"Don"t do that--it takes a thief to catch a thief. I"ll make a ghost out of you, Rusty. Come here."
Objecting, timorous, and still overcome with his native superst.i.tion, Rusty was nevertheless forced to don the armor--a sad misfit he was, at that.
"Somebody was working in this room, Rusty. It"s a cinch that the treasure was here. It"s a cinch that we interrupted, and it"s still in its little safe-deposit vault. It"s a greater cinch that if we go out he"ll come back. I want to have you stand up there where the other battleship was, and watch. You"ll be as safe as a church in this. No one would think of looking for one of us in this armor--so when he starts to work, whoever he is, you just yell and yell your best."
"Gawd, Ma.r.s.e Warren, I could yell loud "nuff for "em to hear me back in Kaintucky."
"You give me your best yell, and I"ll nail him."
"Ef you don"t nail him, he"ll nail me."
"Keep cool--that"s all."
"I"m cool now--I"m ketchin" cold." And he sneezed.
"If you sneeze again, I"m going to use a gun on you. Here, give me one of those two guns you have. And whatever you do, don"t sneeze. I"m catching cold myself here--anyone would in this musty old hole."
He pocketed the weapon and ordered Rusty to his place.
There came another sound--a repet.i.tion of the earlier faint sound. He turned quickly, and Princess Maria Theresa of Aragon rushed into the room, followed by Dolores.
"Thank G.o.d you are safe, Mr. Warren! I heard the shooting, down in the other court of the castle."
"Where have you been? Why didn"t you wait for my signal? The hour is not over yet."
"We"ve been wandering through this dreadful place an eternity--trying to find you, calling everywhere, so that we could reach you before it was too late--before something happened that had always happened before!"
Dolores had seated herself at the side table, and her face was buried in her hands. She was sobbing.
"Too late? What do you mean? This is madness for you to take this risk."
The girl, forgetting royalty and convention, caught his hand in both of hers, and a light of joy came into her eyes.
"My brother is safe, thank G.o.d! He is on his way to the King to get soldiers to search the castle."
"Where has he been? How do you know?"
"He was imprisoned in this castle--since the day he entered. To-night he tried to signal, but could not. Your bullet went straight home, Mr.
Warren, and Robledo is dying. He has confessed all to the holy father.
I must go back, for I promised to be with him at the end."
"The end ..." and Jarvis" voice grew husky, he understood by now the tears of Dolores. He turned toward her gently. "I"m so sorry--you and he--I might have--oh, what a terrible shame!"
The girl crossed herself, with the stoic calmness of her religion, as she rose to face him.
"It is better so. He sinned--grievously, many times, senor. My Prince is safe ... my Princess is safe. And you are safe--you, the bravest man in Seguro."
Maria Theresa turned toward the door, where stood a man whom Jarvis had not espied before. "Take her back to the inn, Maximo, as quietly as possible. Then send the chauffeur for me again as soon as he can come up the rough road."
"But, your Highness, you must go back as well--it is dangerous for you to remain here. I have found the clews for which you went to America.
Let me finish the job."
"No, I will stay with you."
He caught her hands, and looked down into the dark eyes, so wondrously upturned to his.
"You must come by the fire, and get warm.... Here, sit in this chair.
You have been frightened to death, prowling through this horrid place.... Your hands are icy.... There, there! Go on and cry--forget that you"re a Princess and be a real girl. Cry all you want! That"s fine!"
He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders as she sat by the flaming remnants of the old table.
He turned about and beckoned to Rusty, who with a revolver in hand, his courage restored in a way by the turn of events, disappeared from view.
Jarvis gently placed a hand upon the heaving shoulder.
"I"ll round up this spook to-night for good and all. Then the va.s.sal"s task is done. His fate is in your hands, Highness; what"s to become of him?... Don"t send me away. I loved you from the first--not like a va.s.sal either--and will always love you.
"I know I"m just a plain American citizen ... and a _man_. All the man in me cries out, "I love you!" Don"t send me away."
"You must go. You must leave Spain, for your life would never be safe here: you know what feuds are, and you have started one."
Just then an audible, unmistakable, common-place sneeze interrupted this most wonderful of all conversations.
Jarvis looked about. The sneeze was in the room.
"Rusty, are you outside?"
"Ya.s.sir. But don"t keep me here long, "kase I"ze freezing to death."
"Did you sneeze?"
"No, sir; but I calc"late I"ll have to befoh long."
"Don"t move, your Highness--I"ve found the Ghost at last!"
He walked toward the suspicious picture, and pointed the revolver at it.
"There is somebody in that picture. Come out or I"ll shoot. Quick now!"
There was no response.
He sent a bullet, carefully aimed at the upper lefthand corner, where he planned that it would do no harm.
There was a response.
"Don"t shoot!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Don"t shoot!_"]