"No reason," he said, "No reason? It is only Mademoiselle's complete
disregard of self that prevents her from seeing the reason. A reason," he
added, bowing, "which seems to me as natural as it is obvious."

I turned toward him quickly. From the corner of my eye I could see Brutus
move nearer, and then Mademoiselle stepped between us.

"We have had quite enough of this," said Mademoiselle, and she looked
from one to the other of us with a condescension that was not wholly
displeasing. Then, fixing her eyes on my father, she continued:

"Not that I am in the least afraid of you, Captain Shelton. We have had
to employ too many men like you not to know your type. Your son, I think,
must take after his mother. I fear he thinks I am a damsel in distress. I
trust, captain, that you know better, though for the moment, you seem to
have forgotten."

"Forgotten?" my father echoed, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," she said, speaking more quickly, "forgotten that you are in the
pay of my family. You had contracted to get certain papers from France,
which were in danger of being seized by the authorities."

Seemingly undecided how to go on, she hesitated, glanced at me covertly,
and then continued.

"I accompanied you because--"

"Because you did not care to share the fate reserved for the papers?" my