"Then better be d--d!" said I. At which my companion smiled, for I seldom swear. "I will fight with my men, and if I am killed it will be so much the worse for you; because Rudarlia will become a republic, and you will be the first President."
"We will hope for the best then. You have luck, or Goltz might still be keeping you."
"The luck of having a hard fist and knowing how to use it."
"And a quick brain," he added, "don't forget that. I should never have thought of looking for you under the bed, if I had been Goltz, when I saw the open window and the rope of sheets."
"No, I don't think I should have myself."
I presume that Prince Zeula thought that the seed he had let fall, in regard to my marriage, was sufficient, for he did not mention the subject again for a considerable time. That day, however, it did its work well and quite upset any keen desire for work which I may have had; so after a little while, I went to see my mother, a thing I generally did when perturbed. It is wonderful to me how so many mothers have the gift of being able to understand and console, without allowing it to be seen.
Now, for the next three months or so nothing occurred to disturb our peace, and Rudarlia showed signs of awakening prosperity. Nature had been kind to the agriculturists for once, and money began to circulate more freely; therefore we felt more at ease in giving time to the improvement of existing conditions of life.
At the end of that time I heard again from Prince Alexis. I answered him curtly to the effect that any further communications would be returned unopened, and almost immediately our relations with Bornia altered; up to now they had been those of smiling, courteous dislike.
I hastened my plans in one thing only: the purchasing of an armoured cruiser just completed by an English firm, for one of the South American Republics, and a torpedo-boat destroyer.
These two vessels were a gift from me to Rudarlia; and I thought Prince Kleber would burst with delight when I told him of my intentions. He had made the most of our naval forces, which until then had consisted of three coast defence vessels, an obsolete ironclad, and three torpedo-boats. When he had these two additional ships, I believe he would have cheerfully tried to tackle the British fleet.