L/"" 1 "T T/~\Y T^T^nn Y TfV^ir Yirr ,C. v IOLETT HOUK THE GIRL IN QUESTION THE GIRL IN QUESTION A Story of Not So Long Ago BY L. C. VIOLETT HOUK NEW YORK JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVIII Copyright, 1908, BY JOHN LANE COMPANY SET UP, KLKCTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY PUBLISHERS PRINTING COMPANY, NKW YORK 2136147 CONTENTS CHAPTER I SAILS FULL SET . CHAPTER II BUT WHO ia SHE? WHAT is SHE? . . . .12 CHAPTER III THE GIEL IN QUESTION 22 CHAPTER IV "TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT WHICH GOD HATH GIVEN TO MAN ALONE BENEATH THE HEAVEN " (Scorr) . . 32 CHAPTER V WARNING! 49 CHAPTER VI L'AMITIE DBS FEMMES, C'EST COMME L'EAU DANS UN PANIER . . . . ' . . . . .57 CHAPTER VII Two LADIES AND A MINISTER 69 CHAPTER VIII BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! 78 vi CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER IX A DIVINE CRYSTAL 86 CHAPTER X CHILDREN OF MARA THE GOD OF THE TRIPLE THIRST . 92 CHAPTER XI THE LEGEND 101 CHAPTER XII WHY CARIMA ASTRADOS CAME TO WASHINGTON . .111 CHAPTER XIII "Lips ARE SMILING, HEARTS ARE ACHING, ACHING ALL THE WHILE" 121 CHAPTER XIV A "CAPITOL" CLIMBER 132 CHAPTER XV "CASH THIS AND SAY NOTHING" 139 CHAPTER XVI BEHIND THE SCENES 146 CHAPTER XVII THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 156 CHAPTER XVIII KISMET 166 CHAPTER XIX WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES AND SIP RICH WINES! . 179 CONTENTS vii PAGE CHAPTER XX THE BEST LAID SCHEMES o' MICE AN' MEN GANG AFT A-GLEY 190 CHAPTER XXI WOMAN vs. MAN . 200 CHAPTER XXII THE SOCIAL WHIRL . > 207 CHAPTER XXIII THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 216 CHAPTER XXIV WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 226 CHAPTER XXV POLITICS OR LOVE? 239 CHAPTER XXVI THE MOVING FINGER WRITES . . .'.'. . 247 CHAPTER XXVII WHATEVER Is Is BEST? . 255 THE GIRL IN QUESTION The crush was over, and the formal guests had departed from the weekly reception at the house of the Secretary of War. Mrs. Randolph, the Secre- tary's second wife, strolled from the card-room, just in time to greet Brigadier-General Leon Hartley, as he entered. For the first time that afternoon, her handsome face lighted with genuine pleasure. It was evident that the second Mrs. Randolph, who, rumor whispered, had married the old Secretary for money and position, was receiving her reward generously. Not only was she teaching the War Secretary quite the proper way to spend his money; but, from the beginning, she had taken a firm and eager hand in politics, much to his amusement at first, though, of late, perhaps, he had reason to think that women and politics do not combine for the good of man! His feelings, however, were not greatly considered by his new wife, who, notwithstanding all his arguments, still maintained that a little game of cards, not forgetting a full punch bowl, was the best persuader to popularity. Thus it was that the parlor at the end of the long s 6 THE GIRL IN QUESTION drawing-rooms, on this particular afternoon, was bubbling over with merriment and wine, and the click of chips to punctuate the revelry. Across the landscape the delicious Spring Goddess was touching the trees and flowers with her magic wand ; but, as the guests had entered the old mansion, the beauties without were forgotten; for full-fledged summer seemed to reign within. The spacious rooms blossomed with fragrant blooms, almost hiding the unusual elegance of the house. Soft and invisible music greeted the visitors, and sent a thrill through their veins. "I thought you weren't coming," Mrs. Randolph said, smiling again, as she took the young officer's extended hand. "Ah, Thomas," she added, and turned to the negro servant, who entered with timely precision, "who is winning?" "Count Flambeau has don' won one 'jack pot,' ma'am." A peculiar look came into the lady's eyes, but it was gone instantly. "Take in more wine," commanded the hostess. "Yes, ma'am I is coolin' de bottles." "And, Thomas, don't forget the General and my- self!" She turned with smiling lips again to the young officer, and motioned him to a chair near her own. Thomas hurriedly brought the wine. Brigadier-General Hartley was a man of perhaps thirty-seven years of age, and of a strong personality, which is too often mistaken for genius. In this in- stance, however, personality bespoke individuality as well. He had received his title during a sudden and SAILS FULL SET 7 short-lived war, on account of excellent service in civil as well as military duty. A fluent knowledge of the Spanish language, also, had no doubt fostered his opportunity. Be that as it may, he had reached success. His remarkably handsome appearance en- hanced his popularity, and wide was his fame as a desirable parti for debutantes, wealthy bachelor maids, and even widows. He had a fascinating fashion of making pretty speeches to women, but showed so openly that he was quite indifferent to them as individuals, that those who were most interested impatiently demanded, " Is he waiting for a queen, a princess, or a president's daughter?" "You are an artiste in selecting wines, Mrs. Ran- dolph," he said easily, as he lifted his glass. " It has a bouquet, which is all there is to wine or life, General," she replied quickly. "What is it, Thomas?" she added almost impatiently, as the negro interrupted their conversation to present a letter. "I presume it am a bill, ma'am," replied Thomas with grave courtesy. "It was left dis mornin', ma'am; I don' overlooked it." "You are growing wise in your old age, Thomas," smiled Mrs. Randolph. "Put it on the Secretary's desk. No here, let me see it." She opened the envelope and read: " 12 cases of wine." " Put it on my desk, Thomas." She replaced the bill on the silver leaf in the ser- vant's black hand. When he had disappeared from view, she turned again to her guest with a laugh. "I will get the money from the Secretary for my 8 THE GIRL IN QUESTION church fund and pay it. How odd life is in a big city, General ! By the way, tell me what you know of this Donna Carima Astrados. You know every- thing," she added, looking at him with admiration. "Tell me won't you?" "Well, I know very little, except that she has come here with a request to the President to recognize her sovereignty, and a petition for money and help from Congress to aid her in freeing and reconstructing her country which is only an island on a modern, civilized plan. Her theory is that we will be repaid with large interest at some future time." "And she, what is she to receive for herself?" asked the lady with a woman's cunning. "Glory, of course," replied the General with his charming smile. There was an incredulous look in Mrs. Randolph's eyes, but no further expression of her thought. "She has found," continued the officer, "some popular applause, because of the many sentimen- talists in this country. I have taken sufficient inter- est, however, to defeat her; for it would do us no good and would open the way for a thousand other such claims to fall upon our Government. Truthfully, I don't know why I dislike this woman, unless it is that I so disapprove of the sensational manner in which the 'new woman' is pervading, not only our country, but the entire world." "But is she really a queen? That is the question." " I understand that the masses of her people have already crowned her queen, while the richer class will acknowledge her authority only on condition that she bow to the Roman Catholic Church. These war- SAILS FULL SET 9 ring elements have caused uprisings accompanied by unusual horrors. The southern queen arrived in this country, and is now seeking our rec- ognition and aid. She is clever, indeed. Know- ing that curiosity is our national weakness she surrounds herself with a delightful veil of mystery: she will allow no state, she is simply ' Donna Carima Astrados/ seeking relief for her countrymen. What is Her Majesty like?" queried the young General suddenly. Mrs. Randolph wrinkled her pretty brows in per- plexity. " She is difficult to describe. One moment she is frank, light-hearted, and just like a bright American girl; the next, without any apparent reason, she has changed into a tigress-like creature, cold and mysterious, with a foreign grace that makes one fear her." Hartley laughed a light pleasant laugh. " You draw an impossible character, quite interest- ing," he said. Mrs. Randolph looked annoyed, but the General appeared not to notice her vexation and motioned Thomas to refill his glass. The servant again approached, and poured the sparkling beverage with the delicacy of a connoisseur. "Where is the Secretary, Thomas?" asked Mrs. Randolph thoughtfully. "He am below, ma'am, showin' Donna Carima Astrados de new conservatory." "Indeed. Tell Mr. Randolph I wish to see him," she commanded, and Thomas hastily bowed and withdrew. Hartley watched his hostess a moment in silence, then leaned far over the table toward her, and sug- io THE GIRL IN QUESTION gested, "Could this woman hypnotize the Secretary, as she has so many of our statesmen?" "Do you think I'm not old enough to manage a husband?" Mrs. Randolph asked haughtily in reply. "I think you're young enough to manage a hus- band, Mrs. Randolph," he observed quietly, leaning back with a satisfied smile. "Tush! it will take more than flattery to defeat this girl." She rose and stood before the officer, and a strange look crept into her eyes. In courtesy he imitated his hostess, and answered her with a steady gaze. "A diamond necklace?" he asked at last. "Jewels are always beautiful, but but I may ask for something greater than jewels," Mrs. Ran- dolph responded meaningly. He raised his brows slightly in question. "What is greater than a jewel to a woman?" General Hartley inquired, as if to learn from the most wonderful of women ; for there was deference always in his manner. "When the time comes, I will tell you. But I promise you Queen Carima will not obtain 'my en- dorsement to her petition for a treaty between her country and ours." "You mean the Secretary's endorsement," he corrected her softly. "Are not the Secretary and I one?" questioned the Secretary's wife with self-assured confidence. "Yes," replied the officer, smiling, " only you are Secretary." "Of war? "she laughed. SAILS FULL SET n "Of finesse!" he said, again correcting her. Hartley stepped backward, as though moved by a sudden thought. "If Donna Carima is here, don't let me meet her. I'll go to the Turkish room and smoke. You know how I dislike meeting adventur- ous women." Before answering, Mrs. Randolph moved nearer to her distinguished guest. "Are you quite sure you have never met this girl?" she asked suspiciously. "Quite sure," he replied lightly. "I've already had a good fight with her, and with your help I will win. The Senate will never ratify this treaty. Women are out of place in politics all except one, Mrs. Randolph." Despite his convincing tone and manner, there was a new light in General Hartley's handsome eyes, and a doubt as to its meaning still lurked with his hostess; yet she said quietly: "I believe you are stronger than most men ; but Donna Carima Astrados is not a fool, Leon I mean General. She is a beauti- ful demon and a dangerous one, whoever she is." With a shrug of his broad shoulders, Hartley crossed to the door, as Secretary Randolph and his private secretary, John Durmont, entered. The salutations between the three men were most cor- dial, but Hartley proceeded on his way to consult his cigar and his personal thoughts concerning the woman who had come to Washington with the extra- ordinary mission and more extraordinary mystery. CHAPTER II BUT WHO is SHE? WHAT is SHE? The veteran War Secretary looked more weary than usual. It was apparent that, no matter how much he yearned for quiet restfulness, not even the atmosphere of his home had brought him peace of spirit. Indeed, time had marked Clarkson Randolph's history of some sixty years' struggle in the deep lines and hollows on his noble face. On this particular afternoon his tired eyes borrowed for the moment a glance from life's enthusiasm, as they rested upon his pretty wife; but habit, ever preeminent, had its way with the statesman, for he took his wife's hand only, in recognition of her presence. Then he turned to his young secretary : "You will find the papers I spoke of on my desk, Durmont." The young man bowed and passed on to the study. "Now, my dear," the Secretary added, his mind still obviously bent upon his many cares. He raised his wife's slender fingers and pressed them soothingly against his cheek. "You may well say 'my dear' after every one else is disposed of," she said impatiently. "Come," pleaded the great statesman as her tone recalled him from his thoughts, " is the Secretary of War to be refused a greeting in his own house and by his own wife?" WHO IS SHE? WHAT IS SHE? 13 Mrs. Randolph knew too well how to control a man, and how to follow up her advantage. "And what will the Secretary do for the Secre- tary's wife?" she half-pouted. "As I have always done too much," he answered, laughing. "Write it; then I will be amiable," she smiled back at him, though there was determination in her tone. She pointed to a seat at the writing-desk. He took the chair she offered, but pushed aside the pen which she held toward him. " I never write promises, my dear. I am in politics," declared the Secretary. "So am I in politics; but I am more fearless," rejoined his wife, coyly fingering the pen. "Because I am here to protect you, dear; but I have no one to lean upon," he said, regarding her sadly. " Clever, pretty women draw the trump cards of life. Be content with the better. You can't repre- sent both sexes, dear one." "But I am not content. You don't love me!" exclaimed the spoilt woman pettishly. The Secretary regarded her earnestly for a moment. He might read the inmost motives of a shrewd man ; but with his own wife he was powerless, with all his experience, to interpret the curl of her lips or the fleeting shadow which passed across her brow. " Ah, my sweet wife ! What is it you want? Another commission , another first-lieutenancy ? " He caressed her hand fondly. "I have been indiscreet in my desire to satisfy your every whim. It has caused comment, my dear. Durmont has cautioned me." "Always Durmont!" she cried, angrily drawing i 4 THE GIRL IN QUESTION away her hand. "Do you do your secretary's bid- ding?" "I trust him, dear," answered the man of many responsibilities patiently, "which is more than I can say of some higher in office." "Your wife included?" She tossed her head in challenge. "No, no, dear; please be kind to me to-day. I'm so tired so tired." Mrs. Randolph changed her tactics in response to her lord and master's mood, knelt by him tenderly, and, placing her head gently against his arm, spoke softly, pleadingly to him. "It isn't a commission of any kind I want. It is only a little request for your own good. You see how unfair you've been to me? Just a little line I want, saying that you refuse your endorsement to the Astrados treaty, which, you know, would be of no benefit to us if she succeeded. A thousand other petitions of the kind would fall upon our poor Govern- ment, and, you know, we believe in the old maxim that 'charity begins at home.' Do this to please me. Ah! I do love you, my great, great husband!" She was wonderfully appealing, as she knelt be- fore him. A weak man might have resisted her; a strong man hardly. Her eyes were bright with their pleading; but the Secretary withdrew his gaze for a moment from her face. He was thinking. "But, my dear, it would be unpopular, and there are those who suspect already some things I have done," he urged, as he turned her request over in his mind. "For me?" she asked impatiently. WHO IS SHE? WHAT IS SHE? 15 "For you," answered her husband sadly. He looked at her; then his thought seemed to jump to a conclusion. " Some one is behind this! " he exclaimed suspiciously. He arose suddenly to his feet. " Is it a man?" he asked sharply. " No," replied his wife with an air of triumph. " It is a woman. A woman whom you are interested in a beautiful woman!" The Secretary looked at her in astonishment. "What, are you jealous of me, my sweet wife?" he exclaimed, softening, a joyous look beaming in his eyes. She turned away with the tinge of a smile, but, remembering her play and playing it well, "I hate her!" she half-murmured. Her husband took her face tenderly between his hands and kissed her. "I worship you," he said fervently. "It is Dur- mont who has taken up Donna Carima's cause, not I. You couldn't suspect him, could you?" " Why not? He is a man," she answered, without meeting his gaze. "Come, kiss me, for I must go," the Secretary said, raising his wife's face toward his own, but she only drew away and replied firmly : " No not until I get your promise. Prove to me that you are not interested in the queen." He sat back at the desk with a hopeless air, and drew the paper and pen nearer to him, as if to write. There was a burst of merriment from the next room. The Secretary rose, and walking quickly to the door, opened it slightly and looked in. He shut it almost as quickly, however, and returned to his wife. 16 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "I have forbidden gambling in my house, yet I find it here again!" "Only a little game. Every one plays cards. You are very old-fashioned in your ideas. I am of younger times that is all." She meant to hurt him; but he ignored the thrust at his age. "Only a little game!" he cried. "Alwaj^s a little game at the Secretary's home! What will the people say when they hear of it?" " The people ! " repeated Mrs. Randolph scornfully, returning to her neglected wine. " Are the people to interfere in my house?" "The people make and unmake in our land, my child," the Secretary said, passing his hand wearily across his eyes. "We must not rouse them." "We won't let them know, and don't speak to me as though I were a child," she snapped, arranging her dress before the mirror. "But they hear in strange ways sometimes and they vote!" His voice became utterly hopeless, as he noted his young wife's determined indifference. She continued, however, to look admiringly at herself, as she replied contemptuously : " The people are only of use to stop bullets while the Secretary of War dines." "And while his young wife gambles away his life- work!" continued the Secretary after some moments' reflective pause. "You don't love me, my dear; you have never loved me," he added, his voice breaking. The confused murmur from the card-room became louder. "Listen!" cried Mrs. Randolph. "That is the voice of Her Majesty Queen Carima! She is not WHO IS SHE? WHAT IS SHE? 17 opposed to gambling! Why don't you lecture her? But no; oh, no bah! You men! There! I can see it ! That woman has fascinated you, too ! " " Hush ! " commanded the Secretary. " Here come your guests." The Honorable Mr. Randolph arose, a princely gentleman of the old school, to do honor to his wife's visitors, notwithstanding the cruel blow with which she had shattered the illusions that helped to keep life bubbling within his tired heart. Quite uncon- scious of his sufferings or indifferent to them, Mrs. Randolph smiled upon Count Flambeau and Mrs. Wilson as they entered the room, leaving laughter and a confusion of chatter behind them. "Why, Mrs. Wilson and the Count! Have you tired of the table?" she inquired cordially. "No, but the table got all we had and then jilted us!" laughed the matronly lady, for whom the Count had gone bond. "Who is winning?" questioned the hostess with marked interest. "The Southern Queen, whom we call Donna Carima," answered the Count, visibly worried. "I wonder if she plays straight?" suddenly asked Mrs. Wilson. "Oh, Mrs. Wilson!" exclaimed Mrs. Randolph re- provingly. "My guests are honorable." She did not fail, however, to shoot a malicious little glance at her husband; but the Secretary only dropped his eyes. " Well, if you know so much about Her Majesty," observed Mrs. Wilson, "I wish you would tell us. No one else seems to know anything about her." i8 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Well " Mrs. Randolph hesitated as she repeated the word with a doubtful accent " Well, she is one of my guests whom I can't exactly vouch for. She landed here among us, as most people do in Wash- ington, with stories galore of both a future and a past." "But we all have those," interrupted Nicholas Worthington, the grandson of the Secretary and the hope and pride of his family, who had strolled into the room after the others. On his arm hung little Miss Courtney, motherless daughter of Chief Justice Courtney. She was a worldly little miss just out of school and far too bright and pretty to be adrift in the social whirl. "We were speaking of the wonderful Southern Queen," explained Mrs. Randolph with a reproving wave of her hand toward Nicholas. "Oh, yes, isn't she beautiful?" observed Miss Courtney with youthful decision. "Odd she isn't married to some other queer ruler," suggested Mrs. Wilson, fully aware of the hornet's nest lurking in her remark. "Perhaps she is," argued young Miss Courtney hopefully. "It isn't the fashion for even a queen to tell everything she is, and then people are not proud of their weaknesses now, as they used to be. You know, it was once a sign of distinction to have gout in the family. Times change!" The young girl delivered her remark with an air of profound wisdom. "No, wise sage," cried Mrs. Wilson, with a superior toss of the head, "she told me she didn't believe in marriage." WHO IS SHE? WHAT IS SHE? 19 "More proof that she has tried it," replied Miss Courtney quickly. "Perhaps she is divorced," suggested the wily Count, with sudden inspiration. "I believe Her Majesty is one woman who has a heart," Nicholas said softly, " a real heart that one dreams and reads about, not a society organ used on festive occasions only." Miss Courtney looked at her comrade in horror. The other ladies laughed, for life was not so serious to them as to the young debutante. They had out- grown its paroxysms. "Wonderful how a clever woman can fool men!" commented Mrs. Wilson. "If she had suffered, my dear Nick, she wouldn't make a collection of wounded hearts to drag around after her! She is simply an abominable coquette with a capital C, even if she is of royal birth." " She is right," remarked little Miss Courtney with precision, for her opinion was never lacking upon all subjects, including life, marriage, and other unsolved problems. "But what is she? Who is she?" insisted Mrs. Wilson again more curiously. "I don't know. She has money the best in- troductions. Of course, there is gossip of but she is my guest," added Mrs. Randolph aggravatingly. "I refuse to listen to your gossip, Grandma!" cried Nick angrily. He walked across the room to his grandfather, who looked even older now, as he sat at his desk where his ears could not help catching the conversation. As the chorus of "We Promise Not to Tell" sub- ao THE GIRL IN QUESTION sided from the cluster of gossips about the hostess, Mrs. Randolph observed quite clearly, making sure that her remark reached her husband: "Well, they do say the King of Belgium is er interested in her cause, and that he provided her with the means of coming here." "Indeed! But if this is true, should we receive her?" objected Mrs. Wilson, with the same dignity which had carried her through a divorce scandal with so much composure that she had really convinced society she was in the right, no matter how things seemed. " But, my dear Mrs. Wilson," smiled Mrs. Randolph, " how are we to know? And then one receives every one in Washington!" "Washington may," said one of the many mothers of social propriety, "but I do not!" "I wonder what the diamond locket contains which she wears continually," interrupted the Count, feeling the uncomfortable turn the conversation had taken, and dexterously changing the current. "I wonder if it is real?" chimed in Mrs. Wilson. "Oh, I presume so, but what does it contain? " continued the Count. "I asked her once, and she replied : ' My secret ! We all have a secret, I suppose ! " : "I told you she was married," broke in the young society monitor with confidence. "A locket always means, ' What Might Have Been.' " "Perhaps," laughed the Count jocosely; "but I mean something important. The men think, if they could see into that locket, they would obtain the key to her er power. They have bets on it at all the clubs." WHO IS SHE? WHAT IS SHE? 21 "Why are they so interested in her?" sneered Mrs. Wilson. " I can't see that she's so wonderful, and I don't believe she's a real queen." " Well, some are interested because they are in love with her; but I believe the greater number wish to know if her er influence is too powerful to offend. She may be a fair impostor, but she has succeeded in frightening or captivating half of the Senate and most of the House after eight weeks at the Capital not a bad record for a girl, whoever she is." The Count paused for breath, as he finished his observations upon the lady, but, catching it as quickly, he began again hi his usual energetic manner: "The United States Government is inundated with extraor- dinary petitions, but when I talk to Donna Carima she convinces even me that every country should have a sovereign except the United States, and, therefore, her petition should receive due considera- tion." Mrs. Wilson gave her diplomatic friend a contemp- tuous look, accentuated by a little American shrug, and observed calmly, having levelled her lorgnette squarely at the speaker: "Thank you, Count, but I am still at sea as to who or what Her h'm Her Majesty is!" "Hush!" commanded the omniscient Miss Court- ney, " here comes the girl in question! " CHAPTER III THE GIRL IN QUESTION The curtains of the card-room were thrown back and revealed Donna Carima Astrados in the midst of a crowd of men and women, all talking at once. General excitement evidently prevailed. Some of the players looked pale or troubled, but the august lady who had caused so much comment was ap- parently indifferent to it all. She stood a calm and triumphant mistress of her situation, each bejewelled hand crammed full of gold and greenbacks. " Three thousand for me! A new horse and a good one!" she cried merrily. "A vote of thanks to the Secretary ! God bless him ! ' ' There was a strong suggestion of imperialism in the manner of the girl in question, and yet her smile was so sweet that her companions, despite their varying fortunes and dubious criticisms, caught up her triumphant cry, and a ringing cheer arose from them. "There!" sneered Mrs. Randolph, "she always wins with her foreign luck!" Donna Carima advanced toward the Secretary, her face and eyes glowing with joyous excitement. "See what I have won, Mr. Secretary!" she cried gayly, her quaint rhythmic accent adding charm to her wonderful voice. "Look, Mr. Dur- mont, I have a pile to catch an English prince!" THE GIRL IN QUESTION 23 "And the prince would be as worthless as your winnings," answered the Secretary's secretary, hop- ing that she could not hear his heart beating regret- fully for her under his coat. "You must remember, Donna Carima," observed Secretary Randolph sadly, and he had had oc- casion many times in his life to appreciate the force of his remark, "when you win, others lose." "That is the fortune' of life!" laughed the young ruler. "I love to win at all things! It makes the blood dance through the veins to win to win at cards, at balls at war!" At the last word the power of Donna Carima, girl though she was, checked all merriment. There was a pause broken by Durmont. "And at love?" he asked, to break the tragic breath which stilled the room. Instantly Donna Carima smiled again. "Do you believe in love in Washington?" she cried. "I thought it was out of fashion. Here marriage seems to be a bargain. The lover does not say, 'I give you my fortune because I love you,' but, ' I give you my fortune, if you give me your life and love!' Is it not true, Mrs. Wilson?" "Quite true," replied the divorcee over-sweetly. "You are an apt pupil in society, and you have been here such a short " Donna Carima glanced at the speaker, who stopped instantly. The young Queen glided forward with uncommon grace, and, dropping her winnings into the lady's lap, said carelessly: "Use these for your 'Lost Babies Society,' please. Money is a game, Mrs. Wilson, only a game to win like the others." 24 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Or lose like the others," murmured the Secre- tary's secretary. "Ah, Mr. Durmont, you are cynical as usual. But it is foolish to lose; there is no excitement, no thrill!" There was an airy lightness in Donna Carima's answer. "There is a memory to cherish," remarked the young man seriously. "You are right, always right, Durmont," observed the aged Secretary with approval. And Mrs. Ran- dolph added: "Of course!" If there was mockery intended, it was sweetly covered. "But, nothing to spend!" still laughed Donna Carima, with a bewitching shrug. "Don't you all like money? I do." "I am sorry to hear you say so," answered Dur- mont hopelessly. "So am I," said the Secretary firmly. Count Flambeau's eyes twinkled; he pulled out his empty pockets. They were more expressive than words. They seemed to say to the amusement of the lighter- hearted, "So are we!" In the general social mel^e Mrs. Wilson managed sympathetically to pass close enough to the Count to whisper in his ear: "And so am I! Lend me cab- fare, Count?" "I'll walk home with you, Sophie," was the wily Frenchman's only reply. "Oh, no, you won't!" she corrected him re- provingly. " I'm too poor to think of walking, Count." But with it all, Donna Carima's gay ety seemed to THE GIRL IN QUESTION 25 pervade the atmosphere in spite of Dame Fortune's merry change of purses. It was evident that all could afford the play, for every one was now laughing and chatting, and perhaps their dinners were not at stake. "See!" cried the fair winner to Durmont, "we all want money! It keeps away the ugly, and gives us the beautiful. We need the beautiful always." "You are beautiful and many need you. Would it be right for all to have you ? ' ' inquired the Secretary's secretary. " You all have a share in my heart," replied Donna Carima. " You are beginning to make me think, Mr. Durmont. Please don't to-day, I feel so happy, so happy ! I am sure that something wonderful is going to happen. I don't want to break the spell. So don't make me think." "I hope you think of me sometimes," Durmont said wistfully. " I do," the lady responded. "You have so many friends I mean things to think of, I don't hope for more than a passing thought." " Still, you are my friend." " You mean oh, no, you don't," cried the young man, stopping short. His eyes apologized for his presumption. "I mean, I trust you," she answered, gazing directly at him. "Thank you for putting it that way," he said bravely. "I accept. Here is my resignation." Her democratic manner had lent him courage, and he offered her his hand. She placed her own within 26 THE GIRL IN QUESTION it and looked up at him with a brilliant smile which lighted her lovely face expressively. "Oh, I didn't mean that," she said softly. Then her mood changed, and she too became serious. "I need you, too. I need your help now. Will you give it to me?" Her voice vibrated with subtle strength and yet fell upon his ear as softly as a caress. " Yes," he answered. " Yes." It was more than a promise. The Secretary's wife crossed the room to her hus- band. "Do you see how Donna Carima is flirting with Durmont? Are you not jealous?" she asked mockingly. Then she smiled, as if in conciliation. "You haven't proved anything to me yet," she said. He smiled back at her sadly and moved slowly toward Durmont, who now stood waiting for him. Mrs. Randolph followed. "Mr. Secretary," observed the young man, as they reached the doorway leading to the study, "I want to talk to you about the advisability of your Depart- ment recommending the acceptance of the treaty pre- sented by Donna Carima's friends. It is a popular movement, and may quiet any little question caused by those commissions, sir. No one is seriously fighting it except General Hartley, and he is known to be an eccentric." Mrs. Randolph could bear no more. She inter- rupted the plea for the fair stranger quickly, with a sharp glance of disapproval at the Secretary. "How does Senator Truesdale stand in this matter?" she asked. THE GIRL IN QUESTION 27 The sudden question startled the two men, for they had not observed her approach. If Mrs. Randolph could not completely overcome the influence being brought to bear on all sides upon her husband in behalf of Donna Carima's petition, she could at least temporarily delay it by change of sub- ject until she should have time to think, and she could find out if the Truesdales, whom she hated for their straitlaced opinions as well as for their social aspirations, would be likely to be in her camp or in that of the enemy. "I hear the Senator wishes to represent us at St. James's or France," observed the Secretary, evad- ing the question. "And do Mrs. Truesdale and her daughter ac- company him?" asked the interested wife. "Wives generally accompany their husbands abroad," the Secretary answered, a trifle bit- terly. "Indeed! I wish we had a daughter to outshine that homely little Truesdale girl!" she exclaimed jealously. A spasm of pain crossed her husband's face, but Mrs. Randolph continued vehemently: "The Trues- dales do not go to England with my consent, unless they do my way." " You and the President and the Senate will have to settle that, my dear," declared the Secretary in a tired voice. "We will, and it won't be the first time that the President and the Senate have come to my way of thinking," persisted his wife. "Truesdale is strong with the President," sug- 28 THE GIRL IN QUESTION gested Durmont in an undertone. "I don't quite trust him, Mr. Secretary." "But why should he be an enemy, Durmont? I never did him a favor!" There was a worn smile on the venerable politi- cian's lips, as he reflected upon the ingratitude of life's political good-fellowships. " St. James's ! " sneered the irritated wife. " Why, every one knows that the Truesdales began life in a log cabin, with hardly a shirt to their backs. A spectacle for St. James's!" " You are treading on dangerous ground, my dear, when you speak of those old, old days," observed the Honorable Mr. Randolph, with a faraway look in his pale eyes. " Our country didn't afford the advan- tages in those times that the young men have now." "Well, your family had blue blood at least," pro- tested the lady proudly. "Yes, but no shirts to spare," corrected the Secre- tary, with his quiet humor. At this moment, Thomas announced, "Mrs. Truesdale and Miss Truesdale!" "Speak of an angel and you hear the flutter of wings," laughed the worldly hostess triumphantly. " Come, Mrs. Wilson, call every one to bow before her ladyship of the Court of St. James's. I thought I'd make her call again before the season was over. I tremble with joy at her condescension. St. James's, indeed!" "Be polite, my dear. I may have use for the Senator," whispered the Secretary, laying a detain- ing hand upon his wife's arm. "Don't worry, dear, I may have use for him too," THE GIRL IN QUESTION 29 she answered, and hurried to the drawing-room to greet her guests. The Secretary wisely made his escape, after the manner of busy men, by the side door. Durmont followed. At this moment General Hartley strolled into the library through the card-room, and came face to face with Donna Carima, who stood with a small gathering of guests around her. The man and the woman paused and stared at one another. Several of the group followed the hostess into the adjoining room, when Mrs. Wilson, perhaps feeling a malicious little interest in the situation, stepped for- ward and quickly made a formal introduction. A silence followed, however, which was broken only by the sound of a loud kiss, and Mrs. Randolph's voice floated back upon them: " I am delighted to see you, Mrs. Truesdale and Dora, my dear! What a lovely gown! How well you are both looking!" Mrs. Wilson took Nicholas tactfully by the arm and led him away in a whispered conversation: "General Hartley is fighting her petition." Nicholas answered in an undertone: "She'll win him over too." "I don't know about that," observed Mrs. Wilson. "Come, Ellice," she called over her shoulder to Miss Courtney. Flambeau immediately offered the little miss his arm. The Count was an old diplomat. He knew every- thing that was going on about him. He knew when to move and when to stand still. He knew when to 30 THE GIRL IN QUESTION talk and when to remain silent. He knew now it was time to move. "I'll take a 'place' chance on her winning," ob- served Miss Courtney in the Count's ear, as they passed, her eyes well fixed on the faces of the officer and Donna Carima, who still stood immovable, neither apparently able to think of anything to say. The Count hurried the girl out of the room. " Well," he chatted in reply, as they walked along, "let's go, or the race will be ' scratched.' Don't look so disappointed, my child. We are now going to a respectable ' hen-fight.' " Both laughed and disappeared through the doorway. The moment they were alone, Hartley sprang for- ward and caught Donna Carima's hands in his own. "You!" he cried. " You are Carima Astrados." " And you ! " she smiled. ' You are my great enemy." "How could I know that you were you?" his fine voice thrilled in undisguised excitement. " Why did you not tell me who you were at St. Augustine? Why did you forbid me to inquire? Then why did you disappear? Why?" he questioned passionately. "I hope I do not interrupt?" The speaker's voice sounded a startling note to the two persons so engrossed in one another, and each looked up involuntarily. Nicholas Worthington stood before them, taking in the scene, an angry blush coloring his face. "I beg pardon," he continued, bowing low, "but Mrs. Truesdale has asked the honor of a presentation to Donna Carima Astrados. May I have the pleasure of escorting her to the drawing-room?" He presented his arm with his usual grace. THE GIRL IN QUESTION 31 After a moment's hesitation, Donna Carima ac- cepted ; but looking back, she said, in the manner of social indifference: "I am at home on Friday after- noons, General Hartley." The officer bowed his acknowledgment, and watched her sweep from the room with the spoilt favorite, Nicholas Worthington. "And my 'Lost Princess' is Carima Astrados! Great God, what does it mean?" he asked himself, still gazing blankly at the empty doorway. CHAPTER IV " True love's the gift which God hath given To man alone beneath the heaven." Scott. James Graham was butler in the house of Mrs. Carroll Wilson, and very proud he was, too, of a posi- tion where he had been able to "make de personal acquaintance" of so many distinguished ladies and gentlemen, for it meant much to the advancement of his chosen profession. At present, however, all his ambitions were cen- tred in the fulfilment of a desire which had budded in the heart of Emily Smith, chambermaid in the same establishment, to be appointed to the position of a Government employe. The chances, pro and con, of the proposition had been thoroughly discussed by James and Miss Smith after the midday meal in the servants' hall on the afternoon following Mrs. Randolph's reception. They had concluded that another appeal to Mr. Thomas Jefferson, of Mr. Secretary Randolph's household, might crown their desires with success. At the moment their consultations had reached this important conclusion, and Miss Smith was gazing languidly out of the basement door, she was overtaken with what would have been known in the case of a white lady as hysteria; but which, in the instance of Miss Smith, was simply her usual way of expressing uncontrollable joy. 32 TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 33 "See," she cried, throwing out her arms wildly. "See, Mister Graham, the Lawd Gawd A'mighty is wid us po' sinners! He don' sen' Mister Jefferson right heah to us. He's acomin' right heah now! Run, Mister Graham, and don' keep him awaitin' at dedo'! Run!" She shooed the dignified James toward the stairs with scant patience. James had the misfortune to be very black, while Miss Smith, through some courtesy of her ancestors, perhaps, enjoyed the coloring of a light mulatto, even lighter than the much-feared Mr. Jefferson. It is easy, therefore, to understand the superiority and natural authority which the dusky widow exercised over the less fortunate James. Suddenly he was forced to retrace his steps by an emphatic pull upon his coat-tails. "Mister Jefferson don' cross de street. He am makin' fo' de grand mansion of dat foreign queen. Heah, take yo' hat, Mister Graham, and intercede him afor' he reaches de do'." Being accustomed to obey, James hurried thence and managed to intercept the great Thomas of the house of the War Secretary. "What fo' do' yo' honers us by comin' dis way, Mister Jefferson?" he asked very politely. "I carries a note fo' Donna Carima Astrados," answered that worthy, grandly producing a letter. " I hab a little personal matter, 'bout which I don' spoke to yo' afor'; and fo' which I feels under great obligations to yo' a'ready, sah," volunteered James nervously but with determination. Mister Thomas Jefferson drew himself up, and infla- 3 34 THE GIRL IN QUESTION ted under the tremendous pressure of his importance. "Under what kinder consideration does yo' feel under obligations to meh, Mister Graham?" queried the all-powerful Jefferson. "Fo' takin' inter deliberation my application fo' my frien', Mis' Smith, to be char-lady in de Wo' Department, sah," replied James most humbly. Thomas looked at his fellow servitor for a moment, then said pompously: "I'm considerin' de matter, Mister Graham; but meh an' de Secretary has not made up our min's yet, sah." "I hopes yo'll advise meh soon, Mister Jefferson," suggested James even more humbly. There was a tremendous pause. The sunshine peeped through the spreading branches overhead and splashed the negroes with spots of dazzling light, while the namesake of the father of the Declaration of Independence weighed the proposition more fully in his brain. Finally he spoke. " I nebber talks bizness 'way from my office, sah," he said, striking the Secretary's pet pose. "An' may I be permissioned to 'terrigate yo' whar yo' office is, Mister Jefferson?" asked James, a trifle flurried in the presence of such dignity. Thomas cast a scornful glance from his round white eyes upon the hopeful James, and observed with proud condescension: "I holds office in de Secretary's kitchen, sah. De want ob gentility in some folks is amazin', sah." "No 'ffence, Mister Jefferson," interposed James fearfully, rubbing his hands together and vainly trying to conceal his nervousness. TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 35 "No 'ffence taken, Mister Graham," replied Mr. Jefferson with overwhelming affability. "I always overlook ignorance in gentlemen ob yo' color, sah." "I is grateful fo' de permission to call at yo' office, sah," James said, concealing his wounded vanity. Each bowed, James very low, and went his way, to report to the awaiting lady; while Thomas en- tered the arched gateway leading to Donna Carima Astrados' residence. He felt great interest in this his first visit to the much-talked-of mansion, but his thought was mostly filled with the person of Donna Carima's serving-man, whose name Thomas had heard was Hippolyte and whose indifference to the colored society at the Capital had marked him as a man worthy of interest. Notwithstanding, Thomas rang as imperiously as ever and at the main entrance. In- stantly the door swung open and Hippolyte stood before him, a magnificent negro. Before the great Thomas was able to state his errand, Hippolyte, a frown wrinkling his splendid forehead, was leading the way to a side door. "This is the servants' entrance," he said on arrival. " What do you wish?" He spoke with a soft, singing accent. "I brings a letter fo' Donna Carima Astrados," replied Thomas with an offended air, which was lost, however, upon Hippolyte, "an' I wishes it delivered 'mediate to de lady in pusson, an' I waits fo' de answer, sah." " For my Lady." Hipployte accepted the letter and disappeared from view. Meanwhile, Mister Thomas Jefferson surveyed his reflection with unlimited satisfaction in the hall 36 THK GIRL IN QUESTION mirror, rearranged his hair and moustache, again struck an attitude in