhand.</p> - -<p>'Look here,' he said, 'I'm going to tell you something. -I took a sort of interest in that Tartar girl the only time -I saw her. I don't know why. I daresay I was taken -in by her—just ordinary "taken in," like a tenderfoot. -I gave her that fellow's address in New York.' He -nodded towards Kralinsky. 'When I found he was here, -I wired Logotheti to tell her, since she's after him. I -suppose I thought Logotheti would go right away and -find her, and get more mixed up with her than ever. -It was mean of me, wasn't it? That's why I've told -you. You see, I didn't know anything about all this, -and that makes it meaner still, doesn't it?'</p> - -<p>Possibly if he had told her these facts forty-eight -hours earlier she might have been annoyed, but at -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">{229}</a></span> -present they seemed to be rather in his favour. At -all events he was frank, she thought. He declared war -on his rival, and meant fight according to the law of -nations. Lady Maud would not be his friend if he were -playing any double game, but she had stuck to him -throughout his trouble in the spring, he had emerged -victorious and reinstated in public opinion, and she -had been right. Lady Maud knew him better than -any one else, and she was a good woman, if there ever -was one.</p> - -<p>Yet he had accused himself of having acted 'meanly.' -Margaret did not like the word, and threw up her head -as a horse does when a beginner holds on by the curb.</p> - -<p>'You need not make yourself out worse than you are,' -she answered.</p> - -<p>'I want to start fair,' said the millionaire, 'and I'd -rather your impression should improve than get worse. -The only real trouble with Lucifer was he started too -high up.'</p> - -<p>This singular statement was made with perfect gravity, -and without the slightest humorous intention, but -Margaret laughed for the first time that day, in spite -of the storm that was still raging in the near distance -of her thoughts.</p> - -<p>'Why do you laugh?' asked Van Torp. 'It's quite -true. I don't want to start too high up in your estimation -and then be turned down as unfit for the position -at the end of the first week. Put me where I belong -and I won't disappoint you. Say I was doing something -that wasn't exactly low-down, considering the object, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">{230}</a></span> -but that mightn't pass muster at an honour-parade, -anyhow. And then say that I've admitted the fact, if -you like, and that the better I know you the less I want -to do anything mean. It won't be hard for you to look -at it in that light, will it? And it'll give me the position -of starting from the line. Is that right?'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Margaret answered, smiling. 'Slang "right" -and English "right"! You ask for a fair field and no -favour, and you shall have it.'</p> - -<p>'I'll go straight,' Van Torp answered.</p> - -<p>He was conscious that he was hourly improving his -knowledge of women's little ways, and that what he -had said, and had purposely expressed in his most -colloquial manner, had touched a chord which would -not have responded to a fine speech. For though he -often spoke a sort of picturesque dialect, and though he -was very far from being highly educated, he could speak -English well enough when he chose. It probably -seemed to him that good grammar and well-selected -words belonged to formal occasions and not to everyday -life, and that it was priggish to be particular in -avoiding slang and cowardly to sacrifice an hereditary -freedom from the bonds of the subjunctive mood.</p> - -<p>'I suppose Lady Maud will come, won't she?' he asked -suddenly, after a short silence.</p> - -<p>'I hope so,' Margaret said. 'If not, she will meet -me in Paris, for she offers to do that in her letter.'</p> - -<p>'I'm staying on in this place because you said you -didn't mind,' observed Van Torp. 'Do you want me -to go away if she arrives?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">{231}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Why should I? Why shouldn't you stay?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, I don't know. I was only thinking. Much -obliged anyway, and I'll certainly stay if you don't -object. We shall be quite a party, shan't we? What -with us three, and Lady Maud and Kralinsky there——'</p> - -<p>'Surely you don't call him one of our "party"!' objected -Margaret. 'He's only just been introduced to -us. I daresay Mrs. Rushmore will ask him to dinner or -luncheon, but that will be all.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes! I suppose that will be all.'</p> - -<p>But his tone roused her curiosity by its vagueness.</p> - -<p>'You knew him long ago,' she said. 'If he's not a -decent sort of person to have about, you ought to tell -us—indeed you should not have introduced him at -all if he's a bad lot.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp did not answer at once, and seemed -to be consulting his recollections.</p> - -<p>'I don't know anything against him,' he said at last. -'All foreigners who drift over to the States and go -West haven't left their country for the same reasons. -I suppose most of them come because they've got no -money at home and want some. I haven't any right -to take it for granted that a foreign gentleman who -turns cow-boy for a year or two has cheated at cards, -or anything of that sort, have I? There were all kinds -of men on that ranch, as there are on every other and -in every mining camp in the West, and most of 'em have -no particular names. They get called something when -they turn up, and they're known as that while they stay, -and if they die with their boots on, they get buried as -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">{232}</a></span> -that, and if not, they clear out when they've had enough -of it; and some of 'em strike something and get rich, -as I did, and some of 'em settle down to occupations, -as I've known many do. But they all turn into themselves -again, or turn themselves into somebody else after -they go back. While they're punching cattle they're -generally just "Dandy Jim" or "Levi Longlegs," as -that fellow was, or something of that sort.'</p> - -<p>'What were you called?' asked Margaret.</p> - -<p>'I?' Van Torp smiled faintly at the recollection of -his nickname. 'I was always Fanny Cook.'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed.</p> - -<p>'Of all the inappropriate names!'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said the millionaire, still smiling, 'I guess it -must have been because I was always sort of gentle and -confiding and sweet, you know. So they concluded to -give me a girl's name as soon as they saw me, and I -turned out a better cook than the others, so they tacked -that on, too. I didn't mind.'</p> - -<p>Margaret smiled too, as she glanced at his jaw and his -flat, hard cheeks, and thought of his having been called -'Fanny.'</p> - -<p>'Did you ever kill anybody, Miss Fanny?' she asked, -with a little laugh.</p> - -<p>A great change came over his face at once.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he answered very gravely. 'Twice, in fair self-defence. -If I had hesitated, I should not be here.'</p> - -<p>'I beg your pardon,' Margaret said quietly. 'I should -not have asked you. I ought to have known.'</p> - -<p>'Why?' he asked. 'One gets that kind of question -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_233" id="page_233">{233}</a></span> -asked one now and then by people one doesn't care to -answer. But I'd rather have you know something about -my life than not. Not that it's much to be proud of,' -he added, rather sadly.</p> - -<p>'Some day you shall tell me all you will,' Margaret -answered. 'I daresay you did much better than you -think, when you look back.'</p> - -<p>'Lady Maud knows all about me now,' he said, 'and -no one else alive does. Perhaps you'll be the second -that will, and that'll be all for the present. They want -us to come up with them, do you see?'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore and Kralinsky had stopped in their -walk and were waiting for them. They quickened their -pace.</p> - -<p>'I thought perhaps this was far enough,' said Mrs. -Rushmore. 'Of course I could go on further, and it's -not your usual walk, my dear, but unless you mind—'</p> - -<p>Margaret did not mind, and said so readily; whereupon -Mrs. Rushmore deliberately took Van Torp for -her companion on the way back.</p> - -<p>'I'm sure you won't object to walking slowly,' she -said to him, 'and Miss Donne and the Count can go as -fast as they like, for they are both good walkers. I am -sure you must be a great walker,' she added, turning -to the Russian.</p> - -<p>He smiled blandly and bent his head a little, as if he -were acknowledging a compliment. Van Torp looked -at him quietly.</p> - -<p>'I should have thought you were more used to riding,' -said the American. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_234" id="page_234">{234}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Ah, yes!' The indifferent answer came in a peculiarly -oily tone, though the pronunciation was perfect. -'I was in the cavalry before I began to travel. But I -walked over two thousand miles in Central Asia, and -was none the worst for it.'</p> - -<p>Margaret was sure that she was not going to like him, -as she moved on with him by her side; and Van Torp, -walking with Mrs. Rushmore, was quite certain that he -was Levi Longlegs, who had herded cattle with him for -six months very long ago. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">{235}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> - -<p class="p2">Logotheti reached his lodgings in St. James's Place at -six o'clock in the evening of the day on which he had -promised to dine with Van Torp, and the latter's note of -excuse was given to him at once. He read it, looked -out of the window, glanced at it again, and threw it into -the waste-paper basket without another thought. He -did not care in the least about dining with the American -millionaire. In fact, he had looked forward to it rather -as a bore than a pleasure. He saw on his table, with his -letters, a flat and almost square parcel, which the -addressed label told him contained the Archæological -Report of the Egyptian Exploration Fund, and he had -heard that the new number would contain an account -of a papyrus recently discovered at Oxyrrhynchus, on -which some new fragments of Pindar had been found. -No dinner that could be devised, and no company that -could be asked to meet him at it, could be half as delightful -as that to the man who so deeply loved the -ancient literature of his country, and he made up his -mind at once that he would not even take the trouble -to go to a club, but would have a bird and a salad in his -rooms.</p> - -<p>Unhappily for his peace and his anticipated feast of -poetry, he looked through his letters to see if there were -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">{236}</a></span> -one from Margaret, and there was only a coloured postcard -from Bayreuth, with the word 'greetings' scrawled -beside the address in her large hand. Next to the card, -however, there was a thick letter addressed in a commercial -writing he remembered but could not at once -identify; and though it was apparently a business communication, -and could therefore have waited till the -next morning, when his secretary would come as usual, -he opened it out of mere curiosity to know whence it -came.</p> - -<p>It was from Mr. Pinney the jeweller, and it contained -a full and conscientious account of the whole -affair of the theft, from the moment when Logotheti -and Van Torp had gone out together until Mr. Pinney -had locked up the stone in his safe again, and Baraka -and Spiro had been lodged in Brixton Gaol. The envelope -contained also a cutting from the newspaper -similar to the one Margaret had received from Lady -Maud.</p> - -<p>Logotheti laid the letter on the table and looked at -his watch. It was now a quarter-past six, and old-fashioned -shops like Pinney's close rather early in the -dull season, when few customers are to be expected and -the days are not so long as they have been. In the -latter part of August, in London, the sun sets soon after -seven o'clock, and Logotheti realised that he had no -time to lose.</p> - -<p>As he drove quickly up towards Bond Street, he ran -over the circumstances in his mind, and came to the -conclusion that Baraka had probably been the victim of -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">{237}</a></span> -a trick, though he did not exclude the bare possibility -that she might be guilty. With all her cleverness and -native sense, she might be little more than a savage -who had picked up European manners in Constantinople, -where you can pick up any manners you like, -Eastern or Western. The merchant who had given her -a letter for Logotheti only knew what she had chosen to -tell him, and connived in her deception by speaking of -her as a man; and she might have told him anything -to account for having some valuable precious stones -to dispose of. But, on the other hand, she might not -be a Tartar at all. Any one, from the Bosphorus to the -Amur, may speak Tartar, and pretend not to understand -anything else. She might be nothing but a clever -half-bred Levantine from Smyrna, who had fooled them -all, and really knew French and even English. The -merchant had not vouched for the bearer's character -beyond saying that 'he' had some good rubies to sell, -called himself a Tartar, and was apparently an honest -young fellow. All the rest was Baraka's own story, and -Logotheti really knew of nothing in her favour beyond -his intimate conviction that she was innocent. Against -that stood the fact that the stolen ruby had been found -secreted on her person within little more than half an -hour of her having had a chance to take it from Pinney's -shop.</p> - -<p>From quite another point of view, Logotheti himself -argued as Margaret had done. Baraka knew that he -possessed the ruby, since she had sold it to him. She -knew that he meant to have it cut in London. She -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">{238}</a></span> -might easily have been watching him and following him -for several days in the hope of getting it back, carrying -the bit of bottle glass of the same size about with her, -carefully prepared and wrapped in tissue-paper, ready -to be substituted for the gem at any moment. She -had watched him go into Pinney's, knowing very well -what he was going for; she had waited till he came out, -and had then entered and asked to see any rubies -Mr. Pinney had, trusting to the chance that he might -choose to show her Logotheti's, as a curiosity. Chance -had favoured her, that was all. She had doubtless -recognised the twist on the counter, and the rest had -been easy enough. Was not the affair of the Ascot Cup, -a much more difficult and dangerous theft, still fresh in -every one's memory?</p> - -<p>Logotheti found Mr. Pinney himself in the act of -turning the discs of the safe before going home and -leaving his shopman to shut up the place. He smiled -with grave satisfaction when Logotheti entered.</p> - -<p>'I was hoping to see you, sir,' he said. 'I presume -that you had my letter? I wrote out the account with -great care, as you may imagine, but I shall be happy -to go over the story with you if there is any point that -is not clear.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti did not care to hear it; he wished to see the -ruby. Mr. Pinney turned the discs again to their places, -stuck the little key into the secret keyhole which then -revealed itself, turned it three times to the left and five -times to the right, and opened the heavy iron door. -The safe was an old-fashioned one that had belonged to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">{239}</a></span> -his father before him. He got out the japanned tin box, -opened that, and produced the stone, still in its paper, -for it was too thick to be put into one of Mr. Pinney's -favourite pill-boxes.</p> - -<p>Logotheti undid the paper, took out the big uncut -ruby, laid it in the palm of his hand, and looked at it -critically, turning it over with one finger from time to -time. He took it to the door of the shop, where the -evening light was stronger, and examined it with the -greatest care. Still he did not seem satisfied.</p> - -<p>'Let me have your lens, Mr. Pinney,' he said, 'and -some electric light and a sheet of white paper.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Pinney turned up a strong drop light that stood -on the counter, and produced the paper and a magnifier.</p> - -<p>'It's a grand ruby,' he said.</p> - -<p>'I see it is,' Logotheti answered rather curtly.</p> - -<p>'Do you mean to say,' asked the surprised jeweller, -'that you had bought it without thoroughly examining -it, sir—you who are an expert?'</p> - -<p>'No, that's not what I mean,' answered the Greek, -bending over the ruby and scrutinising it through the -strong magnifier.</p> - -<p>Mr. Pinney felt himself snubbed, which had not -happened to him for a long time, and he drew himself -up with dignity. A minute passed, and Logotheti did -not look up; another, and Mr. Pinney grew nervous; -a few seconds more, and he received a shock that took -away his breath.</p> - -<p>'This is not my ruby,' said Logotheti, looking up, -and speaking with perfect confidence. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">{240}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Not—your—ruby!' Mr. Pinney's jaw dropped. -'But——' He could get no further.</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry,' Logotheti said calmly. 'I'm very sorry, -for several reasons. But it's not the stone I brought -you, though it's just as large, and most extraordinarily -like it.'</p> - -<p>'But how do you know, sir?' gasped the jeweller.</p> - -<p>'Because I'm an expert, as you were good enough to -say just now.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. But I am an expert too, and to the best -of my expert belief this is the stone you left with me -to be cut, the day before yesterday. I've examined it -most thoroughly.'</p> - -<p>'No doubt,' answered the Greek. 'But you hadn't -examined mine thoroughly before it was stolen, had you? -You had only looked at it with me, on the counter here.'</p> - -<p>'That is correct, sir,' said Mr. Pinney nervously. -'That is quite true.'</p> - -<p>'Very well. But I did more than merely look at it -through a lens or weigh it. I did not care so much -about the weight, but I cared very much for the water, -and I tried the ruby point on it in the usual way, but -it was too hard, and then I scratched it in two places -with the diamond, more out of curiosity than for any -other reason.'</p> - -<p>'You marked it, sir? There's not a single scratch -on this one! Merciful Providence! Merciful Providence!'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Logotheti said gravely. 'The girl spoke the -truth. She had two stones much larger than the rest -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">{241}</a></span> -when she first came to me in Paris, this one and another. -They were almost exactly alike, and she wanted me to -buy both, but I did not want them, and I took the one -I thought a little better in colour. This is the other, -for she still had it; and, so far as I know, it is her legal -property, and mine is gone. The thief was one of those -two young fellows who came in just when Mr. Van Torp -and I went out. I remember thinking what nice-looking -boys they were!'</p> - -<p>He laughed rather harshly, for he was more annoyed -than his consideration for Mr. Pinney made him care -to show. He had looked forward to giving Margaret -the ruby, mounted just as she wished it; and the ruby -was gone, and he did not know where he was to find -another, except the one that was now in Pinney's hands, -but really belonged to poor Baraka, who could certainly -not sell it at present. A much larger sum of money -was gone, too, than any financier could lose with equanimity -by such a peculiarly disagreeable mishap as -being robbed. There were several reasons why Logotheti -was not pleased.</p> - -<p>So far as the money went, he was not sure about -the law in such a case, and he did not know whether -he could claim it of Pinney, who had really been guilty -of gross carelessness after a lifetime of scrupulous caution. -Pinney was certainly very well off, and would -not suffer nearly as much by the loss of a few thousand -pounds as from the shame of having been robbed in such -an impudent fashion of a gem that was not even his, -but had been entrusted to his keeping. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">{242}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I am deeply humiliated,' said the worthy old jeweller. -'I have not only been tricked and plundered, but I -have been the means of sending innocent people to prison.'</p> - -<p>'You had better be the means of getting them out -again as soon as possible,' said Logotheti. 'You know -what to do here in England far better than I. In my -country a stroke of the pen would free Baraka, and perhaps -another would exile you to Bagdad, Mr. Pinney!'</p> - -<p>He spoke lightly, to cheer the old man, but Mr. Pinney -shook his head.</p> - -<p>'This is no jesting matter, sir,' he said. 'I feel -deeply humiliated.'</p> - -<p>He really did, and it was evidently a sort of relief -to him to repeat the words.</p> - -<p>'I suppose,' said Logotheti, 'that we shall have to -make some kind of sworn deposition, or whatever you -call it, together, and we will go and do it at once, if -you please. Lock up the ruby in the safe again, Mr. -Pinney, and we will start directly. I shall not go -back to my lodgings till we have done everything we -can possibly do to-night.'</p> - -<p>'But you will dine, sir?' Mr. Pinney put that point -as only a well-regulated Englishman of his class can.</p> - -<p>'I shall not dine, and you will not dine,' answered -Logotheti calmly, 'if our dinner is at all likely to keep -those people in prison an hour longer than is inevitable.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Pinney looked graver than ever. He was in the -habit of dining early, and it is said that an Englishman -does not fight on an empty stomach, and will eat -an excellent breakfast before being hanged. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">{243}</a></span></p> - -<p>'You can eat sandwiches in the hansom,' said the -Greek coldly.</p> - -<p>'I was thinking of you, sir,' Mr. Pinney answered -gloomily, as he finished the operation of shutting the -safe; he did not like sandwiches, for his teeth were not -strong.</p> - -<p>'You must also make an effort to trace those two young -men who stole the ruby,' said Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'I most certainly shall,' replied the jeweller, 'and if -it is not found we will make it good to you, sir, whatever -price you set upon it. I am deeply humiliated, -but nobody shall say that Pinney and Son do not make -good any loss their customers sustain through them.'</p> - -<p>'Don't worry about that, Mr. Pinney,' said Logotheti, -who saw how much distressed the old jeweller really -was.</p> - -<p>So they went out and hailed a hansom, and drove -away.</p> - -<p>It would be tiresome to give a detailed account of -what they did. Mr. Pinney had not been one of the -principal jewellers in London for forty years without -having been sometimes in need of the law; and occasionally, -also, the law had been in need of him as an -expert in very grave cases, some of which required the -utmost secrecy as well as the greatest possible tact. He -knew his way about in places where Logotheti had -never been; and having once abandoned the idea of -dinner, he lost no time; for the vision of dinner after all -was over rose softly, as the full moon rises on a belated -traveller, very pleasant and companionable by the way. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">{244}</a></span></p> - -<p>Moreover, as the fact that Baraka and Spiro were -really innocent has been kept in view, the manner in -which they were proved so is of little importance, nor -the circumstances of their being let out of Brixton -Gaol, with a vague expression of regret on the part -of the law for having placed faith in what Mr. Pinney -had testified 'to the best of his belief,' instead of accepting -a fairy story which a Tartar girl, caught going -about in man's clothes, told through the broken English -of a Stamboul interpreter. The law, being good English -law, did not make a fuss about owning that it had -been mistaken; though it reprimanded Mr. Pinney -openly for his haste, and he continued to feel deeply -humiliated. It was also quite ready to help him to -find the real thieves, though that looked rather difficult.</p> - -<p>For law and order, in their private study, with no -one looking on, had felt that there was something very -odd about the case. It was strange, for instance, that -the committed person should have a large bank account -in Paris in his, or her, own name, and should have made -no attempt to conceal the latter when arrested. It -was queer that 'Barak' should be known to a number -of honourable Paris jewellers as having sold them rubies -of excellent quality, but that there should never have -been the least suspicion that he, or she, took any that -belonged to other people. It was still more extraordinary -that 'Barak' should have offered an enormous -ruby, of which the description corresponded remarkably -well with the one that had appeared in evidence at the -Police Court, to two French dealers in precious stones, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">{245}</a></span> -who had not bought it, but were bearing it in mind -for possible customers, and were informed of Barak's -London address, in case they could find a buyer. In -the short time since Baraka had been in prison, yards -of ciphered telegrams had been exchanged between -the London and Paris police; for the Frenchmen maintained -that if the Englishmen had not made a mistake, -there must have been a big robbery of precious stones -somewhere, to account for those that Baraka was -selling; but that, as no such robbery, or robberies, had -been heard of anywhere in Europe, America, India, or -Australia, the Englishmen were probably wrong and -had locked up the wrong person. For the French -jewellers who had bought the stones all went to the -Paris Chief of Police and laid the matter before him, -being much afraid that they had purchased stolen -goods which had certainly not been offered for sale in -'market overt.' The result was that the English police -had begun to feel rather nervous about it all, and were -extremely glad to have matters cleared up, and to say -so, and to see about the requisite order to set the prisoners -at large.</p> - -<p>Also, Mr. Pinney restored the ruby to her, and all -her other belongings were given back to her, even including -the smart grey suit of men's clothes in which -she had been arrested; and her luggage and other things -which the manager of the hotel where she had been -stopping had handed over to the police were all returned; -and when Spiro appeared at the hotel to pay the small -bill that had been left owing, he held his head as high as -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">{246}</a></span> -an Oriental can when he has got the better of any one, -and that is pretty high indeed. Furthermore, Mr. -Pinney insisted on giving Logotheti a formal document -by which Messrs. Pinney and Son bound themselves -to make good to him, his heirs, or assigns, the loss of -a ruby, approximately of a certain weight and quality, -which he had lost through their carelessness.</p> - -<p>All these things were arranged with as little fuss and -noise as might be; but it was not possible to keep the -singular circumstances out of the newspapers; nor -was it desirable, except from Mr. Pinney's point of -view, for Baraka had a right to be cleared from all -suspicion in the most public manner, and Logotheti -insisted that this should be done. It was done, and -generously too; and the girl's story was so wonderfully -romantic that the reporters went into paroxysms of -adjectivitis in every edition of their papers, and scurried -about town like mad between the attacks to find out -where she was and to interview her. But in this they -failed; and the only person they could lay hands on -was Logotheti's private secretary, who was a middle-aged -Swiss with a vast face that was as perfectly expressionless -as a portrait of George the Fourth on the signboard -of an English country inn, or a wooden Indian -before the door of an American tobacconist's shop. -He had been everywhere and spoke most known languages, -for he had once set up a little business in Constantinople -that had failed; and his power of knowing -nothing, when he had a secret to keep for his employer, -was as the combined stupidity of ten born idiots. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">{247}</a></span></p> - -<p>He knew nothing. No, he did not know where Baraka -was; he did not know what had become of her servant -Spiro; he did not know where Logotheti was; he did -not know anything; if the reporters had asked him his -own name, he would very likely have answered that he -did not know that either. The number of things he -did not know was perfectly overwhelming. The reporters -came to the conclusion that Logotheti had -spirited away the beautiful Tartar; and they made -some deductions, but abstained from printing them yet, -though they worked them out on paper, because they -were well aware that Logotheti was engaged to marry -the celebrated Cordova, and was too important a -personage to be trifled with, unless he had a fall, which -sometimes happens to financiers.</p> - -<p>On the day following Baraka's liberation, Lady Maud -received Margaret's pressing telegram begging her to -go to Bayreuth. The message reached her before -noon, about the time when Margaret and her companions -had come back from their morning walk, and after -hesitating for half-an-hour, she telegraphed that she -would come with pleasure, and would start at once, -which meant that evening.</p> - -<p>She had just read the official account of the ruby case -in its new aspect, and she did not believe a word of the -story. To her mind it was quite clear that Logotheti -was still infatuated with the girl, that he had come to -London as fast as he could, and that he had deliberately -sworn that the ruby was not his, but another one, in -order to get her out of trouble. If it was not his it had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">{248}</a></span> -not been stolen from Pinney's, and the whole case fell -through at once. If she was declared innocent the -stone must be given back to her; he would take it -from her as soon as they were alone and return it to his -own pocket; and being an Oriental, he would probably -beat her for robbing him, but would not let her out of -his sight again till he was tired of her. Lady Maud had -heard from her late husband how all Turks believed -that women had no souls and should be kept under lock -and key, and well fed, and soundly beaten now and -then for the good of their tempers. This view was -exaggerated, but Lady Maud was in a humour to recall -it and accept it without criticism, and she made up her -mind that before leaving town to join Margaret she -would make sure of the facts. No friend of hers should -marry a man capable of such outrageous deeds.</p> - -<p>If she had not been an impulsive woman she could -never have done so much good in the world; and she -had really done so much that she believed in her -impulses, and acted on them without taking into consideration -the possibility that she might be doing -harm. But the damage which very actively good -people sometimes do quite unintentionally is often -greater and more lasting than that done by bad people, -because the good ones carry with them the whole resistless -weight of real goodness and of real good works -already accomplished.</p> - -<p>Perhaps that is why honestly convinced reformers -sometimes bring about more ruin in a few months than ten -years of bribery and corruption have wrought before them. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">{249}</a></span></p> - -<p>Lady Maud was a reformer, in a sense, and she was -afraid of nothing when she thought she was doing -right. She went to Logotheti's lodgings and asked to -see him, as regardless of what any one should think of -her, if she were recognised, as she had been in the old -days when she used to go to Van Torp's chambers in -the Temple in the evening.</p> - -<p>She was told that Logotheti was out of town. Where? -The servant did not know that. The lady could see -the secretary, who might, perhaps, tell her. He received -every one who had business with Monsieur -Logotheti.</p> - -<p>She went up one flight and was admitted to a very -airy sitting-room, simply furnished. There were several -large easy-chairs of different shapes, all covered with -dark wine-coloured leather, and each furnished with a -different appliance for holding a book or writing materials. -There was a long bookcase full of books behind -glass. There was a writing-table, on which were half-a-dozen -monstrously big implements of an expensive -kind, but handsome in their way: a paper-cutter hewn -from at least a third of an elephant's tusk, and heavy -enough to fell a man at a blow; an enormous inkstand, -apparently made of a solid brick of silver, without -ornament, brightly polished, and having a plain round -hole in the middle for ink; a blotting-case of the larger -folio size, with a Greek inscription on it in raised letters -of gold; a trough of imperial jade, two feet long, in -which lay a couple of gold penholders fitted with new -pens, and the thickest piece of scarlet sealing-wax -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">{250}</a></span> -Lady Maud had ever seen. They were objects of the -sort that many rich men receive as presents, or order -without looking at them when they are furnishing a -place that is to be a mere convenience for a few days -in the year. There was nothing personal in what Lady -Maud saw, except the books, and she could not have -examined them if she had wished to.</p> - -<p>The one thing that struck her was a delicate suggestion -of sweetness in the fresh air of the room, something -that was certainly not a scent, and yet was not that -of the perfumes or gums which some Orientals like to -burn where they live. She liked it, and wondered what -it was, as she glanced about for some one of the unmistakable -signs of a woman's presence.</p> - -<p>The Swiss secretary had risen ponderously to receive -her, and as she did not sit down he remained standing. -His vast face was fringed with a beard of no particular -colour, and his eyes were fixed and blue in his head, -like turquoises set in pale sole leather.</p> - -<p>'I am Countess Leven,' she said, 'and I have known -Monsieur Logotheti some time. Will you kindly tell me -where he is?'</p> - -<p>'I do not know, madam,' was the answer.</p> - -<p>'He is not in London?'</p> - -<p>'At present I do not know, madam.'</p> - -<p>'Has he left no address? Do you not forward his -letters to him?'</p> - -<p>'No, madam. I do not forward his letters to him.'</p> - -<p>'Then I suppose he is on his yacht,' suggested Lady -Maud. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_251" id="page_251">{251}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Madam, I do not know whether he is on his yacht.'</p> - -<p>'You don't seem to know anything!'</p> - -<p>'Pardon me, madam, I think I know my business. -That is all I know.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud held her beautiful head a little higher and -her lids drooped slightly as she looked down at him, -for he was shorter than she. But the huge leathern -face was perfectly impassive, and the still, turquoise -eyes surveyed her without winking. She had never -seen such stolidity in a human being. It reminded -her of those big Chinese pottery dogs with vacant blue -eyes that some people keep beside a fireplace or a hall -door, for no explicable reason.</p> - -<p>There was clearly nothing to be done, and she thought -the secretary distinctly rude; but as that was no reason -why she should be, she bade him good-morning civilly -and turned to go. Somewhat to her surprise, he followed -her quickly across the room, opened the door -for her and went on into the little hall to let her out. -There was a small table there, on which lay some of -Logotheti's hats, and several pairs of gloves were laid -out neatly before them. There was one pair, of a -light grey, very much smaller than all the rest, so small -indeed that they might have fitted a boy of seven, -except that they looked too narrow for any boy. They -were men's gloves as to length and buttons, but only a -child could have worn them.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud saw them instantly, and remembered -Baraka's disguise; and as she passed the big umbrella -jar to go out, she saw that with two of Logotheti's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_252" id="page_252">{252}</a></span> -sticks there was a third, fully four inches shorter; -just a plain crook-handled stick with a silver ring. -That was enough. Baraka had certainly been in the -lodgings and had probably left in them everything -that belonged to her disguise. The fact that the gloves -and the stick were in the hall, looked very much as if -she had come in dressed as a man and had left them -there when she had gone away in woman's attire. That -she was with Logotheti, most probably on his yacht, -Lady Maud had not the least doubt, as she went down -the stairs.</p> - -<p>The Swiss secretary stood at the open door on the -landing till she was out of sight below, and then went -in again, and returned to work over a heap of business -papers and letters. When he had worked half an hour, -he leaned back in his leathern chair to rest, and stared -fixedly at the bookcase. Presently he spoke aloud in -English, as if Lady Maud were still in the room, in the -same dull, matter-of-fact tone, but more forcibly as to -expression.</p> - -<p>'It is perfectly true, though you do not believe me, -madam. I do not know anything. How the dickens -should I know where they are, madam? But I know -my business. That is all.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">{253}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> - -<p class="p2">The <i>Erinna</i> was steaming quietly down the Channel in -a flat calm, at the lazy rate of twelve knots an hour, -presumably in order to save her coal, for she could run -sixteen when her owner liked, and he was not usually -fond of going slow. Though September was at hand, -and Guernsey was already on the port quarter, the sea -was motionless and not so much as a cat's-paw stirred -the still blue water; but the steamer's own way made -a pleasant draught that fanned the faces of Logotheti -and Baraka as they lay in their long chairs under the -double awning outside the deck-house.</p> - -<p>The Tartar girl wore a skirt and jacket of dark blue -yachting serge, which did not fit badly considering that -they had been bought ready-made by Logotheti's man. -She had little white tennis shoes on her feet, which were -crossed one over the other on the deck-chair, but instead -of wearing a hat she had bound a dove-coloured motor-veil -on her head by a single thick gold cord, in the Asiatic -way, and the thin folds hung down on each side, and lay -on her shoulders, shading her face, and the breeze stirred -them. Logotheti's valet had been sent out in a taximeter, -provided with a few measurements and plenty -of cash, and commissioned to buy everything that a -girl who had nothing at all to wear, visible or invisible, -could possibly need. He was also instructed to find a -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">{254}</a></span> -maid who could speak Tartar, or at least a little Turkish.</p> - -<p>After five hours he had come back with a heavy load -of boxes of all shapes and sizes and the required maid. -You can find anything in a great city, if you know how -to look for it, and he had discovered through an agency -a girl from Trebizonde who had been caught at twelve -years old by missionaries, brought to England and educated -to go into service; she spoke English very prettily, -and had not altogether forgotten the <i>lingua franca</i> of -Asia. It was her first place, outside of the retired missionary's -house, where she had been brought up and -taught by a good old lady who had much to say about -the heathen, and gave her to understand that all her -deceased forefathers and relatives were frying. As -she could not quite believe this, and had not a grateful -disposition, and was of an exceedingly inquiring turn -of mind, she was very glad to get away, and when she -learned from the valet that her mistress was a Tartar -lady and a Musulman, and could not speak English, -her delight was quite boundless; she even said a few -unintelligible words, in a thoughtful tone, which did -not sound at all like any Christian prayer or thanksgiving -she had learned from the missionaries.</p> - -<p>Moreover, while Logotheti and Baraka were lying -in their chairs by the deck-house, she was telling the -story of her life and explaining things generally to the -good-looking young second mate on the other side of -the ship.</p> - -<p>The consequence of her presence, however, was that -Baraka was dressed with great neatness and care, and -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">{255}</a></span> -looked very presentable, though her clothes were only -ready-made things, bought by a man-servant, who had -only her height and the size of her waist to guide him. -Logotheti watched her delicate, energetic profile, admiring -the curves of her closed lips, and the wilful turning -up of her little chin. She was more than very pretty -now, he thought, and he was quietly amused at his own -audacity in taking her to sea alone with him, almost -on the eve of his marriage. It was especially diverting -to think of what the proper people would say if they -knew it, and to contrast the intentions they would certainly -attribute to him with the perfectly honourable -ones he entertained.</p> - -<p>As for Baraka, it never occurred to her that she was -not as safe with him as she had been in her father's -house in the little white town far away, nearly three -years ago; and besides, her steel bodkin with the silver -handle had been given back to her, and she could feel -it in its place when she pressed her left hand to her side. -But the little maid who had been brought up by the -missionaries took quite another point of view, though -this was not among the things she was explaining so -fluently in her pretty English to the second mate.