ason--but followed his counsel. During
their first stroll in the open air she said she felt like a Mohammedan
woman; yet she soon realized that a double motor veil not only shielded
her from impertinent eyes but kept her face free from dust and insects.
Naturally, they made straight for the cathedral and examined the quaint
picture that had provided an excuse for their visit to the Near East.
They were much impressed. They gazed at its brilliant coloring and stiff
pose for fully a minute. Then Joan broke a silence that was becoming
irksome.
"If it is really a Giotto," she whispered, "it was painted before he
broke away from the Byzantine tradition."
"Yes," murmured Poluski, "here we have both Giotto and Saint Peter at
their worst."
"Felix, how can I copy that?"
"Impossible, my belle. You must improvise, using it as a theme. When all
is said and done, you know far more than Giotto about Saint Peter. Holy
blue! if you bring that back to Paris as a veritable likeness of the
Chief Apostle you will be placed on the Index Expurgatorius. Moreover,
it would not be fair to him, after all these years."
"It needed only this to prove how farcical is the whole scheme. I am
beginning to dread the idea of meeting Alec. He will laugh at me."
"That will do him good. I am told he is becoming most serious."
"Told--by whom? Surely you have not sent any message?"
"Not a word. I leave that to you--or Princess Delgrado."
"How snappy you are! It was not my fault that the Princess spoke to me.
She would never have known I was on the train if you hadn't sung."
"Ah, by the way, we ought to hear some decent Gregorian music in this
old place. See, where they have put the choir, nearly under the dome.
Yes, we must attend a service. The bass should roll like thunder up
yonder----"
"Felix, who told you about Alec?"
"A waiter in the hotel, a waiter rejoicing in the noble name of John
Sobieski, a Pole, therefore, like myself. I said to him 'What of the
King?' He answered, 'Everything that is good, if one listens to the
people; but the officers who come here to drink and play cards do not
like him.' I explained that I wished to know the King's whereabouts, and
he said that if I was anxious to see the gracious youth I should have a
splendid opportunity at four o'clock this afternoon, as his Majesty will
pass the hotel at that hour on his way to the University, where he has
promised to attend a prize giving."
"At four o'clock
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