CHAPTER XV
Tony returned to the Hotel du Lac, modestly, by the back way. He assuredhimself that his aunt and sister were well by means of an open windowin the rear of the dining-room. The window was shaded by a clump ofcamellias, and he studied at his ease the back of Mrs. Eustace'shead and Nannie's vivacious profile as she talked in fluent andexecrable German to the two Alpinists who were, at the moment, the onlyother guests. Brotherly affection--and a humorous desire to create asensation--prompted him to walk in and surprise them. But saner secondthoughts prevailed; he decided to postpone the reunion until he shouldhave changed from the picturesque costume of Tony, to the soberer garb ofJerry Junior.
He skirted the dining-room by a wide detour, and entered the court-yardat the side. Gustavo, who for the last hour and a half had been alertlywatchful of four entrances at once, pounced upon him and drew him to acorner.
"Signore," in a conspiratorial whisper, "zay are come, ze aunt and zesister."
"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." Heshook his head hopelessly.
"That's all right." Tony patted his shoulder reassuringly. "When she knewme 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 backway with a suit case, and go down the road and meet the omnibus as itcomes back from the boat landing. You keep my aunt and sister in thecourt-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 meif I want a room. I'll attend to the rest--do you understand?"
Gustavo nodded with glistening eyes. He had always felt stirring withinhim powers for diplomacy, for finesse, and he rose to the occasionmagnificently.
Tony turned away and went bounding upstairs two steps at a time,chuckling as he went. He, too, was developing an undreamed of appetitefor intrigue, and his capacity in that direction was expanding to meetit. He had covered the first flight, when Gustavo suddenly rememberedthe letter and bounded after.
"Signore! I beg of you to wait one moment. Here is a letter from zesignorina; 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 Ailyaris 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 ita second time and his face grew grave. He thrust it into his pocket andstrode away without a word for Gustavo. Gustavo looked after himreproachfully. As a head waiter, he naturally did not expect to read theletters of guests; but as a fellow conspirator, he felt that he wasentitled to at least a general knowledge of all matters bearing on theconspiracy. He turned back down stairs with a disappointed droop to hisshoulders.
Tony closed his door and walked to the window where he stood staring atthe roof of Villa Rosa. He drew the letter from his pocket and read itfor the third time slowly, thoughtfully, very, very soberly. The reasonwas clear; she was tired of Tony and was looking ahead for fresh worldsto conquer. Jerry Junior was to come next.
He understood why she had been so complaisant today. She wished thecurtain to go down on the comedy note. Tomorrow, the nameless youngAmerican, the "Abraham Lincoln" of the register, would call--by thegate--would be received graciously, introduced in his proper person tothe guests; the story of the donkey-man would be recounted and laughedover, and he would be politely asked when he was planning to resume histravels. This would be the end of the episode. To Constance, it had beenmerely an amusing farce about which she could boast when she returned toAmerica. In her vivacious style it would make a story, just as her firstmeeting 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. Hemust pass on and give place to Jerry Junior.
A flush crept over Tony's face and his mouth took a straighter line as hecontinued to gaze down on the roof of Villa Rosa. His reflections werepresently interrupted by a knock. He turned and threw the door open witha fling.
"Well?" he inquired.
Gustavo took a step backward.
"_Scusi_, signore, but zay are eating ze dessart and in five--ten minutesze 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'sface that did not encourage confidences. He had not gone half a dozensteps, however, when the door opened again and Tony called him back.
"I am going away tomorrow morning--by the first boat this time--and youmustn't let my aunt and sister know. I will write two letters and you areto take them down to the steward of the boat that leaves tonight. Ask himto put on Austrian stamps and mail them at Riva, so they'll get back heretomorrow. Do you understand?"
Gustavo nodded and backed away. His disappointment this time was too keenfor 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 hotelthat was mentioned. Then he wrote two letters, both short and to thepoint; he indulged in none of Constance's vacillations, and yet in theirway his letters also were masterpieces of illusion. The first wasaddressed 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 luckthat 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, leavingGustavo to decide with his own conscience whether the money was intendedfor himself or the steward of the
Regina Margarita. This accomplished, heslipped out unobtrusively and took the road toward Villa Rosa.
He strode along with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the pathuntil he nearly bumped his nose against the villa gate-post. Then hestopped and thought. He had no mind to be ushered to the terrace where hewould have to dissemble some excuse for his visit before Miss Hazel andMr. 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 weremissing, 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; hemerely 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 theother of the officers to call on the Americans at the same time thatLieutenant di Ferara called. He was not spying on the family, merely onhis meddling brother officers.
Tony of course could know nothing of this, and as his eyes fell upon thelieutenant, there was apparent in their depths a large measure ofcontempt. A lieutenant in the Royal Italian Cavalry can afford to begenerous in many things, but he cannot afford to swallow contempt from adonkey-driver. The signorina was not present this time; there was noreason why he should not punish the fellow. He dropped his hand on Tony'sshoulder--on his collar to be exact--and whirled him about. The actionwas accompanied by some vigorous colloquial Italian--the gist of it beingthat Tony was to mind his own business and mend his manners. Thelieutenant had a muscular arm, and Tony turned. But Tony had not playedquarterback four years for nothing; he tackled low, and the next momentthe lieutenant was rolling down the bank of a dried stream that stretchedat their feet. No one likes to roll down a dusty stony bank, much lessan officer in immaculate uniform on the eve of paying a formal call uponladies. He picked himself up and looked at Tony; he was quite beyondspeech.
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 ofVilla Rosa.
The lieutenant gasped. If anything could have been more insultinglyinadequate to the situation than that one word _scusi_, it did not at themoment occur to him. Jeering, blasphemy, vituperation, he might haveexcused, but this! The shock jostled him back to a thinking state.
Here was no ordinary donkey-driver. The hand that had rested for a momenton 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 atleast 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 bankand skirted the wall, almost on a run, until he reached the place wherehis horse was tied. Two minutes later he was off at a gallop, headed forthe house of the prefect of police of Valedolmo.