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had been first of all preoccupied about -getting Baraka out of England without attracting attention, -and then for her comfort and recovery from -the strain and suffering of the last few days. As for -that, she was like a healthy young animal, and as soon -as she had a chance she had fallen so sound asleep that -she had not waked for twelve hours. Logotheti's intention -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">{256}</a></span> -was to take her to Paris by a roundabout way, and -establish her under some proper sort of protection. -Margaret was still in Germany, but would soon return -to France, and he had almost made up his mind to ask -her advice, not dreaming that in such a case she could -really deem anything he did an unpardonable offence. -He had always laughed at the conventionalities of -European life, and had paid very little heed to them -when they stood in his way.</p> - -<p>He had been on deck a long time that day, but Baraka -had only been established in her chair a few minutes. -As yet he had hardly talked with her of anything but -the necessary preparations for the journey, and she had -trusted him entirely, being so worn out with fatigue -and bodily discomfort, that she was already half asleep -when he had at last brought her on board, late on the -previous night. Before the yacht had sailed he had -received Van Torp's telegram informing him that Kralinsky -was at Bayreuth; for his secretary had sat up till -two in the morning to telegraph him the latest news -and forward any message that came, and Van Torp's -had been amongst the number.</p> - -<p>Baraka turned her head a little towards him and -smiled.</p> - -<p>'Kafar the Persian said well that you are a great -man,' she said in her own language. 'Perhaps you -are one of the greatest in the world. I think so. He -told me you were very rich, and so did the Greek merchants -who came with me to France. When you would -not buy the other ruby I thought they were mistaken, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">{257}</a></span> -but now I see they were right. Where you are, there -is gold, and men bow before you. You say: "Set -Baraka free," and I am free. Also, you say: "Give -her the ruby that is hers," and they give it, and her -belongings, too, all clean and in good order and nothing -stolen. You are a king. Like a king, you have a new -fire-ship of your own and an army of young men to -do your bidding. They are cleaner and better dressed -than the sailors on the Sultan's fire-ships that lie in the -Golden Horn, for I have seen them. They are as clean -as the young effendis in London, in Paris! It is wonderful! -You have not many on your ship, but you -could have ten ships, all with sailors like these, and they -would be all well washed. I like clean people. Yes, -you are a great man.'</p> - -<p>She turned her eyes away from him and gazed lazily -at the still blue sea, having apparently said all she had -to say. Logotheti was well used to Asiatics and understood -that her speech was partly conventional and -intended to convey that sort of flattery which is dear -to the Oriental soul. Baraka knew perfectly well what -a real king was, and the difference between a yacht -and a man-of-war, and many other things which she -had learned in Constantinople. Primitive people, when -they come from Asia, are not at all simple people, though -they are often very direct in pursuing what they want.</p> - -<p>'I have something of importance to tell you,' Logotheti -said after a pause.</p> - -<p>Baraka prepared herself against betraying surprise -by letting her lids droop a little, but that was all. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">{258}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Speak,' she answered. 'I desire knowledge more -than gold.'</p> - -<p>'You are wise,' said the Greek gravely. 'No doubt -you remember the rich man Van Torp, for whom I gave -you a letter, and whom you had seen on the day you -were arrested.'</p> - -<p>'Van Torp.' Baraka pronounced the name distinctly, -and nodded. 'Yes, I remember him well. He knows -where the man is whom I seek, and he wrote the address -for me. I have it. You will take me there in your -ship, and I shall find him.'</p> - -<p>'If you find him, what shall you say to him?' Logotheti -asked.</p> - -<p>'Few words. These perhaps: "You left me to die, -but I am not dead, I am here. Through me you are a -rich, great man. The rubies are my marriage portion, -which you have taken. Now you must be my husband." -That is all. Few words.'</p> - -<p>'It is your right,' Logotheti answered. 'But he will -not marry you.'</p> - -<p>'Then he shall die,' replied Baraka, as quietly as if -she were saying that he should go for a walk.</p> - -<p>'If you kill him, the laws of that country may take -your life,' objected the Greek.</p> - -<p>'That will be my portion,' the girl answered, with -profound indifference.</p> - -<p>'You only have one life,' Logotheti observed. 'It -is yours to throw away. But the man you seek is not -in that country. Van Torp has telegraphed me that -he is much nearer. Nevertheless, if you mean to kill -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">{259}</a></span> -him, I will not take you to him, as I intended to -do.'</p> - -<p>Baraka's face had changed, though she had been determined -not to betray surprise at anything he said; she -turned to him, and fixed her eyes on his, and he saw her -lashes quiver.</p> - -<p>'You will tell me where he is,' she said anxiously. -'If you will not take me I will go alone with Spiro. I -have been in many countries with no other help. I can -go there also, where he is. You will tell me.'</p> - -<p>'Not if you mean to murder him,' said Logotheti, -and she saw that he was in earnest.</p> - -<p>'But if he will not be my husband, what can I do, if -I do not kill him?' She asked the question in evident -good faith.</p> - -<p>'If I were you, I should make him share the rubies -and the money with you, and then I would leave him -to himself.'</p> - -<p>'But you do not understand,' Baraka protested. 'He -is young, he is beautiful, he is rich. He will take some -other woman for his wife, if I leave him. You see, he -must die, there is no other way. If he will not marry -me, it is his portion. Why do you talk? Have I not -come across the world from the Altai, by Samarkand -and Tiflis, as far as England, to find him and marry -him? Is it nothing that I have done, a Tartar girl -alone, with no friend but a bag of precious stones that -any strong thief might have taken from me? Is the -danger nothing? The travel nothing? Is it nothing -that I have gone about like a shameless one, with my -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">{260}</a></span> -face uncovered, dressed in a man's clothes? That I -have cut my hair, my beautiful black hair, is that as -nothing too? That I have been in an English prison? -That I have been called a thief? I have suffered all -these things to find him, and if I come to him at last, and -he will not be my husband, shall he live and take another -woman? You are a great man, it is true. But you -do not understand. You are only a Frank, after all! -That little maid you have brought for me would understand -me better, though she has been taught for six -years by Christians. She is a good girl. She says that -in all that time she has never once forgotten to say the -Fatiheh three times a day, and to say "el hamdu illah" -to herself after she has eaten! She would understand. -I know she would. But you, never!'</p> - -<p>The exquisite little aquiline features wore a look of -unutterable contempt.</p> - -<p>'If I were you,' said Logotheti, smiling, 'I would not -tell her what you are going to do.'</p> - -<p>'You see!' cried Baraka, almost angrily. 'You do -not understand. A servant! Shall I tell my heart to -my handmaid, and my secret thoughts to a hired man? -I tell you, because you are a friend, though you have -no understanding of us. My father feeds many flocks, -and has many bondmen and bondwomen, whom he -beats when it pleases him, and can put to death if he -likes. He also knows the mine of rubies, as his father -did before him, and when he desires gold he takes one -to Tashkent, or even to Samarkand, a long journey, and -sells it to the Russians. He is a great man. If he would -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">{261}</a></span> -bring a camel bag full of precious stones to Europe he -could be one of the greatest men in the world. And -you think that my father's daughter would open her -heart's treasure to one of her servants? I said well -that you do not understand!'</p> - -<p>Logotheti looked quietly at the slim young thing in -a ready-made blue serge frock, who said such things as -a Lady Clara Vere de Vere would scarcely dare to say -above her breath in these democratic days; and he -watched the noble little features, and the small white -hands, that had come down to her through generations -of chieftains, since the days when the primeval shepherds -of the world counted the stars in the plains of Káf.</p> - -<p>He himself, with his long Greek descent, was an aristocrat -to the marrow, and smiled at the claims of men -who traced their families back to Crusaders. With -the help of a legend or two and half a myth, he could -almost make himself a far descendant of the Tyndaridæ. -But what was that compared with the pedigree of the -little thing in a blue serge frock? Her race went back -to a time before Hesiod, before Homer, to a date that -might be found in the annals of Egypt, but nowhere -else in all the dim traditions of human history.</p> - -<p>'No,' he said, after a long pause. 'I begin to understand. -You had not told me that your father was a -great man, and that his sires before him had joined -hand to hand, from the hand of Adam himself.'</p> - -<p>This polite speech, delivered in his best Tartar, -though with sundry Turkish terminations and accents, -somewhat mollified Baraka, and she pushed her little -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">{262}</a></span> -head backwards and upwards against the top of the -deck chair, as if she were drawing herself up with pride. -Also, not being used to European skirts, she stuck out -one tiny foot a little further across the other, as she -stretched herself, and she indiscreetly showed a pale-yellow -silk ankle, round which she could have easily -made her thumb meet her second finger. Logotheti -glanced at it.</p> - -<p>'You will never understand,' she said, but her tone -had relented, and she made a concession. 'If you will -take me to him, and if he will not be my husband, I -will let Spiro kill him.'</p> - -<p>'That might be better,' Logotheti answered with -extreme gravity, for he was quite sure that Spiro would -never kill anybody. 'If you will take an oath which -I shall dictate, and swear to let Spiro do it, I will take -you to the man you seek.'</p> - -<p>'What must be, must be,' Baraka said in a tone of -resignation. 'When he is dead, Spiro can also kill me -and take the rubies and the money.'</p> - -<p>'That would be a pity,' observed the Greek, thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>'Why a pity? It will be my portion. I will not -kill myself because then I should go to hell-fire, but -Spiro can do it very well. Why should I still live, -then?'</p> - -<p>'Because you are young and beautiful and rich -enough to be very happy. Do you never look at your -face in the mirror? The eyes of Baraka are like the -pools of paradise, when the moon rose upon them the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">{263}</a></span> -first time, her waist is as slender as a young willow -sapling that bends to the breath of a spring breeze, -her mouth is a dark rose from Gulistán——'</p> - -<p>But Baraka interrupted him with a faint smile.</p> - -<p>'You speak emptiness,' she said quietly. 'What is -the oath, that I may swear it? Shall I take Allah, and -the Prophet, and the Angel Israfil to witness that I will -keep my word? Shall I prick my hand and let the -drops fall into your two hands that you may drink -them? What shall I do and say? I am ready.'</p> - -<p>'You must swear an oath that my fathers swore before -there were Christians or Musulmans in the world, when -the old gods were still great.'</p> - -<p>'Speak. I will repeat any words you like. Is it a -very solemn oath?'</p> - -<p>'It is the most solemn that ever was sworn, for it is -the oath of the gods themselves. I shall give it to you -slowly, and you must try to pronounce it right, word -by word, holding out your hands, like this, with the -palms downwards.'</p> - -<p>'I am ready,' said Baraka, doing as he bade her.</p> - -<p>He quoted in Greek the oath that Hypnos dictates -to Hera in the <i>Iliad</i>, and Baraka repeated each word, -pronouncing as well as she could.</p> - -<p>'I swear by the inviolable water of the Styx, and I -lay one hand upon the all-nourishing earth, the other -on the sparkling sea, that all the gods below may be -our witnesses, even they that stand round about Kronos. -Thus I swear!'</p> - -<p>As he had anticipated, Baraka was much more impressed -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">{264}</a></span> -by the importance of the words she did not -understand than if she had bound herself by any oath -familiar to her.</p> - -<p>'I am sorry,' she said, 'but what is done is done, and -you would have it so.'</p> - -<p>She pressed her hand gently to her left side and felt -the long steel bodkin, and sighed regretfully.</p> - -<p>'You have sworn an oath that no man would dare -to break,' said Logotheti solemnly. 'A man would -rather kill pigs on the graves of his father and his -mother than break it.'</p> - -<p>'I shall keep my word. Only take me quickly where -I would be.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti produced a whistle from his pocket and -blew on it, and a quartermaster answered the call, and -was sent for the captain, who came in a few moments.</p> - -<p>'Head her about for Jersey and Carterets, Captain,' -said the owner. 'The sea is as flat as a board, and we -will land there. You can go on to the Mediterranean -without coaling, can you not?'</p> - -<p>The captain said he could coal at Gibraltar, if necessary.</p> - -<p>'Then take her to Naples, please, and wait for instructions.'</p> - -<p>Baraka understood nothing, but within two minutes -she saw that the yacht was changing her course, for the -afternoon sun was all at once pouring in on the deck, -just beyond the end of her chair. She was satisfied, -and nodded her approval.</p> - -<p>But she did not speak for a long time, paying no -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">{265}</a></span> -more attention to Logotheti's gaze than if he had not -existed. No people in the world can remain perfectly -motionless so long as Asiatics, perfectly absorbed in -their own thoughts.</p> - -<p>To the Greek's art-loving nature it was pure delight -to watch her. Never, since he had first met Margaret -Donne, had he seen any woman or young girl who -appealed to his sense of beauty as Baraka did, though -the impression she made on him was wholly different -from that he received when Margaret was near.</p> - -<p>The Primadonna was on a large scale, robust, magnificently -vital, a Niké, even a young Hera; and sometimes, -especially on the stage, she was almost insolently -handsome, rather than beautiful like Lady Maud. -Baraka was an Artemis, virginal, high-bred; delicately -modelled for grace and speed rather than for reposeful -beauty, for motion rather than for rest. It was true -that the singer's walk was something to dream of and -write verses about, but Baraka's swift-gliding step was -that of the Maiden Huntress in the chase, her attitude -in rest was the pose of a watchful Diana, ready to spring -up at a sound or a breath, a figure almost boyish in its -elastic vigour, and yet deeply feminine in meaning.</p> - -<p>Baraka once more turned her head without lifting it -from the back of the deck-chair.</p> - -<p>'I am hungry and thirsty again,' she said gravely. -'I do not understand.'</p> - -<p>'What will you eat, and what will you drink?' Logotheti -asked.</p> - -<p>She smiled and shook her head. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">{266}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Anything that is good,' she said; 'but what I desire -you have not in your ship. I long for fat quails with -Italian rice, and for fig-paste, and I desire a sherbet -made with rose leaves, such as the merchant's wife -and I used to drink at the Kaffedji's by the Galata -Bridge, and sometimes when we went up the Sweet -Waters in a caïque on Friday. But you have not such -things on your ship.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti smiled.</p> - -<p>'You forget that I am myself from Constantinople,' -he said. 'It is now the season for fat quails in Italy, -and they are sent alive to London and Paris, and there -are many in my ship, waiting to be eaten. There is -also fig-paste from the Stamboul confectioner near the -end of the Galata Bridge, and preserved rose leaves -with which to make a sherbet, and much ice; and you -shall eat and drink the things you like best. Moreover, -if there is anything else you long for, speak.'</p> - -<p>'You are scoffing at Baraka!' answered the slim -thing in blue serge, with the air of a displeased fairy -princess.</p> - -<p>'Not I. You shall see. We will have a table set here -between us, with all the things you desire.'</p> - -<p>'Truly? And coffee too? Real coffee? Not the -thin mud-broth of the Franks?'</p> - -<p>'Real coffee, in a real fildjan.'</p> - -<p>Baraka clapped her small white hands for pleasure.</p> - -<p>'You are indeed a very great man!' she cried. 'You -are one of the kings!'</p> - -<p>At the sound of the clapping she had made, Logotheti's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_267" id="page_267">{267}</a></span> -Greek steward appeared in a silver-laced blue jacket -and a fez.</p> - -<p>'He comes because you clapped your hands,' Logotheti -said, with a smile.</p> - -<p>Baraka laughed softly.</p> - -<p>'We are not in your ship,' she said. 'We are in -Constantinople! I am happy.' The smile faded quickly -and her dark lashes drooped. 'It is a pity,' she added, -very low, and her left hand felt the long steel bodkin -through her dress.</p> - -<p>The steward knew Turkish, but did not understand -all she said in her own tongue; and besides, his master -was already ordering an unusual luncheon, in Greek, -which disturbed even his Eastern faculty of hearing -separately with each ear things said in different languages.</p> - -<p>Baraka was busy with her own thoughts again, and -paid no more attention to her companion, until the -steward came back after a few minutes bringing a low -round table which he placed between the two chairs. -He disappeared again and returned immediately with -a salver on which there were two small cups of steaming -Turkish coffee, each in its silver filigree stand, and two -tall glasses of sherbet, of a beautiful pale rose colour.</p> - -<p>Baraka turned on her chair with a look of pleasure, -tasted the light hot foam of the coffee, and then began -to drink slowly with enjoyment that increased visibly -with every sip.</p> - -<p>'It is real coffee,' she said, looking up at Logotheti. -'It is made with the beans of Arabia that are picked -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_268" id="page_268">{268}</a></span> -out one by one for the Sheikhs themselves before the -coffee is sold to the Indian princes. The unripe and -broken beans that are left are sold to the great Pashas -in Constantinople! And that is all there is of it, for -the Persian merchant explained all to me, and I know. -But how you have got the coffee of the Sheikhs, I know -not. You are a very great man.'</p> - -<p>'The gates of the pleasant places of this world are all -locked, and the keys are of gold,' observed Logotheti, -who could quote Asiatic proverbs by the dozen, when he -liked. 'But the doors of Hades stand always open,' -he added, suddenly following a Greek thought, 'and -from wheresoever men are, the way that leads to them -is but one.'</p> - -<p>Baraka had tasted the sherbet, which interested her -more than his philosophical reflexions.</p> - -<p>'This also is delicious,' she said, 'but in Stamboul -even a poor man may have it for a few paras.'</p> - -<p>'And good water from the fountain for nothing,' -returned Logotheti.</p> - -<p>There was silence again as she leaned back, sufficiently -satisfied to wait another hour for the fat quails, the -Italian rice, and the fig-paste, to which she was looking -forward. And the yacht moved on at her leisurely -twelve-knot speed, through the flat calm of the late -summer sea, while an atmosphere of bodily peace and -comfort gathered round Baraka like a delicate mist that -hid the future and softened the past.</p> - -<p>By and by, when she had eaten the fat quail and the -Italian rice, and then the fig-paste, and had drunk -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">{269}</a></span> -more sherbet of rose leaves, and more coffee, but none -of these things in any excess, that perfect peace came -upon her which none but Asiatics can feel, and which -we cannot understand; and they call it Kêf, and desire -it more than any other condition of their inner and -outer selves; but there is no translating of that word.</p> - -<p>It is the inexplicable state of the cat when it folds its -fore-paw in, and is so quiet and happy that it can hardly -purr, but only blinks mildly once in two or three minutes. -Logotheti knew the signs of it, though he had never -really felt it himself, and he knew very well that its -presence has the power to deaden all purpose and active -will in those who enjoy it. The sole object of taking -opium is to produce it artificially, which is never quite -possible, for with most opium-smokers or opium-eaters -the state of peace turns into stupor at the very moment -when it is about to become consciously beatific.</p> - -<p>He understood that this wonderful barbarian girl, -who had shown such courage, such irresistible energy, -such unchanging determination in the search that had -lasted more than two years, was temporarily paralysed -for any purpose of action by the atmosphere with which -he was surrounding her. She would come to herself -again, and be as much awake, as determined, and as -brave as ever, but she was quiescent now, and the mere -thought of effort would be really painful. Perhaps no -one who has not lived in Asia can quite understand that.</p> - -<p>Logotheti took out his notebook, which had a small -calendar with a few lines for each day in the year, and -he began to count days and calculate dates; for when he -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">{270}</a></span> -had expected to go to Bayreuth with the Primadonna -he had found out all about the performances, and he -knew how long she meant to stay.</p> - -<p>His calendar told him that this was the off-day, between -the second and third representations of <i>Parsifal</i>, -and that Margaret had her rooms at the hotel for another -week. He would allow two days more for her to reach -Versailles and rest from the journey before she would -wish to see him; and as he thought she had treated him -rather badly in not letting him go with her, because he -was not enough of a Wagnerian, he intended to keep -her waiting even a day or two longer, on the sometimes -mistaken theory that it is better to make a woman -impatient than to forestall her wishes before she has -had time to change her mind.</p> - -<p>Besides, Van Torp's telegram showed that he was in -Bayreuth, and Logotheti flattered himself that the more -Margaret saw of the American, the more anxious she -would be to see her accepted adorer. It was her own -fault, since Logotheti might have been with her instead.</p> - -<p>The result of his calculations was that he had at least -ten days before him, and that as he was not at all bored -by the little Tartar lady in blue serge, it was quite useless -to put her ashore at Carterets and take her to Paris -by that way. The idea of spending eight or nine hours -alone in a hot and dirty railway carriage, while she and -her maid passed the night in another compartment, -was extremely dreary; and besides, he had not at all -made up his mind what to do with her, and it would -probably end in his taking her to his own house. Margaret -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">{271}</a></span> -would have some right to resent that; but as for -the trip in the yacht, she need never know anything -about it. The girl was really as safe with him as any -girl could be with her own brother, and so long as no -one knew that she was with him, nothing else mattered. -Furthermore, he was good enough to be convinced that -if she were let loose in Europe by herself, with plenty -of money, boundless courage, and such a clever courier -as Spiro seemed to be, she would certainly find Kralinsky -at last and murder him, regardless of having sworn by -the inviolable water of the Styx. Lastly, he saw that -she was at present in that state of Asiatic peace in which -it was perfectly indifferent to her what happened, provided -that she were not disturbed.</p> - -<p>He rose quietly and went aft. Though she was awake -she scarcely noticed that he had left her, and merely -opened and shut her eyes twice, like the happy cat -already spoken of. She was not aware that the yacht -changed her course again, though it was pleasant not -to have the reflexion from the sea in her eyes any longer; -if Logotheti had told her that he was heading to seaward -of Ushant instead of for Jersey and Carterets, she would -not have understood, nor cared if she had, and would -have been annoyed at being disturbed by the sound of -his voice.</p> - -<p>It was pure bliss to lie there without a want, a thought, -or a memory. An imaginative European might fancy -that she had waking dreams and visions in the summer -air; that she saw again the small white town, the foot-hills, -the broad pastures below, the vastness of Altai -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">{272}</a></span> -above, the uncounted flocks, the distant moving herds, -the evening sunlight on the walls of her father's house; -or that she lived over again those mortal hours of imprisonment -in the rocky hollow, and looked into the -steel-bright eyes of the man who would not love her -and saw the tall figure of Saäd already dead, bending -forward from the ledge and pitching headlong to the sand.</p> - -<p>Not at all. She saw none of these things. She was -quiescently blissful; the mysterious Kêf was on her, -and the world stood still in the lazy enchantment—the -yacht was not moving, the sun was not sinking -westwards, her pulse was not beating, she was scarcely -breathing, in her own self she was the very self of peace, -motionless in an immeasurable stillness.</p> - -<p>When the sky reddened at evening Logotheti was again -in his chair, reading. She heard six bells struck softly, -the first sound she had noticed in four hours, and she -did not know what they meant; perhaps it was six -o'clock <i>alla Franca</i>, as she would have called it; no one -could understand European time, which was one in -Constantinople, another in Paris, and another in England. -Besides, it made no difference what time it was; -but Kêf was departing from her—was gone already, -and the world was moving again—not at all in an -unpleasant or disturbing way, but moving nevertheless.</p> - -<p>'When shall we reach that place?' she asked lazily, -and she turned her face to Logotheti.</p> - -<p>'Allah knows,' he answered gravely, and he laid his -book on his knees.</p> - -<p>She had been so well used to hearing that answer to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">{273}</a></span> -all sorts of questions since she had been a child that she -thought nothing of it, and waited awhile before speaking -again. Her eyes studied the man's face almost unconsciously. -He now wore a fez instead of a yachting cap, -and it changed his expression. He no longer looked -in the least like a European. The handsome red felt -glowed like blood in the evening light, and the long -black silk tassel hung backwards with a dashing air. -There was something about him that reminded Baraka -of Saäd, and Saäd had been a handsome man, even in -her eyes, until the traveller had come to her father's -house with his blue eyes and golden beard. But Saäd -had only seen her unveiled face once, and that was the -last thing he saw when the ball from the Mauser went -through his forehead.</p> - -<p>'I mean,' she asked after some time, 'shall we be there -to-morrow? or the next day? I see no land on this -side; is there any on the other?'</p> - -<p>'No,' Logotheti answered, 'there is no land near. -Perhaps, far off, we might see a small island.'</p> - -<p>'Is that the place?' Baraka began to be interested -at last.</p> - -<p>'The place is far away. You must have patience. -All hurry comes from Satan.'</p> - -<p>'I am not impatient,' the girl answered mildly. 'I -am glad to rest in your ship, for I was very tired, more -tired than I ever was when I was a child, and used to -climb up the foot-hills to see Altai better. It is good to -be in your ship for a while, and after that, what shall -be, will be. It is Allah that knows.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">{274}</a></span></p> - -<p>'That is the truth,' responded the Greek. 'Allah -knows. I said so just now. But I will tell you what I -have decided, if you will listen.'</p> - -<p>'I listen.'</p> - -<p>'It is better that you should rest several days after -all your weariness, and the man you seek will not run -away, for he does not know you are so near.'</p> - -<p>'But he may take another woman,' Baraka objected, -growing earnest at once. 'Perhaps he has already! -Then there will be two instead of one.'</p> - -<p>'Spiro,' said Logotheti, with perfect truth, 'would as -soon kill two as one, I am sure, for he is a good servant. -It will be the same to him. You call me a great man -and a king; I am not a king, for I have no kingdom, -though some kingdoms would like to have as much -ready-money as I. But here, on the ship, I am the -master, not only because it is mine, and because I -choose to command, but because the men are bound by -English law to obey me; and if they should refuse and -overpower me, and take my ship where I did not wish -to go, the laws of all nations would give me the right -to put them all into prison at once, for a long time. -Therefore when I say, "Go to a certain place," they take -the ship there, according to their knowledge, for they -are trained to that business and can guide the vessel -towards any place in the world, though they cannot see -land till they reach it. Do you understand all these things?'</p> - -<p>'I understand,' Baraka answered, smiling. 'But I -am not bound to obey you, and at least I can beg you -to do what I ask, and I think you will do it.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">{275}</a></span></p> - -<p>Her voice grew suddenly soft, and almost tender, for -though she was only a Tartar girl, and very young and -slim, she was a woman. Eve had not had long experience -of talking when she explained to Adam the -properties of apples.</p> - -<p>Logotheti answered her smile and her tone.</p> - -<p>'I shall do what you ask of me, but I shall do it slowly -rather than quickly, because that will be better for you -in the end. If we had gone on as we were going, we -should have got to land to-night, but to a wretched -little town from which we should have had to take a -night train, hot and dirty and dusty, all the way to Paris. -That would not help you to rest, would it?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no! I wish to sleep again in your ship, once, -twice, till I cannot sleep any more. Then you will take -me to the place.'</p> - -<p>'That is what you shall do. To that end I gave orders -this afternoon.'</p> - -<p>'You are wise, as well as great,' Baraka said.</p> - -<p>She let her feet slip down to the deck, and she sat on -the side of the chair towards Logotheti, looking at her -small white tennis-shoes, which had turned a golden -pink in the evening reflexions, and she thoughtfully -settled her serge skirt over her slim yellow silk ankles, -almost as a good many European girls would always do -if they did not so often forget it.</p> - -<p>She rose at last, and went and looked over the rail at -the violet sea. It is not often that the Atlantic Ocean -is in such a heavenly temper so near the Bay of Biscay. -Logotheti got out of his chair and came and stood beside her. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_276" id="page_276">{276}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Is this sea always so still?' she asked.</p> - -<p>She was gazing at the melting colours, from the dark -blue, spattered with white foam, under the yacht's side, -to the deep violet beyond, and further to the wine-purple -and the heliotrope and the horizon melting up -to the eastern sky.</p> - -<p>Logotheti told her that such days came very rarely, -even in summer, and that Allah had doubtless sent this -one for her especial benefit. But she only laughed.</p> - -<p>'Allah is great, but he does nothing where there are -English people,' she observed, and Logotheti laughed in -his turn.</p> - -<p>They left the rail and walked slowly forward, side by -side, without speaking; and Logotheti told himself how -utterly happy he should be if Baraka could turn into -Margaret and be walking with him there; yet something -answered him that since she was not by his side he was -not to be pitied for the company of a lovely Tartar girl -whose language he could understand and even speak -tolerably; and when the first voice observed rather -drily that Margaret would surely think that he ought to -feel very miserable, the second voice told him to take -the goods the gods sent him and be grateful; and this -little antiphone of Ormuzd and Ahriman went on for -some time, till it occurred to him to stop the duo by -explaining to Baraka how a European girl would probably -slip her arm, or at least her hand, through the arm -of the man with whom she was walking on the deck of -a yacht, because there was generally a little motion at -sea, and she would like to steady herself; and when -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_277" id="page_277">{277}</a></span> -there was none, there ought to be, and she would do -the same thing by force of habit. But Baraka looked -at such behaviour quite differently.</p> - -<p>'That would be a sort of dance,' she said. 'I am not -a dancing girl! I have seen men and women dancing -together, both Russians in Samarkand and other people -in France. It is disgusting. I would rather go unveiled -among my own people!'</p> - -<p>'Which may Allah forbid!' answered Logotheti devoutly. -'But, as you say, where there are Englishmen, -Allah does nothing; the women go without veils, and -the boys and girls dance together.'</p> - -<p>'I have done worse,' said Baraka, 'for I have dressed -as a man, and if a woman did that among my people she -would be stoned to death and not buried. My people -will never know what I have done since I got away -from them alive. But he thought he was leaving me -there to die!'</p> - -<p>'Surely. I cannot see why you wish to marry a man -who robbed you and tried to compass your death! I -can understand that you should dream of killing him, -and he deserves to be burnt alive, but why you should -wish to marry him is known to the wisdom of the blessed -ones!'</p> - -<p>'You never saw him,' Baraka answered with perfect -simplicity. 'He is a beautiful man; his beard is like -the rays of the morning sun on a ripe cornfield. His -eyes are bright as an eagle's, but blue as sapphires. He -is much taller and bigger and stronger than you are. -Do you not see why I want him for a husband? Why -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_278" id="page_278">{278}</a></span> -did he not desire me for his wife? Am I crooked, am -I blinded by the smallpox, or have I six fingers on both -hands and a hump on my shoulder like the Witch of -Altai? Was my portion a cotton shift, one brass bangle -and a horn comb for my hair? I gave him the riches -of the world to take me, and he would not! I do not -understand. Am I an evil sight in a man's eyes? Tell -me the truth, for you are a friend!'</p> - -<p>'You are good to see,' Logotheti answered, stopping -and pretending to examine her face critically as she -stood still and faced him. 'I was telling you what I -thought of you before luncheon, I think, but you said -I spoke "emptiness," so I stopped.'</p> - -<p>'I do not desire you to speak for yourself,' returned -Baraka. 'I wish you to speak for any man, since I go -about unveiled and any man may see me. What would -they say in the street if they saw me now, as a woman? -That is what I must know, for he is a Frank, and he will -judge me as the Franks judge when he sees me! What -will he say?'</p> - -<p>'Shall I speak as a Frank? Or as they speak in -Constantinople?'</p> - -<p>'Speak as he would speak, I pray. But speak the truth.'</p> - -<p>'I take Allah to witness that I speak the truth,' -Logotheti answered. 'If I had never seen you, and if -I were walking in the Great Garden in London and I -met you by the bank of the river, I should say that you -were the prettiest dark girl in England, but that I should -like to see you in a beautiful Feringhi hat and the best -frock that could be made in Paris.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_279" id="page_279">{279}</a></span></p> - -<p>Baraka's face was troubled, and she looked into his -eyes anxiously.</p> - -<p>'I understand,' she said. 'Before I meet him I must -have more clothes, many beautiful new dresses. It was -shameless, but it was easy to dress as a man, after I had -learned, for it was always the same—the difference -was three buttons—or four buttons, or a high hat or -a little hat; not much. Also the Feringhi men button -their garments as the Musulmans do, the left over the -right, but I often see their women's coats buttoned like -a Hindu's. Why is this? Have the women another -religion than the men? It is very strange!'</p> - -<p>Logotheti laughed, for he had really never noticed -the rather singular fact which had struck the born -Asiatic at once.</p> - -<p>'But this woman's dressing is very difficult to learn,' -Baraka went on, leaning back upon the rail with both -elbows, and sticking out her little white shoes close -together. 'Without the girl Maggy whom you have -found for me—but her real name is Gula, and she is -a good Musulman—without her, Allah knows what I -should do! I could not put on these things for myself; -alone, I cannot take them off. When I was like -a man, buttons! Two, three, four, twenty—what did -it matter? All the same way and soon done! But -now, I cannot tell what I am made of. Allah knows -and sees what I am made of. Hooks, eyes, strings, -little bits one way, little bits the other way, like the -rigging of ships—those Turkish ships with many -small sails that go up the Bosphorus, you remember? -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_280" id="page_280">{280}</a></span> -And it is all behind, as if one had no front! Gula -knows how it is done. But if I were alone, without her -help, Allah is my witness, I would tie the things all -round me decently and sit very still for fear they should -come off! That is what I should do!</p> - -<p>The Greek thought her extremely amusing. She -punctuated her explanations with small gestures indicative -of her ignorance and helplessness.</p> - -<p>'You will soon grow used to it,' he said. 'But you -must get some pretty things in Paris before you go to -meet the man. It would also be better to let your hair -grow long before meeting him, for it is hard to wear -the hats of the Feringhi ladies without hair.'</p> - -<p>'I cannot wait so long as that. Only to get pretty -dresses, only so long! I will spend a thousand pounds -or two—is that enough? I have much money in -Paris; I can give more.'</p> - -<p>'You can get a good many things for a thousand -pounds, even in Paris,' Logotheti answered.</p> - -<p>Baraka laughed.</p> - -<p>'It will not be what I paid for the first clothes after -I ran away,' she said. 'I did not know then what the -stones were worth! A little ruby to one woman for a -shift and an over-tunic, a little ruby to another for a -pair of shoes, a little ruby for a veil and a head-blanket, -all little rubies! For each thing one! I did not know; -the women did not know. But at Samarkand I sold one -for money to a good Persian merchant, and what he -gave me was enough for the journey, for me and the -old woman servant I hired there, till we got to Tiflis; -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_281" id="page_281">{281}</a></span> -for the Persian merchants everywhere gave me letters -from one to another, and their wives took me in, or I -should have been robbed. That is how I reached Stamboul -after many, many months, more than a year. The -Persian merchants are good men. All fear them, -because they are wise in their dealings, but they are -honest men. They do not lie, but they are silent and -shake their heads, and you must guess what they mean; -and if you do not guess right, that is your fault, not -theirs. Why should they speak when they can hold -their peace? But this is all emptiness! We must -talk of the fine dresses I must buy in Paris, and of -what I must put on my head. The barbers in Paris -sell wigs. I have seen them in the windows, very well -made, of all colours, even of the Khenna colour. I -shall wear a wig, so that the beautiful Feringhi hat -will stay on. I shall perhaps wear a Khenna-coloured -wig.'</p> - -<p>'I should not advise a wig,' said Logotheti gravely, -'certainly not one of that dye.'</p> - -<p>'You know, and you are a friend. When I feel -rested we will go to Paris, and you shall take me to all -the richest shops and tell them in French what I want. -Will you?'</p> - -<p>'I shall do all I can to help you,' answered the Greek, -wondering what would happen if his friends met him -piloting a lovely barbarian about between the smartest -linendraper's and the most fashionable dressmaker's -establishment in the Rue de la Paix.</p> - -<p>They had watched the sun set, and the clear twilight -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_282" id="page_282">{282}</a></span> -glow was in the cloudless sky and on the violet sea. -Not a sound disturbed the stillness, except the smooth -wash of the water along the yacht's side. At her leisurely -three-quarters speed the engines ran noiselessly -and the twin screws turned well below the water-line -in the flat calm. The watch below was at supper, and -the captain was just then working a sunset amplitude -in the chart-room to make quite sure of his deviation -on the new course; for he was a careful navigator, and -had a proper contempt for any master who trusted -another man's adjustment of his compasses.