excellent imitation of his master, and by degrees his mighty self-importance rcillumined his person. Interest in himself did not pall, but a disquieting sensation made him glance curiously along the hall. Apparently he was alone, and yet he felt that he was not alone, that searching eyes were upon him, that With a sigh of relief he welcomed Hippolyte's reappearance and without delay took the pale violet envelope extended toward him, and made an unusually agile exit. Hippolyte watched him disappear and closed the door. There was a sharp ring at the main entrance and the servant moved quickly through the great hall. His gliding stride permitted him to cover ground in an incredibly short time. An instant later he admitted Brigadier-General Leon Hartley. "Donna Carima Astrados is at home?" he asked. "I will inquire, monsieur," answered Hippolyte. A bright half-dollar gleamed in the General's hand, but the servant remained motionless, with tray extended. Hartley raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked keenly at the stolid negro before him. He placed his card upon the tray and entered the beautiful reception-room, the curtains of which Hippolyte held open. The negro's manner annoyed the officer, but he shrugged his broad shoulders and, smiling his remark- ably pleasant smile, allowed his gaze to roam over the room. As he noted the great cost combined with ex- quisite harmony everywhere displayed, his memory TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 37 turned back to the simple and sombre settings of the house when it had been the home of the then " young Congressman Randolph," whom he had of ten visited in his boyhood days. He was astonished, as he observed that the place now had the air and furnish- ings of a palace. The appearance of the room led him to reflect also upon the story current among the tradesfolk of Washington that the Southern Queen's house had been furnished entirely from great vans which had ap- peared noiselessly in the night, and that fresh fruit and vegetables were strangely the only purchases for the household made by Hippolyte. In fact this majestic-looking negro was the one known mem- ber of the household and he had refused half a dollar! Hartley smiled, but his lips came suddenly to a serious line. He arose and walked to the end of the room. From the rich tapestries he fancied he had seen the glitter of eyes, but after examination he became reassured. Again he seated himself, but he felt eyes still upon him, upon every part of his body he was conscious of their gaze; from every direction he felt convinced that eyes were watching him. Again he arose, but this time his thought was distracted by the reappear- ance of Hippolyte. "My Lady will receive you, Monsieur." The officer and the servant mounted the stairs and found Donna Carima Astrados seated in a great carved chair, oddly inlaid with mother of pearl. She wore a gown of soft white material, which hung in long, close folds revealing only grace in line and curve, as it trailed on the richly spotted leopard-skin be- 38 THE GIRL IN QUESTION neath her little silver-clad feet. From her shoulders hung a network of threaded brilliants clasped with a solitary ruby of great size. The afternoon sun touched the lights in her hair and seemed eager to crown her radiant beauty with its magic rays. She was every inch a queen. Hartley stepped toward her; she rose to her feet and received him with a cordial greeting. "I couldn't wait until to-morrow," he apologized. "I am glad," Donna Carima replied, displaying her marvellous charm of voice and smile and movement. The hundred questions Hartley had phrased to ask her died upon his lips. "You are reading?" he said, touching the book she held, and inwardly hating himself for his cow- ardice in even momentarily avoiding the subject nearest his heart. "Yes, I am reading the life of Mary Queen of Scots, and I am trying to understand her." "Can you?" he asked curiously, as he accepted the seat nearest the great chair. "No, not very well," admitted Donna Carima, after an instant's thought. "Then you know how you baffle me," Hartley replied quickly, leaning toward her and trying to hold her gaze with his own. "She was a strange, wilful, ardent woman," Donna Carima continued with seeming analysis. "Yet more like a fine, passionate boy." "Could you not play her part?" asked the officer. "No," she responded, "no; Mary lived in a different age. She was cruel." "Perhaps you, too, are cruel without knowing it," TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 39 suggested the young General, noting the perfection of each feature of the lovely face, so expressive of ardor and life. "No, I am sure I am not," replied Donna Carima, turning her eyes full upon him for the first time. They gradually beamed with laughter. " Why are you opposing my treaty?" she questioned suddenly. "How can you ask that," the General said with a start, "when, you kept your name and your secret so closely guarded at St. Augustine?" " St. Augustine! " Donna Carima repeated dreamily. "I could never remember that name, but I remem- ber you ah! yes, I have often thought of you," she smiled wistfully at him. " Often ! " he laughed hoarsely. " Often ! No doubt, it was all play to you; but why why didn't you tell me who you were?" "Come," Donna Carima urged softly. "Don't be angry with me! I was a child then. In these ten weeks Washington has developed me. See, I'm quite a woman now." She sprang up to her full height and spread out her arms with feline grace, while he gazed upon her in frank admiration. "Well, to begin at the beginning," she continued, resuming her chair, " the day after I reached St. Au- gustine I realized that for the first time in my life I was my own ruler, and so I crept out with only my beautiful greyhound, Leo. We had reached the park, when a horrible St. Bernard jumped upon my Leo. I shouted his name and you answered, thinking it was you I called. How vain!" She 40 THE GIRL IN QUESTION laughed up into his eyes, then became very serious and proceeded, her voice deepening with feeling. "You saved my Leo from being killed by the dog. You said it was the first romantic episode that had ever occurred in your life; and that you wished that morning out in the sunshine and the flowers to last forever!" Donna Carima paused, her eyes shining with the memory which carried each back through the pages of the past eventful weeks, back to that one morning, of all the past mornings of their lives, which had lived in the hearts of both. "I see you do remember," Leon Hartley said softly. "Go on! I want to match your words and my thoughts. You will never know how I have hungered for your voice." She flushed rosily at his last words, but obeyed him and continued : " As I said a few moments ago, I was a child then; and, with a child's fancy, I suggested that we should play the Lost Princess and the Wandering Prince. Ah! Each day, as I stole away from Signora and Luiza, by all the artful fibs I could conjure to aid me, I lived our comedy to the full. Was it not glorious?" "It was the happiest week of my life," sighed the man in a tone quite unlike his own. "Go on go on! Your voice is music to my weary soul!" Again the rose tints mounted to the girl's white temples, and for an instant her eyes dropped, but for an instant only. "What you did not know was that we were watched, "she continued, suddenly lowering her voice. "I left you as I did to save your life." TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 41 Hartley stared at the beautiful face lifted so ear- nestly to his. "Why should we be watched?" he asked. For answer Donna Carima shook her head and smiled sadly. Then she continued, her face lighting with eagerness as she spoke: "I thought if I told you who I was you might follow me." " I should certainly have done so." "I had to save you. Also, I realized that my mission here could not be interfered with. So I left St. Augustine without telling you; but I knew that we should meet again, and we have," she said, her voice rising joyously. "We have ah, I knew it!" "How could you know?" questioned Hartley in surprise. "I saw it in the signs," Donna Carima cried. "They never err." She caught the puzzled expression on his face, and smiled. "Some day, when you come to know my people and myself, I will teach you to read them and you will understand." "You promise to teach me some day, when I shall come to know your people and yourself?" he asked impressively, gazing tenderly into her eyes. "Yes, I promise." For a moment he forgot all else but the deep orbs which held his own like magnets. Could he ever fathom their depths? Suddenly their soft light changed to a darkening glow. " You are going to continue to fight my treaty now?" she asked. "No," replied Hartley with determination. Again she smiled at him half-shyly, half-frankly. 42 THE GIRL IN QUESTION " I was not mistaken/' she said very low, and the note of confidence thrilled the officer with a keen joy. " Ah, trust me, sweet Queen," he said softly, " I shall work for you now. But you make an important request. You would establish a precedent, involving great problems of state and the Monroe Doctrine." "What is the Monroe Doctrine?" asked Donna Carima naively. "It covers everything we want to possess," said Hartley. "Including me?" inquired Donna Carima. "I hope so," replied the young General. There was a pause. "It appears unpatriotic, perhaps, for the United States to recognize and aid a sovereignty, but my people are not ready for self-government. They would only abuse the power. They believe in me, and their chance of salvation lies in my person." In- tensely earnest, impressively intense was the plea spoken by Donna Carima Astrados and, strong man as he was, General Hartley felt the truth and sincerity of the speaker. "I will work for you," he said simply. " And your principles?" smilingly questioned Donna Carima, again the woman only. " You are the only one I have ever loved," answered General Hartley hoarsely, "and love is principal." For several moments neither spoke; the girl toyed undecidedly with the superb diamond locket which hung on a chain of brilliants suspended around her neck. Suddenly she detached it from the chain and handed it to him. "Open it; then hold it to the light," she said. TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 43 " Is this the famous locket ? " Hartley asked with interest. Donna Carima nodded assent. He opened it, and there, smiling up at him, were the baby faces of a boy and a girl. "Now hold it to the light," she commanded. As he obeyed, the faces changed into that of a smiling and beautiful woman and the strong features of a man, while soft dreamy eyes seemed to contra- dict the sternness of his face. "What an odd thing! What does it mean?" he asked, still gazing on the miniature. "It was made for me by a Greek artist who once visited my father," Donna Carima said. "The lady is my mother." "She is very beautiful," interposed the General. "Yes," answered Donna Carima softly. "She has always been famous for her beauty. She married very young, but the union was unhappy. Her hus- band was unkind brutal." There was a pause, as though the speaker's thought was interrupted by some memory too terrible to relate. Her lips closed firmly, but an instant later she spoke again: "A son was born, rather against her desire. That is the boy," she added, lowering the locket until the faces of the children again came to view. "When her child was two years of age, she met my father, who was travelling in this country incognito." " Then she was an American?" interrupted Hartley. "Oh, yes." "That explains," said the officer, "why, though of foreign birth, there are moments when you appear 44 THE GIRL IN QUESTION to be only a simple American girl. The contrast has puzzled me." Donna Carima smiled, and continued, for the first time forming in words her parent's history. "My mother soon discovered that my father was the one man for whom she had been created. She told her husband of her love and of her lover, and asked for her freedom. He refused. Then she went to her father, who adored her; he, also, refused to help her, and plead the cause of her boy. She had always been indulged in every whim and, after months of struggle between her child and her lover, she took the baby to her father, placed him in his arms, and said she had decided that love was more to her than child or home. Her father accepted the charge of the boy and replied kindly, 'My daughter, you have made your choice, but if you find you are mistaken again, return to your father. ' ' "And did she?" questioned Hartley, intensely interested. Donna Carima lifted her beautiful head proudly. "Certainly not!" she exclaimed. "The other child there is myself when I was five." Silence reigned for some time. The man understood. " Then your father and mother were never mar- ried?" he asked slowly. "No," answered the girl lightly. "My mother was obliged to sever every link of communication with her family, because her former husband threat- ened such terrible things if he discovered her where- abouts. One year after she had settled at Sylva Loleta, our estate, she sent Staphno, a trusted ser- vant of much intelligence, to journey to her old home TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 45 and bring tidings of her son, but Staphno was lost at sea, and the priests said it was the interposition of God. Therefore, she learned nothing about those she had left." "Strange, you should tell me this in this house!" said Hartley, succumbing to the romance, as her voice thrilled over him. " Just such a story happened here." " Just such a story has happened in every part of the world and in all times," answered Donna Carima, looking dreamily through the open window upon the awakening buds, and quite unconscious of the uncon- ventionality of her narrative. "But for you, for your sake, they should care!" the General cried with sudden warmth, and without endeavoring to conceal the indignation in his heart. "For me?" Donna Carima asked, opening her eyes in surprise, with that sudden contraction and ex- pansion of the pupils so strangely characteristic of her. "No. Their life is their own mine is my own. My mother taught me one law : 'Be true to thyself.' " She shook her lovely head to accentuate her convic- tion. "But to return to St. Augustine," she said suddenly; "what did you think when I no longer came to the gardens?" " Think ! I went utterly mad. You were so bright, so beautiful, out there in the open! I had never known that birds and flowers and fields really existed, except by name, until you taught me. Strange how one woman alone can bring forth the romance of life in a man, and leave all else in shadow. Do you re- member how you scolded me for stealing those birds' eggs, and I thought they would please you? Ah! 46 THE GIRL IN QUESTION I was a boy again ! I saw all the beauty, the purity of life. Then you came no more, and I suffered agonies. Everything grew intolerable. I craved you you, you! How could you leave me when you knew the great love you had awakened? Why, I would sell my soul for your love!" he cried, with a passionate force which seemed to hold her spell-bound. The rose which Donna Carima had drawn from a vase near her fell suddenly upon the floor; she sat quite still, however, her eyes growing darker with each passing moment, while the color slowly receded from her cheeks. "You must not love me no, no!" she said, rising and drawing away from him, as though a pro- found fear underlay her thought. "You you do not understand; but, believe me, you must not love me." "Must not! What can you mean?" asked the young General, rising also and taking her hand, as though in protection even from her thoughts. She spoke calmly, but the lips through which the words passed were ashen and the hand he clung to was icy-cold. And once more she said : ' ' You must not love me ! " This time agony twisted her face, and she could no longer conceal her pain and mental conflict. She clutched the back of the high chair beside her, as if to support herself. Then she looked at Leon Hartley and tried to smile. Whatever she may have expected to see in him, the smile vanished and she trembled visibly. Upon his face she read the different meanings he had given to her words; intuitively she saw how doubt and wonder in his mind were born; TRUE LOVE'S THE GIFT 47 how terror grew into life; and then how a sublime faith overcame all else, until he cried : "I love you!" And, to his surprise, she came to him and placed her hands in his and said, so simply that he doubted if he could have heard aright: "I gave you my heart the first day we met." "Then what can part us?" he pleaded with des- perate eagerness. "I love you with my whole soul. I lay my heart at your feet to ennoble or to crush! I care not who you are, nor for the story that your locket tells. You are the one woman in all life to me. ' ' Something in Donna Carima Astrados changed. Mutely the imperialism of her personality asserted itself. "The cause which makes love impossible between us, now and forever," she said, " is greater than con- vention, stronger than even love. It is a great hu- man cause, crying for recognition into Christian faith, not from two aching hearts like yours and mine, but from thousands of individuals, most of whom are too ignorant to know their own great piti- ful sorrow. I ask you in the name of your God, who is also mine, neither to love me nor to tempt me with your love. We must never meet again like this," she hurried on; "but the knowledge of your love shall bring forth only the best in me. I ask one favor leave me without questioning." Tears glistened upon her long lashes, but she smiled divinely through them. The man rose to his feet and took her hands between his own very tenderly. "With the beautiful hope your words have given me, you demand too much. I will ask no questions, 48 THE GIRL IN QUESTION but do you know that it is almost as difficult to con- trol the material through the spiritual as it is to ex- press the spiritual through the material? Still, we will both try, as you have willed it." "God has willed it," said Carima Astrados firmly. "Good-by." Each smiled courage to the other. Donna Carima sat for some time where he had left her. Her whole being seemed stirred beyond any depths she had ever known. He loved her! He loved her, and she loved him. What else mattered? They loved with the best, the finest in them! "Perhaps we will never meet again," she thought, with a hopeless little laugh. "Still, how beautiful it is to love and to be loved!" CHAPTER V WARNING! The firelight sparkled upon two women gazing inquiringly into the wonders of its blaze. Silence reigned for several moments, while the fire flamed forth with redoubled ardor at the attention of its audience. As though exhausted by the effort, it slowly subsided, until, gasping pathetically as for life, the red embers died quite out of sight and the logs lay black and apparently dead. A low sigh escaped the elder woman, while a little laugh from the younger startled the silence. "Of what are you thinking, sweet youth, and why do you laugh?" asked Anne Aymington Mrs. Chester, for it was no less a person than the distinguished artist herself. She caressed the soft hair of Donna Carima, who lounged alluringly at her feet; her head nestled childlike upon Mrs. Chester's knee, her elbow pillowed luxuriously upon a cushion. "I was thinking of what women always think love! No, what many people mistake for love the master of humanity King Passion! And I laughed at the fire, now a black log, and also at men and women. How eagerly, how madly they love! How they give their best, their all, for this love! How it burns forth in its splendid flame and swears and hopes and longs to do so eternally! Then, just at its 4 49 50 THE GIRL IN QUESTION height its most exquisite height it falters, it breaks, it wanes, and at last lies dead just as our log now lies! "But wait," cried Donna Carima, suddenly springing up. "Wait," and she pressed the bell, which echoed through the distant hall. "Wait," she repeated, as a sudden smile curved her red lips, "until Hippolyte orders fresh fuel a fresh inspira- tion and our log like our love will awaken, cast back in flickering effort a regret or two and then burn as brightly as before, if not more brilliantly. That's why I laugh, because, knowing all this, I be- lieve in love." Mrs. Chester looked into the girl's face curiously. "I thought a queen had little leisure to think of love," she said, smiling; for, though she had come to love Donna Carima, she felt keenly, and in many ways, the mystery surrounding this beautiful girl who claimed to be a ruler. "A queen is like other w^omen, only her heart is likely to be crushed by duty's hands," sighed the girl in answer. "It is difficult to understand this in America, where all are free." "As neither of your parents ascended the throne, by what succession are you Queen?" questioned Anne Aymington with delicate timidity, for it was the first time she had suggested the question. " My father is of the royal house of Spain, and I am therefore royal by right of birth," replied Carima, "but my true sovereignty rests in the fact that the native element of my people chose me, when a babe, to reign over them. Later the Catholic Church and her followers, realizing my power, offered their WARNING! 51 allegiance on condition that I relinquish my sympa- thies for my people and submit to the dictates of their creed. But with my maturer years had come the knowledge that a supreme and independent force was necessary to control and unite all these conflicting and now warring factions which are destroying my beautiful isle. It is with the hope of securing the means to accomplish this end that I came here, but first my sovereignty must be recog- nized by the President." This explanation Donna Carima made freely, but Anne Aymington realized that further questioning would be likely to prove fruitless and only increase the net of mystery which enfolded the hidden secret of the young Queen's life. There was silence for some time between them. "Why did you sigh?" suddenly questioned Donna Carima. "Your remarks upon life are not the result of ob- servation," said Mrs. Chester tenderly. "But I know their truth from my own experience too well. Nothing lasts, from the world's seasons to its hu- man hearts all change with time. Whether it be the work of artist, author, poet, musician, or that of the poorest peasant-mother, each and all work for the development of their creation, and yet how seldom any attain complete satisfaction!" Mrs. Chester smiled faintly, and caressed Donna Carima's upturned cheek. "No, sweet one," she went on, "the only love, the only thought that endures, that can endure, is the universal love, the universal thought, without reward, without future or past, but with the com- 52 THE GIRL IN QUESTION fort, and the certainty of eternity! Bernhardt says: ' Tout lasse, tout casse et tout passe. ' ' "Why do you speak so, dear Mrs. Chester?" cried Donna Carima. "You, the brilliant, the successful! You surely have naught to complain of? You and I have grown so near to one another; tell me your real thoughts, as I tell you mine. I believe in truth, in man. It is convention and man's false laws which are at fault." "You see deeply, dear one," interrupted the elder woman. "It is convention that smothers all the greatness, the best in our natures." She arose in sudden tremulous excitement. "Yes, it is the social law," she continued fiercely, "that murdered my art, and I had some art, some real art!" She suddenly threw her arms passionately around the girl beside her. "And you are just wonderful enough for convention to wind her bitter coils around you, too, and choke your genius, until it gasps weakly for life, then leave it, a helpless pleading thing, far worse than dead! Ah! Yes, I'll tell you what I mean. Sit here again at my feet." She drew her youthful comrade close to her, as she talked on, with increasing intensity. " I love you, dear, and I fear so for you. I was once a girl like you, yet with only half your attributes. I had travelled a great deal with my father; then I began to have artistic aspirations, but I met with scant success." She dropped her com- panion's hand unconsciously and gazed into the new- born blaze. " Then I met a man who taught me life, who encouraged, who inspired me, who made me work more seriously; and I had sudden wonderful success! Every stroke of my brush throbbed and WARNING! 53 pulsed with truth. It was my soul's awakening painted upon canvas! For five happy years we lived and worked and grew, until we produced our one great work, l The Rainbow.' "We had worked so hard, so faithfully, that my health failed, and we sailed away with happy hearts to distant Egypt. The complete rest and the grand- eur of the scene restored me. What a happy, happy voyage it was! I am so glad it was so happy," she murmured half to herself, "because it was our last. We returned; but not to the triumph we had anti- cipated! The story of my heart, Carima, is known to few, and I have not spoken of it for many years; but now, to you, I open the sad pages, that you may not err as I have done, but when, as I foresee, the day of trial comes to you, you may choose wisely, that Ls, for love, for there is nothing else in life! "Our love was so real, so true, Carima, there was no thought of past or future in it. We lived for each day only, and for our work. I knew there had been another woman in his life, to whom, in an evil hour, he had given the right to bear his name. He had made a mistake, as many men and women do through ignorance, and he had paid dearly, as all do for ignorance. She held him to the letter of his bond, and when she heard of my picture, she threatened terrible things. How her words burnt into my brain and seared my heart!" She paused and then continued. "But he chose for me, my brave comrade. He gave me up to appease duty's wrath and to stay an evil tongue. Our decision was that we should sacrifice our love to our child ' The Rainbow ' and by this 54 THE GIRL IN QUESTION act consecrate our all to art. I was to produce great works, and he was to be content, as he saw the harvest garnered. I consented; I gave him up!" There was a little choking in Mrs. Chester's voice, as she went on: "God grant you may never know what my words mean. So the story of my unac- knowledged love was not spread broadcast to evil gossip; and that love, which had fostered the power that enabled me to give to the world the richest fruit of myself, was not condemned by the world and scorned. Ah, dear, it was a tragic realization. It seemed to crush the best in me into a longing for re- venge and a desire to make the false, hypocritical world accept my picture and repay its price my heart's blood!" Donna Carima interrupted. " But it has ; it is the most wonderful painting of the century! The greatest artists have said so." The famous woman smiled sadly. "Yes, now," she murmured. Then, with a little catch in her breath, she hurried on : " The rest, dear one, is so like a dream I cannot remember quite clearly. Some time later I married Harold Chester. He admired my work and has been a kind husband." She sighed wearily. Then her voice rose in agitation : "But, Carima, you do not understand yet. Has anything convention has yet returned to me repaid the price I have paid? No one can understand, except the one who has endured the loneliness, the heart-hunger, aroused by the glitter of a moonlit hour, the soft caress of a Southern night, the reckless kiss of a wave on the beach, the rose breath of spring, the glow of summer, the sigh of autumn! Nature WARNING! 55 seems to shower passionate kisses on every living thing but myself. And I I sweep on in my velvet gown, in my Siberian sables, and I envy the maiden walking hand in hand with the peasant of her choice, the 'Any and 'Arriet at the seashore, and the girl of fashion smiling into the eyes of her betrothed ! And I ask myself, again and yet again, every day and every night, have I chosen well? Have I chosen well?" Donna Carima clasped the white hand near her own and pressed her lips upon it; then, as she raised her face, their eyes met and spoke silently to one another, In that one moment, each read and understood the intense nature of the other. "You must let me help you," pleaded Donna Carima tenderly. "No, dear, no," answered Mrs. Chester quickly, shaking her head. "After we parted, I lived on with never a word or sign from him, until last week. Then he wrote that he was free; but I ah, the clock is striking! I must go. Mr. Chester and I sail for Europe early to-morrow. We leave for New York to-night. Good-by, my sweet, grand girl! I don't know when we shall meet again; but take and keep the happiness God sends you, when it comes, and remember, I shall always love you next to him!" "But, dearest Mrs. Chester," breathed Donna Ca- rima impulsively, " stay stay here with me and take the happiness Gods sends to you, now that it has re- turned." The woman hesitated, as if hope again trembled in her heart, but she conquered the thought and grew resolute. 56 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "No, convention won." She pressed her lips firmly. "I bowed to her, and I must remain a slave unto the end." The sad, sensitive face sud- denly convulsed with fear. " I am so afraid of meet- ing him again. I must get away in the darkness. My heart would stop, if my eyes met his and they still reflected the story of our Rainbow!" She paused in retrospect, and her glance had a far-away look, as it fell upon the pictures in the fire. "It cannot be now. It must not be now," she mused. Mrs. Chester moved slowly to the door; then turned back nervously. "Good-by," she said softly; "my lips have touched joy again in pressing yours, but I must run away!" She placed, for an instant, her cold lips to the crimson mouth of the girl-queen and was gone. CHAPTER VI L'AMITIE DBS FEMMES, C'EST COMME L'EAU DANS UN PANIER Donna Carima sank into a chair. She felt weighed clown by all the suffering of the world. Her alert brain lived scene after scene of Anne Aymington's life, as her sympathetic imagination wove it before her hi vivid mental pictures. Her sensitive face answered each thought, from the delight of joy down to the cross of agony. She was recalled to reality, however, by the bright voice of Ellice Courtney, who rushed hi upon her, in her usual all-pervading manner, which, in one with less charm and witchery, would have been decidedly noisy. Little Miss Courtney had only known, hi her short life, flattery and encouragement, never restraint nor check. She had always found life "great fun" and, never looking for the shadows, never saw them. She adored her father; and all the rest of the world had been a playground for her amusement, until Donna Carima Astrados came into her life. Indeed, this uncommon newcomer was Ellice's ideal, and a strange friendship had sprung up between them. To Carima, Ellice was one of the ever-welcome sun- beams of life. She smiled now, as she heard the young girl's voice, and compared her to the woman in her thoughts. "God must be of many moods," she murmured, 57 58 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "if such contradictions of expressions are the crea- tions of his thought. Ah, my laughing heart!" she called, holding out her arms and enfolding joy- ously the dainty little girl who unceremoniously rushed into them with a laugh. "You darling!" cried Ellice, "I have tried to get here for two days, but I couldn't. I want to talk to you about Mrs. Randolph's. Oh! I said all sorts of nice things about you at the reception, but I couldn't find out any real news. It was so dull. Mrs. Randolph gave them the old story about King Leopold and you." The little conspirator pouted her disappointment. "You didn't show any great amount of boredom, if I remember correctly," smiled Donna Carima teasingly. "No, I seldom show my feelings," laughed the girl, as she chatted on. "I am so glad to see you, and I have some news anyway. I have had such fun to-day such fun!" cried Ellice, burying her face on Donna Carima's shoulder and laughing uncontrollably in girlish excitement. "Please don't be angry with me. I had to do it; it was such fun! " Her face was glowing with merriment, as she sprang up and looked at the clock. "She will be here soon now," she exclaimed. "Who will be here?" asked Donna Carima with interest. "Whom do you think I've invited?" questioned the mischievous girl, and, not waiting for an answer, she hurried to explain: "I couldn't invite her to my house; father forbade me. Guess who it is guess, guess, guess!" L'AMITIE' DES FEMMES 59 She cknced wildly around her hostess, laughing joyously all the time, until finally Donna Carima caught her firmly by the arm. "Tell me what you are talking about, you little imp of mischief!" " Well," said Ellice, sinking upon Donna Carima's lap and kissing her, "I was lunching with Count Flambeau." " Alone? Were you alone with Count Flambeau? " "Oh, he's just an old man," explained the little miss, "and he asked me to step into the Willard Hotel to have some terrapin and and who do you imagine came over to speak to him?" "My imagination fails me before such gigantic demands," protested Donna Carima. "Linda Loving!" declared Ellice excitedly, "Oh, you know how I have longed to know her! Well, the Count introduced us, and I told her you had tea at four- thirty, and that you were anxious to have her call." Donna Carima remained silent, staring upon the joyous little face, spellbound horror glowing in her eyes. "Linda Loving!" she exclaimed at last, "that lobbyist woman? Oh, my dear, this is terrible!" But the concern in both voice and eyes gradually melted as she gazed upon the graceful little peti- tioner before her. For innocence had a privilege in her To dignify arch jests and laughing eyes. It was impossible to hold resentment against such daring saucy roguishness, and seeing the sudden change from smiles to tears, though they were but 60 THE GIRL IN QUESTION shining drops, bearing no kindred to the discoloring marks of a truly sorrowing heart, Donna Carima's ever-vivid sympathy forgave, and she hastened to console her little guest : " Come, dear, dry the bright jewels that burden your lashes, and we will receive the lady. We will enjoy our new-found plaything and trust no one finds us out." Smiles again dimpled the young girl's face with redoubled lustre. "And you are not really angry? Because if you are, we won't receive her," Ellice said reluctantly. It was a great temptation to refuse the child ; but indulgence conquered the whisper of intuition and Ellice was pacified. "I have something else to tell you," she gurgled with delight, again cuddling down into Donna Carima's arms until only the shining head remained visible; but, just as suddenly, the bright eyes were raised and the bubbling, teasing, happy laughter echoed through the room. " What a little witch you are! " cried Donna Carima. She took the girl's face tenderly between her hands and laughed in sheer sympathy, as she surveyed questioningly the bewitching face alight with mischief. "What a dangerous little, creature, too, and all unconscious of the harm and good you do!" thought Donna Carima; but Ellice did not know the thought, for her hostess kissed the soft upturned lips fondly. Ellice, meanwhile, had drawn a folded sheet of tinted paper from her golden hand-bag. "I'll show you," she said and smiled, again creating a volcanic eruption in dimple-land, while a warm blush flooded her face and neck. L'AMITIE DES FEMMES 61 "It is a love-letter," whispered Donna Carima reproachfully. Ellice shook her curly head vigor- ously in protest. "Yes," insisted Donna Carima, "a passionate love- letter from Nick Worthington!" The little girl's eyes became very serious at the mention of the name; then she smiled gravely up into her friend's face. "No," she answered. "Nick has scarcely made any love to me since you came. He is all changed." "Nonsense!" cried Donna Carima, laughing in- credulously. "Yes," continued Ellice, "but I don't mind, as it's you; and then I know you don't love him," she added, evidently dissecting each heart in turn. " But Linda Loving is sweet on him, always has been, and I have heard some pretty queer stories about their first acquaintance. But that was all over when I met him." She sighed with worldly wisdom and rattled on: " I never bothered about it, because one can't expect too much of a man anyway. And then, when you appeared I just threw the dice and said, 'I lose!' " "My fanciful girl! No one hi the world could be preferred to my sunny heart," said Donna Carima tenderly, and drew the girl more closely to her. Ellice flashed her a wistful little smile by way of answer, and continued: "Ah, yes, it is only too true. Nick is quite changed," she repeated, unfolding the paper in her hand; "but there are other males hi the world, if the men are scarce; and so I changed my beau, and perhaps the change may do me good!" 62 THE GIRL IN QUESTION There was a tiny sob in her voice, but only laughter glistened in her eyes, while Donna Carima struggled with herself to suppress her emotion and not give open sympathy to the brave motherless girl whose heart had been placed so unprotectedly upon the market of the world, for the child's sweet dignity forbade. Ellice now had the questionable missive spread before her. She arose impressively and remarked with great seriousness: "The illustrious Count, Monsieur Armand Flam- beau, unto me inscribes soft and languishing lines from the Muses' own pen! "Pis thus he doth begin: "'To the Flower of my Life!' Hem! I wonder how much money he thinks I have?" she asked reflectively, then continued: " ' 'Tis but the fragrance of thy thoughts That scent the air for me, Ellice ; 'Tis only the breath of thy laughter I feel, As I sigh at thy feet, Ellice! Still, sweet ' " "Miss Loving, my Lady," announced Hippolyte, with courteous disregard for the interrupted poetry, and presenting a card on a heavily crowned and monogrammed golden tray. "We will receive her," commanded Donna Carima. "Now, my laughing heart, my sunny heart," she added, turning to Ellice, "you shall enjoy our guest to the utmost; for the beginning of this must be the end. I hope no one will call until she departs," she murmured apprehensively to herself. An astonishing vision in scarlet swept into the room, illumining it with a new light; for Linda Loving L'AMITIE DES FEMMES 63 always insisted upon "filling the stage" at her entrance. She was a tall blonde, flashy, attractive, and of uncertain age. Her gown fitted ideally, showing the splendid though rather exaggerated curves of her figure. In fact, everything about Miss Loving was exaggerated, from her French heels to her ultra- fashionable hand-bag. Her yellow hair was crowned with a scarlet toque, shading from dark to brilliant red. A long white aigrette trailed luxuriously from the toque, reaching to her shoulder. She came forward briskly with extended hand. " It was mighty sweet of you to ask me to call upon you, Donna Carima," she said, introducing herself with superb assurance. "And we are charmed to receive you," responded the hostess graciously, not without a little start, however, at the shrieking costume of her guest. On the other side the queenly bearing and suggestion of power about Donna Carima for the moment held Linda in curious awe. But Ellice noticed nothing, and greeted the, to her, interesting visitor. Donna Carima had scarcely resumed her chair, re- signed to the usual conventional chat, when Hippolyte re-entered bearing another card. "Senator Truesdale, my Lady, on a matter of business." " You will pardon me for a few moments," requested Donna Carima, turning toward Miss Loving politely. There was the period, not the interrogation-mark, at the end of the sentence, which impressed the woman whom she addressed. 64 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Linda bowed acquiescence, not without a knowing little smile, however, as Donna Carima motioned her attendant to follow her from the room. At the head of the stairs she paused. "You may show the Senator into the library; then serve tea in the drawing-room. Miss Courtney will officiate," she said. The faithful Hippolyte bowed low and disappeared down the stairs. Donna Carima stood for a moment uncertain, a troubled frown wrinkling her smooth forehead. She disliked Senator Truesdale, but, before her mission, self must ever be submerged, and it was best he should not meet Miss Loving at her home. She had decided; and an instant later she hastened to the library to greet the distinguished visitor. Ellice, meanwhile, was being generously enter- tained by the lavish talk of Linda Loving, who was a woman of vast and weird interest to the inexperi- enced mind of the young girl, as is so often the case with budding youth and satiated womanhood. To the delight of Ellice, Linda related bright bits of gossip and tales of Congressional wit with the humor of fond appreciation. She talked well too, for, just now, she was making an effort to impress a prominent little daughter of the social world, where she had been so long denied entrance, though her cleverness had already acquired wealth and even friends, of a kind, in the capital city. Through Ellice she hoped to glean also some valuable facts about Donna Carima Astrados and carry them to Nick Worthington, but first she must gain the girl's friendship. L'AMITIE DES FEMMES 65 "You know that Mrs. Sexton from London?" Linda was saying. "London, Canada?" asked Ellice. "No, no, the real thing," corrected Linda. "Old London on the Thames. I've never been there; but they say it's on the Thames and is a gay old town, though it must be dull and gloomy enough out- doors, with fogs and rain all the time. Gay Paree for mine next summer! I never take chances on a man or on a town that doesn't at least look promising. But back to Mrs. Sexton! She is quite a character in her fashion, and has Congressman Browne nailed to the floor in a manner worthy of myself. So I must admire her." "But who is she?" interrupted Ellice with interest. " Oh, just Mrs. Sexton from London. She is trying to learn my profession. But this is the j oke ! Yester- day I was breakfasting at the Willard Hotel with Con- gressman Duany, when Mrs. Sexton and Congressman Browne appeared and sat at the next table. His Honorableship had just ordered eggs d la Suzette, when up spoke Mrs. Sexton in her very English voice. 'No, thank you, Congressman,' she said, 'I always take my /icggs poached, because you can see them naked before you; &and, if they don't look as they should look, back they can go, and you don't run no risks!' " Mr. Browne smiled upon her. ' An egg is like a woman,' he said, ' it is either good or bad.' The waiter nearly had a fit, and it was German Fritz, whom I know well. After taking their order, he approached me very politely and said, ' Miss Loving, will you have your fteggs loose or tight boiled this mornin'?"' 