Highness himself appeared to give it a still sharper twist.

He had been standing at a short distance, talking with a small chauffeur
of a peculiarly solemn cast of countenance. Now he turned and joined the
ladies with a brisk step and an air of proprietorship.

The fact that he was wearing a long motor-coat, of a smart cut, and a
peaked cap which became him excellently, struck me as ominous. Had he
caught the birds--our birds--after all, at the last moment, and had they
been too cowardly to let us know?

"Oh, good morning, Sir Ralph," said he. "So that is the famous car. Mine
is a giant beside it, is it not? No doubt you and your friend are clever
men, but you will need all your cleverness to provide comfortable
accommodation for these ladies' luggage as well as themselves. I would
not mind betting you ten to one that you will fail to do it to their
satisfaction."

"I'll take the bet if the ladies don't mind," responded Terry promptly,
those lazy Irish eyes of his very bright and dark.

"What--a bet? Why, that will be real fun," laughed the Countess, showing
her dimples. "What is it to be?"

A slightly anxious expression hardened the lines of the Prince's face
when he found himself taken in earnest. "A thousand francs against a
hundred of yours shall it be, Monsieur? I don't wish to plunge my hand
into your pockets," said he, shrewdly making a virtue of his caution.

"As you like," Terry assented. "Now for the test. Your luggage has come
down, Countess?"

"Yes; here it all is," said Mrs. Kidder, guiltily indicating three stout
hotel porters who stood in the background heavily laden. "Dear me, it
_does_ look as if it was going to be a mighty tight squeeze, doesn't
it?"

In response to a gesture, the porters advanced in line, like the Three
Graces; and counting rapidly, I made out that their load consisted of
one good-sized "Innovation" cabin box, two enormous alligator-skin
dressing bags, one small bag, and two capacious hold-alls, umbrellas,
parasols, and a tea-basket.

I began to tremble for more than Terry's five pounds. I now saw all the
Prince's guile. He had somehow managed to produce his car, and had, no
doubt, used all his eloquence to persuade Mrs. Kidder that she would be
justified in changing her mind at the last moment. That he had failed
was owing either to her sense of honour or her liking for the
English-speaking races over foreigners, even princely ones. But refusing
to abandon hope, His Hig