his
sympathy--the wish to be generous with the woman who has not been
generous with him, for the reason that she could not be--here again
you have another argument which we may claim as possible."

"You reason well," said Merry. "But while men are mortal, yonder, if I
mistake not, is a gentleman."

"Precisely," said Burr. "If we ask him to resign his expedition we are
asking him to alter all his loyalty to his chief--and he will not do
that. Any appeal made to him must be to his honor or to his chivalry;
otherwise it were worse than hopeless. He would no more be disloyal to
my son-in-law, the lady's husband--in case it came to that--than he
would be disloyal to the orders of his chief."

"Fie! Fie!" said Yrujo, serving himself with wine from a decanter on
the table. "All men are mortal. I agree with your first proposition,
Colonel Burr, that the safest argument with a man--with a young man
especially, and such a young man--is a woman--and such a woman!"

"One thing is sure," rejoined Burr, flushing. "That man will succeed
unless some woman induces him to change--some woman, acting under an
appeal to his chivalry or his sense of justice. His reasons must be
honest to him. They must be honest to her alike."

Burr added this last virtuously, and Mr. Merry bowed deeply in return.

"This is not only honorable of you, Colonel Burr, but logical."

"That means some sort of sacrifice for him," suggested Yrujo
presently. "But some one is sacrificed in every great undertaking. We
cannot count the loss of men when nations seek to extend their
boundaries and enhance their power. Only the question is, at what
sacrifice, through what appeal to his chivalry, can his assistance be
carried to us?"

"We have left out of our accounting one factor," said Burr after a
time.

"What, then?"

"One factor, I repeat, we have overlooked," said Burr. "That is the
wit of a woman! I am purposing to send as our agent with him no other
than my daughter, Mrs. Alston. There is no mind more brilliant, no
heart more loyal, than hers--nor any soul more filled with ambition!
She believes in her father absolutely--will use every resource of her
own to upbuild her father's ambitions.[2] Now, women have their own
ways of accomplishing results. Suppose we leave it to my daughter to
fashion her own campaign? There is nothing wrong in the relations of
these two, but at table today I saw his look to her, and hers to him
in reply. We are speaking in dee