represented him
worthily at Headquarters, where his own appearances were extremely rare.
The dissimilar but united loyalties of those two people had been rewarded
by the title of baron and the ribbon of some order or other. The gossip
of the Legitimist circles appreciated those favours with smiling
indulgence. He was the man who had been so distressed and frightened by
Dona Rita's first visit to Tolosa. He had an extreme regard for his
wife. And in that sphere of clashing arms and unceasing intrigue nobody
would have smiled then at his agitation if the man himself hadn't been
somewhat grotesque.

He must have been startled when I sent in my name, for he didn't of
course expect to see me yet--nobody expected me. He advanced soft-footed
down the room. With his jutting nose, flat-topped skull and sable
garments he recalled an obese raven, and when he heard of the disaster he
manifested his astonishment and concern in a most plebeian manner by a
low and expressive whistle. I, of course, could not share his
consternation. My feelings in that connection were of a different order;
but I was annoyed at his unintelligent stare.

"I suppose," I said, "you will take it on yourself to advise Dona Rita,
who is greatly interested in this affair."

"Yes, but I was given to understand that Madame de Lastaola was to leave
Paris either yesterday or this morning."

It was my turn to stare dumbly before I could manage to ask: "For
Tolosa?" in a very knowing tone.

Whether it was the droop of his head, play of light, or some other subtle
cause, his nose seemed to have grown perceptibly longer.

"That, Senor, is the place where the news has got to be conveyed without
undue delay," he said in an agitated wheeze. "I could, of course,
telegraph to our agent in Bayonne who would find a messenger. But I
don't like, I don't like! The Alphonsists have agents, too, who hang
about the telegraph offices. It's no use letting the enemy get that
news."

He was obviously very confused, unhappy, and trying to think of two
different things at once.

"Sit down, Don George, sit down." He absolutely forced a cigar on me.
"I am extremely distressed. That--I mean Dona Rita is undoubtedly on her
way to Tolosa. This is very frightful."

I must say, however, that there was in the man some sense of duty. He
mastered his private fears. After some cogitation he murmured: "There is
another way of getting the news to Headquarters. Suppose yo