Man of Mark ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 -^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ by Anthony Hope 
 
 Chicago and New York *♦* 
 Rand, McNally & Company
 
 ■^^I
 
 A MAN OF MARK. '^^^^^ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN. 
 
 In the year 18S4 the Republic of Aureata- 
 land was certainly not in a nourishing con- 
 dition. Although most happily situated 
 (it lies on the coast of South America, 
 rather to the north — I mustn't be more defi- 
 nite), and gifted with an extensive terri- 
 tory, nearly as big as Yorkshire, it had yet 
 failed to make that material progress 
 which had been hoped by its founders. It is 
 true that the State was still in its infancy, 
 being an offshoot from another and larger 
 realm, and having obtained the boon of 
 freedom and self-government only as re- 
 cently as 1871, after a series of political 
 convulsions of a violent character, which 
 may be studied with advantage in the well- 
 
 3 
 
 /R9r)^
 
 4 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 known history of "The Making of Aureata- 
 land," by a learned professor of the Jere- 
 miah P. Jecks University in the United 
 States of America. This profound historian 
 is, beyond all (|iiestion, accurate in attribut- 
 ing the chief share in the national move- 
 ment to the energy and ability of the first 
 President of Aureataland, his Excellency 
 President Marcus W. Whittingham, a na- 
 tive of Virginia. Having enjoj^ed a personal 
 friendship (not, unhappily, extended to 
 public affairs) with that talented man, as 
 will subsequently appear, I have great 
 pleasure in publicly endorsing the pro- 
 fessor's eulogium. Not only did the Presi- 
 dent bring Aureataland into being, but he 
 moulded her whole constitution. "It was 
 his genius" (as the professor observes with 
 proi^riety) "which was fired with the idea 
 of creating a truly modern state, instinct 
 with the progressive spirit of the Anglo- 
 Saxon race. It was his genius which cast 
 aside the worn-out traditions of European 
 dominion, and taught his fellow-citizens 
 that they were, if not all by birth, yet one 
 and all by adoption, the sons of freedom."
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN. 5 
 
 Any mistakes in the execution of this fine 
 conception must be set down to the fact 
 that the President's great powers were 
 rather the happy gift of nature than the 
 result of culture. To this truth he was 
 himself in no way blind, and he w^as accus- 
 tomed to attribute his want of a liberal 
 education to the social ruin brought upon 
 his family by the American Civil War, and 
 to the dislocation thereby" produced in his 
 studies. As the President was, when I had 
 the honor of making his acquaintance in 
 the year 1880, fifty years old if he was a 
 day, this explanation hardly agrees with 
 dates, unless it is to be supposed that the 
 President was still pursuing his education 
 when the war began, being then of the age 
 of thirty-five, or thereabouts. 
 
 Starting under the auspices of such a 
 gifted leader, and imbued with so noble a 
 zeal for progress, Aureataland was, at the 
 beginning of her history as a nation, the 
 object of many fond and proud hopes. But 
 in spite of the blaze of glory in which her 
 sun had risen (to be seen duly reflected in 
 the professor's work) her prosperity, as I
 
 6 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 have said, was not maintained. The coun- 
 try was well suited for a f;Ti culture and 
 grazing", but the population — a very queer 
 mixture of races — was indolent, and more 
 given to keeping holidays and festivals 
 than to honest labor. Most of them were 
 unintelligent; those who were intelligent 
 made their living out of those who weren't, 
 a method of subsistence satisfactory to the 
 individual, but adding little to the aggre- 
 gate of national wealth. Only two classes 
 made fortunes of an}- size — Government 
 officials and bar-keepers — and even in their 
 case the wealth was not great, looked at by 
 an English or American standard. Pro- 
 duction was slack, invention at a standstill, 
 and taxation heavy. I suppose the Presi- 
 dent's talents were more adapted to found- 
 ing a State in the shock and turmoil of 
 war, than to the dull details of administra- 
 tion; and although he was nominally as- 
 sisted by a Cabinet of three Ministers, and 
 an Assembly comprising twenty-five mem- 
 bers, it was on his shoulders that the real 
 work of government fell. On him, there- 
 fore, the moral responsibility must also
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN. 7 
 
 rest — a burden the President bore with a 
 cheerfulness and equanimity almost 
 amounting to unconsciousness. 
 
 I first set foot in Aureataland in March, 
 1880, when I was landed on the beach by 
 a boat from the steamer at the capital town 
 of Whittingham. I was a young man, en- 
 tering on my twenty-sixth year, and full 
 of pride at finding myself at so early an age 
 sent out to fill the responsible position of 
 manager at our Aureataland branch. The 
 Directors of the Bank were then pursuing 
 what mav without unfairness be called an 
 adventurous policj', and, in response to the 
 urgent entreaties and glowing exhorta- 
 tions of the President-, they had decided on 
 establishing a branch at Whittingham. I 
 commanded a certain amount of interest 
 on the Board, inasmuch as the Chairman 
 owed my father a sum of money, too small 
 to mention but too large to pay, and when, 
 led by the youthful itch for novelty, I ap- 
 plied for the post, I succeeded in obtaining 
 my wish at a salary of a hundred dollars 
 a month. I am sonw to say that in the 
 course of a later business dealing the bal-
 
 8 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 ance of obligation shifted from the Ohair- 
 nian to mj father, an unhappy event which 
 deprived nie of my hold on the Company 
 and seriously influenced my conduct in 
 later days. When I arrived in Aureataland 
 the bank had been open some six months, 
 under the guidance of Mr, Thomas Jones, 
 a steady-going old clerk, who was in future 
 to act as chief (and indeed only) cashier 
 under my orders. 
 
 I found Whittingham a pleasant little 
 city of about live thousand inhabitants, 
 picturesquely situated on a fine bay, at the 
 spot where the river Marcus debouched 
 into the ocean. The town was largely com- 
 posed of Government buildings and hotels, 
 but there was a street of shops of no mean 
 order, and a handsome square, called the 
 "Piazza 1871," embellished with an eques- 
 trian statue of the President. Round about 
 this national monument were a large num- 
 ber of seats, and, hard by, a cafd and band- 
 stand. Here, I soon found, was the center 
 of life in the afternoons and evenings. Go- 
 ing along a fine avenue of trees for half a 
 mile or so you came to the "Golden House,"
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN. 9 
 
 the President's official residence, an im- 
 posing villa of white stone with a gilt 
 statue of Aureataland, a female figure sit- 
 ting on a plough-share, and holding a sword 
 in the right hand, and a cornucopia in the 
 left. By her feet lay what was apparently 
 a badly-planed cannon ball; this, I learnt, 
 was a nugget, and from its presence and 
 the name of the palace, I gathered that tlie 
 President had once hoped to base the pros- 
 perity of his young republic on the solid 
 foundation of mineral wealth. This hope 
 had been long abandoned. 
 
 I have alwavs hated hotels, so I lost no 
 time in looking round for lodgings suitable 
 to my means, and was fortunate enough to 
 obtain a couple of rooms in the house occu- 
 pied by a Catholic priest. Father Jacques 
 Bonchretien. He was a very good fellow, 
 and, though we did not become intimate, 
 I could always rely on his courtesy and 
 friendly services. Here I lived in great 
 comfort at an expense of fifty dollars a 
 month, and I soon found that my spare 
 fifty made me a well-to-do man in Whitt- 
 ingham. Accordingly I had the entree of
 
 10 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 all the best houses, including- the Golden 
 House, and a very pleasant little society we 
 had; occasional dances, frequent dinnei-s, 
 and plenty of lawn tennis and billiards 
 prevented me feeling the tedium I had 
 somewhat feared, and the young ladies of 
 Whittingham did their best to solace my 
 exile. As for business, I found the bank 
 doing a small business but a tolerably sat- 
 isfactory one, and if we made some bad 
 debts, we got high interest on the good 
 ones, so that, one way or another, I man- 
 aged to send home pretty satisfactory re- 
 ports, and time passed on quietly enough 
 in spite of certain manifestations of discon- 
 tent among the population. These dis- 
 turbing phenomena were first brought 
 prominently to my notice at the time when 
 I became involved in the fortunes of the 
 Aureataland national debt, and as all my 
 story turns on this incident, it perhaps is 
 a fit subject for a new chapter.
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 
 
 When our branch was established at 
 Whitting-ham there had been an arrange- 
 ment made between ourselves and the Gov- 
 ernment, by the terms of which w^e were 
 to have the Government business, and to 
 occupy, in fact, much that quasi-offlcial po- 
 sition enjoyed by the Bank of England at 
 home. As a quid pro quo, the bank was to 
 lend to the Republic the sum of 500,000 
 dollars, at six per cent The President was 
 at the time floating a loan of one million 
 dollars for the purpose of works at the har- 
 bor of Whittingham. This astute ruler 
 had, it seemed, hit on the plan of instituting 
 public works on a large scale as a correct- 
 ive to popular discontent, hoping thereby 
 not only to develop trade, but also to give 
 employment to many persons who, if un- 
 occupied, became centers of agitation. 
 Such at least was the official account of his 
 policy ; whether it was the true one I saw 
 
 11
 
 12 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 reason to doubt later on. As regards this 
 loan, my office was purely ministerial. The 
 arrangements were duly made, the proper 
 guarantees given, and in June, 1880, I had 
 the pleasure of handing over to the Presi- 
 dent the 500,000 dollars. I learnt from him 
 on that occasion that, to his great gratifi- 
 cation, the balance of the loan had been 
 taken up. 
 
 "We shall make a start at once, sir," said 
 the President, in his usual confident but 
 . quiet way. "In two years Whittingham 
 harbor will walk over the world. Don't be 
 afraid about your interest. Your Di- 
 rectors never made a better investment." 
 
 I thanked his Excellency, accepted a 
 cigar, and withdrew with a peaceful mind. 
 . I had no responsibility in the matter, and 
 cared nothing whether the Directors got 
 their interest or not. I was, however, 
 somewhat curious to know who had taken 
 up the rest of the loan, a curiosity which 
 was not destined to be satisfied for some 
 time. 
 
 The works were begun and the interest 
 was paid, but T cannot say that the harbor
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 13 
 
 progressed rapidly ; in fact, I doubt if more 
 than 100,000 dollars ever found their way 
 into the pockets of contractors or workmen 
 over the job. The President had some 
 holes dug and some walls built; having 
 reached that point, about two years after 
 the inteiwiew above recorded, he suddenly 
 drew off the few laborers still employed, 
 and matters came to a dead stop. 
 
 It was shortly after this occurrence that 
 I was honored with an invitation to dine 
 at the Golden House. It was in the month 
 of July, 1882. Needless to say, I accepted 
 the invitation, not only because it was in 
 the nature of a command, but also because 
 the President gave uncommonly good din- 
 ners, and, although a bachelor (in Aureata- 
 land at all events), had as well ordered a 
 household as I have ever known. My grati- 
 fication was greatly increased when, on mj^ 
 arrival, I found myself the only guest, and 
 realized that the President considered mv 
 society in itself enough for an evening's en- 
 tertainment. It did cross my mind that 
 this might mean business, and I thought 
 it none the worse for that.
 
 14 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 We dined in the famous veranda, the 
 scene of so many brilliant Whittiuoham 
 functions. The dinner was beyond re- 
 proach, the wines perfection. The Presi- 
 dent was a charming companion. Though 
 not, as I have hinted, a man of much educa- 
 tion, he had had a wide experience of life, 
 and had picked up a manner at once quiet 
 and cordial, which set me completely at my 
 ease. Moreover, he paid me the compli- 
 ment, always so sweet to youth, of treating 
 me as a man of the world. With conde- 
 scending confidence he told me many tales 
 of his earlier days; and as he had been 
 everywhere and done everything where and 
 which a man ought not to be and do, his con- 
 versation was naturally most interesting. 
 
 "I am not holding myself up as an ex- 
 ample," he said, after one of his most un- 
 usual anecdotes. "I can only hope that my 
 public services will be allowed to weigh in 
 the balance against my private frailties." 
 He said this with some emotion. 
 
 "Even your Excellency," said I, "may be 
 content to claim in that respect the same 
 indulgence as Caesar and Henri Quatre.'*
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 15 
 
 "Quite so," said the President. "I sup- 
 pose they were not exactly — eh?" 
 
 "I believe not," I answered, admiring the 
 President's readiness, for he certainly had 
 a very dim notion who either of them was. 
 
 Dinner was oA^er and the table cleared 
 before the President seemed inclined for 
 serious conversation. Then he called for 
 cigars, and pushing them toward me said: 
 
 "Take one, and fill your glass. Don't be- 
 lieve people who tell you not to drink and 
 smoke at the same time. Wine is better 
 without smoke, and smoke is better with- 
 out wine, but the combination is better 
 than either separately." 
 
 I obeved his commands, and we sat 
 smoking and sipping in silence for some 
 moments. Then the President said, sud- 
 denlv: 
 
 "Mr. Martin, this country is in a peril- 
 ous condition." 
 
 "Good God, your Excellency," said I, "do 
 you refer to the earthquake?" (There had 
 been a slight shock a few days before.) 
 
 "No, sir," he replied, "to the finances.
 
 16 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 The harbor works have proved far more 
 expeDsive than 1 anticipated. 1 hold in my 
 hand the engineer's certificate that 903,000 
 dollars have been actually expended on 
 them, and they are not finished — not by 
 any means finished." 
 
 They certainly were not; they were 
 hardly begun. 
 
 "Dear me," I ventured to say, "that seems 
 a good deal of money, considering what 
 there is to show for it." 
 
 "You cannot doubt the certificate, Mr. 
 Martin," said the President. 
 
 I did doubt the certificate, and should 
 have liked to ask what fee the engineer 
 had received. But I hastily said it was, of 
 course, beyond suspicion. 
 
 "Yes," said he steadily, "quite beyond 
 suspicion. Y^ou see, Mr. Martin, in my po- 
 sition I am compelled to be liberal. The 
 Government cannot set other employers 
 the example of gT-inding men down 
 by low wages. However, reasons apart, 
 there is the fact. We cannot go on 
 without more money; and I may tell 
 you, in confidence, that the political situa-
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 17 
 
 tion makes it imperative we should go on. 
 Not only is my personal honor pledged, but 
 the Opposition, Mr. Martin, led by the 
 Colonel, is making itself obnoxious — yes, I 
 may say very obnoxious." 
 
 "The Colonel, sir," said I, with a freedom, 
 engendered of dining, "is a beast." 
 
 "Well," said the President, with a toler- 
 ant smile, "the Colonel, unhappily for the 
 country, is no true patriot. But he is pow- 
 erful; he is rich; he is, under myself alone, 
 in command of the army. And moreover, 
 I believe he stands well with the Signorina. 
 The situation, in fact, is desperate. I must 
 have money, Mr. Martin. Will your Di- 
 rectors make me a new loan?" 
 
 I knew very well the fate that would at- 
 tend any such application. The Directors 
 were already decidedly uneasy about their 
 first loan; shareholders had asked awk- 
 ward questions, and the Chairman had 
 found no small diflflculty in showing that 
 the investment was likely to prove either 
 safe or remunerative. Again, only a fort- 
 night before, the Government had made a 
 formal application to me on the same sub-
 
 18 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 ject I cabled the Directors, and received 
 a prompt reply in the single word "Toot- 
 siims," which in onr code meant "Must abso- 
 lutely and finally decline to entertain any 
 applications." I communicated the con- 
 tents of the cable to Sefior Don Antonio de 
 la Casabianca, the Minister of Finance, who 
 had, of course, communicated them in turn 
 to the President. 
 
 I ventured to remind his Excellency of 
 these facts. He heard me with silent at- 
 tention. 
 
 "I fear," I concluded, "therefore, that it 
 is impossible for me to be of any assistance 
 to your Excellency." 
 
 He nodded, and gave a slight sigh. Then, 
 with an air of closing the subject, he said: 
 
 "I suppose the Directors are past reason. 
 Help yourself to a brandy and soda." 
 
 "Allow me to mix one for you, sir," I an- 
 swered. 
 
 While I was preparing our beverages he 
 remained silent. When I had sat down 
 again he said: 
 
 "You occupy a very responsible position
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 19 
 
 here for so young a man, Mr. Martin — not 
 beyond your merits, I am sure." 
 
 I bowed. 
 
 "They leave you a pretty free hand, don't 
 they?" 
 
 I replied that as far as routine business 
 went I did much as seemed good in mv own 
 eves. 
 
 "Routine business? including invest- 
 ments, for instance?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes," said I; "investments in the ordi- 
 nary course of business — discounting bills 
 and putting money out on loan and mort- 
 gage over here. I place the money, and 
 merely notify the people at home of what I 
 have done." 
 
 "A most proper confidence to repose in 
 you," the President was good enough to say. 
 "Confidence is the life of business; you 
 must trust a man. It would be absurd to 
 make you send home the bills, and deeds, 
 and certificates, and what not. Of course 
 they wouldn't do that." 
 
 Though this was a statement, somehow 
 it also sounded like a question, so I an- 
 swered :
 
 20 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "As a rule they do me the compliment of 
 taking my word. The fact is, they are, as 
 your Excellency says, obliged to trust some- 
 body." 
 
 "Exactly as I thought. And you some- 
 times have large sums to place ?^' 
 
 At this point, notwithstanding my re- 
 spect for the President, I began to smell a 
 rat. 
 
 "Oh, no, sir," I replied, "usually very 
 small. Our business is not so extensive as 
 we could wish." 
 
 "Whatever," said the President, looking 
 me straight in the face, "whatever may be 
 usual, at this moment you have a large sum 
 — a very respectable sum — of money in 
 your safe at the bank, waiting for invest- 
 ment." 
 
 "How the devil do you know that?" I 
 cried. 
 
 "Mr. Martin! It is no doubt my fault; I 
 am too prone to ignore etiquette; but you 
 forget 3' ourself." 
 
 I hastened to apologize, although I was 
 pretty certain the President was contem-
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT, 21 
 
 plating a queer transaction, if not flat bur- 
 glary. 
 
 "Ten thousand pardons, your Excellency, 
 for my most unbecoming tone, but may I 
 ask how you became possessed of this infor- 
 mation?" 
 
 "Jones told me," he said, simply. 
 
 As it would not have been polite to ex- 
 press the surprise I felt at Jones' simplic- 
 ity in choosing such a confidant, I held my 
 peace. 
 
 "Yes," continued the President, "owing 
 to the recent sales of your real property in 
 this country (sales due, I fear, to a want of 
 confidence in my administration), you have 
 at this moment a sum of 300,000 dollars in 
 the bank safe. Now (don't interrupt me, 
 please) the experience of a busy life teaches 
 me that commercial reputation and probity 
 depend on results, not on methods. Your 
 Directors have a prejudice against me and 
 my Government. That prejudice you, with 
 your superior opportunities for judgment, 
 cannot share. You will serve your employ- 
 ers best by doing for them what tliey 
 haven't the sense and courage to do for
 
 22 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 thomselTes. I propose that you should as- 
 sume the responsibility of lending me this 
 money. The transaction will redound to 
 the profit of the bank. It shall also," he 
 added slowly, "redound to your profit." 
 
 I began to see my way. But there were 
 difficulties. 
 
 "What am I to tell the Directors?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "You will make the usual return of in- 
 vestments and debts outstanding — mort- 
 gages — loans on approved security — but 
 you know better than I do." 
 
 "False returns, your Excellency means?" 
 
 "They will no doubt be formally inac- 
 curate," the President admitted. 
 
 "What if they ask for proofs?" said I. 
 
 "Sufficient unto the day," said the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 "You have rather surprised me, sir," I 
 said, "but I am most anxious to oblige you, 
 and to forward the welfare of Aureataland. 
 There are, however, two points which occur 
 to me. First, how am I to be insured 
 against not getting my interest? That I 
 must have."
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 23 
 
 "Quite so," he interrupted. "And the 
 second point I can anticipate. It is, what 
 token of my gratitude for your timely as- 
 sistance can I prevail on you to accept?" 
 
 "Your Excellency's knowledge of human 
 nature is surprising." 
 
 "Kindly give me your attention, Mr. Mar- 
 tin, and I will try to satisfy both your very 
 reasonable requirements. You have 300,- 
 000 dollars; those you will hand over to me, 
 receiving in return Government 6 per cent, 
 bonds for that amount. I will then hand 
 back to you 65,000 dollars; 45,000 you will 
 retain as security for your interest; in the 
 event of any failure on the part of Aureata- 
 land to meet her obligations honorably, you 
 will pay the interest on the whole 300,000 
 out of that sum. That secures you for more 
 than two vears against absolute failure of 
 interest, which in reality you need not fear. 
 Till the money is wanted, you will have the 
 use of it. The remaining 20,000 I shall beg 
 of you to accept as your commission, or 
 rather as a token of my esteem; 20,000 ab- 
 solutely — 45,000 as long as Aureataland 
 pays interest! You must admit I deal with
 
 24 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 you as one gentleman with another, Mr. 
 Martin. In the result, your Directors get 
 their interest, I get my loan, you get your 
 bonus. We are all benefited, no one is 
 hurt! All this is effected at the cost of a 
 harmless stratagem." 
 
 I was full of admiration. The scheme 
 was very neat, and, as far as the President 
 and myself were concerned, he had been no 
 more than just in pointing out its advan- 
 tages. As for the Directors, they would 
 probably get their interest; anyhow, they 
 would get it for two years. There was risk, 
 of course; a demand for evidence of my al- 
 leged investments or a sudden order to real- 
 ize a heavy sum at short notice would bring 
 the house about my ears. But I did not an- 
 ticipate this contretemps, and at the worst 
 I had my 20,000 dollars, and could make 
 myself scarce therewith. These calculations 
 were quite correct at the moment, but I up- 
 set them afterward by spending the dollars 
 and by contracting a tie which made flight 
 from Aureataland a distasteful alternative. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Martin," said the President, 
 "do you agree?"
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT. 25 
 
 I still hesitated. Was it a moral scruple? 
 Probably not, unless, indeed, prudence and 
 morality are the same thing-. 
 
 The president rose and put his hand on 
 my shoulder. 
 
 "Better say yes. I might take it, you 
 know, and cause you to disappear — believe 
 me, with reluctance, Mr. Martin. It is true 
 I shouldn't like this course. It would per- 
 haps make my position here untenable. 
 But not having the money would certainly 
 make it untenable." 
 
 I saw the force of this argument, and, 
 gulping down my brandy and soda, I said: 
 
 "I can refuse your Excellency nothing." 
 
 "Then take your hat and come along to 
 the bank," said he. 
 
 This was sharp work. 
 
 "Your Excellency does not mean to take 
 the money now — to-night?" I exclaimed. 
 
 "Not to take, Mr. Martin — to receive it 
 from you. We have made our bargain. 
 What is the objection to carrying it out 
 promptly?" 
 
 "But I must have the bonds. Thev must 
 be prepared, sir,"
 
 26 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "They are here," he said, taking a bundle 
 from the drawer of a writing-table, "300- 
 000 dolUirs 6 per cent, stock, signed by my- 
 self, and countersigned by Don Antonio. 
 Take your hat and come along." 
 
 I did as I was bid.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY. 
 
 It was a beantifiil moonlight night, and 
 Whittingham was looking her best as we 
 made our way along the avenue leading to 
 the Piazza 1871. The President walked 
 briskly, silent but serene; I followed, the 
 trouble in mv mind reflected in a somewhat 
 hang-dog air, and I was not much comforted 
 when the President broke the stillness of 
 the night by saying: 
 
 "You have set your foot on the first rung 
 of the ladder that leads to fame and wealth, 
 Mr. Martin." 
 
 I was rather afraid I had set it on the first 
 rung of the ladder that leads to the gallows. 
 But there the foot was; what the ladder 
 turned out to be was in the hands of the 
 gods; so I threw off care, and as we entered 
 the Piazza I pointed to the statue, and said: 
 
 "Behold my inspiring example, your Ex- 
 cellency !" 
 
 27
 
 28 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "By Jove, yes," he replied, "I make the 
 most of my opportunities." 
 
 I knew he regarded me as one of his op- 
 portunities, and was making the most of 
 me. This is not a pleasant point of view to 
 regard one's self from, so I changed the sub- 
 ject, and said: 
 
 "Shall we call for Don Antonio?" 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Well, as he's Minister of Finance, I 
 thought perhaps his presence would make 
 the matter more regular." 
 
 "If the presence of the President," said 
 that official, "can't make a matter regular, 
 I don't know what can. Let him sleep on. 
 Isn't his signature on the bonds enough?" 
 What could I do ? I made one more weak 
 objection : 
 
 "What shall we tell Jones?" 
 "What shall we tell Jones?" he echoed. 
 "Really, Mr. Martin, you must use your dis- 
 cretion as to what you tell your employes. 
 Y ou can hardly expect me to tell Jones any- 
 thing, beyond that it's a fine morning." 
 
 We had now reached the bank, which 
 stood in Liberty Street, a turning out of the
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY. 29 
 
 Piazza. I took out my key, unlocked the 
 door, and we entered together. We passed 
 into my inner sanctum, where the safe 
 stood. 
 
 "What's in it?" asked the President. 
 
 "United States bonds, and bills on New 
 York and London," I replied. 
 
 "Good," said he. "Let me look." 
 
 I unlocked the safe, and took out the se- 
 curities. He examined them carefully, 
 placing each after due scrutiny in a small 
 handbag, in which he had brought down the 
 bonds I was to receive. I stood by, holding 
 a shaded candle. At this moment a voice 
 cried from the door: 
 
 "If you move you're dead men!" 
 
 I started and looked up. The President 
 looked up without starting. There was 
 dear old Jones, descended from his upper 
 chamber, where he and Mrs. Jones resided. 
 He was clad only in his night-shirt, and was 
 leveling a formidable gun full at the au- 
 gust head of his Excellency. 
 
 "Ah, Mr. Jones," said the latter, "it's a 
 fine morning." 
 
 "Good heavens, the President!" cried
 
 30 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Jones; "and Mr. Martin! Why, what on 
 earth, gentlemen — ?" 
 
 The President gently waved one hand 
 toward me, as if to say, "Mr. Martin will 
 explain," and went on placing his securities 
 in the bag. 
 
 In face of this crisis my hesitation left 
 me. 
 
 "I have received a cable from Europe, 
 Jones," said I, "instructing me to advance a 
 sum of money to his Excellency; I am en- 
 gaged in carrying out these instructions." 
 
 "Cable?" said Jones. "Where is it?" 
 
 "In my pocket," said I, feeling for it. 
 "No! Wh}^, I must have left it at the Golden 
 House." 
 
 The President came to my assistance. 
 
 "I saw it on the table just before we 
 started. Though I presume Mr. Jones has 
 no right — ?" 
 
 "None at all," I said briskly. 
 
 "Yet, as a matter of concession, Mr. Mar- 
 tin will no doubt show it to him to-mor- 
 row?" 
 
 "Strictly as a matter of concession per-
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY. 31 
 
 haps I will, though I am bound to say that 
 I am surprised at your manner, Mr. Jones/' 
 
 Jones looked sadl}^ puzzled, 
 
 "It's all irregular, sir," said he. 
 
 "Hardly more so than your costume!" 
 said the President, pleasantly. 
 
 Jones was a modest man, and being thus 
 made aware of the havoc the draught was 
 playing with his airy covering, he hastily 
 closed the door, and said to me appeal- 
 ingly: 
 
 "It's all right, sir, I suppose?" 
 
 "Perfectl}^ right," said I. 
 
 "But highly confidential," added the Pres- 
 ident. "And you will put me under a per- 
 sonal obligation, Mr. Jones, and at the same 
 time fulfill your duty to your employers, if 
 you preserve silence till the transaction is 
 officially announced. A man who senses 
 me does not regret it." 
 
 Here he was making the most of another 
 opportunity — Jones this time. 
 
