“Why not?” the Prince answered. “It is as I have been saying: for a worthy cause, or a cause which he believed to be worthy, there is no man of my country worthy of the name who would not accept death with the same resignation that he lays his head upon the pillow and waits for sleep.” Sir Charles raised his glass and bowed across the table. “To our great allies!” he said, smiling. The Prince drank his glass of water thoughtfully. He drank wine only on very rare occasions, and then under compulsion. He turned to the Duchess. “A few days ago,” he said, “I heard myself described as being much too serious a person. Tonight I am afraid that I am living up to my reputation. Our conversation seems to have drifted into somewhat gloomy channels. We must ask Miss Morse, I think, to help us to forget. They say,” he continued, “that it is the young ladies of your country who hold open the gates of Paradise for their menkind.” He was looking into her eyes. His tone was half bantering, half serious. From across the table Penelope knew that Somerfield was watching her closely. Somehow or other, she was irritated and nervous, and she answered vaguely. Sir Charles intervened with a story about some of their acquaintances, and the conversation drifted into more ordinary channels. “Some day, I suppose,” the Duchess remarked, as the service of dinner drew toward a close, “you will have restaurants like this in Tokio?” The Prince assented. “Yes,” he said without enthusiasm, “they will come. Our heritage from the West is a sure thing. Not in my days, perhaps, or in the days of those that follow me, but they will come.” “I think that it is absolutely wicked of Dicky,” the Duchess declared, as they rose from the table. “I shall never rely upon him again.” “After all, perhaps, it isn’t his fault,” Penelope said, breathing a little sigh of relief as she rose to her feet. “Mr. Harvey is not always considerate, and I know that several of the staff are away on leave.” “That’s right, my dear,” the Duchess said, smiling, “stick up for your countrymen. I suppose he’ll find us sometime during the evening. We can all go to the theatre together; the omnibus is outside.”