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 J4
 
 S 
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS

 
 The twinkling eyes of the Emperor fixed themselves 
 
 on Miss Hemster." 
 
 Page 144.
 
 A CHICAGO 
 PRINCESS 
 
 By ROBERT BARR 
 
 Author of "Over the Border," "The Victors," "Tekla," 
 "In the Midst of Alarms," "A Woman Intervenes," etc. 
 
 Illustrated by FRANCIS P. WIGHTMAN 
 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 TJNTV. OF CAT -ART. LOS
 
 Copyright, 1904, by 
 ROBERT BARR 
 
 All rights reserved 
 This edition published in June, 1904
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 WHEN I look back upon a certain hour of my 
 life it fills me with wonder that I should 
 have been so peacefully happy. Strange 
 as it may seem, utter despair is not without its alloy of 
 joy. The man who daintily picks his way along a 
 muddy street is anxious lest he soil his polished boots, 
 or turns up his coat collar to save himself from the 
 shower that is beginning, eager then to find a shelter ; 
 but let him inadvertently step into a pool, plunging 
 head over ears into foul water, and after that he has no 
 more anxiety. Nothing that weather can inflict will 
 add to his misery, and consequently a ray of happiness 
 illumines his gloomy horizon. He has reached the 
 limit ; Fate can do no more ; and there is a satisfaction 
 in attaining the ultimate of things. So it was with me 
 that beautiful day ; I had attained my last phase. 
 
 I was living in the cheapest of all paper houses, liv- 
 ing as the Japanese themselves do, on a handful of 
 rice, and learning by experience how very little it re- 
 quires to keep body and soul together. But now, when 
 I had my next meal of rice, it would be at the expense 
 
 I
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 of my Japanese host, who was already beginning to 
 suspect, so it seemed to me, that I might be unable 
 to liquidate whatever debt I incurred. He was very po- 
 lite about it, but in his twinkling little eyes there lurked 
 suspicion. I have travelled the whole world over, es- 
 pecially the East, and I find it the same everywhere. 
 When a man comes down to his final penny, some 
 subtle change in his deportment seems to make the 
 whole world aware of it. But then, again, this sup- 
 posed knowledge on the part of the world may have 
 existed only in my own imagination, as the Christian 
 Scientists tell us every ill resides in the mind. Per- 
 haps, after all, my little bowing landlord was not 
 troubling himself about the payment of the bill, and I 
 only fancied him uneasy. 
 
 If an untravelled person, a lover of beauty, were 
 sitting in my place on that little elevated veranda, it is 
 possible the superb view spread out before him might 
 account for serenity in circumstances which to the or- 
 dinary individual would be most depressing. But the 
 view was an old companion of mine ; goodness knows 
 I had looked at it often enough when I climbed that 
 weary hill and gazed upon the town below me, and the 
 magnificent harbor of Nagasaki spreading beyond. 
 The water was intensely blue, dotted with shipping of 
 all nations, from the stately men-of-war to the ocean 
 tramps and the little coasting schooners. It was an 
 ever-changing, animated scene; but really I had had 
 enough of it during all those ineffective months of 
 struggle in the attempt to earn even the rice and the 
 poor lodging which I enjoyed. 
 
 2
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Curiously, it was not of this harbor I was thinking, 
 but of another in far-distant Europe, that of Boulogne 
 in the north of France, where I spent a day with my 
 own yacht before I sailed for America. And it was a 
 comical thought that brought the harbor of Boulogne 
 to my mind. I had seen a street car there, labelled 
 " Le Dernier Sou," which I translated as meaning 
 " The Last Cent." I never took a trip on this street 
 car, but I presume somewhere in the outskirts of 
 Boulogne there is a suburb named " The Last Cent," 
 and I thought now with a laugh : " Here I am in Japan, 
 and although I did not take that street car, yet I have 
 arrived at ' Le Dernier Sou.' " 
 
 This morning I had not gone down to the harbor to 
 prosecute my search for employment. As with my last 
 cent, I had apparently given that idea up. There was 
 no employer needing men to whom I had not applied 
 time and again, willing to take the laborer's wage for 
 the laborer's work. But all my earlier training had 
 been by way of making me a gentleman, and the man- 
 ner was still upon me in spite of my endeavors to shake 
 it off, and I had discovered that business men do not 
 wish gentlemen as day-laborers. There was every 
 reason that I should be deeply depressed ; yet, strange 
 to say, I was not. Had I at last reached the lotus- 
 eating content of the vagabond? Was this care- free 
 condition the serenity of the tramp ? Would my next 
 step downward be the unblushing begging of food, 
 with the confidence that if I were refused at one place 
 I should 4-eceive at another? With later knowledge, 
 looking back at that moment of mitigated happiness, I 
 
 3
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 am forced to believe that it was the effect of coming 
 events casting their shadows before. Some occultists 
 tell us that every action that takes place on the earth, 
 no matter how secretly done, leaves its impression on 
 some ethereal atmosphere, visible to a clairvoyant, who 
 can see and describe to us exactly what has taken place. 
 If this be true, it is possible that our future experiences 
 may give sub-mental warnings of their approach. 
 
 As I sat there in the warm sunlight and looked over 
 the crowded harbor, I thought of the phrase, " When 
 my ship comes in." There was shipping enough in 
 the bay, and possibly, if I could but have known where, 
 some friend of mine might at that moment be tramping 
 a white deck, or sitting in a steamer chair, looking up 
 at terrace upon terrace of the toy houses among which 
 I kept my residence. Perhaps my ship had come in 
 already if only I knew which were she. As I lay back 
 on the light bamboo chair, along which I had thrown 
 myself, a lounging, easy, half-reclining affair like 
 those we used to have at college, I gazed upon the 
 lower town and harbor, taking in the vast blue surface 
 of the bay ; and there along the indigo expanse of the 
 waters, in striking contrast to them, floated a brilliantly 
 white ship gradually, imperceptibly approaching. The 
 canvas, spread wing and wing, as it increased in size, 
 gave it the appearance of a swan swimming toward me, 
 and I thought lazily: 
 
 " It is like a dove coming to tell me that my deluge 
 of misery is past, and there is an olive-branch of foam 
 in its beak." 
 
 As the whole ship became visible I saw that it, like
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the canvas, was pure white, and at first I took it for a 
 large sailing yacht rapidly making Nagasaki before 
 the gentle breeze that was blowing; but as she drew 
 near I saw that she was a steamer, whose trim lines, 
 despite her size, were somewhat unusual in these 
 waters. If this were indeed a yacht she must be owned 
 by some man of great wealth, for she undoubtedly cost 
 a fortune to build and a very large income to maintain. 
 As she approached the more crowded part of the bay, 
 her sails were lowered and she came slowly in on her 
 own momentum. I fancied I heard the rattle of the 
 chain as her anchor plunged into the water, and now I 
 noticed with a thrill that made me sit up in my loung- 
 ing chair that the flag which flew at her stern was the 
 Stars and Stripes. It is true that I had little cause to 
 be grateful to the country which this piece of bunting 
 represented, for had it not looted me of all I possessed ? 
 Nevertheless in those distant regions an Englishman 
 regards the United States flag somewhat differently 
 from that of any nation save his own. Perhaps there 
 is an unconscious feeling of kinship ; perhaps the simi- 
 larity of language may account for it, because an 
 Englishman understands American better than any 
 other foreign tongue. Be that as it may, the listless- 
 ness departed from me as I gazed upon that banner, as 
 crude and gaudy as our own, displaying the most strik- 
 ing of the primary colors. The yacht rested on the 
 blue waters as gracefully as if she were a large white 
 waterfowl, and I saw the sampans swarm around her 
 like a fluffy brood of ducklings. 
 
 And now I became conscious that the most polite in- 
 
 5
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 dividual in the world was making an effort to secure 
 my attention, yet striving to accomplish his purpose in 
 the most unobtrusive way. My patient and respected 
 lai:dlord, Yansan, was making deep obeisances before 
 me, and he held in his hand a roll which I strongly 
 suspected to be my overdue bill. I had the merit in 
 Yansan's eyes of being able to converse with him in his 
 own language, and the further advantage to myself of 
 being able to read it ; therefore he bestowed upon me a 
 respect which he did not accord to all Europeans. 
 
 " Ah, Yansan ! " I cried to him, taking the bull by 
 the horns, " I was just thinking of you. I wish you 
 would be more prompt in presenting your account. 
 By such delay errors creep into it which I am unable 
 to correct." 
 
 Yansan awarded me three bows, each lower than the 
 one preceding it, and, while bending his back, endeav- 
 ored, though with some confusion, to conceal the roll 
 in his wide sleeve. Yansan was possessed of much 
 shrewdness, and the bill certainly was a long stand- 
 ing one. 
 
 " Your Excellency," he began, " confers too much 
 honor on the dirt beneath your feet by mentioning the 
 trivial sum that is owing. Nevertheless, since it is 
 your Excellency's command, I shall at once retire and 
 prepare the document for you." 
 
 " Oh, don't trouble about that, Yansan," I said, 
 " just pull it out of your sleeve and let me look over 
 it." 
 
 The wrinkled face screwed itself up into a grimace 
 more like that of a monkey than usual, and so, with 
 
 6
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 various genuflections, Yansan withdrew the roll and 
 proffered it to me. Therein, in Japanese characters, 
 was set down the long array of my numerous debts to 
 him. Now, in whatever part of the world a man 
 wishes to delay the payment of a bill, the proper course 
 is to dispute one or more of its items, and this accord- 
 ingly I proceeded to do. 
 
 " I grieve to see, Yansan," I began, putting my fin- 
 ger on the dishonest hieroglyphic, " that on the fourth 
 day you have set down against me a repast of rice, 
 whereas you very well know on that occasion I did my- 
 self the honor to descend into the town and lunch with 
 his Excellency the Governor." 
 
 Again Yansan lowered his ensign three times, then 
 deplored the error into which he had fallen, saying it 
 would be immediately rectified. 
 
 " There need to be no undue hurry about the rectifi- 
 cation," I replied, " for when it comes to a settlement 
 I shall not be particular about the price of a plate of 
 rice." 
 
 Yansan was evidently much gratified to hear this, 
 but I could see that my long delay in liquidating his 
 account was making it increasingly difficult for him to 
 subdue his anxiety. The fear of monetary loss was 
 struggling with his native politeness. Then he used 
 the formula which is correct the world over. 
 
 " Excellency, I am a poor man, and next week have 
 heavy payments to make to a creditor who will put me 
 in prison if I produce not the money." 
 
 "Very well," said I grandly, waving my hand to- 
 ward the crowded harbor, " my ship has come in where 
 
 7
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 you see the white against the blue. To-morrow you 
 shall be paid." 
 
 Yansan looked eagerly in the direction of my ges- 
 ture. 
 
 " She is English," he said. 
 
 " No, American." 
 
 " It is a war-ship ? " 
 
 " No, she belongs to a private person, not to the 
 Government." 
 
 " Ah, he must be a king, then, a king of that 
 country." 
 
 / Not so, Yansan ; he is one of many kings, a pork 
 king, or an oil king or a railroad king." 
 
 " Surely there cannot be but one king in a country, 
 Excellency," objected Yansan. 
 
 " Ah, you are thinking of a small country like Japan. 
 One king does for such a country; but America is 
 larger than many Japans, therefore it has numerous 
 kings, and here below us is one of them." 
 
 " I should think, Excellency," said Yansan, " that 
 they would fight with one another." 
 
 " That they do, and bitterly, too, in a way your kings 
 never thought of. I myself was grievously wounded 
 in one of their slightest struggles. That flag which 
 you see there waves over my fortune. Many a million 
 of sen pieces which once belonged to me rest secure for 
 other people under its folds." 
 
 My landlord lifted his hands in amazement at my 
 immense wealth. 
 
 " This, then, is perhaps the treasure-ship bringing 
 money to your Excellency," he exclaimed, awestricken. 
 
 8
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " That's just what it is, Yansan, and I must go 
 down and collect it; so bring me a dinner of rice, that 
 I may be prepared to meet the captain who carries my 
 fortune."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AFTER a frugal repast I went down the hill to 
 the lower town, and on inquiry at the cus- 
 tom-house learned that the yacht was named 
 the " Michigan," and that she was owned by Silas K. 
 Hemster, of Chicago. So far as I could learn, the 
 owner had not come ashore; therefore I hired a 
 sampan from a boatman who trusted me. I was al- 
 ready so deeply in his debt that he was compelled to 
 carry me, inspired by the optimistic hope that some day 
 the tide of my fortunes would turn. I believe that com- 
 mercial institutions are sometimes helped over a crisis 
 in the same manner, as they owe so much their creditors 
 dare not let them sink. Many a time had this lad fer- 
 ried me to one steamer after another, until now his 
 anxiety that I should obtain remunerative employment 
 was nearly as great as my own. 
 
 As we approached the " Michigan " I saw that a 
 rope ladder hung over the side, and there leaned against 
 the rail a very free-and-easy sailor in white duck, who 
 was engaged in squirting tobacco- juice into Nagasaki 
 Bay. Intuitively I understood that he had sized up 
 the city of Nagasaki and did not think much of it. 
 Probably it compared unfavorably with Chicago. The 
 seaman made no opposition to my mounting the ladder ; 
 
 10
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 in fact he viewed my efforts with the greatest indiffer- 
 ence. Approaching him, I asked if Mr. Hemster was 
 aboard, and with a nod of his head toward the after 
 part of the vessel he said, " That's him." 
 
 Looking aft, I now noticed a man sitting in a cush- 
 ioned cane chair, with his two feet elevated on the spot- 
 less rail before him. He also was clothed in light sum- 
 mer garb, and had on his head a somewhat disreputable 
 slouch hat with a very wide brim. His back was to- 
 ward Nagasaki, as if he had no interest in the place. 
 He revolved an unlit cigar in his mouth, in a manner 
 quite impossible to describe; but as I came to know 
 him better I found that he never lit his weed, but kept 
 its further end going round and round in a little circle 
 by a peculiar motion of his lips. Though he used the 
 very finest brand of cigars, none ever lasted him for 
 more than ten minutes, when he would throw it away, 
 take another, bite off the end, and go through the same 
 process once more. What satisfaction he got out of an 
 unlighted cigar I was never able to learn. 
 
 His was a thin, keen, business face, with no hair on 
 it save a tuft at the chin, like the beard of a goat. As 
 I approached him I saw that he was looking sideways 
 at me out of the corners of his eyes, but he neither 
 raised his head nor turned it around. I was somewhat 
 at a loss how to greet him, but for want of a better 
 opening I began : 
 
 " I am told you are Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Well ! " he drawled slowly, with his cigar between 
 his teeth, released for a moment from the circular 
 movement of his lips, " you may thank your stars you 
 
 II
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 are told something you can believe in this God-for- 
 saken land." 
 
 I smiled at this unexpected reply and ventured: 
 
 " As a matter of fact, the East is not renowned for 
 its truthfulness. I know it pretty well." 
 
 " You do, eh ? Do you understand it ? " 
 
 " I don't think either an American or a European 
 ever understands an Asiatic people." 
 
 " Oh, yes, we do," rejoined Mr. Hemster; " they 're 
 liars and that 's all there is to them. Liars and lazy ; 
 that sums them up." 
 
 As I was looking for the favor of work, it was not 
 my place to contradict him, and the confident tone in 
 which he spoke showed that contradiction would have 
 availed little. He was evidently one of the men who 
 knew it all, and success had confirmed him in his be- 
 lief. I had met people of his calibre before, to my 
 grief. 
 
 " Well, young man, what can I do for you ? " he 
 asked, coming directly to the point. 
 
 " I am looking for a job," I said. 
 
 "What's your line?" 
 
 " I beg your pardon ? " 
 
 "What can you do?" 
 
 " I am capable of taking charge of this ship as cap- 
 tain, or of working as a man before the mast." 
 
 " You spread yourself out too thin, my son. A man 
 who can do everything can do nothing. We specialize 
 in our country. I hire men who can do only one thing, 
 and do that thing better than anybody else." 
 
 " Sir, I do not agree with you," I could not help 
 
 12
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 saying. " The most capable people in the world are 
 the Americans. The best log house I ever saw was 
 built by a man who owned a brown-stone front on 
 Fifth Avenue. He simply pushed aside the guides 
 whose specialty it was to do such things, took the axe 
 in his own hands, and showed them how it should be 
 accomplished." 
 
 Mr. Hemster shoved his hat to the back of his head, 
 and for the first time during our interview looked me 
 squarely in the face. 
 
 " Where was that ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Up in Canada." 
 
 " Oh, well, the Fifth Avenue man had probably 
 come from the backwoods and so knew how to handle 
 an axe." 
 
 " It 's more than likely," I admitted. 
 
 " What were you doing in Canada ? " 
 
 " Fishing and shooting." 
 
 " You were n't one of the guides he pushed aside ? " 
 
 I laughed. 
 
 " No, I was one of the two who paid for the guides." 
 
 " Well, to come back to first principles," continued 
 Mr. Hemster, " I Ve got a captain who gives me per- 
 fect satisfaction, and he hires the crew. What else 
 can you do ? " 
 
 " I am qualified to take a place as engineer if your 
 present man is n't equally efficient with the captain ; 
 and I can guarantee to give satisfaction as a stoker, 
 although I don't yearn for the job." 
 
 " My present engineer I got in Glasgow," said Mr. 
 Hemster ; " and as for stokers we have a mechanical 
 
 13
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 stoker which answers the purpose reasonably well, al- 
 though I have several improvements I am going to 
 patent as soon as I get home. I believe the Scotchman 
 I have as engineer is the best in the business. I 
 would n't interfere with him for the world." 
 
 My heart sank, and I began to fear that Yansan and 
 the sampan-boy would have to wait longer for their 
 money. It seemed that it was n't my ship that had 
 come in, after all. 
 
 "Very well, Mr. Hemster," I said, " I must con- 
 gratulate you on being so well suited. I am much 
 obliged to you for receiving me so patiently without a 
 letter of introduction on my part, and so I bid you 
 good-day." 
 
 I turned for the ladder, but Mr. Hemster said, with 
 more of animation in his tone than he had hitherto 
 exhibited : 
 
 " Wait a moment, sonny ; don't be so hasty. You 've 
 asked me a good many questions about the yacht and 
 the crew, so I should like to put some to you, and who 
 knows but we may make a deal yet. There 's the gal- 
 ley and the stewards, and that sort of thing, you know. 
 Draw up a chair and sit down." 
 
 I did as I was requested. Mr. Hemster threw his 
 cigar overboard and took out another. Then he held 
 out the case toward me, saying: 
 
 " Do you smoke?" 
 
 " Thank you," said 1, selecting a cigar. 
 
 " Have you matches ? " he asked, " I never carry 
 them myself." 
 
 " No, I have n't," I admitted. 
 
 14
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 He pushed a button near him, and a Japanese stew- 
 ard appeared. 
 
 " Bring a box of matches and a bottle of cham- 
 pagne," he said. 
 
 The steward set a light wicker table at my elbow, 
 disappeared for a few minutes, and shortly returned 
 with a bottle of champagne and a box of matches. Did 
 my eyes deceive me, or was this the most noted brand 
 in the world, and of the vintage of '78 ? It seemed too 
 good to be true. 
 
 " Would you like a sandwich or two with that wine, 
 or is it too soon after lunch ? " 
 
 " I could do with a few sandwiches," I confessed, 
 thinking of Yansan's frugal fare; and shortly after 
 there were placed before me, on a dainty, white, linen- 
 and-lace-covered plate, some of the most delicious 
 chicken sandwiches that it has ever been my fortune to 
 taste. 
 
 " Now," said Mr. Hemster, when the steward 
 had disappeared, " you 're on your uppers, I take 
 it." 
 
 " I don't think I understand." 
 
 " Why, you 're down at bed-rock. Have n't you been 
 in America ? Don't you know the language ? " 
 
 " 'Yes ' is the answer to all your questions." 
 
 " What 's the reason ? Drink ? Gambling ? " 
 
 Lord, how good that champagne tasted ! I laughed 
 from the pure, dry exhilaration of it. 
 
 " I wish I could say it was drink that brought me 
 to this pass," I answered ; " for this champagne shows 
 it would be a tempting road to ruin. I am not a 
 
 15
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 gambler, either. How I came to this pass would not 
 interest you." 
 
 " Well, I take it that 's just an Englishman's way of 
 saying it 's none of my business ; but such is not the 
 fact. You want a job, and you have come to me for 
 it. Very well; I must know something about you. 
 Whether I can give you a job or not will depend. 
 You have said you could captain the ship or run 
 her engines. What makes you so confident of your 
 skill?" 
 
 " The fact is I possessed a yacht of my own not so 
 very long ago, and I captained her and I ran her en- 
 gines on different occasions." 
 
 " That might be a recommendation, or it might not. 
 If, as captain, you wrecked your vessel, or if, as en- 
 gineer, you blew her up, these actions would hardly be 
 a certificate of competency." 
 
 " I did neither. I sold the yacht in New York for 
 what it would bring." 
 
 " How much money did you have when you bought 
 your yacht ? " 
 
 " I had what you would call half a million." 
 
 " Why do you say what I would call half a million ? 
 What would you call it ? " 
 
 " I should call it a hundred thousand." 
 
 " Ah, I see. You're talking of pounds, and I'm 
 talking of dollars. You 're an Englishman, I suspect. 
 Are you an educated man ? " 
 
 " Moderately so. Eton and Oxford," said I, the 
 champagne beginning to have its usual effect on a 
 hungry man. However, the announcement of Eton 
 
 16
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 and Oxford had no effect upon Mr. Hemster, so it did 
 not matter. 
 
 " Come, young fellow," he said, with some im- 
 patience, " tell me all about yourself, and don't have 
 to be drawn out like a witness on the stand." 
 
 " Very well," said I, " here is my story. After I left 
 Oxford I had some little influence, as you might 
 call it." 
 
 " No, a ' pull,' I would call it. All right, where did 
 it land you ? " 
 
 " It landed me as secretary to a Minister of the 
 Crown." 
 
 " You don't mean a preacher ? " 
 
 " No, I mean the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and 
 he put me into the diplomatic service when he found 
 the Government was going to be defeated. I was sec- 
 retary of legation at Pekin and also here in Japan." 
 
 I filled myself another glass of champagne, and, 
 holding it up to see the sparkles, continued jauntily : 
 
 " If I may go so far as to boast, I may say I was en- 
 trusted with several delicate missions, and I carried 
 them through with reasonable success. I can both 
 read and write the Japanese language, and I know a 
 smattering of Chinese and a few dialects of the East, 
 which have stood me in good stead more than once. 
 To tell the truth, I was in a fair way for promotion and 
 honor when unfortunately a relative died and left me 
 the hundred thousand pounds that I spoke of." 
 
 "Why unfortunately? If you had had any brains 
 you could have made that into millions." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose I could. I thought I was going to 
 
 17
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 do it. I bought myself a yacht at Southampton and 
 sailed for New York. To make a long story short, it 
 was a gold mine and a matter of ten weeks which were 
 taken up with shooting and fishing in Canada. Then 
 I had the gold mine and the experience, while the 
 other fellow had the cash. He was good enough to 
 pay me a trifle for my steam yacht, which, as the 
 advertisements say, was ' of no further use to the 
 owner.' " 
 
 As I sipped my champagne, the incidents I was re- 
 lating seemed to recede farther and farther back and 
 become of little consequence. In fact I felt like laugh- 
 ing over them, and although in sober moments I should 
 have called the action of the man who got my money a 
 swindle, under the influence of dry '78 his scheme be- 
 came merely a very clever exercise of wit. Mr. Hem- 
 ster was looking steadily at me, and for once his cigar 
 was almost motionless. 
 
 " Well, well," he murmured, more to himself than 
 to me, " I have always said the geographical position 
 of New York gives it a tremendous advantage over 
 Chicago. They never let the fools come West. They 
 have always the first whack at the moneyed English- 
 man, and will have until we get a ship canal that will 
 let the liners through to Chicago direct. Fleeced in ten 
 weeks ! Well, well ! Go on, my son. What did you 
 do after you 'd sold your yacht ? " 
 
 " I took what money I had and made for the West." 
 
 "Came to Chicago?" 
 
 " Yes, I did." 
 
 " Just our luck. After you had been well buncoed 
 18
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 you came to Chicago. I swear I 'm tempted to settle 
 in New York when I get back." 
 
 " By the West I do not mean Chicago, Mr. Hemster. 
 I went right through to San Francisco and took a 
 steamer for Japan. I thought my knowledge of the 
 East and of the languages might be of advantage. I 
 was ashamed to return to England when I found I 
 could make no headway here. I tried to bring influ- 
 ence to bear to get reinstated in the diplomatic service, 
 but my brand of statesman was out of office and noth- 
 ing could be done. I lived too expensively here at 
 first, hoping to make an impression and gain a foothold 
 that was worth having, and when I began to economize 
 it was too late. I took to living in the native quarter, 
 and descended from trying to get a clerkship into the 
 position of a man who is willing to take anything. 
 From my veranda on the hill up yonder I saw this boat 
 come in, like a white-winged sea-gull, and so I came 
 down, got into a sampan, and here I am, enjoying the 
 best meal I Ve had for a long time. * Here endeth the 
 first lesson,' " I concluded irreverently, pouring out 
 another glass of champagne. 
 
 Mr. Hemster did not reply for some moments. He 
 was evidently ruminating, and the end of his cigar went 
 round and round quicker and quicker. 
 
 " What might your name be ? " he said at last. 
 
 " Rupert Tremorne." 
 
 "Got a handle to it?" 
 
 " A title? Oh, no! Plain Mr. Tremorne." 
 
 " I should say, off-hand, that a title runs in your 
 family somewhere." 
 
 19
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Well ; I admit that Lord Tremorne is my cowsin, 
 and we have a few others scattered about. However, 
 there 's little danger of it ever falling upon me. To 
 tell the truth, the family for the last few years has no 
 idea where I am, and now that I have lost my money I 
 don't suppose they care very much. At least I have 
 seen no advertisements in the papers, asking for a man 
 of my description." 
 
 " If you were secretary to the Minister of whatever 
 you call it, I don't know but what you 'd do for me. I 
 am short of a private secretary just at the present mo- 
 ment, and I think you 'd do." 
 
 Whether it was the champagne, or the sandwiches, 
 or the prospect of getting something to do, and conse- 
 quently being able to pay my way, or all three com- 
 bined, I felt like throwing my hat into the air and utter- 
 ing a war-whoop; but something of native stolidity 
 counterbalanced the effect of the stimulant, and I was 
 astonished to hear myself reply very quietly: 
 
 " It would be folly for a man who had just applied 
 for the position of stoker to pretend he is not elated at 
 being offered a secretaryship. It is needless to say, 
 Mr. Hemster, that I accept with alacrity and grati- 
 tude." 
 
 " Then that 's settled," said the millionaire curtly. 
 " As to the matter of salary, I think you would be wise 
 to leave that to me. I have paid out a good deal of 
 money recently and got mighty little for it. If you can 
 turn the tide so that there is value received, you will 
 find me liberal in the matter of wages." 
 /' I am quite content to leave it so," I rejoined, " but 
 20
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I think I ought in honesty to tell you, if you are ex- 
 pecting a shrewd business man as your secretary who 
 will turn the tide of fortune in any way, you are likely 
 to be disappointed in me. I am afraid I am a very poor 
 business man." 
 
 " I am aware of that already," replied Hemster. " I 
 can supply all the business qualifications that are needed 
 in this new combination. What I want of you is some- 
 thing entirely different. You said you could speak 
 more languages than your own ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am very familiar with French and German, 
 and have also a smattering of Spanish and Italian. I 
 can read and write Japanese, speaking that language 
 and Chinese with reasonable fluency, and can even 
 jabber a little in Corean." 
 
 " Then you 're -my man," said my host firmly. " I 
 suppose now you would not object to a little something 
 on account ? " 
 
 " I should be very much obliged indeed if you have 
 confidence enough in me to make an advance. There 
 are some things I should like to buy before I come 
 aboard, and, not to put too fine a point to it, there are 
 some debts I should like to settle." 
 
 " That 's all right," commented Hemster shortly, 
 thrusting his hand deep in his trousers pocket, and 
 bringing out a handful of money which he threw on 
 the wicker table. " There ought to be something like 
 two hundred dollars there. Just count it and see, and 
 write me a receipt for it." 
 
 I counted it, and, as I did so, thought he watched me 
 rather keenly out of the corner of his eye. There was 
 
 21
 
 more than two hundred dollars in the heap, and I told 
 him the amount. The Japanese brought up a sheet 
 of paper headed with a gorgeous gilt and scarlet mono- 
 gram and a picture of the yacht, and I wrote and 
 signed the receipt. 
 
 " Do you know anything about the stores in town ? " 
 he asked, nodding his head toward Nagasaki. 
 
 "Oh, yes!" 
 
 " They tell me Nagasaki is a great place for buying 
 crockery. I wish you would order sent to the yacht 
 three complete dinner sets, three tea sets, and three 
 luncheon sets. There is always a good deal of break- 
 age on a sea-going yacht." 
 
 " Quite so," I replied. " Is there any particular pat- 
 tern you wish, or any limit to the price ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don't need expensive sets ; anything will 
 do. I 'm not particular ; in fact, I don't care even to 
 see them ; I leave that entirely to you, but tell the man 
 to pack them securely, each in a separate box. He is 
 to bring them aboard at half-past five this afternoon 
 precisely, and ask for me. Now, when can you join 
 us?" 
 
 " To-morrow morning, if that will be soon enough." 
 
 " Very well ; to-morrow morning at ten." 
 
 I saw that he wished the interview terminated, as, 
 for the last few minutes, he had exhibited signs of un- 
 easiness. I therefore rose and said, rather stammer- 
 ingly, I am afraid : 
 
 " Mr. Hemster, I don't know how to thank you for 
 your kindness in " 
 
 " Oh, that 's all right ; that 's all right," he replied 
 
 22
 
 hastily, waving his hand ; but before anything further 
 could be spoken there came up on deck the most beau- 
 tiful and stately creature I had ever beheld, superbly 
 attired. She cast not even a glance at me, but hurried 
 toward Mr. Hemster, crying impetuously : 
 
 " Oh, Poppa ! I want to go into the town and shop ! " 
 
 " Quite right, my dear," said the old man ; " I won- 
 der you 've been so long about it. We 've been in har- 
 bor two or three hours. This is Mr. Rupert Tre- 
 morne, my new private secretary. Mr. Tremorne, my 
 daughter." 
 
 I made my bow, but it seemed to pass unnoticed. 
 
 " How do you do," said the girl hastily ; then, to her 
 father, " Poppa, I want some money ! " 
 
 " Certainly, certainly, certainly," repeated the old 
 gentleman, plunging his hand into his other pocket and 
 pulling out another handful of the " necessary." As I 
 learned afterward, each of his pockets seemed to be a 
 sort of safe depository, which would turn forth any 
 amount of capital when searched. He handed the ac- 
 cumulation to her, and she stuffed it hastily into a 
 small satchel that hung at her side. 
 
 " You are going to take Miss Stretton with you ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Why, of course." 
 
 " Mr. Tremorne is cousin to Lord Tremorne, of Eng- 
 land," said the old gentleman very slowly and solemnly. 
 
 I had been standing there rather stupidly, instead 
 of taking my departure, as I should have done, for I 
 may as well confess that I was astounded at the sump- 
 tuous beauty of the girl before me, who had hitherto 
 
 23
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 cast not even a look in my direction. Now she raised 
 her lovely, indescribable eyes to mine, and I felt a thrill 
 extend to my finger-tips. Many handsome women 
 have I seen in my day, but none to compare with this 
 superb daughter of the West. 
 
 " Really ! " she exclaimed with a most charming in- 
 tonation of surprise. Then she extended a white and 
 slim hand to me, and continued, " I am very glad to 
 meet you, Mr. Tremorne. Do you live in Nagasaki ? " 
 
 " I have done so for the past year." 
 
 " Then you know the town well ? " 
 
 " I know it very well indeed." 
 
 At this juncture another young woman came on 
 deck, and Miss Hemster turned quickly toward her. 
 
 " Oh, Hilda ! " she cried, " I shall not need you to- 
 day. Thanks ever so much." 
 
 " Not need her ? " exclaimed her father. " Why, 
 you can't go into Nagasaki alone, my dear." 
 
 " I have no intention of doing so," she replied ami- 
 ably, " if Mr. Tremorne will be good enough to es- 
 cort me." 
 
 " I shall be delighted," I gasped, expecting an ex- 
 postulation from her father; but the old gentleman 
 merely said : 
 
 " All right, my dear; just as you please." 
 
 " Rupert, my boy ! " I said to my amazed self ; 
 " your ship has come in with a vengeance."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A5TAIRWAY was slung on the other side of the 
 yacht from that on which I had ascended, 
 and at its foot lay a large and comfortable 
 boat belonging to the yacht, manned by four stout sea- 
 men. Down this stairway and into the boat I escorted 
 Miss Hemster. She seated herself in the stern and 
 took the tiller-ropes in her hands, now daintily gloved. 
 I sat down opposite to her and was about to give a 
 command to the men to give way when she forestalled 
 me, and the oars struck the water simultaneously. As 
 soon as we had rounded the bow of the yacht there 
 was a sudden outcry from a half-naked Japanese boy 
 who was sculling about in a sampan. 
 
 " What 's the matter with him ? " asked Miss Hem- 
 ster with a little laugh. " Does he think we 're going 
 to desert this boat and take that floating coffin of his ? " 
 
 " I think it is my own man," I said ; " and he fears 
 that his fare is leaving him without settling up. Have 
 I your permission to stop these men till he comes along- 
 side? He has been waiting patiently for me while I 
 talked with Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Why, certainly," said the girl, and in obedience to 
 her order the crew held water, and as the boy came 
 alongside I handed him more than double what I owed 
 
 25
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 him, and he nearly upset his craft by bowing in amazed 
 acknowledgment. 
 
 " You 're an Englishman, I suppose," said Miss 
 Hemster. 
 
 " In a sort of way I am, but really a citizen of the 
 world. For many years past I have been less in Eng- 
 land than in other countries." 
 
 " For many years ? Why, you talk as if you were an 
 old man, and you don't look a day more than thirty." 
 
 " My looks do not libel me, Miss Hemster," I replied 
 with a laugh, " for I am not yet thirty." 
 
 " I am twenty-one," she said carelessly, " but every 
 one says I don't look more than seventeen." 
 
 " I thought you were younger than seventeen," said 
 I, " when I first saw you a moment ago." 
 
 " Did you really ? I think it is very flattering of you 
 to say so, and I hope you mean it." 
 
 " I do, indeed, Miss Hemster." 
 
 " Do you think I look younger than Hilda ? " she 
 asked archly, " most people do." 
 
 " Hilda ! " said I. " What Hilda ? " 
 
 " Why, Hilda Stretton, my companion." 
 
 " I have never seen her." 
 
 " Oh, yes, you did ; she was standing at the com- 
 panion-way and was coming with me when I preferred 
 to come with you." 
 
 " I did not see her," I said, shaking my head ; " I 
 saw no one but you." 
 
 The young lady laughed merrily, a melodious rip- 
 ple of sound. I have heard women's laughter com- 
 pared to the tinkle of silver bells, but to that musical 
 
 26
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 tintinnabulation was now added something so deli- 
 ciously human and girlish that the whole effect was 
 nothing short of enchanting. Conversation now ceased, 
 for we were drawing close to the shore. I directed the 
 crew where to land, and the young lady sprang up the 
 steps without assistance from me, before, indeed, I 
 could proffer any. I was about to follow when one 
 of the sailors touched me on the shoulder. 
 
 " The old man," he said in a husky whisper, nod- 
 ding his head toward the yacht, " told me to tell you 
 that when you buy that crockery you 're not to let Miss 
 Hemster know anything about it." 
 
 "Aren't you coming?" cried Miss Hemster to me 
 from the top of the wharf. 
 
 I ascended the steps with celerity and begged her 
 pardon for my delay. 
 
 " I am not sprightly seventeen, you see," I said. 
 
 She laughed, and I put her in a 'rickshaw drawn by 
 a stalwart Japanese, got into one myself, and we set 
 off for the main shopping street. I was rather at a 
 loss to know exactly what the sailor's message meant, 
 but I took it to be that for some reason Mr. Hemster 
 did not wish his daughter to learn that he was indulg- 
 ing so freely in dinner sets. As it was already three 
 o'clock in the afternoon, I realized that there would be 
 some difficulty in getting the goods aboard by five 
 o'clock, unless the young lady dismissed me when we 
 arrived at the shops. This, however, did not appear 
 to be her intention in the least ; when our human steeds 
 stopped, she gave me her hand lightly as she 
 descended, and then said, with her captivating smile : 
 27
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I want you to take me at once to a china shop." 
 
 "To a what?" I cried. 
 
 " To a shop where they sell dishes, dinner sets and 
 that sort of thing. You know what I mean, a crock- 
 ery store." 
 
 I did, but I was so astonished by the request coming 
 right on the heels of the message from her father, and 
 taken in conjunction with his previous order, that I 
 am afraid I stood looking very much like a fool, 
 whereupon she laughed heartily, and I joined her. I 
 saw she was quite a merry young lady, with a keen 
 sense of the humour of things. 
 
 " Have n't they any crockery stores in this town ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Oh, there are plenty of them," I replied. 
 
 " Why, you look as if you had never heard of such a 
 thing before. Take me, then, to whichever is the best. 
 I want to buy a dinner set and a tea set the very first 
 thing." 
 
 I bowed, and, somewhat to my embarrassment, she 
 took my arm, tripping along by my side as if she were 
 a little girl of ten, overjoyed at her outing, to which 
 feeling she gave immediate expression. 
 
 " Is n't this jolly? " she cried. 
 
 " It is the most undeniably jolly shopping excursion 
 I ever engaged in," said I, fervently and truthfully. 
 
 " You see," she went on, " the delight of this sort of 
 thing is that we are in an utterly foreign country and 
 can do just as we please. That is why I did not wish 
 Hilda to come with us. She is rather prim and has 
 notions of propriety which are all right at home, but 
 
 28
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 what is the use of coming to foreign countries if you 
 cannot enjoy them as you wish to? " 
 
 " I think that is a very sensible idea," said I. 
 
 " Why, it seems as if you and I were members of a 
 travelling theatrical company, and were taking part in 
 ' The Mikado,' does n't it ? What funny little people 
 they are all around us ! Nagasaki does n't seem real. 
 It looks as if it were set on a stage, don't you think 
 so?" 
 
 " Well, you know, I am rather accustomed to it. 
 I have lived here for more than a year, as I told 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, so you said. I have not got used to it yet. 
 Have you ever seen ' The Mikado? ' ' 
 
 " Do you mean the Emperor or the play ? " 
 
 " At the moment I was thinking of the play." 
 
 " Yes, I have seen it, and the real Mikado, too, and 
 spoken with him." 
 
 " Have you, indeed? How lucky you are ! " 
 
 " You speak truly, Miss Hemster, and I never knew 
 how lucky I was until to-day." 
 
 She bent her head and laughed quietly to herself. I 
 thought we were more like a couple of school children 
 than members of a theatrical troupe, but as I never was 
 an actor I cannot say how the latter behave when they 
 are on the streets of a strange town. 
 
 " Oh, I have met your kind of man before, Mr. Tre- 
 morne. You don't mind what you say when you are 
 talking to a lady as long as it is something flatter- 
 ing." 
 
 " I assure you, Miss Hemster, that quite the con- 
 29
 
 trary is the case. I never flatter; and if I have been 
 using a congratulatory tone it has been directed entirely 
 to myself and to my own good fortune." 
 
 " There you go again. How did you come to meet 
 the Mikado?" 
 
 " I used to be in the diplomatic service in Japan, and 
 my duties on several occasions brought me the honor 
 of an audience with His Majesty." 
 
 " How charmingly you say that, and I can see that 
 you believe it from your heart ; and although we are 
 democratic, I believe it, too. I always love diplomatic 
 society, and enjoyed a good deal of it in Washington, 
 and my imagination always pictured behind them the 
 majesty of royalty, so I have come abroad to see the 
 real thing. I was presented at Court in London, Mr. 
 Tremorne. Now, please don't say that you congratu- 
 late the Court ! " 
 
 " There is no need of my saying it, as it has already 
 been said ; or perhaps I should say ' it goes without 
 saying.' " 
 
 " Thank you very much, Mr. Tremorne ; I think 
 you are the most polite man I ever met. I want you 
 to do me a very great favor and introduce me to the 
 higher grades of diplomatic society in Nagasaki during 
 our stay here." 
 
 " I regret, Miss Hemster, that that is impossible, 
 because I have been out of the service for some years 
 now. Besides, the society here is consular rather than 
 diplomatic. The Legation is at the capital, you know. 
 Nagasaki is merely a commercial city." 
 
 " Oh, is it ? I thought perhaps you had been seeing 
 
 30
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 my father to-day because of some consular business, 
 or that sort of thing, pertaining to the yacht." 
 
 As the girl said this I realized, with a suddenness 
 that was disconcerting, the fact that I was practically 
 acting under false pretences. I was her father's 
 humble employee, and she did not know it. I remem- 
 bered with a pang when her father first mentioned my 
 name she paid not the slightest attention to it ; but 
 when he said I was the cousin of Lord Tremorne the 
 young lady had favored me with a glance I was not 
 soon to forget. Therefore, seeing that Mr. Hemster 
 had neglected to make my position clear, it now be- 
 came my duty to give some necessary explanation, so 
 that his daughter might not continue an acquaintance 
 that was rapidly growing almost intimate under her 
 misapprehension as to who I was. I saw with a pang 
 that a humiliation was in store for me such as always 
 lies in wait for a man who momentarily steps out of his 
 place and receives consideration which is not his so- 
 cial due. 
 
 I had once before suffered the experience which was 
 now ahead of me, and it was an episode I did not care 
 to repeat, although I failed to see how it could be hon- 
 estly avoided. On my return to Japan I sought out the 
 man in the diplomatic service who had been my great- 
 est friend and for whom I had in former days accom- 
 plished some slight services, because my status in the 
 ranks was superior to his own. Now that there was an 
 opportunity for a return of these services, I called 
 upon him, and was received with a cordiality that went 
 to my discouraged heart; but the moment he learned 
 
 31
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I was in need, and that I could not regain the place I 
 had formerly held, he congealed in the most tactful 
 manner possible. It was an interesting study in human 
 deportment. His manner and words were simply un- 
 impeachable, but there gathered around him a mantle 
 of impenetrable frigidity the collection of which was a 
 triumph in tactful intercourse. As he grew colder and 
 colder, I grew hotter and hotter. I managed to with- 
 draw without showing, I hope, the deep humiliation I 
 felt. Since that time I had never sought a former ac- 
 quaintance, or indeed any countryman of my own, pre- 
 ferring to be indebted to my old friend Yansan on the 
 terrace above or the sampan-boy on the waters below. 
 The man I speak of has risen high and is rising higher 
 in my old profession, and every now and then his last 
 words ring in my ears and warm them, words of 
 counterfeit cordiality as he realized they were the last 
 that he should probably ever speak to me : 
 
 " Well, my dear fellow, I 'm ever so glad you called. 
 If I can do anything for you, you must be sure and 
 let me know." 
 
 As I had already let him know, my reply that I 
 should certainly do so must have sounded as hollow as 
 his own smooth phrase. 
 
 Unpleasant as that episode was, the situation was 
 now ten times worse, as it involved a woman, and a 
 lovely woman at that, who had treated me with a 
 kindness she would feel misplaced when she under- 
 stood the truth. However, there was no help for it, 
 so, clearing my throat, I began : 
 
 " Miss Hemster, when I took the liberty of calling 
 
 32
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 001 your father this morning-, I was a man penniless 
 and out of work. I went to the yacht in the hope that 
 I might find something to do. I was fortunate enough 
 to be offered the position of private secretary to Mr. 
 Hemster, which position I have accepted." 
 
 The young lady, as I expected, instantly withdrew 
 her hand from my arm, and stood there facing me, I 
 also coming to a halt; and thus we confronted each 
 other in the crowded street of Nagasaki. Undeniable 
 amazement overspread her beautiful countenance. 
 
 " Why ! " she gasped, " you are, then, Poppa's hired 
 man?" 
 
 I winced a trifle, but bowed low to her. 
 
 " Madam," I replied, " you have stated the fact with 
 great truth and terseness." 
 
 " Do you mean to say," she said, " that you are to 
 be with us after this on the yacht? " 
 
 " I suspect such to be your father's intention." 
 Then, to my amazement, she impulsively thrust forth 
 both her hands and clasped mine. 
 
 " Why, how perfectly lovely ! " she exclaimed. " I 
 have n't had a white man to talk with except Poppa for 
 ages and ages. But you must remember that every- 
 thing I want you to do, you are to do. You are to be 
 my hired man ; Poppa won't mind." 
 
 " You will find me a most devoted retainer, Miss 
 Hemster." 
 
 " I do love that word ' retainer,' " she cried enthu- 
 siastically. " It is like the magic talisman of the 
 ' Arabian Nights,' and conjures up at once visions of 
 a historic tower, mullioned windows, and all that sort 
 
 33
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 of thing 1 . When you were made a bankrupt, Mr. Tre- 
 morne, was there one faithful old retainer who refused 
 to desert you as the others had done ? " 
 
 " Ah, my dear young lady, you are thinking of the 
 romantic drama now, as you were alluding to comic 
 opera a little while ago. I believe, in the romantic 
 drama, the retainer, like the man with the mortgage, 
 never lets go. I am thankful to say I had no such per- 
 son in my employ. He would have been an awful 
 nuisance. It was hard enough to provide for myself, 
 not to mention a retainer. But here we are at the 
 crockery shop." 
 
 I escorted her in, and she was soon deeply absorbed 
 in the mysteries of this pattern or that of the various 
 wares exposed to her choice. Meanwhile I took the 
 opportunity to give the proprietor instructions in his 
 own language to send to the yacht before five o'clock 
 what Mr. Hemster had ordered, and I warned the man 
 he was not to mix up the order I had just given him 
 with that of the young lady. The Japanese are very 
 quick at comprehension, and when Miss Hemster and 
 I left the place I had no fear of any complication aris- 
 ing through my instructions. 
 
 We wandered from shop to shop, the girl enthusias- 
 tic over Nagasaki, much to my wonder, for there are 
 other places in Japan more attractive than this com- 
 mercial town ; but the glamor of the East cast its spell 
 over the young woman, and, although I was rather 
 tired of the Orient, I must admit that the infection of 
 her high spirits extended to my own feelings. A week 
 ago it would have appeared impossible that I should 
 
 34
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 be enjoying myself so thoroughly as I was now doing. 
 It seemed as if years had rolled from my shoulders, and 
 I was a boy once more, living in a world where con- 
 ventionality was unknown. 
 
 The girl herself was in a whirlwind of glee, and it 
 was not often that the shopkeepers of Nagasaki met so 
 easy a victim. She seemed absolutely reckless in the 
 use of money, paying whatever was asked for anything 
 that took her fancy. In a very short time all her ready 
 cash was gone, but that made not the slightest differ- 
 ence. She ordered here and there with the extrava- 
 gance of a queen, on what she called the " C. O. D." 
 plan, which I afterward learned was an American 
 phrase meaning, " Collect on delivery." Her peregri- 
 nations would have tired out half-a-dozen men, but she 
 showed no signs of fatigue. I felt a hesitation about 
 inviting her to partake of refreshment, but I need not 
 have been so backward. 
 
 " Talking of comic operas," she exclaimed as we 
 came out of the last place, " Are n't there any tea- 
 houses here, such as we see on the stage ? " 
 
 " Yes, plenty of them," I replied. 
 
 " Well," she exclaimed with a ripple of laughter, 
 " take me to the wickedest of them. What is the use 
 of going around the world in a big yacht if you don't 
 see life?" 
 
 I wondered what her father would say if he knew, 
 but I acted the faithful retainer to the last, and did as 
 I was bid. She expressed the utmost delight in every- 
 thing she saw, and it was well after six o'clock when 
 we descended from our 'rickshaw at the landing. The 
 
 35
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 boat was awaiting us, and in a short time we were 
 alongside the yacht once more. It had been a wild, 
 tempestuous outing, and I somewhat feared the stern 
 disapproval of an angry parent. He was leaning over 
 the rail revolving an unlit cigar. 
 
 " Oh, Poppa ! " she cried up at him with enthusiasm, 
 " I have had a perfectly splendid time. Mr. Tremorne 
 knows Nagasaki like a book. He has taken me every- 
 where," she cried, with unnecessary emphasis on the 
 last word. 
 
 The millionaire was entirely unperturbed. 
 
 " That 's all right," he said. " I hope you have n't 
 tired yourself out." 
 
 " Oh, no ! I should be delighted to do it all over 
 again ! Has anybody sent anything aboard for me ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the old man, " there 's been a procession 
 of people here since you left. Dinner 's ready, Mr. 
 Tremorne. You '11 come aboard, of course, and take 
 pot-luck with us ? " 
 
 " No, thank you, Mr. Hemster," I said ; " I must 
 get a sampan and make my way into town again." 
 
 " Just as you say ; but you don't need a sampan, 
 these men will row you back again. See you to-mor- 
 row at ten, then." 
 
 Miss Hemster, now on deck, leaned over the rail 
 and daintily blew me a kiss from the tips of her slender 
 fingers. 
 
 " Thank you so much, retainer," she cried, as I lifted 
 my hat in token of farewell.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 I WAS speedily rowed ashore in a state of great 
 exaltation. The sudden change in my expecta- 
 tions was bewilderingly Eastern in its complete- 
 ness. The astonishingly intimate companionship of 
 this buoyant, effervescent girl had affected me as did 
 the bottle of champagne earlier in the day. I was well 
 aware that many of my former acquaintances would 
 have raised their hands in horror at the thought of a 
 girl wandering about an Eastern city with me, entirely 
 unchaperoned ; but I had been so long down on my 
 luck, and the experiences I had encountered with so- 
 called fashionable friends had been so bitter, that the 
 little finicky rules of society seemed of small account 
 when compared with the realities of life. The girl was 
 perfectly untrained and impulsive, but that she was a 
 true-hearted woman I had not the slightest doubt. 
 Was I in love with her? I asked myself, and at that 
 moment my brain was in too great a whirl to be able 
 to answer the question satisfactorily to myself. My 
 short ten weeks in America had given me no such ac- 
 quaintance as this, although the two months and a half 
 had cost me fifty thousand dollars a week, certainly 
 the most expensive living that any man, is likely to en- 
 counter. I had met a few American women, but they 
 
 37
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 all seemed as cold and indifferent as our own, while 
 here was a veritable child of nature, as untrammelled 
 by the little rules of society as could well be imagined 
 After all, were these rules so important as I had hith- 
 erto supposed them to be? Certainly not, I replied to 
 myself, as I stepped ashore. 
 
 I climbed the steep hill to my former residence with" 
 my head in the air in every sense of the word. Many 
 a weary journey I had taken up that forlorn path, and 
 it had often been the up-hill road of discouragement; 
 but to-night Japan was indeed the land of enchantment 
 which so many romantic writers have depicted it. I 
 thought of the girl and thought of her father, wonder- 
 ing what my new duties were to be. If to-day were a 
 sample of them then truly was Paradise regained, as 
 the poet has it. I had told Mr. Hemster that I needed 
 time to purchase necessary things for the voyage, but 
 this would take me to very few shops. I had in store 
 in Nagasaki a large trunk filled with various suits of 
 clothing, a trunk of that comprehensive kind which 
 one buys in America. This was really in pawn. I had 
 delivered it to a shopkeeper who had given me a line of 
 credit now long since ended, but I knew I should find 
 my goods and chattels safe when I came with the 
 money, as indeed proved to be the case. 
 
 It was a great pleasure to meet Yansan once more, 
 bowing as lowly as if I were in truth a millionaire. I 
 had often wondered what would happen if I had been 
 compelled to tell the grimacing old fellow I had no 
 money to pay him. Would his excessive politeness 
 have stood the strain? Perhaps so, but luckily his 
 
 38
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 good nature was not to be put to the test. I could 
 scarcely refrain from grasping his two hands, as Miss 
 Hemster had grasped mine, and dancing with him 
 around the bare habitation which he owned and which 
 had so long been my shelter. However, I said calmly 
 to him: 
 
 " Yansan, my ship has come in, as I told you this 
 morning; and now, if you will bring me that bill, er- 
 rors and all, I will pay you three times its amount." 
 