5 66 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Ellice was an appreciative audience and laughed gleefully too. "What a dreadful person she must be!" "Oh, no, not at all. They say that all English people speak that way. They call it cockney. Every one who is born within sound of Bow-Bells is cockney, so all the London aristocracy drop their h's and buy titles just as soon as they are rich enough; and yet they scoff at us, because we don't have a title-market government too. I don't like English people," declared Linda with feeling. "But they are not like that at all!" exclaimed Ellice with some defensive fire. " I visited in Devon- shire all last summer." Linda sipped her tea knowingly. "You are an innocent little thing," she said indulgently. Ellice chafed under the patronage. "Well, it serves them right," she declared sud- denly, laughing good-naturedly. "They are just as mistaken in their ideas of us, though they are not as bad as the French. One girl in France asked me where I learned to wear my clothes. I said, 'On the steamer coming over,' and she believed me." Linda replaced her teacup and crossed the room to a full-length painting of Donna Carima which hung between two high French windows. "What a beautiful picture!" she exclaimed admiringly. As she drew nearer to the portrait, however, she glanced through the window and her vigilant eyes lighted upon two ladies in a victoria. "Oh, woe, oh, woe!" she cried. "Mrs. Sena- tor Truesdale and daughter making straight for this house. The Senator may be trapped at any L'AMITIE DES FEMMES 67 moment. If we could only ring down he cur- tain!" Here was food indeed for her whetted curiosity. Ellice blushed indignantly, as she replied with flashing eyes, "Senator Truesdale called here on business, Miss Loving." Linda overlooked the youthful observation and watched the ladies intently as they alighted from their carriage. "Under every tombstone lies a world," she mur- mured reflectively, still ignoring Ellice's remark. "No wife should object to a business call," asserted the little girl warmly. "No, my dear, no wife should; but they do. The wife game is bad for a short run, but wins in the long race. Remember that. His wife!" she re- peated, an odd smile curling her full lips. "The prestige which that word calls forth must have come to be an instinct with man. Even when his heart is cold, that word startles the brain of every husband. Try it on Truesdale and you will see, my dear." Ellice, for the first time, involuntarily moved away from Linda. Fascinating as the girl had found the lobbyist, she disliked her manner of beating down all the ideals of life, of making everything common- place and undesirable, even the sacred word wife a word which spells rapture to every pure, sweet maiden throughout all lands. "Mrs. Truesdale is a charming woman," protested Ellice almost angrily. "I am sure her husband's heart is not cold to her." Linda knew that much depended upon Donna Carima's friendship with Senator Truesdale, and 68 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Ellice, no doubt, knew the answer. Diplomacy she felt might yet gain this important knowledge for herself; but, as she gazed upon the sweet face be- fore her, resentment replaced her usual tact. "Yes, Mrs. Truesdale is a true and good-enough woman; but that is her trouble," answered Linda, watching Ellice with amused eyes. " "Tis strange how much of her art a woman loses when she loves in earnest." She laughed recklessly at the indignant little face before her. "What a lovely girl you arc! I had forgotten your species of humanity," she added with impulsive truthfulness, for Linda was very human. "It must be beautiful to believe in every- thing," and she sighed wistfully indeed. "I hope I haven't disillusioned you any, dear?" she asked suddenly, lest she might have gone too far. "No, no," answered Ellice, "not a bit." Linda realized that she was losing time. "Does Donna Carima like Senator Truesdale personally?" she asked, with well-assumed indiffer- ence. If Ellice had answered that question, Linda after- ward thought, how differently she might have moulded subsequent events! At this moment, how- ever, the conversation was interrupted, but the formal conversations which followed, though appar- ently devoid of meaning, supplied Linda with some understanding. CHAPTER VII Two LADIES AND A MINISTER "Mrs. Truesdale, Miss Truesdale, and Mr. Jamie- son!" announced Hippolyte, approaching Ellice, who still ingenuously presided over the destiny of a home where a Senator was calling in the library and the Senator's wife in the drawing-room. "My Lady requests that you will officiate, Miss," he added by way of explanation, as the new-comers were formally ushered into this room, and not to the abode of garrulous authors. Linda smiled at this practical vindication of her late observations upon life. Ellice rose to the occasion and, after gracious greetings, innocently presented Miss Loving. Mrs. Truesdale hesitated, raised her lorgnette, regarded Linda, and, glancing at the unconscious Ellice, acknowledged the presentation with cold courtesy. Dora Truesdale, a thin, ansemic-looking girl with small dark eyes and quite unlike either parent, " Heaven knows why," thought Linda, followed her mother's example. Mr. Jamieson represented the Methodist Church North. He was very dapper, very conceited, very uninteresting to women in general, but Miss Trues- dale had taken him under her social wing. 69 7 o THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Let me present Mr. Jamieson," said she rather ostentatiously. " He is an old friend, Miss Courtney, and," turning to Linda, "Miss er?" "Loving," volunteered Ellice. "Miss Loving," repeated Dora with emphasized formality. Ellice looked contemptuously at little Mr. Jamie- son. She could overlook Miss Loving, for that lady had the quality at least of being interesting, but Dora's friend hadn't even that. Mr. Jamieson had emitted a stiff " Dec-light-ed, I'm sure," to each presentation, and then fixed his pale blue eyes critically upon Miss Courtney's vivid face, not forgetting her peekaboo bodice, where his eyes lingered intently, of course hi dis- approval! " I have heard a great deal of Miss Courtney in the papers," he remarked. " Yes,"answered Mrs. Truesdale generously, "Ellice was the belle of Mrs. Randolph's Christmas ball, a very pretty compliment. Dora had all that flattery the year she came out," she added, looking proudly at her daughter. "Last year," corrected Dora with decision. "Yes, I said last year, dear," replied Mrs. Trues- dale quickly. Dora's eyes twinkled a bit spitefully. She turned to Linda, and observed: "I suppose you know Mrs. Randolph?" though she was sure that Linda did not. "Oh, yes," replied Miss Loving, quite equal to the occasion, "we have met where all fashionables meet at market." Mrs. Truesdale smiled coldly, and Linda felt irri- TWO LADIES AND A MINISTER 71 tated again. This good, churchy woman had always lived her own moral life and scorned every phase of backsliding from the line, because she had never been submitted to, nor come into contact with, its rougher side, nor the temptations thereof. She was, there- fore, an unendurable type to Linda, who now glanced disdainfully at Dora, who equally disliked Linda at sight, because she had attractions. She even re- garded Miss Loving with unconcealed disapproval. "If you don't know Mrs. Randolph, you know Nick Worthington pratty well, don't you?" she asked, as if in challenge, but turned her eyes upon Ellice, who only smiled sweetly in response. "Yes," answered Linda quietly, "I have the pleas- ure." "And do you like him?" demanded Dora in her thin, critical voice. "Just about as well as you like young General Hartley," responded Linda, with smiling insinuation. Ellice blushed for the rudeness of both guests, and her heart throbbed with gratitude as she saw Donna Carima return and, by her graceful charm, uncon- sciously restore kinder humor. Mrs. Truesdale austerely began a conversation on modern plays with Miss Loving, and Donna Carima wittily aided it, though secretly fearing much which later happened. Ellice, meanwhile, turned her eyes teasingly upon poor, frightened Mr. Jamieson. "You are delighted with Washington, of course, Mr. Jamieson?" she asked. "Fascinated, positively fascinated," he declared precisely. 72 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Ellice smiled by way of encouragement, then remarked tantalizingly, "I understood you had an interesting friend from Kansas visiting you, Dora?" Jamieson glanced at Ellice with more decided interest; but Dora observed reprovingly, "Mr. Jamieson is an old friend, Ellice. He is studying for the ministry." "How enchanting!" cried Ellice, clasping her hands with enthusiasm. "Divinity students are so interesting!" Jamieson's smile broadened, but he said modestly, "Do you think so?" "Oh, I love divinity students," continued the young lady, regarding Mr. Jamieson with great earnestness. " I just dote on them. There's such an opportunity for a girl to do good as a minister's wife." "Ellice!" cried Dora in a shocked tone. Ellice, however, was started on her line of attack, and nothing short of genuine firearms could stop her. Jamieson returned her regard despite himself, and propounded his usual response with equal seriousness : "Do you think so?" "Indeed I do," Ellice replied with conviction. Linda had learned something of the knowledge she sought, and now turned toward the younger visitors with an unobserved wink at her little patroness. "There are rumors that Mr. Jamieson is engaged, Miss Courtney," she suggested. "Oh, you never can believe what you hear," returned the young miss, with a languishing glance at Mr. Jamieson, who, frightened at a possible disposition of himself, hurriedly interposed: TWO LADIES AND A MINISTER 73 "Oh, I have not gone so far but that I could honorably retract, Miss Courtney. I do not think it pious to lead a maiden on, unless one intends to to settle down immediately." Ellice looked at him for an instant, as though she had not heard aright; but she answered steadily, not daring to catch Linda's eye: " Quite noble of you, Mr. Jamieson. Girls' hearts are so easily broken in Washington." The young minister placed the points of his finger- tips together, and answered with righteous pity: "Of course weak creatures!" Ellice's eyes twinkled with fun, but she controlled herself and, turning to Miss Truesdale, observed : "I hear the Senator is to represent us at St. James's. Dora will have nothing but a duke when she returns." "Ah, but I do not approve of an American girl marrying a foreigner," interposed Mr. Jamieson with decision. "If she can get an American?" suggested Linda dryly. "I quite agree, Mr. Jamieson," exclaimed Ellice, sympathetically glancing toward the little man. "I shouldn't know what to do with a foreigner after I had married him. They say the divorce laws are quite annoying over there," added the girl plaint- ively, as she regarded poor Jamieson with a pro- voking baby-stare. Donna Carima turned from Mrs. Truesdale, laugh- ing. " But, Ellice, you help them out with your American laws," she said/ while the horrified Jamieson only 74 THE GIRL IN QUESTION gazed hopelessly at the pretty, innocent face before him. "I do not believe in divorce, Miss Courtney," he protested. And, under the light atmosphere, a heavy drama was forming. Mrs. Truesdale noted the droop of discontent upon her daughter's lips, and rose instantly to make her adieux. Amid the general au revoir, Ellice contrived to press Mr. Jamieson's hand, quite unconsciously of course. "Call again soon. Won't you?" she lisped, sub- duing her voice. "Dora is so selfish. She keeps all the charming men to herself." Like the Archangel, Jamieson fell. " You should keep an eye on Dora, Mrs. Truesdale," observed Donna Carima with a smile. "You know the men in Washington are so dangerous," she added with mock horror. "Terrible!" cried Dora, while Jamieson echoed the word with unaffected fear. "Oh, men are not so bad, if one knows how to manage them," burst forth Ellice. "Them?" Jamieson gasped in astonishment. "No, I mean one's self," corrected the girl, impish lights dancing in her eyes. " This is my rule : never take but one kiss at a time, Dora! Then one is pretty safe. Don't you think so, Mr. Jamieson?" she asked, turning her laughing eyes upon him. The little minister looked shocked, but interested. He held to his tenets, however: "No, I do not agree, Miss Courtney." TWO LADIES AND A MINISTER 75 "Oh, then you believe in two kisses at a time?" she questioned slyly. "Oh, Mr. Jamieson! You don't look it. I was sure you would be more con- siderate under fire," she added, and laughed be- witchingly upon him. Mrs. Truesdale had moved to the door; but Dora remained half-way between, guarding her pious friend, who had now become utterly confused. "Come!" commanded Dora; and, with a pleading glance at Ellice, Mr. Jamieson hurriedly obeyed. As they disappeared from view, and fortunately from hearing also, Linda Loving laughed heartily. "My dear Miss Courtney," she said, "you should not mind their going to St. James's, but rather wish them on to Paris. What hats! Oh, Venus!" "Yes," answered Ellice gayly, "Dora could learn a lot in Paris. Mamma Truesdale, also." "You are right, from what I have heard of Mrs. Truesdale," retorted Linda. " In England one canget considerable courtesy for a shilling, in Scotland consid- erably less; but in la belle France one can get courtesy for nothing, and that will suit Mrs. Truesdale." "But," exclaimed Donna Carima, "if one gets courtesy for nothing in France, they take one's character away in exchange!" "But," interposed Linda quickly, "if one has no character! And now I must go or I shall shock Miss Courtney. You have given me a very happy time. I thank you both and hope to see you soon." There were no remarks about further visits. Ellice escorted her astonishing acquaintance to the hall and then returned to Donna Carima, who regarded her very seriously. 76 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "My little dear," she said, "I only hope that that woman won't do either of us any harm. She learned more here than she had even hoped to do." "What do you mean?" asked Ellice, with wide- opened, questioning eyes. " L'amitie des femmes, c'est comme I'eau dans un panicr," answered Donna Carima. "Telephone for Miss Courtney," announced Hip- polyte in the doorway, and Ellice vanished from the room in answer. Donna Carima stepped out upon the balcony. She watched the grand old sun smiling good-night to the world. Her lashes were moist, but her soul, like Anne Aymington's, pleaded the Eternal Question ! Half-consciously, she saw a carriage tearing up the street and stop at the entrance. A man sprang out. She caught a glimpse of gray hair and a strong pro- file. She heard the hurried excitement of his tone, but could only distinguish the familiar voice of her servant. "Yes, Monsieur; left several hours ago; gave her coachman orders: 'Home,' Monsieur." The man sprang back into the carriage. Donna Carima leaned far over the balcony and cried, she scarce knew why, "She is going to Europe the seven-o'clock train!" "What station? When sails?" She caught the nervous questions from the carriage window. "I don't know," she answered. The man shouted something to the coachman in sharp, quick tones and was gone. Donna Carima stepped back into' the room. The TWO LADIES AND A MINISTER 77 great clock on the mantel was striking seven. Her heart breathed a little prayer for Anne Aymington, while a flood of gratitude thrilled her heart. "Thank God, he was worth the sacrifice," she cried. Then, gazing toward the sulking sun, she murmured : " In the eternal force for righteousness, the reward / of love must be love, as the retribution of sin is sin!" The fragrance of the early spring-time alone answered her. CHAPTER VIII BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! It was afternoon. A month had passed, and the year's most fair season had arrived, "when Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil." Donna Carima Astrados was still fighting for her people's cause, but a greater struggle was racking her soul. She had not tried to crush the love within her heart, but had avoided every possible meeting with Leon Hartley. Circumstances, however, had been very trying, for coincidence seemed interested in placing the young officer in difficult and danger- ously familiar proximity to the foreign girl, and Donna Carima began to fear lest a box party or other social function might defeat her determined effort. She was so likely to find herself seated next to General Hartley, or inopportunely see him occupy- ing the chair vis-a-vis to herself. As frequently hap- pens, her political ambition rode the uppermost wave of hope toward success, while the tragic struggle of love and duty tore her asunder. " And in the fire of Spring Your Winter garment of Repentance fling ; The bird of time has but a little way To flutter and the bird is on the wing." It was Senator Truesdale's oft-spoken quotation 78 BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! 79 that whispered itself continually in Donna Carima's ear, until its meaning had become horribly clear to her. She sat thinking of these entangled facts, when suddenly her heart beat rapidly, for the knowledge of a presence passed over her, and turning slowly she saw Leon Hartley. She arose and gazed at him incredulously, until his laugh assured her of his reality. She glanced questioningly at the balcony. "No," he smiled inreponse. " God never intended me for a Romeo, except at heart; and I did not dis- cover that until fourteen weeks ago. The truth is, I forgot for the moment the Father of my country, and told your butler that you expected me. I hope you will forgive the subterfuge. I so wished to see you alone, to talk to you about the treaty." Carima tried vainly to crush the joy that surged over her at his presence. With serious courtesy she offered him a chair, which he accepted; and, manlike, revealed all his heart, as he allowed his eyes to gaze hungrily upon each feature of her lovely face. Her glance fell before the tender passion that glowed in his eyes. At last she spoke: "Ah, my treaty, yes; it needs but one endorse- ment, that of the Secretary of War. When I pro- cure that, my cause will be so near the President's approval, I shall engage my passage for home." Her voice was emotionless, as only the art of a woman can make it when concealing her feelings. "And I depend upon you, General, to obtain it for me," she added. Her voice thrilled with the power which she realized she held over him, and as she spoke she smiled at her own weakness. 8o THE GIRL IN QUESTION "It shall be yours," he answered firmly. "Only give me time; but I cannot let you go so soon," he blurted out. "You would hold me here by a subterfuge?" cried Donna Carima, but her eyes held a tender look. " No, no, your wish is my will, and yet I'm afraid I would hold you here by any means, good or bad. I doubt if I could recognize which, if I held you near me." She softened, womanlike, and smiled at him through shining eyes. "That sounds like Cupid's tongue, not our great General's," she laughed nervously. There was an awkward pause, then Leon Hartley spoke : "Forgive me for endeavoring to see you again while patriotism is stronger than love in your heart." His tone expressed great suffering, tinged wth bitter- ness. "My excuse I hope is a worthy one. I have discovered why the endorsement of the War Secre- tary is withheld. I asked his wife to influence him against you, before I knew that Donna Carima Astrados was yourself. Later I explained to Mrs. Randolph the change in my opinion. But the enemy in that household is Nicholas Worthington, the grandson of the Secretary. " "Nicholas Worthington! " repeated Donns, Carima in astonishment. "I thought he was my friend. I do not understand his hostility, but I thank you for your warning." " He has -learned that Senator Truesdale visits you unknown to his wife, and he doubts your sincerity," Hartley replied. BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! 81 Donna Carima instantly recalled Linda's unfor- tunate visit. "And do you doubt my sincerity?" she asked, and her voice was not quite steady. Hartley laughed scornfully. "I would sooner doubt the sun's light," he said. Donna Carima swayed slightly toward him. The mauve dusk of evening shadowed her face, but Hartley felt the flood of gratitude that thrilled her and transmitted strong currents of joy to himself. Again a pause made silence between them to let the emotions sing in that violet hour when the spirit of twilight awakened their fancy and their dread. The heavy perfume of the blossoms which garnished the room seemed to smother them as it mingled with the passion of their thoughts. "The lights have been neglected," Donna Carima murmured and laid her hand upon the silver bell. He stopped her gently. "Please let us sit here a moment longer," he requested, his beautiful voice pleading strongly. " You have forbidden me to tell you why, but grant me this." The enticing night gathered more dreamily about them. Donna Carima hesitated, but finally suc- cumbed to his entreaty. She felt, however, that, by that insignificant act, her heart would defeat her brain ; yet she made further effort. Hartley was speaking again, but her thoughts drowned his words, and she broke in upon them with agonized determination. "General," she began,' "you once said you loved me. If you do, I ask you to leave me now and to 82 THE GIRL IN QUESTION avoid me always, when or wherever we may meet. I command you; I ask you; I beg of you to do this." For answer, Hartley leaned forward in his chair and scanned her face eagerly, searchingly. He was trying to unveil the truth. "Do you really mean what you say?" he asked, the mastership of the lover asserting itself. "Yes, yes," she answered, trying in vain to breathe without apparent difficulty. "You think it right and just for me to suffer for you, as I am doing," he said, hoarse with emotion, " and for you to suffer for me, as you must be doing, or you would not ask this sacrifice of me. You must fear yourself, strong as you are. Ah, Carima, you say it is impossible; but I know I can no longer live without you. I would rather die. Whatever the mystery may be that separates us, I care not. I love you I love you!" As Donna Carima resisted her lover's pleadings, her mother's happy face wreathed in its brilliant smile seemed to float across her vision. Her mother had been true to herself, had sacrificed all, even another, to her love; and perfect happiness had been her reward. Next, Anne Amyington passed before her eyes a great woman, who had lived to regret her own strength, and had forewarned her of this moment. The girl trembled violently, but answered nothing. As through a mist, she heard the multitudes of her people crying to her for rescue, but their voices became dimmer and dimmer until finally she was left alone with love. All faded from her conscious- ness, except his presence. BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! 83 Neither the woman nor the man could longer reason for right or for wrong. The great chasm of differences in rank was suddenly bridged. As one they had mounted too high to ask questions even of God! They knew only that they were standing upon the highest pyramid of Elysium; that they looked into one another's eyes and there found answer to every craving of heart and soul. For such a moment the gods reincarnate! Slowly and sacredly, Hartley drew his love toward him and drank in the beauty of her face, no longer hiding but revealing such profound emotion that he paled, as he realized how exceedingly dear she had become to him, how necessary to his very life! "I can no longer live without you," he breathed again scarce audibly. She smiled back at him. " I thought I had enjoyed the best the world had to offer," he continued, "yet I never awoke to real knowledge of life until I knew you. I never knew what it was to be awakened by the kiss of a love- thought upon my eyelids; to smile a welcome to the sunbeams, as they danced through the windows at dawn. Ah, my love, you will not cast aside this bliss! It comes once only in a lifetime just once!" She smiled again, and a crowning glory appeared to light his face, until she thought of one of the Apostles of old, glorified with a halo of light. All the love of the earth seemed to dance to this one spot to intensify the sublime moment. She threw back her head and a soft murmur of laughter rippled across her lips; her deep violet eyes grew wide and dark through their long lashes. 84 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Ah," she breathed, "truly life is nothing, but love is all all!" Her eyes reflected the light in his; her lids fell and he realized love's conquest; yet his arms enfolded her almost timidly; and, as her face lay hidden on his breast, he bent his head, until with a deep, in- drawn breath his face sank into the masses of luxu- riant, fragrant hair. A street organ doled plaintive music without, and mingled with a boy's whistling of "Carmen," which floated upon the air; but the two lovers heard nothing, saw and felt nothing, beyond the awakened wonders of their own souls. The young General's being throbbed with exaltation. Notwithstanding his love's great pa- triotic ambition, he would make her so happy she would forget. He would live only to add joy to her existence. Different, indeed, were Carima's thoughts. As through a vista, she saw the future golden in its beauty. She saw her own triumphant return to greet her people! She saw this man of her choice by her side! She was one of the women to whom it was more necessary to give than to receive; and, grad- ually, she saw herself take the laurels from her own brow, leaf by leaf, and bind her lover's temples! She would be the first to bow before him crying: "Hail, thou, Ruler! Long live our King!" She raised her lowered eyes and looked up at her lover with her wondrous smile, until two tears slowly dimmed the shining depths. She longed to tell Leon Hartley all there was to tell, but, realizing the impossibility of his understand- ing, she simply said: "Cleopatra, Antony, and others lived for love BEATING AGAINST THE BARS! 85 only mayhap we too may! I go now to consult with my most wise friend." "Who can that be?" "A reformed Voudoo priest of my people," she answered. Hartley drew back in astonishment. "He loves you?" he demanded, with a lover's ever-present fear. "He loves me," Donna Carima answered, "as I love my God. May the Divine One bless you always, and permit us our love! " She blushed in bashful radiance at the frankness of her avowal. "Amen!" prayed Leon Hartley with all his soul. He raised her beautiful face to his, and gazed into her eyes, as she still lay against his heart. Her answering look revealed such love as he had never seen, and the memory of those eyes followed him for years and many years. Yea, until the grave folded its dark doors over him, and he never doubted that it would not end there. He knelt and pressed his lips to her fingers, but she raised him to his feet, and lifting her head gave him her lips. Finally he tore himself away. She heard the echo of his departing footsteps, then all was silent. She sat like a statuette gazing into the crystal depths of a tear which her lover had left upon her hand. Surely God had sent this man to help her in her great work, and their lives would be as a brilliant sunrise, and their kingdom Eden! But the black night gathered around her. CHAPTER IX A DIVINE CRYSTAL Leon Hartley was so engrossed with his turbulent thoughts, as he left the mansion, that he was obli vious to the fact that his steps were closely followed. He walked down the shelled path toward the great gate and placed his hand mechanically upon the latch, when a peculiar sound attracted his attention. He turned quickly and under the huge lamp saw the face of a tall black man. In response to his look of in- quiry, a rush of a words issued from the negro's lips. Hartley was able to understand only the repeated name of Astrados, and with each repetition the black man bowed himself to the earth. The officer touched him roughly upon the shoulder in his eagerness to comprehend, and demanded that he speak more distinctly. The man's eyes glared, then he spoke in an odd singing tone and in Spanish. "With us, Monseigneur, it is death to disobey." " You mean that Donna Carima wishes me to come to her?" Without further answer, the negro turned and Hartley followed. They passed the main entrance and, making a semi-tour of the western wing of the house, entered through a low arched doorway, covered so densely 86 A DIVINE CRYSTAL 87 with ivy that one unacquainted with it could with difficulty discover its existence. He found himself in a dim hall, lighted only by stray moonbeams, falling through a high barred casement. He saw in the pale light that he was surrounded by about thirty men. For some moments the young officer was left standing hi their midst, until, evidently at a hidden signal, the line separated and a smaller, more placid- looking man, probably French, and garbed as a priest, passed between their bowed forms and greeted General Hartley by name. He announced that, before being granted audience, the distinguished visitor must permit himself to be blindfolded. Hartley drew back and demanded why he should be subjected to this indignity. The priest replied that it was done in the name of Her Majesty, Queen Carima. For an instant Leon Hartley stood motionless, feeling that he was being tricked into a desperate position; but his desire to know the secret of the house, accompanied by the sublime hope of proving his love to Carima, overcame his scruples. "Very well," he said sharply, "I am ready." At a motion from the priest, two men disappeared, but immediately returned, bearing a species of sedan chair, blazing hi light amid the darkness. General Hartley wondered if the effect were produced by means of sulphur. As he frowned at the uncanny spectacle, he was momentarily startled; for a scarlet handkerchief was being tied across his eyes. He was a soldier, however, and, also, he had a reason for 88 THE GIRL IN QUESTION submission. Most graciously he was requested to enter the chair. Hands invisible to him guided him until he was seated. Suddenly he felt that he was being lifted and carried, he knew not where. Was he being borne by men, he questioned mentally? He could hear nothing. For some time this continued. He seemed to mount steps and descend stairs; several doors opened and shut. He was being moved through a mysterious passageway, and felt lights blaze upon him. The chair stopped. A voice in the Spanish tongue commanded: "Unveil thine eyes, my son!" Hartley tore away the bandage and glared about him. He was seated in a black chair in the midst of a most extraordinary room, vast, pompous, and glittering. A golden throne stood back of the priest who had spoken, and who evidently had the blood of Spanish hidalgoes in his veins. He slyly studied the officer, while Hartley with equal interest glanced curiously along the walls, marvellously decorated in extravagant art, weird beyond description and strangely lavish in color. Dazzling lights illumined the mystic grace of this unsuspected temple. The old priest stood before him in picturesque contrast to modern life. The soldier's fascinated eyes took in every detail. He stood enthralled with the scene, the weird beauty of which seemed the more marvellous, as strange but superb music thrilled over all. He gazed with smiling lips, as though upon an enchanting play, not a reality. At an indication he stepped forward, and saluted A DIVINE CRYSTAL 89 the priest, who offered him a royal chair of odd beauty vis-ct-vis to himself. On the table before them stood goblets formed of glittering shells and filled with wine, the bouquet of which proved over- sweet and rich to Hartley. He declined to touch the vintage, until the priest frowned at his reluctance and, raising his glass, said solemnly: "We drink to Her Majesty, Queen Carima!" The priest, and the officer, too, each drained his goblet to the woman both loved. Then the priest spoke, slowly and with great emphasis : "You are General Leon Hartley of the United States service? You are tortured with the fever of love for the beautiful and royal lady from our land? Yes?" Hartley made no reply, but his face showed plainly his emotion. The priest continued: "You love in truth; you love akin to spirit! Therefore are you here to prove your love. Yes?" Hartley interrupted, but the priest silenced him. "How? Yes? You will see. Her Majesty has bound me to meet truth with truth, when judging in her name. Therefore, turn hither and you will be shown the great event which made Donna Carima Jacinta Desda Ysabel Astrados a ruler." He motioned Hartley to follow and led the way to an inner room, utterly bare save for a huge mech- anism, theatre-like in its proportions. The priest indicated a crystal dial. " Upon that dial," he said, "you will look upon events as they have occurred." 9 o THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Is it a mirage?" questioned Hartley, as he viewed it in the dim light of its secret abode. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. Later, he wondered if the events which then passed before his eyes had been enacted in some part of the man- sion and thus reflected before him, or if the machine, indeed, contained past events stored up within itself; but while he gazed upon it, it all appeared so real that he could not think or reason wisely. "This divine machine was created for our Queen by an Egyptian magician of great learning, that it might be the agent through which the past may ever be recalled to the present," observed the priest. "It is the Queen's gift to us, in order that, inspired by its story, we may ever bow in reverence to the good over the false, show doubters, before their very eyes, sad truths, and bring by their aid light out of dark- ness." Hartley bowed in reverence, for he realized the sincerity of the speaker. "Proceed," he said softly. " On this dial the past is brought to life," the priest began again. He turned a wheel for what seemed to Hartley an interminable period; then, raising his hand, spoke impressively : "We have turned back the hands of time twenty years five months four days thirteen minutes and six seconds." He touched a lever, and light blazed upon the dial. Again the priest spoke : "In the seeing thou wilt realize the impossibility of thy love!" A DIVINE CRYSTAL 91 Once more the young officer implored an explana- tion, but was silenced. A beautiful island glowed under Leon Hartley's gaze, blue waters and bluer sky, dew-kissed flowers and velvet greens, every leaf of which seemed to breathe forth poetic legends. Sounds, too, accom- panied the passing scenes. He heard the ripple of the waves upon the beach, the murmur of winds in the high tree-tops, the chattering of monkeys, the hum of insects and, above all, the warm, spicy breath which conveyed to him the tropical atmosphere into which he seemed to have been transported! In the midst of a dense forest rose a temple which held his attention, for slowly the walls became trans- parent and, within, he saw the wonders of the living and the dead! General Hartley was among the Voudoo and in Washington! CHAPTER X CHILDREN OF MARA THE GOD OF THE TRIPLE THIRST, THE THIRST FOR EXISTENCE, PLEASURE, AND POWER A rich, low voice intoned in the Spanish tongue the Chronicle of Queen Carima, as the pictures came and went before General Hartley's eyes. " Fear held sway in the Temple of Danh-Gbi. "The priests, koscio and other attendants, were searching frantically for the serpent, Danh-Gbi, the so-called god and ruler of the Voudoo, which had disappeared. "The powerful Priest Irmeo set forth in search, peering over the rocky and sandy soil, with his nose bowed to the ground, like a running hound." Though now whitened by age, Hartley recognized this priest as the one who stood beside him. "Much distance he covered, following the faint and scarcely visible traces left by the lithe body of the serpent, sometimes through a hedge formed by the twining wild roses, the thick undergrowth, and the blossom-covered vines; but, more often, the trail kept to an open pathway leading to the river's bank, where the pursuer with supplication upon his lips raised his hands in utter helplessness : "'Surely this will prove the barrier!' he cried, but into his fevered brain a voice mocked, 'No,' in 92 CHILDREN OF MARA 93 answer. 'Why should water prove a barrier to the sacred python, who, hundreds of years ago, spread great wings, and, appearing at the head of armed legions, led them to conquest over thousands of an apparently overwhelming enemy? To such an one all is possible!' "Without further hesitation, the priest plunged into the cold waters and arrived dripping on the opposite bank, where he showed intense relief as he again discovered unmistakable signs of the passing of the snake. " The trail of the serpent led toward a magnificent residence seen in the distance." As the priest followed the trail across the planta- tion, Hartley observed the marvellous richness and culture of the soil. "The plantation of coffee and indigo extended over many miles, and the Riviere Bonne cooled and cleansed the great estate. Its servants numbered thousands. " As the priest Irmeo hurried on, his fears burst forth in violent cries: " ' God Danh-Gbi, All- Wise One, why enter these dangerous grounds? The Prince Pedro As- trados is our enemy, and his Lady Gloria an ignorant foreigner!' "Thus he muttered in abject terror, lest one of the white heathen might lay hands upon, or injure, or oh, awful thought! kill the god! At this terri- fying conjecture, he screamed aloud the death penalty!" The snake here seemed to have chosen the most obstructed path, for, in following him, Hartley noticed 94 THE GIRL IN QUESTION that the priest crushed through fields of bamboo, be- tween rows of stately palms and lofty mahogany trees. The Maypole aloe shook its crown of yellow blossoms far above his head, the jessamine danced before his face, and the white datura, the pink flower-fence, the crimson cordia, and flaming red cro- tons closed around his knees or spread themselves between his feet, as he stumbled along, tearing his hands with the cacti that made the way nearly impassable. "On the priest stumbled, until he tore through a hedge of coral-red pomegranates guarding the western wing of the house, and filled the air so densely with the crimson petals by his onward rush that for an instant he was blinded. He pushed boldly forward, however, and uttered a cry of exul- tant joy; for through an arch, formed of hanging flowers, he perceived, not twenty feet distant the snake-god ! " Its long sleek body, still and content, lay coiled closely around a cradle in which rested a sleeping infant.'* Hartley observed that the body of the Snake was of a dingy, milky whiteness, and that in its present ominous position it formed four great coils. " The Priest Irmeo prostrated himself upon the earth before the God, and threw dust over his head and shoulders with both hands, crying : "'You are my father! You are my mother! My head belongs to you! Be propitious to me!' " The snake made no movement, however, and the Priest Irmeo, after many supplications, again cried : " ' God Danh-Gbi, Most High One, is it your will I should bear you away?' CHILDREN OF MARA 95 " The snake moved not. "'Ah,' exclaimed the priest, 'it is the child that you desire!' " The snake slowly unwound itself in acquiescence. "The priest raised the monster in his arms and threw him over his shoulder, in the manner the ancient guards were taught to carry a sacred animal. He snatched up the sleeping infant also, and hastily retraced his steps toward the temple. " The screen of the tropical night fell quickly upon him, and he arrived at his destination in triumph. "Amid loud rejoicings, Danh-Gbi was reinstated in his royal box. Four vestal virgins entered almost immediately, and, prostrating themselves, fed to the august snake pure-white mice, which the Divinity crushed in his coils, prepared with the mien of a connoisseur, and swallowed with delight. Nor was he satisfied. He raised his sleek head and glittering eyes toward the koscio in command for more, until a full dozen had been devoured; then he coiled languidly upon himself and closed his eyes in contentment. "Wild thanksgiving could be heard throughout the temple. Many sang while others shouted. The God had remembered that it was the night set for the great festival, and, therefore, he had returned, bringing with him his chosen sacrifice!" Hartley held his breath. "Above the temple the moon rose like a soft, golden lantern, and the radiant beams only seemed witnesses. They illumined with a weird, flickering light the entrance through which passed masses of men and women, who gave the strange signal, and 96 THE GIRL IN QUESTION were admitted. Most of them appeared to be negroes, some French, some Spanish. "Within, upon a throne draped with flaming crimson rags, sat the King and Queen the Papaloi and Mamaloi adorned with glittering finery. " The King's black head was bound with a diadem formed of scarlet cloth. "Soon a low monotonous chant arose softly from the crowd, growing louder and louder as it continued." Hartley shuddered with premonition as he saw many glance toward a scarlet curtain which par- titioned a portion of the room. As their eyes lin- gered upon this mysterious inclosure, they appeared to him to glitter with an insane appetite. "At a sign from the priest the singing ceased, and silence reigned in the assembly. Then all bowed in prayer. After the invocation the crowd separated, forming a pathway, and the priest an- nounced that those who desired to make a request should approach the God. "Many obeyed and threw themselves prone before the Mighty One. Every known passion had its vent. Crime itself was not ignored in the prayers for success." Still Hartley waited without uttering a sound, fearing to ask himself even what had become of the stolen babe? " Suddenly the King raised the holy box, con- taining the serpent-god, placed it upon the ground, and commanded the priestess to stand upon it. The moment the sacred ark was beneath her feet, she appeared rilled with the spirit of the multitude. "She trembled from head to foot; her entire body CHILDREN OF MARA 97 became convulsed, and every horrible movement and sound which delirium could conjure to make the scene the more impressive she enacted, while the audience gradually caught her frenzy. " The crowd grew more abandoned, and soon the cause appeared in the form of the sacrifices! All these were white symbolic of purity and began with two white cocks. Their throats were quickly cut upon the altar and held over vases containing warm, white rum. One vase was filled to the brim and passed among the priests who received it with feverish eagerness, while they watched the two burly negro guards bring forward a snow-white goat, washed and combed and decorated with blue rib- bons. Its throat, too, was cut, and the gaping neck held over the larger vase. "The waiting people murmured impatiently, and at intervals low hisses came from them. "The great vase was then carried among the devoted followers of the God. "The crowd drank thirstily of the warm intoxi- cant until a frenzy began, which ended in the in- describable Voudoo Dance, accompanied by its ancient chant: ' Eht Eh! Bomba! hen! hen! Canga bafio te Congo moune de le Canga do ki la Canga tt.' " To marvellous time and music, the music of small drums, the weird movements of a dance began, the participants gradually becoming more delirious in their mad fervor. 