"Those  cords  in  the  corner."

The  Colonel  picked  them  up,  sat  down  and
gravely  tied  one  around  his  ankles.  Maurice
watched  him  curiously.  The  old  fellow  was
rather  agreeable,  he  thought.
"Now,"  the  Colonel  inquired  calmly,  "how  are
you  going  to  tie  my  hands?  Can  you  hold  the
revolver  in  one  hand  and  tie  with  the  other?"

"Hang  me!"  exclaimed  Maurice,  finding  him-
self brought  to  a  halt.
"My  son,"  said  the  Colonel,  "you  are  clever.    In


THE    PUPPET     CKOWX         359

fact,  you  are  one  of  those  fellows  who  grow  to  be
great.  You  never  miss  an  opportunity,  and  more
often  than  not  you  invent  opportunities,  which  is
better  still.  The  truth  is,  you  have  proceeded
exactly  on  the  lines  I  thought  you  would;  and
thereby  you  have  saved  me  the  trouble  of  lying  or
having  it  out  with  Madame.  I  am  a  victim,  not
an  accomplice;  I  was  forced  at  the  point  of  a  re-
volver; I  had  nothing  to  say.  If  I  had  really
been  careless  you  would  have  accomplished  the
feat  just  the  same.  For  it  was  easily  accom-
plished, you  will  admit.  'Tis  true  I  knew  you
were  acting  because  I  expected  you  to  act.  All
this  preamble  puzzles  you."

Certainly  Maurice's  countenance  expressed  noth-
ing less  than  perplexity.  He  stepped  back  a  few
paces.
"You  have,"  continued  the  Colonel,  "perhaps
three-quarters  of  an  hour.  You  will  be  able  to
get  out  of  here.  You  will  have  to  depend  on  your
own  resources  to  cross  the  frontier."

"Would  you  just  as  soon  explain  to  me — "

"It  means  that  a  certain  young  lady,  like  my-
self, believes  in  your  innocence."

"The  countess?"  Maurice  cried  eagerly,  remem-
bering the  look  of  the  night  before  and  the  tears
which  were  in  it.
