"Because I had not expected to see any one but yourself."
He nodded. "That instinct of yours always interests me."
I had gone to the chess board and taken two or three pieces out of the box. I put them back. "So we are not to play chess to-night. Who is it?"
"No, there you are wrong for once. We are to play. I have spoken of your chess-playing powers to a very old friend of mine, and he is coming to see us play."
I shook my head. "Your Excellency means that the game is to be a pretext. What is his name?"
"I am not 'your Excellency' to you, Christabel. It is General von Walther—an old comrade of mine."
"I am getting interested in him already—an old comrade whose unexpected visit made you so thoughtful during dinner that you could scarcely speak a word. On my account, too. The only time you spoke was to express satisfaction that I was dressed well enough to receive him."
"You are building a palace with match boxes, Christabel. You had better set the men."
I set them and we began to play. I made two or three egregiously bad moves; and he did not notice them. The "old comrade" was evidently still absorbing his thoughts; and began to fill mine too.
"Hadn't we better have something more like a real game when he comes in? It should at least look like serious chess," I said, and was making some impromptu changes in the positions of the men when General von Walther was announced.