 "Enough of this," I said. "I will go over 
 the matter in the morning, and meanwhile 
 hadn't you better go back to — "
 
 32 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "Mrs. Jones," interjected his Excellency. 
 "And mind, silence, Mr. Jones." 
 
 He walked up to Jones as he said this, 
 and looked hard at him. 
 
 "Silent men prosper best, and live long- 
 est, Mr. Jones." 
 
 Jones looked into his steely eyes, and sud- 
 denly fell all of a tremble. 
 
 The President was satisfied. He ab- 
 ruptly pushed him out of the room, and we 
 heard his shambling steps going up the 
 staircase. 
 
 His Excellency turned to me, and said, 
 with apparent annoyance: 
 
 "You leave a great deal to me, Mr. Mar- 
 tin." 
 
 He had certainly done more than tell 
 Jones it was a fine morning. But I was too 
 much troubled to thank him; I was think- 
 ing of the cable. The President divined 
 my thoughts, and said: 
 
 "You must prepare that cable." 
 
 "Yes," I replied; "that would reassure 
 him. But I haven't had much practice in 
 that sort of thing, and I don't quite know — " 
 
 The President scribbled a few words on a 
 bit of paper, and said :
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY. 33 
 
 "Take that to the Post Office, and they'll 
 give you the proper form; you can fill it 
 up." 
 
 Certainly some things go easily if the 
 head of the State is vour fellow criminal. 
 
 "And now, Mr. Martin, it grows late. I 
 have my securities; you have your bonds. 
 We have won over Jones. All goes well. 
 Aureataland is saved. You have made 
 vour fortune, for there lie vour 05,000 dol- 
 lars. And, in fine, I am much obliged to 
 you. I will not trouble you to attend me 
 on my return. Good-night, Mr. Martin." 
 
 He went out, and I threw myself down in 
 my office chair, and sat gazing at the bonds 
 he had left me. I wondered whether he 
 had merely made a tool of me; whether I 
 could trust him; whether I had done well 
 to sacrifice my honesty, relying on his prom- 
 ises. And yet there lay my reward; and, 
 as purely moral considerations did not 
 trouble me, I soon arose, put the Govern- 
 ment bonds and the 65,000 dollars in securi- 
 ties in the safe, locked up everything, and 
 went home to my lodgings. As I went in 
 it was broad daylight, for the clock had
 
 34 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 gone five, and I met Father JTacques sally- 
 ing forth. He had already breakfasted, 
 and was on his way to administer early con- 
 solation to the flower-women in the Piazza. 
 He stopped me with a grieved look, and 
 said: 
 
 "Ah, my friend, these are untimely 
 hours." 
 
 I saw I was laboring under an unjust sus- 
 picion — a most revolting thing. 
 
 "I have only just come from the bank," I 
 said. "I had to dine at the Golden House 
 and afterward returned to finish up a bit of 
 work." 
 
 "Ah ! that is well," he cried. "It is then 
 the industrious and not the idle apprentice 
 I meet?" referring to a series of famous 
 prints with which my room was decorated, 
 a gift from my father on my departure. 
 
 I nodded and passed on, saying to myself: 
 "Deuced industrious, indeed. Not many 
 men have done such a night's work as I 
 have." 
 
 And that was how my fortunes became 
 bound up with those of the Aureataland 
 National Debt.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 
 
 After the incidents above recorded, 
 things went on quietly enough for some 
 months. I had a serious talli; with Jones, 
 reproaching him gravely for his outrageous 
 demeanor. He capitulated abjectl}^ on be- 
 ing shown the cable, which M^as procured 
 in the manner kindlv indicated bv the Pres- 
 ident. The latter had perhaps been in too 
 great a hurry with his heavy guns, for his 
 hint of violence had rather stirred than 
 allayed Jones' apprehensions. If there 
 were nothing to conceal, why should his Ex- 
 cellencv not stick at murder to hide it? 
 ■^ However, I explained to him the considera- 
 tions of high policy, dictating inviolable se- 
 crecy, and justifying a somewhat arbitrary 
 way of dealing with a trusted official; and 
 the marked graciousness with which Jones 
 was received when he met the President at 
 the Ministry of Finance on current business 
 went far to obliterate his unpleasant recol- 
 
 35
 
 36 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 lections. I further bound him to my for- 
 tunes by obtaining for him a rise of salary 
 from the Directors, "in consequence of the 
 favorable report of his conduct received 
 from Mr. Martin." 
 
 Peaceful as matters seemed, I was not al- 
 together at ease. To begin with, the new 
 loan did not apparently at all improve the 
 financial position of Aureataland. Desola- 
 tion still reigned on the scene of the harbor 
 works; there was the usual difficulty in 
 paying salaries and meeting current ex- 
 penditures. The President did not invite 
 my confidence as to the disposal of his 
 funds; indeed before long I was alarmed to 
 see a growing coldness in his manner, whicli 
 I considered at once ungrateful and menac- 
 ing; and when the half-year came round he 
 firmly refused to disburse more than half 
 the amount of interest due on the second 
 loan, thus forcing me to make an inroad on 
 my reserve of 45,000 dollars. He gave me 
 many good reasons for this course of con- 
 duct, dwelling chiefly on the necessary un- 
 productiveness of public works in their 
 early stages, and confidently promising full
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 37 
 
 payment with arrears next time. Never- 
 theless I began to see that I must face the 
 possibility of a continual drain on resources 
 that I had fondly hoped would be available 
 for my own purposes for a considerable 
 time at least. Thus one thing and another 
 contributed to open a breach between his 
 Excellency and myself, and, although I 
 never ceased to feel his charm as a private 
 companion, my distrust of him as a ruler, 
 and, I may add, as a fellow-conspirator, 
 steadily deepened. 
 
 Other influences were at this time — for 
 we have now reached the beginning of '83— 
 at work in the same direction. Kich in the 
 possession of my "bonus," I had plunged 
 even more freely than before into the gaie- 
 ties of Whittingham, and where I was wel- 
 come before, I was now a doubly-honored 
 guest. I had also taken to play on a some- 
 what high scale, and it was my reputation 
 as a daring gambler that procured me the 
 honor of an acquaintance with the Signo- 
 rina, the lady to whom the President had 
 referred during his interview with me ; and 
 my acquaintance with the Signorina was 
 very rich in results.
 
 38 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 This lady was, after the President, per- 
 haps the best known person in Aureataland 
 — best known, that is, by name and face and 
 fame; for her antecedents and circnmstan- 
 ces were wrapped in impenetrable mystery. 
 When I arrived in the country theSii^uorina 
 Christina Nugent had been settled there 
 about a year. She had appeared originally 
 as a member of an Operatic Company, which 
 had paid a visit to our "National Theater" 
 from the United States. The Company 
 passed on its not very brilliant way, but the 
 Signorina remained behind. It was said, 
 she had taken a fancy to Whittingham, and, 
 being independent of her profession, hatl de- 
 termined to make a sojourn there. At any 
 rate, there she was; whether she took a 
 fancy to Whittingham, or whether some- 
 one in Whittingham took a fancy to her, re- 
 mained in doubt. She established herself in 
 a pretty villa closely adjoining the Golden 
 House; it stood opposite the presiden- 
 tial grounds, commanding a view of that 
 stately enclosure; and here she dwelt, un- 
 der the care of a lady whom she called 
 "Aunt," known to the rest of the w^orld as
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 39 
 
 Mrs. Carrington. The title "Signorina" 
 was purely professional ; for all I know the 
 name "Nugent" was equally a creature of 
 choice; but, anyhow, the lady herself never 
 professed to be anj^thing but English, and 
 openly stated that she retained her title 
 simply because it was more musical than 
 that of "Miss." The old lady and the young- 
 one lived together in great apparent amity, 
 and certainlv in the utmost material com- 
 fort ; for they probably got through more 
 money than any one in the town, and there 
 always seemed to be plenty more where 
 that came from. Where it did come from 
 was, I need hardly say, a subject of keen 
 curiosity in social circles; and when I state 
 that the Signorina w^as now about twenty- 
 three years of age, and of remarkably pre- 
 possessing appearance, it will be allow^ed 
 that we in Whittingham w^ere no worse 
 than other peojjle if we entertained some 
 uncharitable suspicions. The Signorina, 
 however, did not make the work of detec- 
 tion at all easv. She became almost at 
 once a leading figure in society; her "salon" 
 was the meeting-place of all parties and
 
 40 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 most sets; she received many gracious at- 
 tentions from the Golden House, but none 
 on whicli slander could definitely settle. 
 She was also frequently the hostess of mem- 
 bers of the Opposition, and of no one more 
 often than their leader, Colonel George Mc- 
 Gregor, a gentleman of Scotch extraction, 
 but not pronouncedly national characteris- 
 tics, who had attained a high position in the 
 land of his adojjtion; for not only did he 
 lead the Opposition in politics, but he was 
 also second in command of the Army. He 
 entered the Chamber as one of the Presi- 
 dent'te nominees (for the latter had reserved 
 to himself power to nominate five mem- 
 bers), but at the time of which I write the 
 Colonel had deserted his former chief, and, 
 secure in his popularity with the forces, de- 
 fied the man by whose help he had risen. 
 Naturally the President disliked him, a feel- 
 ing I cordially shared. But his Excellen- 
 cy's disapproval did not prevent the Sig- 
 norina receiving McGregor with great cor- 
 diality, though here again with no more 
 emprcsscmcnt than his position seemed to 
 demand.
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 41 
 
 I have as much curiosity as my neigh- 
 bors, and I was proportionately gratified 
 when the doors of "Mon Repos," as the Sig- 
 norina called her residence, were opened to 
 me. M}' curiosity-, I must confess, was not 
 unmixed with other feelings; for I was a 
 young man at heart, though events had 
 thrown sobering responsibilities upon me, 
 and the sight of the Signorina in her daily 
 drives was enough to inspire a thrill even 
 in the soul of a bank manager. She was 
 certainly very beautiful — a tall, fair girl, 
 with straight features and laughing eyes. 
 I shall not attempt more description, be- 
 cause all such descriptions sound common- 
 place, and the Signorina was, even by the 
 admission of her enemies, at least very far 
 from commonplace. It must suffice to say 
 that, like Father O'Flynn, she "had such a 
 way with her" that all of us men in Aureat- 
 aland, old and young, rich and poor, were 
 at her feet, or ready to be there on the least 
 encouragement. She was, to my thinking, 
 the very genius of health, beauty and gai- 
 ety; and she put the crowning touch to her 
 charms by very openly and frankly solicit-
 
 42 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 inj? and valuing; the admiration she re- 
 ceived. For, after all, it's only exceptional 
 men who are attracted by difffcUe beauty; 
 to most of us a gracious reception of our 
 timid advances is the most subtle tempta- 
 tion of the Devil. 
 
 It may be supposed, then, that I thought 
 my money very well invested when it pro- 
 cured me an invitation to "Mon Repos," 
 where the lady of the house was in the habit 
 of allowing a genteel amount of gambling 
 among her male friends. She never played 
 herself, but stood and looked on with much 
 interest. On occasion she would tempt 
 fortune by the hand of a chosen deputy, 
 and nothing could be prettier or more ar- 
 tistic than her behavior. She was just 
 eager enough for a girl unused to the excite- 
 ment and. fond of triumph, just indifferent 
 enough to show that her plaj' was merely a 
 pastime, and the gain of the money or its 
 loss a matter of no moment. Ah, Signo- 
 rina, you were a great artist! 
 
 At "Mon Repos" I soon became an habit- 
 ual, and, I was fain to think, a welcome 
 guest Mrs. Carrington, who entertained
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 43 
 
 a deep distrust of the manners and excesses 
 of Aureataland, was good enough to con- 
 sider me eminently respectable, while the 
 Signorina was graciousness itself. I was 
 even admitted to the select circle at the din- 
 ner party which, as a rule, preceded her 
 Wednesday evening reception, and I was a 
 constant figure round the little roulette 
 board, which, of all forms of gaming, was 
 our hostess' favorite delectation. The 
 Colonel was, not to my pleasure, an equally 
 invariable guest, and the President himself 
 would often honor the party with his pres- 
 ence, an honor we found rather expensive, 
 for his luck at all games of skill or chance 
 was extraordinary. 
 
 "I have always trusted Fortune," he 
 would say, "and to me she is not fickle." 
 
 "Who would be fickle if your Excellency 
 were pleased to trust her?" the Signorina 
 would respond, with a glance of almost fond 
 admiration. 
 
 This sort of thing did not please Mc- 
 Gregor. He made no concealment of the 
 fact that he claimed the foremost place 
 among the Signorina's admirers, utterly de-
 
 44 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 rliuins: to mako waA' even for the President. 
 The latter took his boorishness very quietly ; 
 and I could not avoid the conclusion that 
 the President held, or thought he held, tho 
 trumps. I was, naturally, intensely jealous 
 of both these great men, and, although I 
 had no cause to complain of my treatment, 
 I could not stifle some resentment at the 
 idea that I vi'as, after all, an outsider and 
 not allowed a part in the real drama that 
 was going on. My hapi^iness was further 
 damped by the fact that luck ran steadily 
 against me, and I saw my bonus dwindling 
 very rapidly. I suppose I may as well be 
 frank, and confess that my bonus, to speak 
 strictly, vanished within six months after 
 I first set foot in "Mon Repos," and I found 
 it necessary to make that temporary use of 
 the "interest-fund" which the President had 
 indicated as open to me under the terms of 
 our bargain. However, my uneasiness on 
 this score was lightened when the next in- 
 stallment of interest was punctually paid, 
 and, with youthful confidence, I made little 
 doubt that luck would turn before long. 
 Thus time passed on, and the beginning
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 45 
 
 of 1884 found us all leading an apparently 
 merry and untroubled life. In public af- 
 fairs the temper was very different. The 
 scarcity of money was intense, and serious 
 murmuring had arisen when the President 
 ^'squandered" his ready money in jjaying in- 
 terest, leaving his civil servants and sol- 
 diers unpaid. This was the topic of much 
 discussion in the Press at the time when I 
 went up one March evening to the Signo- 
 rina's. I had been detained at the bank, and 
 found the plaj- in full swing when I came 
 in. The Signorina was taking no part in 
 it, but sat by herself on a low lounge by the 
 veranda window. I went up to her and 
 made my bow. 
 
 "You spare us but little of your time, Mr. 
 Martin," she said. 
 
 "Ah, but you have all my thoughts," I re- 
 plied, for she was looking charming. 
 
 "I don't care so much about your 
 thoughts," she said. Then, after a pause, 
 she went on: "It's very hot here; come into 
 the conservatory." 
 
 It almost looked as though she had been 
 waiting for me, and I followed in high de-
 
 46 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 light into the long, narrow glass house run- 
 ning parallel to the "salon." High green 
 plants hid us from the view of those inside, 
 and we only heard distinctly his Excellen- 
 cy's voice, saying with much geniality to 
 the Colonel, "Well, you must be lucky in 
 love, Colonel," from which I concluded that 
 the Colonel was not in the vein at cards. 
 
 The Signorina smiled slightly- as she 
 heard; then she plucked a white rose, 
 turned round, and stood facing me, slightly 
 flushed as though with some inner excite- 
 ment. 
 
 "I am afraid those two gentlemen do not 
 love one another," she said. 
 
 "Hardly," I assented. 
 
 "And you, do you love them — or either 
 of them?" 
 
 "I love only one person in Aureataland," 
 I replied, as ardently as I dared. 
 
 The Signorina bit her rose, glancing up 
 at me with unfeigned amusement and pleas- 
 ure. I think I have mentioned that she 
 didn't object to honest admiration, 
 
 "Is it possible j^ou mean me?" she said, 
 making me a little curtsey. "I only think
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 47 
 
 SO because most of the Whittinghani ladies 
 would not satisfy your fastidious taste." 
 
 "No lady in the world could satisfy me 
 except one," I answered, thinking she took 
 it a little too lightly. 
 
 "Ah, so you say," she said. "And yet I 
 don't suppose you would do anything for 
 me, Mr. Martin?" 
 
 "It would be my greatest happiness," I 
 cried. 
 
 She said nothing, but stood there, biting 
 the rose. 
 
 "Give it me," I said; "it shall be my badge 
 of service." 
 
 "You will serve me, then?" said she. 
 
 "For what reward?" 
 
 "Why, the rose!" 
 
 "I should like the owner, too," I ventured 
 to remark. 
 
 "The rose is prettier than the owner," she 
 said ; "and, at any rate, one thing at a time, 
 Mr. Martin! Do you pay your servants all 
 their wages in advance?" 
 
 My practice was so much the contrary 
 that I really couldn't deny the force of her 
 reasoning. She held out the rose. I seized
 
 48 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 it and pressed it close to my lips, thereby 
 squashing- it considerably. 
 
 "Dear me," said the Signorina, "I wonder 
 if I had given you the other thing whether 
 you v/ould have treated it so roughly." 
 
 "I'll show you in a moment," said I. 
 
 "Thank you, no, not just now," she said, 
 showing no alarm, for she knew she was 
 safe with me. Then she said abruptly: 
 
 "Are you a Constitutionalist or a Liberal, 
 Mr. Martin?" 
 
 I must explain that, in the usual race for 
 the former title, the President's party had 
 been first at the post, and the Colonel's gang 
 (as I privately termed it) had to put up with 
 the alternative designation. Neither name 
 bore any relation to facts. 
 
 "Are we going to talk politics?" said I, re- 
 proachfully. 
 
 "Yes, a little; you see we got to an im- 
 passe on the other topic. Tell me." 
 
 "Which are you, Signorina?" I asked. 
 
 I really wanted to know; so did a great 
 many people. 
 
 She thought for a moment, and then said :
 
 OVERTURES PROM THE OPPOSITION. 49 
 
 "I have a great regard for the Presi- 
 dent. He has been most kind to me. He 
 has shown me real affection." 
 
 "The devil he has!" I muttered. 
 
 "I beg 3' our pardon?" said she. 
 
 "I only said 'Of course he has.' The 
 President has the usual complement of 
 eyes." 
 
 The Signorina smiled again, but went on 
 as if I hadn't spoken. 
 
 "On the other hand, I cannot disguise 
 from myself that some of his measures are 
 not wise." 
 
 1 said I had never been able to disguise it 
 from myself. 
 
 "The Colonel, of course, is of the same 
 opinion," she continued. "About the debt, 
 for instance. I believe your bank is inter- 
 ested in it?" 
 
 This was no secret, so I said : 
 
 "Oh, yes, to a considerable extent." 
 
 "And you?" she asked, softly. 
 
 "Oh, I am not a capitalist; no money of 
 mine has gone into the debt" 
 
 "No money of yours, no. But aren't you 
 interested in it?" she persisted.
 
 50 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 This was rather odd. Could she know 
 anything? 
 
 She drew nearer to me, and, laying a hand 
 lightly on my arm, said reproachfully: 
 
 "Do you love people, and yet not trust 
 them, Mr. Martin?" 
 
 This was exactly my state of feeling to- 
 ward the Signorina, but I could not say so. 
 I was wondering how far I should be wise 
 to trust her, and that depended largely on 
 how far his Excellency had seen fit to trust 
 her with my secrets. I said finally: 
 
 "Without disclosing other people's se- 
 crets, Signorina, I may admit that if any- 
 thing went wrong with the debt my em- 
 ployers' opinion of my discretion would be 
 severely shaken." 
 
 "Of your discretion," she said, laughing. 
 "Thank you, Mr. Martin. And you would 
 wish that not to hapxjen?" 
 
 "I would take a good deal of pains to pre- 
 vent its happening." 
 
 "Not less willingly if your interest and 
 mine coincided?" 
 
 I was about to make a passionate reply 
 when we heard the President's voice say- 
 ing:
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 51 
 
 "And where is our hostess? I should 
 like to thank her before I go." 
 
 "Hush," whispered the Signorina. "We 
 must go back. You will be true to me, Mr, 
 Martin?" 
 
 "Call me Jack," said I, idiotically. 
 
 "Then you will be true, O Jack?" she said, 
 stifling a laugh. 
 
 "Till death," said I, hoping it would not 
 be necessary. 
 
 She gave me her hand, which I kissed 
 with fervor, and we returned to the "salon," 
 to find all the plaj^ers risen from the table 
 and standing about in groups, waiting to 
 make their bows till the President had gone 
 through that ceremony. I was curious to 
 hear if anj'thing passed between him and 
 the Signorina, but I was pounced upon by 
 Donna Antonia, the daughter of the Minis- 
 ter of Finance, who happened to be present, 
 notwithstanding the late hour, as a guest of 
 the Signorina's for the night. She was a 
 handsome young lady, a Spanish brunette 
 of the approved pattern, but with manners 
 formed at a New York boarding-school, 
 where she had undergone a training that
 
 52 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 had tempered without destroying her na- 
 tive gentility. She had distinguished me 
 very favorably, and I was vain enough to 
 suppose she honored me by some jealousy 
 of my penchant for the Signorina. 
 
 "I hope you have enjoyed yourself in the 
 conservatory," she said maliciously. 
 
 "We were talking business, Donna An- 
 tonia," I replied. 
 
 "Ah, business ! I hear of nothing but bus- 
 iness. There is papa gone down to the 
 country and burying himself alive to work 
 out some great scheme of business!" 
 
 I pricked up my ears. 
 
 "Ah, what scheme is that?" I asked. 
 
 "Oh! I don't know. Something about 
 that horrid debt. But I was told not to say 
 anything about it!" 
 
 The debt was becoming a bore. The 
 whole air was full of it. I hastily paid 
 Donna Antonia a few incoherent compli- 
 ments, and took my leave. As I was put- 
 ting on my coat Colonel McGregor joined 
 me and, with more friendliness than he 
 usually showed me, accompanied me down
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION. 53 
 
 the avenue toward the Piazza. After 
 some indifferent remarks he began: 
 
 "Martin, you and I have separate inter- 
 ests in some matters, but I think we have 
 the same in others." 
 
 I knew at once what he meant: it was 
 that debt over again! 
 
 I remained silent, and he continued: 
 
 "About the debt, for instance. You are 
 interested in the debt?" 
 
 "Somewhat," said I. "A banker gener- 
 ally is interested in a debt." 
 
 "I thought so," said the Colonel. "A time 
 may come w^hen we can act together. 
 Meanwhile, keep your eye on the debt. 
 Good-night." 
 
 We parted at the door of his chambers in 
 the Piazza, and I went on to my lodgings. 
 
 As I got into bed, rather puzzled and very 
 uneasy, I damned the debt. Then, remem- 
 bering that the debt was, as it seemed, for 
 some reason a commcm interest to the Si- 
 gnorina and myself, I apologized to it, and 
 fell asleep.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 
 
 The flight of time brought no alleviation 
 to the troubles of Aureataland. If an indi- 
 vidual hard-up is a pathetic sight, a nation 
 hard-up is an alarming spectacle; and Au- 
 reataland was very hard-up. I suppose 
 somebody had some money. But the Gov- 
 ernment had none; in consequence the Gov- 
 ernment employes had none, the officials 
 had none, the President had none, and 
 finallv, I had none. The bank had a little 
 — of other people's, of course — but I was 
 quite prepared for a "run" on us any day, 
 and had cabled to the Directors to implore 
 a remittance in cash, for our notes were at 
 a discount humiliating to contemplate. 
 Political strife ran high. I dropped into the 
 House of Assembly one afternoon toward 
 the end of May, and, looking down from the 
 gallery, saw the Colonel in the full tide of 
 wrathful declamation. He was demanding 
 
 54
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 55 
 
 of the miserable Don Antonio when the 
 army was to be paid. The latter sat cower- 
 ing under his scorn, and would, I verily be- 
 lieve, have bolted out of the House had he 
 not been nailed to his seat by the cold eye of 
 the President, who was looking on from his 
 box. The Minister on rising had nothing 
 to urge but vague promises of speedy pay- 
 ment; but he utterly lacked the confident 
 effrontery of his chief, and nobody was de- 
 ceived by his weak protestations. I left 
 the House in a considerable uproar, and 
 strolled on to the house of a friend of mine, 
 one Madame Devarges, the widow of a 
 French gentleman who had found his way 
 to Whittingham from New Caledonia. Po- 
 liteness demanded the assumption that he 
 had found his way to New Caledonia owing 
 to political troubles, but the usual cloud 
 hung over the precise date and circum- 
 stances of his patriotic sacrifice. Madame 
 sometimes considered it necessary to bore 
 herself and others with denunciations of 
 the various tyrants or would-be tyrants of 
 France; but, apart from this pious offering 
 on the shrine of her husband's reputation,
 
 66 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 she was a bright and pleasant little woman. 
 I found assembled round her tea-table a 
 merry party, including Donna Antonia, un- 
 mindful of her father's agonies, and one 
 Johnny Carr, who deserves mention as be- 
 ing the only honest man in Aureataland. I 
 speak, of course, of the place as I found it. 
 He was a young Englishman, what they call 
 a "cadet," of a good family, shipped off with 
 a couple of thousand pounds to make his for- 
 tune. Land was cheap among us, and 
 Johnny had bought an estate and settled 
 down as a landowner. Recently he had 
 blossomed forth as a keen Constitutionalist 
 and a devoted admirer of the President's, 
 and held a seat in the Assembly in that in- 
 terest. Johnny was not a clever man nor 
 a wise one, but he was merry, and, as I have 
 thought it necessary to mention, honest. 
 
 "Hullo, Johnny! Why not at the House?" 
 said I to him. "Youll want ever}^ vote to- 
 night. Be off and help the Ministry, and 
 take Donna Antonia with you. They're eat- 
 ing up the Minister of Finance." 
 
 "All right! I'm going as soon as I've had
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 57 
 
 another muffin," said Johnny. "But what's 
 the row about?" 
 
 "Well, they want their money," I replied; 
 "and Don Antonio won't giye it them. 
 Hence bad feeling." 
 
 "Tell you what it is," said Johnny; "he 
 hasn't got a—" 
 
 Here Donna Antonia struck in, rather 
 suddenly, I thought. 
 
 "Do stop the gentlemen talking politics, 
 Madame Devarges. They'll spoil our tea- 
 party." 
 
 "Your word is law," I said ; "but I should 
 like to know what Don Antonio hasn't got." 
 
 "Now do be quiet," she rejoined ; "isn't it 
 'j[uite enough that he has got — a charming 
 daughter?" 
 
 "And a most valuable one," I replied with 
 a bow, for I saw that for some reason or 
 other Donna Antonia did not mean to let me 
 pump Johnny Carr, and I wanted to pump 
 him. 
 
 "Don't say another word, Mr. Carr," she 
 said with a laugh. "You know you don't 
 know anything, do you?" 
 
 "Good Lord, no!" said Johnny.
 
 58 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Meanwhile Madame Devarges was giving 
 me a cup of tea. As she handed it to me, 
 she said in a low voice: 
 
 "If I were his friend I should take care 
 Johnny didn't know anything, Mr. Martin." 
 
 "If I were his friend I should take care 
 he told me what he knew, Madame De- 
 varges," I replied. 
 
 "Perhaps that's what the Colonel thinks," 
 she said. "Johnny has just been telling us 
 how very attentive he has become. And 
 the Signorina too, I hear." 
 
 "You don't mean that?" I exclaimed. 
 "But after all, pure kindness, no doubt!" 
 
 "You have received many attentions from 
 those quarters," she said. "No doubt you 
 are a good judge of the motives." 
 
 "Don't, now don't be disagreeable," said 
 I. "I came here for peace." 
 
 "Poor young man ! Have you lost all your 
 money? Is it possible that you, like Don 
 Antonio, haven't got a — ?" 
 
 "What is going to happen?" I asked, for 
 Madame Devarges often had information. 
 
 "I don't know," she said. "But if I owned 
 National Bonds, I should sell."
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 59 
 
 "Pardon me, madame; you would offer to 
 sell." 
 
