closely at a pair of black eyes, and had been
spirited away by the prompt vengeance of the lady's attendants.

But Paul's speculations concerning the fate of his brother were just now
interrupted by the consideration of the difficulties which lay before
him. Cold and resolute by nature, he found himself in a position in
which any man's calmness would have been shaken. He knew that he must
tell his tale to his chief, and he knew that he was to blame for not
having watched Alexander more closely. It was improbable that any one
who had not been present could understand how, in the intense interest
caused by the ceremony, Paul could have overlooked his brother's
departure from the gallery. But not only had Paul failed to notice his
going; the kavass had not observed the lost man's movements any more
than Paul himself. It was inconceivable to any one except Paul that
Alexander should have been capable of creeping past him and the soldier,
on tip-toe, purposely eluding observation; nevertheless, such an action
would not be unnatural to his character. He had perhaps conceived a
sudden desire to go down into the church and view the ceremony more
closely. He must have known that both his companions would forcibly
prevent him from such a course, and it was like him to escape them,
laughing to himself at their carelessness. The passion for adventure was
in his blood, and his training had not tended to cool it; fate had
thrown an attractive possibility into his way, and he had seized the
opportunity of doing something unusual, and annoying his more prudent
brother at the same time.

But though Paul understood this clearly enough, he felt that it would be
anything but easy to make it clear to his chief; and yet, if he did not
succeed in doing so, it would be hard for him to account for his
carelessness, and he might spend a very unpleasant season of waiting
until the missing man was found. In such a case as this, Paul was too
good a diplomatist not to tell the truth very exactly. Indeed, he was
always a truthful man, according to his lights; but had it been
necessary to shield his brother's reputation in any way, he would have
so arranged his story as not to tell any more of the truth than was
necessary. What had occurred was probably more to his own discredit than
to Alexander's, and Paul reflected that, on the other hand, there was
no need to inform the ambassador of the quarrel on the previous
afternoon, since the chief had over