"The Globe, the Indian Mail, the Mirror, the Colonial Gazette, and
other periodicals will darkly hint at his itinerary, and he will
be paraded judiciously, and no vulgar eye must ever rest upon him.
These items will be widely copied. A graceful, social phantom, a
Veiled, mysterious young potentate is Prince Djiddin!" "The humbug
will be easily discovered!" said Anstruther, still at sea.
"Not if you flung your protecting mantle over him!" cried Murray.
"We will shield him by a protecting Moonshee, who alone speaks his
august master's language, a tongue not to be easily translated;
in fact, perfectly proof against all prying outsiders. The one way
to hoodwink old Fraser is to humbug him about the great work on
Thibet. That is the one soft spot in the hide of this old alligator.
We have gone carefully over the reports of your secret agent at
St. Heliers. Make us square with him, Captain, let him have your
orders to aid us, and he can get us first hooked on to this Yankee
Professor Alaric Hobbs! We will jolly him a bit, and so, get an
interview with old Fraser, and then fool the old chap to the top
of his bent. We will supply him with theories enough to set every
bee in his bonnet buzzing. Your man is already 'solid' with Professor
Alaric Hobbs, who is a quaint genius, and withal, a hard-headed
Yankee, but full of cranks and 'isms.'"
Anson Anstruther exchanged doubtful glances with Alixe Delavigne,
who was still very agnostic.
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