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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..67b9c5a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69715 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69715) diff --git a/old/69715-0.txt b/old/69715-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2a02cae..0000000 --- a/old/69715-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5855 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The scarlet car, the Princess Aline, -by Richard Harding Davis - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The scarlet car, the Princess Aline - -Author: Richard Harding Davis - -Release Date: January 5, 2023 [eBook #69715] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET CAR, THE PRINCESS -ALINE *** - - -[Illustration: Miss Forbes] - - - - - The Scarlet Car - - The Princess Aline - - - BY - RICHARD HARDING DAVIS - - - ILLUSTRATED - - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - NEW YORK 1910 - - - - - THE SCARLET CAR - - COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY - RICHARD HARDING DAVIS - - COPYRIGHT, 1907, 1910, BY - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - - - THE PRINCESS ALINE - - COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY - HARPER & BROTHERS - - COPYRIGHT, 1910, BY - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE SCARLET CAR - - THE PRINCESS ALINE - - - - - CONTENTS - - - THE SCARLET CAR - PAGE - THE JAIL-BREAKERS 3 - THE TRESPASSERS 39 - THE KIDNAPPERS 70 - - THE PRINCESS ALINE - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Miss Forbes _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - - In the two circles of light the men surveyed each other 56 - - “You’ve broken the bone,” he said 66 - - “Next to her stood the Princess Aline of Hohenwald” 142 - - “A man was talking in English, with an accent” 152 - - “This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand - miles to see her?” 164 - - - - - THE SCARLET CAR - - - - - TO - - NED STONE - - - - - THE SCARLET CAR - - - - - I - THE JAIL-BREAKERS - - -For a long time it had been arranged they all should go to the Harvard -and Yale game in Winthrop’s car. It was perfectly well understood. Even -Peabody, who pictured himself and Miss Forbes in the back of the car, -with her brother and Winthrop in front, condescended to approve. It was -necessary to invite Peabody because it was his great good fortune to be -engaged to Miss Forbes. Her brother Sam had been invited, not only -because he could act as chaperon for his sister, but because since they -were at St. Paul’s, Winthrop and he, either as participants or -spectators, had never missed going together to the Yale-Harvard game. -And Beatrice Forbes herself had been invited because she was herself. - -When at nine o’clock on the morning of the game, Winthrop stopped the -car in front of her door, he was in love with all the world. In the -November air there was a sting like frost-bitten cider, in the sky there -was a brilliant, beautiful sun, in the wind was the tingling touch of -three ice-chilled rivers. And in the big house facing Central Park, -outside of which his prancing steed of brass and scarlet chugged and -protested and trembled with impatience, was the most wonderful girl in -all the world. It was true she was engaged to be married, and not to -him. But she was not yet married. And to-day it would be his privilege -to carry her through the State of New York and the State of Connecticut, -and he would snatch glimpses of her profile rising from the rough fur -collar, of her wind-blown hair, of the long, lovely lashes under the -gray veil. - -“‘Shall be together, breathe and ride, so, one day more am I deified;’” -whispered the young man in the Scarlet Car; “‘who knows but the world -may end to-night?’” - -As he waited at the curb, other great touring-cars, of every speed and -shape, in the mad race for the Boston Post Road, and the town of New -Haven, swept up Fifth Avenue. Some rolled and puffed like tugboats in a -heavy seaway, others glided by noiseless and proud as private yachts. -But each flew the colors of blue or crimson. - -Winthrop’s car, because her brother had gone to one college, and he had -played right end for the other, was draped impartially. And so every -other car mocked or cheered it, and in one a bareheaded youth stood up, -and shouted to his fellows: “Look! there’s Billy Winthrop! Three times -three for old Billy Winthrop!” And they lashed the air with flags, and -sent his name echoing over Central Park. - -Winthrop grinned in embarrassment, and waved his hand. A bicycle cop, -and Fred, the chauffeur, were equally impressed. - -“Was they the Harvoids, sir?” asked Fred. - -“They was,” said Winthrop. - -Her brother Sam came down the steps carrying sweaters and steamer-rugs. -But he wore no holiday countenance. - -“What do you think?” he demanded indignantly. “Ernest Peabody’s inside -making trouble. His sister has a Pullman on one of the special trains, -and he wants Beatrice to go with her.” - -In spite of his furs, the young man in the car turned quite cold. “Not -with us?” he gasped. - -Miss Forbes appeared at the house door, followed by Ernest Peabody. He -wore an expression of disturbed dignity; she one of distressed -amusement. That she also wore her automobile coat caused the heart of -Winthrop to leap hopefully. - -“Winthrop,” said Peabody, “I am in rather an embarrassing position. My -sister, Mrs. Taylor Holbrooke”—he spoke the name as though he were -announcing it at the door of a drawingroom—“desires Miss Forbes to go -with her. She feels accidents are apt to occur with motor cars—and there -are no other ladies in your party—and the crowds——” - -Winthrop carefully avoided looking at Miss Forbes. - -“I should be very sorry,” he murmured. - -“Ernest!” said Miss Forbes, “I explained it was impossible for me to go -with your sister. We would be extremely rude to Mr. Winthrop. How do you -wish us to sit?” she asked. - -She mounted to the rear seat, and made room opposite her for Peabody. - -“Do I understand, Beatrice,” began Peabody, in a tone that instantly -made every one extremely uncomfortable, “that I am to tell my sister you -are not coming?” - -“Ernest!” begged Miss Forbes. - -Winthrop bent hastily over the oil valves. He read the speedometer, -which was, as usual, out of order, with fascinated interest. - -“Ernest,” pleaded Miss Forbes, “Mr. Winthrop and Sam planned this trip -for us a long time ago—to give us a little pleasure——” - -“Then,” said Peabody in a hollow voice, “you have decided?” - -“Ernest,” cried Miss Forbes, “don’t look at me as though you meant to -hurl the curse of Rome. I have. Jump in. Please!” - -“I will bid you good-by,” said Peabody; “I have only just time to catch -our train.” - -Miss Forbes rose and moved to the door of the car. - -“I had better not go with any one,” she said in a low voice. - -“You will go with me,” commanded her brother. “Come on, Ernest.” - -“Thank you, no,” replied Peabody. “I have promised my sister.” - -“All right, then,” exclaimed Sam briskly, “see you at the game. Section -H. Don’t forget. Let her out, Billy.” - -With a troubled countenance Winthrop bent forward and clasped the -clutch. - -“Better come, Peabody,” he said. - -“I thank you, no,” repeated Peabody. “I must go with my sister.” - -As the car glided forward Brother Sam sighed heavily. - -“My! but he’s got a mean disposition,” he said. “He has quite spoiled -_my_ day.” - -He chuckled wickedly, but Winthrop pretended not to hear, and his sister -maintained an expression of utter dejection. - -But to maintain an expression of utter dejection is very difficult when -the sun is shining, when you are flying at the rate of forty miles an -hour, and when in the cars you pass foolish youths wave Yale flags at -you, and take advantage of the day to cry: “Three cheers for the girl in -the blue hat!” - -And to entirely remove the last trace of the gloom that Peabody had -forced upon them, it was necessary only for a tire to burst. Of course, -for this effort, the tire chose the coldest and most fiercely wind-swept -portion of the Pelham Road, where from the broad waters of the Sound -pneumonia and the grip raced rampant, and where to the touch a steel -wrench was not to be distinguished from a piece of ice. But before the -wheels had ceased to complain, Winthrop and Fred were out of their fur -coats, down on their knees, and jacking up the axle. - -“On an expedition of this sort,” said Brother Sam, “whatever happens, -take it as a joke. Fortunately,” he explained, “I don’t understand -fixing inner tubes, so I will get out and smoke. I have noticed that -when a car breaks down there is always one man who paces up and down the -road and smokes. His hope is to fool passing cars into thinking that the -people in his car stopped to admire the view.” - -Recognizing the annual football match as intended solely to replenish -the town coffers, the thrifty townsfolk of Rye, with bicycles and red -flags, were, as usual, and regardless of the speed at which it moved, -levying tribute on every second car that entered their hospitable -boundaries. But before the Scarlet Car reached Rye, small boys of the -town, possessed of a sporting spirit, or of an inherited instinct for -graft, were waiting to give a noisy notice of the ambush. And so, -forewarned, the Scarlet Car crawled up the main street of Rye as -demurely as a baby-carriage, and then, having safely reached a point -directly in front of the police station, with a loud and ostentatious -report, blew up another tire. - -“Well,” said Sam crossly, “they can’t arrest _us_ for speeding.” - -“Whatever happens,” said his sister, “take it as a joke.” - -Two miles outside of Stamford, Brother Sam burst into open mutiny. - -“Every car in the United States has passed us,” he declared. “We won’t -get there, at this rate, till the end of the first half. Hit her up, -can’t you, Billy?” - -“She seems to have an illness,” said Winthrop unhappily. “I think I’d -save time if I stopped now and fixed her.” - -Shamefacedly Fred and he hid themselves under the body of the car, and a -sound of hammering and stentorian breathing followed. Of them all that -was visible was four feet beating a tattoo on the road. Miss Forbes got -out Winthrop’s camera, and took a snapshot of the scene. - -“I will call it,” she said, “The Idle Rich.” - -Brother Sam gazed morosely in the direction of New Haven. They had -halted within fifty yards of the railroad tracks, and as each special -train, loaded with happy enthusiasts, raced past them he groaned. - -“The only one of us that showed any common-sense was Ernest,” he -declared, “and you turned him down. I am going to take a trolley to -Stamford, and the first train to New Haven.” - -“You are not,” said his sister; “I will not desert Mr. Winthrop, and you -cannot desert me.” - -Brother Sam sighed, and seated himself on a rock. - -“Do you think, Billy,” he asked, “you can get us to Cambridge in time -for next year’s game?” - -The car limped into Stamford, and while it went into dry-dock at the -garage, Brother Sam fled to the railroad station, where he learned that -for the next two hours no train that recognized New Haven spoke to -Stamford. - -“That being so,” said Winthrop, “while we are waiting for the car, we -had better get a quick lunch now, and then push on.” - -“Push,” exclaimed Brother Sam darkly, “is what we are likely to do.” - -After behaving with perfect propriety for half an hour, just outside of -Bridgeport the Scarlet Car came to a slow and sullen stop, and once more -the owner and the chauffeur hid their shame beneath it, and attacked its -vitals. Twenty minutes later, while they still were at work, there -approached from Bridgeport a young man in a buggy. When he saw the mass -of college colors on the Scarlet Car, he pulled his horse down to a -walk, and as he passed raised his hat. - -“At the end of the first half,” he said, “the score was a tie.” - -“Don’t mention it,” said Brother Sam. - -“Now,” he cried, “we’ve got to turn back, and make for New York. If we -start quick, we may get there ahead of the last car to leave New Haven.” - -“I am going to New Haven, and in this car,” declared his sister. “I must -go—to meet Ernest.” - -“If Ernest has as much sense as he showed this morning,” returned her -affectionate brother, “Ernest will go to his Pullman and stay there. As -I told you, the only sure way to get anywhere is by railroad train.” - -When they passed through Bridgeport it was so late that the electric -lights of Fairview Avenue were just beginning to sputter and glow in the -twilight, and as they came along the shore road into New Haven, the -first car out of New Haven in the race back to New York leaped at them -with siren shrieks of warning, and dancing, dazzling eyes. It passed -like a thing driven by the Furies; and before the Scarlet Car could -swing back into what had been an empty road, in swift pursuit of the -first came many more cars, with blinding searchlights, with a roar of -throbbing, thrashing engines, flying pebbles, and whirling wheels, and -behind these, stretching for a twisted mile, came hundreds of others; -until the road was aflame with flashing will-o’-the-wisps, dancing -fire-balls, and long, shifting shafts of light. - -Miss Forbes sat in front, beside Winthrop, and it pleased her to -imagine, as they bent forward, peering into the night, that together -they were facing so many fiery dragons, speeding to give them battle, to -grind them under their wheels. She felt the elation of great speed, of -imminent danger. Her blood tingled with the air from the wind-swept -harbor, with the rush of the great engines, as by a hand-breadth they -plunged past her. She knew they were driven by men and half-grown boys, -joyous with victory, piqued by defeat, reckless by one touch too much of -liquor, and that the young man at her side was driving, not only for -himself, but for them. - -Each fraction of a second a dazzling light blinded him, and he swerved -to let the monster, with a hoarse, bellowing roar, pass by, and then -again swept his car into the road. And each time for greater confidence -she glanced up into his face. - -Throughout the mishaps of the day he had been deeply concerned for her -comfort, sorry for her disappointment, under Brother Sam’s indignant -ironies patient, and at all times gentle and considerate. Now, in the -light from the onrushing cars, she noted his alert, laughing eyes, the -broad shoulders bent across the wheel, the lips smiling with excitement -and in the joy of controlling, with a turn of the wrist, a power equal -to sixty galloping horses. She found in his face much comfort. And in -the fact that for the moment her safety lay in his hands, a sense of -pleasure. That this was her feeling puzzled and disturbed her, for to -Ernest Peabody it seemed, in some way, disloyal. And yet there it was. -Of a certainty, there was the secret pleasure in the thought that if -they escaped unhurt from the trap in which they found themselves, it -would be due to him. To herself she argued that if the chauffeur were -driving, her feeling would be the same, that it was the nerve, the -skill, and the coolness, not the man, that moved her admiration. But in -her heart she knew it would not be the same. - -At West Haven Green Winthrop turned out of the track of the racing -monsters into a quiet street leading to the railroad station, and with a -half-sigh, half-laugh, leaned back comfortably. - -“Those lights coming up suddenly make it hard to see,” he said. - -“Hard to breathe,” snorted Sam; “since that first car missed us, I -haven’t drawn an honest breath. I held on so tight that I squeezed the -hair out of the cushions.” - -When they reached the railroad station, and Sam had finally fought his -way to the stationmaster, that half-crazed official informed him he had -missed the departure of Mrs. Taylor Holbrooke’s car by just ten minutes. - -Brother Sam reported this state of affairs to his companions. - -“God knows we asked for the fish first,” he said; “so now we’ve done our -duty by Ernest, who has shamefully deserted us, and we can get something -to eat, and go home at our leisure. As I have always told you, the only -way to travel independently is in a touring-car.” - -At the New Haven House they bought three waiters, body and soul, and, in -spite of the fact that in the very next room the team was breaking -training, obtained an excellent but chaotic dinner; and by eight they -were on their way back to the big city. - -The night was grandly beautiful. The waters of the Sound flashed in the -light of a cold, clear moon, which showed them, like pictures in silver -print, the sleeping villages through which they passed, the ancient -elms, the low-roofed cottages, the town-hall facing the common. The post -road was again empty, and the car moved as steadily as a watch. - -“Just because it knows we don’t care now when we get there,” said -Brother Sam, “you couldn’t make it break down with an axe.” - -From the rear, where he sat with Fred, he announced he was going to -sleep, and asked that he be not awakened until the car had crossed the -State line between Connecticut and New York. Winthrop doubted if he knew -the State line of New York. - -“It is where the advertisements for Besse Baker’s twenty-seven stores -cease,” said Sam drowsily, “and the bill-posters of Ethel Barrymore -begin.” - -In the front of the car the two young people spoke only at intervals, -but Winthrop had never been so widely alert, so keenly happy, never -before so conscious of her presence. - -And it seemed as they glided through the mysterious moonlit world of -silent villages, shadowy woods, and wind-swept bays and inlets, from -which, as the car rattled over the planks of the bridges, the wild duck -rose in noisy circles, they alone were awake and living. - -The silence had lasted so long that it was as eloquent as words. The -young man turned his eyes timorously, and sought those of the girl. What -he felt was so strong in him that it seemed incredible she should be -ignorant of it. His eyes searched the gray veil. In his voice there was -both challenge and pleading. - -“‘Shall be together,’” he quoted, “‘breathe and ride. So, one day more -am I deified; who knows but the world may end to-night?’” - -The moonlight showed the girl’s eyes shining through the veil, and -regarding him steadily. - -“If you don’t stop this car quick,” she said, “the world _will_ end for -all of us.” - -He shot a look ahead, and so suddenly threw on the brake that Sam and -the chauffeur tumbled awake. Across the road stretched the great bulk of -a touring-car, its lamps burning dully in the brilliance of the moon. -Around it, for greater warmth, a half-dozen figures stamped upon the -frozen ground, and beat themselves with their arms. Sam and the -chauffeur vaulted into the road, and went toward them. - -“It’s what you say, and the way you say it,” the girl explained. She -seemed to be continuing an argument. “It makes it so very difficult for -us to play together.” - -The young man clasped the wheel as though the force he were holding in -check were much greater than sixty horse-power. - -“You are not married yet, are you?” he demanded. - -The girl moved her head. - -“And when you are married, there will probably be an altar from which -you will turn to walk back up the aisle?” - -“Well?” said the girl. - -“Well,” he answered explosively, “until you turn away from that altar, I -do not recognize the right of any man to keep me quiet, or your right -either. Why should I be held by your engagement? I was not consulted -about it. I did not give my consent, did I? I tell you, you are the only -woman in the world I will ever marry, and if you think I am going to -keep silent and watch some one else carry you off without making a fight -for you, you don’t know me.” - -“If you go on,” said the girl, “it will mean that I shall not see you -again.” - -“Then I will write letters to you.” - -“I will not read them,” said the girl. - -The young man laughed defiantly. - -“Oh, yes, you will read them!” He pounded his gauntleted fist on the rim -of the wheel. “You mayn’t answer them, but if I can write the way I -feel, I will bet you’ll read them.” - -His voice changed suddenly, and he began to plead. It was as though she -were some masculine giant bullying a small boy. - -“You are not fair to me,” he protested. “I do not ask you to be kind, I -ask you to be fair. I am fighting for what means more to me than -anything in this world, and you won’t even listen. Why should I -recognize any other men? All I recognize is that _I_ am the man who -loves you, that ‘I am the man at your feet.’ That is all I know, that I -love you.” - -The girl moved as though with the cold, and turned her head from him. - -“I love you,” repeated the young man. - -The girl breathed like one who has been swimming under water, but, when -she spoke, her voice was calm and contained. - -“Please!” she begged, “don’t you see how unfair it is? I can’t go away; -I _have_ to listen.” - -The young man pulled himself upright, and pressed his lips together. - -“I beg your pardon,” he whispered. - -There was for some time an unhappy silence, and then Winthrop added -bitterly: “‘Methinks the punishment exceeds the offence.’” - -“Do you think you make it easy for _me_?” returned the girl. - -She considered it most ungenerous of him to sit staring into the -moonlight, looking so miserable that it made her heart ache to comfort -him, and so extremely handsome that to do so was quite impossible. She -would have liked to reach out her hand and lay it on his arm, and tell -him she was sorry, but she could not. He should not have looked so -unnecessarily handsome. - -Sam came running toward them with five grizzly bears, who balanced -themselves apparently with some slight effort upon their hind legs. The -grizzly bears were properly presented as: “Tommy Todd, of my class, and -some more like him. And,” continued Sam, “I am going to quit you two and -go with them. Tom’s car broke down, but Fred fixed it, and both our cars -can travel together. Sort of convoy,” he explained. - -His sister signalled eagerly, but with equal eagerness he retreated from -her. - -“Believe me,” he assured her soothingly, “I am just as good a chaperon -fifty yards behind you, and wide awake, as I am in the same car and fast -asleep. And, besides, I want to hear about the game. And, what’s more, -two cars are much safer than one. Suppose you two break down in a lonely -place? We’ll be right behind you to pick you up. You will keep -Winthrop’s car in sight, won’t you, Tommy?” he said. - -The grizzly bear called Tommy, who had been examining the Scarlet Car, -answered doubtfully that the only way he could keep it in sight was by -tying a rope to it. - -“That’s all right, then,” said Sam briskly, “Winthrop will go slow.” - -So the Scarlet Car shot forward with sometimes the second car so far in -the rear that they could only faintly distinguish the horn begging them -to wait, and again it would follow so close upon their wheels that they -heard the five grizzly bears chanting beseechingly: - - “Oh, bring this wagon home, John, - It will not hold us a-all.” - -For some time there was silence in the Scarlet Car, and then Winthrop -broke it by laughing. - -“First, I lose Peabody,” he explained, “then I lose Sam, and now, after -I throw Fred overboard, I am going to drive you into Stamford, where -they do not ask runaway couples for a license, and marry you.” - -The girl smiled comfortably. In that mood she was not afraid of him. - -She lifted her face, and stretched out her arms as though she were -drinking in the moonlight. - -“It has been such a good day,” she said simply, “and I am really so very -happy.” - -“I shall be equally frank,” said Winthrop. “So am I.” - -For two hours they had been on the road, and were just entering -Fairport. For some long time the voices of the pursuing grizzlies had -been lost in the far distance. - -“The road’s up,” said Miss Forbes. - -She pointed ahead to two red lanterns. - -“It was all right this morning,” exclaimed Winthrop. - -The car was pulled down to eight miles an hour, and, trembling and -snorting at the indignity, nosed up to the red lanterns. - -They showed in a ruddy glow the legs of two men. - -“You gotta stop!” commanded a voice. - -“Why?” asked Winthrop. - -The voice became embodied in the person of a tall man with a long -overcoat and a drooping mustache. - -“’Cause I tell you to!” snapped the tall man. - -Winthrop threw a quick glance to the rear. In that direction for a mile -the road lay straight away. He could see its entire length, and it was -empty. In thinking of nothing but Miss Forbes, he had forgotten the -chaperon. He was impressed with the fact that the immediate presence of -a chaperon was desirable. Directly in front of the car, blocking its -advance, were two barrels with a two-inch plank sagging heavily between -them. Beyond that the main street of Fairport lay steeped in slumber and -moonlight. - -“I am a selectman,” said the one with the lantern. “You been exceedin’ -our speed limit.” - -The chauffeur gave a gasp that might have been construed to mean that -the charge amazed and shocked him. - -“That is not possible,” Winthrop answered. “I have been going very -slow—on purpose—to allow a disabled car to keep up with me.” - -The selectman looked down the road. - -“It ain’t kep’ up with you,” he said pointedly. - -“It has until the last few minutes.” - -“It’s the last few minutes we’re talking about,” returned the man who -had not spoken. He put his foot on the step of the car. - -“What are you doing?” asked Winthrop. - -“I am going to take you to Judge Allen’s. I am chief of police. You are -under arrest.” - -Before Winthrop rose moving pictures of Miss Forbes appearing in a dirty -police station before an officious Dogberry, and, as he and his car were -well known along the post road, appearing the next morning in the New -York papers. “William Winthrop,” he saw the printed words, “son of -Endicott Winthrop, was arrested here this evening, with a young woman -who refused to give her name, but who was recognized as Miss Beatrice -Forbes, whose engagement to Ernest Peabody, the Reform candidate on the -Independent ticket——” - -And, of course, Peabody would blame her. - -“If I have exceeded your speed limit,” he said politely, “I shall be -delighted to pay the fine. How much is it?” - -“Judge Allen ’ll tell you what the fine is,” said the selectman gruffly. -“And he may want bail.” - -“Bail?” demanded Winthrop. “Do you mean to tell me he will detain us -here?” - -“He will, if he wants to,” answered the chief of police combatively. - -For an instant Winthrop sat gazing gloomily ahead, overcome apparently -by the enormity of his offence. He was calculating whether, if he rammed -the two-inch plank, it would hit the car or Miss Forbes. He decided -swiftly it would hit his new two-hundred-dollar lamps. As swiftly he -decided the new lamps must go. But he had read of guardians of the -public safety so regardless of private safety as to try to puncture -runaway tires with pistol bullets. He had no intention of subjecting -Miss Forbes to a fusillade. - -So he whirled upon the chief of police: - -“Take your hand off that gun!” he growled. “How dare you threaten me?” - -Amazed, the chief of police dropped from the step and advanced -indignantly. - -“Me?” he demanded. “I ain’t got a gun. What you mean by——” - -With sudden intelligence, the chauffeur precipitated himself upon the -scene. - -“It’s the other one,” he shouted. He shook an accusing finger at the -selectman. “He pointed it at the lady.” - -To Miss Forbes the realism of Fred’s acting was too convincing. To learn -that one is covered with a loaded revolver is disconcerting. Miss Forbes -gave a startled squeak, and ducked her head. - -Winthrop roared aloud at the selectman. - -“How dare you frighten the lady!” he cried. “Take your hand off that -gun.” - -“What you talkin’ about?” shouted the selectman. “The idea of my havin’ -a gun! I haven’t got a——” - -“All right, Fred!” cried Winthrop. “Low bridge.” - -There was a crash of shattered glass and brass, of scattered barrel -staves, the smell of escaping gas, and the Scarlet Car was flying -drunkenly down the main street. - -“What are they doing now, Fred?” called the owner. Fred peered over the -stern of the flying car. - -“The constable’s jumping around the road,” he replied, “and the long -one’s leaning against a tree. No, he’s climbing the tree. I can’t make -out _what_ he’s doing.” - -“_I_ know!” cried Miss Forbes; her voice vibrated with excitement. -Defiance of the law had thrilled her with unsuspected satisfaction; her -eyes were dancing. “There was a telephone fastened to the tree, a hand -telephone. They are sending word to some one. They’re trying to head us -off.” - -Winthrop brought the car to a quick halt. - -“We’re in a police trap!” he said. Fred leaned forward and whispered to -his employer. His voice also vibrated with the joy of the chase. - -“This’ll be our _third_ arrest,” he said. “That means——” - -“I know what it means,” snapped Winthrop. “Tell me how we can get out of -here.” - -“We can’t get out of here, sir, unless we go back. Going south, the -bridge is the only way out.” - -“The bridge!” Winthrop struck the wheel savagely with his knuckles. “I -forgot their confounded bridge!” He turned to Miss Forbes. “Fairport is -a sort of island,” he explained. - -“But after we’re across the bridge,” urged the chauffeur, “we needn’t -keep to the post road no more. We can turn into Stone Ridge, and strike -south to White Plains. Then——” - -“We haven’t crossed the bridge yet,” growled Winthrop. His voice had -none of the joy of the others; he was greatly perturbed. “Look back,” he -commanded, “and see if there is any sign of those boys.” - -He was now quite willing to share responsibility. But there was no sign -of the Yale men, and, unattended, the Scarlet Car crept warily forward. -Ahead of it, across the little reed-grown inlet, stretched their road of -escape, a long wooden bridge, lying white in the moonlight. - -“I don’t see a soul,” whispered Miss Forbes. - -“Anybody at that draw?” asked Winthrop. Unconsciously his voice also had -sunk to a whisper. - -“No,” returned Fred. “I think the man that tends the draw goes home at -night; there is no light there.” - -“Well, then,” said Winthrop, with an anxious sigh, “we’ve got to make a -dash for it.” - -The car shot forward, and, as it leaped lightly upon the bridge, there -was a rapid rumble of creaking boards. - -Between it and the highway to New York lay only two hundred yards of -track, straight and empty. - -In his excitement, the chauffeur rose from the rear seat. - -“They’ll never catch us now,” he muttered. “They’ll never catch us!” - -But even as he spoke there grated harshly the creak of rusty chains on a -cogged wheel, the rattle of a brake. The black figure of a man with -waving arms ran out upon the draw, and the draw gaped slowly open. - -When the car halted there was between it and the broken edge of the -bridge twenty feet of running water. - -At the same moment from behind it came a patter of feet, and Winthrop -turned to see racing toward them some dozen young men of Fairport. They -surrounded him with noisy, raucous, belligerent cries. They were, as -they proudly informed him, members of the Fairport “Volunteer Fire -Department.” That they might purchase new uniforms, they had arranged a -trap for the automobiles returning in illegal haste from New Haven. In -fines they had collected $300, and it was evident that already some of -that money had been expended in bad whiskey. As many as could do so -crowded into the car, others hung to the running boards and step, others -ran beside it. They rejoiced over Winthrop’s unsuccessful flight and -capture with violent and humiliating laughter. - -For the day, Judge Allen had made a temporary court in the club-room of -the fire department, which was over the engine-house; and the -proceedings were brief and decisive. The selectman told how Winthrop, -after first breaking the speed law, had broken arrest, and Judge Allen, -refusing to fine him and let him go, held him and his companions for a -hearing the following morning. He fixed the amount of bail at $500 each; -failing to pay this, they would for the night be locked up in different -parts of the engine-house, which, it developed, contained on the -ground-floor the home of the fire-engine, on the second floor the -club-room, on alternate nights, of the firemen, the local G. A. R., and -the Knights of Pythias, and in its cellar the town jail. - -Winthrop and the chauffeur the learned judge condemned to the cells in -the basement. As a concession, he granted Miss Forbes the freedom of the -entire club-room to herself. - -The objections raised by Winthrop to this arrangement were of a nature -so violent, so vigorous, at one moment so specious and conciliatory, and -the next so abusive, that his listeners were moved by awe, but not to -pity. - -In his indignation, Judge Allen rose to reply, and as, the better to -hear him, the crowd pushed forward, Fred gave way before it, until he -was left standing in sullen gloom upon its outer edge. In imitation of -the real firemen of the great cities, the vamps of Fairport had cut a -circular hole in the floor of their club-room, and from the engine-room -below had reared a sliding pole of shining brass. When leaving their -club-room, it was always their pleasure to scorn the stairs and, like -real firemen, slide down this pole. It had not escaped the notice of -Fred, and since his entrance he had been gravitating toward it. - -As the voice of the judge rose in violent objurgation, and all eyes were -fixed upon him, the chauffeur crooked his leg tightly about the brass -pole, and, like the devil in the pantomime, sank softly and swiftly -through the floor. - -The irate judge was shaking his finger in Winthrop’s face. - -“Don’t you try to teach me no law,” he shouted; “I know what I can do. -Ef _my_ darter went gallivantin’ around nights in one of them -automobiles, it would serve her right to get locked up. Maybe this young -woman will learn to stay at home nights with her folks. She ain’t goin’ -to take no harm here. The constable sits up all night downstairs in the -fire-engine-room, and that sofa’s as good a place to sleep as the hotel. -If you want me to let her go to the hotel, why don’t you send to your -folks and bail her out?” - -“You know damn well why I don’t,” returned Winthrop. “I don’t intend to -give the newspapers and you and these other idiots the chance to annoy -her further. This young lady’s brother has been with us all day; he left -us only by accident, and by forcing her to remain here alone you are -acting outrageously. If you knew anything of decency, or law, you’d——” - -“I know this much!” roared the justice triumphantly, pointing his -spectacle-case at Miss Forbes. “I know her name ain’t Lizzie Borden, and -yours ain’t Charley Ross.” - -Winthrop crossed to where Miss Forbes stood in a corner. She still wore -her veil, but through it, though her face was pale, she smiled at him. - -His own distress was undisguised. - -“I can never forgive myself,” he said. - -“Nonsense!” replied Miss Forbes briskly. “You were perfectly right. If -we had sent for any one, it would have had to come out. Now, we’ll pay -the fine in the morning and get home, and no one will know anything of -it excepting the family and Mr. Peabody, and they’ll understand. But if -I ever lay hands on my brother Sam!”—she clasped her fingers together -helplessly. “To think of his leaving you to spend the night in a cell——” - -Winthrop interrupted her. - -“I will get one of these men to send his wife or sister over to stay -with you,” he said. - -But Miss Forbes protested that she did not want a companion. The -constable would protect her, she said, and she would sit up all night -and read. She nodded at the periodicals on the club table. - -“This is the only chance I may ever have,” she said, “to read the -_Police Gazette_!” - -“You ready there?” called the constable. - -“Good-night,” said Winthrop. - -Under the eyes of the grinning yokels, they shook hands. - -“Good-night,” said the girl. - -“Where’s your young man?” demanded the chief of police. - -“My what?” inquired Winthrop. - -“The young fellow that was with you when we held you up that first -time.” - -The constable, or the chief of police as he called himself, on the -principle that if there were only one policeman he must necessarily be -the chief, glanced hastily over the heads of the crowd. - -“Any of you holding that shoffer?” he called. - -No one was holding the chauffeur. - -The chauffeur had vanished. - -The cell to which the constable led Winthrop was in a corner of the -cellar in which formerly coal had been stored. This corner was now -fenced off with boards, and a wooden door with chain and padlock. - -High in the wall, on a level with the ground, was the opening, or -window, through which the coal had been dumped. This window now was -barricaded with iron bars. Winthrop tested the door by shaking it, and -landed a heavy kick on one of the hinges. It gave slightly, and emitted -a feeble groan. - -“What you tryin’ to do?” demanded the constable. “That’s town property.” - -In the light of the constable’s lantern, Winthrop surveyed his cell with -extreme dissatisfaction. - -“I call this a cheap cell,” he said. - -“It’s good enough for a cheap sport,” returned the constable. It was so -overwhelming a retort that after the constable had turned the key in the -padlock, and taken himself and his lantern to the floor above, Winthrop -could hear him repeating it to the volunteer firemen. They received it -with delighted howls. - -For an hour, on the three empty boxes that formed his bed, Winthrop sat, -with his chin on his fist, planning the nameless atrocities he would -inflict upon the village of Fairport. Compared to his tortures, those of -Neuremberg were merely reprimands. Also he considered the particular -punishment he would mete out to Sam Forbes for his desertion of his -sister, and to Fred. He could not understand Fred. It was not like the -chauffeur to think only of himself. Nevertheless, for abandoning Miss -Forbes in the hour of need, Fred must be discharged. He had, with some -regret, determined upon this discipline, when from directly over his -head the voice of Fred hailed him cautiously. - -“Mr. Winthrop,” the voice called, “are you there?” - -To Winthrop the question seemed superfluous. He jumped to his feet, and -peered up into the darkness. - -“Where are _you_?” he demanded. - -“At the window,” came the answer. “We’re in the back yard. Mr. Sam wants -to speak to you.” - -On Miss Forbes’s account, Winthrop gave a gasp of relief. On his own, -one of savage satisfaction. - -“And _I_ want to speak to _him_!” he whispered. - -The moonlight, which had been faintly shining through the iron bars of -the coal chute, was eclipsed by a head and shoulders. The comfortable -voice of Sam Forbes greeted him in a playful whisper. - -“Hullo, Billy! You down there?” - -“Where the devil did you think I was?” Winthrop answered at white heat. -“Let me tell you if I was not down here I’d be punching your head.” - -“That’s all right, Billy,” Sam answered soothingly. “But I’ll save you -just the same. It shall never be said of Sam Forbes he deserted a -comrade——” - -“Stop that! Do you know,” Winthrop demanded fiercely, “that your sister -is a prisoner upstairs?” - -“I do,” replied the unfeeling brother, “but she won’t be long. All the -low-comedy parts are out now arranging a rescue.” - -“Who are? Todd and those boys?” demanded Winthrop. “They mustn’t think -of it! They’ll only make it worse. It is impossible to get your sister -out of here with those drunken firemen in the building. You must wait -till they’ve gone home. Do you hear me?” - -“Pardon _me_!” returned Sam stiffly, “but this is _my_ relief -expedition. I have sent two of the boys to hold the bridge, like -Horatius, and two to guard the motors, and the others are going to -entice the firemen away from the engine-house.” - -“Entice them? How?” demanded Winthrop. “They’re drunk, and they won’t -leave here till morning.” - -Outside the engine-house, suspended from a heavy cross-bar, was a steel -rail borrowed from a railroad track, and bent into a hoop. When hit with -a sledge-hammer it proclaimed to Fairport that the “consuming element” -was at large. - -At the moment Winthrop asked his question, over the village of Fairport -and over the bay and marshes, and far out across the Sound, the great -steel bar sent forth a shuddering boom of warning. - -From the room above came a wild tumult of joyous yells. - -“Fire!” shrieked the vamps, “fire!” - -The two men crouching by the cellar window heard the rush of feet, the -engine banging and bumping across the sidewalk, its brass bell clanking -crazily, the happy vamps shouting hoarse, incoherent orders. - -Through the window Sam lowered a bag of tools he had taken from -Winthrop’s car. - -“Can you open the lock with any of these?” he asked. - -“I can kick it open!” yelled Winthrop joyfully. “Get to your sister, -quick!” - -He threw his shoulder against the door, and the staples flying before -him sent him sprawling in the coal-dust. When he reached the head of the -stairs, Beatrice Forbes was descending from the club-room, and in front -of the door the two cars, with their lamps unlit and numbers hidden, -were panting to be free. - -And in the north, reaching to the sky, rose a roaring column of flame, -shameless in the pale moonlight, dragging into naked day the sleeping -village, the shingled houses, the clock-face in the church steeple. - -“What the devil have you done?” gasped Winthrop. - -Before he answered, Sam waited until the cars were rattling to safety -across the bridge. - -“We have been protecting the face of nature,” he shouted. “The only way -to get that gang out of the engine-house was to set fire to something. -Tommy wanted to burn up the railroad station, because he doesn’t like -the New York and New Haven, and Fred was for setting fire to Judge -Allen’s house, because he was rude to Beatrice. But we finally formed -the Village Improvement Society, organized to burn all advertising -signs. You know those that stood in the marshes, and hid the view from -the trains, so that you could not see the Sound. We chopped them down -and put them in a pile, and poured gasolene on them, and that fire is -all that is left of the pickles, flyscreens, and pills.” - -It was midnight when the cars drew up at the door of the house of -Forbes. Anxiously waiting in the library were Mrs. Forbes and Ernest -Peabody. - -“At last!” cried Mrs. Forbes, smiling her relief; “we thought maybe Sam -and you had decided to spend the night in New Haven.” - -“No,” said Miss Forbes, “there _was_ some talk about spending the night -at Fairport, but we pushed right on.” - - - - - II - THE TRESPASSERS - - -With a long, nervous shudder, the Scarlet Car came to a stop, and the -lamps bored a round hole in the night, leaving the rest of the -encircling world in a chill and silent darkness. - -The lamps showed a flickering picture of a country road between high -banks covered with loose stones, and overhead, a fringe of pine boughs. -It looked like a colored photograph thrown from a stereopticon in a -darkened theatre. - -From the back of the car the voice of the owner said briskly: “We will -now sing that beautiful ballad entitled ‘He Is Sleeping in the Yukon -Vale To-night.’ What are you stopping for, Fred?” he asked. - -The tone of the chauffeur suggested he was again upon the defensive. - -“For water, sir,” he mumbled. - -Miss Forbes in the front seat laughed, and her brother in the rear seat -groaned in dismay. - -“Oh, for water?” said the owner cordially. “I thought maybe it was for -coal.” - -Save a dignified silence, there was no answer to this, until there came -a rolling of loose stones and the sound of a heavy body suddenly -precipitated down the bank, and landing with a thump in the road. - -“He didn’t get the water,” said the owner sadly. - -“Are you hurt, Fred?” asked the girl. - -The chauffeur limped in front of the lamps, appearing suddenly, like an -actor stepping into the lime-light. - -“No, ma’am,” he said. In the rays of the lamp, he unfolded a road map -and scowled at it. He shook his head aggrievedly. - -“There _ought_ to be a house just about here,” he explained. - -“There _ought_ to be a hotel and a garage, and a cold supper, just about -here,” said the girl cheerfully. - -“That’s the way with those houses,” complained the owner. “They never -stay where they’re put. At night they go around and visit each other. -Where do you think you are, Fred?” - -“I think we’re in that long woods, between Loon Lake and Stoughton on -the Boston Pike,” said the chauffeur, “and,” he reiterated, “there -_ought_ to be a house somewhere about here—where we get water.” - -“Well, get there, then, and get the water,” commanded the owner. - -“But I can’t get there, sir, till I get the water,” returned the -chauffeur. - -He shook out two collapsible buckets, and started down the shaft of -light. - -“I won’t be more nor five minutes,” he called. - -“I’m going with him,” said the girl. “I’m cold.” - -She stepped down from the front seat, and the owner with sudden alacrity -vaulted the door and started after her. - -“You coming?” he inquired of Ernest Peabody. But Ernest Peabody being -soundly asleep made no reply. Winthrop turned to Sam. “Are _you_ -coming?” he repeated. - -The tone of the invitation seemed to suggest that a refusal would not -necessarily lead to a quarrel. - -“I am _not_!” said the brother. “You’ve kept Peabody and me twelve hours -in the open air, and it’s past two, and we’re going to sleep. You can -take it from me that we are going to spend the rest of this night here -in this road.” - -He moved his cramped joints cautiously, and stretched his legs the full -width of the car. - -“If you can’t get plain water,” he called, “get club soda.” - -He buried his nose in the collar of his fur coat, and the odors of -camphor and raccoon skins instantly assailed him, but he only yawned -luxuriously and disappeared into the coat as a turtle draws into its -shell. From the woods about him the smell of the pine needles pressed -upon him like a drug, and before the footsteps of his companions were -lost in the silence he was asleep. But his sleep was only a review of -his waking hours. Still on either hand rose flying dust clouds and -twirling leaves; still on either side raced gray stone walls, telegraph -poles, hills rich in autumn colors; and before him a long white road, -unending, interminable, stretching out finally into a darkness lit by -flashing shop-windows, like open fireplaces, by street lamps, by -swinging electric globes, by the blinding searchlights of hundreds of -darting trolley cars with terrifying gongs, and then a cold white mist, -and again on every side, darkness, except where the four great lamps -blazed a path through stretches of ghostly woods. - -As the two young men slumbered, the lamps spluttered and sizzled like -bacon in a frying-pan, a stone rolled noisily down the bank, a white -owl, both appalled and fascinated by the dazzling eyes of the monster -blocking the road, hooted, and flapped itself away. But the men in the -car only shivered slightly, deep in the sleep of utter weariness. - -In silence the girl and Winthrop followed the chauffeur. They had passed -out of the light of the lamps, and in the autumn mist the electric torch -of the owner was as ineffective as a glowworm. The mystery of the forest -fell heavily upon them. From their feet the dead leaves sent up a clean, -damp odor, and on either side and overhead the giant pine-trees -whispered and rustled in the night wind. - -“Take my coat, too,” said the young man. “You’ll catch cold.” He spoke -with authority and began to slip the loops from the big horn buttons. It -was not the habit of the girl to consider her health. Nor did she permit -the members of her family to show solicitude concerning it. But the -anxiety of the young man did not seem to offend her. She thanked him -generously. “No; these coats are hard to walk in, and I want to walk,” -she exclaimed. “I like to hear the leaves rustle when you kick them, -don’t you? When I was so high, I used to pretend it was wading in the -surf.” - -The young man moved over to the gutter of the road where the leaves were -deepest and kicked violently. “And the more noise you make,” he said, -“the more you frighten away the wild animals.” - -The girl shuddered in a most helpless and fascinating fashion. - -“Don’t!” she whispered. “I didn’t mention it, but already I have seen -several lions crouching behind the trees.” - -“Indeed?” said the young man. His tone was preoccupied. He had just -kicked a rock, hidden by the leaves, and was standing on one leg. - -“Do you mean you don’t believe me?” asked the girl, “or is it that you -are merely brave?” - -“Merely brave!” exclaimed the young man. “Massachusetts is so far north -for lions,” he continued, “that I fancy what you saw was a grizzly bear. -But I have my trusty electric torch with me, and if there is anything a -bear cannot abide, it is to be pointed at by an electric torch.” - -“Let us pretend,” cried the girl, “that we are the babes in the wood, -and that we are lost.” - -“We don’t have to pretend we’re lost,” said the man; “and as I remember -it, the babes came to a sad end. Didn’t they die, and didn’t the birds -bury them with leaves?” - -“Sam and Mr. Peabody can be the birds,” suggested the girl. - -“Sam and Peabody hopping around with leaves in their teeth would look -silly,” objected the man. “I doubt if I could keep from laughing.” - -“Then,” said the girl, “they can be the wicked robbers who came to kill -the babes.” - -“Very well,” said the man with suspicious alacrity, “let us be babes. If -I have to die,” he went on heartily, “I would rather die with you than -live with any one else.” - -When he had spoken, although they were entirely alone in the world and -quite near to each other, it was as though the girl could not hear him, -even as though he had not spoken at all. After a silence, the girl said: -“Perhaps it would be better for us to go back to the car.” - -“I won’t do it again,” begged the man. - -“We will pretend,” cried the girl, “that the car is a van and that we -are gypsies, and we’ll build a camp-fire, and I will tell your fortune.” - -“You are the only woman who can,” muttered the young man. - -The girl still stood in her tracks. - -“You said—” she began. - -“I know,” interrupted the man, “but you won’t let me talk seriously, so -I joke. But some day——” - -“Oh, look!” cried the girl. “There’s Fred.” - -She ran from him down the road. The young man followed her slowly, his -fists deep in the pockets of the great-coat, and kicking at the -unoffending leaves. - -The chauffeur was peering through a double iron gate hung between square -brick posts. The lower hinge of one gate was broken, and that gate -lurched forward, leaving an opening. By the light of the electric torch -they could see the beginning of a driveway, rough and weed-grown, lined -with trees of great age and bulk, and an unkempt lawn, strewn with -bushes, and beyond, in an open place bare of trees and illuminated -faintly by the stars, the shadow of a house, black, silent, and -forbidding. - -“That’s it,” whispered the chauffeur. “I was here before. The well is -over there.” - -The young man gave a gasp of astonishment. - -“Why,” he protested, “this is the Carey place! I should say we _were_ -lost. We must have left the road an hour ago. There’s not another house -within miles.” But he made no movement to enter. “Of all places!” he -muttered. - -“Well, then,” urged the girl briskly, “if there’s no other house, let’s -tap Mr. Carey’s well and get on.” - -“Do you know who he is?” asked the man. - -The girl laughed. “You don’t need a letter of introduction to take a -bucket of water, do you?” she said. - -“It’s Philip Carey’s house. He lives here.” He spoke in a whisper, and -insistently, as though the information must carry some special -significance. But the girl showed no sign of enlightenment. “You -remember the Carey boys?” he urged. “They left Harvard the year I -entered. They _had_ to leave. They were quite mad. All the Careys have -been mad. The boys were queer even then, and awfully rich. Henry ran -away with a girl from a shoe factory in Brockton and lives in Paris, and -Philip was sent here.” - -“_Sent_ here?” repeated the girl. Unconsciously her voice also had sunk -to a whisper. - -“He has a doctor and a nurse and keepers, and they live here all the -year round. When Fred said there were people hereabouts, I thought we -might strike them for something to eat, or even to put up for the night, -but, Philip Carey! I shouldn’t fancy——” - -“I should think not!” exclaimed the girl. - -For a minute the three stood silent, peering through the iron bars. - -“And the worst of it is,” went on the young man irritably, “he could -give us such good things to eat.” - -“It doesn’t look it,” said the girl. - -“I know,” continued the man in the same eager whisper. “But—who was it -telling me? Some doctor I know who came down to see him. He said Carey -does himself awfully well, has the house full of bully pictures, and the -family plate, and wonderful collections—things he picked up in the -East—gold ornaments, and jewels, and jade.” - -“I shouldn’t think,” said the girl in the same hushed voice, “they would -let him live so far from any neighbors with such things in the house. -Suppose burglars——” - -“Burglars! Burglars would never hear of this place. How could they? Even -his friends think it’s just a private mad-house.” - -The girl shivered and drew back from the gate. - -Fred coughed apologetically. - -“_I’ve_ heard of it,” he volunteered. “There was a piece in the _Sunday -Post_. It said he eats his dinner in a diamond crown, and all the walls -is gold, and two monkeys wait on table with gold——” - -“Nonsense!” said the man sharply. “He eats like any one else and dresses -like any one else. How far is the well from the house?” - -“It’s purty near,” said the chauffeur. - -“Pretty near the house, or pretty near here?” - -“Just outside the kitchen; and it makes a creaky noise.” - -“You mean you don’t want to go?” - -Fred’s answer was unintelligible. - -“You wait here with Miss Forbes,” said the young man. “And I’ll get the -water.” - -“Yes, sir!” said Fred, quite distinctly. - -“No, sir!” said Miss Forbes, with equal distinctness. “I’m not going to -be left here alone—with all these trees. I’m going with you.” - -“There may be a dog,” suggested the young man, “or, I was thinking if -they heard me prowling about, they might take a shot—just for luck. Why -don’t you go back to the car with Fred?” - -“Down that long road in the dark?” exclaimed the girl. “Do you think I -have no imagination?” - -The man in front, the girl close on his heels, and the boy with the -buckets following, crawled through the broken gate, and moved cautiously -up the gravel driveway. - -Within fifty feet of the house the courage of the chauffeur returned. - -“You wait here,” he whispered, “and if I wake ’em up, you shout to ’em -that it’s all right, that it’s only me.” - -“Your idea being,” said the young man, “that they will then fire at me. -Clever lad. Run along.” - -There was a rustling of the dead weeds, and instantly the chauffeur was -swallowed in the encompassing shadows. - -Miss Forbes leaned toward the young man. - -“Do you see a light in that lower story?” she whispered. - -“No,” said the man. “Where?” - -After a pause the girl answered: “I can’t see it now, either. Maybe I -didn’t see it. It was very faint—just a glow—it might have been -phosphorescence.” - -“It might,” said the man. He gave a shrug of distaste. “The whole place -is certainly old enough and decayed enough.” - -For a brief space they stood quite still, and at once, accentuated by -their own silence, the noises of the night grew in number and -distinctness. A slight wind had risen and the boughs of the pines rocked -restlessly, making mournful complaint; and at their feet the needles -dropping in a gentle desultory shower had the sound of rain in -springtime. From every side they were startled by noises they could not -place. Strange movements and rustlings caused them to peer sharply into -the shadows; footsteps, that seemed to approach, and then, having marked -them, skulk away; branches of bushes that suddenly swept together, as -though closing behind some one in stealthy retreat. Although they knew -that in the deserted garden they were alone, they felt that from the -shadows they were being spied upon, that the darkness of the place was -peopled by malign presences. - -The young man drew a cigar from his case and put it unlit between his -teeth. - -“Cheerful, isn’t it?” he growled. “These dead leaves make it damp as a -tomb. If I’ve seen one ghost, I’ve seen a dozen. I believe we’re -standing in the Carey family’s graveyard.” - -“I thought you were brave,” said the girl. - -“I am,” returned the young man, “very brave. But if you had the most -wonderful girl on earth to take care of in the grounds of a mad-house at -two in the morning, you’d be scared too.” - -He was abruptly surprised by Miss Forbes laying her hand firmly upon his -shoulder and turning him in the direction of the house. Her face was so -near his that he felt the uneven fluttering of her breath upon his -cheek. - -“There is a man,” she said, “standing behind that tree.” - -By the faint light of the stars he saw, in black silhouette, a shoulder -and head projecting from beyond the trunk of a huge oak, and then -quickly withdrawn. The owner of the head and shoulder was on the side of -the tree nearest to themselves, his back turned to them, and so deeply -was his attention engaged that he was unconscious of their presence. - -“He is watching the house,” said the girl. “Why is he doing that?” - -“I think it’s Fred,” whispered the man. “He’s afraid to go for the -water. That’s as far as he’s gone.” He was about to move forward when -from the oak-tree there came a low whistle. The girl and the man stood -silent and motionless. But they knew it was useless; that they had been -overheard. A voice spoke cautiously. - -“That you?” it asked. - -With the idea only of gaining time, the young man responded promptly and -truthfully. “Yes,” he whispered. - -“Keep to the right of the house,” commanded the voice. - -The young man seized Miss Forbes by the wrist and moving to the right -drew her quickly with him. He did not stop until they had turned the -corner of the building and were once more hidden by the darkness. - -“The plot thickens,” he said. “I take it that that fellow is a keeper, -or watchman. He spoke as though it were natural there should be another -man in the grounds, so there’s probably two of them, either to keep -Carey in or to keep trespassers out. Now, I think I’ll go back and tell -him that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, and -that all they want is to be allowed to get the water, and go.” - -“Why should a watchman hide behind a tree?” asked the girl. “And why——” - -She ceased abruptly with a sharp cry of fright. “What’s that?” she -whispered. - -“What’s what?” asked the young man startled. “What did you hear?” - -“Over there,” stammered the girl. “Something—that—groaned.” - -“Pretty soon this will get on my nerves,” said the man. He ripped open -his great-coat and reached under it. “I’ve been stoned twice, when there -were women in the car,” he said, apologetically, “and so now at night I -carry a gun.” He shifted the darkened torch to his left hand, and, -moving a few yards, halted to listen. The girl, reluctant to be left -alone, followed slowly. As he stood immovable there came from the leaves -just beyond him the sound of a feeble struggle, and a strangled groan. -The man bent forward and flashed the torch. He saw stretched rigid on -the ground a huge wolf-hound. Its legs were twisted horribly, the lips -drawn away from the teeth, the eyes glazed in an agony of pain. The man -snapped off the light. “Keep back!” he whispered to the girl. He took -her by the arm and ran with her toward the gate. - -“Who was it?” she begged. - -“It was a dog,” he answered. “I think——” - -He did not tell her what he thought. - -“I’ve got to find out what the devil has happened to Fred!” he said. -“You go back to the car. Send your brother here on the run. Tell him -there’s going to be a rough-house. You’re not afraid to go?” - -“No,” said the girl. - -A shadow blacker than the night rose suddenly before them, and a voice -asked sternly but quietly: “What are you doing here?” - -The young man lifted his arm clear of the girl, and shoved her quickly -from him. In his hand she felt the pressure of the revolver. - -“Well,” he replied truculently, “and what are you doing here?” - -“I am the night watchman,” answered the voice. “Who are you?” - -It struck Miss Forbes if the watchman knew that one of the trespassers -was a woman he would be at once reassured, and she broke in quickly: - -“We have lost our way,” she said pleasantly. “We came here——” - -She found herself staring blindly down a shaft of light. For an instant -the torch held her, and then from her swept over the young man. - -“Drop that gun!” cried the voice. It was no longer the same voice; it -was now savage and snarling. For answer the young man pressed the torch -in his left hand, and, held in the two circles of light, the men -surveyed each other. The new-comer was one of unusual bulk and height. -The collar of his overcoat hid his mouth, and his derby hat was drawn -down over his forehead, but what they saw showed an intelligent, strong -face, although for the moment it wore a menacing scowl. The young man -dropped his revolver into his pocket. - -“My automobile ran dry,” he said; “we came in here to get some water. My -chauffeur is back there somewhere with a couple of buckets. This is Mr. -Carey’s place, isn’t it?” - -“Take that light out of my eyes!” said the watchman. - -“Take your light out of my eyes,” returned the young man. “You can see -we’re not—we don’t mean any harm.” - -The two lights disappeared simultaneously, and then each, as though -worked by the same hand, sprang forth again. - -“What did you think I was going to do?” the young man asked. He laughed -and switched off his torch. - -But the one the watchman held in his hand still moved from the face of -the girl to that of the young man. - -“How’d you know this was the Carey house?” he demanded. “Do you know Mr. -Carey?” - -“No, but I know this is his house.” - -For a moment from behind his mask of light the watchman surveyed them in -silence. Then he spoke quickly: - -“I’ll take you to him,” he said, “if he thinks it’s all right, it’s all -right.” - -The girl gave a protesting cry. The young man burst forth indignantly: - -“You will _not_!” he cried. “Don’t be an idiot! You talk like a -Tenderloin cop. Do we look like second-story workers?” - -“I found you prowling around Mr. Carey’s grounds at two in the morning,” -said the watchman sharply, “with a gun in your hand. My job is to -protect this place, and I am going to take you both to Mr. Carey.” - -[Illustration: In the two circles of light the men surveyed each other] - -Until this moment the young man could see nothing save the shaft of -light and the tiny glowing bulb at its base; now into the light there -protruded a black revolver. - -“Keep your hands up, and walk ahead of me to the house,” commanded the -watchman. “The woman will go in front.” - -The young man did not move. Under his breath he muttered impotently, and -bit at his lower lip. - -“See here,” he said, “I’ll go with you, but you sha’n’t take this lady -in front of that madman. Let her go to her car. It’s only a hundred -yards from here; you know perfectly well she——” - -“I know where your car is, all right,” said the watchman steadily, “and -I’m not going to let you get away in it till Mr. Carey’s seen you.” The -revolver motioned forward. Miss Forbes stepped in front of it and -appealed eagerly to the young man. - -“Do what he says,” she urged. “It’s only his duty. Please! Indeed, I -don’t mind.” She turned to the watchman. “Which way do you want us to -go?” she asked. - -“Keep in the light,” he ordered. - -The light showed the broad steps leading to the front entrance of the -house, and in its shaft they climbed them, pushed open the unlocked -door, and stood in a small hallway. It led into a greater hall beyond. -By the electric lights still burning they noted that the interior of the -house was as rich and well cared for as the outside was miserable. With -a gesture for silence the watchman motioned them into a small room on -the right of the hallway. It had the look of an office, and was -apparently the place in which were conducted the affairs of the estate. - -In an open grate was a dying fire; in front of it a flat desk covered -with papers and japanned tin boxes. - -“You stay here till I fetch Mr. Carey and the servants,” commanded the -watchman. “Don’t try to get out, and,” he added menacingly, “don’t make -no noise.” With his revolver he pointed at the two windows. They were -heavily barred. “Those bars keep Mr. Carey in,” he said, “and I guess -they can keep you in, too. The other watchman,” he added, “will be just -outside this door.” But still he hesitated, glowering with suspicion; -unwilling to trust them alone. His face lit with an ugly smile. - -“Mr. Carey’s very bad to-night,” he said; “he won’t keep his bed and -he’s wandering about the house. If he found you by yourselves, he -might——” - -The young man, who had been staring at the fire, swung sharply on his -heel. - -“Get-to-hell-out-of-here!” he said. - -The watchman stepped into the hall and was cautiously closing the door -when a man sprang lightly up the front steps. Through the inch crack -left by the open door the trespassers heard the new-comer’s eager -greeting. - -“I can’t get him right!” he panted. “He’s snoring like a hog.” - -The watchman exclaimed savagely: - -“He’s fooling you.” He gasped. “I didn’t mor’ nor slap him. Did you -throw water on him?” - -“I drowned him!” returned the other. “He never winked. I tell you we -gotta walk, and damn quick!” - -“Walk!” The watchman cursed him foully. “How far could we walk? _I’ll_ -bring him to,” he swore. “He’s scared of us, and he’s shamming.” He gave -a sudden start of alarm. “That’s it, he’s shamming. You fool! You -shouldn’t have left him.” - -There was the swift patter of retreating footsteps, and then a sudden -halt, and they heard the watchman command: “Go back, and keep the other -two till I come.” - -The next instant from the outside the door was softly closed upon them. - -It had no more than shut when to the surprise of Miss Forbes the young -man, with a delighted and vindictive chuckle, sprang to the desk and -began to drum upon it with his fingers. It was as though he were -practising upon a type-writer. - -“He missed _these_,” he muttered jubilantly. The girl leaned forward. -Beneath his fingers she saw, flush with the table, a roll of little -ivory buttons. She read the words “Stables,” “Servants’ hall.” She -raised a pair of very beautiful and very bewildered eyes. - -“But if he wanted the servants, why didn’t the watchman do that?” she -asked. - -“Because he isn’t a watchman,” answered the young man. “Because he’s -robbing this house.” - -He took the revolver from his encumbering great-coat, slipped it in his -pocket, and threw the coat from him. He motioned the girl into a corner. -“Keep out of the line of the door,” he ordered. - -“I don’t understand,” begged the girl. - -“They came in a car,” whispered the young man. “It’s broken down, and -they can’t get away. When the big fellow stopped us and I flashed my -torch, I saw their car behind him in the road with the front off and the -lights out. He’d seen the lamps of our car, and now they want it to -escape in. That’s why he brought us here—to keep us away from our car.” - -“And Fred!” gasped the girl. “Fred’s hurt!” - -“I guess Fred stumbled into the big fellow,” assented the young man, -“and the big fellow put him out; then he saw Fred was a chauffeur, and -now they are trying to bring him to, so that he can run the car for -them. You needn’t worry about Fred. He’s been in four smash-ups.” - -The young man bent forward to listen, but from no part of the great -house came any sign. He exclaimed angrily. - -“They must be drugged,” he growled. He ran to the desk and made vicious -jabs at the ivory buttons. - -“Suppose they’re out of order!” he whispered. - -There was the sound of leaping feet. The young man laughed nervously. -“No, it’s all right,” he cried. “They’re coming!” - -The door flung open and the big burglar and a small, rat-like figure of -a man burst upon them; the big one pointing a revolver. - -“Come with me to your car!” he commanded. “You’ve got to take us to -Boston. Quick, or I’ll blow your face off.” - -Although the young man glared bravely at the steel barrel and the lifted -trigger, poised a few inches from his eyes, his body, as though weak -with fright, shifted slightly and his feet made a shuffling noise upon -the floor. When the weight of his body was balanced on the ball of his -right foot, the shuffling ceased. Had the burglar lowered his eyes, the -manœuvre to him would have been significant, but his eyes were following -the barrel of the revolver. - -In the mind of the young man the one thought uppermost was that he must -gain time, but, with a revolver in his face, he found his desire to gain -time swiftly diminishing. Still, when he spoke, it was with -deliberation. - -“My chauffeur—” he began slowly. - -The burglar snapped at him like a dog. “To hell with your chauffeur!” he -cried. “Your chauffeur has run away. You’ll drive that car yourself, or -I’ll leave you here with the top of your head off.” - -The face of the young man suddenly flashed with pleasure. His eyes, -looking past the burglar to the door, lit with relief. - -“There’s the chauffeur now!” he cried. - -The big burglar for one instant glanced over his right shoulder. - -For months at a time, on Soldiers’ Field, the young man had thrown -himself at human targets, that ran and dodged and evaded him, and the -hulking burglar, motionless before him, was easily his victim. - -He leaped at him, his left arm swinging like a scythe, and, with the -impact of a club, the blow caught the burglar in the throat. - -The pistol went off impotently; the burglar with a choking cough sank in -a heap on the floor. - -The young man tramped over him and upon him, and beat the second burglar -with savage, whirlwind blows. The second burglar, shrieking with pain, -turned to fly, and a fist, that fell upon him where his bump of honesty -should have been, drove his head against the lintel of the door. - -At the same instant from the belfry on the roof there rang out on the -night the sudden tumult of a bell; a bell that told as plainly as though -it clamored with a human tongue, that the hand that rang it was driven -with fear; fear of fire, fear of thieves, fear of a madman with a knife -in his hand running amuck; perhaps at that moment creeping up the belfry -stairs. - -From all over the house there was the rush of feet and men’s voices, and -from the garden the light of dancing lanterns. And while the smoke of -the revolver still hung motionless, the open door was crowded with -half-clad figures. At their head were two young men. One who had drawn -over his night-clothes a serge suit, and who, in even that garb, carried -an air of authority; and one, tall, stooping, weak of face and -light-haired, with eyes that blinked and trembled behind great -spectacles, and who, for comfort, hugged about him a gorgeous kimono. -For an instant the new-comers stared stupidly through the smoke at the -bodies on the floor breathing stertorously, at the young man with the -lust of battle still in his face, at the girl shrinking against the -wall. It was the young man in the serge suit who was the first to move. - -“Who are you?” he demanded. - -“These are burglars,” said the owner of the car. “We happened to be -passing in my automobile, and——” - -The young man was no longer listening. With an alert, professional -manner he had stooped over the big burglar. With his thumb he pushed -back the man’s eyelids, and ran his fingers over his throat and chin. He -felt carefully of the point of the chin, and glanced up. - -“You’ve broken the bone,” he said. - -“I just swung on him,” said the young man. He turned his eyes, and -suggested the presence of the girl. - -At the same moment the man in the kimono cried nervously: “Ladies -present, ladies present. Go put your clothes on, everybody; put your -clothes on.” - -For orders the men in the doorway looked to the young man with the stern -face. - -He scowled at the figure in the kimono. - -“You will please go to your room, sir,” he said. He stood up, and bowed -to Miss Forbes. “I beg your pardon,” he asked, “you must want to get out -of this. Will you please go into the library?” - -He turned to the robust youths in the door, and pointed at the second -burglar. - -“Move him out of the way,” he ordered. - -The man in the kimono smirked and bowed. - -“Allow me,” he said; “allow me to show you to the library. This is no -place for ladies.” - -The young man with the stern face frowned impatiently. - -“You will please return to your room, sir,” he repeated. - -With an attempt at dignity the figure in the kimono gathered the silk -robe closer about him. - -“Certainly,” he said. “If you think you can get on without me—I will -retire,” and lifting his bare feet mincingly, he tiptoed away. Miss -Forbes looked after him with an expression of relief, of repulsion, of -great pity. - -The owner of the car glanced at the young man with the stern face, and -raised his eyebrows interrogatively. - -The young man had taken the revolver from the limp fingers of the -burglar and was holding it in his hand. Winthrop gave what was half a -laugh and half a sigh of compassion. - -“So, that’s Carey?” he said. - -There was a sudden silence. The young man with the stern face made no -answer. His head was bent