"This beats the very devil! You've got me all balled up. Is Betty Annesley a girl of the kind we read about in the papers as eloping with her groom? What earthly chance had you in this guise, I should like to know?"
"I only wanted to be near her; I did not look ahead."
"Well, I should say not! How long were you hidden behind that trellis?"
"A year, so it seemed to me."
"Any lunatics among your ancestors?"
Warburton shook his head, smiling wanly.
"I can't make it out," declared the colonel. "A graduate of West Point, the fop of Troop A, the hero of a hundred ball-rooms, disguised as a hostler and serving soup!"
"Always keep the motive in mind, Colonel; you were young yourself once."
The colonel thought of the girl's mother. Yes, he had been young once, but not quite so young as this cub of his.
"What chance do you suppose you have against the handsome Russian?"