 Speechless, the old man dropped on his knees and 
 beat his forehead against the floor. 
 
 " Excellency has always been too good to me ! " he 
 exclaimed. 
 
 I tried to induce good old Yansan to share supper 
 with me: but he was too much impressed with my 
 greatness and could do nothing but bow and bow and 
 serve me. 
 
 After the repast I went down into the town again, 
 redeemed my trunk and its contents, bought what I 
 needed, and ordered everything forwarded to the yacht 
 before seven o'clock next morning. Then I went to a 
 tea-house, and drank tea, and thought over the won- 
 derful events of the day, after which I climbed the hill 
 again for a night's rest. 
 
 I was very sorry to bid farewell to old Yansan next 
 morning, and I believe he was very sorry to part with 
 his lodger. Once more at the waterside I hailed my 
 sampan-boy, who was now all eagerness to serve me, 
 and he took me out to the yacht, which was evidently 
 ready for an early departure. Her whole crew was 
 now aboard, and most of them had had a day's leave in. 
 
 39
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Nagasaki yesterday. The captain was pacing up and 
 down the bridge, and smoke was lazily trailing from 
 the funnel. 
 
 Arrived on deck I found Mr. Hemster in his former 
 position in the cane chair, with his back still toward 
 Nagasaki, which town I believe he never glanced at 
 all the time his yacht was in harbor. I learned after- 
 ward that he thought it compared very unfavorably 
 with Chicago. His unlighted cigar was describing cir- 
 cles in the air, and all in all I might have imagined he 
 had not changed from the position I left him in the 
 day before if I had not seen him leaning over the rail 
 when 1 escorted his daughter back to the yacht. He 
 gave me no further greeting than a nod, which did not 
 err on the side of effusiveness. 
 
 I inquired of the Japanese boy, who stood ready to 
 receive me with all the courtesy of his race, whether my 
 luggage had come aboard, and he informed me that it 
 had. I approached Mr. Hemster, bidding him good- 
 morning, but he gave a side nod of his head toward the 
 Japanese boy and said, " He '11 show you to your 
 cabin," so I followed the youth down the companion- 
 way to my quarters. The yacht, as I have said, was 
 very big. The main saloon extended from side to side, 
 and was nearly as large as the dining-room of an ocean 
 liner. Two servants with caps and aprons, exactly like 
 English housemaids, were dusting and putting things 
 to rights as I passed through. 
 
 My cabin proved ample in size, and was even more 
 comfortably equipped than I expected to find it. My 
 luggage was there, and I took the opportunity of 
 
 40
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 changing my present costume for one of more nautical 
 cut, and, placing a yachting-cap on my head, I went on 
 deck again. I had expected, from all the preparedness 
 I had seen, to hear the anchor-chain rattle up before I 
 was equipped, and feared for the moment that I had 
 delayed the sailing of the yacht ; but on looking at my 
 watch as I went on deck I found it was not yet ten 
 o'clock, so I was in ample time, as had been arranged. 
 
 I had seen nothing of Miss Hemster, and began to 
 suspect that she had gone ashore and that the yacht 
 was awaiting her return ; but a glance showed me that 
 all the yacht's boats were in place, so if the young 
 woman had indulged in a supplementary shopping- 
 tour it must have been in a sampan, which was un- 
 likely. 
 
 The old gentleman, as I approached him, eyed my 
 yachting toggery with what seemed to me critical dis- 
 approval. 
 
 " Well," he said, " you 're all fitted out for a cruise, 
 are n't you ? Have a cigar," and he offered me his 
 case. 
 
 I took the weed and replied: 
 
 " Yes, and you seem ready to begin a cruise. May 
 I ask where you are going? " 
 
 " I don't know exactly," he replied carelessly. " I 
 have n't quite made up my mind yet. I thought per- 
 haps you might be able to decide the matter." 
 
 " To decide ! " I answered in surprise. 
 
 " Yes," he said, sitting up suddenly and throwing 
 the cigar overboard. " What nonsense were you talk- 
 ing to my daughter yesterday ? " 
 
 41
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I was so taken aback at this unexpected and gruff 
 inquiry that I fear I stood there looking rather idiotic, 
 which was evidently the old man's own impression of 
 me, for he scowled in a manner that was extremely dis- 
 concerting. I had no wish to adopt the Adam-like ex- 
 pedient of blaming the woman; but, after all, he had 
 been there when I went off alone with her, and it was 
 really not my fault that I was the girl's sole compan- 
 ion in Nagasaki. All my own early training and later 
 social prejudices led me to sympathize with Mr. Hem- 
 ster's evident ill-humour regarding our shore excur- 
 sion, but nevertheless it struck me as a trifle belated. 
 He should have objected when the proposal was made. 
 
 " Really, sir/' I stammered at last, " I 'm afraid I 
 must say I don't exactly know what you mean." 
 
 " I think I spoke plainly enough," he answered. " I 
 w r ant you to be careful what you say, and if you come 
 with me to my office, where we shall not be interrupt- 
 ed, I '11 give you a straight talking to, so that we may 
 avoid trouble in the future." 
 
 I was speechless with amazement, and also some- 
 what indignant. If he took this tone with me, my 
 place was evidently going to be one of some difficulty. 
 However, needs must when the devil drives, even if he 
 comes from Chicago ; and although his words were bit- 
 ter to endure, I was in a manner helpless and forced to 
 remember my subordinate position, which, in truth, I 
 had perhaps forgotten during my shopping experiences 
 with his impulsive daughter. Yet I had myself made 
 her aware of my situation, and if our conversation at 
 times had been a trifle free and easy I think the 
 
 42
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 fault but there there there 1 'm at the 
 
 Adam business again. The woman tempted me, and I 
 did talk. I felt humiliated that even to myself I placed 
 any blame upon her. 
 
 Mr. Hemster rose, nipped off the point of another 
 cigar, and strode along the deck to the companion-way, 
 I following him like a confessed culprit. He led me to 
 what he called his office, a room not very much larger 
 than my own, but without the bunk that took up part 
 of the space in my cabin ; in fact a door led out of it 
 which, I afterward learned, communicated with his 
 bedroom. The office was fitted up with an American 
 roll-top desk fastened to the floor, a copying-press, a 
 typewriter, filing-cases from floor to ceiling, and other 
 paraphernalia of a completely equipped business estab- 
 lishment. There was a swivelled armchair before the 
 desk, into which Mr. Hemster dropped and leaned 
 back, the springs creaking as he did so. There was but 
 one other chair in the room, and he motioned me into 
 it. 
 
 " See here ! " he began abruptly. " Did you tell my 
 daughter yesterday that you were a friend of the Mi- 
 kado's?" 
 
 " God bless me, no ! " I was surprised into replying. 
 " I said nothing of the sort." 
 
 " Well, you left her under that impression." 
 
 " I cannot see, Mr. Hemster, how such can be the 
 case. I told Miss Hemster that I had met the Mikado 
 on several occasions, but I explained to her that these 
 occasions were entirely official, and each time I merely 
 accompanied a superior officer in the diplomatic serv- 
 
 43
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 ice. Although I have spoken with His Majesty, it was 
 merely because questions were addressed to me, and 
 because I was the only person present sufficiently con- 
 versant with the Japanese language to make him a 
 reply in his own tongue." 
 
 " I see, I see/' mused the old gentleman ; " but Ger- 
 tie somehow got it into her head that you could intro- 
 duce us personally to the Mikado. I told her it was 
 not likely that a fellow I had picked up strapped from 
 the streets of Nagasaki, as one might say, would be 
 able to give us an introduction that would amount to 
 anything." 
 
 I felt myself getting red behind the ears as Mr. 
 Hemster put my situation with, what seemed to me, 
 such unnecessary brutality. Yet, after all, what he had 
 said was the exact truth, and I had no right to com- 
 plain of it, for if there was money in my pocket at that 
 moment it was because he had placed it there ; and then 
 I saw intuitively that he meant no offence, but was 
 merely repeating what he had said to his daughter, 
 placing the case in a way that would be convincing to 
 a man, whatever effect it might have on a woman's 
 mind. 
 
 " I am afraid," I said, " that I must have expressed 
 myself clumsily to Miss Hemster. I think I told her, 
 but I make the statement subject to correction, that I 
 had so long since severed my connection with diplo- 
 matic service in Tokio that even the slight power I then 
 possessed no longer exists. If I still retained my for- 
 mer position I should scarcely be more helpless than I 
 am now, so far as what you require is concerned." 
 
 44
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " That 's exactly what I told her," growled the old 
 man. '' I suppose you have n't any suggestion to make 
 that would help me out at all ? " 
 
 " The only suggestion I can make is this, and indeed 
 I think the way seems perfectly clear. You no doubt 
 know your own Ambassador, perhaps have letters 
 of introduction to him, and he may very easily ar- 
 range for you to have an audience with His Majesty 
 the Mikado." 
 
 " Oh ! our Ambassador ! " growled Mr. Hemster in 
 tones of great contempt ; " he 's nothing but a one- 
 horse politician." 
 
 " Nevertheless," said I, " his position is such that by 
 merely exercising the prerogatives of his office he 
 could get you what you wanted." 
 
 " No, he can 't," maintained the old gentleman 
 stoutly. " Still, I should n't say anything against him ; 
 he 's all right. He did his best for us, and if we could 
 have waited long enough at Yokohama perhaps he 
 might have fixed up an audience with the Mikado. 
 But I 'd had enough of hanging on around there, and 
 so I sailed away. Now, my son, I said I was going to 
 give you a talking to, and I am. I '11 tell you just how 
 the land lies, so you can be of some help to me and not 
 a drawback. I want you to be careful of what you say 
 to Gertie about such people as the Mikado, because it 
 excites her and makes her think certain things are easy 
 when they 're not." 
 
 " I am very sorry if I have said anything that led to 
 a misapprehension. I certainly did not intend to." 
 
 " No, no ! I understand that. I am not blaming you 
 
 45
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 a bit. I just want you to catch on to the situation, 
 that 's all. Gertie likes you first rate ; she told me so, 
 and I 'm ever so much obliged to you for the trouble 
 you took yesterday afternoon in entertaining her. She 
 told me everything you said and did, and it was all 
 right. Now Gertie has always been accustomed to 
 moving in the very highest society. She does n't care 
 for anything else, and she took to you from the very 
 first. I was glad of that, because I should have con- 
 sulted her before I hired you. Nevertheless, I knew the 
 moment you spoke that you were the man I wanted, 
 and so I took the risk. I never cared for high so- 
 ciety myself; my intercourse has been with business 
 men. I understand them, and I like them ; but I don't 
 cut any figure in high society, and I don't care to, 
 either. Now, with Gertie it 's different. She 's been 
 educated at the finest schools, and I 've taken her all 
 over Europe, where we stayed at the very best hotels 
 and met the very best people in both Europe and 
 America. Why, we 've met more Sirs and Lords and 
 Barons and High Mightinesses than you can shake a 
 stick at. Gertie, she 's right at home among those kind 
 of people, and, if I do say it myself, she 's quite capable 
 of taking her place among the best of them, and she 
 knows it. There never was a time we came in to the 
 best table d'hote in Europe that every eye was n't 
 turned toward her, and she 's been the life of the most 
 noted hotels that exist, no matter where they are, and 
 no matter what their price is." 
 
 I ventured to remark that I could well believe this 
 to have been the case. 
 
 46
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Yes, and you don't need to take my word for it,'* 
 continued the old man with quite perceptible pride; 
 " you may ask any one that was there. Whether it 
 was a British Lord, or a French Count, or a German 
 Baron, or an Italian Prince, it was just the same. I 
 admit that it seemed to me that some of those nobles 
 did n't amount to much. But that 's neither here nor 
 there ; as I told you before, I 'm no judge. I suppose 
 they have their usefulness in creation, even though I 'm 
 not able to see it. But the result of it all was that Gertie 
 got tired of them, and, as she is an ambitious girl 
 and a real lady, she determined to strike higher, and 
 so, when we bought this yacht and came abroad again, 
 she determined to go in for Kings, so I Ve been on a 
 King hunt ever since, and to tell the truth it has cost 
 me a lot of money and I don't like it. Not that I mind 
 the money if it resulted in anything, but it has n't re- 
 sulted in anything ; that is, it has n't amounted to 
 much. Gertie does n't care for the ordinary presenta- 
 tion at Court, for nearly anybody can have that. What 
 she wants is to get a King or an Emperor right here on 
 board this yacht at lunch or tea, or whatever he wants, 
 and enjoy an intimate conversation with him, just like 
 she 's had with them no-account Princes. Then she 
 wants a column or two account of that written up for 
 the Paris edition of the " New York Herald," and she 
 wants to have it cabled over to America. Now she 's 
 the only chick or child I 've got. Her mother 's been 
 dead these fifteen years, and Gertie is all I have in the 
 world, so I 'm willing to do anything she wants done, 
 no matter whether I like it or not. But I don't want 
 
 47
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 to engage in anything that does n't succeed. Success is 
 the one thing that amounts to anything. The man who 
 is a failure cuts no ice. And so it rather grinds me to 
 confess that I 've been a failure in this King business. 
 Now I don't know much about Kings, but it strikes 
 me they 're just like other things in this world. If you 
 want to get along with them, you must study them. 
 It 's like climbing a stair ; if you want to get to the top 
 you must begin at the lowest step. If you try to take 
 one stride up to the top landing, why you 're apt to 
 come down on your head. I told Gertie it was no use 
 beginning with the German Emperor, for we 'd have to 
 get accustomed to the low-down Kings and gradually 
 work up. She believes in aiming high. That 's all 
 right ordinarily, but it is n't a practical proposition. 
 Still, I let her have her way and did the best I could, 
 but it was no use. I paid a German Baron a certain 
 sum for getting the Emperor on board my yacht, but 
 he did n't deliver the goods. So I said to Gertie : ' My 
 girl, we'd better go to India, or some place where 
 Kings are cheap, and practise on them first/ She 
 hated to give in, but she 's a reasonable young woman 
 if you take her the right way. Well, the long and the 
 short of it was that we sent the yacht around to Mar- 
 seilles, and went down from Paris to meet her there, 
 and sailed to Egypt, and, just as I said, we had no dif- 
 ficulty at all in raking in the Khedive. But that was n't 
 very satisfactory when all 's said and done. Gertie 
 claimed he was n't a real king, and I say he 's not a 
 real gentleman. We had a little unpleasantness there, 
 and he became altogether too friendly, so we sailed ofl 
 
 48
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 down through the Canal a hunting Kings, till at last 
 \ve got here to Japan. Now we 're up against it once 
 more, and I suppose this here Mikado has hobnobbed 
 so much with real Emperors and that sort of thing that 
 he thinks himself a white man like the rest. So I says 
 to Gertie, ' There 's a genuine Emperor in Corea, good 
 enough to begin on, and we '11 go there/ and that 's 
 how we came round from Yokohama to Nagasaki, and 
 dropped in here to get a few things we might not be 
 able to obtain in Corea. The moment I saw you and 
 learned that you knew a good deal about the East, it 
 struck me that if I took you on as private secretary 
 you would be able to give me a few points, and per- 
 haps take charge of this business altogether. Do you 
 think you 'd be able to do that? " 
 
 " Well," I said hesitatingly, " I 'm not sure, but if 
 I can be of any use to you on such a quest it will be in 
 Corea. I 've been there on two or three occasions, and 
 each time had an audience with the King." 
 
 " Why do you call him the King? Is n't he an Em- 
 peror?" 
 
 " Well, I 've always called him the King, but I 've 
 heard people term him the Emperor." 
 
 " The American papers always call him an Emperor. 
 So you think you could manage it, eh ? " 
 
 " I don't know that there would be any difficulty 
 about the matter. Of course you are aware he is mere- 
 ly a savage." 
 
 " Well, they 're all savages out here, are n't they ? I 
 don't suppose he 's any worse or any better than the 
 Mikado." 
 
 49
 
 A 1 CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Oh, the Mikado belongs to one of the most ancient 
 civilizations in the world. I don't think the two poten- 
 tates are at all on a par." 
 
 " Well, that 's all right. That just bears out what I 
 was saying, that it 's the correct thing to begin with the 
 lowest of them. You see I hate to admit I 'm too old 
 to learn anything, and I think I can learn this King 
 business if I stick long enough at it. But I don't be- 
 lieve in a man trying to make a grand piano before 
 he knows how to handle a saw. So you see, Mr. Tre- 
 morne, the position is just this. I want to sail for 
 Corea, and Gertie, she wants to go back to Yokohama 
 and tackle the Mikado again, thinking you can pull it 
 off this time." 
 
 " I dislike very much to disagree with a lady," I 
 said, " but I think your plan is the more feasible of the 
 two. I do not think it would be possible to get the Mi- 
 kado to come aboard this yacht, but it might be that the 
 King of Corea would accept your invitation." 
 
 " What 's the name of the capital of that place ? " 
 asked Mr. Hemster. 
 
 " It is spelled S-e-o-u-1, and is pronounced ' Sool.' " 
 
 " How far is it from here ? " 
 
 " I don't know exactly, but it must be something 
 like four hundred miles, perhaps a little more." 
 
 "It is on the sea?" 
 
 " No. It lies some twenty-six miles inland by road, 
 and more than double that distance by the winding 
 river Han." 
 
 " Can I steam up that river with this yacht to the 
 capital ? " 
 
 SO
 
 " No, I don't think you could. You could go part 
 way, perhaps, but I imagine your better plan would be 
 to moor at the port of Chemulpo and go to Seoul by 
 road, although the road is none of the best." 
 
 " I 've got a little naphtha launch on board. I sup- 
 pose the river is big enough for us to go up to the capi- 
 tal in that?" 
 
 " Yes, I suppose you could do it in a small launch, 
 but the river is so crooked that I doubt if you would 
 gain much time, although you might gain in comfort." 
 
 " Very well, we '11 make for that port, whatever you 
 call it," said Hemster, rising. " Now, if you '11 just 
 take i an armchair on deck, and smoke, I '11 give in- 
 structions to the captain."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 WE had been a long time together in the little 
 office, longer even than this extended con- 
 versation would lead a reader to imagine, 
 and as I went through the saloon I saw that they were 
 laying the table for lunch, a sight by no means ungrate- 
 ful to me, for I had risen early and enjoyed but a small 
 and frugal breakfast. I surmised from the prepara- 
 tions going forward that I should in the near future 
 have something better than rice. When I reached the 
 deck I saw the captain smoking a pipe and still pacing 
 the bridge with his hands in his pockets. He was a 
 grizzled old sea-dog, who, I found later, had come from 
 the Cape Cod district, and was what he looked, a most 
 capable man. I went aft and sat down, not wishing to 
 go forward and became acquainted with the captain, 
 as I expected every moment that Mr. Hemster would 
 come up ;;nd give him his sailing-orders. But time 
 passed on and nothing happened, merely the same state 
 of tension that occurs when every one is ready to move 
 and no move is made. At last the gong sounded for 
 lunch. I saw the captain pause in his promenade, 
 knock the ashes out of his pipe into the palm of his 
 hand, and prepare to go down. So I rose and de- 
 scended the stairway, giving a nod of recognition to 
 the captain, who followed at my heels. The table was 
 
 52
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 laid for five persons. Mr. Hemster occupied the po- 
 sition at the head of it, and on his right sat his daugh- 
 ter, her head bent down over the tablecloth. On the 
 opposite side, at Mr. Hemster's left, sat the young lady 
 of whom I had had a glimpse the afternoon before. 
 The captain pushed past me with a gruff, " How de 
 do, all," which was not responded to. He took the 
 place at the farther end of the table. If I have de- 
 scribed the situation on deck as a state of tension, much 
 more so was the atmosphere of the dining-saloon. 
 The silence was painful, and, not knowing what better 
 to do, I approached Miss Hemster and said pleasantly : 
 
 " Good-morning. I hope you are none the worse 
 for your shopping expedition of yesterday." 
 
 The young woman did not look up or reply till her 
 father said in beseeching tones : 
 
 " Gertie, Mr. Tremorne is speaking to you." 
 
 Then she glanced at me with eyes that seemed to 
 sparkle dangerously. 
 
 " Oh, how do you do ? " she said rapidly. " Your 
 place is over there by Miss Stretton." 
 
 There was something so insulting in the tone and in- 
 flection that it made the words, simple as they were, 
 seem like a slap in the face. Their purport seemed to 
 be to put me in my proper position in that society, to 
 warn me that, if I had been treated as a friend the day 
 before, conditions were now changed, and I was mere- 
 ly, as she had previously remarked, her father's hired 
 man. My situation was anything but an enviable one, 
 and as there was nothing to say I merely bowed low to 
 the girl, walked around behind the captain, and took 
 
 53
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 my place beside Miss Stretton, as I had been com- 
 manded to do. I confess I was deeply hurt by the 
 studied insolence of look and voice; but a moment 
 later I felt that I was probably making a mountain of 
 a molehill, for the good, bluff captain said, as if noth- 
 ing unusual had happened : 
 
 " That 's right, young man ; I see you have been 
 correctly brought up. Always do what the women tell 
 you. Obey orders if you break owners. That 's what 
 we do in our country. In our country, sir, we allow 
 the women to rule, and their word is law, even though 
 the men vote." 
 
 " Such is not the case in the East," I could not help 
 replying. 
 
 " Why," said the captain, " it 's the East I 'm talk- 
 ing about. All throughout the Eastern States, yes, 
 and the Western States, too." 
 
 " Oh, I beg your pardon," I replied, " I was refer- 
 ring to the East of Asia. The women don't rule in 
 these countries." 
 
 " Well," said the staunch captain, " then that 's the 
 reason they amount to so little. I never knew an 
 Eastern country yet that was worth the powder to blow 
 it up." 
 
 " I 'm afraid," said I, " that your rule does not prove 
 universally good. It 's a woman who reigns in China, 
 and I shouldn't hold that Empire up as an example 
 to others." 
 
 The captain laughed heartily. 
 
 " Young man, you 're contradicting yourself. 
 You 're excited, I guess. You said a minute ago that 
 
 54
 
 women did n't rule in the East, and now you show 
 that the largest country in the East is ruled by a 
 woman. You can't have it both ways, you know." 
 
 I laughed somewhat dismally in sympathy with him, 
 and, lunch now being served, the good man devoted his 
 entire attention to eating. As no one else said a word 
 except the captain and myself, I made a feeble but 
 futile attempt to cause the conversation to become gen- 
 eral. I glanced at my fair neighbor to the right, who 
 had not looked up once since I entered. Miss Stretton 
 was not nearly so handsome a girl as Miss Hemster, 
 yet nevertheless in any ordinary company she would be 
 regarded as very good-looking. She had a sweet and 
 sympathetic face, and at the present moment it was 
 rosy red. 
 
 " Have you been in Nagasaki ? " I asked, which was 
 a stupid question, for I knew she had not visited the 
 town the day before, and unless she had gone very 
 early there was no time for her to have been ashore 
 before I came aboard. 
 
 She answered " No " in such low tones that, fearing 
 I had not heard it, she cleared her throat, and said 
 " No " again. Then she raised her eyes for one brief 
 second, cast a sidelong glance at me, so appealing and 
 so vivid with intelligence, that I read it at once to 
 mean, " Oh, please do not talk to me." 
 
 The meal was most excellent, yet I never remember 
 to have endured a half-hour so unpleasant. Across 
 the table from me, Miss Hemster had pushed away 
 plate after plate and had touched nothing. When I 
 spoke to her companion she began drumming nervously 
 
 55
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 on the tablecloth with her fingers, as if she had great 
 difficulty in preventing herself giving expression to an 
 anger that was only too palpable. Her father went 
 on stolidly with his lunch, and made no effort to relieve 
 the rigor of the amazing situation. As soon as the 
 main dish had been served and disposed of, the captain 
 rose, and, nodding to the company, made for the com- 
 panion-way. Once there he turned on his heel and 
 said: 
 
 " Mr. Hemster, any orders ? " 
 
 Before her father could reply, the young lady rose 
 with an action so sudden and a gesture of her right 
 hand so sweeping that the plate before her toppled and 
 fell with a crash to the floor. I noticed Mr. Hemster 
 instinctively grasp the tablecloth, but the girl marched 
 away as erect as a grenadier, her shapely shoulders 
 squared as if she was on military parade, and thus she 
 disappeared into the forward part of the ship. Miss 
 Stretton looked up at her employer, received a slight 
 nod, then she, with a murmur of excuse to me, rose and 
 followed the mistress of the ship. I heard a loud, 
 angry voice, shrill as that of a peacock, for a moment, 
 then a door was closed, and all was still. Mr. Hemster 
 said slowly to the captain : 
 
 " 111 be up there in a minute and let you know 
 where we 're going. We Ve got all the time there is, 
 you know." 
 
 " Certainly, sir," said the captain, disappearing. 
 
 There was nothing to say, so I said nothing, and Mr. 
 Hemster and I sat out our lonely meal together. He 
 seemed in no way perturbed by what had taken place, 
 
 56
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 and as, after all, it was no affair of mine, even if my 
 unfortunate remark regarding the Mikado had been 
 the cause of it, I said inwardly there was little reason 
 for my disturbing myself about it. Although the old 
 gentleman showed no outward sign of inward commo- 
 tion, he nevertheless seemed anxious that our dismal 
 meal should draw to a speedy close, for he said to me 
 at last : 
 
 "If you wish for coffee, you can have it served to 
 you on deck." 
 
 " Thank you," said I, glad to avail myself of the op- 
 portunity to escape. As I mounted the companion- 
 way I heard him say in firmer tones than I had known 
 him to use before : 
 
 " Tell my daughter to come here to me," a com- 
 mand answered by the gentle " Yes, sir," of the Jap- 
 anese boy. 
 
 I moved the wicker chair and table as far aft as 
 possible, to be out of earshot should any remarks fol- 
 low me from the saloon. I saw the captain on the 
 bridge again, pacing up and down, pipe in mouth and, 
 hands in pockets. Even at that distance I noticed on 
 his face a semi-comical grimace, and it actually seemed 
 to me that he winked his left eye in my direction. The 
 coffee did not come, and as I rose to stroll forward and 
 converse with the captain I could not help hearing the 
 low determined tones of the man down in the saloon, 
 mingled now and then with the high-pitched, angry 
 voice of the woman. As I hurried forward there next 
 came up the companion-way a scream so terrible and 
 ear-piercing that it must have startled every one on 
 
 57
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 board, yet nobody moved. This was followed instantly 
 by a crash, as if the table had been flung over, which 
 of course was impossible, as it was fastened to the floor. 
 Then came the hysterical, terrifying half-scream, half- 
 sob of a woman apparently in mortal agony, and in- 
 stinctively I started down the companion-way, to be 
 met by Miss Stretton, who stretched her arms from 
 side to side of the stairway. The appealing look I 
 had noticed before was in her eyes, and she said in a 
 low voice : 
 
 " Please don't come down. You can do no good." 
 
 " Is anybody hurt ? " I cried. 
 
 " No, nobody, nobody. Please don't come down." 
 
 I turned back, and not wishing to see the captain or 
 any one else at that moment, sat down in my chair 
 again. The sobs died away, and then Mr. Hemster 
 came up the companion-way with a determined look 
 on his face which seemed to me to say, " Women do not 
 rule after all." Once on deck he shouted out to the 
 captain the one word: 
 
 "Corea!"
 
 CkAPTER VI 
 
 THE shouting of those three syllables was like 
 the utterance of a talismanic word in an 
 Arabian legend. It cleft the spell of inac- 
 tivity which hung over officers and crew as the sweep 
 of a scimitar cuts through the web of enchantment. 
 The silence was immediately broken by the agitated 
 snorting of a pony-engine, and the rattle of the anchor- 
 chain coming up. Then the melodious jingling of bells 
 down below told the engineer to " stand by." As the 
 snort of the engine and the rattle of the chain ceased, 
 the crew mustered forward and began to stow the an- 
 chor. Another jingle below, and then began the pul- 
 sating of the engines, while the sharp prow of the 
 yacht seemed slowly to brush aside the distant hills and 
 set them moving. To a seasoned traveller like myself 
 there is something stimulating in the first throb of an 
 engine aboard ship. It means new scenes and fresh 
 experiences. Farewell Nagasaki and starvation; yes, 
 and sometimes despair. Yet I had a warm corner in 
 my heart for the old commercial city, with its queer 
 little picturesque inhabitants, whose keen eye for busi- 
 ness was nevertheless frequently softened by senti- 
 ment. 
 
 The man whose sharply uttered words had called up 
 commotion out of the stillness sank somewhat listlessly 
 
 59
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 into his customary armchair, and put his feet, crossed, 
 on the rail. There was something in his attitude that 
 warned me he did not wish his privacy intruded upon, 
 so I leaned over the opposite rail and steadfastly re- 
 garded the receding city. The big yacht moved 
 smoothly and swiftly over the waters of Nagasaki Bay, 
 which at that moment glittered dazzlingly in the sun- 
 light. The craft was evidently well engined, for the 
 vibration was scarcely perceptible, and somehow it 
 gave one the consciousness that there was a reserve of 
 power which might be called upon in a pinch. Once 
 clear of Nagasaki Bay the captain laid her course due 
 west, as if we were to race the declining sun. I sur- 
 mised that a safe rather than a quick voyage was his 
 object, and that he intended to strike through the Yel- 
 low Sea and avoid threading the mazes of the Corean 
 Archipelago. 
 
 Long before the gong sounded for dinner we were 
 out of sight of land. As I went down the companion 
 stairs I must admit that I looked forward to the meal 
 with some degree of apprehension, hoping the atmos- 
 phere would be less electric than during luncheon. I 
 need have harboured no fear; Mr. Hemster, the cap- 
 tain, and myself sat down, but the ladies did not appear 
 during the meal. Mr. Hemster had little to say, but the 
 jovial captain told some excellent stories, which to his 
 amazement and delight I laughed at, for he had a 
 theory that no Englishman could see the point of any 
 yarn that ever was spun. Mr. Hemster never once 
 smiled ; probably he had heard the stories before, and 
 in the middle of dinner (such seemed to be the cap- 
 
 60
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 tain's impolite habit) the story-teller rose and left us. 
 He paused with his foot on the first step, as he had 
 done before, turned to the owner, and said : 
 
 " No particular hurry about reaching Corea, is 
 there?" 
 
 "Why?" asked Hemster shortly. 
 
 " Well, you see, sir, I don't want to run down and 
 sink one of them there little islands in the Archipelago, 
 and have a suit for damages against me; so, unless 
 you 're in a hurry I propose to run a couple of hundred 
 miles west, and then north this side of the hundred- 
 and-twenty-fifth meridian." 
 
 "Washington or Greenwich?" asked the owner. 
 
 " Well, sir," said the captain with a smile, " I 'm not 
 particular, so long as there 's a clear way ahead of me. 
 I once sailed with a Dutchman who worked on the 
 meridian of Ferro, which is the westernmost point of 
 the Canary Islands. When I am in home waters of 
 course I work by Washington, but the charts I 've got 
 for this region is Greenwich, and so I say the hundred- 
 and-twenty-fifth." 
 
 " That 's all right," replied Hemster seriously. " I 
 thought you were too patriotic a man to use any 
 meridian but our own, and then I thought you were 
 so polite you were using Greenwich out of compliment 
 to Mr. Tremorne here. You pick out the meridian that 
 has the fewest islands along it and fewest big waves, 
 and you '11 satisfy me." 
 
 The owner said all this quite seriously, and I per- 
 ceived he had a sense of humour which at first I had 
 not given him credit for. 
 
 61
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 The captain laughed good-naturedly and disap- 
 peared. Mr. Hemster and I finished our dinner to- 
 gether in silence, then went on deck and had coffee and 
 cigars. Although he proffered wine and liqueurs he 
 never drank any spirits himself. I was able to help 
 him out in that direction, as he once drily remarked. 
 
 It was one of the most beautiful evenings I had ever 
 witnessed. There was no breeze except the gentle cur- 
 rent caused by the motion of the yacht. The sea was 
 like glass, and as night fell the moon rose nearly at 
 the full. Mr. Hemster retired early, as I afterward 
 learned was his custom, but whether to work in his 
 office or to sleep in his bed I never knew. He seemed 
 to have no amusement except the eternal rolling of the 
 unlit cigar in his lips. Although there was a good li- 
 brary on board I never saw him open a book or display 
 the slightest interest in anything pertaining to litera- 
 ture, science, or art. This is a strange world, and in 
 spite of his undoubted wealth I experienced a feeling 
 of pity for him, and I have not the slightest doubt he 
 entertained the same feeling toward me. 
 
 I went forward after my employer left me, and asked 
 the captain if outsiders were permitted on the bridge, 
 receiving from him a cordial invitation to ascend. He 
 had a wooden chair up there in which he sat, tilted back 
 against the after rail of the bridge, while his crossed 
 feet were elevated on the forward one, and in this free 
 and easy attitude was running the ship. Of course 
 there was nothing calling for exceeding vigilance, be- 
 cause the great w r atery plain, bounded by the far-off, 
 indistinct horizon, was absolutely empty, and the yacht 
 
 62
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 jogged along at an easy pace, which, as I have said, 
 gave one the impression that much power was held in 
 reserve. I sat on the forward rail opposite him, and 
 listened to his stories, which were often quaint and al- 
 ways good. He had been a fisherman on the banks 
 of Newfoundland in his early days, and his droll char- 
 acterization of the men he had met were delicious to 
 listen to. From the very first day I admired the cap- 
 tain, whose name I never learned, and this admiration 
 increased the more I knew of him. I often wonder if 
 he is still following the sea, and indeed I can never 
 imagine him doing anything else. He was able, effi- 
 cient, and resourceful ; as capable a man as it was ever 
 my fortune to meet. 
 
 My interest in the captain's stories came to an abrupt 
 conclusion when I saw a lady emerge from the com- 
 panion-way, look anxiously around for a moment, and 
 then begin a slow promenade up and down the after 
 deck. I bade good-night to the captain, and descended 
 from the bridge. The lady paused as she saw me ap- 
 proach, and I thought for a moment she was about to 
 retreat. But she did not do so. I had determined to 
 speak to Miss Hemster on the first opportunity as if 
 nothing had occurred. Ill-will is bad enough in any 
 case, but nowhere is it more deplorable than on ship- 
 board, because people have no escape from one another 
 there. I was resolved that so far as I was concerned 
 there should not be a continuance of the estrangement, 
 which must affect more or less each one in our com- 
 pany, unless it was the captain, who seemed a true phi- 
 losopher, taking whatever came with equal noncha- 
 
 63
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 lance. As I neared the lady, however, I saw she was 
 not Gertrude Hemster, but Hilda Stretton. 
 
 " It is a lovely evening, Miss Stretton," I ventured 
 to say, " and I am glad to see you on deck to enjoy it." 
 
 " I came up for a breath of fresh air," she replied 
 simply, with no enthusiasm for the loveliness of the 
 night, which I had just been extolling. I surmised in- 
 stinctively that she preferred to be alone, and was in- 
 wardly aware that the correct thing for me to do was 
 to raise my yachting-cap and pass on, for she had evi- 
 dently come to a standstill in her promenade, to give 
 me no excuse for joining it. But, whether or not it 
 was the glamour of the moonlight, her face was much 
 more attractive than it had seemed when, for the first 
 time, I had had a glimpse of it, and, be that as it may, 
 I say this in excuse for my persistence. When has a 
 young man ever been driven from his purpose by the 
 unresponsiveness of the lady he is bold enough to ad- 
 dress ? 
 
 " If you do not mind, Miss Stretton, I should be very 
 much gratified if you would allow me to join your 
 evening saunter." 
 
 " The deck belongs as much to you as it does to me," 
 was her cold rejoinder, " and I think I should tell you 
 I am but the paid servant of its actual owner." 
 
 I laughed, more to chase away her evident embar- 
 rassment than because there was anything really to 
 laugh about. I have noticed that a laugh sometimes 
 drives away restraint. It is the most useful of human 
 ejaculations, and often succeeds where words would 
 fail. 
 
 64
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " A warning in exchange for your warning ! " I 
 exclaimed as cheerfully as I could. " I, too, am a paid 
 servant of the owner of this yacht." 
 
 " I did not expect to hear the cousin of Lord Tre- 
 morne admit as much," she replied, thawing somewhat. 
 
 " Well, you have just heard the cousin of his lord- 
 ship do so, and I may add on behalf of Lord Tremorne 
 that if he were in my place I know his candour would 
 compel him to say the same thing." 
 
 " Englishmen think themselves very honest, do they 
 not ? " she commented, somewhat ungraciously, it 
 seemed to me, for after all I was trying to make con- 
 versation, always a difficult task when there is veiled 
 opposition. 
 
 " Oh, some Englishmen are honest, and some are 
 not, as is the case with other nationalities. I don't 
 suppose a dishonest Englishman would have any delu- 
 sions about the matter, and perhaps if you pressed him 
 he would admit his delinquency. I hope you are not 
 prejudiced against us as a nation; and, if you are, I 
 sincerely trust you will not allow any impression you 
 may have acquired regarding myself to deepen that 
 prejudice, because I am far from being a representa- 
 tive Englishman." 
 
 We were now walking up and down the deck to- 
 gether, but her next remark brought me to an amazed 
 standstill. 
 
 " If you possess the candour with which you have 
 just accredited yourself and your people, you would 
 have said that you hoped I was not prejudiced against 
 your nation, but you were certain, if such unfortu- 
 
 65
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 nately was the case, the charm of your manner and the 
 delight of your conversation would speedily remove it." 
 
 " Good gracious, Miss Stretton," I cried, " do you 
 take me for a conceited ass ? " 
 
 The lady condescended to laugh a little, very low and 
 very sweetly, but it was an undeniable laugh, and so I 
 was grateful for it. 
 
 " You mistake me," she said. " I took you for a 
 superior person, that was all, and I think superior per- 
 sons sometimes make mistakes." 
 
 " What mistake have I fallen into, if you will be so 
 good as to tell me ? " 
 
 " Well, as a beginning, Mr. Tremorne, I think that 
 if I was an English lady you would not venture to ac- 
 cost me as you have done to-night, without a proper 
 introduction." 
 
 " I beg your pardon. I considered myself intro- 
 duced to you by Miss Hemster to-day at luncheon; 
 and if our host had not so regarded it, I imagine he 
 would have remedied the deficiency." 
 
 " Mr. Hemster, with a delicacy which I regret to say 
 seems to be unappreciated, knowing me to be a servant 
 in his employ, did not put upon me the embarrassment 
 of an introduction." 
 
 " Really, Miss Stretton, I find myself compelled to 
 talk to you rather seriously," said I, with perhaps a 
 regrettable trace of anger in my voice. " You show 
 yourself to be an extremely ignorant young woman." 
 
 Again she laughed very quietly. 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, with an exultation that had 
 hitherto been absent from her conversation ; " the 
 
 66
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 veneer is coming off, and the native Englishman stands 
 revealed in the moonlight." 
 
 " You are quite right, the veneer is coming off. 
 And now, if you have the courage of your statements, 
 you will hear the truth about them. On the other 
 hand, if you like to say sharp things and then run 
 away from the consequences, there is the saloon, or 
 there is the other side of the deck. Take your choice." 
 
 " I shall borrow a piece of English brag and say I 
 am no coward. Go on." 
 
 " Very well. I came down from the bridge after a 
 most friendly and delightful talk with the captain, hav- 
 ing no other thought in my mind than to make myself 
 an agreeable comrade to you when I saw you on deck." 
 
 " That was a very disingenuous beginning for a 
 truthful lecture, Mr. Tremorne. When you saw me, 
 you thought it was Miss Hemster, and you found out 
 too late that it was I ; so you approached me with the 
 most polite and artful covering of your disappoint- 
 ment." 
 
 We were walking up and down the deck again, and 
 took one or two turns before I spoke once more. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Stretton, you are demoniacally right. I 
 shall amend the beginning of my lecture, then, by al- 
 luding to an incident which I did not expect to touch 
 upon. At luncheon Miss Hemster received my greet- 
 ing with what seemed to me unnecessary insolence. 
 We are to be housed together for some time aboard 
 this yacht; therefore I came down to greet her as if 
 the incident to which I have alluded had not taken 
 place." 
 
 67
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " How very good of you ! " said Miss Stretton sar- 
 castically. 
 
 " Madam, I quite agree with you. Now we will 
 turn to some of your own remarks, if you don't mind. 
 In the first place, you said I would not address an Eng- 
 lish lady to whom I had not been properly introduced. 
 In that statement you were entirely wrong. Five 
 years ago, on an Atlantic liner, I, without having been 
 introduced, asked the Countess of Bayswater to walk 
 the deck with me, and she graciously consented. 
 Some time after that, the deck steward being absent, 
 her Grace the Duchess of Pentonville, without a for- 
 mal introduction to me, asked me to tuck her up in 
 her steamer chair; then she requested me to sit down 
 beside her, which I did, and we entered into the begin- 
 ning of a very pleasant acquaintance which lasted dur- 
 ing the voyage." 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Miss Stretton, evidently unim- 
 pressed, " how fond you are of citing members of the 
 nobility ! " 
 
 " Many of them are, or have been, friends of my 
 own ; so why should I not cite them ? However, my 
 object was entirely different. If I had said that Mrs. 
 Jones or Mrs. Smith were the people in question, you 
 might very well have doubted that they were ladies, 
 and so my illustration would have fallen to the ground. 
 You said English ladies, and I have given you the 
 names of two who are undoubtedly ladies, and un- 
 doubtedly English, for neither of them is an American 
 who has married a member of our nobility." 
 
 If ever fire flashed from a woman's eyes, it was upon 
 68
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 this occasion. Miss Stretton's face seemed trans- 
 formed with anger. 
 
 " Sir J " she flashed, " that last remark was an insult 
 to my countrywomen, and was intended as such. I 
 bid you good-night, and I ask you never to speak to me 
 again." 
 
 " Exactly as I thought," said I ; " the moment shells 
 begin to fly, you beat a retreat." 
 
 Miss Stretton had taken five indignant steps toward 
 the companion-way when my words brought her to 
 a standstill. After a momentary pause she turned 
 around with a proud motion of her figure which elicited 
 my utmost admiration, walked back to my side, and 
 said very quietly : 
 
 " Pardon me ; pray proceed." 
 
 " I shall not proceed, but shall take the liberty of 
 pausing for a moment to show you the futility of jump- 
 ing to a conclusion. Now, try to comprehend. You 
 said, English ladies. My illustration would have been 
 useless if the Countess and the Duchess had been 
 Americans. Do you comprehend that, or are you too 
 angry ? " 
 
 I waited for a reply but none came. 
 
 " Let me tell you further," I went on, " that I know 
 several American women who possess titles; and if 
 any man in my presence dared to hint that one or other 
 of them was not a lady I should knock him down if I 
 could, and if no one but men were about. So you see 
 I was throwing no disparagement on your country- 
 women, but was merely clenching my argument on the 
 lines you yourself had laid down." 
 
 69
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I see ; I apologize. Pray go on with the lec- 
 ture." 
 
 " Thank you for the permission, and on your part 
 please forgive any unnecessary vehemence which I 
 have imported into what should be a calm philosophical 
 pronouncement. When you accuse an Englishman of 
 violating some rule of etiquette, he is prone to resent 
 such an imputation, partly because he has an uneasy 
 feeling that it may be true. He himself admits that 
 nearly every other nation excels his in the arts of 
 politeness. It is really not at all to his discredit that 
 he fondly hopes he has qualities of heart and innate 
 courtesy which perhaps may partly make up for his 
 deficiency in outward suavity of manner. Now, 
 madam, etiquette is elastic. It is not an exact science, 
 like mathematics. The rules pertaining to decimal 
 fractions are the same the world over, but the etiquette 
 of the Court differs from the etiquette of the drawing- 
 room, and dry-land etiquette differs from the etiquette 
 on board ship." 
 
 " I don't see why it should," interrupted Miss Stret- 
 ton. 
 
 " Then, madam, it shall be my privilege to explain. 
 Imagine us cast on a desert shore. If, for instance, 
 our captain were less worthy than he is, and ran us 
 on the rocks of Quelpaerd Island, which is some dis- 
 tance ahead of us, you would find that all etiquette 
 would disappear." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Why ? Because we should each have to turn 
 around and mutually help the others. Whether I had 
 
 70
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 been introduced to you or not, I should certainly en- 
 deavour to provide you with food and shelter; where- 
 as if I contracted one of the island's justly celebrated 
 fevers, your good heart would prompt you to do what 
 you could for my restoration. Now a ship is but a 
 stepping-stone between the mainland of civilization and 
 the desert island of barbarism. This fact, uncon- 
 sciously or consciously, seems to be recognized, and so 
 the rules of etiquette on board ship relax, and I main- 
 tain, with the brutal insistance of my race, that I have 
 not infringed upon them." 
 
 " I think that is a very capital and convincing illus- 
 tration, Mr. Tremorne," confessed the lady generously. 
 
 Now, look you, how vain a creature is man. That 
 remark sent a glow of satisfaction through my being 
 such as I had not experienced since a speech of my 
 youth was applauded by my fellow-students at the 
 Union in Oxford. Nevertheless, I proceeded stub- 
 bornly with my lecture, which I had not yet finished. 
 
 " Now, madam, I am goirg to give you the oppor- 
 tunity to charge me with inconsistency. I strenuously 
 object to the application of the term * servant ' as ap- 
 plied to yourself or to me. I am not a servant." 
 
 " But, Mr. Tremorne, you admitted it a while ago, 
 and furthermore said that your distinguished cousin 
 would also have confessed as much if in your place." 
 
 " I know I said so ; but that was before the veneer 
 fell away." 
 
 " Then what becomes of the candour of which you 
 boasted ? Has it gone with the veneer ? " 
 
 " They are keeping each other company on the ocean 
 
 71
 
 some miles behind us. I have thrown them over- 
 board." 
 
 Miss Stretton laughed with rather more of hearti- 
 ness than she had yet exhibited. 
 
 " Well, I declare," she cried ; " this is a transforma- 
 tion scene, all in the moonlight ! " 
 
 " No, I am not Mr. Hemster's servant. Mr. Hem- 
 ster desires to use my knowledge of the Eastern lan- 
 guages and my experience in Oriental diplomacy. 
 For this he has engaged to pay, but I am no more his 
 servant than Sir Edward Clark is a menial to the client 
 who pays him for the knowledge he possesses ; and, 
 if you will permit me the English brag, which you 
 utilized a little while since, I say I am a gentleman and 
 therefore the equal of Mr. Silas K. Hemster, or any one 
 else." 
 
 " You mean superior, and not equal." 
 
 " Madam, with all due respect, I mean nothing of 
 the sort." 
 
 " Nevertheless, that is what is in your mind and in 
 your manner. By the way, is your lecture com- 
 pleted?" 
 
 " Yes, entirely so. It is your innings now. You 
 have the floor, or the deck rather." 
 
 " Then I should like to say that Silas K. Hemster, 
 as you call him, is one of the truest gentlemen that 
 ever lived." 
 
 "Is n't that his name?" 
 
 " You were perfectly accurate in naming him, but 
 you were certainly supercilious in the tone in which 
 you named him." 
 
 72
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 "Oh, I say!" 
 
 " No, you don't ; it is my say, if you please." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly ; but at first you try to make 
 me out a conceited ass, and now you endeavour to show 
 that I am an irredeemable cad. I have the utmost re- 
 spect for Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Have you ? Well, I am very glad to hear it, and I 
 wish to give you a firmer basis for that opinion than 
 you have been able to form from your own observation. 
 Mr. Hemster may not be learned in books, but he is 
 learned in human nature. He is the best of men, kind, 
 considerate, and always just. He was a lifelong friend 
 of my father, now, alas, no more in life. They were 
 schoolboys together. It was inevitable that Mr. Hem- 
 ster should become very wealthy, and equally inevitable 
 that my father should remain poor. My father was a 
 dreamy scholar, and I think you will admit that he 
 was a gentleman, for he was a clergyman of the Epis- 
 copal Church. He was not of the money-making order 
 of men, and, if he had been, his profession would have 
 precluded him from becoming what Mr. Hemster is. 
 Although Mr. Hemster grew very rich, it never in the 
 least interfered with his friendship for my father nor 
 with his generosity to my father's child. If I cared to 
 accept that generosity it would be unstinted. As it is, 
 he pays me much more than I am worth. He is simple 
 and honest, patient and kind. Patient and kind," she 
 repeated, with a little tremor of the voice that for a 
 moment checked her utterance, " a true gentleman, 
 if ever there was one." 
 
 " My dear Miss Stretton," I said, " what you say of 
 
 73
 
 him is greatly to the credit of both yourself and Mr. 
 Hemster ; but it distresses me that you should intimate 
 that I have failed to appreciate him. He has picked 
 me up, as I might say, from the gutters of Nagasaki 
 without even a line of recommendation or so much as 
 a note of introduction." 
 
 " That is what I said to you; he is a judge of men 
 rather than of literature and the arts ; and it is entirely 
 to your credit that he has taken you without credentials. 
 You may be sure, were it otherwise, I should not have 
 spent so much time with you as I have done this even- 
 ing. But his quick choice should have given you a 
 better insight into his character than that which you 
 possess ? " 
 
 " There you go again, Miss Stretton. What have 
 I said or done which leads you to suppose I do not re- 
 gard Mr. Hemster with the utmost respect ?" 
 
 " It is something exceedingly difficult to define. It 
 cannot be set down as lucidly as your exposition of 
 etiquette. It was your air, rather than your manner 
 at luncheon time. It was a very distant and exalted 
 air, which said as plainly as words that you sat down 
 with a company inferior to yourself." 
 
 I could not help laughing aloud ; the explanation was 
 absolutely absurd. 
 
 " Why, my dear Miss Stretton, if I may call you so, 
 you never even glanced at me during luncheon time; 
 how, then, did you get such extraordinary notions into 
 your head ? " 
 
 " One did not need to glance at you to learn what I 
 have stated. Now, during our conversation you have 
 
 74
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 been frightened no, that is not the word you have 
 been surprised into a verbal honesty that has been 
 unusual to you. Please make the confession complete, 
 and admit that in your own mind you have not done 
 justice to Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Miss Stretton, the word you have been searching 
 for is ' bluff.' I have been bluffed into confessions, 
 before now, which in my calmer moments I regretted. 
 You see I have been in America myself, and ' bluff ' is 
 an exceedingly expressive word. And, madam, permit 
 me to say that in this instance the bluff will not work. 
 You cannot get me to admit that either by look or tone 
 I think anything but what is admirable of Mr. Hem- 
 ster." 
 
 " Oh, dear, oh, dear ! " cried the girl in mock despair. 
 It was really wonderful how unconsciously friendly 
 she had become after our tempestuous discussion. 
 " Oh, dear, oh, dear ! how you are fallen from the state 
 of generous exaltation that distinguished you but a 
 short time ago. Please search the innermost recesses 
 of your mind, and tell me if you do not find there some- 
 thing remotely resembling contempt for a man who 
 accepted you appalling thought! without even a 
 note of introduction." 
 
 " Very well, my lady, I shall make the search you 
 recommend. Now we will walk quietly up and down 
 the deck without a word being said by either of us, 
 and during that time I shall explore those recesses of 
 my mind, which no doubt you regard as veritable 
 ' chambers of horrors.' " 
 
 We walked together under the bridge, and then to 
 
 75
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the very stern of the ship, coming back to the bridge 
 again. As we turned, the lady by my side broke the 
 contract. 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried with a little gasp, " there is Miss 
 Hemster ! " and I saw the lady she mentioned emerge 
 from the companion-way to the deck. 
 
 " Damnation ! " I muttered, under my breath, forget- 
 ting for an instant in whose presence I stood, until she 
 turned her face full upon me. 
 
 " I I beg your pardon most sincerely," I stam- 
 mered. 
 
 " And I grant it with equal sincerity," she whispered, 
 with a slight laugh, which struck me as rather remark- 
 able, for she had previously become deeply offended at 
 sayings much milder than my surprised ejaculation.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 WE were sailing due west, so that the full 
 moon partly revealed the side face of the 
 figure approaching us, and I venture to 
 assert that the old moon, satellite of lovers, never 
 shone upon anything more graceful than the vision we 
 now beheld. Man as I was, I knew intuitively that she 
 was dressed with a perfection far beyond my powers 
 of description. The partly revealed face wore an ex- 
 pression of childlike simplicity and innocence, with all 
 of a mature woman's exquisite beauty. No frowns 
 now marred that smooth brow; the daintily chiseled 
 lips were animated by a smile of supreme loveliness. 
 
