is Johnson man for
something or other."

"Johnson was born a sort of gentleman, but hadn't the art of getting
along in life, although he was pretty near being a genius at mathematics
as well as mechanics, and could do stunts in several languages, like
you. No shame to Vandyke to make use of the man's gifts. He must have
been jolly useful--too useful to waste."

"It won't make me love you better, Tony," I remarked with deliberate
injustice (for there are moods when any girl must feel a horrid
satisfaction in being unjust), "if you go on praising Major Vandyke to
the skies. Does it matter why the orderly was devoted to him, or he to
the orderly? The thing of importance is the tie between them. The more
devoted the man was, the more willing he would be to go to any lengths
for Major Vandyke."

"Oh, if you want to put it that way," Tony hedged. "But it's a girl's
notion, like the motive you attribute to Vandyke."

"How do you know what motive I mean?" I shot at him. "I haven't told
you!"

"'I may be an ass, but I'm not a _silly_ ass,'" quoted Tony. "I've
guessed."

"What have you guessed?"

"Oh, about Vandyke and March both being in love with Lady Diana. All the
owliest owls are on to that. First time Vandyke was ever caught for
keeps, the fellows say. But it would only do harm to March to bring
anything of that sort up in this business, to say nothing of the bad
taste, and how mad he'd be, and the unpleasantness for Lady Diana
and--and all your family."

"It wouldn't be agreeable, I know," I admitted. "But anything to save
Eagle, no matter how we sacrifice ourselves."

"I don't somehow hear Lady Di echoing that, though I agree with you.
Only there's more in the thing than you seem to see, because you keep
your eyes fixed on one spot. If Lady Diana's engaged to Major Vandyke,
then he'd have no incentive to strike at another man who was gone on
her. It would be the other way round. The chap who had lost her would be
the one, if any, to be up to melodramatic stunts. It might be said about
March that he risked trouble for himself, for the pleasure of having a
smack at Vandyke; putting the blame on him for a mad order to fire off
guns at the good little Mexicans, for instance, do you see?"

I did see, and seeing, suffered a sharp stab of disappointment. Tony had
taken my one weapon out of my hands. He was right. I had been wrong,
while thinking myself cleverer than he. "There must be some other way of
clearing Eag