337 files changed, 33968 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/28091-0.txt b/28091-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8750674
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8431 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sisters, by The Double Four, by E.
+Phillips Oppenheim
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: The Double Four
+
+Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+Release Date: February 15, 2009 [EBook #28091]
+Last Updated: August 16, 2023
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+
+
+
+                              THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+                         By E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+
+CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD
+London, New York, Toronto & Melbourne
+First published _September 1911_.
+_Reprinted October 1911_.
+Shilling Edition _April 1913_.
+_Reprinted February 1917_.
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ 1. THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+ 2. THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+ 3. THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+ 4. THE FIRST SHOT
+
+ 5. THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+ 6. THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+ 7. THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+ 8. AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+ 9. THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+10. THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+
+
+THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+
+     "_It is the desire of Madame that you should join our circle here
+     on Thursday evening next, at ten o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The man looked up from the sheet of notepaper which he held in his hand,
+and gazed through the open French windows before which he was standing.
+It was a very pleasant and very peaceful prospect. There was his croquet
+lawn, smooth-shaven, the hoops neatly arranged, the chalk mark firm and
+distinct upon the boundary. Beyond, the tennis court, the flower
+gardens, and to the left the walled fruit garden. A little farther away
+was the paddock and orchard, and a little farther still the farm, which
+for the last four years had been the joy of his life. His meadows were
+yellow with buttercups; a thin line of willows showed where the brook
+wound its lazy way through the bottom fields. It was a home, this, in
+which a man could well lead a peaceful life, could dream away his days
+to the music of the west wind, the gurgling stream, the song of birds,
+and the low murmuring of insects. Peter Ruff stood like a man turned to
+stone, for even as he looked these things passed away from before his
+eyes, the roar of the world beat in his ears--the world of intrigue, of
+crime, the world where the strong man hewed his way to power, and the
+weaklings fell like corn before the sickle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_It is the desire of Madame!_"
+
+Peter Ruff clenched his fists as he read the words once more. It was a
+message from a world every memory of which had been deliberately
+crushed--a world, indeed, in which he had seemed no longer to hold any
+place. He was Peter Ruff, Esquire, of Aynesford Manor, in the County of
+Somerset. It could not be for him, this strange summons.
+
+The rustle of a woman's soft draperies broke in upon his reverie. He
+turned round with his usual morning greeting upon his lips. She was,
+without doubt, a most beautiful woman: petite, and well moulded, with
+the glow of health in her eyes and on her cheeks. She came smiling to
+him--a dream of muslin and pink ribbons.
+
+"Another forage bill, my dear Peter?" she demanded, passing her arm
+through his. "Put it away and admire my new morning gown. It came
+straight from Paris, and you will have to pay a great deal of money for
+it."
+
+He pulled himself together--he had no secrets from his wife.
+
+"Listen," he said, and read aloud:
+
+     "_Rue de St. Quintaine, Paris._
+
+     "DEAR MR. RUFF,--_It is a long time since we had the
+     pleasure of a visit from you. It is the desire of Madame that you
+     should join our circle here on Thursday evening next, at ten
+     o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+Violet was a little perplexed. She failed, somehow, to recognise the
+sinister note underlying those few sentences.
+
+"It sounds friendly enough," she remarked. "You are not obliged to go,
+of course."
+
+Peter Ruff smiled grimly.
+
+"Yes, it sounds all right," he admitted.
+
+"They won't expect you to take any notice of it, surely?" she continued.
+"When you bought this place, Peter, you gave them definitely to
+understand that you had retired into private life, that all these things
+were finished with you."
+
+"There are some things," Peter Ruff said slowly, "which are never
+finished."
+
+"But you resigned," she reminded him. "I remember your letter
+distinctly."
+
+"From the Double Four," he answered, "no resignation is recognised save
+death. I did what I could, and they accepted my explanations gracefully
+and without comment. Now that the time has come, however, when they
+need, or think they need, my help, you see they do not hesitate to claim
+it."
+
+"You will not go, Peter? You will not think of going?" she begged.
+
+He twisted the letter between his fingers and sat down to his breakfast.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not go."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That morning Peter Ruff spent upon his farm, looking over his stock,
+examining some new machinery, and talking crops with his bailiff. In the
+afternoon he played his customary round of golf. It was the sort of day
+which, as a rule, he found completely satisfactory, yet, somehow or
+other, a certain sense of weariness crept in upon him towards its close.
+The agricultural details in which he was accustomed to take so much
+interest had fallen a little flat. He even found himself wondering,
+after one of his best drives, whether it was well for the mind of a man
+to be so utterly engrossed by the flight of that small white ball
+towards its destination. More than once lately, despite his half-angry
+rejection of them, certain memories, half-wistful, half-tantalising,
+from the world of which he now saw so little, had forced their way in
+upon his attention. This morning the lines of that brief note seemed to
+stand out before him all the time with a curious vividness. In a way he
+played the hypocrite to himself. He professed to have found that summons
+disturbing and unwelcome, yet his thoughts were continually occupied
+with it. He knew well that what would follow was inevitable, but he made
+no sign.
+
+Two days later he received another letter. This time it was couched in
+different terms. On a square card, at the top of which was stamped a
+small coronet, he read as follows:
+
+     "_Madame de Maupassim at home, Saturday evening, May 2nd, at ten
+     o'clock._"
+
+In small letters at the bottom left-hand corner were added the words:
+
+     "_To meet friends._"
+
+Peter Ruff put the card upon the fire and went out for a morning's
+rabbit shooting with his keeper. When he returned, luncheon was ready,
+but Violet was absent. He rang the bell.
+
+"Where is your mistress, Jane?" he asked the parlourmaid.
+
+The girl had no idea. Mrs. Ruff had left for the village several hours
+ago. Since then she had not been seen.
+
+Peter Ruff ate his luncheon alone and understood. The afternoon wore on,
+and at night he travelled up to London. He knew better than to waste
+time by purposeless inquiries. Instead he took the nine o'clock train
+the next morning to Paris.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a chamber of death into which he was ushered--dismal, yet, of its
+sort, unique, marvellous. The room itself might have been the sleeping
+apartment of an Empress--lofty, with white panelled walls adorned simply
+with gilded lines; with high windows, closely curtained now so that
+neither sound nor the light of day might penetrate into the room. In the
+middle of the apartment, upon a canopy bedstead which had once adorned a
+king's palace, lay Madame de Maupassim. Her face was already touched
+with the finger of death, yet her eyes were undimmed and her lips
+unquivering. Her hands, covered with rings, lay out before her upon the
+lace coverlid. Supported by many pillows, she was issuing her last
+instructions with the cold precision of the man of affairs who makes the
+necessary arrangements for a few days' absence from his business.
+
+Peter Ruff, who had not even been allowed sufficient time to change his
+travelling clothes, was brought without hesitation to her bedside. She
+looked at him in silence for a moment with a cold glitter in her eyes.
+
+"You are four days late, Monsieur Peter Ruff," she remarked. "Why did
+you not obey your first summons?"
+
+"Madame," he answered, "I thought that there must be a misunderstanding.
+Four years ago I gave notice to the council that I had married and
+retired into private life. A country farmer is of no further use to the
+world."
+
+The woman's thin lip curled.
+
+"From death and the Double Four," she said, "there is no resignation
+which counts. You are as much our creature to-day as I am the creature
+of the disease which is carrying me across the threshold of death."
+
+Peter Ruff remained silent. The woman's words seemed full of dread
+significance. Besides, how was it possible to contradict the dying?
+
+"It is upon the unwilling of the world," she continued, speaking slowly,
+yet with extraordinary distinctness, "that its greatest honours are
+often conferred. The name of my successor has been balloted for
+secretly. It is you, Peter Ruff, who have been chosen."
+
+This time he was silent, because he was literally bereft of words. This
+woman was dying, and fancying strange things! He looked from one to the
+other of the stern, pale faces of those who were gathered around her
+bedside. Seven of them there were--the same seven. At that moment their
+eyes were all focused upon him. Peter Ruff shrank back.
+
+"Madame," he murmured, "this cannot be."
+
+Her lips twitched as though she would have smiled.
+
+"What we have decided," she said, "we have decided. Nothing can alter
+that--not even the will of Mr. Peter Ruff."
+
+"I have been out of the world for four years," Peter Ruff protested. "I
+have no longer ambitions, no longer any desire----"
+
+"You lie!" the woman interrupted. "You lie, or you do yourself an
+injustice! We gave you four years, and, looking into your face, I think
+that it has been enough. I think that the weariness is there already. In
+any case, the charge which I lay upon you in these, my last moments, is
+one which you can escape by death only!"
+
+A low murmur of voices from those others repeated her words.
+
+"By death only!"
+
+Peter Ruff opened his lips, but closed them again without speech. A wave
+of emotion seemed passing through the room. Something strange was
+happening. It was Death itself which had come amongst them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A morning journalist wrote of the death of Madame eloquently and with
+feeling. She had been a broadminded aristocrat, a woman of brilliant
+intellect and great friendships, a woman of whose inner life during the
+last ten or fifteen years little was known, yet who, in happier times,
+might well have played a great part in the history of her country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Peter Ruff drove back from the cemetery with the Marquis de Sogrange,
+and for the first time since the death of Madame serious subjects were
+spoken of.
+
+"I have waited patiently," he declared, "but there are limits. I want my
+wife."
+
+Sogrange took him by the arm and led him into the library of the house
+in the Rue de St. Quintaine. The six men who were already there waiting
+rose to their feet.
+
+"Gentlemen," the Marquis said, "is it your will that I should be
+spokesman?"
+
+There was a murmur of assent. Then Sogrange turned towards his
+companion, and something new seemed to have crept into his manner--a
+solemn, almost threatening note.
+
+"Peter Ruff," he continued, "you have trifled with the one organisation
+in this world which has never allowed itself to have liberties taken
+with it or to be defied. Men who have done greater service than you have
+died for the disobedience of a day. You have been treated leniently,
+accordingly to the will of Madame. According to her will, and in
+deference to the position which you must now take up amongst us, we
+still treat you as no other has ever been treated by us. The Double Four
+admits your leadership and claims you for its own."
+
+"I am not prepared to discuss anything of the sort," Peter Ruff declared
+doggedly, "until my wife is restored to me."
+
+The Marquis smiled.
+
+"The traditions of your race, Mr. Ruff," he said, "are easily manifest
+in you. Now, hear our decision. Your wife shall be restored to you on
+the day when you take up this position to which you have become
+entitled. Sit down and listen."
+
+Peter Ruff was a rebel at heart, but he felt the grip of iron.
+
+"During these four years when you, my friend, have been growing turnips
+and shooting your game, events in the world have marched, new powers
+have come into being, a new page of history has been opened. As
+everything which has good at the heart evolves toward the good, so we of
+the Double Four have lifted our great enterprise on to a higher plane.
+The world of criminals is still at our beck and call, we still claim the
+right to draw the line between moral theft and immoral honesty; but
+to-day the Double Four is concerned with greater things. Within the four
+walls of this room, within the hearing of these my brothers, whose
+fidelity is as sure as the stones of Paris, I tell you a splendid
+secret. The Government of our country has craved for our aid and the aid
+of our organisation. It is no longer the wealth of the world alone which
+we may control, but the actual destinies of nations."
+
+"What I suppose you mean to say is," Peter Ruff remarked, "that you've
+been going in for politics?"
+
+"You put it crudely, my English bulldog," Sogrange answered, "but you
+are right. We are occupied now by affairs of international importance.
+More than once during the last few months ours has been the hand which
+has changed the policy of an empire."
+
+"Most interesting," Peter Ruff declared, "but so far as I personally am
+concerned----"
+
+"Listen," the Marquis interrupted. "Not a hundred yards from the French
+Embassy in London there is waiting for you a house and servants no less
+magnificent than the Embassy itself. You will become the ambassador in
+London of the Double Four, titular head of our association, a personage
+whose power is second to none in your marvellous city. I do not address
+words of caution to you, my friend, because we have satisfied ourselves
+as to your character and capacity before we consented that you should
+occupy your present position. But I ask you to remember this: the will
+of Madame lives even beyond the grave. The spirit which animated her
+when alive breathes still in all of us. In London you will wield a great
+power. Use it for the common good. And remember this: the Double Four
+has never failed, the Double Four can never fail."
+
+"I am glad to hear you are so confident," Peter Ruff said. "Of course,
+if I have to take this thing on I shall do my best; but, if I might
+venture to allude for a moment to anything so trifling as my own
+domestic affairs, I am very anxious to know about my wife."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You will find Mrs. Ruff awaiting you in London," he announced. "Your
+address is Merton House, Berkeley Square."
+
+"When do I go there?" Peter Ruff asked.
+
+"To-night," was the answer.
+
+"And what do I do when I get there?" he persisted.
+
+"For three days," the Marquis told him, "you will remain indoors and
+give audience to whomever may come to you. At the end of that time, you
+will understand a little more of our purpose and our objects--perhaps
+even of our power."
+
+"I see difficulties," Peter Ruff remarked. "My name, you see, is
+uncommon."
+
+Sogrange drew a document from the breast pocket of his coat.
+
+"When you leave this house to-night," he proclaimed, "we bid good-bye
+for ever to Mr. Peter Ruff. You will find in this envelope the
+title-deeds of a small property which is our gift to you. Henceforth you
+will be known by the name and the title of your estates."
+
+"Title!" Peter Ruff gasped.
+
+"You will reappear in London," Sogrange continued, "as the Baron de
+Grost."
+
+Peter Ruff shook his head.
+
+"It won't do," he declared. "People will find me out."
+
+"There is nothing to be found out," the Marquis went on, a little
+wearily. "Your country life has dulled your wits, Baron. The title and
+the name are justly yours--they go with the property. For the rest, the
+history of your family, and of your career up to the moment when you
+enter Merton House to-night, will be inside this packet. You can peruse
+it upon the journey, and remember that we can at all times bring a
+hundred witnesses, if necessary, to prove that you are whom you declare
+yourself to be. When you get to Charing Cross, do not forget that it
+will be the carriage and servants of the Baron de Grost which await
+you."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I suppose I shall get used to it."
+
+"Naturally," Sogrange answered. "For the moment, we are passing through
+a quiet time, necessitated by the mortal illness of Madame. You will be
+able to spend the next few weeks in getting used to your new position.
+You will have a great many callers, inspired by us, who will see that
+you make the right acquaintances and that you join the right clubs. At
+the same time, let me warn you always to be ready. There is trouble
+brooding just now all over Europe. In one way or another we may become
+involved at any moment. The whole machinery of our society will be
+explained to you by your secretary. You will find him already installed
+at Merton House. A glass of wine, Baron, before you leave?"
+
+Peter Ruff glanced at the clock.
+
+"There are my things to pack," he began.
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"Your valet is already on the front seat of the automobile which is
+waiting," he remarked. "You will find him attentive and trustworthy. The
+clothes which you brought with you we have taken the liberty of
+dispensing with. You will find others in your trunk, and at Merton House
+you can send for any tailor you choose. One toast, Baron. We drink to
+the Double Four--to the great cause!"
+
+There was a murmur of voices. Sogrange lifted once more his glass.
+
+"May Peter Ruff rest in peace!" he said. "We drink to his ashes. We
+drink long life and prosperity to the Baron de Grost!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Marquis alone attended his guest to the station. They walked up and
+down the long platform of the Gare du Nord, Sogrange talking most of the
+time in an undertone, for there were many things which he yet had to
+explain. There came a time, however, when his grip upon his companion's
+arm suddenly tightened. They were passing a somewhat noticeable little
+group--a tall, fair man, with close-shaven hair and military moustache,
+dressed in an English travelling suit and Homburg hat, and by his side a
+very brilliant young woman, whose dark eyes, powdered face, and
+marvellous toilette rendered her a trifle conspicuous. In the background
+were a couple of servants.
+
+"The Count von Hern-Bernadine!" the Marquis whispered.
+
+Peter glanced at him for a moment as they passed.
+
+"Bernadine, without a doubt!" he exclaimed. "And his companion?"
+
+"Mademoiselle Delucie, from the _Comédie Française_," the Marquis
+replied. "It is just like Bernadine to bring her here. He likes to
+parade the ostensible cause for his visit to Paris. It is all bluff. He
+cares little for the ladies of the theatre, or any other woman, except
+when he can make tools of them. He is here just now----"
+
+The Marquis paused. Peter looked at him interrogatively.
+
+"Why?" he asked.
+
+"Because you are here," the Marquis affirmed. "Baron, I meant to speak
+to you about that man before we parted. There is no great work done
+without difficulties. The greatest difficulty you will have to face in
+your new life is that man. It is very possible that you may find within
+the course of a few months that your whole career, your very life, has
+developed into a duel _à outrance_ with him."
+
+They had turned again, and were once more in sight of the little group.
+Bernadine had thrown a loose overcoat over his tweed travelling clothes,
+and with a cigarette between his fingers was engaged in deferential
+conversation with the woman by his side. His servant stood discreetly in
+the background, talking to the other domestic--a sombrely clad young
+person carrying a flat jewel-case, obviously the maid of the young
+Frenchwoman.
+
+"He is taking her across," the Marquis remarked. "It is not often that
+he travels like this. Perhaps he has heard that you are susceptible, my
+friend."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The game is too young yet!" he declared.
+
+"It is never too young for Bernadine to take a hand," the Marquis
+replied grimly. "Listen, de Grost. Bernadine will probably try to make
+friends with you. You may think it wise to accept his advances, you may
+believe that you can guard your own secrets in his company; perhaps,
+even, that you may learn his. Do not try it, my friend. You have
+received the best proof possible that we do not underrate your
+abilities, but there is no other man like Bernadine. I would not trust
+myself alone with him."
+
+"You are taking it for granted," Peter interposed, "that our interests
+must be at all times inimical."
+
+The Marquis laid his hand upon the other's arm.
+
+"My friend," he said, "there are interests which are sometimes elastic,
+_rapprochements_ which may vary between chilly friendliness and a
+certain intimacy. But between the interests of the Double Four and the
+interests represented by that young man there yawns the deepest gulf
+which you or any other man could conceive. Bernadine represents the
+Teuton--muscle and bone and sinew. He is German to the last drop of his
+heart's blood. Never undervalue him, I beseech you. He is not only a
+wonderful politician: he is a man of action, grim, unbending, unswerving
+as a man may be whose eyes are steadfastly fixed upon one goal. The
+friendships of France may sometimes change, but her one great enmity
+never. Bernadine represents that enmity. According to the measure of
+your success, so you will find him placid or venomous. Think of yourself
+as a monk, dear Baron, and Bernadine as the Devil Incarnate. From him
+there is safety only in absence."
+
+Peter smiled as he shook hands with his companion and climbed into the
+train.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "I have been warned."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the journey to Boulogne, at least, the repeated warnings of the
+Marquis seemed quite unnecessary. Bernadine and his companion remained
+in their engaged carriage, and de Grost, who dined in the restaurant car
+and sauntered once or twice along the corridors, saw nothing of them. At
+Boulogne they stayed in their carriage until the rush on to the boat was
+over, and it was not until they were half-way across the Channel that
+Peter felt suddenly an arm thrust through his as he leaned over the rail
+on the upper deck. He moved instinctively away from the vessel's side, a
+proceeding which seemed to afford some amusement to the man who had
+accosted him.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," said Bernadine, "let me be the first to
+congratulate you upon your new dignity."
+
+"Very kind of you, I am sure, Count von Hern," Peter answered.
+
+"Bernadine to you, my friend," the other protested. "So you have come
+once more into the great game?"
+
+Peter remained silent. His features had assumed an expression of gentle
+inquiry.
+
+"Once more I congratulate you," Bernadine continued. "In the old days
+you were shrewd and successful in your small undertakings, but you were,
+after all, little more than a policeman. To-day you stand for other
+things."
+
+"Monsieur le Comte talks in enigmas," Peter murmured.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Cautious as ever!" he exclaimed. "Ah, my dear Baron, you amuse me, you
+and the elegant Sogrange--Sogrange, who will pull the strings to which
+you must dance. Do you think that I did not see you both upon the
+platform, gazing suspiciously at me? Do you think that I did not hear
+the words of warning you received as clearly as though I had been
+standing by your side? 'It is Bernadine!' Sogrange whispers. 'Bernadine
+and Mademoiselle Delucie--a dangerous couple! Have a care, Monsieur le
+Baron!' Oh, that is what passed, without a doubt! So when you take your
+place in the train you wrap yourself in an armour of isolation; you are
+ready all the time to repel some deep-laid scheme, you are relieved to
+discover that, so far, at any rate, this terrible Bernadine and his
+beautiful travelling companion have not forced themselves upon you. Is
+it not so?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"It is the south wind," he remarked, "which carries us across so quickly
+to-night."
+
+"The south wind, without a doubt," Bernadine assented politely. "Dear
+Baron, my congratulations are sincere. No one can come into the
+battlefield, the real battlefield of life, without finding enemies there
+waiting for him. You and I represent different causes. When our
+interests clash, I shall not try to throw you off a Channel boat, or to
+buy you with a cheque, or to hand you over to the tender mercies of the
+beautiful Mademoiselle Delucie. Until then, have no fear, my British
+friend. I shall not even ask you to drink with me, for I know that you
+would look suspiciously into the tumbler. _Au revoir_, and good
+fortune!"
+
+Bernadine passed into the shadows and sank into a steamer chair by the
+side of his travelling companion. Peter continued his lonely walk, his
+hands thrust deep into the pockets of his overcoat, his eyes fixed upon
+the Folkestone lights, becoming every moment clearer and clearer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At Charing Cross all was as Sogrange had indicated. His servant remained
+to look after the luggage, a tall footman conducted him towards a
+magnificent automobile. Then, indeed, he forgot Bernadine and all this
+new stir of life--forgot everything in a sudden rush of joy. It was
+Violet who leaned forward to greet him--Violet, looking her best, and
+altogether at her ease amongst this new splendour.
+
+"Welcome, Monsieur le Baron!" she whispered as he took his place by her
+side.
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, closely.
+
+"I always knew," he murmured, "that you hankered after a title."
+
+"Such a snob, aren't I!" she exclaimed. "Never mind, you wait!"
+
+They were moving rapidly westward now. A full moon was shining down upon
+the city, the streets were thronged with pedestrians and a block of
+vehicles. The Carlton was all ablaze. In the softening light Pall Mall
+had become a stately thoroughfare, the Haymarket and Regent Street
+picturesque with moving throngs, a stream of open cabs, women in cool
+evening dresses, men without hats or overcoats, on their way from the
+theatres. It was a vivid, almost a fascinating little picture. Peter
+caught a glimpse of his wife's face as she looked upon it.
+
+"I believe," he whispered, "that you are glad."
+
+She turned upon him with a wonderful smile, the light flashing in her
+eyes.
+
+"Glad! Oh, Peter, of course I am glad! I hated the country; I pined and
+longed for life. Couldn't you see it, dear? Now we are back in it
+again--back amongst the big things. Peter, dear, you were never meant to
+shoot rabbits and play golf, to grow into the likeness of those awful
+people who think of nothing but sport and rural politics and their
+neighbours' weaknesses! The man who throws life away before he has done
+with it, dear, is a wastrel. Be thankful that it's back again in your
+hands--be thankful, as I am!"
+
+He sighed, and with that sigh went all his regrets for the life which
+had once seemed to him so greatly to be desired. He recognised in those
+few seconds the ignominy of peace.
+
+"There is not the slightest doubt about it," he admitted, "I do make
+mistakes."
+
+The automobile came to a standstill before the portico of an imposing
+mansion at the corner of Berkeley Square.
+
+"We are home!" Violet whispered. "Try to look as though you were used to
+it all!"
+
+A grave-faced major-domo was already upon the steps. In the hall was a
+vision of more footmen in quiet but impressive livery. Violet entered
+with an air of familiarity. Peter, with one last sigh, followed her.
+There was something significant to him in that formal entrance into his
+new and magnificent home. Outside, Peter Ruff seemed somewhere to have
+vanished into thin air. It was the Baron de Grost who had entered into
+his body--the Baron de Grost with a ready-made present, a fictitious
+past, a momentous future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+
+Alone in his study, with fast-locked door, Baron de Grost sat reading
+word by word with zealous care the dispatch from Paris which had just
+been delivered into his hands. From the splendid suite of
+reception-rooms which occupied the whole of the left-hand side of the
+hall, came the faint sound of music. The street outside was filled with
+automobiles and carriages setting down their guests. Madame was
+receiving to-night a gathering of very distinguished men and women, and
+it was only on very urgent business indeed that her husband had dared to
+leave her side.
+
+The room in which he sat was in darkness except for the single heavily
+shaded electric lamp which stood by his elbow. Peter was wearing Court
+dress, with immaculate black silk stockings, and diamond buckles upon
+his shoes. A red ribbon was in his button-hole and a French order hung
+from his neck. His passion for clothes was certainly amply ministered to
+by the exigencies of his new position. Once more he read those last few
+words of this unexpectedly received dispatch--read them with a frown
+upon his forehead and the light of trouble in his eyes. For three months
+he had done nothing but live the life of an ordinary man of fashion and
+wealth. His first task--for which, to tell the truth, he had been
+anxiously waiting--was here before him, and he found it little to his
+liking. Again he read slowly to himself the last paragraph of Sogrange's
+letter:--
+
+     "_As ever, dear friend, one of the greatest sayings which the men
+     of my race have ever perpetrated, once more justifies itself,
+     'Cherchez la femme!' Of monsieur we have no manner of doubt; we
+     have tested him in every way. And, to all appearance, madame should
+     also be above suspicion. Yet those things of which I have spoken
+     have happened. For two hours this morning I was closeted with Picon
+     here. Very reluctantly he has placed the matter in my hands. I pass
+     it on to you. It is your first undertaking, cher Baron, and I wish
+     you bon fortune. A man of gallantry, as I know you are, you may
+     regret that it should be a woman--and a beautiful woman,
+     too--against whom the finger must be pointed. Yet, after all, the
+     fates are strong and the task is yours._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The music from the reception-rooms grew louder and more insistent. Peter
+rose to his feet, and, moving to the fireplace, struck a match and
+carefully destroyed the letter which he had been reading. Then he
+straightened himself, glanced for a moment at the mirror, and left the
+room to join his guests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur le Baron jests," the lady murmured. Peter shook his head.
+
+"Indeed, no, madame!" he answered earnestly. "France has offered us
+nothing more delightful in the whole history of our _entente_ than the
+loan of yourself and your brilliant husband. Monsieur de Lamborne makes
+history amongst us politically, whilst madame----"
+
+Peter sighed, and his companion leaned a little towards him. Her dark
+eyes were full of sentimental regard.
+
+"Yes?" she whispered. "Continue. It is my wish."
+
+"I am the good friend of Monsieur de Lamborne," Peter said, and in his
+tone there seemed to lurk some far-away touch of regret, "yet madame
+knows that her conquests here have been many."
+
+The ambassador's wife fanned herself and remained silent for a moment, a
+faint smile playing at the corners of her full, curving lips. She was
+indeed a very beautiful woman--elegant, a Parisian to the finger-tips,
+with pale cheeks but eyes dark and soft; eyes trained to her service,
+whose flash was an inspiration, whose very droop had set beating the
+hearts of men less susceptible than the Baron de Grost. Her gown was
+magnificent, of amber satin--a colour daring but splendid; the outline
+of her figure as she leaned slightly back in her seat might indeed have
+been traced by the inspired finger of some great sculptor. Peter, whose
+reputation as a man of gallantry was well established, felt the whole
+charm of her presence--felt, too, the subtle indications of preference
+which she seemed inclined to accord to him. There was nothing which eyes
+could say which hers were not saying during those few minutes. Peter,
+indeed, glanced around a little nervously. His wife had still her
+moments of unreasonableness; it was just as well that she was engaged
+with a party of her guests at the farther end of the apartments!
+
+"You are trying to turn my head," his beautiful companion whispered.
+"You flatter me."
+
+"It is not possible," he answered.
+
+Again the fan fluttered.
+
+"Ah, monsieur," she continued, dropping her voice until it scarcely rose
+above a whisper, "there are not many men like you. You speak of my
+husband and his political gifts. Yet, what, after all, do they amount
+to? What is his position, indeed, if one glanced behind the scenes,
+compared with yours?"
+
+The face of the Baron de Grost became like a mask. It was as though
+suddenly he had felt the thrill of danger close at hand--danger even in
+that scented atmosphere wherein he sat.
+
+"Alas, madame!" he answered, "it is you now who are pleased to jest.
+Your husband is a great and powerful ambassador. I, unfortunately, have
+no career, no place in life, save the place which the possession of a
+few millions gives to a successful financier."
+
+She laughed very softly, and again her eyes spoke to him.
+
+"Monsieur," she murmured, "you and I together could make a great
+alliance; is it not so?"
+
+"Madame," he faltered doubtfully, "if one dared hope----"
+
+Once more the fire of her eyes, this time not only voluptuous. Was the
+man stupid or only cautious?
+
+"If that alliance were once concluded," she said softly, "one might hope
+for everything."
+
+"If it rests only with me," he began seriously, "oh, madame!"
+
+He seemed overcome. Madame was gracious; but was he really stupid or
+only very much in earnest?
+
+"To be one of the world's money kings," she whispered, "it is wonderful,
+that. It is power--supreme, absolute power! There is nothing
+beyond--there is nothing greater."
+
+Then Peter, who was watching her closely, caught another gleam in her
+eyes, and he began to understand. He had seen it before amongst a
+certain type of her countrywomen--the greed of money. He looked at her
+jewels, and he remembered that, for an ambassador, her husband was
+reputed to be a poor man. The cloud of misgiving passed away from him;
+he settled down to the game.
+
+"If money could only buy the desire of one's heart!" he murmured.
+"Alas!"
+
+His eyes seemed to seek out Monsieur de Lamborne amongst the moving
+throngs. She laughed softly, and her hand brushed his.
+
+"Money and one other thing, Monsieur le Baron," she whispered in his
+ear, "can buy the jewels from a crown--can buy even the heart of a
+woman."
+
+A movement of approaching guests caught them up and parted them for a
+time. The Baroness de Grost was at home from ten till one, and her rooms
+were crowded. Peter found himself drawn on one side a few minutes later
+by Monsieur de Lamborne himself.
+
+"I have been looking for you, de Grost," the latter declared. "Where can
+we talk for a moment?"
+
+His host took the ambassador by the arm and led him into a retired
+corner. Monsieur de Lamborne was a tall, slight man, somewhat
+cadaverous-looking, with large features, hollow eyes, thin but carefully
+arranged grey hair, and a pointed grey beard. He wore a frilled shirt,
+and an eyeglass suspended by a broad, black ribbon hung down upon his
+chest. His face, as a rule, was imperturbable enough, but he had the air
+just now of a man greatly disturbed.
+
+"We cannot be overheard here," Peter remarked. "It must be an affair of
+a few words only, though."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne wasted no time in preliminaries.
+
+"This afternoon," he said, "I received from my Government papers of
+immense importance, which I am to hand over to your Foreign Minister at
+eleven o'clock to-morrow morning."
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Well?"
+
+De Lamborne's thin fingers trembled as they played nervously with the
+ribbon of his eyeglass.
+
+"Listen," he continued, dropping his voice a little. "Bernadine has
+undertaken to send a copy of their contents to Berlin by to-morrow
+night's mail."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+The ambassador hesitated.
+
+"We, too, have spies at work," he remarked grimly. "Bernadine wrote and
+sent a messenger with the letter to Berlin. The man's body is drifting
+down the Channel, but the letter is in my pocket."
+
+"The letter from Bernadine?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What does he say?"
+
+"Simply that a verbatim copy of the document in question will be
+dispatched to Berlin to-morrow evening without fail," replied the
+ambassador.
+
+"There are no secrets between us," Peter declared, smoothly. "What is
+the special importance of this document?"
+
+De Lamborne shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Since you ask," he said, "I tell you. You know of the slight coolness
+which there has been between our respective Governments? Our people have
+felt that the policy of your Ministers in expending all their energies
+and resources in the building of a great fleet, to the utter neglect of
+your army, is a wholly one-sided arrangement, so far as we are
+concerned. In the event of a simultaneous attack by Germany upon France
+and England, you would be utterly powerless to render us any measure of
+assistance. If Germany should attack England alone, it is the wish of
+your Government that we should be pledged to occupy Alsace-Lorraine.
+You, on the other hand, could do nothing for us if Germany's first move
+were made against France."
+
+Peter was deeply interested, although the matter was no new one to him.
+
+"Go on," he directed. "I am waiting for you to tell me the specific
+contents of this document."
+
+"The English Government has asked us two questions; first, how many
+complete army corps we consider she ought to place at our disposal in
+this eventuality; and, secondly, at what point should we expect them to
+be concentrated? The dispatch which I received to-night contains the
+reply to these questions."
+
+"Which Bernadine has promised to forward to Berlin to-morrow night,"
+Peter remarked softly.
+
+De Lamborne nodded.
+
+"You perceive," he said, "the immense importance of the affair. The very
+existence of that document is almost a _casus belli_."
+
+"At what time did the dispatch arrive," Peter asked, "and what has been
+its history since?"
+
+"It arrived at six o'clock," the ambassador declared. "It went straight
+into the inner pocket of my coat; it has not been out of my possession
+for a single second. Even whilst I talk to you I can feel it."
+
+"And your plans? How are you intending to dispose of it to-night?"
+
+"On my return to the Embassy I shall place it in the safe, lock it up,
+and remain watching it until morning."
+
+"There doesn't seem to be much chance for Bernadine," Peter remarked.
+
+"But there must be no chance--no chance at all," Monsieur de Lamborne
+asserted, with a note of passion in his thin voice. "It is incredible,
+preposterous, that he should even make the attempt. I want you to come
+home with me and share my vigil. You shall be my witness in case
+anything happens. We will watch together."
+
+Peter reflected for a moment.
+
+"Bernadine makes few mistakes," he said thoughtfully.
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne passed his hand across his forehead.
+
+"Do I not know it?" he muttered. "In this instance, though, it seems
+impossible for him to succeed. The time is so short and the conditions
+so difficult. I may count upon your assistance, Baron?"
+
+Peter drew from his pocket a crumpled piece of paper.
+
+"I received a telegram from headquarters this evening," he said, "with
+instructions to place myself entirely at your disposal."
+
+"You will return with me, then, to the Embassy?" Monsieur de Lamborne
+asked eagerly.
+
+Peter did not at once reply. He was standing in one of his
+characteristic attitudes, his hands clasped behind him, his head a
+little thrust forward, watching with every appearance of courteous
+interest the roomful of guests, stationary just now, listening to the
+performance of a famous violinist. It was, perhaps, by accident that his
+eyes met those of Madame de Lamborne, but she smiled at him
+subtly--more, perhaps, with her wonderful eyes than with her lips
+themselves. She was the centre of a very brilliant group, a most
+beautiful woman holding court, as was only right and proper, amongst her
+admirers. Peter sighed.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not return with you, de Lamborne. I want you to
+follow my suggestions, if you will."
+
+"But, assuredly----"
+
+"Leave here early and go to your club. Remain there until one, then come
+to the Embassy. I shall be there awaiting your arrival."
+
+"You mean that you will go there alone? I do not understand," the
+ambassador protested. "Why should I go to my club? I do not at all
+understand!"
+
+"Nevertheless, do as I say," Peter insisted. "For the present, excuse
+me. I must look after my guests."
+
+The music had ceased, there was a movement towards the supper room.
+Peter offered his arm to Madame de Lamborne, who welcomed him with a
+brilliant smile. Her husband, although, for a Frenchman, he was by no
+means of a jealous disposition, was conscious of a vague feeling of
+uneasiness as he watched them pass out of the room together. A few
+minutes later he made his excuses to his wife, and, with a reluctance
+for which he could scarcely account, left the house. There was something
+in the air, he felt, which he did not understand. He would not have
+admitted it to himself, but he more than half divined the truth. The
+vacant seat in his wife's carriage was filled that night by the Baron de
+Grost.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At one o'clock precisely Monsieur de Lamborne returned to his house, and
+found de Grost gazing with obvious respect at the ponderous safe let
+into the wall.
+
+"A very fine affair--this," he remarked, motioning with his head towards
+it.
+
+"The best of its kind," Monsieur de Lamborne admitted. "No burglar yet
+has ever succeeded in opening one of its type. Here is the packet," he
+added, drawing the document from his pocket. "You shall see me place it
+in safety."
+
+Peter stretched out his hand and examined the sealed envelope for a
+moment closely. Then he moved to the writing-table, and, placing it upon
+the letter scales, made a note of its exact weight. Finally he watched
+it deposited in the ponderous safe, suggested the word to which the lock
+was set, and closed the door. Monsieur de Lamborne heaved a sigh of
+relief.
+
+"I fancy this time," he said, "that our friends at Berlin will be
+disappointed. Couch or easy-chair, Baron?"
+
+"The couch, if you please," Peter replied, "a strong cigar, and a long
+whisky and soda. So! Now for our vigil."
+
+The hours crawled away. Once Peter sat up and listened.
+
+"Any rats about?" he inquired.
+
+The ambassador was indignant.
+
+"I have never heard one in my life," he answered. "This is quite a
+modern house."
+
+Peter dropped his match-box and stooped to pick it up.
+
+"Any lights on anywhere except in this room?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly not," Monsieur de Lamborne answered. "It is past three
+o'clock, and every one has gone to bed."
+
+Peter rose and softly unbolted the door. The passage outside was in
+darkness. He listened intently for a moment, and returned yawning.
+
+"One fancies things," he murmured apologetically.
+
+"For example?" de Lamborne demanded.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"One mistakes," he said. "The nerves become over-sensitive."
+
+The dawn broke, and the awakening hum of the city grew louder and
+louder. Peter rose and stretched himself.
+
+"Your servants are moving about in the house," he remarked. "I think
+that we might consider our vigil at an end."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne rose with alacrity.
+
+"My friend," he said, "I feel that I have made false pretences to you.
+With the day I have no fear. A thousand pardons for your sleepless
+night."
+
+"My sleepless night counts for nothing," Peter assured him; "but before
+I go, would it not be as well that we glance together inside the safe?"
+
+De Lamborne shook out his keys.
+
+"I was about to suggest it," he replied.
+
+The ambassador arranged the combination and pressed the lever. Slowly
+the great door swung back. The two men peered in.
+
+"Untouched!" de Lamborne exclaimed, a little note of triumph in his
+tone.
+
+Peter said nothing, but held out his hand.
+
+"Permit me," he interposed.
+
+De Lamborne was conscious of a faint sense of uneasiness. His companion
+walked across the room and carefully weighed the packet.
+
+"Well?" de Lamborne cried. "Why do you do that? What is wrong?"
+
+Peter turned and faced him.
+
+"My friend," he said, "this is not the same packet."
+
+The ambassador stared at him incredulously.
+
+"This packet can scarcely have gained two ounces in the night," Peter
+went on. "Besides, the seal is fuller. I have an eye for these details."
+
+De Lamborne leaned against the back of the table. His eyes were a little
+wild, but he laughed hoarsely.
+
+"We fight, then, against the creatures of another world," he declared.
+"No human being could have opened that safe last night."
+
+Peter hesitated.
+
+"Monsieur de Lamborne," he said, "the room adjoining is your wife's?"
+
+"It is the salon of madame," the Ambassador admitted.
+
+"What are the electrical appliances doing there?" Peter demanded. "Don't
+look at me like that, de Lamborne. Remember that I was here before you
+arrived."
+
+"My wife takes an electric massage every day," Monsieur de Lamborne
+answered in a hard, unnatural voice. "In what way is Monsieur le Baron
+concerned in my wife's doings?"
+
+"I think that there need be no answer to that question," Peter said
+quietly. "It is a greater tragedy which we have to face. I maintain that
+your safe was entered from that room. A search will prove it."
+
+"There will be no search there," de Lamborne declared fiercely. "I am
+the ambassador of France, and my power under this roof is absolute. I
+say that you shall not cross that threshold."
+
+Peter's expression did not change. Only his hands were suddenly
+outstretched with a curious gesture--the four fingers were raised, the
+thumbs depressed. Monsieur de Lamborne collapsed.
+
+"I submit," he muttered. "It is you who are the master. Search where you
+will."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur has arrived?" the woman demanded breathlessly.
+
+The proprietor of the restaurant himself bowed a reply. His client was
+evidently well known to him.
+
+"Monsieur has ascended some few minutes ago."
+
+The woman drew a little sigh of relief. A vague misgiving had troubled
+her during the last few hours. She raised her veil as she mounted the
+narrow staircase which led to the one private room at the Hôtel de
+Lorraine. Here she was safe; one more exploit accomplished, one more
+roll of notes for the hungry fingers of her dress-maker.
+
+She entered, without tapping, the room at the head of the stairs,
+pushing open the ill-varnished door with its white-curtained top. At
+first she thought that the little apartment was empty.
+
+"Are you there?" she exclaimed, advancing a few steps.
+
+The figure of a man glided from behind the worn screen close by her side
+and stood between her and the door.
+
+"Madame!" Peter said, bowing low.
+
+Even then she scarcely realised that she was trapped.
+
+"You!" she cried. "You, Baron! But I do not understand. You have
+followed me here?"
+
+"On the contrary, madame," he answered; "I have preceded you."
+
+Her colossal vanity triumphed over her natural astuteness. The man had
+employed spies to watch her! He had lost his head. It was an awkward
+matter, this, but it was to be arranged. She held out her hands.
+
+"Monsieur," she said, "let me beg you now to go away. If you care to,
+come and see me this evening. I will explain everything. It is a little
+family affair which brings me here."
+
+"A family affair, madame, with Bernadine, the enemy of France," Peter
+declared gravely.
+
+She collapsed miserably, her fingers grasping at the air; the cry which
+broke from her lips harsh and unnatural. Before he could tell what was
+happening, she was on her knees before him.
+
+"Spare me!" she begged, trying to seize his hands.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I am not your judge. You will kindly hand
+over to me the document which you are carrying."
+
+She took it from the bosom of her dress. Peter glanced at it and placed
+it in his breast-pocket.
+
+"And now?" she faltered.
+
+Peter sighed--she was a very beautiful woman.
+
+"Madame," he said, "the career of a spy is, as you have doubtless
+sometimes realised, a dangerous one."
+
+"It is finished!" she assured him breathlessly. "Monsieur le Baron, you
+will keep my secret? Never again, I swear it, will I sin like this. You
+will not tell my husband?"
+
+"Your husband already knows, madame," was the quiet reply. "Only a few
+hours ago I proved to him whence had come the leakage of so many of our
+secrets lately."
+
+She swayed upon her feet.
+
+"He will never forgive me!" she cried.
+
+"There are others," Peter declared, "who forgive more rarely even than
+husbands."
+
+A sudden illuminating flash of horror told her the truth. She closed her
+eyes and tried to run from the room.
+
+"I will not be told!" she screamed. "I will not hear. I do not know who
+you are. I will live a little longer!"
+
+"Madame," Peter said, "the Double Four wages no war with women, save
+with spies only. The spy has no sex. For the sake of your family, permit
+me to send you back to your husband's house."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night two receptions and a dinner party were postponed. All London
+was sympathising with Monsieur de Lamborne, and a great many women swore
+never again to take a sleeping draught. Madame de Lamborne lay dead
+behind the shelter of those drawn blinds, and by her side an empty
+phial.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+
+Bernadine, sometimes called the Count von Hern, was lunching at the
+Savoy with the pretty wife of a Cabinet Minister, who was just
+sufficiently conscious of the impropriety of her action to render the
+situation interesting.
+
+"I wish you would tell me, Count von Hern," she said, soon after they
+had settled down in their places, "why my husband seems to object to you
+so much. I simply dared not tell him that we were going to lunch
+together; and, as a rule, he doesn't mind what I do in that way."
+
+Bernadine smiled slowly.
+
+"Ah, well," he remarked, "your husband is a politician and a very
+cautious man. I dare say he is like some of those others, who believe
+that because I am a foreigner and live in London, that therefore I am a
+spy."
+
+"You a spy!" she laughed. "What nonsense!"
+
+"Why nonsense?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders. She was certainly a very pretty woman, and
+her black gown set off to its fullest advantage her deep red hair and
+fair complexion.
+
+"I suppose because I can't imagine you anything of the sort," she
+declared. "You see, you hunt and play polo, and do everything which the
+ordinary Englishmen do. Then one meets you everywhere. I think, Count
+von Hern, that you are much too spoilt, for one thing, to take life
+seriously."
+
+"You do me an injustice," he murmured.
+
+"Of course," she chattered on, "I don't really know what spies do. One
+reads about them in these silly stories, but I have never felt sure that
+as live people they exist at all. Tell me, Count von Hern, what could a
+foreign spy do in England?"
+
+Bernadine twirled his fair moustache and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, my dear lady," he admitted, "I scarcely know what a spy could
+do nowadays. A few years ago you English people were all so trusting.
+Your fortifications, your battleships, not to speak of your country
+itself, were wholly at the disposal of the enterprising foreigner who
+desired to acquire information. The party who governed Great Britain
+then seemed to have some strange idea that these things made for peace.
+To-day, however, all that is changed."
+
+"You seem to know something about it," she remarked.
+
+"I am afraid that mine is really only the superficial point of view," he
+answered; "but I do know that there is a good deal of information which
+seems absolutely insignificant in itself, for which some foreign
+countries are willing to pay. For instance, there was a Cabinet Council
+yesterday, I believe, and someone was going to suggest that a secret but
+official visit be paid to your new harbour works up at Rosyth. An
+announcement will probably be made in the papers during the next few
+days as to whether the visit is to be undertaken or not. Yet there are
+countries who are willing to pay for knowing even such an insignificant
+item of news as that a few hours before the rest of the world."
+
+Lady Maxwell laughed.
+
+"Well, I could earn that little sum of money," she declared gaily, "for
+my husband has just made me cancel a dinner-party for next Thursday
+because he has to go up to the stupid place."
+
+Bernadine smiled. It was really a very unimportant matter, but he loved
+to feel, even in his idle moments, that he was not altogether wasting
+his time.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "that I am not myself acquainted with one of
+these mythical personages, that I might return you the value of your
+marvellous information. If I dared think, however, that it would be in
+any way acceptable, I could offer you the diversion of a restaurant
+dinner-party for that night. The Duchess of Castleford has kindly
+offered to act as hostess for me, and we are all going on to the Gaiety
+afterwards."
+
+"Delightful!" Lady Maxwell exclaimed. "I should love to come."
+
+Bernadine bowed.
+
+"You have, then, dear lady, fulfilled your destiny," he said. "You have
+given secret information to a foreign person of mysterious identity, and
+accepted payment."
+
+Now Bernadine was a man of easy manners and unruffled composure. To the
+natural _insouciance_ of his aristocratic bringing-up he had added the
+steely reserve of a man moving in the large world, engaged more often
+than not in some hazardous enterprise. Yet, for once in his life, and in
+the midst of the idlest of conversations, he gave himself away so
+utterly that even this woman with whom he was lunching--a very butterfly
+lady indeed--could not fail to perceive it. She looked at him in
+something like astonishment. Without the slightest warning his face had
+become set in a rigid stare, his eyes were filled with the expression of
+a man who sees into another world. The healthy colour faded from his
+cheeks; he was white even to the parted lips; the wine dripped from his
+raised glass on to the tablecloth.
+
+"Why, whatever is the matter with you?" she demanded. "Is it a ghost
+that you see?"
+
+Bernadine's effort was superb, but he was too clever to deny the shock.
+
+"A ghost indeed," he answered, "the ghost of a man whom every newspaper
+in Europe has declared to be dead."
+
+Her eyes followed his. The two people who were being ushered to a seat
+in their immediate vicinity were certainly of somewhat unusual
+appearance. The man was tall and thin as a lath, and he wore the clothes
+of the fashionable world without awkwardness, and yet with the air of
+one who was wholly unaccustomed to them. His cheek-bones were remarkably
+high, and receded so quickly towards his pointed chin that his cheeks
+were little more than hollows. His eyes were dry and burning, flashing
+here and there, as though the man himself were continually oppressed by
+some furtive fear. His thick black hair was short-cropped, his forehead
+high and intellectual. He was a strange figure indeed in such a
+gathering, and his companion only served to accentuate the anachronisms
+of his appearance. She was, above all things, a woman of the
+moment--fair, almost florid, a little thick-set, with tightly laced yet
+passable figure. Her eyes were blue, her hair light-coloured. She wore
+magnificent furs, and as she threw aside her boa she disclosed a mass of
+jewellery around her neck and upon her bosom, almost barbaric in its
+profusion and setting.
+
+"What an extraordinary couple!" Lady Maxwell whispered.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"The man looks as though he had stepped out of the Old Testament," he
+murmured.
+
+Lady Maxwell's interest was purely feminine, and was riveted now upon
+the jewellery worn by the woman. Bernadine, under the mask of his
+habitual indifference, which he had easily reassumed, seemed to be
+looking away out of the restaurant into the great square of a
+half-savage city, looking at that marvellous crowd, numbered by their
+thousands, even by their hundreds of thousands, of men and women whose
+arms flashed out toward the snow-hung heavens, whose lips were parted in
+one chorus of rapturous acclamation; looking beyond them to the tall,
+emaciated form of the bare-headed priest in his long robes, his
+wind-tossed hair and wild eyes, standing alone before that multitude in
+danger of death, or worse, at any moment--their idol, their hero. And
+again, as the memories came flooding into his brain, the scene passed
+away, and he saw the bare room, with its whitewashed walls and
+blocked-up windows; he felt the darkness, lit only by those flickering
+candles. He saw the white, passion-wrung faces of the men who clustered
+together around the rude table, waiting; he heard their murmurs; he saw
+the fear born in their eyes. It was the night when their leader did not
+come!
+
+Bernadine poured out another glass of wine and drank it slowly. The
+mists were clearing away now. He was in London, at the Savoy Restaurant,
+and within a few yards of him sat the man with whose name all Europe
+once had rung--the man hailed by some as martyr, and loathed by others
+as the most fiendish Judas who ever drew breath. Bernadine was not
+concerned with the moral side of this strange encounter. How best to use
+his knowledge of this man's identity was the question which beat upon
+his brain. What use could be made of him, what profit for his country
+and himself? And then a fear--a sudden, startling fear. Little profit,
+perhaps, to be made, but the danger--the danger of this man alive with
+such secrets locked in his bosom! The thought itself was terrifying, and
+even as he realised it a significant thing happened--he caught the eye
+of the Baron de Grost, lunching alone at a small table just inside the
+restaurant.
+
+"You are not at all amusing," his guest declared. "It is nearly five
+minutes since you have spoken."
+
+"You, too, have been absorbed," he reminded her.
+
+"It is that woman's jewels," she admitted. "I never saw anything more
+wonderful. The people are not English, of course. I wonder where they
+come from."
+
+"One of the Eastern countries, without a doubt," he replied carelessly.
+
+Lady Maxwell sighed.
+
+"He is a peculiar-looking man," she said, "but one could put up with a
+good deal for jewels like that. What are you doing this
+afternoon--picture galleries or your club?"
+
+"Neither, unfortunately," Bernadine answered. "I have promised to go
+with a friend to look at some polo ponies."
+
+"Do you know," she remarked, "that we have never been to see those
+Japanese prints yet?"
+
+"The gallery is closed until Monday," he assured her, falsely. "If you
+will honour me then, I shall be delighted."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing. She had an idea that she
+was being dismissed, but Bernadine, without the least appearance of
+hurry, gave her no opportunity for any further suggestions. He handed
+her into her automobile, and returned at once into the restaurant. He
+touched Baron de Grost upon the shoulder.
+
+"My friend the enemy!" he exclaimed, smiling.
+
+"At your service in either capacity," the baron replied.
+
+Bernadine made a grimace and accepted the chair which de Grost had
+indicated.
+
+"If I may, I will take my coffee with you," he said. "I am growing old.
+It does not amuse me so much to lunch with a pretty woman. One has to
+entertain, and one forgets the serious business of lunching. I will take
+my coffee and cigarette in peace."
+
+De Grost gave an order to the waiter and leaned back in his chair.
+
+"Now," he suggested, "tell me exactly what it is that has brought you
+back into the restaurant."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Why not the pleasure of this few minutes' conversation with you?" he
+asked.
+
+The baron carefully selected a cigar and lit it.
+
+"That," he said, "goes well, but there are other things."
+
+"As, for instance?"
+
+De Grost leaned back in his chair and watched the smoke of his cigar
+curl upwards.
+
+"One talks too much," he remarked. "Before the cards are upon the table
+it is not wise."
+
+They chatted upon various matters. De Grost himself seemed in no hurry
+to depart, nor did his companion show any signs of impatience. It was
+not until the two people whose entrance had had such a remarkable effect
+upon Bernadine, rose to leave, that the mask was for a moment lifted. De
+Grost had called for his bill and paid it. The two men strolled out
+together.
+
+"Baron," Bernadine said suavely, linking his arm through the other man's
+as they passed into the foyer, "there are times when candour even
+amongst enemies becomes an admirable quality."
+
+"Those times, I imagine," de Grost answered grimly, "are rare. Besides,
+who is to tell the real thing from the false?"
+
+"You do less than justice to your perceptions, my friend," Bernadine
+declared, smiling.
+
+De Grost merely shrugged his shoulders. Bernadine persisted.
+
+"Come," he continued, "since you doubt me, let me be the first to give
+you a proof that on this occasion, at any rate, I am candour itself. You
+had a purpose in lunching at the Savoy to-day. That purpose I have
+discovered by accident. We are both interested in those people."
+
+The Baron de Grost shook his head slowly.
+
+"Really----" he began.
+
+"Let me finish," Bernadine insisted. "Perhaps when you have heard all
+that I have to say you may change your attitude. We are interested in
+the same people, but in different ways. If we both move from opposite
+directions our friend will vanish. He is clever enough at disappearing,
+as he has proved before. We do not want the same thing from him, I am
+convinced of that. Let us move together and make sure that he does not
+evade us."
+
+"Is it an alliance which you are proposing?" de Grost asked, with a
+quiet smile.
+
+"Why not?" Bernadine answered. "Enemies have united before to-day
+against a common foe."
+
+De Grost looked across the palm court to where the two people who formed
+the subject of their discussion were sitting in a corner, both smoking,
+both sipping some red-coloured liqueur.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "I am much too afraid of you to listen any
+more. You fancy because this man's presence here was an entire surprise
+to you, and because you find me already on his track, that I know more
+than you do, and that an alliance with me would be to your advantage.
+You would try to persuade me that your object with him would not be my
+object. Listen! I am afraid of you--you are too clever for me. I am
+going to leave you in sole possession."
+
+De Grost's tone was final and his bow valedictory. Bernadine watched him
+stroll in a leisurely way through the foyer, exchanging greetings here
+and there with friends; watched him enter the cloak-room, from which he
+emerged with his hat and overcoat; watched him step into his automobile
+and leave the restaurant. He turned back with a clouded face and threw
+himself into an easy-chair.
+
+Ten minutes passed uneventfully. People were passing backwards and
+forwards all the time; but Bernadine, through his half-closed eyes, did
+little save watch the couple in whom he was so deeply interested. At
+last the man rose and, with a word of farewell to his companion, came
+out from the lounge and made his way up the foyer, turning toward the
+hotel. He walked with quick, nervous strides, glancing now and then
+restlessly about him. In his eyes, to those who understood, there was
+the furtive gleam of the hunted man. It was the passing of one who was
+afraid.
+
+The woman, left to herself, began to look around her with some
+curiosity. Bernadine, to whom a new idea had occurred, moved his chair
+nearer to hers, and was rewarded by a glance which certainly betrayed
+some interest. A swift and unerring judge in such matters, he came to
+the instant conclusion that she was not unapproachable. He acted upon
+impulse. Rising to his feet, he approached her and bowed easily, but
+respectfully.
+
+"Madame," he said, "it is impossible that I am mistaken. I have had the
+pleasure, have I not, of meeting you in St. Petersburg?"
+
+Her first reception of his coming was reassuring enough. At his mention
+of St. Petersburg, however, she frowned.
+
+"I do not think so," she answered in French. "You are mistaken. I do not
+know St. Petersburg."
+
+"Then it was in Paris," Bernadine continued, with conviction. "Madame is
+Parisian, without a doubt."
+
+She shook her head, smiling.
+
+"I do not think that I remember meeting you, monsieur," she replied
+doubtfully; "but perhaps----"
+
+She looked up, and her eyes drooped before his. He was certainly a very
+personable-looking man, and she had spoken to no one for so many months.
+
+"Believe me, madame, I could not possibly be mistaken," Bernadine
+assured her smoothly. "You are staying here for long?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Heaven knows!" she declared. "My husband he has, I think, what you call
+the wander fever. For myself, I am tired of it. In Rome we settle down;
+we stay five days, all seems pleasant, and suddenly my husband's whim
+carries us away without an hour's notice. The same thing at Monte Carlo;
+the same at Paris. Who can tell what will happen here? To tell you the
+truth, monsieur," she added, a little archly, "I think that if he were
+to come back at this moment we should probably leave England to-night."
+
+"Your husband is very jealous?" Bernadine whispered softly.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Partly jealous and partly he has the most terrible distaste for
+acquaintances. He will not speak to strangers himself, or suffer me to
+do so. It is sometimes--oh! it is sometimes very _triste_!"
+
+"Madame has my sympathy," Bernadine assured her. "It is an impossible
+life--this. No husband should be so exacting."
+
+She looked at him with her round blue eyes, a touch of added colour in
+her cheeks.
+
+"If one could but cure him!" she murmured.
+
+"I would ask your permission to sit down," Bernadine remarked, "but I
+fear to intrude. You are afraid, perhaps, that your husband may return?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"It will be better that you do not stay," she declared. "For a moment or
+two he is engaged. He has an appointment in his room with a gentleman,
+but one never knows how long he may be."
+
+"You have friends in London, then?" Bernadine remarked thoughtfully.
+
+"Of my husband's affairs," the woman said, "there is no one so ignorant
+as I. Yet since we left our own country this is the first time I have
+known him willingly speak to a soul."
+
+"Your own country!" Bernadine repeated softly. "That was Russia, of
+course? Your husband's nationality is very apparent."
+
+The woman looked annoyed with herself. She remained silent.
+
+"May I not hope," Bernadine begged, "that you will give me the pleasure
+of meeting you again?"
+
+She hesitated for a moment.
+
+"He does not leave me," she replied. "I am not alone for five minutes
+during the day."
+
+Bernadine scribbled the name by which he was known in that locality, on
+a card, and passed it to her.
+
+"I have rooms in St. James's Street, quite close to here," he said. "If
+you could come and have tea with me to-day or to-morrow it would give me
+the utmost pleasure."
+
+She took the card and crumpled it in her hand. All the time, though, she
+shook her head.
+
+"Monsieur is very kind," she answered. "I am afraid--I do not think that
+it would be possible. And now, if you please, you must go away. I am
+terrified lest my husband should return."
+
+Bernadine bent low in a parting salute.
+
+"Madame," he pleaded, "you will come?"
+
+Bernadine was a handsome man, and he knew well enough how to use his
+soft and extraordinarily musical voice. He knew very well as he retired
+that somehow or other she would accept his invitation. Even then he felt
+dissatisfied and ill at ease as he left the place. He had made a little
+progress; but, after all, was it worth while? Supposing that the man
+with whom her husband was even at this moment closeted was the Baron de
+Grost! He called a taxi-cab and drove at once to the Embassy of his
+country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Even at this moment de Grost and the Russian--Paul Hagon he called
+himself--were standing face to face in the latter's sitting-room. No
+conventional greetings of any sort had been exchanged. De Grost had
+scarcely closed the door behind him before Hagon addressed him
+breathlessly, almost fiercely.
+
+"Who are you, sir?" he demanded. "And what do you want with me?"
+
+"You had my letter?" de Grost inquired.
+
+"I had your letter," the other admitted. "It told me nothing. You speak
+of business. What business have I with any here?"
+
+"My business is soon told," de Grost replied; "but in the first place, I
+beg that you will not unnecessarily alarm yourself. There is, believe
+me, no need for it--no need whatever, although, to prevent
+misunderstandings, I may as well tell you at once that I am perfectly
+well aware who it is that I am addressing."
+
+Hagon collapsed into a chair. He buried his face in his hands and
+groaned.
+
+"I am not here necessarily as an enemy," de Grost continued. "You have
+very excellent reasons, I make no doubt, for remaining unknown in this
+city, or wherever you may be. As yet, let me assure you, your identity
+is not even suspected, except by myself and one other. Those few who
+believe you alive believe that you are in America. There is no need for
+anyone to know that Father----"
+
+"Stop!" the man begged piteously. "Stop!"
+
+De Grost bowed.
+
+"I beg your pardon!" he said.
+
+"Now tell me," the man demanded, "what is your price? I have had money.
+There is not much left. Sophia is extravagant, and travelling costs a
+great deal. But why do I weary you with these things?" he added. "Let me
+know what I have to pay for your silence."
+
+"I am not a blackmailer," de Grost answered sternly. "I am myself a
+wealthy man. I ask from you nothing in money; I ask you nothing in that
+way at all. A few words of information, and a certain paper which I
+believe you have in your possession, is all that I require."
+
+"Information?" Hagon repeated, shivering.
+
+"What I ask," de Grost declared, "is really a matter of justice. At the
+time when you were the idol of all Russia and the leader of the great
+revolutionary party, you received funds from abroad."
+
+"I accounted for them," Hagon muttered. "Up to a certain point I
+accounted for everything."
+
+"You received funds from the Government of a European Power," de Grost
+continued--"funds to be applied towards developing the revolution. I
+want the name of that Power, and proof of what I say."
+
+Hagon remained motionless for a moment. He had seated himself at the
+table, his head resting upon his hand, and his face turned away from de
+Grost.
+
+"You are a politician, then?" he asked slowly.
+
+"I am a politician," de Grost admitted. "I represent a great secret
+power which has sprung into existence during the last few years. Our
+aim, at present, is to bring closer together your country and Great
+Britain. Russia hesitates because an actual _rapprochement_ with us is
+equivalent to a permanent estrangement with Germany."
+
+Hagon nodded.
+
+"I understand," he said, in a low tone. "I have finished with politics.
+I have nothing to say to you."
+
+"I trust," de Grost persisted suavely, "that you will be better
+advised."
+
+Hagon turned round and faced him.
+
+"Sir," he demanded, "do you believe that I am afraid of death?"
+
+De Grost looked at him steadfastly.
+
+"No," he answered. "You have proved the contrary."
+
+"If my identity is discovered," Hagon continued, "I have the means of
+instant death at hand. I do not use it because of my love for the one
+person who links me to this world. For her sake I live, and for her sake
+I bear always the memory of the shameful past. Publish my name and
+whereabouts if you will. I promise you that I will make the tragedy
+complete. But, for the rest, I refuse to pay your price. A great Power
+trusted me, and, whatever their motives may have been, their money came
+very near indeed to freeing my people. I have nothing more to say to
+you, sir."
+
+The Baron de Grost was taken aback. He had scarcely contemplated
+refusal.
+
+"You must understand," he explained, "that this is not a personal
+matter. Even if I myself would spare you, those who are more powerful
+than I will strike. The society to which I belong does not tolerate
+failure. I am empowered even to offer you their protection, if you will
+give me the information for which I ask."
+
+Hagon rose to his feet, and before de Grost could foresee his purpose,
+had rung the bell.
+
+"My decision is unchanging," he said. "You can pull down the roof upon
+my head, but I carry next my heart an instant and an unfailing means of
+escape."
+
+A waiter stood in the doorway.
+
+"You will take this gentleman to the lift," Hagon directed.
+
+There was once more a touch in his manner of that half-divine authority
+which had thrilled the great multitudes of his believers. De Grost was
+forced to admit defeat.
+
+"Not defeat," he said to himself, as he followed the man to the lift;
+"only a check."
+
+Nevertheless, it was a serious check. He could not for the moment see
+his way farther. Arrived at his house, he followed his usual custom, and
+made his way at once to his wife's rooms. Violet was resting upon a
+sofa, but laid down her book at his entrance.
+
+"Violet," he declared, "I have come for your advice."
+
+"He refuses, then?" she asked eagerly.
+
+"Absolutely," de Grost assured her. "What am I to do? Bernadine is
+already upon the scent. He saw him at the Savoy to-day and recognised
+him."
+
+"Has Bernadine approached him yet?" Violet inquired.
+
+"Not yet," her husband answered. "He is half afraid to move. I think he
+realises, or will do very soon, how serious this man's existence may be
+for Germany."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments; then she looked up.
+
+"Bernadine will try the woman," she asserted. "You say that Hagon is
+infatuated?"
+
+"Blindly," de Grost replied. "He scarcely lets her out of his sight."
+
+"Your people watch Bernadine?"
+
+"Always."
+
+"Very well, then," Violet went on, "you will find that he will attempt
+an intrigue with the woman. The rest should be easy for you."
+
+De Grost sighed as he bent over his wife.
+
+"My dear," he said, "there is no subtlety like that of a woman."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine's instinct had not deceived him, and the following afternoon
+his servant, who had already received orders, silently ushered Madame
+Hagon into his apartments. She was wrapped in magnificent sables and
+heavily veiled. Bernadine saw at once that she was very nervous and
+wholly terrified. He welcomed her in as matter-of-fact a manner as
+possible.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "this is quite charming of you! You must sit in
+my easy-chair here, and my man shall bring us some tea. I drink mine
+always after the fashion of your country, with lemon, but I doubt
+whether we make it so well. Won't you unfasten your jacket? I am afraid
+my rooms are rather warm."
+
+Madame had collected herself, but it was quite obvious that she was
+unused to adventures of this sort. Her hand, when he took it, trembled,
+and more than once she glanced furtively toward the door.
+
+"Yes, I have come," she murmured. "I do not know why. It is not right
+for me to come; yet there are times when I am weary--times when Paul
+seems fierce, and when I am terrified. Sometimes I even wish that I were
+back----"
+
+"Your husband seems very highly strung," Bernadine remarked. "He has
+doubtless led an exciting life."
+
+"As to that," she replied, gazing around her now, and gradually becoming
+more at her ease, "I know but little. He was a student professor at
+Moschaume when I met him. I think that he was at one of the universities
+in St. Petersburg."
+
+Bernadine glanced at her covertly. It came to him as an inspiration that
+the woman did not know the truth.
+
+"You are from Russia, then, after all," he said, smiling. "I felt sure
+of it."
+
+"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "Paul is so queer in these things. He
+will not have me talk of it. He prefers that we are taken for French
+people. Indeed," she went on, "it is not I who desire to think too much
+of Russia. It is not a year since my father was killed in the riots, and
+two of my brothers were sent to Siberia."
+
+Bernadine was deeply interested.
+
+"They were amongst the revolutionaries?"
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Yes," she answered.
+
+"And your husband?"
+
+"He, too, was with them in sympathy. Secretly, too, I believe that he
+worked amongst them; only he had to be careful. You see, his position at
+the college made it difficult."
+
+Bernadine looked into the woman's eyes, and he knew then that she was
+speaking the truth. This man was indeed a great master; he had kept her
+in ignorance.
+
+"Always," Bernadine said, a few minutes later, as he passed her tea, "I
+read with the deepest interest of the people's movement in Russia. Tell
+me what became eventually of their great leader--the wonderful Father
+Paul."
+
+She set down her cup untasted, and her blue eyes flashed with a fire
+which turned them almost to the colour of steel.
+
+"Wonderful, indeed!" she exclaimed. "Wonderful Judas! It was he who
+wrecked the cause. It was he who sold the lives and liberty of all of us
+for gold."
+
+"I heard a rumour of that," Bernadine remarked, "but I never believed
+it."
+
+"It was true," she declared passionately.
+
+"And where is he now?" Bernadine asked.
+
+"Dead!" she answered fiercely. "Torn to pieces, we believe, one night in
+a house near Moscow. May it be so!"
+
+She was silent for a moment, as though engaged in prayer. Bernadine
+spoke no more of these things. He talked to her kindly, keeping up
+always his rôle of respectful, but hopeful, admirer.
+
+"You will come again soon?" he begged, when at last she insisted upon
+going.
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"It is so difficult," she murmured. "If my husband knew----"
+
+Bernadine laughed and touched her fingers caressingly.
+
+"Need one tell him?" he whispered. "You see, I trust you. I pray that
+you will come."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine was a man rarely moved towards emotion of any sort; yet even
+he was conscious of a certain sense of excitement as he stood looking
+out upon the Embankment from the windows of Paul Hagon's sitting-room a
+few days later. Madame was sitting on the settee. It was for her answer
+to a question that he waited.
+
+"Monsieur," she said at last, turning slowly towards him, "it must be
+'No.' Indeed I am sorry, for you have been very charming to me, and
+without you I should have been dull. But to come to your rooms and dine
+alone to-night, it is impossible."
+
+"Your husband cannot return before the morning," Bernadine reminded her.
+
+"It makes no difference," she answered. "Paul is sometimes fierce and
+rough, but he is generous, and all his life he has worshipped me. He
+behaves strangely at times, but I know that he cares--all the time more,
+perhaps, than I deserve."
+
+"And there is no one else." Bernadine asked softly, "who can claim even
+the smallest place in your heart?"
+
+"Monsieur," the woman begged, "you must not ask me that. I think that
+you had better go away."
+
+Bernadine stood quite still for several moments. It was the climax
+towards which he had steadfastly guided the course of this mild
+intrigue.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "You must not send me away! You shall not!"
+
+She held out her hand.
+
+"Then you must not ask impossible things," she answered.
+
+Then Bernadine took the plunge. He became suddenly very grave.
+
+"Sophia," he said, "I am keeping a great secret from you, and I can do
+it no longer. When you speak to me of your husband you drive me mad. If
+I believed that really you loved him, I would go away and leave it to
+chance whether or not you ever discovered the truth. As it is----"
+
+"Well?" she interposed breathlessly.
+
+"As it is," he continued, "I am going to tell you now. Your husband has
+deceived you; he is deceiving you every moment."
+
+She looked at him incredulously.
+
+"You mean that there is another woman?"
+
+Bernadine shook his head.
+
+"Worse than that," he answered. "Your husband stole even your love under
+false pretences. You think that his life is a strange one; that his
+nerves have broken down; that he flies from place to place for
+distraction, for change of scene. It is not so. He left Rome, he left
+Nice, he left Paris for one and the same reason. He left because he went
+in peril of his life. I know little of your history, but I know as much
+as this: If ever a man deserved the fate from which he flees, your
+husband deserves it!"
+
+"You are mad!" she faltered.
+
+"No, I am sane," he went on. "It is you who are mad, not to have
+understood. Your husband goes ever in fear of his life. His real name is
+one branded with ignominy throughout the world. The man whom you have
+married, to whom you are so scrupulously faithful, is the man who sent
+your father to death and your brothers to Siberia."
+
+"Father Paul!" she screamed.
+
+"You have lived with him; you are his wife!" Bernadine declared.
+
+The colour had left her cheeks; her eyes, with their pencilled brows,
+were fixed in an almost ghastly stare; her breath was coming in uneven
+gasps. She looked at him in silent terror.
+
+"It is not true!" she cried at last. "It cannot be true!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "you can prove it for yourself. I know a little of
+your husband and his doings. Does he not carry always with him a black
+box which he will not allow out of his sight?"
+
+"Always," she assented. "How did you know? By night his hand rests upon
+it. By day, if he goes out, it is in my charge."
+
+"Fetch it now," Bernadine directed. "I will prove my words."
+
+She did not hesitate for a moment. She disappeared into the inner room
+and came back after only a few moments' absence, carrying a black
+leather dispatch-box.
+
+"You have the key?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," she answered, looking at him and trembling; "but I dare not--oh,
+I dare not open it!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "if my words are not true, I will pass out of your
+life for ever. I challenge you. If you open that box you will know that
+your husband is indeed the greatest scoundrel in Europe."
+
+She drew a key from a gold chain around her neck.
+
+"There are two locks," she told him. "The other is a combination, but I
+know the word. Who's that?"
+
+She started suddenly. There was a loud tapping at the door. Bernadine
+threw an antimacassar half over the box, but he was too late. De Grost
+and Hagon had crossed the threshold. The woman stood like some dumb
+creature. Hagon, transfixed, stood with his eyes riveted upon Bernadine.
+His face was distorted with passion; he seemed like a man beside himself
+with fury. De Grost came slowly forward into the middle of the room.
+
+"Count von Hern," he said, "I think that you had better leave."
+
+The woman found words.
+
+"Not yet!" she cried. "Not yet! Paul, listen to me. This man has told me
+a terrible thing."
+
+The breath seemed to come through Hagon's teeth like a hiss.
+
+"He has told you!"
+
+"Listen to me!" she continued. "It is the truth which you must tell now.
+He says that you--you are Father Paul!"
+
+Hagon did not hesitate.
+
+"It is true," he admitted.
+
+Then there was a silence--short, but tragical. Hagon seemed suddenly to
+have collapsed. He was like a man who has just had a stroke. He stood
+muttering to himself.
+
+"It is the end--this--the end!" he said, in a low tone. "It was for your
+sake, Sophia! I came to you poor, and you would have nothing to say to
+me. My love for you burned in my veins like fever. It was for you I did
+it--for your sake I sold my honour, the love of my country, the freedom
+of my brothers. For your sake I risked an awful death. For your sake I
+have lived like a hunted man, with the cry of the wolves always in my
+ears, and the fear of death and of eternal torture with me day by day.
+Have pity on me!"
+
+She was unmoved; her face had lost all expression. No one noticed in
+that rapt moment that Bernadine had crept from the room.
+
+"It was you," she cried, "who killed my father and sent my brothers into
+exile!"
+
+"God help me!" he moaned.
+
+She turned to de Grost.
+
+"Take him away with you, please," she said. "I have finished with him!"
+
+"Sophia!" he pleaded.
+
+She leaned across the table and struck him heavily upon the cheek.
+
+"If you stay here," she muttered, "I shall kill you myself!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night the body of an unknown foreigner was found in the attic of a
+cheap lodging-house in Soho. The discovery itself and the verdict at the
+inquest occupied only a few lines in the morning newspapers. Those few
+lines were the epitaph of one who was very nearly a Rienzi. The greater
+part of his papers de Grost mercifully destroyed, but one in particular
+he preserved. Within a week the much-delayed treaty was signed at Paris,
+London and St. Petersburg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE FIRST SHOT
+
+
+De Grost and his wife were dining together at the corner table in a
+fashionable but somewhat Bohemian restaurant. Both had been in the
+humour for reminiscences, and they had outstayed most of their
+neighbours.
+
+"I wonder what people really think of us," Violet remarked pensively. "I
+told Lady Amershal, when she asked us to go there this evening, that we
+always dined together alone somewhere once a week, and she absolutely
+refused to believe me. 'With your own husband, my dear?' she kept on
+repeating."
+
+"Her ladyship's tastes are more catholic," the baron declared dryly.
+"Yet, after all, Violet, the real philosophy of married life demands
+something of this sort."
+
+Violet smiled and fingered her pearls for a minute.
+
+"What the real philosophy of married life may be I do not know," she
+said, "but I am perfectly content with our rendering of it. What a
+fortunate thing, Peter, with your intensely practical turn of mind, that
+Nature endowed you with so much sentiment."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively at the cigarette which he had just selected
+from his case.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "there have been times when I have cursed myself
+for a fool, but, on the whole, sentiment keeps many fires burning."
+
+She leaned towards him and dropped her voice a little.
+
+"Tell me," she begged, "do you ever think of the years we spent together
+in the country? Do you ever regret?"
+
+He smiled thoughtfully.
+
+"It is a hard question, that," he admitted. "There were days there which
+I loved, but there were days, too, when the restlessness came--days when
+I longed to hear the hum of the city and to hear men speak whose words
+were of life and death and the great passions. I am not sure, Violet,
+whether, after all, it is well for one who has lived to withdraw
+absolutely from the thrill of life."
+
+She laughed softly but gaily.
+
+"I am with you," she declared, "absolutely. I think that the fairies
+must have poured into my blood the joy of living for its own sake. I
+should be an ungrateful woman indeed if I found anything to complain of
+nowadays. Yet there is one thing that sometimes troubles me," she went
+on, after a moment's pause.
+
+"And that?" he asked.
+
+"The danger," she said slowly. "I do not want to lose you, Peter. There
+are times when I am afraid."
+
+De Grost flicked the ash from his cigarette.
+
+"The days are passing," he remarked, "when men point revolvers at one
+another, and hire assassins to gain their ends. Now it is more a battle
+of wits. We play chess on the board of life still, but we play with
+ivory pieces instead of steel and poison. Our brains direct, and not our
+muscles."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"It is only the one man of whom I am afraid," she said. "You have
+outwitted him so often and he does not forgive."
+
+De Grost smiled. It was an immense compliment, this.
+
+"Bernadine," he murmured softly, "otherwise our friend, the Count von
+Hern."
+
+"Bernadine," she repeated. "All that you say is true; but when one fails
+with modern weapons, one changes the form of attack. Bernadine at heart
+is a savage."
+
+"The hate of such a man," de Grost remarked complacently, "is worth
+having. He has had his own way over here for years. He seems to have
+found the knack of living in a maze of intrigue and remaining
+untouchable. There were a dozen things before I came upon the scene
+which ought to have ruined him. Yet there never appeared to be anything
+to take hold of. The Criminal Investigation Department thought they had
+no chance. I remember Sir John Dory telling me in disgust that Bernadine
+was like one of those marvellous criminals one only reads about in
+fiction, who seem when they pass along the dangerous places to walk upon
+the air and leave no trace behind."
+
+"Before you came," she said, "he had never known a failure. Do you think
+that he is a man likely to forgive?"
+
+"I do not," de Grost answered grimly. "It is a battle, of course--a
+battle all the time. Yet, Violet, between you and me, if Bernadine were
+to go, half the savour of life for me would depart with him."
+
+Then there came a serious and wholly unexpected interruption. A man in
+dark, plain clothes, still wearing his overcoat and carrying a bowler
+hat, had been standing in the entrance of the restaurant for a moment or
+two, looking around the room as though in search of someone. At last he
+caught the eye of the Baron de Grost and came quickly towards him.
+
+"Charles," the Baron remarked, raising his eyebrows. "I wonder what he
+wants?"
+
+A sudden cloud had fallen upon their little feast. Violet watched the
+coming of her husband's servant and the reading of the note which he
+presented to his master with an anxiety which she could not wholly
+conceal. The Baron read the note twice, scrutinising a certain part of
+it closely with the aid of the monocle which he seldom used. Then he
+folded it up and placed it in the breast-pocket of his coat.
+
+"At what hour did you receive this, Charles?" he asked.
+
+"A messenger brought it in a taxi-cab about ten minutes ago, sir," the
+man replied. "He said that it was of the utmost importance, and that I
+had better try and find you."
+
+"A district messenger?"
+
+"A man in ordinary clothes, sir," Charles answered. "He looked like a
+porter in a warehouse, or something of that sort. I forgot to say that
+you were rung up on the telephone three times previously by Mr.
+Greening."
+
+The Baron nodded.
+
+"You can go," he said. "There is no reply."
+
+The man bowed and retired. De Grost called for his bill.
+
+"Is it anything serious?" Violet inquired.
+
+"No, not exactly serious," he answered. "I do not understand what has
+happened, but they have sent for me to go--well, where it was agreed
+that I should not go, except as a matter of urgent necessity."
+
+Violet knew better than to show any signs of disquietude.
+
+"Is it in London?" she asked.
+
+"Certainly," her husband replied. "I shall take a taxi-cab from here. I
+am sorry, dear, to have one of our evenings disturbed in this manner. I
+have always done my best to avoid it, but this summons is urgent."
+
+She rose and he wrapped her cloak around her.
+
+"You will drive straight home, won't you?" he begged. "I dare say that I
+may be back within an hour myself."
+
+"And if not?" she asked in a low tone.
+
+"If not," he replied, "there is nothing to be done."
+
+Violet bit her lip, but as he handed her into the small electric
+brougham which was waiting she smiled into his face.
+
+"You will come back, and soon, Peter," she declared confidently.
+"Wherever you go I am sure of that. You see, I have faith in my star
+which watches over you."
+
+He kissed her fingers and turned away. The commissionaire had already
+called him a taxi-cab.
+
+"To London Bridge," he ordered after a moment's hesitation, and drove
+off.
+
+The traffic citywards had long since finished for the day, and he
+reached his destination within ten minutes of leaving the restaurant.
+Here he paid the man, and, entering the station, turned to the
+refreshment-room and ordered a liqueur brandy. While he sipped it he
+smoked a cigarette and fully re-read in a strong light the note which he
+had received. The signature especially he pored over for some time. At
+last, however, he replaced it in his pocket, paid his bill, and,
+stepping out once more on to the platform, entered a telephone booth. A
+few minutes later he left the station and, turning to the right, walked
+slowly as far as Tooley Street. He kept on the right-hand side until he
+arrived at the spot where the great arches, with their scanty lights,
+make a gloomy thoroughfare into Bermondsey. In the shadow of the first
+of these he paused and looked steadfastly across the street. There were
+few people passing, and practically no traffic. In front of him was a
+row of warehouses, all save one of which was wrapped in complete
+darkness. It was the one where some lights were still burning which de
+Grost stood and watched.
+
+The lights, such as they were, seemed to illuminate the ground floor
+only. From his hidden post he could see the shoulders of a man
+apparently bending over a ledger, diligently writing. At the next window
+a youth, seated upon a tall stool, was engaged in, presumably, the same
+avocation. There was nothing about the place in the least mysterious or
+out-of-the-way. Even the blinds of the offices had been left undrawn.
+The man and the boy, who were alone visible, seemed, in a sense, to be
+working under protest. Every now and then the former stopped to yawn,
+and the latter performed a difficult balancing feat upon his stool. De
+Grost, having satisfied his curiosity, came presently from his shelter,
+almost running into the arms of a policeman, who looked at him closely.
+The Baron, who had an unlighted cigarette in his mouth, stopped to ask
+for a light, and his appearance at once set at rest any suspicions the
+policeman might have had.
+
+"I have a warehouse myself down in these parts," he remarked, as he
+struck the match, "but I don't allow my people to work as late as that."
+
+He pointed across the way, and the policeman smiled.
+
+"They are very often late there, sir," he said. "It is a Continental
+wine business, and there's always one or two of them over time."
+
+"It's bad business, all the same," de Grost declared pleasantly.
+"Good-night, policeman!"
+
+"Good-night, sir!"
+
+De Grost crossed the road diagonally, as though about to take the short
+cut across London Bridge, but as soon as the policeman was out of sight
+he retraced his steps to the building which they had been discussing,
+and, turning the battered brass handle of the door, walked calmly in. On
+his right and left were counting-houses framed with glass; in front, the
+cavernous and ugly depths of a gloomy warehouse. He knocked upon the
+window-pane on the right and passed forward a step or two, as though to
+enter the office. The boy who had been engaged in the left-hand
+counting-house came gliding from his place, passed silently behind the
+visitor, and turned the key of the outer door. What followed seemed to
+happen as though by some mysteriously directed force. The figures of men
+came stealing out from the hidden places. The clerk who had been working
+so hard at his desk calmly divested himself of a false moustache and
+wig, and, assuming a more familiar appearance, strolled out into the
+warehouse. De Grost looked around him with absolutely unruffled
+composure. He was the centre of a little circle of men, respectably
+dressed, but every one of them hard-featured, with something in their
+faces which suggested not the ordinary toiler but the fighting
+animal--the man who lives by his wits and knows something of danger. On
+the outskirts of the circle stood Bernadine.
+
+"Really," de Grost declared, removing his cigarette from his mouth for a
+moment, "this is most unexpected. In the matter of dramatic surprises,
+my friend Bernadine, you are most certainly in a class by yourself."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"You will understand, of course," he said, "that this little
+entertainment is entirely for your amusement--well stage-managed,
+perhaps, but my supers are not to be taken seriously. Since you are
+here, Baron, might I ask you to precede me a few steps to the tasting
+office?"
+
+"By all means," de Grost answered. "It is this way, I believe."
+
+He walked with unconcerned footsteps down the warehouse, on either side
+of which were great bins and a wilderness of racking, until he came to a
+small glass-enclosed office built out from the wall. Without hesitation
+he entered it, and, removing his hat, selected the more comfortable of
+the two chairs. Bernadine alone of the others followed him inside,
+closing the door behind. De Grost, who appeared exceedingly comfortable,
+stretched out his hand and took a small black bottle from a tiny
+mahogany racking fixed against the wall by his side.
+
+"You will excuse me, my dear Bernadine," he said, "but I see my friend
+Greening has been tasting a few wines. The 'XX' upon the label here
+signifies approval. With your permission."
+
+He half filled a glass and pushed the bottle towards Bernadine.
+
+"Greening's taste is unimpeachable," de Grost declared, setting down his
+glass empty. "No use being a director of a city business, you know,
+unless one interests oneself personally in it. Greening's judgment is
+simply marvellous. I have never tasted a more beautiful wine. If the
+boom in sherry does come," he continued complacently, "we shall be in an
+excellent position to deal with it."
+
+Bernadine laughed softly.
+
+"Oh, my friend--Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose
+to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the
+conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on
+earth!"
+
+De Grost nodded approvingly.
+
+"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon
+arrive at that decision?"
+
+"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his
+companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."
+
+"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself,
+no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally
+conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been
+expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable
+time."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a
+safe conduct."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.
+
+"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements
+to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."
+
+"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.
+
+"I would not for a moment," de Grost continued, "ask an impertinent or
+an unnecessary question, but I must confess that I am rather concerned
+to know the fate of my manager--the gentleman whom you yourself, with
+the aid of a costumier, so ably represented."
+
+Bernadine sighed.
+
+"Alas!" he said, "your manager was a very obstinate person."
+
+"And my clerk?"
+
+"Incorruptible!" Bernadine declared. "Absolutely incorruptible! I
+congratulate you, de Grost. Your society is one of the most wonderful
+upon the face of this earth. I know little about it, but my admiration
+is very sincere. Their attention to details and the personnel of their
+staff is almost perfect. I may tell you at once that no sum that could
+be offered tempted either of these men."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it," de Grost replied, "but I must plead guilty
+to a little temporary anxiety as to their present whereabouts."
+
+"At this moment," Bernadine remarked, "they are within a few feet of us;
+but, as you are doubtless aware, access to your delightful river is
+obtainable from these premises. To be frank with you, my dear Baron, we
+are waiting for the tide to rise."
+
+"So thoughtful about these trifles!" de Grost murmured. "But their
+present position? They are, I trust, not uncomfortable?"
+
+Bernadine stood up and moved to the farther end of the office. He
+beckoned his companion to his side and, drawing an electric torch from
+his pocket, flashed the light into a dark corner behind an immense bin.
+The forms of a man and a youth bound with ropes and gagged, lay
+stretched upon the floor. De Grost sighed.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that Mr. Greening, at any rate, is most
+uncomfortable."
+
+Bernadine turned off the light.
+
+"At least, Baron," he declared, "if such extreme measures should become
+necessary, I can promise you one thing--you shall have a quicker passage
+into eternity than they."
+
+De Grost resumed his seat.
+
+"Has it really come to that?" he asked. "Will nothing but so crude a
+proceeding as my absolute removal satisfy you?"
+
+"Nothing else is, I fear, practicable," Bernadine replied, "unless you
+decide to listen to reason. Believe me, my dear friend, I shall miss you
+and our small encounters exceedingly; but, unfortunately, you stand in
+the way of my career. You are the only man who has persistently baulked
+me. You have driven me to use against you means which I had grown to
+look upon as absolutely extinct in the upper circles of our profession."
+
+De Grost peered through the glass walls of the office.
+
+"Eight men, not counting yourself," he remarked, "and my poor manager
+and his faithful clerk lying bound and helpless. It is heavy odds,
+Bernadine."
+
+"There is no question of odds, I think," Bernadine answered smoothly.
+"You are much too clever a person to refuse to admit that you are
+entirely in my power."
+
+"And as regards terms? I really don't feel in the least anxious to make
+my final bow with so little notice," de Grost said. "To tell you the
+truth, I have been finding life quite interesting lately."
+
+Bernadine eyed his prisoner keenly. Such absolute composure was in
+itself disturbing. He was, for the moment, aware of a slight sensation
+of uneasiness, which his common sense, however, speedily disposed of.
+
+"There are two ways," he announced, "of dealing with an opponent. There
+is the old-fashioned one--crude, but, in a sense, eminently
+satisfactory--which sends him finally to adorn some other sphere."
+
+"I do not like that one," de Grost interrupted. "Get on with the
+alternative."
+
+"The alternative," Bernadine declared, "is when his capacity for harm
+can be destroyed."
+
+"That needs a little explanation," de Grost murmured.
+
+"Precisely. For instance, if you were to become absolutely discredited,
+I think that you would be effectually out of my way. Your people do not
+forgive."
+
+"Then discredit me, by all means," de Grost begged. "It sounds
+unpleasant, but I do not like your callous reference to the river."
+
+Bernadine gazed at his ancient opponent for several moments. After all,
+what was this but the splendid bravado of a beaten man, who is too
+clever not to recognise defeat?
+
+"I shall require," he said, "your code, the keys of your safe, which
+contains a great many documents of interest to me, and a free entry into
+your house."
+
+De Grost drew a bunch of keys reluctantly from his pocket and laid them
+upon the desk.
+
+"You will find the code bound in green morocco leather," he announced,
+"on the left-hand side, underneath the duplicate of a proposed Treaty
+between Italy and--some other Power. Between ourselves, Bernadine, I
+really expect that that is what you are after."
+
+Bernadine's eyes glistened.
+
+"What about the safe conduct into your house?" he asked.
+
+De Grost drew his case from his pocket and wrote a few lines on the back
+of one of his cards.
+
+"This will ensure you entrance there," he said, "and access to my study.
+If you see my wife, please reassure her as to my absence."
+
+"I shall certainly do so," Bernadine agreed, with a faint smile.
+
+"If I may be pardoned for alluding to a purely personal matter," de
+Grost continued, "what is to become of me?"
+
+"You will be bound and gagged in the same manner as your manager and his
+clerk," Bernadine replied smoothly. "I regret the necessity, but you see
+I can afford to run no risks. At four o'clock in the morning you will be
+released. It must be part of our agreement that you allow the man who
+stays behind the others for the purpose of setting you free, to depart
+unmolested. I think I know you better than to imagine you would be
+guilty of such _gaucherie_ as an appeal to the police."
+
+"That, unfortunately," de Grost declared, with a little sigh, "is, as
+you well know, out of the question. You are too clever for me,
+Bernadine. After all, I shall have to go back to my farm."
+
+Bernadine opened the door and called softly to one of his men. In less
+than five minutes de Grost was bound hand and foot. Bernadine stepped
+back and eyed his adversary with an air of ill-disguised triumph.
+
+"I trust, Baron de Grost," he said, "that you will be as comfortable as
+possible under the circumstances."
+
+De Grost lay quite still. He was powerless to move or speak.
+
+"Immediately," Bernadine continued, "I have presented myself at your
+house, verified your safe conduct, and helped myself to certain papers
+which I am exceedingly anxious to obtain," he went on, "I shall
+telephone here to the man whom I leave in charge, and you will be set at
+liberty in due course. If, for any reason, I meet with treachery and I
+do not telephone, you will join Mr. Greening and his young companion in
+a little--shall we call it aquatic recreation? I wish you a pleasant
+hour and success in the future, Baron--as a farmer."
+
+Bernadine withdrew and whispered his orders to his men. Soon the
+electric light was turned out and the place was in darkness. The front
+door was opened and closed; the group of confederates upon the pavement
+lit cigarettes and wished one another "Good-night" with the brisk air of
+tired employees released at last from long labours. Then there was
+silence.
+
+It was barely eleven o'clock when Bernadine reached the west-end of
+London. His clothes had become a trifle disarranged, and he called for a
+few minutes at his rooms in St. James's Street. Afterwards, he walked to
+Merton House and rang the bell. To the servant who answered it he handed
+his master's card.
+
+"Will you show me the way to the library?" he asked. "I have some papers
+to collect for the Baron de Grost."
+
+The man hesitated. Even with the card in his hand, it seemed a somewhat
+unusual proceeding.
+
+"Will you step inside, sir?" he begged. "I should like to show this to
+the Baroness. The master is exceedingly particular about anyone entering
+his study."
+
+"Do what you like so long as you do not keep me waiting," Bernadine
+replied. "Your master's instructions are clear enough."
+
+Violet came down the great staircase a few moments later, still in her
+dinner-gown, her face a little pale, her eyes luminous. Bernadine smiled
+as he accepted her eagerly offered hand. She was evidently anxious. A
+thrill of triumph warmed his blood. Once she had been less kind to him
+than she seemed now.
+
+"My husband gave you this!" she exclaimed.
+
+"A few minutes ago," Bernadine answered. "He tried to make his
+instructions as clear as possible. We are jointly interested in a small
+matter which needs immediate action."
+
+She led the way to the study.
+
+"It seems strange," she remarked, "that you and he should be working
+together. I thought that you were on opposite sides."
+
+"It is a matter of chance," Bernadine told her. "Your husband is a wise
+man, Baroness. He knows when to listen to reason."
+
+She threw open the door of the study, which was in darkness.
+
+"If you will wait a moment," she said, closing the door, "I will turn on
+the electric light."
+
+She touched the knobs in the wall, and the room was suddenly flooded
+with illumination. At the further end of the apartment was the great
+safe. Close to it, in an easy-chair, his evening coat changed for a
+smoking-jacket, with a neatly tied black tie replacing his crumpled
+white cravat, the Baron de Grost sat awaiting his guest. A fierce oath
+broke from Bernadine's lips. He turned toward the door only in time to
+hear the key turn. Violet tossed it lightly in the air across to her
+husband.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," the latter remarked, "on the whole, I do not think
+that this has been one of your successes. My keys, if you please."
+
+Bernadine stood for a moment, his face dark with passion.
+
+"Your keys are here, Baron de Grost," he said, placing them upon the
+table. "If a bungling amateur may make such a request of a professor,
+may I inquire how you escaped from your bonds and reached here before
+me?"
+
+The Baron de Grost smiled.
+
+"Really," he said, "you have only to think for yourself for a moment, my
+dear Bernadine, and you will understand. In the first place, the letter
+you sent me signed 'Greening' was clearly a forgery. There was no one
+else anxious to get me into their power, hence I associated it at once
+with you. Naturally, I telephoned to the chief of my staff--I, too, am
+obliged to employ some of these un-uniformed policemen, my dear
+Bernadine, as you may be aware. It may interest you to know, further,
+that there are seven entrances to the warehouse in Tooley Street.
+Through one of these something like twenty of my men passed and were
+already concealed in the place when I entered. At another of the doors a
+motor-car waited for me. If I had chosen to lift my finger at any time,
+your men would have been overpowered, and I might have had the pleasure
+of dictating terms to you in my own office. Such a course did not appeal
+to me. You and I, as you know, dear Count von Hern, conduct our peculiar
+business under very delicate conditions, and the least thing we either
+of us desire is notoriety. I managed things, as I thought, for the best.
+The moment you left the place my men swarmed in. We gently but firmly
+ejected your guard, released Greening and my clerk, and I passed you
+myself in Fleet Street, a little more comfortable, I think, in my forty
+horsepower motor-car than you in that very disreputable hansom. The
+other details are too absurdly simple; one need not enlarge upon them."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I am at your service," he declared calmly.
+
+De Grost laughed.
+
+"My dear fellow," he said, "need I say that you are free to come or go,
+to take a whisky and soda with me or to depart at once--exactly as you
+feel inclined? The door was locked only until you restored to me my
+keys."
+
+He crossed the room, fitted the key in the lock and turned it.
+
+Bernadine drew himself up.
+
+"I will not drink with you," he said. "But some day a reckoning shall
+come."
+
+He turned to the door. De Grost laid his finger upon the bell.
+
+"Show Count von Hern out," he directed the astonished servant who
+appeared a moment or two later.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+
+Baron de Grost was enjoying what he had confidently looked forward to as
+an evening's relaxation, pure and simple. He sat in one of the front
+rows of the stalls of the Alhambra, his wife by his side and an
+excellent cigar in his mouth. An hour or so before he had been in
+telephonic communication with Paris, had spoken with Sogrange himself,
+and received his assurance of a calm in political and criminal affairs
+amounting almost to stagnation. It was out of the season, and though his
+popularity was as great as ever, neither he nor his wife had any social
+engagements. Hence this evening at a music-hall, which Peter, for his
+part, was finding thoroughly amusing.
+
+The place was packed--some said owing to the engagement of Andrea Korust
+and his brother, others to the presence of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire
+in her wonderful _Danse des Apaches_. The violinist that night had a
+great reception. Three times he was called before the curtain; three
+times he was obliged to reiterate his grateful but immutable resolve
+never to yield to the nightly storm which demanded more from a man who
+has given of his best. Slim, with the worn face and hollow eyes of a
+genius, he stood and bowed his thanks, but when he thought the time had
+arrived he disappeared, and though the house shook for minutes
+afterwards, nothing could persuade him to reappear.
+
+Afterward came the turn which, notwithstanding the furore caused by
+Andrea Korust's appearance, was generally considered to be equally
+responsible for the packed house--the Apache dance of Mademoiselle
+Sophie Celaire. Peter sat slightly forward in his chair as the curtain
+went up. For a time he seemed utterly absorbed by the performance.
+Violet glanced at him once or twice curiously. It began to occur to her
+that it was not so much the dance as the dancer in whom her husband was
+interested.
+
+"You have seen her before--this Mademoiselle Celaire?" she whispered.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Yes," he admitted; "I have seen her before."
