The 
 
 PRINCESS 
 >NAIDA< 
 
 b BREWER CORCORAN
 
 THE PRINCESS NAIDA
 
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 Stories by 
 
 Brewer Corcoran 
 
 The Princess Naida 
 The Road to Le Reve 
 
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 THE BOY SCOUT SERIES 
 The Boy Scouts of Kendallville 1.75 
 The Boy Scouts of the Wolf 
 
 Patrol 
 
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 Will Bradford's School Days, or 
 The Barbarian 1.75 
 
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 RAISING GREAT, SWIMMING, UNFATHOMABLE EYES TO HIS 
 
 (See page 107)
 
 PRINCESS 
 NAIDA 
 
 BREWER CORCORAN 
 
 Author of " The Road to Le Reve," " The Boy 
 
 Scouts of Kendallville," "The Boy 
 
 Scouts of the Wolf Patrol," 
 
 " The Barbarian," etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 H. WESTON TAYLOR 
 
 THE PAGE COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON * MDCCCCXXI
 
 Copyright, 1921, by 
 THE PAGE COMPANY 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 First Impression, April, 1921 
 
 THE COLONIAL PRESS 
 C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I OLD WINE FOR NEW 1 
 
 II THE Too SOCIAL SECRETARY 23 
 
 III THE DRAGON'S CLAW 45 
 
 IV COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 63 
 
 V THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 82 
 
 VI SWEET OF THE HEART OF ME 96 
 
 VII A GIRL OF DREAMS 124 
 
 VIII THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 141 
 
 IX A FAMILY COUNCIL 158 
 
 X THE ROAD TO PARADISE 171 
 
 XI THE FRONTIER OF REASON 201 
 
 XII DREAMS FADE 227 
 
 XIII Our OF THE PAST 248 
 
 XIV THE WOLVES OF WOLKENSBEBQ 263 
 
 XV A TRUE PRINCESS . . 278 
 
 2135008
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " RAISING GREAT, SWIMMING, UNFATHOMABLE 
 
 EYES TO HIS " (See page 107) . Frontispiece 
 
 " SHE STEPPED FORWARD, COMPLETELY AT HER 
 
 EASE" ....... 92 
 
 " HE FELT THE CAR LUNGE FORWARD AS HALE*S 
 
 FOOT SMOTHERED THE ACCELERATOR " . . l8o 
 
 " COUNT OTTO CAME FORWARD WITH DAPPER 
 
 STEP "....... 238 
 
 " ' HE HAS TOLD YOU THE TRUTH, NAIDA ' " . 2OX>
 
 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 i 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 OLD WINE FOB NEW 
 
 ON a balcony, overlooking the calm, blue lake 
 of Geneva, a man smoked a pipe and hated him- 
 self because all the world was dull and unro- 
 mantic. 
 
 In distant Nirgendsberg, five men sat about 
 a table in a great and gloomy room, and it did 
 not need the vacant chair to proclaim the ten- 
 sion. Attitude, expression, low-pitched con- 
 versation, all showed that outward ease strug- 
 gled to conceal inward anxiety. To the four 
 whose hair was shot with gray, high stakes 
 with the diplomatic dice were a familiar pas- 
 time, but they had waited long beyond the hour 
 to chance a final throw with one to whom they 
 knew the rules of the game were as nothing.
 
 2 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 The great fist of Marshal Waldemar opened 
 to engulf the iridescent glass; but, as the rim 
 touched the full, thick lips, there came no sharp, 
 backward toss of the close-cropped, brutal head, 
 no gulp, no grunt of satisfied desire, but the 
 surprising sip and sigh of the connoisseur. 
 
 "Baron," he growled, in the consonant- 
 pocked dialect which has been formed through 
 the centuries by the currents from East and 
 West eddying against the rocky fastnesses of 
 Nirgendsberg, " fortune smiles for you alone. 
 For a year such wine has existed only in 
 dreams." 
 
 From the table's head came the fat laugh of 
 one who has been bred to an appreciative audi- 
 ence. 
 
 *> ""The new vintage is a nightmare, Marshal; 
 but we will soon have the old wine back in the 
 old bottles. Yet while " He stopped, not be- 
 cause he cared for the ill-concealed contempt on 
 three of the faces turned to him, but because he 
 struggled with an idea "we have the wine of 
 the old regime," he went on, with that patroniz- 
 ing carelessness which voices the plural while
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 3 
 
 thinking the singular, "we have the aroma of 
 a new, urging us to drink deep and, therefore, 
 I give you a toast to the new in the old. Gen- 
 tlemen," and he stopped once again to central- 
 ize their attention, " Gentlemen," he repeated, 
 rising and holding his glass aloft, "I give you 
 Her Royal" 
 
 The door at the end of the library swung 
 wide. Facing him stood the vintager of the 
 new. He stopped again, this time his round 
 face white, his watery, blue eyes wide, his 
 plump hand shaking until the old Tokay rimmed 
 the glass and fell dripping to the floor. 
 
 There was a second's uncomfortable pause. 
 Then, as the gracious old man at the right rose, 
 the new-comer laughed aloud and started con- 
 fidently forward. "Why do yon stop, Ivan 
 Petrovitchf" he cried. "We are red-blooded 
 men and she is the future. Drink!" 
 
 It was as if sunlight had dimmed the light- 
 ning, as if fast-spiked doors had been thrown 
 wide, as if the sweep of the headsman's ax had 
 been checked in its stroke. Now it was six who 
 stood, but it was Count Otto, the quondam pre-
 
 4 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 mier of Nirgendsberg, who raised his glass the 
 highest, whose oily smile was the most serene, 
 whose facile tongue could easiest mouth a lie, 
 as its master glimpsed a new and rosier dawn. 
 " Drink," he repeated: "The future and the 
 almost-princess ! " 
 
 Yet, as the rim touched his steady lips, his 
 keen eyes were fixed on the man whose words 
 he had twisted into his own meaning, and he 
 looked for the betraying start, the challenging 
 glance, the unconscious frown of innate opposi- 
 tion. 
 
 But again Paul Czernos's laugh rang out, 
 like music in a house of mourning. "The al- 
 most-princess!" he repeated. "But can Count 
 Otto coin more than pat phrases? Is he quali- 
 fied to do more than voice qualification?" 
 
 His thin face grew sober as his grimed hand 
 pulled back the vacant chair and he threw him- 
 self into it, to rest his arms before him and 
 look quickly from face to face. 
 
 "What has happened, has happened," he 
 stated abruptly; "it is finished. What is to 
 happen depends on more than whimsical titles
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 
 
 and the bandage of romance. I am of those 
 who have stripped the fat from what my friend, 
 the Count " And there was thinly veiled sar- 
 casm in his tone " would doubtless term 'the 
 body politic.' It is the now-exposed sinews of 
 that revitalized corpse of which we shall speak. 
 The fat interests me not at all," he finished con- 
 temptuously and looked full into the red fea- 
 tures of Ivan Petrovitch, once a princeling, but 
 now a colonel in an army which had ceased to 
 exist. 
 
 "Lest our friends misunderstand, Paul, allow 
 me to assure them you mean no disrespect to 
 Her Royal Highness." 
 
 Czernos turned and a slow smile drew his 
 thin mouth into softer lines. His face was that 
 of the born talker, facile, interesting, changing, 
 expressing only that which his quick mind 
 willed. 
 
 "Baron," he protested, "the basis of my 
 credo is that I am what I am. And, above all 
 things, I am a man. To you she is the personi- 
 fication of an institution, as well as a woman; 
 to me she is all woman and, as such, has my
 
 6 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 admiration even as you have it. You are both, 
 if I may be permitted a personality, of another 
 era, and it is because you two alone represented 
 the good which was of that era that you have 
 drawn us now about your table. Only you, in 
 all Nirgendsberg, could have done such, for, I 
 say it frankly, you alone have the confidence 
 of both factions." 
 
 He bowed slightly, as if to emphasize his 
 flattery, but, even as he turned, his sharp, black 
 eyes had noted the pleased flush on the serene 
 old face and he was assured his preconceived 
 estimate of one man at least was founded upon 
 rock. 
 
 "There is no need," spoke up Count Otto 
 suavely, "for any of us to reiterate our faith in 
 the integrity of Baron Barezay. He is unique 
 in his position of continued respect from what 
 may be called, without intended offense to you, 
 Czernos, the royalists, and from what may be 
 referred to as " 
 
 "The bolsheviki," laughed Czernos, "without 
 any accepted offense from me. I believe it was 
 not good form among your contemporaries,
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 
 
 Count Otto, to call a spade a spade, but in these 
 days, when the worker has come into his own, 
 a spade is not a thing to be despised." 
 
 Count Otto was not one to miss a hidden 
 meaning ; neither was he so unskilled as to ac- 
 cept it openly. His smile was honeyed as he 
 spread both hands with a deprecatory ges- 
 ture. "As you yourself conveyed," he said, 
 "names are nothing. It is the good of the 
 majority which tips the scales. It is to weigh 
 that good we have met. Let us, then, cease 
 verbal fencing and proceed upon the lines laid 
 down by the new school. Monsieur, we await 
 your proposition." 
 
 "Mine?" Czernos looked from one to an- 
 other with beautifully feigned astonishment. 
 "Mine?" he repeated. The ratlike eyes be- 
 came less black and there was the merest sug- 
 gestion of a twinkle in their shallows. "I fear 
 you labor under some misapprehension. It was 
 only because of the request of Baron Barezay 
 that I came. The little I have been permitted 
 to have my education I owe to him and I pay 
 my debts gratefully. If there is any such thing
 
 8 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 as a * proposition' to be made, it must be by 
 one of you." 
 
 Again the huge fist rose, this time to seize no 
 glass, but to fall upon the oak with a crash. 
 "Words!" growled the Marshal. "Give us ac- 
 tion." 
 
 Czernos turned on him with the sudden mo- 
 tion of a wire whipped free from its coil. "Ac- 
 tion? Yes," he agreed, with an open sneer, 
 "but pray permit another to lead it. We wish 
 to advance." 
 
 The insult was so deliberate, so stinging in 
 it's humiliating truth, that Waldemar could only 
 surge to his feet and gulp, as the rolls of fat 
 on the back of his shaven neck turned from red 
 to purple. To him, his military pedestal was 
 still unsullied by what he termed his "misfor- 
 tunes." To have his defeats thrown so con- 
 temptuously into his teeth by one of the 
 "scum" paralyzed his pea-sized brain, but, be- 
 fore he could begin to bluster his threats, Bare- 
 zay's calm voice broke the tense pause. 
 
 "Waldemar! Paul!" he begged. "My 
 house has been a house of peace; permit it to
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 
 
 continue such for an old friend 's sake and an old 
 friend's dearest wish. I have brought you to- 
 gether so you may forget the past. Paul, what 
 was said is overlooked; Marshal, what was im- 
 plied is withdrawn. Your continued generosity 
 has once again placed me in your debt, my 
 friends. I thank you both." 
 
 Slowly the great bulk of the soldier sank back 
 into the chair, and the protruding eyes blinked 
 dumbly as if some blunt weapon had thudded 
 between them. But Czernos 's shrug was of ut- 
 ter indifference as he turned again to the 'Count. 
 "I listen," he said coldly. 
 
 "Let me deal with him," cried Prince Ivan. 
 
 Count Otto's bushy brows rose the fraction 
 of an inch as he turned to the plump and in- 
 dignant prince. He knew the corners of Paul's 
 mouth were twitching with amusement, but his 
 own face was impassive. "If it may be per- 
 mitted, Your Highness," he suggested dryly, "I 
 believe the Baron will prove our best advocate, 
 for his arguments will be without personal in- 
 terest."
 
 10 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "It is true," agreed Ivan, with pompous gen- 
 erosity. "Baron, we wait." 
 
 "Good! Now we progress." Czernos set- 
 tled back, one knee crossed above the other, his 
 arms folded, his eyes on the old man who, for a 
 moment, groped for words. 
 
 "Paul," he began, in even, gentle tones, 
 "you have known me too long to expect diplo- 
 matic phrases or academic argument. You 
 know my country and my prince have ever been 
 first in my heart. It was no secret that I op- 
 posed our entry into the war. I forsaw the 
 disaster which was to come. I am of the old 
 regime; I make no pretense of understanding 
 the things you represent. To me the bolshevik 
 rule is the rule of lawlessnes and destruction, 
 but, as I said, it may be because I do not under- 
 stand. I am an old man, grown old in the ways 
 of my ancestors, which are the ways of my 
 prince. ' ' 
 
 "I believe I comprehend." 
 
 The Baron nodded his thanks for this quiet 
 acceptance of his hostile declaration. "I have 
 seen a happy, prosperous, contented principal-
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 11 
 
 ity," he continued dispassionately, "enter a 
 great war with shouts of triumph, and emerge 
 in the dumbness of terrible disaster; I have 
 seen my friend and prince murdered in cold 
 blood and buried in the silence of the night ; I 
 have seen the red flag of revolt raised in the 
 capitol; I have seen revolution turn streets to 
 shambles; I have seen my princess flee in dis- 
 guise; I have seen you, born and bred on my 
 estate, rise like a phoenix to rule in the trium- 
 virate which fills her rightful place. But, more 
 than all these things, I have seen prosperity 
 depart, and famine, idleness and disorganiza- 
 tion stalk through Nirgendsberg. I do not con- 
 done the mistakes of the old regime, Paul ; they 
 were many. I do not ask you to give excuses 
 for the errors of the new. But what I do ask 
 is that some way be found whereby the mis- 
 takes of both be avoided in the future, and the 
 prosperity of my country restored." 
 
 "Such an arraignment must precede a sug- 
 gested remedy, Baron. I listen." 
 
 "You have known me too long to accuse me 
 of statesmanship, Paul," he went on, with an
 
 12 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 apologetic smile, "and, I think, you are fa- 
 miliar enough with my ideals, already, to sus- 
 pect my simple plan. You and your con- 
 freres have proved your inability to lead a 
 composite people back into the path of neces- 
 sary prosperity. I do not contend that all your 
 theories are evil, but I firmly believe you lack 
 experience to organize a government which 
 shall prove stable and successful. Revolution 
 must follow revolution when cities starve and 
 money is depreciated until it is mere paper. 
 The people must be given a voice ; I grant you 
 that, whole heartedly. They must be the real 
 rulers, but their voice must speak to those who 
 know how to interpret their words into sane 
 actions. You cannot rule by theory alone, my 
 friend. Bolshevism is as wrong as autocracy, 
 for both represent a minority. It is the sane 
 middle class who most rule, the majority 
 which produced the prosperity from which we 
 both have fattened." 
 
 "And if I accept your premise, Baron, 
 what?" 
 
 "There is but one answer," stated the old
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 13 
 
 aristocrat, with deep sincerity, "the return of 
 our princess to her own." 
 
 The blind loyalty, the utter simplicity of the 
 suggestion, so appealed to the little which was 
 good in Czernos that he merely nodded. "I do 
 not pretend to know the present mind of Her 
 Highness," he said at last, "but this I do know: 
 She was as much out of sympathy with the 
 former policies of Nirgendsberg, Baron, as 
 you yourself. Unless I do her an unintentional 
 injustice, I believe you would find it difficult to 
 persuade her to return to accept the councils 
 of at least five of us who sit here." 
 
 "Nirgendsberg is first in her heart," stated 
 the Baron. 
 
 "That is why I said what I said," was the 
 dry retort. 
 
 "You do not deny that, should she return 
 now, all factions are ready to rally to her?" 
 
 "I can deny nothing which touches the per- 
 sonality of Her Highness. I believe my denial 
 of what would surround her throne has been 
 sufficiently conclusive." He looked deliberately 
 from man to man about the table. "I," he an-
 
 14 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 nounced, ''have drunk deep of power and you, 
 who now thirst, would drink again. Baron 
 Barezay is sincere in his desire for the return 
 of ifer Highness. I grant him the respect due 
 to his loyalty. I go further, and give him full 
 credit for complete unselfishness in his desire to 
 rehabilitate his country, and for his honesty in 
 suggesting the middle path of compromise. 
 But, gentlemen, you apparently ask that I, who, 
 in reality am Nirgendsberg, renounce the fruits 
 of my toil, so you may feast again." 
 
 "No," cried the Baron, "No, Paul! You 
 misunderstand. It is not that. We ask you to 
 sacrifice the individual for the good of the 
 many." 
 
 Czernos laughed aloud and the cloak fell from 
 his shoulders with that careless, triumphant 
 laugh. 
 
 "That's one of my stock phrases," he 
 mocked. "YouVe asked me here to barter. 
 We've heard Barezay. No one doubted his de- 
 sire. Now let us hear real things. What do 
 the rest of you want? What have you to of- 
 fer?"
 
 OLD WIXE FOR NEW 15 
 
 The Baron's face was as white as marble. 
 His fingers shook as he raised them to his lips 
 to cover their tremor. Vaguely he began to 
 feel the nausea of betrayal. He saw the game 
 whirled out of his hands, realized that, in his 
 nobleness and singleness of purpose, he had 
 been set up as a mere decoy. With an effort 
 he got to his feet. "If you will excuse me," 
 he suggested, in a muffled voice. "It is close. 
 I am faint." And, with a formal nod, he 
 turned and left the room. 
 
 For an instant there was an uncomfortable 
 silence about the table. Then Czernos straight- 
 ened, leaned forward and his tongue licked his 
 thiu lips. "Gentlemen," he announced crisply, 
 "I listen." 
 
 There came the answer of chairs drawn 
 closer. It was Count Otto who spoke. "I 
 think we understand each other," he said. 
 "What do you want?" 
 
 "It is you who buy," suggested Paul. 
 "That much has been uncovered. It depends 
 on what you want." 
 
 "We wish prosperity for Nirgendsberg. "
 
 16 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "For yourselves, you mean. Drop plati- 
 tude." 
 
 "We know the straits you are in, Czernos; 
 otherwise we would have seen the idleness of 
 this meeting. You want money?" 
 
 "Who doesn't?" 
 
 "And you enjoy power?" 
 
 "Can it be I hear Count Otto chiding me for 
 that?" 
 
 "But you cannot continue to have the latter 
 without the former. Already there is more 
 than talk of a counter-revolution." 
 
 "I have heard it and am unafraid. Come 
 out into the open, Count; you know what you 
 want. Put it in words and I will put it in 
 figures. Could there be a fairer offer?" 
 
 "No," he agreed. "It is this: Permit this 
 counter-revolution. It will be well financed 
 and, with your quiescence, it will succeed. 
 From it will arise a new government, an amal- 
 gamation of the new with the old. Allow it to 
 assume the guise of a broadly constitutional 
 monarchy. The return of Her Highness will 
 give us the sympathy of such men as Barezay.
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 17 
 
 The conservatively royalist element is neces- 
 sary for our success, for it will assure initial 
 stability. The parliamentary elections should 
 prove malleable in such capable hands as yours. 
 A majority on the left will assure you of leader- 
 ship in the cabinet, which means the actual 
 government." 
 
 1 'It is a pretty plan," acknowledged Czernos, 
 with a negative shake of his round head, "very 
 pretty. But, like all pretty things, weak in 
 what should be its strongest feature." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "It hinges upon the return of Her Highness. 
 I doubt if one who has suffered what she has 
 suffered will return willingly to the scene of 
 her disillusionments." 
 
 The Count smiled slightly and, for once, 
 there was a certain grimness behind the fox- 
 like mask. "Accept assurances that such con- 
 tingencies have been foreseen. Her Highness 
 is, at the moment, in good hands. She trusts 
 Barezay's daughter-in-law, and the Countess 
 has as much at stake as any of us here, so may 
 be counted upon to mold the royal mind to meet
 
 18 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 our wishes. Should she fail " One thin 
 hand waved carelessly. "There are other 
 ways," he said. 
 
 "It's not my worry," agreed Czernos, with 
 equal indifference. "We pass on. You have 
 offered me a little ; what do you wish for your- 
 self?" 
 
 Count Otto shrugged indifferently. "For me 
 the reward of reestablishing prosperity in Nir- 
 gendsberg would be sufficient; but, should you 
 see fit, possibly I might be permitted to nom- 
 inate the chancellor of the exchequer." 
 
 "Ah!" Paul leaned back understandingly. 
 "And your candidate!" He looked at the man 
 who had heretofore played only a listener's 
 part. Short, round, sleek, Stein raised fat 
 hands in protest. His swarthy face was smooth 
 shaven; but it was also expressionless and 
 cold. 
 
 "It is too great an honor!" he sighed. 
 
 Czernos nodded comprehension. "You have 
 succeeded where we have failed, Count," he 
 acknowledged frankly. "For six months we've 
 tried to get our hands on this man. You've
 
 19 
 
 been clever, Stein. How did you get across the 
 frontier?" 
 
 "That is still my secret. It may be neces- 
 sary I recross." The thick lips parted in a 
 complacent smile. "But I have nothing in 
 Nirgendsberg, " he added. 
 
 "I know that well enough. How much will 
 you pay for immunity, free rein, and a ti- 
 tle?" he demanded brutally of the Jewish 
 banker. 
 
 "To Count Otto, for a small renumeration, 
 certain mineral concessions near his estate of 
 Wolkensberg, after you and I enter the cabinet, 
 mon confrere. To you, five hundred thousand 
 pounds on that day the red flag falls." 
 
 "Not enough," was the prompt retort. 
 
 "A million?" 
 
 Paul shook his head. "That, and half your 
 secret interest in the Count's little mining ven- 
 ture." 
 
 "No." 
 
 He rose. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he 
 said and, turning, started toward the door with 
 q^iick, determined steps.
 
 20 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 It was too much for Count Otto's taut nerves. 
 "Agreed," he called, with an effort. 
 
 Paul wheeled and came back as calmly as if 
 he had intended to close the door behind him. 
 "Is there anything further?" he asked. 
 
 "Only minor details, which may as well be 
 understood now. Waldemar is again to have 
 command of the conscripted army. ' ' 
 
 "No." The negative was like a rifle crack. 
 
 "It is necessary. We must have the mili- 
 tary caste with us." 
 
 "No." There was no sign of bluff now. 
 Czernos was ready and willing to fight. 
 
 "Would you wreck all over a mere detail?" 
 protested Stein, his heavy face red with anger. 
 
 "What I say is final," snapped Czernos. 
 "Waldemar is dead." 
 
 For a moment Count Otto looked from Stein 
 to the purple marshal, then came the quick 
 shrug of renunciation. "Again, Marshal," he 
 said coldly, u a soldier suffers for his country." 
 
 T 
 
 "Sufficient!" It was the thick gutteral of 
 Stein which cut short the military ambitions.
 
 OLD WINE FOR NEW 21 
 
 In the matter of dog eat dog there can be no 
 niceties. 
 
 ' ' What ! You forget the very corner stone. ' ' 
 Ivan Petrovitch was on his feet, his pudgy 
 cheeks white with the rage of neglected youth. 
 
 Count Otto waved a soothing hand and his 
 smile was reassuring. "Oh, no, Your High- 
 ness!" he contradicted. "But, with the prom- 
 ised return of the old regime, we but take it for 
 granted our good friend here will bow to the 
 wishes of the royal house." 
 
 "He will if he wants his loot," declared the 
 princeling belligerently. 
 
 There was a sharp-voiced protest from both 
 Stein and the Count, but Czernos grinned like a 
 boy at play. "It is the perogative of royalty 
 to dictate to the proletariat," he said. "And 
 to what must I bow, Your Highness, before I 
 get what it pleases Your Highness to term my 
 'loot!'?" 
 
 "Your agreement matters nothing at all," 
 stated Prince Ivan pompously. "But I wished 
 to recall to my friends that the hand of my 
 cousin has been promised to me in marriage."
 
 22 
 
 For a moment Paul studied the bloated, dis- 
 sipated face. "All right, " he assented with a 
 shrug. "A princess more or less is nothing to 
 me.'* 
 
 At that moment, on that far away balcony 
 in Territet, the man who held there was no ro- 
 mance left in life rose, yawned, and knocked the 
 ashes from his pipe.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL, SECRETARY 
 
 HALS turned in through the entrance of the 
 Grand Hotel des lies. There was a certain 
 impatience in his step which made the bureau 
 clerk stiffen, but immediately his studied ex- 
 pression of polite attention changed to one of 
 almost friendly commiseration. "I regret it," 
 he said, as if the routine answer caused him 
 personal pain, "but no telegrams have arrived 
 as yet." 
 
 More than the suggestion of a twinkle 
 gleamed in the depths of humorous brown eyes 
 and the well-formed head shook dolefully. 
 "I'm sorry to become one of your bad habits, 
 but, really," he added, half apologetically, "I 
 seem utterly unable to kill all my time and yet 
 spare you." 
 
 "No trouble, I assure you, sir. Territet is 
 
 dull now." 
 
 is
 
 24 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "You're right," agreed Hale, with unex- 
 pected fervor; "yet, after all, that holds true 
 of any place where one waits alone." He 
 nodded good naturedly as he swung around and, 
 once more filling the battered briar, lit it as he 
 reached the door. 
 
 The clerk followed the powerful, gray-clad 
 figure with appreciative eyes. There was that 
 indefinable air of the thoroughbred about the 
 well-groomed American which not only made 
 one eager for the story which the firm-set, 
 rather tired lips might tell, but which caused 
 all who came in contact with this man of thirty- 
 three years to experience a certain vague desire 
 to go at least a few steps out of their way to 
 prove a sense of fellowship. Even the dapper 
 clerk acknowledged the subtle spell by " 'ullo- 
 ing" furiously at the telephone, and demanding 
 that his friend in the telegraph bureau produce 
 at once the awaited dispatches of Monsieur. 
 
 Hale himself, as unconscious of this concrete 
 favor as he was of the world's attitude of cor- 
 diality, hesitated at the head of the steps, in- 
 dolently debating whether he should sit down
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 25 
 
 again and hate himself in solitary comfort, or 
 make a physical effort to kill both time and 
 mood by walking somewhere he did not want 
 to go. 
 
 Below him ran Territet's bare white street, 
 blistering between unruffled blue and precipi- 
 tous green, emphasizing the snow-cap of the 
 Rhone's guardian Alps which gleamed in icy 
 majesty above the visible waves of eddying 
 heat. Across the road the flowers in the lake 
 garden hung limp, as if mourning the desertion 
 of the lake breeze, and the bordering grass 
 fought a losing action against browning sun and 
 settling drifts of soft, white dust. 
 
 A sudden recollection of red-roofed Chillon 
 struck an appealing note in his keen sense for 
 the fitness of things. There was a certain tang 
 in the idea which made the strong teeth settle 
 more firmly on the pipe stem as he descended 
 the steps and turned eastward, determined to 
 tantalize his patience where another had waited 
 so long. 
 
 Yet, before he had covered half a mile, the 
 sun hinted that comfort was fully as much a
 
 26 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 lure as an over-subtle sense of humor. With- 
 out checking his stride, he swung into the first 
 path which led up the thickly wooded mountain- 
 side. If he gave the action a second thought, it 
 was scarcely more than subconscious. The 
 path would doubtless twist itself out into one 
 of those well-regulated vista points, made still 
 more artificial by the usual rustic bench, but 
 haunted, possibly, by the ghost of the lake 
 breeze. 
 
 But, after a ten minute climb, the path still 
 continued a mock to precedent. He determined 
 to venture but one more turn. He made it and, 
 beyond, lay even thicker woods, breathless, 
 silent, even more oppressively lonesome. The 
 absurdity of his climb struck him full force, 
 and he laughed disgustedly as he sat down on 
 a bank and tried to imagine what foolish thing 
 impulse might lead him into next. 
 
 It pleased Hale to believe himself a creature 
 of impulse. It was such a lazy excuse for so 
 many of the things he had done ; it was such a 
 convenient buttress behind which he could hide 
 his ideals. Once he had declared it had been
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 27 
 
 impulse, not dogged determination to follow 
 the ball, which had put him in a position to 
 bring forty thousand people screaming to their 
 feet as he ran the muffed punt through a broken 
 field for a touchdown. Many times he had said 
 it was impulse on which he made the clean cut 
 decisions which stood as law in the plant he 
 had not only inherited, but trebled in size. 
 Again it had been impulse which had driven 
 him to the first Plattsburg. Of course it was 
 impulse which had made him refuse a commis- 
 sion on the staff for a lesser one in the line, 
 when America went in. He acknowledged that. 
 And, beyond a doubt, it was this selfsame " im- 
 pulse" which had sent him into the machine 
 gun fire of the Argonne, a smile on his lips and, 
 at his back, two hundred and fifty wild men who 
 would have followed him to the gates of hell. 
 
 But it was not impulse which made such in- 
 cidents a closed book to him. They were over. 
 He had only had the luck which every fellow he 
 knew had hoped might be his share. If chaps 
 with stars on their shoulders had seemingly con- 
 tracted the habit of pinning bits of rainbow rib-
 
 28 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 bon and queer-shaped crosses on his breast, 
 that was their job. He hadn't had to wear the 
 things after he had shed his uniform, and that 
 saved a lot of fool questions from people who 
 wanted to make conversation. Anyway, the 
 war was over, and it was a good thing to re- 
 member only that much of it. 
 
 It was a pair of impulses which had driven 
 him over-seas again. The first was the child 
 of a tear-stained letter from an old woman in 
 the Toul sector on whom Hale had been billeted 
 during his training. To her he had been the 
 reincarnation of the son who had died in the 
 hurricane at Verdun, and she had turned to him 
 again in her second hour of need. Of course he 
 could have sent the check which would have 
 worked the rehabilitation, but it had so hap- 
 pened that, at the moment, an unreasonable 
 family physician had advised a change, and it 
 was easier to kill two birds with one stone than 
 to endure both therapeutic arguments and 
 packages of misspelled thanks. 
 
 The second impulse was equally unconquer- 
 able. He wanted to see the sister he had missed
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 29 
 
 on the Bordeaux docks. It had been only a 
 step from Paris to Como in the old days, and 
 she had cabled she could meet him at Territet. 
 Therefore, having come down from France, he 
 was waiting until impulse should recall to the 
 flighty Mrs. Jimmie Field that she had prom- 
 ised to join him there. 
 
 A startling "Pop!" brought him from his 
 growing intolerance to his feet, and the suc- 
 ceeding wail of distress sent him up the path on 
 the jump. As he took the first corner at full 
 speed, he almost collided with the catastrophe. 
 Even as he stopped, he stooped and swung the 
 child of five against a comforting shoulder. 
 "Honestly," he declared, with sympathetic 
 seriousness, "the world doesn't end here, old 
 chap. Those balloons always crash when you 
 do a nose dive into 'em." 
 
 The little fellow made a brave attempt to 
 gulp his grief as he pawed the tears from his 
 cheeks. A diminutive chest puffed out a 
 strangely cut white tunic, and chubby shoulders 
 struggled bravely to overcome their desire to 
 tremble, for there was something behind
 
 30 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 friendly, comprehending smile which aroused 
 every atom of the boy's innate pride and made 
 him, without in the least understanding, wish 
 to appear the man. 
 
 "Good!" exclaimed Hale. "Why don't you 
 and I sit down and consider things seriously?" 
 He carried the child to a nearby bowlder and 
 perched him on his knee. "You appear just a 
 trifle immature to be mountaineering alone on 
 a deserted Alp," he observed. "Is nursie 
 flirting with a yodeler in the regions 
 above f ' ' 
 
 The boy shook his mop of golden hair and 
 lisped something in an unknown tongue. 
 Hale 's eyebrows went up, but he recovered him- 
 self to venture a question, first in French, then 
 in frightful German, with equally unsatisfac- 
 tory results. His head shook and he sighed in 
 mock distress. "Monsieur," he stated, "it 
 would appear we have arrived at what peace 
 conferences term an 'impasse.' " 
 
 The boy looked questioningly into the twin- 
 kling eyes ajid then, with a contented sigh, 
 snuggled closer, exhibiting as he did so, a
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 81 
 
 barked knuckle, as a plea for further sympa- 
 thy. 
 
 * ' Suck it, ' ' advised Hale promptly. ' ' It may 
 not be sanitary but it 's soothing. Oh, I forgot ; 
 you cannot grasp medical terms. Here, do 
 this." 
 
 The child imitated the operation with laugh- 
 able exactitude, but his free hand strayed 
 toward Hale's watch chain. 
 
 1 ' Hello ! ' ' chuckled the man. ' ' Highwayman, 
 are you? Well, you complete that first aid 
 treatment before you investigate the tick- 
 tick." 
 
 "Tick-tick!" echoed the child, squirming 
 joyously. "Tick-tick?" 
 
 "All in good time, my friend. Come on now, 
 give that raw dimple more attention. Here, do 
 this again." Once more Hale put .his own 
 knuckle in his mouth and sucked valiantly. 
 
 A soft ripple of musical laughter made him 
 look up in quick surprise. He forgot the finger 
 in his mouth, the absurdity of the picture he 
 made, the child tugging at his watch chain, 
 everything. There, at the turn of the patV,
 
 82 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 framed by the dull, dead green of the woods, 
 stood a girl in clinging white, her long, white 
 parasol trembling with the frank amusement 
 which swayed her slender figure. Her hair 
 suggested a golden halo above the lovely face 
 of a madonna of dreams; her big, round eyes 
 were a fathomless, glorious blue ; and warm, red 
 lips parted, as if too generous to hide the per- 
 fect teeth. Her skin was as soft as the light 
 filtering through the breathless trees, but, aa 
 she realized his stare, a soft, rosy pink, like 
 the coming of the dawn to the snows, crept into 
 the firm cheeks. Then, with a quick, half way- 
 ward, half regal toss of a small, proud head, 
 she stepped forward, completely at her ease, 
 because she saw a deeper color in his face and 
 knew that she was the mistress of his embar- 
 rassment. 
 
 "Is it," she asked, her eyes dancing, "is it 
 that the big monsieur is ver' hongry?" 
 
 Hale managed to extract his finger from his 
 mouth and, putting the child on the ground, 
 surged to his feet, his ears blistering. "You're 
 no nurse-maid," he blurted.
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 33 
 
 " Nurse-maid! Nurse-maid? I do not on- 
 derstan'. Ah, but yes, Monsieur are English 
 an' that are one English humor." 
 
 "I don't blame you," he acknowledged, with 
 a short laugh; "I must appear even that 
 thick." 
 
 1 'Thick? Thick?" Her glance strayed mis- 
 chievously from the clean-cut, intelligent face 
 to the strong, wiry figure. "Mais, non," she 
 said soberly, after weighing the grave problem 
 with vast care. ' ' It would not be say that Mon- 
 sieur is other but but what you say? nar- 
 row?" 
 
 This time his laughter was genuine, because 
 he knew she also knew how to laugh. "You 
 seem bound to make me appear even more 
 foolish than I feel," he retorted. "Don't you 
 think you could persuade this daring, though 
 damaged, member of the balloon section to in- 
 troduce us so that I might. have the oppor- 
 tunity at least to attempt to prove I'm not en- 
 tirely inane?" 
 
 "But no," she stated, as her golden head 
 shook decisively; "that would not be comme
 
 34 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 il faut. I mus' not talk with Monsieur; you 
 'ave nothings to told me." 
 
 "Can a man, detected in the act of sucking 
 his thumb, be expected to leap from utter im- 
 becility into the midst of brilliant conversa- 
 tion?" he asked. "I think, if you'd stop laugh- 
 ing at me, I might be able to pull myself to- 
 gether sufficiently to apologize properly for my 
 statement upon finding you here." 
 
 For just an instant her eyes met his. "An' 
 would it be," she asked, a dimple disobeying 
 her will just long enough to disappear too soon 
 for him, "would it be that Monsieur would not 
 smile should he discover me at rest upon a so 
 big stone with one finger in the mouth of me 
 lik' a bear that are starve? Oh, no! It is 
 funny, ver' funny, almos' of a ridiculousness. 
 But ver' pathetic, Monsieur, ver' pathetic!" 
 
 Hale's mouth twitched. "I wish fate would 
 be kind to me just once," he said, "and make 
 it possible for me to know you well enough to 
 make you pay for that." 
 
 "Revenge, Monsieur!" she cried gaily. 
 "Ah, but I fear more than the so great wrath
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 35 
 
 of the so big an' hongry bear. Good-bye, an' 
 for the rescue of Janos ver' many thank." 
 She nodded to the child and added a gentle 
 command in a language which sounded wonder- 
 ously caressing. 
 
 Hale's hand interrupted the obedience of 
 Janos. "Don't go," he begged. "You're the 
 first real person I've spoken to in three days. 
 I know it's unconventional," he added hastily, 
 "but what do conventions amount to nowa- 
 days? Nothing at all if not to give people 
 the right of self-determination? But, if a 
 chaperone is indispensable, none could be bet- 
 ter than my friend Janos." 
 
 * * But Janos do not the English speak like me ; 
 he would suffer ennui. ' ' 
 
 He was quick to see her little frown of doubt 
 and quicker to note the strange look, half of 
 bewilderment, half of rebellion, in her eyes. 
 "Don't worry about that," he begged, taking 
 his watch from his pocket. "Here, Janos, find 
 out what makes the wheels go round." 
 
 "Oh!" she protested. "Monsieur mus' not 
 so do. Janos will mak' it of a ruin."
 
 36 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "It's only time and time's of no account." 
 
 "But my " She stopped abruptly, and the 
 color flooded her cheeks as if she suddenly 
 realized a great disaster yawned at her feet. 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 "But Madame, the mamma of him will be 
 mos' angry, both if he spoil the time of Mon- 
 sieur, an' if I forget who I are, an' remain to 
 permit." Out of the corners of her eyes she 
 noticed his puzzled expression increasing and, 
 once more, her face became mischievously de- 
 mure. "I am respons'ble for the safety of 
 Janos this day," she announced, meeting his 
 look with one which dared him to challenge 
 her statement, "I who are but the secretaire 
 to Madame." 
 
 ' * Secretary ? Oh ! Perhaps what we call the 
 social secretary?" 
 
 "Yes," she nodded solemnly, "too social. 
 But Monsieur smile!" she cried. "Is it that 
 he do not believe?" 
 
 "Who am I," he asked, "to doubt the word 
 of the social secretary to Madame?" 
 
 "I do not know," she confessed, with dii-
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 37 
 
 concerting promptitude. "Monsieur 'ave not 
 reques' Monsieur Janos to make him pre- 
 sented.'* 
 
 "I can't. We've everything in common 
 Janos and I everything but a language." 
 
 Once more the golden head shook. "It are 
 mos' unfortunate," she confessed mockingly. 
 "I depart." 
 
 Hale bit his lip. The situation was beyond 
 him. He had known many girls, but never had 
 he met one who could make him feel so utterly 
 imbecile. Everything about her fascinated 
 him. He was no snob. Who she was mattered 
 not in the least. It was enough that she was 
 what she was. But what she was, he could not 
 have put in words. There was a hesitating shy- 
 ness about some of her lightning thrusts which 
 contrasted vividly with the almost regality of 
 some of her statements yet, above both, stood 
 out the innocent merriment of the unaffected 
 girl who was yet enough the woman of the 
 world to handle the unconventional with mock- 
 ing ease. Her keen humor, weighted as it was 
 with the burden of an unfamiliar tongue, spar-
 
 38 THE FRIXCESS NAIDA 
 
 kled with the joy of youth, yet, once or twice, 
 he had been vaguely conscious of a haunted, 
 hunted, fearful look behind the laughter in the 
 big, blue eyes. 
 
 His sudden transition from utter boredom 
 to what seemed the gates of a seventh heaven 
 of unexpected comradeship made him risk a 
 thing he never would have considered in his 
 sane mind. "Wait and see if your imagina- 
 tion is not as vivid as your sense of the ridicu- 
 lous," he begged. "If an introduction's all 
 that's necessary " He faced about and 
 bowed as if to some new arrival of much dig- 
 nity. "Observe how timely is the arrival of 
 Monsieur, the Master of Ceremonies." 
 
 "What know you of courts?" She drew 
 back quickly, her head high. 
 
 "Wait! Silence! The majordomo salaams 
 and speaks." 
 
 The startled frown gave place to a dimpled 
 smile, and she clapped her hands as delightedly 
 as a child at the pantomime. 
 
