occurred the day before, and in
adjusting new conditions. At the hotel he had found that the situation
was becoming too complicated, and that it was impossible to feel sure
of the truth of anything, or of the sincerity of anyone. Since the
luncheon hour the day before he had become a fellow-conspirator with
men who were as objectionable to him in every way as he knew he was
obnoxious to them. But they had been forced to accept him because, so
they supposed, he had them at the mercy of his own pleasure. He knew
their secret, and in the legitimate pursuit of his profession he could,
if he chose, inform the island of Messina, with the rest of the world,
of their intention toward it, and bring their expedition to an end,
though he had chosen, as a reward for his silence, to become one of
themselves. Only the Countess Zara had guessed the truth, that it was
Gordon himself who was at their mercy, and that so long as the American
girl persisted in casting her fortunes with them her old young friend
was only too eager to make any arrangement with them that would keep
him at her side.

It was a perplexing position, and Gordon turned it over and over in his
mind. Had it not been that Miss Carson had a part in it he would have
enjoyed the adventure, as an adventure, keenly. He had no objections
to fighting on the side of rascals, or against rascals. He objected to
them only in the calmer moments of private life; and as he was of
course ignorant that the expedition was only a make-believe, he felt a
certain respect for his fellow-conspirators as men who were willing to
stake their lives for a chance of better fortune. But that their
bravery was of the kind which would make them hesitate to rob and
deceive a helpless girl he very much doubted; for he knew that even the
bravest of warriors on their way to battle will requisition a herd of
cattle or stop to loot a temple. The day before, Gordon had witnessed
the brief ceremony which attended the presentation of the young
noblemen from Paris who had volunteered for the expedition in all good
faith, and he reviewed it and analyzed it as he sat smoking on the
ramparts.

It had been an impressive ceremony, in spite of the fact that so few
had taken part in it, but the earnestness of the visitors and the
enthusiasm of Kalonay and the priest had made up for the lack of
numbers. The scene had appealed to him as one of the most dramatic he
had witnessed in the pursuit of a callin