+
+The dance proceeded. It was like many others of its sort, only a little
+more daring, a little more finished. Mademoiselle Celaire, in her
+tight-fitting, shabby black frock, with her wild mass of hair, her
+flashing eyes, her seductive gestures, was, without doubt, a marvellous
+person. The Baron watched her every movement with absorbed attention.
+Even when the curtain went down he forgot to clap. His eyes followed her
+off the stage. Violet shrugged her shoulders. She was looking very
+handsome herself in a black velvet dinner gown, and a hat so exceedingly
+Parisian that no one had had the heart to ask her to remove it.
+
+"My dear Peter," she remarked, reprovingly, "a moderate amount of
+admiration for that very agile young lady I might, perhaps, be inclined
+to tolerate, but, having watched you for the last quarter of an hour, I
+am bound to confess that I am becoming jealous."
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Celaire?" he asked.
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire."
+
+He leaned a little towards her. His lips were parted; he was about to
+make a statement or a confession. Just then a tall commissionaire leaned
+over from behind and touched him on the shoulder.
+
+"For Monsieur le Baron de Grost," he announced, handing Peter a note.
+
+Peter glanced towards his wife.
+
+"You permit me?" he murmured, breaking the seal.
+
+Violet shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. Her husband was already
+absorbed in the few lines hastily scrawled across the sheet of notepaper
+which he held in his hand:
+
+     [Illustration: 4] "Monsieur Baron de Grost. [Illustration: backward
+     4]
+
+     "DEAR MONSIEUR LE BARON,
+
+     "_Come to my dressing-room, without fail, as soon as you receive
+     this._
+
+     "SOPHIE CELAIRE."
+
+Violet looked over his shoulder.
+
+"The hussy!" she exclaimed, indignantly.
+
+Her husband raised his eyebrows. With his forefinger he merely tapped
+the two numerals.
+
+"The Double Four!" she gasped
+
+He looked around and nodded. The commissionaire was waiting. Peter took
+up his silk hat from under the seat.
+
+"If I am detained, dear," he whispered, "you'll make the best of it,
+won't you? The car will be here, and Frederick will be looking out for
+you."
+
+"Of course," she answered, cheerfully. "I shall be quite all right."
+
+She nodded brightly, and Peter took his departure. He passed through a
+door on which was painted "Private," and through a maze of scenery and
+stage hands and ballet ladies, by a devious route, to the region of the
+dressing-rooms. His guide conducted him to the door of one of these and
+knocked.
+
+"_Entrez, monsieur_," a shrill feminine voice replied.
+
+Peter entered, and closed the door behind him. The commissionaire
+remained outside. Mademoiselle Celaire turned to greet her visitor.
+
+"It is a few words I desire with you as quickly as possible, if you
+please, Monsieur le Baron," she said, advancing towards him. "Listen."
+
+She had brushed out her hair, and it hung from her head straight and a
+little stiff, almost like the hair of an Indian woman. She had washed
+her face free of all cosmetics, and her pallor was almost waxen. She
+wore a dressing-gown of green silk. Her discarded black frock lay upon
+the floor.
+
+"I am entirely at your service, mademoiselle," Peter answered, bowing.
+"Continue, if you please."
+
+"You sup with me to-night--you are my guest."
+
+He hesitated.
+
+"I am very much honoured," he murmured. "It is an affair of urgency,
+then? Mademoiselle will remember that I am not alone here."
+
+She threw out her hands scornfully.
+
+"They told me in Paris that you were a genius!" she exclaimed. "Cannot
+you feel, then, when a thing is urgent? Do you not know it without being
+told? You must meet me with a carriage at the stage door in forty
+minutes. We sup in Hamilton Place with Andrea Korust and his brother."
+
+"With whom?" Peter asked, surprised.
+
+"With the Korust Brothers," she repeated. "I have just been talking to
+Andrea. He calls himself a Hungarian. Bah! They are as much Hungarian as
+I am!"
+
+Peter leaned slightly against the table and looked thoughtfully at his
+companion. He was trying to remember whether he had ever heard anything
+of these young men.
+
+"Mademoiselle," he said, "the prospect of partaking of any meal in your
+company is in itself enchanting, but I do not know your friends, the
+Korust Brothers. Apart from their wonderful music, I do not recollect
+ever having heard of them before in my life. What excuse have I, then,
+for accepting their hospitality? Pardon me, too, if I add that you have
+not as yet spoken as to the urgency of this affair."
+
+She turned from him impatiently, and, throwing herself back into the
+chair from which she had risen at his entrance, she began to exchange
+the thick woollen stockings which she had been wearing upon the stage
+for others of fine silk.
+
+"Oh, la, la!" she exclaimed. "You are very slow, Monsieur le Baron. It
+is, perhaps, my stage name which has misled you. I am Marie Lapouse.
+Does that convey anything to you?"
+
+"A great deal," Peter admitted, quickly. "You stand very high upon the
+list of my agents whom I may trust."
+
+"Then stay here no longer," she begged, "for my maid waits outside, and
+I need her services. Go back and make your excuses to your wife. In
+forty minutes I shall expect you at the stage door."
+
+"An affair of diplomacy, this, or brute force?" he inquired.
+
+"Heaven knows what may happen!" she replied. "To tell you the truth, I
+do not know myself. Be prepared for anything, but, for Heaven's sake, go
+now! I can dress no further without my maid, and Andrea Korust may come
+in at any moment. I do not wish him to find you here."
+
+Peter made his way thoughtfully back to his seat. He explained the
+situation to his wife so far as he could, and sent her home. Then he
+waited until the car returned, smoking a cigarette and trying once more
+to remember if he had ever heard anything of Andrea Korust or his
+brother from Sogrange. Punctually at the time stated he was outside the
+stage door of the music-hall, and a few minutes later Mademoiselle
+Celaire appeared, a dazzling vision of furs and smiles and jewellery
+imperfectly concealed. A small crowd pressed around to see the famous
+Frenchwoman. Peter handed her gravely across the pavement into his
+waiting motor-car. One or two of the loungers gave vent to a groan of
+envy at the sight of the diamonds which blazed from her neck and bosom.
+Peter smiled as he gave the address to his servant, and took his place
+by the side of his companion.
+
+"They see only the externals, this mob," he remarked. "They picture to
+themselves, perhaps, a little supper for two. Alas!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire laughed at him softly.
+
+"You need not trouble to assume that most disconsolate of expressions,
+my dear Baron," she assured him. "Your reputation as a man of gallantry
+is beyond question, but remember that I know you also for the most
+devoted and loyal of husbands. We waste no time in folly, you and I. It
+is the business of the Double Four."
+
+Peter was relieved, but his innate politeness forbade his showing it.
+
+"Proceed," he said.
+
+"The Brothers Korust," she went on, leaning towards him, "have a week's
+engagement at the Alhambra. Their salary is six hundred pounds. They
+play very beautifully, of course, but I think that it is as much as they
+are worth."
+
+Peter agreed with her fervently. He had no soul for music.
+
+"They have taken the furnished house belonging to one of your dukes, in
+Hamilton Place, for which we are bound; taken it, too, at a fabulous
+rent," Mademoiselle Celaire continued. "They have installed there a chef
+and a whole retinue of servants. They were here for seven nights; they
+have issued invitations for seven supper parties."
+
+"Hospitable young men they seem to be," Peter murmured. "I read in one
+of the stage papers that Andrea is a count in his own country, and that
+they perform in public only for the love of their music and for the sake
+of the excitement and travel."
+
+"A paragraph wholly inspired and utterly false," Mademoiselle Celaire
+declared firmly, sitting a little forward in the car and laying her
+hand, ablaze with jewels, upon his coat sleeve. "Listen. They call
+themselves Hungarians. Bah! I know that they are in touch with a great
+European Court, both of them, the Court of the country to which they
+really belong. They have plans, plans and schemes connected with their
+visit here, which I do not understand. I have done my best with Andrea
+Korust, but he is not a man to be trusted. I know that there is
+something more in these seven supper parties than idle hospitality. I
+and others like me, artistes and musicians, are invited, to give the
+assemblies a properly Bohemian tone, but there are to be other guests,
+attracted there, no doubt, because the papers have spoken of these
+gatherings."
+
+"You have some idea of what it all means, in your mind?" Peter
+suggested.
+
+"It is too vague to put into words," she declared, shaking her head. "We
+must both watch. Afterwards we will, if you like, compare notes."
+
+The car drew up before the doors of a handsome house in Hamilton Place.
+A footman received Peter, and relieved him of his hat and overcoat. A
+trim maid performed the same office for Mademoiselle Celaire. They met a
+moment or two later and were ushered into a large drawing-room in which
+a dozen or two of men and women were already assembled, and from which
+came a pleasant murmur of voices and laughter. The apartment was hung
+with pale green satin; the furniture was mostly Chippendale, upholstered
+in the same shade. A magnificent grand piano stood open in a smaller
+room, just visible beyond. Only one thing seemed strange to the two
+newly arrived guests. The room was entirely lit with shaded candles,
+giving a certain mysterious but not unpleasant air of obscurity to the
+whole suite of apartments. Through the gloom the jewels and eyes of the
+women seemed to shine with a new brilliance. Slight eccentricities of
+toilette--for a part of the gathering was distinctly Bohemian--were
+softened and subdued. The whole effect was somewhat weird, but also
+picturesque.
+
+Andrea Korust advanced from a little group to meet his guests. Off the
+stage he seemed at first sight frailer and slighter than ever. His dress
+coat had been exchanged for a velvet dinner jacket, and his white tie
+for a drooping black bow. He had a habit of blinking nearly all the
+time, as though his large brown eyes, which he seldom wholly opened,
+were weaker than they appeared to be. Nevertheless, when he came to
+within a few paces of his newly arrived visitors, they shone with plenty
+of expression. Without any change of countenance, however, he held out
+his hand.
+
+"Dear Andrea," Mademoiselle Celaire exclaimed, "you permit me that I
+present to you my dear friend, well known in Paris--alas! many years
+ago--Monsieur le Baron de Grost. Monsieur le Baron was kind enough to
+pay his respects to me this evening, and I have induced him to become my
+escort here."
+
+"It was my good fortune," Peter remarked, smiling, "that I saw
+Mademoiselle Celaire's name upon the bills this evening--my good
+fortune, since it has procured for me the honour of an acquaintance with
+a musician so distinguished."
+
+"You are very kind, Monsieur le Baron," Korust replied.
+
+"You stay here, I regret to hear, a very short time?"
+
+"Alas!" Andrea Korust admitted, "it is so. For myself, I would that it
+were longer. I find your London so attractive, the people so friendly.
+They fall in with my whims so charmingly. I have a hatred, you know, of
+solitude. I like to make acquaintances wherever I go, to have delightful
+women and interesting men around, to forget that life is not always gay.
+If I am too much alone I am miserable, and when I am miserable I am in a
+very bad way indeed. I cannot then make music."
+
+Peter smiled gravely and sympathetically.
+
+"And your brother? Does he, too, share your gregarious instincts?"
+
+Korust paused for a moment before replying. His eyes were quite wide
+open now. If one could judge from his expression, one would certainly
+have said that the Baron de Grost's attempts to ingratiate himself with
+his host were distinctly unsuccessful.
+
+"My brother has exactly opposite instincts," he said slowly. "He finds
+no pleasure in society. At the sound of a woman's voice he hides."
+
+"He is not here, then?" Peter asked, glancing around.
+
+Andrea Korust shook his head.
+
+"It is doubtful whether he joins us this evening at all," he declared.
+"My sister, however, is wholly of my disposition. Monsieur le Baron will
+permit me that I present her."
+
+Peter bowed low before a very handsome young woman with flashing black
+eyes, and a type of feature undoubtedly belonging to one of the
+countries of Eastern Europe. She was picturesquely dressed in a gown of
+flaming red silk, made as though in one piece, without trimming or
+flounces, and she seemed inclined to bestow upon her new acquaintance
+all the attention that he might desire. She took him at once into a
+corner and seated herself by his side. It was impossible for Peter not
+to associate the _empressement_ of her manner with the few words which
+Andrea Korust had whispered into her ear at the moment of their
+introduction.
+
+"So you," she murmured, "are the wonderful Baron de Grost? I have heard
+of you so often."
+
+"Wonderful!" Peter repeated, with twinkling eyes. "I have never been
+called that before. I feel that I have no claim whatever to distinction,
+especially in a gathering like this."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders and glanced carelessly across the room.
+
+"They are well enough," she admitted; "but one wearies of genius on
+every side of one. Genius is not the best thing in the world to live
+with, you know. It has whims and fancies. For instance, look at these
+rooms--the gloom, the obscurity--and I love so much the light."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"It is the privilege of genius," he remarked, "to have whims and to
+indulge in them."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"To do Andrea justice," she said, "it is, perhaps, scarcely a whim that
+he chooses to receive his guests in semi-darkness. He has weak eyes, and
+he is much too vain to wear spectacles. Tell me, you know everyone
+here?"
+
+"No one," Peter declared. "Please enlighten me, if you think it
+necessary. For myself," he added, dropping his voice a little, "I feel
+that the happiness of my evening is assured without making any further
+acquaintances."
+
+"But you came as the guest of Mademoiselle Celaire," she reminded him
+doubtfully, with a faint regretful sigh and a provocative gleam in her
+eyes.
+
+"I saw Mademoiselle Celaire to-night for the first time for years,"
+Peter replied. "I called to see her in her dressing-room, and she
+claimed me for an escort this evening. I am, alas! a very occasional
+wanderer in the pleasant paths of Bohemia."
+
+"If that is really true," she murmured, "I suppose I must tell you
+something about the people, or you will feel that you have wasted your
+opportunity."
+
+"Mademoiselle," Peter whispered.
+
+She held out her hand and laughed into his face.
+
+"No!" she interrupted. "I shall do my duty. Opposite you is Mademoiselle
+Drezani, the famous singer at Covent Garden. Do I need to tell you that,
+I wonder? Rudolf Maesterling, the dramatist, stands behind her there in
+the corner. He is talking to the wonderful Cléo, whom all the world
+knows. Monsieur Guyer there, he is manager, I believe, of the Alhambra;
+and talking to him is Marborg, the great pianist. The two ladies talking
+to my brother are Esther Hammerton, whom, of course, you know by sight.
+She is leading lady, is she not, at the Hilarity Theatre? The other one
+is Miss Ransome. They tell me that she is your only really great English
+actress."
+
+Peter nodded appreciatively.
+
+"It is all most interesting," he declared. "Now, tell me, please, who is
+the military person with the stiff figure and sallow complexion standing
+by the door? He seems quite alone."
+
+The girl made a little grimace.
+
+"I suppose I ought to be looking after him," she admitted, rising
+reluctantly to her feet. "He is a soldier just back from India--a
+General Noseworthy, with all sorts of letters after his name. If
+Mademoiselle Celaire is generous, perhaps we may have a few minutes'
+conversation later on," she added, with a parting smile.
+
+"Say, rather, if Mademoiselle Korust is kind," de Grost replied, bowing.
+"It depends upon that only."
+
+He strolled across the room and rejoined Mademoiselle Celaire a few
+moments later. They stood apart in a corner.
+
+"I should like my supper," Peter declared.
+
+"They wait for one more guest," Mademoiselle Celaire announced.
+
+"One more guest! Do you know who it is?"
+
+"No idea," she answered. "One would imagine that it was someone of
+importance. Are you any wiser than when you came dear master?" she added
+under her breath.
+
+"Not a whit," he replied promptly.
+
+She took out her fan and waved it slowly in front of her face.
+
+"Yet you must discover what it all means to-night or not at all," she
+whispered. "The dear Andrea has intimated to me most delicately that
+another escort would be more acceptable if I should honour him again."
+
+"That helps," he murmured. "See, our last guest arrives. Ah!"
+
+A tall, spare-looking man was just being announced. They heard his name
+as Andrea presented him to a companion:
+
+"Colonel Mayson!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire saw a gleam in her companion's eyes.
+
+"It is coming--the idea?" she whispered.
+
+"Very vaguely," he admitted.
+
+"Who is this Colonel Mayson?"
+
+"Our only military aeronaut," Peter replied.
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Aeronaut!" she repeated doubtfully. "I see nothing in that. Both my own
+country and Germany are years ahead of poor England in the air. Is it
+not so?"
+
+Peter smiled and held out his arm.
+
+"See," he said, "supper has been announced. Afterwards Andrea Korust
+will play to us, and I think that Colonel Mayson and his distinguished
+brother officer from India will talk. We shall see."
+
+They passed into a room whose existence had suddenly been revealed by
+the drawing back of some beautiful brocaded curtains. Supper was a
+delightful meal, charmingly served. Peter, putting everything else out
+of his head for the moment, thoroughly enjoyed himself, and, remembering
+his duty as a guest, contributed in no small degree towards the success
+of the entertainment. He sat between Mademoiselle Celaire and his
+hostess, both of whom demanded much from him in the way of attention.
+But he still found time to tell stories which were listened to by
+everyone, and exchanged sallies with the gayest. Only Andrea Korust,
+from his place at the head of the table, glanced occasionally towards
+his popular guest with a curious, half-hidden expression of distaste and
+suspicion. The more the Baron de Grost shone, the more uneasy Andrea
+became. The signal to rise from the meal was given almost abruptly.
+Mademoiselle Korust hung on to Peter's arm. Her own wishes and her
+brother's orders seemed to absolutely coincide. She led him towards a
+retired corner of the music-room. On the way, however, Peter overheard
+the introduction which he had expected.
+
+"General Noseworthy is just returned from India, Colonel Mayson," Korust
+said, in his usual quiet, tired tone. "You will, perhaps, find it
+interesting to talk together a little. As for me, I play because all are
+polite enough to wish it, but conversation disturbs me not in the
+least."
+
+Peter passed, smiling, on to the corner pointed out by his companion,
+which was the darkest and most secluded in the room. He took her fan and
+gloves, lit her cigarette, and leaned back by her side.
+
+"How does your brother, a stranger to London, find time to make the
+acquaintance of so many interesting people?" he asked.
+
+"He brought many letters," she replied. "He has friends everywhere."
+
+"I have an idea," Peter remarked, "that an acquaintance of my own, the
+Count von Hern, spoke to me once about him."
+
+She took her cigarette from her lips and turned her head slightly.
+Peter's expression was one of amiable reminiscence. His cheeks were a
+trifle flushed; his appearance was entirely reassuring. She laughed at
+her brother's caution. She found her companion delightful.
+
+"Yes, the Count von Hern is a friend of my brother's," she admitted
+carelessly.
+
+"And of yours?" he whispered, his arm slightly pressed against hers.
+
+She laughed at him silently and their eyes met. Decidedly Peter, Baron
+de Grost, found it hard to break away from his old weakness. Andrea
+Korust, from his place near the piano, breathed a sigh of relief as he
+watched. A moment or two later, however, Mademoiselle Korust was obliged
+to leave her companion to receive a late but unimportant guest, and
+almost simultaneously Colonel Mayson passed by on his way to the farther
+end of the apartment. Andrea Korust was bending over the piano to give
+some instructions to his accompanist. Peter leaned forward and his face
+and tone were strangely altered.
+
+"You will find General Noseworthy of the Indian Army a little
+inquisitive, Colonel," he remarked.
+
+The latter turned sharply round. There was meaning in those few words,
+without doubt! There was meaning, too, in the still, cold face which
+seemed to repel his question. He passed on thoughtfully. Mademoiselle
+Korust, with a gesture of relief, came back and threw herself once more
+upon the couch.
+
+"We must talk in whispers," she said gaily. "Andrea always declares that
+he does not mind conversation, but too much noise is, of course,
+impossible. Besides, Mademoiselle Celaire will not spare you to me for
+long."
+
+"There is a whole language," he replied, "which was made for whisperers.
+And as for Mademoiselle Celaire----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+He laughed softly.
+
+"Mademoiselle Celaire is, I think, more your brother's friend than
+mine," he murmured. "At least I will be generous. He has given me a
+delightful evening. I resign my claims upon Mademoiselle Celaire."
+
+"It would break your heart," she declared.
+
+His voice sank even below a whisper. Decidedly Peter, Baron de Grost,
+did not improve!...
+
+He rose to leave precisely at the right time, neither too early nor too
+late. He had spent altogether a most amusing evening. There were one or
+two little comedies which had diverted him extremely. At the moment of
+parting, the beautiful eyes of Mademoiselle Korust had been raised to
+his very earnestly.
+
+"You will come again very soon--to-morrow night?" she had whispered. "Is
+it necessary that you bring Mademoiselle Celaire?"
+
+"It is altogether unnecessary," Peter replied.
+
+"Let me try and entertain you instead, then."
+
+It was precisely at that instant that Andrea had sent for his sister.
+Peter watched their brief conversation with much interest and intense
+amusement. She was being told not to invite him there again and she was
+rebelling! Without a doubt he had made a conquest! She returned to him
+flushed, and with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," she said, leading him on one side, "I am ashamed
+and angry."
+
+"Your brother is annoyed because you have asked me here to-morrow
+night?" he asked quickly.
+
+"It is so," she confessed. "Indeed, I thank you that you have spared me
+the task of putting my brother's discourtesy into words. Andrea takes
+violent fancies like that sometimes. I am ashamed, but what can I do?"
+
+"Nothing, mademoiselle," he admitted, with a sigh. "I obey, of course.
+Did your brother mention the source of his aversion to me?"
+
+"He is too absurd sometimes," she declared. "One must treat him like a
+great baby."
+
+"Nevertheless, there must be a reason," Peter persisted, gently.
+
+"He has heard some foolish thing from the Count von Hern," she admitted,
+reluctantly. "Do not let us think anything more about it. In a few days
+it will have passed. And meanwhile----"
+
+She paused. He leaned a little towards her. She was looking intently at
+a ring upon her finger.
+
+"If you would really like to see me," she whispered, "and if you are
+sure that Mademoiselle Celaire would not object, could you not ask me to
+tea to-morrow or the next day?"
+
+"To-morrow," Peter insisted, with a becoming show of eagerness. "Shall
+we say at the Carlton at five?"
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"Isn't that rather a public place?" she objected.
+
+"Anywhere else you like."
+
+She was silent for a moment. She seemed to be waiting for some
+suggestion from him. None came.
+
+"The Carlton at five," she murmured. "I am angry with Andrea. I feel,
+even, that I could break his wonderful violin in two!"
+
+Peter sighed once more.
+
+"I should like to twist von Hern's neck!" he declared. "Lucky for him
+that he's in St. Petersburg! Let us forget this unpleasant matter,
+mademoiselle. The evening has been too delightful for such memories."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire turned to her escort as soon as they were alone in
+the car.
+
+"As an escort, let me tell you, my dear Baron," she exclaimed, with some
+pique, "that you are a miserable failure! For the rest----"
+
+"For the rest, I will admit that I am puzzled," Peter said. "I need to
+think. I have the glimmerings of an idea--no more."
+
+"You will act? It is an affair for us--for the Double Four?"
+
+"Without a doubt--an affair and a serious one," Peter assured her. "I
+shall act. Exactly how I cannot say until after to-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow?" she repeated.
+
+"Mademoiselle Korust takes tea with me," he explained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In a quiet sort of way, the series of supper parties given by Andrea
+Korust became the talk of London. The most famous dancer in the world
+broke through her unvarying rule, and night after night thrilled the
+distinguished little gathering. An opera singer, the "star" of the
+season, sang; a great genius recited; and Andrea himself gave always of
+his best. Apart from this wonderful outpouring of talent, Andrea Korust
+himself seemed to possess the peculiar art of bringing into touch with
+one another people naturally interested in the same subjects. On the
+night after the visit of Peter, Baron de Grost, His Grace the Duke of
+Rosshire was present, the man in whose hands lay the destinies of the
+British Navy; and, curiously enough, on the same night, a great French
+writer on naval subjects was present, whom the Duke had never met, and
+with whom he was delighted to talk for some time apart. On another
+occasion, the Military Secretary to the French Embassy was able to have
+a long and instructive chat with a distinguished English general on the
+subject of the recent manœuvres, and the latter received, in the
+strictest confidence, some very interesting information concerning the
+new type of French guns. On the following evening the greatest of our
+Colonial statesmen, a red-hot Imperialist, was able to chat about the
+resources of the Empire with an English politician of similar views,
+whom he chanced never to have previously met. Altogether these parties
+seemed to be the means of bringing together a series of most interesting
+people, interesting not only in themselves, but in their relations to
+one another. It was noticeable, however, that from this side of his
+little gatherings Andrea Korust remained wholly apart. He admitted that
+music and cheerful companionship were the only two things in life he
+really cared for. Politics or matters of world import seemed to leave
+him unmoved. If a serious subject of conversation were started at
+supper-time he was frankly bored, and took no pains to hide the fact. It
+is certain that whatever interesting topics were alluded to in his
+presence, he remained entirely outside any understanding of them.
+Mademoiselle Celaire, who was present most evenings, although with other
+escorts, was puzzled. She could see nothing whatever to account for the
+warning which she had received, and had at once passed on, as was her
+duty, to the Baron de Grost. She failed, also, to understand the faint
+but perceptible enlightenment to which Peter himself had admittedly
+attained after that first evening. Take that important conversation, for
+instance, between the French military _attaché_ and the British general.
+Without a doubt it was of interest, and especially so to the country
+which she was sure claimed his allegiance, but it was equally without
+doubt that Andrea Korust neither overheard a word of that conversation
+nor betrayed the slightest curiosity concerning it. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was a clever woman, and she had never felt so hopelessly at fault.
+Illumination was to come, however--illumination, dramatic and complete.
+
+The seventh and last of these famous supper parties was in full swing.
+Notwithstanding the shaded candles, which left the faces of the guests a
+little indistinct, the scene was a brilliant one. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was wearing her famous diamonds, which shone through the gloom like
+pin-pricks of fire; Garda Desmaines, the wonderful Garda, sat next to
+her host, her bosom and hair on fire with jewels, yet with the most
+wonderful light of all glowing in her eyes; a famous actor, who had
+thrown his proverbial reticence to the winds, kept his immediate
+neighbours in a state of semi-hysterical mirth; the clink of
+wine-glasses, the laughter of beautiful women, the murmur of cultivated
+voices, rose and fell through the faint, mysterious gloom. It was a
+picturesque, a wonderful scene enough. Pale as a marble statue, with the
+covert smile of the gracious host, Andrea Korust sat at the head of the
+table, well pleased with his company, as indeed he had the right to be.
+By his side was a great American statesman, who was travelling round the
+world, and yet had refused all other invitations of this sort. He had
+come for the pleasure of meeting the famous Dutch writer and politician,
+Mr. van Jool. The two were already talking intimately. It was at this
+point that tragedy, or something like it, intervened. A man's impatient
+voice was heard in the hall outside, a man's voice which grew louder and
+louder, more impatient, finally more passionate. People raised their
+heads to listen. The American statesman, who was, perhaps, the only one
+to realise exactly what was coming, slipped his hand into his pocket and
+gripped something cold and hard. Then the door was flung open. An
+apologetic and much disturbed butler made the announcement which had
+evidently been demanded of him.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen!"
+
+A silence followed--breathless--the silence before the bursting of the
+storm. Mr. von Tassen was the name of the American statesman, and the
+man who rose slowly from his place by his host's side was the exact
+double of the man who stood now upon the threshold, gazing in upon the
+room. The expression of the two alone was different. The new-comer was
+furiously angry, and looked it. The sham Mr. von Tassen was very much at
+his ease. It was he who broke the silence, and his voice was curiously
+free from all trace of emotion. He was looking his double over with an
+air of professional interest.
+
+"On the whole," he said calmly, "very good. A little stouter, I
+perceive, and the eyebrows a trifle too regular. Of course, when you
+make faces at me like that, it is hard to judge of the expression. I can
+only say that I did the best I could."
+
+"Who the devil are you, masquerading in my name?" the new-comer
+demanded, with emphasis. "This man is an impostor!" he added, turning to
+Andrea Korust. "What is he doing at your table?"
+
+Andrea leaned forward, and his face was an evil thing to look upon.
+
+"Who are you?" he hissed out.
+
+The sham Mr. von Tassen turned away for a moment and stooped down. The
+trick has been done often enough upon the stage, often in less time, but
+seldom with more effect. The wonderful wig disappeared, the spectacles,
+the lines in the face, the make-up of diabolical cleverness. With his
+back to the wall and his fingers playing with something in his pocket,
+Peter, Baron de Grost smiled upon his host.
+
+"Since you insist upon knowing--the Baron de Grost, at your service!" he
+announced.
+
+Andrea Korust was, for the moment, speechless. One of the women
+shrieked. The real Mr. von Tassen looked around him helplessly.
+
+"Will someone be good enough to enlighten me as to the meaning of this?"
+he begged. "Is it a roast? If so, I only want to catch on. Let me get to
+the joke, if there is one. If not, I should like a few words of
+explanation from you, sir," he added, addressing Peter.
+
+"Presently," the latter replied. "In the meantime, let me persuade you
+that I am not the only impostor here."
+
+He seized a glass of water and dashed it in the face of Mr. van Jool.
+There was a moment's scuffle, and no more of Mr. van Jool. What emerged
+was a good deal like the shy Maurice Korust, who accompanied his brother
+at the music-hall, but whose distaste for these gatherings had been
+Andrea's continual lament. The Baron de Grost stepped back once more
+against the wall. His host was certainly looking dangerous. Mademoiselle
+Celaire was leaning forward, staring through the gloom with distended
+eyes. Around the table every head was craned towards the centre of the
+disturbance. It was Peter again who spoke.
+
+"Let me suggest, Andrea Korust," he said, "that you send your
+guests--those who are not immediately interested in this affair--into
+the next room. I will offer Mr. von Tassen then the explanation to which
+he is entitled."
+
+Andrea Korust staggered to his feet. The man's nerve had failed. He was
+shaking all over. He pointed to the music-room.
+
+"If you would be so good, ladies and gentlemen!" he begged. "We will
+follow you immediately."
+
+They went, with obvious reluctance. All their eyes seemed focused upon
+Peter. He bore their scrutiny with calm cheerfulness. For a moment he
+had feared Korust, but that moment had passed. A servant, obeying his
+master's gesture, pulled back the curtains after the departing crowd.
+The four men were alone.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen," Peter said easily, "you are a man who loves
+adventures. To-night you experience a new sort of one. Over in your
+great country such methods as these are laughed at as the cheap device
+of sensation-mongers. Nevertheless, they exist. To-night is a proof that
+they exist."
+
+"Get on to facts, sir!" the American admonished. "Before you leave this
+room, you've got to explain to me what you mean by passing yourself off
+as Thomas von Tassen."
+
+Peter bowed.
+
+"With much pleasure, Mr. von Tassen," he declared. "For your
+information, I might tell you that you are not the only person in whose
+guise I have figured. In fact, I have had quite a busy week. I have
+been--let me see--I have been Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel on the
+night when our shy friend, Maurice Korust, was playing the part of
+General Henderson. I have also been His Grace the Duke of Rosshire when
+my friend Maurice here was introduced to me as François Defayal, known
+by name to me as one of the greatest writers on naval matters. A little
+awkward about the figure I found His Grace, but otherwise I think that I
+should have passed muster wherever he was known. I have also passed as
+Sir William Laureston, on the evening when my rival artiste here sang
+the praises of Imperial England."
+
+Andrea Korust leaned forward with venomous eyes.
+
+"You mean that it was you who was here last night in Sir William
+Laureston's place?" he almost shrieked.
+
+"Most certainly," Peter admitted, "but you must remember that, after
+all, my performances have been no more difficult than those of your shy
+but accomplished brother. Whenever I took to myself a strange
+personality I found him there, equally good as to detail, and with his
+subject always at his finger-tips. We settled that little matter of the
+canal, didn't we?" Peter remarked cheerfully, laying his hand upon the
+shoulder of the young man.
+
+They stared at him, these two white-faced brothers, like tiger-cats
+about to spring. Mr. von Tassen was getting impatient.
+
+"Look here," he protested, "you may be clearing matters up so far as
+regards Mr. Andrea Korust and his brother, but I'm as much in the fog as
+ever. Where do I come in?"
+
+"Your pardon, sir!" Peter replied. "I am getting nearer things now.
+These two young men--we will not call them hard names--are suffering
+from an excess of patriotic zeal. They didn't come and sit down on a
+camp-stool and sketch obsolete forts, as those others of their
+countrymen do when they want to pose as the bland and really exceedingly
+ignorant foreigners. They went about the matter with some skill. It
+occurred to them that it might be interesting to their country to know
+what Sir William Laureston thought about the strength of the Imperial
+Navy, and to what extent his country were willing to go in maintaining
+their allegiance to Great Britain. Then there was the Duke of Rosshire.
+They thought they'd like to know his views as to the development of the
+Navy during the next ten years. There was that little matter, too, of
+the French guns. It would certainly be interesting to them to know what
+Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel had to say about them. These people
+were all invited to sit at the hospitable board of our host here. I,
+however, had an inkling on the first night of what was going on, and I
+was easily able to persuade those in authority to let me play their
+several parts. You, sir," Peter added, turning to Mr. von Tassen, "you,
+sir, floored me. You were not an Englishman, and there was no appeal
+which I could make. I simply had to risk you. I counted upon your not
+turning up. Unfortunately, you did. Fortunately, you are the last guest.
+This is the seventh supper."
+
+Mr. von Tassen glanced around at the three men and made up his mind.
+
+"What do you call yourself?" he asked Peter.
+
+"The Baron de Grost," Peter replied.
+
+"Then, my friend the Baron de Grost," von Tassen said, "I think that you
+and I had better get out of this. So I was to talk about Germany with
+Mr. van Jool, eh?"
+
+"I have already explained your views," Peter declared, with twinkling
+eyes. "Mr. van Jool was delighted."
+
+Mr. von Tassen shook with laughter.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "this is a great story! If you're ready, Baron de
+Grost, lead the way to where we can get a whisky and soda and a chat."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire came gliding out to them.
+
+"I am not going to be left here," she whispered, taking Peter's arm.
+
+Peter looked back from the door.
+
+"At any rate, Mr. Andrea Korust," he said, "your first supper was a
+success. Colonel Mayson was genuine. Our real English military aeronaut
+was here, and he has disclosed to you, Maurice Korust, all that he ever
+knew. Henceforth I presume your great country will dispute with us for
+the mastery of the air."
+
+"Queer country, this," Mr. von Tassen remarked, pausing on the step to
+light a cigar. "Seems kind of humdrum after New York, but there's no use
+talking--things do happen over here anyway!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+
+His host, very fussy as he always was on the morning of his big shoot,
+came bustling towards de Grost, with a piece of paper in his hand. The
+party of men had just descended from a large brake and were standing
+about on the edge of the common, examining cartridges, smoking a last
+cigarette before the business of the morning, and chatting together over
+the prospects of the day's sport. In the distance, a cloud of dust
+indicated the approach of a fast-travelling motor-car.
+
+"My dear Baron," Sir William Bounderby said, "I want you to change your
+stand to-day. I must have a good man at the far corner as the birds go
+off my land from there, and Addington was missing them shockingly
+yesterday. Besides, there is a new man coming on your left, and I know
+nothing of his shooting--nothing at all!"
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"Anywhere you choose to put me, Sir William," he assented. "They came
+badly for Addington yesterday, and well for me. However, I'll do my
+best."
+
+"I wish people wouldn't bring strangers, especially to the one shoot
+where I'm keen about the bag. I told Portal he could bring his
+brother-in-law, and he's bringing this foreign fellow instead. Don't
+suppose he can shoot for nuts! Did you ever hear of him, I wonder? The
+Count von Hern, he calls himself."
+
+Peter was not on his guard and a little exclamation escaped him.
+
+"Bernadine!" he murmured, softly. "So the game begins once more!"
+
+His interest was unmistakable. It was not only the chill November air
+which had brought a touch of colour to his cheeks and the light to his
+eyes.
+
+"You seem pleased," Sir William Bounderby remarked, curiously. "You do
+know the fellow, then? Friend of yours, perhaps?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Oh, yes! I know him, Sir William," he replied, "but I do not think that
+he would call himself a friend of mine. I know nothing about his
+shooting except that if he got a chance I think that he would like to
+shoot me."
+
+Sir William, who was a very literal man, looked grave.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "if you are likely to find this meeting in any
+way awkward. I suppose there's nothing against him, eh?" he added, a
+little nervously. "I invited him purely on the strength of his being a
+guest of Portal's."
+
+"The Count von Hern comes, I believe," Peter assured his host, "of a
+distinguished European family. Socially there is nothing whatever
+against him. We happen to have run up against each other once or twice,
+that's all. That sort of thing will occur, you know, when the interests
+of finance touch the border-line of politics."
+
+"You have no objection to meeting him, then?" Sir William asked.
+
+"Not the slightest," Peter replied. "I do not know exactly in what
+direction the Count von Hern is extending his activities at present, but
+you will probably find any feeling of annoyance as regards our meeting
+to-day is entirely on his side."
+
+"I am very glad to hear it," Sir William declared. "I should not like
+anything to happen to disturb the harmony of your short visit to us."
+
+The motor-car had come to a standstill by this time. From it descended
+Mr. Portal himself, a large neighbouring landowner, a man of culture and
+travel. With him was Bernadine, in a very correct shooting suit and
+Tyrolese hat. On the other side of Mr. Portal was a short, thick-set
+man, with olive complexion, keen black eyes, black moustache and
+imperial, and sombrely dressed in City clothes. Sir William's eyebrows
+were slightly raised as he advanced to greet the party. Peter was at
+once profoundly interested.
+
+Mr. Portal introduced his guests.
+
+"You will forgive me, I am sure, for bringing a spectator, Bounderby,"
+he said. "Major Kosuth, whom I have the honour to present--Major Kosuth,
+Sir William Bounderby--is high up in the diplomatic service of a people
+with whom we must feel every sympathy--the young Turks. The Count von
+Hern, who takes my brother-in-law's place, is probably known to you by
+name."
+
+Sir William welcomed his visitors cordially.
+
+"You do not shoot, Major Kosuth?" he asked.
+
+"Very seldom," the Turk answered. "I come to-day with my good friend,
+Count von Hern, as a spectator, if you permit."
+
+"Delighted," Sir William replied. "We will find you a safe place near
+your friend."
+
+The little party began to move toward the wood. It was just at this
+moment that Bernadine felt a touch upon his shoulder, and, turning
+round, found Peter by his side.
+
+"An unexpected pleasure, my dear Count," the latter declared, suavely.
+"I had no idea that you took an interest in such simple sports."
+
+The manners of the Count von Hern were universally quoted as being
+almost too perfect. It is a regrettable fact, however, that at that
+moment he swore--softly, perhaps, but with distinct vehemence. A moment
+later he was exchanging the most cordial of greetings with his old
+friend.
+
+"You have the knack, my dear de Grost," he remarked, "of turning up in
+the most surprising places. I certainly did not know that amongst your
+many accomplishments was included a love for field sports."
+
+Peter smiled quietly. He was a very fine shot, and knew it.
+
+"One must amuse oneself these days," he said. "There is little else to
+do."
+
+Bernadine bit his lip.
+
+"My absence from this country, I fear, has robbed you of an occupation."
+
+"It has certainly deprived life of some of its savour," Peter admitted,
+blandly. "By the by, will you not present me to your friend? I have the
+utmost sympathy with the intrepid political party of which he is a
+member."
+
+The Count von Hern performed the introduction with a reluctance which he
+wholly failed to conceal. The Turk, however, had been walking on his
+other side, and his hat was already lifted. Peter had purposely raised
+his voice.
+
+"It gives me the greatest pleasure, Major Kosuth," Peter said, "to
+welcome you to this country. In common, I believe, with the majority of
+my countrymen, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the movement
+which you represent."
+
+Major Kosuth smiled slowly. His features were heavy and unexpressive.
+There was something of gloom, however, in the manner of his response.
+
+"You are very kind, Baron," he replied, "and I welcome very much this
+expression of your interest in my party. I believe that the hearts of
+your country people are turned towards us in the same manner. I could
+wish that your country's political sympathies were as easily aroused."
+
+Bernadine intervened promptly.
+
+"Major Kosuth has been here only one day," he remarked lightly. "I tell
+him that he is a little too impatient. See, we are approaching the wood.
+It is as well here to refrain from conversation."
+
+"We will resume it later," Peter said, softly. "I have interests in
+Turkey, and it would give me great pleasure to have a talk with Major
+Kosuth."
+
+"Financial interests?" the latter inquired, with some eagerness.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I will explain after the first drive," he said, turning away.
+
+Peter walked rather quickly until he reached a bend in the wood. He
+overtook his host on the way, and paused for a moment.
+
+"Lend me a loader for half an hour, Sir William," he begged. "I have to
+send my servant to the village with a telegram."
+
+"With pleasure!" Sir William answered. "There are several to spare. I'll
+send one to your stand. There's von Hern going the wrong way!" he
+exclaimed, in a tone of annoyance.
+
+Peter was just in time to stop the whistle from going to his mouth.
+
+"Do me another favour, Sir William," he pleaded. "Give me time to send
+off my telegram before the Count sees what I'm doing. He's such an
+inquisitive person," he went on, noticing his host's look of blank
+surprise. "Thank you ever so much!"
+
+Peter hurried on to his place. It was round the corner of the wood, and
+for the moment out of sight of the rest of the party. He tore a sheet
+from his pocket-book and scribbled out a telegram. His man had
+disappeared and a substitute taken his place by the time the Count von
+Hern arrived. The latter was now all amiability. It was hard to believe,
+from his smiling salutation, that he and the man to whom he waved his
+hand in so airy a fashion had ever declared war to the death!
+
+The shooting began a few minutes later. Major Kosuth, from a camp stool
+a few yards behind his friend, watched with somewhat languid interest.
+He gave one, indeed, the impression that his thoughts were far removed
+from this simple country party, the main object of whose existence for
+the present seemed to be the slaying of a certain number of inoffensive
+birds. He watched the indifferent performance of his friend and the
+remarkably fine shooting of his neighbour on the left, with the same
+lack-lustre eye and want of enthusiasm. The beat was scarcely over
+before Peter, resigning his smoking guns to his loader, lit a cigarette
+and strolled across to the next stand. He plunged at once into a
+conversation with Kosuth, notwithstanding Bernadine's ill-concealed
+annoyance.
+
+"Major Kosuth," he began, "I sympathise with you. It is a hard task for
+a man whose mind is centred upon great events to sit still and watch a
+performance of this sort. Be kind to us all and remember that this
+represents to us merely a few hours of relaxation. We, too, have our
+more serious moments."
+
+"You read my thoughts well," Major Kosuth declared. "I do not seek to
+excuse them. For half a lifetime we Turks have toiled and striven,
+always in danger of our lives, to help forward those things which have
+now come to pass. I think that our lives have become tinged with
+sombreness and apprehension. Now that the first step is achieved, we go
+forward, still with trepidation. We need friends, Baron de Grost."
+
+"You cannot seriously doubt but that you will find them in this
+country," Peter remarked. "There has never been a time when the English
+nation has not sympathised with the cause of liberty."
+
+"It is not the hearts of your people," Major Kosuth said, "which I fear.
+It is the antics of your politicians. Sympathy is a great thing, and
+good to have, but Turkey to-day needs more. The heart of a nation is
+big, but the number of those in whose hands it remains to give practical
+expression to its promptings is few."
+
+Bernadine, who had stood as much as he could, seized forcibly upon his
+friend.
+
+"You must remember our bargain, Kosuth," he insisted--"no politics
+to-day. Until to-morrow evening we rest. Now I want to introduce you to
+a very old friend of mine, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county."
+
+The Turk was bustled off, a little unwillingly. Peter watched them with
+a smile. It was many months since he had felt so keen an interest in
+life. The coming of Bernadine had steadied his nerves. His gun had come
+to his shoulder like the piston-rod of an engine. His eye was clear, his
+nerve still. There was something to be done! Decidedly, there was
+something to be done!...
+
+No man was better informed in current political affairs; but Peter,
+instead of joining the cheerful afternoon tea party at the close of the
+day, raked out a file of _The Times_ from the library, and studied it
+carefully in his room. There were one or two items of news concerning
+which he made pencil notes. He had scarcely finished his task before a
+servant brought in a dispatch. He opened it with interest and drew
+pencil and paper towards him. It was from Paris, and in the code which
+he had learnt by heart, no written key of which now existed. Carefully
+he transcribed it on to paper and read it through. It was dated from
+Paris a few hours back:
+
+"Kosuth left for England yesterday. Envoy from new Turkish Government.
+Requiring loan one million pounds. Asked for guarantee that it was not
+for warlike movement against Bulgaria; declined to give same.
+Communicated with English Ambassador and informed Kosuth yesterday that
+neither Government would sanction loan unless undertaking were given
+that the same was not to be applied for war against Bulgaria. Turkey is
+under covenant to enter into no financial obligations with any other
+Power while the interest of former loans remains in abeyance. Kosuth has
+made two efforts to obtain loan privately, from prominent English
+financier and French syndicate. Both have declined to treat on
+representations from Government. Kosuth was expected return direct to
+Turkey. If, as you say, he is in England with Bernadine, we commend the
+affair to your utmost vigilance. Germany exceedingly anxious enter into
+close relations with new Government of Turkey. Fear Kosuth's association
+with Bernadine proof of bad faith. Have had interview with Minister for
+Foreign Affairs, who relies upon our help. French Secret Service at your
+disposal, if necessary."
+
+Peter read the message three times with the greatest care. He was on the
+point of destroying it when Violet came into the room. She was wearing a
+long tea jacket of sheeny silk. Her beautiful hair was most becomingly
+arranged, her figure as light and girlish as ever. She came into the
+room humming gaily and swinging a gold purse upon her finger.
+
+"Won three rubbers out of four, Peter," she declared, "and a compliment
+from the Duchess. Aren't I a pupil to be proud of?"
+
+She stopped short. Her lips formed themselves into the shape of a
+whistle. She knew very well the signs. Her husband's eyes were kindling,
+there was a firm set about his lips, the palm of his hand lay flat upon
+that sheet of paper.
+
+"It was true?" she murmured. "It was Bernadine who was shooting to-day?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"He was on the next stand," he replied.
+
+"Then there is something doing, of course," Violet continued. "My dear
+Peter, you may be an enigma to other people; to me you have the most
+expressive countenance I ever saw. You have had a cable which you have
+just transcribed. If I had been a few minutes later, I think you would
+have torn up the result. As it is, I think I have come just in time to
+hear all about it."
+
+Peter smiled, grimly but fondly. He uncovered the sheet of paper and
+placed it in her hands.
+
+"So far," he said, "there isn't much to tell you. The Count von Hern
+turned up this morning with a Major Kosuth, who was one of the leaders
+of the revolution in Turkey. I wired Paris, and this is the reply."
+
+She read the message through thoughtfully and handed it back. Peter lit
+a match, and standing over the fireplace, calmly destroyed it.
+
+"A million pounds is not a great sum of money," Violet remarked. "Why
+could not Kosuth borrow it for his country from a private individual?"
+
+"A million pounds is not a large sum to talk about," Peter replied, "but
+it is an exceedingly large sum for anyone, even a multi-millionaire, to
+handle in cash. And Turkey, I gather, wants it at once. Besides,
+considerations which might be of value from a Government are no security
+at all as applied to a private individual."
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Do you think that Kosuth means to go behind the existing treaty and
+borrow from Germany?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I can't quite believe that," he said. "It would mean the straining of
+diplomatic relations with both countries. It is out of the question."
+
+"Then where does Bernadine come in?"
+
+"I do not know," Peter answered.
+
+Violet laughed.
+
+"What is it that you are going to try to find out?" she asked.
+
+"I am trying to discover who it is that Bernadine and Kosuth are waiting
+to see," Peter replied. "The worst of it is, I daren't leave here. I
+shall have to trust to the others."
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Well, go and dress," she said. "I'm afraid I've a little of your blood
+in me, after all. Life seems more stirring when Bernadine is on the
+scene."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The shooting party broke up two days later and Peter and his wife
+returned at once to town. The former found the reports which were
+awaiting his arrival disappointing. Bernadine and his guest were not in
+London, or if they were they had carefully avoided all the usual haunts.
+Peter read his reports over again, smoked a very long cigar alone in his
+study, and finally drove down to the City and called upon his
+stockbroker, who was also a personal friend. Things were flat in the
+City, and the latter was glad enough to welcome an important client. He
+began talking the usual market shop until his visitor stopped him.
+
+"I have come to you, Edwardes, more for information than anything,"
+Peter declared, "although it may mean that I shall need to sell a lot of
+stock. Can you tell me of any private financier who could raise a loan
+of a million pounds in cash within the course of a week?"
+
+The stockbroker looked dubious.
+
+"In cash?" he repeated. "Money isn't raised that way, you know. I doubt
+whether there are many men in the whole city of London who could put up
+such an amount with only a week's notice."
+
+"But there must be someone," Peter persisted. "Think! It would probably
+be a firm or a man not obtrusively English. I don't think the Jews would
+touch it, and a German citizen would be impossible."
+
+"Semi-political, eh?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"It is rather that way," he admitted.
+
+"Would your friend the Count von Hern be likely to be concerned in it?"
+
+"Why?" Peter asked, with immovable face.
+
+"Nothing, only I saw him coming out of Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+other day," the stockbroker remarked, carelessly.
+
+"And who is Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge?"
+
+"A very wealthy American financier," the stockbroker replied, "not at
+all an unlikely person for a loan of the sort you mention."
+
+"American citizen?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Without a doubt. Of German descent, I should say, but nothing much left
+of it in his appearance. He settled over here in a huff, because New
+York society wouldn't receive his wife."
+
+"I remember all about it," Peter declared. "She was a chorus girl,
+wasn't she? Nothing particular against her, but the fellow had no tact.
+Do you know him, Edwardes?"
+
+"Slightly," the stockbroker answered.
+
+"Give me a letter to him," Peter said. "Give my credit as good a leg up
+as you can. I shall probably go as a borrower."
+
+Mr. Edwardes wrote a few lines and handed them to his client.
+
+"Office is nearly opposite," he remarked. "Wish you luck, whatever your
+scheme is."
+
+Peter crossed the street and entered the building which his friend had
+pointed out. He ascended in the lift to the third floor, knocked at the
+door which bore Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's name, and almost ran into the
+arms of a charmingly dressed little lady, who was being shown out by a
+broad-shouldered, typical American. Peter hastened to apologise.
+
+"I beg your pardon," he said, raising his hat. "I was rather in a hurry,
+and I quite thought I heard someone say, 'Come in'."
+
+The lady replied pleasantly. Her companion, who was carrying his hat in
+his hand, paused reluctantly.
+
+"Did you want to see me?" he asked.
+
+"If you are Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I did," Peter admitted. "My name is
+the Baron de Grost, and I have a letter of introduction to you from Mr.
+Edwardes."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge tore open the envelope and glanced through the
+contents of the note. Peter meanwhile looked at his wife with genuine
+but respectfully cloaked admiration. The lady obviously returned his
+interest.
+
+"Why, if you're the Baron de Grost," she exclaimed, "didn't you marry Vi
+Brown? She used to be at the Gaiety with me years ago."
+
+"I certainly did marry Violet Brown," Peter confessed; "and, if you will
+allow me to say so, Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge, I should have recognised you
+anywhere from your photographs."
+
+"Say, isn't that queer?" the little lady remarked, turning to her
+husband. "I should love to see Vi again."
+
+"If you will give me your address," Peter declared promptly, "my wife
+will be delighted to call upon you."
+
+The man looked up from the note.
+
+"Do you want to talk business with me, Baron?" he asked.
+
+"For a few moments only," Peter answered. "I am afraid I am a great
+nuisance, and, if you wish it, I will come down to the City again."
+
+"That's all right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Myra won't mind
+waiting a minute or two. Come through here."
+
+He turned back and led the way into a quiet-looking suite of offices,
+where one or two clerks were engaged writing at open desks. They all
+three passed into an inner room.
+
+"Any objection to my wife coming in?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+"There's scarcely any place for her out there."
+
+"Delighted," Peter answered.
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Remember we have to meet the Count von Hern at half-past one at
+Prince's, Charles," she reminded him.
+
+Her husband nodded. There was nothing in Peter's expression to denote
+that he had already achieved the first object of his visit.
+
+"I shall not detain you," he said. "Your name has been mentioned to me,
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, as a financier likely to have a large sum of money
+at his disposal. I have a scheme which needs money. Providing the
+security is unexceptionable, are you in a position to do a deal?"
+
+"How much do you want?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+
+"A million to a million and a half," Peter answered.
+
+"Dollars?"
+
+"Pounds."
+
+It was not Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's pose to appear surprised. Nevertheless
+his eyebrows were slightly raised.
+
+"Say, what is this scheme?" he inquired.
+
+"First of all," Peter replied, "I should like to know whether there's
+any chance of business if I disclose it."
+
+"Not an atom," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge declared. "I have just committed
+myself to the biggest financial transaction of my life, and it will
+clean me out."
+
+"Then I won't waste your time," Peter announced, rising.
+
+"Sit down for a moment," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited, biting the end
+off a cigar and passing the box towards Peter. "That's all right. My
+wife doesn't mind. Say, it strikes me as rather a curious thing that you
+should come in here and talk about a million and a half when that's just
+the amount concerned in my other little deal."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"As a matter of fact, it isn't at all queer," he answered. "I don't want
+the money. I came to see whether you were really interested in the other
+affair--the Turkish loan, you know."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge withdrew his cigar from his mouth and looked
+steadily at his visitor.
+
+"Say, Baron," he declared, "you've got a nerve!"
+
+"Not at all," Peter replied. "I'm here as much in your interests as my
+own."
+
+"Whom do you represent, any way?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge inquired.
+
+"A company you never heard of," Peter replied. "Our offices are in the
+underground places of the world, and we don't run to brass plates. I am
+here because I am curious about that loan. Turkey hasn't a shadow of
+security to offer you. Everything which she can pledge is pledged to
+guarantee the interest on existing loans to France and England. She is
+prevented by treaty from borrowing in Germany. If you make a loan
+without security, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I suppose you understand your
+position. The loan may be repudiated at any moment."
+
+"Kind of a philanthropist, aren't you?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge remarked
+quietly.
+
+"Not in the least," Peter assured him. "I know there's some tricky work
+going on, and I suppose I haven't brains enough to get to the bottom of
+it. That's why I've come blundering in to you, and why, I suppose,
+you'll be telling the whole story to the Count von Hern at luncheon in
+an hour's time."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge smoked in silence for a moment or two.
+
+"This transaction of mine," he said at last, "isn't one I can talk
+about. I guess I'm on to what you want to know, but I simply can't tell
+you. The security is unusual, but it's good enough for me."
+
+"It seems so to you beyond a doubt," Peter replied. "Still, you have to
+do with a remarkably clever young man in the Count von Hern. I don't
+want to ask you any questions you feel I ought not to, but I do wish
+you'd tell me one thing."
+
+"Go right ahead," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited. "Don't be shy."
+
+"What day are you concluding this affair?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge scratched his chin for a moment thoughtfully and
+glanced at his diary.
+
+"Well, I'll risk that," he decided. "A week to-day I hand over the
+coin."
+
+Peter drew a little breath of relief. A week was an immense time! He
+rose to his feet.
+
+"That ends our business, then, for the present," he said. "Now I am
+going to ask both of you a favour. Perhaps I have no right to, but as a
+man of honour, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, you can take it from me that I ask
+it in your interests as well as my own. Don't tell the Count von Hern of
+my visit to you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge held out his hand.
+
+"That's all right," he declared. "You hear, Myra?"
+
+"I'll be dumb, Baron," she promised. "Say when do you think Vi can come
+and see me?"
+
+Peter was guilty of snobbery. He considered it quite a justifiable
+weapon.
+
+"She is at Windsor this afternoon," he remarked.
+
+"What, at the garden party?" Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge almost shrieked.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I believe there's some fête or other to-morrow," he said; "but we're
+alone this evening. Why, won't you dine with us, say at the Carlton?"
+
+"We'd love to," the lady assented promptly.
+
+"At eight o'clock," Peter said, taking his leave.
+
+The dinner-party was a great success. Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge found
+herself amongst the class of people with whom it was her earnest desire
+to become acquainted, and her husband was well satisfied to see her keen
+longing for Society likely to be gratified. The subject of Peter's call
+at the office in the City was studiously ignored. It was not until the
+very end of the evening, indeed, that the host of this very agreeable
+party was rewarded by a single hint. It all came about in the most
+natural manner. They were speaking of foreign capitals.
+
+"I love Paris," Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge told her host. "Just adore it.
+Charles is often there on business, and I always go along."
+
+Peter smiled. There was just a chance here.
+
+"Your husband does not often have to leave London?" he remarked
+carelessly.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Not often enough," she declared. "I just love getting about. Last week
+we had a perfectly horrible trip, though. We started off for Belfast
+quite unexpectedly, and I hated every minute of it."
+
+Peter smiled inwardly, but he said never a word. His companion was
+already chattering on about something else. Peter crossed the hall a few
+minutes later to speak to an acquaintance, slipped out to the telephone
+booth, and spoke to his servant.
+
+"A bag and a change," he ordered, "at Euston Station at twelve o'clock,
+in time for the Irish mail. Your mistress will be home as usual."
+
+An hour later the dinner-party broke up. Early the next morning Peter
+crossed the Irish Channel. He returned the following day, and crossed
+again within a few hours. In five days the affair was finished, except
+for the _dénouement_.
+
+Peter ascended in the lift to Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+following Thursday, calm and unruffled as usual, but nevertheless a
+little exultant. It was barely half an hour ago since he had become
+finally prepared for this interview. He was looking forward to it now
+with feelings of undiluted satisfaction. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge was in, he
+was told, and he was at once admitted to his presence. The financier
+greeted him with a somewhat curious smile.
+
+"Say, this is very nice of you to look me up again!" he exclaimed.
+"Still worrying about that loan, eh?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"No, I'm not worrying about that any more," he answered, accepting one
+of his host's cigars. "The fact of it is that if it were not for me you
+would be the one who would have to do the worrying."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge stopped short in the act of lighting his cigar.
+
+"I'm not quite catching on," he remarked. "What's the trouble?"
+
+"There is no trouble, fortunately," Peter replied. "Only a little
+disappointment for our friends the Count von Hern and Major Kosuth. I
+have brought you some information which, I think, will put an end to
+that affair of the loan."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge sat quite still for a moment. His brows were
+knitted; he showed no signs of nervousness.
+
+"Go right on," he said.
+
+"The security upon which you were going to advance a million and a half
+to the Turkish Government," Peter continued, "consisted of two
+Dreadnoughts and a cruiser, being built to the order of that country by
+Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves at Belfast."
+
+"Quite right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge admitted quietly. "I have been up
+and seen the boats. I have seen the shipbuilders, too."
+
+"Did you happen to mention to the latter," Peter inquired, "that you
+were advancing money upon those vessels?"
+
+"Certainly not," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Kosuth wouldn't hear of
+such a thing. If the papers got wind of it there'd be the devil to pay.
+All the same, I have got an assignment from the Turkish Government."
+
+"Not worth the paper it's written on," Peter declared blandly.
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge rose unsteadily to his feet. He was a strong,
+silent man, but there was a queer look about his mouth.
+
+"What the devil do you mean?" he demanded.
+
+"Briefly this," Peter explained. "The first payment, when these ships
+were laid down, was made not by Turkey, but by an emissary of the German
+Government, who arranged the whole affair in Constantinople. The second
+payment was due ten months ago, and not a penny has been paid. Notice
+was given to the late Government twice and absolutely ignored. According
+to the charter, therefore, these ships reverted to the shipbuilding
+company, who retained possession of the first payment as indemnity
+against loss. The Count von Hern's position was this. He represents the
+German Government. You were to find a million and a half of money, with
+the ships as security. You also have a contract from the Count von Hern
+to take those ships off your hands provided the interest on the loan
+became overdue, a state of affairs which, I can assure you, would have
+happened within the next twelve months. Practically, therefore, you were
+made use of as an independent financier to provide the money with which
+the Turkish Government, broadly speaking, have sold the ships to
+Germany. You see, according to the charter of the shipbuilding company,
+these vessels cannot be sold to any foreign Government without the
+consent of Downing Street. That is the reason why the affair had to be
+conducted in such a roundabout manner."
+
+"All this is beyond me," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said hoarsely. "I don't
+care a d----n who has the ships in the end so long as I get my money!"
+
+"But you would not get your money," Peter pointed out, "because there
+will be no ships. I have had the shrewdest lawyers in the world at work
+upon the charter, and there is not the slightest doubt that these
+vessels are, or rather were, the entire property of Messrs. Shepherd and
+Hargreaves. To-day they belong to me. I have bought them and paid
+£200,000 deposit. I can show you the receipt and all the papers."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said only one word, but that word was profane.
+
+"I am sorry, of course, that you have lost the business," Peter
+concluded; "but surely it's better than losing your money?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge struck the table fiercely with his fist. There was
+a grey and unfamiliar look about his face.
+
+"D----n it, the money's gone!" he declared hoarsely: "They changed the
+day. Kosuth had to go back. I paid it twenty-four hours ago."
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"If only you had trusted me a little more!" he murmured. "I tried to
+warn you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge snatched up his hat.
+
+"They don't leave till the two-twenty," he shouted. "We'll catch them at
+the Milan. If we don't, I'm ruined! By Heaven, I'm ruined!"
+
+They found Major Kosuth in the hall of the hotel. He was wearing a fur
+coat and otherwise attired for travelling. His luggage was already being
+piled upon a cab. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge wasted no words upon him.
+
+"You and I have got to have a talk, right here and now," he declared.
+"Where's the Count?"
+
+Major Kosuth frowned gloomily.
+
+"I do not understand you," he said shortly. "Our business is concluded,
+and I am leaving by the two-twenty train."
+
+"You are doing nothing of the sort," the American answered, standing
+before him, grim and threatening.
+
+The Turk showed no sign of terror. He gripped his silver-headed cane
+firmly.
+
+"I think," he said, "that there is no one here who will prevent me."
+
+Peter, who saw a fracas imminent, hastily intervened.
+
+"If you will permit me for a moment," he said, "there is a little
+explanation I should perhaps make to Major Kosuth."
+
+The Turk took a step towards the door.
+
+"I have no time to listen to explanations from you or anyone," he
+replied. "My cab is waiting. I depart. If Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge is not
+satisfied with our transaction, I am sorry, but it is too late to alter
+anything."
+
+For a moment it seemed as though a struggle between the two men was
+inevitable. Already people were glancing at them curiously, for Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge came of a primitive school, and he had no intention
+whatever of letting his man escape. Fortunately at that moment the Count
+von Hern came up, and Peter at once appealed to him.
+
+"Count," he said, "may I beg for your good offices? My friend Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge here is determined to have a few words with Major
+Kosuth before he leaves. Surely this is not an unreasonable request when
+you consider the magnitude of the transaction which has taken place
+between them! Let me beg of you to persuade Major Kosuth to give us ten
+minutes. There is plenty of time for the train, and this is not the
+place for a brawl."
+
+Bernadine smiled. He was not conscious of the slightest feeling of
+uneasiness. He could conceive many reasons for Peter's intervention, but
+in his pocket lay the agreement, signed by Kosuth, an accredited envoy
+of the Turkish Government, besides which he had a further document
+signed by Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, witnessed and stamped, handing over to
+him the whole of the security for this very complicated loan, on the
+sole condition that the million and a half, with interest, was
+forthcoming. His position was completely secure. A little discussion
+with his old enemy might not be altogether unpleasant!
+
+"It will not take us long, Kosuth, to hear what our friend has to say,"
+he remarked. "We shall be quite quiet in the smoking-room. Let us go in
+there and dispose of the affair."
+
+The Turk turned unwillingly in the direction indicated. All four men
+passed through the café, up some stair's, and into the small
+smoking-room. The room was deserted. Peter led the way to the far
+corner, and, standing with his elbow leaning upon the mantelpiece,
+addressed them.
+
+"The position is this," he said. "Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge has parted with a
+million and a half of his own money, a loan to the Turkish Government,
+on security which is not worth a snap of the fingers."
+
+"It is a lie!" Major Kosuth exclaimed.
+
+"My dear Baron, you are woefully misinformed," the Count declared.
+
+Peter shook his head slowly.
+
+"No," he said, "I am not misinformed. My friend here has parted with the
+money on the security of two battleships and a cruiser, now building in
+Shepherd and Hargreaves' yard at Belfast. The two battleships and
+cruiser in question belong to me. I have paid two hundred thousand
+pounds on account of them, and hold the shipbuilders' receipt."
+
+"You are mad!" Bernadine cried, contemptuously.
+
+Peter shook his head, and continued.
+
+"The battleships were laid down for the Turkish Government, and the
+money with which to start them was supplied by the Secret Service of
+Germany. The second instalment was due ten months ago, and has not been
+paid. The time of grace provided for has expired. The shipbuilders, in
+accordance with their charter, were consequently at liberty to dispose
+of the vessels as they thought fit. On the statement of the whole of the
+facts to the head of the firm, he has parted with these ships to me. I
+need not say that I have a purchaser within a mile from here. It is a
+fancy of mine, Count von Hern, that those ships will sail better under
+the British flag."
+
+There was a moment's tense silence. The face of the Turk was black with
+anger. Bernadine was trembling with rage.
+
+"This is a tissue of lies!" he exclaimed.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The facts are easy enough for you to prove," he said, "and I have
+here," he added, producing a roll of papers, "copies of the various
+documents for your inspection. Your scheme, of course, was simple
+enough. It fell through for this one reason only. A final notice,
+pressing for the second instalment, and stating the days of grace, was
+forwarded to Constantinople about the time of the recent political
+troubles. The late government ignored it. In fairness to Major Kosuth,
+we will believe that the present government was ignorant of it. But the
+fact remains that Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves became at liberty to
+sell those vessels, and that I have bought them. You will have to give
+up that money, Major Kosuth."
+
+"You bet he shall!" the American muttered.
+
+Bernadine leaned a little towards his enemy.
+
+"You must give us a minute or two," he insisted. "We shall not go away,
+I promise you. Within five minutes you shall hear our decision."
+
+Peter sat down at the writing-table and commenced a letter. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge mounted guard over the door, and stood there, a grim
+figure of impatience. Before the five minutes was up, Bernadine crossed
+the room.
+
+"I congratulate you, Baron," he said, dryly. "You are either an
+exceedingly lucky person or you are more of a genius than I believed.
+Kosuth is even now returning his letters of credit to your friend. You
+are quite right. The loan cannot stand."
+
+"I was sure," Peter answered, "that you would see the matter correctly."
+
+"You and I," Bernadine continued, "know very well that I don't care a
+fig about Turkey, new or old. The ships, I will admit, I intended to
+have for my own country. As it is, I wish you joy of them. Before they
+are completed we may be fighting in the air."
+
+Peter smiled, and, side by side with Bernadine, strolled across to
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was buttoning up a pocket-book with trembling
+fingers.
+
+"Personally," Peter said, "I believe that the days of wars are over."
+
+"That may or may not be," Bernadine answered. "One thing is very
+certain. Even if the nations remain at peace, there are enmities which
+strike only deeper as the years pass. I am going to take a drink now
+with my disappointed friend Kosuth. If I raise my glass 'To the Day!'
+you will understand."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"My friend Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge and I are for the same destination," he
+replied, pushing open the swing door which led to the bar. "I return
+your good wishes, Count. I, too, drink 'To the Day!'"
+
+Bernadine and Kosuth left a few minutes afterwards. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was feeling himself again, watched them depart
+with ill-concealed triumph.
+
+"Say, you had those fellows on toast, Baron," he declared, admiringly.
+"I couldn't follow the whole affair, but I can see that you're in for
+big things sometimes. Remember this. If money counts at any time, I'm
+with you."
+
+Peter clasped his hand.
+
+"Money always counts," he said--"and friends!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+
+"We may now," Sogrange remarked, buttoning up his ulster, and stretching
+himself out to the full extent of his steamer chair, "consider ourselves
+at sea. I trust, my friend, that you are feeling quite comfortable."
+
+Peter, Baron de Grost, lying at his ease upon a neighbouring chair, with
+a pillow behind his head, a huge fur coat around his body, and a rug
+over his feet, had all the appearance of being very comfortable indeed.
+His reply, however, was a little short--almost peevish.
+
+"I am comfortable enough for the present, thank you. Heaven knows how
+long it will last!"
+
+Sogrange waved his arm towards the great uneasy plain of blue sea, the
+showers of foam leaping into the sunlight, away beyond the disappearing
+coasts of France.
+
+"Last," he repeated. "For eight days, I hope. Consider, my dear Baron!
+What could be more refreshing, more stimulating to our jaded nerves than
+this? Think of the December fogs you have left behind, the cold, driving
+rain, the puddles in the street, the grey skies--London, in short, at
+her ugliest and worst."
+
+"That is all very well," Peter protested; "but I have left several other
+things behind, too."
+
+"As, for instance?" Sogrange inquired genially.
+
+"My wife," Peter informed him. "Violet objects very much to these abrupt
+separations. This week, too, I was shooting at Saxthorpe, and I had also
+several other engagements of a pleasant nature. Besides, I have reached
+that age when I find it disconcerting to be called out of bed in the
+middle of the night to answer a long-distance telephone call, and told
+to embark on an American liner leaving Southampton early the next
+morning. It may be your idea of a pleasure-trip. It isn't mine."
+
+Sogrange was amused. His smile, however, was hidden. Only the tip of his
+cigarette was visible.
+
+"Anything else?"
+
+"Nothing much, except that I am always seasick," Peter replied
+deliberately. "I can feel it coming on now. I wish that fellow would
+keep away with his beastly mutton broth. The whole ship seems to smell
+of it."
+
+Sogrange laughed, softly but without disguise.
+
+"Who said anything about a pleasure-trip?" he demanded.
+
+Peter turned his head.
+
+"You did. You told me when you came on at Cherbourg that you had to go
+to New York to look after some property there, that things were very
+quiet in London, and that you hated travelling alone. Therefore you sent
+for me at a few hours' notice."
+
+"Is that what I told you?" Sogrange murmured.
+
+"Yes! Wasn't it true?" Peter asked, suddenly alert.
+
+"Not a word of it," Sogrange admitted. "It is quite amazing that you
+should have believed it for a moment."
+
+"I was a fool," Peter confessed. "You see, I was tired and a little
+cross. Besides, somehow or other, I never associated a trip to America
+with----"
+
+Sogrange interrupted him, quietly but ruthlessly.
+
+"Lift up the label attached to the chair next to yours. Read it out to
+me."
+
+Peter took it into his hand and turned it over. A quick exclamation
+escaped him.
+
+"Great heavens! 'The Count von Hern'--Bernadine!"
+
+"Just so," Sogrange assented. "Nice, clear writing, isn't it?"
+
+Peter sat bolt upright in his chair.
+
+"Do you mean to say that Bernadine is on board?"
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"By the exercise, my dear Baron," he said, "of a superlative amount of
+ingenuity, I was able to prevent that misfortune. Now lean over and read
+the label on the next chair."
+
+Peter obeyed. His manner had acquired a new briskness.
+
+"'La Duchesse della Nermino,'" he announced.
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"Everything just as it should be," he declared. "Change those labels, my
+friend, as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter's fingers were nimble, and the thing was done in a few seconds.
+
+"So I am to sit next the Spanish lady," he remarked, feeling for his
+tie.
+
+"Not only that, but you are to make friends with her," Sogrange replied.
+"You are to be your captivating self, Baron. The Duchesse is to forget
+her weakness for hot rooms. She is to develop a taste for sea air and
+your society."
+
+"Is she," Peter asked anxiously, "old or young?"
+
+Sogrange showed a disposition to fence with the question.
+
+"Not old," he answered; "certainly not old. Fifteen years ago she was
+considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world."
+
+"The ladies of Spain," Peter remarked, with a sigh, "are inclined to
+mature early."
+
+"In some cases," Sogrange assured him, "there are no women in the world
+who preserve their good looks longer. You shall judge, my friend. Madame
+comes! How about that sea-sickness now?"
+
+"Gone," Peter declared briskly. "Absolutely a fancy of mine. Never felt
+better in my life."
+
+An imposing little procession approached along the deck. There was the
+deck steward leading the way; a very smart French maid carrying a
+wonderful collection of wraps, cushions, and books; a black-browed,
+pallid man-servant, holding a hot-water bottle in his hand and leading a
+tiny Pekinese spaniel wrapped in a sealskin coat; and finally Madame la
+Duchesse. It was so obviously a procession intended to impress, that
+neither Peter nor Sogrange thought it worth while to conceal their
+interest.
+
+The Duchesse, save that she was tall and wrapped in magnificent furs,
+presented a somewhat mysterious appearance. Her features were entirely
+obscured by an unusually thick veil of black lace, and the voluminous
+nature of her outer garments only permitted a suspicion as to her
+figure, which was, at that time, at once the despair and the triumph of
+her _corsetière_. With both hands she was holding her fur-lined skirts
+from contact with the deck, disclosing at the same time remarkably
+shapely feet encased in trim patent shoes, with plain silver buckles,
+and a little more black silk stocking than seemed absolutely necessary.
+The deck steward, after a half-puzzled scrutiny of the labels, let down
+the chair next to the two men. The Duchesse contemplated her prospective
+neighbours with some curiosity, mingled with a certain amount of
+hesitation. It was at that moment that Sogrange, shaking away his rug,
+rose to his feet.
+
+"Madame la Duchesse permits me to remind her of my existence," he said,
+bowing low. "It is some years since we met, but I had the honour of a
+dance at the Palace in Madrid."
+
+She held out her hand at once, yet somehow Peter felt sure that she was
+thankful for her veil. Her voice was pleasant, and her air the air of a
+great lady. She spoke French with the soft, sibilant intonation of the
+Spaniard.
+
+"I remember the occasion perfectly, Marquis," she admitted. "Your sister
+and I once shared a villa in Mentone."
+
+"I am flattered by your recollection, Duchesse," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"It is a great surprise to meet with you here, though," she continued.
+"I did not see you at Cherbourg or on the train."
+
+"I motored from Paris," Sogrange explained, "and arrived, contrary to my
+custom, I must confess, somewhat early. Will you permit that I introduce
+an acquaintance whom I have been fortunate enough to find on board:
+Monsieur le Baron de Grost--Madame la Duchesse della Nermino."
+
+Peter was graciously received, and the conversation dealt, for a few
+moments, with the usual banalities of the voyage. Then followed the
+business of settling the Duchesse in her place. When she was really
+installed, and surrounded with all the paraphernalia of a great and
+fanciful lady, including a handful of long cigarettes, she raised her
+veil. Peter, who was at the moment engaged in conversation with her, was
+a little shocked with the result. Her features were worn, her face dead
+white, with many signs of the ravages wrought by the constant use of
+cosmetics. Only her eyes had retained something of their former
+splendour. These latter were almost violet in colour, deep-set, with
+dark rims, and were sufficient almost in themselves to make one forget
+for a moment the less prepossessing details of her appearance. A small
+library of books was by her side, but after a while she no longer
+pretended any interest in them. She was a born conversationalist, a
+creature of her country, entirely and absolutely feminine, to whom the
+subtle and flattering deference of the other sex was as the breath of
+life itself. Peter burned his homage upon her altar with a craft which
+amounted to genius. In less than half an hour Madame la Duchesse was
+looking many years younger. The vague look of apprehension had passed
+from her face. Their voices had sunk to a confidential undertone,
+punctuated often by the music of her laughter. Sogrange, with a murmured
+word of apology, had slipped away long ago. Decidedly, for an
+Englishman, Peter was something of a marvel!
+
+Madame la Duchesse moved her head towards the empty chair.
+
+"He is a great friend of yours--the Marquis de Sogrange?" she asked,
+with a certain inflection in her tone which Peter was not slow to
+notice.
+
+"Indeed, no!" he answered. "A few years ago I was frequently in Paris. I
+made his acquaintance then, but we have met very seldom since."
+
+"You are not travelling together, then?" she inquired.
+
+"By no means," Peter assured her. "I recognised him only as he boarded
+the steamer at Cherbourg."
+
+"He is not a popular man in our world," she remarked. "One speaks of him
+as a schemer."
+
+"Is there anything left to scheme for in France?" Peter asked
+carelessly. "He is, perhaps, a Monarchist?"
+
+"His ancestry alone would compel a devoted allegiance to Royalism," the
+Duchesse declared; "but I do not think that he is interested in any of
+these futile plots to reinstate the House of Orleans. I, Monsieur le
+Baron, am Spanish."
+
+"I have scarcely lived so far out of the world as to have heard nothing
+of the Duchesse della Nermino," Peter replied with _empressement_. "The
+last time I saw you, Duchesse, you were in the suite of the Infanta."
+
+"Like all Englishmen, I see you possess a memory," she said, smiling.
+
+"Duchesse," Peter answered, lowering his voice, "without the memories
+which one is fortunate enough to collect as one passes along, life would
+be a dreary place. The most beautiful things in the world cannot remain
+always with us. It is well, then, that the shadow of them can be
+recalled to us in the shape of dreams."
+
+Her eyes rewarded him for his gallantry. Peter felt that he was doing
+very well indeed. He indulged himself in a brief silence. Presently she
+returned to the subject of Sogrange.
+
+"I think," she remarked, "that of all the men in the world I expected
+least to see the Marquis de Sogrange on board a steamer bound for New
+York. What can a man of his type find to amuse him in the New World?"
+
+"One wonders, indeed," Peter assented. "As a matter of fact, I did read
+in a newspaper a few days ago that he was going to Mexico in connection
+with some excavations there. He spoke to me of it just now. They seem to
+have discovered a ruined temple of the Incas, or something of the sort."
+
+The Duchesse breathed what sounded very much like a sigh of relief.
+
+"I had forgotten," she admitted, "that New York itself need not
+necessarily be his destination."
+
+"For my own part," Peter continued, "it is quite amazing the interest
+which the evening papers always take in the movements of one connected
+ever so slightly with their world. I think that a dozen newspapers have
+told their readers the exact amount of money I am going to lend or
+borrow in New York, the stocks I am going to bull or bear, the mines I
+am going to purchase. My presence on an American steamer is accounted
+for by the journalists a dozen times over. Yours, Duchesse, if one might
+say so without appearing over-curious, seems the most inexplicable. What
+attraction can America possibly have for you?"
+
+She glanced at him covertly from under her sleepy eyelids. Peter's face
+was like the face of a child.
+
+"You do not, perhaps, know," she said, "that I was born in Cuba. I lived
+there, in fact, for many years. I still have estates in the country."
+
+"Indeed?" he answered. "Are you interested, then, in this reported
+salvage of the _Maine_?"
+
+There was a short silence. Peter, who had not been looking at her when
+he had asked his question, turned his head, surprised at her lack of
+response. His heart gave a little jump. The Duchesse had all the
+appearance of a woman on the point of fainting. One hand was holding a
+scent bottle to her nose, the other, thin and white, ablaze with
+emeralds and diamonds, was gripping the side of her chair. Her
+expression was one of blank terror. Peter felt a shiver chill his own
+blood at the things he saw in her face. He himself was confused,
+apologetic, yet absolutely without understanding. His thoughts reverted
+at first to his own commonplace malady.
+
+"You are ill, Duchesse!" he exclaimed. "You will allow me to call the
+deck steward? Or perhaps you would prefer your own maid? I have some
+brandy in this flask."
+
+He had thrown off his rug, but her imperious gesture kept him seated.
+She was looking at him with an intentness which was almost tragical.
+
+"What made you ask me that question?" she demanded.
+
+His innocence was entirely apparent. Not even Peter could have
+dissembled so naturally.
+
+"That question?" he repeated, vaguely. "You mean about the _Maine_? It
+was the idlest chance, Duchesse, I assure you. I saw something about it
+in the paper yesterday, and it seemed interesting. But if I had had the
+slightest idea that the subject was distasteful to you I would not have
+dreamed of mentioning it. Even now--I do not understand----"
+
+She interrupted him. All the time he had been speaking she had shown
+signs of recovery. She was smiling now, faintly and with obvious effort,
+but still smiling.
+
+"It is altogether my own fault, Baron," she admitted graciously. "Please
+forgive my little fit of emotion. The subject is a very sore one amongst
+my country-people, you know, and your sudden mention of it upset me. It
+was very foolish."
+
+"Duchesse, I was a clumsy idiot!" Peter declared penitently. "I deserve
+that you should be unkind to me for the rest of the voyage."
+
+"I could not afford that," she answered, forcing another smile. "I am
+relying too much upon you for companionship. Ah! could I trouble you?"
+she added. "For the moment I need my maid. She passes there."
+
+Peter sprang up and called the young woman, who was slowly pacing the
+deck. He himself did not at once return to his place. He went instead in
+search of Sogrange, and found him in his state-room. Sogrange was lying
+upon a couch, in a silk smoking suit, with a French novel in his hand
+and an air of contentment which was almost fatuous. He laid down the
+volume at Peter's entrance.
+
+"Dear Baron," he murmured, "why this haste? No one is ever in a hurry
+upon a steamer. Remember that we can't possibly get anywhere in less
+than eight days, and there is no task in the world, nowadays, which
+cannot be accomplished in that time. To hurry is a needless waste of
+tissue, and, to a person of my nervous temperament, exceedingly
+unpleasant."
+
+Peter sat down on the edge of the bunk.
+
+"I presume you have quite finished?" he said. "If so, listen to me. I am
+moving in the dark. Is it my fault that I blunder? By the merest
+accident I have already committed a hideous _faux pas_. You ought to
+have warned me."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I have spoken to the Duchesse of the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+The eyes of Sogrange gleamed for a moment, but he lay perfectly still.
+
+"Why not?" he asked. "A good many people are talking about it. It is one
+of the strangest things I have ever heard of, that after all these years
+they should be trying to salve the wreck."
+
+"It seems worse than strange," Peter declared. "What can be the use of
+trying to stir up bitter feelings between two nations who have fought
+their battles and buried the hatchet? I call it an act of insanity."
+
+A bugle rang. Sogrange yawned and sat up.
+
+"Would you mind touching the bell for my servant, Baron," he asked.
+"Dinner will be served in half an hour. Afterwards, we will talk, you
+and I."
+
+Peter turned away, not wholly pleased.
+
+"The sooner the better," he grumbled, "or I shall be putting my foot
+into it again."
+
+After dinner the two men walked on deck together. The night was dark,
+but fine, with a strong wind blowing from the north-west. The deck
+steward called their attention to a long line of lights stealing up from
+the horizon on their starboard side.
+
+"That's the _Lusitania_, sir. She'll be up to us in half an hour."
+
+They leaned over the rail. Soon the blue fires began to play about their
+masthead. Sogrange watched them thoughtfully.
+
+"If one could only read those messages," he remarked, with a sigh, "it
+might help us."
+
+Peter knocked the ash from his cigar, and was silent for a time. He was
+beginning to understand the situation.
+
+"My friend," he said at last, "I have been doing you an injustice. I
+have come to the conclusion that you are not keeping me in ignorance of
+the vital facts connected with our visit to America wilfully. At the
+present moment you know just a little more, but a very little more, than
+I do."
+
+"What perception!" Sogrange murmured. "My dear Baron, sometimes you
+amaze me. You are absolutely right. I have some pieces, and I am
+convinced that they would form a puzzle the solution of which would be
+interesting to us; but how or where they fit in I frankly don't know.
+You have the facts so far."
+
+"Certainly," Peter replied.
+
+"You have heard of Sirdeller?"
+
+"Do you mean _the_ Sirdeller?" Peter asked.
+
+"Naturally. I mean the man whose very movements sway the money markets
+of the world; the man who could, if he chose, ruin any nation, make war
+impossible; who could, if he had ten more years of life and was allowed
+to live, draw to himself and his own following the entire wealth of the
+universe."
+
+"Very eloquent," Peter remarked. "We'll take the rest for granted."
+
+"Then," Sogrange continued, "you have probably also heard of Don Pedro,
+Prince of Marsine, one-time Pretender to the throne of Spain?"
+
+"Quite a striking figure in European politics," Peter assented, quickly.
+"He is suspected of radical proclivities, and is still, it is rumoured,
+an active plotter against the existing monarchy."
+
+"Very well," Sogrange said. "Now listen carefully. Four months ago
+Sirdeller was living at the Golden Villa, near Nice. He was visited more
+than once by Marsine, introduced by the Count von Hern. The result of
+those visits was a long series of cablegrams to certain great
+engineering firms in America. Almost immediately the salvage of the
+_Maine_ was started. It is a matter of common report that the entire
+cost of these works is being undertaken by Sirdeller."
+
+"Now," Peter murmured, "you are really beginning to interest me."
+
+"This week," Sogrange went on, "it is expected that the result of the
+salvage works will be made known. That is to say, it is highly possible
+that the question of whether the _Maine_ was blown up from outside or
+inside will be settled once and for all. This week, mind, Baron. Now see
+what happens. Sirdeller returns to America. The Count von Hern and
+Prince Marsine come to America. The Duchesse della Nermino comes to
+America. The Duchesse, Sirdeller, and Marsine are upon this steamer. The
+Count von Hern travels by the _Lusitania_ only because it was reported
+that Sirdeller at the last minute changed his mind, and was travelling
+by that boat. Mix these things up in your brain--the conjurer's hat, let
+us call it," Sogrange concluded, laying his hand upon Peter's arm.
+"Sirdeller, the Duchesse, Von Hern, Marsine, the raising of the
+_Maine_--mix them up, and what sort of an omelette appears?"
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"No wonder," he said, "that you couldn't make the pieces of the puzzle
+fit. Tell me more about the Duchesse."
+
+Sogrange considered for a moment.
+
+"The principal thing about her which links her with the present
+situation," he explained, "is that she was living in Cuba at the time of
+the _Maine_ disaster, married to a rich Cuban."
+
+The affair was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of romance.
+Peter, for the first time, saw not the light, but the possibility of it.
+
+"Marsine has been living in Germany, has he not?" he asked.
+
+"He is a personal friend of the Kaiser," Sogrange replied.
+
+They both looked up and listened to the crackling of the electricity
+above their heads.
+
+"I expect Bernadine is a little annoyed," Peter remarked.
+
+"It isn't pleasant to be out of the party," Sogrange agreed. "Nearly
+everybody, however, believed at the last moment that Sirdeller had
+transferred his passage to the _Lusitania_."
+
+"It's going to cost him an awful lot in marconigrams," Peter said. "By
+the by, wouldn't it have been better for us to have travelled
+separately, and incognito?"
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly.
+
+"Von Hern has at least one man on board," he replied. "I do not think
+that we could possibly have escaped observation. Besides, I rather
+imagine that any move we are able to make in this matter must come
+before we reach Fire Island."
+
+"Have you any theory at all?" Peter asked.
+
+"Not the ghost of a one," Sogrange admitted. "One more fact, though, I
+forgot to mention. You may find it important. The Duchesse comes
+entirely against von Hern's wishes. They have been on intimate terms for
+years, but for some reason or other he was exceedingly anxious that she
+should not take this voyage. She, on the other hand, seemed to have some
+equally strong reason for coming. The most useful piece of advice I
+could give you would be to cultivate her acquaintance."
+
+"The Duchesse----"
+
+Peter never finished his sentence. His companion drew him suddenly back
+into the shadow of a lifeboat.
+
+"Look!"
+
+A door had opened from lower down the deck, and a curious little
+procession was coming towards them. A man, burly and broad-shouldered,
+who had the air of a professional bully, walked by himself ahead. Two
+others of similar build walked a few steps behind. And between them a
+thin, insignificant figure, wrapped in an immense fur coat and using a
+strong walking-stick, came slowly along the deck. It was like a
+procession of prison warders guarding a murderer, or perhaps a
+nerve-wrecked royal personage moving towards the end of his days in the
+midst of enemies. With halting steps the little old man came shambling
+along. He looked neither to the left nor to the right. His eyes were
+fixed and yet unseeing, his features were pale and bony. There was no
+gleam of life, not even in his stone-cold eyes. Like some machine-made
+man of a new and physically degenerate age, he took his exercise under
+the eye of his doctor--a strange and miserable-looking object.
+
+"There goes Sirdeller," Sogrange whispered. "Look at him--the man whose
+might is greater than any emperor's. There is no haven in the universe
+to which he does not hold the key. Look at him--master of the world!"
+
+Peter shivered. There was something depressing in the sight of that
+mournful procession.
+
+"He neither smokes nor drinks," Sogrange continued. "Women, as a sex, do
+not exist for him. His religion is a doubting Calvinism. He has a doctor
+and a clergyman always by his side to inject life and hope if they can.
+Look at him well, my friend. He represents a great moral lesson."
+
+"Thanks!" Peter replied. "I am going to take the taste of him out of my
+mouth with a whisky and soda. Afterwards, I'm for the Duchesse."
+
+But the Duchesse, apparently, was not for Peter. He found her in the
+music-room, with several of the little Marconi missives spread out
+before her, and she cut him dead. Peter, however, was a brave man and
+skilled at the game of bluff. So he stopped by her side and, without any
+preamble, addressed her.
+
+"Duchesse," he said, "you are a woman of perception. Which do you
+believe, then, in your heart, to be the more trustworthy--the Count von
+Hern or I?"
+
+She simply stared at him. He continued promptly:
+
+"You have received your warning, I see."
+
+"From whom?"
+
+"From the Count von Hern. Why believe what he says? He may be a friend
+of yours--he may be a dear friend--but in your heart you know that he is
+both unscrupulous and selfish. Why accept his word and distrust me? I,
+at least, am honest."
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Honest?" she repeated. "Whose word have I for that save your own? And
+what concern is it of mine if you possess every one of the _bourgeois_
+qualities in the world? You are presuming, sir."
+
+"My friend Sogrange will tell you that I am to be trusted," Peter
+persisted.
+
+"I see no reason why I should trouble myself about your personal
+characteristics," she replied coldly. "They do not interest me."
+
+"On the contrary, Duchesse," Peter continued, fencing wildly, "you have
+never in your life been more in need of anyone's services than you are
+of mine."
+
+The conflict was uneven. The Duchesse was a nervous, highly strung
+woman. The calm assurance of Peter's manner oppressed her with a sense
+of his mastery. She sank back upon the couch from which she had arisen.
+
+"I wish you would tell me what you mean," she said. "You have no right
+to talk to me in this fashion. What have you to do with my affairs?"
+
+"I have as much to do with them as the Count von Hern," Peter insisted
+boldly.
+
+"I have known the Count von Hern," she answered, "for very many years.
+You have been a shipboard acquaintance of mine for a few hours."
+
+"If you have known the Count von Hern for many years," Peter asserted,
+"you have found out by this time that he is an absolutely untrustworthy
+person."
+
+"Supposing he is," she said, "will you tell me what concern it is of
+yours? Do you suppose for one moment that I am likely to discuss my
+private affairs with a perfect stranger?"
+
+"You have no private affairs," Peter declared sternly. "They are the
+affairs of a nation."
+
+She glanced at him with a little shiver. From that moment he felt that
+he was gaining ground. She looked around the room. It was well filled,
+but in their corner they were almost unobserved.
+
+"How much do you know?" she asked in a low tone which shook with
+passion.
+
+Peter smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Perhaps more even than you, Duchesse," he replied. "I should like to be
+your friend. You need one--you know that."
+
+She rose abruptly to her feet.
+
+"For to-night it is enough," she declared, wrapping her fur cloak around
+her. "You may talk to me to-morrow, Baron. I must think. If you desire
+really to be my friend there is, perhaps, one service which I may
+require of you. But to-night, no!"
+
+Peter stood aside and allowed her to step past him. He was perfectly
+content with the progress he had made. Her farewell salute was by no
+means ungracious. As soon as she was out of sight he returned to the
+couch where she had been sitting. She had taken away the marconigrams,
+but she had left upon the floor several copies of the _New York Herald_.
+He took them up and read them carefully through. The last one he found
+particularly interesting, so much so that he folded it up, placed it in
+his coat pocket, and went off to look for Sogrange, whom he found at
+last in the saloon, watching a noisy game of "Up, Jenkins!" Peter sank
+upon the cushioned seat by his side.
+
+"You were right," he remarked. "Bernadine has been busy."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I trust," he said, "that the Duchesse is not proving faithless?"
+
+"So far," Peter replied, "I have kept my end up. To-morrow will be the
+test. Bernadine has filled her with caution. She thinks that I know
+everything--whatever everything may be. Unless I can discover a little
+more than I do now, to-morrow is going to be an exceedingly awkward day
+for me."
+
+"There is every prospect of your acquiring a great deal of valuable
+information before then," Sogrange declared. "Sit tight, my friend.
+Something is going to happen."
+
+On the threshold of the saloon, ushered in by one of the stewards, a
+tall, powerful-looking man, with a square, well-trimmed black beard, was
+standing looking around as though in search of someone. The steward
+pointed out, with an unmistakable movement of his head, Peter and
+Sogrange. The man approached and took the next table.
+
+"Steward," he directed, "bring me a glass of vermouth and some
+dominoes."
+
+Peter's eyes were suddenly bright. Sogrange touched his foot under the
+table and whispered a word of warning. The dominoes were brought. The
+new-comer arranged them as though for a game. Then he calmly withdrew
+the double-four and laid it before Sogrange.
+
+"It has been my misfortune, Marquis," he said, "never to have made your
+acquaintance, although our mutual friends are many, and I think I may
+say that I have the right to claim a certain amount of consideration
+from you and your associates. You know me?"
+
+"Certainly, Prince," Sogrange replied. "I am charmed. Permit me to
+present my friend, the Baron de Grost."
+
+The new-comer bowed, and glanced a little nervously around.
+
+"You will permit me," he begged. "I travel incognito. I have lived so
+long in England that I have permitted myself the name of an Englishman.
+I am travelling under the name of Mr. James Fanshawe."
+
+"Mr. Fanshawe, by all means," Sogrange agreed. "In the meantime----"
+
+"I claim my rights as a corresponding member of the Double Four," the
+new-comer declared. "My friend the Count von Hern finds menace to
+certain plans of ours in your presence upon this steamer. Unknown to
+him, I come to you openly. I claim your aid, not your enmity."
+
+"Let us understand one another clearly," Sogrange said. "You claim our
+aid in what?"
+
+Mr. Fanshawe glanced around the saloon and lowered his voice.
+
+"I claim your aid towards the overthrowing of the usurping House of
+Asturias, and the restoration to power in Spain of my own line."
+
+Sogrange was silent for several moments. Peter was leaning forward in
+his place, deeply interested. Decidedly, this American trip seemed
+destined to lead toward events!
+
+"Our active aid towards such an end," Sogrange said at last, "is
+impossible. The society of the Double Four does not interfere in the
+domestic policy of other nations for the sake of individual members."
+
+"Then let me ask you why I find you upon this steamer?" Mr. Fanshawe
+demanded in a tone of suppressed excitement. "Is it for the sea voyage
+that you and your friend the Baron de Grost cross the Atlantic this
+particular week, on the same steamer as myself, as Mr. Sirdeller,
+and--and the Duchesse? One does not believe in such coincidences! One is
+driven to conclude that it is your intention to interfere."
+
+"The affair almost demands our interference," Sogrange replied smoothly.
+"With every due respect to you, Prince, there are great interests
+involved in this move of yours."
+
+The Prince was a big man, but, for all his large features and bearded
+face, his expression was the expression of a peevish and passionate
+child. He controlled himself with an effort.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "it is necessary--I say that it is necessary that we
+conclude an alliance."
+
+Sogrange nodded approvingly.
+
+"It is well spoken," he said; "but remember--the Baron de Grost
+represents England, and the English interests of our society."
+
+The Prince of Marsine's face was not pleasant to look upon.
+
+"Forgive me if you are an Englishman by birth, Baron," he said, turning
+towards him, "but a more interfering nation in other people's affairs
+than England has never existed in the pages of history. She must have a
+finger in every pie. Bah!"
+
+Peter leaned over from his place.
+
+"What about Germany, Mr. Fanshawe?" he asked with emphasis.
+
+The Prince tugged at his beard. He was a little nonplussed.
+
+"The Count von Hern," he confessed, "has been a good friend to me. The
+rulers of his country have always been hospitable and favourably
+inclined towards my family. The whole affair is of his design. I myself
+could scarcely have moved in it alone. One must reward one's helpers.
+There is no reason, however," he added, with a meaning glance at Peter,
+"why other helpers should not be admitted."
+
+"The reward which you offer to the Count von Hern," Peter remarked, "is
+of itself absolutely inimical to the interests of my country."
+
+"Listen!" the Prince demanded, tapping the table before him. "It is true
+that within a year I am pledged to reward the Count von Hern in certain
+fashion. It is not possible that you know the terms of our compact, but
+from your words it is possible that you have guessed. Very well. Accept
+this from me. Remain neutral now, allow this matter to proceed to its
+natural conclusion, let your Government address representations to me
+when the time comes, adopting a bold front, and I promise that I will
+obey them. It will not be my fault that I am compelled to disappoint the
+Count von Hern. My seaboard would be at the mercy of your fleet.
+Superior force must be obeyed."
+
+"It is a matter, this," Sogrange said, "for discussion between my friend
+and me. I think you will find that we are neither of us unreasonable. In
+short, Prince, I see no insuperable reason why we should not come to
+terms."
+
+"You encourage me," the Prince declared, in a gratified tone. "Do not
+believe, Marquis, that I am actuated in this matter wholly by motives of
+personal ambition. No, it is not so. A great desire has burned always in
+my heart, but it is not that alone which moves me. I assure you that of
+my certain knowledge Spain is honeycombed--is rotten with treason. A
+revolution is a certainty. How much better that that revolution should
+be conducted in a dignified manner; that I, with my reputation for
+democracy which I have carefully kept before the eyes of my people,
+should be elected President of the new Spanish Republic, even if it is
+the gold of the American who places me there. In a year or two's time,
+what may happen who can say? This craving for a republic is but a
+passing dream. Spain, at heart, is monarchical. She will be led back to
+the light. It is but a short step from the President's chair to the
+throne."