 Hale scowled darkly as his hand went up in 
 protest. "You didn't listen," he complained.
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 39 
 
 "And, because you laughed, the proud aristo- 
 crat has gone away in a huff." 
 
 "What did he told!" 
 
 "I don't know as I can quote his words," he 
 said, dubiously; "you see, he rather hurried 
 when he perceived your lack of interest. It 
 was something about his very great pleasure 
 in presenting to your condescension the pri- 
 vate secretary of Mr. James Field of New York, 
 the beast who's probably responsible for my 
 being stranded here in Territet. Now sit down 
 and we'll talk shop." 
 
 "I think," she mused, resting her small hand 
 against the trunk of a tall, straight tree, "I 
 think the world 'ave lost a great actor. Mon- 
 sieur do not resemble a secretaire." 
 
 "Neither does Mademoiselle. It isn't," he 
 stammered, totally misunderstanding her invol- 
 untary start, the unconscious gasp and the 
 proud lift of the rounded chin which sent a chill 
 to his heart; "it isn't, 'Madame'?" 
 
 For a second only she controlled the way- 
 ward dimples. "An' would Monsieur be of 
 much fear were it so?" she challenged.
 
 40 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Well, possibly fear wouldn't be the exact 
 word." 
 
 "An' what do you name it then?" 
 
 "As long as we've been properly intro- 
 duced," he suggested, "why not let it go as re- 
 lief?" 
 
 "French, German, Italian and Russian I 
 speak, an' some of the tongue of the Near 
 East," she observed, "but the English, which I 
 'ave learn from a friend of me one time at 
 Aix, is the mos' difficile to onderstan', is it 
 not?" 
 
 "Don't let's waste time in academic debate," 
 he chuckled. "You're either from Bucharest 
 or Petrograd. ' ' 
 
 "I 'ave know both," she sighed, "also some 
 other, but nevair in any of all 'ave I met such 
 a man like Monsieur." 
 
 Hale bowed with the sweep of a musketeer. 
 "But surely you don't choose Territet in July 
 as a residence from preference?" 
 
 The golden head shook sadly. "Monsieur," 
 she said, "the dreadful war 'ave changed ver' 
 many thing."
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 41 
 
 "Mademoiselle!" Bale's low exclamation 
 was sharp with distress. 
 
 "Monsieur is forgive," she said, with a gen- 
 tle smile, "for it was not that he intend to 
 wound. An ' now I regret that it is of a neces- 
 sity we depart. Janos ! ' ' 
 
 But Janos was not for renouncing his first 
 unchaperoned field day with a live watch. In- 
 stead of obeying, he shook his head and once 
 again tapped his treasure on a rock and raised 
 it to his ear. Evidently the watch was worthy 
 of its works for a pleased smile spread over 
 the childish face. Janos proceeded to test the 
 case with his teeth. 
 
 "Keally," pleaded Hale, still uncomfortable, 
 "it's not fair to interrupt his scientific investi- 
 gations." 
 
 "Fair!" she cried, with a touch of scorn. 
 "Fair? Janos mus' be educate to mind that 
 not. It is for us to jus ' obey. ' ' 
 
 Hale suddenly glanced up, for he was sur- 
 prised at her bitterness. "I can't quite im- 
 agine you taking orders from any one," he said 
 soberly.
 
 42 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Monsieur do not onderstan'," she retorted 
 listlessly. 
 
 "He doesn't. In my country it is the men 
 who serve." 
 
 "It mus' be a ver' beautiful land," she said, 
 her lips scarcely moving. 
 
 For a moment only a tap, tap from the direc- 
 tion of the experimenting Janos broke the 
 silence. She must have felt his eyes for, all 
 at once, her head went back. "Monsieur," she 
 said, with a brave smile, "you 'ave ask where 
 I live, but not who I are. That prove the gen- 
 tleman, prove it even without other ver' many 
 little thing which I 'ave see. An', because you 
 are what you are, I stay an' talk an' laugh an' 
 make a struggle to forget, I who are not per- 
 mit to " She stopped, her hand sweep- 
 ing out in a gesture, half protest, half de- 
 spair. 
 
 "If there is anything I can do," hesitated 
 Hale, "forget I'm a stranger." 
 
 "You 'ave done ver' much already," she 
 said, in a low voice, "you 'ave show that some 
 men are that which I 'ave always believe, al-
 
 THE TOO SOCIAL SECRETARY 43 
 
 ways," she repeated, "kind, of bon camaraderie 
 an' onselfish." 
 
 "Hardly unselfish," he protested, with a 
 short laugh. "I've done my uttermost to keep 
 you here. My only excuse is that, somehow, I 
 knew you'd understand." 
 
 "It could not 'ave happen," she said simply, 
 "if you an' me did not both onderstan'. But 
 now I go. Janos!" 
 
 This time the child recognized finality, but 
 there was no mistaking the reluctance with 
 which he returned the wreck of the watch. 
 The girl's mood changed as she saw the little 
 chap's lips tremble with disappointment, and 
 one arm stole about his shoulders. 
 
 "Observe, Monsieur," she commanded, with 
 a bright smile, "how the small bow of Janos 
 make the thank the unlearned tongue of him 
 may not speak. He, too, 'ave enjoy the society 
 of you." 
 
 "Then bring him back to complete his in- 
 vestigations," blurted Hale. 
 
 She saw his quick flush of confusion over his 
 unconsidered audacity, and was quick to turn
 
 44 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 it against him. "Perhaps, should you know 
 who I are,*' she said, "you would not ask." 
 
 "You told me you were the social secretary 
 to Madame. That 's enough for me. ' ' 
 
 "Monsieur is ver' trustful," she observed, 
 her eyes once more dancing as she turned and 
 started up the path. "Such trustfulness should 
 be reward, ' ' she added, over her shoulder. 
 
 "So you and Janos will come back to-mor- 
 row!" he asked eagerly. 
 
 "To-morrow? It is for Janos," she said, 
 "to answer for Janos. Who are I to read the 
 thoughts of a so little man? Bon jour, Mon- 
 sieur."
 
 returned to Territet in a mood which 
 made it easy to forgive his sister *s still un- 
 broken silence. He felt she would not have 
 been a true Hale had she appeared on the ap- 
 pointed day. She would arrive, with her 
 equally casual husband, at her own good time, 
 and he chuckled at the thought of any of the 
 dozen impossible excuses they would negligently 
 offer for having left him to mark time while 
 they chased some new will-o'-the-wisp. 
 
 For the first time in months he found himself 
 choosing a dinner carefully. But, before he 
 was half through, it came over him that such 
 a meal could only be appreciated by two and, 
 to the excited waiter's complete discomfiture, 
 Ordered coffee on the terrace and left the table. 
 
 Full realization of his recent imbecility en- 
 gulfed him as he eat morosely in a deep chair
 
 46 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 in a lonely corner. It was no wonder she had 
 laughed at him, mocked him, made him appear 
 the callow freshman blundering through his so- 
 cial initiation. His crude conversational at- 
 tempts certainly merited her merriment and, 
 when he recalled his crass suggestion that she 
 meet him again, he shuddered. Yet it was not 
 because he had made himself appear the 
 bounder in his own eyes, as much as that he 
 had forced his presumption on such a girl. He 
 rose abruptly and began to pace the terrace 
 with quick, indignant stride, his pipe between 
 his teeth, his hands thrust deep in his pockets, 
 head down, jaw square. 
 
 He should have stayed at home, have stuck 
 to the job, have done anything except crash 
 around at large, insulting unprotected women 
 with his conceited banalities. For a time he 
 considered leaving Territet before he broke 
 loose into some new and characteristically dis- 
 astrous adventure. But then came remem- 
 brance of that hunted, frightened look in the 
 big, blue eyes, of the soft-spoken confession of 
 faith in the man who did not comprehend, yet
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 47 
 
 still could sympathize, of the frank acceptance 
 of his comradeship because she, too, could "on- 
 derstan'." It was too much. He knew he 
 would not only remain in Territet, but return 
 to that hillside the following afternoon. 
 
 He did not expect to find his pot of gold at 
 the end of the slender rainbow which bridged 
 his morning. His only excuse was that he had 
 offered a suggestion and must make good his 
 daring. As he climbed the winding path the 
 second time, he told himself she would not 
 come. He did not expect her to ; did not want 
 her to. Even though she "onderstood," she 
 was not that sort, nor would he have her any- 
 thing but exactly what she was. 
 
 Yet his analysis of personality was limited 
 by selfishness. In seeking excuses for two, he 
 overlooked the third. As he rounded the last 
 corner of the path, a delighted cry made him 
 look up to see little Janos charging down upon 
 him, both arms outstretched in welcome. 
 
 Even as he caught him, to toss him high above 
 his head, he instinctively glanced beyond. But 
 there was no white-clad figure outlined against
 
 48 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 the shady green, only the stout and stolid form 
 of an expressionless nurse, colorful in the cos- 
 tume of a peasant from some far off corner of 
 Europe he could not place. 
 
 Janos, however, was not to be neglected. 
 Even as his small feet hit the ground again, he 
 made a dive for Hale's pocket. The free rein 
 which had been his the day before was worth 
 further trial. But because Hale was a boy at 
 heart, he met the attack with counter attack. 
 For ten minutes they romped, the child scream- 
 ing with delight as he was first rolled and rum- 
 pled in the soft moss, then whirled high in the 
 air, to be tossed again and again. 
 
 Panting and shaking with laughter, Hale 
 finally threw himself on the ground. For a mo- 
 ment the youngster stood puffing, fat bare legs 
 planted firmly apart, gazing in unconcealed ad- 
 miration at the exhausted whirlwind. On the 
 face of the nurse there was an expression of 
 indignation mixed with bewildered horror, but, 
 before she could collect her bovine wits, Janos 
 struck her dumb with an imperious command 
 so strangely out of place in such a tot that Hale
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 49 
 
 chuckled aloud. "I don't know what you 
 said," he declared, "but I'll say it was a mouth- 
 ful." 
 
 The child looked at him puzzled. It was per- 
 fectly evident he wanted to understand. His 
 plump face dimpled as his eyes met Hale's, and 
 the man thought another attack in force was 
 imminent. Instead, Janos came trustfully to 
 him, and nestled down in the crook of his arm, 
 as if expecting confidences. As the warm little 
 body snuggled closer, Hale thought the world 
 a rather nice little place after all. At least he 
 had not been put down at his own estimate, or 
 the youngster would not have been permitted to 
 return to play with him. It was more than he 
 deserved; it was double what he had expected. 
 Of a sudden he sat upright and, picking up the 
 child, sat him down facing him and nodded sol- 
 emnly. "Janos," he announced, "we live to 
 learn and for you the hour strikes. I'm going 
 to teach you English." 
 
 For a moment the boy stared, uncomprehend- 
 ing. Then his hand stole toward the alluring 
 watch pocket, only to be imprisoned promptly.
 
 50 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "No you don't, young man ! The course in me- 
 chanics was finished yesterday. You're now 
 about to enter upon the constructive phase of 
 your education. Repeat: 'Mademoiselle, I re- 
 turn to play with Janos to-morrow.' " 
 
 For half an hour Hale learned to pity the lot 
 of all those who teach the youthful mind to 
 sprout. But, in the end, he had the satisfac- 
 tion of hearing Janos lisp the phrase. It took 
 another fifteen minutes, and much lustily ap- 
 plauded pantomime, to make him comprehend 
 that "Mademoiselle' 7 was the girl of yester- 
 day, and that his new knowledge was to be ex- 
 hibited to her. The instant the childish mind 
 grasped that, Janos was on his feet and off at 
 full speed, trembling with eagerness to display 
 his new accomplishment, and thereby proving 
 himself a man at heart. 
 
 Hale spent another long evening alone. He 
 found himself less resentful of his sister's un- 
 explained non-appearance, less argumentative 
 over many things. For some unexplored rea- 
 son he was content to drift. Life seemed more 
 normal under the Alpine afterglow than it had
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 51 
 
 been for years. There was a peace about the 
 majesty of the distant mountains which made 
 the world look stable. What was gone was 
 gone, and the future was able to take care of it- 
 self. There was no recklessness in his mood, 
 no placid contentment, merely a willingness 
 to permit things to take their own course. 
 For the first time in three days he forgot to 
 ask for the awaited telegram, and sat late into 
 the night watching the moonlight glimmer 
 on the lake, and dreaming lazy, wandering 
 dreams. 
 
 The next afternoon, as deliberately as if it 
 were a lifelong habit, he marched up the fa- 
 miliar path, head erect, pipe comfortably set- 
 tled between his teeth. And there, seated on a 
 fallen trunk, he found her. 
 
 For a moment he was dumb. Even in his 
 wildest flights, he had not counted on finding 
 her again. The pipe went into his pocket 
 and his hand went mechanically to his cap. 
 "YouVe come!" It was more a question thar 
 a statement. 
 
 "I had to come, Monsieur," she answered
 
 52 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 dully, "why 'ave you teach to Janos what you 
 'avef" 
 
 He was quick to grasp the change in her as 
 he came nearer. "So that he would tell you," 
 he replied. "Have I done wrong?" 
 
 "You 'ave made great trouble. Janos 'ave 
 confess to the madame mamma of him that we 
 'ave talk. He 'ave repeat to her that which 
 you 'ave teach him. ' ' 
 
 "But he's only a child, and could not realize. 
 The fault was all mine." 
 
 "Alway generous! But, Monsieur shall per- 
 ceive that I, too, 'ave learn from him, ' ' she said, 
 her slim fingers opening and shutting over the 
 jeweled handle of the sunshade. "It is to re- 
 pay you one small kindness for the so large 
 compassion of you to the dreariness of me, that 
 I 'ave return. You will go from Territet ? ' ' 
 
 Her big eyes were fixed on him anxiously. 
 He saw both pleading and sorrow and, beneath, 
 something which he mistook for fear. "Go?" 
 he asked, "Why?" 
 
 "You mus'." 
 
 "Must?" he repeated. "Why?"
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 53 
 
 " Should I wish it," she asked hesitatingly, 
 as she watched the idle lines her parasol traced 
 on the path, "would Monsieur believe that a 
 cause sufficient?" 
 
 "I would heed it," he agreed instantly, 
 "where I would give no other a thought." 
 
 "It is not the compliment I desire," she said, 
 with a show of weariness, "but the welfare of 
 one who 'ave been kind to me." 
 
 He studied her keenly from between half- 
 closed lids. "What has the welfare of any 
 one but you to do with this?" he demanded 
 abruptly. 
 
 "Much, Monsieur." 
 
 "I'm afraid you'll have to show me that," 
 he retorted, with a short laugh. ' ' This isn 't the 
 seventeenth century, you know. By coming 
 back you've shown you believe me a gentle- 
 man. If it's necessary to convince others, I can 
 do it best, not by running away, but by remain- 
 ing to gain a proper introduction to those whose 
 sense of propriety I've apparently wounded." 
 
 " No ! No ! " she cried, drawing back. ' ' That 
 would be terrible. My the Madame "
 
 54 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Her open fear brought a smile to his lips. 
 "Does Madame wear scales and breathe flame? 
 I've never posed as St. George, but, if she's 
 only a dragon, I imagine I can discover some 
 way at least to appease her wrath." 
 
 "No!" she reiterated with growing terror. 
 "Again, no. Madame is " She stopped, her 
 eyes wide, her hands raised to her breast. 
 "Madame," she began once more, "Madame 
 is Oh, how can I told you! She are still a 
 ver' gran' lady, in spite of all that which 'ave 
 occur, an' she are furious that I I who are 
 that I 'ave talk with one who were one time 
 the enemy of my so sad country. It are be- 
 cause I I were not sympathique with what did 
 occur that now they trus' me not, these who 
 were once the friends of me an' no one no 
 one," she repeated, "is permit to visit the Villa 
 Flores but those who are from home." 
 
 For a long moment Hale met her pleading 
 gaze. That such a girl should feel it necessary 
 to suffer the humiliation to explain she had not 
 been " sympathique" with the Hun, made him 
 want to shout with laughter. The absurdity of
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 55 
 
 such dainty loveliness having anything in com- 
 mon with brutality, temporarily blinded him to 
 her very real distress. Then many things be- 
 gan to assume shape in the mist which she had 
 tried to create between them. He was per- 
 fectly aware that Switzerland was overflowing 
 with political refugees, kings without thrones, 
 princes without principalities, aristocrats with 
 nothing but the memory of what once was, but 
 never again would be. 
 
 He had wondered idly, that first evening after 
 he had met her, if she was not one of those 
 exiles. But it had only been the thought of the 
 moment. Who she was, mattered nothing to 
 him. But that she was in distress, that there 
 was something she was afraid of, that there was 
 evidently some one who held something over 
 her, was an entirely different thing. Five min- 
 utes before he would have said it was chivalry 
 which made him want to defend a troubled 
 woman; now he knew it was pure selfishness 
 which made him long to protect her. 
 
 He saw her lips tremble. The hands thrust 
 into his pockets became fists but there was a
 
 56 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 gay smile on his lips when he spoke. ' ' So ! " he 
 exclaimed, determined to guide her back into 
 less troubled seas. "But if the very grand lady 
 of Villa Flores will not condescend to see me, 
 what is to prevent my ringing the servants' 
 bell at this selfsame chalet, and asking if I may 
 see the social secretary of Madame! " 
 
 * ' Monsieur ! ' ' The slender figure was proudly 
 erect and the golden head went back with a 
 hauteur which made him want to shout with 
 
 joy. 
 
 "Never mind," he laughed, "I didn't mean 
 it, and you haven't told me much." 
 
 "So Monsieur will not accep' even the re- 
 quest of a friend in sobriety?" she asked. 
 
 He shook his head slowly. Never had he seen 
 anything so entirely fascinating as the half- 
 angry, half -pleading girl. ' ' No, ' ' he confessed, 
 "not even the request from both a friend and a 
 co-worker. ' ' 
 
 'I do not onderstan'." 
 
 "Your memory's not that short. Still, if 
 you've never been told that, in these days of 
 trade unionism, co-workers should stand to-
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 57 
 
 gether, I don 't suppose any one ever did bother 
 to teach you the meaning of that time-worn ex- 
 pression, 'noblesse oblige.' " 
 
 ' 'Oh! An' how," she asked coolly, " should 
 the private secretary to Monsieur Fiel' be fa- 
 miliar with such?" 
 
 "Monsieur Field," he countered, "has a wife 
 of much position who, occasionally, has been 
 most kind to me." 
 
 "Ah!" It was scarcely more than a breath. 
 "An* are she beautiful?" she asked shyly. 
 
 "I dunno," he retorted with a brother's in- 
 difference, which was completely misunder- 
 stood. "What interests me now is how we're 
 going to placate this Madame Dragon. It 
 really must be done, you know," he rushed on, 
 as if it were a matter which could be cleared 
 up to make way for something really important, 
 such as afternoon tea or a game of tennis. "I 
 can't help but feel you're making a very large 
 Alp out of a very small mole hill." 
 
 "Perhaps it is that Monsieur speak in his 
 native Americanese ? " she suggested, in a puz- 
 zled voice. "I only the anglaise onderstan'
 
 58 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 perfect. Told me that which you feel in little 
 words." 
 
 Hale shook his head. " There are some 
 things which even I do not dare, ' ' he confessed, 
 with a queer smile. 
 
 * ' That I believe not, ' ' she stated simply. 
 
 "I'll dare this much," he said impulsively; 
 "when a man meets a girl like you, he doesn't 
 take the next train to nowhere simply because 
 of the well, let's say the suggestions emanat- 
 ing from an outraged aristocrat with an over- 
 nice sense of propriety. I've a few rights my- 
 self, and one of those rights is a proper in- 
 troduction to you. Show me how to arrange 
 that and we '11 clear up many things. ' ' 
 
 "It cannot be arrange; it are impossible." 
 
 "I don't know that word." 
 
 The calm confidence in his voice sent the 
 blood surging to her heart, and she caught her 
 breath sharply. Knowing only too well the 
 truth of her statement, she fought down her 
 longing to hear its contradiction repeated, and 
 discovered the frightening happiness which 
 comes to a girl when she first puts the man
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 59 
 
 above herself. She felt the hot color surge to 
 her cheeks, and became terrified lest it betray 
 her. 
 
 "Monsieur," she said, not daring to raise her 
 eyes from the path, "I 'ave return to-day to 
 show that I 'ave regard for the honor of you, 
 an' that I would be the frien' to you but for 
 things which are as they are. I I am no 
 peasant maid to meet you here How you say 
 it ? Above the rose f I am one who thought to 
 do as she wish; but now all thing are changed 
 an' it is that I mus' obey so the many may be 
 happy. Therefore, Monsieur, I ask that you 
 depart before ver' great pain come to us both." 
 
 "I've been a cad!" he growled. "I've 
 thought only of myself. I don 't know who you 
 are; I don't want to know, if you don't want 
 to tell me. But this much I want you to know 
 before I go, whether you're the peasant maid 
 you say you're not, or the queen you deserve 
 to be: To one man you've been, and always 
 will be, just a girl and Oh, well, ' ' he broke off, 
 with a rough laugh, "what's the use?" 
 
 "None," she murmured, "jus' none at all.
 
 60 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Two time we 'ave met on a so little path, an' 
 now that path for one go one way an' for the 
 other another. Good-by, Monsieur St. George. 
 Convention you may override; but dragons 
 An, no!" 
 
 "And you're sending me away," he said, 
 "with the knowledge that some trouble hangs 
 over you, that I'm at the root of it, that you 
 need help and are too proud to ask for it!" 
 
 "Proud!" she cried. "Proud? 'Ave one 
 pride who do that which I 'ave done? No, 
 Monsieur, not pride, but great faith. This 
 much you shall know : It 'ave not been permit 
 to me to make friends of those I choose, so, 
 when I fin' a friend, I treasure the memory of 
 that frien'. Already you 'ave aid me, un- 
 knowing to yourself ; again you aid me by going 
 an', perhaps, once again I shall call on you for 
 aid shall I desire that aid of a great desperate- 
 ness." 
 
 * ' But how shall I know when you need me ? " 
 
 ' ' Ah ! ' ' she said, with a faint smile. ' ' Should 
 it be posssible that the servant of Monsieur 
 Field are quite unknown? I I " She
 
 THE DRAGON'S CLAW 61 
 
 stopped, and her slender body grew rigid. He 
 saw the big eyes grow round with anger, and 
 wheeled sharply to discover the cause. At the 
 turn of the path stood Janos, a glad smile on 
 his face, his hand in that of a tall, lithe woman, 
 regal even in the open displeasure on every 
 coldly beautiful feature. 
 
 The girl was the first to recover. The poise, 
 which had been handed down through genera- 
 tions, returned. Her head went up and her face 
 was as calm as her slight nod of recognition. 
 "Madame has come," she explained, in rapid 
 French, indicating, with a quick gesture, that 
 it was to Hale alone she spoke, "come to add 
 her thanks to mine for your recent kindness to 
 Monsieur le Count Janos Barezay. It is a mis- 
 fortune to all that she speaks none but her na- 
 tive tongue and, therefore, is unable to express 
 her thoughts except through me." 
 
 Hale had eyes only for the girl, and the 
 woman's start went unnoticed. "Madame," he 
 said, also in French, as he turned toward her, 
 "what I did was nothing. I am at a loss to 
 understand "
 
 62 
 
 "It is not necessary that you should ' under- 
 stand,' " she said, icily. "Good afternoon." 
 
 The girl went scarlet, but her half -uttered cry 
 of protest died as she caught a glimpse of 
 Hale's face. All he had told her, and more, 
 she had believed implicitly; but now his self- 
 control under direct insult gave her a calmness 
 she had never before experienced. Quickly she 
 stepped to him and held out her hand. "For 
 this and all else," she said, "much thanks. 
 And now, Monsieur St. George, au revoir." 
 
 "Naida!" exclaimed the woman, freezingly. 
 "Pray do not forget yourself further. Already 
 they have awaited your return over-long." 
 And, without deigning to notice Hale further, 
 she turned and led the way around the turn. 
 
 Hale stood frozen to the path. "Naida!" 
 he muttered, half aloud. "Naida!" With a 
 start, he came to himself, and a grim smile 
 grew around the corners of his determined 
 mouth. "St. George has been a long time 
 dead," he told himself, "too long a time."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 
 
 HALE found a hotel room too confining for his 
 still increasing anger and, tossing his hat on a 
 table, threw open the long windows which gave 
 onto the terrace and stood there blindly, the 
 cool wind blowing on his hot forehead. It was 
 characteristic that he should entirely overlook 
 the insult of Madame 's curt dismissal, and 
 waste no time in speculation as to her position 
 or right to issue imperious commands. But, as 
 he thought, his rage over the humiliation of the 
 girl who had mocked her way into his mind, 
 gave place to a far different feeling. At first 
 he utterly refused to recognize it. Then 
 acknowledgment came, to be followed by a 
 quickening pulse and a squaring of the shoul- 
 ders. 
 
 He loved her! The suddenness with which 
 
 63
 
 64 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 this love had come added to its strength, and 
 to his determination to fight for a happiness 
 which, as yet, was only a rosy tint on the hori- 
 zon of his imagination. Whoever and whatever 
 she was, princess, duchess or the queen he had 
 told her she deserved to be, was of no impor- 
 tance, now that he knew her as the vague girl 
 of his dreams come true. 
 
 It was not until long after the shadows had 
 crept out over the lake, and the snow on the 
 distant Dents du Midi had stolen the pinks and 
 golds from the sunset, that a knock brought him 
 back to realities. Impatiently, he threw open 
 the door. Then, after a second in which to 
 convince himself he saw aright, his hand went 
 out. ''Bates!" he cried. "How'd you get 
 here?" 
 
 A broad grin replaced the wooden mask of 
 artificiality, and the stubby figure in chauf- 
 feur's livery relaxed from attention. "Cap'n, 
 howdy!" he grinned. 
 
 " Where 'd you come from? Come in here." 
 He pushed the terror of his old company into 
 the room, and kicked-to the door. "It's like
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 65 
 
 old times to be demanding explanations from 
 you, Tom. Elucidate." 
 
 The grin broadened until one cauliflower ear 
 seemed to tremble. "Betcher!" he exploded. 
 Then, old habit reasserting itself, his heels 
 came smartly together. "Mrs. Field's compli- 
 ments, sir, and I'm to report to the Cap'n for 
 duty." 
 
 Hale laughed in spite of himself. "Forget 
 that stuff!" he advised. "Come through with 
 something I can get." 
 
 "Got a car outside. Me an' it's for you." 
 
 Hale shook his head hopelessly. "Tom, I 
 don't know what you've done, or where you've 
 come from, but, if the old times were back, I'd 
 give you ten days K.P. on suspicion, and you'd 
 be getting off light. Where 'd you find my sis- 
 ter, and what are you doing loose on the wrong 
 side of the Atlantic with a car?" 
 
 "The Cap'n hasn't forgotten I used to work 
 for Mr. Field before Heinie began to froth at 
 the mouth, has he?" There was real injury in 
 the tone. 
 
 "Of course not. Get somewhere."
 
 66 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Well, Cap'n, it was sorter this way. New 
 York seemed sorter empty-like without Mr. 
 Field, so I gets me a job on a freighter, sails 
 for Sunny It. an' goes A.W.O.L. when the tub 
 hits Genoa. Mr. Field gives me the old job 
 as soon as I finds them in Florence. We're up 
 at the Como place when your wire comes, an' 
 they starts for here; but, beggin' the Cap'n's 
 pardon, he knows Mr. Field, an' I reckon they 
 sorter strays off and forgets where they started 
 to head in. Anyway, I gets a wire to take a 
 car, come here an' report for duty." 
 
 "Got that wire?" 
 
 "Cap'n, yessir!" 
 
 "See here, Tom," snapped Hale, "we're both 
 free men; drop that * Cap'n yessir' stuff." 
 
 "Cap'n" He gulped and the grin broke 
 into full eruption. "Yes, sir. Mr. Hale," he 
 agreed. 
 
 "Don't happen not to have lost that tele- 
 gram?" 
 
 "No, sir." ' 
 
 "Let's see it." 
 
 Bates began a fervid search through many
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 67 
 
 pockets and at length produced the message. 
 Hale took it. It confirmed suspicions which 
 had been growing into convictions during forty- 
 eight hours. It was dated at Chamonix. Be- 
 yond a doubt his sister and Jimmie Field had 
 firmly intended to come to Territet, but, while 
 traveling, had thought of something else or met 
 some one. It would seem perfectly logical to 
 them both to spend a few days in the little vil- 
 lage at the foot of Mount Blanc, leaving the 
 lonely brother to amuse himself by wondering 
 what had become of them. What really did 
 surprise him was Peggy Field's casual remem- 
 brance, as expressed by the gift of Tom Bates 
 and a car. 
 
 For a moment, he felt the stab of their neg- 
 lect; but then came the acknowledgment that 
 he would have done exactly the same thing if he 
 had met some friend on the way down from 
 France who had suggested anything which 
 seemed worth doing at the instant. The old 
 expression of "don't care" came back into his 
 face, and, going to the desk in the corner, he 
 hunted out a telegraph form. Addressing it to
 
 68 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Mrs. Field at Chamonix he wrote, " Don't 
 hurry on my account. You've doubled my 
 trouble by sending Bates, but I'm perfectly 
 happy. Find Territet delightful." 
 
 "Here!" he said, holding it out. "Send 
 that; then report at the hotel office and tell 
 them to give you what you need. And, Tom," 
 he added, in a very different tone, "I'm al- 
 mighty glad to get you back again." 
 
 The ugly face all at once seemed less repul- 
 sive. "I'll say I'm on the top of the world," 
 he blurted, then wheeled and bolted before the 
 temptation to tell the "old man" what he, and 
 the rest of the "old gang," really thought of 
 him should become too strong. 
 
 It was while he was drinking his demi-tasse 
 in the deserted billiard room that the concierge 
 presented the answer to his wire. Hale opened 
 it with a sense of foreboding. It was as brief 
 as it was characteristic. "Coming at once," 
 it ran. "I know Territet. Am wild to meet 
 her. Peggy." 
 
 There was something in his appreciative 
 chuckle which would have told the already sus-
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 69 
 
 picious Mrs. Field far more than she had ven- 
 tured to guess. The little village by the lake 
 had indeed lost all its drab monotony and there 
 was a tingle in the very atmosphere, which, had 
 he been in any way a miser with his memories, 
 would have made him marvel that he could have 
 complained romance was dead. The still hov- 
 ering concierge brought him back to mundane 
 things and, because the world again seemed in- 
 clined to smile, Hale doubled the expected tip. 
 
 "And is there not something I can do for 
 Monsieur?" he asked, with oily servility. 
 
 Hale studied him speculatively. ' ' Possibly, ' ' 
 he said. "Who lives " He stopped. "Never 
 mind," he finished abruptly. 
 
 "If there is anything I can tell Monsieur, he 
 has but to ask." 
 
 "There isn't. You can find my chauffeur, 
 however, and tell him I want the car in fifteen 
 minutes." 
 
 "Very good, Monsieur." 
 
 Again it was impulse he followed in sending 
 for Bates. He had nowhere to go, nothing to 
 do. It was easier to spend an evening motor-
 
 70 
 
 ing somewhere than to take root where he was. 
 Getting a coat and cap, he was waiting at the 
 steps when the car came around. Even as it 
 stopped, Bates was out from behind the wheel, 
 and at attention. 
 
 "Drop that stuff, I tell you!" commanded 
 Hale, impatiently. He glanced curiously at the 
 high-powered car and recognized a familiar 
 make. Pulling on his gloves, he got into the 
 driver's seat and nodded to the man as he 
 threw in the gears. "Get in," he ordered. 
 
 The night and the moonlight sent his thoughts 
 soaring back to the path on the mountainside, 
 and it was only with an effort that he turned 
 toward Montreaux. Bates, who, for a turbu- 
 lent fifteen months, had endeavored to read the 
 expression of that smooth-shaven face two 
 jumps ahead of trouble, studied it now out of 
 the corners of his eyes. Impatience was a new 
 thing for the "old man" to exhibit and Tom 
 thanked his gods the pleasures of kitchen police 
 were of the unmourned past. 
 
 Nor was Hale as a cautious driver a portent 
 to be overlooked carelessly by one who placed
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 71 
 
 his faith on "hunches." Action, and action on 
 the high with the throttle wide, was what every 
 man who had followed Hale blindly had learned 
 to expect. Tom had braced his feet for a rush 
 toward Geneva at a roaring sixty and now, to 
 be lumbering through the fragrant moonlight 
 at the speed of a whippet tank, made him de- 
 cidedly fearful. "Something's wrong," he 
 told himself; "something's on his nerve." 
 
 He was sure his diagnosis was correct when 
 he saw Hale's head go up at the sound of an 
 orchestra in one of the Montreaux hotels. Evi- 
 dently the music struck some chord within the 
 man, for he turned the car abruptly and drove 
 down to the Kursaal. "Wait here," he or- 
 dered, getting out and tossing his coat into the 
 seat. 
 
 "Gee !" grinned Bates, as he backed over into 
 the corner of the court to park. "If he gets 
 buckin' the wheel to-night, there's goin' to be 
 some prominent Sweitzercases in to-morrow's 
 casualty list. Good mornin', Lady Luck!" 
 With which he curled up in the seat and 
 promptly went to sleep.
 
 72 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 But Hale passed through the little building 
 as casually as he had entered it, and found a 
 table in a corner of the garden. The place was 
 not crowded, but those who were there were of 
 a different type from the medley of pre-war 
 nights. The paucity of American school teach- 
 ers was the most noticeable of all. The con- 
 versation was low-pitched, and there was a false 
 gaiety which did not deceive him. He knew 
 many must be exiles in all but name, guessed 
 that about him sat living stories. 
 
 The group at the adjoining table caught his 
 notice for an instant, merely because of the in- 
 tentness of their low-pitched argument. They 
 had glanced up as he took his seat, but their 
 curiosity was apparently slight, for the big, 
 bull-necked specimen at once went on with what 
 he had been saying. 
 
 Hale almost subconsciously realized they 
 were speaking in some tongue vaguely fa- 
 miliar, yet of which he understood no word. 
 It aroused his curiosity. Occasionally there 
 was some slurred tangle of consonants which 
 almost enabled him to put his finger on what he
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 73 
 
 was seeking. Then the white-haired, dapper 
 gentleman, across from the pudgy-faced oaf, 
 whom Hale had already put down as a former 
 aid-de-camp to the bull-necked man, took up the 
 debate. In a flash, Hale had lined the pieces 
 of an idle puzzle into a clean cut picture. Be- 
 fore him stood a crowing, happy child who chat- 
 tered this self-same tongue. The conversation 
 was in the language of Janos. But to him it 
 was only the language of the girl who was in 
 trouble. Utterly forgetful of all else, he sat 
 with his eyes fixed on the animated old gentle- 
 man who was laying down the law to his com- 
 panions. 
 
 Such a stare would have drawn the eyes of 
 any who sailed even untroubled seas. Inside of 
 a moment it was met with frank displeasure. 
 Hale flushed as he realized his own rudeness. 
 He started to rise, the thought of offering an 
 apology uppermost in his mind, but, before he 
 could move, the old gentleman had risen. The 
 next moment he stood before Hale, his thin face 
 cold. 
 
 "Can it be possible,'* he asked in French,
 
 74 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "that Monsieur openly listens to the conversa- 
 tion of complete strangers?" 
 
 "Not only possible," Hale answered, in the 
 same tongue, "but unpardonably true. If you 
 will permit, I offer my most sincere apologies 
 and, at the same time, assure you I understood 
 no word. Your language is totally unfamiliar 
 to me; my only possible excuse for my rude- 
 ness is that it recalled the voice of a 
 friend." 
 
 "Ah!" It was such a straightforward apol- 
 ogy, and so frankly made, that even the suave 
 old gentleman could find no flaw. He bowed 
 gravely. "You are an American?" he asked. 
 
 "I am." 
 
 "And you are staying at Territet?" 
 
 Hale stiffened. Such unexpected knowledge 
 put him instantly on the alert. In turn he 
 bowed. "I am," he said coldly, "at 'Des 
 lies.' " 
 
 "Indeed! Might it be permitted that I offer 
 my felicitations to Monsieur, and suggest that 
 it is a good place " He hesitated for the 
 fraction of a second, then his gray eyes met
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 75 
 
 Hale's squarely, "to stay," he finished, and, 
 bowing once more, turned back to his com- 
 patriots before Hale had fully comprehended 
 he had been given a deliberate warning. 
 
 He began to see red. He was not the sort 
 to tolerate any interference with his affairs. 
 Everything innate made the thought of a pos- 
 sible scene in such a place repulsive, but he 
 knew now he was recognized as a player in 
 some game that he did not understand, and it 
 needed no challenge to tell him the game was 
 worth the stake. They were the ones who were 
 forcing the play, and he had yet to see the op- 
 ponent he would not go more than half way to 
 meet. His features were coldly expressionless 
 as he pushed his chair close to his own table 
 and turned to the other. 
 
 But the old gentleman had read his man 
 aright. If Hale were ready to join the issue on 
 the instant, such action was not in keeping with 
 his own plans. On his return to his compan- 
 ions, he had nodded a command, then continued 
 his way toward a side exit. Already they were 
 strolling after him, and again Hale experienced
 
 76 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 the novelty of considering another instead of 
 his own hot desire. As casually as they had 
 departed, he went around the vacant table and 
 continued on out of the garden by the same way 
 he had entered. 
 
 Finding the car, he ran down through Vevey ; 
 but the moonlit lake, the clear-cut mountains, 
 the fragrant, silent gardens behind their guar- 
 dian hedges, even the warm stars overhead, held 
 no peace. He could link the interest these 
 strangers had taken in him to only one cause. 
 The possible cost to himself was not given a 
 thought; the fact that he had been ordered 
 subtly, yet with calculated deliberation, to at- 
 tend to his own affairs, gave him the hope that, 
 in some unknown way, some one was afraid of 
 him, that it was within his power to block some 
 unguessed move, that this move had to do with 
 the future of a troubled girl. Whirling the car 
 around, he rushed back to Territet at a speed 
 which satisfied even the mania of the reckless 
 Bates. 
 
 Once more the omnipresent concierge met him 
 at the curb. "A servant has awaited one hour
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 77 
 
 to address Monsieur," lie announced, before 
 Hale could get out of his seat. 
 
 "What's he want?" 
 
 "One does not question the men from Villa 
 Flores, Monsieur," he answered, with unprec- 
 edented humbleness. "He asks for you. That 
 is all I know." 
 
 "Send him to my rooms." 
 
 Hale 's heart beat rapidly as he hurried along 
 the corridor, his mind picturing a thousand 
 things. He snapped on his lights and drew off 
 his gloves but, before he was out of his coat, 
 the expected knock came. 
 
 The door swung open at his sharp command. 
 Instead of the subservient concierge piloting 
 the customary lackey, he saw a thick-set, cube- 
 shouldered man step across the threshold, and 
 deliberately close the door behind him. His 
 iron gray hair was close cropped and, from be- 
 neath white thickets, eagle eyes appraised him 
 minutely. The heavy face was scarred with 
 wrinkles, the thin, straight lips were empha- 
 sized by a stiff moustache, and the massive fig- 
 ure was half -concealed beneath the folds of a
 
 78 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 long, green cloak. Hale found himself forget- 
 ting his surroundings. For such a retainer, 
 the background should have been the gray 
 stones of a mediaeval keep and the light the flare 
 of smoking torches. 
 
 "Well," he demanded. 
 
 A powerful arm swept aside the cloak, and a 
 huge hand drew a note from the breast of a 
 belted tunic. In silence the man presented it, 
 then straightened, drew back two steps, and 
 stood at ease as Hale crossed to the light. His 
 eagerness tempted him to rip open the envelope 
 but, instead, he carefully cut it with his knife, 
 drew out the plain sheet of paper and read : 
 
 " Because I have talk with you once more, 
 there is much anger among those who hold me 
 here, a rebel to their desire. But a rebel I will 
 remain alway, Monsieur, alway. And because 
 they would bend me to their desire, they take 
 me from Territet to a more lonely prison. I 
 go but I come of a line which did not sur- 
 render for two thousand years. That is as 
 much of me as you shall know, for we shall 
 meet nevair again. And perhaps that is good,
 
 COUNT OTTO PLAYS A CARD 79 
 
 for the dragon of which you jest have show long 
 claws and a anger which are hot like flame. 
 Also there are more who have arrive to coerce. 
 But them I only scorn. 
 