98 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Tumult reigned and restraint was gone! "The women especially forgot all self-control. Some even climbed up the open sides of the temple, wriggling their bodies, hissing and endeavoring in inconceivable ways to imitate the movements of the snake! " One knelt upon a rafter, waving her black hands frantically and singing in a wild, sweet voice from a smeared black throat. Suddenly she tore open the front of her dress, and laid bare the fair breast of a young white woman! But none noticed her amid the ghastly festival. "The dance continued until silence was again commanded by a voice which shouted: "'Mamaloi, let us have the goat without horns! Let us give unto the God his chosen sacrifice ! ' "At a signal from the Queen the scarlet partition opened, and the guards appeared leading a beautiful white boy of some seven years of age, robed in white." The child was trembling with fear. "The negroes thrust him forward to be blessed by the King, who, holding his great black hands over the boy's fair head, blessed him in the name of the sacred serpent, and, in pompous language, requested of him what he most desired in all the world. " With manly dignity the little fellow controlled his tears and, glancing into the faces of his conductors, replied and his reply had most evidently been taught him: " "The object above all other objects in the world I most desire is the possession of an infant virgin ! ' "Hardly had he uttered the words when the red partition again separated and a large negress came CHILDREN OF MARA 99 forward, hearing the stolen infant, Donna Carima Jacinta Desda Ysabel Astrados. " The babe, robed in purest white, was now open- eyed, a bright flush upon her cheeks, cooing excitedly in sweet baby fashion. "Again the boy was asked the same question, and again the little fellow made the same reply. " But this time his voice shook unevenly, and his eyes were fixed in horror upon the bloody knives which lay beside the dead body of the goat upon the altar. "The guards strode forward, wiped the blades, and, returning, tossed each of the children into the air; simultaneously they raised the knives with a wild flourish, aimed directly at the white throats of the young victims. "The great sigh of expectation, however, which arose from the onlookers was hushed; for suddenly the knives were arrested. Above the men holding the children appeared the ophidian monster. Un- noticed by the absorbed crowd, the snake had pushed open the cover of its box and was standing, almost on the end of its tail, reaching high over the men, its eyes glittering with apparent anger. " The audience fell upon their faces, crying : "'O God, forgive us!' " Horrible fear overcame the guards, as the Python regarded them fixedly; strength left their muscles, and the two children were slowly dropped upon the floor. A moment later the bodies of the negroes fell senseless. " The sudden silence evidently pacified the snake- god, for it withdrew in coils. ioo THE GIRL IN QUESTION "The King was the first to recover his self-pos- session. Cautiously he raised his head, and in so doing his diadem fell upon the body of the babe. It was symbolic! " The priest whispered : ' Here behold the longed- for opportunity of obtaining a hold on two of the noble families of our Island! ' "Then to the God he cried: 'Great Holy One! for the second time to-day thou hast deigned to indicate thy wishes. These children shall be an- ointed in thy service, and live to extend thy power by bringing unto thee the worship of the whites! ' "He raised the babe tenderly aloft, and held the crown upon her tiny head so that all present saw the chosen of the God! "Carima Regina, future queen of theVoudoo!" "Can such things be in Christendom?" breathed General Hartley. CHAPTER XI THE LEGEND Blackness had descended upon the dial. Hartley waited. Slowly day broke across a glowing landscape. The darkness of the agonized night had changed into the ash-rose light of dawn. Out of the mists arose a grand estate, and Hartley recognized the palace of the Prince Pedro Astrados. As the eye rested on the passing scene, the ear again heard the voice intoning the chronicle: " A beautiful lady, her face white and tear-stained, crept out upon the terrace and stared despairingly over the fairy land. " 'Oh, my husband!' she cried, 'why do you not return from your mad search for our lost babe?' "As she looked at the morning sun bursting through the gates of the sky, she sank upon her knees in the bright rays streaming halo-like upon her, and, clasping her hands, raised her face to Heaven. "She prayed aloud with all her strength of might and force of soul. In the midst of her eager prayer a sound suddenly arrested her attention. She turned her head, and in the cradle from which her child had disappeared lay a beautiful babe a babe just like her little one. She sprang to the cradle's side. "The baby was indeed her own! 102 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "The mother caught the child to her breast, rain- ing a thousand kisses upon the tiny creature. She believed it to be an answer to her prayer. "The babe whined faintly, and the mother, in- stinctively knowing the cause, hastened to pacify the little one's hunger. As she did so, nature gave forth unconscious recognition of her sublime happi- ness; and upon the morning air rang a song, rippling joyously from the mother's overflowing heart. It was interrupted only by kisses and soft, endearing terms, addressed to the infant in lisping, baby language. Then, as she crowned each tiny finger with a kiss, the little hands spread open, and she saw the palms were strangely smeared with black oil; the chest also was blackened ; and, as her lips pressed the rose-tinted feet, she discovered there black marks as well. But the little one was unhurt, and she ceased to question, and only joyed in her. "A serving woman entered and, falling upon her face, spoke her message: "'Your Highness, My Lady Gloria, the Prince Philippe d'Orellno y Tavarries sends happy greetings! The young Prince Lyulph Rodriguez d'Orellno y Tavarries has been returned to his home, and the gracious family rejoice! The young Prince throws himself at the feet of Donna Carima Jacinta. "Again the Lady Gloria's rejoicing broke forth in happy singing and cooing and laughter, which floated out over the fields and was carried from flower to flower, until it reached the open road, where three horsemen galloped moodily along." Hartley noticed that the foremost spurred his horse forward at every length, in restless eagerness. THE LEGEND 103 "'Haste thee!' pleaded the Prince Pedro As- trad os, tightening rein; 'my sweet lady suffers. Haste thee, in so great a cause, haste thee!' ' Hartley recognized the face in the diamond locket as the father of Donna Carima. "One of the following horsemen, Don Luiz En- rique Astrados, addressed his companion as Father Angelo, while they endeavored to keep pace with the heart-racked Prince. " ' And if the Voudoo should have stolen and murdered our beautiful babe, is there no redress, Father?' demanded the younger man angrily in the English tongue." The Catholic priest was a fair-complexioned man of splendid physique, and Hartley thought he looked like an Englishman. " ' No, we are quite unable to prevent these out- rages,' replied the holy man, 'as we can neither bribe nor force a witness against them. It is a terrible condition. I have prayed for many years that I might find some power to control these people. They have great possibilities, if we could but direct and teach them the horror of their desire for man- food. "'Superstition is the ruin of this island. Ev- ery movement of their snake-god signifies a com- mand to these poor ignorant ones, and they will lie, rob, or murder to obey it. But hopeless as it seems, I have always believed our God will send a redeemer to these people, as He has to other races. There runs an old legend which says that rebellion will arise and peace be restored only by a child of love, not of wedlock; and that during the reign of io 4 THE GIRL IN QUESTION this child prosperity will return, and happiness hold sway throughout the land.' " So absorbed were the men in their converse that they had not observed how nearly they had ap- proached the house until Don Luiz gave a sudden exclamation of joyous surprise. "Before them knelt the Prince, his arms closely enfolding his wife and babe. "A moment later Don Luiz, too, had alighted beside the group, and caught sight of the crimson cloth lying in the cradle. " 'Father Angelo,' he cried, turning to the priest. 'Look, Father, you were right, the mark of the Voudoo sacrifice; but she is saved! Who brought her back?' he demanded, turning toward the Lady Gloria. "The Lady answered: 'I was here, praying for my little Carima, when I saw her in the cradle, just as I had left her. God sent her back to me.' She turned her happy love-lit eyes upon the Prince, her husband. "Father Angelo's face was a study of changing expression, as he held open in his own the baby's tiny hand, smirched with black palm oil. Then he raised his eyes solemnly : "'Prince Pedro and my Lady Gloria,' he said, ' I believe this child was sent, as you say, from God to redeem these people! A miracle has taken place. Your babe was doomed to die as a sacrifice to the snake-god, and she is the first ever known to have been saved.' " 'The legend!' he cried with inspiration, after a moment's pause, and turned excitedly toward Don THE LEGEND 105 Luiz. ' I believe they hope to use this child as a means to convert the nobles to the worship of the snake. But that must not be. Instead, she must be their redeemer! Their superstition will give her power absolute, and by it she must save them! ' His excitement increased at each word: 'Dei gratid, she must be educated to do this great work! She must rule and civilize these wayward people, and bring their souls to our God! My church will live to aid thee, Donna Carima Jacinta Desda Ysabel Astrados.' "The Holy Father appeared unconscious of the consternation pictured upon the three faces gazing at him. "Crossing himself devoutly, he knelt in prayer before the babe; then, rising, he made the sign of the cross upon her forehead. "'The caprice of a snake, God-directed, has crowned thee Queen of these poor people! May God give thee life and wisdom to redeem them.' "The Father bent low before the cooing infant." The dial was again crystal-clear. Hartley, overcome by what he had seen and heard, stood staring blankly before him. The old priest Irmeo broke the silence. "My son will now understand the great work before Her Majesty, our Queen? Yes?" "Yes," answered Hartley, "but this condition cannot exist to-day?" "More forcibly than twenty years ago," was the reply. "Thou art convinced now how impossible of realization is thy love for the great Lady, our Queen? Yes?" io6 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "No," cried Hartley, with decision. "No, for now that I understand, I will make this my life- work. I will help to make it not only the United States', but the work of every civilized nation, to humanize these people and bring them to the one God!" " Tis a noble thought!" Priest Irmeo murmured. "Surely the love of a great woman works marvels; but, my son," and he looked deeply into the young officer's clear eyes, " thou wilt never visit that land- save in spirit." A cold breath passed over the soldier's heart. A hasty knock upon the door interrupted them. A man entered, threw himself upon one knee, and announced : "Her Majesty!" With an anxious look upon his face, the priest implored Hartley to enter an alcove within the entrance to the temple, where on either side of him appeared a huge negro holding uncomfortably near an upraised knife. Their piercing eyes and eager attitudes were more expressive than words. Before the officer fell a curtain splashed w r ith cubes of colored glass, one long piece of which not far from his eyes enabled him to see into the beautiful room where he had observed such marvels. He saw a number of guards in picturesque costume enter and place themselves on either side of the throne. There was a pause, and then in the arched doorway appeared a woman gowned in royal robes, the wide massive train of which was borne by two tiny nude black boys. THE LEGEND 107 It was Carima Astrados, Her Majesty, the Queen. In vain did Hartley search for some trace of the lovely girl Carima Astrados whom he had held within his arms not two hours since. Before his eyes appeared royalty with head held high and stately dig- nity. Majestically she moved toward the throne, while her attendants, no longer fierce of aspect, stood with downcast eyes. Following the Queen, came Signora Piquero, in a rich costume of black. She seated herself to the royal left and somewhat behind the Queen. On Her Majesty's right awaited the old Spanish priest. The Queen gazed tenderly upon her subjects for some moments; then, as though with effort concen- trating her thoughts, she addressed the priest: " We give you audience, friend." " We humbly thank Your Gracious Majesty for the honor bestowed upon us. It was more promptly given than we might justly have expected. Again we thank Your Majesty." "And for what reason are we assembled?" " Messages from Your Majesty's weeping land and rare gifts from our Queen's betrothed, His High- ness, the noble Prince Lyulph Rodriguez d'Orellno y Tavarries." Hartley listened heart-faint, spellbound by the last portentous words. The Queen's face paled, and her voice was plaintive indeed as she murmured : "So soon again, so soon." " We have letters and fair gifts from Your Majesty's glorious home," pleaded the voice of the Priest Irmeo. io8 THE GIRL IN QUESTION The Queen smiled sadly upon the old man, who raised his eyes to her as a worshipper to his God. "Anon, caro ?mo," she said. "I want not state, naught of the serious to-night. For one little while, think of me just as a woman." Hope glowed again in Hartley's eyes. "Ah, let us talk of moonbeams and rare melodies," cried Queen Carima. j" I am attuned to such to-night. ' ' "I beg that Your Majesty receive the packets from the Prince Pedro, Your Majesty's august father. They may contain important news. I ask it as a personal favor," he implored most humbly. She paused an instant, but said finally: "Sort. Be it so; to please you, we will receive the packets." Instantly five attendants entered, each burdened with a gift. The first approached with a bundle of letters. The Queen glanced upon each, raised her father's missive lovingly to her lips, but placed it un- opened with the others upon the table beside her. Another approached bearing a casket of silver. The Queen waved it aside, without looking at the contents. So she served the third and the fourth bearer. The fifth, and last, presented a scroll of verses from the Prince Lyulph d'Orellno y Tavarries to her most glorious person, his Queen. The verses were written in the blood of a perfect white peacock, worth its weight in gold, but not even to these priceless words would the Queen listen. "My friend, what knows a Prince of love?" she sighed. The old priest paled; the young officer in hiding flushed with hope. THE LEGEND 109 "Your Majesty is ever in the right. What knows any man of love?" The Queen's eyes opened wide. "How mean you?" she demanded. " I apprehend that Your Majesty speaks of human love when she uses the word love?" "Perhaps," answered the Queen, gazing over the old man's head. "Perhaps. What distinction do you make?" " The purity of Your Majesty's soul will comprehend my poor phrasing. Yes? When I forsook the Voudoo God to follow Your Majesty, it was because your sweet faith had taught me, first with childish art, later with garnered wisdom, of the one God of universal good. What means this God to Your Majesty?" The Queen's face lighted with a holy light. "How often have I told thee, friend," she said indulgently; "God, to me, is all good and naught else. When a little child," she continued, after a reflective pause, "I searched for one who could be always with me, never absent, never failing me in trouble or in joy. One human being cannot be all this to another. On a dark August night, as I stood with my father and mother watching a great meteor, a globe of green light which burst above the moun- tains, illuminating the cloud-country and revealing along the uplands the coffee-groves waving and bowing their heads hi the winds, I was seized with a fear which none could control. That night I found God, and ever since I have leaned upon His wisdom, and have never been without His comfort." " That is love," said the old priest. " Can any man no THE GIRL IN QUESTION love woman, or woman love man with such a love?" The light fell from the Queen's face. "Perhaps," she said, as though in challenge; but the priest shook his white head. "We beg Your Majesty to read the letters; they may be "Anon," interrupted the Queen. "I would be amused to-night. Have you progressed with the 'Book of my Life'?" "But little, Your Majesty," he answered, the lines upon his face deepening with anxiety. He glanced toward the curtain which concealed the lover. "Perhaps the word-pictures would recall her duty to the Queen," he thought, and hurriedly requested that she hear the last chapter. He saw that she scarcely observed the request, but she nodded ac- quiescence. CHAPTER XII WHY CARIMA ASTRADOS CAME TO WASHINGTON The poet brought a vellum book, and bowed low before the Queen. His melodious voice read with gentle accent : "Herein is written, To be printed after her death, The life of Her Majesty, Carima Regina, friend of the friendless." Her Majesty interrupted. "To the subject of the eighteenth chapter!" "Be generous, Your Majesty," implored the Priest Irmeo humbly. "It is the first writing only." The Queen nodded, and the reader began : "Oh, the joy of the senses that mortals call the beauty of life! Melodies of air and water, rhythm of head and heart, perfection of form and color, all that make existence most exquisite were to be found in varying, puzzling, and surprising moods on that day of vivid October when Donna Carima Jaciuta Desda Ysabel Astrados reached her twentieth birthday. "The entire island world, from the glittering sea to the pastel blue of the glowing sky, rang loud with rapture, for the eternal song of the babbling tropics was joy! in ii2 THE GIRL IN QUESTION " 'Twas a land of fairies, of dreamers, of lovers. "There, it would seem, dissension and tumult could find no place, yet over the bosom of the enchanting land was rising the voice of discontent, for the in- habitants were no longer satisfied with the era of prosperity which they had enjoyed for twenty free and plentiful years. "During this time the power of the Vbudoo had increased to such an extent that meetings were held openly, and even the barbarous celebrations con- cluding with human sacrifice were no longer carried on in secret. Work throughout the island was neglected ; the great source of income of planter and laborer, the fruit of the coffee plant, remained un- picked in the field; the sugar-cane fell rotting with ungathered sweetness, and the odor of ripened pine- apples lay heavy on the air. "Commerce, too, was almost stagnant; the great ships whose white sails had dotted the blue horizon and crowded the shallow harbors came but seldom; for the harvests of grain and fruit that formerly awaited their arrival had woefully decreased in size and value. "Land-owners in the outlying districts had reported risings of the natives with attendant horrors, but there were no longer sufficient arms nor ammuni- tion to suppress these riots. These disorders had in- censed the members of the Roman Catholic Church, strong in the island as in all southern climes, and religious differences once more added discord to an already unsettled and dangerous social condition. "Here, too, as vultures to the dead carcass, had come the politician, priest, noble, and diplomat, no WHYCARIMA AST RADOS CAME 113 matter how exalted his station, ever scenting 'graft' amid the magnolias and humming-birds. "Each one, individually and collectively, fanned the flames of discontent, and a change, a revolution seemed inevitable. Thus the Voudoo, the Cath- olic, and the politician, each and all looked to the daughter of the great House of Astrados for aid and patronage and the weight of her influence to control and improve the situation. " Fate's moving finger already rested upon Time's dial and hovered over ' Sylva Loleta/ the residence of the Prince Pedro Astrados. " 'Donna Carima, Donna Carima, where are you?' called the soft voice of the lady in waiting, Signora Piquero. 'The Prince, your father, desires to speak with you. He is on the terrace. Donna Carima!' "At the head of the marble steps appeared a tall slender girl in answer to the call. " 'The Prince awaits you these ten minutes.' "'I am here/ smiled Donna Carima she of a beauty to rejoice the stars and moved toward the terrace which overlooked the strange deep waters, ever changing into myriad hues under the setting sun. "The Prince Pedro Astrados, reclining on the terrace in the full rays of the waning light, had watched his beautiful daughter's every movement as she approached him, while a smile of satisfaction played across his proud features. He scanned her closely from head to foot, then drew her gently down to his side. " 'Sit here at my feet, my Carima,' he said; 'I've many thoughts to share with thce. First, what has 8 ii4 THE GIRL IN QUESTION occupied thee to-day? Has poetry, politics, or love engrossed thee?' He smiled lightly, but his voice was deep with meaning. "Donna Carima pressed her lips to his hand. "'My brilliant father lacks insight this evening,' she smiled. 'Even my poetry is forsaken. I have been thinking of the Prince Lyulph Rodriguez.' "'Thou wilt wed with him?' cried her father, springing to his feet in his excitement. 'With your united fortunes, aided by the Church, the prophecy of liberation of our island will be fulfilled ! ' "The beautiful Carima shook her head most wist- fully. " ' Sit, my father, and I will tell thee why. Thou knowest the legend which thou and Father Angelo have so often told me "that rebellion will arise and peace be restored only by a child of true love; and that, during the reign of this child, peace and prosperity will return and happiness hold sway throughout the land." Truly a strange legend! I have been taught that I am the chosen one; but I know only that I was born of truth in love, and I must live true to myself always. Love has not yet spoken in my heart; so, this rebellion must continue.' "With sudden sympathy at the disappointed face before her, she cried again: " ' Caro padre, if it were right I would willingly sacrifice myself for my people; but it is not right and, therefore, the sacrifice would be worthless.' "The Prince responded sadly to his daughter's coaxing smile. He covered her hand lovingly with both of his. "'My Carima,' he began, 'our island is on the WHrCARIMAASTRADOSCAME 115 verge of a change, perhaps war. The people resent the rule of priesthood. They demand freedom.' " 'Yes, yes,' interrupted Donna Carima, 'I under- stand. Thou wouldst have me sacrifice my heart to free my people.' " 'No,' replied the Prince. 'I would not; neither am I content that thou shouldst be the instrument of the priests. I feared thy answer to the Prince Lyulph, and have prepared an alternative. I -wish thee to rule supreme supreme, as Queen of thy people!' He whispered the last words softly, and not without a cautious scrutiny of the surroundings; then he drew a heavy scroll from under the silk coverlet. 'Read this,' he continued. 'Herein are written the instructions and full details of the manner in which we will place thee securely upon the throne. Power, money, popular applause, and the throne are thine alone, my august daughter!' " Donna Carima's eyes followed each line upon the parchment until her mission to a foreign land lay pictured before her. Slowly she straightened and rose from the folds of her coiling yellow robe until, her ambition thoroughly aroused, she stood panting like a young tigress, her eyes wide and liquid, her nostrils quivering, and her white bosom rising and falling in the sun's light. All softness vanished from her face, and the full strength of womanhood asserted the force of the blood which spoke in her veins a vital force, which her birthright had brought her from the ancient kings. "The Prince smiled his satisfaction upon his glorious daughter when a rustle of silks recalled him to himself. The Lady Gloria was advancing n6 THE GIRL IN QUESTION toward them. She was a beautiful woman, as full ripe fruit is most beautiful when the glow of autumn tints its maturity. Her name bespoke her from the glories of her gold-bronze hair to her brilliant smile which lighted up a soft linelcss face of such perfect contentment that one smiled unconsciously in admiration and in reply. "The Prince rose instantly, for even ambition seemed to sink to naught in the presence of the Lady Gloria. "Donna Carima glided back to the inner terrace. She rang a bell imperiously, and a maid-servant appeared with arms folded crosswise upon her breast and eyes lowered to the ground. " ' Some well-ground coffee grains,' commanded Donna Carima. "She opened the scroll and lay engrossed in the contents until the maid reappeared, bearing a vase filled with dark powder which she emptied in a pyramid-shaped heap upon the terrace floor, bowed, and withdrew backward. "'It is my fortune,' cried the girl. 'I want a splendid fortune, a wonderful one of adventure, love, and happiness.' "As she spoke she closed her eyes and, stooping low, blew three full breaths upon the grains, scatter- ing them in a fluttering whirlwind. She knelt before the magic grains, made a cross upon her forehead with closed eyes, and, opening them, regarded with deep interest the secret signs awaiting her interpretation." "Attention, mon ami," interrupted the Queen who up to this point had listened with intense eagerness, occasionally nodding her beautiful head WHY CARIMAASTRADOS CAME 117 in affirmation. "I remember well the manner of the fortune. It was this." The Queen spoke slowly, reminiscently, as though indeed re-reading her fortune: "I saw myself starting upon a journey a long, an adventurous journey." Her white hands enfolded one another like soft rose petals. " I saw many happy signs, some tears, and one. lover! " Ah, yes, I saw him then as clearly as I saw him afterward on that fair morning when he came to me. All the love-signs blossomed about him in the divina- tion. What marvellous love!" With sparkling eyes the Queen smiled at sweet memory. "I saw not happiness, yet there were all the love-signs all, so happiness will come?" The priest's terror was plainly written upon his face, but he controlled his features and forced a smile, as the Queen glanced beseechingly at him in interrogation. Her Majesty rose and stared before her as though the signs were written in the air. "The rest was blurred and indistinct," she said slowly, ''all but the love-lights. Ah, they were marvellous!" A lengthy pause ensued. The old priest's lips moved in mute agony, but he dared not address unbidden the Queen. The silence was ominous. The Queen spoke again : " Turning from the reading of my future, I saw my father and mother in each other's arms. They had taken their love and the reward was happiness." Oblivious to the terror pictured in the faces about her, Queen Carima clasped her hands in ecstatic fervor and cried : n8 THE GIRL IN QUESTION " Father of life, bless me with the love of my soul, and our island can live without a King or Queen!" At this wild speech the Queen's followers raised their eyes. They looked appalled, as for the first time they realized that their Queen was yet a woman and the possessor of a woman's heart. More than one glared vengefully toward Hartley's concealed form. The young officer had no fear, however, for he was filled with joy. The Queen, with a soft sigh, turned to the old priest : "My friend," she said, her smiling face suddenly changing to deep concern, a can you not see how I am torn between the master passion of love and the great dragon duty? I glow with my mother's tender romance and poetry of soul. I found my lover by chance, just as some truant sunbeam un- covers treasures rare. We are unlike, as the ruby's fire is from the pearl's pink lustre, and yet how often does God blend those two in most harmonious order! Ah, my friend, what is greater than love?" At last came the old priest's opportunity, and well he used it. "I would not dare to criticize Your Majesty's ut- terance, understanding Your Majesty's poetic soul, but at this moment comes a request from a little friend of ours. We remember the little Ysabel Norah Hastings, the daughter of the English gentle- man who came to our island with his invalid wife and occupied the Picot estate. We pray Your Majesty remembers. It was for love of Your Majesty's beauty that the parents did name the little one Ysabel, it being Your Majesty's august name." WHYCARIMAASTRADOSCAME 119 "Yes, well do I remember. I loved the child for her sweet voice. Indeed, they should have named her 'song bird.' But what has she to do with this audience?" demanded the Queen. "Pardon, Your Majesty, I crave pardon for not reporting this all-important news 'ere now; but I feared to inflict grief, knowing Your Majesty's strong convictions against the Voudoo customs." The priest paused with studied effect. The change was instantaneous. Paling with rage and horror, the Queen lifted her hand. "Speak," she commanded, "speak quickly!" The priest drew from under his monk's garb a small parchment and unrolled it before the Queen's eyes, but she turned away her face in anguish. "Show me not that; tell me in few words the horror." "On the tenth day of this month a meeting was held in the Temple of Danh-Gbi. Every child upon the island had been guarded day and night previous to the festival. Little Ysabel's mother grew suddenly worse; she died. For a few moments only the girl was left alone. In those few moments, however, she was stolen and hung for four days under the cage of the snake-god hung by her feet and hands! On the night of the festival she was sacrificed to the snake! The father now mourns for his dead wife and murdered child, and in his anguish calls upon Your Majesty, whom all love and in their hearts, as we in ours, have crowned their Queen. "Oh, Your Majesty," continued the priest prayer- fully, "in God's name hear your people mourning their murdered babes, and forsake them not." i2o THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Enough!" murmured Queen Carima, and all was silent save the weeping of the woman upon the throne and the waiting woman seated behind her. Hartley stared out upon the scene, and moisture dimmed his sight also. The beauty of the surroundings, the enchanted atmosphere, all had changed. Horror seemed to float upon the air and suffocate him, soldier though he was. In an instant what had seemed a paradise suggestion had changed into a hell, reigned over by a monster snake! Again he saw Carima Astrados, but unlike the girl he had known, or even the Queen he had been gazing upon. She stood at her full height, her eyes flashing, her breast heaving, her nostrils quivering, every fibre of her being mutely shrieking the wrath that pos- sessed her. Raising her arms with majestic power, she spoke in a tongue unknown to Hartley, spoke in high-pitched tones, spoke with a force and fury that suggested masculine strength. Finally she stopped and pressed her hand against her heart, as though entirely overwhelmed. An instant later she stepped from her throne and swept out of the room. A smile of satisfaction rested upon the dark faces, as all passed out after Carima Regina, all save the priest. The room became dark. A hand touched General Hartley's. He shuddered, for the hand was cold as steel. He suffered himself to be led, however, he knew not whither. A door opened and closed. The officer found himself again in the moonlit garden, and alone. CHAPTER XIII "Lips ARE SMILING, HEARTS ARE ACHING, ACHING ALL THE WHILE" Nature seems ever working against man, as upon the most beautiful suffering engraves cruel telltale lines to mar them, and Carima was not exempt. Pale and unhappy, she sipped her golden coffee in her great drawing-room, and endeavored to control her nervousness by means of the strong stimulant. The faithful Luiza peeped through the portieres, but dared not unbidden enter the Queen's presence. Carima's fancy continued to dwell upon the horror reported from her land, mingled with sweet hopeless thoughts of her lover. Her deep eyes looked wide, darkened with blue shadows, while the lines about her mouth and the determined outline of chin and jaw which had been unnoticeablc a few hours before detracted, perhaps, from the chiselled beauty of her features, but added a strength and force to her white face far beyond the power of beauty. The flower-like Carima had gone forever, but in her stead was born a strong woman, an undeniable force in the future. Once more she held a book between her trembling fingers, but could not read; her eyes ached. She touched the silver bell with scant patience. " More coffee," she ordered, as Hippolyte appeared before her. 121 122 THE GIRL IN QUESTION The black man regarded his Queen with humble worship. He would willingly have sacrificed his poor life to shield her from a moment's anguish, but such glory was denied him. He could only serve her faithfully. "Your Majesty," he ventured, "Senator Truesdale has called twice this evening. He now awaits." "I am not receiving," said Donna Carima; then changed her tone. "I will see the Senator. He may bring news. Serve cognac with the coffee," she called after the retiring figure. A few moments later Truesdale entered. He was a man of, perhaps, fifty years of age, large and witfy an over-ponderous dignity. His heavy, but classic, features were stamped with the excesses of life, both from his fight with the world and his enjoyment thereof. The Senator's eccentric dress, low-cut spreading collar, and flowing tie made his heaviness the more conspicuous. Slightly touched with gray, his thick hair was brushed softly from his splendid brow, while his eyes gazed critically from under their drooping lids. He strode toward Donna Carima, and took her ex- tended hand in his own, pressing it with evident delight. " You look ill, my Queen," he said, scrutinizing her closely. "I am ill," she replied with a wan smile, "quite ill." "Then it was good of you to see me." At that moment Hippolyte entered, bearing a tray. "May I offer you coffee and cognac?" asked the hostess. SMILING LIPS, ACHING HEARTS 123 "Ah, yes; no coffee, but a little cognac, if you please," responded Truesdale. "Serve the Senator," Donna Carima ordered, not trusting her trembling hand. "Ah, what made you ill?" asked Truesdale sym- pathetically. "I should be wiser than our physicians were I able to answer such questions," she laughed. "Per- haps my book," she added evasively, holding the dainty volume toward him. "The famous Queen of Scots, eh?" observed the statesman, as he glanced at the title. "Well, she was a bird in her day. Wasn't she beheaded or something of the sort? 1 ' he asked, sipping his brandy and expanding in good humor with every sip. "She had the fault ,of most women," observed Donna Carima thoughtfully. "She craved love." "Love, eh?" repeated the Senator, while his eyes took in every line of her exquisite figure. " I thought she was cruel, bad, ambitious." "She was crushed into being unscrupulous; but what made her so?" demanded Donna Carima warmly. "Her desire for love! Through her over- fed vanity, through her ambition, through her every fault and every virtue rang the cry for love only love!" "Is that so? Well, now tell me about her." Donna Carima smiled wistfully upon the worldly man before her. What were his motives in visiting .her, she won- dered. Was he truly interested in the redemption of her people? The Senator was looking at her from under his heavy lids, and she hastened to speak again. 124 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "First came blond Darnley," she began. "Mary loved him until Ms own drunken nature tore away the rosy clouds she had woven around him. Next followed the romantic lowborn Italian; but he loved her. They murdered him within her hearing! Then heartless Bothwell, but a man with manhood for which she craved. Poor Queen Mary could not find one good man in all her court to love. So this marvellous woman was dragged from her queenhood by men and killed by a woman ! So goes the Queen of Romance, for so she is to me. Ah, the cruelty of love!" Donna Carima stopped short, realizing that her excited state of mind was likely to carry her quite beyond herself. "Brava!" cried the Senator. "You surpass Bern- hardt! You can bring tears as quickly as laughter, and all the laughter I have had this season you have given me." With an effort Donna Carima controlled her thought and centred it upon the man before her. "What is the difference?" she said with a bewitch- ing shrug. "Two extremes expressing the same end life!" "Is that the answer you have found to our per- plexing little problem called life?" asked Tmesdale curiously. "No," she smiled upon her distinguished ques- tioner, and at the same moment realized the im- possibility of his understanding. "No. I think the secret of living is possessed by those only who learn renunciation." "Then life with you is a cutting-out process. Damned uncomfortable solution, thank you!" ex- SMILING LIPS, ACHING HEARTS 125 claimed the Senator, regarding intently the warm flushed pink of her throat through the meshes of lace which covered it. He sighed: "I may just as well remain a Methodist. Hell and brimstone in the next world is about as good to me as hell in this one." He laughed and re-filled his glass. There was a pause, broken by a fluttering over- head which attracted his attention. He saw a huge cage of doves swinging in mid-air; one soft gray creature flew to the uppermost perch and began to call pleadingly to its mate. The velvety cooing seemed to stir the Senator strangely. He changed color and touched the cognac to appreciative lips. "By Jove, this is fine liquor," he chuckled, re- garding his hostess with glistening eyes. "Where did you get it?" "I brought it from home," replied Donna Carima. " I will send you a case, if it pleases you." "Your island must be Heaven," commented Truesdale, bowing acceptance and lounging back luxuriously in the great chair. "It is the one country that has ever created a perfect woman. Yes, you are perfect, and all your surroundings are more perfect than any other woman's. Even your wine is more delicious." Donna Carima received the homage as a queen, with a smile of acknowledgment, but Truesdale drew his chair closer. "My country is beautiful," she rejoined, "glori- ously beautiful, and I love my people. I love them dearly. They are true and loyal and devoted," she continued ardently. "To you?" laughed her visitor. "How like a 126 THE GIRL IN QUESTION woman sovereign! They may steal and murder; but if they are true and devoted to me, I love them!" He watched her closely and did not fail to see the shudder of horror which the assumed truth of his words sent over her, but she arose indignantly. " My people are under the ban of superstition, and for their freedom am I here," she said. "For their redemption I will give my life; for, as I have said, I loVe them, not because they love me, as you sug- gest, but because I believe I alone have the power to help them." The pride and nobility of her words and bearing dominated the man of the world before her despite himself, and he stopped smiling and listened more intently. Her eyes flashed suddenly, as they rested upon him. "Never ridicule them again," she com- manded warningly. "They are my people, and I love them." The Senator arose and stood before the Southern Queen in genuine admiration. He thrust his hands deeply into his trousers' pockets, and narrowed his eyes, a habitual attitude when engrossed in mental schemes. "Then I, too, will love them," he said fervently; "for I love you, and will embrace every theme you embrace and win every battle you cham- pion. Have I not placed my honor in your hands by my letter of to-day? " . " What letter? " asked Donna Carima incredulously. "The letter in which I told you that, at a personal expense of thousands of dollars, I have concealed upon the Brooklyn, a Government transport sailing at dawn, many cases of arms for your countrymen." "Arms? For my countrymen?" SMILING LIPS, ACHING HEARTS 127 "Yes, they are packed in cement and will pass as cargo," explained the Senator. "Wonderful!" cried Donna Carima, clasping her expressive hands in tremulous excitement. " At the expense of some thousands of dollars more," continued Truesdale, "these munitions of war will be put ashore at the coaling station Carpp." "Yes, yes," breathed the girl. "And if your friends there are as clever as those you have made here, my Queen, there will be no further opposition to your sovereignty." "Can this be true, my friend; for you are my friend?" cried Donna Carima, radiant with joy. She hastened to the bell, which was immediately answered. "Did a messenger bring a letter during the even- ing?" she questioned. " I think not, my Lady, but I will make inquiries," replied Hippolyte. Donna Carima turned toward Truesdale, answer- ing the . ill-concealed anxiety upon his face. "This is not a light matter," exclaimed the Senator excitedly, walking up and down the long room and raising his voice irritably. "I know I am watched, as all public men are watched ; but that any one should dare to interfere in my private affairs seems incredible. That letter contains not only my honor, but an arraignment for treason might be twisted out of it. Using a Government ship to transport arms and ammunition to a foreign shore in insurrection is treason!" "Did you not veil your words as well as your act?" cried Donna Carima nervously. 128 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "No!" almost shouted the Senator. "No, I was fool enough to write a d - fool love-letter. God ! I never realized how far my love for you had carried me!" Donna Carima became rigid emotionless. His net had been wound so cleverly that she found her- self in a dangerously awkward position. "You mean you admire and will help me," she corrected haughtily. "I mean I adore you; I mean I worship you; I mean I will win freedom and help of every kind for your people, and I can do it. I hold the War Secre- tary in the hollow of my hand. I shall use his enemies to fight for your petition ; to defeat him, if he opposes us. To-night there is a meeting at Cambertin's, and that meeting means success or failure to you. I promise you on my word of honor that I will bring success to you; and the price for your country's freedom will not be your life." "What is the price?" asked the girl breathlessly. "Only a sweet answer to my love. I ask for nothing, however, until I bring you success. That is fair, is it not?" he questioned eagerly. "Fair!" exclaimed Donna Carina, pale with in- dignation, and drawing herself up to her full height. "Fair! To bargain away the one godlike gift we possess! Do you know what is reserved for those who barter love? The divine gift is snatched from them. They no longer retain the power to feel or to know love. It is a law that love cannot be bought nor begged nor even won; it must be given, and I cannot give my love to you." "You will!" cried Truesdale. SMILING LIPS, ACHING HEARTS 129 " Will ! " echoed Donna Carima with a scornful laugh. " You don't know love. You are talking of sin." "And you are talking like a two-year-old," cried the angry statesman, with a flushed and disap- pointed face. " I am not blind. Look at this house! You have changed it into a palace. Look at your jewels! Your surroundings!" he waved his hand expressively. "These were not obtained by pretty words. I care not, if he be king or emperor, you shall listen to me!" He strode toward her, but with a quick gliding movement she had reached the farther side of the table. "By Jove, you are magnificent!" cried the de- feated Senator, with a triumphant ring in his laugh. Her hand was moving toward the bell when, springing forward, he suddenly arrested it. "You little fool!" he cried. "Don't you know I could ruin you if you had me ejected from your house? What would your woman's explanation be in the morning compared with the stories I could circulate at the Capitol to-night? Please don't be foolish. Who would sacrifice for you what I have done? No treaty of this kind can win without some one man behind the movement, who can command a score of others to work like hell for him. This is not a child's game; it is a hard, cold fight. Look at the men in it. There's Hartley. He was won over through some whim of Mrs. Randolph's, I suppose, as Linda says they are to meet at Cambertin's to-night. Don't you see I know everything? I hold all the cards known to politics, even to Linda Loving's wits. Come, be sensible!" 