CHAPTER IX
"I HAVE UNBOUNDED FAITH IN YOU"
All my impressions of the interview with the Prince
were quickly overshadowed by the one overpowering
fear that the Princess was in imminent personal danger
from the fury of the Countess Bokara. The Princess
was regarded by her as the central pivot on which the
whole Russian intrigue turned, and to take her life
was the openly avowed object of that dangerous
woman's passion.
That any attempt would be subtly planned and fearlessly carried out I knew well enough, and it was for the perfecting of such a scheme that she sought my help. This was indeed the crowning irony of the situation. I, who would give my life to save the Princess's, was to be this reckless fury's accomplice in a plot to murder her, in order to keep on the throne a Prince who had solemnly declared to me his unalterable decision to resign it.
Yet there was one ray of consolation. It was probable that I should be able to hold her scheme in check long enough to secure the safety of her intended victim, and I could at once urge upon the latter the necessity for the greatest caution. It was with this thought in my mind that I made my visit to the Princess in the afternoon.
Her house was a large one standing by itself in the
