Page:The silent prince - a story of the Netherlands (IA cu31924008716957).pdf/95

 of chess. “Thus easily will I remove all the obstacles from my path,” said the Jesuit with a look of conscious power. “I will dispose my pieces with the greatest circumspection. I will advance the pawns, defend the king, and make ready for the final checkmate. The game is mine!”

Little did the Superior dream that a woman's frail hand would overturn that chessboard and scatter the pieces to the four winds! How should he know that the game would be recast on entirely different lines, and that he, Monseigneur Ryder, was destined to suffer an ignominious defeat!