9 ijo THE GIRL IN QUESTION Donna Carima had listened to his reckless pleading with downcast eyes; but now she turned her face to him, blazing with anger. He failed, however, to understand her meaning, and sprang again toward her with uncontrollable desire. "Come," he cried, "my sweet Queen, one kiss!" A low whistle sounded from Donna Carima's lips. Truesdale reached for her in madness, but suddenly stopped, he knew not why. All power had left him, and he stood staring at her, as helpless as an infant. Donna Carima glanced past the Senator, and raised her hand quickly in eommand. Truesdale followed her eyes and gesture. In the window, some feet distant, stood a huge negro who at an indication from his Queen came slowly forward, his great eyes fixed upon the statesman. An instant later Senator Truesdale turned, walked quickly from the room, and disappeared down the stairway. The black guardian Balteese prostrated himself before his Queen, who reverently made a sign above his head. He rose with pleasure beaming from his great dark eyes, while his sovereign lady re- garded him with maternal tenderness. "And I thought that you were worse than these men of civilization!" she said. "No, ye are riot, for ye know not what ye do." She clasped her hands in unconscious prayer, and Balteese withdrew. From the music-room came strains of peaceful melody. Softly, sweetly, pitifully they rose and fell. A sob mingled with the Schumann's canon in SMILING LIPS, ACHING HEARTS 131 B minor, and Donna Carima's hand clutched her heart. "And Leon?" she cried. "My Leon! Is he, too, of these men?" The Senator had mentioned him in connection with Mrs. Randolph. With sudden determination Donna Carima turned toward the bell, and struck it violently. " I will see for myself," she determined ; but, as she stood waiting, her selfish thoughts paused before the vision of the War Secretary, the poor old man who was to be sacrificed in the fight for her success. "Wheels within wheels!" she cried again. "He must be warned and given some chance!" Hippolyte entered and presented the lost letter bearing the stamp of the United States Senate. "I- crave pardon, Your Majesty. Luiza took the letter to Signora Piquero, who awaited Your Majesty's admittance." "The coupe at once. I wish you and Balteese to attend me," commanded Donna Carima, as she tore open the missive. It was from Truesdale. CHAPTER XIV A "CAPITOL" CLIMBER Linda Loving had always been an artful soldier under fire and now had developed into a successful general. Association with active minds is a won- drous cultivator, and Linda had not only availed herself of opportunity when opportunity beckoned, but she had learned to go a-hunting for the goddess when she appeared not. So it happened that, from the little footing which the visit to Donna Carima Astrados had given her she had forced the social door more widely open. Indeed, into several sanc- tums, which her profession had before denied her, she somehow and some way now entered by her wits. Still, it was patronage bestowed upon her, a kind of temporary tolerance allowed with the waning of the season. But this night the discontent within her ambitious breast had scant reason for existence truly ; for she had won a great battle. She was the invited guest of Mrs. Secretary Randolph, at the urgent request of Congressman Sharp. The dinner had been a successful one, and the guests, having adjourned to the drawing-room, there exchanged wits in true national style. Count Flambeau seemed overflowing with good- nature, and his hostess made an equally brilliant foil. The Secretary looked ill, but he smiled gently 132 A "CAPITOL" CLIMBER 133 and sometimes eagerly at the abundant good-humor about his board. Linda played a good part, too, but her thoughts, and often her eyes, wandered to where Nicholas Worthington sat distrait and gloomy, a melancholy contradiction of his usual self. Sharp enjoyed to the full the sweet mixture of social poli- tics, while John Durmont tactfully filled all gaps in conversation and want of attention with a dignified art, which was scarcely noticed and consequently little appreciated. Simply an exchange of wit, with no undercurrent of attack, however, soon palled upon the restless Sharp. He had brought Linda here to captivate either Durmont or Nicholas, for the purpose of learning the ammunition of the Secretary's fortress; but for the first time the lady had failed him. He caught her eye, therefore, and transmitted a message that they should depart. Linda answered the cue and arose to make her adieux. As she returned in hat and cloak, Durmont stopped her in the outer hall. "You look serious," observed Linda, smiling sweetly and speculating at a solution of the un- expected attention. " Perhaps I am, Linda," he said with hesitation. John Durmont was a species of man rare in Miss Loving's experience, a man who did not seem to recognize temptation, even when thrust under his eyes in the form of an attractive woman. He was orig- inal and decidedly difficult to handle. "Yes, dear?" she began encouragingly. "Do you know young Ryley?" Durmont asked bluntly. 134 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Linda began to see more light. "The new lieutenant?" she inquired, and then smiled comprehendingly. "I lunched with him this noon." Her eyes twinkled with apparent knowledge. "Are you going to Cambertin's to-night?" the young secretary queried. "I may drop in," Linda said, looking quizzically up into the face of her questioner, and smiling her sweetest smile. "I will join you there," Durmont declared, and turned abruptly toward the drawing-room. Linda felt piqued. Why could she not interest him, just a little?" Other men were not so ada- mantine. She laid a detaining hand upon his arm. "But, my dear, John," she said, "you really startled me," and, indeed, genuine surprise rang in her voice. "To what am I to attribute the honor?" Durmont paused and regarded her a moment before answering. "You are a diplomat," he observed coldly. "We can play together." Again he turned away, and again she detained him, this time with a touch of authority in her voice. He evidently needed her in some way. "To my advantage?" Linda suggested pleasantly. "Always," replied the young man gallantly. "A little supper?" sighed the feminine politician, quite encouraged. He assented patiently: "A little supper." "Wine?" lisped Linda, trying to read his thoughts. "All you can drink and more," he said, laughing in spite of himself. A "CAPITOL" CLIMBER 135 "Well," she demurred. "Well, I'll come. Don't forget your purse." " I promise," Durmont answered, glancing into the drawing-room, and wondering how this conversation could amuse a clever woman. " It would be awkward for me to pay for your supper," Linda continued, moving as though to join the others. "Hem! eleven or so? I have an engagement earlier." He bowed assent, as Count Flambeau suddenly appeared behind them. "Do I intrude?" asked the Count, looking in- quiringly from one to the other. "Not at all," answered Linda in a tone that was not all pleasantness, "if you left your ears behind, Count." "I was just going," interposed Durmont. He bowed and passed through the portieres into the drawing-room. "I always leave my ears behind in Washington, Linda," the Count observed, but followed Durmont with his eyes. Then he turned them full upon the woman beside him, and asked suspiciously: "I heard something about Cambertin's to-night. What did it mean?" Linda looked annoyed, but dared not say where, in her thoughts, she wished him to dwell. "You might tell if I told you," she answered evasively. "You know you can trust me," Flambeau insisted harshly. He had little respect for woman in particular, and none for the "climbing" class in general. 136 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Linda knew she could not trust him, and did not intend to, except to her own advantage. "What is that French maxim of yours, Count?" she asked sweetly. "A secret known to one is 1; known to two is two ones, which makes 11; known to three is three ones, which makes 111." "I wish to know," exclaimed the Count angrily. "Oh, just a man and a " said Linda, breaking off insinuatingly. She feared to offend a clever diplo- mat, still she was determined not to tell him the truth; and turning her eyes full upon Mrs. Randolph, she added : " a lady." "Who is the man?" he insisted with keener interest. He smelt a faint scent of gossip which might be dear to him indeed. It might have political advantage, too. "Who do you suppose?" Miss Loving asked teas- ingly, hoping some one would interrupt and relieve the situation. "Hartley?" Flambeau questioned eagerly. Linda smiled. "Perhaps," she answered. Her eyes followed Nicholas Worthington, however, and she moved instinctively forward when Count Flam- beau again spoke. "And the lady?" he commented, regarding his hostess intently. "Oh no," answered Linda tantalizingly, "another lady that is where the interest lies. You won't tell her, will you?" with another glance indicating Mrs. Randolph. "Certainly not," promised Flambeau; but she was confident that he would. "You know you can trust me, Linda," he added, as she thought, from habit, but she smiled sweetly and replied: A "CAPITOL" CLIMBER 137 "I know I can. That is why I tell you." Sharp joined them at this moment, and Linda moved toward Nicholas and took his hand with true concern. For the second time that evening she had failed to interest, but her chagrin was now from a sincere heart, not vanity. The subdued softness of Nick's brilliant nature touched her and created a desire to bring back his old buoyant self, even at the sacrifice of her own hap- piness. It was the one unselfish affection of Linda's life and it was useless. Pitiful it is to note a woman endeavoring to hold the waning affection of the man she loves, and the change in Linda was marked, indeed. Her tact, art, wit were gone. She stood desperately willing to give or to do aught to please Nick Worthington. This very desire to aid him moved events with tragic force to a sudden awful crisis. Amid the murmur of the guests she gave him the little knowledge that she held : "Truesdale called twice upon Donna Carima to- day, and this evening is with her. From her boudoir he goes to a meeting at Cambertin's." Nick swayed until Linda feared he would faint, as she whispered her stoiy. He was sufficiently white to give color to her fear, but he only answered hoarsely : "Are you sure he fights for her?" "According to her encouragement," smiled Linda. Nick bit his lips mercilessly. "And it is Truesdale who questions the com- missions granted by my grandfather? Be careful that you tell the truth, Linda; this is a serious 138 THE GIRL IN QUESTION business," he said, clenching his fists in an effort at self-control. "It is Truesdale," repeated Linda confidently. "Nick, you know I would not lie to you. Is there any, any way I can aid you, dear?" "No," said Nick shortly. ' l l only wish I didn't have to leave town to-night." And there was a desperate look in his young face. CHAPTER XV "CASH THIS AND SAY NOTHING" Meanwhile Mrs. Randolph had approached the two conversing men, Count Flambeau and Congress- man Sharp. "What is it?" she asked graciously. "A story for men's ears only?" "Oh no," answered the diplomat, elated with his newly acquired knowledge. "I have heard such beautiful gossip! But " he added sadly, "I am pledged not to tell." "I'm afraid I had better not remain," interrupted Sharp with mock concern, " if it is too risque for you to tell, Count." He laughed at his own joke, and followed Linda who at that moment was leaving. She smiled at Sharp, however, as they met. It was apparent that the Count was enjoying his morsel of scandal, and there was small danger that he would not repeat. It consoled Linda not a little to note that the more fortunate, such as the gay and spoiled Mrs. Ran- dolph, had weak points of attack as well as her less prosperous self. "I am beginning to be entertained," the hostess was saying. "Tell me the end of it, Count?" Her tone was pleasant, but her eyes shone with a keen light Flambeau had evidently interested her, and was making the most of his acquisition. 140 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Who can tell the end of a story beginning with a supper for two?" he queried plaintively, spreading out his hands in true French fashion and ending with an elated chuckle. "Who makes up this party of two?" insisted Mrs. Randolph. " What is the point of your story?" Flambeau chuckled again as he regarded her. "Who would have believed it!" he murmured tantalizingly. "Any woman who knows men," she replied, with a contemptuous look at him. "And gentlewomen," he added maliciously. He leaned nearer to his hostess, but hesitated a moment in pleasant anticipation. Then he whispered : " Gen- eral Hartley and a lady!" Mrs. Randolph drew back and gazed at him with astonishment. "Hartley! Have I found him out so soon?" she mocked. "Hartley, the chaste the ' "You grow excited, madame," observed the Count soothingly. The Secretary's wife had scorned his words of love, so it was only fair revenge. "I am sorry I told you," he said. "I didn't know you cared." He spoke kindly, but his eyes held a cunning gleam in their twinkling pupils. Mrs. Randolph laughed her rippling worldly laugh. "Care!" she cried. "/ care what any man does! You don't know me, Count. I never allow myself to care for any one or anything. Loving hurts too much; it is a bad investment. I was just taking another little peep at this funny old world, and you caught me peeping. Don't you understand?" "CASH THIS AND SAY NOTHING" 141 "I understand perfectly," responded Flambeau, bowing with insinuating grace, but quite evidently disappointed at the small amount of sorrow he had been able to cause the pretty woman near him, for the control of the emotions was an unopened book to the Frenchman. The drawing-room was now empty, except for the Secretary, who sat before the fire, and Nick, who hung over his chair, talking earnestly to him. Mrs. Randolph's gaze rested upon them through the open door-way as she commented pleasantly to the de- parting Count. "Yes, Nick leaves us to-night. I must say good- bye to him. What were you talking about, Count? I really have forgotten." She moved toward her husband and his grandson as she spoke. The Count followed, and made his elaborate farewell bow. With his departure the fair Louise sank upon the side of her husband's chair, and one arm crept softly around his neck. "Clarkson," she cooed, "as Nick is leaving us at ten, will you take me to Cambertin's afterward? It will be so lonely without him, and they say there is to be a gala time there to-night. Every one is going." The crimson in her cheeks spread as she gazed almost beseechingly at her husband. He pressed her hand gently. "I am sorry, dear," he said, sighing with sincere regret, " but I never go there." She rose petulantly and left the room. Nick looked at his grandfather with tender sym- pathy. He took the place left vacant by Mrs. Ran- 142 THE GIRL IN QUESTION dolph, and, bowing his curls down to the old man's white hair, said: "Granddad, this marriage game is an awful tragedy or a great blessing." "Who has caught the blessing?" smiled the old Secretary, a tear dimming his eye, " after he has passed his youth?" he added philosophically; but he smiled again in self-reproof into his grandson's eyes. "You are my blessing, my boy. I shall miss you while you are gone." For several moments both remained silent, the young curls caressing the old head. "Granddad, have you any fear of Truesdale's rascality against you?" Nick asked timidly and very low. The Secretary glanced at him keenly; then, lift- ing his hand to smooth his dark hair, he laughed tenderly. "My blessed boy, your granddad has fought many a hard fight before now and never gone under." "But perhaps it would be as well to endorse the Astrados petition," suggested Nick with hesi- tation. The Secretary regarded his grandson earnestly. " Nicholas, he who fears is lost. I fear no man, my boy." "Or woman? " a,sked Nick nervously. John Durmont entered. " Did you send for me, sir?" "No," answered the Secretary. "Perhaps it was Mrs. Randolph; she is up-stairs." "Thank you, sir. Ah, good-bye, Nick," said the young secretary, turning toward Nicholas with CASH THIS AND SAY NOTHING " 143 extended hand. "You will be going soon, won't you?" "Yes, good-bye, Durmont, and good luck," an- swered Nicholas warmly. " Auf Wiedersehen, not good-bye, Nick," said Dur- mont with his frank smile, "and God speed!" They clasped friendly hands, and Durmont crossed the room and mounted the stairs. Mrs. Randolph was in the library, looking over some new French novels, as he approached. "Ah, John," she exclaimed as she saw his re- flection in the glass, and turned hastily toward him. "Will you do me a favor?" " If I can," he answered with respectful courtesy. She held a check toward him. "Cash this and say nothing, please." Durmont took the extended bit of paper doubt- fully and read. " $2,000 Armand Flambeau!" he exclaimed in astonishment as his eyes caught the signature. Mrs. Randolph watched him impatiently. "I am cashing it for the Count a little business matter," she explained, and wished she hadn't broached the subject. Was it possible that a man could live as long as Durmont had and hold absurd scruples, she ques- tioned mentally as she read the anxiety in his face, while he glanced from the check to herself. "Pardon me," he said, "but it is difficult to hide things in life, if they are wrong." Mrs. Randolph flushed scarlet with indignation. "What do you mean, sir? The Count is a gentle- man!" she declared angrily. "I command you to 144 THE GIRL IN QUESTION bring me the money." Unconsciously the blue satin slipper was stamped upon the floor as her words were shot forth. Durmont turned white. "Mrs. Randolph," he said, righteous indignation thrilling his voice, "it is not my business, but there are things being done at this house which certain people might misconstrue. Commissions are being granted to officers, government contracts let, money passes! If some malicious mind should connect these things improperly ? ' ' Mrs. Randolph interrupted him. "Sir!" she cried, fear, however, overpowering her temper, "I shall speak to the Secretary!" "No, you will not," quickly and firmly replied Durmont. He looked at the woman before him, and remembered she was not only the Secretary's wife, but the woman the Secretary loved. "I do not say anything is wrong," he said, soften- ing at the thought, " but I wish you to realize what you are doing. In official life it is necessary not only to do right, but not to appear wrong." As he spoke, he laid the check on the table before her, but she drew herself up angrily. " You need have no fear," she sneered. Durmont looked sadly, hopelessly at her a mo- ment. "I do not fear for myself," he answered, " but I do fear for the man I love dearly, and whom I hope you will at least consider. 'Don't cash the check, I beg of you, Mrs. Randolph," he pleaded, while footsteps sounded on the polished floor without. Durmont stopped, for it was the Secretary himself who appeared in the doorway, his eyes burning with "CASH THIS AND SAY NOTHING" 145 troubled excitement. He held a pale violet envelop crushed in his hand. " Nick has gone, my dear," he said addressing his wife, "so we will go to Cambertin's." "What! have you changed your mind?" laughed Mrs. Randolph with sudden delight. "Yes," he acknowledged, trying to smile. "Per- haps I have caught the habit from you. Come, the carriage will be here in ten minutes." 10 CHAPTER XVI BEHIND THE SCENES Cambertin's is so well known to every one who has visited Washington that description is useless. Suffice it to say, however, that it is the spot in the capital city that one may depend upon for gayety. It was a fair May evening, and Jones, the exclusive waiter of the famous, private palm-rooms on the second floor, was re-arranging to his personal satis- faction the flowers on one of his tables. The palm-rooms consisted of two parlors, artistic- ally decorated with a great barrier of tropical verdure to separate them. There were three entrances to the rooms. One opened upon a large bright hall; another, quite near the first, led to the street by a private stair; and, still another, at the extreme end of the second room, opened upon a dark passage, leading to the front vestibule. These rooms were often occupied by little gam- bling parties which lasted all night, sometimes for two or three consecutive days and nights; occasion- ally little "Congressional parties"; sometimes little "Embassy parties"; but always little parties on the questionable side of life, even if only a "party of two"! Otherwise the guests dined in the big crystal- room, which opened off the bright hallway below. The palm -rooms formed the empire over which 146 BEHIND THE SCENES 147 Jones reigned supreme, and he had reason to be proud of his domain. Two bells sounded, and the dusky lord rushed to open the door. He admitted James Graham with undisguised pleasure; for Jones, amid other triumphs, was wed to James's pretty sister. Also, which was perhaps a closer bond, Jones and James had been partners in several small "Congressional jobs." His interest in his brother-in-law ceased, however, as he saw the large and impressive negro who followed him. "Fo' de Lawd sake, James Graham, what don', brung yo' heah?" "Good even' to you, Brudder Jones," James re- plied, glancing a little fearfully at his companion, "but dis am a frien' ob mine. Whatsomeever he desires, I begs yo'll obey him, sah," retorted James obviously flustered. Fear, ever contagious, spread itself to Jones. "Any frien' ob yo's is a frien' ob mine," he com- mented, rubbing his hands nervously together. "Thank yo, Brudder Jones. Good even' to yo', sah," he added over-politely to his companion, Hippolyte, and made an agile exit. Jones tried to smile in his friendly fashion, but the cold dignity of his guest forbade. Hippolyte drew from his pocket a bag of money and counted out five golden eagles. He laid them before the astonished Jones as he remarked: "There is a lady in a coupe" below." "Oh, a cullud lady?" queried Jones with interest. A glance from Hippolyte arrested his thought, and he apologized hastily: "I does not presume dat yo' 148 THE GIRL IN QUESTION would condescen' yo'self to get on de box fo' a cullud lady, sah. Excuse inch, but I tho't it might be a pussonal matter, sah." Without change of expression, Hippolytc pushed the gold toward the negro and said : "The lady is alone. She wishes to come here for personal reasons, without being observed. If you can do this the gold is yours; but if the lady is not protected you will not live after to-night." Jones shook his head at the end of each command, but at the final sentence he turned gray under his black skin. " No one gets up heah less dey gives de signal, an' I knows 'em. I'll humble myself in yo' favor, to de best ob meh ability, sah," he ejaculated, clutching the gold with shaking fingers. Two sharp bells interrupted the negroes, and Jones rushed again to the door. He admitted Senator Truesdale, Congressman Sharp, and Brigadier-Gen- eral Hartley to the sanctum. It was apparent that Truesdale was under the weather. Sharp was try- ing in vain to procure "news" from him. Hartley looked years older, but was saying nothing. Trues- dale ordered whiskey "for three" and continued to abuse women in general. Hartley suddenly caught sight of Hippolyte as Brudder Jones was letting him out. He arose and followed the negro from the room. "Why are you so morose, Truesdale?" asked Sharp when they were alone. "No reason," answered Truesdale sulkily. "I I heard of a strange experience to-day, that's all." He drained his glass and became more confidential. "A man was calling where there was a black magician, BEHIND THE SCENES 149 who worked a kind of confounded spell upon him. The man left the house without knowing he had done so, and was a mile away before he was conscious of what had happened. Can you understand it?" he demanded, turning angry eyes upon Sharp. " Perhaps the black man was a Voudoo," answered his companion smiling. "What is that?" questioned Truesdale testily. "Well, the Voudoos evidently have learned a law of forgetfulness surpassing that of a married man in the cold gray dawn of the morning after." "Oh, talk sense, if you can!" Truesdale exclaimed impatiently. Sharp laughed good-naturedly. "All I know of the Voudoo is an experience I once had myself," the Congressman explained. "Some years ago I got into trouble, and was summoned into court. A friend told me to go to an old Voudoo doctor who made charms that would do anything. Expecting to be entertained by some fake business, I went. This old doctor was as black as coal and appeared to be very rich. After some precaution, and much ado about nothing, he gave me a charm and took my money. The next day I appeared in court, with not much faith in my charm, for the constable held a writ, and the magistrate was set against me. As I say, I appeared and met my enemies; but the constable walked by without noticing me, and the magistrate did, what he had never done before, forgot all about the case. Since then I feel it my duty to swear by the Voudoo. But, truthfully, I put it down to a strange coincidence," continued Sharp. 150 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Coincidence can't explain everything in life," muttered Truesdale gruffly. "If you are interested, why don't you attend one of the Voudoo meetings?" The Senator regarded Sharp irritably. "Do you think I have nothing to do but take a trip to Africa or Hayti?" "You don't have to go to Africa, my dear Senator," said Sharp. "If you will be more pleasant, I will escort you to a Voudoo meeting any Tuesday evening." "What! a Voudoo meeting in Washington?" "Certainly, within a few blocks of the White House," declared Sharp, as he turned to Jones and asked: "Any chance of meeting Secretary Randolph here?" "No," interrupted Truesdale, answering for the servant. "The Secretary does not resort to such places," he added with a sneer. "It would be well if he did," suggested Sharp knowingly. " There is more politics here than at the Capitol. The Secretary is taking desperate chances, Truesdale." "It may be his wife, Sharp. He is married by a large majority," observed the Senator. "That's right," acquiesced Sharp. "Wives tell the truth to every one but their husbands! That's why I'm single." Truesdale finished his whiskey before he deigned to reply. "Now, look here," he said. "I hold the Secretary of War right in the palm of my hand. I have a list of twenty appointments he has made in the last year. In three cases, I can prove positively " BEHIND THE SCENES 151 "Considerations!" exclaimed Sharp excitedly. "Hush," commanded Truesdale, looking about cautiously. "Does the Secretary suspect that yoif are insti- gating his enemies to a Congressional inquiry?" asked the Congressman in a low tone. "We'll act so quickly that he will not realize it until the blow falls." There was a flash of angry bitterness, born of many contests, in the Senator's eyes. "But why are you troubling to do this?" queried Sharp suspiciously. "I wasn't good enough to enter his family when I was young; but now he'll feel my strength." Sharp remembered, too, that Truesdale had once asked for the hand of Clarkson Randolph's daughter and had been refused, but his thought was arrested as the Senator went on. "Then, too, he has ignored signing a treaty I am interested in and intend to control. If any one refuses to aid that treaty, it is going to be me and at the last moment," he said in an angry undertone. "You mean the Astrados matter?" "That's my affair." "Somebody may tell him," suggested Sharp, drawing closer to the table and leaning on it. "My friends are his enemies," answered Truesdale complacently. "But your wives?" said Sharp. "Oh, they hate each other devotedly. His wife and my daughter love the same man," laughed Truesdale, regarding Hartley's empty chair, and ordering more drinks. "Well, that is too bad," observed Sharp; "but 152 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Linda Loving will tell us what is doing. She can hear and see further than any woman I know, and she is true." "To Nick Worthington?" Truesdale suggested. "Nonsense," replied Sharp irritably. "She only plays him. I have often thought that Linda ought to be in Congress." "I think she prefers the army ; it's less respectable," laughed Truesdale, with a glance over his shoulder to make sure that Hartley had not returned. Sharp shrugged his shoulders. "That is im- possible," he laughed good-naturedly, and he con- tinued to drink and smoke. "She has a meeting somewhere to-night with the enemy. She says afterward she will take a nightcap with me. In the morning I'll tell you " "All?" interrupted Truesdale. "All she learns," corrected Sharp. Two bells again sounded, and Hartley returned. "Oh, it's Hartley," said Sharp, pushing a glass toward the young officer as he approached and took a scat. "I heard you were ordered away." "Some one pigeonholed the order," replied Hart- ley, scarcely conscious of his words. He was re-liv- ing the events he had seen in the mansion of the Southern Queen. Never had he thought as he was thinking now, never had his wits been put to such a test. How could he deliver Carima's people? Was there no way for him to prove himself worthy of a great cause and a greater woman? " Fight your battles in Washington, General. It is more exciting and less dangerous," drawled Sharp. " Danger!" the officer laughed hoarsely. BEHIND THE SCENES 153 "Or, still better, make love to the Secretary's wife," observed Truesdale with a wink. "I shall when you are Secretary, Senator," answered Hartley, recalling himself with an effort. "I'd order you to the coast," cried Truesdale. "Mrs. Truesdale might countermand the order," replied Hartley so quickly that they all laughed, but the speaker arose nervously and again left the room. Two bells sounded, and Congressman Browne followed by Senator Tannihill, was admitted. The watchful Jones re-filled the glasses, and then retired from view. "Ah, here you are," cried Tannihill. "I have news for you." "Boy or girl?" Truesdale asked merrily. "Worse!" said Tannihill. "Twins?" cried Sharp with horrified vehemence. "The Secretary is below with his friends!" an- nounced the newly arrived Senator. A rocket had fallen into their midst. Truesdale rose excitedly. "The devil!" he exclaimed. "I thought he never came here." "They are settling things about the round table," continued Tannihill nervously. "We'll settle him!" muttered Truesdale. "Senator, his post mortem is agreed upon," drawled Browne. "Have a cigarette, Sharp?" "No, thank you, I only chew and drink," replied Sharp impatiently. "Then have a glass of water?" suggested Tannihill. "Thank you, I had one the other day," retorted Sharp sarcastically. 154 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Tannihill laughed, and called to Jones to bring more whiskey. As the servant again filled the glasses, he held the seltzer above TannihilPs glass; but was stopped by an exclamation of horror: " Don't do that, man ! Don't pollute God's draught of joy!" "Thought you had sworn off, Tannihill?" laughed Sharp. Tannihill raised his glass only by way of reply, and, regarding it very lovingly, remarked with extreme tenderness in voice and eyes: " Indeed, indeed, Abstinence oft before I swore but was I sober when I swore? And then and then came Jones with Rye-in-hand My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore." He drained the beverage to the last drop amid hearty applause from his friends. " I am a philosopher, too," cried Sharp. "Another inspiration! Here, Jones!" He raised his empty glass and, looking sorrowfully into it, said: " Indeed the Idols I have loved so long Have done my credit in this world much wrong. So I'll drown my glory in a blood-red cup, And sell my party secrets for a song ! " "Hurrah!" cried Tannihill. "Who says that politics and poetry mix not well? But come, gentle- men, we have a committee meeting to-night." He drew a pack of cards from his coat pocket. Sharp sprang up. "All right, Senator, I never shirk public duty. Jones, bring us a fresh pack. I don't like the color of Mr. TannihilFs cards." BEHIND THE SCENES 155 "Yes, sah," answered the ubiquitous Jones, moving quickly to the sideboard and returning with a new pack. "Come on, Truesdale," called Sharp. The Senator arose unsteadily. " Good, gentlemen, but one more drink, and I will give you Linda's new toast." The bottle made its round, and the glasses were clinked over the mahogany. At that moment the door opened, and, to the astonishment of all, a woman was politely ushered in by Brudder Jones. " Dis way, lady," observed the servant respectfully. CHAPTER XVII THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN The lady whose entrance had caused such havoc among the hilarious group of men was robed in trail- ing black lace, over which was thrown a manteau of black which concealed every line of her figure. A heavy veil, also of lace, had been draped in artistic abundance about her hat and face, and thrown carelessly over one shoulder, making the wearer's identity impossible of recognition. She moved grace- fully across the room to a far table, where Jones held a chair in readiness for her. The men had ceased talking at her entrance; but now Sharp broke the silence. "Discords evidently have charms for women," he said. Truesdale, however, eyed the veiled intruder doubtfully. "There is a chance for you, Sharp," he observed without removing his eyes. "Nothing but a Senator could win her," replied Tannihill, while Sharp smiled to himself: "It must be sweet Linda. Very clever, indeed!" Truesdale called Jones, and asked in a whisper: "Who is she?" "Don' know, Senator," answered the waiter with a grin. 156 THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 157 "How did she get in here, then?" questioned the Senator curiously. " She knows de signal, sah," quickly responded the resourceful Jones. "She's dressed to kill," remarked Sharp dryly. "Her sorrows?" suggested Tannihill. Truesdale, with an effort at dignity, lifted his glass and proposed unevenly: "Here's to the girl in question!" "But there are so many girls in question," cried Sharp. "Hush," commanded Tannihill. "Senator, we listen, and we drink to the girls in question!" Truesdale joined good-naturedly in the cry: "To the girls in question! " "And our poor hearts!" added Sharp. Two bells again sounded, and Hartley was ad- mitted. He sank into a seat, neither noticing the new occupant of the room nor his friends. "Hello, stranger!" cried Tannihill. "Here's a chair and a bottle!" He raised the bottle and sang a eulogy to it quite forgetting the fair neighbor's possible objection to his voice, and the waiting card-room as well : "Lift her up tenderly Take her with care; Fashioned so slenderly Old- but so fair ! " The men chuckled and re-filled their glasses. "Here's to your return unto us, Hartley!" smiled Tannihill. "Oh, don't flatter yourselves, my friends," cried 158 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Sharp in a suppressed tone. " 'Twas the petticoat brought him here." Truesdale drained his glass, and regarded the young officer contemptuously. "When you're older, Leon," he said, "you will want to see more than a petticoat or less! She may be old and wrinkled." Hartley assented to any and all remarks, and drained his glass without realizing a word spoken around him. "But, Senator," laughed Sharp with a sly wink, "you never can tell. There may be the rosiest lips, the brightest eyes, the most enchanting lines under all that black." Truesdale turned upon the speaker violently: "You talk as though you knew the lady. Have you a rendezvous here, sir?" Sharp laughed at the irate Senator. "No," he answered, "but I wouldn't be likely to tell you, if I had," he added saucily. Senator Truesdale eyed the bon vivant through the medium of his wine-glass. " I can see through a veil, and I can see through a man," he declared meaningly, and reached for the bottle again. "And any girl can see through you," rejoined Sharp to the delight of Browne and Tannihill. " But what's the matter with Hartley? We might as well have a ghost in his chair," he complained, slapping the young General on the shoulder. At this moment, how- ever, every one's attention was attracted elsewhere. The Lady of Weeds had broken silence. She was speaking to Jones, but they could not hear distinctly what she said. THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 159 Jones answered clearly: "Yes, madam, I under- stands, madam." There was a gloomy tone in the servant's voice, as he took the order which arrested the attention of the men. "A cup of weak tea, madam," he repeated wist- fully. "Anything else, madam?" he asked, a trifle more hopeful; but the lady was obdurate. She shook her veiled head and resumed her quiet atti- tude. The men exchanged glances. Sharp looked at Hartley: "She may find out why the General is so preoccupied," he thought inquisitively and rose, not without some difficulty and a repetition of the lady's surprising order: "Weak tea! Jones, where is the committee-room to-night?" he inquired by way of relief. "Dis way, Mister Sharp," answered the urbane Jones, holding open the door for the gentlemen to pass out into more congenial quarters. Tannihill rose slowly, glanced at the lady in black, then back to Sharp, with a significant look. "No, thank you," he remarked, and added, with ill-concealed disgust: "Weak tea!" He followed Sharp with an unhappy sidelong glance at his comrades. Truesdale also was slowly realizing, in his muddled state of mind, the to him equally obnoxious words. "Weak tea! Did she mean it?" he murmured with a pitying glance over his shoulders at the unknown in- truder. He shook himself, laughed softly, and rose to his feet. "I'll leave the weaker sex to your tender 160 THE GIRL IN QUESTION mercy, Leon. I know what a gallant you are, if you don't play cards." His sarcasm was quite lost, however, upon the young officer. Truesdale walked unsteadily to the door, again glanced back at the lady, and, muttering something under his breath, disappeared. Jones returned, looked at the two gloomy figures remain- ing, smiled knowingly, and went his way. Hartley remained motionless for some moments, apparently lost in thought, until, suddenly becoming conscious of a presence, he rose from his seat. The mysterious black veil had been thrown back, and Hartley gazed with astonishment upon Donna Carima's face. He stood spellbound. The words re- fused to sound between his dry lips. Donna Carima came forward, speaking excitedly. "General Hartley at Cambertin's?" she asked haughtily. He stood speechless, a score of questions striving for utterance. "What brings you here in this guise?" he gasped. "My dead faith, perhaps," she replied. In amazement Hartley leaned toward her, and asked pleadingly, beseechingly: "Why? How did you come here?" "With my horses," she replied flippantly. "Everyone will know them!" exclaimed the officer. "Not every one," Donna Carima smiled. "Where are they?" he asked anxiously. "Around the corner in the shadow, where all good horses stand that come here," she responded with a look that made him doubly anxious for her welfare. He realized the full seriousness of the situation. THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 161 "My influence in your behalf will be useless, if you are seen here alone with me at this hour," he cried, with sickening fear. "Who would question Donna Carima?" she ob- served with a haughty smile. Again Hartley saw the Queen before him, and it was difficult to explain to her. " There are those here to-night who would delight in using this against you." He glanced nervously toward the card-room as he spoke. "Your friends?" she queried contemptuously. "Ah, don't speak to me like that," the General cried imploringly. "Whatever may be your reason for coming here, you cannot doubt my love for you; that would be cruel too cruel." They were interrupted by voices, outside the door. "I will go in." It was Tannihill's voice. "Private room jes' now, sah," was heard in re- sponse in the obstructing tones of Brudder Jones. General Hartley almost seized Donna Carima in his arms in his mad effort to protect her. "For God's sake, go, if you have any regard for yourself, your honor for me!" "For you!" she laughed, but there was a sob in her voice. "They are coming in," cried Hartley in conster- nation. He pulled back the rich damask which covered the window, and bade her screen herself behind it. She only laughed at him, for, in truth, she did not understand the import of the situation. "You must do as I say to-night. I beg of you," he said sternly. 162 THE GIRL IN QUESTION At this moment John Durmont entered by another door, but stopped unobserved, as he saw and comprehended the scene before him. He was concealed from view by the branches of the palms. "You came here to meet a woman," Donna Carima said quietly. Hartley stepped back confounded. " I swear by all that is holy, I did not." "Men swear so easily by all that is holy," she observed, and, shrugging her shoulders in her ex- pressive way, she added, with maddening calmness, "I have nothing to conceal. Hide yourself, if you have." The necessity of protecting the woman he loved from herself was forced upon him, and, thinking only of her, the young officer sprang behind the curtain. Secretary and Mrs. Randolph entered. The statesman and his worldly wife exclaimed with astonishment : "Donna Carima!" The voice of the one had a thrill of triumph; that of the other held a note of dismay. The Secretary's wife was the first to recover. "You are here alone?" asked Mrs. Randolph sweetly. "No," replied Donna Carima simply. It was all very strange to her, this extraordinary questioning and abject fear of comment. Mrs. Randolph's raised eyebrows insinuated com- prehension. "Perhaps you await a friend?" she suggested; and the lady assented. Turning to her husband, Mrs. Randolph continued : " We had bet- ter not interrupt, Mr. Secretary." THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 163 The Secretary, however, stepped close to Donna Carima and said : "I received your note of warning. I cannot be sufficiently grateful to you; but may I ask if you intend to remain here alone? It does not seem very wise." "But she is not alone," sneered the wife. "Don't be stupid, my dear; when a lady like the noble Donna Carima says she is not alone that suffices to say that we are de trop." The Secretary turned again to the girl in question standing before them, so pale, so proud, so beautiful that her magnificent poise was a rebuke, felt even by Mrs. Randolph. " May I invite you to join our party in the crystal- room?" he asked, expressing his solicitude in his kind eyes. "Mr. Randolph!" interrupted his wife angrily at the forced detention, "I expect to meet friends to-night." Donna Carima stood still, endeavoring to control the hot anger which swept through her proud South- ern blood. It was the first insult she had ever re- ceived, and it cut deeply into her sensitive nature. Still she controlled herself. The Secretary's wife moved a few steps away, but turned back and observed pointedly to her husband: " I believe General Hartley is here to-night. If you wish to remain with the lady, I will inquire for him. He may bear rne company." This suggestion touched the limit of Donna Carima's patience. The name that had been crashing through her brain for so many hours struck upon her ears 164 THE GIRL IN QUESTION like a blow, when spoken by the woman against whom Senator Trucsdale had raised her suspicion. Was Hartley worthy of her trust? She would know, and sprang to the curtain which concealed the officer. Her hand was raised toward the draperies to tear them apart; but as she touched the brocade a cool firm hand covered her own and withheld it. A man had stepped from the shadow of the doorway, and stood beside her. A voice was speaking very quietly. It was the voice of the Secretary's young secretary, and he was saying : " I have the honor to be Donna Carima's escort to- night." "Durmont!" exclaimed the Secretary in astonish- ment. "The unimpeachable," suggested Mrs. Randolph exultantly. It was all too deep for the War Secretary. He bowed, presented his arm to his wife, and with bent head walked from the room. The doors swung together. Donna Carima stood speechless. To her the act was audacious. She turned upon her unexpected champion. "Why did you do this?" she demanded. "Because that is all, just because; a woman's answer and a man's impulse, perhaps," he replied humbly. She drew away and regarded him intently. She was endeavoring to perceive his motive. "Yes," he continued, as he observed the embarrass- ment in her face. " Some Americans give their love and make no bargains." THE ADVENTURES OF A QUEEN 165 Suddenly she understood his meaning and much more. "I shall be near," he said quietly. "Send Jones for me if you need me. I am only too proud to have been of service to Your Majesty." He bowed low and passed through the door whence he had come. It fastened with a click. Donna Carima stood still for an instant, then tore back the curtain which concealed Leon Hartley. CHAPTER XVIII KISMET "That was the hardest fight of my life!" Hartley gasped, as he fell prostrate upon a sofa. He turned to Donna Carima, however, with a cry of agony. "In God's name, tell me of what do you suspect me? You are not yourself to-nignt. You are cruel and cold and reckless; and yet I never loved you so much, although I thought I had already given you the deepest love of my soul. Don't stare at me like that. You're part of my life. My lips have touched yours. Our kiss was love itself! It is registered in Heaven, and will bind us together out into eternity!" He sprang up and came very near to her. "How beautiful! How magical you are!" he cried, as she raised her eyes, and they stood again en- tranced by the love which was crying for expression in the heart of each. "When I die it shall be with your kiss upon my lips," he went on. "Do not fear me," he added quickly, as she drew away. "I only want you to know, whether you think of me to-morrow or in years to come, that you will always own my thoughts and heart. You are a great and a beautiful woman, with a soul so pure it has changed my entire concep- tion of existence. Still life is strange and difficult. 