“And then she says: 'If I had only known him as a passing acquaintance, and thought of him with the same indifference one bestows on such,-perhaps I would not now insist so peremptorily as I do on our ceasing to know him; but I will own to you, Mark, that he did interest me greatly. He had, or seemed to have,'--this, that, and t' other,” said he, with an ill-tempered haste, and went on. “'But now, as he stands before me, with a borrowed name and a mock rank--' There is half a page more of the same trash; for this gentle lady is a mistress of fierce words, and not over-merciful, and she ends thus: 'I think, if you are adroit, you can show him, in declining his proffered civility, that we had strong reasons for our refusal, and that it would be unpleasant to renew our former acquaintance.' In fact, Carlo, she means to cut me. This woman, whose hand I had held in mine while I declared my love, and who, while she listened to me, showed no touch of displeasure, affects now to resent the accident of my birth, and treat me as an impostor! I am half sorry that letter has not reached its destination; ay, and, strange as you will think it, I am more than half tempted to write and tell her that I have read it The story of the stolen despatch will soon be a newspaper scandal, and it would impart marvellous interest to her reading it when she heard that her own 'private and confidential' was captured in the same net.” “You could not own to such an act, Maitland.” “No. If it should not lead to something further; but I do yearn to repay her. She is a haughty adversary, and well worth a vengeance.” “What becomes of your fine maxim, 'Never quarrel with a woman,' Maitland?” “When I uttered it, I had never loved one,” muttered he; and they walked on now in silence. Almost within earshot--so close, indeed, that had they not been conversing in Italian, some of their words must have been overheard by those behind--walked two other friends, Darner and Tony, in close confab. “I most telegraph F. O,” said Skeffy, “that bag is missing, and that Messenger Butler has gone home to make his report Do you hear me?” A grunt was the reply. “I 'll give you a letter to Howard Pendleton, and he 'll tell what is the best thing to be done.” “I suspect I know it already,” muttered Tony. “If you could only persuade my Lord to listen to you, and tell him the story as you told it to me, he 'd be more than a Secretary of State if he could stand it.” “I have no great desire to be laughed at, Skeffy.” “Not if it got you out of a serious scrape,--a scrape that may cost you your appointment?” “Not even at that price.” “I can't understand that; it is quite beyond me. They might put _me_ into 'Joe Miller' to-morrow, if they 'd only gazette me Secretary of Embassy the day after. But here's the hotel; a good sleep will set you all right; and let me see you at breakfast as jolly as you used to be.” CHAPTER XLVII. ADRIFT