He laughed. "Oh, it's easy to view some other fellow's affairs happily. That is why a friend's advice is usually serviceable."
I took a pipe and began to fill it. "It's that advice I want," I said.
He was silent for a space. I smoked and waited.
"I suppose you had no opportunity to talk with the Princess after the supper, last night?" he said.
I smiled. "I drove with her to the Palace."
"Alone?" he exclaimed.
"Yes—she ordered me in with her and sent the Countess with Moore."
He sat up sharply. "Gad! Major, she's a treasure!" he exclaimed. "That tells me what I want to know: she has measured the Spencer woman's story."
"Both story and certificate," said I. "She says the one is a lie and the other a forgery."
He raised his hand emphatically. "My dear fellow," he said, sternly, "if you didn't get down on your knees, last night, and thank the good God for that brave girl up yonder in the Palace, you deserve to lose her—and I shall go over to Lotzen's side, myself."