am I to do?"

"What's the matter?" said Gorman. "You were just saying you'd go back
to Paris. That strikes me as an excellent plan. What's the matter with
it?"

"I had forgotten one thing," said the King. "If I cannot marry the
girl, I am no longer any use. The Emperor will not care a damn what
happens to me. The Admiral of Megalia is there, Gorman, on the navy.
The Emperor's command no longer protects. The admiral will say, 'Hell
and Hurrah! Now is my chance.'"

"Do you mean to say you think the admiral will assassinate you?"

"It is as certain as two and two and four. If I return to my navy I
follow poor Otto at once. The admiral will know that if I cannot marry
the girl the Emperor will not care about me. Perhaps it is better
after all that I marry her."

"I've told you already that you can't."

"Pooh! You are thinking of the young fellow Phillips. A word to the
admiral and Phillips will no longer blockade the way."

"Look here," said Gorman, "there's no use talking that kind of
nonsense. Your admiral appears to be a man with a taste for murder,
but he can't be allowed to run amok in that way. And Miss Donovan
would not marry you even if Phillips was out of the way. Get that into
your head once for all."

"Great Scott and damn!" said the King. "Do you think I want to marry
her. No, my friend, there is nothing I desire less except to follow
poor Otto. I do not want to marry the girl. To be married to her would
make me bored, but it would make me much more bored to die."

"The thing for you to do," said Gorman, "is to stay where you are.
Don't go on board your navy. Donovan has asked you to stay at the
palace. You'll be safe here. We won't even ask the admiral to dinner
if you'd rather we didn't."

"It will be dull, dull as the water of a ditch," said the King
mournfully.

"You needn't stay here for ever," said Gorman. "There'll be an English
ship back in a short time and you can go home in her. Madame will be
waiting for you all right."

"Poor Corinne!" said the King. "I left her in Paris. Steinwitz said
so, and he spoke for the Emperor. 'You go to marry,' he said,
'therefore Madame must stay.'"

"From his point of view he was right there," said Gorman, "and it's
just as well that Madame did not come with you. Donovan is a
broad-minded man; but you couldn't expect him to put up you and
Madame in the palace. It would be trying him rather high."

"Ah," said the King. "Poor Corinne! She will be desola