er, then went to bed and slept; even dreamed the dream of a maid's
first love.

Meantime Farnsworth, who had given Alice his own apartment, took what
rest he could on the cold ground under a leaky shed hard by. His wound,
not yet altogether healed, was not benefited by the exposure.

In due time next morning Hamilton ordered Alice brought to his office,
and when she appeared he was smiling with as near an approach to
affability as his disposition would permit. He rose and bowed like a
courtier.

"I hope you rested well, Mademoiselle," he said in his best French. He
imagined that the use of her language would be agreeable to begin with.

The moment that Alice saw him wearing that shallow veneering of
pleasantness on his never prepossessing visage, she felt a mood of
perversity come over her. She, too, smiled, and he mistook her
expression for one of reciprocal amenity. She noticed that her sword
was on his table.

"I am sorry, Monsieur, that I cannot say as much to you," she glibly
responded. "If you lay upon a bed of needles the whole night through,
your rest was better than you deserved. My own sleep was quite
refreshing, thank you."

Instantly Hamilton's choler rose. He tried to suppress it at first; but
when he saw Alice actually laughing, and Farnsworth (who had brought
her in) biting his lip furiously to keep from adding an uproarious
guffaw, he lost all hold of himself. He unconsciously picked up the
rapier and shook it till its blade swished.

"I might have known better than to expect decency from a wench of your
character," he said. "I hoped to do you a favor; but I see that you are
not capable of accepting kindness politely."

"I am sure, Monsieur, that I have but spoken the truth plainly to you.
You would not have me do otherwise, I hope."

Her voice, absolutely witching in its softness, freshness and suavity,
helped the assault of her eyes, while her dimples twinkled and her hair
shone. Hamilton felt his heart move strangely; but he could not forbear
saying in English:

"If you are so devilish truthful, Miss, you will probably tell me where
the flag is that you stole and hid."

It was always the missing banner that came to mind when he saw her.

"Indeed I will do nothing of the sort," she promptly replied. "When you
see that flag again you will be a prisoner and I will wave it high over
your head."

She lifted a hand as she spoke and made the motion of shaking a banner
above him. It was exasp