glimpse of it," she reflected. "To me it
seemed as though it were carved out of granite, and as though all that
was human about him were the mouth and the eyes. I wish he hadn't been
looking."

"Are you flattering yourself that he will recognise you?" Nigel asked.

"I know that he will," she answered simply.

* * * * *

In a corner of the white-and-gold restaurant at the Ritz on the
following evening, Prince Shan and Immelan dined tete-a-tete, Immelan in
the best of spirits, talking of the pleasant trifles of the world,
drinking champagne and pointing out notabilities; Prince Shan, his
features and expression unchanging, and his face as white as the
perfectly fitting shirt he wore. His clothes were fashionable and
distinctive, his black pearls unobtrusive but wonderful, his smoothly
brushed dark hair, his immaculate finger nails, his skilfully tied tie
all indicative of his close touch with western civilization. There was
nothing, in fact, except his sphinx-like expression, the slightly
unusual shape of his brilliant eyes, and his queer air of personal
detachment, to denote the Oriental. He drank water, he ate sparingly, he
preserved an almost unbroken silence, yet he had the air of one giving
courteous attention to everything which his companion said and finding
interest in it. Only once he asked a question.

"You are well acquainted here, my host," he said. "You know the trio at
the table just behind the entrance--the attractive young lady with her
chaperon, and a gentleman who I rather fancy must be an old college
acquaintance whose name I have forgotten. Tell me some more about them
in their private capacity, and not as saviours of their country."

Immelan frowned slightly as he glanced across the room.

"There is not much to tell," he answered, without enthusiasm. "The young
lady is, as you know, Lady Maggie Trent. The older lady, with the white
hair, is, I believe, her aunt. The name of their escort is Lord
Dorminster. You would probably know him by the name of Kingley--he has
only just succeeded to the title."

Prince Shan was looking straight across the room, his eyes travelling
over the heads of the many brilliant little groups of diners to rest
apparently upon an empty space in the white-and-gold walls. He had been
a great traveller, but always his first evening, when he came once more
into touch with a civilisation more meretricious but more poignant than
his own, resul