 " What a perfectly enchanting night ! " she cried, as 
 she came to a standstill before us. " But don't you 
 think it is a trifle chilly?" and a slight shiver vi- 
 brated her frame. " But I suppose you have been en- 
 ergetically walking, and therefore have not noticed the 
 change of temperature. Oh, Hilda, darling, would you 
 mind running down to my room and bringing up that 
 light fleecy wrap, which I can thrown over my 
 shoulders ? " 
 
 " I will bring it at once," replied Miss Stretton, has- 
 tening toward the companion-way. Just as she reached 
 
 77
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the head of the stair a ripple of tinkling laughter added 
 music to the night. 
 
 " Dear me, how stupid I am ! " cried Miss Hemster, 
 " Why, Hilda, I have it here on my arm all the time ! 
 Don't bother, darling ! " 
 
 Miss Stretton paused for a moment, then said, 
 " Good-night ! " and disappeared down the stairway. 
 
 Man is a stupid animal. I did not know at the mo- 
 ment, nor did I learn until long after, and even then 
 it was a lady who told me, that this was a sweet dis- 
 missal, as effective as it was unperceived by myself. 
 
 Miss Hemster busied herself with the fleecy wrap, 
 whose folds proved so unmanageable that I ventured 
 to offer my aid and finally adjusted the fabric upon her 
 shapely shoulders. We began walking up and down 
 the deck, she regulating her step to mine, and, in the 
 friendly manner of yesterday afternoon, placing her 
 hand within my arm. 
 
 However, she did not hop and skip along the deck 
 as she had done on the streets of Nagasaki, although I 
 should have thought the smooth white boards offered 
 an almost irresistible temptation to one who had shown 
 herself to be bubbling over with the joy of youth and 
 life. Notwithstanding the taking of my arm, she held 
 herself with great dignity, her head erect and almost 
 thrown back, so I expected to be treated to a new phase 
 of her most interesting character. I was finding it 
 somewhat bewildering, and hardly knew how to begin 
 the conversation; but whether it was the springing 
 step, or the smoothness of the deck, or both combined, 
 it struck me all at once that she must be a superb 
 
 78
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 dancer, and I was about to make inquiry as to this when 
 she withdrew her hand rather quickly after we had 
 taken two or three turns up and down the deck in 
 silence, and said: 
 
 " You are not taking advantage of the opportunity 
 I have been kind enough to present to you." 
 
 " What opportunity ? " I asked in amazement. 
 
 " The opportunity to apologize to me." 
 
 " To apologize ? " cried I, still more at a loss to un- 
 derstand her meaning. " Pray, for what should I apol- 
 ogize ? " 
 
 She said with great decision and some impatience : 
 
 " How terribly dense you Englishmen are ! " 
 
 " Yes, I admit it. We are celebrated as a nation for 
 obtuseness. But won't you take pity on this particular 
 Englishman, and enlighten him regarding his offence. 
 What should I apologize for ? " 
 
 " Why, you told my father you were not a friend of 
 the Mikado ! " 
 
 " Certainly I told him so. I am not a friend of the 
 Mikado ; therefore why should I claim to be ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, with a fine gesture of disdain, 
 " you are trying to do the George Washington act ! " 
 
 " The George Washington act ! " I repeated. 
 
 " Certainly. Of course you don't see that. He could 
 not tell a lie, you know." 
 
 " Ah, I understand you. No, I am doing the Mark 
 Twain act. I can tell a lie, but I won't." 
 
 " Not even for me ? " she asked, looking up at me 
 with that winning smile of hers. 
 
 " Ah, when you put it that way I fear I shall be un- 
 
 79
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 able to emulate the truthfulness of either George or 
 Mark." 
 
 " Now that is n't so bad/' she said, taking my arm 
 again, which gave me the hope that I had been at least 
 partially restored to favour. 
 
 " You certainly intimated to me yesterday that you 
 were a friend of the Mikado." 
 
 " Then I am to blame ; for with equal certainty I 
 had no right to do so." 
 
 " You said you had seen him several times and had 
 spoken with him." 
 
 " Yes, but that does not constitute a claim upon His 
 Majesty's consideration." 
 
 " Why, you have only seen me two or three times, 
 and I am sure you know I 'm a friend of yours." 
 
 " Madam, I am delighted to hear you say so. If the 
 Mikado had made a similar statement, I should claim 
 him as a friend before all the world." 
 
 " Then there was another thing you said, and I sup- 
 pose you '11 go back on that, too. You said you were a 
 partisan of mine, or, since you are such a stickler for 
 accuracy, an adherent I think that was the word 
 yes, you were my adherent, or retainer, or something 
 of the sort, such as we read of in old-fashioned novels, 
 and when you said so, poor little trustful girl that I am, 
 I believed you." 
 
 " Indeed, Miss Hemster, you had every right to do 
 so. Should occasion arise, you will find me your 
 staunch defender." 
 
 " Oh, that 's all very pretty ; but when it comes to 
 the test, then you fail. You heard what my father said. 
 
 80
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 You must have known I meant you to claim friendship 
 with the Mikado. Poor father 's as transparent as 
 glass, and he surely made it as plain as this funnel that 
 I wished you to claim friendship with the head of the 
 Japanese nation. So, after all your beautiful promises, 
 the moment you get a chance to back me up, you do so 
 by going back on me." 
 
 " My dear Miss Hemster, why did you not give me 
 a hint of your wishes? If, when we were in Nagasaki, 
 you had but said that you wished me to proclaim my- 
 self the Emperor's brother, I should have perjured 
 myself on your behalf like a gentleman." 
 
 " It happened that I was not on deck when you came 
 aboard, and so did not see you. But I do think, if you 
 had n't forgotten me entirely, you would have learned 
 at once from my father's talk what I wished you to 
 say." 
 
 " Yes, I see it all now, when it is too late ; but as you 
 have remarked, and as I have admitted, I am extremely 
 dense, and unless a thing is as plain as the funnel to 
 use your own simile I am very apt to overlook it. 
 Sometimes I don't see it even then. For instance, 
 when you are walking by my side, I am just as likely to 
 run into the funnel as to walk past it." 
 
 She laughed most good naturedly at this observa- 
 tion, and replied: 
 
 " Oh, you do say things very charmingly, and I will 
 forgive you, even if you refuse to apologize." 
 
 " But I don't refuse to apologize. I do apologize 
 most abjectly for my stupidity." 
 
 " Oh, well, that 's all right. Perhaps, when every- 
 81
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 thing 's said and done, it was my own fault in not giv- 
 ing you warning. Next time I want you to stand by 
 me, I '11 have it all typewritten nice and plain, and will 
 hand the paper to you twenty-four hours ahead." 
 
 " That would be very kind of you, Miss Hemster ; 
 and, besides, you would then possess documentary evi- 
 dence of the stupidity of an Englishman." 
 
 " Oh, we don't need to have documentary evidence 
 for that," she replied brightly ; " but I tell you I was 
 mad clear through when I knew what you had said to 
 my father. I raised storm enough to sink the yacht." 
 
 "Did you?" 
 
 " Did n't I? Why, you knew I did." 
 
 " I had n't the slightest suspicion of it." 
 
 " Oh, well, you are denser than I thought. And I 
 have been worrying myself all the afternoon for fear 
 you were offended by the way I told you to take your 
 seat at the table." 
 
 " Offended ? I should n't have had the presumption 
 to think of such a thing. Indeed, it was very kind of 
 you to indicate my place. Such instructions are usu- 
 ally given by the steward." 
 
 She bestowed a sly, sidelong glance upon me, and 
 there was a somewhat uncertain smile at the corners of 
 her pretty lips. 
 
 " Is that a little dig at me ? " she asked. 
 
 " Nothing of the sort. It was a mere statement of 
 fact." 
 
 " Sometimes I think," she said meditatively, more to 
 herself than to me, " that you are not such a fool as 
 you look." 
 
 82
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I was compelled to laugh at this, and replied with as 
 much urbanity as I could call to my command : 
 
 " I am overjoyed to hear that statement. It seems 
 to prove that I am making progress. Such evidence 
 always encourages a man." 
 
 " Oh, well," she said, with a shrug of impatience, 
 " don't let 's talk any more about it. I did n't want to 
 go to Corea, and I did want to return to Yokohama; 
 so here we are going to Corea. Don't you think I am 
 a very good-natured girl to let bygones be bygones so 
 easily ? " 
 
 " You certainly are." 
 
 " Then that 's settled. Tell me what Miss Stretton 
 was talking to you about." 
 
 I was somewhat taken aback by this extraordinary 
 request, but replied easily: 
 
 " Oh, we had not been walking the deck very long, 
 and we discussed nothing of extreme importance so far 
 as I can remember." 
 
 " What did she say about me? " 
 
 " I assure you, Miss Hemster, your name was not 
 mentioned between us." 
 
 " Really ? Then what on earth did you talk about ? " 
 
 " When I have the good fortune to be in your pres- 
 ence, Miss Hemster, I confess it seems impossible that 
 I should talk about anyone else than yourself, never- 
 theless I should not presume to discuss one lady with 
 another." 
 
 The girl jerked away her arm again, and turned to 
 me with a flash in her eyes that was somewhat discon- 
 certing. 
 
 83
 
 " Look here, Mr. Tremorne," she cried, " if you 've 
 got anything to say against me, I want you to say it 
 right out like a man, and not to hint at it like a spiteful 
 woman." 
 
 " What have I said now? " I inquired very humbly. 
 
 " You know quite well what you have said. But if 
 you imagine I am as stupid as you admit yourself to be, 
 you '11 get left!" 
 
 " My dear madam," I ventured ; " one of the advan- 
 tages of having a thick skin is that a person does not 
 take offence where no offence h meant." 
 
 " There you go again ! You know very well that 
 you were driving at me when you said that you refused 
 to discuss one lady with another; because, if you 
 meant anything at all, you meant that I was trying to 
 do what you could n't bring yourself to do ; and when 
 you talk of ' lady ' and ' lady ' you are in effect putting 
 Miss Stretton on an equality with me." 
 
 " I should never think of doing so," I replied, with a 
 bow to the angry person beside me. 
 
 " Is that another? " she demanded. " Oh, you know 
 very well what I mean. Do you consider Miss Stret- 
 ton a lady?" 
 
 " My acquaintance with her is of the shortest, yet I 
 should certainly call her a lady." 
 
 " Then what do you call me ? " 
 
 " A lady also." 
 
 " Well, if that is n't putting us on an equality, what 
 is?" 
 
 " I said, madam, that 7 did not put you on an equal- 
 ity. That was done by a celebrated document which 
 
 84
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 you often fling in our faces. I refer to the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, which, if I remember rightly, 
 begins ' All men are created equal/ and I suppose, 
 as the humourist puts it, that the men embrace the 
 women." 
 
 " Miss Stretton is my paid servant," insisted Miss 
 Hemster, evading the point ; " and, as was said in the 
 opera of ' Pinafore,' when one person has to obey the 
 orders of another, equality is out of the question." 
 
 " I did n't think that made any difference in the 
 United States." 
 
 " But this is n't the United States." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, but this is the United States. 
 We are on the high seas, aboard a steamer that is regis- 
 tered in New York, and so this deck is just as much a 
 part of your country as is Ne- York itself, and the 
 laws of the United States would justify the captain in 
 putting me in irons if he thought my conduct deserved 
 such treatment." 
 
 " Then you refuse to tell me what you and Miss 
 Stretton were discussing ! " 
 
 " My dear madam, if Miss Stretton asked me what 
 you and I were discussing, I should certainly refuse to 
 inform her. Should I not be justified in doing so? I 
 leave it to yourself. Would you be pleased if I repeat- 
 ed our conversation to Miss Stretton? " 
 
 " Oh, I don't know that I should mind," replied 
 Miss Hemster mildly, the storm subsiding as quickly as 
 it had risen ; " I have no doubt she told you that her 
 father was a clergyman, and that my father had bor- 
 rowed five hundred dollars from her father to get his 
 
 85
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 start in life. And she doubtless hinted that her father 
 was the founder of our fortune." 
 
 " I assure you, Miss Hemster, that she said nothing 
 at all about five hundred dollars or any other sum. She 
 spoke mostly of your father, and she spoke very highly 
 of him." 
 
 '' She certainly had every right to do so. My father 
 gave her what education she has and supported her 
 ever since." 
 
 I made no comment upon this statement, and my 
 companion veered round a bit and said brightly : 
 
 " Oh, I see you don't like me to talk like that, and 
 perhaps I should n't, but Hilda Stretton is as sly as 
 they make them, and I 've no doubt she came on deck 
 just to size you up, while you would never suspect it." 
 
 " I venture to think you do the young lady an injus- 
 tice, Miss Hemster. I am sure she would have pre- 
 ferred to walk the deck alone, although she was too 
 polite to say so. I rather fear I forced my company 
 upon her." 
 
 " Oh, yes, oh, yes ; I understand all about that. Such 
 is just the impression Hilda Stretton would like to 
 make upon a man. Now I am honest. I came on deck 
 purposely to have a talk with you." 
 
 " Then I am very much flattered." 
 
 " Well, you ought to be, and I may say this for you, 
 that you don't talk to me in the least as other men do. 
 Nobody has ever dared to contradict me." 
 
 " Have I done so ? You shock me, for I certainly 
 did not intend to contradict you." 
 
 " Why, you have done nothing else, and I don't 
 86
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 think it 's gentlemanly at all. But we '11 let that go. 
 Now I wish to talk about yourself." 
 
 " Well, I think we might choose a more entertaining 
 topic." 
 
 " We '11 talk about Lord Tremorne then." 
 
 " Hang Lord Tremorne ! " 
 
 " Ah, Miss Stretton and you were discussing him 
 then?" 
 
 " Indeed we were not, but I am rather tired of the 
 gentleman. Yet he is a very good fellow, and I ought 
 not to say ' Hang him ! ' even if I am on the high seas. 
 I am sure I wish him nothing but good." 
 
 " If he were to die, would you become Lord Tre- 
 morne ? " 
 
 "Bless me, no!" 
 
 " Who stands between you ? " 
 
 " His three sons, who are very healthy specimens of 
 humanity, I am glad to say." 
 
 " Is n't there ever any possibility of your becoming 
 Lord Tremorne, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, there 's a possibility of anything, but no prob- 
 ability. I may say quite truthfully that no one would 
 be so sorry as I if the probability occurred." 
 
 " Don't you want to have a title ? " 
 
 " I would n't give twopence for it." 
 
 "Really? I thought every one in England wanted 
 a title?" 
 
 " Dear me, noT There are men in England, plain 
 Mr. This or That s who would n't change their appel- 
 lation for the highest title that could be offered them." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 87
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Oh, they belong to fine old families and look upon 
 the newer aristocracy as upstarts." 
 
 " It seems funny to talk of old families, for all fami- 
 lies are the same age. We all spring from Adam, I 
 suppose." 
 
 " Doubtless, but I believe the College of Arms does 
 not admit such a contention." 
 
 " Don't you think family pride a very idiotic 
 thing?" 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. To tell you the truth, I have n't 
 thought very much about it, though I don't see why 
 we should parade the pedigree of a horse and be 
 ashamed of the pedigree of a man." 
 
 " It is n't the same thing. A horse may have notable 
 ancestors, whereas I am told that most of your aris- 
 tocracy sprang from thieves and outlaws." 
 
 " As far as that goes, some of them are still in the 
 pirate profession, those who belong to the public com- 
 panies, for example, bogus companies, I mean. I 
 suppose, after all said and done, that the pedigree of 
 even the oldest family in Europe is as nothing to that 
 of the Eastern Kings, for this King of Corea that we 
 are going to see traces his ancestry about as far back 
 as did Pooh-Bah." 
 
 " Do you think there will be any trouble in getting 
 to see his Corean Majesty? " Miss Hemster asked with 
 a shade of anxiety in her tone. 
 
 " I am not at all sure, for the etiquette of the Corean 
 Court is very rigid. A horseman must dismount when 
 he is passing the Palace, although it is but a ram- 
 shackle conglomeration of shabbiness. Every one ad- 
 
 88
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 mitted to the Presence must prostrate himself before 
 the King." 
 
 " Well, I shan't do it," said the girl confidently. 
 
 " I hope to obtain a relaxation of the rule in the case 
 of a Princess like yourself, Miss Hemster. If his Ma- 
 jesty should graciously touch your hand, the law of 
 Corea demands that ever afterward you must wear a 
 badge as token of the distinction conferred upon you." 
 
 " Oh, I shall just wear another ring with the arms of 
 Corea on it, that is, if Corea has arms," said Miss 
 Hemster with vivacity. " I am sure it is very good of 
 you to take all this trouble for us. And now I must 
 bid you good-night and thank you for the very pleasant 
 walk we have had together." 
 
 With that my lady withdrew her bright presence and 
 disappeared down the companion-way. 
 
 89
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 I A WOKE next morning after a sweet and dream- 
 less sleep that was almost inspiring. Months 
 and months had passed since I slept in a Eu- 
 ropean bed, and, although necessity had accustomed 
 me to the habit of a Japanese mat upon the floor and 
 a block of wood for a pillow, I must confess that the 
 bed of the West still seemed to me a very paradise of 
 luxury. There were more patent contrivances about 
 that yacht than I have ever seen in such small compass 
 before. Of course it had electric lights everywhere. 
 There was a water-condensing machine, an ice-making 
 machine, and all the usual fittings that now go to the 
 construction of a luxurious steamer for sailing in warm 
 latitudes. There was a bathroom which was Oriental in 
 its splendour and Occidental in its patent fittings. One 
 could have any sort of bath that one desired. By sim- 
 ply turning a handle on a dial the great marble basin 
 became filled with water at any temperature indi- 
 cated by the figures at which you set the pointer, from 
 boiling-hot to ice-cold. This was indeed a delight, and 
 when I came to it from my room in dressing-gown 
 and slippers I found the Japanese boy there with a cup 
 of delicious tea such as can be had only in the immedi- 
 ate vicinity of China. On a dainty plate whose figure 
 
 90
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 work was only partially obscured by a filmy lace nap- 
 kin were some finger-lengths and finger-widths of but- 
 tered toast. " Rupert, my boy," I said to myself, " you 
 have indeed fallen upon your feet ! " 
 
 I now knew that I was going to have the pleasantest 
 voyage of my life. The clouds which yesterday threat- 
 ened to obscure my acquaintance with Miss Hemster 
 had cleared away, and although I had surmised that 
 the young woman was somewhat quick to take offence 
 when one approached the confines of either ridicule or 
 criticism, yet I was well aware that no man has a right 
 to inflict conversation that is distasteful upon any 
 woman, and I thought I had sufficient power over my 
 speech to prevent further errors in that direction. A 
 most unaccustomed sense of elation filled me, and, as I 
 tossed about my wardrobe, I came across a pair of Ox- 
 ford bags that I had not worn for years. As they were 
 still spotlessly white, I put them on, with a blazer 
 which gave to the world the somewhat glaring colors 
 of my college, and, thus gloriously arrayed with cap on 
 head, I almost imagined myself about to stroll along 
 the High, once more an extremely young man. 
 
 My costume made quite a sensation at the breakfast- 
 table, and caused great laughter on the part of our 
 worthy captain, who said the only thing it reminded 
 him of was a clown in Barnum's circus. Miss Hem- 
 ster was good enough to compliment the outfit, and, 
 after the meal was over, did me the honour of strolling 
 up and down the deck for nearly an hour, after which 
 she disappeared below. Silas K. Hemster occupied his 
 customary place on deck in the wicker armchair, and 
 
 91
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 after his daughter had deserted me I stood beside him 
 for a few moments, endeavouring to engage him in 
 conversation, but soon saw that he preferred his own 
 thoughts, for which preference, to be sure, I could find 
 no fault with him, for anything I had to say was 
 neither novel nor entertaining. I was about to go 
 below and select a book from the rather extensive 
 library when there met me at the head of the compan- 
 ion-way the notes of the very subdued playing of one of 
 Chopin's most charming nocturnes. I paused for a 
 moment at the head of the stair, then descended softly, 
 saying to myself that Miss Hemster was a most ac- 
 complished musician. 
 
 Perhaps I have not stated that at the farther end of 
 the saloon from the foot of the stairs stood an excellent 
 piano, and at the stairway end an equally fine Ameri- 
 can organ. As I descended I soon saw that the mu- 
 sician was Miss Stretton, who sat with her back 
 toward me, playing with a touch I have seldom heard 
 equalled even by professionals. I am very fond of 
 music, so I slipped quietly into a chair and listened to 
 those divine harmonies divinely played. Miss Stretton 
 went on from nocturne to nocturne, and I felt some- 
 what guilty at thus surreptitiously listening, but re- 
 solved that the moment she gave a sign of ceasing I 
 would steal quietly up the stair again without revealing 
 my presence. 
 
 Down the passage facing me, that formed a high- 
 way from the saloon to the suites occupied by the la- 
 dies, I saw Miss Hemster come out of her room, and, 
 by the same token, she must have seen me. She ad- 
 
 92
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 vanced a few steps, then stood still, apparently listen- 
 ing to the music, finally turned, and re-entered her 
 apartment with a distinct, emphatic slam of the door. 
 I paid no attention to this, but then was the time for 
 me to steal on deck again if I had had any wisdom in 
 my head, which I so frequently must admit I have not. 
 Miss Stretton, absorbed in the music, presumably had 
 not heard the slam of the door, but a little later Miss 
 Hemster emerged again, and this time came straight 
 down the passage and through the saloon, with a 
 swish, swish of silken skirts that sounded eloquent in 
 anger. I have never heard silk skirts rustle since then 
 without remembering the occasion I am endeavouring 
 to describe ; yet never before or since have I heard the 
 hiss of silk that actually swore, if I may be permitted 
 the use of such an expression. 
 
 The young woman marched past me with head erect, 
 and a gleam in her eyes such as I had seen on one 
 occasion before, but this time fixed and anything but 
 transient, as the other flash had been. I rose respect- 
 fully to my feet as she passed, but she cast not even a 
 glance at me, merely pausing for a second at the foot 
 of the stairs to catch up the train of her magnificent 
 gown, then up the steps she went at a run. Now I had 
 consciously given the girl no cause of annoyance, but, 
 the music having ceased suddenly, I turned around and 
 saw Miss Stretton regarding me with something like 
 dismay in her eyes. 
 
 " How long have you been here ? " she asked. 
 
 " Oh, only for a few minutes," I replied. " Pray go 
 on, Miss Stretton. I am very fond of music, and not 
 
 93
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 for years have I been privileged to hear it so well 
 played." 
 
 " It is very kind of you to say that," murmured 
 Hilda Stretton, " but I think I have played enough for 
 one morning." 
 
 " At least finish the selection you were just now en- 
 gaged upon," I begged. 
 
 " Some other time, please," she said in a low voice ; 
 and I did not urge her further, for I saw she was 
 frightened. 
 
 " Very well," I replied, " I shall take that as a 
 promise." 
 
 She inclined her head as she came down the room, 
 and went up the stairs, disappearing also on deck, leav- 
 ing me wondering what all this disquietude was about. 
 I thought of going on deck myself, but, feeling slightly 
 resentful at the treatment accorded me by Miss Hem- 
 ster, I walked forward, sat down on the piano-stool, 
 and began to drum a few of the catchy London tunes 
 that ran through my head. I was playing " Knocked 
 'em in the Old Kent Road " with little idea of how ex- 
 cellent an overture it would prove for the act about 
 to be commenced, and was thinking of the Strand, 
 and the Tivoli, and Chevalier, and Piccadilly Circus, 
 and the Empire, and Leicester Square, and the Alham- 
 bra, when I was startled by a woman's appealing voice 
 crying just above a whisper : 
 
 " Oh, don't, Gertie ; please don't ! " 
 
 I turned my head and saw, coming down the stair- 
 way, Gertrude Hemster followed by Hilda Stretton. 
 The latter was evidently almost on the verge of tears, 
 
 94
 
 " Will you stop your foolish pounding on my piano ?" 
 
 Page 9
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 but the face of the former was shocking to behold. I 
 could not have believed that a countenance so beauti- 
 ful was capable of being transformed into a visage that 
 might have stood model for a picture of murderous 
 wrath. 
 
 " Will you stop your foolish pounding on my 
 piano? " she cried, with a tremendous emphasis on the 
 first personal pronoun. 
 
 " Madam, I have stopped," I replied, giving a soft 
 answer that failed to have the supposed effect. 
 
 " I guess you think you own the yacht and all it con- 
 tains, don't you? Now, I beg to inform you that we 
 don't allow employees to conduct themselves as if they 
 were in a bar-room or a drinking-saloon." 
 
 As she said this, she strode once up and down the 
 length of the room. 
 
 " Madam," said I, " I beg your pardon, and shall 
 never touch your piano again. My only excuse is that 
 I have been so accustomed to public liners, where the 
 piano is free to all, that for the moment I forgot 
 myself." 
 
 At this juncture Miss Stretton was so injudicious as 
 to touch the other on the elbow, apparently trying to 
 guide her into the passage that led to her room, but 
 Miss Hemster whirled around like an enraged tigress, 
 and struck her companion a blow that would have 
 landed on her cheek had not the victim suddenly and 
 instinctively raised an arm to protect her face. Then 
 with the viciousness of a harridan of Drury Lane Miss 
 Hemster grasped the shrinking girl by the shoulders, 
 and shook her as a terrier does a rat, finally forcing her 
 
 95
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 down into a seat by the side of the table. One girl's 
 face was as white as paper, and the other's nearly pur- 
 ple with rage. I had intended to go up on deck, but 
 paused for two reasons. First I was afraid of in- 
 jury to Miss Stretton, and secondly the struggle took 
 place, if struggle it could be called when one was 
 entirely passive, in the midst of the only route open 
 to me. 
 
 " You dare to interfere, you little fool," shrieked 
 Miss Hemster. " You that are the cause of all the 
 trouble, with your silly little ditties tinkle-tinkle- 
 tinkle-tinkle and I '11 box your ears for you if you 
 dare stir!" 
 
 " Madam," said I, " you are possibly so ignorant as 
 not to know that you were listening to Chopin's most 
 subtle harmonies." 
 
 This had exactly the effect I desired, which was to 
 turn her away from the trembling girl whom she had 
 so harshly misused. 
 
 " Ignorant, you puppy ! Have you the gall to apply 
 such language to me, looking, as you do, like a monkey 
 on a stick ; like a doll that one can buy at the bargain 
 counter." 
 
 This graphic description of my Oxford blazer was 
 so striking that in spite of the seriousness of the case I 
 did the one thing I should not have done, I laughed. 
 The laugh was like a spark to a powder-mine, and 
 what made the crisis worse was that the old gentleman 
 in his armchair on deck, hearing the shrieking voice, 
 came down, his face haggard with anxiety. 
 
 " Gertie, Gertie ! " he cried. I would not like to 
 96
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 say the young lady swore, but she came so near it that 
 there was but tissue paper between the expression she 
 used and that which an angry fish-wife would have 
 employed. With the quickness of light she sprang at 
 a large Japanese vase which temporarily decorated the 
 center of the table. This she heaved up, and with the 
 skill of a football player flung it squarely at me. Now, 
 I have had some experience on the football field my- 
 self, and I caught that vase with a dexterity which 
 would have evoked applause had any enthusiast of the 
 game happened to be present. I suppose my placing of 
 this huge vase on the top of the piano was the last 
 straw, or perhaps it was her father coming forward, 
 crying in a grief-shaken voice, " Oh, Gertie, Gertie, 
 my child, my child ! " 
 
 I was so sorry for him that I passed him and would 
 have gone on deck out of the way, but my purpose was 
 checked by a startling incident. The young woman 
 had whisked open a drawer. I heard it come clattering 
 to the floor, for she had jerked it clear from its place ; 
 then there was a scream. Turning quickly around I 
 met the blinding flash of a pistol, and heard behind me 
 the crash of a splintering mirror. The sound of the 
 revolver in that contracted space was deafening, and 
 even through the smoke I saw that my young friend 
 was about to fire again. I maintain it was not fear for 
 my own life that caused instant action on my part, but 
 this infuriated creature, who seemed to have become 
 insane in her anger, faced three helpless, unarmed 
 people, and whatever was to be done had to be done 
 quickly. I leaped through the air, and grasped her two 
 
 97
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 wrists with an energetic clutch I daresay she had never 
 encountered before. 
 
 " Drop that revolver ! " I cried. 
 
 " Let go my wrists, you beast," she hissed in my 
 face. For answer I raised her arms and brought them 
 down with a force that would have broken her ringers 
 with the weight of the revolver if she had not let it go 
 clattering to the floor. 
 
 " You beast, you beast, you beast ! " she shrieked at 
 me, as well as her choking throat would allow utter- 
 ance. I swung her around a quarter-circle, then 
 pushed her back, somewhat rudely I fear, until she 
 sank down into a chair. 
 
 " Now, sit there and cool," I cried, giving her a 
 hearty shake, so that she should know how it felt her- 
 self. " If you don't keep quiet I '11 box your ears." 
 
 I don't defend my action at all ; I merely state that 
 I was just as angry as she was, and perhaps a little 
 more so. 
 
 " You brute, let go of my wrists ! I '11 kill you for 
 this ! Hilda, call the captain and have this man put in 
 irons. Father, how can you stand there like a coward 
 and see a beastly ruffian use me in this way ? " 
 
 " Oh, Gertie, Gertie ! " repeated the father without 
 moving. 
 
 She now burst into a passionate flood of tears, and I 
 released her wrists, ready, however, to catch them 
 again if she made any motion to reach the revolver. 
 
 During this fierce if brief contest, it took less time 
 in happening than it requires in telling, Miss Stret- 
 ton had been seated in the chair upon which the angry 
 
 98
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 woman had thrust her, and she gazed at us in open- 
 eyed terror. The old man stood half leaning against 
 the table, steadying himself with his hands. Miss 
 Hemster's fit of weeping was as dramatic as every- 
 thing else she did. It began with a burst of very angry 
 and genuine tears, and this storm passed through a 
 gamut of more or less varying emotions until it sub- 
 sided into a hysterical half-sobbing, half-gasping wail 
 which resembled the cry of the helpless child who had 
 been tyrannized over. It was bogusly pathetic, but I 
 saw it went straight to the old man's heart and wrung 
 it with very real agony, and this mean advantage which 
 I knew she was taking of the father's deep love for her 
 increased my scornful contempt for the creature. His 
 grief was actual enough, and she was quite consciously 
 playing upon it, although, wonderful actress that she 
 was, she pretended an utter abandon of heart-break- 
 ing sorrow. 
 
 As for me, I undoubtedly felt myself the brute she 
 had named me, and even at that moment, much more 
 so later, was shocked to find in my own nature 
 depths of primeval savagery which had hitherto been 
 unsuspected. Seeing, however, that the worst of the 
 storm was over, and that the young woman would 
 make no more attempts at gun-firing, I replaced the 
 drawer in position and threw into it its scattered former 
 contents. Then I picked up the revolver, saying : 
 
 " I will keep this, for there is nothing more danger- 
 ous than such an instrument in the hands of a woman 
 who can't shoot." 
 
 The effect of this remark on the drooping figure 
 
 99
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 was instantaneous. She abruptly raised her tear- 
 sodden face, which now became crimson with a new 
 wave of anger. 
 
 " You gaping baboon," she cried, " I can shoot a 
 great deal better than you can ! " 
 
 I paid no heed to her, but, advising Mr. Hemster to 
 lock up any other firearms he might have on board, 
 abruptly left the saloon. 
 
 100
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 I WALKED the deck alone, the revolver stuck be- 
 tween my hip and my gaudy sash, as if I were a 
 veritable pirate, and doubtless my appearance 
 was not dissimilar to some of those nautical heroes who 
 have been terrors of the sea. A pirate more dissatis- 
 fied with himself never trod a quarter-deck. If there 
 had been a plank at hand I would willingly have walked 
 it. It was no comfort that I despised the girl, for I 
 despised myself a thousand times more. What right 
 had I to interfere ? Why had I not bowed to her when 
 she ordered me away from the piano, and come at once 
 on deck, without proffering any of my foolish explana- 
 tions ? The whole disgraceful row had arisen through 
 my contemptible efforts to justify a situation which al- 
 lowed of no justification. The piano was hers, as she 
 truly said, and I had no more right to touch it than I 
 had to wear her jewellery. My sole desire at first was 
 to get ashore as soon as anchor was dropped, and never 
 again see either father or daughter. But a few mo- 
 ments' reflection showed me the quandary into which I 
 had brought myself. I was already indebted to the 
 old gentleman, not only for the money he had advanced 
 to me, but for his kindness from the very first, which I 
 had repaid by an interference in his family affairs that 
 made me loathe myself. Never before had I felt so 
 
 IOI
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 acutely the sting of poverty. Not even in my starva- 
 tion days at Nagasaki had my lack of means borne so 
 heavily upon me. It was utterly impossible for me to 
 refund a penny of the pounds he had so generously be- 
 stowed upon me. The only requital in my power was 
 that of honest service to him, and now I had made my 
 stay on the yacht impossible, when, had I retained a 
 modicum of sanity at the proper moment, I might have 
 withdrawn with no loss of dignity. Now my own self- 
 respect was gone, and I had more than justified every 
 bitter taunt she flung at me. 
 
 So, in a very hopeless state of misery and dejection, 
 I walked up and down the deck until Mr. Hemster him- 
 self came quietly up the companion-way and took his 
 usual place in his wicker chair, setting his heels upon 
 the rail in front of him, and biting off the end of a 
 cigar. He gave me no greeting, but this also was usual 
 with him, and so it meant nothing one way or another. 
 However, I had at last made up my mind on a course 
 of action, so I strode over to where he sat, and he 
 looked up at me with what I took to be more of appre- 
 hension than censure in his gaze. It was no matter of 
 wonder to me that he must be seriously doubting his 
 wisdom in taking on board without recommendation 
 stranger who had just proved himself such a brawler, 
 
 " Mr. Hemster," said I, " an apology is a cheap 
 method of trying to make amends for what is inexcus* 
 able; but I should like to tell you, and I should like 
 you to believe, how sorry I am for my conduct of a 
 short time since. I regret to say it is impossible for 
 me to return the money you have advanced. When I 
 
 102
 
 first had the pleasure of meeting you, I stated to you 
 quite truthfully that I was at the end of my resources, 
 and of course my prospects have not improved in the 
 mean time, except in so far as your own favour is con- 
 cerned, and that, I quite realize, I have forfeited. 
 From this time until we sight land, I shall live forward 
 with the crew in the forecastle, and shall not again come 
 aft except in obedience to your orders. When we 
 reach Corea I am entirely at your disposal. If you 
 wish me to carry out the project you have in hand, I 
 shall do so to the best of my ability ; if not, I give you 
 my word I will refund to you the money as soon as I 
 can earn it." 
 
 " Sit down," he said very quietly, and when I had 
 done so he remained silent, gazing over the rail at the 
 distant horizon for what seemed to me a very long 
 time. Then he spoke, never raising his voice above the 
 level at which he always kept it. 
 
 " You are a little excited just now," he said, " and 
 take an exaggerated view of the matter. Do you think 
 any one on deck heard that pistol-shot ? " 
 
 "I don't know; I rather imagine not. No one 
 seemed at all on the alert when I came up." 
 
 " Well, it sounded as if it would raise all creation 
 down below, but perhaps it did n't make such a racket 
 up here. Now, if you went forward and lived with the 
 crew, what would be the effect? They would merely 
 say we made it impossible for you to live aft. I suppose 
 by rights I shouldn't mind what my crew 'thinks or 
 says; but I do mind it. We are in a way a small 
 democracy afloat, one man as good as another. If the 
 
 103
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 firing were heard on deck, then the captain will be jok- 
 ing about it at luncheon time, and we'll know. If it 
 was n't, the least said about it the better. If you don't 
 like to come to meals, I have n't a word to say ; you 
 can have them served in your own room. As for the 
 money I advanced, that does n't amount to anything. I 
 am sure you are just the man I want for what there is 
 to do, and when that 's done it will be me that 's owing 
 you money. I 'm a good deal older than you, and I 
 have found that in business a man must keep his tem- 
 per, or he 's going to give all his adversaries a great 
 advantage over him, and things are cut so close now- 
 adays that no one can afford to give points to his rival. 
 I 've had to control my temper or be a failure, so I con- 
 trolled it. My daughter has n't had to do that. In- 
 stead of blaming her, you should blame me. It 's my 
 temper she 's got." 
 
 " My dear Mr. Hemster, I assure you I am blaming 
 neither of you ; I am blaming myself." 
 
 " Well, that 's all right. It 's a good state of Chris- 
 tian feeling and won't do you any harm. Now you 
 said that when we land you are willing to do anything 
 I ask. Are you willing to do that before we go 
 ashore ? " 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Hemster, any command you may lay 
 upon me I shall execute without question." 
 
 " Oh, I won't lay a command on you at all ; but I 
 ask as a favour that you go below, knock at my daugh- 
 ter's door, and tell her you are sorry for what has hap- 
 pened. Put it any way you like, or don't do it at all 
 if you don't want to. After all, she is a woman, you 
 
 104
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 know. You and I are men, and should stand the brunt, 
 even if we are not entitled to it, and it may make things 
 go a little smoother, perhaps." 
 
 We are supposed to be an unemotional race, but I 
 confess that the old man's mild words touched me 
 deeply, and made it next to impossible for me to reply 
 to him. But, even so, my own judgment told me that 
 a life of this desire to make things go smoothly had re- 
 sulted in building up a character in his daughter which 
 took an obstreperous advantage of the kindly old gen- 
 tleman's strong affection for her. I arose without a 
 word, thrust forward my hand to him, which he shook 
 somewhat shamefacedly, glancing nervously around, 
 fearing there might be onlookers. I entirely appreci- 
 ated his reserve, and wished for a moment that I had 
 not acted upon my impulse, to his visible embarrass- 
 ment. I went instantly to the saloon, along the pas- 
 sage, and knocked at the door of Miss Hemster's apart- 
 ment. She herself opened the door, with what seemed 
 to me to be her usual briskness ; but when I looked at 
 her, I saw her drooping like a stricken flower, head 
 bent, and eyes on the floor. Scarcely above a whisper, 
 she asked with tremor-shaken voice : 
 
 " Did you wish to see me ? " 
 
 " Yes, Miss Hemster," I replied, nerving myself to 
 the point. " I wish, since you are good enough to re- 
 ceive me, to apologize most abjectly for my rudeness 
 to you this morning." 
 
 She replied in a sad little voice, without looking up : 
 
 " I do not really mind in the least how much you 
 play the piano, Mr. Tremorne." 
 
 105
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 This was so unexpected a remark, so ludicrously 
 aside from the real point at issue between us, so far 
 from touching the hideousness of my culpability, that 
 I looked at the girl, wondering whether or not she was 
 in earnest. I had not come to get permission to play 
 the piano. Her attitude, to which no other word than 
 " wilted " so appropriately applied, continued to be one 
 of mute supplication or dependence. Yet in the semi- 
 darkness I fancied I caught one brief glance at my face. 
 Then she leaned her fair head against the jam of the 
 door and began to cry very softly and very hopelessly. 
 
 I stood there like the awkward fool I was, not know- 
 ing what to say ; and finally she completed my desola- 
 tion by slowly raising her two arms up toward my face. 
 Since our contest she had removed the striking cos- 
 tume she then wore, and had put on a white lace fleecy 
 garment that was partly dressing-gown, partly tea- 
 gown, decorated with fluttering blue ribbon. This 
 had very wide sleeves which fell away from her arms, 
 leaving them bare and rounded, pure and white. Her 
 two slender, shapely hands hung in helpless fashion 
 from the wrists like lilies on a broken stem. The slow 
 upraising of them seemed to me strange and meaning- 
 less, until the light from the inner room fell upon her 
 wrists, and then the purport of her action became stun- 
 ningly clear to me. Around that dainty forearm, deli- 
 cately fashioned for the tenderest usage, showed red 
 and angry the marks of my brutal fingers, silent accus- 
 ers held up before my very eyes. Distraught as I was 
 with self-accusation, I could not help admiring the 
 dramatic effectiveness of the slow motion and resulting 
 
 106
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 attitude. The drooping girl, with her soft, clinging 
 draperies, her sad face so beautiful, her contour so per- 
 fect, and those soft appealing hands upraised, hands 
 that I could not forget had been placed with impulsive 
 friendliness in mine on the streets of Nagasaki, and 
 all this accompanied by the almost silent symphony of 
 quivering sobs that were little louder than sighs tremu- 
 lously indrawn, formed a picture that has never been 
 effaced from my memory. I had rather a man's 
 clenched fist had struck me to the ground than that a 
 woman's open palm should be so held in evidence 
 against me. I regard that moment as the most un- 
 bearable of my life, and with a cry almost of despair 
 I turned and fled. For once language had become im- 
 possible and utterly inadequate. 
 
 As I beat this precipitate retreat, was it my over- 
 wrought imagination, or was it actual, that I heard an 
 indignant word of expostulation, followed by a low 
 sweet ripple of laughter. Had there been some one 
 else in the room during this painful interview? I 
 staggered like a drunken man up to the deck, and then 
 endeavoured to walk it off and cease thinking. 
 
 Mr. Hemster said nothing to me that day, nor I to 
 him, after I came on deck again. For an hour I strode 
 the deck with an energy which, if applied in the right 
 direction, would have driven the yacht faster than she 
 was going. When the gong sounded for luncheon I 
 went down to my own room and was served there. 
 After the meal I did not go up on deck again, but sat 
 on the sofa gloomily smoking. Later I got a novel 
 from the library, and tried to interest myself in it, but 
 
 107
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 failed. I felt physically tired, as if I had done a hard 
 day's work, and, unsentimental as it is to confess it, I 
 fell asleep on the sofa, and slept until the gong for din- 
 ner aroused me. 
 
 Dinner I also enjoyed in solitary state in my own 
 apartment, then, under the brilliant cluster of electric 
 lights, tried the novel again, but again without suc- 
 cess. The nap in the afternoon made sleep improbable 
 if I turned in, so I scarcely knew what to do with my- 
 self. I rather envied Silas K. Hemster's reticence, and 
 his seeming dislike for intercourse with his fellows. 
 He was the most self-contained man I had ever met, 
 preferring the communion of his own thoughts to con- 
 versation with any one. At this crisis of indecision the 
 way was made plain for me by the youth from Japan. 
 There came a gentle tap at my door, and on opening 
 it the Japanese boy said respectfully : 
 
 " Sir, Miss Stretton would like to speak with you on 
 deck." 
 
 108
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 I HAD flung my much-maligned blazer into a cor- 
 ner, and now I slipped on an ordinary tweed 
 coat. I found the deck empty with the excep- 
 tion of Miss Stretton, who was walking up and down 
 in the moonlight, as she had done the night before, 
 but this time she came forward with a sweet smile 
 on her lips, extending her hand to me as if we had 
 been old friends long parted. There was something 
 very grateful to me in this welcome, as I was begin- 
 ning to look upon myself as a pariah unfit for human 
 companionship. Indeed, I had been bitterly meditat- 
 ing on striking into the Corean wilderness and living 
 hereafter as one of the natives, about the lowest am- 
 bition that ever actuated the mind of man. 
 
 " Have you sentenced yourself to solitary imprison- 
 ment, Mr. Tremorne ? " 
 
 " Yes. Don't you think I deserve it ? " 
 " Frankly, I don't ; but as you did not appear at 
 either luncheon or dinner, and as the Japanese boy who 
 brought my coffee up here told me you were keeping to 
 your room, I thought it as well to send for you, and I 
 hope you are not offended at having your meditation 
 broken in upon. Prisoners, you know, are allowed 
 to walk for a certain time each day in the courtyard. 
 
 109
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I do wish I had a ball and chain for your ankles, but 
 we are on board ship, and cannot expect all the luxu- 
 ries of civilization." 
 
 Her raillery cheered me more than I can say. 
 
 " Miss Stretton, it is more than good of you to re- 
 ceive an outcast in this generous manner." 
 
 " An outcast ? Please don't talk rubbish, Mr. Tre- 
 morne ! Somehow I had taken you for a sensible per- 
 son, and now all my ideas about you are shattered." 
 
 " I don't wonder at it," I said despondently. 
 
 " Yes, I know you are in the Slough of Despond, and 
 I am trying to pull you out of it. When I remember 
 that men have ruled great empires, carried on impor- 
 tant wars, subdued the wilderness, conquered the ocean, 
 girdled the earth with iron, I declare I wonder where 
 their brains depart to when they are confronted with 
 silly, whimpering, designing women." 
 
 " But still, Miss Stretton, to come from the general 
 to the particular, a man has no right to ill-treat a 
 woman." 
 
 " I quite agree with you ; but, as you say, to come to 
 this particular incident which is in both our minds, do 
 you actually believe that there was ill-treatment? 
 Don't you know in your own soul that if the girl had 
 received treatment like that long ago she would not 
 now be a curse to herself and to all who are condemned 
 to live within her radius ? " 
 
 " Yet I cannot conceal from myself that it was none 
 of my business. Her father was present, and her cor- 
 rection was his affair." 
 
 " Her correction was any one's affair that had the 
 no
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 courage to undertake it. What had you seen? You 
 had seen her strike me, and thrust me from her as if I 
 were a leper. Then you saw this girl with the temper 
 of the the temper of the oh, help me 
 
 " Temper of the devil," I responded promptly. 
 
 " Thank you ! You saw her take up a deadly 
 weapon, and if she has not murdered one of the three 
 of us, we have to thank, not her, but the mercy of God. 
 You did exactly the right thing, and the only thing, 
 and actually she would have admired you for it had 
 it not been that you came down to her door and pros- 
 trated yourself for her to trample over you." 
 
 M Good heavens, Miss Stretton ! were you inside that 
 room ? " 
 
 " It does n't matter whether I was or not. I know 
 that she twisted you around her little finger, and took 
 her revenge in the only way that was possible for her.'* 
 
 " Ah, but you don't know the depth of my degrada- 
 tion. She showed me her wrists, marked by the fin- 
 gers of a savage, and that savage was myself." 
 
 " Pooh ! pooh ! pooh ! " cried Miss Stretton, laugh- 
 ing. " Do you think those marks indicate pain ? Not a 
 bit of it. Your grasp of her wrists did not injure her in 
 the least, and, short of putting handcuffs on them, was 
 the only method at your disposal to prevent her per- 
 haps killing her father, a man worth a million such as 
 she, and yet neither he nor you have the sense to see it. 
 I can inform you that Miss Gertrude's arm is sore to- 
 night, but not where you clasped it. She hurt herself 
 more than she injured me when she struck me. Look 
 at this," and she drew back her sleeve, disclosing a 
 
 in
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 wrist as pretty as that of Miss Hemster, notwithstand- 
 ing the fact that one part was both bruised and swollen. 
 " That is where I caught her blow, and can assure you 
 it was given with great force and directness. So, Mr. 
 Tremorne, if you have any sympathy to expend, please 
 let me have the benefit of it, and I will bestow my sym- 
 pathy upon you in return." 
 
 " Indeed, Miss Stretton, I am very sorry to see that 
 you are hurt. I hoped you had warded off the blow 
 slantingly, instead of getting it square on the arm like 
 that." 
 
 " Oh, it Is nothing," said the girl carelessly, draw- 
 ing down her sleeve again, " it is merely an exhibit, 
 as they say in the courts, to win the sympathy of a man, 
 and it does n't hurt now in the least, unless I strike it 
 against something. I ask you to believe that I would 
 never have said a word about the girl to you if you had 
 not seen for yourself what those near her have to put 
 up with. You will understand, Mr. Tremorne, I am 
 but a poor benighted woman who has had no one to 
 talk to for months and months. I cannot unburden 
 my soul to Mr. Hemster, because I like him too well ; 
 and if I talk to the captain he will merely laugh at me, 
 and tell funny stories. There is no one but you; so 
 you see, unfortunate man, you are the victim of two 
 women." 
 
 " I like being the victim of one of them," said I ; 
 " but am I to infer from what you have said that, as 
 you don't speak to Mr. Hemster because you like him, 
 you speak to me because you dislike me ? " 
 
 " What a far-fetched conclusion ! " she laughed. 
 
 112
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Certainly not. I like you very much indeed, and 
 even admired you until you used the word 'abjectly' 
 down in that passage. That is a word I detest; no 
 one should employ it when referring to himself." 
 
 " Then you were in Miss Hemster's room after all." 
 
 " I have not said so, and I refuse to admit it. That 
 is hereafter to be a forbidden topic, and a redeemed 
 prisoner in charge of his gaoler must not disobey or- 
 ders. If it were not for me, you would now be in your 
 room moping and meditating on your wickedness. I 
 have wrestled with you as if I were a Salvation lass, 
 and so you should be grateful." 
 
 " Never was a man wallowing in despondency more 
 grateful for the helping hand of a woman enabling him 
 to emerge." 
 
 " It is very generous of you to say that, when it 
 was the helping hand of a woman that pushed you 
 into it." 
 
 " No, it was my own action that sent me there. I 
 doubt if a man ever gets into the Slough of Despond 
 through the efforts of any one else. A lone man 
 blunders blindly along, and the first thing he knows 
 he is head over ears in the mud, and serve him 
 right, too." 
 
 " Why serve him right ? " 
 
 " Because he has no business being a lone man. 
 Two heads are better than one ; then, if one is making 
 for the ditch, the helping hand of the other restrains.'* 
 
 " Since when did you arrive at so desperate a con- 
 clusion, Mr. Tremorne?" 
 
 " Since I met you." 
 
 "3
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Well, it is a blessing there was no one to restrain 
 you to-day, or otherwise somebody might have been 
 shot. There is something to be said for lack of re- 
 straint upon occasion." 
 
 " Miss Stretton, if I had had a sensible woman to 
 advise me, I am certain I would never have lost my 
 money." 
 
 " Was it a large amount ? " 
 
 " It was a fortune." 
 
 " How one lives and learns ! I have often heard that 
 women squander fortunes, but never yet that a woman 
 helped to preserve one." 
 
 " It is better for a man's wife to squander a for- 
 tune than to allow a stranger to do it." 
 
 " Oh, I am not so sure. The end seems to be the 
 same in both cases. I suppose you have in your mind 
 the woman who would have given you good advice at 
 the proper time. 
 
 " Yes, I have." 
 
 " Then why don't you ask her now, or is it too 
 late?" 
 
 " I don't know that she would have anything to do 
 with me; however, it is very easy to find out. Miss 
 Stretton, will you marry me? I have nothing particu- 
 lar to offer you except myself, but I think I 've reached 
 the lowest ebb of my fortunes, and any change must be 
 toward improvement." 
 
 " Good gracious, is this actually a proposal ? " 
 
 " If you will be so generous as to regard it as such." 
 
 The young lady stopped in her promenade, and 
 leaned back against the rail, looking me squarely in 
 
 114
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the face. Then she laughed with greater heartiness 
 than I had yet heard her do. 
 
 " This is most interesting," she said at last, " and 
 really most amazing. Why, you must have known me 
 for nearly two hours! I assure you I did not lend 
 you a helping hand out of the Slough of Despond 
 to imprison you at once in the Castle Despair of a 
 penniless marriage. Besides, I always thought a pro- 
 posal came after a long and somewhat sentimental 
 camaraderie, which goes under the name of courtship. 
 However, this explains what I have so often mar- 
 velled at in the English papers; a phrase that struck 
 me as strange and unusual : ' A marriage has been ar- 
 ranged and will take place between So-and-So and 
 So-and-So.' Such a proposal as you have just made is 
 surely an arrangement rather than a love affair. In- 
 deed, you have said nothing about love at all, and so 
 probably such a passion does not enter into the amal- 
 gamation. If you were not so serious I should have 
 thought you were laughing at me." 
 
 " On the contrary, madam, I am very much in earn- 
 est, and it is you who are laughing at me." 
 
 " Don't you think I 've a very good right to do so ? 
 Why, we are hardly even acquainted, and I have no 
 idea what your Christian name is, as I suppose you 
 have no idea what mine is." 
 
 " Oh, Hilda, I know your name perfectly ! " 
 
 " I see you do, and make use of it as well, which 
 certainly advances us another step. But the other half 
 of my proposition is true, and I remain in ignorance of 
 yours." 
 
