E-text prepared by Martin Robb
The Queen's Cup
by G. A. Henty.
Chapter 1.
A large party were assembled in the drawing room of Greendale,Sir John Greendale's picturesque old mansion house. It was early inSeptember. The men had returned from shooting, and the guests weregathered in the drawing room; in the pleasant half hour of duskwhen the lamps have not yet been lighted, though it is already toodark to read. The conversation was general, and from the latestnews from India had drifted into the subject of the Italian beliefin the Mal Occhio.
"Do you believe in it, Captain Mallett?" asked Bertha, SirJohn's only child, a girl of sixteen; who was nestled in an easychair next to that in which the man she addressed was sitting.
"I don't know, Bertha."
He had known her from childhood, and she had not yet reached anage when the formal "Miss Greendale" was incumbent upon heracquaintances.
"I do not believe in the Italian superstition to anything likethe extent they carry it. I don't think I should believe it at allif it were not that one man has always been unlucky to me."
"How unlucky, Captain Mallett?"
"Well, I don't know that unlucky is the proper word, but he hasalways stood between me and success; at least, he always did, forit is some years since our paths have crossed."
"Tell me about it."
"Well, I have no objection, but there is not a great deal totell.
"I was at school with—I won't mention his name. We were aboutthe same age. He was a bully. I interfered with him, we had afight, and I scored my first and only success over him. It was avery tough fight—by far the toughest I ever had. I was strongerthan he, but he was the more active. I fancied that it would not bevery difficult to thrash him, but found that I had made a greatmistake. It was a long fight, and it was only because I was inbetter condition that I won at last.
"Well, you know when boys fight at schoo