ly in his
welfare was quite beyond him, knowing as he did that in no sense had he
appealed to her susceptibility. And what, after all, could she mean by
"great danger"? "Save yourself!" He sat for a long time considering the
situation. At last he struck the window sill a resounding thwack with
his fist and announced his decision to the silent, disinterested wall
opposite.

"I'll take her advice. I'll get out. Not because I'm afraid to stay, but
because there's no use. She's got no eyes for me. I'm a plain
impossibility so far as she's concerned. It's Vos Engo--damn little rat!
Old Dangloss came within an ace of speaking of her as 'her Highness.'
That's enough for me. That means she's a princess. It's all very nice in
novels, but in real life men don't go about picking up any princess they
happen to like. No, sir! I might just as well get out while I can. She
treated me as if I were a yellow dog to-day--after I'd been damned
agreeable to her, too, standing between her and the lightning. I might
have been struck. I wonder if she would have been grateful. No; she
wouldn't. She'd have smiled her sweetest, and said: "wasn't it lucky?"

He picked up the note once more. "If I were a storybook hero, I'd stick
this thing in my pocket and set out by myself to unravel the mystery
behind it. But I've chucked the hero job for good and all. I'm going to
hand this over to Dangloss. It's the sensible thing to do, even if it
isn't what a would-be hero in search of a princess aught to do. What's
more, I'll hunt the Baron up this very hour. Hope it doesn't get Olga
into trouble."

He indulged in another long spell of thoughtfulness. "No, by George,
I'll not turn tail at the first sign of danger. I'll stay here and
assist Dangloss in unravelling this matter. And I'll go up to that
Witch's hole before I'm a day older to have it out with her. I'll find
out where the smoke came from and I'll know where that eye went to." He
sighed without knowing it. "By Jove, I'd like to do something to show
her I'm not the blooming duffer she thinks I am."

He could not find Baron Dangloss that night, nor early the next day.
Hobbs, after being stigmatised as the only British coward in the world,
changed his mind and made ready to accompany King to the hovel in
Ganlook Gap.

By noon the streets in the vicinity of the Plaza were filled with
strange, rough-looking men, undeniably labourers.

"Who are they?" demanded King, as they rode past a particularl