to back in a little group facing the angry circle that
encompassed them. The priest raised his arm to command a hearing.

"Where is Madame Zara?" he cried.

"Ah, where indeed?" echoed the King, sinking back into his chair. "She
has fled. It is all too evident now; she has betrayed us and she has
fled."

But on his words, as if in answer to the priest's summons, the curtains
that hid the door into the King's private room were pulled to one side,
and Madame Zara appeared between them, glancing fearfully at the
excited crowd before her. As she stood hesitating on the threshold,
she swayed slightly and clutched the curtains for a moment as though
for support. The priest advanced, and led her to the centre of the
room. She held a folded paper in her hand, which she gave to him in
silence.

"You have heard what has passed?" he asked, with a toss of his head
toward the heavy curtains. The woman raised her head and bowed. The
priest unfolded the paper.

"Am I to read this?" he asked. The woman bowed again.

There was silence in the room while the priest's eyes ran quickly over
the paper. He crushed it in his hand.

"It is as General Renauld says," he exclaimed. "In this the Republic
of Messina agrees to pay the Countess Zara and the Prince Kalonay three
hundred thousand francs, if the expedition is withdrawn after it has
made a pretence of landing on the shores of Messina."

He took a step forward. "Madame Zara," he cried, in a tone of warning,
"do you pretend that the Prince Kalonay was your accomplice in this;
that he knew what you meant to do?"

Madame Zara once more bowed her head.

"No! You must speak," commanded the priest. "Answer me!"

Zara hesitated, in evident distress, and glanced appealingly at the
King; but the expression on his face was one of grief and of
unrelenting virtue. "I do," she said, at last, in a low voice.
"Kalonay did know. He thought the revolution would not succeed; he
thought it would fail, and so--and so--and we needed money. They made
me--I, O my God, I cannot--I cannot!" she cried, suddenly, sinking on
her knees and hiding her face with her hands.

Kalonay stepped toward her and lifted her gently to her feet; but when
she looked and saw who it was that held her, she gave a cry and pulled
herself free. She staggered and would have fallen, had not Gordon
caught and held her by the arm. The King rose from his chair and
pointed at the shrinking figure of the woman.