 "I say this, for you have been a friend and 
 I have no friend in this land. To my friends I 
 am loyal. It is best you flepart from Suisse 
 and, if you have remember me so long, forget of 
 the instant one who you have teach to know real 
 men. Good-by, Monsieur. Johann, who bring 
 you this at a danger to him and me, are an old 
 servant to mine and speak no tongue you know. 
 Nor beg him to bear to me a answer from you. 
 He have been command not. I am distrait at 
 my so great rudeness but may it not be, Mon- 
 sieur, that I, too, am onselfish?" 
 
 Slowly folding it, he placed it still more 
 slowly in his card-case. It was only then that 
 he became conscious of eyes which seemed to 
 bore through and through him. Looking up, he 
 saw the old retainer nod, as if satisfied with 
 some impression which had penetrated his 
 mind. Unconsciously Hale thrust his hands 
 into his pockets as he stepped forward. The
 
 80 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 transformation which came over Johann was 
 startling. The muscles of the great jaws 
 turned to whipcord, the gray eyes flashed and 
 the heavy face clouded with anger. For a mo- 
 ment Hale was at a loss. Then he recollected 
 his hands. With a quick smile he drew the 
 right from his pocket and offered it empty. 
 "Both for Naida," he said and the next mo- 
 ment winced as his fingers were crushed in a 
 mighty fist. 
 
 Yet, instead of releasing him, old Johann 's 
 free hand gripped his shoulder, whirled him 
 around and forced him out onto the terrace as if 
 he were a mere child in strength. Clear to the 
 rail he crowded him, then, with a triumphant 
 gutteral, pointed to where the white crest of the 
 Dents du Midi gleamed in the full moonlight. 
 1 ' Naida ! " he rumbled. Once more the big hand 
 indicated the east. ' * Naida ! ' ' 
 
 Hale nodded. "I understand. They'll take 
 her up the Rhone valley. Where?" 
 
 Johann shook his head uncomprehendingly. 
 "Naida!" he reiterated, and pointed once 
 again.
 
 For five minutes Hale mined deep for some 
 word the man could understand. "All right," 
 he said at last, leading the way back into the 
 room. "It's better than nothing. Thanks. 
 Wait ! " he added impulsively. ' l You cry aloud 
 for a broadsword, and I've not even a trench 
 knife. Will you accept a toy?" 
 
 Johann's eyes went from the gold knife Hale 
 snapped from a chain to the honest brown ones 
 which met his, and what he saw in them seemed 
 to awaken some half-forgotten recollection. 
 Nodding, he took the knife, and, after puzzling 
 a moment over the name engraved on its side, 
 opened both blades and calmly snapped the 
 points between his horny fingers. 
 
 Hale was quick to catch the symbolism. 
 * ' Friends ! " he exclaimed. * ' Good ! ' ' 
 
 Johann's grave nod proved he comprehended 
 but, without another sign, he stalked from the 
 room.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE BOSS 
 
 UNTIL the dawn plucked the mountains from 
 the heart of the night, Hale either sat, or paced, 
 and the old briar brought him neither consola- 
 tion nor solution. All he knew was that ' ' they * ' 
 were going to spirit her away to some more se- 
 cluded spot in the intricate fastnesses of the 
 Rhone valley. That much gave him little com- 
 fort ; there was scarcely more in the thought he 
 had one friend who would be close to her. A 
 man who was mute, insofar as a common lan- 
 guage was concerned, could be of little help. 
 Of suspicion and surmise, his harvest was more 
 generous. It was well within the bounds of 
 probability that the four of the Kursaal gar- 
 dens were a majority of the force she feared 
 and with them he unhesitatingly placed " Ma- 
 dame." Recollection of her proudly ambitious 
 face made him put her with those who might 
 
 82
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 83 
 
 be planning to better their position at the ex- 
 pense of a helpless girl. 
 
 There were too many possibilities to specu- 
 late upon. Anything might be afoot with east- 
 ern Europe in its present condition of seething 
 political turmoil. If royalty had once been 
 looked upon as the cream of Continental 
 society, the cream had largely settled in 
 Switzerland. She had confessed she had known 
 Bucharest, and the St. Petersburg that was. 
 She might have been of any of twenty minor 
 principalities which, to an American, were but 
 dotted lines on an unstudied map. Her half- 
 uttered confessions had made him very sure 
 she was of some minor royal house; but how 
 high she ranked within its portals was some- 
 thing which interested him not at all. It suf- 
 ficed that everything indicated that her posi- 
 tion was, or had been, great enough to make her 
 a helpless pawn at the moment. She was 
 being driven somewhere against her will; was 
 being made a sacrifice for the ambitions of 
 others. He had fought once to down brutality, 
 although he had been told he was " making the
 
 world safe for democracy." He was ready to 
 fight brutality to a finish once again and he 
 smiled queerly as he thought that this time he 
 might be fighting to make a personal world safe 
 for royalty. 
 
 On one point his mind was made up. The 
 hour for drifting was past. It had been well 
 enough to play at battledore and shuttlecock 
 with whimsicalities while they faced no greater 
 acknowledged danger than the wrath of some 
 aristocratic woman whose sense of the proprie- 
 ties they might have shocked. But when he 
 was convinced they were taking something from 
 him, Hale knew he would never surrender. He 
 knew he must have facts with which to work 
 and, never, for a second, did it occur to him 
 to do anything but find her again. Her own ap- 
 parent surrender to what she doubtless consid- 
 ered the inevitable, troubled him but little. 
 What she did was the right thing to do. But 
 what did trouble him, and trouble him beyond 
 words, was the thinly-veiled hint that, in some 
 unknown way, she was shielding him at her 
 own cost. That, while it filled his mind with
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 85 
 
 countless dangers for her, filled his heart with 
 a joyous hope he was afraid to analyze. 
 
 Morning found him still without a charted 
 course. While he must know, the thought of 
 making inquiries at the hotel concerning even 
 the owner of the Villa Flores was repulsive. 
 He dreaded lest he toss food for gossip into a 
 pack which whimpered for crumbs. Relegat- 
 ing that source to a position of last resort, he 
 breakfasted and went out into the town, de- 
 termined to find some less eager font of knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 Eemembrance of an almost empty pouch 
 turned him in at a tiny tobacco shop, the only 
 occupant of which was a pretty child of almost 
 seventeen, proud of her business position, and 
 tingling with a desire to be of service. Hale's 
 grave acceptance of her bubbling recommenda- 
 tion of an unknown brand filled her with de- 
 light, and the twinkle in his eyes, as he con- 
 vinced her she had given him too much change, 
 won her so completely that she begged him to 
 examine further her slender stock. 
 
 It was all just another little incident which
 
 86 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 showed how the man unconsciously won people. 
 She had no means of knowing his second pur- 
 chase was the one he had come in to make and 
 that his first was destined for the first old man 
 he should find on some bench. But what did 
 startle her was his surprising ignorance of all 
 the ex-great people who existed along the shore 
 of the lake. She was a miniature, but up-to- 
 date, edition of what might be called the "Ex- 
 purgated Almanak de Gotha." She knew them 
 all, whence and why they had come, how gossip 
 said they hoped to return and, as she prattled 
 of those who had once considered themselves 
 great, she had no idea that all but one sentence 
 of her chatter fell on deaf ears. Even as it was 
 to her, Nirgendsberg was only a name to Hale, 
 but the Villa Flores linked it to a reality which 
 was far more romantic to him than to the star- 
 eyed child who announced title after empty 
 title as if reading aloud from some grotesque 
 fairy tale. 
 
 He left the shop with slower step. As a man 
 tries to recall some half -remembered dream, he 
 grasped for the vague details of an elusive
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 87 
 
 story he had read in some newspaper while 
 awaiting his discharge. It had meant nothing 
 to him then, merely another upheaval, only an- 
 other murder, just one more royal house 
 smashed like a house of cards. Yet this had 
 had a different and more alluring appeal. 
 There had been a princess, brave, outspoken, 
 defiant. Try as he would, he could not recall 
 the detail. In some way she had challenged 
 them all, but her strength had not been the 
 equal of her courage and she had disappeared. 
 It was all mist, all a dream-fabric, in which the 
 past was strangely interwoven with the pres- 
 ent, fact with fancy, the real with the ideal. 
 
 Although he had no time to waste, he knew he 
 must still take time to knit what he had just 
 learned with what had gone before. He was 
 level headed enough to appreciate that he was 
 playing with very real fire now, and that a 
 false step, an ill-considered move, might result 
 in far more than a few personal burns. He 
 started across the street where a lakeside gar- 
 den offered seclusion for a few moments' calm 
 thought.
 
 88 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Even as his foot left the curb, the rasp of a 
 motor horn checked him, and an opened lan- 
 daulet swept by. He caught one quick glimpse 
 of four faces turned to see what obstacle had 
 threatened to check their progress, and his hand 
 went mechanically to his hat. On the two small 
 seats were the bull-necked soldier and the white- 
 haired statesman of the Kursaal gardens, while 
 behind them he saw the cold, supercilious fea- 
 tures of the Countess Barezay and the troubled, 
 lovely face of Naida. 
 
 He had expected at least a slight nod of rec- 
 ognition and his half-uttered exclamation was 
 more of surprise than of stabbing pain at her 
 cut direct. He could not understand at first. 
 It might be the manner of a great lady, but it 
 was not the way of the girl he knew. Hurt, 
 confused, he followed the car with puzzled stare. 
 But, as it sped into the slight curve which would 
 hide it from his view, he saw a white-gloved 
 hand go up, as if to grasp a close-fitting toque 
 from a greedy breeze, and then, down through 
 the white dust cloud which eddied up from be- 
 neath the tires, fell a pink rose.
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 89 
 
 He was laughing like a boy as he hurried for- 
 ward. It was so absurdly like her that his own 
 dignity was forgotten as he rescued the flower 
 from the road. It told him more than a thou- 
 sand bows could have hinted, but, with its 
 greater message, came a more pressing one. 
 The threat at which she had hinted was being 
 carried out. As he rejoiced over happiness, he 
 had seen his happiness snatched from between 
 his outstretched hands. He had told Johann 
 he would follow. It would take more than these 
 men to prevent him from doing that. 
 
 Although it took less than five minutes for 
 him to reach the hotel, judgment for once as- 
 serted itself over impulse. It would be mad- 
 ness to follow such people too closely. Already 
 he had done the unbelievable, but there were a 
 few wild things which even he must attempt 
 with some semblance of sanity. Going to his 
 room, he sent for Bates to come to him at once. 
 Another five minutes and the man appeared. 
 
 "Tom," he said abruptly, "black landaulet 
 don't know the make just went up the 
 Ehone. Two men, two women in the tonneau.
 
 90 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Report where they stop." He gave him a fist 
 full of notes. " Don't dispute your fines; pay 
 'em." 
 
 ''Black landaulet; Rhone valley; two men, 
 two women; report back to the Captain. Yes, 
 sir." He whirled and shot headlong from the 
 room. It was the sort of talk he understood 
 and exactly the sort of breakneck driving he 
 thrived on. Two minutes later Hale heard the 
 roar of a motor and reached a window only in 
 time to see his sister's car take a curve on two 
 wheels. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon before a dust- 
 grimed, hollow-eyed specter dejectedly pre- 
 sented itself at the door, and came half way into 
 the room, head down, eyes hunting anything but 
 Bale's face. "Cap'n, sir," he growled, "I 
 missed 'em." 
 
 "Why the devil didn't you keep on?" 
 
 "Couldn't. Held up to wait out my time 
 limit, sir." 
 
 "What's that!" Hale came forward as- 
 tounded. "Do you mean you've been through 
 Brigue and up the Simplon to the line?"
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 91 
 
 "Why, sure! But them wops at the barrier 
 swore no black landaulet had gone through to 
 Italy to-day." 
 
 ' ' Then they gave you the slip up one of the 
 side valleys. ' ' 
 
 "The Cap'n doesn't have to tell me," re- 
 torted Tom, his teeth gritted; "I know it was 
 rotten work." 
 
 "Hold up a minute!" 
 
 "But I can mop up those side valleys to- 
 night an ' report to the Cap 'n before breakfast. ' ' 
 
 Hale's own teeth were set, but there was a 
 look in his eyes which, had Bates seen, would 
 have probably made him unthinkably profane 
 in an attempt to cover his own emotions. 
 "Just because you've been a bit out of luck, 
 Tom." he said, "is no sane excuse for you to 
 commit suicide. There must be some other 
 way we can find them. I didn't want to ask 
 questions round here." 
 
 The weary body stiffened with revived hope. 
 "Questions?" he asked. "Say, Mr. Hale, I've 
 got a tongue, if there ain't anything above it 
 but bone. You ask me an' I'll produce. The
 
 92 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 only thing they don't know in these foreign 
 garages is motors. Gimme a chance to come 
 through clean." 
 
 " What '11 you do?" 
 
 "Ask a wop whose been hangin' round eve- 
 nings. He 's a walking intelligence section. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, and give him a lot of new ammunition 
 to spend." 
 
 "He won't talk, sir. He's he's sorter un- 
 der obligations to me." 
 
 "How cornel" Hale grinned. It was like old 
 times. "Been giving him a few lessons with 
 the gallopers?" 
 
 1 ' Cap 'n, yessir. ' ' It was altogether too much 
 like old times for Tom Bates. He decided to 
 switch it off before the penalty part began to 
 drone. "He's all right," he stated emphatic- 
 ally; "drives for some folks who live in a dug- 
 out they call Villa Flowers. I'll run him 
 down." 
 
 "You've failed once at just that." 
 
 "What's that! Why I '11 Say, let's go!" 
 Before Hale could either grab him or shout an 
 order, Bates was out of the room. Hale's one
 
 SHE STEPPED FORWARD, COMPLETELY AT HER EASE
 
 hope was that this elusive chauffeur might stay 
 safely elusive for the next half hour. Tom, in 
 his present state of humiliation, would view 
 murder in the first degree as a hungry child 
 gazes on ice cream. But he was so equally sure 
 that this time there would be no failure to pro- 
 duce some form of workable information, he 
 began to throw a few things into a suit case. 
 
 It was quite forty minutes before the man 
 came bounding back. "Got 'em!" he an- 
 nounced. "Luigi must have quit the valley be- 
 fore I got started. His people own another 
 place in the mountains. Turn north through 
 Bex. Missed their trail there. Took the town 
 wide open. Give you a hand with that coat, 
 sir?" 
 
 "Good work! Take this bag. You didn't 
 ask any questions which will involve any one?" 
 
 Tom grinned as he followed down the hall. 
 "Not you," he confessed. "Maybe the garage 
 folks got the idea the wop swiped a pair of 
 tires off me, an' that I'm after his hide. An' 
 I'll get it!" he snapped. "No wop's goin' to 
 put one over on my drivin'."
 
 94 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Hale kept his face straight with something 
 of an effort. "All right," he said. "Start 
 your engine while I tell them to hold my mail. 
 Sure you know the place ? " he asked a moment 
 later, as he came out and took the wheel. 
 
 "Villars," shouted Tom above the hum of 
 the motor; "on the roof above Bex." 
 
 They led a cloud of dust into the jaws of the 
 valley and Hale only slowed for the crooked 
 streets of Bex-le-Bains. As soon as the houses 
 fell behind, he again opened the throttle and 
 swept around the first twisting turn of the dan- 
 gerous climb. Three times Tom began his 
 prayers as they careened on the brinks of bot- 
 tomless views but at Gryon he leaned over the 
 wheel. "Keep it up," he said, in an awed 
 voice, "but don't tell me when you're going 
 into an Immelmann." 
 
 As Hale jammed his brakes before the hotel 
 at Villars, the lights in the valley four thousand 
 feet below were twinkling like fireflies over a 
 misty meadow, and night came clambering 
 down the rugged crags of the Diablerets. But 
 such pictures were nothing to him. He saw
 
 THE MESSAGE OF THE ROSE 95 
 
 Bates already talking with some servants who 
 had appeared like pigeons sprung from a trap, 
 and he met others hurrying for his bag as he 
 started up the steps. But, before he had gone 
 far, a porter came running after him. 
 
 " Pardon, Monsieur, " he begged, "your 
 mechanician would speak with you." 
 
 Hale returned impatiently to find Tom idle 
 by the uplifted hood. "Sorry to trouble you, 
 sir," he mumbled, "but will you give the engine 
 a look see." 
 
 "What's wrong?" 
 
 "There," he retorted, leaning close to Hale 
 as he indicated a spark plug. "Look up that 
 hill," he whispered, in an entirely different 
 voice. "They're all het up over the lights in 
 that house. Say they haven't been lit in five 
 years. There's what you're lookin' for. 
 Good night, sir"; he added aloud, "Yes, sir, 
 you're right. I'll be more careful in future, 
 sir. The plug's only dirty, as you say."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SWEET OF THE HEART OF ME 
 
 IN the morning, Hale found himself staring 
 blankly into a smother of white. The moun- 
 tains had vanished with the dawn. Down from 
 the hidden peaks, dripping across the curtained 
 pastures of the oberland, muffling the tinkling 
 cowbells, sluiced the cloud tide. The dwarfed 
 pines in the garden were as shadows on a soft, 
 moist screen. The stillness was ghostly. Na- 
 ture seemed striving to warn him against the 
 knight errantry of his quest. 
 
 Like all men who, for the first time, fully 
 acknowledge the primary force in life, he 
 yearned for the girl who had been spirited up 
 into this birthplace of clouds, and that longing 
 engulfed his reasoning powers as an avalanche 
 chokes a smooth-flowing stream. Everything 
 within him cried for action. He sensed some 
 conflict ahead; but the only thought he gave it 
 
 96
 
 THE HEART OF ME 97 
 
 was of welcome. The sooner the issue was 
 squarely joined, the sooner he would know 
 whom or what he faced. 
 
 It was this anxiety for action which drove 
 him into the fog without a goal. For an hour 
 he followed strange paths which led into empty 
 places. Blindness to his surroundings angered 
 him and anger changed to utter disgust when, 
 for a second time, a path brought him only to 
 the hotel door. Even the mysterious forces of 
 the Alps seemed leagued against him. 
 
 Twice, during the morning, similarly be- 
 leagured strangers, attracted by his face, ven- 
 tured overtures of acquaintanceship. Both 
 found him unresponsive. He wanted, not com- 
 panionship of that sort, but a rift in his cloud 
 banks. 
 
 The visible one began at noon. Long, 
 streaming slants of iridescence shot the curtain 
 of white. A vague, chill breeze ventured fit- 
 fully down from the invisible fastness of the 
 Diablerets. The fog began to move, to shape 
 into banks, to mold into round-edged, thin, blue 
 clouds which rolled, like phantoms, down the
 
 98 THE PRIXCESS NAIDA 
 
 funnel of the valley. A pale shaft of sunbeams 
 stole through to caress a lonesome glade on the 
 slope above Chesieres and the soft, green grass 
 stood out as if under the brilliant rays of a 
 searchlight. Followed a parting of the new- 
 born clouds. For an instant, Hale caught a 
 glimpse of the Khone in the abyss, sparkling 
 in clear sunshine. 
 
 The oppression was gone from the air and 
 he drew deep, full breaths. Came a sharper 
 gust. The curtain wavered, trembled, rose. 
 Before him opened the fragrant view. Beyond 
 the gleaming white of the tennis courts, the 
 hillside swept upward, fresh, soft, inviting, the 
 lush grass starred with rainbow flowers. And 
 higher still, against its background of green- 
 black pine, appeared the chalet of his thoughts, 
 its golden logs glistening with the dew. Only 
 the cold, majestic peaks of the Dents du Midi 
 refused to release their threatening clouds. 
 
 He stepped down into the garden, still search- 
 ing the distant chalet. As a " prison" it was 
 inviting; as a castle to be stormed, its aloof- 
 ness betrayed its strongest defense. With a
 
 THE HEART OF ME 99 
 
 quick nod of decision, he passed through the 
 garden into the village's single street. 
 
 He believed old Johann to be the best key for 
 gates doubly locked by convention and caution. 
 To find him was the first necessity and, that 
 done, Hale was confident of his own ability to 
 make the man at least a source of information. 
 Although scarcely hoping to meet him now, he 
 strolled through the town, then turned, re- 
 traced his steps and began to ascend the road 
 which promised to lead to the chalet. 
 
 It proved no traitor. A high gate of shaggy 
 cedar barred the entrance drive; but through 
 its fantastic pattern he saw a stretch of weed- 
 grown road, flanked with clumps of pine which 
 hid what lay beyond. No lodge guarded the en- 
 trance, for no thought seemed to have been 
 squandered on the convenience of visitors. It 
 gave the final touch to the whole atmosphere of 
 aloofness. Hale passed on, for the first time 
 acknowledging the fetters of conventionality 
 which prohibited the stranger from knocking 
 upon the gates. 
 
 The road twisted and writhed on up the
 
 100 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 steepening mountainside. Beyond an ultimate 
 farm it plunged into denser woods and fought 
 the rain-washed bowlders until Nature reduced 
 it to little better than a trail. A path opened 
 to the right. Believing it must skirt the rear 
 of the estate, he followed it through tangled 
 thickets. It became smoother, after meeting a 
 comrade which ziz-zagged up from below, and 
 ahead he perceived sunlight filtering through 
 thinning trees, promising a climax in an Alpine 
 meadow. 
 
 For once prophecy was fulfilled. He came 
 out onto a narrow shelf, high above the strag- 
 gling village. Opposite, the Dents du Midi, 
 free at last from their cap of cloud, and daz- 
 zling with freshly garnished snow-fields, tow- 
 ered above the chasm of the Rhone, while, over 
 their eastern shoulder, gleamed Mount Blanc, 
 bathed in unbroken sunshine, a white cameo 
 against a background of azure blue. The air 
 was heavy with the fragrance of flowers but, 
 aside from the hum of bees, there was only the 
 boundless stillness of the Alps. 
 
 Then the glories of the view became as noth-
 
 THE HEART OF ME 101 
 
 ing. He took a quick step, stopped, looked 
 again, his eyes insisting, his heart doubting. 
 There, under the protection of a large, gray 
 bowlder, an unopened book in her lap, her chin 
 resting on clasped hands, her face fixed on the 
 stern Diablerets and her eyes swimming with 
 unconscious tears, sat the girl who had changed 
 the course of his life with her first sweet smile. 
 
 For only a moment he hesitated. "I've 
 come," he said. 
 
 Startled, she sprang to her feet, her hands 
 clutching at her breast. "Monsieur!" she 
 cried. "Oh, Monsieur! But you mus' not ar- 
 rive," she added, in unconcealed terror. "You 
 mus ' not. ' ' 
 
 "But I have, and you knew I would." 
 
 With all her strength she fought to recover 
 her self-control, and to hide what she feared he 
 must read in her face. With a little, tremulous 
 laugh she tried to withdraw the hand he had 
 captured, and to turn her confusion into the 
 safer channels of mockery. "I did forget this 
 rite of hand-pump," she faltered; "it is more 
 strange than should you greet the fingers of me
 
 102 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 with the kiss. Oh!" she protested, springing 
 back, her cheeks scarlet; "but the once is 
 enough. ' ' 
 
 "If I've sinned, it's because I've been long 
 athirst. Sit down now and tell me what is 
 really the trouble." 
 
 "No! No!" she cried. "Come from this 
 place. The chalet is jus' beneath, an' from it 
 we shall be observe. Do you desire that the 
 trouble of me shall be increase?" 
 
 "You know I don't." 
 
 "Then obey. Perhaps you shall walk with 
 me down the path a little half of the way, but 
 then you shall disappear. Shall they know you 
 'ave arrive Oh!" 
 
 "Hang 'them'!" exclaimed Hale impetu- 
 ously, as he followed her. "Do you think I 
 came here on their account?" 
 
 "How should it be that I should know?" she 
 asked wildly and almost ran into the shelter of 
 the tree-arched path. 
 
 He overtook her in a few quick strides, passed 
 her and deliberately blocked her way. Fright, 
 confusion and excitement had made the bril-
 
 THE HEART OF ME 103 
 
 liant color at home in her cheeks, and the round 
 eyes were as great, blue flowers revived by the 
 mists of the morning. He had thought her 
 beautiful, but, even in his fondest dreams, he 
 had not conceived such loveliness. "Yes," he 
 repeated slowly, as he feasted his eyes on the 
 half -averted face, "how should you know? 
 You know nothing about me." 
 
 "No!" she dared to ask, her heart aflutter. 
 "An* do Monsieur forget my old Johann! 
 Johann 'ave see ver ' many men an ' he 'ave tell 
 me that which he 'ave tell. Please, it would 
 be now that I would pass." 
 
 "Not yet," he stated, ignoring the timid ges- 
 ture which would have pushed him aside. * t You 
 say you don't know why I've come. Is that 
 true! If you can think of no other reason, at 
 least you can't deny your note." 
 
 ' ' That which I 'ave done, ' ' she said, with un- 
 conscious pride, "I do nevair deny." 
 
 "Nor," he flashed back, "that which you have 
 said, Mademoiselle la Secretaire?" 
 
 "Great tragedy 'ave made a finish to the 
 farce," she flushed; "I am no secretaire."
 
 104 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 For an instant he was tempted to tell her all 
 he knew. Then came the thought that con- 
 fession from her lips would be sweet. "Oh!" 
 he exclaimed, as if suddenly seeing a great 
 light. "So it is because you are some one of 
 high rank over here that you're ashamed to be 
 seen with me." He stepped to the edge of the 
 path and bowed stiffly. "Pardon my presump- 
 tion." 
 
 "Monsieur," she answered with simple dig- 
 nity, "you mak' a mock of me. As well as I, 
 you know the rank of you is as nothing to me. 
 I recognize a man." 
 
 "You mean ?" 
 
 "Oh, permit that I depart!" she broke in 
 fearfully, as she tried to brush past. 
 
 "Wait!" 
 
 She stopped. The rough command left her 
 suddenly weak, yet submission brought with it 
 a strange and fearsome joy. She heard his 
 quick-drawn breath as he stepped close and her 
 color fled. 
 
 "Do you think I don't recognize the girl?" 
 he asked huskily. "Don't you know why I've
 
 THE HEART OF ME 105 
 
 followed you, what I want to tell you? Do you 
 think you haven't been in my eyes all the time, 
 that I haven 't thought of you, dreamed of you, 
 longed for you?" 
 
 "No! No!" she cried, pressing her hands 
 over her ears. "You know not what you say." 
 
 "I do," he contradicted. "And when you've 
 had time to understand, I'll ask and you will 
 give, Naida." 
 
 "Naida?" she breathed. 
 
 "A man does not think of the girl he loves as 
 just 'Mademoiselle.' ' 
 
 "Loves? Why should you love me?" 
 
 Hale laughed boyishly. "Sit down here," he 
 commanded, "and I'll tell you just a few of the 
 reasons." 
 
 "No," she protested; "I mus' not hear." 
 
 1 ' Then why did you ask ? You said the farce 
 was ended, dear. You knew I'd come, and you 
 knew what would make me come. If you 
 didn't, why did you write me that note?" 
 
 "Because," she answered hesitatingly, "be- 
 cause I are by myself jus' little." 
 
 "How can I help?"
 
 106 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "By going. Go," she pleaded, "go while I 
 are of a strongness. Oh, can't you onder- 
 stan'f" 
 
 "Naida!" 
 
 With a choking, half-frightened sob, she 
 swayed toward his outstretched arms and, as he 
 crushed her to him, her hands crept about his 
 neck. "Look up," he begged. "Look at me, 
 dear, and tell me you love me. That's all that 
 really matters." 
 
 "What should we know of love?" she asked, 
 her voice muffled in his coat, "we who are as 
 strangers almos'. You know not even who I 
 are. ' ' 
 
 "I know what you are," he whispered. "As 
 for knowing love, it comes without knowing, 
 just as the flowers come without knowing. It's 
 here, here for now and always. It's what 
 gives us faith in each other, what brought me 
 here, what made you know I 'd come, what made 
 you listen, what drew you into my arms and 
 what makes me hold you closer and closer." 
 
 "An' it are what make us to forget," she 
 sighed, "forget, for the one little moment of
 
 THE HEART OF ME 107 
 
 Paradise, the long an ' empty years which come. 
 Oh ! " she cried, all at once raising great, swim- 
 ming, unfathomable eyes to his, "I love you, 
 love you with with Ah, the piteous smallness 
 of your language ! Love you one, two, ten thou- 
 san' more than you love me. See," she said, 
 as she drew his lips down to hers, "see how I 
 love you. I show you again, again, an* still 
 again." 
 
 She clung to him passionately, her heart 
 throbbing against his. Then, as suddenly as 
 she had surrendered, she thrust him away with 
 all her strength. "Go!" she urged wildly. 
 "Go, while to me there is strength to permit." 
 
 " Go ! Of course I '11 go. Why should I want 
 to stay? What's to keep me here, when all the 
 world's calling? Why should I waste the sec- 
 ond half of my life with the girl I've spent the 
 first half waiting for? Sure I'll go! I've 
 never wanted to do anything so much. But," 
 he finished triumphantly, "you'll go with me." 
 
 "That may nevair be," she contradicted. 
 "Let us sit on this log an', while I tell to you 
 that which you shall know, you mus' take the
 
 108 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 hand of me in yours, but my lips shall remain 
 free to speak. ' ' 
 
 "You can make me do anything but give you 
 up," he agreed, as he permitted her to slip from 
 his arms, then lead him to the seat she had in- 
 dicated. But there he threw himself at her 
 feet and, capturing not one, but both her hands, 
 smiled up encouragingly. "Now begin," he 
 commanded; "but let me tell you beforehand 
 you're in for a hopeless argument." 
 
 She understood the look, if not the words, and 
 soft fingers closed tighter over his. "There is 
 a far-away country," she began, after a mo- 
 ment's dreamy silence, "which were once the 
 home of me. ' ' 
 
 "There's another far-away country which is 
 going to be the home of you and me. ' ' 
 
 "Be silent! There I was of a position where 
 men did not mak' mockery of me. It were not 
 that I deserve such respec'," she added, as if 
 afraid lest he misunderstood. "It were that 
 I was born to a position a position Oh, how 
 can I told you!" 
 
 "Why try? Now you're a fairy princess in
 
 THE HEART OF ME 109 
 
 an enchanted wood; it's easy enough to imagine 
 you a princess of reality." 
 
 "How was it that you did guess?" she asked 
 in wonderment. "I did nevaire told you. Is 
 it that you read the mind of me as well as the 
 heart!" Her fingers crept from his, but her 
 gaze did not leave his face as she let her hand 
 fall tenderly to the shoulder close to her knee. 
 "I am all that remain of the House of Nirgends- 
 berg. ' ' 
 
 He nodded, as if this information was unex- 
 pected. "I see. But right now I'm going on 
 record as completely and entirely opposed to 
 becoming any species of prince consort what- 
 soever. Naida Hale sounds much lovelier in 
 my ears than Bill of Nirgendsberg ever 
 could." 
 
 It was so absurd that her mournfulness was 
 routed, as he had intended, and her laughter 
 was as music to him. "Please to allow that 
 I proceed," she begged; "to me it is of a seri- 
 ousness." 
 
 He straightened, and his hand recaptured 
 hers. "To me, too," he stated. "Don't think
 
 110 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 it isn't. But it's so much easier to face life 
 with a laugh, dear." 
 
 ' * That, too, you 'ave teach me, who did nevair 
 think to smile again. But it are hard to dis- 
 cover the the What you call it? The silver 
 undergarment of the cloud! Oh! I see you 
 smile in the big eyes of you at the foolishness 
 of me; but I know you onderstan' that which 
 I mean. To me the cloud bank is black, an' 
 there are not even the so small rift except for 
 you. ' ' 
 
 "I'm being very good and only listening," 
 he told her. 
 
 She nodded. Her unexpected happiness was 
 so great that actuality seemed less cruel. "I 
 think it was that the people of my father love 
 me, until I quarrel with heem when he enter 
 the great war," she announced thoughtfully. 
 "All my life long I hate the military an' the 
 gun an ' the fighting an ' the blood an ' the grief. 
 My father 'ave pay with the life of heem for 
 the ruin of his country. I, who are all what 
 are left of what once was, are now but a exile 
 on a so distant mountain."
 
 THE HEART OF ME 111 
 
 "I can sense the tragedy of it all, yet it only 
 gives me the greater determination, Naida. 
 There is nothing to fear in what is past." 
 
 Her lips grew firmer as she drew a long 
 breath. "The Soviet 'ave gain control in 
 Nirgendsberg, " she said, "an' the suffering are 
 intense. I am inform the people believe the one 
 hope of them is in my return. They tell to me 
 it are my duty to go back." 
 
 Hale straightened as if a lash had fallen 
 across his shoulders. The lower jaw squared, 
 and there came a glint in his eyes which she 
 might have understood had not the evenness of 
 his voice deceived her. "Would you mind tell- 
 ing me who showed you where your duty led!" 
 he asked. 
 
 "From you I 'ave no secret," she answered. 
 "Not only those who 'ave share my exile talk 
 such thing, but, two day ago, three men arrive 
 from Nirgendsberg who were high in the trus' 
 of my father." 
 
 "Go on." 
 
 "They tell me the leader of the Soviet 'ave 
 come to them in secret an' beg their aid. At
 
 112 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 first they 'ave refuse to listen to such traitor, 
 but, because they are true patriots, at last they 
 consent to hear. It is tol' mos' frank that the 
 salvation of the country rest with me. The 
 people are used to the family of me, an' it are 
 the peoples who mus' be heeded." 
 
 "How do they reconcile soviet rule with the 
 return of royalty?" 
 
 "Is it that you ask the plan of them?" she 
 asked, a trifle puzzled. 
 
 "If you think you should tell me." 
 
 "Of a surety! But me, I do not see over- 
 clear. There are a counter-revolution plan. 
 The soviet will surrender ver' quick, for the 
 peoples is tired an' wish peace." 
 
 For a moment he was thoughtful, weighing 
 carefully the move he must make against what 
 was now becoming plainer. "Counter-revolu- 
 tion?" he repeated, as if to himself. 
 
 She nodded soberly. 
 
 "Who's financing it?" 
 
 "I do not onderstan V 
 
 "Who's backing it; where 's the money com- 
 ing from?"
 
 THE HEART OF ME 113 
 
 1 ' How should it be that the so little me should 
 know! I am only a girl, twenty-two. Will it 
 need money? I 'ave none." 
 
 ' ' Such affairs generally have a bit of cash in 
 them somewhere," he answered, with a grim 
 smile. "Are all these people here with you 
 keen about this revolution?" 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "It might be put differently," he acknowl- 
 edged. "What have they to gain by your re- 
 turn to Nirgendsberg?" 
 
 "All that which they 'ave lost," she an- 
 nounced innocently. "But I do not think they 
 'ave consider that. It are the happiness of 
 Nirgendsberg alone of which they speak." 
 
 "Yes," he growled, "I can believe it. The 
 little I saw of Madame and the others gave me 
 the impression they were one hundred per cent, 
 efficient as patriots. Naida," he broke out, 
 "don't you see that you've been deceived; that 
 these people are wholly selfish; that they care 
 nothing for Nirgendsberg except that it con- 
 tains the wealth they have lost? Don't you see 
 they have made some sort of bargain with the
 
 114 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Bolshevik, and that you are a part of the price 
 they are forced to pay?" 
 
 "But I are worth nothing," she said, her 
 great eyes round. 
 
 "You are worth everything to them," he 
 contradicted. "You're their forlorn hope. 
 That's why they make you a virtual prisoner, 
 why they make you afraid, then fill your in- 
 nocent little head with their rotten suggestions 
 of unselfish duty to a country which owes you 
 far more than you can ever owe to it. They 're 
 using you as a dupe, a blind, a cat's-paw with 
 which to pull their scorching chestnuts out of 
 the heart of a political conflagration." 
 
 "You mean they tell to me that which are 
 untrue?" she faltered. 
 
 "Untrue! There isn't honesty enough in 
 that gang to Oh, what's the use of throwing 
 mud into a putrid swamp!" he exploded. "I 
 see it all, but I'm not asking you to take my 
 word alone. Is there any one in Nirgendsberg 
 you trust implicitly?" 
 
 "Baron Barezay," she answered, completely 
 bewildered. "He are the father-in-law of Ma-
 
 THE HEART OF ME 115 
 
 dame an' the god-father to me. He are such a 
 man like you, heart of the heart of me." 
 
 "How can I get in communication with 
 him ? ' ' The question was crisp with determina- 
 tion. 
 
 "The Soviet 'ave but jus' now thrown him 
 into prison," she said sadly. "All who are of 
 a closeness to me suffer." 
 
 "I can get to him." 
 
 "No!" she cried, her lips trembling as she 
 clutched him. "That, above all else, would be 
 what they wish. Should you enter Nirgends- 
 berg, you would nevair return." 
 
 "Me!" He smiled, partly to allay her fears, 
 but more because of the absurdity of any one 's 
 bothering about him politically. 
 
 "You," she insisted. "It are you above all 
 they hate an' fear." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because they suspec' you are the agent of 
 some government which are enemy to them," 
 she faltered. 
 
 * ' They 're not such fools ! ' ' The exclamation 
 made her look down at him in wonderment.
 
 116 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Who's the man they plan to have you marry?" 
 he demanded abruptly. 
 
 For an instant he felt the convulsive grip 
 of her fingers, then her hands flew to cover her 
 white cheeks. "How did you know!" she 
 cried. "Oh, how did you know?" 
 
 " What I don't know," he declared savagely, 
 "I'm making some guesses at. Who is it?" 
 
 "The cousin of me, the Prince Ivan Petro- 
 vitch," she said, so low he scarcely caught the 
 name. 
 
 "Bound-faced, fat oaf with pop eyes who 
 came to Territet two days ago?" 
 
 She nodded. "But he are not what he look. 
 He are treacherous an' dangerous an' ver', ver' 
 angry. There are no finer swordsman in all 
 Europe. It 'ave been told to him I 'ave met 
 with you an' he an' the others 'ave vow I shall 
 see you not again." 
 
 "You're with me now. That shows how lit- 
 tle there is to fear from them." 
 
 "But so far I 'ave protec' you," she con- 
 fessed, frightened at his seeming contempt for 
 those she knew he should fear.
 
 THE HEART OF ME 117 
 
 " What's that!'* He was on his feet, tower- 
 ing above her. "What do you mean? How 
 have you protected me ? " 
 
 " Please! Please !" She, too, sprang up- 
 right, aghast at the change her confession had 
 wrought in him. 
 
 ''Answer me," he commanded. 
 
 He saw her fight for control of her voice, 
 saw the quick catch of her breath, saw the soft 
 palms press against white cheeks. "It are be- 
 cause I love you so, ' ' she faltered. * * The night 
 they 'ave arrive at Territet two day ago, they 
 tell me secret agents 'ave been sent to Suisse 
 to watch them an ' me, to fin ' out that which are 
 plan, to block that which are attempt. An ' they 
 tell me you are of these, an' they vow to make 
 way with you on the moment, if I do not con- 
 sent to come here with them. It were to save 
 you I came ; to save you I write you not to fol- 
 low." 
 
 "But you know I'm not the sort who'd spy on 
 a helpless girl. Can't you see it's all a part 
 of their dirty plot to get you back into Nir- 
 gendsberg?"
 
 118 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "All I see," she said, her voice catching, "is 
 there is great danger to you, sweet of the heart 
 of me. Nothing else matter." 
 
 "A great deal else matters," he contra- 
 dicted, with a sharpness so out of tune with the 
 tenderness in his heart that the very coolness of 
 his voice surprised him, too. "Do you want 
 to go back to Nirgendsberg?" 
 
 "I mus' do what are my duty," she answered 
 bravely. 
 