 She laughed, saying: 
 
 "Ah, I see my advice comes too late!" 
 
 I did not see any need to enlighten her 
 farther. So I passed on to Donna Antonia, 
 who had sat somewhat sulkily since her 
 outburst. I sat down by her side and said : 
 
 "Surely I haven't offended you?" 
 
 "You know you w^ouldn't care if you had," 
 she said, with a reproachful but not unkind 
 glance. "Now, if it were the Signorina — " 
 
 I never object to bowing down in the 
 temple of Rimmon, so I said: 
 
 "Hang the Signorina!" 
 
 "If I thought you meant that," said Donna 
 Antonia, "I might be able to help you." 
 
 "Do I want help?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes," said she. 
 
 "Then suppose I do mean it?" 
 
 Donna Antonia refused to be frivolous. 
 With a look of genuine distress she said: 
 
 "You will not let your real friends save 
 you, Mr. Martin. You know you want help. 
 Why don't you consider the state of your 
 affairs?"
 
 60 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "In that, at least, my friends in Whitt- 
 ingham are very ready to help me," I an- 
 swered, with some annoyance. 
 
 "If you take it in that way," she replied 
 sadly, "I can do nothing." 
 
 I was rather touched. Clearly she 
 wished to be of some use to me, and for 
 a moment I thought I miglit do better to 
 tear myself free from my chains, and turn 
 to the refuge opened to me. But I could 
 not do this; and, thinking it would be rather 
 mean to take advantage of her interest in 
 me only to use it for my own purposes, I 
 yielded to conscience and said: 
 
 "Donna Antonia, I will be straightfor- 
 ward w^ith you. You can only help me if 
 I accept your guidance? I can't do that. I 
 am too deep in." 
 
 "Yes, you are deep in, and eager to be 
 deeper," she said. "Well, so be it. If that 
 is so I cannot help you." 
 
 "Thank you for your kind attempt," said 
 I. "I shall very likely be sorry some day 
 that I repulse it. I shall always be glad to 
 remember that you made it." 
 
 She looked at me a moment and said:
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 61 
 
 "We have ruined you among us." 
 
 "Mind, body, and estate?" 
 
 She made no reply, and I saw my return 
 to flippancy wounded her. So I rose and 
 took my leave. Johnny Carr went with me. 
 
 "Things look queer, eh, old man?" said 
 he. "But the President will pull through 
 in spite of the Colonel and his Signorina." 
 
 "Johnny," said I, "you hurt my feelings; 
 but, still I will give you a piece of advice." 
 
 "Drive on," said Johnny. 
 
 "Marry Donna Autonia," said I. "She's 
 a good girl and a clever girl, and won't let 
 you get drunk or robbed." 
 
 "By Jove, that's not a bad idea," said he. 
 *'Why don't you do it j^ourself ?" 
 
 "Because I'm like you, Johnny — an ass," 
 I replied, and left him wondering why, if he 
 was an ass and I was an ass, one ass should 
 marry Donna Antonia, and not both or 
 neither. 
 
 As I went along I bought the "Gazette," 
 the Government organ, and read therein : — 
 
 "At a Cabinet Council this afternoon pre- 
 sided over by his Excellency, we understand
 
 62 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 that the an\angeinonts connected with the 
 National Debt formed the subject of dis- 
 cussion. The resolutions arrived at are at 
 present strictly confidential, but we have 
 the best authority for stating that the meas- 
 ures to be adopted will have the effect of 
 materially alleviating the present tension, 
 and will afford unmixed satisfaction to the 
 immense majority of the citizens of Aure- 
 ataland. The President will once again be 
 hailed as the Saviour of his countrv." 
 
 "I wonder if the immense majority will 
 include me," said I. "I think I will go and 
 see his Excellency." 
 
 Accordingly, the next morning I took my 
 way to the Golden House, where I learnt 
 that the President was at the Ministry of 
 Finance. Arriving there, I sent in my card, 
 writing thereon a humble request for a pri- 
 vate interview. I was ushered into Don 
 Antonio's room, where I found the Minister 
 himself, the President, and Johnny Carr. 
 As I entered and the servant, on a sign from 
 his Excellency, placed a chair for me, the 
 latter said rather stiffly:
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 63 
 
 "As I presume this is a business visit, Mr. 
 Martin, it is more regular tliat I should re- 
 ceive you in the presence of one of my con- 
 stitutional advisers. Mr. Carr is acting as 
 my secretary, and you can speak freely be- 
 fore him." 
 
 ' I was annoyed at failing in my attempt 
 to see the President alone, but not wishing 
 to show it, I merely bowed and said: 
 
 "I venture to intrude on your Excellency, 
 in consequence of a letter from my Di- 
 rectors. Thev inform me that, to use their 
 words, 'disquieting rumors' are afloat on 
 the Exchanges in regard to the Aureata- 
 land loan, and they direct me to sub- 
 mit to your Excellency the expediency 
 of giving some public notification relative 
 to the payment of the interest falling due 
 next month. It appears from their com- 
 munication that it is apprehended that 
 some difficulty may occur in the matter." 
 
 "Would not this application, if necessary 
 at all, have been more properly made to 
 the Ministry of Finance in the first in- 
 stance?" said the President. "These de- 
 tails hardly fall within my province." 
 
 5
 
 64 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "I can ouly follow my instructions, your 
 Excellency," I replied. 
 
 "Have you any objection, Mr. Martin," 
 said the President, "to allowing myself and 
 my advisers to see this letter?" 
 
 "I am empowered to submit it only to 
 your Excellency's own eye." 
 
 "Oh, only to my eye," said he, with an 
 amused expression. "That was why the 
 interview was to be private?" 
 
 "Exactly, sir," I replied. "I intend no 
 disrespect to the Minister of Finance or 
 to your secretary, sir, but I am bound by 
 my orders." 
 
 "You are an exemplary servant, Mr. 
 Martin, But I don't think I need trouble 
 you about it further. Is it a cable?" 
 
 He smiled so wickedly at this question 
 that I saw^ he had penetrated my little 
 fiction. However, I only said: 
 
 "A letter, sir." 
 
 "Well, gentlemen," said he to the others, 
 "I think we may reassure Mr. Martin. 
 Tell your Directors this, Mr. Martin, The 
 Government does not see any need of a 
 public notification, and none will be made.
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 65 
 
 I think we agree, gentlemen, that to ac- 
 knowledge the necessity of any such action 
 would be highly derogatory. But assure 
 them that the President has stated to you, 
 Mr. Martin, personally, with the concur- 
 rence of his advisers, that he anticipates 
 no difficulties in your being in a position 
 to remit the full amount of interest to them 
 on the proper day/' 
 
 "I may assure them, sir, that the interest 
 will be punctually paid?" 
 
 "Surely I expressed myself in a manner 
 YOU could understand," said he, with the 
 slightest emphasis on the "you." "Aure- 
 ataland will meet her obligations. You 
 will receive all your due, Mr. Martin. That 
 is so, gentlemen?" 
 
 Don Antonio acquiesced at once. Johnny 
 Carr, I noticed, said nothing and fidgeted 
 rather uneasily in his chair. I knew what 
 the President meant. He meant, "If we 
 don't pay, pay it out of your reserve fund." 
 Alas, the reserve fund was considerably di- 
 minished; I had enough, and just enough, 
 left to pay the next installment if I paid 
 none of my own debts. I felt very vicious
 
 66 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 as I saw his Excellency taking keen pleas- 
 ure in the consciousness of mj^ diflficnlties 
 (for he had a shrewd notion of how the land 
 lay), bnt of course I could say nothing. So 
 I rose and boAved myself out, feeling I 
 had gained nothing, except a very clear 
 conviction that I should not see the color 
 of the President's money on the next in- 
 erest day. True, I could just pay myself. 
 But what would happen next time? And 
 if he wouldn't pay, and I couldn't pay, the 
 game would be up. As to the original loan, 
 it is true I had no responsibility; but then, 
 if no interest were paid, the fact that I had 
 applied the second loan, my loan, in a man- 
 ner different from that which my instruc- 
 tions authorized and my own reports repre- 
 sented, would be inevitably discovered. 
 And my acceptance of the bonus, my deal- 
 ings with the reserve fund, my furnishing 
 inaccurate returns of investments, all this 
 would, I knew, look rather queer to people 
 who didn't know the circumstances. 
 
 When I went back to the bank, revolv- 
 ing these things in my mind, I found Jones 
 employed in arranging the correspondence.
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 67 
 
 It was part of his duty to see to the preser- 
 vation and filing of all letters arriving from 
 Europe, and, strange to say, he delighted 
 in the task. It was part of my duty to see 
 he did his; so I sat down and began to turn 
 over the pile of letters and messages which 
 he had put on my desk; they dated back 
 two years; this surprised me, and I said: 
 
 "Kather behindhand, aren't you, Jones?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, rather. Fact is, I've done 'em 
 before, but as you've never initialed 'em, 
 I thought I ought to bring 'em to your no- 
 tice." 
 
 "Quite right — very neglectful of me. I 
 suppose they're all right?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, all right." 
 
 "Then I won't trouble to go through 
 them." 
 
 "They're all there, sir, except, of course, 
 the cable about the second loan, sir." 
 
 "Except what?" I said. 
 
 "The cable about the second loan," he re- 
 peated. 
 
 I was glad to be reminded of this, for of 
 course I wished to remove that document 
 before the bundle finally took its place
 
 68 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 among the archives. Indeed, I thought I 
 had done so. But why had Jones removed 
 it? Surely Jones was not as skeptical as 
 that? 
 
 "Ah, and where have you put that?" 
 
 "Why, sir, his Excellency took that." 
 
 "What?" I cried. 
 
 "Yes, sir. Didn't I mention it? Why, 
 the day after you and the President were 
 here that night, his Excellency came down 
 in the afternoon, when you'd gone out to 
 the Piazza, and said he wanted it. He said, 
 sir, that you'd said it was to go to the Min- 
 istry of Finance. He was very affable, sir, 
 and told me that it was necessary the origi- 
 nal should be submitted to the Minister for 
 his inspection; and as he was passing by 
 (he'd come in to cash a check on his private 
 account) he'd take it up himself. Hasn't 
 he given it back to you, sir? He said he 
 would." 
 
 I had just strength enough to gasp out: 
 
 "Slipped his memory, no doubt. All 
 right, Jones." 
 
 "May I go now, sir?" said Jones. "Mrs. 
 Jones wanted me to go with her to— r"
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION. 69 
 
 "Yes, go," said I, and as he went out, I 
 added a destination different no doubt from 
 what the good lady had proposed. For I 
 saw it all now. That old villain (pardon 
 my warmth) had stolen my forged cable, 
 and, if need arose, meant to produce it as 
 his own justification. I had been done, 
 done brown — and Jones' idiocy had made 
 the task easy. I had no evidence but my 
 word that the President knew the message 
 was fabricated. Up till now I had thought 
 that if I stood convicted I should have the 
 honor of his Excellency's support in the 
 dock. But now! — ^why noAV, I might prove 
 myself a thief, but I couldn't prove him 
 one. I had convinced Jones, not for my 
 good, but for his. I had forged papers, not 
 for my good, but for his. True, I had spent 
 the money myself, but — 
 
 "Damn it all," I cried in the bitterness 
 of my spirit, "he won about three-quarters 
 of that!" 
 
 And his Excellency's words came back 
 to my memory, "I make the most of my op- 
 portunities."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 
 
 The next week was a busy one for me. 1 
 spent it in scraping together every bit of 
 cash I could lay my hands on. If I could 
 get together enough to pay the interest on 
 the 300,000 dollars supposed to be invested 
 in approved securities — really disposed of 
 in a manner only known to his Excellency 
 — I should have six months to look about 
 me. Now remaining out of my "bonus" 
 was nil, out of my "reserve fund" 10,000 dol- 
 lars. This was enough. But, alas, how 
 happened it that this sum was in my hands? 
 Because I had borrowed 5,000 from the 
 bank! If they wouldn't let their own man- 
 ager overdraw, whom would they? So I 
 overdrew. But if this money wasn't back 
 before the monthly balancing, Jones 
 would know! And I dared not rely on be- 
 ing able to stop his mouth again. When 
 I said Johnny Carr was the only honest 
 man in Aureataland I forgot Jones. To my 
 
 70
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 71 
 
 grief and anuoyance Jones also was honest, 
 and Jones would consider it his duty to 
 let the Directors know of my overdraft. If 
 once they knew, I was lost, for an overdraft 
 effected privately from the safe by the man- 
 ager is, I do not deny it, decidedly irregular. 
 Unless I could add 5,000 dollars to mv 
 10,000 before the end of the month I should 
 have to bolt! 
 
 This melancholy conclusion was rein- 
 forced and rendered demonstrable by a let- 
 ter which arrived, to crown my woes, from 
 my respected father, informing me that he 
 had unhappil}^ become indebted to our 
 Chairman in the sum of £2,000, the result 
 of a deal between them, that he had seen 
 the Chairman, that the Chairman was 
 urgent for payment, that he used most vio- 
 lent language against our family in gen- 
 eral, ending by declaring his intention of 
 stopping my salar}^ to pay the parental 
 debt "If he doesn't like it he may go, and 
 small loss." This was a most unjustifiable 
 proceeding, but I was hardly in a position 
 to take up a high moral attitude toward 
 the Chairman, and in the result I saw my-
 
 72 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 self confronted with the certainty of beg- 
 gary and the probability of jail. But for 
 this untoward reverse of fortune I might 
 have taken courage and made a clean 
 breast of my misdoings, relying on the 
 Chairman's obligations to my father to pull 
 me through. But now, where was I? I was 
 as Donna Antonia put it, very deep in in- 
 deed. So overwhelmed was I by my posi- 
 tion, and so occupied with my frantic efforts 
 to improve it, that I did not even find time 
 to go and see the Signorina, much as I 
 needed comfort; and, as the days went on, 
 I fell into such despair that I went nowiiere, 
 but sat dismally in my own rooms, looking 
 at my portmanteau, and wondering how 
 soon I must pack and fly, if not for life, at 
 least for liberty. 
 
 At last the crash came. I was sitting in 
 my office one morning, engaged in the 
 difficult task of trying to make ten into 
 fifteen, Avhen I heard the clatter of hoofs. 
 
 A moment later the door was opened, and 
 Jones ushered in Colonel McGregor. I 
 nodded to the Colonel, who came in with 
 his usual leisurely step, sat himself down.
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 73 
 
 and took off his gloves. I roused myself to 
 sav: 
 
 ft/ 
 
 "What can I do for you, Colonel?''' 
 
 He waited till the door closed behind 
 Jones and then said, "iVe got to the bottom 
 of it at last, Martin." 
 
 This was true of myself also, but th'.^ 
 Colonel meant it in a different sense. 
 
 "Bottom of what?" I asked, rather test- 
 ily. 
 
 "That old scamp's villainy," said he jerk- 
 ing his thumb toward the Piazza and the 
 statue of the Liberator. "He's very 'cute, 
 but he's made a mistake at last." 
 
 "Do come to the point. Colonel. What's 
 it all about?" 
 
 "Would you be surprised to hear," said 
 the Colonel, adopting a famous mode of 
 speech, "that the interest on the debt would 
 not be paid on the 31st?" 
 
 "No, I shouldn't," said I, resignedly. 
 
 "Would you be surprised to hear that no 
 more interest would ever be paid?" 
 
 "The devil !" I cried, leaping up. "What 
 do you mean, man?" 
 
 "The President," said he, calmly, "will.
 
 74 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 on the 31st instant, repudiate the National 
 D('bt!" 
 
 1 had nothing left to say. I fell back in 
 my chair, and gazed at the Colonel, who was 
 now employed in lighting a cigarette. At 
 the same moment a sound of rapid wheels 
 struck on my ears. Then I heard the sweet 
 clear voice I knew so well saying: 
 
 "I'll just disturb him for a moment, Mr. 
 Jones. I want him to tear himself from 
 work for a day, and come for a ride." 
 
 She opened my door, and came swiftly 
 in. On seeing the Colonel she took in the 
 position, and said to that gentleman: 
 
 "Have you told him?" 
 
 "I have just done so, Signorina," he re- 
 plied. 
 
 I had not energy enough to greet her; so 
 she also sat down uninvited, and took off 
 her gloves — not lazily, like the Colonel, but 
 with an air as though she would, if a man, 
 take off her coat, to meet the crisis more 
 energetically. 
 
 At last I said, with conviction: 
 
 "He's a wonderful man! How did you 
 find it out. Colonel?"
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 75 
 
 "Had Jolinuy Carr to dine and made him 
 drunk," said that worthy. 
 
 "You don't mean he trusted Johnny?" 
 
 "Odd, isn't it?" said the Colonel. "With 
 his experience, too. He might have known 
 Johnny was an ass. I suppose there was 
 no one else." 
 
 "He knew," said the Signorina, "anyone 
 else in the place would betray him; he 
 knew Johnny wouldn't if he could help it. 
 He underrated your powers. Colonel." 
 
 "Well," said I, "I can't help it, can I? My 
 Directors will lose. The Bondholders will 
 lose. But how does it hurt me?" 
 
 The Colonel and the Signorina both 
 smiled gently. 
 
 "You do it very well, Martin," said the 
 former, "but it will save time if I state that 
 both Signorina Nugent and myself are pos- 
 sessed of the details regarding the — " (the 
 Colonel paused, and stroked his mous- 
 tache). 
 
 "The second loan," said the Signorina. 
 
 I was less surprised at this, recollecting 
 certain conversations. 
 
 "Ah, and how did you find that out?" I 
 asked.
 
 76 A MAN OP MARK. 
 
 "She told mo," said the Colonel, indicat- 
 injij his fair neighbor. 
 
 "And mi\y I ask how you found it out, 
 Signorina?" 
 
 "The President told me," said that lady. 
 
 "Did yon make him drunk?" 
 
 "No, not drunk," was her reply, in a very 
 demure voice, and with downcast eyes. 
 
 We could guess how it had been done, 
 but neither of us cared to pursue the sub- 
 ject. After a pause, I said : 
 
 "Well, as you both know all about it, it's 
 no good keeping up pretenses. It's very 
 kind of you to come and warn me." 
 
 "You dear good Mr. Martin," said the 
 Signorina, "our motives are not purely 
 those of friendship." 
 
 "Why, how does it matter to you?" 
 
 "Simply this," said she, "the bank and its 
 excellent manager own most of the debt. 
 The Colonel and I own the rest. If it is 
 repudiated, the bank loses; yes, but the 
 manager and the Colonel and the Signorina 
 Nugent are lost!" 
 
 "I didn't know this," I said, rather be- 
 wildered.
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 77 
 
 "Yes," said the Colonel, "when the first 
 loan was raised I lent him 100,000 dollars. 
 We were thick then, and I did it in return 
 for my rank and my seat in the Chamber. 
 Since then I've bought up some more 
 shares." 
 
 "You got them cheap, I suppose?" said I. 
 
 "Yes," he replied, "I averaged them at 
 about 75 cents the five-dollar share." 
 
 "And what do you hold now, nominal?" 
 
 "Three hundred thousand dollars," said 
 he, shortly. 
 
 "I understand your interest in the mat- 
 ter. But you, Signorina?" 
 
 The Signorina appeared a little embar- 
 rassed. But at last she broke out — 
 
 "I don't care if I do tell you. When I 
 agreed to stay here, he" (we knew whom 
 she meant) "gave me 100,000 dollars. And 
 I had 50,000, or thereabouts, of my own 
 that I had—" 
 
 "Saved out of your salary as a prima 
 donna," put in the Colonel. 
 
 "What does it matter?" said she, flush- 
 ing; "I had it. Well, then, what did he 
 do? He persuaded me to put it all — the
 
 78 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 whole ir>0,000— into his liorrid dobt. Oh! 
 wasn't it mean, Mr. Martin?" 
 
 The President had certainly combined 
 business and pleasure in this matter. 
 
 "DisjT^raceful!" I remarked. 
 
 "And if that goes, I am penniless — penni- 
 less. And there's poor annt. What will 
 she do?" 
 
 "Never mind your annt,'' said the Colonel, 
 rather rudely. "Well," he went on, "you 
 see we're in the same boat with you, Mar- 
 tin." 
 
 "Yes; and we shall soon be in the same 
 deep water," said I. 
 
 "Not at all," said the Colonel. 
 
 "Not at all," echoed the Signorina. 
 
 "Why, what on earth are you going to 
 do?" 
 
 "Financial probity is the backbone of a 
 country," said the Colonel. "Are we to 
 stand by and see Aureataland enter on the 
 shameful path of repudiation?" 
 
 "Never!" cried the Signorina, leaping up 
 with sparkling eyes. "Never!" 
 
 She looked enchanting. But business is 
 business; and I said again:
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 79 
 
 ''What are you going to do?" 
 
 "We are going, with your help, Martin, to 
 prevent this national disgrace. We are go- 
 ing — " he lowered his voice — uselessly, for 
 the Signorina struck in, in a high merry 
 tone, waving her gloves over head and 
 dancing a little pas seril on the floor before 
 me, with these remarkable words — 
 
 "Hurrah for the Revolution! Hip! hip! 
 hurrah!" 
 
 She looked like a Goddess of Freedom in 
 high spirits and a Paris bonnet. I lost my 
 mental balance. Leaping up, I grasped her 
 round the waist, and we twirled madly 
 about the office, the Signorina breaking 
 forth into the "Marseillaise.'" 
 
 "For God's sake, be quiet!" said Mc- 
 Gregor, in a hoarse whisper, making a 
 clutch at me as I sped past him. "If they 
 hear you! Stop, I tell you, Christina." 
 
 The Signorina stopped. 
 
 "Do you mean me. Colonel McGregor?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "and that fool Martin, 
 
 too." 
 
 "Even in times of revolution, Colonel," 
 e
 
 80 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 said I, "notbing is lost by politeness. But 
 ill substance you are right. Let us be 
 sober." 
 
 We sat down again, panting, the Signo- 
 rina between her gasps still faintly hum- 
 luiiig the psalm of liberty. 
 
 "Kindly unfold your plan, Colonel," I re- 
 sumed. "I am aware that out here you 
 think little of revolutions, but to a new- 
 comer they appear to be matters requiring 
 some management. You see we are only 
 three." 
 
 "I have the army with me," said he 
 grandlv. 
 
 "In the outer office?" asked I, indulging 
 in a sneer at the dimensions of the Aure- 
 ataland forces. 
 
 "Look here, Martin," he said, scowling, 
 "if you're coming in with us, keep your 
 jokes to yourself." 
 
 "Don't quarrel, gentlemen," said the Sig- 
 norina. "It's waste of time. Tell him the 
 plan. Colonel, while I'm getting cool." 
 
 I saw the wisdom of this advice, so I 
 said : 
 
 "Your pardon. Colonel. But won't this
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! Si 
 
 repudiatiou be popular with the army? If 
 he lets the debt slide, he can pay them." 
 
 "Exactly," said he. "Hence we must get 
 at them before that aspect of the case 
 strikes them. They are literally starving, 
 and for ten dollars a man they would make 
 Satan himself President. Have you got 
 any money, Martin?" 
 
 "Yes,'^ said I, "a little." 
 
 "How much?" 
 
 "Ten thousand," I replied; "I was keep- 
 ing it for the interest." 
 
 "Ah, you won't want it now." 
 
 "Indeed I shall — for the second loan you 
 know." 
 
 "Look here, Martin; give me that ten 
 thousand for the troops. Stand in with us, 
 and the day I become President I'll give 
 you back your 300,000. Just look where 
 you stand now. I don't want to be rude, 
 but isn't it a case of — ?" 
 
 "Some emergency?" said I, thoughtfulh'. 
 "Yes, it is. But where do you suppose 
 you're going to get 300,000 dollars, to say 
 nothing of your own shares?"
 
 82 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 He drew liis cliair closer to mine, and, 
 leanin<i- forward, said: 
 
 "lie's never spent the money. He's got 
 it somewhere; much the greater part, at 
 least." 
 
 "Did Carr tell joii that?" 
 
 "He didn't know for certain; but he told 
 me enough to make it almost certain. Be- 
 sides," he added, glancing at the Signorina, 
 "we have other reasons for suspecting it. 
 Give me the ten thousand. You shall have 
 your loan back, and, if jon like, you shall 
 be Minister of Finance. We practically 
 know the money's there, don't we, Sig- 
 norina?" 
 
 She nodded assent. 
 
 "If we fail?" said I. 
 
 He drew a neat little revolver from his 
 pocket, placed it for a moment against his 
 ear, and repocketed it. 
 
 "Most lucidly explained, Colonel," said I. 
 "Will 3 ou give me half-an-hour to think it 
 over?" 
 
 "Yes," he said. "You'll excuse me if I 
 stay in the outer office? Of course I trust 
 you, Martin, but in this sort of thing — "
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 83 
 
 "All right, I see," said I. "And you, Sig- 
 norina?" 
 
 "I'll wait too," she said. 
 
 They both rose and went out, and I heard 
 them in conversation with Jones. I sat still, 
 thinking hard. But scarcely a moment had 
 l^assed, when I heard the door behind me 
 open. It was the Signorina. She came in, 
 stood behind my chair, and, leaning over, 
 put her arms round my neck. 
 
 I looked up, and saw her face full of mis- 
 chief. 
 
 "What about the rose, Jack?" she asked. 
 
 I remembered. Bewildered with delight, 
 and believing I had won her, I said: 
 
 "Your soldier till death, Signorina." 
 
 "Bother death!" said she, saucily. "No- 
 body's going to die. We shall win, and 
 then—!" 
 
 "And then," said I eagerly, "you'll marry 
 me, sweet?" 
 
 She quietly stooped down and kissed my 
 lips. Then, stroking my hair, she said: 
 
 "You're a nice boy, but you're not a good 
 boy, .Jack." 
 
 "Christina, you won't marry him?"
 
 84 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "Him?" 
 
 "McGregor," said I. 
 
 "Jack," said she, whispering now, "I hate 
 him!" 
 
 "So do I," I answered promptly. "And 
 if it's to win you, I'll upset a dozen presi- 
 dents." 
 
 "Then you'll do it for me? I like to 
 think you'll do it for me, and not for the 
 mone3^" 
 
 As the Signorina was undoubtedly "do- 
 ing it" for her money, this was a shade un- 
 reasonable. 
 
 "I don't mind the money coming in," I 
 began. 
 
 "Mercenary wretch !" she cried. "I didn't 
 kiss you, did I?'" 
 
 "No," I replied. "You said you would in 
 a minute, when I consented." 
 
 "Very neat, Jack," she said. But she 
 went and opened the door and called to 
 McGregor, "Mr. Martin sees no objection to 
 the arrangement, and he will come to din- 
 ner to-night, as you suggest, and talk over 
 the detail?!. We're all going to make our 
 fortunes, Mr. Jones," she went on, without
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE! 85 
 
 waiting for any acceptance of her implied 
 invitation, "and when we've made ours, 
 we'll think about you and Mrs. Jones." 
 
 I heard Jones making some noise inco- 
 herently suggestive of gratification, for he 
 was as bad as any of us about the Signo- 
 rina, and then I was left to my reflections. 
 These were less sombre than the reader 
 would, perhaps, anticipate. Time, I was 
 putting my head into a noose; and if the 
 President's hands ever found their way to 
 the end of the rope, I fancied he would pull 
 it pretty tight. But, again, I was im- 
 mensely in love, and equally in debt; and 
 the scheme seemed to open the best chance 
 of satisfying my love, and the only chance 
 of filling my pocket. To a young man, life 
 without love isn't worth much; to a man 
 of any age, in my opinion, life without 
 money isn't worth much ; it becomes worth 
 still less when he is held to account for 
 money he ought to have. So 1 cheerfully 
 entered upon my biggest gamble, holding 
 the stake of life well risked. My pleasure 
 in the affair was only marred by the en- 
 forced partnership of McGregor. There
 
 86 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 was no help for this, but I knew he wasn't 
 much fonder of me than I of him, and 1 
 found myself gently meditating on the fric- 
 tion likely to arise between the new Presi- 
 dent and his Minister of Finance, in case 
 onr plans succeeded. Still the Signorina 
 hated him, and by all signs she loved me. 
 So I lay back in my chair, and recalled my 
 charmer's presence by whistling the hymn 
 of liberty until it was time to go to lunch, 
 an obseii-ance not to be omitted even by 
 conspirators.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE MINE IS LAID. 
 
