The Pothunters

briskness of attack. Every now and then Mr. Crump, searching the newspapers, would discover and hand to him a paragraph alluding to his "hustling methods." When this happened, he would

learly before Betty, he now proposed to lay them with equal clarity before the Prince. There was no sense in putting the

tly good prince for her to marry. Some fool notion of romance, of course. Not that he was angry. He did not blame her any more than the surgeon blames a patient for the possession of an unsuitable appendix. There was no animus in the matter. Her mind was suffering from foolish ideas,

He set John down, as he had told Betty, as a young man acute enough to know when he had a good job and sufficiently sensible to make concessions in order to

ho had no time for admiring scenery, but to-day he vouchsafed it a not unkindly glance. It was certainly a dandy little place, this island of his. A vineyard on the right caught his eye. He made a mental note to uproot it and run up a hotel in its plac

was a going concern, a real live proposition, it was high time that it should have an adequate service of boats.

tion in the household of a German prince, where rigid ceremonial obtained, and John's cheerful disregard of the formalities frankly shocked him. To take the present case for instance: When His Highness of Swartzheim had felt inclined to enjoy the air of a morn

could not have done better, for, on his arrival, he was met with the information that His Hig

e pacing the floor like a caged animal at the luncheon hour. The resemblance was heightened by the expr

y. I been looking for you. I just been to the Palac

I met your s

it arranged meetings between Betty and the Prince before he had time

he Heck did you come to do that

met before, in America,

lapped his th

out like a fiction st

"How? And, for the m

uestion with question.

ood friends in the

ked at h

that, if you don

iron hand displayed itself. His green eyes glowed dully and the

regarding John with di

gotta discuss it, Yo

making a head short

with an unostentatious movement, as of a man strolling carelessly abou

became s

o-by-Fourness would care to sug

k a step

he told me one or two of the things you said, and they opened my eyes. Until I heard them, I had no

dn't oughter have handed it to you. I don't wonder you feel raw. I wouldn't say that sort of

No description could have been fairer. You might have said much more. You m

ome, P

, bearing, with a detached air, as if he disclai

, and his mouth slowly opened till his cigar stump, after hanging for a moment fro

gasped, "she'

hat do y

to Marseilles by now. Gee, and

's g

her. Listen

y as I can. I am giving this to a boy to take to you directly the boat has start

arted v

!" he

ll nodded

t in bad for you. What does she mean?

at to you? Why should she think that you

get together and do something. The girl's mad. See here, you aren't wise to what's been happening. I been fixing this thing up.

liant sunlight. He understood everything now. Every word that Betty had spoken, every gesture that she had made, had become amazingly clear. He saw now why she had shrunk back from him, why her eyes had worn that

e such as he had never felt before, rage that he had not thought himself capable of feeling. It swept over him in a wave, pouring through hi

, looking out. Vaguely he heard Mr. Scobell's voice at hi

se rare moments in a man's life when, from the outside, through a breach in that wall of excus

d beneath the scrutiny. In another mood he would have mended the breach, excusing and extenuating, but not now. He looked at

ly he found himself loathing its exotic beauty. He felt stifled. This wa

, the dome of the Casino caught the su

aced Mr. Scobell. He

ier was st

rince," he was saying, "and

ooked

nd to,"

" said the

ll run you out of thi

ther

John went on. "I've thought it out. Th

heat!" gasped Mr. Sco

ca

ant to conduct a Casino in Mervo, there's only one man who can give you permission, and that's myself. The acts of the Republic are no

hese ideas in your head. You stick to your job, and don't butt in on other folks'. Do you know how long you'd stay Prince of this joint if you started in to monkey with my Casino? Just about long enough to let you pack a collar-stud and a toothbrush into your grip. And after that there wouldn't be any more Prince, sonnie. You stick to your job and I'll stick to mine. You're a mighty good Prince for

gged his

've had your notice to quit. Afte

you the people w

decide. They may hav

ll fir

will prove that

hat you'll throw away a hundred thous

ade that way. We needn'

, Pr

fini

, sa

d left

before the financier recovered

remarks were brie

gasped. "Abso-lu