</p> - -<p>Baraka drew one end of her veil round her throat -and across her mouth and over to the other side of her -face, so that her features were covered almost as by a -real yashmak. The action was well-nigh unconscious, -for until she had left Constantinople she had never gone -with her face uncovered, except for a short time, of -necessity, after she had begun her long journey, almost -without clothes to cover her, not to speak of a veil. -But the sensation of being screened from men's sight -came back pleasantly as she stood there; for the Greek -was much more like her own people than the French -or English, and he spoke her language, and to be with -him was not like being with Mr. Van Torp, or walking -in the streets of London and Paris.</p> - -<p>The veil brought back suddenly the sense of real -power that the Eastern woman has, and of real security -in her perpetual disguise, which every man must respect -on pain of being torn to pieces by his fellows. Reams -of trash have been written about the inferior position -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_283" id="page_283">{283}</a></span> -of women in the East; but there, more than anywhere -else in the world, they rule and have their will. Their -domination there never had a parallel in Europe but -once, and that was in the heyday of the Second French -Empire, when a great nation was almost destroyed to -please a score of smart women.</p> - -<p>Veiled as she was, Baraka turned to Logotheti, who -started slightly and then laughed; for he had not been -watching her, and the effect of the improvised yashmak -was sudden and striking. He made the Oriental salutation -in three movements, touching his heart, his lips, -and his forehead with his right hand.</p> - -<p>'Peace be with you, Hanum Effendim!' he said, as -if he were greeting a Turkish lady who had just appeared -beside him.</p> - -<p>'Peace, Effendim,' answered Baraka, with a light little -laugh; but after a moment she went on, and her -voice had changed. 'It is like Constantinople,' she said, -'and I am happy here—and it is a pity.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti thought he heard her sigh softly behind -her veil, and she drew it still more closely to her face -with her little ungloved hand, and rested one elbow on -the rail, gazing out at the twilight glow. In all his -recollections of many seas, Logotheti did not remember -such a clear and peaceful evening; there was a spell on -the ocean, and it was not the sullen, disquieting calm -that often comes before a West Indian cyclone or an -ocean storm, but rather that fair sleep that sometimes -falls upon the sea and lasts many days, making men -wonder idly whether the weather will ever break again. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_284" id="page_284">{284}</a></span></p> - -<p>The two dined on deck, with shaded lights, but -screened from the draught of the ship's way. The -evening was cool, and the little maid had dressed Baraka -in a way that much disturbed her, for her taper arms -were bare to the elbows, and the pretty little ready-made -French dress was open at her ivory neck, and the -skirt fitted so closely that she almost fancied herself -in man's clothes again. But on her head she would only -wear the large veil, confined by a bit of gold cord, and -she drew one fold under her chin, and threw it over the -opposite shoulder, to be quite covered; and she was -glad when she felt cold, and could wrap herself in the -wide travelling cloak they had bought for her, and yet -not seem to do anything contrary to the customs of a -real Feringhi lady. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_285" id="page_285">{285}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_305" id="i_305"></a> -<img src="images/i_305.jpg" width="550" height="384" alt=""The two dined on deck." -" /> -<p class="caption">"The two dined on deck." -</p> -</div> - -<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> - -<p class="p2">Lady Maud found Mr. Van Torp waiting for her at the -Bayreuth station.</p> - -<p>'You don't mean to say you've come right through?' -he inquired, looking at her with admiration as he grasped -her hand. 'You're as fresh as paint!'</p> - -<p>'That's rather a dangerous thing to say to a woman -nowadays,' she answered in her rippling voice. 'But -mine won't come off. How is Margaret?'</p> - -<p>Her tone changed as she asked the question.</p> - -<p>'She showed me your letter about Logo,' answered -her friend without heeding the question, and watching -her face to see if she were surprised.</p> - -<p>She got into the carriage he had brought, and he -stood by the door waiting for the porter, who was getting -her luggage. She had no maid with her.</p> - -<p>'I'm glad you have told me,' she answered, 'though -I wish she had not. You probably think that when I -wrote that letter I remembered what you said to me in -London about giving me money for my poor women.'</p> - -<p>'No,' said Van Torp thoughtfully, 'I don't believe -I do think so. It was like me to make the offer, Maud. -It was like the sort of man I've been, and you've known -me. But it wouldn't have been like you to accept it. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_286" id="page_286">{286}</a></span> -It wasn't exactly low-down of me to say what I did, -but it's so precious like low-down that I wouldn't say it -again, and I suppose I'm sorry. That's all.'</p> - -<p>His rough hand was on the side of the little open -carriage. She touched it lightly with her gloved fingers -and withdrew them instantly, for the porter was -coming with her not very voluminous luggage.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' she said quickly. 'I understood, and -I understand now.'</p> - -<p>They drove slowly up the Bahnhofstrasse, through -the dull little town, that looks so thoroughly conscious -of its ancient respectability as having once been the -'Residenz' of a Duke of Würtemburg, and of its vast -importance as the headquarters of Richard Wagner's -representatives on earth.</p> - -<p>'See here,' said Mr. Van Torp. 'I've almost persuaded -them all to run down to Venice, and I want to -know why you won't come too?'</p> - -<p>'Venice?' Lady Maud was surprised. 'It's as hot -as Tophet now, and full of mosquitoes. Why in the -world do you want to take them there?'</p> - -<p>'Well,' answered the American, taking plenty of -time over the monosyllable, 'I didn't exactly mean -to stay there more than a few minutes. I've bought -a pretty nice yacht since I saw you, and she's there, -eating her head off, and I thought you might all come -along with me on her and go home that way, or somewhere.'</p> - -<p>'I had no idea you had a yacht!' Lady Maud -smiled. 'What it is to have the Bank of England in -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_287" id="page_287">{287}</a></span> -your pocket! Where did you get her, and what is her -name? I love yachts!'</p> - -<p>Van Torp explained.</p> - -<p>'I forget what she was called,' he said in conclusion, -'but I changed her name. It's <i>Lancashire Lass</i> -now.'</p> - -<p>'The dear old mare you rode that night! How nice -of you! It's a horse's name, of course, but that doesn't -matter. I'm so glad you chose it. I shall never forget -how you looked when you galloped off bareback in -your evening clothes with no hat!'</p> - -<p>'I don't know how I looked,' said Van Torp gravely. -'But I know quite well how I felt. I felt in a hurry. -Now, what I want you to decide right away is whether -you'll come, provided they will—for I don't suppose -you and I could go mooning around in the yacht by -ourselves.'</p> - -<p>'And I don't suppose,' returned Lady Maud, mimicking -him ever so little, 'that if "they" decide not to -come, you will have time for a long cruise.'</p> - -<p>'Now that's not fair,' objected the American. 'I -didn't intend to put it in that way. Anyhow, will you -come if they do? That's the point.'</p> - -<p>'Really, it depends a little on who "they" are. Do -you mean only Margaret and that nice old friend of -hers—Mrs. Patmore, isn't she? I never met her.'</p> - -<p>'Rushmore,' said Van Torp, correcting her.</p> - -<p>'It's the same thing,' said Lady Maud vaguely, for -she was trying to make up her mind quickly.</p> - -<p>'You don't know her,' replied her friend. 'That's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_288" id="page_288">{288}</a></span> -the reason why you say it's the same thing. Nothing's -the same as Mrs. Rushmore.'</p> - -<p>'Is she very dreadful?' asked Lady Maud, in some -apprehension.</p> - -<p>'Dreadful? No! She's very sweet, I think. One -of those real, old-fashioned, well-educated New York -ladies, and refined right down to the ground. There's -only one thing——'</p> - -<p>He stopped, trying to find words to express the one -thing.</p> - -<p>'What is it? All you say about her sounds very -nice——'</p> - -<p>'She's got the celebrity habit.'</p> - -<p>'Lions?' suggested Lady Maud, who understood him.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he assented, 'she's a dandy after lions. She -likes them for breakfast, dinner, and tea, with a sandwich -thrown in between times. She likes them to talk -to, and to look at, and to tell about. That's just a -habit, I suppose, like chewing gum, but she'll never -get over it at her age. She's got to have a party of -some kind every other minute, even here, or she's -uneasy at night. But I'm bound to say, with all -truth, she does it well. She's a perfect lady, and she -always says the right thing and does the right thing. -Besides, we're great friends, she and I. We get on -beautifully.'</p> - -<p>'You're a celebrity,' observed Lady Maud.</p> - -<p>'So's Miss Donne, and a much bigger one. So's Logo, -for that matter, but she doesn't think a great deal of -Greeks. You're a sort of celebrity, too, and she's -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_289" id="page_289">{289}</a></span> -perfectly delighted you're coming, because you're -"Lady" Maud, and a Russian countess into the bargain. -Then there's that other Russian—not that -you're one, but you understand—Kralinsky is his -name, Count Kralinsky. Ever hear that name?'</p> - -<p>'Never. It sounds Polish.'</p> - -<p>'He might be anything. Sometimes I'm absolutely -sure he's a man I used to know out West when I was -on the ranch, and then again there's something quite -different about him. Something about his legs or his -eyes, I can't tell which. I don't quite make him out. -There's one thing, though. He's the Kralinsky I -bought your ruby from in New York a month ago, and -he doesn't deny it, though I don't remember that he -was a Count then. He seemed glad to see me again, -but he doesn't seem to talk much about selling rubies -now. Perhaps he's got through that, as the camel -said to the eye of the needle.'</p> - -<p>'Eh? What?' Lady Maud laughed.</p> - -<p>'Oh, nothing. I guess it's out of the Bible, or something. -I'll tell you all about him by and by. He's -going away this afternoon, but he's promised to join -us in Venice for a trip, because Mrs. Rushmore finds -him so attractive. He seems to know everybody intimately, -all over the world. I'd like you to see him. -Here we are, and there's Miss Donne waiting for you -on the steps. I wish we'd had a longer ride together.'</p> - -<p>They reached the hotel, and Van Torp went off -promptly, leaving Margaret to take Lady Maud upstairs -and introduce her to Mrs. Rushmore. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_290" id="page_290">{290}</a></span></p> - -<p>An hour later the two young women were together in -Margaret's room, while Potts was unpacking for Lady -Maud in the one that had been secured for her in spite -of all sorts of difficulties.</p> - -<p>The Primadonna was sitting at her toilet-table, -turned away from the glass, and Lady Maud occupied -the only possible chair there was, a small, low easy-chair, -apparently much too small for such a tall woman, -but less uncomfortable than it looked.</p> - -<p>They exchanged the usual banalities. It was awfully -good of Margaret to ask Maud, it was awfully good of -Maud to come. The journey had been tolerable, thank -you, by taking the Orient Express as far as Stuttgart. -Margaret did not compare Maud's complexion to fresh -paint, as Van Torp had done, but to milk and roses; -and Maud said with truth that she had never seen -Margaret looking better. It was the rest, Margaret -said, for she had worked hard.</p> - -<p>'Are you going on Mr. Van Torp's yacht?' asked -Lady Maud suddenly. 'He spoke to me about it on -the way from the station, and asked me to come, in -case you accept.'</p> - -<p>'I don't know. Will you go if I do? That might -make a difference.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud did not answer at once. She wished -that she knew how matters had gone between Margaret -and Van Torp during the last few days, for she sincerely -wished to help him, now that she had made up her -mind as to Logotheti's real character. Nevertheless, -her love of fair-play made her feel that the Greek -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_291" id="page_291">{291}</a></span> -ought to be allowed a chance of retrieving himself.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' she said at last, 'I'll go, on one condition. At -least, it's not a condition, my dear, it's only a suggestion, -though I hate to make one. Don't think me too -awfully cheeky, will you?'</p> - -<p>Margaret shook her head, but looked very grave.</p> - -<p>'I feel as if I were getting into a bad scrape,' she -said, 'and I shall be only too glad of any good advice. -Tell me what I had better do.'</p> - -<p>'I must tell you something else first as a continuation -of my letter, for all sorts of things happened after I -wrote it.'</p> - -<p>She told Margaret all that has been already narrated, -concerning the news that Baraka had been set at large -on Logotheti's sworn statement that the ruby was not -his, and that he had seen it in her possession in Paris; -and she told how she had tried to find him at his lodgings, -and had failed, and how strangely the leather-faced -secretary's answers had struck her, and how she -had seen Baraka's gloves and stick in Logotheti's -hall; and finally she said she had taken it into her head -that Logotheti had spirited away the Tartar girl on -his yacht, which, as every one in town had known -through the papers, was at Cowes and in commission. -For Logotheti, in his evidence, had explained his absence -from the Police Court by the fact that he had -been off in the <i>Erinna</i> for two days, out of reach of -news.</p> - -<p>Margaret's face grew darker as she listened, for she -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_292" id="page_292">{292}</a></span> -knew Lady Maud too well to doubt but that every word -was more than scrupulously true; and the deduction -was at least a probable one. She bit her lip as she felt -her anger rising again.</p> - -<p>'What do you advise me to do?' she asked, in a -sullen tone.</p> - -<p>'Telegraph to Logo and prepay an answer of twenty -words. Telegraph to his rooms in St. James's Place -and at the same time to his house in Paris. Telegraph -anything you like that really needs an immediate -reply. That's the important thing. If he does not -answer within twenty-four hours—say thirty-six at -the most—he is either on his yacht or hiding. Excuse -the ugly word, dear—I don't think of any other. -If you are afraid of the servants, I'll take the message -to the telegraph office and send it for you. I suppose -you have some way of signing which the clerks don't -recognise—if you sign at all.'</p> - -<p>Margaret leaned back in her chair in silence. After -a few seconds she turned towards the glass, rested her -chin on her folded knuckles, and seemed to be consulting -her own reflexion. It is a way some women have. -Lady Maud glanced at her from time to time, but said -nothing. At last the Primadonna rose with a sweep that -upset the light chair behind her, one of those magnificent -sweeps that look so well on the stage and are a little too -large for a room. She got her blotter and pen from a -shelf, brought it back to the toilet-table, picked up the -chair in a very quiet and sensible way, as if she had -never been on the stage in her life, and sat down to write. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_293" id="page_293">{293}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I shall take your advice, dear,' she said, opening the -blotter and placing a large sheet of paper in the right -position.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud rose and went to the window, where she -stood looking out while Margaret wrote her message.</p> - -<p>'You needn't write it out twice,' she said, without -turning round. 'Just put "duplicate message" and -both addresses.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. Thank you.'</p> - -<p>Margaret was already writing. Her message said it -was absolutely necessary that she should see Logotheti -directly, and bade him answer at once, if he could come -to Bayreuth; if important financial affairs hindered -him, she herself would return immediately to Paris -to see him.</p> - -<p>She was careful to write 'financial' affairs, for she -would not admit that any other consideration could -delay his obedience. While she was busy she heard, -but scarcely noticed, an unearthly hoot from a big -motor car that was passing before the hotel. There -must have been something in the way, for the thing -hooted again almost at once, and then several times in -quick succession, as if a gigantic brazen ass were beginning -to bray just under the window. The noises -ended in a sort of wild, triumphant howl, with a furious -puffing, and the motor took itself off, just as Margaret -finished.</p> - -<p>She looked up and saw Lady Maud half bent, as if -she had been struck; she was clinging with one hand -to the flimsy chintz curtain, and her face was as white -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_294" id="page_294">{294}</a></span> -as a sheet. Margaret started in surprise, and rose to -her feet so suddenly that she upset the chair again.</p> - -<p>'What has happened?' she cried. 'Are you ill, -dear?'</p> - -<p>The delicate colour came slowly back to the smooth -cheeks, the thoroughbred figure in black drew itself -up with elastic dignity, and the hand let go of the -curtain.</p> - -<p>'I felt a little faint,' Lady Maud answered. 'Did I -frighten you? It was nothing, and it's quite gone, -I assure you.'</p> - -<p>'You looked dreadfully ill for a moment,' Margaret -said in a tone of concern. 'Won't you let me send for -something? Tea? Or something iced? I'm sure you -have had nothing to eat or drink for hours! How -disgracefully thoughtless of me!'</p> - -<p>She was just going to ring, but her friend stopped her.</p> - -<p>'No—please!' she cried. 'I'm all right, indeed I -am. The room is a little warm, I think, and I've been -shut up in that stuffy train for thirty hours. Have you -written your telegram? I'll put on my hat at once, -and take it for you. The little walk will do me good. -Where is the telegraph? But they can tell me downstairs. -Don't bother! Walking always brings me -round, no matter what has happened!'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_317" id="i_317"></a> -<img src="images/i_317.jpg" width="381" height="550" alt=""'What has happened?' she cried. 'Are you ill, dear?'"" /> -<p class="caption">"'What has happened?' she cried. 'Are you ill, dear?'"</p> -</div> - -<p>She spoke nervously, in disjointed phrases, in a way -not like herself, for there was generally an air of easy -calm in all she did, as if nothing really mattered in the -least, save when she was deeply interested; and hardly -anything interested her now except what she had made -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_295" id="page_295">{295}</a></span> -her work. In all that belonged to that, she was energetic, -direct, and quick.</p> - -<p>Margaret was sure that something was wrong, but -let her go, since she insisted, and Lady Maud folded the -written message and went to the door. Just as she -was going to turn the handle Margaret spoke to her.</p> - -<p>'If I have no answer to that by to-morrow afternoon -I shall accept Mr. Van Torp's invitation.'</p> - -<p>'I hope you will go,' Lady Maud said with sudden -decision, 'for if you do, I can go with you, and I'm -dying to see the new yacht!'</p> - -<p>Margaret looked at her in surprise, for it was only a -little while since she had seemed much less ready to -join the party, and only willing to do so, if at all, in -order to please her friend. She saw Margaret's expression.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' she said, as if in explanation, 'I've been thinking -it over in the last few minutes, and I want very much -to go with you all. I shall be back in less than an hour.'</p> - -<p>'An hour?'</p> - -<p>'Say half an hour. I want a good walk.'</p> - -<p>She opened the door quickly and passed out, shutting -it almost noiselessly after her; she was a very graceful -woman and moved easily, whether in small spaces or -large. In all her life she had probably never overturned -a chair with her skirt, as Margaret had done twice -within ten minutes. She had not Baraka's gliding -movement, the virginal step of the girl of primeval -race; hers was rather the careless, swaying walk of a -thoroughbred in good training, long-limbed and deep-breathed, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_296" id="page_296">{296}</a></span> -and swift at need, but indolently easy when -no call was made upon her strength. She and Baraka -and the young Primadonna represented well three -of the possible types of beauty, very different from -each other; so widely different that perhaps no two of -them would be likely to appeal to one man, as mere -feminine beauty, at the same period of his life.</p> - -<p>Straight and tall in her mourning, Lady Maud went -down the stairs of the hotel. As she was going out the -hall porter raised his cap, and she stopped a moment -and asked him which was the nearest way to the telegraph -office. He stood on the doorstep and pointed in -the direction she was to follow as he answered her question.</p> - -<p>'Can you tell me,' she asked, 'whose motor car it -was that passed about ten minutes ago, and made so -much noise?'</p> - -<p>'Count Kralinsky's, my lady,' the porter answered; -for he spoke good English, and had the true hotel -porter's respect for the British aristocracy abroad.</p> - -<p>'He was the gentleman with the big fair beard, I -suppose? Yes, thank you.'</p> - -<p>She went out into the dull street, with its monotonous -houses, all two stories high, and she soon found the -telegraph office and sent Margaret's duplicate message. -She had not glanced at it, but the clerk asked her questions -about words that were not quite clearly written, -and she was obliged to read it through. It occurred -to her that it was couched in extremely peremptory -terms, even for an offended bride-elect; but that was -none of her business. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_297" id="page_297">{297}</a></span></p> - -<p>When the clerk had understood, she walked up the -hill to the Festival Theatre. It all looked very dull -and heavy, being an off-day, and as she was not a -Wagnerian it meant absolutely nothing to her. She -was disappointed in the whole town, so far as she had -expected anything of it, for she had pictured it as being -either grand in its way, or picturesque, or at least -charming; and it was not. Her British soul stuck up -its nose in the general atmosphere of beer and sausage, -which she instantly perceived rather than saw; and the -Teutonism of everything, from the appearance of the -Festival Theatre itself to the wooden faces of the policemen, -and the round pink cheeks of the few children she -met, roused antagonism in her from the first. She went -on a little farther, and then turned back and descended -the hill, always at the same even, easy pace, for she was -rarely aware of any change of grade when she walked -alone.</p> - -<p>But by degrees her expression had altered since she -had left the telegraph office, and she looked profoundly -preoccupied, as if she were revolving a very complicated -question in her mind, which disliked complications; and -there was now and then a flash of displeased wonder -in her face, when she opened her eyes quite wide and -shut them, and opened them again, as if to make sure -that she was quite awake.</p> - -<p>She went on, not knowing whither and not caring, -always at the same even pace, and hardly noticing the -people who passed her, of whom a good many were in -two-horse cabs, some in queer little German motors, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_298" id="page_298">{298}</a></span> -and a few on foot; and still she thought, and wondered, -and tried to understand, but could not. At all events, -she was glad to be alone; she was glad not to have even -Van Torp with her, who was by far the most congenial -person she knew; for he had the rare good gift of silence, -and used it very often, and when he talked she liked his -odd speech, his unusual expressions, even his Western -accent; she liked him for his simple, unswerving friendship, -and for his kind heart—though the world would -have screamed with laughter at the idea; and more -than all, she liked him for himself, and because she -knew certainly that neither he nor she could possibly, -under any circumstances, grow to like each other in any -other way.</p> - -<p>But she did not wish that he were walking beside -her now, and she was quite indifferent to the fact that -time was passing, and that Margaret was beginning to -wonder where in the world she was.</p> - -<p>'My dear child,' Mrs. Rushmore said, when the -Primadonna expressed her surprise, 'those English -people are all alike, when they are once out on a road -by themselves. They must take a long walk. I am -quite sure that at this moment Countess Leven is miles -from here—miles, Margaret. Do you understand me? -I tell you she is walking mile upon mile. All English -people do. You are only half English after all, my dear, -but I have known you to walk a long distance alone, -for no good reason that I could see.'</p> - -<p>'It's good for the voice if you don't overdo it,' Margaret -observed. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_299" id="page_299">{299}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes. But Countess Leven does not sing, my dear. -You forget that. Why should she walk mile upon -mile like that? And I know Mr. Van Torp is not with -her, for Justine told me a quarter of an hour ago that -she heard him tell his man to bring him some hot water. -So he is at home, you see. Margaret, what do you -suppose Mr. Van Torp wants hot water for at this -extraordinary hour?'</p> - -<p>'I really don't know,' Margaret answered, sipping her -tea rather gloomily, for she was thinking of the telegram -she had given Lady Maud to send.</p> - -<p>'You don't think Mr. Van Torp drinks, do you, my -dear?' inquired Mrs. Rushmore.</p> - -<p>'Hot water? Some people do. It's good for the -digestion.'</p> - -<p>'No, you purposely misunderstand me. I mean that -he makes use of it for—for the purpose of mixing -alcoholic beverages alone in his room.'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed.</p> - -<p>'Never! If there's a perfectly sober man living, it -is he!'</p> - -<p>'I am glad to hear you say so, my dear. Because, -if I thought he had habits, nothing would induce me -to go on board his yacht. Nothing, Margaret! Not -all his millions! Do you understand me? Margaret, -dear, if you do not mind very much, I think we had -better not accept his invitation after all, though I am -sure it is well meant.'</p> - -<p>'You're very much mistaken if you think he drinks,' -Margaret said, still inclined to laugh. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_300" id="page_300">{300}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well, my dear,' returned Mrs. Rushmore, 'I don't -know. Justine certainly heard him tell his man to -bring him some hot water a quarter of an hour ago. -Perhaps it may have been twenty minutes. It is a -very extraordinary hour to ask for such a thing, I am -sure.'</p> - -<p>Margaret suggested that Mr. Van Torp might possibly -have a fancy to wash his hands in hot water at that -unusual time of day, and Mrs. Rushmore seemed temporarily -satisfied, for apparently she had not thought of -this explanation.</p> - -<p>'Margaret,' she said solemnly, 'if you feel that you -can put your hand into the fire for Mr. Van Torp's -habits, I will go with you on his yacht. Not otherwise, -my dear.'</p> - -<p>The Primadonna laughed, and at last Mrs. Rushmore -herself smiled, for she was not without a sense of humour.</p> - -<p>'I cannot help it, my dear,' she said. 'You must -not laugh at me if I am nervous about such things; -nervous, you understand, not unreasonable. But since -you are prepared to take all the responsibility I will -go with you, my child. I cannot even say it is a sacrifice -on my part, for I am an excellent sailor, as you know, -and very fond of the sea. In my young days my dear -husband used to have a nice cat-boat at Newport, and -he always took me with him. He used to say that I -steered quite nicely.'</p> - -<p>The vision of Mrs. Rushmore steering a Newport -cat-boat was quite new to Margaret, and her lips parted -in surprise. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_301" id="page_301">{301}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, my child, we were very fond of sailing in -those days,' continued the elderly lady, pleased with -her recollections. 'I often got quite wet, I assure you, -but I remember catching cold only once. I think it -rained that day. My dear husband, I recollect, asked -me to name the boat when he bought it, and so I called -it the <i>Sea-Mew</i>.'</p> - -<p>'The <i>Sea-Mew</i>?' Margaret was mystified.</p> - -<p>'Yes. It was a cat-boat, my dear. Cats often mew. -You understand, of course. It was not very funny, perhaps, -but I remember that my dear husband laughed, -and liked the name.'</p> - -<p>Margaret was laughing softly too.</p> - -<p>'I think it's awfully good, you know,' she said. 'You -needn't say it's not funny, for it's a very creditable -little joke. Do you think you could steer a boat now? -I'm sure I could never learn! Everything about sailing -and ships is an utter mystery to me.'</p> - -<p>'I daresay I could steer a cat-boat,' said Mrs. Rushmore -calmly. 'I am sure I could keep a row-boat -straight. Let me see—there's a thing you move——'</p> - -<p>'The rudder?' suggested Margaret.</p> - -<p>'No, my dear. It's not the rudder, nor the boom, -nor the centre-board—how all the names come back -to me! Yes, it is the tiller. That is the name. When -you know which way to move the tiller, it is quite easy -to steer.'</p> - -<p>'I fancy so,' said Margaret gravely.</p> - -<p>'Most people move it the wrong way when they begin,' -continued the good lady. 'You see "port" means -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_302" id="page_302">{302}</a></span> -"left" and "starboard" means "right." But when you -turn the tiller to the left the boat goes to the right. -Do you understand?'</p> - -<p>'It seems all wrong,' observed Margaret, 'but I suppose -you know.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. In the same way, when you turn the tiller to -the right the boat goes to the left. The great thing is -to remember that. It is the same way with "weather" -and "lee." I could show you if we were in a boat.</p> - -<p>'I haven't a doubt of it,' Margaret said. 'You're -perfectly amazing! I believe you are a regular sailor.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no,' protested Mrs. Rushmore modestly; 'but -indeed I often took the cat-boat out alone, now that I -think of it. I used to raise the sail alone—I mean, -I hoisted it. "Hoist"—that is the proper word, I -remember. I was quite strong in those days.'</p> - -<p>'Really, you are most extraordinary!' Margaret was -genuinely surprised. 'You'll astonish Mr. Van Torp -when he hears your nautical language on the yacht! -Fancy your knowing all about sailing! I knew you -could swim, for we've often been in together at Biarritz—but -sailing! Why did you never tell me?'</p> - -<p>'Shall we keep some tea for Countess Leven?' asked -Mrs. Rushmore, changing the subject. 'I fear it will -get quite cold. Those English people never know when -to stop walking. I cannot understand what they can -see in it. Perhaps you will kindly touch the bell, my -dear, and I will send the tea away. It can be brought -fresh for her when she comes. Thank you, Margaret. -But she will not come in till it is just time to dress -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_303" id="page_303">{303}</a></span> -for dinner. Mark my words, my child, the Countess -will be late for dinner. All English people are. Have -you heard from Monsieur Logotheti to-day?'</p> - -<p>'Not to-day,' Margaret answered, repressing a little -start, for she was as near to being nervous as she ever -was, and she was thinking of him just then, and the -question had come suddenly.</p> - -<p>'I think it is time you heard from him,' said Mrs. -Rushmore, her natural severity asserting itself. 'I -should think that after those very strange stories in -the papers he would write to you and explain, or come -himself. By the bye, perhaps you will kindly pass me -the <i>Herald</i>, my dear. What did you once tell me was -the name of his yacht?'</p> - -<p>'The <i>Erinna</i>,' Margaret answered, handing Mrs. -Rushmore the sheet.</p> - -<p>'Exactly! I think that means the "Fury."'</p> - -<p>'He told me it was the name of a Greek poetess,' -Margaret observed.</p> - -<p>'On account of her temper, I suppose,' answered the -good lady absently, for she was looking up and down -the columns in search of something she had already seen. -'Here it is!' she said. 'It is under the yachting news. -"Cape Finisterre. Passed at 4 <span class="s08">P.M.</span>, going south, steam -yacht <i>Erinna</i>, with owner and party on board. All -well." My dear child, it is quite clear that if this is -Monsieur Logotheti's yacht, he is going to Gibraltar.'</p> - -<p>'I don't know anything about geography,' Margaret -said, and her wrath, which had been smouldering sullenly -for days, began to glow again. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_304" id="page_304">{304}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Margaret,' said Mrs. Rushmore, 'you surprise me! -You were very well taught——'</p> - -<p>But the Primadonna did not hear the long tirade -of mild reproof that followed. She knew well enough -where Gibraltar was, and that Logotheti was going all -the way round to the Mediterranean on his yacht with -some one for company, and that the voyage was a long -one. After what Lady Maud had said, there was not -the least doubt in her mind as to his companion, who -could be no one but Baraka. He had been told that -he was not wanted at Bayreuth, and he was celebrating -the sunset of his bachelor life in his own way. That -was clear. If he received the telegram that had just -been sent to him, he would get it at Gibraltar, should -he stop there, and as for answering it before Margaret -left Bayreuth, she was inclined to make such a thing -impossible by going away the next morning, if not that -very night.</p> - -<p>Her angry reflexions and Mrs. Rushmore's lecture -on the importance of geography in education were interrupted -by the discreet entrance of Mr. Van Torp, -who was announced and ushered to the door by Justine -in a grand French manner. On the threshold, however, -he stood still and asked if he might come in; being -pressed to do so, he yielded, advanced, and sat down -between the two ladies.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Van Torp,' said Mrs. Rushmore, 'I insist upon -knowing what has become of Countess Leven.'</p> - -<p>'I don't know, Mrs. Rushmore,' answered the millionaire, -slowly rubbing his hands. 'I haven't spoken to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_305" id="page_305">{305}</a></span> -her since I brought her from the station. I daresay -she's all right. She's most probably gone to take a -walk. She often does in the country, I know—her -father's country seat is next to mine, Mrs. Rushmore. -I hope you'll pay me a visit some day. Why, yes, Lady -Maud sometimes goes off alone and walks miles and -miles.'</p> - -<p>'There, Margaret,' said Mrs. Rushmore triumphantly, -'what did I tell you? Mr. Van Torp says the Countess -often walks for miles and miles.'</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'though I'm -bound to say she's just as fond of horseback. Her -friends generally call her Lady Maud, Mrs. Rushmore. -Perhaps you won't mind my telling you, as she prefers -it a good deal herself. You see, I've had the pleasure -of knowing her several years, so I daresay you'll forgive -me for mentioning it.'</p> - -<p>'I think it is quite kind of you, on the contrary,' -answered Mrs. Rushmore. 'Margaret, why did you -never tell me of this? Had you any reason for not -telling me?'</p> - -<p>'I don't think I noticed what you called her,' Margaret -answered patiently.</p> - -<p>'Because if you had any reason,' said Mrs. Rushmore, -following her own thoughts, 'I insist upon knowing what -it was.'</p> - -<p>'Well, now, I'll tell you,' rejoined Mr. Van Torp, to -save Margaret the trouble of answering the futile little -speech, 'her husband didn't treat her very well. There's -not a purer woman in the six continents, Mrs. Rushmore, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_306" id="page_306">{306}</a></span> -but he tried to divorce her, because he'd lost his money, -if he ever had any, and she has none, and he wanted to -marry an heiress. However, they automobilised him, -or something, in St. Petersburg last June.'</p> - -<p>'Auto—what did you say?' inquired Mrs. Rushmore.</p> - -<p>'Killed by an automobile,' explained Mr. Van Torp -gravely. 'But now I come to think, it wasn't that. -He got blown up by a bomb meant for a better man. -It was quite instantaneous, I recollect. His head disappeared -suddenly, and the greater part of him was -scattered around, but they found his pocket-book with -his cards and things, so they knew who it was. It was -driven through somebody else's hat on the other side -of the street, wasn't it, Miss Donne? Things must have -been quite lively just then, where it happened. I supposed -you knew.'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore explained that she had never heard -any details.</p> - -<p>'Besides,' said Mr. Van Torp, in answer, though not -quite relevantly, 'everybody always calls her "Lady -Maud" instead of "Countess Leven," which she has on -her cards.'</p> - -<p>'She would naturally use the higher title,' observed -Mrs. Rushmore reverently.</p> - -<p>'Well, now, about that,' objected Mr. Van Torp, -'I'm bound to say I think the daughter of an English -earl as good as a Russian count, anywhere west of Siberia. -I don't know how they figure those things out at courts -when they have to balance 'em up for seats at a dinner-party, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_307" id="page_307">{307}</a></span> -of course. It's just my impression, that's all, as -a business man. He's dead anyway, and one needn't -make personal remarks about dead men. All the same, -it was a happy release for Lady Maud, and I doubt if -she sits up all night mourning for him. Have you been -out this afternoon, Miss Donne?'</p> - -<p>He changed the subject with extreme directness, and -Mrs. Rushmore, who was used to the dictatorial ways of -lions, took the hint submissively enough, though she -would have been glad to discuss the relative and intrinsic -values of the designations 'Lady Maud' and 'Countess -Leven.' But it was much more important that the lion -should be left alone with Margaret as much as possible, -and the excellent lady therefore remembered that she -had something to do and left them.</p> - -<p>'I had a little talk with Kralinsky before he left,' said -Van Torp, when she was gone. 'He says he'll meet us -in Venice any time in the next few days. He's just going -to run over to Vienna in his sudden-death-cart for -twenty-four hours; then he'll go south, he says. He -ran me up to the hotel and dropped me. I daresay -you heard the toots. I thought I saw Lady Maud looking -out of the window of your room as I got out.'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Margaret said. 'But how do you know that -is my window?'</p> - -<p>'In the first place, I've counted the windows. I felt -a sort of interest in knowing which was yours. And -then, I often see your maid opening the shutters in the -morning.'</p> - -<p>'Oh!' Margaret smiled. 'Did you notice anything -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_308" id="page_308">{308}</a></span> -unusual about Lady Maud when you saw her?' she -asked, for she knew that he had good eyes.</p> - -<p>'Since you mention it, I thought she looked as if she -didn't feel quite up to the mark—pale, I thought she -was.'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Margaret said. 'She felt ill for a moment, -and I thought she was going to faint. But it passed -almost directly, and she insisted on going for a walk.'</p> - -<p>'Oh,' mused Mr. Van Torp, 'is that so? Well, I -daresay it was the best thing she could do. I was telling -you about Kralinsky. He's not Levi Longlegs after -all, and I'm not sure he was ever in the West.'</p> - -<p>'I thought it sounded unlikely,' Margaret said.</p> - -<p>'I asked him, just like that, in a friendly way, and he -thought a moment and made an effort to recollect, and -then he seemed quite pleased to remember that I'd -been "Fanny" and he'd been Levi Longlegs, and that he -used to whistle things out of <i>Parsifal</i> by the fire of an -evening.'</p> - -<p>'Well—but in that case-—' Margaret stopped -with an inquiring look.</p> - -<p>'Just so,' continued Van Torp, nodding. 'Did you -ever attend a trial and hear a witness being cross-examined -by a lawyer who wants him to remember something, -and he wants to remember it himself, but can't, because -he never heard of it before in his life? It's quite funny. -The lawyer makes steps for him and puts his feet into -them so that he gets along nicely, unless the judge happens -to wake up and kick, and then the little game stops -right there, and somebody laughs. Well, my talk with -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_309" id="page_309">{309}</a></span> -Kralinsky was like that, only there was no judge, so -he went away happy; and we're old friends now, and -punched cows on the same ranch, and he's coming on -my yacht. I only wonder why he was so anxious to -remember all that, and why he thought it would be kind -of friendly if I called him Levi Longlegs again, and he -called me Fanny Cook. I wonder! He says he's still -very fond of <i>Parsifal</i>, and came on purpose to hear it, -but that he's completely forgotten how to whistle. -That's funny too. I just thought I'd tell you, because -if you come on my yacht and he comes too, you're liable -to see quite a good deal of one another.'</p> - -<p>'Did you tell him that Mrs. Rushmore and I would -come?' Margaret asked. 'And Lady Maud?'</p> - -<p>'Why, no. You've not promised yet, any more than -you did last night when he was there and we talked about -it, so how could I? I forgot to mention Lady Maud to -him, or else I thought I wouldn't—I forget which. It -doesn't matter.'</p> - -<p>'No.' Margaret smiled. 'Not a little bit!'