 The morning- meeting had been devoted 
 to principles and to the awakening of en- 
 thusiasm; in the evening the conspirators 
 condescended upon details, and we held a 
 prolonged and anxious conference at the 
 Signorina's. Mrs. Carrington was com- 
 manded to have a headache after dinner, 
 and retired with it to bed ; and from ten till 
 one we sat and conspired. The result of our 
 deliberations was a very pretty plan, of 
 which the main outlines were as follows: 
 
 This was Tuesday. On Friday night, the 
 Colonel, with twenty determined ruffians 
 (or resolute patriots) previously bound to 
 him, body and soul, by a donation of no less 
 than fifty dollars a man, was to surprise the 
 Golden House, seize the person of the Presi- 
 dent and all cash and securities on the 
 premises; no killing if it could be avoided, 
 but on the other hand no shilly-shally. 
 McGregor wanted to put the President out 
 
 87
 
 88 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 of tho way at once, as a precautionary 
 measiiro, but I strongly opposed this pro- 
 posal, ami, finding the Signorina was ab- 
 solutely inflexible on the same side, he 
 yielded. I had a strong desire to be pres- 
 ent at this midnight surprise, but another 
 duty called for my presence. There was a 
 gala supper at the barracks that evening, 
 to commemoi'ate some incident or other in 
 the national history, and I was to be pres- 
 ent and to reply to the toast of "The Com- 
 merce of Aureataland." My task was, at 
 all hazards, to keep this party going till the 
 Colonel's job was done, when he would ap- 
 pear at the soldiers' quarters, bribe in 
 hand, and demand their allegiance. Our 
 knowledge of the character of the troops 
 nmde us regard the result as a certainty, 
 if once the President were a prisoner and 
 the dollars before their eyes. The Colonel 
 and the troops were to surround the officers' 
 messroom, and offer them life and largesse, 
 or death and destruction. Here again we 
 anticipated their choice with composure. 
 The army vras then to be paraded in the 
 Piazza, the tovrn overawed or converted,
 
 THE MINE IS LAID. 89 
 
 and, behold, the Revolution was accom- 
 plished ! The success of this design entirely 
 depended on its existence remaining a dead 
 secret from the one man we feared, and on 
 that one man being found alone and un- 
 guarded at twelve o'clock on Friday night. 
 If he discovered the plot, we were lost. If 
 he took it into his head to attend the supper, 
 our difficulties would be greatly increased. 
 At this point we turned to the Signorina, 
 and I said briefly : 
 
 "This appears to be where you come iu, 
 Signorina. Permit me to invite you to dine 
 with his Excellency on Friday evening, at 
 eight precisely." 
 
 "You mean," she said slowly, "that I am 
 to keep him at home, and, but for myself, 
 alone, on Friday?" 
 
 "Yes," said I. "Is there any dififlculty?" 
 
 "I do not think there is great difficulty," 
 she said, "but I don't like it; it looks so 
 treacherous." 
 
 Of course it did. I didn't like her doing 
 it myself, but how else was the President 
 to be secured? 
 
 "Rather late to think of that, isn't it?"
 
 00 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 asked McGregor, with a sneer. "A revolu- 
 tion won't run on high moral wheels." 
 
 "Think how he jockeyed you about the 
 money," said I, assuming the i)art of the 
 tempter. 
 
 "By the way," said McGregor, "it's under- 
 stood the Signorina enters into possession 
 of the President's country villa, isn't it?" 
 
 Now my poor Signorina had a longing 
 for that choice little retreat, and between 
 resentment for her lost money and a desire 
 for the pretty house on the one hand, and, 
 on the other, her dislike of the Delilah-like 
 part she was to play, she was sore beset. 
 Left to herself, I believe she would have 
 yielded to her better feelings and spoilt the 
 plot. As it w^as, the Colonel and 1, alarmed 
 at this recrudescence of conscience, man- 
 aged to stifle its promptings, and bent her 
 to our wicked will. 
 
 "After all, he deser\^es it," she said, "and 
 I'll do it!" 
 
 It is always sad to see anybody suffering 
 from a loss of self-respect, so I tried to re- 
 store the Signorina's confidence in her own 
 motives bv references to Ja<^I (he wife of
 
 THE MINE IS LAID. 91 
 
 Heber the Kenite, Charlotte Corday, and 
 such other relentless heroines as occurred 
 to me. McGregor looked upon this striving 
 after self-justification with undisguised 
 contempt. 
 
 "It's onh^ making a fool of him again," 
 he said; "you've done it before, you know!" 
 
 "I'll do it, if you'll swear not to — to hurt 
 him," she said. 
 
 "I've promised already," he replied sul- 
 lenly; "I Avon't touch him, unless he brings 
 it on himself. If he tries to kill me, I sup- 
 pose I needn't bare my breast to the blow?" 
 
 "No, no," I interposed; "I have a regard 
 for his Excellency, but we must not let our 
 feelings betray us into weakness. He must 
 be taken — alive and well, if possible — but 
 in the last resort, dead or alive." 
 
 "Come, that's more like sense," said the 
 Colonel, approvingly. 
 
 The Signorina sighed, but opposed us no 
 longer. 
 
 Returning to ways and means, we ar- 
 ranged for communication in case of need 
 during the next three days without the ne- 
 cessity of meeting. My position, as the
 
 92 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 center of tinancial business in Whitting- 
 ham, made this easy; the passage of bank 
 messengers to and fro would excite little 
 remark, and the messages could easily be 
 so expressed as to reveal nothing to an un- 
 instructed eye. It was further agreed that 
 on the smallest hint of danger reaching any 
 one of us, the word should at once be passed 
 to the others, and we should rendezvous at 
 the Colonel's "ranch," which lay some seven 
 miles from the town. Thence, in this la- 
 mentable case, escape would be more pos- 
 sible. 
 
 "And now," said the Colonel, "if Martin 
 will hand over the dollars, I think that's 
 about all." 
 
 I had brought the 10,000 dollars with me. 
 I produced them and put them on the table, 
 keeping a loving hand on them. 
 
 "You fully understand my position. Colo- 
 nel?" I said. "This thing is no use to me 
 unless I receive at least 320,000 dollars, to 
 pay back principal, to meet interest, and 
 to replace another small debt to the bank. 
 If I do that, I shall be left with a net profit 
 of 5,000 dollars, not an extravagant reward.
 
 THE MINE IS LAID. 93 
 
 If I don't get that sum I shall be a de- 
 faulter, revolution or no revolution." 
 
 "I can't make money if it's not there," 
 he said, but without his usual brusqueness 
 of tone. "But to this we agree. You are 
 to have first turn at anything we find, up 
 to the sum you name. It's to be handed 
 over solid to vou. The Signorina and I 
 take the leavings. You don't claim to share 
 them too, do you?" 
 
 "No," I said, "I'm content to be a prefer- 
 ence shareholder. If the money's found at 
 the Golden House, it's mine. If not, the 
 new Government, whatever it may do as 
 to the rest of the debt, will pay me that 
 sum." 
 
 With that I pushed my money over to the 
 Colonel. 
 
 "I expect the new Government to be very 
 considerate to the bondholders all round," 
 said the Colonel, as he pocketed it with a 
 chuckle. "Anyhow, your terms are agreed, 
 eh, Signorina?" 
 
 "Agreed !" said she. "And I'm to have the 
 country seat?" 
 
 "Agreed!" said I. "And the Colonel's to
 
 94 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 be President and to have the Goldou House 
 and all that therein is." 
 
 "Agreed! agreed! agreed!" chanted the 
 Signorina; "and that's quite enough busi- 
 ness, and it's very late for me to be enter- 
 taining gentlemen. One toast, and then 
 good-night. Success to the Revolution! To 
 be drunk in blood-red wine!" 
 
 As there was no red wine except claret, 
 and that lies cold on the stomach at three 
 in the morning, we drank it in French 
 brandy. 1 had risen to go, when a sudden 
 thought struck me. 
 
 "By Jupiter! where's Johnny Carr? I 
 say. Colonel, how drunk was he last night? 
 Do you think he remembers telling you 
 about it?" 
 
 "Yes," said the Colonel, "I expect he does 
 by now. He didn't when I left him this 
 morning." 
 
 "Will he confess to the President? If 
 he does, it might make the old man keep 
 an unpleasantly sharp eye on you. He 
 knows you don't love him." 
 
 "Well, Carr hasn't seen the President yet 
 He was to stay at my house over to-day.
 
 THE MINE IS LAID. 95 
 
 He was uncommon seedy this morning, and 
 I persuaded the doctor to give him a com- 
 posing draught. Fact is, I wanted him 
 quiet till I'd had time to think! You know 
 1 don't believe he would own up — the Pres- 
 ident would drop on him so; but he might, 
 and it's better they shouldn't meet." 
 
 "There's somebody else he oughtn't to 
 meet," said the Signorina. 
 
 "Who's that?" I asked. 
 
 "Donna Antonia," she replied. "He's get- 
 ting very fond of her, and depend upon it, 
 if he's in trouble he'll go and tell her the 
 first thing. Mr. Carr is very confidential 
 to his friends." 
 
 "We recognized the value of this sugges- 
 tion. If Donna Antonia knew, the Presi- 
 dent would soon know. 
 
 "Quite right," said the Colonel. "It won't 
 do to have him rushing about letting out 
 that we know all about it. He's all right 
 up to now." 
 
 "Yes, but if he gets restive to-morrow 
 morning?" said I. "And then you don't 
 want him at the Golden House on Friday 
 evening, and I don't want him at the 
 barracks."
 
 96 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "No, he'd show fight, Can* would," said 
 the Colonel. "Look here, we're in for this 
 thing, and I'm going through with it. 1 
 shall keep Carr at my house till it's all 
 over." 
 
 "How?" asked the Signorina. 
 
 "By love, if possible!" said the Colonel, 
 with a grin — "that is, by drink. Failing 
 that, by force. It's essential that the old 
 man shouldn't get wind of anything being 
 up; and if Carr told him about last night 
 he'd prick up his wicked old ears. No, 
 Master Johnny is better quiet." 
 
 "Suppose he turns nasty," I suggested 
 again. 
 
 "He may turn as nasty as he likes," said 
 the Colonel. "He don't leave my house un- 
 less he puts a bullet into me first. That is 
 settled. Leave it to me. If he behaves 
 nicely, he'll be all right. If not — " 
 
 '^^hat shall you do to him?" asked the 
 Signorina. 
 
 I foresaw another outburst of conscience, 
 and though I liked Johnny, I liked myself 
 better. So I said: 
 
 "Oh, leave it to the Colonel; he'll man- 
 age all right."
 
 THE MINK IS LAID. i)7 
 
 "Now I'm off," said the latter, "back to 
 my friend Johnny. Good-night, Signorina. 
 Write to the President to-morrow. Good- 
 night, Martin. Make that speech of yours 
 pretty long. An revoir till next Friday." 
 
 I preijared to go, for the Colonel lingered 
 till I came with him. Even then we so dis- 
 trusted one another that neither wouhl 
 leave the other alone with the Signorina. 
 
 We parted at the door, he going off up 
 the road to get his horse and ride to his 
 "ranch," I turning down toward the Piazza. 
 
 We left the Signorina at the door, look- 
 ing pale and Aveary, and for once bereft of 
 her high spirits. Poor girl! She found 
 conspiracy rather trying work. 
 
 I was a little troubled myself. I began 
 to see more clearly that it doesn't do for a 
 man of scruples to dabble in politics. I 
 had a great regard for poor Johnny, and I 
 felt no confidence in the Colonel treating 
 him with any consideration. In fact, I 
 would not have insured Johnny's life for 
 the next week at any conceivable premium. 
 Again I thought it unlikely that, if we suc- 
 ceeded, the President would survive his
 
 98 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 downfall. I had to repeat to myself all the 
 story of his treachery to me, lashin<jf myself 
 into a fury against him, before I could bring 
 myself to think with resignation of the im- 
 minent extinction of that shining light. 
 What a loss he would be to the world! So 
 many delightful stories, so great a gift of 
 manner, so immense a personal charm — all 
 to disappear into the pit! And for what? 
 To put into his place a ruffian without re- 
 deeming qualities. Was it worth while to 
 put down Lucifer only to enthrone Beelze- 
 bub? I could only check this doleful strain 
 of reflection by sternly recalling myself to 
 the real question — the state of the fortunes 
 of me, John Martin. And to me the revo- 
 lution was necessary. I might get the 
 money; at least I should gain time. And I 
 might satisfy my love. I was animated by 
 the honorable motive of saving my employ- 
 ers from loss and by the overwhelming mo- 
 tive of my own passion. If the continued 
 existence of Johnny and the President was 
 incompatible with these legitimate objects, 
 so much the worse for Johnny and the 
 President.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 
 
 The next three days were on the whole 
 the most uncomfortable I have ever spent 
 in my life. I got little sleep and no rest; 
 I went about with a revolver handy all day, 
 and jumped every time I heard a sound, 
 I expended much change in buying every 
 edition of all the papers; I listened with 
 dread to the distant cries of news vendors, 
 fearing, as the words gradually' became dis- 
 tinguishable, to hear that our secret was a 
 secret no longer. I was bound to show my- 
 self, and yet shrank from all gatherings of 
 men. I transacted my business with an 
 absent mind and a face of such super- 
 human innocence that, had anyone been 
 watching me, he must at once have sus- 
 pected something wrong. I was incapable 
 of adding up a row of figures, and Jones be- 
 came most solicitous about the state of my 
 brain. In a word my nerves were quite 
 
 99
 
 100 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 shattered, and I registered a vow never to 
 upset a Government again as long as I 
 lived. In future the established constitu- 
 tion would have to be good enough for me. 
 I invoked impartial curses on the President, 
 the Colonel, the Directors, and myself; and 
 I verily believe that only the thought of the 
 Signorina prevented me making a moon- 
 light flitting across the frontier with a 
 whole skin at least, if with an empty pocket, 
 and leaving the rival patriots of Aureata- 
 land to fight it out among themselves. 
 
 Happily, however, nothing occurred to 
 justify m}^ fears. The other side -seemed 
 to be sunk in dull securitv. The President 
 went often to the Ministry of Finance, and 
 was closeted for hours with Don Antonio; 
 I suppose they were perfecting their nefa- 
 rious scheme. There were no signs of ex- 
 citement or activity at the barracks; the 
 afternoon gatherings on the Piazza were 
 occupied with nothing more serious than 
 the prospects of lawn tennis and the griev- 
 ous dearth of dances. The official an- 
 nouncements relative to the debt bad had 
 a quieting effect, and all classes seemed in-
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 101 
 
 clined to wait and see what the President's 
 new plan was. 
 
 So passed Wednesday and Thursday. On 
 neither day had I heard anything from my 
 fellow-conspirators; our arrangements for 
 writing had so far proved unnecessary — or 
 unsuccessful. The latter possibility sent a 
 shiver down my back, and my lively fancy 
 pictured his Excellency's smile as he pe- 
 rused the treasonable documents. If I heard 
 nothing on the morning of Friday, I was de- 
 termined at all risks to see the Colonel. 
 With the dawn of that eventful day, how- 
 ever, I was relieved of this necessity. I was 
 lying in bed about half-past nine (for I 
 never add to the woes of life by early rising) 
 when my servant brought in three letters. 
 
 "Sent on from the bank, sir," he said, 
 ''with Mr. Jones' compliments, and are you 
 going there this morning?" 
 
 "My compliments to Mr. Jones, and he 
 may expect me in five minutes," I replied. 
 
 The letters were all marked "Immediate" 
 — one from the Signorina, one from the 
 Colonel, one from the barracks. I opened 
 the last first and read as follows: —
 
 102 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "The officers of the Aureataland Armj^ 
 have the honor to remind Mr. John Martin 
 that they hope to have the pleasure of his 
 company at supper this evening at 10 p. m. 
 precisely. In the unavoidable absence of 
 his Excellency the President, owing to 
 pressing cares of State, and of the Hon. 
 Colonel McGregor from indisposition, the 
 toast of the Army of Aureataland will 
 be proposed by Major Alphonse DeChair. 
 
 "P. S. — Cher Martin, speak long this 
 night. The two great men do not come, 
 and the evening wants to be filled out. 
 Tout a vouSf Alphonse DeChair." 
 
 "It shall be long, my dear boy, and we 
 will fill out your evening for you," said I 
 to myself, well pleased so far. 
 
 Then I opened the Signonna's epistle. 
 
 "Dear Mr. Martin," it began — "Will you 
 be so kind as to send me in the course of 
 the day twenty dollars in small change? I 
 want to give the school-children a scramble. 
 I enclose check. I am so sorry you could
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 103 
 
 not dine with me to-night, but after all I 
 am glad, because I should have had to put 
 you off, for I am commanded rather sud- 
 denly to dine at the Golden House. With 
 kind regards — Believe me, yours sincerely, 
 
 "Christina Nugent." 
 
 "Very good," said I. "I reckon the 
 scramble will keep. And now for the Colo- 
 nel." 
 
 The Colonel's letter ran thus: — 
 
 "Dear Martin — I enclose check for 500 
 dollars. My man will call for the cash to- 
 morrow morning. I give you notice be- 
 cause I want it all in silver for wages." 
 (Rather a poverty of invention among us, 
 I thought) "Carr and I are here together, 
 both seedy. Poor Carr is on his back, and 
 likely to remain there for a day or two — 
 bad attack of champagne. I'm better, and 
 though I've cut the affair at barracks to- 
 night, I fully expect to be up and about this 
 afternoon. — Ever vours, 
 
 "Geo. McGregor."
 
 104 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "Oh, SO Carr is on his back and likely 
 to remain there, is he? Very likely, I ex- 
 pect; but I wonder what it means. I hope 
 the Colonel hasn't been very drastic. How- 
 ever, everything- seems right; in fact, better 
 than I hoped." 
 
 In this more cheerful frame of mind I 
 arose, breakfasted at leisure, and set out 
 for the bank about eleven. 
 
 Of course the first person I met in the 
 street was one of the last I wanted to meet, 
 namely. Donna Antonia. She was on horse- 
 back, and her horse looked as if he'd done 
 some work. At the sight of me she reined 
 up, and I could not avoid stopping as I 
 lifted my hat. 
 
 "Whence so early?" I asked. 
 
 "Early?" she said. "I don't call this 
 early, I've been for a long ride; in fact, 
 I've ridden over to Mr. Tarr's place, with a 
 message from papa; but he's not there. Do 
 you know where he is, Mr. Martin?" 
 
 "Haven't an idea," said I. 
 
 "He hasn't been home for four nights," 
 she continued, "and he hasn't been to the 
 Ministry either. It's very odd that he
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 105 
 
 should disappear like this, just when all the 
 business is going on, too." 
 
 "What business, Donna Antonia?" I 
 asked, blandly. 
 
 She colored, leeollecting, no doubt, that 
 the business was still a secret. 
 
 "Oh, well, you know they're always busy 
 at the Ministr}^ of Finance at this time. It's 
 the time they pay everybody, isn't it?" 
 
 "It's the time they ought to pay every- 
 body," I said. 
 
 "Well," she went on, without noticing my 
 correction, "at any rate, i)apa and the Pres- 
 ident are both very much vexed with him; 
 so I offered to make my ride in his direc- 
 tion." 
 
 "Where can he be?" I asked again. 
 
 "Well," she replied, "I believe he's at 
 Colonel McGregor's, and after lunch I shall 
 go over there. I know he dined there on 
 Monday, and I daresay he stayed on." 
 
 "No," thought I, "you musn't do that, it 
 might be inconvenient." So I said: 
 
 "I know he's not there; I heard from 
 McGregor this morning, and he says Carr 
 left him on Tuesday. Why, how stupid I
 
 106 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 am! The Colonel says Carr told him he 
 was going off for a couple of days' sail in 
 his yacht I expect he's got contrary winds, 
 and can't get back again." 
 
 "It's very bad of him to go," she said, "but 
 no doubt that's it. Papa will be angry, but 
 he'll be glad to know no harm has come to 
 him." 
 
 "Happy to have relieved your mind," 
 said T, and bade her farewell, thanking my 
 stars for a lucky inspiration, and wonder- 
 ing whether Don Antonio would find no 
 harm had come to poor Johnny. I had my 
 doubts. T regretted having to tell Donna 
 Antonia what I did not believe to be true, 
 but these things are incidental to revolu- 
 tions, a point of resemblance between them 
 and commercial life. 
 
 When I arrived at the bank T dispatched 
 brief answers to my budget of letters; each 
 of the answers was to the same purport, 
 namely, that T should be at the barracks 
 at the appointed time. I need not trouble 
 the reader with the various wrappings in 
 which this essential piece of intelligence 
 was involved. T then had a desperate en-
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 107 
 
 counter with Jones; business was slack, 
 and Jones was fired with the unholy desire 
 of seizing the opportunity thus offered to 
 make an exhaustive inquiry into the state 
 of our reserve. He could not understand 
 my sudden punctiliousness as to times and 
 seasons, and I was afraid I should have to 
 tell him plainly that only over my lifeless 
 body should he succeed in investigating 
 the contents of the safe. At last I effected 
 a diversion by persuading him to give Mrs. 
 Jones a jaunt into the country, and, thus 
 left in peace, I spent my afternoon in mak- 
 ing final preparations. I burnt many let- 
 ters; I wrote a touching farewell to my 
 father, in which, under the guise of offering 
 forgiveness, I took occasion to point out to 
 him how greatly his imprudent conduct 
 had contributed to increase the difficulties 
 of his dutiful son. I was only restrained 
 from making a will by the obvious impru- 
 dence of getting it witnessed. I spent a 
 feverish hour in firing imaginary shots 
 from my revolver, to ascertain whether the 
 instrument was in working order. Finally, 
 I shut up the bank at five, went to the
 
 108 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Piazza, partook of a light repast, aud 
 smoked cigars with mad speed till it was 
 time to dress for the supper; and never was 
 I more rejoiced than when the moment for 
 action at last came. As I was dressing, 
 lingering over each garment with a feeling 
 that I might never put it on, or, for that 
 matter, take it off again, I received a sec- 
 ond note from the Colonel. It was brought 
 by a messenger, on a sweating horse, who 
 galloped up to my door, I knew the mes- 
 senger well by sight; he was the Colonel's 
 valet. My heart was in my mouth as I took 
 the envelope from his hands (for I ran down 
 myself). The fellow was evidently in our 
 secret, for he grinned nervously at me as 
 he handed it over, and said: 
 
 "I was to ride fast, and destroy the letter 
 if any one came near." 
 
 I nodded., and opened it. It said: 
 
 "C. escaped about six this evening. 
 Believed to have gone to his house. He 
 suspects. If you see him, shoot on sight" 
 
 I turned to the man.
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 109 
 
 "Had Mr. Carr a horse?" I asked. 
 
 "No, sir; left on foot." 
 
 "But there are horses at his house?" 
 
 "No, sir, the Colonel has borrowed them 
 all." 
 
 "Why do you think he's gone there?" 
 
 "Couldn't come along the road to Whit- 
 tingham, sir, it's patroled." 
 
 There was still a chance. It was ten 
 miles across country from the Colonel's to 
 Johnny's, and six miles on from Johnny's 
 to Whittingham. The man divined my 
 thoughts. 
 
 "He can't go fast, sir, he's wounded in 
 the leg. If he goes home first, as he will, 
 because he doesn't know his horses are 
 gone, he can't get here before eleven at the 
 earliest." 
 
 "How was he wounded?" I asked. "Tell 
 me what the Colonel did to him, and be 
 short." 
 
 "Yes, sir. The Colonel told us Mr. Carr 
 was to be kept at the ranch over night; 
 wasn't to leave it alive, sir, he said. Well, 
 up to yesterday it was all right and pleas- 
 ant. Mr. Carr wasn't very well, and the
 
 110 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 doses the C'olonol gave him didn't seem to 
 make him any better — quite the contrary. 
 But yesterday afternoon he got rampa- 
 geous — would go, anyhow, ill or well! So 
 he got up and dressed. We'd taken all his 
 weapons from him, sir, and when he came 
 down dressed, and asked for his liorse, we 
 told him he couldn't go. Well, he just 
 said, 'Get out of the light, I tell you,' and 
 began walking toward the hall door. I 
 don't mind saying we were rather put 
 about, sir. We didn't care to shoot 
 him as he stood, and it's my belief 
 we'd have let him pass; but just as he was 
 going out, in comes the Colonel. 'Hullo, 
 what's this, Johnny?' says he. 'You've got 
 some damned scheme on,' said Mr. Carr. 'I 
 believe you've been drugging me. Out of 
 the way, McGregor, or I'll brain you.' 
 'Where are you going?' says the Colonel, 
 To Whittingham, to the President's,' said 
 he. 'Not to-day,' says the Colonel. 'Come, 
 be reasonable, Johnny. You'll be all right 
 to-morrow.' 'Colonel McGregor,' says he, 
 'I'm unarmed^ and you've got a revolver. 
 You can shoot me if you like, but unless 
 
 Cl
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. Ill 
 
 you do, I'm going out. You've been play- 
 ing some dodge on me, and, by God, you 
 shall pay for it' With that he rushed 
 straight at the Colonel. The Colonel, he 
 stepped on one side and let him pass. 
 Then he went after him to the door, waited 
 till he was about fifteen yards off, then up 
 with his revolver, as cool as you like, and 
 shot him as clean as a sixpence in the right 
 leg. Down came Mr. Carr; he lay there a 
 minute or t"s^'o cursing, and then he fainted. 
 Tick him up, dress his wound, and put him 
 to bed,' says the Colonel. Well, sir, it was 
 only a flesh wound, so we soon got him 
 comfortable, and there he lay all night." 
 "How did he get away to-day?" 
 "We were all out, sir — went over to Mr. 
 Cari-'s place to borrow his horses. The 
 Colonel took a message, sir." (Here the 
 fellow grinned again.) "I don't know what 
 it was. Well, when we'd got the horses, 
 we rode round outside the town, and came 
 into the road between here and the 
 Colonel's. Ten horses we'd got, and we 
 went there to give the ten men who were 
 patrol ing the road the fresh horses. We
 
 112 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 heard from them that no one had come 
 along. When we got home, he^d been gone 
 two hours!" 
 
 "Plow did he manage it?" 
 
 "A W'Oman, sir," said ray warrior, with 
 supreme disgust. "GaA^e her a kiss and ten 
 dollars to undo the front door, and then 
 he was off! He daren't go to the stables 
 to get a horse, so he was forced to limp 
 away on his game leg. A plucky one he is, 
 too." he concluded. 
 
 "Poor old Johnny," said I. "You didn't 
 go after him?" 
 
 "No time, sir. Couldn't tire the horses. 
 Besides, when he'd once got home, he^s got 
 a dozen men there, and they'd have kept 
 us all night. Well, sir, I must be off. Any 
 answer for the Colonel? He'll be outside 
 the Golden House by eleven, sir, and Mr. 
 Carr won't get in if he comes after that." 
 
 "Tell him to rely on me," I answered. 
 But for all that I didn't mean to shoot 
 Johnny on sight. 
 