 US
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " When unconsciously I went through the ceremony 
 of christening, I believe my godfathers and godmoth- 
 ers presented me with the name of Rupert." 
 
 " What a long time you take in the telling of it. 
 Was n't there a Prince Rupert once? It seems to me 
 I 've heard the phrase ' the Rupert of debate,' and the 
 Rupert of this, and the Rupert of that, so he seems to 
 be a very dashing fellow." 
 
 " He was. He dashed into misfortune, as I have 
 often done, but there all likeness between us ends." 
 
 " It seems to me the likeness remains, because the 
 present Rupert is dashing into the misfortune of a very 
 heedless proposal. But do not fear that I shall take 
 advantage of your recklessness, which is the more dan- 
 gerous when you remember my situation. I sometimes 
 think I would almost marry the Prince of Darkness to 
 get out of the position I hold, for I am told he is a 
 gentleman, who probably keeps his temper, and I am 
 coming to the belief that a good temper is a jewel be- 
 yond price. However, I 'm exaggerating again. I do 
 not really need to stay here unless I wish it, and I re- 
 main for the sake of Mr. Hemster, who, as I told you 
 last night, has always been very kind to me, and for 
 whom I have a great respect and liking. Besides, I am 
 not nearly so helpless as perhaps you may imagine. If 
 I went home I could make a very good living teach- 
 ing music in the States. So you see I do not need 
 to accept the Prince of Darkness should he offer his 
 hand." 
 
 " You mean, when he has offered his hand ? " 
 
 She laughed at this, and went on merrily : 
 116
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " No, ' if ; ' not ' when.' I shall always cherish the 
 proposal of Prince Rupert, and when the Prince of 
 Darkness makes advances I shall probably tell him that 
 he is not the first Highness so to honour me. When 
 the sunlight comes to take the place of the moonlight, 
 we shall laugh together over this I can't call it sen- 
 timental episode, shall we term it, business arrange- 
 ment ? Now, would you mind accepting a little advice 
 on the subject of matrimony? " 
 
 " I '11 accept your advice if you '11 accept me. Turn 
 about is fair play, you know. Let us finish one trans- 
 action before we begin another." 
 
 " Transaction is a charming word, Mr. Tremorne, 
 nearly as good as arrangement; I am not sure but it 
 is better. I thought the transaction was finished. 
 You are respectfully declined, with thanks, but, as I 
 assured you, I shall always cherish the memory of this 
 evening, and, now that the way is clear, may I tender 
 this advice, which I have been yearning for some hours 
 to give you. You won't reply. Well, on the whole I 
 think your attitude is very correct. You could hardly 
 be expected to jump joyously from one transaction to 
 another, and I really feel very much flattered that you 
 have put on that dejected look and attitude, which 
 becomes you very much indeed and almost makes me 
 think that the precipitancy of my refusal equals the 
 headlong impetuosity of your avowal. A wiser woman 
 would have asked time for consideration." 
 
 " Pray take the time, Miss Stretton ; it is not yet too 
 late." 
 
 " Yes, it is. What is done, is done, and now comes 
 117
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 my advice. You said two heads are better than one. 
 That is true generally, but not always, so I shall present 
 you with an aphorism in place of it, which is that two 
 purses are better than one, if either contains anything. 
 If one purse is always empty, and the other is bursting 
 full, the truth of my adage cannot be questioned. I 
 surmise that your purse and mine are almost on an 
 equality, but I can assure you that Miss Hemster's 
 portemonnaie is full to repletion." 
 
 " That has nothing to do with me," I answered 
 curtly. 
 
 " Oh, but it may have, and much. I noticed when 
 you came down to luncheon yesterday that you are 
 very deeply in love with Miss Hemster." 
 
 " My dear Miss Hilda, I claim the right to call you 
 that, when one remembers that you never took your 
 eyes from your plate at luncheon I must say that you 
 have most extraordinary powers of observation. You 
 thought I was high and mighty toward Mr. Hemster, 
 which was not the case, and now you assert that I was 
 in love with Miss Hemster, which is equally beside the 
 fact." 
 
 " Of course you are bound to say that, and I may 
 add that although I am offering you advice I am not 
 asking confidences in exchange. I assert that you fell 
 in love with Miss Hemster during your charming ram- 
 ble through Nagasaki; falling in love with a haste 
 which seems to be characteristic of you, and which to- 
 tally changes the ideas I had previously held regarding 
 an Englishman." 
 
 " Yes, a number of your notions concerning the men 
 118
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 of my country were entirely erroneous, as I took the 
 liberty of pointing out to you last night." 
 
 " So you did, but actions speak louder than words, 
 and I form my conclusions from your actions. Very 
 well, propose to Miss Hemster; I believe she would 
 accept you, and I further believe that you would prove 
 the salvation of the girl. Her father would make no 
 objection, for I see he already likes you; but in any 
 case he would offer no opposition to anything that his 
 daughter proposed. His life is devoted, poor man, to 
 ministering to her whims and caprices, so you are 
 certain of the parental blessing, and that would carry 
 with it, as I have pointed out, the full purse." 
 
 " You spoke of the Prince of Darkness just now, 
 "Miss Stretton, so I will appropriate your simile and 
 say that if there were an unmarried Princess of Dark- 
 ness I would sooner try my luck with her than with 
 Miss Hemster." 
 
 " Oh, nonsense ! Miss Hemster is a good-hearted 
 girl if only she'd been rightly trained. You would 
 tame her. I know no man so fitted to be the modern 
 Petruchio, and I am fond enough of the drama to say 
 I would like to see a modern rendering of ' The Tam- 
 ing of the Shrew.' " 
 
 " She '11 never be tamed by me, Miss Stretton." 
 
 " She has been, Mr. Tremorne, only you spoiled your 
 lesson by your apology. You must not make a mistake 
 like that again. If you had stood your ground, preserv- 
 ing a distant and haughty demeanour, with a frown 
 on your noble brow, pretty Miss Gertrude would soon 
 have come around to you, wheedling, flattering, and 
 
 119
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 most exquisitely charming, as she well knows how to 
 be. You could then have caught her on the rebound, 
 as the novels put it, just, in fact, as I have managed to 
 catch you to-night. You will be very thankful in the 
 morning that I refused to retain my advantage." 
 
 " I shall never be thankful for that, Miss Hilda, and 
 it is equally certain that I shall never propose to Miss 
 Hemster. If I were a speculative adventurer I 'd ven- 
 ture to wager on it." 
 
 " Most men who see her, propose to her ; therefore 
 you must not imagine that Gertrude has not been 
 sought after. I should not be at all certain of your 
 success were it not that every man she has hitherto met 
 has flattered her, while you have merely left the marks 
 of your fingers on her wrists and have threatened to 
 box her ears. This gives you a tremendous advantage 
 if you only know how to use it. I have read some- 
 where that there is a law in Britain which allows a hus- 
 band to punish his wife with a stick no bigger than his 
 little finger. I therefore advise you to marry the girl, 
 take something out of the full purse and buy back the 
 ancestral acres, then go into the forest and select a 
 switch as large as the law allows. After that, the new 
 comedy of ' The Taming of the Shrew,' with the mar- 
 ried pair living happily ever afterward. You should 
 prove the most fortunate of men, in that you will pos- 
 sess the prettiest, richest, and most docile wife in all 
 your island." 
 
 " I am not a barrister, Miss Stretton, therefore can 
 neither affirm nor deny the truth you have stated re- 
 garding the law of the stick. If, however, a belief in 
 
 120
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 that enactment has led you to reject my proposal, I beg 
 to inform you that I have no ancestral acres contain- 
 ing a forest; therefore I cannot possess myself of a 
 twig of the requisite size without trespassing on some 
 one else's timber. So you see you need have no fear on 
 that score." 
 
 " I am not so sure," replied Hilda, shaking her pret- 
 ty Head, " I imagine there must be a Wife-Beaters' 
 Supply Company in London somewhere, which fur- 
 nishes the brutal Britisher at lowest rates with the cor- 
 rect legal apparatus for matrimonial correction. I 
 tremble to think of the scenes that must have been en- 
 acted in the numerous strong castles of Britain which 
 have had new copper roofs put on with the money 
 brought, over by American brides. Girls, obstreperous 
 and untrained, but wealthy beyond the dreams of avar- 
 ice, have gone across, scorning the honest straightfor- 
 ward American man, who in my opinion is the most 
 sincere gentleman of all the world. These rich but 
 bad-tempered jades have disappeared within the castle, 
 and the portcullis has come down. Have we ever 
 heard a whimper from any one of them ? Not a whis- 
 per even. If they had married American men there 
 would have been tremendous rows, ending with di- 
 vorce cases; but not so when they have disappeared 
 into the castle. You never hear of an American 
 woman divorcing a lord, and Lord knows some of 
 those lords are the riff-raff of creation. History gives 
 us grim pictures of tragical scenes in those old strong- 
 holds, but I shudder to think of the tragedies which 
 must occur nowadays when once the drawbridge is up, 
 
 121
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 and the American girl, hitherto adored, learns the law 
 regarding flagellation. The punishment must be ex- 
 ceedingly complete, for the lady emerges cowed and 
 subdued as the Kate that Shakespeare wrote about. 
 And how well that great man understood a wilful and 
 tyrannical woman ! Oh, you need n't look shocked, 
 Mr. Tremorne. Haven't you an adage on that be- 
 nighted island which says ' A woman, a dog, and a 
 walnut-tree; the more you beat them the better they 
 be?'" 
 
 " Great heavens, girl, what an imagination you 
 have! You should really write a novel. It would be 
 an interesting contribution toward international love 
 affairs." 
 
 " I may do so, some day, if music-teaching fails. I 
 should like, however, to have the confession of one of 
 the victims of an international matrimonial match." 
 
 " Which victim ? The English husband or the 
 American wife ? " 
 
 " The wife, of course. I think I shall wait until you 
 and Miss Hemster are married a year or two, and then 
 perhaps she will look more kindly on me than she does 
 at present, and so may tell me enough to lend local 
 colour to my book." 
 
 " I can give you a much better plan than that, Miss 
 Stretton. Hearsay evidence, you know, is never ad- 
 mitted in courts of law, and by the same token it 
 amounts to very little in books. I am given to under- 
 stand that, to be successful, an author must have lived 
 through the events of which he writes, so your best 
 plan is to accept my offer; then we will purchase a 
 
 122
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 moated grange in England, and you can depict its 
 horrors from the depths of experience." 
 
 " Where are we to get the money for the moated 
 grange ? I have n't any, and you 've just acknowl- 
 edged that you are penniless." 
 
 " I forgot that. Still, moated granges are always 
 going cheap. They are damp as a general rule, and 
 not much sought after. We could possibly buy one on 
 the instalment plan, or even rent it if it came to that." 
 
 Miss Stretton laughed joyously at the idea, held out 
 her hand, and bade me a cordial good-night. 
 
 " Thank you so much, Mr. Tremora* 1 for a most in- 
 teresting evening, and also for the proposal. I think it 
 very kind of you, for I suppose you suspect I have n't 
 had very many. I think we Ve each helped the other 
 out of the Slough of Despond. So good-night, good- 
 night!" 
 
 123
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 I WAS awakened next morning by the roar of the 
 anchor-chain running out, and found the yacht 
 at a standstill, with the vibration of the machin- 
 ery temporarily at an end. On looking out through 
 the porthole I recognized the town of Chemulpo, which 
 had grown considerably since I last saw it. Beyond 
 stood the hills of Corea, rising wave upon wave, as if 
 the land had suffered a volcanic eruption. 
 
 Mr. Hemster and I had breakfast alone together, 
 after which we went on deck. 
 
 " Now," said he, " the captain has brought us safely 
 here without running down an island, and the next 
 move in the game is yours. What do you propose 
 to do?" 
 
 " I shall go ashore at once, engage ponies and an 
 escort, change a quantity of silver money into ropes of 
 sek, then I shall make my way as quickly as possible 
 to the capital." 
 
 " What are ropes of sek? " asked Mr. Hemster. 
 
 " They are bronze, iron, or copper coins, which are 
 strung on ropes of straw by means of a square hole in 
 the middle. They are the most debased currency ; on 
 earth, and are done up in strings of five hundred cash. 
 Sek is useful in dealing with the natives, but when I 
 
 124
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 come to the capital I shall need silver and gold. When 
 I have made arrangements at Seoul I shall return to 
 Chemulpo and let you know the result." 
 
 " You told me I could not take the ' Michigan ' up 
 the river, what do you call it, the Han? and you 
 were doubtful about the advisability of using the 
 naphtha launch." 
 
 " No, the yacht would be sure to run aground before 
 you had gone very far, and as for the naphtha launch, 
 the Han is rather a treacherous and very crooked piece 
 of navigation, and if you had to stop half-way we 
 might be farther from the capital than we are now, 
 with a worse road ahead of us, and no chance of get- 
 ting ponies or escort. I strongly advise you to stay 
 where you are till I return, and meanwhile I '11 find out 
 more about the river than I know now." 
 
 To this Mr. Hemster agreed, and, being well pro- 
 vided with the sinews of war, I went ashore. Che- 
 mulpo proved to be quite a commercial town, and there 
 was no difficulty in my getting everything I wanted. I 
 was shocked but not surprised to find that the Prime 
 Minister, whom I formerly knew, and on whose help 
 I had somewhat counted, had been deposed and be- 
 headed, while all his relatives, male and female, had 
 been eliminated from human knowledge by death, 
 slavery, or exile. However, even if this man had re- 
 mained in office, my best plea with him would have 
 been money, and as I was well provided with this ne- 
 cessity I foresaw no obstacle to my purpose. Having 
 had an early start, and pushing on with more energy 
 than my escort relished, in spite of my promises of 
 
 125
 
 recompense, I reached the capital before the great bell 
 rang and the gates were closed. 
 
 I had some thought of calling on the British repre- 
 sentative, and if I had done so would doubtless have 
 enjoyed better accommodation for the night than fell 
 to my lot ; but as, the last time I saw him, I was, like 
 himself, a servant of our Government, I could not 
 bring myself to acknowledge that I was now merely 
 the hired man of an American millionaire, as his 
 daughter had so tersely put it. 
 
 Next day I very soon bribed my way to the presence 
 of the then Prime Minister, and was delighted to find 
 in him a certain Hun Woe, whom I had previously 
 known in a very much more subordinate capacity. Af- 
 ter our greetings I went straight to the point, and told 
 Hun Woe that I represented a gentleman and his 
 daughter, now at Chemulpo, who wished the honour of 
 a private conference with the Emperor. I also men- 
 tioned casually that there was a certain amount of 
 money in this for the Prime Minister if he could bring 
 about the interview. Hun Woe, with many genuflec- 
 tions, informed me that the delight of serving me 
 would more than recompense him for any trouble he 
 was likely to incur, ending his protestations of deep 
 friendship and regard by inquiring how much of the 
 needful the gentleman in Chemulpo would be prepared 
 to place on the table. I replied by naming a sum about 
 one quarter of the amount I was willing to pay. The 
 Prime Minister's eyes glittered, and he made various 
 shrugs of the shoulders and motions with his hands, 
 during the time that he politely intimated to me his 
 
 126
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 rise in the world since last I met him. A cash divi- 
 dend which would have been ample in those days, he 
 gently hinted, was little less than an insult at the pres- 
 ent time. So far as he was himself concerned, he 
 added, his services were freely at my disposal, and 
 none of the silver would stick to his fingers ; but, as I 
 must be awarCj the Court at Seoul was a most grasping 
 and avaricious body, and he should need to disburse 
 freely before my object could be accomplished. 
 
 I sighed and shook my head, rising to leave, regret- 
 ting it was not to be my good fortune to add to the 
 wealth of an old friend, whereupon Hun Woe begged 
 me to be seated again, and, after many declarations of 
 affectionate esteem, was good enough to name a sum 
 which he thought might be sufficient to cover all ex- 
 penses; and as this came to less than half of what I 
 was willing to dispose of, we speedily reached an 
 agreement. This haggling at the outset was neces- 
 sary, not only to save Hemster his hardly earned 
 money, but also to satisfy the official that he was driv- 
 ing a shrewd bargain. I accordingly paid the sum in 
 prompt cash to Hun Woe, and then informed him that 
 if everything went off to the satisfaction of my em- 
 ployer a further bonus would be awarded him, depend- 
 ing in size on the celerity and satisfactory nature of the 
 interview. This delighted the honest Premier, and I 
 must admit that he conducted the business with an 
 energy and despatch which was as gratifying as it was 
 unexpected. 
 
 East or West, money is a great lubricator, and, as I 
 have said, I was well provided. That very afternoon 
 
 127
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Hun Woe secured me an audience with His Imperial 
 Majesty, and for the third or fourth time in my life I 
 stood before the ruler of Corea. I do not know 
 whether he recognized me or not, but it was quite evi- 
 dent that the scent of gold was in the air, and the Em- 
 peror did not leave it long in doubt that he intended to 
 acquire as much as might be available of it. By way 
 of introduction, and to show that I was prepared to do 
 the proper thing, I placed a heavy bag of the seductive 
 metal on the shabby deal table before him, begging His 
 Majesty to accept it as an earnest of more to follow. 
 He poured it out on the table, and gloated over it with 
 a miser's eagerness. He had not improved in appear- 
 ance since last we met. The seams of dissipation had 
 cut deeply into the royal countenance, and his little 
 crinkling pig eyes were even more rapacious and cruel 
 than I remembered them to be. 
 
 The proposal to come aboard the yacht was at once 
 dismissed as impracticable. His Majesty would not 
 venture away from his capital, and, above all, he would 
 not risk his precious person on board of anybody's 
 steamship, so, on the whole, it was just as well that Mr. 
 Hemster had not essayed the navigation of the river 
 Han. However, His Majesty was good enough to in- 
 form me that although he would not trust his royal 
 person to the care of the infidels, yet he would make 
 up for that by giving so generous a suitor a suite of 
 rooms in the Palace itself, and my principal would 
 therefore have the honour of being the guest of Corea, 
 as one might say. I imagined that this would look as 
 well in the columns of the " New York Herald " as if 
 
 128
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the Emperor had gone on board the yacht. I fancied 
 that a few lines, something to the following effect, 
 would read very acceptably in the Sunday papers of 
 Chicago, under the head of Society Notes: 
 
 " Mr. Silas K. Hemster, of this city, and Miss Hemster, 
 occupy a suite of rooms in the royal Palace of Seoul, as guests 
 of the Emperor of Corea." 
 
 So, all in all, I was more than satisfied with the 
 speedy and gratifying outcome of my mission to the 
 Corean capital. After retiring from the royal presence 
 I congratulated the Prime Minister upon his method of 
 conducting negotiations and gave him a further pay- 
 ment on account, so that he would not be tempted to 
 falter in well-doing; and as for Hun Woe himself he 
 looked upon me as the most valuable visitor that had 
 set foot in Corea for many years. I distributed back- 
 sheesh somewhat indiscriminately among the under- 
 lings of the Palace, and early next morning left the 
 royal precincts on my return to Chemulpo, which port 
 I reached without any mishap. Possibly never before 
 in the history of Seoul had business been so rapidly 
 transacted. 
 
 I found Mr. Hemster, as usual, sitting on deck in 
 his accustomed chair, as if he had no interest in the 
 negotiations I had been conducting. He listened quiet- 
 ly to my account of the various interviews, and re- 
 ceived without comment the bribery bill I presented to 
 him. He did not appear to be so tremendously im- 
 pressed as I had expected with the royal invitation to 
 visit the Palace, and said he would have preferred to 
 take up his quarters at the chief hotel in the place, but 
 
 129
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 when I told him there was not a hotel in the city fit for 
 a white man to sleep in, he made no demur to the Im- 
 perial proposal. It seemed he had visited Chemulpo 
 during my absence, and in consequence of what he 
 heard there he now made some inquiry regarding the 
 safety of a stay in the capital. I told him that as a 
 rule the Coreans were a peaceable people unless incited 
 to violence by the authorities, and as long as we were 
 willing to bribe the authorities sufficiently they would 
 take care that the influx of the newly acquired affluence 
 would not be interfered with. So he asked me to go to 
 Chemulpo and make arrangements for the transport of 
 the party next morning. 
 
 I had not seen Miss Hemster on the day I left for 
 Seoul, but she welcomed my return with her for- 
 mer girlish enthusiasm, just as if nothing particular 
 had happened. She seemed to have entirely recovered 
 from her disappointment in not getting to see the Em- 
 peror of Japan, and was now effusively enthusiastic 
 over our coming journey. The young woman more 
 than made up for her father's lack of interest in the 
 royal invitation, and I was asked question after ques- 
 tion regarding the Palace at Seoul, which I feared 
 would disappoint her when she saw it, because of its 
 dilapidations and general lack of impressiveness. 
 However, a palace was a palace, she averred, and she 
 further pronounced the opinion that the news of their 
 residence there would make Chicago " sit up " when it 
 was cabled over. Miss Stretton sat silent with down- 
 cast eyes during this cross-examination, her intelligent 
 face as inscrutable as that of the old millionaire him- 
 
 130
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 self. I did not get a word with her that evening, and, 
 as it was drawing late, I had to return to Chemulpo to 
 make arrangements for the trip the following day, and 
 so stayed ashore that night. 
 
 We had a beautiful day for our expedition, and 
 rather a jolly trip of it, almost, as Miss Hemster 
 said, as if it were a picnic. At Miss Hemster's request 
 I rode by her side, with Miss Stretton sometimes with 
 us, but more often in front, with the old gentleman, 
 who jogged moodily on, absorbed in his own medita- 
 tions, saying nothing to anybody. Miss Hemster 
 chatted very gaily most of the day, but as evening drew 
 on she became tired of talk and began to look anxiously 
 for the gate of Seoul. When at last we passed through 
 it she expressed great contempt for the city of shanties, 
 as she called it, giving somewhat petulant expression to 
 her disgust at the disillusionment for which I had un- 
 successfully endeavoured to prepare her. Of course 
 by the time we reached the Palace the ladies were tired 
 out, and, if we had had the slightest notion of what 
 was before us, anxiety would have been added to 
 fatigue. 
 
 13*
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 WE were more comfortable in the royal 
 apartments than might have been expect- 
 ed. Mr. Hemster had brought his own 
 cook with him, together with the Japanese boy to wait 
 on us, and he had also taken the precaution to bring a 
 week's provisions, so that in spite of the primitive ar- 
 rangements of the kitchen placed at our disposal we 
 fared very much as usual so far as the cuisine was con- 
 cerned. The officials made no complaint at this reflec- 
 tion on their hospitality; in fact, they rather relished 
 our foresight, because, as Hun Woe admitted with 
 great simplicity, it enabled them to charge our keep to 
 the royal exchequer and yet incur no expense in pro- 
 viding for us. A system which admits of collection 
 and no disbursements is heavenly to a Corean official. 
 We were probably at the outset the most popular party 
 that had ever lodged in the royal Palace. 
 
 Our first dilemma arose, not through any interfer- 
 ence from the officers of the Court, but because of cer- 
 tain objections which Miss Gertrude Hemster herself 
 promulgated. The Prime Minister did us great hon- 
 our in offering to coach us personally regarding the 
 etiquette that surrounds the approach to the throne. It 
 seemed that both Emperor and Empress were to re- 
 
 132
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 ceive us in state, and the moment we came in sight of 
 their Majesties we were to turn our faces aside, as if 
 dazzled by the magnificence before us and the glory 
 conferred upon us march a dozen steps to the left, turn 
 again, march a dozen steps to the right, bowing ex- 
 tremely low at each evolution, advancing, with great 
 caution and humility, never more than two steps for- 
 ward at a time, approaching the throne by a series of 
 crab-like movements and coming very gradually for- 
 ward, zigzag fashion, until we stood with heads hum- 
 bly inclined before the two potentates. My translation 
 of all this caused great hilarity on the part of Miss 
 Hemster, and she quite shocked the genial Prime Min- 
 ister by giving way to peal after peal of laughter. Af- 
 ter all, he was a dignified man and did not regard the 
 ceremony as a joke, which appeared to be the way it 
 presented itself to the young lady. 
 
 " I 'm not going through any of that nonsense," she 
 exclaimed. " Does he think I intend to make a Wild 
 West show of myself? If he does, he 's mistaken. I '11 
 proceed right up to the Emperor and shake hands with 
 him, and if he does n't like it he can lump it. You 
 translate that to him, Mr. Tremorne." 
 
 I intimated respectfully to the young woman that 
 Court etiquette was Court etiquette, and that every- 
 thing would be much more simple if we fell in with the 
 ways of the country. This marching and counter- 
 marching was no more absurd than our own way of 
 shaking hands, or the Pacific Island method of saluta- 
 tion by rubbing noses. 
 
 " ' When in Rome do as the Romans do/ " I sug- 
 
 133
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 gested; but this expostulation had no effect whatever 
 upon the determined young person, who became more 
 and more set in her own way from the fact that her 
 father quietly agreed with me. Furthermore, when she 
 learned that there were no chairs in the Royal recep- 
 tion-room, she proclaimed that her Japanese attendant 
 must carry a chair for her ; because, if the Royal pair 
 were seated, she insisted on being seated also. I was 
 to tell " His Nibs," by which expression she referred 
 to the smiling Prime Minister, that she belonged to 
 sovereign America, and therefore was as much an Em- 
 press in her own right as the feminine Majesty of 
 Corea. 
 
 " Miss Hemster," said I, " I don't know whether 
 what you wish can be accomplished or not ; but in any 
 case it is sure to cause considerable delay, and, further- 
 more, it will probably cost your father a very large 
 sum of money." 
 
 I speedily saw that I would better have preserved si- 
 lence. The young lady drew herself up with great 
 dignity and flashed upon me a glance of withering in- 
 dignation. 
 
 " Will you oblige me by minding your own busi- 
 ness ? " she asked harshly. " Your duty is to obey or- 
 ders, and not to question them." 
 
 To this, of course, no reply was possible, so I con- 
 tented myself by bowing to her, and, turning to Hun 
 Woe, who stood smiling first at one and then at the 
 other of us, not understanding even the drift of our 
 conversation, but evidently growing somewhat uneasy 
 at the tone it was taking, I translated to him as well as 
 
 134
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I could what Miss Hemster had said, softening the 
 terms as much as possible, and laying great stress on 
 her exalted position in her own country, of which land 
 the Prime Minister was enormously ignorant. 
 
 Hun Woe became extremely grave; and his smile, 
 unlike that in the advertisement, at once " came off." 
 
 " If the strenuous Empress of China," said I, " ar- 
 rived at Seoul on a visit, she would certainly be re- 
 ceived by His Majesty as an equal, and would not need 
 to go through the ceremony of advance which you have 
 so graphically described. Now this Princess," I con- 
 tinued, " holds herself to be of a rank superior to the 
 Empress of China, and is considered of higher status 
 by her own countrymen." 
 
 The Prime Minister very solemnly shook his head 
 and seemed much disquieted. 
 
 " Her father," I continued earnestly, and in a meas- 
 ure truthfully, " maintains a much larger fleet than 
 China possesses, and his private war-ship, now in the 
 waters of Corea, is grander than anything that empire 
 ever beheld, much less owned. His territories are vast. 
 Thousands of people, yes, millions, pay tribute to 
 him. He has waged commercial war against those 
 who dared to dispute his authority, and has invariably 
 defeated them. His revenue exceeds that of the king- 
 dom of Corea twice over, so is it likely, I put it to 
 you as man to man, that such a potentate will con- 
 sent to the dozen steps this way, and the dozen steps 
 that? His only daughter is the Crown Princess, and 
 will be heiress to all his powers and emoluments. I 
 pray you, therefore, put this matter in its right light be- 
 
 135
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 fore His Majesty of Corea, and I can assure you, if you 
 succeed, your own income will be largely augmented." 
 
 This speech undoubtedly impressed the Premier, 
 who bowed low to Mr. Hemster and his daughter time 
 and again as I went on. The girl's anger had subsided 
 as quickly as it had risen, and she watched us both in- 
 tently, seeming at first to doubt that I translated accu- 
 rately what I had been so curtly ordered to say; but 
 as our conversation went on the increasing deference 
 of the Prime Minister showed that I was at least doing 
 my best. The old gentleman, too, regarded us 
 shrewdly from under his bushy eyebrows, but seemed 
 rather tired of the game, as if it were not worth such 
 a pow-wow. He evidently wished to get the whole 
 thing over as quickly as possible, and return to the 
 comforts of his yacht, and in this I entirely sympathized 
 with him. 
 
 The Prime Minister replied that he would present 
 the new facts before His Majesty, and averred that if 
 they had the same effect upon the Emperor of Corea 
 as they had produced upon the Prime Minister the im- 
 pediment would be speedily removed. He assured me 
 I could count on his utmost endeavours to find a solu- 
 tion for the unexpected exigency, and I was well 
 aware that my tale would not decrease in the retelling. 
 With many and most profound obeisances to the two 
 Western grandees, the Prime Minister took his depart- 
 ure, and I accompanied him outside, where I made 
 him a payment on a gold basis. 
 
 The Royal audience had been appointed for two 
 o'clock of the afternoon on the day succeeding our ar- 
 
 136
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 rival at Seoul, but this new question that had arisen 
 caused the ceremony to be postponed, much to my an- 
 noyance, for I knew the habitual delay of these people, 
 especially where money was in question, and I feared 
 that the inconvenient assumption of dignity on the part 
 of the young- woman might land us in trouble of which 
 neither she nor her father had the least appreciation. 
 I communicated my fears of delay and complications to 
 the old gentleman when I got him alone, hoping he 
 might use his influence with his daughter to modify 
 what seemed to me her ill-timed assertion of high rank ; 
 but Mr. Hemster, though a resourceful man in every 
 other direction, always proved a broken reed so far as 
 his daughter was concerned, and he pathetically ad- 
 mitted his inability to curb either her actions or her 
 words. 
 
 " All we can do, Mr. Tremorne," he said, " is to 
 fork over the cash. Don't you spare it. I can see 
 very well you are handling this situation as expertly as 
 a ward politician. You 're all right. If you can talk 
 to this here King as you talked to his Prime Minister, 
 I think you '11 fix up the thing in five minutes, and re- 
 member this is a game of bluff in which there is no 
 limit. I don't restrict you in the cash you spend, so 
 go ahead." 
 
 And this indeed proved to be the way out of the 
 muddle, although I explained to him that too lavish 
 distribution of cash was not without its own danger. 
 But at this juncture a message arrived to the effect 
 that the Prime Minister wished to see me, and I at once 
 departed to learn what had been the outcome of his 
 
 137
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 mediation. I found that he had made little progress, 
 but by a curious coincidence he put forth the same sug- 
 gestion previously offered by Mr. Hemster. He had 
 arranged a conference for me with the King, and ad- 
 vised me, as Mr. Hemster had done, to lay it on thick. 
 Hun Woe was somewhat encouraged by the orders he 
 had received from his royal master in regard to my 
 audience. The King would receive me entirely alone; 
 not even his Prime Minister was to be present. From 
 this condition Hun Woe surmised I was to be success- 
 ful in my quest, and I was well aware that this unwit- 
 nessed reception of me was as much contrary to Corean 
 customs as was the proposal Miss Hemster had made. 
 
 I saw his Majesty in one of the private apartments 
 of the Palace, and speedily realized that he did not care 
 a rap what honours belonged to Mr. Hemster. The 
 sinister, shifty eyes of his Majesty were filled with 
 greed. Never was there such a picture of avarice pre- 
 sented to me as the countenance of the King showed. 
 His claw-like hands had been withdrawn from the 
 voluminous bell sleeves of his robe of red silk and yel- 
 low gold, and were twitching nervously on the table 
 before him. His tremulous attitude of uneasy eager- 
 ness reminded me of the Miser in the " Chimes of Nor- 
 mandy." Impatiently he waved aside the recital touch- 
 ing the claims of my employer to the most- favoured- 
 monarch treatment, and gasped out the Corean equiva- 
 lent for " How much, how much ? " 
 
 A tangible object-lesson is better than talk even in 
 the Orient; so, bringing my eloquence to an abrupt 
 conclusion, I drew from my pocket another bag of 
 
 138
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 gold, similar in weight to the one I had previously 
 presented to him, and, seeing he was impatient for 
 touch as well as for sight, undid the string and poured 
 the stream of shining metal discs before him on the 
 table. He thrust his vibrant hands among the coins, 
 and gave utterance to a low guttural sound of satisfac- 
 tion which resembled the noise made by a pig thrusting 
 its snout into a trough of slops, rather than any ex- 
 clamation I had ever before heard from human lips. I 
 assured him that no word of all this would be spoken 
 by me, and promised that as soon as the conference 
 was safely over on the terms that Miss Hemster and 
 her father had laid down, a similar amount would be 
 privately paid to his Royal self in an equally secret 
 manner; and so my mission terminated in a glorious 
 success, and it was arranged that the reception should 
 take place the next day at two o'clock. The process 
 was costly, but effective; and effectiveness, after all, 
 was the main thing. 
 
 I reported my victory to Mr. Hemster and his daugh- 
 ter, and almost immediately after this the Prime Minis- 
 ter came in to offer his congratulations. The good 
 man had seen his royal master for a few moments, and 
 was evidently delighted that everything was going on 
 so smoothly. It meant money in his pocket, and he 
 was becoming rich with a celerity which left stock- 
 exchange speculations far in the rear. He had re- 
 ceived his commands regarding next day's reception, 
 and the Emperor had been pleased to order that the 
 audience should take place in the same room where I 
 had seen him, with none of the nobles of the Court 
 
 139
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 present except the Prime Minister. This was a good 
 example of his Majesty's craftiness. The Premier 
 already knew that the etiquette of the Court was to 
 be put aside for the occasion; but the monarch 
 had no desire for further witnesses, and was evident- 
 ly not going to set a precedent in the realm of 
 Corea that might produce inconvenient consequences 
 thereafter. 
 
 I had had little opportunity of talking with Miss 
 Stretton since the night of our walk on deck, the 
 night of the proposal, as I called it to myself, as amidst 
 all these negotiations I kept continually thinking of it. 
 Without exactly avoiding me, Miss Stretton never 
 seemed to be alone, and although very rarely I caught 
 a glance of her eye I had no opportunity of private 
 speech with her. She kept very much in the back- 
 ground and was more than usually quiet and 
 thoughtful. 
 
 We had dinner early that night, somewhere about 
 six o'clock, for there were neither candles nor lamps in 
 the Palace, and if we waited until nightfall we had to 
 " grope," as Mr. Hemster termed it. In spite of the 
 success of her plans, Miss Hemster was distinctly 
 snappy at dinner, if I may use such a term regarding a 
 person so beautiful. She shut me up most effectually 
 when I ventured a little harmless general conversation, 
 and I think she made Miss Stretton feel more than 
 usual the bitterness of a dependent's bread. Mr. Hem- 
 ster said nothing. I could see the poor old gentleman 
 was hankering for a daily paper, and from my soul I 
 felt sorry for him as he listened with the utmost pa- 
 
 140
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 tience to the querulous fault-findings of his lovely 
 daughter. 
 
 Toward the end of dinner something that was said 
 did not please the young lady, and she rose abruptly 
 and left the table, with a gesture of queenly disap- 
 proval of us all. Anger appeared to fill her as elec- 
 tricity fills an accumulator, and until the battery was 
 discharged we never knew who would suffer the next 
 shock. When the young woman's ill-temper had been 
 aroused by my opposition earlier in the day, perhaps 
 we would have spent a pleasanter evening if it had 
 been allowed to run its course. But as it was checked 
 by her interest in the negotiations it now filtered out 
 in very palpable discontent. When Miss Stretton arose 
 to leave I took the liberty of begging her to remain. 
 
 " I should like very much," I said, " to show you the 
 light on Nam-san." 
 
 " And what is the light on Nam-san ? " she asked, 
 pausing with her hand on the back of the chair. 
 
 " Beacons are lighted all along the coast of Corea, 
 on the mountain tops," I replied, " so that peak calls 
 to peak, as it were; and the last one to be lit is that 
 on Nam-san, which is the name of the highest moun- 
 tain near Seoul. They kindle it at eight o'clock, and 
 its blazing up shows that the kingdom of Corea is 
 safe and at peace with the world." 
 
 " Very well," said Miss Stretton after a pause ; " I 
 will return here about ten minutes to eight." 
 
 She was as good as her word, and we took a stroll 
 together in the great courtyard of the Palace, which is 
 a city within a city. The gates of the Palace grounds 
 
 141
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 were now closed and guarded, and we could not have 
 got out into Seoul if we had wished to do so. But it 
 was all very still and pleasant in the broad square sur- 
 rounded by the low, strangely roofed buildings that 
 constituted the Palace. We saw the beacon light flash 
 out and then die away. I cannot remember that we 
 talked much, but there was a calm and soothing sense 
 of comradeship between us that was very comforting. 
 She told me, when I had tried to warn her against ex- 
 pecting too much on seeing the Emperor next day, 
 that she did not intend to accompany our party, and I 
 suspected that she had been ordered to remain away. 
 Moreover I could see that she was very tired of it all, 
 and, like Mr. Hemster, wished herself back in her own 
 country. 
 
 142
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SHORTLY before two o'clock the next day the 
 Prime Minister came for us, and conducted us 
 directly to the Presence Chamber, instead of 
 taking us to the small wooden building, containing a 
 table and some chairs, where visitors usually had to 
 wait until the Emperor's messenger arrived with or- 
 ders permitting an advance to the throne-room. Our 
 little procession consisted of four persons, Mr. Hem- 
 ster, Miss Hemster, the Prime Minister, and myself. 
 Hun Woe was visibly uneasy, and I was well aware 
 that, in spite of the money paid him, he would much 
 rather have been absent from the ceremony. In East- 
 ern lands it is extremely dangerous for a Vizier to wit- 
 ness a Sultan's humiliation, and the Prime Minister 
 well knew that although the Emperor had permitted 
 the deference due to him to be temporarily annulled 
 through payment of gold, he might nevertheless con- 
 sider it desirable to eliminate the onlooker, so that no 
 record of this innovation were left on the earth. 
 
 The room into which we were conducted was but 
 indifferently lighted. It was oblong in shape, and a 
 low divan ran across the farther end of it. Four very 
 ordinary wooden chairs had been placed midway be- 
 tween the door and the divan. 
 
 143
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Both the Emperor and the Empress were seated, 
 Oriental fashion, on huge cushions, and were decked 
 out in a fashion that might be termed tawdry gor- 
 geousness. I do not know whether the strings of col- 
 ored gems that hung around the Empress were real or 
 imitation, but they were barbaric in size and glitter and 
 number. The Empress, whom I had never seen be- 
 fore, sat impassive, with eyes half closed, as if she were 
 a statue of the feminine Buddha. During the whole 
 of the exciting interview she never moved or showed 
 the slightest sign of animation. 
 
 The Emperor's ferret-like eyes glanced shiftily over 
 the advancing party, which came forward, as I might 
 say, in two sections, the three white people upright, 
 and the Premier bending almost double, working his 
 way toward the divan by zigzag courses, giving one 
 the odd notion that he was some sort of wild beast 
 about to spring upon the Emperor when he arrived at a 
 proper position for the pounce. 
 
 The twinkling eyes of the Emperor, however, speed- 
 ily deserted the rest of our party, and fixed themselves 
 on Miss Hemster, who moved toward him with grace- 
 .ful ease and an entire absence of either fear or defer- 
 ence. She instantly made good the determination she 
 had previously expressed, and, gliding directly up to 
 him, thrust forward her hand, which the Emperor 
 seemed at a loss what to do with. His eyes were 
 fastened on her lovely countenance, and there broke on 
 his lips a smile so grim and ghastly that it might well 
 have made any one shudder who witnessed it. The 
 bending Prime Minister uttered a few words which in- 
 
 144
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 formed the Emperor that the lady wished to shake 
 hands with him, and then his Majesty took his own 
 grimy paws from out of the great bell sleeves in which 
 they were concealed, and with his two hands grasped 
 hers. Never did so sweet a hand, disappear in so re- 
 volting a clutch, and the young woman, evidently 
 shocked at the contact, and doubtless repelled by the 
 repulsiveness of the face that leered up at her, drew 
 suddenly back, but the clutch was not relaxed. 
 
 " Let me go ! " she cried breathlessly, and her father 
 took an impulsive step forward ; but before he reached 
 her the Emperor suddenly put forth his strength and 
 drew the young woman tumbling down to the divan 
 beside him, grimacing like a fiend from the bottomless 
 pit. Little he recked what he was doing. With a 
 scream Miss Hemster sprang up, flung out her right 
 arm, and caught him a slap on the side of his face that 
 sounded through the hall like the report of a pistol. 
 The Prime Minister, with a shuddering cry of horror, 
 flung himself on his face, and grovelled there in piteous 
 pretence of not having seen this death-earning insult 
 which the Western woman had so energetically be- 
 stowed on the Eastern potentate. Hun Woe's open 
 palms beat helplessly against the wooden planks, as if 
 he were in the tremors of dissolution. The active 
 young woman sprang back a pace or two, and, if a 
 glance could have killed, the look with which she trans- 
 fixed his Imperial Majesty would have brought extinc- 
 tion with it. 
 
 As for the Emperor, he sat there, bending slightly 
 forward, the revolting grimace frozen on his face, and 
 
 145
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 yet his royal head must have been ringing with the 
 blow he had received. The Empress sat stolid, as if 
 nothing had happened, and never moved an eyelid. 
 Then his Majesty, casting a look of contempt at the 
 huddled heap of clothes which represented the Prime 
 Minister, threw back his head and gave utterance to a 
 cackling laugh which was exceedingly chilling and un- 
 pleasant to hear. Meanwhile the young lady seated 
 herself emphatically in one of the chairs, with a sniff 
 of indignant remonstrance. 
 
 " There," she said, " I flatter myself I have taught 
 one nigger a lesson in good manners. He '11 bear the 
 signature of my fingers on his cheeks for a few hours 
 at least" 
 
 " Madam," I said solemnly, " I beg you to restrain 
 yourself. Your signature is more likely to prove a 
 death-warrant than a lesson in etiquette." 
 
 " Be quiet," she cried angrily to me, turning toward 
 me a face red with resentment ; " if there is no one 
 here to protect me from insult I must stand up for my- 
 self, and you can bet your bottom dollar I '11 do it. Do 
 you think I am afraid of an old hobo like that ? " 
 
 The Emperor watched her with narrowing eyes as 
 she was speaking, and it really seemed as if he under- 
 stood what she said ; for again he threw back his head 
 and laughed, as if the whole thing was a joke. 
 
 " Madam," said I, " it is n't a question of fear or the 
 lack of it, but merely a matter of common sense. We 
 are entirely in this man's power." 
 
 " He dare n't hurt us," she interrupted with a snap, 
 " and he knows it, and you know it." 
 
 146
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Miss Hemster, I know a great 
 deal more of these people than you do. No Westerner 
 can predict what may happen in an Eastern Court." 
 
 " Westerners are just as good as New Yorkers, or 
 Londoners either, for that matter," cried the gentle 
 Gertrude, holding her head high in the air. 
 
 " You mistake me, Miss Hemster ; I am speaking of 
 Europeans as well as of Americans. This Emperor, 
 at a word, can have our heads chopped off before we 
 leave the room." 
 
 " Oh, you 're a finicky, babbling old woman," she 
 exclaimed, tossing her head, " and just trying to 
 frighten my father. The Emperor knows very well 
 that if he laid a hand on us the United States would 
 smash his old kingdom in two weeks." 
 
 " If you will pardon me, madam, the Emperor is 
 quite ignorant. If he should determine to have us 
 executed, not all the United States or Britain and Eu- 
 rope combined could save us. He has but to give an 
 order, and it will be rigidly obeyed if the heavens 
 fell the moment after. If you are anxious to give the 
 Emperor your opinion of him, all I beg of you is that 
 you wait until we 're out of this trap, and then send it 
 to him on a picture post-card. Whatever action the 
 Powers might subsequently take would be of no assist- 
 ance to us when we are executed." 
 
 During this heated conversation the Prime Minister 
 had partly risen to his hands and knees, although he 
 kept his head hanging down until it nearly touched the 
 floor. The Emperor had been watching Miss Hem- 
 ster's animated countenance, and he seemed greatly to 
 
 147
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 enjoy my evident discomfiture. Even though he un- 
 derstood no word of our language, he saw plainly 
 enough that I was getting the worst of the verbal en- 
 counter. Now the gradual uprising of the Prime Min- 
 ister drew his attention temporarily to this grovelling 
 individual, and he spoke a few words to him which at 
 once raised my alarm for the safety of those in my 
 care. His Majesty had evidently forgotten for the mo- 
 ment that I understood the Corean tongue. Hun Woe 
 now rose to his feet, kept his back at an angle of 
 forty-five degrees, and, without turning around, began 
 to retreat from the Imperial presence. I at once 
 stepped in his way, and said to the Emperor that this 
 command must not go forth, whereupon the Majesty 
 of Corea was good enough to laugh once more. 
 
 " What are you talking about ? " demanded Miss 
 Hemster. " You must translate everything that is 
 said ; and, furthermore, you must tell him that he has 
 to apologize to me for his insult at the beginning." 
 
 " All in good time, Miss Hemster." 
 
 " Not all in good time," she cried, rising from her 
 chair. " If you don't do that at once, I '11 go and slap 
 his face again." 
 
 " Please believe me, Miss Hemster, that you have 
 already done that once too often. I assure you that 
 the situation is serious, and you are increasing the dan- 
 ger by your untimely interference." 
 
 Before she could reply, a roar of laughter from the 
 Emperor, who wagged his head from side to side and 
 rocked his body to and fro in his glee, drew my atten- 
 tion to the fact that I had been outwitted. The Prime 
 
 148
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Minister, taking advantage of my discussion with Miss 
 Hemster, had scuttled silently away and had disap- 
 peared. I fear I made use of an exclamation to which 
 I should not have given utterance in the presence ol a 
 lady; but that lady's curiosity, overcoming whatever 
 resentment she may have felt, clamoured to know 
 what had happened. 
 
 " His Majesty," said I, " gave orders to the Prime 
 Minister doubly to guard the Palace gates, and see that 
 no communication reached the outside from us. It 
 means that we are prisoners ! " 
 
 All this time I had not the least assistance from the 
 old gentleman, who sat in a most dejected attitude on 
 one of the wooden chairs. I had remained standing 
 since we entered the room. Now he looked up with 
 dismay on his countenance, and I was well enough ac- 
 quainted with him to know that his fear was not for 
 himself but for his daughter. 
 
 " Will you tell the Emperor," he said, " that we are 
 armed, and that we demand leave to quit this place as 
 freely as we entered it ? " 
 
 " I think, Mr. Hemster," said I, " that we had better 
 conceal the fact that we have arms, at least until the 
 Prime Minister returns. We can keep that as our 
 trump card." 
 
 " Will you please do exactly what my father tells 
 you to," snapped the young woman sharply. 
 
 " Hush, Gertrude ! " said Mr. Hemster. Then, ad- 
 dressing himself to me : " Sir," he added, " do what- 
 ever you think is best." 
 
 I now turned to the Emperor, and made the speech 
 149
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 of my life. I began by stating that Corea had been 
 face to face with many a crisis during its history, but 
 never had she been confronted with such a situation as 
 now presented itself. Mr. Hemster, besides being 
 King, in his own right, of the provision market in Chi- 
 cago, was one of the most valued citizens of the United 
 States, and that formidable country would spend its last 
 sen and send its last man to avenge any injury done 
 to Mr. Hemster, or the Princess, his daughter. I as- 
 serted that the United States was infinitely more pow- 
 erful than Russia, China, and Japan added together, 
 with each of whom he had hitherto chiefly dealt. This 
 alone would be bad enough, but the danger of the situ- 
 ation was augmented by my own presence. His Ma- 
 jesty might perhaps be good enough to remember that 
 the last time I had had the pleasure of meeting him I 
 was an Envoy of a country which had probably fought 
 more successful battles than any other nation in exist- 
 ence. Great Britain was also in the habit of avenging 
 the injuries inflicted on her subjects; and so, if the 
 Emperor was so ill-fated as to incur the displeasure 
 of these mighty empires, whose united strength was 
 sufficient to overawe all the rest of the earth, he would 
 thus bring about the extinction of himself and of his 
 nation. 
 
 I regret to say that this eloquence was largely thrown 
 away. His Majesty paid but scanty attention to my 
 international exposition. His fishy eyes were fixed 
 continually on Miss Hemster, who now and then made 
 grimaces at him as if she were a little schoolgirl, once 
 going so far as to thrust out her tongue, which action 
 
 ISO
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 seemed to strike the Emperor as exceedingly comic, for 
 he laughed uproariously at it. 
 
 When I had ceased speaking the Emperor replied 
 in a few words, but without ever taking his eyes from 
 the girl. I answered him, or, rather, was answering 
 him, when Miss Hemster interrupted impatiently: 
 
 " What are you saying ? You must translate as you 
 go on. I wish you -would remember your position, 
 Mr. Tremorne, which is that of translator. I refuse 
 to be kept in the dark in this way." 
 
 " Gertie, Gertie ! " remonstrated her father. " Please 
 do not interfere. Mr. Tremorne will tell us what is 
 happening all in good time." 
 
 And now the Emperor himself, as if he understood 
 what was being said, commanded me to translate to 
 them the terms he had laid down. 
 
 " I shall try to remember my position, Miss Hem- 
 ster," I replied ; " and, as his Majesty's ideas coincide 
 with your own, I have pleasure in giving you a synop- 
 sis of what has passed." 
 
 Then I related my opening speech to the Emperor, 
 which appeared to commend itself to Mr. Hemster, 
 who nodded several times in support of my dissertation 
 on the national crisis. 
 
 " The Emperor," I continued, " has made no com- 
 ment upon what I have laid before him. He tells us 
 we are free to go, that is, your father and myself, 
 as long as we leave you here. Not to put too fine a 
 point to it, he offers to buy you, and says he will make 
 you the White Star of his harem, which he seems to 
 think is rather a poetical expression."
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Well, of all the gall ! " exclaimed Miss Hemster, 
 raising her hands and letting them fall helplessly into 
 her lap again, as if this gesture should define the situa- 
 tion better than any words she had at her command. 
 " You inform His Nibs that I am no White Star Line, 
 and you tell this mahogany graven image that my 
 father can buy him and his one-horse kingdom and 
 give them away without ever feeling it. When he 
 talks of buying, just inform him that in the States down 
 South we used to sell better niggers than him every day 
 in the week." 
 
 I thought it better to tone down this message some- 
 what, and in doing so was the innocent cause, as I sus- 
 pect, of a disaster which has always troubled my mind 
 since that eventful time. I said to the Emperor that 
 American customs differed from those of Corea. Miss 
 Hemster, being a Princess in her own rank, of vast 
 wealth, could not accept any position short of that of 
 Empress, and, as there was already an Empress of 
 Corea, the union he proposed was impossible. I re- 
 iterated my request that we be allowed to pass down 
 to the coast without further molestation. 
 
 This statement was received by the Emperor with 
 much hilarity. He looked upon it merely as an effort 
 on my part to enhance the price of the girl, and ex- 
 pressed his willingness to turn over to her half the 
 revenues of the kingdom. He seemed to imagine he 
 was acting in the most lavishly generous manner, and I 
 realized the hopelessness of the discussion, because I 
 was face to face with a man who had never been re- 
 fused anything he wished for since he came to the 
 
 152
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 throne. His conceited ignorance regarding the power 
 of other countries to enforce their demands made the 
 situation all the more desperate. 
 
 At this juncture the crouching Prime Minister re- 
 turned, made his way slowly, by means of acute angles, 
 to the foot of the throne, and informed the Emperor 
 that the guards of the Palace had been doubled, and 
 had received instructions to allow no living thing to 
 enter or leave the precincts of the Court. I now re- 
 peated to Hun Woe the warning I had so fruitlessly 
 proffered to the Emperor, but I doubt if the satellite 
 paid much more attention than his master had done. 
 While in the presence he seemed incapable of either 
 thought or action that did not relate to his Imperial 
 chief. He intimated that the audience was now fin- 
 ished and done with, and added that he would have the 
 pleasure of accompanying us to our rooms. It seemed 
 strange, when we returned, to find Miss Stretton sit- 
 ting in a chair, placidly reading a book which she had 
 brought with her from the yacht, and the Japanese boy 
 setting out cups for tea on a small table near her. 
 Miss Stretton looked up pleasantly as we entered, clos- 
 ing her book, and putting her finger in it to mark the 
 place. 
 
