fusion of identity! Which is the princess?' It'll draw
crowds--thousands."

Agatha escaped, leaving Mr. Straker to collect from others the details
of his advertising story, which he did with surprising speed and
accuracy. By the next morning he had pumped Sallie, Doctor Thayer and
Aleck Van Camp, and had extracted the promise of an interview from Miss
Reynier herself.

The only really unsatisfactory subject of investigation was Mr. Hand,
whom Straker watched for a day or two with growing suspicion. Straker
had sputtered, good-naturedly enough, over the "accident" to his
racing-car, and had taken it for granted, in rather a high-handed
manner, that Mr. Hand was to make repairs. His manner toward the
chauffeur was not pleasant, being a combination of the patron and the
bully. It was exactly the sort of manner to precipitate civil war,
though diplomacy might serve to cover the breach for a time.

But the racing-car, ignominiously towed home by Miss Reynier's white
machine, stood undisturbed in one of the open carriage sheds by the
church. Eluded by Hand for the space of twenty-four hours, and finding
that the injury to the car was far beyond his own mechanical skill to
repair, Mr. Straker sent peremptory word to Charlesport and to the
Hillside for the services of a mechanician, without satisfaction.
Little Simon thought the matter was beyond him, but informed Mr.
Straker that perhaps the engineer at the quarry--a native who had "been
to Boston" and qualified as chauffeur--would come and look at it.

"Then for Heaven's sake, Colonel, get him to come and be quick about
it," adjured Mr. Straker. "And tell him for me that there's a
long-yellow for him if he'll make the thing right."

"He'll charge you two dollars an hour, including time on the road,"
solemnly announced Little Simon, unimpressed by any mention of the
long-yellow. Had Little Simon "liked," he could probably have mended
the car himself, but Mr. Straker's manner, so effective on Broadway,
was not to the taste of these country people. He thought of them in
their poverty as "peasants," but without the kindliness of the born
gentleman. What Aleck Van Camp could have got for love, Mr. Straker
could not buy; and he was at last obliged to appeal to Hand through
Agatha's agency.

"I'll look at it again," Hand replied shortly, when Agatha addressed
him on the subject.

The car being temporarily out of commission, it was necessary for Mr.
Straker to ado