n innocent, and Chaldea knew that
such was the case. Nevertheless, by a little dexterous lying, and some
vivid word-painting, she could make things extremely unpleasant for the
couple. This being so, Lambert would have to subscribe to her terms. And
these were, that he should leave Agnes and marry her. That there was
such a difference in their rank mattered nothing to the girl. Love
levelled all ranks, in her opinion.

But while arranging what she should do, if Lambert proved obstinate,
Chaldea also arranged to fascinate him, if possible, into loving her.
She did not wish to use her power of knowledge until her power of
fascination failed. And this for two reasons. In the first place, it was
not her desire to drive the man into a corner lest he should defy her
and fight, which would mean--to her limited comprehension--that
everything being known to Pine, the couple would confess all and elope.
In the second place, Chaldea was piqued to think that Lambert should
prove to be so indifferent to her undeniable beauty, as to love this
pale shadow of a Gentile lady. She would make certain, she told herself,
if he really preferred the lily to the full-blown rose, and on his
choice depended her next step. Gliding back to the camp, she decided to
attend to one thing at a time, and the immediate necessity was to charm
the man into submission. For this reason Chaldea sought out the Servian
gypsy, who was her slave.

Her slave Kara certainly was, but not her rom. If he had been her
husband she would not have dared to propose to him what she did propose.
He was amiable enough as a slave, because he had no hold over her, but
if she married him according to the gypsy law, he would then be her
master, and should she indulge her fancy for a Gentile, he would
assuredly use a very nasty-looking knife, which he wore under the green
coat. Even as it was, Kara would not be pleased to fiddle to her
dancing, since he already was jealous of Lambert. But Chaldea knew how
to manage this part of the business, risky though it was. The hairy
little ape with the musician's soul had no claim on her, unless she
chose to give him that of a husband. Then, indeed, things would be
different, but the time had not come for marital slavery.

The schemer found Kara at the hour of sunset sitting at the door of the
tent he occupied, drawing sweet tones from his violin. This was the
little man's way of conversing, for he rarely talked to human beings. He
spoke