 " What a long time you have been," she said ; " the 
 conference must have proved very successful." 
 
 Miss Gertrude Hemster paced up and down the 
 room as if energetic action were necessary to 
 calm the perturbation of her spirit. As the 
 other finished her remark she clenched her little fist 
 and cried: 
 
 153
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I '11 make that Emperor sit up before I 've done 
 with him ! " 
 
 I thought it more advisable to refrain from threats 
 until we were out of the tiger's den; but the reticent 
 example of Mr. Hemster was upon me, and I said 
 nothing. Nevertheless the young woman was as good 
 as her word. 
 
 154
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE Hemsters had fallen into the English 
 habit of afternoon tea, and, having finished 
 the refreshing cup, I excused myself and 
 went outside to learn how strict the cordon around us 
 was kept. I found that the Prime Minister had done 
 his work well. The gates were very thoroughly 
 guarded, and short of force there seemed to be no 
 method of penetrating into the city. I tried bribery, 
 desiring to get a short note through to the British 
 Consul-General, and, although my bribe was willingly 
 accepted, I found later that the missive was never sent. 
 Rambling around the vast precincts of the Palace, 
 trying to discover any loophole of escape, I came upon 
 our escort and the ponies which had brought us from 
 the port to the capital. These had been gathered up in 
 the city and taken inside. I could not decide at the mo- 
 ment whether this move on the part of our gaolers 
 strengthened or weakened our position. The escort 
 was composed of a very poor set of creatures who 
 would prove utterly valueless if the crisis developed 
 into a contest. They were all huddled together under 
 a shed, and were very evidently in a state of hopeless 
 panic. They knew intuitively that things were going 
 badly with us, and it needed no prophet to foretell that 
 
 155
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 they would instantly betra; us if they got the chance, 
 or cut our throats if they were ordered to do so. I 
 deeply regretted now that we had not stayed longer at 
 Chemulpo until we had gathered together an escort 
 composed entirely of Japanese. Two Japanese fol- 
 lowers were among our crowd, and they now stood 
 apart with the imperturbable nonchalance of their race. 
 I was aware that I could depend upon them to the 
 death; but the rest were the very scum of the East, 
 cowardly, unstable as water, and as treacherous as 
 quicksand. I spoke a few words of encouragement to 
 the Japanese, patted the ponies, and then returned to 
 Mr. Hemster. I told him I had endeavoured to send a 
 note to the British representative in Seoul, and to my 
 amazement found that he did not approve of this move. 
 " The fact is, Mr. Tremorne, we have acted like a 
 parcel of fools, and if this thing ever gets out we shall 
 be the laughing-stock of the world. I don't want 
 either the American or the British Consul to know any- 
 thing of our position. God helps those who help them- 
 selves. I don't want to boast at all, but I may tell you 
 I 'm a dead shot with a revolver, and I have one of the 
 best here with me, together with plenty of cartridges. 
 This expertness with a gun is a relic of my old cowboy 
 days on the plains, and if these here Coreans attempt 
 to interfere with me, somebody is going to get hurt. 
 You have another revolver, and if you are any good 
 with it I guess we '11 have no difficulty in forcing our 
 way through this flock of sheep. Have you learned 
 whether your two Japanese can shoot or not ? If they 
 can, I 've got revolvers here for them, and it seems to 
 
 156
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 me that four of us can put up a bluff that will carry us 
 through this tight place. If it was n't that we have 
 women with us, I would n't mind the encounter in the 
 least. As it is, we '11 have to do the best we can, and I 
 propose that we start to-morrow as soon as the gates 
 are opened." 
 
 " All right, Mr. Hemster, I believe your diagnosis 
 of the case is correct. I can trust the Japanese, and I 
 think I may say you can trust me." 
 
 A little later in the day, the Prime Minister, accom- 
 panied by an imposing following, came to me, and with 
 much circumlocution made formal proposal of mar- 
 riage to Miss Hemster on behalf of the Emperor of 
 Corea. The misguided man appeared to think that 
 this smoothed away all difficulty, and that the only 
 question now to be settled was the amount of money 
 the honoured lady's father would pay down as dowry. 
 Hun Woe fatuously ventured to hope that it would be 
 large in proportion to the elevation in station which 
 awaited the young lady. I replied that Mr. Hemster 
 considered himself equal in rank, and greatly superior 
 in wealth and power, to the Emperor of Corea; that 
 he was now practically held prisoner in the Palace; 
 therefore, if negotiations were to continue, he must be 
 set free, and allowed to return to his own battleship, 
 in which I should be happy to carry on the discussion 
 in a manner which I hoped would prove satisfactory 
 to all parties concerned. 
 
 The Prime Minister replied that what I proposed 
 was impossible. The Emperor was completely infatu- 
 ated with Miss Hemster, and only as a great conces- 
 
 157
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 sion, due, Hun Woe said, to his own pleadings, which 
 he hoped would be remembered when settlements were 
 made, did his Majesty consent to a marriage. The 
 Prime Minister continued with many professions of 
 friendship for myself, urging me therefore, as he pre- 
 tended to have urged the Emperor, to put myself in a 
 reasonable frame of mind. He had never known the 
 Emperor so determined in any course of action before, 
 and lack of compliance on the part of our company 
 would do no good, and might lead to irretrievable dis- 
 aster. The Emperor had resolved, if his offer were re- 
 fused, to seize the young lady, and to behead her father, 
 myself, and the whole party who accompanied her. He 
 therefore trusted humbly that I would not thwart his 
 efforts toward an amicable understanding. 
 
 I said he must surely have mistaken his instructions ; 
 the barbarous programme he had proposed would shock 
 the civilized world. He answered, with a shrug of his 
 shoulders, that the civilized world would never hear 
 of it. I averred he was mistaken in this, telling him 
 I had already communicated with my Consul, and his 
 reply to this was to pull from his sleeve the hasty note 
 I had written and bribed the man at the gate to deliver. 
 This man, he said, had at once brought the communica- 
 tion to him, and he hoped I would acknowledge the 
 fruitlessness of further opposition. 
 
 I quickly saw that we were in a predicament, and 
 that it would need all my diplomacy to find a means of 
 egress. However, I determined first to impress upon 
 Hun Woe the dangers of the plan he had outlined. 
 If the Emperor did what he proposed to do, that would 
 
 158
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 bring upon Corea the irretrievable disaster of invasion 
 by both the United States and England. It was not 
 possible to keep assassinations secret. Mr. Hemster's 
 great steamship was at this moment awaiting him at 
 Chemulpo. If no one returned, the captain of that 
 boat had orders to communicate at once with both the 
 British and the American authorities. I endeavored 
 to flatter Hun Woe by telling him that an official of his 
 great learning and intelligence must realize what the 
 result would be. The good man sighed, but in the 
 presence of his entourage apparently had not the cour- 
 age to admit that Corea would come badly out of the 
 encounter. In fact, he said that the Emperor could 
 defend his country against the combined forces of the 
 world; but whether he believed this or not, I should 
 hesitate to say. 
 
 I now changed my tactics, and told the Prime Min- 
 ister that I was merely Ambassador for Mr. Hemster, 
 and that I would inform him of the offer the Emperor 
 had made. It was more than likely, I asserted, that 
 the proposal would be extremely gratifying to him ; so 
 we would postpone further consideration until he had 
 time to think over the matter. I further suggested 
 that we should have another interview with the Em- 
 peror at the same hour next day, and with this the 
 Prime Minister joyously concurred. To assist the ne- 
 gotiations he told me that the Emperor had referred 
 to my objection of an existing Empress, but means 
 would be found to divorce that august lady, and this he 
 wished me to place before Mr. Hemster and his daugh- 
 ter. He seemed to imagine that thus had been re- 
 
 159
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 moved the last obstacle to the proposed union, and I 
 said I would put all this in the most favourable light 
 before Mr. Hemster. The conference which had be- 
 gun so tempestuously therefore ended in a calm that 
 was extremely gratifying to the Prime Minister, who 
 quite evidently hoped that everybody would be reason- 
 able, that the flow of gold should not cease, and that 
 the contest might end happily. So, with many ges- 
 tures and expressions of deep regard for myself and 
 my companions, the distinguished party withdrew. 
 
 I was anxious to see Mr. Hemster alone, so that I 
 might communicate to him the result of my interview 
 with the Prime Minister, but this intention was frus- 
 trated. Gertrude Hemster had nothing whatever to 
 occupy her mind, and the adage informs us that mis- 
 chief is provided for all such persons. She was al- 
 ready aware that this gorgeous deputation had waited 
 upon me, and it required all her father's persuasion to 
 keep her from breaking in upon us and learning what 
 was going on. The curiosity of woman has before 
 now wrecked many promising undertakings, and this 
 threatened to be the fate of Mr. Hemster's plan. The 
 young lady was frank enough to say that she believed 
 me to be playing a double game ; not interpreting cor- 
 rectly the message of the Emperor or the sayings of the 
 Prime Minister. She refused to incur the risk of a 
 forced exit from the Palace, and was sure that if the 
 Emperor was rightly spoken to we would all be al- 
 lowed to march to the port with a royal escort and 
 the honours of war. She insisted that if I were not a 
 coward I would myself brave the dangers of the exit, 
 
 160
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 go to the American Consulate, and there get an inter- 
 preter who would be official, and also bring the Consul 
 himself. She was not going to be frightened out of 
 Seoul by a mud-colored heathen like the Emperor, and 
 if only we had treated him as she had done, there 
 would have been no trouble. 
 
 I must admit that I agreed with the girl so far as 
 calling in the aid of the American Consul was con- 
 cerned, and I told her I was quite willing to force the 
 gate and make a run for it to the little spot of the 
 United States which existed in Seoul. But her father 
 could be a determined man when he liked, and this time 
 he put down his foot, declaring firmly that he would 
 not have the news of this fiasco get abroad if he could 
 help it. Curiously enough, Mr. Hemster seemed to 
 have more fear of the yellow press of America 
 than of the yellow man of Corea. His daughter, how- 
 ever, feared neither, and seemed in fact to relish the 
 publicity which this episode might give to her. 
 Whether it was bravery or recklessness on her part, I 
 could not get her to see that we were in any serious 
 danger; but this did not matter, for on appeal to her 
 father to postpone the proposed exodus he proved 
 adamant, and for once the young lady was forced to 
 acquiesce. 
 
 I took the pair of extra pistols, and, with ample am- 
 munition, sought out the two Japanese members of our 
 party. I found that both of them had served in the 
 Japanese army and were quite capable of handling 
 firearms with effect. I then told them to say nothing 
 to their Corean comrades, but, as soon as the gates were 
 
 161
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 open in the morning, to bring ponies for the whole party 
 to our door. The manner in which they carried out 
 this order showed their alertness to the exigencies of 
 the situation. 
 
 When we all emerged in the morning, we four 
 white people, our Chinese cook and Japanese serving- 
 boy, ten ponies were at our door, two of them being 
 loaded down with heavy strings of cash which we had 
 not found occasion to use, because our dealings had 
 been entirely with higher classes and so we had had to 
 employ silver and gold. But only one Japanese man 
 was there. When I asked him where the other fellow 
 was, he replied he was holding a revolver over the 
 huddled heap of Coreans so that they would not give 
 the alarm. As soon as we were mounted, he said he 
 would call his comrade, who would instantly respond. 
 
 This proved a very wise precaution, and gave us 
 some valuable minutes before the Palace was roused. 
 We had arrived at the gates ere the sleepy guards real- 
 ized what was upon them, and the first warning the 
 Palace received of our attempt was the wild firing of 
 the useless muskets which the guards possessed. We 
 had determined not to shoot, hoping that the guards 
 would give way when they found we were resolved to 
 emerge ; but their reckless firing, which luckily did no 
 harm to any of our party, made any further attempt 
 at silence unnecessary, and lucky it was for us that we 
 were free to fire, because Mr. Hemster whipped out 
 his revolver at once and shattered the hand of a man 
 who attempted to close the gates. This wounded crea- 
 ture set up such a howl that the guards immediately 
 
 162
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 threw down their arms and fled, leaving the way clear 
 before us. 
 
 Now we were in the main street of Seoul, and if it 
 had not been for Mr. Hemster's prohibition I would 
 strongly have advised making directly for the Con- 
 sulate of either one nation or the other. However, 
 his orders were to press on to the western gate before 
 the alarm should extend through the city. This we 
 did. Now that we were clear of the royal gates, the 
 guards seemed to have resumed their firearms and were 
 evidently determined to make the Emperor believe that 
 they had been extremely valorous, for a regular fusil- 
 lade greeted our departure down the main street of 
 Seoul. Whatever commotion the firing may have 
 aroused in the Palace, it certainly had an extraordinary 
 effect upon the city itself, for it caused the population 
 to pour in thousands from the narrow lanes with which 
 this human warren is intersected. There seemed a 
 danger that we might be stopped by the mere pressure 
 of the crowd, so I gave the word to whip up our steeds, 
 and we dashed along, regardless of whom we knocked 
 over. 
 
 Just as we reached the gate on the Chemulpo road 
 the great bell began to ring, the bell which every night 
 at sunset orders the closing of the gates. The big 
 doors were being slowly closed as we approached, and 
 here my two Japanese again gave striking proof of 
 their value. They dashed forward, and, in spite of the 
 ringing of the bell, ordered the guards to fling wide the 
 portal, but upon the guards showing some hesitation, 
 the foremost Japanese at once shot one of them in his 
 
 163
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 tracks, whereupon the rest fled. We squeezed through, 
 and the Japanese proposed we should close the gates 
 completely, so that the crowd might be kept in, but 
 this proved impossible, because they could be fastened 
 only on the inside, and we had no means of assuring 
 ourselves that the gates would remain shut. There 
 was therefore nothing for it but a race for Chemulpo, 
 twenty-six miles away. Before we had gone a dozen 
 yards the pressure of the crowd opened the gates wide, 
 and the howling mob poured through like a resistless 
 torrent. 
 
 I now re-arranged my party, asking Mr. Hemster to 
 take the lead, while the two Japanese and myself fought 
 a retreating battle with the multitude that followed us. 
 The Corean man is a stalwart individual with sturdy 
 legs that are almost untiring in a race. While cowards 
 individually, they become dangerous in the mass, and 
 I continually urged our people to gallop as hard as they 
 could, with the double purpose of exhausting all but 
 the most strenuous in our pursuit, and of preventing 
 the outskirts of the mob on either hand from out- 
 flanking us. For the first three miles or so our re- 
 volver-shots kept them at a respectful distance, but 
 after five or six miles had been accomplished, and the 
 crowd showed no signs of fatigue, while our ammuni- 
 tion began to run low, I realized that I must do some- 
 thing to save the rest from capture. 
 
 Leaving the two Japanese as an efficient rearguard, 
 I galloped forward to Mr. Hemster, and gave him de- 
 tails of my plan, which I had some difficulty in getting 
 him to accept. In fact he did accept it only on my 
 
 164
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 assurance that there was no real danger to myself. 
 Bidding a hasty farewell to the ladies, I dropped again 
 to the rear. Each of the Japanese had tethered to his 
 horse's bridle a rope attached to a pony carrying our 
 strings of cash. I untied these ponies, and attached 
 them to my own mount, ordering the Japanese to take 
 the van once more; and, as they were residents of 
 Chemulpo, and therefore knew the road perfectly, I 
 told them to lead the party as quickly as they could into 
 safety, promising them a large additional reward for 
 doing so. 
 
 The rest now galloped on, leaving me standing in the 
 middle of the road, with three horses under my charge. 
 The bellowing mob seemed nonplussed by this move- 
 ment, and, apparently fearing a trap of some kind, 
 came to a halt. There was not bravery enough among 
 them even to attack one man at close quarters, although 
 they might have overwhelmed him by simply moving 
 in bulk upon him. Each of the two led-horses car- 
 ried something like twenty thousand sek, strung in 
 ropes of five hundred each, so knotted that the cash 
 is divided into sections of a hundred each. I took my 
 pocket-knife and cut off the first knot, and, grasping 
 the two ends of the string, flung it lasso-wise around 
 my head, and then let go the cut end, causing the hun- 
 dred cash to shoot into the air like the bursting of a 
 sky-rocket. These people, after all, were merely like 
 children with two dominant qualities, a love of cruelty, 
 and an unlimited avarice, possibly avarice has the 
 greatest hold upon their affections, and this belief was 
 the basis of my adventure. 
 
 165
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Now ensued the strangest battle that ever was fought 
 by mankind, a struggle which Mr. Hemster himself 
 should have appreciated because he had engaged in it 
 time and again in his own country, a battle in which 
 one man with money stood against the bulk of the 
 people. When the shower of a hundred cash was flung 
 above the heads of the mob there ensued one of the 
 wildest struggles it has ever been my fate to witness. 
 I cut the second knot, and flung the second lot of cash 
 far to the left, to check the advance of the crowd that 
 way, which it very effectually did. Then the third 
 knot was severed, and the third lot of coins went spin- 
 ning through the air to the right. Even before the 
 first string was gone, my party had long since disap- 
 peared toward the west. Of course this congregation 
 of heathens could have availed themselves at once of 
 my whole available stock by merely pressing forward, 
 but this thought either never occurred to them, or they 
 were too cowardly to put it into practice. As soon as 
 the flung cash was secured and the scattered stock 
 picked up, two and two fighting for the possession of 
 one miserable coin, a shout arose from them which was 
 the cry of Oliver Twist for " more." And so I played 
 David against that Goliath of a crowd until I began 
 to fear that my arm which whirled the sling would be- 
 come helpless through exhaustion. 
 
 My idea had been, of course, to put the whip to my 
 horse and make for the port after my party, but very 
 soon this project proved to be impossible. I was stand- 
 ing on a slight elevation in the road, and, in spite of my 
 throwing the coins right and left, the two wings of this 
 
 166
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 tatterdemalion army gradually enfolded me, and before 
 my fortune was more than half scattered I found my- 
 self completely outflanked and surrounded. But no 
 one made a dash ; there was left a respectable circular 
 clear space about me, the circumference of which was 
 never nearer than twenty or thirty feet from where I 
 stood. Moreover I was thankful to see that even those 
 to the west, who had a free way toward Chemulpo, did 
 not attempt to break toward the coast. They were all too 
 eager to get a share of the spoil to mind what became 
 of the rest of the party, and by the time we had been 
 an hour or more at this flinging of largesse every indi- 
 vidual of them knew that pursuit was hopeless, and by 
 the same token I knew also that the least danger threat- 
 ening me was being carried back to Seoul. The crowd 
 had become riotously good natured, but I knew their 
 changeableness too well to consider myself safe on that 
 account. They were as like as not to take me back to 
 Seoul in a hundred pieces. I began to think seriously 
 of the future when I came to the last string of cash 
 on the pony beside me. There was still twenty thousand 
 on the other nag; but, when that was gone, this mob, 
 which had no sense of gratitude, were as like to cut my 
 throat as not. So when I came to the last hundred 
 sek on the first pony, scattered like grape-shot through 
 the air, I took advantage of the struggle that ensued to 
 remount my own nag. There was at once a howl of 
 rage at this, especially from those to the west of me, 
 who expected me to attempt escape in that direction. 
 They stiffened up, and shook fists and sticks at this 
 supposed intention on my part to cheat them of their 
 
 167
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 just dues. Never since the Corean kingdom was 
 founded had there been such a distribution of wealth 
 as was now taking place. Heretofore the office-holders 
 had accumulated everything in sight, and naturally the 
 populace was indignant that this enchanting scattering 
 of money should cease while there was still a horse- 
 load of it within reach. I raised my right hand for 
 silence, and then raised my voice and addressed them : 
 " Gentlemen," said I, " the next hurling of coin takes 
 place at the gates of Seoul. If you are good enough 
 to march quietly with me, I shall relieve the tedium of 
 the way by an occasional contribution. So, my braves, 
 let us get back to the capital." 
 
 Capital was what they were after, and so with a 
 howl, which was their nearest approach to a cheer, we 
 set off for Seoul. Tired as my arm was, I occasionally 
 distributed five hundred cash before and behind me, 
 also to the right and left, keeping steadily on, however, 
 until the city was in sight. Then to my dismay, I saw 
 that the great gate was closed. The mob ahead of me 
 had noticed the barred gate before I did, and set up a 
 wail like a lot of lost children. Instantly the cash dis- 
 tribution was forgotten, and panic seized them. They 
 were locked out, and no one knew what might be hap- 
 pening inside. The tolling of the big bell still boomed 
 through the air, but only occasionally, bearing some 
 resemblance to a funeral knell. Because the gate was 
 shut these people had not reasoning powers enough to 
 surmise that the other gates were shut also, and in a 
 magic way the huge mob began to dissolve and disap- 
 pear, scampering over rocks and stones to find out 
 
 168
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 whether the whole city was hermetically sealed or not. 
 There was a group of people on the wall above the 
 gate, and someone had shouted that the northern port 
 was open. This statement was undoubtedly false, but 
 the official who cried it evidently thought it was safer 
 to dismiss the mob as he could. In a few minutes I 
 found myself practically alone, and then was amazed 
 beyond measure to hear a voice from above the gate 
 call down to me : 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, Tremorne, is that you? "
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 I LOOKED up, and saw leaning toward me Wal- 
 lace Carmichel, the British Consul-General in 
 Seoul, an efficient man whom I had not met for 
 five years, when he was in the Embassy at Pekin. At 
 once there flashed through my mind Mr. Hemster's 
 desire that I should not mention our plight to the Con- 
 suls of either his country or my own, so I resolved on 
 the instant to keep to myself, if possible, the mission 
 that had brought me to the capital. Indeed within the 
 last few minutes the whole situation had changed. I 
 had no desire to return to Seoul, and only retreated be- 
 cause I was compelled to do so ; but now the way was 
 perfectly clear between me and Chemulpo on turning 
 my horse around. Yet Carmichel would think it ex- 
 ceedingly strange if I could not give some excuse for 
 marching up to the gate of Seoul and marching down 
 again, like the historical general on the hill. I wished 
 he had remained at his Consulate, yet there he was, 
 beaming down upon me, so I took momentary refuge 
 in airy persiflage. 
 
 "Hullo, Carmichel, how goes it? Has the early- 
 closing movement been adopted in Seoul ? It is n't 
 Saturday afternoon, is it? " 
 
 " No, it is n't," he replied, " and if you '11 take the 
 advice of an old friend, you '11 turn your horse's head, 
 
 170
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 and make straight back for Chemulpo. I think we 're 
 in for a rather nasty time here, if you ask me." 
 
 " I do ask you. What 's wrong ? " 
 
 I was anxious to learn whether he knew anything of 
 the escape of our party in the early morning ; but even 
 if he had been told about it, the Coreans are such un- 
 mitigated liars that it is not likely he would have be- 
 lieved them if he had not himself seen the procession, 
 and I very much doubted if he had done so, for Car- 
 michel was never afflicted with the early-rising habit. 
 I was, however, wholly unprepared for his amazing 
 reply. 
 
 " The Empress of Corea was assassinated last 
 night," he said. " I imagine they don't want the news 
 to spread. The Palace is closed, and all the gates of 
 the city were shut before I was up this morning. The 
 Court entourage is trying to pretend that the Empress 
 died a natural death, but I have it on as good authority 
 as anything can be had in this mendacious place that 
 the Empress was literally cut to pieces." 
 
 " Good God ! " I cried. " Can that be true ? " 
 
 " Anything may be true in this forsaken hole. I 
 heard you had left the service. Came into a fortune, 
 eh? Lucky devil! I wish I were in your shoes! 
 This is worse than China, and that was bad enough. I 
 suppose you are here on private business. Well, take 
 a friend's advice and get back. Nothing can be done 
 here for a while, any how." 
 
 " I '11 take your advice, Carmichd. Is there any 
 message I can carry for you to Chemulpo? " 
 
 " No, you may tell them what 's happened." 
 171
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Are you in any danger, do you think ? " 
 
 " I don't think so. Of course, one can never tell 
 what may turn up in this beastly place. I've got the 
 Consulate well guarded, and we can stand a siege. I 
 heard that there was a mob approaching the town, and 
 so came up to see what it was all about. Where are 
 you stopping at Chemulpo ? " 
 
 " I have been yachting with a friend of mine, and 
 his craft is in the harbour there." 
 
 " Well, if you've no business in Seoul, I advise you 
 to get back to the yacht. You'll be safer on the sea 
 than in Corea." 
 
 " I believe you ! " 
 
 " How did you come to be in the midst of that Bank 
 Holiday gang, Tremorne ? " asked the Consul, his curi- 
 osity evidently rising. 
 
 " Oh, they overtook me, so we came along together." 
 
 " It 's a wonder they did n't rob you of all you 
 possess." 
 
 " I forestalled that by scattering something like 
 twenty thousand sek among them. I thought I 'd be 
 all right when I came to the gate, but was rather taken 
 aback to find it closed." 
 
 " Twenty thousand sek ! And I suppose you don't 
 mind throwing it away any more than a handful of 
 ha' pence ! Lucky beggar ! And yachting around the 
 world with a millionaire friend, I expect. Well, life 's 
 easy for some people," said the Consul-General with a 
 sigh. 
 
 I laughed at him, and wondered what he would have 
 said had he known the truth. 
 
 172
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Sure you don't want me to send a guard up from 
 Chemulpo for you?" 
 
 " No, I don't think our consulate will be the storm- 
 center here. I rather imagine the tornado will rage 
 around the residence of our Japanese friends. The 
 Coreans say that a Japanese killed one of the guards 
 here this morning at the gate, but the Japanese Min- 
 ister insists that all of his countrymen in the city are 
 accounted for, and that this allegation of murder is a 
 lie, which I have not the least doubt it is. I heard a 
 lot of promiscuous firing this morning before I was up, 
 but it seemed to me all in the direction of the Palace. 
 They are eternally raising some shindy here, and blam- 
 ing it on decent people. I 'm sorry to see you turn 
 back, Tremorne, but a man who is n't compelled to stay 
 here is wise to avoid such diggings. If you return 
 you '11 call on me, won't you ? " 
 
 " Oh, certainly," said I, gathering up the reins. " So> 
 long, Carmichel, and be as good to yourself as you 
 can." 
 
 Saying this I turned toward Chemulpo, and reached 
 it very late that night. The journey was one of the 
 most disagreeable I had ever taken, for my right arm 
 I suppose through the straining of the muscles 
 became utterly helpless and very painful. It swelled 
 so, especially at the shoulder, that I feared I should 
 have to cut the sleeve of my coat. David was more 
 fortunate than I, because he did his business with one 
 shot : my giant required continual shooting, and now I 
 was suffering for it. If I had been attacked, I should 
 have found myself completely helpless; but fortu- 
 
 173
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 nately the way was clear, and with my three steeds I 
 came through without mishap. Before going on board 
 I searched out my two Japanese, and found, as I ex- 
 pected, that Mr. Hemster had rewarded them with a 
 liberality that took their breath away. He had paid 
 them for the three horses, which he looked upon as lost, 
 and now I turned the nags over to them, together with 
 the twenty thousand sek that was on one of them ; so 
 the brave, resourceful little men had no complaint to 
 make regarding lack of recognition. 
 
 I had not intended to go aboard the yacht that night, 
 but Mr. Hemster had made the Japs promise to show a 
 flare if any news came of me, and in the morning he 
 was going to organize an expedition for my rescue. 
 As soon as I encountered my Japs one of them ran for 
 a torch and set it afire. It was at once answered by a 
 rocket from the yacht, and before I had finished my 
 conversation with him I heard the measured beat of the 
 oars in the water, and found that in spite of his fatigue 
 the kindly old man himself had come ashore for me. 
 He tried to shake hands, but I warded him off with 
 my left arm, laughing as I did so, and told him my 
 right would not be in condition for some time yet. As 
 we rowed out to the yacht I told him all that had hap- 
 pened, and informed him about the murder of the Em- 
 press, which news my Japanese friends were commis- 
 sioned to proclaim in Chemulpo, as I had promised the 
 British Consul. Mr. Hemster was much affected by 
 this news, and I saw plainly that he considered his ill- 
 fated expedition to have been the probable cause of 
 this unfortunate lady's taking off. 
 
 174
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I was nearly famished when we reached the steamer, 
 for I had had nothing since early morning but a ham 
 sandwich I had put in my pocket. The bag of provi- 
 sions intended for consumption on the way had been 
 carried by the Chinese cook, and at the moment of 
 parting I had thought nothing of the commissariat, 
 which was extremely poor generalship on my part, and 
 an omission which caused me sorrow later in the day. 
 
 Sitting in the boat after my exertions left me so stiff 
 and unwieldy that one of the sailors had to help me up 
 the side, and, stepping on deck, I staggered, and would 
 have fallen if he had not caught me. The waning 
 moon had risen, but the light was not strong. I saw a 
 shadowy figure make for the companion-way, then 
 stop with a little cry, and run forward to where I 
 stood. 
 
 " You are wounded, Mr. Tremorne ! " she cried. 
 
 " No, Miss Stretton, I am all right, except my arm, 
 and its disablement is rather a joke than otherwise." 
 
 "He is wounded, is he not, Mr. Hemster?" ap- 
 pealed the girl, as the old man came up the gangway. 
 
 " Tut, tut, child ! You should have been in bed long 
 ago ! He is n't wounded, but he 's nearly starved to 
 death through our taking away all the provisions with 
 us when we deserted him." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " she cried. " Then you didn't find the 
 bag." 
 
 "What bag?" Tasked. 
 
 " When we were having lunch Mr. Hemster remem- 
 bered that you were unprovided for, so we raised a 
 cairn of stones by the wayside and left a bag of pro- 
 
 175
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 visions on top of it, hoping you would recognize it, 
 for Mr. Hemster felt sure you would win through 
 somehow or other. You would be extremely flattered, 
 Mr. Tremorne, if you knew what faith he has in you." 
 
 I laughed and told her I was glad to hear it. 
 
 " Tut, tut ! " said the old man. " Don't stand idly 
 chattering here when there 's a first-rate supper spread 
 out for you down below. Away you go. I must have 
 a word with the captain, for we are off to Nagasaki 
 within ten minutes, so I shall bid you both good- 
 night." 
 
 I took it very kindly of the old gentleman to leave 
 us thus alone, and I have no doubt he thought of his 
 own younger days when he did so. I wickedly pre- 
 tended a greater weakness than I actually felt, and so 
 Miss Stretton kindly supported me with her arm, and 
 thus we went down the stairway together, where, as 
 the old gentleman had said, I found one of the most 
 delicious cold collations I had ever encountered, 
 flanked by a bottle of his very finest champagne. I 
 persuaded Miss Stretton to sit down opposite me, 
 which, after some demur about the lateness of the 
 hour, she consented to do, for I told her my right arm 
 was absolutely helpless, and the left almost equally 
 awkward. 
 
 " So," I said, " you must prove yourself a minister- 
 ing angel now." 
 
 " Ah, that," she said, " is when pain and anguish 
 wring the brow. As I understand it, pain and anguish 
 wring the arm. Please tell me how it happened." 
 
 Under the deft manipulation of the Japanese boy, 
 176
 
 the champagne cork came out with a pop, and, as if it 
 were a signal-gun, there immediately followed the rat- 
 tle of the anchor-chain coming up, and almost before 
 my story was begun, we heard the steady throb-throb 
 of the engine, and it sent a vibration of thankfulness 
 through my aching frame. 
 
 " You do look haggard and worn," she said ; " and 
 I think I must insist on regarding you rather in the 
 light of a hero." 
 
 " Oh, there was nothing heroic in flinging cheap 
 cash about in the reckless way I did. I was never in 
 any real danger." 
 
 " I think we have all been in danger, more or less, 
 since we entered those Palace gates. Although I said 
 nothing I could see from your face what you were 
 thinking." 
 
 " Yes, I know of old your uncanny proclivities in 
 mind-reading. Now that every pulsation of the engine 
 is carrying us farther away from that plague-spot of 
 earth, there is no harm in saying that I spent some 
 days and nights of deep anxiety, and that, I assure you, 
 not on my own account." 
 
 " I quite believe you," said the young lady, raising 
 her eyes for a moment, and gazing down on the table- 
 cloth again. Then she looked brightly up once more, 
 and said archly: 
 
 " I hope it won't make you conceited, but I walked 
 the deck to-night with fear tugging at my heart. I 
 don't think I ever was so glad in my life as when 
 I saw the flare, as had been arranged, and knew you 
 were safe. When I heard you talking to Mr. Hemster 
 
 177
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 in the boat, your voice floated over the water very dis- 
 tinctly, and I think I breathed a little expression of 
 gratitude." 
 
 " Hilda," said I, leaning across the table, " it is very 
 kind of you to say ^at." 
 
 Here, to my annoyance, the Japanese boy came into 
 the saloon, although I had told him I had no further 
 need for him that night. He approached us, and said 
 respectfully, and I am sure somewhat unwillingly: 
 
 " Miss Hemster's compliments, sir, and she wishes 
 you would stop chattering here all night long, so that 
 people could get to sleep." 
 
 Miss Stretton sprang to her feet, a crimson flush 
 coming into her face. 
 
 " Thank Miss Hemster for me/' said I to the Jap- 
 anese, " and inform her that we will finish our conver- 
 sation on deck." 
 
 " No, no ! " cried Hilda peremptorily ; " it is terri- 
 bly late, and it is too bad of me keeping you talking 
 here when you should be resting. I assure you I did 
 not intend to remain on deck after I had learned of 
 your safe arrival." 
 
 " I know that, Hilda. It was when you saw me stag- 
 ger that, like the kind-hearted girl you are, you came 
 forward. Now, do come up on deck with me, if only 
 for five minutes." 
 
 " No, no," she repeated in a whisper. 
 
 Forgetting the condition of my arm, I made an ef- 
 fort to encircle her. She whisked herself silently away, 
 but, hearing the groan that involuntarily escaped me 
 when the helpless arm struck the table and sent an elec- 
 
 178
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 trie spasm of pain to my shoulder, she turned rapidly 
 toward me with pity in her face. Then, springing for- 
 ward, she raised her lips to mine for one infinitesimal 
 fraction of a second, and almost before the rest of that 
 moment of bliss was passed I found myself alone in 
 the empty saloon. 
 
 179
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 KE as it was, I went up on deck, and it was 
 lucky for me I did so, for I met our bluff old 
 captain, who, when he learned of the disable- 
 ment of my arm, said genially that he had a Cape Cod 
 liniment good for man or donkey, and I was welcome 
 to it in either capacity. He ordered me down to my 
 stateroom, and followed later with the bottle. His own 
 gnarled hands rubbed the pungent-smelling stuff on 
 my arm, and he told me I 'd be next to all right in the 
 morning, which prophecy came true. 
 
 I am sorry that in these voyages to and from Corea 
 we met absolutely no adventures, picked up no ship- 
 wrecked crew, and met no cyclone, so I am unable to 
 write down any of those vivid descriptions that I have 
 always admired in Mr. Clark Russell. 
 
 Next morning was heavenly in its beauty and its 
 calm. Nagasaki was the last civilized address which 
 would receive telegrams, letters or papers for Mr. 
 Hemster, and the old gentleman was anxious to reach 
 there as soon as possible. As I have remarked before, 
 he was constantly yearning for a daily paper. The 
 captain informed me that he had engaged a " heathen 
 Chinee " as pilot, and so was striking direct from Che- 
 mulpo to Nagasaki, letting the islands take care of 
 themselves, as he remarked. 
 
 180
 
 I walked the deck, watching eagerly for the coming 
 of Hilda Stretton, but instead there arrived Gertrude 
 Hemster, bright, smiling, and beautiful. I was just 
 now regretting lack of opportunity to indulge in Clark- 
 Russellism, yet here was a chance for a descriptive 
 writer which proved quite beyond my powers. The 
 costume of Miss Hemster was bewildering in its 
 Parisian completeness. That girl must have had a 
 storehouse of expensive gowns aboard the yacht. I 
 suppose this was what a writer in a lady's paper would 
 call a confection, or a creation, or something of that 
 sort; but so far as I am concerned you might as well 
 expect an elucidation of higher mathematics as an ade- 
 quate delineation of that sumptuous gown. All I can 
 say is that the tout ensemble was perfect, and the girl 
 herself was radiant in her loveliness. She approached 
 me with a winning smile like that of an angel. 
 
 " I want you to know how I appreciate your bravery. 
 I shall never forget, no, not if I live to be a thousand 
 years old, how grand and noble you looked standing 
 up alone against that horde of savages. I was just tell- 
 ing Poppa that the very first reporter he meets, he 
 must give a glowing account to him of your heroism." 
 
 I" have always noted that when Miss Hemster was in 
 extreme good humour she referred to the old gentleman 
 as Poppa ; on other occasions she called him Father. 
 The project of giving away my adventures to the 
 newspapers did not in the least commend itself to me. 
 
 " Good-morning, Miss Hemster," I said, " I am ex- 
 tremely pleased to see you looking so well after a 
 somewhat arduous day." 
 
 181
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 "It was rather a trying time, wasn't it?" she re- 
 plied sweetly, " and if I look well it 's because of the 
 dress, I think. How do you like it ? " and she stepped 
 back with a sweeping curtesy that would have done 
 credit to an actress, and took up an attitude that dis- 
 played her drapery to the very best advantage. 
 
 " It is heavenly," I said ; " never in my life have I 
 seen anything to compare with it, or with the 
 wearer," I added. 
 
 " How sweet of you to say that ! " she murmured, 
 looking up at me archly, with a winning, bird-like 
 movement. A glorified bird-of-paradise she seemed, 
 and there was no denying it. With a touching pathetic 
 note in her voice she continued, very humbly, if one 
 might judge, " You have n't been a bit nice to me 
 lately. I have wondered why you were so unkind." 
 
 " Believe me, Miss Hemster," I said, " I have not in- 
 tended to be unkind, and I am very sorry if I have 
 appeared so. You must remember we have been 
 thrown into very trying circumstances, and as I was 
 probably better acquainted with the conditions than 
 any one of our party I always endeavoured to give the 
 best advice I could, which sometimes, alas, ran counter 
 to your own wishes. It seemed to me now and then 
 you did not quite appreciate the danger which threat- 
 ened us, and you also appeared to have a distrust of 
 me, which, I may tell you, was entirely unfounded." 
 
 " Of course it was," she cried contritely, " but never- 
 theless I always had the utmost confidence in you, al- 
 though you see I 'm so impulsive that I always say the 
 first thing that comes into my head, and that gives peo- 
 
 182
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 pie a wrong idea about me. You take everything so 
 seriously and make no allowances. I think at heart 
 you 're a very hard man." 
 
 " Oh, I hope not." 
 
 " Yes, you are. You have numerous little rules, and 
 you measure everybody by them. I seem to feel that 
 you are mentally sizing me up, and that makes me say 
 horrid things." 
 
 " If that is the case, I must try to improve my char- 
 acter." 
 
 " Oh, I 'm not blaming you at all, only telling you 
 the way it strikes me. Perhaps I 'm altogether wrong. 
 Very likely I am, and anyhow I don't suppose it does 
 any good to talk of these things. By the way, how is 
 your arm this morning? " 
 
 " It is all right, thank you. The captain's liniment 
 has been magical in its effect. It was very stupid of 
 me to get my arm in such a condition, and there is less 
 excuse because I used to be a first-rate cricket bowler ; 
 but somehow yesterday I got so interested in the game 
 that I forgot about my muscles." 
 
 " Is it true that the Empress has been murdered ? " 
 
 " Yes, I had the news from the British Consul, and I 
 have no doubt of its accuracy." 
 
 " How perfectly awful to think that only the day be- 
 fore yesterday we saw her sitting there like a graven 
 image; indeed she scarcely seemed alive even then. 
 What in the world did they kill the poor woman for ? " 
 
 " I do not know," I replied, although I had strong 
 suspicions regarding the cause of her fate. The next 
 statement by Miss Hemster astonished me. 
 
 183
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Well, it served her right. A woman in that posi- 
 tion should assert herself. She sat there like a Chinese 
 doll that had gone to sleep. If she had made them 
 stand around they would have had more respect for 
 her. Any woman owes it to her sex to make the world 
 respect her. Think of a sleepy creature like that hold- 
 ing the position of Empress, and yet making less than 
 nothing of it." 
 
 " You must remember, Miss Hemster, that the 
 status of woman in Corea is vastly different from her 
 position in the United States." 
 
 "Well, and whose fault is that? It is the fault of 
 the women. We demand our rights in the States, and 
 get them. If this creature at Seoul had been of any use 
 in the world she would have revolutionized the status 
 of women, at least within the bounds of her own 
 kingdom." 
 
 I ventured to remark that Oriental ideas of women 
 were of a low order, and that, as the women them- 
 selves were educated to accept this state of things, 
 nothing much should be expected of them. 
 
 " Oh, nonsense ! " cried Miss Hemster strenuously ; 
 " look at the Empress of China. She makes people 
 stand around. Then there was Catherine of Russia, 
 and goodness knows Russia's far enough behind in its 
 ideas! But Catherine didn't mind that; she just 
 walked in, and made herself feared by the whole world. 
 A few more women like that in the Orient would bring 
 these heathen people to their senses. It serves this 
 Corean Queen right when you think of the opportunity 
 she had, and the way she misused it, sitting there like a 
 
 184
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 great lump of dough strung around with jewels she 
 could not appreciate, like a wax figure in a ten-cent 
 show. I have no patience with such animals." 
 
 I thought this judgment of Miss Hemster's rather 
 harsh, but experience had taught me not to be rash in 
 expressing my opinion ; so we conversed amicably 
 about many things until the gong rang for luncheon. 
 I must say that hers was a most attractive personality 
 when she exerted herself to please. At luncheon she 
 was the life of the party, making the captain laugh out- 
 rageously, and even bringing a smile now and then to 
 her father's grave face, although it seemed to me he 
 watched her furtively under his shaggy eyebrows now 
 and then as if apprehensive that this mood might not 
 last, somewhat fearful, I imagine, regarding what 
 might follow. I could not help noticing that there was 
 a subtle change in the old gentleman's attitude toward 
 his daughter, and I fancied that her exuberant spirits 
 were perhaps forced to the front, to counteract in a 
 measure this new attitude. I thought I detected now 
 and then a false note in her hilarity, but perhaps that 
 may have been a delusion of my imagination, such as 
 it is. After the captain had gone, toward the end of 
 the meal, her father seemed to be endeavouring silently 
 to attract her attention; but she rattled on in almost 
 breathless haste, talking flippantly to Miss Stretton and 
 myself alternately, and never once looking toward the 
 head of the table. I surmised that there was something 
 beneath all this with which I was not acquainted, and 
 that there was going on before me a silent contest of 
 two wills, the latent determination of the father op- 
 
 185
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 posed to the unconcealed stubbornness of the daughter. 
 I sympathized with the old man, because I was myself 
 engaged in a mental endeavour to cause Hilda Stretton 
 to look across at me, but hitherto without success. Not 
 a single glance had I received during the meal. At 
 last the old gentleman rose, and stood hesitating, as if 
 he wished to make a plunge; then, finally, he inter- 
 rupted the rattle of conversation by saying : 
 
 " Gertrude, I wish to have a few words with you in 
 my office." 
 
 " All right, Poppa, I '11 be there in a minute," she re- 
 plied nonchalantly. 
 
 " I want you to come now" he said, with more 
 sternness in his voice than I had ever heard there be- 
 fore. For one brief moment I feared we were going 
 to have a scene, but Miss Gertrude merely laughed joy- 
 ously and sprang to her feet, saying, " I '11 race you to 
 the office then," and disappeared down the passage aft 
 almost before her sentence was ended. Mr. Hemster 
 slowly followed her. 
 
 Hilda Stretton half rose, as if to leave me there 
 alone, then sat down again, and courageously looked 
 me full in the face across the table. 
 
 " He is too late," she whispered. 
 
 " Too late for what ? " I asked. 
 
 " Too late in exerting parental authority." 
 
 " Is he trying to do that? " 
 
 "Did n't you see it?" 
 
 " Well, if that was his endeavour, he succeeded." 
 
 " For the moment, yes. He thinks he 's going to 
 talk to her, but it is she who will talk to him, and she 
 
 186
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 preferred doing it this time in the privacy of the room 
 he calls his office. A moment more, and he would 
 have learned her opinion of him before witnesses. I 
 am very glad it did not come to that, but the trouble 
 is merely postponed. Poor old gentleman, I wish I 
 could help him ! He does not understand his daughter 
 in the least. But let us go on deck and have coffee 
 there." 
 
 " I was just going to propose that," I cried, delight- 
 ed, springing to my feet. We went up the stair to- 
 gether and I placed a little wicker table well forward, 
 with a wicker chair on each side of it, taking a position 
 on deck as far from the companion-way as possible, so 
 that we should not be surprised by any one coming up 
 from below. The Japanese boy served our coffee, and 
 when he was gone Hilda continued her subject, speak- 
 ing very seriously. 
 
 " He does not understand her at all, as I have said. 
 Since she was a baby she has had her own way in 
 everything, without check or hindrance from him, and 
 of course no one else dared to check or hinder her. 
 Now she is more than twenty-one years of age, and if 
 he imagines that discipline can be enforced at this late 
 hour he is very much mistaken." 
 
 " Is he trying to enforce discipline? " 
 
 " Yes, he is. He has foolishly made up his mind 
 that it will be for the girl's good. That, of course, is 
 all he thinks of, dear, generous-hearted man that he 
 is! But if he goes on there will be a tragedy, and I 
 want you to warn him," 
 
 " I dare not interfere, Hilda." 
 
 187
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Why not ? Have n't you a very great liking for 
 him?" 
 
 " Yes, I have. I would do almost anything in the 
 world for him." 
 
 " Then do what I tell you." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " See him privately in his office, and tell him to leave 
 his daughter alone. Warn him that if he does not there 
 will be a tragedy." 
 
 " Tell me exactly what you mean." 
 
 " She will commit suicide." 
 
 This statement, solemnly given, seemed to me so ut- 
 terly absurd that it relieved the tension which was 
 creeping into the occasion. I leaned back in my chair 
 and laughed until I saw a look of pained surprise come 
 into Hilda's face, which instantly sobered me. 
 
 " Really, Hilda, you are the very best girl in the 
 world, yet it is you who do not understand that young 
 woman. She is too thoroughly selfish to commit sui- 
 cide, or to do anything else to her own injury." 
 
 " Suicide," said Hilda gravely, " is not always a mat- 
 ter of calculation, but often the act of a moment 
 of frenzy, at least so it will be in Gertrude Hemster's 
 case if her father now attempts to draw tight the reins 
 of authority. He will madden her, and you have no 
 conception of the depth of bitterness that is in her na- 
 ture. If it occurs to her in her next extravagant tan- 
 trum that by killing herself she will break her father's 
 heart, which undoubtedly would be the case, she is 
 quite capable of plunging into the sea, or sending a re- 
 volver bullet through her head. I have been convinced 
 
 188
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 of this for some time past, but I never thought her 
 father would be so ill-advise.d as to change the drifting 
 line of conduct he has always held in regard to her." 
 
 " My dear Hilda, you are not consistent. Do you 
 remember an occasion, which to tell the truth I am 
 loth to recall, when you said if her father treated her 
 as I had done her character would be much more ami- 
 able than it now appears to be ? " 
 
 " I don't think I said that, Mr. Tremorne. I may 
 have hinted that if her father had taken a more strenu- 
 ous attitude in the past, he would not have such a diffi- 
 cult task before him in the present, or I may have said 
 that a husband might tame the shrew. The latter, I be- 
 lieve, would lead to either a reformation or the divorce 
 court, I don't quite know which. Or perhaps even 
 then there might be a tragedy ; but it would be the hus- 
 band who would suffer, not herself. A man she mar- 
 ried might control her. It would really be an interest- 
 ing experiment, and no one can predict whether it 
 would turn out well or ill ; but her father cannot con- 
 trol her because all these years of affectionate neglect 
 are behind him, years in which he was absorbed in busi- 
 ness, leaving the forming of her character to hirelings, 
 thinking that because he paid them well they would do 
 their duty, whereas the high salary merely made them 
 anxious to retain their positions at any cost of flattery 
 and indulgence to their pupil." 
 
 " Then, Hilda, why don't you speak to him about it ? 
 You have known him for more years than I have days, 
 and I am sure he would take it kindlier from you than 
 from me." 
 
 189
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " To tell you the truth, I have spoken to him. I 
 spoke to him last night when we were both waiting for 
 that flare from the shore at Chemulpo. I could not tell 
 whether my talk had any effect or not, for he said 
 nothing, beyond thanking me for my advice. I see 
 to-day that it has had no effect. So now I beg you to 
 try." 
 
 " But if you failed, how could I hope to succeed ? " 
 
 " I '11 tell you why. In the first place because you 
 are the cause of this change of attitude on the part of 
 Mr. Hemster." 
 
 "I the cause?" 
 
 " Certainly. He has undoubtedly a great liking for 
 you, in spite of the fact that he has known you so short 
 a time. In some unexplainable way he has come to 
 look at his daughter through your eyes, and I think he 
 is startled at the vision he has seen. But he does not 
 take sufficient account of the fact that he is not dealing 
 now with a little girl, but with a grown woman. I no- 
 ticed the gradual change in his manner during our stay 
 at the Palace, and it became much more marked on the 
 way back to Chemulpo, after we had left you alone bat- 
 tling with the savages of Seoul. You have said you 
 were in no real danger, but Mr. Hemster did not think 
 so, and he seemed greatly impressed by the fact that a 
 comparative stranger should cheerfully insist on jeop- 
 ardizing his life for the safety of our party, and to my 
 deep anxiety his demeanour toward his daughter was at 
 first severe and then harsh, for he roundly accused her 
 Of being the cause of our difficulties. I shall pass over 
 the storm that ensued, merely saying that it took our 
 
 190
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 whole force to prevent Miss Hemster from returning 
 to Seoul." 
 
 " Great Heavens ! " I exclaimed, " surely that was 
 mere pretence on her part; sheer bravado." 
 
 " Not altogether. It was grim determination to do 
 the thing that would immediately hurt her father, and I 
 do not know what would have happened if she had es- 
 caped from us. It had the instant effect of subduing 
 him, bringing him practically to his knees before her. 
 So she sulked all the way to Chemulpo, and I expected 
 that the brief assumption of authority had ended ; but 
 while we were rowing out to the yacht he spoke very 
 sharply to her, and I saw with regret that his determi- 
 nation was at least equal to hers. Therefore I spoke to 
 him after she had gone to her room, and he said very 
 little one way or the other. Now he appears to think 
 that as he has got her safely on his yacht once more he 
 can bend her to his will, and I am terrified at the out- 
 look." 
 
 " Well, it does n't look enticing, does it ? " 
 
 " No, it does n't, so won't you please talk with him 
 for his own sake ? " 
 
 " I'd rather face the Emperor of Corea again, or his 
 amiable subjects in mass meeting assembled, but I '11 
 do it for your sake. Oh, yes, and for his sake, too ; I 
 would do anything I could to make matters easy for 
 Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Thank you so much," said the girl simply, leaning 
 back in her chair with a sigh of contentment. " Now 
 let us talk of something else." 
 
 " With all my heart, Hilda. I Ve been wanting to 
 191
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 talk of something else ever since your very abrupt de- 
 parture last night. Now am I over-confident in taking 
 your last brief action there as equivalent to the mono- 
 syllable ' Yes '?" 
 
 The girl laughed and coloured, visibly embarrassed. 
 She darted a quick glance at me, then veiled her eyes 
 again. 
 
 " The brief action, as you call it, seems rather impul- 
 sive now in the glare of daylight, and was equivalent 
 to much more than the monosyllable ' Yes.' Three 
 times as much. It was equivalent to the trisyllable 
 ' Sympathy.' I was merely expressing sympathy." 
 
 "Was that all?" 
 
 " Was n't that more than enough ? I have thought 
 since, with shame, that my action was just a trifle over- 
 bold, and I fear you are of the same opinion, although 
 too kind-hearted to show it." 
 
 " My whole thought was a protest against its 
 brevity." 
 
 " But brevity is the soul of wit, you know." 
 
 " Yes, Hilda," said I, leaning forward toward her, 
 " but not the soul of kissing. If my right arm had not 
 temporarily lost its power you had never escaped with 
 the celerity you did. ' Man wants but little here below/ 
 and I want that little monosyllable rather than the large 
 trisyllable. Make me for ever happy by saying you 
 meant it." 
 
