e last twenty-four hours. The excitement of the
evening, the excitement of his unwonted outburst, was still troubling
him. It was not often that he had so far overstepped the bounds which
his natural caution, his ever-present self-restraint, imposed upon him.
He paced restlessly to and fro from the sitting room to the bedroom and
back again. He had told the truth,--the bare, simple truth. He had seen
the letters of fire in the sky, and he had read them to these people
because of their kindness, because of a certain affection which he bore
them. To them it must have sounded like a man speaking in a strange
tongue. They had not understood. Perhaps, even, they would not believe
in the absolute sincerity of his motives. Again he paused at the window
and looked over the park to that narrow, glittering stretch of sea.
Why should he not for once forget the traditions of his race, the pride
which kept him there to face the end! There was still time. The cruiser
which the Emperor had sent was waiting for him in Southampton Harbor.
In twenty-four hours he would be in foreign waters. He thought of these
things earnestly, even wistfully, and yet he knew that he could not go.
Perhaps they would be glad of an opportunity of getting rid of him now
that he had spoken his mind. In any case, right was on their side. The
end, if it must come, was simple enough!

He turned away from the window with a little shrug of the shoulders.
Even as he did so, there came a faint knocking at the door. His servant
had already retired. For a moment it seemed to him that it could mean
but one thing. While he hesitated, the handle was softly turned and
the door opened. To his amazement, it was Penelope who stood upon the
threshold.

"Miss Morse!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

She held out her hand as though to bid him remain silent. For several
seconds she seemed to be listening. Then very softly she closed the door
behind her.

"Miss Penelope," he cried softly, "you must not come in here! Please!"

She ignored his outstretched hand, advancing a little further into the
room. There was tragedy in her white face. She seemed to be shaking in
every limb, but not with nervousness. Directly he looked into her eyes,
he knew very well that the thing was close at hand!

"Listen!" she whispered. "I had to come! You don't know what is going
on! For the last half hour the telephone has been ringing continuously.
It is about you! The Home Office has been ringing u