The San Francisco call., 1907-02-24

Mr. Ducaine. Prince" she ex-
claimed. What IS the meaning
of this extraordinary exhibition"
The Prince, whose sangfroid was
marvellous, rose to his feet and began
to wipe his forehead with a spotless
cambric handkerchief
My dear Lady Angela" he said, II
am most distressed that you should
have been a witness OF this-extraordi
nary incident. I have been trying TO
adapt myself to the methods of your
country, but, alas! / cannot say that
1 am enamored OF them. Here, 1T
seems, that gentlemen who differ must
behave like dustmen. VIII you pardon
me II l turn my back to you for a mo-
ment? ! see a small mirror, and / am
convinced that my tie and collar need
readjustment."
but why quarrel at all?" she ex-
claimed. Mr.. Ducaine," she added,
turning coolly to me, Il trust you have
remembered that the Prince is my
was speechless, but the Prince him
self intervened.
The blame, If any" he declared,
was mine. Mr.. Ducaine appeared to
misunderstood me from the first.
believe that his little ebullition arose
d4lOk0luGE lLOill lOO kIGdl Scdi O1l Bc-I
half OF his employers. i congratulate
him upon IT, while I am bound TO
deprecate his extreme measures"
And you, Mr.. Ducaine," she asked,
turning toward me, what have you to
say7"'
Nothing" declared, stung by her
tone and manner as much as by his
coolness, except that 1 found the
Prince OF Majors meddling with my
~ nd hSn Mt In.
terrupted him in the offer of a bribe."
The Prince smoothed his necktie,
which he had really tied very we'll,
complacently.
The personal belongings of Mr.. Du-
caine." he said calmly, are without
interest to me. I fancy that the Prince
of Majors can ignore any suggestions
to the contrary. AS for the bribe, Mr..
Ducaine talks folly. 1 am not aware
that he has anything TO sell, and ]
decline to believe him q blackmafler.
I prefer to look upon him as a sinEu-
larry hot-headed and not overintelli-
gent person, who takes very long
jumps at conclusions. Lady Angela.
find my foot very much better. May
! have the pleasure of eseorting you
to the house7''
held my tongue, knowing very we'll
that the Prince played his part solely
that I might be entrapped into speech.
But Lady Angela seemed puzzled at my
silence. She looked at me for a mo-
ment induirinsfy out of her soft black
eyes l made no sign She turned
away to the Prince.
'Tf you are sure that you can walk
without PAIN" she said. We will not
trouble you, Mr. Ducaine," she added,
as I moved TO open the door.
So they left me alone, and / was not
sure whether the honors remained with
him or with me. He had never for
moment lost his dignity, nor had he
even looked ridiculous when calmly re-
arranging his tie and collar. 1 laughed
to myself bitterly as / prepared to fol-
low them. / was determined to lay
the whole matter before the Duke at
once.
AS reached the terrace / saw man
walking up and down. smoking a pipe.
He stood at the top of the steps and
waited for me- IT was Colonel Ray.
He took me by the arm.
L have been waiting for you, Du-
caine," he said. 'T was afraid that I
might miss you, or I should have come
down"
Il am on my way 20 the Duke" I
said, "and my business is urgent"
so is mine" he said grimly. Il want
to know exactly what has passed be-
tween you and the Prince OF Majors"
duA JOt al 0tA c0ACf SOtOnCA nay
I answered, that am at liberty to tell
you. At any rate, think that ought
TO see the Duke first
His face darkened. his eyes seemed
TO fash threatening fires upon me. He
was smoking so furiously that little,
hot shreds OF tobacco fell from his
pipe.
Boy" he exclaimed. there are
limits even to my forbeArance. You
a.
and could as easily send you adrift.
1 do not say this as a threat, but
desire to be treated with common con-
sideration. Is 1t well to treat me like
an enemyr'
whether you are indeed my friend
or my enemy I am not even now sure
u answered. Il am learning to be sus-
picious of every person and thing
which breathes. But as for this
matter between the Prince and myself,
it can make little difference who knows
the truth. He slammed fall over the
cliff and sprained ankle. Lady An
gela and I started for the house to
send a cart for him, but before we were
half way across the park Grooton
fetched me back. I found the Prince
examining the papers on which / had
been working, and when ] charged him
with il he offered me a bribe.p
And your
Il struck him."
Ray groaned.
You struck him. And you had him
in your power-to play with as you
would. And you struck him. Oh, Du-
caine, you are very, very young. am
your friend, boy, or rather would be
IL you would let me. But I am afraid
that you are q blunderer.
l faced him with white face.
u seem to have found my way into
a strange place / answered. "I have
neither wit nor cunning enough to
know true men from false. would
trust you. but you are a murderer. I
would have trusted the Prince OF
Majors. but he has proved himself a
common adventurer. So I have made
up my mind that all shall be alike. I
win be neither friend nor foe to any
mortal, but true to my country. I go
my way and do my duty, Colonel Ray"
He blew out dense volumes of smoke,
pufnng furiously at his pipe for several
minutes. There seemed to be many
things which he had It IN his mind to
say to me But, as though suddenly
altering his purpose. he stood on one
side.
ssYou shall go vour own rvav- he SAID