 So, much perturbed in spirit, I set off to 
 the barracks, wondering when Johnny 
 would get to Whittingham, and whether
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILLFUL. 113 
 
 he would fall into the Colonel's hands out- 
 side the Golden House. It struck me as 
 unpleasantly probable that he might come 
 and spoil the harmony of my evening; if 
 he came there first, the conspiracy would 
 probably lose my aid at an early moment. 
 What would happen to me I didn't know. 
 But as I took off my coat in the lobby, I 
 bent down as if to tie a shoestring, and had 
 one more look at my reA^olver.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A SUPPER PARTY. 
 
 I shall never forget that supper as long 
 as I live. Considered merely as a social 
 gathering it would be memorable enough, 
 for I never before or since sat at meat with 
 ten such queer customers as my hosts of 
 that evening. The officers of the Aureata- 
 land Army were a very mixed lot — two or 
 three Spanish Americans, three or four 
 Brazilians, and the balance Americans of 
 the type their countrymen are least proud 
 of. If there was an honest man among 
 them he sedulously concealed his title to 
 distinction; I know there wasn't a sober 
 one. The amount of liquor consumed was 
 portentous, and I gloated with an unholy 
 joy as I saw man after man rapidly making 
 himself what diplomatists call a quantite 
 negligeable. The conversation needed all 
 the excuse the occasion could afford, and 
 the wit would have appeared unduly 
 
 114
 
 A SUPPER PARTY. 115 
 
 coarse in a common pot-house. All this 
 might have passed from my memory, or 
 blended in a subdued harmony with my 
 general imj)ressiou of Aureataland; but 
 the peculiar position in which I stood gave 
 to my mind an unusual activity of percep- 
 tion. Among this band of careless drunken 
 revelers I sat vigilant, restless and impa- 
 tient; feigning to take a leading part in 
 their dissolute hilarity, I was sober, collect- 
 ed, and alert to my very finger-tips. I 
 anxiously watched their bearing and ex- 
 pression. I led them on to speak of the 
 President, rejoicing when I elicited open 
 murmurs and covert threats at his base in- 
 gratitude to the men on whose support his 
 power rested. They had not been paid for 
 six months, and were ripe for any mischief. 
 I was more than once tempted to forestall 
 the Colonel and begin the revolution on my 
 own account; only my inability to produce 
 before their eyes any arguments of the sort 
 they would listen to restrained me. 
 
 Eleven o'clock had come and gone. The 
 Senior Captain had proposed the Presi- 
 dent's health. It was drunk in sullen
 
 116 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 silence; I was the only man who honored 
 it by rising from his seat. 
 
 The Major had proposed the Army, and 
 they had drunk deep to their noble selves. 
 A young- man of weak expression and qua- 
 vering legs had proposed, "The Commerce 
 of Aureataland, coupled with the name of 
 Mr. John Martin," in laudatory but inco- 
 herent terms, and I was on my legs reply- 
 ing. Oh, that speech of mine! For dis- 
 cursiveness, for repetition, for sheer inan- 
 ity, I suppose it has never been equaled. 
 I droned steadily awa}^, interrupted only 
 by cries for fresh supplies of wine; as I 
 went on the audience paid less and less 
 attention. It was past twelve. The well 
 of my eloquence was running drier and 
 drier, and yet no sound outside! I won- 
 dered how long they would stand it and 
 how long I could stand it. At 12:15 I be- 
 gan my peroration. Hardly had I done so, 
 when one of the voung men started in a 
 gentle voice an utterly indescribable ditty. 
 One by one they took it up, till the rising 
 tide of voices drowned my fervent periods. 
 Perforce I stopped. They were all on their
 
 A SUPPER PARTY. 117 
 
 feet now. Did they mean to break up? In 
 despair at tlie idea I lifted up my voice, 
 loud and distinct (the only distinct voice 
 left in the room), in the most shameful 
 verse of that shameful composition, and 
 seizing- my neighbor's hand began to move 
 slowly round the table. The move was suc- 
 cessful. Each man followed suit, and the 
 whole party, kicking back their chairs, re- 
 volved with lurching steps round the debris 
 of empty bottles and cigar ashes. 
 
 The room was thick with smoke, and 
 redolent of fumes of wine. Mechanically 
 I led the chorus, straining eveiy nerve to 
 hear a sound from outside. I was growing- 
 dizzy with the movement, and overwrought 
 with the strain on my nerves, I knew a few 
 minutes more would be the limit of en- 
 durance, when at last I heard a loud shout 
 and tumult of voices. 
 
 "What's that?" exclaimed the Major, in 
 thick tones, pausing as he spoke. 
 
 I dropped his hand and seizing my re- 
 volver, said: 
 
 "Some drunken row in barracks, Major. 
 Let 'em alone."
 
 118 A MAN OP MARK. 
 
 "I must go," he said. "Character — 
 Aureataland — Army — at stake." 
 
 "Set a thief to catch a thief, eh. Major?" 
 said I. 
 
 "What do you mean, sir?" he stuttered. 
 "Let me go." 
 
 "If you move, I shoot, Major," said I, 
 bringing out my weapon. I never saw 
 greater astonishment on human counte- 
 nance. He swore loudly, and then cried: 
 
 "Hi, stop him — he's mad — he's going to 
 shoot!" 
 
 A shout of laughter rose from the crew 
 around us, for they felt exquisite apprecia- 
 tion of my supposed joke. 
 
 "Right you are, Martin," cried one. "Keep 
 him quiet. We won't go home till morn- 
 ing!" 
 
 The Major turned to the window. It was 
 a moonlight night, and as I looked with him 
 I saw the courtyard full of soldiers. Who 
 was in command? The answer to that 
 meant much to me. 
 
 This sight somewhat sobered the Major. 
 
 "A mutiny!" he cried. "The soldiers have 
 risen!"
 
 A SUPPER PARTY. 119 
 
 "Go to bed," said the junior ensign. 
 
 '^Look out of window!" he cried. 
 
 They all staggered to the window. As 
 the soldiers saw them, they raised a shout. 
 I could not distinguish whether it was a 
 greeting or a threat. They took it as the 
 latter, and turned to the door, 
 
 "Stop!" I cried; "I shoot the first man 
 who opens the door." 
 
 In wonder they turned on me. I stood 
 facing them, revolver in hand. They 
 waited huddled together for an instant, 
 then made a rush at me; I fired, but 
 missed. I had a vision of a poised de- 
 canter; a second later, the missile caught 
 me in the chest and hurled me back 
 against the wall. As I fell I dropped my 
 weapon, and they were upon me. I 
 thought it was all over; but as they 
 surged round, in the madness of drink and 
 anger, I, looking through their ranks, saw 
 the door open and a crowd of men rush in. 
 Who was at their head? Thank God, it 
 was the Colonel, and his voice rose high 
 above the tumult —
 
 120 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "Order, gentlemeu, order." Then to his 
 men he added: 
 
 "Each mark your man, and two of you 
 bring- Mr. Martin here." 
 
 I was saved. To explain how, I must 
 explain what had been happening at the 
 Golden House, and how the night attack 
 had fared. 
 
 H,
 
 CHAPTER. X. 
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 
 
 It is a sad necessity that compels us to 
 pry into the weaknesses of our fellow-crea- 
 tures, and seek to turn them to our own 
 profit. I am not philosopher enough to say 
 whether this course of conduct derives any 
 justification from its universality, but in 
 the region of practice. I have never hesi- 
 tated to place myself on a moral level with 
 those with whom I had to deal. I may oc- 
 casionally even have left the other party to 
 make this needful adjustment, and I have 
 never known him fail to do so. I felt, there- 
 fore, very little scrapie in making use of 
 the one weak spot discoverable in the de- 
 fenses of our redoubtable opponent, his Ex- 
 cellency the President of Aureataland. No 
 doubt the readei^'s eye has before now de- 
 tected the joint in that great man's armor 
 at which we directed our missile. As a 
 lover, I grudged the employment of the Sig- 
 
 121
 
 122 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 norina in this service; as a politician, I was 
 proud of the device; as a human being, I 
 recognized what we are very ready to recog- 
 nize, that it did not become me to refuse 
 to work with such instruments as appeared 
 to be put into my hands. 
 
 But whatever may be the verdict of 
 moralists on our device, events proved its 
 wisdom. The President had no cause to 
 suspect a trap; therefore, like a sensi- 
 ble man, he chose to spend the evening with 
 the Signorina rather than with his gallant 
 officers. With eqiially good taste, he 
 elected to spend it tete-a-tete with her, when 
 she gave him the opportunity. In our sub- 
 sequent conversations, the Signorina was 
 not communicative as to how the early 
 hours of the evening passed. She preferred 
 to begin her narrative from the point when 
 their solitude was interrupted. As I rely 
 on her account and that of the Colonel for 
 this part of my story, I am compelled to 
 make my start from the same moment. It 
 appears that at a few minutes past eleven 
 o'clock, when the President was peacefully 
 smoking a cigar and listening to the con-
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 123 
 
 versation of his fair guest (whom he had 
 galvanized into an affected liveliness by 
 alarming remarks on her apparent preoc- 
 cupation), there fell upon his ear the sound 
 of a loud knocking at the door. Dinner had 
 been served in a small room at the back of 
 the house, and the President could not com- 
 mand a view of the knocker without going 
 out on to the veranda, which ran all round 
 the house, and walking round to the front. 
 When the knock was heard, the Signorina 
 started up. 
 
 "Don't disturb yourself, pray," said his 
 Excellency politely. "I gave special in- 
 structions that I was visible to no one this 
 evening. But I was wondering whether 
 it could be Johnny Carr. I want to speak 
 to him for a moment, and I'll just go round 
 outside and see if it is." 
 
 As he spoke, a discreet tap was heard at 
 the door. 
 
 "Yes?" said the President. 
 
 "Mr. Carr is at the door and particularly 
 wants to see your Excellency. An urgent 
 matter, he says." 
 
 "Tell him I'll come round and speak to
 
 124 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 him from the veranda," replied the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 He turned to the window, and threw it 
 open to step out. 
 
 Let me tell what followed in the Signo- 
 rina's words. 
 
 "Just then we heard a sound of a num- 
 ber of horses galloping up. The President 
 stopped and said: 
 
 "'Hullo, what's up?' 
 
 "Then there was a shout and a volley of 
 shots, and I heard the Colonel's voice cry: 
 
 " 'Down with your arms; down, 1 say, or 
 you're dead men!' 
 
 "The President stepped quickly across 
 the room to his escritoire, took uj^^his re- 
 volver, went back to the window, passed 
 through it, and without a word disap- 
 peared. I could not hear even the sound of 
 his feet on the veranda. 
 
 "I heard one more shot — then a rush of 
 men to the door, and the Colonel burst in, 
 with sword and revolver in his hands, and 
 followed by ten or a dozen men. 
 
 "I ran to him, terrified, and cried: 
 
 " 'Oh, is anv one hurt?'
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 125 
 
 "He took no notice, but asked hastily: 
 
 " 'Where is he?' 
 
 "I pointed to the veranda, and gasped: 
 
 " 'He went out there.' Then I turned to 
 one of the men and said again: 
 
 " 'Is any one hurt?' 
 
 " 'Only Mr, Carr,' he replied. 'The rest 
 of 'em were a precious sight too careful of 
 themselves.' 
 
 " 'And is he killed?' 
 
 " 'Don't think he's dead, miss,' he said. 
 'But he's hurt badly.' 
 
 "As I turned again, I saw the President 
 standing quite calmly in the window. When 
 the Colonel saw him, he raised his revolver 
 and said: 
 
 " 'Do you yield. General Whittingham? 
 We are twelve to one.' 
 
 "As he spoke, every man covered the 
 President with his aim. The latter stood 
 facing the twelve revolvers, his own weapon 
 hanging loosely in his left hand. Then, 
 smiling, he said a little bitterly: 
 
 " 'Heroics are not in my line, McGregor. 
 I suppose this is a popular rising — that is 
 to say, you have bribed my men, murdered
 
 126 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 my best friend, and beguiled me with the 
 lures of that — ' 
 
 "I could not bear the -word that hung on 
 his lips, and with a sob I fell on a sofa and 
 hid my face. 
 
 " ^Well, we mustn't use hard names,' he 
 went on in a gentler tone. ^We are all as 
 God made us. I give in,' and, throwing 
 down his weapon, he asked, 'Have you quite 
 killed Carr?' 
 
 " 'I don't know,' said the Colonel, imply- 
 ing plainly that he did not care either. 
 
 " *I suppose it was you that shot him?' 
 
 "The Colonel nodded. 
 
 "The President yawned, and looked at his 
 watch. 
 
 " 'As I have no part in to-night's per- 
 formance,' said he, 'I presume I am at lib- 
 erty to go to bed?' 
 
 "The Colonel said, curtly: 
 
 " 'Where's the bedroom?' 
 
 " 'In there,' said the President, waving 
 his hand to a door facing that by which 
 the Colonel had entered. 
 
 " 'Permit me,' said the latter. He went
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 127 
 
 in, no doubt, to see if there were any other 
 egress. Returning shortly he said: 
 
 " 'My men must stay here, and you must 
 leave the door open.' 
 
 " 'I have no objection,' said the President. 
 'No doubt they will respect my modesty.' 
 
 " 'Two of you stay in this room. Two 
 of you keep watch in the veranda, one at 
 this window, the other at the bedroom 
 window, I shall put three more sentries 
 outside. General Whittingham is not to 
 leave this room. If you hear or see any- 
 thing going on in there, go in and put him 
 under restraint. Otherwise treat him with 
 respect.' 
 
 " 'I thank you for your civility,' said the 
 President, 'also for the compliment implied 
 in these precautions. Is it over this matter 
 of the debt that your patriotism has drawn 
 you into revolt?' 
 
 " 'I see no use in discussing public affairs 
 at this moment,' the Colonel replied. 'And 
 my presence is required elsewhere. I re- 
 gret that I cannot relieve you of the preS' 
 ence of these men, but I do not feel I should 
 
 be justified in accepting your parole.' 
 o
 
 128 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "The President did not seem to be 
 angered at this insult. 
 
 " *I have not offered it,' he said simply. 
 'It is better you should take your own meas- 
 ures. Need I detain you, Colonel?' 
 
 "The Colonel did not answer him, but 
 turned to me and said: 
 
 " 'Signorina Nugent, we wait only for 
 you, and time is precious.' 
 
 " 'I will follow you in a moment,' I said, 
 with my head still among the cushions. 
 
 " 'No, come now,' he commanded. 
 
 "Looking up, I saw a smile on the Presi- 
 dent's face. As I rose reluctantly, he also 
 got up from the chair into which he had 
 flung himself, and stopped me with a ges- 
 ture. I was terribly afraid that he was go- 
 ing to say something hard to me, but his 
 voice only expressed a sort of amused pity. 
 
 " 'The money, was it, Signorina?' he said. 
 'Young people and beautiful people should 
 not be mercenary. Poor child, you had bet- 
 ter have stood by me.' 
 
 "I answered him nothing, but went out 
 with the Colonel, leaving him seated again 
 in his chair, surveying with some apparent
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 129 
 
 amusement the two threatening sentries 
 who stood at the door. The Colonel hurried 
 me out of the house, saying: 
 
 " 'We must ride to the barracks. If the 
 news gets there before us, they may cut up 
 rough. You go home. Your work is done.' 
 
 "So they mounted and rode away, leav- 
 ing me in the road. There were no sigii« 
 of any struggle, except the door hanging 
 loose on its hinges, and a drop or two of 
 blood on the steps where thej^ had shot poor 
 Johnny Carr. I wont straight home, and 
 what happened in the next few hours at the 
 Golden House I don't know, and, knowing 
 how I left the President, I cannot explain. 
 I went home, and cried till I thought my 
 heart would break." 
 
 Thus far the Signorina. I must beg to 
 call special attention to the closing lines of 
 her narrative. But before I relate the very 
 startling occurrence to which she refers, we 
 must return to the barracks, where, it will 
 be remembered, matters were in a rather 
 critical condition. When the officers saw 
 their mess-room suddenly filled with armed 
 men, and heard the alarming order issued
 
 130 • A MAN OP MARK. 
 
 by the Colonel, their attention was effectu- 
 ally diverted from me. They crowded to- 
 gether on one side of the table, facing the 
 Colonel and his men on the other. Assisted 
 by the two men sent to my aid, I seized the 
 opportunity to push my way through them 
 and range myself by the side of my leader. 
 After a moment's pause the Colonel began : 
 "The last thing we should desire, gentle- 
 men," he said, "is to resort to force. But 
 the time for explanation is short. The peo- 
 ple of Aureataland have at last risen 
 against the tyranny they have so long en- 
 dured. General Whittingham has proved 
 a traitor to the cause of freedom; he won 
 his position in the name of liberty; he has 
 used it to destroy liberty. The voice of the 
 people has declared him to have forfeited 
 his high office. The people have placed in 
 my hand the sword of vengeance. Armed 
 with this mighty sanction, I have appealed 
 to the army. The army has proved true to 
 its traditions — true to its character of the 
 protector, not the oppressor, of the people. 
 Gentlemen, will you who lead the army take 
 your proper place?"
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 131 
 
 There was no reply to this moving ap- 
 peal. He advanced closer to them, and 
 went on : 
 
 "There is no middle way. You are patriots 
 or traitors — friends of liberty or friends of 
 tyranny. I stand here to offer 3'ou either a 
 traitor's death, or, if you will, life, honor 
 and the satisfaction of all your just claims. 
 Do you mistrust the people? I, as their 
 representative, here offer you every just due 
 the people owe you — debts which had long- 
 been paid but for the greed of that great 
 traitor." 
 
 As he said this he took from his men some 
 bags of money, and threw them on the table 
 with a loud chink. 
 
 Major DeChair glanced at the bags, and 
 glanced at his comrades, and said: 
 
 "In the cause of liberty God forbid we 
 should be behind! Down with the tyrant!" 
 And all the pack 3'elped in chorus ! 
 
 "Then, gentlemen, to the head of your 
 men," said the Colonel, and going to the 
 window, he cried to the throng: 
 
 "Men, your noble officers are with us." 
 
 A cheer answered him. I wiped my fore- 
 head, and said to myself, "That's well over."
 
 132 A MAN OP MARK. 
 
 I will not weary the reader with our 
 further proceedings. Sufllce it to say we 
 marshaled our host and marched down to 
 the Piazza. The news had spread by now, 
 and in the dimly-breaking morning light 
 we saw the v^quare full of people — men, 
 women and children. As we marched in 
 there was a cheer, not very hearty — a 
 cheer propitiatory, for they did not know 
 what we meant to do. The Colonel made 
 them a brief speech, promising peace, se- 
 curity, liberty, plenty and all the goods of 
 heaven. In a few stern words he cautioned 
 them against "treachery," and announced 
 that any rebellion against the Provisional 
 Government would meet with swift punish- 
 ment. Then he posted his army in com- 
 panies, to keep watch till all was quiet. 
 And at last he said : 
 
 "Novf, Martin, come back to the Golden 
 House, and let's put that fellow in a safe 
 place." 
 
 "Yes," said I, "and have a look for the 
 money." For really in the excitement it 
 seemed as if there was a danger of the most 
 important thing of all being forgotten.
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 133 
 
 The dawn was now far advanced, and as 
 we left the Piazza, we could see the Golden 
 House at the other end of the avenue. All 
 looked quiet, and the sentries were gently 
 pacing to and fro. Drawing nearer, we saw 
 two or three of the President's servants 
 busied about their ordinary tasks. One 
 woman was already deleting Johnny Carr's 
 life-blood with a mop and a pail of water; 
 and a carpenter was at work repairing the 
 front-door. Standing by it was the doctor's 
 brougham. 
 
 "Come to see Carr, I suppose," said I. 
 
 Leaving our horses to the care of the men 
 who were with us, we entered the house. 
 Just inside we met the doctor himself. He 
 was a shrewd little fellow, named Anderson, 
 generally popular and, though a personal 
 friend of the President's, not openly identi- 
 fied with either political party. 
 
 "I have a request to make to you, sir," 
 he said to McGregor, "about Mr. Carr." 
 
 "Well, is he dead?" said the Colonel. "If 
 he is, he's got only himself to thank for it." 
 
 The doctor wisely declined to discuss 
 this question, and confined himself to stat-
 
 134 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 ing that Johnny' was not dead. On the con- 
 trary, he was goinc^ on nicely. 
 
 "But," he went on, "quiet is essential, and 
 I want to take him to my house, out of the 
 racket. No doubt it is pretty quiet here 
 now, but — " 
 
 The Colonel interrupted — 
 
 "Will he give his [>arole not to escape?" 
 
 "My dear sir," said the doctor, "the man 
 couldn't move to save his life — and he's 
 asleep now." 
 
 "You must wake him up to move him, I 
 suppose," said the Colonel. "But you may 
 take him. Let me know when he's well 
 enough to see me. Meanwhile, I hold you 
 responsible for his good behavior." 
 
 "Certainly," said the doctor. "I am con- 
 tent to be responsible for Mr. Carr." 
 
 "All right; take him and get out. Now 
 for Whittingham !" 
 
 "Hadn't we better get the money first?" 
 said I. 
 
 "Damn the money!" he replied. "But I 
 tell you what — I must have a bit of food. 
 I've tasted nothing for twelve hours." 
 
 One of the servants, hearing him, said:
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 135 
 
 "Breakfast can be served in a moment, 
 sir." And he ushered us into the large din- 
 ing-room, where we soon had an excellent 
 meal. 
 
 When we had got through most of it, I 
 broke the silence by asking: 
 
 "AYhat are you going to do with him?" 
 
 "I should like to shoot him," said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 "On what charge?" 
 
 "Treachery," he replied. 
 
 I smiled. 
 
 "That would hardly do, would it?" 
 
 "Well, then, embezzlement of public 
 funds." 
 
 W^e had a little talk about the President's 
 destiny, and I tried to persuade the Colonel 
 to milder measures. In fact, I was de- 
 termined to prevent such a murder if I 
 could without ruin to myself. 
 
 "Well, we'll consider it when we've seen 
 him," said the Colonel, rising and lighting 
 a cigarette. "By Jove! we've wasted an 
 hour breakfasting — it's seven o'clock." 
 
 I followed him along the passage, and 
 we entered the little room where we had
 
 l^ti A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 left the President. The sentries were still 
 there, each seated in an arm-chair. They 
 were not asleep, but looked a little drowsy. 
 
 "All right?" said the Colonel. 
 
 "Yes, Excellency," said one of them. "He 
 is in there in bed." 
 
 He went into the inner room and beaan 
 to undo the shutters, letting in the early 
 sun. 
 
 We passed through the half-opened door 
 and saw a peaceful figure lying in the bed, 
 whence proceeded a gentle snore. 
 
 "Good nerve, hasn't he?" said the Colonel. 
 
 "Yes; but what a queer night-cap," I 
 said, for the President's head was swathed 
 in white linen. 
 
 The Colonel strode quickly up to the bed. 
 
 "Done, by hell!" he cried. It*s Johnny 
 Carr!" 
 
 It was true ; there lay Johnny. His Ex- 
 cellency was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 The Colonel shook Johnny roujrhlv by 
 the arm. The latter opened his eyes and 
 said, sleepily: 
 
 "Steady there! Kindly remember I'm 
 a trifle fragile,"
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 137 
 
 "What's this infernal plot? Where's 
 Whittingham?" 
 
 "Ah, it's McGregor,"' said Johnny with a 
 bland smile, "and Martin. How are you, 
 old fellow? Some beast's hit me on the 
 head." 
 
 "Where's Whittingham?" reiterated the 
 Colonel, saragely shaking Johnny's arm. 
 
 "Gently!" said T; "after all, he's a sick 
 man." 
 
 The Colonel dropped the arm with a mut- 
 tered oath, and Johnny said sweetly: 
 
 "Quits, isn't it. Colonel?" 
 
 The Colonel turned from him, and said 
 to his men sternly: 
 
 "Have you had any hand in this?" 
 
 They protested vehemently that they 
 were as astonished as we were ; and so they 
 were, unless they acted consummately. They 
 denied that any one had entered the outer 
 room or that any sound had proceeded from 
 the inner. They swore they had kept vigi- 
 lant watch, and must have seen anv in- 
 truder. Both the men inside were the Colo- 
 nel's personal servants, and he believed in 
 their honesty; but what of their vigilance?
 
 .138 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Carr heard him sternly questioning 
 them, and said: 
 
 "Those chaps aren't to blame, Colonel. I 
 didn't come in that way. If you^ll take a 
 look behind the bed, you'll see another door. 
 They brought me in there. I was rather 
 queer and only half knew what was up." 
 
 We looked and saw a door where he said. 
 Pushing the bed aside, we opened it, and 
 found ourselves on the back staircase of the 
 premises. Clearly the President had noise- 
 lessly opened this door and got out. But 
 how had Carr got in Without noise? 
 
 The sentry came up, saying: 
 
 "Every five minutes, sir, I looked and saw 
 him on the bed. He lay for the first hour 
 in his clothes. The next look, he was un- 
 dressed. It struck me he'd been pretty quick 
 and quiet about it, but I thought no more." 
 
 "Depend upon it, the dressed man was 
 the President, the undressed man Carr! 
 When was that?" 
 
 "About half -past two, sir; just after the 
 doctor came." . 
 
 "The doctor!" we cried. 
 
 "Yes, sir; Dr. Anderson."
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 139 
 
 "You never told me he had been here." 
 "He never went into the President's — 
 into General Whittingham's room, sir; but 
 he came in here for five minutes, to get some 
 brandy, and stood talking with us for a 
 time. Half-an-hour after, he came in for 
 some more," 
 
 We began to see how it was done. That 
 wretched little doctor was in the plot. 
 Somehow or other he had communicated 
 with the President; probably he knew of the 
 door. Then, I fancied, they must have 
 worked something in this way. The doctor 
 comes in to distract the sentries, while his 
 Excellency moves the bed. Finding that 
 they took a look every five minutes, he told 
 the President. Then he went and got 
 Johnny Carr ready. Returning, he takes 
 the President's place on the bed, and in that 
 character undergoes an inspection. The 
 moment this is over he leaps up and goes 
 out. Between them they bring in Carr, put 
 him into bed, and slip out through the nar- 
 row space of open door behind the bedstead. 
 When all was done, the doctor had come 
 back to see if any suspicion had been 
 aroused.
 
 140 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "I havo it now!" cried the Colonel. 
 "That infernal doctoi*'s done us both. He 
 couldn't get Whittingham out of the house 
 without leave, so he's taken him as Carr! 
 Swindled me into giving m^' leave! Ah, 
 look out if we meet, Mr. Doctor!" 
 
 We rushed out of the house and found 
 this conjecture was true. The man who 
 purported to be Carr had been carried out, 
 enveloped in blankets, just as we sat down 
 to breakfast; the doctor had put him into 
 the carriage, followed himself, and driven 
 rapidly away. 
 
 "Which way did they go?" 
 
 "Toward the harbor, sir," the sentry re- 
 plied. 
 
 The harbor could be reached in twenty 
 minutes' fast driving. Without a word the 
 Colonel sprang on his horse; I imitated him, 
 and we galloped as hard as we could, every 
 one making way before our furious charge. 
 Alas ! we were too late. As we drew jrein on 
 the quay we saw, half-a-mile out to sea and 
 sailing before a stiff breeze, Johnny Carr's 
 little yacht, with the Aureataland flag 
 floating defiantly at her mast-head.
 
 TWO SURPRISES. 141 
 
 We gazed at it blankly, with never a word 
 to say, and turned our horses' heads. Our 
 attention was attracted by a small group 
 of men standing round the storm-signal 
 post. As we rode up, they hastily scat- 
 tered, and we saw pinned to the post a sheet 
 of note-paper. Thereon was written in a 
 well-known hand: — 
 
 "I, Marcus W. Whittingham, President 
 of the Republic of Aureataland, hereby offer 
 a reward of Five Thousand Dollars and a 
 Free Pardon to any person or persons as- 
 sisting in the Capture, Alive or Dead, of 
 George McGregor (late Colonel in the 
 Aureataland Army) and John Martin, Bank 
 Manager, and I do further proclaim the said 
 George McGregor and John Martin to be 
 traitors and rebels against the Republic, 
 and do pronounce their lives forfeited. 
 Which sentence let every loyal citizen ob- 
 serve at his peril. 
 
