Alice, gloomily.

"Perhaps he would; but remember the difference between the men, Alice.
If anything should befall Skeffy, who is there to replace him?"

Alice, perhaps, could not satisfactorily answer this, for she lay back
on her bed, and covered her face with her hands.

"Not, indeed, that he would listen to me when I made that appeal to him,
but he kept on repeating, 'Tony is the finest, truest-hearted fellow I
ever met. _He_'d never have left a friend in the lurch; he'd never have
thought of himself if another was in danger; and help him I must and
will:' and that's the reason we are waiting dinner, dear, for he would
go off to the Minister of War or the President of the Council; and he
told papa, as he shook hands, on no account to wait for him, for he
might be detained longer than he expected."

As she spoke, a tap came to the door, and a servant announced dinner.

"Has Mr. Damer arrived?" asked Bella, eagerly.

"No, ma'am, but Sir Arthur has just got a note from him."

"I must see what he says!" cried she, and left the room.

Sir Arthur was reading the letter when she entered.

"Here's Skeff gone off to what he calls the 'front;' he says that Tony
Butler has joined the insurgents, and he must get him out of their hands
at any price."

"But of course, papa, you 'll not permit it; you 'll forbid him
peremptorily," broke in Bella.

"I 'm not so sure of that, Bella; because, amongst other reasons, I
'm not so sure he 'd mind me. Our gifted friend is endowed with
considerable self-will."

"Immense determination, I should rather call it, papa; but, pray, try to
stop this mad freak. He is not certainly called on to expose such a life
as his, and at such a moment."

"What am I to do?"

"Go over to him at once; declare that you have the right to speak on
such a subject. Say that if he is pleased to overlook the necessity of
his presence here at this crisis, he ought to remember his position with
regard to us,--ought to think of _me_," said she, with a burst of grief
that ended in a shower of tears, and drove her from the room.

Sir Arthur was far more disposed to sit down to his dinner than go off
on this mission of affection; but Lady Lyle took the same view of the
case as her daughter, and there was no help for it. And although the
bland butler repeated, "Soup is served, sir," the poor man had to step
downstairs to his carriage and drive off to the Legation.

On arriving there, he learned that his Ex