Page:The Master of Mysteries (1912).djvu/370

 "Samugi lov," and it needed little shrewdness to construct from that the probable declaration: "Samugi loves you."

The elegance and costliness of the gifts had already confirmed Astro's opinion of Samugi's condition. It was evident that he had not only birth and social position at home, but wealth as well. He had been shrewd enough to send nothing edible, such as confectionery, which might immediately arouse distrust. His tact was, indeed, most delicate. Should Priscilla Quarich disdain his advances, she need only pretend not to understand the acrostic. He was wise enough not to want to subject her to the embarrassment of refusing an overt offer, in case she should be prejudiced against the Orient. He actually did, it seemed, wish to be loved for himself alone, as the song has it, with no aid from his possession of noble birth.

It became, therefore, a delicate question as to how and when Miss Quarich should be informed of the solution of her problem. As she did not press for it, however, Astro let the matter wait a while, hoping to receive word from her of the gifts that might come. No letter came, however, and he expressed surprise to Valeska.

"I'm not at all surprised," she remarked.

"Please write to her for an account of what she has received since the violets came, and in what order," he said.

This Valeska did, and, in a few days, received the following answer:

"—I had almost forgotten that I had asked you to unravel my little mystery, and I'm afraid now that it is hardly worth your while