emergency, it being so utterly unforeseen, and such a blow to them that
their cherished "surprise" should be not only a dead failure but a
brutal catastrophe.

They must have realized in a flash that these people whom they had
brought together were bitter enemies. They must, in a rush of emotion,
have blamed themselves and each other for not finding out in time what
perhaps they might have suspected or known without telling had they not
been foreigners and comparative strangers in London society. As a matter
of fact, they could not have known unless they had catechized Americans,
which it would never have occurred to them to do; but no doubt the
thought came to their minds, and they must have cursed their
"inspiration" for that "pleasant surprise."

I saw Princess Sanzanow's eyes appeal in despair to her husband. But the
situation was too complicated even for him to solve in a second, for the
worst was yet to come. Thinking to compliment Di, and honour the man who
had brought their nephew out of captivity, they had arranged that
Captain March should take Lady Diana Vandyke in to dinner. The
expression on her face and the stiffening of his muscles had shown this
plan to be impossible, to say nothing of Major Vandyke's mad-bull glare.
Now, at an instant's warning, there would have to be a general post, and
changing of partners; and the most desperate difficulty of all must have
lain in the princess's complete ignorance of the facts. She stood there
among the company she had invited to meet each other as if blindfolded,
not knowing which ones, or how many, were affected by the vendetta.

I saw and divined this between two heartbeats, for I was one of those
who knew the undercurrents hidden from strangers; and in such moments
one thinks quickly. Of all the guests, I was the least important, and
the youngest except the Sanzanow boy; yet I felt that I was the only
person present who could or would act in time. I made up my mind to risk
seeming rude or shockingly bold. There was just one thing I could think
of to do, and I did it.

Into the midst of that brief, freezing pause, I plunged. Almost running
forward, I held out both hands to Eagle. "Oh, dear Princess!" I gasped.
"We are the best and oldest friends, Captain March and I. We've known
each other since--since I was a child; and we met in Belgium when he was
'Monsieur Mars.'"

Eagle grasped my hands so tightly that I should have had to cry out if I
had worn rings, a