166 KISMET 167 We feel true love in our souls; but we are conscious of it through our thoughts only, for the one means of expression is through the physical. And what shall we ever realize so beautiful as that wonderful moment when our lips first met!" She held uo her hand in protest, and he stopped speaking. For an instant he had swayed her by his sudden attack, and the thrill of his resonant voice sent tingling response through every nerve of her sensitive body ; but the moment passed, and she remembered her mission. "No, no. Ours was the ecstasy of superciviliza- tion," she answered, with the analysis of a masculine brain. "Even the perfection of the human should be but one phase of this life, Leon." She spoke very low, and with evident effort at self- control. Suddenly she threw back her head and burst forth, as some tortured prisoner might: "I want to live above all passion; to live a life that is strong and grand and free!" Hartley stepped toward her and took her hands firmly in both of his. "I know I know," he said. "The blood of your ancestral kings has been roused in your veins, and you sacrifice love to duty!" A hopeless sob choked his voice, but he conquered it and continued: "I hope it is right, though I only know that you answer all the longings of my being." Then with understanding he cried out in despairing adoration : " It is because you are truly pure that you are so glorious ! Ah, my Queen, my love ! " He held her eyes again, enchanted for the instant 168 THE GIRL IN QUESTION by the passion in his own. Her face had become all softness and light, but he noticed the trembling lips, and quickly released her hands. "Only know, Carima, my beautiful heart," he breathed again, "that love has grown to be my breath, my food, my life! You alone hold the cup from which my sustenance springs. Remember, for all time I am waiting always waiting!" With sudden impulse she wound her arms tremu- lously about his neck and clung desperately to him, breathing her love upon his ear, with such cruel suffering, it nearly broke his heart. "I understand all, all, Carima," he said in a choked voice. "I cannot torture you like this." He kissed the tears from her cheeks and tenderly put her from him. "I shall live worthy of your love," he murmured; "the touch of another's lips shall never press mine, and when ' The door opened. Mrs. Randolph had returned alone and stood listening, before either became conscious of her presence. Hartley's eyes followed those of Carima, and fell upon the Secretary's wife. He turned stiffly and questioned the intruder with ill-concealed scorn: " Have you forgotten something, Mrs. Randolph? " " I have discovered that which I returned in search of," she replied with a little laugh. Instantly Donna Carima recovered her poise, but they were tearful sad eyes which answered the sneering re- mark. An instant later Mrs. Randolph started in alarm, KISMET 169 as she heard her husband's voice outside, interro- gating Jones as to his wife's whereabouts. Donna Carima realized her apprehension and graciously moved toward the further room. "Come, Mrs. Randolph," she said kindly, "I saw some one pass out that way." The Secretary's wife followed, evidently much agitated. She brusquely pushed past Donna Carima, as they approached the door, hurriedly opened it, and, as quickly, closed it behind her. Donna Carima tried to follow. The knob turned under her hand, but the door was locked from the outer side. She started back aghast. "Oh, how cruel!" She smiled a little bitterly, however, and stood still to listen. Silence now reigned in the other room; evidently the Secretary had not entered. Carima turned to rejoin Hartley, when the middle door was thrown open, and a man stepped into the room. It was Nicholas Worthington. Donna Carima drew back involuntarily into the shadow of the palms. Nick wore a long ulster and a soft felt hat, which reminded the Queen in hiding that he was to have left for California that very day. He entered jauntily in his debonair fashion. "Hello, Hartley!" he cried with boyish fervor. The General started, and gazed blankly at the in- opportune visitor. "Oh, it's you, Nick; how did you get here?" he said, seating himself wearily; well pleased, however, that Donna Carima had in this instance avoided a iyo THE GIRL IN QUESTION meeting. "I thought you were on your way to the coast?" "So I should be," answered Nick, "but I decided to wait over a day or so. I knew I could not sleep, and so came here to pass the time." He glanced anxiously about, as though searching for some one. " There are other men in the same condition, Nick. Why can't you sleep?" asked the General, with an affected interest. " I may as well tell you, Hartley, as to eat out my heart alone. I cannot leave town while Carima Astrados remains here." There was a curious gleam in the young man's eyes. "Why should you wish to see her?" questioned the officer, leaning forward this time with genuine interest. "I should think you could guess," answered Nick excitedly. "Hartley, do you realize what a danger- ous woman she is?" The note of terror in Nick's voice caused Hartley to regard him keenly. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Oh, how blind you all seem to be! Hartley, it is the same old story of Eve, of Helen, of Cleopatra! A beautiful woman always wins, whether her desires be a husband or a country; and always men wreck their lives to satisfy her whim. For whatever it may be, ambition, duty for good or for bad with a woman it is just a whim! " " Have you been invited to speak at a woman's guild?" inquired Hartley with sarcasm; "or is this tirade upon the sex for my edification?" Nicholas flashed him an angry glance in reply. "I know," he said, "that you all think I am not KISMET 171 fitted for politics, but just listen to me for a moment, and I will tell you some things you may not know. To begin with, Donna Carima Astrados is the most dangerous woman I have ever met. She dropped here from the gods know where, put herself up as a Queen, and has become a power. She is a Circe of ambition to reign as Queen in that queer island of hers, and she will win some way; but in the winning she shall not drag down my old grandfather. He has worked too long and too faithfully to have his integrity questioned. Oh, it is a villainous plot!" Nicholas had risen in the excitement of his accusa- tion and stood to his full height, his young face flush- ing and his eyes flashing dangerous fire. Hartley looked at him, while a sneer gathered around his mouth. " What reason have you for this absurd statement?" he asked dryly. Nicholas started forward in a fury of passion. "Absurd! Absurd is it for this woman to use her wiles upon Truesdale, Tannihill, and the rest of my grandfather's enemies, and induce them to start a Congressional inquiry, based upon fraud, against him in his old age? Do you think he can live through it? Do you think his suffering, his disgrace is ab- surd? Do you?" He raised his hand and smote the table an awful blow in his excitement. "I swear, I'll shoot them down like dogs first," he cried wildly. "Now look here, I have explained all this to Durmont, but he will not believe it because this woman has dropped her eyes and smiled her sweetest upon him, and he has fallen to her like a fool." 172 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Durmont loves her?" interrupted Hartley, seiz- ing Nick's arm firmly to hold his attention. Nick laughed scornfully. "Have you not noticed? He has worn his heart upon his sleeve for all the daws to peck at." "Durmont loves her," repeated Hartley, remem- bering the scene of the curtain. "Not only he, but grandfather himself, believes in her. It is his wife's influence only that withholds his endorsement. This woman has fooled them all all but me!" He moved nearer to Hartley, with a sudden sardonic gleam in his eyes. "I confess," he said with a laugh, " I, too, was fooled at first. She had a tenderness toward me." His face softened perceptibly, then he ground his teeth in angry muttcrings : "No doubt, she has love for all mankind, and for womankind as well. Ellice Courtney is hypnotized by her, and will listen to naught against her. Oh! I have stood this as long as I can; but now now is time for action and, Hartley, you are the man to doit it is your duty!" "Do what?" asked the General; but before Nicholas could answer, he placed his hands upon the younger man's shoulders and turned his face toward the blazing lights. "Are you intoxicated, Nick?" he asked sternly. Nicholas threw off his hands. "No," he shouted, "except with hate with re- venge upon these weak men." He turned suddenly upon Hartley. "You are an officer, and you will do your duty?" he demanded. " Yes," answered the General. "Very well, Carima Astrados is in this restaurant to-night. She is here to meet Truesdale and his KISMET 173 crowd, and they arc to begin the inquiry against my grandfather to-night. That is why I did not go West. She must be trapped here and denounced openly. Show her up! Show how she plays both sides! Show that she is an adventuress, and send her back to hell, where she came from!" He finished his peroration in a commanding tone, and stood waiting Hartley's acquiescence. "And am I to execute this noble act?" Hartley asked, with a suggestion of humor. "Nick, my friend, we would only make fools of ourselves. Let us go home, and to-morrow you will see the absurdity of your accusation." Nick sprang forward in protest. "You refuse to save my grandfather?" he gasped. "Don't talk to me of to-morrow; to-night is the time to act. We must act now!" He spoke impressively, with the sudden force of conviction. Hartley shook his head. "No, Nick, you cannot bring disgrace upon an innocent woman to satisfy a dream. Believe me, there can be no truth in your statement; but if there is a question of a Congress- ional inquiry against the Secretary, I will fight it to the death. Leave it to me. I will join the card- players and see what I can glean." " No, no, I see through you now. You, too, love her! Oh, the blindness, the weakness of men!" Nick cried. "Very well, I will find her and expose her myself." Hartley was nonplussed. He wondered desper- ately if Donna Carima had made her way from the restaurant? He felt she had not, for she had come 174 THE GIRL IN QUESTION to learn much, and would remain until she was satisfied. He dared not allow Nick's insane idea to be carried out. If he should find her there, God only knew what the outcome would be. At any cost, he must save her. "Nicholas," he said sternly, "you will do nothing of the sort. Donna Carima Astrados is innocent of the charge; and you shall not ruin her by such an accusation." The two men stood glaring at one another, deter- mination absolute written on each face. "Shall not?" sneered Nicholas, "and who will prevent me?" "I will," answered Hartley firmly. "You, you? What do you mean?" demanded Nick. "I mean that I can and will prevent you from injuring this lady and making a fool of yourself. Nick, you are not sane upon the subject; you have worked yourself into a frenzy and, believe me, you will do the Secretary more harm than good in the state you are in. Will you not listen to reason?" "No," shouted Nicholas; "no, this woman came into my home, which was all peace and happiness. Her treaty has caused a difference between my poor grandfather and his wife. She has changed Ellice Courtney, and her very name has raised a barrier between Ellice and me." "Nick," Hartley suggested kindly, "did you not neglect Ellice a little when Donna Carima first came? " "No," Nick declared hotly, "never! When I first saw Carima Astrados she fascinated me, as with an evil charm. I could not rid myself of the vision of KISMET 175 her face, as though I had seen it before, perhaps in another life. I saw it in everything I looked at, and at night I dreamed terrible dreams, always with her face in them. Oh! she has wrecked my life, and now my poor grandfather's honor rests in her hands. I will expose her vile plot!" Hartley sprang before the infuriated youth, as he moved toward the door. "Stop!" he commanded in full voice of authority, and Nicholas stopped involuntarily. "Will nothing change your determination to do this insane act?" Hartley questioned, a frown dark- ening his brow, as though in warning to the younger man. "Nothing," answered Nick; "let me pass." "Wait!" again commanded the General. "Then you compel me to use the one weapon in my power. I hold a secret I had hoped to carry to the grave with me, but " "General Hartley," interrupted Nick savagely, " if you think argument can change me, spare yourself. My will is determined." "It is not your will, nor hers, nor mine," Hartley said sadly. "It is the law of God! The sin of years trie retribution of life!" A cry came from the shadow of the palm ; but the excited men did not hear it. "Oh, don't force me to say more," Leon Hartley cried with sudden emotion, causing the veins to stand out upon his brow. " It is a confidence, Nick," he continued. "You are forcing me to break faith with my own heart! Nicholas, my friend, don't do this thing I beg of you!" 176 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Nicholas struck aside the proffered hand. "I see you, too, love her!" he answered furiously. "Tell me if there is any reason, any sense in your mad assertion, or I will choke the lying words in your throat!" With a stride, he fastened the spring of the door and the officer and the War Secretary's grandson stood, as they thought, alone. Hartley remained silent, clutching the back of a chair, his face flushed and dark from emotion. "Ah, I see," continued Nicholas, watching him keenly, " these are all lies your jealous soul has created to protect her, but you can't do it. I will tell the world of her villainous plot against a great good man." The crisis was reached. Leon Hartley no longer struggled to control him- self. His one thought was to prevent this over- wrought boy from injuring the woman he loved so dearly. " The law of man and the law of God will prevent it," he cried. "Carima Astrados is your own sister! Follow her life-story and follow your own, as I have done! Follow it link by link! They are the same; and if you still do not believe me, look into the diamond locket she wears. There you will see your picture, with her own and your mother's face!" Nicholas drew back in horror, and gradually gathered the voice and strength of madness. "My sister!" he cried. "It is not true, not true! It is a lie a cruel lie!" As the words passed his lips he realized their mean- ing, and, springing toward his opponent, he struck KISMET 177 him furiously in the face. Without uttering a sound, Hartley fell heavily backward to the floor, striking his head violently on the projecting edge of the heavy mahogany table. The jarred glasses tinkled loudly as in protest. With reaction from the fury that had overwhelmed him, Nicholas felt for the General's heart. "He is dead I have killed him!" he gasped hoarsely. The chorus of a love-ditty sounded from the card- players, across the hall. Nick's first thought was that of self-preservation. Hastily turning off the electric switch, he felt in the darkness for the door, leading to the private stairway. "No one has seen me here," he thought. "No one even knows I am still in town." A sound suddenly stopped him. It was a voice. He could hear the swish of skirts in the darkness. His heart grew cold. "Leon, Leon!" a woman's voice called in an agonized whisper. The next moment he felt soft arms around him. "I must save you! I must save you, Leon!" she cried again. "You must get away. My carriage is in the shadow of the trees by the park. Go!" she pleaded, pushing him toward the door. He turned back, then obeyed. For a moment Donna Carima hesitated, but for a moment only. She followed him through the door- way. The love-song floated gayly after them, mingled with merry laughter. To the feverish brains of the two, creeping stealth- 178 THE GIRL IN QUESTION ily down the dimly lighted steps, every creak of the old stairs seemed to cry aloud of the crime that had been committed. But at last they stepped out into the radiance of a moonlit night, and, for the time at least, were free! Then Donna Carima Astrados realized that it was her brother, Nicholas Worthington, who had struck the blow. CHAPTER XIX WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES AND SIP RICH WINES ! Thomas Jefferson, the grand mogul of his social realm, was omnipotent, as he doled out his orders to the under-servants for the afternoon and evening's programme. With self-congratulation, he gazed upon the brilliant array of decorations for the coming Masked Ball which was being given to end the season by Mrs. Secretary Randolph. The house appeared gloriously gay, and not a suggestion of the anxious hearts of the occupants was apparent in the perfect equipment for the coming festival. Money had not been spared in the decorations. Alcoves and bowers of enticing beauty had been created, and unexpected nooks of lovely plants and flowers introduced for lovers, while large palms, glit- tering with wreaths of electric bulbs in flower forms, and bushes of rare roses, hid the musicians from view. At the foot of the grand staircase was a Turkish room, lighted with a single red globe, and at one end stood a punch bowl, rilled continuously by the art of the caterers below. The only rooms left untouched by the hand of the decorator were the library of the Secretary and the study of his grandson. The library had been vacant all the morning, and 179 180 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Thomas had taken advantage of good fortune and stolen a cat-nap between times on the luxurious sofa. He arose, yawned, and started for the kitchen when, to his astonishment, he collided with James Graham. "Oh, 'deed I does beg pardon, Mister Jefferson," apologized the intruder, " but is yo' willin' to receive a deputation to-day, Mister Jefferson?" Thomas immediately regained his superb dignity and self-control, for he knew that it was bad form ever to show surprise, or to evince unusual interest. "What is de deputation?" he demanded with im- portance. " It consists ob me an' Mis' Smith, Mister Jefferson," answered James smiling hopefully. Thomas looked steadily through the smile and commented, coldly: "I's not 'customed ter receive delegations in de Secretary's departments, Mister Graham. I has my own place ob business, sah." The smile upon Graham's face vanished, and he hastened to explain. "We done call at yo' office in de kitchen, Mister Jefferson," he stammered breathlessly; "but de cook say, bein' as I was a ol' frien', I might come up." Thomas frowned at the explanation and grunted : "De cook am circumventin' her authority, sah," but his face smoothed into pleasantness, as he ob- served a tall, seductive-looking mulatto woman ap- pear in the doorway. "Hem!" he added, softening under the modest beam of the lady's eyes. "Is dat Mis' Smith?" James turned to his feminine charge, who hesitated WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES 181 timidly under the uncertain smile of the great Thomas Jefferson. "Yes, sah," said James anxiously, "dat's Mis' Smith." After a full moment's awful consideration, Thomas sank back in the Secretary's chair, and declared pompously, his eyes roving approvingly upon the lady : "I'll receive de deputation heah, sah." Miss Smith took heart and coyly entered. A ring at the bell echoed through the room. It made no impression upon Thomas, however. "Thank yo', Mister Jefferson," replied Miss Smith demurely, with lowered eyes. Thomas smiled upon her now with more abundant politeness. "Is yo' de deputation, madam?" he queried. Again Miss Smith dropped her round eyes. " I is part ob it, Mister Jefferson. Mister Graham am de res'," she answered modestly. Thomas ignored the "rest of the deputation" utterly, and beamed upon the dusky applicant for his favor only. "Permit me tcr say," he observed, "dat I likes yo' looks, Mis' Smith. May I ask what 'fluence yo' have wid de 'ministration?" Miss Smith smiled at Thomas, then cast a grateful look toward James. " Mister Graham am my 'fluence, Mister Jefferson," she said, again dropping her eyes. "Yo' comes well recommended. Is yo' 'quainted wid de duties ob dc office, madam?" questioned the important Thomas, now in full business tone, as he swayed back and forth at the Secretary's desk. i8a THE GIRL IN QUESTION Miss Smith looked a little frightened. She was not prepared for an examination upon her capacity for official service. " I is ter scrub de secon' floo' ob de north wing ob de Wo' Department, Mister Jefferson," she answered, as though she were repeating a lesson. Thomas nodded approval. He leaned pompously back in his chair, and plunged his hands into his trousers' pockets. "And what requisites has yo' fo' de duties, Mis' Smith?" he asked in a lordly tone, while poor Miss Smith began to lose the slight courage which she had gained. "Six children an' a baby, sah," she stammered hesitatingly. "Ah!" exclaimed Thomas, "and is yo' 'quainted wid scrubbin'?" "Yes, sah," she proudly replied. "I has scrubbed dem all, Mister Jefferson." "Yes," commented Thomas slowly. "And yo' is a widow, I considers, madam?" he queried, smiling upon her threadbare, black and one-time widow's cap. Hope rose once more within her heart and she answered, almost gayly: "Mister Smith died seven years ago, sah." "Dat am a recommendation in yo' favor, Mis' Smith," declared Thomas, slapping the table em- phatically. "Mister Graham don' remarked as much," volun- teered Miss Smith in a pleased voice. Thomas arose majestically and, waving his hand toward the kitchen, dismissed the applicant for office WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES 183 with the important remark : " Yo' will please retire to de kitchen, Mis' Smith. I wishes to consult yo' 'fluence." "Thank yo', Mister Jefferson," replied the dusky widow with six children and a baby, as she hurried to obey, and disappeared awkwardly through the doorway. The bell again rang loudly; but Thomas still heeded not and turned to James. He regarded his companion with political sagacity before he spoke : "Me an' de Secretary is not appointin' to-day, Mister Graham." James looked knowingly at Thomas, and Thomas looked knowingly at James. James broke the silence, but temporarily evaded the thought which passed between them. "I understands de Congress " Thomas raised his hand with energetic authority: "I does not talk fo' publication to-day, sah." There was an awkward pause. When James had been given time to recover sufficiently from the severe reproof, the greater power leaned toward him over the Secretary's desk, and added very confidentially: "Dar is forty dollars a month attached to de office, Mister Graham." James stepped close to Thomas, but allowed his usual dignity to assert itself, as he corrected the pompous keeper of the Secretary's pantry. "Begs pardon, sah; but dar am thirty dollars a month 'tached ter de office, Mister Jefferson. I has recom- mended Mis' Smith ter hab ten dollars de-tached, sah." Thomas smiled with approval and remarked wisely : "We understands each udder, Mister Graham. Me 1 84 THE GIRL IN QUESTION and de Secretary will consider de application favor- able, Mister Graham." James bowed low. "I's duly grateful, Mister Jefferson," he replied. Thomas smiled condescendingly, but answered politely: "Don't mention it, Mister Graham. The Government mus' hab de bes' skilled labor. Fo' dc sake ob de party and de Government, sah. De party mus' live," he added thoughtfully. The dusky politicians were suddenly thrown into utter consternation, as often happens, by the sudden swish of a petticoat. Mrs. Randolph entered hurriedly. Upon seeing his mistress, Thomas sprang to his feet with hasty deference. "Thomas! Thomas!" she exclaimed. "Yes, madam, beg pardon, madam," he responded humbly. " What's that bell? Why doesn't some one answer it? It's deafening!" scolded the lady. Thomas bowed apologetically, and motioned to James to exit quickly into the hall. "Beg pardon, madam, it's de maid's place, madam. I'll speak ter de maid." "Answer the bell first," commanded the lady of the house, with little regard to the order of precedence among the plebeian world. "It's your deal, Mrs. Randolph," called Sir Charles Merriman from the adjoining card-room, the door of which had been left open when the hostess had entered the dining-room. Sir Charles was an attach6 of the English Legation. He had apparently also attached himself, as far as WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES 185 possible, to the good graces of the Secretary's fair wife. Mrs. Wilson and Count Flambeau made up the game of bridge. "Deal for me, Count," called back the hostess. "And, Sophie, have an eye on him!" Mrs. Randolph seated herself at the banquet- table to flatter herself into the belief that she, and not Thomas, was the sole creator of all things good for the coming event. She began her inspection by reviewing the evening menu, a Parisian toy where, concealed beneath the feet of a Cupid who held the china menu-card, was a music-box and, as she raised the emblem of love, music tinkled forth. She smiled approvingly. Meanwhile Sophie had pushed the cards toward Flambeau, and called back laughingly, "I've had two eyes on the Count for years, Louise." Thomas reentered the dining-room and approached Mrs. Randolph with some uncertainty, his white eyes rolling dubiously. "De maid say it am yo' gown, madam." Mrs. Randolph looked annoyed. "Why do you bother me with trifles when I'm engaged, Thomas? Why don't you take it to my room?" she asked impatiently. Thomas looked anxiously at the handsome frown- ing face before him, and felt the impending storm. " De maid say she won't leave it, madam, widout de money." Cupid was thrust upon the table, and the music stopped. Mrs. Randolph rose angrily. "Won't leave it!" she exclaimed. "The insolence! Does she know who I am?" i86 THE GIRL IN QUESTION She turned fiercely upon the servant, who blurted out nervously, "She say she's don' bis'ness wid yo' befo', madam." Mrs. Randolph clenched her hands. "She will never do business with me again!" she cried. "I am finished! I dismiss her! I'll rum her business!" "Yes, madam," acquiesced Thomas, in an effort to humor the great lady whose temper he had often had reason to know. "She say yo've don' ruined her already, madam." "Ruin her, indeed!" ejaculated Mrs. Randolph. "She should be ruined." At the sound of feminine onslaught in the dining- hall, the impatient Sophie appeared from the card- room, followed by the two men, by way of possible reinforcement. "What is it, dear?" she said, placing an affection- ate arm around Mrs. Randolph, but her hostess refused to be pacified. "It is this," she exclaimed, with angry eyes: "my dressmaker has the impertinence to refuse to leave my gown for the ball to-night without the money." " Pay her with chips," volunteered the Count gayly. Sophie turned upon him indignantly. "The woman must be losing her mind!" she exclaimed. "Don't you ever employ that dress- maker again, Count," she commanded. Flambeau raised his brows in question. "But I never have employed a dressmaker," he remonstrated. "Tut! tut!" laughed Sophie, "only by proxy, dear Count." WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES 187 Flambeau shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Some of our friends' wives are so shabby, dont- cherknow," explained Sir Charles with a dry chuckle. "And some of your checks go astray, eh?" com- mented Sophie, shaking her head disapprovingly at him. During this little play Mrs. Randolph had been thinking hard. "Has she the gown here, Thomas?" she asked at length. "Yes, madam," answered Thomas; "it am below, madam." The anger had died out of the lady's lovely eyes, and she now turned them upon Sir Charles with tears trembling in their depths. She knew so well when to use pathos and how. Sir Charles drew his purse slowly from his pocket, and counted out some bills. No one could tell what he thought. He had his English visor down. "May I have the honor of loaning you this trifle?" he asked, presenting two one-hundred-dollar bills to her. "Oh, thank you," said Mrs. Randolph, as she accepted the money. The Count had waved a farewell kiss to Sir Charles's donation behind Mrs. Randolph's chair, but as that lady turned toward him, exclaiming the one word "Count?" with an interrogation-point after it, the wily diplomat relaxed his expression to one of hopeless misery. " Here is a check for fifty," he said sadly, handing her a slip of paper. "Thank you, Count." She flashed him a bright 188 THE GIRL IN QUESTION smile of triumphant gratitude. All was fair weather now. "If Madame Soule" won't take any more of your checks, Count," she said laughing, "I will, if you have no more use for them. Keep tabs on the game till it is over. You will not have to remind me to' recall this one." She waved her hand graciously toward the card- room. "Go back to your playthings, children, and I will join you directly," she smiled cordially. "Come, friends," called the Count, moving toward the door, "we are now dismissed!" Sophie looked admiringly, though disapprovingly, at her hostess, and followed the Count, while Sir Charles obeyed Sophie's nod. and wondered what his reward would be. An Englishwoman generally intends to repay in some way, but Sir Charles had yet to learn that the American woman of position rarely considers pay- ment for past favors from the stronger sex, unless it pleases her to do so. Certainly, such an idea never entered Mrs. Randolph's head. She had the money, and there was an end to it. Why the men had given it was not in question; but how she should use it was. Mrs. Randolph was a leader of fashion. Too much was expected from her, perhaps, according to her husband's means. She realized that the Secre- tary's allowance to her was all that he could afford; but the fact remained unaltered that it was not sufficient for her ambitious necessities. So she cast about for additional substance, and soon found a means to obtain it. WHILE SOME WREATHE ROSES 189 Mrs. Randolph was a successful, though an un- scrupulous leader in her field, as many successful and respected men are in theirs. She turned to Thomas, and said : " Here, give this hundred to the woman. Tell her I will send the balance to-morrow. Get the gown, Thomas, before she counts the money," she commanded. Thomas bowed and went out. As Mrs. Randolph re-entered the card-room, Sophie was having her palm read by Sir Charles, and Flam- beau took the opportunity to whisper to his hostess : "What did you do with the check for $2,000 I gave you?" Mrs. Randolph smiled wisely upon him, and replied: "I deposited it in the Secretary's account, temporarily." Flambeau clutched the table, a ghastly fear over- spreading his face. "The Secretary's!" he gasped. "And mine," continued Mrs. Randolph, smiling complacently. "A joint account. I told you what occurred between Dunnont and myself so I thought, if anything happened, it might be even wiser to have the Secretary tied in with us instead of Durmont." The Count leaned back and regarded his fair hostess with grateful admiration. "You are wonderful!" he whispered and shuffled the cards. CHAPTER XX THE BEST LAID SCHEMES o' MICE AN' MEN GANG AFT A-GLEY An hour later, a bright voice was heard in the outer room. "You needn't announce me, Thomas," it said. "I know where to find Mrs. Randolph," and Ellice Courtney burst into the card-room. At the sound of her voice, Count Flambeau rose hurriedly and disappeared through a further door, but not before the girl had seen him. Ellice stood watching him make his escape; then her merry laugh rang forth. For the benefit of all, she nodded at the Count's hasty exit and then to herself, as she explained in true comedy style: "We are not speaking!" "Why not?" asked Mrs. Wilson with interest, while the others gathered about the girl with amused faces. For answer, Ellice laughed; then she cried, laughter bubbling through each sentence: "He has broken my heart! He has broken my innocent heart, and now come death!" She crossed herself devoutly, while Mrs. Randolph playfully slapped her arm. "Tell us the truth, mischief," she cajoled. "Did 190 THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 191 he propose to you, petite mtchante? He is quite capable of it. Tell us." Ellice nodded her head in the affirmative. "He did," she vowed, "and then he jilted me!" She tried in vain to smother her mirth, and look serious and woe-begone. "How did he do it?" asked Sir Charles curiously, feeling he had missed the point of the story, which was not unusual with him. Ellice turned toward the Englishman and, speaking with emphasis, continued with mock sadness in her tones: "Man proposed, and I accepted. Next we compared bank accounts and, when he discovered that mine was father's and not father's mine, he re- tracted his honorable intentions. And I am no longer the ' Flower of his Life! ' ' A voice from without arrested her attention, amid the general laughter Which her humor excited. "You may well look annoyed, Mrs. Wilson," exclaimed Ellice, turning upon the elder lady with the unconscious insolence of youth. "That voice belongs to Tim Brander. He has proposed to me three times in the last hour, and all out of one quart of wine. Don't give him any more, or he will commit bigamy! Bacchus, save me!" she cried, then paused to listen. "Did she go in here, Thomas?" asked the voice again, and young Brander appeared in the doorway. "Greetings, Mrs. Randolph!" he cried. "Where is my runaway?" Ellice ran to the other side of the table. "That's right," he laughed, his eyes following her tenderly. "Keep away from me. Keep away!" i 9 2 THE GIRL IN QUESTION He turned politely to the hostess, and explained: " Chere madame, I've been drinking wine, and when I've been drinking wine I'm real devilish!" "And more intelligent perhaps, Tim?" smiled Mrs. Wilson. "What did you say?" he asked with assumed dignity. "I never repeat," said Sophie, "lest my wit lose its virtue." "You stole that from me," whispered Sir Charles. "Which?" asked Sophie. Sir Charles looked puzzled, but Mrs. Randolph came to the rescue. "It is hard to determine what virtue is in this world; for the men write all the books about it," she said with a hopeless little sigh. "Not lately," remarked Sophie. "Mere man dare not cope with the English woman-novelist. Have you read 'The Thoughts of a Bridegroom' (in full), by An English Countess?" One might have suspected that silence meant more than words when Ellice Courtney was present with- out being heard ; but with the seduction of roses and wine, people seldom think emotions alone sway, as they did at this moment, for it was Tim only who felt the absence of the girl he loved. " I'm looking for my affinity," he declared, suddenly glancing around for Ellice; but she had escaped unnoticed. "Come, sit and console yourself, Tim," urged the adroit hostess. " We need another hand." "Of course," assented Sir Charles, and forced the young malcontent into the Count's chair. THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 193 Meanwhile Ellice had walked cautiously through the wide hall, hoping to meet Durmont, and, taking good care not to collide with Flambeau, if he should have remained in the house. She knew the surround- ings well, and her pretty head was feverish with thoughts of the past and questions of the present. Such sunny natures seldom look toward the future; but, with all their merriment, how keenly intense and stubbornly loyal their little hearts can be! Even under heavy burdens or approaching death, such natures are capable of laughter and witticism. We call them light; but are they? The library door stood ajar, and the girl peeped 1 in. The Secretary sat at his desk. He was alone. After a moment's hesitation the sweet voice called, "Mr. Randolph, may I come in?" The Secretary turned in his revolving-chair until he saw the questioner. " Certainly," he answered, rising to meet her. " It is many a day since I have been honored by so fair a guest." < "Please keep your seat," begged Ellice, smiling up at him. A wondrously sweet smile softened the lined face greeting hers. "Anything troubling you?" he asked kindly, re- suming his chair, while Ellice selected a pile of books near him, and seated herself upon them. "You look pale, my child," he added, observing her in- tently; but the little face was all merriment in a moment. "I guess I am anaemic," she said dimpling. "I have been reading Browning." i 9 4 THE GIRL IN QUESTION The Secretary smiled also, as he patted her bright head. "Your poet has a balm for every wound," he suggested thoughtfully. The silence was unbroken for several moments; then Ellice looked bravely up at the old man beside her, and spoke with evident effort: "Mr. Randolph, where is Nick?" The Secretary started perceptibly, but he answered calmly, without looking at the questioner. "He is in California, my dear." Ellice stared at him an instant in doubt; then shook her head. "Oh, no, I am afraid he isn't," she said with conviction. The old Secretary glanced anxiously at the girl, but did not trust himself to speak. Ellice slid off the books to her knees beside him, and placed her hands firmly on the arm of his chair. "I was afraid you didn't know," she whispered, "and I had hoped so that Mr. Durmont had found out. The reason I came to-day was because Ben Morton said some one has connected Nick's name with the murderous attack on General Hartley. I can't understand any of it, but Nick is good. I know he is," asserted the little girl excitedly, a sob choking her voice. The old man patted the small clenched hand upon his chair. "I am sure of that," he said in a low voice; "but Nick is all right, dear," he added hastily to re-assure her. The young girl ignored his last remark, and glanced around to make certain they were alone. THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 195 "There is only one person who knows," she whispered. The Secretary turned upon her. "Who?" he gasped involuntarily. Ellice answered quickly : " Donna Carima Astrados ! She knows everything, but she won't even see me since that night. First she was ill; then she she avoided me," declared the girl earnestly. "It is two long weeks and now you must see her and find out what it all means." The old man took the girl's bonnie face between his kind hands, and looked intently into the tear-filled eyes. His heart, too, was overflowing with emotions. He realized both her love and her sweet loveliness. "Thank you, dear," he said. "You are playing on an old man's heart-strings, but you mustn't believe all you hear." Ellice dashed away her tears. "I won't believe anything I hear if you will find out where Nick is," she said, trying to smile. They each looked at the other, each tried to speak; but age and youth were alike baffled by their aching hearts. The Secretary turned aside to control himself, and when he had recovered the room was empty. He arose to recall Ellice; but, instead, lifted his arms toward Heaven and cried: "Oh! my boy, my boy, where are you? Oh! God, where is he?" He tottered to his desk in his loneliness, and fell upon it, burying his face in his arms. When he glanced up again some moments later, it was to find Thomas standing near, gazing upon him with troubled and devoted eyes. 196 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Oh, is yo' ill, Mister Randolph?" he asked with feeling. "No, thank you, Thomas, I'm all right," answered the Secretary. Thomas bowed and turned toward the door, but he stopped half-way and, wiping away a tear, asked : " Is dar nothin' mo' I kin do fo' yo ', Mister Ran- dolph?" "Nothing, thank you, Thomas," answered the Secretary. "Oh, Thomas?" he called. "Yes, sah," answered the servant, hurrying to his master. "I have placed your friend, Miss Smith, on the rolls. She goes to work to-morrow." "Oh, thank yo', Mister Secretary. I 'sured Mis' Smith de 'pointrnent would be made, sah. Sure der ain't nothin' mo' I kin do fo' yo', Mister Secre- tary?" "No, thank you," said the Secretary, turning to his desk. He picked up an official letter, and smiled upon it. "I am glad this came," he murmured; "I can't last much longer, and I want Durmont to be pro- moted." As he spoke the young man entered. The old man turned feebly to his faithful secretary, and questioned, " Have you my bank-book and accounts balanced?" Durmont's face was filled with deep concern. "I went to the bank, sir, but there is nothing in the bank," he answered hesitatingly. It wrung John Durmont's heart to tell the Secretary ; but it had to be done and at once. THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 197 " Nothing ! " echoed Mr. Randolph. " Why, John, my balance was forty thousand odd, a week ago!" he exclaimed in bewilderment. Durmont examined some papers, as he tried to explain. "The account was jointly in Mrs. Randolph's name and yours, was it not, Mr. Secretary?" "She drew it out?" gasped the Secretary. "Yes, sir, to-day," replied Durmont. The Secretary sank back in his chair; then, strug- gling with the mighty forces within his heart, he made a supreme effort and turned to the young man. "Ah, yes," he muttered, conquering himself. "I remember now, Durmont. I asked her to do it. I wished her to have it a present, I gave her a little present " Here is the messenger now, sir," interrupted Durmont, as Thomas ushered in a bank clerk, who presented a passbook to the War Secretary, also a letter, which he immediately tore open. Durmont moved to retire; for at that moment Mrs. Randolph had entered, and he thought it more gracious to take his leave. The Secretary's voice, however, arrested him. "A moment, Durmont. Look into this." He motioned to the clerk to wait without, then pointed to the letter, and read: " Kindly send your check for two thousand dollars to make up deficiency for enclosed check, returned unpaid for proper endorsement." Mrs. Randolph stepped quickly forward. "Give it to me it is a mistake it is She held out her trembling hand, as she spoke. 