rue, the selection was a
happy one, for which his guests were unfeignedly thankful. The great
room was fifty feet long and about two-thirds as broad. It had heavy
black oak paneling midway to the ceiling, which was formed of heavy
beams and rafters of the same wood. And along the ledge of the
wainscoting were old tankards of silver and pewter, plates hammered
deep with the armorial bearings of different branches of the family.
Shields hung against the walls and battered helmets, while standing in
groups or in solemn solitary dignity were the "iron men" or the "knights
in armor," who had fought for their war lords long before Germany was an
empire.

The old count, although he spoke English much less well than his son,
led his guests toward a circular space underneath a great stained-glass
window, where the light of the afternoon sun shone rose and gold upon
the carved table and high-back chairs. He appeared genuinely pleased
with their interest and enthusiasm over his estate and the country near
by, until Polly, whose sense of the dramatic was always stronger than
any other, felt herself becoming as ardently admiring of the older man
as she was critical of his son. And after tea was over and the others
sat discussing unimportant matters, in a moment of thoughtlessness,
Polly allowed the old count to lead her and Anthony Graham to another
part of the house in order to show them his library. Mrs. Ashton and
Miss Adams had expressed themselves as too tired for the climbing of
more stairs, while Betty, Carl and Frederick von Reuter, though making
no excuses, yet failed to join them.

When nearly midway down the room it did occur to Polly as unwise to be
leaving Betty unchaperoned by her own vigilance, yet as Betty now shook
her head, declining positively to be lured into this excursion, there
was nothing to do but to trust her friend to Mrs. Ashton and Margaret
Adams for a few moments.

Nevertheless Polly should have understood that Mrs. Ashton would not
oppose any suggestion for a more intimate conversation with Betty that
the young lieutenant might chance to make. And of course it was
impossible for Miss Adams to object unless Betty's mother did. As for
Frederick von Reuter, the attraction he once entertained for the
American girl seemed to continue now only in a kind of transferred
interest in his cousin's success.

So that five minutes after Polly disappeared out of one door at the far
end of the hall, Carl von Reut