"Promise you will not laugh at me if I tell you more than you bargain
for."

"What? Is there humor in the story?"

"Let us see. I am hardly a fair judge. At present I am more than
mystified. It is easy enough to explain why I was called 'King Dick' at
school. That is a mere preface to my romance. One of the cherished
traditions of my family is that we are lineal descendants of King
Richard the First of England."

"Good gracious!"

"The statement lends itself to disbelief, I admit--"

"Why do you think me disbelieving?"

"Pray forgive me, Miss Fenshawe. I am in doubting mood myself to-night.
At any rate, the lineage of the Roysons has not been disputed during
many centuries. Our name is part of our proof, and there has been a
Richard Royson associated with Westmoreland ever since Coeur-de-Lion
returned from Palestine. That is the kind of family asset a boy will
brag of. Joined to a certain proficiency in games, it supplies a ready-
made nickname. But the wonderful and wholly inexplicable thing is that
while I have been standing here, watching our head-light dancing over
the desert, the fantastic conceit has invaded my very soul that I share
with my kingly ancestor his love of this land, his ambition to
accomplish great deeds in its secret places, his contempt and scorn of
all opposing influences. Do you remember how he defied a rain of blood
which scared his courtiers? One of his friends has placed on record the