 "Marcus W. Whittingham, 
 
 "President." 
 
 Truly this was pleasant!
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 The habit of reading having penetrated, 
 as we are told, to all classes of the com- 
 munity, I am not without hope that some 
 who peruse this chronicle will be able, from 
 personal experience, to understand the feel- 
 ings of a man when he first finds a reward 
 offered for his apprehension. It is true that 
 our police are not in the habit of imitating 
 the President's naked brutality by ex- 
 pressly adding "Alive or Dead," but I am 
 informed that the law, in case of need, 
 leaves the alternative open to the servants 
 of justice. I am not ashamed to confess that 
 my spirits were rather dashed by his Excel- 
 lency's Parthian shot, and I could see that 
 the Colonel himself was no less perturbed. 
 The escape of Fleance seemed to Macbeth 
 to render his whole position unsafe, and no 
 one who knew General Whittingham will 
 doubt that he was a more generous oppo- 
 
 142
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 143 
 
 nent than Fleance. We both felt, in fact, as 
 soon as we saw the white sail of "The Song- 
 stress" bearing our enemy out of our reach, 
 that the revolution could not yet be re- 
 garded as safely accomplished. But the un- 
 certainty of our tenure of power did not 
 paralyze our energies; on the contrary, we 
 determined to make hay while the sun 
 shone, and, if Aureataland was doomed to 
 succumb once more to tyranny, I, for one, 
 was very clear that her temporary emanci- 
 pation might be turned to good account 
 
 Accordingly, on arriving again at the 
 Golden House, we lost no time in institut- 
 ing a thorough inquiry into the state of the 
 public finances. We ransacked the house 
 from top to bottom and found nothing! Was 
 it possible that the President had carried 
 off with him all the treasure that had in- 
 spired our patriotic efforts? The thought 
 was too horrible. The drawers of his escri- 
 toire and the safe that stood in his library 
 revealed nothing to our eager eyes. A for- 
 aging party, dispatched to the Ministry of 
 Finance (where, by the way, they did not 
 find Don Antonio or his fair daughter), re- 
 
 lO
 
 144 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 turned witli the discouraging news that 
 nothing' was visible but ledgers and bills 
 (not negotiable securities — the other sort). 
 In deep dejection I threw myself into his 
 Excellency's chair and lit one of his praise- 
 worthy cigars with the doleful rellection 
 that this pleasure seemed all I was likely to 
 get out of the business. The Colonel stood 
 moodil^^ with his back to the fireplace, look- 
 ing at me as if I were responsible for the 
 state of things. 
 
 At this point in came the Signorina. We 
 greeted her gloomily, and she was as 
 startled as ourselves at the news of the 
 President's escape; at the same time 1 
 thought I detected an undercurrent of re- 
 lief, not unnatural if we recollect her per- 
 sonal relations with the deposed ruler. 
 When, however, we went on to break to her 
 the nakedness of the land, she stopped us 
 at once. 
 
 "Oh, you stupid men, you haven't looked 
 in the right place. I suppose you expected 
 to find it laid out for you on the dining- 
 room table. Come with me." 
 
 We followed her into the room where
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 145 
 
 Carr lay. He was awake, and the Signo- 
 rina went and asked him how he was. Then 
 she continued: 
 
 "We shall have to disturb you for a few 
 minutes, Mr. Carr. You don't mind, do 
 you?" 
 
 "Must I get out of bed?" asked Johnny. 
 
 "Certainly not, while I'm here," said the 
 Signorina. "You've only got to shut your 
 eyes and lie still; but we're going to make 
 a little noise." 
 
 There was in the room, as perhaps might 
 be expected, a washing-stand. This article 
 was of the description one often sees ; above 
 the level of the stand itself there rose a 
 wooden screen to the height of two feet and 
 a half, covered with pretty tiles, the presum- 
 able object being to protect the wall paper. 
 I never saw a more innocent-looking bit of 
 furniture; it might have stood in a lady's 
 dressing-room. The Signorina went up to it 
 and slid it gently on one side; it moved in 
 a groove! Then she pressed a spot in the 
 wall behind and a small piece of it rolled 
 aside, disclosing a keyhole. 
 
 "lie's taken the key, of course,'* she said.
 
 146 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "We must break it open. Who's got a ham- 
 mer?" 
 
 Tools were procured, and, working under 
 the Signorina's directions, after a good deal 
 of trouble, we laid bare a neat little safe 
 embedded in the wall. This safe was legi- 
 bly inscribed on the outside "Burglar's 
 Puzzle." We, however, were not afraid of 
 making a noise, and it only puzzled us for 
 ten minutes. 
 
 When opened it revealed a Golconda! 
 There lay in securities and cash no less than 
 500,000 dollars! 
 
 We smiled at one another. 
 
 "A sad revelation," I remarked. 
 
 "Hoary old fox !" said the Colonel. 
 
 No wonder the harbor works were un- 
 remunerative in their early stages. The 
 President must have kept them at a very 
 early stage. 
 
 "What are you people up to?" cried Carr. 
 
 "Rank burglary, my dear boy," I replied, 
 and we retreated with our spoil. 
 
 "Now,'* said I to the Colonel, "what are 
 you going to do?" 
 
 "Why, what do you think, Mr. Martin?'-
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 147 
 
 interposed the Signorina. "He's going to 
 give you your money, and divide the rest 
 with his sincere friend Christina Nugent." 
 
 "Well, I suppose so," said the Colonel. 
 "But it strikes me you're making a good 
 thing of this, Martin." 
 
 "My dear Colonel," said I, "a bargain is 
 a bargain, and where would you have been 
 without my money?" 
 
 The Colonel made no reply, but handed 
 me the money, which I liked much better. I 
 took the 320,000 dollars, and said: 
 
 "Now, I can face the world, an honest 
 man." 
 
 The Signorina laughed. 
 
 "I am glad," she said, "chiefly for poor 
 old Jones' sake. It'll take a load off his 
 mind." 
 
 The Colonel proceeded to divide the re- 
 mainder into two little heaps, one of which 
 he pushed over to the Signorina. She 
 took it gaily, saying: 
 
 "Now I shall make curl papers of half 
 my bonds, and I shall rely on the — what do 
 you call it? — the Provisional Government 
 to pay the rest. You remember about the 
 house?"
 
 148 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "I'll see about that soon," said the Colonel 
 impatiently. "You two seem to think 
 there's nothing to do but take the money. 
 You forget we've got to make our position 
 safe." 
 
 "Exactly. The Colonel's Government 
 must be carried on," said I. 
 
 The Signorina did not catch the allusion. 
 She yawned, and said: 
 
 "Oh, then, I shall go. Rely on my loyalty, 
 your Excellency." 
 
 She made him a courtesy and went to the 
 door. As I opened it for her she whispered, 
 "Horrid old bear! Come and see me, Jack," 
 and so vanished, carrying off her dollars. 
 
 I returned and sat down opposite the 
 Colonel. 
 
 "I wonder how she knew about the wash- 
 ing-stand," I remarked. 
 
 "Because Whittingham was fool enough 
 to tell her, I suppose," said the Colonel test- 
 ily, as if he disliked the subject. 
 
 Then we settled to business. This unam- 
 bitious tale does not profess to be a com- 
 plete history of Aureataland, and I will 
 spare my readers the recital of our discus-
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 149 
 
 sion. We decided at last that matters were 
 still so critical, owing to the President's 
 escape, that the ordinary forms of law and 
 Constitutional Government must be tempo- 
 rarily suspended. The chamber was not in 
 Session, which made this course easier. The 
 Colonel was to be proclaimed President and 
 to assume supreme power under martial 
 law for some weeks, while we looked about 
 us. It was thought better that my name 
 should not appear officially, but I agreed 
 to take in hand, under his supervision, all 
 matters relating to finance. 
 
 "We can't pay the interest on the real 
 debt," he said. 
 
 "No," I replied ; "you must issue a notice, 
 setting forth that, owing to General Whit- 
 tingham's malversations, payments must 
 be temporarily suspended. Promise it will 
 be all right later on." 
 
 "Very good," said he; "and now I shall 
 go and look up those officers. I must keep 
 them in good temper, and the men too. I 
 shall give 'em another ten thousand." 
 
 "Generous hero!" said I, "and I shall go 
 and restore this cash to my employers."
 
 15fr A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 It was twelve o'clock when I left the 
 Golden House and strolled quietly down to 
 Liberty Street. The larger part of the sol- 
 diers had been drawn off, but a couple of 
 companies still kept guard in the Piazza. 
 The usual occupations of life were going on 
 amid a confused stir of excitement, and I 
 saw by the interest my appearance aroused 
 that some part at least of my share in the 
 night's doing had leaked out. The Gazette 
 had published a special edition, in which it 
 hailed the advent of freedom, and, while 
 lauding McGregor to the skies, bestowed a 
 warm commendation on the "noble English' 
 man who, with a native love of liberty, had 
 taken on himself the burden of Aureataland 
 in her hour of travail." The metaphor 
 struck me as inappropriate, but the senti- 
 ment was most healthy; and when I finally 
 beheld two officers of police sitting on the 
 head of a drunken man for toasting the fall- 
 ing regime, I could say to myself, as I turned 
 into the bank, "Order reigns in Warsaw." 
 
 General assent had proclaimed a suspen- 
 sion of commerce on this auspicious day, 
 an(I I found Jones sitting idle and ill at
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 151 
 
 ease. I explained to him the state of af- 
 fairs, showing how the President's dishon- 
 orable scheme had compelled me, in the in- 
 terests of the bank, to take a more or less 
 active part in the revolution. It was 
 pathetic to hear him bewail the villainy of 
 the man he had trusted, and when I pro- 
 duced the money, he blessed me fervently, 
 and at once proposed writing to the Direct- 
 ors a full account of the matter. 
 
 "They are bound to vote you an hono- 
 rarium, sir," he said. 
 
 "I don't know, Jones," I replied. "I am 
 afraid there is a certain prejudice against 
 me at headquarters. But in any case I 
 have resolved to forego the personal advan- 
 tage that might accrue to me from my con- 
 duct. President McGregor has made a 
 strong representation to me that the 
 schemes of General Whittingham, if pub- 
 licly known, would, however unjustly, prej- 
 udice the credit of Aureataland, and he ap- 
 pealed to me not to give particulars to the 
 world. In matters such as these, Jones, we 
 cannot be guided solely by selfish consider- 
 atioDK."
 
 152 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "God forbid, sir!" said Jones, much 
 moved. 
 
 "I have, therefore, consented to restrict 
 myself to a confidential communication to 
 the Directors; they must judge how far 
 they will pass it on to the shareholders. To 
 the world at large I shall say nothing of the 
 second loan ; and I know you will oblige me 
 by treating this money as the product of 
 realizations in the ordinary course of busi- 
 ness. The recent disturbances will quite ac- 
 count for so large a sum being called in." 
 
 "I don't quite see how I can arrange 
 that." 
 
 "Ah, you are overdone," said I. "Leave 
 it all to me, Jones." 
 
 And this 1 persuaded him to do. In fact, 
 he was so relieved at seeing the money back 
 that he was easy to deal with; and if he 
 suspected anything, he was overawed by 
 my present exalted position. He appeared 
 to forget what I could not, that the Presi- 
 deat, no doubt, still possessed that fatal 
 cable ! 
 
 After lunch I remembered my engage- 
 ment with the Signorina, and, putting on
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 153 
 
 my hat, was bidding farewell to business, 
 when Jones said: 
 
 "There's a note just come for you, sir. A 
 little boy brought it w^hile you were out at 
 lunch." 
 
 He gave it me — a little dirty envelope, 
 with an illiterate scrawl. I opened it care- 
 lessly, but as my eye fell on the President's 
 hand, I started in amazement. The note 
 was dated "Saturday — . From on board 
 'The Songstress,'" and ran as follows: 
 
 "Dear Mr. Martin — I must confess to hav- 
 ing underrated your courage and abilities. 
 If you care to put them at my disposal now, 
 I will accept them. In the other event, I 
 must refer you to my public announcement. 
 In any case it may be useful to you to know 
 that McGregor designs to maiTy Signorina 
 Nugent. I fear that on my return it will 
 be hardly consistent with my public duties 
 to spare your life (unless you accept my 
 present offer), but I shall always look back 
 to your acquaintance with pleasure. T 
 have, if you will allow me to say so, seldom 
 met a young man with such natural gifts
 
 154 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 for finance and politics. I shall anchor five 
 miles out from Whittingham to-ni^ht (for 
 I know you have no ships), and if you join 
 me, well and good. If not, I shall consider 
 your decision irrevocable. — Believe me, 
 dear Mr. Martin, faithfully yours, 
 
 "Marcus W. Whittiugham, 
 "President of the Republic 
 
 "of Aureataland." 
 
 It is a pleasant thing, as has been re- 
 marked, laudari a laudato viro, and the Pres- 
 ident's praise was grateful to me. But I did 
 not see my way to fall in with his views. 
 He said nothing about the money, but I 
 knew well that its return would be a con- 
 dition of any alliance between us. Again, 
 I was sure that he also "designed to marry 
 the Signorina," and, if I must have a rival 
 on the spot, I preferred McGregor in that 
 capacity. Lastly, I thought that after all 
 there is a decency in things, and I had bet- 
 ter stick to my party. I did not, however, 
 tell McGregor about the letter, merely send- 
 ing him a line to say I had heard that "The 
 Songstress" was hovering a few miles off, 
 and he had better look out
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 155 
 
 This done, I resumed my interrupted 
 progress to tlie Signorina's. Wtien I was 
 shown in, she greeted me kindly. 
 
 "I have had a letter from the President," 
 I said. 
 
 "Yes," said she, "he told me he had writ- 
 ten to you." 
 
 "Why, have you heard from him?" 
 
 "Yes, just a little note. He is rather cross 
 with me." 
 
 "I can quite understand that. Would 
 you like to see my letter?" 
 
 "Oh, yes," she replied carelessly. 
 
 She read it through and asked: 
 
 ^'Well, are you going over to him — going 
 to forsake me?" 
 
 "How can you ask me? Won't you show 
 me your letter, Christina?" 
 
 "No, John," she answered, mimicking my 
 impassioned tones. "I may steal the Presi- 
 dent's savings, but I respect his confidence.'^ 
 
 "You see what he says to me about 
 McGregor ?'- 
 
 "Yes," said the Signorina. "It is not, you 
 know, news to me. But, curious to relate, 
 the Colonel has just been here himself and
 
 166 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 told me the same thing. The Colonel has 
 not a nice way of making love, Jack — not 
 so nice as yours nearly." 
 
 Thus encouraged I went and sat down by 
 her. I believe I took her hand. 
 
 "You don't love him?" 
 
 "Not at all," she replied. 
 
 I must beg to be excused recording the 
 exact terms in which I placed my hand and 
 heart at the Signorina's disposal. I was ex- 
 tremely vehement and highly absurd, but 
 she did not appear to be displeased. 
 
 "I like you very much, Jack," she said, 
 "and it's very sweet of you to have made a 
 revolution for me. It was for me. Jack?" 
 
 "Of course it was, my darling," I 
 promptly replied. 
 
 "But you know, Jack, I don't see how 
 we're much better off. Indeed, in a way it's 
 worse. The President wouldn't let anybody 
 else marry me, but he wasn't so peremp- 
 tory as the Colonel. The Colonel declares 
 he will marry me this day week !" 
 
 "We'll see about that," said I savagely. 
 
 "Another revolution. Jack?" asked the 
 Signorina.
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 157 
 
 "You needn't laugh at me," I said sulkily. 
 
 "Poor boy! What are we idyllic lovers 
 to do?" 
 
 "I don't believe vou're a bit in earnest." 
 
 "Yes, I am. Jack — now." Then she went 
 on, with a sort of playful pity, "Look at my 
 savage, jealous, broken-hearted Jack." 
 
 I caught her in my arms and kissed her, 
 whispering hotly: 
 
 "You will be true to me, sweet?" 
 
 "Let me go," she said. Then, leaning over 
 me as I flung myself back in a chair, "It's 
 pleasant while it lavSts ; try not to be broken- 
 hearted if it doesn't last." 
 
 "If you love me, why don't you come with 
 me out of this sink of iniquity?" 
 
 "Run away with you?" she asked with 
 open amazement. "Do you think that we're 
 the sort of people for a romantic elopement? 
 I am very earthy. And so are you. Jack 
 dear, nice earth, but earth. Jack." 
 
 There was a good deal of truth in this 
 remark. We were not an ideal pair for love 
 in a cottage. 
 
 "Yes," I said. "I've got no money." 
 
 "I've got a little money, but not much. 
 I've been paying debts," she added proudly.
 
 158 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "I haven't been even doing that. And 
 I'm not quite equal to purloining that 
 300,000 dollars." 
 
 "We must wait, Jack. But this I will 
 promise. I'll never marry the Colonel. If 
 it comes to that or running away, we'll run 
 away." 
 
 "And Whittingham?" 
 
 Tlie Signorina for once looked gTave. 
 
 "You know him," she said. "Think what 
 he made you do! and you're not a weak 
 man, or I shouldn't be fond of you. Jack, 
 you must keep him away from me." 
 
 She was quite agitated; and it was one 
 more tribute to the President's powers that 
 he should exert so strange an influence over 
 such a nature. I was burning to ask her 
 more about herself and the President, but 
 I could not while she was distressed. And 
 when I had comforted her, she resolutely 
 declined to return to the subject. 
 
 "No, go away now," she said. "Think 
 how we are to checkmate our two Presi- 
 dents. And, Jack, whatever happens, I got 
 you back the money. I've done you some 
 good. So be kind to me. I'm not very much
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 159 
 
 afraid of jour heart breaking. In fact, 
 Jack, we are neither of us good young peo- 
 ple. ^NTo, no, be quiet and go away. You 
 have plenty of useful things to occupy your 
 time." 
 
 At last I accepted my dismissal, and 
 walked off, my happiness considerably 
 damped by the awkward predicament in 
 which we stood. Clearly McGregor meant 
 business; and at this moment McGregor 
 was all powerful. If he kept the reins, I 
 should lose mv love. If the President came 
 back, a worse fate still threatened. Sup- 
 posing it were possible to carry off the Sig- 
 norina, which I doubted very much, where 
 were we to go to? And would she come? 
 
 On the whole, I did not think she would 
 come. 
 
 11
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 
 
 In spite of my many anxieties, after this 
 eventful day I enjoyed the first decent 
 night's rest I had had for a week. The Colo- 
 nel refused, with an unnecessary ostenta- 
 tion of scorn, my patriotic offer to keep 
 watch and ward over the city, and I turned 
 in, tired out, at eleven o'clock, after a light 
 dinner and a meditative pipe. I felt I had 
 some reasons for self-congratulation; for 
 considerable as my present difficulties were, 
 yet I undoubtedly stood in a more hopeful 
 position than I had before the revolution. 
 I was now resolved to get my money safe 
 out of the country, and I had hopes of being 
 too much for McGregor in the other matter 
 which shared my thoughts. 
 
 The return of day, however, brought new 
 troubles. I was roused at an early hour 
 by a visit from the Colonel himself. He 
 
 160
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 161 
 
 brought very disquieting tidiugs. In the 
 course of the night every one of our procla- 
 mations had been torn down ordefacedwith 
 ribald scribblings; posted over or along- 
 side them, there now hung multitudinous 
 enlarged copies of the President's offensive 
 notice. How or by whom tliese seditious 
 measures had been effected we were at a 
 loss to tell, for the officers and troops were 
 loud in declaring their vigilance. In the 
 very center of the Piazza, on the base of the 
 President's statue, was posted an enormous 
 bill, "Remember 1871! Death to Traitors!" 
 
 "How could they do that unless the sol- 
 diers were in it?" asked the Colonel gloom- 
 ily. "I have sent those two companies back 
 to barracks and had another lot out. But 
 how do I know they'll be any better? I met 
 DeChair just now and asked him what the 
 temper of the troops was. The little brute 
 gr-inned, and said: 'Ah, mon President, it 
 would be better if the good soldiers had a 
 leetle more money.' " 
 
 "That's about it," said I; "but then you 
 haven't got much more money." 
 
 "What I've got I mean to stick to," said
 
 162 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 the Colonel. "If this thinj^ is going to burst 
 up, I'm not going to be kicked out to starve. 
 I tell you what it is, Martin, you must let 
 me have some of that cash back again." 
 
 The elfrontery of this request amazed me. 
 I was just drawing on the second leg of my 
 trousers (for it was impossible to be com- 
 fortable in bed with that great creature 
 fuming about), and I stopped with one leg 
 in mid-air and gazed at him. 
 
 "Well, what's the matter? Why are you 
 to dance out with all the plunder?" he 
 asked. 
 
 The man's want of ordinary morality 
 was too revolting. Didn't he know very 
 well that the money wasn't mine? Didn't 
 he himself obtain my help on the express 
 terms that I should have this money to re- 
 pay the bank with? I finished putting on 
 my garments, and then I replied: 
 
 "Not a farthing. Colonel; not a damned 
 farthing! By our agreement that cash was 
 to be mine; but for that I wouldn't have 
 touched your revolution with a pair of 
 tongs."
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 163 
 
 He looked very savage, and muttered 
 something under his breath. 
 
 "You're carrying things with a high 
 hand," he said. 
 
 "I'm not going to steal to please you," 
 said I. 
 
 "You weren't always so scrupulous," he 
 sneered. 
 
 I took no notice of this insult, but re- 
 peated my determination. 
 
 "Look here, Martin," he said, "I'll give 
 you twenty-four hours to think it over; and 
 let me advise you to change your mind by 
 then. I don't want to quarrel, but I'm going 
 to have some of that money." 
 
 Clearly he had learnt statecraft in his 
 predecessor's school! "Twenty-four hours 
 is something," thought I, and determined 
 to try the cunning of the serpent, 
 
 "All right. Colonel," I said, "I'll think it 
 over. I don't pretend to like it; but, after 
 all, I'm in with you and we must pull to- 
 gether. We'll see how things look to-mor- 
 row morning." 
 
 "There^s another matter I wanted to 
 speak to you about," he went on.
 
 164 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 I was now dressed, so I invited him into 
 the breakfast-room, gave him a cup of coffee 
 (which, to my credit, I didn't poison), and 
 began on my own eggs and toast. 
 
 "Fire away," said I briefly. 
 
 "I suppose you know I'm going to be 
 married ?" he remarked. 
 
 "No, I hadn't heard," I replied, feigning 
 to be entirely occupied with a very nimble 
 egg. "Rather a busy time for marrying, 
 isn't it? Who is she?" 
 
 He gave a heavy laugh. 
 
 "You needn't pretend to be so very in- 
 nocent; I expect you could give a pretty 
 good guess." 
 
 "Madame Devarges?" I asked blandly. 
 "Suitable match; about your age — " 
 
 "I wish the devil you wouldn't try to be 
 funny!" he exclaimed. "You know as well 
 as I do it's the Signorina." 
 
 "Really?" I replied. "Well, well,I fancied 
 you were a little touched in that quarter. 
 And she has consented to make you 
 happy?" 
 
 I was curious to see what he would say. 
 I knew he was a bad liar, and, as a fact,
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 165 
 
 I believe he told the truth on this occasion, 
 for he answered: 
 
 "Says she never cared a straw for any 
 one else." 
 
 Oh, Signorina! 
 
 "Not even Whittingham?" I asked mali- 
 ciously. 
 
 "Hates the old ruffian !" said the Colonel. 
 "I once thought she had a liking for you, 
 Martin, but she laughed at the idea. I'm 
 glad of it, for we should have fallen out." 
 
 I smiled in a somewhat sickly way, and 
 took refuge in my cup. When I emerged, 
 I asked: 
 
 "And when is it to be?" 
 
 "Next Saturdav." 
 
 "So soon?" 
 
 "Yes," he said. "Fact is, between you 
 and me, Martin, she's ready enough." 
 
 This was too disgusting. But whether 
 the Colonel was deceiving me, or the Sig- 
 norina had deceived him, I didn't know — 
 a little bit of both probably. I saw, how- 
 ever, what the Colonel's game was plainly 
 «^nough; he was, in his clumsy way, warn- 
 ing me off his preserves, for, of course, he
 
 166 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 knew my pretensions and probably that 
 they had met with some success, and I 
 don't think T imposed on him very much. 
 But I was anxious to avoid a rupture and 
 gain time. 
 
 "I must call and congratulate the lady," 
 I said. 
 
 The Colonel couldn't very well object to 
 that, but he didn't like it. 
 
 "Well, Christina told me she was very 
 busy, but I daresay she'll see you for a 
 few minutes." 
 
 "I dare say she will," I said drily. 
 
 "I must be off now. 1 shall have to be 
 about all day trying to catch those infernal 
 fellows who destroved the bills." 
 
 "You won't be doing any business to- 
 day, then?" 
 
 "What, about settling the Government?" 
 he asked, grinning. "Not just yet. Wait 
 till I've got the Signorina and the money, 
 and then we'll see about that. You think 
 about the money, my boy!" 
 
 Much to my relief he then departed and 
 as he went out I swore that neither Signo- 
 rina nor money should he ever have. In the
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 167 
 
 course of the next twenty-four hours I must 
 find a way to prevent him. 
 
 "Rather early for a call," said I, "but 1 
 must see the Signorina." 
 
 On my way up I met several people, and 
 heard some interesting facts. In the first 
 place, no trace had appeared of Don 
 Antonio and his daughter; rumor declared 
 that they had embarked on "The Song- 
 stress" with the President and his faithful 
 doctor. Secondly, Johnny Carr was still in 
 bed at the Golden House (this from 
 Madame Devarges, vrho had been to see 
 him); but his men had disappeared, after 
 solemnly taking the oath to the new Gov- 
 ernment. Item three. The Colonel had 
 been received with silence and black looks 
 by the troops, and two officers had vanished 
 into space, both Americans, and the only 
 men of any good in a fight. Things were 
 looking rather blue, and I began to think 
 that I also should like to disappear, pro- 
 vided I could carry ofi' my money and my 
 mistress with me. My scruples about loy- 
 alty had been removed by the Colonel's over- 
 bearing conduct, and I was ready for any
 
 168 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 step that promised me the f ultillment of mj 
 ovvu designs. It was pretty evident that 
 there would be no living with McGregor in 
 his present frame of mind, and 1 was con- 
 vinced that my best course would be to cut 
 the whole thing, or, if that proved impos- 
 sible, to see what bargain I could make 
 with the President. Of course all would 
 go smoothly with him if I gave up the dol- 
 lars and the lady ; a like sacrifice would con- 
 ciliate McGregor. But then I didn't mean 
 to make it. 
 
 "One or other 1 will have," said I, as I 
 knocked at the door of "Mon Repos," "and 
 both if possible." 
 
 The Signorina was looking worried; in- 
 deed, I thought she had been crying. 
 
 "Did you meet my aunt on your way up?"* 
 she asked, the moment 1 was announced. 
 
 "No," said I. 
 
 "I've sent her away," she continued. "All 
 this fuss frightens her, so I got the Colonel's 
 leave (for you know we mustn't move with- 
 out permission now liberty has triumphed) 
 for her to seek change of air." 
 
 "Where's she going to?" I said.
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 169 
 
 "Home," said the Signorina. 
 
 I didn't know where "home" was, but I 
 never ask what I am not meant to know. 
 
 "Are you left alone?" 
 
