“A woman!” echoed Brant.

“Yes; one who was willing to confess herself a worse spy than your wife—­a double traitor—­to save you!  Upon my word, General, I don’t know if the department was far wrong; a man with such an alternately unsettling and convincing effect upon a woman’s highest political convictions should be under some restraint.  Luckily the department knows nothing of it.”

“Nor would any one else have known from me,” said Brant eagerly.  “I trust that she did not think—­that you, sir, did not for an instant believe that I”—­

“Oh dear, no!  Nobody would have believed you!  It was her free confidence to me.  That was what made the affair so difficult to handle.  For even her bringing your dispatch to the division commander looked bad for you; and you know he even doubted its authenticity.”

“Does she—­does Miss Faulkner know the spy was my wife?” hesitated Brant.

The President twisted himself in his chair, so as to regard Brant more gravely with his deep-set eyes, and then thoughtfully rubbed his leg.

“Don’t let us travel out of the record, General,” he said after a pause.  But as the color surged into Brant’s cheek he raised his eyes to the ceiling, and said, in half-humorous recollection,—­

“No, I think that fact was first gathered from your other friend—­Mr. Hooker.”

“Hooker!” said Brant, indignantly; “did he come here?”

“Pray don’t destroy my faith in Mr. Hooker, General,” said the President, in half-weary, half-humorous deprecation.  “Don’t tell me that any of his inventions are true!  Leave me at least that magnificent liar—­the one perfectly intelligible witness you have.  For from the time that he first appeared here with a grievance and a claim for a commission, he has been an unspeakable joy to me and a convincing testimony to you.  Other witnesses have been partisans and prejudiced; Mr. Hooker was frankly true to himself.  How else should I have known of the care you took to disguise yourself, save the honor of your uniform, and run the risk of being shot as an unknown spy at your wife’s side, except from his magnificent version of his part in it?  How else should I have known the story of your discovery of the Californian conspiracy, except from his supreme portrayal of it, with himself as the hero?  No, you must not forget to thank Mr. Hooker when you meet him.  Miss Faulkner is at present more accessible; she is calling on some members of my family in the next room.  Shall I leave you with her?”

Brant rose with a pale face and a quickly throbbing heart as the President, glancing at the clock, untwisted himself from the chair, and shook himself out full length, and rose gradually to his feet.

“Your wish for active service is granted, General Brant,” he said slowly, “and you will at once rejoin your old division commander, who is now at the head of the Tenth Army Corps.  But,” he said, after a deliberate pause, “there are certain rules and regulations of your service that even I cannot, with decent respect to your department, override.  You will, therefore, understand that you cannot rejoin the army in your former position.”