“Miss Maddison,” he said with a regretful air, “I did come here to-day in ze hope——­But ach!”

So happily had he succeeded in whetting her curiosity that she begged—­nay, insisted—­that he should finish his sentence.

“If you had been kind I did hope zat you vould allow me to give in your honor an entertainment at my castle.”

“An entertainment!” she cried, with a marked increase of interest.

“Jost a leetle exposition of ze Highland sport, mit bagpipes and caber and so forth; unvorthy of your notice perhaps, bot ze best I can do.”

Eleanor clapped her hands enthusiastically.

“I should just love it!”

The triumphant diplomatist smiled complacently.

“Bonker vill arrange it all nicely,” he said to himself.

And there rose in his fancy such a pleasing and gorgeous picture of himself in the panoply of the North, hurling a hammer skywards amidst the plaudits of his clan and the ravished murmurs of the ladies, that he could not but congratulate himself upon this last master-stroke of policy.  For if instead of ladies there were only one lady, exactly half the pleasure would be lacking.  So generous were this nobleman’s instincts!

During their drive to Lincoln Lodge the Baron had hesitated to broach his new project to his friend for the very reason that, after the glow of his first enthusiastic proposal to Eva was over, it seemed to him a vast undertaking for a limited object; but driving home he lost no time in confiding his scheme to the Count.

“The deuce!” cried Bunker.  “That will mean three more days here at least!”

“Vat is tree days, mine Bonker?”

“My dear Baron, I am the last man in the world to drop an unpleasant hint; yet I can’t help thinking we have been so unconscionably lucky up till now that it would be wise to retire before an accident befalls us.”

“Vat kind of accident?”

“The kind that may happen to the best regulated adventurer.”

The Baron pondered.  When Bunker suggested caution it indeed seemed time to beat a retreat; yet—­ those two charming ladies, and that alluring tartan tableau!

“Ach, let ze devil take ze man zat is afraid!” he exclaimed at last.  “Bonker, it vill be soch fun!”

“Watching you complete two conquests?”

“Be not impatient, good Bonker!”

“My dear fellow, if you could find me one girl—­ even one would content me—­who would condescend to turn her eyes from the dazzling spectacle of Baron Tulliwuddle, and cast them for so much as half an hour a day upon his obscure companion, I might see some fun in it too.”

The Baron, with an air of patronizing kindness that made his fellow-adventurer’s lot none the easier to bear, answered reassuringly—­

“Bot I shall leave all ze preparations to be made by you; you vill not have time zen to feel lonely.”

“Thank you, Baron; you have the knack of conferring the most princely favors.”