</p> - -<p>'You seem amused,' observed Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'By your way of putting it, and your pretending to -forget such a thing.'</p> - -<p>'It wasn't quite true that I forgot, but I wanted to, -so I didn't say anything about her. That's why I -put it in that way. I don't choose to leave you any -doubt about what I say, or mean, even in the smallest -things. The moment you feel the least doubt about -the perfect accuracy of anything I tell you, even if -it's not at all a downright lie or anything resembling -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_310" id="page_310">{310}</a></span> -one, you won't trust me at all, in anything. Because, -if you trust me, you'll end by liking me, and if you don't -trust me you'll go back to thinking that I'm the Beast -out of Revelations, or something, as you used to. I've -forgotten the Beast's number.'</p> - -<p>Margaret smiled again, though she was continually -conscious of her own sullenly smouldering anger against -Logotheti. Van Torp was gaining influence over her -in his own uncouth way. Logotheti had been able to -play upon her moods, as on that day under the elm-tree -at Versailles, and she blushed when she remembered -that single kiss he had won from her. But the American -had no idea of such tactics in love, for he had never -learned them. He was making war on the modern -scientific system of never losing a hair's-breadth of -ground once gained, keeping his communications -constantly open with the base from which he had -started, bringing up fresh forces to the front without -intermission, and playing his heavy artillery with judgment -and tenacity.</p> - -<p>'The number doesn't matter,' Margaret said, 'for -I've forgotten all about the Beast.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' answered Mr. Van Torp. 'To change -the subject—I've got a little scheme to propose. -Maybe you'll think well of it. Anyhow, as it's a mere -matter of business connected with your career, you -won't mind my explaining it to you, will you?'</p> - -<p>'No, indeed!' Margaret was interested at once. -'Do tell me!' she said, leaning forward a little.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he began, 'I've looked around this place a -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_311" id="page_311">{311}</a></span> -good deal since I've been here, and I've come to the -conclusion that it's not very well done, anyhow, except -<i>Parsifal</i>. That's what most of the people really come -for. I'm informed that they give all the other operas -better in Munich, with the advantage of being in what -you may call a Christian town, compared with this. -Is that correct, do you think?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, I believe so.'</p> - -<p>'It is, you can depend upon it. Now, what I want -to know is, why you and I shouldn't go into a little -business partnership, and do this kind of thing brown, -as it ought to be done.' Margaret opened her handsome -eyes wide. 'Because,' continued Mr. Van Torp, as -coolly as if he were explaining a new plan to a board of -directors, 'we've got the capital and the ability between -us, and there's a demand in New York for what I propose -to do. It'll fill a want, I know, and that means -success and money. Why don't we build a theatre -together? When I say a theatre, I mean a first-class -opera-house and not a barn. We'll employ the best -architects to build it, and, of course, I'd leave everything -about it to you. I've got a block in New York -just about in the right place, and it won't take long to -build. I'll give the land and put up the money for the -building, if you'll undertake the management. You'll -put in any money you like, of course, and we'll share the -profits. Maybe they'll be quite handsome, for we'll -lease the theatre to other people outside of the season. -We'll have the best talent in Europe, and pay for it, and -the public will pay us back. We'll call it the Cordova -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_312" id="page_312">{312}</a></span> -Opera, if you like, and you'll run it according to your -own ideas, and sing or not, whenever you please.'</p> - -<p>'Are you in earnest?'</p> - -<p>Margaret had some difficulty in pronouncing the words -clearly. He had brought up some very heavy artillery -indeed, and at the right moment. Was there ever a -great soprano who did not dream of having the most -perfect theatre of her very own, and who could receive -unmoved the offer to build one from a man who could -build twenty if he chose? Very rarely in her life had -she been aware of her bodily heart, but she could feel -it now, beating like a hammer on the anvil.</p> - -<p>'I'm in earnest,' Van Torp answered with perfect -calm. 'I've thought the whole thing over in all its -aspects, just as I would a railroad, or a canal, or a mine, -and I've concluded to try it, if you'll help me, because -it's going to be a safe investment. You see, Miss -Donne,' he went on slowly, 'there's no artist on the -Grand Opera stage now who's so well equipped for the -business as you are. I'm not flattering you, either. -In your own kind of parts you've simply got no rival. -Everybody says so, and I suppose you won't play kitty -and deny it. Let's start fair, now.'</p> - -<p>'It would be silly to deny that I'm one of the first,' -Margaret admitted.</p> - -<p>'That'll do, thank you. One of the first, and the -first is one of them, and you're it. Besides, you've -got before you what's behind most of them. You're -young. I'm not talking about your personal appearance, -but that's just one more item in the assets. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_313" id="page_313">{313}</a></span> -Another big one is that you're a first-class musician, -whereas half these singers can only bang the box like -great, thundering, overgrown schoolgirls. Allow that?'</p> - -<p>'I suppose I must "allow" anything!' laughed the -Primadonna.</p> - -<p>'Well, now, I've told you. You've got the name I -need, and you've got the voice, and the talent, and -you've got the science and culture. I suppose you'll -let me say that I've got the business ability, won't you?'</p> - -<p>The iron mouth smiled a little grimly.</p> - -<p>'Rather! I fancy some people have wished you had -less!'</p> - -<p>'And the money's here, for I always have a blank -cheque in my pocket. If you like, I'll fill it in, and -we'll deposit it wherever you say, in the name of the -"Cordova Opera Company," or "Madame da Cordova, -Rufus Van Torp and Co." We can make out our little -agreement in duplicate right here, on the corner of the -table, and sign it; and before we leave here you might -go around and speak to the best singers about an engagement -in New York for a Wagner festival, a year from -next Christmas. That's business, and this is a purely -business proposition. If you'd like to think it over, I'll -go and take a little walk before dinner.'</p> - -<p>'It sounds like a dream!' Margaret answered, in a -wondering tone.</p> - -<p>'Money's an awful reality,' Van Torp remarked. -'I'm talking business, and as I'm the one who's going -to put up most of the capital, you'll do me the credit -to believe that I'm quite wide awake.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_314" id="page_314">{314}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Do you really, really, really mean it?' She spoke -almost like a child.</p> - -<p>It was not the first time in his life that the financier -had seen the stunning effect of a big sum, projected with -precision, like a shell, at exactly the right moment. -He was playing the great game again, but for a prize -he thought worth more than any he had yet won, and -the very magnitude of the risk steadied his naturally -steady brain.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' he said quietly, 'I do. Perhaps I've startled -you a little, and I shouldn't like you to make a decision -till you feel quite ready to. I'll just say again that I've -thought the whole thing out as a genuine venture, and -that I believe in it, or I wouldn't propose it. Maybe -you've got some sensible lawyer you have confidence in, -and would like to consult him first. If you feel that -way, I'd rather you should. A business partnership's -not a thing to go into with your eyes shut, and if we -had any reason for distrusting one another, it would be -better to make inquiries. But so far as that goes, it -appears to me that we've got facts to go on, which would -make any partnership succeed. You've certainly got -the musical brains, besides a little money of your own, -and I've certainly got the rest of the funds. I'd like -you to put some money in, though, if you can spare it, -because that's a guarantee that you're going to be in -earnest, too, and do your share in the musical side. -You see I'm talking to you just as I would to a man in -the same position. Not because I doubt that if you put -your name to a piece of paper you really will do your -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_315" id="page_315">{315}</a></span> -share as a partner, but because I'm used to working in -that sort of way in business. How does that strike -you? I hope you're not offended?'</p> - -<p>'Offended!'</p> - -<p>There was no mistaking the suppressed excitement -and delight in her voice. If he had possessed the -intelligence of Mephistopheles and the charm of Faust -he could not have said anything more subtly pleasing -to her dignity and her vanity.</p> - -<p>'Of course,' he said, 'it needn't be a very large sum. -Still it ought to be something that would make a difference -to you.'</p> - -<p>She hesitated a moment, and then spoke rather -timidly.</p> - -<p>'I think perhaps—if we did it—I could manage -a hundred thousand pounds,' she said. 'Would that -be too little, do you think?'</p> - -<p>The large mouth twitched and then smiled pleasantly.</p> - -<p>'That's too much,' he said, shaking his head. 'You -mustn't put all your eggs in one basket. A hundred -thousand dollars would be quite enough as your share -of the capital, with option to buy stock of me at par, -up to a million, or so, if it's a success.'</p> - -<p>'Really? Would that be enough? And, please, -what is "stock" in such a case?'</p> - -<p>'Stock,' said the financier, 'is a little plant which, -when well watered, will grow like the mustard seed, till -all the birds of Wall Street make their nests in its -branches. And if you don't water it too much, it'll be all -right. In our case, the stock is going to be that share -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_316" id="page_316">{316}</a></span> -of the business which most people sell to raise money, -and which we mean to keep for ourselves. I always -do it that way, when circumstances allow. I once -bought all the stock of a railroad for nothing, for instance, -and sold all the bonds, and let it go bankrupt. -Then I bought the road one day, and found all the stock -was in my own pocket. That's only a little illustration. -But I guess you can leave the financial side in my hands. -You won't lose by it, I'm pretty sure.'</p> - -<p>'I fancy not!' Margaret's eyes were wide open, her -hands were clasped tightly on her knee, and she was -leaning forward a little. 'Besides,' she went on, 'it -would not be the money that I should care about! I -can earn more money than I want, and I have a little -fortune of my own—the hundred thousand I offered -you. Oh, no! It would be the splendid power to have -the most beautiful music in the world given as it could -be given nowhere else! The joy of singing myself—the -parts I can sing—in the most perfect surroundings! -An orchestra picked from the whole world of -orchestras, the greatest living leaders, the most faultless -chorus! And the scenery, and the costumes—everything -as everything could be, if it were really, really the -best that can be had! Do you believe it is possible to -have all that?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes, and with your name to it, too. We'll have -everything on earth that money can buy to make a -perfect opera, and I'll guarantee it'll pay after the first -two seasons. That is, if you'll work at it as hard as -I will. But you've got to work, Miss Donne, you've -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_317" id="page_317">{317}</a></span> -got to work, or it's no use thinking of it. That's my -opinion.'</p> - -<p>'I'll work like a Trojan!' cried Margaret enthusiastically.</p> - -<p>'Trojans,' mused Van Torp, who wanted to bring -her back to her ordinary self before Mrs. Rushmore -or Lady Maud came in. 'Let me see. They say that -because the Trojans had to work so hard to get over the -Alps coming down into Italy, don't they?'</p> - -<p>Whether Mr. Van Torp made this monstrous assertion -in ignorance, or for effect, no one will ever know. An -effect certainly followed at once, for Margaret broke into -an echoing laugh.</p> - -<p>'I believe it was the Carthaginians,' she said presently. -'It's the same thing, as Lady Maud is so fond of saying!'</p> - -<p>'All in the family, as Cain said when he killed Abel,' -observed Van Torp without a smile.</p> - -<p>Margaret looked at him and laughed again. She -would have laughed at anything in the remotest degree -amusing just then, for she found it hard to realise exactly -what she was doing or saying. The possibility he had -suddenly placed within her reach appealed to almost -everything in her nature at once, to her talent, her -vanity, her real knowledge of her art, her love of power, -even to her good sense, which was unusually practical -in certain ways. She had enough experience in herself, -and enough knowledge of the conditions to believe that -her own hard work, combined with Van Torp's unlimited -capital, could and certainly would produce such an -opera-house, and bring to it such artists as had never -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_318" id="page_318">{318}</a></span> -been seen and heard, except perhaps in Bayreuth, -during its first great days, now long past.</p> - -<p>Then, too, he had put the matter before her so skilfully -that she could look upon it honestly as a business -partnership, in which her voice, her judgment, and -her experience would bear no contemptible proportion -to his money, and in which she herself was to invest -money of her own, thereby sharing the risk according -to her fortune as well as giving the greater part of the -labour. She felt for some weak place in the scheme, -groping as if she were dazzled, but she could find -none.</p> - -<p>'I don't think I shall need time to think this over,' -she said, controlling her voice better, now that she had -made up her mind. 'As I understand it, I am to put -in what I can in the way of ready-money, and I am to -give my time in all ways, as you need it, and my voice, -when it is wanted. Is that it?'</p> - -<p>'Except that, when you choose to sing, the Company -will allow you your usual price for each appearance,' -answered Van Torp in a business-like manner. 'You -will pay yourself, or we both shall pay you, just as much -as we should pay any other first-class soprano, or as much -more as you would get in London or New York if you -signed an engagement.'</p> - -<p>'Is that fair?' Margaret asked.</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly. But the Company, which is you -and I, will probably rule that you mustn't sing in -Grand Opera anywhere in the States east of the Rockies. -They've got to come to New York to hear you. Naturally, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_319" id="page_319">{319}</a></span> -you'll be free to do anything you like in Europe -outside of our season, when you can spare the -time.'</p> - -<p>'Of course.'</p> - -<p>'Well, now, I suppose we might as well note that -down right away, as a preliminary agreement. What -do you say?'</p> - -<p>'I say that I simply cannot refuse such an offer!' -Margaret answered.</p> - -<p>'Your consent is all that's necessary,' he said, in a -matter-of-fact tone.</p> - -<p>He produced from an inner pocket a folded sheet of -foolscap, which he spread on the corner of the table -beside him. He took out a fountain pen and began to -write quickly. The terms and forms were as familiar -to him as the alphabet and he lost no time; besides, -as he had told the Primadonna, he had thought out the -whole matter beforehand.</p> - -<p>'What if Mrs. Rushmore comes in just as we are -signing it?' asked Margaret.</p> - -<p>'We'll tell her, and ask her to witness our signatures,' -replied Van Torp without looking up. 'I judge Mrs. -Rushmore to have quite a knowledge of business.'</p> - -<p>'You seem able to write and talk at the same time,' -Margaret said, smiling.</p> - -<p>'Business talk, yes.' The pen ran on swiftly. 'There. -That's about all, I should say. Do you think you can -read my writing? I don't suppose you've ever seen it.'</p> - -<p>He turned the page round, and handed it to her. -The writing was large and perfectly legible, but very -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_320" id="page_320">{320}</a></span> -different from the 'commercial' hand of most American -business men. Any one word, taken at random, might -have seemed unformed, at first sight, but the appearance -of the whole was oddly strong and symmetrical. Margaret -read the clauses carefully. She herself had already -signed a good many legal papers in connexion with her -engagements and her own small fortune, and the language -was not so unfamiliar to her as it would have been to -most women.</p> - -<p>'Shall I sign first?' she asked, when she had finished. -'My own name? Or my stage name?'</p> - -<p>'Your own name, please,' said Van Torp without -hesitation. 'The others only binding in your profession, -because you appear under it, and it's your "business -style."'</p> - -<p>She wrote 'Margaret Donne' at the foot of the page -in her large and rather irregular hand, and passed the -paper back to Van Torp, who signed it. He waved the -sheet slowly to and fro, to dry the ink.</p> - -<p>'It's only a preliminary agreement,' he said, 'but it's -binding as far as it goes and I'll attend to the rest. -You'll have to give me a power of attorney for my -lawyer in New York. By the bye, if you decide to -come, you can do that in Venice, where there's a real -live consul. That's necessary. But for all matters of -business herein set forth, we are now already "The -Madame da Cordova and Rufus Van Torp Company, -organised for the purpose of building an Opera-house -in the City of New York and for giving public performances -of musical works in the same, with a nominal -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_321" id="page_321">{321}</a></span> -capital hereafter to be agreed upon." That's what we -are now.'</p> - -<p>He folded the sheet, returned it to his inner pocket -and held out his hand in a cheerful, business-like manner.</p> - -<p>'Shall we shake hands on it?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'By all means,' Margaret answered readily, and their -eyes met; but she drew back her hand again before -taking his. 'This is purely a matter of business between -us,' she said, 'you understand that? It means nothing -else?'</p> - -<p>'Purely a matter of business,' answered Rufus Van -Torp, slowly and gravely. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_322" id="page_322">{322}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> - -<p class="p2">'Stemp,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'we must have something -to eat on that yacht.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. Quite so, sir.'</p> - -<p>Stemp, who could do anything, was clipping the -millionaire's thatch of sandy hair, on the morning after -the transaction last described. Mr. Van Torp abhorred -barbers and shaved himself, and in his less 'prominent' -days he had been in the habit of cutting his own hair -by using two looking-glasses. The result had rarely -been artistic, and even Stemp was not what is described -on some American signs as a tonsorial artist, but he -managed to clip his master's rough mane with neatness -and precision, if not in the 'Bond Street style.'</p> - -<p>'I mean,' said Mr. Van Torp, explaining himself, 'we -must have something good to eat.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, I see, sir,' answered Stemp, as if this were quite -a new idea.</p> - -<p>'Well, now, do you suppose you can get anything to -eat in Italy?'</p> - -<p>'Salmon-trout is very good there, sir, and quails are -in season at the end of August. They are just going -back to Egypt at this time of the year, sir, and are very -fat. There's Gorgonzola cheese, too, and figs and muscatel -grapes are coming on. I think that's all, sir.'</p> - -<p>'It's not bad. How about chickens?' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_323" id="page_323">{323}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well, sir, the poultry in those parts is not much to -boast of. An Italian fowl is mostly either a hawk or a -butterfly. That's my experience, sir, when I travelled -there with the late Duke of Barchester, a few years ago. -His Grace was most particular, sir, having a poor -stomach, and nothing to occupy his mind after the -Duchess died in a fit of rage, having thrown her wig -at him, sir, they do say, and then fallen down in a fit -which was quite awful to see, and ended as we all know.'</p> - -<p>'As far as I can see, you'd better go on to Venice, -Stemp,' said Mr. Van Torp, not interested in his man's -reminiscences. 'You'd better go off to-night and tell -Captain Brown to hurry up and get ready, because I'm -bringing a party of friends down the day after to-morrow. -And then you just scratch round and find something -to eat.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. I'll telegraph to the caterers, and I think -you'll be satisfied, sir.'</p> - -<p>'There's an American lady coming, who knows what's -good to eat, and likes it, and wants it, and means to get -it, and you've got to find it for her somehow. I can -live on hog and hominy myself. And I shan't want -you in the least. You'd better take most of my baggage -with you anyway. Just leave my Tuxedo and a -couple of suits, and some new flannel pants and a shirt-case, -and take the rest. But don't waste time over -that either if you've got to catch the train, for the -main thing's to get there right away. You can go -first-class, Stemp—you won't be so done up.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you, sir.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_324" id="page_324">{324}</a></span></p> - -<p>A silence followed, during which the valet's scissors -made a succession of little chinking noises; from time -to time he turned Mr. Van Torp's head very gingerly -to a slightly different position.</p> - -<p>'Stemp.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'You take a good look around that yacht, and decide -about the state-rooms, before I come. This way. You -give the best room to Miss Donne, and have a large -bouquet of carnations on the table. See?'</p> - -<p>'Beg pardon, sir, but carnations are out of season.'</p> - -<p>'You get them just the same.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'And give the second-best room to her ladyship, -Stemp, if there are not two alike, but be extra careful -to see that everything's comfortable. Lady Maud likes -wood violets, Stemp. You get a handsome bouquet -of them, and don't tell me they're out of season too, -because you've got to get them, anyway, so it's no use -to talk.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. I see, sir.'</p> - -<p>'And then you get the third-best room ready for Mrs. -Rushmore, and you get some flowers for her too, out -of your own head. Maybe she likes those roses with -stems three feet long. Use your own judgment, anyway.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'</p> - -<p>Another silence followed, and the hair-cutting was -finished. Mr. Van Torp glanced at himself in the glass -and then turned to his valet. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_325" id="page_325">{325}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Say, Stemp, I was thinking. Maybe that third bedroom's -not quite so good as the others, and the lady -might feel herself sort of overlooked.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Well, I was thinking. If that's the case, and it -looks sort of second-class, you go out and get a man and -have him gild it all around nicely so as to brighten it up. -I guess she'll think it's all right if it's gilt and the others -aren't. Some people are like that.'</p> - -<p>'I see, sir. Yes, sir. I'll attend to it, sir. Will there -be any more ladies and gentlemen, sir?'</p> - -<p>'There's that Russian gentleman, Count Kralinsky. -Put him at the other end of the ship, somewhere out of -the way of the ladies. I suppose he'll bring his valet, -and there'll be two or three maids. That's all. Now -don't mind me any more, but just fly around, and -don't forget anything. Understand? We aren't going -to be in England or the States, where you can sit still -and telephone for anything you've forgotten, from -peanuts to a funeral. You'll have to go full speed -ahead in all directions if you're going to wake things up.'</p> - -<p>Thereupon Mr. Van Torp sat down by the window to -read the paper.</p> - -<p>His attention was arrested by a sensational 'scare-head' -about a thief and a ruby worth fifty thousand -dollars. Some disaffected colleague in London had -known, or cleverly guessed, where the stone was that -had been stolen from Mr. Pinney's, and had informed -the police; the nice-looking young fellow who spoke -like an English gentleman had walked directly into the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_326" id="page_326">{326}</a></span> -arms of the plain-clothes man waiting for him on the -pier in New York, the stone had been found sewn up -in his waistcoat, and his pleasant career of liberty had -ended abruptly in a cell.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp whistled softly as he read the account -a second time. Then he neatly cut the column out -of the paper, folded it with great precision, smoothed -it with care and placed it in his pocket-book next to -a cheap little photograph of Madame da Cordova as -'Juliet,' which he had bought in a music-shop in New -York the day after he had heard her for the first time, -and had carried in his pocket ever since. He looked -up to see what Stemp was doing, and as the man was -kneeling before a box on the floor, with his back turned, -he took out the rather shabby photograph and gazed -at it quietly for fully thirty seconds before he put it -back again.</p> - -<p>He took up the mutilated newspaper and looked up -and down the columns, and among other information -which he gathered in a few moments was the fact that -Logotheti's yacht had 'passed Cape Saint Vincent, -going east, owner and party on board.' The previous -telegram had not escaped him, and if he had entertained -any doubts as to the destination of the <i>Erinna</i>, -they vanished now. She was certainly bound for the -Mediterranean. He remembered having heard that -many steam yachts coming from England put into -Gibraltar for coal and fresh provisions, coal being -cheaper there than in French and Italian ports, and -he thought it very probable that the <i>Erinna</i> would do -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_327" id="page_327">{327}</a></span> -the same; he also made some deductions which need -not be explained yet. The only one worth mentioning -here was that Logotheti would be likely to hear in -Gibraltar that the ruby had been found and was on its -way back to England, and that as he would know that -Margaret would be anxious about it, since he had -already given it to her, he would hardly let the occasion -of communicating with her go by. As for writing -from Gibraltar to any place whatsoever in the hope -that a letter will arrive in less than a week, it is sheer -folly. Mr. Van Torp had never tried it, and supposed -it possible, as it looks, but he was tolerably sure that -Logotheti would telegraph first, and had perhaps done -so already, for the news of his passing Cape Saint Vincent -was already twenty-four hours old.</p> - -<p>This was precisely what had happened. When Mr. -Van Torp opened his door, he came upon Margaret and -Mrs. Rushmore on the landing, on the point of going -out for a walk, and a servant had just brought the -Primadonna a telegram which she was reading aloud, -so that the American could not help hearing her.</p> - -<p>'"Cruising till wanted,"' she read quickly. '"Ruby -found. Address, yacht <i>Erinna</i>, Naples."'</p> - -<p>She heard Van Torp close his door, though she had -not heard him open it, and turning round she found -herself face to face with him. Her eyes were sparkling -with anger.</p> - -<p>'Very sorry,' he said. 'I couldn't help hearing.'</p> - -<p>'It's of no consequence, for I should have told you,' -Margaret answered briefly. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_328" id="page_328">{328}</a></span></p> - -<p>He argued well for himself from her tone and manner, -but he chose to show that he would not force his company -upon her just then, when she was in a visible rage, -and instead of stopping to exchange more words he -passed the two ladies hat in hand, and bowing rather -low, after his manner, he went quietly downstairs.</p> - -<p>Margaret watched him till he disappeared.</p> - -<p>'I like that man,' she said, as if to herself, but audibly. -'I cannot help it.'</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rushmore was more than delighted, but had -tact enough not to make any answer to a speech which -had probably not been meant for her ears.</p> - -<p>'Perhaps,' she said, 'you would rather not go out -just yet, my dear?'</p> - -<p>Margaret was grateful for the suggestion, and they -turned back into their rooms.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Van Torp had reached the door of the -hotel, and found Lady Maud standing there with her -parasol up, for the sun was streaming in.</p> - -<p>'I was waiting for you,' she said simply, as soon as he -reached her side, and she stepped out into the street. -'I thought you would come down, and I wanted to speak -to you, for I did not get a chance last night. They were -both watching me, probably because they thought I -was ill, and I had to chatter like a magpie to keep up -appearances.'</p> - -<p>'You did it very well,' Van Torp said. 'If I had not -seen your face at the window when I got out of the -automobile yesterday, I shouldn't have guessed there -was anything wrong.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_329" id="page_329">{329}</a></span></p> - -<p>'But there is—something very wrong—something -I can hardly bear to think of, though I must, until I -know the truth.'</p> - -<p>They turned into the first deserted street they came -to.</p> - -<p>'I daresay I can give a guess at what it is,' Van Torp -answered gravely. 'I went to see him alone yesterday -on purpose, before he started, and I must say, if it wasn't -for the beard I'd feel pretty sure.'</p> - -<p>'He had a beard when I married him, and it was like -that—just like that!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud's voice shook audibly, for she felt cold, -even in the sunshine.</p> - -<p>'I didn't know,' Van Torp answered. 'That alters -the case. If we're not mistaken, what can I do to help -you? Let's see. You only had that one look at him, -through the window, is that so?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. But the window was open, and it's not high -above the ground, and my eyes are good. He took off -his hat when he said good-bye to you, and I saw his -face as distinctly as I see yours. When you've been -married to a man'—she laughed harshly—'you cannot -be easily mistaken about him, when you're as near -as that! That is the man I married. I'm intimately -convinced of it, but I must be quite sure. Do you -understand?'</p> - -<p>'Of course. If he's really Leven, he's even a better -actor than I used to think he was. If he's not, the resemblance -is just about the most extraordinary thing! It's -true I only saw Leven three or four times in my life, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_330" id="page_330">{330}</a></span> -but I saw him to look at him then, and the last time I -did, when he made the row in Hare Court, he was -doing most of the talking, so I remember his voice.'</p> - -<p>'There's only one difficulty,' Lady Maud said. 'Some -one else may have been killed last June. It may even -have been the pickpocket who had stolen his pocket-book. -Such things have happened, or do in books! -But this is certainly the man you met in New York -and who sold you the stone you gave me, is he not?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, certainly. And that was at the end of July, -and Leven was killed late in June.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. That only leaves a month for him to have been -to Asia—that's absurd.'</p> - -<p>'Utterly, totally, and entirely impossible,' asseverated -Mr. Van Torp. 'One of two things. Either this -man is your husband, and if he is, he's not the man -who found the rubies in Asia. Or else, if he is that man, -he's not Leven. I wish that heathen girl had been here -yesterday! She could have told in a minute. She'd -better have been here anyway than cutting around the -Mediterranean with that fellow Logotheti!'</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Lady Maud answered gravely. 'But about -myself—if Leven is alive, what is my position—I -mean—I don't really quite know where I am, do I?'</p> - -<p>'Anybody but you would have thought of marrying -again already,' observed Mr. Van Torp, looking up sideways -to her eyes, for she was taller than he. 'Then you'd -really be in a bad fix, wouldn't you? The Enoch Arden -thing, I suppose it would be. But as it is, I don't see -that it makes much difference. The man's going under -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_331" id="page_331">{331}</a></span> -a false name, so he doesn't mean to claim you as his wife, -nor to try and get a divorce again, as he did before. -He's just going to be somebody else for his own good, -and he'll get married that way, maybe. That's his -business, not yours. I don't suppose you're going to -get up in church and forbid the banns, are you?'</p> - -<p>'I would, like a shot!' said Lady Maud. 'So would -you, I'm sure! Think of the other woman!'</p> - -<p>'That's so,' answered Van Torp without enthusiasm. -'However, we've got to think about you and the present, -and decide what we'll do. I suppose the best thing is -for me to put him off with some excuse, so that you can -come on the yacht.'</p> - -<p>'Please do nothing of the sort!' cried Lady Maud.</p> - -<p>'But I want you to come,' objected her friend.</p> - -<p>'I mean to come. Do you think I am afraid to meet -him?'</p> - -<p>Van Torp looked at her in some surprise, and not -without admiration.</p> - -<p>'There isn't anybody like you, anyway,' he said quietly. -'But there's going to be a circus on that ship if he's -Leven,' he added. 'If he makes a fuss, I'll read the -Riot Act and lock him up.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, no,' answered Lady Maud, who was used to Mr. -Van Torp's familiar vocabulary, 'why need there be any -trouble? You've not told him I am coming, you say. -Very well. If he sees me suddenly after he has been -on board a little while, he'll certainly betray himself, -and then I shall be sure. Leven is a man of the world -—"was" or "is"—God knows which! But if it is he, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_332" id="page_332">{332}</a></span> -and he doesn't want to be recognised, he'll behave as -if nothing had happened, after the first moment of surprise. -At least I shall be certain! You may wonder—I -don't know myself, Rufus—I wish you could help -me!'</p> - -<p>'I will, as far as I can.'</p> - -<p>'No, you don't know what I mean! There's something -in my life that I never quite told you, I can't tell -why not. There must be people who know it besides -my mother—I don't think my father ever did. Margaret -has an idea of it—I let fall a few words one day. -In one way, you and I have been so intimate for years -—and yet——'</p> - -<p>She stopped short, and the soft colour rose in her -cheeks like a dawn. Van Torp looked down at the -pavement as he walked.</p> - -<p>'See here,' he said in a low voice, 'you'd better not -tell me. Maybe you'll be sorry some day if you do.'</p> - -<p>'It would be the first time,' she answered softly, 'and -I've often wished you knew everything. I mean to tell -you now—just wait a moment.'</p> - -<p>They walked on; they were already in the outskirts -of the dull little town. Van Torp did not again raise -his eyes to her face, for he knew she would speak when -she was ready. When she did, her voice was a little -muffled, and she looked straight before her as he was -doing. They were quite alone in the road now.</p> - -<p>'When I was very young—nearly eleven years ago, -in my first season—I met a man I liked very much, -and he liked me. We grew very, very fond of each -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_333" id="page_333">{333}</a></span> -other. He was not much older than I, and had just -joined the army. We couldn't marry, because we had -no money—my father had not come into the title then, -you know—but we promised each other that we would -wait. We waited, and no one knew, except, perhaps, -my mother, and she kept us from seeing each other as -much as she could. Then came the Boer war, and he -was killed—killed in a wretched skirmish—not even -in a battle—buried somewhere on the Veldt—if I -only knew where! I read it in a despatch—just -"killed"—nothing more. One doesn't die of things, -I suppose, and years passed, and I went out just the -same, and they wanted me to marry. You know how -it is with a girl! I married to get rid of myself—I -married Leven because he was good-looking and had -money, and—I don't quite know why, but it seemed -easier to marry a foreigner than an Englishman. I suppose -you cannot understand that! It made all comparison -impossible—perhaps that was it. When mine -was dead, I could never have taken another who could -possibly have known him, or who could be in the -remotest degree like him.'</p> - -<p>'I understand that quite well,' said Van Torp, as she -paused.</p> - -<p>'I'm glad, then, for it makes it easier to explain the -rest. I don't think I always did my best to be nice to -Leven. You see, he soon grew tired of me, and went -astray after strange goddesses. Still, I might have tried -harder to keep him if I had cared what he did, but I -was faithful to him, in my own way, and it was much -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_334" id="page_334">{334}</a></span> -harder than you can guess, or any one. Oh, it was not -any living man that made it hard—not that! It was -the other. He came back—dead men do sometimes—and -he told me I was his, and not Leven's wife; and I -fought against that, just as if a man had made love to -me in society. It didn't seem honest and true to my -real husband, in my thoughts, you know, and in some -things thoughts are everything. I fought with all my -might against that one, that dear one. I think that was -the beginning of my work—being sorry for other -women who perhaps had tried to fight too, and wondering -whether I should do much better if my dead man -came back alive. Do you see? I'm telling you things -I've hardly ever told myself, let alone any one else.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, I see. I didn't know any one could be as good -as that.'</p> - -<p>'You can guess the rest,' Lady Maud went on, not -heeding what he said. 'When I believed that Leven -was dead the fight was over, and I took my dead man -back, because I was really free. But now, if Leven is -alive after all, it must begin again. I ought to be brave -and fight against it; I must—but I can't, I can't! -It's too hard, now! These two months have been the -happiest in my life since the day he was killed! How -can I go back again! And yet, if I cannot be an -honest woman in my thoughts I'm not an honest -woman at all—I'm no better than if I deserved to be -divorced. I never believed in technical virtue.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp had seen many sides of human nature, good -and bad, but he had never dreamed of anything like -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_335" id="page_335">{335}</a></span> -this, even in the clear depths of this good woman's -heart, and what he heard moved him. Men born with -great natures often have a tender side which the world -does not dream of; call it nervousness, call it degeneracy, -call it hysterical who will; it is there. While Lady -Maud was finishing her poor little story in broken -phrases, with her heart quivering in her voice, Mr. -Rufus Van Torp's eyes became suddenly so very moist -that he had to pass his hand over them hastily lest a -drop or two should run down upon his flat cheeks. He -hoped she would not notice it.</p> - -<p>But she did, for at that moment she turned and looked -at his face, and her own eyes were dry, though they -burned. She saw that his glistened, and she looked at -him in surprise.</p> - -<p>'I'm sorry,' he said, apologising as if he had done -something rude. 'I can't help it.'</p> - -<p>Their hands were hanging near together as they -walked, and hers touched his affectionately and gratefully, -but she said nothing, and they went on in silence -for some time before she spoke again.</p> - -<p>'You know everything now. I must be positively -sure whether Leven is alive or dead, for what I have -got back in these last two months is my whole life. A -mere recognition at first sight and at ten yards is not -enough. It may be only a marvellous resemblance, for -they say every one has a "double" somewhere in the -world.'</p> - -<p>'They used to say, too, that if you met your "double" -one of you would die,' observed Van Torp. 'Those -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_336" id="page_336">{336}</a></span> -things are all stuff and nonsense, of course. I was -just thinking. Well,' he continued, dwelling on his -favourite monosyllable, 'if you decide to come on the -yacht, and if the man doesn't blow away, we shall know -the truth in three or four days from now, and that's a -comfort. And even if he turns out to be Leven, maybe -we can manage something.'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud chose not to ask what her friend thought -he could 'manage'; for she had glanced at his face -when he had spoken, and though it was half turned -away from her, she saw his expression, and it would -have scared a nervous person. She did not like him to -be in that mood, and was sorry that she had brought -him to it.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Van Torp, who was a strong man, and had -seen more than one affray in his ranching days, could -not help thinking how uncommonly easy it would be to -pick up Count Kralinsky and drop him overboard on -a dark night next week, when the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> would -be doing twenty-two knots, and there might be a little -weather about to drown the splash. