utterly
out of place in his nobler schemes. Nevertheless, I hope to make myself
useful."

"Something to do with money, of course?" guffawed the Prince.

"It is the only commodity I really understand," was the suave answer.

"That is why you refused me a loan a fortnight ago in Paris, I suppose?"

"A loan!" interposed Alec. "Were you hard up, father?"

"I have been telling you so without avail ever since I arrived in
Delgratz," said the Prince bruskly.

"Ah, you have been asking me to impose on an empty exchequer an annual
payment that Kosnovia certainly cannot afford; but I certainly was not
under the impression that you had found it necessary to apply to
Monsieur Beliani for help. Why should such a step be necessary? I have
always understood----"

"Oh, we need not discuss the thing now," said Prince Michael
offhandedly; for he dreaded a too close inquiry into his wife's
financial resources in the presence of the Greek. Princess Delgrado was
reputedly a rich woman, and her husband had explained his shortness of
cash during recent years by the convenient theory of monetary tightness
in America, whence, it was well understood, her income was derived.

"Have you seen your mother recently?" he went on, striving to appear at
his ease. "I was looking for her half an hour ago. Some letters that
reached me from Paris to-day ought to be answered by to-night's post,
and I wish to consult her before dealing with them."

"Joan will know where she is, I expect," said Alec; but, seeing that
Prince Michael did not avail himself of Joan's presence to seek the
desired information, he strolled over to the corner of the room where
Joan was chatting with Beaumanoir and one of the Serbian officers
attached to the royal suite.

"Do you know where my mother is?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "General Stampoff took her for a drive nearly an hour
ago. I offered to go with them; but the General explained that his
victoria would hold only two."

"Stampoff driving with my mother!" cried Alec with a laugh, "I must look
into this. Stampoff is no lady's man as a rule. Now, what in the world
does he want my mother to do for him?"

Certainly there must have been some quality in the air of Delgratz that
produced strange happenings. Stampoff could scarcely speak civilly to a
woman, ever since a faithless member of the fair sex brought about his
downfall in Delgratz a decade earlier. Small wonder, then, that Alec
should express surprise at s