cket on a silver tray.
Jimmie had the wit to lay a gold piece on the tray, at which the courier
almost knelt to express his thanks. The other attendants drew long
envious breaths.

The door was shut, and Mrs. Jimmie and Bee opened their letters. Both
were from Count Andreae von Engel, saying that he and Von Furzmann,
rendered desperate by the near departure of his Majesty for the
manoeuvres, had resolved to risk dismissal from his suite by absence
without leave. The letter said that on that day--the day on which it was
written--they had both attended his Majesty on a hunt, and as he seldom
hunted with the same officers two days in succession, they bade fair not
to be on duty after noon the next day. Therefore, if we heard nothing to
the contrary, they would leave Ischl on the one o'clock train in
uniform, as if on official business. Their servants would board the
train at Gmund with citizens' clothes, and they would be with us soon
after seven that night. They begged leave to dine with us in our
private dining-room that evening, and would we be so gracious as to
receive them until midnight, when they must take train for Ischl, and be
on duty in uniform by seven in the morning.

I simply shrieked, as I looked at Jimmie's perplexed face.

"What shall we do?" he said. "We can't have 'em here! We must stop 'em!
Get a telegraph blank, Bee! We haven't any private dining-room, anyhow,
and if they got caught we might be dragged into it! Well, what is it?"

He turned to the door half savagely, and there stood the proprietor,
with some ten or twelve servants at his heels.

"You were speaking to me the other day about better rooms? Will it
please you to look at some on the second floor, which have never been
occupied since they were done over? There are five rooms _en
suite_--just about what your Excellency desires."

Jimmie turned to us with a sickly grin.

We all waited for Mrs. Jimmie to speak.

"Jimmie, dear," she said at last, "if you don't object, I think it would
be very nice to take those rooms, and entertain the gentlemen this
evening. Of course, they cannot be seen in the public dining-room, and,
after all, they _are_ gentlemen and in the Emperor's suite, so their
attentions to us, while a little more pronounced than we are accustomed
to, _are_ an honour."

Jimmie said nothing, but went to the door and signified that we would
look at the rooms.

We did look; we took them, and before noon every handsome piece