ThentheKingstiffenedhisshouldersandplacedhishandsslowlybehindhisback。\"Thatsounds，mydearKalonay，\"hesaid，\"almostlikeathreat。\"
Theyoungermanlaughedinsolently。\"Imeantit，too，yourMajesty，\"heanswered，bowingmockinglyandbackingaway。
AstheKing’sguestsseatedthemselvesathisbreakfast—tableLouissmileduponthemwithagraciousglanceofwelcomeandapproval。Hismannerwascharminglycondescending，andinhisappearancetherewasnothingmoreseriousthanananxietyfortheirbetterentertainmentandacertainanimalsatisfactioninthefooduponhisplate。
Inrealityhiseyesweredistributingthepeopleatthetablebeforehimintoelementsfavorableorunfavorabletohisplans，andinhismindheshuffledthemandtheirvaluesforhimoragainsthimasagamblerarrangesandrearrangesthecardsinhishand。Hesawhimselfplainlyashisownhighestcard，andBarratandErhauptaswillingbutmediocreaccomplices。InFatherPaulandKalonayherecognizedhismostpowerfulalliesormostdangerousfoes。MissCarsonmeantnothingtohimbutasourcefromwhichhecoulddrawthesinewsofwar。Whatwouldbecomeofherafterthefarcewasended，hedidnotconsider。Hewasnotcapableofcomprehendingeitherherorhermotives，andhadheconcernedhimselfaboutheratall，hewouldhaveprobablythoughtthatshewasmoreofafoolthanthesaintshepretendedtobe，andthatshehadcometotheirassistancemorebecauseshewishedtobenearaPrinceandaKingthanbecauseshecaredforthesoulsofsixtythousandpeasants。Thatshewouldsurelylosehermoney，andcouldhardlyhopetoescapefromthemwithoutlosinghergoodname，didnotconcernhim。ItwasnothisdutytolookafterthereputationofanyAmericanheiresswhothoughtshecouldaffordtobeunconventional。Shehadamothertodothatforher，andshewasprettyenough，heconcluded，toexcusemanythings，——soprettythathewonderedifhemightbravetheCountessZaraandofferMissCarsontheattentionstowhichKalonayhadmadesucharrogantobjections。
TheKingsmiledatthethought，andlethislittleeyesfallforamomentonthetallfigureofthegirlwithitscrownofheavygoldenhair，andonherclever，earnesteyes。Shewascertainlyworthwaitingfor，andinthemeanwhileshewasvirtuallyunprotectedandsurroundedbyhisownpeople。