Evening star., 1921-09-25

saw the water SllolnS Dy. 30 we re
"The yacht sails Immediately for
Ragusa. l shall not be able to put
you ashore, sir. For any discomfort
you undergo be pleased to blame
yourself and your employer. ! see
rashness in your actions which ]
should have expected from my wife
Reggie chuckled. well. we'll. And
Of course, you don't like being rash!'
"On our arrival at Ragusa you may,
il you choose, remain and be present
at my daughters marriage"
"oh. Shall I be present. sir?" said
Hilda, with a dangerous meekness.
MY dear child" his highness said
affectionateiy. Mr.. Fortune-you
the betrothal of my daughter. the
Duchesse de Zara, to my nephew, the
Comte de Spoleto."
1t was Reggie who preserved an ap-
propriate calm. He only gave one
| chuekle.
How? But-but it is Incredible
Spoleto cried in French, and recoiled,
gesticulating.
Hilda stood up. This is ridiculous,
SIR" she said. and was pale.
Ridiculous, that is the word" Spo-
leto cried.
"Be silent, spoleto. My dear child
you do not understand
II understand enough. You say
you are my father / think ought
to know my father. IL do not mind
and insulting. 1 will not hear any
more about 1t. This gentleman
know nothing about him." She sur
veyed Spolets with disdain. Il do not
| wish to make his acquaintance"
Thank you very much" Spoleto
cried.
"Hilda. Be pleased to remember
that you are now to do your duty as
my daughter. / do not permit dis
obedience"
ITS no use to talk so," said Miss
! Crowland. Il am baby"
His -highness. whose gray hair was
| becoming disheveled. made a violent
gesture. English! She is as Eng
lish as her mother"
"oh. If you are going to say things
against my mother I Will CO., said
Miss Crowland. You came from my
; mother. sir. I should like to speak
to you"
for her. AS they went out he heard
Spoleto say in French. "Do you see
my uncle, this does not do" and then
| a storm. The house of Ragusa was
divided against itself in throes.
On deck, Miss Crowland seemed to
have some difficulty in making up her
mind what to say. Does my mother
know about this! she oroke out ~
last.
THAT'S between you and your con
science, isn't it?" Reggie smiled.
Il haven't told her anything. but
she has never told me anything; MISS
Crowland said fiercely. How did she
come to send you here?
"Some rather odd things happened
"Did they?" said Miss Crowland. in
delighted amusement. What thingsT
II wonder If you know who little
Alice Warenne really Is? She Is an
actress from the Theater des Varie-
tes in Paris" Miss Crowland laughed
"She was employed to get photo.
graph of you. to find out all about
mapped like this, and to persuade you
to come aboard"
monsieur is a detective" Alice
slid up between them. "oh, but
very great detective"
ii knew all that. Except that she
to her. "Are you an actress?"
"Darling!" Alice laughed all over
her baby face. That is the prettiest
compliment, is 1t not, N. the de-
| tective?"
"If you think she has cheated me
she has not She told me that the
Prince of Ragusa said he was my
| father, and that he wanted me ia
come on his yacht. My mother never
would tell me anything about my
father. I didn't think that was fair
| So came. And now, Mr.-Mr. For
tune. what will my mother dor
what shall we all dot" Reggie
laughed. You're in a hole and youl
mothers In a hole, and the Prince
Of Ragusa Is in the deepest hole OF
| the three
excepting always NJ the detec-
tive" Alice laughed. Look, mon
sieur - the beautiful England - she
vauishes! Adieu, the respectable
co1nsfy von and imarine ns iss you are here "a