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CHARLES REX

BY ETHEL M. DELL

AUTHOR OF THE TOP OF THE WORLD, THE LAMP IN THE DESERT, THE HUNDREDTH
CHANCE, Etc.

1922

I Dedicate This Book To G. T. S. In Remembrance of A Winter Day

"When half-gods go, the gods arrive."
  R. W. Emerson

Not with the clash of trumpets
  And clangour of gates thrown wide,
As when the eager crowds press round
   To see the half-gods ride;
But like a bird at even
   Silently winging home,
A message came from the darkness
   To say that the gods had come.

And the half-gods scoffed in the temple
   Which custom had bid them hold—
Sin and Success and Pleasure
   And the hideous Image of Gold.
Who and what are these strangers?
   Bid them worship before the shrine
Where we, the gods of the new world,
   Sit o'er the cards and wine!

So they derided the strangers—
   Those gods whom the old folk call
Courage and Honour and Faithfulness
   And Love which is greater than all.
But when the night was over
   And the new day pierced within,
The half-gods were gone from the temple,
   And the gods had entered in.

CONTENTS

PART I

     I. Ennui
    II. Adieu
   III. The Gift
    IV. Toby
     V. Discipline
    VI. The Abyss
   VII. Larpent's Daughter

PART II

     I. Jake Bolton
    II. Maud Bolton
   III. Bunny
    IV. Saltash
     V. The Visitor
    VI. How to Manage Men
   VII. The Promise
  VIII. The Ally
    IX. The Idol
     X. Resolutions
    XI. The Butterfly
   XII. The Ogre's Castle
  XIII. The End of the Game

PART III

     I. The Virtuous Hero
    II. The Compact
   III. L'oiseau bleu
    IV. The Trap
     V. The Confidence
    VI. The Sacred Fire
   VII. Surrender
  VIII. The Magician's Wand
    IX. The Warning
     X. The Mystery
    XI. Suspicion
   XII. The Ally
  XIII. The Truth
   XIV. The Last Card

PART IV

     I. The Winning Post
    II. The Villain Scores
   III. A Wife Is Different
    IV. The Idol of Paris
     V. The Dance of Death
    VI. The New Lover
   VII. The Refugee
  VIII. The Turning-point
    IX. Larpent
     X. In the Name of Love
    XI. The Gift of the Gods

CHARLES REX

PART I

CHAPTER I

ENNUI

"I shall go to sea to-morrow," said Saltash, with sudden decision. "I'mtired of this place, Larpent,—fed up on repletion."

"Then by all means let us go, my lord!" said Larpent, with the faintglimmer of a smile behind his beard, which was the only expression ofhumour he ever permitted himself.

...