+
+Sogrange and his companion sat quite still. They avoided looking at each
+other.
+
+"There is one thing more," the Prince continued, dropping his voice as
+if, even at that distance, he feared the man of whom he spoke. "I shall
+not inform the Count von Hern of our conversation. It is not necessary,
+and, between ourselves, the Count is jealous. He sends me message after
+message that I remain in my state-room, that I seek no interview with
+Sirdeller, that I watch only. He is too much of the spy--the Count von
+Hern. He does not understand that code of honour, relying upon which I
+open my heart to you."
+
+"You have done your cause no harm," Sogrange assured him, with subtle
+sarcasm. "We come now to the Duchesse."
+
+The Prince leaned towards him. It was just at this moment that a steward
+entered with a marconigram, which he presented to the Prince. The latter
+tore it open, glanced it through, and gave vent to a little exclamation.
+The fingers which held the missive, trembled. His eyes blazed with
+excitement. He was absolutely unable to control his feelings.
+
+"My two friends," he cried, in a tone broken with emotion, "it is you
+first who shall hear the news! This message has just arrived. Sirdeller
+will have received its duplicate. The final report of the works in
+Havana Harbour will await us on our arrival in New York, but the
+substance of it is this. The _Maine_ was sunk by a torpedo, discharged
+at close quarters underneath her magazine. Gentlemen, the House of
+Asturias is ruined!"
+
+There was a breathless silence.
+
+"Your information is genuine?" Sogrange asked softly.
+
+"Without a doubt," the Prince replied. "I have been expecting this
+message. I shall cable to von Hern. We are still in communication. He
+may not have heard."
+
+"We were about to speak of the Duchesse," Peter reminded him.
+
+The Prince shook his head.
+
+"Another time," he declared. "Another time."
+
+He hurried away. It was already half-past ten and the saloon was almost
+empty. The steward came up to them.
+
+"The saloon is being closed for the night, sir," he announced.
+
+"Let us go on deck," Peter suggested.
+
+They found their way up on to the windward side of the promenade, which
+was absolutely deserted. Far away in front of them now were the
+disappearing lights of the _Lusitania_. The wind roared by as the great
+steamer rose and fell on the black stretch of waters. Peter stood very
+near to his companion.
+
+"Listen, Sogrange," he said, "the affair is clear now save for one
+thing."
+
+"You mean Sirdeller's motives?"
+
+"Not at all," Peter answered. "An hour ago I came across the explanation
+of these. The one thing I will tell you afterwards. Now listen.
+Sirdeller came abroad last year for twelve months' travel. He took a
+great house in San Sebastian."
+
+"Where did you hear this?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"I read the story in the _New York Herald_," Peter continued. "It is
+grossly exaggerated, of course, but this is the substance of it.
+Sirdeller and his suite were stopped upon the Spanish frontier and
+treated in an abominable fashion by the Customs officers. He was forced
+to pay a very large sum, unjustly, I should think. He paid under
+protest, appealed to the authorities, with no result. At San Sebastian
+he was robbed right and left, his privacy intruded upon. In short, he
+took a violent dislike and hatred to the country and everyone concerned
+in it. He moved with his entire suite to Nice, to the Golden Villa.
+There he expressed himself freely concerning Spain and her Government.
+Count von Hern heard of it and presented Marsine. The plot was, without
+doubt, Bernadine's. Can't you imagine how he would put it? 'A
+revolution,' he would tell Sirdeller, 'is imminent in Spain. Here is the
+new President of the Republic. Money is no more to you than water. You
+are a patriotic American. Have you forgotten that the finest warship
+your country ever built, with six hundred of her devoted citizens, was
+sent to the bottom by the treachery of one of this effete race? The war
+was an inefficient revenge. The country still flourishes. It is for you
+to avenge America. With money Marsine can establish a republic in Spain
+within twenty-four hours!' Sirdeller hesitates. He would point out that
+it had never been proved that the destruction of the _Maine_ was really
+due to Spanish treachery. It is the idea of a business man which
+followed. He, at his own expense, would raise the _Maine_. If it were
+true that the explosion occurred from outside, he would find the money.
+You see, the message has arrived. After all these years, the sea has
+given up its secret. Marsine will return to Spain with an unlimited
+credit behind him. The House of Asturias will crumble up like a pack of
+cards."
+
+Sogrange looked out into the darkness. Perhaps he saw in that great
+black gulf the pictures of these happenings, which his companion had
+prophesied. Perhaps, for a moment, he saw the panorama of a city in
+flames, the passing of a great country under the thrall of these new
+ideas. At any rate, he turned abruptly away from the side of the vessel
+and, taking Peter's arm, walked slowly down the deck.
+
+"You have solved the puzzle, Baron," he said, gravely. "Now tell me one
+thing. Your story seems to dovetail everywhere."
+
+"The one thing," Peter said, "is connected with the Duchesse. It was
+she, of her own will, who decided to come to America. I believe that but
+for her coming Bernadine and the Prince would have waited in their own
+country. Money can flash from America to England over the wires. It does
+not need to be fetched. They have still one fear. It is connected with
+the Duchesse. Let me think."
+
+They walked up and down the deck. The lights were extinguished one by
+one, except in the smoke-room. A strange breed of sailors from the lower
+deck came up, with mops and buckets. The wind changed its quarter and
+the great ship began to roll. Peter stopped abruptly.
+
+"I find this motion most unpleasant," he said. "I am going to bed.
+To-night I cannot think. To-morrow, I promise you, we will solve this.
+Hush!"
+
+He held out his hand and drew his companion back into the shadow of a
+lifeboat. A tall figure was approaching them along the deck. As he
+passed the little ray of light thrown out from the smoking-room, the
+man's features were clearly visible. It was the Prince. He was walking
+like one absorbed in thought. His eyes were set like a sleep-walker's.
+With one hand he gesticulated. The fingers of the other were twitching
+all the time. His head was lifted to the skies. There was something in
+his face which redeemed it from its disfiguring petulance.
+
+"It is the man who dreams of power," Peter whispered. "It is one of the
+best moments, this. He forgets the vulgar means by which he intends to
+rise. He thinks only of himself, the dictator, king, perhaps emperor. He
+is of the breed of egoists."
+
+Again and again the Prince passed, manifestly unconscious even of his
+whereabouts. Peter and Sogrange crept away unseen to their state-rooms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In many respects the room resembled a miniature court of justice. The
+principal sitting-room of the royal suite, which was the chief glory of
+the _Adriatic_, had been stripped of every superfluous article of
+furniture or embellishment. Curtains had been removed, all evidences of
+luxury disposed of. Temporarily the apartment had been transformed into
+a bare, cheerless place. Seated on a high chair, with his back to the
+wall, was Sirdeller. At his right hand was a small table, on which stood
+a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope. Behind, his doctor. At his left
+hand, a smooth-faced, silent young man--his secretary. Before him stood
+the Duchesse, Peter and Sogrange. Guarding the door was one of the
+watchmen, who, from his great physique, might well have been a policeman
+out of livery. Sirdeller himself, in the clear light which streamed
+through the large window, seemed more aged and shrunken than ever. His
+eyes were deep-set. No tinge of colour was visible in his cheeks. His
+chin protruded, his shaggy grey eyebrows gave him an unkempt appearance.
+He wore a black velvet cap, a strangely cut black morning coat and
+trousers, felt slippers, and his hands were clasped upon a stout ash
+walking-stick. He eyed the new-comers keenly but without expression.
+
+"The lady may sit," he said.
+
+He spoke almost in an undertone, as though anxious to avoid the fatigue
+of words. The guardian of the door placed a chair, into which the
+Duchesse subsided. Sirdeller held his right hand towards his doctor, who
+felt his pulse. All the time Sirdeller watched him, his lips a little
+parted, a world of hungry excitement in his eyes. The doctor closed his
+watch with a snap and whispered something in Sirdeller's ear, apparently
+reassuring.
+
+"I will hear this story," Sirdeller announced. "In two minutes every one
+must leave. If it takes longer it must remain unfinished."
+
+Peter spoke up briskly.
+
+"The story is this," he began. "You have promised to assist the Prince
+of Marsine to transform Spain into a republic, providing the salvage
+operations on the _Maine_ prove that that ship was destroyed from
+outside. The salvage operations have been conducted at your expense, and
+finished. It has been proved that the _Maine_ was destroyed by a mine or
+torpedo from the outside. Therefore, on the assumption that it was the
+treacherous deed of a Spaniard or Cuban imagining himself to be a
+patriot, you are prepared to carry out your undertaking and supply the
+Prince of Marsine with means to overthrow the kingdom of Spain."
+
+Peter paused. The figure on the chair remained motionless. No flicker of
+intelligence or interest disturbed the calm of his features. It was a
+silence almost unnatural.
+
+"I have brought the Duchesse here," Peter continued, "to tell you the
+truth as to the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+Not even then was there the slightest alteration in those ashen grey
+features.
+
+The Duchesse looked up. She had the air of one only too eager to speak
+and finish.
+
+"In those days," she said, "I was the wife of a rich Cuban gentleman
+whose name I withhold. The American officers on board the _Maine_ used
+to visit at our house. My husband was jealous; perhaps he had cause."
+
+The Duchesse paused. Even though the light of tragedy and romance side
+by side seemed suddenly to creep into the room, Sirdeller listened as
+one come back from a dead world.
+
+"One night," the Duchesse went on, "my husband's suspicions were changed
+into knowledge. He came home unexpectedly. The American--the officer--I
+loved him--was there on the balcony with me. My husband said nothing.
+The officer returned to his ship. That night my husband came into my
+room. He bent over my bed. 'It is not you,' he whispered, 'whom I shall
+destroy, for the pain of death is short. Anguish of mind may live.
+To-night, six hundred ghosts may hang about your pillow!'"
+
+Her voice broke. There was something grim and unnatural in that curious
+stillness. Even the secretary was at last breathing a little faster. The
+watchman at the door was leaning forward. Sirdeller simply moved his
+hand to the doctor, who held up his finger while he felt the pulse. The
+beat of his watch seemed to sound through the unnatural silence. In a
+minute he spoke.
+
+"The lady may proceed," he announced.
+
+"My husband," the Duchesse continued, "was an officer in charge of the
+Mines and Ordnance Department. He went out that night in a small boat,
+after a visit to the strong house. No soul has ever seen or heard of him
+since, or his boat. It is only I who know."
+
+Her voice died away. Sirdeller stretched out his hand and very
+deliberately drank a table-spoonful or two of his milk.
+
+"I believe the lady's story," he declared. "The Marsine affair is
+finished. Let no one be admitted to have speech with me again upon this
+subject."
+
+He had half turned towards his secretary. The young man bowed. The
+doctor pointed towards the door. The Duchesse, Peter, and Sogrange filed
+slowly out. In the bright sunlight the Duchesse burst into a peal of
+hysterical laughter. Even Peter felt, for a moment, unnerved. Suddenly
+he, too, laughed.
+
+"I think," he said, "that you and I had better get out of the way,
+Sogrange, when the Count von Hern meets us at New York!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+
+Sogrange and Peter, Baron de Grost, standing upon the threshold of their
+hotel, gazed out upon New York and liked the look of it. They had landed
+from the steamer a few hours before, had already enjoyed the luxury of a
+bath, a visit to an American barber's, and a genuine cocktail.
+
+"I see no reason," Sogrange declared, "why we should not take a week's
+holiday."
+
+Peter, glancing up into the blue sky and down into the faces of the
+well-dressed and beautiful women who were streaming up Fifth Avenue, was
+wholly of the same mind.
+
+"If we return by this afternoon's steamer," he remarked, "we shall have
+Bernadine for a fellow-passenger. Bernadine is annoyed with us just now.
+I must confess that I should feel more at my ease with a few thousand
+miles of the Atlantic between us."
+
+"Let it be so," Sogrange assented. "We will explore this marvellous
+city. Never," he added, taking his companion's arm, "did I expect to see
+such women save in my own, the mistress of all cities. So _chic_, my
+dear Baron, and such a carriage! We will lunch at one of the fashionable
+restaurants and drive in the Park afterwards. First of all, however, we
+must take a stroll along this wonderful Fifth Avenue."
+
+The two men spent a morning after their own hearts. They lunched
+astonishingly well at Sherry's and drove afterwards in the Central Park.
+When they returned to the hotel Sogrange was in excellent spirits.
+
+"I feel, my friend," he announced, "that we are going to have a very
+pleasant and, in some respects, a unique week. To meet friends and
+acquaintances everywhere, as one must do in every capital in Europe, is,
+of course, pleasant, but there is a monotony about it from which one is
+glad sometimes to escape. We lunch here and we promenade in the places
+frequented by those of a similar station to our own, and behold! we know
+no one. We are lookers on. Perhaps, for a long time, it might gall. For
+a brief period there is a restfulness about it which pleases me."
+
+"I should have liked," Peter murmured, "an introduction to the lady in
+the blue hat."
+
+"You are a gregarious animal," Sogrange declared. "You do not understand
+the pleasure of a little comparative isolation with an intellectual
+companion such as myself. What the devil is the meaning of this?"
+
+They had reached their sitting-room, and upon a small round table stood
+a great collection of cards and notes. Sogrange took them up helplessly,
+one after the other, reading the names aloud and letting them fall
+through his fingers. Some were known to him, some were not. He began to
+open the notes. In effect they were all the same--On what day would the
+Marquis de Sogrange and his distinguished friend care to dine, lunch,
+yacht, golf, shoot, go to the opera, join a theatre party? Of what clubs
+would they care to become members? What kind of hospitality would be
+most acceptable?
+
+Sogrange sank into a chair.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, "they all have to be answered--that
+collection there! The visits have to be returned. It is magnificent,
+this hospitality, but what can one do?"
+
+Peter looked at the pile of correspondence upon which Sogrange's inroad,
+indeed, seemed to have had but little effect.
+
+"One could engage a secretary, of course," he suggested, doubtfully.
+"But the visits! Our week's holiday is gone."
+
+"Not at all," Sogrange replied. "I have an idea."
+
+The telephone bell rang. Peter took up the receiver and listened for a
+moment. He turned to Sogrange, still holding it in his hand.
+
+"You will be pleased, also, to hear," he announced, "that there are half
+a dozen reporters downstairs waiting to interview us."
+
+Sogrange received the information with interest.
+
+"Have them sent up at once," he directed, "every one of them."
+
+"What, all at the same time?" Peter asked.
+
+"All at the same time it must be," Sogrange answered. "Give them to
+understand that it is an affair of five minutes only."
+
+They came trooping in. Sogrange welcomed them cordially.
+
+"My friend the Baron de Grost," he explained, indicating Peter. "I am
+the Marquis de Sogrange. Let us know what we can do to serve you."
+
+One of the men stepped forward.
+
+"Very glad to meet you, Marquis, and you, Baron," he said. "I won't
+bother you with any introductions, but I and the company here represent
+the Press of New York. We should like some information for our papers as
+to the object of your visit here and the probable length of your stay."
+
+Sogrange extended his hands.
+
+"My dear friend," he exclaimed, "the object of our visit was, I thought,
+already well known. We are on our way to Mexico. We leave to-night. My
+friend, the Baron is, as you know, a financier. I, too, have a little
+money to invest. We are going to meet some business acquaintances with a
+view to inspecting some mining properties. That is absolutely all I can
+tell you. You can understand, of course, that fuller information would
+be impossible."
+
+"Why, that's quite natural, Marquis," the spokesman of the reporters
+replied. "We don't like the idea of your hustling out of New York like
+this, though."
+
+Sogrange looked at the clock.
+
+"It is unavoidable," he declared. "We are relying upon you, gentlemen,
+to publish the fact, because you will see," he added, pointing to the
+table, "that we have been the recipients of a great many civilities
+which it is impossible for us to acknowledge properly. If it will give
+you any pleasure to see us upon our return, you will be very welcome. In
+the meantime, you will understand our haste."
+
+There were a few more civilities and the representatives of the Press
+took their departure. Peter looked at his companion doubtfully as
+Sogrange returned from showing them out.
+
+"I suppose this means that we have to catch to-day's steamer after all?"
+he remarked.
+
+"Not necessarily," Sogrange answered. "I have a plan. We will leave for
+the Southern Depot, wherever it may be. Afterwards, you shall use that
+wonderful skill of yours, of which I have heard so much, to effect some
+slight change in our appearance. We will then go to another hotel, in
+another quarter of New York, and take our week's holiday incognito. What
+do you think of that for an idea?"
+
+"Not much," Peter replied. "It isn't so easy to dodge the newspapers and
+the Press in this country. Besides, although I could manage myself very
+well, you would be an exceedingly awkward subject. Your tall and elegant
+figure, your aquiline nose, the shapeliness of your hands and feet, give
+you a distinction which I should find it hard to conceal."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You are a remarkably observant fellow, Baron. I quite appreciate your
+difficulty. Still, with a club foot, eh?--and spectacles instead of my
+eyeglasses----"
+
+"Oh, no doubt something could be managed," Peter interrupted. "You're
+really in earnest about this, are you?"
+
+"Absolutely," Sogrange declared. "Come here."
+
+He drew Peter to the window. They were on the twelfth story, and to a
+European there was something magnificent in that tangled mass of
+buildings threaded by the elevated railway, with its screaming trains,
+the clearness of the atmosphere, and in the white streets below, like
+polished belts through which the swarms of people streamed like insects.
+
+"Imagine it all lit up!" Sogrange exclaimed. "The sky-signs all ablaze,
+the flashing of fire from those cable wires, the lights glittering from
+those tall buildings! This is a wonderful place, Baron. We must see it.
+Ring for the bill. Order one of those magnificent omnibuses. Press the
+button, too, for the personage whom they call the valet. Perhaps, with a
+little gentle persuasion, he could be induced to pack our clothes."
+
+With his finger upon the bell, Peter hesitated. He, too, loved
+adventures, but the gloom of a presentiment had momentarily depressed
+him.
+
+"We are marked men, remember, Sogrange," he said. "An escapade of this
+sort means a certain amount of risk, even in New York."
+
+Sogrange laughed.
+
+"Bernadine caught the midday steamer. We have no enemies here that I
+know of."
+
+Peter pressed the button. An hour or so later the Marquis de Sogrange
+and Peter, Baron de Grost, took their leave of New York.
+
+They chose an hotel some distance down Broadway, within a stone's throw
+of Rector's Restaurant. Peter, with whitened hair, gold-rimmed
+spectacles, a slouch hat and a fur coat, passed easily enough for an
+English maker of electrical instruments; while Sogrange, shabbier, and
+in ready-made American clothes, was transformed into a Canadian having
+some connection with theatrical business. They plunged into the heart of
+New York life, and found the whole thing like a tonic. The intense
+vitality of the people, the pandemonium of Broadway at midnight, with
+its flaming illuminations, its eager crowd, its inimitable restlessness,
+fascinated them both. Sogrange, indeed, remembering the decadent languor
+of the crowds of pleasure-seekers thronging his own boulevards, was
+never weary of watching these men and women. They passed from the
+streets to the restaurants, from the restaurants to the theatre, out
+into the streets again, back to the restaurants, and once more into the
+streets. Sogrange was like a glutton. The mention of bed was hateful to
+him. For three days they existed without a moment's boredom.
+
+On the fourth evening Peter found Sogrange deep in conversation with the
+head porter. In a few minutes he led Peter away to one of the bars where
+they usually took their cocktail.
+
+"My friend," he announced, "to-night I have a treat for you. So far we
+have looked on at the external night life of New York. Wonderful and
+thrilling it has been, too. But there is the underneath also. Why not?
+There is a vast polyglot population here, full of energy and life. A
+criminal class exists as a matter of course. To-night we make our bow to
+it."
+
+"And by what means?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Our friend the hall porter," Sogrange continued, "has given me the card
+of an ex-detective who will be our escort. He calls for us to-night, or
+rather, to-morrow morning, at one o'clock. Then, behold! the wand is
+waved, the land of adventures opens before us."
+
+Peter grunted.
+
+"I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, my Canadian friend," he said,
+"but the sort of adventures you may meet with to-night are scarcely
+likely to fire your romantic nature. I know a little about what they
+call this underneath world in New York. It will probably resolve itself
+into a visit to Chinatown, where we shall find the usual dummies taking
+opium, and quite prepared to talk about it for the usual tip. After that
+we shall visit a few low dancing halls, be shown the scene of several
+murders, and the thing is done."
+
+"You are a cynic," Sogrange declared. "You would throw cold water upon
+any enterprise. Anyway, our detective is coming. We must make use of
+him, for I have engaged to pay him five dollars."
+
+"We'll go where you like," Peter assented, "so long as we dine on a roof
+garden. This beastly fur coat keeps me in a chronic state of
+perspiration."
+
+"Never mind," Sogrange said consolingly, "it's most effective. A roof
+garden, by all means."
+
+"And recollect," Peter insisted, "I bar Chinatown. We've both of us seen
+the real thing, and there's nothing real about what they show you here."
+
+"Chinatown is erased from our programme," Sogrange agreed. "We go now to
+dine. Remind me, Baron, that I inquire for these strange dishes of which
+one hears--terrapin, canvas-backed duck, green corn, and strawberry
+shortcake."
+
+Peter smiled grimly.
+
+"How like a Frenchman," he exclaimed, "to take no account of seasons!
+Never mind, Marquis, you shall give your order and I will sketch the
+waiter's face. By the by, if you're in earnest about this expedition
+to-night, put your revolver into your pocket."
+
+"But we're going with an ex-detective," Sogrange replied.
+
+"One never knows," Peter said carelessly.
+
+They dined close to the stone palisading of one of New York's most
+famous roof gardens. Sogrange ordered an immense dinner, but spent most
+of his time gazing downwards. They were higher up than at the hotel, and
+they could see across the tangled maze of lights even to the river,
+across which the great ferry boats were speeding all the while--huge
+creatures of streaming fire and whistling sirens. The air where they sat
+was pure and crisp. There was no fog, no smoke, to cloud the almost
+crystalline clearness of the night.
+
+"Baron," Sogrange declared, "if I had lived in this city I should have
+been a different man. No wonder the people are all-conquering."
+
+"Too much electricity in the air for me," Peter answered. "I like a
+little repose. I can't think where these people find it."
+
+"One hopes," Sogrange murmured, "that before they progress any further
+in utilitarianism they will find some artist, one of themselves, to
+express all this."
+
+"In the meantime," Peter interrupted, "the waiter would like to know
+what we are going to drink. I've eaten such a confounded jumble of
+things of your ordering that I should like some champagne."
+
+"Who shall say that I am not generous!" Sogrange replied, taking up the
+wine carte. "Champagne it shall be. We need something to nerve us for
+our adventures."
+
+Peter leaned across the table.
+
+"Sogrange," he whispered, "for the last twenty-four hours I have had
+some doubts as to the success of our little enterprise. It has occurred
+to me more than once that we are being shadowed."
+
+Sogrange frowned.
+
+"I sometimes wonder," he remarked, "how a man of your suspicious nature
+ever acquired the reputation you undoubtedly enjoy."
+
+"Perhaps it is because of my suspicious nature," Peter said. "There is a
+man staying in our hotel whom we are beginning to see quite a great deal
+of. He was talking to the head porter a few minutes before you this
+afternoon. He supped at the same restaurant last night. He is dining
+now, three places behind you to the right, with a young lady who has
+been making flagrant attempts to flirtation with me, notwithstanding my
+grey hairs."
+
+"Your reputation, my dear Peter," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"As a decoy," Peter interrupted, "the young lady's methods are too
+vigorous. She pretends to be terribly afraid of her companion, but it is
+entirely obvious that she is acting on his instructions. Of course, this
+may be a ruse of the reporters. On the other hand, I think it would be
+wise to abandon our little expedition to-night."
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"So far as I am concerned," he said, "I am committed to it."
+
+"In which case," Peter replied, "I am certainly committed to being your
+companion. The only question is whether one shall fall to the decoy and
+suffer oneself to be led in the direction her companion desires, or
+whether we shall go blundering into trouble on our own account with your
+friend the ex-detective."
+
+Sogrange glanced over his shoulder, leaned back in his chair, for a
+moment, as though to look at the stars, and finally lit a cigarette.
+
+"There is a lack of subtlety about that young person, Baron," he
+declared, "which stifles one's suspicions. I suspect her to be merely
+one more victim to your undoubted charms. In the interests of madame
+your wife I shall take you away. The decoy shall weave her spells in
+vain."
+
+They paid their bill and departed a few minutes later. The man and the
+girl were also in the act of leaving. The former seemed to be having
+some dispute about the bill. The girl, standing with her back to him,
+scribbled a line upon a piece of paper, and, as Peter went by, pushed it
+into his hand with a little warning gesture. In the lift he opened it.
+The few pencilled words contained nothing but an address: Number 15,
+100th Street, East.
+
+"Lucky man!" Sogrange sighed.
+
+Peter made no remark, but he was thoughtful for the next hour or so.
+
+The ex-detective proved to be an individual of fairly obvious
+appearance, whose complexion and thirst indicated a very possible reason
+for his life of leisure. He heard with surprise that his patrons were
+not inclined to visit Chinatown, but he showed a laudable desire to fall
+in with their schemes, provided always that they included a reasonable
+number of visits to places where refreshments could be obtained. From
+first to last the expedition was a disappointment. They visited various
+smoke-hung dancing halls, decorated for the most part with oleographs
+and cracked mirrors, in which sickly-looking young men of unwholesome
+aspect were dancing with their feminine counterparts. The attitude of
+their guide was alone amusing.
+
+"Say, you want to be careful in here!" he would declare, in an awed
+tone, on entering one of these tawdry palaces. "Guess this is one of the
+toughest spots in New York City. You stick close to me and I'll make
+things all right."
+
+His method of making things all right was the same in every case. He
+would form a circle of disreputable youths, for whose drinks Sogrange
+was called upon to pay. The attitude of the young men was more dejected
+than positively vicious. They showed not the slightest signs of any
+desire to make themselves unpleasant. Only once, when Sogrange
+incautiously displayed a gold watch, did the eyes of one or two of their
+number glisten. The ex-detective changed his place and whispered
+hoarsely in his patron's ear:
+
+"Say, don't you flash anything of that sort about here! That young cove
+right opposite to you is one of the best-known sneak-thieves in the
+city. You're asking for trouble that way."
+
+"If he or any other of them want my watch," Sogrange answered, calmly,
+"let them come and fetch it. However," he added, buttoning up his coat,
+"no doubt you are right. Is there anywhere else to take us?"
+
+The man hesitated.
+
+"There ain't much that you haven't seen," he remarked.
+
+Sogrange laughed softly as he rose to his feet.
+
+"A sell, my dear friend," he said to Peter. "This terrible city keeps
+its real criminal class somewhere else rather than in the show places."
+
+A man who had been standing in the doorway, looking in for several
+moments, strolled up to them. Peter recognised him at once and touched
+Sogrange on the arm. The new-comer accosted them pleasantly.
+
+"Say, you'll excuse my butting in," he began, "but I can see you are
+kind of disappointed. These suckers"--indicating the ex-detective--"talk
+a lot about what they're going to show you, and when they get you round,
+it all amounts to nothing. This is the sort of thing they bring you to
+as representing the wickedness of New York! That's so, Rastall, isn't
+it?"
+
+The ex-detective looked a little sheepish.
+
+"Yes, there ain't much more to be seen," he admitted. "Perhaps you'll
+take the job on if you think there is."
+
+"Well, I'd engage to show the gentlemen something a sight more
+interesting than this," the new-comer continued. "They don't want to sit
+down and drink with the scum of the earth."
+
+"Perhaps," Sogrange suggested, "this gentleman has something in his mind
+which he thinks would appeal to us. We have a motor-car outside, and we
+are out for adventures."
+
+"What sort of adventures?" the new-comer asked bluntly.
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders lightly.
+
+"We are lookers-on merely," he explained. "My friend and I have
+travelled a good deal. We have seen something of criminal life in Paris
+and London, Vienna, and Budapest. I shall not break any confidence if I
+tell you that my friend is a writer, and material such as this is
+useful."
+
+The new-comer smiled.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "in a way, it's fortunate for you that I happened
+along! You come right with me and I'll show you something that very few
+other people in this city know of. Guess you'd better pay this fellow
+off," he added, indicating the ex-detective. "He's no more use to you."
+
+Sogrange and Peter exchanged questioning glances.
+
+"It is very kind of you, sir," Peter decided, "but for my part I have
+had enough for one evening."
+
+"Just as you like, of course," the other remarked, with studied
+unconcern.
+
+"What kind of place would it be?" Sogrange asked.
+
+The new-comer drew them on one side, although, as a matter of fact,
+everyone else had melted away.
+
+"Have you ever heard of the secret societies of New York?" he inquired.
+"Well, I guess you haven't, anyway--not to know anything about them.
+Well, then, listen. There's a society meets within a few steps of here,
+which has more to do with regulating the criminal classes of the city
+than any police establishment. There'll be a man there within an hour or
+so who, to my knowledge, has committed seven murders. The police can't
+get him. They never will. He's under our protection."
+
+"May we visit such a place as you describe without danger?" Peter asked
+calmly.
+
+"No!" the man answered. "There's danger in going anywhere, it seems to
+me, if it's worth while. So long as you keep a still tongue in your head
+and don't look about you too much, there's nothing will happen to you.
+If you get gassing a lot, you might tumble in for almost anything. Don't
+come unless you like. It's a chance for you, as you're a writer, but
+you'd best keep out of it if you're in any way nervous."
+
+"You said it was quite close?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"Within a yard or two," the man replied. "It's right this way."
+
+They left the hall with their new escort. When they looked for their
+motor-car, they found it had gone.
+
+"It don't do to keep them things waiting about round here," their new
+friend remarked, carelessly. "I guess I'll send you back to your hotel
+all right. Step this way."
+
+"By the by, what street is this we are in?" Peter asked.
+
+"100th Street," the man answered.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I'm a little superstitious about that number," he declared. "Is that an
+elevated railway there? I think we've had enough, Sogrange."
+
+Sogrange hesitated. They were standing now in front of a tall, gloomy
+house, unkempt, with broken gate--a large but miserable-looking abode.
+The passers-by in the street were few. The whole character of the
+surroundings was squalid. The man pushed open the broken gate.
+
+"You cross the road right there to the elevated," he directed. "If you
+ain't coming, I'll bid you good-night."
+
+Once more they hesitated. Peter, perhaps, saw more than his companion.
+He saw the dark shapes lurking under the railway arch. He knew
+instinctively that they were in some sort of danger. And yet the love of
+adventure was on fire in his blood. His belief in himself was immense.
+He whispered to Sogrange.
+
+"I do not trust our guide," he said. "If you care to risk it, I am with
+you."
+
+"Mind the broken pavement," the man called out. "This ain't exactly an
+abode of luxury."
+
+They climbed some broken steps. Their guide opened a door with a Yale
+key. The door swung to after them and they found themselves in darkness.
+There had been no light in the windows. There was no light, apparently,
+in the house. Their companion produced an electric torch from his
+pocket.
+
+"You had best follow me," he advised. "Our quarters face out the other
+way. We keep this end looking a little deserted."
+
+They passed through a swing door and everything was at once changed. A
+multitude of lamps hung from the ceiling, the floor was carpeted, the
+walls clean.
+
+"We don't go in for electric light," their guide explained, "as we try
+not to give the place away. We manage to keep it fairly comfortable,
+though."
+
+He pushed open the door and entered a somewhat gorgeously furnished
+salon. There were signs here of feminine occupation, an open piano, and
+the smell of cigarettes. Once more Peter hesitated.
+
+"Your friends seem to be in hiding," he remarked. "Personally, I am
+losing my curiosity."
+
+"Guess you won't have to wait very long," the man replied, with meaning.
+
+The room was suddenly invaded on all sides. Four doors, which were quite
+hidden by the pattern of the wall, had opened almost simultaneously, and
+at least a dozen men had entered. This time both Sogrange and Peter knew
+that they were face to face with the real thing. These were men who came
+silently in, not cigarette-stunted youths. Two of them were in evening
+dress; three or four had the appearance of prize-fighters. In their
+countenances was one expression common to all--an air of quiet and
+conscious strength.
+
+A fair-headed man, in a dinner jacket and black tie, became at once
+their spokesman. He was possessed of a very slight American accent, and
+he beamed at them through a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, "I am very glad to meet you both."
+
+"Very kind of you, I'm sure," Sogrange answered. "Our friend here," he
+added, indicating their guide, "found us trying to gain a little insight
+into the more interesting part of New York life. He was kind enough to
+express a wish to introduce us to you."
+
+The man smiled. He looked very much like some studious clerk, except
+that his voice seemed to ring with some latent power.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that your friend's interest in you was not
+entirely unselfish. For three days he has carried in his pocket an order
+instructing him to produce you here."
+
+"I knew it!" Peter whispered, under his breath.
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange replied. "May I know whom I have the honour
+of addressing?"
+
+"You can call me Burr," the man announced; "Philip Burr. Your names it
+is not our wish to know."
+
+"I am afraid I do not quite understand," Sogrange said.
+
+"It was scarcely to be expected that you should," Mr. Philip Burr
+admitted. "All I can tell you is that, in cases like yours, I really
+prefer not to know with whom I have to deal."
+
+"You speak as though you had business with us," Peter remarked.
+
+"Without doubt, I have," the other replied, grimly. "It is my business
+to see that you do not leave these premises alive."
+
+Sogrange drew up a chair against which he had been leaning, and sat
+down.
+
+"Really," he said, "that would be most inconvenient."
+
+Peter, too, shook his head, sitting upon the end of a sofa and folding
+his arms. Something told him that the moment for fighting was not yet.
+
+"Inconvenient or not," Mr. Philip Burr continued, "I have orders to
+carry out which I can assure you have never yet been disobeyed since the
+formation of our society. From what I can see of you, you appear to be
+very amiable gentlemen, and if it would interest you to choose the
+method--say, of your release--why, I can assure you we'll do all we can
+to meet your views."
+
+"I am beginning," Sogrange remarked, "to feel quite at home."
+
+"You see, we've been through this sort of thing before," Peter added,
+blandly.
+
+Mr. Philip Burr took a cigar from his case and lit it. At a motion of
+his hand one of the company passed the box to his two guests.
+
+"You're not counting upon a visit from the police, or anything of that
+sort, I hope?" Mr. Philip Burr asked.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"Certainly not," he replied. "I may say that much of the earlier portion
+of my life was spent in frustrating the well-meant but impossible
+schemes of that body of men."
+
+"If only we had a little more time," Mr. Burr declared, "it seems to me
+I should like to make the acquaintance of you two gentlemen."
+
+"The matter is entirely in your own hands," Peter reminded him. "We are
+in no hurry."
+
+Mr. Burr smiled genially.
+
+"You make me think better of humanity," he confessed. "A month ago we
+had a man here--got him along somehow or other--and I had to tell him
+that he was up against it like you two are. My! the fuss he made! Kind
+of saddened me to think a man should be such a coward."
+
+"Some people are like that," Sogrange remarked. "By the by, Mr. Burr,
+you'll pardon my curiosity. Whom have we to thank for our introduction
+here to-night?"
+
+"I don't know as there's any particular harm in telling you," Mr. Burr
+replied.
+
+"Nor any particular good," a man who was standing by his side
+interrupted. "Say, Phil, you drag these things out too much. Are there
+any questions you've got to ask 'em, or any property to collect?"
+
+"Nothing of the sort," Mr. Burr admitted.
+
+"Then let the gang get to work," the other declared.
+
+The two men were suddenly conscious that they were being surrounded.
+Peter's hand stole on to the butt of his revolver. Sogrange rose slowly
+to his feet. His hands were thrust out in front of him with the thumbs
+turned down. The four fingers of each hand flashed for a minute through
+the air. Mr. Philip Burr lost all his self-control.
+
+"Say, where the devil did you learn that trick?" he cried.
+
+Sogrange laughed scornfully.
+
+"Trick!" he exclaimed. "Philip Burr, you are unworthy of your position.
+I am the Marquis de Sogrange, and my friend here is the Baron de Grost."
+
+Mr. Philip Burr had no words. His cigar had dropped on to the carpet. He
+was simply staring.
+
+"If you need proof," Sogrange continued, "further than any I have given
+you, I have in my pocket, at the present moment, a letter, signed by you
+yourself, pleading for formal reinstatement. This is how you would
+qualify for it! You make use of your power to run a common decoy house,
+to do away with men for money. What fool gave you our names, pray?"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr was only the wreck of a man. He could not even control
+his voice.
+
+"It was some German or Belgian nobleman," he faltered. "He brought us
+excellent letters, and he made a large contribution. It was the Count
+von Hern."
+
+The anger of Sogrange seemed suddenly to fade away. He threw himself
+into a chair by the side of his companion.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "Bernadine has scored, indeed! Your
+friend has a sense of humour which overwhelms me. Imagine it. He has
+delivered the two heads of our great society into the hands of one of
+its cast-off branches! Bernadine is a genius, indeed!"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr began slowly to recover himself. He waved his hand. Nine
+out of the twelve men left the room.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "for ten years there has been no one whom I have
+desired to meet so much as you. I came to Europe, but you declined to
+receive me. I know very well we can't keep our end up like you over
+there, because we haven't politics and those sort of things to play
+with, but we've done our best. We've encouraged only criminology of the
+highest order. We've tried all we can to keep the profession select. The
+gaol-bird pure and simple we have cast out. The men who have suffered at
+our hands have been men who have met with their deserts."
+
+"What about us?" Peter demanded. "It seems to me that you had most
+unpleasant plans for our future."
+
+Philip Burr held up his hands.
+
+"As I live," he declared, "this is the first time that any money
+consideration has induced me to break away from our principles. Count
+von Hern had powerful friends who were our friends, and he gave me the
+word, straight, that you two had an appointment down below which was
+considerably overdue. I don't know, even now, why I consented. I guess
+it isn't much use apologising."
+
+Sogrange rose to his feet.
+
+"Well," he said, "I am not inclined to bear malice, but you must
+understand this from me, Philip Burr. As a society I dissolve you. I
+deprive you of your title and of your signs. Call yourself what you
+will, but never again mention the name of the 'Double Four.' With us in
+Europe another era has dawned. We are on the side of law and order. We
+protect only criminals of a certain class, in whose operations we have
+faith. There is no future for such a society in this country. Therefore,
+as I say, I dissolve it. Now, if you are ready, perhaps you will be so
+good as to provide us with the means of reaching our hotel."
+
+Philip Burr led them into a back street, where his own handsome
+automobile was placed at their service.
+
+"This kind of breaks me all up," he declared, as he gave the
+instructions to the chauffeur. "If there were two men on the face of
+this earth whom I'd have been proud to meet in a friendly sort of way,
+it's you two."
+
+"We bear no malice, Mr. Burr," Sogrange assured him. "You can, if you
+will do us the honour, lunch with us to-morrow at one o'clock at
+Rector's. My friend here is very interested in the Count von Hern, and
+he would probably like to hear exactly how this affair was arranged."
+
+"I'll be there, sure," Philip Burr promised with a farewell wave of the
+hand.
+
+Sogrange and Peter drove towards their hotel in silence. It was only
+when they emerged into the civilised part of the city that Sogrange
+began to laugh softly.
+
+"My friend," he murmured, "you bluffed fairly well, but you were afraid.
+Oh, how I smiled to see your fingers close round the butt of that
+revolver!"
+
+"What about you?" Peter asked gruffly. "You don't suppose you took me
+in, do you?"
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I had two reasons for coming to New York," he said. "One we
+accomplished upon the steamer. The other was----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"To reply personally to this letter of Mr. Philip Burr," Sogrange
+replied, "which letter, by the by, was dated from 15, 100th Street, New
+York. An ordinary visit there would have been useless to me. Something
+of this sort was necessary."
+
+"Then you knew!" Peter gasped. "Notwithstanding all your bravado, you
+knew."
+
+"I had a very fair idea," Sogrange admitted. "Don't be annoyed with me,
+my friend. You have had a little experience. It is all useful. It isn't
+the first time you've looked death in the face. Adventures come to some
+men unasked. You, I think, were born with the habit of them."
+
+Peter smiled. They had reached the hotel courtyard, and he raised
+himself stiffly.
+
+"There's a fable about the pitcher that went once too often to the
+well," he remarked. "I have had my share of luck--more than my share.
+The end must come some time, you know."
+
+"Is this superstition?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"Superstition pure and simple," Peter confessed, taking his key from the
+office. "It doesn't alter anything. I am fatalist enough to shrug my
+shoulders and move on. But I tell you, Sogrange," he added, after a
+moment's pause, "I wouldn't admit it to anyone else in the world, but I
+am afraid of Bernadine. I have had the best of it so often. It can't
+last. In all we've had twelve encounters. The next will be the
+thirteenth."
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly as he rang for the lift.
+
+"I'd propose you for the Thirteen Club, only there's some uncomfortable
+clause about yearly suicides which might not suit you," he remarked.
+
+"Good night, and don't dream of Bernadine and your thirteenth
+encounter."
+
+"I only hope," Peter murmured, "that I may be in a position to dream
+after it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+
+Baron de Grost glanced at the card which his butler had brought in to
+him, carelessly at first, afterwards with that curious rigidity of
+attention which usually denotes the setting free of a flood of memories.
+
+"The gentleman would like to see you, sir," the man announced.
+
+"You can show him in at once," Peter replied.
+
+The servant withdrew. Peter, during those few minutes of waiting, stood
+with his back to the room and his face to the window, looking out across
+the square, in reality seeing nothing, completely immersed in this
+strange flood of memories. John Dory--Sir John Dory now--a quondam
+enemy, whom he had met but seldom during these later years. The figure
+of this man, who had once loomed so largely in his life, had gradually
+shrunk away into the background. Their avoidance of each other arose,
+perhaps, from a sort of instinct which was certainly no matter of
+ill-will. Still, the fact remained that they had scarcely exchanged a
+word for years, and Peter turned to receive his unexpected guest with a
+curiosity which he did not trouble wholly to conceal.
+
+Sir John Dory--Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a person of weight
+and importance--had changed a great deal during the last few years. His
+hair had become grey, his walk more dignified. There was the briskness,
+however, of his best days in his carriage, and in the flash of his brown
+eyes. He held out his hand to his ancient foe with a smile.
+
+"My dear Baron," he said, "I hope you are going to say that you are glad
+to see me."
+
+"Unless," Peter replied, with a good-humoured grimace, "your visit is
+official, I am more than glad--I am charmed. Sit down. I was just going
+to take my morning cigar. You will join me? Good! Now I am ready for the
+worst that can happen."
+
+The two men seated themselves. John Dory pulled at his cigar
+appreciatively, sniffed its flavour for a moment, and then leaned
+forward in his chair.
+
+"My visit, Baron," he announced, "is semi-official. I am here to ask you
+a favour."
+
+"An official favour?" Peter demanded quickly.
+
+His visitor hesitated, as though he found the question hard to answer.
+
+"To tell you the truth," he declared, "this call of mine is wholly an
+inspiration. It does not in any way concern you personally, or your
+position in this country. What that may be I do not know, except that I
+am sure it is above any suspicion."
+
+"Quite so," Peter murmured. "How diplomatic you have become, my dear
+friend!"
+
+John Dory smiled.
+
+"Perhaps I am fencing about too much," he said. "I know, of course, that
+you are a member of a very powerful and wealthy French society, whose
+object and aims, so far as I know, are entirely harmless."
+
+"I am delighted to be assured that you recognise that fact," Peter
+admitted.
+
+"I might add," John Dory continued, "that this harmlessness is of recent
+date."
+
+"Really, you do seem to know a good deal," Peter confessed.
+
+"I find myself still fencing," Dory declared. "A matter of habit, I
+suppose. I didn't mean to when I came. I made up my mind to tell you
+simply that Guillot was in London, and to ask you if you could help me
+to get rid of him."
+
+Peter looked thoughtfully into his companion's face, but he did not
+speak. He understood at such moments the value of silence.
+
+"We speak together," Dory continued softly, "as men who understand one
+another. Guillot is the one criminal in Europe whom we all fear; not I
+alone, mind you--it is the same in Berlin, in Petersburg, in Vienna. He
+has never been caught. It is my honest belief that he never will be
+caught. At the same time, wherever he arrives the thunderclouds gather.
+He leaves behind him always a trail of evil deeds."
+
+"Very well put," Peter murmured. "Quite picturesque."
+
+"Can you help me to get rid of him?" Dory inquired. "I have my hands
+full just now, as you can imagine, what with the political crisis and
+these constant mass meetings. I want Guillot out of the country. If you
+can manage this for me I shall be your eternal debtor."
+
+"Why do you imagine," Peter asked, "that I can help you in this matter?"
+
+There was a brief silence. John Dory knocked the ash from his cigar.
+
+"Times have changed," he said. "The harmlessness of your great society,
+my dear Baron, is at present admitted. But there were days----"
+
+"Exactly," Peter interrupted. "As shrewd as ever, I perceive. Do you
+know anything of the object of his coming?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Anything of his plans?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"You know where he is staying?"
+
+"Naturally," Dory answered. "He has taken a second-floor flat in
+Crayshaw Mansions, Shaftesbury Avenue. As usual, he is above all petty
+artifices. He has taken it under the name of Monsieur Guillot."
+
+"I really don't know whether there is anything I can do," Peter decided,
+"but I will look into the matter for you with pleasure. Perhaps I may be
+able to bring a little influence to bear--indirectly, of course. If so,
+it is at your service. Lady Dory is well, I trust?"
+
+"In the best of health," Sir John replied, accepting the hint and rising
+to his feet. "I shall hear from you soon?"
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter answered. "I must certainly call upon Monsieur
+Guillot."
+
+Peter wasted no time in paying his promised visit. That same afternoon
+he rang the bell at the flat in Crayshaw Mansions. A typical French
+butler showed him into the room where the great man sat. Monsieur
+Guillot, slight, elegant, preeminently a dandy, was lounging upon a
+sofa, being manicured by a young lady. He threw down his _Petit Journal_
+and rose to his feet, however, at his visitor's entrance.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "but this is charming of you!
+Mademoiselle," he added, turning to the manicurist, "you will do me the
+favour of retiring for a short time. Permit me."
+
+He opened the door and showed her out. Then he came back to Peter.
+
+"A visit of courtesy, Monsieur le Baron?" he asked.
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter replied.
+
+"It is beyond all measure charming of you," Guillot declared, "but let
+me ask you a question. Is it peace or war?"
+
+"It is what you choose to make it," Peter answered.
+
+The man threw out his hands. There was the shadow of a frown upon his
+pale forehead. It was a matter for protest, this.
+
+"Why do you come?" he demanded. "What have we in common? The society has
+expelled me. Very well, I go my own way. Why not? I am free of your
+control to-day. You have no more right to interfere with my schemes than
+I with yours."
+
+"We have the ancient right of power," Peter said grimly. "You were once
+a prominent member of our organisation, the spoilt protégé of madame, a
+splendid maker, if you will, of criminal history. Those days have
+passed. We offered you a pension which you have refused. It is now our
+turn to speak. We require you to leave this city in twenty-four hours."
+
+The man's face was livid with anger. He was of the fair type of
+Frenchman, with deep-set eyes, and a straight, cruel mouth only partly
+concealed by his golden moustache. Just now, notwithstanding the veneer
+of his too perfect clothes and civilised air, the beast had leapt out.
+His face was like the face of a snarling animal.
+
+"I refuse!" he cried. "It is I who refuse! I am here on my own affairs.
+What they may be is no business of yours or of anyone else's. That is my
+answer to you, Baron de Grost, whether you come to me for yourself or on
+behalf of the society to which I no longer belong. That is my
+answer--that and the door," he added, pressing the bell. "If you will,
+we fight. If you are wise, forget this visit as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter took up his hat. The man-servant was already in the room.
+
+"We shall probably meet again before your return, Monsieur Guillot," he
+remarked.
+
+Guillot had recovered himself. His smile was wicked, but his bow
+perfection.
+
+"To the fortunate hour, Monsieur le Baron!" he replied.
+
+Peter drove back to Berkeley Square, and without a moment's hesitation
+pressed the levers which set in work the whole underground machinery of
+the great power which he controlled. Thence-forward Monsieur Guillot was
+surrounded with a vague army of silent watchers. They passed in and out
+even of his flat, their motor-cars were as fast as his in the streets,
+their fancy in restaurants identical with his. Guillot moved through it
+all like a man wholly unconscious of espionage, showing nothing of the
+murderous anger which burned in his blood. The reports came to Peter
+every hour, although there was, indeed, nothing worth chronicling.
+Monsieur Guillot's visit to London would seem, indeed, to be a visit of
+gallantry. He spent most of his time with Mademoiselle Louise, the
+famous dancer. He was prominent at the Empire to watch her nightly
+performance; they were a noticeable couple supping together at the Milan
+afterwards. Peter smiled as he read the reports. Monsieur Guillot was
+indeed a man of gallantry, but he had the reputation of using these
+affairs to cloak his real purpose. Those who watched him watched only
+the more closely. Monsieur Guillot, who stood it very well at first,
+unfortunately lost his temper. He drove to Berkeley Square in the great
+motor-car which he had brought with him from Paris, and confronted
+Peter.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, though, indeed, the glitter in his eyes knew
+nothing of friendship, "it is intolerable, this! Do you think that I do
+not see through these dummy waiters, these obsequious shopmen, these
+ladies who drop their eyes when I pass, these commissionaires, these
+would-be acquaintances? I tell you that they irritate me, this
+incompetent, futile crowd. You pit them against me! Bah! You should know
+better. When I choose to disappear, I shall disappear, and no one will
+follow me. When I strike, I shall strike, and no one will discover what
+my will may be. You are out of date, dear Baron, with your third-rate
+army of stupid spies. You succeed in one thing only--you succeed in
+making me angry."
+
+"It is at least an achievement, that," Peter declared.
+
+"Perhaps," Monsieur Guillot admitted fiercely. "Yet mark now the result.
+I defy you, you and all of them. Look at your clock. It is five minutes
+to seven. It goes well, that clock, eh?"
+
+"It is the correct time," Peter said.
+
+"Then by midnight," Guillot continued, shaking his fist in the other's
+face, "I shall have done that thing which brought me to England, and I
+shall have disappeared. I shall have done it in spite of your watchers,
+in spite of your spies, in spite, even, of you, Monsieur le Baron de
+Grost. There is my challenge. _Voilà._ Take it up if you will. At
+midnight you shall hear me laugh. I have the honour to wish you good
+night!"
+
+Peter opened the door with his own hands.
+
+"This is excellent," he declared. "You are now, indeed, the Monsieur
+Guillot of old. Almost you persuade me to take up your challenge."
+
+Guillot laughed derisively.
+
+"As you please!" he exclaimed. "By midnight to-night!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The challenge of Monsieur Guillot was issued precisely at four minutes
+before seven. On his departure, Peter spent the next half-hour studying
+certain notes and sending various telephone messages. Afterwards he
+changed his clothes at the usual time and sat down to a _tête-à-tête_
+dinner with his wife. Three times during the course of the meal he was
+summoned to the telephone, and from each visit he returned more
+perplexed. Finally, when the servants had left the room, he took his
+chair round to his wife's side.
+
+"Violet," he said, "you were asking me just now about the telephone. You
+were quite right. These were not ordinary messages which I have been
+receiving. I am engaged in a little matter which, I must confess,
+perplexes me. I want your advice--perhaps your help."
+
+Violet smiled.
+
+"I am quite ready," she announced. "It is a long time since you gave me
+anything to do."
+
+"You have heard of Guillot?"
+
+She reflected a moment.
+
+"You mean the wonderful Frenchman," she asked, "the head of the criminal
+department of the Double Four?"
+
+"The man who was at its head when it existed," Peter replied. "The
+criminal department, as you know, has all been done away with. The
+Double Four has now no more concern with those who break the law, save
+in those few instances where great issues demand it."
+
+"But Monsieur Guillot still exists?"
+
+"He not only exists," Peter answered, "but he is here in London, a rebel
+and a defiant one. Do you know who came to see me the other morning?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"Sir John Dory," Peter continued. "He came here with a request. He
+begged for my help. Guillot is here, committed to some enterprise which
+no man can wholly fathom. Dory has enough to do with other things, as
+you can imagine, just now. Besides, I think he recognises that Monsieur
+Guillot is rather a hard nut for the ordinary English detective to
+crack."
+
+"And you?" she demanded, breathlessly.
+
+"I join forces with Dory," Peter admitted. "Sogrange agrees with me.
+Guillot was associated with the Double Four too long for us to have him
+make scandalous history, either here or in Paris."
+
+"You have seen him?"
+
+"I have not only seen him," Peter said, "I have declared war against
+him."
+
+"And he?"
+
+"Guillot is defiant," Peter replied. "He has been here only this
+evening. He mocks at me. He swears that he will bring off this
+enterprise, whatever it may be, before midnight to-night, and he has
+defied me to stop him."
+
+"But you will," she murmured softly.
+
+Peter smiled. The conviction in his wife's tone was a subtle compliment
+which he did not fail to appreciate.
+
+"I have hopes," he confessed, "and yet, let me tell you this, Violet, I
+have never been more puzzled. Ask yourself, now. What enterprise is
+there worthy of a man like Guillot, in which he could engage himself
+here in London between now and midnight? Any ordinary theft is beneath
+him. The purloining of the Crown jewels, perhaps, he might consider, but
+I don't think that anything less in the way of robbery would bring him
+here. He has his code and he is as vain as a peacock. Yet money is at
+the root of everything he does."
+
+"How does he spend his time here?" Violet asked.
+
+"He has a handsome flat in Shaftesbury Avenue," Peter answered, "where
+he lives, to all appearance, the life of an idle man of fashion. The
+whole of his spare time is spent with Mademoiselle Louise, the danseuse
+at the Empire. You see, it is half-past eight now. I have eleven men
+altogether at work, and according to my last report he was dining with
+her in the grillroom at the Milan. They ordered their coffee just ten
+minutes ago, and the car is waiting outside to take Mademoiselle to the
+Empire. Guillot's box is engaged there, as usual. If he proposes to
+occupy it, he is leaving himself a very narrow margin of time to carry
+out any enterprise worth speaking of."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments. Then she crossed the room,
+took up a copy of an illustrated paper, and brought it across to Peter.
+He smiled as he glanced at the picture to which she pointed, and the few
+lines underneath.
+
+"It has struck you, too, then!" he exclaimed. "Good! You have answered
+me exactly as I hoped. Somehow, I scarcely trusted myself. I have both
+cars waiting outside. We may need them. You won't mind coming to the
+Empire with me?"
+
+"Mind?" she laughed. "I only hope I may be in at the finish."
+
+"If the finish," Peter remarked, "is of the nature which I anticipate, I
+shall take particularly good care that you are not."
+
+The curtain was rising upon the first act of the ballet as they entered
+the music-hall and were shown to the box which Peter had engaged. The
+house was full--crowded, in fact, almost to excess. They had scarcely
+taken their seats when a roar of applause announced the coming of
+Mademoiselle Louise. She stood for a moment to receive her nightly
+ovation, a slim, beautiful creature, looking out upon the great house
+with that faint, bewitching smile at the corners of her lips which every
+photographer in Europe had striven to reproduce. Then she moved away to
+the music, an exquisite figure, the personification of all that was
+alluring in her sex. Violet leaned forward to watch her movements as she
+plunged into the first dance. Peter was occupied looking round the
+house. Monsieur Guillot was there, sitting insolently forward in his
+box, sleek and immaculate. He even waved his hand and bowed as he met
+Peter's eye. Somehow or other, his confidence had its effect. Peter
+began to feel vaguely troubled. After all, his plans were built upon a
+surmise. It was so easy for him to be wrong. No man would show his hand
+so openly who was not sure of the game. Then his face cleared a little.
+In the adjoining box to Guillot's the figure of a solitary man was just
+visible, a man who had leaned over to applaud Louise, but who was now
+sitting back in the shadows. Peter recognised him at once,
+notwithstanding the obscurity. This was so much to the good, at any
+rate. He took up his hat.
+
+"For a quarter of an hour you will excuse me, Violet," he said. "Watch
+Guillot. If he leaves his place, knock at the door of your box, and one
+of my men, who is outside, will come to you at once. He will know where
+to find me."
+
+Peter hurried away, pausing for a moment in the promenade to scribble a
+line or two at the back of one of his own cards. Presently he knocked at
+the door of the box adjoining Guillot's and was instantly admitted.
+Violet continued her watch. She remained alone until the curtain fell
+upon the first act of the ballet. A few minutes later Peter returned.
+She knew at once that things were going well. He sank into a chair by
+her side.
+
+"I have messages every five minutes," he whispered in her ear, "and I am
+venturing upon a bold stroke. There is still something about the affair,
+though, which I cannot understand. You are absolutely sure that Guillot
+has not moved?"
+
+Violet pointed with her programme across the house.
+
+"There he sits," she remarked. "He left his chair as the curtain went
+down, but he could scarcely have gone out of the box, for he was back
+within ten seconds."
+
+Peter looked steadily across at the opposite box. Guillot was sitting a
+little farther back now, as though he no longer courted observation.
+Something about his attitude puzzled the man who watched him. With a
+quick movement he caught up the glasses which stood by his wife's side.
+The curtain was going up for the second act, and Guillot had turned his
+head. Peter held the glasses only for a moment to his eyes, and then
+glanced down at the stage.
+
+"My God!" he muttered. "The man's a genius! Violet, the small motor is
+coming for you."
+
+He was out of the box in a single step. Violet looked after him, looked
+down upon the stage and across at Guillot's box. It was hard to
+understand.
+
+The curtain had scarcely rung up upon the second act of the ballet when
+a young lady, who met from all the loungers, and even from the
+door-keeper himself, the most respectful attention, issued from the
+stage-door at the Empire and stepped into the large motor-car which was
+waiting, drawn up against the kerb. The door was opened from inside and
+closed at once. She held out her hands, as yet ungloved, to the man who
+sat back in the corner.
+
+"At last!" she murmured. "And I thought that you had forsaken me. It
+seemed, indeed, dear one, that you had forsaken me."
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, but he answered only in a
+whisper. He wore a sombre black cloak and a broad-brimmed hat. A muffler
+concealed the lower part of his face. She put her finger upon the
+electric light, but he stopped her.
+
+"I must not be recognised," he said thickly. "Forgive me, Louise, if I
+seem strange at first, but there is more in it than I can tell you. No
+one must know that I am in London to-night. When we reach this place to
+which you are taking me, and we are really alone, then we can talk. I
+have so much to say."
+
+She looked at him doubtfully. It was indeed a moment of indecision with
+her. Then she began to laugh softly.
+
+"Little one, but you have changed!" she exclaimed compassionately.
+"After all, why not? I must not forget that things have gone so hardly
+with you. It seems odd, indeed, to see you sitting there, muffled up
+like an old man, afraid to show yourself. You know how foolish you are?
+With your black cape and that queer hat, you are so different from all
+the others. If you seek to remain unrecognised, why do you not dress as
+all the men do? Anyone who was suspicious would recognise you from your
+clothes."
+
+"It is true," he muttered. "I did not think of it."
+
+She leaned towards him.
+
+"You will not even kiss me?" she murmured.
+
+"Not yet," he answered.
+
+She made a little grimace.
+
+"But you are cold!"
+
+"You do not understand," he answered. "They are watching me--even
+to-night they are watching me. Oh, if you only knew, Louise, how I have
+longed for this hour that is to come!"
+
+Her vanity was assuaged. She patted his hand, but came no nearer.
+
+"You are a foolish little one," she said, "very foolish."
+
+"It is not for you to say that," he replied. "If I have been foolish,
+were not you often the cause of my folly."
+
+Again she laughed.
+
+"Oh, la, la! It is always the same! It is always you men who accuse! For
+that presently I shall reprove you. But now--as for now, behold, we have
+arrived!"
+
+"It is a crowded thoroughfare," the man remarked nervously, looking up
+and down Shaftesbury Avenue.
+
+"Stupid!" she cried, stepping out. "I do not recognise you to-night,
+little one. Even your voice is different. Follow me quickly across the
+pavement and up the stairs. There is only one flight. The flat I have
+borrowed is on the second floor. I do not care very much that people
+should recognise me either, under the circumstances. There is nothing
+they love so much," she added, with a toss of the head, "as finding an
+excuse to have my picture in the paper."
+
+He followed her down the dim hall and up the broad, flat stairs, keeping
+always some distance behind. On the first landing she drew a key from
+her pocket and opened a door. It was the door of Monsieur Guillot's
+sitting-room. A round table in the middle was laid for supper. One light
+alone, and that heavily shaded, was burning.
+
+"Oh, la, la," she exclaimed. "How I hate this darkness! Wait till I can
+turn on the lights, dear friend, and then you must embrace me. It is
+from outside, I believe. No, do not follow. I can find the switch for
+myself. Remain where you are. I return instantly."
+
+She left him alone in the room, closing the door softly. In the passage
+she reeled for a moment and caught at her side. She was very pale.
+Guillot, coming swiftly up the steps, frowned as he saw her.
+
+"He is there?" he demanded harshly.
+
+"He is there," Louise replied; "but, indeed, I am angry with myself.
+See, I am faint. It is a terrible thing, this, which I have done. He did
+me no harm, that young man, except that he was stupid and heavy, and
+that I never loved him. Who could love him, indeed? But, Guillot----"
+
+He passed on, scarcely heeding her words, but she clung to his arm.
+
+"Dear one," she begged, "promise that you will not really hurt him.
+Promise me that, or I will shriek out and call the people from the
+streets here. You will not make an assassin of me? Promise!"
+
+Guillot turned suddenly towards her, and there were strange things in
+his face. He pointed down the stairs.
+
+"Go back, Louise," he ordered, "back to your rooms, for your own sake.
+Remember that you left the theatre, too ill to finish your performance.
+You have had plenty of time already to get home. Quick! Leave me to deal
+with this young man. I tell you to go."
+
+She retreated down the stairs, dumb, her knees shaking still as though
+with fear. Guillot entered the room, closing the door behind him. Even
+as he bowed to that dark figure standing in the corner, his left hand
+shot forward the bolt.
+
+"Monsieur," he said.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" the visitor interrupted haughtily. "I am
+expecting Mademoiselle Louise. I did not understand that strangers had
+the right of entry into this room."
+
+Guillot bowed low.
+
+"Monsieur," he said once more, "it is a matter for my eternal regret
+that I am forced to intrude even for a moment upon an assignation so
+romantic. But there is a little matter which must first be settled. I
+have some friends here who have a thing to say to you."
+
+He walked softly, with catlike tread, along by the wall to where the
+thick curtains shut out the inner apartment. He caught at the thick
+velvet, dragged it back, and the two rooms were suddenly flooded with
+light. In the recently discovered one, two stalwart-looking men in plain
+clothes, but of very unmistakable appearance, were standing waiting.
+Guillot staggered back. They were strangers to him. He was like a man
+who looks upon a nightmare. His eyes protruded. The words which he tried
+to utter failed him. Then, with a swift, nervous presentiment, he turned
+quickly around towards the man who had been standing in the shadows.
+Here, too, the unexpected had happened. It was Peter, Baron de Grost,
+who threw his muffler and broad-brimmed hat upon the table.
+
+"Five minutes to eleven, I believe, Monsieur Guillot," Peter declared.
+"I win by an hour and five minutes."
+
+Guillot said nothing for several seconds. After all, though, he had
+great gifts. He recovered alike his power of speech and his composure.
+
+"These gentlemen," he said, pointing with his left hand towards the
+inner room. "I do not understand their presence in my apartments."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"They represent, I am afraid, the obvious end of things," he explained.
+"You have given me a run for my money, I confess. A Monsieur Guillot who
+is remarkably like you still occupies your box at the Empire, and
+Mademoiselle Jeanne Lemère, the accomplished understudy of the lady who
+has just left us, is sufficiently like the incomparable Louise to
+escape, perhaps, detection for the first few minutes. But you gave the
+game away a little, my dear Guillot, when you allowed your quarry to
+come and gaze even from the shadows of his box at the woman he adored."
+
+"Where is--he?" Guillot faltered.
+
+"He is on his way back to his country home," Peter replied. "I think
+that he will be cured of his infatuation for Mademoiselle. The assassins
+whom you planted in that room are by this time in Bow Street. The price
+which others beside you knew, my dear Guillot, was placed upon that
+unfortunate young man's head will not pass this time into your pocket.
+For the rest----"
+
+"The rest is of no consequence," Guillot interrupted, bowing. "I admit
+that I am vanquished. As for those gentlemen there," he added, waving
+his hand towards the two men, who had taken a step forward, "I have a
+little oath which is sacred to me concerning them. I take the liberty,
+therefore, to admit myself defeated, Monsieur le Baron, and to take my
+leave."
+
+No one was quick enough to interfere. They had only a glimpse of him as
+he stood there with the revolver pressed to his temple, an impression of
+a sharp report, of Guillot staggering back as the revolver slipped from
+his fingers on to the floor. Even his death cry was stifled. They
+carried him away without any fuss, and Peter was just in time, after
+all, to see the finish of the second act of the ballet. The sham
+Monsieur Guillot still smirked at the sham Louise, but the box by his
+side was empty.
+
+"Is it over?" Violet asked breathlessly.
+
+"It is over," Peter answered.
+
+It was, after all, an unrecorded tragedy. In an obscure corner of the
+morning papers one learned the next day that a Frenchman, who had
+apparently come to the end of his means, had committed suicide in a
+furnished flat in Shaftesbury Avenue. Two foreigners were deported
+without having been brought up for trial, for being suspected persons. A
+little languid interest was aroused at the inquest when one of the
+witnesses deposed to the deceased having been a famous French criminal.
+Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny
+press for once were deprived of their sensation. For the rest, Peter
+received, with much satisfaction, a remarkably handsome signet ring,
+bearing some famous arms, and a telegram from Sogrange: "_Well done,
+Baron! May the successful termination of your enterprise nerve you for
+the greater undertaking which is close at hand. I leave for London by
+the night train._--SOGRANGE."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+The Marquis de Sogrange arrived in Berkeley Square with the grey dawn of
+an October morning, showing in his appearance and dress few enough signs
+of his night journey. Yet he had travelled without stopping from Paris
+by fast motor car and the mail boat.
+
+"They telephoned me from Charing Cross," Peter said, "that you could not
+possibly arrive until midday. The clerk assured me that no train had yet
+reached Calais."
+
+"They had reason in what they told you," Sogrange remarked, as he leaned
+back in a chair and sipped the coffee which had been waiting for him in
+the Baron de Grost's study. "The train itself never got more than a mile
+away from the Gare du Nord. The engine-driver was shot through the head,
+and the metals were torn from the way. Paris is within a year now of a
+second and more terrible revolution."
+
+"You really believe this?" Peter asked gravely.
+
+"It is a certainty," Sogrange replied. "Not I alone, but many others can
+see this clearly. Everywhere the Socialists have wormed themselves into
+places of trust. They are to be met with in every rank of life, under
+every form of disguise. The post-office strike has already shown us what
+deplorable disasters even a skirmish can bring about. To-day the railway
+strike has paralysed France. Our country lies to-day absolutely at the
+mercy of any invader. As it happens, no one is, for the moment,
+prepared. Who can tell how it may be next time?"
+
+"This is bad news," Peter declared. "If this is really the position of
+affairs, the matter is much more serious than the newspapers would have
+us believe."
+
+"The newspapers," Sogrange muttered, "ignore what lies behind. Some of
+them, I think, are paid to do it. As for the rest, our Press had always
+an ostrich-like tendency. The Frenchman of the café does not buy his
+journal to be made sad."
+
+"You believe, then," Peter asked, "that these strikes have some definite
+tendency?"
+
+Sogrange set down his cup and smiled bitterly. In the early sunlight,
+still a little cold and unloving, Peter could see that there was a
+change in the man. He was no longer the debonair aristocrat of the
+racecourses and the boulevards. The shadows under his eyes were deeper,
+his cheeks more sunken. He had lost something of the sprightliness of
+his bearing. His attitude, indeed, was almost dejected. He was like a
+man who sees into the future and finds there strange and gruesome
+things.
+
+"I do more than believe that," he declared. "I know it. It has fallen to
+my lot to make a very definite discovery concerning them. Listen, my
+friend. For more than six months the Government has been trying to
+discover the source of this stream of vile socialistic literature which
+has contaminated the French working classes. The pamphlets have been
+distributed with devilish ingenuity amongst all national operatives, the
+army and the navy. The Government has failed. The Double Four has
+succeeded."
+
+"You have really discovered their source?" Peter exclaimed.
+
+"Without a doubt," Sogrange assented. "The Government appealed to us
+first some months ago when I was in America. For a time we had no
+success. Then a clue, and the rest was easy. The navy, the army, the
+post-office employees, the telegraph and telephone operators, and the
+railway men, have been the chief recipients of this incessant stream of
+foul literature. To-day one cannot tell how much mischief has been
+actually done. The strikes which have already occurred are only the
+mutterings of the coming storm. But mark you, wherever those pamphlets
+have gone, trouble has followed. What men may do the Government is
+doing, but all the time the poison is at work, the seed has been sown.
+Two millions of money have been spent to corrupt that very class which
+should be the backbone of France. Through the fingers of one man has
+come this shower of gold, one man alone has stood at the head of the
+great organisation which has disseminated this loathsome disease. Behind
+him--well, we know."
+
+"The man?"
+
+"It is fitting that you should ask that question," Sogrange replied.
+"The name of that man is Bernadine, Count von Hern."
+
+Peter remained speechless. There was something almost terrible in the
+slow preciseness with which Sogrange had uttered the name of his enemy,
+something unspeakably threatening in the cold glitter of his angry eyes.
+
+"Up to the present," Sogrange continued, "I have
+watched--sympathetically, of course, but with a certain amount of
+amusement--the duel between you and Bernadine. It has been against your
+country and your country's welfare that most of his efforts have been
+directed, which perhaps accounts for the equanimity with which I have
+been contented to remain a looker-on. It is apparent, my dear Baron,
+that in most of your encounters the honours have remained with you. Yet,
+as it has chanced, never once has Bernadine been struck a real and
+crushing blow. The time has come when this and more must happen. It is
+no longer a matter of polite exchanges. It is a _duel à outrance_."
+
+"You mean----" Peter began.
+
+"I mean that Bernadine must die," Sogrange declared.
+
+There was a brief silence. Outside, the early morning street noises were
+increasing in volume as the great army of workers, streaming towards the
+heart of the city from a hundred suburbs, passed on to their tasks. A
+streak of sunshine had found its way into the room, lay across the
+carpet, and touched Sogrange's still, waxen features. Peter glanced half
+fearfully at his friend and visitor. He himself was no coward, no
+shrinker from the great issues. He, too, had dealt in life and death.
+Yet there was something in the deliberate preciseness of Sogrange's
+words, as he sat there only a few feet away, which was unspeakably
+thrilling. It was like a death sentence pronounced in all solemnity upon
+some shivering criminal. There was something inevitable and tragical
+about the whole affair. A pronouncement had been made from which there
+was no appeal. Bernadine was to die!
+
+"Isn't this a little exceeding the usual exercise of our powers?" Peter
+asked slowly.
+
+"No such occasion as this has ever yet arisen," Sogrange reminded him.
+"Bernadine has fled to this country with barely an hour to spare. His
+offence is extraditable by a law of the last century which has never
+been repealed. He is guilty of treason against the Republic of France.
+Yet they do not want him back, they do not want a trial. I have papers
+upon my person which, if I took them into an English court, would
+procure for me a warrant for Bernadine's arrest. It is not this we
+desire. Bernadine must die. No fate could be too terrible for a man who
+has striven to corrupt the soul of a nation. It is not war, this. It is
+not honest conspiracy. Is it war, I ask you, to seek to poison the
+drinking water of an enemy, to send stalking into their midst some
+loathsome disease? Such things belong to the ages of barbarity.
+Bernadine has striven to revive them, and Bernadine shall die."
+
+"It is justice," Peter admitted.
+
+"The question remains," Sogrange continued, "by whose hand--yours or
+mine?"
+
+Peter started uneasily.
+
+"Is that necessary?" he asked.
+
+"I fear that it is," Sogrange replied. "We had a brief meeting of the
+executive council last night, and it was decided, for certain reasons,
+to entrust this task into no other hands. You will smile when I tell you
+that these accursed pamphlets have found their way into the possession
+of many of the rank and file of our own order. There is a marked
+disinclination on the part of those who have been our slaves to accept
+orders from anyone. Espionage we can still command--the best, perhaps,
+in Europe--because here we use a different class of material. But of
+those underneath we are, for the moment, doubtful. Paris is all in a
+ferment. Under its outward seemliness a million throats are ready to
+take up the brazen cry of revolution. One trusts nobody. One fears all
+the time."
+
+"You or I!" Peter repeated slowly. "It will not be sufficient, then,
+that we find Bernadine and deliver him over to your country's laws?"
+
+"It will not be sufficient," Sogrange answered sternly. "From those he
+may escape. For him there must be no escape."
+
+"Sogrange," Peter said, speaking in a low tone, "I have never yet killed
+a human being."
+
+"Nor I," Sogrange admitted. "Nor have I yet set my heel upon its head
+and stamped the life from a rat upon the pavement. But one lives and one
+moves on. Bernadine is the enemy of your country and mine. He makes war
+after the fashion of vermin. No ordinary cut-throat would succeed
+against him. It must be you or I."
+
+"How shall we decide?" Peter asked.
+
+"The spin of a coin," Sogrange replied. "It is best that way. It is
+best, too, done quickly."
+
+Peter produced a sovereign from his pocket and balanced it on the palm
+of his hand.
+
+"Let it be understood," Sogrange continued, "that this is a dual
+undertaking. We toss only for the final honour--for the last stroke. If
+the choice falls upon me, I shall count upon you to help me to the end.
+If it falls upon you, I shall be at your right hand even when you strike
+the blow."
+
+"It is agreed," Peter said. "See, it is for you to call."
+
+He threw the coin high into the air.
+
+"I call heads," Sogrange decided.
+
+It fell upon the table. Peter covered it with his hand, and then slowly
+withdrew the fingers. A little shiver ran through his veins. The
+harmless head that looked up at him was like the figure of death. It was
+for him to strike the blow!
+
+"Where is Bernadine now?" he asked.
+
+"Get me a morning paper and I will tell you," Sogrange declared, rising.
+"He was in the train which was stopped outside the Gare du Nord, on his
+way to England. What became of the passengers I have not heard. I knew
+what was likely to happen, and I left an hour before in a 100 h.p.
+Charron."
+
+Peter rang the bell, and ordered the servant who answered it to procure
+the _Daily Telegraph_. As soon as it arrived, he spread it open upon the
+table, and Sogrange looked over his shoulder. These are the headings
+which they saw in large black characters:
+
+                     RENEWED RIOTS IN PARIS
+                   THE GARE DU NORD IN FLAMES
+             TERRIBLE ACCIDENT TO THE CALAIS-DOUVRES
+                            EXPRESS
+                          MANY DEATHS
+
+Peter's forefinger travelled down the page swiftly. It paused at the
+following paragraph:--
+
+"The 8.55 train from the Gare du Nord, carrying many passengers for
+London, after being detained within a mile of Paris for over an hour
+owing to the murder of the engine-driver, made an attempt last night to
+proceed, with terrible results. Near Chantilly, whilst travelling at
+over fifty miles an hour, the points were tampered with, and the express
+dashed into a goods train laden with minerals. Very few particulars are
+yet to hand, but the express was completely wrecked, and many lives have
+been lost. Amongst the dead are the following:"
+
+One by one Peter read out the names. Then he stopped short. A little
+exclamation broke from Sogrange's lips. The thirteenth name upon that
+list of dead was the name of Bernadine, Count von Hern.
+
+"Bernadine!" Peter faltered. "Bernadine is dead!"
+
+"Killed by the strikers!" Sogrange echoed. "It is a just thing, this."
+
+The two men looked down at the paper and then up at each other. A
+strange silence seemed to have found its way into the room. The shadow
+of death lay between them. Peter touched his forehead and found it wet.
+
+"It is a just thing, indeed," he repeated, "but justice and death are
+alike terrible."
+
+Late in the afternoon of the same day a motor car, splashed with mud,
+drew up before the door of the house in Berkeley Square. Sogrange, who
+was standing talking to Peter before the library window, suddenly broke
+off in the middle of a sentence. He stepped back into the room and
+gripped his friend's shoulder.
+
+"It is the Baroness," he exclaimed quickly. "What does she want here?"
+
+"The Baroness who?" Peter demanded.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten. You must have heard of her--she is the friend
+of Bernadine."
+
+The two men had been out to lunch at the Ritz with Violet, and had
+walked across the Park home. Sogrange had been drawing on his gloves in
+the act of starting out for a call at the Embassy.
+
+"Does your wife know this woman?" he asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I think not," he replied. "We shall know in a minute."
+
+"Then she has come to see you," Sogrange continued. "What does it mean,
+I wonder?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+There was a knock at the door, and his servant entered, bearing a card.
+
+"This lady would like to see you, sir, on important business," he said.
+
+"You can show her in here," Peter directed.
+
+There was a very short delay. The two men had no time to exchange a
+word. They heard the rustling of a woman's gown, and immediately
+afterward the perfume of violets seemed to fill the room.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten," the butler announced.
+
+The door closed behind her. The servant had disappeared. Peter advanced
+to meet his guest. She was a little above medium height, very slim, with
+extraordinarily fair hair, colourless face, and strange eyes. She was
+not strictly beautiful, and yet there was no man upon whom her presence
+was without its effect. Her voice was like her movements, slow, and with
+a grace of its own.
+
+"You do not mind that I have come to see you?" she asked, raising her
+eyes to Peter's. "I believe before I go that you will think terrible
+things of me, but you must not begin before I have told you my errand.
+It has been a great struggle with me before I made up my mind to come
+here."
+
+"Won't you sit down, Baroness?" Peter invited.
+
+She saw Sogrange, and hesitated.
+
+"You are not alone," she said softly. "I wish to speak with you alone."
+
+"Permit me to present to you the Marquis de Sogrange," Peter begged. "He
+is my oldest friend, Baroness. I think that whatever you might have to
+say to me you might very well say before him."
+
+"It is--of a private nature," she murmured.
+
+"The Marquis and I have no secrets," Peter declared, "either political
+or private."
+
+She sat down and motioned Peter to take a place by her side upon the
+sofa.
+
+"You will forgive me if I am a little incoherent," she implored. "To-day
+I have had a shock. You, too, have read the news? You must know that the
+Count von Hern is dead--killed in the railway accident last night?"
+
+"We read it in the _Daily Telegraph_," Peter replied.
+
+"It is in all the papers," she continued. "You know that he was a very
+dear friend of mine?"
+
+"I have heard so," Peter admitted.
+
+"Yet there was one subject," she insisted, earnestly, "upon which we
+never agreed. He hated England. I have always loved it. England was kind
+to me when my own country drove me out. I have always felt grateful. It
+has been a sorrow to me that in so many of his schemes, in so much of
+his work, Bernadine should consider his own country at the expense of
+yours."
+
+Sogrange drew a little nearer. It began to be interesting, this.
+
+"I heard the news early this morning by telegram," she went on. "For a
+long time I was prostrate. Then early this afternoon I began to
+think--one must always think. Bernadine was a dear friend, but things
+between us lately have been different, a little strained. Was it his
+fault or mine--who can say? Does one tire with the years, I wonder? I
+wonder!"
+
+Her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was conscious of the fact that
+she wished him to know that they were beautiful. She looked slowly away
+again.
+
+"This afternoon, as I sat alone," she proceeded, "I remembered that in
+my keeping were many boxes of papers and many letters which have
+recently arrived, all belonging to Bernadine. I reflected that there
+were certainly some who were in his confidence, and that very soon they
+would come from his country and take them all away. And then I
+remembered what I owed to England, and how opposed I always was to
+Bernadine's schemes, and I thought that the best thing I could do to
+show my gratitude would be to place his papers all in the hands of some
+Englishman, so that they might do no more harm to the country which has
+been kind to me. So I came to you."
+
+Again her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was very sure indeed that
+they were wonderfully beautiful. He began to realise the fascination of
+this woman, of whom he had heard so much. Her very absence of colouring
+was a charm.
+
+"You mean that you have brought me these papers?" he asked.
+
+She shook her head slowly.
+
+"No," she said, "I could not do that. There were too many of them--they
+are too heavy, and there are piles of pamphlets--revolutionary
+pamphlets, I am afraid--all in French, which I do not understand. No, I
+could not bring them to you. But I ordered my motor-car and I drove up
+here to tell you that if you like to come down to the house in the
+country where I have been living--to which Bernadine was to have come
+to-night--yes, and bring your friend, too, if you will--you shall look
+through them before anyone else can arrive."
+
+"You are very kind," Peter murmured. "Tell me where it is that you
+live?"
+
+"It is beyond Hitchin," she told him, "up the Great North Road. I tell
+you at once, it is a horrible house, in a horrible, lonely spot. Within
+a day or two I shall leave it myself for ever. I hate it--it gets on my
+nerves. I dream of all the terrible things which perhaps have taken
+place there. Who can tell? It was Bernadine's long before I came to
+England."
+
+"When are we to come?" Peter asked.
+
+"You must come back with me now, at once," the Baroness insisted. "I
+cannot tell how soon someone in his confidence may arrive."
+
+"I will order my car," Peter declared.
+
+She laid her hand upon his arm.
+
+"Do you mind coming in mine?" she begged. "It is of no consequence, if
+you object, but every servant in Bernadine's house is German and a spy.
+There are no women except my own maid. Your car is likely enough known
+to them, and there might be trouble. If you will come with me now, you
+and your friend, if you like, I will send you to the station to-night in
+time to catch the train home. I feel that I must have this thing off my
+mind. You will come? Yes?"
+
+Peter rang the bell and ordered his coat.
+
+"Without a doubt," he answered. "May we not offer you some tea first?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"To-day I cannot think of eating or drinking," she replied. "Bernadine
+and I were no longer what we had been, but the shock of his death seems
+none the less terrible. I feel like a traitor to him for coming here,
+yet I believe that I am doing what is right," she added softly.
+
+"If you will excuse me for one moment," Peter said, "while I take leave
+of my wife, I will rejoin you presently."
+
+Peter was absent for only a few minutes. Sogrange and the Baroness
+exchanged the merest commonplaces. As they all passed down the hall
+Sogrange lingered behind.
+
+"If you will take the Baroness out to the car," he suggested, "I will
+telephone to the Embassy and tell them not to expect me."
+
+Peter offered his arm to his companion. She seemed, indeed, to need
+support. Her fingers clutched at his coat-sleeve as they passed on to
+the pavement.
+
+"I am so glad to be no longer quite alone," she whispered. "Almost I
+wish that your friend were not coming. I know that Bernadine and you
+were enemies, but then you were enemies not personally but politically.
+After all, it is you who stand for the things which have become so dear
+to me."
+
+"It is true that Bernadine and I were bitter antagonists," Peter
+admitted gravely. "Death, however, ends all that. I wish him no further
+harm."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"As for me," she said, "I am growing used to being friendless. I was
+friendless before Bernadine came, and latterly we have been nothing to
+one another. Now, I suppose, I shall know what it is to be an outcast
+once more. Did you ever hear my history, I wonder?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Never, Baroness," he replied. "I understood, I believe, that your
+marriage----"
+
+"My husband divorced me," she confessed, simply. "He was quite within
+his rights. He was impossible. I was very young and very sentimental.
+They say that Englishwomen are cold," she added. "Perhaps that is so.
+People think that I look cold. Do you?"
+
+Sogrange suddenly opened the door of the car, in which they were already
+seated. She leaned back and half closed her eyes.
+
+"It is rather a long ride," she said, "and I am worn out. I hope you
+will not mind, but for myself I cannot talk when motoring. Smoke, if it
+pleases you."
+
+"Might one inquire as to our exact destination?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"We go beyond Hitchin, up the Great North Road," she told him again.
+"The house is called the High House. It stands in the middle of a heath,
+and I think it is the loneliest and most miserable place that was ever
+built. I hate it and am frightened in it. For some reason or other it
+suited Bernadine, but that is all over now."
+
+The little party of three lapsed into silence. The car, driven carefully
+enough through the busy streets, gradually increased its pace as they
+drew clear of the suburbs. Peter leaned back in his place, thinking.
+Bernadine was dead! Nothing else would have convinced him so utterly of
+the fact as that simple sentence in the _Daily Telegraph_, which had
+been followed up by a confirmation and a brief obituary notice in all
+the evening papers. Curiously enough, the fact seemed to have drawn a
+certain spice out of even this adventure; to point, indeed, to a certain
+monotony in the future. Their present enterprise, important though it
+might turn out to be, was nothing to be proud of. A woman, greedy for
+gold, was selling her lover's secrets before the breath was out of his
+body. Peter turned in his cushioned seat to look at her. Without doubt
+she was beautiful to one who understood, beautiful in a strange,
+colourless, feline fashion, the beauty of soft limbs, soft movements, a
+caressing voice with always the promise beyond of more than the actual
+words. Her eyes now were closed, her face was a little weary. Did she
+really rest, Peter wondered. He watched the rising and falling of her
+bosom, the quivering now and then of her eyelids. She had indeed the
+appearance of a woman who had suffered.
+
+The car rushed on into the darkness. Behind them lay that restless
+phantasmagoria of lights streaming to the sky. In front, blank space.
+Peter, through half-closed eyes, watched the woman by his side. From the
+moment of her entrance into his library, he had summed her up in his
+mind with a single word. She was, beyond a doubt, an adventuress. No
+woman could have proposed the things which she had proposed who was not
+of that ilk. Yet for that reason it behoved them to have a care in their
+dealings with her. At her instigation they had set out upon this
+adventure, which might well turn out according to any fashion that she
+chose. Yet without Bernadine what could she do? She was not the woman to
+carry on the work which he had left behind for the love of him. Her
+words had been frank, her action shameful, but natural. Bernadine was
+dead, and she had realised quickly enough the best market for his
+secrets. In a few days' time his friends would have come and she would
+have received nothing. He told himself that he was foolish to doubt her.
+There was not a flaw in the sequence of events, no possible reason for
+the suspicions which yet lingered at the back of his brain. Intrigue, it
+was certain, was to her as the breath of her body. He was perfectly
+willing to believe that the death of Bernadine would have affected her
+little more than the sweeping aside of a fly. His very common sense bade
+him accept her story.
+
+By degrees he became drowsy. Suddenly he was startled into a very
+wideawake state. Through half-closed eyes he had seen Sogrange draw a
+sheet of paper from his pocket, a gold pencil from his chain, and
+commence to write. In the middle of a sentence his eyes were abruptly
+lifted. He was looking at the Baroness. Peter, too, turned his head; he
+also looked at the Baroness. Without a doubt she had been watching both
+of them. Sogrange's pencil continued its task, only he traced no more
+characters. Instead, he seemed to be sketching a face, which presently
+he tore carefully up into small pieces and destroyed. He did not even
+glance towards Peter, but Peter understood very well what had happened.
+He had been about to send him a message, but had found the Baroness
+watching. Peter was fully awake now. His faint sense of suspicion had
+deepened into a positive foreboding. He had a reckless desire to stop
+the car, to descend upon the road, and let the secrets of Bernadine go
+where they would. Then his natural love of adventure blazed up once
+more. His moment of weakness had passed. The thrill was in his blood,
+his nerves were tightened. He was ready for what might come, seemingly
+still half asleep, yet indeed with every sense of intuition and
+observation keenly alert.
+
+Sogrange leaned over from his place.
+
+"It is a lonely country, this, into which we are coming, madame," he
+remarked.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, it is not so lonely here as you will think it when we arrive at
+our destination," she replied. "There are houses here, but they are
+hidden by the trees. There are no houses near us."
+
+She rubbed the pane with her hand.
+
+"We are, I believe, very nearly there," she said. "This is the nearest
+village. Afterwards we just climb a hill, and about half a mile along
+the top of it is the High House."
+
+"And the name of the village?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"St. Mary's," she told him. "In the summer people call it beautiful
+around here. To me it is the most melancholy spot I ever saw. There is
+so much rain, and one hears the drip, drip in the trees all the day
+long. Alone I could not bear it. To-morrow or the next day I shall pack
+up my belongings and come to London. I am, unfortunately," she added,
+with a little sigh, "very, very poor, but it is my hope that you may
+find the papers of which I have spoken to you valuable."
+
+Sogrange smiled faintly. Peter and he could scarcely forbear to exchange
+a single glance. The woman's candour was almost brutal.
+
+She read their thoughts.
+
+"We ascend the hill," she continued. "We draw now very near to the end
+of our journey. There is still one thing I would say to you. Do not
+think too badly of me for what I am about to do. To Bernadine, whilst he
+lived, I was faithful. Many a time I could have told you of his plans
+and demanded a great sum of money, and you would have given it me
+willingly, but my lips were sealed because, in a way, I loved him. While
+he lived I gave him what I owed. To-day he is dead, and whatever I do it
+cannot concern him any more. To-day I am a free woman, and I take the
+side I choose."
+
+Sogrange smiled suavely.
+
+"Dear Madame," he replied, "what you have proposed to us is, after all,
+quite natural and very gracious. If one has a fear at all about the
+matter, it is as to the importance of these documents you speak of.
+Bernadine, I know, has dealt in great affairs, but he was a diplomat by
+instinct, experienced and calculating. One does not keep incriminating
+papers."
+
+She leaned a little forward. The car had swung round a corner now and
+was making its way up an avenue as dark as pitch.
+
+"The wisest of us, Monsieur le Marquis," she whispered, "reckon
+sometimes without that one element of sudden death. What should you say,
+I wonder, to a list of agents in France pledged to circulate in certain
+places literature of an infamous sort? What should you say, monsieur, to
+a copy of a secret report of your late manœuvres, franked with the
+name of one of your own staff officers? What should you say," she went
+on, "to a list of Socialist deputies with amounts against their names,
+amounts paid in hard cash? Are these of no importance to you?"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange answered simply, "for such information, if it were
+genuine, it would be hard to mention a price which we should not be
+prepared to pay."
+
+The car came to a sudden standstill. The first impression of the two men
+was that the Baroness had exaggerated the loneliness and desolation of
+the place. There was nothing mysterious or forbidding about the plain
+brown stone house before which they had stopped. The windows were
+streaming with light; the hall door, already thrown open, disclosed a
+very comfortable hall, brilliantly illuminated. A man-servant assisted
+his mistress to alight, another ushered them in. In the background were
+other servants. The Baroness glanced at the clock.
+
+"About dinner, Carl?" she asked.
+
+"It waits for Madame," the man answered.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Take care of these gentlemen till I descend," she ordered. "You will
+not mind?" she added, turning pleadingly to Sogrange. "To-day I have
+eaten nothing. I am faint with hunger. Afterwards, it will be a matter
+of but half an hour. You can be in London again by ten o'clock."
+
+"As you will, madame," Sogrange replied. "We are greatly indebted to you
+for your hospitality. But for costume, you understand that we are as we
+are?"
+
+"It is perfectly understood," she assured him. "For myself, I rejoin you
+in ten minutes. A loose gown, that is all."
+
+Sogrange and Peter were shown into a modern bathroom by a servant who
+was so anxious to wait upon them that they had difficulty in sending him
+away. As soon as he was gone and the door closed behind him, Peter put
+his foot against it and turned the key.
+
+"You were going to write something to me in the car?"
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"There was a moment," he admitted, "when I had a suspicion. It has
+passed. This woman is no Roman. She sells the secrets of Bernadine as
+she would sell herself. Nevertheless, it is well always to be prepared.
+There were probably others beside Bernadine who had the entrée here."
+
+"The only suspicious circumstance which I have noticed," Peter remarked,
+"is the number of men-servants. I have seen five already."
+
+"It is only fair to remember," Sogrange reminded him, "that the Baroness
+herself told us that there were no other save men-servants here and that
+they were all spies. Without a master, I cannot see that they are
+dangerous. One needs, however, to watch all the time."
+
+"If you see anything suspicious," Peter said, "tap the table with your
+forefinger. Personally, I will admit that I have had my doubts of the
+Baroness, but, on the whole, I have come to the conclusion that they
+were groundless. She is not the sort of woman to take up a vendetta,
+especially an unprofitable one."
+
+"She is an exceedingly dangerous person for an impressionable man like
+myself," Sogrange remarked, arranging his tie.
+
+The butler fetched them in a very few moments and showed them into a
+pleasantly furnished library, where he mixed cocktails for them from a
+collection of bottles upon the sideboard. He was quite friendly, and
+inclined to be loquacious, although he spoke with a slight foreign
+accent. The house belonged to an English gentleman, from whom the
+honoured Count had taken it, furnished. They were two miles from a
+station and a mile from the village. It was a lonely part, but there
+were always people coming or going. With one's work one scarcely noticed
+it. He was gratified that the gentlemen found his cocktails so
+excellent. Perhaps he might be permitted the high honour of mixing them
+another? It was a day, this, of deep sadness and gloom. One needed to
+drink something, indeed, to forget the terrible thing which had
+happened. The Count had been a good master, a little impatient
+sometimes, but kind-hearted. The news had been a shock to them all.
+
+Then, before they had expected her, the Baroness reappeared. She wore a
+wonderful grey gown which seemed to be made in a single piece, a gown
+which fitted her tightly, and yet gave her the curious appearance of a
+woman walking without the burden of clothes. Sogrange, Parisian to the
+finger-tips, watched her with admiring approval. She laid her fingers
+upon his arm, although it was towards Peter that her eyes travelled.
+
+"Will you take me in, Marquis?" she begged. "It is the only formality we
+will allow ourselves."
+
+They entered a long, low dining-room, panelled with oak, and with the
+family portraits of the owner of the house still left upon the walls.
+Dinner was served upon a round table, and was laid for four. There was a
+profusion of silver, very beautiful glass, and a wonderful cluster of
+orchids. The Marquis, as he handed his hostess to her chair, glanced
+towards the vacant place.
+
+"It is for my companion, an Austrian lady," she explained. "To-night,
+however, I think that she will not come. She was a distant connection of
+Bernadine's, and she is much upset. We leave her place and see. You will
+sit on my other side, Baron."
+
+The fingers which touched Peter's arm brushed his hand, and were
+withdrawn as though with reluctance. She sank into her chair with a
+little sigh.
+
+"It is charming of you two, this," she declared softly. "You help me
+through this night of solitude and sadness. What I should do if I were
+alone, I cannot tell. You must drink with me a toast, if you will. Will
+you make it to our better acquaintance?"
+
+No soup had been offered, and champagne was served with the _hors
+d'Å“uvres_. Peter raised his glass, and looked into the eyes of the
+woman who was leaning so closely towards him that her soft breath fell
+upon his cheek. She whispered something in his ear. For a moment,
+perhaps, he was carried away, but for a moment only. Then Sogrange's
+voice and the beat of his forefinger upon the table stiffened him into
+sudden alertness. They heard a motor-car draw up outside.
+
+"Who can it be?" the Baroness exclaimed, setting her glass down
+abruptly.
+
+"It is, perhaps, the other guest who arrives," Sogrange remarked.
+
+They all three listened, Peter and Sogrange with their glasses still
+suspended in the air.
+
+"The other guest?" the Baroness repeated. "Madame von Estenier is
+upstairs, lying down. I cannot tell who this may be."
+
+Her lips were parted. The lines of her forehead had suddenly appeared.
+Her eyes were turned toward the door, hard and bright. Then the glass
+which she had nervously picked up again and was holding between her
+fingers, fell on to the tablecloth with a little crash, and the yellow
+wine ran bubbling on to her plate. Her scream echoed to the roof and
+rang through the room. It was Bernadine who stood there in the doorway,
+Bernadine in a long travelling ulster and the air of one newly arrived
+from a journey. They all three looked at him, but there was not one who
+spoke. The Baroness, after her one wild cry, was dumb.
+
+"I am indeed fortunate," Bernadine said. "You have as yet, I see,
+scarcely commenced. You probably expected me. I am charmed to find so
+agreeable a party awaiting my arrival."
+
+He divested himself of his ulster and threw it across the arm of the
+butler who stood behind him.
+
+"Come," he continued, "for a man who has just been killed in a railway
+accident, I find myself with an appetite. A glass of wine, Carl. I do
+not know what that toast was the drinking of which my coming
+interrupted, but let us all drink it together. Aimée, my love to you,
+dear. Let me congratulate you upon the fortitude and courage with which
+you have ignored those lying reports of my death. I had fears that I
+might find you alone in a darkened room, with tear-stained eyes and
+sal-volatile by your side. This is infinitely better. Gentlemen, you are
+welcome."
+
+Sogrange lifted his glass and bowed courteously. Peter followed suit.
+
+"Really," Sogrange murmured, "the Press nowadays, becomes more
+unreliable every day. It is apparent, my dear von Hern, that this
+account of your death was, to say the least of it, exaggerated."
+
+Peter said nothing. His eyes were fixed upon the Baroness. She sat in
+her chair quite motionless, but her face had become like the face of
+some graven image. She looked at Bernadine, but her eyes said nothing.
+Every glint of expression seemed to have left her features. Since that
+one wild shriek she had remained voiceless. Encompassed by danger though
+he knew that they now must be, Peter found himself possessed by one
+thought and one thought only. Was this a trap into which they had
+fallen, or was the woman, too, deceived?
+
+"You bring later news from Paris than I myself," Sogrange proceeded,
+helping himself to one of the dishes which a footman was passing round.
+"How did you reach the coast? The evening papers stated distinctly that
+since the accident no attempt had been made to run trains."
