Capitaine,
the Count de Lasselles, as he drew himself to his entire height, which
was well-nigh as great as that of the Gouverneur of the State of
Harpeth.

"And I have ridden a day and a night, sir, for the same purpose,"
answered my great Gouverneur Faulkner with that beautiful courtesy of
business I have always observed him to use in the transaction of his
affairs in his office at the Capitol of the State of Harpeth. "And as
one of us must make a beginning, will you not tell me, Captain, why
you are here and in this predicament?"

"In a few words I will make all clear to you, Your Excellency," made
answer my Capitaine, the Count de Lasselles, with an air of courtesy
equal to that of the Gouverneur Faulkner. "I sent down into your State
of Harpeth one of my Commission, to whom I gave the direction that
with a lack of annoying publicity he should investigate the
preparedness of the State of Harpeth to deliver those five thousand of
mules to the Republique of France as was being proposed. Behold, a
report that all is well comes to me, but--ah, it is with sorrow and
shame that such a thing could be done by a son of poor France who
struggles for life!--among the sheets of that report was left by
mistake the fragments of a draft of a letter to an American woman,
which made a partial disclosure of an intended falseness of that
statement to me. Immediately I came alone to interview that false
officer and I find him gone from that small town not far from here
into your Capital. I was seeking to rapidly ride alone by directions
into your Capital city to prevent that he make a signature, which I
had given to him the authority to write, to those papers of so great
an importance. I was thus arrested by that man of great wildness,
whose _patois_ I could not understand as he could not comprehend
the English I make use of, and you see me thus. I beg of you to tell
me if that wicked signature has been made."

"The papers have not been signed, thank God, Captain, and your very
impatient lieutenant is being shown some Southern hospitality by the
flower and chivalry of Old Harpeth. And I beg your pardon for allowing
you to be a prisoner a minute longer than necessary," was the answer
made to him by my Gouverneur Faulkner. "Untie the Captain, Jim; he's
all right. And you can bring us a little of your mountain dew while I
clear this table here to use for the papers of our business." And
still my Gouverneur Faulkner did not speak or lo