 "Yes. I know it's not correct. But you 
 see, Jack, I had to choose between care for 
 my money and care for my reputation. The 
 latter is always safe in my own keeping; 
 the former I wasn't so sure about." 
 
 "Oh, so you've given it to Mrs. Carring- 
 ton?" 
 
 "Yes, all but five thousand dollars." 
 
 "Does the Colonel know that?" 
 
 "Dear me, of course not, or he'd never 
 have let her go." 
 
 "You're very wise," said I. "I only wish 
 I could have sent my money with her." 
 
 "I'm afraid that would have made dear 
 aunt rather bulky," said the Signorina tit- 
 tering. 
 
 "Yes, such a lot of mine's in cash," I said 
 regretfully. "But won't they find it on 
 her?" 
 
 "Not if they're gentlemen," replied the 
 Signorina, darkly. 
 
 Evidently T coukl not ask for further de-
 
 170 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 tails; so, without more ado, I disclosed my 
 own perilous condition and the Colonel's 
 boasts about herself. 
 
 "What a villain that man is!" she ex- 
 claimed. 'Of course I was civil to him, 
 but I didn't say half that. You didn't be- 
 lieve I did. Jack?" 
 
 There's never any use in being un- 
 pleasant, so I said I had rejected the idea 
 with scorn. 
 
 "But what's to be done? If I'm here to- 
 morrow, he'll take the money, and, as likely 
 as not, cut my throat if I try to stop him," 
 
 "Yes, and he'll marry me," chimed in the 
 Signorina. "Jack, we must have a counter- 
 revolution." 
 
 "I don't see what good that'll do," I an- 
 swered dolefully. "The President will take 
 the monej' just the same, and I expect he'll 
 marry you just the same." 
 
 "Of the two, I would rather have him. 
 Now don't rage. Jack! I only said, ^of the 
 two.' But you're quite right; it couldn't 
 help us much to bring General Whitting- 
 ham back."
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 171 
 
 "To sa}' nothing of the strong probability 
 of my perishing in the attempt." 
 
 "Let me think," said the Signorina, knit- 
 ting her brows. 
 
 "May I light a cigarette and help you?" 
 
 She nodded permission, and I awaited 
 the result of her meditation. 
 
 She sat there, looking very thoughtful 
 and troubled, but it seemed to me as if she 
 were rather undergoing a conflict of feel- 
 ing than thinking out a course of action. 
 Once she glanced at me, then turned away 
 with a restless movement and a sigh. 
 
 I finished my cigarette, and flinging it 
 away, strolled up to the window to look out. 
 I had stood there a little while, when I 
 heard her call softlj': 
 
 "Jack!" 
 
 I turned and came to her, kneeling down 
 by her side and taking her hands. 
 
 She gazed rather intently into my face 
 with unusual gravity. Then she said: 
 
 "If you have to choose between me and the 
 money, which will it 'be?" 
 
 I kissed her hand for answer. 
 
 "If the money is lost, won't it all come
 
 172 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 out? And then won't they call you dis- 
 honest?" 
 
 "I suppose so," said I. 
 
 "You don't mind that?" 
 
 "Yes, I do. Nobody likes being called a 
 thief — especially when there's a kind of 
 truth about it. But I should mind losing 
 you more.'' 
 
 "Are you really very fond of me. Jack? 
 No, you needn't say so. I think you are. 
 Now I'll tell you a secret. If you hadn't 
 come here, I should have married General 
 Whittingham long ago. I stayed here in- 
 tending to do it (oh, yes, I'm not a nice girl. 
 Jack), and he asked me very soon after you 
 hrst arrived. I gave him my money, you 
 know, then.''' 
 
 I was listening intently. It seemed as if 
 some things were going to be cleared up. 
 
 "Well," she continued, "you know what 
 happened. You fell in love with me, I tried 
 to make you, and then I suppose I fell a 
 little in love with you. At any rate I told 
 the President I wouldn't marry him just 
 then. Some time after, I wanted some 
 money, and I asked him to give me back
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 173 
 
 mine. He utterly refused ; you know his quiet 
 way. He said he would keep it for 'Mrs. 
 Whittingham.' Oh, I could have killed 
 him! But I didn't dare to break with him 
 openly; besides, he's very hard to fight 
 against. We had constant disputes; he 
 would never give back the money, and I de- 
 clared I wouldn't marry him unless I had 
 it first, and not then unless I chose. He 
 was very angry and swore I should marry 
 him without a penny of it; and so it went 
 on. But he never suspected you. Jack, not 
 till quite the end. Then we found out about 
 the debt, you know; and about the same 
 time I saw he at last suspected something 
 between you and me. And the very day 
 before we came to the bank he drove me to 
 desperation. He stood beside me in this 
 room, and said, 'Christina, I am growing 
 old. I shall wait no longer. I believe you're 
 in love with that young Martin.' Then he 
 apologized for his plain speaking, for he's 
 always gentle in manner. And I defied him. 
 And then, Jack, what do you think he did?" 
 
 I sprang up in a fury. 
 
 "What?" I cried.
 
 174 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "He laughed!" said the Signorina, with 
 tragic intensity. "I couldn't stand that. So 
 1 joined the Colonel in upsetting him. Ah, 
 he shouldn't have laughed at me!" 
 
 And indeed she looked at this moment a 
 dangerous subject for such treatment. 
 
 "I knew what no one else knew, and I 
 could influence him as no one else could, 
 and I had my revenge. But now," she said, 
 "it all ends in nothing." 
 
 And she broke down, sobbing. 
 
 Then, recovering herself, and motioning 
 me to be still, she went on: 
 
 "You may think, after holding him at bay 
 so long, I have little to fear from the Colo- 
 nel. But it's different. The President has 
 no scruples; but he is a gentleman — as far 
 as women are concerned. I mean — he 
 wouldn't — " 
 
 She stopped. 
 
 "But McGregor?" I asked, in a hoarse 
 whisper. 
 
 She drooped her head on my shoulder. 
 
 "I daren't stay here, Jack, with him," she 
 whispered. "If you can't take me away, I 
 must go to the President. I shall be at least 
 safe with him!"
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 175 
 
 "Damn the ruffian!" I growled — not 
 meaning the President, but his successor, 
 "Fll shoot him!" 
 
 "No, no, Jack!" she cried. "You must be 
 quiet and cautious. But I must go to-night 
 — to-night. Jack, either with you or to the 
 President." 
 
 "My darling, you shall come with me," 
 said I. 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "Oh, out of this somewhere." 
 
 "How are we to escape?" 
 
 "Now, you sit down, dear, and try to stop 
 crying — you break my heart — and I'll 
 think. It's my turn now." 
 
 I carried her to the sofa, and she lay 
 still, but with her eyes fixed on me. I was 
 full of rage against McGregor, but I 
 couldn't afford the luxury of indulging it, 
 so I gave my whole mind to finding a way 
 out for us. At last I seemed to hit upon a 
 plan. 
 
 The Signorina saw the inspiration in my 
 eye. She jumped up and came to me. 
 
 "Have you got it. Jack?" she said. 
 
 "I think so — if you will trust yourself to 
 
 12
 
 176 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 rae, aud don't mind an imcomiortable 
 night." 
 
 "Go on." 
 
 "You know mv little steam launch? It 
 will be dark to-night. If we can get on 
 board with a couple of hours' start we can 
 show anybodj' a clean pair of heels. She 
 travels a good pace, and it's only fifty miles 
 to safety and foreign soil. I shall la nd there 
 a beggar!" 
 
 "I don't mind that, Jack," she said. "I 
 have my five thousand, and aunt will join 
 us with the rest. But how are we to get 
 on board? Besides, oh, Jack! the Presi- 
 dent watches the coast every night with 
 *The Songstress'' — and you know she's got 
 steam — Mr. Carr just had auxiliary steam 
 put in." 
 
 "No," I said, "I didn'^ know about that. 
 Look here, Christina, excuse the question, 
 but can you communicate with the Presi- 
 dent?" 
 
 "Yes," she said, after a second's hesita- 
 tion. 
 
 This was what I suspected. 
 
 "Aud will he believe what vou tell him?"
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 177 
 
 "I don't know. He might and he might 
 not. He'll probably act as if he didn't." 
 
 I appreciated the justice of this forecast 
 of General Whittingham's measures. 
 
 "Well, we must chance it," I said. "At 
 any rate, better be caught by him than stay 
 here. We were, perhaps, a little hasty with 
 that revolution of ours." 
 
 "I never thought the Colonel was so 
 wicked," said the Signorina. 
 
 We had no time to waste in abusing our 
 enemy ; the question was how to outwit him. 
 I unfolded my plan to the Signorina, not at 
 all disguising from her the difficulties, and 
 even dangers, attendant upon it. W^hat- 
 ever may have been her mind before and 
 after, she was at this moment either so over- 
 come with her fear of the Colonel, or so car- 
 ried away by her feeling for me, that she 
 made nothing of difficulties and laughed at 
 dangers, pointing out that though failure 
 would be ignominious, it could not substan- 
 tially aggravate our present position. 
 Whereas if we succeeded — ! 
 
 The thought of success raised a prospect 
 of bliss in which we reveled for a few
 
 178 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 minutes; then, warned by the stroke of 
 twelve, we returned to business. 
 
 "Are you going to take any of the 
 money away with you?" she asked. 
 
 "No," said I, "I don't think so. It would 
 considerably increase the risk if I were 
 seen hanging about the bank; you know 
 he's got spies all over the place. Besides, 
 what good would it do? I couldn't stick 
 to it, and I'm not inclined to run any more 
 risks merely to save the bank's pocket. The 
 bank hasn't treated me so well as all that. I 
 propose to rely on your bounty till I've time 
 to turn round." 
 
 "Now, shall I come for you?" I asked 
 her when we had arranged the other de- 
 tails. 
 
 "I think not," she said. "I believe the 
 Colonel has one of my servants in his pay. 
 I can slip out by myself, but I couldn't man- 
 age so well if you were with me. The sight 
 of you would excite curiosity. I will meet 
 you at the bottom of Liberty Street." 
 
 "At two o'clock in the morning exactly, 
 please. Don't come through the Piazza 
 and Liberty Street. Come round by the
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 179 
 
 drive." (This was a sort of boulevard en- 
 circling the town, where the aristocracy 
 was wont to ride and drive.) "Things ought 
 to be pretty busy about the bank by then, 
 and no one will notice vou. You have a 
 revolver?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "All right. Don't hurt any one if you 
 can help it; but if you do, don't leave him 
 to linger in agony. Now I'm off," I con- 
 tinued. "I suppose I'^d better not come and 
 see you again?" 
 
 "I'm afraid you mustn't. Jack. You've 
 been here two hours already." 
 
 "I shall be in my rooms in the after- 
 noon. If anything goes wrong, send your 
 carriage down the street and have it 
 stopped at the grocer's. I shall take that 
 for a sign." 
 
 The Signorina agreed, and we parted 
 tenderly. My last words were: 
 
 "You'll send that message to Whitting- 
 ham at once?" 
 
 "This moment,"' she said, as she waved 
 me a kiss from the door of the room.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 
 
 I was evidently in for another day as un- 
 pleasantly exciting as the one I had spent 
 before the revolution, and I reflected sadly 
 that if a man once goes in for things of that 
 kind, it's none so easy to pull up. Luckily, 
 however, I had several things to occupy me, 
 and was not left to fret the da^^ away in 
 idleness. First I turned my steps to the 
 harbor. As I went I examined my pockets 
 and found a sum total of nine hundred and 
 fifty dollars. This was my all, for of late I 
 had deemed it wise to carry my fortune on 
 my person. Well, this was enough for the 
 present; the future must take care of it- 
 self. So I thought to myself as I went along 
 with a light heart, my triumph in love 
 easily outweighing all the troubles and 
 dangers that beset me. Only land me safe 
 
 180
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 181 
 
 out of Aureataland with the Signorina by 
 m}' side, and I asked nothing more of for- 
 tune! Let the dead bury their dead, and 
 the bank look after its dollars! 
 
 Thus musing, I came to the boat-house 
 where my launch lay. She was a tidy little 
 boat, and had the advantage of being work- 
 able by one man without any difficulty. All 
 I had to arrange was how to embark on her 
 unperceived. I summoned the boatman in 
 charge, and questioned him closely about 
 the probable state of the VN^eather. He con- 
 fidently assured me it would be fine but 
 dark. 
 
 "Very well," said I, "I shall go fishing; 
 start overnight, and have a shy at them at 
 sunrise." 
 
 The man was rather astonished at my 
 unwonted energy, but of course made no 
 objection. 
 
 "What time shall vou start, sir?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "I want her readv bv two " said I. 
 
 "Do you want me to go with you, sir?" 
 
 I pretended to consider, and then told
 
 182 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 him, to his obvious relief, that I could dis- 
 pense with his services. 
 
 "Leave her at the end of your jetty," I 
 said, "ready for me. She'll be all safe 
 there, won't she?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, sir. Nobody'll be about, except 
 the sentries, and they won't touch her." 
 
 I privately hoped that not even the sen- 
 tries would be about, but I didn't say so. 
 
 "Of course, sir, I shall lock the gate. 
 You've got your key?" 
 
 "Yes, all right, and here you are — and 
 much obliged for your trouble." 
 
 Highly astonished and grateful at re- 
 ceiving a large tip for no obvious reason 
 (rather a mistake on my part), the man was 
 profuse in promising to make every arrange- 
 ment for my comfort. Even when I asked 
 for a few cushions, he dissembled his scorn 
 and agreed to put them in. 
 
 "And mind you don't sit up," I said as I 
 left him. 
 
 "I'm not likely to sit up if I'm not 
 obliged,'" he answered. "Hope you'll have 
 good sport, sir." 
 
 From the harbor I made my way straight
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 183 
 
 to the Golden House. The Colonel was 
 rather surprised to see me again so soon, 
 but when I told him I came on business, he 
 put his occupations on one side and listened 
 to me. 
 
 I began with some anxiety, for if he sus- 
 I^ected my good faith all would be lost. 
 However, I was always a good hand at a 
 lie, and the Colonel was not the President. 
 
 "Pve come about that money question," 
 I said. 
 
 "Well, have you come to your senses?'' 
 he asked, with his habitual rudeness. 
 
 "I can't give you the money," I went on. 
 
 "The devil you can't!" he broke in. "You 
 sit there and tell me that? Do you know 
 that if the soldiers don't have money in a 
 few hours, they'll upset me? They're ready 
 to do it any minute. By JoveJ I don't know 
 now when I give an order whether I shall 
 be obeyed or get a bullet through my head." 
 
 "Prav be calm," said I. "You didn't let 
 me finish!" 
 
 "Let you finish!" he cried. "You seem to 
 think jabber does everything. The end of 
 H all is, that either you give me the money.
 
 184 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 or I take it — and if you interfere, look out!" 
 
 "That was just wliat I was going to pro- 
 pose, if you hadn't interrupted me," I said 
 quietly, but with inward exultation, for I 
 saw he was just in the state of mind to walk 
 eagerly into the trap I was preparing for 
 him. 
 
 "TV^hat do you mean?" he asked. 
 
 I explained to him that it was impossible 
 for me to give up the money. My reputa- 
 tion was at stake; it was my duty to die in 
 defense of that money — a duty which, I 
 hastened to add, I entertained no intention 
 of performing. 
 
 "But," I went on, "although I am bound 
 not to surrender the money, I am not bound 
 to anticipate a forcible seizure of it. In 
 times of disturbance parties of ruffians 
 often turn to plunder. Not even the most 
 rigorous precautions can guard against it. 
 Now it would be very possible that even to- 
 night a band of such marauders might make 
 an attack on the bank, and carry off all the 
 money in the safe." 
 
 "Oh!" said the Colonel, "that's the game, 
 is it?"
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 185 
 
 "That," I replied, "is the game; and a very 
 neat game too, if you'll play it properly." 
 
 "And what will they say in Europe, when 
 they hear the Provisional Government is 
 looting private property?" 
 
 "My dear Colonel, you force me to much 
 explanation. You will, of course, not ap- 
 pear in the matter." 
 
 "I should like to be there," he remarked. 
 "If I weren't, the men mightn't catch the 
 exact drift of the thing." 
 
 "You will be there, of course, but incog- 
 nito. Look here, Colonel, it's as plain as 
 two peas. Give out that you're going to 
 reconnoiter the coast and keep an eye on 
 'The Songstress.' Draw off your com- 
 panies from the Piazza on that pretense. 
 Then take fifteen or twenty men you can 
 trust — not more, for it's no use taking more 
 than you can help, and resistance is out of 
 the question. About two, when everything 
 is quiet, suiTound the bank. Jones will open 
 when you knock. Don't hurt him, but take 
 him outside and keep him quiet. Go in and 
 take the money. Here's the key of the safe. 
 Then, if you like, set fire to the place."
 
 186 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "Bravo, my boy!" said the Colonel. 
 "There's stuff in yon after all. Upon my 
 word, I was afraid yon were going to turn 
 virtuous." 
 
 I laughed as wickedly as I could. 
 
 "And what are you going to get out of 
 it?" he said. "I suppose that's coming- 
 next?" 
 
 As the reader knows, I wasn't going to 
 get anything out of it, except myself and 
 the Signorina. But it wouldn't do to tell 
 the Colonel that; he would not believe in 
 disinterested conduct. So I bargained with 
 him for a douceur of thirty thousand dollars, 
 which he promised so readily that I 
 strongly doubted whether he ever meant to 
 pay it. 
 
 "Do you think there's any danger of 
 Whittingham making an attack while we're 
 engaged on the job?" 
 
 The Colonel was, in common parlance get- 
 ting rather warmer than I liked. It was 
 necessary to mislead him. 
 
 "I don't think so," I replied. "He can't 
 possibly have organized much of a party
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 187 
 
 here yet. There's some discontent, no doubt, 
 but not enough for him to rely on." 
 
 "There's plenty of discontent," said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 "There won't be in a couple of hours." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Why, because you're going down to the 
 barracks to announce a fresh installment of 
 pay to the troops to-morrow morning — a 
 handsome installment." 
 
 "Yes," said he thoughtfully, "that ought 
 to keep them quiet for one night. Fact is, 
 they don't care twopence either for me or 
 Whittingham; and if they think they'll 
 get more out of me they'll stick to me." 
 
 Of course I assented. Indeed, it was true 
 enough as long as the President was not on 
 the spot; but I thought ijrivately, that the 
 Colonel did not allow enough for his rival's 
 personal influence and prestige, if he once 
 got face to face with the troops. 
 
 "Yes," the Colonel went on, "I'll do that, 
 and what's more, I'll put the people in good 
 humor by sending down orders for free 
 drink in the Piazza to-night." 
 
 "Delightfully old-fasliioued and baro-
 
 188 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Dial," I remarked. "I think it's a good idea. 
 Have a bonfire and make it complete. I 
 don't suppose Whittingham dreams of any 
 attempt, but it will make the riot even more 
 plausible." 
 
 "At any rate, they'll all be too drunk to 
 make trouble," said he. 
 
 "Well, that's about all, isn't it?" said I. 
 "I shall be off. I've got to write to my Di- 
 rectors and ask instructions for the invest- 
 ment of the money." 
 
 "You'll live to be hanged, Martin," said 
 the Colonel, with evident admiration. 
 
 "Not by you, eh. Colonel? Whatever 
 might have happened if I'd been obstinate! 
 Hope I shall survive to dance at your wed- 
 ding, anyhow. Less than a week now!" 
 
 "Yes," said he, "it's Sunday (though, by 
 Jove, I'd forgotten it), and next Saturday's 
 the day!" 
 
 He really looked quite the happy bride- 
 groom as he said this, and I left him to con- 
 template his bliss. 
 
 "I would bet ten to one that day never 
 comes," I thought, as I walked away. "Even
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 189 
 
 if I don't win I'll back the President to be 
 back before that." 
 
 The Colonel's greed had triumphed over 
 his wits, and he had fallen into my snare 
 with greater readiness than I could have 
 hoped. The question remained, What 
 would the President do when he got the 
 Signorina's letter? It may conduce to a 
 better understanding of the position if I 
 tell what the letter was. She gave it me 
 to read over, after we had compiled it to- 
 gether, and I still have my copy. It ran as 
 follows : 
 
 "I can hardly hope you will trust me 
 again, but if I betrayed you, you drove me 
 to it, I have given them your money; it is 
 in the bank now. M. refuses to give it up, 
 and the C. means to take it to-night. He 
 will have only a few men, the rest not near. 
 He will be at the bank at two, with about 
 twenty men. Take your own measures. All 
 here favor you. He threatens me with vio- 
 lence unless I marry him at once. He 
 watches 'The Songstress,' but if you can 
 leave her at anchor and land in a boat there
 
 190 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 will be no suspicion, I swear this is true; 
 do not punish me more by disbelieving me. 
 I make no protest But if you come back to 
 me I will give you, in return for pardon, 
 anything you ask! 
 
 "Christina. 
 "P. S. — M. and the C. are on bad terms, 
 and M. will not be active against you." 
 
 Upon the whole I thought this would 
 bring him. I doubted whether he would 
 believe very much in it, but it looked prob- 
 able (indeed, it was word for word true, 
 as far as it went), and held out a bait that 
 he would find it hard to resist. Again, he 
 was so fond of a bold stroke, and so devoid 
 of fear, that it was very likely he would 
 come and see if it were true. If, as we 
 suspected, he already had a considerable 
 body of adherents on shore, he could land 
 and reconnoiter without very great danger 
 of falling into the Colonel's hands. Finally, 
 even if he didn't come, we hoped the letter 
 would be enough to divert his attention 
 from any thought of fugitive boats and 
 runaway lovers. I could have made the
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE. 191 
 
 terms of it eyen more alluring, but the 
 Signorina, with that extraordinarily dis- 
 torted morality distinctiye of her sex, re- 
 fused to swear to anything literally untrue 
 
 in a letter which was itself from beginning 
 to end a monumental falsehood; though 
 not a student of ethics, she was keenly 
 alive to the distinction between the ex- 
 pressio falsi and the suppressio veri. The 
 only passage she doubted about was the last 
 — "If you come back to me." "But then he 
 won't come back to me if I'm not there I" 
 she exclaimed, triumphantly. What hap- 
 pened to him after he landed — whether he 
 cooked the Colonel's goose or the Colonel 
 cooked his — I really could not afford to con- 
 sider. As a matter of personal preference, 
 I should have liked the former, but I did not 
 allow any such considerations to influence 
 my conduct My only hope was that the 
 killing would take long enough to leave 
 time for our unobtrusive exit At the same 
 time, as a matter of betting, I would have 
 laid long odds against McGregor. 
 
 To ray mind it is nearly as difficult to be 
 consistently selfish as to be absolutely uu- 
 
 13
 
 192 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 selfish. I had, at this crisis, every induce- 
 ment to concentrate all my efforts on my- 
 self, but I could not get Jones out of my 
 head. It was certainly improbable that 
 Jones would try to resist the marauding 
 party; but neither the Colonel nor his 
 chosen band was likely to be scrupulous, 
 and it was impossible not to see that Jones 
 might get a bullet through his head; in- 
 deed, I fancied such a step would rather 
 commend itself to the Colonel, as giving a 
 bona fide look to the affair. Jones had 
 often been a cause of great inconvenience 
 to me, but I didn't wish to have his death 
 on my conscience, so I was very glad when 
 I happened to meet him on my way back 
 from the Golden House, and seized the 
 opportunity of giving him a friendly hint. 
 
 I took him and sat him down beside me 
 on a bench in the Piazza. I was in no 
 way disturbed by the curious glances of 
 three soldiers who were evidently charged 
 to keep an eye on the bank and my dealings 
 with it. 
 
 I began by pledging Jones to absolute 
 secrecy, and then I intimated to him, in a
 
 1 WORK. UPON HUMAN NATURE. 19S 
 
 roundabout way, that the Colonel and I 
 were both very apprehensive of an attack 
 on the bank. 
 
 "The town/- I said, "is in a most un- 
 settled condition, and many dangerous 
 characters are about. Under these cir- 
 cumstances I have felt compelled to leave 
 the defense of our property in the hands of 
 the Government. I have formally intimated 
 to the authorities that we shall hold them 
 responsible for any loss occasioned to us by 
 public disorder. The Colonel, in the name 
 of the Government, has accepted that re- 
 sponsibility. I therefore desire to tell you, 
 Mr. Jones, that in the lamentable event of 
 any attack on the bank it will not be ex- 
 pected of you to exi)ose your life by resist- 
 ance. Such sacrifice would be both uncalled 
 for and useless; and I must instruct you that 
 the Government insists that their measures 
 shall not be put in danger of frustration by 
 any rash conduct on our part. I am unable 
 to be at the bank this evening; but in the 
 event of any trouble you will oblige me by 
 not attempting to meet force by force. You 
 will vield, and we shall relv on our remedv 
 against the Government in case of loss."
 
 194 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 These instructions so fully agreed with 
 the natural bent of Jones' mind that he read- 
 ily acquiesced in them and expressed high 
 appreciation of my foresight. 
 
 "Take care of yourself and Mrs. Jones, my 
 dear fellow," I concluded; "that is all you 
 have to do, and I shall be satisfied." 
 
 I parted from him affectionately, wonder- 
 ing if my path in life would ever cross the 
 honest, stupid old fellow's again, and heart- 
 ily hoping that his fortune would soon take 
 him out of the rogue^s nest in which he had 
 been dwelling.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 
 
 The night came on, fair and still, clear 
 and star-lit; but there was no moon and, 
 outside the immediate neighborhood of the 
 main streets, the darkness was enough to 
 favor our hope of escaping notice, without 
 being so intense as to embarrass our foot- 
 steps. Everything, in fact, seemed to be on 
 our side, and I was full of buoyant confi- 
 dence as I drank a last solitary glass to the 
 success of our enterprise, put my revolver 
 in my pocket, and, on the stroke of mid- 
 night, stole from my lodgings. I looked up 
 toward the bank and dimly descried three 
 or four motionless figures, whom I took to 
 be sentries guarding the treasure. The 
 street itself was almost deserted, but from 
 where I stood I could see the Piazza 
 crowded with a throng of people whose 
 shouts and songs told me that the Colonel's 
 hospitality was being fully appreciated. 
 
 195
 
 196 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 There was dancing going on to the strains 
 of the militarj^ band, and every sign showed 
 that our good citizens intended, in familiar 
 phrase, to make a night of it. 
 
 I walked swiftlj^ and silently down to the 
 jetty. Yes, the boat was all right! I looked 
 to her fires, and left her moored by one rope, 
 ready to be launched into the calm black sea 
 in an instant. Then I strolled along by the 
 harbor side. Here I met a couple of sen- 
 tries. Innocently I entered into conversa- 
 tion with them, condoling on their hard fate 
 in being kept on duty while pleasure was at 
 the helm in the piazza. Gently deprecating 
 such excess of caution, I pointed out to them 
 the stationary lights of ^The Songstress,' 
 four or five miles out to sea, and with a re- 
 spectful smile at the Colonel's uneasiness, 
 left the seed I had sown to grow in pre- 
 pared soil. I dared do no more, and had to 
 trust for the rest to their natural inclina- 
 tion to the neglect of duty. 
 
