Princess Zara

I wondered if they would not detect the odor of my cigar, and thus

discover that they were not alone in the garden, but the draft carried

the smoke away from them; and then I became absorbed in what they were

saying.

"I can give you only a few moments, Ivan," murmured the princess. "My

guests will miss me. You should have come to me later."

"I know; but it was impossible. There is a meeting to-night, and our

good friends are very anxious to hear something from you. When can you

be present to tell them in your own words what you accomplished during

your journey?"

The tone of the question was masterful, and unconsciously I resented

it.

What right had any other man to address my princess in that manner? for

already I found myself regarding her as my princess. I knew now that

I had wandered into the garden solely for the purpose of being alone to

think about her, and that in my short journeys up and down the paths,

finally ending among the cushions of the Turkish bower, I had had her

with me for a companion. You will discover by this statement that I was

still mindful of her presence near me, even though I had left her in

the drawing room while I went away alone; but it is always possible to

conjure a personal presence if the mind is sufficiently intent upon it,

and even though that presence be not physical, it is nevertheless real.

The tone of the man who was speaking with her in the adjoining bower

was masterful, as I have said. More than that it was familiar. It was

even intimate, I thought, and I was conscious of a silent rage when I

heard it.

I sensed his words subconsciously, and yet I had thoroughly

comprehended them. He had spoken of a meeting of their "very good

friends" and I had no doubt to whom he referred; neither had I any

doubt at the moment, that this man talking so confidentially with the

princess, was one of the "marked" members of that rapidly widening

group of persons whom my busily engaged employees were learning to

know.

It was with a distinct shock, however, that I realized by virtue of the

intimate manner of the man, that Zara de Echeveria must also be

implicated with the nihilists, since he dared to speak to her so

openly, so masterfully, and with such confident reliance upon the

manner in which his communication would be received. Her reply

convinced me sufficiently, had I required added conviction at that

moment.

"I do not know," she said. "Say that I will send word to them in the

usual way, and at the earliest opportunity. Say that I was entirely

successful; that everything in Paris and Berlin is in the most

excellent condition, and that nothing--absolutely nothing, you

understand--must be done without my knowledge and permission."