over the revolver. He broke it open, and -spilled the cartridges into his palm. Still he made no answer. When he -raised his head, his eyes were no longer stern, but wistful, and filled -with an inexpressible loneliness. - -“No, _I_ am Carey,” he said. - -The one who had blundered stood helpless, tongue-tied, with no presence -of mind beyond knowing that to explain would offend further. - -The other seemed to feel for him more than for himself. In a voice low -and peculiarly appealing, he continued hurriedly. - -[Illustration: “You’ve broken the bone,” he said] - -“He is my doctor,” he said. “He is a young man, and he has not had many -advantages—his manner is not—I find we do not get on together. I have -asked them to send me some one else.” He stopped suddenly, and stood -unhappily silent. The knowledge that the strangers were acquainted with -his story seemed to rob him of his earlier confidence. He made an -uncertain movement as though to relieve them of his presence. - -Miss Forbes stepped toward him eagerly. - -“You told me I might wait in the library,” she said. “Will you take me -there?” - -For a moment the man did not move, but stood looking at the young and -beautiful girl, who, with a smile, hid the compassion in her eyes. - -“Will you go?” he asked wistfully. - -“Why not?” said the girl. - -The young man laughed with pleasure. - -“I am unpardonable,” he said. “I live so much alone—that I forget.” Like -one who, issuing from a close room, encounters the morning air, he drew -a deep, happy breath. “It has been three years since a woman has been in -this house,” he said simply. “And I have not even thanked you,” he went -on, “nor asked you if you are cold,” he cried remorsefully, “or hungry. -How nice it would be if you would say you are hungry.” - -The girl walked beside him, laughing lightly, and, as they disappeared -into the greater hall beyond, Winthrop heard her cry: “You never robbed -your own ice-chest? How have you kept from starving? Show me it, and -we’ll rob it together.” - -The voice of their host rang through the empty house with a laugh like -that of an eager, happy child. - -“Heavens!” said the owner of the car, “isn’t she wonderful!” But neither -the prostrate burglars, nor the servants, intent on strapping their -wrists together, gave him any answer. - -As they were finishing the supper filched from the ice-chest, Fred was -brought before them from the kitchen. The blow the burglar had given him -was covered with a piece of cold beefsteak, and the water thrown on him -to revive him was thawing from his leather breeches. Mr. Carey expressed -his gratitude, and rewarded him beyond the avaricious dreams even of a -chauffeur. - -As the three trespassers left the house, accompanied by many pails of -water, the girl turned to the lonely figure in the doorway and waved her -hand. - -“May we come again?” she called. - -But young Mr. Carey did not trust his voice to answer. Standing erect, -with folded arms, in dark silhouette in the light of the hall, he bowed -his head. - -Deaf to alarm bells, to pistol shots, to cries for help, they found her -brother and Ernest Peabody sleeping soundly. - -“Sam is a charming chaperon,” said the owner of the car. - -With the girl beside him, with Fred crouched, shivering, on the step, he -threw in the clutch; the servants from the house waved the emptied -buckets in salute, and the great car sprang forward into the awakening -day toward the golden dome over the Boston Common. In the rear seat -Peabody shivered and yawned, and then sat erect. - -“Did you get the water?” he demanded, anxiously. - -There was a grim silence. - -“Yes,” said the owner of the car patiently. “You needn’t worry any -longer. We got the water.” - - - - - III - THE KIDNAPPERS - - -During the last two weeks of the “whirlwind” campaign, automobiles had -carried the rival candidates to every election district in Greater New -York. - -During these two weeks, at the disposal of Ernest Peabody—on the Reform -Ticket “the people’s choice for Lieutenant-Governor”—Winthrop had placed -his Scarlet Car, and, as its chauffeur, himself. - -Not that Winthrop greatly cared for Reform or Ernest Peabody. The -“whirlwind” part of the campaign was what attracted him; the crowds, the -bands, the fireworks, the rush by night from hall to hall, from Fordham -to Tompkinsville. And while, inside the different Lyceums, Peabody -lashed the Tammany Tiger, outside, in his car, Winthrop was making -friends with Tammany policemen, and his natural enemies, the bicycle -cops. To Winthrop, the day in which he did not increase his acquaintance -with the traffic squad was a day lost. - -But the real reason for his efforts in the cause of Reform was one he -could not declare. And it was a reason that was guessed perhaps by only -one person. On some nights Beatrice Forbes and her brother Sam -accompanied Peabody. And while Peabody sat in the rear of the car, -mumbling the speech he would next deliver, Winthrop was given the chance -to talk with her. These chances were growing cruelly few. In one month -after election day Miss Forbes and Peabody would be man and wife. Once -before the day of their marriage had been fixed, but, when the Reform -Party offered Peabody a high place on its ticket, he asked, in order -that he might bear his part in the cause of reform, that the wedding be -postponed. To the postponement Miss Forbes made no objection. To one -less self-centred than Peabody, it might have appeared that she almost -too readily consented. - -“I knew I could count upon your seeing my duty as I saw it,” said -Peabody, much pleased; “it always will be a satisfaction to both of us -to remember you never stood between me and my work for reform.” - -“What do you think my brother-in-law-to-be has done now?” demanded Sam -of Winthrop, as the Scarlet Car swept into Jerome Avenue. “He’s -postponed his marriage with Trix just because he has a chance to be -Lieutenant-Governor. What is a Lieutenant-Governor anyway, do you know? -I don’t like to ask Peabody.” - -“It’s not his own election he’s working for,” said Winthrop. He was -conscious of an effort to assume a point of view both noble and -magnanimous. “He probably feels the ‘cause’ calls him. But, good -Heavens!” - -“Look out!” shrieked Sam; “where are you going?” - -Winthrop swung the car back into the avenue. - -“To think,” he cried, “that a man who could marry—a girl, and then would -ask her to wait two months. Or two days! Two months lost out of his -life, and she might die; he might lose her; she might change her mind. -Any number of men can be Lieutenant-Governors; only one man can be——” - -He broke off suddenly, coughed, and fixed his eyes miserably on the -road. After a brief pause, Brother Sam covertly looked at him. Could it -be that “Billie” Winthrop, the man liked of all men, should love his -sister, and that she should prefer Ernest Peabody? He was deeply, -loyally indignant. He determined to demand of his sister an immediate -and abject apology. - -At eight o’clock on the morning of election day, Peabody, in the Scarlet -Car, was on his way to vote. He lived at Riverside Drive, and the -polling-booth was only a few blocks distant. During the rest of the day -he intended to use the car to visit other election districts, and to -keep him in touch with the Reformers at the Gilsey House. Winthrop was -acting as his chauffeur, and in the rear seat was Miss Forbes. Peabody -had asked her to accompany him to the polling-booth, because he thought -women who believed in reform should show their interest in it in public, -before all men. Miss Forbes disagreed with him, chiefly because whenever -she sat in a box at any of the public meetings the artists from the -newspapers, instead of immortalizing the candidate, made pictures of her -and her hat. After she had seen her future lord and master cast his vote -for reform and himself, she was to depart by train to Tarrytown. The -Forbes’s country place was there, and for election day her brother Sam -had invited out some of his friends to play tennis. - -As the car darted and dodged up Eighth Avenue, a man who had been hidden -by the stairs to the Elevated, stepped in front of it. It caught him, -and hurled him, like a mail-bag tossed from a train, against one of the -pillars that support the overhead tracks. Winthrop gave a cry and fell -upon the brakes. The cry was as full of pain as though he himself had -been mangled. Miss Forbes saw only the man appear, and then disappear, -but Winthrop’s shout of warning, and the wrench as the brakes locked, -told her what had happened. She shut her eyes, and for an instant -covered them with her hands. On the front seat Peabody clutched -helplessly at the cushions. In horror his eyes were fastened on the -motionless mass jammed against the pillar. Winthrop scrambled over him, -and ran to where the man lay. So, apparently, did every other inhabitant -of Eighth Avenue; but Winthrop was the first to reach him, and kneeling -in the car tracks, he tried to place the head and shoulders of the body -against the iron pillar. He had seen very few dead men; and to him, this -weight in his arms, this bundle of limp flesh and muddy clothes, and the -purple-bloated face with blood trickling down it, looked like a dead -man. - -Once or twice when in his car Death had reached for Winthrop, and only -by the scantiest grace had he escaped. Then the nearness of it had only -sobered him. Now that he believed he had brought it to a fellow man, -even though he knew he was in no degree to blame, the thought sickened -and shocked him. His brain trembled with remorse and horror. - -But voices assailing him on every side brought him to the necessity of -the moment. Men were pressing close upon him, jostling, abusing him, -shaking fists in his face. Another crowd of men, as though fearing the -car would escape of its own volition, were clinging to the steps and -running boards. - -Winthrop saw Miss Forbes standing above them, talking eagerly to -Peabody, and pointing at him. He heard children’s shrill voices calling -to new arrivals that an automobile had killed a man; that it had killed -him on purpose. On the outer edge of the crowd men shouted: “Ah, soak -him!” “Kill him!” “Lynch him!” - -A soiled giant without a collar stooped over the purple, blood-stained -face, and then leaped upright, and shouted: “It’s Jerry Gaylor, he’s -killed old man Gaylor.” - -The response was instant. Every one seemed to know Jerry Gaylor. - -Winthrop took the soiled person by the arm. - -“You help me lift him into my car,” he ordered. “Take him by the -shoulders. We must get him to a hospital.” - -“To a hospital? To the Morgue!” roared the man. “And the police station -for yours. You don’t do no get-away.” - -Winthrop answered him by turning to the crowd. “If this man has any -friends here, they’ll please help me put him in my car, and we’ll take -him to Roosevelt Hospital.” - -The soiled person shoved a fist and a bad cigar under Winthrop’s nose. - -“Has he got any friends?” he mocked. “Sure, he’s got friends, and -they’ll fix you, all right.” - -“Sure!” echoed the crowd. - -The man was encouraged. - -“Don’t you go away thinking you can come up here with your buzz wagon -and murder better men nor you’ll ever be and——” - -“Oh, shut up!” said Winthrop. - -He turned his back on the soiled man, and again appealed to the crowd. - -“Don’t stand there doing nothing,” he commanded. “Do you want this man -to die? Some of you ring for an ambulance and get a policeman, or tell -me where is the nearest drug store.” - -No one moved, but every one shouted to every one else to do as Winthrop -suggested. - -Winthrop felt something pulling at his sleeve, and turning, found -Peabody at his shoulder, peering fearfully at the figure in the street. -He had drawn his cap over his eyes and hidden the lower part of his face -in the high collar of his motor coat. - -“I can’t do anything, can I?” he asked. - -“I’m afraid not,” whispered Winthrop. “Go back to the car and don’t -leave Beatrice. I’ll attend to this.” - -“That’s what I thought,” whispered Peabody eagerly. “I thought she and I -had better keep out of it.” - -“Right!” exclaimed Winthrop. “Go back and get Beatrice away.” - -Peabody looked his relief, but still hesitated. - -“I can’t do anything, as you say,” he stammered, “and it’s sure to get -in the ‘extras,’ and they’ll be out in time to lose us thousands of -votes, and though no one is to blame, they’re sure to blame me. I don’t -care about myself,” he added eagerly, “but the very morning of -election—half the city has not voted yet—the Ticket——” - -“Damn the Ticket!” exclaimed Winthrop. “The man’s dead!” - -Peabody, burying his face still deeper in his collar, backed into the -crowd. In the present and past campaigns, from carts and automobiles he -had made many speeches in Harlem, and on the West Side lithographs of -his stern, resolute features hung in every delicatessen shop, and that -he might be recognized was extremely likely. - -He whispered to Miss Forbes what he had said, and what Winthrop had -said. - -“But you _don’t_ mean to leave him,” remarked Miss Forbes. - -“I must,” returned Peabody. “I can do nothing for the man, and you know -how Tammany will use this. They’ll have it on the street by ten. They’ll -say I was driving recklessly; without regard for human life. And, -besides, they’re waiting for me at head-quarters. Please hurry. I am -late now.” - -Miss Forbes gave an exclamation of surprise. - -“Why, I’m not going,” she said. - -“You must go! _I_ must go. You can’t remain here alone.” - -Peabody spoke in the quick, assured tone that at the first had convinced -Miss Forbes his was a most masterful manner. - -“Winthrop, too,” he added, “wants you to go away.” - -Miss Forbes made no reply. But she looked at Peabody inquiringly, -steadily, as though she were puzzled as to his identity, as though he -had just been introduced to her. It made him uncomfortable. - -“Are you coming?” he asked. - -Her answer was a question. - -“Are you going?” - -“I am!” returned Peabody. He added sharply: “I must.” - -“Good-by,” said Miss Forbes. - -As he ran up the steps to the station of the Elevated, it seemed to -Peabody that the tone of her “good-by” had been most unpleasant. It was -severe, disapproving. It had a final, fateful sound. He was conscious of -a feeling of self-dissatisfaction. In not seeing the political -importance of his not being mixed up with this accident, Winthrop had -been peculiarly obtuse, and Beatrice, unsympathetic. - -Until he had cast his vote for Reform, he felt distinctly ill-used. - -For a moment Beatrice Forbes sat in the car motionless, staring -unseeingly at the iron steps by which Peabody had disappeared. For a few -moments her brows were tightly drawn. Then, having apparently quickly -arrived at some conclusion, she opened the door of the car and pushed -into the crowd. - -Winthrop received her most rudely. - -“You mustn’t come here!” he cried. - -“I thought,” she stammered, “you might want some one?” - -“I told—” began Winthrop, and then stopped, and added—“to take you away. -Where is he?” - -Miss Forbes flushed slightly. - -“He’s gone,” she said. - -In trying not to look at Winthrop, she saw the fallen figure, motionless -against the pillar, and with an exclamation, bent fearfully toward it. - -“Can I do anything?” she asked. - -The crowd gave way for her, and with curious pleased faces, closed in -again eagerly. She afforded them a new interest. - -A young man in the uniform of an ambulance surgeon was kneeling beside -the mud-stained figure, and a police officer was standing over both. The -ambulance surgeon touched lightly the matted hair from which the blood -escaped, stuck his finger in the eye of the prostrate man, and then with -his open hand slapped him across the face. - -“Oh!” gasped Miss Forbes. - -The young doctor heard her, and looking up, scowled reprovingly. Seeing -she was a rarely beautiful young woman, he scowled less severely; and -then deliberately and expertly, again slapped Mr. Jerry Gaylor on the -cheek. He watched the white mark made by his hand upon the purple skin, -until the blood struggled slowly back to it, and then rose. - -He ignored every one but the police officer. - -“There’s nothing the matter with _him_,” he said. “He’s dead drunk.” - -The words came to Winthrop with such abrupt relief, bearing so -tremendous a burden of gratitude, that his heart seemed to fail him. In -his suddenly regained happiness, he unconsciously laughed. - -“Are you sure?” he asked eagerly. “I thought I’d killed him.” - -The surgeon looked at Winthrop coldly. - -“When they’re like that,” he explained with authority, “you can’t hurt -’em if you throw them off _The Times_ Building.” - -He condescended to recognize the crowd. “You know where this man lives?” - -Voices answered that Mr. Gaylor lived at the corner, over the saloon. -The voices showed a lack of sympathy. Old man Gaylor dead was a novelty; -old man Gaylor drunk was not. - -The doctor’s prescription was simple and direct. - -“Put him to bed till he sleeps it off,” he ordered; he swung himself to -the step of the ambulance. “Let him out, Steve,” he called. There was -the clang of a gong and the rattle of galloping hoofs. - -The police officer approached Winthrop. “They tell me Jerry stepped in -front of your car; that you wasn’t to blame. I’ll get their names and -where they live. Jerry might try to hold you up for damages.” - -“Thank you very much,” said Winthrop. - -With several of Jerry’s friends, and the soiled person, who now seemed -dissatisfied that Jerry was alive, Winthrop helped to carry him up one -flight of stairs and drop him upon a bed. - -“In case he needs anything,” said Winthrop, and gave several bills to -the soiled person, upon whom immediately Gaylor’s other friends closed -in. “And I’ll send my own doctor at once to attend to him.” - -“You’d better,” said the soiled person morosely, “or he’ll try to shake -you down.” - -The opinions as to what might be Mr. Gaylor’s next move seemed -unanimous. - -From the saloon below, Winthrop telephoned to the family doctor, and -then rejoined Miss Forbes and the police officer. The officer gave him -the names of those citizens who had witnessed the accident, and in -return received Winthrop’s card. - -“Not that it will go any further,” said the officer reassuringly. -“They’re all saying you acted all right and wanted to take him to -Roosevelt. There’s many,” he added with sententious indignation, “that -knock a man down, and then run away without waiting to find out if -they’ve hurted ’em or killed ’em.” - -The speech for both Winthrop and Miss Forbes was equally embarrassing. - -“You don’t say?” exclaimed Winthrop nervously. He shook the policeman’s -hand. The handclasp was apparently satisfactory to that official, for he -murmured “Thank you,” and stuck something in the lining of his helmet. -“Now, then!” Winthrop said briskly to Miss Forbes, “I think we have done -all we can. And we’ll get away from this place a little faster than the -law allows.” - -Miss Forbes had seated herself in the car, and Winthrop was cranking up, -when the same policeman, wearing an anxious countenance, touched him on -the arm. “There is a gentleman here,” he said, “wants to speak to you.” -He placed himself between the gentleman and Winthrop and whispered: -“He’s ‘Izzy’ Schwab, he’s a Harlem police-court lawyer and a Tammany -man. He’s after something, look out for him.” - -Winthrop saw, smiling at him ingratiatingly, a slight, slim youth, with -beady, rat-like eyes, a low forehead, and a Hebraic nose. He wondered -how it had been possible for Jerry Gaylor to so quickly secure counsel. -But Mr. Schwab at once undeceived him. - -“I’m from _The Journal_,” he began, “not regular on the staff, but I -send ’em Harlem items, and the court reporter treats me nice, see! Now -about this accident; could you give me the name of the young lady?” - -He smiled encouragingly at Miss Forbes. - -“I could not!” growled Winthrop. “The man wasn’t hurt, the policeman -will tell you so. It is not of the least public interest.” - -With a deprecatory shrug, the young man smiled knowingly. - -“Well, mebbe not the lady’s name,” he granted, “but the name of the -_other_ gentleman who was with you, when the accident occurred.” His -black, rat-like eyes snapped. “I think _his_ name would be of public -interest.” - -To gain time Winthrop stepped into the driver’s seat. He looked at Mr. -Schwab steadily. - -“There was no other gentleman,” he said. “Do you mean my chauffeur?” Mr. -Schwab gave an appreciative chuckle. - -“No, I don’t mean your chauffeur,” he mimicked. “I mean,” he declared -theatrically in his best police-court manner, “the man who to-day is -hoping to beat Tammany, Ernest Peabody!” - -Winthrop stared at the youth insolently. - -“I don’t understand you,” he said. - -“Oh, of course not!” jeered “Izzy” Schwab. He moved excitedly from foot -to foot. “Then who _was_ the other man,” he demanded, “the man who ran -away?” - -Winthrop felt the blood rise to his face. That Miss Forbes should hear -this rat of a man sneering at the one she was to marry, made him hate -Peabody. But he answered easily: - -“No one ran away. I told my chauffeur to go and call up an ambulance. -That was the man you saw.” - -As when “leading on” a witness to commit himself, Mr. Schwab smiled -sympathetically. - -“And he hasn’t got back yet,” he purred, “has he?” - -“No, and I’m not going to wait for him,” returned Winthrop. He reached -for the clutch, but Mr. Schwab jumped directly in front of the car. - -“Was he looking for a telephone when he ran up the Elevated steps?” he -cried. - -He shook his fists vehemently. - -“Oh, no, Mr. Winthrop, it won’t do—you make a good witness. I wouldn’t -ask for no better, but, you don’t fool ‘Izzy’ Schwab.” - -“You’re mistaken, I tell you,” cried Winthrop desperately. “He may look -like—like this man you speak of, but no Peabody was in this car.” - -“Izzy” Schwab wrung his hands hysterically. - -“No, he wasn’t!” he cried, “because he run away! And left an old man in -the street—dead, for all he knowed—nor cared neither. Yah!” shrieked the -Tammany heeler. “_Him_ a Reformer, yah!” - -“Stand away from my car,” shouted Winthrop, “or you’ll get hurt.” - -“Yah, you’d like to, wouldn’t you?” returned Mr. Schwab, leaping nimbly -to one side. “What do you think _The Journal_ ’ll give me for that -story, hey? ‘Ernest Peabody, the Reformer, Kills an Old Man, AND RUNS -AWAY.’ And hiding his face, too! I seen him. What do you think that -story’s worth to Tammany, hey? It’s worth twenty thousand votes!” The -young man danced in front of the car triumphantly, mockingly, in a -frenzy of malice. “Read the extras, that’s all,” he taunted. “Read ’em -in an hour from now!” - -Winthrop glared at the shrieking figure with fierce, impotent rage; -then, with a look of disgust, he flung the robe off his knees and rose. -Mr. Schwab, fearing bodily injury, backed precipitately behind the -policeman. - -“Come here,” commanded Winthrop softly. Mr. Schwab warily approached. -“That story,” said Winthrop, dropping his voice to a low whisper, “is -worth a damn sight more to you than twenty thousand votes. You take a -spin with me up Riverside Drive where we can talk. Maybe you and I can -‘make a little business.’” - -At the words, the face of Mr. Schwab first darkened angrily, and then -lit with such exultation that it appeared as though Winthrop’s efforts -had only placed Peabody deeper in Mr. Schwab’s power. But the rat-like -eyes wavered, there was doubt in them, and greed, and, when they turned -to observe if any one could have heard the offer, Winthrop felt the -trick was his. It was apparent that Mr. Schwab was willing to arbitrate. - -He stepped gingerly into the front seat, and as Winthrop leaned over him -and tucked and buckled the fur robe around his knees, he could not -resist a glance at his friends on the sidewalk. They were grinning with -wonder and envy, and as the great car shook itself, and ran easily -forward, Mr. Schwab leaned back and carelessly waved his hand. But his -mind did not waver from the purpose of his ride. He was not one to be -cajoled with fur rugs and glittering brass. - -“Well, Mr. Winthrop,” he began briskly. “You want to say something? You -must be quick—every minute’s money.” - -“Wait till we’re out of the traffic,” begged Winthrop anxiously, “I -don’t want to run down any more old men, and I wouldn’t for the world -have anything happen to you, Mr.—” He paused politely. - -“Schwab—Isadore Schwab.” - -“How did you know _my_ name?” asked Winthrop. - -“The card you gave the police officer.” - -“I see,” said Winthrop. They were silent while the car swept swiftly -west, and Mr. Schwab kept thinking that for a young man who was afraid -of the traffic, Winthrop was dodging the motor cars, beer vans, and iron -pillars, with a dexterity that was criminally reckless. - -At that hour Riverside Drive was empty, and after a gasp of relief, Mr. -Schwab resumed the attack. - -“Now, then,” he said sharply, “don’t go any further. What is this you -want to talk about?” - -“How much will _The Journal_ give you for this story of yours?” asked -Winthrop. - -Mr. Schwab smiled mysteriously. - -“Why?” he asked. - -“Because,” said Winthrop, “I think I could offer you something better.” - -“You mean,” said the police-court lawyer cautiously, “you will make it -worth my while not to tell the truth about what I saw?” - -“Exactly,” said Winthrop. - -“That’s all! Stop the car,” cried Mr. Schwab. His manner was commanding. -It vibrated with triumph. His eyes glistened with wicked satisfaction. - -“Stop the car?” demanded Winthrop, “what do you mean?” - -“I mean,” said Mr. Schwab dramatically, “that I’ve got you where I want -you, thank you. You have killed Peabody dead as a cigar butt! Now I can -tell them how his friends tried to bribe me. Why do you think I came in -your car? For what money _you_ got? Do you think you can stack up your -roll against the _New York Journal’s_, or against Tammany’s?” His shrill -voice rose exultantly. “Why, Tammany ought to make me judge for this! -Now, let me down here,” he commanded, “and next time, don’t think you -can take on ‘Izzy’ Schwab and get away with it.” - -They were passing Grant’s Tomb, and the car was moving at a speed that -Mr. Schwab recognized was in excess of the speed limit. - -“Do you hear me?” he demanded, “let me down!” - -To his dismay Winthrop’s answer was in some fashion to so juggle with -the shining brass rods that the car flew into greater speed. To “Izzy” -Schwab it seemed to scorn the earth, to proceed by leaps and jumps. But, -what added even more to his mental discomfiture was, that Winthrop -should turn, and slowly and familiarly wink at him. - -As through the window of an express train, Mr. Schwab saw the white -front of Claremont, and beyond it the broad sweep of the Hudson. And -then, without decreasing its speed, the car like a great bird swept down -a hill, shot under a bridge, and into a partly paved street. Mr. Schwab -already was two miles from his own bailiwick. His surroundings were -unfamiliar. On the one hand were newly erected, untenanted flat houses -with the paint still on the window panes, and on the other side, -detached villas, a roadhouse, an orphan asylum, a glimpse of the Hudson. - -“Let me out,” yelled Mr. Schwab, “what you trying to do? Do you think a -few blocks’ll make any difference to a telephone? You think you’re -damned smart, don’t you? But you won’t feel so fresh when I get on the -long distance. You let me down,” he threatened, “or, I’ll——” - -With a sickening skidding of wheels, Winthrop whirled the car round a -corner and into the Lafayette Boulevard, that for miles runs along the -cliff of the Hudson. - -“Yes,” asked Winthrop, “_what_ will you do?” On one side was a high -steep bank, on the other many trees, and through them below, the river. -But there were no houses, and at half-past eight in the morning those -who later drive upon the boulevard were still in bed. - -“_What_ will you do?” repeated Winthrop. - -Miss Forbes, apparently as much interested in Mr. Schwab’s answer as -Winthrop, leaned forward. Winthrop raised his voice above the whir of -flying wheels, the rushing wind, and scattering pebbles. - -“I asked you into this car,” he shouted, “because I meant to keep you in -it until I had you where you couldn’t do any mischief. I told you I’d -give you something better than _The Journal_ I would give you, and I am -going to give you a happy day in the country. We’re now on our way to -this lady’s house. You are my guest, and you can play golf, and bridge, -and the piano, and eat and drink until the polls close, and after that -you can go to the devil. If you jump out at this speed, you will break -your neck. And if I have to slow up for anything, and you try to get -away, I’ll go after you—it doesn’t matter where it is—and break every -bone in your body.” - -“Yah! you can’t!” shrieked Mr. Schwab. “You can’t do it!” The madness of -the flying engines had got upon his nerves. Their poison was surging in -his veins. He knew he had only to touch his elbow against the elbow of -Winthrop, and he could throw the three of them into eternity. He was -travelling on air, uplifted, defiant, carried beyond himself. - -“I can’t do what?” asked Winthrop. - -The words reached Schwab from an immeasurable distance, as from another -planet, a calm, humdrum planet on which events moved in commonplace, -orderly array. Without a jar, with no transition stage, instead of -hurtling through space, Mr. Schwab found himself luxuriously seated in a -cushioned chair, motionless, at the side of a steep bank. For a mile -before him stretched an empty road. And beside him in the car, with arms -folded calmly on the wheel, there glared at him a grim, alert young man. - -“I can’t do what?” growled the young man. - -A feeling of great loneliness fell upon “Izzy” Schwab. Where were now -those officers, who in the police courts were at his beck and call? -Where the numbered houses, the passing surface cars, the sweating -multitudes of Eighth Avenue? In all the world he was alone, alone on an -empty country road, with a grim, alert young man. - -“When I asked you how you knew my name,” said the young man, “I thought -you knew me as having won some races in Florida last winter. This is the -car that won. I thought maybe you might have heard of me when I was -captain of a football team at—a university. If you have any idea that -you can jump from this car and not be killed, or that I cannot pound you -into a pulp, let me prove to you you’re wrong—now. We’re quite alone. Do -you wish to get down?” - -“No,” shrieked Schwab, “I won’t!” He turned appealingly to the young -lady. “You’re a witness,” he cried. “If he assaults me, he’s liable. I -haven’t done nothing.” - -“We’re near Yonkers,” said the young man, “and if you try to take -advantage of my having to go slow through the town, you know now what -will happen to you.” - -Mr. Schwab having instantly planned, on reaching Yonkers, to leap from -the car into the arms of the village constable, with suspicious alacrity -assented. The young man regarded him doubtfully. - -“I’m afraid I’ll have to show you,” said the young man. He laid two -fingers on Mr. Schwab’s wrist; looking at him, as he did so, steadily -and thoughtfully, like a physician feeling a pulse. Mr. Schwab screamed. -When he had seen policemen twist steel nippers on the wrists of -prisoners, he had thought, when the prisoners shrieked and writhed, they -were acting. He now knew they were not. - -“Now, will you promise?” demanded the grim young man. - -“Yes,” gasped Mr. Schwab. “I’ll sit still. I won’t do nothing.” - -“Good,” muttered Winthrop. - -A troubled voice that carried to the heart of Schwab a promise of -protection, said: “Mr. Schwab, would you be more comfortable back here -with me?” - -Mr. Schwab turned two terrified eyes in the direction of the voice. He -saw the beautiful young lady regarding him kindly, compassionately; with -just a suspicion of a smile. Mr. Schwab instantly scrambled to safety -over the front seat into the body of the car. Miss Forbes made way for -the prisoner beside her and he sank back with a nervous, apologetic -sigh. The alert young man was quick to follow the lead of the lady. - -“You’ll find caps and goggles in the boot, Schwab,” he said hospitably. -“You had better put them on. We are going rather fast now.” He extended -a magnificent case of pigskin, that bloomed with fat black cigars. “Try -one of these,” said the hospitable young man. The emotions that swept -Mr. Schwab he found difficult to pursue, but he raised his hat to the -lady. “May I, Miss?” he said. - -“Certainly,” said the lady. - -There was a moment of delay while with fingers that slightly trembled, -Mr. Schwab selected an amazing green cap and lit his cigar; and then the -car swept forward, singing and humming happily, and scattering the -autumn leaves. The young lady leaned toward him with a book in a leather -cover. She placed her finger on a twisting red line that trickled -through a page of type. - -“We’re just here,” said the young lady, “and we ought to reach home, -which is just about there, in an hour.” - -“I see,” said Schwab. But all he saw was a finger in a white glove, and -long eyelashes tangled in a gray veil. - -For many minutes or, for all Schwab knew, for many miles, the young lady -pointed out to him the places along the Hudson, of which he had read in -the public school history, and quaint old manor houses set in glorious -lawns; and told him who lived in them. Schwab knew the names as -belonging to down-town streets, and up-town clubs. He became nervously -humble, intensely polite, he felt he was being carried as an honored -guest into the very heart of the Four Hundred, and when the car jogged -slowly down the main street of Yonkers, although a policeman stood idly -within a yard of him, instead of shrieking to him for help, “Izzy” -Schwab looked at him scornfully across the social gulf that separated -them, with all the intolerance he believed becoming in the upper -classes. - -“Those bicycle cops,” he said confidentially to Miss Forbes, “are too -chesty.” - -The car turned in between stone pillars, and under an arch of red and -golden leaves, and swept up a long avenue to a house of innumerable -roofs. It was the grandest house Mr. Schwab had ever entered, and when -two young men in striped waistcoats and many brass buttons ran down the -stone steps and threw open the door of the car, his heart fluttered -between fear and pleasure. - -Lounging before an open fire in the hall were a number of young men, who -welcomed Winthrop delightedly, and to all of whom Mr. Schwab was -formally presented. As he was introduced he held each by the hand and -elbow and said impressively, and much to the other’s embarrassment, -“_What_ name, please?” - -Then one of the servants conducted him to a room opening on the hall, -from whence he heard stifled exclamations and laughter, and some one -saying “Hush.” But “Izzy” Schwab did not care. The slave in brass -buttons was proffering him ivory-backed hair-brushes, and obsequiously -removing the dust from his coat collar. Mr. Schwab explained to him that -he was not dressed for automobiling, as Mr. Winthrop had invited him -quite informally. The man was most charmingly sympathetic. And when he -returned to the hall every one received him with the most genial, -friendly interest. Would he play golf, or tennis, or pool, or walk over -the farm, or just look on? It seemed the wish of each to be his escort. -Never had he been so popular. - -He said he would “just look on.” And so, during the last and decisive -day of the “whirlwind” campaign, while in Eighth Avenue voters were -being challenged, beaten, and bribed, bonfires were burning, and -“extras” were appearing every half-hour, “Izzy” Schwab, the Tammany -henchman, with a secret worth twenty thousand votes, sat a prisoner, in -a wicker chair, with a drink and a cigar, guarded by four young men in -flannels, who played tennis violently at five dollars a corner. - -It was always a great day in the life of “Izzy” Schwab. After a -luncheon, which, as he later informed his friends, could not have cost -less than “two dollars a plate and drink all you like,” Sam Forbes took -him on at pool. Mr. Schwab had learned the game in the cellars of Eighth -Avenue at two and a half cents a cue, and now, even in Columbus Circle -he was a star. So, before the sun had set Mr. Forbes, who at pool rather -fancied himself, was seventy-five dollars poorer, and Mr. Schwab just -that much to the good. Then there followed a strange ceremony called -tea, or, if you preferred it, whiskey and soda; and the tall footman -bent before him with huge silver salvers laden down with flickering -silver lamps, and bubbling soda bottles, and cigars, and cigarettes. - -“You could have filled your pockets with twenty-five cent Havanas, and -nobody would have said nothing!” declared Mr. Schwab, and his friends, -who never had enjoyed his chance to study at such close quarters the -truly rich, nodded enviously. - -At six o’clock Mr. Schwab led Winthrop into the big library and asked -for his ticket of leave. - -“They’ll be counting the votes soon,” he begged. “I can’t do no harm -now, and I don’t mean to. I didn’t see nothing, and I won’t say nothing. -But it’s election night, and—and I just _got_ to be on Broadway.” - -“Right,” said Winthrop, “I’ll have a car take you in, and if you will -accept this small check——” - -“No!” roared “Izzy” Schwab. Afterward he wondered how he came to do it. -“You’ve give me a good time, Mr. Winthrop. You’ve treated me fine, all -the gentlemen have treated me nice. I’m not a blackmailer, Mr. -Winthrop.” Mr. Schwab’s voice shook slightly. - -“Nonsense, Schwab, you didn’t let me finish,” said Winthrop, “I’m likely -to need a lawyer any time; this is a retaining fee. Suppose I exceed the -speed limit—I’m liable to do that——” - -“You bet you are!” exclaimed Mr. Schwab violently. - -“Well, then, I’ll send for _you_, and there isn’t a police magistrate, -nor any of the traffic squad, you can’t handle, is there?” - -Mr. Schwab flushed with pleasure. - -“You can count on me,” he vowed, “and your friends, too, and the -ladies,” he added gallantly. “If ever the ladies want to get bail, tell -’em to telephone for ‘Izzy’ Schwab. Of course,” he said reluctantly, “if -it’s a retaining fee——” - -But when he read the face of the check he exclaimed in protest: “But, -Mr. Winthrop, this is more than _The Journal_ would have give me!” - -They put him in a car belonging to one of the other men, and all came -out on the steps to wave him “good-by,” and he drove magnificently into -his own district, where there were over a dozen men who swore he tipped -the French chauffeur a five-dollar bill “just like it was a cigarette.” - -All of election day since her arrival in Winthrop’s car Miss Forbes had -kept to herself. In the morning, when the other young people were out of -doors, she remained in her room, and after luncheon, when they gathered -round the billiard table, she sent for her cart and drove off alone. The -others thought she was concerned over the possible result of the -election, and did not want to disturb them by her anxiety. Winthrop, -thinking the presence of Schwab embarrassed her, recalling as it did -Peabody’s unfortunate conduct of the morning, blamed himself for -bringing Schwab to the house. But he need not have distressed himself. -Miss Forbes was thinking neither of Schwab nor Peabody, nor was she -worried or embarrassed. On the contrary, she was completely happy. - -When that morning she had seen Peabody running up the steps of the -Elevated, all the doubts, the troubles, questions, and misgivings that -night and day for the last three months had upset her, fell from her -shoulders like the pilgrim’s heavy pack. For months she had been telling -herself that the unrest she felt when with Peabody was due to her not -being able to appreciate the importance of those big affairs in which he -was so interested; in which he was so admirable a figure. She had, as -she supposed, loved him, because he was earnest, masterful, intent of -purpose. His had seemed a fine character. When she had compared him with -the amusing boys of her own age, the easy-going joking youths to whom -the betterment of New York was of no concern, she had been proud in her -choice. She was glad Peabody was ambitious. She was ambitious for him. -She was glad to have him consult her on those questions of local -government, to listen to his fierce, contemptuous abuse of Tammany. And -yet early in their engagement she had missed something, something she -had never known, but which she felt sure should exist. Whether she had -seen it in the lives of others, or read of it in romances, or whether it -was there because it was nature to desire to be loved, she did not know. -But long before Winthrop returned from his trip round the world, in her -meetings with the man she was to marry, she had begun to find that there -was something lacking. And Winthrop had shown her that this something -lacking was the one thing needful. When Winthrop had gone abroad he was -only one of her brother’s several charming friends. One of the amusing -merry youths who came and went in the house as freely as Sam himself. -Now, after two years’ absence, he refused to be placed in that category. - -He rebelled on the first night of his return. As she came down to the -dinner of welcome her brother was giving Winthrop, he stared at her as -though she were a ghost, and said, so solemnly that every one in the -room, even Peabody, smiled: “Now I know why I came home.” That he -refused to recognize her engagement to Peabody, that on every occasion -he told her, or by some act showed her, he loved her; that he swore she -should never marry any one but himself, and that he would never marry -any one but her, did not at first, except to annoy, in any way impress -her. - -But he showed her what in her intercourse with Peabody was lacking. At -first she wished Peabody could find time to be as fond of her, as -foolishly fond of her, as was Winthrop. But she realized that this was -unreasonable. Winthrop was just a hot-headed impressionable boy, Peabody -was a man doing a man’s work. And then she found that week after week -she became more difficult to please. Other things in which she wished -Peabody might be more like Winthrop, obtruded themselves. Little things -which she was ashamed to notice, but which rankled; and big things, such -as consideration for others, and a sense of humor, and not talking of -himself. Since this campaign began, at times she had felt that if -Peabody said “I” once again, she must scream. She assured herself she -was as yet unworthy of him, that her intelligence was weak, that as she -grew older and so better able to understand serious affairs, such as the -importance of having an honest man at Albany as Lieutenant-Governor, -they would become more in sympathy. And now, at a stroke, the whole -fabric of self-deception fell from her. It was not that she saw Peabody -so differently, but that she saw herself and her own heart, and where it -lay. And she knew that “Billy” Winthrop, gentle, joking, selfish only in -his love for her, held it in his two strong hands. - -For the moment, when as she sat in the car deserted by Peabody this -truth flashed upon her, she forgot the man lying injured in the street, -the unscrubbed mob crowding about her. She was conscious only that a -great weight had been lifted. That her blood was flowing again, leaping, -beating, dancing through her body. It seemed as though she could not too -quickly tell Winthrop. For both of them she had lost out of their lives -many days. She had risked losing him for always. Her only thought was to -make up to him and to herself the wasted time. But throughout the day -the one-time welcome, but now intruding, friends and the innumerable -conventions of hospitality required her to smile and show an interest, -when her heart and mind were crying out the one great fact. - -It was after dinner, and the members of the house party were scattered -between the billiard-room and the piano. Sam Forbes returned from the -telephone. - -“Tammany,” he announced, “concedes the election of Jerome by forty -thousand votes, and that he carries his ticket with him. Ernest Peabody -is elected his Lieutenant-Governor by a thousand votes. Ernest,” he -added, “seems to have had a close call.” There was a tremendous chorus -of congratulations in the cause of Reform. They drank the health of -Peabody. Peabody himself, on the telephone, informed Sam Forbes that a -conference of the leaders would prevent his being present with them that -evening. The enthusiasm for Reform perceptibly increased. - -An hour later Winthrop came over to Beatrice and held out his hand. “I’m -going to slip away,” he said. “Good-night.” - -“Going away!” exclaimed Beatrice. - -Her voice showed such apparently acute concern that Winthrop wondered -how the best of women could be so deceitful, even to be polite. - -“I promised some men,” he stammered, “to drive them down-town to see the -crowds.” - -Beatrice shook her head. - -“It’s far too late for that,” she said. “Tell me the real reason.” - -Winthrop turned away his eyes. - -“Oh! the real reason,” he said gravely, “is the same old reason, the one -I’m not allowed to talk about. It’s cruelly hard when I don’t see you,” -he went on, slowly dragging out the words, “but it’s harder when I do; -so I’m going to say ‘good-night’ and run into town.” - -He stood for a moment staring moodily at the floor, and then dropped -into a chair beside her. - -“And, I believe, I’ve not told you,” he went on, “that on Wednesday I’m -running away for good, that is, for a year or two. I’ve made all the -fight I can and I lose, and there is no use in my staying on here -to—well—to suffer, that is the plain English of it. So,” he continued -briskly, “I won’t be here for the ceremony, and this is ‘good-by’ as -well as ‘good-night.’” - -“Where are you going for a year?” asked Miss Forbes. - -Her voice now showed no concern. It even sounded as though she did not -take his news seriously, as though as to his movements she was possessed -of a knowledge superior to his own. He tried to speak in matter-of-fact -tones. - -“To Uganda!” he said. - -“To Uganda?” repeated Miss Forbes. “Where is Uganda?” - -“It is in East Africa; I had bad luck there last trip, but now I know -the country better, and I ought to get some good shooting.” - -Miss Forbes appeared indifferently incredulous. In her eyes there was a -look of radiant happiness. It rendered them bewilderingly beautiful. - -“On Wednesday,” she said. “Won’t you come and see us again before you -sail for Uganda?” - -Winthrop hesitated. - - -“I’ll stop in and say ‘good-by’ to your mother if she’s in town, and to -thank her. She’s been awfully good to me. But you—I really would rather -not see you again. You understand, or rather, you don’t understand, -and,” he added vehemently, “you never will understand.” He stood looking -down at her miserably. - -On the driveway outside there was a crunching on the gravel of heavy -wheels and an aurora-borealis of lights. - -“There’s your car,” said Miss Forbes. “I’ll go out and see you off.” - -“You’re very good,” muttered Winthrop. He could not understand. This -parting from her was the great moment in his life, and although she must -know that, she seemed to be making it unnecessarily hard for him. He had -told her he was going to a place very far away, to be gone a long time, -and she spoke of saying “good-by” to him as pleasantly as though it was -his intention to return from Uganda for breakfast. - -Instead of walking through the hall where the others were gathered, she -led him out through one of the French windows upon the terrace, and -along it to the steps. When she saw the chauffeur standing by the car, -she stopped. - -“I thought you were going alone,” she said. - -“I am,” answered Winthrop. “It’s not Fred; that’s Sam’s chauffeur; he -only brought the car around.” - -The man handed Winthrop his coat and cap, and left them, and Winthrop -seated himself at the wheel. She stood above him on the top step. In the -evening gown of lace and silver she looked a part of the moonlight -night. For each of them the moment had arrived. Like a swimmer standing -on the bank gathering courage for the plunge, Miss Forbes gave a -trembling, shivering sigh. - -“You’re cold,” said Winthrop, gently. “You must go in. Good-by.” - -“It isn’t that,” said the girl. “Have you an extra coat?” - -“It isn’t cold enough for——” - -“I meant for me,” stammered the girl in a frightened voice. “I thought -perhaps you would take me a little way, and bring me back.” - -At first the young man did not answer, but sat staring in front of him, -then, he said simply: - -“It’s awfully good of you, Beatrice. I won’t forget it.” - -It was a wonderful autumn night, moonlight, cold, clear and brilliant. -She stepped in beside him and wrapped herself in one of his greatcoats. -They started swiftly down the avenue of trees. - -“No, not fast,” begged the girl, “I want to talk to you.” - -The car checked and rolled forward smoothly, sometimes in deep shadow, -sometimes in the soft silver glamour of the moon; beneath them the -fallen leaves crackled and rustled under the slow moving wheels. At the -highway Winthrop hesitated. It lay before them arched with great and -ancient elms; below, the Hudson glittered and rippled in the moonlight. - -“Which way do you want to go?” said Winthrop. - -His voice was very grateful, very humble. - -The girl did not answer. - -There was a long, long pause. - -Then he turned and looked at her and saw her smiling at him with that -light in her eyes that never was on land or sea. - -“To Uganda,” said the girl. - - - - - THE PRINCESS ALINE - - - - - I - - -H. R. H. the Princess Aline of Hohenwald came into the life of Morton -Carlton—or “Morney” Carlton, as men called him—of New York City, when -that young gentleman’s affairs and affections were best suited to -receive her. Had she made her appearance three years sooner or three -years later, it is quite probable that she would have passed on out of -his life with no more recognition from him than would have been -expressed in a look of admiring curiosity. - -But coming when she did, when his time and heart were both unoccupied, -she had an influence upon young Mr. Carlton which led him into doing -several wise and many foolish things, and which remained with him -always. Carlton had reached a point in his life, and very early in his -life, when he could afford to sit at ease and look back with modest -satisfaction to what he had forced himself to do, and forward with -pleasurable anticipations to whatsoever he might choose to do in the -future. The world had appreciated what he had done, and had put much to -his credit, and he was prepared to draw upon this grandly. - -At the age of twenty he had found himself his own master, with excellent -family connections, but with no family, his only relative being a -bachelor uncle, who looked at life from the point of view of the Union -Club’s windows, and who objected to his nephew’s leaving Harvard to take -up the study of art in Paris. In that city (where at Julian’s he was -nicknamed the Junior Carlton, for the obvious reason that he was the -older of the two Carltons in the class, and because he was well-dressed) -he had shown himself a harder worker than others who were less careful -of their appearance and of their manners. His work, of which he did not -talk, and his ambitions, of which he also did not talk, bore fruit -early, and at twenty-six he had become a portrait-painter of -international reputation. Then the French government purchased one of -his paintings at an absurdly small figure, and placed it in the -Luxembourg, from whence it would in time depart to be buried in the hall -of some provincial city; and American millionaires, and English Lord -Mayors, members of Parliament, and members of the Institute, masters of -hounds in pink coats, and ambassadors in gold lace, and beautiful women -of all nationalities and conditions sat before his easel. And so when he -returned to New York he was welcomed with an enthusiasm which showed -that his countrymen had feared that the artistic atmosphere of the Old -World had stolen him from them forever. He was particularly silent, even -at this date, about his work, and listened to what others had to say of -it with much awe, not unmixed with some amusement, that it should be he -who was capable of producing anything worthy of such praise. We have -been told what the mother duck felt when her ugly duckling turned into a -swan, but we have never considered how much the ugly duckling must have -marvelled also. - -“Carlton is probably the only living artist,” a brother artist had said -of him, “who fails to appreciate how great his work is.” And on this -being repeated to Carlton by a good-natured friend, he had replied -cheerfully, “Well, I’m sorry, but it is certainly better to be the only -one who doesn’t appreciate it than to be the only one who does.” - -He had never understood why such a responsibility had been intrusted to -him. It was, as he expressed it, not at all in his line, and young girls -who sought to sit at the feet of the master found him making love to -them in the most charming manner in the world, as though he were not -entitled to all the rapturous admiration of their very young hearts, but -had to sue for it like any ordinary mortal. Carlton always felt as -though some day some one would surely come along and say: “Look here, -young man, this talent doesn’t belong to you; it’s mine. What do you -mean by pretending that such an idle good-natured youth as yourself is -entitled to such a gift of genius?” He felt that he was keeping it in -trust, as it were; that it had been changed at birth, and that the -proper guardian would eventually relieve him of his treasure. - -Personally Carlton was of the opinion that he should have been born in -the active days of knights-errant—to have had nothing more serious to do -than to ride abroad with a blue ribbon fastened to the point of his -lance, and with the spirit to unhorse any one who objected to its color, -or to the claims of superiority of the noble lady who had tied it there. -There was not, in his opinion, at the present day any sufficiently -pronounced method of declaring admiration for the many lovely women this -world contained. A proposal of marriage he considered to be a mean and -clumsy substitute for the older way, and was uncomplimentary to the many -other women left unasked, and marriage itself required much more -constancy than he could give. He had a most romantic and old-fashioned -ideal of women as a class, and from the age of fourteen had been a -devotee of hundreds of them as individuals; and though in that time his -ideal had received several severe shocks, he still believed that the -“not impossible she” existed somewhere, and his conscientious efforts to -find out whether every woman he met might not be that one had led him -not unnaturally into many difficulties. - -“The trouble with me is,” he said, “that I care too much to make -Platonic friendship possible, and don’t care enough to marry any -particular woman—that is, of course, supposing that any particular one -would be so little particular as to be willing to marry me. How -embarrassing it would be, now,” he argued, “if when you were turning -away from the chancel after the ceremony you should look at one of the -bridemaids and see the woman whom you really should have married! How -distressing that would be! You couldn’t very well stop and say: ‘I am -very sorry, my dear, but it seems I have made a mistake. That young -woman on the right has a most interesting and beautiful face. I am very -much afraid that she is the one.’ It would be too late then; while now, -in my free state, I can continue my search without any sense of -responsibility.” - -“Why”—he would exclaim—“I have walked miles to get a glimpse of a -beautiful woman in a suburban window, and time and time again when I -have seen a face in a passing brougham I have pursued it in a hansom, -and learned where the owner of the face lived, and spent weeks in -finding some one to present me, only to discover that she was -self-conscious or uninteresting or engaged. Still I had assured myself -that she was not the one. I am very conscientious, and I consider that -it is my duty to go so far with every woman I meet as to be able to -learn whether she is or is not the one, and the sad result is that I am -like a man who follows the hounds but is never in at the death.” - -“Well,” some married woman would say, grimly, “I hope you will get your -deserts some day; and you _will_, too. Some day some girl will make you -suffer for this.” - -“Oh, that’s all right,” Carlton would answer, meekly. “Lots of women -have made me suffer, if that’s what you think I need.” - -“Some day,” the married woman would prophesy, “you will care for a woman -so much that you will have no eyes for any one else. That’s the way it -is when one is married.” - -“Well, when that’s the way it is with _me_,” Carlton would reply, “I -certainly hope to get married; but until it is, I think it is safer for -all concerned that I should not.” - -Then Carlton would go to the club and complain bitterly to one of his -friends. - -“How unfair married women are!” he would say. “The idea of thinking a -man could have no eyes but for one woman! Suppose I had never heard a -note of music until I was twenty-five years of age, and was then given -my hearing. Do you suppose my pleasure in music would make me lose my -pleasure in everything else? Suppose I met and married a girl at -twenty-five. Is that going to make me forget all the women I knew before -I met her? I think not. As a matter of fact, I really deserve a great -deal of credit for remaining single, for I am naturally very -affectionate; but when I see what poor husbands my friends make, I -prefer to stay as I am until I am sure that I will make a better one. It -is only fair to the woman.” - -Carlton was sitting in the club alone. He had that sense of superiority -over his fellows and of irresponsibility to the world about him that -comes to a man when he knows that his trunks are being packed and that -his state-room is engaged. He was leaving New York long before most of -his friends could get away. He did not know just where he was going, and -preferred not to know. He wished to have a complete holiday, and to see -Europe as an idle tourist, and not as an artist with an eye to his own -improvement. He had plenty of time and money; he was sure to run across -friends in the big cities, and acquaintances he could make or not, as he -pleased, _en route_. He was not sorry to go. His going would serve to -put an end to what gossip there might be of his engagement to numerous -young women whose admiration for him as an artist, he was beginning to -fear, had taken on a more personal tinge. “I wish,” he said, gloomily, -“I didn’t like people so well. It seems to cause them and me such a lot -of trouble.” - -He sighed, and stretched out his hand for a copy of one of the English -illustrated papers. It had a fresher interest to him because the next -number of it that he would see would be in the city in which it was -printed. The paper in his hands was the _St. James Budget_, and it -contained much fashionable intelligence concerning the preparations for -a royal wedding which was soon to take place between members of two of -the reigning families of Europe. There was on one page a half-tone -reproduction of a photograph, which showed a group of young people -belonging to several of these reigning families, with their names and -titles printed above and below the picture. They were princesses, -archdukes, or grand dukes, and they were dressed like young English men -and women, and with no sign about them of their possible military or -social rank. - -One of the young princesses in the photograph was looking out of it and -smiling in a tolerant, amused way, as though she had thought of -something which she could not wait to enjoy until after the picture was -taken. She was not posing consciously, as were some of the others, but -was sitting in a natural attitude, with one arm over the back of her -chair, and with her hands clasped before her. Her face was full of a -fine intelligence and humor, and though one of the other princesses in -the group was far more beautiful, this particular one had a much more -high-bred air, and there was something of a challenge in her smile that -made any one who looked at the picture smile also. Carlton studied the -face for some time, and mentally approved of its beauty; the others -seemed in comparison wooden and unindividual, but this one looked like a -person he might have known, and whom he would certainly have liked. He -turned the page and surveyed the features of the Oxford crew with lesser -interest, and then turned the page again and gazed critically and -severely at the face of the princess with the high-bred smile. He had -hoped that he would find it less interesting at a second glance, but it -did not prove to be so. - -“‘The Princess Aline of Hohenwald,’” he read. “She’s probably engaged to -one of those Johnnies beside her, and the Grand-Duke of Hohenwald behind -her must be her brother.” He put the paper down and went in to luncheon, -and diverted himself by mixing a salad dressing; but after a few moments -he stopped in the midst of this employment, and told the waiter, with -some unnecessary sharpness, to bring him the last copy of the _St. James -Budget_. - -“Confound it!” he added, to himself. - -He opened the paper with a touch of impatience and gazed long and -earnestly at the face of the Princess Aline, who continued to return his -look with the same smile of amused tolerance. Carlton noted every detail -of her tailor-made gown, of her high mannish collar, of her tie, and -even the rings on her hand. There was nothing about her of which he -could fairly disapprove. He wondered why it was that she could not have -been born an approachable New York girl instead of a princess of a -little German duchy, hedged in throughout her single life, and to be -traded off eventually in marriage with as much consideration as though -she were a princess of a real kingdom. - -“She looks jolly too,” he mused, in an injured tone; “and so very -clever; and of course she has a beautiful complexion. All those German -girls have. Your Royal Highness is more than pretty,” he said, bowing -his head gravely. “You look as a princess should look. I am sure it was -one of your ancestors who discovered the dried pea under a dozen -mattresses.” He closed the paper, and sat for a moment with a perplexed -smile of consideration. “Waiter,” he exclaimed, suddenly, “send a -messenger-boy to Brentano’s for a copy of the _St. James Budget_, and -bring me the Almanach de Gotha from the library. It is a little fat red -book on the table near the window.” Then Carlton opened the paper again -and propped it up against a carafe, and continued his critical survey of -the Princess Aline. He seized the Almanach, when it came, with some -eagerness. - -“Hohenwald (Maison de Grasse),” he read, and in small type below it: - - “1. Ligne cadette (régnante) grand-ducale: Hohenwald et de Grasse. - - “Guillaume-Albert-Frederick-Charles-Louis, Grand-Duc de Hohenwald et - de Grasse, etc., etc., etc.” - -“That’s the brother, right enough,” muttered Carlton. - -And under the heading “Sœurs” he read: - - “4. _Psse Aline._—Victoria-Beatrix-Louise-Helene, Alt. Gr.-Duc. Née à - Grasse, Juin, 1872.” - -“Twenty-two years old,” exclaimed Carlton. “What a perfect age! I could -not have invented a better one.” He looked from the book to the face -before him. “Now, my dear young lady,” he said, “I know all about _you_. -You live at Grasse, and you are connected, to judge by your names, with -all the English royalties; and very pretty names they are, too—Aline, -Helene, Victoria, Beatrix. You must be much more English than you are -German; and I suppose you live in a little old castle, and your brother -has a standing army of twelve men, and some day you are to marry a -Russian Grand-Duke, or whoever your brother’s Prime Minister—if he has a -Prime Minister—decides is best for the politics of your little toy -kingdom. Ah! to think,” exclaimed Carlton, softly, “that such a lovely -and glorious creature as that should be sacrificed for so insignificant -a thing as the peace of Europe when she might make some young man -happy?” - -He carried a copy of the paper to his room, and cut the picture of the -group out of the page and pasted it carefully on a stiff piece of -card-board. Then he placed it on his dressing-table, in front of a -photograph of a young woman in a large silver frame—which was a sign, -had the young woman but known it, that her reign for the time being was -over. - -Nolan, the young Irishman who “did for” Carlton, knew better than to -move it when he found it there. He had learned to study his master since -he had joined him in London, and understood that one photograph in the -silver frame was entitled to more consideration than three others on the -writing-desk or half a dozen on the mantel-piece. Nolan had seen them -come and go; he had watched them rise and fall; he had carried notes to -them, and books and flowers; and had helped to depose them from the -silver frame and move them on by degrees down the line, until they went -ingloriously into the big brass bowl on the side table. Nolan approved -highly of this last choice. He did not know which one of the three in -the group it might be; but they were all pretty, and their social -standing was certainly distinguished. - -Guido, the Italian model who ruled over the studio, and Nolan were -busily packing when Carlton entered. He always said that Guido -represented him in his professional and Nolan in his social capacity. -Guido cleaned the brushes and purchased the artists’ materials; Nolan -cleaned his riding-boots and bought his theatre and railroad tickets. - -“Guido,” said Carlton, “there are two sketches I made in Germany last -year, one of the Prime Minister, and one of Ludwig the actor; get them -out for me, will you, and pack them for shipping. Nolan,” he went on, -“here is a telegram to send.” - -Nolan would not have read a letter, but he looked upon telegrams as -public documents, the reading of them as part of his perquisites. This -one was addressed to Oscar Von Holtz, First Secretary, German Embassy, -Washington, D. C., and the message read: - - “Please telegraph me full title and address Princess Aline of - Hohenwald. Where would a letter reach her? - - “MORTON CARLTON.” - -The next morning Nolan carried to the express office a box containing -two oil-paintings on small canvases. They were addressed to the man in -London who attended to the shipping and forwarding of Carlton’s pictures -in that town. - - -There was a tremendous crowd on the _New York_. She sailed at the -obliging hour of eleven in the morning, and many people, in consequence, -whose affection would not have stood in the way of their breakfast, made -it a point to appear and to say good-by. Carlton, for his part, did not -notice them; he knew by experience that the attractive-looking people -always leave a steamer when the whistle blows, and that the next most -attractive-looking, who remain on board, are ill all the way over. A man -that he knew seized him by the arm as he was entering his cabin, and -asked if he were crossing or just seeing people off. - -“Well, then, I want to introduce you to Miss Morris and her aunt, Mrs. -Downs; they are going over, and I should be glad if you would be nice to -them. But you know her, I guess?” he asked, over his shoulder, as -Carlton pushed his way after him down the deck. - -“I know who she is,” he said. - -Miss Edith Morris was surrounded by a treble circle of admiring friends, -and seemed to be holding her own. They all stopped when Carlton came up, -and looked at him rather closely, and those whom he knew seemed to mark -the fact by a particularly hearty greeting. The man who had brought him -up acted as though he had successfully accomplished a somewhat difficult -and creditable feat. Carlton bowed himself away, leaving Miss Morris to -her friends, and saying that she would probably have to see him later, -whether she wished it or not. He then went to meet the aunt, who -received him kindly, for there were very few people on the passenger -list, and she was glad they were to have his company. Before he left she -introduced him to a young man named Abbey, who was hovering around her -most anxiously, and whose interest, she seemed to think it necessary to -explain, was due to the fact that he was engaged to Miss Morris. Mr. -Abbey left the steamer when the whistle blew, and Carlton looked after -him gratefully. He always enjoyed meeting attractive girls who were -engaged, as it left him no choice in the matter, and excused him from -finding out whether or not that particular young woman was the one. - -Mrs. Downs and her niece proved to be experienced sailors, and faced the -heavy sea that met the _New York_ outside of Sandy Hook with unconcern. -Carlton joined them, and they stood together leaning with their backs to -the rail, and trying to fit the people who flitted past them to the -names on the passenger list. - -“The young lady in the sailor suit,” said Miss Morris, gazing at the top -of the smoke-stack, “is Miss Kitty Flood, of Grand Rapids. This is her -first voyage, and she thinks a steamer is something like a yacht, and -dresses for the part accordingly. She does not know that it is merely a -moving hotel.” - -“I am afraid,” said Carlton, “to judge from her agitation, that hers is -going to be what the professionals call a ‘dressing-room’ part. Why is -it,” he asked, “that the girls on a steamer who wear gold anchors and -the men in yachting-caps are always the first to disappear? That man -with the sombrero,” he went on, “is James M. Pollock, United States -Consul to Mauritius; he is going out to his post. I know he is the -consul, because he comes from Fort Worth, Texas, and is therefore -admirably fitted to speak either French or the native language of the -island.” - -“Oh, we don’t send consuls to Mauritius,” laughed Miss Morris. -“Mauritius is one of those places from which you buy stamps, but no one -really lives or goes there.” - -“Where are you going, may I ask?” inquired Carlton. - -Miss Morris said that they were making their way to Constantinople and -Athens, and then to Rome; that as they had not had the time to take the -southern route, they purposed to journey across the Continent direct -from Paris to the Turkish capital by the Orient Express. - -“We shall be a few days in London, and in Paris only long enough for -some clothes,” she replied. - -“The trousseau,” thought Carlton. “Weeks is what she should have said.” - -The three sat together at the captain’s table, and as the sea continued -rough, saw little of either the captain or his other guests, and were -thrown much upon the society of each other. They had innumerable friends -and interests in common; and Mrs. Downs, who had been everywhere, and -for long seasons at a time, proved as alive as her niece, and Carlton -conceived a great liking for her. She seemed to be just and kindly -minded, and, owing to her age, to combine the wider judgment of a man -with the sympathetic interest of a woman. Sometimes they sat together in -a row and read, and gossiped over what they read, or struggled up the -deck as it rose and fell and buffeted with the wind; and later they -gathered in a corner of the saloon and ate late suppers of Carlton’s -devising, or drank tea in the captain’s cabin, which he had thrown open -to them. They had started knowing much about one another, and this and -the necessary proximity of the ship hastened their acquaintance. - -The sea grew calmer the third day out, and the sun came forth and showed -the decks as clean as bread-boards. Miss Morris and Carlton seated -themselves on the huge iron riding-bits in the bow, and with their -elbows on the rail looked down at the whirling blue water, and rejoiced -silently in the steady rush of the great vessel, and in the uncertain -warmth of the March sun. Carlton was sitting to leeward of Miss Morris, -with a pipe between his teeth. He was warm, and at peace with the world. -He had found his new acquaintance more than entertaining. She was even -friendly, and treated him as though he were much her junior, as is the -habit of young women lately married or who are about to be married. -Carlton did not resent it; on the contrary, it made him more at his ease -with her, and as she herself chose to treat him as a youth, he permitted -himself to be as foolish as he pleased. - -“I don’t know why it is,” he complained, peering over the rail, “but -whenever I look over the side to watch the waves a man in a greasy cap -always sticks his head out of a hole below me and scatters a barrelful -of ashes or potato peelings all over the ocean. It spoils the effect for -one. Next time he does it I am going to knock out the ashes of my pipe -on the back of his neck.” Miss Morris did not consider this worthy of -comment, and there was a long lazy pause. - -“You haven’t told us where you go after London,” she said; and then, -without waiting for him to reply, she asked, “Is it your professional or -your social side that you are treating to a trip this time?” - -“Who told you that?” asked Carlton, smiling. - -“Oh, I don’t know. Some man. He said you were a Jekyll and Hyde. Which -is Jekyll? You see, I only know your professional side.” - -“You must try to find out for yourself by deduction,” he said, “as you -picked out the other passengers. I am going to Grasse,” he continued. -“It’s the capital of Hohenwald. Do you know it?” - -“Yes,” she said; “we were there once for a few days. We went to see the -pictures. I suppose you know that the old Duke, the father of the -present one, ruined himself almost by buying pictures for the Grasse -gallery. We were there at a bad time, though, when the palace was closed -to visitors, and the gallery too. I suppose that is what is taking you -there?” - -“No,” Carlton said, shaking his head. “No, it is not the pictures. I am -going to Grasse,” he said, gravely, “to see the young woman with whom I -am in love.” - -Miss Morris looked up in some surprise, and smiled consciously, with a -natural feminine interest in an affair of love, and one which was a -secret as well. - -“Oh,” she said, “I beg your pardon; we—I had not heard of it.” - -“No, it is not a thing one could announce exactly,” said Carlton; “it is -rather in an embyro state as yet—in fact, I have not met the young lady -so far, but I mean to meet her. That’s why I am going abroad.” - -Miss Morris looked at him sharply to see if he were smiling, but he was, -on the contrary, gazing sentimentally at the horizon-line, and puffing -meditatively on his pipe. He was apparently in earnest, and waiting for -her to make some comment. - -“How very interesting!” was all she could think to say. - -“Yes, when you know the details, it is,—_very_ interesting,” he -answered. “She is the Princess Aline of Hohenwald,” he explained, bowing -his head as though he were making the two young ladies known to one -another. “She has several other names, six in all, and her age is -twenty-two. That is all I know about her. I saw her picture in an -illustrated paper just before I sailed, and I made up my mind I would -meet her, and here I am. If she is not in Grasse, I intend to follow her -to wherever she may be.” He waved his pipe at the ocean before him, and -recited, with mock seriousness: - - “‘Across the hills and far away, - Beyond their utmost purple rim, - And deep into the dying day, - The happy Princess followed him.’ - -“Only in this case, you see,” said Carlton, “I am following the happy -Princess.” - -“No; but seriously, though,” said Miss Morris, “what is it you mean? Are -you going to paint her portrait?” - -“I never thought of that,” exclaimed Carlton. “I don’t know but what -your idea is a good one. Miss Morris, that’s a great idea.” He shook his -head approvingly. “I did not do wrong to confide in you,” he said. “It -was perhaps taking a liberty; but as you have not considered it as such, -I am glad I spoke.” - -“But you don’t really mean to tell me,” exclaimed the girl, facing -about, and nodding her head at him, “that you are going abroad after a -woman whom you have never seen, and because you like a picture of her in -a paper?” - -“I do,” said Carlton. “Because I like her picture, and because she is a -Princess.” - -“Well, upon my word,” said Miss Morris, gazing at him with evident -admiration, “that’s what my younger brother would call a distinctly -sporting proposition. Only I don’t see,” she added, “what her being a -Princess has to do with it.” - -“You don’t?” laughed Carlton easily. “That’s the best part of it—that’s -the plot. The beauty of being in love with a Princess, Miss Morris,” he -said, “lies in the fact that you can’t marry her; that you can love her -deeply and forever, and nobody will ever come to you and ask your -intentions, or hint that after such a display of affection you ought to -do something. Now, with a girl who is not a Princess, even if she -understands the situation herself, and wouldn’t marry you to save her -life, still there is always some one—a father, or a mother, or one of -your friends—who makes it his business to interfere, and talks about it, -and bothers you both. But with a Princess, you see, that is all -eliminated. You can’t marry a Princess, because they won’t let you. A -Princess has got to marry a real royal chap, and so you are perfectly -ineligible and free to sigh for her, and make pretty speeches to her, -and see her as often as you can, and revel in your devotion and -unrequited affection.” - -Miss Morris regarded him doubtfully. She did not wish to prove herself -too credulous. “And you honestly want me, Mr. Carlton, to believe that -you are going abroad just for this?” - -“You see,” Carlton answered her, “if you only knew me better you would -have no doubt on the subject at all. It isn’t the thing some men would -do, I admit, but it is exactly what any one who knows me would expect of -me. I should describe it, having had acquaintance with the young man for -some time, as being eminently characteristic. And besides, think what a -good story it makes! Every other man who goes abroad this summer will -try to tell about his travels when he gets back to New York, and, as -usual, no one will listen to him. But they will _have_ to listen to me. -‘You’ve been across since I saw you last. What did you do?’ they’ll ask, -politely. And then, instead of simply telling them that I have been in -Paris or London, I can say, ‘Oh, I’ve been chasing around the globe -after the Princess Aline of Hohenwald.’ That sounds interesting, doesn’t -it? When you come to think of it,” Carlton continued, meditatively, “it -is not so very remarkable. Men go all the way to Cuba and Mexico, and -even to India, after orchids, after a nasty flower that grows in an -absurd way on the top of a tree. Why shouldn’t a young man go as far as -Germany after a beautiful Princess, who walks on the ground, and who can -talk and think and feel? She is much more worth while than an orchid.” - -Miss Morris laughed indulgently. “Well, I didn’t know such devotion -existed at this end of the century,” she said; “it’s quite nice and -encouraging. I hope you will succeed, I am sure. I only wish we were -going to be near enough to see how you get on. I have never been a -confidante when there was a real Princess concerned,” she said; “it -makes it so much more amusing. May one ask what your plans are?” - -Carlton doubted if he had any plans as yet. “I have to reach the ground -first,” he said, “and after that I must reconnoitre. I may possibly -adopt your idea, and ask to paint her portrait, only I dislike confusing -my social and professional sides. As a matter of fact, though,” he said, -after a pause, laughing guiltily, “I have done a little of that already. -I prepared her, as it were, for my coming. I sent her studies of two -pictures I made last winter in Berlin. One of the Prime Minister, and -one of Ludwig, the tragedian at the Court Theatre. I sent them to her -through my London agent, so that she would think they had come from some -one of her English friends, and I told the dealer not to let any one -know who had forwarded them. My idea was that it might help me, perhaps, -if she knew something about me before I appeared in person. It was a -sort of letter of introduction written by myself.” - -“Well, really,” expostulated Miss Morris, “you certainly woo in a royal -way. Are you in the habit of giving away your pictures to any one whose -photograph you happen to like? That seems to me to be giving new lamps -for old to a degree. I must see if I haven’t some of my sister’s -photographs in my trunk. She is considered very beautiful.” - -“Well, you wait until you see this particular portrait, and you will -understand it better,” said Carlton. - -The steamer reached Southampton early in the afternoon, and Carlton -secured a special compartment on the express to London for Mrs. Downs -and her niece and himself, with one adjoining for their maid and Nolan. -It was a beautiful day, and Carlton sat with his eyes fixed upon the -passing fields and villages, exclaiming with pleasure from time to time -at the white roads and the feathery trees and hedges, and the red roofs -of the inns and square towers of the village churches. - -“Hedges are better than barbed-wire fences, aren’t they?” he said. “You -see that girl picking wild flowers from one of them? She looks just as -though she were posing for a picture for an illustrated paper. She -couldn’t pick flowers from a barbed-wire fence, could she? And there -would probably be a tramp along the road somewhere to frighten her; and -see—the chap in knickerbockers farther down the road leaning on the -stile. I am sure he is waiting for her; and here comes a coach,” he ran -on. “Don’t the red wheels look well against the hedges? It’s a pretty -little country, England, isn’t it?—like a private park or a model -village. I am glad to get back to it—I am glad to see the three-and-six -signs with the little slanting dash between the shillings and pennies. -Yes, even the steam-rollers and the man with the red flag in front are -welcome.” - -“I suppose,” said Mrs. Downs, “it’s because one has been so long on the -ocean that the ride to London seems so interesting. It always pays me -for the entire trip. Yes,” she said, with a sigh, “in spite of the -patent-medicine signs they have taken to putting up all along the road. -It seems a pity they should adopt our bad habits instead of our good -ones.” - -“They are a bit slow at adopting anything,” commented Carlton. “Did you -know, Mrs. Downs, that electric lights are still as scarce in London as -they are in Timbuctoo? Why, I saw an electric-light plant put up in a -Western town in three days once; there were over a hundred burners in -one saloon, and the engineer who put them up told me in confidence -that——” - -What the chief engineer told him in confidence was never disclosed, for -at that moment Miss Morris interrupted him with a sudden sharp -exclamation. - -“Oh, Mr. Carlton,” she exclaimed, breathlessly, “listen to this!” She -had been reading one of the dozen papers which Carlton had purchased at -the station, and was now shaking one of them at him, with her eyes fixed -on the open page. - -“My dear Edith,” remonstrated her aunt, “Mr. Carlton was telling us——” - -“Yes, I know,” exclaimed Miss Morris, laughing, “but this interests him -much more than electric lights. Who do you think is in London?” she -cried, raising her eyes to his, and pausing for proper dramatic effect. -“The Princess Aline of Hohenwald!” - -“No?” shouted Carlton. - -“Yes,” Miss Morris answered, mocking his tone. “Listen. ‘The Queen’s -Drawing-room’—em—e—m—‘on her right was the Princess of Wales’—em—m. Oh, -I can’t find it—no—yes, here it is. ‘Next to her stood the Princess -Aline of Hohenwald. She wore a dress of white silk, with train of silver -brocade trimmed with fur. Ornaments—emeralds and diamonds; -orders—Victoria and Albert, Jubilee Commemoration Medal, Coburg and -Gotha, and Hohenwald and Grasse.’” - -“By Jove!” cried Carlton, excitedly. “I say, is that really there? Let -me see it, please, for myself.” - -Miss Morris handed him the paper, with her finger on the paragraph, and -picking up another, began a search down its columns. - -“You are right,” exclaimed Carlton, solemnly; “it’s she, sure enough. -And here I’ve been within two hours of her and didn’t know it?” - -Miss Morris gave another triumphant cry, as though she had discovered a -vein of gold. - -“Yes, and here she is again,” she said, “in the _Gentlewoman_: ‘The -Queen’s dress was of black, as usual, but relieved by a few violet -ribbons in the bonnet; and Princess Beatrice, who sat by her mother’s -side, showed but little trace of the anxiety caused by Princess Ena’s -accident. Princess Aline, on the front seat, in a light-brown jacket and -a becoming bonnet, gave the necessary touch to a picture which Londoners -would be glad to look upon more often.’” - -Carlton sat staring forward, with his hands on his knees, and with his -eyes open wide from excitement. He presented so unusual an appearance of -bewilderment and delight that Mrs. Downs looked at him and at her niece -for some explanation. “The young lady seems to interest you,” said she, -tentatively. - -[Illustration: “Next to her stood the Princess Aline of Hohenwald”] - -“She is the most charming creature in the world, Mrs. Downs,” cried -Carlton, “and I was going all the way to Grasse to see her, and now it -turns out that she is here in England, within a few miles of us.” He -turned and waved his hands at the passing landscape. “Every minute -brings us nearer together.” - -“And you didn’t feel it in the air!” mocked Miss Morris, laughing. “You -are a pretty poor sort of a man to let a girl tell you where to find the -woman you love.” - -Carlton did not answer, but stared at her very seriously and frowned -intently. “Now I have got to begin all over again and readjust things,” -he said. “We might have guessed she would be in London, on account of -this royal wedding. It is a great pity it isn’t later in the season, -when there would be more things going on and more chances of meeting -her. Now they will all be interested in themselves, and, being extremely -exclusive, no one who isn’t a cousin to the bridegroom or an Emperor -would have any chance at all. Still, I can see her! I can look at her, -and that’s something.” - -“It is better than a photograph, anyway,” said Miss Morris. - -“They will be either at Buckingham Palace or at Windsor, or they will -stop at Brown’s,” said Carlton. “All royalties go to Brown’s. I don’t -know why, unless it is because it is so expensive; or maybe it is -expensive because royalties go there; but, in any event, if they are not -at the palace, that is where they will be, and that is where I shall -have to go too.” - -When the train drew up at Victoria Station, Carlton directed Nolan to -take his things to Brown’s Hotel, but not to unload them until he had -arrived. Then he drove with the ladies to Cox’s, and saw them settled -there. He promised to return at once to dine, and to tell them what he -had discovered in his absence. “You’ve got to help me in this, Miss -Morris,” he said, nervously. “I am beginning to feel that I am not -worthy of her.” - -“Oh yes, you are!” she said, laughing; “but don’t forget that ‘it’s not -the lover who comes to woo, but the lover’s _way_ of wooing,’ and that -‘faint heart’—and the rest of it.” - -“Yes, I know,” said Carlton, doubtfully; “but it’s a bit sudden, isn’t -it?” - -“Oh, I am ashamed of you! You are frightened.” - -“No, not frightened, exactly,” said the painter. “I think it’s just -natural emotion.” - -As Carlton turned into Albemarle Street he noticed a red carpet -stretching from the doorway of Brown’s Hotel out across the sidewalk to -a carriage, and a bareheaded man bustling about apparently assisting -several gentlemen to get into it. This and another carriage and Nolan’s -four-wheeler blocked the way; but without waiting for them to move up, -Carlton leaned out of his hansom and called the bareheaded man to its -side. - -“Is the Duke of Hohenwald stopping at your hotel?” he asked. The -bareheaded man answered that he was. - -“All right, Nolan,” cried Carlton. “They can take in the trunks.” - -Hearing this, the bareheaded man hastened to help Carlton to alight. -“That was the Duke who just drove off, sir; and those,” he said, -pointing to three muffled figures who were stepping into a second -carriage, “are his sisters, the Princesses.” - -Carlton stopped midway, with one foot on the step and the other in the -air. - -“The deuce they are!” he exclaimed; “and which is—” he began, eagerly, -and then remembering himself, dropped back on the cushions of the -hansom. - -He broke into the little dining-room at Cox’s in so excited a state that -two dignified old gentlemen who were eating there sat open-mouthed in -astonished disapproval. Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris had just come down -stairs. - -“I have seen her!” Carlton cried, ecstatically; “only half an hour in -the town, and I’ve seen her already!” - -“No, really?” exclaimed Miss Morris. “And how did she look? Is she as -beautiful as you expected?” - -“Well, I can’t tell yet,” Carlton answered. “There were three of them, -and they were all muffled up, and which one of the three she was I don’t -know. She wasn’t labelled, as in the picture, but she was there, and I -saw her. The woman I love was one of that three, and I have engaged -rooms at the hotel, and this very night the same roof shelters us both.” - - - - - II - - -“The course of true love certainly runs smoothly with you,” said Miss -Morris, as they seated themselves at the table. “What is your next move? -What do you mean to do now?” - -“The rest is very simple,” said Carlton. “To-morrow morning I will go to -the Row; I will be sure to find some one there who knows all about -them—where they are going, and who they are seeing, and what engagements -they may have. Then it will only be a matter of looking up some friend -in the Household or in one of the embassies who can present me.” - -“Oh,” said Miss Morris, in the tone of keenest disappointment, “but that -is such a commonplace ending! You started out so romantically. Couldn’t -you manage to meet her in a less conventional way?” - -“I am afraid not,” said Carlton. “You see, I want to meet her very much, -and to meet her very soon, and the quickest way of meeting her, whether -it’s romantic or not, isn’t a bit too quick for me. There will be -romance enough after I am presented, if I have my way.” - -But Carlton was not to have his way; for he had overlooked the fact that -it requires as many to make an introduction as a bargain, and he had -left the Duke of Hohenwald out of his considerations. He met many people -he knew in the Row the next morning; they asked him to lunch, and -brought their horses up to the rail, and he patted the horses’ heads, -and led the conversation around to the royal wedding, and through it to -the Hohenwalds. He learned that they had attended a reception at the -German Embassy on the previous night, and it was one of the secretaries -of that embassy who informed him of their intended departure that -morning on the eleven o’clock train to Paris. - -“To Paris!” cried Carlton, in consternation. “What! all of them?” - -“Yes, all of them, of course. Why?” asked the young German. But Carlton -was already dodging across the tan-bark to Piccadilly and waving his -stick at a hansom. - -Nolan met him at the door of Brown’s Hotel with an anxious countenance. - -“Their Royal Highnesses have gone, sir,” he said. “But I’ve packed your -trunks and sent them to the station. Shall I follow them, sir?” - -“Yes,” said Carlton. “Follow the trunks and follow the Hohenwalds. I -will come over on the Club train at four. Meet me at the station, and -tell me to what hotel they have gone. Wait; if I miss you, you can find -me at the Hôtel Continental; but if they go straight on through Paris, -you go with them, and telegraph me here and to the Continental. -Telegraph at every station, so I can keep track of you. Have you enough -money?” - -“I have, sir—enough for a long trip, sir.” - -“Well, you’ll need it,” said Carlton, grimly. “This is going to be a -long trip. It is twenty minutes to eleven now; you will have to hurry. -Have you paid my bill here?” - -“I have, sir,” said Nolan. - -“Then get off, and don’t lose sight of those people again.” - -Carlton attended to several matters of business, and then lunched with -Mrs. Downs and her niece. He had grown to like them very much, and was -sorry to lose sight of them, but consoled himself by thinking he would -see them a few days at least in Paris. He judged that he would be there -for some time, as he did not think the Princess Aline and her sisters -would pass through that city without stopping to visit the shops on the -Rue de la Paix. - -“All women are not princesses,” he argued, “but all princesses are -women.” - -“We will be in Paris on Wednesday,” Mrs. Downs told him. “The Orient -Express leaves there twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and we have -taken an apartment for next Thursday, and will go right on to -Constantinople.” - -“But I thought you said you had to buy a lot of clothes there?” Carlton -expostulated. - -Mrs. Downs said that they would do that on their way home. - -Nolan met Carlton at the station, and told him that he had followed the -Hohenwalds to the Hôtel Meurice. “There is the Duke, sir, and the three -Princesses,” Nolan said, “and there are two German gentlemen acting as -equerries, and an English captain, a sort of A.D.C. to the Duke, and two -elderly ladies, and eight servants. They travel very simple, sir, and -their people are in undress livery. Brown and red, sir.” - -Carlton pretended not to listen to this. He had begun to doubt but that -Nolan’s zeal would lead him into some indiscretion, and would end -disastrously to himself. He spent the evening alone in front of the Café -de la Paix, pleasantly occupied in watching the life and movement of -that great meeting of the highways. It did not seem possible that he had -ever been away. It was as though he had picked up a book and opened it -at the page and place at which he had left off reading it a moment -before. There was the same type, the same plot, and the same characters, -who were doing the same characteristic things. Even the waiter who -tipped out his coffee knew him; and he knew, or felt as though he knew, -half of those who passed, or who shared with him the half of the -sidewalk. The women at the next table considered the slim, good-looking -young American with friendly curiosity, and the men with them discussed -him in French, until a well-known Parisian recognized Carlton in -passing, and hailed him joyously in the same language, at which the -women laughed and the men looked sheepishly conscious. - -On the following morning Carlton took up his post in the open court of -the Meurice, with his coffee and the _Figaro_ to excuse his loitering -there. He had not been occupied with these over-long before Nolan -approached him, in some excitement, with the information that their -Royal Highnesses—as he delighted to call them—were at that moment -“coming down the lift.” - -Carlton could hear their voices, and wished to step around the corner -and see them; it was for this chance he had been waiting; but he could -not afford to act in so undignified a manner before Nolan, so he merely -crossed his legs nervously, and told the servant to go back to the -rooms. - -“Confound him!” he said; “I wish he would let me conduct my own affairs -in my own way. If I don’t stop him, he’ll carry the Princess Aline off -by force and send me word where he has hidden her.” - -The Hohenwalds had evidently departed for a day’s outing, as up to five -o’clock they had not returned; and Carlton, after loitering all the -afternoon, gave up waiting for them, and went out to dine at Laurent’s, -in the Champs Elysées. He had finished his dinner, and was leaning -luxuriously forward, with his elbows on the table, and knocking the -cigar ashes into his coffee-cup. He was pleasantly content. The trees -hung heavy with leaves over his head, a fountain played and overflowed -at his elbow, and the lamps of the fiacres passing and repassing on the -Avenue of the Champs Elysées shone like giant fire-flies through the -foliage. The touch of the gravel beneath his feet emphasized the free, -out-of-door charm of the place, and the faces of the others around him -looked more than usually cheerful in the light of the candles flickering -under the clouded shades. His mind had gone back to his earlier student -days in Paris, when life always looked as it did now in the brief -half-hour of satisfaction which followed a cold bath or a good dinner, -and he had forgotten himself and his surroundings. It was the voices of -the people at the table behind him that brought him back to the present -moment. A man was talking; he spoke in English, with an accent. - -[Illustration: “A man was talking in English, with an accent”] - -“I should like to go again through the Luxembourg,” he said; “but you -need not be bound by what I do.” - -“I think it would be pleasanter if we all keep together,” said a girl’s -voice, quietly. She also spoke in English, and with the same accent. - -The people whose voices had interrupted him were sitting and standing -around a long table, which the waiters had made large enough for their -party by placing three of the smaller ones side by side; they had -finished their dinner, and the women, who sat with their backs toward -Carlton, were pulling on their gloves. - -“Which is it to be, then?” said the gentleman, smiling. “The pictures or -the dressmakers?” - -The girl who had first spoken turned to the one next to her. - -“Which would you rather do, Aline?” she asked. - -Carlton moved so suddenly that the men behind him looked at him -curiously; but he turned, nevertheless, in his chair and faced them, and -in order to excuse his doing so beckoned to one of the waiters. He was -within two feet of the girl who had been called “Aline.” She raised her -head to speak, and saw Carlton staring open-eyed at her. She glanced at -him for an instant, as if to assure herself that she did not know him, -and then, turning to her brother, smiled in the same tolerant, amused -way in which she had so often smiled upon Carlton from the picture. - -“I am afraid I had rather go to the Bon Marché,” she said. - -One of the waiters stepped in between them, and Carlton asked him for -his bill; but when it came he left it lying on the plate, and sat -staring out into the night between the candles, puffing sharply on his -cigar, and recalling to his memory his first sight of the Princess Aline -of Hohenwald. - -That night, as he turned into bed, he gave a comfortable sigh of -content. “I am glad she chose the dressmakers instead of the pictures,” -he said. - -Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris arrived in Paris on Wednesday, and expressed -their anxiety to have Carlton lunch with them, and to hear him tell of -the progress of his love-affair. There was not much to tell; the -Hohenwalds had come and gone from the hotel as freely as any other -tourists in Paris, but the very lack of ceremony about their movements -was in itself a difficulty. The manner of acquaintance he could make in -the court of the Hôtel Meurice with one of the men over a cup of coffee -or a glass of bock would be as readily discontinued as begun, and for -his purpose it would have been much better if the Hohenwalds had been -living in state with a visitors’ book and a chamberlain. - -On Wednesday evening Carlton took the ladies to the opera, where the -Hohenwalds occupied a box immediately opposite them. Carlton pretended -to be surprised at this fact, but Mrs. Downs doubted his sincerity. - -“I saw Nolan talking to their courier to-day,” she said, “and I fancy he -asked a few leading questions.” - -“Well, he didn’t learn much if he did,” he said. - -“The fellow only talks German.” - -“Ah, then he has been asking questions!” said Miss Morris. - -“Well, he does it on his own responsibility,” said Carlton, “for I told -him to have nothing to do with servants. He has too much zeal, has -Nolan; I’m afraid of him.” - -“If you were only half as interested as he is,” said Miss Morris, “you -would have known her long ago.” - -“Long ago?” exclaimed Carlton. “I only saw her four days since.” - -“She is certainly very beautiful,” said Miss Morris, looking across the -auditorium. - -“But she isn’t there,” said Carlton. “That’s the eldest sister; the two -other sisters went out on the coach this morning to Versailles, and were -too tired to come to-night. At least, so Nolan says. He seems to have -established a friendship for their English maid, but whether it’s on my -account or his own I don’t know. I doubt his unselfishness.” - -“How disappointing of her!” said Miss Morris. “And after you had -selected a box just across the way, too. It is such a pity to waste it -on us.” Carlton smiled, and looked up at her impudently, as though he -meant to say something; but remembering that she was engaged to be -married, changed his mind, and lowered his eyes to his programme. - -“Why didn’t you say it?” asked Miss Morris, calmly, turning her glass to -the stage. “Wasn’t it pretty?” - -“No,” said Carlton—“not pretty enough.” - -The ladies left the hotel the next day to take the Orient Express, which -left Paris at six o’clock. They had bidden Carlton good-by at four the -same afternoon, and as he had come to their rooms for that purpose, they -were in consequence a little surprised to see him at the station, -running wildly along the platform, followed by Nolan and a porter. He -came into their compartment after the train had started, and shook his -head sadly at them from the door. - -“Well, what do you think of this?” he said. “You can’t get rid of me, -you see. I’m going with you.” - -“Going with us?” asked Mrs. Downs. “How far?” - -Carlton laughed, and, coming inside, dropped onto the cushions with a -sigh. “I don’t know,” he said, dejectedly. “All the way, I’m afraid. -That is, I mean, I’m very glad I am to have your society for a few days -more; but really I didn’t bargain for this.” - -“You don’t mean to tell me that _they_ are on this train?” said Miss -Morris. - -“They are,” said Carlton. “They have a car to themselves at the rear. -They only made up their minds to go this morning, and they nearly -succeeded in giving me the slip again; but it seems that their English -maid stopped Nolan in the hall to bid him good-by, and so he found out -their plans. They are going direct to Constantinople, and then to -Athens. They had meant to stay in Paris two weeks longer, it seems, but -they changed their minds last night. It was a very close shave for me. I -only got back to the hotel in time to hear from the concierge that Nolan -had flown with all of my things, and left word for me to follow. Just -fancy! Suppose I had missed the train, and had had to chase him clear -across the continent of Europe with not even a razor——” - -“I am glad,” said Miss Morris, “that Nolan has not taken a fancy to -_me_. I doubt if I could resist such impetuosity.” - -The Orient Express, in which Carlton and the mistress of his heart and -fancy were speeding toward the horizon’s utmost purple rim, was made up -of six cars, one dining-car with a smoking-apartment attached, and five -sleeping-cars, including the one reserved for the Duke of Hohenwald and -his suite. These cars were lightly built, and rocked in consequence, and -the dust raised by the rapid movement of the train swept through cracks -and open windows, and sprinkled the passengers with a fine and -irritating coating of soot and earth. There was one servant to the -entire twenty-two passengers. He spoke eight languages, and never slept; -but as his services were in demand by several people in as many -different cars at the same moment he satisfied no one, and the -complaint-box in the smoking-car was stuffed full to the slot in -consequence before they had crossed the borders of France. - -Carlton and Miss Morris went out upon one of the platforms and sat down -upon a tool-box. “It isn’t as comfortable here as in an observation-car -at home,” said Carlton, “but it’s just as noisy.” - -He pointed out to her from time to time the peasants gathering twigs, -and the blue-bloused gendarmes guarding the woods and the fences -skirting them. “Nothing is allowed to go to waste in this country,” he -said. “It looks as though they went over it once a month with a -lawn-mower and a pruning-knife. I believe they number the trees as we -number the houses.” - -“And did you notice the great fortifications covered with grass?” she -said. “We have passed such a lot of them.” - -Carlton nodded. - -“And did you notice that they all faced only one way?” - -Carlton laughed, and nodded again. “Toward Germany,” he said. - -By the next day they had left the tall poplars and white roads behind -them, and were crossing the land of low shiny black helmets and brass -spikes. They had come into a country of low mountains and black forests, -with old fortified castles topping the hills, and with red-roofed -villages scattered around the base. - -“How very military it all is!” Mrs. Downs said. “Even the men at the -lonely little stations in the forests wear uniforms; and do you notice -how each of them rolls up his red flag and holds it like a sword, and -salutes the train as it passes?” - -They spent the hour during which the train shifted from one station in -Vienna to the other driving about in an open carriage, and stopped for a -few moments in front of a café to drink beer and to feel solid earth -under them again, returning to the train with a feeling which was almost -that of getting back to their own rooms. Then they came to great steppes -covered with long thick grass, and flooded in places with little lakes -of broken ice; great horned cattle stood knee-deep in this grass, and at -the villages and way-stations were people wearing sheepskin jackets and -waistcoats covered with silver buttons. In one place there was a wedding -procession waiting for the train to pass, with the friends of the bride -and groom in their best clothes, the women with silver breastplates, and -boots to their knees. It seemed hardly possible that only two days -before they had seen another wedding party in the Champs Elysées, where -the men wore evening dress, and the women were bareheaded and with long -trains. In forty-eight hours they had passed through republics, -principalities, empires, and kingdoms, and from spring to winter. It was -like walking rapidly over a painted panorama of Europe. - -On the second evening Carlton went off into the smoking-car alone. The -Duke of Hohenwald and two of his friends had finished a late supper, and -were seated in the apartment adjoining it. The Duke was a young man with -a heavy beard and eye-glasses. He was looking over an illustrated -catalogue of the Salon, and as Carlton dropped on the sofa opposite the -Duke raised his head and looked at him curiously, and then turned over -several pages of the catalogue and studied one of them, and then back at -Carlton, as though he were comparing him with something on the page -before him. Carlton was looking out at the night, but he could follow -what was going forward, as it was reflected in the glass of the car -window. He saw the Duke hand the catalogue to one of the equerries, who -raised his eyebrows and nodded his head in assent. Carlton wondered what -this might mean, until he remembered that there was a portrait of -himself by a French artist in the Salon, and concluded it had been -reproduced in the catalogue. He could think of nothing else which would -explain the interest the two men showed in him. On the morning following -he sent Nolan out to purchase a catalogue at the first station at which -they stopped, and found that his guess was a correct one. A portrait of -himself had been reproduced in black and white, with his name below it. - -“Well, they know who I am now,” he said to Miss Morris, “even if they -don’t know me. That honor is still in store for them.” - -“I wish they did not lock themselves up so tightly,” said Miss Morris. -“I want to see her very much. Cannot we walk up and down the platform at -the next station? She may be at the window.” - -“Of course,” said Carlton. “You could have seen her at Buda-Pesth if you -had spoken of it. She was walking up and down then. The next time the -train stops we will prowl up and down and feast our eyes upon her.” - -But Miss Morris had her wish gratified without that exertion. The -Hohenwalds were served in the dining-car after the other passengers had -finished, and were in consequence only to be seen when they passed by -the doors of the other compartments. But this same morning, after -luncheon, the three Princesses, instead of returning to their own car, -seated themselves in the compartment adjoining the dining-car, while the -men of their party lit their cigars and sat in a circle around them. - -“I was wondering how long they could stand three men smoking in one of -the boxes they call cars,” said Mrs. Downs. She was seated between Miss -Morris and Carlton, directly opposite the Hohenwalds, and so near them -that she had to speak in a whisper. To avoid doing this Miss Morris -asked Carlton for a pencil, and scribbled with it in the novel she held -on her lap. Then she passed them both back to him, and said, aloud: -“Have you read this? It has such a pretty dedication.” The dedication -read, “Which is Aline?” And Carlton, taking the pencil in his turn, made -a rapid sketch of her on the fly-leaf, and wrote beneath it: “This is -she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand miles to see her?” - -Miss Morris took the book again, and glanced at the sketch, and then at -the three Princesses, and nodded her head. “It is very beautiful,” she -said, gravely, looking out at the passing landscape. - -“Well, not beautiful exactly,” answered Carlton, surveying the hills -critically, “but certainly very attractive. It is worth travelling a -long way to see, and I should think one would grow very fond of it.” - -Miss Morris tore the fly-leaf out of the book, and slipped it between -the pages. “May I keep it?” she said. Carlton nodded. “And will you sign -it?” she asked, smiling. Carlton shrugged his shoulders, and laughed. -“If you wish it,” he answered. - -The Princess wore a gray cheviot travelling dress, as did her sisters, -and a gray Alpine hat. She was leaning back, talking to the English -captain who accompanied them, and laughing. Carlton thought he had never -seen a woman who appealed so strongly to every taste of which he was -possessed. She seemed so sure of herself, so alert, and yet so gracious, -so easily entertained, and yet, when she turned her eyes toward the -strange, dismal landscape, so seriously intent upon its sad beauty. The -English captain dropped his head, and with the pretence of pulling at -his mustache, covered his mouth as he spoke to her. When he had finished -he gazed consciously at the roof of the car, and she kept her eyes fixed -steadily at the object toward which they had turned when he had ceased -speaking, and then, after a decent pause, turned her eyes, as Carlton -knew she would, toward him. - -[Illustration: “This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand -miles to see her?”] - -“He was telling her who I am,” he thought, “and about the picture in the -catalogue.” - -In a few moments she turned to her sister and spoke to her, pointing out -at something in the scenery, and the same pantomime was repeated, and -again with the third sister. - -“Did you see those girls talking about you, Mr. Carlton?” Miss Morris -asked, after they had left the car. - -Carlton said it looked as though they were. - -“Of course they were,” said Miss Morris. “That Englishman told the -Princess Aline something about you, and then she told her sister, and -she told the eldest one. It would be nice if they inherit their father’s -interest in painting, wouldn’t it?” - -“I would rather have it degenerate into an interest in painters myself,” -said Carlton. - -Miss Morris discovered, after she had returned to her own car, that she -had left the novel where she had been sitting, and Carlton sent Nolan -back for it. It had slipped to the floor, and the fly-leaf upon which -Carlton had sketched the Princess Aline was lying face down beside it. -Nolan picked up the leaf, and saw the picture, and read the inscription -below: “This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand miles to -see her?” - -He handed the book to Miss Morris, and was backing out of the -compartment, when she stopped him. - -“There was a loose page in this, Nolan,” she said. “It’s gone; did you -see it?” - -“A loose page, miss?” said Nolan, with some concern. “Oh, yes, miss; I -was going to tell you; there was a scrap of paper blew away when I was -passing between the carriages. Was it something you wanted, miss?” - -“Something I wanted!” exclaimed Miss Morris, in dismay. - -Carlton laughed easily. “It is just as well I didn’t sign it, after -all,” he said. “I don’t want to proclaim my devotion to any Hungarian -gypsy who happens to read English.” - -“You must draw me another, as a souvenir,” Miss Morris said. - -Nolan continued on through the length of the car until he had reached -the one occupied by the Hohenwalds, where he waited on the platform -until the English maid-servant saw him and came to the door of the -carriage. - -“What hotel are your people going to stop at in Constantinople?” Nolan -asked. - -“The Grande-Bretagne, I think,” she answered. - -“That’s right,” said Nolan, approvingly. “That’s the one we are going -to. I thought I would come and tell you about it. And, by the way,” he -said, “here’s a picture somebody’s made of your Princess Aline. She -dropped it, and I picked it up. You had better give it back to her. -Well,” he added, politely, “I’m glad you are coming to our hotel in -Constantinople; it’s pleasant having some one to talk to who can speak -your own tongue.” - -The girl returned to the car, and left Nolan alone upon the platform. He -exhaled a long breath of suppressed excitement, and then gazed around -nervously upon the empty landscape. - -“I fancy that’s going to hurry things up a bit,” he murmured, with an -anxious smile; “he’d never get along at all if it wasn’t for me.” - -For reasons possibly best understood by the German ambassador, the state -of the Hohenwalds at Constantinople differed greatly from that which had -obtained at the French capital. They no longer came and went as they -wished, or wandered through the show-places of the city like ordinary -tourists. There was, on the contrary, not only a change in their manner -toward others, but there was an insistence on their part of a difference -in the attitude of others toward themselves. This showed itself in the -reserving of the half of the hotel for their use, and in the haughty -bearing of the equerries, who appeared unexpectedly in magnificent -uniforms. The visitors’ book was covered with the autographs of all of -the important people in the Turkish capital, and the Sultan’s carriages -stood constantly before the door of the hotel, awaiting their pleasure, -until they became as familiar a sight as the street dogs, or as cabs in -a hansom-cab rank. - -And in following out the programme which had been laid down for her, the -Princess Aline became even less accessible to Carlton than before, and -he grew desperate and despondent. - -“If the worst comes,” he said to Miss Morris, “I shall tell Nolan to -give an alarm of fire some night, and then I will run in and rescue her -before they find out there is no fire. Or he might frighten the horses -some day, and give me a chance to stop them. We might even wait until we -reach Greece, and have her carried off by brigands, who would only give -her up to me.” - -“There are no more brigands in Greece,” said Miss Morris; “and besides, -why do you suppose they would only give her up to you?” - -“Because they would be imitation brigands,” said Carlton, “and would be -paid to give her up to no one else.” - -“Oh, you plan very well,” scoffed Miss Morris, “but you don’t _do_ -anything.” - -Carlton was saved the necessity of doing anything that same morning, -when the English captain in attendance on the Duke sent his card to -Carlton’s room. He came, he explained, to present the Prince’s -compliments, and would it be convenient for Mr. Carlton to meet the Duke -that afternoon? Mr. Carlton suppressed an unseemly desire to shout, and -said, after a moment’s consideration, that it would. He then took the -English captain downstairs to the smoking-room, and rewarded him for his -agreeable message. - -The Duke received Carlton in the afternoon, and greeted him most -cordially, and with as much ease of manner as it is possible for a man -to possess who has never enjoyed the benefits of meeting other men on an -equal footing. He expressed his pleasure in knowing an artist with whose -work he was so familiar, and congratulated himself on the happy accident -which had brought them both to the same hotel. - -“I have more than a natural interest in meeting you,” said the Prince, -“and for a reason which you may or may not know. I thought possibly you -could help me somewhat. I have within the past few days come into the -possession of two of your paintings; they are studies, rather, but to me -they are even more desirable than the finished work; and I am not -correct in saying that they have come to me exactly, but to my sister, -the Princess Aline.” - -Carlton could not withhold a certain start of surprise. He had not -expected that his gift would so soon have arrived, but his face showed -only polite attention. - -“The studies were delivered to us in London,” continued the Duke. “They -are of Ludwig the tragedian, and of the German Prime Minister, two most -valuable works, and especially interesting to us. They came without any -note or message which would inform us who had sent them, and when my -people made inquiries, the dealer refused to tell them from whom they -had come. He had been ordered to forward them to Grasse, but, on -learning of our presence in London, sent them direct to our hotel there. -Of course it is embarrassing to have so valuable a present from an -anonymous friend, especially so for my sister, to whom they were -addressed, and I thought that, besides the pleasure of meeting one of -whose genius I am so warm an admirer, I might also learn something which -would enable me to discover who our friend may be.” He paused, but as -Carlton said nothing, continued: “As it is now, I do not feel that I can -accept the pictures; and yet I know no one to whom they can be returned, -unless I send them to the dealer.” - -“It sounds very mysterious,” said Carlton, smiling; “and I am afraid I -cannot help you. What work I did in Germany was sold in Berlin before I -left, and in a year may have changed hands several times. The studies of -which you speak are unimportant, and merely studies, and could pass from -hand to hand without much record having been kept of them; but -personally I am not able to give you any information which would assist -you in tracing them.” - -“Yes,” said the Duke. “Well, then, I shall keep them until I can learn -more; and if we can learn nothing, I shall return them to the dealer.” - -Carlton met Miss Morris that afternoon in a state of great excitement. -“It’s come!” he cried—“it’s come! I am to meet her this week. I have met -her brother, and he has asked me to dine with them on Thursday night; -that’s the day before they leave for Athens; and he particularly -mentioned that his sisters would be at the dinner, and that it would be -a pleasure to present me. It seems that the eldest paints, and all of -them love art for art’s sake, as their father taught them to do; and, -for all we know, he may make me court painter, and I shall spend the -rest of my life at Grasse painting portraits of the Princess Aline, at -the age of twenty-two, and at all future ages. And if he does give me a -commission to paint her, I can tell you now in confidence that that -picture will require more sittings than any other picture ever painted -by man. Her hair will have turned white by the time it is finished, and -the gown she started to pose in will have become forty years behind the -fashion!” - -On the morning following, Carlton and Mrs. Downs and her niece, with all -the tourists in Constantinople, were placed in open carriages by their -dragomans, and driven in a long procession to the Seraglio to see the -Sultan’s treasures. Those of them who had waited two weeks for this -chance looked aggrieved at the more fortunate who had come at the -eleventh hour on the last night’s steamer, and seemed to think these -latter had attained the privilege without sufficient effort. The -ministers of the different legations—as is the harmless custom of such -gentlemen—had impressed every one for whom they had obtained permission -to see the treasures with the great importance of the service rendered, -and had succeeded in making every one feel either especially honored or -especially uncomfortable at having given them so much trouble. This -sense of obligation, and the fact that the dragomans had assured the -tourists that they were for the time being the guests of the Sultan, -awed and depressed most of the visitors to such an extent that their -manner in the long procession of carriages suggested a funeral cortege, -with the Hohenwalds in front, escorted by Beys and Pashas, as chief -mourners. The procession halted at the palace, and the guests of the -Sultan were received by numerous effendis in single-button frock-coats -and freshly ironed fezzes, who served them with glasses of water, and a -huge bowl of some sweet stuff, of which every one was supposed to take a -spoonful. There was at first a general fear among the Cook’s tourists -that there would not be enough of this to go round, which was succeeded -by a greater anxiety lest they should be served twice. Some of the -tourists put the sweet stuff in their mouths direct and licked the -spoon, and others dropped it off the spoon into the glass of water, and -stirred it about and sipped at it, and no one knew who had done the -right thing, not even those who happened to have done it. Carlton and -Miss Morris went out on to the terrace while this ceremony was going -forward, and looked out over the great panorama of waters, with the Sea -of Marmora on one side, the Golden Horn on the other, and the Bosporus -at their feet. The sun was shining mildly, and the waters were stirred -by great and little vessels; before them on the opposite bank rose the -dark green cypresses which marked the grim cemetery of England’s dead, -and behind them were the great turtle-backed mosques and pencil-like -minarets of the two cities, and close at hand the mosaic walls and -beautiful gardens of Constantine. - -“Your friends the Hohenwalds don’t seem to know you this morning,” she -said. - -“Oh, yes; he spoke to me as we left the hotel,” Carlton answered. “But -they are on parade at present. There are a lot of their countrymen among -the tourists.” - -“I feel rather sorry for them,” Miss Morris said, looking at the group -with an amused smile. “Etiquette cuts them off from so much innocent -amusement. Now, you are a gentleman, and the Duke presumably is, and why -should you not go over and say, ‘Your Highness, I wish you would present -me to your sister, whom I am to meet at dinner to-morrow night. I admire -her very much,’ and then you could point out the historical features to -her, and show her where they have finished off a blue and green tiled -wall with a rusty tin roof, and make pretty speeches to her. It wouldn’t -hurt her, and it would do you a lot of good. The simplest way is always -the best way, it seems to me.” - -“Oh yes, of course,” said Carlton. “Suppose he came over here and said: -‘Carlton, I wish you would present me to your young American friend. I -admire her very much.’ I would probably say: ‘Do you? Well, you will -have to wait until she expresses some desire to meet you.’ No; etiquette -is all right in itself, only some people don’t know its laws, and that -is the one instance to my mind where ignorance of the law is no excuse.” - -Carlton left Miss Morris talking with the Secretary of the American -Legation, and went to look for Mrs. Downs. When he returned he found -that the young Secretary had apparently asked and obtained permission to -present the Duke’s equerries and some of his diplomatic confrères, who -were standing now about her in an attentive semicircle, and pointing out -the different palaces and points of interest. Carlton was somewhat -disturbed at the sight, and reproached himself with not having presented -any one to her before. He was sure now that she must have had a dull -time of it; but he wished, nevertheless, that if she was to meet other -men, the Secretary had allowed him to act as master of ceremonies. - -“I suppose you know,” that gentleman was saying as Carlton came up, -“that when you pass by Abydos, on the way to Athens, you will see where -Leander swam the Hellespont to meet Hero. That little white light-house -is called Leander in honor of him. It makes rather an interesting -contrast—does it not?—to think of that chap swimming along in the dark, -and then to find that his monument to-day is a light-house, with -revolving lamps and electric appliances, and with ocean tramps and -bridges and men-of-war around it. We have improved in our mechanism -since then,” he said, with an air, “but I am afraid the men of to-day -don’t do that sort of thing for the women of to-day.” - -“Then it is the men who have deteriorated,” said one of the equerries, -bowing to Miss Morris; “it is certainly not the women.” - -The two Americans looked at Miss Morris to see how she received this, -but she smiled good-naturedly. - -“I know a man who did more than that for a woman,” said Carlton, -innocently. “He crossed an ocean and several countries to meet her, and -he hasn’t met her yet.” - -Miss Morris looked at him and laughed, in the safety that no one -understood him but herself. - -“But he ran no danger,” she answered. - -“He didn’t, didn’t he?” said Carlton, looking at her closely and -laughing. “I think he was in very great danger all the time.” - -“Shocking!” said Miss Morris, reprovingly; “and in her very presence, -too.” She knitted her brows and frowned at him. “I really believe if you -were in prison you would make pretty speeches to the jailer’s daughter.” - -“Yes,” said Carlton, boldly, “or even to a woman who was a prisoner -herself.” - -“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, turning away from him to the -others. “How far was it that Leander swam?” she asked. - -The English captain pointed out two spots on either bank, and said that -the shores of Abydos were a little over that distance apart. - -“As far as that?” said Miss Morris. “How much he must have cared for -her!” She turned to Carlton for an answer. - -“I beg your pardon,” he said. He was measuring the distance between the -two points with his eyes. - -“I said how much he must have cared for her! You wouldn’t swim that far -for a girl.” - -“For a girl!” laughed Carlton, quickly. “I was just thinking I would do -it for fifty dollars.” - -The English captain gave a hasty glance at the distance he had pointed -out, and then turned to Carlton. “I’ll take you,” he said, seriously. -“I’ll bet you twenty pounds you can’t do it.” There was an easy laugh at -Carlton’s expense, but he only shook his head and smiled. - -“Leave him alone, captain,” said the American Secretary. “It seems to me -I remember a story of Mr. Carlton’s swimming out from Navesink to meet -an ocean liner. It was about three miles, and the ocean was rather -rough, and when they slowed up he asked them if it was raining in London -when they left. They thought he was mad.” - -“Is that true, Carlton?” asked the Englishman. - -“Something like it,” said the American, “except that I didn’t ask them -if it was raining in London. I asked them for a drink, and it was they -who were mad. They thought I was drowning, and slowed up to lower a -boat, and when they found out I was just swimming around they were -naturally angry.” - -“Well, I’m glad you didn’t bet with me,” said the captain, with a -relieved laugh. - -That evening, as the Englishman was leaving the smoking-room, and after -he had bidden Carlton good-night, he turned back and said: “I didn’t -like to ask you before those men this morning, but there was something -about your swimming adventure I wanted to know: Did you get that drink?” - -“I did,” said Carlton—“in a bottle. They nearly broke my shoulder.” - -As Carlton came into the breakfast-room on the morning of the day he was -to meet the Princess Aline at dinner, Miss Morris was there alone, and -he sat down at the same table, opposite to her. She looked at him -critically, and smiled with evident amusement. - -“‘To-day,’” she quoted, solemnly, “‘the birthday of my life has come.’” - -Carlton poured out his coffee, with a shake of his head, and frowned. -“Oh, you can laugh,” he said, “but I didn’t sleep at all last night. I -lay awake making speeches to her. I know they are going to put me -between the wrong sisters,” he complained, “or next to one of those old -ladies-in-waiting, or whatever they are.” - -“How are you going to begin?” said Miss Morris. “Will you tell her you -have followed her from London—or from New York, rather—that you are -young Lochinvar, who came out of the West, and——” - -“I don’t know,” said Carlton, meditatively, “just how I shall begin; but -I know the curtain is going to rise promptly at eight o’clock—about the -time the soup comes on, I think. I don’t see how she can help but be -impressed a little bit. It isn’t every day a man hurries around the -globe on account of a girl’s photograph; and she _is_ beautiful, isn’t -she?” - -Miss Morris nodded her head encouragingly. - -“Do you know, sometimes,” said Carlton, glancing over his shoulders to -see if the waiters were out of hearing, “I fancy she has noticed me. -Once or twice I have turned my head in her direction without meaning to, -and found her looking—well, looking my way, at least. Don’t you think -that is a good sign?” he asked, eagerly. - -“It depends on what you call a ‘good sign,’” said Miss Morris, -judicially. “It is a sign you’re good to look at, if that’s what you -want. But you probably know that already, and it’s nothing to your -credit. It certainly isn’t a sign that a person cares for you because -she prefers to look at your profile rather than at what the dragomans -are trying to show her.” - -Carlton drew himself up stiffly. “If you knew your _Alice_ better,” he -said, with severity, “you would understand that it is not polite to make -personal remarks. I ask you, as my confidante, if you think she has -noticed me, and you make fun of my looks! That’s not the part of a -confidante.” - -“Noticed you!” laughed Miss Morris, scornfully. “How could she help it? -You are always in the way. You are at the door whenever they go out or -come in, and when we are visiting mosques and palaces you are invariably -looking at her instead of the tombs and things, with a wistful far-away -look, as though you saw a vision. The first time you did it, after you -had turned away I saw her feel to see if her hair was all right. You -quite embarrassed her.” - -“I didn’t—I don’t!” stammered Carlton, indignantly. “I wouldn’t be so -rude. Oh, I see I’ll have to get another confidante; you are most -unsympathetic and unkind.” - -But Miss Morris showed her sympathy later in the day, when Carlton -needed it sorely; for the dinner toward which he had looked with such -pleasurable anticipations and loverlike misgivings did not take place. -The Sultan, so the equerry informed him, had, with Oriental -unexpectedness, invited the Duke to dine that night at the Palace, and -the Duke, much to his expressed regret, had been forced to accept what -was in the nature of a command. He sent word by his equerry, however, -that the dinner to Mr. Carlton was only a pleasure deferred, and that at -Athens, where he understood Carlton was also going, he hoped to have the -pleasure of entertaining him and making him known to his sisters. - -“He is a selfish young egoist,” said Carlton to Mrs. Downs. “As if I -cared whether he was at the dinner or not! Why couldn’t he have fixed it -so I might have dined with his sisters alone? We would never have missed -him. I’ll never meet her now. I know it; I feel it. Fate is against me. -Now I will have to follow them on to Athens, and something will turn up -there to keep me away from her. You’ll see; you’ll see. I wonder where -they go from Athens?” - -The Hohenwalds departed the next morning, and as their party had engaged -all the staterooms in the little Italian steamer, Carlton was forced to -wait over for the next. He was very gloomy over his disappointment, and -Miss Morris did her best to amuse him. She and her aunt were never idle -now, and spent the last few days of their stay in Constantinople in the -bazaars or in excursions up and down the river. - -“These are my last days of freedom,” Miss Morris said to him once, “and -I mean to make the most of them. After this there will be no more -travelling for me. And I love it so!” she added, wistfully. - -Carlton made no comment, but he felt a certain contemptuous pity for the -young man in America who had required such a sacrifice. “She is too nice -a girl to let him know she is making a sacrifice,” he thought, “or -giving up anything for him, but _she_ won’t forget it.” And Carlton -again commended himself for not having asked any woman to make any -sacrifices for him. - -They left Constantinople for Athens one moonlight night, three days -after the Hohenwalds had taken their departure, and as the evening and -the air were warm, they remained upon the upper deck until the boat had -entered the Dardanelles. There were few passengers, and Mrs. Downs went -below early, leaving Miss Morris and Carlton hanging over the rail, and -looking down upon a band of Hungarian gypsies, who were playing the -weird music of their country on the deck beneath them. The low receding -hills lay close on either hand, and ran back so sharply from the narrow -waterway that they seemed to shut in the boat from the world beyond. The -moonlight showed a little mud fort or a thatched cottage on the bank -fantastically, as through a mist, and from time to time as they sped -forward they saw the camp-fire of a sentry, and his shadow as he passed -between it and them, or stopped to cover it with wood. The night was so -still that they could hear the waves in the steamer’s wake washing up -over the stones on either shore, and the muffled beat of the engines -echoed back from either side of the valley through which they passed. -There was a great lantern hanging midway from the mast, and shining down -upon the lower deck. It showed a group of Greeks, Turks, and Armenians, -in strange costumes, sleeping, huddled together in picturesque confusion -over the bare boards, or wide awake and voluble, smoking and chatting -together in happy company. The music of the tizanes rose in notes of -passionate ecstasy and sharp, unexpected bursts of melody. It ceased and -began again, as though the musicians were feeling their way, and then -burst out once more into shrill defiance. It stirred Carlton with a -strange turbulent unrest. From the banks the night wind brought soft -odors of fresh earth and of heavy foliage. - -“The music of different countries,” Carlton said at last, “means many -different things. But it seems to me that the music of Hungary is the -music of love.” - -Miss Morris crossed her arms comfortably on the rail, and he heard her -laugh softly. “Oh no, it is not,” she said, undisturbed. “It is a -passionate, gusty, heady sort of love, if you like, but it’s no more -like the real thing than burgundy is like clear, cold, good water. It’s -not the real thing at all.” - -“I beg your pardon,” said Carlton, meekly. “Of course I don’t know -anything about it.” He had been waked out of the spell which the night -and the tizanes had placed upon him as completely as though some one had -shaken him sharply by the shoulder. “I bow,” he said, “to your superior -knowledge. I know nothing about it.” - -“No; you are quite right. I don’t believe you do know anything about -it,” said the girl, “or you wouldn’t have made such a comparison.” - -“Do you know, Miss Morris,” said Carlton, seriously, “that I believe I’m -not able to care for a woman as other men do—at least as some men do; -it’s just lacking in me, and always will be lacking. It’s like an ear -for music; if you haven’t got it, if it isn’t born in you, you’ll never -have it. It’s not a thing you can cultivate, and I feel that it’s not -only a misfortune, but a fault. Now I honestly believe that I care more -for the Princess Aline, whom I have never met, than many other men could -care for her if they knew her well; but what they feel would last, and I -have doubts from past experience that what I feel would. I don’t doubt -it while it exists, but it never does exist long, and so I am afraid it -is going to be with me to the end of the chapter.” He paused for a -moment, but the girl did not answer. “I am speaking in earnest now,” he -added, with a rueful laugh. - -“I see you are,” she replied, briefly. She seemed to be considering his -condition as he had described it to her, and he did not interrupt her. -From below them came the notes of the waltz the gypsies played. It was -full of the undercurrent of sadness that a waltz should have, and filled -out what Carlton said as the music from the orchestra in a theatre -heightens the effect without interrupting the words of the actor on the -stage. - -“It is strange,” said Miss Morris. “I should have thought you were a man -who would care very much and in just the right way. But I don’t believe -really—I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you do know what love means at -all.” - -“Oh, it isn’t as bad as that,” said Carlton. “I think I know what it is, -and what it means to other people, but I can’t feel it myself. The best -idea I ever got of it—the thing that made it clear to me—was a line in a -play. It seemed to express it better than any of the love-poems I ever -read. It was in ‘Shenandoah.’” - -Miss Morris laughed. - -“I beg your pardon,” said Carlton. - -“I beg yours,” she said. “It was only the incongruity that struck me. It -seemed so odd to be quoting ‘Shenandoah’ here in the Dardanelles, with -these queer people below us and ancient Troy on one hand—it took me by -surprise, that’s all. Please go on. What was it impressed you?” - -“Well, the hero in the play,” said Carlton, “is an officer in the -Northern army, and he is lying wounded in a house near the Shenandoah -Valley. The girl he loves lives in this house, and is nursing him; but -she doesn’t love him, because she sympathizes with the South. At least -she says she doesn’t love him. Both armies are forming in the valley -below to begin the battle, and he sees his own regiment hurrying past to -join them. So he gets up and staggers out on the stage, which is set to -show the yard in front of the farm-house, and he calls for his horse to -follow his men. Then the girl runs out and begs him not to go; and he -asks why, what does it matter to her whether he goes or not? And she -says, ‘But I cannot let you go; you may be killed.’ And he says again, -‘What is that to you?’ And she says: ‘It is everything to me. I love -you.’ And he makes a grab at her with his wounded arm, and at that -instant both armies open fire in the valley below, and the whole earth -and sky seem to open and shut, and the house rocks. The girl rushes at -him and crowds up against his breast, and cries: ‘What is that? Oh, what -is that?’ and he holds her tight to him and laughs, and says: ‘_That?_ -That’s only a battle—you love me.’” - -Miss Morris looked steadfastly over the side of the boat at the waters -rushing by beneath, smiling to herself. Then she turned her face toward -Carlton, and nodded her head at him. “I think,” she said, dryly, “that -you have a fair idea of what it means; a rough working-plan at -least—enough to begin on.” - -“I said that I knew what it meant to others. I am complaining that I -cannot feel it myself.” - -“That will come in time, no doubt,” she said, encouragingly, with the -air of a connoisseur; “and let me tell you,” she added, “that it will be -all the better for the woman that you have doubted yourself so long.” - -“You think so?” said Carlton, eagerly. - -Miss Morris laughed at his earnestness, and left him to go below to ask -her aunt to join them, but Mrs. Downs preferred to read in the saloon, -and Miss Morris returned alone. She had taken off her Eton jacket and -pulled on a heavy blue football sweater, and over this a reefer. The -jersey clung to her and showed the lines of her figure, and emphasized -the freedom and grace with which she made every movement. She looked, as -she walked at his side with her hands in the pockets of her coat and -with a flat sailor hat on her head, like a tall, handsome boy; but when -they stopped and stood where the light fell full on her hair and the -exquisite coloring of her skin, Carlton thought her face had never -seemed so delicate or fair as it did then, rising from the collar of the -rough jersey, and contrasted with the hat and coat of a man’s attire. -They paced the deck for an hour later, until every one else had left it, -and at midnight were still loath to give up the beautiful night and the -charm of their strange surroundings. There were long silent places in -their talk, during which Carlton tramped beside her with his head half -turned, looking at her and noting with an artist’s eye the free light -step, the erect carriage, and the unconscious beauty of her face. The -captain of the steamer joined them after midnight, and falling into -step, pointed out to Miss Morris where great cities had stood, where -others lay buried, and where beyond the hills were the almost -inaccessible monasteries of the Greek Church. The moonlight turned the -banks into shadowy substances, in which the ghosts of former days seemed -to make a part; and spurred by the young girl’s interest, the Italian, -to entertain her, called up all the legends of mythology and the stories -of Roman explorers and Turkish conquerors. - -“I turn in now,” he said, after Miss Morris had left them. “A most -charming young lady. Is it not so?” he added, waving his cigarette in a -gesture which expressed the ineffectiveness of the adjective. - -“Yes, very,” said Carlton. “Good-night, sir.” - -He turned, and leaned with both elbows on the rail, and looked out at -the misty banks, puffing at his cigar. Then he dropped it hissing into -the water, and, stifling a yawn, looked up and down the length of the -deserted deck. It seemed particularly bare and empty. - -“What a pity she’s engaged!” Carlton said. “She loses so much by it.” - -They steamed slowly into the harbor of the Piræus at an early hour the -next morning, with a flotilla of small boats filled with shrieking -porters and hotel-runners at the sides. These men tossed their painters -to the crew, and crawled up them like a boarding crew of pirates, -running wildly about the deck, and laying violent hands on any piece of -baggage they saw unclaimed. The passengers’ trunks had been thrown out -in a heap on the deck, and Nolan and Carlton were clambering over them, -looking for their own effects, while Miss Morris stood below, as far out -of the confusion as she could place herself, and pointed out the -different pieces that belonged to her. As she stood there one of the -hotel-runners, a burly, greasy Levantine in pursuit of a possible -victim, shouldered her intentionally and roughly out of the way. He -shoved her so sharply that she lost her balance and fell back against -the rail. Carlton saw what had happened, and made a flying leap from the -top of the pile of trunks, landing beside her, and in time to seize the -escaping offender by the collar. He jerked him back off his feet. - -“How dare you—” he began. - -But he did not finish. He felt the tips of Miss Morris’s fingers laid -upon his shoulder, and her voice saying, in an annoyed tone: “Don’t; -please don’t.” And, to his surprise, his fingers lost their grip on the -man’s shirt, his arms dropped at his side, and his blood began to flow -calmly again through his veins. Carlton was aware that he had a very -quick temper. He was always engaging in street rows, as he called them, -with men who he thought had imposed on him or on some one else, and -though he was always ashamed of himself later, his temper had never been -satisfied without a blow or an apology. Women had also touched him -before, and possibly with a greater familiarity; but these had stirred -him, not quieted him; and men who had laid detaining hands on him had -had them beaten down for their pains. But this girl had merely touched -him gently, and he had been made helpless. It was most perplexing; and -while the custom-house officials were passing his luggage, he found -himself rubbing his arm curiously, as though it were numb, and looking -down at it with an amused smile. He did not comment on the incident, -although he smiled at the recollection of his prompt obedience several -times during the day. But as he was stepping into the cab to drive to -Athens, he saw the offending ruffian pass, dripping with water, and -muttering bitter curses. When he saw Carlton he disappeared instantly in -the crowd. Carlton stepped over to where Nolan sat beside the driver on -the box. “Nolan,” he said, in a low voice, “isn’t that the fellow who——” - -“Yes, sir,” said Nolan, touching his hat gravely. “He was pulling a -valise one way, and the gentleman that owned it, sir, was pulling it the -other, and the gentleman let go sudden, and the Italian went over -backwards off the pier.” - -Carlton smiled grimly with secret satisfaction. - -“Nolan,” he said, “you’re not telling the truth. You did it yourself.” -Nolan touched his cap and coughed consciously. There had been no -detaining fingers on Nolan’s arm. - - - - - III - - -“You are coming now, Miss Morris,” exclaimed Carlton from the front of -the carriage in which they were moving along the sunny road to Athens, -“into a land where one restores his lost illusions. Anybody who wishes -to get back his belief in beautiful things should come here to do it, -just as he would go to a German sanitarium to build up his nerves or his -appetite. You have only to drink in the atmosphere and you are cured. I -know no better antidote than Athens for a siege of cable-cars and muddy -asphalt pavements and a course of ‘Robert Elsmeres’ and the ‘Heavenly -Twins.’ Wait until you see the statues of the young athletes in the -Museum,” he cried, enthusiastically, “and get a glimpse of the blue sky -back of Mount Hymettus, and the moonlight some evening on the Acropolis, -and you’ll be convinced that nothing counts for much in this world but -health and straight limbs, and tall marble pillars, and eyes trained to -see only what is beautiful. Give people a love for beauty and a respect -for health, Miss Morris, and the result is going to be, what they once -had here, the best art and the greatest writers and satirists and poets. -The same audience that applauded Euripides and Sophocles in the open -theatre used to cross the road the same day to applaud the athletes who -ran naked in the Olympian games, and gave them as great honor. I came -here once on a walking tour with a chap who wasn’t making as much of -himself as he should have done, and he went away a changed man, and -became a personage in the world, and you would never guess what it was -that did it. He saw a statue of one of the Greek gods in the Museum -which showed certain muscles that he couldn’t find in his own body, and -he told me he was going to train down until they did show; and he -stopped drinking and loafing to do it, and took to exercising and -working; and by the time the muscles showed out clear and strong he was -so keen over life that he wanted to make the most of it, and, as I said, -he has done it. That’s what a respect for his own body did for him.” - -The carriage stopped at the hotel on one side of the public square of -Athens, with the palace and its gardens blocking one end, and yellow -houses with red roofs, and gay awnings over the cafés, surrounding it. -It was a bright sunny day, and the city was clean and cool and pretty. - -“Breakfast?” exclaimed Miss Morris, in answer to Carlton’s inquiry; -“yes, I suppose so, but I won’t feel safe until I have my feet on that -rock.” She was standing on the steps of the hotel, looking up with -expectant, eager eyes at the great Acropolis above the city. - -“It has been there for a long time now,” suggested Carlton, “and I think -you can risk its being there for a half-hour longer.” - -“Well,” she said, reluctantly, “but I don’t wish to lose this chance. -There might be an earthquake, for instance.” - - -“We are likely to see _them_ this morning,” said Carlton, as he left the -hotel with the ladies and drove toward the Acropolis. “Nolan has been -interviewing the English maid, and she tells him they spend the greater -part of their time up there on the rock. They are living very simply -here, as they did in Paris; that is, for the present. On Wednesday the -King gives a dinner and a reception in their honor.” - -“When does your dinner come off?” asked Miss Morris. - -“Never,” said Carlton, grimly. - -“One of the reasons why I like to come back to Athens so much,” said -Mrs. Downs, “is because there are so few other tourists here to spoil -the local color for you, and there are almost as few guides as tourists, -so that you can wander around undisturbed and discover things for -yourself. They don’t label every fallen column, and place fences around -the temples. They seem to put you on your good behavior. Then I always -like to go to a place where you are as much of a curiosity to the people -as they are to you. It seems to excuse your staring about you.” - -“A curiosity!” exclaimed Carlton; “I should say so! The last time I was -here I tried to wear a pair of knickerbockers around the city, and the -people stared so that I had to go back to the hotel and change them. I -shouldn’t have minded it so much in any other country, but I thought men -who wore Jaeger underclothing and women’s petticoats for a national -costume might have excused so slight an eccentricity as knickerbockers. -_They_ had no right to throw the first stone.” - -The rock upon which the temples of the Acropolis are built is more of a -hill than a rock. It is much steeper upon one side than the other, with -a sheer fall a hundred yards broad; on the opposite side there are the -rooms of the Hospital of Æsculapius and the theatres of Dionysus and -Herodes Atticus. The top of the rock holds the Parthenon and the other -smaller temples, or what yet remains of them, and its surface is -littered with broken marble and stones and pieces of rock. The top is so -closely built over that the few tourists who visit it can imagine -themselves its sole occupants for a half-hour at a time. When Carlton -and his friends arrived, the place appeared quite deserted. They left -the carriage at the base of the rock, and climbed up to the entrance on -foot. - -“Now, before I go on to the Parthenon,” said Miss Morris, “I want to -walk around the sides, and see what is there. I shall begin with that -theatre to the left, and I warn you that I mean to take my time about -it. So you people who have been here before can run along by yourselves, -but I mean to enjoy it leisurely. I am safe by myself here, am I not?” -she asked. - -“As safe as though you were in the Metropolitan Museum,” said Carlton, -as he and Mrs. Downs followed Miss Morris along the side of the hill -toward the ruined theatre of Herodes, and stood at its top, looking down -into the basin below. From their feet ran a great semicircle of marble -seats, descending tier below tier to a marble pavement, and facing a -great ruined wall of pillars and arches which in the past had formed the -background for the actors. From the height on which they stood above the -city they could see the green country stretching out for miles on every -side and swimming in the warm sunlight, the dark groves of myrtle on the -hills, the silver ribbon of the inland water, and the dark blue Ægean -Sea. The bleating of sheep and the tinkling of the bells came up to them -from the pastures below, and they imagined they could hear the shepherds -piping to their flocks from one little hill-top to another. - -“The country is not much changed,” said Carlton. “And when you stand -where we are now, you can imagine that you see the procession winding -its way over the road to the Eleusinian Mysteries, with the gilded -chariots, and the children carrying garlands, and the priestesses -leading the bulls for the sacrifice.” - -“What can we imagine is going on here?” said Miss Morris, pointing with -her parasol to the theatre below. - -“Oh, this is much later,” said Carlton. “This was built by the Romans. -They used to act and to hold their public meetings here. This -corresponds to the top row of our gallery, and you can imagine that you -are looking down on the bent backs of hundreds of bald-headed men in -white robes, listening to the speakers strutting about below there.” - -“I wonder how much they could hear from this height?” said Mrs. Downs. - -“Well, they had that big wall for a sounding-board, and the air is so -soft here that their voices should have carried easily, and I believe -they wore masks with mouth-pieces, that conveyed the sound like a -fireman’s trumpet. If you like, I will run down there and call up to -you, and you can hear how it sounded. I will speak in my natural voice -first, and if that doesn’t reach you, wave your parasol, and I will try -it a little louder.” - -“Oh, do!” said Miss Morris. “It will be very good of you. I should like -to hear a real speech in the theatre of Herodes,” she said, as she -seated herself on the edge of the marble crater. - -“I’ll have to speak in English,” said Carlton, as he disappeared; “my -Greek isn’t good enough to carry that far.” - -Mrs. Downs seated herself beside her niece, and Carlton began scrambling -down the side of the amphitheatre. The marble benches were broken in -parts, and where they were perfect were covered with a fine layer of -moss as smooth and soft as green velvet, so that Carlton, when he was -not laboriously feeling for his next foothold with the toe of his boot, -was engaged in picking spring flowers from the beds of moss and sticking -them, for safe-keeping, in his button-hole. He was several minutes in -making the descent, and so busily occupied in doing it that he did not -look up until he had reached the level of the ground, and jumped lightly -from the first row of seats to the stage, covered with moss, which lay -like a heavy rug over the marble pavement. When he did look up he saw a -tableau that made his heart, which was beating quickly from the exertion -of the descent, stand still with consternation. The Hohenwalds had, in -his short absence, descended from the entrance of the Acropolis, and had -stopped on their way to the road below to look into the cool green and -white basin of the theatre. At the moment Carlton looked up the Duke was -standing in front of Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris, and all of the men had -their hats off. Then, in pantomime, and silhouetted against the blue sky -behind them, Carlton saw the Princesses advance beside their brother, -and Mrs. Downs and her niece curtsied three times, and then the whole -party faced about in a line and looked down at him. The meaning of the -tableau was only too plain. - -“Good heavens!” gasped Carlton. “Everybody’s getting introduced to -everybody else, and I’ve missed the whole thing! If they think I’m going -to stay down here and amuse them, and miss all the fun myself, they are -greatly mistaken.” He made a mad rush for the front first row of seats; -but there was a cry of remonstrance from above, and, looking up, he saw -all of the men waving him back. - -“Speech!” cried the young English Captain, applauding loudly, as though -welcoming an actor on his first entrance. “Hats off!” he cried. “Down in -front! Speech!” - -“Confound that ass!” said Carlton, dropping back to the marble pavement -again, and gazing impotently up at the row of figures outlined against -the sky. “I must look like a bear in the bear-pit at the Zoo,” he -growled. “They’ll be throwing buns to me next.” He could see the two -elder sisters talking to Mrs. Downs, who was evidently explaining his -purpose in going down to the stage of the theatre, and he could see the -Princess Aline bending forward, with both hands on her parasol, and -smiling. The captain made a trumpet of his hands, and asked why he -didn’t begin. - -“Hello! how are you?” Carlton called back, waving his hat at him in some -embarrassment. “I wonder if I look as much like a fool as I feel?” he -muttered. - -“What did you say? We can’t hear you,” answered the captain. - -“Louder! louder!” called the equerries. Carlton swore at them under his -breath, and turned and gazed round the hole in which he was penned in -order to make them believe that he had given up the idea of making a -speech, or had ever intended doing so. He tried to think of something -clever to shout back at them, and rejected “Ye men of Athens” as being -too flippant, and “Friends, Countrymen, Romans,” as requiring too much -effort. When he looked up again the Hohenwalds were moving on their way, -and as he started once more to scale the side of the theatre the Duke -waved his hand at him in farewell, and gave another hand to his sisters, -who disappeared with him behind the edge of the upper row of seats. -Carlton turned at once and dropped into one of the marble chairs and -bowed his head. When he did reach the top Miss Morris held out a -sympathetic hand to him and shook her head sadly, but he could see that -she was pressing her lips tightly together to keep from smiling. - -“Oh, it’s all very funny for you,” he said, refusing her hand. “I don’t -believe you are in love with anybody. You don’t know what it means.” - -They revisited the rock on the next day and on the day after, and then -left Athens for an inland excursion to stay overnight. Miss Morris -returned from it with the sense of having done her duty once, and by so -doing having earned the right to act as she pleased in the future. What -she best pleased to do was to wander about over the broad top of the -Acropolis, with no serious intent of studying its historical values, but -rather, as she explained it, for the simple satisfaction of feeling that -she was there. She liked to stand on the edge of the low wall along its -top and look out over the picture of sea and plain and mountains that -lay below her. The sun shone brightly, and the wind swept by them as -though they were on the bridge of an ocean steamer, and there was the -added invigorating sense of pleasure that comes to us when we stand on a -great height. Carlton was sitting at her feet, shielded from the wind by -a fallen column, and gazing up at her with critical approval. - -“You look like a sort of a ‘Winged Victory’ up there,” he said, “with -the wind blowing your skirts about and your hair coming down.” - -“I don’t remember that the ‘Winged Victory’ has any hair to blow about,” -suggested Miss Morris. - -“I’d like to paint you,” continued Carlton, “just as you are standing -now, only I would put you in a Greek dress; and you could stand a Greek -dress better than almost any one I know. I would paint you with your -head up and one hand shielding your eyes, and the other pressed against -your breast. It would be stunning.” He spoke enthusiastically, but in -quite an impersonal tone, as though he were discussing the posing of a -model. - -Miss Morris jumped down from the low wall on which she had been -standing, and said, simply, “Of course I should like to have you paint -me very much.” - -Mrs. Downs looked up with interest to see if Mr. Carlton was serious. - -“When?” said Carlton, vaguely. “Oh, I don’t know. Of course this is -entirely too nice to last, and you will be going home soon, and then -when I do get back to the States you will—you will have other things to -do.” - -“Yes,” repeated Miss Morris, “I shall have something else to do besides -gazing out at the Ægean Sea.” She raised her head and looked across the -rock for a moment with some interest. Her eyes, which had grown wistful, -lighted again with amusement. “Here are your friends,” she said, -smiling. - -“No!” exclaimed Carlton, scrambling to his feet. - -“Yes,” said Miss Morris. “The Duke has seen us, and is coming over -here.” - -When Carlton had gained his feet and turned to look, his friends had -separated in different directions, and were strolling about alone or in -pairs among the great columns of the Parthenon. But the Duke came -directly toward them, and seated himself on a low block of marble in -front of the two ladies. After a word or two about the beauties of the -place, he asked if they would go to the reception which the King gave to -him on the day following. They answered that they should like to come -very much, and the Prince expressed his satisfaction, and said that he -would see that the chamberlain sent them invitations. “And you, Mr. -Carlton, you will come also, I hope. I wish you to be presented to my -sisters. They are only amateurs in art, but they are great admirers of -your work, and they have rebuked me for not having already presented -you. We were all disappointed,” he continued, courteously, “at not -having you to dine with us that night in Constantinople, but now I trust -I shall see something of you here. You must tell us what we are to -admire.” - -“That is very easy,” said Carlton. “Everything.” - -“You are quite right,” said the Prince, bowing to the ladies as he moved -away. “It is all very beautiful.” - -“Well, now you certainly will meet her,” said Miss Morris. - -“Oh no, I won’t,” said Carlton, with resignation. “I have had two -chances and lost them, and I’ll miss this one too.” - -“Well, there is a chance you shouldn’t miss,” said Miss Morris, pointing -and nodding her head. “There she is now, and all alone. She’s sketching, -isn’t she, or taking notes? What is she doing?” - -Carlton looked eagerly in the direction Miss Morris had signified, and -saw the Princess Aline sitting at some distance from them, with a book -on her lap. She glanced up from this now and again to look at something -ahead of her, and was apparently deeply absorbed in her occupation. - -“There is your opportunity,” said Mrs. Downs; “and we are going back to -the hotel. Shall we see you at luncheon?” - -“Yes,” said Carlton, “unless I get a position as drawing-master; in that -case I shall be here teaching the three amateurs in art. Do you think I -can do it?” he asked Miss Morris. - -“Decidedly,” she answered. “I have found you a most educational young -person.” - -They went away together, and Carlton moved cautiously toward the spot -where the Princess was sitting. He made a long and roundabout détour as -he did so, in order to keep himself behind her. He did not mean to come -so near that she would see him, but he took a certain satisfaction in -looking at her when she was alone, though her loneliness was only a -matter of the moment, and though he knew that her people were within a -hundred yards of her. He was in consequence somewhat annoyed and -surprised to see another young man dodging in and out among the pillars -of the Parthenon immediately ahead of him, and to find that this young -man also had his attention centred on the young girl, who sat -unconsciously sketching in the foreground. - -“Now what the devil can he want?” muttered Carlton, his imagination -taking alarm at once. - -“If it would only prove to be some one who meant harm to her,” he -thought—“a brigand, or a beggar, who might be obligingly insolent, or -even a tipsy man, what a chance it would afford for heroic action!” - -With this hope he moved forward quickly but silently, hoping that the -stranger might prove even to be an anarchist with a grudge against -royalty. And as he advanced he had the satisfaction of seeing the -Princess glance over her shoulder, and, observing the man, rise and walk -quickly away toward the edge of the rock. There she seated herself with -her face toward the city, and with her back firmly set against her -pursuer. - -“He _is_ annoying her!” exclaimed Carlton, delightedly, as he hurried -forward. “It looks as though my chance had come at last.” But as he -approached the stranger he saw, to his great disappointment, that he had -nothing more serious to deal with than one of the international army of -amateur photographers, who had been stalking the Princess as a hunter -follows an elk, or as he would have stalked a race-horse or a prominent -politician or a Lord Mayor’s show, everything being fish that came -within the focus of his camera. A helpless statue and an equally -helpless young girl were both good subjects and at his mercy. He was -bending over, with an anxious expression of countenance, and focussing -his camera on the back of the Princess Aline, when Carlton approached -from the rear. As the young man put his finger on the button of the -camera, Carlton jogged his arm with his elbow, and pushed the -enthusiastic tourist to one side. - -“I say,” exclaimed that individual, “look where you’re going, will you? -You spoiled that plate.” - -“I’ll spoil your camera if you annoy that young lady any longer,” said -Carlton, in a low voice. - -The photographer was rapidly rewinding his roll, and the fire of pursuit -was still in his eye. - -“She’s a Princess,” he explained, in an excited whisper. - -“Well,” said Carlton, “even a Princess is entitled to some -consideration. Besides,” he said, in a more amicable tone, “you haven’t -a permit to photograph on the Acropolis. You know you haven’t.” Carlton -was quite sure of this, because there were no such permits. - -The amateur looked up in some dismay. “I didn’t know you had to have -them,” he said. “Where can I get one?” - -“The King may give you one,” said Carlton. “He lives at the palace. If -they catch you up here without a license, they will confiscate your -camera and lock you up. You had better vanish before they see you.” - -“Thank you. I will,” said the tourist, anxiously. - -“Now,” thought Carlton, smiling pleasantly, “when he goes to the palace -with that box and asks for a permit, they’ll think he is either a -dynamiter or a crank, and before they are through with him his interest -in photography will have sustained a severe shock.” - -As Carlton turned from watching the rapid flight of the photographer, he -observed that the Princess had remarked it also, as she had no doubt -been a witness of what had passed, even if she had not overheard all -that had been said. She rose from her enforced position of refuge with a -look of relief, and came directly toward Carlton along the rough path -that led through the débris on the top of the Acropolis. Carlton had -thought, as he watched her sitting on the wall, with her chin resting on -her hand, that she would make a beautiful companion picture to the one -he had wished to paint of Miss Morris—the one girl standing upright, -looking fearlessly out to sea, on the top of the low wall, with the wind -blowing her skirts about her, and her hair tumbled in the breeze, and -the other seated, bending intently forward, as though watching for the -return of a long-delayed vessel; a beautifully sad face, fine and -delicate and noble, the face of a girl on the figure of a woman. And -when she rose he made no effort to move away, or, indeed, to pretend not -to have seen her, but stood looking at her as though he had the right to -do so, and as though she must know he had that right. As she came toward -him the Princess Aline did not stop, nor even shorten her steps; but as -she passed opposite to him she bowed her thanks with a sweet impersonal -smile and a dropping of the eyes, and continued steadily on her way. - -Carlton stood for some short time looking after her, with his hat still -at his side. She seemed farther from him at that moment than she had -ever been before, although she had for the first time recognized him. -But he knew that it was only as a human being that she had recognized -him. He put on his hat, and sat down on a rock with his elbows on his -knees, and filled his pipe. - -“If that had been any other girl,” he thought, “I would have gone up to -her and said, ‘Was that man annoying you?’ and she would have said, -‘Yes; thank you,’ or something; and I would have walked along with her -until we had come up to her friends, and she would have told them I had -been of some slight service to her, and they would have introduced us, -and all would have gone well. But because she is a Princess she cannot -be approached in that way. At least she does not think so, and I have to -act as she has been told I should act, and not as I think I should. -After all, she is only a very beautiful girl, and she must be very tired -of her cousins and grandmothers, and of not being allowed to see any one -else. These royalties make a very picturesque show for the rest of us, -but indeed it seems rather hard on them. A hundred years from now there -will be no more kings and queens, and the writers of that day will envy -us, just as the writers of this day envy the men who wrote of chivalry -and tournaments, and they will have to choose their heroes from bank -presidents, and their heroines from lady lawyers and girl politicians -and type-writers. What a stupid world it will be then!” - -The next day brought the reception to the Hohenwalds; and Carlton, -entering the reading-room of the hotel on the same afternoon, found Miss -Morris and her aunt there together taking tea. They both looked at him -with expressions of such genuine commiseration that he stopped just as -he was going to seat himself and eyed them defiantly. - -“Don’t tell me,” he exclaimed, “that this has fallen through too!” - -Miss Morris nodded her head silently. - -Carlton dropped into the chair beside them, and folded his arms with a -frown of grim resignation. “What is it?” he asked. “Have they postponed -the reception?” - -“No,” Miss Morris said; “but the Princess Aline will not be there.” - -“Of course not,” said Carlton, calmly, “of course not. May I ask why? I -knew that she wouldn’t be there, but I may possibly be allowed to -express some curiosity.” - -“She turned her ankle on one of the loose stones on the Acropolis this -afternoon,” said Miss Morris, “and sprained it so badly that they had to -carry her——” - -“Who carried her?” Carlton demanded, fiercely. - -“Some of her servants.” - -“Of course, of course!” cried Carlton. “That’s the way it always will -be. I was there the whole afternoon, and I didn’t see her. I wasn’t -there to help her. It’s Fate, that’s what it is—Fate! There’s no use in -my trying to fight against Fate. Still,” he added anxiously, with a -sudden access of hope, “she may be well by this evening.” - -“I hardly think she will,” said Miss Morris, “but we will trust so.” - -The King’s palace and gardens stretch along one end of the public park, -and are but just across the street from the hotel where the Hohenwalds -and the Americans were staying. As the hotel was the first building on -the left of the square, Carlton could see from his windows the -illuminations, and the guards of honor, and the carriages arriving and -departing, and the citizens of Athens crowding the parks and peering -through the iron rails into the King’s garden. It was a warm night, and -lighted grandly by a full moon that showed the Acropolis in silhouette -against the sky, and gave a strangely theatrical look to the yellow -house fronts and red roofs of the town. Every window in the broad front -of the palace was illuminated, and through the open doors came the sound -of music, and one without could see rows of tall servants in the King’s -blue and white livery, and the men of his guard in their white -petticoats and black and white jackets and red caps. Carlton pulled a -light coat over his evening dress, and, with an agitation he could -hardly explain, walked across the street and entered the palace. The -line of royalties had broken by the time he reached the ball-room, and -the not over-severe etiquette of the Greek court left him free, after a -bow to those who still waited to receive it, to move about as he -pleased. His most earnest desire was to learn whether or not the -Princess Aline was present, and with that end he clutched the English -adjutant as that gentleman was hurrying past him, and asked eagerly if -the Princess had recovered from her accident. - -“No,” said the officer; “she’s able to walk about, but not to stand, and -sit out a dinner, and dance, and all this sort of thing. Too bad, wasn’t -it?” - -“Yes,” said Carlton, “very bad.” He released his hand from the other’s -arm, and dropped back among the men grouped about the doorway. His -disappointment was very keen. Indeed, he had not known how much this -meeting with the Princess had meant to him until he experienced this -disappointment, which was succeeded by a wish to find Miss Morris, and -have her sympathize and laugh with him. He became conscious, as he -searched with growing impatience the faces of those passing and -repassing before him, of how much the habit of going to Miss Morris for -sympathy in his unlucky love-affair had grown of late upon him. He -wondered what he would have done in his travels without her, and whether -he should have had the interest to carry on his pursuit had she not been -there to urge him on, and to mock at him when he grew faint-hearted. - -But when he finally did discover her he stood quite still, and for an -instant doubted if it were she. The girl he saw seemed to be a more -beautiful sister of the Miss Morris he knew—a taller, fairer, and more -radiant personage; and he feared that it was not she, until he -remembered that this was the first time he had ever seen her with her -hair dressed high upon her head, and in the more distinguished -accessories of a décolleté gown and train. Miss Morris had her hand on -the arm of one of the equerries, who was battling good-naturedly with -the crowd, and trying to draw her away from two persistent youths in -diplomatic uniform who were laughing and pressing forward in close -pursuit on the other side. Carlton approached her with a certain feeling -of diffidence, which was most unusual to him, and asked if she were -dancing. - -“Mr. Carlton shall decide for me,” Miss Morris said, dropping the -equerry’s arm and standing beside the American. “I have promised all of -these gentlemen,” she explained, “to dance with them, and now they won’t -agree as to which is to dance first. They’ve wasted half this waltz -already in discussing it, and they make it much more difficult by saying -that no matter how I decide, they will fight duels with the one I -choose, which is most unpleasant for me.” - -“Most unpleasant for the gentleman you choose, too,” suggested Carlton. - -“So,” continued Miss Morris, “I have decided to leave it to you.” - -“Well, if I am to arbitrate between the powers,” said Carlton, with a -glance at the three uniforms, “my decision is that as they insist on -fighting duels in any event, you had better dance with me until they -have settled it between them, and then the survivor can have the next -dance.” - -“That’s a very good idea,” said Miss Morris; and taking Carlton’s arm, -she bowed to the three men and drew away. - -“Mr. Carlton,” said the equerry, with a bow, “has added another argument -in favor of maintaining standing armies, and of not submitting questions -to arbitration.” - -“Let’s get out of this,” said Carlton. “You don’t want to dance, do you? -Let us go where it’s cool.” - -He led her down the stairs, and out on to the terrace. They did not -speak again until they had left it, and were walking under the trees in -the Queen’s garden. He had noticed as they made their way through the -crowd how the men and women turned to look at her and made way for her, -and how utterly unconscious she was of their doing so, with that -unconsciousness which comes from familiarity with such discrimination, -and Carlton himself held his head a little higher with the pride and -pleasure the thought gave him that he was in such friendly sympathy with -so beautiful a creature. He stopped before a low stone bench that stood -on the edge of the path, surrounded by a screen of tropical trees, and -guarded by a marble statue. They were in deep shadow themselves, but the -moonlight fell on the path at their feet, and through the trees on the -other side of the path they could see the open terrace of the palace, -with the dancers moving in and out of the lighted windows. The splash of -a fountain came from some short distance behind them, and from time to -time they heard the strains of a regimental band alternating with the -softer strains of a waltz played by a group of Hungarian musicians. For -a moment neither of them spoke, but sat watching the white dresses of -the women and the uniforms of the men moving in and out among the trees, -lighted by the lanterns hanging from the branches, and the white mist of -the moon. - -“Do you know,” said Carlton, “I’m rather afraid of you to-night!” He -paused, and watched her for a little time as she sat upright, with her -hands folded on her lap. “You are so very resplendent and queenly and -altogether different,” he added. The girl moved her bare shoulders -slightly and leaned back against the bench. - -“The Princess did not come,” she said. - -“No,” Carlton answered, with a sudden twinge of conscience at having -forgotten that fact. “That’s one of the reasons I took you away from -those men,” he explained. “I wanted you to sympathize with me.” - -Miss Morris did not answer him at once. She did not seem to be in a -sympathetic mood. Her manner suggested rather that she was tired and -troubled. - -“I need sympathy myself to-night,” she said. “We received a letter after -dinner that brought bad news for us. We must go home at once.” - -“Bad news!” exclaimed Carlton, with much concern. “From home?” - -“Yes, from home,” she replied; “but there is nothing wrong there; it is -only bad news for us. My sister has decided to be married in June -instead of July, and that cuts us out of a month on the Continent. -That’s all. We shall have to leave immediately—to-morrow. It seems that -Mr. Abbey is able to go away sooner than he had hoped, and they are to -be married on the first.” - -“Mr. Abbey!” exclaimed Carlton, catching at the name. “But your sister -isn’t going to marry him, is she?” - -Miss Morris turned her head in some surprise. “Yes—why not?” she said. - -“But I say!” cried Carlton, “I thought—your aunt told me that you were -going to marry Abbey; she told me so that day on the steamer when he -came to see you off.” - -“I marry him—my aunt told you—impossible!” said Miss Morris, smiling. -“She probably said that ‘her niece’ was going to marry him; she meant my -sister. They had been engaged some time.” - -“Then who are _you_ going to marry?” stammered Carlton. - -“I am not going to marry any one,” said Miss Morris. - -Carlton stared at her blankly in amazement. “Well, that’s most absurd!” -he exclaimed. - -He recognized instantly that the expression was hardly adequate, but he -could not readjust his mind so suddenly to the new idea, and he remained -looking at her with many confused memories rushing through his brain. A -dozen questions were on his tongue. He remembered afterward how he had -noticed a servant trimming the candle in one of the orange-colored -lanterns, and that he had watched him as he disappeared among the palms. - -The silence lasted for so long a time that it had taken on a -significance in itself which Carlton recognized. He pulled himself up -with a short laugh. “Well,” he remonstrated, mirthlessly, “I don’t think -you’ve treated _me_ very well.” - -“How, not treated you very well?” Miss Morris asked, settling herself -more easily. She had been sitting during the pause which followed -Carlton’s discovery with a certain rigidity, as if she was on a strain -of attention. But her tone was now as friendly as always, and held its -customary suggestion of amusement. Carlton took his tone from it, -although his mind was still busily occupied with incidents and words of -hers that she had spoken in their past intercourse. - -“Not fair in letting me think you were engaged,” he said. “I’ve wasted -so much time; I’m not half civil enough to engaged girls,” he explained. - -“You’ve been quite civil enough to us,” said Miss Morris, “as a courier, -philosopher, and friend. I’m very sorry we have to part company.” - -“Part company!” exclaimed Carlton, in sudden alarm. “But, I say, we -mustn’t do that.” - -“But we must, you see,” said Miss Morris. “We must go back for the -wedding, and you will have to follow the Princess Aline.” - -“Yes, of course,” Carlton heard his own voice say. “I had forgotten the -Princess Aline.” But he was not thinking of what he was saying, nor of -the Princess Aline. He was thinking of the many hours Miss Morris and he -had been together, of the way she had looked at certain times, and of -how he had caught himself watching her at others; how he had pictured -the absent Mr. Abbey travelling with her later over the same route, and -without a chaperon, sitting close at her side or holding her hand, and -telling her just how pretty she was whenever he wished to do so, and -without any fear of the consequences. He remembered how ready she had -been to understand what he was going to say before he had finished -saying it, and how she had always made him show the best of himself, and -had caused him to leave unsaid many things that became common and -unworthy when considered in the light of her judgment. He recalled how -impatient he had been when she was late at dinner, and how cross he was -throughout one whole day when she had kept her room. He felt with a -sudden shock of delightful fear that he had grown to depend upon her, -that she was the best companion he had ever known; and he remembered -moments when they had been alone together at the table, or in some old -palace, or during a long walk, when they had seemed to have the whole -world entirely to themselves, and how he had consoled himself at such -times with the thought that no matter how long she might be Abbey’s -wife, there had been these moments in her life which were his, with -which Abbey had had nothing to do. - -Carlton turned and looked at her with strange wide-open eyes, as though -he saw her for the first time. He felt so sure of himself and of his -love for her that the happiness of it made him tremble, and the thought -that if he spoke she might answer him in the old, friendly, mocking tone -of good-fellowship filled him with alarm. At that moment it seemed to -Carlton that the most natural thing in the world for them to do would be -to go back again together over the road they had come, seeing everything -in the new light of his love for her, and so travel on and on forever -over the world, learning to love each other more and more each -succeeding day, and leaving the rest of the universe to move along -without them. - -He leaned forward with his arm along the back of the bench, and bent his -face toward hers. Her hand lay at her side, and his own closed over it, -but the shock that the touch of her fingers gave him stopped and -confused the words upon his tongue. He looked strangely at her, and -could not find the speech he needed. - -Miss Morris gave his hand a firm, friendly little pressure and drew her -own away, as if he had taken hers only in an exuberance of good feeling. - -“You have been very nice to us,” she said, with an effort to make her -tone sound kindly and approving. “And we——” - -“You mustn’t go; I can’t let you go,” said Carlton, hoarsely. There was -no mistaking his tone or his earnestness now. “If you go,” he went on, -breathlessly, “I must go with you.” - -The girl moved restlessly; she leaned forward, and drew in her breath -with a slight, nervous tremor. Then she turned and faced him, almost as -though she were afraid of him or of herself, and they sat so for an -instant in silence. The air seemed to have grown close and heavy, and -Carlton saw her dimly. In the silence he heard the splash of the -fountain behind them, and the rustling of the leaves in the night wind, -and the low, sighing murmur of a waltz. - -He raised his head to listen, and she saw in the moonlight that he was -smiling. It was as though he wished to delay any answer she might make -to his last words. - -“That is the waltz,” he said, still speaking in a whisper, “that the -gypsies played that night—” He stopped, and Miss Morris answered him by -bending her head slowly in assent. It seemed to be an effort for her to -even make that slight gesture. - -“_You_ don’t remember it,” said Carlton. “It meant nothing to you. I -mean that night on the steamer when I told you what love meant to other -people. What a fool I was!” he said, with an uncertain laugh. - -“Yes, I remember it,” she said—“last Thursday night, on the steamer.” - -“Thursday night!” exclaimed Carlton, indignantly. “Wednesday night, -Tuesday night, how should I know what night of the week it was? It was -the night of my life to me. That night I knew that I loved you as I had -never hoped to care for any one in this world. When I told you that I -did not know what love meant I felt all the time that I was lying. I -knew that I loved you, and that I could never love any one else, and -that I had never loved any one before; and if I had thought then you -could care for me, your engagement or your promises would never have -stopped my telling you so. You said that night that I would learn to -love all the better, and more truly, for having doubted myself so long, -and, oh, Edith,” he cried, taking both her hands and holding them close -in his own, “I cannot let you go now! I love you so! Don’t laugh at me; -don’t mock at me. All the rest of my life depends on you.” - -And then Miss Morris laughed softly, just as he had begged her not to -do, but her laughter was so full of happiness, and came so gently and -sweetly, and spoke so truly of content, that though he let go of her -hands with one of his, it was only that he might draw her to him, until -her face touched his, and she felt the strength of his arm as he held -her against his breast. - - -The Hohenwalds occupied the suite of rooms on the first floor of the -hotel, with the privilege of using the broad balcony that reached out -from it over the front entrance. And at the time when Mrs. Downs and -Edith Morris and Carlton drove up to the hotel from the ball, the -Princess Aline was leaning over the balcony and watching the lights go -out in the upper part of the house, and the moonlight as it fell on the -trees and statues in the public park below. Her foot was still in -bandages, and she was wrapped in a long cloak to keep her from the cold. -Inside of the open windows that led out on to the balcony her sisters -were taking off their ornaments, and discussing the incidents of the -night just over. - -The Princess Aline, unnoticed by those below, saw Carlton help Mrs. -Downs to alight from the carriage, and then give his hand to another -muffled figure that followed her; and while Mrs. Downs was ascending the -steps, and before the second muffled figure had left the shadow of the -carriage and stepped into the moonlight, the Princess Aline saw Carlton -draw her suddenly back and kiss her lightly on the cheek, and heard a -protesting gasp, and saw Miss Morris pull her cloak over her head and -run up the steps. Then she saw Carlton shake hands with them, and stand -for a moment after they had disappeared, gazing up at the moon and -fumbling in the pockets of his coat. He drew out a cigar-case and -leisurely selected a cigar, and with much apparent content lighted it, -and then, with his head thrown back and his chest expanded, as though he -were challenging the world, he strolled across the street and -disappeared among the shadows of the deserted park. - -The Princess walked back to one of the open windows, and stood there -leaning against the side. “That young Mr. Carlton, the artist,” she said -to her sisters, “is engaged to that beautiful American girl we met the -other day.” - -“Really!” said the elder sister. “I thought it was probable. Who told -you?” - -“I saw him kiss her good-night,” said the Princess, stepping into the -window, “as they got out of their carriage just now.” - -The Princess Aline stood for a moment looking thoughtfully at the floor, -and then walked across the room to a little writing-desk. She unlocked a -drawer in this and took from it two slips of paper, which she folded in -her hand. Then she returned slowly across the room, and stepped out -again on to the balcony. - -One of the pieces of paper held the picture Carlton had drawn of her, -and under which he had written: “This is she. Do you wonder I travelled -four thousand miles to see her?” And the other was the picture of -Carlton himself, which she had cut out of the catalogue of the Salon. - -From the edge of the balcony where the Princess stood she could see the -glimmer of Carlton’s white linen and the red glow of his cigar as he -strode proudly up and down the path of the public park, like a sentry -keeping watch. She folded the pieces of paper together and tore them -slowly into tiny fragments, and let them fall through her fingers into -the street below. Then she returned again to the room, and stood looking -at her sisters. - -“Do you know,” she said, “I think I am a little tired of travelling so -much. I want to go back to Grasse.” She put her hand to her forehead and -held it there for a moment. “I think I am a little homesick,” said the -Princess Aline. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET CAR, THE PRINCESS -ALINE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The scarlet car, the Princess Aline</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Richard Harding Davis</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 5, 2023 [eBook #69715]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET CAR, THE PRINCESS ALINE ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div id='Frontispiece' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_frontispiece.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>Miss Forbes</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage double'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>The Scarlet Car<br> <br> The Princess Aline</h1> -</div> - -<div class='border'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>BY</div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>RICHARD HARDING DAVIS</span></div> - <div class='c002'>ILLUSTRATED</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS</span></div> - <div>NEW YORK 1910</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='small'>THE SCARLET CAR</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1906, by</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'>RICHARD HARDING DAVIS</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1907, 1910, by</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'>CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS</span></div> - <div class='c002'><span class='small'>THE PRINCESS ALINE</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1895, by</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'>HARPER & BROTHERS</span></div> - <div class='c004'><span class='small'><span class='sc'>Copyright, 1910, by</span></span></div> - <div><span class='small'>CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/i_copyright.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -</div> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>THE SCARLET CAR</div> - <div class='c004'>THE PRINCESS ALINE</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> -<colgroup> -<col class='colwidth80'> -<col class='colwidth19'> -</colgroup> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'>THE SCARLET CAR</td></tr> - <tr> - <th class='c007'></th> - <th class='c008'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Jail-Breakers</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_3'>3</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Trespassers</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_39'>39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'><span class='sc'>The Kidnappers</span></td> - <td class='c008'><a href='#Page_70'>70</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'> </td> - <td class='c008'> </td> - </tr> - <tr><td class='c006' colspan='2'><a href='#Page_111'>THE PRINCESS ALINE</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table class='table0'> -<colgroup> -<col class='colwidth80'> -<col class='colwidth20'> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>Miss Forbes</td> - <td class='c009'><i><a href='#Frontispiece'>Frontispiece</a></i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class='c007'></th> - <th class='c009'><span class='small'>FACING PAGE</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>In the two circles of light the men surveyed each other</td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#i_056'>56</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>“You’ve broken the bone,” he said</td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#i_066'>66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>“Next to her stood the Princess Aline of Hohenwald”</td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#i_142'>142</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>“A man was talking in English, with an accent”</td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#i_152'>152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c007'>“This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand miles to see her?”</td> - <td class='c009'><a href='#i_164'>164</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>THE SCARLET CAR</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>TO</div> - <div class='c004'>NED STONE</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>THE SCARLET CAR</h2> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span> - <h3 class='c010'>I<br> <span class='large'>THE JAIL-BREAKERS</span></h3> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>For a long time it had been arranged they -all should go to the Harvard and Yale -game in Winthrop’s car. It was perfectly well -understood. Even Peabody, who pictured himself -and Miss Forbes in the back of the car, with -her brother and Winthrop in front, condescended -to approve. It was necessary to invite Peabody -because it was his great good fortune to be engaged -to Miss Forbes. Her brother Sam had -been invited, not only because he could act as -chaperon for his sister, but because since they -were at St. Paul’s, Winthrop and he, either as participants -or spectators, had never missed going -together to the Yale-Harvard game. And Beatrice -Forbes herself had been invited because -she was herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When at nine o’clock on the morning of the -game, Winthrop stopped the car in front of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>door, he was in love with all the world. In the -November air there was a sting like frost-bitten -cider, in the sky there was a brilliant, beautiful -sun, in the wind was the tingling touch of three -ice-chilled rivers. And in the big house facing -Central Park, outside of which his prancing steed -of brass and scarlet chugged and protested and -trembled with impatience, was the most wonderful -girl in all the world. It was true she was engaged -to be married, and not to him. But she -was not yet married. And to-day it would be his -privilege to carry her through the State of New -York and the State of Connecticut, and he would -snatch glimpses of her profile rising from the -rough fur collar, of her wind-blown hair, of the -long, lovely lashes under the gray veil.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘Shall be together, breathe and ride, so, one -day more am I deified;’” whispered the young -man in the Scarlet Car; “‘who knows but the -world may end to-night?’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As he waited at the curb, other great touring-cars, -of every speed and shape, in the mad race -for the Boston Post Road, and the town of New -Haven, swept up Fifth Avenue. Some rolled -and puffed like tugboats in a heavy seaway, others -glided by noiseless and proud as private yachts. -But each flew the colors of blue or crimson.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>Winthrop’s car, because her brother had gone -to one college, and he had played right end for -the other, was draped impartially. And so every -other car mocked or cheered it, and in one a bareheaded -youth stood up, and shouted to his fellows: -“Look! there’s Billy Winthrop! Three -times three for old Billy Winthrop!” And they -lashed the air with flags, and sent his name -echoing over Central Park.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop grinned in embarrassment, and waved -his hand. A bicycle cop, and Fred, the chauffeur, -were equally impressed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Was they the Harvoids, sir?” asked Fred.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They was,” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her brother Sam came down the steps carrying -sweaters and steamer-rugs. But he wore no holiday -countenance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What do you think?” he demanded indignantly. -“Ernest Peabody’s inside making trouble. -His sister has a Pullman on one of the special -trains, and he wants Beatrice to go with her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In spite of his furs, the young man in the car -turned quite cold. “Not with us?” he gasped.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes appeared at the house door, followed -by Ernest Peabody. He wore an expression -of disturbed dignity; she one of distressed -amusement. That she also wore her automobile -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>coat caused the heart of Winthrop to leap -hopefully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Winthrop,” said Peabody, “I am in rather an -embarrassing position. My sister, Mrs. Taylor -Holbrooke”—he spoke the name as though he -were announcing it at the door of a drawingroom—“desires -Miss Forbes to go with her. She -feels accidents are apt to occur with motor cars—and -there are no other ladies in your party—and -the crowds——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop carefully avoided looking at Miss -Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should be very sorry,” he murmured.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ernest!” said Miss Forbes, “I explained it -was impossible for me to go with your sister. We -would be extremely rude to Mr. Winthrop. How -do you wish us to sit?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She mounted to the rear seat, and made room -opposite her for Peabody.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do I understand, Beatrice,” began Peabody, -in a tone that instantly made every one extremely -uncomfortable, “that I am to tell my sister you -are not coming?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ernest!” begged Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop bent hastily over the oil valves. He -read the speedometer, which was, as usual, out -of order, with fascinated interest.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>“Ernest,” pleaded Miss Forbes, “Mr. Winthrop -and Sam planned this trip for us a long time ago—to -give us a little pleasure——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then,” said Peabody in a hollow voice, “you -have decided?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ernest,” cried Miss Forbes, “don’t look at me -as though you meant to hurl the curse of Rome. -I have. Jump in. Please!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will bid you good-by,” said Peabody; “I -have only just time to catch our train.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes rose and moved to the door of the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I had better not go with any one,” she said in -a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will go with me,” commanded her brother. -“Come on, Ernest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you, no,” replied Peabody. “I have -promised my sister.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, then,” exclaimed Sam briskly, “see -you at the game. Section H. Don’t forget. -Let her out, Billy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a troubled countenance Winthrop bent -forward and clasped the clutch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Better come, Peabody,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thank you, no,” repeated Peabody. “I must -go with my sister.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the car glided forward Brother Sam sighed -heavily.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>“My! but he’s got a mean disposition,” he said. -“He has quite spoiled <i>my</i> day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He chuckled wickedly, but Winthrop pretended -not to hear, and his sister maintained an expression -of utter dejection.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But to maintain an expression of utter dejection -is very difficult when the sun is shining, when -you are flying at the rate of forty miles an hour, -and when in the cars you pass foolish youths -wave Yale flags at you, and take advantage of -the day to cry: “Three cheers for the girl in the -blue hat!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And to entirely remove the last trace of the -gloom that Peabody had forced upon them, it -was necessary only for a tire to burst. Of course, -for this effort, the tire chose the coldest and most -fiercely wind-swept portion of the Pelham Road, -where from the broad waters of the Sound pneumonia -and the grip raced rampant, and where to -the touch a steel wrench was not to be distinguished -from a piece of ice. But before the -wheels had ceased to complain, Winthrop and -Fred were out of their fur coats, down on their -knees, and jacking up the axle.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“On an expedition of this sort,” said Brother -Sam, “whatever happens, take it as a joke. Fortunately,” -he explained, “I don’t understand fixing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>inner tubes, so I will get out and smoke. I -have noticed that when a car breaks down there -is always one man who paces up and down the -road and smokes. His hope is to fool passing -cars into thinking that the people in his car -stopped to admire the view.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Recognizing the annual football match as intended -solely to replenish the town coffers, the -thrifty townsfolk of Rye, with bicycles and red -flags, were, as usual, and regardless of the speed -at which it moved, levying tribute on every second -car that entered their hospitable boundaries. -But before the Scarlet Car reached Rye, small -boys of the town, possessed of a sporting spirit, or -of an inherited instinct for graft, were waiting to -give a noisy notice of the ambush. And so, forewarned, -the Scarlet Car crawled up the main -street of Rye as demurely as a baby-carriage, and -then, having safely reached a point directly in -front of the police station, with a loud and ostentatious -report, blew up another tire.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” said Sam crossly, “they can’t arrest -<i>us</i> for speeding.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Whatever happens,” said his sister, “take it -as a joke.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Two miles outside of Stamford, Brother Sam -burst into open mutiny.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>“Every car in the United States has passed -us,” he declared. “We won’t get there, at this -rate, till the end of the first half. Hit her up, -can’t you, Billy?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She seems to have an illness,” said Winthrop -unhappily. “I think I’d save time if I stopped -now and fixed her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Shamefacedly Fred and he hid themselves under -the body of the car, and a sound of hammering -and stentorian breathing followed. Of them -all that was visible was four feet beating a tattoo -on the road. Miss Forbes got out Winthrop’s -camera, and took a snapshot of the scene.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will call it,” she said, “The Idle Rich.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Brother Sam gazed morosely in the direction of -New Haven. They had halted within fifty yards -of the railroad tracks, and as each special train, -loaded with happy enthusiasts, raced past them -he groaned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The only one of us that showed any common-sense -was Ernest,” he declared, “and you turned -him down. I am going to take a trolley to Stamford, -and the first train to New Haven.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are not,” said his sister; “I will not -desert Mr. Winthrop, and you cannot desert me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Brother Sam sighed, and seated himself on a -rock.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>“Do you think, Billy,” he asked, “you can get -us to Cambridge in time for next year’s game?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The car limped into Stamford, and while it -went into dry-dock at the garage, Brother Sam -fled to the railroad station, where he learned that -for the next two hours no train that recognized -New Haven spoke to Stamford.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That being so,” said Winthrop, “while we -are waiting for the car, we had better get a quick -lunch now, and then push on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Push,” exclaimed Brother Sam darkly, “is -what we are likely to do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>After behaving with perfect propriety for half -an hour, just outside of Bridgeport the Scarlet -Car came to a slow and sullen stop, and once -more the owner and the chauffeur hid their shame -beneath it, and attacked its vitals. Twenty minutes -later, while they still were at work, there -approached from Bridgeport a young man in a -buggy. When he saw the mass of college colors -on the Scarlet Car, he pulled his horse down to a -walk, and as he passed raised his hat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At the end of the first half,” he said, “the -score was a tie.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t mention it,” said Brother Sam.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now,” he cried, “we’ve got to turn back, and -make for New York. If we start quick, we may -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>get there ahead of the last car to leave New -Haven.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am going to New Haven, and in this car,” -declared his sister. “I must go—to meet Ernest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If Ernest has as much sense as he showed -this morning,” returned her affectionate brother, -“Ernest will go to his Pullman and stay there. -As I told you, the only sure way to get anywhere -is by railroad train.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they passed through Bridgeport it was -so late that the electric lights of Fairview Avenue -were just beginning to sputter and glow in the -twilight, and as they came along the shore road -into New Haven, the first car out of New Haven -in the race back to New York leaped at them -with siren shrieks of warning, and dancing, dazzling -eyes. It passed like a thing driven by the -Furies; and before the Scarlet Car could swing -back into what had been an empty road, in swift -pursuit of the first came many more cars, with -blinding searchlights, with a roar of throbbing, -thrashing engines, flying pebbles, and whirling -wheels, and behind these, stretching for a twisted -mile, came hundreds of others; until the road was -aflame with flashing will-o’-the-wisps, dancing fire-balls, -and long, shifting shafts of light.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes sat in front, beside Winthrop, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>it pleased her to imagine, as they bent forward, -peering into the night, that together they were facing -so many fiery dragons, speeding to give them -battle, to grind them under their wheels. She -felt the elation of great speed, of imminent danger. -Her blood tingled with the air from the wind-swept -harbor, with the rush of the great engines, -as by a hand-breadth they plunged past her. She -knew they were driven by men and half-grown -boys, joyous with victory, piqued by defeat, reckless -by one touch too much of liquor, and that the -young man at her side was driving, not only for -himself, but for them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Each fraction of a second a dazzling light -blinded him, and he swerved to let the monster, -with a hoarse, bellowing roar, pass by, and then -again swept his car into the road. And each -time for greater confidence she glanced up into -his face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Throughout the mishaps of the day he had -been deeply concerned for her comfort, sorry for -her disappointment, under Brother Sam’s indignant -ironies patient, and at all times gentle and -considerate. Now, in the light from the onrushing -cars, she noted his alert, laughing eyes, the -broad shoulders bent across the wheel, the lips -smiling with excitement and in the joy of controlling, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>with a turn of the wrist, a power equal to -sixty galloping horses. She found in his face -much comfort. And in the fact that for the moment -her safety lay in his hands, a sense of pleasure. -That this was her feeling puzzled and disturbed -her, for to Ernest Peabody it seemed, in -some way, disloyal. And yet there it was. Of a -certainty, there was the secret pleasure in the -thought that if they escaped unhurt from the trap -in which they found themselves, it would be due -to him. To herself she argued that if the chauffeur -were driving, her feeling would be the same, -that it was the nerve, the skill, and the coolness, -not the man, that moved her admiration. But -in her heart she knew it would not be the same.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At West Haven Green Winthrop turned out of -the track of the racing monsters into a quiet -street leading to the railroad station, and with a -half-sigh, half-laugh, leaned back comfortably.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Those lights coming up suddenly make it hard -to see,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hard to breathe,” snorted Sam; “since that -first car missed us, I haven’t drawn an honest -breath. I held on so tight that I squeezed the -hair out of the cushions.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When they reached the railroad station, and -Sam had finally fought his way to the stationmaster, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>that half-crazed official informed him he -had missed the departure of Mrs. Taylor Holbrooke’s -car by just ten minutes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Brother Sam reported this state of affairs to -his companions.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“God knows we asked for the fish first,” he -said; “so now we’ve done our duty by Ernest, -who has shamefully deserted us, and we can get -something to eat, and go home at our leisure. -As I have always told you, the only way to travel -independently is in a touring-car.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the New Haven House they bought three waiters, -body and soul, and, in spite of the fact that in -the very next room the team was breaking training, -obtained an excellent but chaotic dinner; and by -eight they were on their way back to the big city.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The night was grandly beautiful. The waters -of the Sound flashed in the light of a cold, clear -moon, which showed them, like pictures in silver -print, the sleeping villages through which they -passed, the ancient elms, the low-roofed cottages, -the town-hall facing the common. The post road -was again empty, and the car moved as steadily -as a watch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Just because it knows we don’t care now -when we get there,” said Brother Sam, “you -couldn’t make it break down with an axe.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>From the rear, where he sat with Fred, he -announced he was going to sleep, and asked that -he be not awakened until the car had crossed the -State line between Connecticut and New York. -Winthrop doubted if he knew the State line of -New York.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is where the advertisements for Besse -Baker’s twenty-seven stores cease,” said Sam -drowsily, “and the bill-posters of Ethel Barrymore -begin.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the front of the car the two young people -spoke only at intervals, but Winthrop had never -been so widely alert, so keenly happy, never before -so conscious of her presence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And it seemed as they glided through the mysterious -moonlit world of silent villages, shadowy -woods, and wind-swept bays and inlets, from -which, as the car rattled over the planks of the -bridges, the wild duck rose in noisy circles, they -alone were awake and living.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The silence had lasted so long that it was -as eloquent as words. The young man turned -his eyes timorously, and sought those of the girl. -What he felt was so strong in him that it seemed -incredible she should be ignorant of it. His -eyes searched the gray veil. In his voice there -was both challenge and pleading.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>“‘Shall be together,’” he quoted, “‘breathe -and ride. So, one day more am I deified; who -knows but the world may end to-night?’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The moonlight showed the girl’s eyes shining -through the veil, and regarding him steadily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you don’t stop this car quick,” she said, -“the world <i>will</i> end for all of us.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He shot a look ahead, and so suddenly threw -on the brake that Sam and the chauffeur tumbled -awake. Across the road stretched the great bulk -of a touring-car, its lamps burning dully in the -brilliance of the moon. Around it, for greater -warmth, a half-dozen figures stamped upon the -frozen ground, and beat themselves with their -arms. Sam and the chauffeur vaulted into the -road, and went toward them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s what you say, and the way you say it,” -the girl explained. She seemed to be continuing -an argument. “It makes it so very difficult for -us to play together.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man clasped the wheel as though -the force he were holding in check were much -greater than sixty horse-power.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are not married yet, are you?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl moved her head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And when you are married, there will probably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>be an altar from which you will turn to walk -back up the aisle?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well?” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” he answered explosively, “until you -turn away from that altar, I do not recognize the -right of any man to keep me quiet, or your right -either. Why should I be held by your engagement? -I was not consulted about it. I did not -give my consent, did I? I tell you, you are the -only woman in the world I will ever marry, and -if you think I am going to keep silent and watch -some one else carry you off without making a -fight for you, you don’t know me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you go on,” said the girl, “it will mean that -I shall not see you again.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then I will write letters to you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will not read them,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man laughed defiantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes, you will read them!” He pounded -his gauntleted fist on the rim of the wheel. “You -mayn’t answer them, but if I can write the way I -feel, I will bet you’ll read them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>His voice changed suddenly, and he began to -plead. It was as though she were some masculine -giant bullying a small boy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are not fair to me,” he protested. “I -do not ask you to be kind, I ask you to be fair. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>I am fighting for what means more to me than -anything in this world, and you won’t even listen. -Why should I recognize any other men? All I -recognize is that <i>I</i> am the man who loves you, -that ‘I am the man at your feet.’ That is all I -know, that I love you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl moved as though with the cold, and -turned her head from him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I love you,” repeated the young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl breathed like one who has been swimming -under water, but, when she spoke, her -voice was calm and contained.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Please!” she begged, “don’t you see how -unfair it is? I can’t go away; I <i>have</i> to listen.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man pulled himself upright, and -pressed his lips together.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg your pardon,” he whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was for some time an unhappy silence, -and then Winthrop added bitterly: “‘Methinks the -punishment exceeds the offence.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you think you make it easy for <i>me</i>?” -returned the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She considered it most ungenerous of him to -sit staring into the moonlight, looking so miserable -that it made her heart ache to comfort him, -and so extremely handsome that to do so was -quite impossible. She would have liked to reach -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>out her hand and lay it on his arm, and tell him -she was sorry, but she could not. He should not -have looked so unnecessarily handsome.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Sam came running toward them with five grizzly -bears, who balanced themselves apparently -with some slight effort upon their hind legs. -The grizzly bears were properly presented as: -“Tommy Todd, of my class, and some more like -him. And,” continued Sam, “I am going to -quit you two and go with them. Tom’s car -broke down, but Fred fixed it, and both our cars -can travel together. Sort of convoy,” he explained.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His sister signalled eagerly, but with equal -eagerness he retreated from her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Believe me,” he assured her soothingly, “I -am just as good a chaperon fifty yards behind -you, and wide awake, as I am in the same car and -fast asleep. And, besides, I want to hear about -the game. And, what’s more, two cars are much -safer than one. Suppose you two break down in -a lonely place? We’ll be right behind you to -pick you up. You will keep Winthrop’s car in -sight, won’t you, Tommy?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The grizzly bear called Tommy, who had been -examining the Scarlet Car, answered doubtfully -that the only way he could keep it in sight was by -tying a rope to it.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>“That’s all right, then,” said Sam briskly, -“Winthrop will go slow.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>So the Scarlet Car shot forward with sometimes -the second car so far in the rear that they could -only faintly distinguish the horn begging them to -wait, and again it would follow so close upon their -wheels that they heard the five grizzly bears chanting -beseechingly:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c013'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Oh, bring this wagon home, John,</div> - <div class='line'>It will not hold us a-all.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>For some time there was silence in the Scarlet -Car, and then Winthrop broke it by laughing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“First, I lose Peabody,” he explained, “then -I lose Sam, and now, after I throw Fred overboard, -I am going to drive you into Stamford, -where they do not ask runaway couples for a -license, and marry you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl smiled comfortably. In that mood -she was not afraid of him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She lifted her face, and stretched out her arms -as though she were drinking in the moonlight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has been such a good day,” she said simply, -“and I am really so very happy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shall be equally frank,” said Winthrop. -“So am I.