 "But is that your duty? Do the people there 
 want you, do you think? Don't you believe, 
 if that were really so, some one would have 
 come to you directly from them? Do you think 
 they would have been stupid enough to have put 
 their cause in the hands of men they overthrew 
 six months ago? You can't believe that, 
 Naida. You may know nothing of political con- 
 ditions, but you must know human nature well 
 enough to appreciate the sheep do not entrust 
 their cause to the wolf pack." 
 
 "Then you do not trus' them who are come 
 to me?" she asked, with a helplessness which 
 made it still more difficult to keep from en-
 
 THE HEART OF ME 119 
 
 folding her in his arms and bidding her to for- 
 get everything except that he would protect 
 her. 
 
 Instead, however, he maintained his outward 
 calm, for he knew it would be best for them both 
 to convince her now of what beset her. "Most 
 assuredly I don't trust them," he asserted. 
 "Even had they not lied to you about me, I 
 would have suspected them of far more than 
 you seem able to imagine. I don't know what 
 the stake they play for is, but it's a high one. 
 They've emphasized duty to you, but you need 
 not consider their interpretation of it. Your 
 duty is to yourself and to me." 
 
 "It is true," she granted. "The duty of me 
 is to you. It are what I 'ave tol'. No," she 
 protested, in a sad voice, as she once again 
 gently pushed him away, "I 'ave listen an' now 
 it shall be you who hark. Should I go to them 
 an' announce I would become the wife of you, 
 they would but laugh, an ' say I were of a great 
 madness an' that it were necessaire I be took 
 away from here to some place in my own Ian' 
 where I should recover. It are so," she cried,
 
 120 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 when she saw the protest forming on his lips, 
 " already they 'ave threaten that ver' thing." 
 
 "They might find it difficult now," he stated, 
 his teeth set. "You've still a few things to 
 learn about me." 
 
 Again the golden head shook dubiously, but 
 now she placed a hand on each shoulder and 
 looked up bravely into his face. "An' you, too, 
 'ave a lesson, sweet of the heart of me," she 
 said. "You know not the determination, nor 
 the desperateness, nor the cruelty of them who 
 are from my Ian', nor of the evil they do with 
 the mere shrug of the shoulder. If they take 
 me from here, an' you should follow, how dan- 
 gerous would be the search for you!" 
 
 "They don't worry me in the least." 
 
 "You don't know that which you say," she 
 argued. "Nor the so great evils you so bravely 
 scorn, which would alight on the dear head of 
 you. It are because I 'ave been jus' a girl who 
 'ave appreciate the wonder of her only love, 
 that I 'ave been of a weakness an' listen to the 
 sweet pleadings of you. But now the love of 
 you 'ave made of me a woman. It are because
 
 THE HEART OF ME 121 
 
 I love you so, I tell you this. You shall go from 
 here, even back to your own Ian', an' there you 
 shall forget the girl who 'ave show you the in- 
 side of her heart, an' who shall love you alway 
 an' alway, forever." 
 
 "And you think I'll give you up, when you 
 tell me you love me?" 
 
 "It are not what I think; but what I know 
 are for the best of you. You mus'. An' you 
 shall forget," she added bravely; "there is 
 more beautiful girls than me an ' one shall make 
 you forget." 
 
 He stepped back. "Is that the way you love 
 me I " he asked. ' ' Could another man make you 
 forget?" 
 
 "No! No! Ten thousan' noes! But for 
 you it mus' be different. It are because I can- 
 not bring the so great dangers down upon you. 
 Can you not onderstan'? Can you not compre- 
 hen' that the duty of which you speak is clear 
 before the sad eyes of me? Can you not be- 
 lieve the safety of you is more to me than the 
 happiness of me, myself? It are because I 
 know the desperateness of these men at who
 
 122 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 you laugh that I mak' the sacrifice for you 
 which are the duty I owe to you an' me." 
 
 For a moment he stood looking deep into the 
 eyes which welled with tears. "You've told me 
 all I need to know, ' ' he said, gathering her into 
 his arms with a new tenderness. "I was a bit 
 afraid you might believe it was your duty to 
 go back to Nirgendsberg. You've exiled that 
 fear as completely as they have exiled you. 
 That much is settled. As for your breaking 
 your heart over illusionary dangers which you 
 imagine threaten me, forget them. Go back to 
 these people and tell them what you like, only 
 end up by saying you're going to America with 
 a husband who is entirely competent to protect 
 both himself and what is his." 
 
 "No! No!" she begged. "They mus' not 
 know you 'ave arrive here." 
 
 "Can't you continue to trust me, dear?" 
 
 "The man are the stronger," she sighed, at 
 last; "but it are because the woman love the 
 mos', that she see more clear. I think it is that 
 I see a way, sweet of the heart of me. Give 
 me but one small day and then, if what look like
 
 THE HEART OF ME 123 
 
 a hope to me, prove but a mirage, I come to you 
 an' say, 'Beloved, do what you will, for what 
 you will are the will of me.' It are because I 
 love," she pleaded, seeing the frown gathering 
 on his forehead. ' * Please to prove that the love 
 of you is still of a great onselfishness, an' give 
 to me the one little day in which to mak' the 
 fight for the happiness of me." 
 
 "Show me the way to refuse you anything 
 and I will." 
 
 "Nevair!" she cried, pressing trembling lips 
 to his. "See, now it are me who are the tyrant, 
 an' this are my comman': Return away from 
 here an' let none who watch me know you are 
 arrived. Be not of such an injured air, be- 
 loved," she begged, a tender smile breaking 
 through the tears, "for the look of you mak' 
 the heart of me almos' to laugh." 
 
 "You're the very spirit of the Alps," he 
 whispered, holding her close, "first sunshine, 
 then tears, then blinding sunshine again." 
 
 "But no snow," she added, "for you, no 
 snow!"
 
 CHAPTEE VII 
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 
 
 HALF, knew that love had made him weak. 
 He knew things now which he prayed she might 
 not even imagine. He should not have bent 
 before the sweet pleading of her one request. 
 While she was all that was perfection, he ap- 
 preciated that, no matter how strong her will, 
 her experience was too slight to cope with those 
 who plotted to use her as a ladder. While he 
 had made no effort to fathom the plan she had 
 formed, even in his loyalty to her he was forced 
 to admit it could have small chance to succeed. 
 
 The danger which she seemed convinced hung 
 over him was too vague and too mediaeval to 
 consider. Switzerland was not Nirgendsberg. 
 If there were to be a clash, it would be merely 
 verbal and, probably, quite as indefinite as had 
 been that half-forgotten incident of the Kur- 
 saal. He was so sure of this that he read the 
 
 124
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 125 
 
 card which was brought to him, late in the after- 
 noon, with no sensation of surprise. ' ' Tell the 
 Count I will join him in a moment," he said. 
 
 He was as certain that it would be the dapper, 
 white-haired man of the gardens who waited 
 him in the lounge, as he was that neither would 
 gain much satisfaction from the interview. But 
 the relief from the paralysis of inaction was so 
 sharp that he swung into the room as if com- 
 ing to welcome a long unseen friend. 
 
 The old gentleman was on his patent-leath- 
 ered feet on the instant. His bow was coldly 
 formal and Hale felt the gray eyes boring into 
 his face. "Monsieur Hale, I believe!" he said, 
 in purring French. 
 
 Hale inclined his head, but, instead of offer- 
 ing his hand, raised it to glance at the card, as 
 if to be certain of the long name it bore. "It 
 is Monsieur le " 
 
 " l Monsieur le Count' will serve our present 
 purpose, ' ' broke in the other. ' ' I am sure Mon- 
 sieur understands that as well as he can com- 
 prehend my lamentable French." 
 
 "I regret mine is not as good," was the
 
 126 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 equally calm reply. "So long as Monsieur once 
 found my presence distasteful, I must either 
 presume he has accepted the genuineness of my 
 apology or that " 
 
 The thin hands went up in quick protest. 
 "Permit me to hope," he begged, "that once 
 I misjudged Monsieur. It is because you 
 proved yourself so frank that I have presumed 
 to force myself upon you." 
 
 Hale nodded again. "Why not sit down?" 
 he suggested. "We have met without the form- 
 ality of an introduction from mutual friends, 
 but there is no reason to stand upon formality." 
 
 "Monsieur Hale would grace the diplomatic 
 service of his country," smiled Count Otto, as 
 he followed to where two deep chairs faced 
 each other. "Such play upon phrases strikes 
 responsive chords in one who represents the 
 old school." 
 
 Hale's lips twitched with amusement. He 
 could not but wonder if he had been placed in 
 the category of those who may be won by flat- 
 tery. Therefore the next remark came as the 
 greater surprise.
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 127 
 
 "Yet it is not to barter the flowers of rhetoric 
 that I have ventured to encroach upon the time 
 of Monsieur," the Count went on. " While my 
 mission may seem strange, I know Monsieur to 
 be one who will listen attentively and act 
 wisely." 
 
 If he expected a reply, he was disappointed. 
 But, if so, he hid his feelings to perfection. 
 Crossing one thin knee over the other, he rested 
 his elbows on the arms of the chair and the 
 tips of his fingers met with slow exactitude. 
 ' ' The conditions in certain parts of Europe are 
 to-day so confused, ' ' he announced deliberately, 
 "that we, who struggle against the aftermath 
 of war, cannot expect those of a great and vic- 
 torious nation to spare time enough to familiar- 
 ize themselves with our difficulties. It would be 
 selfishness on our part to ask such intricate 
 economic research of them. It is because of 
 this that I beg Monsieur to accept as an estab- 
 lished fact that not only empires are in the 
 throes of rehabilitation, but certain smaller 
 and less known lands are at least equal suffer- 
 ers."
 
 128 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "I assure Monsieur le Count I have heard 
 something of the sort. ' ' 
 
 The gray eyes studied the calm face with in- 
 creasing keenness, but there was no change in 
 the low-pitched voice. "Under such condi- 
 tions," he continued, "it will be easier to sym- 
 pathize with one who is in distress." 
 
 "Surely, Monsieur le Count is too skilled in 
 diplomatic affairs to expect more than blind 
 sympathy from the blind," he suggested. 
 
 "Were circumstances other than they are, I 
 assure Monsieur Hale it would be an unbounded 
 joy to sit on his left in council," the Count 
 acknowledged. "It is because of my respect 
 for such subtlety that I cannot bring myself to 
 doubt that Monsieur 's keen perception has al- 
 ready informed him of my purpose in asking 
 a few moments of his time. ' ' 
 
 "I'm afraid you're over-generous," retorted 
 Hale. "Although I found your brief account 
 of present European conditions of interest, I 
 cannot see how they can affect me, one way or 
 the other, and I am selfish enough to presume
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 129 
 
 you came to discuss some definite subject with 
 me." 
 
 The Count's fingers parted, only to meet 
 again very gently. ' ' Even should Monsieur be 
 unable to see how conditions could affect him," 
 he said smoothly, "would it be quite impossible 
 for him to imagine how he might affect them!" 
 
 "Quite," agreed Hale as politely. 
 
 "Then Monsieur might permit me, for the 
 sake of what promises to be a delectable argu- 
 ment, to me at least, to ask him a hypothetical 
 question?" 
 
 "It would give me great pleasure, sir." 
 
 "Assume then, my very dear friend, that, 
 either to the west or to the east of the Car- 
 pathians, there had once been a small principal- 
 ity which, because, for the moment, we touch 
 upon whimsicalities, we will call the Principal- 
 ity of Nowhere. Let us further assume that it 
 was engulfed in the tides of war, to be cast up, 
 with other flotsam of peace, under the red flag 
 of bolshevism. Let us assume that its reigning 
 family is extinct, except for a sole representa- 
 tive, who escaped into a neutral country. Let
 
 130 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 us assume that the old regime is now able to re- 
 store this sole representative to power and, at 
 the same time, and of far more import, restore 
 the sorry little principality to some semblance 
 of its former prosperity." 
 
 "Very interesting," agreed Hale, as the man 
 paused and looked at him, a quizzical smile on 
 his thin lips. "It would seem, however, to be 
 more a case for presentation before what may 
 eventually be a League of Nations, than for set- 
 tlement by one whose imagination is too feeble 
 to grasp the possibilities of imaginary policies 
 on a mythical principality." 
 
 "It is due to my inability to plead my case 
 that Monsieur fails to grasp the interest with 
 which I wait a more satisfactory answer. It is 
 probable that I did not emphasize one phase 
 sufficiently. As I explained, the dynasty of this 
 land, of which we speak so hypothetically, is 
 represented only by a young girl, one who has 
 been reared in seclusion, who has known no men 
 of her own age, who has had no experience 
 which would teach her to mistrust her immature 
 judgment, and to avoid the lure of a romantic-
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 131 
 
 ism inherited from generations of chivalrous 
 ancestors." 
 
 "Monsieur le Count begins to interest me," 
 confessed Hale. "I did not suppose that, in 
 these days of materialism, such a girl could ex- 
 ist, except in the dreams of two such men as 
 we who, on meeting for the first time, tell each 
 other fairy tales. You fascinate me, Count; 
 tell me more of this princess who is all girl." 
 
 Hale saw the white teeth catch at the droop- 
 ing white moustache, but, when the Count took 
 up the gauge, there was no sign in his voice that 
 the thrust had even touched his skin. "Yes," 
 he agreed, "I own the picture I have painted 
 intrigues me also. But my blood is not so 
 young as Monsieur's, and so I see the vision 
 from a different angle. To me the innocence, 
 the trust, the loyalty of what Monsieur wisely 
 calls only the girl of his dreams, are attributes 
 to be respected. ' ' 
 
 "I trust I misunderstand Monsieur le 
 Count." 
 
 Hale's voice was sharp, but the Count's 
 quickly raised hand begged for peace.
 
 132 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "We speak of supposition, Monsieur," he 
 was reminded; "or, perhaps, of what you more 
 aptly called 'mere dreams.' I make small pre- 
 tense at psychology; but would it be distasteful 
 to Monsieur, should I tell him one of the dreams 
 most vivid in my fancy? Then, perhaps, he 
 will do a like favor for me. A comparison of 
 fancies would, I am sure, be both of interest 
 and of value to students of the psychical, ' ' he 
 added, with a bland smile. 
 
 "I listen." 
 
 "For many months," he went on, in his un- 
 emotional way, "I have had dreams in which 
 an old man, whose life-work failed because his 
 judgment was only human, was able to mold 
 failure into success. Those who rage in the 
 place which was once his, find the demands for 
 constructive statesmanship too intricate for 
 their untutored minds. The people grow rest- 
 ive once more. Firm hands are again needed 
 on the helm of state. In fact, Monsieur, the 
 hour of reincarnation has struck." 
 
 "Monsieur le Count will pardon me; but he 
 is confusing the psychical with the material. ' '
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 133 
 
 1 ' It is possible, ' ' was the dry retort. * * There 
 is ever a moment of mental bewilderment in 
 that period which divides dream from reality." 
 
 "Do we leave dreams behind us now?" 
 
 For a long moment the gray eyes were fixed 
 on the expressionless features opposite. "If 
 Monsieur will accept the advice of an old man," 
 stated the Count meaningly, "he will do exactly 
 that." 
 
 Hale shook his head. "It would be but a 
 poor compliment to the ability of Monsieur le 
 Count as a translator of dreams," he retorted, 
 "if I could so easily renounce the lure the spell 
 of his verbal paintings has cast upon me. Like 
 him, I cling tenaciously to the fabric of my 
 dreams. ' ' 
 
 "Monsieur could make a very grave mistake 
 by so doing," suggested Count Otto. 
 
 "We are all human," confessed Hale, with 
 equal regret. 
 
 Again there was the silence which comes when 
 two skillful fencers lock foils and seek an open- 
 ing. But Hale was the one who could afford to 
 wait.
 
 ,134 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "We are, indeed, all human," acknowledged 
 the Count, "and, because we are human, no one 
 cares to see his plans frustrated." 
 
 "We are in perfect accord there," came the 
 prompt agreement. 
 
 "And when much is at stake, the cost to the 
 individual may not be reckoned." 
 
 "There we disagree, Monsieur le Count. My 
 present philosophy is entirely individualistic." 
 
 "It is with deep regret that I have been 
 forced to that conclusion," he acknowledged on 
 the instant. "Again I beg the privilege of 
 bringing the fallacy of such reasoning to the 
 attention of Monsieur. There is more than the 
 happiness of individuals at stake." 
 
 "So we leave dreams?" Hale's question 
 was mockingly curious. 
 
 "I have once before ventured to hint that 
 such a course would be the wiser for Monsieur 
 to follow." 
 
 "Yet once before I have ventured to go con- 
 trary to the hint of Monsieur le Count," was the 
 equally cold reply. 
 
 "Surely Monsieur does not 'delude himself
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 135 
 
 with the supposition his interference will be ac- 
 cepted supinely?" 
 
 Hale rose. "If I may be pardoned for the 
 suggestion," he observed, "for one who 
 avowedly championed phantasy, your last re- 
 mark savored strangely of threat." 
 
 The Count, too, came to his feet. "Threats 
 are distasteful to me, as well," he agreed, with 
 a shrug of his narrow shoulders. "I hoped 
 Monsieur might see the light of reason. This 
 much may be said, however. There is too much 
 at stake to permit personal sentiments to inter- 
 fere with matters of state. That, I am sure, 
 Monsieur fully comprehends. Should he con- 
 tinue to place his so-called individualistic ideals 
 above the intents of a well-organized group of 
 patriots, he alone will be responsible for re- 
 sults." 
 
 "Anxiety for my welfare should not be per- 
 mitted to disturb the dreams of Monsieur le 
 Count." 
 
 The calmness of the retort was met in kind. 
 
 "The welfare of Monsieur is of such slight 
 consequence to us that I give it even no uncon-
 
 136 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 scious thought. It is because of the unexplain- 
 able interest of another in him that I venture to 
 warn him of what might occur, should he at- 
 tempt to continue along a forbidden course. ' ' 
 
 "For the first time we become definite," as- 
 serted Hale, with a cold smile, as he turned 
 toward the door, "and, for the first time, our 
 conversation becomes irksome to me. I am 
 sure Monsieur le Count will understand my rea- 
 son for terminating our interview.*' 
 
 "Then Monsieur Hale refuses to cease his in- 
 terference in what is no concern of his I ' ' 
 
 "Whether or not it is a concern of mine is for 
 me to determine. At the moment, I hesitate to 
 force my further conversation upon the gen- 
 erosity of Monsieur le Count, but, instead, wish 
 him a very good afternoon." 
 
 He bowed gravely as he stood aside to allow 
 the old gentleman to pass in silence, then turned 
 and went to change for dinner as unconcerned 
 as if he had been discussing some entirely im- 
 personal matter with a casual acquaintance. 
 And, in reality, this meeting, which had begun 
 with vague generalities and closed with a
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 137 
 
 scarcely veiled threat, troubled him not at all. 
 While the course he might follow was entirely 
 unmapped, the goal was definite and distinct. 
 
 What did trouble him was what might have 
 been said up there in the chalet. Something 
 had happened. The old diplomat would not 
 have ventured forth to warn him a second time 
 unless there were weighty reasons for such an 
 unconventional move. No matter what, how 
 much, or how little, she might have told them, 
 he knew that he had committed himself to a 
 definite course, and he was equally sure he had 
 joined issue with people who would not stop at 
 the point where diplomatic measures had failed. 
 
 He dined, not with the apprehension of one 
 who fears the unknown, but with the certainty 
 of one who sees come true such dreams as the 
 old Count had never dreamed. Nothing could 
 dim the memories of his first glimpse into a 
 glorious future, yet it was not long before he 
 began to experience his old sensation of being 
 confined within walls. It may have been due 
 to his early love for the out-of-doors, possibly 
 to his more recent life in camp or in torn fields,
 
 138 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 probably to an unconsidered desire for some 
 form of physical action. Whatever the cause, 
 he obeyed its call and strolled out into the dim 
 garden to stop at a point where the shrubbery- 
 parted in such fashion that, high up on the 
 night-enshrouded mountainside, he could see 
 the soft gleam of lights in the windows of the 
 chalet. 
 
 How long he stood there, hands clasped be- 
 hind him, head bare, face raised, he had no 
 idea. It was long enough so that the low- 
 growled gutteral, from the thick mass of green- 
 ery at his elbow, brought him back to things 
 mundane with jarring force. The next instant 
 the bushes parted and the huge bulk of Johann 
 stood beside him. 
 
 He felt something thrust into his hand, knew 
 it was some message from her, knew it must be 
 imperative, else she would not have spoken 
 until the day she had asked for was gone. For 
 the first time in his life he experienced the sick- 
 ening, revolting sensation of fear, but it was 
 fear for another, for the one dearest to him in 
 all the world. His fingers tore at the envelope
 
 A GIRL OF DREAMS 139 
 
 and the next moment he had struck a match. 
 
 In the instant, before Johann smothered the 
 flame in his horny palm, Hale caught a glimpse 
 of the wrinkled face. It was enough. He 
 turned, ran down the path and stopped where 
 a light from a window would slant across the 
 paper. 
 
 "Beloved," he read, "I have fail. Even all 
 that which you command have I tried and the 
 anger of them is of a mighty greatness. One, 
 who is faithful, whisper they plot to remove me 
 from here and you from the path of them. 
 They say I are mad, and must be taken to a 
 more quiet place. I are helpless, but I matter 
 not at all. To-morrow depart. It is the com- 
 mand of one whose heart is all for you. For 
 the dear sake of you, forget the one whose love 
 shall live forever and forever, but who love you 
 too well to bring disaster on the dear head of 
 you. Good-by, sweet of the heart of me, good- 
 by, good-by." 
 
 For a moment he stared at the paper, dumb- 
 founded, then all the fight within him flared 
 red. Taking a pencil from his pocket, he held
 
 140 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 her note in his hand. "Neither of us goes 
 alone," he wrote. "When I command, obey. 
 Au revoir." 
 
 He was back with the anxious Johann within 
 the minute. "For Naida," he ordered, giving 
 him the answer. "Go!" 
 
 Again he was alone, but now there was no 
 languor in his pose, no tenderness in the eyes 
 which turned again for an instant to the steady 
 lights in the distant chalet.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 
 
 1 1 SEND my man to my room at once, please. ' ' 
 Something the clerk saw in the narrowed eyes 
 made him jump to the telephone ; but, before he 
 could connect with the garage, Hale had passed 
 on as quietly as he had entered. 
 
 Bates found an equally calm man bending 
 over a map spread on a table; but the set jaw 
 told him a familiar story. Unconsciously his 
 heels came together. " Reporting to the Cap'n 
 for duty, sir," he said. 
 
 t( Right, Tom." For a brief space his atten- 
 tion returned to the map. "Come here," he 
 ordered at length. "You know the road down 
 to Bex. From there, take this one across to 
 Martiny, then over the pass to Chamonix. 
 Your papers are in order. Tell Mr. and Mrs. 
 Field I need them at once. You'd better bring 
 them; you're a better driver than their man." 
 
 141
 
 142 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Tom examined the map speculatively. 
 "Ought to get them here by noon, sir, if 
 they'll make a fairly good start." 
 
 "Won't do. Want them here by eight." 
 
 It was so quietly spoken that Bates found it 
 difficult to believe he had heard aright. "Very 
 good, sir ! " he managed to agree. * * At eight. ' * 
 He had half completed his about-face when 
 Hale's hand fell on his shoulder. 
 
 "I know what I'm asking of you, Tom." 
 
 " 'Sail right, sir." 
 
 "I want more." 
 
 For the first time Bates saw anxiety in the 
 set face, and it brought a lump into his throat. 
 "The Cap'n knows he's only to speak." 
 
 "Thanks. Do the people we followed from 
 Territet keep their car in your place?" 
 
 "Two of 'em. Second got in to-night." 
 
 "Put them out of business for twenty-four 
 hours." 
 
 "Yes, sir. Anything else?" 
 
 "Only the old order, old timer," answered 
 Hale, with a queer, grim laugh, as his hand fell 
 on Tom's shoulder with a slam. "Let's go!"
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 143 
 
 It was enough, more than enough. The 
 chance to do something for the man had made 
 Bates tingle from head to heel ; but that old call 
 to action rekindled every atom of dormant dare- 
 deviltry in his compact frame. He was out of 
 the room on the jump, and Hale not only knew 
 that two perfectly good cars were in for some 
 rough treatment, but that any who interfered 
 would scarcely enjoy the result. 
 
 He knew, too, that Bates fully understood the 
 risks of the run he had been ordered to make. 
 Tom would save the seconds that caution would 
 make him spend on the return trip by driving 
 the first half of the journey over the night- 
 enshrouded pass at dizzy speed. But his plan, 
 already half formed, demanded the assistance 
 of a woman, and none in all the world could 
 enter so whole-heartedly into a wild, fantastic 
 adventure as Peggy Field, especially when 
 aided and abetted by her clever and equally 
 reckless husband. 
 
 Once more he bent over the map. In spite 
 of his need, he wondered if he should not have 
 allowed another hour. The risk he was de-
 
 144 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 manding of them all was heavy, even in propor- 
 tion to his need. Had it been for himself, he 
 would have substracted the hour; now the 
 thought of his sister being literally volplaned 
 down a dangerous pass, made him pause to re- 
 weigh his demand. 
 
 He rechecked the route more conservatively. 
 For the first time in his career, caution won; 
 but it was a caution born of unselfishness. 
 Hatless, he started in pursuit of Bates. 
 
 While certain that the brief time which had 
 elapsed would not serve to give Tom oppor- 
 tunity to maltreat two cars and start a third, 
 he wasted no seconds on the windings of the 
 carefully laid out path ; but cut across the grass 
 toward the gate which gave into the street run- 
 ning past the garage. As he skirted one thick 
 clump of shrubs in the darkest part of the line, 
 he thought he saw two dim figures moving 
 toward him; but he had neither time nor in- 
 clination to speculate about loiterers whose con- 
 cerns were none of his. 
 
 As he swung through the gate, he nearly col- 
 lided with a man in evening dress, but passed
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 145 
 
 him, too, without a second glance and broke 
 into a run. He was within an hundred yards 
 of the garage when the yelp of a horn checked 
 him. Even as he leaped to intercept the car, 
 it flashed by. The tense face bent over the 
 wheel had eyes only for the road and, before 
 Hale could shout, the red tail light had disap- 
 peared around the lower turn and the horn was 
 demanding the right of way through Villars. 
 Motionless, tense, he listened for the dreaded 
 crash. Then came a series of wild blasts as 
 Tom claimed the freedom of the plunging road 
 to Bex. 
 
 He appreciated, now that it was too late, that, 
 if there had been nothing in France which could 
 check the men in whose ears rang the cry with 
 which he had again unleashed one of them, there 
 certainly was nothing in Switzerland. It would 
 be idle to telephone ahead. 
 
 It was all on the knees of the gods. That part 
 of the game was opened; but he needed knowl- 
 edge of the field on which he thought he must 
 make his next play. With a contempt at con- 
 cealment which was totally characteristic, he
 
 146 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 walked up the street in the direction of the 
 chalet. 
 
 The hedges grew scant, gave way to walls of 
 rough-piled stones and these, in turn, sank into 
 unconfined pasture lands. The road grew more 
 uneven as it climbed, but he was as oblivious 
 to this as to the peace and beauty of the night. 
 
 He had covered, possibly, a quarter of a mile 
 before he became conscious of some one behind 
 him. Intolerantly he quickened his pace. The 
 sound of footsteps did not diminish. He 
 stopped, wheeled about. The man approached 
 unconcernedly and, as he came nearer, Hale 
 remembered the pudgy face and mass of bone 
 and covering fat. The dinner coat recalled the 
 narrowly averted collision by the gate ; the com- 
 bination quickened his pulse. 
 
 But, before he had time to link the past more 
 closely to the present, the man stopped directly 
 in front of him and stared at him with sneering 
 contempt. " Monsieur Hale favors strange 
 paths," he drawled, his English barely tainted 
 with a burred accent. 
 
 The tone set Hale's raw nerves on edge. "I
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 147 
 
 was under the impression," he retorted, "that 
 I followed an open road." 
 
 "Yet one which is over-crowded," the other 
 added, with an emphasis which was not in- 
 tended to be misunderstood. 
 
 "You're the one who finds fault," suggested 
 Hale, with a shrug. 
 
 "Monsieur is quite correct; I find fault. 
 Crowds are distasteful to me." 
 
 "Too bad." 
 
 "Does Monsieur insinute my tastes are in- 
 consequential?" 
 
 "Would I presume to imagine they were not 
 most important to you?" 
 
 "But not to you?" 
 
 "Monsieur is clever," observed Hale dryly. 
 
 The other grew even more rigid. "I per- 
 ceive I was right in my information," he said 
 haughtily ; " I was told Monsieur Hale was both 
 arrogant and a fool." 
 
 Hale started forward, but checked himself, 
 his face expressionless. "For a stranger," 
 he said calmly, "you're somewhat personal. 
 What do you want?"
 
 148 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Monsieur has been over-long in Suisse. 
 The climate here is exceedingly unhealthy. ' ' 
 
 "I'm fairly rugged." 
 
 "Must I tell you in so many words to 
 go?" 
 
 1 ' Not if you value your own health. Who the 
 devil are you to meddle with my affairs ? ' ' 
 
 "Who I am matters not in the least. I tell 
 you that your presence here is distasteful." 
 
 "To whom?" 
 
 "To me." 
 
 "If that's all," retorted Hale, carelessly, 
 "why worry?" 
 
 "Does Monsieur intend that as an insult?" 
 
 Had Hale been at all in doubt as to whom 
 he faced, this talk of insult would have given 
 him the needed information. Naida had said 
 Ivan Petrovitch was one of the best swordsmen 
 in Europe. Hale knew which end of a sword 
 was the business department, but there his 
 knowledge ended. But he did know that an 
 attempt was about to be made to educate him 
 in some way, and he had very definite ideas con- 
 cerning his favorite methods of education.
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 149 
 
 "Insult!" he repeated. "Oh! Why I sup- 
 pose you could take it as a mere expression of 
 my relief." 
 
 "Even should I accept the apology as im- 
 plied, I am still forced to recall Monsieur's at- 
 tention to the need of his immediate depar- 
 ture." 
 
 "My time's quite my own," stated Hale, "at 
 least for a few days. During those few days, I 
 shall do exactly what appeals to me most." 
 
 "Meaning you intend to neglect good ad- 
 vice?" 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 "Then you shall obey a command," declared 
 the other, drawing himself to his full height. 
 "You will leave Villars before ten to-morrow 
 morning, and you will leave without attempt- 
 ing to communicate with my with a certain 
 person." 
 
 That Petrovitch should dare bring the girl 
 into their conversation changed Hale's cool 
 contempt to an anger as cold and as dangerous 
 as the ice-capped Diablerets which gleamed in 
 the moonlight high above him.
 
 150 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Leave even hints of 'persons' out of this, 
 you busted princeling!" he ordered sharply. 
 
 "For that you shall give satisfaction," de- 
 clared Petrovitch, a gleam in his eyes which 
 told of purpose accomplished. 
 
 Hale looked him over from head to foot. 
 "It's evident you're hunting trouble, but 
 you've no idea how damned close you are to 
 finding it. ' ' 
 
 "It will give me pleasure to remove Mon- 
 sieur." 
 
 "Try it." 
 
 "My friend will call upon a friend of yours 
 within the hour," he accepted, with a slight 
 bow. 
 
 "He needn't. Duels don't appeal to me." 
 
 "I should have remembered the American 
 sense of self-preservation," he sneered. "One 
 would not have done what you have done, who 
 was not a coward. Do you hear, Monsieur, a 
 coward. And cowards Bah " His excla- 
 mation was of utter disgust as he raised his 
 white gloves and slapped Hale in the face. 
 
 Hale laughed wickedly. "Bah!" he re-
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 151 
 
 peated, "and again" His fist crashed home 
 "Bah!" 
 
 The next instant he was towering above the 
 prostrate Petrovitch, his mouth twitching, his 
 hands still clinched. "Get up!" he ordered. 
 "You wanted a fight; here's where you get all 
 you want." 
 
 The prince raised himself dizzily to a sitting 
 posture. "Monsieur shall pay for this." 
 
 "Spot cash," agreed Hale. "Get your feet 
 under you and try to imitate a man. ' ' 
 
 ' ' But you struck me with your fists, ' ' he said, 
 still dazed. 
 
 "Oh, no; with one only. Try the other; it's 
 more convincing." 
 
 "I'm no brawler of the gutter," he returned, 
 staggering to his feet and facing Hale, "and I 
 fight as gentlemen fight." 
 
 "For that," snapped Hale, "take that." 
 This time it was his open hand which sent Petro- 
 vitch sidelong into the dust. 
 
 For ten seconds he lay supine, but then the 
 thick lips curled back. "Dog!" he snarled. 
 "You shall be treated as a dog."
 
 152 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Hale was the quicker. Even as the hand 
 flashed from the pocket of the dinner jacket, his 
 vicious kick sent the revolver spinning into the 
 grass. Then, with a cold laugh, Hale walked 
 over and picked it up, broke out the shells and 
 tossed the harmless weapon into the dust at 
 the prince's side. "Allow me to return the 
 courage of your late high mightiness," he said. 
 "Pick it up and take it back to your master, 
 Count Otto, and tell him you, also, found me 
 quite competent to handle my own affairs. 
 Further, permit me to inform you, for your 
 own comfort and the general welfare of any of 
 your friends, that future meddlers will meet 
 with less consideration. I plan to continue my 
 interrupted walk; it may have occurred to 
 you I prefer to complete it alone. Good eve- 
 ning ! ' ' 
 
 He stepped around the still dazed Petro- 
 vitch, and started up the road as calmly as if 
 such affairs were incidental in his evenings. 
 Yet something warned him to look back. Even 
 as he did so, he caught his breath sharply. He 
 knew now he faced something real, that these
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 153 
 
 people were grim in their determination to pre- 
 vent him from frustrating their ambition; that 
 Naida had not underestimated his danger. 
 
 Two men were running toward him. The 
 cold, blue moonlight struck full on the burly 
 figures and exposed the brutality in the square 
 and ugly faces. He heard Petrovitch's tri- 
 umphant shout rise like the tally-to of the 
 hunter driving forward his pack. He knew he 
 was at bay, but one quick glance showed only 
 the open road at his back. 
 
 Head up, cool, determined, for a moment he 
 stood motionless and the past rose and became 
 clear before his mind. When diplomacy had 
 failed, they had staked their hope on the code 
 d'honneur. Now he faced the mercenaries. 
 There would be no finesse, no mercy here. Not 
 only his life, but the happiness of the girl he 
 loved, rested on his ability to match overwhelm- 
 ing odds. 
 
 That the two were closing in, gave him one 
 gleam of hope. Had they been set on raw 
 murder, it would have been done from ambush. 
 An instant more and he had their plan. One
 
 154 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 had paused to drop a length of rope in a con- 
 venient place. 
 
 It was the break in the game he had hoped 
 for without daring to expect. His year-long 
 training in defense had been to attack. He 
 sprang forward. Petrovitch saw, but his warn- 
 ing shout was too late to check the upward rush 
 of the leader. As he bent low to grip Bale's 
 knees and throw him backward, a smashing 
 upper cut straightened him, a jolting left, full 
 in the dazed face, staggered him. 
 
 Hale, amazed a man could take such punish- 
 ment on his feet, followed him up with stinging, 
 short arm jabs. It was as if he had shot his 
 fists against a cliff. His lids narrowed as he 
 stepped back. He hunted the spot for the final 
 blow. Then a heavy fist crashed against the 
 side of his head. 
 
 He felt his knees weaken. His ears rang. 
 A million gleaming points swam before him. 
 But, instinctively his guard came up as he 
 side-stepped. There was a grunting rush. He 
 stopped another smashing, killing swing on his 
 forearm. Its mate whipped past his face so
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 155 
 
 close that the rough knuckles rasped his cheek. 
 This second man was a different problem. 
 
 Still covering, Hale trusted to footwork 
 alone for time to recover his reeling senses. 
 But, even as he had bored in on his first an- 
 tagonist, this second one followed him. Twice 
 the flail-like fists thudded against his ribs and 
 made him gulp for breath; once the knuckles 
 bored through and only the backward throw of 
 his head saved his jaw. Even unshaken, he 
 knew he was outmatched in weight and strength. 
 If he were to come through on his feet, he must 
 do more than spar for breath. 
 
 As if from a great distance he heard Petro- 
 vitch shouting gutteral orders. But Petro- 
 vitch himself stood wide. Hale gathered him- 
 self, parried, swung. The sharp grunt told him 
 his smash had told. He snapped in his left. 
 His brain was clearing. He saw the man who 
 faced him had only strength and weight. His 
 feet sought firmer footing. He set himself for 
 a knockout blow. 
 
 It started from his hip like the lash of a 
 broken spring. But, before it had flashed half
 
 156 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 way, a mass of flesh and bone thudded against 
 his knees. Swept off his feet, he went down 
 under the drive of the first man, who had 
 charged blindly from one side. 
 
 Old football instinct made him "whirl as he 
 fell, made him roll, twist, start to his feet. But, 
 before he could succeed, the second man was on 
 top of him and he felt hungry fingers searching 
 for his throat. Science nor skill counted now. 
 It was the wild, killing fight of three animals 
 who clawed and kicked in blind madness. 
 
 He tried to protect his face. It was easier 
 than he had hoped. He realized the reason. 
 They were fighting for his hands and feet, try- 
 to pin them down. He saw one ugly face close 
 to his as the man, for the instant on top, reached 
 across for his wrist. His head snapped for- 
 ward. It met the brutal jaw with a crack. 
 Hale saw the thick neck sag. His right cut the 
 skin behind the massive ear and the man rolled 
 over like a beef. 
 
 In a flash Hale twisted free. The next, he 
 was on his feet again. The next he was down 
 but this time astride the one man left. He took
 
 THE OVER-CROWDED PATH 157 
 
 no chances. Elbows out and up, the fists 
 whipped home with killing force. Grunt turned 
 to whimper, whimper to roar for mercy, and 
 roar had died to piteous moan before he ceased 
 and, standing erect, looked down, panting, on 
 the twitching pair. 
 
 Petrovitch, aghast at what he had seen, stood 
 like a dazed lump at the edge of the road. 
 Hale, turning, brushed an aching hand across 
 a smarting face, but managed to force a smile 
 to his dry lips. " Thanks for sending men at 
 last," he said. "I I appreciate the compli- 
 ment. ' ' 
 
 "You " 
 
 Hale took one swaying step, his face ugly. 
 "That will be all!" he snapped. "My hands 
 are dirty now, and you tempt me sorely. If " 
 
 He stopped and then a grim laugh echoed 
 through a stillness already startled by the thud 
 of Ivan Petrovitch 's flying feet.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL. 
 
 PEGGY FIELD, her elbows on the disordered 
 breakfast table, rested her chin on the backs 
 of her clasped fingers. Her wayward, brown 
 curls scorned imprisonment beneath the smart, 
 brown velvet hat, wreathed with a dusty motor 
 veil, and hints of tired circles made the brown 
 eyes appear deep wells of mysterious light. 
 The small, whimsical face was flushed, not only 
 from the weariness of a ride wild enough to 
 furnish even her with thrills, but with an in- 
 dignation she made no attempt to conceal as she 
 gazed pityingly at her brother. 
 
 "Billy," she declared, "it's unthinkable! 
 What possessed you to go meandering around 
 disguised as a combination of Lancelot, Galahad 
 and Sancho Panza's long-eared mule? You 
 know the Continent and you know the iron- 
 
 158
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 159 
 
 bound precedents of these people. You can't 
 marry her." 
 
 "I didn't send for you to be told what I 
 can't do," growled Hale. "I hoped to discover 
 one idea between you." 
 
 "You have," asserted Field. 
 
 "And, if you want it in plainer language," 
 added Mrs. Field, "I'll leave the room while 
 Jimmie expounds it. The best thing you can 
 do is to come quietly away with us and we'll 
 put you in some nice, refined mad house until 
 you show traces of sanity." 
 
 Hale lit his pipe, blew out the match deliber- 
 ately and deposited it carefully in the very cen- 
 ter of a finger bowl. "I'm sorry I sent for 
 you," he acknowledged. 
 