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_337" id="page_337">{337}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> - -<p class="p2">The millionaire did things handsomely. He offered to -motor his party to Venice, and as Margaret declined, because -motoring was bad for her voice, he telegraphed -for a comfortable special carriage, and took his friends -down by railway, managing everything alone, in some -unaccountable way, since the invaluable Stemp was -already gone in search of something for Mrs. Rushmore -to eat; and they were all very luxuriously comfortable.</p> - -<p>Kralinsky was not on board the yacht when they -came alongside at sunset in two gondolas, following the -steam-launch, which carried a load of luggage and the -two maids. The Primadonna's trunks and hat-boxes -towered above Mrs. Rushmore's, and Mrs. Rushmore's -above Lady Maud's modest belongings, as the Alps lift -their heads above the lower mountains, and the mountains -look down upon the Italian foot-hills; and Potts -sat in one corner of the stern-sheets with Margaret's -jewel-case on her knee, and Justine, with Mrs. Rushmore's, -glared at her viciously from the other corner. -For the fierce Justine knew that she was going to be -sea-sick on the yacht, and the meek Potts never was, -though she had crossed the ocean with the Diva in rough -weather.</p> - -<p>Stemp led the way, and Mr. Van Torp took the three -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_338" id="page_338">{338}</a></span> -ladies to their cabins: first, Mrs. Rushmore, who was -surprised and delighted by the rich and gay appearance -of hers, for it was entirely decorated in pink and gold, -that combination being Stemp's favourite one. The -brass bedstead had pink silk curtains held back by -broad gold ribbands; there was a pink silk coverlet -with a gold fringe; everything that could be gold was -gilt, and everything that could be pink was rosy, including -the carpet.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp looked at Stemp with approval, and -Stemp acknowledged unspoken praise with silent -modesty.</p> - -<p>'Beg pardon, madam,' he said, addressing Mrs. -Rushmore, 'this is not exactly the largest cabin on the -yacht, but it is the one in which you will find the least -motion.'</p> - -<p>'It's very sweet,' said the American lady. 'Very -dainty, I'm sure.'</p> - -<p>On the writing-table stood a tall gilt vase full of -immense pink roses, with stems nearer four feet long -than three. Mrs. Rushmore admired them very much.</p> - -<p>'How did you know that I love roses above all other -flowers?' she asked. 'My dear Mr. Van Torp, you are -a wizard, I'm sure!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud and Margaret had entered, and kept up -a polite little chorus of admiration; but they both felt -uneasy as to what they might find in their respective -cabins, for Margaret hated pink, and Lady Maud detested -gilding, and neither of them was especially fond of roses. -They left Mrs. Rushmore very happy in her quarters -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_339" id="page_339">{339}</a></span> -and went on. Lady Maud's turn came next, and she -began to understand, when she saw a quantity of sweet -wood violets on her table, just loosened, in an old -Murano glass beaker.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' she said, bending to smell them. 'How -kind of you!'</p> - -<p>There was not a trace of gilding or pink silk. The -cabin was panelled and fitted in a rare natural wood of -a creamy-white tint.</p> - -<p>'Beg pardon, my lady,' said Stemp. 'This and Miss -Donne's cabin communicate by this door, and the door -aft goes to the dressing-room. Each cabin has one quite -independent, and this bell rings the pantry, my lady, -and this one rings Miss Donne's maid's cabin, as I understand -that your ladyship has not brought her own -maid with her.'</p> - -<p>'Very nice,' said Lady Maud, smelling the violets -again.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp looked at Stemp as he would have -looked at a horse that had turned out even better than -he had expected. Stemp threw open the door of communication -to the cabin he had prepared for the Primadonna. -The two cabins occupied the whole beam of the -vessel, excepting the six-foot gangway on each side, and -as she was one of the largest yachts afloat at the time, -there was no lack of room.</p> - -<p>'Carnations, at this time of year!' cried Margaret, -seeing half an armful of her favourite dark red ones, -in a silver wine-cooler before the mirror. 'You really -seem to know everything! Thank you so much!' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_340" id="page_340">{340}</a></span></p> - -<p>She buried her handsome face in the splendid flowers -and drew in a deep, warm breath, full of their sensuous -perfume, the spicy scent of a laden clove-tree under a -tropical sun.</p> - -<p>'Thank you again!' she said enthusiastically. -'Thank you for everything, the delightful journey, and -this lovely room, and the carnations!'</p> - -<p>She stood up suddenly to her height, in sheer pleasure, -and held out her hand to him. He pressed it quietly, -and smiled.</p> - -<p>'Do as you would be done by,' he said. 'That's the -Company's rule.'</p> - -<p>She laughed at the allusion to their agreement, of -which Lady Maud knew nothing, for they had determined -to keep it secret for the present.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp had not found an opportunity of speaking -to Lady Maud alone, but he wished her to know -when Kralinsky might be expected.</p> - -<p>'Stemp,' he said, before leaving the cabin, 'have you -heard from the Count?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. He got here this morning from Vienna in -his motor, sir, and sent his things with his man, and his -compliments to you and the ladies, and he will come on -board in time for dinner. That was all, I think, sir.'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_365" id="i_365"></a> -<img src="images/i_365.jpg" width="424" height="550" alt=""She buried her handsome face in the splendid flowers."" /> -<p class="caption">"She buried her handsome face in the splendid flowers."</p> -</div> - -<p>Lady Maud heard, and made a scarcely perceptible -movement of the head by way of thanks to her friend, -while listening to Margaret's enthusiastic praise of everything -she saw. Mr. Van Torp and his man departed, -just as Potts appeared, accompanied by a very neat-looking -English stewardess in a smart white cap. Lady -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_341" id="page_341">{341}</a></span> -Maud was unusually silent, but she smiled pleasantly -at what Margaret said, and the latter made up her mind -to drown her anger against Logotheti, and at the same -time to be avenged on him, in an orgy of luxurious comfort, -sea-air, and sunshine. The capacity of a perfectly -healthy and successful singer for enjoying everything, -from a halfpenny bun and a drive in a hansom to a -millionaire's yacht and the most expensive fat of the -land, or sea, has never been measured. And if they do -have terrible fits of temper now and then, who shall -blame them? They are always sorry for it, because it -is bad for the voice.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp reached his quarters, and prepared to -scrub and dress comfortably after a week at Bayreuth -and a railway journey.</p> - -<p>'Stemp.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'That was quite nicely done. You must have had a -lively time.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Hope everything is tolerably -satisfactory to you, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Yes. Find anything good to eat? Chickens don't -take gilding well, you know—doesn't taste together. -But I suppose you found something. Seen the cook?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. I think things will be tolerable, sir, though -this is not London, I must say.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp showed no surprise at the statement, -and disappeared into his bath-room, well pleased with -himself and his man. But a moment later he opened -the door again and thrust out his square sandy head. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_342" id="page_342">{342}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Stemp, where have you put the Count? Far from -here? I don't want him near me.'</p> - -<p>'Last cabin forward on the port side, sir, next to the -smoking-room. Very good cabin, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Whereabouts is port, right or left?'</p> - -<p>'Left-hand side of the vessel, sir,' answered Stemp, -who had been on many yachts. 'There are ten more -cabins empty, sir, between large and small, if you should -think of asking any ladies and gentlemen to join at -another point, sir.'</p> - -<p>'May pick up a couple somewhere. Can't tell yet.' -And Mr. Van Torp disappeared definitely.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud did not begin to dress at once, as there -was plenty of time before dinner; she left the stewardess -to unpack her things, and came out upon the six-foot -gangway outside her cabin door to breathe the air, for -it was warm. The city lay half a mile away in the after-glow -of the sunset. The water was very green that -evening, as it sometimes is in the Lagoons, though not -always, and it was shaded off through many opalescent -tints to heliotrope; then it was suddenly black below -the steps of the Piazzetta and the Ducal Palace. Within -the mysterious canal to the right she could make out -the Bridge of Sighs, and there was the Ponte della -Paglia, and the long line of irregular buildings to the -eastward of the Prisons, as far as the Public Gardens. -To the left there was the wide mouth of the Grand -Canal, the Salute and the Custom-House, and the broad -opening of the Giudecca. It was familiar to her, for she -had seen it several times. She missed the Campanile, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_343" id="page_343">{343}</a></span> -which she had been made to climb by an energetic -governess when she was twelve years old, but all the -rest was there and unchanged, a dream of evening -colour, an Eastern city rising out of an enchanted water, -under an Italian sky.</p> - -<p>At any other time she would have enjoyed the sight -almost without a thought, as she enjoyed everything -that seemed to her beautiful or even pretty, though she -had no pretensions to cultivated artistic taste or knowledge. -But now she felt none of that healthy pleasure -which a lovely sight naturally gave her. She was at a -crisis of her life, and the exquisite evening scene was the -battlefield of a coming struggle, with herself, or with -another, she hardly knew. In half an hour, or in an -hour, at most, she was to sit at table with a man she -fully believed to be the husband for whom she had been -wearing mourning, out of mere decency, but with the -profound inward satisfaction of being free.</p> - -<p>She was brave, and could try to think of what was -before her if it turned out that she was not mistaken, -and she could attempt to understand what had happened. -She had already come to the conclusion that -if Kralinsky was really Leven, the latter had seized the -opportunity offered him by his own supposed death to -disappear from St. Petersburg, and had taken another -name. Leven had been a ruined man when he had -tried to divorce her; when he died, or disappeared, he -left nothing but debts, which were extinguished with -him, for no one attempted to make his widow responsible -for them, since there was no estate and she had no -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_344" id="page_344">{344}</a></span> -fortune beyond the allowance her father made her. -Lord Creedmore was far from being a rich peer, too, and -what he gave her was not much, although it would -more than suffice for her simple wants, now that she -intended to live with him again.</p> - -<p>But if Leven had not been killed and had turned -into Kralinsky, he now had plenty of ready money, -though it was not easy to guess how he had obtained -possession of a quantity of valuable Asiatic rubies within -the few weeks that had elapsed between his supposed -destruction by the bomb and the date of Van Torp's -transaction with him in New York. That was a mystery. -So was his possible acquaintance, or connexion, with the -Eastern girl who was looking for him, if there was a -shadow of truth in Logotheti's story. Lady Maud did -not believe there was, and she felt morally sure that the -tale had evolved itself out of the Greek's fertile brain, -as a fantastic explanation of his atrocious conduct.</p> - -<p>While she was thinking over these matters and rehearsing -in her thoughts the scene that was before her, -she saw a gondola making straight for the yacht across -the fast fading green of the lagoon that lay between the -vessel and the Piazzetta. It came nearer, and she drew -back from the rail against her cabin door, under the -shadow of the promenade deck, which extended over -the gangway and was supported by stanchions, as on -an ocean liner. The <i>Lancashire Lass</i>, with her single -huge yellow funnel, her one short signal mast, her -turret-shaped wheel-house, and her generally business-like -appearance, looked more like a cross between a fast -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_345" id="page_345">{345}</a></span> -modern cruiser and an ocean 'greyhound' than like a -private yacht. She even had a couple of quick-firing -guns mounted just above her rail.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud looked at the gondola, and as it came -still nearer, she saw that it brought only one passenger, -and that he had a fair beard. She quietly opened her -cabin door, and went in to dress for dinner.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Mr. Van Torp had completed his toilet, -and was rather surprised to find himself magnificently -arrayed in a dark-blue dinner-jacket, with perfectly -new gilt buttons, and an unfamiliar feeling about the -pockets. He had belonged to a yacht club for years, -because it seemed to be expected of him, and Stemp -and the tailor had thought fit that he should possess the -proper things for a yachtsman.</p> - -<p>'Stemp,' he said, 'is this the correct thing? I suppose -you know.'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. Very smart indeed, sir. White caps are -usually worn by yachting gentlemen in the Mediterranean, -sir.' Stemp offered him the cap in question, -resplendent with a new enamelled badge. 'Beg pardon, -sir, but as to caps, most gentlemen lift them to ladies, -just like hats, sir, but the captain and the officers touch -theirs. His Grace always lifted his cap, sir.'</p> - -<p>'I guess that'll be all right,' answered Mr. Van Torp, -trying on the cap. 'Send the captain to my study, -Stemp, and find out about when the ladies will be ready -for dinner.'</p> - -<p>Stemp disappeared, and in a few moments pink-faced -Captain Brown appeared, quiet, round, and smart. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_346" id="page_346">{346}</a></span></p> - -<p>'I suppose you're ready at any moment, Captain?' -inquired the millionaire.</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir. The pilot is on board, and the gentleman -you expected is just coming alongside.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, he is, is he?'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp evidently expected no answer to his -favourite form of question when he was thinking over -what had just been said; and the captain was silent.</p> - -<p>'Then you can start now,' said the owner, after a -moment's thought.</p> - -<p>'Where are we bound, sir?'</p> - -<p>'Oh, well, I don't know. I wanted to say a few words -about that, Captain. Do you happen to know anything -about a yacht called the <i>Erinna</i>, belonging to a Mr. -Logotheti, a Greek gentleman who lives in Paris?'</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir,' answered Captain Brown, for it was a part -of his business to read the yachting news. 'She was at -Cowes when we sailed. She was reported the other day -from Gibraltar as having entered the Mediterranean -after taking fresh provisions, owner and party on board. -There is no further word of her.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'I have an idea she's gone -to Naples, but I want you to find her right away wherever -she is, owner and party on board. That's all, -Captain. If you happen to see her anywhere, you just -come and tell me if I'm alone, and if I'm not, why send -one of your young men to say you want to know something,—anything -you happen to think of, and I'll -come to your room and tell you what to do. See? -That's all, and now let's start, please.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_347" id="page_347">{347}</a></span></p> - -<p>'All right, sir.'</p> - -<p>So Captain Brown went off with his instructions, and -in a few moments his owner heard the distant sound of -the chain coming in over the most noiseless of modern -patent steam capstans; and the side-lights and masthead -and stern lights shone out as the anchor light went -down, and the twin screws began to turn over slowly, -well below the water; and the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> was -under weigh, with the captain, the pilot, and the two -junior officers all in a row on the bridge, while the chief -mate was seeing the anchor got inboard and stowed. -But while the captain was silently looking ahead into -the warm dusk and listening to the orders the pilot -gave for the wheel in good English, but with a marvellous -Venetian accent, he was also considering how he -might most quickly find the <i>Erinna</i>, and he reflected -that it would be an easier task if he knew a little more -definitely where she was. He was not at all disturbed -by the orders he had received, however, and was only -anxious to get all the speed he could out of his vessel -as far as the Straits of Messina, through which the -yacht he was to find would almost certainly pass, in -preference to the Malta Channel, if she were going to -Greece and the East. If she kept to the waters west of -Italy, it would not be so very hard to hear of her, as the -coast is dotted with excellent marine signal stations, and -official information as to the movements of yachts is -easily obtained.</p> - -<p>When the party assembled in the deck saloon for -dinner, Lady Maud was missing. Stemp, who did not -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_348" id="page_348">{348}</a></span> -intend that his master should dine without his personal -attention, no matter how much the chief steward might -object to his presence, approached Mr. Van Torp and -whispered something. Lady Maud begged that the -party would sit down without her, and she would join -them in a moment.</p> - -<p>So they took their places, and the vacant one was on -the owner's right, between him and the Primadonna.</p> - -<p>'You see,' said Mr. Van Torp, explaining to Mrs. -Rushmore, which was wholly unnecessary, 'we are -Americans, and this ship is America, so the English -guest goes first.'</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Rushmore knew these things, for she was -used to handling lions in numbers; and the little lions -and the middle-sized ones are very particular about their -places at table, but the great big ones do not care 'one -dingle Sam,' as Mr. Van Torp would have elegantly -expressed their indifference. For he was a great big -lion himself.</p> - -<p>'Did you ever meet Lady Maud?' he inquired, speaking -to Kralinsky.</p> - -<p>'Which Lady Maud?' asked the foreigner in his rather -oily voice. 'There are several.'</p> - -<p>'Countess Leven, who was Lady Maud Foxwell,' explained -Mrs. Rushmore.</p> - -<p>Kralinsky turned quietly to her, his single eyeglass -fixed and glittering.</p> - -<p>'No,' he answered. 'I knew poor Leven well, but I -was never introduced to his wife. I have heard that she -is very beautiful.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_349" id="page_349">{349}</a></span></p> - -<p>'You say you knew the late Count Leven?' observed -Mrs. Rushmore, with an encouraging and interrogatory -smile.</p> - -<p>'Intimately,' answered Kralinsky with perfect self-possession. -'We were in the same regiment in the Caucasus. -I daresay you remember that he began life as -a cavalry officer and then entered the diplomacy. Gifted -man, very,' the Russian added in a thoughtful tone, -'but no balance! It seems to me that I have heard he -did not treat his wife very well.'</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_375" id="i_375"></a> -<img src="images/i_375.jpg" width="399" height="550" alt=""Their eyes met."" /> -<p class="caption">"Their eyes met."</p> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp had met several very cool characters -in his interesting and profitable career, but he thought -that if the man before him was Leven himself, as he -seemed to be, he beat them all for calm effrontery.</p> - -<p>'Were you ever told that you looked like him?' asked -Mr. Van Torp carelessly.</p> - -<p>Even at this question Kralinsky showed no embarrassment.</p> - -<p>'To tell the truth,' he replied, 'I remember that one -or two in the regiment saw a slight resemblance, and we -were of nearly the same height, I should say. But when -I last saw Leven he did not wear a beard.'</p> - -<p>At this point Lady Maud came in quietly and made -directly for the vacant place. The two men rose as -soon as she appeared, and she found herself face to face -with Kralinsky, with the table between them. Their -eyes met, but Lady Maud could not detect the slightest -look of recognition in his. Van Torp introduced him, -and also watched his face narrowly, but there was not -the least change of expression, nor any quick glance of -surprise. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_350" id="page_350">{350}</a></span></p> - -<p>Yet Kralinsky possibly did not know that Lady Maud -was on the yacht, for he had not been told previously -that she was to be of the party, and in the short conversation -which had preceded her appearance, no one had -actually mentioned the fact. She herself had come to -dinner late with the express purpose of presenting herself -before him suddenly, but she had to admit that the -intended surprise did not take place.</p> - -<p>She was not astonished, however, for she had more -than once seen her husband placed in very difficult -situations, from which he had generally extricated -himself by his amazing power of concealing the truth. -Being seated nearly opposite to him, it was not easy -to study his features without seeming either to stare -at him rudely or to be bestowing more attention on him -than on any of the others. Her eyes were very good, -and her memory for details was fair, and if she did not -look often at his face, she watched his hands and listened -to the intonations of his voice, and her conviction that -he was Leven grew during dinner. Yet there was still -a shadow of doubt, though she could not have told -exactly where it lay.</p> - -<p>She longed to lead him into a trap by asking some -question to which, if he were Leven, he would know the -answer, though not if he were any one else, a question -to which he would not hesitate to reply unsuspectingly -if the answer were known to him. But Lady Maud was -not ingenious in such conversational tricks, and could -not think of anything that would do.</p> - -<p>The outward difference of appearance between him -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_351" id="page_351">{351}</a></span> -and the man she had married was so small that she could -assuredly not have sworn in evidence that Kralinsky was -not her husband. There was the beard, and she had not -seen Leven with a beard since the first months of her -marriage four years ago, when he had cut it off for some -reason known only to himself. Of course a recollection, -already four years old, could not be trusted like -one that dated only as far back as three months; for -he had left her not long before his supposed death.</p> - -<p>There were the hands, and there was the left hand -especially. That might be the seat of the doubt. Possibly -she had never noticed that Leven had a way of -keeping his left little finger almost constantly crooked -and turned inward as if it were lame. But she was not -sure even of that, for she was not one of those people -who study the hands of every one they know, and can -recognise them at a glance. She had certainly never -watched her husband's as closely as she was watching -Kralinsky's now.</p> - -<p>Margaret was in the best of spirits, and talked more -than usual, not stopping to think how Van Torp's mere -presence would have chilled and silenced her three or -four months earlier. If Lady Maud had time to spare -from her own affairs, it probably occurred to her that -the Primadonna's head was slightly turned by the devotion -of a financier considerably bigger and more serious -than Logotheti; but if she had known of the 'business -agreement' between the two, she would have smiled at -Van Torp's wisdom in offering a woman who seemed -to have everything just the one thing in the world which -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_352" id="page_352">{352}</a></span> -she desired and had not. Yet for all that, he might be -far from his goal. It was possible that Margaret might -look upon him as Lady Maud herself did, and wish to -make him her best friend. Lady Maud would not be -jealous if she succeeded.</p> - -<p>On the whole it was a gay dinner, and Mrs. Rushmore -and Kralinsky knew that it was a very good one, and -told each other so afterwards as they walked slowly -up and down the great promenade deck in the starlight. -For people who are very fond of good eating can chatter -pleasantly about their food for hours, recalling the recent -delights of a perfect chaud-froid or a faultless sauce; -and it was soon evident that there was nothing connected -with such subjects which Kralinsky did not understand -and appreciate, from a Chinese bird's-nest soup to the -rules of the great Marie-Antoine Carême and Brillat-Savarin's -Physiology of Taste. Kralinsky also knew -everybody. Between gastronomy and society, he appeared -to Mrs. Rushmore to know everything there was -to be known.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud caught snatches of the conversation as -the two came near her, and then turned back; and she -remembered that Leven used to talk on the same subjects -with elderly women on whom he wished to make -a pleasant impression. The voice was his to the very -least intonation, and the walk was his, too, and yet she -knew she had a doubt somewhere, a very small doubt, -which it was a sort of slow torture to feel was still unsatisfied.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp sat between her and Lady Margaret, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_353" id="page_353">{353}</a></span> -while the two others walked. The deep-cushioned -straw chairs stood round a low fixed table on which -there had been coffee, and at Margaret's request the light -had been put out, though it was only a small opalescent -one, placed under the awning abaft the wheel-house and -bridge.</p> - -<p>'We must be going very fast,' said Lady Maud, 'for -the sea is flat as a millpond, and yet there's a gale as -soon as one gets out of the lee of things.'</p> - -<p>'She's doing twenty-two, I believe,' replied Van Torp, -'and she can do twenty-three if pressed. She will, -by and by, when she gets warmed up.'</p> - -<p>'Where are we going?' Margaret asked. 'At this -rate we are sure to get somewhere!'</p> - -<p>'I don't know where we're going, I'm sure.' The -millionaire smiled in the gloom. 'But as you say, it -doesn't take more than five minutes to get somewhere -in a ship like this.'</p> - -<p>'You must have told the captain what you wanted -him to do! You must have given some orders!'</p> - -<p>'Why, certainly. I told him to look around and see -if he could find another yacht anything like this, anywhere -in the Mediterranean. So he's just looking -around, like that, I suppose. And if he finds another -yacht anything like this, we'll see which of us can go -fastest. You see I don't know anything about ships, -or where to go, so I just thought of that way of passing -the time, and when you're tired of rushing about and -want to go anywhere in particular, why, I'll take you -there. If the weather cuts up we'll go in somewhere -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_354" id="page_354">{354}</a></span> -and wait, and see things on shore. Will that -do?'</p> - -<p>Margaret laughed at the vagueness of such a roving -commission, but Lady Maud looked towards her friend -in the starlight and tried to see his expression, for she -was sure that he had a settled plan in his mind, which -he would probably put into execution.</p> - -<p>'I've figured it out,' he continued presently. 'This -thing will go over five hundred and twenty miles a day -for eight days without stopping for coal, and that makes -more than four thousand miles, and I call that a pretty -nice trip, don't you? Time to cool off before going to -Paris. Of course if I chose to take you to New York -you couldn't get out and walk. You'd have to go.'</p> - -<p>'I've no idea of offering any resistance, I assure you!' -said Margaret. 'I'm too perfectly, completely, and -unutterably comfortable on your yacht; and I don't -suppose it will be any rougher than it was last March -when we crossed in the <i>Leofric</i> together.'</p> - -<p>'Seems a long time, doesn't it?' Van Torp's tone -was thoughtful, but expressed anything rather than -regret. 'I prefer this trip, myself.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, so do I, infinitely! You're so much nicer than -you used to be, or than I thought you were. Isn't he, -Maud?'</p> - -<p>'Far!' answered Lady Maud. 'I always told you so. -Do you mind very much if I go to bed? I'm rather -sleepy after the journey.' She rose. 'Oh, I mustn't -forget to tell you,' she added, speaking to Margaret, 'I -always lock my door at night, so don't be surprised! -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_355" id="page_355">{355}</a></span> -If you want to come in and talk when you come down -just call, or knock, and I'll let you in directly.'</p> - -<p>'All right,' Margaret answered.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud disappeared below, leaving the two together, -for Mrs. Rushmore and Kralinsky had found a -pleasant sheltered place to sit, further aft, and the Count -was explaining to the good American lady the delicious -Russian mysteries of 'Borshtsh,' 'Shtshi,' 'Kasha,' and -'Smyetany,' after extolling the unapproachable flavour -of fresh sturgeon's roe, and explaining that 'caviare' is -not at all the Russian name for it and is not even a -Russian word; and Mrs. Rushmore listened with intense -interest and stood up for her country, on a basis -of Blue Point oysters, planked shad, canvas-backs, and -terrapin done in the Philadelphian manner, which she -maintained to be vastly superior to the Baltimorian; -and each listened to the other with real interest.</p> - -<p>Van Torp and Margaret had not been alone together -for five minutes since they had left Bayreuth on the -previous day, but instead of talking, after Lady Maud -was gone, the Primadonna began to sing very softly -and beautifully, and not quite for herself only, for she -well knew what pleasure her voice gave her companion, -and she was the more ready to sing because he had never -asked her to do so. Moreover, it cost her nothing, in -the warm evening air under the awning, and like all -great singers she loved the sound of her own voice. To -be able to do almost anything supremely well, one must -do it with real delight, and without the smallest effort -which it is not a real pleasure to make. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_356" id="page_356">{356}</a></span></p> - -<p>So Margaret leaned back comfortably in her cushioned -chair, with her head inclined a little forward, and the -magic notes floated from her lips through the soft moving -night; for as the yacht ran on through the calm sea at -her great speed, it was as if she lay still and the night itself -were flying over her with muffled wings.</p> - -<p>Margaret sang nothing grand nor very difficult; not -the waltz-song that had made her famous, nor the 'Good -Friday' music which she could never sing to the world, -but sweet old melodious songs she had learned when a -girl; Schubert's 'Serenade' and 'Ave Maria,' and Tosti's -'Malia,' and then Beethoven's 'Adelaide'; and Van Torp -was silent and perfectly happy, as well he might be. -Moreover, Margaret was happy too, which was really more -surprising, considering how very angry she had been -with Logotheti for a whole week, and that she was quite -aware of the manner in which he was passing his time -in spite of her urgent message. But before the magnificent -possibilities which the 'business agreement' had -suddenly opened to her, the probability of her again -sending him any word, within a reasonable time, had -diminished greatly, and the prospect of flying into a -rage and telling him her mind when she saw him was -not attractive. She had always felt his influence over -her more strongly when they had been together; and -it had always lost its power when he was away, till -she asked herself why she should even think of marrying -him. She would not be the first woman who had thought -better of an engagement and had broken it for the greater -good of herself and her betrothed. In all probability -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_357" id="page_357">{357}</a></span> -she had never been really and truly in love, though -she had been very sincerely fond of Edmund Lushington -the English writer, who had discovered rather late that -the magnificent and successful Margarita da Cordova -was not at all the same person as the 'nice English girl,' -Margaret Donne, whom he had worshipped before she -had gone upon the stage. So far as he was concerned, -she had received his change of mind as a slight; as for -Logotheti, she would never forgive him for not having -remained faithful even during the few weeks since they -had called themselves engaged; but Van Torp's position -as a suitor was different. At all events, she said to -herself, he was a man; and he did not offer her romantic -affection, but power, and a future which should soon -give her the first position in the musical world, if she -knew how to use it. She was accustomed to the idea -of great wealth and of the ordinary things it could give; -mere money impressed her no more than it does most -very successful artists, unless they are miserly and fond -of it for its own sake, which is comparatively unusual. -She wasted most of what she earned, in a sort of half-secret -luxury and extravagance which made little show -but cost a great deal and gave her infinite satisfaction. -Even Lady Maud did not dream of the waste that was -a pleasure to the Primadonna, and the meek Potts was -as reticent as the fierce Justine was garrulous. It was -a secret joy to Potts, besides being a large source of -revenue, to live with a mistress who flatly refused ever -to wear a pair of silk stockings more than once, much -less a pair of gloves. Mrs. Rushmore would have held -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_358" id="page_358">{358}</a></span> -up her elderly hands at such reckless doings. Margaret -herself, trusting to her private fortune for her old age -in case she never married, did as she pleased with her -money, and never thought of investing it; but now and -then, in moments of depression, it had occurred to her -that when she left the stage, as she must some day, she -would not be able to live as she did now, and the thought -vaguely disturbed her for a few minutes, but that was -all, and she had always within reach the easy remedy -of marrying a millionaire, to whom such a sum as five -hundred pounds a year for silk stockings would be an -insignificant trifle; and while her voice lasted she could -make more than that by giving one concert in -Chicago, for instance, or by singing two nights in -opera.</p> - -<p>This is not a digression. The Diva cared nothing for -money in itself, but she could use a vast amount of it -with great satisfaction and quite without show or noise. -Mr. Van Torp's income was probably twenty or thirty -times as large as the most she could possibly use, and -that was a considerable asset in his favour.</p> - -<p>He was not a cultivated man, like Logotheti; he had -never known a word of Latin or Greek in his life, his -acquaintance with history was lacunous—to borrow -a convenient Latin word—and he knew very little -about the lives of interesting people long dead. He -had once read part of a translation of the <i>Iliad</i> and had -declared it to be nonsense. There never were such -people, he had said, and if there had been, there was -no reason for writing about them, which was a practical -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_359" id="page_359">{359}</a></span> -view of the case, if not an æsthetic one. On the other -hand, he was oddly gifted in many ways and without -realising it in the least. For instance, he possessed a -remarkable musical ear and musical memory, which -surprised and pleased even the Diva, whenever they -showed themselves. He could whistle her parts almost -without a fault, and much more difficult music, -too.</p> - -<p>For everyday life he spoke like a Western farmer, -and at first this had been intensely disagreeable to the -daughter of the scholarly Oxford classic; but she had -grown used to it quickly since she had begun to like -him, till his way of putting things even amused her; -and moreover, on that night by the gate of the field -outside Bayreuth, she had found out that he could -speak well enough, when he chose, in grave, strong words -that few women could hear quite indifferently. Never, -in all her acquaintance with Logotheti, had she heard -from the Greek one phrase that carried such conviction -of his purpose with it, as Van Torp's few simple words -had done then.</p> - -<p>Big natures are usually most drawn to those that are -even bigger than themselves, either to love them, or -to strive with them. It is the Second-Rates who take -kindly to the little people, and are happy in the adulation -of the small-fry.</p> - -<p>So Margaret was drawn away from Logotheti, the -clever spoilt child of fortune, the loving, unproductive -worshipper of his own Greek Muses, by the Crown-Grasper, -the ruthless, uncultured hard-hitter, who had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_360" id="page_360">{360}</a></span> -cared first for power, and had got it unhelped, but who -now desired one woman, to the exclusion of all others, -for his mate.</p> - -<p>Vaguely, the Diva remembered how, when Van Torp -had asked her to walk with him on the deck of the -<i>Leofric</i> and she had at first refused and then consented, -Paul Griggs, looking on with a smile, had quoted an old -French proverb: 'A fortress that parleys, and a woman -who listens, will soon surrender.'</p> - -<p>When she was silent after singing 'Adelaide,' association -brought back the saying of the veteran man of -letters, for Van Torp asked her if she cared to walk -a little on the quiet deck, where there was a lee; and -the sea air and even the chairs recalled the rest, with -a little wonder, but no displeasure, nor self-contempt. -Was she not her own mistress? What had any one to -say, if she chose to change her mind and take the stronger -man, supposing that she took either? Had Logotheti -established any claim on her but that of constancy? -Since that was gone, here was a man who seemed to be -as much more enduring than his rival, as he was stronger -in every other way. What were small refinements of -speech and culture, compared with wide-reaching -power? What availed it to possess in memory the -passionate love-roses of Sappho's heart, if you would -not follow her to the Leucadian cliff? Or to quote -torrents of Pindar's deep-mouthed song, if you had not -the constancy to run one little race to the end without -swerving aside? Logotheti's own words and epithets -came back to Margaret, from many a pleasant talk in -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_361" id="page_361">{361}</a></span> -the past, and she cared for them no longer. Full of -life himself, he lived half among the dead, and his -waking was only a dream of pleasure; but this rough-hewn -American was more alive than he, and his dreams -were of the living and came true.</p> - -<p>When Margaret bid Van Torp good-night she pressed -his hand, frankly, as she had never done before, but he -took no sudden advantage of what he felt in her touch, -and he returned the pressure so discreetly that she was -almost disappointed, though not quite, for there was -just a little something more than usual there.</p> - -<p>She did not disturb Lady Maud, either, when she went -to her cabin, though if she had known that her beautiful -neighbour was wide awake and restless, she would at -least have said good-night, and asked her if she was -still so very tired.</p> - -<p>But Lady Maud slept, too, at last, though not very -long, and was the only one who appeared at breakfast -to keep Van Torp company, for Margaret slept the sleep -of a singer, which is deep and long as that of the healthy -dormouse, and Mrs. Rushmore had her first tea and -toast happily in her cheerful surroundings of pink and -gilding. As for Kralinsky, his man informed Stemp -and the chief steward that the Count never thought of -getting up till between nine and ten o'clock, when he -took a cup of chocolate and a slice or two of sponge -cake in his own room before dressing. So Lady Maud -and Van Torp had the yacht to themselves for some -time that morning.</p> - -<p>'I fancy from what you said last night that your -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_362" id="page_362">{362}</a></span> -plan is to catch Logotheti and the Tartar girl at sea,' -said Lady Maud, when they were alone.</p> - -<p>'I supposed you'd understand,' answered Van Torp. -'Do you see any harm in that? It occurred to me -that it might be quite a drastic form of demonstration. -How does it strike you? At all low-down?'</p> - -<p>'No, frankly not!' Lady Maud was still incensed at -Logotheti's conduct. 'A man who does such things -deserves anything that his rival can do to him. I -hope you may overhaul the yacht, run alongside of -her and show Margaret the two, making love to each -other in Tartar on deck! That's the least that ought to -happen to him!'</p> - -<p>'Thank you. I like to hear you talk like that. Captain -Brown will do his level best, I think. And now, -tell me,' he lowered his voice a little more, 'is that man -Leven, or not?'</p> - -<p>'I am sure he is,' Lady Maud answered, 'and yet I -feel as if there ought to be a little doubt still. I don't -know how to express it, for it's rather an odd sensation.'