Tony returned to the Hotel du Lac, modestly, by the back way. He assured
himself that his aunt and sister were well by means of an open window
in the rear of the dining-room. The window was shaded by a clump of
camellias, and he studied at his ease the back of Mrs. Eustace's
head and Nannie's vivacious profile as she talked in fluent and
execrable German to the two Alpinists who were, at the moment, the only
other guests. Brotherly affection--and a humorous desire to create a
sensation--prompted him to walk in and surprise them. But saner second
thoughts prevailed; he decided to postpone the reunion until he should
have changed from the picturesque costume of Tony, to the soberer garb of
Jerry Junior.
He skirted the dining-room by a wide detour, and entered the court-yard
at the side. Gustavo, who for the last hour and a half had been alertly
watchful of four entrances at once, pounced upon him and drew him to a
corner.
"Signore," in a conspiratorial whisper, "zay are come, ze aunt and ze
sister."
"I know--the Signorina Costantina told me so."
Gustavo blinked.
"But, signore, she does not know it."
"Yes, she does--she saw 'em herself."
"I mean, signore, she does not know zat you are ze brover?"
"Oh, no, she doesn't know that."
"But she tell me zat she is acquaint wif ze brover for six years." He
shook his head hopelessly.
"That's all right." Tony patted his shoulder reassuringly. "When she knew
me I used to have yellow hair, but I thought it made me look too girlish,
so I had it dyed black. She didn't recognize me."
Gustavo accepted the explanation with a side glance at the hair.
"Now, pay attention." Tony's tone was slow and distinct.
"I am going upstairs to change my clothes. Then I will slip out the back
way with a suit case, and go down the road and meet the omnibus as it
comes back from the boat landing. You keep my aunt and sister in the
court-yard talking to the parrot or something until the omnibus arrives.
Then when I get out, you come forward with your politest bow and ask me
if I want a room. I'll attend to the rest--do you understand?"
Gustavo nodded with glistening eyes. He had always felt stirring within
him powers for diplomacy, for finesse, and he rose to the occasion
magnificently.
Tony turned away and went bounding upstairs two steps at a time,
chuckling as he went. He, too, was developing an undreamed of appetite
for intrigue, and his capacity in that direction was expanding to meet
it. He had covered the first flight, when Gustavo suddenly remembered
the letter and bounded after.
"Signore! I beg of you to wait one moment. Here is a letter from ze
signorina; it is come while you are away."
Tony read the address with a start of surprise.
"Then she knows!" There was regret, disillusionment, in his tone.
It was Gustavo's turn to furnish enlightenment.
"But no, signore, she do not comprehend. She sink Meestair Jayreem Ailyar
is ze brover who is not arrive. She leave it for him when he come."
"Ah!" Tony ripped it open and read it through with a chuckle. He read it
a second time and his face grew grave. He thrust it into his pocket and
strode away without a word for Gustavo. Gustavo looked after him
reproachfully. As a head waiter, he naturally did not expect to read the
letters of guests; but as a fellow conspirator, he felt that he was
entitled to at least a general knowledge of all matters bearing on the
conspiracy. He turned back down stairs with a disappointed droop to his
shoulders.
Tony closed his door and walked to the window where he stood staring at
the roof of Villa Rosa. He drew the letter from his pocket and read it
for the third time slowly, thoughtfully, very, very soberly. The reason
was clear; she was tired of Tony and was looking ahead for fresh worlds
to conquer. Jerry Junior was to come next.
He understood why she had been so complaisant today. She wished the
curtain to go down on the comedy note. Tomorrow, the nameless young
American, the "Abraham Lincoln" of the register, would call--by the
gate--would be received graciously, introduced in his proper person to
the guests; the story of the donkey-man would be recounted and laughed
over, and he would be politely asked when he was planning to resume his
travels. This would be the end of the episode. To Constance, it had been
merely an amusing farce about which she could boast when she returned to
America. In her vivacious style it would make a story, just as her first
meeting with Jerry Junior had made a story. But as for the play itself,
for _him_, she cared nothing. Tony the man had made no impression. He
must pass on and give place to Jerry Junior.
A flush crept over Tony's face and his mouth took a straighter line as he
continued to gaze down on the roof of Villa Rosa. His reflections were
presently interrupted by a knock. He turned and threw the door open with
a fling.
"Well?" he inquired.
Gustavo took a step backward.
"_Scusi_, signore, but zay are eating ze dessart and in five--ten minutes
ze omnibus will arrive."
"The omnibus?" Tony stared. "Oh!" he laughed shortly. "I was just joking,
Gustavo."
Gustavo bowed and turned down the corridor; there was a look on Tony's
face that did not encourage confidences. He had not gone half a dozen
steps, however, when the door opened again and Tony called him back.
"I am going away tomorrow morning--by the first boat this time--and you
mustn't let my aunt and sister know. I will write two letters and you are
to take them down to the steward of the boat that leaves tonight. Ask him
to put on Austrian stamps and mail them at Riva, so they'll get back here
tomorrow. Do you understand?"
