"
I now knew that he had been a witness to all, or at least to the larger
part of it.
"There is some tobacco on the table," I said humbly. I felt that I had
wronged him in some manner, though unintentionally. "The Princess
Hildegarde!" I murmured.
"The very person," said Hillars. He lit his pipe and sat on the edge
of the bed. He puffed and puffed, and I thought he never would begin.
Presently he said: "And you never suspected who she was?"
"On my word of honor, I did not, Dan," said I, staring at the faded
designs in the carpet. The golden galleon had gone down, and naught
but a few bubbles told where she had once so proudly ridden the waters
of the sea. The Princess Hildegarde? The dream was gone. Castles,
castles! "I am glad you did not know," said Dan, "because I have
always believed in your friendship. Yet, it is something we cannot
help--this loving a woman. Why, a man will lay down his life for his
friend, but he will rob him of the woman he loves. It is life. You
love her, of course."
"Yes." I took out my own pipe now. "But what's the use. She is a
Princess.
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