It will be a pretty game."
"For the spectators," I supplemented.
"For you, too; when you get into the swing of it."
"I wish I had your happy way of viewing things," I said.
He laughed. "Oh, it's easy to view some other fellow's affairs happily.
That is why a friend's advice is usually serviceable."
I took a pipe and began to fill it. "It's that advice I want," I said.
He was silent for a space. I smoked and waited.
"I suppose you had no opportunity to talk with the Princess after the
supper, last night?" he said.
I smiled. "I drove with her to the Palace."
"Alone?" he exclaimed.
"Yes--she ordered me in with her and sent the Countess with Moore."
He sat up sharply. "Gad! Major, she's a treasure!" he exclaimed. "That
tells me what I want to know: she has measured the Spencer woman's story."
"Both story and certificate," said I. "She says the one is a lie and the
other a forgery."
He raised his hand emphatically. "My dear fellow," he said, sternly, "if
you didn't get down on your knees, last night, and thank the good God for
that brave girl up yonder in the Palace, you deserve to lose her--and I
shall go over to Lotzen's side, myself.
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