t Spencer. Barker and the
Duke remained half an hour, and Claudius would have gone with them, but
Margaret insisted upon finishing the chapter, so he stayed behind.

"He's a gone 'coon, Duke," remarked Barker, beginning to smoke as soon
as he was in the Victoria.

"I should say he was pretty hard hit, myself. I guess nothing better
could have happened." The Duke, in virtue of his possessions in America,
affected to "guess" a little now and then when none of those horrid
people were about.

"Come on, Duke," said Barker, "let us go home, and take them with us."

"I could not go just now. Next month. Autumn, you know. Glories of the
forest and those sort of things."

"Think they would go?"

"Don't know," said the Duke. "Take them over in the yacht, if they
like."

"All right. We can play poker while they bay the moon."

"Hold on, though; she won't go without some other woman, you know. It
would be in all the papers."

"She has a lady-companion," said Barker.

"That won't do for respectability."

"It is rather awkward, then." There was silence for a few moments.

"Stop a bit," said the Duke suddenly. "It just strikes me. I have got a
sister somewhere. I'll look her up. She is never ill at sea, and they
have sent her husband off to Kamtchatka, or some such place."

"That's the very thing," said Barker. "I will talk to Claudius. Can you
manage the Countess, do you think? Have you known her long?"

"Rather. Ever since she married poor Alexis."

"All right, then. You ask her." And they reached their hotel.

So these two gentlemen settled things between them. They both wanted to
go to America, and they were not in a hurry, so that the prospect of a
pleasant party, with all the liberty and home feeling there is on board
of a yacht, was an immense attraction. Barker, of course, was amused and
interested by his scheme for making Claudius and the Countess fall in
love with each other, and he depended on the dark lady for his show.
Claudius would not have been easily induced to leave Europe by argument
or persuasion, but there was little doubt that he would follow the
Countess, if she could be induced to lead. The Duke, on the other hand,
thought only of making up a well-arranged party of people who wanted to
make the journey in any case, and would not be on his hands after he
landed. So two or three days later he called on the Countess to open the
campaign. It was not altogether new ground, as they had crossed tog