Why he had not declared
himself I could not understand, but I supposed that, possibly, he was
a guest, with no reason to interest himself in the Princess's other
visitors, or, perhaps, for some reason, he did not wish to be
observed. I could see nothing of him except his hand, but I had an
unpleasant feeling that he had been peering at me through the carving
in the screen, and that he still was doing so. I moved my feet
noisily on the floor and said, tentatively, 'I beg your pardon.'
"There was no reply, and the hand did not stir. Apparently, the man
was bent upon ignoring me, but, as all I wished was to apologize for
my intrusion and to leave the house, I walked up to the alcove and
peered around it. Inside the screen was a divan piled with cushions,
and on the end of it nearer me the man was sitting. He was a young
Englishman with light-yellow hair and a deeply bronzed face. He was
seated with his arms stretched out along the back of the divan, and
with his head resting against a cushion. His attitude was one of
complete ease. But his mouth had fallen open, and his eyes were set
with an expression of utter horror. At the first glance, I saw that
he was quite dead.
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