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>For two hours they had been on the road, and -were just entering Fairport. For some long time -the voices of the pursuing grizzlies had been lost -in the far distance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The road’s up,” said Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>She pointed ahead to two red lanterns.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was all right this morning,” exclaimed Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The car was pulled down to eight miles an -hour, and, trembling and snorting at the indignity, -nosed up to the red lanterns.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They showed in a ruddy glow the legs of two -men.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You gotta stop!” commanded a voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why?” asked Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The voice became embodied in the person of a -tall man with a long overcoat and a drooping -mustache.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“’Cause I tell you to!” snapped the tall man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop threw a quick glance to the rear. In -that direction for a mile the road lay straight -away. He could see its entire length, and it was -empty. In thinking of nothing but Miss Forbes, -he had forgotten the chaperon. He was impressed -with the fact that the immediate presence -of a chaperon was desirable. Directly in front -of the car, blocking its advance, were two barrels -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>with a two-inch plank sagging heavily between -them. Beyond that the main street of -Fairport lay steeped in slumber and moonlight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am a selectman,” said the one with the lantern. -“You been exceedin’ our speed limit.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The chauffeur gave a gasp that might have -been construed to mean that the charge amazed -and shocked him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is not possible,” Winthrop answered. -“I have been going very slow—on purpose—to -allow a disabled car to keep up with me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The selectman looked down the road.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It ain’t kep’ up with you,” he said pointedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has until the last few minutes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s the last few minutes we’re talking about,” -returned the man who had not spoken. He put -his foot on the step of the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What are you doing?” asked Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am going to take you to Judge Allen’s. I -am chief of police. You are under arrest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before Winthrop rose moving pictures of Miss -Forbes appearing in a dirty police station before -an officious Dogberry, and, as he and his car were -well known along the post road, appearing the -next morning in the New York papers. “William -Winthrop,” he saw the printed words, “son -of Endicott Winthrop, was arrested here this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>evening, with a young woman who refused to -give her name, but who was recognized as Miss -Beatrice Forbes, whose engagement to Ernest -Peabody, the Reform candidate on the Independent -ticket——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And, of course, Peabody would blame her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If I have exceeded your speed limit,” he said -politely, “I shall be delighted to pay the fine. -How much is it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Judge Allen ’ll tell you what the fine is,” said -the selectman gruffly. “And he may want bail.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bail?” demanded Winthrop. “Do you mean -to tell me he will detain us here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He will, if he wants to,” answered the chief -of police combatively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For an instant Winthrop sat gazing gloomily -ahead, overcome apparently by the enormity of -his offence. He was calculating whether, if he -rammed the two-inch plank, it would hit the car -or Miss Forbes. He decided swiftly it would hit -his new two-hundred-dollar lamps. As swiftly he -decided the new lamps must go. But he had -read of guardians of the public safety so regardless -of private safety as to try to puncture runaway -tires with pistol bullets. He had no intention -of subjecting Miss Forbes to a fusillade.</p> - -<p class='c012'>So he whirled upon the chief of police:</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>“Take your hand off that gun!” he growled. -“How dare you threaten me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Amazed, the chief of police dropped from the -step and advanced indignantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Me?” he demanded. “I ain’t got a gun. -What you mean by——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With sudden intelligence, the chauffeur precipitated -himself upon the scene.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s the other one,” he shouted. He shook -an accusing finger at the selectman. “He pointed -it at the lady.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>To Miss Forbes the realism of Fred’s acting was -too convincing. To learn that one is covered with -a loaded revolver is disconcerting. Miss Forbes -gave a startled squeak, and ducked her head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop roared aloud at the selectman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How dare you frighten the lady!” he cried. -“Take your hand off that gun.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What you talkin’ about?” shouted the selectman. -“The idea of my havin’ a gun! I haven’t -got a——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, Fred!” cried Winthrop. “Low -bridge.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a crash of shattered glass and brass, -of scattered barrel staves, the smell of escaping -gas, and the Scarlet Car was flying drunkenly -down the main street.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>“What are they doing now, Fred?” called the -owner. Fred peered over the stern of the flying car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The constable’s jumping around the road,” -he replied, “and the long one’s leaning against a -tree. No, he’s climbing the tree. I can’t make -out <i>what</i> he’s doing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i>I</i> know!” cried Miss Forbes; her voice vibrated -with excitement. Defiance of the law had thrilled -her with unsuspected satisfaction; her eyes were -dancing. “There was a telephone fastened to the -tree, a hand telephone. They are sending word to -some one. They’re trying to head us off.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop brought the car to a quick halt.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We’re in a police trap!” he said. Fred leaned -forward and whispered to his employer. His -voice also vibrated with the joy of the chase.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This’ll be our <i>third</i> arrest,” he said. “That -means——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know what it means,” snapped Winthrop. -“Tell me how we can get out of here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We can’t get out of here, sir, unless we go -back. Going south, the bridge is the only way -out.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The bridge!” Winthrop struck the wheel -savagely with his knuckles. “I forgot their confounded -bridge!” He turned to Miss Forbes. -“Fairport is a sort of island,” he explained.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>“But after we’re across the bridge,” urged the -chauffeur, “we needn’t keep to the post road no -more. We can turn into Stone Ridge, and strike -south to White Plains. Then——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We haven’t crossed the bridge yet,” growled -Winthrop. His voice had none of the joy of the -others; he was greatly perturbed. “Look back,” -he commanded, “and see if there is any sign of -those boys.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was now quite willing to share responsibility. -But there was no sign of the Yale men, and, -unattended, the Scarlet Car crept warily forward. -Ahead of it, across the little reed-grown inlet, -stretched their road of escape, a long wooden -bridge, lying white in the moonlight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t see a soul,” whispered Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Anybody at that draw?” asked Winthrop. -Unconsciously his voice also had sunk to a whisper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” returned Fred. “I think the man that -tends the draw goes home at night; there is no -light there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then,” said Winthrop, with an anxious -sigh, “we’ve got to make a dash for it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The car shot forward, and, as it leaped lightly -upon the bridge, there was a rapid rumble of -creaking boards.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Between it and the highway to New York lay -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>only two hundred yards of track, straight and -empty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In his excitement, the chauffeur rose from the -rear seat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They’ll never catch us now,” he muttered. -“They’ll never catch us!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But even as he spoke there grated harshly the -creak of rusty chains on a cogged wheel, the rattle -of a brake. The black figure of a man with waving -arms ran out upon the draw, and the draw -gaped slowly open.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the car halted there was between it and -the broken edge of the bridge twenty feet of running -water.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the same moment from behind it came a -patter of feet, and Winthrop turned to see racing -toward them some dozen young men of Fairport. -They surrounded him with noisy, raucous, belligerent -cries. They were, as they proudly informed -him, members of the Fairport “Volunteer -Fire Department.” That they might purchase -new uniforms, they had arranged a trap for the -automobiles returning in illegal haste from New -Haven. In fines they had collected $300, and it -was evident that already some of that money had -been expended in bad whiskey. As many as -could do so crowded into the car, others hung to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>the running boards and step, others ran beside -it. They rejoiced over Winthrop’s unsuccessful -flight and capture with violent and humiliating -laughter.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the day, Judge Allen had made a temporary -court in the club-room of the fire department, -which was over the engine-house; and the proceedings -were brief and decisive. The selectman -told how Winthrop, after first breaking the speed -law, had broken arrest, and Judge Allen, refusing -to fine him and let him go, held him and his companions -for a hearing the following morning. He -fixed the amount of bail at $500 each; failing to -pay this, they would for the night be locked up in -different parts of the engine-house, which, it developed, -contained on the ground-floor the home -of the fire-engine, on the second floor the club-room, -on alternate nights, of the firemen, the local -G. A. R., and the Knights of Pythias, and in its -cellar the town jail.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop and the chauffeur the learned judge -condemned to the cells in the basement. As a -concession, he granted Miss Forbes the freedom -of the entire club-room to herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The objections raised by Winthrop to this arrangement -were of a nature so violent, so vigorous, -at one moment so specious and conciliatory, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>and the next so abusive, that his listeners were -moved by awe, but not to pity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In his indignation, Judge Allen rose to reply, -and as, the better to hear him, the crowd pushed -forward, Fred gave way before it, until he was -left standing in sullen gloom upon its outer edge. -In imitation of the real firemen of the great cities, -the vamps of Fairport had cut a circular hole in -the floor of their club-room, and from the engine-room -below had reared a sliding pole of shining -brass. When leaving their club-room, it was always -their pleasure to scorn the stairs and, like -real firemen, slide down this pole. It had not -escaped the notice of Fred, and since his entrance -he had been gravitating toward it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the voice of the judge rose in violent objurgation, -and all eyes were fixed upon him, the -chauffeur crooked his leg tightly about the brass -pole, and, like the devil in the pantomime, sank -softly and swiftly through the floor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The irate judge was shaking his finger in Winthrop’s -face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t you try to teach me no law,” he shouted; -“I know what I can do. Ef <i>my</i> darter went gallivantin’ -around nights in one of them automobiles, -it would serve her right to get locked up. -Maybe this young woman will learn to stay at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>home nights with her folks. She ain’t goin’ to -take no harm here. The constable sits up all -night downstairs in the fire-engine-room, and that -sofa’s as good a place to sleep as the hotel. If -you want me to let her go to the hotel, why don’t -you send to your folks and bail her out?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You know damn well why I don’t,” returned -Winthrop. “I don’t intend to give the newspapers -and you and these other idiots the chance -to annoy her further. This young lady’s brother -has been with us all day; he left us only by accident, -and by forcing her to remain here alone you -are acting outrageously. If you knew anything -of decency, or law, you’d——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know this much!” roared the justice triumphantly, -pointing his spectacle-case at Miss -Forbes. “I know her name ain’t Lizzie Borden, -and yours ain’t Charley Ross.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop crossed to where Miss Forbes stood -in a corner. She still wore her veil, but through -it, though her face was pale, she smiled at him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His own distress was undisguised.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can never forgive myself,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense!” replied Miss Forbes briskly. -“You were perfectly right. If we had sent for -any one, it would have had to come out. Now, -we’ll pay the fine in the morning and get home, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>and no one will know anything of it excepting the -family and Mr. Peabody, and they’ll understand. -But if I ever lay hands on my brother Sam!”—she -clasped her fingers together helplessly. “To -think of his leaving you to spend the night in a -cell——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop interrupted her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I will get one of these men to send his wife or -sister over to stay with you,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Miss Forbes protested that she did not -want a companion. The constable would protect -her, she said, and she would sit up all night -and read. She nodded at the periodicals on the -club table.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“This is the only chance I may ever have,” -she said, “to read the <cite>Police Gazette</cite>!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You ready there?” called the constable.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-night,” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Under the eyes of the grinning yokels, they -shook hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-night,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where’s your young man?” demanded the -chief of police.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My what?” inquired Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The young fellow that was with you when we -held you up that first time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The constable, or the chief of police as he called -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>himself, on the principle that if there were only -one policeman he must necessarily be the chief, -glanced hastily over the heads of the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Any of you holding that shoffer?” he called.</p> - -<p class='c012'>No one was holding the chauffeur.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The chauffeur had vanished.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The cell to which the constable led Winthrop -was in a corner of the cellar in which formerly -coal had been stored. This corner was now -fenced off with boards, and a wooden door with -chain and padlock.</p> - -<p class='c012'>High in the wall, on a level with the ground, -was the opening, or window, through which the -coal had been dumped. This window now was -barricaded with iron bars. Winthrop tested the -door by shaking it, and landed a heavy kick on -one of the hinges. It gave slightly, and emitted -a feeble groan.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What you tryin’ to do?” demanded the constable. -“That’s town property.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the light of the constable’s lantern, Winthrop -surveyed his cell with extreme dissatisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I call this a cheap cell,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s good enough for a cheap sport,” returned -the constable. It was so overwhelming a retort -that after the constable had turned the key in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>padlock, and taken himself and his lantern to the -floor above, Winthrop could hear him repeating -it to the volunteer firemen. They received it with -delighted howls.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For an hour, on the three empty boxes that -formed his bed, Winthrop sat, with his chin on -his fist, planning the nameless atrocities he would -inflict upon the village of Fairport. Compared to -his tortures, those of Neuremberg were merely -reprimands. Also he considered the particular -punishment he would mete out to Sam Forbes for -his desertion of his sister, and to Fred. He could -not understand Fred. It was not like the chauffeur -to think only of himself. Nevertheless, for -abandoning Miss Forbes in the hour of need, -Fred must be discharged. He had, with some -regret, determined upon this discipline, when from -directly over his head the voice of Fred hailed -him cautiously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Winthrop,” the voice called, “are you -there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>To Winthrop the question seemed superfluous. -He jumped to his feet, and peered up into the -darkness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are <i>you</i>?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At the window,” came the answer. “We’re in -the back yard. Mr. Sam wants to speak to you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>On Miss Forbes’s account, Winthrop gave a -gasp of relief. On his own, one of savage satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And <i>I</i> want to speak to <i>him</i>!” he whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The moonlight, which had been faintly shining -through the iron bars of the coal chute, was -eclipsed by a head and shoulders. The comfortable -voice of Sam Forbes greeted him in a playful -whisper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hullo, Billy! You down there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where the devil did you think I was?” Winthrop -answered at white heat. “Let me tell you -if I was not down here I’d be punching your -head.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s all right, Billy,” Sam answered soothingly. -“But I’ll save you just the same. It -shall never be said of Sam Forbes he deserted a -comrade——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop that! Do you know,” Winthrop demanded -fiercely, “that your sister is a prisoner -upstairs?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do,” replied the unfeeling brother, “but -she won’t be long. All the low-comedy parts are -out now arranging a rescue.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who are? Todd and those boys?” demanded -Winthrop. “They mustn’t think of it! They’ll -only make it worse. It is impossible to get your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>sister out of here with those drunken firemen in -the building. You must wait till they’ve gone -home. Do you hear me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pardon <i>me</i>!” returned Sam stiffly, “but this -is <i>my</i> relief expedition. I have sent two of the -boys to hold the bridge, like Horatius, and two to -guard the motors, and the others are going to -entice the firemen away from the engine-house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Entice them? How?” demanded Winthrop. -“They’re drunk, and they won’t leave here till -morning.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Outside the engine-house, suspended from a -heavy cross-bar, was a steel rail borrowed from a -railroad track, and bent into a hoop. When hit -with a sledge-hammer it proclaimed to Fairport -that the “consuming element” was at large.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the moment Winthrop asked his question, -over the village of Fairport and over the bay and -marshes, and far out across the Sound, the great -steel bar sent forth a shuddering boom of warning.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From the room above came a wild tumult of -joyous yells.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Fire!” shrieked the vamps, “fire!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The two men crouching by the cellar window -heard the rush of feet, the engine banging and -bumping across the sidewalk, its brass bell clanking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>crazily, the happy vamps shouting hoarse, -incoherent orders.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Through the window Sam lowered a bag of -tools he had taken from Winthrop’s car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can you open the lock with any of these?” -he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can kick it open!” yelled Winthrop joyfully. -“Get to your sister, quick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He threw his shoulder against the door, and the -staples flying before him sent him sprawling in -the coal-dust. When he reached the head of the -stairs, Beatrice Forbes was descending from the -club-room, and in front of the door the two cars, -with their lamps unlit and numbers hidden, were -panting to be free.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And in the north, reaching to the sky, rose a -roaring column of flame, shameless in the pale -moonlight, dragging into naked day the sleeping -village, the shingled houses, the clock-face in the -church steeple.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What the devil have you done?” gasped Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Before he answered, Sam waited until the cars -were rattling to safety across the bridge.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have been protecting the face of nature,” -he shouted. “The only way to get that gang out -of the engine-house was to set fire to something. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>Tommy wanted to burn up the railroad station, -because he doesn’t like the New York and New -Haven, and Fred was for setting fire to Judge -Allen’s house, because he was rude to Beatrice. -But we finally formed the Village Improvement -Society, organized to burn all advertising signs. -You know those that stood in the marshes, and -hid the view from the trains, so that you could -not see the Sound. We chopped them down and -put them in a pile, and poured gasolene on them, -and that fire is all that is left of the pickles, flyscreens, -and pills.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was midnight when the cars drew up at the -door of the house of Forbes. Anxiously waiting -in the library were Mrs. Forbes and Ernest Peabody.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“At last!” cried Mrs. Forbes, smiling her relief; -“we thought maybe Sam and you had decided to -spend the night in New Haven.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said Miss Forbes, “there <i>was</i> some talk -about spending the night at Fairport, but we -pushed right on.”</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span> - <h3 class='c001'>II<br> <span class='large'>THE TRESPASSERS</span></h3> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>With a long, nervous shudder, the Scarlet -Car came to a stop, and the lamps bored -a round hole in the night, leaving the rest of the -encircling world in a chill and silent darkness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The lamps showed a flickering picture of a -country road between high banks covered with -loose stones, and overhead, a fringe of pine boughs. -It looked like a colored photograph thrown from -a stereopticon in a darkened theatre.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From the back of the car the voice of the owner -said briskly: “We will now sing that beautiful -ballad entitled ‘He Is Sleeping in the Yukon Vale -To-night.’ What are you stopping for, Fred?” -he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The tone of the chauffeur suggested he was -again upon the defensive.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For water, sir,” he mumbled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes in the front seat laughed, and her -brother in the rear seat groaned in dismay.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>“Oh, for water?” said the owner cordially. -“I thought maybe it was for coal.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Save a dignified silence, there was no answer to -this, until there came a rolling of loose stones and -the sound of a heavy body suddenly precipitated -down the bank, and landing with a thump in the -road.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He didn’t get the water,” said the owner -sadly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you hurt, Fred?” asked the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The chauffeur limped in front of the lamps, -appearing suddenly, like an actor stepping into -the lime-light.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, ma’am,” he said. In the rays of the -lamp, he unfolded a road map and scowled at it. -He shook his head aggrievedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There <i>ought</i> to be a house just about here,” -he explained.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There <i>ought</i> to be a hotel and a garage, and -a cold supper, just about here,” said the girl -cheerfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s the way with those houses,” complained -the owner. “They never stay where -they’re put. At night they go around and visit -each other. Where do you think you are, Fred?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think we’re in that long woods, between -Loon Lake and Stoughton on the Boston Pike,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>said the chauffeur, “and,” he reiterated, “there -<i>ought</i> to be a house somewhere about here—where -we get water.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, get there, then, and get the water,” -commanded the owner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I can’t get there, sir, till I get the water,” -returned the chauffeur.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He shook out two collapsible buckets, and -started down the shaft of light.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I won’t be more nor five minutes,” he called.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m going with him,” said the girl. “I’m cold.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She stepped down from the front seat, and the -owner with sudden alacrity vaulted the door and -started after her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You coming?” he inquired of Ernest Peabody. -But Ernest Peabody being soundly asleep -made no reply. Winthrop turned to Sam. “Are -<i>you</i> coming?” he repeated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The tone of the invitation seemed to suggest that -a refusal would not necessarily lead to a quarrel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am <i>not</i>!” said the brother. “You’ve kept -Peabody and me twelve hours in the open air, and -it’s past two, and we’re going to sleep. You can -take it from me that we are going to spend the rest -of this night here in this road.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He moved his cramped joints cautiously, and -stretched his legs the full width of the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>“If you can’t get plain water,” he called, “get -club soda.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He buried his nose in the collar of his fur coat, -and the odors of camphor and raccoon skins instantly -assailed him, but he only yawned luxuriously -and disappeared into the coat as a turtle -draws into its shell. From the woods about him -the smell of the pine needles pressed upon him -like a drug, and before the footsteps of his companions -were lost in the silence he was asleep. -But his sleep was only a review of his waking -hours. Still on either hand rose flying dust clouds -and twirling leaves; still on either side raced gray -stone walls, telegraph poles, hills rich in autumn -colors; and before him a long white road, unending, -interminable, stretching out finally into a -darkness lit by flashing shop-windows, like open -fireplaces, by street lamps, by swinging electric -globes, by the blinding searchlights of hundreds -of darting trolley cars with terrifying gongs, and -then a cold white mist, and again on every side, -darkness, except where the four great lamps -blazed a path through stretches of ghostly woods.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the two young men slumbered, the lamps -spluttered and sizzled like bacon in a frying-pan, -a stone rolled noisily down the bank, a white -owl, both appalled and fascinated by the dazzling -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>eyes of the monster blocking the road, -hooted, and flapped itself away. But the men in -the car only shivered slightly, deep in the sleep of -utter weariness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In silence the girl and Winthrop followed the -chauffeur. They had passed out of the light of -the lamps, and in the autumn mist the electric -torch of the owner was as ineffective as a glowworm. -The mystery of the forest fell heavily -upon them. From their feet the dead leaves sent -up a clean, damp odor, and on either side and -overhead the giant pine-trees whispered and rustled -in the night wind.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take my coat, too,” said the young man. -“You’ll catch cold.” He spoke with authority -and began to slip the loops from the big horn -buttons. It was not the habit of the girl to consider -her health. Nor did she permit the members -of her family to show solicitude concerning -it. But the anxiety of the young man did not -seem to offend her. She thanked him generously. -“No; these coats are hard to walk in, and -I want to walk,” she exclaimed. “I like to hear -the leaves rustle when you kick them, don’t you? -When I was so high, I used to pretend it was -wading in the surf.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man moved over to the gutter of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>the road where the leaves were deepest and kicked -violently. “And the more noise you make,” he said, -“the more you frighten away the wild animals.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl shuddered in a most helpless and fascinating -fashion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t!” she whispered. “I didn’t mention -it, but already I have seen several lions crouching -behind the trees.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Indeed?” said the young man. His tone was -preoccupied. He had just kicked a rock, hidden -by the leaves, and was standing on one leg.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you mean you don’t believe me?” asked -the girl, “or is it that you are merely brave?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Merely brave!” exclaimed the young man. -“Massachusetts is so far north for lions,” he continued, -“that I fancy what you saw was a grizzly -bear. But I have my trusty electric torch with -me, and if there is anything a bear cannot abide, -it is to be pointed at by an electric torch.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let us pretend,” cried the girl, “that we are -the babes in the wood, and that we are lost.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We don’t have to pretend we’re lost,” said -the man; “and as I remember it, the babes came -to a sad end. Didn’t they die, and didn’t the -birds bury them with leaves?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sam and Mr. Peabody can be the birds,” -suggested the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>“Sam and Peabody hopping around with leaves -in their teeth would look silly,” objected the man. -“I doubt if I could keep from laughing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then,” said the girl, “they can be the wicked -robbers who came to kill the babes.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Very well,” said the man with suspicious alacrity, -“let us be babes. If I have to die,” he went -on heartily, “I would rather die with you than -live with any one else.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When he had spoken, although they were entirely -alone in the world and quite near to each -other, it was as though the girl could not hear -him, even as though he had not spoken at all. -After a silence, the girl said: “Perhaps it would -be better for us to go back to the car.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I won’t do it again,” begged the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We will pretend,” cried the girl, “that the -car is a van and that we are gypsies, and we’ll -build a camp-fire, and I will tell your fortune.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are the only woman who can,” muttered -the young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl still stood in her tracks.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You said—” she began.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know,” interrupted the man, “but you -won’t let me talk seriously, so I joke. But some -day——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, look!” cried the girl. “There’s Fred.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>She ran from him down the road. The young -man followed her slowly, his fists deep in the -pockets of the great-coat, and kicking at the unoffending -leaves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The chauffeur was peering through a double -iron gate hung between square brick posts. The -lower hinge of one gate was broken, and that gate -lurched forward, leaving an opening. By the -light of the electric torch they could see the beginning -of a driveway, rough and weed-grown, lined -with trees of great age and bulk, and an unkempt -lawn, strewn with bushes, and beyond, in an open -place bare of trees and illuminated faintly by the -stars, the shadow of a house, black, silent, and -forbidding.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s it,” whispered the chauffeur. “I was -here before. The well is over there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man gave a gasp of astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why,” he protested, “this is the Carey place! -I should say we <i>were</i> lost. We must have left -the road an hour ago. There’s not another house -within miles.” But he made no movement to -enter. “Of all places!” he muttered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then,” urged the girl briskly, “if there’s -no other house, let’s tap Mr. Carey’s well and -get on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know who he is?” asked the man.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>The girl laughed. “You don’t need a letter of -introduction to take a bucket of water, do you?” -she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s Philip Carey’s house. He lives here.” -He spoke in a whisper, and insistently, as though -the information must carry some special significance. -But the girl showed no sign of enlightenment. -“You remember the Carey boys?” he -urged. “They left Harvard the year I entered. -They <i>had</i> to leave. They were quite mad. All -the Careys have been mad. The boys were queer -even then, and awfully rich. Henry ran away -with a girl from a shoe factory in Brockton and -lives in Paris, and Philip was sent here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i>Sent</i> here?” repeated the girl. Unconsciously -her voice also had sunk to a whisper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He has a doctor and a nurse and keepers, and -they live here all the year round. When Fred -said there were people hereabouts, I thought we -might strike them for something to eat, or even -to put up for the night, but, Philip Carey! I -shouldn’t fancy——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I should think not!” exclaimed the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a minute the three stood silent, peering -through the iron bars.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And the worst of it is,” went on the young man -irritably, “he could give us such good things to eat.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>“It doesn’t look it,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know,” continued the man in the same -eager whisper. “But—who was it telling me? -Some doctor I know who came down to see him. -He said Carey does himself awfully well, has the -house full of bully pictures, and the family plate, -and wonderful collections—things he picked up in -the East—gold ornaments, and jewels, and jade.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I shouldn’t think,” said the girl in the same -hushed voice, “they would let him live so far -from any neighbors with such things in the house. -Suppose burglars——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Burglars! Burglars would never hear of this -place. How could they? Even his friends think -it’s just a private mad-house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl shivered and drew back from the gate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Fred coughed apologetically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i>I’ve</i> heard of it,” he volunteered. “There was -a piece in the <cite>Sunday Post</cite>. It said he eats his -dinner in a diamond crown, and all the walls -is gold, and two monkeys wait on table with -gold——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense!” said the man sharply. “He eats -like any one else and dresses like any one else. -How far is the well from the house?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s purty near,” said the chauffeur.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pretty near the house, or pretty near here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>“Just outside the kitchen; and it makes a -creaky noise.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You mean you don’t want to go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Fred’s answer was unintelligible.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You wait here with Miss Forbes,” said the -young man. “And I’ll get the water.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir!” said Fred, quite distinctly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, sir!” said Miss Forbes, with equal distinctness. -“I’m not going to be left here alone—with -all these trees. I’m going with you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There may be a dog,” suggested the young -man, “or, I was thinking if they heard me prowling -about, they might take a shot—just for luck. -Why don’t you go back to the car with Fred?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Down that long road in the dark?” exclaimed -the girl. “Do you think I have no imagination?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man in front, the girl close on his heels, -and the boy with the buckets following, crawled -through the broken gate, and moved cautiously -up the gravel driveway.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Within fifty feet of the house the courage of the -chauffeur returned.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You wait here,” he whispered, “and if I wake -’em up, you shout to ’em that it’s all right, that -it’s only me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your idea being,” said the young man, “that -they will then fire at me. Clever lad. Run along.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>There was a rustling of the dead weeds, and -instantly the chauffeur was swallowed in the encompassing -shadows.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes leaned toward the young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you see a light in that lower story?” she -whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said the man. “Where?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>After a pause the girl answered: “I can’t see -it now, either. Maybe I didn’t see it. It was -very faint—just a glow—it might have been phosphorescence.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It might,” said the man. He gave a shrug -of distaste. “The whole place is certainly old -enough and decayed enough.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a brief space they stood quite still, and at -once, accentuated by their own silence, the noises -of the night grew in number and distinctness. A -slight wind had risen and the boughs of the pines -rocked restlessly, making mournful complaint; -and at their feet the needles dropping in a gentle -desultory shower had the sound of rain in springtime. -From every side they were startled by -noises they could not place. Strange movements -and rustlings caused them to peer sharply into -the shadows; footsteps, that seemed to approach, -and then, having marked them, skulk away; -branches of bushes that suddenly swept together, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>as though closing behind some one in stealthy -retreat. Although they knew that in the deserted -garden they were alone, they felt that from the -shadows they were being spied upon, that the -darkness of the place was peopled by malign presences.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man drew a cigar from his case and -put it unlit between his teeth.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Cheerful, isn’t it?” he growled. “These dead -leaves make it damp as a tomb. If I’ve seen one -ghost, I’ve seen a dozen. I believe we’re standing -in the Carey family’s graveyard.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought you were brave,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am,” returned the young man, “very brave. -But if you had the most wonderful girl on earth -to take care of in the grounds of a mad-house at -two in the morning, you’d be scared too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He was abruptly surprised by Miss Forbes laying -her hand firmly upon his shoulder and turning -him in the direction of the house. Her face -was so near his that he felt the uneven fluttering -of her breath upon his cheek.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There is a man,” she said, “standing behind -that tree.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>By the faint light of the stars he saw, in black -silhouette, a shoulder and head projecting from -beyond the trunk of a huge oak, and then quickly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>withdrawn. The owner of the head and shoulder -was on the side of the tree nearest to themselves, -his back turned to them, and so deeply was his -attention engaged that he was unconscious of -their presence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is watching the house,” said the girl. -“Why is he doing that?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think it’s Fred,” whispered the man. “He’s -afraid to go for the water. That’s as far as he’s -gone.” He was about to move forward when -from the oak-tree there came a low whistle. The -girl and the man stood silent and motionless. -But they knew it was useless; that they had been -overheard. A voice spoke cautiously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That you?” it asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With the idea only of gaining time, the young -man responded promptly and truthfully. “Yes,” -he whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Keep to the right of the house,” commanded -the voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man seized Miss Forbes by the wrist -and moving to the right drew her quickly with -him. He did not stop until they had turned the -corner of the building and were once more hidden -by the darkness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The plot thickens,” he said. “I take it that -that fellow is a keeper, or watchman. He spoke -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>as though it were natural there should be another -man in the grounds, so there’s probably two of -them, either to keep Carey in or to keep trespassers -out. Now, I think I’ll go back and tell -him that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a -pail of water, and that all they want is to be allowed -to get the water, and go.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why should a watchman hide behind a tree?” -asked the girl. “And why——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She ceased abruptly with a sharp cry of fright. -“What’s that?” she whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What’s what?” asked the young man startled. -“What did you hear?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Over there,” stammered the girl. “Something—that—groaned.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Pretty soon this will get on my nerves,” said -the man. He ripped open his great-coat and -reached under it. “I’ve been stoned twice, when -there were women in the car,” he said, apologetically, -“and so now at night I carry a gun.” He -shifted the darkened torch to his left hand, and, -moving a few yards, halted to listen. The girl, -reluctant to be left alone, followed slowly. As he -stood immovable there came from the leaves just -beyond him the sound of a feeble struggle, and a -strangled groan. The man bent forward and -flashed the torch. He saw stretched rigid on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>ground a huge wolf-hound. Its legs were twisted -horribly, the lips drawn away from the teeth, the -eyes glazed in an agony of pain. The man -snapped off the light. “Keep back!” he whispered -to the girl. He took her by the arm and -ran with her toward the gate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who was it?” she begged.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It was a dog,” he answered. “I think——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He did not tell her what he thought.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ve got to find out what the devil has happened -to Fred!” he said. “You go back to the -car. Send your brother here on the run. Tell -him there’s going to be a rough-house. You’re -not afraid to go?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A shadow blacker than the night rose suddenly -before them, and a voice asked sternly but quietly: -“What are you doing here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man lifted his arm clear of the girl, -and shoved her quickly from him. In his hand -she felt the pressure of the revolver.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” he replied truculently, “and what are -you doing here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am the night watchman,” answered the voice. -“Who are you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>It struck Miss Forbes if the watchman knew -that one of the trespassers was a woman he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>would be at once reassured, and she broke in -quickly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We have lost our way,” she said pleasantly. -“We came here——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>She found herself staring blindly down a -shaft of light. For an instant the torch held -her, and then from her swept over the young -man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Drop that gun!” cried the voice. It was no -longer the same voice; it was now savage and -snarling. For answer the young man pressed -the torch in his left hand, and, held in the two -circles of light, the men surveyed each other. -The new-comer was one of unusual bulk and -height. The collar of his overcoat hid his mouth, -and his derby hat was drawn down over his forehead, -but what they saw showed an intelligent, -strong face, although for the moment it wore a -menacing scowl. The young man dropped his -revolver into his pocket.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My automobile ran dry,” he said; “we came -in here to get some water. My chauffeur is back -there somewhere with a couple of buckets. This -is Mr. Carey’s place, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take that light out of my eyes!” said the -watchman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Take your light out of my eyes,” returned the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>young man. “You can see we’re not—we don’t -mean any harm.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The two lights disappeared simultaneously, and -then each, as though worked by the same hand, -sprang forth again.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What did you think I was going to do?” the -young man asked. He laughed and switched off -his torch.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the one the watchman held in his hand -still moved from the face of the girl to that of the -young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How’d you know this was the Carey house?” -he demanded. “Do you know Mr. Carey?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, but I know this is his house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a moment from behind his mask of light -the watchman surveyed them in silence. Then -he spoke quickly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll take you to him,” he said, “if he thinks -it’s all right, it’s all right.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl gave a protesting cry. The young -man burst forth indignantly:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will <i>not</i>!” he cried. “Don’t be an idiot! -You talk like a Tenderloin cop. Do we look like -second-story workers?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I found you prowling around Mr. Carey’s -grounds at two in the morning,” said the watchman -sharply, “with a gun in your hand. My -job is to protect this place, and I am going to -take you both to Mr. Carey.”</p> -<div id='i_056' class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/i_056.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>In the two circles of light the men surveyed each other</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>Until this moment the young man could see -nothing save the shaft of light and the tiny glowing -bulb at its base; now into the light there protruded -a black revolver.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Keep your hands up, and walk ahead of me -to the house,” commanded the watchman. “The -woman will go in front.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man did not move. Under his -breath he muttered impotently, and bit at his -lower lip.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“See here,” he said, “I’ll go with you, but you -sha’n’t take this lady in front of that madman. -Let her go to her car. It’s only a hundred yards -from here; you know perfectly well she——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know where your car is, all right,” said the -watchman steadily, “and I’m not going to let -you get away in it till Mr. Carey’s seen you.” -The revolver motioned forward. Miss Forbes -stepped in front of it and appealed eagerly to the -young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do what he says,” she urged. “It’s only -his duty. Please! Indeed, I don’t mind.” She -turned to the watchman. “Which way do you -want us to go?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Keep in the light,” he ordered.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>The light showed the broad steps leading to the -front entrance of the house, and in its shaft they -climbed them, pushed open the unlocked door, -and stood in a small hallway. It led into a greater -hall beyond. By the electric lights still burning -they noted that the interior of the house was as -rich and well cared for as the outside was miserable. -With a gesture for silence the watchman -motioned them into a small room on the right of -the hallway. It had the look of an office, and was -apparently the place in which were conducted -the affairs of the estate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In an open grate was a dying fire; in front of it -a flat desk covered with papers and japanned tin -boxes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You stay here till I fetch Mr. Carey and the -servants,” commanded the watchman. “Don’t -try to get out, and,” he added menacingly, “don’t -make no noise.” With his revolver he pointed -at the two windows. They were heavily barred. -“Those bars keep Mr. Carey in,” he said, “and -I guess they can keep you in, too. The other -watchman,” he added, “will be just outside this -door.” But still he hesitated, glowering with -suspicion; unwilling to trust them alone. His -face lit with an ugly smile.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Carey’s very bad to-night,” he said; “he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>won’t keep his bed and he’s wandering about -the house. If he found you by yourselves, he -might——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man, who had been staring at the -fire, swung sharply on his heel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Get-to-hell-out-of-here!” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The watchman stepped into the hall and was -cautiously closing the door when a man sprang -lightly up the front steps. Through the inch crack -left by the open door the trespassers heard the -new-comer’s eager greeting.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t get him right!” he panted. “He’s -snoring like a hog.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The watchman exclaimed savagely:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He’s fooling you.” He gasped. “I didn’t -mor’ nor slap him. Did you throw water on him?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I drowned him!” returned the other. “He -never winked. I tell you we gotta walk, and -damn quick!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Walk!” The watchman cursed him foully. -“How far could we walk? <i>I’ll</i> bring him to,” -he swore. “He’s scared of us, and he’s shamming.” -He gave a sudden start of alarm. -“That’s it, he’s shamming. You fool! You -shouldn’t have left him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was the swift patter of retreating footsteps, -and then a sudden halt, and they heard the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>watchman command: “Go back, and keep the -other two till I come.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The next instant from the outside the door was -softly closed upon them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It had no more than shut when to the surprise -of Miss Forbes the young man, with a delighted -and vindictive chuckle, sprang to the desk and -began to drum upon it with his fingers. It was -as though he were practising upon a type-writer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He missed <i>these</i>,” he muttered jubilantly. -The girl leaned forward. Beneath his fingers she -saw, flush with the table, a roll of little ivory buttons. -She read the words “Stables,” “Servants’ -hall.” She raised a pair of very beautiful and -very bewildered eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But if he wanted the servants, why didn’t the -watchman do that?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because he isn’t a watchman,” answered the -young man. “Because he’s robbing this house.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He took the revolver from his encumbering -great-coat, slipped it in his pocket, and threw the -coat from him. He motioned the girl into a corner. -“Keep out of the line of the door,” he -ordered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t understand,” begged the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They came in a car,” whispered the young -man. “It’s broken down, and they can’t get -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>away. When the big fellow stopped us and I -flashed my torch, I saw their car behind him in -the road with the front off and the lights out. -He’d seen the lamps of our car, and now they -want it to escape in. That’s why he brought us -here—to keep us away from our car.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And Fred!” gasped the girl. “Fred’s hurt!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I guess Fred stumbled into the big fellow,” -assented the young man, “and the big fellow put -him out; then he saw Fred was a chauffeur, and -now they are trying to bring him to, so that he -can run the car for them. You needn’t worry -about Fred. He’s been in four smash-ups.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man bent forward to listen, but -from no part of the great house came any sign. -He exclaimed angrily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They must be drugged,” he growled. He ran -to the desk and made vicious jabs at the ivory -buttons.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Suppose they’re out of order!” he whispered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was the sound of leaping feet. The -young man laughed nervously. “No, it’s all -right,” he cried. “They’re coming!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The door flung open and the big burglar and a -small, rat-like figure of a man burst upon them; -the big one pointing a revolver.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come with me to your car!” he commanded. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>“You’ve got to take us to Boston. Quick, or I’ll -blow your face off.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Although the young man glared bravely at the -steel barrel and the lifted trigger, poised a few -inches from his eyes, his body, as though weak -with fright, shifted slightly and his feet made a -shuffling noise upon the floor. When the weight -of his body was balanced on the ball of his right -foot, the shuffling ceased. Had the burglar lowered -his eyes, the manœuvre to him would have -been significant, but his eyes were following the -barrel of the revolver.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In the mind of the young man the one thought -uppermost was that he must gain time, but, with -a revolver in his face, he found his desire to gain -time swiftly diminishing. Still, when he spoke, it -was with deliberation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My chauffeur—” he began slowly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The burglar snapped at him like a dog. “To -hell with your chauffeur!” he cried. “Your -chauffeur has run away. You’ll drive that car -yourself, or I’ll leave you here with the top of -your head off.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The face of the young man suddenly flashed -with pleasure. His eyes, looking past the burglar -to the door, lit with relief.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There’s the chauffeur now!” he cried.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>The big burglar for one instant glanced over -his right shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For months at a time, on Soldiers’ Field, the -young man had thrown himself at human targets, -that ran and dodged and evaded him, and the -hulking burglar, motionless before him, was easily -his victim.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He leaped at him, his left arm swinging like a -scythe, and, with the impact of a club, the blow -caught the burglar in the throat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The pistol went off impotently; the burglar with -a choking cough sank in a heap on the floor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man tramped over him and upon -him, and beat the second burglar with savage, -whirlwind blows. The second burglar, shrieking -with pain, turned to fly, and a fist, that fell upon -him where his bump of honesty should have been, -drove his head against the lintel of the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the same instant from the belfry on the roof -there rang out on the night the sudden tumult of -a bell; a bell that told as plainly as though it -clamored with a human tongue, that the hand -that rang it was driven with fear; fear of fire, fear -of thieves, fear of a madman with a knife in his -hand running amuck; perhaps at that moment -creeping up the belfry stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From all over the house there was the rush of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>feet and men’s voices, and from the garden the -light of dancing lanterns. And while the smoke -of the revolver still hung motionless, the open -door was crowded with half-clad figures. At their -head were two young men. One who had drawn -over his night-clothes a serge suit, and who, in -even that garb, carried an air of authority; and -one, tall, stooping, weak of face and light-haired, -with eyes that blinked and trembled behind great -spectacles, and who, for comfort, hugged about -him a gorgeous kimono. For an instant the -new-comers stared stupidly through the smoke at -the bodies on the floor breathing stertorously, at -the young man with the lust of battle still in his -face, at the girl shrinking against the wall. It -was the young man in the serge suit who was the -first to move.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who are you?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“These are burglars,” said the owner of the -car. “We happened to be passing in my automobile, -and——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man was no longer listening. With -an alert, professional manner he had stooped over -the big burglar. With his thumb he pushed back -the man’s eyelids, and ran his fingers over his -throat and chin. He felt carefully of the point of -the chin, and glanced up.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“You’ve broken the bone,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I just swung on him,” said the young man. -He turned his eyes, and suggested the presence -of the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the same moment the man in the kimono -cried nervously: “Ladies present, ladies present. -Go put your clothes on, everybody; put your -clothes on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>For orders the men in the doorway looked to -the young man with the stern face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He scowled at the figure in the kimono.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will please go to your room, sir,” he said. -He stood up, and bowed to Miss Forbes. “I beg -your pardon,” he asked, “you must want to get -out of this. Will you please go into the library?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He turned to the robust youths in the door, and -pointed at the second burglar.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Move him out of the way,” he ordered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man in the kimono smirked and bowed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Allow me,” he said; “allow me to show you -to the library. This is no place for ladies.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man with the stern face frowned -impatiently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You will please return to your room, sir,” he -repeated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With an attempt at dignity the figure in the -kimono gathered the silk robe closer about him.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>“Certainly,” he said. “If you think you can -get on without me—I will retire,” and lifting his -bare feet mincingly, he tiptoed away. Miss -Forbes looked after him with an expression of -relief, of repulsion, of great pity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The owner of the car glanced at the young -man with the stern face, and raised his eyebrows -interrogatively.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man had taken the revolver from -the limp fingers of the burglar and was holding -it in his hand. Winthrop gave what was half a -laugh and half a sigh of compassion.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So, that’s Carey?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a sudden silence. The young man -with the stern face made no answer. His head -was bent over the revolver. He broke it open, -and spilled the cartridges into his palm. Still he -made no answer. When he raised his head, his -eyes were no longer stern, but wistful, and filled -with an inexpressible loneliness.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, <i>I</i> am Carey,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The one who had blundered stood helpless, -tongue-tied, with no presence of mind beyond -knowing that to explain would offend further.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The other seemed to feel for him more than for -himself. In a voice low and peculiarly appealing, -he continued hurriedly.</p> -<div id='i_066' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_066.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>“You’ve broken the bone,” he said</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>“He is my doctor,” he said. “He is a young -man, and he has not had many advantages—his -manner is not—I find we do not get on together. -I have asked them to send me some one else.” -He stopped suddenly, and stood unhappily silent. -The knowledge that the strangers were acquainted -with his story seemed to rob him of his earlier -confidence. He made an uncertain movement as -though to relieve them of his presence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes stepped toward him eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You told me I might wait in the library,” she -said. “Will you take me there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a moment the man did not move, but stood -looking at the young and beautiful girl, who, with -a smile, hid the compassion in her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Will you go?” he asked wistfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why not?” said the girl.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young man laughed with pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am unpardonable,” he said. “I live so -much alone—that I forget.” Like one who, issuing -from a close room, encounters the morning air, -he drew a deep, happy breath. “It has been three -years since a woman has been in this house,” he -said simply. “And I have not even thanked -you,” he went on, “nor asked you if you are cold,” -he cried remorsefully, “or hungry. How nice it -would be if you would say you are hungry.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>The girl walked beside him, laughing lightly, -and, as they disappeared into the greater hall -beyond, Winthrop heard her cry: “You never -robbed your own ice-chest? How have you kept -from starving? Show me it, and we’ll rob it -together.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The voice of their host rang through the empty -house with a laugh like that of an eager, happy -child.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Heavens!” said the owner of the car, “isn’t -she wonderful!” But neither the prostrate burglars, -nor the servants, intent on strapping their -wrists together, gave him any answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As they were finishing the supper filched from -the ice-chest, Fred was brought before them from -the kitchen. The blow the burglar had given -him was covered with a piece of cold beefsteak, -and the water thrown on him to revive him was -thawing from his leather breeches. Mr. Carey -expressed his gratitude, and rewarded him beyond -the avaricious dreams even of a chauffeur.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the three trespassers left the house, accompanied -by many pails of water, the girl turned to -the lonely figure in the doorway and waved her -hand.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“May we come again?” she called.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But young Mr. Carey did not trust his voice to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>answer. Standing erect, with folded arms, in -dark silhouette in the light of the hall, he bowed -his head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Deaf to alarm bells, to pistol shots, to cries for -help, they found her brother and Ernest Peabody -sleeping soundly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sam is a charming chaperon,” said the owner -of the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With the girl beside him, with Fred crouched, -shivering, on the step, he threw in the clutch; the -servants from the house waved the emptied buckets -in salute, and the great car sprang forward -into the awakening day toward the golden dome -over the Boston Common. In the rear seat Peabody -shivered and yawned, and then sat erect.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Did you get the water?” he demanded, -anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a grim silence.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said the owner of the car patiently. -“You needn’t worry any longer. We got the -water.”</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span> - <h3 class='c001'>III<br> <span class='large'>THE KIDNAPPERS</span></h3> -</div> - -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>During the last two weeks of the “whirlwind” -campaign, automobiles had carried -the rival candidates to every election district in -Greater New York.</p> - -<p class='c012'>During these two weeks, at the disposal of -Ernest Peabody—on the Reform Ticket “the -people’s choice for Lieutenant-Governor”—Winthrop -had placed his Scarlet Car, and, as its -chauffeur, himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Not that Winthrop greatly cared for Reform or -Ernest Peabody. The “whirlwind” part of the -campaign was what attracted him; the crowds, -the bands, the fireworks, the rush by night from -hall to hall, from Fordham to Tompkinsville. -And while, inside the different Lyceums, Peabody -lashed the Tammany Tiger, outside, in his -car, Winthrop was making friends with Tammany -policemen, and his natural enemies, the -bicycle cops. To Winthrop, the day in which he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>did not increase his acquaintance with the traffic -squad was a day lost.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But the real reason for his efforts in the cause -of Reform was one he could not declare. And it -was a reason that was guessed perhaps by only -one person. On some nights Beatrice Forbes and -her brother Sam accompanied Peabody. And -while Peabody sat in the rear of the car, mumbling -the speech he would next deliver, Winthrop -was given the chance to talk with her. These -chances were growing cruelly few. In one month -after election day Miss Forbes and Peabody -would be man and wife. Once before the day of -their marriage had been fixed, but, when the -Reform Party offered Peabody a high place on -its ticket, he asked, in order that he might bear -his part in the cause of reform, that the wedding -be postponed. To the postponement Miss Forbes -made no objection. To one less self-centred than -Peabody, it might have appeared that she almost -too readily consented.