 1 ' If you 'd done the hair-raising tobogganning 
 we have since one o 'clock this morning, ' ' stated 
 Field, "you'd appreciate the unanimity of our 
 regret. But seriously, old chap, Peg's right. 
 You know you haven't a better friend than I, 
 or one who'd go half so far for you; but you've 
 let something dull your judgment and, unless 
 you pull up sharp, you're going to get a last-
 
 160 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 ing hurt. Impulse is all right in moderate 
 doses, but you're too prone to act on yours. 
 This time it's sent you skating over thin ice 
 with no regard for danger signs." 
 
 "I thoroughly agree with Jimmie," an- 
 nounced Peggy Field, with a decisive nod. "I 
 think you ought to listen to us. We're your 
 family and you've no right to do a wild thing 
 which will make us all notorious. How would 
 you feel if, every time you picked up a news- 
 paper, you found your picture looking out at 
 you from the center of a cute little border of 
 cupids, without their nighties, and war crosses 
 which hint at shell shock?" 
 
 "It wouldn't worry me in the least." 
 "Blast it, Bill!" exploded Field. "Quit 
 being so thick-skinned. Can't you see we're 
 trying to persuade you not to make an inter- 
 national exhibition of yourself ? You Ve never 
 bothered to give a woman a second look before, 
 but now you've the nerve to sit up and tell us 
 that the first time you saw this girl it was all 
 off, the second time you wanted to propose to 
 her, and the third time you did. For an inex-
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 161 
 
 perienced lover, you've certainly exceeded the 
 speed limit. But marrying a girl is an entirely 
 different proposition from sitting on the side of 
 an Alp holding her hand." 
 
 "And you must consider her side, too," Mrs. 
 Field continued immediately. "Next to Jim- 
 mie, you're the cleanest cut thoroughbred I 
 know. You'd make most any girl's life a sort 
 of celestial nightmare, but this one doesn't know 
 our ways. Think what you're asking her to 
 face; remember what you're asking her to give 
 up. And there's the selfish side. Frankly, 
 that's the one Jimmie and I are interested in. 
 You don't know her, can't know her. Girls 
 have swept men off their feet with their beauty 
 before this. She may be playing you against 
 this prince ; she may be using you as some sort 
 of club to hold over this crowd who are playing 
 ward politics. She may be actually as mad as 
 you appear to be. She must be flighty, she 
 probably is utterly unsuited for you in every 
 way. You don 't know her, I tell you. It takes 
 a man a life time just to begin to disccver he 
 doesn't know his own wife."
 
 162 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "And even if we don't know what we're talk- 
 ing about " Jimmie Field had recovered his 
 breath "what are you going to do? Kidnap 
 her? I can guess a lot you haven't told us, and 
 you've had one almighty close call from a pre- 
 mature appearance in the front row of heavenly 
 harpists. What earthly show will you have if 
 you follow her into the home grounds? You'll 
 be put out of the game in the first inning and 
 you won 't have a bit of curiosity about the knife 
 hole in your back. I know that country ; they're 
 a lovely bunch. Alongside of 'em an East Side 
 gangster's sense of honor stands out like a 
 Jungfrau in a Sahara. Drop it, Bill! Go 
 home before you're sent by express." 
 
 Hale glanced from one anxious face to the 
 other. "Have you any real suggestions to 
 offer?" he asked, dryly. 
 
 Peggy Field's hands came down on the table 
 with a determined sweep. She leaned toward 
 her brother, her cheeks flushed with indigna- 
 tion. "Billy," she said, "you've got to ac- 
 knowledge Oh, come in!" 
 
 The door opened in response to her impatient
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 163 
 
 cry and the servant approached Hale. "Beg 
 pardon, sir," he said, "but this was to be 
 handed to you on the instant." 
 
 Hale nodded a combined acceptance and dis- 
 missal, as he took the small package and tore 
 off the bindings. As he lifted the cover, a card 
 fluttered to the table. He saw the hastily writ- 
 ten "I wait to obey," before his eyes became 
 fixed on the face which looked so trustfully 
 from the oval, jeweled frame. Yet even the 
 skill of a great artist, abetted by the softening 
 tones of the ivory, had failed to bring out the 
 hint of captive sunbeams in the golden hair, 
 the wealth of loyalty in the blue eyes or the 
 wondrous loveliness of the fresh, young face. 
 With a low, quick laugh, Hale came to his feet 
 and thrust the miniature into his sister's hands. 
 
 "Look at that," he ordered, "and tell me 
 I'm crazy!" 
 
 As she clutched the frame, her lips parted and 
 a new expression came over her face. She did 
 not notice her husband was peering over her 
 shoulder, or that her brother had straightened 
 proudly. With a little gasp, she rose and
 
 164 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 threw her arms around Hale's neck. "Billy," 
 she cried, her voice catching, "if this dream 
 girl is one-tenth as sweet as she looks, you've 
 more self-control than sense. I knew, some- 
 where, sometime, you'd find some one good 
 enough for you. If you let her get out of the 
 family, I'll kill you myself. Look, Jimmie, 
 look!" 
 
 "What do you think I've been doing," de- 
 manded Field, "blinking? William, little sis- 
 ter-in-law-to-be can count on Brother James for 
 anything up to and including murder in the 
 first degree." 
 
 Hale smiled as he recaptured his treasure. 
 "It really doesn't do her justice," he said 
 proudly. 
 
 "Oh, Lord, what originality!" gurgled Field, 
 collapsing into a chair. "I suppose you've sent 
 her a perfectly beautiful full-length photograph 
 of yourself in uniform?" 
 
 "Shut up!" 
 
 "Do be good, Jimmie," begged Mrs. Field. 
 "This is a really, truly love story." 
 
 "Sure!" agreed her husband. "But unin-
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 165 
 
 teresting. It lacks action. Bill, for heaven's 
 sake, do something." 
 
 "A minute ago you both argued flight," he 
 reminded them. 
 
 * ' Well, ' ' drawled Field, * ' it was a good argu- 
 ment, and I should think you'd be bright enough 
 to grasp its most attractive feature and get 
 busy." 
 
 ' ' Wait ! ' ' warned Mrs. Field. ' ' You mustn 't 
 do anything foolish and spoil things. There's 
 only one way of handling this sanely. We've 
 friends and we've influence." 
 
 Her husband 's shout cut her short. ' ' Fine ! ' ' 
 he gurgled. ' ' Fine ! How could we have for- 
 gotten Paris so completely? Of cource, it's a 
 problem for the Peace Conference. The only 
 trouble is that Bill would be doddering round 
 an old men's home before he got action there." 
 
 "He looks as if he'd found some here," she 
 retorted, with a toss of her head. 
 
 * ' Correct. The trouble with you, Peg, is that 
 you're working the wrong idea. You want to 
 have Bill handed a mandatory while, as I under- 
 stand it, he's sorter set on a protectorate."
 
 166 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Any thing's better than kidnaping," she 
 flashed back. ' ' Only a man could think of any- 
 thing that crude." 
 
 "But you'll admit, my dear," he grinned, 
 "that, to a man, there are certain attractive 
 features about that." 
 
 "Yes," she sniffed, "I presume so. I im- 
 agine you're both already picturing yourselves 
 sneaking through a moonlit garden, Billy with 
 a tame guitar and a bunch of tender love ditties, 
 and the faithful you toting a rope ladder. 
 Judging from her eyes, I imagine it would ap- 
 peal to Naida quite as it does to me. I'm sure 
 she's a proper sense of the ridiculous." 
 
 "It's a pity," mourned Fied, still shaking 
 with laughter, "you can't put on your nice, 
 new dress, take your gold mesh bag and go up 
 there and call. About five minutes under the 
 patronizing uplift of your little pug nose and 
 they'd" 
 
 * ' Stop trying to be funny ! ' ' she commanded, 
 struggling not to join in his laughter as she 
 calmly cuffed his ear. " I 'm helping Billy. ' ' 
 
 "So I hear," he said. "So far you've told
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 167 
 
 him a whole lot of things not to do and he 
 doesn't look one bit grateful. My suggestion is 
 the only practical thing we've contributed and 
 the only one Bill really treasures." 
 
 "But it's impossible." 
 
 "No, my child," observed Mr. Field, in a sor- 
 rowfully patronizing voice, "after Brother Will 
 has made a girl love him, nothing is impos- 
 sible." 
 
 1 ' How would you do it, then ? ' ' 
 
 "My dear Peggy," he answered reprovingly, 
 "how could you ever dream that I could sit in 
 the same room with you and plot to elope with 
 another girl! I'm not only shocked, but 
 grieved, deeply grieved. My entire idea has 
 been merely to amuse your languid brother, for 
 I saw immediately that he preferred to listen, 
 rather than act. While I have no use for a 
 quitter, I must show proper consideration for 
 your relatives." 
 
 "Quitter!" cried Hale. "I'm a long way 
 from quitting." 
 
 "Who woke you up?" asked Field, in mock 
 wonderment. "I thought you'd exhausted all
 
 168 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 your fight. But get good and mad. Ramp 
 round a bit. Go out and pull up a few trees, 
 and tip over an Alp. Quit impersonating a de- 
 jected setting hen!" 
 
 "Yes, that sort of thing would appeal to 
 you," retorted Hale. "After the whole affair 
 had been nicely messed up, you'd sit down and 
 chuckle. Haven't you sense enough to appre- 
 ciate they'll take her away at the least sugges- 
 tion of a false move by us?" 
 
 "They're permanent fixtures here if they've 
 only you to consider," groaned Field. "For 
 heaven's sake, Bill, wake up!" 
 
 4 ' He 's right, Jimmie, ' ' contended Mrs. Field ; 
 "it's no time to take chances." 
 
 "All right. Naps seem to be in order and 
 that's one thing I can enjoy. But don't either 
 of you come round and tell me she's disap- 
 peared; it won't be news." 
 
 "I really think," said Mrs. Field, pointedly 
 turning her back on her husband, "that my plan 
 is the best one for you to follow. We Ve plenty 
 of powerful friends." 
 
 Hale walked across the room and back before
 
 A FAMILY COUNCIL 169 
 
 halting in front of her. "Peg," he sighed, 
 "I'm afraid I've forgotten her in my anxiety* 
 for my own happiness. ' ' 
 
 " Gee ! " granted Field. ' ' But you '11 mate a 
 model husband ! Warranted tame and will eat 
 out of the hand gratefully. Hello!" The im- 
 perative knock made him sit up. "Here's Ex- 
 hibit B for the art collection. Come in. ' ' 
 
 Bates, his face gray with weariness, closed 
 the door behind him. "Excuse me, sir," he 
 said, addressing Hale, "but I thought you'd 
 want to know." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "There's been some trouble in the garage. 
 When those cars were ordered out on the high, 
 they wouldn't start. Some one'd cut a chunk 
 out of the feed pipes." 
 
 "I'm reviving," murmured Field, sitting up. 
 
 "The delay made 'em miss the train and " 
 
 Hale sprang forward, all inactivity and doubt 
 vanishing. "They've gone, Tom?" 
 
 The man nodded. "Chartered a pair of 
 hacks. Drivin' down to catch the express at 
 Bex, sir."
 
 170 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Get your car." 
 
 Peggy Field ran to her brother as the chauf- 
 feur bolted from the room. "What are you 
 going to do?" she faltered, her face white. 
 
 "Don't know." He grabbed coat, cap and 
 gloves and started for the door. "Wait here 
 for a wire," he commanded. "I'll let you 
 know where I want you to meet us or " 
 
 "Or nothing," finished Field. "Failures 
 don't interest us."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 
 
 ONE meeting Hale, as he passed through the 
 halls, would have said he was immune to any 
 emotion beyond a certain calm confidence in his 
 own ability. His step was crisp, his face cold, 
 and only in the depths of his eyes smoldered a 
 fire which betrayed the excitement his whole 
 bearing belied. Tom Bates, alone of all in 
 Switzerland, knew that side of him well enough 
 to appreciate fully how advisable it would be to 
 give him a clear path in such a mood. 
 
 His original plan had been wild, but now he 
 revised it until it would have seemed impossible 
 to one less desperate. He turned up the road 
 toward the garage to meet his car and bring the 
 crisis so much the nearer. Danger nor failure 
 had any place in his thoughts. It was sufficient 
 that some one had dared to challenge him to 
 
 guard his own. 
 
 171
 
 172 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 He heard the rush of the coming car. Even 
 as it skidded to a half stop, he vaulted, sliding 
 into the driver's seat as Tom moved out from 
 the other side. His foot went down on the 
 throttle savagely. They leaped ahead. 
 
 The tiny shops of Villars's placid thorough- 
 fare went behind like moving pictures on a 
 waving screen. The white road came to meet 
 them. Pedestrians forgot dignity for safety. 
 Hale's mouth was a set line. 
 
 Not until they swept over the high-bridged 
 Alpine torrent midway to Gryon did Bates ven- 
 ture to speak. Even then his voice was more 
 apologetic than curious. "Cap'n, sir," he 
 asked, ''am I in on the play?" 
 
 The big car checked and Hale's lip disap- 
 peared beneath his teeth. "Tom, they're try- 
 ing to take some one from me." 
 
 The man's quick start proved that he did not 
 envy the unknown their task but his only reply 
 was a low, "Yes, sir?" 
 
 "I think we'd better let them get well free of 
 Gryon before we start anything." 
 
 The unconscious use of the plural did more
 
 than anything to make Bates wiggle forward 
 to the edge of his seat, his hands half open 
 on his knees, his biceps bulging as his tongue 
 licked his lips. "If the game's to stop 'em," 
 he said, * ' let me drive. I '11 cut the wheels from 
 both hacks on a curve. ' ' 
 
 "Yes, and kill some one." 
 
 "I've been in smash-ups before." 
 
 "You've Wait!" The break set. "Peel 
 that coat. Now rip up that right shirt sleeve. 
 Get out, find some grease and smear your- 
 self." 
 
 Tom dived under the car to reappear on the 
 opposite side, a most disreputable replica of a 
 tattered wreck. "Do, sir?" 
 
 Hale nodded, stood up, slipped out of his 
 motor coat and tossed it to him. "Cover your- 
 self up with that till the play begins and pull 
 your cap down over your face so no one will 
 recognize you. Get in." 
 
 Gryon went behind in silence and they met 
 the first hairpin curve in the twisting, tortuous 
 descent to Bex. They swung another curve. 
 "Fraid of a broken arm, Tom?"
 
 174 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 1 'Better smash the left one, sir. I wouldn't 
 be much good to you with a bum right." 
 
 "Don't mean a real break." 
 
 "Oh!" There was real disappointment in 
 the exclamation. "Look! There's their dust. 
 Servants in the last hack." 
 
 Hale nodded. "I'm going to pass." 
 
 The horn growled a warning and, as he took 
 the turn, he saw the wrinkled mask of old 
 Johann rise above the hood of the slow-moving 
 landau. His fingers touched the siren, but, as 
 he crept by the carriage, his whole attention ap- 
 peared engrossed with the road. Johann alone 
 saw the quick command given by the hand which 
 was barely raised from the wheel. He did not 
 understand what was going on, but he knew 
 that he had been ordered to stop. 
 
 "There's the other," warned Tom. 
 
 Hale's eyes, too, were fixed on the carriage 
 near the end of the straightaway ahead. As if 
 the dust troubled him, he pulled down his gog- 
 gles and so hid a part of his face. Then, set- 
 tling himself more easily, he took a last, quick 
 glance at the golden head he could just make
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 175 
 
 out above the lowered hood. Something in its 
 proud lift, and in the equally haughty attitude 
 of the woman at her side, hinted that the jour- 
 ney had not been free from storm. Without 
 troubling to look at the men on the front seat, 
 he demanded the road as he opened the throttle. 
 
 The car swept past, so close he could have 
 leaned out and touched her, but he gave no 
 sign of recognition, even when he heard her 
 startled cry above the angry, gutteral tributes 
 to his reckless driving. 
 
 "Lord!" gasped Bates, as they skidded out 
 of sight around the curve ahead. "Don't take 
 such chances with your neck, sir." 
 
 "Want 'em to think I'm a wild driver," he 
 explained, and took another curve on two 
 wheels. 
 
 "They will, all right. 'Ware curve !" 
 
 The road seemed to end in a bottomless abyss. 
 Hale's hand gripped the emergency. The car 
 paused within six inches of the frail guardian 
 wall, then twisted around the right angle. 
 "Here's where we smash," he announced. 
 
 Tom merely folded his arms.
 
 176 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 For an instant Hale studied the road and 
 the sheer rock rising on the left and disappear- 
 ing on the right. Both hands gripped the top 
 of the wheel, swept down. There came a crash 
 of glass as a headlight telescoped against the 
 cliff. The car shook, stopped. Hale threw in 
 the reverse and crept back a few cautious 
 inches to give the front wheels clearance. 
 
 "Kick in that other headlight," he com- 
 manded, as he locked the brakes. "Make 
 things look like a real wreck. Chuck off that 
 coat into the road. Lie down in the gutter and 
 groan. You're a casualty. But, if I yell, you 
 come to life. Understand?" 
 
 "No, but I'm game." 
 
 Hale leaped out and ran back into the throat 
 of the curve. One gesture set the startled 
 cocker taut against his reins, but the next in- 
 stant Hale had disappeared down the road, 
 shouting a pleading "A moi!" 
 
 In the landau Petrovitch rose impatiently. 
 "Why do you stop?" he demanded. 
 
 "A catastrophe is ahead," retorted the 
 cocker. "Will Monsieur investigate? I heard
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 177 
 
 the crash of glass and the young monsieur who 
 calls for aid drove most incautiously for such 
 a road." 
 
 " Drive on." 
 
 The cocker shrugged his shoulders as he 
 cracked his whip. Within ten yards, however, 
 he brought his horses back on their haunches. 
 "Messieurs," he announced stiffly, "the road is 
 blocked and a man lies dead at the foot of the 
 cliff." 
 
 With a stifled cry, the girl swayed to her feet. 
 She felt the clutch of fingers on her skirt but, 
 her lips ashen, her eyes wide with terror, she 
 tore free and jumped to the ground. "Selfish 
 always!" she cried. "I aid those in distress." 
 
 "Messieurs! Do not permit her to go 
 alone." 
 
 Petrovitch leaped after her, catching her by 
 the arm. She turned on him, eyes blazing. 
 "Dare not to touch me," she said; "I am not 
 of the ballet." 
 
 He went scarlet, but, without deigning to 
 look at him again, she ran to where Hale bent 
 over the writhing Tom.
 
 178 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 1 'Ah!" she cried. "I think it were you. 
 Tell me, beloved," she begged, "tell me you are 
 unhurt. ' ' 
 
 "Blubber, Tom," he commanded, "here are 
 the rest. Naida, obey me implicitly." 
 
 "Of a surety," she answered simply. "But 
 I onderstan' not why you think of me when 
 there are one in agony. I remain by you, but 
 I send for aid." 
 
 She turned and faced the two men who had 
 hurried up. * ' You, M. le Count, ' ' she said, im- 
 periously, "return and request Madame to at- 
 tend me. You, Prince, will go back the short 
 distance to Gryon and bring a surgeon. ' ' 
 
 " Ah !" sneered Petrovitch. "I perceive. It 
 is Monsieur I'americain." 
 
 "It is fortunate," she retorted, in an icy tone, 
 "that he cannot be insulted by such as you. 
 Go!" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Go!" Her head went back and her blue 
 eyes were cold. A hand emphasized the regal- 
 ity of her order. "Who are you to question my 
 commands?"
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 179 
 
 Hale felt, rather than saw, the men hesitate, 
 as if uncertain how to play their cards. "For 
 heaven's sake!" he burst out. "Quit fighting 
 and help this man. ' ' 
 
 Count Otto pushed Ivan aside and came for- 
 ward alone. "It would be well to employ more 
 courteous language," he said stiffly. "We have 
 endured sufficient from Monsieur. This time 
 there will be no consideration shown should 
 force be necessary." 
 
 "Oh, shut up!" snapped Hale. "Mademoi- 
 selle, you appear to be the only one with a 
 calm head. There's a box of bandages in my 
 car; find them." 
 
 He glanced under his arm. Already she had 
 rushed by the two, who dared not openly block 
 her path, and one foot was poised on the run- 
 ning board. "Get in and hunt," he called 
 sharply. "Oh, you're too slow!" 
 
 Straightening, he dashed to the motor, 
 vaulted and, even as he struck the seat, his 
 hand released the brake. "Sit down," he com- 
 manded. * ' Tom, let 's go ! " 
 
 The crash of the clutch above the roar of the
 
 180 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 engine warned the men. With a shout, they 
 leaped forward but, before they had taken three 
 steps, a grimy, grinning apparition burst 
 through between them and two powerful arms 
 swept backward. 
 
 "The reverse for yours!" yelled Bates. 
 "Lay off this game!" He leaped for the back 
 of the fast-moving car, caught it, vaulted in, 
 turned to wave an insulting farewell, then, even 
 more catlike, whirled to grip Hale's shoulder. 
 "Fat boy's boltin' up the road," he warned; 
 "they're goin' to tag along. Oh, Lord! I've 
 left your coat in the road ! ' ' 
 
 The reply was the one he expected. He felt 
 the car lunge forward as Hale's foot smothered 
 the accelerator. At dizzy speed they roared 
 downward, the gravel arching out from be- 
 neath the singing tires to beat against the 
 guard walls like breaking surf as they skidded 
 curve after curve with locked brakes. The 
 green hill which hid Bex seemed to be rising 
 out of the silent valley as if eager to welcome 
 them. Behind was only the dust cloud. 
 
 As they straightened into the head of the
 
 HE FELT THE CAR LUNGE FORWARD AS HALE's FOOT 
 SMOTHERED THE ACCELERATOR "
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 181 
 
 first level stretch, Hale dared relax a trifle. 
 "Naida," he said, "it's not too late to stop." 
 
 A small hand ventured to touch his sleeve 
 cautiously. " 'Ave I not show my tms' so 
 far?" she asked. "Oh, beloved, take not your 
 eyes again from the road! I think it lead to 
 Paradise." 
 
 He drew a long, contented breath as he stead- 
 ied for the last quick swing. "It does for me," 
 he stated; "this curve and then our road is 
 straight and clear. ' ' 
 
 Even as she nodded, her cheeks changed from 
 soft pink to the pallor which is born of un- 
 dreamed danger. Already Hale's hand had 
 shot to the emergency. In the heart of the 
 ugly turn loomed a team. It was too late to 
 stop. Bates set himself for the crash. 
 
 But Hale, jaw set, clung to the brakes an in- 
 stant. The powerful car shook, slid, then 
 seemed to twist out of its agony like a thing 
 alive as he opened it wide. Came the sharp 
 report of a tire exploding beneath the strain, 
 the terrified shout of the teamster, the faint rasp 
 of metal against wood as the car shot through
 
 182 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 the narrow space between team and cliff, a 
 jolting, jarring, sickening moment of suspense, 
 then Hale was back in the road and the brakes 
 clamped home. 
 
 She fought to regain her breath, hands 
 pressed against her cheeks, eyes round with the 
 terror which still seemed to threaten. But, be- 
 fore she could even gasp, the man at her side 
 leaped clear and was slashing at the straps 
 which held the extra tires. 
 
 In such a time, when moments were more 
 precious than pearls, the men she had known 
 would have begun to wave their paws, to scream 
 Slavonic oaths, to strut about in widening cir- 
 cles, cursing the Sacred Names of -the Seven 
 Sons of Chance. But now she saw a new form 
 of excitement, a sure, cold, lightning-like 
 method of workmanship which almost fright- 
 ened her with its grim efficiency of movement. 
 
 It seemed to her as if Bates had been under 
 the car with his jack even before they had 
 grazed the team. She felt its slow lift as Hale, 
 ripping the cover from the tire with one swift 
 motion, looked up and smiled as boyishly as if
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 183 
 
 he had not just cheated death. "Go give that 
 jibbering farmer a gold piece and tell him he 
 isn't dead,." he commanded. "We'll have a 
 new tire on in five minutes." 
 
 "Of a surety. But will it be that they over- 
 take us here?" 
 
 Bates, now spinning loose the lugs, ventured 
 one upward glance. The anxiety on the lovely 
 face was too much for him. "Not unless 
 they've sprouted wings, Your Honor," he as- 
 sured her gravely. 
 
 Hale's quick chuckle at this new dignity 
 thrust upon her, did even more to reassure her 
 than the fighting light she recognized in the 
 chauffeur's eyes, and, gathering her skirts, she 
 stepped from the car to attempt the pacification 
 of the now hysterical teamster. 
 
 "Think they'll catch us, sir?" growled Bates, 
 as he bent to his work. 
 
 "Not unless they can hire a motor in Gryon. 
 If they should, there'll be trouble." 
 
 "I'd like another punch at the fat stiff. 
 Ready with that tire, sir!" 
 
 They were shouting for her long before she
 
 184 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 had dreamed it possible the old tire could be 
 off. They saw her speak earnestly to the team- 
 ster, saw a smile break over his features as he 
 took something from her, saw her come dart- 
 ing back and climb into her seat, the old, mis- 
 chievous look dancing in the depths of the blue 
 eyes. "He, too, are a man of ver' great kin'- 
 ness," she announced. "He 'ave onderstan'he 
 'ave no right to obstruc' the road to Paradise 
 for you an* me." 
 
 "Hope he doesn't hold the same views about 
 those who follow us on the road to Bex," mut- 
 tered Hale, as he slid in the gears and started 
 on. 
 
 Again the blue eyes danced as she peered up 
 at him. ' ' Oh, no, ' ' she confirmed ; " he are now 
 the frien' of me an' he 'ave promise to say to 
 them who pursue that which the so brav' Petain 
 tell the Boche at Verdun." 
 
 * ' Good for you ! ' ' Hale 's voice rang with both 
 delight and relief. Had she succeeded in block- 
 ing the road behind them, the precious moments 
 already lost would be more than offset. Once 
 free of the traffic at Bex, and the open road
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 185 
 
 would pay the debt its brother of the moun- 
 tains had incurred. 
 
 It was like her, he thought, to make no ref- 
 erence to their narrow escape. That it had 
 shaken her nerves but momentarily, he took as 
 a sign of her courage and gameness, rather 
 than what it really was a token of her implicit 
 faith in him. And, because he thought as he 
 did, he dismissed the incident without further 
 reference and rapidly picked up his speed until, 
 as they shot into the environs of Bex, they were 
 again making creditable racing time, for Hale 's 
 dominant idea was to put as many miles as pos- 
 sible between him and these people who would 
 have kept him from his all. 
 
 It is the incautious, however, who are some- 
 times the most cautious. If Bates could not, 
 as he preferred, remain and fight joyously, his 
 second choice was to escape successfully. 
 Therefore he confirmed his estimate by a cau- 
 tious glance beyond Hale's shoulder at the 
 speedometer. "Beggin' the Cap'n's pardon," 
 he muttered into an ear which was listening for 
 a different voice, "but he'll sure get pinched if
 
 186 THE PRINCESS 
 
 he shoots the market-place traffic at fifty per." 
 " Something in that, Tom." He began to 
 slow down but, even then, held to a pace far 
 from moderate as they reached thickening 
 houses. The street narrowed and now gentle 
 fingers again touched his arm. "Be of a 
 greater caution," she begged. "It would not 
 be that I could bear it, should anything occur 
 to you, sweet of the heart of me. All of the 
 bridges which sit behin' me are in flame an' I 
 are of too great a smallness to go into the future 
 alone. ' ' 
 
 ' * The future you are going into, dear, ' ' he as- 
 sured her with a smile, "begins right here at 
 Bex, turns sharply eastward up the Rhone, then 
 southward at Brigue and upward over the Sim- 
 plon, then down into Italy, where it is going to 
 halt just long enough for you to sit on a certain 
 bench in a certain garden on a certain mountain- 
 side overlooking a certain moonlit lake called 
 Como. And that halt will be about two weeks 
 while I tell you how much I love you and ' ' 
 
 "Ah!" she broke in with a little laugh; "in 
 two small week I could but begin to tell."
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 187 
 
 "Oh, no," he laughed, glimpsing the crowded 
 market-place ahead. "You didn't let me finish. 
 At the end of those two weeks there will be a 
 boat leaving Naples for a place called New 
 York and on that boat will be a certain Well, 
 what is it!" 
 
 Even as his tone had changed from tender- 
 ness to impatience, he had stopped the car in 
 obedience to the upraised hand of the gendarme 
 who had stepped from the curb. 
 
 ' ' Eun him down ! ' ' Tommy Bates was on his 
 feet in the tonneau, poised to spring at Bale's 
 slightest hint. 
 
 But Hale himself sat motionless. For a sec- 
 ond he was paralyzed, both mentally and phys- 
 ically. In his dream of the future he had per- 
 mitted himself to forget present and past. 
 Then came remembrance of the dual caution he 
 had received against his reckless pace. It was 
 only another case of overspeeding and, at the 
 thought, he felt as if a great weight had fallen 
 from his shoulders. "I was driving too fast," 
 he acknowledged in French. "How much is 
 the fine? You'll fix it for me, of course."
 
 188 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 But there was no dawn of the expected smile 
 on the gendarme's stolid features. Instead, he 
 stepped onto the running-board at Hale 's elbow 
 and signaled to a comrade, who promptly 
 climbed onto the other side of the car. 
 
 "What does this mean ? " demanded Hale, his 
 brow clouding. 
 
 "Monsieur will drive straight ahead. It is 
 but a small distance." 
 
 "Soak yours and I'll croak mine!" hissed 
 Tom. "Here come more. It's a pinch." 
 
 Hale 's brain was clear now. Even as he half 
 turned, he saw another brace of gendarmes 
 leap from a doorway. He remembered Bates' 
 warning about Petrovitch's rushing back up the 
 road, and he remembered the telephone wires. 
 "Monsieur will remember Madame and do noth- 
 ing incautious," suggested the gendarme. 
 
 "What is the meaning of this? Why should 
 we, peaceable motorists, be set upon by the 
 whole police force of Bex?" 
 
 "Monsieur acknowledged he was over-speed- 
 ing." 
 
 "And offered to pay the fine." He put his
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 189 
 
 hand into his pocket. "How much? I'm in a 
 hurry." 
 
 "I regret I must insist Monsieur and Madame 
 accompany me. Doubtless Monsieur is all that 
 he states and we are at fault. If so, my su- 
 perior will release Monsieur on the instant with 
 many apologies." 
 
 Hale thought rapidly. With a crowd gath- 
 ering, anything was better than his present sit- 
 uation and, once before real authority, he was 
 convinced he would have small difficulty in 
 clearing any charge brought against him. He 
 was sure now this matter of over-speeding was 
 mere trumpery, but he was equally confident 
 that Petrovitch was not clever enough to evolve 
 any lie which he could not tear to tatters in 
 five minutes; but he could not risk a scene in 
 the main thoroughfare. 
 
 "Tell me where to go," he agreed deci- 
 sively. 
 
 They guided him into a side street and to the 
 door of an old stone building before which 
 lounged other gendarmes. As the car stopped, 
 the two on the running boards stepped down
 
 100 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 and one, saluting, said, "Monsieur will follow 
 me." 
 
 Hale was half across the sidewalk before the 
 hand had snapped from the visor. Then, turn- 
 ing, he looked back at the anxious girl. 
 "You're perfectly safe with Tom," he said. 
 
 She caught her lip with small, white teeth, 
 but smiled bravely. "Of a surety," she 
 agreed. 
 
 Hale nodded, then his eyes met those of Bates 
 and their message was plainer than any words. 
 
 "You bet you can, Cap'n, sir!" the man re- 
 plied. 
 
 With a gendarme on either side, Hale 
 marched down a flagged corridor until halted 
 before a closed door. It opened in response 
 to the sharp tap of his captor's knuckles, and 
 the three entered a gloomy room in the center 
 of which sat a man behind a flat-topped desk. 
 
 Hale stepped forward. "I have been ar- 
 rested for speeding," he said; "I acknowledge 
 the charge and am ready to pay the fine." 
 
 The man studied him from beneath half- 
 closed lids and a strange smile made the waxed
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 191 
 
 points of his black mustache move slightly. 
 "And who," he asked, also in French, "has in- 
 formed Monsieur he is held for over-fast driv- 
 ing?" 
 
 "It's the only thing you could hold me for. 
 Frankly, Monsieur, I am in a great hurry and 
 beg we may dispense with preliminaries. I am 
 ready to pay any reasonable amount and add 
 my apologies for my disregard of your regula- 
 tions." 
 
 He made no answer except to draw a slip of 
 paper from under the telephone and to examine 
 it closely, as if to compare the visible with the 
 written. "You are Monsieur William Hale?" 
 he asked at last. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Do you also confirm you left Gryon but a 
 short time ago in a gray car?" He added the 
 maker's name. 
 
 It required all Hale's self-control to retain 
 a semblance of outward calm. Such informa- 
 tion could have come but from one source. 
 Petrovitch had forced the play with greater 
 skill than he had given him credit for possess-
 
 192 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 ing. He must not only accept the cards as 
 dealt, but play his hand unerringly and with the 
 swiftness of confidence. Whatever the charge 
 might be that had been lodged against him, it 
 must not be permitted to detain him to the 
 danger point and, already, the minutes were 
 passing too rapidly. 
 
 "All that is entirely aside from the matter at 
 hand," he retorted coldly. "I have informed 
 Monsieur I am waiting to pay." 
 
 "Then you acknowledge both your identity 
 and the identity of the car?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "And Monsieur is equally prepared to prove 
 ownership to this car?" 
 
 The question was asked in a quiet, purring 
 tone which made Hale see red. 
 
 "What's that got to do with it?" he snapped. 
 
 "Nothing, perhaps; possibly much. Will 
 Monsieur be good enough to display his 
 licenses?" 
 
 In a flash he saw the trap. * ' Why certainly, ' ' 
 he agreed ; then the smile faded as quickly as it 
 had been born. The required documents were
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 193 
 
 in the pocket of the coat that Tom had left be- 
 hind on the road to Bex. The trap was a real- 
 ity. This time his laugh was forced. "I have 
 none," he acknowledged; "I've lost them; but 
 it's my sister's car. It is registered in the 
 name of James Field, her husband." 
 
 "Ah! So Monsieur also acknowledges the 
 car is not his property." Again he picked up 
 the paper and read with aggravating delibera- 
 tion. "It is unfortunate," he announced, as if 
 truly grieved, "but my information does not 
 coincide with the statements of Monsieur Hale. 
 It has been reported that the car in question is 
 property of a Monsieur Stein, and was stolen 
 from him this morning at Gryon. I regret, 
 Monsieur, but I must hold you until you can pro- 
 duce proper witnesses to corroborate your state- 
 ments. ' ' 
 
 Hale took a quick step forward, and leaned 
 both hands on the desk. "You're being used 
 as a cat's-paw," he stated. "I'm no motor 
 thief. Your intelligence should tell you that." 
 
 "Your passport might tell much, Monsieur," 
 suggested the man politely.
 
 194 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "It's with my stuff at Villars," confessed 
 Hale, with a lameness he recognized only too 
 well. "Ill" 
 
 An upraised hand checked him. "Enough! 
 I hold you until you can produce proof." 
 
 "But see here " 
 
 "I regret." 
 
 "For God's sake, man, use a little common 
 sense! Don't you understand I'm in a hurry? 
 Here," he went on, pulling out a pocket-book, 
 "give me a receipt for the value of the car 
 in cash. That ought to satisfy you I'm 
 straight. ' ' 
 
 There was no question as to the effect the 
 sight of the big bills produced. Hale saw his 
 eyes waver, then the frown deepen. "Put your 
 own value on it, ' ' he urged. ' ' Frankly, time is 
 worth far more than money now." 
 
 Again the man wavered. To be sure, he did 
 not know his informant, and there was every 
 token of honesty about this man before him. 
 Yet plausible strangers had been motor thieves 
 before this. The more innocent they appeared, 
 the greater their success. Time seemed every-
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 195 
 
 thing to this man before him; it was nothing 
 to him. He had no call to act hastily. 
 
 "Would the chauffeur of Monsieur bear wit- 
 ness to the truth of his statements?" he stalled. 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 He turned to one of the gendarmes. "Bring 
 the chauffeur," he commanded. 
 
 "I'll go for him," cried Hale. "I told him 
 to stay there." 
 
 "He will be brought here." The suspicion 
 had returned to the man's voice. 
 
 "Don't do it; there'll be trouble. I know 
 my man." 
 
 1 * Enough ! ' ' The tone was cold now. 
 
 Hale, tried to the very border of his self- 
 control, saw the gendarme hurry from the room. 
 Almost to have succeeded, only to be blocked by 
 an over-keen sense of self-preservation on the 
 part of a minor authority, seemed well nigh 
 an absurdity when compared with what he had 
 already overcome. More time would be con- 
 sumed now, and much in the way of complica- 
 tions added. 
 
 "What is about to happen," he snapped, "is
 
 196 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 on your head. You have intruded into some- 
 thing which was none of your affair. You are 
 holding me on the trumped-up charge of a per- 
 sonal enemy, you are laying yourself open to 
 legal retaliation and you have neglected a 
 grave warning. It will give me no satisfaction, 
 but I promise you shall pay and pay heavily. ' ' 
 
 " Threats are idle, Monsieur." 
 
 " These are promises." 
 
 Again Hale looked at his watch. It would be 
 a close thing now, even could he fight his way 
 out. He whirled on his heel and started for 
 the door. 
 
 The man, sure now his course had been that 
 of wisdom, smiled blandly. "There are two 
 gendarmes on guard beyond that door, Mon- 
 sieur," he purred. "Both have carbines and 
 both shoot accurately." 
 
 "Do you mean " 
 
 "That Monsieur would do well to calm him- 
 self." 
 
 Again he returned to the desk. For a long 
 moment the two looked at each other. Then, 
 Of a sudden, Hale slapped his heavy pocket-
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 197 
 
 book on the desk. "Damn it all!" he ex- 
 claimed. "I wouldn't do it were not the 
 necessity overwhelming. Are your men still 
 accurate shots?" 
 
 "They are." 
 
 "I apologize for that," he said frankly. 
 "Give me that telephone." 
 
 As he called desperately for Villars, the 
 gendarme who had been sent for Bates, 
 emerged into the street. "You are wanted," 
 he announced stiffly. 
 
 The chauffeur looked him over from head 
 to foot, and what he saw, even more than what 
 he heard, but did not understand, did not ap- 
 peal to him at all. 
 
 Again the gendarme repeated his summons. 
 Bates transferred his attention to a cur dog 
 which was slinking down the opposite gutter. 
 
 "It is that Monsieur wants you within," sug- 
 gested the anxious girl on the front seat. 
 
 "Beggin' your pardon, ma-am, but, if the 
 Cap'n wants me, he'll tell me so himself. I've 
 my orders." 
 
 The gendarme approached and started to
 
 198 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 open the door of the tonneau. A quick snarl 
 made him withdraw his hand with much speed. 
 11 Madame," he said, "the attendance of your 
 servant is required. Should he not go, we 
 will take him." 
 
 Frightened now, she translated hastily, but 
 Bates only shook his head. 
 
 "Please to tell him, ma-am, not to start any- 
 thing rough. I'm sorter jumpy already." 
 
 Not comprehending in the least, she did her 
 best to explain to the gendarme the need for 
 Bale's presence, but he was not to be denied. 
 He signaled his companions by the door. Like 
 a flash Bates understood, and his eyes snapped 
 as he reached for the heavy handle of the jack. 
 He had been told to protect the girl by the one 
 man on earth he would obey. 
 
 He knew, standing above them, he had the 
 advantage. He was familiar with the blunt 
 sang-froid of the M.P.'s of the old A.E.F.; but 
 these officials seemed of a different breed. 
 
 "Cut it out before some of youse get 
 bumped!" he growled. "There's a lady pres- 
 ent."
 
 THE ROAD TO PARADISE 199 
 
 But, instead of accepting advice, they de- 
 ployed and advanced. Bates seemed to grow 
 suddenly smaller as he crouched, ready. The 
 heavy bar swung uninvitingly. He knew they 
 dared not try gun play for fear of injuring the 
 girl. With that eliminated, the party held real 
 promise. A hand touched the edge of the ton- 
 neau and was promptly turned to pulp. 
 