 " For ever is a long time," she answered dreamily, 
 her eyes partially closed. 
 
 " Miss Stretton, u'ill you oblige me by going down- 
 stairs; I wish to talk to Mr. Tremorne." 
 
 192
 
 
 Yes, Hilda," said I, " but not the soul of kissing. 
 
 Page 192
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 The words, sharp and decisive, cut like a knife, and, 
 starting to my feet in amazement, I saw that Gertrude 
 Hemster stood before us, her brow a thundercloud. 
 Turning from her beautiful but forbidding counte- 
 nance to see the effect of her peremptory sentence upon 
 my dear companion, I found the chair empty, and the 
 space around me vacant as if she had vanished into 
 invisibility through the malign incantation of a sor- 
 ceress. 
 
 193
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 t"W"lT TILL you be seated, Miss Hemster?" I 
 %/%/ said with such calmness as I could 
 bring to my command. 
 
 " No, I won't," she snapped, like the click of a rifle. 
 
 I don't know why it is that this girl always called 
 forth hitherto unsuspected discourtesy which I regret 
 to admit seems to lie very deep in my nature. I was 
 bitterly angry at her rude dismissal of Hilda Stretton. 
 
 " Oh, very well ; stand then ! " I retorted with inex- 
 cusable lack of chivalry, and, that my culpability should 
 be complete, immediately slammed myself emphatically 
 down into the chair from which I had just risen. As I 
 came down with a thump that made the wicker chair 
 groan in protest, the look the lady bestowed upon me 
 must have resembled that of the Medusa which turned 
 people into stone. 
 
 " Well, you are polite, I must say," she exclaimed, 
 with a malicious swish of her skirts as she walked to 
 and fro before me. 
 
 " You so monopolize all politeness on board this 
 yacht," was my unmannerly rejoinder, " that there is 
 none of it left for the rest of us." 
 
 She stopped in her rapid walk and faced me. 
 
 " You 're a brute," she said deliberately. 
 
 " You expressed that opinion before. Why not try 
 something original ? " 
 
 194
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Do you think that is a gentlemanly remark to 
 make ? " she asked. 
 
 " No, I don't. Some years of vagabondage coupled 
 with more recent events have destroyed all claim I ever 
 possessed to being a gentleman." 
 
 " You admit, then, you are the scum of the earth." 
 
 " Oh, certainly." 
 
 Suddenly she flounced herself down in the chair 
 Hilda had occupied, and stared at me for a few mo- 
 ments. Then she said in a voice much modified : 
 
 " What were you and Miss Stretton discussing so 
 earnestly when I came up ? " 
 
 "Didn't you hear?" 
 
 " No. I am no eavesdropper, but I know you were 
 talking of me." 
 
 " Ah, then you did n't hear." 
 
 " I told you I did n't, but I tell you what I suspect." 
 
 " Then your suspicions are entirely unfounded, Miss 
 Hemster." 
 
 " I don't believe it, but I '11 say this for you ; how- 
 ever much of a beast you may be, you are rather un- 
 handy at a lie ; so if you wish to convince me that you 
 are speaking the truth, you must tell me, without taking 
 time to consider, what you were talking about if you 
 were not talking of me." 
 
 All this was uttered at lightning speed. 
 
 " I need no time for consideration to answer that 
 question. We were talking of ourselves." 
 
 " What were you saying ? Come now, out with it if 
 you dare. I can see by your face you are trying to 
 make up something." 
 
 195
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Really, you underestimate my courage, Miss Hem- 
 ster. I was asking Hilda Stretton to do me the honour 
 of marrying me, and she was about to reply when you 
 cut short a conference so absorbing that we had not 
 noticed your approach." 
 
 This explanation seemed to be so unexpected that for 
 a moment the young woman sat breathless and expres- 
 sionless. Then she gradually sank back in her chair 
 with closed eyes, all colour leaving her face. 
 
 Now, I am well aware of the effect the words just 
 written will have on the mind of the indulgent reader. 
 She will think I 'm trying to hint that the girl, despite 
 her actions, was in love with me. I beg to state that 
 I am no such conceited ass as the above paragraph 
 would imply. My wife has always held that Gertrude 
 Hemster was in love with me, but that is merely the 
 prejudiced view of an affectionate woman, and I have 
 ever strenuously combated it. The character of Ger- 
 trude Hemster has for long been a puzzle to me, and 
 I can hardly expect the credence of the reader when I 
 say that I have toned down her words and actions 
 rather than exaggerated them. But my own theory of 
 the case is this : Miss Hemster had an inordinate love 
 of conquest and power. I think I should have got 
 along better with her if I had proposed to her and 
 taken my rejection in a broken and contrite spirit. 
 That she would have rejected me, I am as positive as 
 that I breathe. I am equally certain that, while she 
 would have scorned to acknowledge me as a favoured 
 lover, she was nevertheless humiliated to know that I 
 had given preference to one upon whom she rather 
 
 196
 
 looked down, one whom she regarded as a recipient 
 of her own bounty, and the moment I made my con- 
 fession I was sorry I had done so, for Hilda's sake. 
 
 It has also been hinted, I shall not say by whom, 
 that I was on a fair way of being in love with Gertrude 
 Hemster if everything had progressed favourably. I 
 need hardly point out to the reader the utter erroneous- 
 ness of this surmise. I do not deny that during the 
 first day of our acquaintance I was greatly attracted 
 by her, or perhaps I should say wonderfully interested 
 in her. I had never met any one just like her before, 
 nor have I since for that matter. But that 'I was even 
 on the verge of being in love with her I emphatically 
 deny. I have no hesitation in confessing that she was 
 the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, when it 
 pleased her to be gracious. She would certainly have 
 made a superb actress if Fortune had cast her role 
 upon the stage. But, as I have said, I never under- 
 stood this woman, or comprehended her lightning 
 changes of character. I do not know to this day 
 whether she was merely a shallow vixen or a crea- 
 ture of deep though uncontrolled passion. I therefore 
 content myself with setting down here, as accurately 
 as possible, what happened on the various occasions of 
 which I speak, so that each reader may draw her own 
 conclusions, if indeed there are any conclusions to be 
 drawn, and I do this as truthfully as may be, at the 
 risk of some misunderstanding of my own position, as 
 in the present instance. 
 
 The silence which followed my announcement was at 
 last broken by a light sarcastic laugh. 
 
 197
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Really, Mr. Tremorne," she said, " it is not very 
 flattering to me to suppose that I am interested in the 
 love affairs of the servants' hall." 
 
 I bowed my acknowledgment of this thrust. 
 
 " My statement, Miss Hemster, was not made for 
 your entertainment, or with any hope that it would en- 
 gage your attention, but merely as an answer to your 
 direct question." 
 
 " So two penniless paupers are going to unite their 
 fortunes ! " 
 
 " Penniless, only relatively so ; paupers, no." 
 
 " Nothing added to nothing makes how much, Mr. 
 Tremorne ? " 
 
 " Madam, I am an Oxford man." 
 
 " What has that to do with it ? " 
 
 " Much. Cambridge is the mathematical university. 
 I never was good at figures." 
 
 " Perhaps that 's why you threw away your money." 
 
 " Perhaps. Still, the money I threw away yesterday 
 belonged to your father." 
 
 " Is that to remind me of the debt I am supposed to 
 owe you ? " 
 
 " You owe me nothing. If anybody owes me any- 
 thing I am certain Mr. Hemster will discharge the debt 
 Vvith his usual generosity." 
 
 " Oh, you are counting on that, are you ? " 
 
 " We have Biblical assurance, Miss Hemster, of the 
 fact that the labourer is worthy of his hire. My hire is 
 all I expect, and all I shall accept." 
 
 " Well, it is my hope that your term of employment 
 Vvill be as short as possible ; therefore I ask you to re- 
 
 198
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 sign your position as soon as we reach Nagasaki. Your 
 presence on this ship is odious to me." 
 
 " I am sorry for that." 
 
 " Then you won't resign ? " 
 
 " I say that I am sorry my presence on this ship is 
 odious to you." 
 
 " You can at once solve the problem by resigning, as 
 I have suggested." 
 
 I " I dispute your right to make suggestions to me. 
 If you want me to leave the yacht, ask your father to 
 discharge me." 
 
 " There is always a certain humiliation in abrupt dis- 
 missal. If you do not go voluntarily, and without 
 telling my father that I have asked you to resign, I 
 shall put Hilda Stretton ashore at Nagasaki with 
 money enough to pay her passage home." 
 
 " How generous of you ! First-class or steerage ? " 
 
 Her face became a flame of fire, and she clenched her 
 hands till the nails bit the pink palms. 
 
 " You sneaking reptile ! " she cried, her voice trem- 
 bling with anger ; " you backbiting, underhand beast ! 
 What lies have you dared tell my father about me ? " 
 
 " You are under some strange misapprehension, Miss 
 Hemster," I replied, with a coolness which earned my 
 mental approbation, fervently hoping at the same time 
 that I might continue to maintain control over my de- 
 plorable temper ; " you have jumped at a conclusion 
 not borne out by fact. I assure you I have never dis- 
 cussed you with your father, and should not venture to 
 do so." 
 
 I remembered the moment I had spoken that I had 
 199
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 just promised another lady to do that very thing. 
 What everybody says must be true when they state that 
 my thoughts are awkward and ungainly, rarely coming 
 up to the starting-point until too late. I fear this tardy 
 recollection brought the colour to my face, for the 
 angry eyes of the girl were upon me, and she evidently 
 misread this untimely flushing. She leaned across the 
 little wicker table and said in a calm, unruffled voice, 
 marked with the bitterness of hate : 
 
 " You are a liar." 
 
 I rose to my feet with the intention of leaving her, 
 but she sprang up with a nimbleness superior to my 
 own, and before I was aware of what she was about she 
 thrust her two hands against my breast and plumped 
 me unexpectedly down into my chair again. It was a 
 ludicrous and humiliating situation, but I was too 
 angry to laugh about it. Standing over me, she hissed 
 down at me: 
 
 " You heard what I said." 
 
 " Perfectly, and I am resolved that there shall be no 
 further communication between us." 
 
 " Oh, are you ? Well, you '11 listen to what I have 
 to say, or I '11 add ' coward ' to ' liar.' Either you or 
 Hilda Stretton has been poisoning my father's mind 
 against me. Which was it?" 
 
 " It was I, of course." 
 
 " Then you admit you are a liar ? " 
 
 " ' All men are liars/ said the Psalmist, so why 
 should I be an exception ? " 
 
 "You are very good at quoting the Bible, are n't 
 you ? Why don't you live up to it ? " 
 
 200
 
 " I should be the better man if I did." 
 
 " Will you resign at Nagasaki, then ? " 
 
 " I shall do exactly what your father orders me 
 to do." 
 
 " That is precisely the answer I should have expected 
 from a mud-wallower who came to us from the gutter." 
 
 " You are mistaken. I lived up on a hill." 
 
 " Well, I give you warning, that if you don't leave 
 this yacht you will regret it." 
 
 " I shall probably regret the tender memories of your 
 conversation, Miss Hemster; but if you think to 
 frighten me I beg to point out that it is really yourself 
 who is in danger, as you might know if experience 
 taught the class of persons it is said to teach. You 
 have called me a brute and a beast and all the rest of it, 
 and have partly persuaded me that you are right. 
 Now the danger to you lies in the fact that you will go 
 just a step too far on one of these occasions, and then I 
 shall pick you up and throw you overboard. Now al- 
 low me to say that you have about reached the limit, 
 likewise to inform you that I shall not resign." 
 
 I now arose, confronting her, and flung the wicker 
 chair to the other side of the deck. Then, taking off 
 my hat, I left her standing there. 
 
 201
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 I AM tired of my own shortcomings, and I have no 
 doubt the reader is also, if she has read this far. 
 I shall therefore make no attempt to excuse my 
 language toward Gertrude Hemster. The heated con- 
 versation in which we indulged had, however, one ef- 
 fect upon my future course. I resolved not to say a 
 word to her father against his treatment of her. 
 Whatever the old gentleman had said to her, it could 
 not have been cruder or ruder than the language which 
 I had myself employed. Therefore I felt it would be 
 ludicrous for me to act the part of censor or adviser. 
 I had shown my own unfitness for either of those roles. 
 Besides this, I had been convinced that Hilda Stretton 
 was entirely mistaken in thinking that the young 
 woman would commit suicide or do any injury to her- 
 self. My summing up of her character led me to the 
 belief that although she would be quite willing to inflict 
 pain upon others, she would take good care not to act 
 to her own discomfort. Seizing the first opportunity 
 that presented itself, I told Miss Stretton my determi- 
 nation, and, while she did not agree with me, she made 
 no effort to induce me to forego my resolution. 
 
 The bustle pertaining to our safe arrival at Nagasaki 
 drove all other subjects from my mind, and I was in- 
 clined to think that my recent troubles and quarrels 
 
 202
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 arose through the well-known activity of Satan to pro- 
 vide employment for idle hands. We were now busy 
 enough. There had accumulated at Nagasaki a mass 
 of letters and a bundle of cablegrams for Mr. Hemster 
 which required his immediate attention, and in his dis- 
 posal of these messages I caught a glimpse of the great 
 business man he really was. However lax he might 
 have proved in his conduct toward his only daughter, 
 he showed himself a very Napoleon in the way he faced 
 the problems presented to him, settling momentous 
 affairs thousands of miles away by the dispatch of a 
 code word or two. 
 
 In all this, so far as my abilities permitted, I was his 
 humble assistant, and I found myself filled with ad- 
 miration and astonishment at his powers of concen- 
 tration and the brilliancy of his methods. The little 
 naphtha launch was kept running backward and for- 
 ward between the yacht and the telegraph office, and 
 during the long day that followed our arrival at Naga- 
 saki that roll-top desk was a centre of commercial ac- 
 tivity vastly different in its efficiency from the lazy 
 routine to which I had been accustomed in the diplo- 
 matic service. My own nervous tension kept me going 
 until the long day had passed, and the time seemed as 
 but a few minutes. At the end I was as tired as if I 
 had spent twelve hours continuously on the football 
 field, and for the first time in my life I realized how 
 men are burnt up in their pursuit of the mighty dol- 
 lar. My natural inclination was to doubt whether the 
 game was worth the candle, but during the progress of 
 the game there was no question, for it held on the alert 
 
 203
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 every faculty a man possessed, and I could well believe 
 that it might exert a fascination that indulgence in mere 
 gambling could never equal. 
 
 Silas K. Hemster himself was like a man trans- 
 formed ; the eyes which I had hitherto considered dull 
 and uninteresting became aglow with the excitement 
 of battle. His face was keen, stern, and relentless ; I 
 saw he was an enemy who gave no quarter and ex- 
 pected none. His orders to me were sharp and de- 
 cisive, and I no more thought of questioning them than 
 of offering unsought advice regarding them. He was 
 like an exiled monarch come again to his throne; for 
 the first time in our brief acquaintance I had seen the 
 real Hemster, and the sight had given me a feeling of 
 my own inane inadequacy in the scheme of things here 
 below. When at last the day was done, his face re- 
 laxed, and he leaned back in his swivel chair, regard- 
 ing me with eyes that had taken on their old kindliness. 
 He seemed enlivened rather than exhausted by the con- 
 test, as if he had taken a sip of the elixir of youth. 
 
 " Well, my boy," he said, " you 're tired out. You 
 look as if you had been running a race." 
 
 " That is exactly what I 've been doing, sir." 
 
 The old gentleman laughed. 
 
 " Let 's see," he mused ruminatingly, " did we have 
 lunch or not ? " 
 
 " You consumed a sandwich which I placed on your 
 desk, Mr. Hemster, and I bolted another during one 
 of my rushes for the dispatch-boat." 
 
 Again he laughed. 
 
 " I had forgotten," he said, " but we will enjoy our 
 204
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 dinner all the more when we sit down to it. Confess 
 that you 're used up." 
 
 " Well, sir, I don't feel just as active as I did in the 
 morning." 
 
 The old gentleman shook his head with a slow mo- 
 tion that had something of pity in it. 
 
 " You English have no aptitude for business. It 
 shows the decadent state of Europe that Britain has 
 held supremacy on that continent for so long." 
 
 " I should be sorry, sir, if you took me for a typical 
 example of the English business man. I doubt if in 
 any respect I am a credit to my country, still I am not 
 such an idiot as to suppose I shine as a man of affairs. 
 My training has been against me, even if I had any 
 natural aptitude for commerce, which I doubt. Still, 
 we are supposed to possess some creditable captains of 
 industry on our little island." 
 
 " Supposed ! That 's just it, and the supposition 
 holds good until they are up against something better. 
 Now, if you were in Chicago, and you wished me to 
 join you in a deal while I was cruising on the coast of 
 Japan, what would you do ? " 
 
 " I should write you a letter explaining the project 
 I had to put before you." 
 
 " Quite so. You would n't go to the expense of 
 cabling the whole thing, would you ? " 
 
 " If the scheme was important enough I might go 
 to that cost." 
 
 The old gentleman held in his hand two or three 
 cable messages which I had not seen, also a letter or 
 two. 
 
 205
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Now, here is a man/' he said, " who has hit upon 
 a plan I have often thought of myself. He has, he 
 tells me, made a combination which possesses consid- 
 erable strength, but in order to be impregnable he 
 needs my co-operation. He cables the points very con- 
 cisely, and puts his case with a good deal of power; 
 but that cablegram is merely an advance agent for him- 
 self, expensive as it is. His object is to hold me at 
 Yokohama until he can arrive. He actually crosses 
 the continent to San Francisco, and takes the first 
 steamer for Japan. I received his cablegram at Yoko- 
 hama, but did not wait for him. I sent off a word or 
 two myself to Chicago, asking confidential information 
 which I have now received. Just before we left for 
 Corea I got a telegram from this man in Yokohama, 
 asking me to wait for him at Nagasaki, which I did not 
 do, because I wished to impress on the energetic indi- 
 vidual that I was not anxious to fall in with his plan, 
 and I knew that, having come so far, he would not re- 
 turn without seeing me. Meanwhile I determined to 
 find out whether his combination is as strong as he said 
 it was, and this information is now in my possession. 
 Also, I wished on my own account to make a combine 
 so formidable that whether I gave my adherence to the 
 one or the other my weight would tip the beam in fa- 
 vour of the one I joined. This combination also has 
 been completed, and I hold the balance, of course. 
 Our friend who has come over from Japan probably 
 does not know that there is any opposition to his 
 scheme, and no one in the world except yourself and 
 myself and a man in Chicago knows I have anything 
 
 206
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 to do with the other combine. You see I am just 
 yachting for pleasure and for health, and am reluctant 
 to touch business at all. At least, that is the informa- 
 tion which I intend to be imparted to our friend, who 
 is now impatiently awaiting me at the Nagasaki Hotel. 
 You might think that I should invite him to come 
 aboard my yacht and talk the matter over, or that I 
 should go ashore and visit him, which he asks me to 
 do ; but I shall do neither. You see I want Mr. John 
 C. Cammerford to realize that he is not nearly so im- 
 portant in the commercial affairs of America as he sup- 
 poses himself to be." 
 
 " John C. Cammerford ! " I cried in amazement. 
 " I think I have met him in New York, though it may 
 not be the same man." 
 
 "Well, the name is not a common one, and if you know 
 him, all the better. I now instruct you to call on him 
 first thing to-morrow morning. You will notice that 
 I have trusted you fully in this matter by giving you 
 information which must not leak through to Cammer- 
 ford. You will tell him, however, that his combina- 
 tion is not the only one in the United States, and if I 'm 
 to join his he must prove to me that it is stronger than 
 the opposition. He must give you a list of the firms 
 he has combined, and he will have to show you the 
 original documents pertaining to the options he has re- 
 ceived. I want to know how long his options last. 
 They will probably have at least six months' life, or he 
 could never have taken this journey to see me. If he 
 satisfies you that his combination is genuine, and that 
 his options have still several months to run, then I shall 
 
 207
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 consent to meet him. If he cannot do this, or if he 
 refuses to do it, I shall send a few cables which will 
 certainly upset his apple-cart before he reaches San 
 Francisco. You will not promise anything on my be- 
 half, and I should have no objection if he imagines 
 that my lack of eagerness in meeting him is caused by 
 the fact that the other combination appears to me the 
 stronger." 
 
 " Would you mind my sending to him your card in- 
 stead of my own? He might possibly refuse to meet 
 me if I sent in the name of Tremorne." 
 
 " That 's all right. Use my card if you wish. The 
 main point is that you get as much information as pos- 
 sible, and give as little in return as may be. There 's 
 the dinner gong, and I 'm quite ready to meet what- 
 ever 's on the table. Come along." 
 
 Next morning after breakfast I went ashore, and, 
 arriving at the Nagasaki Hotel, sent up Mr. Hemster's 
 card to Mr. John C. Cammerford, and was promptly 
 admitted to his presence. He occupied what I took to 
 be the finest suite of rooms in the hotel, and had a large 
 table placed near the principal window of his sitting- 
 room, so that his back was to the light, which shone 
 full on the face of any visitor who called upon him. It 
 was quite evident to me that Mr. Cammerford hoped 
 to impress Silas K. Hemster with the fact that he was 
 carrying on great affairs right here in Japan similar to 
 those that occupied his attention in Chicago. The table 
 was littered with papers, and Cammerford sat busily 
 writing as if every moment was of importance. All 
 his plans for the impression of a visitor fell to pieces 
 
 208
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 like a house of cards when the astonished man saw 
 who was approaching him. He sprang to his feet with 
 a cry of dismay and backed toward the window. From 
 his position I could not very well read the expression 
 on his face, but it seemed to be one of fear. 
 
 " I 'm expecting anothe'r man," he cried, " you have 
 no right here. Get out." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Mr. Cammerford, I have a 
 right here, and I have come to talk business." 
 
 " What are you following me for ? Why are you 
 here ? " he cried. 
 
 " I am here as the representative of Silas K. Hem- 
 ster, of Chicago, and with his permission I sent up his 
 card to you." 
 
 Gradually his self-possession returned to him, but he 
 took care to keep the table between himself and me. 
 He indulged in a little cynical laugh. 
 
 " You took me by surprise, Mr. Tremorne. I I 
 thought perhaps you intended trying to collect a 
 a little account of your own." 
 
 " No, I came entirely on Mr. Hemster's behalf. 
 Have I your permission to be seated ? " 
 
 " Certainly. Sit down, sit down," and, saying this 
 with an effort at bluff geniality, he placed himself in 
 the chair he had so abruptly vacated. 
 
 " I thought, as I said before," he added, with another 
 uneasy laugh, " that you had some notion of collecting 
 a little money from me. The last time we met you held 
 a very mistaken view of the business matter in which 
 we had been associated. I assure you now you 
 would n't listen then that everything done was 
 
 209
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 strictly legal, and no one was more sorry than I that 
 the deal did not prove as successful as we had both 
 hoped." 
 
 " You cover me with confusion, Mr. Cammerford. 
 I have no remembrance that I ever disputed the legality 
 of the transaction, and I deeply regret that I seem to 
 have permitted myself at the time to use harsh lan- 
 guage which you are quite justified in deploring. If 
 it is any comfort to you, I beg to assure you that I 
 look upon the half-million dollars as irretrievably lost, 
 and at this hour yesterday had no more idea you were 
 in Japan than you had that I was, if you did me the 
 honour to think of me." 
 
 Cammerford gazed doubtfully across the table at me, 
 as if he feared there was something sinister behind all 
 tliis show of submission. 
 
 " It was you, then, who sent up Mr. Hemster's 
 card?" 
 
 " Yes. He asked me to see you." 
 
 " Why could n't he come himself ? Is he ill ? " 
 
 " No, he never was in better health," I answered ; 
 " but he is exceedingly busy. I am by way of being 
 his confidential man, and if you can prove to me that 
 the claims you have made are real, I shall have much 
 pleasure in arranging an interview between you." 
 
 " Oh, that 's how the land lies, is it ? What do you 
 know of my proposals to Mr. Hemster ? " 
 
 " I have read all your letters and telegrams relating 
 to the matter this morning ; in fact, I have them in my 
 pocket now." 
 
 " Mr. Hemster seems to repose great trust in you. 
 210
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 That is rather unusual with him. I suppose you have 
 some document to prove that you are empowered to 
 deal?" 
 
 " As a matter of fact I am not empowered to deal. 
 I am merely the avant coureur of Mr. Hemster. I sent 
 you up his card, and here are your own letters, tele- 
 grams, and cablegrams. I was told to inform you that 
 since you have left America another combination which 
 Mr. Hemster considers nearly if not quite as strong as 
 your own has been put through, and Mr. Hemster has 
 been invited to join. He is well acquainted with the 
 person who has effected the second combination, but, 
 as you have just intimated, Mr. Hemster is not a man 
 to allow personal considerations to deflect him from the 
 strict business path. If you can show that your com- 
 bination is the stronger, I can guarantee that you will 
 have opportunity of speaking with Mr. Hemster. If 
 not, he sails away to-morrow in his yacht, and deprives 
 himself of the pleasure of meeting you, as you happen 
 to be an entire stranger to him." 
 
 " How am I to show him all this if he refuses to 
 see me ? " 
 
 " You are to convince me of two things by exhibit- 
 ing the original documents : first, that these firms men- 
 tioned in your letters have given you options; and 
 second, the length of the options, the date on which 
 they expire, in fact." 
 
 "And if I refuse?" said Cammerford, seemingly 
 puzzled and displeased at the trend of our conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 I rose to my feet and bowed to him. 
 
 211
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " If you refuse," I said, " that ends my mission. 
 Good-morning to you." 
 
 " Wait a bit, wait a bit," cried Cammerford, " sit 
 down, Mr. Tremorne. This requires a little thought. 
 Please don't go ; just sit down for a moment. I don't 
 see how Mr. Hemster can expect me to show my whole 
 hand to one who, begging your pardon, is a compara- 
 tive stranger, and one who will have nothing to do with 
 our transaction. Secrecy is the very soul of such a 
 deal as I am trying to put through. What guarantee 
 have I that you will not cable to New York or Chicago 
 full particulars of what I am asked to tell you." 
 
 " None whatever, Mr. Cammerford." 
 
 " Well, that 's not business." 
 
 " Quite so. Then I shall report your opinion to Mr. 
 Hemster." 
 
 "What 's his object? Why does n't he come and 
 see me himself ? " 
 
 " I think I may go so far as to say that he wishes 
 to know whether or not it is worth his while to meet 
 you. You see, Mr. Cammerford, you are a stranger to 
 him. He was good enough to hint that if I reported 
 favourably on your scheme, he would wait over a day 
 or two and go into the matter with you. As I have 
 said, he is exceedingly busy. I left him immersed in 
 letters and cablegrams, and all day yesterday we were 
 over head and ears in matters of rather large impor- 
 tance. If you had been his Chicago acquaintance who 
 formed the other combine, I imagine he would have 
 seen you ; as it is, he has sent me." 
 
 " Well, now, look here, Tremorne," cried Cammer- 
 
 212
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 ford, with a fine assumption of honest bluffness, " let 
 us talk as man to man. We 're not school-boys or sen- 
 timental girls. You know as well as I do that there is 
 not one chance in ten million for my seeing old Hem- 
 ster if the choice in the matter lies with you. You are 
 exceedingly polite, and speak as sweetly as molasses, 
 but I was n't born yesterday, and am not such a darned 
 fool as to suppose you are going to put in a good word 
 for me." 
 
 " You are quite right, Mr. Cammerford ; I shall put 
 in no good word for you that I can possibly keep out. 
 Nevertheless I shall report fairly to Mr. Hemster ex- 
 actly what you place before me." 
 
 " Oh, that 's all guff. You '11 knife me because 
 you 've got the chance to do it. I quite admit it will 
 be done with smooth talk, but it will be effective never- 
 theless." 
 
 " If you believe that, Mr. Cammerford, I shall make 
 no endeavour to convince you of the contrary. You 
 will act, of course, as best serves your own interest. 
 Personally I do not care a halfpenny whether the great 
 beef combine is formed in the interest of the dear pub- 
 lic, or goes to smash through the non-agreement of its 
 promoters. I fancy you cannot float such a trust and 
 leave Mr. Hemster out, but you know more about that 
 than I. Now it 's your next move. What are you 
 going to do ? " 
 
 Cammerford leaned across the table, showing me his 
 crafty eyes narrowing as he seemed trying to find out 
 what my game really was. I knew exactly where his 
 error lay in dealing with me. He could not believe 
 
 213
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 that I was honestly trying to serve my employer, and 
 so he was bound to go wrong in any assumption formed 
 by taking such false premises for granted. 
 
 " See here, Tremorne, I 'm going to talk straight 
 business to you. Whatever may be our pretences, we 
 are none of us engaged in this for our health ; we want 
 to make money. I want to make money; Hemster 
 wants to make money; don't you want to make 
 money ? " 
 
 " Certainly," I replied, " that 's what I 'm here for." 
 
 " Now you 're shouting," exclaimed Cammerford, 
 an expression of great relief coming into his face. He 
 thought that at last he had reached firm ground. " I 
 confess, then," he went on, " that it is supremely im- 
 portant I should meet Hemster, and he should be fa- 
 vourably disposed toward me. It is not likely I should 
 have taken a journey clear from New York to Naga- 
 saki if there was n't a good deal at stake. You see, I 'm 
 perfectly frank with you. You Ve got the drop on me. 
 Just now my hands are right up toward the ceiling, and 
 I 'm willing to do the square thing. Did you know 
 whom you were going to meet when you left the 
 yacht?" 
 
 " Yes, I did." 
 
 " Mr. Hemster mentioned my name to you ? " 
 
 " Yes, he did." 
 
 " Did you tell him anything of our former deal- 
 ings?" 
 
 " No, I did not." 
 
 " He does know you lost half a million in the States 
 a while since ? " 
 
 214
 
 " Oh, yes, he knows that, but he does n't know 
 you 're the man who got it." 
 
 " Hang it all, Tremorne ; don't put it that way. 
 I 'm not the man who got it ; I lost money as well as 
 you did." 
 
 " Oh, I beg your pardon ; I thought we were talk- 
 ing frankly and honestly to each other. Well, be that 
 as it may, Mr. Hemster knows I lost the money, but 
 he does n't know you 're the man who was so unfor- 
 tunate as to be in the business with me." 
 
 " Well now, Tremorne, I '11 tell you what I '11 do. 
 You say nothing of this former company of ours, and 
 if you will report favourably on what I have to tell you 
 so that old Hemster will come and see me, or allow me 
 to go to him, I '11 give you two hundred thousand dol- 
 lars cash as soon as our deal is completed." 
 
 " I refuse it." 
 
 "You don't trust me?" 
 
 " No, I do not, but I refuse it nevertheless. I should 
 refuse it if you offered me the money here and now." 
 
 Cammerford leaned back in his chair. 
 
 " You want to go the whole hog? " 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," said I. 
 
 " You want the whole five hundred thousand or 
 nothing. Well, I tell you at once I can 't afford to give 
 that much. I '11 raise fifty thousand dollars, and make 
 the total amount two hundred and fifty; but I can't 
 go a cent more, and there is no use trying to bluff me." 
 
 " I am not trying to bluff you, Mr. Cammerford. I 
 should refuse the bribe if you made it five hundred 
 thousand." 
 
 215
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Oh, it 's not a bribe at all, it 's well, whatever 
 you like to call it. Restitution if you prefer to put it 
 that way." 
 
 " It does n't matter what it is called, I have come for 
 the purpose of hearing what you have to say regarding 
 the great beef combine. If you have nothing to say 
 I shall leave, because, as I told you, Mr. Hemster has a 
 good deal of work on his hands, and I 'm trying to 
 help him." 
 
 " Well," said Cammerford, in a hopeless tone of 
 voice, " you are the darndest fool I ever met in my 
 life." 
 
 " You are not the first person who has said as much, 
 Mr. Cammerford, although not in precisely the same 
 language. Now, for the last time, give me a list of 
 the names of those who are behind you." 
 
 " I '11 do that if you will promise me not to say any- 
 thing to old Hemster about our former relations." 
 
 " I regret that I cannot make you any such promise, 
 Mr. Cammerford. It is my duty to lay before Mr. 
 Hemster everything you place before me, and it is also 
 my duty to warn him that I consider you as big a 
 scoundrel as you consider me a fool." 
 
 " That 's plain talk," said Cammerford, scowling. 
 
 " I intend it to be. Now, without further loss of 
 time, let me see your documents." 
 
 For some minutes Cammerford maintained silence, 
 a heavy frown on his brow, and his eyes fixed on the 
 carpet beneath the table. At last he muttered, " Well, 
 I 'm damned ! " and, taking a bundle of papers from 
 before him, he slipped off the elastic band, picked out 
 
 216
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 one after another which he perused with care, then 
 handed them across the table to me, watching me very 
 narrowly as he did so. I took the papers one by one 
 and read them over, making a note with my pencil now 
 and then in my pocket-book. They proved to be ex- 
 , actly what he had said they were in his letter to Mr. 
 Hemster. I pushed them back toward him again, 
 saying: 
 
 " I see by some of these documents that the option is 
 for six months, but others make no mention of the time. 
 Why is that?" 
 
 " Because we have bought the businesses and the op- 
 tions are ours for ever." 
 
 " Have you anything to prove that ? " 
 
 Without further reply he selected several other 
 papers and presented them to me. These also were 
 satisfactory. 
 
 " I shall report to Mr. Hemster that your position 
 appears to be quite as strong as you stated it to be, and 
 so I wish you good-morning, Mr. Cammerford." 
 
 " Hold your horses a minute," he cried, seeing me 
 about to arise. " As you have asked me a whole lot of 
 questions, I 'd like you to answer a few of mine. 
 Who 's in this other combine ? " 
 
 " I know nothing of it, except that it is in existence." 
 
 " Do you imagine it 's a bluff ? " 
 
 " I tell you I don't know. I should think Mr. 
 Hemster is not a man to engage in bluff." 
 
 " Oh, is n't he ? That shows how little you know of 
 him. Have you been with him ever since he left Chi- 
 cago ? " 
 
 217
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " No." 
 
 " How long have you been in his employ ? " 
 " That is a private matter, Mr. Cammerford, which 
 concerns no one but myself and Mr. Hemster. Be- 
 sides, to tell you the truth, I came here to receive in- 
 formation, not to impart it ; so it is useless to question 
 me further." 
 
 " Oh, one more won't do any harm," said Cammer- 
 ford, rising when I had risen ; " do you think old Hem- 
 ster will consent to see me ? " 
 
 " I am almost certain that he will." 
 " Through your recommendation, eh ? " 
 " No, I shall strongly advise him not to see you." 
 " Well, I 'm damned if I understand your game. 
 It 's either too deep or too mighty shallow for me." 
 
 " It does n't occur to you, Mr. Cammerford, that 
 there 's no game at all, and therefore there can be 
 neither depth nor shallowness. You are troubling 
 your mind about what does not exist." 
 
 " Then I am forced to take refuge in my former as- 
 sumption, not at all a flattering one, which is that 
 you 're a fool." 
 
 " I think that 's the safest position to assume, Mr. 
 Cammerford ; so, finally, good-bye." 
 
 I left the man standing at the head of the stairs, his 
 hands on the banister, gazing after me with an expres- 
 sion of great discontent. 
 
 218
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 WHEN I arrived at the landing I saw the lit- 
 tle naphtha launch making a trip from the 
 yacht to the shore. As it swung to the 
 steps I noticed that Gertrude Hemster was aboard with 
 her new companion, a Japanese lady, said to be of ex- 
 tremely high rank, whom the girl had engaged on the 
 first day of our arrival at Nagasaki, when her father 
 was so deeply immersed in business. The old gentle- 
 man told me later that his daughter had taken an un- 
 fortunate dislike to Miss Stretton, and had very rapid- 
 ly engaged this person, who, it was, alleged, could 
 speak Chinese, Japanese, Corean, and pidgin English. 
 
 In spite of what her father had said, I thought the 
 engaging of this woman with so many lingual advan- 
 tages was rather a stroke aimed at myself than an ac- 
 tion deposing Hilda Stretton. I suppose Miss Hemster 
 thought to give proof that I was no longer necessary as 
 interpreter on board the yacht. I doubted the accom- 
 plishments of the Japanese high dame, thinking it im- 
 possible to select such a treasure on such short notice, 
 and so the evening before had ventured to address her 
 in Corean; but she answered me very demurely and 
 correctly in that language, with a little oblique smile, 
 
 219
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 which showed that she knew why I had spoken to her, 
 and I saw that I had been mistaken in slighting her 
 educational capacities. 
 
 I went down the steps and proffered my escort to the 
 young woman, but she was so earnestly engaged in 
 thanking the crew of the naphtha launch that she quite 
 ignored my presence. She sprang lightly up the steps 
 and walked away to the nearest 'rickshaw, followed by 
 the toddling Japanese creature. The boat's crew, who 
 were champions of Miss Hemster to a man, each em- 
 bued with intense admiration for her, as was right and 
 natural, may or may not have noticed her contemptu- 
 ous treatment of me ; but after all it did not much mat- 
 ter, so I stepped into the launch and we set out for the 
 yacht. 
 
 I found Mr. Hemster immersed in his papers as 
 usual. Apparently he had never been on deck to get 
 a breath of fresh air since his steamship arrived in the 
 harbour. 
 
 " Well," he said shortly, looking up ; " you saw Mr. 
 Cammerford ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Did he give down or hold up ? " 
 
 " He seemed very much startled when he saw me, 
 and I had some difficulty in getting him to discuss the 
 matter in hand." 
 
 " Was he afraid you had come to rob him, or did he 
 think he had got me in a corner ? " 
 
 " No. He knew who it was that approached him, 
 but I should have told you, Mr. Hemster, that this is 
 the man who got my five hundred thousand dollars 
 
 220
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 some years ago, and he was under the mistaken im- 
 pression that I had come to wring some part of it back 
 from him." 
 
 " Ah, he thought you were camping on his trail, did 
 he ? What did you do ? " 
 
 " I explained that I was there merely as your repre- 
 sentative. He made some objection at first to showing 
 his hand, as he called it; but finally, seeing that he 
 could not come at his desired interview with you unless 
 he took me into his confidence, he did so, although with 
 extreme reluctance." 
 
 " Yes, and what were your conclusions ? " 
 
 " My conclusions are that his letter to you was per- 
 fectly truthful. He has the following firms behind him 
 on a six months' option, and these others have sold 
 their businesses to him outright. His position, there- 
 fore, is all that he asserted it to be," and with this I 
 placed my notes before my chief. 
 
 " You are thoroughly convinced of that ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am ; but of course you will see the papers he 
 has to show, and may find error or fraud where I was 
 unable to detect either." 
 
 " All right, I shall see him then." 
 
 " There is one thing further, Mr. Hemster. He of- 
 fered me two hundred thousand dollars, then two hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand, if I would conceal from you 
 the fact that he had formerly defrauded me." 
 
 " Yes, and what did you say ? " 
 
 " I refused the money, of course." 
 
 The old gentleman regarded me with an expression 
 full of pity. 
 
 221
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I am sorry to mention it, Tremorne, but you are a 
 numskull. Why did n't you take the money ? I 'm 
 quite able to look after myself. It does n't matter in the 
 least to me whether or not the man has cheated every- 
 one in the United States. If he cheats me as well, he 's 
 entitled to all he can make. ' The laborer is worthy of 
 his hire,' as the good Book says." 
 
 As I had used this quotation to his daughter, I now 
 surmised that she had told her father something of our 
 stormy conversation. 
 
 " Quite true, Mr. Hemster, but the good Book also 
 says, 'Avoid the very appearance of evil,' and that I 
 have done by refusing his bribe." 
 
 " Ah, well, you don't get anything for nothing in 
 this world, and I think your duty was to have closed 
 with his offer so long as you told me the truth about 
 the documents I sent you to search." 
 
 " He is a man I would have nothing whatever to do 
 with, Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " There 's where you are wrong. If he happens to 
 possess something I want, why in the world should I 
 not deal with him. His moral character is of no inter- 
 est to me. As well refuse to buy a treatise on the 
 English language because the bookseller drops his 
 ' h's.' I am very much disappointed in your business 
 capacity, Mr. Tremorne." 
 
 " I am sorry I don't come up to your expectations, 
 sir ; but he is a man whom I should view with the ut- 
 most distrust." 
 
 " Oh, if you are doing business with him, certainly. 
 I view everyone with distrust and never squeal if I 'm 
 
 222
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 cheated. Tell me about this deal with Cammerford in 
 which you lost your money." 
 
 I related to him the circumstances of the case, which 
 need not be set down here. When I had finished Mr. 
 Hemster said slowly : 
 
 " If you will excuse me, Mr. Tremorne, never say 
 that this man swindled you. Such an expression is a 
 misuse of language. Everything done was perfectly 
 legal." 
 
 " Oh, I know that well enough. In fact he men- 
 tioned its legality during our interview this morning. 
 Nevertheless, he was well aware that the mine was 
 valueless." 
 
 " What of that ? It was n't his business to inform 
 you ; it was your business to find out the true worth of 
 the mine. You are simply blaming Cammerford for 
 your own carelessness. If Cammerford had not got 
 the money, the next man who met you would; so I 
 suppose he sized you up, and thought he might as well 
 have it, and, to tell you the truth, I quite agree with 
 him. Now, if I told you this bag contained a thousand 
 dollars in gold, would you accept my word for it with- 
 out counting the money ? " 
 
 " Certainly I would." 
 
 The old gentleman seemed taken aback by this reply, 
 and stared at me as if I were some new human speci- 
 men he had not met before. 
 
 " You would, eh? " he cried at last. " Well, you 're 
 hopeless! I don't know but you were right to refuse 
 his bribe. The money would not do you the least good 
 if you got it again." 
 
 223
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Oh, yes, it would, Mr. Hemster. I should invest it 
 in Government securities, and risk not a penny of it in 
 any speculation." 
 
 " I don't believe you 'd have that much sense," de- 
 murred the old gentleman, turning again to his desk. 
 " However, you have served me well, even if you have 
 served yourself badly. I will write a letter to Cammer- 
 ford and let him know the terms on which I will join 
 his scheme." 
 
 " You surely don't intend to do that, Mr. Hemster, 
 without seeing the documents yourself ? " 
 
 " Oh, have no fear ; you must not think I am going 
 to adopt your business tactics at my age. Run away 
 and let Hilda give you some lunch. I shall not have 
 time for anything but the usual sandwich. My daugh- 
 ter 's gone ashore. She wants lunch at the Nagasaki 
 Hotel, being tired of our ship's fare. I '11 have this 
 document ready for you to take to Cammerford after 
 you have eaten." 
 
 Nothing loth, I hurried away in search of my dear 
 girl, of whom I had caught only slight glimpses since 
 her sudden dismissal by Gertrude Hemster. I was glad 
 to know that we should have the ship practically to 
 ourselves, and I flatter myself she was not sorry either. 
 Lunch was not yet ready, so I easily persuaded her to 
 come upon deck with me, and there I placed the 
 chairs and table just as they had been at the moment 
 when Miss Hemster had come so unexpectedly upon 
 us. 
 
 " Now, Hilda," I began when we had seated our- 
 selves, " I want an answer to that question." 
 
 224
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 "What question?" 
 
 " You know very well what question ; the answer 
 was just hovering on your lips when we were inter- 
 rupted." 
 
 "No, it wasn't." 
 
 " Hilda, there was an expression in your eyes which 
 I had never seen before, and if your lips were about to 
 contradict the message they sent to me " 
 
 " Seemed to send to you," she interrupted with a 
 smile. 
 
 " Was it only seeming, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. I 'm very much disappointed 
 with myself. I don't call this a courtship at all. My 
 idea of the preliminaries to a betrothal was a long 
 friendship, many moonlight walks, and conversations 
 about delightful topics in which both parties are inter- 
 ested. I pictured myself waiting eagerly under some 
 rose-covered porch while the right person hurried 
 toward me, on horseback for choice. And now turn 
 from that picture to the actuality. We have known 
 each other only a few days ; our first conversation was 
 practically a quarrel ; we have talked about finance, and 
 poverty, and a lot of repulsive things of that sort. If 
 I were to say, ' Yes,' I should despise myself ever after. 
 It would appear as if I had accepted the first man who 
 offered." 
 
 " Am I the first man, Hilda ? I shall never be- 
 lieve it." 
 
 " I 'm not going to tell you. You ask altogether too 
 many questions." 
 
 " Well, despite your disclaimer, I shall still insist 
 225
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 that the right answer was on your lips when it and you 
 were so rudely chased away." 
 
 " Well, now, Mr. Tremorne " 
 
 " Rupert, if you please, Hilda ! " 
 
 " Well, now, Prince Rupert, to show you how far 
 astray you may be in predicting what a woman is about 
 to say, I shall tell you exactly what was in my mind 
 when the thread of my thought was so suddenly cut 
 across. There were conditions, provisos, stipulations, 
 everything in the world except the plain and simple 
 ' Yes ' you seemed to anticipate." 
 
 " Even in that case, Hilda, I am quite happy, because 
 these lead to the end. It cannot be otherwise, and all 
 the provisos and stipulations I agree to beforehand, so 
 let us get directly to the small but important word 
 'Yes!'" 
 
 " Ah, if you agreed beforehand that would not be 
 legal. You could say you had not read the document, 
 or something of that kind, and were not in your right 
 mind when you signed it." 
 
 " Then let us have the conditions one by one, Hilda, 
 if you please." 
 
 " I was going to ask you to say no more at present, 
 but to wait until I get home. I wanted you to come to 
 me, and ask your question then if you were still in the 
 same mind." 
 
 "What an absurd proviso! And how long would 
 that be ? When shall you reach your own home ? " 
 
 " Perhaps within a year, perhaps two years. It all 
 depends on the duration of Mr. Hemster's voyage. 
 Of course it is quite possible that at any minute he may 
 
 226
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 make up his mind to return. I could not leave him 
 alone here, but once he is in Chicago he will become so 
 absorbed in business that he would never miss me." 
 
 " There is an uncertain quality about that proviso, 
 Hilda, which I don't at all admire." 
 
 " Now, you see how it is," she answered archly ; 
 " my very first proposition is found fault with." 
 
 " On the contrary, it is at once agreed to. Proceed 
 with the next." 
 
 " The next pertains more particularly to yourself. I 
 suppose you have no occupation in view as yet, and 
 I also suppose, if you think of marrying, you do not 
 expect to lead a life of idleness." 
 
 " Far from it" 
 
 '' Very well. I wish that you would offer your serv- 
 ices to Mr. Hemster. I am sure he has great confi- 
 dence in you, and as he grows older he will feel more 
 and more the need of a friend. He has had no real 
 friend since my father died." 
 
 " You forget about yourself, Hilda." 
 
 " Oh, I don't count ; I am but a woman, and what he 
 needs near him is a clear-headed man who will give 
 him disinterested advice. That is a thing he cannot 
 buy, and he knows it." 
 
 " I quite believe you, but nevertheless where is the 
 clear-headedness? He has just asserted that I am a 
 fool." 
 
 " He surely never called you that." 
 
 " Well, not that exactly, but as near as possible to it, 
 and somehow, now that I am sitting opposite to you, I 
 rather think that he is right, and I have been quixotic." 
 
 227
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Now I come to another condition/' Hilda said with 
 some perceptible hesitation. " It is not a condition ex- 
 actly, but an explanation. I have often wondered 
 whether I acted rightly or not in the circumstances, 
 and perhaps your view of the case may differ from the 
 conclusion at which I arrived. The one man with 
 whom I should most naturally have consulted in a busi- 
 ness difficulty Mr. Hemster himself was out of the 
 question in this case, so I tried to imagine what my 
 father would have had me do, and I acted accordingly, 
 but not without some qualms of conscience then and 
 since. I fear I did not do what an independent girl 
 should have done, but now that we have become so 
 friendly you shall be my judge." 
 
 " You will find me a very lenient one, Hilda ; in fact 
 the verdict is already given: you did exactly right 
 whatever it was." 
 
 " Sir, you must not pronounce until you hear. We 
 approach now the dread secret of a woman with a past. 
 That always crops up, you know, at the critical mo- 
 ment. I think I told you my father and Mr. Hemster 
 were friends from boyhood; that they went to school 
 together ; that their very differences of character made 
 the friendship sincere and lasting. My father was a 
 quiet, scholarly man, fond of his books, while Mr. Hem- 
 ster cared nothing for literature or art, but only for an 
 outdoor life and contest with his fellow men. It is diffi- 
 cult to imagine that one so sedate and self-restrained as 
 Mr. Hemster now seems to be should have lived the life 
 of a reckless cowboy on the plains, riding like a cen- 
 taur, and shooting with an accuracy that saved his life 
 
 228
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 on more than one occasion, whatever the result to his 
 opponents. Nevertheless, in the midst of this wild 
 career he was the first, or one of the first, to realize the 
 future of the cattle business, and thus he laid the foun- 
 dation of the colossal fortune he now possesses. I can 
 imagine him the most capable man on the ranch, and I 
 believe he was well paid for his services and saved his 
 money, there being no way of spending it, for he neither 
 drank nor gambled. While yet a very young man an 
 opportunity came to him, and he had not quite enough 
 capital to take advantage of it. My father made up the 
 deficit, and, small as the amount was, Mr. Hemster has 
 always felt an undue sense of obligation for a loan 
 which was almost instantly repaid. When my father 
 died he left me practically penniless so far as money 
 was concerned, but with a musical education which 
 would have earned me a comfortable living. Shortly 
 after my father's death the manager of our local bank 
 informed me that there had been deposited to my order 
 one hundred thousand dollars' worth of stock in Mr. 
 Hemster's great business. Now the question is, Should 
 I have kept that, or should I have returned it to Mr. 
 Hemster ? " 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Hilda, but there is no question 
 there at all. Your father, by reason of his most oppor- 
 tune loan, was quite honestly entitled to a share in the 
 business the creation of which his money had made 
 possible." 
 
 " But the sum given to me was out of all proportion 
 to the amount lent. It is even more out of proportion 
 than the figures I have mentioned would lead you to 
 
 229
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 suppose, for the interest paid is so great that such an 
 income could not be produced by four or five times the 
 face value of the stock. Then Mr. Hemster was under 
 no obligation to have given me a penny." 
 
 " Surely a man may be allowed to do the right thing 
 without being legally bound to do it. I hope you ac- 
 cepted without hesitation." 
 
 "Yes, I accepted, but with considerable hesitation. 
 Now, I think Mr. Hemster would be greatly annoyed 
 if he knew I had told you all this. His own daughter 
 has not the slightest suspicion of it, and I imagine her 
 father would be even more disturbed if she gathered 
 any hint of the real state of affairs. Indeed, I may 
 tell you that she has dismissed me since this Japanese 
 Countess came." 
 
 " Then we are in the same plight, for the young lady 
 ordered me to resign." 
 
 " And are you going to ? " 
 
 " Not likely. She did n't engage me, and therefore 
 has no standing in the contract. But, to return to our- 
 selves, which is always the paramount subject of inter- 
 est, this dread secret, as you called it, puts an entirely 
 different complexion on our relations. You must see 
 that. Here have I been suing you under the impression 
 that you were a helpless dependent. Now you turn out 
 to be an heiress of the most pronounced transatlantic 
 type. You once accused me of being dull in compre- 
 hension." 
 
 " I never did." 
 
 " Well, people do accuse me of that ; nevertheless I 
 am brilliant enough to perceive that this is a transfor- 
 
 230
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 mation scene, and that the dreams which I have in- 
 dulged in regarding our relationship are no longer 
 feasible." 
 
 Hilda clasped her hands and rested her elbows on the 
 wicker table, leaning forward toward me with an ex- 
 pression half quizzical, half pathetic. 
 
 " I never called you dull, Mr. Tremorne " 
 
 " Rupert, if you please." 
 
 " but I did think you slightly original, Rupertus. 
 
 Now, your talk of all this making a great difference is 
 quite along the line of conventional melodrama. I see 
 you are about to wave me aside. ' Rich woman, be- 
 gone,' say you. You are going out into the world, 
 registering a vow that until you can place dollar for 
 dollar on the marriage altar you will shun me. Now I 
 have read that sort of thing ever since I perused ' The 
 Romance of a Poor Young Man,' but I never expected 
 to encounter in real life this haughty, inflexible, poor 
 young man." 
 