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I knew I could count upon your seeing my -duty as I saw it,” said Peabody, much pleased; -“it always will be a satisfaction to both of us to -remember you never stood between me and my -work for reform.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What do you think my brother-in-law-to-be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>has done now?” demanded Sam of Winthrop, -as the Scarlet Car swept into Jerome Avenue. -“He’s postponed his marriage with Trix just -because he has a chance to be Lieutenant-Governor. -What is a Lieutenant-Governor anyway, -do you know? I don’t like to ask Peabody.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s not his own election he’s working for,” -said Winthrop. He was conscious of an effort to -assume a point of view both noble and magnanimous. -“He probably feels the ‘cause’ calls him. -But, good Heavens!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Look out!” shrieked Sam; “where are you -going?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop swung the car back into the avenue.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To think,” he cried, “that a man who could -marry—a girl, and then would ask her to wait -two months. Or two days! Two months lost -out of his life, and she might die; he might lose -her; she might change her mind. Any number of -men can be Lieutenant-Governors; only one man -can be——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He broke off suddenly, coughed, and fixed his -eyes miserably on the road. After a brief pause, -Brother Sam covertly looked at him. Could it -be that “Billie” Winthrop, the man liked of all -men, should love his sister, and that she should -prefer Ernest Peabody? He was deeply, loyally -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>indignant. He determined to demand of his sister -an immediate and abject apology.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At eight o’clock on the morning of election day, -Peabody, in the Scarlet Car, was on his way to -vote. He lived at Riverside Drive, and the polling-booth -was only a few blocks distant. During -the rest of the day he intended to use the car -to visit other election districts, and to keep him -in touch with the Reformers at the Gilsey House. -Winthrop was acting as his chauffeur, and in the -rear seat was Miss Forbes. Peabody had asked -her to accompany him to the polling-booth, because -he thought women who believed in reform -should show their interest in it in public, before -all men. Miss Forbes disagreed with him, chiefly -because whenever she sat in a box at any of the -public meetings the artists from the newspapers, -instead of immortalizing the candidate, made pictures -of her and her hat. After she had seen her -future lord and master cast his vote for reform -and himself, she was to depart by train to Tarrytown. -The Forbes’s country place was there, -and for election day her brother Sam had invited -out some of his friends to play tennis.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As the car darted and dodged up Eighth Avenue, -a man who had been hidden by the stairs -to the Elevated, stepped in front of it. It caught -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>him, and hurled him, like a mail-bag tossed from -a train, against one of the pillars that support the -overhead tracks. Winthrop gave a cry and fell -upon the brakes. The cry was as full of pain -as though he himself had been mangled. Miss -Forbes saw only the man appear, and then disappear, -but Winthrop’s shout of warning, and -the wrench as the brakes locked, told her what -had happened. She shut her eyes, and for an -instant covered them with her hands. On the -front seat Peabody clutched helplessly at the -cushions. In horror his eyes were fastened on -the motionless mass jammed against the pillar. -Winthrop scrambled over him, and ran to where -the man lay. So, apparently, did every other -inhabitant of Eighth Avenue; but Winthrop was -the first to reach him, and kneeling in the car -tracks, he tried to place the head and shoulders of -the body against the iron pillar. He had seen -very few dead men; and to him, this weight in his -arms, this bundle of limp flesh and muddy clothes, -and the purple-bloated face with blood trickling -down it, looked like a dead man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Once or twice when in his car Death had -reached for Winthrop, and only by the scantiest -grace had he escaped. Then the nearness of it -had only sobered him. Now that he believed he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>had brought it to a fellow man, even though he -knew he was in no degree to blame, the thought -sickened and shocked him. His brain trembled -with remorse and horror.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But voices assailing him on every side brought -him to the necessity of the moment. Men were -pressing close upon him, jostling, abusing him, shaking -fists in his face. Another crowd of men, as -though fearing the car would escape of its own volition, -were clinging to the steps and running boards.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop saw Miss Forbes standing above them, -talking eagerly to Peabody, and pointing at him. -He heard children’s shrill voices calling to new arrivals -that an automobile had killed a man; that -it had killed him on purpose. On the outer edge -of the crowd men shouted: “Ah, soak him!” -“Kill him!” “Lynch him!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>A soiled giant without a collar stooped over the -purple, blood-stained face, and then leaped upright, -and shouted: “It’s Jerry Gaylor, he’s killed -old man Gaylor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The response was instant. Every one seemed -to know Jerry Gaylor.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop took the soiled person by the arm.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You help me lift him into my car,” he ordered. -“Take him by the shoulders. We must get him -to a hospital.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>“To a hospital? To the Morgue!” roared the -man. “And the police station for yours. You -don’t do no get-away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop answered him by turning to the -crowd. “If this man has any friends here, they’ll -please help me put him in my car, and we’ll take -him to Roosevelt Hospital.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The soiled person shoved a fist and a bad cigar -under Winthrop’s nose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Has he got any friends?” he mocked. “Sure, -he’s got friends, and they’ll fix you, all right.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Sure!” echoed the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man was encouraged.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t you go away thinking you can come up -here with your buzz wagon and murder better -men nor you’ll ever be and——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, shut up!” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He turned his back on the soiled man, and -again appealed to the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t stand there doing nothing,” he commanded. -“Do you want this man to die? Some -of you ring for an ambulance and get a policeman, -or tell me where is the nearest drug store.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>No one moved, but every one shouted to every -one else to do as Winthrop suggested.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop felt something pulling at his sleeve, -and turning, found Peabody at his shoulder, peering -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>fearfully at the figure in the street. He had -drawn his cap over his eyes and hidden the lower -part of his face in the high collar of his motor -coat.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t do anything, can I?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m afraid not,” whispered Winthrop. “Go -back to the car and don’t leave Beatrice. I’ll -attend to this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s what I thought,” whispered Peabody -eagerly. “I thought she and I had better keep -out of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Right!” exclaimed Winthrop. “Go back and -get Beatrice away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Peabody looked his relief, but still hesitated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t do anything, as you say,” he stammered, -“and it’s sure to get in the ‘extras,’ and -they’ll be out in time to lose us thousands of -votes, and though no one is to blame, they’re -sure to blame me. I don’t care about myself,” -he added eagerly, “but the very morning of election—half -the city has not voted yet—the -Ticket——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Damn the Ticket!” exclaimed Winthrop. -“The man’s dead!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Peabody, burying his face still deeper in his -collar, backed into the crowd. In the present -and past campaigns, from carts and automobiles -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>he had made many speeches in Harlem, and on -the West Side lithographs of his stern, resolute -features hung in every delicatessen shop, and -that he might be recognized was extremely likely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He whispered to Miss Forbes what he had said, -and what Winthrop had said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you <i>don’t</i> mean to leave him,” remarked -Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I must,” returned Peabody. “I can do nothing -for the man, and you know how Tammany -will use this. They’ll have it on the street by -ten. They’ll say I was driving recklessly; without -regard for human life. And, besides, they’re -waiting for me at head-quarters. Please hurry. -I am late now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes gave an exclamation of surprise.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why, I’m not going,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must go! <i>I</i> must go. You can’t remain -here alone.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Peabody spoke in the quick, assured tone that -at the first had convinced Miss Forbes his was a -most masterful manner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Winthrop, too,” he added, “wants you to go -away.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes made no reply. But she looked -at Peabody inquiringly, steadily, as though she -were puzzled as to his identity, as though he had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>just been introduced to her. It made him uncomfortable.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you coming?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her answer was a question.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you going?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am!” returned Peabody. He added sharply: -“I must.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good-by,” said Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As he ran up the steps to the station of the -Elevated, it seemed to Peabody that the tone of -her “good-by” had been most unpleasant. It -was severe, disapproving. It had a final, fateful -sound. He was conscious of a feeling of self-dissatisfaction. -In not seeing the political importance -of his not being mixed up with this accident, -Winthrop had been peculiarly obtuse, and -Beatrice, unsympathetic.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Until he had cast his vote for Reform, he felt -distinctly ill-used.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For a moment Beatrice Forbes sat in the car -motionless, staring unseeingly at the iron steps by -which Peabody had disappeared. For a few -moments her brows were tightly drawn. Then, -having apparently quickly arrived at some conclusion, -she opened the door of the car and pushed -into the crowd.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop received her most rudely.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>“You mustn’t come here!” he cried.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought,” she stammered, “you might want -some one?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I told—” began Winthrop, and then stopped, -and added—“to take you away. Where is he?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes flushed slightly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He’s gone,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>In trying not to look at Winthrop, she saw the -fallen figure, motionless against the pillar, and -with an exclamation, bent fearfully toward it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Can I do anything?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The crowd gave way for her, and with curious -pleased faces, closed in again eagerly. She afforded -them a new interest.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A young man in the uniform of an ambulance -surgeon was kneeling beside the mud-stained -figure, and a police officer was standing over both. -The ambulance surgeon touched lightly the matted -hair from which the blood escaped, stuck his -finger in the eye of the prostrate man, and then -with his open hand slapped him across the face.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh!” gasped Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The young doctor heard her, and looking up, -scowled reprovingly. Seeing she was a rarely -beautiful young woman, he scowled less severely; -and then deliberately and expertly, again slapped -Mr. Jerry Gaylor on the cheek. He watched the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>white mark made by his hand upon the purple -skin, until the blood struggled slowly back to it, -and then rose.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He ignored every one but the police officer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There’s nothing the matter with <i>him</i>,” he -said. “He’s dead drunk.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The words came to Winthrop with such abrupt -relief, bearing so tremendous a burden of gratitude, -that his heart seemed to fail him. In his -suddenly regained happiness, he unconsciously -laughed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Are you sure?” he asked eagerly. “I thought -I’d killed him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The surgeon looked at Winthrop coldly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When they’re like that,” he explained with -authority, “you can’t hurt ’em if you throw them -off <cite>The Times</cite> Building.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He condescended to recognize the crowd. -“You know where this man lives?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Voices answered that Mr. Gaylor lived at the -corner, over the saloon. The voices showed a -lack of sympathy. Old man Gaylor dead was a -novelty; old man Gaylor drunk was not.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The doctor’s prescription was simple and direct.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Put him to bed till he sleeps it off,” he ordered; -he swung himself to the step of the ambulance. -“Let him out, Steve,” he called. There was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>the clang of a gong and the rattle of galloping -hoofs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The police officer approached Winthrop. -“They tell me Jerry stepped in front of your car; -that you wasn’t to blame. I’ll get their names -and where they live. Jerry might try to hold you -up for damages.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you very much,” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>With several of Jerry’s friends, and the soiled -person, who now seemed dissatisfied that Jerry -was alive, Winthrop helped to carry him up one -flight of stairs and drop him upon a bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“In case he needs anything,” said Winthrop, -and gave several bills to the soiled person, upon -whom immediately Gaylor’s other friends closed -in. “And I’ll send my own doctor at once to -attend to him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’d better,” said the soiled person morosely, -“or he’ll try to shake you down.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The opinions as to what might be Mr. Gaylor’s -next move seemed unanimous.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From the saloon below, Winthrop telephoned -to the family doctor, and then rejoined Miss -Forbes and the police officer. The officer gave -him the names of those citizens who had witnessed -the accident, and in return received Winthrop’s -card.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>“Not that it will go any further,” said the -officer reassuringly. “They’re all saying you -acted all right and wanted to take him to Roosevelt. -There’s many,” he added with sententious -indignation, “that knock a man down, and then -run away without waiting to find out if they’ve -hurted ’em or killed ’em.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The speech for both Winthrop and Miss Forbes -was equally embarrassing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You don’t say?” exclaimed Winthrop nervously. -He shook the policeman’s hand. The -handclasp was apparently satisfactory to that -official, for he murmured “Thank you,” and -stuck something in the lining of his helmet. -“Now, then!” Winthrop said briskly to Miss -Forbes, “I think we have done all we can. And -we’ll get away from this place a little faster than -the law allows.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes had seated herself in the car, and -Winthrop was cranking up, when the same policeman, -wearing an anxious countenance, touched -him on the arm. “There is a gentleman here,” -he said, “wants to speak to you.” He placed -himself between the gentleman and Winthrop and -whispered: “He’s ‘Izzy’ Schwab, he’s a Harlem -police-court lawyer and a Tammany man. He’s -after something, look out for him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>Winthrop saw, smiling at him ingratiatingly, a -slight, slim youth, with beady, rat-like eyes, a -low forehead, and a Hebraic nose. He wondered -how it had been possible for Jerry Gaylor -to so quickly secure counsel. But Mr. Schwab -at once undeceived him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m from <cite>The Journal</cite>,” he began, “not regular -on the staff, but I send ’em Harlem items, -and the court reporter treats me nice, see! Now -about this accident; could you give me the name -of the young lady?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He smiled encouragingly at Miss Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I could not!” growled Winthrop. “The man -wasn’t hurt, the policeman will tell you so. It is -not of the least public interest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a deprecatory shrug, the young man -smiled knowingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, mebbe not the lady’s name,” he granted, -“but the name of the <i>other</i> gentleman who was -with you, when the accident occurred.” His -black, rat-like eyes snapped. “I think <i>his</i> name -would be of public interest.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>To gain time Winthrop stepped into the driver’s -seat. He looked at Mr. Schwab steadily.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There was no other gentleman,” he said. -“Do you mean my chauffeur?” Mr. Schwab -gave an appreciative chuckle.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>“No, I don’t mean your chauffeur,” he mimicked. -“I mean,” he declared theatrically in -his best police-court manner, “the man who -to-day is hoping to beat Tammany, Ernest Peabody!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop stared at the youth insolently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t understand you,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, of course not!” jeered “Izzy” Schwab. -He moved excitedly from foot to foot. “Then -who <i>was</i> the other man,” he demanded, “the -man who ran away?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop felt the blood rise to his face. That -Miss Forbes should hear this rat of a man sneering -at the one she was to marry, made him hate -Peabody. But he answered easily:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No one ran away. I told my chauffeur to go -and call up an ambulance. That was the man -you saw.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As when “leading on” a witness to commit -himself, Mr. Schwab smiled sympathetically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And he hasn’t got back yet,” he purred, “has -he?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, and I’m not going to wait for him,” returned -Winthrop. He reached for the clutch, but -Mr. Schwab jumped directly in front of the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Was he looking for a telephone when he ran -up the Elevated steps?” he cried.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>He shook his fists vehemently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, no, Mr. Winthrop, it won’t do—you -make a good witness. I wouldn’t ask for no better, -but, you don’t fool ‘Izzy’ Schwab.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’re mistaken, I tell you,” cried Winthrop -desperately. “He may look like—like this man -you speak of, but no Peabody was in this -car.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Izzy” Schwab wrung his hands hysterically.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, he wasn’t!” he cried, “because he run -away! And left an old man in the street—dead, -for all he knowed—nor cared neither. Yah!” -shrieked the Tammany heeler. “<i>Him</i> a Reformer, -yah!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stand away from my car,” shouted Winthrop, -“or you’ll get hurt.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yah, you’d like to, wouldn’t you?” returned -Mr. Schwab, leaping nimbly to one side. “What -do you think <cite>The Journal</cite> ’ll give me for that -story, hey? ‘Ernest Peabody, the Reformer, Kills -an Old Man, AND RUNS AWAY.’ And hiding -his face, too! I seen him. What do you think -that story’s worth to Tammany, hey? It’s worth -twenty thousand votes!” The young man danced -in front of the car triumphantly, mockingly, in a -frenzy of malice. “Read the extras, that’s all,” -he taunted. “Read ’em in an hour from now!”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>Winthrop glared at the shrieking figure with -fierce, impotent rage; then, with a look of disgust, -he flung the robe off his knees and rose. Mr. -Schwab, fearing bodily injury, backed precipitately -behind the policeman.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Come here,” commanded Winthrop softly. -Mr. Schwab warily approached. “That story,” -said Winthrop, dropping his voice to a low whisper, -“is worth a damn sight more to you than -twenty thousand votes. You take a spin with me -up Riverside Drive where we can talk. Maybe -you and I can ‘make a little business.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the words, the face of Mr. Schwab first -darkened angrily, and then lit with such exultation -that it appeared as though Winthrop’s efforts -had only placed Peabody deeper in Mr. Schwab’s -power. But the rat-like eyes wavered, there was -doubt in them, and greed, and, when they turned -to observe if any one could have heard the offer, -Winthrop felt the trick was his. It was apparent -that Mr. Schwab was willing to arbitrate.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He stepped gingerly into the front seat, and as -Winthrop leaned over him and tucked and buckled -the fur robe around his knees, he could not -resist a glance at his friends on the sidewalk. -They were grinning with wonder and envy, and -as the great car shook itself, and ran easily forward, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>Mr. Schwab leaned back and carelessly -waved his hand. But his mind did not waver -from the purpose of his ride. He was not one to -be cajoled with fur rugs and glittering brass.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, Mr. Winthrop,” he began briskly. -“You want to say something? You must be -quick—every minute’s money.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Wait till we’re out of the traffic,” begged Winthrop -anxiously, “I don’t want to run down any -more old men, and I wouldn’t for the world have -anything happen to you, Mr.—” He paused -politely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Schwab—Isadore Schwab.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How did you know <i>my</i> name?” asked Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The card you gave the police officer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see,” said Winthrop. They were silent -while the car swept swiftly west, and Mr. Schwab -kept thinking that for a young man who was -afraid of the traffic, Winthrop was dodging the -motor cars, beer vans, and iron pillars, with a -dexterity that was criminally reckless.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At that hour Riverside Drive was empty, and -after a gasp of relief, Mr. Schwab resumed the -attack.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, then,” he said sharply, “don’t go any -further. What is this you want to talk about?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>“How much will <cite>The Journal</cite> give you for this -story of yours?” asked Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Schwab smiled mysteriously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because,” said Winthrop, “I think I could -offer you something better.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You mean,” said the police-court lawyer -cautiously, “you will make it worth my while not -to tell the truth about what I saw?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Exactly,” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s all! Stop the car,” cried Mr. Schwab. -His manner was commanding. It vibrated with -triumph. His eyes glistened with wicked satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Stop the car?” demanded Winthrop, “what -do you mean?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I mean,” said Mr. Schwab dramatically, -“that I’ve got you where I want you, thank you. -You have killed Peabody dead as a cigar butt! -Now I can tell them how his friends tried to bribe -me. Why do you think I came in your car? For -what money <i>you</i> got? Do you think you can -stack up your roll against the <cite>New York Journal’s</cite>, -or against Tammany’s?” His shrill voice rose -exultantly. “Why, Tammany ought to make me -judge for this! Now, let me down here,” he -commanded, “and next time, don’t think you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>can take on ‘Izzy’ Schwab and get away with -it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They were passing Grant’s Tomb, and the car -was moving at a speed that Mr. Schwab recognized -was in excess of the speed limit.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you hear me?” he demanded, “let me -down!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>To his dismay Winthrop’s answer was in some -fashion to so juggle with the shining brass rods -that the car flew into greater speed. To “Izzy” -Schwab it seemed to scorn the earth, to proceed -by leaps and jumps. But, what added even -more to his mental discomfiture was, that Winthrop -should turn, and slowly and familiarly wink -at him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>As through the window of an express train, Mr. -Schwab saw the white front of Claremont, and -beyond it the broad sweep of the Hudson. And -then, without decreasing its speed, the car like a -great bird swept down a hill, shot under a bridge, -and into a partly paved street. Mr. Schwab -already was two miles from his own bailiwick. -His surroundings were unfamiliar. On the one -hand were newly erected, untenanted flat houses -with the paint still on the window panes, and on -the other side, detached villas, a roadhouse, an -orphan asylum, a glimpse of the Hudson.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>“Let me out,” yelled Mr. Schwab, “what you -trying to do? Do you think a few blocks’ll make -any difference to a telephone? You think you’re -damned smart, don’t you? But you won’t feel so -fresh when I get on the long distance. You let -me down,” he threatened, “or, I’ll——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With a sickening skidding of wheels, Winthrop -whirled the car round a corner and into the -Lafayette Boulevard, that for miles runs along -the cliff of the Hudson.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” asked Winthrop, “<i>what</i> will you do?” -On one side was a high steep bank, on the -other many trees, and through them below, the -river. But there were no houses, and at half-past -eight in the morning those who later drive -upon the boulevard were still in bed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i>What</i> will you do?” repeated Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes, apparently as much interested in -Mr. Schwab’s answer as Winthrop, leaned forward. -Winthrop raised his voice above the whir -of flying wheels, the rushing wind, and scattering -pebbles.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I asked you into this car,” he shouted, “because -I meant to keep you in it until I had you -where you couldn’t do any mischief. I told you -I’d give you something better than <cite>The Journal</cite> -I would give you, and I am going to give you a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>happy day in the country. We’re now on our -way to this lady’s house. You are my guest, and -you can play golf, and bridge, and the piano, and -eat and drink until the polls close, and after that -you can go to the devil. If you jump out at this -speed, you will break your neck. And if I have -to slow up for anything, and you try to get away, -I’ll go after you—it doesn’t matter where it is—and -break every bone in your body.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yah! you can’t!” shrieked Mr. Schwab. -“You can’t do it!” The madness of the flying -engines had got upon his nerves. Their poison -was surging in his veins. He knew he had only -to touch his elbow against the elbow of Winthrop, -and he could throw the three of them into eternity. -He was travelling on air, uplifted, defiant, carried -beyond himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t do what?” asked Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The words reached Schwab from an immeasurable -distance, as from another planet, a calm, -humdrum planet on which events moved in commonplace, -orderly array. Without a jar, with no -transition stage, instead of hurtling through space, -Mr. Schwab found himself luxuriously seated in -a cushioned chair, motionless, at the side of a -steep bank. For a mile before him stretched an -empty road. And beside him in the car, with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>arms folded calmly on the wheel, there glared at -him a grim, alert young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I can’t do what?” growled the young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A feeling of great loneliness fell upon “Izzy” -Schwab. Where were now those officers, who in -the police courts were at his beck and call? -Where the numbered houses, the passing surface -cars, the sweating multitudes of Eighth Avenue? -In all the world he was alone, alone on -an empty country road, with a grim, alert young -man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When I asked you how you knew my name,” -said the young man, “I thought you knew me as -having won some races in Florida last winter. -This is the car that won. I thought maybe you -might have heard of me when I was captain of a -football team at—a university. If you have any -idea that you can jump from this car and not be -killed, or that I cannot pound you into a pulp, -let me prove to you you’re wrong—now. We’re -quite alone. Do you wish to get down?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” shrieked Schwab, “I won’t!” He -turned appealingly to the young lady. “You’re a -witness,” he cried. “If he assaults me, he’s -liable. I haven’t done nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We’re near Yonkers,” said the young man, -“and if you try to take advantage of my having to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>go slow through the town, you know now what -will happen to you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Schwab having instantly planned, on reaching -Yonkers, to leap from the car into the arms -of the village constable, with suspicious alacrity -assented. The young man regarded him doubtfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’m afraid I’ll have to show you,” said the -young man. He laid two fingers on Mr. Schwab’s -wrist; looking at him, as he did so, steadily and -thoughtfully, like a physician feeling a pulse. -Mr. Schwab screamed. When he had seen -policemen twist steel nippers on the wrists of -prisoners, he had thought, when the prisoners -shrieked and writhed, they were acting. He -now knew they were not.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, will you promise?” demanded the grim -young man.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” gasped Mr. Schwab. “I’ll sit still. I -won’t do nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good,” muttered Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>A troubled voice that carried to the heart of -Schwab a promise of protection, said: “Mr. -Schwab, would you be more comfortable back -here with me?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Schwab turned two terrified eyes in the -direction of the voice. He saw the beautiful -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>young lady regarding him kindly, compassionately; -with just a suspicion of a smile. Mr. -Schwab instantly scrambled to safety over the -front seat into the body of the car. Miss Forbes -made way for the prisoner beside her and he -sank back with a nervous, apologetic sigh. The -alert young man was quick to follow the lead of -the lady.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’ll find caps and goggles in the boot, -Schwab,” he said hospitably. “You had better -put them on. We are going rather fast now.” -He extended a magnificent case of pigskin, that -bloomed with fat black cigars. “Try one of -these,” said the hospitable young man. The -emotions that swept Mr. Schwab he found difficult -to pursue, but he raised his hat to the lady. -“May I, Miss?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Certainly,” said the lady.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a moment of delay while with fingers -that slightly trembled, Mr. Schwab selected an -amazing green cap and lit his cigar; and then the -car swept forward, singing and humming happily, -and scattering the autumn leaves. The young -lady leaned toward him with a book in a leather -cover. She placed her finger on a twisting red -line that trickled through a page of type.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We’re just here,” said the young lady, “and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>we ought to reach home, which is just about -there, in an hour.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see,” said Schwab. But all he saw was a -finger in a white glove, and long eyelashes tangled -in a gray veil.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For many minutes or, for all Schwab knew, for -many miles, the young lady pointed out to him -the places along the Hudson, of which he had -read in the public school history, and quaint old -manor houses set in glorious lawns; and told him -who lived in them. Schwab knew the names as -belonging to down-town streets, and up-town -clubs. He became nervously humble, intensely -polite, he felt he was being carried as an honored -guest into the very heart of the Four Hundred, -and when the car jogged slowly down the main -street of Yonkers, although a policeman stood -idly within a yard of him, instead of shrieking to -him for help, “Izzy” Schwab looked at him scornfully -across the social gulf that separated them, -with all the intolerance he believed becoming in -the upper classes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Those bicycle cops,” he said confidentially to -Miss Forbes, “are too chesty.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The car turned in between stone pillars, and -under an arch of red and golden leaves, and swept -up a long avenue to a house of innumerable roofs. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>It was the grandest house Mr. Schwab had ever -entered, and when two young men in striped -waistcoats and many brass buttons ran down -the stone steps and threw open the door of the -car, his heart fluttered between fear and pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Lounging before an open fire in the hall were a -number of young men, who welcomed Winthrop -delightedly, and to all of whom Mr. Schwab was -formally presented. As he was introduced he -held each by the hand and elbow and said impressively, -and much to the other’s embarrassment, -“<i>What</i> name, please?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then one of the servants conducted him to a -room opening on the hall, from whence he heard -stifled exclamations and laughter, and some one -saying “Hush.” But “Izzy” Schwab did not -care. The slave in brass buttons was proffering -him ivory-backed hair-brushes, and obsequiously -removing the dust from his coat collar. Mr. -Schwab explained to him that he was not dressed -for automobiling, as Mr. Winthrop had invited -him quite informally. The man was most charmingly -sympathetic. And when he returned to the -hall every one received him with the most genial, -friendly interest. Would he play golf, or tennis, -or pool, or walk over the farm, or just look on? -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>It seemed the wish of each to be his escort. Never -had he been so popular.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He said he would “just look on.” And so, -during the last and decisive day of the “whirlwind” -campaign, while in Eighth Avenue voters -were being challenged, beaten, and bribed, bonfires -were burning, and “extras” were appearing -every half-hour, “Izzy” Schwab, the Tammany -henchman, with a secret worth twenty thousand -votes, sat a prisoner, in a wicker chair, with a -drink and a cigar, guarded by four young men in -flannels, who played tennis violently at five dollars -a corner.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was always a great day in the life of “Izzy” -Schwab. After a luncheon, which, as he later -informed his friends, could not have cost less than -“two dollars a plate and drink all you like,” Sam -Forbes took him on at pool. Mr. Schwab had -learned the game in the cellars of Eighth Avenue -at two and a half cents a cue, and now, even in -Columbus Circle he was a star. So, before the -sun had set Mr. Forbes, who at pool rather fancied -himself, was seventy-five dollars poorer, and -Mr. Schwab just that much to the good. Then -there followed a strange ceremony called tea, or, -if you preferred it, whiskey and soda; and the -tall footman bent before him with huge silver salvers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>laden down with flickering silver lamps, and -bubbling soda bottles, and cigars, and cigarettes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You could have filled your pockets with -twenty-five cent Havanas, and nobody would -have said nothing!” declared Mr. Schwab, and -his friends, who never had enjoyed his chance to -study at such close quarters the truly rich, nodded -enviously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At six o’clock Mr. Schwab led Winthrop into -the big library and asked for his ticket of leave.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They’ll be counting the votes soon,” he -begged. “I can’t do no harm now, and I don’t -mean to. I didn’t see nothing, and I won’t say -nothing. But it’s election night, and—and I just -<i>got</i> to be on Broadway.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Right,” said Winthrop, “I’ll have a car take -you in, and if you will accept this small check——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No!” roared “Izzy” Schwab. Afterward he -wondered how he came to do it. “You’ve give -me a good time, Mr. Winthrop. You’ve treated -me fine, all the gentlemen have treated me nice. -I’m not a blackmailer, Mr. Winthrop.” Mr. -Schwab’s voice shook slightly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nonsense, Schwab, you didn’t let me finish,” -said Winthrop, “I’m likely to need a lawyer any -time; this is a retaining fee. Suppose I exceed -the speed limit—I’m liable to do that——”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>“You bet you are!” exclaimed Mr. Schwab -violently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, I’ll send for <i>you</i>, and there isn’t a -police magistrate, nor any of the traffic squad, -you can’t handle, is there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mr. Schwab flushed with pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You can count on me,” he vowed, “and your -friends, too, and the ladies,” he added gallantly. -“If ever the ladies want to get bail, tell ’em to -telephone for ‘Izzy’ Schwab. Of course,” he -said reluctantly, “if it’s a retaining fee——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But when he read the face of the check he exclaimed -in protest: “But, Mr. Winthrop, this is -more than <cite>The Journal</cite> would have give me!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They put him in a car belonging to one of the -other men, and all came out on the steps to wave -him “good-by,” and he drove magnificently into -his own district, where there were over a dozen -men who swore he tipped the French chauffeur a -five-dollar bill “just like it was a cigarette.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>All of election day since her arrival in Winthrop’s -car Miss Forbes had kept to herself. In -the morning, when the other young people were -out of doors, she remained in her room, and after -luncheon, when they gathered round the billiard -table, she sent for her cart and drove off alone. -The others thought she was concerned over the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>possible result of the election, and did not want to -disturb them by her anxiety. Winthrop, thinking -the presence of Schwab embarrassed her, recalling -as it did Peabody’s unfortunate conduct of the -morning, blamed himself for bringing Schwab to -the house. But he need not have distressed himself. -Miss Forbes was thinking neither of -Schwab nor Peabody, nor was she worried or -embarrassed. On the contrary, she was completely -happy.</p> - -<p class='c012'>When that morning she had seen Peabody running -up the steps of the Elevated, all the doubts, -the troubles, questions, and misgivings that night -and day for the last three months had upset her, -fell from her shoulders like the pilgrim’s heavy -pack. For months she had been telling herself -that the unrest she felt when with Peabody was -due to her not being able to appreciate the importance -of those big affairs in which he was so interested; -in which he was so admirable a figure. -She had, as she supposed, loved him, because he -was earnest, masterful, intent of purpose. His -had seemed a fine character. When she had -compared him with the amusing boys of her own -age, the easy-going joking youths to whom the -betterment of New York was of no concern, she -had been proud in her choice. She was glad -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>Peabody was ambitious. She was ambitious for -him. She was glad to have him consult her on -those questions of local government, to listen to -his fierce, contemptuous abuse of Tammany. -And yet early in their engagement she had missed -something, something she had never known, but -which she felt sure should exist. Whether she -had seen it in the lives of others, or read of it in -romances, or whether it was there because it was -nature to desire to be loved, she did not know. -But long before Winthrop returned from his trip -round the world, in her meetings with the man -she was to marry, she had begun to find that there -was something lacking. And Winthrop had -shown her that this something lacking was the -one thing needful. When Winthrop had gone -abroad he was only one of her brother’s several -charming friends. One of the amusing merry -youths who came and went in the house as freely -as Sam himself. Now, after two years’ absence, -he refused to be placed in that category.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He rebelled on the first night of his return. As -she came down to the dinner of welcome her -brother was giving Winthrop, he stared at her as -though she were a ghost, and said, so solemnly -that every one in the room, even Peabody, smiled: -“Now I know why I came home.” That he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>refused to recognize her engagement to Peabody, -that on every occasion he told her, or by some -act showed her, he loved her; that he swore she -should never marry any one but himself, and that -he would never marry any one but her, did not -at first, except to annoy, in any way impress her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he showed her what in her intercourse with -Peabody was lacking. At first she wished Peabody -could find time to be as fond of her, as foolishly -fond of her, as was Winthrop. But she -realized that this was unreasonable. Winthrop -was just a hot-headed impressionable boy, Peabody -was a man doing a man’s work. And then -she found that week after week she became more -difficult to please. Other things in which she -wished Peabody might be more like Winthrop, -obtruded themselves. Little things which she -was ashamed to notice, but which rankled; and -big things, such as consideration for others, and -a sense of humor, and not talking of himself. -Since this campaign began, at times she had felt -that if Peabody said “I” once again, she must -scream. She assured herself she was as yet unworthy -of him, that her intelligence was weak, -that as she grew older and so better able to understand -serious affairs, such as the importance of -having an honest man at Albany as Lieutenant-Governor, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>they would become more in sympathy. -And now, at a stroke, the whole fabric of self-deception -fell from her. It was not that she saw -Peabody so differently, but that she saw herself -and her own heart, and where it lay. And -she knew that “Billy” Winthrop, gentle, joking, -selfish only in his love for her, held it in his two -strong hands.</p> - -<p class='c012'>For the moment, when as she sat in the car -deserted by Peabody this truth flashed upon her, -she forgot the man lying injured in the street, the -unscrubbed mob crowding about her. She was -conscious only that a great weight had been lifted. -That her blood was flowing again, leaping, beating, -dancing through her body. It seemed as -though she could not too quickly tell Winthrop. -For both of them she had lost out of their lives -many days. She had risked losing him for always. -Her only thought was to make up to him -and to herself the wasted time. But throughout -the day the one-time welcome, but now intruding, -friends and the innumerable conventions of hospitality -required her to smile and show an interest, -when her heart and mind were crying out the -one great fact.</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was after dinner, and the members of the -house party were scattered between the billiard-room -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>and the piano. Sam Forbes returned from -the telephone.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Tammany,” he announced, “concedes the -election of Jerome by forty thousand votes, and -that he carries his ticket with him. Ernest Peabody -is elected his Lieutenant-Governor by a -thousand votes. Ernest,” he added, “seems to -have had a close call.” There was a tremendous -chorus of congratulations in the cause of Reform. -They drank the health of Peabody. Peabody -himself, on the telephone, informed Sam Forbes -that a conference of the leaders would prevent -his being present with them that evening. The -enthusiasm for Reform perceptibly increased.</p> - -<p class='c012'>An hour later Winthrop came over to Beatrice -and held out his hand. “I’m going to slip away,” -he said. “Good-night.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Going away!” exclaimed Beatrice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her voice showed such apparently acute concern -that Winthrop wondered how the best of -women could be so deceitful, even to be polite.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I promised some men,” he stammered, “to -drive them down-town to see the crowds.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Beatrice shook her head.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s far too late for that,” she said. “Tell -me the real reason.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop turned away his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>“Oh! the real reason,” he said gravely, “is the -same old reason, the one I’m not allowed to talk -about. It’s cruelly hard when I don’t see you,” -he went on, slowly dragging out the words, “but -it’s harder when I do; so I’m going to say ‘good-night’ -and run into town.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He stood for a moment staring moodily at the -floor, and then dropped into a chair beside -her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And, I believe, I’ve not told you,” he went on, -“that on Wednesday I’m running away for good, -that is, for a year or two. I’ve made all the -fight I can and I lose, and there is no use in my -staying on here to—well—to suffer, that is the -plain English of it. So,” he continued briskly, -“I won’t be here for the ceremony, and this is -‘good-by’ as well as ‘good-night.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are you going for a year?” asked Miss -Forbes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Her voice now showed no concern. It even -sounded as though she did not take his news seriously, -as though as to his movements she was -possessed of a knowledge superior to his own. -He tried to speak in matter-of-fact tones.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Uganda!” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Uganda?” repeated Miss Forbes. “Where -is Uganda?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>“It is in East Africa; I had bad luck there last -trip, but now I know the country better, and I -ought to get some good shooting.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Forbes appeared indifferently incredulous. -In her eyes there was a look of radiant happiness. -It rendered them bewilderingly beautiful.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“On Wednesday,” she said. “Won’t you come -and see us again before you sail for Uganda?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Winthrop hesitated.</p> - -<p class='c014'>“I’ll stop in and say ‘good-by’ to your mother -if she’s in town, and to thank her. She’s been -awfully good to me. But you—I really would -rather not see you again. You understand, or -rather, you don’t understand, and,” he added -vehemently, “you never will understand.” He -stood looking down at her miserably.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the driveway outside there was a crunching -on the gravel of heavy wheels and an aurora-borealis -of lights.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There’s your car,” said Miss Forbes. “I’ll -go out and see you off.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’re very good,” muttered Winthrop. He -could not understand. This parting from her -was the great moment in his life, and although -she must know that, she seemed to be making it -unnecessarily hard for him. He had told her he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>was going to a place very far away, to be gone a -long time, and she spoke of saying “good-by” -to him as pleasantly as though it was his intention -to return from Uganda for breakfast.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Instead of walking through the hall where the -others were gathered, she led him out through one -of the French windows upon the terrace, and -along it to the steps. When she saw the chauffeur -standing by the car, she stopped.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I thought you were going alone,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am,” answered Winthrop. “It’s not Fred; -that’s Sam’s chauffeur; he only brought the car -around.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The man handed Winthrop his coat and cap, -and left them, and Winthrop seated himself at -the wheel. She stood above him on the top step. -In the evening gown of lace and silver she looked -a part of the moonlight night. For each of -them the moment had arrived. Like a swimmer -standing on the bank gathering courage for the -plunge, Miss Forbes gave a trembling, shivering -sigh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’re cold,” said Winthrop, gently. “You -must go in. Good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It isn’t that,” said the girl. “Have you an -extra coat?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It isn’t cold enough for——”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>“I meant for me,” stammered the girl in a -frightened voice. “I thought perhaps you would -take me a little way, and bring me back.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>At first the young man did not answer, but sat -staring in front of him, then, he said simply:</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It’s awfully good of you, Beatrice. I won’t -forget it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>It was a wonderful autumn night, moonlight, -cold, clear and brilliant. She stepped in beside -him and wrapped herself in one of his greatcoats. -They started swiftly down the avenue of -trees.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not fast,” begged the girl, “I want to -talk to you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The car checked and rolled forward smoothly, -sometimes in deep shadow, sometimes in the soft -silver glamour of the moon; beneath them the -fallen leaves crackled and rustled under the slow -moving wheels. At the highway Winthrop hesitated. -It lay before them arched with great and -ancient elms; below, the Hudson glittered and -rippled in the moonlight.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Which way do you want to go?” said Winthrop.</p> - -<p class='c012'>His voice was very grateful, very humble.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl did not answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>There was a long, long pause.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>Then he turned and looked at her and saw her -smiling at him with that light in her eyes that -never was on land or sea.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Uganda,” said the girl.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span> - <h2 class='c005'>THE PRINCESS ALINE</h2> -</div> -<h3 class='c010'>I</h3> -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>H. R. H. the Princess Aline of Hohenwald -came into the life of Morton Carlton—or -“Morney” Carlton, as men called him—of New -York City, when that young gentleman’s affairs -and affections were best suited to receive her. Had -she made her appearance three years sooner or -three years later, it is quite probable that she would -have passed on out of his life with no more recognition -from him than would have been expressed -in a look of admiring curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But coming when she did, when his time and -heart were both unoccupied, she had an influence -upon young Mr. Carlton which led him into doing -several wise and many foolish things, and which -remained with him always. Carlton had reached -a point in his life, and very early in his life, when -he could afford to sit at ease and look back with -modest satisfaction to what he had forced himself -to do, and forward with pleasurable anticipations -to whatsoever he might choose to do in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>future. The world had appreciated what he had -done, and had put much to his credit, and he was -prepared to draw upon this grandly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>At the age of twenty he had found himself his -own master, with excellent family connections, but -with no family, his only relative being a bachelor -uncle, who looked at life from the point of view of -the Union Club’s windows, and who objected to -his nephew’s leaving Harvard to take up the study -of art in Paris. In that city (where at Julian’s he -was nicknamed the Junior Carlton, for the obvious -reason that he was the older of the two -Carltons in the class, and because he was well-dressed) -he had shown himself a harder worker -than others who were less careful of their appearance -and of their manners. His work, of which -he did not talk, and his ambitions, of which he -also did not talk, bore fruit early, and at twenty-six -he had become a portrait-painter of international -reputation. Then the French government -purchased one of his paintings at an absurdly -small figure, and placed it in the Luxembourg, -from whence it would in time depart to be buried -in the hall of some provincial city; and American -millionaires, and English Lord Mayors, members -of Parliament, and members of the Institute, masters -of hounds in pink coats, and ambassadors in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>gold lace, and beautiful women of all nationalities -and conditions sat before his easel. And so when -he returned to New York he was welcomed with -an enthusiasm which showed that his countrymen -had feared that the artistic atmosphere of -the Old World had stolen him from them forever. -He was particularly silent, even at this date, about -his work, and listened to what others had to say -of it with much awe, not unmixed with some -amusement, that it should be he who was capable -of producing anything worthy of such praise. -We have been told what the mother duck felt when -her ugly duckling turned into a swan, but we have -never considered how much the ugly duckling must -have marvelled also.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Carlton is probably the only living artist,” a -brother artist had said of him, “who fails to appreciate -how great his work is.” And on this -being repeated to Carlton by a good-natured -friend, he had replied cheerfully, “Well, I’m -sorry, but it is certainly better to be the only one -who doesn’t appreciate it than to be the only one -who does.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He had never understood why such a responsibility -had been intrusted to him. It was, as he -expressed it, not at all in his line, and young girls -who sought to sit at the feet of the master found -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>him making love to them in the most charming -manner in the world, as though he were not entitled -to all the rapturous admiration of their very -young hearts, but had to sue for it like any ordinary -mortal. Carlton always felt as though some -day some one would surely come along and say: -“Look here, young man, this talent doesn’t belong -to you; it’s mine. What do you mean by -pretending that such an idle good-natured youth -as yourself is entitled to such a gift of genius?” -He felt that he was keeping it in trust, as it were; -that it had been changed at birth, and that the -proper guardian would eventually relieve him of -his treasure.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Personally Carlton was of the opinion that he -should have been born in the active days of knights-errant—to -have had nothing more serious to do -than to ride abroad with a blue ribbon fastened to -the point of his lance, and with the spirit to unhorse -any one who objected to its color, or to the claims -of superiority of the noble lady who had tied it -there. There was not, in his opinion, at the present -day any sufficiently pronounced method of declaring -admiration for the many lovely women this -world contained. A proposal of marriage he considered -to be a mean and clumsy substitute for -the older way, and was uncomplimentary to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>many other women left unasked, and marriage -itself required much more constancy than he could -give. He had a most romantic and old-fashioned -ideal of women as a class, and from the age of -fourteen had been a devotee of hundreds of them -as individuals; and though in that time his ideal -had received several severe shocks, he still believed -that the “not impossible she” existed somewhere, -and his conscientious efforts to find out -whether every woman he met might not be that -one had led him not unnaturally into many difficulties.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The trouble with me is,” he said, “that I care -too much to make Platonic friendship possible, -and don’t care enough to marry any particular -woman—that is, of course, supposing that any -particular one would be so little particular as to -be willing to marry me. How embarrassing it -would be, now,” he argued, “if when you were -turning away from the chancel after the ceremony -you should look at one of the bridemaids and -see the woman whom you really should have -married! How distressing that would be! You -couldn’t very well stop and say: ‘I am very sorry, -my dear, but it seems I have made a mistake. -That young woman on the right has a most interesting -and beautiful face. I am very much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>afraid that she is the one.’ It would be too late -then; while now, in my free state, I can continue -my search without any sense of responsibility.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Why”—he would exclaim—“I have walked -miles to get a glimpse of a beautiful woman in a -suburban window, and time and time again when -I have seen a face in a passing brougham I have -pursued it in a hansom, and learned where the -owner of the face lived, and spent weeks in finding -some one to present me, only to discover that she -was self-conscious or uninteresting or engaged. -Still I had assured myself that she was not the one. -I am very conscientious, and I consider that it is -my duty to go so far with every woman I meet -as to be able to learn whether she is or is not -the one, and the sad result is that I am like a man -who follows the hounds but is never in at the -death.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” some married woman would say, -grimly, “I hope you will get your deserts some -day; and you <i>will</i>, too. Some day some girl will -make you suffer for this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, that’s all right,” Carlton would answer, -meekly. “Lots of women have made me suffer, -if that’s what you think I need.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Some day,” the married woman would prophesy, -“you will care for a woman so much that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>you will have no eyes for any one else. That’s -the way it is when one is married.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, when that’s the way it is with <i>me</i>,” -Carlton would reply, “I certainly hope to get -married; but until it is, I think it is safer for all -concerned that I should not.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Then Carlton would go to the club and complain -bitterly to one of his friends.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How unfair married women are!” he would -say. “The idea of thinking a man could have no -eyes but for one woman! Suppose I had never -heard a note of music until I was twenty-five years -of age, and was then given my hearing. Do you -suppose my pleasure in music would make me -lose my pleasure in everything else? Suppose I -met and married a girl at twenty-five. Is that -going to make me forget all the women I knew -before I met her? I think not. As a matter of -fact, I really deserve a great deal of credit for -remaining single, for I am naturally very affectionate; -but when I see what poor husbands my -friends make, I prefer to stay as I am until I am -sure that I will make a better one. It is only -fair to the woman.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton was sitting in the club alone. He had -that sense of superiority over his fellows and of -irresponsibility to the world about him that comes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>to a man when he knows that his trunks are being -packed and that his state-room is engaged. He -was leaving New York long before most of his -friends could get away. He did not know just -where he was going, and preferred not to know. -He wished to have a complete holiday, and to see -Europe as an idle tourist, and not as an artist -with an eye to his own improvement. He had -plenty of time and money; he was sure to run -across friends in the big cities, and acquaintances -he could make or not, as he pleased, <i><span lang="fr">en route</span></i>. -He was not sorry to go. His going would serve -to put an end to what gossip there might be of -his engagement to numerous young women whose -admiration for him as an artist, he was beginning -to fear, had taken on a more personal tinge. “I -wish,” he said, gloomily, “I didn’t like people so -well. It seems to cause them and me such a lot -of trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He sighed, and stretched out his hand for a -copy of one of the English illustrated papers. It -had a fresher interest to him because the next -number of it that he would see would be in the -city in which it was printed. The paper in his -hands was the <cite>St. James Budget</cite>, and it contained -much fashionable intelligence concerning the -preparations for a royal wedding which was soon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>to take place between members of two of the -reigning families of Europe. There was on one -page a half-tone reproduction of a photograph, -which showed a group of young people belonging -to several of these reigning families, with their -names and titles printed above and below the -picture. They were princesses, archdukes, or -grand dukes, and they were dressed like young -English men and women, and with no sign -about them of their possible military or social -rank.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of the young princesses in the photograph -was looking out of it and smiling in a tolerant, -amused way, as though she had thought of something -which she could not wait to enjoy until -after the picture was taken. She was not posing -consciously, as were some of the others, but was -sitting in a natural attitude, with one arm over -the back of her chair, and with her hands clasped -before her. Her face was full of a fine intelligence -and humor, and though one of the other -princesses in the group was far more beautiful, -this particular one had a much more high-bred -air, and there was something of a challenge in -her smile that made any one who looked at the -picture smile also. Carlton studied the face for -some time, and mentally approved of its beauty; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>the others seemed in comparison wooden and -unindividual, but this one looked like a person -he might have known, and whom he would certainly -have liked. He turned the page and surveyed -the features of the Oxford crew with lesser -interest, and then turned the page again and -gazed critically and severely at the face of the -princess with the high-bred smile. He had hoped -that he would find it less interesting at a second -glance, but it did not prove to be so.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘The Princess Aline of Hohenwald,’” he -read. “She’s probably engaged to one of those -Johnnies beside her, and the Grand-Duke of -Hohenwald behind her must be her brother.” -He put the paper down and went in to luncheon, -and diverted himself by mixing a salad dressing; -but after a few moments he stopped in the midst -of this employment, and told the waiter, with -some unnecessary sharpness, to bring him the -last copy of the <cite>St. James Budget</cite>.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Confound it!” he added, to himself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He opened the paper with a touch of impatience -and gazed long and earnestly at the face of the -Princess Aline, who continued to return his look -with the same smile of amused tolerance. Carlton -noted every detail of her tailor-made gown, -of her high mannish collar, of her tie, and even -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>the rings on her hand. There was nothing about -her of which he could fairly disapprove. He -wondered why it was that she could not have -been born an approachable New York girl instead -of a princess of a little German duchy, hedged in -throughout her single life, and to be traded off -eventually in marriage with as much consideration -as though she were a princess of a real kingdom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She looks jolly too,” he mused, in an injured -tone; “and so very clever; and of course she has -a beautiful complexion. All those German girls -have. Your Royal Highness is more than pretty,” -he said, bowing his head gravely. “You look as -a princess should look. I am sure it was one of -your ancestors who discovered the dried pea -under a dozen mattresses.” He closed the paper, -and sat for a moment with a perplexed smile of -consideration. “Waiter,” he exclaimed, suddenly, -“send a messenger-boy to Brentano’s for -a copy of the <cite>St. James Budget</cite>, and bring me the -Almanach de Gotha from the library. It is a -little fat red book on the table near the window.” -Then Carlton opened the paper again and propped -it up against a carafe, and continued his critical -survey of the Princess Aline. He seized the Almanach, -when it came, with some eagerness.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>“Hohenwald (Maison de Grasse),” he read, -and in small type below it:</p> - -<p class='c015'>“<span lang="fr">1. Ligne cadette (régnante) grand-ducale: Hohenwald -et de Grasse.</span></p> - -<p class='c015'>“<span lang="fr">Guillaume-Albert-Frederick-Charles-Louis, -Grand-Duc de Hohenwald et de Grasse, etc., etc., etc.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s the brother, right enough,” muttered -Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And under the heading “Sœurs” he read:</p> - -<p class='c015'>“<span lang="fr">4. <i>Psse Aline.</i>—Victoria-Beatrix-Louise-Helene, Alt. -Gr.-Duc. Née à Grasse, Juin, 1872.</span>”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Twenty-two years old,” exclaimed Carlton. -“What a perfect age! I could not have invented -a better one.” He looked from the book to the -face before him. “Now, my dear young lady,” -he said, “I know all about <i>you</i>. You live at -Grasse, and you are connected, to judge by your -names, with all the English royalties; and very -pretty names they are, too—Aline, Helene, Victoria, -Beatrix. You must be much more English -than you are German; and I suppose you live in -a little old castle, and your brother has a standing -army of twelve men, and some day you are to -marry a Russian Grand-Duke, or whoever your -brother’s Prime Minister—if he has a Prime -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>Minister—decides is best for the politics of your -little toy kingdom. Ah! to think,” exclaimed -Carlton, softly, “that such a lovely and glorious -creature as that should be sacrificed for so insignificant -a thing as the peace of Europe when she -might make some young man happy?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He carried a copy of the paper to his room, and -cut the picture of the group out of the page and -pasted it carefully on a stiff piece of card-board. -Then he placed it on his dressing-table, in front -of a photograph of a young woman in a large -silver frame—which was a sign, had the young -woman but known it, that her reign for the time -being was over.