 "Next lady!" he jeered. "Carry on, there, 
 and don't crowd the rear rank!" 
 
 A shrill whistle catapulted half a dozen gen- 
 darmes through the doorway. Bates stopped 
 the swing of a carbine butt with his forearm, 
 and the hand fell idle at his side. Beaching 
 over the back of the car, he paid in full on an 
 incautious shoulder. Naida, cowering against 
 the windshield, faced the growing melee, hands 
 tightly clutched, red lips parted, eyes big with 
 terror. 
 
 From up the street came a shout. She saw 
 a dingy motor racing toward her at full speed ; 
 knew what it meant ; who stood in the tonneau. 
 Bates heard her half -fluttering scream, turned 
 to see if some one had dared to touch her, felt
 
 200 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 a smashing, crushing blow on the back of his 
 head, felt his knees weaken, give, and then all 
 went black.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 
 
 UP from behind the snow peaks crept a moon 
 which was almost spent. Its waning quarter 
 spread but a feeble thread of silver down the 
 length of the lake, a thread disappearing into 
 the warp of yellow woven outward by the lights 
 of the Quai de Mont Blanc. Behind these tin- 
 kled the forced gayety of the night life of 
 Geneva. Motors swept along the broad thor- 
 oughfare; men and women went about little 
 affairs which were theirs alone. Above them 
 loomed the bulk of the lake-front buildings, 
 some dark and forbidding, some ablaze, others 
 but hinting of life shut in by lowered curtains. 
 
 Behind such a curtain, behind a window 
 closed against the night and all that was of it, 
 sat Mr. and Mrs. James Field and stared at 
 a man who paced back and forth with angry 
 
 steps, hands clinched into tight-set fists. They 
 
 201
 
 202 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 had held him so for three turbulent hours, but 
 had succeeded in holding him only through 
 force of circumstance. There was nothing 
 more to be done at the moment. 
 
 They had rushed down to Bex, in answer to 
 his imperious summons, to find Hale a man gone 
 mad. In the room with him, had lain a half- 
 conscious chauffeur; without had stood a dead 
 and empty motor. Naida had disappeared, 
 and, while he knew who were the cause of his 
 defeat, he had no trace of their trail beyond 
 the now exhausted clew that Count Otto and his 
 party had boarded a train. Which way they 
 had traveled from Geneva, he could not learn, 
 although he had bought detectives as a child 
 with a dime buys penny candy. The past 
 twelve hours were as a nightmare, yet they 
 were as nothing to the future. 
 
 As, over and over, he reviewed what had 
 happened, he blamed himself more and more 
 for being so easily outwitted ; yet there was no 
 one point he could select where he could have 
 acted other than he had. In his present mood 
 he would have crashed over the body of that
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 203 
 
 first gendarme with more than satisfaction, but 
 then his temper had not been murderous. 
 
 That had come when the gendarmes had 
 borne the limp body of Bates into the room. 
 One glance, and Hale had gone through them, 
 as contemptuous of the carbines they had 
 raised as of the bodies hurled in his path. It 
 was not until he faced that empty motor by 
 the curb, the deserted street, a world empty 
 of all that counted, that he had stood numbed 
 and dulled by the shock. And in that instant 
 the outraged pack had overtaken him, and borne 
 him back within the wall. 
 
 It had taken the cool-headed Jimmie Field 
 but a few minutes to untangle what had held 
 every promise of becoming a serious complica- 
 tion. It had been Peggy Field who had as- 
 sumed a woman's perogative, and who had 
 dropped the pointed hint which had shed much 
 light upon the real motive behind the whole 
 affair. The man who had held Hale proved 
 himself to be as generous as he was sincere in 
 his regrets for the part he had been trapped 
 into playing. Even before he and Hale had
 
 204 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 faced each other squarely, and claimed each 
 other's respect, he had sent his men to trace 
 the trail of those who had cheated them both. 
 
 "And, should it be, Monsieur," he had said, 
 "that you find these men within a distance 
 which I may journey, I should consider it more 
 than a favor should you call on me to bear wit- 
 ness in your behalf. I, too, have been tricked, 
 and, while in a lesser degree, my self-esteem 
 has been badly shaken." 
 
 "Don't talk about it, man! You make that 
 bribe I offered you seem even more crass." 
 
 The man had smiled and that smile had com- 
 pletely won Mrs. Field's heart. "Desperate 
 need demands desperate measure," he had an- 
 swered. "I should have tried anything in my 
 own last ditch. It is forgotten." 
 
 "There is but one way in which it may be 
 forgotten by us," she had declared. "It must 
 be accepted now for the benefit of those my 
 man has hurt." 
 
 "Madame is most compassionate!" 
 
 "Madame is 'most crazy," she had corrected. 
 "It's a family trait. I'm sure you must be con-
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 205 
 
 vinced of that. Yet I'm equally sure you can 
 appreciate that inaction now is apt to have even 
 more disastrous results for us." 
 
 He had accepted that with equal generosity, 
 had promised to give both the injured Bates, 
 and the case against him, his personal attention, 
 had agreed that Geneva was their best center 
 from which to work in the immediate future, 
 and had assured them of his silence. 
 
 So Hale had left the valley of the Rhone be- 
 hind him, but under far different circumstances, 
 and in far different company, than he had so 
 recklessly planned. 
 
 Now he returned again to the beginning and 
 end of their hours of argument. "I'm going 
 to find her; she's mine." 
 
 "But how, Bill?" insisted Field. "You 
 can't continue to rush through Europe, beat- 
 ing up strangers and police forces with the in- 
 discriminating recklessness of a D'Artagnan. 
 If you keep up this third act melodrama stuff, 
 you 're bound to land in some jail which is in a 
 receptive and secretive mood." 
 
 "That part doesn't worry me in the least."
 
 206 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "I think it should," urged Mrs. Field, with 
 unexpected gentleness ; "you have Naida to con- 
 sider now." 
 
 "Do you think I'm considering any one 
 else?" 
 
 "No, dear," she agreed patiently. "But you 
 never can find her if you're tucked away in 
 some comfy little cell doing a few odd years 
 for impetuous massacre. Jimmie is utterly 
 and completely right; you should be cautious 
 now. You haven't the remotest idea where 
 they've taken her." 
 
 " I Ve a very clear one. They Ve headed back 
 for Nirgendsberg as fast as they can make it. 
 She told me they'd threatened that; told me 
 they'd threatened to keep her in their power 
 by saying she was insane." 
 
 "Let them," she declared promptly. "It 
 would give you exactly what you need time to 
 plan some sane course of action. Don't you see 
 that, if they say she 's mentally unbalanced, they 
 tie their own hands? I don't believe even a 
 Bolshevik would give up his power to another 
 crazy person."
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 207 
 
 "Don 'the flippant!" 
 
 "I'm not," she flashed back; "I'm talking 
 sense and you're in no mood to recognize 
 it." 
 
 "I've learned this sanity argument by heart," 
 broke in Field. "Let'fe move on to something 
 new. Bill's hinted, once or twice, about going 
 to Nirgendsberg. How's he going to do it!" 
 
 Hale came to a halt by a table and faced 
 him. 
 
 "That part doesn't worry me. It's finding 
 where she is, after I get there." 
 
 "Won't she write to you?" Mrs. Field 
 asked the question in all honesty. 
 
 "Probably," he sneered. "They'll mail any 
 letters she writes me with much pleasure. Also 
 she knows by telepathy I 'm in Geneva. ' ' 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 "I'm sorry, Peg," he said instantly, walking 
 over and laying a hand on her shoulder for a 
 second. "I'm raw." 
 
 " 'Sail right!" 
 
 Field looked from one to the other. 
 
 "There's a pile of difference between being
 
 208 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 a brother and a husband," he sighed. "We'll 
 postpone writing an epitaph for the hatchet, 
 however. Bill, come through with this Nir- 
 gendsberg thing. How did you say you were 
 going to get there!" 
 
 "By train." 
 
 "All right. ' ' Field had become entirely seri- 
 ous now and Hale welcomed the change with 
 unconcealed gratitude. "You know the present 
 condition of European travel, I presume." 
 
 "If theyVe gone, I can follow." 
 
 "I'll grant that. But suppose you reach the 
 frontier of this place, then what ? ' ' 
 
 "Cross it." 
 
 "Does your passport happen to mention Nir- 
 gendsberg?" 
 
 "Don't suppose so. Easy enough to have 
 that fixed. Don 't waste time on such trash. ' ' 
 
 "All right," he agreed; "go get that pass- 
 port changed. It will occupy your mind for a 
 time." 
 
 "Do you mean that, Jimmie?" 
 
 "I sure do. I don't believe it can be done, 
 not even by any bluff we can cook up between
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 209 
 
 us. They're mighty fussy about such things 
 now. ' ' 
 
 "I can make 'em see reason.'* 
 
 "I hope so. I'd get at it, however, if you're 
 set on going there. But you won 't come back, ' ' 
 he added gravely. 
 
 "Oh, Jimmie!" 
 
 "I know it, Peg, it's rough, but it's a tough 
 country and it's in a mess now." 
 
 "Don't talk rot!" growled Hale. "I'm over 
 seven ; I can take care of myself. Know any of 
 our diplomatic crowd here?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "I'll go hunt up some one at the consulate." 
 
 "Bather late. You'll get a better run for 
 your money in the morning. ' ' 
 
 "I won't be here by morning. I've wasted 
 too much time already waiting for people to 
 do the things I should have done myself. I am 
 going to Nirgendsberg, " he said, with a deter- 
 mination which made his sister spring to her 
 feet. 
 
 "But if you can't get a passport, Billy?" she 
 cried.
 
 "I'm going anyway." 
 
 "But Jimmie says it's not safe." 
 
 He laughed silently. "Some way or other, 
 that part doesn't matter much, Peg. You don't 
 yet seem to grasp the fact that Naida's in 
 trouble. ' ' 
 
 "I want you to find her and bring her out," 
 she agreed, her words coming fast, "you know 
 that. But you're my brother, too. I don't 
 want anything to happen to you. Can 't you see 
 that part of it ? It was a different thing to take 
 chances in a civilized country. Here nothing 
 really serious could happen. ' ' 
 
 "Something fairly serious has happened," 
 he declared, "and, if anything more serious is 
 going to happen, I'm going to see to it that 
 I'm mighty well up in the foreground when it 
 begins to happen. I'm going to find Naida; 
 I'm going to bring her to you at home. I'm 
 through talking. From now on I'm going to 
 act. ' ' He picked up his hat and started for the 
 door. "I'm going to try for a passport," he 
 announced, "then I'm going to look up routes. 
 I'll stop in before I leave."
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 211 
 
 The door slammed behind him before either 
 of the Fields could move. "Oh, Jimmie!" 
 wailed Peg, as she clutched her husband's arm, 
 "what's going to happen now?" 
 
 Field bit his lip and looked over the brown 
 head buried against his coat. "I don't know," 
 he confessed, in a low tone. "I don't want to 
 know. All I do know is that, up to now, Bill's 
 been fighting because he loved a girl ; now he 's 
 going to fight for the girl he loves. I don't 
 want to be the man who tries to stop him. ' ' 
 
 Yet others did not share Field's emotions. 
 Hale found more than verbal opposition when 
 he endeavored to have his passport viseed. Ee- 
 ferred to higher authority at Berne, he left 
 Geneva that night and spent the major share 
 of the next day in fruitless arguments and idle 
 cables. It might be arranged ultimately, but 
 he could not tolerate the delay. Realizing now 
 how truthful all Field's statements had been, 
 he took the bit between his teeth and acted on a 
 plan born of his desperation. 
 
 How, or where, Hale secured the credentials 
 which were in his pocket, when he left Berne
 
 212 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 that evening, were things which Field never 
 found out. They were sufficient to carry him 
 across two frontiers without undue debate, and 
 over the third with the aid of a little gold. But 
 then he began to experience to the full what rail 
 conditions had become since the war. 
 
 Hours dragged and now the days themselves 
 began to vanish into the hopeless maw of in- 
 efficiency and disorganization. As he crawled 
 northward and ever eastward, all he could find 
 to salve his mounting anxiety was the consola- 
 tion that those whom he followed must have 
 met the same delays, so could not be too far 
 ahead. 
 
 As for his plans, they seemed to grow less 
 fantastic through constant review. Once in 
 Nirgendsberg, it would be an easy matter to 
 reach the capital of the same name. The little 
 principality was loo small to have transporta- 
 tion troubles heaped atop its other troubles. 
 In the city must be many who could give in- 
 formation as to the whereabouts of that Baron 
 Barezay in whom Naida had expressed such 
 faith. Face to face with him, and the doors of
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 213 
 
 uncertainty would be shut no longer. Did 
 Barezay not know where she was, even were 
 she hidden away, he would have knowledge of 
 channels through which such information could 
 be secured. When he had found her again, 
 Hale was content to allow their exodus to re- 
 main unplanned. All that mattered was the 
 hungry necessity for holding her safe within 
 his arms. Once there, and all else would be as 
 nothing. 
 
 In no mood for companionship, he- paid no at- 
 tention to his fellow travelers. If aware of 
 them at all, it was only with a vague sense of 
 disgust for any who could make such a journey 
 unless life or death hung in the balance. He 
 was conscious that there were but two others 
 who had stood the punishment for more than 
 one day, the one a man whose conversational 
 proclivities he had quickly discouraged, the 
 other a woman who seemed to do nothing but 
 read omnivorously. 
 
 Beyond the car windows flat desolation had 
 given grudging way to bare, brown swales 
 which grew into more barren hills and these,
 
 214 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 as the slow hours dragged past, bowed before 
 rugged mountains, black, forbidding, repellant. 
 Even the tender streamers of the setting sun 
 failed to soften them with their elusive pinks 
 and mystic yellows, and swift darkness came to 
 blot them out, as if Nature herself had become 
 suddenly compassionate. 
 
 Stations were few, the waits at each increas- 
 ing without evident necessity. Hale began to 
 appreciate, with growing impatience, that he 
 had penetrated beyond the whirlpool into the 
 borders of chaos. There was a half-reckless, 
 half-surly note in the official's answers to his 
 questions, which told him he was coming face 
 to face with what was heralded as the twentieth 
 century Utopia. 
 
 It added to the rawness of his nerves, not 
 because of the absurdities of the attempted ap- 
 plication of the vaunted theoretical to the prac- 
 tical, but on account of the delays which became 
 more and more positive as the evolution of the 
 academic gathered momentum. Each little sta- 
 tion added a new buzzing to the chorus in the 
 hive where there was no comb and the honey
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 215 
 
 was almost spent. At the frontiers of the home 
 of Reason it began to appear as if logical rea- 
 sons for everything had been declared contra- 
 band and segregated in the fastness of the 
 realm. 
 
 It was about nine when he noticed feeble 
 lights fighting the darkness. Scattered afar, 
 at first, he accorded them no attention. But 
 others flickered, vanished, reappeared, to be re- 
 flected on the black surface of a turgid river. 
 He straightened, peered but, then, as quickly, 
 sank back against the dust-clotted cushions. 
 That which he should have met a day ago, that 
 which he had inquired about for the past three 
 hours, the place where his weakest link would 
 be strained to the test, was here. Again he 
 looked out over the scattered town. Beyond, at 
 last, lay Nirgendsberg. 
 
 Came the jolt from brakes carelessly applied, 
 the shrill of a whistle, and the train ricocheted 
 along a small and incredibly unkept station to 
 expire in jarring agony. It was the frontier, 
 the spot he had so desired, but now, instead of 
 doing as he had done at every town in an hun-
 
 216 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 dred kilometers, he settled back into his corner 
 to let routine, if such survived, take its course. 
 Eagerness was the one thing he must not show. 
 
 He saw cramped travelers moving along the 
 platform, a bearded man in a filthy uniform 
 herding them forward with a dirtier hand, and 
 heard the opening gutterals of the old, familiar 
 debate when station master and engineer went 
 into soviet conference to argue the hour of 
 departure, the need of more fuel or the where- 
 for of the which. 
 
 He was conscious of men passing along the 
 corridor of the car, then an official of some 
 sort thrust in his head, and erupted short sen- 
 tences in an unfamiliar tongue. 
 
 He rewarded this oratorical effort with but a 
 languid show of interest, although, behind his 
 indifference, every sense was alert. It was only 
 when the man began to repeat that Hale became 
 conscious of some one attempting to crowd past 
 the speaker. A second glance showed it was a 
 woman, and at once he was on his feet. The 
 next and he had pulled the official out of her 
 way, and it was then he recognized he had
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 217 
 
 aided the one who had traveled far with him. 
 Nodding slightly in return for her murmured 
 thanks, he was about to resume his seat when 
 she hesitated, then spoke in rapid French. 
 
 "The guard is informing Monsieur of the 
 necessity of having his papers and luggage ex- 
 amined before entering Nirgendsberg, " she ex- 
 plained. "I venture, because I fear Monsieur 
 does not understand our language, and I would 
 return his kindness." 
 
 Again she slightly inclined her head and, as 
 she moved on, said something to the official in 
 her own tongue. Hale, a bit surprised at the 
 willingness of some one to be of assistance, felt 
 she had made a kindly attempt to shield him 
 from complications in return for his own cour- 
 tesy. As the official beckoned, then made as 
 if to reach his bag, he realized he might create 
 suspicion by holding back too long and, tak- 
 ing his luggage, followed the man to the plat- 
 form. 
 
 Here again his unexpected friend came for- 
 ward with a hint. "Monsieur's papers are in 
 order, of course," she said, "so he will find it
 
 218 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 less trying should he wait until the rabble 
 ahead is examined." 
 
 " Madame has made me her debtor a second 
 time," he acknowledged, as he lifted his cap. 
 
 "One who travels much," she observed, with 
 the suggestion of a smile, "soon finds it is a 
 pleasure to assist others. Is it not so, Mon- 
 sieur?" 
 
 "One does, assuredly," he agreed, and ven- 
 tured a closer glance. She lacked all the phys- 
 ical attributes which might have explained her 
 attempt to open a conversation. Rather she 
 reminded him of a woman who, in America, 
 might have filled the position of a chief clerk 
 with much credit. Her eyes were to see things 
 with, her mouth firm, her hair immaculate, her 
 cheeks rather drawn with fatigue, yet un- 
 adorned, her gown inconspicuous, her voice low 
 pitched. She must have been forty; she might 
 have been of almost any country, yet, even 
 though her French was of the boulevards, there 
 was an elusive something about her manner 
 which vaguely suggested the Teutonic. 
 
 For a moment she seemed about to let the
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 219 
 
 incident die of inertia, but then she turned and 
 met his eyes evenly. " Monsieur is, of course, 
 familiar with conditions as they exist beyond 
 the frontier," she said, as if making a state- 
 ment in a matter-of-fact way rather than offer- 
 ing a query. 
 
 Hale inclined his head. "It is all Madame 
 suggests," he returned ambiguously. 
 
 He saw her lips waver the merest trifle. 
 "Monsieur takes too much upon himself," she 
 retorted. "One does not even suggest in these 
 times. I am an old traveler, and ventured but 
 to believe aloud that the friends of Monsieur be- 
 yond the barrier had communicated to him cer- 
 tain recent events. Of course one would not 
 mistake Monsieur for a Nirgendsberger, " she 
 said, carelessly. 
 
 "Of course not. In these days, however, 
 when many men from various countries are 
 traveling on many Different missions, it is dif- 
 ficult to keep posted on all the gossip about all 
 international and domestic happenings. Might 
 not this be an excuse for my ignorance of the 
 event Madame refers to?"
 
 220 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "Ah ! So Monsieur is of one of the missions T 
 It will save him the disagreeable task of refus- 
 ing a woman's aid. I see a friend amongst the 
 officials ahead; in return for his graciousness, 
 I was about to offer to make Monsieur's prog- 
 ress a little more facile." 
 
 Hale was not so situated he could reject any 
 form of assistance. There was certainly noth- 
 ing about this woman to create even the vaguest 
 suspicion. "One never rejects the courtesies 
 of friendly officials at a frontier," he said, and 
 stopped to look at her again. Was it possible, 
 he asked himself, that she was the one who 
 needed help? 
 
 But again she smiled, this time as if having 
 read his thoughts. "I assure Monsieur my 
 papers are in order," she said. "My best wish 
 would be that his path may prove as smooth 
 as mine. Come, if you will ; we Nirgendsberg- 
 ers repay our debts promptly." 
 
 Even as she started on, Hale saw an official 
 look up, then step toward them in answer to the 
 swift motion of her hand. For a brief mo- 
 ment the two spoke in their own tongue, then
 
 THE FROXTIER OF REASON 221 
 
 the man turned abruptly and, opening a door 
 to the left of the big customs hall, stood aside 
 for the two to enter. 
 
 Ahead Hale saw a small, well-lighted room. 
 There was nothing about it to create alarm, yet, 
 of a sudden, a sensation of impending evil 
 swept over him. He would have withdrawn, 
 could he have done so without exciting sus- 
 picion. There was certainly no threat, no hint 
 of trouble, no suggestion of treachery. It was 
 sheer conceit to imagine any one in this tiny 
 village had even heard of him, let alone had 
 any intention of questioning papers which, he 
 was convinced, were perfectly regular on their 
 face. What might happen within this room 
 would happen far more publically in the main 
 hall. Certainly he had a better chance, should 
 anything arise, of winning past an official whose 
 friend had volunteered to vouch for him. 
 
 Hardly had the door closed behind them be- 
 fore the woman turned again. "You speak 
 German as well as French, Monsieur!" 
 
 * * Let us say I understand it as well, ' ' he sug- 
 gested.
 
 222 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 She nodded briefly, then once more faced the 
 man who still stood with his back to the door. 
 "Lock that!" she commanded sharply in Ger- 
 man. ' ' There is no call for publicity. This is 
 our man." 
 
 There was no hesitancy in Hale's action, no 
 time wasted in feigned surprise. Even as his 
 bag dropped to the floor, his hand shot to the 
 pocket of his coat. But, before his fingers 
 could close on the automatic, the cold muzzle 
 of a revolver was pressed against the side of 
 his head. 
 
 "If you so much as move," stated the man 
 coldly, "you will find your passports are viseed 
 for eternity." 
 
 To their complete surprise, Hale merely 
 shrugged his shoulders. "Hospitable country, 
 Nirgendsberg ! " he observed. "What is this, 
 the Bolshevik preliminary to an equal division 
 of wealth?" 
 
 "Monsieur does well to take the affair 
 quietly," stated the woman, in a tone which 
 hinted at her admiration for such cool 
 nerve.
 
 ''I've no particular yearning to be mur- 
 dered," he confessed, with a short laugh. 
 "The small amount of cash I happen to have 
 will be placed at your disposal, when I have 
 your permission to lower my hands." 
 
 "Monsieur does not imagine that even the 
 Nirgendsbergers he holds in such contempt are 
 so crude as to demand tribute from a guest!" 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 "Guest?" 
 
 "Exactly that, Monsieur." 
 
 "If you'll pardon criticism from a stranger, 
 your forms of hospitality are at least ad- 
 vanced. ' ' 
 
 "Oh, but Monsieur is no stranger," she re- 
 torted, her eyes narrowing. "Even I, myself, 
 who am but a small cog within the wheel, have 
 known him well for several days. In fact, Mon- 
 sieur, I was ordered in Geneva to become well 
 acquainted, not only with the movements, but 
 with the face, of Monsieur William Hale." 
 
 ' ' Umph ! Secret Service ? In that case, take 
 my papers instead of my funds. They may 
 prove more satisfactory to all concerned."
 
 224 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 1 * They interest us no more than your wealth, 
 Monsieur." 
 
 "Am I correct in the assumption you hold 
 international law in open contempt?" 
 
 "I am not responsible for Monsieur's as- 
 sumptions, but merely for the notification of my 
 superiors that he has attempted the impossible. 
 I am instructed to inform him at this time that 
 arrangements have been perfected for his re- 
 crossing of the frontier of Switzerland at the 
 point from which he departed. Monsieur Hale 
 is known as a man of honor. The only condition 
 demanded is that he give his word he will make 
 no second attempt to approach the frontiers of 
 Nirgendsberg. " 
 
 Hale laughed contemptuously. "What is 
 this, opera bouffe," he demanded, "or merely 
 the rim froth of the madness which has seethed 
 over the cauldron down in Nirgendsberg? If I 
 may be permitted the thought, Madame, your 
 eagerness to carry out the duties which may be 
 yours have led you to commit a grave error of 
 judgment. I am neither complacently credulous 
 nor entirely imbecile. I am quite familiar with
 
 THE FRONTIER OF REASON 225 
 
 my rights, and thoroughly conversant with the 
 liberties which papers such as mine bestow upon 
 any peaceful traveler. I know nothing about 
 your secret service, about you or about your 
 friend who has put a gun to my head as if I 
 were some half-witted burglar. You may be 
 all you say, but, even then, I'm frank to confess, 
 you entirely fail to interest me. My papers are 
 in order; I demand they be honored." 
 
 ' ' Monsieur evidently failed to grasp my state- 
 ment that his papers interested us not at all." 
 
 "And Madame my statement that this child- 
 ishness fails to interest me longer. I am going 
 through to Nirgendsberg, as is my right." 
 
 "Then Monsieur refuses the alternative of- 
 fered him?" 
 
 "He most assuredly does. And, further- 
 more, he most vigorously resents this idiotic 
 interference with his personal affairs." 
 
 "Monsieur would do well to listen to rea- 
 son," she hinted. 
 
 "He would welcome the opportunity," Hale 
 promptly retaliated. 
 
 For a moment she studied him, then turned
 
 226 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 to another door behind her. Even as her hand 
 rested on the knob, she looked over her shoul- 
 der. "You were most courteous to me, Mon- 
 sieur Hale, ' ' she said in a low voice. ' ' I deeply 
 regret you have forced the issue." 
 
 She threw open the door with a savage sweep 
 of her arm. Beyond, Hale saw four men with 
 drawn revolvers which swiftly centered on him. 
 "Come!" she commanded sharply.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 DREAMS FADE 
 
 FOR a week Hale had planned an inconspicu- 
 ous entry into Nirgendsberg, but actuality ex- 
 ceeded dreams. A limousine sped northward 
 from the station, the lights of the frontier fell 
 behind and, in the hostile darkness, he saw the 
 erect silhouettes of the two men opposite, who 
 sat in silence, guns in hand. 
 
 He had obeyed because he had recognized the 
 futility of resistance. Insanity would have 
 been the only excuse for physical opposition, 
 for their contemptuous disregard for all law or 
 right had told him instantly that such a course 
 would be tantamount to suicide. He had re- 
 jected their offer ; whatever their alternative, he 
 knew it would be put into practice at a cost high 
 to him alone, for those who had now given 
 notice that his interference was no longer to 
 
 227
 
 228 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 be allowed would pay their share in the security 
 of their own land. 
 
 Yet even now, when all his impetuous plans 
 had been smashed into flat wreckage, came the 
 thought that, at least, he was being taken nearer 
 to her; that, while they had attempted to buy 
 him away from Nirgendsberg at the price of 
 safety, they were now taking him into the very 
 place they had forbidden him to enter. That 
 much was gain. 
 
 What the future would develop troubled him 
 only in-so-far as it might delay the ultimate 
 fruition of his determination. The past was 
 the past. If he had made false moves, he must 
 wipe memory clear of remorse, for whatever 
 lay ahead would demand every cell of an un- 
 littered brain. Of that much alone he was sure 
 of that, and that no power Nirgendsberg could 
 produce, could keep him from her. 
 
 Even as swift fingers had searched him, the 
 woman had stepped to his side again. 
 
 " Monsieur 's courage is a known quantity," 
 she has said; "hence precautions for all con- 
 cerned. His comfort on his journey rests with
 
 DREAMS FADE 229 
 
 him. His companions have very definite orders, 
 and he would do well to avoid even attempted 
 argument. This advice I dare suggest he heed, 
 even though he still presumes to challenge the 
 determination of those he has chosen for ene- 
 mies. Bon voyage, Monsieur Hale. ' ' 
 
 He, too, had inclined his head. 
 
 "Madame," he had retorted, "I have dis- 
 played my unfamiliarity with marked cards. 
 The trick is yours, but may I, too, offer one bit 
 of parting advice? It is that you inform your 
 superior that, after every to-morrow, there is 
 another day.'* 
 
 Laughter had been her only reply as he had 
 been pushed into the waiting car, and the slam 
 of the door had driven its mockery from his 
 ears. 
 
 Hale found no desire to attempt conversa- 
 tion with his guardians. The moon, rising out 
 of the maw of a repellant valley, gave him the 
 direction in which they ran. He forced himself 
 to concentrate on the present. As he recalled 
 the map, they were heading, not toward the 
 capital, but into what was the more mountain-
 
 230 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 cms country to the eastward. It upset his 
 hastily formed suspicions. He had expected to 
 be taken to the city of Nirgendsberg to be in- 
 carcerated on some fictitious charge until he 
 could be disposed of in a manner which would 
 prohibit protest from his distant friends. 
 
 The road mirrored the condition of the coun- 
 try. Speed was impossible. The car groaned 
 as it lurched and lunged and Hale was thrown 
 first to one side, then to the other, until he 
 envied the two who sat upon the smaller seats. 
 The grade stiffened until they crept, rather than 
 made progress. It was only with the dawn that 
 physical relief came. They had climbed to a 
 table-land which stretched northward until lost 
 in gray, drifting fog. The chill sank deep, 
 the monotonous silence was forbidding, the 
 few trees dripped lusterless drops into 
 drearier undergrowth, but the road steadily 
 improved. 
 
 He saw a few stunted cattle in barren fields. 
 The far-scattered houses were hovels. There 
 was no song of bird, no sign of peasant life. 
 Then, through the parting mist, he caught a
 
 DREAMS FADE 231 
 
 glimpse of a wooded mountainside beyond the 
 narrowing plain. The man who faced him 
 turned to follow his glance, then nodding, drew 
 a breath of deep relief. 
 
 The car swerved to the right, but now the 
 grade was easier and the road almost smooth. 
 On either hand rose the thickening forest and, 
 once, as they took a sharper curve, he thought 
 he saw a wild boar in startled flight. The way 
 became steeper.. His teeth set, for now he be- 
 lieved he had solved the intent of those re- 
 sponsible for what was nothing else than his 
 abduction. Such country could produce only 
 one of those gray-yellow piles of stone which 
 were spoken of, through courtesy alone, as 
 castles. 
 
 Each moment he looked for the final upward 
 pitch which should bring them out to the edge 
 of the cliff where squatted the lonesome pile 
 which must house some explanation for what had 
 occurred and was to occur. But, instead, the 
 road descended, the forest opened abruptly and, 
 on the edge of a sharp incline, he saw a long, 
 brown lodge which faced the limitless view.
 
 232 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 Out-buildings dovetailed with the story forest 
 and country told; before him was the hunting 
 box of one who was a luxurious sportsman. 
 
 The car stopped, one guard stepped out, mo- 
 tioning Hale to follow. Hardly was he on the 
 ground before a man came hurrying from the 
 lodge. 
 
 " Monsieur Hale has arrived sooner than our 
 information led us to hope," he said in French. 
 "I trust the journey held no great discomforts. 
 Our roads are not as formerly, but the hos- 
 pitality of Wolkensberg remains unchanged. 
 Will Monsieur permit I show him to his 
 rooms ? ' ' 
 
 Hale laughed shortly. "From what I have 
 experienced, I imagine my permission is of 
 small consequence." 
 
 The other met his glance with unchanged 
 countenance. 
 
 "It is still Monsieur's to choose," he re- 
 turned meaningly. * ' I would not imagine, how- 
 ever, he would find bath and breakfast distaste- 
 ful. My instructions are to offer Monsieur 
 every courtesy he will deign to accept. It is not
 
 DREAMS FADE 233 
 
 the wish of his host to permit him to suffer 
 either discomfort or indignity." 
 
 "I fear I am unable to appreciate such nice- 
 ties of distinction," he stated coldly. " Where 
 Monsieur leads, I may only follow." 
 
 "Facts are always unpleasant," agreed the 
 man. "It is generally less agreeable to force 
 them. We proceed." 
 
 He led the way across a turfed terrace and 
 into a long, oak-raftered room, littered with lux- 
 urious chairs and lined with trophies. By full- 
 length windows a small table was being set for 
 breakfast, but they passed on and down the 
 narrow hall which cut the north wing, until the 
 man stopped before a heavily paneled door. 
 Throwing it open, he stood aside for Hale to 
 enter. 
 
 Whatever he might be called on to face later, 
 there was no suggestion of the prison in what 
 met his casual glance. A cheerful fire crackled 
 on the open hearth. Beside a book-covered 
 table reposed deep-cushioned chairs. By an- 
 other great window, another breakfast table was 
 already set. To the right, a door gave into a
 
 234 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 bedroom and beyond was the bath. It was all 
 as out of keeping with the barrenness of the 
 country as it was inviting to idle ease, but Hale 
 did not pay its sumptuousness the compliment 
 of even casual examination. Striding to the 
 window, he thrust aside the curtains. On the 
 instant his guide was at his side. 
 
 "I regret to inform Monsieur of Wolken- 
 berg's one great defect ; our morning air is most 
 unhealthy. I recommend him not to test it." 
 
 "Umph! It apparently holds small danger 
 for that keeper yonder, with the rifle on his 
 shoulder. ' ' 
 
 "He is of great strength, Monsieur, and a 
 man of such short patience that we seldom 
 cross him, even by speaking with him, let alone 
 advising with him on matters which are really 
 only his concerns.*' 
 
 Hale shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 "I comprehend. How soon can I, too, be in- 
 formed of the real purpose of this melodramatic 
 high-handedness? Frankly, both your ideas of 
 hospitality, and your methods of dispensing it, 
 are rapidly approaching a point where I believe
 
 DREAMS FADE 235 
 
 some slight expression of resentment might be 
 pardonable, even from a 'guest.' " 
 
 "If Monsieur will be reasonable but a short 
 time longer, I am sure all will be explained to 
 his satisfaction. My province is but to inform 
 him that these rooms are his in which to make 
 himself at home, that his breakfast will be 
 served here within half an hour and that, soon 
 after, an old acquaintance will give himself the 
 satisfaction of a friendly call. Until then, I 
 venture to beg Monsieur to remember the dan- 
 gers of our climate, and to confine his impa- 
 tience to the limits of his suite. His bags will 
 be brought directly. Our servants have no lan- 
 guage in common with Monsieur. ' ' With which 
 he bowed from the waist, departed from the 
 room, and Hale heard a key turn in the lock of 
 the door he had closed behind him. 
 
 Alone, he walked once more to the window. 
 Before him opened one of the most glorious 
 sweeps of land and sky he could have imagined. 
 But he gave its beauty of color, ruggedness of 
 contour, and range of vision, scant considera- 
 tion. He was conscious only of the rough-
 
 236 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 garbed man who slunk amongst the trees to the 
 right of the space left open on the mountain's 
 edge. There was a boar-like brutality in the 
 swarthy, bearded face which told Hale, in no 
 halting terms, that, aside from any loyalty he 
 might acknowledge, he would kill for the sheer 
 pleasure of killing. 
 
 For a moment he gazed into the distance. 
 Beyond a river, which flowed through brown 
 plains, he saw the vague outline of an ancient 
 citadel on the crest of a hill, miles away. Be- 
 neath it was that haze which hovers above a 
 city; beyond were other mountains, as grim as 
 the one on which he was held. He knew the 
 city must be Nirgendsberg, for there was none 
 other within the basin which could boast even 
 its minor size. In his helplessness, its near- 
 ness drew his lips into a thin line and he turned 
 away, every muscle rigid. 
 
 Dreaming would accomplish nothing. Action 
 alone could count now, yet he had learned that 
 the acts of impulse bore bitter fruit. The more 
 hopeless the situation, the greater the need for 
 meeting it with unspent brain and strength.
 
 DREAMS FADE 237 
 
 Although his heart urged him to return and 
 dream of her who must be somewhere at his 
 feet, his intelligence drove him to follow the 
 advice of the man who had completed his cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 His bath added a keen edge to an appetite 
 which neither rage nor contempt had dulled. 
 He ate in silence, but determined that it should 
 be his last meal at Wolkensberg, and as he 
 pushed back his chair, his hand went instinc- 
 tively to his pocket for the pipe. With a short 
 laugh, he remembered it had been taken from 
 him at the frontier by a guard who had thought 
 it had felt like a second gun. But the servant 
 seemed to read his disappointment and, from 
 the center table, brought a great box of cig- 
 arettes. Of a truth, the hospitalities of Wol- 
 kensberg were perfection in their every detail. 
 
 As he drew his first long, grateful puff, 
 yearning overcame all else and he started once 
 more for the window but, before he was half 
 across the room, the sound of the key brought 
 him to a halt. Turning, he faced the entrance. 
 He welcomed the next move, but had no inten-
 
 tion of initiating it. Another moment and the 
 door opened. 
 
 "Bon jour, Monsieur Hale!" 
 
 Although his eyes narrowed, a faint smile 
 played about the corners of Hale's mouth. He 
 had expected the appearance of the suave old 
 diplomat as certainly as he intended to blast 
 his unknown plans. 
 
 "Eon jour, Monsieur le Count!" he replied 
 with an equal calmness, although his fingers 
 twitched with longing. 
 
 Count Otto came forward with dapper step, 
 his face devoid of all emotion, his gray eyes 
 fixed on Hale. 
 
 "I assume," he began at once, "that you 
 would like an explanation for what may seem 
 my too ardent anxiety to have you taste the 
 hospitality of Wolkensberg. " 
 
 "Come out of the fogs of dreams and diplo- 
 macy for a while and talk like a man," ordered 
 Hale bluntly. "You've apparently acquired a 
 sudden command of English ; use it sparingly. ' ' 
 
 "Monsieur is impatient." 
 
 "At least," he agreed drily.
 
 COUNT OTTO CAME FORWARD WITH DAPPER STEP
 
 DREAMS FADE 239 
 
 "Would you object if I made myself at home, 
 sat down, smoked one of your cigarettes and 
 reasoned with you as an older with a younger 
 man?" 
 
 "I don't give a damn what you do, so long 
 as you do it quickly. ' ' 
 
 The count proceeded as if he had been ac- 
 corded a gracious welcome, but, even as he set- 
 tled himself by the table, he snapped a dismissal 
 to the servant who had taken station by the 
 door. His eyes never left the face before him 
 as he lit his cigarette, tossed the match into the 
 fire and blew a thin, blue cloud of smoke. 
 
 "Hale," he said at length, "so long as you 
 were the one to introduce the adjective, allow 
 me to echo it, you've made a damn fool of 
 yourself. ' ' 
 
 "Thanks." 
 
 The answering gesture was that with which 
 a modest man dismisses fulsome expression of 
 gratitude. 
 
 "You have not only ventured to match wits 
 with men of far greater ability and experi- 
 ence," he continued, "but you have interfered
 
 240 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 with their private concerns. Such presumption 
 was treated rather indifferently so long as it 
 was confined to an impossible love affair, but, 
 when you stepped over the bounds of the ridicu- 
 lous to attempt an abduction, you invited seri- 
 ous attention." 
 
 "Your age is a powerful protection, Count; 
 don't over-tax it." 
 
 "I need no protection other than what has 
 been provided," was the cold reply. "To con- 
 tinue : It w'as sincerely hoped by two of us, who 
 had come to admire your courage and ready 
 wit, that you would recognize the wisdom of 
 returning to your own country and there for- 
 getting the fact that our princess is merely a 
 susceptible girl, with a tender, but inexperi- 
 enced heart. Wait ! " he commanded, as he saw 
 Hale start. "You asked plain words; you're 
 to get them." 
 
 "Then omit her name." 
 