+
+"By motor-car from Chantilly," Bernadine replied. "I had the misfortune
+to lose my servant, who was wearing my coat, and who, I gather from the
+newspaper reports, was mistaken for me. I myself was unhurt. I hired a
+motor-car and drove to Boulogne--not the best of journeys, let me tell
+you, for we broke down three times. There was no steamer there, but I
+hired a fishing boat, which brought me across the Channel in something
+under eight hours. From the coast I motored direct here. I was so
+anxious," he added, raising his eyes, "to see how my dear friend--my
+dear Aimée--was bearing the terrible news."
+
+She fluttered for a moment like a bird in a trap. Peter drew a little
+sigh of relief. His self-respect was reinstated. He had decided that she
+was innocent. Upon them, at least, would not fall the ignominy of having
+been led into the simplest of traps by this white-faced Delilah. The
+butler had brought her another glass, which she raised to her lips. She
+drained its contents, but the ghastliness of her appearance remained
+unchanged. Peter, watching her, knew the signs. She was sick with
+terror.
+
+"The conditions throughout France are indeed awful," Sogrange remarked.
+"They say, too, that this railway strike is only the beginning of worse
+things."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your country, my dear Marquis," he said, "is on its last legs. No one
+knows better than I that it is, at the present moment, honeycombed with
+sedition and anarchical impulses. The people are rotten. For years the
+whole tone of France has been decadent. Its fall must even now be close
+at hand."
+
+"You take a gloomy view of my country's future," Sogrange declared.
+
+"Why should one refuse to face facts?" Bernadine replied. "One does not
+often talk so frankly, but we three are met together this evening under
+somewhat peculiar circumstances. The days of the glory of France are
+past. England has laid out her neck for the yoke of the conqueror. Both
+are doomed to fall. Both are ripe for the great humiliation. You two
+gentlemen whom I have the honour to receive as my guests," he concluded,
+filling his glass and bowing towards them, "in your present unfortunate
+predicament represent precisely the position of your two countries."
+
+"_Ave Cæsar!_" Peter muttered grimly, raising his glass to his lips.
+
+Bernadine accepted the challenge.
+
+"It is not I, alas! who may call myself Cæsar," he replied, "although it
+is certainly you who are about to die."
+
+Sogrange turned to the man who stood behind his chair.
+
+"If I might trouble you for a little dry toast?" he inquired. "A modern,
+but very uncomfortable, ailment," he added, with a sigh. "One's
+digestion must march with the years, I suppose."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your toast you shall have, with pleasure, Marquis," he said, "but as
+for your indigestion, do not let that trouble you any longer. I think
+that I can promise you immunity from that annoying complaint for the
+rest of your life."
+
+"You are doing your best," Peter declared, leaning back in his chair,
+"to take away my appetite."
+
+Bernadine looked searchingly from one to the other of his two guests.
+
+"Yes," he admitted, "you are brave men. I do not know why I should ever
+have doubted it. Your pose is excellent. I have no wish, however, to see
+you buoyed up by a baseless optimism. A somewhat remarkable chance has
+delivered you into my hands. You are my prisoners. You, Peter Baron de
+Grost, I have hated all my days. You have stood between me and the
+achievement of some of my most dearly cherished tasks. Always I have
+said to myself that the day of reckoning must come. It has arrived. As
+for you, Marquis de Sogrange, if my personal feelings towards you are
+less violent, you still represent the things absolutely inimical to me
+and my interests. The departure of you two men was the one thing
+necessary for the successful completion of certain tasks which I have in
+hand at the present moment."
+
+Peter pushed away his plate.
+
+"You have succeeded in destroying my appetite, Count," he declared. "Now
+that you have gone so far in expounding your amiable resolutions towards
+us, perhaps you will go a little farther and explain exactly how, in
+this eminently respectable house, situated, I understand, in an
+eminently respectable neighbourhood, with a police station within a
+mile, and a dozen or so witnesses as to our present whereabouts, you
+intend to expedite our removal?"
+
+Bernadine pointed towards the woman who sat facing him.
+
+"Ask the Baroness how these things are arranged."
+
+They turned towards her. She fell back in her chair with a little gasp.
+She had fainted. Bernadine shrugged his shoulders. The butler and one of
+the footmen, who during the whole of the conversation had stolidly
+proceeded with their duties, in obedience to a gesture from their
+master, took her up in their arms and carried her from the room.
+
+"The fear has come to her, too," Bernadine murmured softly. "It may come
+to you, my brave friends, before morning."
+
+"It is possible," Peter answered, his hand stealing round to his hip
+pocket, "but in the meantime, what is to prevent----"
+
+The hip pocket was empty. Peter's sentence ended abruptly. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"To prevent your shooting me in cold blood, I suppose," he remarked.
+"Nothing except that my servants are too clever. No one save myself is
+allowed to remain under this roof with arms in their possession. Your
+pocket was probably picked before you had been in the place five
+minutes. No, my dear Baron, let me assure you that escape will not be so
+easy. You were always just a little inclined to be led away by the fair
+sex. The best men in the world, you know, have shared that failing, and
+the Baroness, alone and unprotected, had her attractions, eh?"
+
+Then something happened to Peter which had happened to him barely a
+dozen times in his life. He lost his temper, and lost it rather badly.
+Without an instant's hesitation, he caught up the decanter which stood
+by his side and flung it in his host's face. Bernadine only partly
+avoided it by thrusting out his arms. The neck caught his forehead and
+the blood came streaming over his tie and collar. Peter had followed the
+decanter with a sudden spring. His fingers were upon Bernadine's throat,
+and he thrust his head back. Sogrange sprang to the door to lock it, but
+he was too late. The room seemed full of men-servants. Peter was dragged
+away, still struggling fiercely.
+
+"Tie them up!" Bernadine gasped, swaying in his chair. "Tie them up, do
+you hear? Carl, give me brandy."
+
+He swallowed half a wineglassful of the raw spirit. His eyes were red
+with fury.
+
+"Take them to the gun-room," he ordered, "three of you to each of them,
+mind. I'll shoot the man who lets either escape."
+
+But Peter and Sogrange were both of them too wise to expend any more of
+their strength in a useless struggle. They suffered themselves to be
+conducted without resistance across the white stone hall, down a long
+passage, and into a room at the end, the window and fireplace of which
+were both blocked up. The floor was of red flags and the walls
+whitewashed. The only furniture was a couple of kitchen chairs and a
+long table. The door was of stout oak and fitted with a double lock. The
+sole outlet, so far as they could see, was a small round hole at the top
+of the roof. The door was locked behind them. They were alone.
+
+"The odd trick to Bernadine!" Peter exclaimed hoarsely, wiping a spot of
+blood from his forehead. "My dear Marquis, I scarcely know how to
+apologise. It is not often that I lose my temper so completely."
+
+"The matter seems to be of very little consequence," Sogrange answered.
+"This was probably our intended destination in any case. Seems to be
+rather an unfortunate expedition of ours, I am afraid."
+
+"One cannot reckon upon men coming back from the dead," Peter declared.
+"It isn't often that you find every morning and every evening paper
+mistaken. As for the woman, I believe in her. She honestly meant to sell
+us those papers of Bernadine's. I believe that she, too, will have to
+face a day of reckoning."
+
+Sogrange strolled around the room, subjecting it everywhere to a close
+scrutiny. The result was hopeless. There was no method of escape save
+through the door.
+
+"There is certainly something strange about this apartment," Peter
+remarked. "It is, to say the least of it, unusual to have windows in the
+roof and a door of such proportions. All the same, I think that those
+threats of Bernadine's were a little strained. One cannot get rid of
+one's enemies nowadays in the old-fashioned, melodramatic way. Bernadine
+must know quite well that you and I are not the sort of men to walk into
+a trap of anyone's setting, just as I am quite sure that he is not the
+man to risk even a scandal by breaking the law openly."
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange said. "I begin to suspect that you, too,
+have made some plans."
+
+"But naturally," Peter replied. "Once before Bernadine set a trap for
+me, and he nearly had a chance of sending me for a swim in the Thames.
+Since then one takes precautions as a matter of course. We were followed
+down here, and by this time I should imagine that the alarm is given. If
+all was well I was to have telephoned an hour ago."
+
+"You are really," Sogrange declared, "quite an agreeable companion, my
+dear Baron. You think of everything."
+
+The door was suddenly opened. Bernadine stood upon the threshold and
+behind him several of the servants.
+
+"You will oblige me by stepping back into the study, my friends," he
+ordered.
+
+"With great pleasure," Sogrange answered with alacrity. "We have no
+fancy for this room, I can assure you."
+
+Once more they crossed the stone hall and entered the room into which
+they had first been shown. On the threshold Peter stopped short and
+listened. It seemed to him that from somewhere upstairs he could hear
+the sound of a woman's sobs. He turned to Bernadine.
+
+"The Baroness is not unwell, I trust?" he asked.
+
+"The Baroness is as well as she is likely to be for some time,"
+Bernadine replied grimly.
+
+They were all in the study now. Upon a table stood a telephone
+instrument. Bernadine drew a small revolver from his pocket.
+
+"Baron de Grost," he said, "I find that you are not quite such a fool as
+I thought you. Some one is ringing up for you on the telephone. You will
+reply that you are well and safe, and that you will be home as soon as
+your business here is finished. Your wife is at the other end. If you
+breathe a single word to her of your approaching end, she shall hear
+through the telephone the sound of the revolver shot that sends you to
+hell."
+
+"Dear me," Peter protested, "I find this most unpleasant. If you'll
+excuse me, I don't think I'll answer the call at all."
+
+"You will answer it as I have directed," Bernadine insisted. "Only
+remember this, if you speak a single ill-advised word, the end will be
+as I have said."
+
+Peter picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.
+
+"Who is there?" he asked.
+
+It was Violet whose voice he heard. He listened for a moment to her
+anxious flood of questions.
+
+"There is not the slightest cause to be alarmed, dear," he said. "Yes, I
+am down at the High House, near St. Mary's. Bernadine is here. It seems
+that those reports of his death were absolutely unfounded. Danger?
+Unprotected? Why, my dear Violet, you know how careful I always am.
+Simply because Bernadine used once to live here, and because the
+Baroness was his friend, I spoke to Sir John Dory over the telephone
+before we left, and an escort of half a dozen police followed us. They
+are about the place now, I have no doubt, but their presence is quite
+unnecessary. I shall be home before long, dear. Yes, perhaps it would be
+as well to send the car down. Anyone will direct him to the house--the
+High House, St. Mary's, remember. Good-bye!"
+
+Peter replaced the receiver and turned slowly round. Bernadine was
+smiling.
+
+"You did well to reassure your wife, even though it was a pack of lies
+you told her," he remarked.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "up till now I have tried to take you
+seriously. You are really passing the limit. I must positively ask you
+to reflect a little. Do men who live the life that you and I live trust
+anyone? Am I, is the Marquis de Sogrange here, after a lifetime of
+experience, likely to leave the safety of our homes in company with a
+lady of whom we knew nothing except that she was your companion, without
+precautions? I do you the justice to believe you are a person of common
+sense. I know that we are as safe in this house as we should be in our
+own. War cannot be made in this fashion in an over-policed country like
+England."
+
+"Do not be too sure," Bernadine replied. "There are secrets about this
+house which have not yet been disclosed to you. There are means, my dear
+Baron, of transporting you into a world where you are likely to do much
+less harm than here, means ready at hand which would leave no more trace
+behind than those crumbling ashes can tell of the coal-mine from which
+they came."
+
+Peter preserved his attitude of bland incredulity.
+
+"Listen," he said, drawing a whistle from his pocket, "it is just
+possible that you are in earnest. I will bet you, then, if you like, a
+hundred pounds, that if I blow this whistle you will either have to open
+your door within five minutes or find your house invaded by the police."
+
+No one spoke for several moments. The veins were standing out upon
+Bernadine's forehead.
+
+"We have had enough of this folly," he cried. "If you refuse to realise
+your position, so much the worse for you. Blow your whistle, if you
+will. I am content."
+
+Peter waited for no second bidding. He raised the whistle to his lips
+and blew it, loudly and persistently. Again there was silence. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"Try once more, dear Baron," he advised. "Your friends are perhaps a
+little hard of hearing. Try once more, and when you have finished, you
+and I and the Marquis de Sogrange will find our way once more to the
+gun-room and conclude that trifling matter of business which brought you
+here."
+
+Again Peter blew his whistle and again the silence was broken only by
+Bernadine's laugh. Suddenly, however, that laugh was checked. Everyone
+had turned toward the door, listening. A bell was ringing throughout the
+house.
+
+"It is the front door," one of the servants exclaimed.
+
+No one moved. As though to put the matter beyond doubt, there was a
+steady knocking to be heard from the same direction.
+
+"It is a telegram or some late caller," Bernadine declared, hoarsely.
+"Answer it, Carl. If anyone would speak with the Baroness, she is
+indisposed and unable to receive. If anyone desires me, I am here."
+
+The man left the room. They heard him withdraw the chain from the door.
+Bernadine wiped the sweat from his forehead as he listened. He still
+gripped the revolver in his hand. Peter had changed his position a
+little, and was standing now behind a high-backed chair. They heard the
+door creak open, a voice outside, and presently the tramp of heavy
+footsteps. Peter nodded understandingly.
+
+"It is exactly as I told you," he said. "You were wise not to bet, my
+friend."
+
+Again the tramp of feet in the hall. There was something unmistakable
+about the sound, something final and terrifying. Bernadine saw his
+triumph slipping away. Once more this man, who had defied him so
+persistently, was to taste the sweets of victory. With a roar of fury he
+sprang across the room. He fired his revolver twice before Sogrange,
+with a terrible blow, knocked his arm upwards and sent the weapon
+spinning to the ceiling. Peter struck his assailant in the mouth, but
+the blow seemed scarcely to check him. They rolled on the floor
+together, their arms around one another's necks. It was an affair, that,
+but of a moment. Peter, as lithe as a cat, was on his feet again almost
+at once, with a torn collar and an ugly mark on his face. There were
+strangers in the room now, and the servants had mostly slipped away
+during the confusion. It was Sir John Dory himself who locked the door.
+Bernadine struggled slowly to his feet. He was face to face with half a
+dozen police-constables in plain clothes.
+
+"You have a charge against this man, Baron?" the police commissioner
+asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"The quarrel between us," he replied, "is not for the police courts,
+although I will confess, Sir John, that your intervention was
+opportune."
+
+"I, on the other hand," Sogrange put in, "demand the arrest of the Count
+von Hern and the seizure of all papers in this house. I am the bearer of
+an autograph letter from the President of France in connection with this
+matter. The Count von Hern has committed extraditable offences against
+my country. I am prepared to swear an information to that effect."
+
+The police commissioner turned to Peter.
+
+"Your friend's name?" he demanded.
+
+"The Marquis de Sogrange," Peter told him.
+
+"He is a person of authority?"
+
+"To my certain knowledge," Peter replied, "he has the implicit
+confidence of the French Government."
+
+Sir John Dory made a sign. In another moment Bernadine would have been
+arrested. It seemed, indeed, as though nothing could save him now from
+this crowning humiliation. He himself, white and furious, was at a loss
+how to deal with an unexpected situation. Suddenly a thing happened
+stranger than any one of them there had ever known or dreamed of, so
+strange that even men such as Peter, Sogrange and Dory, whose nerves
+were of iron, faced one another, doubting and amazed. The floor beneath
+them rocked and billowed like the waves of a canvas sea. The windows
+were filled with flashes of red light, a great fissure parted the wall,
+the pictures and bookcases came crashing down beneath a shower of
+masonry. It was the affair of a second. Above them shone the stars and
+around them a noise like thunder. Bernadine, who alone understood, was
+the first to recover himself. He stood in the midst of them, his hands
+above his head, laughing as he looked around at the strange
+storm--laughing like a madman.
+
+"The wonderful Carl!" he cried. "Oh, matchless servant! Arrest me now,
+if you will, you dogs of the police. Rout out my secrets, dear Baron de
+Grost. Tuck them under your arm and hurry to Downing Street. This is the
+hospitality of the High House, my friends. It loves you so well that
+only your ashes shall leave it."
+
+His mouth was open for another sentence when he was struck. A whole
+pillar of marble from one of the rooms above came crashing through and
+buried him underneath a falling shower of masonry. Peter escaped by a
+few inches. Those who were left unhurt sprang through the yawning wall
+out into the garden. Sir John, Sogrange, Peter, and three of the
+men--one limping badly, came to a standstill in the middle of the lawn.
+Before them the house was crumbling like a pack of cards, and louder
+even than the thunder of the falling structures was the roar of the red
+flames.
+
+"The Baroness!" Peter cried, and took one leap forward.
+
+"I am here," she sobbed, running to them from out of the shadows. "I
+have lost everything--my jewels, my clothes, all except what I have on.
+They gave me but a moment's warning."
+
+"Is there anyone else in the house?" Peter demanded.
+
+"No one but you who were in that room," she answered.
+
+"Your companion?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"There was no companion," she faltered. "I thought it sounded better to
+speak of her. I had her place laid at table, but she never even
+existed."
+
+Peter tore off his coat.
+
+"There are the others in the room!" he exclaimed. "We must go back."
+
+Sogrange caught him by the shoulder and pointed to a shadowy group some
+distance away.
+
+"We are all out but Bernadine," he said. "For him there is no hope.
+Quick!"
+
+They sprang back only just in time. The outside wall of the house fell
+with a terrible crash. The room which they had quitted was now blotted
+out of existence. It was not long before, from right and left, in all
+directions along the country road, came the flashing of lights and
+little knots of hurrying people.
+
+"It is the end!" Peter muttered. "Yesterday I should have regretted the
+passing of a brave enemy. To-day I hail with joy the death of a brute."
+
+The Baroness, who had been sitting upon a garden seat, sobbing, came
+softly up to them. She laid her fingers upon Peter's arm imploringly.
+
+"You will not leave me friendless?" she begged. "The papers I promised
+you are destroyed, but many of his secrets are here."
+
+She tapped her forehead.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I have no wish to know them. Years ago I
+swore that the passing of Bernadine should mark my own retirement from
+the world in which we both lived. I shall keep my word. To-night
+Bernadine is dead. To-night, Sogrange, my work is finished."
+
+The Baroness began to sob again.
+
+"And I thought that you were a man," she moaned, "so gallant, so
+honourable----"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange intervened, "I shall commend you to the pension list
+of the Double Four."
+
+She dried her eyes.
+
+"It is not money only I want," she whispered, her eyes following Peter.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"You have never seen the Baroness de Grost?" he asked her.
+
+"But no!"
+
+"Ah!" Sogrange murmured. "Our escort, madame, is at your service--so far
+as London."
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
+be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
+United States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERGâ„¢
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+
+START: FULL LICENSE
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
+Gutenberg�), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works
+
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
+person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
+1.E.8.
+
+1.B. “Project Gutenberg� is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
+Foundation� or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenbergâ„¢ License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenbergâ„¢ work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenbergâ„¢ License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenbergâ„¢ work (any work
+on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg� appears, or with which the
+phrase “Project Gutenberg� is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+
+  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+  most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
+  restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
+  under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
+  eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
+  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
+  you are located before using this eBook.
+
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
+Gutenberg� associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenbergâ„¢.
+
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ License.
+
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenbergâ„¢ work in a format
+other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII� or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenbergâ„¢ website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
+Vanilla ASCII� or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenbergâ„¢ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenbergâ„¢ works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works
+provided that:
+
+• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+  the use of Project Gutenbergâ„¢ works calculated using the method
+  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+  to the owner of the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ trademark, but he has
+  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+  Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+  Literary Archive Foundation.�
+
+• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+  works.
+
+• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+  receipt of the work.
+
+• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+  distribution of Project Gutenbergâ„¢ works.
+
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain “Defects,� such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
+of Replacement or Refund� described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenbergâ„¢ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenbergâ„¢ work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenbergâ„¢
+
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenbergâ„¢ collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenbergâ„¢ and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
+www.gutenberg.org.
+
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
+
+The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact.
+
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ depends upon and cannot survive without
+widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
+state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
+
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenbergâ„¢ electronic
+works
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenbergâ„¢ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenbergâ„¢ eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenbergâ„¢ eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: www.gutenberg.org.
+
+This website includes information about Project Gutenbergâ„¢,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/28091-0.zip b/28091-0.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2996e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-0.zip
diff --git a/28091-h.zip b/28091-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8dec1d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-h.zip
diff --git a/28091-h/28091-h.htm b/28091-h/28091-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c925f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-h/28091-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,8613 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      The Double Four| Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style> 
+<!--
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 92%;
+                font-size: smaller;
+                text-align: right;
+              } /* page numbers */
+
+    .linenum  {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em;
+               padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em;
+               float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em;
+               font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;}
+
+    .bb       {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
+    .bl       {border-left: solid 2px;}
+    .bt       {border-top: solid 2px;}
+    .br       {border-right: solid 2px;}
+    .bbox     {border: solid 2px;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+    .u        {text-decoration: underline;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+    .figcenter   {margin: auto; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figleft     {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top:
+                 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .figright    {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;
+                 margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
+
+    .footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+    .footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+    .footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+    .fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    .poem             {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;}
+    .poem br          {display: none;}
+    .poem .stanza     {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;}
+    .poem span.i0     {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i2     {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    .poem span.i4     {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;}
+    -->
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Double Four, by E. Phillips Oppenheim</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
+at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Double Four</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 15, 2009 [EBook #28091]<br>
+[Most recently updated: August 16, 2023]</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)</div>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***</div>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<a href="images/cover.jpg"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt=""></a>
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+
+
+<h1>THE DOUBLE FOUR</h1>
+
+<h2>By E. Phillips Oppenheim</h2>
+
+
+<h3>CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD<br>
+London, New York, Toronto &amp; Melbourne<br>
+First published <i>September 1911</i>.<br>
+<i>Reprinted October 1911</i>.<br>
+Shilling Edition <i>April 1913</i>.<br>
+<i>Reprinted February 1917</i>.</h3>
+
+
+<h4>ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</h4>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER 1. <span class="smcap">The Desire of Madame</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER 2. <span class="smcap">The Ambassador's Wife</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER 3. <span class="smcap">The Man from the Old Testament</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER 4. <span class="smcap">The First Shot</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER 5. <span class="smcap">The Seven Suppers of Andrea Korust</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER 6. <span class="smcap">The Mission of Major Kosuth</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER 7. <span class="smcap">The Ghosts of Havana Harbour</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER 8. <span class="smcap">An Alien Society</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER 9. <span class="smcap">The Man behind the Curtain</span></a><br>
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER 10. <span class="smcap">The Thirteenth Encounter</span></a><br>
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2>THE DOUBLE FOUR</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DESIRE OF MADAME</h3>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>It is the desire of Madame that you should join our circle here
+on Thursday evening next, at ten o'clock.</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Sogrange.</span>"</p></div>
+
+<p>The man looked up from the sheet of notepaper which he held in his hand,
+and gazed through the open French windows before which he was standing.
+It was a very pleasant and very peaceful prospect. There was his croquet
+lawn, smooth-shaven, the hoops neatly arranged, the chalk mark firm and
+distinct upon the boundary. Beyond, the tennis court, the flower
+gardens, and to the left the walled fruit garden. A little farther away
+was the paddock and orchard, and a little farther still the farm, which
+for the last four years had been the joy of his life. His meadows were
+yellow with buttercups; a thin line of willows showed where the brook
+wound its lazy way through the bottom fields. It was a home, this, in
+which a man could well lead a peaceful life, could dream away his days
+to the music of the west wind, the gurgling stream, the song of birds,
+and the low murmuring of insects. Peter Ruff stood like a man turned to
+stone, for even as he looked these things passed away from before his
+eyes, the roar of the world beat in his ears&mdash;the world of intrigue, of
+crime, the world where the strong man hewed his way to power, and the
+weaklings fell like corn before the sickle.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>"<i>It is the desire of Madame!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff clenched his fists as he read the words once more. It was a
+message from a world every memory of which had been deliberately
+crushed&mdash;a world, indeed, in which he had seemed no longer to hold any
+place. He was Peter Ruff, Esquire, of Aynesford Manor, in the County of
+Somerset. It could not be for him, this strange summons.</p>
+
+<p>The rustle of a woman's soft draperies broke in upon his reverie. He
+turned round with his usual morning greeting upon his lips. She was,
+without doubt, a most beautiful woman: petite, and well moulded, with
+the glow of health in her eyes and on her cheeks. She came smiling to
+him&mdash;a dream of muslin and pink ribbons.</p>
+
+<p>"Another forage bill, my dear Peter?" she demanded, passing her arm
+through his. "Put it away and admire my new morning gown. It came
+straight from Paris, and you will have to pay a great deal of money for
+it."</p>
+
+<p>He pulled himself together&mdash;he had no secrets from his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," he said, and read aloud:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Rue de St. Quintaine, Paris.</i></p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Mr. Ruff</span>,&mdash;<i>It is a long time since we had the
+pleasure of a visit from you. It is the desire of Madame that you
+should join our circle here on Thursday evening next, at ten
+o'clock.</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Sogrange.</span>"</p></div>
+
+<p>Violet was a little perplexed. She failed, somehow, to recognise the
+sinister note underlying those few sentences.</p>
+
+<p>"It sounds friendly enough," she remarked. "You are not obliged to go,
+of course."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff smiled grimly.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it sounds all right," he admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"They won't expect you to take any notice of it, surely?" she continued.
+"When you bought this place, Peter, you gave them definitely to
+understand that you had retired into private life, that all these things
+were finished with you."</p>
+
+<p>"There are some things," Peter Ruff said slowly, "which are never
+finished."</p>
+
+<p>"But you resigned," she reminded him. "I remember your letter
+distinctly."</p>
+
+<p>"From the Double Four," he answered, "no resignation is recognised save
+death. I did what I could, and they accepted my explanations gracefully
+and without comment. Now that the time has come, however, when they
+need, or think they need, my help, you see they do not hesitate to claim
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"You will not go, Peter? You will not think of going?" she begged.</p>
+
+<p>He twisted the letter between his fingers and sat down to his breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he said, "I shall not go."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>That morning Peter Ruff spent upon his farm, looking over his stock,
+examining some new machinery, and talking crops with his bailiff. In the
+afternoon he played his customary round of golf. It was the sort of day
+which, as a rule, he found completely satisfactory, yet, somehow or
+other, a certain sense of weariness crept in upon him towards its close.
+The agricultural details in which he was accustomed to take so much
+interest had fallen a little flat. He even found himself wondering,
+after one of his best drives, whether it was well for the mind of a man
+to be so utterly engrossed by the flight of that small white ball
+towards its destination. More than once lately, despite his half-angry
+rejection of them, certain memories, half-wistful, half-tantalising,
+from the world of which he now saw so little, had forced their way in
+upon his attention. This morning the lines of that brief note seemed to
+stand out before him all the time with a curious vividness. In a way he
+played the hypocrite to himself. He professed to have found that summons
+disturbing and unwelcome, yet his thoughts were continually occupied
+with it. He knew well that what would follow was inevitable, but he made
+no sign.</p>
+
+<p>Two days later he received another letter. This time it was couched in
+different terms. On a square card, at the top of which was stamped a
+small coronet, he read as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Madame de Maupassim at home, Saturday evening, May 2nd, at ten
+o'clock.</i>"</p></div>
+
+<p>In small letters at the bottom left-hand corner were added the words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>To meet friends.</i>"</p></div>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff put the card upon the fire and went out for a morning's
+rabbit shooting with his keeper. When he returned, luncheon was ready,
+but Violet was absent. He rang the bell.</p>
+
+<p>"Where is your mistress, Jane?" he asked the parlourmaid.</p>
+
+<p>The girl had no idea. Mrs. Ruff had left for the village several hours
+ago. Since then she had not been seen.</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff ate his luncheon alone and understood. The afternoon wore on,
+and at night he travelled up to London. He knew better than to waste
+time by purposeless inquiries. Instead he took the nine o'clock train
+the next morning to Paris.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>It was a chamber of death into which he was ushered&mdash;dismal, yet, of its
+sort, unique, marvellous. The room itself might have been the sleeping
+apartment of an Empress&mdash;lofty, with white panelled walls adorned simply
+with gilded lines; with high windows, closely curtained now so that
+neither sound nor the light of day might penetrate into the room. In the
+middle of the apartment, upon a canopy bedstead which had once adorned a
+king's palace, lay Madame de Maupassim. Her face was already touched
+with the finger of death, yet her eyes were undimmed and her lips
+unquivering. Her hands, covered with rings, lay out before her upon the
+lace coverlid. Supported by many pillows, she was issuing her last
+instructions with the cold precision of the man of affairs who makes the
+necessary arrangements for a few days' absence from his business.</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff, who had not even been allowed sufficient time to change his
+travelling clothes, was brought without hesitation to her bedside. She
+looked at him in silence for a moment with a cold glitter in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"You are four days late, Monsieur Peter Ruff," she remarked. "Why did
+you not obey your first summons?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he answered, "I thought that there must be a misunderstanding.
+Four years ago I gave notice to the council that I had married and
+retired into private life. A country farmer is of no further use to the
+world."</p>
+
+<p>The woman's thin lip curled.</p>
+
+<p>"From death and the Double Four," she said, "there is no resignation
+which counts. You are as much our creature to-day as I am the creature
+of the disease which is carrying me across the threshold of death."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff remained silent. The woman's words seemed full of dread
+significance. Besides, how was it possible to contradict the dying?</p>
+
+<p>"It is upon the unwilling of the world," she continued, speaking slowly,
+yet with extraordinary distinctness, "that its greatest honours are
+often conferred. The name of my successor has been balloted for
+secretly. It is you, Peter Ruff, who have been chosen."</p>
+
+<p>This time he was silent, because he was literally bereft of words. This
+woman was dying, and fancying strange things! He looked from one to the
+other of the stern, pale faces of those who were gathered around her
+bedside. Seven of them there were&mdash;the same seven. At that moment their
+eyes were all focused upon him. Peter Ruff shrank back.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he murmured, "this cannot be."</p>
+
+<p>Her lips twitched as though she would have smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"What we have decided," she said, "we have decided. Nothing can alter
+that&mdash;not even the will of Mr. Peter Ruff."</p>
+
+<p>"I have been out of the world for four years," Peter Ruff protested. "I
+have no longer ambitions, no longer any desire&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You lie!" the woman interrupted. "You lie, or you do yourself an
+injustice! We gave you four years, and, looking into your face, I think
+that it has been enough. I think that the weariness is there already. In
+any case, the charge which I lay upon you in these, my last moments, is
+one which you can escape by death only!"</p>
+
+<p>A low murmur of voices from those others repeated her words.</p>
+
+<p>"By death only!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff opened his lips, but closed them again without speech. A wave
+of emotion seemed passing through the room. Something strange was
+happening. It was Death itself which had come amongst them.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>A morning journalist wrote of the death of Madame eloquently and with
+feeling. She had been a broadminded aristocrat, a woman of brilliant
+intellect and great friendships, a woman of whose inner life during the
+last ten or fifteen years little was known, yet who, in happier times,
+might well have played a great part in the history of her country.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff drove back from the cemetery with the Marquis de Sogrange,
+and for the first time since the death of Madame serious subjects were
+spoken of.</p>
+
+<p>"I have waited patiently," he declared, "but there are limits. I want my
+wife."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange took him by the arm and led him into the library of the house
+in the Rue de St. Quintaine. The six men who were already there waiting
+rose to their feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," the Marquis said, "is it your will that I should be
+spokesman?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a murmur of assent. Then Sogrange turned towards his
+companion, and something new seemed to have crept into his manner&mdash;a
+solemn, almost threatening note.</p>
+
+<p>"Peter Ruff," he continued, "you have trifled with the one organisation
+in this world which has never allowed itself to have liberties taken
+with it or to be defied. Men who have done greater service than you have
+died for the disobedience of a day. You have been treated leniently,
+accordingly to the will of Madame. According to her will, and in
+deference to the position which you must now take up amongst us, we
+still treat you as no other has ever been treated by us. The Double Four
+admits your leadership and claims you for its own."</p>
+
+<p>"I am not prepared to discuss anything of the sort," Peter Ruff declared
+doggedly, "until my wife is restored to me."</p>
+
+<p>The Marquis smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"The traditions of your race, Mr. Ruff," he said, "are easily manifest
+in you. Now, hear our decision. Your wife shall be restored to you on
+the day when you take up this position to which you have become
+entitled. Sit down and listen."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff was a rebel at heart, but he felt the grip of iron.</p>
+
+<p>"During these four years when you, my friend, have been growing turnips
+and shooting your game, events in the world have marched, new powers
+have come into being, a new page of history has been opened. As
+everything which has good at the heart evolves toward the good, so we of
+the Double Four have lifted our great enterprise on to a higher plane.
+The world of criminals is still at our beck and call, we still claim the
+right to draw the line between moral theft and immoral honesty; but
+to-day the Double Four is concerned with greater things. Within the four
+walls of this room, within the hearing of these my brothers, whose
+fidelity is as sure as the stones of Paris, I tell you a splendid
+secret. The Government of our country has craved for our aid and the aid
+of our organisation. It is no longer the wealth of the world alone which
+we may control, but the actual destinies of nations."</p>
+
+<p>"What I suppose you mean to say is," Peter Ruff remarked, "that you've
+been going in for politics?"</p>
+
+<p>"You put it crudely, my English bulldog," Sogrange answered, "but you
+are right. We are occupied now by affairs of international importance.
+More than once during the last few months ours has been the hand which
+has changed the policy of an empire."</p>
+
+<p>"Most interesting," Peter Ruff declared, "but so far as I personally am
+concerned&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," the Marquis interrupted. "Not a hundred yards from the French
+Embassy in London there is waiting for you a house and servants no less
+magnificent than the Embassy itself. You will become the ambassador in
+London of the Double Four, titular head of our association, a personage
+whose power is second to none in your marvellous city. I do not address
+words of caution to you, my friend, because we have satisfied ourselves
+as to your character and capacity before we consented that you should
+occupy your present position. But I ask you to remember this: the will
+of Madame lives even beyond the grave. The spirit which animated her
+when alive breathes still in all of us. In London you will wield a great
+power. Use it for the common good. And remember this: the Double Four
+has never failed, the Double Four can never fail."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad to hear you are so confident," Peter Ruff said. "Of course,
+if I have to take this thing on I shall do my best; but, if I might
+venture to allude for a moment to anything so trifling as my own
+domestic affairs, I am very anxious to know about my wife."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"You will find Mrs. Ruff awaiting you in London," he announced. "Your
+address is Merton House, Berkeley Square."</p>
+
+<p>"When do I go there?" Peter Ruff asked.</p>
+
+<p>"To-night," was the answer.</p>
+
+<p>"And what do I do when I get there?" he persisted.</p>
+
+<p>"For three days," the Marquis told him, "you will remain indoors and
+give audience to whomever may come to you. At the end of that time, you
+will understand a little more of our purpose and our objects&mdash;perhaps
+even of our power."</p>
+
+<p>"I see difficulties," Peter Ruff remarked. "My name, you see, is
+uncommon."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange drew a document from the breast pocket of his coat.</p>
+
+<p>"When you leave this house to-night," he proclaimed, "we bid good-bye
+for ever to Mr. Peter Ruff. You will find in this envelope the
+title-deeds of a small property which is our gift to you. Henceforth you
+will be known by the name and the title of your estates."</p>
+
+<p>"Title!" Peter Ruff gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"You will reappear in London," Sogrange continued, "as the Baron de
+Grost."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"It won't do," he declared. "People will find me out."</p>
+
+<p>"There is nothing to be found out," the Marquis went on, a little
+wearily. "Your country life has dulled your wits, Baron. The title and
+the name are justly yours&mdash;they go with the property. For the rest, the
+history of your family, and of your career up to the moment when you
+enter Merton House to-night, will be inside this packet. You can peruse
+it upon the journey, and remember that we can at all times bring a
+hundred witnesses, if necessary, to prove that you are whom you declare
+yourself to be. When you get to Charing Cross, do not forget that it
+will be the carriage and servants of the Baron de Grost which await
+you."</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I suppose I shall get used to it."</p>
+
+<p>"Naturally," Sogrange answered. "For the moment, we are passing through
+a quiet time, necessitated by the mortal illness of Madame. You will be
+able to spend the next few weeks in getting used to your new position.
+You will have a great many callers, inspired by us, who will see that
+you make the right acquaintances and that you join the right clubs. At
+the same time, let me warn you always to be ready. There is trouble
+brooding just now all over Europe. In one way or another we may become
+involved at any moment. The whole machinery of our society will be
+explained to you by your secretary. You will find him already installed
+at Merton House. A glass of wine, Baron, before you leave?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter Ruff glanced at the clock.</p>
+
+<p>"There are my things to pack," he began.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Your valet is already on the front seat of the automobile which is
+waiting," he remarked. "You will find him attentive and trustworthy. The
+clothes which you brought with you we have taken the liberty of
+dispensing with. You will find others in your trunk, and at Merton House
+you can send for any tailor you choose. One toast, Baron. We drink to
+the Double Four&mdash;to the great cause!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a murmur of voices. Sogrange lifted once more his glass.</p>
+
+<p>"May Peter Ruff rest in peace!" he said. "We drink to his ashes. We
+drink long life and prosperity to the Baron de Grost!"</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>The Marquis alone attended his guest to the station. They walked up and
+down the long platform of the Gare du Nord, Sogrange talking most of the
+time in an undertone, for there were many things which he yet had to
+explain. There came a time, however, when his grip upon his companion's
+arm suddenly tightened. They were passing a somewhat noticeable little
+group&mdash;a tall, fair man, with close-shaven hair and military moustache,
+dressed in an English travelling suit and Homburg hat, and by his side a
+very brilliant young woman, whose dark eyes, powdered face, and
+marvellous toilette rendered her a trifle conspicuous. In the background
+were a couple of servants.</p>
+
+<p>"The Count von Hern-Bernadine!" the Marquis whispered.</p>
+
+<p>Peter glanced at him for a moment as they passed.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine, without a doubt!" he exclaimed. "And his companion?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Delucie, from the <i>Com&eacute;die Fran&ccedil;aise</i>," the Marquis
+replied. "It is just like Bernadine to bring her here. He likes to
+parade the ostensible cause for his visit to Paris. It is all bluff. He
+cares little for the ladies of the theatre, or any other woman, except
+when he can make tools of them. He is here just now&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The Marquis paused. Peter looked at him interrogatively.</p>
+
+<p>"Why?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Because you are here," the Marquis affirmed. "Baron, I meant to speak
+to you about that man before we parted. There is no great work done
+without difficulties. The greatest difficulty you will have to face in
+your new life is that man. It is very possible that you may find within
+the course of a few months that your whole career, your very life, has
+developed into a duel <i>&agrave; outrance</i> with him."</p>
+
+<p>They had turned again, and were once more in sight of the little group.
+Bernadine had thrown a loose overcoat over his tweed travelling clothes,
+and with a cigarette between his fingers was engaged in deferential
+conversation with the woman by his side. His servant stood discreetly in
+the background, talking to the other domestic&mdash;a sombrely clad young
+person carrying a flat jewel-case, obviously the maid of the young
+Frenchwoman.</p>
+
+<p>"He is taking her across," the Marquis remarked. "It is not often that
+he travels like this. Perhaps he has heard that you are susceptible, my
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"The game is too young yet!" he declared.</p>
+
+<p>"It is never too young for Bernadine to take a hand," the Marquis
+replied grimly. "Listen, de Grost. Bernadine will probably try to make
+friends with you. You may think it wise to accept his advances, you may
+believe that you can guard your own secrets in his company; perhaps,
+even, that you may learn his. Do not try it, my friend. You have
+received the best proof possible that we do not underrate your
+abilities, but there is no other man like Bernadine. I would not trust
+myself alone with him."</p>
+
+<p>"You are taking it for granted," Peter interposed, "that our interests
+must be at all times inimical."</p>
+
+<p>The Marquis laid his hand upon the other's arm.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he said, "there are interests which are sometimes elastic,
+<i>rapprochements</i> which may vary between chilly friendliness and a
+certain intimacy. But between the interests of the Double Four and the
+interests represented by that young man there yawns the deepest gulf
+which you or any other man could conceive. Bernadine represents the
+Teuton&mdash;muscle and bone and sinew. He is German to the last drop of his
+heart's blood. Never undervalue him, I beseech you. He is not only a
+wonderful politician: he is a man of action, grim, unbending, unswerving
+as a man may be whose eyes are steadfastly fixed upon one goal. The
+friendships of France may sometimes change, but her one great enmity
+never. Bernadine represents that enmity. According to the measure of
+your success, so you will find him placid or venomous. Think of yourself
+as a monk, dear Baron, and Bernadine as the Devil Incarnate. From him
+there is safety only in absence."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled as he shook hands with his companion and climbed into the
+train.</p>
+
+<p>"At any rate," he said, "I have been warned."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>During the journey to Boulogne, at least, the repeated warnings of the
+Marquis seemed quite unnecessary. Bernadine and his companion remained
+in their engaged carriage, and de Grost, who dined in the restaurant car
+and sauntered once or twice along the corridors, saw nothing of them. At
+Boulogne they stayed in their carriage until the rush on to the boat was
+over, and it was not until they were half-way across the Channel that
+Peter felt suddenly an arm thrust through his as he leaned over the rail
+on the upper deck. He moved instinctively away from the vessel's side, a
+proceeding which seemed to afford some amusement to the man who had
+accosted him.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le Baron," said Bernadine, "let me be the first to
+congratulate you upon your new dignity."</p>
+
+<p>"Very kind of you, I am sure, Count von Hern," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine to you, my friend," the other protested. "So you have come
+once more into the great game?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter remained silent. His features had assumed an expression of gentle
+inquiry.</p>
+
+<p>"Once more I congratulate you," Bernadine continued. "In the old days
+you were shrewd and successful in your small undertakings, but you were,
+after all, little more than a policeman. To-day you stand for other
+things."</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le Comte talks in enigmas," Peter murmured.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Cautious as ever!" he exclaimed. "Ah, my dear Baron, you amuse me, you
+and the elegant Sogrange&mdash;Sogrange, who will pull the strings to which
+you must dance. Do you think that I did not see you both upon the
+platform, gazing suspiciously at me? Do you think that I did not hear
+the words of warning you received as clearly as though I had been
+standing by your side? 'It is Bernadine!' Sogrange whispers. 'Bernadine
+and Mademoiselle Delucie&mdash;a dangerous couple! Have a care, Monsieur le
+Baron!' Oh, that is what passed, without a doubt! So when you take your
+place in the train you wrap yourself in an armour of isolation; you are
+ready all the time to repel some deep-laid scheme, you are relieved to
+discover that, so far, at any rate, this terrible Bernadine and his
+beautiful travelling companion have not forced themselves upon you. Is
+it not so?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the south wind," he remarked, "which carries us across so quickly
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"The south wind, without a doubt," Bernadine assented politely. "Dear
+Baron, my congratulations are sincere. No one can come into the
+battlefield, the real battlefield of life, without finding enemies there
+waiting for him. You and I represent different causes. When our
+interests clash, I shall not try to throw you off a Channel boat, or to
+buy you with a cheque, or to hand you over to the tender mercies of the
+beautiful Mademoiselle Delucie. Until then, have no fear, my British
+friend. I shall not even ask you to drink with me, for I know that you
+would look suspiciously into the tumbler. <i>Au revoir</i>, and good
+fortune!"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine passed into the shadows and sank into a steamer chair by the
+side of his travelling companion. Peter continued his lonely walk, his
+hands thrust deep into the pockets of his overcoat, his eyes fixed upon
+the Folkestone lights, becoming every moment clearer and clearer.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>At Charing Cross all was as Sogrange had indicated. His servant remained
+to look after the luggage, a tall footman conducted him towards a
+magnificent automobile. Then, indeed, he forgot Bernadine and all this
+new stir of life&mdash;forgot everything in a sudden rush of joy. It was
+Violet who leaned forward to greet him&mdash;Violet, looking her best, and
+altogether at her ease amongst this new splendour.</p>
+
+<p>"Welcome, Monsieur le Baron!" she whispered as he took his place by her
+side.</p>
+
+<p>He took her hands and held them tightly, closely.</p>
+
+<p>"I always knew," he murmured, "that you hankered after a title."</p>
+
+<p>"Such a snob, aren't I!" she exclaimed. "Never mind, you wait!"</p>
+
+<p>They were moving rapidly westward now. A full moon was shining down upon
+the city, the streets were thronged with pedestrians and a block of
+vehicles. The Carlton was all ablaze. In the softening light Pall Mall
+had become a stately thoroughfare, the Haymarket and Regent Street
+picturesque with moving throngs, a stream of open cabs, women in cool
+evening dresses, men without hats or overcoats, on their way from the
+theatres. It was a vivid, almost a fascinating little picture. Peter
+caught a glimpse of his wife's face as she looked upon it.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe," he whispered, "that you are glad."</p>
+
+<p>She turned upon him with a wonderful smile, the light flashing in her
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Glad! Oh, Peter, of course I am glad! I hated the country; I pined and
+longed for life. Couldn't you see it, dear? Now we are back in it
+again&mdash;back amongst the big things. Peter, dear, you were never meant to
+shoot rabbits and play golf, to grow into the likeness of those awful
+people who think of nothing but sport and rural politics and their
+neighbours' weaknesses! The man who throws life away before he has done
+with it, dear, is a wastrel. Be thankful that it's back again in your
+hands&mdash;be thankful, as I am!"</p>
+
+<p>He sighed, and with that sigh went all his regrets for the life which
+had once seemed to him so greatly to be desired. He recognised in those
+few seconds the ignominy of peace.</p>
+
+<p>"There is not the slightest doubt about it," he admitted, "I do make
+mistakes."</p>
+
+<p>The automobile came to a standstill before the portico of an imposing
+mansion at the corner of Berkeley Square.</p>
+
+<p>"We are home!" Violet whispered. "Try to look as though you were used to
+it all!"</p>
+
+<p>A grave-faced major-domo was already upon the steps. In the hall was a
+vision of more footmen in quiet but impressive livery. Violet entered
+with an air of familiarity. Peter, with one last sigh, followed her.
+There was something significant to him in that formal entrance into his
+new and magnificent home. Outside, Peter Ruff seemed somewhere to have
+vanished into thin air. It was the Baron de Grost who had entered into
+his body&mdash;the Baron de Grost with a ready-made present, a fictitious
+past, a momentous future.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3>THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE</h3>
+
+
+<p>Alone in his study, with fast-locked door, Baron de Grost sat reading
+word by word with zealous care the dispatch from Paris which had just
+been delivered into his hands. From the splendid suite of
+reception-rooms which occupied the whole of the left-hand side of the
+hall, came the faint sound of music. The street outside was filled with
+automobiles and carriages setting down their guests. Madame was
+receiving to-night a gathering of very distinguished men and women, and
+it was only on very urgent business indeed that her husband had dared to
+leave her side.</p>
+
+<p>The room in which he sat was in darkness except for the single heavily
+shaded electric lamp which stood by his elbow. Peter was wearing Court
+dress, with immaculate black silk stockings, and diamond buckles upon
+his shoes. A red ribbon was in his button-hole and a French order hung
+from his neck. His passion for clothes was certainly amply ministered to
+by the exigencies of his new position. Once more he read those last few
+words of this unexpectedly received dispatch&mdash;read them with a frown
+upon his forehead and the light of trouble in his eyes. For three months
+he had done nothing but live the life of an ordinary man of fashion and
+wealth. His first task&mdash;for which, to tell the truth, he had been
+anxiously waiting&mdash;was here before him, and he found it little to his
+liking. Again he read slowly to himself the last paragraph of Sogrange's
+letter:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>As ever, dear friend, one of the greatest sayings which the men
+of my race have ever perpetrated, once more justifies itself,
+'Cherchez la femme!' Of monsieur we have no manner of doubt; we
+have tested him in every way. And, to all appearance, madame should
+also be above suspicion. Yet those things of which I have spoken
+have happened. For two hours this morning I was closeted with Picon
+here. Very reluctantly he has placed the matter in my hands. I pass
+it on to you. It is your first undertaking, cher Baron, and I wish
+you bon fortune. A man of gallantry, as I know you are, you may
+regret that it should be a woman&mdash;and a beautiful woman,
+too&mdash;against whom the finger must be pointed. Yet, after all, the
+fates are strong and the task is yours.</i>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Sogrange.</span>"</p></div>
+
+<p>The music from the reception-rooms grew louder and more insistent. Peter
+rose to his feet, and, moving to the fireplace, struck a match and
+carefully destroyed the letter which he had been reading. Then he
+straightened himself, glanced for a moment at the mirror, and left the
+room to join his guests.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le Baron jests," the lady murmured. Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, no, madame!" he answered earnestly. "France has offered us
+nothing more delightful in the whole history of our <i>entente</i> than the
+loan of yourself and your brilliant husband. Monsieur de Lamborne makes
+history amongst us politically, whilst madame&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Peter sighed, and his companion leaned a little towards him. Her dark
+eyes were full of sentimental regard.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?" she whispered. "Continue. It is my wish."</p>
+
+<p>"I am the good friend of Monsieur de Lamborne," Peter said, and in his
+tone there seemed to lurk some far-away touch of regret, "yet madame
+knows that her conquests here have been many."</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador's wife fanned herself and remained silent for a moment, a
+faint smile playing at the corners of her full, curving lips. She was
+indeed a very beautiful woman&mdash;elegant, a Parisian to the finger-tips,
+with pale cheeks but eyes dark and soft; eyes trained to her service,
+whose flash was an inspiration, whose very droop had set beating the
+hearts of men less susceptible than the Baron de Grost. Her gown was
+magnificent, of amber satin&mdash;a colour daring but splendid; the outline
+of her figure as she leaned slightly back in her seat might indeed have
+been traced by the inspired finger of some great sculptor. Peter, whose
+reputation as a man of gallantry was well established, felt the whole
+charm of her presence&mdash;felt, too, the subtle indications of preference
+which she seemed inclined to accord to him. There was nothing which eyes
+could say which hers were not saying during those few minutes. Peter,
+indeed, glanced around a little nervously. His wife had still her
+moments of unreasonableness; it was just as well that she was engaged
+with a party of her guests at the farther end of the apartments!</p>
+
+<p>"You are trying to turn my head," his beautiful companion whispered.
+"You flatter me."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not possible," he answered.</p>
+
+<p>Again the fan fluttered.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, monsieur," she continued, dropping her voice until it scarcely rose
+above a whisper, "there are not many men like you. You speak of my
+husband and his political gifts. Yet, what, after all, do they amount
+to? What is his position, indeed, if one glanced behind the scenes,
+compared with yours?"</p>
+
+<p>The face of the Baron de Grost became like a mask. It was as though
+suddenly he had felt the thrill of danger close at hand&mdash;danger even in
+that scented atmosphere wherein he sat.</p>
+
+<p>"Alas, madame!" he answered, "it is you now who are pleased to jest.
+Your husband is a great and powerful ambassador. I, unfortunately, have
+no career, no place in life, save the place which the possession of a
+few millions gives to a successful financier."</p>
+
+<p>She laughed very softly, and again her eyes spoke to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," she murmured, "you and I together could make a great
+alliance; is it not so?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he faltered doubtfully, "if one dared hope&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Once more the fire of her eyes, this time not only voluptuous. Was the
+man stupid or only cautious?</p>
+
+<p>"If that alliance were once concluded," she said softly, "one might hope
+for everything."</p>
+
+<p>"If it rests only with me," he began seriously, "oh, madame!"</p>
+
+<p>He seemed overcome. Madame was gracious; but was he really stupid or
+only very much in earnest?</p>
+
+<p>"To be one of the world's money kings," she whispered, "it is wonderful,
+that. It is power&mdash;supreme, absolute power! There is nothing
+beyond&mdash;there is nothing greater."</p>
+
+<p>Then Peter, who was watching her closely, caught another gleam in her
+eyes, and he began to understand. He had seen it before amongst a
+certain type of her countrywomen&mdash;the greed of money. He looked at her
+jewels, and he remembered that, for an ambassador, her husband was
+reputed to be a poor man. The cloud of misgiving passed away from him;
+he settled down to the game.</p>
+
+<p>"If money could only buy the desire of one's heart!" he murmured.
+"Alas!"</p>
+
+<p>His eyes seemed to seek out Monsieur de Lamborne amongst the moving
+throngs. She laughed softly, and her hand brushed his.</p>
+
+<p>"Money and one other thing, Monsieur le Baron," she whispered in his
+ear, "can buy the jewels from a crown&mdash;can buy even the heart of a
+woman."</p>
+
+<p>A movement of approaching guests caught them up and parted them for a
+time. The Baroness de Grost was at home from ten till one, and her rooms
+were crowded. Peter found himself drawn on one side a few minutes later
+by Monsieur de Lamborne himself.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been looking for you, de Grost," the latter declared. "Where can
+we talk for a moment?"</p>
+
+<p>His host took the ambassador by the arm and led him into a retired
+corner. Monsieur de Lamborne was a tall, slight man, somewhat
+cadaverous-looking, with large features, hollow eyes, thin but carefully
+arranged grey hair, and a pointed grey beard. He wore a frilled shirt,
+and an eyeglass suspended by a broad, black ribbon hung down upon his
+chest. His face, as a rule, was imperturbable enough, but he had the air
+just now of a man greatly disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot be overheard here," Peter remarked. "It must be an affair of
+a few words only, though."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Lamborne wasted no time in preliminaries.</p>
+
+<p>"This afternoon," he said, "I received from my Government papers of
+immense importance, which I am to hand over to your Foreign Minister at
+eleven o'clock to-morrow morning."</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne's thin fingers trembled as they played nervously with the
+ribbon of his eyeglass.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," he continued, dropping his voice a little. "Bernadine has
+undertaken to send a copy of their contents to Berlin by to-morrow
+night's mail."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that?"</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"We, too, have spies at work," he remarked grimly. "Bernadine wrote and
+sent a messenger with the letter to Berlin. The man's body is drifting
+down the Channel, but the letter is in my pocket."</p>
+
+<p>"The letter from Bernadine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"What does he say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Simply that a verbatim copy of the document in question will be
+dispatched to Berlin to-morrow evening without fail," replied the
+ambassador.</p>
+
+<p>"There are no secrets between us," Peter declared, smoothly. "What is
+the special importance of this document?"</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Since you ask," he said, "I tell you. You know of the slight coolness
+which there has been between our respective Governments? Our people have
+felt that the policy of your Ministers in expending all their energies
+and resources in the building of a great fleet, to the utter neglect of
+your army, is a wholly one-sided arrangement, so far as we are
+concerned. In the event of a simultaneous attack by Germany upon France
+and England, you would be utterly powerless to render us any measure of
+assistance. If Germany should attack England alone, it is the wish of
+your Government that we should be pledged to occupy Alsace-Lorraine.
+You, on the other hand, could do nothing for us if Germany's first move
+were made against France."</p>
+
+<p>Peter was deeply interested, although the matter was no new one to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Go on," he directed. "I am waiting for you to tell me the specific
+contents of this document."</p>
+
+<p>"The English Government has asked us two questions; first, how many
+complete army corps we consider she ought to place at our disposal in
+this eventuality; and, secondly, at what point should we expect them to
+be concentrated? The dispatch which I received to-night contains the
+reply to these questions."</p>
+
+<p>"Which Bernadine has promised to forward to Berlin to-morrow night,"
+Peter remarked softly.</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"You perceive," he said, "the immense importance of the affair. The very
+existence of that document is almost a <i>casus belli</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"At what time did the dispatch arrive," Peter asked, "and what has been
+its history since?"</p>
+
+<p>"It arrived at six o'clock," the ambassador declared. "It went straight
+into the inner pocket of my coat; it has not been out of my possession
+for a single second. Even whilst I talk to you I can feel it."</p>
+
+<p>"And your plans? How are you intending to dispose of it to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"On my return to the Embassy I shall place it in the safe, lock it up,
+and remain watching it until morning."</p>
+
+<p>"There doesn't seem to be much chance for Bernadine," Peter remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"But there must be no chance&mdash;no chance at all," Monsieur de Lamborne
+asserted, with a note of passion in his thin voice. "It is incredible,
+preposterous, that he should even make the attempt. I want you to come
+home with me and share my vigil. You shall be my witness in case
+anything happens. We will watch together."</p>
+
+<p>Peter reflected for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine makes few mistakes," he said thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Lamborne passed his hand across his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Do I not know it?" he muttered. "In this instance, though, it seems
+impossible for him to succeed. The time is so short and the conditions
+so difficult. I may count upon your assistance, Baron?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter drew from his pocket a crumpled piece of paper.</p>
+
+<p>"I received a telegram from headquarters this evening," he said, "with
+instructions to place myself entirely at your disposal."</p>
+
+<p>"You will return with me, then, to the Embassy?" Monsieur de Lamborne
+asked eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>Peter did not at once reply. He was standing in one of his
+characteristic attitudes, his hands clasped behind him, his head a
+little thrust forward, watching with every appearance of courteous
+interest the roomful of guests, stationary just now, listening to the
+performance of a famous violinist. It was, perhaps, by accident that his
+eyes met those of Madame de Lamborne, but she smiled at him
+subtly&mdash;more, perhaps, with her wonderful eyes than with her lips
+themselves. She was the centre of a very brilliant group, a most
+beautiful woman holding court, as was only right and proper, amongst her
+admirers. Peter sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he said, "I shall not return with you, de Lamborne. I want you to
+follow my suggestions, if you will."</p>
+
+<p>"But, assuredly&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Leave here early and go to your club. Remain there until one, then come
+to the Embassy. I shall be there awaiting your arrival."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that you will go there alone? I do not understand," the
+ambassador protested. "Why should I go to my club? I do not at all
+understand!"</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless, do as I say," Peter insisted. "For the present, excuse
+me. I must look after my guests."</p>
+
+<p>The music had ceased, there was a movement towards the supper room.
+Peter offered his arm to Madame de Lamborne, who welcomed him with a
+brilliant smile. Her husband, although, for a Frenchman, he was by no
+means of a jealous disposition, was conscious of a vague feeling of
+uneasiness as he watched them pass out of the room together. A few
+minutes later he made his excuses to his wife, and, with a reluctance
+for which he could scarcely account, left the house. There was something
+in the air, he felt, which he did not understand. He would not have
+admitted it to himself, but he more than half divined the truth. The
+vacant seat in his wife's carriage was filled that night by the Baron de
+Grost.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>At one o'clock precisely Monsieur de Lamborne returned to his house, and
+found de Grost gazing with obvious respect at the ponderous safe let
+into the wall.</p>
+
+<p>"A very fine affair&mdash;this," he remarked, motioning with his head towards
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"The best of its kind," Monsieur de Lamborne admitted. "No burglar yet
+has ever succeeded in opening one of its type. Here is the packet," he
+added, drawing the document from his pocket. "You shall see me place it
+in safety."</p>
+
+<p>Peter stretched out his hand and examined the sealed envelope for a
+moment closely. Then he moved to the writing-table, and, placing it upon
+the letter scales, made a note of its exact weight. Finally he watched
+it deposited in the ponderous safe, suggested the word to which the lock
+was set, and closed the door. Monsieur de Lamborne heaved a sigh of
+relief.</p>
+
+<p>"I fancy this time," he said, "that our friends at Berlin will be
+disappointed. Couch or easy-chair, Baron?"</p>
+
+<p>"The couch, if you please," Peter replied, "a strong cigar, and a long
+whisky and soda. So! Now for our vigil."</p>
+
+<p>The hours crawled away. Once Peter sat up and listened.</p>
+
+<p>"Any rats about?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador was indignant.</p>
+
+<p>"I have never heard one in my life," he answered. "This is quite a
+modern house."</p>
+
+<p>Peter dropped his match-box and stooped to pick it up.</p>
+
+<p>"Any lights on anywhere except in this room?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not," Monsieur de Lamborne answered. "It is past three
+o'clock, and every one has gone to bed."</p>
+
+<p>Peter rose and softly unbolted the door. The passage outside was in
+darkness. He listened intently for a moment, and returned yawning.</p>
+
+<p>"One fancies things," he murmured apologetically.</p>
+
+<p>"For example?" de Lamborne demanded.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"One mistakes," he said. "The nerves become over-sensitive."</p>
+
+<p>The dawn broke, and the awakening hum of the city grew louder and
+louder. Peter rose and stretched himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Your servants are moving about in the house," he remarked. "I think
+that we might consider our vigil at an end."</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur de Lamborne rose with alacrity.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he said, "I feel that I have made false pretences to you.
+With the day I have no fear. A thousand pardons for your sleepless
+night."</p>
+
+<p>"My sleepless night counts for nothing," Peter assured him; "but before
+I go, would it not be as well that we glance together inside the safe?"</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne shook out his keys.</p>
+
+<p>"I was about to suggest it," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador arranged the combination and pressed the lever. Slowly
+the great door swung back. The two men peered in.</p>
+
+<p>"Untouched!" de Lamborne exclaimed, a little note of triumph in his
+tone.</p>
+
+<p>Peter said nothing, but held out his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Permit me," he interposed.</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne was conscious of a faint sense of uneasiness. His companion
+walked across the room and carefully weighed the packet.</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" de Lamborne cried. "Why do you do that? What is wrong?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter turned and faced him.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he said, "this is not the same packet."</p>
+
+<p>The ambassador stared at him incredulously.</p>
+
+<p>"This packet can scarcely have gained two ounces in the night," Peter
+went on. "Besides, the seal is fuller. I have an eye for these details."</p>
+
+<p>De Lamborne leaned against the back of the table. His eyes were a little
+wild, but he laughed hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>"We fight, then, against the creatures of another world," he declared.
+"No human being could have opened that safe last night."</p>
+
+<p>Peter hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur de Lamborne," he said, "the room adjoining is your wife's?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is the salon of madame," the Ambassador admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"What are the electrical appliances doing there?" Peter demanded. "Don't
+look at me like that, de Lamborne. Remember that I was here before you
+arrived."</p>
+
+<p>"My wife takes an electric massage every day," Monsieur de Lamborne
+answered in a hard, unnatural voice. "In what way is Monsieur le Baron
+concerned in my wife's doings?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think that there need be no answer to that question," Peter said
+quietly. "It is a greater tragedy which we have to face. I maintain that
+your safe was entered from that room. A search will prove it."</p>
+
+<p>"There will be no search there," de Lamborne declared fiercely. "I am
+the ambassador of France, and my power under this roof is absolute. I
+say that you shall not cross that threshold."</p>
+
+<p>Peter's expression did not change. Only his hands were suddenly
+outstretched with a curious gesture&mdash;the four fingers were raised, the
+thumbs depressed. Monsieur de Lamborne collapsed.</p>
+
+<p>"I submit," he muttered. "It is you who are the master. Search where you
+will."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>"Monsieur has arrived?" the woman demanded breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>The proprietor of the restaurant himself bowed a reply. His client was
+evidently well known to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur has ascended some few minutes ago."</p>
+
+<p>The woman drew a little sigh of relief. A vague misgiving had troubled
+her during the last few hours. She raised her veil as she mounted the
+narrow staircase which led to the one private room at the H&ocirc;tel de
+Lorraine. Here she was safe; one more exploit accomplished, one more
+roll of notes for the hungry fingers of her dress-maker.</p>
+
+<p>She entered, without tapping, the room at the head of the stairs,
+pushing open the ill-varnished door with its white-curtained top. At
+first she thought that the little apartment was empty.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you there?" she exclaimed, advancing a few steps.</p>
+
+<p>The figure of a man glided from behind the worn screen close by her side
+and stood between her and the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame!" Peter said, bowing low.</p>
+
+<p>Even then she scarcely realised that she was trapped.</p>
+
+<p>"You!" she cried. "You, Baron! But I do not understand. You have
+followed me here?"</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, madame," he answered; "I have preceded you."</p>
+
+<p>Her colossal vanity triumphed over her natural astuteness. The man had
+employed spies to watch her! He had lost his head. It was an awkward
+matter, this, but it was to be arranged. She held out her hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," she said, "let me beg you now to go away. If you care to,
+come and see me this evening. I will explain everything. It is a little
+family affair which brings me here."</p>
+
+<p>"A family affair, madame, with Bernadine, the enemy of France," Peter
+declared gravely.</p>
+
+<p>She collapsed miserably, her fingers grasping at the air; the cry which
+broke from her lips harsh and unnatural. Before he could tell what was
+happening, she was on her knees before him.</p>
+
+<p>"Spare me!" she begged, trying to seize his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," Peter answered, "I am not your judge. You will kindly hand
+over to me the document which you are carrying."</p>
+
+<p>She took it from the bosom of her dress. Peter glanced at it and placed
+it in his breast-pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"And now?" she faltered.</p>
+
+<p>Peter sighed&mdash;she was a very beautiful woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he said, "the career of a spy is, as you have doubtless
+sometimes realised, a dangerous one."</p>
+
+<p>"It is finished!" she assured him breathlessly. "Monsieur le Baron, you
+will keep my secret? Never again, I swear it, will I sin like this. You
+will not tell my husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband already knows, madame," was the quiet reply. "Only a few
+hours ago I proved to him whence had come the leakage of so many of our
+secrets lately."</p>
+
+<p>She swayed upon her feet.</p>
+
+<p>"He will never forgive me!" she cried.</p>
+
+<p>"There are others," Peter declared, "who forgive more rarely even than
+husbands."</p>
+
+<p>A sudden illuminating flash of horror told her the truth. She closed her
+eyes and tried to run from the room.</p>
+
+<p>"I will not be told!" she screamed. "I will not hear. I do not know who
+you are. I will live a little longer!"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," Peter said, "the Double Four wages no war with women, save
+with spies only. The spy has no sex. For the sake of your family, permit
+me to send you back to your husband's house."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>That night two receptions and a dinner party were postponed. All London
+was sympathising with Monsieur de Lamborne, and a great many women swore
+never again to take a sleeping draught. Madame de Lamborne lay dead
+behind the shelter of those drawn blinds, and by her side an empty
+phial.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bernadine, sometimes called the Count von Hern, was lunching at the
+Savoy with the pretty wife of a Cabinet Minister, who was just
+sufficiently conscious of the impropriety of her action to render the
+situation interesting.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would tell me, Count von Hern," she said, soon after they
+had settled down in their places, "why my husband seems to object to you
+so much. I simply dared not tell him that we were going to lunch
+together; and, as a rule, he doesn't mind what I do in that way."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, well," he remarked, "your husband is a politician and a very
+cautious man. I dare say he is like some of those others, who believe
+that because I am a foreigner and live in London, that therefore I am a
+spy."</p>
+
+<p>"You a spy!" she laughed. "What nonsense!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why nonsense?"</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders. She was certainly a very pretty woman, and
+her black gown set off to its fullest advantage her deep red hair and
+fair complexion.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose because I can't imagine you anything of the sort," she
+declared. "You see, you hunt and play polo, and do everything which the
+ordinary Englishmen do. Then one meets you everywhere. I think, Count
+von Hern, that you are much too spoilt, for one thing, to take life
+seriously."</p>
+
+<p>"You do me an injustice," he murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," she chattered on, "I don't really know what spies do. One
+reads about them in these silly stories, but I have never felt sure that
+as live people they exist at all. Tell me, Count von Hern, what could a
+foreign spy do in England?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine twirled his fair moustache and shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, my dear lady," he admitted, "I scarcely know what a spy could
+do nowadays. A few years ago you English people were all so trusting.
+Your fortifications, your battleships, not to speak of your country
+itself, were wholly at the disposal of the enterprising foreigner who
+desired to acquire information. The party who governed Great Britain
+then seemed to have some strange idea that these things made for peace.
+To-day, however, all that is changed."</p>
+
+<p>"You seem to know something about it," she remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid that mine is really only the superficial point of view," he
+answered; "but I do know that there is a good deal of information which
+seems absolutely insignificant in itself, for which some foreign
+countries are willing to pay. For instance, there was a Cabinet Council
+yesterday, I believe, and someone was going to suggest that a secret but
+official visit be paid to your new harbour works up at Rosyth. An
+announcement will probably be made in the papers during the next few
+days as to whether the visit is to be undertaken or not. Yet there are
+countries who are willing to pay for knowing even such an insignificant
+item of news as that a few hours before the rest of the world."</p>
+
+<p>Lady Maxwell laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I could earn that little sum of money," she declared gaily, "for
+my husband has just made me cancel a dinner-party for next Thursday
+because he has to go up to the stupid place."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled. It was really a very unimportant matter, but he loved
+to feel, even in his idle moments, that he was not altogether wasting
+his time.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry," he said, "that I am not myself acquainted with one of
+these mythical personages, that I might return you the value of your
+marvellous information. If I dared think, however, that it would be in
+any way acceptable, I could offer you the diversion of a restaurant
+dinner-party for that night. The Duchess of Castleford has kindly
+offered to act as hostess for me, and we are all going on to the Gaiety
+afterwards."</p>
+
+<p>"Delightful!" Lady Maxwell exclaimed. "I should love to come."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine bowed.</p>
+
+<p>"You have, then, dear lady, fulfilled your destiny," he said. "You have
+given secret information to a foreign person of mysterious identity, and
+accepted payment."</p>
+
+<p>Now Bernadine was a man of easy manners and unruffled composure. To the
+natural <i>insouciance</i> of his aristocratic bringing-up he had added the
+steely reserve of a man moving in the large world, engaged more often
+than not in some hazardous enterprise. Yet, for once in his life, and in
+the midst of the idlest of conversations, he gave himself away so
+utterly that even this woman with whom he was lunching&mdash;a very butterfly
+lady indeed&mdash;could not fail to perceive it. She looked at him in
+something like astonishment. Without the slightest warning his face had
+become set in a rigid stare, his eyes were filled with the expression of
+a man who sees into another world. The healthy colour faded from his
+cheeks; he was white even to the parted lips; the wine dripped from his
+raised glass on to the tablecloth.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, whatever is the matter with you?" she demanded. "Is it a ghost
+that you see?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine's effort was superb, but he was too clever to deny the shock.</p>
+
+<p>"A ghost indeed," he answered, "the ghost of a man whom every newspaper
+in Europe has declared to be dead."</p>
+
+<p>Her eyes followed his. The two people who were being ushered to a seat
+in their immediate vicinity were certainly of somewhat unusual
+appearance. The man was tall and thin as a lath, and he wore the clothes
+of the fashionable world without awkwardness, and yet with the air of
+one who was wholly unaccustomed to them. His cheek-bones were remarkably
+high, and receded so quickly towards his pointed chin that his cheeks
+were little more than hollows. His eyes were dry and burning, flashing
+here and there, as though the man himself were continually oppressed by
+some furtive fear. His thick black hair was short-cropped, his forehead
+high and intellectual. He was a strange figure indeed in such a
+gathering, and his companion only served to accentuate the anachronisms
+of his appearance. She was, above all things, a woman of the
+moment&mdash;fair, almost florid, a little thick-set, with tightly laced yet
+passable figure. Her eyes were blue, her hair light-coloured. She wore
+magnificent furs, and as she threw aside her boa she disclosed a mass of
+jewellery around her neck and upon her bosom, almost barbaric in its
+profusion and setting.</p>
+
+<p>"What an extraordinary couple!" Lady Maxwell whispered.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"The man looks as though he had stepped out of the Old Testament," he
+murmured.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Maxwell's interest was purely feminine, and was riveted now upon
+the jewellery worn by the woman. Bernadine, under the mask of his
+habitual indifference, which he had easily reassumed, seemed to be
+looking away out of the restaurant into the great square of a
+half-savage city, looking at that marvellous crowd, numbered by their
+thousands, even by their hundreds of thousands, of men and women whose
+arms flashed out toward the snow-hung heavens, whose lips were parted in
+one chorus of rapturous acclamation; looking beyond them to the tall,
+emaciated form of the bare-headed priest in his long robes, his
+wind-tossed hair and wild eyes, standing alone before that multitude in
+danger of death, or worse, at any moment&mdash;their idol, their hero. And
+again, as the memories came flooding into his brain, the scene passed
+away, and he saw the bare room, with its whitewashed walls and
+blocked-up windows; he felt the darkness, lit only by those flickering
+candles. He saw the white, passion-wrung faces of the men who clustered
+together around the rude table, waiting; he heard their murmurs; he saw
+the fear born in their eyes. It was the night when their leader did not
+come!</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine poured out another glass of wine and drank it slowly. The
+mists were clearing away now. He was in London, at the Savoy Restaurant,
+and within a few yards of him sat the man with whose name all Europe
+once had rung&mdash;the man hailed by some as martyr, and loathed by others
+as the most fiendish Judas who ever drew breath. Bernadine was not
+concerned with the moral side of this strange encounter. How best to use
+his knowledge of this man's identity was the question which beat upon
+his brain. What use could be made of him, what profit for his country
+and himself? And then a fear&mdash;a sudden, startling fear. Little profit,
+perhaps, to be made, but the danger&mdash;the danger of this man alive with
+such secrets locked in his bosom! The thought itself was terrifying, and
+even as he realised it a significant thing happened&mdash;he caught the eye
+of the Baron de Grost, lunching alone at a small table just inside the
+restaurant.</p>
+
+<p>"You are not at all amusing," his guest declared. "It is nearly five
+minutes since you have spoken."</p>
+
+<p>"You, too, have been absorbed," he reminded her.</p>
+
+<p>"It is that woman's jewels," she admitted. "I never saw anything more
+wonderful. The people are not English, of course. I wonder where they
+come from."</p>
+
+<p>"One of the Eastern countries, without a doubt," he replied carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Maxwell sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"He is a peculiar-looking man," she said, "but one could put up with a
+good deal for jewels like that. What are you doing this
+afternoon&mdash;picture galleries or your club?"</p>
+
+<p>"Neither, unfortunately," Bernadine answered. "I have promised to go
+with a friend to look at some polo ponies."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know," she remarked, "that we have never been to see those
+Japanese prints yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"The gallery is closed until Monday," he assured her, falsely. "If you
+will honour me then, I shall be delighted."</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing. She had an idea that she
+was being dismissed, but Bernadine, without the least appearance of
+hurry, gave her no opportunity for any further suggestions. He handed
+her into her automobile, and returned at once into the restaurant. He
+touched Baron de Grost upon the shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend the enemy!" he exclaimed, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"At your service in either capacity," the baron replied.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine made a grimace and accepted the chair which de Grost had
+indicated.</p>
+
+<p>"If I may, I will take my coffee with you," he said. "I am growing old.
+It does not amuse me so much to lunch with a pretty woman. One has to
+entertain, and one forgets the serious business of lunching. I will take
+my coffee and cigarette in peace."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost gave an order to the waiter and leaned back in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," he suggested, "tell me exactly what it is that has brought you
+back into the restaurant."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not the pleasure of this few minutes' conversation with you?" he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>The baron carefully selected a cigar and lit it.</p>
+
+<p>"That," he said, "goes well, but there are other things."</p>
+
+<p>"As, for instance?"</p>
+
+<p>De Grost leaned back in his chair and watched the smoke of his cigar
+curl upwards.</p>
+
+<p>"One talks too much," he remarked. "Before the cards are upon the table
+it is not wise."</p>
+
+<p>They chatted upon various matters. De Grost himself seemed in no hurry
+to depart, nor did his companion show any signs of impatience. It was
+not until the two people whose entrance had had such a remarkable effect
+upon Bernadine, rose to leave, that the mask was for a moment lifted. De
+Grost had called for his bill and paid it. The two men strolled out
+together.</p>
+
+<p>"Baron," Bernadine said suavely, linking his arm through the other man's
+as they passed into the foyer, "there are times when candour even
+amongst enemies becomes an admirable quality."</p>
+
+<p>"Those times, I imagine," de Grost answered grimly, "are rare. Besides,
+who is to tell the real thing from the false?"</p>
+
+<p>"You do less than justice to your perceptions, my friend," Bernadine
+declared, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>De Grost merely shrugged his shoulders. Bernadine persisted.</p>
+
+<p>"Come," he continued, "since you doubt me, let me be the first to give
+you a proof that on this occasion, at any rate, I am candour itself. You
+had a purpose in lunching at the Savoy to-day. That purpose I have
+discovered by accident. We are both interested in those people."</p>
+
+<p>The Baron de Grost shook his head slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Really&mdash;&mdash;" he began.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me finish," Bernadine insisted. "Perhaps when you have heard all
+that I have to say you may change your attitude. We are interested in
+the same people, but in different ways. If we both move from opposite
+directions our friend will vanish. He is clever enough at disappearing,
+as he has proved before. We do not want the same thing from him, I am
+convinced of that. Let us move together and make sure that he does not
+evade us."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it an alliance which you are proposing?" de Grost asked, with a
+quiet smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" Bernadine answered. "Enemies have united before to-day
+against a common foe."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost looked across the palm court to where the two people who formed
+the subject of their discussion were sitting in a corner, both smoking,
+both sipping some red-coloured liqueur.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Bernadine," he said, "I am much too afraid of you to listen any
+more. You fancy because this man's presence here was an entire surprise
+to you, and because you find me already on his track, that I know more
+than you do, and that an alliance with me would be to your advantage.
+You would try to persuade me that your object with him would not be my
+object. Listen! I am afraid of you&mdash;you are too clever for me. I am
+going to leave you in sole possession."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost's tone was final and his bow valedictory. Bernadine watched him
+stroll in a leisurely way through the foyer, exchanging greetings here
+and there with friends; watched him enter the cloak-room, from which he
+emerged with his hat and overcoat; watched him step into his automobile
+and leave the restaurant. He turned back with a clouded face and threw
+himself into an easy-chair.</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes passed uneventfully. People were passing backwards and
+forwards all the time; but Bernadine, through his half-closed eyes, did
+little save watch the couple in whom he was so deeply interested. At
+last the man rose and, with a word of farewell to his companion, came
+out from the lounge and made his way up the foyer, turning toward the
+hotel. He walked with quick, nervous strides, glancing now and then
+restlessly about him. In his eyes, to those who understood, there was
+the furtive gleam of the hunted man. It was the passing of one who was
+afraid.</p>
+
+<p>The woman, left to herself, began to look around her with some
+curiosity. Bernadine, to whom a new idea had occurred, moved his chair
+nearer to hers, and was rewarded by a glance which certainly betrayed
+some interest. A swift and unerring judge in such matters, he came to
+the instant conclusion that she was not unapproachable. He acted upon
+impulse. Rising to his feet, he approached her and bowed easily, but
+respectfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he said, "it is impossible that I am mistaken. I have had the
+pleasure, have I not, of meeting you in St. Petersburg?"</p>
+
+<p>Her first reception of his coming was reassuring enough. At his mention
+of St. Petersburg, however, she frowned.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think so," she answered in French. "You are mistaken. I do not
+know St. Petersburg."</p>
+
+<p>"Then it was in Paris," Bernadine continued, with conviction. "Madame is
+Parisian, without a doubt."</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think that I remember meeting you, monsieur," she replied
+doubtfully; "but perhaps&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>She looked up, and her eyes drooped before his. He was certainly a very
+personable-looking man, and she had spoken to no one for so many months.</p>
+
+<p>"Believe me, madame, I could not possibly be mistaken," Bernadine
+assured her smoothly. "You are staying here for long?"</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Heaven knows!" she declared. "My husband he has, I think, what you call
+the wander fever. For myself, I am tired of it. In Rome we settle down;
+we stay five days, all seems pleasant, and suddenly my husband's whim
+carries us away without an hour's notice. The same thing at Monte Carlo;
+the same at Paris. Who can tell what will happen here? To tell you the
+truth, monsieur," she added, a little archly, "I think that if he were
+to come back at this moment we should probably leave England to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband is very jealous?" Bernadine whispered softly.</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Partly jealous and partly he has the most terrible distaste for
+acquaintances. He will not speak to strangers himself, or suffer me to
+do so. It is sometimes&mdash;oh! it is sometimes very <i>triste</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame has my sympathy," Bernadine assured her. "It is an impossible
+life&mdash;this. No husband should be so exacting."</p>
+
+<p>She looked at him with her round blue eyes, a touch of added colour in
+her cheeks.</p>
+
+<p>"If one could but cure him!" she murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"I would ask your permission to sit down," Bernadine remarked, "but I
+fear to intrude. You are afraid, perhaps, that your husband may return?"</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"It will be better that you do not stay," she declared. "For a moment or
+two he is engaged. He has an appointment in his room with a gentleman,
+but one never knows how long he may be."</p>
+
+<p>"You have friends in London, then?" Bernadine remarked thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Of my husband's affairs," the woman said, "there is no one so ignorant
+as I. Yet since we left our own country this is the first time I have
+known him willingly speak to a soul."</p>
+
+<p>"Your own country!" Bernadine repeated softly. "That was Russia, of
+course? Your husband's nationality is very apparent."</p>
+
+<p>The woman looked annoyed with herself. She remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>"May I not hope," Bernadine begged, "that you will give me the pleasure
+of meeting you again?"</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"He does not leave me," she replied. "I am not alone for five minutes
+during the day."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine scribbled the name by which he was known in that locality, on
+a card, and passed it to her.</p>
+
+<p>"I have rooms in St. James's Street, quite close to here," he said. "If
+you could come and have tea with me to-day or to-morrow it would give me
+the utmost pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>She took the card and crumpled it in her hand. All the time, though, she
+shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur is very kind," she answered. "I am afraid&mdash;I do not think that
+it would be possible. And now, if you please, you must go away. I am
+terrified lest my husband should return."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine bent low in a parting salute.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he pleaded, "you will come?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine was a handsome man, and he knew well enough how to use his
+soft and extraordinarily musical voice. He knew very well as he retired
+that somehow or other she would accept his invitation. Even then he felt
+dissatisfied and ill at ease as he left the place. He had made a little
+progress; but, after all, was it worth while? Supposing that the man
+with whom her husband was even at this moment closeted was the Baron de
+Grost! He called a taxi-cab and drove at once to the Embassy of his
+country.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>Even at this moment de Grost and the Russian&mdash;Paul Hagon he called
+himself&mdash;were standing face to face in the latter's sitting-room. No
+conventional greetings of any sort had been exchanged. De Grost had
+scarcely closed the door behind him before Hagon addressed him
+breathlessly, almost fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you, sir?" he demanded. "And what do you want with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"You had my letter?" de Grost inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"I had your letter," the other admitted. "It told me nothing. You speak
+of business. What business have I with any here?"</p>
+
+<p>"My business is soon told," de Grost replied; "but in the first place, I
+beg that you will not unnecessarily alarm yourself. There is, believe
+me, no need for it&mdash;no need whatever, although, to prevent
+misunderstandings, I may as well tell you at once that I am perfectly
+well aware who it is that I am addressing."</p>
+
+<p>Hagon collapsed into a chair. He buried his face in his hands and
+groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not here necessarily as an enemy," de Grost continued. "You have
+very excellent reasons, I make no doubt, for remaining unknown in this
+city, or wherever you may be. As yet, let me assure you, your identity
+is not even suspected, except by myself and one other. Those few who
+believe you alive believe that you are in America. There is no need for
+anyone to know that Father&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Stop!" the man begged piteously. "Stop!"</p>
+
+<p>De Grost bowed.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon!" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Now tell me," the man demanded, "what is your price? I have had money.
+There is not much left. Sophia is extravagant, and travelling costs a
+great deal. But why do I weary you with these things?" he added. "Let me
+know what I have to pay for your silence."</p>
+
+<p>"I am not a blackmailer," de Grost answered sternly. "I am myself a
+wealthy man. I ask from you nothing in money; I ask you nothing in that
+way at all. A few words of information, and a certain paper which I
+believe you have in your possession, is all that I require."</p>
+
+<p>"Information?" Hagon repeated, shivering.</p>
+
+<p>"What I ask," de Grost declared, "is really a matter of justice. At the
+time when you were the idol of all Russia and the leader of the great
+revolutionary party, you received funds from abroad."</p>
+
+<p>"I accounted for them," Hagon muttered. "Up to a certain point I
+accounted for everything."</p>
+
+<p>"You received funds from the Government of a European Power," de Grost
+continued&mdash;"funds to be applied towards developing the revolution. I
+want the name of that Power, and proof of what I say."</p>
+
+<p>Hagon remained motionless for a moment. He had seated himself at the
+table, his head resting upon his hand, and his face turned away from de
+Grost.</p>
+
+<p>"You are a politician, then?" he asked slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a politician," de Grost admitted. "I represent a great secret
+power which has sprung into existence during the last few years. Our
+aim, at present, is to bring closer together your country and Great
+Britain. Russia hesitates because an actual <i>rapprochement</i> with us is
+equivalent to a permanent estrangement with Germany."</p>
+
+<p>Hagon nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," he said, in a low tone. "I have finished with politics.
+I have nothing to say to you."</p>
+
+<p>"I trust," de Grost persisted suavely, "that you will be better
+advised."</p>
+
+<p>Hagon turned round and faced him.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir," he demanded, "do you believe that I am afraid of death?"</p>
+
+<p>De Grost looked at him steadfastly.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he answered. "You have proved the contrary."</p>
+
+<p>"If my identity is discovered," Hagon continued, "I have the means of
+instant death at hand. I do not use it because of my love for the one
+person who links me to this world. For her sake I live, and for her sake
+I bear always the memory of the shameful past. Publish my name and
+whereabouts if you will. I promise you that I will make the tragedy
+complete. But, for the rest, I refuse to pay your price. A great Power
+trusted me, and, whatever their motives may have been, their money came
+very near indeed to freeing my people. I have nothing more to say to
+you, sir."</p>
+
+<p>The Baron de Grost was taken aback. He had scarcely contemplated
+refusal.</p>
+
+<p>"You must understand," he explained, "that this is not a personal
+matter. Even if I myself would spare you, those who are more powerful
+than I will strike. The society to which I belong does not tolerate
+failure. I am empowered even to offer you their protection, if you will
+give me the information for which I ask."</p>
+
+<p>Hagon rose to his feet, and before de Grost could foresee his purpose,
+had rung the bell.</p>
+
+<p>"My decision is unchanging," he said. "You can pull down the roof upon
+my head, but I carry next my heart an instant and an unfailing means of
+escape."</p>
+
+<p>A waiter stood in the doorway.</p>
+
+<p>"You will take this gentleman to the lift," Hagon directed.</p>
+
+<p>There was once more a touch in his manner of that half-divine authority
+which had thrilled the great multitudes of his believers. De Grost was
+forced to admit defeat.</p>
+
+<p>"Not defeat," he said to himself, as he followed the man to the lift;
+"only a check."</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, it was a serious check. He could not for the moment see
+his way farther. Arrived at his house, he followed his usual custom, and
+made his way at once to his wife's rooms. Violet was resting upon a
+sofa, but laid down her book at his entrance.</p>
+
+<p>"Violet," he declared, "I have come for your advice."</p>
+
+<p>"He refuses, then?" she asked eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Absolutely," de Grost assured her. "What am I to do? Bernadine is
+already upon the scent. He saw him at the Savoy to-day and recognised
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"Has Bernadine approached him yet?" Violet inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet," her husband answered. "He is half afraid to move. I think he
+realises, or will do very soon, how serious this man's existence may be
+for Germany."</p>
+
+<p>Violet was thoughtful for several moments; then she looked up.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine will try the woman," she asserted. "You say that Hagon is
+infatuated?"</p>
+
+<p>"Blindly," de Grost replied. "He scarcely lets her out of his sight."</p>
+
+<p>"Your people watch Bernadine?"</p>
+
+<p>"Always."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then," Violet went on, "you will find that he will attempt
+an intrigue with the woman. The rest should be easy for you."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost sighed as he bent over his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear," he said, "there is no subtlety like that of a woman."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>Bernadine's instinct had not deceived him, and the following afternoon
+his servant, who had already received orders, silently ushered Madame
+Hagon into his apartments. She was wrapped in magnificent sables and
+heavily veiled. Bernadine saw at once that she was very nervous and
+wholly terrified. He welcomed her in as matter-of-fact a manner as
+possible.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he declared, "this is quite charming of you! You must sit in
+my easy-chair here, and my man shall bring us some tea. I drink mine
+always after the fashion of your country, with lemon, but I doubt
+whether we make it so well. Won't you unfasten your jacket? I am afraid
+my rooms are rather warm."</p>
+
+<p>Madame had collected herself, but it was quite obvious that she was
+unused to adventures of this sort. Her hand, when he took it, trembled,
+and more than once she glanced furtively toward the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have come," she murmured. "I do not know why. It is not right
+for me to come; yet there are times when I am weary&mdash;times when Paul
+seems fierce, and when I am terrified. Sometimes I even wish that I were
+back&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband seems very highly strung," Bernadine remarked. "He has
+doubtless led an exciting life."</p>
+
+<p>"As to that," she replied, gazing around her now, and gradually becoming
+more at her ease, "I know but little. He was a student professor at
+Moschaume when I met him. I think that he was at one of the universities
+in St. Petersburg."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine glanced at her covertly. It came to him as an inspiration that
+the woman did not know the truth.</p>
+
+<p>"You are from Russia, then, after all," he said, smiling. "I felt sure
+of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "Paul is so queer in these things. He
+will not have me talk of it. He prefers that we are taken for French
+people. Indeed," she went on, "it is not I who desire to think too much
+of Russia. It is not a year since my father was killed in the riots, and
+two of my brothers were sent to Siberia."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine was deeply interested.</p>
+
+<p>"They were amongst the revolutionaries?"</p>
+
+<p>She nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," she answered.</p>
+
+<p>"And your husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"He, too, was with them in sympathy. Secretly, too, I believe that he
+worked amongst them; only he had to be careful. You see, his position at
+the college made it difficult."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine looked into the woman's eyes, and he knew then that she was
+speaking the truth. This man was indeed a great master; he had kept her
+in ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>"Always," Bernadine said, a few minutes later, as he passed her tea, "I
+read with the deepest interest of the people's movement in Russia. Tell
+me what became eventually of their great leader&mdash;the wonderful Father
+Paul."</p>
+
+<p>She set down her cup untasted, and her blue eyes flashed with a fire
+which turned them almost to the colour of steel.</p>
+
+<p>"Wonderful, indeed!" she exclaimed. "Wonderful Judas! It was he who
+wrecked the cause. It was he who sold the lives and liberty of all of us
+for gold."</p>
+
+<p>"I heard a rumour of that," Bernadine remarked, "but I never believed
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"It was true," she declared passionately.</p>
+
+<p>"And where is he now?" Bernadine asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Dead!" she answered fiercely. "Torn to pieces, we believe, one night in
+a house near Moscow. May it be so!"</p>
+
+<p>She was silent for a moment, as though engaged in prayer. Bernadine
+spoke no more of these things. He talked to her kindly, keeping up
+always his r&ocirc;le of respectful, but hopeful, admirer.</p>
+
+<p>"You will come again soon?" he begged, when at last she insisted upon
+going.</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"It is so difficult," she murmured. "If my husband knew&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine laughed and touched her fingers caressingly.</p>
+
+<p>"Need one tell him?" he whispered. "You see, I trust you. I pray that
+you will come."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>Bernadine was a man rarely moved towards emotion of any sort; yet even
+he was conscious of a certain sense of excitement as he stood looking
+out upon the Embankment from the windows of Paul Hagon's sitting-room a
+few days later. Madame was sitting on the settee. It was for her answer
+to a question that he waited.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," she said at last, turning slowly towards him, "it must be
+'No.' Indeed I am sorry, for you have been very charming to me, and
+without you I should have been dull. But to come to your rooms and dine
+alone to-night, it is impossible."</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband cannot return before the morning," Bernadine reminded her.</p>
+
+<p>"It makes no difference," she answered. "Paul is sometimes fierce and
+rough, but he is generous, and all his life he has worshipped me. He
+behaves strangely at times, but I know that he cares&mdash;all the time more,
+perhaps, than I deserve."</p>
+
+<p>"And there is no one else." Bernadine asked softly, "who can claim even
+the smallest place in your heart?"</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," the woman begged, "you must not ask me that. I think that
+you had better go away."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine stood quite still for several moments. It was the climax
+towards which he had steadfastly guided the course of this mild
+intrigue.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," he declared, "You must not send me away! You shall not!"</p>
+
+<p>She held out her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Then you must not ask impossible things," she answered.</p>
+
+<p>Then Bernadine took the plunge. He became suddenly very grave.</p>
+
+<p>"Sophia," he said, "I am keeping a great secret from you, and I can do
+it no longer. When you speak to me of your husband you drive me mad. If
+I believed that really you loved him, I would go away and leave it to
+chance whether or not you ever discovered the truth. As it is&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?" she interposed breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>"As it is," he continued, "I am going to tell you now. Your husband has
+deceived you; he is deceiving you every moment."</p>
+
+<p>She looked at him incredulously.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that there is another woman?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Worse than that," he answered. "Your husband stole even your love under
+false pretences. You think that his life is a strange one; that his
+nerves have broken down; that he flies from place to place for
+distraction, for change of scene. It is not so. He left Rome, he left
+Nice, he left Paris for one and the same reason. He left because he went
+in peril of his life. I know little of your history, but I know as much
+as this: If ever a man deserved the fate from which he flees, your
+husband deserves it!"</p>
+
+<p>"You are mad!" she faltered.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I am sane," he went on. "It is you who are mad, not to have
+understood. Your husband goes ever in fear of his life. His real name is
+one branded with ignominy throughout the world. The man whom you have
+married, to whom you are so scrupulously faithful, is the man who sent
+your father to death and your brothers to Siberia."</p>
+
+<p>"Father Paul!" she screamed.</p>
+
+<p>"You have lived with him; you are his wife!" Bernadine declared.</p>
+
+<p>The colour had left her cheeks; her eyes, with their pencilled brows,
+were fixed in an almost ghastly stare; her breath was coming in uneven
+gasps. She looked at him in silent terror.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not true!" she cried at last. "It cannot be true!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sophia," he said, "you can prove it for yourself. I know a little of
+your husband and his doings. Does he not carry always with him a black
+box which he will not allow out of his sight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Always," she assented. "How did you know? By night his hand rests upon
+it. By day, if he goes out, it is in my charge."</p>
+
+<p>"Fetch it now," Bernadine directed. "I will prove my words."</p>
+
+<p>She did not hesitate for a moment. She disappeared into the inner room
+and came back after only a few moments' absence, carrying a black
+leather dispatch-box.</p>
+
+<p>"You have the key?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," she answered, looking at him and trembling; "but I dare not&mdash;oh,
+I dare not open it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sophia," he said, "if my words are not true, I will pass out of your
+life for ever. I challenge you. If you open that box you will know that
+your husband is indeed the greatest scoundrel in Europe."</p>
+
+<p>She drew a key from a gold chain around her neck.</p>
+
+<p>"There are two locks," she told him. "The other is a combination, but I
+know the word. Who's that?"</p>
+
+<p>She started suddenly. There was a loud tapping at the door. Bernadine
+threw an antimacassar half over the box, but he was too late. De Grost
+and Hagon had crossed the threshold. The woman stood like some dumb
+creature. Hagon, transfixed, stood with his eyes riveted upon Bernadine.
+His face was distorted with passion; he seemed like a man beside himself
+with fury. De Grost came slowly forward into the middle of the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Count von Hern," he said, "I think that you had better leave."</p>
+
+<p>The woman found words.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet!" she cried. "Not yet! Paul, listen to me. This man has told me
+a terrible thing."</p>
+
+<p>The breath seemed to come through Hagon's teeth like a hiss.</p>
+
+<p>"He has told you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to me!" she continued. "It is the truth which you must tell now.
+He says that you&mdash;you are Father Paul!"</p>
+
+<p>Hagon did not hesitate.</p>
+
+<p>"It is true," he admitted.</p>
+
+<p>Then there was a silence&mdash;short, but tragical. Hagon seemed suddenly to
+have collapsed. He was like a man who has just had a stroke. He stood
+muttering to himself.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the end&mdash;this&mdash;the end!" he said, in a low tone. "It was for your
+sake, Sophia! I came to you poor, and you would have nothing to say to
+me. My love for you burned in my veins like fever. It was for you I did
+it&mdash;for your sake I sold my honour, the love of my country, the freedom
+of my brothers. For your sake I risked an awful death. For your sake I
+have lived like a hunted man, with the cry of the wolves always in my
+ears, and the fear of death and of eternal torture with me day by day.
+Have pity on me!"</p>
+
+<p>She was unmoved; her face had lost all expression. No one noticed in
+that rapt moment that Bernadine had crept from the room.</p>
+
+<p>"It was you," she cried, "who killed my father and sent my brothers into
+exile!"</p>
+
+<p>"God help me!" he moaned.</p>
+
+<p>She turned to de Grost.</p>
+
+<p>"Take him away with you, please," she said. "I have finished with him!"</p>
+
+<p>"Sophia!" he pleaded.</p>
+
+<p>She leaned across the table and struck him heavily upon the cheek.</p>
+
+<p>"If you stay here," she muttered, "I shall kill you myself!"</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>That night the body of an unknown foreigner was found in the attic of a
+cheap lodging-house in Soho. The discovery itself and the verdict at the
+inquest occupied only a few lines in the morning newspapers. Those few
+lines were the epitaph of one who was very nearly a Rienzi. The greater
+part of his papers de Grost mercifully destroyed, but one in particular
+he preserved. Within a week the much-delayed treaty was signed at Paris,
+London and St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3>THE FIRST SHOT</h3>
+
+
+<p>De Grost and his wife were dining together at the corner table in a
+fashionable but somewhat Bohemian restaurant. Both had been in the
+humour for reminiscences, and they had outstayed most of their
+neighbours.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what people really think of us," Violet remarked pensively. "I
+told Lady Amershal, when she asked us to go there this evening, that we
+always dined together alone somewhere once a week, and she absolutely
+refused to believe me. 'With your own husband, my dear?' she kept on
+repeating."</p>
+
+<p>"Her ladyship's tastes are more catholic," the baron declared dryly.