</p> - -<p>'I should think it might be! Is there anything -I can say or do? I'll ask the man any question you -suggest. I'm certain he's not old Levi Longlegs, and -if he's not Leven, who on earth is he? That's what -I should like to know.'</p> - -<p>'I shall find out, never fear! I know I shall, because -I must, if I am ever to have any peace again. I'm not -a very nervous person, you know, am I? But it's -more than I can bear long, to sit opposite a man at -table, again and again, as I shall have to, and not be -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_363" id="page_363">{363}</a></span> -sure whether he's my husband, come back from the -dead, or some one else!' She paused, and her nostrils -dilated a little, but Van Torp only nodded slowly -and sympathetically. 'I mean to know before I go to -bed to-night,' she said, with a little desperation in her -voice. 'I shall talk to him till I am sure of one thing -or the other. At table, I cannot tell, but if we are alone -together I know I can settle the question. If you see -that we are talking at the other end of the deck, try to -keep Mrs. Rushmore and Margaret from coming near -us. Will you?'</p> - -<p>To Mrs. Rushmore's amazement and Margaret's surprise, -Lady Maud made a dead set at Kralinsky all -that day, an attention which he seemed to appreciate -as it deserved. Before breakfast was over, Van Torp -had repeated to her what Kralinsky had said about -having formerly been intimate with Leven, and Lady -Maud took this statement as a basis of operations for -finding out just how much he knew of her own life; she -judged that if he were not Leven himself, he must soon -betray the fact by his ignorance.</p> - -<p>That was the strangest day she had ever passed. -She found it very easy to talk with Kralinsky, as it -always is when there has been long familiarity, even -if it has been only the familiar intercourse of domestic -discord. He knew many details of her life in London. -That was clear after half an hour's conversation. She -alluded to the idle talk there had been about her and -Van Torp; Kralinsky knew all about that and had -heard, as he said, some silly story about Leven having -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_364" id="page_364">{364}</a></span> -found her with the American in certain rooms in the -Temple, and about an envelope which was said to have -contained over four thousand and one hundred pounds -in bank-notes. He politely scouted the story as nonsense, -but he had heard it, and Lady Maud knew that -every word of it was true. He knew of Leven's unsuccessful -attempt to divorce her on that ground, too, and -he knew the number of her house in Charles Street, -Berkeley Square.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, there were many things of which -he knew nothing, or pretended to be ignorant, such -as the names of her brothers and sisters, her father's -favourite pursuits and the like. But she understood -very well that if he thought she suspected his identity -under the disguise of his beard, and if he wished to avoid -recognition, he was just the man to pretend blank -ignorance of some vital matters, after admitting his -acquaintance with many others. He had been very -intimate with Leven, to the last, he said; Leven had -always written to him very fully about his life, very -wittily sometimes, but always without balance! That -was it; he had no 'balance.' Yes, he himself had been -in Petersburg when Leven was killed and had seen him -on the previous day. Within a week he had made a -rapid trip to New York, whence he had now just returned. -He had crossed on five-day boats both going and coming, -and he named them.</p> - -<p>'I am naturally interested in meeting any one who -knew my husband so well,' Lady Maud said, making a -bold dash at a possibility. 'We had many differences, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_365" id="page_365">{365}</a></span> -as you seem to know, but I daresay that if he could -come back to life and know the real truth, we should -forgive each other.'</p> - -<p>She looked up to him with a gentle smile as she said -this, for she had often felt it; and in that instant a -flash of light came into his usually rather uncertain -eyes. Her heart stood still; she looked at the sea -again directly, for she was leaning against the rail; -then she drew breath, as if from an effort. She had -seen a look that could only mean recognition. Leven -was alive and was standing beside her. But she had -the courage to go on talking, after a moment, and she -tried to change the subject, though not very adroitly.</p> - -<p>During the afternoon Mr. Van Torp had a revelation, -sudden and clear, for he had watched Lady Maud and -Kralinsky all day and had thought about them a good -deal, considering how his mind was occupied with other -matters even nearer to his heart than his best friend's -welfare. As soon as the revelation came upon him he -rang for his own man.</p> - -<p>Stemp, see here!' he began. 'You've valeted -around with all sorts of different-looking men. How -long does it take to grow a beard like Count Kralinsky's?'</p> - -<p>'A year, sir. Not a day less, and longer with most -gentlemen. If you were thinking of it, sir——'</p> - -<p>'You don't believe it could be managed in three -months, by taking an expert around with you to work -on your face?'</p> - -<p>'That's out of the question, sir. Gentlemen's beards -that have shaved all their lives, as I suppose you have, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_366" id="page_366">{366}</a></span> -sir, do grow faster, but I should consider a year a short -time for such a fine one as the Count's. Indeed I -should, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Do you suppose you could stick it on fresh every -day, the way they do for the stage?'</p> - -<p>'Not so that it wouldn't show in broad daylight, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Well, that's all. I wasn't exactly thinking of -trying a beard. I was only thinking—just like that. -What I rang for was a cap. Got any more like this? -You see I've managed to get a spot of ink on this one. -Had it on the table when I was writing, I suppose. -That's the worst of white caps, they spot so.'</p> - -<p>A little later, Mr. Van Torp was looking out for a -chance to speak alone with Lady Maud, and as soon as -he found his opportunity, he told her what Stemp had -said. Strangely enough, it had never occurred to him -that such a remarkable beard as Kralinsky's must have -taken a long time to grow, and that Leven, who had none, -had not left London more than three months ago. He -watched the effect of this statement on his friend's face, -but to his surprise she remained grave and sad.</p> - -<p>'I cannot help it,' she said in a tone of conviction. -'He must be Leven, whatever Stemp tells you about his -beard.'</p> - -<p>'Well, then it's a false beard, and will come off,' -observed Mr. Van Torp, with at least equal gravity. -'Stemp says that's impossible, but he must be wrong, -unless you are.'</p> - -<p>'It's real,' Lady Maud said, 'and he is my husband. -I've talked to him all day, and he knows things about -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_367" id="page_367">{367}</a></span> -my life that no one else could, and if there are others -about which he is vague, that must be because he is -pretending, and does not want to show that he knows -everything.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp shook his head, but remained unconvinced; -Lady Maud did not change her mind either, and was -already debating with herself as to whether it would not -be really wiser to speak out and tell Kralinsky that she -had recognised him under his transparent disguise. -She felt that she must know the worst, if she was ever -to rest again.</p> - -<p>Neither Margaret nor Mrs. Rushmore had ever seen -Leven, and they had not the least idea of what was -really going on under their eyes. They only saw that -Lady Maud was making a dead set at the Count, and -if Margaret wondered whether she had misjudged her -friend's character, the elder lady had no doubt as to -what was happening.</p> - -<p>'My dear child,' she said to Margaret, 'your friend is -going to console herself. Widows of that age generally -do, my dear. I myself could never understand how one -could marry again. I should always feel that dear -Mr. Rushmore was in the room. It quite makes me -blush to think of it! Yet it is an undeniable fact that -many young widows marry again. Mark my words, -Margaret, your friend is going to console herself before -long. If it is not this one, it will be another. My dear, -I am quite positive about it.'</p> - -<p>When the sun went down that evening the yacht -had passed Otranto and the Cape, and her course had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_368" id="page_368">{368}</a></span> -been changed, to head her for Cape Spartivento and the -Straits of Messina, having done in twenty-four hours as -much as the little Italian mail-steamers do in forty-eight, -and nearly half as much again as the <i>Erinna</i> -could have done at her highest speed. As Mr. Van -Torp had predicted, his engines had 'warmed up,' -and were beating their own record. The gale made -by the vessel's way was stronger than a woman could -stand in with any regard to her appearance, but as the -weather continued to be calm it was from dead-ahead, -and there was plenty of shelter on the promenade deck -abaft the wheel-house, on condition of not going too -near the rail.</p> - -<p>After dinner Kralinsky and Mrs. Rushmore walked -a little, as on the previous evening, and Lady Maud sat -with Margaret and Van Torp. But before the two -walkers went off to sit down in the quiet corner they -had found yesterday, Lady Maud rose, went half-way aft, -and deliberately placed herself where they were obliged -to pass close to her at each turn, standing and leaning -against the bright white side of the engine skylight, -which was as high as the wheel-house itself, and broke -in aft, where the big ventilating fans were situated, -making a square corner inward.</p> - -<p>She stood there, and as it was not very dark in the -clear starlight, Kralinsky saw in passing that she followed -his face with her eyes, turning her head to look at him -when he was coming towards her, and turning it very -slowly back again as he came near and went by. It was -impossible to convey more clearly an invitation to get -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_369" id="page_369">{369}</a></span> -rid of his companion and join her, and he was the last -man in the world to misunderstand it.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Rushmore saw it too, and as she considered -him a lion, and therefore entitled to have his own way, -she made it easy for him.</p> - -<p>'My dear Count,' she said blandly, after passing -Lady Maud twice, 'I have really had enough now, and -if you will promise to finish your walk alone, I think -I will go and sit with the others.'</p> - -<p>He left her with Margaret and Van Torp and went -back to Lady Maud, who moved as he came up to her, -made two steps beside him, and then suddenly slipped -into the recess where the fan-house joined the engine -skylight. She stood still, and he instantly ranged himself -beside her. They were quite out of sight of the -others, and of the bridge, and even if it had been daylight -they could not have been seen except by some one -coming from aft.</p> - -<p>'I want to speak to you,' she said, in a low, steady -voice. 'Please listen quite quietly, for some of them -may begin to walk again.'</p> - -<p>Kralinsky bent his head twice, and then inclined it -towards her, to hear better what she was going to say.</p> - -<p>'It has pleased you to keep up this comedy for twenty-four -hours,' she began.</p> - -<p>He made a slight movement, which was natural -under the circumstances.</p> - -<p>'I do not understand,' he said, in his oily voice. -'What comedy? I really have no——'</p> - -<p>'Don't go on,' she answered, interrupting him sharply. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_370" id="page_370">{370}</a></span> -'Listen to what I am going to tell you, and then decide -what you will do. I don't think your decision will -make very much difference to me, but it will make a -difference to the world and to yourself. I saw you -from a window when you brought Mr. Van Torp to -the hotel in Bayreuth, and I recognised you at once. -Since this afternoon I have no doubt left.'</p> - -<p>'I never saw you till last night,' said Kralinsky, with -some little surprise in his tone, and with perfect assurance.</p> - -<p>'Do you really think you can deceive me any longer?' -she asked. 'I told you this afternoon that if you could -come back from the dead, and know the whole truth, -we should probably forgive each other, though we had -many differences. Shall we?' She paused a moment, -and by his quick change of position she saw that he was -much moved. 'I don't mean that we should ever go -back to the old life, for we were not suited to each -other from the first, you and I. You wanted to marry -me because I was pretty and smart, and I married you -because I wanted to be married, and you were better-looking -than most men, and seemed to have what I -thought was necessary—fortune and a decent position. -No, don't interrupt me. We soon found out that we -did not care for each other. You went your way, and -I went mine. I don't mean to reproach you, for when -I saw you were beginning to be tired of me I did nothing -to keep you. I myself was tired of it already. -But whatever you may have thought, I was a faithful -wife. Mr. Van Torp had given me a great deal of money -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_371" id="page_371">{371}</a></span> -for my charity, and does still. I can account for it. -I never used a penny of it for myself, and never shall; -and he never was, and never will be, any more than a -trusted friend. I don't know why you chose to disappear -when the man who had your pocket-book was -killed and you were said to be dead. It's not my -business, and if you choose to go on living under another -name, now that you are rich again, I shall not betray -you, and few people will recognise you, at least in -England, so long as you wear that beard. But you -had it when we were married, and I knew you at once, -and when I heard you were to be of the party here, I -made up my mind at once that I would accept the -invitation and come too, and speak to you as I'm -speaking now. When I believed you were dead I -forgave you everything, though I was glad you were -gone; frankly, I did not wish you alive again, but since -you are, God forbid that I should wish you dead. You -owe me two things in exchange for my forgiveness: -first, yours, if I treated you ungenerously or unkindly; -and, secondly, you ought to take back every word you -ever said to me about Mr. Van Torp, for there was not -a shadow of truth in what you thought. Will you do -that? I ask nothing else.'</p> - -<p>'Indeed I will, my dear Maud,' said Count Kralinsky, -in a voice full of emotion.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud drew a long breath, that trembled a little -as it left her heated lips again. She had done what she -believed most firmly to be right, and it had not been -easy. She had not been surprised by his patient -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_372" id="page_372">{372}</a></span> -silence while she had been talking; for she had felt -that it was hers to speak and his to listen.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' she said now. 'I shall never go back -to what I have said, and neither of us need ever allude -to old times again during this trip. It will not last -long, for I shall probably go home by land from the -first port we touch, and it is not likely that we shall ever -meet again. If we do, I shall behave as if you were -Count Kralinsky whom I have met abroad, neither -more nor less. I suppose you will have conscience -enough not to marry. Perhaps, if I thought another -woman's happiness depended on it, I would consent to -divorce you, but you shall never divorce me.'</p> - -<p>'No power could make me wish to,' Kralinsky answered, -still deeply moved. 'I was mad in those days, -Maud; I was beside myself, between my debts and my -entanglements with women not fit to touch your shoes. -I've seen it all since. That is the chief reason why I -chose to disappear from society when I had the chance, -and become some one else! I swear to you, on my -mother's soul in heaven, that I thought of nothing but -that—to set you free and begin life over again as -another man. No thought of marrying has ever -crossed my mind! Do you think I could be as bad as -that? But I'm not defending myself—how could I? -All the right is on your side, and all the wrong on mine. -And now—I would give heaven and earth to undo it -all and to come back to you!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud drew as far as she could into the corner -where the fan-house joined the engine skylight. She -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_373" id="page_373">{373}</a></span> -had not expected this; it was too much repentance; -it was too like a real attempt to win her again. He -had not seen her for more than three months; she -knew she was very beautiful; his fleeting passion had -come to life again, as he had. But her old repulsion -for him was ten times stronger than when they had -parted, and she shrank back as far as she could, without -speaking. From far below the noiseless engines -sent a quick vibration up to the ironwork of the skylight. -She felt it, but could hardly tell it from the -beatings of her own heart. He saw her shrinking -from him and was wise.</p> - -<p>'Don't be afraid of me!' he cried, in a low and pleading -tone. 'Not that! Oh, please not that! I will -not come nearer; I will not put out my hand to touch -yours, I swear it to you! But I love you as I never -loved you before; I never knew how beautiful you were -till I had lost you, and now that I have found you -again you are a thousand times more beautiful than in -my dreams! No, I ask nothing! I have no right to -ask for what I have thrown away! You do not even -pity me, I think! Why should you? You were free -when you thought me dead, and I have come back to -be a burden and a weight on your life. Forgive me, -forgive me, my lost darling, for the sake of all that -might have been, but don't fear me! Pity me, if you -can, but don't be afraid of me! Say that you pity me -a little, and I shall be satisfied, and grateful too!'</p> - -<p>Lady Maud was silent for a few seconds, while he -stood turned towards her, his hands clasped in a dramatic -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_374" id="page_374">{374}</a></span> -gesture, as if still imploring her commiseration.</p> - -<p>'I do pity you,' she said at last, quite steadily, for -just then she did not fear that he would try to touch -even her hand. 'I pity you, if you are really in love -with me again. I pity you still more if this is a passing -thing that has taken hold of you merely because you -still think me handsome. But I will never take you -back to be my husband again. Never. That is finished, -for good and all.'</p> - -<p>'Ah, Maud, listen to me——'</p> - -<p>But she had already slipped out of the corner and -was walking slowly away from him, not towards the -others, but aft, so that he might join her quietly before -going back to them. He was a man of the world and -understood her, and did what was expected of him. -Almost as soon as he was beside her, she turned to go -forward with her leisurely, careless grace.</p> - -<p>'We've been standing a long time,' said she, as if the -conversation had been about the weather. 'I want -to sit down.'</p> - -<p>'I am in earnest,' he said, very low.</p> - -<p>'So am I,' answered Lady Maud.</p> - -<p>They went on towards the wheel-house side by side, -without haste, and not very near together, like two -ordinary acquaintances. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_375" id="page_375">{375}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> - -<p class="p2">While the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> was racing down to the -Straits of Messina the <i>Erinna</i> was heading for the same -point from the opposite direction, no longer dawdling -along at half-speed, but going her full sixteen knots, -after coaling in Naples, and any navigator who knew -the positions and respective speeds of the two yachts -could have calculated with approximate precision the -point at which they would probably sight each other.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had given up the idea of taking Baraka to -Paris, if he had ever really entertained it at all. He -assured her that Naples was a great city, too, and that -there was a first-rate French dressmaking establishment -there, and that the Ville de Lyon would turn her -out almost as smartly as the Rue de la Paix itself. He -took Baraka ashore and placed her for half a day in -the hands of Madame Anna, who undertook to do all -that money could do in about a fortnight. He had the -effrontery to say that Baraka was a niece of his from -Constantinople, whose mother was on board the yacht, -but had unfortunately sprained her ankle in falling -down the companion during a gale, and could therefore -not accompany her daughter on shore. The young lady, -he said, spoke only Turkish. Madame Anna, grave -and magnificently calm under all circumstances, had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_376" id="page_376">{376}</a></span> -a vague recollection of having seen the handsome -Oriental gentleman already with another niece, who -spoke only French; but that was none of her business. -When would the young lady try on the things? On -any day Madame Anna chose to name; but in the meantime -her uncle would take her down to Sicily, as the -weather was so wonderfully fine and it was still so hot. -Madame Anna therefore named a day, and promised, -moreover, to see the best linen-drapers and sempstresses -herself, and to provide the young lady with as -complete an outfit as if she were going to be married. -She should have all things visible and invisible in the -shortest possible time. Logotheti, who considered -himself a stranger, insisted on putting down a thousand-franc -note merely as a guarantee of good faith. The -dressmaker protested almost furiously and took the -money, still protesting. So that was settled, and Baraka -was to be outwardly changed into a beautiful -Feringhi lady without delay. To tell the truth, the establishment -is really a smart one, and she was favourably -impressed by the many pretty frocks and gowns -that were tried on several pretty young women in order -that she might make her choice.</p> - -<p>Baraka would have liked a blue satin skirt with a -yellow train and a bright-green silk body, but in her -travels she had noticed that the taste of Feringhi ladies -was for very sober or gentle colours, compared with the -fashionable standards of Samarkand, Tiflis, and Constantinople, -and she meekly acquiesced to everything -that Logotheti and Madame Anna proposed, after putting -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_377" id="page_377">{377}</a></span> -their heads together. Logotheti seemed to know -a great deal about it.</p> - -<p>He took Baraka for a long drive in the afternoon, -out by Pozzuoli to Baia and back. The girl loved the -sea; it was the only thing in the western world that -looked big to her, and she laughed at wretched little -mountains only four or five thousand feet high, for she -had dwelt at the feet of the lofty Altai and had sojourned -in Tiflis under the mighty peak of Kasbek. But the -sea was always the sea, and to her mountain sight it -was always a new wonder beyond measure, vast, moving, -alive. She gazed out with wide eyes at the purpled -bay, streaked by winding currents of silver, and crisped -here and there by the failing summer breeze. Logotheti -saw her delight, and musical lines came back to him -out of his reading, how the ocean is ever the ocean, and -the things of the sea are the sea's; but he knew that he -could not turn Greek verse into Turkish, try as he -might, much less into that primeval, rough-hewn form -of it which was Baraka's native tongue.</p> - -<p>It was nearly dark when the naphtha launch took -them out to the yacht, which lay under the mole where -the big English and German passenger steamers and -the men-of-war are moored.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had at last received Margaret's telegram -asking him to meet her at once. It had failed to reach -him in Gibraltar, and had been telegraphed on thence -to Naples, and when he read it he was considerably disturbed. -He wrote a long message of explanations and -excuses, and sent it to the Primadonna at Bayreuth, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_378" id="page_378">{378}</a></span> -tripling the number of words she had prepaid for his -answer. But no reply came, for Margaret was herself -at sea and nothing could reach her. He sent one of his -own men from the yacht to spend the day at the telegraph -office, with instructions for finding him if any -message came. The man found him three times, and -brought three telegrams; and each time as he tore open -the little folded brown paper he felt more uncomfortable, -but he was relieved to find each time that the message -was only a business one from London or Paris, giving -him the latest confidential news about a Government -loan in which he was largely interested. When he -reached the yacht he sent another man to wait till -midnight at the office.</p> - -<p>The Diva was angry, he thought; that was clear, -and perhaps she had some right to be. The tone of -her telegram had been peremptory in the extreme, -and now that he had answered it after a delay of several -days, she refused to take any notice of him. It was not -possible that such a personage as she was should have -left Bayreuth without leaving clear instructions for -sending on any telegrams that might come after she left. -At this time of year, as he knew, she was beset with offers -of engagements to sing, and they had to be answered. -From eight o'clock in the morning to midnight there -were sixteen hours, ample time for a retransmitted -message to reach her anywhere in Europe and to be -answered. Logotheti felt a sensation of deep relief -when the man came aboard at a quarter-past midnight -and reported himself empty-handed; but he resolved -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_379" id="page_379">{379}</a></span> -to wait till the following evening before definitely leaving -Naples for the ten days which must elapse before -Baraka could try on her beautiful Feringhi clothes.</p> - -<p>He told her anything he liked, and she believed him, -or was indifferent; for the idea that she must be as well -dressed as any European woman when she met the man -she was seeking had appealed strongly to her, and the -sight of the pretty things at Madame Anna's had made -her ashamed of her simple little ready-made serges and -blouses. Logotheti assured her that Kralinsky was -within easy reach, and showed no inclination to travel -far. There was news of him in the telegrams received -that day, the Greek said. Spies were about him and -were watching him for her, and so far he had shown no -inclination to admire any Feringhi beauty.</p> - -<p>Baraka accepted all these inventions without doubting -their veracity. In her eyes Logotheti was a great man, -something like a king, and vastly more than a Tartar -chieftain. He could send men to the ends of the earth -if he chose. Now that he was sure of where Kralinsky -was, he could no doubt have him seized secretly and -brought to her, if she desired it earnestly of him. But -she did not wish to see the man, free or a prisoner, till -she had her beautiful new clothes. Then he should -look upon her, and judge whether he had done well -to despise her love, and to leave her to be done to death -by her own people and her body left to the vulture that -had waited so long on a jutting point of rock over her -head three years ago.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, also, there were good things in life; there -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_380" id="page_380">{380}</a></span> -were very fat quails and marvellous muscatel grapes, -and such fish as she had never eaten in Europe during -her travels, and there was the real coffee of the Sheikhs, -and an unlimited supply of rose-leaf preserve. Her -friend was a king, and she was treated like a queen on -the yacht. Every day, when Gula had rubbed her -small feet quite dry after the luxurious bath, Gula kissed -them and said they were like little tame white mice. -Saving her one preoccupation, Baraka was in an Eastern -paradise, where all things were perfect, and Kêf descended -upon her every day after luncheon. Even the -thought of the future was brighter now, for though she -never left her cabin without her long bodkin, she was -quite sure that she should never need it. In imagination -she saw herself even more beautifully arrayed in -Feringhi clothes than the pretty ladies with champagne -hair whom she had seen driving in the Bois de Boulogne -not long ago when she walked there with Spiro. She -wondered why Logotheti and Gula were both so much -opposed to her dyeing her hair or wearing a wig. They -told her that ladies with champagne hair were not always -good ladies; but what did that matter? She thought -them pretty. But she wondered gravely how Gula -knew that they were not good. Gula knew a great -many things.</p> - -<p>Besides, Baraka was 'good' herself, and was extremely -well aware of the fact, and of its intrinsic value, if not of -its moral importance. If she had crossed a quarter of -the world in spite of dangers and obstacles which no -European girl could pass unharmed, if alive at all, it was -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_381" id="page_381">{381}</a></span> -not to offer a stained flower to the man she sought when -she found him at last.</p> - -<p>As for Logotheti, though he was not a Musulman, -and not even an Asiatic, she felt herself safe with him, -and trusted him as she would certainly not have trusted -Van Torp, or any other European she had chanced to -meet in the course of selling precious stones. He was -more like one of her own people than the Greeks and -Armenians of Constantinople or even the Georgians of -the Caucasus.</p> - -<p>She was not wrong in that, either. Logotheti was -beginning to wonder what he should do with her, and -was vaguely surprised to find that he did not like the -idea of parting with her at all; but beyond that he had -no more thought of harming her than if she had been -confided to his care and keeping by his own mother.</p> - -<p>Few Latins, whether Italians, French, or Spanish, -could comprehend that, and most of them would think -Logotheti a milksop and a sentimental fool. Many -northern men, on the other hand, will think he did right, -but would prefer not to be placed in such a trying position, -for their own part, because beauty is beauty and -human nature is weak, and the most exasperating difficulty -in which an honest northern man can find himself -where a woman is concerned is that dilemma of which -honour and temptation are the two horns. But the -best sort of Orientals look on these things differently, -even when they are young, and their own women are -safer with them than European women generally are -among European men. I think that most men who -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_382" id="page_382">{382}</a></span> -have really known the East will agree with me in this -opinion.</p> - -<p>And besides, this is fiction, even though it be founded -on facts; and fiction is an art; and the end and aim -of art is always to discover and present some relation -between the true and the beautiful—as perhaps the -aim of all religions has been to show men the possible -connexion between earth and heaven. Nothing is so -easily misunderstood and misapplied as bare truth -without comment, most especially when it is an ugly -truth about the worst side of humanity. We know -that all men are not mere animals; for heaven's sake -let us believe that very few, if any, must be! Even -Demopithekos, the mob-monkey, may have a conscience, -when he is not haranguing the people.</p> - -<p>Logotheti certainly had one, of its kind, though he -seemed to Margaret Donne and Lady Maud to be behaving -in such an outrageous manner as to have forfeited -all claim to the Diva's hand; and Baraka, who -was a natural young woman, though a remarkably gifted -and courageous one, felt instinctively that she was safe -with him, and that she would not need to draw out her -sharp bodkin in order to make her position clear, as -she had been obliged to do at least twice already during -her travels.</p> - -<p>Yet it was a dreamy and sense-compelling life that -she led on the yacht, surrounded with every luxury she -had ever heard of, and constantly waited on by the only -clever man she had ever really talked with, excepting -the old Persian merchant in Stamboul. The vision of -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_383" id="page_383">{383}</a></span> -the golden-bearded giant who had left her to her fate -after treating her with stony indifference was still before -her, but the reality was nearer in the shape of a visible -'great man,' who could do anything he chose, who caused -her to be treated like a queen, and who was undeniably -handsome.</p> - -<p>She wondered whether he had a wife. Judging marriage -from her point of view, there probably had been -one put away in that beautiful house in Paris. He was -an Oriental, she told herself, and he would not parade -his wife as the Feringhis did. But she was one, too, -and she considered that it would be an insult to ask -him about such things. Spiro knew, no doubt, but she -could not demean herself to inquire of a servant. Perhaps -Gula had found out already, for the girl had a way -of finding out whatever she wanted to know, apparently -by explaining things to the second mate. Possibly Gula -could be made to tell what she had learned, without being -directly questioned. But after all, Baraka decided that -it did not matter, since she meant to marry the fair-beard -as soon as she had her pretty clothes. Yet she -became conscious that if he had not existed, she would -think it very satisfactory to marry the great man who -could do anything he liked, though if he had a wife already, -as he probably had, she would refuse to be the -second in his house. The Koran allowed a man four, -it was said, but the idea was hateful to her, and moreover -the Persian merchant's wife had told her that it -was old-fashioned to have more than one, mainly because -living had grown so expensive. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_384" id="page_384">{384}</a></span></p> - -<p>Logotheti sat beside her for hours under the awnings, -talking or not, as she chose, and always reading when -she was silent, though he often looked up to see if she -wanted anything. He told her when they left Naples -that he would show her beautiful islands and other sights, -and the great fire-mountains of the South, Ætna and -Stromboli, which she had heard of on her voyage to -Marseilles but had not seen because the steamer had -passed them at night. The fire-mountain at Naples had -been quiet, only sending out thin wreaths of smoke, -which Baraka insisted came from fires made by shepherds.</p> - -<p>'Moreover,' she said, as they watched Vesuvius receding -when they left Naples, 'your mountains are not -mountains, but ant-hills, and I do not care for them. -But your sea has the colours of many sherbets, rose-leaf -and violet, and lemon and orange, and sometimes even -of pale yellow peach-sherbet, which is good. Let me -always see the sea till the fine dresses are ready to be -tried on.'</p> - -<p>'This sea,' answered Logotheti, 'is always most beautiful -near land and amongst islands, and the big fire-mountain -of Sicily looks as tall as Kasbek, because it -rises from the water's edge to the sky.'</p> - -<p>'Then take me to it, and I will tell you, for my eyes -have looked on the Altai, and I wish to see a real mountain -again. After that we will go back and get the fine -dresses. Will Gula know how to fasten the fine dresses -at the back, do you think?'</p> - -<p>'You shall have a woman who does, and who can talk -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_385" id="page_385">{385}</a></span> -with Gula, and the two will fasten the fine dresses for -you.' Logotheti spoke with becoming gravity.</p> - -<p>'Yes,' Baraka answered. 'Spend money for me, -that I may be good to see. Also, I wish to have many -servants. My father has a hundred, perhaps a thousand, -but now I have only two, Gula and Spiro. The man I -seek will think I am poor, and that will be a shame. -While I was searching for him, it was different; and -besides, you are teaching me how the rich Franks live -in their world. It is not like ours. You know, for you -are more like us, though you are a king here.'</p> - -<p>She spoke slowly and lazily, pausing between her -phrases, and turning her eyes to him now and then -without moving her head; and her talk amused him -much more than that of European women, though it -was so very simple, like that of a gifted child brought -suddenly to a new country, or to see a fairy pantomime.</p> - -<p>'Tell me,' he said after a time, 'if it were the portion -of Kralinsky to be gathered to his fathers before you -saw him, what would you do?'</p> - -<p>Baraka now turned not only her eyes to him but her -face.</p> - -<p>'Why do you ask me this? Is it because he is dead, -and you are afraid to tell me?'</p> - -<p>'He was alive this morning,' Logotheti answered, -'and he is a strong man. But the strong die sometimes -suddenly, by accident if not of a fever.'</p> - -<p>'It is emptiness,' said Baraka, still looking at him. -'He will not die before I see him.'</p> - -<p>'Allah forbid! But if such a thing happened, should -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_386" id="page_386">{386}</a></span> -you wish to go back to your own people? Or would -you learn to speak the Frank and live in Europe?'</p> - -<p>'If he were dead, which may Allah avert,' Baraka -answered calmly, 'I think I would ask you to find me -a husband.'</p> - -<p>'Ah!' Logotheti could not repress the little exclamation -of surprise.</p> - -<p>'Yes. It is a shame for a woman not to be married. -Am I an evil sight, or poor, that I should go down to -the grave childless? Or is there any reproach upon -me? Therefore I would ask you for a husband, because -I have no other friend but only you among the Feringhis. -But if you would not, I would go to Constantinople -again, and to the Persian merchant's house, and I would -say to his wife: "Get me a husband, for I am not a -cripple, nor a monster, nor is there any reproach upon -me, and why should I go childless?" Moreover, I -would say to the merchant's wife: "Behold, I have -great wealth, and I will have a rich husband, and one -who is young and pleasing to me, and who will not take -another wife; and if you bring me such a man, for whatsoever -his riches may be, I will pay you five per cent."'</p> - -<p>Having made this remarkable statement of her intentions, -Baraka was silent, expecting Logotheti to -say something. What struck him was not the concluding -sentence, for Asiatic match-makers and peace-makers -are generally paid on some such basis, and the slim -Tartar girl had proved long ago that she was a woman -of business. What impressed Logotheti much more -was what seemed the cool cynicism of her point of view. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_387" id="page_387">{387}</a></span> -It was evidently not a romantic passion for Kralinsky -that had brought her from beyond Turkestan to London -and Paris; her view had been simpler and more practical; -she had seen the man who suited her, she had told him -so, and had given him the secret of great wealth, and -in return she expected him to marry her, if she found -him alive. But if not, she would immediately take -steps to obtain another to fill his place and be her husband, -and she was willing to pay a high price to any one -who could find one for her.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had half expected some such thing, but was -not prepared for her extreme directness; still less had -he thought of becoming the matrimonial agent who was -to find a match worthy of her hand and fortune. She -was sitting beside him in a little ready-made French -dress, open at the throat, and only a bit of veil twisted -round her hair, as any European woman might wear -it; possibly it was her dress that made what she said -sound strangely in his ears, though it would have struck -him as natural enough if she had been muffled in a -yashmak and ferajeh, on the deck of a Bosphorus ferry-boat.</p> - -<p>He said nothing in answer, and sat thinking the -matter over.</p> - -<p>'I could not offer to pay you five per cent,' she said -after a time, 'because you are a king, but I could give -you one of the fine rubies I have left, and you would -look at it sometimes and rejoice because you had found -Baraka a good husband.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti laughed low. She amused him exceedingly, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_388" id="page_388">{388}</a></span> -and there were moments when he felt a new charm he -had never known before.</p> - -<p>'Why do you laugh?' Baraka asked, a little disturbed. -'I would give you a good ruby. A king may -receive a good ruby as a gift, and not despise it. Why -do you laugh at me? There came two German merchants -to me in Paris to see my rubies, and when they -had looked, they bought a good one, but not better than -the one I would give you, and Spiro heard them say to -each other in their own language that it was for their -King, for Spiro understands all tongues. Then do -you think that their King would not have been glad -if I had given him the ruby as a gift? You cannot -mock Baraka. Baraka knows what rubies are worth, -and has some still.'</p> - -<p>'I do not mock you,' Logotheti answered with perfect -gravity. 'I laughed at my own thoughts. I said in -my heart, "If Baraka asks me for a husband, what -will she say if I answer, Behold, I am the man, if you -are satisfied!" This was my thought.'</p> - -<p>She was appeased at once, for she saw nothing extraordinary -in his suggestion. She looked at him quietly -and smiled, for she saw her chance.</p> - -<p>'It is emptiness,' she said. 'I will have a man who -has no other wife.'</p> - -<p>'Precisely,' Logotheti answered, smiling. 'I never -had one.'</p> - -<p>'Now you are indeed mocking me!' she said, bending -her sharp-drawn eyebrows.</p> - -<p>'No. Every one knows it who knows me. In -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_389" id="page_389">{389}</a></span> -Europe, men do not always marry very young. It is -not a fixed custom.'