198 THE GIRL IN QUESTION But the Secretary retained the check, and turned it over slowly: "A check from Armand Flambeau to my wife! I have never admitted this even to myself, until now," he muttered faintly. "You you! I could not believe it; now I know!" His face convulsed with pain, as he covered it with his hands. Mrs. Randolph remained outwardly calm, won- dering what was best to do. She had only seen her husband angry a few times in her life; but the memory still frightened her. "Please, don't " she cried, coming close to him, and trying to draw his hands away from his lowered head. "I will fix the check. It is only a mistake." "Yes," cried her husband, "you may be able to fix the check; but can you alter the fact that this man has been your intermediary in my ruin; that he has taken money for appointments which you have persuaded me to make, and given part or all to you; that he has worked up the cases, while he received the hospitality of my house, and his reward? God only knows the extent of his reward!" He had risen to his feet; the fire burned in his eyes, but now it sunk away, and he fell back in his chair, trembling and cold. "All this is quite untrue; and, please, be more respectful to your wife," exclaimed Mrs. Randolph, still undecided about her tactics. Again the old Secretary roused his courage and sat upright. "Durmont," he commanded, "tear up that check; and now, Mrs. Randolph," he said sternly, "sit at that desk and write a note inviting Donna Carima THE BEST LAID SCHEMES 199 Astrados to attend our ball to-night. She refused your invitation, but if she again rejects your re- quest the ball will not be given." The Secretary never knew what the note contained. Mrs. Randolph wrote for some time, threw the pen from her and, drawing an orchid from her bodice, crushed the juice cruelly from the beautiful glowing leaves upon the fold of the envelope, sealed it, and handed it to her husband. "That will bring her," she said maliciously and swept from the room. The Secretary looked after her a moment, then turned to Durmont. "Give me the document embodying the treaty which Donna Carima desires," he requested. " I will sign it, and send it with the note." CHAPTER XXI WOMAN vs. MAN "It's too early for the ball, Linda," said Sharp. " Give me a drink, and let's sit here for an hour. I'm tired, and your rooms are always cool and soothing." He threw himself upon the sofa and closed his eyes. Linda prepared a refreshing julep, with Southern deftness, and brought it to him. He turned on his side and complacently regarded her, as he sipped the beverage: "You look stunning to-night," he said. "What do you represent?" "Juno, I believe," she answered, her thoughts far away. Then her eyes fell upon the Congressman's evening dress. "Where is your domino?" she asked. "There, with my hat," he replied, indicating a small package. " Are you ashamed of it?" she queried, undoing it and shaking it out. He looked around her pretty rooms. "Well, the time is come," he said, "when some women no longer have to marry for a home and support. The next generation of femininity will be educated to a profession or business, I suppose." "Then," answered Linda, thoughtfully, "a woman will marry a man merely for his true worth." She laughed lightly. "It will seem almost improper, won't it? "she added. WOMAN VS. MAN 201 Sharp laughed and touched her hand, as she sat near him. " I have never cared for any one as I care for you, Linda," he said, smothering a yawn which did not interfere with his sincerity. Linda's lip curled cynically : " That is the best a woman can even hope for the best love of a man's life; never the only love, just the best love; and yet so many women give their best, their first, their only love to a man." "But," interrupted Sharp, "a man's first love is worthless, and a woman's last love is hardly worth the giving." "Do you think so?" Linda asked sadly, "why?" Sharp glanced at her shrewdly, trying to divine her secret thoughts. After a moment he leaned back defeated. "Oh, the error was begun so many hundred years ago; we can only accept, not explain the law of man and woman," he replied a little impatiently. Linda sat up indignantly. Sharp sipped his julep. " The error was begun in the primitive ages, when woman was dethroned from her life of free equality with man," she said, the light of rebellion growing in her eyes, as she continued; "when she hunted for herself, protected herself, and lived her own life, before man captured and imprisoned her and tore away the freedom of her self-life which nature gave her. Man weakened her by degrees, both mentally and physically; he demanded that she live for him, not for hereelf. He encouraged her in laziness and immorality, because they gave him power over her. THE GIRL IN QUESTION This is the true story of Woman's Fall, though you do not acknowledge it." Sharp looked at her with admiration, then sighed plaintively and yawned again. "That may be true," he said with a suspicion of a smile; "but those blissful days are o'er, Linda, and think of the penalty poor man must pay if the present woman's revolution is a forerunner of future woes!" "You only laugh at me," pouted Linda, turning away from him. "No," he assured her, over the rim of his julep cup, "I am in earnest. Why, you have made me suffer enough to repay for all my forefathers who did the first capturing. But now that you have risen above your deluded sisters, will you meet me on an even basis? I find that most of the new women bear such a grudge against poor man, they think it weak to meet him half-way; but must sink him into the dust of humiliation, before they feel quite ' even.' Please don't do this, because in doing so you are drifting so far away from love. Remember, Linda, dear," and his voice became almost plaintive, "if woman asserts herself, she must be big and strong and live up to Woman's natural ideals, not fall to man's; and if you cultivate ideas and labor to carry them out, you have less chance of being happy; for ideas mean ambitions, which crave to be satisfied." "But," Linda protested quickly, "look at the hardships a woman has to endure to be acknowl- edged by the world. A man with ideas is called a genius, a woman with ideas is called a crank!" "Not when she is clever and handsome like you, Linda," answered Sharp, watching the breeze play WOMAN VS. MAN 203 with a stray curl from her hair. "I am a man," he continued, "and you have ideas; yet to me you are sublime!" "Then we had better stop," laughed Linda. "Thomas Paine said, 'One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridicu- lous makes the sublime again ' ; so it's dangerous to go further; and then it isn't encouraging to think that extreme ignorance is our only chance of hap- piness." "Well," demurred the Congressman meditatively, " that depends upon what happiness is. " "What does it mean to you?" asked Linda with interest. "Happiness!" he said grandly. "Well, happiness would be a perfect passion between a man and a woman, where pure thoughts only commune, where every desire is answered, and where satiety is im- possible." "Have a care," she cried in warning, "you are not on the floor of the House of Representatives, sir, with one eye on the gallery!" Sharp paused a moment, then went on : "I guess that would be happiness to human me, but it has never been found by others, and the poor world is some seven thousand years old. If such a thing happened, I fear the shock would startle Theos off his throne, and send our little planet whirling away into space. Still," he declared, again touching her hand, "with these convictions I will go a-looking for it in the Realm of Future, if you will go with me, Linda?" "The chances are too great," Linda answered, 204 THE GIRL IN QUESTION turning a .ring upon her finger, and lowering her eyes coyly. " Marriage," she asserted, raising her straight pencilled brows reflectively, "is so like medicine. It agrees with some, but disagrees with most!" Sharp laughed heartily, but he analyzed Linda's convictions with secret suspicions. She had played him so cleverly at first that he had been petrified with admiration, horror, and almost hate. Many stories had been whispered of her life, and he had laughed at the idea of taking her as his wife, yet found himself often longing for her companionship. Now he had allowed her to answer the question, though he had not actually spoken it ; and she had demurred! He scrutinized her closely. Was she playing or was she in earnest? Would she refuse him if he asked her? "After all," pondered the bon vivant, "it is quali- ties, not individuals, that one seeks. To unite the cultivated powers of attraction with the innocence of sixteen would be as difficult as to perpetuate a dream." Linda's thought was active also, and her next remark was a propos of life's vagaries. "Strange, is it not," she said, "that no matter how ardently we gaze into another's eyes, we can see only the color, the depth, but never the secret thoughts, the inmost soul of that other one. Yet if the depth, the color pleases us, we are satisfied. Perhaps it is best so. The ego is born alone, dies alone, is re-born alone, and must live alone." She sighed deeply, and Sharp realized how well her easy manner of expressing her thoughts pleased him ; but the frown cut deeper into his well-shaped brow. WOMAN VS. MAN 205 He really couldn't marry her. But a questioning fear clutched at his heart: Could he live happily without her? Linda misunderstood the look. She was so tired of the fight the eternal fight with her world and, whatever her desires for the adventurous might have been, they were all "lived out" now. "To be Mrs. Congressman Sharp would be a sweet haven of rest," thought Linda, but her thoughts went bravely on : " Not if he did not truly wish for her." " Do you doubt me? " asked Sharp curiously. "No, no," she answered, "not exactly. I I was thinking; perhaps it was doubt of myself." She looked straight at him, as she continued : " You have played for me without serious intention. I understand you are a great man. I am really nobody, but a woman who has fought hard, harder than you know, and been successful, too, in my fight- ing. It has made me a strong woman, Marcus, but I'm only a woman." Her gaze wandered out through the window into the darkening night. "We cannot live in this world without desire," she continued slowly; "desire for gold, desire for fame, desire for love, a great love, more than our neighbors have; and when the devil holds either of these three temptations toward us on a glittering delusive salver, we fall fall, Marcus! We may resist the first and perhaps the second, but rarely the third; and when all three tempt us, Marcus, God can't expect abnegation from us frail mortals. So don't, please, don't tempt me." Her voice was soft and pleading, as he had never 2o6 THE GIRL IN QUESTION heard it before. Her eyes were sincerely moist, as She raised them to his. She had conquered the fear in his heart, and enlisted his sympathies. He stretched out his hand, and took hers firmly in his own. " Little woman," he said, " I want you for my wife." CHAPTER XXII THE SOCIAL WHIRL The music of the Marine Band had sounded the salute to the Honorable War Secretary, and followed it by a military march. Thus the dance was well under way, when a lovely Cinderella strolled from the ballroom, fanning herself vigorously. " I thought you wouldn't know me," said the gallant Knight of Old, who accompanied the little fairy-endowed maid. "Ah, yes," laughed Cinderella, " I would know you, Mr. Durmont, under any guise." "And I would know your voice, sweet Ellice, if it really came from a pumpkin carriage drawn by white mice," answered Durmont, smiling down upon his dainty partner. "And now that we are discovered," declared Ellice, "please tell me how is handsome General Hartley?" "His condition is said to be favorable to his recovery," replied the young secretary. " Then it will no longer be a case of murder, but of murderous attack?" she questioned eagerly. "Exactly," answered Durmont, amused, in spite of the seriousness of the reflection, by the legal dis- tinction drawn by the young miss. "This is my dance," exclaimed Sir Walter Raleigh, rushing breathlessly upon them and whirling away 207 208 THE GIRL IN QUESTION with Ellice before Durmont understood what had happened. He turned with a generous smile, how- ever, and followed the little girl with his eyes. "A whole dollar for your thoughts, Sir Knight," spoke a voice behind him. He turned to see Juno, smiling at him through her white mask. "I am happy to-night," she said gayly. "So do tell me about sorrow, or I shall forget to sympathize with the world! By the way, do you know there is a lady of interest here?" She leaned very close to him and whispered: "Donna Carima Astrados! You know, I always believed she was the cause of the horrible attack upon General Hartley's life. Rumor said it was a quarrel over one of Mrs. Randolph's political deals between Flambeau and Hartley; but Flambeau proved he was at Mrs. Wilson's that evening, and I well "Well?" echoed the Knight of Old. "It is whispered" continued Juno lightly. "Who whispered?" demanded the Knight sternly. "Well," lisped Juno, "some one saw a little, Flambeau heard a little "And you made up a little?" finished the Knight. "Oh, I thought it was you, Mr. Durmont!" cried the Goddess. "You are always so serious, but I can't be serious to-night. And I can't understand young women of our time. They are so indiscreet." She raised her head haughtily and spoke in comic affectation. Durmont looked at her in surprise; he had recognized Linda. "Oh, I'm reformed," she laughed in answer to his look of inquiry. "I am a moralist. You will THE SOCIAL WHIRL 209 understand to-morrow. Come, let us dance this waltz." He placed his arm upon her waist, and they joined the dancers. The rooms were alive with figures, gay, brilliant, enchanting. Gods and goddesses, kings and queens, fairies, fads, and fancies. There was the antique, the modern, shuffled to soft music in the human kaleidoscope of the ball. Mrs. Truesdale, robed in rich black, and representing only the gentle, delicate woman she was, sat in an alcove at the upper end of the ballroom, watching the dancers; next to her was Sir Charles Merriinan, garbed in picturesque costume after Bonnie Prince Charlie; while on the other side, in marked contrast, lolled Patrick Henry, representing his ancestor and namesake in Continental costume, and in himself the highest type of Southern gentleman. Behind them strolled Linda Loving on John Durmont's arm. She answered Sharp's smile, however, for her eyes were everywhere at once, and sank into the chair he had reserved for her. "Who is that woman with the wonderful figure?" inquired the Congressman, addressing his new- found goddess. Linda followed his gaze. " Oh, she is the young actress Viola Dias." "Aw, ah, isn't she smart! And the man eating her up with his eyes, who is he?" queried Prince Charlie, with a quizzical look toward the omniscient Juno. "That," she said, leaning forward and gazing after the couple, "that must be Michael Damion, the illustrious Michael Damion." 14 210 THE GIRL IN QUESTION " Indeed, I have heard of his infatuation," remarked Patrick Henry, following them also with admiring eyes. "She must be wonderful, for him to be so epris." " Oh, not necessarily," answered Juno, un-Juno-like. " She has charm, but he will never rack her soul. It is smothered with too many coatings of worldly wis- dom to meet herself, much less to meet him." It was evident that Juno, too, was world-wise. "When a man loves he loves too deeply," remarked Patrick Henry thoughtfully. Linda looked at him with twinkling eyes. She was not so sure. " While he loves, you mean, dear Patrick," she observed by way of correction. "Strange, is it not?" philosophized the statesman, "that such a woman has the power to awaken and tear this really great-brained man through and through, until his heart bleeds for her one individ- uality. What does it mean? " he asked half to himself. "It means nothing," answered Prince Charlie with an emphatic nod. "Nothing ' Earth could not answer; nor the seas that mourn In flowing purple, of their Lord forlorn; Nor rolling heaven, with all his signs reveal'd And hidden by the sleeve of night and morn.' " He recited the lines with interesting cadence, over- looking the maskers revelling in life. The listeners were impressed; but after a moment Linda ex- claimed as she raised the punch glass which she had taken from a proffered tray : "Here's to your theory of accidental accident, Prince Charlie ! We are all microbes without future THE SOCIAL WHIRL in or hope! Kind and helpful Prince, you are slight improvement on the Church, which says, 'Good Lord, deliver us, we are miserable sinners, for there is no health in us/ which is not an over-encouraging sug- gestion to our Lord! Oh! look, folks," she cried breaking off suddenly, " the distinguished Damion is kneeling to the actress!" "He is fixing her slipper," explained Patrick Henry dryly. "Heavens, he will weep next," complained Sharp in humorous sadness. "How do those women do it?" asked Mrs. Trues- dale curiously. "Art, I suppose, art!" answered Prince Charlie with pensive interest. "Are they married yet?" asked Sharp, as the couple in question glided past. "Oh, no," negatively replied Linda. "They are artists!" Mrs. Truesdale colored. Sharp glanced with appreciative amusement at his goddess, while Sir Charles shot an imaginary cuff from under Prince Charles's lace ruffles. Patrick Henry arose and bowed before the re- splendent Juno. "May I have the pleasure of this dance?" he asked, being a friend of all lovers and wishing to curb Miss Loving's wagging wit before it ran wilder. "Look!" whispered Linda, as they whirled away; " do you know who that is in the rose domino?" "And shining white gown trailing from it?" queried Patrick Henry, following her eyes with interest. 212 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "Yes. Guess who she is?" commanded the goddess. "I can't. Who is it?" " Dance nearer. I want to see her more closely my- self," suggested Juno. The lady in question was standing in the centre of several gallants of varied and weird costumes, who were disputing her dances with no kindly grace. The masker wore a mantilla of rich cream lace, which hung in such rippling masses over her head that it was impossible to discover even the tint of her hair. "Gentlemen, gentlemen!" laughed the lady softly, U I am too honored by this flattery; but, being a woman, I take advantage of it and must choose my partner. Let me see, I am a poor unprotected damosel and so I choose, as my protector yonder gallant Knight of Old!" There was much dispute and some annoyance over the lady's right of choice, but she heeded not and laughingly floated off on her gallant's arm. The couple waltzed to the end of the corridor, which led to the Turkish room; and, as they reached the turn, the lady in rose stopped. "Let us promenade, please," she commanded softly, and walked forward toward the Oriental room, which was more free from observing eyes. The Knight followed, as he was bidden, but when they reached the centre of the dimly lighted apartment, he observed his partner sway slightly. "I am a little faint," she said, speaking for the first time in her own vibrating voice. He sprang to her side. THE SOCIAL WHIRL 213 "Donna Carima!" he cried. "Are you ill?" "No, no, it is nothing," she answered, smiling bravely, "just a moment, please." She sank upon a seat said to have once held a Hindoo god, while Durmont rushed to the punch- bowl standing near the open fireplace, arid brought her a glass filled with the cordial. She drank it, and apologized: "The heat of the room made me feel faint." The weirdness of the decorations, the atmosphere that breathed from the ancient settings, the uncanny mixture of gargoyles glaring from between draperies had all affected the sensitive girl-woman. Her ex- traordinary organization, which made her wonder- ful to men and women alike, gave out the same magnetic power to auras of the inanimate, as well as to the animate. Hitherto her mentality had grown freely, leaving her physically strong and able to control and dominate tliis unconscious power. Since the tragedy of Leon Hartley, however, the discovery of her own brother, the question surround- ing her mother's life the freedom of which she had until now only seen as beautiful anxiety, fear, and grief had weakened her, until she feared that the surrounding forces might conquer her. Then, too, a black figure, unnoticed by Durmont, had passed close to them. Donna Carima tried to overcome the faintness of premonition which attacked her by reason of the gloomy presence. She had controlled herself for so many days, however, that, when she had heard some one in the ballroom connect Nick's name with the attack upon Brigadier-General Hart- ley, it had sent her brain reeling. No word had 2i 4 THE GIRL IN QUESTION been received by her from Nick since the fatal night, when, upon discovering her mistake, she had tried to return to Hartley; but Nick had lifted her in his arms, placed her in her carriage, and disappeared in the darkness. At that moment she must have lost consciousness, and could remember nothing more until Madame Piquero bending over her couch had awakened her. Since that night a strange tenderness had filled her heart for Nick her brother Nicholas although he had injured the man she loved. If the horrible charge were brought against him, how easy it would be for his enemies to find his whereabouts, though impossible for her! She turned, however, to Durmont, concern for her lover overcoming all else. "How is General Hartley?" she asked anxiously. "I visited the General to-day, and saw him alone. He is very ill, but I believe he will recover. His one thought is to receive some word from you. He has received pansies daily, but he is dying for want of a word. It was all he could speak of. May I take it to him? It will do more good than all the doctors in the land." "Tell me more," she pleaded. " Is he sitting up?" "Yes, propped by pillows and against the doctor's orders. He said that it was his heart only that was broken, and smiled as he always does. He is a brave soldier." Carima took a ring of twisted dragons from her finger and handed it to Durmont. "Give this to him," she whispered, and turned her face away. " It holds the charm of life." THE SOCIAL WHIRL 215 Durmont crushed the emotion in his own heart, and took the ring. "The dancers will come here presently, as the music has ceased," he suggested with assumed indifference. " Shall we stroll into the conservatory? " She rose, and placed her hand gratefully upon his arm. CHAPTER XXIII THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT A merry Cinderella entered the reception-room, escorted by no less a personage than Sir Walter Raleigh. This later Sir Walter looked at his com- panion and heaved a great sigh, after which he re- moved his cloak, and with a deep bow placed it upon the costly rug before the little lady. " I know there isn't any mud here ; but if you will kindly walk across my cloak, it might give me some of the old chap's luck," he implored. Cinderella tripped gayly over the velvet garment, raising her petticoats just enough to display her dainty slipper and well-rounded ankles. The young man bowed gratefully, and threw the much-honored cloak again about his shoulders. "Be serious, please, Ellice," he pleaded, standing before her. "Am I in favor oh I mean, have I a winning chance?" Ellice smiled teasingly. "I can't tell any more than before," exclaimed Tim's young voice desperately; "the imp of Satan is always in your eyes!" "That is only childish glee," laughed Cinderella. "But, you are pretty!" declared the enthusiastic masquerader. "The color fairly dances in your cheeks." 216 THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 217 "I'm glad it docs not run, Tim," replied the irre- pressible one. "I do love you!" he exclaimed fervently, almost embracing her. "All men say that," she said laughing, as she dexterously avoided his intention. "'You are a dream/ 'I never lived until I knew you,' or 'You have brought me back to life,' or 'I could slave for you,' or 'I never knew what love was until I met you,' or, best and most in use and guaranteed never to fail, ' You are the first girl I ever loved.' There is a pretty list, but you must import a new one, if you would win me," concluded the girl gayly. "Do be serious, Ellice. Your father approves of me," pleaded Tim; and he continued eagerly: "I'm not poor, and I'm rising!" "Well, that is in your favor," smiled Ellice, playing with her fan. " But, then, I couldn't marry a poor man. Mrs. Randolph gave me the recipe; it is thus: 'Shun all poor men; for, if you don't know any, you can't very well fall in love with one.' ' Tim turned away sulkily, while Ellice regarded the back of his fine blond head earnestly. " If I could only learn to love him," she was think- ing. He moved toward her again, determination written on every feature, making the boyish face look suddenly strong. "Ellice," he cried, "don't you think we could be very happy together? We like the same things; we know the same life. I would live only to make you happy." He beamed upon her with the enthusiasm of youth and love. 2i8 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Ellice placed her hand softly upon his arm, as she answered sweetly and kindly, too. "I never cross a bridge, dear, until I come to it. Come, let's dance." Tim caught her hand and held it firmly in his own. " You are at the bridge now, and you must decide. If you say 'no/ I shall keep on asking you until you say 'yes.' Will you marry me? Will you marry me? Will you marry me? Will you " The great moment was interrupted, as so often happens in the affairs of love, by a very frightened young man who burst through the doorway at this juncture, followed by Prince Charlie, who called after him : " What is the matter with you, Jamieson? " "I've lost Dora," called back the little minister in a flurry; and, seeing Cinderella unmasked, he rushed toward her in forlorn hope: "Oh! Miss Court- ney, I have lost Dora," he exclaimed in miserable accents. Ellice smiled into Tim's dejected face. "Now, this is something truly serious," she said. "But I have really lost Dora," repeated Mr. Jamieson in distress, his voice rising excitedly, as he explained: "We were leaving the White House. There was a crush. The officer made me go round one side of a pillar and Dora the other, and she got lost!" "Terrible!" sympathized Ellice. "The officer couldn't have known who you were." "But I told him, I told him," pleaded Jamieson. "And did he apologize?" sneered Tim. "No," answered the ingenuous Jamieson. "He said, 'he would be d d if he cared!' He couldn't THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 219 have known what he was saying. I took a cab and came straight here." "Great presence of mind," drawled Prince Charlie, who had not forgotten his identity with Sir Charles Merriman, nor his faculty for overhearing startling news. Ellice looked at the flustered Jamieson, then smiled. "Don't worry now, Dora will come," she said soothingly. "I shan't now," answered Jamieson, returning her tender look. "It was not that I wanted to see Dora, but I was afraid that she " "Might think that you ran off to see me?" finished Ellice mischievously. "Yes," answered the truthful James. "How did you know?" An excited Marguerite now rushed upon the -scene with an exclamation capable of many interpretations, and almost embraced the pious young man. Each of the group turned in astonishment, exclaiming; "Dora! Miss Truesdale!" but the young lady was intent upon her prey, and seemed oblivious to all else. "What have you been doing, Mr. Jamieson?" she demanded. " I got lost I mean you got lost, and I hurried here to find you, Dora." Dora glanced suspiciously at Ellice. "Yes, I see that you hurried." "Mr. Jamieson even paid the 'cabby' something extra to hurry," observed Ellice, but her auditor was too engrossed to observe the dryness of her remark. "How did you know?" asked the little minister again, with astonished eyes. 220 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Sir Charles, feeling the temperature rising at an alarming rate, felt called upon to interfere. The strains of a waltz inspired him. "Will you honor me with this dance, Miss Truesdale? You dance so well," he drawled persuasively. Dora succumbed to the flattery and, with a re- vengeful look at little Mr. Jamieson, moved to accept, when Ellice spoke up sweetly: "Dora wouldn't dance with any one but Mr. Jamieson." Miss Truesdale blushed, and answered haughtily: "Ellice, Mr. Jamieson never dances. He is too good to be frivolous. He has a conscience." Ellice only smiled upon the pious guest. "You would dance with me," she declared teasingly. "Never!" interposed Dora, angrily. "He would dance with me, if he ever danced, but he never will." Jamieson echoed the sentiment with extreme piety: "Never, positively never," he said firmly. "I am a Methodist my conscience! Oh, never! I would die first, positively die first! You will return here after the dance?" he questioned, address- ing Dora. Every one looked a little surprised, even Miss Truesdale, at Mr. Jamieson's entire willingness that her soul should be thus endangered; and, still trying to explain it to herself, she accepted Sir Charles's proffered arm and moved toward the ballroom. Ben Morton entered at this moment and, seeing Ellice, came up to her with a pleased smile. "My dance, I believe, fair Cinderella?" he asked with evident interest. THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 221 "Pardon me," interrupted Tim Brander. "It is my dance by my card " Ellicc shrugged her dainty shoulders, and gazed scratinizingly at her programme. "Really, gentle- men," she laughed with fetching confusion, "my card is so blurred!" Tim held out his hand for the card : " I'll wager a five spot there is only one name on it; for I wrote it." Ben laughed: "No one could be expected to read it then, Brander," he observed, trying to see Ellice's card, which she extended toward him with innocent eyes. After a moment's scrutiny, he said : " Tim is right. There's only one name on it." Tim smiled complacently, and Ben read from the card: "Mr. Jamieson!" The young parson blushed and protested: "Im- possible, quite impossible!" Ellice, undaunted, looked upon the young theo- logian with incredulous surprise. "You refuse to acknowledge your own name in black and white! " she exclaimed, a hurt note sounding in her voice. Poor Mr. Jamieson became utterly miserable. "But, really, I didn't do it. I didn't," he pro- tested. Ben looked questioningly at Tim, who regarded Ellice with a hopeless air, and coolly remarked: "It seems not." The young girl drew herself up with overwhelming dignity. "Do you charge me with forgery, sir?" she demanded, glaring at the little man, who still stuttered violently. 222 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "No, no not at all; I I never never had such such an in ini iniquitous thought. I " Ben saw the ruse, and turned upon the poor de- fendant. "Then you admit writing it?" he pur- sued. "Waltz, Mr. Jamieson; Quadrille, Mr. Jamie- son; Polka, Mr. ' "Oh, horrible!" cried the flustered aspirant to the pulpit. "I never dance; my conscience won't permit me. Ask Dora!" Apparently Ellice was consumed with sudden pity, which might or might not be serious. She stepped forward and, taking the little man's arm by way of sympathetic defence, said sweetly: "Then we will promenade." "What's promenade?" asked Jamieson drawing back suspiciously. "Walking with a man to music," explained Cin- derella gayly. Jamieson looked relieved. Walking was not against the tenets of his Church. " I don't see any harm in that," he murmured apologetically to his conscience. "To music?" Ellice waved her hand to her dejected knights in waiting. "Bye-by, fair gentlemen," she laughed. "If you see Dora, don't mention us I mean me!" She replaced her mask, and they entered the large hall leading to the ballroom. "A mask is not much use," she said, as she took Jamieson's unproffered arm, "everybody knows me, just the same." The little minister began the list of questions which comprised his usual conversation: "Do you love music, Miss Courtney?" he asked, THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 223 wondering what he should say to her next, and what she would do to him. "No," Ellice replied quickly. Jamieson looked astonished. "But my feet do," she added, watch- ing his expression with sly amusement. Mr. Jamieson, despite his piety, began to feel the girl's attractiveness and to forget his fears. "How unique!" he remarked. "Your conversa- tion is so brilliant. It goes to my head." "It always goes to the weakest spot, my dear," smiled Ellice sweetly. Mr. Jamieson realized the term of endearment only. It gave him courage. "Miss Courtney," he began; then continued timidly : " Why why was that mistake about your programme?" Ellice looked up with twinkling eyes; then she turned to her sorry partner, and said meekly, "It was such a temptation to dance with you." "Was it really?" he asked, softening perceptibly. "Um, h'm," she nodded her curly head in answer; "an awful temptation, and you knew the true definition of the word 'temptation'?" "What is it? 'Get thee behind me, Satan!'" quoted the pious young man. "No, no," corrected Ellice. "He might push you! Temptation is what we succumb to isn't it?" she laughed merrily upon him. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but could think of nothing severe enough by way of reply. "Come, here is our waltz!" She jumped up from the seat where he would have installed her as a dis- satisfied wallflower, and pulled him after her, before 224 THE GIRL IN QUESTION he had time to protest. "Come!" she commanded, with such a bewitching smile that he was beginning to wonder if her definition were not right. " But my friends would never forgive me," he argued. She placed his arm around her waist. " Your friends are a long way off in Kansas," she whispered coaxingly. "Well, I will just take one step one little step." "Not on the toe of my slipper, please," she ob- served dryly. Mr. Jamieson made another attempt. " It was an error of judgment, Miss Ellice." "The waltz is 'Love's First Step/ " cooed Ellice dreamily. "'Love's First Step,'" repeated Mr. Jamieson, yielding to the dream also, when a horrified cry rent the air and ended the dance. "Mr. Jamieson! What in the world are you doing?" It was Dora. No one else had anything to say. Mr. Jamieson's arm fell from Miss Courtney's waist. The irate young Marguerite turned upon Ellice, the temptress! "What do you mean?" she demanded in shrill angry tones, " by teaching Mr. Jamieson such things? You know his conscience is very firm." "Yes," said Ellice sadly, "most men's are, Dora, dear." "Ellice Courtney, you have led Mr. Jamieson astray," challenged t Miss Truesdale with proprie- tary interest. Ellice laughed. "He was led easily, my dear," she answered sweetly. THE DIVERSIONS OF A FLIRT 225 Dora continued, now fully aroused: "You are shutting the doors of Heaven on him!" "He will be where I can console him then," replied Ellice, laughing despite herself; but an instant later she regretted her fun, when she realized that what to her was but a moment's amusement might mean sorrow to another. Dora looked about in feminine fury, and when her eyes rested again on Ellice, they filled with tears of anger. She started to speak; but, unable to con- trol herself, hurried away and ran up the stairs. Ellice was truly grieved. She turned to Mr. Jamicson, and motioned him to follow ; but Brother Jamieson was so hopeless that she was forced to whisper encouragement. " Go, run after her and tell her you did it to make her jealous! Try that apology. It faileth never!" There was a second's hesitation; then the little minister also disappeared in Dora's direction. Mr. Jamieson now realized temptation; he, too, had fallen! CHAPTER XXIV WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW Only those who knew the house seemed to find their way to the quaint Turkish room and, conse- quently, its lavish punch bowl now stood sadly con- templating the empty surroundings. Its discontent, however, was at length annulled by the entrance of two persons. They were unmasked and easily rec- ognized as Michael Damion and Viola Dias. After filling a glass and presenting it to the pro- fessional beauty, the sculptor filled and raised his own. "To love, who is Viola; and Viola, who is love!" he said, regarding her with an adoring gaze, which seemed to envelop her like a cloud. "Why do people always toast and talk and sing and write of love? They make it commonplace," she remarked, sipping her punch thoughtfully, and still mirroring her reflection in his eyes. "It is the only thing that teaches us to compre- hend God," answered Michael Damion poetically. "Love is easy when we are young and full of en- thusiasm," continued Viola smiling. "It is the love that lasts, which follows us to the grave, not to the altar, that is really love." The sculptor regarded her sadly. "Youth and success are a splendid combination," he said. "At 226 WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 227 twenty I had to work to make a living, and when I returned at night my brain was numb. I was forced to crush out the sweet images of art, and bargain and haggle with the world, just to get bread for myself and home; for I was the only son of a widow." "Write it in verse and have it set to music," lisped the girl, with worldly sympathy. "It is the case with so many; it would 'take.' I will sing it maybe, if you will write it," she smiled. " Can you sing as well as act?" asked the man with admiration. "Yes, I sing just about as well as I act," answered the player with whimsical humor. "You are too sweet to remain in your present profession," declared Damion. " You are wearing out your health and brain." " Yes," assented the actress. " Madame Bernhardt says we have no consolation for being an actress in this country of long distances. Still, hard as it is, it is fascinating, interesting work." "The end of the actor's life is often so pitiful. The world laughs with him, but he weeps so utterly alone!" "Yes, but it is the same with every one; the world drinks with us, but we pay alone." The man replaced the girl's punch cup with a sigh. He presented his arm to his fair partner, and the two strolled out again, leaving the punch bowl to its reflections. These were soon interrupted, however, by the entrance of the wearer of the rose domino, who approached cautiously and searched the sur- roundings with alert, eager eyes. A sigh of relief escaped the newcomer when she found the room vacant. 228 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Donna Carima, the lady in rose, glided quickly across to the great fireplace, and rested her head wearily against the mantel. She regarded the artificial log, blazing for effect only. Despite its warmth, her hands grew cold, for an awful fear had taken possession of her. " Nick Leon Nick Leon Leon Nick," con- tinued to throb upon her ears and in her heart. She was beginning to distrust even her own self now. " I must go home," she decided. " I had better go. Yes, no one will notice my departure now." Carima had determined to carry her thought into effect, when she again felt the presence of some one near her, and a shudder crept over her beautiful white shoulders, from which she had thrown back the domino, as for air. She feared to turn her head, but what did she fear? She forced courage to her support, and turned slowly toward the figure which stood regarding her. This time, however, it was only the great poet, Master William Shakespeare, who haunted her steps. A little smile of relief and self-scorn broke across her lips. "Who are you?" he asked, smiling also. " Just a woman. Who are you? " she asked coldly, wondering still how she could leave without attracting attention. "Just a man," the poet replied. "Which man?" she asked, her thought ever upon the one man in all the world for her. "A man who tells the loves of other men. My name is Master Shakespeare," he said profoundly, " born on the banks of the Avon, some three hundred years ago, and reared on the banks of the world." WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 229 "You are older than I," she suggested, laughing nervously. "Perhaps," he said dryly. " You are married?" Donna Carima asked. He sighed and said : " I have a wife at home. Her name is Anne. What is yours? " he asked with interest. " I am a woman beloved much and yet loveless," Donna Carima replied. "And I told you I had a wife," insisted Master Shakespeare with equal sadness. "Could you love another?" she inquired curiously. "I told you I was a man," Shakespeare said, again trying with a man's perversion to look into her eyes. "Have you ever loved another?" she questioned. "I told you I was a man," he repeated. "How did you learn to write plays?" "I once knew a girl at Oxford Tavern, where I often tarried for ale and sleep, the sweet restorer." "Yes, and who was the woman?" Donna Carima interrupted. "She was a bar-maid," Shakespeare replied, with a loving sigh. "She brought you drink?" "And life!" he smiled contentedly. "She never travelled then," suggested Donna Ca- rima, wondering if the man before her might be covering an aching heart by Master Shakespeare's soothing mantle, but the would-be bard revealed not his sub-conscious self. "The great travellers scarcely leave the hearth- stones of their homes. Their fancy wanders the streets and cities of the stars," he declared, with conviction. 