+"Yet, after all, Violet, the real philosophy of married life demands
+something of this sort."</p>
+
+<p>Violet smiled and fingered her pearls for a minute.</p>
+
+<p>"What the real philosophy of married life may be I do not know," she
+said, "but I am perfectly content with our rendering of it. What a
+fortunate thing, Peter, with your intensely practical turn of mind, that
+Nature endowed you with so much sentiment."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost gazed reflectively at the cigarette which he had just selected
+from his case.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he remarked, "there have been times when I have cursed myself
+for a fool, but, on the whole, sentiment keeps many fires burning."</p>
+
+<p>She leaned towards him and dropped her voice a little.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me," she begged, "do you ever think of the years we spent together
+in the country? Do you ever regret?"</p>
+
+<p>He smiled thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a hard question, that," he admitted. "There were days there which
+I loved, but there were days, too, when the restlessness came&mdash;days when
+I longed to hear the hum of the city and to hear men speak whose words
+were of life and death and the great passions. I am not sure, Violet,
+whether, after all, it is well for one who has lived to withdraw
+absolutely from the thrill of life."</p>
+
+<p>She laughed softly but gaily.</p>
+
+<p>"I am with you," she declared, "absolutely. I think that the fairies
+must have poured into my blood the joy of living for its own sake. I
+should be an ungrateful woman indeed if I found anything to complain of
+nowadays. Yet there is one thing that sometimes troubles me," she went
+on, after a moment's pause.</p>
+
+<p>"And that?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"The danger," she said slowly. "I do not want to lose you, Peter. There
+are times when I am afraid."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost flicked the ash from his cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>"The days are passing," he remarked, "when men point revolvers at one
+another, and hire assassins to gain their ends. Now it is more a battle
+of wits. We play chess on the board of life still, but we play with
+ivory pieces instead of steel and poison. Our brains direct, and not our
+muscles."</p>
+
+<p>She sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"It is only the one man of whom I am afraid," she said. "You have
+outwitted him so often and he does not forgive."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost smiled. It was an immense compliment, this.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine," he murmured softly, "otherwise our friend, the Count von
+Hern."</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine," she repeated. "All that you say is true; but when one fails
+with modern weapons, one changes the form of attack. Bernadine at heart
+is a savage."</p>
+
+<p>"The hate of such a man," de Grost remarked complacently, "is worth
+having. He has had his own way over here for years. He seems to have
+found the knack of living in a maze of intrigue and remaining
+untouchable. There were a dozen things before I came upon the scene
+which ought to have ruined him. Yet there never appeared to be anything
+to take hold of. The Criminal Investigation Department thought they had
+no chance. I remember Sir John Dory telling me in disgust that Bernadine
+was like one of those marvellous criminals one only reads about in
+fiction, who seem when they pass along the dangerous places to walk upon
+the air and leave no trace behind."</p>
+
+<p>"Before you came," she said, "he had never known a failure. Do you think
+that he is a man likely to forgive?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not," de Grost answered grimly. "It is a battle, of course&mdash;a
+battle all the time. Yet, Violet, between you and me, if Bernadine were
+to go, half the savour of life for me would depart with him."</p>
+
+<p>Then there came a serious and wholly unexpected interruption. A man in
+dark, plain clothes, still wearing his overcoat and carrying a bowler
+hat, had been standing in the entrance of the restaurant for a moment or
+two, looking around the room as though in search of someone. At last he
+caught the eye of the Baron de Grost and came quickly towards him.</p>
+
+<p>"Charles," the Baron remarked, raising his eyebrows. "I wonder what he
+wants?"</p>
+
+<p>A sudden cloud had fallen upon their little feast. Violet watched the
+coming of her husband's servant and the reading of the note which he
+presented to his master with an anxiety which she could not wholly
+conceal. The Baron read the note twice, scrutinising a certain part of
+it closely with the aid of the monocle which he seldom used. Then he
+folded it up and placed it in the breast-pocket of his coat.</p>
+
+<p>"At what hour did you receive this, Charles?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"A messenger brought it in a taxi-cab about ten minutes ago, sir," the
+man replied. "He said that it was of the utmost importance, and that I
+had better try and find you."</p>
+
+<p>"A district messenger?"</p>
+
+<p>"A man in ordinary clothes, sir," Charles answered. "He looked like a
+porter in a warehouse, or something of that sort. I forgot to say that
+you were rung up on the telephone three times previously by Mr.
+Greening."</p>
+
+<p>The Baron nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"You can go," he said. "There is no reply."</p>
+
+<p>The man bowed and retired. De Grost called for his bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it anything serious?" Violet inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"No, not exactly serious," he answered. "I do not understand what has
+happened, but they have sent for me to go&mdash;well, where it was agreed
+that I should not go, except as a matter of urgent necessity."</p>
+
+<p>Violet knew better than to show any signs of disquietude.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it in London?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," her husband replied. "I shall take a taxi-cab from here. I
+am sorry, dear, to have one of our evenings disturbed in this manner. I
+have always done my best to avoid it, but this summons is urgent."</p>
+
+<p>She rose and he wrapped her cloak around her.</p>
+
+<p>"You will drive straight home, won't you?" he begged. "I dare say that I
+may be back within an hour myself."</p>
+
+<p>"And if not?" she asked in a low tone.</p>
+
+<p>"If not," he replied, "there is nothing to be done."</p>
+
+<p>Violet bit her lip, but as he handed her into the small electric
+brougham which was waiting she smiled into his face.</p>
+
+<p>"You will come back, and soon, Peter," she declared confidently.
+"Wherever you go I am sure of that. You see, I have faith in my star
+which watches over you."</p>
+
+<p>He kissed her fingers and turned away. The commissionaire had already
+called him a taxi-cab.</p>
+
+<p>"To London Bridge," he ordered after a moment's hesitation, and drove
+off.</p>
+
+<p>The traffic citywards had long since finished for the day, and he
+reached his destination within ten minutes of leaving the restaurant.
+Here he paid the man, and, entering the station, turned to the
+refreshment-room and ordered a liqueur brandy. While he sipped it he
+smoked a cigarette and fully re-read in a strong light the note which he
+had received. The signature especially he pored over for some time. At
+last, however, he replaced it in his pocket, paid his bill, and,
+stepping out once more on to the platform, entered a telephone booth. A
+few minutes later he left the station and, turning to the right, walked
+slowly as far as Tooley Street. He kept on the right-hand side until he
+arrived at the spot where the great arches, with their scanty lights,
+make a gloomy thoroughfare into Bermondsey. In the shadow of the first
+of these he paused and looked steadfastly across the street. There were
+few people passing, and practically no traffic. In front of him was a
+row of warehouses, all save one of which was wrapped in complete
+darkness. It was the one where some lights were still burning which de
+Grost stood and watched.</p>
+
+<p>The lights, such as they were, seemed to illuminate the ground floor
+only. From his hidden post he could see the shoulders of a man
+apparently bending over a ledger, diligently writing. At the next window
+a youth, seated upon a tall stool, was engaged in, presumably, the same
+avocation. There was nothing about the place in the least mysterious or
+out-of-the-way. Even the blinds of the offices had been left undrawn.
+The man and the boy, who were alone visible, seemed, in a sense, to be
+working under protest. Every now and then the former stopped to yawn,
+and the latter performed a difficult balancing feat upon his stool. De
+Grost, having satisfied his curiosity, came presently from his shelter,
+almost running into the arms of a policeman, who looked at him closely.
+The Baron, who had an unlighted cigarette in his mouth, stopped to ask
+for a light, and his appearance at once set at rest any suspicions the
+policeman might have had.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a warehouse myself down in these parts," he remarked, as he
+struck the match, "but I don't allow my people to work as late as that."</p>
+
+<p>He pointed across the way, and the policeman smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"They are very often late there, sir," he said. "It is a Continental
+wine business, and there's always one or two of them over time."</p>
+
+<p>"It's bad business, all the same," de Grost declared pleasantly.
+"Good-night, policeman!"</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>De Grost crossed the road diagonally, as though about to take the short
+cut across London Bridge, but as soon as the policeman was out of sight
+he retraced his steps to the building which they had been discussing,
+and, turning the battered brass handle of the door, walked calmly in. On
+his right and left were counting-houses framed with glass; in front, the
+cavernous and ugly depths of a gloomy warehouse. He knocked upon the
+window-pane on the right and passed forward a step or two, as though to
+enter the office. The boy who had been engaged in the left-hand
+counting-house came gliding from his place, passed silently behind the
+visitor, and turned the key of the outer door. What followed seemed to
+happen as though by some mysteriously directed force. The figures of men
+came stealing out from the hidden places. The clerk who had been working
+so hard at his desk calmly divested himself of a false moustache and
+wig, and, assuming a more familiar appearance, strolled out into the
+warehouse. De Grost looked around him with absolutely unruffled
+composure. He was the centre of a little circle of men, respectably
+dressed, but every one of them hard-featured, with something in their
+faces which suggested not the ordinary toiler but the fighting
+animal&mdash;the man who lives by his wits and knows something of danger. On
+the outskirts of the circle stood Bernadine.</p>
+
+<p>"Really," de Grost declared, removing his cigarette from his mouth for a
+moment, "this is most unexpected. In the matter of dramatic surprises,
+my friend Bernadine, you are most certainly in a class by yourself."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"You will understand, of course," he said, "that this little
+entertainment is entirely for your amusement&mdash;well stage-managed,
+perhaps, but my supers are not to be taken seriously. Since you are
+here, Baron, might I ask you to precede me a few steps to the tasting
+office?"</p>
+
+<p>"By all means," de Grost answered. "It is this way, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>He walked with unconcerned footsteps down the warehouse, on either side
+of which were great bins and a wilderness of racking, until he came to a
+small glass-enclosed office built out from the wall. Without hesitation
+he entered it, and, removing his hat, selected the more comfortable of
+the two chairs. Bernadine alone of the others followed him inside,
+closing the door behind. De Grost, who appeared exceedingly comfortable,
+stretched out his hand and took a small black bottle from a tiny
+mahogany racking fixed against the wall by his side.</p>
+
+<p>"You will excuse me, my dear Bernadine," he said, "but I see my friend
+Greening has been tasting a few wines. The 'XX' upon the label here
+signifies approval. With your permission."</p>
+
+<p>He half filled a glass and pushed the bottle towards Bernadine.</p>
+
+<p>"Greening's taste is unimpeachable," de Grost declared, setting down his
+glass empty. "No use being a director of a city business, you know,
+unless one interests oneself personally in it. Greening's judgment is
+simply marvellous. I have never tasted a more beautiful wine. If the
+boom in sherry does come," he continued complacently, "we shall be in an
+excellent position to deal with it."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine laughed softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my friend&mdash;Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose
+to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the
+conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on
+earth!"</p>
+
+<p>De Grost nodded approvingly.</p>
+
+<p>"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon
+arrive at that decision?"</p>
+
+<p>"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his
+companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself,
+no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally
+conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been
+expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable
+time."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a
+safe conduct."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.</p>
+
+<p>"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements
+to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.</p>
+
+<p>"I would not for a moment," de Grost continued, "ask an impertinent or
+an unnecessary question, but I must confess that I am rather concerned
+to know the fate of my manager&mdash;the gentleman whom you yourself, with
+the aid of a costumier, so ably represented."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"Alas!" he said, "your manager was a very obstinate person."</p>
+
+<p>"And my clerk?"</p>
+
+<p>"Incorruptible!" Bernadine declared. "Absolutely incorruptible! I
+congratulate you, de Grost. Your society is one of the most wonderful
+upon the face of this earth. I know little about it, but my admiration
+is very sincere. Their attention to details and the personnel of their
+staff is almost perfect. I may tell you at once that no sum that could
+be offered tempted either of these men."</p>
+
+<p>"I am delighted to hear it," de Grost replied, "but I must plead guilty
+to a little temporary anxiety as to their present whereabouts."</p>
+
+<p>"At this moment," Bernadine remarked, "they are within a few feet of us;
+but, as you are doubtless aware, access to your delightful river is
+obtainable from these premises. To be frank with you, my dear Baron, we
+are waiting for the tide to rise."</p>
+
+<p>"So thoughtful about these trifles!" de Grost murmured. "But their
+present position? They are, I trust, not uncomfortable?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine stood up and moved to the farther end of the office. He
+beckoned his companion to his side and, drawing an electric torch from
+his pocket, flashed the light into a dark corner behind an immense bin.
+The forms of a man and a youth bound with ropes and gagged, lay
+stretched upon the floor. De Grost sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid," he said, "that Mr. Greening, at any rate, is most
+uncomfortable."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine turned off the light.</p>
+
+<p>"At least, Baron," he declared, "if such extreme measures should become
+necessary, I can promise you one thing&mdash;you shall have a quicker passage
+into eternity than they."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost resumed his seat.</p>
+
+<p>"Has it really come to that?" he asked. "Will nothing but so crude a
+proceeding as my absolute removal satisfy you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing else is, I fear, practicable," Bernadine replied, "unless you
+decide to listen to reason. Believe me, my dear friend, I shall miss you
+and our small encounters exceedingly; but, unfortunately, you stand in
+the way of my career. You are the only man who has persistently baulked
+me. You have driven me to use against you means which I had grown to
+look upon as absolutely extinct in the upper circles of our profession."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost peered through the glass walls of the office.</p>
+
+<p>"Eight men, not counting yourself," he remarked, "and my poor manager
+and his faithful clerk lying bound and helpless. It is heavy odds,
+Bernadine."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no question of odds, I think," Bernadine answered smoothly.
+"You are much too clever a person to refuse to admit that you are
+entirely in my power."</p>
+
+<p>"And as regards terms? I really don't feel in the least anxious to make
+my final bow with so little notice," de Grost said. "To tell you the
+truth, I have been finding life quite interesting lately."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine eyed his prisoner keenly. Such absolute composure was in
+itself disturbing. He was, for the moment, aware of a slight sensation
+of uneasiness, which his common sense, however, speedily disposed of.</p>
+
+<p>"There are two ways," he announced, "of dealing with an opponent. There
+is the old-fashioned one&mdash;crude, but, in a sense, eminently
+satisfactory&mdash;which sends him finally to adorn some other sphere."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not like that one," de Grost interrupted. "Get on with the
+alternative."</p>
+
+<p>"The alternative," Bernadine declared, "is when his capacity for harm
+can be destroyed."</p>
+
+<p>"That needs a little explanation," de Grost murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Precisely. For instance, if you were to become absolutely discredited,
+I think that you would be effectually out of my way. Your people do not
+forgive."</p>
+
+<p>"Then discredit me, by all means," de Grost begged. "It sounds
+unpleasant, but I do not like your callous reference to the river."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine gazed at his ancient opponent for several moments. After all,
+what was this but the splendid bravado of a beaten man, who is too
+clever not to recognise defeat?</p>
+
+<p>"I shall require," he said, "your code, the keys of your safe, which
+contains a great many documents of interest to me, and a free entry into
+your house."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost drew a bunch of keys reluctantly from his pocket and laid them
+upon the desk.</p>
+
+<p>"You will find the code bound in green morocco leather," he announced,
+"on the left-hand side, underneath the duplicate of a proposed Treaty
+between Italy and&mdash;some other Power. Between ourselves, Bernadine, I
+really expect that that is what you are after."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine's eyes glistened.</p>
+
+<p>"What about the safe conduct into your house?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>De Grost drew his case from his pocket and wrote a few lines on the back
+of one of his cards.</p>
+
+<p>"This will ensure you entrance there," he said, "and access to my study.
+If you see my wife, please reassure her as to my absence."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall certainly do so," Bernadine agreed, with a faint smile.</p>
+
+<p>"If I may be pardoned for alluding to a purely personal matter," de
+Grost continued, "what is to become of me?"</p>
+
+<p>"You will be bound and gagged in the same manner as your manager and his
+clerk," Bernadine replied smoothly. "I regret the necessity, but you see
+I can afford to run no risks. At four o'clock in the morning you will be
+released. It must be part of our agreement that you allow the man who
+stays behind the others for the purpose of setting you free, to depart
+unmolested. I think I know you better than to imagine you would be
+guilty of such <i>gaucherie</i> as an appeal to the police."</p>
+
+<p>"That, unfortunately," de Grost declared, with a little sigh, "is, as
+you well know, out of the question. You are too clever for me,
+Bernadine. After all, I shall have to go back to my farm."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine opened the door and called softly to one of his men. In less
+than five minutes de Grost was bound hand and foot. Bernadine stepped
+back and eyed his adversary with an air of ill-disguised triumph.</p>
+
+<p>"I trust, Baron de Grost," he said, "that you will be as comfortable as
+possible under the circumstances."</p>
+
+<p>De Grost lay quite still. He was powerless to move or speak.</p>
+
+<p>"Immediately," Bernadine continued, "I have presented myself at your
+house, verified your safe conduct, and helped myself to certain papers
+which I am exceedingly anxious to obtain," he went on, "I shall
+telephone here to the man whom I leave in charge, and you will be set at
+liberty in due course. If, for any reason, I meet with treachery and I
+do not telephone, you will join Mr. Greening and his young companion in
+a little&mdash;shall we call it aquatic recreation? I wish you a pleasant
+hour and success in the future, Baron&mdash;as a farmer."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine withdrew and whispered his orders to his men. Soon the
+electric light was turned out and the place was in darkness. The front
+door was opened and closed; the group of confederates upon the pavement
+lit cigarettes and wished one another "Good-night" with the brisk air of
+tired employees released at last from long labours. Then there was
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>It was barely eleven o'clock when Bernadine reached the west-end of
+London. His clothes had become a trifle disarranged, and he called for a
+few minutes at his rooms in St. James's Street. Afterwards, he walked to
+Merton House and rang the bell. To the servant who answered it he handed
+his master's card.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you show me the way to the library?" he asked. "I have some papers
+to collect for the Baron de Grost."</p>
+
+<p>The man hesitated. Even with the card in his hand, it seemed a somewhat
+unusual proceeding.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you step inside, sir?" he begged. "I should like to show this to
+the Baroness. The master is exceedingly particular about anyone entering
+his study."</p>
+
+<p>"Do what you like so long as you do not keep me waiting," Bernadine
+replied. "Your master's instructions are clear enough."</p>
+
+<p>Violet came down the great staircase a few moments later, still in her
+dinner-gown, her face a little pale, her eyes luminous. Bernadine smiled
+as he accepted her eagerly offered hand. She was evidently anxious. A
+thrill of triumph warmed his blood. Once she had been less kind to him
+than she seemed now.</p>
+
+<p>"My husband gave you this!" she exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"A few minutes ago," Bernadine answered. "He tried to make his
+instructions as clear as possible. We are jointly interested in a small
+matter which needs immediate action."</p>
+
+<p>She led the way to the study.</p>
+
+<p>"It seems strange," she remarked, "that you and he should be working
+together. I thought that you were on opposite sides."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a matter of chance," Bernadine told her. "Your husband is a wise
+man, Baroness. He knows when to listen to reason."</p>
+
+<p>She threw open the door of the study, which was in darkness.</p>
+
+<p>"If you will wait a moment," she said, closing the door, "I will turn on
+the electric light."</p>
+
+<p>She touched the knobs in the wall, and the room was suddenly flooded
+with illumination. At the further end of the apartment was the great
+safe. Close to it, in an easy-chair, his evening coat changed for a
+smoking-jacket, with a neatly tied black tie replacing his crumpled
+white cravat, the Baron de Grost sat awaiting his guest. A fierce oath
+broke from Bernadine's lips. He turned toward the door only in time to
+hear the key turn. Violet tossed it lightly in the air across to her
+husband.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Bernadine," the latter remarked, "on the whole, I do not think
+that this has been one of your successes. My keys, if you please."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine stood for a moment, his face dark with passion.</p>
+
+<p>"Your keys are here, Baron de Grost," he said, placing them upon the
+table. "If a bungling amateur may make such a request of a professor,
+may I inquire how you escaped from your bonds and reached here before
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>The Baron de Grost smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Really," he said, "you have only to think for yourself for a moment, my
+dear Bernadine, and you will understand. In the first place, the letter
+you sent me signed 'Greening' was clearly a forgery. There was no one
+else anxious to get me into their power, hence I associated it at once
+with you. Naturally, I telephoned to the chief of my staff&mdash;I, too, am
+obliged to employ some of these un-uniformed policemen, my dear
+Bernadine, as you may be aware. It may interest you to know, further,
+that there are seven entrances to the warehouse in Tooley Street.
+Through one of these something like twenty of my men passed and were
+already concealed in the place when I entered. At another of the doors a
+motor-car waited for me. If I had chosen to lift my finger at any time,
+your men would have been overpowered, and I might have had the pleasure
+of dictating terms to you in my own office. Such a course did not appeal
+to me. You and I, as you know, dear Count von Hern, conduct our peculiar
+business under very delicate conditions, and the least thing we either
+of us desire is notoriety. I managed things, as I thought, for the best.
+The moment you left the place my men swarmed in. We gently but firmly
+ejected your guard, released Greening and my clerk, and I passed you
+myself in Fleet Street, a little more comfortable, I think, in my forty
+horsepower motor-car than you in that very disreputable hansom. The
+other details are too absurdly simple; one need not enlarge upon them."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"I am at your service," he declared calmly.</p>
+
+<p>De Grost laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear fellow," he said, "need I say that you are free to come or go,
+to take a whisky and soda with me or to depart at once&mdash;exactly as you
+feel inclined? The door was locked only until you restored to me my
+keys."</p>
+
+<p>He crossed the room, fitted the key in the lock and turned it.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine drew himself up.</p>
+
+<p>"I will not drink with you," he said. "But some day a reckoning shall
+come."</p>
+
+<p>He turned to the door. De Grost laid his finger upon the bell.</p>
+
+<p>"Show Count von Hern out," he directed the astonished servant who
+appeared a moment or two later.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST</h3>
+
+
+<p>Baron de Grost was enjoying what he had confidently looked forward to as
+an evening's relaxation, pure and simple. He sat in one of the front
+rows of the stalls of the Alhambra, his wife by his side and an
+excellent cigar in his mouth. An hour or so before he had been in
+telephonic communication with Paris, had spoken with Sogrange himself,
+and received his assurance of a calm in political and criminal affairs
+amounting almost to stagnation. It was out of the season, and though his
+popularity was as great as ever, neither he nor his wife had any social
+engagements. Hence this evening at a music-hall, which Peter, for his
+part, was finding thoroughly amusing.</p>
+
+<p>The place was packed&mdash;some said owing to the engagement of Andrea Korust
+and his brother, others to the presence of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire
+in her wonderful <i>Danse des Apaches</i>. The violinist that night had a
+great reception. Three times he was called before the curtain; three
+times he was obliged to reiterate his grateful but immutable resolve
+never to yield to the nightly storm which demanded more from a man who
+has given of his best. Slim, with the worn face and hollow eyes of a
+genius, he stood and bowed his thanks, but when he thought the time had
+arrived he disappeared, and though the house shook for minutes
+afterwards, nothing could persuade him to reappear.</p>
+
+<p>Afterward came the turn which, notwithstanding the furore caused by
+Andrea Korust's appearance, was generally considered to be equally
+responsible for the packed house&mdash;the Apache dance of Mademoiselle
+Sophie Celaire. Peter sat slightly forward in his chair as the curtain
+went up. For a time he seemed utterly absorbed by the performance.
+Violet glanced at him once or twice curiously. It began to occur to her
+that it was not so much the dance as the dancer in whom her husband was
+interested.</p>
+
+<p>"You have seen her before&mdash;this Mademoiselle Celaire?" she whispered.</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he admitted; "I have seen her before."</p>
+
+<p>The dance proceeded. It was like many others of its sort, only a little
+more daring, a little more finished. Mademoiselle Celaire, in her
+tight-fitting, shabby black frock, with her wild mass of hair, her
+flashing eyes, her seductive gestures, was, without doubt, a marvellous
+person. The Baron watched her every movement with absorbed attention.
+Even when the curtain went down he forgot to clap. His eyes followed her
+off the stage. Violet shrugged her shoulders. She was looking very
+handsome herself in a black velvet dinner gown, and a hat so exceedingly
+Parisian that no one had had the heart to ask her to remove it.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Peter," she remarked, reprovingly, "a moderate amount of
+admiration for that very agile young lady I might, perhaps, be inclined
+to tolerate, but, having watched you for the last quarter of an hour, I
+am bound to confess that I am becoming jealous."</p>
+
+<p>"Of Mademoiselle Celaire?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire."</p>
+
+<p>He leaned a little towards her. His lips were parted; he was about to
+make a statement or a confession. Just then a tall commissionaire leaned
+over from behind and touched him on the shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"For Monsieur le Baron de Grost," he announced, handing Peter a note.</p>
+
+<p>Peter glanced towards his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"You permit me?" he murmured, breaking the seal.</p>
+
+<p>Violet shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. Her husband was already
+absorbed in the few lines hastily scrawled across the sheet of notepaper
+which he held in his hand:</p>
+
+<div class="figleft">
+<a name="left4" id="left4"></a>
+<img src="images/left4.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright">
+<a name="right4" id="right4"></a>
+<img src="images/right4.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Monsieur Baron de Grost.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Monsieur le Baron,</span></p>
+
+<p>"<i>Come to my dressing-room, without fail, as soon as you receive
+this.</i></p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Sophie Celaire.</span>"</p></div>
+
+
+
+<p>Violet looked over his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"The hussy!" she exclaimed, indignantly.</p>
+
+<p>Her husband raised his eyebrows. With his forefinger he merely tapped
+the two numerals.</p>
+
+<p>"The Double Four!" she gasped</p>
+
+<p>He looked around and nodded. The commissionaire was waiting. Peter took
+up his silk hat from under the seat.</p>
+
+<p>"If I am detained, dear," he whispered, "you'll make the best of it,
+won't you? The car will be here, and Frederick will be looking out for
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," she answered, cheerfully. "I shall be quite all right."</p>
+
+<p>She nodded brightly, and Peter took his departure. He passed through a
+door on which was painted "Private," and through a maze of scenery and
+stage hands and ballet ladies, by a devious route, to the region of the
+dressing-rooms. His guide conducted him to the door of one of these and
+knocked.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Entrez, monsieur</i>," a shrill feminine voice replied.</p>
+
+<p>Peter entered, and closed the door behind him. The commissionaire
+remained outside. Mademoiselle Celaire turned to greet her visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a few words I desire with you as quickly as possible, if you
+please, Monsieur le Baron," she said, advancing towards him. "Listen."</p>
+
+<p>She had brushed out her hair, and it hung from her head straight and a
+little stiff, almost like the hair of an Indian woman. She had washed
+her face free of all cosmetics, and her pallor was almost waxen. She
+wore a dressing-gown of green silk. Her discarded black frock lay upon
+the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"I am entirely at your service, mademoiselle," Peter answered, bowing.
+"Continue, if you please."</p>
+
+<p>"You sup with me to-night&mdash;you are my guest."</p>
+
+<p>He hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"I am very much honoured," he murmured. "It is an affair of urgency,
+then? Mademoiselle will remember that I am not alone here."</p>
+
+<p>She threw out her hands scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>"They told me in Paris that you were a genius!" she exclaimed. "Cannot
+you feel, then, when a thing is urgent? Do you not know it without being
+told? You must meet me with a carriage at the stage door in forty
+minutes. We sup in Hamilton Place with Andrea Korust and his brother."</p>
+
+<p>"With whom?" Peter asked, surprised.</p>
+
+<p>"With the Korust Brothers," she repeated. "I have just been talking to
+Andrea. He calls himself a Hungarian. Bah! They are as much Hungarian as
+I am!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter leaned slightly against the table and looked thoughtfully at his
+companion. He was trying to remember whether he had ever heard anything
+of these young men.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle," he said, "the prospect of partaking of any meal in your
+company is in itself enchanting, but I do not know your friends, the
+Korust Brothers. Apart from their wonderful music, I do not recollect
+ever having heard of them before in my life. What excuse have I, then,
+for accepting their hospitality? Pardon me, too, if I add that you have
+not as yet spoken as to the urgency of this affair."</p>
+
+<p>She turned from him impatiently, and, throwing herself back into the
+chair from which she had risen at his entrance, she began to exchange
+the thick woollen stockings which she had been wearing upon the stage
+for others of fine silk.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, la, la!" she exclaimed. "You are very slow, Monsieur le Baron. It
+is, perhaps, my stage name which has misled you. I am Marie Lapouse.
+Does that convey anything to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"A great deal," Peter admitted, quickly. "You stand very high upon the
+list of my agents whom I may trust."</p>
+
+<p>"Then stay here no longer," she begged, "for my maid waits outside, and
+I need her services. Go back and make your excuses to your wife. In
+forty minutes I shall expect you at the stage door."</p>
+
+<p>"An affair of diplomacy, this, or brute force?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Heaven knows what may happen!" she replied. "To tell you the truth, I
+do not know myself. Be prepared for anything, but, for Heaven's sake, go
+now! I can dress no further without my maid, and Andrea Korust may come
+in at any moment. I do not wish him to find you here."</p>
+
+<p>Peter made his way thoughtfully back to his seat. He explained the
+situation to his wife so far as he could, and sent her home. Then he
+waited until the car returned, smoking a cigarette and trying once more
+to remember if he had ever heard anything of Andrea Korust or his
+brother from Sogrange. Punctually at the time stated he was outside the
+stage door of the music-hall, and a few minutes later Mademoiselle
+Celaire appeared, a dazzling vision of furs and smiles and jewellery
+imperfectly concealed. A small crowd pressed around to see the famous
+Frenchwoman. Peter handed her gravely across the pavement into his
+waiting motor-car. One or two of the loungers gave vent to a groan of
+envy at the sight of the diamonds which blazed from her neck and bosom.
+Peter smiled as he gave the address to his servant, and took his place
+by the side of his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"They see only the externals, this mob," he remarked. "They picture to
+themselves, perhaps, a little supper for two. Alas!"</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Celaire laughed at him softly.</p>
+
+<p>"You need not trouble to assume that most disconsolate of expressions,
+my dear Baron," she assured him. "Your reputation as a man of gallantry
+is beyond question, but remember that I know you also for the most
+devoted and loyal of husbands. We waste no time in folly, you and I. It
+is the business of the Double Four."</p>
+
+<p>Peter was relieved, but his innate politeness forbade his showing it.</p>
+
+<p>"Proceed," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"The Brothers Korust," she went on, leaning towards him, "have a week's
+engagement at the Alhambra. Their salary is six hundred pounds. They
+play very beautifully, of course, but I think that it is as much as they
+are worth."</p>
+
+<p>Peter agreed with her fervently. He had no soul for music.</p>
+
+<p>"They have taken the furnished house belonging to one of your dukes, in
+Hamilton Place, for which we are bound; taken it, too, at a fabulous
+rent," Mademoiselle Celaire continued. "They have installed there a chef
+and a whole retinue of servants. They were here for seven nights; they
+have issued invitations for seven supper parties."</p>
+
+<p>"Hospitable young men they seem to be," Peter murmured. "I read in one
+of the stage papers that Andrea is a count in his own country, and that
+they perform in public only for the love of their music and for the sake
+of the excitement and travel."</p>
+
+<p>"A paragraph wholly inspired and utterly false," Mademoiselle Celaire
+declared firmly, sitting a little forward in the car and laying her
+hand, ablaze with jewels, upon his coat sleeve. "Listen. They call
+themselves Hungarians. Bah! I know that they are in touch with a great
+European Court, both of them, the Court of the country to which they
+really belong. They have plans, plans and schemes connected with their
+visit here, which I do not understand. I have done my best with Andrea
+Korust, but he is not a man to be trusted. I know that there is
+something more in these seven supper parties than idle hospitality. I
+and others like me, artistes and musicians, are invited, to give the
+assemblies a properly Bohemian tone, but there are to be other guests,
+attracted there, no doubt, because the papers have spoken of these
+gatherings."</p>
+
+<p>"You have some idea of what it all means, in your mind?" Peter
+suggested.</p>
+
+<p>"It is too vague to put into words," she declared, shaking her head. "We
+must both watch. Afterwards we will, if you like, compare notes."</p>
+
+<p>The car drew up before the doors of a handsome house in Hamilton Place.
+A footman received Peter, and relieved him of his hat and overcoat. A
+trim maid performed the same office for Mademoiselle Celaire. They met a
+moment or two later and were ushered into a large drawing-room in which
+a dozen or two of men and women were already assembled, and from which
+came a pleasant murmur of voices and laughter. The apartment was hung
+with pale green satin; the furniture was mostly Chippendale, upholstered
+in the same shade. A magnificent grand piano stood open in a smaller
+room, just visible beyond. Only one thing seemed strange to the two
+newly arrived guests. The room was entirely lit with shaded candles,
+giving a certain mysterious but not unpleasant air of obscurity to the
+whole suite of apartments. Through the gloom the jewels and eyes of the
+women seemed to shine with a new brilliance. Slight eccentricities of
+toilette&mdash;for a part of the gathering was distinctly Bohemian&mdash;were
+softened and subdued. The whole effect was somewhat weird, but also
+picturesque.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea Korust advanced from a little group to meet his guests. Off the
+stage he seemed at first sight frailer and slighter than ever. His dress
+coat had been exchanged for a velvet dinner jacket, and his white tie
+for a drooping black bow. He had a habit of blinking nearly all the
+time, as though his large brown eyes, which he seldom wholly opened,
+were weaker than they appeared to be. Nevertheless, when he came to
+within a few paces of his newly arrived visitors, they shone with plenty
+of expression. Without any change of countenance, however, he held out
+his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Andrea," Mademoiselle Celaire exclaimed, "you permit me that I
+present to you my dear friend, well known in Paris&mdash;alas! many years
+ago&mdash;Monsieur le Baron de Grost. Monsieur le Baron was kind enough to
+pay his respects to me this evening, and I have induced him to become my
+escort here."</p>
+
+<p>"It was my good fortune," Peter remarked, smiling, "that I saw
+Mademoiselle Celaire's name upon the bills this evening&mdash;my good
+fortune, since it has procured for me the honour of an acquaintance with
+a musician so distinguished."</p>
+
+<p>"You are very kind, Monsieur le Baron," Korust replied.</p>
+
+<p>"You stay here, I regret to hear, a very short time?"</p>
+
+<p>"Alas!" Andrea Korust admitted, "it is so. For myself, I would that it
+were longer. I find your London so attractive, the people so friendly.
+They fall in with my whims so charmingly. I have a hatred, you know, of
+solitude. I like to make acquaintances wherever I go, to have delightful
+women and interesting men around, to forget that life is not always gay.
+If I am too much alone I am miserable, and when I am miserable I am in a
+very bad way indeed. I cannot then make music."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled gravely and sympathetically.</p>
+
+<p>"And your brother? Does he, too, share your gregarious instincts?"</p>
+
+<p>Korust paused for a moment before replying. His eyes were quite wide
+open now. If one could judge from his expression, one would certainly
+have said that the Baron de Grost's attempts to ingratiate himself with
+his host were distinctly unsuccessful.</p>
+
+<p>"My brother has exactly opposite instincts," he said slowly. "He finds
+no pleasure in society. At the sound of a woman's voice he hides."</p>
+
+<p>"He is not here, then?" Peter asked, glancing around.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea Korust shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"It is doubtful whether he joins us this evening at all," he declared.
+"My sister, however, is wholly of my disposition. Monsieur le Baron will
+permit me that I present her."</p>
+
+<p>Peter bowed low before a very handsome young woman with flashing black
+eyes, and a type of feature undoubtedly belonging to one of the
+countries of Eastern Europe. She was picturesquely dressed in a gown of
+flaming red silk, made as though in one piece, without trimming or
+flounces, and she seemed inclined to bestow upon her new acquaintance
+all the attention that he might desire. She took him at once into a
+corner and seated herself by his side. It was impossible for Peter not
+to associate the <i>empressement</i> of her manner with the few words which
+Andrea Korust had whispered into her ear at the moment of their
+introduction.</p>
+
+<p>"So you," she murmured, "are the wonderful Baron de Grost? I have heard
+of you so often."</p>
+
+<p>"Wonderful!" Peter repeated, with twinkling eyes. "I have never been
+called that before. I feel that I have no claim whatever to distinction,
+especially in a gathering like this."</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders and glanced carelessly across the room.</p>
+
+<p>"They are well enough," she admitted; "but one wearies of genius on
+every side of one. Genius is not the best thing in the world to live
+with, you know. It has whims and fancies. For instance, look at these
+rooms&mdash;the gloom, the obscurity&mdash;and I love so much the light."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the privilege of genius," he remarked, "to have whims and to
+indulge in them."</p>
+
+<p>She sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"To do Andrea justice," she said, "it is, perhaps, scarcely a whim that
+he chooses to receive his guests in semi-darkness. He has weak eyes, and
+he is much too vain to wear spectacles. Tell me, you know everyone
+here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No one," Peter declared. "Please enlighten me, if you think it
+necessary. For myself," he added, dropping his voice a little, "I feel
+that the happiness of my evening is assured without making any further
+acquaintances."</p>
+
+<p>"But you came as the guest of Mademoiselle Celaire," she reminded him
+doubtfully, with a faint regretful sigh and a provocative gleam in her
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I saw Mademoiselle Celaire to-night for the first time for years,"
+Peter replied. "I called to see her in her dressing-room, and she
+claimed me for an escort this evening. I am, alas! a very occasional
+wanderer in the pleasant paths of Bohemia."</p>
+
+<p>"If that is really true," she murmured, "I suppose I must tell you
+something about the people, or you will feel that you have wasted your
+opportunity."</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle," Peter whispered.</p>
+
+<p>She held out her hand and laughed into his face.</p>
+
+<p>"No!" she interrupted. "I shall do my duty. Opposite you is Mademoiselle
+Drezani, the famous singer at Covent Garden. Do I need to tell you that,
+I wonder? Rudolf Maesterling, the dramatist, stands behind her there in
+the corner. He is talking to the wonderful Cl&eacute;o, whom all the world
+knows. Monsieur Guyer there, he is manager, I believe, of the Alhambra;
+and talking to him is Marborg, the great pianist. The two ladies talking
+to my brother are Esther Hammerton, whom, of course, you know by sight.
+She is leading lady, is she not, at the Hilarity Theatre? The other one
+is Miss Ransome. They tell me that she is your only really great English
+actress."</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded appreciatively.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all most interesting," he declared. "Now, tell me, please, who is
+the military person with the stiff figure and sallow complexion standing
+by the door? He seems quite alone."</p>
+
+<p>The girl made a little grimace.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I ought to be looking after him," she admitted, rising
+reluctantly to her feet. "He is a soldier just back from India&mdash;a
+General Noseworthy, with all sorts of letters after his name. If
+Mademoiselle Celaire is generous, perhaps we may have a few minutes'
+conversation later on," she added, with a parting smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, rather, if Mademoiselle Korust is kind," de Grost replied, bowing.
+"It depends upon that only."</p>
+
+<p>He strolled across the room and rejoined Mademoiselle Celaire a few
+moments later. They stood apart in a corner.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like my supper," Peter declared.</p>
+
+<p>"They wait for one more guest," Mademoiselle Celaire announced.</p>
+
+<p>"One more guest! Do you know who it is?"</p>
+
+<p>"No idea," she answered. "One would imagine that it was someone of
+importance. Are you any wiser than when you came dear master?" she added
+under her breath.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a whit," he replied promptly.</p>
+
+<p>She took out her fan and waved it slowly in front of her face.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet you must discover what it all means to-night or not at all," she
+whispered. "The dear Andrea has intimated to me most delicately that
+another escort would be more acceptable if I should honour him again."</p>
+
+<p>"That helps," he murmured. "See, our last guest arrives. Ah!"</p>
+
+<p>A tall, spare-looking man was just being announced. They heard his name
+as Andrea presented him to a companion:</p>
+
+<p>"Colonel Mayson!"</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Celaire saw a gleam in her companion's eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"It is coming&mdash;the idea?" she whispered.</p>
+
+<p>"Very vaguely," he admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is this Colonel Mayson?"</p>
+
+<p>"Our only military aeronaut," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>She raised her eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>"Aeronaut!" she repeated doubtfully. "I see nothing in that. Both my own
+country and Germany are years ahead of poor England in the air. Is it
+not so?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled and held out his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"See," he said, "supper has been announced. Afterwards Andrea Korust
+will play to us, and I think that Colonel Mayson and his distinguished
+brother officer from India will talk. We shall see."</p>
+
+<p>They passed into a room whose existence had suddenly been revealed by
+the drawing back of some beautiful brocaded curtains. Supper was a
+delightful meal, charmingly served. Peter, putting everything else out
+of his head for the moment, thoroughly enjoyed himself, and, remembering
+his duty as a guest, contributed in no small degree towards the success
+of the entertainment. He sat between Mademoiselle Celaire and his
+hostess, both of whom demanded much from him in the way of attention.
+But he still found time to tell stories which were listened to by
+everyone, and exchanged sallies with the gayest. Only Andrea Korust,
+from his place at the head of the table, glanced occasionally towards
+his popular guest with a curious, half-hidden expression of distaste and
+suspicion. The more the Baron de Grost shone, the more uneasy Andrea
+became. The signal to rise from the meal was given almost abruptly.
+Mademoiselle Korust hung on to Peter's arm. Her own wishes and her
+brother's orders seemed to absolutely coincide. She led him towards a
+retired corner of the music-room. On the way, however, Peter overheard
+the introduction which he had expected.</p>
+
+<p>"General Noseworthy is just returned from India, Colonel Mayson," Korust
+said, in his usual quiet, tired tone. "You will, perhaps, find it
+interesting to talk together a little. As for me, I play because all are
+polite enough to wish it, but conversation disturbs me not in the
+least."</p>
+
+<p>Peter passed, smiling, on to the corner pointed out by his companion,
+which was the darkest and most secluded in the room. He took her fan and
+gloves, lit her cigarette, and leaned back by her side.</p>
+
+<p>"How does your brother, a stranger to London, find time to make the
+acquaintance of so many interesting people?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"He brought many letters," she replied. "He has friends everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"I have an idea," Peter remarked, "that an acquaintance of my own, the
+Count von Hern, spoke to me once about him."</p>
+
+<p>She took her cigarette from her lips and turned her head slightly.
+Peter's expression was one of amiable reminiscence. His cheeks were a
+trifle flushed; his appearance was entirely reassuring. She laughed at
+her brother's caution. She found her companion delightful.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, the Count von Hern is a friend of my brother's," she admitted
+carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>"And of yours?" he whispered, his arm slightly pressed against hers.</p>
+
+<p>She laughed at him silently and their eyes met. Decidedly Peter, Baron
+de Grost, found it hard to break away from his old weakness. Andrea
+Korust, from his place near the piano, breathed a sigh of relief as he
+watched. A moment or two later, however, Mademoiselle Korust was obliged
+to leave her companion to receive a late but unimportant guest, and
+almost simultaneously Colonel Mayson passed by on his way to the farther
+end of the apartment. Andrea Korust was bending over the piano to give
+some instructions to his accompanist. Peter leaned forward and his face
+and tone were strangely altered.</p>
+
+<p>"You will find General Noseworthy of the Indian Army a little
+inquisitive, Colonel," he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>The latter turned sharply round. There was meaning in those few words,
+without doubt! There was meaning, too, in the still, cold face which
+seemed to repel his question. He passed on thoughtfully. Mademoiselle
+Korust, with a gesture of relief, came back and threw herself once more
+upon the couch.</p>
+
+<p>"We must talk in whispers," she said gaily. "Andrea always declares that
+he does not mind conversation, but too much noise is, of course,
+impossible. Besides, Mademoiselle Celaire will not spare you to me for
+long."</p>
+
+<p>"There is a whole language," he replied, "which was made for whisperers.
+And as for Mademoiselle Celaire&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>He laughed softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Celaire is, I think, more your brother's friend than
+mine," he murmured. "At least I will be generous. He has given me a
+delightful evening. I resign my claims upon Mademoiselle Celaire."</p>
+
+<p>"It would break your heart," she declared.</p>
+
+<p>His voice sank even below a whisper. Decidedly Peter, Baron de Grost,
+did not improve!...</p>
+
+<p>He rose to leave precisely at the right time, neither too early nor too
+late. He had spent altogether a most amusing evening. There were one or
+two little comedies which had diverted him extremely. At the moment of
+parting, the beautiful eyes of Mademoiselle Korust had been raised to
+his very earnestly.</p>
+
+<p>"You will come again very soon&mdash;to-morrow night?" she had whispered. "Is
+it necessary that you bring Mademoiselle Celaire?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is altogether unnecessary," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me try and entertain you instead, then."</p>
+
+<p>It was precisely at that instant that Andrea had sent for his sister.
+Peter watched their brief conversation with much interest and intense
+amusement. She was being told not to invite him there again and she was
+rebelling! Without a doubt he had made a conquest! She returned to him
+flushed, and with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur le Baron," she said, leading him on one side, "I am ashamed
+and angry."</p>
+
+<p>"Your brother is annoyed because you have asked me here to-morrow
+night?" he asked quickly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is so," she confessed. "Indeed, I thank you that you have spared me
+the task of putting my brother's discourtesy into words. Andrea takes
+violent fancies like that sometimes. I am ashamed, but what can I do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, mademoiselle," he admitted, with a sigh. "I obey, of course.
+Did your brother mention the source of his aversion to me?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is too absurd sometimes," she declared. "One must treat him like a
+great baby."</p>
+
+<p>"Nevertheless, there must be a reason," Peter persisted, gently.</p>
+
+<p>"He has heard some foolish thing from the Count von Hern," she admitted,
+reluctantly. "Do not let us think anything more about it. In a few days
+it will have passed. And meanwhile&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>She paused. He leaned a little towards her. She was looking intently at
+a ring upon her finger.</p>
+
+<p>"If you would really like to see me," she whispered, "and if you are
+sure that Mademoiselle Celaire would not object, could you not ask me to
+tea to-morrow or the next day?"</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow," Peter insisted, with a becoming show of eagerness. "Shall
+we say at the Carlton at five?"</p>
+
+<p>She hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't that rather a public place?" she objected.</p>
+
+<p>"Anywhere else you like."</p>
+
+<p>She was silent for a moment. She seemed to be waiting for some
+suggestion from him. None came.</p>
+
+<p>"The Carlton at five," she murmured. "I am angry with Andrea. I feel,
+even, that I could break his wonderful violin in two!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter sighed once more.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to twist von Hern's neck!" he declared. "Lucky for him
+that he's in St. Petersburg! Let us forget this unpleasant matter,
+mademoiselle. The evening has been too delightful for such memories."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Celaire turned to her escort as soon as they were alone in
+the car.</p>
+
+<p>"As an escort, let me tell you, my dear Baron," she exclaimed, with some
+pique, "that you are a miserable failure! For the rest&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"For the rest, I will admit that I am puzzled," Peter said. "I need to
+think. I have the glimmerings of an idea&mdash;no more."</p>
+
+<p>"You will act? It is an affair for us&mdash;for the Double Four?"</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt&mdash;an affair and a serious one," Peter assured her. "I
+shall act. Exactly how I cannot say until after to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow?" she repeated.</p>
+
+<p>"Mademoiselle Korust takes tea with me," he explained.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>In a quiet sort of way, the series of supper parties given by Andrea
+Korust became the talk of London. The most famous dancer in the world
+broke through her unvarying rule, and night after night thrilled the
+distinguished little gathering. An opera singer, the "star" of the
+season, sang; a great genius recited; and Andrea himself gave always of
+his best. Apart from this wonderful outpouring of talent, Andrea Korust
+himself seemed to possess the peculiar art of bringing into touch with
+one another people naturally interested in the same subjects. On the
+night after the visit of Peter, Baron de Grost, His Grace the Duke of
+Rosshire was present, the man in whose hands lay the destinies of the
+British Navy; and, curiously enough, on the same night, a great French
+writer on naval subjects was present, whom the Duke had never met, and
+with whom he was delighted to talk for some time apart. On another
+occasion, the Military Secretary to the French Embassy was able to have
+a long and instructive chat with a distinguished English general on the
+subject of the recent manœuvres, and the latter received, in the
+strictest confidence, some very interesting information concerning the
+new type of French guns. On the following evening the greatest of our
+Colonial statesmen, a red-hot Imperialist, was able to chat about the
+resources of the Empire with an English politician of similar views,
+whom he chanced never to have previously met. Altogether these parties
+seemed to be the means of bringing together a series of most interesting
+people, interesting not only in themselves, but in their relations to
+one another. It was noticeable, however, that from this side of his
+little gatherings Andrea Korust remained wholly apart. He admitted that
+music and cheerful companionship were the only two things in life he
+really cared for. Politics or matters of world import seemed to leave
+him unmoved. If a serious subject of conversation were started at
+supper-time he was frankly bored, and took no pains to hide the fact. It
+is certain that whatever interesting topics were alluded to in his
+presence, he remained entirely outside any understanding of them.
+Mademoiselle Celaire, who was present most evenings, although with other
+escorts, was puzzled. She could see nothing whatever to account for the
+warning which she had received, and had at once passed on, as was her
+duty, to the Baron de Grost. She failed, also, to understand the faint
+but perceptible enlightenment to which Peter himself had admittedly
+attained after that first evening. Take that important conversation, for
+instance, between the French military <i>attach&eacute;</i> and the British general.
+Without a doubt it was of interest, and especially so to the country
+which she was sure claimed his allegiance, but it was equally without
+doubt that Andrea Korust neither overheard a word of that conversation
+nor betrayed the slightest curiosity concerning it. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was a clever woman, and she had never felt so hopelessly at fault.
+Illumination was to come, however&mdash;illumination, dramatic and complete.</p>
+
+<p>The seventh and last of these famous supper parties was in full swing.
+Notwithstanding the shaded candles, which left the faces of the guests a
+little indistinct, the scene was a brilliant one. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was wearing her famous diamonds, which shone through the gloom like
+pin-pricks of fire; Garda Desmaines, the wonderful Garda, sat next to
+her host, her bosom and hair on fire with jewels, yet with the most
+wonderful light of all glowing in her eyes; a famous actor, who had
+thrown his proverbial reticence to the winds, kept his immediate
+neighbours in a state of semi-hysterical mirth; the clink of
+wine-glasses, the laughter of beautiful women, the murmur of cultivated
+voices, rose and fell through the faint, mysterious gloom. It was a
+picturesque, a wonderful scene enough. Pale as a marble statue, with the
+covert smile of the gracious host, Andrea Korust sat at the head of the
+table, well pleased with his company, as indeed he had the right to be.
+By his side was a great American statesman, who was travelling round the
+world, and yet had refused all other invitations of this sort. He had
+come for the pleasure of meeting the famous Dutch writer and politician,
+Mr. van Jool. The two were already talking intimately. It was at this
+point that tragedy, or something like it, intervened. A man's impatient
+voice was heard in the hall outside, a man's voice which grew louder and
+louder, more impatient, finally more passionate. People raised their
+heads to listen. The American statesman, who was, perhaps, the only one
+to realise exactly what was coming, slipped his hand into his pocket and
+gripped something cold and hard. Then the door was flung open. An
+apologetic and much disturbed butler made the announcement which had
+evidently been demanded of him.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. von Tassen!"</p>
+
+<p>A silence followed&mdash;breathless&mdash;the silence before the bursting of the
+storm. Mr. von Tassen was the name of the American statesman, and the
+man who rose slowly from his place by his host's side was the exact
+double of the man who stood now upon the threshold, gazing in upon the
+room. The expression of the two alone was different. The new-comer was
+furiously angry, and looked it. The sham Mr. von Tassen was very much at
+his ease. It was he who broke the silence, and his voice was curiously
+free from all trace of emotion. He was looking his double over with an
+air of professional interest.</p>
+
+<p>"On the whole," he said calmly, "very good. A little stouter, I
+perceive, and the eyebrows a trifle too regular. Of course, when you
+make faces at me like that, it is hard to judge of the expression. I can
+only say that I did the best I could."</p>
+
+<p>"Who the devil are you, masquerading in my name?" the new-comer
+demanded, with emphasis. "This man is an impostor!" he added, turning to
+Andrea Korust. "What is he doing at your table?"</p>
+
+<p>Andrea leaned forward, and his face was an evil thing to look upon.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you?" he hissed out.</p>
+
+<p>The sham Mr. von Tassen turned away for a moment and stooped down. The
+trick has been done often enough upon the stage, often in less time, but
+seldom with more effect. The wonderful wig disappeared, the spectacles,
+the lines in the face, the make-up of diabolical cleverness. With his
+back to the wall and his fingers playing with something in his pocket,
+Peter, Baron de Grost smiled upon his host.</p>
+
+<p>"Since you insist upon knowing&mdash;the Baron de Grost, at your service!" he
+announced.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea Korust was, for the moment, speechless. One of the women
+shrieked. The real Mr. von Tassen looked around him helplessly.</p>
+
+<p>"Will someone be good enough to enlighten me as to the meaning of this?"
+he begged. "Is it a roast? If so, I only want to catch on. Let me get to
+the joke, if there is one. If not, I should like a few words of
+explanation from you, sir," he added, addressing Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"Presently," the latter replied. "In the meantime, let me persuade you
+that I am not the only impostor here."</p>
+
+<p>He seized a glass of water and dashed it in the face of Mr. van Jool.
+There was a moment's scuffle, and no more of Mr. van Jool. What emerged
+was a good deal like the shy Maurice Korust, who accompanied his brother
+at the music-hall, but whose distaste for these gatherings had been
+Andrea's continual lament. The Baron de Grost stepped back once more
+against the wall. His host was certainly looking dangerous. Mademoiselle
+Celaire was leaning forward, staring through the gloom with distended
+eyes. Around the table every head was craned towards the centre of the
+disturbance. It was Peter again who spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me suggest, Andrea Korust," he said, "that you send your
+guests&mdash;those who are not immediately interested in this affair&mdash;into
+the next room. I will offer Mr. von Tassen then the explanation to which
+he is entitled."</p>
+
+<p>Andrea Korust staggered to his feet. The man's nerve had failed. He was
+shaking all over. He pointed to the music-room.</p>
+
+<p>"If you would be so good, ladies and gentlemen!" he begged. "We will
+follow you immediately."</p>
+
+<p>They went, with obvious reluctance. All their eyes seemed focused upon
+Peter. He bore their scrutiny with calm cheerfulness. For a moment he
+had feared Korust, but that moment had passed. A servant, obeying his
+master's gesture, pulled back the curtains after the departing crowd.
+The four men were alone.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. von Tassen," Peter said easily, "you are a man who loves
+adventures. To-night you experience a new sort of one. Over in your
+great country such methods as these are laughed at as the cheap device
+of sensation-mongers. Nevertheless, they exist. To-night is a proof that
+they exist."</p>
+
+<p>"Get on to facts, sir!" the American admonished. "Before you leave this
+room, you've got to explain to me what you mean by passing yourself off
+as Thomas von Tassen."</p>
+
+<p>Peter bowed.</p>
+
+<p>"With much pleasure, Mr. von Tassen," he declared. "For your
+information, I might tell you that you are not the only person in whose
+guise I have figured. In fact, I have had quite a busy week. I have
+been&mdash;let me see&mdash;I have been Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel on the
+night when our shy friend, Maurice Korust, was playing the part of
+General Henderson. I have also been His Grace the Duke of Rosshire when
+my friend Maurice here was introduced to me as Fran&ccedil;ois Defayal, known
+by name to me as one of the greatest writers on naval matters. A little
+awkward about the figure I found His Grace, but otherwise I think that I
+should have passed muster wherever he was known. I have also passed as
+Sir William Laureston, on the evening when my rival artiste here sang
+the praises of Imperial England."</p>
+
+<p>Andrea Korust leaned forward with venomous eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that it was you who was here last night in Sir William
+Laureston's place?" he almost shrieked.</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly," Peter admitted, "but you must remember that, after
+all, my performances have been no more difficult than those of your shy
+but accomplished brother. Whenever I took to myself a strange
+personality I found him there, equally good as to detail, and with his
+subject always at his finger-tips. We settled that little matter of the
+canal, didn't we?" Peter remarked cheerfully, laying his hand upon the
+shoulder of the young man.</p>
+
+<p>They stared at him, these two white-faced brothers, like tiger-cats
+about to spring. Mr. von Tassen was getting impatient.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," he protested, "you may be clearing matters up so far as
+regards Mr. Andrea Korust and his brother, but I'm as much in the fog as
+ever. Where do I come in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your pardon, sir!" Peter replied. "I am getting nearer things now.
+These two young men&mdash;we will not call them hard names&mdash;are suffering
+from an excess of patriotic zeal. They didn't come and sit down on a
+camp-stool and sketch obsolete forts, as those others of their
+countrymen do when they want to pose as the bland and really exceedingly
+ignorant foreigners. They went about the matter with some skill. It
+occurred to them that it might be interesting to their country to know
+what Sir William Laureston thought about the strength of the Imperial
+Navy, and to what extent his country were willing to go in maintaining
+their allegiance to Great Britain. Then there was the Duke of Rosshire.
+They thought they'd like to know his views as to the development of the
+Navy during the next ten years. There was that little matter, too, of
+the French guns. It would certainly be interesting to them to know what
+Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel had to say about them. These people
+were all invited to sit at the hospitable board of our host here. I,
+however, had an inkling on the first night of what was going on, and I
+was easily able to persuade those in authority to let me play their
+several parts. You, sir," Peter added, turning to Mr. von Tassen, "you,
+sir, floored me. You were not an Englishman, and there was no appeal
+which I could make. I simply had to risk you. I counted upon your not
+turning up. Unfortunately, you did. Fortunately, you are the last guest.
+This is the seventh supper."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. von Tassen glanced around at the three men and made up his mind.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you call yourself?" he asked Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baron de Grost," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Then, my friend the Baron de Grost," von Tassen said, "I think that you
+and I had better get out of this. So I was to talk about Germany with
+Mr. van Jool, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have already explained your views," Peter declared, with twinkling
+eyes. "Mr. van Jool was delighted."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. von Tassen shook with laughter.</p>
+
+<p>"Say," he exclaimed, "this is a great story! If you're ready, Baron de
+Grost, lead the way to where we can get a whisky and soda and a chat."</p>
+
+<p>Mademoiselle Celaire came gliding out to them.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not going to be left here," she whispered, taking Peter's arm.</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked back from the door.</p>
+
+<p>"At any rate, Mr. Andrea Korust," he said, "your first supper was a
+success. Colonel Mayson was genuine. Our real English military aeronaut
+was here, and he has disclosed to you, Maurice Korust, all that he ever
+knew. Henceforth I presume your great country will dispute with us for
+the mastery of the air."</p>
+
+<p>"Queer country, this," Mr. von Tassen remarked, pausing on the step to
+light a cigar. "Seems kind of humdrum after New York, but there's no use
+talking&mdash;things do happen over here anyway!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH</h3>
+
+
+<p>His host, very fussy as he always was on the morning of his big shoot,
+came bustling towards de Grost, with a piece of paper in his hand. The
+party of men had just descended from a large brake and were standing
+about on the edge of the common, examining cartridges, smoking a last
+cigarette before the business of the morning, and chatting together over
+the prospects of the day's sport. In the distance, a cloud of dust
+indicated the approach of a fast-travelling motor-car.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Baron," Sir William Bounderby said, "I want you to change your
+stand to-day. I must have a good man at the far corner as the birds go
+off my land from there, and Addington was missing them shockingly
+yesterday. Besides, there is a new man coming on your left, and I know
+nothing of his shooting&mdash;nothing at all!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Anywhere you choose to put me, Sir William," he assented. "They came
+badly for Addington yesterday, and well for me. However, I'll do my
+best."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish people wouldn't bring strangers, especially to the one shoot
+where I'm keen about the bag. I told Portal he could bring his
+brother-in-law, and he's bringing this foreign fellow instead. Don't
+suppose he can shoot for nuts! Did you ever hear of him, I wonder? The
+Count von Hern, he calls himself."</p>
+
+<p>Peter was not on his guard and a little exclamation escaped him.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine!" he murmured, softly. "So the game begins once more!"</p>
+
+<p>His interest was unmistakable. It was not only the chill November air
+which had brought a touch of colour to his cheeks and the light to his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"You seem pleased," Sir William Bounderby remarked, curiously. "You do
+know the fellow, then? Friend of yours, perhaps?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes! I know him, Sir William," he replied, "but I do not think that
+he would call himself a friend of mine. I know nothing about his
+shooting except that if he got a chance I think that he would like to
+shoot me."</p>
+
+<p>Sir William, who was a very literal man, looked grave.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry," he said, "if you are likely to find this meeting in any
+way awkward. I suppose there's nothing against him, eh?" he added, a
+little nervously. "I invited him purely on the strength of his being a
+guest of Portal's."</p>
+
+<p>"The Count von Hern comes, I believe," Peter assured his host, "of a
+distinguished European family. Socially there is nothing whatever
+against him. We happen to have run up against each other once or twice,
+that's all. That sort of thing will occur, you know, when the interests
+of finance touch the border-line of politics."</p>
+
+<p>"You have no objection to meeting him, then?" Sir William asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Not the slightest," Peter replied. "I do not know exactly in what
+direction the Count von Hern is extending his activities at present, but
+you will probably find any feeling of annoyance as regards our meeting
+to-day is entirely on his side."</p>
+
+<p>"I am very glad to hear it," Sir William declared. "I should not like
+anything to happen to disturb the harmony of your short visit to us."</p>
+
+<p>The motor-car had come to a standstill by this time. From it descended
+Mr. Portal himself, a large neighbouring landowner, a man of culture and
+travel. With him was Bernadine, in a very correct shooting suit and
+Tyrolese hat. On the other side of Mr. Portal was a short, thick-set
+man, with olive complexion, keen black eyes, black moustache and
+imperial, and sombrely dressed in City clothes. Sir William's eyebrows
+were slightly raised as he advanced to greet the party. Peter was at
+once profoundly interested.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Portal introduced his guests.</p>
+
+<p>"You will forgive me, I am sure, for bringing a spectator, Bounderby,"
+he said. "Major Kosuth, whom I have the honour to present&mdash;Major Kosuth,
+Sir William Bounderby&mdash;is high up in the diplomatic service of a people
+with whom we must feel every sympathy&mdash;the young Turks. The Count von
+Hern, who takes my brother-in-law's place, is probably known to you by
+name."</p>
+
+<p>Sir William welcomed his visitors cordially.</p>
+
+<p>"You do not shoot, Major Kosuth?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Very seldom," the Turk answered. "I come to-day with my good friend,
+Count von Hern, as a spectator, if you permit."</p>
+
+<p>"Delighted," Sir William replied. "We will find you a safe place near
+your friend."</p>
+
+<p>The little party began to move toward the wood. It was just at this
+moment that Bernadine felt a touch upon his shoulder, and, turning
+round, found Peter by his side.</p>
+
+<p>"An unexpected pleasure, my dear Count," the latter declared, suavely.
+"I had no idea that you took an interest in such simple sports."</p>
+
+<p>The manners of the Count von Hern were universally quoted as being
+almost too perfect. It is a regrettable fact, however, that at that
+moment he swore&mdash;softly, perhaps, but with distinct vehemence. A moment
+later he was exchanging the most cordial of greetings with his old
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>"You have the knack, my dear de Grost," he remarked, "of turning up in
+the most surprising places. I certainly did not know that amongst your
+many accomplishments was included a love for field sports."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled quietly. He was a very fine shot, and knew it.</p>
+
+<p>"One must amuse oneself these days," he said. "There is little else to
+do."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine bit his lip.</p>
+
+<p>"My absence from this country, I fear, has robbed you of an occupation."</p>
+
+<p>"It has certainly deprived life of some of its savour," Peter admitted,
+blandly. "By the by, will you not present me to your friend? I have the
+utmost sympathy with the intrepid political party of which he is a
+member."</p>
+
+<p>The Count von Hern performed the introduction with a reluctance which he
+wholly failed to conceal. The Turk, however, had been walking on his
+other side, and his hat was already lifted. Peter had purposely raised
+his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"It gives me the greatest pleasure, Major Kosuth," Peter said, "to
+welcome you to this country. In common, I believe, with the majority of
+my countrymen, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the movement
+which you represent."</p>
+
+<p>Major Kosuth smiled slowly. His features were heavy and unexpressive.
+There was something of gloom, however, in the manner of his response.</p>
+
+<p>"You are very kind, Baron," he replied, "and I welcome very much this
+expression of your interest in my party. I believe that the hearts of
+your country people are turned towards us in the same manner. I could
+wish that your country's political sympathies were as easily aroused."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine intervened promptly.</p>
+
+<p>"Major Kosuth has been here only one day," he remarked lightly. "I tell
+him that he is a little too impatient. See, we are approaching the wood.
+It is as well here to refrain from conversation."</p>
+
+<p>"We will resume it later," Peter said, softly. "I have interests in
+Turkey, and it would give me great pleasure to have a talk with Major
+Kosuth."</p>
+
+<p>"Financial interests?" the latter inquired, with some eagerness.</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"I will explain after the first drive," he said, turning away.</p>
+
+<p>Peter walked rather quickly until he reached a bend in the wood. He
+overtook his host on the way, and paused for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Lend me a loader for half an hour, Sir William," he begged. "I have to
+send my servant to the village with a telegram."</p>
+
+<p>"With pleasure!" Sir William answered. "There are several to spare. I'll
+send one to your stand. There's von Hern going the wrong way!" he
+exclaimed, in a tone of annoyance.</p>
+
+<p>Peter was just in time to stop the whistle from going to his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"Do me another favour, Sir William," he pleaded. "Give me time to send
+off my telegram before the Count sees what I'm doing. He's such an
+inquisitive person," he went on, noticing his host's look of blank
+surprise. "Thank you ever so much!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter hurried on to his place. It was round the corner of the wood, and
+for the moment out of sight of the rest of the party. He tore a sheet
+from his pocket-book and scribbled out a telegram. His man had
+disappeared and a substitute taken his place by the time the Count von
+Hern arrived. The latter was now all amiability. It was hard to believe,
+from his smiling salutation, that he and the man to whom he waved his
+hand in so airy a fashion had ever declared war to the death!</p>
+
+<p>The shooting began a few minutes later. Major Kosuth, from a camp stool
+a few yards behind his friend, watched with somewhat languid interest.
+He gave one, indeed, the impression that his thoughts were far removed
+from this simple country party, the main object of whose existence for
+the present seemed to be the slaying of a certain number of inoffensive
+birds. He watched the indifferent performance of his friend and the
+remarkably fine shooting of his neighbour on the left, with the same
+lack-lustre eye and want of enthusiasm. The beat was scarcely over
+before Peter, resigning his smoking guns to his loader, lit a cigarette
+and strolled across to the next stand. He plunged at once into a
+conversation with Kosuth, notwithstanding Bernadine's ill-concealed
+annoyance.</p>
+
+<p>"Major Kosuth," he began, "I sympathise with you. It is a hard task for
+a man whose mind is centred upon great events to sit still and watch a
+performance of this sort. Be kind to us all and remember that this
+represents to us merely a few hours of relaxation. We, too, have our
+more serious moments."</p>
+
+<p>"You read my thoughts well," Major Kosuth declared. "I do not seek to
+excuse them. For half a lifetime we Turks have toiled and striven,
+always in danger of our lives, to help forward those things which have
+now come to pass. I think that our lives have become tinged with
+sombreness and apprehension. Now that the first step is achieved, we go
+forward, still with trepidation. We need friends, Baron de Grost."</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot seriously doubt but that you will find them in this
+country," Peter remarked. "There has never been a time when the English
+nation has not sympathised with the cause of liberty."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not the hearts of your people," Major Kosuth said, "which I fear.
+It is the antics of your politicians. Sympathy is a great thing, and
+good to have, but Turkey to-day needs more. The heart of a nation is
+big, but the number of those in whose hands it remains to give practical
+expression to its promptings is few."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine, who had stood as much as he could, seized forcibly upon his
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>"You must remember our bargain, Kosuth," he insisted&mdash;"no politics
+to-day. Until to-morrow evening we rest. Now I want to introduce you to
+a very old friend of mine, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county."</p>
+
+<p>The Turk was bustled off, a little unwillingly. Peter watched them with
+a smile. It was many months since he had felt so keen an interest in
+life. The coming of Bernadine had steadied his nerves. His gun had come
+to his shoulder like the piston-rod of an engine. His eye was clear, his
+nerve still. There was something to be done! Decidedly, there was
+something to be done!...</p>
+
+<p>No man was better informed in current political affairs; but Peter,
+instead of joining the cheerful afternoon tea party at the close of the
+day, raked out a file of <i>The Times</i> from the library, and studied it
+carefully in his room. There were one or two items of news concerning
+which he made pencil notes. He had scarcely finished his task before a
+servant brought in a dispatch. He opened it with interest and drew
+pencil and paper towards him. It was from Paris, and in the code which
+he had learnt by heart, no written key of which now existed. Carefully
+he transcribed it on to paper and read it through. It was dated from
+Paris a few hours back:</p>
+
+<p>"Kosuth left for England yesterday. Envoy from new Turkish Government.
+Requiring loan one million pounds. Asked for guarantee that it was not
+for warlike movement against Bulgaria; declined to give same.
+Communicated with English Ambassador and informed Kosuth yesterday that
+neither Government would sanction loan unless undertaking were given
+that the same was not to be applied for war against Bulgaria. Turkey is
+under covenant to enter into no financial obligations with any other
+Power while the interest of former loans remains in abeyance. Kosuth has
+made two efforts to obtain loan privately, from prominent English
+financier and French syndicate. Both have declined to treat on
+representations from Government. Kosuth was expected return direct to
+Turkey. If, as you say, he is in England with Bernadine, we commend the
+affair to your utmost vigilance. Germany exceedingly anxious enter into
+close relations with new Government of Turkey. Fear Kosuth's association
+with Bernadine proof of bad faith. Have had interview with Minister for
+Foreign Affairs, who relies upon our help. French Secret Service at your
+disposal, if necessary."</p>
+
+<p>Peter read the message three times with the greatest care. He was on the
+point of destroying it when Violet came into the room. She was wearing a
+long tea jacket of sheeny silk. Her beautiful hair was most becomingly
+arranged, her figure as light and girlish as ever. She came into the
+room humming gaily and swinging a gold purse upon her finger.</p>
+
+<p>"Won three rubbers out of four, Peter," she declared, "and a compliment
+from the Duchess. Aren't I a pupil to be proud of?"</p>
+
+<p>She stopped short. Her lips formed themselves into the shape of a
+whistle. She knew very well the signs. Her husband's eyes were kindling,
+there was a firm set about his lips, the palm of his hand lay flat upon
+that sheet of paper.</p>
+
+<p>"It was true?" she murmured. "It was Bernadine who was shooting to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"He was on the next stand," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Then there is something doing, of course," Violet continued. "My dear
+Peter, you may be an enigma to other people; to me you have the most
+expressive countenance I ever saw. You have had a cable which you have
+just transcribed. If I had been a few minutes later, I think you would
+have torn up the result. As it is, I think I have come just in time to
+hear all about it."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled, grimly but fondly. He uncovered the sheet of paper and
+placed it in her hands.</p>
+
+<p>"So far," he said, "there isn't much to tell you. The Count von Hern
+turned up this morning with a Major Kosuth, who was one of the leaders
+of the revolution in Turkey. I wired Paris, and this is the reply."</p>
+
+<p>She read the message through thoughtfully and handed it back. Peter lit
+a match, and standing over the fireplace, calmly destroyed it.</p>
+
+<p>"A million pounds is not a great sum of money," Violet remarked. "Why
+could not Kosuth borrow it for his country from a private individual?"</p>
+
+<p>"A million pounds is not a large sum to talk about," Peter replied, "but
+it is an exceedingly large sum for anyone, even a multi-millionaire, to
+handle in cash. And Turkey, I gather, wants it at once. Besides,
+considerations which might be of value from a Government are no security
+at all as applied to a private individual."</p>
+
+<p>She nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that Kosuth means to go behind the existing treaty and
+borrow from Germany?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't quite believe that," he said. "It would mean the straining of
+diplomatic relations with both countries. It is out of the question."</p>
+
+<p>"Then where does Bernadine come in?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not know," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>Violet laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it that you are going to try to find out?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I am trying to discover who it is that Bernadine and Kosuth are waiting
+to see," Peter replied. "The worst of it is, I daren't leave here. I
+shall have to trust to the others."</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at the clock.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, go and dress," she said. "I'm afraid I've a little of your blood
+in me, after all. Life seems more stirring when Bernadine is on the
+scene."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>The shooting party broke up two days later and Peter and his wife
+returned at once to town. The former found the reports which were
+awaiting his arrival disappointing. Bernadine and his guest were not in
+London, or if they were they had carefully avoided all the usual haunts.
+Peter read his reports over again, smoked a very long cigar alone in his
+study, and finally drove down to the City and called upon his
+stockbroker, who was also a personal friend. Things were flat in the
+City, and the latter was glad enough to welcome an important client. He
+began talking the usual market shop until his visitor stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>"I have come to you, Edwardes, more for information than anything,"
+Peter declared, "although it may mean that I shall need to sell a lot of
+stock. Can you tell me of any private financier who could raise a loan
+of a million pounds in cash within the course of a week?"</p>
+
+<p>The stockbroker looked dubious.</p>
+
+<p>"In cash?" he repeated. "Money isn't raised that way, you know. I doubt
+whether there are many men in the whole city of London who could put up
+such an amount with only a week's notice."</p>
+
+<p>"But there must be someone," Peter persisted. "Think! It would probably
+be a firm or a man not obtrusively English. I don't think the Jews would
+touch it, and a German citizen would be impossible."</p>
+
+<p>"Semi-political, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"It is rather that way," he admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Would your friend the Count von Hern be likely to be concerned in it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why?" Peter asked, with immovable face.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, only I saw him coming out of Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+other day," the stockbroker remarked, carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>"And who is Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge?"</p>
+
+<p>"A very wealthy American financier," the stockbroker replied, "not at
+all an unlikely person for a loan of the sort you mention."</p>
+
+<p>"American citizen?" Peter inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt. Of German descent, I should say, but nothing much left
+of it in his appearance. He settled over here in a huff, because New
+York society wouldn't receive his wife."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember all about it," Peter declared. "She was a chorus girl,
+wasn't she? Nothing particular against her, but the fellow had no tact.
+Do you know him, Edwardes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Slightly," the stockbroker answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Give me a letter to him," Peter said. "Give my credit as good a leg up
+as you can. I shall probably go as a borrower."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Edwardes wrote a few lines and handed them to his client.</p>
+
+<p>"Office is nearly opposite," he remarked. "Wish you luck, whatever your
+scheme is."</p>
+
+<p>Peter crossed the street and entered the building which his friend had
+pointed out. He ascended in the lift to the third floor, knocked at the
+door which bore Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's name, and almost ran into the
+arms of a charmingly dressed little lady, who was being shown out by a
+broad-shouldered, typical American. Peter hastened to apologise.</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon," he said, raising his hat. "I was rather in a hurry,
+and I quite thought I heard someone say, 'Come in'."</p>
+
+<p>The lady replied pleasantly. Her companion, who was carrying his hat in
+his hand, paused reluctantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you want to see me?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"If you are Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I did," Peter admitted. "My name is
+the Baron de Grost, and I have a letter of introduction to you from Mr.
+Edwardes."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge tore open the envelope and glanced through the
+contents of the note. Peter meanwhile looked at his wife with genuine
+but respectfully cloaked admiration. The lady obviously returned his
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, if you're the Baron de Grost," she exclaimed, "didn't you marry Vi
+Brown? She used to be at the Gaiety with me years ago."</p>
+
+<p>"I certainly did marry Violet Brown," Peter confessed; "and, if you will
+allow me to say so, Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge, I should have recognised you
+anywhere from your photographs."</p>
+
+<p>"Say, isn't that queer?" the little lady remarked, turning to her
+husband. "I should love to see Vi again."</p>
+
+<p>"If you will give me your address," Peter declared promptly, "my wife
+will be delighted to call upon you."</p>
+
+<p>The man looked up from the note.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you want to talk business with me, Baron?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"For a few moments only," Peter answered. "I am afraid I am a great
+nuisance, and, if you wish it, I will come down to the City again."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Myra won't mind
+waiting a minute or two. Come through here."</p>
+
+<p>He turned back and led the way into a quiet-looking suite of offices,
+where one or two clerks were engaged writing at open desks. They all
+three passed into an inner room.</p>
+
+<p>"Any objection to my wife coming in?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+"There's scarcely any place for her out there."</p>
+
+<p>"Delighted," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at the clock.</p>
+
+<p>"Remember we have to meet the Count von Hern at half-past one at
+Prince's, Charles," she reminded him.</p>
+
+<p>Her husband nodded. There was nothing in Peter's expression to denote
+that he had already achieved the first object of his visit.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall not detain you," he said. "Your name has been mentioned to me,
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, as a financier likely to have a large sum of money
+at his disposal. I have a scheme which needs money. Providing the
+security is unexceptionable, are you in a position to do a deal?"</p>
+
+<p>"How much do you want?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.</p>
+
+<p>"A million to a million and a half," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Dollars?"</p>
+
+<p>"Pounds."</p>
+
+<p>It was not Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's pose to appear surprised. Nevertheless
+his eyebrows were slightly raised.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, what is this scheme?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"First of all," Peter replied, "I should like to know whether there's
+any chance of business if I disclose it."</p>
+
+<p>"Not an atom," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge declared. "I have just committed
+myself to the biggest financial transaction of my life, and it will
+clean me out."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I won't waste your time," Peter announced, rising.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down for a moment," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited, biting the end
+off a cigar and passing the box towards Peter. "That's all right. My
+wife doesn't mind. Say, it strikes me as rather a curious thing that you
+should come in here and talk about a million and a half when that's just
+the amount concerned in my other little deal."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"As a matter of fact, it isn't at all queer," he answered. "I don't want
+the money. I came to see whether you were really interested in the other
+affair&mdash;the Turkish loan, you know."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge withdrew his cigar from his mouth and looked
+steadily at his visitor.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, Baron," he declared, "you've got a nerve!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," Peter replied. "I'm here as much in your interests as my
+own."</p>
+
+<p>"Whom do you represent, any way?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"A company you never heard of," Peter replied. "Our offices are in the
+underground places of the world, and we don't run to brass plates. I am
+here because I am curious about that loan. Turkey hasn't a shadow of
+security to offer you. Everything which she can pledge is pledged to
+guarantee the interest on existing loans to France and England. She is
+prevented by treaty from borrowing in Germany. If you make a loan
+without security, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I suppose you understand your
+position. The loan may be repudiated at any moment."</p>
+
+<p>"Kind of a philanthropist, aren't you?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge remarked
+quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the least," Peter assured him. "I know there's some tricky work
+going on, and I suppose I haven't brains enough to get to the bottom of
+it. That's why I've come blundering in to you, and why, I suppose,
+you'll be telling the whole story to the Count von Hern at luncheon in
+an hour's time."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge smoked in silence for a moment or two.</p>
+
+<p>"This transaction of mine," he said at last, "isn't one I can talk
+about. I guess I'm on to what you want to know, but I simply can't tell
+you. The security is unusual, but it's good enough for me."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems so to you beyond a doubt," Peter replied. "Still, you have to
+do with a remarkably clever young man in the Count von Hern. I don't
+want to ask you any questions you feel I ought not to, but I do wish
+you'd tell me one thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Go right ahead," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited. "Don't be shy."</p>
+
+<p>"What day are you concluding this affair?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge scratched his chin for a moment thoughtfully and
+glanced at his diary.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll risk that," he decided. "A week to-day I hand over the
+coin."</p>
+
+<p>Peter drew a little breath of relief. A week was an immense time! He
+rose to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"That ends our business, then, for the present," he said. "Now I am
+going to ask both of you a favour. Perhaps I have no right to, but as a
+man of honour, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, you can take it from me that I ask
+it in your interests as well as my own. Don't tell the Count von Hern of
+my visit to you."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge held out his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right," he declared. "You hear, Myra?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be dumb, Baron," she promised. "Say when do you think Vi can come
+and see me?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter was guilty of snobbery. He considered it quite a justifiable
+weapon.</p>
+
+<p>"She is at Windsor this afternoon," he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"What, at the garden party?" Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge almost shrieked.</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe there's some f&ecirc;te or other to-morrow," he said; "but we're
+alone this evening. Why, won't you dine with us, say at the Carlton?"</p>
+
+<p>"We'd love to," the lady assented promptly.</p>
+
+<p>"At eight o'clock," Peter said, taking his leave.</p>
+
+<p>The dinner-party was a great success. Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge found
+herself amongst the class of people with whom it was her earnest desire
+to become acquainted, and her husband was well satisfied to see her keen
+longing for Society likely to be gratified. The subject of Peter's call
+at the office in the City was studiously ignored. It was not until the
+very end of the evening, indeed, that the host of this very agreeable
+party was rewarded by a single hint. It all came about in the most
+natural manner. They were speaking of foreign capitals.</p>
+
+<p>"I love Paris," Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge told her host. "Just adore it.
+Charles is often there on business, and I always go along."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled. There was just a chance here.</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband does not often have to leave London?" he remarked
+carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>She nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Not often enough," she declared. "I just love getting about. Last week
+we had a perfectly horrible trip, though. We started off for Belfast
+quite unexpectedly, and I hated every minute of it."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled inwardly, but he said never a word. His companion was
+already chattering on about something else. Peter crossed the hall a few
+minutes later to speak to an acquaintance, slipped out to the telephone
+booth, and spoke to his servant.</p>
+
+<p>"A bag and a change," he ordered, "at Euston Station at twelve o'clock,
+in time for the Irish mail. Your mistress will be home as usual."</p>
+
+<p>An hour later the dinner-party broke up. Early the next morning Peter
+crossed the Irish Channel. He returned the following day, and crossed
+again within a few hours. In five days the affair was finished, except
+for the <i>d&eacute;nouement</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Peter ascended in the lift to Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+following Thursday, calm and unruffled as usual, but nevertheless a
+little exultant. It was barely half an hour ago since he had become
+finally prepared for this interview. He was looking forward to it now
+with feelings of undiluted satisfaction. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge was in, he
+was told, and he was at once admitted to his presence. The financier
+greeted him with a somewhat curious smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, this is very nice of you to look me up again!" he exclaimed.
+"Still worrying about that loan, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I'm not worrying about that any more," he answered, accepting one
+of his host's cigars. "The fact of it is that if it were not for me you
+would be the one who would have to do the worrying."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge stopped short in the act of lighting his cigar.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not quite catching on," he remarked. "What's the trouble?"</p>
+
+<p>"There is no trouble, fortunately," Peter replied. "Only a little
+disappointment for our friends the Count von Hern and Major Kosuth. I
+have brought you some information which, I think, will put an end to
+that affair of the loan."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge sat quite still for a moment. His brows were
+knitted; he showed no signs of nervousness.</p>
+
+<p>"Go right on," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"The security upon which you were going to advance a million and a half
+to the Turkish Government," Peter continued, "consisted of two
+Dreadnoughts and a cruiser, being built to the order of that country by
+Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves at Belfast."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge admitted quietly. "I have been up
+and seen the boats. I have seen the shipbuilders, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you happen to mention to the latter," Peter inquired, "that you
+were advancing money upon those vessels?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Kosuth wouldn't hear of
+such a thing. If the papers got wind of it there'd be the devil to pay.
+All the same, I have got an assignment from the Turkish Government."</p>
+
+<p>"Not worth the paper it's written on," Peter declared blandly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge rose unsteadily to his feet. He was a strong,
+silent man, but there was a queer look about his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"What the devil do you mean?" he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Briefly this," Peter explained. "The first payment, when these ships
+were laid down, was made not by Turkey, but by an emissary of the German
+Government, who arranged the whole affair in Constantinople. The second
+payment was due ten months ago, and not a penny has been paid. Notice
+was given to the late Government twice and absolutely ignored. According
+to the charter, therefore, these ships reverted to the shipbuilding
+company, who retained possession of the first payment as indemnity
+against loss. The Count von Hern's position was this. He represents the
+German Government. You were to find a million and a half of money, with
+the ships as security. You also have a contract from the Count von Hern
+to take those ships off your hands provided the interest on the loan
+became overdue, a state of affairs which, I can assure you, would have
+happened within the next twelve months. Practically, therefore, you were
+made use of as an independent financier to provide the money with which
+the Turkish Government, broadly speaking, have sold the ships to
+Germany. You see, according to the charter of the shipbuilding company,
+these vessels cannot be sold to any foreign Government without the
+consent of Downing Street. That is the reason why the affair had to be
+conducted in such a roundabout manner."</p>
+
+<p>"All this is beyond me," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said hoarsely. "I don't
+care a d&mdash;&mdash;n who has the ships in the end so long as I get my money!"</p>
+
+<p>"But you would not get your money," Peter pointed out, "because there
+will be no ships. I have had the shrewdest lawyers in the world at work
+upon the charter, and there is not the slightest doubt that these
+vessels are, or rather were, the entire property of Messrs. Shepherd and
+Hargreaves. To-day they belong to me. I have bought them and paid
+&pound;200,000 deposit. I can show you the receipt and all the papers."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said only one word, but that word was profane.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry, of course, that you have lost the business," Peter
+concluded; "but surely it's better than losing your money?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge struck the table fiercely with his fist. There was
+a grey and unfamiliar look about his face.</p>
+
+<p>"D&mdash;&mdash;n it, the money's gone!" he declared hoarsely: "They changed the
+day. Kosuth had to go back. I paid it twenty-four hours ago."</p>
+
+<p>Peter whistled softly.</p>
+
+<p>"If only you had trusted me a little more!" he murmured. "I tried to
+warn you."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge snatched up his hat.</p>
+
+<p>"They don't leave till the two-twenty," he shouted. "We'll catch them at
+the Milan. If we don't, I'm ruined! By Heaven, I'm ruined!"</p>
+
+<p>They found Major Kosuth in the hall of the hotel. He was wearing a fur
+coat and otherwise attired for travelling. His luggage was already being
+piled upon a cab. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge wasted no words upon him.</p>
+
+<p>"You and I have got to have a talk, right here and now," he declared.
+"Where's the Count?"</p>
+
+<p>Major Kosuth frowned gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not understand you," he said shortly. "Our business is concluded,
+and I am leaving by the two-twenty train."</p>
+
+<p>"You are doing nothing of the sort," the American answered, standing
+before him, grim and threatening.</p>
+
+<p>The Turk showed no sign of terror. He gripped his silver-headed cane
+firmly.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," he said, "that there is no one here who will prevent me."</p>
+
+<p>Peter, who saw a fracas imminent, hastily intervened.</p>
+
+<p>"If you will permit me for a moment," he said, "there is a little
+explanation I should perhaps make to Major Kosuth."</p>
+
+<p>The Turk took a step towards the door.</p>
+
+<p>"I have no time to listen to explanations from you or anyone," he
+replied. "My cab is waiting. I depart. If Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge is not
+satisfied with our transaction, I am sorry, but it is too late to alter
+anything."</p>
+
+<p>For a moment it seemed as though a struggle between the two men was
+inevitable. Already people were glancing at them curiously, for Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge came of a primitive school, and he had no intention
+whatever of letting his man escape. Fortunately at that moment the Count
+von Hern came up, and Peter at once appealed to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Count," he said, "may I beg for your good offices? My friend Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge here is determined to have a few words with Major
+Kosuth before he leaves. Surely this is not an unreasonable request when
+you consider the magnitude of the transaction which has taken place
+between them! Let me beg of you to persuade Major Kosuth to give us ten
+minutes. There is plenty of time for the train, and this is not the
+place for a brawl."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled. He was not conscious of the slightest feeling of
+uneasiness. He could conceive many reasons for Peter's intervention, but
+in his pocket lay the agreement, signed by Kosuth, an accredited envoy
+of the Turkish Government, besides which he had a further document
+signed by Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, witnessed and stamped, handing over to
+him the whole of the security for this very complicated loan, on the
+sole condition that the million and a half, with interest, was
+forthcoming. His position was completely secure. A little discussion
+with his old enemy might not be altogether unpleasant!</p>
+
+<p>"It will not take us long, Kosuth, to hear what our friend has to say,"
+he remarked. "We shall be quite quiet in the smoking-room. Let us go in
+there and dispose of the affair."</p>
+
+<p>The Turk turned unwillingly in the direction indicated. All four men
+passed through the caf&eacute;, up some stair's, and into the small
+smoking-room. The room was deserted. Peter led the way to the far
+corner, and, standing with his elbow leaning upon the mantelpiece,
+addressed them.</p>
+
+<p>"The position is this," he said. "Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge has parted with a
+million and a half of his own money, a loan to the Turkish Government,
+on security which is not worth a snap of the fingers."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a lie!" Major Kosuth exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Baron, you are woefully misinformed," the Count declared.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he said, "I am not misinformed. My friend here has parted with the
+money on the security of two battleships and a cruiser, now building in
+Shepherd and Hargreaves' yard at Belfast. The two battleships and
+cruiser in question belong to me. I have paid two hundred thousand
+pounds on account of them, and hold the shipbuilders' receipt."</p>
+
+<p>"You are mad!" Bernadine cried, contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head, and continued.</p>
+
+<p>"The battleships were laid down for the Turkish Government, and the
+money with which to start them was supplied by the Secret Service of
+Germany. The second instalment was due ten months ago, and has not been
+paid. The time of grace provided for has expired. The shipbuilders, in
+accordance with their charter, were consequently at liberty to dispose
+of the vessels as they thought fit. On the statement of the whole of the
+facts to the head of the firm, he has parted with these ships to me. I
+need not say that I have a purchaser within a mile from here. It is a
+fancy of mine, Count von Hern, that those ships will sail better under
+the British flag."</p>
+
+<p>There was a moment's tense silence. The face of the Turk was black with
+anger. Bernadine was trembling with rage.</p>
+
+<p>"This is a tissue of lies!" he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"The facts are easy enough for you to prove," he said, "and I have
+here," he added, producing a roll of papers, "copies of the various
+documents for your inspection. Your scheme, of course, was simple
+enough. It fell through for this one reason only. A final notice,
+pressing for the second instalment, and stating the days of grace, was
+forwarded to Constantinople about the time of the recent political
+troubles. The late government ignored it. In fairness to Major Kosuth,
+we will believe that the present government was ignorant of it. But the
+fact remains that Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves became at liberty to
+sell those vessels, and that I have bought them. You will have to give
+up that money, Major Kosuth."</p>
+
+<p>"You bet he shall!" the American muttered.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine leaned a little towards his enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"You must give us a minute or two," he insisted. "We shall not go away,
+I promise you. Within five minutes you shall hear our decision."</p>
+
+<p>Peter sat down at the writing-table and commenced a letter. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge mounted guard over the door, and stood there, a grim
+figure of impatience. Before the five minutes was up, Bernadine crossed
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>"I congratulate you, Baron," he said, dryly. "You are either an
+exceedingly lucky person or you are more of a genius than I believed.
+Kosuth is even now returning his letters of credit to your friend. You
+are quite right. The loan cannot stand."</p>
+
+<p>"I was sure," Peter answered, "that you would see the matter correctly."</p>
+
+<p>"You and I," Bernadine continued, "know very well that I don't care a
+fig about Turkey, new or old. The ships, I will admit, I intended to
+have for my own country. As it is, I wish you joy of them. Before they
+are completed we may be fighting in the air."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled, and, side by side with Bernadine, strolled across to
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was buttoning up a pocket-book with trembling
+fingers.</p>
+
+<p>"Personally," Peter said, "I believe that the days of wars are over."</p>
+
+<p>"That may or may not be," Bernadine answered. "One thing is very
+certain. Even if the nations remain at peace, there are enmities which
+strike only deeper as the years pass. I am going to take a drink now
+with my disappointed friend Kosuth. If I raise my glass 'To the Day!'
+you will understand."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge and I are for the same destination," he
+replied, pushing open the swing door which led to the bar. "I return
+your good wishes, Count. I, too, drink 'To the Day!'"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine and Kosuth left a few minutes afterwards. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was feeling himself again, watched them depart
+with ill-concealed triumph.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, you had those fellows on toast, Baron," he declared, admiringly.
+"I couldn't follow the whole affair, but I can see that you're in for
+big things sometimes. Remember this. If money counts at any time, I'm
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>Peter clasped his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Money always counts," he said&mdash;"and friends!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR</h3>
+
+
+<p>"We may now," Sogrange remarked, buttoning up his ulster, and stretching
+himself out to the full extent of his steamer chair, "consider ourselves
+at sea. I trust, my friend, that you are feeling quite comfortable."</p>
+
+<p>Peter, Baron de Grost, lying at his ease upon a neighbouring chair, with
+a pillow behind his head, a huge fur coat around his body, and a rug
+over his feet, had all the appearance of being very comfortable indeed.
+His reply, however, was a little short&mdash;almost peevish.</p>
+
+<p>"I am comfortable enough for the present, thank you. Heaven knows how
+long it will last!"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange waved his arm towards the great uneasy plain of blue sea, the
+showers of foam leaping into the sunlight, away beyond the disappearing
+coasts of France.</p>
+
+<p>"Last," he repeated. "For eight days, I hope. Consider, my dear Baron!
+What could be more refreshing, more stimulating to our jaded nerves than
+this? Think of the December fogs you have left behind, the cold, driving
+rain, the puddles in the street, the grey skies&mdash;London, in short, at
+her ugliest and worst."</p>
+
+<p>"That is all very well," Peter protested; "but I have left several other
+things behind, too."</p>
+
+<p>"As, for instance?" Sogrange inquired genially.</p>
+
+<p>"My wife," Peter informed him. "Violet objects very much to these abrupt
+separations. This week, too, I was shooting at Saxthorpe, and I had also
+several other engagements of a pleasant nature. Besides, I have reached
+that age when I find it disconcerting to be called out of bed in the
+middle of the night to answer a long-distance telephone call, and told
+to embark on an American liner leaving Southampton early the next
+morning. It may be your idea of a pleasure-trip. It isn't mine."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange was amused. His smile, however, was hidden. Only the tip of his
+cigarette was visible.</p>
+
+<p>"Anything else?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing much, except that I am always seasick," Peter replied
+deliberately. "I can feel it coming on now. I wish that fellow would
+keep away with his beastly mutton broth. The whole ship seems to smell
+of it."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange laughed, softly but without disguise.</p>
+
+<p>"Who said anything about a pleasure-trip?" he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>Peter turned his head.</p>
+
+<p>"You did. You told me when you came on at Cherbourg that you had to go
+to New York to look after some property there, that things were very
+quiet in London, and that you hated travelling alone. Therefore you sent
+for me at a few hours' notice."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that what I told you?" Sogrange murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes! Wasn't it true?" Peter asked, suddenly alert.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word of it," Sogrange admitted. "It is quite amazing that you
+should have believed it for a moment."</p>
+
+<p>"I was a fool," Peter confessed. "You see, I was tired and a little
+cross. Besides, somehow or other, I never associated a trip to America
+with&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange interrupted him, quietly but ruthlessly.</p>
+
+<p>"Lift up the label attached to the chair next to yours. Read it out to
+me."</p>
+
+<p>Peter took it into his hand and turned it over. A quick exclamation
+escaped him.</p>
+
+<p>"Great heavens! 'The Count von Hern'&mdash;Bernadine!"</p>
+
+<p>"Just so," Sogrange assented. "Nice, clear writing, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter sat bolt upright in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean to say that Bernadine is on board?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"By the exercise, my dear Baron," he said, "of a superlative amount of
+ingenuity, I was able to prevent that misfortune. Now lean over and read
+the label on the next chair."</p>
+
+<p>Peter obeyed. His manner had acquired a new briskness.</p>
+
+<p>"'La Duchesse della Nermino,'" he announced.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Everything just as it should be," he declared. "Change those labels, my
+friend, as quickly as you can."</p>
+
+<p>Peter's fingers were nimble, and the thing was done in a few seconds.</p>
+
+<p>"So I am to sit next the Spanish lady," he remarked, feeling for his
+tie.</p>
+
+<p>"Not only that, but you are to make friends with her," Sogrange replied.
+"You are to be your captivating self, Baron. The Duchesse is to forget
+her weakness for hot rooms. She is to develop a taste for sea air and
+your society."</p>
+
+<p>"Is she," Peter asked anxiously, "old or young?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange showed a disposition to fence with the question.</p>
+
+<p>"Not old," he answered; "certainly not old. Fifteen years ago she was
+considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world."</p>
+
+<p>"The ladies of Spain," Peter remarked, with a sigh, "are inclined to
+mature early."</p>
+
+<p>"In some cases," Sogrange assured him, "there are no women in the world
+who preserve their good looks longer. You shall judge, my friend. Madame
+comes! How about that sea-sickness now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Gone," Peter declared briskly. "Absolutely a fancy of mine. Never felt
+better in my life."</p>
+
+<p>An imposing little procession approached along the deck. There was the
+deck steward leading the way; a very smart French maid carrying a
+wonderful collection of wraps, cushions, and books; a black-browed,
+pallid man-servant, holding a hot-water bottle in his hand and leading a
+tiny Pekinese spaniel wrapped in a sealskin coat; and finally Madame la
+Duchesse. It was so obviously a procession intended to impress, that
+neither Peter nor Sogrange thought it worth while to conceal their
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>The Duchesse, save that she was tall and wrapped in magnificent furs,
+presented a somewhat mysterious appearance. Her features were entirely
+obscured by an unusually thick veil of black lace, and the voluminous
+nature of her outer garments only permitted a suspicion as to her
+figure, which was, at that time, at once the despair and the triumph of
+her <i>corseti&egrave;re</i>. With both hands she was holding her fur-lined skirts
+from contact with the deck, disclosing at the same time remarkably
+shapely feet encased in trim patent shoes, with plain silver buckles,
+and a little more black silk stocking than seemed absolutely necessary.
