with her as her lady's maid to
Schlangenbad in Germany?'

'In place of her lady's maid, for one week,' I answered.

'Ah; a delicate distinction! "In place of her lady's maid." You are a
lady, I believe; an officer's daughter, you told us; educated at
Girton?'

'So I have said already,' I replied, crimson.

'And you stick to it? By all means. Tell--the truth--and stick to it.
It's always safest. Now, don't you think it was rather an odd thing for
an officer's daughter to do--to run about Germany as maid to a lady of
title?'

[Illustration: THE JURY SMILED.]

I tried to explain once more; but the jury smiled. You can't justify
originality to a British jury. Why, they would send you to prison at
once for that alone, if they made the laws as well as dispensing them.

He passed on after a while to another topic. 'I think you have boasted
more than once in society that when you first met Lady Georgina Fawley
you had twopence in your pocket to go round the world with?'

'I had,' I answered--'and I went round the world with it.'

'Exactly. I'm getting there in time. With it--and other things. A few
months later, more or less, you were touring up the Nile in your steam
dahabeeah, and in the lap of luxury; you were taking saloon-carriages on
Indian railways, weren't you?'

I explained again. 'The dahabeeah was in the service of the _Daily
Telephone_,' I answered. 'I became a journalist.'

He cross-questioned me about that. 'Then I am to understand,' he said at
last, leaning forward with all his waistcoat, 'that you sprang yourself
upon Mr. Elworthy at sight, pretty much as you sprang yourself upon Lady
Georgina Fawley?'

'We arranged matters quickly,' I admitted. The dexterous wretch was
making my strongest points all tell against me.

'H'm! Well, he was a man: and you will admit, I suppose,' fingering his
smooth fat chin, 'that you are a lady of--what is the stock phrase the
reporters use?--considerable personal attractions?'

'My Lord,' I said, turning to the Bench, 'I appeal to you. Has he the
right to compel me to answer that question?'

[Illustration: THE QUESTION REQUIRES NO ANSWER, HE SAID.]

The judge bowed slightly. 'The question requires no answer,' he said,
with a quiet emphasis. I burned bright scarlet.

'Well, my lud, I defer to your ruling,' the cross-eyed cross-examiner
continued, radiant. 'I go on to another point. When in India, I
believe, you stopped for some time as a guest in the house of