230 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "And where did your lady travel with you?" the lady in rose inquired. " The paths of the lips, the by-ways of the heart, lighted with wit, mellowed by humor, enchanted by fancy, sweetened by love," he replied with feeling. "And the young daughters and the son at home?" she queried wistfully. Shakespeare grew reflective. "There are laws of God, as well as laws of man, sweet lady!" Donna Carima looked up at him mockingly this time, and asked: "Then why didn't you have one of your heroines married and explain a way out of it, so that true love could run smoothly without a divorce scandal? We can't find a way nowadays; but you might have taught us, as your plays always have morals." He only laughed, and made answer: "Marriage is the rat-trap of life. I trust you'll never feel its bars, fair lady." "Poor Master Shakespeare, marriage should be sweet bondage." She floated up to the punch bowl in quite a modern fashion on the arm of the old-time bard. "Tell me," continued the perfect lips, vainly trying to conceal their effort, for she felt a sickening fear again creep over her. " Was your Hamlet mad or did he only 'play the game' ?" For the moment the bard was stunned; but he braced himself with sufficient punch, and confessed : "Well, I don't know. Truthfully, I never wrote Hamlet. I gave the idea to Bacon, as I was busy." A black figure which had haunted Donna Carima's steps and imagination during the evening entered WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 231 and drew near. His drooping black domino, small sku^-like cap, and dreary mien suggested the Danish prince. With a nervous nod toward the gloomy intruder, she said: "He must imagine he represents your Hamlet; but I secretly hope your I beg your pardon, Bacon's poor Dane was never truly so wretched to look upon." The girl laughed, but a cold shiver passed over her. "Step back and let me offer him some punch to drown his loneliness," she cried. "Perhaps he will tell me who wrote him!" She wondered vaguely why she had uttered the words; yet something beyond her ken seemed forcing her toward the dark figure hi waiting. The bard rilled his cup, bowed, and obeyed. Donna Carima held her glass daintily to the man hi black before her; for he had moved quickly to her side, as her companion stepped away. "We apologize, Sir Sorrow," she began, with a gasp in her breath, " that we lack the cup of skull in which to offer you rare cordial; but would you be so human as to accept our little offerings?" The Prince of Denmark took the cup and whispered : "It is I Nick! For God's sake, see me a moment alone, or I shall go mad!" Donna Carima caught weakly at the table for sup- port. She realized the purport of his words. " I felt it," she gasped. " Why did you come back? " "I had to know the truth from you from you!" Nick whispered hoarsely. "Await me here," was the only audible answer from Donna Carima's lips. Shakespeare's curiosity was unpardonable in the 232 THE GIRL IN QUESTION all-knowing Father of Intellect. He observed the scene from a polite distance for a moment only ; then he moved almost rudely between them. The lady covered her distress, however, with the lightest laugh. "Your Hamlet refuses to drink!" she cried hys- terically, to conceal her emotion, " unless we furnish him with skull cups! He mocks me when I ask his name. Come! William Shakespeare, you and I have lived too long and seen too much to waste our precious time upon the surly. Come! Come! I say," and she swept with the Bard of Avon out of the room. Nicholas Worthington watched them disappear. Then he hurriedly swallowed the punch which she had given him, and crossed the room to the corner where a Turkish seat was built, lighted by a large red globe only which shed soft effective light upon the surrounding Oriental settings. He sat waiting for what seemed to him an eternity, but was in reality a few minutes only. Donna Carima with flushed and anxious face reentered the room and, glancing cautiously around, ran to where the young man sat. "Oh, my poor boy!" she half-sobbed. "Where have you been? Where have you been?" Nicholas clasped his hands together with a pitiful sigh ; then he smiled upon his sister hungrily. "I stayed in Chinatown until this morning, when I heard two urchins talking of this ball outside my door, in the horrible hole where I had hidden." He shuddered, then continued: "I was afraid to go out by day, but to-night I crept away for the first time, and found a place where I bought this." He WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 233 touched his coarse domino to indicate his meaning. "I was determined to know the truth to-night from you, or ' "Hush!" Donna Carima whispered, suddenly real- izing his danger. She glanced around, and saw the guests returning from the supper-room. But Nick's desperation had carried him beyond fear. " Great God ! tell me if it is true," he cried. " Tell me, or I'll go mad mad! Do you understand? Mad!" The sister rose in agitation. "Don't talk so loudly," she implored. "They will discover you here. Oh, it's too terrible!" Her voice ended in an agonized moan, as she noticed his unfastened domino, and, with terror dilating her eyes, hastened to re-hook it. He wore the suit of two weeks previous, no vest, a soiled shirt, without collar or necktie. He saw Carima's horror at the sight, and with a hoarse laugh tore off his mask as well. "Look at that, too," he commanded, protruding his head and face, with a convulsed grin upon it. The once handsome young countenance, famous for its smile and charm, was now before her drawn and haggard; yet from its deathly whiteness glared his still splendid eyes, but with a strange gleam of the unreal glowing in them. His hoarse laugh sent a convulsive shudder to twinge her spine, as she stared speechless upon him. With a woman's quick perception, however, she raised her arms and, draw- ing him down into the seat beside them, whispered: "Dear Nick, we cannot change the mysteries of life. You will be calm for my sake, won't you?" 234 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Her voice seemed to fascinate him, for his gaze never left her face. Gently Donna Carima replaced his mask. His hatred of her seemed to have faded into an emotion of the past, and he clung to her hands now, but otherwise sat silent. Her fears subsided with his sudden calmness. At length he seemed to realize and asked more quietly: "It isn't true, is it, about my mother?" Donna Carima hesitated. She had been taught that the truth was the best always. Still, she hesitated. She looked at him hi doubt, but her fears for his sanity had for the moment vanished. "Yes, dear," she answered, "it is true." He dropped her hand and again glared at her, his eyes gradually gathering their former terrible light. "Damn her!" he muttered. As a bursting storm- cloud, the curse seemed to fill the room. Donna Carima pressed one hand across Nick's quivering lips, and with the other smoothed back his curls. "Please don't, dear; please be calm," she whis- pered, and again he was silent. A feminine voice interrupted and sent waves of fear through Donna Carima. Two men and a girl had entered the room. The latter was speaking: "I wonder who it is?" asked the lady, masquerad- ing as Carmen. "What?" queried her attentive cavalier, alias Mr. Pickwick. "Why, Mrs. Randolph is asking every one to un- mask. There has been a suspicious person here WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 235 They think to uncover some political intrigue! But come on; there is the music!" and the lady and her escort departed with as little ceremony as they had evinced in entering. Donna Carima sprang to her feet, despair closing around her heart! She feared that Senator Trues- dale, with his great cunning, had discovered Nick's presence, and had ordered his spies to set this gossip afloat. If such was to be his revenge upon her, mighty it would be! She tried the door at the right of them. "Where does this lead?" she asked excitedly. "My study," Nick answered, with far-away in- difference. "Is it locked?" Donna Carima cried. "Yes." "Where is the key?" "By the desk in the library." "Across the hall?" "Yes." "I must get it. Is this the only entrance?" she asked, returning to his side, and glancing fearfully about. "No, the other is hi the hall." Indifferent to the situation or the meaning of her questions, Nick's eyes still followed Carima only, but Carima's eyes searched the room in desperation. "They may see you here!" she cried. "0 God, guide me!" Praying inaudibly, she rushed to the electric switch. She turned it off, then on again. "No, they would wonder at the darkness of the entire room," she murmured, her eyes fixed upon the red globe which lighted the alcove where he sat. 236 THE GIRL IN QUESTION With sudden strength, given by desperate impulse, she sprang upon the Turkish seat, and, raising her arms, crushed the great hanging lamp with her hands, and, as quickly, twisted off the electric light within its shattered globe. Nick sat in darkness. She whispered a word of courage to him, and hurried away in search of the key, wrapping the end of her mantilla around her burnt and bleeding hand. As chance would have it, several of the guests nad already decided to depart and were mounting the stairs near the entrance to the Turkish room. Others also seemed at this inopportune moment to have dis- covered the quaint nook; for when Donna Carima reentered she found the draped entrance almost blocked with people. She forced her way through, however, pretending to search for some one. As she again reached Nick's side, a bell rang to command attention, and Count Flambeau's foreign accent floated to Donna Carima's ears : " Our hostess asks me to announce that, according to custom, the guests will now unmask before the final quadrille." Donna Carima heard no more, but, with quick determined steps, she reached the outer stairway, as the Count finished speaking. The wine of excitement warmed her veins, and she sprang wildly upon the first step before them all. "Friends!" she cried, affecting almost fiercely a strong Spanish accent, " I have had such a delightful evening that I transgress the bonds of hospitality, and beg we dance once after an old Spanish cus- tom before we unmask! The men, having had hitherto the choice of partners, now give the girls a WHAT THE PUNCH BOWL SAW 237 chance! Every lady choose her partner, and see who reaches the ballroom first!" A burst of applause, which startled her by its unexpected answer, echoed through the rooms at the strange audacity of her novel suggestion and words. Being a foreign woman, the boldness was enjoyed and approved. Donna Cariina fearlessly suited the action to the word, and dashed through the room before the ad- miring and unsuspecting guests, as though searching for the chosen partner of her whim, until she came to Nick. She threw her arms around his drooping form which clung indifferently to her, and, by supreme will-power, fairly dragged him after her. The musicians caught her spirit, and, without direction, a lively waltz filled the rooms and, for the moment, drowned all comment. Ladies, even in wraps, arrayed for departure, seized likewise depart- ing partners, in a renewal of the joyous, gay, unex- pected festivity ! Indeed, almost a bacchanalian con- fusion followed the magic of Donna Carima's words. Laughter, chatter, dancing figures made the old mansion again a seat of momentary revelry. "Dance!" she cried. " Dance, dance, as though you loved it! Dance! dance! dance!" The thrill of her voice forced Nick to rouse himself sufficiently to make his feet follow hers. Those who saw laughed at her choice of partner. They could not see the tragedy in her heart. "Courage," she whispered, as they turned down the hallway. Carima and her brother passed a couple strolling along, but, when screened from view, she inserted 238 THE GIRL IN QUESTION the key and, opening the door to Nick's study, fairly pushed him into the room and, as quickly, closed it after. An angry cry of protest greeted her from within, but she turned the lock and withdrew the key. "I will return later. Be brave!" she whispered, and, moving quickly from the study door, leaned against the wall. CHAPTER XXV POLITICS OR LOVE? When Donna Carima recovered herself, the last strain of the dance was dying. The guests were wondering what it all had meant. She turned the knob and opened the door of the library, for the purpose of replacing the key. Had she been capable of feeling further emotion, the scene before her eyes would have at least startled her, but no ex- pression of amazement escaped her. She paused unnoticed, looking upon a strange gathering of unfriendly men. The War Secretary stood by his desk, pale and dignified. Senator Truesdale and apparently a Con- gressional committee were facing him. Leon Hartley alone held a place at the Secretary's side. His white face and haggard appearance racked Carima's heart with tender pain. Truesdale was speaking, but his words made no impression upon Donna Carima, until the sentence, " The committee on military affairs will be in council on the evidence to-night," seemed faintly to revive her faculties. Even then the illness of her lover meant far more to her than the great import of the spoken words. How brave, how recklessly noble of Hartley to rise from a sick-bed to be present in time of need! Her soul seemed to go out to him, in a mad 2 39 2 4 o THE GIRL IN QUESTION desire for his love. Her eyes rested joyously upon his fine, colorless face and godlike head. "Then you have come to trade?" asked the Secretary, controlling his anger and speaking quietly. "What is the nature of the charge against me?" "Bribery!" the Senator replied promptly, with a peculiar droop of his gleaming eyes. " You are guilty of accepting bribes in office, sir; and you will be under impeachment for the same if I say the word." The Secretary trembled with suppressed indigna- tion, but he spoke in a firm, clear voice, and with pitiful dignity: "What is the nature of the bribes I am accused of taking?" "$4,000 for a captaincy; $5,000 for two majors; $3,000 for a lieutenancy!" Truesdale stepped forward and presented the papers to the Secretary of War, one by one, as he explained, with extravagant courtesy: "The bill of particulars will show all, sir." The Secretary took the papers, glanced over them, and sunk into a chair. "I am ruined," he muttered hoarsely. No one could contradict him. There was a moment of tragic suspense. Leon Hartley stepped forward and broke the awful silence. "Pardon me," he said, "but it is not your ruin, Mr. Secretary." Every one turned upon the speaker. "What!" they exclaimed almost in a body, for they were moved as one man by the tension of interest. "It is true," continued Hartley, "bribes have been taken in this house" POLITICS OR LOVE? 241 "Leon!" almost shouted the Secretary; but Sen- ator Truesdale with a malicious smile came a step forward : "The House of Representatives has the honor to agree with you, General. You will be an excellent witness, sir." The War Secretary sprang to his feet, his eyes bright with uncontrollable anger. "Senator!" he cried, his old-time impressive dig- nity returning under fire. "You are dealing with me only, sir. I am still the Secretary of War!" Then he turned upon Hartley, his friend, and d( MI landed: " What do you mean, sir?" The General did not immediately answer, and the Secretary again spoke. " I demand an explanation, sir," he said, looking anxiously at the young man who had held his confidence so long. "I will be ready with it, Mr. Secretary, at the trial," Hartley replied, with eyes averted from his benefactor who was now regarding him with heart- breaking reproach and disappointment. He drew himself up with ill-concealed effort at self-control, and answered in a faint voice, weak from suffering: "I am subject to your orders, Mr. Secretary." He hesitated a moment, then continued: "The bribes charged were taken, the officers received their com- missions; but it was not the Secretary of War who knew or benefited by the sales. It may have been myself, Leon Hartley, who has erred." "You!" gasped the Secretary. Hartley held his ground manfully, however, while all the men gazed in astonishment upon him. 16 242 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Notwithstanding the showers of glory which had fallen upon Carima Astrados and would again fall, this was the proudest moment she ever experienced. To doubt her lover never suggested itself to her; but, inspired by the heroism which he presented, she was confident that in some unseen way right would con- quer, and she stood thinking thinking. Senator Truesdale interrupted the painful silence. "You accuse yourself!" he exclaimed. "A pretty story, worthy of a faithful dog to save his bene- factor." The young General took one step forward, his eyes fixed angrily upon the irate Senator, when the low commanding voice of a woman caused every one present to turn. Ignoring the gasp of wonder which greeted her, Donna Carima stepped further into the room. "If I am cognizant of this case " she began. " But you are not," cried Senator Truesdale with a triumphant smile. " How could you be?" "If lam cognizant of this case,, sir," repeated Donna Carima more emphatically, "you have made a serious mistake, Senator." The girl looked a queen verily, as she regarded the committee led by Truesdale, whose expression changed slowly to apprehension of the woman, rather than of the situation. "In what way, pray?" he asked, quickly crossing the long room to where she stood apart. He had things to say to her that he preferred others should not hear. She drew a folded paper from the intricate laces of her bodice, opened it, and moved close beside him ; POLITICS OR LOVE? 243 then she turned down half the sheet, and pointed to a line. "Read," she said, holding the letter tightly in both hands. He did not dare to snatch the missive from her; for it would have convicted him in the eyes of his friends. He read of the arms and ammunition which had sailed upon the Brooklyn, of his treason, of his love, and of his damnation! He fairly muttered the last line: "You are too clever to choose the wrong man." He re-read to the very end in his eagerness, and for time in which to think. For a moment neither moved nor spoke. Then he slowly raised his eyes, until they met Donna Carima's. "You dare not!" he breathed. "I dare all!" she answered in as low a tone, thrilled with determination. She met his angry gaze unflinchingly, but she struck in a woman's way. "Look!" she whispered with a glance at the Secretary. " This accusation will cause the old man's death, before he reaches a trial. General Hartley, there, is willing to ruin his career, suffer his honor to be questioned for pity of the Secretary's years and nobility, and because he is not guilty. You have only to destroy the proofs which you say you have discovered and hold. Do this in mercy's name; not from force nor fear, but for the twice-blessed boon of mercy!" "And my reward?" asked Truesdale, regarding the lovely appealing face with uncertainty. "A clear conscience and my eternal friendship, sir," she replied. 244 THE GIRL IN QUESTION "No, no," growled the Senator in sudden anger. "Why should you plead for him?" he looked bitterly toward the old Secretary at the other end of the room, where all had turned respectfully away when the girl-Queen had begun her attack on Truesdalc. Donna Carima's eyes rested thoughtfully upon the letter in her hand, as the Senator's gaze again fell upon her. She looked fearlessly at her adversary, tapping the paper playfully. Indeed, she was as dan- gerously playful as a young tigress, and he felt it. " Pray don't let me persuade you against your will," she smiled. " This little note is all that is necessary to ruin you. Just read it in print!" Her voice became seriously threatening again. "It proves more than 'graft,' my dear Senator; it proves treason to your country, considerations not for officers' commissions, but willing infidelity to your well government! Senator Truesdale is not a fool, whatever else he may be." "Except about you!" muttered the Senator crest- fallen. His eyes rested again upon the note. He inwardly cursed himself for having written it. He had discovered too late what fools an infatuation makes of the most cautious men. He realized that he was cornered and, at last, in desperation said with reckless courage: " Well, use it ! Use it, if you will ! " She smiled. He turned a step away, yet hesitated and returned to Donna Carima's side, eyeing her closely. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded with intense interest. She regarded him with sudden inspiration. Her POLITICS OR LOVE? 245 idea was daring, brilliant, and more reckless than his determination. "If I tell you the truth, will you be merciful?" she asked. "Perhaps," he answered. "If I really surpriee you, will you?" Donna Carima insisted. " If I tell you something of which you have never even thought?" He looked keenly at her. "Perhaps," he repeated. "No," said Donna Carima. "I will play a big stake, any stake you please; but The man's eyes gleamed as she appealed to his gambling spirit. "I accept," he said finally. "You against the impeachment!" She controlled herself with an effort. It was a horrible stake, and so much depended upon it! The thought nearly suffocated her, but she dared not think, lest her courage fail. If he should know in some mysterious way? So little escaped his knowl- edge! "If" she controlled her thoughts suddenly, and, leaning toward him, whispered: "The Secretary is my grandfather!" "I knew," quickly replied the Senator; but his face belied his words. "Guro par ftios! You lie!" cried Donna Ca- rima fiercely. Truesdale's eyes could not meet hers. He straightened himself and, after an instant's reflection, he said: " You are right. I did not know, but now I understand. You are Gloria's daughter Gloria's daughter!" 246 THE GIRL IN QUESTION She gazed in agony and suspense upon the changing expressions her words had produced upon his face. They were as fleeting, however, as they were inde- cipherable. But, for once, Senator Truesdale was true to his word and to his first, and perhaps his only love Gloria! An instant later he turned to the waiting com- mittee. "Come, gentlemen," he commanded; and, without further explanation, he passed out of the room, followed by his friends. CHAPTER XXVI THE MOVING FINGER WRITES Donna Carima opened her eyes upon an unfamiliar room. The early dawn streamed coldly upon a maid- servant who sat dozing in a chair beside the couch upon which Carima lay. Moments elapsed before the events of the past night presented themselves to her delirious brain. By slow degrees, however, she remembered the circumstances, one by one, up to the last overwhelming moment, before clouds of dark- ness had enveloped her senses. A chill took pos- session of her, as she recalled that last awful demand upon her wit, when her lover had rushed to her side, caught her extended hands in his own eager ones, and perceived the cuts and blood-stains upon them; her fruitless effort to explain, which had become im- possible before the suffering written upon his hand- some face where she had read the lines of endurance and repressed passion. Then his love-words had again sounded upon her ear. How eagerly she had endeavored to listen, but a cloud had descended upon her, until she had reeled forward and fallen into his arms. And he had clasped her so so tenderly! Faintly she closed her eyes, recalling the sweet pressure of his dear arms. Suddenly a desire to escape from this house came over her with a rushing force. She must go to 247 248 THE GIRL IN QUESTION Leon. Had he suffered from his mad venture? Carima raised herself slowly upon her elbow, and examined the apartment and the sleeping maid. Cautiously she arose, and crept toward the chair where her domino had been tossed some hours earlier. She wrapped it about her, drew on her slippers, and stole softly out into the passage. For a moment, she paused and listened. All was still. A death-like silence reigned in the apparently sleeping household. She glided to the stairway, paused again, and de- scended, placing each foot carefully in the centre of the step to control the creaking sound. At last the hall below was reached in safety. Now, to find the door at the end of the corridor, and she would be in the open and could breathe! She moved forward, when the recollection of Nick almost caused her again to swoon. She had prom- ised to return to him. She must keep her word. He might do some desperate thing, left alone for hours in his present state of mind! She turned up the hall and glided softly to his study door, inserted the key which was still in the pocket of her domino, and was about to turn the handle, when the door opposite opened, and the Secretary's voice called: "Who's there?" Startled, she moved away and did not answer, hoping her host would not pursue the noise which had evidently aroused him. He stepped fearlessly into the hall, however, repeating his demand, and caught sight of her shrinking figure. "Who is it?" he demanded, and stepped quickly toward her. "Donna Carima!" he exclaimed, as he recognized her face. "Are you seeking some one?" THE MOVING FINGER WRITES 249 "I intended to go home," she said, moistening her dry lips in an effort to control their nervous trembling. "Come in here, while I order a carriage," suggested the Secretary kindly, drawing her into his library. The girl allowed him to lead her to a chair before the gray embers of the dying fire. She sat gazing at them in a bewildered way, until a vital thought roused her; the thought that the old man beside her was her mother's father! Her own blood! Why had she never felt the bond before? Carima turned her head, and found the Secretary's eyes fixed in- tently upon her. "Who are you?" he asked in a low voice which she could scarcely hear. "You came here like some goddess. Yet we know they no longer exist. I am innocent of this disgraceful charge against me, but the manner hi which you rescued me last night was a miracle. Won't you explain to me the secret of your power?" Donna Carima shook her head. "I can't yet," she answered, and turned her eyes again upon the fading coals. "If the President only knew half I have suffered from Truesdale! " murmured the Secretary. "Trues- dale, who poses as the 'People's Friend,' and who has grown rich from his railroads and his shipping grafts! Honest, hard-working men, who represent the people for the people's good, do not accumulate wealth in a few years at the Capitol. If the President only knew all I know!" The old man's voice was indignant, but Donna Carima said simply: "Rulers never hear the truth. Few honest men can approach near enough to tell 250 THE GIRL IN QUESTION it to them. It is the error of kings, and will become more and more a danger of your country." "Which is your country?" asked the Secretary. "I have no country," answered Donna Carima sadly. "I am a child of fate. My country chose me, not I my country! And I hope to carry back freedom to my beautiful isle!" She spoke the last sentence with wistful tenderness. "Had you a daughter once, Mr. Randolph?" she questioned a moment later, without looking at him. The Secretary replied: "Yes, once." "And she left you, did she not?" continued Donna Carima softly. "Yes," again sounded the pained and reluctant voice in answer. "And she was Nick's mother," insisted Carima. There was no questioning inflection in her voice, and the Secretary did not reply. He sat steadily gazing at the strange girl-woman. She turned suddenly toward him, her face alight with tremulous anxiety. "Her name?" she asked quickly. "Her name?" The old man had not spoken his daughter's name for so many years, he hesitated. "Was it Gloria?" asked Donna Carima with sensitive timidity. " Yes," answered the Secretary. " It was Gloria! " Donna Carima sunk back with a deep sigh. Then she sat upright, unfastened her cloak, and brought forth the famous locket. She opened it and, going to the old man, knelt beside him. She held the jewelled trinket between the light and his eyes. "Is that Gloria, and your daughter?" The Secretary gazed upon the painted ivory, until THE MOVING FINGER WRITES 251 tears blurred his sight and rolled slowly down his white face. He drew the miniature toward him, and pressed his lips upon it. " My daughter, my beautiful daughter! " he sobbed. " Where did you get this? " he asked, half-caressing the fair face in the locket. "Don't you understand? Can't you guess?" asked Donna Carima, smiling upon the tear-stained cheeks. "She is my mother!" For several full moments the Secretary sat staring at the eager face which had drawn so near his own ; then he wound both arms tightly around the girl in one long intense embrace. "My little Glory's daughter! God, but thou art kind!" he murmured brokenly, holding her at arm's length, and gazing at her with starved affection beaming through his eyes. "Strange I never noticed," he said. "You are much like her, and yet, quite different. Where is she now? Shall I never see my little girl again?" Donna Carima smiled her wondrous smile and nodded her head in hopeful assent, as she answered : "I have a most beautiful idea, if you will humor me. After my work here is accomplished, and I can return to help my people, will you come home with me to my mother, your daughter Gloria? I can promise you much pleasure. Our island is so vastly different from your country and your life. Here people only wonder if contentment really exists. They forget to expect it to be their personal possession; but at home we live for it; we demand it; and often, as in the case of my mother and father, we realize it! I know that man is born to progress, and yet 252 THE GIRL IN QUESTION sometimes I wonder if modern civilization will further the individual happiness of my people. As you know, my mother stole her bliss, and it has blossomed into vivid joy. I refused mine. Some- times, of late, I have feared if my mother chose rightly, for I have learned that there is a claim called duty and perhaps a something known as retri- bution!" Donna Carima's gaze had wandered from the Secretary's face, but the troubled anxiety lifted, as he said hi a tone of strong conviction : "She did choose rightly, I know; for she gave you to the world. You are a force for good ; because in form, in thought, and in soul you express good. That proves that she chose well!" "And Mr. Worthington, her first husband?" said Donna Carima timidly. "He died some years ago. He loved my Gloria in his way. He was never the same after she left him, but he did not understand her dainty, poetic nature. I felt that when they married; but I hoped that I was mistaken." Donna Carima sighed heavily : " Must so many pay to make the happiness of one? " Then she turned to the Secretary. "Will you come home with me?" she pleaded. "Will you?" A moment's pause, and he answered simply : "Yes I must see my little girl again. Does she laugh as she once did, and does she still write verses?" Donna Carima smiled assent. "Her laugh is the first memory of my babyhood," she said dreamily, THE MOVING FINGER WRITES 253 and then, with her quick change of mood, she sprang to her feet. "You will come!" she cried. "You cannot realize our island-home until you see and feel it. The exquisite beauty of the ever-summer, the marvel of the soft laughing waters on every side! Com- pared to life here, where you rush to opera in the vain hope of satisfying your craving for sound and color and romance, our isle is like a radiant fairyland where such desires are appeased by the true, instead of the false! You will come, and Nick, Nick, too, will come!" cried Donna Carima again more rapturously. "What a beauteous ending! Ah, Nick! Have I forgotten you in all this happi- ness!" she cried, starting up and hurrying toward his prison door. A shot chilled the rapture which had spread itself from the girl to the old man. Another shot sounded, and the joy hi each pair of eyes changed to fearful horror. "Nick!" shrieked Donna Carima, and she rushed from the room. She pressed open the opposite door, as the Secretary tottered to her side. Within the room stood Nick with his hands clasped under his chin, and staring wildly up at a portrait of his mother. Indeed, what had once been a famously exhibited painting of Gloria Randolph was now riddled with bullets. Tattered and torn it hung in fragments, drooping pitifully from its gilded frame. Carima understood, and gently pushed the Secretary into the room, while she hastily drew back in the shadow. Nick turned with startled eyes toward his grandfather who held out his trembling arms to the 254 THE GIRL IN QUESTION light of his life, his grandson. After an instant's hesitation Nick fell into them with a cry. Carima hid her face, as she heard the terrible sobs that echoed after her. She moved toward the great door where, with uncanny cunning, she undid the intricate lock and opened it. Finding herself upon the stone steps without, Carima stood clutching the rail. She knew that the crisis had been reached, that the pressure upon Nick's brain had been relieved without further tragedy, and she was very thankful. She drew her cloak more tightly about her shivering form, and with a mighty effort managed to descend the steps. When she reached the pathway, Balteese stood be- fore her. "Home!" she said feebly. Her carriage appeared, and she sunk upon the cushions. "Home," she murmured again. CHAPTER XXVII WHATEVER Is Is BEST? The ship was nearing port, and over her rail leaned many eager faces. Donna Carima Astrados, tall and pale, her beauti- ful eyes intently fixed upon the hot sunshine stream- ing about her, stood apart from the crowd. Slowly the ship entered the harbor to her island-home. Erect, with the superb control natural to her, she looked the future in the face. She had failed in her mission. Previous to the night of the ball, Senator Truesdale had left nothing undone to defeat her purpose and to ruin her friends, to gratify his spirit of revenge. After that night, although at heart he had wished again to befriend her, he dared not do so openly. Her great chance then lay in the strength of her grand- father, the War Secretary, but Nick's long illness had held the Secretary chained to his bedside, and the feeble efforts he made in her behalf were over- ruled. Leon Hartley's great love had become public gossip and, therefore, his ardent endeavor had in- sufficient effect tfk carry the measure. And so the petition from Donria Carima's people had failed. Had it been possible at this moment for Carima to have known that, years later, another of her name and beauty her own daughter would carry to the same great Government of the United States 255 256 THE GIRL IN QUESTION a like petition, and that, in the place of sover- eignty, a new republic should request aid and re- ceive it, her burden would have been lightened mightily. As it was, she stood gazing into the waters about the ship, wondering how she could explain her failure to her expectant people; and as she gazed into the shining ripples, a white clear- cut face appeared to her. Into her ear whispered the echo of a resonant voice, tender for her alone. She closed her eyes, and steadied her thought. There had been no further excuse for her to remain in Washington. Her people must be told of her failure. In person she would explain as best she could, and then perhaps they would reject her as their Queen. Yes, dethrone her and make her free! Free to love! A light of hope for the moment, il- lumined her beautiful features. Then she crushed her thought once more in the face of her great duty. The pale waters seemed to mirror the events of the past few months which were guiding her ever toward one end understanding! In the autumn of the year she had departed, as the petals were falling from the flowers. Now Time had turned the cycle, and, with mocking courtesy at her return, all nature blossomed in mute ecstasy. A thought came to her as a message from afar a thought from Anne Aymington a great soul, fearless to take her love, and strong enough to re- nounce it when the choice of love or duty was forced upon her; for, even in her doubt and regret, Anne Aymington had realized the secret of life! Her words seemed to write themselves upon the water below Carima, with the white spray : WHATEVER IS IS BEST? 257 " The only love, the only thought that endures, that can endure, is the universal love the universal thought selfless and eternal!" But with love throbbing and tearing within her heart, this thought seemed too large to comprehend. Like a magnet her thought returned to Leon Hartley. She wondered vaguely if the proof of love lay always in renuncia- tion, just as great problem-stories are solved by death alone. For many moments she dwelt upon all that a thought of him carried to her. She, who had had such utter confidence in life, in love, in the good of creation, why should this sorrow come to her? Suddenly from out her thoughts spoke a soundless voice: "Those who would reign in wisdom must first get understanding!" And Carima Astrados suddenly understood. She saw herself again as she had started upon life's journey, filled with buoyancy, hope, courage a spirit that knew not defeat! She had vowed to live forever "true unto herself." Unconsciously she had determined to rule her own destiny, to live her own life! But who had ever succeeded? She realized now that to each one who thus endeavors comes the choice, sooner or later, of changing and living for the world, or being crushed by the Jugger- naut car of the world. She was the first daughter of the noble house of Astrados, with its ancient and royal lineage, who hzwl refused the usual custom of permitting the choice of a suitable consort to rest upon the advice of parents. But no, Donna Carima had declared it her will that she alone would give her heart to the man of her heart's choice. And her will had con- 17 258 THE GIRL IN QUESTION quered, for she was strong. She had conquered! She had gone out into the world alone, had cast aside her country's conventions, had given her heart, had felt love in return, and now, in defeat, she stood overlooking the peaceful waters surrounding her island-home. Heavy chains seemed to weigh upon her wrists chains of custom, iron bands of convention! She felt them dragging her back to the old path of renunciation experienced by the women of her line. She understood now that, though her brain had always worked for her people, her heart from the first had craved a love for self only; and even at this moment her love for Leon Hartley was so strong, so intense, that within her heart, half-hidden from herself, lived the hope that, rejected by her own people, she could return, crownless and an outcast, to the feet of her lover. She was startled from her reverie by the grating of the anchor chain; and, as she followed Signora Piquero down the gangway to the gayly decorated and awaiting barge, she noted the tremendous ex- citement which prevailed on the shore. In wide- eyed wonderment at the scene about her, she was met by her smiling parents who embraced her warmly with every expression of endearment. Driving through the crowded streets, seated in the low carriage beside her mother and opposite to her father, she noted the festooned flags and garlands of flowers, the superb abundance of which were con- spicuous even in this land of blossoms, as they drove along the highway leading toward the Palace. She realized that it was a gala day, and that it was her name which rang upon the air in joyous cheers! WHATEVER IS IS BEST? 259 "The Princess!" Ah, the sadness of it! Carima almost wept. They thought that she had returned in triumph! She had sent a cable of explanation to her father, frankly in- forming him of her failure. Why had he not an- nounced it? The humiliation of defeat was ex- cluded, however, from her thoughts. All self-interest was suddenly swept from her, and her heart ached for her loved ones' coming disappointment only. " If their wild happiness could continue! " she prayed in the silence of her tender heart. But they must be told the truth, her poor people! At last she reached the entrance to the beautiful mansion of her girlhood days, "Sylva Loleta," passed through lines of prostrate servants, and stepped upon the low terrace where she had looked into the future through the coffee grains. Still the people cheered! Their happiness stirred the very leaves in rustling joy! It all resembled a dream to Carima. Her soul had been so tossed and torn and wearied, hope had been so utterly crushed, and now this great voice of love universal love sent to her an electric thrill of answering joy. Joy that bloomed in her heart like a rose in the desert! If she could be al- lowed to live for them, now that she truly under- stood! She moved along the terrace, and suddenly there rose before her an old priest. "Father Angelo!" she cried, and fell upon her knees before him. "Father," she sobbed, "say nothing until you hear all. I have failed! Fate was too strong for me, a woman; and wisdom has 160 THE GIRL IN QUESTION come too late. I have returned to renounce all claim to power." The old priest spread his hands in benediction above her bowed head. "We know that which has happened, my daughter. God's will be done. You are still the chosen one. Reconciliation has already extended throughout the land, under the benign influence of our Dictatress, the affianced Princess of His Highness, the Prince Lyulph Rodriguez d'Orelmo y Tavarries. The pallor in Carima's cheeks grew death-like at the mention of such an alliance. The prince stepped forward as his name was spoken. His word to her had proved sincere. Through victory and through failure, he had waited in hope. Suddenly she realized the meaning of the people's shouts: "Princess! Long live the Princess!" She turned her gaze full upon the young Prince who stood smiling in happiness before her. Here was a friend who could help her understand and gather wisdom; but, oh, the pity of it all! Finally it was the thought of Leon Hartley, gentleman and soldier, that chose for her. He would wish her to make the nobler choice. She turned toward the eager faces of her people. What love she read in each! What work she saw before her! Her soul awoke from its slumber, as the exaltation of peace swept over her. She realized that she was being covered with the scarlet robe of authority by Father Angelo, and he was addressing the joyous crowd. He drew forward the young Prince. For a full WHATEVER IS IS BEST? 261 moment Carima looked into his eyes. They were proud, keen eyes; and as they met her own an exquisite tenderness darkened them. Instinctively she extended her hand in court fashion. The Prince uncovered his head, and was about to press his lips passionately upon her long white fingers, when a nightingale sent its ardent sensuous notes heaven- ward, and the Prince stood motionless. The people listened. "The nightingale's song by day! It is an omen!" cried Father Angelo. " Aye, an omen of great joy to one of us! " cried the Prince. Carima's hand closed over the locket about her neck. To her psychic vision the diamond case became transparent, and she looked upon the face of Leon Hartley. "Great joy to one of us?" she murmured, as the Prince again bowed over her hand. A tremendous cheer rang upon the air. Carima, Dictatress, smiled divinely in acknowl- edgment. The cheers died away, and the air became filled with roses and laughter. The Dictatress lifted her eyes to the turquoise sky, and mentally questioned: "If convention's love is the fated love, then why was there the greater love?" And her heart sought the future for its answer. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM J. LOCKE "LIFE is A GLORIOUS THING." W. J. Locke " If you wish to be lifted out of the petty cares of to-day, read one of Locke's novels. You may select any from the following titles and be certain of meeting some new and delightful friends. His char- acters are worth knowing." Baltimore Sun. The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne The Demagogue and Lady Phayre At the Gate of Samaria The Beloved Vagabond A Study in Shadows The White Dove Where Love Is The Usurper Derelicts Idols i2mo Cloth $f.jo each. Ten volumes bound in green cloth. Uniform edition in box. $15.00 per set. Express prepaid. The Beloved Vagabond "'The Beloved Vagabond' is a gently-written, fascinating tale. Make his acquaintance some dreary, rain-soaked evening and find the vagabond nerve-thrilling in your own heart." Chicago Record- Herald. "No more truly delightful tale has been given the public for a long time." Philadelphia Public Ledger. The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne " A literary event of the first importance." Boston Herald. " One of those rare and much-to-be-desired stories which keep one divided between an interested impatience to get on, and an irresis- tible temptation to linger for full enjoyment by the way." Life. Where Love Is " A capital story told with skill." New York Evening Sun. "One of those unusual novels of which the end is as good as the beginning." New York Globe. WILLIAM J. LOCKE The Usurper " Contains the hall-mark of genius itself. The plot is masterly in conception, the descriptions are all vivid flashes from a brilliant pen. It is impossible to read and not marvel at the skilled work- manship and the constant dramatic intensity of the incident, situ- ations and climax." The Boston Herald. Derelicts " Mr. Locke tells his story in a very true, a very moving, and a very noble book. If any one can read the last chapter with dry eyes we shall be surprised. ' Derelicts ' is an impressive, an im- portant book. Yvonne is a creation that any artist might be proud of." The Daily Chronicle. Idols " One of the very few distinguished novels of this present book season." The Daily Mail. " A brilliantly written and eminently readable book." The London Daily Telegraph. A Study in Shadows " Mr. Locke has achieved a distinct success in this novel. He has struck many emotional chords, and struck them all with a firm, sure hand. In the relations between Katherine and Raine he had a delicate problem to handle, and he has handled it delicately." The Daily Chronicle. The White Dove " It is an interesting story. The characters are strongly conceived and vividly presented, and the dramatic moments are powerfully realized." The Morning Post. The Demagogue and Lady Phayre " Think of Locke's clever books. Then think of a book as differ- ent from any of these as one can well imagine that will be Mr. Locke's new book." New York World. At the Gate of Samaria " William J. Locke's novels are nothing if not unusual. They are marked by a quaint originality. The habitual novel reader inevi- tably is grateful for a refreshing sense of escaping the common- place path of conclusion." Chicago Record- Herald. DOLF WYLLARDE tamo $f.jo each "Dolf Wyllarde sees life with clear eyes and puts down what she sees with a fearless pen. . . . More than a little of the flavor of Kipling, in the good old days of Plain Tales from the Hills." -. f New York Globe. Mafoota A Romance of Jamaica "The plot has a resemblance to that of Wilkie Collins' The New Magdalen,' but the heroine is a puritan of the stictest type; the subject matter is like ' The Helpmate.' " Springfield Republican. As Ye Have Sown " A brilliant story dealing with the world of fashion." Capain Amyas " Masterly." San Francisco Examiner. " Startlingly plain spoken." Louisville Courier-Journal. The Rat Trap " The literary sensation of the year." Philadelphia Item. The Story of Eden " Bold and outspoken, a startling book." Chicago Record-Herald. "A real feeling of brilliant sunshine and exhilarating air." Spectator. JULIAN STREET My Enemy The Motor Ornamental doth i6mo $i.OO A new automobile story in eight honks and one spill. Profusely illustrated. It's the best book a Motorist can give his Guests, and the best book a Guest can give the Motorist. L. C. VIOLETT HOUK The Girl in Question Ornamental clotb I2mo $1.50 An American love-story dealing with diplomatic life and political intrigue. The romance of what a young and beautiful girl accom- plished under most difficult circumstances. A. C. FOX-DAVIES The Finances of Sir John Kynnersley Ornamental cloth. I2mo. Represents an arch type of the clever swindler. Filled with ex- citing episodes, worthy of the attention of Sherlock Holmes. The Dangerville Inheritance i2mo. $1.50 A Detective Story " A detective story of which Gaboriau might be proud." London Post. " Of the Wilkie Collins pattern." New York Times. "Plenty of excitement." Detroit News-Tribune. The Mauleverer Murders i2mo. $1.50 A Detective Story " As an inventor of puzzles the author of The Mauleverer Mur- ders' is entitled to honorable rank. We have not, in a long time, read a detective story in which the crucial secret was better kept than in this tale. Decidedly, this is a detective story to make the jaded connoisseur of clever sensationalism ' sit up.' " New York Tribune THOMAS COBB The Chichester Intrigue Ornamental cloth I2mo $1.50 A love-story with a good plot based upon the accidental discovery of a package of love-letters, which came into hands of one for whom they were not intended. J. M. DIVER Captain Desmond, V.C. Ornamental cloth I2mo $I.JO "A. story of the Punjab frontier. The theme is that of Kipling's ' Story of the Gadsbys' a brilliant and convincing study of an undying problem." London Post. The Great Amulet i2mo. $1.50 A love-story dealing with army life in India. HANDASYDE For the Week-End Ornamental cloth I2mo $I.$O Giving an account of the visits of Blanche Heythorpe, of what happened, and what was averted. A 000 126 677 4