 " Rich woman, there are many surprises here below, 
 and of course you cannot avoid your share of them. 
 However, I shall not so haughtily wave you aside until 
 you have answered that important question with a 
 word of three letters rather than one of two. I cannot 
 refuse what is not proffered. So will you kindly put 
 me in a position to enact a haughty poor young man 
 by saying definitely whether you will marry me or 
 not?" 
 
 " I reply, * Yes, yes, yes, yes,' and a thousand other 
 yes's, if you wish them. Now, young man, what have 
 you to say ? " 
 
 231
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I have this to say, young woman, that your wealth 
 entirely changes the situation." 
 
 " And I maintain it does n't, not a particle." 
 
 " I will show you how it does. I was poor, and I 
 thought you were poor. Therefore it was my duty, as 
 you remarked, to go out into the world and wring 
 money from somebody. That, luckily, is no longer 
 necessary. Hilda, we may be married this very day. 
 Come, I dare you to consent." 
 
 "Oh!" she cried, dropping her hands to her side 
 and leaning back in her creaking chair, looking criti- 
 cally at me with eyes almost veiled by their long lashes, 
 a kindly smile, however, hovering about her pretty lips, 
 " You are in a hurry, are n't you ? " 
 
 " Yes, you did n't expect to clear the way so effec- 
 tively when you spoke ? " 
 
 Before she could reply we were interrupted by the 
 arrival of Mr. Hemster, who carried a long sealed en- 
 velope in his hand. He gazed affectionately at the girl 
 for a moment or two, then pinched her flushed cheek. 
 
 " Hilda, my dear," he said, " I never saw you look- 
 ing exactly like this before. What have you two been 
 talking about? Something pleasant, I suppose." 
 
 " Yes, we were," replied Hilda pertly ; " we were 
 saying what a nice man Silas K. Hemster is." 
 
 The old gentleman turned his glance toward me with 
 something of shrewd inquiry in it. 
 
 " Hilda," he said slowly, " you must n't believe too 
 much in nice men, young or old. They sometimes 
 prove very disappointing. Especially do I warn you 
 against this confidential secretary of mine. He is the 
 
 232
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 most idiotically impractical person I have ever met. 
 Would you believe it, my dear, that he was to-day of- 
 fered two hundred and fifty thousand dollars if he 
 would merely keep quiet about something he knew 
 which he thought was his duty to tell me, and he was 
 fool enough to refuse the good and useful cash ? " 
 
 " Please tell Miss Stretton, Mr. Hemster, that the 
 good and useful cash bore the ugly name of bribe, and 
 tell her further that you would have refused it your- 
 self." 
 
 " Oh, I don't know about that. I don't want the 
 girl to think me quite in my dotage yet. Such a sum 
 is not picked up so easily every day on the streets of 
 Nagasaki, as I think you found out a while ago." 
 
 " It may be picked up on board a yacht," said Hilda 
 archly, smiling up at him. 
 
 " Ah, you 're getting beyond me now. I don't 
 know what you mean, Hilda," and he pinched her 
 cheek again. 
 
 " And now, Mr. Tremorne, I am sorry to send you 
 away again without lunch, but business must be at- 
 tended to even if we have to subsist on sandwiches. 
 How old a man is this Cammerford ? " 
 
 "About forty, I should think." 
 
 " Does he strike you as a capable individual ? " 
 
 " Naturally he does. He has proved himself to be 
 much more capable than I am." 
 
 " Oh, that 's no recommendation. Well, I want you 
 to take this letter to him ; it is my ultimatum, and you 
 may tell him so. He must either accept or refuse. I 
 shall not dicker or modify my terms. If he accepts, 
 
 233
 
 A' CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 then bring him right over to the yacht with you ; if he 
 refuses, you tell him I will have him wiped out before 
 he can set foot in San Francisco." He handed me the 
 sealed envelope. 
 
 " You see you were in at the beginning of this busi- 
 ness, so I 'd like you to be on hand at the finish. I 'm 
 sorry to make an errand-boy of you, Tremorne, but 
 we are a little distant from the excellent messenger 
 service of Chicago." 
 
 I rose at once, placed the envelope in my inside 
 pocket, and said : 
 
 " I shall do my best, Mr. Hemster, although, as you 
 have remarked, I seem to be little more than a messen- 
 ger-boy in the negotiations." 
 
 " Oh, not at all ; you're ambassador, that's what you 
 are; a highly honourable position, and I feel certain 
 that as you are not particularly fond of Cammerford 
 your manner will go far toward showing him his own 
 insignificance. When he once realizes how powerless 
 he is, we '11 have no further difficulty with him." 
 
 I laughed, received a sweet smile from Hilda and a 
 kindly nod from Hemster, then turned to the gangway 
 and was in the ever-ready naptha launch a moment 
 later. 
 
 Cammerford was not expecting me, so I had to 
 search for him, and at last ran him down at the equiva- 
 lent of the American bar which Nagasaki possesses for 
 the elimination of loneliness from the children of the 
 Spread Eagle. 
 
 " Have a drink with me, Tremorne," cried Cammer- 
 ford, as genially as if we were the oldest possible 
 friends.
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Thanks, no ! " I replied. " I 'd sooner meet the 
 muzzle of a revolver than imbibe the alleged Ameri- 
 can drinks they furnish at this place. You see, I know 
 the town ; besides, I 've come on business." 
 
 " Ah, is the old man going to see me, then ? " 
 
 " That will depend on your answer to his letter 
 which I have here in my pocket. May I suggest an 
 adjournment to your rooms in the hotel ? " 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," muttered Cammerford hast- 
 ily, evidently all aquiver with excitement and anxiety. 
 
 When we reached his apartments he thrust out his 
 hand eagerly for the letter, which I gave to him. He 
 ripped it open on the instant, and, standing by the win- 
 dow, read it through to the end, then, tossing it on the 
 table, he threw back his head and gave utterance to a 
 peal of laughter which had an undercurrent of relief 
 in it. 
 
 " I was to tell you," said I, as soon as I could make 
 myself heard, " that this document is by way of being 
 an ultimatum, and if you do not see fit to accept it " 
 
 " Oh, that 's all right, my dear boy," he cried, inter- 
 rupting me. " Accept it ? Of course I do, but first I 
 must tender an abject apology to you." 
 
 " There is no necessity, Mr. Cammerford," I pro- 
 tested, " I hope that is not a proviso in the communi- 
 cation ? " 
 
 " No, my dear boy, it is not. I offer the apology 
 most sincerely on my own initiative. Actually I took 
 you for a fool, but you are a damned sight shrewder 
 man than I am. I told you when you were here that I 
 could not get on to your game, but now I see it straight 
 
 235
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 as a string, and I wonder I was such a chump as not to 
 suspect it before. Tremorne, you 're a genius. Of 
 course your proper way of working was through the 
 old man with that cursed high-bred air of honesty 
 which you can assume better than any one I ever met. 
 That kind of thing was bound to appeal to the old man 
 because he 's such an unmitigated rogue himself. Yes, 
 my dear boy, you 've played your cards well, and I 
 congratulate you." i 
 
 " I have n't the least idea what you are driving at," 
 I said. 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me you don't know what is in 
 this letter?" 
 
 " The letter was delivered to me sealed, and I have 
 delivered it sealed to you. I have no more notion what 
 it contains than you had before I handed it to you." 
 
 "Is that really a fact? Well, Tremorne, you 're a 
 constant puzzle and delight to me. This world would 
 be a less interesting place if you were out of it. It is 
 an ever-recurring problem to me whether you 're deep 
 or shallow ; but if you are shallow I '11 say this, that it 
 cuts more ice than depth would do. Well, just cast 
 your eyes over the last paragraph in that letter." He 
 tossed across the final sheet to me, and I read as 
 follows : 
 
 " The condition under which I shall treat with you is this : 
 You will place at once in the Bank of Japan, to the order of 
 Rupert Tremorne, the five hundred thousand dollars you bor- 
 rowed from him, together with interest compounded for three I' 
 years at six per cent. If, as is likely, you are not in a position to 
 hand over such a sum, you may pay half the amount into the 
 Bank of Japan here, and cable to have the other half similarly 
 
 236
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 placed in the First National Bank of Chicago. The moment 
 I receive cable advice from my confidential man of business in 
 Chicago that the money is in the bank there, or the moment 
 you show me the whole amount is in the bank here, I shall 
 carry out the promises I have made in the body of this letter. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " SILAS K. HEMSTER." 
 
 The look of astonishment that doubtless came into 
 my face must have appeared genuine to Cammerford as 
 he watched me keenly across the table. I handed the 
 letter back to him. 
 
 " I assure you I know nothing of this proviso." 
 
 " In that case," said Cammerford airily, " I hope 
 you will have no objection to paying me back the 
 money when once you have received it. I trust that 
 your silk-stockinged idea of strict honesty will impel 
 you toward the course I have suggested." 
 
 " I am very sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Cammer- 
 ford, but circumstances have changed since I saw you 
 last, and, if you don't mind, I '11 keep the money." 
 
 Cammerford laughed heartily; he was in riotous 
 good humour, and I suppose his compensation in this 
 trust-forming business would be so enormous that the 
 amount paid into the bank seemed trifling by com- 
 parison. 
 
 " I should be glad," said I, rising, " if you would 
 pen a few words to Mr. Hemster accepting or declining 
 his offer." 
 
 " Of course I will, dear boy," he replied, taking the 
 latest pattern of fountain pen from his waistcoat pocket ; 
 *' you are the most courteous of messengers, and I shall 
 
 237
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 not keep you two shakes." Whereupon he rapidly 
 scrawled a note, blotted it, sealed it, and handed it 
 to me. 
 
 He arose and accompanied me to the door, placing 
 me under some temporary inconvenience by slapping 
 me boisterously on the shoulder. 
 
 " Tremorne, old man, you 're a brick, and a right- 
 down deep one after all. I 'm ever so much obliged 
 to you for lending me your money, although I did not 
 think it would be recalled so soon, and I did not expect 
 the interest to be so heavy. Still, I needed it at the 
 time, and put it where it has done the most good. So 
 long, old fellow. You will imagine yourself a rich 
 man to-morrow." 
 
 " I imagine myself a rich man to-day, Mr. Cam- 
 merford." 
 
 238
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 ON reaching the yacht I went directly to the old 
 gentleman's office and handed him Cam- 
 merford's letter, which he tore open, read, 
 and tossed on the desk. 
 
 " Mr. Hemster," said I, while an emotion which I 
 had not suspected myself of possessing caused my 
 voice to tremble a little ; " Mr. Hemster, I don't know 
 how I can thank you for what you have done for me 
 to-day." 
 
 "Oh, that 's all right, that 's all right!" he said 
 gruffly, as if the reference annoyed him. " What you 
 need is a guardian." 
 
 " I think," said I, " I have secured one." 
 
 The old gentleman glanced up at me quickly. 
 
 " Is that so? Well, if the land lays as I have sus- 
 pected, I congratulate you. Yes, and I congratulate 
 Hilda also. As for a guardian, you have chosen a good 
 one, and now don't begin to thank me over again, but 
 go and tell her all about it." 
 
 Thus dismissed, I went to the saloon, and there 
 found the lady of whom I was in search, and per- 
 suaded her to come up on deck with me. In spite of 
 the vexatious interruption to which we had been forced 
 to submit at this spot, I had become attached to the 
 locality of the two chairs and the wicker table. 
 
 239
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I like this place," said I, " for its associations, and 
 yet I am certain, the moment we begin to talk, Mr. 
 Hemster will order me overboard, or his daughter will 
 tell you to go down below." 
 
 " There is no immediate danger," answered Hilda. 
 " Mr. Hemster is busy, and his daughter has not re- 
 turned from Nagasaki; I suspect, however, that you 
 should be down in the office helping your chief, rather 
 than up here frivolously gossiping with me." 
 
 " I am obeying orders in being up here. My chief, 
 as you call him, told me to search you out and tell you 
 all about it." 
 
 "All about what?" 
 
 " Did you tell Mr. Hemster anything of our conver- 
 sation after I left?" 
 
 " Not a word. Poor dear, his mind was occupied 
 with other matters. He talked about you, and fished, 
 in, oh, such an awkward way, to find out what I 
 thought of you. He gave me much good counsel 
 which I shall ever treasure, and he warned me to be- 
 ware of fascinating young men, and not allow myself 
 to become too deeply interested. Indeed I yearned to 
 let him know that his caution was already too late ; 
 but, not being sure whether that would ease his mind 
 or cause it greater anxiety, I held my peace. I wish 
 you would tell him. Perhaps I should do it myself, 
 but I cannot find the exact words, I am afraid." 
 
 " I '11 tell him with great pleasure. No, to be honest, 
 I have already told him." 
 
 " Really, and what did he say ? " 
 
 " Oh, he said I needed a guardian, and I informed 
 240
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 him I had already secured one. He twigged the situa- 
 tion in a moment, congratulated me on my choice, and 
 ordered me to come and tell you all about it." 
 
 " Tell me all about what ? I 've asked you that be- 
 fore." 
 
 " Why, about the money with which we are to start 
 housekeeping. Mr. Hemster estimates that it will 
 amount to something more than half a million." 
 
 Hilda sat back in her chair with a remote resem- 
 blance to a frown on her pretty brow. 
 
 " That was what you were discussing with Mr. 
 Hemster, was it ? " she said primly. 
 
 " Of course. Don't you think it most important?" 
 
 " I suppose it is." 
 
 " He certainly thought so, and looked on me as very 
 fortunate coming into such a tidy sum so easily." 
 
 "Easily! Did he, indeed?" 
 
 " Yes, he 's awfully pleased about it, and so am I." 
 
 " I am delighted to hear it." 
 
 " He said you would be, and he regards me as more 
 than lucky, which, to tell the truth, I acknowledge that 
 I am. You see it was such a complete surprise. I 
 had n't expected anything at all, and to find myself 
 suddenly the possessor of such a sum, all because of a 
 few words, seemed almost too good to be true." 
 
 Hilda was leaning back in her chair; there was no 
 question about the frown now, which was visible 
 enough, and, as I prattled on, the displeasure in her 
 speaking eyes became deeper and deeper. 
 
 " All because of a few words ! " she murmured, as if 
 talking to herself. 
 
 241
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Certainly. Plain, simple, straightforward words, 
 yet look what an effect they had. They practically 
 make me an independent man, even rich, as I should 
 count riches, although I suppose Mr. Hemster 
 would n't consider the amount very important." 
 
 " Probably not, but you seem to look upon the 
 amount as very, very important, even of paramount 
 importance, I should say." 
 
 " Oh, not of paramount importance, of course, but 
 nevertheless I shall always regard this day as the most 
 fortunate of my life." 
 
 " Really ? Because of the money, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Now, Hilda," I protested, " you must admit that 
 money is exceedingly necessary." 
 
 " I do admit it. So Mr. Hemster was more pleased 
 about your getting the money than anything else ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don't say that, but he certainly was de- 
 lighted with my luck, and what true friend would n't 
 be? I am sure my people at home will be overjoyed 
 when they hear the news." 
 
 "Because of the money?" reiterated Hilda, with 
 more of irritation in her tone than I had ever heard 
 there before. 
 
 " Why not ? Such a lump of gold is not won every 
 day." 
 
 " By a few simple words," suggested Hilda tartly. 
 
 " Exactly. If you choose the psychological moment 
 and use the right words they form a great combination, 
 I can tell you, and success is sure to follow." 
 
 " Deserving man ! I think those that called you a 
 fool were mistaken, don't you ? " 
 
 242
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Yes, I rather imagine they are; and in fact that has 
 been admitted." 
 
 " So you and Mr. Hemster have been discussing 
 this money question down in your office ? " 
 
 " Yes, at first, of course. I began about the money 
 at once, and thanked him sincerely for what he had 
 done." 
 
 " You were quite right ; if it had not been for him 
 there would have been no money to make you so jubi- 
 lant." 
 
 " That 's exactly what I told him. ' Mr. Hemster,' 
 said I, ' if it had not been for your action I should never 
 have got a penny. ' ' 
 
 " Well," said Hilda, with a little break in her voice 
 that went right to my heart and made me ashamed of 
 myself, while the moisture gathered in her eyes, " and 
 so you and Mr. Hemster at last got to me, and began 
 to discuss me after the money question had been ex- 
 hausted. Really, I suppose I should be thankful to 
 have received so much attention. I wish I had known 
 that gold occupied so large a space in your thoughts, 
 and then I should have entered more accurately into 
 particulars. I told you the amount was two or three 
 times the face value of the stock, but it is what you say, 
 over half a million, and now if you don't mind I shall, 
 go downstairs for a while." 
 
 " I do mind. I want to speak to you, Hilda." 
 
 " I would rather not talk any more just now. If you 
 are wise you will say nothing until I have had time to 
 think it all over." 
 
 " But I never claimed to be wise, Hilda. Sit down 
 
 243
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 again, I beg of you. Indeed you must, I shall not let 
 you go at this juncture." 
 
 The flash in her eyes chased away the mist that had 
 veiled them. 
 
 " Sir," she cried, " you are only making matters 
 worse. If you have any care for me, say no more 
 until I see you again." 
 
 " Hilda," said I, " I can make it all right with you 
 in five minutes. What will you bet ? " 
 
 " If you are jesting, I am tired of it. Can't you see 
 I don't want to talk. Don't you understand you have 
 said enough ? Do be content. I wish I had n't a 
 penny of money, and that I had never told you." 
 
 I now became aware that I was on the horns of a 
 dilemma ; I had gone too far, as a stupid man will who 
 thinks he is on the track of a joke. The dear girl was 
 on the verge of tears, and I saw that if I suddenly pro- 
 claimed the jest her sorrow would turn into anger 
 against me, and my last state might be worse than my 
 first. I had got this joke by the tail, and the whole 
 dilemma arose through not knowing whether it was 
 safer to hang on or let go. I quickly decided to hang 
 / on. I trusted to escape by reason of our national repu- 
 tation for unreadiness, and determined to stand to my 
 guns and proclaim that all along I had been speaking 
 of my own fortune and not of hers. My obtuseness 
 she would pity and forgive, but ill-timed levity and 
 trifling with her most cherished feelings on this day 
 of all others might produce consequences I dared not 
 face. 
 
 " Hilda," I said, with what dignity I could bring to 
 244
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 my command, " you actually seem sorry at my good 
 fortune. I assure you I expected you would rejoice 
 with me. When I spoke to you this morning I was to 
 all intents and purposes a penniless man, and yet, as 
 Mr. Hemster himself informed you, I had but an hour 
 before refused two hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
 as a bribe. That money was but half of the fortune 
 which this man Cammerford had previously looted 
 from me. Now, through a few simple words in the 
 letter Mr. Hemster wrote to him, this man is going to 
 refund the whole half million, with interest for three 
 years at six per cent. Therefore, my darling, imagine 
 the delight with which I learned of this great stroke 
 of good luck. No living person could assert here or 
 hereafter that I was an impecunious fortune-hunter, 
 although equally, of course, no person could have con- 
 vinced you that your money weighed a particle with 
 me when I asked you to honour me as you have done. 
 And now, really perhaps I am too sensitive, but it seems 
 to me that you do not take the news so kindly as I had 
 expected." 
 
 She swayed a moment, then sank helplessly down 
 into the armchair again. 
 
 " Rupert," she said, looking across at me with a 
 puzzled pathos in her eyes that made me ashamed of 
 myself; "Rupert, what are you talking about? Or 
 am I dreaming? What half million is this you are 
 referring to? I told you that my fortune was two or 
 three times the hundred thousand, but I supposed you 
 had found out its real value. Now you seem to have 
 been speaking of something else." 
 
 245
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Hilda," I cried, with a horror that I hope was well 
 simulated, Lord forgive me for the necessity of 
 using it, " Hilda, you never supposed for a moment 
 that I was referring to your money ? " 
 
 Her troubled face seemed fixed on something in- 
 tangible in the distance, as if her mind were trying 
 to recall our conversation, that she might find some 
 point in what I had said to account for the mistake she 
 supposed herself to have made. The double meaning 
 of my words was apparent enough, but of course every 
 sentence I had uttered applied to her money equally 
 well with my own. Now that enlightenment had come, 
 her supposed error became obtrusively plain to her. 
 She turned her puzzled face to me, and her expression 
 melted into one of great tenderness as she reached for- 
 ward her two hands and laid her palms on the back of 
 mine, which rested on the wicker table. 
 
 " Rupert," she said in a low voice, " will you for- 
 give me? I have deeply misjudged you." 
 
 " Hilda," said I, " would you have forgiven me if I 
 had been in the wrong ? " 
 
 " I would, I would, I would," she cried, and it was 
 plain that she meant it, yet I did not dare to risk a full 
 confession. What brutes we men are after all, and 
 how much we stand in need of forgiveness every day 
 of our lives ! 
 
 " Tell me all about this newly found treasure," she 
 said, and now I launched out on fresh ground once 
 more, resolving never to get on such thin ice again 
 after so narrow an escape. As we talked, the inde- 
 fatigable little naphtha launch came alongside, and 
 
 246
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Gertrude Hemster appeared at the gangway, followed 
 by her miniature Countess. Miss Hemster was good 
 enough to ignore us entirely, and, after a few words to 
 her new companion, disappeared down the companion- 
 way. The Countess toddled up to where we sat, and, 
 addressing Hilda, said in her high-keyed Japanese 
 voice : 
 
 " Mees Stretton, the mistress desires your attendance 
 immediately," and with that she toddled away again. 
 Hilda rose at once. 
 
 " Don't go," I commanded ; but she smiled, and held 
 out her hand to me. 
 
 " Is n't it funny," she said ; " you and I together 
 are equal to one millionaire, yet we have to dance at- 
 tendance when called upon, but, unlike others in bond- 
 age, we don't need to cry, ' How long, O Lord ! how 
 long? ' do we? " 
 
 " Not on your life, Hilda, as they say in the Wild 
 West. The day of jubilee is a-coming my dear," and, 
 in spite of her trying to slip away, I put my arm around 
 her and drew her toward me. 
 
 " Oh, the captain is looking at us," she whispered 
 in alarm. 
 
 " The captain is a good friend of ours, and has done 
 
 the same in his time, I dare say," and with that I . 
 
 Hilda swung herself free and fled, red as a rose. On 
 glancing up at the bridge I noticed that the captain 
 had suddenly turned his back on us. I always did like 
 that rough man from Cape Cod, who would haunt the 
 bridge during his waking hours whether the ship had 
 steam up or not. 
 
 247
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 NEXT day was the most eventful I had spent 
 on the yacht in spite of all that had gone 
 before, for a few moments were filled with 
 a peril which we escaped, as one might say, by a 
 miracle, or more accurately by the prompt and ener- 
 getic action of a capable man whom I shall always re- 
 gard with deep affection. If Cape Cod has turned out 
 many like him, it is a notable section of a great 
 country. 
 
 Somewhat early in the morning I paid my third visit 
 to the Nagasaki Hotel and brought John C. Cammer- 
 ford with me to the yacht. He told me he had placed 
 the full amount to my credit in the Bank of Japan, and 
 said he did not need to do any cabling to America. Mr. 
 Hemster was closeted with him in his office until the 
 luncheon gong rang, and the amiable Cammerford was 
 a guest at our table, referring to me several times as his 
 old friend, and recounting stories that were more hu- 
 mourous than accurate about my adventures with him 
 in the Adirondack Mountains and the fishing districts 
 of Canada. I gathered that all the stories he had ever 
 heard of Englishmen he now fastened on me, relating 
 them with great gusto as having come within his own 
 cognizance. Therefore I was delighted to be able to 
 inform him that one of his anecdotes had appeared in 
 
 248
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Punch in the year 1854, which he promptly denied, 
 whereupon I proposed a modest little wager that was 
 accepted by him under the supposition that I could not 
 prove my assertion. But we happened to have in the 
 library two volumes of Punch for that year, which I 
 had frequently thumbed over, and I now confounded 
 him by their production. I don't think he minded the 
 money so much as the slight cast on what he supposed 
 to be a genuine American joke. About three o'clock 
 the good man left us in a high state of exultation, car- 
 ried away by the useful naphtha launch. 
 
 We were all on deck about four o'clock in the after- 
 noon when the event happened to which I have re- 
 ferred. Hilda and I were sitting in our chairs by the 
 wicker table, quite boldly in the face of all, for our 
 engagement was now public property. Gertrude Hem- 
 ster and the little Japanese noblewoman were walking 
 up and down the other side of the deck, and from the 
 snatches of conversation wafted to us it really seemed 
 as if Miss Hemster were learning Japanese. She had 
 passed the ignoring phase so far as I was concerned, 
 and had reached the stage of the icily polite and 
 scrupulously courteous high dame, so that I quite looked 
 forward to an intimate interview with her later on if 
 this change continued. The old gentleman occupied 
 his customary armchair with his feet on the rail, and 
 it is a marvellous thing to record that during all the 
 excitement he never shifted his position. He said 
 afterward that it was the captain's duty to deal with 
 the crisis, and he had absolute confidence in the cap- 
 This confidence was not misplaced. 
 
 249
 
 'A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 The harbor of Nagasaki is usually crowded with 
 shipping, and steamers are continually arriving or de- 
 parting, consequently they attract but little attention, 
 for they are generally capably managed. Of course 
 a yacht swinging at anchor with no steam up is abso- 
 lutely helpless if some vessel under way bears down 
 upon her. We were lying broadside on to Nagasaki. 
 I was so absorbed in my conversation with Hilda that 
 I did not notice our danger until the captain put 
 a megaphone to his lips and vehemently hailed an on- 
 coming steamer. Looking up, I saw a huge, black, 
 clumsy craft steaming right down upon us, and knew 
 in a moment that if she did not deflect her course she 
 would cut us in two amidships. The captain, who 
 recognized the nationality of the vessel, although I did 
 not, roared down to me : 
 
 " What is the Chinese for ' Sheer off ? '" 
 I sprang to my feet. " Fling me the megaphone," 
 I cried. He instantly heaved it down to me, and a 
 moment later I was roaring through it a warning to 
 the approaching steamer. But to this not the slightest 
 attention was paid, nor indeed could I see anyone 
 aboard. The black brute came on as if she were an 
 abandoned ship without captain or crew. She appeared 
 to grow up out of the waters ; looming tremendous in 
 size above us, and it did seem as if nothing under Heav- 
 en could save us. However, good luck and the re- 
 sources of our captain did that very thing. The good 
 luck assumed the shape of a tug which came tearing 
 past our stern. The captain by this time was on deck 
 with a coil of rope with a bowline on its end. Not a 
 
 250
 
 I sprang forward and caught her." 
 
 Page 25 1
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 word did he say to the flying tug, but he swung the rope 
 so unerringly that the loop came down like a flying 
 quoit right on the sternpost of the little vessel. In a 
 flash the captain had the end he held twisted twice 
 around a huge iron cleat at our side. 
 
 " Lie down, you women, at once," he roared, bracing 
 his feet against the cleat and hanging back upon the 
 end of the rope. 
 
 Hilda obeyed instantly, but Miss Hemster, with the 
 Countess clinging to her, stood dazed, while I sprang 
 forward and caught her, breaking the fall as much as 
 was possible, all three of us coming down in a heap 
 with myself underneath. The rope had tightened like 
 a rod, and had either to break, jerk the tug backward 
 out of the water, or swing us around, which latter it 
 did, taking the yacht from under us with a suddenness 
 that instantly overcame all equilibrium, and in a jiffy 
 we were at right angles to our former position, while 
 the black hulk scraped harmlessly along our side. 
 Even now no one appeared on the deck of the Chinese 
 steamer, but after running a hundred yards nearer the 
 city she slowly swerved around, heading outward 
 again, and I thought she was about to escape ; but in- 
 stead of that she came to a standstill a quarter of a 
 mile or so from our position and there coolly dropped 
 anchor. 
 
 I helped the ladies to their feet again, inquiring if 
 they were hurt, and Miss Hemster replied with a sweet 
 smile that, thanks to me, she was not. The Countess 
 showed signs of hysterics with which I could not deal, 
 therefore I turned my attention to Hilda, who by this 
 
 251
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 time had scrambled up, looking rather pale and fright- 
 ened. Mr. Hemsters chair had been swung with a 
 crash against the bulwarks, and he had been compelled 
 to take his feet down from the rail, but beyond that he 
 kept his old position, chewing industriously at his unlit 
 cigar. The captain was in a ludicrously pitiable posi- 
 tion because of a red-hot Cape Cod rage and his in- 
 ability to relieve his feelings by swearing on account 
 of the ladies being present. Hilda noticed this and 
 cried with a little quivering laugh : 
 
 " Don't mind us. captain ; say what you want to, 
 and it is quite likely we will agree with you." 
 
 The captain shook his huge fist at the big steamer 
 now rounding to her anchorage. 
 
 " You can say what you please," he shouted ; " that 
 was no accident; it was intended. That damned, 
 I beg your pardon, ladies, that chap tried to run us 
 down, and I '11 have the law of him, dod-blast-him, 
 excuse me, ladies, if there 's any law in this God- 
 forsaken hole ! " 
 
 Mr. Hemster very calmly shoved his chair back to 
 its former position, and put his feet once more on the 
 rail, then he beckoned to the captain, and when that 
 angry hero reached his side he said imperturbably, as 
 if nothing had happened: 
 
 " Captain, there 's no use swearing. Besides, so 
 capable a man as you never needs to swear. In that 
 half minute you earned ten thousand dollars, and I '11 
 make it more if you don't think it enough." 
 
 " Nonsense," protested the captain, " it 's all in the 
 day's work : a lucky throw of the rope, that 's all." 
 
 252
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Now I see that you want to swear at somebody," 
 Mr. Hemster went on, " and suppressed profanity is 
 bad for the system ; so I suppose you '11 prefer to swear 
 at the person mostly to blame. Get into the launch 
 with Mr. Tremorne here, who will translate for you, 
 because our oaths, unlike our gold, are not current in 
 every country. Go over to that black monstrosity ; get 
 aboard of her ; find out what their game is, and swear 
 at whoever is responsible. When we know their ob- 
 ject we can take action, either by law, or by hiring 
 some pirate to run her down and see how she likes it 
 herself. I want to get at the bottom of this business." 
 
 The upshot was that the captain and I got into the 
 naphtha launch and made directly for the Chinese 
 steamer. We went around her twice, but saw not a 
 soul on board, neither was there any ladder alongside 
 by which we could ascend, or even a rope ; so, after 
 calling in vain for them to throw us a line, the captain, 
 with an agility I should not have expected of his years 
 and bulk, caught hold of the anchor-chain and worked 
 himself up over the bow. His head appearing over 
 the rail must have been a stupefying surprise to the 
 crew, whom he found lying flat on their faces on deck. 
 I followed the captain up the anchor-chain route, 
 though in somewhat less effective fashion, until I was 
 at the captain's heels. He had thrown one leg across 
 the rail, when he whipped out a revolver and fired two 
 rapid shots, which were followed by howls of terror. 
 The crew had sprung to their feet and flashed out 
 knives, but his quick revolver-shots stopped the at- 
 tack even before it was rightly begun. We both leaped 
 
 253
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 over the rail to the deck. The cowardly crew were 
 huddled in a heap; no one had been killed, but two 
 were crippled and crawled moaning on the deck; the 
 rest had ceased their outcry and crouched together with 
 that hopeless air of resignation to take stolidly what- 
 ever fate had in store for them, which is characteristic 
 of the lower-class Chinese. They expected instant 
 death and were prepared to meet it with nonchalance. 
 
 " Where is your captain ? " I asked them in their 
 own tongue. 
 
 Several of them made a motion of their head toward 
 a low deck-house aft. 
 
 " Go and bring him," I said to one who seemed 
 rather more intelligent than the rest. He got on his 
 feet and went into the deck-house, presently emerging 
 with a trembling man who admitted he was the captain. 
 
 " What did you mean," I asked him, " by trying to 
 run us down ? " 
 
 He spread out his hands with a gesture that seemed 
 to indicate his helplessness, and maintained that it was 
 all an accident. 
 
 " That is not true," I insisted, but nothing could 
 budge him from his statement that the steering-gear 
 had gone wrong and he had lost control of the ship. 
 
 " Why did n't you stop the engines when you saw 
 where you were going ? " I asked. 
 
 He had become panic-stricken, he said, and so had 
 the crew. The engineer had run up on deck, and there 
 was no one to shut off steam. I knew the man was ly- 
 ing, and told our captain so, whereupon he pressed the 
 muzzle of his revolver against the other's forehead. 
 
 254
 
 " Now question him," he said. 
 
 I did so, but the captain simply relapsed into the con- 
 dition of his crew, and not another word could I get 
 out of him. 
 
 " It 's no use/' I said to our captain, " these people 
 don't mind being shot in the least. You might mas- 
 sacre the whole lot, and yet not get a word of truth out 
 of any one of them previous to their extinction. Never- 
 theless, until you kill them they are in some wholesome 
 fear of firearms, so if you keep the drop on the captain 
 and his men I '11 penetrate this deck-house and see 
 what it contains." 
 
 " I would 'nt do that," said our captain, " they 're 
 treacherous dogs, I imagine, and, while afraid to meet 
 us in broad daylight on deck here, they might prove 
 mighty handy with the knife in the darkness of that 
 shanty. No, send the captain in and order him to 
 bring out all his officers, if he 's got any." 
 
 This seemed practical advice, so, asking our captain 
 to remove his revolver from the other's forehead, I 
 said to the latter : 
 
 " How many officers have you ? " 
 
 He answered that there were five. 
 
 " Very well, go and bring them all out on deck 
 here." 
 
 He gave the order to one of the crew, who went into 
 the deck-house and presently came out with five dis- 
 couraged-looking Chinese ship's officers. There was 
 nothing to be made out of this lot ; they simply stood 
 in a row and glowered at us without answering. 
 Whenever I put a question to them they glanced at the 
 
 255
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 captain, then turned their bovine gaze upon me, but 
 never ondfc'did one of them open his mouth. 
 
 " Now, captain," said I, " I propose that we herd this 
 whole mob, officers and men, into the forecastle. The 
 windlass, anchor-tackle, and all that will impede them, 
 if they endeavour to take concerted action. You stand 
 here on the clear deck with your two revolvers and 
 keep an eye on them. The captain and officers will 
 probably imagine you understand Chinese, too, so they 
 will give no orders. Then I shall penetrate into the 
 deck-house, for I am convinced that we have not yet 
 come upon the responsible man. I don't believe this 
 fellow is the captain at all." 
 
 To all this my comrade agreed, although he still de- 
 murred at my entering the deck-house. I ordered the 
 men forward and then lined the alleged captain and 
 his officers along the rail near them, and, while my cap- 
 tain stood by with a revolver in each hand, I, similarly 
 equipped, went down three steps into the low cabin. 
 It was a dangerous move if there had been anyone of 
 courage within, for there were no windows, and what 
 little light penetrated the place came in through the 
 open door, and that was now largely shut out by the 
 bulk of my body. Knowing that I was rather con- 
 spicuously silhouetted against the outside glare and 
 formed an easy mark for either pistol or knife, I stepped 
 down as quickly as possible and then stood aside. I 
 thought at first the place was empty, but as my eyes 
 became accustomed to the gloom I saw that a bench 
 ran around three walls and in the further corner was a 
 huddled figure which I knew. 
 
 256
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Ah, Excellency Hun Woe ! " I cried, covering him 
 with the revolver, " it is to you then we were to have 
 been indebted for our death." 
 
 The wretch flung himself on his face at my feet, 
 moaning for mercy. A Corean never has the non- 
 chalance of a Chinaman when danger confronts him. 
 
 " Get up from the floor and sit down where you 
 were," I said ; " I want to have some conversation 
 with you." Then I went to the door again and cried 
 to the captain : 
 
 " It 's all right. There is no one here but the Prime 
 Minister of Corea, and I think I begin to see daylight 
 so far as this so-called accident is concerned. I want 
 to have a few minutes' talk with him, so, unless you 
 hear a pistol-shot, everything is going well." 
 
 " Good enough," cried the genial captain, " you play 
 a lone hand for all it 's worth, and I '11 hold up these 
 hoodlums while you pow-wow." 
 
 " Now, Hun Woe," I cried, turning to him, " what 
 is the meaning of this dastardly trick ? " 
 
 " Oh, Excellency," he moaned, " I am the most mis- 
 erable of men." 
 
 " Yes, you are. I admit that, and, furthermore, un- 
 less you tell the truth you are in some danger of your 
 life at this moment." 
 
 " My life," he went on, and I knew he spoke truly 
 enough, " is already forfeited. My family and my 
 kinsmen are all in the hands of the Emperor. Their 
 heads will fall if I do not bring back the white woman 
 whom the Emperor has chosen for his mate." 
 
 " But how in Heaven's name would it have brought 
 
 257
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 back the white woman if you had run us down and 
 drowned us all ? " 
 
 " We have expert swimmers aboard," he said, " div- 
 ers brought for the purpose, who would have saved the 
 white woman, and indeed," he added hurriedly, " would 
 have saved you all, but the white woman we would 
 have brought back with us." 
 
 " What a hairbrained scheme ! " I cried. 
 
 " Yes, Excellency, it is not mine. I but do what I 
 am ordered to do. The Emperor wished to sink the 
 war-vessel of the American King so that he might not 
 invade our coasts." 
 
 " Is it true that the Empress has been murdered ? " 
 
 " Ah, not murdered, Excellency ; she died of a 
 fever." 
 
 " She looked anything but feverish when I saw her 
 the day before," I insisted. 
 
 " We are all in God's hands," said the Prime Minis- 
 ter with a shrug of resignation, " and death sometimes 
 comes suddenly." 
 
 " It does indeed in Seoul," I commented, whereupon 
 the Prime Minister groaned aloud, thinking probably 
 of his own impending fate and that of his wife, chil- 
 dren, and kinsfolk. 
 
 " Excellency," he went on with the courage of des- 
 peration, " it is all your fault. If you had not brought 
 that creature to Seoul, I would have been a happy man 
 to-day. I have always been your friend, and it is said 
 your country stands by its friends ; but that, I fear, is 
 not true. You can help me now, but perhaps you will 
 not do it." 
 
 258
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " I admit it is largely my fault, although, like your- 
 self, I was merely the Prime Minister on our side of 
 the affair. Nevertheless, if there is anything I can do 
 to help you, Hun Woe, I shall be very glad to do 
 it." 
 
 He brightened up perceptibly at this, and said 
 eagerly, as if to give further spur to my inclination : 
 
 "If you do, I will make you a rich man, Excel- 
 lency." 
 
 Nothing showed the desperate nature of his case 
 more conclusively than this offer of money, which is 
 always a Corean's very last card. 
 
 " I do not want a single sek from you, Hun Woe ; 
 in fact I am willing to give away many thousands of 
 them if it will aid you. Tell me what I can do for you. 
 I will even go so far as to return with you to Seoul and 
 beg or bribe the Emperor's clemency." 
 
 " That would indeed be useless," demurred the 
 Prime Minister ; " His Majesty would promise you any- 
 thing and take what money you liked to give him ; but 
 my body would be dismembered as soon as you were 
 gone, and all my kinsfolk killed or sent to slavery." 
 
 I knew this to be an accurate presentation of the 
 case. 
 
 " What, then, can I do for you ? " I asked. 
 
 He lowered his voice, his little eyes glittering. 
 
 " There is but one thing to do, and that is to get the 
 white woman on board this ship." 
 
 " To kidnap her ? That is impossible ; you cannot 
 do it here in Japan, and you could not do it even if 
 the ship were lying in Chemulpo roadstead. It is a 
 
 259
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 dream of foolishness, and if your Emperor had any 
 sense he would know it could not be done." 
 
 " Then," wailed Hun Woe, " my line is extinguished, 
 and the deaths of myself and of my relatives lie at your 
 door, who brought the accursed white woman to 
 Seoul." 
 
 His lamentations disturbed me deeply, because, for a 
 wonder, he spoke the truth. 
 
 " I '11 tell you what I will do, Hun Woe, which will 
 be far more effective than your ridiculous project of 
 kidnapping the young lady. Has not your Emperor 
 the sense to see, or have you not the courage to tell him, 
 that if you succeeded in getting Miss Hemster to Seoul 
 you would bring down on yourselves the whole force 
 of America, and probably of England as well ? Either 
 country could blot Seoul, Palace and all, off the face 
 of the earth within half an hour of surrounding it, and 
 they would do it, too, if needs be. You know I speak 
 the truth ; why did you not explain this to the Em- 
 peror ? " 
 
 " His Majesty would not believe me ; his Majesty 
 cares for nothing but the white woman ; so any other 
 plan but that of getting her is useless." 
 
 " No, it is n't. So far as you are concerned, Hun 
 Woe, it would be useless for me to appeal to either the 
 English or the American authorities. They will never 
 interfere unless one of their own citizens is in jeopardy, 
 but I can trust the Japanese. I am sure Mr. Hemster 
 will lend me his yacht, and I will take a party of fear- 
 less Japanese with me to the capital and to the Palace. 
 There will be no trouble. I shall return with your 
 
 260
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 family and your kinsmen, escort them down to Che- 
 mulpo, and I shall deliver them to you here in Naga- 
 saki. So long as you remain in Nagasaki you are 
 safe." 
 
 This brave offer brought no consolation to the Prime 
 Minister of Corea: he shook his head dolefully, and 
 told me what I already knew, that a man who fled from 
 Corea to Nagasaki had been nearly murdered here by 
 Coreans, then, thinking himself more safe under the 
 British flag, he had escaped to Shanghai, where he was 
 followed and killed in cold blood, his mutilated remains 
 being taken to Seoul, and there exhibited. All his 
 relatives and his family had already preceded him into 
 the unknown. 
 
 " Nothing will suffice," groaned the Prime Minister, 
 " but the white woman, may curses alight on her 
 head ! " 
 
 " Do not be so downhearted ; my scheme is quite 
 practicable, while yours is not. Mr. Hemster is the 
 most generous of men, and I am certain he will see you 
 and your family safe across the Pacific to the United 
 States, and there I will guarantee no Corean will ever 
 follow you. You have money enough if you can get 
 your hands on it. Perhaps you have some here with 
 you now." 
 
 " Yes," he replied simply, " I have my whole fortune 
 on board this ship." 
 
 ''' There you are. I see you did not intend to return 
 to Corea if you could not get the white woman." 
 
 " It was not that. I brought my fortune to give it 
 away in bribes." 
 
 261
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " And that 's why you offered me a bribe ? " 
 
 " Yes, Excellency," he replied with childlike can- 
 dour. 
 
 " Well, Hun Woe, take my advice. I think I shall 
 be able to get you all clear away. You are in com- 
 mand here, and these Chinese would rather die than 
 split on you, so perhaps, instead of taking Mr. Hem- 
 ster's yacht, we had better stick to this vessel, and I 
 will bring my band of Japanese aboard. However, 
 keep up your courage until I have seen Mr. Hemster, 
 and then I will let you know what I am prepared to 
 do. As this ship is now empty you had better spend 
 your time and money in Nagasaki rilling her with coal. 
 We will go to Corea, get your family and relatives 
 aboard, and then you can sail direct for San Francisco. 
 It is a wild project, but with a little courage I make 
 no doubt it can be carried out, and if you have n't 
 money enough I can help you. Indeed, now that I 
 have considered the matter, I shall not ask Mr. Hem- 
 ster for his yacht at all. This ship is the very thing. 
 All you need is plenty of coal and plenty of provisions, 
 and these you can get at Nagasaki without attracting 
 the least attention. Mr. Hemster could not accommo- 
 date you all on his yacht even if he consented to do so. 
 Yes, cheer up, my plan is quite feasible, while yours is 
 impossible of execution. You can no more get the 
 girl than you can get the moon for the Emperor of 
 Corea." 
 
 So, telling the Prime Minister that I would call upon 
 him next day and discuss particulars, I left him there, 
 asked the captain to release the patient crew and their 
 
 262
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 officers, threw a rope ladder down the side, and so 
 descended to our waiting naphtha launch, the crew 
 of which had been rather anxious at the long silence 
 following the two rapid shots; but they had obeyed 
 orders and stood by without attempting to board. 
 
 263
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 SILAS HEMSTER was sitting in his wickei 
 chair on deck just as I had left him, so I drew 
 up another chair beside him and sat down to 
 give him my report. He listened to the end without 
 comment. 
 
 "What a darned-fool scheme," he said at last. "There 
 was n't one chance in a thousand of those chumps pick- 
 ing any of us out alive if they had once destroyed the 
 yacht. Do you think they will attempt it again ? " 
 
 " Well, it seems as if I had discouraged old Hun 
 Woe, but a person never can tell how the Oriental 
 mind works. He stated that the precious plan eman- 
 ated from the Emperor, who wished at a blow to de- 
 stroy your fleet, as it were, and capture your daughter ; 
 but it is more than likely the scheme was concocted in 
 his own brain. He is just silly enough to have con- 
 trived it, but I rather imagine our good captain over- 
 awed the officers and crew to such an extent that they 
 may be chary of attempting such an outrage again. 
 When two of us had no difficulty in holding up the 
 whole company, they may fear an attack from our en- 
 tire crew. Still, as I have said, no one can tell what 
 these people will do or not do. The Prime Minister 
 himself, of course, is in a bad way, and I should like 
 to enable him to escape if I could." 
 
 264
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " You intend, then, to carry out the project you out- 
 lined to him ? " 
 
 " I certainly do, with your permission." 
 
 " Well, not to flatter you, Tremorne, I think your 
 invasion of Corea at the head of a band of Japanese is 
 quite as foolhardy as his attempt to run down the 
 yacht." 
 
 " Oh, no, Mr. Hemster ; the Coreans are a bad peo- 
 ple to run away from, but if you face them boldly you 
 get what you want. They call it the Hermit King- 
 dom, but I should call it the Coward Kingdom. A 
 squad of determined little Japs would put the whole 
 country to flight." 
 
 " Well, you can do as you like, and I '11 help you all 
 I 'm able. Of course you 're not responsible for the 
 plight of the Prime Minister; I 'm the cause of the 
 mix-up, and if you want the yacht you just take it, and 
 I '11 stay here in Nagasaki with the womenfolk till you 
 return ; but if I had my way I 'd clear out of this sec- 
 tion of the country altogether." 
 
 " Why not do so, Mr. Hemster. I have entirely 
 given up the notion of taking the yacht, because the 
 Chinese steamer will be much less conspicuous and will 
 cause less talk in Chemulpo than the coming back of 
 the yacht. Of course the Emperor will have spies 
 down at the port, and it will seem to them perfectly 
 natural for the black ship to return. Meanwhile, be- 
 fore his Majesty knows what has happened, I shall be 
 up in Seoul and in the Palace with my Japanese, and 
 I think I shall succeed in terrorizing the old boy to such 
 an extent that in less than ten minutes we shall be 
 
 265
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 marching back again with Hun Woe's whole family 
 and troop of relatives. ' Once aboard the lugger ' they 
 are safe, for Corea has no ship to overtake them, and 
 the whole thing will be done so suddenly that the Chi- 
 nese steamer will be half-way across the Pacific, or the 
 whole way to Shanghai, before the Coreans have made 
 up their minds what to do. I shall leave with the 
 ship, and have them drop me at Nagasaki or Shanghai, 
 or whatever port we conclude to make for. Then I 
 can rejoin the yacht at any port we agree upon." 
 
 " You appear to think you '11 have no trouble with 
 your expedition, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, not the slightest." 
 
 " Well, you know, we had trouble enough with 
 ours." 
 
 " Yes, but this is a mere dash of twenty-six miles 
 there and twenty-six miles back. We ought to be able 
 to do it within a day and a night, and if old Hun Woe 
 attends rightly to his coaling and his provisioning, all 
 Corea cannot stop him. I think he is badly enough 
 frightened not to omit any details that make for his 
 safety." 
 
 " Very well, we '11 stay right here till you return. I 
 suppose that old Chinese tub will take some time worry- 
 ing her way to Corea and back again, although I '11 
 confess she seemed to come on like a prairie fire when 
 she was heading for us. Now I guess everybody is 
 just a little tired of life on shipboard. I 've noticed 
 that when a lot of people are cooped up together for a 
 while things don't run on as smoothly as they might 
 sometimes, so I '11 hire a floor in the principal hotel 
 
 266
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 here and live ashore until we see your Chinese steamer 
 come into the harbour again. I suppose the captain will 
 prefer to live on the yacht, but the rest of us will sam- 
 ple hotel life. I 'm rather yearning for a change my- 
 self ; besides I think my daughter would be safer ashore 
 than on board here, for one can't tell, as you said, what 
 these hoodlums may attempt ; and as long as they 're 
 convinced she 's on the yacht we 're in constant danger 
 of being run down, or torpedoed, or something. Now, 
 you would n't mind telling my daughter what you 've 
 told me about the intentions of this here Prime Minis- 
 ter ? She 's rather fond of wandering around town 
 alone, and I guess she 'd better know that until this 
 Chinese steamer sails away she is in some danger." 
 
 " I suggest that she should n't go sightseeing or 
 shopping without an escort, Mr. Hemster." 
 
 " Well, a good deal will depend on what Gertie 
 thinks herself, as perhaps you have found out while 
 you 've been with us." 
 
 He sent for his daughter, and I placed a third chair 
 for the girl when she arrived. She listened with great 
 interest to my narration of the events on board the 
 Chinese steamer, and I added my warning that it was 
 advisable for her not to desert the frequented parts of 
 Nagasaki, and never to make any expedition through 
 the town without one or more masculine persons to 
 protect her. She tossed her head as I said this, and 
 replied rather cuttingly: 
 
 " I guess I 'm able to take care of myself." 
 
 I should have had sense enough to let it go at that, 
 but I was much better aware of her peril then even her 
 
 267
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 father was, for I knew Nagasaki like a well-thumbed 
 book; so I said it was a regular labyrinth into whose 
 mazes even a person intimately acquainted with the 
 town might get lost, and as the Prime Minister had 
 plenty of money at his command, he had the choice of 
 all the outscourings of the nations here along the port, 
 who would murder or kidnap without a qualm for a 
 very small sum of ready cash. 
 
 " There is no use in saying anything more, Mr. Tre- 
 morne," put in her father, definitely ; " I '11 see to it 
 that my daughter does not go abroad unprotected." 
 
 " Well, Poppa," she cried, " I like the hotel idea first 
 rate, and I 'm going there right away; but I want a 
 suite of rooms to myself. I 'm not coming down to the 
 public table, and I wish to have the Countess and my 
 own maid with me and no one else." 
 
 " That 's all right," said her father, " you can have 
 what you like. I '11 buy the whole hotel for you if you 
 want it." 
 
 " No, I just wish a suite of rooms that will be my 
 own ; and I won't have any visitors that I don't invite 
 specially." 
 
 " Won't you allow me to visit you, Gertie ? " asked 
 the old gentleman with a quizzical smile. 
 
 " No, I don't want you or any one else. I 'm just 
 tired of people, that 's what I am. I intended to pro- 
 pose going to the hotel anyhow. I 'm just sick of this 
 yacht, and have a notion to go home in one of the regu- 
 lar steamers. I 'm going right over to the hotel now 
 and pick my own rooms." 
 
 " Just as you please," concurred her father. " Per- 
 268
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 haps Mr. Tremorne will be good enough to escort you 
 there." 
 
 " I have told you that I don't want Mr. Tremorne, 
 or Mr. Hemster, or Mr. Anybody-else. If I must have 
 an escort I '11 take two of the sailors." 
 
 " That will be perfectly satisfactory. Take as many 
 trunks as you want, and secure the best rooms in the 
 hotel." 
 
 Shortly afterward Miss Hemster, with her maid 
 and the Countess, left the yacht in the launch, the 
 mountain of luggage following in another boat. The 
 launch and the boat remained an unconscionably long 
 time at the landing, until even Mr. Hemster became 
 impatient, ordering the captain to signal their return. 
 When, in response to this, they came back, the officer 
 in charge of the launch told Mr. Hemster that his 
 daughter had ordered them to remain until she sent 
 them word whether or not she had secured rooms to 
 her satisfaction at the hotel. Meanwhile she had given 
 the officer a letter to her father, which he now handed 
 to the old gentleman. He read it through two or three 
 times with a puzzled expression on his face, then 
 handed it to me, saying: 
 
 " What do you make of that? " 
 
 The letter ran as follows : 
 
 "DEAR POPPA: 
 
 " I have changed my mind about the hotel, and, not 
 wanting a fuss, said nothing to you before I left. As I told 
 you, I am tired to death of both the yacht and the sea, and I 
 want to get to some place where I need look on neither of 
 them. The Countess, who knows more about Japan than Mr. 
 