 "Don't think I would introduce it, could it 
 be avoided; remember you are the one who 
 brought her into the affair. But, to safe- 
 guard our plans," he went on, as if there had
 
 DREAMS FADE 241 
 
 been no interruption, "we left word to have 
 your movements watched, and to have you fol- 
 lowed should you be so insane as to attempt to 
 enter Nirgendsberg. You elected to enter Nir- 
 gendsberg. Your success cannot be far short 
 of humiliation. I regret to be the one to hold 
 up the mirror. Frankly, Hale, were your 
 predicament not so puerile, it would be ludi- 
 crous." 
 
 4 'With equal frankness," he answered 
 smoothly, ' ' I might be able to find the situation 
 laughable, were it not for the minor fact that 
 you have dishonored the credentials of a larger 
 power, have opened yourself to grave reprisals, 
 and have added, to international insult, a 
 flagrant outrage to a foreign traveler in the 
 form of abduction, followed by imprisonment 
 and murderous threats." 
 
 A vague smile slid across Count Otto's face. 
 "Granted," he replied; "but what is the re- 
 sult? Nirgendsberg is, unfortunately, under 
 soviet rule and no nation recognizes the Bol- 
 shevik. He is a law unto himself. Were you 
 further south or west, your case would be un-
 
 242 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 arguable. As it is " He shrugged his shoul- 
 ders. 
 
 Hale saw the truth of it, yet was far from 
 showing his inner feelings. 
 
 "In other words, Count, I am in the same 
 boat as the orphan child held by bandits for 
 ransom. ' ' 
 
 "The simile is not inapt, although I assure 
 you we would be glad to be rid of you without 
 the formality of a ransom," he confessed, with 
 a smile. 
 
 "That is easily accomplished." 
 
 "On what conditions!" 
 
 "A safe conduct for two to civilization." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "I have no other," declared Hale. 
 
 The count inclined his head gravely. 
 
 1 1 1 have already paid sufficient compliment to 
 your determination; there is no call for us to 
 squander patience on useless arguments. But 
 I suggest you give me credit for equal deter- 
 mination. Vital necessity of more powerful 
 men than you demands your elimination from 
 what is no longer a personal, but a national,
 
 DREAMS FADE 248 
 
 matter. Were Her Highness not the keystone 
 of an arch already built, were she only a repre- 
 sentative of an aristocracy, were it even that she 
 were my own daughter, I would be the first to 
 offer her my sincerest congratulations. But, as 
 it is, I tell you, without reservation or equivoca- 
 tion, that you shall not see her again until the 
 ancient crown of her fathers has been set upon 
 her head, and she has been elevated forever 
 above your reach." 
 
 Hale studied him through half-closed eyes 
 and his voice sounded strangely devoid of pas- 
 sion when, at last, he spoke. 
 
 "For the moment," he acknowledged, "you 
 hold the whip. I am in no position to make 
 threat or promise; I am in no mood for argu- 
 ments which can be only fruitless. Our pur- 
 poses are beyond the realm of compromise. 
 Even in what you are pleased to consider as the 
 ludicrousness of my position, my sense of the 
 ridiculous does not blind me to the fact that 
 every card you have put face down was dealt 
 from a cleverly stacked pack. I can but try to 
 be as generous as you. Count Otto, I con-
 
 244 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 gratulate you both on your servants and on 
 your mastery of rascality. ' ' 
 
 Count Otto leaned forward to drop the ash 
 from his cigarette into a tray at his right, and 
 there was no tremor in his hand, nor sign of 
 resentment in his attitude, as he sank back into 
 his chair. 
 
 "Neither of us can find lasting pleasure in 
 prolonging a discussion which can have but one 
 end," he observed. "I have accepted your 
 declaration that you will listen to no sugges- 
 tion of compromise ; I ask you to believe that I 
 am as unalterably committed to my purpose. 
 Let us say that what you believe to be the irre- 
 sistible force has met what I consider to be 
 the immovable object. The result of that crash 
 has always been a matter for speculation and, 
 so long as we can find the answer only in the 
 future, I should much prefer to await it in 
 something more pleasurable than open hostil- 
 ity." 
 
 "You're the one who must make any offer." 
 
 "I assure you I quite appreciate that," he 
 retorted drily. * * To prove your inability to do
 
 DREAMS FADE 245 
 
 more than accept, permit me to call to your at- 
 tention a few facts which should have weight 
 with your reply. You have been brought into 
 Nirgendsberg without the formality of crossing 
 the frontier. There are no records of your 
 journey ; no trail for friends to follow. You are 
 at my hunting lodge, about which spreads a vast 
 estate. Even though my country has been in 
 the throes of bolshevism, my servants are in- 
 corruptible. They have been informed that it 
 is my wish no word of your arrival be whis- 
 pered, or no possibility of your escape per- 
 mitted, and my wish is their law. Should you 
 attempt to leave without my consent, I accept 
 no responsibility for your death. I think that 
 is plain?" 
 
 "It's at least frank." 
 
 "It is," agreed the count soberly, "brutally 
 stated and mercilessly to be carried out. You 
 are to be kept here until the change in govern- 
 ment has been effected at Nirgendsberg. Then 
 you will be escorted to the frontier and allowed 
 to resume your own business." 
 
 "And for how long am I to be prisoner! "
 
 246 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 The barest suggestion of amusement flickered 
 across Count Otto's face. 
 
 1 'Already you know too much about our 
 plans," he said. "What I wish you to know 
 is that you may assume the role of my welcome 
 guest. The resources of Wolkensberg are un- 
 impaired, the possibilities for sport unusual, the 
 arrangements for comfort all that I, who spend 
 my leisure here, can provide. I will endeavor 
 to provide all that you may suggest to make 
 your visit seem both short and entertaining. 
 You will have the freedom of the whole estate, 
 and all it contains and, in return, I ask only 
 your given word that you will not attempt to 
 leave or to communicate by any method with 
 any one beyond its boundaries." 
 
 "To that," asked Hale, "there is an alterna- 
 tive?" 
 
 "There is," agreed the count as frankly. 
 "Your parole refused, and you will be treated, 
 not as the gentleman you are, but as a political 
 prisoner who merits no consideration. The 
 time for play-acting has passed, Monsieur Hale ; 
 the choice rests with you."
 
 DREAMS FADE 247 
 
 For a long, tense moment Hale studied the 
 now stem face, then his laugh rang through 
 the room. 
 
 "I prefer my self-respect/* he said con- 
 temptuously, "to your companionship."
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 
 
 HALE had chosen with open eyes, yet, even 
 in his determination neither to give nor take 
 mercy, he had not imagined such swift savagery 
 of action. There was no trace of servility in 
 the commands of the two men who had entered 
 immediately upon Count Otto's silent exit. 
 Hale had followed them because he saw only 
 too plainly that he must go either upon his own 
 feet, or unconscious. Naida had warned him 
 against the brutality of her land, and now the 
 mask had fallen to expose its barbaric remorse- 
 lessness. 
 
 From the luxury of the lodge he was taken 
 to a bare room above the stables, thrust in, 
 locked in, left alone. Along one wall was an 
 army cot, in the center a wooden table. The 
 inner walls were of wood, but the outer of the 
 same rough stone from which all Wolkensberg 
 
 248
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 249 
 
 was constructed. The one chair offered no 
 ease; there was nothing which could afford 
 means to make slow time pass less tediously. 
 The only window was small and its first cheer- 
 ing promise was quickly blighted. Before he 
 had been there ten minutes a ladder thudded 
 against its sill, and a man appeared to fit metal 
 bars. 
 
 He had nothing to do but think, yet, turn and 
 twist his predicament as he would, he could 
 find small comfort and smaller hope. Only his 
 indomitable will to take Naida beyond the reach 
 of this ruthless crew, who would not stop, even 
 at the sacrifice of the future of an innocent girl, 
 kept him from giving up in despair. There 
 seemed nothing he could do, no way in which 
 he could escape from the trap which held him 
 fast. 
 
 Hour after hour dragged away. He would 
 have given much could he have tricked Count 
 Otto into admitting how soon the final curtain 
 was to be rung up. Again he was fighting 
 against time, but now the hands of Fate's clock 
 must be moving swiftly, for he was positive
 
 250 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 that, no matter how secure the men who were 
 behind his imprisonment might say they 
 felt, they knew there was a limit beyond 
 which his disappearance would not be al- 
 lowed to remain a mystery by his powerful 
 friends. 
 
 He could see his only hope in the servants he 
 had been told were incorruptible and, there- 
 fore, he awaited the appearance of some jailor 
 with growing eagerness. They must bring him 
 food. When it was brought, he was determined 
 to test the count's faith in hirelings to the 
 breaking point. 
 
 It was not until late in the afternoon, how- 
 ever, that he heard the tramp of heavy boots 
 on stairs. He returned to the window and 
 stood, back to the door, as if their coming was 
 a matter of indifference. 
 
 Nor did he turn when firm steps crossed the 
 room. Came the thud of a burden deposited on 
 the table and, as if the noise had disturbed his 
 meditation, he turned. His teeth set in answer 
 to the ugly laugh which greeted him. There 
 was not one man, but two, and there before
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 251 
 
 him glowered that pair he had thrashed on that 
 road above Villars. 
 
 His heart sank. His slender hope snapped. 
 He turned slowly to face them, knowing there 
 was no hope here. The larger of the two 
 stepped forward, came on until he stood close. 
 Then, of a sudden, his ugly face went red and 
 his hand swung. Hale staggered as it crashed 
 against his head. 
 
 The blood lust surged through him. As he 
 caught his balance, he gathered for a spring. 
 It was better to fight it out here against any 
 odds than longer to suffer inactivity. But 
 then, as suddenly, intellect conquered passion. 
 These two would have started nothing they 
 were unprepared to finish. He was no longer 
 his own alone to consider. He had never ex- 
 pected to accept a blow unanswered, but now 
 he saw that a blow unreturned would be a blow 
 reserved to strike for Naida. His clinched fists 
 sank to his side and a contemptuous smile came 
 to his lips. 
 
 But the man was not to be defeated in his 
 purpose. Again he stepped forward. Again
 
 252 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 the fist struck. Bale's breath came in a sharp 
 gasp, but his self-control held. He knew now 
 he had seen through their plan. Helpless al- 
 ready, he was to be made still more helpless 
 by being beaten up on the excuse that he had 
 attacked his guards. 
 
 The brute before him was evidently bewil- 
 dered by such inaction. Thirsty for revenge, 
 he had no intention of being cheated. This 
 time Hale crashed back against the wall. 
 Again and again the fist went home until his 
 companion feared he would be robbed of his 
 share and crowded in. Hale went down under 
 the storm of punishment and they, snarling, 
 kicked him into insensibility. Then they left 
 him where he lay and locked the door. 
 
 How long he lay there, Hale neither knew nor 
 cared. It was dark when he at last found 
 strength to crawl to the cot and pull himself 
 onto it, only to sink again into oblivion. Much 
 later he believed he dreamed rough fingers were 
 mopping the blood from his head, and inquisi- 
 tive hands felt his aching chest as if curious to 
 ascertain if the ribs had withstood the heavy
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 253 
 
 boots. There was a vague nimble of conversa- 
 tion, an indistinct impression that one of his 
 visitors was the gray-haired master of Wolken- 
 berg, but, when he at last awoke, he was alone. 
 
 So sick he could barely raise himself to the 
 edge of the cot, he managed, by sheer will, to 
 stumble to the table and drink deep of the stale 
 water. It soothed the fever within him, but he 
 wanted fresh air. In some way he reached the 
 window. It was closed and, beyond the pane, 
 he saw the bars. They recalled everything to 
 his reeling brain, but, with a reckless swing, 
 he sent his fist through the glass and pressed 
 his face to the opening. And there, below and 
 miles away, as if a mere mirage, lay the city of 
 Nirgendsberg he had vowed to rob of its great- 
 est treasure. 
 
 He clung there, drinking strength through 
 his eyes, his head clearing under the cooling 
 draught. Never had he so longed for the girl 
 they kept him from, never before had he craved 
 sympathy, tenderness and comfort such as she 
 alone could give. He wanted to touch her 
 cheek, to feel the answering caress of soft palms
 
 254 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 on his burning forehead, to gather her into his 
 aching arms and to be assured by her that it 
 was all a frightful dream, and that only love 
 was lasting. 
 
 He knew that even such vitality as his could 
 not stand the continued sap of such brutality. 
 It were better to meet the next attack with 
 desperation instead of reason, to stake all on a 
 final throw, to attempt to batter his way to 
 freedom rather than wait on opportunity which 
 would retreat with each repetition of such mal- 
 treatment. He knew that, somewhere, she 
 waited for him ; it was not for him to wait until 
 it should be too late. 
 
 He tried to eat of what he found upon the 
 table. He needed strength, but the taste of food 
 was repellent. His head was clearing, but his 
 body cried aloud for rest. He knew he would 
 be no match, unarmed, for one man, let alone 
 the pair who had mauled him. He had no 
 weapon, no chance of possessing one. Yet 
 somewhere, somehow, he must find some weapon 
 which would give him a fighting chance. 
 
 The table knife was dull and blunt. Even
 
 OUT OF THE FAST 255 
 
 against the bars, it would take hours of cautious 
 work to make it threatening. The chair was 
 too light to offer more than short defense. He 
 turned to examine the table. Its legs were 
 straight and solid. If he could loosen one, he 
 would have at least a club. 
 
 It was heavy and his strength had not yet 
 returned. With nothing to free the nails, he 
 was afraid to wrench it loose lest the whole 
 thing break and announce his work to the first 
 man who should cross the threshold. He 
 worked at it with all the care he could muster, 
 hoping to free it so that, while it would be ready 
 when chance came, it would still support its load 
 and appear a firm part of the whole. 
 
 The task was slow. Each creak was a crash 
 to his strained nerves, and he did not know if 
 there were guards beyond the door. Should 
 one hear, and enter before the work was done, 
 he had but his two hands and, for the first time, 
 he doubted their sufficiency. 
 
 It was almost free now and he ventured a 
 final tug. There was a louder creak. Startled, 
 he straightened, heard an answering noise be-
 
 256 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 yond the door, and the turn of the key. Even 
 as the door opened, he straightened and, back 
 against the table, faced his chance, empty- 
 handed. 
 
 Yet it was neither of his old adversaries who 
 came in, but a small, thin man bearing a bowl 
 of water and a box which suggested a first aid 
 kit. His face was white and thin, the nose too 
 big for the large mouth, his hair black, and 
 there was something about the sloping shoul- 
 ders and gliding carriage that recalled some 
 other man of similar appearance who had 
 drifted across Hale's vision when life was less 
 turbulent. 
 
 Certainly there was nothing about him to sug- 
 gest any sort of indignity and, although Hale 
 had it in mind to start his escape on the instant, 
 there was a timid hesitancy in the man's en- 
 trance, and a queer, half -pleading, half -curious 
 look in his eyes, which made him hesitate before 
 he could bring himself to attack one who ap- 
 peared so innocent of evil intent. 
 
 His sense of fair play was rewarded with 
 sickening promptitude. Even before the new-
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 257 
 
 comer could reach the table with his burden, 
 the larger of Hale's former assailants lounged 
 into the doorway and stood there, gloating over 
 the results of his craftsmanship, a heavy re- 
 volver dangling in his hand. 
 
 The risk was too great. He knew he would 
 be shot before he could rush the door. His 
 teeth caught his lip. Then he threw back his 
 head. 
 
 "Karov must hear all," announced the 
 smaller man, before Hale could move, " there- 
 fore we shall continue to speak German, as I 
 attend your injuries." 
 
 He knew now why the little fellow seemed to 
 have emerged from a shadow. It was he who 
 had made that first examination. Nothing 
 would be gained by refusing his assistance; 
 every little contributed to his quick recovery 
 added so much to his chances, when opportunity 
 came. Without a word, he sat down on the cot. 
 
 The man approached with such complete 
 trustfulness, and began his work with such gen- 
 tleness, that Hale found himself far more grate- 
 ful for having spared him than for the minis-
 
 258 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 trations he was receiving. But, after a mo- 
 ment, this thought gave place to impatience. 
 He had never experienced such cautious treat- 
 ment, never imagined such a deliberate work- 
 man. The man talked as he puttered, but, as 
 Hale paid less and less attention, and made no 
 replies, his voice droned off into a mumbled 
 monotone. Even Karov, at ease against the 
 door, was frankly bored. 
 
 Hale had been gently pushed from his upright 
 position so that the examination of his chest 
 could be more thorough. His head was toward 
 the door. He could not see Karov, even had not 
 the other man been leaning over him, still chat- 
 tering to himself. Of a sudden only unexpected 
 strength, exerted on his sore ribs, kept him still. 
 Into the monotonous monologue began to steal 
 words in the English tongue. 
 
 "Many time have I Mr. Hale in his club bei 
 New York served," the voice droned. "But he. 
 Nike, for who he once save the job, forget. You 
 must answer not. I come more until no atten- 
 tion is pay me. Then shall I do what I shall 
 to repay. They abuse no more."
 
 _ OUT OF THE PAST 259 
 
 Hale's eyes were wide as he looked up into 
 the white face. He could not place the man, 
 certainly had no recollection of ever having 
 aided him. That he should find a friend here 
 seemed to border not even on the possible. It 
 must be some new form of deviltry, yet there 
 was something in the eyes, so close to his, which 
 cautioned him against rejecting even the weak- 
 est straw. 
 
 The fingers ceased their work and Nike 
 straightened, a frown on his forehead, his head 
 shaking dubiously as he picked up bowl and 
 box and hurried past the grinning Karov, who 
 promptly slammed the door. Hale, again 
 alone, lay where he was, searching the past 
 for memory of Nike. 
 
 It was no use. He could not place him. To 
 a man who helped his fellows as much by in- 
 stinct as through inclination, help given is for- 
 gotten at the completion of the act. Either 
 good nature or sympathy might have been re- 
 sponsible for a request to some steward to give 
 a blundering waiter another chance. Club ser- 
 vants were a cosmopolitan crew in the days
 
 260 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 just prior to the war. Need urged him to be- 
 lieve in Nike ; caution warned him to shun this 
 unexpected loaf floating home from unknown 
 waters. 
 
 He knew his chances to fight through to free- 
 dom unaided were almost nothing. Sane rea- 
 son confirmed that. Any outside help, no mat- 
 ter how feeble, would be of almost incalculable 
 value. But when all had been brutality and 
 treachery, judgment warned him against per- 
 mitting need to outweigh caution or hope to 
 smother suspicion. 
 
 The well-formed plans of Count Otto helped 
 to solve this new problem. Hale's determina- 
 tion had been conceded, and his desperateness 
 was outmatched. Both his original guards, and 
 the pair who shared their labors, took good care 
 to offer him no opening. When one entered, 
 the other remained by the door, gun ready. 
 Nike alone was permitted to approach within 
 striking distance of Hale. But Nike, true to 
 his promise, returned with greater frequence 
 than Hale 's condition warranted. Yet not once,
 
 OUT OF THE PAST 261 
 
 in the two succeeding days, did he utter another 
 word in English. 
 
 But that his plan had been well thought out 
 was proved by the bulky Karov's growing in- 
 difference to the putterer's ministrations. 
 Hale saw this, but also came to suppose that 
 Nike was but an instrument to lull him into 
 inaction. Time was passing too rapidly to per- 
 mit further delay. His strength recovered, he 
 determined to make his break that night. 
 
 He had no plan beyond gaining the open. 
 The rest could be solved when freedom was 
 won. In some way he would find Barezay, get 
 in touch with old Johann, find Naida. Once 
 at her side, all Nirgendsberg could challenge. 
 It was a forlorn hope, but it was all that re- 
 mained. Eeady, he waited the entrance of 
 Karov and his comrade with supper. 
 
 The key turned before its time. He was on 
 his feet. They had caught him unprepared. 
 
 As the door swung open, terror spread over 
 Nike's face at what he saw. ''Back! Quick!" 
 he hissed, and slipped an automatic from his
 
 262 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 familiar box, to hold it, butt forward, to the man 
 who would have murdered him. 
 
 Hale, sensing what he could not grasp, 
 grabbed it. "What is it f" 
 
 "Karov late is. Listen! All arrange are. 
 To-night against the window a ladder at ten 
 hour is. I cut ijie bars then. No noise make 
 but come. All arrange are. Here are the 
 sign." 
 
 Again the thin hand shot out, and Hale 
 gulped as he saw the knife he had given old 
 Johann back there in Territet. -He wanted to 
 shout. Instead, he crushed the thin fingers in 
 his. 
 
 "Where is she?" he whispered huskily. 
 
 "She safe yet a short time are. Quick! 
 Karov! Sit!" 
 
 He was bending over the scar on Hale 's head 
 when the lagging guard lounged into the door- 
 way. A moment more and Hale was again 
 alone.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE WOLVES OF WOLKENSBKRG 
 
 IT had come, not like the lightning from a 
 clear sky, but like a burst of sunlight through 
 the heart of a thunderstorm. He was dazed by 
 its suddenness, then triumphant, then torn by 
 dread again. What had Nike meant by saying 
 she was "safe yet a short time?" How long 
 was that time? Where was she? 
 
 How old Johann had learned of his where- 
 abouts, what plans had been laid, how they were 
 to be executed, were secondary. All that 
 counted was that his chance of reaching her had 
 changed from negative to positive. Armed, he 
 had no further doubts about handling Karov, 
 or all his three companions; guided, he would 
 not have to waste precious days in blind search 
 for Naida. 
 
 The hours which he had grudged became lag- 
 gards. His thoughts were so in the future, the 
 
 263
 
 264 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 dragging present was intolerable. Twenty 
 times he peered through the window, yet he 
 knew nothing would appear there until the hour 
 set. It took all his self-control to sit by the 
 bare table, to force a quietude which would lull 
 any suspicions his guards might have. 
 
 Seven, eight, nine o'clock limped into the 
 past. Again he examined the automatic; again 
 he assured himself no shell had vanished from 
 the clip; again and again a vision of a lovely, 
 blue-eyed girl, with eager arms outstretched, 
 swam before his brain. The stable was as 
 silent as a tomb. The night was black and 
 dead. 
 
 Another half hour. He had turned the chair 
 to face the window. Every muscle set, every 
 nerve taut, he fought himself to sit immovable. 
 Minutes became hours. His eyes left the win- 
 dow to stare at the slow-moving hands of his 
 watch. Ten minutes more and he must hear 
 the step of Nike on the drive. 
 
 There came, instead, another step. He heard 
 the sound of the key, the creak of the hinge. On 
 the threshold stood Count Otto, backed by
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 265 
 
 Karov and another of his men. Again time 
 turned from something to be hated to a thing 
 more precious than life. If the ladder touched 
 the sill with the three in the room, not only 
 Nike was lost but, with him, went the hope of 
 all who waited. Hale wheeled savagely. 
 
 1 ' One who 'a suffered the consideration I have 
 from you," he snapped, "might be spared the 
 final insult of your reappearance." 
 
 The old man bowed gravely as he came for- 
 ward, motioning his men to remain in the door- 
 way. 
 
 " Anything which may have happened could 
 have been averted by a display of calmer judg- 
 ment," he stated; "that which is about to be 
 attempted calls for even calmer consideration 
 from you." 
 
 Hale stiffened. Had Nike made a false step? 
 Had the count discovered their plans T Had he 
 come to block their opening move? There 
 seemed but one answer. The jaws of the trap 
 were being riveted instead of being pried open. 
 He must act and instantly. 
 
 "It is pleasant to be shown that your phys
 
 266 THE PRIXCESS NAIDA 
 
 ical respect for my consideration warrants the 
 presence of your thugs," he said. "I appre- 
 ciate the delicacy of the compliment. " 
 
 He saw the aristocratic face flush and struck 
 quickly. 
 
 "Send for the other pair," he taunted; "I'm 
 only one; you'd speak in greater security had 
 you four guns, instead of two, to back your 
 threats." 
 
 "A noble of Nirgendsberg can find no cause 
 for fear in the swashbuckling mouthings of an 
 American, Mr. Hale." 
 
 "Possibly. You're the only one I've known 
 intimately. My lif e has been spent among men, 
 heretofore." 
 
 It was too blunt. The well-shod heels clicked, 
 and the count bowed stiffly from this hips, his 
 face white with rage. 
 
 ' ' Even could I feel a more contemptuous pity 
 for you," he icily observed, "it would still be 
 impossible to tolerate your insult to the cour- 
 age of my race. ' ' He spoke to Karov, then, as 
 the two closed the door and stamped away, he 
 faced Hale. "I am unarmed," he announced;
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 267 
 
 "have you the courage to listen, or does in- 
 stinct urge you to strike down a gray-haired 
 man?" 
 
 Hale lunged again with the savagery of a 
 fencer who must make all of an unhoped-for 
 opening. 
 
 "Inclination urges me to do just that," he 
 asserted, "but instinct bids me remember my 
 hands are still unsoiled. If you have anything 
 to say, say it. I believe my courage to be fully 
 as reckless as yours, although I confess to a 
 certain physical distress your presence causes. 
 I speak of nausea, Count." 
 
 "Neither your physical nor your mental ills 
 interest me. In fact, your person has become 
 so inconsequential it is for that reason alone 
 I ventured to invite your resentment." 
 
 "That's too subtle." 
 
 "It's not the first time you've failed to com- 
 prehend the subtle, or measure the full portent 
 of the blunt. I will endeavor to remember I 
 deal with inexperience. In plainer words, I 
 come to inform you that to-morrow you are to 
 be taken to the frontier, and be turned loose on
 
 268 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 a long-suffering world. Our interest in you 
 has ceased." 
 
 1 'That's a lie," he declared coldly. "You 
 have not been able to force Naida to stoop to 
 such trickery." 
 
 "I thought we were to leave Her Highness 's 
 name from our conversations?" mocked the 
 count. 
 
 "Not when you attack her," snapped out 
 Hale. "Armed or unarmed, no man can 
 do that before me." He took a quick step 
 forward. "I wait your apology but an in- 
 stant." 
 
 A contemptuous smile curled the pale lips. 
 
 "Proof, in this case, is mere self-conceit," he 
 returned; "the fact that you are to be released 
 is sufficient. But, that in the future you may 
 buzz no more about our ears, I beg to state that 
 at sunrise a bloodless revolution will occur in 
 Nirgendsberg ; at nine Her Highness will be 
 proclaimed; and at high noon she will become 
 the consort of Prince Ivan Petrovitch; and at 
 six Mr. Hale will cross our frontier." 
 
 "Again I say you lie!"
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 269 
 
 " Vituperation becomes monotonous through 
 repetition. ' ' 
 
 Hale 's half -snarl, half -exclamation proved his 
 mental state. He dared not glance toward the 
 window. He must warn the man who must, by 
 now, be outside. Should Nike appear, Count 
 Otto had but to call, and Karov and his fellows 
 would respond. His ten shots would account 
 for some of them, but they would count for 
 little against Wolkensberg aroused. He 
 turned sharply away, as if fighting for 
 self-control; then, when under the window, 
 wheeled. 
 
 ' ' Count Otto, ' ' he cried, in a voice which rang, 
 "I give you thirty seconds to retract your re- 
 flection upon Her Highness. ' ' 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 "I'll shake the words through your loosened 
 teeth." 
 
 "I have but to raise my voice," sneered the 
 count. 
 
 "I knew your bravery was only bluff. Get 
 out!" 
 
 For the first time the mask slipped from the
 
 270 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 count's face and Hale saw the twitch of un- 
 controlled passion as the man came forward. 
 
 "I go," he snarled, "but, before I go, even 
 such as you shall be convinced no man may 
 throw the lie in the face of a count of Nirgends- 
 berg. I have the written compact, signed, 
 sealed and " 
 
 He stopped. Hale, too, heard that gentle 
 thud of the ladder on the sill. 
 
 "I'll take that compact," he said quietly, and 
 thrust his gun into Count Otto's face. "If you 
 so much as blink, I'll dash out your brains !" 
 
 Had he expected the man to show either ter- 
 ror or surprise, he was disappointed. The 
 count had been baited once into giving free rein 
 to his anger. He would make no second error 
 through fear. 
 
 ' * Who is at the window ? " he asked coldly. 
 
 1 ' Give me that compact. ' ' 
 
 "Put down that pistol; you're over-excited 
 and might do something you will regret." 
 
 "My patience is strained, Count." 
 
 It was characteristic of the count to shrug 
 his shoulders even in what he knew to be ex-
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 271 
 
 tremity. With one motion he drew a packet 
 from an inner pocket and tossed it on the table. 
 
 "As you will," he said indifferently, "even to 
 the future of Nirgendsberg. I face no need of 
 secrecy." 
 
 "Unless you're sick of life," augmented 
 Hale. "Get to work on those bars," he called 
 over his shoulder. "I've nothing to keep me 
 longer." 
 
 He saw the smile on the count's thin lips as 
 the latter turned his back contemptuously. 
 Yet, even as he turned, he stamped twice upon 
 the wooden floor. 
 
 "Have you nothing to keep you longer?" he 
 mocked. 
 
 Hale understood. One leap and he had him 
 by the throat. The next and he had hurled 
 him to the cot. A gutteral yell came from be- 
 low. The pre-arranged signal was understood. 
 
 "Nike," he shouted, "shoot if he moves." 
 
 There was no time to plan, no time even to 
 think. He knew he faced what he had hoped 
 to avoid, knew no quarter would be given, none 
 expected. Count Otto had tossed his own
 
 272 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 chance to live into the balance where swayed 
 the future of them all. Hale was ready to do 
 as much against far greater odds. The old 
 nobleman had faced a gun which, reading Hale 's 
 character aright, he had known would not ex- 
 plode. But Hale faced men who were hungry 
 to kill. 
 
 If he had to shoot, within the minute all Wol- 
 kensberg would hold him at bay. The table 
 fell with a crash but, before it struck the floor, 
 he was beside the entrance, the automatic 
 in his left hand, the table leg poised in his 
 right. 
 
 The door flung wide. Karov plunged in- 
 ward. There was a thud, a grunt and he lay 
 motionless at Hale 's feet. His companion tried 
 to stop, stumbled but, before he could shoot, 
 Hale had struck again. 
 
 He heard a sharp groan from the cot, a quick 
 gasp of relief from the window. 
 
 ' ' Hurry with those bars ! " he shouted. ' ' Are 
 the other two below?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "No," contradicted the count.
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 273 
 
 Hale flashed around on the huddled form on 
 the cot. 
 
 ' ' The price of my safety is silence, ' ' he stated 
 grimly. "We'll see who lies/' And twice he 
 stamped upon the floor. 
 
 Above the rasp of the file arose Nike's cry of 
 protest. On the cot the count stiffened with 
 expectancy. But Hale answered both men with 
 a reckless laugh. He saw his way. The mess 
 he was in must be mopped up behind him, else 
 warning would be given and escape cut off. 
 
 There came the pound of boots upon stairs. 
 The sickening heap on the threshold would tell 
 them the story. Caution would replace haste; 
 instead of obedience would cry revenge. They 
 would not enter headlong, but with pistols blaz- 
 ing. He had called them to fight. As if 
 afraid they might refuse, he carried the fight to 
 them. 
 
 As he leaped through the door, it was as if a 
 flashlight had set the picture on the negative 
 of his mind. The half who were left of the 
 four were on him. He saw their look of dumb 
 astonishment, heard the first sharp catch of
 
 274 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 breath, saw a revolver start its upward sweep 
 and swung the butt of his automatic full into a 
 savage face. 
 
 Behind him, the sound of rending bars an- 
 nounced that Nike was through. But help 
 would come too late. If his blow had gone 
 home, it was now only man to man. He dared 
 not pause to look behind. He saw a revolver 
 sweep downward. He had no time to whirl his 
 about. It fell clattering to the floor and, like 
 a wolf, he crouched, then sprang up and for- 
 ward. 
 
 His shoulder struck the outstretched wrist. 
 His eager fingers set upon a bull-like throat. 
 There was a crash of falling bodies, a grunt, a 
 gasp, the beat of thrashing heels upon the 
 boards, then silence. 
 
 It was the touch of warning fingers on his 
 back which made Hale look up at last. The 
 mingled terror and admiration in Nike's ex- 
 pression told him, more plainly than the 
 blackening face beneath him, that he was piling 
 cold-blooded murder on work already done. 
 He sprang to his feet.
 
 WOLVES OF WOLKENSBERG 275 
 
 ' * Drag them back there, ' ' he ordered. ' ' Why 
 did you leave the count ?" 
 
 Once more he entered his prison, but this time 
 with no sense of dread. What had been done, 
 had been. There was no room for either re- 
 gret nor remorse. Count Otto looked at him in 
 dumb wonderment. 
 
 "You!" he gasped. 
 
 "Yes. But you come next.'* He half -car- 
 ried him to the chair, then tore the sheets from 
 the cot. "Bind and gag any who need it," he 
 ordered Nike, and began his work on the count. 
 
 "None of you will be given a chance to rouse 
 the pack," he said, "but, before the gag is put 
 in your mouth, you're going to talk." 
 
 "That I will not do." 
 
 "I think you will." 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Think it over," he advised. "At present 
 Nirgendsberg seems safe to you. To-morrow 
 the old regime becomes the new. You have 
 your place in the rising sun already prepared. 
 You expect to bask in peace; to mingle again 
 with men from other courts who believe you to
 
 be human ; to lead Nirgendsberg back to the bor- 
 ders of civilization; and you are certain that 
 great will be your honor. But you forget that 
 there has been a witness to all that you have 
 done to me, you comfort yourself that my story 
 will be discredited, you forget how much I know 
 of your underhanded plot to sacrifice a girl to 
 your selfish ends.'* 
 
 "Mere idle threats, Monsieur !" 
 
 ' * I think not. At your elbow are some papers 
 which you stated held the future of Nirgends- 
 berg. They interest me as little as they worry 
 you. You are too old a hand at the game of 
 bluff to have made so grave an error, Monsieur. 
 The offer was too casual, the deceit too evident. 
 It will give me much pleasure to relieve you of 
 the responsibility of safe-guarding the real doc- 
 uments, from which you had hoped to avert at- 
 tention. ' ' 
 
 "There are no others." 
 
 1 ' I prefer to satisfy myself. ' ' He leaned for- 
 ward and searched the count 's pockets with fin- 
 gers which trembled. He saw the thin lips 
 waver; knew his own wild bluff had succeeded.
 
 277 
 
 Straightening, he slipped the sealed packet into 
 his own inner pocket. ''Nike," he ordered, 
 "give me that gag !" A moment later he stood 
 erect again. 
 
 "And now Monsieur le Count, " he said, "our 
 paths divide. You have fought and lied and 
 lost, like the gentleman you are. Good-by."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 ALTHOUGH but a few leagues to the west the 
 city of Nirgendsberg hummed like a hive up- 
 heaved, the ancient castle above the shallow 
 river seemed to dream lazily in the sunlight. 
 Beneath its weather-mellowed walls the com- 
 monplaces of a new day gathered slow momen- 
 tum, but within was neither excitement nor 
 languor. 
 
 A woman mounted broad stairs with a firm- 
 ness of step out of all keeping with the slender 
 lure of her perfect figure. The sharp tap of 
 her knuckles upon the door was scarce followed 
 by the moment's hesitancy due to custom be- 
 fore she raised the ancient latch. But, even as 
 she crossed the threshold, purpose vanished as 
 if behind a curtain. With fingers holding out- 
 spread skirts, she dropped an exaggerated cour- 
 
 278
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 279 
 
 tesy. "Good morning, Your Highness," she 
 said, in the tongue of Nirgendsberg. 
 
 From the deep-set window Naida turned, her 
 blue eyes cold with anger. "If I were that," 
 she stated, "you would show me real defer- 
 ence." 
 
 There was the rustle of silk and an arm went 
 around her waist. "My dear," begged the 
 Countess Barezay, "don't let memories blind 
 you to affection. I would be the last to wound 
 you, as I am the first to protect you. If I ap- 
 pear devoid of sympathy, it is because you look 
 at me with eyes dimmed with a passing ro- 
 mance such as every beautiful girl hides in her 
 secret heart." 
 
 "What I am too proud to hide," came the 
 even reply, "I am too loyal ever to forget." 
 
 The arm held her more firmly as the countess 
 drew her to a deeply cushioned couch. "It is 
 because you must learn how to forget that I 
 have come," she said in a new tone which vi- 
 brated with meaning. " It is because you must 
 bear all things with a bravery which is sup-
 
 280 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 posed to be the first attribute of your royalty, 
 that I ask you to be brave now." 
 
 "What is it? What has happened now?" 
 The big eyes were wide and the soft cheeks 
 white. 
 
 "There has been a grave accident." 
 
 It was scarcely more than a whisper, but 
 Naida was on her feet again, her head thrown 
 back, her graceful figure clad in a regality which 
 was not assumption. 
 
 "There has been enough of deceit and cruelty 
 and treachery," she stated coldly. "If you 
 have more falsehoods to utter, go where you 
 will be believed. ' ' 
 
 "It is because I, too, know the stab of dis- 
 appointment that I can forgive injustice, Naida. 
 That which every effort has been made to pre- 
 vent, occurred last night. Monsieur Hale made 
 an attempt to cross our frontier. His love for 
 you led to greater tragedy. He was shot in the 
 melee which followed his arrest." 
 
 For a long moment the girl looked into the 
 black eyes raised sorrowfully to hers. Then, 
 slowly, the red lips parted in contempt.
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 281 
 
 "I would have recognized a trick," she said, 
 "even had I not known a week ago he crossed 
 that same frontier/' 
 
 Had she thought her unexpected knowledge 
 would create confusion, she was disappointed. 
 Instead, the lines of distress on the high fore- 
 head deepened. 
 
 "So you knew!" she sighed. "I am sorry, 
 Naida. Hope revived dies in the greater 
 agony. I wanted to make it easier, to spare you 
 the true story of an ugly thing. It is true he 
 has been in Nirgendsberg, but it is also true 
 there was murder done for which he was justly 
 held. Last night he attempted to escape. 
 Even you, who believe he could do no wrong, 
 must respect the law of self-defense and feel 
 only pity for those forced to shoot him down. 
 Yet, after all, he died as he would have wished, 
 fighting for you and with your name on his 
 lips." 
 
 "Nothing in Nirgendsberg, nor in the whole 
 world, can keep him from me," she stated 
 simply. 
 
 "Why should I add lies to honest grief?"
 
 282 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 ' * I do not know ; all I know is what my heart 
 tells me. That alone I believe. ' ' 
 
 1 'Any woman clings to hope," grieved the 
 countess, "because the sweetest things in life 
 are only dreams. Yet necessity demands you 
 be made to realize the full tragedy of what 
 has occurred. His love was as great as yours, 
 dear, but, because he was a man, he saw more 
 clearly, even when death fogged his eyes, and 
 he knew that his was to be the easier part. 
 ' Tell her, ' he said, ' to rule in Nirgendsberg as 
 she would have ruled in my heart. Tell her to 
 be brave and to be as loyal to the many as she 
 was to the one. ' ' ' 
 
 For an instant white teeth closed on a trem- 
 bling lip. 
 
 "That much sounds true," she murmured; 
 "that he might have said. But, before he 
 would have said it," she added in a different 
 voice, "he would have fought his way to me 
 and given his commands to me alone." 
 
 ' l The spirit was there, Naida, but the strength 
 failed." 
 
 Again the small head went up proudly.
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 283 
 
 "How little you know him!" she said. 
 
 The countess rose with an exclamation which 
 expressed both grief and pity. 
 
 "From what I know," she gently answered, 
 "I can understand your abiding faith. But 
 fact remains. It is unfair to allow you to cling 
 to false hopes, dear. While I would be kind, 
 that is not kindness. So long as you refuse to 
 believe me, will you talk with one who was at 
 Wolkensberg, and who can substantiate fact by 
 detail?" 
 
 ' ' No one can make me doubt my heart. ' ' 
 
 "But," the countess argued softly, "your 
 heart must listen to your brain. It is because 
 your love is so great that you must play the 
 woman capable of experiencing such love. It 
 was because he loved you that he asked you, 
 with his dying breath, to do those things you 
 refused to do while you thought him alive. It 
 is not for me to point out your duty to you. 
 All I ask is that you listen to truth you cannot 
 doubt." 
 
 "I'm listening to that proof. I've told you, 
 you, nor any one, can make me doubt my heart.
 