Gustavo nodded and backed away. His disappointment this time was too keen
for words. He saw stretching before him a future like the past,
monotonously bereft of plots and masquerades.
Tony, having hit on a plan, sat down and put it into instant execution.
Opening his Baedeker, he turned to Riva and picked out the first hotel
that was mentioned. Then he wrote two letters, both short and to the
point; he indulged in none of Constance's vacillations, and yet in their
way his letters also were masterpieces of illusion. The first was
addressed to Miss Constance Wilder at Villa Rosa. It ran:
"HOTEL SOLE D'ORO,
"RIVA, AUSTRIA.
"DEAR MISS WILDER: Nothing would give me greater pleasure than
spending a few days in Valedolmo, but unfortunately I am pressed
for time, and am engaged to start Thursday morning with some
friends on a trip through the Dolomites.
"Trusting that I may have the pleasure of making your acquaintance
at some future date,
"Yours truly,
"JERYMN HILLIARD, JR."
The second letter was addressed to his sister, but he trusted to luck
that Constance would see it. It ran:
"HOTEL SOLE D'ORO,
"RIVA, AUSTRIA.
"DEAR NAN: Who in thunder is Constance Wilder? She wants us to stop
and make a visit in Valedolmo. I wouldn't step into that infernal
town, not if the king himself invited me--it's the deadest hole on
the face of the earth. You can stay if you like and I'll go on
through the Dolomites alone. There's an American family stopping
here who are also planning the trip--a stunning girl; I know you'd
like her.
"Of course the travelling will be pretty rough. Perhaps you and
Aunt Kate would rather visit your friends and meet me later in
Munich. If you decide to take the trip, you will have to come on
down to Riva as soon as you get this letter, as we're planning to
pull out Thursday morning.
"Sorry to hurry you, but you know my vacation doesn't last forever.
"Love to Aunt Kate and yourself,
"Yours ever,
"JERRY."
He turned the letters over to Gustavo with a five-franc note, leaving
Gustavo to decide with his own conscience whether the money was intended
for himself or the steward of the Regina Margarita. This accomplished, he
slipped out unobtrusively and took the road toward Villa Rosa.
He strode along with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the path
until he nearly bumped his nose against the villa gate-post. Then he
stopped and thought. He had no mind to be ushered to the terrace where he
would have to dissemble some excuse for his visit before Miss Hazel and
Mr. Wilder. His business tonight was with Constance, and Constance alone.
He turned and skirted the villa wall, determined on reconnoitering first.
There was a place in the wall--he knew well--where the stones were
missing, and a view was obtainable of the terrace and parapet.
He reached the place to find Lieutenant Carlo di Ferara already there.
Now the Lieutenant's purpose was exactly as innocent as Tony's own; he
merely wished to assure himself that Captain Coroloni was not before him.
It was considered a joke at the tenth cavalry mess to detail one or the
other of the officers to call on the Americans at the same time that
Lieutenant di Ferara called. He was not spying on the family, merely on
his meddling brother officers.
Tony of course could know nothing of this, and as his eyes fell upon the
lieutenant, there was apparent in their depths a large measure of
contempt. A lieutenant in the Royal Italian Cavalry can afford to be
generous in many things, but he cannot afford to swallow contempt from a
donkey-driver. The signorina was not present this time; there was no
reason why he should not punish the fellow. He dropped his hand on Tony's
shoulder--on his collar to be exact--and whirled him about. The action
was accompanied by some vigorous colloquial Italian--the gist of it being
that Tony was to mind his own business and mend his manners. The
lieutenant had a muscular arm, and Tony turned. But Tony had not played
quarterback four years for nothing; he tackled low, and the next moment
the lieutenant was rolling down the bank of a dried stream that stretched
at their feet. No one likes to roll down a dusty stony bank, much less
an officer in immaculate uniform on the eve of paying a formal call upon
ladies. He picked himself up and looked at Tony; he was quite beyond
speech.
Tony looked back and smiled. He swept off his hat with a deferential bow.
"_Scusi_," he murmured, and jumped over the wall into the grounds of
Villa Rosa.
The lieutenant gasped. If anything could have been more insultingly
inadequate to the situation than that one word _scusi_, it did not at the
moment occur to him. Jeering, blasphemy, vituperation, he might have
excused, but this! The shock jostled him back to a thinking state.
Here was no ordinary donkey-driver. The hand that had rested for a moment
on his arm was the hand of a gentleman. The man's face was vaguely,
elusively familiar; if the lieutenant had not seen him before, he had at
least seen his picture. The man had pretended he could not talk Italian,
but--_scusi_--it came out very pat when it was needed.
An idea suddenly assailed Lieutenant di Ferara. He scrambled up the bank
and skirted the wall, almost on a run, until he reached the place where
his horse was tied. Two minutes later he was off at a gallop, headed for
the house of the prefect of police of Valedolmo.