y because he was devoted to you--and now he turns right round and
wants to be devoted to me! Tell him from me that he was much better
employed with his former devotion--tell him my advice was that he should
stick to it.'

'You must give a more serious answer,' the Dictator said gravely.

'Why didn't he come himself?' she asked somewhat inconsequently, and
going off on another tack at once. 'I can't understand how a man of any
spirit can make love by deputy.'

'Kings do sometimes,' the Dictator said.

Helena blushed again. Some thought was passing through her mind which
was not in his. She had called him her king.

'Mr. Hamilton is not a king,' she said almost angrily. She was on the
point of blurting out, 'Mr. Hamilton is not _my_ king,' but she
recovered herself in good time. 'Even if he were,' she went on, 'I
should rather be proposed to in person as Katherine was by Henry the
Fifth.'

'You take this all too lightly,' Ericson pleaded. 'Remember that this
young man's heart and his future life are wrapped up in your answer, and
in _you_.'

'Tell him to come himself and get his answer,' she said with a scornful
toss of her head. Something had risen up in her heart which made her
unkind.

'Miss Langley,' Ericson said gravely, 'I think it would have been much
better if Hamilton had come himself and made his proposal, and argued it
out with you for himself. I told him so, but he would not be advised. He
is too modest and fearful, although, I tell you, I have seen more than
once what pluck he has in danger. Yes, I have seen how cool, how elate
he can be with the bullets and the bayonets of the enemy all at work
about him. But he is timid with _you_--because he loves you.'

'"He either fears his fate too much----"' she began.

'You can't settle this thing by a quotation. I see that you are in a
mood for quotations, and that shows that you are not very serious. I
shall tell you why he asked me, and prevailed upon me, to come to you
and speak for him. There is no reason why I should not tell you.'

'Tell me,' she said.

'I am old enough to have no hesitation in telling a girl of your age
anything.'

'Again!' Helena said. 'I do wish you would let my age alone? I thought
we had come to an honourable understanding to leave my age out of the
question.'

'I fear it can't well be left out of this question. You see, what I was
going to tell you was that Hamilton asked me to break this to you
because he believes that