</p> - -<p>'I have heard so,' Baraka answered, her anger subsiding, -'but it is very strange. If it be so, and if all -things should happen as we said, which Allah avert, -and if you desired me for your wife, I would marry you -without doubt. You are a great man, and rich, and -you are good to look at, as Saäd was. Also you are -kind, but Saäd would probably have beaten me, for he -beat every one, every day, and I should have gone -back to my father's house. Truly,' she added, in a -thoughtful tone, 'you would make a desirable husband -for Baraka. But the man I seek must marry me if I -find him alive, for I gave him the riches of the earth -and he gave me nothing and departed, leaving me to -die. I have told you, and you understand. Therefore -let us not jest about these things any more. What will -be, will be, and if he must die, it is his portion, and mine -also, though it is a pity.'</p> - -<p>Thereupon the noble little features became very -grave, and she leaned back in her chair and folded her -hands in her lap, looking out at the violet light on -the distant volcano. After that, at dinner and in the -evening, they talked pleasantly. She told him tales of -her own land, and of her childhood, with legends of -the Altai, of genii and enchanted princesses; and he, -in return, told her about the great world in which he -lived; but of the two, she talked the more, no doubt -because he was not speaking his own language. Yet -there was a bond of sympathy between them more -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_390" id="page_390">{390}</a></span> -natural and instinctive than any that had ever drawn -him and Margaret together.</p> - -<p>When the sun was up the next morning and Logotheti -came on deck to drink his coffee alone, he saw the magic -Straits not many miles ahead, in an opalescent haze -that sent up a vapour of pure gold to the pale blue -enamel of the sky. He had been just where he was -now more than once before, and few sights of nature -had ever given him keener delight. On the left, the -beautiful outline of the Calabrian hills descended softly -into the still sea, on the right the mountains of Sicily -reared their lofty crests; and far above them all, twice -as high as the highest, and nobler in form than the -greatest, Ætna towered to the very sky, and a vast cloud -of smoke rose from the summit, and unfolded itself like a -standard, in flowing draperies that streamed westward -as far as the eye could reach.</p> - -<p>'Let her go half-speed, Captain,' said Logotheti, -as his sailing-master came up to bid him good-morning. -'I should like my guest to see the Straits.'</p> - -<p>'Very good, sir. We shall not go through very fast -in any case, for the tide is just turning against us.'</p> - -<p>'Never mind,' Logotheti answered. 'The slower the -better to-day, till we have Ætna well astern.'</p> - -<p>Now the tide in the Straits of Messina is as regular -and easy to calculate as the tide in the Ocean, and at -full and change of the moon the current runs six knots -an hour, flowing or ebbing; it turns so suddenly that -small freight steamers sometimes get into difficulties, -and no sailing vessel I have ever seen has a chance of -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_391" id="page_391">{391}</a></span> -getting through against it unless the wind is both fresh -and free.</p> - -<p>Furthermore, for the benefit of landsmen, it is well -to explain here that when a steamer has the current -ahead, her speed is the difference between her speed in -slack water and that of the current or tide, whereas, if -the latter is with her, its speed increases her own.</p> - -<p>Consequently, though the <i>Erinna</i> could run sixteen -knots, she would only be able to make ten against the -tide; for it chanced that it was a spring tide, the moon -being new on that very day. Similarly the <i>Lancashire -Lass</i>, running her twenty-three knots like a torpedo -boat, would only do seventeen under the same conditions. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_392" id="page_392">{392}</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> - -<p class="p2">At two o'clock in the morning Captain Brown was -called by the officer of the watch, who told him that he -was overhauling a good-sized steam yacht. The latter -was heading up for the Straits from the southward, -and the officer judged her to be not more than three -or four miles on the port bow.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown, who meant business, was sleeping -in his clothes in the chart-room, and was on the bridge -in ten seconds, peering over the search-light with his -big binocular. At two in the morning even the largest -yachts do not show such a blaze of lights as passenger -steamers generally do all night, and the one Captain -Brown was watching had only two or three, besides -the regulation ones. She might be white, too, though -she might be a light grey, but he thought on the whole -that she was painted white. She was rigged as a -two-masted fore-and-aft schooner. So was the <i>Erinna</i> -now, though she had once carried square topsails at -the fore. She was also of about the same size, as far -as it was possible to judge under the search-light. -Captain Brown did not feel sure that he recognised her, -but considering what his orders were he knew it was -his duty to settle the question of her identity, which -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_393" id="page_393">{393}</a></span> -would be an easy matter in a quarter of an hour or less, -as the course of the two vessels converged.</p> - -<p>He had been told to find the <i>Erinna</i>, but for what -purpose he knew not, and he naturally supposed it to -be a friendly one. As a first step, he ordered the Coston -signal of his owner's yacht club to be burned, turned -off the search-light, and waited for an answer. None -came, however. Foreign yachts do not always burn -signals to please vessels of other nations.</p> - -<p>A couple of minutes later, however, the white beam -of a search-light shot out and enveloped Captain Brown -and his ship. The other man was evidently having a -good look at him, for the light was kept full on for -some time. But no signal was burned after it went -out. Then Captain Brown turned on his own light -again, and looked once more; and he had almost made -up his mind that the other yacht was not quite as long -as the <i>Erinna</i>, when she suddenly starboarded her helm, -made a wide sweep away from him, and headed down -the Sicilian coast in the direction of Catania.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown was so much surprised that he lowered -his glasses and looked at his chief mate, whose watch -it was, and who was standing beside him. It really -looked very much as if the other vessel had recognised -him and were running away. The chief mate also -looked at him, but as they were more or less dazzled -by the search-light that had been played on them, they -could hardly see one another's faces at all. The captain -wished his owner were on deck, instead of being sound -asleep below. Owners who are not at all nautical -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_394" id="page_394">{394}</a></span> -characters do not like to be waked up at two o'clock -in the morning by inquiries for instructions. Captain -Brown considered the situation for two or three minutes -before he made up his mind. He might be mistaken -about the length and the bows of the <i>Erinna</i>, and if by -any possibility it were she, he would not lose much by -making sure of her. No other steamer could now pass -out of the Straits without being seen by him.</p> - -<p>'Hard-a-starboard,' he said to the mate.</p> - -<p>'Hard-a-starboard,' said the mate to wheel.</p> - -<p>The big <i>Lancashire Lass</i> described a vast curve at her -racing speed, while the captain kept his eye on the -steamer he was going to chase. Before she was dead -ahead the mate ordered the wheel amidships, and the -<i>Lancashire Lass</i> did the rest herself.</p> - -<p>'That will do for a course,' the captain said, when he -had the vessel one point on the starboard bow.</p> - -<p>'Keep her so,' said the mate to the wheel.</p> - -<p>'Keep her so, sir,' answered the quartermaster.</p> - -<p>It soon became clear to Captain Brown that he was -chasing an uncommonly fast vessel, though he was -willing to admit that he might have been a little out -in judging the distance that separated him from her. -Allowing that she might do sixteen knots, and even that -is a high speed for yachts, he ought to have overtaken her -in half an hour at the outside. But he did not, and he -was much puzzled to find that he had gained very little -on her when six bells were struck. Twice already he -had given a little more starboard helm, and the pursued -vessel was now right ahead, showing only her stern-light -and the glare of her after-masthead light. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_395" id="page_395">{395}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Didn't I hear four bells go just after you called me?' -he asked of the mate. 'Or was it five?'</p> - -<p>'Four bells, sir. I logged it. At two-twenty we gave -chase.'</p> - -<p>'Mr. Johnson,' said the captain solemnly, 'he's doing -at least twenty.'</p> - -<p>'At least that.'</p> - -<p>The quartermaster who came to relieve the wheel at -the hour, touched his cap, and reported eighty-five and -eighty-six revolutions of the port and starboard engines -respectively, which meant that the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> -was doing her best. Then he took the other quartermaster's -place.</p> - -<p>'Chase,' said the man relieved. 'Keep her so.'</p> - -<p>'Keep her so,' answered the other, taking over the -wheel.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown spoke to his officer.</p> - -<p>'Tell them to try and work the port engine up to -eighty-six, Mr. Johnson.'</p> - -<p>The chief mate went to the engine telephone, delivered -the message, and reported that the engineer of the -watch in the port engine said he would do his best, -but that the port engine had not given quite such a -good diagram as the starboard one that morning.</p> - -<p>Then something happened which surprised and -annoyed Captain Brown; and if he had not been a -religious man, and, moreover, in charge of a vessel -which was so very high-class that she ranked as third -in the world amongst steam yachts, and perhaps second, -a fact which gave him a position requiring great dignity -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_396" id="page_396">{396}</a></span> -of bearing with his officers, he would certainly have said -things.</p> - -<p>The chased vessel had put out her lights and disappeared -into complete darkness under the Sicilian coast. -Again he and his officer looked at one another, but -neither spoke. They were outside the wheel-house on -the bridge on the starboard side, behind a heavy plate-glass -screen. The captain made one step to the right, -the mate made one to the left, and both put up their -glasses in the teeth of the gale made by the yacht's -tremendous way. In less than a minute they stepped -back into their places, and glanced at each other again.</p> - -<p>Now it occurred to Captain Brown that such a financier -as his owner might be looking out for such another -financier as the owner of the <i>Erinna</i> for some reason -which would not please the latter, whose sailing-master -had without doubts recognised the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> at -once, because she was very differently built from most -yachts.</p> - -<p>'Search-light again, Mr. Johnson,' said the captain.</p> - -<p>The great beacon ran out instantly like a comet's -tail, and he stood behind it with his glasses. Instead of -a steamer, he saw a rocky islet sticking up sharp and -clear, half a point on the starboard bow, about three -miles off. It was the largest of the Isles of the Cyclops, -as he very well knew, off Aci Reale, and it was perfectly -evident that the chased vessel had first put out her -lights and had then at once run behind the islands, close -inshore. Captain Brown reflected that the captain he -was after must know the waters well to do such a thing, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_397" id="page_397">{397}</a></span> -and that the deep draught of his own ship made it the -height of folly to think of imitating such a trick at night. -Yet so long as the other stayed where she was, she could -not come out without showing herself under his search-light.</p> - -<p>'Half-speed both engines,' he said quickly.</p> - -<p>The mate worked the engine telegraph almost as -soon as the captain began to speak.</p> - -<p>'Starboard five degrees more,' said Captain Brown.</p> - -<p>The order was repeated to the wheel, and the quartermaster -gave it back, and repeated it a second time when -the vessel's head had gone off to port exactly to the -required degree.</p> - -<p>'Slow,' said Captain Brown. 'Stop her,' he said a -moment later.</p> - -<p>Twin-screw steamers cannot be stopped as quickly -by reversing as those with a single screw can, and the -<i>Lancashire Lass</i> would keep way on for three miles or -more, by which time she would be abreast of the islands, -and at a safe distance from them. Besides, the spring -tide was now running fresh down the Straits, making -a current along the coast, as Captain Brown knew. The -instant the engines stopped, the third mate came round -from the chart-room, where he had been sent to work -a sight for longitude by Aldebaran for the good of his -young nautical soul.</p> - -<p>A moment later Mr. Van Torp himself appeared on -the bridge in pyjamas.</p> - -<p>'Got her?' he asked eagerly.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown explained that he thought he had -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_398" id="page_398">{398}</a></span> -cornered the <i>Erinna</i> behind the islet, but was not quite -sure of her. Mr. Van Torp waited and said nothing, -and the chief mate kept the search-light steadily on the -rocks. The yacht lost way rapidly, and lay quite still -with the islet exactly abeam, half a mile off, as the captain -had calculated. He then gave the order to go slow -ahead.</p> - -<p>A minute had not passed when the vessel that had -lain concealed behind the island ran out suddenly with -all her regulation lights up, apparently making directly -across the bows of the <i>Lancashire Lass</i>. Now the rule -of the road at sea requires every steamer under weigh -to keep out of the way of any steamer that appears on -her starboard side forward of the beam. At such a short -distance Captain Brown had hardly any choice but to -stop his ship again and order 'half-speed astern' till -she had no way, and he did so. She was barely moving -when the order was given, and a few turns of the engines -stopped her altogether.</p> - -<p>'Is that the <i>Erinna</i>, Captain?' asked Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown had his glasses up and did not answer -at once. After nearly a minute he laid them down on the -lid of the small box fastened to the bridge-rail.</p> - -<p>'No, sir,' he answered in a tone of considerable disappointment. -'At four miles' distance she looked so much -like her that I didn't dare to let her slip through my -fingers, but we have not lost more than a couple of -hours.'</p> - -<p>'What is this thing, anyway? She's coming towards -us pretty quick.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_399" id="page_399">{399}</a></span></p> - -<p>'She's one of those new fast twin-screw revenue cutters -the Italians have lately built, sir. They look very like -yachts at night. There's a deal of smuggling on this -coast, over from Malta. She's coming alongside to ask -what we mean by giving chase to a government vessel.'</p> - -<p>Captain Brown was right, and when the big cutter -had crossed his bows, she ran all round him while she -slowed down, and she stopped within speaking distance -on his starboard side. The usual questions were asked -and answered.</p> - -<p>'English yacht <i>Lancashire Lass</i>, from Venice for -Messina, expecting to meet a friend's yacht at sea. -Thought the revenue cutter was she. Regretted mistake. -Had the captain of the cutter seen or heard of -English yacht <i>Erinna</i>?'</p> - -<p>He had not. There was no harm done. It was his -duty to watch all vessels. He wished Captain Brown -a pleasant trip and good-night.</p> - -<p>The Italian officer spoke English well, and there was -no trouble. Revenue cutters are very civil to all -respectable yachts.</p> - -<p>'Hard-a-starboard. Port engine slow astern, starboard -engine half-speed ahead.'</p> - -<p>That was all Captain Brown said, but no one could -guess what he was thinking as his big vessel turned -quickly to port on her heel, and he headed her up for -the Straits again. Mr. Van Torp said nothing at all, -but his lips moved as he left the bridge and went off to -his own quarters. It was now nearly four o'clock and -the eastern sky was grey. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_400" id="page_400">{400}</a></span></p> - -<p>The current was dead against the yacht through the -Straits, which were, moreover, crowded with all sorts -of large and small craft under sail, taking advantage -of the tide to get through; many of them steered very -badly under the circumstances, of course, and it was out -of the question to run between them at full speed. The -consequence was that it was eight o'clock when the -<i>Lancashire Lass</i> steamed slowly into Messina and -dropped anchor out in the middle of the harbour, to -wait while Captain Brown got information about the -<i>Erinna</i>, if there were any to be had at the harbourmaster's -office. It would have been folly to run out of -the Straits without at least looking in to see if she were -there, lying quietly moored behind the fortress of San -Salvatore and the very high mole.</p> - -<p>She was not there, and had not been heard of, but a -Paris <i>Herald</i> was procured in which it was stated that -the <i>Erinna</i> had arrived in Naples, 'owner and party on -board.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mr. Van Torp, 'let's get to Naples, quick. -How long will it take, Captain?'</p> - -<p>'About eight hours, sir, counting our getting under -weigh and out of this crowded water, which won't take -long, for the tide will soon turn.'</p> - -<p>'Go ahead,' said Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>Captain Brown prepared to get under weigh again as -quickly as possible. The entrance to Messina harbour -is narrow, and it was natural that, as he was in a hurry, -a huge Italian man-of-war should enter the harbour at -that very moment, with the solemn and safe deliberation -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_401" id="page_401">{401}</a></span> -which the movements of line-of-battle ships require -when going in and out of port. There was nothing to -be done but to wait patiently till the fairway was clear. -It was not more than a quarter of an hour, but Captain -Brown was in a hurry, and as there was a fresh morning -breeze blowing across the harbour he could not even get -his anchor up with safety before he was ready to -start.</p> - -<p>The result of all these delays was that at about nine -o'clock he saw the <i>Erinna</i> right ahead, bows on and only -half a mile away, just between Scylla and Faro, where -the whirlpool is still a danger to sailing vessels and slow -steamers, and just as the tide was turning against her -and in his own favour. He did not like to leave the -bridge, even for a moment, and sent the second mate -with an urgent message requesting Mr. Van Torp to -come up as soon as he could.</p> - -<p>Five minutes earlier the owner had sat down to breakfast -opposite Lady Maud, who was very pale and had -dark shadows under her eyes for the first time since he -had known her. As soon as the steward left them alone, -she spoke.</p> - -<p>'It is Leven,' she said, 'and he wants me to take him -back.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp set down his tea untasted and stared -at her. He was not often completely taken by surprise, -but for once he was almost speechless. His lips did not -even move silently.</p> - -<p>'I was sure it was he,' Lady Maud said, 'but I did not -expect that.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_402" id="page_402">{402}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Well,' said Mr. Van Torp, finding his voice, 'he shan't. -That's all.'</p> - -<p>'No. I told him so. If I had been dressed I would -have asked you to put me ashore at Messina. I thought -you were going to stop there—the stewardess told me -where we were, but she knew nothing else; and now -we're off again.'</p> - -<p>'I can't help it, Maud,' said Van Torp, almost in a -whisper, 'I don't believe it. I don't believe in impossibilities -like that beard of his. It may sound ridiculous -in the face of your recognising your own husband, but -it's a solid fact, and you can't get over it. I wish I -could catch the <i>Erinna</i> and show him to that Tartar -girl. She'd know in a minute. He can't be her man -and Leven too. There's only one thing to be done that -I can see.'</p> - -<p>'What?' asked Lady Maud sadly and incredulously.</p> - -<p>'Tell him you'll take him back on condition that he'll -shave.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp, who was in dead earnest, had just given -his best friend this piece of sound practical advice when -the door opened, though he had not rung, and the -steward announced that the second mate had a message -for Mr. Van Torp. He was admitted, and he delivered -it.</p> - -<p>The owner sprang to his feet.</p> - -<p>'By thunder, we've caught 'em!' he cried, as he rushed -out of the deck saloon.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud leaned back and stared at his empty chair, -wondering what was going to happen next. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_403" id="page_403">{403}</a></span></p> - -<p>This was what happened. The <i>Lancashire Lass</i> reversed -her starboard engine with full speed astern, put -her helm hard over to port, and turned back towards -the Straits in the smallest space possible for her, passing -less than a cable's length from the Scylla rock, and nearly -running down half a dozen fishing-boats that pulled like -mad to get out of her way; for they supposed that her -steering-gear had broken down, unless her captain had -gone raving mad.</p> - -<p>While this was going on, Captain Brown himself, -with the International Signal Code in his hand, was -calling out letters of the alphabet to a quartermaster, -and before his ship had made half a circle the flags ran -up the single stick the yacht carried.</p> - -<p>'My owner has urgent business with your owner,' -was what the flags meant in plain English.</p> - -<p>The <i>Erinna</i> was going slow, for Baraka was only just -ready to come on deck, haste being, in her opinion, an -invention of Shaitan's. Logotheti, who wished her to -see the Straits, was just inside the door of the deck -saloon, waiting for her to come out of her cabin. The -officer of the watch read off the signals of the other -yacht, ran up the answering pennant, and sent for the -sailing-master, but could of course do nothing else without -orders. So the <i>Erinna</i> continued to go slow. All -this took some minutes, for the officer had naturally -been obliged to look up the signal in the Code before -answering that he understood it; and in that time Van -Torp's yacht had completed her turn and was nearly -alongside. The <i>Lancashire Lass</i> slowed down to the -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_404" id="page_404">{404}</a></span> -<i>Erinna's</i> speed, and the two captains aimed their megaphones -accurately at each other from their respective -bridges for a little pleasant conversation. Captain -Brown, instructed by Mr. Van Torp at his elbow, repeated -what his signals had meant. The other sailing-master -answered that he had already informed his -owner, who was coming to the bridge directly.</p> - -<p>At that moment Logotheti appeared. There was not -much more than a cable's length between the two yachts, -which in land-talk means two hundred yards. Van -Torp also saw a slim young lady in blue serge, with a -veil tied over her hair, leaning on the rail of the promenade -deck and looking towards him. With his glasses -he recognised the features of Baraka.</p> - -<p>'Got 'em!' he ejaculated in a low but audible tone -of intense satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had also seen Van Torp, and waved his -hand in a friendly manner.</p> - -<p>'Ask the gentleman if he'll come aboard, Captain,' -said the American. 'I can't talk through your cornopean -anyway. I suppose we can send the naphtha launch -for him if we stop, can't we?'</p> - -<p>'Can't stop here,' answered Captain Brown. 'The -currents might jam us into each other, and we should -most likely get aground in any case. This is not even -a safe place for going slow, when the tide is running.'</p> - -<p>'Well, you know your business, and I don't. Tell -him we don't want to interfere with any arrangements -he's made, and that if he'll kindly set the pace he likes -we'll trot along behind him till we get to a nice place, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_405" id="page_405">{405}</a></span> -somewhere where we can stop. I suppose he can't run -away from us now, can he?'</p> - -<p>Captain Brown smiled the smile of a man who commands -a twenty-three-knot boat, and proceeded to -deliver the message in a more concise form. Logotheti -heard every word, and the answer was that he was in -no hurry and was quite at Mr. Van Torp's disposal. -He would be glad to know whom the latter had on board -with him.</p> - -<p>'Lady Maud Leven, Miss Margaret Donne, Mrs. -Rushmore, and Count Kralinsky,' answered Captain -Brown, prompted by Van Torp.</p> - -<p>The latter was watching the Greek through a pair of -deer-stalking glasses, and saw distinctly the expression -of surprise that came into his face when he heard the -last of the names.</p> - -<p>'Tell the gentleman,' said Van Torp, 'that if he'll -bring his party with him when we stop, I'll be very -glad to have them all take lunch with me.'</p> - -<p>Captain Brown delivered the message. At such a -short distance he did not even have to raise his voice -to be heard through the six-foot megaphone.</p> - -<p>To Van Torp's surprise, Logotheti nodded with alacrity, -and the answer came that he would bring his party -with pleasure, but thought that his visit would be over -long before luncheon time.</p> - -<p>'All right, good-bye,' said Van Torp, as if he were -at the telephone. 'Ring off, Captain. That's all. Just -let him give us a lead now and we'll follow him through -this creek again, since you say you can't stop here.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_406" id="page_406">{406}</a></span></p> - -<p>As he went off the bridge to return to his breakfast -he passed close to the chief mate, who had turned again, -though it was his watch below.</p> - -<p>'I say, Mr. Johnson,' he asked, 'have we got a barber-shop -on board this ship?'</p> - -<p>'No, sir,' answered the mate, who knew better than -to be surprised at anything.</p> - -<p>'It's no matter,' said Mr. Van Torp. 'I was only -asking.'</p> - -<p>He went back to his breakfast with an improved -appetite. When he re-entered the saloon Lady Maud -was still leaning back in her chair, staring at his empty -place.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, 'they're both coming on board as soon -as we get to a place where we can stop.'</p> - -<p>'Have you really seen the girl?' Lady Maud sat up, -as if she were waking from sleep.</p> - -<p>'Oh, yes! There she was, looking over the rail, as -neat as a pin, in a blue serge dress, with a white veil -tied over her hair, watching me. We've got 'em right -enough, and that's going to be the end of this mystery!'</p> - -<p>'Did you see any one else on the yacht?'</p> - -<p>'Logo. That's all. He and I talked. At least, our -captains talked for us. They do know how to yell, -those men! If the girl's the party, Logo beats the band -for brass, that's all I can say!'</p> - -<p>'It is rather cool,' said Lady Maud thoughtfully. 'If -he's alone with her, it will be all up with his engagement.'</p> - -<p>'Well, if that's the way he's going on, it's about time.' -His tone was all at once serious. 'Now, see here, have -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_407" id="page_407">{407}</a></span> -I done anything you consider unfair to make this happen? -I want your opinion right away, for if you think -I have, I'll stand up for Logo to Miss Donne as hard -as I can. Just think it over, please, and tell me your -honest opinion. If I've done anything low-down, I -want to go right back and begin over again.'</p> - -<p>He was thoroughly in earnest, and awaited her answer -with evident anxiety. Knowing the man as she did, -she would not give it hastily, though it was hard to -concentrate her thoughts just then on anything but her -own trouble; for she was quite convinced that Baraka -would not recognise Kralinsky as the man she was -looking for, and that this final proof would settle his -identity as Leven, which she already did not doubt.</p> - -<p>She asked one or two questions.</p> - -<p>'Before I answer you,' she said, 'tell me something, -as you tell me things, when you do. Have you any -entanglement with another woman from which you feel -that you're not perfectly free? I don't like to ask such -a question, and I wouldn't if you had not put me on -my honour for my opinion.'</p> - -<p>'No,' answered Van Torp very gravely, 'I have not. -No living woman has any claim on me, and no dead -woman could have, if she came to life again.'</p> - -<p>'Then I think you had a right to do what you've done, -and what you are going to do. When a man behaves -in that way he deserves no pity, and now that the crisis -is coming I may as well tell you that I've done everything -in my power to make Margaret give him up, ever -since I have been sure that he had taken the girl with -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_408" id="page_408">{408}</a></span> -him on his yacht. So far as catching them under Margaret's -very eyes is concerned, I'm glad you have succeeded—very -glad!'</p> - -<p>On certain points Lady Maud was inflexible as to the -conduct of men and women, but especially of men. -'Mrs. Foxwell' spent much time behind the Virtue-Curtain, -seeking for poor souls who were willing to be -helped, and her experiences had led her to believe a -modified version of the story of Adam and Eve and the -Apple-tree which was quite her own. In her opinion -Adam had been in the habit of talking to his wife about -the tree for some time, and when the serpent presented -itself to explain things he discreetly withdrew till the -interview was over. Therefore 'Mrs. Foxwell' was, on -the whole, more charitably inclined to her own sex than -the other, and when she was 'Lady Maud' she held very -strong views indeed about the obligations of men who -meant to marry, and she expressed them when the intended -bride was a friend of hers.</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' said Mr. Van Torp, after she had finished -her speech. 'I'm glad you don't disapprove, for -if you did I'd try to begin all over again, as I told you. -Any other question? You said "one or two," and I'd -like to have them all now.'</p> - -<p>'Only one more, though perhaps I've no business to -ask it. If Margaret marries you, shall you want her to -leave the stage?'</p> - -<p>'Why, no!' answered Mr. Van Torp with alacrity. -'That wouldn't suit my plans at all. Besides, we're a -Company, she and I.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_409" id="page_409">{409}</a></span></p> - -<p>'What do you mean?' Lady Maud thought he was -joking.</p> - -<p>'Well, I wasn't going to tell you till we'd organised, -but you're as good as a deaf and dumb asylum about -business things. Yes. We're organising as "The Madame -da Cordova and Rufus Van Torp Company." -I'm going to build an opera-house in New York on some -land I've got on Fifth Avenue, and Miss Donne is going -to run it, and we mean to have Wagner festivals and -things, besides regular grand opera, in which she's -engaged to sing as often as she likes. There's never -been an opera-house on Fifth Avenue, but there's -going to be, and people will go to it. Miss Donne caught -on to the scheme right away, so you see she's not going -to leave the stage anyhow. As for her accepting me, -I can't tell you, because I don't know. Maybe she will, -maybe she won't. That isn't going to interfere with -the Company either way. Good scheme, isn't it?'</p> - -<p>'You're a wonderful man,' said Lady Maud, with -genuine admiration. 'Do you mean to say that you -have settled all that between you already?'</p> - -<p>'She signed the preliminary agreement in Bayreuth, -and the papers are being made out by my lawyer in -New York. You don't think it was unfair to offer to -build a theatre and call it after her, do you? That -isn't "exercising undue influence," I suppose?'</p> - -<p>'No, and I think you're going to win. The other -man hasn't had a chance since you got into your stride.'</p> - -<p>'When a man chucks his chances, I'm not going to -pick them up for him. Charity begins at home.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_410" id="page_410">{410}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Even if "home" is a bachelor establishment?' -Lady Maud smiled for the first time that day.</p> - -<p>They talked a few minutes longer, agreeing that she -should tell Margaret what was going to happen; but -that Mrs. Rushmore and Kralinsky should be kept in -ignorance of the plan, the American lady because she -might possibly yield to temptation and tell the Count, -and the latter for obvious reasons. It was not likely -that any of them would be on deck much before Logotheti -came on board.</p> - -<p>There is good anchorage out of the tidal current at -Scaletta, some few miles below Messina, on the Sicilian -side, and towards this well-known water the <i>Erinna</i> -led the way, followed at a short distance by the <i>Lancashire -Lass</i>.</p> - -<p>Logotheti and Baraka watched her, and the girl -recognised Van Torp on the bridge of his yacht, without -even using glasses, for she had eyes like an eagle's, and -the American millionaire stood alone at one end of the -bridge looking towards her.</p> - -<p>Logotheti had told her that Kralinsky was on board, -and that she should see him as soon as both yachts -could anchor. He explained that it was an unforeseen -coincidence, and that Mr. Van Torp must have taken -him on board somewhere on the previous day. To the -Greek's surprise, Baraka showed no outward sign of -emotion. He had promised to take her to the man, -and had said that he was near at hand; that the meeting -should take place sooner than had been intended hardly -surprised her, because she had been so perfectly sure -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_411" id="page_411">{411}</a></span> -that it was near. Her only preoccupation now was -about her appearance in her ready-made serge and -blouse, when she had meant to show herself to Kralinsky -in the glory of a beautiful and expensive Feringhi dress.</p> - -<p>But Logotheti explained that even the richest Feringhi -ladies often wore little blue serge frocks on yachts, and -told her to watch the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> with her glasses, -as there were three very great Feringhi ladies on board, -and she might see one, and be reassured; and presently -she saw Lady Maud walking alone on the promenade -deck, in clothes very like her own, excepting that they -were black instead of dark blue. So Baraka was satisfied, -but she never took her eyes from the following -yacht, for she hoped that Kralinsky would come out and -show himself.</p> - -<p>All at once he was there, taking off his white cap to -Lady Maud, and they stood still facing each other, and -talking.</p> - -<p>'I see him,' Baraka said in a low voice, without -lowering her glasses. 'It is he.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti, who had been much absorbed in thinking -about his coming interview with Margaret, raised his -glasses too, for he was curious to see the man at last. -He had known Leven for years, though never intimately, -as he knew a vast number of people in London, -and he was struck at once by the resemblance in size, -build, and complexion.</p> - -<p>'He is fatter than he was, and paler,' Baraka said -quietly, 'but it is he. He is speaking earnestly with -the beautiful woman in black. I can see well. He -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_412" id="page_412">{412}</a></span> -likes her, but she does not like him. I think she is -telling him so. I am glad. But she is more beautiful -than Baraka, even in those poor clothes. When he sees -me, he will deny me, because he likes the beautiful -woman in black. I will tell Spiro to be ready. It is -a pity, but I see there will be no other way. It is his -portion and mine. It is a great pity, for I have been -happy with you.'</p> - -<p>Instead of any look of anger, Logotheti now saw an -expression of profound resignation in her lovely young -features. If he had been less anxious about his own -affairs, he would have smiled at her simplicity.</p> - -<p>'When we are on that ship you will let me talk with -him a little apart from the rest, and Spiro shall go behind -him and wait, looking at me. If he denies me, I will -make a sign, and Spiro shall shoot him, and then kill -me. It will be very easy and quick.'</p> - -<p>'And what will become of Spiro?' inquired Logotheti -gravely.</p> - -<p>'I do not know,' Baraka said quietly. 'Perhaps he -will lose his head. How can I tell? But he is a good -servant, and will obey me. Afterwards it will not matter, -for he is really a Musulman, and will go at once to -paradise if he dies, because he has killed a Christian.'</p> - -<p>'But you are a Musulman, and he is to kill you also. -What about that?'</p> - -<p>'I am only a woman,' answered Baraka with supreme -indifference. 'Now I will call Spiro and tell him what -he is to do. He has a good revolver.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti let her clap her hands and send the steward -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_413" id="page_413">{413}</a></span> -for her man, and she rose when he appeared and made -him follow her a little way along the deck. The interview -did not last long. She handed him her glasses -and made him look carefully at the intended victim; -then she apparently repeated her brief instructions -again, pointing here and there to the deck at her feet, -to show him how they were to stand; after which she -turned quietly, came back to Logotheti's side, and sat -down again.</p> - -<p>'He understands,' she said. 'It will be quite easy.'</p> - -<p>But Logotheti, looking past her as she came forward, -had met Spiro's eyes; and he felt not even the slightest -anxiety for Kralinsky's safety, nor for Baraka's. He -was still wondering what he should say to Margaret, -but while he tried to think it over, his eyes dwelt on -the noble little profile of the slender Asiatic girl at his -side; and it occurred to him that, although she had -worn man's clothes and done things that few women -would dare to do, for the one purpose of her life, she -would much rather die than show herself on the stage in -a very low dress before thousands of people and sing -to them, and take money for doing it; and he remembered -a time, not much more than two years past, when -the mere thought had driven the idea of marrying the -Primadonna quite out of his head for a while, and that, -after all, it had been her physical attraction that had -overcome the prejudice, making him say that he was as -much in love with the Cordova as he had been with -Margaret Donne, that 'very nice English girl.' For -men are changeable creatures after they think they -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_414" id="page_414">{414}</a></span> -have changed themselves to suit their tastes or their -ideals, and the original man in them, good or bad, fine -or coarse, generally comes back in the great moments.</p> - -<p>At a distance, Logotheti had supposed that he could -somehow account to the Diva for the position in which -he had foolishly placed himself, because he had done -nothing and said nothing that he would have been -ashamed of before her, if she knew the whole truth; and -he fancied that even if they quarrelled she would make -up with him before long, and marry him in the end. He -had a good opinion of himself as a desirable husband; -and with reason, since he had been persecuted for years -with offers of excellent marriages from mothers of high -degree who had daughters to dispose of. And beneath -that conviction there lurked, in spite of him, the less -worthy thought, that singers and actresses were generally -less squeamish than women of the world about the -little entanglements of their intended husbands.</p> - -<p>But now, at the very moment of meeting Margaret, -he knew that if he found her very angry with him, he -would simply listen to what she had to say, make a -humble apology, state the truth coldly, and return to -his own yacht with Baraka, under her very eyes, and in -full sight of Lady Maud and Mrs. Rushmore. Besides, -he felt tolerably sure that when Spiro failed to carry -out the young Tartar girl's murderous instructions, -she would forget all about the oath she had sworn by -the 'inviolable water of the Styx' and try to kill him -with her own hands, so that it would be necessary to -take her away abruptly, and even forcibly. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_415" id="page_415">{415}</a></span></p> - -<p>Matters did not turn out as he expected, however, -after the two yachts stopped their engines in the quiet -waters off Scaletta, under the Sicilian mountains.</p> - -<p>Before the <i>Erinna</i> had quite lost her way, Logotheti -had his naphtha launch puffing alongside, and he got -into it with Baraka and Spiro, and the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> -had barely time to lower her ladder, while still moving -slowly, before the visitors were there.</p> - -<p>Baraka bade Logotheti go up first, and trod daintily -on the grated steps as she followed him. The chief -mate and chief steward were waiting at the gangway. -The mate saluted; the steward led the visitors to the -main saloon, ushered them in, and shut the door. Spiro -was left outside, of course.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud was there, sitting in an easy-chair in the -farthest corner. She nodded to Logotheti, but did not -rise, and paid no more attention to Baraka than if she -had not existed.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp shook hands coldly with Logotheti; -Baraka walked directly to Kralinsky, and then stood -stone-still before him, gazing up steadily into his eyes.</p> - -<p>Neither Margaret nor Mrs. Rushmore was to be seen. -Van Torp and Logotheti both watched the other two, -looking from one face to the other. Kralinsky, with -his eye-glass in his eye, surveyed the lovely young -barbarian unmoved, and the silence lasted half a minute. -Then she spoke in her own language and Kralinsky answered -her, and only Logotheti understood what they -said to each other. Probably it did not occur to Kralinsky -that the Greek knew Tartar. