show up well in an adventure of this sort. (But fate had a hand in it,
as presently you shall see.)

Gretchen laughed, but the sound was harsh and metallic. She turned to
her companion, who was staring at me with startled eyes.

"What did I tell you? You can not tell a gentleman in the
candle-light." To me she said:

"I thought as much. You have heard _Faust_ in Paris, but you know
nothing of the French language. You claimed to be a gentleman, yet you
have permitted us to converse in French."

"Was it polite of you to use it?" I asked. "All this," with a wave of
the hand, "appears mysterious. This is not a residence one would
expect to find inhabited--and by two charming women!" I bowed. "Your
presence here is even less satisfactorily explained than mine. If I
denied the knowledge of French it was because I wasn't sure of my
surroundings. It was done in self-defense rather than in the desire to
play a trick. And in this language you speak of witnesses, of papers,
of the coming of a man you do not trust. It looks very much like a
conspiracy." I gathered up my gloves and riding-crop. I believed that
I had extricated myself rather well.

"This is my castle," said Gretchen, gently shaking off the warning hand
of her companion. "If I desire to occupy it for a night, who shall
gainsay me? If I leave the latches down, that is due to the fact that
I have no one to fear. Now, sir, you have eaten the bread of my table,
and I demand to know who you are. If you do not tell me at once, I
shall be forced to confine you here till I am ready to leave."