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Nolan, the young Irishman who “did for” -Carlton, knew better than to move it when he -found it there. He had learned to study his master -since he had joined him in London, and understood -that one photograph in the silver frame -was entitled to more consideration than three -others on the writing-desk or half a dozen on the -mantel-piece. Nolan had seen them come and -go; he had watched them rise and fall; he had -carried notes to them, and books and flowers; -and had helped to depose them from the silver -frame and move them on by degrees down the -line, until they went ingloriously into the big -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>brass bowl on the side table. Nolan approved -highly of this last choice. He did not know which -one of the three in the group it might be; but they -were all pretty, and their social standing was certainly -distinguished.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Guido, the Italian model who ruled over the -studio, and Nolan were busily packing when -Carlton entered. He always said that Guido -represented him in his professional and Nolan in -his social capacity. Guido cleaned the brushes -and purchased the artists’ materials; Nolan -cleaned his riding-boots and bought his theatre -and railroad tickets.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Guido,” said Carlton, “there are two sketches -I made in Germany last year, one of the Prime -Minister, and one of Ludwig the actor; get them -out for me, will you, and pack them for shipping. -Nolan,” he went on, “here is a telegram to send.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Nolan would not have read a letter, but he -looked upon telegrams as public documents, the -reading of them as part of his perquisites. This -one was addressed to Oscar Von Holtz, First -Secretary, German Embassy, Washington, D. C., -and the message read:</p> - -<p class='c015'>“Please telegraph me full title and address Princess -Aline of Hohenwald. Where would a letter reach her?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-r c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<span class='sc'>Morton Carlton.</span>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>The next morning Nolan carried to the express -office a box containing two oil-paintings on small -canvases. They were addressed to the man in -London who attended to the shipping and forwarding -of Carlton’s pictures in that town.</p> - -<p class='c014'>There was a tremendous crowd on the <i>New -York</i>. She sailed at the obliging hour of eleven -in the morning, and many people, in consequence, -whose affection would not have stood in the way -of their breakfast, made it a point to appear and -to say good-by. Carlton, for his part, did not -notice them; he knew by experience that the attractive-looking -people always leave a steamer -when the whistle blows, and that the next most -attractive-looking, who remain on board, are ill -all the way over. A man that he knew seized -him by the arm as he was entering his cabin, and -asked if he were crossing or just seeing people -off.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, then, I want to introduce you to Miss -Morris and her aunt, Mrs. Downs; they are going -over, and I should be glad if you would be nice -to them. But you know her, I guess?” he asked, -over his shoulder, as Carlton pushed his way -after him down the deck.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know who she is,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>Miss Edith Morris was surrounded by a treble -circle of admiring friends, and seemed to be holding -her own. They all stopped when Carlton -came up, and looked at him rather closely, and -those whom he knew seemed to mark the fact by -a particularly hearty greeting. The man who -had brought him up acted as though he had successfully -accomplished a somewhat difficult and -creditable feat. Carlton bowed himself away, -leaving Miss Morris to her friends, and saying -that she would probably have to see him later, -whether she wished it or not. He then went to -meet the aunt, who received him kindly, for there -were very few people on the passenger list, and -she was glad they were to have his company. -Before he left she introduced him to a young man -named Abbey, who was hovering around her -most anxiously, and whose interest, she seemed to -think it necessary to explain, was due to the fact -that he was engaged to Miss Morris. Mr. Abbey -left the steamer when the whistle blew, and Carlton -looked after him gratefully. He always enjoyed -meeting attractive girls who were engaged, -as it left him no choice in the matter, and excused -him from finding out whether or not that particular -young woman was the one.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mrs. Downs and her niece proved to be experienced -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>sailors, and faced the heavy sea that met -the <i>New York</i> outside of Sandy Hook with unconcern. -Carlton joined them, and they stood together -leaning with their backs to the rail, and -trying to fit the people who flitted past them to -the names on the passenger list.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The young lady in the sailor suit,” said Miss -Morris, gazing at the top of the smoke-stack, “is -Miss Kitty Flood, of Grand Rapids. This is her -first voyage, and she thinks a steamer is something -like a yacht, and dresses for the part accordingly. -She does not know that it is merely a moving -hotel.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am afraid,” said Carlton, “to judge from -her agitation, that hers is going to be what the -professionals call a ‘dressing-room’ part. Why -is it,” he asked, “that the girls on a steamer who -wear gold anchors and the men in yachting-caps -are always the first to disappear? That man -with the sombrero,” he went on, “is James M. -Pollock, United States Consul to Mauritius; he -is going out to his post. I know he is the consul, -because he comes from Fort Worth, Texas, and -is therefore admirably fitted to speak either -French or the native language of the island.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, we don’t send consuls to Mauritius,” -laughed Miss Morris. “Mauritius is one of those -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>places from which you buy stamps, but no one -really lives or goes there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Where are you going, may I ask?” inquired -Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris said that they were making their -way to Constantinople and Athens, and then to -Rome; that as they had not had the time to take -the southern route, they purposed to journey -across the Continent direct from Paris to the -Turkish capital by the Orient Express.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We shall be a few days in London, and in -Paris only long enough for some clothes,” she -replied.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The trousseau,” thought Carlton. “Weeks -is what she should have said.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The three sat together at the captain’s table, -and as the sea continued rough, saw little of -either the captain or his other guests, and were -thrown much upon the society of each other. -They had innumerable friends and interests in -common; and Mrs. Downs, who had been everywhere, -and for long seasons at a time, proved as -alive as her niece, and Carlton conceived a great -liking for her. She seemed to be just and kindly -minded, and, owing to her age, to combine the -wider judgment of a man with the sympathetic -interest of a woman. Sometimes they sat together -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>in a row and read, and gossiped over -what they read, or struggled up the deck as it -rose and fell and buffeted with the wind; and -later they gathered in a corner of the saloon and -ate late suppers of Carlton’s devising, or drank -tea in the captain’s cabin, which he had thrown -open to them. They had started knowing much -about one another, and this and the necessary -proximity of the ship hastened their acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The sea grew calmer the third day out, and the -sun came forth and showed the decks as clean as -bread-boards. Miss Morris and Carlton seated -themselves on the huge iron riding-bits in the -bow, and with their elbows on the rail looked -down at the whirling blue water, and rejoiced -silently in the steady rush of the great vessel, and -in the uncertain warmth of the March sun. Carlton -was sitting to leeward of Miss Morris, with a -pipe between his teeth. He was warm, and at -peace with the world. He had found his new -acquaintance more than entertaining. She was -even friendly, and treated him as though he were -much her junior, as is the habit of young women -lately married or who are about to be married. -Carlton did not resent it; on the contrary, it made -him more at his ease with her, and as she herself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>chose to treat him as a youth, he permitted himself -to be as foolish as he pleased.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know why it is,” he complained, peering -over the rail, “but whenever I look over the -side to watch the waves a man in a greasy cap -always sticks his head out of a hole below me and -scatters a barrelful of ashes or potato peelings all -over the ocean. It spoils the effect for one. -Next time he does it I am going to knock out the -ashes of my pipe on the back of his neck.” Miss -Morris did not consider this worthy of comment, -and there was a long lazy pause.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You haven’t told us where you go after London,” -she said; and then, without waiting for him -to reply, she asked, “Is it your professional or -your social side that you are treating to a trip -this time?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who told you that?” asked Carlton, smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I don’t know. Some man. He said -you were a Jekyll and Hyde. Which is Jekyll? -You see, I only know your professional side.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must try to find out for yourself by deduction,” -he said, “as you picked out the other -passengers. I am going to Grasse,” he continued. -“It’s the capital of Hohenwald. Do -you know it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” she said; “we were there once for a few -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>days. We went to see the pictures. I suppose -you know that the old Duke, the father of the -present one, ruined himself almost by buying -pictures for the Grasse gallery. We were there -at a bad time, though, when the palace was closed -to visitors, and the gallery too. I suppose that is -what is taking you there?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” Carlton said, shaking his head. “No, -it is not the pictures. I am going to Grasse,” he -said, gravely, “to see the young woman with -whom I am in love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris looked up in some surprise, and -smiled consciously, with a natural feminine interest -in an affair of love, and one which was a -secret as well.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh,” she said, “I beg your pardon; we—I -had not heard of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, it is not a thing one could announce -exactly,” said Carlton; “it is rather in an embyro -state as yet—in fact, I have not met the young -lady so far, but I mean to meet her. That’s why -I am going abroad.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris looked at him sharply to see if he -were smiling, but he was, on the contrary, gazing -sentimentally at the horizon-line, and puffing meditatively -on his pipe. He was apparently in earnest, -and waiting for her to make some comment.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>“How very interesting!” was all she could -think to say.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, when you know the details, it is,—<i>very</i> -interesting,” he answered. “She is the Princess -Aline of Hohenwald,” he explained, bowing his -head as though he were making the two young -ladies known to one another. “She has several -other names, six in all, and her age is twenty-two. -That is all I know about her. I saw her picture -in an illustrated paper just before I sailed, and I -made up my mind I would meet her, and here I -am. If she is not in Grasse, I intend to follow -her to wherever she may be.” He waved his pipe -at the ocean before him, and recited, with mock -seriousness:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c013'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Across the hills and far away,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Beyond their utmost purple rim,</div> - <div class='line'>And deep into the dying day,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The happy Princess followed him.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'>“Only in this case, you see,” said Carlton, “I -am following the happy Princess.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; but seriously, though,” said Miss Morris, -“what is it you mean? Are you going to paint -her portrait?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I never thought of that,” exclaimed Carlton. -“I don’t know but what your idea is a good one. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>Miss Morris, that’s a great idea.” He shook his -head approvingly. “I did not do wrong to confide -in you,” he said. “It was perhaps taking a -liberty; but as you have not considered it as such, -I am glad I spoke.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But you don’t really mean to tell me,” exclaimed -the girl, facing about, and nodding her -head at him, “that you are going abroad after a -woman whom you have never seen, and because -you like a picture of her in a paper?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I do,” said Carlton. “Because I like her -picture, and because she is a Princess.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, upon my word,” said Miss Morris, -gazing at him with evident admiration, “that’s -what my younger brother would call a distinctly -sporting proposition. Only I don’t see,” she -added, “what her being a Princess has to do with -it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You don’t?” laughed Carlton easily. “That’s -the best part of it—that’s the plot. The beauty -of being in love with a Princess, Miss Morris,” he -said, “lies in the fact that you can’t marry her; -that you can love her deeply and forever, and -nobody will ever come to you and ask your intentions, -or hint that after such a display of -affection you ought to do something. Now, with -a girl who is not a Princess, even if she understands -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>the situation herself, and wouldn’t marry -you to save her life, still there is always some one—a -father, or a mother, or one of your friends—who -makes it his business to interfere, and talks -about it, and bothers you both. But with a Princess, -you see, that is all eliminated. You can’t -marry a Princess, because they won’t let you. A -Princess has got to marry a real royal chap, and -so you are perfectly ineligible and free to sigh for -her, and make pretty speeches to her, and see her -as often as you can, and revel in your devotion -and unrequited affection.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris regarded him doubtfully. She did -not wish to prove herself too credulous. “And -you honestly want me, Mr. Carlton, to believe -that you are going abroad just for this?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You see,” Carlton answered her, “if you only -knew me better you would have no doubt on the -subject at all. It isn’t the thing some men would -do, I admit, but it is exactly what any one who -knows me would expect of me. I should describe -it, having had acquaintance with the young man -for some time, as being eminently characteristic. -And besides, think what a good story it makes! -Every other man who goes abroad this summer -will try to tell about his travels when he gets back -to New York, and, as usual, no one will listen to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>him. But they will <i>have</i> to listen to me. ‘You’ve -been across since I saw you last. What did you -do?’ they’ll ask, politely. And then, instead of -simply telling them that I have been in Paris or -London, I can say, ‘Oh, I’ve been chasing around -the globe after the Princess Aline of Hohenwald.’ -That sounds interesting, doesn’t it? When you -come to think of it,” Carlton continued, meditatively, -“it is not so very remarkable. Men go all -the way to Cuba and Mexico, and even to India, -after orchids, after a nasty flower that grows in an -absurd way on the top of a tree. Why shouldn’t -a young man go as far as Germany after a beautiful -Princess, who walks on the ground, and who -can talk and think and feel? She is much more -worth while than an orchid.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris laughed indulgently. “Well, I -didn’t know such devotion existed at this end of -the century,” she said; “it’s quite nice and encouraging. -I hope you will succeed, I am sure. -I only wish we were going to be near enough to -see how you get on. I have never been a confidante -when there was a real Princess concerned,” -she said; “it makes it so much more amusing. -May one ask what your plans are?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton doubted if he had any plans as yet. -“I have to reach the ground first,” he said, “and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>after that I must reconnoitre. I may possibly -adopt your idea, and ask to paint her portrait, -only I dislike confusing my social and professional -sides. As a matter of fact, though,” he -said, after a pause, laughing guiltily, “I have done -a little of that already. I prepared her, as it -were, for my coming. I sent her studies of two -pictures I made last winter in Berlin. One of -the Prime Minister, and one of Ludwig, the -tragedian at the Court Theatre. I sent them to -her through my London agent, so that she would -think they had come from some one of her English -friends, and I told the dealer not to let any -one know who had forwarded them. My idea -was that it might help me, perhaps, if she knew -something about me before I appeared in person. -It was a sort of letter of introduction written by -myself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, really,” expostulated Miss Morris, “you -certainly woo in a royal way. Are you in the -habit of giving away your pictures to any one -whose photograph you happen to like? That -seems to me to be giving new lamps for old to a -degree. I must see if I haven’t some of my sister’s -photographs in my trunk. She is considered -very beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, you wait until you see this particular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>portrait, and you will understand it better,” said -Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The steamer reached Southampton early in the -afternoon, and Carlton secured a special compartment -on the express to London for Mrs. -Downs and her niece and himself, with one adjoining -for their maid and Nolan. It was a beautiful -day, and Carlton sat with his eyes fixed upon -the passing fields and villages, exclaiming with -pleasure from time to time at the white roads and -the feathery trees and hedges, and the red roofs -of the inns and square towers of the village -churches.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hedges are better than barbed-wire fences, -aren’t they?” he said. “You see that girl picking -wild flowers from one of them? She looks -just as though she were posing for a picture for -an illustrated paper. She couldn’t pick flowers -from a barbed-wire fence, could she? And there -would probably be a tramp along the road somewhere -to frighten her; and see—the chap in -knickerbockers farther down the road leaning on -the stile. I am sure he is waiting for her; and -here comes a coach,” he ran on. “Don’t the red -wheels look well against the hedges? It’s a -pretty little country, England, isn’t it?—like a -private park or a model village. I am glad to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>get back to it—I am glad to see the three-and-six -signs with the little slanting dash between the -shillings and pennies. Yes, even the steam-rollers -and the man with the red flag in front are -welcome.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose,” said Mrs. Downs, “it’s because -one has been so long on the ocean that the ride to -London seems so interesting. It always pays me -for the entire trip. Yes,” she said, with a sigh, -“in spite of the patent-medicine signs they have -taken to putting up all along the road. It seems -a pity they should adopt our bad habits instead -of our good ones.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They are a bit slow at adopting anything,” -commented Carlton. “Did you know, Mrs. -Downs, that electric lights are still as scarce in -London as they are in Timbuctoo? Why, I saw -an electric-light plant put up in a Western town -in three days once; there were over a hundred -burners in one saloon, and the engineer who put -them up told me in confidence that——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>What the chief engineer told him in confidence -was never disclosed, for at that moment Miss -Morris interrupted him with a sudden sharp -exclamation.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, Mr. Carlton,” she exclaimed, breathlessly, -“listen to this!” She had been reading -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>one of the dozen papers which Carlton had purchased -at the station, and was now shaking one -of them at him, with her eyes fixed on the open -page.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“My dear Edith,” remonstrated her aunt, -“Mr. Carlton was telling us——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I know,” exclaimed Miss Morris, laughing, -“but this interests him much more than electric -lights. Who do you think is in London?” she -cried, raising her eyes to his, and pausing for -proper dramatic effect. “The Princess Aline of -Hohenwald!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No?” shouted Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” Miss Morris answered, mocking his -tone. “Listen. ‘The Queen’s Drawing-room’—em—e—m—‘on -her right was the Princess of -Wales’—em—m. Oh, I can’t find it—no—yes, -here it is. ‘Next to her stood the Princess Aline -of Hohenwald. She wore a dress of white silk, -with train of silver brocade trimmed with fur. -Ornaments—emeralds and diamonds; orders—Victoria -and Albert, Jubilee Commemoration -Medal, Coburg and Gotha, and Hohenwald and -Grasse.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“By Jove!” cried Carlton, excitedly. “I say, -is that really there? Let me see it, please, for -myself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>Miss Morris handed him the paper, with her -finger on the paragraph, and picking up another, -began a search down its columns.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are right,” exclaimed Carlton, solemnly; -“it’s she, sure enough. And here I’ve been within -two hours of her and didn’t know it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris gave another triumphant cry, as -though she had discovered a vein of gold.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, and here she is again,” she said, “in the -<i>Gentlewoman</i>: ‘The Queen’s dress was of black, -as usual, but relieved by a few violet ribbons in -the bonnet; and Princess Beatrice, who sat by her -mother’s side, showed but little trace of the anxiety -caused by Princess Ena’s accident. Princess -Aline, on the front seat, in a light-brown jacket -and a becoming bonnet, gave the necessary touch -to a picture which Londoners would be glad to -look upon more often.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton sat staring forward, with his hands on -his knees, and with his eyes open wide from excitement. -He presented so unusual an appearance -of bewilderment and delight that Mrs. -Downs looked at him and at her niece for some -explanation. “The young lady seems to interest -you,” said she, tentatively.</p> -<div id='i_142' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_142.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>“Next to her stood the Princess Aline of Hohenwald”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>“She is the most charming creature in the -world, Mrs. Downs,” cried Carlton, “and I was -going all the way to Grasse to see her, and now it -turns out that she is here in England, within a -few miles of us.” He turned and waved his -hands at the passing landscape. “Every minute -brings us nearer together.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And you didn’t feel it in the air!” mocked -Miss Morris, laughing. “You are a pretty poor -sort of a man to let a girl tell you where to find the -woman you love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton did not answer, but stared at her very -seriously and frowned intently. “Now I have got -to begin all over again and readjust things,” he -said. “We might have guessed she would be in -London, on account of this royal wedding. It is -a great pity it isn’t later in the season, when there -would be more things going on and more chances -of meeting her. Now they will all be interested -in themselves, and, being extremely exclusive, no -one who isn’t a cousin to the bridegroom or an -Emperor would have any chance at all. Still, I -can see her! I can look at her, and that’s something.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is better than a photograph, anyway,” said -Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“They will be either at Buckingham Palace or -at Windsor, or they will stop at Brown’s,” said -Carlton. “All royalties go to Brown’s. I don’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>know why, unless it is because it is so expensive; -or maybe it is expensive because royalties go -there; but, in any event, if they are not at the -palace, that is where they will be, and that is -where I shall have to go too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When the train drew up at Victoria Station, -Carlton directed Nolan to take his things to -Brown’s Hotel, but not to unload them until he -had arrived. Then he drove with the ladies to -Cox’s, and saw them settled there. He promised -to return at once to dine, and to tell them -what he had discovered in his absence. “You’ve -got to help me in this, Miss Morris,” he said, -nervously. “I am beginning to feel that I am -not worthy of her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, you are!” she said, laughing; “but -don’t forget that ‘it’s not the lover who comes to -woo, but the lover’s <i>way</i> of wooing,’ and that -‘faint heart’—and the rest of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I know,” said Carlton, doubtfully; “but -it’s a bit sudden, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, I am ashamed of you! You are frightened.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, not frightened, exactly,” said the painter. -“I think it’s just natural emotion.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Carlton turned into Albemarle Street he -noticed a red carpet stretching from the doorway -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>of Brown’s Hotel out across the sidewalk to a -carriage, and a bareheaded man bustling about -apparently assisting several gentlemen to get into -it. This and another carriage and Nolan’s four-wheeler -blocked the way; but without waiting for -them to move up, Carlton leaned out of his hansom -and called the bareheaded man to its side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is the Duke of Hohenwald stopping at your -hotel?” he asked. The bareheaded man answered -that he was.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All right, Nolan,” cried Carlton. “They can -take in the trunks.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Hearing this, the bareheaded man hastened to -help Carlton to alight. “That was the Duke -who just drove off, sir; and those,” he said, pointing -to three muffled figures who were stepping -into a second carriage, “are his sisters, the Princesses.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton stopped midway, with one foot on the -step and the other in the air.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The deuce they are!” he exclaimed; “and -which is—” he began, eagerly, and then remembering -himself, dropped back on the cushions of -the hansom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He broke into the little dining-room at Cox’s -in so excited a state that two dignified old gentlemen -who were eating there sat open-mouthed in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>astonished disapproval. Mrs. Downs and Miss -Morris had just come down stairs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have seen her!” Carlton cried, ecstatically; -“only half an hour in the town, and I’ve seen her -already!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No, really?” exclaimed Miss Morris. “And -how did she look? Is she as beautiful as you -expected?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, I can’t tell yet,” Carlton answered. -“There were three of them, and they were all -muffled up, and which one of the three she was I -don’t know. She wasn’t labelled, as in the picture, -but she was there, and I saw her. The -woman I love was one of that three, and I have -engaged rooms at the hotel, and this very night -the same roof shelters us both.”</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span> - <h3 class='c001'>II</h3> -</div> -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>“The course of true love certainly runs -smoothly with you,” said Miss Morris, as -they seated themselves at the table. “What is -your next move? What do you mean to do -now?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The rest is very simple,” said Carlton. “To-morrow -morning I will go to the Row; I will be -sure to find some one there who knows all about -them—where they are going, and who they are -seeing, and what engagements they may have. -Then it will only be a matter of looking up some -friend in the Household or in one of the embassies -who can present me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh,” said Miss Morris, in the tone of keenest -disappointment, “but that is such a commonplace -ending! You started out so romantically. -Couldn’t you manage to meet her in a less conventional -way?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am afraid not,” said Carlton. “You see, I -want to meet her very much, and to meet her -very soon, and the quickest way of meeting her, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>whether it’s romantic or not, isn’t a bit too quick -for me. There will be romance enough after I -am presented, if I have my way.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Carlton was not to have his way; for he -had overlooked the fact that it requires as many -to make an introduction as a bargain, and he had -left the Duke of Hohenwald out of his considerations. -He met many people he knew in the Row -the next morning; they asked him to lunch, and -brought their horses up to the rail, and he patted -the horses’ heads, and led the conversation around -to the royal wedding, and through it to the Hohenwalds. -He learned that they had attended a -reception at the German Embassy on the previous -night, and it was one of the secretaries of -that embassy who informed him of their intended -departure that morning on the eleven o’clock -train to Paris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“To Paris!” cried Carlton, in consternation. -“What! all of them?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, all of them, of course. Why?” asked -the young German. But Carlton was already -dodging across the tan-bark to Piccadilly and -waving his stick at a hansom.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Nolan met him at the door of Brown’s Hotel -with an anxious countenance.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Their Royal Highnesses have gone, sir,” he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>said. “But I’ve packed your trunks and sent -them to the station. Shall I follow them, sir?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Carlton. “Follow the trunks and -follow the Hohenwalds. I will come over on the -Club train at four. Meet me at the station, and -tell me to what hotel they have gone. Wait; if -I miss you, you can find me at the Hôtel Continental; -but if they go straight on through Paris, -you go with them, and telegraph me here and -to the Continental. Telegraph at every station, -so I can keep track of you. Have you enough -money?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have, sir—enough for a long trip, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, you’ll need it,” said Carlton, grimly. -“This is going to be a long trip. It is twenty -minutes to eleven now; you will have to hurry. -Have you paid my bill here?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have, sir,” said Nolan.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then get off, and don’t lose sight of those -people again.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton attended to several matters of business, -and then lunched with Mrs. Downs and her niece. -He had grown to like them very much, and was -sorry to lose sight of them, but consoled himself -by thinking he would see them a few days at least -in Paris. He judged that he would be there for -some time, as he did not think the Princess Aline -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>and her sisters would pass through that city without -stopping to visit the shops on the Rue de la Paix.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“All women are not princesses,” he argued, -“but all princesses are women.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“We will be in Paris on Wednesday,” Mrs. -Downs told him. “The Orient Express leaves -there twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, -and we have taken an apartment for next Thursday, -and will go right on to Constantinople.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I thought you said you had to buy a lot -of clothes there?” Carlton expostulated.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mrs. Downs said that they would do that on -their way home.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Nolan met Carlton at the station, and told him -that he had followed the Hohenwalds to the Hôtel -Meurice. “There is the Duke, sir, and the three -Princesses,” Nolan said, “and there are two -German gentlemen acting as equerries, and an -English captain, a sort of A.D.C. to the Duke, -and two elderly ladies, and eight servants. They -travel very simple, sir, and their people are in -undress livery. Brown and red, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton pretended not to listen to this. He -had begun to doubt but that Nolan’s zeal would -lead him into some indiscretion, and would end -disastrously to himself. He spent the evening -alone in front of the Café de la Paix, pleasantly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>occupied in watching the life and movement of -that great meeting of the highways. It did not -seem possible that he had ever been away. It -was as though he had picked up a book and -opened it at the page and place at which he had -left off reading it a moment before. There was -the same type, the same plot, and the same characters, -who were doing the same characteristic -things. Even the waiter who tipped out his coffee -knew him; and he knew, or felt as though he -knew, half of those who passed, or who shared -with him the half of the sidewalk. The women -at the next table considered the slim, good-looking -young American with friendly curiosity, and the -men with them discussed him in French, until a -well-known Parisian recognized Carlton in passing, -and hailed him joyously in the same language, -at which the women laughed and the men looked -sheepishly conscious.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the following morning Carlton took up his -post in the open court of the Meurice, with his -coffee and the <cite>Figaro</cite> to excuse his loitering there. -He had not been occupied with these over-long -before Nolan approached him, in some excitement, -with the information that their Royal Highnesses—as -he delighted to call them—were at that -moment “coming down the lift.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>Carlton could hear their voices, and wished to -step around the corner and see them; it was for -this chance he had been waiting; but he could -not afford to act in so undignified a manner before -Nolan, so he merely crossed his legs nervously, -and told the servant to go back to the -rooms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Confound him!” he said; “I wish he would -let me conduct my own affairs in my own way. -If I don’t stop him, he’ll carry the Princess Aline -off by force and send me word where he has -hidden her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Hohenwalds had evidently departed for a -day’s outing, as up to five o’clock they had not -returned; and Carlton, after loitering all the afternoon, -gave up waiting for them, and went out to -dine at Laurent’s, in the Champs Elysées. He -had finished his dinner, and was leaning luxuriously -forward, with his elbows on the table, and -knocking the cigar ashes into his coffee-cup. He -was pleasantly content. The trees hung heavy -with leaves over his head, a fountain played and -overflowed at his elbow, and the lamps of the -fiacres passing and repassing on the Avenue of -the Champs Elysées shone like giant fire-flies -through the foliage. The touch of the gravel -beneath his feet emphasized the free, out-of-door -charm of the place, and the faces of the others -around him looked more than usually cheerful in -the light of the candles flickering under the -clouded shades. His mind had gone back to his -earlier student days in Paris, when life always -looked as it did now in the brief half-hour of -satisfaction which followed a cold bath or a good -dinner, and he had forgotten himself and his surroundings. -It was the voices of the people at -the table behind him that brought him back to -the present moment. A man was talking; he -spoke in English, with an accent.</p> -<div id='i_152' class='figcenter id003'> -<img src='images/i_152.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>“A man was talking in English, with an accent”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>“I should like to go again through the Luxembourg,” -he said; “but you need not be bound by -what I do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I think it would be pleasanter if we all keep -together,” said a girl’s voice, quietly. She also -spoke in English, and with the same accent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The people whose voices had interrupted him -were sitting and standing around a long table, -which the waiters had made large enough for their -party by placing three of the smaller ones side by -side; they had finished their dinner, and the -women, who sat with their backs toward Carlton, -were pulling on their gloves.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Which is it to be, then?” said the gentleman, -smiling. “The pictures or the dressmakers?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>The girl who had first spoken turned to the -one next to her.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Which would you rather do, Aline?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton moved so suddenly that the men behind -him looked at him curiously; but he turned, -nevertheless, in his chair and faced them, and in -order to excuse his doing so beckoned to one of -the waiters. He was within two feet of the girl -who had been called “Aline.” She raised her -head to speak, and saw Carlton staring open-eyed -at her. She glanced at him for an instant, -as if to assure herself that she did not know him, -and then, turning to her brother, smiled in the -same tolerant, amused way in which she had so -often smiled upon Carlton from the picture.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am afraid I had rather go to the Bon Marché,” -she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of the waiters stepped in between them, -and Carlton asked him for his bill; but when it -came he left it lying on the plate, and sat staring -out into the night between the candles, puffing -sharply on his cigar, and recalling to his memory -his first sight of the Princess Aline of Hohenwald.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That night, as he turned into bed, he gave a -comfortable sigh of content. “I am glad she -chose the dressmakers instead of the pictures,” -he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris arrived in Paris -on Wednesday, and expressed their anxiety to -have Carlton lunch with them, and to hear him -tell of the progress of his love-affair. There was -not much to tell; the Hohenwalds had come and -gone from the hotel as freely as any other tourists -in Paris, but the very lack of ceremony about their -movements was in itself a difficulty. The manner -of acquaintance he could make in the court of -the Hôtel Meurice with one of the men over a cup -of coffee or a glass of bock would be as readily -discontinued as begun, and for his purpose it -would have been much better if the Hohenwalds -had been living in state with a visitors’ book and -a chamberlain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On Wednesday evening Carlton took the ladies -to the opera, where the Hohenwalds occupied a -box immediately opposite them. Carlton pretended -to be surprised at this fact, but Mrs. -Downs doubted his sincerity.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I saw Nolan talking to their courier to-day,” -she said, “and I fancy he asked a few leading -questions.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, he didn’t learn much if he did,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The fellow only talks German.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Ah, then he has been asking questions!” said -Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>“Well, he does it on his own responsibility,” -said Carlton, “for I told him to have nothing to -do with servants. He has too much zeal, has -Nolan; I’m afraid of him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If you were only half as interested as he is,” -said Miss Morris, “you would have known her -long ago.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Long ago?” exclaimed Carlton. “I only saw -her four days since.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She is certainly very beautiful,” said Miss -Morris, looking across the auditorium.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But she isn’t there,” said Carlton. “That’s -the eldest sister; the two other sisters went out -on the coach this morning to Versailles, and were -too tired to come to-night. At least, so Nolan -says. He seems to have established a friendship -for their English maid, but whether it’s on my -account or his own I don’t know. I doubt his -unselfishness.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How disappointing of her!” said Miss Morris. -“And after you had selected a box just across the -way, too. It is such a pity to waste it on us.” -Carlton smiled, and looked up at her impudently, -as though he meant to say something; but remembering -that she was engaged to be married, -changed his mind, and lowered his eyes to his -programme.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“Why didn’t you say it?” asked Miss Morris, -calmly, turning her glass to the stage. “Wasn’t -it pretty?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said Carlton—“not pretty enough.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The ladies left the hotel the next day to take -the Orient Express, which left Paris at six o’clock. -They had bidden Carlton good-by at four the -same afternoon, and as he had come to their -rooms for that purpose, they were in consequence -a little surprised to see him at the station, running -wildly along the platform, followed by Nolan and -a porter. He came into their compartment after -the train had started, and shook his head sadly at -them from the door.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, what do you think of this?” he said. -“You can’t get rid of me, you see. I’m going -with you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Going with us?” asked Mrs. Downs. “How -far?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton laughed, and, coming inside, dropped -onto the cushions with a sigh. “I don’t know,” -he said, dejectedly. “All the way, I’m afraid. -That is, I mean, I’m very glad I am to have your -society for a few days more; but really I didn’t -bargain for this.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You don’t mean to tell me that <i>they</i> are on -this train?” said Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>“They are,” said Carlton. “They have a car -to themselves at the rear. They only made up -their minds to go this morning, and they nearly -succeeded in giving me the slip again; but it seems -that their English maid stopped Nolan in the hall -to bid him good-by, and so he found out their -plans. They are going direct to Constantinople, -and then to Athens. They had meant to stay in -Paris two weeks longer, it seems, but they changed -their minds last night. It was a very close shave -for me. I only got back to the hotel in time to -hear from the concierge that Nolan had flown -with all of my things, and left word for me to -follow. Just fancy! Suppose I had missed the -train, and had had to chase him clear across the -continent of Europe with not even a razor——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am glad,” said Miss Morris, “that Nolan -has not taken a fancy to <i>me</i>. I doubt if I could -resist such impetuosity.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Orient Express, in which Carlton and the -mistress of his heart and fancy were speeding -toward the horizon’s utmost purple rim, was -made up of six cars, one dining-car with a smoking-apartment -attached, and five sleeping-cars, including -the one reserved for the Duke of Hohenwald -and his suite. These cars were lightly built, -and rocked in consequence, and the dust raised -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>by the rapid movement of the train swept through -cracks and open windows, and sprinkled the passengers -with a fine and irritating coating of soot -and earth. There was one servant to the entire -twenty-two passengers. He spoke eight languages, -and never slept; but as his services were -in demand by several people in as many different -cars at the same moment he satisfied no one, and -the complaint-box in the smoking-car was stuffed -full to the slot in consequence before they had -crossed the borders of France.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton and Miss Morris went out upon one of -the platforms and sat down upon a tool-box. “It -isn’t as comfortable here as in an observation-car -at home,” said Carlton, “but it’s just as noisy.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He pointed out to her from time to time the -peasants gathering twigs, and the blue-bloused -gendarmes guarding the woods and the fences -skirting them. “Nothing is allowed to go to -waste in this country,” he said. “It looks as -though they went over it once a month with a -lawn-mower and a pruning-knife. I believe they -number the trees as we number the houses.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“And did you notice the great fortifications -covered with grass?” she said. “We have passed -such a lot of them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton nodded.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“And did you notice that they all faced only -one way?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton laughed, and nodded again. “Toward -Germany,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>By the next day they had left the tall poplars -and white roads behind them, and were crossing -the land of low shiny black helmets and brass -spikes. They had come into a country of low -mountains and black forests, with old fortified -castles topping the hills, and with red-roofed villages -scattered around the base.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How very military it all is!” Mrs. Downs said. -“Even the men at the lonely little stations in the -forests wear uniforms; and do you notice how -each of them rolls up his red flag and holds it -like a sword, and salutes the train as it passes?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They spent the hour during which the train -shifted from one station in Vienna to the other -driving about in an open carriage, and stopped -for a few moments in front of a café to drink beer -and to feel solid earth under them again, returning -to the train with a feeling which was almost -that of getting back to their own rooms. Then -they came to great steppes covered with long -thick grass, and flooded in places with little lakes -of broken ice; great horned cattle stood knee-deep -in this grass, and at the villages and way-stations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>were people wearing sheepskin jackets and waistcoats -covered with silver buttons. In one place -there was a wedding procession waiting for the -train to pass, with the friends of the bride and -groom in their best clothes, the women with silver -breastplates, and boots to their knees. It seemed -hardly possible that only two days before they -had seen another wedding party in the Champs -Elysées, where the men wore evening dress, and -the women were bareheaded and with long trains. -In forty-eight hours they had passed through -republics, principalities, empires, and kingdoms, -and from spring to winter. It was like walking -rapidly over a painted panorama of Europe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the second evening Carlton went off into -the smoking-car alone. The Duke of Hohenwald -and two of his friends had finished a late -supper, and were seated in the apartment adjoining -it. The Duke was a young man with a heavy -beard and eye-glasses. He was looking over an -illustrated catalogue of the Salon, and as Carlton -dropped on the sofa opposite the Duke raised his -head and looked at him curiously, and then -turned over several pages of the catalogue and -studied one of them, and then back at Carlton, as -though he were comparing him with something -on the page before him. Carlton was looking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>out at the night, but he could follow what was -going forward, as it was reflected in the glass of -the car window. He saw the Duke hand the -catalogue to one of the equerries, who raised his -eyebrows and nodded his head in assent. Carlton -wondered what this might mean, until he -remembered that there was a portrait of himself -by a French artist in the Salon, and concluded it -had been reproduced in the catalogue. He could -think of nothing else which would explain the -interest the two men showed in him. On the -morning following he sent Nolan out to purchase -a catalogue at the first station at which they -stopped, and found that his guess was a correct -one. A portrait of himself had been reproduced -in black and white, with his name below it.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, they know who I am now,” he said to -Miss Morris, “even if they don’t know me. That -honor is still in store for them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wish they did not lock themselves up so -tightly,” said Miss Morris. “I want to see her -very much. Cannot we walk up and down the -platform at the next station? She may be at -the window.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course,” said Carlton. “You could have -seen her at Buda-Pesth if you had spoken of it. -She was walking up and down then. The next -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>time the train stops we will prowl up and down -and feast our eyes upon her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Miss Morris had her wish gratified without -that exertion. The Hohenwalds were served in -the dining-car after the other passengers had -finished, and were in consequence only to be -seen when they passed by the doors of the other -compartments. But this same morning, after -luncheon, the three Princesses, instead of returning -to their own car, seated themselves in the -compartment adjoining the dining-car, while the -men of their party lit their cigars and sat in a -circle around them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I was wondering how long they could stand -three men smoking in one of the boxes they call -cars,” said Mrs. Downs. She was seated between -Miss Morris and Carlton, directly opposite -the Hohenwalds, and so near them that she had -to speak in a whisper. To avoid doing this Miss -Morris asked Carlton for a pencil, and scribbled -with it in the novel she held on her lap. Then -she passed them both back to him, and said, -aloud: “Have you read this? It has such a -pretty dedication.” The dedication read, “Which -is Aline?” And Carlton, taking the pencil in -his turn, made a rapid sketch of her on the fly-leaf, -and wrote beneath it: “This is she. Do you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>wonder I travelled four thousand miles to see -her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris took the book again, and glanced -at the sketch, and then at the three Princesses, -and nodded her head. “It is very beautiful,” she -said, gravely, looking out at the passing landscape.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, not beautiful exactly,” answered Carlton, -surveying the hills critically, “but certainly -very attractive. It is worth travelling a long way -to see, and I should think one would grow very -fond of it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris tore the fly-leaf out of the book, -and slipped it between the pages. “May I keep -it?” she said. Carlton nodded. “And will you -sign it?” she asked, smiling. Carlton shrugged -his shoulders, and laughed. “If you wish it,” -he answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Princess wore a gray cheviot travelling -dress, as did her sisters, and a gray Alpine hat. -She was leaning back, talking to the English -captain who accompanied them, and laughing. -Carlton thought he had never seen a woman -who appealed so strongly to every taste of which -he was possessed. She seemed so sure of herself, -so alert, and yet so gracious, so easily entertained, -and yet, when she turned her eyes toward the -strange, dismal landscape, so seriously intent upon -its sad beauty. The English captain dropped his -head, and with the pretence of pulling at his -mustache, covered his mouth as he spoke to her. -When he had finished he gazed consciously at -the roof of the car, and she kept her eyes fixed -steadily at the object toward which they had -turned when he had ceased speaking, and then, -after a decent pause, turned her eyes, as Carlton -knew she would, toward him.</p> -<div id='i_164' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/i_164.jpg' alt='' class='ig001'> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>“This is she. Do you wonder I travelled four thousand miles to see her?”</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“He was telling her who I am,” he thought, -“and about the picture in the catalogue.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>In a few moments she turned to her sister and -spoke to her, pointing out at something in the -scenery, and the same pantomime was repeated, -and again with the third sister.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Did you see those girls talking about you, Mr. -Carlton?” Miss Morris asked, after they had -left the car.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton said it looked as though they were.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course they were,” said Miss Morris. -“That Englishman told the Princess Aline something -about you, and then she told her sister, -and she told the eldest one. It would be nice if -they inherit their father’s interest in painting, -wouldn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I would rather have it degenerate into an -interest in painters myself,” said Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>Miss Morris discovered, after she had returned -to her own car, that she had left the novel where -she had been sitting, and Carlton sent Nolan back -for it. It had slipped to the floor, and the fly-leaf -upon which Carlton had sketched the Princess -Aline was lying face down beside it. Nolan picked -up the leaf, and saw the picture, and read the inscription -below: “This is she. Do you wonder -I travelled four thousand miles to see her?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He handed the book to Miss Morris, and -was backing out of the compartment, when she -stopped him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There was a loose page in this, Nolan,” she -said. “It’s gone; did you see it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A loose page, miss?” said Nolan, with some -concern. “Oh, yes, miss; I was going to tell -you; there was a scrap of paper blew away when -I was passing between the carriages. Was it -something you wanted, miss?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Something I wanted!” exclaimed Miss Morris, -in dismay.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton laughed easily. “It is just as well I -didn’t sign it, after all,” he said. “I don’t want -to proclaim my devotion to any Hungarian gypsy -who happens to read English.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You must draw me another, as a souvenir,” -Miss Morris said.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>Nolan continued on through the length of the -car until he had reached the one occupied by the -Hohenwalds, where he waited on the platform -until the English maid-servant saw him and came -to the door of the carriage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What hotel are your people going to stop at -in Constantinople?” Nolan asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The Grande-Bretagne, I think,” she answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s right,” said Nolan, approvingly. -“That’s the one we are going to. I thought I -would come and tell you about it. And, by the -way,” he said, “here’s a picture somebody’s -made of your Princess Aline. She dropped it, -and I picked it up. You had better give it back -to her. Well,” he added, politely, “I’m glad you -are coming to our hotel in Constantinople; it’s -pleasant having some one to talk to who can -speak your own tongue.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl returned to the car, and left Nolan -alone upon the platform. He exhaled a long -breath of suppressed excitement, and then gazed -around nervously upon the empty landscape.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I fancy that’s going to hurry things up a -bit,” he murmured, with an anxious smile; “he’d -never get along at all if it wasn’t for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>For reasons possibly best understood by the -German ambassador, the state of the Hohenwalds -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>at Constantinople differed greatly from that which -had obtained at the French capital. They no -longer came and went as they wished, or wandered -through the show-places of the city like -ordinary tourists. There was, on the contrary, -not only a change in their manner toward others, -but there was an insistence on their part of a difference -in the attitude of others toward themselves. -This showed itself in the reserving of -the half of the hotel for their use, and in the -haughty bearing of the equerries, who appeared -unexpectedly in magnificent uniforms. The visitors’ -book was covered with the autographs of all -of the important people in the Turkish capital, -and the Sultan’s carriages stood constantly before -the door of the hotel, awaiting their pleasure, -until they became as familiar a sight as the street -dogs, or as cabs in a hansom-cab rank.</p> - -<p class='c012'>And in following out the programme which -had been laid down for her, the Princess Aline -became even less accessible to Carlton than before, -and he grew desperate and despondent.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If the worst comes,” he said to Miss Morris, -“I shall tell Nolan to give an alarm of fire some -night, and then I will run in and rescue her -before they find out there is no fire. Or he might -frighten the horses some day, and give me a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>chance to stop them. We might even wait until -we reach Greece, and have her carried off by -brigands, who would only give her up to me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“There are no more brigands in Greece,” said -Miss Morris; “and besides, why do you suppose -they would only give her up to you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Because they would be imitation brigands,” -said Carlton, “and would be paid to give her up -to no one else.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, you plan very well,” scoffed Miss Morris, -“but you don’t <i>do</i> anything.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton was saved the necessity of doing anything -that same morning, when the English captain -in attendance on the Duke sent his card to -Carlton’s room. He came, he explained, to present -the Prince’s compliments, and would it be -convenient for Mr. Carlton to meet the Duke -that afternoon? Mr. Carlton suppressed an unseemly -desire to shout, and said, after a moment’s -consideration, that it would. He then took -the English captain downstairs to the smoking-room, -and rewarded him for his agreeable message.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Duke received Carlton in the afternoon, -and greeted him most cordially, and with as -much ease of manner as it is possible for a man -to possess who has never enjoyed the benefits of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>meeting other men on an equal footing. He -expressed his pleasure in knowing an artist with -whose work he was so familiar, and congratulated -himself on the happy accident which had brought -them both to the same hotel.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I have more than a natural interest in meeting -you,” said the Prince, “and for a reason -which you may or may not know. I thought -possibly you could help me somewhat. I have -within the past few days come into the possession -of two of your paintings; they are studies, rather, -but to me they are even more desirable than the -finished work; and I am not correct in saying -that they have come to me exactly, but to my -sister, the Princess Aline.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton could not withhold a certain start of -surprise. He had not expected that his gift -would so soon have arrived, but his face showed -only polite attention.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The studies were delivered to us in London,” -continued the Duke. “They are of Ludwig the -tragedian, and of the German Prime Minister, -two most valuable works, and especially interesting -to us. They came without any note or message -which would inform us who had sent them, -and when my people made inquiries, the dealer -refused to tell them from whom they had come. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>He had been ordered to forward them to Grasse, -but, on learning of our presence in London, sent -them direct to our hotel there. Of course it is -embarrassing to have so valuable a present from -an anonymous friend, especially so for my sister, -to whom they were addressed, and I thought that, -besides the pleasure of meeting one of whose -genius I am so warm an admirer, I might also -learn something which would enable me to discover -who our friend may be.” He paused, but -as Carlton said nothing, continued: “As it is -now, I do not feel that I can accept the pictures; -and yet I know no one to whom they can be returned, -unless I send them to the dealer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It sounds very mysterious,” said Carlton, -smiling; “and I am afraid I cannot help you. -What work I did in Germany was sold in Berlin -before I left, and in a year may have changed -hands several times. The studies of which you -speak are unimportant, and merely studies, and -could pass from hand to hand without much -record having been kept of them; but personally -I am not able to give you any information which -would assist you in tracing them.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said the Duke. “Well, then, I shall -keep them until I can learn more; and if we can -learn nothing, I shall return them to the dealer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>Carlton met Miss Morris that afternoon in a -state of great excitement. “It’s come!” he cried—“it’s -come! I am to meet her this week. I -have met her brother, and he has asked me to -dine with them on Thursday night; that’s the -day before they leave for Athens; and he particularly -mentioned that his sisters would be at the -dinner, and that it would be a pleasure to present -me. It seems that the eldest paints, and all of -them love art for art’s sake, as their father taught -them to do; and, for all we know, he may make -me court painter, and I shall spend the rest of -my life at Grasse painting portraits of the Princess -Aline, at the age of twenty-two, and at all -future ages. And if he does give me a commission -to paint her, I can tell you now in confidence -that that picture will require more sittings than -any other picture ever painted by man. Her -hair will have turned white by the time it is finished, -and the gown she started to pose in will -have become forty years behind the fashion!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>On the morning following, Carlton and Mrs. -Downs and her niece, with all the tourists in -Constantinople, were placed in open carriages by -their dragomans, and driven in a long procession to -the Seraglio to see the Sultan’s treasures. Those -of them who had waited two weeks for this chance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>looked aggrieved at the more fortunate who had -come at the eleventh hour on the last night’s -steamer, and seemed to think these latter had -attained the privilege without sufficient effort. -The ministers of the different legations—as is the -harmless custom of such gentlemen—had impressed -every one for whom they had obtained -permission to see the treasures with the great -importance of the service rendered, and had succeeded -in making every one feel either especially -honored or especially uncomfortable at having -given them so much trouble. This sense of obligation, -and the fact that the dragomans had -assured the tourists that they were for the time -being the guests of the Sultan, awed and depressed -most of the visitors to such an extent that -their manner in the long procession of carriages -suggested a funeral cortege, with the Hohenwalds -in front, escorted by Beys and Pashas, as chief -mourners. The procession halted at the palace, -and the guests of the Sultan were received by -numerous effendis in single-button frock-coats -and freshly ironed fezzes, who served them with -glasses of water, and a huge bowl of some -sweet stuff, of which every one was supposed to -take a spoonful. There was at first a general -fear among the Cook’s tourists that there would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>not be enough of this to go round, which was -succeeded by a greater anxiety lest they should -be served twice. Some of the tourists put the -sweet stuff in their mouths direct and licked the -spoon, and others dropped it off the spoon into -the glass of water, and stirred it about and sipped -at it, and no one knew who had done the right -thing, not even those who happened to have done -it. Carlton and Miss Morris went out on to the -terrace while this ceremony was going forward, -and looked out over the great panorama of -waters, with the Sea of Marmora on one side, -the Golden Horn on the other, and the Bosporus -at their feet. The sun was shining mildly, and -the waters were stirred by great and little vessels; -before them on the opposite bank rose the dark -green cypresses which marked the grim cemetery -of England’s dead, and behind them were the -great turtle-backed mosques and pencil-like minarets -of the two cities, and close at hand the mosaic -walls and beautiful gardens of Constantine.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Your friends the Hohenwalds don’t seem to -know you this morning,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, yes; he spoke to me as we left the hotel,” -Carlton answered. “But they are on parade at -present. There are a lot of their countrymen -among the tourists.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>“I feel rather sorry for them,” Miss Morris -said, looking at the group with an amused smile. -“Etiquette cuts them off from so much innocent -amusement. Now, you are a gentleman, and the -Duke presumably is, and why should you not go -over and say, ‘Your Highness, I wish you would -present me to your sister, whom I am to meet -at dinner to-morrow night. I admire her very -much,’ and then you could point out the historical -features to her, and show her where they -have finished off a blue and green tiled wall -with a rusty tin roof, and make pretty speeches to -her. It wouldn’t hurt her, and it would do you a -lot of good. The simplest way is always the best -way, it seems to me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh yes, of course,” said Carlton. “Suppose -he came over here and said: ‘Carlton, I wish you -would present me to your young American friend. -I admire her very much.’ I would probably say: -‘Do you? Well, you will have to wait until she -expresses some desire to meet you.’ No; etiquette -is all right in itself, only some people don’t -know its laws, and that is the one instance to my -mind where ignorance of the law is no excuse.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton left Miss Morris talking with the Secretary -of the American Legation, and went to look -for Mrs. Downs. When he returned he found -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>that the young Secretary had apparently asked -and obtained permission to present the Duke’s -equerries and some of his diplomatic confrères, -who were standing now about her in an attentive -semicircle, and pointing out the different palaces -and points of interest. Carlton was somewhat -disturbed at the sight, and reproached himself -with not having presented any one to her before. -He was sure now that she must have had a dull -time of it; but he wished, nevertheless, that if she -was to meet other men, the Secretary had allowed -him to act as master of ceremonies.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I suppose you know,” that gentleman was -saying as Carlton came up, “that when you pass -by Abydos, on the way to Athens, you will see -where Leander swam the Hellespont to meet -Hero. That little white light-house is called -Leander in honor of him. It makes rather an -interesting contrast—does it not?—to think of -that chap swimming along in the dark, and then -to find that his monument to-day is a light-house, -with revolving lamps and electric appliances, and -with ocean tramps and bridges and men-of-war -around it. We have improved in our mechanism -since then,” he said, with an air, “but I am afraid -the men of to-day don’t do that sort of thing for -the women of to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>“Then it is the men who have deteriorated,” -said one of the equerries, bowing to Miss Morris; -“it is certainly not the women.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The two Americans looked at Miss Morris to -see how she received this, but she smiled good-naturedly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I know a man who did more than that for a -woman,” said Carlton, innocently. “He crossed -an ocean and several countries to meet her, and -he hasn’t met her yet.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris looked at him and laughed, in -the safety that no one understood him but herself.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But he ran no danger,” she answered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He didn’t, didn’t he?” said Carlton, looking -at her closely and laughing. “I think he was in -very great danger all the time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Shocking!” said Miss Morris, reprovingly; -“and in her very presence, too.” She knitted -her brows and frowned at him. “I really believe -if you were in prison you would make pretty -speeches to the jailer’s daughter.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Carlton, boldly, “or even to a -woman who was a prisoner herself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, turning -away from him to the others. “How far -was it that Leander swam?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The English captain pointed out two spots on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>either bank, and said that the shores of Abydos -were a little over that distance apart.