ng fall yesterday from the
smaller biplane." His deep, compelling eyes lingered upon Philip's
face. "Dr. Wingate spoke some of an unlucky young man marooned in a
forest with a knife wound in his shoulder--described him--and
behold!--my missing secretary is found after considerable bewilderment
and uneasiness on my part. Wingate will stop here later."

Philip civilly expressed regret that he had not thought to dispatch
Johnny to the Sherrill farm with a message.

"It is nothing!" shrugged Tregar smoothly.

"One forgets under less mitigating causes." And, having begged the
details of Philip's adventure, he listened with careful attention.

"It is exceedingly mysterious," he rumbled, after a frowning interval
of thought. "But surely one must feel much gratitude to you, Miss
Westfall. A night in the storm without attention and we have
complications."

Over his coffee, which he sipped clear with the appreciation of an
epicure, the Baron, in his suave, inscrutable way, grew reminiscent.
He talked well, selecting, discarding, weighing his words with the
fastidious precision of a jeweler setting precious stones. Subtly the
talk drifted to Houdania.

There was a mad king--Rodobald--upon the throne. Doubtless the Baron's
hostess had heard? No? Ah! So must the baffling twist of a man's
brain complicate the destiny of a kingdom. And Rodobald was hale at
sixty-five and mad as the hare of March. There had been much talk of
it. Singular, was it not?

Followed a sparkling anecdote or so of court life and shrugging
reference to the jealous principality of Galituria that lay beyond in
the valley. To Galiturians the madness of King Rodobald was an
exquisite jest.

Philip grew restless.

"Confound him!" he mused resentfully. "One would think I had
deliberately contrived to linger here merely to give him a graceful
opportunity to accomplish his infernal errand himself. Thank Heaven
this lets me out!" He glanced furtively at Diane. The girl's interest
was wholesomely without constraint.

"Great guns!" decided Philip fretfully. "I doubt if she's ever heard
of his toy kingdom before and yet he's probing her interest with every
atom of skill he can command." Puzzled and annoyed he fell quiet.

"It is somewhat inaccessible--my country," Tregar was saying smoothly.
"One climbs the shaggy mountain by a winding road. You have climbed it
perhaps--touring?"

"Excellency, no!" regretted Diane. "I fear it is quite