+The deck steward, after a half-puzzled scrutiny of the labels, let down
+the chair next to the two men. The Duchesse contemplated her prospective
+neighbours with some curiosity, mingled with a certain amount of
+hesitation. It was at that moment that Sogrange, shaking away his rug,
+rose to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame la Duchesse permits me to remind her of my existence," he said,
+bowing low. "It is some years since we met, but I had the honour of a
+dance at the Palace in Madrid."</p>
+
+<p>She held out her hand at once, yet somehow Peter felt sure that she was
+thankful for her veil. Her voice was pleasant, and her air the air of a
+great lady. She spoke French with the soft, sibilant intonation of the
+Spaniard.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember the occasion perfectly, Marquis," she admitted. "Your sister
+and I once shared a villa in Mentone."</p>
+
+<p>"I am flattered by your recollection, Duchesse," Sogrange murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a great surprise to meet with you here, though," she continued.
+"I did not see you at Cherbourg or on the train."</p>
+
+<p>"I motored from Paris," Sogrange explained, "and arrived, contrary to my
+custom, I must confess, somewhat early. Will you permit that I introduce
+an acquaintance whom I have been fortunate enough to find on board:
+Monsieur le Baron de Grost&mdash;Madame la Duchesse della Nermino."</p>
+
+<p>Peter was graciously received, and the conversation dealt, for a few
+moments, with the usual banalities of the voyage. Then followed the
+business of settling the Duchesse in her place. When she was really
+installed, and surrounded with all the paraphernalia of a great and
+fanciful lady, including a handful of long cigarettes, she raised her
+veil. Peter, who was at the moment engaged in conversation with her, was
+a little shocked with the result. Her features were worn, her face dead
+white, with many signs of the ravages wrought by the constant use of
+cosmetics. Only her eyes had retained something of their former
+splendour. These latter were almost violet in colour, deep-set, with
+dark rims, and were sufficient almost in themselves to make one forget
+for a moment the less prepossessing details of her appearance. A small
+library of books was by her side, but after a while she no longer
+pretended any interest in them. She was a born conversationalist, a
+creature of her country, entirely and absolutely feminine, to whom the
+subtle and flattering deference of the other sex was as the breath of
+life itself. Peter burned his homage upon her altar with a craft which
+amounted to genius. In less than half an hour Madame la Duchesse was
+looking many years younger. The vague look of apprehension had passed
+from her face. Their voices had sunk to a confidential undertone,
+punctuated often by the music of her laughter. Sogrange, with a murmured
+word of apology, had slipped away long ago. Decidedly, for an
+Englishman, Peter was something of a marvel!</p>
+
+<p>Madame la Duchesse moved her head towards the empty chair.</p>
+
+<p>"He is a great friend of yours&mdash;the Marquis de Sogrange?" she asked,
+with a certain inflection in her tone which Peter was not slow to
+notice.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, no!" he answered. "A few years ago I was frequently in Paris. I
+made his acquaintance then, but we have met very seldom since."</p>
+
+<p>"You are not travelling together, then?" she inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"By no means," Peter assured her. "I recognised him only as he boarded
+the steamer at Cherbourg."</p>
+
+<p>"He is not a popular man in our world," she remarked. "One speaks of him
+as a schemer."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there anything left to scheme for in France?" Peter asked
+carelessly. "He is, perhaps, a Monarchist?"</p>
+
+<p>"His ancestry alone would compel a devoted allegiance to Royalism," the
+Duchesse declared; "but I do not think that he is interested in any of
+these futile plots to reinstate the House of Orleans. I, Monsieur le
+Baron, am Spanish."</p>
+
+<p>"I have scarcely lived so far out of the world as to have heard nothing
+of the Duchesse della Nermino," Peter replied with <i>empressement</i>. "The
+last time I saw you, Duchesse, you were in the suite of the Infanta."</p>
+
+<p>"Like all Englishmen, I see you possess a memory," she said, smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"Duchesse," Peter answered, lowering his voice, "without the memories
+which one is fortunate enough to collect as one passes along, life would
+be a dreary place. The most beautiful things in the world cannot remain
+always with us. It is well, then, that the shadow of them can be
+recalled to us in the shape of dreams."</p>
+
+<p>Her eyes rewarded him for his gallantry. Peter felt that he was doing
+very well indeed. He indulged himself in a brief silence. Presently she
+returned to the subject of Sogrange.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," she remarked, "that of all the men in the world I expected
+least to see the Marquis de Sogrange on board a steamer bound for New
+York. What can a man of his type find to amuse him in the New World?"</p>
+
+<p>"One wonders, indeed," Peter assented. "As a matter of fact, I did read
+in a newspaper a few days ago that he was going to Mexico in connection
+with some excavations there. He spoke to me of it just now. They seem to
+have discovered a ruined temple of the Incas, or something of the sort."</p>
+
+<p>The Duchesse breathed what sounded very much like a sigh of relief.</p>
+
+<p>"I had forgotten," she admitted, "that New York itself need not
+necessarily be his destination."</p>
+
+<p>"For my own part," Peter continued, "it is quite amazing the interest
+which the evening papers always take in the movements of one connected
+ever so slightly with their world. I think that a dozen newspapers have
+told their readers the exact amount of money I am going to lend or
+borrow in New York, the stocks I am going to bull or bear, the mines I
+am going to purchase. My presence on an American steamer is accounted
+for by the journalists a dozen times over. Yours, Duchesse, if one might
+say so without appearing over-curious, seems the most inexplicable. What
+attraction can America possibly have for you?"</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at him covertly from under her sleepy eyelids. Peter's face
+was like the face of a child.</p>
+
+<p>"You do not, perhaps, know," she said, "that I was born in Cuba. I lived
+there, in fact, for many years. I still have estates in the country."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed?" he answered. "Are you interested, then, in this reported
+salvage of the <i>Maine</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a short silence. Peter, who had not been looking at her when
+he had asked his question, turned his head, surprised at her lack of
+response. His heart gave a little jump. The Duchesse had all the
+appearance of a woman on the point of fainting. One hand was holding a
+scent bottle to her nose, the other, thin and white, ablaze with
+emeralds and diamonds, was gripping the side of her chair. Her
+expression was one of blank terror. Peter felt a shiver chill his own
+blood at the things he saw in her face. He himself was confused,
+apologetic, yet absolutely without understanding. His thoughts reverted
+at first to his own commonplace malady.</p>
+
+<p>"You are ill, Duchesse!" he exclaimed. "You will allow me to call the
+deck steward? Or perhaps you would prefer your own maid? I have some
+brandy in this flask."</p>
+
+<p>He had thrown off his rug, but her imperious gesture kept him seated.
+She was looking at him with an intentness which was almost tragical.</p>
+
+<p>"What made you ask me that question?" she demanded.</p>
+
+<p>His innocence was entirely apparent. Not even Peter could have
+dissembled so naturally.</p>
+
+<p>"That question?" he repeated, vaguely. "You mean about the <i>Maine</i>? It
+was the idlest chance, Duchesse, I assure you. I saw something about it
+in the paper yesterday, and it seemed interesting. But if I had had the
+slightest idea that the subject was distasteful to you I would not have
+dreamed of mentioning it. Even now&mdash;I do not understand&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>She interrupted him. All the time he had been speaking she had shown
+signs of recovery. She was smiling now, faintly and with obvious effort,
+but still smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"It is altogether my own fault, Baron," she admitted graciously. "Please
+forgive my little fit of emotion. The subject is a very sore one amongst
+my country-people, you know, and your sudden mention of it upset me. It
+was very foolish."</p>
+
+<p>"Duchesse, I was a clumsy idiot!" Peter declared penitently. "I deserve
+that you should be unkind to me for the rest of the voyage."</p>
+
+<p>"I could not afford that," she answered, forcing another smile. "I am
+relying too much upon you for companionship. Ah! could I trouble you?"
+she added. "For the moment I need my maid. She passes there."</p>
+
+<p>Peter sprang up and called the young woman, who was slowly pacing the
+deck. He himself did not at once return to his place. He went instead in
+search of Sogrange, and found him in his state-room. Sogrange was lying
+upon a couch, in a silk smoking suit, with a French novel in his hand
+and an air of contentment which was almost fatuous. He laid down the
+volume at Peter's entrance.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Baron," he murmured, "why this haste? No one is ever in a hurry
+upon a steamer. Remember that we can't possibly get anywhere in less
+than eight days, and there is no task in the world, nowadays, which
+cannot be accomplished in that time. To hurry is a needless waste of
+tissue, and, to a person of my nervous temperament, exceedingly
+unpleasant."</p>
+
+<p>Peter sat down on the edge of the bunk.</p>
+
+<p>"I presume you have quite finished?" he said. "If so, listen to me. I am
+moving in the dark. Is it my fault that I blunder? By the merest
+accident I have already committed a hideous <i>faux pas</i>. You ought to
+have warned me."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have spoken to the Duchesse of the <i>Maine</i> disaster."</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of Sogrange gleamed for a moment, but he lay perfectly still.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" he asked. "A good many people are talking about it. It is one
+of the strangest things I have ever heard of, that after all these years
+they should be trying to salve the wreck."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems worse than strange," Peter declared. "What can be the use of
+trying to stir up bitter feelings between two nations who have fought
+their battles and buried the hatchet? I call it an act of insanity."</p>
+
+<p>A bugle rang. Sogrange yawned and sat up.</p>
+
+<p>"Would you mind touching the bell for my servant, Baron," he asked.
+"Dinner will be served in half an hour. Afterwards, we will talk, you
+and I."</p>
+
+<p>Peter turned away, not wholly pleased.</p>
+
+<p>"The sooner the better," he grumbled, "or I shall be putting my foot
+into it again."</p>
+
+<p>After dinner the two men walked on deck together. The night was dark,
+but fine, with a strong wind blowing from the north-west. The deck
+steward called their attention to a long line of lights stealing up from
+the horizon on their starboard side.</p>
+
+<p>"That's the <i>Lusitania</i>, sir. She'll be up to us in half an hour."</p>
+
+<p>They leaned over the rail. Soon the blue fires began to play about their
+masthead. Sogrange watched them thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"If one could only read those messages," he remarked, with a sigh, "it
+might help us."</p>
+
+<p>Peter knocked the ash from his cigar, and was silent for a time. He was
+beginning to understand the situation.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he said at last, "I have been doing you an injustice. I
+have come to the conclusion that you are not keeping me in ignorance of
+the vital facts connected with our visit to America wilfully. At the
+present moment you know just a little more, but a very little more, than
+I do."</p>
+
+<p>"What perception!" Sogrange murmured. "My dear Baron, sometimes you
+amaze me. You are absolutely right. I have some pieces, and I am
+convinced that they would form a puzzle the solution of which would be
+interesting to us; but how or where they fit in I frankly don't know.
+You have the facts so far."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>"You have heard of Sirdeller?"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mean <i>the</i> Sirdeller?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Naturally. I mean the man whose very movements sway the money markets
+of the world; the man who could, if he chose, ruin any nation, make war
+impossible; who could, if he had ten more years of life and was allowed
+to live, draw to himself and his own following the entire wealth of the
+universe."</p>
+
+<p>"Very eloquent," Peter remarked. "We'll take the rest for granted."</p>
+
+<p>"Then," Sogrange continued, "you have probably also heard of Don Pedro,
+Prince of Marsine, one-time Pretender to the throne of Spain?"</p>
+
+<p>"Quite a striking figure in European politics," Peter assented, quickly.
+"He is suspected of radical proclivities, and is still, it is rumoured,
+an active plotter against the existing monarchy."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," Sogrange said. "Now listen carefully. Four months ago
+Sirdeller was living at the Golden Villa, near Nice. He was visited more
+than once by Marsine, introduced by the Count von Hern. The result of
+those visits was a long series of cablegrams to certain great
+engineering firms in America. Almost immediately the salvage of the
+<i>Maine</i> was started. It is a matter of common report that the entire
+cost of these works is being undertaken by Sirdeller."</p>
+
+<p>"Now," Peter murmured, "you are really beginning to interest me."</p>
+
+<p>"This week," Sogrange went on, "it is expected that the result of the
+salvage works will be made known. That is to say, it is highly possible
+that the question of whether the <i>Maine</i> was blown up from outside or
+inside will be settled once and for all. This week, mind, Baron. Now see
+what happens. Sirdeller returns to America. The Count von Hern and
+Prince Marsine come to America. The Duchesse della Nermino comes to
+America. The Duchesse, Sirdeller, and Marsine are upon this steamer. The
+Count von Hern travels by the <i>Lusitania</i> only because it was reported
+that Sirdeller at the last minute changed his mind, and was travelling
+by that boat. Mix these things up in your brain&mdash;the conjurer's hat, let
+us call it," Sogrange concluded, laying his hand upon Peter's arm.
+"Sirdeller, the Duchesse, Von Hern, Marsine, the raising of the
+<i>Maine</i>&mdash;mix them up, and what sort of an omelette appears?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter whistled softly.</p>
+
+<p>"No wonder," he said, "that you couldn't make the pieces of the puzzle
+fit. Tell me more about the Duchesse."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange considered for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"The principal thing about her which links her with the present
+situation," he explained, "is that she was living in Cuba at the time of
+the <i>Maine</i> disaster, married to a rich Cuban."</p>
+
+<p>The affair was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of romance.
+Peter, for the first time, saw not the light, but the possibility of it.</p>
+
+<p>"Marsine has been living in Germany, has he not?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"He is a personal friend of the Kaiser," Sogrange replied.</p>
+
+<p>They both looked up and listened to the crackling of the electricity
+above their heads.</p>
+
+<p>"I expect Bernadine is a little annoyed," Peter remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't pleasant to be out of the party," Sogrange agreed. "Nearly
+everybody, however, believed at the last moment that Sirdeller had
+transferred his passage to the <i>Lusitania</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"It's going to cost him an awful lot in marconigrams," Peter said. "By
+the by, wouldn't it have been better for us to have travelled
+separately, and incognito?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly.</p>
+
+<p>"Von Hern has at least one man on board," he replied. "I do not think
+that we could possibly have escaped observation. Besides, I rather
+imagine that any move we are able to make in this matter must come
+before we reach Fire Island."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you any theory at all?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Not the ghost of a one," Sogrange admitted. "One more fact, though, I
+forgot to mention. You may find it important. The Duchesse comes
+entirely against von Hern's wishes. They have been on intimate terms for
+years, but for some reason or other he was exceedingly anxious that she
+should not take this voyage. She, on the other hand, seemed to have some
+equally strong reason for coming. The most useful piece of advice I
+could give you would be to cultivate her acquaintance."</p>
+
+<p>"The Duchesse&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Peter never finished his sentence. His companion drew him suddenly back
+into the shadow of a lifeboat.</p>
+
+<p>"Look!"</p>
+
+<p>A door had opened from lower down the deck, and a curious little
+procession was coming towards them. A man, burly and broad-shouldered,
+who had the air of a professional bully, walked by himself ahead. Two
+others of similar build walked a few steps behind. And between them a
+thin, insignificant figure, wrapped in an immense fur coat and using a
+strong walking-stick, came slowly along the deck. It was like a
+procession of prison warders guarding a murderer, or perhaps a
+nerve-wrecked royal personage moving towards the end of his days in the
+midst of enemies. With halting steps the little old man came shambling
+along. He looked neither to the left nor to the right. His eyes were
+fixed and yet unseeing, his features were pale and bony. There was no
+gleam of life, not even in his stone-cold eyes. Like some machine-made
+man of a new and physically degenerate age, he took his exercise under
+the eye of his doctor&mdash;a strange and miserable-looking object.</p>
+
+<p>"There goes Sirdeller," Sogrange whispered. "Look at him&mdash;the man whose
+might is greater than any emperor's. There is no haven in the universe
+to which he does not hold the key. Look at him&mdash;master of the world!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shivered. There was something depressing in the sight of that
+mournful procession.</p>
+
+<p>"He neither smokes nor drinks," Sogrange continued. "Women, as a sex, do
+not exist for him. His religion is a doubting Calvinism. He has a doctor
+and a clergyman always by his side to inject life and hope if they can.
+Look at him well, my friend. He represents a great moral lesson."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks!" Peter replied. "I am going to take the taste of him out of my
+mouth with a whisky and soda. Afterwards, I'm for the Duchesse."</p>
+
+<p>But the Duchesse, apparently, was not for Peter. He found her in the
+music-room, with several of the little Marconi missives spread out
+before her, and she cut him dead. Peter, however, was a brave man and
+skilled at the game of bluff. So he stopped by her side and, without any
+preamble, addressed her.</p>
+
+<p>"Duchesse," he said, "you are a woman of perception. Which do you
+believe, then, in your heart, to be the more trustworthy&mdash;the Count von
+Hern or I?"</p>
+
+<p>She simply stared at him. He continued promptly:</p>
+
+<p>"You have received your warning, I see."</p>
+
+<p>"From whom?"</p>
+
+<p>"From the Count von Hern. Why believe what he says? He may be a friend
+of yours&mdash;he may be a dear friend&mdash;but in your heart you know that he is
+both unscrupulous and selfish. Why accept his word and distrust me? I,
+at least, am honest."</p>
+
+<p>She raised her eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>"Honest?" she repeated. "Whose word have I for that save your own? And
+what concern is it of mine if you possess every one of the <i>bourgeois</i>
+qualities in the world? You are presuming, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"My friend Sogrange will tell you that I am to be trusted," Peter
+persisted.</p>
+
+<p>"I see no reason why I should trouble myself about your personal
+characteristics," she replied coldly. "They do not interest me."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary, Duchesse," Peter continued, fencing wildly, "you have
+never in your life been more in need of anyone's services than you are
+of mine."</p>
+
+<p>The conflict was uneven. The Duchesse was a nervous, highly strung
+woman. The calm assurance of Peter's manner oppressed her with a sense
+of his mastery. She sank back upon the couch from which she had arisen.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would tell me what you mean," she said. "You have no right
+to talk to me in this fashion. What have you to do with my affairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have as much to do with them as the Count von Hern," Peter insisted
+boldly.</p>
+
+<p>"I have known the Count von Hern," she answered, "for very many years.
+You have been a shipboard acquaintance of mine for a few hours."</p>
+
+<p>"If you have known the Count von Hern for many years," Peter asserted,
+"you have found out by this time that he is an absolutely untrustworthy
+person."</p>
+
+<p>"Supposing he is," she said, "will you tell me what concern it is of
+yours? Do you suppose for one moment that I am likely to discuss my
+private affairs with a perfect stranger?"</p>
+
+<p>"You have no private affairs," Peter declared sternly. "They are the
+affairs of a nation."</p>
+
+<p>She glanced at him with a little shiver. From that moment he felt that
+he was gaining ground. She looked around the room. It was well filled,
+but in their corner they were almost unobserved.</p>
+
+<p>"How much do you know?" she asked in a low tone which shook with
+passion.</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled enigmatically.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps more even than you, Duchesse," he replied. "I should like to be
+your friend. You need one&mdash;you know that."</p>
+
+<p>She rose abruptly to her feet.</p>
+
+<p>"For to-night it is enough," she declared, wrapping her fur cloak around
+her. "You may talk to me to-morrow, Baron. I must think. If you desire
+really to be my friend there is, perhaps, one service which I may
+require of you. But to-night, no!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter stood aside and allowed her to step past him. He was perfectly
+content with the progress he had made. Her farewell salute was by no
+means ungracious. As soon as she was out of sight he returned to the
+couch where she had been sitting. She had taken away the marconigrams,
+but she had left upon the floor several copies of the <i>New York Herald</i>.
+He took them up and read them carefully through. The last one he found
+particularly interesting, so much so that he folded it up, placed it in
+his coat pocket, and went off to look for Sogrange, whom he found at
+last in the saloon, watching a noisy game of "Up, Jenkins!" Peter sank
+upon the cushioned seat by his side.</p>
+
+<p>"You were right," he remarked. "Bernadine has been busy."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"I trust," he said, "that the Duchesse is not proving faithless?"</p>
+
+<p>"So far," Peter replied, "I have kept my end up. To-morrow will be the
+test. Bernadine has filled her with caution. She thinks that I know
+everything&mdash;whatever everything may be. Unless I can discover a little
+more than I do now, to-morrow is going to be an exceedingly awkward day
+for me."</p>
+
+<p>"There is every prospect of your acquiring a great deal of valuable
+information before then," Sogrange declared. "Sit tight, my friend.
+Something is going to happen."</p>
+
+<p>On the threshold of the saloon, ushered in by one of the stewards, a
+tall, powerful-looking man, with a square, well-trimmed black beard, was
+standing looking around as though in search of someone. The steward
+pointed out, with an unmistakable movement of his head, Peter and
+Sogrange. The man approached and took the next table.</p>
+
+<p>"Steward," he directed, "bring me a glass of vermouth and some
+dominoes."</p>
+
+<p>Peter's eyes were suddenly bright. Sogrange touched his foot under the
+table and whispered a word of warning. The dominoes were brought. The
+new-comer arranged them as though for a game. Then he calmly withdrew
+the double-four and laid it before Sogrange.</p>
+
+<p>"It has been my misfortune, Marquis," he said, "never to have made your
+acquaintance, although our mutual friends are many, and I think I may
+say that I have the right to claim a certain amount of consideration
+from you and your associates. You know me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Prince," Sogrange replied. "I am charmed. Permit me to
+present my friend, the Baron de Grost."</p>
+
+<p>The new-comer bowed, and glanced a little nervously around.</p>
+
+<p>"You will permit me," he begged. "I travel incognito. I have lived so
+long in England that I have permitted myself the name of an Englishman.
+I am travelling under the name of Mr. James Fanshawe."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Fanshawe, by all means," Sogrange agreed. "In the meantime&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I claim my rights as a corresponding member of the Double Four," the
+new-comer declared. "My friend the Count von Hern finds menace to
+certain plans of ours in your presence upon this steamer. Unknown to
+him, I come to you openly. I claim your aid, not your enmity."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us understand one another clearly," Sogrange said. "You claim our
+aid in what?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Fanshawe glanced around the saloon and lowered his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"I claim your aid towards the overthrowing of the usurping House of
+Asturias, and the restoration to power in Spain of my own line."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange was silent for several moments. Peter was leaning forward in
+his place, deeply interested. Decidedly, this American trip seemed
+destined to lead toward events!</p>
+
+<p>"Our active aid towards such an end," Sogrange said at last, "is
+impossible. The society of the Double Four does not interfere in the
+domestic policy of other nations for the sake of individual members."</p>
+
+<p>"Then let me ask you why I find you upon this steamer?" Mr. Fanshawe
+demanded in a tone of suppressed excitement. "Is it for the sea voyage
+that you and your friend the Baron de Grost cross the Atlantic this
+particular week, on the same steamer as myself, as Mr. Sirdeller,
+and&mdash;and the Duchesse? One does not believe in such coincidences! One is
+driven to conclude that it is your intention to interfere."</p>
+
+<p>"The affair almost demands our interference," Sogrange replied smoothly.
+"With every due respect to you, Prince, there are great interests
+involved in this move of yours."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince was a big man, but, for all his large features and bearded
+face, his expression was the expression of a peevish and passionate
+child. He controlled himself with an effort.</p>
+
+<p>"Marquis," he said, "it is necessary&mdash;I say that it is necessary that we
+conclude an alliance."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange nodded approvingly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is well spoken," he said; "but remember&mdash;the Baron de Grost
+represents England, and the English interests of our society."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince of Marsine's face was not pleasant to look upon.</p>
+
+<p>"Forgive me if you are an Englishman by birth, Baron," he said, turning
+towards him, "but a more interfering nation in other people's affairs
+than England has never existed in the pages of history. She must have a
+finger in every pie. Bah!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter leaned over from his place.</p>
+
+<p>"What about Germany, Mr. Fanshawe?" he asked with emphasis.</p>
+
+<p>The Prince tugged at his beard. He was a little nonplussed.</p>
+
+<p>"The Count von Hern," he confessed, "has been a good friend to me. The
+rulers of his country have always been hospitable and favourably
+inclined towards my family. The whole affair is of his design. I myself
+could scarcely have moved in it alone. One must reward one's helpers.
+There is no reason, however," he added, with a meaning glance at Peter,
+"why other helpers should not be admitted."</p>
+
+<p>"The reward which you offer to the Count von Hern," Peter remarked, "is
+of itself absolutely inimical to the interests of my country."</p>
+
+<p>"Listen!" the Prince demanded, tapping the table before him. "It is true
+that within a year I am pledged to reward the Count von Hern in certain
+fashion. It is not possible that you know the terms of our compact, but
+from your words it is possible that you have guessed. Very well. Accept
+this from me. Remain neutral now, allow this matter to proceed to its
+natural conclusion, let your Government address representations to me
+when the time comes, adopting a bold front, and I promise that I will
+obey them. It will not be my fault that I am compelled to disappoint the
+Count von Hern. My seaboard would be at the mercy of your fleet.
+Superior force must be obeyed."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a matter, this," Sogrange said, "for discussion between my friend
+and me. I think you will find that we are neither of us unreasonable. In
+short, Prince, I see no insuperable reason why we should not come to
+terms."</p>
+
+<p>"You encourage me," the Prince declared, in a gratified tone. "Do not
+believe, Marquis, that I am actuated in this matter wholly by motives of
+personal ambition. No, it is not so. A great desire has burned always in
+my heart, but it is not that alone which moves me. I assure you that of
+my certain knowledge Spain is honeycombed&mdash;is rotten with treason. A
+revolution is a certainty. How much better that that revolution should
+be conducted in a dignified manner; that I, with my reputation for
+democracy which I have carefully kept before the eyes of my people,
+should be elected President of the new Spanish Republic, even if it is
+the gold of the American who places me there. In a year or two's time,
+what may happen who can say? This craving for a republic is but a
+passing dream. Spain, at heart, is monarchical. She will be led back to
+the light. It is but a short step from the President's chair to the
+throne."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange and his companion sat quite still. They avoided looking at each
+other.</p>
+
+<p>"There is one thing more," the Prince continued, dropping his voice as
+if, even at that distance, he feared the man of whom he spoke. "I shall
+not inform the Count von Hern of our conversation. It is not necessary,
+and, between ourselves, the Count is jealous. He sends me message after
+message that I remain in my state-room, that I seek no interview with
+Sirdeller, that I watch only. He is too much of the spy&mdash;the Count von
+Hern. He does not understand that code of honour, relying upon which I
+open my heart to you."</p>
+
+<p>"You have done your cause no harm," Sogrange assured him, with subtle
+sarcasm. "We come now to the Duchesse."</p>
+
+<p>The Prince leaned towards him. It was just at this moment that a steward
+entered with a marconigram, which he presented to the Prince. The latter
+tore it open, glanced it through, and gave vent to a little exclamation.
+The fingers which held the missive, trembled. His eyes blazed with
+excitement. He was absolutely unable to control his feelings.</p>
+
+<p>"My two friends," he cried, in a tone broken with emotion, "it is you
+first who shall hear the news! This message has just arrived. Sirdeller
+will have received its duplicate. The final report of the works in
+Havana Harbour will await us on our arrival in New York, but the
+substance of it is this. The <i>Maine</i> was sunk by a torpedo, discharged
+at close quarters underneath her magazine. Gentlemen, the House of
+Asturias is ruined!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a breathless silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Your information is genuine?" Sogrange asked softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt," the Prince replied. "I have been expecting this
+message. I shall cable to von Hern. We are still in communication. He
+may not have heard."</p>
+
+<p>"We were about to speak of the Duchesse," Peter reminded him.</p>
+
+<p>The Prince shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Another time," he declared. "Another time."</p>
+
+<p>He hurried away. It was already half-past ten and the saloon was almost
+empty. The steward came up to them.</p>
+
+<p>"The saloon is being closed for the night, sir," he announced.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go on deck," Peter suggested.</p>
+
+<p>They found their way up on to the windward side of the promenade, which
+was absolutely deserted. Far away in front of them now were the
+disappearing lights of the <i>Lusitania</i>. The wind roared by as the great
+steamer rose and fell on the black stretch of waters. Peter stood very
+near to his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen, Sogrange," he said, "the affair is clear now save for one
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean Sirdeller's motives?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," Peter answered. "An hour ago I came across the explanation
+of these. The one thing I will tell you afterwards. Now listen.
+Sirdeller came abroad last year for twelve months' travel. He took a
+great house in San Sebastian."</p>
+
+<p>"Where did you hear this?" Sogrange asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I read the story in the <i>New York Herald</i>," Peter continued. "It is
+grossly exaggerated, of course, but this is the substance of it.
+Sirdeller and his suite were stopped upon the Spanish frontier and
+treated in an abominable fashion by the Customs officers. He was forced
+to pay a very large sum, unjustly, I should think. He paid under
+protest, appealed to the authorities, with no result. At San Sebastian
+he was robbed right and left, his privacy intruded upon. In short, he
+took a violent dislike and hatred to the country and everyone concerned
+in it. He moved with his entire suite to Nice, to the Golden Villa.
+There he expressed himself freely concerning Spain and her Government.
+Count von Hern heard of it and presented Marsine. The plot was, without
+doubt, Bernadine's. Can't you imagine how he would put it? 'A
+revolution,' he would tell Sirdeller, 'is imminent in Spain. Here is the
+new President of the Republic. Money is no more to you than water. You
+are a patriotic American. Have you forgotten that the finest warship
+your country ever built, with six hundred of her devoted citizens, was
+sent to the bottom by the treachery of one of this effete race? The war
+was an inefficient revenge. The country still flourishes. It is for you
+to avenge America. With money Marsine can establish a republic in Spain
+within twenty-four hours!' Sirdeller hesitates. He would point out that
+it had never been proved that the destruction of the <i>Maine</i> was really
+due to Spanish treachery. It is the idea of a business man which
+followed. He, at his own expense, would raise the <i>Maine</i>. If it were
+true that the explosion occurred from outside, he would find the money.
+You see, the message has arrived. After all these years, the sea has
+given up its secret. Marsine will return to Spain with an unlimited
+credit behind him. The House of Asturias will crumble up like a pack of
+cards."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange looked out into the darkness. Perhaps he saw in that great
+black gulf the pictures of these happenings, which his companion had
+prophesied. Perhaps, for a moment, he saw the panorama of a city in
+flames, the passing of a great country under the thrall of these new
+ideas. At any rate, he turned abruptly away from the side of the vessel
+and, taking Peter's arm, walked slowly down the deck.</p>
+
+<p>"You have solved the puzzle, Baron," he said, gravely. "Now tell me one
+thing. Your story seems to dovetail everywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"The one thing," Peter said, "is connected with the Duchesse. It was
+she, of her own will, who decided to come to America. I believe that but
+for her coming Bernadine and the Prince would have waited in their own
+country. Money can flash from America to England over the wires. It does
+not need to be fetched. They have still one fear. It is connected with
+the Duchesse. Let me think."</p>
+
+<p>They walked up and down the deck. The lights were extinguished one by
+one, except in the smoke-room. A strange breed of sailors from the lower
+deck came up, with mops and buckets. The wind changed its quarter and
+the great ship began to roll. Peter stopped abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>"I find this motion most unpleasant," he said. "I am going to bed.
+To-night I cannot think. To-morrow, I promise you, we will solve this.
+Hush!"</p>
+
+<p>He held out his hand and drew his companion back into the shadow of a
+lifeboat. A tall figure was approaching them along the deck. As he
+passed the little ray of light thrown out from the smoking-room, the
+man's features were clearly visible. It was the Prince. He was walking
+like one absorbed in thought. His eyes were set like a sleep-walker's.
+With one hand he gesticulated. The fingers of the other were twitching
+all the time. His head was lifted to the skies. There was something in
+his face which redeemed it from its disfiguring petulance.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the man who dreams of power," Peter whispered. "It is one of the
+best moments, this. He forgets the vulgar means by which he intends to
+rise. He thinks only of himself, the dictator, king, perhaps emperor. He
+is of the breed of egoists."</p>
+
+<p>Again and again the Prince passed, manifestly unconscious even of his
+whereabouts. Peter and Sogrange crept away unseen to their state-rooms.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>In many respects the room resembled a miniature court of justice. The
+principal sitting-room of the royal suite, which was the chief glory of
+the <i>Adriatic</i>, had been stripped of every superfluous article of
+furniture or embellishment. Curtains had been removed, all evidences of
+luxury disposed of. Temporarily the apartment had been transformed into
+a bare, cheerless place. Seated on a high chair, with his back to the
+wall, was Sirdeller. At his right hand was a small table, on which stood
+a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope. Behind, his doctor. At his left
+hand, a smooth-faced, silent young man&mdash;his secretary. Before him stood
+the Duchesse, Peter and Sogrange. Guarding the door was one of the
+watchmen, who, from his great physique, might well have been a policeman
+out of livery. Sirdeller himself, in the clear light which streamed
+through the large window, seemed more aged and shrunken than ever. His
+eyes were deep-set. No tinge of colour was visible in his cheeks. His
+chin protruded, his shaggy grey eyebrows gave him an unkempt appearance.
+He wore a black velvet cap, a strangely cut black morning coat and
+trousers, felt slippers, and his hands were clasped upon a stout ash
+walking-stick. He eyed the new-comers keenly but without expression.</p>
+
+<p>"The lady may sit," he said.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke almost in an undertone, as though anxious to avoid the fatigue
+of words. The guardian of the door placed a chair, into which the
+Duchesse subsided. Sirdeller held his right hand towards his doctor, who
+felt his pulse. All the time Sirdeller watched him, his lips a little
+parted, a world of hungry excitement in his eyes. The doctor closed his
+watch with a snap and whispered something in Sirdeller's ear, apparently
+reassuring.</p>
+
+<p>"I will hear this story," Sirdeller announced. "In two minutes every one
+must leave. If it takes longer it must remain unfinished."</p>
+
+<p>Peter spoke up briskly.</p>
+
+<p>"The story is this," he began. "You have promised to assist the Prince
+of Marsine to transform Spain into a republic, providing the salvage
+operations on the <i>Maine</i> prove that that ship was destroyed from
+outside. The salvage operations have been conducted at your expense, and
+finished. It has been proved that the <i>Maine</i> was destroyed by a mine or
+torpedo from the outside. Therefore, on the assumption that it was the
+treacherous deed of a Spaniard or Cuban imagining himself to be a
+patriot, you are prepared to carry out your undertaking and supply the
+Prince of Marsine with means to overthrow the kingdom of Spain."</p>
+
+<p>Peter paused. The figure on the chair remained motionless. No flicker of
+intelligence or interest disturbed the calm of his features. It was a
+silence almost unnatural.</p>
+
+<p>"I have brought the Duchesse here," Peter continued, "to tell you the
+truth as to the <i>Maine</i> disaster."</p>
+
+<p>Not even then was there the slightest alteration in those ashen grey
+features.</p>
+
+<p>The Duchesse looked up. She had the air of one only too eager to speak
+and finish.</p>
+
+<p>"In those days," she said, "I was the wife of a rich Cuban gentleman
+whose name I withhold. The American officers on board the <i>Maine</i> used
+to visit at our house. My husband was jealous; perhaps he had cause."</p>
+
+<p>The Duchesse paused. Even though the light of tragedy and romance side
+by side seemed suddenly to creep into the room, Sirdeller listened as
+one come back from a dead world.</p>
+
+<p>"One night," the Duchesse went on, "my husband's suspicions were changed
+into knowledge. He came home unexpectedly. The American&mdash;the officer&mdash;I
+loved him&mdash;was there on the balcony with me. My husband said nothing.
+The officer returned to his ship. That night my husband came into my
+room. He bent over my bed. 'It is not you,' he whispered, 'whom I shall
+destroy, for the pain of death is short. Anguish of mind may live.
+To-night, six hundred ghosts may hang about your pillow!'"</p>
+
+<p>Her voice broke. There was something grim and unnatural in that curious
+stillness. Even the secretary was at last breathing a little faster. The
+watchman at the door was leaning forward. Sirdeller simply moved his
+hand to the doctor, who held up his finger while he felt the pulse. The
+beat of his watch seemed to sound through the unnatural silence. In a
+minute he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"The lady may proceed," he announced.</p>
+
+<p>"My husband," the Duchesse continued, "was an officer in charge of the
+Mines and Ordnance Department. He went out that night in a small boat,
+after a visit to the strong house. No soul has ever seen or heard of him
+since, or his boat. It is only I who know."</p>
+
+<p>Her voice died away. Sirdeller stretched out his hand and very
+deliberately drank a table-spoonful or two of his milk.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe the lady's story," he declared. "The Marsine affair is
+finished. Let no one be admitted to have speech with me again upon this
+subject."</p>
+
+<p>He had half turned towards his secretary. The young man bowed. The
+doctor pointed towards the door. The Duchesse, Peter, and Sogrange filed
+slowly out. In the bright sunlight the Duchesse burst into a peal of
+hysterical laughter. Even Peter felt, for a moment, unnerved. Suddenly
+he, too, laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"I think," he said, "that you and I had better get out of the way,
+Sogrange, when the Count von Hern meets us at New York!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>AN ALIEN SOCIETY</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sogrange and Peter, Baron de Grost, standing upon the threshold of their
+hotel, gazed out upon New York and liked the look of it. They had landed
+from the steamer a few hours before, had already enjoyed the luxury of a
+bath, a visit to an American barber's, and a genuine cocktail.</p>
+
+<p>"I see no reason," Sogrange declared, "why we should not take a week's
+holiday."</p>
+
+<p>Peter, glancing up into the blue sky and down into the faces of the
+well-dressed and beautiful women who were streaming up Fifth Avenue, was
+wholly of the same mind.</p>
+
+<p>"If we return by this afternoon's steamer," he remarked, "we shall have
+Bernadine for a fellow-passenger. Bernadine is annoyed with us just now.
+I must confess that I should feel more at my ease with a few thousand
+miles of the Atlantic between us."</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be so," Sogrange assented. "We will explore this marvellous
+city. Never," he added, taking his companion's arm, "did I expect to see
+such women save in my own, the mistress of all cities. So <i>chic</i>, my
+dear Baron, and such a carriage! We will lunch at one of the fashionable
+restaurants and drive in the Park afterwards. First of all, however, we
+must take a stroll along this wonderful Fifth Avenue."</p>
+
+<p>The two men spent a morning after their own hearts. They lunched
+astonishingly well at Sherry's and drove afterwards in the Central Park.
+When they returned to the hotel Sogrange was in excellent spirits.</p>
+
+<p>"I feel, my friend," he announced, "that we are going to have a very
+pleasant and, in some respects, a unique week. To meet friends and
+acquaintances everywhere, as one must do in every capital in Europe, is,
+of course, pleasant, but there is a monotony about it from which one is
+glad sometimes to escape. We lunch here and we promenade in the places
+frequented by those of a similar station to our own, and behold! we know
+no one. We are lookers on. Perhaps, for a long time, it might gall. For
+a brief period there is a restfulness about it which pleases me."</p>
+
+<p>"I should have liked," Peter murmured, "an introduction to the lady in
+the blue hat."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a gregarious animal," Sogrange declared. "You do not understand
+the pleasure of a little comparative isolation with an intellectual
+companion such as myself. What the devil is the meaning of this?"</p>
+
+<p>They had reached their sitting-room, and upon a small round table stood
+a great collection of cards and notes. Sogrange took them up helplessly,
+one after the other, reading the names aloud and letting them fall
+through his fingers. Some were known to him, some were not. He began to
+open the notes. In effect they were all the same&mdash;On what day would the
+Marquis de Sogrange and his distinguished friend care to dine, lunch,
+yacht, golf, shoot, go to the opera, join a theatre party? Of what clubs
+would they care to become members? What kind of hospitality would be
+most acceptable?</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange sank into a chair.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he exclaimed, "they all have to be answered&mdash;that
+collection there! The visits have to be returned. It is magnificent,
+this hospitality, but what can one do?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked at the pile of correspondence upon which Sogrange's inroad,
+indeed, seemed to have had but little effect.</p>
+
+<p>"One could engage a secretary, of course," he suggested, doubtfully.
+"But the visits! Our week's holiday is gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," Sogrange replied. "I have an idea."</p>
+
+<p>The telephone bell rang. Peter took up the receiver and listened for a
+moment. He turned to Sogrange, still holding it in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be pleased, also, to hear," he announced, "that there are half
+a dozen reporters downstairs waiting to interview us."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange received the information with interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Have them sent up at once," he directed, "every one of them."</p>
+
+<p>"What, all at the same time?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"All at the same time it must be," Sogrange answered. "Give them to
+understand that it is an affair of five minutes only."</p>
+
+<p>They came trooping in. Sogrange welcomed them cordially.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend the Baron de Grost," he explained, indicating Peter. "I am
+the Marquis de Sogrange. Let us know what we can do to serve you."</p>
+
+<p>One of the men stepped forward.</p>
+
+<p>"Very glad to meet you, Marquis, and you, Baron," he said. "I won't
+bother you with any introductions, but I and the company here represent
+the Press of New York. We should like some information for our papers as
+to the object of your visit here and the probable length of your stay."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange extended his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear friend," he exclaimed, "the object of our visit was, I thought,
+already well known. We are on our way to Mexico. We leave to-night. My
+friend, the Baron is, as you know, a financier. I, too, have a little
+money to invest. We are going to meet some business acquaintances with a
+view to inspecting some mining properties. That is absolutely all I can
+tell you. You can understand, of course, that fuller information would
+be impossible."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that's quite natural, Marquis," the spokesman of the reporters
+replied. "We don't like the idea of your hustling out of New York like
+this, though."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange looked at the clock.</p>
+
+<p>"It is unavoidable," he declared. "We are relying upon you, gentlemen,
+to publish the fact, because you will see," he added, pointing to the
+table, "that we have been the recipients of a great many civilities
+which it is impossible for us to acknowledge properly. If it will give
+you any pleasure to see us upon our return, you will be very welcome. In
+the meantime, you will understand our haste."</p>
+
+<p>There were a few more civilities and the representatives of the Press
+took their departure. Peter looked at his companion doubtfully as
+Sogrange returned from showing them out.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose this means that we have to catch to-day's steamer after all?"
+he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Not necessarily," Sogrange answered. "I have a plan. We will leave for
+the Southern Depot, wherever it may be. Afterwards, you shall use that
+wonderful skill of yours, of which I have heard so much, to effect some
+slight change in our appearance. We will then go to another hotel, in
+another quarter of New York, and take our week's holiday incognito. What
+do you think of that for an idea?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not much," Peter replied. "It isn't so easy to dodge the newspapers and
+the Press in this country. Besides, although I could manage myself very
+well, you would be an exceedingly awkward subject. Your tall and elegant
+figure, your aquiline nose, the shapeliness of your hands and feet, give
+you a distinction which I should find it hard to conceal."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"You are a remarkably observant fellow, Baron. I quite appreciate your
+difficulty. Still, with a club foot, eh?&mdash;and spectacles instead of my
+eyeglasses&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, no doubt something could be managed," Peter interrupted. "You're
+really in earnest about this, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Absolutely," Sogrange declared. "Come here."</p>
+
+<p>He drew Peter to the window. They were on the twelfth story, and to a
+European there was something magnificent in that tangled mass of
+buildings threaded by the elevated railway, with its screaming trains,
+the clearness of the atmosphere, and in the white streets below, like
+polished belts through which the swarms of people streamed like insects.</p>
+
+<p>"Imagine it all lit up!" Sogrange exclaimed. "The sky-signs all ablaze,
+the flashing of fire from those cable wires, the lights glittering from
+those tall buildings! This is a wonderful place, Baron. We must see it.
+Ring for the bill. Order one of those magnificent omnibuses. Press the
+button, too, for the personage whom they call the valet. Perhaps, with a
+little gentle persuasion, he could be induced to pack our clothes."</p>
+
+<p>With his finger upon the bell, Peter hesitated. He, too, loved
+adventures, but the gloom of a presentiment had momentarily depressed
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"We are marked men, remember, Sogrange," he said. "An escapade of this
+sort means a certain amount of risk, even in New York."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine caught the midday steamer. We have no enemies here that I
+know of."</p>
+
+<p>Peter pressed the button. An hour or so later the Marquis de Sogrange
+and Peter, Baron de Grost, took their leave of New York.</p>
+
+<p>They chose an hotel some distance down Broadway, within a stone's throw
+of Rector's Restaurant. Peter, with whitened hair, gold-rimmed
+spectacles, a slouch hat and a fur coat, passed easily enough for an
+English maker of electrical instruments; while Sogrange, shabbier, and
+in ready-made American clothes, was transformed into a Canadian having
+some connection with theatrical business. They plunged into the heart of
+New York life, and found the whole thing like a tonic. The intense
+vitality of the people, the pandemonium of Broadway at midnight, with
+its flaming illuminations, its eager crowd, its inimitable restlessness,
+fascinated them both. Sogrange, indeed, remembering the decadent languor
+of the crowds of pleasure-seekers thronging his own boulevards, was
+never weary of watching these men and women. They passed from the
+streets to the restaurants, from the restaurants to the theatre, out
+into the streets again, back to the restaurants, and once more into the
+streets. Sogrange was like a glutton. The mention of bed was hateful to
+him. For three days they existed without a moment's boredom.</p>
+
+<p>On the fourth evening Peter found Sogrange deep in conversation with the
+head porter. In a few minutes he led Peter away to one of the bars where
+they usually took their cocktail.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he announced, "to-night I have a treat for you. So far we
+have looked on at the external night life of New York. Wonderful and
+thrilling it has been, too. But there is the underneath also. Why not?
+There is a vast polyglot population here, full of energy and life. A
+criminal class exists as a matter of course. To-night we make our bow to
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"And by what means?" Peter inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Our friend the hall porter," Sogrange continued, "has given me the card
+of an ex-detective who will be our escort. He calls for us to-night, or
+rather, to-morrow morning, at one o'clock. Then, behold! the wand is
+waved, the land of adventures opens before us."</p>
+
+<p>Peter grunted.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, my Canadian friend," he said,
+"but the sort of adventures you may meet with to-night are scarcely
+likely to fire your romantic nature. I know a little about what they
+call this underneath world in New York. It will probably resolve itself
+into a visit to Chinatown, where we shall find the usual dummies taking
+opium, and quite prepared to talk about it for the usual tip. After that
+we shall visit a few low dancing halls, be shown the scene of several
+murders, and the thing is done."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a cynic," Sogrange declared. "You would throw cold water upon
+any enterprise. Anyway, our detective is coming. We must make use of
+him, for I have engaged to pay him five dollars."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll go where you like," Peter assented, "so long as we dine on a roof
+garden. This beastly fur coat keeps me in a chronic state of
+perspiration."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," Sogrange said consolingly, "it's most effective. A roof
+garden, by all means."</p>
+
+<p>"And recollect," Peter insisted, "I bar Chinatown. We've both of us seen
+the real thing, and there's nothing real about what they show you here."</p>
+
+<p>"Chinatown is erased from our programme," Sogrange agreed. "We go now to
+dine. Remind me, Baron, that I inquire for these strange dishes of which
+one hears&mdash;terrapin, canvas-backed duck, green corn, and strawberry
+shortcake."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled grimly.</p>
+
+<p>"How like a Frenchman," he exclaimed, "to take no account of seasons!
+Never mind, Marquis, you shall give your order and I will sketch the
+waiter's face. By the by, if you're in earnest about this expedition
+to-night, put your revolver into your pocket."</p>
+
+<p>"But we're going with an ex-detective," Sogrange replied.</p>
+
+<p>"One never knows," Peter said carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>They dined close to the stone palisading of one of New York's most
+famous roof gardens. Sogrange ordered an immense dinner, but spent most
+of his time gazing downwards. They were higher up than at the hotel, and
+they could see across the tangled maze of lights even to the river,
+across which the great ferry boats were speeding all the while&mdash;huge
+creatures of streaming fire and whistling sirens. The air where they sat
+was pure and crisp. There was no fog, no smoke, to cloud the almost
+crystalline clearness of the night.</p>
+
+<p>"Baron," Sogrange declared, "if I had lived in this city I should have
+been a different man. No wonder the people are all-conquering."</p>
+
+<p>"Too much electricity in the air for me," Peter answered. "I like a
+little repose. I can't think where these people find it."</p>
+
+<p>"One hopes," Sogrange murmured, "that before they progress any further
+in utilitarianism they will find some artist, one of themselves, to
+express all this."</p>
+
+<p>"In the meantime," Peter interrupted, "the waiter would like to know
+what we are going to drink. I've eaten such a confounded jumble of
+things of your ordering that I should like some champagne."</p>
+
+<p>"Who shall say that I am not generous!" Sogrange replied, taking up the
+wine carte. "Champagne it shall be. We need something to nerve us for
+our adventures."</p>
+
+<p>Peter leaned across the table.</p>
+
+<p>"Sogrange," he whispered, "for the last twenty-four hours I have had
+some doubts as to the success of our little enterprise. It has occurred
+to me more than once that we are being shadowed."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange frowned.</p>
+
+<p>"I sometimes wonder," he remarked, "how a man of your suspicious nature
+ever acquired the reputation you undoubtedly enjoy."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it is because of my suspicious nature," Peter said. "There is a
+man staying in our hotel whom we are beginning to see quite a great deal
+of. He was talking to the head porter a few minutes before you this
+afternoon. He supped at the same restaurant last night. He is dining
+now, three places behind you to the right, with a young lady who has
+been making flagrant attempts to flirtation with me, notwithstanding my
+grey hairs."</p>
+
+<p>"Your reputation, my dear Peter," Sogrange murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"As a decoy," Peter interrupted, "the young lady's methods are too
+vigorous. She pretends to be terribly afraid of her companion, but it is
+entirely obvious that she is acting on his instructions. Of course, this
+may be a ruse of the reporters. On the other hand, I think it would be
+wise to abandon our little expedition to-night."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"So far as I am concerned," he said, "I am committed to it."</p>
+
+<p>"In which case," Peter replied, "I am certainly committed to being your
+companion. The only question is whether one shall fall to the decoy and
+suffer oneself to be led in the direction her companion desires, or
+whether we shall go blundering into trouble on our own account with your
+friend the ex-detective."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange glanced over his shoulder, leaned back in his chair, for a
+moment, as though to look at the stars, and finally lit a cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a lack of subtlety about that young person, Baron," he
+declared, "which stifles one's suspicions. I suspect her to be merely
+one more victim to your undoubted charms. In the interests of madame
+your wife I shall take you away. The decoy shall weave her spells in
+vain."</p>
+
+<p>They paid their bill and departed a few minutes later. The man and the
+girl were also in the act of leaving. The former seemed to be having
+some dispute about the bill. The girl, standing with her back to him,
+scribbled a line upon a piece of paper, and, as Peter went by, pushed it
+into his hand with a little warning gesture. In the lift he opened it.
+The few pencilled words contained nothing but an address: Number 15,
+100th Street, East.</p>
+
+<p>"Lucky man!" Sogrange sighed.</p>
+
+<p>Peter made no remark, but he was thoughtful for the next hour or so.</p>
+
+<p>The ex-detective proved to be an individual of fairly obvious
+appearance, whose complexion and thirst indicated a very possible reason
+for his life of leisure. He heard with surprise that his patrons were
+not inclined to visit Chinatown, but he showed a laudable desire to fall
+in with their schemes, provided always that they included a reasonable
+number of visits to places where refreshments could be obtained. From
+first to last the expedition was a disappointment. They visited various
+smoke-hung dancing halls, decorated for the most part with oleographs
+and cracked mirrors, in which sickly-looking young men of unwholesome
+aspect were dancing with their feminine counterparts. The attitude of
+their guide was alone amusing.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, you want to be careful in here!" he would declare, in an awed
+tone, on entering one of these tawdry palaces. "Guess this is one of the
+toughest spots in New York City. You stick close to me and I'll make
+things all right."</p>
+
+<p>His method of making things all right was the same in every case. He
+would form a circle of disreputable youths, for whose drinks Sogrange
+was called upon to pay. The attitude of the young men was more dejected
+than positively vicious. They showed not the slightest signs of any
+desire to make themselves unpleasant. Only once, when Sogrange
+incautiously displayed a gold watch, did the eyes of one or two of their
+number glisten. The ex-detective changed his place and whispered
+hoarsely in his patron's ear:</p>
+
+<p>"Say, don't you flash anything of that sort about here! That young cove
+right opposite to you is one of the best-known sneak-thieves in the
+city. You're asking for trouble that way."</p>
+
+<p>"If he or any other of them want my watch," Sogrange answered, calmly,
+"let them come and fetch it. However," he added, buttoning up his coat,
+"no doubt you are right. Is there anywhere else to take us?"</p>
+
+<p>The man hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"There ain't much that you haven't seen," he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange laughed softly as he rose to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"A sell, my dear friend," he said to Peter. "This terrible city keeps
+its real criminal class somewhere else rather than in the show places."</p>
+
+<p>A man who had been standing in the doorway, looking in for several
+moments, strolled up to them. Peter recognised him at once and touched
+Sogrange on the arm. The new-comer accosted them pleasantly.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, you'll excuse my butting in," he began, "but I can see you are
+kind of disappointed. These suckers"&mdash;indicating the ex-detective&mdash;"talk
+a lot about what they're going to show you, and when they get you round,
+it all amounts to nothing. This is the sort of thing they bring you to
+as representing the wickedness of New York! That's so, Rastall, isn't
+it?"</p>
+
+<p>The ex-detective looked a little sheepish.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, there ain't much more to be seen," he admitted. "Perhaps you'll
+take the job on if you think there is."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'd engage to show the gentlemen something a sight more
+interesting than this," the new-comer continued. "They don't want to sit
+down and drink with the scum of the earth."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," Sogrange suggested, "this gentleman has something in his mind
+which he thinks would appeal to us. We have a motor-car outside, and we
+are out for adventures."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of adventures?" the new-comer asked bluntly.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shrugged his shoulders lightly.</p>
+
+<p>"We are lookers-on merely," he explained. "My friend and I have
+travelled a good deal. We have seen something of criminal life in Paris
+and London, Vienna, and Budapest. I shall not break any confidence if I
+tell you that my friend is a writer, and material such as this is
+useful."</p>
+
+<p>The new-comer smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Say," he exclaimed, "in a way, it's fortunate for you that I happened
+along! You come right with me and I'll show you something that very few
+other people in this city know of. Guess you'd better pay this fellow
+off," he added, indicating the ex-detective. "He's no more use to you."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange and Peter exchanged questioning glances.</p>
+
+<p>"It is very kind of you, sir," Peter decided, "but for my part I have
+had enough for one evening."</p>
+
+<p>"Just as you like, of course," the other remarked, with studied
+unconcern.</p>
+
+<p>"What kind of place would it be?" Sogrange asked.</p>
+
+<p>The new-comer drew them on one side, although, as a matter of fact,
+everyone else had melted away.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you ever heard of the secret societies of New York?" he inquired.
+"Well, I guess you haven't, anyway&mdash;not to know anything about them.
+Well, then, listen. There's a society meets within a few steps of here,
+which has more to do with regulating the criminal classes of the city
+than any police establishment. There'll be a man there within an hour or
+so who, to my knowledge, has committed seven murders. The police can't
+get him. They never will. He's under our protection."</p>
+
+<p>"May we visit such a place as you describe without danger?" Peter asked
+calmly.</p>
+
+<p>"No!" the man answered. "There's danger in going anywhere, it seems to
+me, if it's worth while. So long as you keep a still tongue in your head
+and don't look about you too much, there's nothing will happen to you.
+If you get gassing a lot, you might tumble in for almost anything. Don't
+come unless you like. It's a chance for you, as you're a writer, but
+you'd best keep out of it if you're in any way nervous."</p>
+
+<p>"You said it was quite close?" Sogrange inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Within a yard or two," the man replied. "It's right this way."</p>
+
+<p>They left the hall with their new escort. When they looked for their
+motor-car, they found it had gone.</p>
+
+<p>"It don't do to keep them things waiting about round here," their new
+friend remarked, carelessly. "I guess I'll send you back to your hotel
+all right. Step this way."</p>
+
+<p>"By the by, what street is this we are in?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"100th Street," the man answered.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm a little superstitious about that number," he declared. "Is that an
+elevated railway there? I think we've had enough, Sogrange."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange hesitated. They were standing now in front of a tall, gloomy
+house, unkempt, with broken gate&mdash;a large but miserable-looking abode.
+The passers-by in the street were few. The whole character of the
+surroundings was squalid. The man pushed open the broken gate.</p>
+
+<p>"You cross the road right there to the elevated," he directed. "If you
+ain't coming, I'll bid you good-night."</p>
+
+<p>Once more they hesitated. Peter, perhaps, saw more than his companion.
+He saw the dark shapes lurking under the railway arch. He knew
+instinctively that they were in some sort of danger. And yet the love of
+adventure was on fire in his blood. His belief in himself was immense.
+He whispered to Sogrange.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not trust our guide," he said. "If you care to risk it, I am with
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"Mind the broken pavement," the man called out. "This ain't exactly an
+abode of luxury."</p>
+
+<p>They climbed some broken steps. Their guide opened a door with a Yale
+key. The door swung to after them and they found themselves in darkness.
+There had been no light in the windows. There was no light, apparently,
+in the house. Their companion produced an electric torch from his
+pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"You had best follow me," he advised. "Our quarters face out the other
+way. We keep this end looking a little deserted."</p>
+
+<p>They passed through a swing door and everything was at once changed. A
+multitude of lamps hung from the ceiling, the floor was carpeted, the
+walls clean.</p>
+
+<p>"We don't go in for electric light," their guide explained, "as we try
+not to give the place away. We manage to keep it fairly comfortable,
+though."</p>
+
+<p>He pushed open the door and entered a somewhat gorgeously furnished
+salon. There were signs here of feminine occupation, an open piano, and
+the smell of cigarettes. Once more Peter hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Your friends seem to be in hiding," he remarked. "Personally, I am
+losing my curiosity."</p>
+
+<p>"Guess you won't have to wait very long," the man replied, with meaning.</p>
+
+<p>The room was suddenly invaded on all sides. Four doors, which were quite
+hidden by the pattern of the wall, had opened almost simultaneously, and
+at least a dozen men had entered. This time both Sogrange and Peter knew
+that they were face to face with the real thing. These were men who came
+silently in, not cigarette-stunted youths. Two of them were in evening
+dress; three or four had the appearance of prize-fighters. In their
+countenances was one expression common to all&mdash;an air of quiet and
+conscious strength.</p>
+
+<p>A fair-headed man, in a dinner jacket and black tie, became at once
+their spokesman. He was possessed of a very slight American accent, and
+he beamed at them through a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen," he said, "I am very glad to meet you both."</p>
+
+<p>"Very kind of you, I'm sure," Sogrange answered. "Our friend here," he
+added, indicating their guide, "found us trying to gain a little insight
+into the more interesting part of New York life. He was kind enough to
+express a wish to introduce us to you."</p>
+
+<p>The man smiled. He looked very much like some studious clerk, except
+that his voice seemed to ring with some latent power.</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid," he said, "that your friend's interest in you was not
+entirely unselfish. For three days he has carried in his pocket an order
+instructing him to produce you here."</p>
+
+<p>"I knew it!" Peter whispered, under his breath.</p>
+
+<p>"You interest me," Sogrange replied. "May I know whom I have the honour
+of addressing?"</p>
+
+<p>"You can call me Burr," the man announced; "Philip Burr. Your names it
+is not our wish to know."</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid I do not quite understand," Sogrange said.</p>
+
+<p>"It was scarcely to be expected that you should," Mr. Philip Burr
+admitted. "All I can tell you is that, in cases like yours, I really
+prefer not to know with whom I have to deal."</p>
+
+<p>"You speak as though you had business with us," Peter remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Without doubt, I have," the other replied, grimly. "It is my business
+to see that you do not leave these premises alive."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange drew up a chair against which he had been leaning, and sat
+down.</p>
+
+<p>"Really," he said, "that would be most inconvenient."</p>
+
+<p>Peter, too, shook his head, sitting upon the end of a sofa and folding
+his arms. Something told him that the moment for fighting was not yet.</p>
+
+<p>"Inconvenient or not," Mr. Philip Burr continued, "I have orders to
+carry out which I can assure you have never yet been disobeyed since the
+formation of our society. From what I can see of you, you appear to be
+very amiable gentlemen, and if it would interest you to choose the
+method&mdash;say, of your release&mdash;why, I can assure you we'll do all we can
+to meet your views."</p>
+
+<p>"I am beginning," Sogrange remarked, "to feel quite at home."</p>
+
+<p>"You see, we've been through this sort of thing before," Peter added,
+blandly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Philip Burr took a cigar from his case and lit it. At a motion of
+his hand one of the company passed the box to his two guests.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not counting upon a visit from the police, or anything of that
+sort, I hope?" Mr. Philip Burr asked.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not," he replied. "I may say that much of the earlier portion
+of my life was spent in frustrating the well-meant but impossible
+schemes of that body of men."</p>
+
+<p>"If only we had a little more time," Mr. Burr declared, "it seems to me
+I should like to make the acquaintance of you two gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>"The matter is entirely in your own hands," Peter reminded him. "We are
+in no hurry."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Burr smiled genially.</p>
+
+<p>"You make me think better of humanity," he confessed. "A month ago we
+had a man here&mdash;got him along somehow or other&mdash;and I had to tell him
+that he was up against it like you two are. My! the fuss he made! Kind
+of saddened me to think a man should be such a coward."</p>
+
+<p>"Some people are like that," Sogrange remarked. "By the by, Mr. Burr,
+you'll pardon my curiosity. Whom have we to thank for our introduction
+here to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know as there's any particular harm in telling you," Mr. Burr
+replied.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor any particular good," a man who was standing by his side
+interrupted. "Say, Phil, you drag these things out too much. Are there
+any questions you've got to ask 'em, or any property to collect?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing of the sort," Mr. Burr admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Then let the gang get to work," the other declared.</p>
+
+<p>The two men were suddenly conscious that they were being surrounded.
+Peter's hand stole on to the butt of his revolver. Sogrange rose slowly
+to his feet. His hands were thrust out in front of him with the thumbs
+turned down. The four fingers of each hand flashed for a minute through
+the air. Mr. Philip Burr lost all his self-control.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, where the devil did you learn that trick?" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange laughed scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Trick!" he exclaimed. "Philip Burr, you are unworthy of your position.
+I am the Marquis de Sogrange, and my friend here is the Baron de Grost."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Philip Burr had no words. His cigar had dropped on to the carpet. He
+was simply staring.</p>
+
+<p>"If you need proof," Sogrange continued, "further than any I have given
+you, I have in my pocket, at the present moment, a letter, signed by you
+yourself, pleading for formal reinstatement. This is how you would
+qualify for it! You make use of your power to run a common decoy house,
+to do away with men for money. What fool gave you our names, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Philip Burr was only the wreck of a man. He could not even control
+his voice.</p>
+
+<p>"It was some German or Belgian nobleman," he faltered. "He brought us
+excellent letters, and he made a large contribution. It was the Count
+von Hern."</p>
+
+<p>The anger of Sogrange seemed suddenly to fade away. He threw himself
+into a chair by the side of his companion.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "Bernadine has scored, indeed! Your
+friend has a sense of humour which overwhelms me. Imagine it. He has
+delivered the two heads of our great society into the hands of one of
+its cast-off branches! Bernadine is a genius, indeed!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Philip Burr began slowly to recover himself. He waved his hand. Nine
+out of the twelve men left the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Marquis," he said, "for ten years there has been no one whom I have
+desired to meet so much as you. I came to Europe, but you declined to
+receive me. I know very well we can't keep our end up like you over
+there, because we haven't politics and those sort of things to play
+with, but we've done our best. We've encouraged only criminology of the
+highest order. We've tried all we can to keep the profession select. The
+gaol-bird pure and simple we have cast out. The men who have suffered at
+our hands have been men who have met with their deserts."</p>
+
+<p>"What about us?" Peter demanded. "It seems to me that you had most
+unpleasant plans for our future."</p>
+
+<p>Philip Burr held up his hands.</p>
+
+<p>"As I live," he declared, "this is the first time that any money
+consideration has induced me to break away from our principles. Count
+von Hern had powerful friends who were our friends, and he gave me the
+word, straight, that you two had an appointment down below which was
+considerably overdue. I don't know, even now, why I consented. I guess
+it isn't much use apologising."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange rose to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he said, "I am not inclined to bear malice, but you must
+understand this from me, Philip Burr. As a society I dissolve you. I
+deprive you of your title and of your signs. Call yourself what you
+will, but never again mention the name of the 'Double Four.' With us in
+Europe another era has dawned. We are on the side of law and order. We
+protect only criminals of a certain class, in whose operations we have
+faith. There is no future for such a society in this country. Therefore,
+as I say, I dissolve it. Now, if you are ready, perhaps you will be so
+good as to provide us with the means of reaching our hotel."</p>
+
+<p>Philip Burr led them into a back street, where his own handsome
+automobile was placed at their service.</p>
+
+<p>"This kind of breaks me all up," he declared, as he gave the
+instructions to the chauffeur. "If there were two men on the face of
+this earth whom I'd have been proud to meet in a friendly sort of way,
+it's you two."</p>
+
+<p>"We bear no malice, Mr. Burr," Sogrange assured him. "You can, if you
+will do us the honour, lunch with us to-morrow at one o'clock at
+Rector's. My friend here is very interested in the Count von Hern, and
+he would probably like to hear exactly how this affair was arranged."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be there, sure," Philip Burr promised with a farewell wave of the
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange and Peter drove towards their hotel in silence. It was only
+when they emerged into the civilised part of the city that Sogrange
+began to laugh softly.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he murmured, "you bluffed fairly well, but you were afraid.
+Oh, how I smiled to see your fingers close round the butt of that
+revolver!"</p>
+
+<p>"What about you?" Peter asked gruffly. "You don't suppose you took me
+in, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"I had two reasons for coming to New York," he said. "One we
+accomplished upon the steamer. The other was&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"To reply personally to this letter of Mr. Philip Burr," Sogrange
+replied, "which letter, by the by, was dated from 15, 100th Street, New
+York. An ordinary visit there would have been useless to me. Something
+of this sort was necessary."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you knew!" Peter gasped. "Notwithstanding all your bravado, you
+knew."</p>
+
+<p>"I had a very fair idea," Sogrange admitted. "Don't be annoyed with me,
+my friend. You have had a little experience. It is all useful. It isn't
+the first time you've looked death in the face. Adventures come to some
+men unasked. You, I think, were born with the habit of them."</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled. They had reached the hotel courtyard, and he raised
+himself stiffly.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a fable about the pitcher that went once too often to the
+well," he remarked. "I have had my share of luck&mdash;more than my share.
+The end must come some time, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Is this superstition?" Sogrange asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Superstition pure and simple," Peter confessed, taking his key from the
+office. "It doesn't alter anything. I am fatalist enough to shrug my
+shoulders and move on. But I tell you, Sogrange," he added, after a
+moment's pause, "I wouldn't admit it to anyone else in the world, but I
+am afraid of Bernadine. I have had the best of it so often. It can't
+last. In all we've had twelve encounters. The next will be the
+thirteenth."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly as he rang for the lift.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd propose you for the Thirteen Club, only there's some uncomfortable
+clause about yearly suicides which might not suit you," he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>"Good night, and don't dream of Bernadine and your thirteenth
+encounter."</p>
+
+<p>"I only hope," Peter murmured, "that I may be in a position to dream
+after it!"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN</h3>
+
+
+<p>Baron de Grost glanced at the card which his butler had brought in to
+him, carelessly at first, afterwards with that curious rigidity of
+attention which usually denotes the setting free of a flood of memories.</p>
+
+<p>"The gentleman would like to see you, sir," the man announced.</p>
+
+<p>"You can show him in at once," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>The servant withdrew. Peter, during those few minutes of waiting, stood
+with his back to the room and his face to the window, looking out across
+the square, in reality seeing nothing, completely immersed in this
+strange flood of memories. John Dory&mdash;Sir John Dory now&mdash;a quondam
+enemy, whom he had met but seldom during these later years. The figure
+of this man, who had once loomed so largely in his life, had gradually
+shrunk away into the background. Their avoidance of each other arose,
+perhaps, from a sort of instinct which was certainly no matter of
+ill-will. Still, the fact remained that they had scarcely exchanged a
+word for years, and Peter turned to receive his unexpected guest with a
+curiosity which he did not trouble wholly to conceal.</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Dory&mdash;Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a person of weight
+and importance&mdash;had changed a great deal during the last few years. His
+hair had become grey, his walk more dignified. There was the briskness,
+however, of his best days in his carriage, and in the flash of his brown
+eyes. He held out his hand to his ancient foe with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Baron," he said, "I hope you are going to say that you are glad
+to see me."</p>
+
+<p>"Unless," Peter replied, with a good-humoured grimace, "your visit is
+official, I am more than glad&mdash;I am charmed. Sit down. I was just going
+to take my morning cigar. You will join me? Good! Now I am ready for the
+worst that can happen."</p>
+
+<p>The two men seated themselves. John Dory pulled at his cigar
+appreciatively, sniffed its flavour for a moment, and then leaned
+forward in his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"My visit, Baron," he announced, "is semi-official. I am here to ask you
+a favour."</p>
+
+<p>"An official favour?" Peter demanded quickly.</p>
+
+<p>His visitor hesitated, as though he found the question hard to answer.</p>
+
+<p>"To tell you the truth," he declared, "this call of mine is wholly an
+inspiration. It does not in any way concern you personally, or your
+position in this country. What that may be I do not know, except that I
+am sure it is above any suspicion."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite so," Peter murmured. "How diplomatic you have become, my dear
+friend!"</p>
+
+<p>John Dory smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps I am fencing about too much," he said. "I know, of course, that
+you are a member of a very powerful and wealthy French society, whose
+object and aims, so far as I know, are entirely harmless."</p>
+
+<p>"I am delighted to be assured that you recognise that fact," Peter
+admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"I might add," John Dory continued, "that this harmlessness is of recent
+date."</p>
+
+<p>"Really, you do seem to know a good deal," Peter confessed.</p>
+
+<p>"I find myself still fencing," Dory declared. "A matter of habit, I
+suppose. I didn't mean to when I came. I made up my mind to tell you
+simply that Guillot was in London, and to ask you if you could help me
+to get rid of him."</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked thoughtfully into his companion's face, but he did not
+speak. He understood at such moments the value of silence.</p>
+
+<p>"We speak together," Dory continued softly, "as men who understand one
+another. Guillot is the one criminal in Europe whom we all fear; not I
+alone, mind you&mdash;it is the same in Berlin, in Petersburg, in Vienna. He
+has never been caught. It is my honest belief that he never will be
+caught. At the same time, wherever he arrives the thunderclouds gather.
+He leaves behind him always a trail of evil deeds."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well put," Peter murmured. "Quite picturesque."</p>
+
+<p>"Can you help me to get rid of him?" Dory inquired. "I have my hands
+full just now, as you can imagine, what with the political crisis and
+these constant mass meetings. I want Guillot out of the country. If you
+can manage this for me I shall be your eternal debtor."</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you imagine," Peter asked, "that I can help you in this matter?"</p>
+
+<p>There was a brief silence. John Dory knocked the ash from his cigar.</p>
+
+<p>"Times have changed," he said. "The harmlessness of your great society,
+my dear Baron, is at present admitted. But there were days&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly," Peter interrupted. "As shrewd as ever, I perceive. Do you
+know anything of the object of his coming?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"Anything of his plans?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing."</p>
+
+<p>"You know where he is staying?"</p>
+
+<p>"Naturally," Dory answered. "He has taken a second-floor flat in
+Crayshaw Mansions, Shaftesbury Avenue. As usual, he is above all petty
+artifices. He has taken it under the name of Monsieur Guillot."</p>
+
+<p>"I really don't know whether there is anything I can do," Peter decided,
+"but I will look into the matter for you with pleasure. Perhaps I may be
+able to bring a little influence to bear&mdash;indirectly, of course. If so,
+it is at your service. Lady Dory is well, I trust?"</p>
+
+<p>"In the best of health," Sir John replied, accepting the hint and rising
+to his feet. "I shall hear from you soon?"</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt," Peter answered. "I must certainly call upon Monsieur
+Guillot."</p>
+
+<p>Peter wasted no time in paying his promised visit. That same afternoon
+he rang the bell at the flat in Crayshaw Mansions. A typical French
+butler showed him into the room where the great man sat. Monsieur
+Guillot, slight, elegant, preeminently a dandy, was lounging upon a
+sofa, being manicured by a young lady. He threw down his <i>Petit Journal</i>
+and rose to his feet, however, at his visitor's entrance.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "but this is charming of you!
+Mademoiselle," he added, turning to the manicurist, "you will do me the
+favour of retiring for a short time. Permit me."</p>
+
+<p>He opened the door and showed her out. Then he came back to Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"A visit of courtesy, Monsieur le Baron?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>"It is beyond all measure charming of you," Guillot declared, "but let
+me ask you a question. Is it peace or war?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is what you choose to make it," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>The man threw out his hands. There was the shadow of a frown upon his
+pale forehead. It was a matter for protest, this.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do you come?" he demanded. "What have we in common? The society has
+expelled me. Very well, I go my own way. Why not? I am free of your
+control to-day. You have no more right to interfere with my schemes than
+I with yours."</p>
+
+<p>"We have the ancient right of power," Peter said grimly. "You were once
+a prominent member of our organisation, the spoilt prot&eacute;g&eacute; of madame, a
+splendid maker, if you will, of criminal history. Those days have
+passed. We offered you a pension which you have refused. It is now our
+turn to speak. We require you to leave this city in twenty-four hours."</p>
+
+<p>The man's face was livid with anger. He was of the fair type of
+Frenchman, with deep-set eyes, and a straight, cruel mouth only partly
+concealed by his golden moustache. Just now, notwithstanding the veneer
+of his too perfect clothes and civilised air, the beast had leapt out.
+His face was like the face of a snarling animal.</p>
+
+<p>"I refuse!" he cried. "It is I who refuse! I am here on my own affairs.
+What they may be is no business of yours or of anyone else's. That is my
+answer to you, Baron de Grost, whether you come to me for yourself or on
+behalf of the society to which I no longer belong. That is my
+answer&mdash;that and the door," he added, pressing the bell. "If you will,
+we fight. If you are wise, forget this visit as quickly as you can."</p>
+
+<p>Peter took up his hat. The man-servant was already in the room.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall probably meet again before your return, Monsieur Guillot," he
+remarked.</p>
+
+<p>Guillot had recovered himself. His smile was wicked, but his bow
+perfection.</p>
+
+<p>"To the fortunate hour, Monsieur le Baron!" he replied.</p>
+
+<p>Peter drove back to Berkeley Square, and without a moment's hesitation
+pressed the levers which set in work the whole underground machinery of
+the great power which he controlled. Thence-forward Monsieur Guillot was
+surrounded with a vague army of silent watchers. They passed in and out
+even of his flat, their motor-cars were as fast as his in the streets,
+their fancy in restaurants identical with his. Guillot moved through it
+all like a man wholly unconscious of espionage, showing nothing of the
+murderous anger which burned in his blood. The reports came to Peter
+every hour, although there was, indeed, nothing worth chronicling.
+Monsieur Guillot's visit to London would seem, indeed, to be a visit of
+gallantry. He spent most of his time with Mademoiselle Louise, the
+famous dancer. He was prominent at the Empire to watch her nightly
+performance; they were a noticeable couple supping together at the Milan
+afterwards. Peter smiled as he read the reports. Monsieur Guillot was
+indeed a man of gallantry, but he had the reputation of using these
+affairs to cloak his real purpose. Those who watched him watched only
+the more closely. Monsieur Guillot, who stood it very well at first,
+unfortunately lost his temper. He drove to Berkeley Square in the great
+motor-car which he had brought with him from Paris, and confronted
+Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend," he exclaimed, though, indeed, the glitter in his eyes knew
+nothing of friendship, "it is intolerable, this! Do you think that I do
+not see through these dummy waiters, these obsequious shopmen, these
+ladies who drop their eyes when I pass, these commissionaires, these
+would-be acquaintances? I tell you that they irritate me, this
+incompetent, futile crowd. You pit them against me! Bah! You should know
+better. When I choose to disappear, I shall disappear, and no one will
+follow me. When I strike, I shall strike, and no one will discover what
+my will may be. You are out of date, dear Baron, with your third-rate
+army of stupid spies. You succeed in one thing only&mdash;you succeed in
+making me angry."</p>
+
+<p>"It is at least an achievement, that," Peter declared.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps," Monsieur Guillot admitted fiercely. "Yet mark now the result.
+I defy you, you and all of them. Look at your clock. It is five minutes
+to seven. It goes well, that clock, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is the correct time," Peter said.</p>
+
+<p>"Then by midnight," Guillot continued, shaking his fist in the other's
+face, "I shall have done that thing which brought me to England, and I
+shall have disappeared. I shall have done it in spite of your watchers,
+in spite of your spies, in spite, even, of you, Monsieur le Baron de
+Grost. There is my challenge. <i>Voil&agrave;.</i> Take it up if you will. At
+midnight you shall hear me laugh. I have the honour to wish you good
+night!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter opened the door with his own hands.</p>
+
+<p>"This is excellent," he declared. "You are now, indeed, the Monsieur
+Guillot of old. Almost you persuade me to take up your challenge."</p>
+
+<p>Guillot laughed derisively.</p>
+
+<p>"As you please!" he exclaimed. "By midnight to-night!"</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;'>
+
+<p>The challenge of Monsieur Guillot was issued precisely at four minutes
+before seven. On his departure, Peter spent the next half-hour studying
+certain notes and sending various telephone messages. Afterwards he
+changed his clothes at the usual time and sat down to a <i>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i>
+dinner with his wife. Three times during the course of the meal he was
+summoned to the telephone, and from each visit he returned more
+perplexed. Finally, when the servants had left the room, he took his
+chair round to his wife's side.</p>
+
+<p>"Violet," he said, "you were asking me just now about the telephone. You
+were quite right. These were not ordinary messages which I have been
+receiving. I am engaged in a little matter which, I must confess,
+perplexes me. I want your advice&mdash;perhaps your help."</p>
+
+<p>Violet smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"I am quite ready," she announced. "It is a long time since you gave me
+anything to do."</p>
+
+<p>"You have heard of Guillot?"</p>
+
+<p>She reflected a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean the wonderful Frenchman," she asked, "the head of the criminal
+department of the Double Four?"</p>
+
+<p>"The man who was at its head when it existed," Peter replied. "The
+criminal department, as you know, has all been done away with. The
+Double Four has now no more concern with those who break the law, save
+in those few instances where great issues demand it."</p>
+
+<p>"But Monsieur Guillot still exists?"</p>
+
+<p>"He not only exists," Peter answered, "but he is here in London, a rebel
+and a defiant one. Do you know who came to see me the other morning?"</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"Sir John Dory," Peter continued. "He came here with a request. He
+begged for my help. Guillot is here, committed to some enterprise which
+no man can wholly fathom. Dory has enough to do with other things, as
+you can imagine, just now. Besides, I think he recognises that Monsieur
+Guillot is rather a hard nut for the ordinary English detective to
+crack."</p>
+
+<p>"And you?" she demanded, breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>"I join forces with Dory," Peter admitted. "Sogrange agrees with me.
+Guillot was associated with the Double Four too long for us to have him
+make scandalous history, either here or in Paris."</p>
+
+<p>"You have seen him?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have not only seen him," Peter said, "I have declared war against
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"And he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Guillot is defiant," Peter replied. "He has been here only this
+evening. He mocks at me. He swears that he will bring off this
+enterprise, whatever it may be, before midnight to-night, and he has
+defied me to stop him."</p>
+
+<p>"But you will," she murmured softly.</p>
+
+<p>Peter smiled. The conviction in his wife's tone was a subtle compliment
+which he did not fail to appreciate.</p>
+
+<p>"I have hopes," he confessed, "and yet, let me tell you this, Violet, I
+have never been more puzzled. Ask yourself, now. What enterprise is
+there worthy of a man like Guillot, in which he could engage himself
+here in London between now and midnight? Any ordinary theft is beneath
+him. The purloining of the Crown jewels, perhaps, he might consider, but
+I don't think that anything less in the way of robbery would bring him
+here. He has his code and he is as vain as a peacock. Yet money is at
+the root of everything he does."</p>
+
+<p>"How does he spend his time here?" Violet asked.</p>
+
+<p>"He has a handsome flat in Shaftesbury Avenue," Peter answered, "where
+he lives, to all appearance, the life of an idle man of fashion. The
+whole of his spare time is spent with Mademoiselle Louise, the danseuse
+at the Empire. You see, it is half-past eight now. I have eleven men
+altogether at work, and according to my last report he was dining with
+her in the grillroom at the Milan. They ordered their coffee just ten
+minutes ago, and the car is waiting outside to take Mademoiselle to the
+Empire. Guillot's box is engaged there, as usual. If he proposes to
+occupy it, he is leaving himself a very narrow margin of time to carry
+out any enterprise worth speaking of."</p>
+
+<p>Violet was thoughtful for several moments. Then she crossed the room,
+took up a copy of an illustrated paper, and brought it across to Peter.
+He smiled as he glanced at the picture to which she pointed, and the few
+lines underneath.</p>
+
+<p>"It has struck you, too, then!" he exclaimed. "Good! You have answered
+me exactly as I hoped. Somehow, I scarcely trusted myself. I have both
+cars waiting outside. We may need them. You won't mind coming to the
+Empire with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mind?" she laughed. "I only hope I may be in at the finish."</p>
+
+<p>"If the finish," Peter remarked, "is of the nature which I anticipate, I
+shall take particularly good care that you are not."</p>
+
+<p>The curtain was rising upon the first act of the ballet as they entered
+the music-hall and were shown to the box which Peter had engaged. The
+house was full&mdash;crowded, in fact, almost to excess. They had scarcely
+taken their seats when a roar of applause announced the coming of
+Mademoiselle Louise. She stood for a moment to receive her nightly
+ovation, a slim, beautiful creature, looking out upon the great house
+with that faint, bewitching smile at the corners of her lips which every
+photographer in Europe had striven to reproduce. Then she moved away to
+the music, an exquisite figure, the personification of all that was
+alluring in her sex. Violet leaned forward to watch her movements as she
+plunged into the first dance. Peter was occupied looking round the
+house. Monsieur Guillot was there, sitting insolently forward in his
+box, sleek and immaculate. He even waved his hand and bowed as he met
+Peter's eye. Somehow or other, his confidence had its effect. Peter
+began to feel vaguely troubled. After all, his plans were built upon a
+surmise. It was so easy for him to be wrong. No man would show his hand
+so openly who was not sure of the game. Then his face cleared a little.
+In the adjoining box to Guillot's the figure of a solitary man was just
+visible, a man who had leaned over to applaud Louise, but who was now
+sitting back in the shadows. Peter recognised him at once,
+notwithstanding the obscurity. This was so much to the good, at any
+rate. He took up his hat.</p>
+
+<p>"For a quarter of an hour you will excuse me, Violet," he said. "Watch
+Guillot. If he leaves his place, knock at the door of your box, and one
+of my men, who is outside, will come to you at once. He will know where
+to find me."</p>
+
+<p>Peter hurried away, pausing for a moment in the promenade to scribble a
+line or two at the back of one of his own cards. Presently he knocked at
+the door of the box adjoining Guillot's and was instantly admitted.
+Violet continued her watch. She remained alone until the curtain fell
+upon the first act of the ballet. A few minutes later Peter returned.
+She knew at once that things were going well. He sank into a chair by
+her side.</p>
+
+<p>"I have messages every five minutes," he whispered in her ear, "and I am
+venturing upon a bold stroke. There is still something about the affair,
+though, which I cannot understand. You are absolutely sure that Guillot
+has not moved?"</p>
+
+<p>Violet pointed with her programme across the house.</p>
+
+<p>"There he sits," she remarked. "He left his chair as the curtain went
+down, but he could scarcely have gone out of the box, for he was back
+within ten seconds."</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked steadily across at the opposite box. Guillot was sitting a
+little farther back now, as though he no longer courted observation.
+Something about his attitude puzzled the man who watched him. With a
+quick movement he caught up the glasses which stood by his wife's side.
+The curtain was going up for the second act, and Guillot had turned his
+head. Peter held the glasses only for a moment to his eyes, and then
+glanced down at the stage.</p>
+
+<p>"My God!" he muttered. "The man's a genius! Violet, the small motor is
+coming for you."</p>
+
+<p>He was out of the box in a single step. Violet looked after him, looked
+down upon the stage and across at Guillot's box. It was hard to
+understand.</p>
+
+<p>The curtain had scarcely rung up upon the second act of the ballet when
+a young lady, who met from all the loungers, and even from the
+door-keeper himself, the most respectful attention, issued from the
+stage-door at the Empire and stepped into the large motor-car which was
+waiting, drawn up against the kerb. The door was opened from inside and
+closed at once. She held out her hands, as yet ungloved, to the man who
+sat back in the corner.</p>
+
+<p>"At last!" she murmured. "And I thought that you had forsaken me. It
+seemed, indeed, dear one, that you had forsaken me."</p>
+
+<p>He took her hands and held them tightly, but he answered only in a
+whisper. He wore a sombre black cloak and a broad-brimmed hat. A muffler
+concealed the lower part of his face. She put her finger upon the
+electric light, but he stopped her.</p>
+
+<p>"I must not be recognised," he said thickly. "Forgive me, Louise, if I
+seem strange at first, but there is more in it than I can tell you. No
+one must know that I am in London to-night. When we reach this place to
+which you are taking me, and we are really alone, then we can talk. I
+have so much to say."</p>
+
+<p>She looked at him doubtfully. It was indeed a moment of indecision with
+her. Then she began to laugh softly.</p>
+
+<p>"Little one, but you have changed!" she exclaimed compassionately.
+"After all, why not? I must not forget that things have gone so hardly
+with you. It seems odd, indeed, to see you sitting there, muffled up
+like an old man, afraid to show yourself. You know how foolish you are?
+With your black cape and that queer hat, you are so different from all
+the others. If you seek to remain unrecognised, why do you not dress as
+all the men do? Anyone who was suspicious would recognise you from your
+clothes."</p>
+
+<p>"It is true," he muttered. "I did not think of it."</p>
+
+<p>She leaned towards him.</p>
+
+<p>"You will not even kiss me?" she murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"Not yet," he answered.</p>
+
+<p>She made a little grimace.</p>
+
+<p>"But you are cold!"</p>
+
+<p>"You do not understand," he answered. "They are watching me&mdash;even
+to-night they are watching me. Oh, if you only knew, Louise, how I have
+longed for this hour that is to come!"</p>
+
+<p>Her vanity was assuaged. She patted his hand, but came no nearer.</p>
+
+<p>"You are a foolish little one," she said, "very foolish."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not for you to say that," he replied. "If I have been foolish,
+were not you often the cause of my folly."</p>
+
+<p>Again she laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, la, la! It is always the same! It is always you men who accuse! For
+that presently I shall reprove you. But now&mdash;as for now, behold, we have
+arrived!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a crowded thoroughfare," the man remarked nervously, looking up
+and down Shaftesbury Avenue.</p>
+
+<p>"Stupid!" she cried, stepping out. "I do not recognise you to-night,
+little one. Even your voice is different. Follow me quickly across the
+pavement and up the stairs. There is only one flight. The flat I have
+borrowed is on the second floor. I do not care very much that people
+should recognise me either, under the circumstances. There is nothing
+they love so much," she added, with a toss of the head, "as finding an
+excuse to have my picture in the paper."</p>
+
+<p>He followed her down the dim hall and up the broad, flat stairs, keeping
+always some distance behind. On the first landing she drew a key from
+her pocket and opened a door. It was the door of Monsieur Guillot's
+sitting-room. A round table in the middle was laid for supper. One light
+alone, and that heavily shaded, was burning.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, la, la," she exclaimed. "How I hate this darkness! Wait till I can
+turn on the lights, dear friend, and then you must embrace me. It is
+from outside, I believe. No, do not follow. I can find the switch for
+myself. Remain where you are. I return instantly."</p>
+
+<p>She left him alone in the room, closing the door softly. In the passage
+she reeled for a moment and caught at her side. She was very pale.
+Guillot, coming swiftly up the steps, frowned as he saw her.</p>
+
+<p>"He is there?" he demanded harshly.</p>
+
+<p>"He is there," Louise replied; "but, indeed, I am angry with myself.
+See, I am faint. It is a terrible thing, this, which I have done. He did
+me no harm, that young man, except that he was stupid and heavy, and
+that I never loved him. Who could love him, indeed? But, Guillot&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>He passed on, scarcely heeding her words, but she clung to his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear one," she begged, "promise that you will not really hurt him.
+Promise me that, or I will shriek out and call the people from the
+streets here. You will not make an assassin of me? Promise!"</p>
+
+<p>Guillot turned suddenly towards her, and there were strange things in
+his face. He pointed down the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>"Go back, Louise," he ordered, "back to your rooms, for your own sake.
+Remember that you left the theatre, too ill to finish your performance.
+You have had plenty of time already to get home. Quick! Leave me to deal
+with this young man. I tell you to go."</p>
+
+<p>She retreated down the stairs, dumb, her knees shaking still as though
+with fear. Guillot entered the room, closing the door behind him. Even
+as he bowed to that dark figure standing in the corner, his left hand
+shot forward the bolt.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the meaning of this?" the visitor interrupted haughtily. "I am
+expecting Mademoiselle Louise. I did not understand that strangers had
+the right of entry into this room."</p>
+
+<p>Guillot bowed low.</p>
+
+<p>"Monsieur," he said once more, "it is a matter for my eternal regret
+that I am forced to intrude even for a moment upon an assignation so
+romantic. But there is a little matter which must first be settled. I
+have some friends here who have a thing to say to you."</p>
+
+<p>He walked softly, with catlike tread, along by the wall to where the
+thick curtains shut out the inner apartment. He caught at the thick
+velvet, dragged it back, and the two rooms were suddenly flooded with
+light. In the recently discovered one, two stalwart-looking men in plain
+clothes, but of very unmistakable appearance, were standing waiting.
+Guillot staggered back. They were strangers to him. He was like a man
+who looks upon a nightmare. His eyes protruded. The words which he tried
+to utter failed him. Then, with a swift, nervous presentiment, he turned
+quickly around towards the man who had been standing in the shadows.
+Here, too, the unexpected had happened. It was Peter, Baron de Grost,
+who threw his muffler and broad-brimmed hat upon the table.</p>
+
+<p>"Five minutes to eleven, I believe, Monsieur Guillot," Peter declared.
+"I win by an hour and five minutes."</p>
+
+<p>Guillot said nothing for several seconds. After all, though, he had
+great gifts. He recovered alike his power of speech and his composure.</p>
+
+<p>"These gentlemen," he said, pointing with his left hand towards the
+inner room. "I do not understand their presence in my apartments."</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"They represent, I am afraid, the obvious end of things," he explained.
+"You have given me a run for my money, I confess. A Monsieur Guillot who
+is remarkably like you still occupies your box at the Empire, and
+Mademoiselle Jeanne Lem&egrave;re, the accomplished understudy of the lady who
+has just left us, is sufficiently like the incomparable Louise to
+escape, perhaps, detection for the first few minutes. But you gave the
+game away a little, my dear Guillot, when you allowed your quarry to
+come and gaze even from the shadows of his box at the woman he adored."</p>
+
+<p>"Where is&mdash;he?" Guillot faltered.</p>
+
+<p>"He is on his way back to his country home," Peter replied. "I think
+that he will be cured of his infatuation for Mademoiselle. The assassins
+whom you planted in that room are by this time in Bow Street. The price
+which others beside you knew, my dear Guillot, was placed upon that
+unfortunate young man's head will not pass this time into your pocket.
+For the rest&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"The rest is of no consequence," Guillot interrupted, bowing. "I admit
+that I am vanquished. As for those gentlemen there," he added, waving
+his hand towards the two men, who had taken a step forward, "I have a
+little oath which is sacred to me concerning them. I take the liberty,
+therefore, to admit myself defeated, Monsieur le Baron, and to take my
+leave."</p>
+
+<p>No one was quick enough to interfere. They had only a glimpse of him as
+he stood there with the revolver pressed to his temple, an impression of
+a sharp report, of Guillot staggering back as the revolver slipped from
+his fingers on to the floor. Even his death cry was stifled. They
+carried him away without any fuss, and Peter was just in time, after
+all, to see the finish of the second act of the ballet. The sham
+Monsieur Guillot still smirked at the sham Louise, but the box by his
+side was empty.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it over?" Violet asked breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is over," Peter answered.</p>
+
+<p>It was, after all, an unrecorded tragedy. In an obscure corner of the
+morning papers one learned the next day that a Frenchman, who had
+apparently come to the end of his means, had committed suicide in a
+furnished flat in Shaftesbury Avenue. Two foreigners were deported
+without having been brought up for trial, for being suspected persons. A
+little languid interest was aroused at the inquest when one of the
+witnesses deposed to the deceased having been a famous French criminal.
+Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny
+press for once were deprived of their sensation. For the rest, Peter
+received, with much satisfaction, a remarkably handsome signet ring,
+bearing some famous arms, and a telegram from Sogrange: "<i>Well done,
+Baron! May the successful termination of your enterprise nerve you for
+the greater undertaking which is close at hand. I leave for London by
+the night train</i>.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Sogrange.</span>"</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;">
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3>THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER</h3>
+
+
+<p>The Marquis de Sogrange arrived in Berkeley Square with the grey dawn of
+an October morning, showing in his appearance and dress few enough signs
+of his night journey. Yet he had travelled without stopping from Paris
+by fast motor car and the mail boat.</p>
+
+<p>"They telephoned me from Charing Cross," Peter said, "that you could not
+possibly arrive until midday. The clerk assured me that no train had yet
+reached Calais."</p>
+
+<p>"They had reason in what they told you," Sogrange remarked, as he leaned
+back in a chair and sipped the coffee which had been waiting for him in
+the Baron de Grost's study. "The train itself never got more than a mile
+away from the Gare du Nord. The engine-driver was shot through the head,
+and the metals were torn from the way. Paris is within a year now of a
+second and more terrible revolution."</p>
+
+<p>"You really believe this?" Peter asked gravely.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a certainty," Sogrange replied. "Not I alone, but many others can
+see this clearly. Everywhere the Socialists have wormed themselves into
+places of trust. They are to be met with in every rank of life, under
+every form of disguise. The post-office strike has already shown us what
+deplorable disasters even a skirmish can bring about. To-day the railway
+strike has paralysed France. Our country lies to-day absolutely at the
+mercy of any invader. As it happens, no one is, for the moment,
+prepared. Who can tell how it may be next time?"</p>
+
+<p>"This is bad news," Peter declared. "If this is really the position of
+affairs, the matter is much more serious than the newspapers would have
+us believe."</p>
+
+<p>"The newspapers," Sogrange muttered, "ignore what lies behind. Some of
+them, I think, are paid to do it. As for the rest, our Press had always
+an ostrich-like tendency. The Frenchman of the caf&eacute; does not buy his
+journal to be made sad."</p>
+
+<p>"You believe, then," Peter asked, "that these strikes have some definite
+tendency?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange set down his cup and smiled bitterly. In the early sunlight,
+still a little cold and unloving, Peter could see that there was a
+change in the man. He was no longer the debonair aristocrat of the
+racecourses and the boulevards. The shadows under his eyes were deeper,
+his cheeks more sunken. He had lost something of the sprightliness of
+his bearing. His attitude, indeed, was almost dejected. He was like a
+man who sees into the future and finds there strange and gruesome
+things.</p>
+
+<p>"I do more than believe that," he declared. "I know it. It has fallen to
+my lot to make a very definite discovery concerning them. Listen, my
+friend. For more than six months the Government has been trying to
+discover the source of this stream of vile socialistic literature which
+has contaminated the French working classes. The pamphlets have been
+distributed with devilish ingenuity amongst all national operatives, the
+army and the navy. The Government has failed. The Double Four has
+succeeded."</p>
+
+<p>"You have really discovered their source?" Peter exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt," Sogrange assented. "The Government appealed to us
+first some months ago when I was in America. For a time we had no
+success. Then a clue, and the rest was easy. The navy, the army, the
+post-office employees, the telegraph and telephone operators, and the
+railway men, have been the chief recipients of this incessant stream of
+foul literature. To-day one cannot tell how much mischief has been
+actually done. The strikes which have already occurred are only the
+mutterings of the coming storm. But mark you, wherever those pamphlets
+have gone, trouble has followed. What men may do the Government is
+doing, but all the time the poison is at work, the seed has been sown.
+Two millions of money have been spent to corrupt that very class which
+should be the backbone of France. Through the fingers of one man has
+come this shower of gold, one man alone has stood at the head of the
+great organisation which has disseminated this loathsome disease. Behind
+him&mdash;well, we know."</p>
+
+<p>"The man?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is fitting that you should ask that question," Sogrange replied.
