"A child--why, so you are--a dear, nice boy, and I love you, and see, I will pat you on the head!" The officer of his Majesty instantly put himself into such a boyish posture of defence that Patsy laughed. "So you don't want to be patted on the head--well, then, it shan't! But all the same I have not forgotten--neither what you did, nor what was done for us both by your comrade of the White Water--by the way, have you heard from him lately?" "Not I," said Louis, almost fiercely, "but I make no doubt that you have! You would not offer to pat Stair Garland on the head? He is a man, you know--you said it yourself." "Louis," said Patsy, "you are not acting up to your uniform. I have no conventions with you, and you have no claim to know with whom it may please me to correspond--" Louis rose to his feet with a very pale face, but before he had time to put his anger into words, a servant announced-- "His Highness the Prince of Altschloss!" Patsy advanced, smiling and held out her hand. She seemed to walk right through poor Louis, who felt himself terribly belittled and ill-used. The Prince did all the things naturally and gracefully, which Louis had so blundered over. He gratified the young dragoon with the slightest bow and the longest stare. After which he immediately turned his attention to Patsy, who, on her side--the shameless minx!--seemed to like nothing better than meeting him half-way. Louis Raincy grew more and more exasperated. He could not stay, yet if he took himself off in any undignified manner, he felt acutely that they would certainly laugh at him. He wished that he could challenge that prince and all such insolent foreigners--yes, and kill them one by one like a second Julian Wemyss! This thought cheered him, and he had reached his fifth or sixth homicide when Patsy recalled him to himself. "Miss Aline is in her parlour, Louis. Will you go through the conservatory and tell her that the Prince is here?" "She wants to be rid of me," the mind of Louis Raincy went storming on to itself. "She is a hard-hearted, deceitful--" But while he was thus inwardly detailing the character of Patsy to ease his anger, he was also by force of habit obeying her orders. He found Miss Aline with a letter in her hand and a flush of excitement on her face, which the young man was too occupied with his own affairs to seek to trace to its cause. "Why, Louis Raincy," cried the old lady, "is it officer's manners to come headfirst into a leddy's room like a bullock breaking dykes? I have seen you do better than that before ever you put on the king's coat." "I beg your pardon, Miss Aline," said the boy penitently. "I did not know that the door would open so quickly or that you would be so near. I have a message--from Pat--from Miss Ferris--" "Eh?" cried the old lady, cramming the letter into her pocket; "wha's Miss Ferris?--I dinna ken her--and I thought that you didna either!"