"
Again the Baron cleared his throat.
"And," said he, "since unwisely, Miss Westfall, for eugenic reasons, we
grant a certain freedom of marital choice to our princes--since wisely
or not as you will, the Salic Law does not, by an ancient precedent,
obtain with us, and a woman may come in the line of succession, the
danger to Ronador's little son, is, I think, apparent."
"Surely, surely!" exclaimed Diane hopelessly, "there is some mistake.
There is so much that is utterly without light or coherence. So much--"
For the first time Ronador spoke.
"What," said he sullenly to Philip, "would you have us do?"
"I would have you eliminate the secrecy, the infernal intrigue, the
scheming to smother a fire that burned wilder for your efforts," said
Philip civilly. "I would have you face this thing squarely and
investigate it link by link. I would have you abandon the damnable
man-hunt that has sent one man to his death in a Florida swamp and
goaded another to a reckless frenzy in which all things were possible.
Themar is dead. That Granberry is alive is attributable solely to the
fact that he was cleverer and keener than any of those who hounded him.
But he has paid heavily for the secret he tried in a drunken moment to
sell to Houdania.
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