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As far as that?” said Miss Morris. “How -much he must have cared for her!” She turned -to Carlton for an answer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg your pardon,” he said. He was measuring -the distance between the two points with -his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I said how much he must have cared for her! -You wouldn’t swim that far for a girl.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“For a girl!” laughed Carlton, quickly. “I -was just thinking I would do it for fifty dollars.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The English captain gave a hasty glance at the -distance he had pointed out, and then turned to -Carlton. “I’ll take you,” he said, seriously. -“I’ll bet you twenty pounds you can’t do it.” -There was an easy laugh at Carlton’s expense, -but he only shook his head and smiled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Leave him alone, captain,” said the American -Secretary. “It seems to me I remember a story -of Mr. Carlton’s swimming out from Navesink to -meet an ocean liner. It was about three miles, -and the ocean was rather rough, and when they -slowed up he asked them if it was raining in -London when they left. They thought he was -mad.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Is that true, Carlton?” asked the Englishman.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>“Something like it,” said the American, “except -that I didn’t ask them if it was raining in -London. I asked them for a drink, and it was -they who were mad. They thought I was drowning, -and slowed up to lower a boat, and when -they found out I was just swimming around they -were naturally angry.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, I’m glad you didn’t bet with me,” said -the captain, with a relieved laugh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>That evening, as the Englishman was leaving -the smoking-room, and after he had bidden Carlton -good-night, he turned back and said: “I didn’t -like to ask you before those men this morning, -but there was something about your swimming -adventure I wanted to know: Did you get that -drink?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I did,” said Carlton—“in a bottle. They -nearly broke my shoulder.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Carlton came into the breakfast-room on -the morning of the day he was to meet the Princess -Aline at dinner, Miss Morris was there alone, -and he sat down at the same table, opposite to -her. She looked at him critically, and smiled -with evident amusement.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“‘To-day,’” she quoted, solemnly, “‘the -birthday of my life has come.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton poured out his coffee, with a shake of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>his head, and frowned. “Oh, you can laugh,” -he said, “but I didn’t sleep at all last night. I -lay awake making speeches to her. I know they -are going to put me between the wrong sisters,” -he complained, “or next to one of those old -ladies-in-waiting, or whatever they are.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How are you going to begin?” said Miss Morris. -“Will you tell her you have followed her -from London—or from New York, rather—that -you are young Lochinvar, who came out of the -West, and——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t know,” said Carlton, meditatively, -“just how I shall begin; but I know the curtain -is going to rise promptly at eight o’clock—about -the time the soup comes on, I think. I don’t -see how she can help but be impressed a little bit. -It isn’t every day a man hurries around the globe -on account of a girl’s photograph; and she <i>is</i> -beautiful, isn’t she?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris nodded her head encouragingly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know, sometimes,” said Carlton, -glancing over his shoulders to see if the waiters -were out of hearing, “I fancy she has noticed me. -Once or twice I have turned my head in her direction -without meaning to, and found her looking—well, -looking my way, at least. Don’t you think -that is a good sign?” he asked, eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>“It depends on what you call a ‘good sign,’” -said Miss Morris, judicially. “It is a sign you’re -good to look at, if that’s what you want. But -you probably know that already, and it’s nothing -to your credit. It certainly isn’t a sign that a -person cares for you because she prefers to look -at your profile rather than at what the dragomans -are trying to show her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton drew himself up stiffly. “If you knew -your <i>Alice</i> better,” he said, with severity, “you -would understand that it is not polite to make -personal remarks. I ask you, as my confidante, -if you think she has noticed me, and you make -fun of my looks! That’s not the part of a confidante.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Noticed you!” laughed Miss Morris, scornfully. -“How could she help it? You are always -in the way. You are at the door whenever -they go out or come in, and when we are visiting -mosques and palaces you are invariably looking -at her instead of the tombs and things, with a -wistful far-away look, as though you saw a vision. -The first time you did it, after you had turned -away I saw her feel to see if her hair was all right. -You quite embarrassed her.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I didn’t—I don’t!” stammered Carlton, indignantly. -“I wouldn’t be so rude. Oh, I see I’ll -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>have to get another confidante; you are most -unsympathetic and unkind.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>But Miss Morris showed her sympathy later in -the day, when Carlton needed it sorely; for the -dinner toward which he had looked with such -pleasurable anticipations and loverlike misgivings -did not take place. The Sultan, so the equerry -informed him, had, with Oriental unexpectedness, -invited the Duke to dine that night at the Palace, -and the Duke, much to his expressed regret, had -been forced to accept what was in the nature of -a command. He sent word by his equerry, however, -that the dinner to Mr. Carlton was only a -pleasure deferred, and that at Athens, where he -understood Carlton was also going, he hoped to -have the pleasure of entertaining him and making -him known to his sisters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He is a selfish young egoist,” said Carlton to -Mrs. Downs. “As if I cared whether he was at -the dinner or not! Why couldn’t he have fixed -it so I might have dined with his sisters alone? -We would never have missed him. I’ll never -meet her now. I know it; I feel it. Fate is -against me. Now I will have to follow them on -to Athens, and something will turn up there to -keep me away from her. You’ll see; you’ll see. -I wonder where they go from Athens?”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>The Hohenwalds departed the next morning, -and as their party had engaged all the staterooms -in the little Italian steamer, Carlton was -forced to wait over for the next. He was very -gloomy over his disappointment, and Miss Morris -did her best to amuse him. She and her aunt -were never idle now, and spent the last few days -of their stay in Constantinople in the bazaars or -in excursions up and down the river.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“These are my last days of freedom,” Miss -Morris said to him once, “and I mean to make -the most of them. After this there will be no -more travelling for me. And I love it so!” she -added, wistfully.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton made no comment, but he felt a certain -contemptuous pity for the young man in -America who had required such a sacrifice. -“She is too nice a girl to let him know she is making -a sacrifice,” he thought, “or giving up anything -for him, but <i>she</i> won’t forget it.” And -Carlton again commended himself for not having -asked any woman to make any sacrifices for him.</p> - -<p class='c012'>They left Constantinople for Athens one moonlight -night, three days after the Hohenwalds had -taken their departure, and as the evening and -the air were warm, they remained upon the -upper deck until the boat had entered the Dardanelles. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>There were few passengers, and Mrs. -Downs went below early, leaving Miss Morris -and Carlton hanging over the rail, and looking -down upon a band of Hungarian gypsies, who -were playing the weird music of their country on -the deck beneath them. The low receding hills -lay close on either hand, and ran back so sharply -from the narrow waterway that they seemed to -shut in the boat from the world beyond. The -moonlight showed a little mud fort or a thatched -cottage on the bank fantastically, as through a -mist, and from time to time as they sped forward -they saw the camp-fire of a sentry, and his shadow -as he passed between it and them, or stopped to -cover it with wood. The night was so still that -they could hear the waves in the steamer’s wake -washing up over the stones on either shore, and -the muffled beat of the engines echoed back from -either side of the valley through which they -passed. There was a great lantern hanging midway -from the mast, and shining down upon the -lower deck. It showed a group of Greeks, Turks, -and Armenians, in strange costumes, sleeping, -huddled together in picturesque confusion over -the bare boards, or wide awake and voluble, -smoking and chatting together in happy company. -The music of the tizanes rose in notes of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>passionate ecstasy and sharp, unexpected bursts -of melody. It ceased and began again, as though -the musicians were feeling their way, and then -burst out once more into shrill defiance. It -stirred Carlton with a strange turbulent unrest. -From the banks the night wind brought soft -odors of fresh earth and of heavy foliage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The music of different countries,” Carlton -said at last, “means many different things. -But it seems to me that the music of Hungary is -the music of love.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris crossed her arms comfortably on -the rail, and he heard her laugh softly. “Oh no, -it is not,” she said, undisturbed. “It is a passionate, -gusty, heady sort of love, if you like, but -it’s no more like the real thing than burgundy is -like clear, cold, good water. It’s not the real -thing at all.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg your pardon,” said Carlton, meekly. -“Of course I don’t know anything about it.” -He had been waked out of the spell which the -night and the tizanes had placed upon him as -completely as though some one had shaken him -sharply by the shoulder. “I bow,” he said, “to -your superior knowledge. I know nothing about -it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No; you are quite right. I don’t believe you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>do know anything about it,” said the girl, “or -you wouldn’t have made such a comparison.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know, Miss Morris,” said Carlton, -seriously, “that I believe I’m not able to care for -a woman as other men do—at least as some men do; -it’s just lacking in me, and always will be lacking. -It’s like an ear for music; if you haven’t got it, if it -isn’t born in you, you’ll never have it. It’s not -a thing you can cultivate, and I feel that it’s not -only a misfortune, but a fault. Now I honestly -believe that I care more for the Princess Aline, -whom I have never met, than many other men -could care for her if they knew her well; but what -they feel would last, and I have doubts from past -experience that what I feel would. I don’t doubt -it while it exists, but it never does exist long, and -so I am afraid it is going to be with me to the end -of the chapter.” He paused for a moment, but -the girl did not answer. “I am speaking in -earnest now,” he added, with a rueful laugh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I see you are,” she replied, briefly. She -seemed to be considering his condition as he had -described it to her, and he did not interrupt her. -From below them came the notes of the waltz -the gypsies played. It was full of the undercurrent -of sadness that a waltz should have, and -filled out what Carlton said as the music from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>the orchestra in a theatre heightens the effect -without interrupting the words of the actor on -the stage.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It is strange,” said Miss Morris. “I should -have thought you were a man who would care -very much and in just the right way. But I -don’t believe really—I’m sorry, but I don’t believe -you do know what love means at all.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, it isn’t as bad as that,” said Carlton. -“I think I know what it is, and what it means to -other people, but I can’t feel it myself. The best -idea I ever got of it—the thing that made it clear -to me—was a line in a play. It seemed to express -it better than any of the love-poems I ever -read. It was in ‘Shenandoah.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris laughed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg your pardon,” said Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I beg yours,” she said. “It was only the incongruity -that struck me. It seemed so odd to -be quoting ‘Shenandoah’ here in the Dardanelles, -with these queer people below us and ancient -Troy on one hand—it took me by surprise, that’s -all. Please go on. What was it impressed you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, the hero in the play,” said Carlton, “is -an officer in the Northern army, and he is lying -wounded in a house near the Shenandoah Valley. -The girl he loves lives in this house, and is nursing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>him; but she doesn’t love him, because she -sympathizes with the South. At least she says -she doesn’t love him. Both armies are forming -in the valley below to begin the battle, and he -sees his own regiment hurrying past to join -them. So he gets up and staggers out on the -stage, which is set to show the yard in front of -the farm-house, and he calls for his horse to follow -his men. Then the girl runs out and begs -him not to go; and he asks why, what does it -matter to her whether he goes or not? And she -says, ‘But I cannot let you go; you may be killed.’ -And he says again, ‘What is that to you?’ And -she says: ‘It is everything to me. I love you.’ -And he makes a grab at her with his wounded -arm, and at that instant both armies open fire in -the valley below, and the whole earth and sky -seem to open and shut, and the house rocks. -The girl rushes at him and crowds up against his -breast, and cries: ‘What is that? Oh, what is -that?’ and he holds her tight to him and laughs, -and says: ‘<i>That?</i> That’s only a battle—you love -me.’”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris looked steadfastly over the side of -the boat at the waters rushing by beneath, smiling -to herself. Then she turned her face toward -Carlton, and nodded her head at him. “I think,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>she said, dryly, “that you have a fair idea of what -it means; a rough working-plan at least—enough -to begin on.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I said that I knew what it meant to others. I -am complaining that I cannot feel it myself.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That will come in time, no doubt,” she said, -encouragingly, with the air of a connoisseur; -“and let me tell you,” she added, “that it will be -all the better for the woman that you have doubted -yourself so long.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You think so?” said Carlton, eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris laughed at his earnestness, and -left him to go below to ask her aunt to join them, -but Mrs. Downs preferred to read in the saloon, -and Miss Morris returned alone. She had taken -off her Eton jacket and pulled on a heavy blue -football sweater, and over this a reefer. The -jersey clung to her and showed the lines of her -figure, and emphasized the freedom and grace -with which she made every movement. She -looked, as she walked at his side with her hands -in the pockets of her coat and with a flat sailor hat -on her head, like a tall, handsome boy; but when -they stopped and stood where the light fell full -on her hair and the exquisite coloring of her skin, -Carlton thought her face had never seemed so -delicate or fair as it did then, rising from the collar -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>of the rough jersey, and contrasted with the -hat and coat of a man’s attire. They paced the -deck for an hour later, until every one else had -left it, and at midnight were still loath to give up -the beautiful night and the charm of their strange -surroundings. There were long silent places in -their talk, during which Carlton tramped beside -her with his head half turned, looking at her and -noting with an artist’s eye the free light step, the -erect carriage, and the unconscious beauty of her -face. The captain of the steamer joined them -after midnight, and falling into step, pointed out -to Miss Morris where great cities had stood, where -others lay buried, and where beyond the hills -were the almost inaccessible monasteries of the -Greek Church. The moonlight turned the banks -into shadowy substances, in which the ghosts of -former days seemed to make a part; and spurred -by the young girl’s interest, the Italian, to entertain -her, called up all the legends of mythology -and the stories of Roman explorers and Turkish -conquerors.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I turn in now,” he said, after Miss Morris -had left them. “A most charming young lady. -Is it not so?” he added, waving his cigarette in a -gesture which expressed the ineffectiveness of the -adjective.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>“Yes, very,” said Carlton. “Good-night, sir.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>He turned, and leaned with both elbows on the -rail, and looked out at the misty banks, puffing -at his cigar. Then he dropped it hissing into -the water, and, stifling a yawn, looked up and -down the length of the deserted deck. It seemed -particularly bare and empty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What a pity she’s engaged!” Carlton said. -“She loses so much by it.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They steamed slowly into the harbor of the -Piræus at an early hour the next morning, with a -flotilla of small boats filled with shrieking porters -and hotel-runners at the sides. These men tossed -their painters to the crew, and crawled up them -like a boarding crew of pirates, running wildly -about the deck, and laying violent hands on any -piece of baggage they saw unclaimed. The passengers’ -trunks had been thrown out in a heap on -the deck, and Nolan and Carlton were clambering -over them, looking for their own effects, while -Miss Morris stood below, as far out of the confusion -as she could place herself, and pointed out -the different pieces that belonged to her. As she -stood there one of the hotel-runners, a burly, -greasy Levantine in pursuit of a possible victim, -shouldered her intentionally and roughly out of -the way. He shoved her so sharply that she lost -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>her balance and fell back against the rail. Carlton -saw what had happened, and made a flying -leap from the top of the pile of trunks, landing -beside her, and in time to seize the escaping -offender by the collar. He jerked him back off -his feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How dare you—” he began.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But he did not finish. He felt the tips of Miss -Morris’s fingers laid upon his shoulder, and her -voice saying, in an annoyed tone: “Don’t; please -don’t.” And, to his surprise, his fingers lost their -grip on the man’s shirt, his arms dropped at his -side, and his blood began to flow calmly again -through his veins. Carlton was aware that he -had a very quick temper. He was always engaging -in street rows, as he called them, with men -who he thought had imposed on him or on some -one else, and though he was always ashamed of -himself later, his temper had never been satisfied -without a blow or an apology. Women had also -touched him before, and possibly with a greater -familiarity; but these had stirred him, not quieted -him; and men who had laid detaining hands on -him had had them beaten down for their pains. -But this girl had merely touched him gently, and -he had been made helpless. It was most perplexing; -and while the custom-house officials were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>passing his luggage, he found himself rubbing -his arm curiously, as though it were numb, and -looking down at it with an amused smile. He -did not comment on the incident, although he -smiled at the recollection of his prompt obedience -several times during the day. But as he was -stepping into the cab to drive to Athens, he saw -the offending ruffian pass, dripping with water, -and muttering bitter curses. When he saw Carlton -he disappeared instantly in the crowd. Carlton -stepped over to where Nolan sat beside the -driver on the box. “Nolan,” he said, in a low -voice, “isn’t that the fellow who——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, sir,” said Nolan, touching his hat gravely. -“He was pulling a valise one way, and the gentleman -that owned it, sir, was pulling it the other, -and the gentleman let go sudden, and the Italian -went over backwards off the pier.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton smiled grimly with secret satisfaction.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Nolan,” he said, “you’re not telling the truth. -You did it yourself.” Nolan touched his cap and -coughed consciously. There had been no detaining -fingers on Nolan’s arm.</p> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span> - <h3 class='c001'>III</h3> -</div> -<p class='drop-capa0_0_6 c011'>“You are coming now, Miss Morris,” exclaimed -Carlton from the front of the carriage -in which they were moving along the sunny -road to Athens, “into a land where one restores his -lost illusions. Anybody who wishes to get back -his belief in beautiful things should come here to -do it, just as he would go to a German sanitarium -to build up his nerves or his appetite. You have -only to drink in the atmosphere and you are cured. -I know no better antidote than Athens for a siege -of cable-cars and muddy asphalt pavements and -a course of ‘Robert Elsmeres’ and the ‘Heavenly -Twins.’ Wait until you see the statues of the -young athletes in the Museum,” he cried, enthusiastically, -“and get a glimpse of the blue sky -back of Mount Hymettus, and the moonlight -some evening on the Acropolis, and you’ll be convinced -that nothing counts for much in this world -but health and straight limbs, and tall marble pillars, -and eyes trained to see only what is beautiful. -Give people a love for beauty and a respect for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>health, Miss Morris, and the result is going to be, -what they once had here, the best art and the -greatest writers and satirists and poets. The -same audience that applauded Euripides and -Sophocles in the open theatre used to cross the -road the same day to applaud the athletes who -ran naked in the Olympian games, and gave them -as great honor. I came here once on a walking -tour with a chap who wasn’t making as much of -himself as he should have done, and he went -away a changed man, and became a personage -in the world, and you would never guess what it -was that did it. He saw a statue of one of the -Greek gods in the Museum which showed certain -muscles that he couldn’t find in his own -body, and he told me he was going to train down -until they did show; and he stopped drinking and -loafing to do it, and took to exercising and working; -and by the time the muscles showed out -clear and strong he was so keen over life that he -wanted to make the most of it, and, as I said, he -has done it. That’s what a respect for his own -body did for him.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The carriage stopped at the hotel on one side -of the public square of Athens, with the palace -and its gardens blocking one end, and yellow -houses with red roofs, and gay awnings over the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>cafés, surrounding it. It was a bright sunny day, -and the city was clean and cool and pretty.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Breakfast?” exclaimed Miss Morris, in answer -to Carlton’s inquiry; “yes, I suppose so, but -I won’t feel safe until I have my feet on that -rock.” She was standing on the steps of the -hotel, looking up with expectant, eager eyes at -the great Acropolis above the city.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“It has been there for a long time now,” suggested -Carlton, “and I think you can risk its -being there for a half-hour longer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” she said, reluctantly, “but I don’t -wish to lose this chance. There might be an -earthquake, for instance.”</p> - -<p class='c014'>“We are likely to see <i>them</i> this morning,” said -Carlton, as he left the hotel with the ladies and -drove toward the Acropolis. “Nolan has been -interviewing the English maid, and she tells him -they spend the greater part of their time up there -on the rock. They are living very simply here, -as they did in Paris; that is, for the present. On -Wednesday the King gives a dinner and a reception -in their honor.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When does your dinner come off?” asked -Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Never,” said Carlton, grimly.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>“One of the reasons why I like to come back -to Athens so much,” said Mrs. Downs, “is because -there are so few other tourists here to spoil -the local color for you, and there are almost as -few guides as tourists, so that you can wander -around undisturbed and discover things for yourself. -They don’t label every fallen column, and -place fences around the temples. They seem to -put you on your good behavior. Then I always -like to go to a place where you are as much of a -curiosity to the people as they are to you. It -seems to excuse your staring about you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“A curiosity!” exclaimed Carlton; “I should -say so! The last time I was here I tried to wear -a pair of knickerbockers around the city, and the -people stared so that I had to go back to the -hotel and change them. I shouldn’t have minded -it so much in any other country, but I thought -men who wore Jaeger underclothing and women’s -petticoats for a national costume might have excused -so slight an eccentricity as knickerbockers. -<i>They</i> had no right to throw the first stone.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The rock upon which the temples of the Acropolis -are built is more of a hill than a rock. It is -much steeper upon one side than the other, with a -sheer fall a hundred yards broad; on the opposite -side there are the rooms of the Hospital of Æsculapius -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>and the theatres of Dionysus and Herodes -Atticus. The top of the rock holds the Parthenon -and the other smaller temples, or what yet remains -of them, and its surface is littered with -broken marble and stones and pieces of rock. -The top is so closely built over that the few tourists -who visit it can imagine themselves its sole -occupants for a half-hour at a time. When Carlton -and his friends arrived, the place appeared -quite deserted. They left the carriage at the base -of the rock, and climbed up to the entrance on -foot.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now, before I go on to the Parthenon,” said -Miss Morris, “I want to walk around the sides, -and see what is there. I shall begin with that -theatre to the left, and I warn you that I mean to -take my time about it. So you people who have -been here before can run along by yourselves, but -I mean to enjoy it leisurely. I am safe by myself -here, am I not?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“As safe as though you were in the Metropolitan -Museum,” said Carlton, as he and Mrs. -Downs followed Miss Morris along the side of -the hill toward the ruined theatre of Herodes, and -stood at its top, looking down into the basin -below. From their feet ran a great semicircle of -marble seats, descending tier below tier to a marble -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>pavement, and facing a great ruined wall of -pillars and arches which in the past had formed -the background for the actors. From the height -on which they stood above the city they could see -the green country stretching out for miles on -every side and swimming in the warm sunlight, -the dark groves of myrtle on the hills, the silver -ribbon of the inland water, and the dark blue -Ægean Sea. The bleating of sheep and the tinkling -of the bells came up to them from the pastures -below, and they imagined they could hear -the shepherds piping to their flocks from one little -hill-top to another.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The country is not much changed,” said Carlton. -“And when you stand where we are now, -you can imagine that you see the procession winding -its way over the road to the Eleusinian Mysteries, -with the gilded chariots, and the children -carrying garlands, and the priestesses leading the -bulls for the sacrifice.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What can we imagine is going on here?” said -Miss Morris, pointing with her parasol to the -theatre below.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, this is much later,” said Carlton. “This -was built by the Romans. They used to act and -to hold their public meetings here. This corresponds -to the top row of our gallery, and you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>can imagine that you are looking down on the -bent backs of hundreds of bald-headed men in -white robes, listening to the speakers strutting -about below there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I wonder how much they could hear from this -height?” said Mrs. Downs.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, they had that big wall for a sounding-board, -and the air is so soft here that their voices -should have carried easily, and I believe they -wore masks with mouth-pieces, that conveyed -the sound like a fireman’s trumpet. If you like, -I will run down there and call up to you, and you -can hear how it sounded. I will speak in my -natural voice first, and if that doesn’t reach -you, wave your parasol, and I will try it a little -louder.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, do!” said Miss Morris. “It will be -very good of you. I should like to hear a real -speech in the theatre of Herodes,” she said, as -she seated herself on the edge of the marble -crater.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll have to speak in English,” said Carlton, -as he disappeared; “my Greek isn’t good enough -to carry that far.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mrs. Downs seated herself beside her niece, -and Carlton began scrambling down the side of -the amphitheatre. The marble benches were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>broken in parts, and where they were perfect were -covered with a fine layer of moss as smooth and -soft as green velvet, so that Carlton, when he was -not laboriously feeling for his next foothold with -the toe of his boot, was engaged in picking spring -flowers from the beds of moss and sticking them, -for safe-keeping, in his button-hole. He was several -minutes in making the descent, and so busily -occupied in doing it that he did not look up until -he had reached the level of the ground, and -jumped lightly from the first row of seats to the -stage, covered with moss, which lay like a heavy -rug over the marble pavement. When he did -look up he saw a tableau that made his heart, -which was beating quickly from the exertion of -the descent, stand still with consternation. The -Hohenwalds had, in his short absence, descended -from the entrance of the Acropolis, and had -stopped on their way to the road below to look -into the cool green and white basin of the theatre. -At the moment Carlton looked up the Duke was -standing in front of Mrs. Downs and Miss Morris, -and all of the men had their hats off. Then, in -pantomime, and silhouetted against the blue sky -behind them, Carlton saw the Princesses advance -beside their brother, and Mrs. Downs and -her niece curtsied three times, and then the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>whole party faced about in a line and looked -down at him. The meaning of the tableau was -only too plain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Good heavens!” gasped Carlton. “Everybody’s -getting introduced to everybody else, and -I’ve missed the whole thing! If they think I’m -going to stay down here and amuse them, and -miss all the fun myself, they are greatly mistaken.” -He made a mad rush for the front first -row of seats; but there was a cry of remonstrance -from above, and, looking up, he saw all of the -men waving him back.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Speech!” cried the young English Captain, -applauding loudly, as though welcoming an actor -on his first entrance. “Hats off!” he cried. -“Down in front! Speech!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Confound that ass!” said Carlton, dropping -back to the marble pavement again, and gazing -impotently up at the row of figures outlined -against the sky. “I must look like a bear in the -bear-pit at the Zoo,” he growled. “They’ll be -throwing buns to me next.” He could see the -two elder sisters talking to Mrs. Downs, who was -evidently explaining his purpose in going down -to the stage of the theatre, and he could see the -Princess Aline bending forward, with both hands -on her parasol, and smiling. The captain made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>a trumpet of his hands, and asked why he didn’t -begin.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Hello! how are you?” Carlton called back, -waving his hat at him in some embarrassment. -“I wonder if I look as much like a fool as I feel?” -he muttered.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“What did you say? We can’t hear you,” -answered the captain.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Louder! louder!” called the equerries. Carlton -swore at them under his breath, and turned -and gazed round the hole in which he was penned -in order to make them believe that he had given -up the idea of making a speech, or had ever -intended doing so. He tried to think of something -clever to shout back at them, and rejected -“Ye men of Athens” as being too flippant, and -“Friends, Countrymen, Romans,” as requiring -too much effort. When he looked up again the -Hohenwalds were moving on their way, and as -he started once more to scale the side of the theatre -the Duke waved his hand at him in farewell, -and gave another hand to his sisters, who disappeared -with him behind the edge of the upper -row of seats. Carlton turned at once and dropped -into one of the marble chairs and bowed his -head. When he did reach the top Miss Morris -held out a sympathetic hand to him and shook -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>her head sadly, but he could see that she was -pressing her lips tightly together to keep from -smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh, it’s all very funny for you,” he said, refusing -her hand. “I don’t believe you are in love -with anybody. You don’t know what it means.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They revisited the rock on the next day and on -the day after, and then left Athens for an inland -excursion to stay overnight. Miss Morris returned -from it with the sense of having done her -duty once, and by so doing having earned the -right to act as she pleased in the future. What -she best pleased to do was to wander about over -the broad top of the Acropolis, with no serious -intent of studying its historical values, but rather, -as she explained it, for the simple satisfaction of -feeling that she was there. She liked to stand -on the edge of the low wall along its top and look -out over the picture of sea and plain and mountains -that lay below her. The sun shone brightly, -and the wind swept by them as though they were -on the bridge of an ocean steamer, and there was -the added invigorating sense of pleasure that -comes to us when we stand on a great height. -Carlton was sitting at her feet, shielded from the -wind by a fallen column, and gazing up at her -with critical approval.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>“You look like a sort of a ‘Winged Victory’ -up there,” he said, “with the wind blowing your -skirts about and your hair coming down.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I don’t remember that the ‘Winged Victory’ -has any hair to blow about,” suggested Miss -Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’d like to paint you,” continued Carlton, -“just as you are standing now, only I would put -you in a Greek dress; and you could stand a -Greek dress better than almost any one I know. -I would paint you with your head up and one -hand shielding your eyes, and the other pressed -against your breast. It would be stunning.” He -spoke enthusiastically, but in quite an impersonal -tone, as though he were discussing the posing of -a model.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris jumped down from the low wall -on which she had been standing, and said, simply, -“Of course I should like to have you paint -me very much.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Mrs. Downs looked up with interest to see if -Mr. Carlton was serious.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“When?” said Carlton, vaguely. “Oh, I don’t -know. Of course this is entirely too nice to last, -and you will be going home soon, and then when -I do get back to the States you will—you will have -other things to do.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>“Yes,” repeated Miss Morris, “I shall have -something else to do besides gazing out at the -Ægean Sea.” She raised her head and looked -across the rock for a moment with some interest. -Her eyes, which had grown wistful, lighted again -with amusement. “Here are your friends,” she -said, smiling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No!” exclaimed Carlton, scrambling to his -feet.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Miss Morris. “The Duke has -seen us, and is coming over here.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>When Carlton had gained his feet and turned -to look, his friends had separated in different -directions, and were strolling about alone or in -pairs among the great columns of the Parthenon. -But the Duke came directly toward them, and -seated himself on a low block of marble in front -of the two ladies. After a word or two about -the beauties of the place, he asked if they would -go to the reception which the King gave to him -on the day following. They answered that they -should like to come very much, and the Prince -expressed his satisfaction, and said that he would -see that the chamberlain sent them invitations. -“And you, Mr. Carlton, you will come also, I -hope. I wish you to be presented to my sisters. -They are only amateurs in art, but they are great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>admirers of your work, and they have rebuked -me for not having already presented you. We -were all disappointed,” he continued, courteously, -“at not having you to dine with us that night in -Constantinople, but now I trust I shall see something -of you here. You must tell us what we are -to admire.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is very easy,” said Carlton. “Everything.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You are quite right,” said the Prince, bowing -to the ladies as he moved away. “It is all very -beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, now you certainly will meet her,” said -Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Oh no, I won’t,” said Carlton, with resignation. -“I have had two chances and lost them, -and I’ll miss this one too.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, there is a chance you shouldn’t miss,” -said Miss Morris, pointing and nodding her head. -“There she is now, and all alone. She’s sketching, -isn’t she, or taking notes? What is she doing?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton looked eagerly in the direction Miss -Morris had signified, and saw the Princess Aline -sitting at some distance from them, with a book -on her lap. She glanced up from this now and -again to look at something ahead of her, and was -apparently deeply absorbed in her occupation.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>“There is your opportunity,” said Mrs. Downs; -“and we are going back to the hotel. Shall we -see you at luncheon?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Carlton, “unless I get a position -as drawing-master; in that case I shall be here -teaching the three amateurs in art. Do you -think I can do it?” he asked Miss Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Decidedly,” she answered. “I have found -you a most educational young person.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>They went away together, and Carlton moved -cautiously toward the spot where the Princess -was sitting. He made a long and roundabout -détour as he did so, in order to keep himself -behind her. He did not mean to come so near -that she would see him, but he took a certain -satisfaction in looking at her when she was alone, -though her loneliness was only a matter of the -moment, and though he knew that her people -were within a hundred yards of her. He was in -consequence somewhat annoyed and surprised to -see another young man dodging in and out among -the pillars of the Parthenon immediately ahead of -him, and to find that this young man also had -his attention centred on the young girl, who sat -unconsciously sketching in the foreground.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now what the devil can he want?” muttered -Carlton, his imagination taking alarm at once.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>“If it would only prove to be some one who meant -harm to her,” he thought—“a brigand, or a beggar, -who might be obligingly insolent, or even a -tipsy man, what a chance it would afford for -heroic action!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>With this hope he moved forward quickly but -silently, hoping that the stranger might prove -even to be an anarchist with a grudge against -royalty. And as he advanced he had the satisfaction -of seeing the Princess glance over her -shoulder, and, observing the man, rise and walk -quickly away toward the edge of the rock. There -she seated herself with her face toward the city, -and with her back firmly set against her pursuer.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“He <i>is</i> annoying her!” exclaimed Carlton, delightedly, -as he hurried forward. “It looks as -though my chance had come at last.” But as he -approached the stranger he saw, to his great disappointment, -that he had nothing more serious -to deal with than one of the international army of -amateur photographers, who had been stalking -the Princess as a hunter follows an elk, or as he -would have stalked a race-horse or a prominent -politician or a Lord Mayor’s show, everything -being fish that came within the focus of his camera. -A helpless statue and an equally helpless -young girl were both good subjects and at his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>mercy. He was bending over, with an anxious -expression of countenance, and focussing his camera -on the back of the Princess Aline, when Carlton -approached from the rear. As the young -man put his finger on the button of the camera, -Carlton jogged his arm with his elbow, and -pushed the enthusiastic tourist to one side.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I say,” exclaimed that individual, “look -where you’re going, will you? You spoiled that -plate.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I’ll spoil your camera if you annoy that young -lady any longer,” said Carlton, in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The photographer was rapidly rewinding his -roll, and the fire of pursuit was still in his eye.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She’s a Princess,” he explained, in an excited -whisper.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well,” said Carlton, “even a Princess is entitled -to some consideration. Besides,” he said, -in a more amicable tone, “you haven’t a permit -to photograph on the Acropolis. You know you -haven’t.” Carlton was quite sure of this, because -there were no such permits.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The amateur looked up in some dismay. “I -didn’t know you had to have them,” he said. -“Where can I get one?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The King may give you one,” said Carlton. -“He lives at the palace. If they catch you up -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>here without a license, they will confiscate your -camera and lock you up. You had better vanish -before they see you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thank you. I will,” said the tourist, anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Now,” thought Carlton, smiling pleasantly, -“when he goes to the palace with that box and -asks for a permit, they’ll think he is either a dynamiter -or a crank, and before they are through -with him his interest in photography will have -sustained a severe shock.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>As Carlton turned from watching the rapid -flight of the photographer, he observed that the -Princess had remarked it also, as she had no -doubt been a witness of what had passed, even if -she had not overheard all that had been said. -She rose from her enforced position of refuge with -a look of relief, and came directly toward Carlton -along the rough path that led through the débris -on the top of the Acropolis. Carlton had thought, -as he watched her sitting on the wall, with her -chin resting on her hand, that she would make a -beautiful companion picture to the one he had -wished to paint of Miss Morris—the one girl -standing upright, looking fearlessly out to sea, on -the top of the low wall, with the wind blowing her -skirts about her, and her hair tumbled in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>breeze, and the other seated, bending intently -forward, as though watching for the return of a -long-delayed vessel; a beautifully sad face, fine -and delicate and noble, the face of a girl on the -figure of a woman. And when she rose he made -no effort to move away, or, indeed, to pretend not -to have seen her, but stood looking at her as -though he had the right to do so, and as though -she must know he had that right. As she came -toward him the Princess Aline did not stop, nor -even shorten her steps; but as she passed opposite -to him she bowed her thanks with a sweet -impersonal smile and a dropping of the eyes, and -continued steadily on her way.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton stood for some short time looking after -her, with his hat still at his side. She seemed -farther from him at that moment than she had -ever been before, although she had for the first -time recognized him. But he knew that it was -only as a human being that she had recognized -him. He put on his hat, and sat down on a -rock with his elbows on his knees, and filled his -pipe.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“If that had been any other girl,” he thought, -“I would have gone up to her and said, ‘Was that -man annoying you?’ and she would have said, -‘Yes; thank you,’ or something; and I would have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>walked along with her until we had come up to -her friends, and she would have told them I had -been of some slight service to her, and they would -have introduced us, and all would have gone well. -But because she is a Princess she cannot be approached -in that way. At least she does not -think so, and I have to act as she has been told I -should act, and not as I think I should. After -all, she is only a very beautiful girl, and she must -be very tired of her cousins and grandmothers, -and of not being allowed to see any one else. -These royalties make a very picturesque show for -the rest of us, but indeed it seems rather hard on -them. A hundred years from now there will be -no more kings and queens, and the writers of that -day will envy us, just as the writers of this day -envy the men who wrote of chivalry and tournaments, -and they will have to choose their heroes -from bank presidents, and their heroines from -lady lawyers and girl politicians and type-writers. -What a stupid world it will be then!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The next day brought the reception to the -Hohenwalds; and Carlton, entering the reading-room -of the hotel on the same afternoon, found -Miss Morris and her aunt there together taking -tea. They both looked at him with expressions -of such genuine commiseration that he stopped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>just as he was going to seat himself and eyed -them defiantly.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Don’t tell me,” he exclaimed, “that this has -fallen through too!”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris nodded her head silently.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton dropped into the chair beside them, -and folded his arms with a frown of grim resignation. -“What is it?” he asked. “Have they -postponed the reception?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” Miss Morris said; “but the Princess -Aline will not be there.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course not,” said Carlton, calmly, “of -course not. May I ask why? I knew that she -wouldn’t be there, but I may possibly be allowed -to express some curiosity.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“She turned her ankle on one of the loose -stones on the Acropolis this afternoon,” said Miss -Morris, “and sprained it so badly that they had -to carry her——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Who carried her?” Carlton demanded, fiercely.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Some of her servants.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Of course, of course!” cried Carlton. “That’s -the way it always will be. I was there the whole -afternoon, and I didn’t see her. I wasn’t there -to help her. It’s Fate, that’s what it is—Fate! -There’s no use in my trying to fight against -Fate. Still,” he added anxiously, with a sudden -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>access of hope, “she may be well by this -evening.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I hardly think she will,” said Miss Morris, -“but we will trust so.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The King’s palace and gardens stretch along -one end of the public park, and are but just -across the street from the hotel where the Hohenwalds -and the Americans were staying. As -the hotel was the first building on the left of the -square, Carlton could see from his windows the -illuminations, and the guards of honor, and the -carriages arriving and departing, and the citizens -of Athens crowding the parks and peering -through the iron rails into the King’s garden. It -was a warm night, and lighted grandly by a full -moon that showed the Acropolis in silhouette -against the sky, and gave a strangely theatrical -look to the yellow house fronts and red roofs of -the town. Every window in the broad front -of the palace was illuminated, and through the -open doors came the sound of music, and one -without could see rows of tall servants in the -King’s blue and white livery, and the men of his -guard in their white petticoats and black and -white jackets and red caps. Carlton pulled a -light coat over his evening dress, and, with an -agitation he could hardly explain, walked across -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>the street and entered the palace. The line of -royalties had broken by the time he reached the -ball-room, and the not over-severe etiquette of -the Greek court left him free, after a bow to those -who still waited to receive it, to move about as -he pleased. His most earnest desire was to learn -whether or not the Princess Aline was present, -and with that end he clutched the English adjutant -as that gentleman was hurrying past him, -and asked eagerly if the Princess had recovered -from her accident.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” said the officer; “she’s able to walk -about, but not to stand, and sit out a dinner, and -dance, and all this sort of thing. Too bad, -wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes,” said Carlton, “very bad.” He released -his hand from the other’s arm, and dropped -back among the men grouped about the doorway. -His disappointment was very keen. Indeed, he -had not known how much this meeting with the -Princess had meant to him until he experienced -this disappointment, which was succeeded by a -wish to find Miss Morris, and have her sympathize -and laugh with him. He became conscious, -as he searched with growing impatience -the faces of those passing and repassing before -him, of how much the habit of going to Miss -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>Morris for sympathy in his unlucky love-affair -had grown of late upon him. He wondered what -he would have done in his travels without her, -and whether he should have had the interest to -carry on his pursuit had she not been there to -urge him on, and to mock at him when he grew -faint-hearted.</p> - -<p class='c012'>But when he finally did discover her he stood -quite still, and for an instant doubted if it were -she. The girl he saw seemed to be a more beautiful -sister of the Miss Morris he knew—a taller, -fairer, and more radiant personage; and he feared -that it was not she, until he remembered that this -was the first time he had ever seen her with her -hair dressed high upon her head, and in the more -distinguished accessories of a décolleté gown and -train. Miss Morris had her hand on the arm -of one of the equerries, who was battling good-naturedly -with the crowd, and trying to draw her -away from two persistent youths in diplomatic -uniform who were laughing and pressing forward -in close pursuit on the other side. Carlton approached -her with a certain feeling of diffidence, -which was most unusual to him, and asked if she -were dancing.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Carlton shall decide for me,” Miss Morris -said, dropping the equerry’s arm and standing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>beside the American. “I have promised all of these -gentlemen,” she explained, “to dance with them, -and now they won’t agree as to which is to dance -first. They’ve wasted half this waltz already in -discussing it, and they make it much more difficult -by saying that no matter how I decide, they -will fight duels with the one I choose, which is -most unpleasant for me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Most unpleasant for the gentleman you choose, -too,” suggested Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“So,” continued Miss Morris, “I have decided -to leave it to you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Well, if I am to arbitrate between the powers,” -said Carlton, with a glance at the three uniforms, -“my decision is that as they insist on fighting -duels in any event, you had better dance with me -until they have settled it between them, and then -the survivor can have the next dance.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That’s a very good idea,” said Miss Morris; -and taking Carlton’s arm, she bowed to the three -men and drew away.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Carlton,” said the equerry, with a bow, -“has added another argument in favor of maintaining -standing armies, and of not submitting -questions to arbitration.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Let’s get out of this,” said Carlton. “You don’t -want to dance, do you? Let us go where it’s cool.”</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>He led her down the stairs, and out on to the -terrace. They did not speak again until they had -left it, and were walking under the trees in the -Queen’s garden. He had noticed as they made -their way through the crowd how the men and -women turned to look at her and made way for -her, and how utterly unconscious she was of their -doing so, with that unconsciousness which comes -from familiarity with such discrimination, and -Carlton himself held his head a little higher with -the pride and pleasure the thought gave him that -he was in such friendly sympathy with so beautiful -a creature. He stopped before a low stone -bench that stood on the edge of the path, surrounded -by a screen of tropical trees, and guarded -by a marble statue. They were in deep shadow -themselves, but the moonlight fell on the path at -their feet, and through the trees on the other side -of the path they could see the open terrace of the -palace, with the dancers moving in and out of -the lighted windows. The splash of a fountain -came from some short distance behind them, and -from time to time they heard the strains of a regimental -band alternating with the softer strains of -a waltz played by a group of Hungarian musicians. -For a moment neither of them spoke, but -sat watching the white dresses of the women and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>the uniforms of the men moving in and out among -the trees, lighted by the lanterns hanging from -the branches, and the white mist of the moon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know,” said Carlton, “I’m rather -afraid of you to-night!” He paused, and watched -her for a little time as she sat upright, with her -hands folded on her lap. “You are so very resplendent -and queenly and altogether different,” -he added. The girl moved her bare shoulders -slightly and leaned back against the bench.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“The Princess did not come,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“No,” Carlton answered, with a sudden twinge -of conscience at having forgotten that fact. -“That’s one of the reasons I took you away from -those men,” he explained. “I wanted you to -sympathize with me.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris did not answer him at once. She -did not seem to be in a sympathetic mood. Her -manner suggested rather that she was tired and -troubled.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I need sympathy myself to-night,” she said. -“We received a letter after dinner that brought -bad news for us. We must go home at once.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Bad news!” exclaimed Carlton, with much -concern. “From home?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, from home,” she replied; “but there is -nothing wrong there; it is only bad news for us. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>My sister has decided to be married in June instead -of July, and that cuts us out of a month on -the Continent. That’s all. We shall have to -leave immediately—to-morrow. It seems that -Mr. Abbey is able to go away sooner than he -had hoped, and they are to be married on the -first.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Mr. Abbey!” exclaimed Carlton, catching at -the name. “But your sister isn’t going to marry -him, is she?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris turned her head in some surprise. -“Yes—why not?” she said.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But I say!” cried Carlton, “I thought—your -aunt told me that you were going to marry Abbey; -she told me so that day on the steamer when he -came to see you off.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I marry him—my aunt told you—impossible!” -said Miss Morris, smiling. “She probably said -that ‘her niece’ was going to marry him; she -meant my sister. They had been engaged some -time.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Then who are <i>you</i> going to marry?” stammered -Carlton.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I am not going to marry any one,” said Miss -Morris.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton stared at her blankly in amazement. -“Well, that’s most absurd!” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c012'><span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>He recognized instantly that the expression -was hardly adequate, but he could not readjust -his mind so suddenly to the new idea, and he -remained looking at her with many confused -memories rushing through his brain. A dozen -questions were on his tongue. He remembered -afterward how he had noticed a servant trimming -the candle in one of the orange-colored lanterns, -and that he had watched him as he disappeared -among the palms.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The silence lasted for so long a time that it had -taken on a significance in itself which Carlton -recognized. He pulled himself up with a short -laugh. “Well,” he remonstrated, mirthlessly, “I -don’t think you’ve treated <i>me</i> very well.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“How, not treated you very well?” Miss Morris -asked, settling herself more easily. She had -been sitting during the pause which followed -Carlton’s discovery with a certain rigidity, as if -she was on a strain of attention. But her tone -was now as friendly as always, and held its customary -suggestion of amusement. Carlton took -his tone from it, although his mind was still busily -occupied with incidents and words of hers that -she had spoken in their past intercourse.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Not fair in letting me think you were engaged,” -he said. “I’ve wasted so much time; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>I’m not half civil enough to engaged girls,” he -explained.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You’ve been quite civil enough to us,” said -Miss Morris, “as a courier, philosopher, and -friend. I’m very sorry we have to part company.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Part company!” exclaimed Carlton, in sudden -alarm. “But, I say, we mustn’t do that.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“But we must, you see,” said Miss Morris. -“We must go back for the wedding, and you will -have to follow the Princess Aline.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, of course,” Carlton heard his own voice -say. “I had forgotten the Princess Aline.” But -he was not thinking of what he was saying, nor -of the Princess Aline. He was thinking of the -many hours Miss Morris and he had been together, -of the way she had looked at certain times, -and of how he had caught himself watching her -at others; how he had pictured the absent Mr. -Abbey travelling with her later over the same -route, and without a chaperon, sitting close at her -side or holding her hand, and telling her just how -pretty she was whenever he wished to do so, and -without any fear of the consequences. He remembered -how ready she had been to understand -what he was going to say before he had finished -saying it, and how she had always made him -show the best of himself, and had caused him to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>leave unsaid many things that became common -and unworthy when considered in the light of her -judgment. He recalled how impatient he had -been when she was late at dinner, and how cross -he was throughout one whole day when she had -kept her room. He felt with a sudden shock of -delightful fear that he had grown to depend upon -her, that she was the best companion he had ever -known; and he remembered moments when they -had been alone together at the table, or in some -old palace, or during a long walk, when they had -seemed to have the whole world entirely to themselves, -and how he had consoled himself at such -times with the thought that no matter how long -she might be Abbey’s wife, there had been these -moments in her life which were his, with which -Abbey had had nothing to do.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Carlton turned and looked at her with strange -wide-open eyes, as though he saw her for the first -time. He felt so sure of himself and of his love -for her that the happiness of it made him tremble, -and the thought that if he spoke she might answer -him in the old, friendly, mocking tone of good-fellowship -filled him with alarm. At that moment -it seemed to Carlton that the most natural thing in -the world for them to do would be to go back -again together over the road they had come, seeing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>everything in the new light of his love for her, -and so travel on and on forever over the world, -learning to love each other more and more each -succeeding day, and leaving the rest of the universe -to move along without them.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He leaned forward with his arm along the back -of the bench, and bent his face toward hers. -Her hand lay at her side, and his own closed over -it, but the shock that the touch of her fingers gave -him stopped and confused the words upon his -tongue. He looked strangely at her, and could -not find the speech he needed.</p> - -<p class='c012'>Miss Morris gave his hand a firm, friendly little -pressure and drew her own away, as if he had -taken hers only in an exuberance of good feeling.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You have been very nice to us,” she said, with -an effort to make her tone sound kindly and -approving. “And we——”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“You mustn’t go; I can’t let you go,” said Carlton, -hoarsely. There was no mistaking his tone -or his earnestness now. “If you go,” he went on, -breathlessly, “I must go with you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The girl moved restlessly; she leaned forward, -and drew in her breath with a slight, nervous -tremor. Then she turned and faced him, almost -as though she were afraid of him or of herself, -and they sat so for an instant in silence. The air -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>seemed to have grown close and heavy, and Carlton -saw her dimly. In the silence he heard the -splash of the fountain behind them, and the rustling -of the leaves in the night wind, and the low, -sighing murmur of a waltz.</p> - -<p class='c012'>He raised his head to listen, and she saw in the -moonlight that he was smiling. It was as though -he wished to delay any answer she might make -to his last words.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“That is the waltz,” he said, still speaking in a -whisper, “that the gypsies played that night—” -He stopped, and Miss Morris answered him by -bending her head slowly in assent. It seemed to -be an effort for her to even make that slight -gesture.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“<i>You</i> don’t remember it,” said Carlton. “It -meant nothing to you. I mean that night on the -steamer when I told you what love meant to other -people. What a fool I was!” he said, with an -uncertain laugh.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Yes, I remember it,” she said—“last Thursday -night, on the steamer.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Thursday night!” exclaimed Carlton, indignantly. -“Wednesday night, Tuesday night, how -should I know what night of the week it was? -It was the night of my life to me. That night I -knew that I loved you as I had never hoped to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>care for any one in this world. When I told you -that I did not know what love meant I felt all the -time that I was lying. I knew that I loved you, -and that I could never love any one else, and that -I had never loved any one before; and if I had -thought then you could care for me, your engagement -or your promises would never have stopped -my telling you so. You said that night that I -would learn to love all the better, and more truly, -for having doubted myself so long, and, oh, -Edith,” he cried, taking both her hands and holding -them close in his own, “I cannot let you go -now! I love you so! Don’t laugh at me; don’t -mock at me. All the rest of my life depends on -you.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>And then Miss Morris laughed softly, just as -he had begged her not to do, but her laughter was -so full of happiness, and came so gently and -sweetly, and spoke so truly of content, that though -he let go of her hands with one of his, it was only -that he might draw her to him, until her face -touched his, and she felt the strength of his arm -as he held her against his breast.</p> - -<p class='c014'>The Hohenwalds occupied the suite of rooms -on the first floor of the hotel, with the privilege of -using the broad balcony that reached out from it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>over the front entrance. And at the time when -Mrs. Downs and Edith Morris and Carlton drove -up to the hotel from the ball, the Princess Aline -was leaning over the balcony and watching the -lights go out in the upper part of the house, and -the moonlight as it fell on the trees and statues in -the public park below. Her foot was still in -bandages, and she was wrapped in a long cloak -to keep her from the cold. Inside of the open -windows that led out on to the balcony her sisters -were taking off their ornaments, and discussing -the incidents of the night just over.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Princess Aline, unnoticed by those below, -saw Carlton help Mrs. Downs to alight from the -carriage, and then give his hand to another muffled -figure that followed her; and while Mrs. -Downs was ascending the steps, and before the -second muffled figure had left the shadow of -the carriage and stepped into the moonlight, the -Princess Aline saw Carlton draw her suddenly -back and kiss her lightly on the cheek, and heard -a protesting gasp, and saw Miss Morris pull her -cloak over her head and run up the steps. Then -she saw Carlton shake hands with them, and -stand for a moment after they had disappeared, -gazing up at the moon and fumbling in the pockets -of his coat. He drew out a cigar-case and leisurely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>selected a cigar, and with much apparent -content lighted it, and then, with his head thrown -back and his chest expanded, as though he were -challenging the world, he strolled across the street -and disappeared among the shadows of the deserted -park.</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Princess walked back to one of the open -windows, and stood there leaning against the side. -“That young Mr. Carlton, the artist,” she said -to her sisters, “is engaged to that beautiful American -girl we met the other day.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Really!” said the elder sister. “I thought it -was probable. Who told you?”</p> - -<p class='c012'>“I saw him kiss her good-night,” said the -Princess, stepping into the window, “as they got -out of their carriage just now.”</p> - -<p class='c012'>The Princess Aline stood for a moment looking -thoughtfully at the floor, and then walked across -the room to a little writing-desk. She unlocked a -drawer in this and took from it two slips of paper, -which she folded in her hand. Then she returned -slowly across the room, and stepped out again on -to the balcony.</p> - -<p class='c012'>One of the pieces of paper held the picture -Carlton had drawn of her, and under which he -had written: “This is she. Do you wonder I -travelled four thousand miles to see her?” And -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>the other was the picture of Carlton himself, -which she had cut out of the catalogue of the -Salon.</p> - -<p class='c012'>From the edge of the balcony where the Princess -stood she could see the glimmer of Carlton’s -white linen and the red glow of his cigar as he -strode proudly up and down the path of the public -park, like a sentry keeping watch. She folded -the pieces of paper together and tore them slowly -into tiny fragments, and let them fall through her -fingers into the street below. Then she returned -again to the room, and stood looking at her -sisters.</p> - -<p class='c012'>“Do you know,” she said, “I think I am a -little tired of travelling so much. I want to go -back to Grasse.” She put her hand to her forehead -and held it there for a moment. “I think -I am a little homesick,” said the Princess Aline.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c004'> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCARLET CAR, THE PRINCESS ALINE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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