 When I got back to the bottom of Liberty 
 Street, I ensconsed myself in the shelter of a 
 little group of trees which stood at one side 
 of the roadway. Just across the road, 
 which ran at right angles to the street, the
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 197 
 
 wood began, and a quarter of an hour's 
 walk through its shades would bring us to 
 the jetty where the boat lay. My trees 
 made a perfect screen, and here I stood 
 awaiting events. For some time nothing 
 was audible but an ever-increasing tumult 
 of joviality from the Piazza. But after 
 about twentv minutes I awoke to the fact 
 that a constant dribble of men, singly or in 
 pairs, had begun to flow past me from the 
 Piazza, down Liberty Street, across the 
 road behind me, and into the wood. Some 
 were in uniform, others dressed in common 
 clothes; one or two I recognized as mem- 
 bers of Johnny Carr's missing band. The 
 strong contrast between the prevailing rev- 
 elry and the stealthy, cautious air of these 
 passers-by would alone have suggested that 
 they were bent on business; putting two 
 and two together I had not the least doubt 
 that they were the President's adherents 
 making their way down to the water's edge 
 to receive their chief. So he was com- 
 ing; the letter had done its work! Some 
 fifty or more must have come and gone be- 
 fore the stream ceased, and I reflected, with
 
 198 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 groat satisfaction, that the Colonel was 
 likely to have his hands very full in the next 
 hour or two. 
 
 Half-an-honr or so passed uneventfully; 
 the bonfire still blazed; the songs and 
 dancing were still in full swing. It was 
 close upon the fateful hour of two, when, 
 looking from my hiding-place, I saw a slight 
 figure in black coming quickly and fearfully 
 along the road. 
 
 I recognized the Signorina at once, as 
 I should recognize her any day among a 
 thousand, and, as she paused nearly oppo- 
 site where I was, I gently called her name 
 and showed myself for a moment. She ran 
 to me at once. 
 
 "Is it all right?" she asked, breathlessly. 
 
 "We shall see in a moment," said I. "The 
 attack is coming off; it will begin directly." 
 
 But the attack was not the next thing 
 we saw. We had both retreated again to 
 the friendly shadow whence we could see 
 without being seen. Hardly had we set- 
 tled ourselves than the Signorina whis- 
 pered to me, pointing across the road to the 
 wood:
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 199 
 
 "What's that, Jack?" 
 
 I followed the line of her finger and made 
 out a row of figures standing motionless 
 and still on the very edge of the wood. It 
 was too dark to distinguish individuals; but 
 even as we looked the silent air wafted to 
 our eager ears a low-voiced word of com- 
 mand : 
 
 "Mind, not a sound till I give the word." 
 
 "The President!" exclaimed the Signo- 
 rina, in a loud whisper. 
 
 "Hush, or he'll hear," said I, "and we're 
 done." 
 
 Clearly nothing would happen from that 
 quarter till it was called forth by events in 
 the opposite direction. The Signorina 
 was strongly agitated; she clung to me 
 closely, and I saw with alarm that the very 
 proximity of the man she stood in such awe 
 of was too much for her composure. When 
 I had soothed, and I fear half-frightened, 
 her into stillness, I again turned my eyes 
 toward the Piazza. The fire had at last 
 flickered out and the revels seemed on the 
 wane. Suddenly a body of men appeared 
 in close order, marching down the street
 
 200 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 toward the bank. We stood perhaps a hun- 
 dred yards from that building, which was, 
 in its turn, about two huiidi-ed from the 
 Piazza. Steadily they came along; no sound 
 reached us from the wood. 
 
 "This is getting interesting," I said. 
 "There'll be trouble soon." 
 
 As near as 1 could see, the Colonel's band, 
 for such it was no doubt, did not number 
 more than five-and-twenty at the outside. 
 Now they w^ere at the bank. I could hardly 
 see what happened, but there seemed to be 
 a moment's pause; probably someone had 
 knocked and they w^ere w^aiting. A second 
 later a loud shout rang through the street 
 and I saw a group of figures crowding 
 round the door and pushing a way into my 
 poor bank. 
 
 "The gods preserve Jones!'" I whispered. 
 "I hope the old fool won't try to stop them." 
 
 As I spoke, I heard a short, sharp order 
 from behind, "Now! Charge!" 
 
 As the word w^^is given another body of 
 fifty or more rushed by us full tilt, and at 
 their head we saw the President, sword in 
 hand, running like a young man and beck-
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 201 
 
 oning his men on. Up the street they 
 swept. Involuntarily we waited a moment 
 to watch them. Just as they came near the 
 bank they sent up a shout : 
 
 "The President! the President! Death to 
 traitors!" 
 
 Then there was a volley, and they closed 
 round the building. 
 
 "Now for our turn, Christina," said I. 
 
 She grasped my arm tightly, and we sped 
 across the road and into the wood. It 
 seemed darker than when I came through 
 before, or perhaps my eyes were dazzled by 
 the glare of the street lamps. But still we 
 got along i>retty well, I helping my com- 
 panion with all my power. 
 
 "Can we do it?" she gasped. 
 
 "Please God," said I; "a clear quarter 
 of an hour v/ill do it, and they ought to take 
 that to finish oil' the Colonel." For I had 
 little doubt of the issue of that mel^e. 
 
 On we sped, and already we could see the 
 twinkle of the waves through the thinning 
 trees. Five hundred vards more, and there 
 lay life and liberty and love! 
 
 Well, of course, I might have known.
 
 202 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 Everything had gone so smoothly up to 
 now, that any student of the laws of chance 
 could have foretold that fortune was only 
 delaying the inevitable slap in the face. A 
 plan that seemed wild and risky had proved 
 in the result as effectual as the wisest 
 scheme. By a natural principle of com- 
 pensation, the simplest obstacle was to 
 bring us to grief. "There's mauy a slip," 
 says the proverb. Very likely! One was 
 enough for our business. For just as we 
 neared the edge of the wood, just as our 
 eyes were gladdened by the full sight of the 
 sea across the intervening patch of bare 
 land, the Signorina gave a cry of pain and, 
 in spite of my arm, fell heavily to the 
 ground. In a moment I was on my knees 
 by her side. An old root growing out of 
 the ground! That was all! And there lay 
 my dear girl white and still. 
 
 '^What is it, sweet?" I whispered. 
 
 "My ankle!" she murmured; "oh. Jack, 
 it hurts so!" and with that she fainted. 
 
 Half-an-hour — thirty mortal (but seem- 
 ingly immortal) minutes T knelt by her side 
 ministering to her. I bound up the poor
 
 FAREWELL TO AURBATALAND. 203 
 
 foot, gave her brandy from my flask, and 
 I fanned her face with my handkerchief. 
 In a few minutes she came to, but only, 
 poor child, to sob with her better pain. 
 Move she could not, and would not. Again 
 and again she entreated me to go and leave 
 her. At last I persuaded her to try and 
 bear the agony of being carried in my arms 
 the rest of the way. I raised her as gently 
 as I could, wrung to the heart by her gal- 
 lantly-stifled groan, and slowly and pain- 
 fully I made my way, thus burthened, to the 
 edge of the wood. There were no sentries 
 in sight, and with a new spasm of hope I 
 crossed the open land and neared the little 
 wicket gate that led to the jetty. A sharp 
 turn came just before we reached it, and, 
 as I rounded this with the Signorina lying 
 yet in my arms, I saw a horse and a man 
 standing by the gate. The horse was 
 flecked with foam and had been ridden 
 furiously. The man was calm and cool. Of 
 course he was! It was the President! 
 
 My hands were full with my burden, 
 and before I could do anything, I saw the
 
 204 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 muzzle of his revolver pointed full — At 
 me? Oh, uo! At the Sigiiorina! 
 
 "If you move a step I shoot her through 
 the heart, Martin," he said, in the quietest 
 voice imaginable. 
 
 The Signorina looked up as she heard his 
 voice. 
 
 "Put me down, Jack! It's no use," she 
 said; "I knew how it would be." 
 
 I did not put her down, but I stood there 
 helpless, rooted to the ground. 
 
 "What's the matter with her?" he said. 
 
 "Fell and sprained her ankle," I replied. 
 
 "Come, Martin," said he, "it's no go, and 
 you know it. A near thing; but you've just 
 lost." 
 
 "Are you going to stop us?" I said. 
 
 "Of course I am," said he. 
 
 "Let me put her down, and we'll have a 
 fair fight." 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 "All very well for young men," he said. 
 "At my age if a man holds trumps he keeps 
 them." 
 
 "How long have you been here?" 
 
 "About two minutes. When I didn't see
 
 FAEET\ELL TO AUREAT ALAND. 205 
 
 you at the bank I thought something was 
 up, so I galloped on to her house. No one 
 there! So I came on here. A good shot, 
 eh?" 
 
 The fall had done it. But for that we 
 should have been safe. 
 
 "Well?" he said. 
 
 In the bitterness of my heart I could 
 hardly speak. But I was not going to play 
 either the cur or the fool, so I said : 
 
 "Your trick, sir, and therefore your lead! 
 I must do what you tell me." 
 
 "Honor bright, Martin?" 
 
 "Yes," said I, "I give you my word. Take 
 the revolver if you like," and I nodded my 
 head to the pocket where it lay. 
 
 "No," he said, "I trust you." 
 
 "I bar a rescue," said I. 
 
 "There will be no rescue," said he grimly. 
 
 "If the Colonel comes — " 
 
 "The Colonel won't come," he said. 
 "TV'hose house is that?" 
 
 It was my boatman's. 
 
 "Bring her there. Poor child, she suf- 
 fers!" 
 
 We knocked up the boatman, who thus
 
 20b A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 did not get his nigiit's rest after all. His 
 astonishment may be imagined. 
 
 "Have you a bed?" said the President. 
 
 "Yes," he stammered, recognizing his in- 
 terlocutor. 
 
 "Then carry her up, Martin; and you, 
 send your wife to her." 
 
 I took her up, and laid her gently on the 
 bed. The President followed me. Then 
 we went downstairs again into the little 
 parlor. 
 
 "Let us have a talk," he said, and he 
 added to the man, "Oive us some brandy, 
 quick! And then go." 
 
 He was obeyed, and we were left alone, 
 with the dim light of a single candle. 
 
 The President sat down and began to 
 smoke. He offered me a cigar and I took it, 
 but he said nothing. I was surprised at his 
 leisurely abstracted air. Apparently he 
 had nothing in the world to do but sit and 
 keep me company. 
 
 "If your Excellency," said I, instinctively 
 giving him his old title, "has business else- 
 where you can leave me safely. I shall not 
 break my word."
 
 FAREWELL, TO AUREATALAND. 207 
 
 "I know that, I know that," he answered. 
 "But I'd rather stay here; I want to have a 
 talk." 
 
 "But aren't there some things to settle up 
 in the town?" 
 
 "The doctor's doing all that," he said. 
 "You see, there's no danger now. There's 
 no one left to lead them against me." 
 
 "Then the Colonel is—?'* 
 
 "Yes," he said gravely, "he is dead. I 
 shot him." 
 
 "In the attack?" 
 
 "Not exactly; the fighting was over, A 
 very short affair, Martin. They never had 
 a chance; and as soon as two or three had 
 fallen and the rest saw me, they threw up 
 the sponge." 
 
 "And the Colonel?" 
 
 "He fought well. He killed two of my 
 fellows; then a lot of them flung them- 
 selves on him and disarmed him." 
 
 "And you killed him in cold blood?" 
 
 The President smiled slightly. 
 
 "Six men fell in that affair — five besides 
 the Colonel. Does it strike you that you, in 
 
 14
 
 208 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 fact, killed the five to enable you to run 
 away with the girl you loved?" 
 
 It hadn't struck me in that light, but it 
 was quite irrelevant. 
 
 "But for your scheme I should have come 
 back without a blow," he continued; "but 
 then I should have shot McGregor just the 
 same." 
 
 "Because he led the revolt?" 
 
 "Because," said the President, "he has 
 been a traitor from the beginning even to 
 the end — because he tried to rob me of all 
 I held dear in the world. If vou like," he 
 added, with a shrug, "because he stood be- 
 tween me and my will. So I went up to 
 him and told him his hour was come, 
 and I shot him through the head. He died 
 like a man, Martin ; I will say that." 
 
 I could not pretend to regret the dead 
 man. Indeed, I had been near doing the 
 same deed myself. But I shrank before 
 this calm ruthlessness. 
 
 Another long pause followed. Then 
 the President said: 
 
 "I'm sorry for all this, Martin — sorry you 
 and I came to blows." 
 
 ./
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 209 
 
 "You played me false about the money," 
 I said bitterly. 
 
 "Yes, yes," he answered gently; "I don't 
 blame you. You were bound to me by no 
 ties. Of course 3'ou saw my plan?" 
 
 "I supposed your Excellency meant to 
 keep the money and throw me over." 
 
 "Not altogether," he said. "Of course I 
 was bound to have the money. But it was 
 the other thing, you know\ As far as the 
 money went, I would have taken care you 
 came to no harm." 
 
 "What was it, then?" 
 
 "I thought you understood all along," 
 he said with some surprise. "I saw you 
 were my rival \\ith Christina, and my game 
 W' as to drive you out of the country by mak- 
 ing the place too hot for you." 
 
 "She told me you didn't suspect about me 
 and her till quite the end." 
 
 "Did she?" he answered with a smile; "I 
 must be getting clever to deceive two such 
 wide-awake young people. Of course I 
 saw it all along. But you had more grit 
 than I thought. I've never been so nearly 
 done by any man as by you." 
 
 /^ 
 
 r
 
 210 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 "But for luck you would have been," 
 said I. 
 
 "Yes, but I count luck as one of my re- 
 sources," be replied. 
 
 "Well, what are you going to do now?" 
 
 He took no notice, but went on. 
 
 "You played too high. It was all or 
 nothing with you, just as it is with me. But 
 for that we could have stood together. I'm 
 sorry, Martin; I like you, you know." 
 
 For the life of me I had never been able 
 to help liking him. 
 
 "But likings mustn't interfere with duty," 
 he went on, smiling. "What claim have 
 you at my hands?" 
 
 "Decent burial, I suppose," I answered. 
 
 He got up and paced the room for a mo- 
 ment or two. I waited with some anxiety, 
 for life is worth something to a young man, 
 even when things look blackest, and I never 
 was a hero. 
 
 "I make you this offer," he said at last. 
 "Your boat lies there ready. Get into her 
 and go. Otherwise — " 
 
 "I see," said I. "And vou will marrv 
 her?''
 
 FAREWELL TO AURKATALAND. 211 
 
 "Yes," he said. 
 
 "Against her will?" 
 
 He looked at me with something like pity. 
 
 "Who can tell what a woman's will will 
 be in a week? In less than that she will 
 marry me cheerfully. I hope yon may 
 grieve as short a time as she will." 
 
 In my inmost heart I knew it was true. 
 I had staked everything, not for a woman's 
 love, but for the whim of a girl! For a 
 moment it was too hard for me, and I bowed 
 mj^ head on the table by me and hid my face. 
 
 Then he came and put his hand on mine, 
 and said: 
 
 "Yes, Martin; young and old, we are all 
 alike. They're not worth quarreling for. 
 But Nature's too strong." 
 
 "May I see her before I go?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes," he said. 
 
 "Alone?" 
 
 "Yes," he said once more. "Go now — if 
 she can see you." 
 
 I went up and cautiously opened the 
 door. The Signorina was lying on the bed, 
 with a shawl over her. She seemed to be 
 asleep. I bent over her and kissed her.
 
 212 A MAN OP MARK, 
 
 She opened her eyes, and said, in a weary 
 voice: 
 
 "Is it YOU, Jack?" 
 
 "Yes, my darling," said I. "I am going. 
 I must go or die; and whether I go or die, 
 I must be alone." 
 
 She was strangely quiet, even apathetic. 
 As I knelt down by her she raised herself, 
 and took my face between her hands and 
 kissed me, not passionately, but tenderly. 
 
 "My poor Jack!" she said; '4t was no use, 
 dear. It is no use to fight against him." 
 
 Here was her strange subjection to that 
 influence again. 
 
 "You love me?" I cried in my pain. 
 
 "Yes," she said, "but I am very tired; 
 and he will be good to me." 
 
 Without another word I went from her, 
 with the bitter knowledge that my great 
 grief found but a pale reflection in her 
 heart. 
 
 "I am ready to go," I said to the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 "Come, then," he replied. "Here, take 
 these, you may want them," and he thrust a
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND. 213 
 
 bundle of notes into my hand (some of my 
 own from the bank I afterward discovered). 
 
 Arrived at the boat, I got in mechanical- 
 ly and made all preparations for the start. 
 
 Then the President took my hand. 
 
 "Good-bye, Jack Martin, and good luck. 
 Some day w^e may meet again. Just now 
 there's no room for us both here. You bear 
 no malice?" 
 
 "No, sir," said I. "A fair fight, and 
 vou've won." 
 
 As I was pushing off, he added: 
 
 "When you arrive, send me word." 
 
 I nodded silently. 
 
 "Good-bye, and good luck," he said again. 
 
 I turned the boat's head out to sea, and 
 went forth on my lonely way into the night.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 
 
 As far as I am concerned, this story has 
 now reached an end. With my departure 
 from Aureataland I re-entered the world 
 of humdrum life, and since that memorable 
 night in 1884, nothing has befallen me 
 worthy of a polite reader's attention. I 
 have endured the drudgery incident to 
 earning a living; I have enjoyed the relaxa- 
 tions every wise man makes for himself. 
 But I should be guilty of unpardonable 
 egotism if I supposed that I myself was the 
 only, or the most, interesting subject pre- 
 sented in the foregoing pages, and I feel I 
 shall merely be doing my duty in briefly re- 
 cording the facts in my possession concern- 
 ing the other persons who have figured in 
 this record and the country w^here its scene 
 was laid. 
 
 I did not, of course, return to England on 
 leaving Aureataland. T had no desire to 
 
 214
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 215 
 
 explain in person to the directors all the 
 facts with which they will now be in a posi- 
 tion to acquaint themselves. I was con- 
 scious that, at the last at all events, I had 
 rather subordinated their interests to my 
 own necessities, and I knew well that my 
 conduct would not meet with the indulgent 
 judgment that it perhaps requires. After 
 all, men who have lost three hundred thou- 
 sand dollars can hardly be expected to be 
 impartial, and I saw no reason for submit- 
 ting myself to a biased tribunal. I pre- 
 ferred to seek my fortune in a fresh coun- 
 try (and, I may add, under a fresh name), 
 and I am happy to say that my prosperity 
 in the land of my adoption has gone far to 
 justify the President's favorable estimate 
 of my financial abilities. My sudden disap- 
 pearance excited some remark, and people 
 were even found to insinuate that the dol- 
 lars went the same way as I did. I have 
 never troubled myself to contradict these 
 scandalous rumors, being content to rely on 
 the handsome vindication from this charge 
 which the President published. In ad- 
 dressing the House of Assembly shortly
 
 216 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 after his resumption of power, he referred at 
 length to the circumstances attendant on 
 the late revolution, and remarked that al- 
 though he was unable to acquit Mr. Martin 
 of most unjustifiable intrigues with the 
 rebels, yet he was in a position to assure 
 them, as he had already assured those to 
 whom Mr, Martin was primarily responsi- 
 ble, that that gentleman's hasty flight was 
 dictated solely by a consciousness of politi- 
 cal guilt, and that, in money matters, Mr. 
 Martin's hands were as clean as his own. 
 The reproach that had fallen on the fair 
 fame of Aureataland in this matter was due 
 not to that able but misguided young man, 
 but to those unprincipled persons who, in 
 the pursuit of their designs, had not hesi- 
 tated to plunder and despoil friendly trad- 
 ers, established in the country under the 
 sanction of public faith. 
 
 The reproach to which his Excellency 
 eloquentl,y referred consisted in the fact 
 that not a cent of those three hundred thou- 
 sand dollars which lay in the bank that 
 night was ever seen again! The theory 
 was that the Colonel had made away with
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 217 
 
 them, and the President took great pains 
 to prove that under the law of nations the 
 restored Government could not be held re- 
 sponsible for this occurrence. I know as 
 little about the law of nations as the Presi- 
 dent himself, but I felt quite sure that what- 
 ever that exalted code might say (and it 
 generally seems to justify the conduct of 
 all parties alike), none of that money would 
 ever find its way back to the directors' 
 pockets. In this matter I must say his Ex- 
 cellency behaved to me w^ith scrupulous 
 consideration; not a word passed his lips 
 about the second loan, about that unlucky 
 cable, or any other dealings with the money. 
 For all he said, my account of the matter, 
 posted to the directors immediately after 
 my departure, stood unimpeached. The di- 
 rectors, however, took a view opposed to his 
 Excellencv's, and relations became so 
 strained that they w^ere contemplating the 
 withdrawal of their business from Whit- 
 tingham altogether, when events occurred 
 which modified their action. Before I lay 
 down my pen I must give some account of 
 these matters, and I cannot do so better
 
 218 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 thao by inserting a letter which I had the 
 honor to receive from his Excellency, some 
 two years after I last saw him. I had 
 obeyed his wish in communicating my ad- 
 dress to him, but up to this time had re- 
 ceived only a short but friendly note, ac- 
 quainting me with the fact of his marriage 
 to the Signorina, and expressing good 
 wishes for my welfare in my new sphere of 
 action. The matters to which the Presi- 
 dent refers became to some extent public 
 property soon afterward, but certain other 
 terms of the arrangement are now given to 
 the world for the first time. 
 The letter ran as follows: 
 
 "My Dear Martin — As an old inhabitant 
 of Aureataland, you will be interested in 
 the news I have to tell you. I also take 
 pleasure in hoping that, in spite of by-gone 
 differences, your friendly feelings toward 
 myself will make you glad to hear news of 
 my fortunes. 
 
 "You are no doubt acquainted generally 
 with the course of events here since you 
 left us. As regards private friends, I have
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 219 
 
 not indeed much to tell you. You will not 
 be surprised to learn that Johnny Carr (who 
 always speaks of you with the utmost re- 
 gard) has done the most sensible thing he 
 ever did in his life in making Donna An- 
 tonia his wife. She is a thoroughly good 
 girl, although she seems to have a very 
 foolish prejudice against Christina. I was 
 able to assist the young people's plans by 
 the gift of the late Colonel McGregor's es- 
 tates, which under our law passed to the 
 Head of the State on that gentleman's ex- 
 ecution for high treason. You will be 
 amused to hear of another marriage in our 
 circle. The doctor and Madame Devarges 
 have made a match of it, and society re- 
 joices to think it has now heard the last of 
 the late monsieur and his patriotic suffer- 
 ings. Jones, I suppose you know, left us 
 about a year ago. The poor old fellow 
 never recovered from his fright on that 
 night, to say nothing of the cold he caught 
 in your draughty coal-cellar, where he took 
 refuge. The bank relieved him in response 
 to his urgent petitions, and they've sent us 
 out a young Puritan, to whom it would be
 
 220 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 quite in vain to apply for a timely little 
 loan. 
 
 "I wish I could give you as satisfactory 
 an account of public affairs. You w^ere 
 more or less behind the scenes over here, so 
 you know that to keep the machine going 
 is by no means an easy task. I have kept 
 it going, single-handed, for fifteen years, 
 and though it's the custom to call me a mere 
 adventurer (and I don't say that's wrong), 
 upon my word I think I've given them a 
 pretty decent Government. But I've had 
 enough of it by now. The fact is, my dear 
 Martin, I'm not so young as I was. In 
 years I'm not much past middle age, but 
 I've had the devil of a life of it, and I 
 shouldn't be surprised if old Marcus Whit- 
 tingham's lease was pretty nearly up. At 
 any rate, my only chance, so Anderson tells 
 me, is to get a rest, and I'm going to give 
 myself that chance. I had thought at first 
 of trying to find a successor (as I have been 
 denied an heir of my body), and I thought of 
 you. But, while I was considering this, I 
 received a confidential proposal from the 
 Government of " (here the President
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 221 
 
 named the state of which Aureataland had 
 formed part). "They were very anxious to 
 get back their province; at the same time, 
 they were not at all anxious to try con- 
 clusions with me again. In short, they of- 
 fered, if Aureataland would come back, a 
 guarantee of local autonomy and full free- 
 dom; they would take on themselves the 
 burden of the debt, and last, but not least, 
 they would offer the present President of 
 the Republic a compensation of |500,000. 
 "I have not yet finally accepted the offer, 
 but I am going to do so — obtaining, as a 
 matter of form, the sanction of the Assem- 
 blv. I have made them double their offer 
 to me, but in the public documents the 
 money is to stand at the original figure. 
 This recognition of my services, together 
 with my little savings (restored, my dear 
 Martin, to the wash-stand), will make me 
 pretty comfortable in my old age, and leave 
 a competence for my widow. Aureataland 
 has had a run alone; if there had been any 
 grit in the people they would have made a 
 nation of themselves. There isn't any, and 
 I'm not going to slave myself for them any
 
 222 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 longer. No doubt they'll be very well 
 treated, and to tell the truth, I don't much 
 care if they aren't. After all, they're a 
 mongrel lot. 
 
 "I know you'll be pleased to hear of this 
 arrangement, as it gives your old masters 
 a better chance of getting their money, for, 
 between ourselves, they'd never have got 
 it out of me. At the risk of shocking your 
 feelings, I must confess that your revolu- 
 tion only postponed the day of repudiation. 
 
 "I hoped to have asked you some day to 
 rejoin us here. As matters stand, I am 
 more likely to come and find you ; for, when 
 released, Christina and I are going to bend 
 our steps to the States. And we hope to 
 come soon. The^e^s a little difficulty out- 
 standing about the terms on which the 
 Golden House and my other property are to 
 pass to the new Government; this I hope to 
 compromise by abating half my claim in 
 private, and giving it all up in public. Also 
 T have had to bargain for the recognition of 
 Johnny Carr's rights to the Colonel's goods. 
 When all this is settled there will be noth- 
 ing to keep me, and I shall leave here with-
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 223 
 
 out much reluctance. The first man I shall 
 come and see is you, and we'll have some 
 frolics together, if my old carcass holds out. 
 But the truth is, my boy, I'm not the man I 
 was. I've put too much steam on all my 
 life, and I must pull up now, or the boiler 
 will burst. 
 
 "Christina sends her love. She is as 
 anxious to see you as I am. But you must 
 wait till I am dead to make love to her. 
 
 "Ever your sincere friend, 
 
 "Marcus W. Whittingham." 
 
 As I write, I hear that the arrangement 
 is to be carried out. So ends Aureata- 
 land's brief history as a nation ; so ends the 
 story of her national debt, more happily 
 than I ever thought it would. I confess to 
 a tender recollection of the sunny, cheerful, 
 lazy, dishonest little place, where I spent 
 four such eventful years. Perhaps I love 
 it because my romance was played there, 
 as I should love any place where I had seen 
 the Signorina. For I am not cured, I don't 
 go about moaning — I enjoy life. But, in 
 spite of mv affection for the President, hard- 
 
 16
 
 224 A MAN OF MARK. 
 
 ly a day passes that I don't curse that ac- 
 cursed tree-root. 
 
 And she? What does she feel ? 
 
 I don't know. I don't think I ever did 
 know. But I have had a note from her, 
 and this is what she says: 
 
 "Fancy seeing old Jack again — poor for- 
 saken Jack ! Marcus is very kind (but very 
 ill, poor fellow); but I shall like to see you, 
 Jack. Do you remember what I was like? 
 I'm still rather pretty. This is in con- 
 fidence, Jack. Marcus thinks you'll run 
 
 away from us, now we are coming to 
 
 town" (that's where I live). "But I don't 
 think you will. 
 
 "Please meet me at the depot, Jack, 12:15 
 train. Marcus is coming by a later one, so 
 T shall be desolate if you don't come. And 
 bring that white rose with you. Unless 
 you produce it, I won't speak to you. 
 
 "Christina." 
 
 Well, with another man's wife, this is 
 rather embarrassing. But a business man 
 can't leave the place where his business is
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 225 
 
 because a foolish girl insists on coming 
 there. 
 
 And as I am here, I may as well be civil 
 and go to meet her. And, oh, well! as I 
 happen to have the thing, I may as well take 
 it with me. It can't do any harm. 
 
 THE END.

 
 V 
 
 L 005 924 396 4 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 lllllllll 
 
 AA 000 370 084 6 
 
 ^