 284 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 I don't know what you hope to gain; I don't 
 know why you try to torture me. All I know is 
 that he said that, when I needed him, he would 
 come. And he will," she repeated softly, "be- 
 cause because I love him and he said he 
 would. ' ' 
 
 "Circumstances make such faith more piti- 
 ful," confessed the countess. "You must be 
 made to realize what has happened. I 've tried 
 to be gentle and sympathetic. Either the sin- 
 cerity of my pity has made me blunder, or your 
 mind has broken under the blow. It is because 
 you must be made to comprehend, before it is 
 too late to rescue reason, that I insist you listen 
 to some one else.*' 
 
 "If my mind could break, you would have 
 broken it long ago," she answered brave- 
 ly. "Now that has failed, you strike at my 
 heart." 
 
 "It is because you suffer that you would have 
 others suffer, dear. Were there treatment less 
 heroic, I would try it. As it is " Her voice 
 died away as she shook her head disconsolately, 
 then, with quick, determined steps, she went to
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 285 
 
 the door. "Your help is needed, Paul," she 
 said and stood aside. 
 
 It was Czernos who entered, leaner than be- 
 fore but, in spite of his philosophy, a trifle 
 awed. For the fraction of a second he hesi- 
 tated, torn between allegiance and independ- 
 ence, for the girl who watched him with cold 
 disdain was every inch the princess. The re- 
 covery of his self-assurance was quick, how- 
 ever, and his sharp black eyes met hers chal- 
 lengingly. 
 
 "You have my sympathy," he said. 
 
 "I need even the sympathy of my enemies," 
 she gravely acknowledged. 
 
 "I regret that Your " 
 
 * * Stop ! ' T Her command was low-spoken, but 
 in it was a note which commanded obedience. 
 "I am only a defenseless girl, but not too weak 
 to resent such open ridicule. ' ' 
 
 A slow flush spread over the sallow face. 
 
 "You misunderstand both my feelings and 
 my words." he said. 
 
 "I have no wish to discuss either with you," 
 she answered haughtily.
 
 286 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "The interview is not of my seeking." 
 
 "Nor of mine." 
 
 "But of mine," claimed the countess on the 
 instant. "Czernos can tell you at first hand 
 what occurred at Wolkensberg last night." 
 
 Naida's lips parted in unconcealed contempt. 
 
 "If they tried to murder a man at Wolkens- 
 berg last night," she said, "the fact that your 
 friend is here proves he was too far in the back- 
 ground to give his testimony weight. ' ' 
 
 "Have patience with her, Paul," urged the 
 countess. "You can see it was as we feared. 
 She is beside herself." 
 
 The girl looked from one to the other with 
 utter disdain. 
 
 "There seems but one way to end this intru- 
 sion, ' ' she announced. ' ' I have said I am help- 
 less. Please be brief." 
 
 Czernos bowed stiffly. Yet, despite his anger, 
 he felt a discomforting admiration for this girl, 
 who, of all Nirgendsberg, faced him without 
 show of fear. The distance at which she kept 
 him, her uncompromising hostility, her ability 
 to remain mistress of herself, her hauteur and
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 287 
 
 the cold, sweet beauty of her passionless face 
 made him, opportunist that he was, grasp the 
 full possibilities of a future in which he should 
 rule behind the throne she graced. 
 
 "I will be as brief as only a man who must 
 recount a brutal thing in brutal words must be 
 brief," he agreed, his innate love for the dra- 
 matic and the oratorical sweeping aside all else 
 but the effect his words should create. "The 
 sympathy you reject is sincere, for it is the sym- 
 pathy of a true man for a tender woman who 
 has lost a friend who was noble in the true 
 meaning of the word. I had heard, as I hear 
 all things which concern the welfare of our 
 land, that he had entered Nirgendsberg, that 
 what I considered unjustly high-handed methods 
 had been employed to detain him and I went 
 at once to Wolkensberg. M 
 
 He saw the erect body become more rigid, 
 saw the quick-caught breath and misunder- 
 stood their true significance. 
 
 "It was my purpose to reason with Count 
 Otto," he went on, his words gathering smooth- 
 ness as his own delight in their sound in-
 
 288 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 creased. ''It was my intent to prove to him 
 his headstrong desire would work great evil to 
 the country which even I admit he holds above 
 all else. The unwilling guest of Wolkensberg, 
 no matter what effort was made to make his 
 stay enjoyable, must create, in time, an inter- 
 national complication detrimental to us. Even 
 as I pointed out the gravity of the situation, 
 came a single shot. For a moment there was 
 silence. "We were frozen to dread inactivity. 
 Came other shots, quick, sharp, terrorizing. 
 There was a rush of feet, shouts, yells, a cry 
 of agony, and we were out into the night. Be- 
 fore us was confusion. Guns flashed. Men 
 fell. Then silence once more." 
 
 He paused to draw a hand across his eyes. 
 The dainty handkerchief in the countess's cold 
 fingers was crushed to a tiny ball. Only 
 Naida's face remained unmoved. 
 
 "We raised him gently," he said, scarcely 
 above a whisper; "we carried him within the 
 house. We did all that human hands could do, 
 all that human minds could conceive. It was 
 in vain. So died a man."
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 289 
 
 "But " And again the trained voice rose 
 and there was the ringing note of hope reborn 
 beneath its somber cadence. "But," he re- 
 peated, "you have been given the purport of 
 that parting hope, that last great command of a 
 man who lived and died worthy of such perfect 
 trust as yours. To be loyal to the many, as 
 you have been loyal to the one: to rule in Nir- 
 gendsberg as you would have ruled in only one 
 heart." 
 
 He paused to drive home the effect of his next 
 words the more forcefully and there was a new 
 humbleness in his tone when he spoke. 
 
 "I know I tear at the most sacred things in a 
 breaking heart, ' ' he confessed ; " I know my way 
 is rough, my words uncouth. That is because 
 I am a man. But, because I am a man, I would 
 build even upon the devastation which has over- 
 whelmed a perfect love. It is our way to de- 
 stroy before we create, but this time it has been 
 given me to build upon the ruins another wan- 
 tonly made. And my satisfaction at being ac- 
 corded such opportunity to prove both my out- 
 raged feelings and my sympathy is the greater
 
 290 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 because it is within my power to carry out the 
 wish of him who will live always in our 
 memories. 
 
 "He asked that you might rule. I step aside. 
 You know a revolution has been planned. So 
 far as I am concerned, it is over. My heart is 
 all for Nirgendsberg. Into your empty one I 
 ask you to take our country, to rule over it as he 
 wished, to show others, as you have shown me, 
 that you are a generous woman who can face the 
 past unfalteringly and the future with the 
 knowledge that those whom you feel have done 
 you injury will devote their lives to your serv- 
 ice." 
 
 "Are you through?" she asked icily. 
 
 "With words, yes; with loyal action I have 
 but begun, Your Highness." 
 
 "I have heard much of the Bolshevik," she 
 observed indifferently; "I had still to learn the 
 full measure of their self-interest. You keep 
 strange company, Countess." 
 
 "He has told you the truth, Naida, and he 
 has given you his loyalty and offered you a 
 throne. ' '
 
 HE HAS TOLD YOU THE TRUTH, XAIDA '
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 291 
 
 "I want neither." 
 
 The slender hands went out in quick plead- 
 ing. 
 
 "But what else remains?" she asked. 
 
 "Even were the things you have told me 
 true, ' ' she declared, ' ' I would not stoop so low. 
 Had I any loyalty left for the land which re- 
 jected me, you two have killed it forever with 
 your lies and your treachery. I did not believe 
 your plot at first ; I could not ; it was all so piti- 
 ful. He tried to make me see it, to make me 
 understand the terrible selfishness of it all ; but 
 'I thought my duty was here. I thought so 
 until the ambitions of such as you made you 
 snatch me from a happiness postponed, and 
 bring me here a prisoner, as you brought him. 
 But I tell you now that nothing you can do can 
 force me to put the crown of Nirgendsberg upon 
 my head." 
 
 The countess recognized defeat and turned to 
 Czernos, her black eyes flashing. 
 
 "It is for you," she said, "to bear witness I 
 have done all they asked. I was convinced from 
 the first that my way was the only one. She is
 
 292 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 mentally unbalanced; a regency is necessary. 
 You and Count Otto must attend to the de- 
 tails. " 
 
 1 'What do you mean?" 
 
 For the first time Naida showed fright. 
 
 "That you will be princess in name, if not in 
 fact, Your Highness. We have gone too far to 
 be blocked by a sentimental girl. ' ' 
 
 "It is true,'* echoed Czernos gravely. "It 
 is the only way out. A regency will be dif- 
 ficult to explain but anything can be ex- 
 plained," he added with a laugh. 
 
 "I doubt that, Paul." 
 
 He whirled at the low-spoken statement from 
 the doorway, to find himself staring into the 
 grave face of the white-haired Baron Barezay. 
 The room was utterly silent as the old man 
 stepped forward. With a grave nod, he ad- 
 dressed the countess. 
 
 "My hope was," he said dispassionately, 
 "that no circumstance would make it necessary 
 for me ever to cross the threshold of my dead 
 son's wife." 
 "Our dislike is mutual," she blazed.
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 293 
 
 "It is of too small consequence to note now,'* 
 he corrected. 
 
 "How did you get here?" Czernos gulped, 
 rather than asked. 
 
 "Before this, prisons have been known to 
 give up their intended dead. We have come " 
 
 There was a quick, low cry, a moment's hesi- 
 tancy, a confirming nod and Naida darted 
 across the room. 
 
 "They tol' to me that you were dead; but I 
 know that love such as are to you an' me shall 
 nevair die, ' ' she cried triumphantly. ' ' See how 
 the faith of me are reward'!" 
 
 Hale, his face drawn with the strain he had 
 endured, his clothes flecked with the mud of a 
 wild ride through the night, tenderness dim- 
 ming eyes which sparkled with excitement born 
 of what he had seen happen, caught both her 
 hands in his and held them fast. 
 
 "Baron Barezay supplies touching reun- 
 ions!" sneered his daughter-in-law. "Should 
 he care to linger where he is not welcome, he 
 might see fit to explain his abrupt entry with 
 his friend."
 
 294 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 "It will not interest me," stated Czernos and 
 started for the door. 
 
 Hale sprang from Naida's side to block the 
 way. 
 
 "I'd remain, however," he advised. 
 
 Czernos could not understand the words but 
 the threat in the cool voice was unmistakable. 
 He glanced at the countess and was answered 
 by a shrug. 
 
 Barezay faced the woman who had wrecked 
 the most precious thing in his life. 
 
 "Because one I loved believed you honest," 
 he said, measuring his words, "you may leave 
 Nirgendsberg ; but you shall never return. The 
 plot to which your greedy ambition gave birth 
 has failed. The revolution you planned has 
 occurred. But it was led by honest patriots. 
 When you sank to violence, you aroused vio- 
 lence and you have reaped as you have sown. 
 You threatened an innocent girl; you mal- 
 treated a man. It was given me to help him 
 a little ; it was his to give you all into our hands. 
 The proofs he brought me from Wolkensberg 
 weighed down scales already wavering. Nir-
 
 A TRUE PRINCESS 295 
 
 gendsberg is no longer soviet or principality, 
 but republic." 
 
 The countess sank down upon the couch, even 
 her lips white, but Czernos whimpered aloud. 
 It was Hale who caught him by the shoulder 
 and thrust him into the hall. 
 
 * ' Below, ' ' he said, * ' wait many men to whom 
 you showed the light of Reason. They would 
 repay their debt. Go!" 
 
 For a moment he stood there listening, stern 
 and cold. Then, as if the past had slipped 
 away, he turned and on his face was only ten- 
 derness. 
 
 ' * Naida, ' ' he said, with a laugh which almost 
 broke, "go thank Barezay for us both." 
 
 The blue eyes widened, then, with a little cry, 
 she darted across the room to fling soft arms 
 about the aged shoulders and kiss the withered 
 cheek. But even as Barezay straightened, the 
 blue eyes came back to the man they hungered 
 for, and into their depths stole the smallest 
 hint of that old, mischievous witchery. 
 
 "An' then?" she whispered.
 
 296 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 He took three great strides and caught her in 
 his arms. 
 
 "There is a land," he said, "where every girl 
 is a princess. You've been too long deprived 
 of your rightful throne." 
 
 "My throne?" 
 
 For a moment the lovely little face was raised 
 to his, but now the blue eyes were both ques- 
 tioning and wistful. Then a great, glad light 
 broke over her. 
 
 "Oh!" she sighed. "I onderstan'." 
 
 THE END
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA 
 DALE 
 
 Another GLAD Book 
 
 Trade Mark 
 
 By John Francis, Jr. 
 
 Cloth decorative, I2mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 This new novel, marking the advent of a hitherto 
 unknown writer of fiction, offers, along with a delight- 
 ful romance of youth, a tinge of scintillating humor 
 that stamps itself indelibly on the mind of the reader, 
 and evokes many a sympathetic chuckle. It fairly 
 bubbles over with exuberant cheerfulness, and is sure 
 to inject a good share of its unlimited store of "What's 
 good for the world " into every one who is lucky enough 
 to read it. 
 
 Furthermore, the peculiar magnetism of the char- 
 acters is such that the reader cannot believe they are 
 merely book creatures, and, we wager they are not. 
 Virginia Dale, the heroine, is a Good Samaritan, Miss 
 Sunshine, and Glad Heart all of these and yet the 
 most natural young person imaginable, and as she pro- 
 gresses in her mission of " brightening up the corner " 
 she builds for her own future one of the most beautiful 
 characters fiction has ever claimed. 
 
 The story is essentially a " character " story, but 
 this does not detract from the plot what it just seems to 
 get in the natural course of things, for, as a venerable 
 reader once aptly remarked : " When story folk act 
 natural, we ain't goin' to f orgit 'em." 
 
 &BBX3&XBX8CK8Xtt^
 
 THE PRINCESS NAIDA 
 
 jBy Brewer Corcoran 
 
 Author of " The Road to Le Reve," etc. 
 
 \ Cloth decorative, I2mo, illustrated by H. Weston Taylor, 
 
 $1.90 
 
 Adventure and romance are the keynotes of this new 
 novel by Brewer Corcoran adventure which will 
 stir the blood of every lover of fast-moving action and 
 culminative plot, and romance which will charm all 
 who have a tender spot for a lovably beautiful girl and 
 a regular " he " man. It is a tale of today, set amid 
 the mountains of Switzerland and the ugly rocks of 
 Bolshevism on which is wrecked the mythical princi- 
 pality of Nirgendsberg a story of a brave little 
 princess who puts unfaltering faith in American man- 
 hood and resourcefulness and finds a newer and a better 
 throne. Bill Hale is the sort of hero who would win any 
 girl's love a clever, capable chap with two fists and J 
 a keen sense of humor. Whether he is matching wits 
 with suave Count Otto, romping with tiny Janos, fight- 
 ing for his life in the hunting lodge at Wolkensberg or 
 pleading for the love of his "princess who is all girl," 
 he is a man. The story of his fight for all that counts 
 in life is told with a rush and sweep of action which 
 will hold the reader breathless. The dialogue, like that 
 in Mr. Cprcoran's other books, sparkles with humor, 
 but there is a certain pleasurable grimness in his method 
 of handling the Bolshevik which will strike an answer- 
 ing note in every true American heart today. 
 
 "A romance of vivid interest, a love story full of 
 youth and adventures that thrill. The dialogue is 
 unusually clever, the characters delightfully real, the 
 plot one that holds the reader's interest to the end." 
 New York Sun. 

 
 A FLOWER OF MONTEREY: 
 
 A Romance of the Californias 
 S By Katherine B. Hamill 
 
 Cloth decorative, ismo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 The wealth, beauty and sunshine of the Calif ornias in 
 the days when Spain controlled our western coast and 
 England looked with covetous eyes, form the setting 
 for this beautiful and artistic romance by a new author. 
 Mrs. Hamill has recreated vividly the little Spanish 
 town where the mission bells rang silvery at dawn, where 
 scarlet uniforms flashed in the stately drill of an after- 
 noon dress parade and beautiful women wore lace 
 mantillas. Pajarita, the " Flower of Monterey," is an 
 American waif, cast up by the sea, who grows up among 
 the senors and senoritas, happy as the sunshine, but 
 with a healthy American disrespect for the Spanish 
 modes of life. Two men love her Don Jose, the 
 gobernador proprietaro of all the Californias, and a 
 young American sailor-adventurer, John Asterly. 
 
 John Asterly, the hero of A FLOWER OF MON- 
 TEREY, came to the Californias from Boston. He is 
 perhaps thirty years old, adventurous and impetuous. 
 At a dance on the beach at Monterey, shortly after his 
 arrival in the Californias, he meets Pajarita, "the 
 Flower of Monterey," and falls in love with the girl, 
 although she is promised to her benefactor, the Spanish 
 Governor. On the very night before her wedding, 
 8 Asterly tries to dissuade Pajarita from her marriage 
 B with some one other than an American, and then the 
 8 romance, rivalry and adventure begin. The historical 
 
 B setting of the story is correct and the romance unfolds 8 
 with dash and symmetry. 
 
 &3mfXO&Q&^&&C83^Q^^
 
 WILD WINGS 
 
 flig By Margaret R. Piper fc? 
 
 Author of "Sylvia's Experiment," "The House on the 
 Hill" " Sylvia Arden Decides," etc. 
 
 Cloth decorative, I2mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 In this " story of youth for grown-ups," the vigorous, 
 happy Holiday youngsters who lived in the " House on 
 the Hill " develop into keen, lovable young people, 
 thoroughly worth knowing. To Tony, as brilliant and 
 beautiful as a girl can well be and still be human, comes 
 a successful theatrical career on Broadway, and a great 
 love, and Larry grows into the industrious, reliant 
 young doctor that one would expect him to be. 
 
 Few writers today display the ability which Miss 
 Piper does to "grow up" a large family of boys and 
 girls, each with an individuality well developed and 
 attractive, and her Holiday family holds a distinctive 
 place in American fiction for young people today. 
 
 As the charming characters work their way out of 
 problems which face all young people of buoyant spirits 
 and ambitions, WILD WINGS gives a definite message 
 as to the happiest relationship between old and young. 
 
 " There is a world of human nature and neighborhood 
 contentment in Margaret R. Piper's books of good 
 cheer. Her tales are well proportioned and subtly 
 strong in their literary aspects and quality." North 
 American, Philadelphia.
 
 Selections from 
 
 The Page Company's 
 
 List of Fiction 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 ELEANOR H. PORTER 
 
 POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book (500,000) 
 
 Trade Mark Trade Mark 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 Mr. Leigh Mitchell Hodges, The Optimist, in an editorial for 
 the Philadelphia North American, says: "And when, after 
 Pollyanna has gone away, you get her letter saying she is 
 going to take ' eight steps' tomorrow well, I don't know just 
 what you may do, but I know of one person who buried his 
 face in his hands and shook with the gladdest sort of sadness 
 and got down on his knees and thanked the Giver of all 
 gladness for Pollyanna." 
 
 POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book. MAHY PICKFORD EDITION 
 
 Trade Mark Trade Mark 
 
 Illustrated with thirty-two half-tone reproductions of scenes 
 from the motion picture production, and a jacket with a por- 
 trait of Mary Pickford in color. 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25 
 
 While preparing " Pollyanna " for the screen, Miss Pickford 
 said enthusiastically that it was the best picture she had ever 
 made in her life, and the success of the picture on the screen 
 has amply justified her statement. Mary Pickford's interpre- 
 tation of the beloved little heroine as shown in the illustrations, 
 adds immeasurably to the intrinsic charm of this popular story. 
 
 POLLYANNA GROWS UP: The Second GLAD Book 
 
 Trade Mark (250,000) Trade Mark 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 When the story of POLLYANNA told in The Glad Book was 
 ended, a great cry of regret for the vanishing " Glad Girl " 
 went up all over the country and other countries, too. Now 
 POLLYANNA appears again, just as sweet and joyous-hearted, 
 more grown up and more lovable. 
 
 " Take away frowns ! Put down the worries ! Stop fidgeting 
 and disagreeing and grumbling ! Cheer up, everybody ! POLLY- 
 ANNA has come back ! " Christian Herald.
 
 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 WORKS OF ELEANOR H. PORTER (Continued) 
 
 MISS BILLY (gard thousand) 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a 
 
 painting by G. Tyng, $1.90 
 
 " There is something altogether fascinating about ' Miss 
 
 Billy,' some inexplicable feminine characteristic that seems to 
 
 demand the individual attention of the reader from the moment 
 
 we open the book until we reluctantly turn the last page." 
 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 MISS BILLY'S DECISION (ySth thousand) 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a 
 painting by Henry W. Moore, $1.90 
 
 " The story is written in bright, clever style and has plenty 
 
 of action and humor. Miss Billy is nice to know and so are 
 
 her friends." New Haven Leader. 
 
 MISS BILLY MARRIED (86th thousand) 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a 
 
 painting by W. Haskell Coffin, $1.90 
 
 " Although Pollyanna is the only copyrighted glad girl, Miss 
 
 Billy is just as glad as the younger figure and radiates just 
 
 as much gladness. She disseminates joy so naturally that we 
 
 wonder why all girls are not like her." Boston Transcript. 
 
 SIX STAR RANCH <45th thousand) 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by R. Farrington Elwell, 
 
 $1.90 
 
 " ' Six Star Ranch ' bears all the charm of the author's genius 
 and is about a little girl down in Texas who practices the 
 ' Pollyanna Philosophy * with irresistible success. The book is 
 one of the kindliest things, if not the best, that the author of 
 the Pollyanna books has done. It is a welcome addition to the 
 fast-growing family of Olad Books." Howard Rutsell Bangs 
 in the Boston Post. 
 
 CROSS CURRENTS 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50 
 
 "To one who enjoys a story of life as it is to-day, with its 
 
 sorrows as well as its triumphs, this volume is sure to appeal." 
 
 Book News Monthly. 
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50 
 
 " A very beautiful book showing the influence that went to 
 the development of the life of a dear little girl into a true and 
 good woman," Herald and Pmbyter, Cincinnati, Ohio.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON 
 
 A book which has established its author in the front rank of 
 American novelists. 
 
 SMILES, A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS (26th 
 thousand) 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 Smiles is a girl who has already made many friends and 
 is destined to make many more. Her real name is Rose, but 
 the rough folk of the Cumber-lands preferred their own way 
 of addressing her, for her smile was so bright and winning 
 that no other name suited her so well. 
 
 " This is the best book I have ever illustrated for any pub- 
 lisher. I have tried to make the pictures all that you hoped 
 for them." H. Weston Taylor. 
 
 E. J. Anderson, former managing Editor of the Boston 
 Advertiser and Record, is enthusiastic over the story and says: 
 
 " I have read ' Smiles ' in one reading. After starting it I 
 could not put it down. Never in my life have I read a book 
 like this that thrilled me half as much, and never have I seen 
 a more masterful piece of writing." 
 
 THE MAID OF MIRABELLE: A Romance of Lorraine 
 
 Illustrated with reproductions of sketches made by the 
 author, and with a portrait of "The Maid of Mirabelle," 
 from a painting by Neale Ordayne, on the cover. 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90 
 
 A story of human and heart interest. The " Maid," Joan, is 
 a personality just as real and lovable as was Smiles. 
 
 " The spirit of all the book is the bubbling, the irrepressibly 
 indomitable, cheerful faith of the people, at their very best, 
 against the grave Quakerism from the United States standing 
 out grimly but faithfully. The tale is simply, but strongly 
 told." Montreal Family Herald and Weekly Star. 
 
 MAN PROPOSES; Or, The Romance of John Alden 
 Shaw 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90 
 
 "This is first of all a charming romance, distinguished by a 
 fine sentiment of loyalty to an ideal, by physical courage, in- 
 domitable resolution to carry to success an altruistic under- 
 taking, a splendid woman's devotion, and by a vein of spon- 
 taneous, sparkling humor that offsets its more serious phases." 
 Springfield Republican.
 
 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 THE ROMANCES OF 
 
 L. M. MONTGOMERY 
 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90 
 ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (355th thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by M. A. and W. A. J. Claus. 
 
 " In ' Anne of Green Gables ' you will find the dearest and 
 
 most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice." 
 
 Mark Twain in a letter to Francis Wilson. 
 
 " I take it as a great test of the worth of the book that while 
 the young people are rummaging all over the house looking for 
 Anne, the head of the family has carried her off to read on his 
 way to town." Bliss Carman. 
 
 ANNE OF AVONLEA (255th thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by George Gibbs. 
 
 " Here we have a book as human as ' David Harum,' a 
 heroine who outcharms a dozen princesses of fiction, and re- 
 minds you of some sweet girl you know, or knew back in the 
 days when the world was young." San Francisco Bulletin. 
 
 CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (43d thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by George Gibbs. 
 
 " The author shows a wonderful knowledge of humanity, 
 great insight and warmheartedness in the manner in which 
 some of the scenes are treated, and the sympathetic way the 
 gentle peculiarities of the characters are brought out." 
 Baltimore Sun. 
 
 ANNE OF THE ISLAND (6sth thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by H. Weston Taylor. 
 
 " It has been well worth while to watch the growing up of 
 Anne, and the privilege of being on intimate terms with her 
 throughout the process has been properly valued. The once 
 little girl of Green Gables should have a permanent fictional 
 place of high yet tender esteem." New York Herald. 
 
 FURTHER CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (20th thou- 
 sand). Illustrated by John Goss. 
 Nathan Haskell Dole compares Avonlea to Longfellow's 
 
 Grand Pre and says, " There is something in these continued 
 
 chronicles of Avonlea like" the delicate art which has made 
 
 Cranford a classic." 
 " The reader has dipped into but one or two stories when he 
 
 realizes that the author is the most natural story teller of the 
 
 day." Salt Lake City Citizen.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 WORKS OF L. M. MONTGOMERY (Continued) 
 
 ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: The Mary Miles Minter 
 Edition 
 
 Illustrated with twenty-four half-tone reproductions of 
 scenes from the motion picture production, and a jacket in 
 colors with Miss Minter's portrait. 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25 
 
 " You pass from tears to laughter as the story unfolds, and 
 
 there is never a moment's hesitation in admitting that Anne 
 
 has completely won your heart." Joe Mitchell Chappie, 
 
 Editor, The National Magazine. 
 
 " Mary Miles Minter's ' Anne ' on the screen is worthy of 
 Mark Twain's definition of her as the ' dearest and most moving 
 and delightful child since the immortal " Alice." ' " Cam- 
 bridge Tribune. 
 
 KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD (52d thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90 
 " A purely idyllic love story full of tender sentiment, red- 
 olent with the perfume of rose leaves and breathing of apple 
 blossoms and the sweet clover of twilight meadow-lands." 
 San Francisco Bulletin. 
 
 " A story born in the heart of Arcadia and brimful of the 
 sweet and simple life of the primitive environment." Boston 
 Herald. 
 
 THE STORY GIRL (46th thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90 
 " It will be read and, we venture to predict, reread many 
 times, for there is a freshness and sweetness about it which will 
 help to lift the load of care, to cheer the weary and to make 
 brighter still the life of the carefree and the happy." 
 Toronto, Can., Globe. 
 
 " ' The Story Girl ' is of decidedly unusual conception and 
 interest, and will rival the author's earlier books in popularity." 
 Chicago Western Trade Journal. 
 
 THE GOLDEN ROAD (28th thousand) 
 
 Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90 
 In which it is proven that " Life was a rose-lipped comrade 
 with purple flowers dripping from her fingers." 
 
 " It is a simple, tender tale, touched to higher notes, now 
 and then, by delicate hints of romance, tragedy and pathos. 
 Any true-hearted human being might read this book with en- 
 joyment, no matter what his or her age, social status, or 
 economic place." Chicago Record-Herald.
 
 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 ISLA MAY MULLINS 
 
 Each, one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 
 THE BLOSSOM SHOP: A Story of the South 
 
 " Frankly and wholly romance is this book, and lovable as 
 is a fairy tale properly told." Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 ANNE OF THE BLOSSOM SHOP: Or, the Growing 
 Up of Anne Carter 
 
 "A charming portrayal of the attractive life of the South, 
 refreshing as a breeze that blows through a pine forest." 
 Albany Times-Union. 
 
 ANNE'S WEDDING 
 
 "Presents a picture of home life that is most appealing in 
 love and affection." Every Evening, Wilmington, Del. 
 
 THE MT. BLOSSOM GIRLS 
 
 " In the writing of the book the author is at her best as a 
 story teller. It is a fitting climax to the series." Reader. 
 
 TWEEDIE: The Story of a True Heart 
 
 "The story itself is full of charm and one enters right into 
 the very life of Tweedie and feels as if he had indeed been 
 lifted into an atmosphere of unselfishness, enthusiasm and 
 buoyant optimism." Boston Ideas. 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 DAISY RHODES CAMPBELL 
 
 THE FIDDLING GIRL 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65 
 
 "A thoroughly enjoyable tale, written in a delightful vein of 
 sympathetic comprehension." Boston Herald. 
 
 THE PROVING OF VIRGINIA 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65 
 
 " A book which contributes so much of freshness, enthusiasm, 
 
 and healthy life to offset the usual offerings of modern fiction, 
 
 deserves all the praise which can be showered upon it." 
 
 Kindergarten Review. 
 
 THE VIOLIN LADY 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated 
 
 "The author's style remains simple and direct, is in her pre- 
 ceding books." Boston Transcript.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 DETECTIVE STORIES BY 
 
 GEORGE BARTON 
 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 
 THE PEMBROKE MASON AFFAIR 
 
 " Not until the end will the reader ever surmise how Mason 
 was murdered. An absorbing and thrilling story." Cleveland 
 Topics. 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF THE RED FLAME 
 
 " An admirable story an engaging story of love, mystery 
 and adventure." The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
 
 THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF BROMLEY 
 BARNES 
 
 " It would be difficult to find a collection of more interesting 
 tales of mystery so well told. The author is crisp, incisive 
 and inspiring. The book is the best of its kind in recent years 
 and adds to the author's already high reputation." New 
 York Tribune. 
 
 THE AMBASSADOR'S TRUNK 
 
 " Mr. Barton is in the front rank of the writers of mystery 
 stories, and this is one of his best." Pittsburgh Chronicle. 
 
 " The book is of the good red-blood type, with few dull lines 
 and stirring action and episodes in almost every page." 
 Montreal Herald. 
 
 BUSINESS NOVELS BY 
 
 HAROLD WHITEHEAD 
 
 Professor of Sales Relations, The College of Business 
 Administration, Boston University 
 
 Each one volume, cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 
 
 DAWSON BLACK, RETAIL MERCHANT 
 
 " Contains much that it would profit a young merchant to 
 know and its fictional interest makes a strong appeal." New 
 York Tribune. 
 
 THE BUSINESS CAREER OF PETER FLINT 
 
 " Peter Flint is certainly a marvel. . . . His career reveals 
 a most remarkable metamorphosis from incapacity, stubborn- 
 ness, and what seemed a chronic inclination to fall down on 
 every job which he undertook, to an amazing exposition of 
 bwiness capacity and skill." Boston Transorvpt.
 
 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 MARGARET R. PIPER 
 
 SYLVIA'S EXPERIMENT: The Cheerful Book 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75 
 " An atmosphere of good spirits pervades the book ; the 
 
 humor that now and then flashes across the page is entirely 
 
 natural." Boston Post. 
 
 SYLVIA OF THE HILL TOP: The Second Cheerful 
 
 Book Tradc Mark 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75 
 
 " There is a world of human nature and neighborhood con- 
 tentment and quaint quiet humor in Margaret R. Piper's second 
 book of good cheer." Philadelphia North American. 
 
 "Sylvia proves practically that she is a messenger of joy to 
 humanity." The Post Express, Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 SYLVIA ARDEN DECIDES: The Third Cheerful 
 Book Trade Mark 
 
 Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75 
 
 " Its ease of style, its rapidity, its interest from page to page, 
 are admirable; and it shows that inimitable power the story- 
 teller's gift of verisimilitude. Its sureness and clearness are 
 excellent, and its portraiture clear and pleasing." The Reader. 
 
 FICTION FOR YOUNGER READERS BY 
 
 MARGARET R. PIPER 
 
 THE HOUSE ON THE HILL 
 
 By MARGARET R. PIPER. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.75 
 
 " ' The House on the Hill ' presents higher ideals of service 
 and life for boys and girls, and the charming characters 
 worked their way out of problems which face all young people 
 of buoyant spirits and ambition." Buffalo News. 
 
 u The story is a delightful one, with all kinds of interesting 
 adventures and characters." Sunday Leader. 
 
 THE PRINCESS AND THE CLAN 
 
 By MARGARET R. PIPER. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated by John Goss $1.75 
 
 "This is a delightful story for young and old, wholesome 
 and uplifting. The chief charm of the story lies in its sim- 
 plicity." Philadelphia North American.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 MARY ELLEN CHASE 
 
 THE GIRL FROM THE BIG HORN COUNTRY 
 
 Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by E. Farrington Elwell, $1.75 
 " ' The Girl from the Big Horn Country ' tells how Virginia 
 Hunter, a bright, breezy, frank-hearted ' girl of the Golden 
 West' comes out of the Big Horn country of Wyoming to the 
 old Bay State. Then things begin, when Virginia who feels 
 the joyous, exhilarating call of the Big Horn wilderness and 
 the outdoor life attempts to become acclimated and adopt 
 good old New England ' ways.' " Critic. 
 
 VIRGINIA, OF ELK CREEK VALLEY 
 
 Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by E. Farrington Elwell, $1.75 
 
 " This story is fascinating, alive with constantly new and 
 
 fresh interests and every reader will enjoy the novel for its 
 
 freshness, its novelty and its inspiring glimpses of life with 
 
 nature." The Editor. 
 
 NOVELS BY 
 
 OTHER AUTHORS 
 
 THE GOLDEN DOG. A Romance of Quebec 
 
 By WILLIAM KIHBY. (45th thousand.) 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by J. W. Kennedy, $1.90 
 
 " A powerful romance of love, intrigue and adventure in the 
 
 times of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour." Boston 
 
 Herald. 
 
 SHE STANDS ALONE 
 
 Being the story of Pilate's wife. 
 
 By MARK ASHTON. 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 
 
 Few novels of the present day can stand comparison with 
 this remarkable book, which must be ranked in modern litera- 
 ture dealing with the early Christian era as only second to 
 "Ben Hur." 
 
 THE ROAD TO LE REVE 
 
 By BREWER CORCORAN. 
 
 Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by H. Weston Taylor, $1.90 
 
 " A romance of vivid interest, a love story full of youth, the 
 
 great outdoors and adventures that thrill. The dialogue is 
 
 unusually clever, the characters delightfully real, the plot one 
 
 that holds the reader's interest to the end." New York Sun.
 
 10 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 THE FAMOUS SEA STORIES OF 
 
 HERMAN MELVILLE 
 
 MOBY DICK; Or, The White Whale 
 TYPEE. A Real Romance of the South Sea 
 
 OMOO. A Narrative of Adventures in the South 
 Seas; a sequel to TYPEE 
 
 WHITE JACKET; Or, The World on a Man-of-War 
 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated $1.90 
 
 The recent centenary of Herman Melville created renewed 
 interest in his famous sea stories. 
 
 " Melville wove human element and natural setting into re- 
 citals which aroused the enthusiasm of critics and sent a thrill 
 of delight through the reading public when first published, and 
 which both for form and matter have ever since held rank as 
 classics in the literature of travel." Boston Herald. 
 
 DETECTIVE STORIES BY 
 
 ARTHUR MORRISON 
 
 Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.73 
 
 THE GREEN DIAMOND 
 
 " A clever, ingenious story, with just the right combination 
 of detective skill and mystery and with a touch of Oriental 
 mysticism." Kansas City Star. 
 
 THE RED TRIANGLE 
 
 " The reader who has a grain of imagination may be defied 
 to lay this book down, once he has begun it, until the last word 
 has been reached." Boston Journal. 
 
 " It is a splendid story of the kind that cannot fail to in- 
 terest." Detroit Journal. 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF MARTIN HEWITT 
 
 "The story is told in a forceful, straightforward style, which 
 
 gives it impressive realism." Boston Herald. 
 " The story is well-written, unique, quite out of the usual 
 
 order, and a vein of mystery running through it that is most 
 
 captivating." Christian Intelligencer.
 
 LIST OF FICTION 11 
 
 HISTORICAL ROMANCES OF 
 
 NATHAN GALLIZIER 
 
 THE LEOPARD PRINCE 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 
 " With a vividness that is electrifying and a mastery of 
 
 emotion that thrills, Mr. Gallizier has written this story of 
 
 Italy a romance of Venice in the fourteenth century." 
 
 The Lookout, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 UNDER THE WITCHES' MOON 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 " A highly colored romance of mediaeval Italy with a most 
 interesting background." New York World. 
 
 THE CRIMSON GONDOLA 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 
 " Mr. Gallizier is unusually strong in the use of description, 
 and conveys vividly the gorgeous decadence and luxury of the 
 sybaritic city." Los Angeles Sunday Times. 
 
 THE HILL OF VENUS 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 This is a vivid and powerful romance of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury in the times of the great Ghibelline wars. 
 
 " It is vibrant with action and overflowing with human emo- 
 tions throughout. " Wilmington Every Evening. 
 
 THE COURT OF LUCIFER 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 
 " The book is breathless reading, as much for the adventures, 
 
 the pageants, the midnight excursions of the minor characters, 
 
 as for the love story of the prince and Donna Lucrezia." 
 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 THE SORCERESS OF ROME 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00 
 
 " A splendid bit of old Roman mosaic, or a gorgeous piece of 
 
 tapestry. Otto is a striking and pathetic figure. Description 
 
 of the city, the gorgeous ceremonials of the court and the revels 
 
 are a series of wonderful pictures." Cincinnati Enquirer. 
 
 CASTEL DEL MONTE 
 
 Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated, $2.00 
 
 " There is color ; there is sumptuous word-painting in these 
 pages; the action is terrific at times; vividness and life are in 
 every part; and brilliant descriptions entertain the reader and 
 give a singular fascination to the tale." Oramd Rcvpidi 
 Herald.
 
 12 THE PAGE COMPANY'S 
 
 WORKS OF 
 
 GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO 
 
 Signer d'Annunzio is known throughout the world as a poet 
 and a dramatist, but above all as a novelist, for it is in his 
 novels that he is at his best. In poetic thought and graceful 
 expression he has few equals among the writers of the day. 
 
 He is engaged on a most ambitious work nothing less than 
 the writing of nine novels which cover the whole field of human 
 sentiment. This work he has divided into three trilogies, and 
 five of the nine books have been published. It is to be re- 
 gretted that other labors have interrupted the completion of 
 the series. 
 
 "This book is realistic. Some say that it is brutally so. 
 But the realism is that of Flaubert, and not of Zola. There 
 is no plain speaking for the sake of plain speaking. Every 
 detail is justified in the fact that it illuminates either the 
 motives or the actions of the man and woman who here stand 
 revealed. It is deadly true. The author holds the mirror up 
 to nature, and the reader, as he sees his own experiences dupli- 
 cated in passage after passage, has something of the same 
 sensation as all of us know on the first reading of George 
 Meredith's ' Egoist.' Reading these pages is like being out in 
 the country on a dark night in a storm. Suddenly a flash of 
 lightning comes and every detail of your surroundings is 
 revealed." Review of " The Triwnvph of Death " in the New 
 York Evening Sun. 
 
 The volumes published are as follows. Each 1 vol., library 
 12mo, cloth, $1.75 
 
 * 
 
 THE ROMANCES OF THE ROSE 
 THE CHILD OF PLEASURE (It PIACEBE) 
 THE INTRUDER (L'INXOCEXTE) 
 THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH (It TRIONFO DELLA MOBTE) 
 
 jf 
 
 THE ROMANCES OF THE LILY 
 
 THE MAIDENS OF THE ROCKS (L E VEROIVI DELLE 
 ROCCE) 
 
 Jl 
 THE ROMANCES OF THE POMEGRANATE 
 
 THE FLAME OF LIFE (!L Fuoco)
 
 A 000125447 3