nd mist, as you may see a flock of wild ducks in the
haze upon a river, flying they know not whither, save that they follow
the sound of the stream. I was just ending the song when Monsieur
Doltaire leaned over me, and said in my ear, 'To-morrow I shall invite
Captain Moray from the scaffold to my breakfast-table--or, better still,
invite myself to his own.' His hand caught mine, as I gave a little cry;
for when I felt sure of your reprieve, I could not, Robert, I could not
keep it back. He thought I was startled at his hand-pressure, and did
not guess the real cause.

"'I have met one challenge, and I shall meet the other,' he said
quickly. 'It is not so much a matter of power, either; it is that engine
opportunity. You and I should go far in this wicked world,' he added.
'We think together, we see through ladders. I admire you, mademoiselle.
Some men will say they love you; and they should, or they have no taste;
and the more they love you, the better pleased am I--if you are best
pleased with me. But it is possible for men to love and not to admire.
It is a foolish thing to say that reverence must go with love. I know
men who have lost their heads and their souls for women whom they knew
infamous. But when one admires where one loves, then in the ebb and flow
of passion the heart is safe, for admiration holds when the sense is
cold.'

"You know well, Robert, how clever he is; how, listening to him, you
must admit his talent and his power. But oh, believe that, though I am
full of wonder at his cleverness, I can not bear him very near me."

She paused. I looked most gravely at her, as well one might who saw so
sweet a maid employing her heart thus, and the danger that faced her.
She misread my look a little, maybe, for she said at once:

"I must be honest with you, and so I tell you all--all, else the part
I play were not possible to me. To you I can speak plainly, pour out my
soul. Do not fear for me. I see a battle coming between that man and
me, but I shall fight it stoutly, worthily, so that in this, at least, I
shall never have to blush for you that you loved me. Be patient, Robert,
and never doubt me; for that would make me close the doors of my heart,
though I should never cease to aid you, never weary in labor for your
well-being. If these things, and fighting all these wicked men, to make
Doltaire help me to save you, have schooled to action some worse parts
of me, there is yet in me that which shall never