“I see you do not recognize a friend,” Colonel Chamberlain smiled. “I am surprised.
“This—” he paused to smile once more. “This is your old friend J., the one you have called the ‘Prince.’ Today, for the first time, he is able to remove the dye that might have concealed his identity from some people.”
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” came as in one breath.
“And now,” the Colonel said, turning to J., “perhaps you will tell them your story. Only,” he warned, “be brief. There’s a big feast of real good things to eat in store for us after it is told. Tonight the business men of Hillcrest are giving a banquet to all the boys who have fought so bravely for the honor of their city.”
“Tell us! Tell us!” they all pleaded.
“I shall be glad to,” the “Prince” replied.
“You see,” he began, “I’ve always been fascinated with chemistry. My native home is in Europe. Three years ago I was allowed to enter another country as a student. At once I was successful with my chemistry. Men said I had made some remarkable discoveries.
“Well,” he sighed, “success brings enemies. There are those who wished to possess my secrets.
“The part of that strange country I was in,” he went on after a period of silence, “was disputed territory. In time it became known that it was to be controlled entirely by this nation that was not friendly to my native land. This meant that I must leave. Many men came to me demanding to know my scientific secrets, which—pardon my pride—were very valuable.
“I refused. They threatened to have me sent to prison. I defied them and finally, with my secret formula hidden away in my garments, I escaped to America.