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_416" id="page_416">{416}</a></span></p> - -<p>'You are not Ivan. You are fatter, and you have -not his eyes.'</p> - -<p>Logotheti drew a long breath.</p> - -<p>'No,' answered Kralinsky. 'I am Yuryi, his brother. -I never saw you, but he told me of you.'</p> - -<p>'Where is Ivan?'</p> - -<p>'Dead.'</p> - -<p>The proud little head was bowed down for a moment -and Baraka did not speak till several seconds had passed. -Then she looked up again suddenly. Her dark eyes -were quite dry.</p> - -<p>'How long?'</p> - -<p>'More than four months.'</p> - -<p>'You know it?'</p> - -<p>'I was with him and buried him.'</p> - -<p>'It is enough.'</p> - -<p>She turned, her head high, and went to the door, and -no one hindered her from going out.</p> - -<p>'Monsieur Logotheti!' Lady Maud called him, and -the Greek crossed the saloon and stood by her. 'He -is not the man, I see,' she said, with a vague doubt in -her voice.</p> - -<p>'No.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp was speaking with Kralinsky in low tones. -Lady Maud spoke to Logotheti again, after an instant, -in which she drew a painful breath and grew paler.</p> - -<p>'Miss Donne knows that you are on board,' she said, -'but she wishes me to say that she will not see you, -and that she considers her engagement at an end, after -what you have done.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_417" id="page_417">{417}</a></span></p> - -<p>Logotheti did not hesitate.</p> - -<p>'Will you kindly give a message to Miss Donne from -me?' he asked.</p> - -<p>'That quite depends on what it is,' Lady Maud -answered coldly.</p> - -<p>She felt that she herself had got something near a -death-wound, but she would not break down.</p> - -<p>'I beg you to tell Miss Donne that I yield to her -decision,' said Logotheti with dignity. 'We are not -suited to each other, and it is better that we should -part. But I cannot accept as the cause of our parting -the fact that I have given my protection to a young girl -whom I have extricated from great trouble and have -treated, and still treat, precisely as I should have treated -Miss Donne if she had been my guest. Will you tell -her that?'</p> - -<p>'I will tell her that.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you. Good-morning.'</p> - -<p>'Good-morning,' said Lady Maud icily.</p> - -<p>He turned and went towards the door, but stopped -to speak to Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'This gentleman,' he said, 'is not the man my guest -was anxious to find, though he is strikingly like him. -I have to thank you for giving her an opportunity of -satisfying herself. Good-morning.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp was extremely grateful to Logotheti -for having ruined himself in Margaret's eyes, and would -in any case have seen him to the gangway, but he was -also very anxious to know what Kralinsky and Baraka -had said to each other in Tartar. He therefore opened -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_418" id="page_418">{418}</a></span> -the door for the Greek, followed him out and shut it -behind him. Baraka and Spiro had disappeared; -they were already in the launch, waiting.</p> - -<p>'Now what did they say, if it isn't a rude question?' -asked the American.</p> - -<p>Logotheti repeated the short conversation almost -word for word.</p> - -<p>'He said that his name was Yuryi,' he concluded.</p> - -<p>'That is George in English.'</p> - -<p>'Oh, he's George, is he? And what's his dead -brother's name again, please?'</p> - -<p>'Ivan. That is John. Before we part, Van Torp, -I may as well tell you that my engagement with Miss -Donne is at an end. She was good enough to inform -me of her decision through Lady Maud. One thing -more, please. I wish you to know, as between man -and man, that I have treated Baraka as I would my -own sister since I got her out of prison, and I beg -that you won't encourage any disagreeable talk about -her.'</p> - -<p>'Well, now,' said the American slowly, 'I'm glad to -hear you say that, just in that way. I guess it'll be -all right about any remarks on board my ship, now -you've spoken.'</p> - -<p>'Thank you,' said Logotheti, moving towards the -gangway.</p> - -<p>They shook hands with some cordiality, and Logotheti -ran down the steps like a sailor, without laying -his hand on the man-rope, stepped on board his launch, -and was off in a moment. -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_419" id="page_419">{419}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Good-bye! good-bye, Miss Barrack, and good luck -to you!' cried Van Torp, waving his cap.</p> - -<p>Logotheti translated his words to Baraka, who looked -back with a grateful smile, as if she had not just heard -that the man she had risked her life to find in two continents -had been dead four months.</p> - -<p>'It was his portion,' she said gravely, when she was -alone with Logotheti on the <i>Erinna</i>, and the chain was -coming in fast.</p> - -<p>Van Torp went back to the main saloon and found -Lady Maud and Kralinsky there. She was apparently -about to leave the Count, for she was coming towards -the door, and her eyes were dark and angry.</p> - -<p>'Rufus,' she said, 'this man is my husband, and insists -that I should take him back. I will not. Will -you kindly have me put ashore before you start again? -My things are ready now.'</p> - -<p>'Excuse me,' answered Mr. Van Torp, digging his -large thumbs into his waistcoat pockets, 'there's a mistake. -He's not your husband.'</p> - -<p>'He is, indeed!' cried Lady Maud, in a tone her -friend never forgot.</p> - -<p>'I am Boris Leven,' said Kralinsky in an authoritative -tone, and coming forward almost defiantly. -'Then why did you tell the Tartar girl that your -name was George?' asked Mr. Van Torp, unmoved.</p> - -<p>'I did not.'</p> - -<p>'You've evidently forgotten. That Greek gentleman -speaks Tartar better than you. I wonder where you -learned it! He's just told me you said your name was -George.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_420" id="page_420">{420}</a></span></p> - -<p>'My name is George Boris,' answered Kralinsky, less -confidently.</p> - -<p>He was not a coward, but he had never been face to -face with Van Torp when he meant business, and the -terrible American cowed him.</p> - -<p>'My husband's name is only Boris—nothing else,' -said Lady Maud.</p> - -<p>'Well, this isn't your husband; this is George, whoever -he is, and if you don't believe it, I'm going to give -you an object-lesson.'</p> - -<p>Thereupon Mr. Van Torp pressed the button of a bell -in the bulk-head near the door, which he opened, and -he stood looking out. A steward came at once.</p> - -<p>'Send me Stemp,' said Van Torp in a low voice, as -he stepped outside.</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'And, see here, send six sailors with him.'</p> - -<p>'Six, sir?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. Big fellows who can handle a man.'</p> - -<p>'Very good, sir.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp went in again and shut the door. Kralinsky -disdained flight, and was looking out of a window. -Lady Maud had sat down again. For the first time in -her life she felt weak.</p> - -<p>In less than one minute the door opened and Stemp -appeared, impassive and respectful. Behind him was -the boatswain, a huge Northumbrian, and five young -seamen in perfectly new guernseys, with fair quiet -faces.</p> - -<p>'Stemp.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_421" id="page_421">{421}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'Take that man somewhere and shave him. Leave -his moustache on.' Van Torp pointed to Kralinsky.</p> - -<p>For once in his life Stemp gasped for breath. Kralinsky -turned a greenish white, and seemed paralysed with -rage.</p> - -<p>'Take his beard off, sir, you mean?'</p> - -<p>'Yes. Leave his moustache. Here, men,' added -Van Torp, 'take that fellow outside and hold him down -in a chair while Stemp shaves him. See?' The boatswain -looked doubtful. 'He's pretending to be somebody -he's not,' said Van Torp, 'on my ship, and I want -to see his face. It's mutiny if you don't obey orders!'</p> - -<p>'Aye, aye, sir,' responded the boatswain cheerfully, -for he rather liked the job since there was a good reason -for it.</p> - -<p>But instead of going about his business gently, the -Northumbrian giant suddenly dashed past Van Torp -in a flash, and jumped and hurled himself head foremost -at Kralinsky's legs, exactly as if he were diving. In the -Count's violent fall the revolver he had drawn was -thrown from his hand and went off in the air. The -boatswain had seen it in time. The big man struggled -a little, but the five seamen held him fast and carried -him out kicking.</p> - -<p>'Stemp.'</p> - -<p>The valet was preparing to follow the prisoner, and -was quite calm again.</p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>'If he won't sit still to be shaved, cut his head off.' -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_422" id="page_422">{422}</a></span></p> - -<p>'Yes, sir.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp's eyes were awful to see. He had never -been so angry in his life. He turned and saw Lady -Maud pressing her handkerchief to her right temple. -The ball had grazed it, though it had certainly not been -meant for her.</p> - -<p>'Rufus!' she cried in great distress, 'what have you -done?'</p> - -<p>'The question is what he's done to you,' answered -Van Torp. 'I believe the blackguard has shot you!'</p> - -<p>'It's nothing. Thank God it hit me! It was meant -for you.'</p> - -<p>Van Torp's rage instantly turned into tender care, -and he insisted on examining the wound, which was -slight but would leave a scar. By a miracle the ball had -grazed the angle of the temple without going near the -temporal artery, and scarcely singeing the thick brown -hair.</p> - -<p>Van Torp rang and sent for water and absorbent -cotton, and made a very neat dressing, over which -Lady Maud tied her big veil. Just as this was done, -Stemp appeared at the door.</p> - -<p>'It's ready, sir, if you would like to come and see. -I've not scratched him once, sir.'</p> - -<p>'All right.' Van Torp turned to Lady Maud. 'Do -you feel faint? Lean on my arm.'</p> - -<p>But she would not, and she walked bravely, holding -herself so straight that she looked much taller than he, -though she felt as if she were going to execution.</p> - -<p>A moment later she uttered a loud cry and clung to -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_423" id="page_423">{423}</a></span> -Van Torp's shoulder with both hands. But as for him, -he said only two words.</p> - -<p>'You hellhound!'</p> - -<p>The man was not Boris Leven.</p> - -<div class="figcenter p4"><a name="i_451" id="i_451"></a> -<img src="images/i_451.jpg" width="448" height="550" alt=""The man was not Boris Leven."" /> -<p class="caption">"The man was not Boris Leven."</p> -</div> - -<p>The eyes, the upper part of the face, the hair, even -the flowing moustaches were his, but not the small -retreating chin crossed by the sharp, thin scar of a -sword-cut long healed.</p> - -<p>'I know who you are,' said Van Torp, surveying him -gravely. 'You're Long-legged Levi's brother, that -disappeared before he did. I remember that scar.'</p> - -<p>The sham Kralinsky was securely tied down in a -chair and the boatswain and the five seamen stood -round him, an admiring public. Captain Brown had -been informed of what had happened and was going on, -and the discipline he maintained on board was so perfect -that every man on the watch was at his post, and -the steamer was already under weigh again. The boatswain -and his contingent belonged to the watch below, -which had not been called for the start.</p> - -<p>'Let me off easy,' said Long-legged Levi's brother. -'I've not done you any harm.'</p> - -<p>'Beyond wounding Lady Maud, after trying to pass -yourself off as her dead husband. No. I won't let -you off. Boatswain, I want this man arrested, and we'll -take him and all his belongings before the British Consul -in Messina in less than an hour. You just attend -to that, will you? Somebody go and tell the Captain.'</p> - -<p>'Aye, aye, sir.'</p> - -<p>For the boatswain and the men had seen and heard, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_424" id="page_424">{424}</a></span> -and they knew that Mr. Van Torp was right, and they -respected him, and the foreign impostor had wounded -an English woman; and having given his orders, the -owner and Lady Maud turned and left Long-legged -Levi's brother tied to the chair, in a very dejected state, -and his uncertain eyes did not even follow them.</p> - -<hr class="l30" /> - -<p>The rest is soon told. A long inquiry followed, which -led to the solution of the mystery and sent Count Yuryi -Leven to Siberia; for he was Boris Leven's twin brother.</p> - -<p>The truth turned out to be that there had been three -brothers, the youngest being Ivan, and they had all -entered the same Cossack regiment, and had served -in the Caucasus, where most officers learn the Tartar -language, which is spoken by all the different tribes. -It will be simpler to designate them by the English -equivalents for their names.</p> - -<p>Boris behaved himself tolerably well in the army, -but both his brothers, John and George, who was his -twin, were broken for cheating at cards, and emigrated -to America. So long as they all wore their beards, as -officers of Cossack regiments usually do, they were very -much alike. They were all educated men of refined -tastes, and particularly fond of music.</p> - -<p>When his two brothers were cashiered, Boris resigned, -entered the diplomatic service, married Lady Maud Foxwell, -and was killed by a bomb in St. Petersburg.</p> - -<p>John and George separated in America when they -were tired of punching cattle.</p> - -<p>John was something of a naturalist and was by far -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_425" id="page_425">{425}</a></span> -the most gifted of the three as well as the most daring. -He gravitated to China and at last to Mongolia, wandering -alone in search of plants and minerals, and it was to -him that Baraka showed the ruby mine. He got back -to civilisation with his treasure and took it to Petersburg -unmolested.</p> - -<p>There he found George earning a poor living in an -obscure position in the public service, his conduct in -the army having been condoned or overlooked. John, -who was the incarnation of selfishness, would do nothing -for him. George, exasperated by him, and half starved, -murdered him in such a way that he was supposed to -have died by an accident, took possession of his hoard -of unsold rubies, and wrote to his twin brother to come -and share the fortune John had left them.</p> - -<p>George and Boris had been in constant correspondence, -and had even helped each other with money from time -to time. Some weeks elapsed after Boris's return to -St. Petersburg before his death, and during that time, -he told George, who knew London well and had moreover -helped him in his attempt to get a divorce, a vast number -of details about his married life and his wife's behaviour, -her character and tastes. Then Boris was killed -in the street, and George left the country and changed -his name, with the vague idea that his own was not a -very creditable one and that if he kept it he might be -troubled by his brother Boris's numerous creditors. -He began life over again as Kralinsky.</p> - -<p>He had not entertained the least intention of passing -himself for Boris and claiming Lady Maud as his wife, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_426" id="page_426">{426}</a></span> -till he met her, and her beauty made him lose his head -completely when he saw that she took him for her husband. -He would have been found out inevitably sooner -or later, but Van Torp's vigorous action shortened -Lady Maud's torments.</p> - -<p>George was tried, and Russian justice awoke, possibly -under pressure from England. The family history of -the Levens was exhumed and dissected before the courts. -The creditors of Boris Leven appeared in legions and -claimed that in proper course he should have inherited -the rubies from his murdered brother, who would then -have been able to pay his debts. The court thought -so too, and ordered the confiscated treasure to be sold.</p> - -<p>But since it had been Boris's, the law was obliged -to declare that the residue of the money, after paying -the debts, was the property of Countess Leven, Boris's -widow.</p> - -<p>Lady Maud thus found herself in possession of a considerable -fortune, for she accepted the inheritance when -she was assured that it would go to the Russian Crown -if she refused it. But there was a fall in the price of -rubies, and the Russian government at once sent an -expensive expedition to find the mine, an attempt -which altogether failed, because Ivan Leven had never -told any one where it was, nor anything about it, and -the court only knew from certain jewellers who had dealt -both with Kralinsky and Baraka, that it was 'somewhere -in Central Asia,' which is an insufficient direction, -even for a ruby mine.</p> - -<p>The wealth Lady Maud thus commands enables her -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_427" id="page_427">{427}</a></span> -to carry much further than formerly the peculiar form -of charity which she believes to be her own invention, -if it may be properly called charity at all, and which -consists in making it worth while and agreeable to certain -unfortunate people to live decent lives in quiet -corners without starving, instead of calling to them to -come out from behind the Virtue-Curtain and be reformed -in public. It is a very expensive charity, however, -and very hard to exercise, and will never be popular; -for the popular charities are those that cost least -and are no trouble.</p> - -<p>Madame Konstantinos Logotheti is learning French -and English, on the Bosphorus, with her husband, and -will make a sensation when he brings her to London -and Paris. On the day of his marriage, in Constantinople, -Logotheti received a letter from Lady Maud, -telling him how sorry she was that she had not believed -him, that day on the yacht at Scaletta, and saying that -she hoped to meet his wife soon. It was an honest -apology from an honest woman.</p> - -<p>He received a letter a few days later from Margaret, -and on the same day a magnificently printed and recklessly -illustrated booklet reached him, forwarded from -Paris. The letter was from Margaret to tell him that -she also took back what she had thought about Baraka -and hoped to see him and her before long. She said she -was glad, on the whole, that he had acted like a lunatic, -because it was likely that they would both be happier. -She herself, she said, was going to be married to Mr. -Van Torp, at St. George's, Hanover Square, before -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_428" id="page_428">{428}</a></span> -sailing for New York, where she was going to sing at -the Opera after Christmas. If he should be in town -then, she hoped he would come, and bring his wife.</p> - -<p>The booklet was an announcement, interleaved with -fine etchings, to the effect that 'The Madame da Cordova -and Rufus Van Torp Company' would open their new -Opera House in Fifth Avenue less than two years hence, -with a grand Wagner Festival, to last two months, and -to include the performance of <i>Parsifal</i> with entirely -new scenery, and the greatest living artistes, whose -names were given. There was a plan of the house at -the end of the booklet for the benefit of those who -wished to make arrangements for being at the festival, -and such persons were admonished that they must -apply early if they expected to get seats.</p> - -<hr class="l30" /> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp had told the Diva that he would like -her to choose a wedding present which she really wanted, -adding that he had a few little things for her already. -He produced some of them, but some were on paper. -Among the latter was a house in New York, overlooking -the Park and copied exactly from her own in London, -the English architect having been sent to New York -himself to build it. Two small items were two luxurious -private cars of entirely different patterns, one for -America and one for Europe, which she was always -to use when she travelled, professionally or otherwise. -He said he did not give her the <i>Lancashire Lass</i> because -'it wasn't quite new'—having been about ten months -in the water—but he had his own reasons, one of which -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_429" id="page_429">{429}</a></span> -was that the yacht represented a sentiment to him, and -was what he would have called a 'souvenir.' But if -she could think of anything else she fancied, 'now was -the time.'</p> - -<p>She said that there was only one thing she should -really like, but that she could not have it, because it -was not in the market. He asked what it was, and it -turned out to be the ruby which Logotheti had given -her, and had taken to Pinney's to be cut, and which -had been the cause of so many unexpected events, including -her marriage. Logotheti had it in his possession, -she supposed, but he had shown good taste in not -trying to press it on her as a wedding present, for she -could not have accepted it. Nevertheless, she wanted -it very much, more as a remembrance than for its -beauty.</p> - -<p>Mr. Van Torp said he 'thought he could fix that,' -and he did. He went directly to Mr. Pinney and -asked what had become of the stone. Mr. Pinney -answered that it was now cut, and was in his safe, for -sale. The good man had felt that it would not be -tactful to offer it to Mr. Van Torp. Logotheti, who -was a fine gentleman in his way, had ordered it to be -sold, when a good opportunity offered, and directed -that the money should be given to the poor Greeks in -London, under the supervision of Lady Maud Leven, -the Turkish Ambassador, and the Greek Minister, as a -committee. Mr. Pinney, after consultation with the -best experts, valued it at fourteen thousand pounds -sterling. Mr. Van Torp wrote a cheque for the money, -<span class="pagenumb"><a name="page_430" id="page_430">{430}</a></span> -put the stone into an inner pocket, and took it to the -Diva.</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, smiling, 'here's your ruby, anyway. -Anything else to-day?'</p> - -<p>Margaret looked at him wonderingly, and then -opened the small morocco case.</p> - -<p>'Oh—oh—oh!' she cried, in rising intimations of -delight. 'I never saw anything so beautiful in my life! -It's ever so much more glorious than when I last saw it!'</p> - -<p>'It's been cut since then,' observed Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'It ought to have a name of its own! I'm sure it's -more beautiful than many of the named crown jewels!' -She felt half hypnotised as she gazed into the glorious -depths of the great stone. 'Thank you,' she cried, -'thank you so very much. I'm gladder to have it than -all the other things.'</p> - -<p>And thereupon she threw her magnificent arms round -Rufus Van Torp's solid neck, and kissed his cool flat -cheek several times; and it seemed quite natural to -her to do so; and she wished to forget how she had once -kissed one other man, who had kissed her.</p> - -<p>'It wants a name, doesn't it?' assented Mr. Van Torp.</p> - -<p>'Yes. You must find one for it.'</p> - -<p>'Well,' he said, 'after what's happened, I suppose we'd -better call it "The Diva's Ruby."'</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="p6">MR. CRAWFORD'S <span class="smcap">Latest Novels</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Each, cloth, 12mo, $1.50</i></p> - -<p class="b12 i2"><b>The Primadonna</b></p> - -<p class="i4"> -"Mr. Crawford is a born story-teller. His imagination and inventiveness -show as fresh and unwearied in his latest book as they did in -'Mr. Isaacs.'"—<i>Evening Telegraph</i>, Philadelphia.</p> - -<p class="i2 b12"><b>Fair Margaret</b> <span class="s08">A Portrait.</span></p> - -<p class="i4"> -"An exhilarating romance, ... alluring in its naturalness and grace."—<i>Boston -Herald.</i></p> - -<p class="b12 i2"><b>Arethusa</b></p> - -<p class="i4"> -Dr. Frederick Taber Cooper, in <i>The Bookman,</i> says of Mr. Crawford: -"In theory Mr. Crawford is a romanticist; in practice he is in turn -realist, psychologue, mystic, whatever for the moment suits his needs -or appeals to his instinct of born story-teller." He calls him, in fact, -as others have done, "the prince of story-tellers."</p> - -<p class="center"><i>By the author of "Saracinesca," etc.</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p>FRANK DANBY'S <span class="smcap">New Novel</span></p> - -<p class="b12 i2"> -<b>The Heart of a Child</b><span class="i4 s08"><i>Cloth, $1.50</i></span></p> - -<p class="i4">"A book of such strength, such fineness, such sympathetic insight ... -stands out conspicuously above the general level of contemporary -fiction."—<i>The Bookman</i>.</p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p>"BARBARA'S" <span class="smcap">New Book</span></p> - -<p class="b12 i2"><b>The Open Window</b></p> - -<p class="i4"> -Tales of the Months told by "Barbara," author of "The Garden of a -Commuter's Wife," "People of the Whirlpool," etc.</p> - -<p class="left65"><i>Frontispiece.</i> <i>Cloth, $1.50</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="center b13 p6"> -Mr. F. MARION CRAWFORD'S NOVELS</p> - -<p class="center">THE SARACINESCA SERIES</p> - -<p class="center"><i>In the binding of the Uniform Edition, each, $1.50</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Saracinesca</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"The work has two distinct merits, either of which would serve to make it -great,—that of telling a perfect story in a perfect way, and of giving a -graphic picture of Roman society in the last days of the Pope's temporal -power.... The story is exquisitely told."—<i>Boston Traveler</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Sant' Ilario.</b> A Sequel to "Saracinesca"</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"A singularly powerful and beautiful story.... It fulfils every requirement -of artistic fiction. It brings out what is most impressive in human action, -without owing any of its effectiveness to sensationalism or artifice. It is -natural, fluent in evolution, accordant with experience, graphic in description, -penetrating in analysis, and absorbing in interest."—<i>New York -Tribune.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Don Orsino.</b> A Sequel to "Sant' Ilario"</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Perhaps the cleverest novel of the year.... There is not a dull paragraph -in the book, and the reader may be assured that once begun, the -story of <i>Don Orsino</i> will fascinate him until its close."—<i>The Critic.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Taquisara</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"To Mr. Crawford's Roman novels belongs the supreme quality of uniting -subtly drawn characters to a plot of uncommon interest."—<i>Chicago Tribune.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Corleone</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Crawford is the novelist born ... a natural story-teller, with wit, -imagination, and insight added to a varied and profound knowledge of -social life."—<i>The Inter-Ocean</i>, Chicago.</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Casa Braccio.</b> <i>In two volumes, $2.00</i>. Illustrated by A. -Castaigne.</p> - -<p class="i2"> -Like <i>Taquisara</i> and <i>Corleone</i>, it is closely related in plot to the fortunes of -the Saracinesca family.</p> - -<p class="i2">"Mr. Crawford's books have life, pathos, and insight; he tells a dramatic -story with many exquisite touches."—<i>New York Sun.</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="b13 p6 center">Mr. WINSTON CHURCHILL'S NOVELS</p> - -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="center"><i>Each, cloth, gilt tops and titles, $1.50</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="b13"> -<b>Mr. Crewe's Career</b><span class="flright s08">Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Another chapter in his broad, epical delineation of the American spirit.... -It is an honest and fair story.... It is very interesting; and the -heroine is a type of woman as fresh, original, and captivating as any that -has appeared in American novels for a long time past."—<i>The Outlook</i>, -New York.</p> - -<p class="i2">"Shows Mr. Churchill at his best. The flavor of his humor is of that -stimulating kind which asserts itself just the moment, as it were, after it has -passed the palate.... As for Victoria, she has that quality of vivid freshness, -tenderness, and independence which makes so many modern -American heroines delightful."—<i>The Times</i>, London.</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"> -<b>The Celebrity</b> <span class="s08">An Episode</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"No such piece of inimitable comedy in a literary way has appeared for -years.... It is the purest, keenest fun."—<i>Chicago Inter-Ocean.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"> -<b>Richard Carvel</b><span class="flright s08">Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"... In breadth of canvas, massing of dramatic effect, depth of feeling, and -rare wholesomeness of spirit, it has seldom, if ever, been surpassed by an -American romance."—<i>Chicago Tribune.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"> -<b>The Crossing</b><span class="flright s08">Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"'The Crossing' is a thoroughly interesting book, packed with exciting -adventure and sentimental incident, yet faithful to historical fact both in -detail and in spirit."—<i>The Dial.</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"> -<b>The Crisis</b><span class="flright s08">Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It is a charming love story, and never loses its interest.... The intense -political bitterness, the intense patriotism of both parties, are shown understandingly."—<i>Evening -Telegraph</i>, Philadelphia.</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"> -<b>Coniston</b><span class="flright s08">Illustrated</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"'Coniston' has a lighter, gayer spirit and a deeper, tenderer touch than -Mr. Churchill has ever achieved before.... It is one of the truest and -finest transcripts of modern American life thus far achieved in our fiction."—<i>Chicago -Record-Herald.</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="b13 p6 center">Mr. ROBERT HERRICK'S NOVELS</p> -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="center"><i>Cloth, extra, gilt tops, each, $1.50</i></p> -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Gospel of Freedom</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"A novel that may truly be called the greatest study of social life, in a -broad and very much up-to-date sense, that has ever been contributed to -American fiction."—<i>Chicago Inter-Ocean.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Web of Life</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It is strong in that it faithfully depicts many phases of American life, and -uses them to strengthen a web of fiction, which is most artistically wrought -out."—<i>Buffalo Express.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Real World</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"The title of the book has a subtle intention. It indicates, and is true to -the verities in doing so, the strange dreamlike quality of life to the man -who has not yet fought his own battles, or come into conscious possession -of his will—only such battles bite into the consciousness."—<i>Chicago -Tribune.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Common Lot</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It grips the reader tremendously.... It is the drama of a human soul -the reader watches ... the finest study of human motive that has appeared -for many a day."—<i>The World To-day.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Memoirs of an American Citizen.</b> <span class="s08">Illustrated -with about fifty drawings by F. B. Masters.</span></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Herrick's book is a book among many, and he comes nearer to -reflecting a certain kind of recognizable, contemporaneous American spirit -than anybody has yet done."—<i>New York Times.</i></p> - -<p class="i2">"Intensely absorbing as a story, it is also a crisp, vigorous document of -startling significance. More than any other writer to-day he is giving us -<i>the</i> American novel."—<i>New York Globe.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Together</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Journeys end in lovers meeting," says the old saw; so all novels used -to end—in marriage. Yet Mr. Herrick's interesting new novel only -begins there; the best brief description of it is, indeed,—a novel about -married people for all who are married. -</p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="center b13 p6">Mr. F. MARION CRAWFORD'S NOVELS</p> - -<p class="i2"> -Mr. Crawford has no equal as a writer of brilliant cosmopolitan fiction, in -which the characters really belong to the chosen scene and the story interest -is strong. His novels possess atmosphere in a high degree. -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">Mr. Isaacs<span class="flright s08">(India)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"> -Its scenes are laid in Simla, chiefly. This is the work which first placed -its author among the most brilliant novelists of his day. -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">Greifenstein<span class="flright s08">(The Black Forest)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"... Another notable contribution to the literature of the day. It possesses -originality in its conception and is a work of unusual ability. Its -interest is sustained to the close, and it is an advance even on the previous -work of this talented author. Like all Mr. Crawford's work, this novel is -crisp, clear, and vigorous, and will be read with a great deal of interest."—<i>New -York Evening Telegram.</i> -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">Zoroaster<span class="flright s08">(Persia)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It is a drama in the force of its situations and in the poetry and dignity of -its language; but its men and women are not men and women of a play. -By the naturalness of their conversation and behavior they seem to live and -lay hold of our human sympathy more than the same characters on a stage -could possibly do."—<i>The New York Times.</i> -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">The Witch of Prague<span class="flright s08">(Bohemia)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"><i>"A fantastic tale," illustrated by W. J. Hennessy.</i></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"The artistic skill with which this extraordinary story is constructed and -carried out is admirable and delightful.... Mr. Crawford has scored a -decided triumph, for the interest of the tale is sustained throughout.... -A very remarkable, powerful, and interesting story."—<i>New York Tribune.</i> -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">Paul Patoff<span class="flright s08">(Constantinople)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Crawford has a marked talent for assimilating local color, not to -make mention of a broader historical sense. Even though he may adopt, -as it is the romancer's right to do, the extreme romantic view of history, it is -always a living and moving picture that he evolves for us, varied and stirring."—<i>New -York Evening Post.</i> -</p> - -<p class="p2 b13">Marietta<span class="flright s08">(Venice)</span> -</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"No living writer can surpass Mr. Crawford in the construction of a complicated -plot and the skilful unravelling of the tangled skein."—<i>Chicago -Record-Herald.</i></p> - -<p class="i2">"He has gone back to the field of his earlier triumphs, and has, perhaps, -scored the greatest triumph of them all."—<i>New York Herald.</i> -</p> - -<hr class="l15" /> - -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="b13 center p6">Mr. F. MARION CRAWFORD'S NOVELS</p> - -<p class="center">NOVELS OF ROMAN SOCIAL LIFE</p> - -<p class="center"><i>In decorated cloth covers, each, $1.50</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>A Roman Singer</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"One of the earliest and best works of this famous novelist.... None -but a genuine artist could have made so true a picture of human life, crossed -by human passions and interwoven with human weakness. It is a perfect -specimen of literary art."—<i>The Newark Advertiser.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Marzio's Crucifix</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"We have repeatedly had occasion to say that Mr. Crawford possesses in -an extraordinary degree the art of constructing a story. It is as if it could -not have been written otherwise, so naturally does the story unfold itself, -and so logical and consistent is the sequence of incident after incident. As -a story, <i>Marzio's Crucifix</i> is perfectly constructed."—<i>New York Commercial -Advertiser.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Heart of Rome.</b> A Tale of the Lost Water</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Crawford has written a story of absorbing interest, a story with a -genuine thrill in it; he has drawn his characters with a sure and brilliant -touch, and he has said many things surpassingly well."—<i>New York Times -Saturday Review.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Cecilia.</b> A Story of Modern Rome</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"That F. Marion Crawford is a master of mystery needs no new telling.... -His latest novel, <i>Cecilia</i>, is as weird as anything he has done since the -memorable <i>Mr. Isaacs</i>.... A strong, interesting, dramatic story, with -the picturesque Roman setting beautifully handled as only a master's touch -could do it."—<i>Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Whosoever Shall Offend</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It is a story sustained from beginning to end by an ever increasing dramatic -quality."—<i>New York Evening Post.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Pietro Ghisleri</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"The imaginative richness, the marvellous ingenuity of plot, the power and -subtlety of the portrayal of character, the charm of the romantic environment,—the -entire atmosphere, indeed,—rank this novel at once among -the great creations."—<i>The Boston Budget.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>To Leeward</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"The four characters with whose fortunes this novel deals are, perhaps, -the most brilliantly executed portraits in the whole of Mr. Crawford's long -picture gallery, while for subtle insight into the springs of human passion -and for swift dramatic action none of the novels surpasses this one."—<i>The -News and Courier.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>A Lady of Rome</b></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - -<p class="center b13 p6">Mr. F. MARION CRAWFORD'S NOVELS</p> - -<p class="center">WITH SCENES LAID IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA</p> - -<p class="center"><i>In the binding of the Uniform Edition</i></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>A Tale of a Lonely Parish</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It is a pleasure to have anything so perfect of its kind as this brief and -vivid story.... It is doubly a success, being full of human sympathy, as -well as thoroughly artistic in its nice balancing of the unusual with the -commonplace, the clever juxtaposition of innocence and guilt, comedy -and tragedy, simplicity and intrigue."—<i>Critic.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Dr. Claudius.</b> A True Story</p> - -<p class="i2"> -The scene changes from Heidelberg to New York, and much of the story -develops during the ocean voyage.</p> - -<p class="i2">"There is a satisfying quality in Mr. Crawford's strong, vital, forceful -stories."—<i>Boston Herald.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>An American Politician.</b> The scenes are laid in Boston</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"It need scarcely be said that the story is skilfully and picturesquely written, -portraying sharply individual characters in well-defined surroundings."—<i>New -York Commercial Advertiser.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Three Fates</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Crawford has manifestly brought his best qualities as a student of -human nature and his finest resources as a master of an original and -picturesque style to bear upon this story. Taken for all in all, it is one of -the most pleasing of all his productions in fiction, and it affords a view of -certain phases of American, or perhaps we should say of New York, life -that have not hitherto been treated with anything like the same adequacy -and felicity."—<i>Boston Beacon.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Marion Darche</b></p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Full enough of incident to have furnished material for three or four -stories.... A most interesting and engrossing book. Every page unfolds -new possibilities, and the incidents multiply rapidly."—<i>Detroit Free Press.</i></p> - -<p class="i2">"We are disposed to rank <i>Marion Darche</i> as the best of Mr. Crawford's -American stories."—<i>The Literary World.</i> -</p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>Katharine Lauderdale</b></p> - -<p class="b13 p2"><b>The Ralstons.</b> A Sequel to "Katharine Lauderdale"</p> - -<p class="i2"> -"Mr. Crawford at his best is a great novelist, and in <i>Katharine Lauderdale</i> -we have him at his best."—<i>Boston Daily Advertiser.</i></p> - -<p class="i2">"A most admirable novel, excellent in style, flashing with humor, and full -of the ripest and wisest reflections upon men and women."—<i>The Westminster -Gazette.</i></p> - -<p class="i2">"It is the first time, we think, in American fiction that any such breadth of -view has shown itself in the study of our social framework."—<i>Life.</i></p> - -<hr class="l15" /> -<p class="center"> -<span class="b12">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -PUBLISHERS, 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diva's Ruby, by F. 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