+"The name of that man is Bernadine, Count von Hern."</p>
+
+<p>Peter remained speechless. There was something almost terrible in the
+slow preciseness with which Sogrange had uttered the name of his enemy,
+something unspeakably threatening in the cold glitter of his angry eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Up to the present," Sogrange continued, "I have
+watched&mdash;sympathetically, of course, but with a certain amount of
+amusement&mdash;the duel between you and Bernadine. It has been against your
+country and your country's welfare that most of his efforts have been
+directed, which perhaps accounts for the equanimity with which I have
+been contented to remain a looker-on. It is apparent, my dear Baron,
+that in most of your encounters the honours have remained with you. Yet,
+as it has chanced, never once has Bernadine been struck a real and
+crushing blow. The time has come when this and more must happen. It is
+no longer a matter of polite exchanges. It is a <i>duel &agrave; outrance</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean&mdash;&mdash;" Peter began.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean that Bernadine must die," Sogrange declared.</p>
+
+<p>There was a brief silence. Outside, the early morning street noises were
+increasing in volume as the great army of workers, streaming towards the
+heart of the city from a hundred suburbs, passed on to their tasks. A
+streak of sunshine had found its way into the room, lay across the
+carpet, and touched Sogrange's still, waxen features. Peter glanced half
+fearfully at his friend and visitor. He himself was no coward, no
+shrinker from the great issues. He, too, had dealt in life and death.
+Yet there was something in the deliberate preciseness of Sogrange's
+words, as he sat there only a few feet away, which was unspeakably
+thrilling. It was like a death sentence pronounced in all solemnity upon
+some shivering criminal. There was something inevitable and tragical
+about the whole affair. A pronouncement had been made from which there
+was no appeal. Bernadine was to die!</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't this a little exceeding the usual exercise of our powers?" Peter
+asked slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"No such occasion as this has ever yet arisen," Sogrange reminded him.
+"Bernadine has fled to this country with barely an hour to spare. His
+offence is extraditable by a law of the last century which has never
+been repealed. He is guilty of treason against the Republic of France.
+Yet they do not want him back, they do not want a trial. I have papers
+upon my person which, if I took them into an English court, would
+procure for me a warrant for Bernadine's arrest. It is not this we
+desire. Bernadine must die. No fate could be too terrible for a man who
+has striven to corrupt the soul of a nation. It is not war, this. It is
+not honest conspiracy. Is it war, I ask you, to seek to poison the
+drinking water of an enemy, to send stalking into their midst some
+loathsome disease? Such things belong to the ages of barbarity.
+Bernadine has striven to revive them, and Bernadine shall die."</p>
+
+<p>"It is justice," Peter admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"The question remains," Sogrange continued, "by whose hand&mdash;yours or
+mine?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter started uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>"Is that necessary?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I fear that it is," Sogrange replied. "We had a brief meeting of the
+executive council last night, and it was decided, for certain reasons,
+to entrust this task into no other hands. You will smile when I tell you
+that these accursed pamphlets have found their way into the possession
+of many of the rank and file of our own order. There is a marked
+disinclination on the part of those who have been our slaves to accept
+orders from anyone. Espionage we can still command&mdash;the best, perhaps,
+in Europe&mdash;because here we use a different class of material. But of
+those underneath we are, for the moment, doubtful. Paris is all in a
+ferment. Under its outward seemliness a million throats are ready to
+take up the brazen cry of revolution. One trusts nobody. One fears all
+the time."</p>
+
+<p>"You or I!" Peter repeated slowly. "It will not be sufficient, then,
+that we find Bernadine and deliver him over to your country's laws?"</p>
+
+<p>"It will not be sufficient," Sogrange answered sternly. "From those he
+may escape. For him there must be no escape."</p>
+
+<p>"Sogrange," Peter said, speaking in a low tone, "I have never yet killed
+a human being."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I," Sogrange admitted. "Nor have I yet set my heel upon its head
+and stamped the life from a rat upon the pavement. But one lives and one
+moves on. Bernadine is the enemy of your country and mine. He makes war
+after the fashion of vermin. No ordinary cut-throat would succeed
+against him. It must be you or I."</p>
+
+<p>"How shall we decide?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"The spin of a coin," Sogrange replied. "It is best that way. It is
+best, too, done quickly."</p>
+
+<p>Peter produced a sovereign from his pocket and balanced it on the palm
+of his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be understood," Sogrange continued, "that this is a dual
+undertaking. We toss only for the final honour&mdash;for the last stroke. If
+the choice falls upon me, I shall count upon you to help me to the end.
+If it falls upon you, I shall be at your right hand even when you strike
+the blow."</p>
+
+<p>"It is agreed," Peter said. "See, it is for you to call."</p>
+
+<p>He threw the coin high into the air.</p>
+
+<p>"I call heads," Sogrange decided.</p>
+
+<p>It fell upon the table. Peter covered it with his hand, and then slowly
+withdrew the fingers. A little shiver ran through his veins. The
+harmless head that looked up at him was like the figure of death. It was
+for him to strike the blow!</p>
+
+<p>"Where is Bernadine now?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Get me a morning paper and I will tell you," Sogrange declared, rising.
+"He was in the train which was stopped outside the Gare du Nord, on his
+way to England. What became of the passengers I have not heard. I knew
+what was likely to happen, and I left an hour before in a 100 h.p.
+Charron."</p>
+
+<p>Peter rang the bell, and ordered the servant who answered it to procure
+the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. As soon as it arrived, he spread it open upon the
+table, and Sogrange looked over his shoulder. These are the headings
+which they saw in large black characters:</p>
+
+<h4>RENEWED RIOTS IN PARIS<br>
+THE GARE DU NORD IN FLAMES<br>
+TERRIBLE ACCIDENT TO THE CALAIS-DOUVRES<br>
+EXPRESS<br>
+MANY DEATHS</h4>
+
+
+<p>Peter's forefinger travelled down the page swiftly. It paused at the
+following paragraph:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The 8.55 train from the Gare du Nord, carrying many passengers for
+London, after being detained within a mile of Paris for over an hour
+owing to the murder of the engine-driver, made an attempt last night to
+proceed, with terrible results. Near Chantilly, whilst travelling at
+over fifty miles an hour, the points were tampered with, and the express
+dashed into a goods train laden with minerals. Very few particulars are
+yet to hand, but the express was completely wrecked, and many lives have
+been lost. Amongst the dead are the following:"</p>
+
+<p>One by one Peter read out the names. Then he stopped short. A little
+exclamation broke from Sogrange's lips. The thirteenth name upon that
+list of dead was the name of Bernadine, Count von Hern.</p>
+
+<p>"Bernadine!" Peter faltered. "Bernadine is dead!"</p>
+
+<p>"Killed by the strikers!" Sogrange echoed. "It is a just thing, this."</p>
+
+<p>The two men looked down at the paper and then up at each other. A
+strange silence seemed to have found its way into the room. The shadow
+of death lay between them. Peter touched his forehead and found it wet.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a just thing, indeed," he repeated, "but justice and death are
+alike terrible."</p>
+
+<p>Late in the afternoon of the same day a motor car, splashed with mud,
+drew up before the door of the house in Berkeley Square. Sogrange, who
+was standing talking to Peter before the library window, suddenly broke
+off in the middle of a sentence. He stepped back into the room and
+gripped his friend's shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the Baroness," he exclaimed quickly. "What does she want here?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness who?" Peter demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness von Ratten. You must have heard of her&mdash;she is the friend
+of Bernadine."</p>
+
+<p>The two men had been out to lunch at the Ritz with Violet, and had
+walked across the Park home. Sogrange had been drawing on his gloves in
+the act of starting out for a call at the Embassy.</p>
+
+<p>"Does your wife know this woman?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"I think not," he replied. "We shall know in a minute."</p>
+
+<p>"Then she has come to see you," Sogrange continued. "What does it mean,
+I wonder?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>There was a knock at the door, and his servant entered, bearing a card.</p>
+
+<p>"This lady would like to see you, sir, on important business," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"You can show her in here," Peter directed.</p>
+
+<p>There was a very short delay. The two men had no time to exchange a
+word. They heard the rustling of a woman's gown, and immediately
+afterward the perfume of violets seemed to fill the room.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness von Ratten," the butler announced.</p>
+
+<p>The door closed behind her. The servant had disappeared. Peter advanced
+to meet his guest. She was a little above medium height, very slim, with
+extraordinarily fair hair, colourless face, and strange eyes. She was
+not strictly beautiful, and yet there was no man upon whom her presence
+was without its effect. Her voice was like her movements, slow, and with
+a grace of its own.</p>
+
+<p>"You do not mind that I have come to see you?" she asked, raising her
+eyes to Peter's. "I believe before I go that you will think terrible
+things of me, but you must not begin before I have told you my errand.
+It has been a great struggle with me before I made up my mind to come
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you sit down, Baroness?" Peter invited.</p>
+
+<p>She saw Sogrange, and hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"You are not alone," she said softly. "I wish to speak with you alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Permit me to present to you the Marquis de Sogrange," Peter begged. "He
+is my oldest friend, Baroness. I think that whatever you might have to
+say to me you might very well say before him."</p>
+
+<p>"It is&mdash;of a private nature," she murmured.</p>
+
+<p>"The Marquis and I have no secrets," Peter declared, "either political
+or private."</p>
+
+<p>She sat down and motioned Peter to take a place by her side upon the
+sofa.</p>
+
+<p>"You will forgive me if I am a little incoherent," she implored. "To-day
+I have had a shock. You, too, have read the news? You must know that the
+Count von Hern is dead&mdash;killed in the railway accident last night?"</p>
+
+<p>"We read it in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>," Peter replied.</p>
+
+<p>"It is in all the papers," she continued. "You know that he was a very
+dear friend of mine?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard so," Peter admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet there was one subject," she insisted, earnestly, "upon which we
+never agreed. He hated England. I have always loved it. England was kind
+to me when my own country drove me out. I have always felt grateful. It
+has been a sorrow to me that in so many of his schemes, in so much of
+his work, Bernadine should consider his own country at the expense of
+yours."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange drew a little nearer. It began to be interesting, this.</p>
+
+<p>"I heard the news early this morning by telegram," she went on. "For a
+long time I was prostrate. Then early this afternoon I began to
+think&mdash;one must always think. Bernadine was a dear friend, but things
+between us lately have been different, a little strained. Was it his
+fault or mine&mdash;who can say? Does one tire with the years, I wonder? I
+wonder!"</p>
+
+<p>Her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was conscious of the fact that
+she wished him to know that they were beautiful. She looked slowly away
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"This afternoon, as I sat alone," she proceeded, "I remembered that in
+my keeping were many boxes of papers and many letters which have
+recently arrived, all belonging to Bernadine. I reflected that there
+were certainly some who were in his confidence, and that very soon they
+would come from his country and take them all away. And then I
+remembered what I owed to England, and how opposed I always was to
+Bernadine's schemes, and I thought that the best thing I could do to
+show my gratitude would be to place his papers all in the hands of some
+Englishman, so that they might do no more harm to the country which has
+been kind to me. So I came to you."</p>
+
+<p>Again her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was very sure indeed that
+they were wonderfully beautiful. He began to realise the fascination of
+this woman, of whom he had heard so much. Her very absence of colouring
+was a charm.</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that you have brought me these papers?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"No," she said, "I could not do that. There were too many of them&mdash;they
+are too heavy, and there are piles of pamphlets&mdash;revolutionary
+pamphlets, I am afraid&mdash;all in French, which I do not understand. No, I
+could not bring them to you. But I ordered my motor-car and I drove up
+here to tell you that if you like to come down to the house in the
+country where I have been living&mdash;to which Bernadine was to have come
+to-night&mdash;yes, and bring your friend, too, if you will&mdash;you shall look
+through them before anyone else can arrive."</p>
+
+<p>"You are very kind," Peter murmured. "Tell me where it is that you
+live?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is beyond Hitchin," she told him, "up the Great North Road. I tell
+you at once, it is a horrible house, in a horrible, lonely spot. Within
+a day or two I shall leave it myself for ever. I hate it&mdash;it gets on my
+nerves. I dream of all the terrible things which perhaps have taken
+place there. Who can tell? It was Bernadine's long before I came to
+England."</p>
+
+<p>"When are we to come?" Peter asked.</p>
+
+<p>"You must come back with me now, at once," the Baroness insisted. "I
+cannot tell how soon someone in his confidence may arrive."</p>
+
+<p>"I will order my car," Peter declared.</p>
+
+<p>She laid her hand upon his arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mind coming in mine?" she begged. "It is of no consequence, if
+you object, but every servant in Bernadine's house is German and a spy.
+There are no women except my own maid. Your car is likely enough known
+to them, and there might be trouble. If you will come with me now, you
+and your friend, if you like, I will send you to the station to-night in
+time to catch the train home. I feel that I must have this thing off my
+mind. You will come? Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter rang the bell and ordered his coat.</p>
+
+<p>"Without a doubt," he answered. "May we not offer you some tea first?"</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"To-day I cannot think of eating or drinking," she replied. "Bernadine
+and I were no longer what we had been, but the shock of his death seems
+none the less terrible. I feel like a traitor to him for coming here,
+yet I believe that I am doing what is right," she added softly.</p>
+
+<p>"If you will excuse me for one moment," Peter said, "while I take leave
+of my wife, I will rejoin you presently."</p>
+
+<p>Peter was absent for only a few minutes. Sogrange and the Baroness
+exchanged the merest commonplaces. As they all passed down the hall
+Sogrange lingered behind.</p>
+
+<p>"If you will take the Baroness out to the car," he suggested, "I will
+telephone to the Embassy and tell them not to expect me."</p>
+
+<p>Peter offered his arm to his companion. She seemed, indeed, to need
+support. Her fingers clutched at his coat-sleeve as they passed on to
+the pavement.</p>
+
+<p>"I am so glad to be no longer quite alone," she whispered. "Almost I
+wish that your friend were not coming. I know that Bernadine and you
+were enemies, but then you were enemies not personally but politically.
+After all, it is you who stand for the things which have become so dear
+to me."</p>
+
+<p>"It is true that Bernadine and I were bitter antagonists," Peter
+admitted gravely. "Death, however, ends all that. I wish him no further
+harm."</p>
+
+<p>She sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"As for me," she said, "I am growing used to being friendless. I was
+friendless before Bernadine came, and latterly we have been nothing to
+one another. Now, I suppose, I shall know what it is to be an outcast
+once more. Did you ever hear my history, I wonder?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Never, Baroness," he replied. "I understood, I believe, that your
+marriage&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"My husband divorced me," she confessed, simply. "He was quite within
+his rights. He was impossible. I was very young and very sentimental.
+They say that Englishwomen are cold," she added. "Perhaps that is so.
+People think that I look cold. Do you?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange suddenly opened the door of the car, in which they were already
+seated. She leaned back and half closed her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"It is rather a long ride," she said, "and I am worn out. I hope you
+will not mind, but for myself I cannot talk when motoring. Smoke, if it
+pleases you."</p>
+
+<p>"Might one inquire as to our exact destination?" Sogrange asked.</p>
+
+<p>"We go beyond Hitchin, up the Great North Road," she told him again.
+"The house is called the High House. It stands in the middle of a heath,
+and I think it is the loneliest and most miserable place that was ever
+built. I hate it and am frightened in it. For some reason or other it
+suited Bernadine, but that is all over now."</p>
+
+<p>The little party of three lapsed into silence. The car, driven carefully
+enough through the busy streets, gradually increased its pace as they
+drew clear of the suburbs. Peter leaned back in his place, thinking.
+Bernadine was dead! Nothing else would have convinced him so utterly of
+the fact as that simple sentence in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, which had
+been followed up by a confirmation and a brief obituary notice in all
+the evening papers. Curiously enough, the fact seemed to have drawn a
+certain spice out of even this adventure; to point, indeed, to a certain
+monotony in the future. Their present enterprise, important though it
+might turn out to be, was nothing to be proud of. A woman, greedy for
+gold, was selling her lover's secrets before the breath was out of his
+body. Peter turned in his cushioned seat to look at her. Without doubt
+she was beautiful to one who understood, beautiful in a strange,
+colourless, feline fashion, the beauty of soft limbs, soft movements, a
+caressing voice with always the promise beyond of more than the actual
+words. Her eyes now were closed, her face was a little weary. Did she
+really rest, Peter wondered. He watched the rising and falling of her
+bosom, the quivering now and then of her eyelids. She had indeed the
+appearance of a woman who had suffered.</p>
+
+<p>The car rushed on into the darkness. Behind them lay that restless
+phantasmagoria of lights streaming to the sky. In front, blank space.
+Peter, through half-closed eyes, watched the woman by his side. From the
+moment of her entrance into his library, he had summed her up in his
+mind with a single word. She was, beyond a doubt, an adventuress. No
+woman could have proposed the things which she had proposed who was not
+of that ilk. Yet for that reason it behoved them to have a care in their
+dealings with her. At her instigation they had set out upon this
+adventure, which might well turn out according to any fashion that she
+chose. Yet without Bernadine what could she do? She was not the woman to
+carry on the work which he had left behind for the love of him. Her
+words had been frank, her action shameful, but natural. Bernadine was
+dead, and she had realised quickly enough the best market for his
+secrets. In a few days' time his friends would have come and she would
+have received nothing. He told himself that he was foolish to doubt her.
+There was not a flaw in the sequence of events, no possible reason for
+the suspicions which yet lingered at the back of his brain. Intrigue, it
+was certain, was to her as the breath of her body. He was perfectly
+willing to believe that the death of Bernadine would have affected her
+little more than the sweeping aside of a fly. His very common sense bade
+him accept her story.</p>
+
+<p>By degrees he became drowsy. Suddenly he was startled into a very
+wideawake state. Through half-closed eyes he had seen Sogrange draw a
+sheet of paper from his pocket, a gold pencil from his chain, and
+commence to write. In the middle of a sentence his eyes were abruptly
+lifted. He was looking at the Baroness. Peter, too, turned his head; he
+also looked at the Baroness. Without a doubt she had been watching both
+of them. Sogrange's pencil continued its task, only he traced no more
+characters. Instead, he seemed to be sketching a face, which presently
+he tore carefully up into small pieces and destroyed. He did not even
+glance towards Peter, but Peter understood very well what had happened.
+He had been about to send him a message, but had found the Baroness
+watching. Peter was fully awake now. His faint sense of suspicion had
+deepened into a positive foreboding. He had a reckless desire to stop
+the car, to descend upon the road, and let the secrets of Bernadine go
+where they would. Then his natural love of adventure blazed up once
+more. His moment of weakness had passed. The thrill was in his blood,
+his nerves were tightened. He was ready for what might come, seemingly
+still half asleep, yet indeed with every sense of intuition and
+observation keenly alert.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange leaned over from his place.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a lonely country, this, into which we are coming, madame," he
+remarked.</p>
+
+<p>She shrugged her shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed, it is not so lonely here as you will think it when we arrive at
+our destination," she replied. "There are houses here, but they are
+hidden by the trees. There are no houses near us."</p>
+
+<p>She rubbed the pane with her hand.</p>
+
+<p>"We are, I believe, very nearly there," she said. "This is the nearest
+village. Afterwards we just climb a hill, and about half a mile along
+the top of it is the High House."</p>
+
+<p>"And the name of the village?" Sogrange inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"St. Mary's," she told him. "In the summer people call it beautiful
+around here. To me it is the most melancholy spot I ever saw. There is
+so much rain, and one hears the drip, drip in the trees all the day
+long. Alone I could not bear it. To-morrow or the next day I shall pack
+up my belongings and come to London. I am, unfortunately," she added,
+with a little sigh, "very, very poor, but it is my hope that you may
+find the papers of which I have spoken to you valuable."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled faintly. Peter and he could scarcely forbear to exchange
+a single glance. The woman's candour was almost brutal.</p>
+
+<p>She read their thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>"We ascend the hill," she continued. "We draw now very near to the end
+of our journey. There is still one thing I would say to you. Do not
+think too badly of me for what I am about to do. To Bernadine, whilst he
+lived, I was faithful. Many a time I could have told you of his plans
+and demanded a great sum of money, and you would have given it me
+willingly, but my lips were sealed because, in a way, I loved him. While
+he lived I gave him what I owed. To-day he is dead, and whatever I do it
+cannot concern him any more. To-day I am a free woman, and I take the
+side I choose."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange smiled suavely.</p>
+
+<p>"Dear Madame," he replied, "what you have proposed to us is, after all,
+quite natural and very gracious. If one has a fear at all about the
+matter, it is as to the importance of these documents you speak of.
+Bernadine, I know, has dealt in great affairs, but he was a diplomat by
+instinct, experienced and calculating. One does not keep incriminating
+papers."</p>
+
+<p>She leaned a little forward. The car had swung round a corner now and
+was making its way up an avenue as dark as pitch.</p>
+
+<p>"The wisest of us, Monsieur le Marquis," she whispered, "reckon
+sometimes without that one element of sudden death. What should you say,
+I wonder, to a list of agents in France pledged to circulate in certain
+places literature of an infamous sort? What should you say, monsieur, to
+a copy of a secret report of your late manœuvres, franked with the
+name of one of your own staff officers? What should you say," she went
+on, "to a list of Socialist deputies with amounts against their names,
+amounts paid in hard cash? Are these of no importance to you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," Sogrange answered simply, "for such information, if it were
+genuine, it would be hard to mention a price which we should not be
+prepared to pay."</p>
+
+<p>The car came to a sudden standstill. The first impression of the two men
+was that the Baroness had exaggerated the loneliness and desolation of
+the place. There was nothing mysterious or forbidding about the plain
+brown stone house before which they had stopped. The windows were
+streaming with light; the hall door, already thrown open, disclosed a
+very comfortable hall, brilliantly illuminated. A man-servant assisted
+his mistress to alight, another ushered them in. In the background were
+other servants. The Baroness glanced at the clock.</p>
+
+<p>"About dinner, Carl?" she asked.</p>
+
+<p>"It waits for Madame," the man answered.</p>
+
+<p>She nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Take care of these gentlemen till I descend," she ordered. "You will
+not mind?" she added, turning pleadingly to Sogrange. "To-day I have
+eaten nothing. I am faint with hunger. Afterwards, it will be a matter
+of but half an hour. You can be in London again by ten o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"As you will, madame," Sogrange replied. "We are greatly indebted to you
+for your hospitality. But for costume, you understand that we are as we
+are?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is perfectly understood," she assured him. "For myself, I rejoin you
+in ten minutes. A loose gown, that is all."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange and Peter were shown into a modern bathroom by a servant who
+was so anxious to wait upon them that they had difficulty in sending him
+away. As soon as he was gone and the door closed behind him, Peter put
+his foot against it and turned the key.</p>
+
+<p>"You were going to write something to me in the car?"</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"There was a moment," he admitted, "when I had a suspicion. It has
+passed. This woman is no Roman. She sells the secrets of Bernadine as
+she would sell herself. Nevertheless, it is well always to be prepared.
+There were probably others beside Bernadine who had the entr&eacute;e here."</p>
+
+<p>"The only suspicious circumstance which I have noticed," Peter remarked,
+"is the number of men-servants. I have seen five already."</p>
+
+<p>"It is only fair to remember," Sogrange reminded him, "that the Baroness
+herself told us that there were no other save men-servants here and that
+they were all spies. Without a master, I cannot see that they are
+dangerous. One needs, however, to watch all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"If you see anything suspicious," Peter said, "tap the table with your
+forefinger. Personally, I will admit that I have had my doubts of the
+Baroness, but, on the whole, I have come to the conclusion that they
+were groundless. She is not the sort of woman to take up a vendetta,
+especially an unprofitable one."</p>
+
+<p>"She is an exceedingly dangerous person for an impressionable man like
+myself," Sogrange remarked, arranging his tie.</p>
+
+<p>The butler fetched them in a very few moments and showed them into a
+pleasantly furnished library, where he mixed cocktails for them from a
+collection of bottles upon the sideboard. He was quite friendly, and
+inclined to be loquacious, although he spoke with a slight foreign
+accent. The house belonged to an English gentleman, from whom the
+honoured Count had taken it, furnished. They were two miles from a
+station and a mile from the village. It was a lonely part, but there
+were always people coming or going. With one's work one scarcely noticed
+it. He was gratified that the gentlemen found his cocktails so
+excellent. Perhaps he might be permitted the high honour of mixing them
+another? It was a day, this, of deep sadness and gloom. One needed to
+drink something, indeed, to forget the terrible thing which had
+happened. The Count had been a good master, a little impatient
+sometimes, but kind-hearted. The news had been a shock to them all.</p>
+
+<p>Then, before they had expected her, the Baroness reappeared. She wore a
+wonderful grey gown which seemed to be made in a single piece, a gown
+which fitted her tightly, and yet gave her the curious appearance of a
+woman walking without the burden of clothes. Sogrange, Parisian to the
+finger-tips, watched her with admiring approval. She laid her fingers
+upon his arm, although it was towards Peter that her eyes travelled.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you take me in, Marquis?" she begged. "It is the only formality we
+will allow ourselves."</p>
+
+<p>They entered a long, low dining-room, panelled with oak, and with the
+family portraits of the owner of the house still left upon the walls.
+Dinner was served upon a round table, and was laid for four. There was a
+profusion of silver, very beautiful glass, and a wonderful cluster of
+orchids. The Marquis, as he handed his hostess to her chair, glanced
+towards the vacant place.</p>
+
+<p>"It is for my companion, an Austrian lady," she explained. "To-night,
+however, I think that she will not come. She was a distant connection of
+Bernadine's, and she is much upset. We leave her place and see. You will
+sit on my other side, Baron."</p>
+
+<p>The fingers which touched Peter's arm brushed his hand, and were
+withdrawn as though with reluctance. She sank into her chair with a
+little sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"It is charming of you two, this," she declared softly. "You help me
+through this night of solitude and sadness. What I should do if I were
+alone, I cannot tell. You must drink with me a toast, if you will. Will
+you make it to our better acquaintance?"</p>
+
+<p>No soup had been offered, and champagne was served with the <i>hors
+d'Å“uvres</i>. Peter raised his glass, and looked into the eyes of the
+woman who was leaning so closely towards him that her soft breath fell
+upon his cheek. She whispered something in his ear. For a moment,
+perhaps, he was carried away, but for a moment only. Then Sogrange's
+voice and the beat of his forefinger upon the table stiffened him into
+sudden alertness. They heard a motor-car draw up outside.</p>
+
+<p>"Who can it be?" the Baroness exclaimed, setting her glass down
+abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is, perhaps, the other guest who arrives," Sogrange remarked.</p>
+
+<p>They all three listened, Peter and Sogrange with their glasses still
+suspended in the air.</p>
+
+<p>"The other guest?" the Baroness repeated. "Madame von Estenier is
+upstairs, lying down. I cannot tell who this may be."</p>
+
+<p>Her lips were parted. The lines of her forehead had suddenly appeared.
+Her eyes were turned toward the door, hard and bright. Then the glass
+which she had nervously picked up again and was holding between her
+fingers, fell on to the tablecloth with a little crash, and the yellow
+wine ran bubbling on to her plate. Her scream echoed to the roof and
+rang through the room. It was Bernadine who stood there in the doorway,
+Bernadine in a long travelling ulster and the air of one newly arrived
+from a journey. They all three looked at him, but there was not one who
+spoke. The Baroness, after her one wild cry, was dumb.</p>
+
+<p>"I am indeed fortunate," Bernadine said. "You have as yet, I see,
+scarcely commenced. You probably expected me. I am charmed to find so
+agreeable a party awaiting my arrival."</p>
+
+<p>He divested himself of his ulster and threw it across the arm of the
+butler who stood behind him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come," he continued, "for a man who has just been killed in a railway
+accident, I find myself with an appetite. A glass of wine, Carl. I do
+not know what that toast was the drinking of which my coming
+interrupted, but let us all drink it together. Aim&eacute;e, my love to you,
+dear. Let me congratulate you upon the fortitude and courage with which
+you have ignored those lying reports of my death. I had fears that I
+might find you alone in a darkened room, with tear-stained eyes and
+sal-volatile by your side. This is infinitely better. Gentlemen, you are
+welcome."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange lifted his glass and bowed courteously. Peter followed suit.</p>
+
+<p>"Really," Sogrange murmured, "the Press nowadays, becomes more
+unreliable every day. It is apparent, my dear von Hern, that this
+account of your death was, to say the least of it, exaggerated."</p>
+
+<p>Peter said nothing. His eyes were fixed upon the Baroness. She sat in
+her chair quite motionless, but her face had become like the face of
+some graven image. She looked at Bernadine, but her eyes said nothing.
+Every glint of expression seemed to have left her features. Since that
+one wild shriek she had remained voiceless. Encompassed by danger though
+he knew that they now must be, Peter found himself possessed by one
+thought and one thought only. Was this a trap into which they had
+fallen, or was the woman, too, deceived?</p>
+
+<p>"You bring later news from Paris than I myself," Sogrange proceeded,
+helping himself to one of the dishes which a footman was passing round.
+"How did you reach the coast? The evening papers stated distinctly that
+since the accident no attempt had been made to run trains."</p>
+
+<p>"By motor-car from Chantilly," Bernadine replied. "I had the misfortune
+to lose my servant, who was wearing my coat, and who, I gather from the
+newspaper reports, was mistaken for me. I myself was unhurt. I hired a
+motor-car and drove to Boulogne&mdash;not the best of journeys, let me tell
+you, for we broke down three times. There was no steamer there, but I
+hired a fishing boat, which brought me across the Channel in something
+under eight hours. From the coast I motored direct here. I was so
+anxious," he added, raising his eyes, "to see how my dear friend&mdash;my
+dear Aim&eacute;e&mdash;was bearing the terrible news."</p>
+
+<p>She fluttered for a moment like a bird in a trap. Peter drew a little
+sigh of relief. His self-respect was reinstated. He had decided that she
+was innocent. Upon them, at least, would not fall the ignominy of having
+been led into the simplest of traps by this white-faced Delilah. The
+butler had brought her another glass, which she raised to her lips. She
+drained its contents, but the ghastliness of her appearance remained
+unchanged. Peter, watching her, knew the signs. She was sick with
+terror.</p>
+
+<p>"The conditions throughout France are indeed awful," Sogrange remarked.
+"They say, too, that this railway strike is only the beginning of worse
+things."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Your country, my dear Marquis," he said, "is on its last legs. No one
+knows better than I that it is, at the present moment, honeycombed with
+sedition and anarchical impulses. The people are rotten. For years the
+whole tone of France has been decadent. Its fall must even now be close
+at hand."</p>
+
+<p>"You take a gloomy view of my country's future," Sogrange declared.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should one refuse to face facts?" Bernadine replied. "One does not
+often talk so frankly, but we three are met together this evening under
+somewhat peculiar circumstances. The days of the glory of France are
+past. England has laid out her neck for the yoke of the conqueror. Both
+are doomed to fall. Both are ripe for the great humiliation. You two
+gentlemen whom I have the honour to receive as my guests," he concluded,
+filling his glass and bowing towards them, "in your present unfortunate
+predicament represent precisely the position of your two countries."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ave C&aelig;sar!</i>" Peter muttered grimly, raising his glass to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine accepted the challenge.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not I, alas! who may call myself C&aelig;sar," he replied, "although it
+is certainly you who are about to die."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange turned to the man who stood behind his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"If I might trouble you for a little dry toast?" he inquired. "A modern,
+but very uncomfortable, ailment," he added, with a sigh. "One's
+digestion must march with the years, I suppose."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"Your toast you shall have, with pleasure, Marquis," he said, "but as
+for your indigestion, do not let that trouble you any longer. I think
+that I can promise you immunity from that annoying complaint for the
+rest of your life."</p>
+
+<p>"You are doing your best," Peter declared, leaning back in his chair,
+"to take away my appetite."</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine looked searchingly from one to the other of his two guests.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he admitted, "you are brave men. I do not know why I should ever
+have doubted it. Your pose is excellent. I have no wish, however, to see
+you buoyed up by a baseless optimism. A somewhat remarkable chance has
+delivered you into my hands. You are my prisoners. You, Peter Baron de
+Grost, I have hated all my days. You have stood between me and the
+achievement of some of my most dearly cherished tasks. Always I have
+said to myself that the day of reckoning must come. It has arrived. As
+for you, Marquis de Sogrange, if my personal feelings towards you are
+less violent, you still represent the things absolutely inimical to me
+and my interests. The departure of you two men was the one thing
+necessary for the successful completion of certain tasks which I have in
+hand at the present moment."</p>
+
+<p>Peter pushed away his plate.</p>
+
+<p>"You have succeeded in destroying my appetite, Count," he declared. "Now
+that you have gone so far in expounding your amiable resolutions towards
+us, perhaps you will go a little farther and explain exactly how, in
+this eminently respectable house, situated, I understand, in an
+eminently respectable neighbourhood, with a police station within a
+mile, and a dozen or so witnesses as to our present whereabouts, you
+intend to expedite our removal?"</p>
+
+<p>Bernadine pointed towards the woman who sat facing him.</p>
+
+<p>"Ask the Baroness how these things are arranged."</p>
+
+<p>They turned towards her. She fell back in her chair with a little gasp.
+She had fainted. Bernadine shrugged his shoulders. The butler and one of
+the footmen, who during the whole of the conversation had stolidly
+proceeded with their duties, in obedience to a gesture from their
+master, took her up in their arms and carried her from the room.</p>
+
+<p>"The fear has come to her, too," Bernadine murmured softly. "It may come
+to you, my brave friends, before morning."</p>
+
+<p>"It is possible," Peter answered, his hand stealing round to his hip
+pocket, "but in the meantime, what is to prevent&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>The hip pocket was empty. Peter's sentence ended abruptly. Bernadine
+mocked him.</p>
+
+<p>"To prevent your shooting me in cold blood, I suppose," he remarked.
+"Nothing except that my servants are too clever. No one save myself is
+allowed to remain under this roof with arms in their possession. Your
+pocket was probably picked before you had been in the place five
+minutes. No, my dear Baron, let me assure you that escape will not be so
+easy. You were always just a little inclined to be led away by the fair
+sex. The best men in the world, you know, have shared that failing, and
+the Baroness, alone and unprotected, had her attractions, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Then something happened to Peter which had happened to him barely a
+dozen times in his life. He lost his temper, and lost it rather badly.
+Without an instant's hesitation, he caught up the decanter which stood
+by his side and flung it in his host's face. Bernadine only partly
+avoided it by thrusting out his arms. The neck caught his forehead and
+the blood came streaming over his tie and collar. Peter had followed the
+decanter with a sudden spring. His fingers were upon Bernadine's throat,
+and he thrust his head back. Sogrange sprang to the door to lock it, but
+he was too late. The room seemed full of men-servants. Peter was dragged
+away, still struggling fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>"Tie them up!" Bernadine gasped, swaying in his chair. "Tie them up, do
+you hear? Carl, give me brandy."</p>
+
+<p>He swallowed half a wineglassful of the raw spirit. His eyes were red
+with fury.</p>
+
+<p>"Take them to the gun-room," he ordered, "three of you to each of them,
+mind. I'll shoot the man who lets either escape."</p>
+
+<p>But Peter and Sogrange were both of them too wise to expend any more of
+their strength in a useless struggle. They suffered themselves to be
+conducted without resistance across the white stone hall, down a long
+passage, and into a room at the end, the window and fireplace of which
+were both blocked up. The floor was of red flags and the walls
+whitewashed. The only furniture was a couple of kitchen chairs and a
+long table. The door was of stout oak and fitted with a double lock. The
+sole outlet, so far as they could see, was a small round hole at the top
+of the roof. The door was locked behind them. They were alone.</p>
+
+<p>"The odd trick to Bernadine!" Peter exclaimed hoarsely, wiping a spot of
+blood from his forehead. "My dear Marquis, I scarcely know how to
+apologise. It is not often that I lose my temper so completely."</p>
+
+<p>"The matter seems to be of very little consequence," Sogrange answered.
+"This was probably our intended destination in any case. Seems to be
+rather an unfortunate expedition of ours, I am afraid."</p>
+
+<p>"One cannot reckon upon men coming back from the dead," Peter declared.
+"It isn't often that you find every morning and every evening paper
+mistaken. As for the woman, I believe in her. She honestly meant to sell
+us those papers of Bernadine's. I believe that she, too, will have to
+face a day of reckoning."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange strolled around the room, subjecting it everywhere to a close
+scrutiny. The result was hopeless. There was no method of escape save
+through the door.</p>
+
+<p>"There is certainly something strange about this apartment," Peter
+remarked. "It is, to say the least of it, unusual to have windows in the
+roof and a door of such proportions. All the same, I think that those
+threats of Bernadine's were a little strained. One cannot get rid of
+one's enemies nowadays in the old-fashioned, melodramatic way. Bernadine
+must know quite well that you and I are not the sort of men to walk into
+a trap of anyone's setting, just as I am quite sure that he is not the
+man to risk even a scandal by breaking the law openly."</p>
+
+<p>"You interest me," Sogrange said. "I begin to suspect that you, too,
+have made some plans."</p>
+
+<p>"But naturally," Peter replied. "Once before Bernadine set a trap for
+me, and he nearly had a chance of sending me for a swim in the Thames.
+Since then one takes precautions as a matter of course. We were followed
+down here, and by this time I should imagine that the alarm is given. If
+all was well I was to have telephoned an hour ago."</p>
+
+<p>"You are really," Sogrange declared, "quite an agreeable companion, my
+dear Baron. You think of everything."</p>
+
+<p>The door was suddenly opened. Bernadine stood upon the threshold and
+behind him several of the servants.</p>
+
+<p>"You will oblige me by stepping back into the study, my friends," he
+ordered.</p>
+
+<p>"With great pleasure," Sogrange answered with alacrity. "We have no
+fancy for this room, I can assure you."</p>
+
+<p>Once more they crossed the stone hall and entered the room into which
+they had first been shown. On the threshold Peter stopped short and
+listened. It seemed to him that from somewhere upstairs he could hear
+the sound of a woman's sobs. He turned to Bernadine.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness is not unwell, I trust?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness is as well as she is likely to be for some time,"
+Bernadine replied grimly.</p>
+
+<p>They were all in the study now. Upon a table stood a telephone
+instrument. Bernadine drew a small revolver from his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"Baron de Grost," he said, "I find that you are not quite such a fool as
+I thought you. Some one is ringing up for you on the telephone. You will
+reply that you are well and safe, and that you will be home as soon as
+your business here is finished. Your wife is at the other end. If you
+breathe a single word to her of your approaching end, she shall hear
+through the telephone the sound of the revolver shot that sends you to
+hell."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear me," Peter protested, "I find this most unpleasant. If you'll
+excuse me, I don't think I'll answer the call at all."</p>
+
+<p>"You will answer it as I have directed," Bernadine insisted. "Only
+remember this, if you speak a single ill-advised word, the end will be
+as I have said."</p>
+
+<p>Peter picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is there?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>It was Violet whose voice he heard. He listened for a moment to her
+anxious flood of questions.</p>
+
+<p>"There is not the slightest cause to be alarmed, dear," he said. "Yes, I
+am down at the High House, near St. Mary's. Bernadine is here. It seems
+that those reports of his death were absolutely unfounded. Danger?
+Unprotected? Why, my dear Violet, you know how careful I always am.
+Simply because Bernadine used once to live here, and because the
+Baroness was his friend, I spoke to Sir John Dory over the telephone
+before we left, and an escort of half a dozen police followed us. They
+are about the place now, I have no doubt, but their presence is quite
+unnecessary. I shall be home before long, dear. Yes, perhaps it would be
+as well to send the car down. Anyone will direct him to the house&mdash;the
+High House, St. Mary's, remember. Good-bye!"</p>
+
+<p>Peter replaced the receiver and turned slowly round. Bernadine was
+smiling.</p>
+
+<p>"You did well to reassure your wife, even though it was a pack of lies
+you told her," he remarked.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Bernadine," he said, "up till now I have tried to take you
+seriously. You are really passing the limit. I must positively ask you
+to reflect a little. Do men who live the life that you and I live trust
+anyone? Am I, is the Marquis de Sogrange here, after a lifetime of
+experience, likely to leave the safety of our homes in company with a
+lady of whom we knew nothing except that she was your companion, without
+precautions? I do you the justice to believe you are a person of common
+sense. I know that we are as safe in this house as we should be in our
+own. War cannot be made in this fashion in an over-policed country like
+England."</p>
+
+<p>"Do not be too sure," Bernadine replied. "There are secrets about this
+house which have not yet been disclosed to you. There are means, my dear
+Baron, of transporting you into a world where you are likely to do much
+less harm than here, means ready at hand which would leave no more trace
+behind than those crumbling ashes can tell of the coal-mine from which
+they came."</p>
+
+<p>Peter preserved his attitude of bland incredulity.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen," he said, drawing a whistle from his pocket, "it is just
+possible that you are in earnest. I will bet you, then, if you like, a
+hundred pounds, that if I blow this whistle you will either have to open
+your door within five minutes or find your house invaded by the police."</p>
+
+<p>No one spoke for several moments. The veins were standing out upon
+Bernadine's forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"We have had enough of this folly," he cried. "If you refuse to realise
+your position, so much the worse for you. Blow your whistle, if you
+will. I am content."</p>
+
+<p>Peter waited for no second bidding. He raised the whistle to his lips
+and blew it, loudly and persistently. Again there was silence. Bernadine
+mocked him.</p>
+
+<p>"Try once more, dear Baron," he advised. "Your friends are perhaps a
+little hard of hearing. Try once more, and when you have finished, you
+and I and the Marquis de Sogrange will find our way once more to the
+gun-room and conclude that trifling matter of business which brought you
+here."</p>
+
+<p>Again Peter blew his whistle and again the silence was broken only by
+Bernadine's laugh. Suddenly, however, that laugh was checked. Everyone
+had turned toward the door, listening. A bell was ringing throughout the
+house.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the front door," one of the servants exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>No one moved. As though to put the matter beyond doubt, there was a
+steady knocking to be heard from the same direction.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a telegram or some late caller," Bernadine declared, hoarsely.
+"Answer it, Carl. If anyone would speak with the Baroness, she is
+indisposed and unable to receive. If anyone desires me, I am here."</p>
+
+<p>The man left the room. They heard him withdraw the chain from the door.
+Bernadine wiped the sweat from his forehead as he listened. He still
+gripped the revolver in his hand. Peter had changed his position a
+little, and was standing now behind a high-backed chair. They heard the
+door creak open, a voice outside, and presently the tramp of heavy
+footsteps. Peter nodded understandingly.</p>
+
+<p>"It is exactly as I told you," he said. "You were wise not to bet, my
+friend."</p>
+
+<p>Again the tramp of feet in the hall. There was something unmistakable
+about the sound, something final and terrifying. Bernadine saw his
+triumph slipping away. Once more this man, who had defied him so
+persistently, was to taste the sweets of victory. With a roar of fury he
+sprang across the room. He fired his revolver twice before Sogrange,
+with a terrible blow, knocked his arm upwards and sent the weapon
+spinning to the ceiling. Peter struck his assailant in the mouth, but
+the blow seemed scarcely to check him. They rolled on the floor
+together, their arms around one another's necks. It was an affair, that,
+but of a moment. Peter, as lithe as a cat, was on his feet again almost
+at once, with a torn collar and an ugly mark on his face. There were
+strangers in the room now, and the servants had mostly slipped away
+during the confusion. It was Sir John Dory himself who locked the door.
+Bernadine struggled slowly to his feet. He was face to face with half a
+dozen police-constables in plain clothes.</p>
+
+<p>"You have a charge against this man, Baron?" the police commissioner
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"The quarrel between us," he replied, "is not for the police courts,
+although I will confess, Sir John, that your intervention was
+opportune."</p>
+
+<p>"I, on the other hand," Sogrange put in, "demand the arrest of the Count
+von Hern and the seizure of all papers in this house. I am the bearer of
+an autograph letter from the President of France in connection with this
+matter. The Count von Hern has committed extraditable offences against
+my country. I am prepared to swear an information to that effect."</p>
+
+<p>The police commissioner turned to Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"Your friend's name?" he demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"The Marquis de Sogrange," Peter told him.</p>
+
+<p>"He is a person of authority?"</p>
+
+<p>"To my certain knowledge," Peter replied, "he has the implicit
+confidence of the French Government."</p>
+
+<p>Sir John Dory made a sign. In another moment Bernadine would have been
+arrested. It seemed, indeed, as though nothing could save him now from
+this crowning humiliation. He himself, white and furious, was at a loss
+how to deal with an unexpected situation. Suddenly a thing happened
+stranger than any one of them there had ever known or dreamed of, so
+strange that even men such as Peter, Sogrange and Dory, whose nerves
+were of iron, faced one another, doubting and amazed. The floor beneath
+them rocked and billowed like the waves of a canvas sea. The windows
+were filled with flashes of red light, a great fissure parted the wall,
+the pictures and bookcases came crashing down beneath a shower of
+masonry. It was the affair of a second. Above them shone the stars and
+around them a noise like thunder. Bernadine, who alone understood, was
+the first to recover himself. He stood in the midst of them, his hands
+above his head, laughing as he looked around at the strange
+storm&mdash;laughing like a madman.</p>
+
+<p>"The wonderful Carl!" he cried. "Oh, matchless servant! Arrest me now,
+if you will, you dogs of the police. Rout out my secrets, dear Baron de
+Grost. Tuck them under your arm and hurry to Downing Street. This is the
+hospitality of the High House, my friends. It loves you so well that
+only your ashes shall leave it."</p>
+
+<p>His mouth was open for another sentence when he was struck. A whole
+pillar of marble from one of the rooms above came crashing through and
+buried him underneath a falling shower of masonry. Peter escaped by a
+few inches. Those who were left unhurt sprang through the yawning wall
+out into the garden. Sir John, Sogrange, Peter, and three of the
+men&mdash;one limping badly, came to a standstill in the middle of the lawn.
+Before them the house was crumbling like a pack of cards, and louder
+even than the thunder of the falling structures was the roar of the red
+flames.</p>
+
+<p>"The Baroness!" Peter cried, and took one leap forward.</p>
+
+<p>"I am here," she sobbed, running to them from out of the shadows. "I
+have lost everything&mdash;my jewels, my clothes, all except what I have on.
+They gave me but a moment's warning."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there anyone else in the house?" Peter demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"No one but you who were in that room," she answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Your companion?"</p>
+
+<p>She shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>"There was no companion," she faltered. "I thought it sounded better to
+speak of her. I had her place laid at table, but she never even
+existed."</p>
+
+<p>Peter tore off his coat.</p>
+
+<p>"There are the others in the room!" he exclaimed. "We must go back."</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange caught him by the shoulder and pointed to a shadowy group some
+distance away.</p>
+
+<p>"We are all out but Bernadine," he said. "For him there is no hope.
+Quick!"</p>
+
+<p>They sprang back only just in time. The outside wall of the house fell
+with a terrible crash. The room which they had quitted was now blotted
+out of existence. It was not long before, from right and left, in all
+directions along the country road, came the flashing of lights and
+little knots of hurrying people.</p>
+
+<p>"It is the end!" Peter muttered. "Yesterday I should have regretted the
+passing of a brave enemy. To-day I hail with joy the death of a brute."</p>
+
+<p>The Baroness, who had been sitting upon a garden seat, sobbing, came
+softly up to them. She laid her fingers upon Peter's arm imploringly.</p>
+
+<p>"You will not leave me friendless?" she begged. "The papers I promised
+you are destroyed, but many of his secrets are here."</p>
+
+<p>She tapped her forehead.</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," Peter answered, "I have no wish to know them. Years ago I
+swore that the passing of Bernadine should mark my own retirement from
+the world in which we both lived. I shall keep my word. To-night
+Bernadine is dead. To-night, Sogrange, my work is finished."</p>
+
+<p>The Baroness began to sob again.</p>
+
+<p>"And I thought that you were a man," she moaned, "so gallant, so
+honourable&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Madame," Sogrange intervened, "I shall commend you to the pension list
+of the Double Four."</p>
+
+<p>She dried her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not money only I want," she whispered, her eyes following Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Sogrange shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"You have never seen the Baroness de Grost?" he asked her.</p>
+
+<p>"But no!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" Sogrange murmured. "Our escort, madame, is at your service&mdash;so far
+as London."</p>
+
+
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will
+be renamed.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
+States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away&#8212;you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
+or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the
+Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work
+on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the
+phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+</div>
+
+<blockquote>
+  <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+    other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+    whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+    of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
+    at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
+    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
+  </div>
+</blockquote>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; License.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format
+other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain
+Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+provided that:
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+        the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method
+        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has
+        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+        Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+        Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        works.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+        receipt of the work.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+        distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.
+    </div>
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right
+of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;’s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
+public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
+visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/28091-h/images/cover.jpg b/28091-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1334033
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/28091-h/images/left4.jpg b/28091-h/images/left4.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e21026
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-h/images/left4.jpg
diff --git a/28091-h/images/right4.jpg b/28091-h/images/right4.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d3d67d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-h/images/right4.jpg
diff --git a/28091-page-images/f0001-image1.jpg b/28091-page-images/f0001-image1.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..944204c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/f0001-image1.jpg
diff --git a/28091-page-images/f0002.png b/28091-page-images/f0002.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2da8ef7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/f0002.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/f0003.png b/28091-page-images/f0003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38e8d9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/f0003.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0001.png b/28091-page-images/p0001.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4275cd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0001.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0002.png b/28091-page-images/p0002.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1970ec2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0002.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0003.png b/28091-page-images/p0003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a674d58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0003.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0004.png b/28091-page-images/p0004.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae04d51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0004.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0005.png b/28091-page-images/p0005.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b99bf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0005.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0006.png b/28091-page-images/p0006.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2c272f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0006.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0007.png b/28091-page-images/p0007.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2b6613
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0007.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0008.png b/28091-page-images/p0008.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..182a0be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0008.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0009.png b/28091-page-images/p0009.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aedc87e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0009.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0010.png b/28091-page-images/p0010.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5ec6df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0010.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0011.png b/28091-page-images/p0011.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fc0e51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0011.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0012.png b/28091-page-images/p0012.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0d623c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0012.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0013.png b/28091-page-images/p0013.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3261cf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0013.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0014.png b/28091-page-images/p0014.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a60be0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0014.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0015.png b/28091-page-images/p0015.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..034b679
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0015.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0016.png b/28091-page-images/p0016.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c73a0a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0016.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0017.png b/28091-page-images/p0017.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..496564b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0017.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0018.png b/28091-page-images/p0018.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7a4fb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0018.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0019.png b/28091-page-images/p0019.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e2ba43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0019.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0020.png b/28091-page-images/p0020.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b5241c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0020.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0021.png b/28091-page-images/p0021.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d1ca096
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0021.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0022.png b/28091-page-images/p0022.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..065e5b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0022.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0023.png b/28091-page-images/p0023.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e99f54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0023.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0024.png b/28091-page-images/p0024.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..742722c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0024.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0025.png b/28091-page-images/p0025.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd58e63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0025.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0026.png b/28091-page-images/p0026.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4a24b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0026.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0027.png b/28091-page-images/p0027.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddda1b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0027.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0028.png b/28091-page-images/p0028.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d849bc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0028.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0029.png b/28091-page-images/p0029.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae520f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0029.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0030.png b/28091-page-images/p0030.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf29e9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0030.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0031.png b/28091-page-images/p0031.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54421f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0031.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0032.png b/28091-page-images/p0032.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc3f47a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0032.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0033.png b/28091-page-images/p0033.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a1b7bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0033.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0034.png b/28091-page-images/p0034.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9985717
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0034.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0035.png b/28091-page-images/p0035.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ade224
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0035.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0036.png b/28091-page-images/p0036.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32c0afb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0036.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0037.png b/28091-page-images/p0037.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2ae3f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0037.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0038.png b/28091-page-images/p0038.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e96b4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0038.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0039.png b/28091-page-images/p0039.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba5ae51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0039.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0040.png b/28091-page-images/p0040.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..178d943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0040.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0041.png b/28091-page-images/p0041.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f2cb69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0041.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0042.png b/28091-page-images/p0042.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df7ca28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0042.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0043.png b/28091-page-images/p0043.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..90fe287
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0043.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0044.png b/28091-page-images/p0044.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..723bfa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0044.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0045.png b/28091-page-images/p0045.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..419fc98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0045.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0046.png b/28091-page-images/p0046.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e31a4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0046.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0047.png b/28091-page-images/p0047.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..620b174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0047.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0048.png b/28091-page-images/p0048.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6117be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0048.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0049.png b/28091-page-images/p0049.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69a7973
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0049.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0050.png b/28091-page-images/p0050.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f88530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0050.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0051.png b/28091-page-images/p0051.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e2afe0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0051.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0052.png b/28091-page-images/p0052.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51c0ad3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0052.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0053.png b/28091-page-images/p0053.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed36d77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0053.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0054.png b/28091-page-images/p0054.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e669080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0054.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0055.png b/28091-page-images/p0055.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32941c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0055.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0056.png b/28091-page-images/p0056.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da8c99c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0056.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0057.png b/28091-page-images/p0057.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62d97cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0057.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0058.png b/28091-page-images/p0058.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f3c45c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0058.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0059.png b/28091-page-images/p0059.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3e101a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0059.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0060.png b/28091-page-images/p0060.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63e42c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0060.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0061.png b/28091-page-images/p0061.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..575715a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0061.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0062.png b/28091-page-images/p0062.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6057d1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0062.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0063.png b/28091-page-images/p0063.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0e6b46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0063.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0064.png b/28091-page-images/p0064.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5abe531
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0064.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0065.png b/28091-page-images/p0065.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a67d824
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0065.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0066.png b/28091-page-images/p0066.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ebf62c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0066.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0067.png b/28091-page-images/p0067.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..444ed54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0067.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0068.png b/28091-page-images/p0068.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ffc774
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0068.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0069.png b/28091-page-images/p0069.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..66d4b1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0069.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0070.png b/28091-page-images/p0070.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98da41c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0070.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0071.png b/28091-page-images/p0071.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22ee3dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0071.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0072.png b/28091-page-images/p0072.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7d20bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0072.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0073.png b/28091-page-images/p0073.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1b8534
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0073.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0074.png b/28091-page-images/p0074.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16ac06e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0074.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0075.png b/28091-page-images/p0075.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83e9b54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0075.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0076.png b/28091-page-images/p0076.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9e98ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0076.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0077.png b/28091-page-images/p0077.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8534fc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0077.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0078.png b/28091-page-images/p0078.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1442f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0078.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0079.png b/28091-page-images/p0079.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cae177e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0079.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0080.png b/28091-page-images/p0080.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25bd408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0080.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0081.png b/28091-page-images/p0081.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2346ce4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0081.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0082.png b/28091-page-images/p0082.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce722d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0082.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0083.png b/28091-page-images/p0083.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2600b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0083.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0084.png b/28091-page-images/p0084.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1bf21d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0084.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0085.png b/28091-page-images/p0085.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a636780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0085.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0086.png b/28091-page-images/p0086.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09c3be3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0086.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0087.png b/28091-page-images/p0087.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8858f95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0087.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0088.png b/28091-page-images/p0088.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d95a956
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0088.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0089.png b/28091-page-images/p0089.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cb2211
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0089.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0090.png b/28091-page-images/p0090.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c25e047
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0090.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0091.png b/28091-page-images/p0091.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..611841d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0091.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0092.png b/28091-page-images/p0092.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19fb9b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0092.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0093.png b/28091-page-images/p0093.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c790f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0093.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0094.png b/28091-page-images/p0094.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08c6884
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0094.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0095.png b/28091-page-images/p0095.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae23076
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0095.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0096.png b/28091-page-images/p0096.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9658002
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0096.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0097.png b/28091-page-images/p0097.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b899be8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0097.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0098.png b/28091-page-images/p0098.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1565da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0098.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0099.png b/28091-page-images/p0099.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b09a537
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0099.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0100.png b/28091-page-images/p0100.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60b70f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0100.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0101.png b/28091-page-images/p0101.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7db6d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0101.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0102.png b/28091-page-images/p0102.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..166fefd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0102.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0103.png b/28091-page-images/p0103.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d389348
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0103.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0104-image1a.jpg b/28091-page-images/p0104-image1a.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..daea483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0104-image1a.jpg
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0104-image1b.jpg b/28091-page-images/p0104-image1b.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f431743
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0104-image1b.jpg
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0104.png b/28091-page-images/p0104.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d40ac2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0104.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0105.png b/28091-page-images/p0105.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59deaed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0105.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0106.png b/28091-page-images/p0106.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ed7780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0106.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0107.png b/28091-page-images/p0107.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d144eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0107.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0108.png b/28091-page-images/p0108.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..729437d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0108.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0109.png b/28091-page-images/p0109.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1599f0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0109.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0110.png b/28091-page-images/p0110.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e416d20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0110.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0111.png b/28091-page-images/p0111.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d657b0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0111.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0112.png b/28091-page-images/p0112.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47967c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0112.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0113.png b/28091-page-images/p0113.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4bff0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0113.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0114.png b/28091-page-images/p0114.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4f7ad1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0114.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0115.png b/28091-page-images/p0115.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e81ebe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0115.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0116.png b/28091-page-images/p0116.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d72bee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0116.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0117.png b/28091-page-images/p0117.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f36cbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0117.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0118.png b/28091-page-images/p0118.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38961b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0118.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0119.png b/28091-page-images/p0119.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e9182e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0119.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0120.png b/28091-page-images/p0120.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c76e861
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0120.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0121.png b/28091-page-images/p0121.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6a53be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0121.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0122.png b/28091-page-images/p0122.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ff7cdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0122.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0123.png b/28091-page-images/p0123.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98faf58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0123.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0124.png b/28091-page-images/p0124.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52d7f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0124.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0125.png b/28091-page-images/p0125.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94366d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0125.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0126.png b/28091-page-images/p0126.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2693aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0126.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0127.png b/28091-page-images/p0127.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ae5aac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0127.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0128.png b/28091-page-images/p0128.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..555a912
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0128.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0129.png b/28091-page-images/p0129.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..976dd2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0129.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0130.png b/28091-page-images/p0130.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9354525
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0130.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0131.png b/28091-page-images/p0131.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7700145
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0131.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0132.png b/28091-page-images/p0132.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba0d179
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0132.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0133.png b/28091-page-images/p0133.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4e9e26f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0133.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0134.png b/28091-page-images/p0134.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c78066a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0134.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0135.png b/28091-page-images/p0135.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78c233e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0135.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0136.png b/28091-page-images/p0136.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..072c5b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0136.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0137.png b/28091-page-images/p0137.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caed037
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0137.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0138.png b/28091-page-images/p0138.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2a10fbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0138.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0139.png b/28091-page-images/p0139.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9f9b0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0139.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0140.png b/28091-page-images/p0140.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b340593
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0140.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0141.png b/28091-page-images/p0141.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e7a82c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0141.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0142.png b/28091-page-images/p0142.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f66942
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0142.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0143.png b/28091-page-images/p0143.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..40888fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0143.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0144.png b/28091-page-images/p0144.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d8f741
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0144.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0145.png b/28091-page-images/p0145.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..581f34c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0145.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0146.png b/28091-page-images/p0146.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a45cfea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0146.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0147.png b/28091-page-images/p0147.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5f16bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0147.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0148.png b/28091-page-images/p0148.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be42e35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0148.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0149.png b/28091-page-images/p0149.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c49bd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0149.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0150.png b/28091-page-images/p0150.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47b67e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0150.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0151.png b/28091-page-images/p0151.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4fe7e38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0151.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0152.png b/28091-page-images/p0152.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d8cdb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0152.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0153.png b/28091-page-images/p0153.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79f2ccd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0153.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0154.png b/28091-page-images/p0154.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2857a08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0154.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0155.png b/28091-page-images/p0155.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdeca11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0155.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0156.png b/28091-page-images/p0156.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63ae72b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0156.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0157.png b/28091-page-images/p0157.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f0a1d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0157.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0158.png b/28091-page-images/p0158.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c369b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0158.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0159.png b/28091-page-images/p0159.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..194c47a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0159.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0160.png b/28091-page-images/p0160.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4419cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0160.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0161.png b/28091-page-images/p0161.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff0610d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0161.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0162.png b/28091-page-images/p0162.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a1afcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0162.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0163.png b/28091-page-images/p0163.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91170f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0163.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0164.png b/28091-page-images/p0164.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12ec14b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0164.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0165.png b/28091-page-images/p0165.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0fe187
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0165.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0166.png b/28091-page-images/p0166.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ae646d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0166.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0167.png b/28091-page-images/p0167.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2fb6b64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0167.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0168.png b/28091-page-images/p0168.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cbb9346
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0168.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0169.png b/28091-page-images/p0169.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04f6503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0169.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0170.png b/28091-page-images/p0170.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0eb1038
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0170.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0171.png b/28091-page-images/p0171.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa56ea2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0171.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0172.png b/28091-page-images/p0172.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5327981
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0172.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0173.png b/28091-page-images/p0173.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..450d44b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0173.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0174.png b/28091-page-images/p0174.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..926bc65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0174.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0175.png b/28091-page-images/p0175.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ec55b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0175.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0176.png b/28091-page-images/p0176.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5178702
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0176.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0177.png b/28091-page-images/p0177.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc932e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0177.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0178.png b/28091-page-images/p0178.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b790985
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0178.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0179.png b/28091-page-images/p0179.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..596a96f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0179.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0180.png b/28091-page-images/p0180.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a11791c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0180.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0181.png b/28091-page-images/p0181.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53b4fc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0181.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0182.png b/28091-page-images/p0182.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35d9424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0182.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0183.png b/28091-page-images/p0183.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f8a3f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0183.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0184.png b/28091-page-images/p0184.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7bf7164
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0184.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0185.png b/28091-page-images/p0185.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..626bd64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0185.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0186.png b/28091-page-images/p0186.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f4437d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0186.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0187.png b/28091-page-images/p0187.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..835f4b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0187.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0188.png b/28091-page-images/p0188.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f70add
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0188.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0189.png b/28091-page-images/p0189.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efa948d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0189.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0190.png b/28091-page-images/p0190.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..800daca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0190.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0191.png b/28091-page-images/p0191.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef7e260
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0191.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0192.png b/28091-page-images/p0192.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..761af8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0192.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0193.png b/28091-page-images/p0193.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..170c2c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0193.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0194.png b/28091-page-images/p0194.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e3cf68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0194.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0195.png b/28091-page-images/p0195.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..411cef6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0195.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0196.png b/28091-page-images/p0196.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af4ab18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0196.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0197.png b/28091-page-images/p0197.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5dd4184
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0197.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0198.png b/28091-page-images/p0198.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8506d6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0198.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0199.png b/28091-page-images/p0199.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b86e92b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0199.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0200.png b/28091-page-images/p0200.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a413fed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0200.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0201.png b/28091-page-images/p0201.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1cd5ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0201.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0202.png b/28091-page-images/p0202.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cffd039
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0202.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0203.png b/28091-page-images/p0203.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c896f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0203.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0204.png b/28091-page-images/p0204.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..605a34e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0204.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0205.png b/28091-page-images/p0205.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06a0071
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0205.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0206.png b/28091-page-images/p0206.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be5f766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0206.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0207.png b/28091-page-images/p0207.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..99f22ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0207.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0208.png b/28091-page-images/p0208.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2bef18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0208.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0209.png b/28091-page-images/p0209.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c88884c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0209.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0210.png b/28091-page-images/p0210.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce67711
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0210.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0211.png b/28091-page-images/p0211.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1058c5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0211.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0212.png b/28091-page-images/p0212.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e17439
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0212.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0213.png b/28091-page-images/p0213.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e16f742
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0213.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0214.png b/28091-page-images/p0214.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5358ba9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0214.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0215.png b/28091-page-images/p0215.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88a4d82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0215.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0216.png b/28091-page-images/p0216.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01b6b05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0216.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0217.png b/28091-page-images/p0217.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2684ada
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0217.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0218.png b/28091-page-images/p0218.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..80cf061
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0218.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0219.png b/28091-page-images/p0219.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7944b49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0219.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0220.png b/28091-page-images/p0220.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..181533f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0220.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0221.png b/28091-page-images/p0221.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2fe1ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0221.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0222.png b/28091-page-images/p0222.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42b54ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0222.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0223.png b/28091-page-images/p0223.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f6c5ca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0223.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0224.png b/28091-page-images/p0224.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e30dcae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0224.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0225.png b/28091-page-images/p0225.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ed9835
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0225.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0226.png b/28091-page-images/p0226.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e45ea5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0226.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0227.png b/28091-page-images/p0227.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc3a54e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0227.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0228.png b/28091-page-images/p0228.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83f0de2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0228.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0229.png b/28091-page-images/p0229.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17c07e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0229.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0230.png b/28091-page-images/p0230.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9869f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0230.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0231.png b/28091-page-images/p0231.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce1ad5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0231.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0232.png b/28091-page-images/p0232.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21173f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0232.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0233.png b/28091-page-images/p0233.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..708d771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0233.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0234.png b/28091-page-images/p0234.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f04f04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0234.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0235.png b/28091-page-images/p0235.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d71845
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0235.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0236.png b/28091-page-images/p0236.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0b96a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0236.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0237.png b/28091-page-images/p0237.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28a5131
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0237.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0238.png b/28091-page-images/p0238.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d6b823
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0238.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0239.png b/28091-page-images/p0239.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b467f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0239.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0240.png b/28091-page-images/p0240.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..667a0f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0240.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0241.png b/28091-page-images/p0241.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10aee5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0241.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0242.png b/28091-page-images/p0242.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ce3dae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0242.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0243.png b/28091-page-images/p0243.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9bb282
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0243.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0244.png b/28091-page-images/p0244.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a95a56d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0244.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0245.png b/28091-page-images/p0245.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13118a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0245.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0246.png b/28091-page-images/p0246.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..552c983
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0246.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0247.png b/28091-page-images/p0247.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84534e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0247.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0248.png b/28091-page-images/p0248.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b1e87a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0248.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0249.png b/28091-page-images/p0249.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c269a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0249.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0250.png b/28091-page-images/p0250.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5dcb1fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0250.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0251.png b/28091-page-images/p0251.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..731b890
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0251.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0252.png b/28091-page-images/p0252.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..677c9b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0252.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0253.png b/28091-page-images/p0253.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb77132
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0253.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0254.png b/28091-page-images/p0254.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95f176a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0254.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0255.png b/28091-page-images/p0255.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a1f4de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0255.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0256.png b/28091-page-images/p0256.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f220742
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0256.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0257.png b/28091-page-images/p0257.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b9a013
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0257.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0258.png b/28091-page-images/p0258.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bad8fee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0258.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0259.png b/28091-page-images/p0259.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..008abff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0259.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0260.png b/28091-page-images/p0260.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b48696
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0260.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0261.png b/28091-page-images/p0261.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65f9e4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0261.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0262.png b/28091-page-images/p0262.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa9847c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0262.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0263.png b/28091-page-images/p0263.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9a38f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0263.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0264.png b/28091-page-images/p0264.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28118d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0264.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0265.png b/28091-page-images/p0265.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d37387
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0265.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0266.png b/28091-page-images/p0266.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc1f0a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0266.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0267.png b/28091-page-images/p0267.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..963a7af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0267.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0268.png b/28091-page-images/p0268.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b5e1fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0268.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0269.png b/28091-page-images/p0269.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3945d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0269.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0270.png b/28091-page-images/p0270.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36986c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0270.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0271.png b/28091-page-images/p0271.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec150b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0271.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0272.png b/28091-page-images/p0272.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..333e403
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0272.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0273.png b/28091-page-images/p0273.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd96524
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0273.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0274.png b/28091-page-images/p0274.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3a36dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0274.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0275.png b/28091-page-images/p0275.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7c190d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0275.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0276.png b/28091-page-images/p0276.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b8215c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0276.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0277.png b/28091-page-images/p0277.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d27abf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0277.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0278.png b/28091-page-images/p0278.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5425a5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0278.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0279.png b/28091-page-images/p0279.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5fff55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0279.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0280.png b/28091-page-images/p0280.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2ffecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0280.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0281.png b/28091-page-images/p0281.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d4c8af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0281.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0282.png b/28091-page-images/p0282.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94baf2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0282.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0283.png b/28091-page-images/p0283.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d3dfbc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0283.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0284.png b/28091-page-images/p0284.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d374b80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0284.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0285.png b/28091-page-images/p0285.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfd58f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0285.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0286.png b/28091-page-images/p0286.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f921a63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0286.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0287.png b/28091-page-images/p0287.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4b2eb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0287.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0288.png b/28091-page-images/p0288.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3703ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0288.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0289.png b/28091-page-images/p0289.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a36492c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0289.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0290.png b/28091-page-images/p0290.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6afa6f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0290.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0291.png b/28091-page-images/p0291.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ff285e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0291.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0292.png b/28091-page-images/p0292.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2cf99f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0292.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0293.png b/28091-page-images/p0293.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd0a036
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0293.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0294.png b/28091-page-images/p0294.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..042b6d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0294.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0295.png b/28091-page-images/p0295.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19f2808
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0295.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0296.png b/28091-page-images/p0296.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..020a8d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0296.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0297.png b/28091-page-images/p0297.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca99405
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0297.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0298.png b/28091-page-images/p0298.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b8e44a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0298.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0299.png b/28091-page-images/p0299.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13341bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0299.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0300.png b/28091-page-images/p0300.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9552ac3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0300.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0301.png b/28091-page-images/p0301.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fac7c81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0301.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0302.png b/28091-page-images/p0302.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..495d34c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0302.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0303.png b/28091-page-images/p0303.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c27c5f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0303.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0304.png b/28091-page-images/p0304.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bd6109
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0304.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0305.png b/28091-page-images/p0305.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04d3e0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0305.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0306.png b/28091-page-images/p0306.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8937957
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0306.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0307.png b/28091-page-images/p0307.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95c8080
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0307.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0308.png b/28091-page-images/p0308.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1eed55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0308.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0309.png b/28091-page-images/p0309.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07752e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0309.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0310.png b/28091-page-images/p0310.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57a9116
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0310.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0311.png b/28091-page-images/p0311.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd090cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0311.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0312.png b/28091-page-images/p0312.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82c5db2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0312.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0313.png b/28091-page-images/p0313.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16cf410
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0313.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0314.png b/28091-page-images/p0314.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b6795a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0314.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0315.png b/28091-page-images/p0315.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45305b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0315.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0316.png b/28091-page-images/p0316.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..149999b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0316.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0317.png b/28091-page-images/p0317.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39bf19b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0317.png
diff --git a/28091-page-images/p0318.png b/28091-page-images/p0318.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2291611
--- /dev/null
+++ b/28091-page-images/p0318.png
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c3cfd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #28091 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28091)
diff --git a/old/28091-8.txt b/old/28091-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..703c176
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/28091-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8454 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Double Four, by E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Double Four
+
+Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+Release Date: February 15, 2009 [EBook #28091]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+                         By E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+
+CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD
+London, New York, Toronto & Melbourne
+First published _September 1911_.
+_Reprinted October 1911_.
+Shilling Edition _April 1913_.
+_Reprinted February 1917_.
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ 1. THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+ 2. THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+ 3. THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+ 4. THE FIRST SHOT
+
+ 5. THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+ 6. THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+ 7. THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+ 8. AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+ 9. THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+10. THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+
+
+THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+
+     "_It is the desire of Madame that you should join our circle here
+     on Thursday evening next, at ten o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The man looked up from the sheet of notepaper which he held in his hand,
+and gazed through the open French windows before which he was standing.
+It was a very pleasant and very peaceful prospect. There was his croquet
+lawn, smooth-shaven, the hoops neatly arranged, the chalk mark firm and
+distinct upon the boundary. Beyond, the tennis court, the flower
+gardens, and to the left the walled fruit garden. A little farther away
+was the paddock and orchard, and a little farther still the farm, which
+for the last four years had been the joy of his life. His meadows were
+yellow with buttercups; a thin line of willows showed where the brook
+wound its lazy way through the bottom fields. It was a home, this, in
+which a man could well lead a peaceful life, could dream away his days
+to the music of the west wind, the gurgling stream, the song of birds,
+and the low murmuring of insects. Peter Ruff stood like a man turned to
+stone, for even as he looked these things passed away from before his
+eyes, the roar of the world beat in his ears--the world of intrigue, of
+crime, the world where the strong man hewed his way to power, and the
+weaklings fell like corn before the sickle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_It is the desire of Madame!_"
+
+Peter Ruff clenched his fists as he read the words once more. It was a
+message from a world every memory of which had been deliberately
+crushed--a world, indeed, in which he had seemed no longer to hold any
+place. He was Peter Ruff, Esquire, of Aynesford Manor, in the County of
+Somerset. It could not be for him, this strange summons.
+
+The rustle of a woman's soft draperies broke in upon his reverie. He
+turned round with his usual morning greeting upon his lips. She was,
+without doubt, a most beautiful woman: petite, and well moulded, with
+the glow of health in her eyes and on her cheeks. She came smiling to
+him--a dream of muslin and pink ribbons.
+
+"Another forage bill, my dear Peter?" she demanded, passing her arm
+through his. "Put it away and admire my new morning gown. It came
+straight from Paris, and you will have to pay a great deal of money for
+it."
+
+He pulled himself together--he had no secrets from his wife.
+
+"Listen," he said, and read aloud:
+
+     "_Rue de St. Quintaine, Paris._
+
+     "DEAR MR. RUFF,--_It is a long time since we had the
+     pleasure of a visit from you. It is the desire of Madame that you
+     should join our circle here on Thursday evening next, at ten
+     o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+Violet was a little perplexed. She failed, somehow, to recognise the
+sinister note underlying those few sentences.
+
+"It sounds friendly enough," she remarked. "You are not obliged to go,
+of course."
+
+Peter Ruff smiled grimly.
+
+"Yes, it sounds all right," he admitted.
+
+"They won't expect you to take any notice of it, surely?" she continued.
+"When you bought this place, Peter, you gave them definitely to
+understand that you had retired into private life, that all these things
+were finished with you."
+
+"There are some things," Peter Ruff said slowly, "which are never
+finished."
+
+"But you resigned," she reminded him. "I remember your letter
+distinctly."
+
+"From the Double Four," he answered, "no resignation is recognised save
+death. I did what I could, and they accepted my explanations gracefully
+and without comment. Now that the time has come, however, when they
+need, or think they need, my help, you see they do not hesitate to claim
+it."
+
+"You will not go, Peter? You will not think of going?" she begged.
+
+He twisted the letter between his fingers and sat down to his breakfast.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not go."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That morning Peter Ruff spent upon his farm, looking over his stock,
+examining some new machinery, and talking crops with his bailiff. In the
+afternoon he played his customary round of golf. It was the sort of day
+which, as a rule, he found completely satisfactory, yet, somehow or
+other, a certain sense of weariness crept in upon him towards its close.
+The agricultural details in which he was accustomed to take so much
+interest had fallen a little flat. He even found himself wondering,
+after one of his best drives, whether it was well for the mind of a man
+to be so utterly engrossed by the flight of that small white ball
+towards its destination. More than once lately, despite his half-angry
+rejection of them, certain memories, half-wistful, half-tantalising,
+from the world of which he now saw so little, had forced their way in
+upon his attention. This morning the lines of that brief note seemed to
+stand out before him all the time with a curious vividness. In a way he
+played the hypocrite to himself. He professed to have found that summons
+disturbing and unwelcome, yet his thoughts were continually occupied
+with it. He knew well that what would follow was inevitable, but he made
+no sign.
+
+Two days later he received another letter. This time it was couched in
+different terms. On a square card, at the top of which was stamped a
+small coronet, he read as follows:
+
+     "_Madame de Maupassim at home, Saturday evening, May 2nd, at ten
+     o'clock._"
+
+In small letters at the bottom left-hand corner were added the words:
+
+     "_To meet friends._"
+
+Peter Ruff put the card upon the fire and went out for a morning's
+rabbit shooting with his keeper. When he returned, luncheon was ready,
+but Violet was absent. He rang the bell.
+
+"Where is your mistress, Jane?" he asked the parlourmaid.
+
+The girl had no idea. Mrs. Ruff had left for the village several hours
+ago. Since then she had not been seen.
+
+Peter Ruff ate his luncheon alone and understood. The afternoon wore on,
+and at night he travelled up to London. He knew better than to waste
+time by purposeless inquiries. Instead he took the nine o'clock train
+the next morning to Paris.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a chamber of death into which he was ushered--dismal, yet, of its
+sort, unique, marvellous. The room itself might have been the sleeping
+apartment of an Empress--lofty, with white panelled walls adorned simply
+with gilded lines; with high windows, closely curtained now so that
+neither sound nor the light of day might penetrate into the room. In the
+middle of the apartment, upon a canopy bedstead which had once adorned a
+king's palace, lay Madame de Maupassim. Her face was already touched
+with the finger of death, yet her eyes were undimmed and her lips
+unquivering. Her hands, covered with rings, lay out before her upon the
+lace coverlid. Supported by many pillows, she was issuing her last
+instructions with the cold precision of the man of affairs who makes the
+necessary arrangements for a few days' absence from his business.
+
+Peter Ruff, who had not even been allowed sufficient time to change his
+travelling clothes, was brought without hesitation to her bedside. She
+looked at him in silence for a moment with a cold glitter in her eyes.
+
+"You are four days late, Monsieur Peter Ruff," she remarked. "Why did
+you not obey your first summons?"
+
+"Madame," he answered, "I thought that there must be a misunderstanding.
+Four years ago I gave notice to the council that I had married and
+retired into private life. A country farmer is of no further use to the
+world."
+
+The woman's thin lip curled.
+
+"From death and the Double Four," she said, "there is no resignation
+which counts. You are as much our creature to-day as I am the creature
+of the disease which is carrying me across the threshold of death."
+
+Peter Ruff remained silent. The woman's words seemed full of dread
+significance. Besides, how was it possible to contradict the dying?
+
+"It is upon the unwilling of the world," she continued, speaking slowly,
+yet with extraordinary distinctness, "that its greatest honours are
+often conferred. The name of my successor has been balloted for
+secretly. It is you, Peter Ruff, who have been chosen."
+
+This time he was silent, because he was literally bereft of words. This
+woman was dying, and fancying strange things! He looked from one to the
+other of the stern, pale faces of those who were gathered around her
+bedside. Seven of them there were--the same seven. At that moment their
+eyes were all focused upon him. Peter Ruff shrank back.
+
+"Madame," he murmured, "this cannot be."
+
+Her lips twitched as though she would have smiled.
+
+"What we have decided," she said, "we have decided. Nothing can alter
+that--not even the will of Mr. Peter Ruff."
+
+"I have been out of the world for four years," Peter Ruff protested. "I
+have no longer ambitions, no longer any desire----"
+
+"You lie!" the woman interrupted. "You lie, or you do yourself an
+injustice! We gave you four years, and, looking into your face, I think
+that it has been enough. I think that the weariness is there already. In
+any case, the charge which I lay upon you in these, my last moments, is
+one which you can escape by death only!"
+
+A low murmur of voices from those others repeated her words.
+
+"By death only!"
+
+Peter Ruff opened his lips, but closed them again without speech. A wave
+of emotion seemed passing through the room. Something strange was
+happening. It was Death itself which had come amongst them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A morning journalist wrote of the death of Madame eloquently and with
+feeling. She had been a broadminded aristocrat, a woman of brilliant
+intellect and great friendships, a woman of whose inner life during the
+last ten or fifteen years little was known, yet who, in happier times,
+might well have played a great part in the history of her country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Peter Ruff drove back from the cemetery with the Marquis de Sogrange,
+and for the first time since the death of Madame serious subjects were
+spoken of.
+
+"I have waited patiently," he declared, "but there are limits. I want my
+wife."
+
+Sogrange took him by the arm and led him into the library of the house
+in the Rue de St. Quintaine. The six men who were already there waiting
+rose to their feet.
+
+"Gentlemen," the Marquis said, "is it your will that I should be
+spokesman?"
+
+There was a murmur of assent. Then Sogrange turned towards his
+companion, and something new seemed to have crept into his manner--a
+solemn, almost threatening note.
+
+"Peter Ruff," he continued, "you have trifled with the one organisation
+in this world which has never allowed itself to have liberties taken
+with it or to be defied. Men who have done greater service than you have
+died for the disobedience of a day. You have been treated leniently,
+accordingly to the will of Madame. According to her will, and in
+deference to the position which you must now take up amongst us, we
+still treat you as no other has ever been treated by us. The Double Four
+admits your leadership and claims you for its own."
+
+"I am not prepared to discuss anything of the sort," Peter Ruff declared
+doggedly, "until my wife is restored to me."
+
+The Marquis smiled.
+
+"The traditions of your race, Mr. Ruff," he said, "are easily manifest
+in you. Now, hear our decision. Your wife shall be restored to you on
+the day when you take up this position to which you have become
+entitled. Sit down and listen."
+
+Peter Ruff was a rebel at heart, but he felt the grip of iron.
+
+"During these four years when you, my friend, have been growing turnips
+and shooting your game, events in the world have marched, new powers
+have come into being, a new page of history has been opened. As
+everything which has good at the heart evolves toward the good, so we of
+the Double Four have lifted our great enterprise on to a higher plane.
+The world of criminals is still at our beck and call, we still claim the
+right to draw the line between moral theft and immoral honesty; but
+to-day the Double Four is concerned with greater things. Within the four
+walls of this room, within the hearing of these my brothers, whose
+fidelity is as sure as the stones of Paris, I tell you a splendid
+secret. The Government of our country has craved for our aid and the aid
+of our organisation. It is no longer the wealth of the world alone which
+we may control, but the actual destinies of nations."
+
+"What I suppose you mean to say is," Peter Ruff remarked, "that you've
+been going in for politics?"
+
+"You put it crudely, my English bulldog," Sogrange answered, "but you
+are right. We are occupied now by affairs of international importance.
+More than once during the last few months ours has been the hand which
+has changed the policy of an empire."
+
+"Most interesting," Peter Ruff declared, "but so far as I personally am
+concerned----"
+
+"Listen," the Marquis interrupted. "Not a hundred yards from the French
+Embassy in London there is waiting for you a house and servants no less
+magnificent than the Embassy itself. You will become the ambassador in
+London of the Double Four, titular head of our association, a personage
+whose power is second to none in your marvellous city. I do not address
+words of caution to you, my friend, because we have satisfied ourselves
+as to your character and capacity before we consented that you should
+occupy your present position. But I ask you to remember this: the will
+of Madame lives even beyond the grave. The spirit which animated her
+when alive breathes still in all of us. In London you will wield a great
+power. Use it for the common good. And remember this: the Double Four
+has never failed, the Double Four can never fail."
+
+"I am glad to hear you are so confident," Peter Ruff said. "Of course,
+if I have to take this thing on I shall do my best; but, if I might
+venture to allude for a moment to anything so trifling as my own
+domestic affairs, I am very anxious to know about my wife."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You will find Mrs. Ruff awaiting you in London," he announced. "Your
+address is Merton House, Berkeley Square."
+
+"When do I go there?" Peter Ruff asked.
+
+"To-night," was the answer.
+
+"And what do I do when I get there?" he persisted.
+
+"For three days," the Marquis told him, "you will remain indoors and
+give audience to whomever may come to you. At the end of that time, you
+will understand a little more of our purpose and our objects--perhaps
+even of our power."
+
+"I see difficulties," Peter Ruff remarked. "My name, you see, is
+uncommon."
+
+Sogrange drew a document from the breast pocket of his coat.
+
+"When you leave this house to-night," he proclaimed, "we bid good-bye
+for ever to Mr. Peter Ruff. You will find in this envelope the
+title-deeds of a small property which is our gift to you. Henceforth you
+will be known by the name and the title of your estates."
+
+"Title!" Peter Ruff gasped.
+
+"You will reappear in London," Sogrange continued, "as the Baron de
+Grost."
+
+Peter Ruff shook his head.
+
+"It won't do," he declared. "People will find me out."
+
+"There is nothing to be found out," the Marquis went on, a little
+wearily. "Your country life has dulled your wits, Baron. The title and
+the name are justly yours--they go with the property. For the rest, the
+history of your family, and of your career up to the moment when you
+enter Merton House to-night, will be inside this packet. You can peruse
+it upon the journey, and remember that we can at all times bring a
+hundred witnesses, if necessary, to prove that you are whom you declare
+yourself to be. When you get to Charing Cross, do not forget that it
+will be the carriage and servants of the Baron de Grost which await
+you."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I suppose I shall get used to it."
+
+"Naturally," Sogrange answered. "For the moment, we are passing through
+a quiet time, necessitated by the mortal illness of Madame. You will be
+able to spend the next few weeks in getting used to your new position.
+You will have a great many callers, inspired by us, who will see that
+you make the right acquaintances and that you join the right clubs. At
+the same time, let me warn you always to be ready. There is trouble
+brooding just now all over Europe. In one way or another we may become
+involved at any moment. The whole machinery of our society will be
+explained to you by your secretary. You will find him already installed
+at Merton House. A glass of wine, Baron, before you leave?"
+
+Peter Ruff glanced at the clock.
+
+"There are my things to pack," he began.
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"Your valet is already on the front seat of the automobile which is
+waiting," he remarked. "You will find him attentive and trustworthy. The
+clothes which you brought with you we have taken the liberty of
+dispensing with. You will find others in your trunk, and at Merton House
+you can send for any tailor you choose. One toast, Baron. We drink to
+the Double Four--to the great cause!"
+
+There was a murmur of voices. Sogrange lifted once more his glass.
+
+"May Peter Ruff rest in peace!" he said. "We drink to his ashes. We
+drink long life and prosperity to the Baron de Grost!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Marquis alone attended his guest to the station. They walked up and
+down the long platform of the Gare du Nord, Sogrange talking most of the
+time in an undertone, for there were many things which he yet had to
+explain. There came a time, however, when his grip upon his companion's
+arm suddenly tightened. They were passing a somewhat noticeable little
+group--a tall, fair man, with close-shaven hair and military moustache,
+dressed in an English travelling suit and Homburg hat, and by his side a
+very brilliant young woman, whose dark eyes, powdered face, and
+marvellous toilette rendered her a trifle conspicuous. In the background
+were a couple of servants.
+
+"The Count von Hern-Bernadine!" the Marquis whispered.
+
+Peter glanced at him for a moment as they passed.
+
+"Bernadine, without a doubt!" he exclaimed. "And his companion?"
+
+"Mademoiselle Delucie, from the _Comédie Française_," the Marquis
+replied. "It is just like Bernadine to bring her here. He likes to
+parade the ostensible cause for his visit to Paris. It is all bluff. He
+cares little for the ladies of the theatre, or any other woman, except
+when he can make tools of them. He is here just now----"
+
+The Marquis paused. Peter looked at him interrogatively.
+
+"Why?" he asked.
+
+"Because you are here," the Marquis affirmed. "Baron, I meant to speak
+to you about that man before we parted. There is no great work done
+without difficulties. The greatest difficulty you will have to face in
+your new life is that man. It is very possible that you may find within
+the course of a few months that your whole career, your very life, has
+developed into a duel _à outrance_ with him."
+
+They had turned again, and were once more in sight of the little group.
+Bernadine had thrown a loose overcoat over his tweed travelling clothes,
+and with a cigarette between his fingers was engaged in deferential
+conversation with the woman by his side. His servant stood discreetly in
+the background, talking to the other domestic--a sombrely clad young
+person carrying a flat jewel-case, obviously the maid of the young
+Frenchwoman.
+
+"He is taking her across," the Marquis remarked. "It is not often that
+he travels like this. Perhaps he has heard that you are susceptible, my
+friend."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The game is too young yet!" he declared.
+
+"It is never too young for Bernadine to take a hand," the Marquis
+replied grimly. "Listen, de Grost. Bernadine will probably try to make
+friends with you. You may think it wise to accept his advances, you may
+believe that you can guard your own secrets in his company; perhaps,
+even, that you may learn his. Do not try it, my friend. You have
+received the best proof possible that we do not underrate your
+abilities, but there is no other man like Bernadine. I would not trust
+myself alone with him."
+
+"You are taking it for granted," Peter interposed, "that our interests
+must be at all times inimical."
+
+The Marquis laid his hand upon the other's arm.
+
+"My friend," he said, "there are interests which are sometimes elastic,
+_rapprochements_ which may vary between chilly friendliness and a
+certain intimacy. But between the interests of the Double Four and the
+interests represented by that young man there yawns the deepest gulf
+which you or any other man could conceive. Bernadine represents the
+Teuton--muscle and bone and sinew. He is German to the last drop of his
+heart's blood. Never undervalue him, I beseech you. He is not only a
+wonderful politician: he is a man of action, grim, unbending, unswerving
+as a man may be whose eyes are steadfastly fixed upon one goal. The
+friendships of France may sometimes change, but her one great enmity
+never. Bernadine represents that enmity. According to the measure of
+your success, so you will find him placid or venomous. Think of yourself
+as a monk, dear Baron, and Bernadine as the Devil Incarnate. From him
+there is safety only in absence."
+
+Peter smiled as he shook hands with his companion and climbed into the
+train.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "I have been warned."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the journey to Boulogne, at least, the repeated warnings of the
+Marquis seemed quite unnecessary. Bernadine and his companion remained
+in their engaged carriage, and de Grost, who dined in the restaurant car
+and sauntered once or twice along the corridors, saw nothing of them. At
+Boulogne they stayed in their carriage until the rush on to the boat was
+over, and it was not until they were half-way across the Channel that
+Peter felt suddenly an arm thrust through his as he leaned over the rail
+on the upper deck. He moved instinctively away from the vessel's side, a
+proceeding which seemed to afford some amusement to the man who had
+accosted him.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," said Bernadine, "let me be the first to
+congratulate you upon your new dignity."
+
+"Very kind of you, I am sure, Count von Hern," Peter answered.
+
+"Bernadine to you, my friend," the other protested. "So you have come
+once more into the great game?"
+
+Peter remained silent. His features had assumed an expression of gentle
+inquiry.
+
+"Once more I congratulate you," Bernadine continued. "In the old days
+you were shrewd and successful in your small undertakings, but you were,
+after all, little more than a policeman. To-day you stand for other
+things."
+
+"Monsieur le Comte talks in enigmas," Peter murmured.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Cautious as ever!" he exclaimed. "Ah, my dear Baron, you amuse me, you
+and the elegant Sogrange--Sogrange, who will pull the strings to which
+you must dance. Do you think that I did not see you both upon the
+platform, gazing suspiciously at me? Do you think that I did not hear
+the words of warning you received as clearly as though I had been
+standing by your side? 'It is Bernadine!' Sogrange whispers. 'Bernadine
+and Mademoiselle Delucie--a dangerous couple! Have a care, Monsieur le
+Baron!' Oh, that is what passed, without a doubt! So when you take your
+place in the train you wrap yourself in an armour of isolation; you are
+ready all the time to repel some deep-laid scheme, you are relieved to
+discover that, so far, at any rate, this terrible Bernadine and his
+beautiful travelling companion have not forced themselves upon you. Is
+it not so?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"It is the south wind," he remarked, "which carries us across so quickly
+to-night."
+
+"The south wind, without a doubt," Bernadine assented politely. "Dear
+Baron, my congratulations are sincere. No one can come into the
+battlefield, the real battlefield of life, without finding enemies there
+waiting for him. You and I represent different causes. When our
+interests clash, I shall not try to throw you off a Channel boat, or to
+buy you with a cheque, or to hand you over to the tender mercies of the
+beautiful Mademoiselle Delucie. Until then, have no fear, my British
+friend. I shall not even ask you to drink with me, for I know that you
+would look suspiciously into the tumbler. _Au revoir_, and good
+fortune!"
+
+Bernadine passed into the shadows and sank into a steamer chair by the
+side of his travelling companion. Peter continued his lonely walk, his
+hands thrust deep into the pockets of his overcoat, his eyes fixed upon
+the Folkestone lights, becoming every moment clearer and clearer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At Charing Cross all was as Sogrange had indicated. His servant remained
+to look after the luggage, a tall footman conducted him towards a
+magnificent automobile. Then, indeed, he forgot Bernadine and all this
+new stir of life--forgot everything in a sudden rush of joy. It was
+Violet who leaned forward to greet him--Violet, looking her best, and
+altogether at her ease amongst this new splendour.
+
+"Welcome, Monsieur le Baron!" she whispered as he took his place by her
+side.
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, closely.
+
+"I always knew," he murmured, "that you hankered after a title."
+
+"Such a snob, aren't I!" she exclaimed. "Never mind, you wait!"
+
+They were moving rapidly westward now. A full moon was shining down upon
+the city, the streets were thronged with pedestrians and a block of
+vehicles. The Carlton was all ablaze. In the softening light Pall Mall
+had become a stately thoroughfare, the Haymarket and Regent Street
+picturesque with moving throngs, a stream of open cabs, women in cool
+evening dresses, men without hats or overcoats, on their way from the
+theatres. It was a vivid, almost a fascinating little picture. Peter
+caught a glimpse of his wife's face as she looked upon it.
+
+"I believe," he whispered, "that you are glad."
+
+She turned upon him with a wonderful smile, the light flashing in her
+eyes.
+
+"Glad! Oh, Peter, of course I am glad! I hated the country; I pined and
+longed for life. Couldn't you see it, dear? Now we are back in it
+again--back amongst the big things. Peter, dear, you were never meant to
+shoot rabbits and play golf, to grow into the likeness of those awful
+people who think of nothing but sport and rural politics and their
+neighbours' weaknesses! The man who throws life away before he has done
+with it, dear, is a wastrel. Be thankful that it's back again in your
+hands--be thankful, as I am!"
+
+He sighed, and with that sigh went all his regrets for the life which
+had once seemed to him so greatly to be desired. He recognised in those
+few seconds the ignominy of peace.
+
+"There is not the slightest doubt about it," he admitted, "I do make
+mistakes."
+
+The automobile came to a standstill before the portico of an imposing
+mansion at the corner of Berkeley Square.
+
+"We are home!" Violet whispered. "Try to look as though you were used to
+it all!"
+
+A grave-faced major-domo was already upon the steps. In the hall was a
+vision of more footmen in quiet but impressive livery. Violet entered
+with an air of familiarity. Peter, with one last sigh, followed her.
+There was something significant to him in that formal entrance into his
+new and magnificent home. Outside, Peter Ruff seemed somewhere to have
+vanished into thin air. It was the Baron de Grost who had entered into
+his body--the Baron de Grost with a ready-made present, a fictitious
+past, a momentous future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+
+Alone in his study, with fast-locked door, Baron de Grost sat reading
+word by word with zealous care the dispatch from Paris which had just
+been delivered into his hands. From the splendid suite of
+reception-rooms which occupied the whole of the left-hand side of the
+hall, came the faint sound of music. The street outside was filled with
+automobiles and carriages setting down their guests. Madame was
+receiving to-night a gathering of very distinguished men and women, and
+it was only on very urgent business indeed that her husband had dared to
+leave her side.
+
+The room in which he sat was in darkness except for the single heavily
+shaded electric lamp which stood by his elbow. Peter was wearing Court
+dress, with immaculate black silk stockings, and diamond buckles upon
+his shoes. A red ribbon was in his button-hole and a French order hung
+from his neck. His passion for clothes was certainly amply ministered to
+by the exigencies of his new position. Once more he read those last few
+words of this unexpectedly received dispatch--read them with a frown
+upon his forehead and the light of trouble in his eyes. For three months
+he had done nothing but live the life of an ordinary man of fashion and
+wealth. His first task--for which, to tell the truth, he had been
+anxiously waiting--was here before him, and he found it little to his
+liking. Again he read slowly to himself the last paragraph of Sogrange's
+letter:--
+
+     "_As ever, dear friend, one of the greatest sayings which the men
+     of my race have ever perpetrated, once more justifies itself,
+     'Cherchez la femme!' Of monsieur we have no manner of doubt; we
+     have tested him in every way. And, to all appearance, madame should
+     also be above suspicion. Yet those things of which I have spoken
+     have happened. For two hours this morning I was closeted with Picon
+     here. Very reluctantly he has placed the matter in my hands. I pass
+     it on to you. It is your first undertaking, cher Baron, and I wish
+     you bon fortune. A man of gallantry, as I know you are, you may
+     regret that it should be a woman--and a beautiful woman,
+     too--against whom the finger must be pointed. Yet, after all, the
+     fates are strong and the task is yours._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The music from the reception-rooms grew louder and more insistent. Peter
+rose to his feet, and, moving to the fireplace, struck a match and
+carefully destroyed the letter which he had been reading. Then he
+straightened himself, glanced for a moment at the mirror, and left the
+room to join his guests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur le Baron jests," the lady murmured. Peter shook his head.
+
+"Indeed, no, madame!" he answered earnestly. "France has offered us
+nothing more delightful in the whole history of our _entente_ than the
+loan of yourself and your brilliant husband. Monsieur de Lamborne makes
+history amongst us politically, whilst madame----"
+
+Peter sighed, and his companion leaned a little towards him. Her dark
+eyes were full of sentimental regard.
+
+"Yes?" she whispered. "Continue. It is my wish."
+
+"I am the good friend of Monsieur de Lamborne," Peter said, and in his
+tone there seemed to lurk some far-away touch of regret, "yet madame
+knows that her conquests here have been many."
+
+The ambassador's wife fanned herself and remained silent for a moment, a
+faint smile playing at the corners of her full, curving lips. She was
+indeed a very beautiful woman--elegant, a Parisian to the finger-tips,
+with pale cheeks but eyes dark and soft; eyes trained to her service,
+whose flash was an inspiration, whose very droop had set beating the
+hearts of men less susceptible than the Baron de Grost. Her gown was
+magnificent, of amber satin--a colour daring but splendid; the outline
+of her figure as she leaned slightly back in her seat might indeed have
+been traced by the inspired finger of some great sculptor. Peter, whose
+reputation as a man of gallantry was well established, felt the whole
+charm of her presence--felt, too, the subtle indications of preference
+which she seemed inclined to accord to him. There was nothing which eyes
+could say which hers were not saying during those few minutes. Peter,
+indeed, glanced around a little nervously. His wife had still her
+moments of unreasonableness; it was just as well that she was engaged
+with a party of her guests at the farther end of the apartments!
