"It was the excitement, the nervousness, Mr. Barnes," she said, drawing slightly away from him. He reconsidered the disposition of his arm.
"Isn"t it nearly daybreak?"
He looked at his watch. "Three o"clock," he said, and turned the light upon her face. "G.o.d, you are--" He checked the riotous words that were driven to his lips by the glimpse of her lovely face. "I-I beg your pardon!"
"For what?" she asked, after a moment.
"For--for blinding you with the light," he floundered.
"Oh, I can forgive you for that," she said composedly.
There ensued another period of silence. She remained slightly aloof.
"You"d better lean against me," he said at last. "I am softer than the beastly boards, you know, and quite as harmless."
"Thank you," she said, and promptly settled herself against his shoulder. "It IS better," she sighed.
"Would you mind telling me something about yourself, Miss Cameron? What is the true story of the crown jewels?"
She did not reply at once. When she spoke it was to ask a question of him.
"Do you know who he really is,--I mean the man known to you as Mr.
Loeb?"
"Not positively. I am led to believe that he is indirectly in line to succeed to the throne of your country."
"Tell me something about Sprouse. How did you meet him and what induced him to take you into his confidence? It is not the usual way with government agents."
He told her the story of his encounter and connection with the secret agent, and part but not all of the man"s revelations concerning herself and the crown jewels.
"I knew that you were not a native American," he said. "I arrived at that conclusion after our meeting at the cross-roads. When O"Dowd said you were from New Orleans, I decided that you belonged to one of the French or Spanish families there. Either that or you were a fairy princess such as one reads about in books."
"And you now believe that I am a royal--or at the very worst--a n.o.ble lady with designs on the crown?" There was a faint ripple in her low voice.
"I should like to know whether I am to address you as Princess, d.u.c.h.ess, or--just plain Miss."
"I am more accustomed to plain Miss, Mr. Barnes, than to either of the t.i.tles you would give me."
"Don"t you feel that I am deserving of a little enlightenment?" he asked. "I am working literally as well as figuratively in the dark. Who are you? Why were you a prisoner at Green Fancy? Where and what is your native land?"
"Sprouse did not tell you any of these things?"
"No. I think he was in some doubt himself. I don"t blame him for holding back until he was certain."
"Mr. Barnes, I cannot answer any one of your questions without jeopardising a cause that is dearer to me than anything else in all the world. I am sorry. I pray G.o.d a day may soon come when I can reveal everything to you--and to the world. I am of a stricken country; I am trying to serve the unhappy house that has ruled it for centuries and is now in the direst peril. The man you know as Loeb is a prince of that house. I may say this to you, and it will serve to explain my position at Green Fancy: he is not the Prince I was led to believe awaited me there. He is the cousin of the man I expected to meet, and he is the enemy of the branch of the house that I would serve. Do not ask me to say more. Trust me as I am trusting you,--as Sprouse trusted you."
"May I ask the cause of O"Dowd"s apparent defection?"
"He is not in sympathy with all of the plans advanced by his leader,"
she said, after a moment"s reflection.
"Your sympathies are with the Entente Allies, the prince"s are opposed?
Is that part of Sprouse"s story true?"
"Yes."
"And O"Dowd?"
"O"Dowd is anti-English, Mr. Barnes, if that conveys anything to you.
He is not pro-German. Perhaps you will understand."
"Wasn"t it pretty risky for you to carry the crown jewels around in a travelling bag, Miss Cameron?"
"I suppose so. It turned out, however, that it was the safest, surest way. I had them in my possession for three days before coming to Green Fancy. No one suspected. They were given into my custody by the committee to whom they were delivered in New York by the men who brought them to this country."
"And why did you bring them to Green Fancy?"
"I was to deliver them to one of their rightful owners, Mr. Barnes,--a loyal prince of the blood."
"But why HERE?" he insisted.
"He was to take them into Canada, and thence, in good time, to the palace of his ancestors."
"I am to understand, then, that not only you but the committee you speak of, fell into a carefully prepared trap."
"Yes."
"You did not know the man who picked you up in the automobile, Miss Cameron. Why did you take the chance with--"
"He gave the pa.s.sword, or whatever you may call it, and it could have been known only to persons devoted to our--our cause."
"I see. The treachery, therefore, had its inception in the loyal nest.
You were betrayed by a friend."
"I am sure of it," she said bitterly. "If this man Sprouse does not succeed in restoring the--oh, I believe I shall kill myself, Mr.
Barnes."
The wail of anguish in her voice went straight to his heart.
"He has succeeded, take my word for it. They will be in your hands before many hours have pa.s.sed."
"Is he to come to the Tavern with them? Or am I to meet him--"
"Good Lord!" he gulped. Here was a contingency he had not considered.
Where and when would Sprouse appear with his booty? "I--I fancy we"ll find him waiting for us at the Tavern."
"But had you no understanding?"
"Er--tentatively." The perspiration started on his brow.