urse. From here and there in the valley flashes of
fire leaped toward them, followed by sharp detonations. Kismine
clapped her hands with pleasure, which, a moment later, turned to
dismay as the aeroplanes, at some prearranged signal, began to release
their bombs and the whole of the valley became a panorama of deep
reverberate sound and lurid light.

Before long the aim of the attackers became concentrated upon the
points where the anti-aircraft guns were situated, and one of them was
almost immediately reduced to a giant cinder to lie smouldering in a
park of rose bushes.

"Kismine," begged John, "you'll be glad when I tell you that this
attack came on the eve of my murder. If I hadn't heard that guard
shoot off his gun back by the pass I should now be stone dead--"

"I can't hear you!" cried Kismine, intent on the scene before her.
"You'll have to talk louder!"

"I simply said," shouted John, "that we'd better get out before they
begin to shell the chateau!"

Suddenly the whole portico of the negro quarters cracked asunder, a
geyser of flame shot up from under the colonnades, and great fragments
of jagged marble were hurled as far as the borders of the lake.

"There go fifty thousand dollars' worth of slaves," cried Kismine, "at
pre-war prices. So few Americans have any respect for property."

John renewed his efforts to compel her to leave. The aim of the
aeroplanes was becoming more precise minute by minute, and only two of
the anti-aircraft guns were still retaliating. It was obvious that the
garrison, encircled with fire, could not hold out much longer.

"Come on!" cried John, pulling Kismine's arm, "we've got to go. Do you
realise that those aviators will kill you without question if they
find you?"

She consented reluctantly.

"We'll have to wake Jasmine!" she said, as they hurried toward the
lift. Then she added in a sort of childish delight: "We'll be poor,
won't we? Like people in books. And I'll be an orphan and utterly
free. Free and poor! What fun!" She stopped and raised her lips to him
in a delighted kiss.

"It's impossible to be both together," said John grimly. "People have
found that out. And I should choose to be free as preferable of the
two. As an extra caution you'd better dump the contents of your jewel
box into your pockets."

Ten minutes later the two girls met John in the dark corridor and they
descended to the main floor of the chateau. Passing for the last time
through the m