t the
supposed Infanta had been his wife. And he had returned to New York
to confront him with the charge, and to make great capital out of it.
But he had never suspected for a moment Carmen's connection with the
mystery. And now--

But the girl saw only the image of God in the humiliated man. And when
he kissed her hand and departed, she bade him know, always, that she
loved him as a brother. And he knew it, knew that her love was of the
spirit--it left all for the Christ.

A few days later there was delivered at the Ames mansion a cable
message from Cartagena, in reply to one which the master had sent to
the lawyer, Estrella. Ames shook with suppressed excitement when he
read it. Then he bade Carmen send at once for Hitt, Willett, and
Captain McCall, and leave them with him for a private conference.

"She must not know! She must not know!" Ames repeated, as the three
men sat leaning eagerly forward an hour later, drinking in every word
he spoke. "If the mission is successful, well and good. If it fails,
then our silence now will be justified, for as yet I have said nothing
to her regarding him. Peace is being concluded there. Wenceslas has
won--but with--but of that later. When can you get under way,
McCall?"

"To-night, sir. The bunkers are full."

"Very good. I will go aboard at ten. You will weigh anchor immediately."

"What?" cried Hitt. "You will go?"

"I will!" The sudden flash of his old-time energy nearly startled them
from their chairs. "And," he added, "you, Mr. Hitt, will accompany us.
Now, Willett, have the door of my limousine widened to accommodate
this wheel chair. I want a dozen men to insure our privacy, and to
keep the way clear. No one not in our confidence must see us depart."

Hitt gasped. "But--Carmen--"

"Goes with us," returned Ames. "I can not spare her for a moment.
Madam Beaubien will have charge of the house during our absence. We
will be back here, weather favorable, in three weeks--or not at all!"

"Yet, she will know--"

"Nothing. I take the trip, ostensibly, for the change; to get away
from those who are hounding me here; for recuperation--anything! Go,
now, and make ready!" The man's eyes glistened like live coals, and
his sunken cheeks took on a feverish glow.

That night the _Cossack_, enveloped in gloom, steamed noiselessly out
of New York harbor, and turned her prow to the South. And when she
had entered the high sea, Captain McCall from his bridge aloft sent a
mess