第16章

"It's a grand old line, major, a sublime old line, and deserves to be mourned for, almost royally; almost imperially, I may say.Er--Lady Gwendolen--but she's gone; never mind; I wanted my Peerage; I'll fetch it myself, presently, and show you a thing or two that will give you a realizing idea of what our house is.I've been glancing through Burke, and I find that of William the Conqueror's sixty-four natural ah--my dear, would you mind getting me that book? It's on the escritoire in our boudoir.Yes, as I was saying, there's only St.Albans, Buccleugh and Grafton ahead of us on the list--all the rest of the British nobility are in procession behind us.Ah, thanks, my lady.Now then, we turn to William, and we find--letter for XYZ? Oh, splendid--when'd you get it?""Last night; but I was asleep before you came, you were out so late; and when I came to breakfast Miss Gwendolen--well, she knocked everything out of me, you know--""Wonderful girl, wonderful; her great origin is detectable in her step, her carriage, her features--but what does he say? Come, this is exciting.""I haven't read it--er--Rossm--Mr.Rossm--er--""M'lord! Just cut it short like that.It's the English way.I'll open it.Ah, now let's see."A.TO YOU KNOW WHO.Think I know you.Wait ten days.Coming to Washington.

The excitement died out of both men's faces.There was a brooding silence for a while, then the younger one said with a sigh:

"Why, we can't wait ten days for the money.""No--the man's unreasonable; we are down to the bed rock, financially speaking.""If we could explain to him in some way, that we are so situated that time is of the utmost importance to us--""Yes--yes, that's it--and so if it would be as convenient for him to come at once it would be a great accommodation to us, and one which we--which we--which we--wh--well, which we should sincerely appreciate--""That's it--and most gladly reciprocate--""Certainly--that'll fetch him.Worded right, if he's a man--got any of the feelings of a man, sympathies and all that, he'll be here inside of twenty-four hours.Pen and paper--come, we'll get right at it."Between them they framed twenty-two different advertisements, but none was satisfactory.A main fault in all of them was urgency.That feature was very troublesome: if made prominent, it was calculated to excite Pete's suspicion; if modified below the suspicion-point it was flat and meaningless.Finally the Colonel resigned, and said:

"I have noticed, in such literary experiences as I have had, that one of the most taking things to do is to conceal your meaning when you are trying to conceal it.Whereas, if you go at literature with a free conscience and nothing to conceal, you can turn out a book, every time, that the very elect can't understand.They all do."Then Hawkins resigned also, and the two agreed that they must manage to wait the ten days some how or other.Next, they caught a ray of cheer:

since they had something definite to go upon, now, they could probably borrow money on the reward--enough, at any rate, to tide them over till they got it; and meantime the materializing recipe would be perfected, and then good bye to trouble for good and all.

The next day, May the tenth, a couple of things happened--among others.

The remains of the noble Arkansas twins left our shores for England, consigned to Lord Rossmore, and Lord Rossmore's son, Kirkcudbright Llanover Marjoribanks Sellers Viscount Berkeley, sailed from Liverpool for America to place the reversion of the earldom in the hands of the rightful peer, Mulberry Sellers, of Rossmore Towers in the District of Columbia, U.S.A.

These two impressive shipments would meet and part in mid-Atlantic, five days later, and give no sign.