"Silence! I believe I can explain," he said. He was smiling,
and his bearing was easy and so full of assurance that the
exclamations and whispers died away on the instant. "I am
afraid I see what has happened," the King said. "But there
need be no cause for alarm. This gentleman is, as Mr. Gordon
says, the Commander-in-Chief of the Messinian army, and it is
true he suspected that an armed force would invade the island.
It is not strange that he should have suspected it, and it
needed no traitor to enlighten him. The visit of Father Paul
and the Prince Kalonay in the yacht, and their speeches
inciting the people to rebellion, would have warned the
government that an expedition might soon follow. The return
of our yacht to this place has no doubt been made known in
Messina through the public press, and General Renauld followed
the yacht here to learn what he could of our plans--of our
intended movements. He came here to spy on us, and as a spy I
ordered Mr. Gordon to arrest him this morning on any charge he
pleased, and to place him out of our way until after to-night,
when we should have sailed. I chose Mr. Gordon to undertake
this service because he happened to speak the language of the
country, and it was necessary to deal directly with the local
authorities without the intervention of an outsider. What has
happened is only too evident. The spy, who when he came here
only suspected, now, as Mr. Gordon says, knows the truth, and
he could have learned it only from one person, to whom he has
no doubt paid a pretty price for the information." The King
took a step forward and pointed with his hand at the American.
"I gave that man into your keeping, sir," he cried, "but I had
you watched. Instead of placing him in jail you took him to a