utside--somebody go
git de colonel!--Oh, Gawd!--somebody git 'im quick!"

Few heard him and nobody paid any attention to his entreaties; nor
could anybody, when they did listen, understand what he wanted--the men
swearing under their breath, the girls indignant that he had blocked
their way. Mrs. Rutter, who had seen his in-rush, sat aghast. Had Alec,
too, given way, she wondered--old Alec who had had full charge of the
wine cellar for years! But the old man pressed on, still shouting, his
voice almost gone, his eyes bursting from his head.

"Dey's gwineter murder Marse Harry--I seen 'em! Oh!--whar's de colonel!
Won't somebody please--Oh, my Gawd!--dis is awful! Don't I tell ye dey's
gwineter kill Marse Harry!"

Mrs. Cheston, sitting beside Kate, was the only one who seemed to
understand.

"Alec!" she called in her imperious voice--"Alec!--come to me at once!
What is the matter?"

The old butler shambled forward and stood trembling, the tears streaming
down his cheeks.

"Yes, mum--I'm yere! Oh, can't ye git de colonel--ain't nobody else'll
do--"

"Is it a duel?"

"Yes, mum! I jes' done see 'em! Dey's gwineter kill my Marse Harry!"

Kate sprang up. "Where are they?" she cried, shivering with fear. The
old man's face had told the story.

"Out by de greenhouse--dey was measurin' off de groun'--dey's got de
colonel's pistols--you kin see 'em from de winder!"

In an instant she had parted the heavy silk curtains and lifted the
sash. She would have thrown herself from it if Mrs. Cheston had not held
her, although it was but a few feet from the ground.

"Harry!" she shrieked--an agonizing shriek that reverberated through
the ballroom, bringing everybody and everything to a stand-still. The
dancers looked at each other in astonishment. What had happened? Who had
fainted?

The colonel now passed through the room. He had been looking after the
proper handling of the famous Madeira, and had just heard that Alec
wanted him, and was uncertain as to the cause of the disturbance. A
woman's scream had reached his ears, but he did not know it was Kate's
or he would have quickened his steps.

Again Kate's voice pierced the room:

"Harry! HARRY!"--this time in helpless agony. She had peered into the
darkness made denser by the light rain, and had caught a glimpse of a
man standing erect without his coat, the light of the torches bringing
his figure into high relief--whose she could not tell, the bushes were
so thick.