"My friend," he said dryly,
"you see only the truth! You see what she really is, this peerless
Princess of yours. You see her as she is to-day, and you see her
kinship to the bones that have lain for centuries in yonder
pyramid. Yet they were once as fair as this, and this was as fair
as they--in effect the same! You that have madly, impiously adored
her superficial beauty, the mere dust of tomorrow, let this be a
warning to you! You that have no soul to speak of, let that
suffice you! Take her and be happy. Adieu!"
Yet, as he passed out of the fitting tomblike gloom of the
apartment and descended the stairs, he murmured to himself: "Odd
that I should have lent him my camera with the Rontgen-ray
attachment still on. No matter! It is not the first time that the
Princess has appeared in two parts the same evening."
VII
In spite of envy, jealousy, and malice, a certain curiosity greater
than all these drew everybody to the Princess Zut-Ski's ball. Lady
Fitz-Fulke was there in virgin white, looking more youthful than
ever, in spite of her sixty-five years and the card labeled "Fresh
Paint" which somebody had playfully placed upon her enameled
shoulder. The McFecklesses, the Pyles, Flossy, the doctor, and the
Chevalier--looking still anxious--were in attendance.
The mysterious Nubian doorkeeper admitted the guests through the
same narrow passages, much to the disgust of Lady Pyle and the
discomfiture of her paunchy husband; but on reaching a large
circular interior hall, a greater surprise was in store for them.
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