ever
heard of Garcia? Well, come along. I'll tell you something about him as
we take our morning stroll. How are my cigarettes holding out?"

"They run low, sahib. Neenah has given all of hers to me for you,
excellency, and I have demanded those of the wives of Von Blitz."

"Selim, you must not forget that you are a gentleman. That was most
ungallant. But I suppose you got them?"

"No, sahib. They refused to give them up. They are saving them for Mr.
Britt," said Selim dejectedly.

"Ah, the ficklety of women!" he sighed. "There's a new word for you,
Selim--ficklety. I like it better than fickleness, don't you? Sounds
like frailty, too. Was there any shooting after I went to bed?" His
manner changed suddenly from the frivolous to the serious.

"No, sahib."

"I don't understand their game," he mused, a perplexed frown on his
brow. "They've quit popping away at us."

It was far past midday when he heard from Rasula. The disagreeable
weather may have been more or less responsible for the ruffling of
Chase's temper during those long, dreary hours of waiting. Be that as it
may, he was sorely tried by the feeling of loneliness that attached
itself to him. He had seen the Princess but once, and then she was
walking briskly, wrapped in a rain coat, followed by her shivering dogs,
and her two Rapp-Thorberg soldiers! Somehow she failed to see Chase as
he sauntered hungrily, almost imploringly across the upper terrace, in
plain view. Perhaps, after all, it was not the weather.

Rasula's messenger came to the gates and announced that he had a letter
for Mr. Chase. He was admitted to the grounds and conducted to the sick
chamber of "the commandant." Hollingsworth Chase read the carefully
worded, diplomatic letter from the native lawyer, his listeners paying
the strictest attention. After the most courteous introductory, Rasula
had this to say:

"We have reason to suspect that you were right in your suspicions. The
golden plate has been found this day in the cave below the chateau, just
as you have said. This much of what you have charged against Jacob von
Blitz seems to be borne out by the evidence secured. Last night there
was an attempt to rob the vaults in the company's bank. Again I followed
your advice and laid a trap for the men engaged. They were slain in the
struggle which followed. This fact is much to be deplored. Your command
that these men be given a fair trial cannot be obeyed. They died
fighting after we had