 269
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Tremorne thinks he knows, has been kind enough to offer me 
 her country house for a week or two, which is situated eight 
 or nine miles from Nagasaki. I want to see something of high 
 life in Japan, and so may stay perhaps for two weeks; and it' 
 you are really as anxious about my kidnapping as you pretend, 
 you may be quite sure I am safe where I am going, much 
 more so than if I had stayed at the hotel at Nagasaki. I don't 
 believe there 's any danger at all, but think Mr. Tremorne 
 wants to impress you with a feeling of his great usefulness, 
 and you may tell him I said so if you like. Perhaps I shall tire 
 of the place where I am going in two or three days ; it is more 
 than likely. Anyhow, I want to get away from present com- 
 pany for a time at least. I will send a message to you when I 
 am returning. 
 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 " GERTIE." 
 
 This struck me as a most ungracious and heartless 
 communication to a father who was devoting his life 
 and fortune to her service. I glanced up at the old 
 gentleman ; but, although he had asked my opinion on 
 this epistle, his face showed no perturbation regarding 
 its contents. I suppose he was accustomed to the 
 young woman's vagaries. 
 
 The letter seemed to me very disquieting. It had 
 been written on board the yacht before she left, so 
 perhaps the country house visit had been in her mind 
 for some time; nevertheless there were two or three 
 circumstances which seemed to me suspicious. It was 
 an extraordinary thing that a Countess should take 
 what was practically a servant's position if she pos- 
 sessed a country house. Then, again, it was no less 
 extraordinary that this Japanese woman should be able 
 to speak Corean, of which fact I had had auricular 
 
 270
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 demonstration. Could it be possible that there was 
 any connection between the engaging of this woman 
 and the arrival of the Chinese steamer? Was the so- 
 called Countess an emissary of the Corean Prime Min- 
 ister? A moment's reflection caused me to dismiss 
 this conjecture as impossible, because Miss Hemster 
 had engaged the Countess on the day she arrived at 
 Nagasaki, and, as our yacht was more speedy than any 
 other vessel that might have come from Corea, all idea 
 of collusion between the Corean man and the Japanese 
 woman seemed far fetched. Should I then communi- 
 cate my doubts to Mr. Hemster? He seemed quite at 
 his ease about the matter, and I did not wish to disturb 
 him unnecessarily. Yet he had handed me the letter, 
 and he wished my opinion on it. He interrupted my 
 meditations by repeating his question : 
 " Well, what do you make of it ? " 
 " It seems to me the letter of one who is accustomed 
 to think and act for herself, without any undue regard 
 to the convenience of others." 
 
 " Yes, that 's about the size of it." 
 " Has she ever done anything like this before ? " 
 " Oh, bless you, often. I have known her to leave 
 Chicago for New York and turn up at Omaha." 
 
 " Then you are not in any way alarmed by the re- 
 ceipt of this ? " 
 
 " No, I see no reason for alarm ; do you ? " 
 " Who is this Countess that owns the country 
 house ? " 
 
 " I don't even know her name. Gertie went ashore 
 soon after we came into the harbour and visited the 
 
 271
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 American Consul, who sent out for this woman, and 
 Gertie engaged her then and there." 
 
 " Is n't it a little remarkable that she speaks 
 Gorean ? " 
 
 " Well, the American Consul said there was n't many 
 of them could; but Gertie, after being at Seoul, de- 
 termined to learn the language, and that 's why she 
 took on the Countess." 
 
 " Oh, I see. She stipulated, then, for one who knew 
 Corean ? " 
 
 " Quite so ; she told me before we left Chemulpo 
 that she intended to learn the language." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Hemster, what you say relieves my mind 
 a good deal. If she got the woman on the recommen- 
 dation of the American Consul, everything is all right. 
 The coming of the Prime Minister, and the fact that 
 this Countess understands Corean, made me fear that 
 there might be some collusion between the two." 
 
 " That is impossible," said Mr. Hemster calmly. 
 "If the Corean Minister had come a day or two be- 
 fore the Countess was engaged, there might have been 
 a possibility of a conspiracy between them; but con- 
 vincing proof that such is not the case lies in the fact 
 that the Prime Minister would not then have needed 
 to run us down, which he certainly tried to do." 
 
 I had not thought of this, and it was quite convinc- 
 ing, taken in the light of the fact that Miss Hemster 
 had frequently acted in this impulsive way before. 
 
 We resolved not to leave the yacht that night, even 
 if we left it at all, now that Miss Hemster had taken 
 herself into the interior. Whatever she thought, or 
 
 272
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 whatever her preferences were, I imagine her father 
 liked the yacht better than a hotel. 
 
 Hilda and I went on deck after dinner and remained 
 there while the lights came out all over Nagasaki, form- 
 ing a picture like fairyland or the superb setting of a 
 gigantic opera. We were aroused by a cry from one 
 of the sailors, and then a shout from the bridge. 
 
 " That Chinese beast is coming at us again ! " 
 
 Sure enough the steamer had left her moorings, 
 rounded inside toward the city, and now was making 
 directly toward us without a light showing. 
 
 " Get into the boats at once," roared the captain. 
 
 I hailed Hemster, who was below, at the top of my 
 voice, and he replied when I shouted : " Come up im- 
 mediately and get into the small boat." 
 
 By the time he was on deck I had Hilda in one of the 
 boats, and Mr. Hemster was beside her a moment later. 
 Two sailors seized the oars and pushed off. The next 
 instant there was a crash, and the huge black bulk of 
 the Chinese steamer loomed over us, passing quickly 
 away into the night. I thought I heard a woman 
 scream somewhere, but could not be quite sure. 
 
 "Did you hear anything?" I asked Hemster. 
 
 " I heard an almighty crashing of timber. I wonder 
 if they 've sunk the yacht." 
 
 The captain's gruff voice hailed us. 
 
 " They Ve carried away the rudder," he said, " and 
 shattered the stern, but not seriously. She will remain 
 afloat, but will have to go into dry-dock to-morrow." 
 
 273
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE Chinese steamer, if indeed it were she, al- 
 though we could not be sure in the dark- 
 ness, had sent us to the hotel when we had 
 made up our minds not to go. We in the boat hovered 
 near the yacht long enough for the captain to make a 
 hurried examination of the damage. The wreck cer- 
 tainly looked serious, for the overhang of the stern had 
 been smashed into matchwood, while the derelict rud- 
 der hung in chains like an executed pirate of a couple 
 of centuries agone. It was impossible at the moment 
 to estimate with any degree of accuracy the extent of 
 the disaster. The captain reported that she was not 
 leaking, and therefore her owner need have no fear 
 that she would sink during the night. The rudder 
 had certainly been carried away, and probably one of 
 the propellers was damaged. In any case the yacht 
 would have to go into dry-dock ; so, being satisfied on 
 the score of immediate safety, Mr. Hemster gave or- 
 ders to pull ashore, and thus we became guests of the 
 Nagasaki Hotel. 
 
 Next morning the Chinese steamer was nowhere in 
 sight, so it was reasonably certain she had been the 
 cause of our misfortune. The yacht rode at its anchor- 
 age, apparently none the worse so far as could be seen 
 from the town. Before noon the craft was in dock, 
 
 274
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 and we learned to our relief that her propellers were 
 untouched. She needed a new rudder, and the rest was 
 mere carpenter work which would be speedily accom- 
 plished by the deft Japanese workmen. Mr. Hemster 
 had his desk removed to a room in the hotel, and busi- 
 ness went on as before, for there were still many details 
 to be settled with Mr. John C. Cammerford before he 
 proceeded toward San Francisco. I think we all en- 
 joyed the enlarged freedom of residence on shore, and 
 the old gentleman said that he quite understood his 
 daughter's desire to get away from sight of sea or ship. 
 It struck me as remarkable that he was not in the 
 slightest degree alarmed for the safety of his daughter, 
 nor did he doubt for a moment her assertion that she 
 was going to stop at the country house of the Countess. 
 On the other hand I was almost convinced she had been 
 kidnapped, but did not venture to display my suspicions 
 to her father, as there seemed no useful purpose to be 
 served by arousing anxiety when my fears rested purely 
 on conjecture. Of course I consulted confidentially 
 with Hilda, but a curious transformation had taken 
 place in our several beliefs. When she spoke of the 
 probability of the girl's committing suicide or doing 
 something desperate, I had pooh-poohed her theory. 
 We had each convinced the other, and I had adopted 
 her former view while she had adopted mine. She 
 had heard no scream on the night of the disaster, and 
 regarded it as a trick of my imagination. 
 
 But what made me more uneasy was the departure 
 of the Prime Minister. His fears for himself and 
 family were genuine enough, and he was not likely to 
 
 275
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 abandon a quest merely because his first effort had 
 failed. It meant death to him if he returned to Seoul 
 without the girl, so, if he had not captured her, it 
 seemed incredible that he should return the same night 
 without a single effort to accomplish his mission. The 
 second, and, as far as he knew, successful, essay 
 to sink the yacht, must have been to prevent pursuit. 
 He was probably well aware that the yacht was the 
 fastest steamer in the harbour, and, if it were not dis- 
 abled, would speedily overhaul him. He also knew 
 that his officers and crew were no heroes, and that with 
 half-a-dozen energetic Japanese in addition to our own 
 crew we could capture his steamer on the high seas 
 without the slightest effort being put forth to hinder 
 us. He had now a clear run to Chemulpo, and, how- 
 ever resolute we were, there was no possibility of our 
 overtaking him. I had offered him my assistance, 
 which he had accepted in a provisional sort of way, yet 
 here he had disappeared from the scene without leav- 
 ing word for me, and apparently had returned to the 
 land where his fate was certain if he was unsuccessful. 
 Of course, he might have made for Yokohama or 
 Shanghai, but I was convinced, after all, that he cared 
 more for the safety of his family than for his own, and 
 indeed, if he was thinking only of himself, he was as 
 safe in Nagasaki as elsewhere. I could therefore come 
 to no other conclusion than that the girl was aboard 
 the Chinese steamer and was now a prisoner on her 
 way to Seoul, but of this I could not convince Hilda 
 Stretton, and Mr. Hemster evidently had no misgivings 
 in the matter. 
 
 276
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Obviously the first thing to do was to learn the ante- 
 cedents of the so-called Japanese Countess, and with 
 this intent I called at the American Consulate. The 
 official in charge received me with the gracious good- 
 comradeship of his nation, and replied with the utmost 
 frankness to my questions. He remembered Miss 
 Hemster's visit of a few days before, and he assured 
 me that the Countess was above suspicion. As for her 
 knowledge of Corean, that was easily accounted for, 
 because her late husband had been a Japanese official 
 at Seoul a dozen years or so ago, and she had lived 
 with him in that city. Corea, indeed, had been in a 
 way the cause of the Countess's financial misfortunes. 
 Her husband, some years before he died, had invested 
 largely in Corean enterprises, all of which had failed, 
 and so left his wife with scarcely anything to live upon 
 except the country house, which was so remote from 
 Nagaski as to be unsalable for anything like the money 
 he had expended upon it. Exactly where this country 
 house was situated the United States Consul professed 
 himself ignorant, but said he would endeavour to find 
 out for me, and so genially asked me to take a drink 
 with him and call a few days later. 
 
 This conversation did much to dissipate my doubts. 
 Of course, without Mr. Hemster's permission I could 
 not tell the Consul the full particulars of the case, or 
 even make any reference to them. So far as that cour- 
 teous official knew, I was merely making inquiries on 
 behalf of Mr. Hemster about the woman engaged to 
 be his daughter's companion, and about the country 
 house which the girl had been invited to visit. The 
 
 277
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Consul assured me that everything was right and 
 proper, and that Miss Hemster would get a glimpse of 
 the inner life of the Japanese not usually unfolded to 
 strangers, and thus my reason was convinced, although 
 my instinct told me there was something unaccount- 
 able in all this. The scream I had heard simultane- 
 ously with the crashing of the collision might of course 
 have been the shrill shriek of one of the Chinese sail- 
 ors, but at the time it had sounded to me suspiciously 
 like the terrified exclamation of a woman. Then, 
 again, the action of the Prime Minister remained as 
 unaccountable as ever, unless my former theory proved 
 correct. However, I got the name of the Countess, 
 which none of us who remained had known before, and 
 I promised to return and learn the situation of the 
 country house. My visit, on the whole, was rather 
 reassuring ; for, after all, there was little use in attach- 
 ing too much importance to the actions of any Corean, 
 even though he were Prime Minister of that country ; 
 so the problem began to appear to be a self-conjured 
 one, and I gradually came to recognize that I had been 
 troubling myself for nothing. 
 
 The week that followed was one of the most delight- 
 ful in my existence. The captain was superintending 
 the repairs on the yacht, and the intricacies of Mr. 
 Hemster's business activity were such that I could not 
 be of much assistance to him ; so there was practically 
 nothing to do but to make myself agreeable to that dear 
 girl, Hilda, to whom I showed whatever beauties Na- 
 gasaki possessed, and surely no one knew the town bet- 
 ter than I did. She took a vivid interest, not only in 
 
 278
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the place, but also in my own somewhat doleful experi- 
 ence there in former and less happy times, not yet re- 
 mote, the recital of which experiences rendered the 
 present all the more glorious by contrast. 
 
 On our tenth day ashore Hilda told me that the old 
 gentleman was beginning to worry because he had 
 heard nothing from his daughter, and Hilda herself 
 expressed some uneasiness because of the long silence. 
 This aroused all my old doubts, and I called a second 
 time on the American Consul. He told me that the 
 information I sought had been in hand several days. 
 The villa was called " The House of the Million Blos- 
 soms," and it was situated nearly ten miles from 
 Nagasaki. He produced a sketch map, drawn by him- 
 self, which he said would guide me to the place, so I 
 resolved to visit it without saying a word to anyone. 
 
 I found the villa of the Blossoms without the least 
 difficulty, and a most enchanting spot it appeared to be. 
 Situated inland, at the bottom of a sheltered valley, 
 through which ran a trickling stream, the place had 
 evidently been one of importance in its day; but now 
 the entrance lodge showed signs of dilapidation, and 
 the plantation itself was so marvellously overgrown as 
 to be almost a wilderness, with foliage too thick for 
 me to see anything of the house itself. The custodian 
 of the lodge received me with great urbanity but no 
 less firmness. He confessed that the ladies were there, 
 but added that he had strict orders to allow no one to 
 enter or even to approach the house. I asked him to 
 take my card to the stranger lady, and, although at 
 first he demurred, I overcome his reluctance by an 
 
 279
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 urbanity which I flatter myself was a stage imitation 
 of his own, and, what was more to the purpose, I in- 
 duced him to accept a present in the coinage of the 
 realm. Nevertheless he securely barred the gate and 
 left me outside, showing that his trust in my good 
 faith was either very weak, or that his politeness was 
 confined to the flowery language of his country. After 
 a long absence he returned, and handed to me a folded 
 sheet of note paper which I recognized as belonging 
 to the stationery of the yacht. It bore these words in 
 English, and in Miss Hemster's handwriting: 
 
 " I wish to remain here in seclusion, and I consider it very 
 impertinent of you to have sought me out. I am perfectly 
 happy here, which I was not on board the yacht, and all I wish 
 is to be left alone. When good and ready I will write to the 
 yacht and to the Nagasaki Hotel. Until that time it is useless 
 for you to intrude." 
 
 This was definite enough, and I turned away angry 
 with myself for having played the busybody, not know- 
 ing enough to attend to my own affairs. I had in- 
 tended to tell the young woman of the accident to the 
 yacht, making that in some way the excuse for my 
 visit; but in the face of such a message I forgot all 
 about the information I desired to impart, and so re- 
 turned in a huff to Nagasaki. This message set at rest 
 all thoughts of kidnapping, although it left my hon- 
 oured friend Hun Woe's precipitate departure as much 
 a mystery as ever. 
 
 On my arrival at the hotel I showed the note to 
 Hilda, who averred there could be no doubt about its 
 genuineness, and she asked my permission to give it to 
 
 280
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 Mr. Hemster to allay his rapidly arising anxiety, which 
 mission it certainly performed as completely as it had 
 snubbed me. 
 
 Next day the yacht was floated and appeared none 
 the worse for the collision. The captain took her out 
 to the anchorage, and so we waited several days to hear 
 from the girl, but no word came. Finally her father 
 wrote a letter to her, beseeching some indication of her 
 plans, and this was sent by messenger to the House of 
 the Million Blossoms. The old gentleman had become 
 exceedingly tired of Nagasaki, and very evidently did 
 not know what to do with himself. The messenger re- 
 turned, but brought no answer. He said the man at 
 the gate had taken in the letter, and brought out the 
 verbal message that the lady would write when she 
 was ready to do so. This was the reverse of satisfac- 
 tory, and Mr. Hemster roamed about disconsolately 
 like a lost spirit. Hilda said he told her that his daugh- 
 ter had never before remained in the same mind for 
 two days together, and this prolonged country-house 
 visit caused him great uneasiness. He now became in- 
 fused with the kidnapping idea, not fearing that she 
 had been taken away to Corea, but believing that the 
 Japanese were holding her prisoner, perhaps with the 
 idea of a ransom later on. Finally Mr. Hemster deter- 
 mined to visit the House of the Million Blossoms him- 
 self, and he insisted on Hilda's accompanying us, which 
 she did with some reluctance. Never did she believe 
 that this was other than one of the girl's prolonged 
 caprices to make us all anxious, hoping to laugh at us 
 later on for being so. 
 
 281
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 At the gateway we were met by the same imper- 
 turbable guardian, who was as obdurate as ever. He 
 would take in any message, he said, but would not per- 
 mit us to enter even the grounds. Mr. Hemster sent 
 a letter he had written at the hotel, and in due time the 
 keeper came out with a signed note, somewhat similar 
 to the one I had received. It said : 
 
 " DEAR FATHER. : 
 
 " Do not worry about me; I am perfectly happy and wish to 
 remain here a few days longer. 
 
 " Your affectionate daughter, 
 
 "G." 
 
 After reading this he passed it on to Hilda and me in 
 silence. He got into his 'rickshaw without a word, 
 and we entered ours. The men tottered along until we 
 were out of sight of the lodge, and then Mr. Hemster 
 called a halt. He sprang out, and, approaching me, 
 said: 
 
 " Well, Tremorne, what do you make of it ? " 
 
 The voice in which his question was put quivered 
 with anguish, and, glancing at his face, I saw it drawn 
 and haggard with an expression that betokened terror. 
 
 " Oh, there 's nothing to make of it, Mr. Hemster, 
 except that the young lady, for some reason unknown 
 to me, desires to make you anxious and has succeeded." 
 
 " Tremorne," he said, unheeding this attempted con- 
 solation, " look at this note. It was not written to-day, 
 but weeks ago. It was written on board the yacht, and 
 so was the one you received, although I did not notice 
 that at the time. This was written with a stub pen, 
 
 282
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 the same that she used in sending me the first letter; 
 but this pen she did not take away with her, nor the 
 ink. My poor girl has been deluded into writing those 
 letters by some one who had a subtle end to serve. I 
 cannot fathom the mystery, but I am certain she is not 
 in that house." 
 
 I sprang down from my 'rickshaw. 
 
 "I '11 soon settle that point," I cried, " I will crush 
 through the boundary hedge, and break in the door of 
 the house. If there are any ladies within they will 
 soon make an outcry, which will reveal their presence. 
 You wait for me here." 
 
 To this he at once agreed, and with some difficulty 
 I got into the thick plantation, through which I made 
 my way until I came to the house, the first look at 
 which convinced me it was empty. There is something 
 of desolate loneliness about a deserted house which in- 
 stantly strikes a beholder. 
 
 There was no need for me to break in, for one of the 
 windows was open, and, tip-toeing up on the broad 
 veranda, so that there would be no chance of the 
 custodian hearing me, I entered a room through this 
 window, and the whole silent house was at my dis- 
 posal. 
 
 The interior would have struck a European unac- 
 quainted with Japan as being unfurnished, but I saw 
 that it remained just as the Countess had left it. On a 
 small table, standing about a foot from the floor, I saw 
 a note similar to the one that had been handed to me 
 when I first inquired at the gate, also three long slips 
 of Japanese paper on which were written instructions 
 
 283
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 in the Japanese language. I read them with amaze- 
 ment. The first said : 
 
 " This letter is to be given to a young man who calls, and 
 who speaks Japanese and English." 
 
 On the next slip : 
 
 " This letter is to be given to an old man who speaks noth- 
 ing but English." 
 
 The third slip bore: 
 
 " This is to be given to a young woman who speaks nothing 
 but English." 
 
 There was also a minute description of Mr. Hem- 
 ster, Miss Stretton, and myself, so that the man at the 
 gate could make no mistake, which indeed he had not 
 done. Hilda had not asked for a letter, therefore the 
 remaining note had not been delivered. 
 
 Whoever concocted the plot had expected a search 
 to be made for the House of the Million Blossoms, and 
 of course knew that its situation could easily be found. 
 I put all the documents into my pocket, and now went 
 out by the public exit, greatly to the amazement of my 
 urbane friend at the gate. I fear I may be accused of 
 adopting Western methods, but the occasion seemed to 
 me too serious for dilly-dallying. I pulled Mr. Hem- 
 ster's revolver from my pocket and pointed it at the 
 man's head. 
 
 " Now, you scoundrel," I said in his own tongue, 
 " when did those women leave here ? Answer me 
 truly, or I shall take you prisoner to Nagasaki, where 
 you will have to face the authorities." 
 
 284
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I showed him the written instructions I had cap- 
 tured inside the house, and he saw at once that the 
 game was up. 
 
 " Excellency ! " said he, still politely enough, " I am 
 but a poor man and a hireling. Many days ago a mes- 
 senger brought me these instructions and three letters. , 
 No lady has been in this house for some years ; the in- 
 structions were written by my mistress, the Countess, 
 and I was compelled to follow them." 
 
 I saw that the man spoke the truth, and proceeded to 
 cross-examine him on the motives which he imagined 
 actuated this extraordinary complication; but he had 
 told me all he knew, and was apparently as much in the 
 dark regarding the motive as I was myself. I left 
 him there, and hurried along the road over the hill to 
 the spot where I had left Mr. Hemster and Hilda. 
 Here I explained the conspiracy so far as I had dis- 
 covered it, but the record of my investigation naturally 
 did nothing to calm the fears of my employer, whose 
 shrewdness had given a clue to the real situation at the 
 House of the Million Blossoms. There was nothing 
 to do but get back to Nagasaki as speedily as possible, 
 and lay the case before the authorities. Hemster 
 seemed suddenly to have become in truth an old man. 
 We went directly to the hotel, and the clerk met us in 
 the passage-way. \ 
 
 " Mr. Hemster," he said, " this telegram came for 
 you about two hours ago." 
 
 The old gentleman tore open the envelope, read the 
 dispatch, then crushed the paper in his hand. 
 
 " Just as I thought," he said. " She is in Seoul and 
 
 285
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 has found some way of communicating with me. Poor 
 little girl, poor little girl." 
 
 The father's voice broke momentarily, but he at once 
 pulled himself together again. 
 
 " Tremorne, tell the captain to get the yacht under 
 way. We will go on board immediately. We shall 
 want an escort from Chemulpo to Seoul; can we de- 
 pend on getting them at the port as we did before, or 
 had we better bring them from Nagasaki ? " 
 
 " I think, sir," said I, " that it would be well to take 
 a dozen from here. They are men I can trust, and I 
 shall have them aboard the yacht before steam is up." 
 
 " Very well," he said, decisively, " see to it." 
 
 I sent a messenger to the captain, then devoted all 
 my energies to the selecting of my twelve men, taking 
 care that they were properly armed and provided with 
 rations. I sent them aboard one by one or two by two 
 in sampans, so that too much attention might not be 
 attracted toward our expedition. 
 
 This task accomplished, I hurried back to the hotel, 
 and found Mr. Hemster and Hilda waiting for me. 
 Cammerford was there also, talking in a low voice very 
 earnestly with the old gentleman, who stood with his 
 eyes bent on the ground, making no reply to the other's 
 expostulations beyond shaking his head now and then. 
 Hilda and I went on ahead to the landing, the two men 
 following us. To my surprise Cammerford stepped 
 into the launch and continued talking to the silent man 
 beside him. When we reached the yacht Mr. Hemster 
 without a word mounted the steps to the deck. Hilda 
 followed, and Cammerford stood in the launch, a puz- 
 
 286
 
 zled expression on his face. After a momentary hesi- 
 tation he pushed past me, and ran up the steps. I also 
 went on deck, and by the time I reached there my chief 
 was already in his wicker chair with his feet on the rail, 
 and a fresh unlit cigar in his mouth. Cammerford 
 went jauntily up to him and said with a laugh that 
 seemed somewhat forced: 
 
 " Well, Mr. Hemster, I propose to continue this dis- 
 cussion to Corea." 
 
 "Just as you please," replied the old man non- 
 chalantly. " I think we can make you very comfort* 
 able on board." 
 
 287
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 NOW it was full speed ahead and a direct line 
 for Corea. Once in the open sea, we 
 struck straight through the Archipelago 
 and took our chances of running down an island, as 
 the captain had said. There was no dawdling this 
 time, for the engines were run to the top of their power. 
 As was the case with our former voyages in these 
 waters, the weather was perfect and the sea smooth. 
 
 Our dinner that night was on the whole a silent fes- 
 tival. The jovial captain did not come down, and Mr. 
 Hemster sat moodily at the head of the table, absorbed 
 in thought and doubtless tortured with anxiety. Cam- 
 merford was the only member of the party who en- 
 deavoured to make a show of cheerful demeanour. His 
 manner with women was one of deferential urbanity, 
 and, as he never ventured to joke with them, he was 
 justly popular with the sex. I quite envied him his 
 power of pleasing, which was so spontaneous that it 
 seemed a natural and not an acquired gift. The man 
 appeared to possess an almost hypnotic power over his 
 fellow-creatures, and although I believed him to be one 
 of the most untrustworthy rascals alive, yet I felt this 
 belief crumbling away under the magnetic charm of 
 his conversation. 
 
 288
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 The old gentleman at the head of the table was 
 evidently immune so far as Cammerford's fascination 
 was concerned. I surmised that there had come a 
 hitch in the negotiations between them. There was no 
 trace of uneasiness in Cammerford's attitude, and his 
 voice was as mildly confident as ever. No one would 
 guess that he was practically a self-invited guest at 
 this board Our host was completely taciturn, but the 
 unbidden guest never risked a snub by addressing a 
 direct question to him, although he airily included Mr. 
 Hemster with the rest of us within the area of his po- 
 lite discourse. Hilda was scarcely more responsive 
 than Mr. Hemster and seemed troubled because he was 
 troubled, and as I possessed an instinctive dislike for 
 Cammerford it will be seen that he had a most difficult 
 role to play, which he enacted with a success that 
 would have done credit to Sir Henry Irving himself. 
 If there was indeed, as I suspected, a conflict between 
 the elder man and the younger, I found myself wonder- 
 ing which would win, but such a quiet atmosphere of 
 confidence enwrapped the latter that I began to fear Mr. 
 Hemster had met his match, in spite of the fact that he 
 held all the trump cards. Cammerford represented the 
 new school of financiers, who juggled with billions as 
 a former generation had played with millions. My 
 sympathies were entirely with Mr. Hemster, but if I 
 had been a sporting man my bet would have been laid 
 on Cammerford. I mention this as an instance of the 
 hypnotic power I have referred to. I knew that Cam- 
 merford could not form his gigantic trust and leave 
 Mr. Hemster out; therefore, as I say, the elder man 
 
 289
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 held the trumps. Nevertheless the bearing of Cam- 
 merford indicated such reserved assurance that I felt 
 certain he would ultimately bend the old rr.an to his 
 will, and I watched for the result of this opposition of 
 forces with the eagerness with which one awaits the 
 climax of an exciting play on the stage. 
 
 After dinner Hilda came on deck for half an hour 
 or thereabouts, and we walked up and down together. 
 The excitement of the day and the uncertainty that lay 
 ahead of us had told heavily on the poor girl, and I had 
 not the heart to persuade her to remain longer on deck. 
 She was rather depressed and admittedly weary of the 
 life we were leading. So I took cowardly advantage 
 of this and proposed we should get married at the 
 American Consulate as soon as the yacht returned to 
 Nagasaki. Then, I said, we could make our way to 
 Yokohama and take passage on a regular liner for San 
 Francisco. 
 
 To this proposal she made no reply, but walked de- 
 murely by my side with downcast eyes. 
 
 " Think of the glories of Chicago at this moment ! " 
 I cried enthusiastically, wishing to appeal to the home 
 feeling. " Dinner finished ; the roar of the traffic in 
 the streets; the brilliancy of the electric light; the 
 theatres open, and the gay crowds entering therein. 
 Let us make for Chicago." 
 
 She looked up at me with a wan little smile, and 
 laughed quietly. 
 
 " You do need a guardian, as Papa Hemster says. 
 I suppose it is about noon in Chicago at the present 
 moment, and I don't see why the theatres should be 
 
 290
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 open at that hour. It is the roar of the wheat pit, and 
 not of the traffic you are hearing. I fear your visit to 
 Chicago was of the briefest, for your picture is not 
 very convincing. Still, I confess I wish I were there 
 now, if you were with me." Then with a slight sigh 
 she added, " I '11 accept that guardianship at Nagasaki. 
 Good-night, my dear," and with that she whisked away 
 and disappeared before I was aware of her meditated 
 escape. 
 
 I lit a fresh cigar and continued my promenade 
 alone. As I walked aft I caught snatches of the musi- 
 cal monotone of Cammerford's voice. Ever since din- 
 ner time he had been in earnest conversation with Mr. 
 Hemster, who sat in his usual chair at the stern of the 
 boat. So far as I am aware, Mr. Hemster was leav- 
 ing the burden of the talk to the younger man, who, 
 from the tone of his voice, seemed in deadly earnest. 
 At last Mr. Hemster got up and threw his cigar over- 
 board. I heard him say : 
 
 " I told you, Mr. Cammerford, that I would not dis- 
 cuss this matter further until I reached Nagasaki. The 
 papers are all in my desk under lock and key in the 
 room at the hotel, and that room is closed and sealed. 
 I '11 say no more about this scheme until I am back 
 there." 
 
 " And when you are back there, Mr. Hemster, what 
 action are you going to take ? " 
 
 " Whatever action seems to be best for my own in- 
 terests, Mr. Cammerford." 
 
 " Well, from most men that reply would be very 
 unsatisfactory. However, I am glad to say I trust you 
 
 291
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 completely, Mr. Hemster, and I know you will do the 
 square thing in the end." 
 
 " I 'm glad you think so," 'said the old man curtly, 
 as he went down the stairway. Cammerford stood 
 there for a few moments, then strode forward and 
 joined me. 
 
 " May I beg a light of you ? " he asked, as if he were 
 conferring a favour. 
 
 I don't care to light one cigar from another, so I 
 struck a match and held it while he took advantage of 
 the flame. 
 
 " Thanks. Now, Tremorne, I want to talk with 
 you as to a friend. We were friends once, you 
 know." 
 
 " True ; the kind of friend the celebrated phrase 
 refers to, perhaps." 
 
 "What phrase?" 
 
 " ' God protect me from my friends,' or words to that 
 effect." 
 
 He laughed most genially. 
 
 " That 's one on me," he said. " However, I look 
 on our score as being wiped out. Can't you let by- 
 gones be bygones ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes." 
 
 " You see you are in a way responsible. I have 
 turned over the money to you. Granted I was forced 
 to do so. I claim no merit in the matter, but I do say 
 a bargain is a bargain. I showed you the old man's 
 letter to me, in which he said if I did thus and so by 
 you, he would join me in the big beef combine. You 
 remember that, don't you ? " 
 
 292
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Naturally, I should n't soon forget it, or forget the 
 generosity of Mr. Hemster in writing it." 
 
 " Oh, generosity is cheap when you are doing it at 
 somebody else's expense. Still, I don't complain of that 
 at all. What I say is this : I've kept my part of the 
 contract strictly and honestly, but now the old man is 
 trying to euchre me." 
 
 " I remember also, Mr. Cammerford, that you said 
 Mr. Hemster was a rogue or dishonest, or something 
 of like effect." 
 
 " Well, so he is." 
 
 " In that case, why do you object to being euchred 
 by him?" 
 
 " Well, you see, I had his promise in writing, and I 
 thought I was safe." 
 
 " You have it in writing still, I presume. If he does 
 not live up to what he has written, you probably have 
 your recourse at law, for they say there is no wrong 
 without a remedy." 
 
 "Oh, that's all talking through your hat. It is n't 
 a lawsuit I'm after, but the co-operation of Mr. Hem- 
 ster. What chance would I have against a man of his 
 wealth?" 
 
 " I 'm sure I don't know. What is it you wish from 
 me ? Advice ? " 
 
 " I wanted to explain the situation that has arisen, 
 and I wish to know if you have anything to sug- 
 gest that will lead the old man to do the square 
 thing?" 
 
 " I have no suggestion to make, Mr. Cammerford." 
 
 " Supposing he does not keep his promise, don't you 
 
 293
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 think it would be fair that the money I expended on the 
 strength of it should be returned to me ? " 
 
 " It does seem reasonable, I admit." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say so, and to tell the truth, 
 Mr. Tremorne, it is just the action I should expect of 
 you." 
 
 "What action?" 
 
 " The returning of the money, of course." 
 
 " Bless my soul, you don't suppose I 'm going to 
 return a penny of it, do you ? " 
 
 " Ah, your honesty is theory then, not practice." 
 
 " My dear sir, my honesty is both theory and prac- 
 tice. The money is mine. I made you no promises 
 regarding it. In fact, I refused to make any promise 
 when you offered me half the amount. If I had made 
 any engagements I should have kept them." 
 
 " I see. I take it then you do not regard yourself 
 as bound by any promises the old man made on your 
 behalf?" 
 
 " Certainly not. I knew nothing of the matter until 
 you showed me his letter." 
 
 "Your position is perfectly sound, Mr. Tremorne, 
 and I unreservedly withdraw the imputation I put upon 
 your honesty a moment since. But the truth is that 
 this amount represents a very serious loss to me. It was 
 a sprat thrown out to catch a whale, or, rather, a whale 
 thrown out to catch a shoal of whales. But if I lose 
 the whale and do not catch my shoal, then I have done 
 a very bad piece of business by coming East. Through 
 this proposed combine I expected to make several mil- 
 lions. Now, if you will join in with me, and put 
 
 294
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 your half-million into the pool, I '11 guarantee that be- 
 fore a month you have doubled it." 
 
 " You gave me a chance like that once before, Mr. 
 Cammerford." 
 
 The man laughed heartily as if I had perpetrated a 
 very amusing joke. 
 
 " Oh, yes, but that was years ago. We have both 
 learned a good deal since." 
 
 " I certainly have, Mr. Cammerford. I have learned 
 so much that I will not part with a penny of the money ; 
 not a red cent of it, as we say out West. That sum is 
 going to be safely salted down, and it 's not going to be 
 salted in a corned-beef tub either. I don't mind telling 
 you that I intend to get married upon it at the Ameri- 
 can Consulate at Nagasaki before a week is past." 
 
 " Really ? Allow me to congratulate you, my boy. 
 I surmised that was the way the land lay, and I quite 
 envy you your charming young lady." 
 
 " Thanks ! " 
 
 " But you see, Mr. Tremorne, that makes your 
 money doubly safe. I noticed that Mr. Hemster is as 
 fond of Miss Stretton as he is of his own daughter, 
 and if you give me the half million, he '11 see to it that 
 you make a hundred per cent on it." 
 
 " I don't at all agree with you, Mr. Cammerford. 
 To speak with brutal frankness, if I trusted you with 
 the money which you once succeeded in detaching 
 from me, if I trusted you with it again, he would 
 merely look upon me as a hopeless fool, and I must say 
 I think he would be right." 
 
 John C. Cammerford was a man whom you could n't 
 
 295
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 insult: it was not business to take offence, so he took 
 none, but merely laughed again in his free-hearted 
 way. 
 
 " The old man thinks I don't see what his game is, 
 but I do. He is playing for time. He expects to hold 
 me out here in the East, dangling this bait before me, 
 until it is too late for me to do anything with my op- 
 tions. Now, he is going to get left at that game. I 
 have more cards up my sleeve than he imagines, but 
 I don't want to have any trouble with him : I want to 
 deal with him in a friendly manner for our mutual 
 benefit. I '11 play fair if he plays fair. It is n't too 
 much to ask a man to keep his word, is it ! " 
 
 " No, the demand does n't appear excessive." 
 
 " Very good. Now, I wish you would have a quiet 
 talk with him. I can see that he reposes great confi- 
 dence in you. You have admitted that my request is 
 an honest one, so I hope you won't mind just present- 
 ing my side of the case to him." 
 
 " It is none of my business, Mr. Cammerford. I 
 could not venture to take such a liberty with Mr. 
 Hemster." 
 
 " But you admit the old man is n't playing fair ? " 
 
 " I admit nothing of the sort : I don't know his 
 side of the story at all. He may have reasons for de- 
 clining to deal with you, which seem to him conclu- 
 sive." 
 
 " Granted. But nevertheless, don't you think he 
 should return the money given on the strength of his 
 promise ? " 
 
 " Really I would rather not discuss the matter any 
 296
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 further, Mr. Cammerford, if you don't mind. I over- 
 heard you telling him at the head of the companion-way 
 that you trusted him completely. Very well, then, why 
 not continue to do so ? " 
 
 Cammerford gave a short laugh that had little of 
 mirth in it : his politeness was evidently becoming worn 
 threadbare, and I imagine he was inwardly cursing 
 my obstinacy. There was silence between us for sev- 
 eral minutes, then he said sharply : 
 
 " Is this yarn about the kidnapping of his daughter 
 all guff?" 
 
 " Who told you about it? " I asked. 
 
 " Oh, he did : gave that as the reason he did n't wish 
 to talk business." 
 
 " The story is true, and I think the reason is valid. 
 If you take my advice, you will not talk business with 
 him in the face of his prohibition until his mind is at 
 rest regarding his daughter." 
 
 " Well, I guess I '11 take your advice ; it seems to be 
 the only thing I 'm going to get out of you. I thought 
 the daughter story was only a yarn to bluff me from 
 coming aboard the yacht." 
 
 " It was n't, and furthermore, I don't think you 
 showed your usual perspicacity in not accepting Mr. 
 Hamster's intimation that he did n't want to be both- 
 ered at this particular time." 
 
 " Oh, well, as to that," said Cammerford, confi- 
 dently, " the old man has been making a monkey of me 
 for some weeks now, and the whole matter might have 
 been settled in as many hours if he had cared to do so. 
 He is n't going to shake me off so easily as he thinks. 
 
 297
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I '11 stick to him till he keeps his promise, and don't you 
 forget it." 
 
 " All right, I '11 endeavour to keep it in mind." 
 
 " You won't be persuaded to try and lure him on to 
 the straight and 'narrow path of honesty, Mr. Tre- 
 morne ? " 
 
 " No, I 'm not sure that he 's off it. I have always 
 found him treading that path." 
 
 " I see. Well, good-night. When do we reach that 
 outlandish place, whatever its name is ? " 
 
 " We ought to arrive at Chemulpo some time to- 
 morrow night." 
 
 "Chemulpo, is it? Well, I wish it was Chicago. 
 So long." 
 
 " Good-night," I responded, and with that he left the 
 world to darkness and to me. 
 
 298
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 WE came to anchor a little after ten the next 
 night. Mr. Hemster was naturally very 
 impatient, and wished to proceed at once 
 to the capital, but the customs authorities refused to 
 let us land until daylight. Cammerford talked very 
 valiantly of forcing our way ashore and going to Seoul 
 in the darkness in spite of all opposition, and indeed the 
 old gentleman was rather in favour of such a course ; 
 but I pointed out that our mission might be one of 
 great delicacy, and that it was as well not to use force 
 unless we were compelled to do so. 
 
 " Even in New York," said I, " we should not be 
 allowed to proceed up the harbour after sunset, no mat- 
 ter how anxious we might be to land." 
 
 This was not thought to be a parallel case, but the 
 old gentleman suggested that, as he wished no undue 
 publicity, it would be better to wait until daylight and 
 make our landing with as little ostentation as possible. 
 I tried bribery, but for once it was ineffective, and in 
 spite of the fact that I incurred the contempt of the 
 energetic Cammerford, I counselled less hurry and 
 more speed, though there was nothing to do but turn 
 in and get a night's sleep in preparation for the toil- 
 some journey in the morning. 
 
 I was on deck at daylight and found my Japs had all 
 299
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 disappeared except their leader. He explained to me 
 that he thought it best to get them ashore during the 
 night unobtrusively in sampans. They would be 
 waiting for us, he said, two or three miles beyond the 
 port on the Seoul road. Now our Excellencies might 
 disembark, he added, without attracting any attention. 
 I complimented the little man on his forethought, and, 
 sure enough, we found our company just where he said 
 we would. 
 
 The next surprise was that Cammerford also had 
 disappeared. I went down to his stateroom, but found 
 his bed had not been slept in. The Japs had seen noth- 
 ing of him, neither had any of the crew, so our un- 
 bidden guest had departed as he came. 
 
 Hilda was evidently most reluctant to take the jour- 
 ney. She told me she had seen enough of Seoul to 
 last her a lifetime, but as she found that Mr. Hemster 
 was most anxious for her to accompany us, she did 
 what she always had done, and sacrificed her own in- 
 clinations in deference to the wishes of others. 
 
 We had got nearly half way to Seoul when I saw 
 with alarm a large party, apparently of Corean soldiers, 
 marching westward. They were easily ten to one as 
 compared with our escort, yet I had not the slightest 
 doubt our Japs would put them all to flight if they at- 
 tempted to bar our way. Taking two of the Japs with 
 me, I galloped on ahead to learn the intentions of the 
 cavalcade in front. They paused in their march on 
 seeing us coming up, and their leader galloped forward 
 to meet me. To my surprise I saw it was the Prime 
 Minister himself. 
 
 300
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 " Well, you old scoundrel," I cried, " your head is 
 still on your shoulders unfortunately. What 's the 
 meaning of this movement of troops. Do you think 
 you 're going to stop us ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, Excellency, no. I have come to greet you, 
 and offer you the profound regard of the Emperor 
 himself." 
 
 " Now, just try to speak the truth for once ; it won't 
 hurt you. You know very well that you had no word 
 of our coming." 
 
 " Pardon, most Gracious Excellency, but your white 
 ambassador arrived as soon as the gates were open this 
 morning." 
 
 " Our white ambassador ! Oh, that 's Cammer- 
 ford, very likely. So he has reached the capital, has 
 he?" 
 
 " Yes, Excellency, and has received the honour 
 due." 
 
 " That ought to be a gorgeous reception. And did 
 he send you to meet us ? " 
 
 " No, Excellency, it was the white Princess." 
 
 " Ah, you villain, you did kidnap her after alL 
 Now if any harm has come to her, off goes your head, 
 and down goes your pasteboard city." 
 
 " Ah, Excellency," said the Prime Minister with a 
 wail of woe, " it was indeed depths of wickedness, but 
 what was I to do? If I did not bring her to Seoul, 
 not only was my head lost, but the heads of all my kin ; 
 and now, alas, the Emperor says that if she goes 
 not willingly away he will yet execute me, and all my 
 family as well. Excellency, it was an unlucky day 
 
 301
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 when the white Princess came to the Palace. The Em- 
 peror is in fear of his life, and terror reigns in every 
 corner. Yet she would not go until the King, her 
 father, brought his war-ship to Chemulpo, and she de- 
 manded to be escorted by the whole court with the 
 honours of an Empress from the capital to the sea. She 
 was going to make the Emperor himself come, but he 
 bowed his forehead in the dust, a thing unknown these 
 ten thousand years in Corea, and so she laughed at him 
 and allowed him to remain in the Palace. She has 
 made a mock of his Majesty and his ancestors." 
 
 " Serves him jolly well right," said I, beginning to 
 get an inkling of how the case stood. " Her ancestors 
 fought for liberty, and it is not likely she is going to be 
 deprived of hers by any tan-bark monarch who fool- 
 ishly undertakes the job. Is the lady still at the Pal- 
 ace, Hun Woe?" 
 
 " No, Excellency, she is on her way hither, escorted 
 by the Court, and riding proudly with her white am- 
 bassador. Indeed," he continued, looking over his 
 shoulder, " I can see them now, coming over the brow 
 of that hill. She was so anxious to meet her father 
 that she would not await your coming." 
 
 " All right, Hun Woe, you line up your troops on 
 each side of the road, and see that they bow low when 
 the Princess passes. I shall return and acquaint the 
 King, her father, with the state of the poll." 
 
 So saying I wheeled my horse, galloped back, and 
 informed the old gentleman that everything was all 
 right. He heaved a deep sigh of relief, and I fancied 
 his eyes twinkled somewhat as I related what particu- 
 
 302
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 lars I had gathered of the reign of terror in Seoul since 
 his daughter's enforced arrival. 
 
 By the time I had finished my recital the cavalcade 
 to the rear had passed between the lines of prostrate 
 soldiers. The old gentleman moved forward to meet 
 his daughter, and she came galloping on her pony and 
 greeted him with an affectionate abandon that was de- 
 lightful to see, although when she flung her arms round 
 his neck she nearly unhorsed him. Her reception of 
 the rest of us was like that of a school-girl out on a 
 lark. She seemed to regard her abduction as the 
 greatest fun that ever was, and was bubbling with 
 laughter and glee. She kissed the sedate Hilda as if 
 she were an only sister, reproaching herself that even 
 for a moment she had preferred that little beast of a 
 Countess, as she called her, to so noble a treasure as 
 Miss Stretton. To me she was as gracious as if I 
 were her dearest friend. 
 
 " And now, Poppa," she cried, " shall I make this 
 circus come with us to Chemulpo? I can do what I 
 please with them ; they belong to me." 
 
 " I don't think we want that crowd tagging after us, 
 Gertie," said her father without enthusiasm. 
 
 " Then, Mr. Tremorne," she said, " will you order 
 them home again, and tell 'em to be good for ever after. 
 And oh! I want you to ask the Prime Minister if I 
 did n't make that old Emperor kow-tow to me." 
 
 " He has already admitted that you did, Miss Hem- 
 ster." 
 
 "Then that's all right: I thought they'd try to 
 deny it." 
 
 303
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 I bade an affectionate farewell to Hun Woe, who 
 was as glad to be quit of me as I was to be rid of him, 
 and we have never seen each other since. 
 
 I don't remember ever taking part in a jollier excur- 
 sion than that which now set forth towards Chemulpo, 
 which place we reached before sunset. 
 
 Miss Hemster related her adventures with a gusto 
 and enjoyment that I never saw equalled. Even her 
 father smiled now and then at the exuberant humour of 
 her declamation. It seemed that the Countess was in 
 the pay of the Corean Government, probably as a spy. 
 The Prime Minister had telegraphed her to win the 
 confidence of Miss Hemster if she could, and so the 
 Countess had made application to the American Consul 
 and succeeded even beyond her fondest hopes. There 
 had been no intention of going to the House of the Mil- 
 lion Blossoms, but she had proposed instead to Miss 
 Hemster a round of visits among the nobility of Japan, 
 or at least whatever section of them lived near Naga- 
 saki. As this round was to take some time, and as the 
 Countess proclaimed that it must be done in strict 
 secrecy, she outlined the writing of the different letters 
 which her caretaker at the villa would hand to who- 
 ever called, if an investigation was made, as the wily 
 Countess thought was highly probable, and this scheme 
 proved peculiarly attractive to Miss Hemster and was 
 accordingly carried out, and the young lady laughed 
 till tears came into her eyes when I told her how I had 
 been deceived by the receipt of my letter. 
 
 After landing from the yacht the Countess took Miss 
 Hemster and her maid to a tea house situated on the
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 shore of the bay, and from the moment they drank tea 
 there, Miss Hemster and her maid remembered nothing 
 more until they found themselves on board the Chinese 
 steamer. 
 
 " Did you know about the attempted sinking of the 
 yacht ? " I asked. 
 
 " I was n't sure," she said. " I was in a sort of 
 daze : I seemed to have awakened when they began to 
 take up the anchor, but I was stupid and headachy. 
 Then there came a crash, and I screamed fit to kill, but 
 those Chinese brutes put us into the cabin, and after 
 that of course there was no escape. We did not land 
 at Chemulpo, but somewhere along the coast. It was a 
 fearful ride into Seoul, but after that I had my re- 
 venge; I made the old Emperor and his Court stand 
 around, I tell you, for I had a revolver and plenty of 
 cartridges in my trunk, and once I got them the situa- 
 tion belonged to me." 
 
 " And where are your trunks, Gertie ? " asked her 
 practical father. 
 
 " Oh, they 're stored in Chemulpo. The Emperor 
 wanted me to leave, but I would n't until you came and 
 I was provided with a proper escort. He wanted me 
 to go back on the same old Chinese tub, but I told him 
 I 'd a steamer of my own coming." 
 
 We got the trunks and set sail for Nagasaki once 
 more. The voyage was a dream of delight. Never 
 did I see Miss Gertrude Hemster, or any one else for 
 that matter, so admirably charming and considerate of 
 everyone around her. Mr. Cammerford proved a most 
 devoted cavalier, and this gave Hilda and me opportu- 
 
 305
 
 A CHICAGO PRINCESS 
 
 nity for converse which we did not neglect. Gertrude 
 Hemster cheered her father's heart by telling him that 
 she was tired of king-hunting and wanted to get back 
 to Chicago. When we arrived at Nagasaki I made 
 arrangements for our marriage at the American Con- 
 sulate. Miss Hemster was most fascinatingly sweet to 
 Hilda when she heard the news. We all went together 
 to the consulate, Cammerford asking permission to join 
 our party. When we arrived, Cammerford, who 
 seemed to be taking a great deal upon himself, said po- 
 litely to the Consul : 
 
 " I should think a real American wedding takes 
 precedence over an international affair, but at any rate 
 I bespoke your services first." 
 
 The Consul smiled and said such was indeed the 
 case; then, to the amazement of Hilda and myself, 
 Gertrude, with a laugh, took the outstretched hand of 
 John C. Cammerford and stood before the official, who 
 married them according to the laws of the land to 
 which they belonged. 
 
 " What do you think of this combine, Mr. Hem- 
 ster ? " said Cammerford with his most engaging smile, 
 holding out his hand to his newly made father-in-law. 
 The old man took it and said quietly : 
 " Whoever makes Gertie happy makes me content.'* 
 Next came the turn of Hilda and myself. 
 
 THE END 
 
 306
 
 MARY JOHNSTON'S 
 NOVELS 
 
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 daintily illustrated." New York Tribune. "A wholesome, bright, 
 refreshing story, an ideal book to give a young girl." Chicago 
 Record-Herald. " An idyllic story, replete with pathos and inimita* 
 ble humor. As story-telling it is perfection, and as portrait-painting 
 it is true to the life. London Mail. 
 
 TILLIE : A Mennonite Maid. By Helen R. Martin. With 
 
 illustrations by Florence Scovel Shinn. 
 
 The little " Mennonite Maid " who wanders through these pages 
 is something quite new in fiction. Tillie is hungry for books and 
 beauty and love ; and she comes into her inheritance at the end. 
 " Tillie is faulty, sensitive, big-hearted, eminently human, and first, 
 last and'always lovable. Her charm glows warmly, the story is well 
 handled, the characters skilfully developed. "--The Book Buyer. 
 
 LADY ROSE'S DAUGHTER. By Mrs. Humphry Ward. 
 
 With illustrations by Howard Chandler Christy. 
 "The most marvellous work of its wonderful author." New York 
 World. "We touch regions and attain altitudes which it is not given 
 to the ordinary novelist even to approach." London Times. "Iff 
 no other story has Mrs. Ward approached the brilliancy and vivacity 
 of Lady Rose's Daughter." North American Review. 
 
 THE BANKER AND THE BEAR. By Henry K. Webster. 
 " An exciting and absorbing story." New York Times. "Intense- 
 ly thrilling in parts, but an unusually good story all through. There 
 is a love affair of real charm and most novel surroundings, there is a 
 run on the bank which is almost worth a year's growth, and there is 
 all manner of exhilarating men and deeds which should bring the 
 book into high and permanent favor." Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, - NEV, YORK

 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
 
 3 1158 00862 9114 
 P H JNGLEHART 
 
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