+
+"You are trying to turn my head," his beautiful companion whispered.
+"You flatter me."
+
+"It is not possible," he answered.
+
+Again the fan fluttered.
+
+"Ah, monsieur," she continued, dropping her voice until it scarcely rose
+above a whisper, "there are not many men like you. You speak of my
+husband and his political gifts. Yet, what, after all, do they amount
+to? What is his position, indeed, if one glanced behind the scenes,
+compared with yours?"
+
+The face of the Baron de Grost became like a mask. It was as though
+suddenly he had felt the thrill of danger close at hand--danger even in
+that scented atmosphere wherein he sat.
+
+"Alas, madame!" he answered, "it is you now who are pleased to jest.
+Your husband is a great and powerful ambassador. I, unfortunately, have
+no career, no place in life, save the place which the possession of a
+few millions gives to a successful financier."
+
+She laughed very softly, and again her eyes spoke to him.
+
+"Monsieur," she murmured, "you and I together could make a great
+alliance; is it not so?"
+
+"Madame," he faltered doubtfully, "if one dared hope----"
+
+Once more the fire of her eyes, this time not only voluptuous. Was the
+man stupid or only cautious?
+
+"If that alliance were once concluded," she said softly, "one might hope
+for everything."
+
+"If it rests only with me," he began seriously, "oh, madame!"
+
+He seemed overcome. Madame was gracious; but was he really stupid or
+only very much in earnest?
+
+"To be one of the world's money kings," she whispered, "it is wonderful,
+that. It is power--supreme, absolute power! There is nothing
+beyond--there is nothing greater."
+
+Then Peter, who was watching her closely, caught another gleam in her
+eyes, and he began to understand. He had seen it before amongst a
+certain type of her countrywomen--the greed of money. He looked at her
+jewels, and he remembered that, for an ambassador, her husband was
+reputed to be a poor man. The cloud of misgiving passed away from him;
+he settled down to the game.
+
+"If money could only buy the desire of one's heart!" he murmured.
+"Alas!"
+
+His eyes seemed to seek out Monsieur de Lamborne amongst the moving
+throngs. She laughed softly, and her hand brushed his.
+
+"Money and one other thing, Monsieur le Baron," she whispered in his
+ear, "can buy the jewels from a crown--can buy even the heart of a
+woman."
+
+A movement of approaching guests caught them up and parted them for a
+time. The Baroness de Grost was at home from ten till one, and her rooms
+were crowded. Peter found himself drawn on one side a few minutes later
+by Monsieur de Lamborne himself.
+
+"I have been looking for you, de Grost," the latter declared. "Where can
+we talk for a moment?"
+
+His host took the ambassador by the arm and led him into a retired
+corner. Monsieur de Lamborne was a tall, slight man, somewhat
+cadaverous-looking, with large features, hollow eyes, thin but carefully
+arranged grey hair, and a pointed grey beard. He wore a frilled shirt,
+and an eyeglass suspended by a broad, black ribbon hung down upon his
+chest. His face, as a rule, was imperturbable enough, but he had the air
+just now of a man greatly disturbed.
+
+"We cannot be overheard here," Peter remarked. "It must be an affair of
+a few words only, though."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne wasted no time in preliminaries.
+
+"This afternoon," he said, "I received from my Government papers of
+immense importance, which I am to hand over to your Foreign Minister at
+eleven o'clock to-morrow morning."
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Well?"
+
+De Lamborne's thin fingers trembled as they played nervously with the
+ribbon of his eyeglass.
+
+"Listen," he continued, dropping his voice a little. "Bernadine has
+undertaken to send a copy of their contents to Berlin by to-morrow
+night's mail."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+The ambassador hesitated.
+
+"We, too, have spies at work," he remarked grimly. "Bernadine wrote and
+sent a messenger with the letter to Berlin. The man's body is drifting
+down the Channel, but the letter is in my pocket."
+
+"The letter from Bernadine?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What does he say?"
+
+"Simply that a verbatim copy of the document in question will be
+dispatched to Berlin to-morrow evening without fail," replied the
+ambassador.
+
+"There are no secrets between us," Peter declared, smoothly. "What is
+the special importance of this document?"
+
+De Lamborne shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Since you ask," he said, "I tell you. You know of the slight coolness
+which there has been between our respective Governments? Our people have
+felt that the policy of your Ministers in expending all their energies
+and resources in the building of a great fleet, to the utter neglect of
+your army, is a wholly one-sided arrangement, so far as we are
+concerned. In the event of a simultaneous attack by Germany upon France
+and England, you would be utterly powerless to render us any measure of
+assistance. If Germany should attack England alone, it is the wish of
+your Government that we should be pledged to occupy Alsace-Lorraine.
+You, on the other hand, could do nothing for us if Germany's first move
+were made against France."
+
+Peter was deeply interested, although the matter was no new one to him.
+
+"Go on," he directed. "I am waiting for you to tell me the specific
+contents of this document."
+
+"The English Government has asked us two questions; first, how many
+complete army corps we consider she ought to place at our disposal in
+this eventuality; and, secondly, at what point should we expect them to
+be concentrated? The dispatch which I received to-night contains the
+reply to these questions."
+
+"Which Bernadine has promised to forward to Berlin to-morrow night,"
+Peter remarked softly.
+
+De Lamborne nodded.
+
+"You perceive," he said, "the immense importance of the affair. The very
+existence of that document is almost a _casus belli_."
+
+"At what time did the dispatch arrive," Peter asked, "and what has been
+its history since?"
+
+"It arrived at six o'clock," the ambassador declared. "It went straight
+into the inner pocket of my coat; it has not been out of my possession
+for a single second. Even whilst I talk to you I can feel it."
+
+"And your plans? How are you intending to dispose of it to-night?"
+
+"On my return to the Embassy I shall place it in the safe, lock it up,
+and remain watching it until morning."
+
+"There doesn't seem to be much chance for Bernadine," Peter remarked.
+
+"But there must be no chance--no chance at all," Monsieur de Lamborne
+asserted, with a note of passion in his thin voice. "It is incredible,
+preposterous, that he should even make the attempt. I want you to come
+home with me and share my vigil. You shall be my witness in case
+anything happens. We will watch together."
+
+Peter reflected for a moment.
+
+"Bernadine makes few mistakes," he said thoughtfully.
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne passed his hand across his forehead.
+
+"Do I not know it?" he muttered. "In this instance, though, it seems
+impossible for him to succeed. The time is so short and the conditions
+so difficult. I may count upon your assistance, Baron?"
+
+Peter drew from his pocket a crumpled piece of paper.
+
+"I received a telegram from headquarters this evening," he said, "with
+instructions to place myself entirely at your disposal."
+
+"You will return with me, then, to the Embassy?" Monsieur de Lamborne
+asked eagerly.
+
+Peter did not at once reply. He was standing in one of his
+characteristic attitudes, his hands clasped behind him, his head a
+little thrust forward, watching with every appearance of courteous
+interest the roomful of guests, stationary just now, listening to the
+performance of a famous violinist. It was, perhaps, by accident that his
+eyes met those of Madame de Lamborne, but she smiled at him
+subtly--more, perhaps, with her wonderful eyes than with her lips
+themselves. She was the centre of a very brilliant group, a most
+beautiful woman holding court, as was only right and proper, amongst her
+admirers. Peter sighed.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not return with you, de Lamborne. I want you to
+follow my suggestions, if you will."
+
+"But, assuredly----"
+
+"Leave here early and go to your club. Remain there until one, then come
+to the Embassy. I shall be there awaiting your arrival."
+
+"You mean that you will go there alone? I do not understand," the
+ambassador protested. "Why should I go to my club? I do not at all
+understand!"
+
+"Nevertheless, do as I say," Peter insisted. "For the present, excuse
+me. I must look after my guests."
+
+The music had ceased, there was a movement towards the supper room.
+Peter offered his arm to Madame de Lamborne, who welcomed him with a
+brilliant smile. Her husband, although, for a Frenchman, he was by no
+means of a jealous disposition, was conscious of a vague feeling of
+uneasiness as he watched them pass out of the room together. A few
+minutes later he made his excuses to his wife, and, with a reluctance
+for which he could scarcely account, left the house. There was something
+in the air, he felt, which he did not understand. He would not have
+admitted it to himself, but he more than half divined the truth. The
+vacant seat in his wife's carriage was filled that night by the Baron de
+Grost.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At one o'clock precisely Monsieur de Lamborne returned to his house, and
+found de Grost gazing with obvious respect at the ponderous safe let
+into the wall.
+
+"A very fine affair--this," he remarked, motioning with his head towards
+it.
+
+"The best of its kind," Monsieur de Lamborne admitted. "No burglar yet
+has ever succeeded in opening one of its type. Here is the packet," he
+added, drawing the document from his pocket. "You shall see me place it
+in safety."
+
+Peter stretched out his hand and examined the sealed envelope for a
+moment closely. Then he moved to the writing-table, and, placing it upon
+the letter scales, made a note of its exact weight. Finally he watched
+it deposited in the ponderous safe, suggested the word to which the lock
+was set, and closed the door. Monsieur de Lamborne heaved a sigh of
+relief.
+
+"I fancy this time," he said, "that our friends at Berlin will be
+disappointed. Couch or easy-chair, Baron?"
+
+"The couch, if you please," Peter replied, "a strong cigar, and a long
+whisky and soda. So! Now for our vigil."
+
+The hours crawled away. Once Peter sat up and listened.
+
+"Any rats about?" he inquired.
+
+The ambassador was indignant.
+
+"I have never heard one in my life," he answered. "This is quite a
+modern house."
+
+Peter dropped his match-box and stooped to pick it up.
+
+"Any lights on anywhere except in this room?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly not," Monsieur de Lamborne answered. "It is past three
+o'clock, and every one has gone to bed."
+
+Peter rose and softly unbolted the door. The passage outside was in
+darkness. He listened intently for a moment, and returned yawning.
+
+"One fancies things," he murmured apologetically.
+
+"For example?" de Lamborne demanded.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"One mistakes," he said. "The nerves become over-sensitive."
+
+The dawn broke, and the awakening hum of the city grew louder and
+louder. Peter rose and stretched himself.
+
+"Your servants are moving about in the house," he remarked. "I think
+that we might consider our vigil at an end."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne rose with alacrity.
+
+"My friend," he said, "I feel that I have made false pretences to you.
+With the day I have no fear. A thousand pardons for your sleepless
+night."
+
+"My sleepless night counts for nothing," Peter assured him; "but before
+I go, would it not be as well that we glance together inside the safe?"
+
+De Lamborne shook out his keys.
+
+"I was about to suggest it," he replied.
+
+The ambassador arranged the combination and pressed the lever. Slowly
+the great door swung back. The two men peered in.
+
+"Untouched!" de Lamborne exclaimed, a little note of triumph in his
+tone.
+
+Peter said nothing, but held out his hand.
+
+"Permit me," he interposed.
+
+De Lamborne was conscious of a faint sense of uneasiness. His companion
+walked across the room and carefully weighed the packet.
+
+"Well?" de Lamborne cried. "Why do you do that? What is wrong?"
+
+Peter turned and faced him.
+
+"My friend," he said, "this is not the same packet."
+
+The ambassador stared at him incredulously.
+
+"This packet can scarcely have gained two ounces in the night," Peter
+went on. "Besides, the seal is fuller. I have an eye for these details."
+
+De Lamborne leaned against the back of the table. His eyes were a little
+wild, but he laughed hoarsely.
+
+"We fight, then, against the creatures of another world," he declared.
+"No human being could have opened that safe last night."
+
+Peter hesitated.
+
+"Monsieur de Lamborne," he said, "the room adjoining is your wife's?"
+
+"It is the salon of madame," the Ambassador admitted.
+
+"What are the electrical appliances doing there?" Peter demanded. "Don't
+look at me like that, de Lamborne. Remember that I was here before you
+arrived."
+
+"My wife takes an electric massage every day," Monsieur de Lamborne
+answered in a hard, unnatural voice. "In what way is Monsieur le Baron
+concerned in my wife's doings?"
+
+"I think that there need be no answer to that question," Peter said
+quietly. "It is a greater tragedy which we have to face. I maintain that
+your safe was entered from that room. A search will prove it."
+
+"There will be no search there," de Lamborne declared fiercely. "I am
+the ambassador of France, and my power under this roof is absolute. I
+say that you shall not cross that threshold."
+
+Peter's expression did not change. Only his hands were suddenly
+outstretched with a curious gesture--the four fingers were raised, the
+thumbs depressed. Monsieur de Lamborne collapsed.
+
+"I submit," he muttered. "It is you who are the master. Search where you
+will."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur has arrived?" the woman demanded breathlessly.
+
+The proprietor of the restaurant himself bowed a reply. His client was
+evidently well known to him.
+
+"Monsieur has ascended some few minutes ago."
+
+The woman drew a little sigh of relief. A vague misgiving had troubled
+her during the last few hours. She raised her veil as she mounted the
+narrow staircase which led to the one private room at the Hôtel de
+Lorraine. Here she was safe; one more exploit accomplished, one more
+roll of notes for the hungry fingers of her dress-maker.
+
+She entered, without tapping, the room at the head of the stairs,
+pushing open the ill-varnished door with its white-curtained top. At
+first she thought that the little apartment was empty.
+
+"Are you there?" she exclaimed, advancing a few steps.
+
+The figure of a man glided from behind the worn screen close by her side
+and stood between her and the door.
+
+"Madame!" Peter said, bowing low.
+
+Even then she scarcely realised that she was trapped.
+
+"You!" she cried. "You, Baron! But I do not understand. You have
+followed me here?"
+
+"On the contrary, madame," he answered; "I have preceded you."
+
+Her colossal vanity triumphed over her natural astuteness. The man had
+employed spies to watch her! He had lost his head. It was an awkward
+matter, this, but it was to be arranged. She held out her hands.
+
+"Monsieur," she said, "let me beg you now to go away. If you care to,
+come and see me this evening. I will explain everything. It is a little
+family affair which brings me here."
+
+"A family affair, madame, with Bernadine, the enemy of France," Peter
+declared gravely.
+
+She collapsed miserably, her fingers grasping at the air; the cry which
+broke from her lips harsh and unnatural. Before he could tell what was
+happening, she was on her knees before him.
+
+"Spare me!" she begged, trying to seize his hands.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I am not your judge. You will kindly hand
+over to me the document which you are carrying."
+
+She took it from the bosom of her dress. Peter glanced at it and placed
+it in his breast-pocket.
+
+"And now?" she faltered.
+
+Peter sighed--she was a very beautiful woman.
+
+"Madame," he said, "the career of a spy is, as you have doubtless
+sometimes realised, a dangerous one."
+
+"It is finished!" she assured him breathlessly. "Monsieur le Baron, you
+will keep my secret? Never again, I swear it, will I sin like this. You
+will not tell my husband?"
+
+"Your husband already knows, madame," was the quiet reply. "Only a few
+hours ago I proved to him whence had come the leakage of so many of our
+secrets lately."
+
+She swayed upon her feet.
+
+"He will never forgive me!" she cried.
+
+"There are others," Peter declared, "who forgive more rarely even than
+husbands."
+
+A sudden illuminating flash of horror told her the truth. She closed her
+eyes and tried to run from the room.
+
+"I will not be told!" she screamed. "I will not hear. I do not know who
+you are. I will live a little longer!"
+
+"Madame," Peter said, "the Double Four wages no war with women, save
+with spies only. The spy has no sex. For the sake of your family, permit
+me to send you back to your husband's house."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night two receptions and a dinner party were postponed. All London
+was sympathising with Monsieur de Lamborne, and a great many women swore
+never again to take a sleeping draught. Madame de Lamborne lay dead
+behind the shelter of those drawn blinds, and by her side an empty
+phial.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+
+Bernadine, sometimes called the Count von Hern, was lunching at the
+Savoy with the pretty wife of a Cabinet Minister, who was just
+sufficiently conscious of the impropriety of her action to render the
+situation interesting.
+
+"I wish you would tell me, Count von Hern," she said, soon after they
+had settled down in their places, "why my husband seems to object to you
+so much. I simply dared not tell him that we were going to lunch
+together; and, as a rule, he doesn't mind what I do in that way."
+
+Bernadine smiled slowly.
+
+"Ah, well," he remarked, "your husband is a politician and a very
+cautious man. I dare say he is like some of those others, who believe
+that because I am a foreigner and live in London, that therefore I am a
+spy."
+
+"You a spy!" she laughed. "What nonsense!"
+
+"Why nonsense?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders. She was certainly a very pretty woman, and
+her black gown set off to its fullest advantage her deep red hair and
+fair complexion.
+
+"I suppose because I can't imagine you anything of the sort," she
+declared. "You see, you hunt and play polo, and do everything which the
+ordinary Englishmen do. Then one meets you everywhere. I think, Count
+von Hern, that you are much too spoilt, for one thing, to take life
+seriously."
+
+"You do me an injustice," he murmured.
+
+"Of course," she chattered on, "I don't really know what spies do. One
+reads about them in these silly stories, but I have never felt sure that
+as live people they exist at all. Tell me, Count von Hern, what could a
+foreign spy do in England?"
+
+Bernadine twirled his fair moustache and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, my dear lady," he admitted, "I scarcely know what a spy could
+do nowadays. A few years ago you English people were all so trusting.
+Your fortifications, your battleships, not to speak of your country
+itself, were wholly at the disposal of the enterprising foreigner who
+desired to acquire information. The party who governed Great Britain
+then seemed to have some strange idea that these things made for peace.
+To-day, however, all that is changed."
+
+"You seem to know something about it," she remarked.
+
+"I am afraid that mine is really only the superficial point of view," he
+answered; "but I do know that there is a good deal of information which
+seems absolutely insignificant in itself, for which some foreign
+countries are willing to pay. For instance, there was a Cabinet Council
+yesterday, I believe, and someone was going to suggest that a secret but
+official visit be paid to your new harbour works up at Rosyth. An
+announcement will probably be made in the papers during the next few
+days as to whether the visit is to be undertaken or not. Yet there are
+countries who are willing to pay for knowing even such an insignificant
+item of news as that a few hours before the rest of the world."
+
+Lady Maxwell laughed.
+
+"Well, I could earn that little sum of money," she declared gaily, "for
+my husband has just made me cancel a dinner-party for next Thursday
+because he has to go up to the stupid place."
+
+Bernadine smiled. It was really a very unimportant matter, but he loved
+to feel, even in his idle moments, that he was not altogether wasting
+his time.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "that I am not myself acquainted with one of
+these mythical personages, that I might return you the value of your
+marvellous information. If I dared think, however, that it would be in
+any way acceptable, I could offer you the diversion of a restaurant
+dinner-party for that night. The Duchess of Castleford has kindly
+offered to act as hostess for me, and we are all going on to the Gaiety
+afterwards."
+
+"Delightful!" Lady Maxwell exclaimed. "I should love to come."
+
+Bernadine bowed.
+
+"You have, then, dear lady, fulfilled your destiny," he said. "You have
+given secret information to a foreign person of mysterious identity, and
+accepted payment."
+
+Now Bernadine was a man of easy manners and unruffled composure. To the
+natural _insouciance_ of his aristocratic bringing-up he had added the
+steely reserve of a man moving in the large world, engaged more often
+than not in some hazardous enterprise. Yet, for once in his life, and in
+the midst of the idlest of conversations, he gave himself away so
+utterly that even this woman with whom he was lunching--a very butterfly
+lady indeed--could not fail to perceive it. She looked at him in
+something like astonishment. Without the slightest warning his face had
+become set in a rigid stare, his eyes were filled with the expression of
+a man who sees into another world. The healthy colour faded from his
+cheeks; he was white even to the parted lips; the wine dripped from his
+raised glass on to the tablecloth.
+
+"Why, whatever is the matter with you?" she demanded. "Is it a ghost
+that you see?"
+
+Bernadine's effort was superb, but he was too clever to deny the shock.
+
+"A ghost indeed," he answered, "the ghost of a man whom every newspaper
+in Europe has declared to be dead."
+
+Her eyes followed his. The two people who were being ushered to a seat
+in their immediate vicinity were certainly of somewhat unusual
+appearance. The man was tall and thin as a lath, and he wore the clothes
+of the fashionable world without awkwardness, and yet with the air of
+one who was wholly unaccustomed to them. His cheek-bones were remarkably
+high, and receded so quickly towards his pointed chin that his cheeks
+were little more than hollows. His eyes were dry and burning, flashing
+here and there, as though the man himself were continually oppressed by
+some furtive fear. His thick black hair was short-cropped, his forehead
+high and intellectual. He was a strange figure indeed in such a
+gathering, and his companion only served to accentuate the anachronisms
+of his appearance. She was, above all things, a woman of the
+moment--fair, almost florid, a little thick-set, with tightly laced yet
+passable figure. Her eyes were blue, her hair light-coloured. She wore
+magnificent furs, and as she threw aside her boa she disclosed a mass of
+jewellery around her neck and upon her bosom, almost barbaric in its
+profusion and setting.
+
+"What an extraordinary couple!" Lady Maxwell whispered.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"The man looks as though he had stepped out of the Old Testament," he
+murmured.
+
+Lady Maxwell's interest was purely feminine, and was riveted now upon
+the jewellery worn by the woman. Bernadine, under the mask of his
+habitual indifference, which he had easily reassumed, seemed to be
+looking away out of the restaurant into the great square of a
+half-savage city, looking at that marvellous crowd, numbered by their
+thousands, even by their hundreds of thousands, of men and women whose
+arms flashed out toward the snow-hung heavens, whose lips were parted in
+one chorus of rapturous acclamation; looking beyond them to the tall,
+emaciated form of the bare-headed priest in his long robes, his
+wind-tossed hair and wild eyes, standing alone before that multitude in
+danger of death, or worse, at any moment--their idol, their hero. And
+again, as the memories came flooding into his brain, the scene passed
+away, and he saw the bare room, with its whitewashed walls and
+blocked-up windows; he felt the darkness, lit only by those flickering
+candles. He saw the white, passion-wrung faces of the men who clustered
+together around the rude table, waiting; he heard their murmurs; he saw
+the fear born in their eyes. It was the night when their leader did not
+come!
+
+Bernadine poured out another glass of wine and drank it slowly. The
+mists were clearing away now. He was in London, at the Savoy Restaurant,
+and within a few yards of him sat the man with whose name all Europe
+once had rung--the man hailed by some as martyr, and loathed by others
+as the most fiendish Judas who ever drew breath. Bernadine was not
+concerned with the moral side of this strange encounter. How best to use
+his knowledge of this man's identity was the question which beat upon
+his brain. What use could be made of him, what profit for his country
+and himself? And then a fear--a sudden, startling fear. Little profit,
+perhaps, to be made, but the danger--the danger of this man alive with
+such secrets locked in his bosom! The thought itself was terrifying, and
+even as he realised it a significant thing happened--he caught the eye
+of the Baron de Grost, lunching alone at a small table just inside the
+restaurant.
+
+"You are not at all amusing," his guest declared. "It is nearly five
+minutes since you have spoken."
+
+"You, too, have been absorbed," he reminded her.
+
+"It is that woman's jewels," she admitted. "I never saw anything more
+wonderful. The people are not English, of course. I wonder where they
+come from."
+
+"One of the Eastern countries, without a doubt," he replied carelessly.
+
+Lady Maxwell sighed.
+
+"He is a peculiar-looking man," she said, "but one could put up with a
+good deal for jewels like that. What are you doing this
+afternoon--picture galleries or your club?"
+
+"Neither, unfortunately," Bernadine answered. "I have promised to go
+with a friend to look at some polo ponies."
+
+"Do you know," she remarked, "that we have never been to see those
+Japanese prints yet?"
+
+"The gallery is closed until Monday," he assured her, falsely. "If you
+will honour me then, I shall be delighted."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing. She had an idea that she
+was being dismissed, but Bernadine, without the least appearance of
+hurry, gave her no opportunity for any further suggestions. He handed
+her into her automobile, and returned at once into the restaurant. He
+touched Baron de Grost upon the shoulder.
+
+"My friend the enemy!" he exclaimed, smiling.
+
+"At your service in either capacity," the baron replied.
+
+Bernadine made a grimace and accepted the chair which de Grost had
+indicated.
+
+"If I may, I will take my coffee with you," he said. "I am growing old.
+It does not amuse me so much to lunch with a pretty woman. One has to
+entertain, and one forgets the serious business of lunching. I will take
+my coffee and cigarette in peace."
+
+De Grost gave an order to the waiter and leaned back in his chair.
+
+"Now," he suggested, "tell me exactly what it is that has brought you
+back into the restaurant."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Why not the pleasure of this few minutes' conversation with you?" he
+asked.
+
+The baron carefully selected a cigar and lit it.
+
+"That," he said, "goes well, but there are other things."
+
+"As, for instance?"
+
+De Grost leaned back in his chair and watched the smoke of his cigar
+curl upwards.
+
+"One talks too much," he remarked. "Before the cards are upon the table
+it is not wise."
+
+They chatted upon various matters. De Grost himself seemed in no hurry
+to depart, nor did his companion show any signs of impatience. It was
+not until the two people whose entrance had had such a remarkable effect
+upon Bernadine, rose to leave, that the mask was for a moment lifted. De
+Grost had called for his bill and paid it. The two men strolled out
+together.
+
+"Baron," Bernadine said suavely, linking his arm through the other man's
+as they passed into the foyer, "there are times when candour even
+amongst enemies becomes an admirable quality."
+
+"Those times, I imagine," de Grost answered grimly, "are rare. Besides,
+who is to tell the real thing from the false?"
+
+"You do less than justice to your perceptions, my friend," Bernadine
+declared, smiling.
+
+De Grost merely shrugged his shoulders. Bernadine persisted.
+
+"Come," he continued, "since you doubt me, let me be the first to give
+you a proof that on this occasion, at any rate, I am candour itself. You
+had a purpose in lunching at the Savoy to-day. That purpose I have
+discovered by accident. We are both interested in those people."
+
+The Baron de Grost shook his head slowly.
+
+"Really----" he began.
+
+"Let me finish," Bernadine insisted. "Perhaps when you have heard all
+that I have to say you may change your attitude. We are interested in
+the same people, but in different ways. If we both move from opposite
+directions our friend will vanish. He is clever enough at disappearing,
+as he has proved before. We do not want the same thing from him, I am
+convinced of that. Let us move together and make sure that he does not
+evade us."
+
+"Is it an alliance which you are proposing?" de Grost asked, with a
+quiet smile.
+
+"Why not?" Bernadine answered. "Enemies have united before to-day
+against a common foe."
+
+De Grost looked across the palm court to where the two people who formed
+the subject of their discussion were sitting in a corner, both smoking,
+both sipping some red-coloured liqueur.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "I am much too afraid of you to listen any
+more. You fancy because this man's presence here was an entire surprise
+to you, and because you find me already on his track, that I know more
+than you do, and that an alliance with me would be to your advantage.
+You would try to persuade me that your object with him would not be my
+object. Listen! I am afraid of you--you are too clever for me. I am
+going to leave you in sole possession."
+
+De Grost's tone was final and his bow valedictory. Bernadine watched him
+stroll in a leisurely way through the foyer, exchanging greetings here
+and there with friends; watched him enter the cloak-room, from which he
+emerged with his hat and overcoat; watched him step into his automobile
+and leave the restaurant. He turned back with a clouded face and threw
+himself into an easy-chair.
+
+Ten minutes passed uneventfully. People were passing backwards and
+forwards all the time; but Bernadine, through his half-closed eyes, did
+little save watch the couple in whom he was so deeply interested. At
+last the man rose and, with a word of farewell to his companion, came
+out from the lounge and made his way up the foyer, turning toward the
+hotel. He walked with quick, nervous strides, glancing now and then
+restlessly about him. In his eyes, to those who understood, there was
+the furtive gleam of the hunted man. It was the passing of one who was
+afraid.
+
+The woman, left to herself, began to look around her with some
+curiosity. Bernadine, to whom a new idea had occurred, moved his chair
+nearer to hers, and was rewarded by a glance which certainly betrayed
+some interest. A swift and unerring judge in such matters, he came to
+the instant conclusion that she was not unapproachable. He acted upon
+impulse. Rising to his feet, he approached her and bowed easily, but
+respectfully.
+
+"Madame," he said, "it is impossible that I am mistaken. I have had the
+pleasure, have I not, of meeting you in St. Petersburg?"
+
+Her first reception of his coming was reassuring enough. At his mention
+of St. Petersburg, however, she frowned.
+
+"I do not think so," she answered in French. "You are mistaken. I do not
+know St. Petersburg."
+
+"Then it was in Paris," Bernadine continued, with conviction. "Madame is
+Parisian, without a doubt."
+
+She shook her head, smiling.
+
+"I do not think that I remember meeting you, monsieur," she replied
+doubtfully; "but perhaps----"
+
+She looked up, and her eyes drooped before his. He was certainly a very
+personable-looking man, and she had spoken to no one for so many months.
+
+"Believe me, madame, I could not possibly be mistaken," Bernadine
+assured her smoothly. "You are staying here for long?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Heaven knows!" she declared. "My husband he has, I think, what you call
+the wander fever. For myself, I am tired of it. In Rome we settle down;
+we stay five days, all seems pleasant, and suddenly my husband's whim
+carries us away without an hour's notice. The same thing at Monte Carlo;
+the same at Paris. Who can tell what will happen here? To tell you the
+truth, monsieur," she added, a little archly, "I think that if he were
+to come back at this moment we should probably leave England to-night."
+
+"Your husband is very jealous?" Bernadine whispered softly.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Partly jealous and partly he has the most terrible distaste for
+acquaintances. He will not speak to strangers himself, or suffer me to
+do so. It is sometimes--oh! it is sometimes very _triste_!"
+
+"Madame has my sympathy," Bernadine assured her. "It is an impossible
+life--this. No husband should be so exacting."
+
+She looked at him with her round blue eyes, a touch of added colour in
+her cheeks.
+
+"If one could but cure him!" she murmured.
+
+"I would ask your permission to sit down," Bernadine remarked, "but I
+fear to intrude. You are afraid, perhaps, that your husband may return?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"It will be better that you do not stay," she declared. "For a moment or
+two he is engaged. He has an appointment in his room with a gentleman,
+but one never knows how long he may be."
+
+"You have friends in London, then?" Bernadine remarked thoughtfully.
+
+"Of my husband's affairs," the woman said, "there is no one so ignorant
+as I. Yet since we left our own country this is the first time I have
+known him willingly speak to a soul."
+
+"Your own country!" Bernadine repeated softly. "That was Russia, of
+course? Your husband's nationality is very apparent."
+
+The woman looked annoyed with herself. She remained silent.
+
+"May I not hope," Bernadine begged, "that you will give me the pleasure
+of meeting you again?"
+
+She hesitated for a moment.
+
+"He does not leave me," she replied. "I am not alone for five minutes
+during the day."
+
+Bernadine scribbled the name by which he was known in that locality, on
+a card, and passed it to her.
+
+"I have rooms in St. James's Street, quite close to here," he said. "If
+you could come and have tea with me to-day or to-morrow it would give me
+the utmost pleasure."
+
+She took the card and crumpled it in her hand. All the time, though, she
+shook her head.
+
+"Monsieur is very kind," she answered. "I am afraid--I do not think that
+it would be possible. And now, if you please, you must go away. I am
+terrified lest my husband should return."
+
+Bernadine bent low in a parting salute.
+
+"Madame," he pleaded, "you will come?"
+
+Bernadine was a handsome man, and he knew well enough how to use his
+soft and extraordinarily musical voice. He knew very well as he retired
+that somehow or other she would accept his invitation. Even then he felt
+dissatisfied and ill at ease as he left the place. He had made a little
+progress; but, after all, was it worth while? Supposing that the man
+with whom her husband was even at this moment closeted was the Baron de
+Grost! He called a taxi-cab and drove at once to the Embassy of his
+country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Even at this moment de Grost and the Russian--Paul Hagon he called
+himself--were standing face to face in the latter's sitting-room. No
+conventional greetings of any sort had been exchanged. De Grost had
+scarcely closed the door behind him before Hagon addressed him
+breathlessly, almost fiercely.
+
+"Who are you, sir?" he demanded. "And what do you want with me?"
+
+"You had my letter?" de Grost inquired.
+
+"I had your letter," the other admitted. "It told me nothing. You speak
+of business. What business have I with any here?"
+
+"My business is soon told," de Grost replied; "but in the first place, I
+beg that you will not unnecessarily alarm yourself. There is, believe
+me, no need for it--no need whatever, although, to prevent
+misunderstandings, I may as well tell you at once that I am perfectly
+well aware who it is that I am addressing."
+
+Hagon collapsed into a chair. He buried his face in his hands and
+groaned.
+
+"I am not here necessarily as an enemy," de Grost continued. "You have
+very excellent reasons, I make no doubt, for remaining unknown in this
+city, or wherever you may be. As yet, let me assure you, your identity
+is not even suspected, except by myself and one other. Those few who
+believe you alive believe that you are in America. There is no need for
+anyone to know that Father----"
+
+"Stop!" the man begged piteously. "Stop!"
+
+De Grost bowed.
+
+"I beg your pardon!" he said.
+
+"Now tell me," the man demanded, "what is your price? I have had money.
+There is not much left. Sophia is extravagant, and travelling costs a
+great deal. But why do I weary you with these things?" he added. "Let me
+know what I have to pay for your silence."
+
+"I am not a blackmailer," de Grost answered sternly. "I am myself a
+wealthy man. I ask from you nothing in money; I ask you nothing in that
+way at all. A few words of information, and a certain paper which I
+believe you have in your possession, is all that I require."
+
+"Information?" Hagon repeated, shivering.
+
+"What I ask," de Grost declared, "is really a matter of justice. At the
+time when you were the idol of all Russia and the leader of the great
+revolutionary party, you received funds from abroad."
+
+"I accounted for them," Hagon muttered. "Up to a certain point I
+accounted for everything."
+
+"You received funds from the Government of a European Power," de Grost
+continued--"funds to be applied towards developing the revolution. I
+want the name of that Power, and proof of what I say."
+
+Hagon remained motionless for a moment. He had seated himself at the
+table, his head resting upon his hand, and his face turned away from de
+Grost.
+
+"You are a politician, then?" he asked slowly.
+
+"I am a politician," de Grost admitted. "I represent a great secret
+power which has sprung into existence during the last few years. Our
+aim, at present, is to bring closer together your country and Great
+Britain. Russia hesitates because an actual _rapprochement_ with us is
+equivalent to a permanent estrangement with Germany."
+
+Hagon nodded.
+
+"I understand," he said, in a low tone. "I have finished with politics.
+I have nothing to say to you."
+
+"I trust," de Grost persisted suavely, "that you will be better
+advised."
+
+Hagon turned round and faced him.
+
+"Sir," he demanded, "do you believe that I am afraid of death?"
+
+De Grost looked at him steadfastly.
+
+"No," he answered. "You have proved the contrary."
+
+"If my identity is discovered," Hagon continued, "I have the means of
+instant death at hand. I do not use it because of my love for the one
+person who links me to this world. For her sake I live, and for her sake
+I bear always the memory of the shameful past. Publish my name and
+whereabouts if you will. I promise you that I will make the tragedy
+complete. But, for the rest, I refuse to pay your price. A great Power
+trusted me, and, whatever their motives may have been, their money came
+very near indeed to freeing my people. I have nothing more to say to
+you, sir."
+
+The Baron de Grost was taken aback. He had scarcely contemplated
+refusal.
+
+"You must understand," he explained, "that this is not a personal
+matter. Even if I myself would spare you, those who are more powerful
+than I will strike. The society to which I belong does not tolerate
+failure. I am empowered even to offer you their protection, if you will
+give me the information for which I ask."
+
+Hagon rose to his feet, and before de Grost could foresee his purpose,
+had rung the bell.
+
+"My decision is unchanging," he said. "You can pull down the roof upon
+my head, but I carry next my heart an instant and an unfailing means of
+escape."
+
+A waiter stood in the doorway.
+
+"You will take this gentleman to the lift," Hagon directed.
+
+There was once more a touch in his manner of that half-divine authority
+which had thrilled the great multitudes of his believers. De Grost was
+forced to admit defeat.
+
+"Not defeat," he said to himself, as he followed the man to the lift;
+"only a check."
+
+Nevertheless, it was a serious check. He could not for the moment see
+his way farther. Arrived at his house, he followed his usual custom, and
+made his way at once to his wife's rooms. Violet was resting upon a
+sofa, but laid down her book at his entrance.
+
+"Violet," he declared, "I have come for your advice."
+
+"He refuses, then?" she asked eagerly.
+
+"Absolutely," de Grost assured her. "What am I to do? Bernadine is
+already upon the scent. He saw him at the Savoy to-day and recognised
+him."
+
+"Has Bernadine approached him yet?" Violet inquired.
+
+"Not yet," her husband answered. "He is half afraid to move. I think he
+realises, or will do very soon, how serious this man's existence may be
+for Germany."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments; then she looked up.
+
+"Bernadine will try the woman," she asserted. "You say that Hagon is
+infatuated?"
+
+"Blindly," de Grost replied. "He scarcely lets her out of his sight."
+
+"Your people watch Bernadine?"
+
+"Always."
+
+"Very well, then," Violet went on, "you will find that he will attempt
+an intrigue with the woman. The rest should be easy for you."
+
+De Grost sighed as he bent over his wife.
+
+"My dear," he said, "there is no subtlety like that of a woman."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine's instinct had not deceived him, and the following afternoon
+his servant, who had already received orders, silently ushered Madame
+Hagon into his apartments. She was wrapped in magnificent sables and
+heavily veiled. Bernadine saw at once that she was very nervous and
+wholly terrified. He welcomed her in as matter-of-fact a manner as
+possible.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "this is quite charming of you! You must sit in
+my easy-chair here, and my man shall bring us some tea. I drink mine
+always after the fashion of your country, with lemon, but I doubt
+whether we make it so well. Won't you unfasten your jacket? I am afraid
+my rooms are rather warm."
+
+Madame had collected herself, but it was quite obvious that she was
+unused to adventures of this sort. Her hand, when he took it, trembled,
+and more than once she glanced furtively toward the door.
+
+"Yes, I have come," she murmured. "I do not know why. It is not right
+for me to come; yet there are times when I am weary--times when Paul
+seems fierce, and when I am terrified. Sometimes I even wish that I were
+back----"
+
+"Your husband seems very highly strung," Bernadine remarked. "He has
+doubtless led an exciting life."
+
+"As to that," she replied, gazing around her now, and gradually becoming
+more at her ease, "I know but little. He was a student professor at
+Moschaume when I met him. I think that he was at one of the universities
+in St. Petersburg."
+
+Bernadine glanced at her covertly. It came to him as an inspiration that
+the woman did not know the truth.
+
+"You are from Russia, then, after all," he said, smiling. "I felt sure
+of it."
+
+"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "Paul is so queer in these things. He
+will not have me talk of it. He prefers that we are taken for French
+people. Indeed," she went on, "it is not I who desire to think too much
+of Russia. It is not a year since my father was killed in the riots, and
+two of my brothers were sent to Siberia."
+
+Bernadine was deeply interested.
+
+"They were amongst the revolutionaries?"
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Yes," she answered.
+
+"And your husband?"
+
+"He, too, was with them in sympathy. Secretly, too, I believe that he
+worked amongst them; only he had to be careful. You see, his position at
+the college made it difficult."
+
+Bernadine looked into the woman's eyes, and he knew then that she was
+speaking the truth. This man was indeed a great master; he had kept her
+in ignorance.
+
+"Always," Bernadine said, a few minutes later, as he passed her tea, "I
+read with the deepest interest of the people's movement in Russia. Tell
+me what became eventually of their great leader--the wonderful Father
+Paul."
+
+She set down her cup untasted, and her blue eyes flashed with a fire
+which turned them almost to the colour of steel.
+
+"Wonderful, indeed!" she exclaimed. "Wonderful Judas! It was he who
+wrecked the cause. It was he who sold the lives and liberty of all of us
+for gold."
+
+"I heard a rumour of that," Bernadine remarked, "but I never believed
+it."
+
+"It was true," she declared passionately.
+
+"And where is he now?" Bernadine asked.
+
+"Dead!" she answered fiercely. "Torn to pieces, we believe, one night in
+a house near Moscow. May it be so!"
+
+She was silent for a moment, as though engaged in prayer. Bernadine
+spoke no more of these things. He talked to her kindly, keeping up
+always his rôle of respectful, but hopeful, admirer.
+
+"You will come again soon?" he begged, when at last she insisted upon
+going.
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"It is so difficult," she murmured. "If my husband knew----"
+
+Bernadine laughed and touched her fingers caressingly.
+
+"Need one tell him?" he whispered. "You see, I trust you. I pray that
+you will come."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine was a man rarely moved towards emotion of any sort; yet even
+he was conscious of a certain sense of excitement as he stood looking
+out upon the Embankment from the windows of Paul Hagon's sitting-room a
+few days later. Madame was sitting on the settee. It was for her answer
+to a question that he waited.
+
+"Monsieur," she said at last, turning slowly towards him, "it must be
+'No.' Indeed I am sorry, for you have been very charming to me, and
+without you I should have been dull. But to come to your rooms and dine
+alone to-night, it is impossible."
+
+"Your husband cannot return before the morning," Bernadine reminded her.
+
+"It makes no difference," she answered. "Paul is sometimes fierce and
+rough, but he is generous, and all his life he has worshipped me. He
+behaves strangely at times, but I know that he cares--all the time more,
+perhaps, than I deserve."
+
+"And there is no one else." Bernadine asked softly, "who can claim even
+the smallest place in your heart?"
+
+"Monsieur," the woman begged, "you must not ask me that. I think that
+you had better go away."
+
+Bernadine stood quite still for several moments. It was the climax
+towards which he had steadfastly guided the course of this mild
+intrigue.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "You must not send me away! You shall not!"
+
+She held out her hand.
+
+"Then you must not ask impossible things," she answered.
+
+Then Bernadine took the plunge. He became suddenly very grave.
+
+"Sophia," he said, "I am keeping a great secret from you, and I can do
+it no longer. When you speak to me of your husband you drive me mad. If
+I believed that really you loved him, I would go away and leave it to
+chance whether or not you ever discovered the truth. As it is----"
+
+"Well?" she interposed breathlessly.
+
+"As it is," he continued, "I am going to tell you now. Your husband has
+deceived you; he is deceiving you every moment."
+
+She looked at him incredulously.
+
+"You mean that there is another woman?"
+
+Bernadine shook his head.
+
+"Worse than that," he answered. "Your husband stole even your love under
+false pretences. You think that his life is a strange one; that his
+nerves have broken down; that he flies from place to place for
+distraction, for change of scene. It is not so. He left Rome, he left
+Nice, he left Paris for one and the same reason. He left because he went
+in peril of his life. I know little of your history, but I know as much
+as this: If ever a man deserved the fate from which he flees, your
+husband deserves it!"
+
+"You are mad!" she faltered.
+
+"No, I am sane," he went on. "It is you who are mad, not to have
+understood. Your husband goes ever in fear of his life. His real name is
+one branded with ignominy throughout the world. The man whom you have
+married, to whom you are so scrupulously faithful, is the man who sent
+your father to death and your brothers to Siberia."
+
+"Father Paul!" she screamed.
+
+"You have lived with him; you are his wife!" Bernadine declared.
+
+The colour had left her cheeks; her eyes, with their pencilled brows,
+were fixed in an almost ghastly stare; her breath was coming in uneven
+gasps. She looked at him in silent terror.
+
+"It is not true!" she cried at last. "It cannot be true!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "you can prove it for yourself. I know a little of
+your husband and his doings. Does he not carry always with him a black
+box which he will not allow out of his sight?"
+
+"Always," she assented. "How did you know? By night his hand rests upon
+it. By day, if he goes out, it is in my charge."
+
+"Fetch it now," Bernadine directed. "I will prove my words."
+
+She did not hesitate for a moment. She disappeared into the inner room
+and came back after only a few moments' absence, carrying a black
+leather dispatch-box.
+
+"You have the key?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," she answered, looking at him and trembling; "but I dare not--oh,
+I dare not open it!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "if my words are not true, I will pass out of your
+life for ever. I challenge you. If you open that box you will know that
+your husband is indeed the greatest scoundrel in Europe."
+
+She drew a key from a gold chain around her neck.
+
+"There are two locks," she told him. "The other is a combination, but I
+know the word. Who's that?"
+
+She started suddenly. There was a loud tapping at the door. Bernadine
+threw an antimacassar half over the box, but he was too late. De Grost
+and Hagon had crossed the threshold. The woman stood like some dumb
+creature. Hagon, transfixed, stood with his eyes riveted upon Bernadine.
+His face was distorted with passion; he seemed like a man beside himself
+with fury. De Grost came slowly forward into the middle of the room.
+
+"Count von Hern," he said, "I think that you had better leave."
+
+The woman found words.
+
+"Not yet!" she cried. "Not yet! Paul, listen to me. This man has told me
+a terrible thing."
+
+The breath seemed to come through Hagon's teeth like a hiss.
+
+"He has told you!"
+
+"Listen to me!" she continued. "It is the truth which you must tell now.
+He says that you--you are Father Paul!"
+
+Hagon did not hesitate.
+
+"It is true," he admitted.
+
+Then there was a silence--short, but tragical. Hagon seemed suddenly to
+have collapsed. He was like a man who has just had a stroke. He stood
+muttering to himself.
+
+"It is the end--this--the end!" he said, in a low tone. "It was for your
+sake, Sophia! I came to you poor, and you would have nothing to say to
+me. My love for you burned in my veins like fever. It was for you I did
+it--for your sake I sold my honour, the love of my country, the freedom
+of my brothers. For your sake I risked an awful death. For your sake I
+have lived like a hunted man, with the cry of the wolves always in my
+ears, and the fear of death and of eternal torture with me day by day.
+Have pity on me!"
+
+She was unmoved; her face had lost all expression. No one noticed in
+that rapt moment that Bernadine had crept from the room.
+
+"It was you," she cried, "who killed my father and sent my brothers into
+exile!"
+
+"God help me!" he moaned.
+
+She turned to de Grost.
+
+"Take him away with you, please," she said. "I have finished with him!"
+
+"Sophia!" he pleaded.
+
+She leaned across the table and struck him heavily upon the cheek.
+
+"If you stay here," she muttered, "I shall kill you myself!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night the body of an unknown foreigner was found in the attic of a
+cheap lodging-house in Soho. The discovery itself and the verdict at the
+inquest occupied only a few lines in the morning newspapers. Those few
+lines were the epitaph of one who was very nearly a Rienzi. The greater
+part of his papers de Grost mercifully destroyed, but one in particular
+he preserved. Within a week the much-delayed treaty was signed at Paris,
+London and St. Petersburg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE FIRST SHOT
+
+
+De Grost and his wife were dining together at the corner table in a
+fashionable but somewhat Bohemian restaurant. Both had been in the
+humour for reminiscences, and they had outstayed most of their
+neighbours.
+
+"I wonder what people really think of us," Violet remarked pensively. "I
+told Lady Amershal, when she asked us to go there this evening, that we
+always dined together alone somewhere once a week, and she absolutely
+refused to believe me. 'With your own husband, my dear?' she kept on
+repeating."
+
+"Her ladyship's tastes are more catholic," the baron declared dryly.
+"Yet, after all, Violet, the real philosophy of married life demands
+something of this sort."
+
+Violet smiled and fingered her pearls for a minute.
+
+"What the real philosophy of married life may be I do not know," she
+said, "but I am perfectly content with our rendering of it. What a
+fortunate thing, Peter, with your intensely practical turn of mind, that
+Nature endowed you with so much sentiment."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively at the cigarette which he had just selected
+from his case.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "there have been times when I have cursed myself
+for a fool, but, on the whole, sentiment keeps many fires burning."
+
+She leaned towards him and dropped her voice a little.
+
+"Tell me," she begged, "do you ever think of the years we spent together
+in the country? Do you ever regret?"
+
+He smiled thoughtfully.
+
+"It is a hard question, that," he admitted. "There were days there which
+I loved, but there were days, too, when the restlessness came--days when
+I longed to hear the hum of the city and to hear men speak whose words
+were of life and death and the great passions. I am not sure, Violet,
+whether, after all, it is well for one who has lived to withdraw
+absolutely from the thrill of life."
+
+She laughed softly but gaily.
+
+"I am with you," she declared, "absolutely. I think that the fairies
+must have poured into my blood the joy of living for its own sake. I
+should be an ungrateful woman indeed if I found anything to complain of
+nowadays. Yet there is one thing that sometimes troubles me," she went
+on, after a moment's pause.
+
+"And that?" he asked.
+
+"The danger," she said slowly. "I do not want to lose you, Peter. There
+are times when I am afraid."
+
+De Grost flicked the ash from his cigarette.
+
+"The days are passing," he remarked, "when men point revolvers at one
+another, and hire assassins to gain their ends. Now it is more a battle
+of wits. We play chess on the board of life still, but we play with
+ivory pieces instead of steel and poison. Our brains direct, and not our
+muscles."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"It is only the one man of whom I am afraid," she said. "You have
+outwitted him so often and he does not forgive."
+
+De Grost smiled. It was an immense compliment, this.
+
+"Bernadine," he murmured softly, "otherwise our friend, the Count von
+Hern."
+
+"Bernadine," she repeated. "All that you say is true; but when one fails
+with modern weapons, one changes the form of attack. Bernadine at heart
+is a savage."
+
+"The hate of such a man," de Grost remarked complacently, "is worth
+having. He has had his own way over here for years. He seems to have
+found the knack of living in a maze of intrigue and remaining
+untouchable. There were a dozen things before I came upon the scene
+which ought to have ruined him. Yet there never appeared to be anything
+to take hold of. The Criminal Investigation Department thought they had
+no chance. I remember Sir John Dory telling me in disgust that Bernadine
+was like one of those marvellous criminals one only reads about in
+fiction, who seem when they pass along the dangerous places to walk upon
+the air and leave no trace behind."
+
+"Before you came," she said, "he had never known a failure. Do you think
+that he is a man likely to forgive?"
+
+"I do not," de Grost answered grimly. "It is a battle, of course--a
+battle all the time. Yet, Violet, between you and me, if Bernadine were
+to go, half the savour of life for me would depart with him."
+
+Then there came a serious and wholly unexpected interruption. A man in
+dark, plain clothes, still wearing his overcoat and carrying a bowler
+hat, had been standing in the entrance of the restaurant for a moment or
+two, looking around the room as though in search of someone. At last he
+caught the eye of the Baron de Grost and came quickly towards him.
+
+"Charles," the Baron remarked, raising his eyebrows. "I wonder what he
+wants?"
+
+A sudden cloud had fallen upon their little feast. Violet watched the
+coming of her husband's servant and the reading of the note which he
+presented to his master with an anxiety which she could not wholly
+conceal. The Baron read the note twice, scrutinising a certain part of
+it closely with the aid of the monocle which he seldom used. Then he
+folded it up and placed it in the breast-pocket of his coat.
+
+"At what hour did you receive this, Charles?" he asked.
+
+"A messenger brought it in a taxi-cab about ten minutes ago, sir," the
+man replied. "He said that it was of the utmost importance, and that I
+had better try and find you."
+
+"A district messenger?"
+
+"A man in ordinary clothes, sir," Charles answered. "He looked like a
+porter in a warehouse, or something of that sort. I forgot to say that
+you were rung up on the telephone three times previously by Mr.
+Greening."
+
+The Baron nodded.
+
+"You can go," he said. "There is no reply."
+
+The man bowed and retired. De Grost called for his bill.
+
+"Is it anything serious?" Violet inquired.
+
+"No, not exactly serious," he answered. "I do not understand what has
+happened, but they have sent for me to go--well, where it was agreed
+that I should not go, except as a matter of urgent necessity."
+
+Violet knew better than to show any signs of disquietude.
+
+"Is it in London?" she asked.
+
+"Certainly," her husband replied. "I shall take a taxi-cab from here. I
+am sorry, dear, to have one of our evenings disturbed in this manner. I
+have always done my best to avoid it, but this summons is urgent."
+
+She rose and he wrapped her cloak around her.
+
+"You will drive straight home, won't you?" he begged. "I dare say that I
+may be back within an hour myself."
+
+"And if not?" she asked in a low tone.
+
+"If not," he replied, "there is nothing to be done."
+
+Violet bit her lip, but as he handed her into the small electric
+brougham which was waiting she smiled into his face.
+
+"You will come back, and soon, Peter," she declared confidently.
+"Wherever you go I am sure of that. You see, I have faith in my star
+which watches over you."
+
+He kissed her fingers and turned away. The commissionaire had already
+called him a taxi-cab.
+
+"To London Bridge," he ordered after a moment's hesitation, and drove
+off.
+
+The traffic citywards had long since finished for the day, and he
+reached his destination within ten minutes of leaving the restaurant.
+Here he paid the man, and, entering the station, turned to the
+refreshment-room and ordered a liqueur brandy. While he sipped it he
+smoked a cigarette and fully re-read in a strong light the note which he
+had received. The signature especially he pored over for some time. At
+last, however, he replaced it in his pocket, paid his bill, and,
+stepping out once more on to the platform, entered a telephone booth. A
+few minutes later he left the station and, turning to the right, walked
+slowly as far as Tooley Street. He kept on the right-hand side until he
+arrived at the spot where the great arches, with their scanty lights,
+make a gloomy thoroughfare into Bermondsey. In the shadow of the first
+of these he paused and looked steadfastly across the street. There were
+few people passing, and practically no traffic. In front of him was a
+row of warehouses, all save one of which was wrapped in complete
+darkness. It was the one where some lights were still burning which de
+Grost stood and watched.
+
+The lights, such as they were, seemed to illuminate the ground floor
+only. From his hidden post he could see the shoulders of a man
+apparently bending over a ledger, diligently writing. At the next window
+a youth, seated upon a tall stool, was engaged in, presumably, the same
+avocation. There was nothing about the place in the least mysterious or
+out-of-the-way. Even the blinds of the offices had been left undrawn.
+The man and the boy, who were alone visible, seemed, in a sense, to be
+working under protest. Every now and then the former stopped to yawn,
+and the latter performed a difficult balancing feat upon his stool. De
+Grost, having satisfied his curiosity, came presently from his shelter,
+almost running into the arms of a policeman, who looked at him closely.
+The Baron, who had an unlighted cigarette in his mouth, stopped to ask
+for a light, and his appearance at once set at rest any suspicions the
+policeman might have had.
+
+"I have a warehouse myself down in these parts," he remarked, as he
+struck the match, "but I don't allow my people to work as late as that."
+
+He pointed across the way, and the policeman smiled.
+
+"They are very often late there, sir," he said. "It is a Continental
+wine business, and there's always one or two of them over time."
+
+"It's bad business, all the same," de Grost declared pleasantly.
+"Good-night, policeman!"
+
+"Good-night, sir!"
+
+De Grost crossed the road diagonally, as though about to take the short
+cut across London Bridge, but as soon as the policeman was out of sight
+he retraced his steps to the building which they had been discussing,
+and, turning the battered brass handle of the door, walked calmly in. On
+his right and left were counting-houses framed with glass; in front, the
+cavernous and ugly depths of a gloomy warehouse. He knocked upon the
+window-pane on the right and passed forward a step or two, as though to
+enter the office. The boy who had been engaged in the left-hand
+counting-house came gliding from his place, passed silently behind the
+visitor, and turned the key of the outer door. What followed seemed to
+happen as though by some mysteriously directed force. The figures of men
+came stealing out from the hidden places. The clerk who had been working
+so hard at his desk calmly divested himself of a false moustache and
+wig, and, assuming a more familiar appearance, strolled out into the
+warehouse. De Grost looked around him with absolutely unruffled
+composure. He was the centre of a little circle of men, respectably
+dressed, but every one of them hard-featured, with something in their
+faces which suggested not the ordinary toiler but the fighting
+animal--the man who lives by his wits and knows something of danger. On
+the outskirts of the circle stood Bernadine.
+
+"Really," de Grost declared, removing his cigarette from his mouth for a
+moment, "this is most unexpected. In the matter of dramatic surprises,
+my friend Bernadine, you are most certainly in a class by yourself."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"You will understand, of course," he said, "that this little
+entertainment is entirely for your amusement--well stage-managed,
+perhaps, but my supers are not to be taken seriously. Since you are
+here, Baron, might I ask you to precede me a few steps to the tasting
+office?"
+
+"By all means," de Grost answered. "It is this way, I believe."
+
+He walked with unconcerned footsteps down the warehouse, on either side
+of which were great bins and a wilderness of racking, until he came to a
+small glass-enclosed office built out from the wall. Without hesitation
+he entered it, and, removing his hat, selected the more comfortable of
+the two chairs. Bernadine alone of the others followed him inside,
+closing the door behind. De Grost, who appeared exceedingly comfortable,
+stretched out his hand and took a small black bottle from a tiny
+mahogany racking fixed against the wall by his side.
+
+"You will excuse me, my dear Bernadine," he said, "but I see my friend
+Greening has been tasting a few wines. The 'XX' upon the label here
+signifies approval. With your permission."
+
+He half filled a glass and pushed the bottle towards Bernadine.
+
+"Greening's taste is unimpeachable," de Grost declared, setting down his
+glass empty. "No use being a director of a city business, you know,
+unless one interests oneself personally in it. Greening's judgment is
+simply marvellous. I have never tasted a more beautiful wine. If the
+boom in sherry does come," he continued complacently, "we shall be in an
+excellent position to deal with it."
+
+Bernadine laughed softly.
+
+"Oh, my friend--Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose
+to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the
+conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on
+earth!"
+
+De Grost nodded approvingly.
+
+"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon
+arrive at that decision?"
+
+"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his
+companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."
+
+"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself,
+no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally
+conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been
+expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable
+time."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a
+safe conduct."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.
+
+"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements
+to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."
+
+"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.
+
+"I would not for a moment," de Grost continued, "ask an impertinent or
+an unnecessary question, but I must confess that I am rather concerned
+to know the fate of my manager--the gentleman whom you yourself, with
+the aid of a costumier, so ably represented."
+
+Bernadine sighed.
+
+"Alas!" he said, "your manager was a very obstinate person."
+
+"And my clerk?"
+
+"Incorruptible!" Bernadine declared. "Absolutely incorruptible! I
+congratulate you, de Grost. Your society is one of the most wonderful
+upon the face of this earth. I know little about it, but my admiration
+is very sincere. Their attention to details and the personnel of their
+staff is almost perfect. I may tell you at once that no sum that could
+be offered tempted either of these men."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it," de Grost replied, "but I must plead guilty
+to a little temporary anxiety as to their present whereabouts."
+
+"At this moment," Bernadine remarked, "they are within a few feet of us;
+but, as you are doubtless aware, access to your delightful river is
+obtainable from these premises. To be frank with you, my dear Baron, we
+are waiting for the tide to rise."
+
+"So thoughtful about these trifles!" de Grost murmured. "But their
+present position? They are, I trust, not uncomfortable?"
+
+Bernadine stood up and moved to the farther end of the office. He
+beckoned his companion to his side and, drawing an electric torch from
+his pocket, flashed the light into a dark corner behind an immense bin.
+The forms of a man and a youth bound with ropes and gagged, lay
+stretched upon the floor. De Grost sighed.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that Mr. Greening, at any rate, is most
+uncomfortable."
+
+Bernadine turned off the light.
+
+"At least, Baron," he declared, "if such extreme measures should become
+necessary, I can promise you one thing--you shall have a quicker passage
+into eternity than they."
+
+De Grost resumed his seat.
+
+"Has it really come to that?" he asked. "Will nothing but so crude a
+proceeding as my absolute removal satisfy you?"
+
+"Nothing else is, I fear, practicable," Bernadine replied, "unless you
+decide to listen to reason. Believe me, my dear friend, I shall miss you
+and our small encounters exceedingly; but, unfortunately, you stand in
+the way of my career. You are the only man who has persistently baulked
+me. You have driven me to use against you means which I had grown to
+look upon as absolutely extinct in the upper circles of our profession."
+
+De Grost peered through the glass walls of the office.
+
+"Eight men, not counting yourself," he remarked, "and my poor manager
+and his faithful clerk lying bound and helpless. It is heavy odds,
+Bernadine."
+
+"There is no question of odds, I think," Bernadine answered smoothly.
+"You are much too clever a person to refuse to admit that you are
+entirely in my power."
+
+"And as regards terms? I really don't feel in the least anxious to make
+my final bow with so little notice," de Grost said. "To tell you the
+truth, I have been finding life quite interesting lately."
+
+Bernadine eyed his prisoner keenly. Such absolute composure was in
+itself disturbing. He was, for the moment, aware of a slight sensation
+of uneasiness, which his common sense, however, speedily disposed of.
+
+"There are two ways," he announced, "of dealing with an opponent. There
+is the old-fashioned one--crude, but, in a sense, eminently
+satisfactory--which sends him finally to adorn some other sphere."
+
+"I do not like that one," de Grost interrupted. "Get on with the
+alternative."
+
+"The alternative," Bernadine declared, "is when his capacity for harm
+can be destroyed."
+
+"That needs a little explanation," de Grost murmured.
+
+"Precisely. For instance, if you were to become absolutely discredited,
+I think that you would be effectually out of my way. Your people do not
+forgive."
+
+"Then discredit me, by all means," de Grost begged. "It sounds
+unpleasant, but I do not like your callous reference to the river."
+
+Bernadine gazed at his ancient opponent for several moments. After all,
+what was this but the splendid bravado of a beaten man, who is too
+clever not to recognise defeat?
+
+"I shall require," he said, "your code, the keys of your safe, which
+contains a great many documents of interest to me, and a free entry into
+your house."
+
+De Grost drew a bunch of keys reluctantly from his pocket and laid them
+upon the desk.
+
+"You will find the code bound in green morocco leather," he announced,
+"on the left-hand side, underneath the duplicate of a proposed Treaty
+between Italy and--some other Power. Between ourselves, Bernadine, I
+really expect that that is what you are after."
+
+Bernadine's eyes glistened.
+
+"What about the safe conduct into your house?" he asked.
+
+De Grost drew his case from his pocket and wrote a few lines on the back
+of one of his cards.
+
+"This will ensure you entrance there," he said, "and access to my study.
+If you see my wife, please reassure her as to my absence."
+
+"I shall certainly do so," Bernadine agreed, with a faint smile.
+
+"If I may be pardoned for alluding to a purely personal matter," de
+Grost continued, "what is to become of me?"
+
+"You will be bound and gagged in the same manner as your manager and his
+clerk," Bernadine replied smoothly. "I regret the necessity, but you see
+I can afford to run no risks. At four o'clock in the morning you will be
+released. It must be part of our agreement that you allow the man who
+stays behind the others for the purpose of setting you free, to depart
+unmolested. I think I know you better than to imagine you would be
+guilty of such _gaucherie_ as an appeal to the police."
+
+"That, unfortunately," de Grost declared, with a little sigh, "is, as
+you well know, out of the question. You are too clever for me,
+Bernadine. After all, I shall have to go back to my farm."
+
+Bernadine opened the door and called softly to one of his men. In less
+than five minutes de Grost was bound hand and foot. Bernadine stepped
+back and eyed his adversary with an air of ill-disguised triumph.
+
+"I trust, Baron de Grost," he said, "that you will be as comfortable as
+possible under the circumstances."
+
+De Grost lay quite still. He was powerless to move or speak.
+
+"Immediately," Bernadine continued, "I have presented myself at your
+house, verified your safe conduct, and helped myself to certain papers
+which I am exceedingly anxious to obtain," he went on, "I shall
+telephone here to the man whom I leave in charge, and you will be set at
+liberty in due course. If, for any reason, I meet with treachery and I
+do not telephone, you will join Mr. Greening and his young companion in
+a little--shall we call it aquatic recreation? I wish you a pleasant
+hour and success in the future, Baron--as a farmer."
+
+Bernadine withdrew and whispered his orders to his men. Soon the
+electric light was turned out and the place was in darkness. The front
+door was opened and closed; the group of confederates upon the pavement
+lit cigarettes and wished one another "Good-night" with the brisk air of
+tired employees released at last from long labours. Then there was
+silence.
+
+It was barely eleven o'clock when Bernadine reached the west-end of
+London. His clothes had become a trifle disarranged, and he called for a
+few minutes at his rooms in St. James's Street. Afterwards, he walked to
+Merton House and rang the bell. To the servant who answered it he handed
+his master's card.
+
+"Will you show me the way to the library?" he asked. "I have some papers
+to collect for the Baron de Grost."
+
+The man hesitated. Even with the card in his hand, it seemed a somewhat
+unusual proceeding.
+
+"Will you step inside, sir?" he begged. "I should like to show this to
+the Baroness. The master is exceedingly particular about anyone entering
+his study."
+
+"Do what you like so long as you do not keep me waiting," Bernadine
+replied. "Your master's instructions are clear enough."
+
+Violet came down the great staircase a few moments later, still in her
+dinner-gown, her face a little pale, her eyes luminous. Bernadine smiled
+as he accepted her eagerly offered hand. She was evidently anxious. A
+thrill of triumph warmed his blood. Once she had been less kind to him
+than she seemed now.
+
+"My husband gave you this!" she exclaimed.
+
+"A few minutes ago," Bernadine answered. "He tried to make his
+instructions as clear as possible. We are jointly interested in a small
+matter which needs immediate action."
+
+She led the way to the study.
+
+"It seems strange," she remarked, "that you and he should be working
+together. I thought that you were on opposite sides."
+
+"It is a matter of chance," Bernadine told her. "Your husband is a wise
+man, Baroness. He knows when to listen to reason."
+
+She threw open the door of the study, which was in darkness.
+
+"If you will wait a moment," she said, closing the door, "I will turn on
+the electric light."
+
+She touched the knobs in the wall, and the room was suddenly flooded
+with illumination. At the further end of the apartment was the great
+safe. Close to it, in an easy-chair, his evening coat changed for a
+smoking-jacket, with a neatly tied black tie replacing his crumpled
+white cravat, the Baron de Grost sat awaiting his guest. A fierce oath
+broke from Bernadine's lips. He turned toward the door only in time to
+hear the key turn. Violet tossed it lightly in the air across to her
+husband.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," the latter remarked, "on the whole, I do not think
+that this has been one of your successes. My keys, if you please."
+
+Bernadine stood for a moment, his face dark with passion.
+
+"Your keys are here, Baron de Grost," he said, placing them upon the
+table. "If a bungling amateur may make such a request of a professor,
+may I inquire how you escaped from your bonds and reached here before
+me?"
+
+The Baron de Grost smiled.
+
+"Really," he said, "you have only to think for yourself for a moment, my
+dear Bernadine, and you will understand. In the first place, the letter
+you sent me signed 'Greening' was clearly a forgery. There was no one
+else anxious to get me into their power, hence I associated it at once
+with you. Naturally, I telephoned to the chief of my staff--I, too, am
+obliged to employ some of these un-uniformed policemen, my dear
+Bernadine, as you may be aware. It may interest you to know, further,
+that there are seven entrances to the warehouse in Tooley Street.
+Through one of these something like twenty of my men passed and were
+already concealed in the place when I entered. At another of the doors a
+motor-car waited for me. If I had chosen to lift my finger at any time,
+your men would have been overpowered, and I might have had the pleasure
+of dictating terms to you in my own office. Such a course did not appeal
+to me. You and I, as you know, dear Count von Hern, conduct our peculiar
+business under very delicate conditions, and the least thing we either
+of us desire is notoriety. I managed things, as I thought, for the best.
+The moment you left the place my men swarmed in. We gently but firmly
+ejected your guard, released Greening and my clerk, and I passed you
+myself in Fleet Street, a little more comfortable, I think, in my forty
+horsepower motor-car than you in that very disreputable hansom. The
+other details are too absurdly simple; one need not enlarge upon them."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I am at your service," he declared calmly.
+
+De Grost laughed.
+
+"My dear fellow," he said, "need I say that you are free to come or go,
+to take a whisky and soda with me or to depart at once--exactly as you
+feel inclined? The door was locked only until you restored to me my
+keys."
+
+He crossed the room, fitted the key in the lock and turned it.
+
+Bernadine drew himself up.
+
+"I will not drink with you," he said. "But some day a reckoning shall
+come."
+
+He turned to the door. De Grost laid his finger upon the bell.
+
+"Show Count von Hern out," he directed the astonished servant who
+appeared a moment or two later.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+
+Baron de Grost was enjoying what he had confidently looked forward to as
+an evening's relaxation, pure and simple. He sat in one of the front
+rows of the stalls of the Alhambra, his wife by his side and an
+excellent cigar in his mouth. An hour or so before he had been in
+telephonic communication with Paris, had spoken with Sogrange himself,
+and received his assurance of a calm in political and criminal affairs
+amounting almost to stagnation. It was out of the season, and though his
+popularity was as great as ever, neither he nor his wife had any social
+engagements. Hence this evening at a music-hall, which Peter, for his
+part, was finding thoroughly amusing.
+
+The place was packed--some said owing to the engagement of Andrea Korust
+and his brother, others to the presence of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire
+in her wonderful _Danse des Apaches_. The violinist that night had a
+great reception. Three times he was called before the curtain; three
+times he was obliged to reiterate his grateful but immutable resolve
+never to yield to the nightly storm which demanded more from a man who
+has given of his best. Slim, with the worn face and hollow eyes of a
+genius, he stood and bowed his thanks, but when he thought the time had
+arrived he disappeared, and though the house shook for minutes
+afterwards, nothing could persuade him to reappear.
+
+Afterward came the turn which, notwithstanding the furore caused by
+Andrea Korust's appearance, was generally considered to be equally
+responsible for the packed house--the Apache dance of Mademoiselle
+Sophie Celaire. Peter sat slightly forward in his chair as the curtain
+went up. For a time he seemed utterly absorbed by the performance.
+Violet glanced at him once or twice curiously. It began to occur to her
+that it was not so much the dance as the dancer in whom her husband was
+interested.
+
+"You have seen her before--this Mademoiselle Celaire?" she whispered.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Yes," he admitted; "I have seen her before."
+
+The dance proceeded. It was like many others of its sort, only a little
+more daring, a little more finished. Mademoiselle Celaire, in her
+tight-fitting, shabby black frock, with her wild mass of hair, her
+flashing eyes, her seductive gestures, was, without doubt, a marvellous
+person. The Baron watched her every movement with absorbed attention.
+Even when the curtain went down he forgot to clap. His eyes followed her
+off the stage. Violet shrugged her shoulders. She was looking very
+handsome herself in a black velvet dinner gown, and a hat so exceedingly
+Parisian that no one had had the heart to ask her to remove it.
+
+"My dear Peter," she remarked, reprovingly, "a moderate amount of
+admiration for that very agile young lady I might, perhaps, be inclined
+to tolerate, but, having watched you for the last quarter of an hour, I
+am bound to confess that I am becoming jealous."
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Celaire?" he asked.
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire."
+
+He leaned a little towards her. His lips were parted; he was about to
+make a statement or a confession. Just then a tall commissionaire leaned
+over from behind and touched him on the shoulder.
+
+"For Monsieur le Baron de Grost," he announced, handing Peter a note.
+
+Peter glanced towards his wife.
+
+"You permit me?" he murmured, breaking the seal.
+
+Violet shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. Her husband was already
+absorbed in the few lines hastily scrawled across the sheet of notepaper
+which he held in his hand:
+
+     [Illustration: 4] "Monsieur Baron de Grost. [Illustration: backward
+     4]
+
+     "DEAR MONSIEUR LE BARON,
+
+     "_Come to my dressing-room, without fail, as soon as you receive
+     this._
+
+     "SOPHIE CELAIRE."
+
+Violet looked over his shoulder.
+
+"The hussy!" she exclaimed, indignantly.
+
+Her husband raised his eyebrows. With his forefinger he merely tapped
+the two numerals.
+
+"The Double Four!" she gasped
+
+He looked around and nodded. The commissionaire was waiting. Peter took
+up his silk hat from under the seat.
+
+"If I am detained, dear," he whispered, "you'll make the best of it,
+won't you? The car will be here, and Frederick will be looking out for
+you."
+
+"Of course," she answered, cheerfully. "I shall be quite all right."
+
+She nodded brightly, and Peter took his departure. He passed through a
+door on which was painted "Private," and through a maze of scenery and
+stage hands and ballet ladies, by a devious route, to the region of the
+dressing-rooms. His guide conducted him to the door of one of these and
+knocked.
+
+"_Entrez, monsieur_," a shrill feminine voice replied.
+
+Peter entered, and closed the door behind him. The commissionaire
+remained outside. Mademoiselle Celaire turned to greet her visitor.
+
+"It is a few words I desire with you as quickly as possible, if you
+please, Monsieur le Baron," she said, advancing towards him. "Listen."
+
+She had brushed out her hair, and it hung from her head straight and a
+little stiff, almost like the hair of an Indian woman. She had washed
+her face free of all cosmetics, and her pallor was almost waxen. She
+wore a dressing-gown of green silk. Her discarded black frock lay upon
+the floor.
+
+"I am entirely at your service, mademoiselle," Peter answered, bowing.
+"Continue, if you please."
+
+"You sup with me to-night--you are my guest."
+
+He hesitated.
+
+"I am very much honoured," he murmured. "It is an affair of urgency,
+then? Mademoiselle will remember that I am not alone here."
+
+She threw out her hands scornfully.
+
+"They told me in Paris that you were a genius!" she exclaimed. "Cannot
+you feel, then, when a thing is urgent? Do you not know it without being
+told? You must meet me with a carriage at the stage door in forty
+minutes. We sup in Hamilton Place with Andrea Korust and his brother."
+
+"With whom?" Peter asked, surprised.
+
+"With the Korust Brothers," she repeated. "I have just been talking to
+Andrea. He calls himself a Hungarian. Bah! They are as much Hungarian as
+I am!"
+
+Peter leaned slightly against the table and looked thoughtfully at his
+companion. He was trying to remember whether he had ever heard anything
+of these young men.
+
+"Mademoiselle," he said, "the prospect of partaking of any meal in your
+company is in itself enchanting, but I do not know your friends, the
+Korust Brothers. Apart from their wonderful music, I do not recollect
+ever having heard of them before in my life. What excuse have I, then,
+for accepting their hospitality? Pardon me, too, if I add that you have
+not as yet spoken as to the urgency of this affair."
+
+She turned from him impatiently, and, throwing herself back into the
+chair from which she had risen at his entrance, she began to exchange
+the thick woollen stockings which she had been wearing upon the stage
+for others of fine silk.
+
+"Oh, la, la!" she exclaimed. "You are very slow, Monsieur le Baron. It
+is, perhaps, my stage name which has misled you. I am Marie Lapouse.
+Does that convey anything to you?"
+
+"A great deal," Peter admitted, quickly. "You stand very high upon the
+list of my agents whom I may trust."
+
+"Then stay here no longer," she begged, "for my maid waits outside, and
+I need her services. Go back and make your excuses to your wife. In
+forty minutes I shall expect you at the stage door."
+
+"An affair of diplomacy, this, or brute force?" he inquired.
+
+"Heaven knows what may happen!" she replied. "To tell you the truth, I
+do not know myself. Be prepared for anything, but, for Heaven's sake, go
+now! I can dress no further without my maid, and Andrea Korust may come
+in at any moment. I do not wish him to find you here."
+
+Peter made his way thoughtfully back to his seat. He explained the
+situation to his wife so far as he could, and sent her home. Then he
+waited until the car returned, smoking a cigarette and trying once more
+to remember if he had ever heard anything of Andrea Korust or his
+brother from Sogrange. Punctually at the time stated he was outside the
+stage door of the music-hall, and a few minutes later Mademoiselle
+Celaire appeared, a dazzling vision of furs and smiles and jewellery
+imperfectly concealed. A small crowd pressed around to see the famous
+Frenchwoman. Peter handed her gravely across the pavement into his
+waiting motor-car. One or two of the loungers gave vent to a groan of
+envy at the sight of the diamonds which blazed from her neck and bosom.
+Peter smiled as he gave the address to his servant, and took his place
+by the side of his companion.
+
+"They see only the externals, this mob," he remarked. "They picture to
+themselves, perhaps, a little supper for two. Alas!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire laughed at him softly.
+
+"You need not trouble to assume that most disconsolate of expressions,
+my dear Baron," she assured him. "Your reputation as a man of gallantry
+is beyond question, but remember that I know you also for the most
+devoted and loyal of husbands. We waste no time in folly, you and I. It
+is the business of the Double Four."
+
+Peter was relieved, but his innate politeness forbade his showing it.
+
+"Proceed," he said.
+
+"The Brothers Korust," she went on, leaning towards him, "have a week's
+engagement at the Alhambra. Their salary is six hundred pounds. They
+play very beautifully, of course, but I think that it is as much as they
+are worth."
+
+Peter agreed with her fervently. He had no soul for music.
+
+"They have taken the furnished house belonging to one of your dukes, in
+Hamilton Place, for which we are bound; taken it, too, at a fabulous
+rent," Mademoiselle Celaire continued. "They have installed there a chef
+and a whole retinue of servants. They were here for seven nights; they
+have issued invitations for seven supper parties."
+
+"Hospitable young men they seem to be," Peter murmured. "I read in one
+of the stage papers that Andrea is a count in his own country, and that
+they perform in public only for the love of their music and for the sake
+of the excitement and travel."
+
+"A paragraph wholly inspired and utterly false," Mademoiselle Celaire
+declared firmly, sitting a little forward in the car and laying her
+hand, ablaze with jewels, upon his coat sleeve. "Listen. They call
+themselves Hungarians. Bah! I know that they are in touch with a great
+European Court, both of them, the Court of the country to which they
+really belong. They have plans, plans and schemes connected with their
+visit here, which I do not understand. I have done my best with Andrea
+Korust, but he is not a man to be trusted. I know that there is
+something more in these seven supper parties than idle hospitality. I
+and others like me, artistes and musicians, are invited, to give the
+assemblies a properly Bohemian tone, but there are to be other guests,
+attracted there, no doubt, because the papers have spoken of these
+gatherings."
+
+"You have some idea of what it all means, in your mind?" Peter
+suggested.
+
+"It is too vague to put into words," she declared, shaking her head. "We
+must both watch. Afterwards we will, if you like, compare notes."
+
+The car drew up before the doors of a handsome house in Hamilton Place.
+A footman received Peter, and relieved him of his hat and overcoat. A
+trim maid performed the same office for Mademoiselle Celaire. They met a
+moment or two later and were ushered into a large drawing-room in which
+a dozen or two of men and women were already assembled, and from which
+came a pleasant murmur of voices and laughter. The apartment was hung
+with pale green satin; the furniture was mostly Chippendale, upholstered
+in the same shade. A magnificent grand piano stood open in a smaller
+room, just visible beyond. Only one thing seemed strange to the two
+newly arrived guests. The room was entirely lit with shaded candles,
+giving a certain mysterious but not unpleasant air of obscurity to the
+whole suite of apartments. Through the gloom the jewels and eyes of the
+women seemed to shine with a new brilliance. Slight eccentricities of
+toilette--for a part of the gathering was distinctly Bohemian--were
+softened and subdued. The whole effect was somewhat weird, but also
+picturesque.
+
+Andrea Korust advanced from a little group to meet his guests. Off the
+stage he seemed at first sight frailer and slighter than ever. His dress
+coat had been exchanged for a velvet dinner jacket, and his white tie
+for a drooping black bow. He had a habit of blinking nearly all the
+time, as though his large brown eyes, which he seldom wholly opened,
+were weaker than they appeared to be. Nevertheless, when he came to
+within a few paces of his newly arrived visitors, they shone with plenty
+of expression. Without any change of countenance, however, he held out
+his hand.
+
+"Dear Andrea," Mademoiselle Celaire exclaimed, "you permit me that I
+present to you my dear friend, well known in Paris--alas! many years
+ago--Monsieur le Baron de Grost. Monsieur le Baron was kind enough to
+pay his respects to me this evening, and I have induced him to become my
+escort here."
+
+"It was my good fortune," Peter remarked, smiling, "that I saw
+Mademoiselle Celaire's name upon the bills this evening--my good
+fortune, since it has procured for me the honour of an acquaintance with
+a musician so distinguished."
+
+"You are very kind, Monsieur le Baron," Korust replied.
+
+"You stay here, I regret to hear, a very short time?"
+
+"Alas!" Andrea Korust admitted, "it is so. For myself, I would that it
+were longer. I find your London so attractive, the people so friendly.
+They fall in with my whims so charmingly. I have a hatred, you know, of
+solitude. I like to make acquaintances wherever I go, to have delightful
+women and interesting men around, to forget that life is not always gay.
+If I am too much alone I am miserable, and when I am miserable I am in a
+very bad way indeed. I cannot then make music."
+
+Peter smiled gravely and sympathetically.
+
+"And your brother? Does he, too, share your gregarious instincts?"
+
+Korust paused for a moment before replying. His eyes were quite wide
+open now. If one could judge from his expression, one would certainly
+have said that the Baron de Grost's attempts to ingratiate himself with
+his host were distinctly unsuccessful.
+
+"My brother has exactly opposite instincts," he said slowly. "He finds
+no pleasure in society. At the sound of a woman's voice he hides."
+
+"He is not here, then?" Peter asked, glancing around.
+
+Andrea Korust shook his head.
+
+"It is doubtful whether he joins us this evening at all," he declared.
+"My sister, however, is wholly of my disposition. Monsieur le Baron will
+permit me that I present her."
+
+Peter bowed low before a very handsome young woman with flashing black
+eyes, and a type of feature undoubtedly belonging to one of the
+countries of Eastern Europe. She was picturesquely dressed in a gown of
+flaming red silk, made as though in one piece, without trimming or
+flounces, and she seemed inclined to bestow upon her new acquaintance
+all the attention that he might desire. She took him at once into a
+corner and seated herself by his side. It was impossible for Peter not
+to associate the _empressement_ of her manner with the few words which
+Andrea Korust had whispered into her ear at the moment of their
+introduction.
+
+"So you," she murmured, "are the wonderful Baron de Grost? I have heard
+of you so often."
+
+"Wonderful!" Peter repeated, with twinkling eyes. "I have never been
+called that before. I feel that I have no claim whatever to distinction,
+especially in a gathering like this."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders and glanced carelessly across the room.
+
+"They are well enough," she admitted; "but one wearies of genius on
+every side of one. Genius is not the best thing in the world to live
+with, you know. It has whims and fancies. For instance, look at these
+rooms--the gloom, the obscurity--and I love so much the light."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"It is the privilege of genius," he remarked, "to have whims and to
+indulge in them."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"To do Andrea justice," she said, "it is, perhaps, scarcely a whim that
+he chooses to receive his guests in semi-darkness. He has weak eyes, and
+he is much too vain to wear spectacles. Tell me, you know everyone
+here?"
+
+"No one," Peter declared. "Please enlighten me, if you think it
+necessary. For myself," he added, dropping his voice a little, "I feel
+that the happiness of my evening is assured without making any further
+acquaintances."
+
+"But you came as the guest of Mademoiselle Celaire," she reminded him
+doubtfully, with a faint regretful sigh and a provocative gleam in her
+eyes.
+
+"I saw Mademoiselle Celaire to-night for the first time for years,"
+Peter replied. "I called to see her in her dressing-room, and she
+claimed me for an escort this evening. I am, alas! a very occasional
+wanderer in the pleasant paths of Bohemia."
+
+"If that is really true," she murmured, "I suppose I must tell you
+something about the people, or you will feel that you have wasted your
+opportunity."
+
+"Mademoiselle," Peter whispered.
+
+She held out her hand and laughed into his face.
+
+"No!" she interrupted. "I shall do my duty. Opposite you is Mademoiselle
+Drezani, the famous singer at Covent Garden. Do I need to tell you that,
+I wonder? Rudolf Maesterling, the dramatist, stands behind her there in
+the corner. He is talking to the wonderful Cléo, whom all the world
+knows. Monsieur Guyer there, he is manager, I believe, of the Alhambra;
+and talking to him is Marborg, the great pianist. The two ladies talking
+to my brother are Esther Hammerton, whom, of course, you know by sight.
+She is leading lady, is she not, at the Hilarity Theatre? The other one
+is Miss Ransome. They tell me that she is your only really great English
+actress."
+
+Peter nodded appreciatively.
+
+"It is all most interesting," he declared. "Now, tell me, please, who is
+the military person with the stiff figure and sallow complexion standing
+by the door? He seems quite alone."
+
+The girl made a little grimace.
+
+"I suppose I ought to be looking after him," she admitted, rising
+reluctantly to her feet. "He is a soldier just back from India--a
+General Noseworthy, with all sorts of letters after his name. If
+Mademoiselle Celaire is generous, perhaps we may have a few minutes'
+conversation later on," she added, with a parting smile.
+
+"Say, rather, if Mademoiselle Korust is kind," de Grost replied, bowing.
+"It depends upon that only."
+
+He strolled across the room and rejoined Mademoiselle Celaire a few
+moments later. They stood apart in a corner.
+
+"I should like my supper," Peter declared.
+
+"They wait for one more guest," Mademoiselle Celaire announced.
+
+"One more guest! Do you know who it is?"
+
+"No idea," she answered. "One would imagine that it was someone of
+importance. Are you any wiser than when you came dear master?" she added
+under her breath.
+
+"Not a whit," he replied promptly.
+
+She took out her fan and waved it slowly in front of her face.
+
+"Yet you must discover what it all means to-night or not at all," she
+whispered. "The dear Andrea has intimated to me most delicately that
+another escort would be more acceptable if I should honour him again."
+
+"That helps," he murmured. "See, our last guest arrives. Ah!"
+
+A tall, spare-looking man was just being announced. They heard his name
+as Andrea presented him to a companion:
+
+"Colonel Mayson!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire saw a gleam in her companion's eyes.
+
+"It is coming--the idea?" she whispered.
+
+"Very vaguely," he admitted.
+
+"Who is this Colonel Mayson?"
+
+"Our only military aeronaut," Peter replied.
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Aeronaut!" she repeated doubtfully. "I see nothing in that. Both my own
+country and Germany are years ahead of poor England in the air. Is it
+not so?"
+
+Peter smiled and held out his arm.
+
+"See," he said, "supper has been announced. Afterwards Andrea Korust
+will play to us, and I think that Colonel Mayson and his distinguished
+brother officer from India will talk. We shall see."
+
+They passed into a room whose existence had suddenly been revealed by
+the drawing back of some beautiful brocaded curtains. Supper was a
+delightful meal, charmingly served. Peter, putting everything else out
+of his head for the moment, thoroughly enjoyed himself, and, remembering
+his duty as a guest, contributed in no small degree towards the success
+of the entertainment. He sat between Mademoiselle Celaire and his
+hostess, both of whom demanded much from him in the way of attention.
+But he still found time to tell stories which were listened to by
+everyone, and exchanged sallies with the gayest. Only Andrea Korust,
+from his place at the head of the table, glanced occasionally towards
+his popular guest with a curious, half-hidden expression of distaste and
+suspicion. The more the Baron de Grost shone, the more uneasy Andrea
+became. The signal to rise from the meal was given almost abruptly.
+Mademoiselle Korust hung on to Peter's arm. Her own wishes and her
+brother's orders seemed to absolutely coincide. She led him towards a
+retired corner of the music-room. On the way, however, Peter overheard
+the introduction which he had expected.
+
+"General Noseworthy is just returned from India, Colonel Mayson," Korust
+said, in his usual quiet, tired tone. "You will, perhaps, find it
+interesting to talk together a little. As for me, I play because all are
+polite enough to wish it, but conversation disturbs me not in the
+least."
+
+Peter passed, smiling, on to the corner pointed out by his companion,
+which was the darkest and most secluded in the room. He took her fan and
+gloves, lit her cigarette, and leaned back by her side.
+
+"How does your brother, a stranger to London, find time to make the
+acquaintance of so many interesting people?" he asked.
+
+"He brought many letters," she replied. "He has friends everywhere."
+
+"I have an idea," Peter remarked, "that an acquaintance of my own, the
+Count von Hern, spoke to me once about him."
+
+She took her cigarette from her lips and turned her head slightly.
+Peter's expression was one of amiable reminiscence. His cheeks were a
+trifle flushed; his appearance was entirely reassuring. She laughed at
+her brother's caution. She found her companion delightful.
+
+"Yes, the Count von Hern is a friend of my brother's," she admitted
+carelessly.
+
+"And of yours?" he whispered, his arm slightly pressed against hers.
+
+She laughed at him silently and their eyes met. Decidedly Peter, Baron
+de Grost, found it hard to break away from his old weakness. Andrea
+Korust, from his place near the piano, breathed a sigh of relief as he
+watched. A moment or two later, however, Mademoiselle Korust was obliged
+to leave her companion to receive a late but unimportant guest, and
+almost simultaneously Colonel Mayson passed by on his way to the farther
+end of the apartment. Andrea Korust was bending over the piano to give
+some instructions to his accompanist. Peter leaned forward and his face
+and tone were strangely altered.
+
+"You will find General Noseworthy of the Indian Army a little
+inquisitive, Colonel," he remarked.
+
+The latter turned sharply round. There was meaning in those few words,
+without doubt! There was meaning, too, in the still, cold face which
+seemed to repel his question. He passed on thoughtfully. Mademoiselle
+Korust, with a gesture of relief, came back and threw herself once more
+upon the couch.
+
+"We must talk in whispers," she said gaily. "Andrea always declares that
+he does not mind conversation, but too much noise is, of course,
+impossible. Besides, Mademoiselle Celaire will not spare you to me for
+long."
+
+"There is a whole language," he replied, "which was made for whisperers.
+And as for Mademoiselle Celaire----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+He laughed softly.
+
+"Mademoiselle Celaire is, I think, more your brother's friend than
+mine," he murmured. "At least I will be generous. He has given me a
+delightful evening. I resign my claims upon Mademoiselle Celaire."
+
+"It would break your heart," she declared.
+
+His voice sank even below a whisper. Decidedly Peter, Baron de Grost,
+did not improve!...
+
+He rose to leave precisely at the right time, neither too early nor too
+late. He had spent altogether a most amusing evening. There were one or
+two little comedies which had diverted him extremely. At the moment of
+parting, the beautiful eyes of Mademoiselle Korust had been raised to
+his very earnestly.
+
+"You will come again very soon--to-morrow night?" she had whispered. "Is
+it necessary that you bring Mademoiselle Celaire?"
+
+"It is altogether unnecessary," Peter replied.
+
+"Let me try and entertain you instead, then."
+
+It was precisely at that instant that Andrea had sent for his sister.
+Peter watched their brief conversation with much interest and intense
+amusement. She was being told not to invite him there again and she was
+rebelling! Without a doubt he had made a conquest! She returned to him
+flushed, and with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," she said, leading him on one side, "I am ashamed
+and angry."
+
+"Your brother is annoyed because you have asked me here to-morrow
+night?" he asked quickly.
+
+"It is so," she confessed. "Indeed, I thank you that you have spared me
+the task of putting my brother's discourtesy into words. Andrea takes
+violent fancies like that sometimes. I am ashamed, but what can I do?"
+
+"Nothing, mademoiselle," he admitted, with a sigh. "I obey, of course.
+Did your brother mention the source of his aversion to me?"
+
+"He is too absurd sometimes," she declared. "One must treat him like a
+great baby."
+
+"Nevertheless, there must be a reason," Peter persisted, gently.
+
+"He has heard some foolish thing from the Count von Hern," she admitted,
+reluctantly. "Do not let us think anything more about it. In a few days
+it will have passed. And meanwhile----"
+
+She paused. He leaned a little towards her. She was looking intently at
+a ring upon her finger.
+
+"If you would really like to see me," she whispered, "and if you are
+sure that Mademoiselle Celaire would not object, could you not ask me to
+tea to-morrow or the next day?"
+
+"To-morrow," Peter insisted, with a becoming show of eagerness. "Shall
+we say at the Carlton at five?"
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"Isn't that rather a public place?" she objected.
+
+"Anywhere else you like."
+
+She was silent for a moment. She seemed to be waiting for some
+suggestion from him. None came.
+
+"The Carlton at five," she murmured. "I am angry with Andrea. I feel,
+even, that I could break his wonderful violin in two!"
+
+Peter sighed once more.
+
+"I should like to twist von Hern's neck!" he declared. "Lucky for him
+that he's in St. Petersburg! Let us forget this unpleasant matter,
+mademoiselle. The evening has been too delightful for such memories."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire turned to her escort as soon as they were alone in
+the car.
+
+"As an escort, let me tell you, my dear Baron," she exclaimed, with some
+pique, "that you are a miserable failure! For the rest----"
+
+"For the rest, I will admit that I am puzzled," Peter said. "I need to
+think. I have the glimmerings of an idea--no more."
+
+"You will act? It is an affair for us--for the Double Four?"
+
+"Without a doubt--an affair and a serious one," Peter assured her. "I
+shall act. Exactly how I cannot say until after to-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow?" she repeated.
+
+"Mademoiselle Korust takes tea with me," he explained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In a quiet sort of way, the series of supper parties given by Andrea
+Korust became the talk of London. The most famous dancer in the world
+broke through her unvarying rule, and night after night thrilled the
+distinguished little gathering. An opera singer, the "star" of the
+season, sang; a great genius recited; and Andrea himself gave always of
+his best. Apart from this wonderful outpouring of talent, Andrea Korust
+himself seemed to possess the peculiar art of bringing into touch with
+one another people naturally interested in the same subjects. On the
+night after the visit of Peter, Baron de Grost, His Grace the Duke of
+Rosshire was present, the man in whose hands lay the destinies of the
+British Navy; and, curiously enough, on the same night, a great French
+writer on naval subjects was present, whom the Duke had never met, and
+with whom he was delighted to talk for some time apart. On another
+occasion, the Military Secretary to the French Embassy was able to have
+a long and instructive chat with a distinguished English general on the
+subject of the recent man[oe]uvres, and the latter received, in the
+strictest confidence, some very interesting information concerning the
+new type of French guns. On the following evening the greatest of our
+Colonial statesmen, a red-hot Imperialist, was able to chat about the
+resources of the Empire with an English politician of similar views,
+whom he chanced never to have previously met. Altogether these parties
+seemed to be the means of bringing together a series of most interesting
+people, interesting not only in themselves, but in their relations to
+one another. It was noticeable, however, that from this side of his
+little gatherings Andrea Korust remained wholly apart. He admitted that
+music and cheerful companionship were the only two things in life he
+really cared for. Politics or matters of world import seemed to leave
+him unmoved. If a serious subject of conversation were started at
+supper-time he was frankly bored, and took no pains to hide the fact. It
+is certain that whatever interesting topics were alluded to in his
+presence, he remained entirely outside any understanding of them.
+Mademoiselle Celaire, who was present most evenings, although with other
+escorts, was puzzled. She could see nothing whatever to account for the
+warning which she had received, and had at once passed on, as was her
+duty, to the Baron de Grost. She failed, also, to understand the faint
+but perceptible enlightenment to which Peter himself had admittedly
+attained after that first evening. Take that important conversation, for
+instance, between the French military _attaché_ and the British general.
+Without a doubt it was of interest, and especially so to the country
+which she was sure claimed his allegiance, but it was equally without
+doubt that Andrea Korust neither overheard a word of that conversation
+nor betrayed the slightest curiosity concerning it. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was a clever woman, and she had never felt so hopelessly at fault.
+Illumination was to come, however--illumination, dramatic and complete.
+
+The seventh and last of these famous supper parties was in full swing.
+Notwithstanding the shaded candles, which left the faces of the guests a
+little indistinct, the scene was a brilliant one. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was wearing her famous diamonds, which shone through the gloom like
+pin-pricks of fire; Garda Desmaines, the wonderful Garda, sat next to
+her host, her bosom and hair on fire with jewels, yet with the most
+wonderful light of all glowing in her eyes; a famous actor, who had
+thrown his proverbial reticence to the winds, kept his immediate
+neighbours in a state of semi-hysterical mirth; the clink of
+wine-glasses, the laughter of beautiful women, the murmur of cultivated
+voices, rose and fell through the faint, mysterious gloom. It was a
+picturesque, a wonderful scene enough. Pale as a marble statue, with the
+covert smile of the gracious host, Andrea Korust sat at the head of the
+table, well pleased with his company, as indeed he had the right to be.
+By his side was a great American statesman, who was travelling round the
+world, and yet had refused all other invitations of this sort. He had
+come for the pleasure of meeting the famous Dutch writer and politician,
+Mr. van Jool. The two were already talking intimately. It was at this
+point that tragedy, or something like it, intervened. A man's impatient
+voice was heard in the hall outside, a man's voice which grew louder and
+louder, more impatient, finally more passionate. People raised their
+heads to listen. The American statesman, who was, perhaps, the only one
+to realise exactly what was coming, slipped his hand into his pocket and
+gripped something cold and hard. Then the door was flung open. An
+apologetic and much disturbed butler made the announcement which had
+evidently been demanded of him.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen!"
+
+A silence followed--breathless--the silence before the bursting of the
+storm. Mr. von Tassen was the name of the American statesman, and the
+man who rose slowly from his place by his host's side was the exact
+double of the man who stood now upon the threshold, gazing in upon the
+room. The expression of the two alone was different. The new-comer was
+furiously angry, and looked it. The sham Mr. von Tassen was very much at
+his ease. It was he who broke the silence, and his voice was curiously
+free from all trace of emotion. He was looking his double over with an
+air of professional interest.
+
+"On the whole," he said calmly, "very good. A little stouter, I
+perceive, and the eyebrows a trifle too regular. Of course, when you
+make faces at me like that, it is hard to judge of the expression. I can
+only say that I did the best I could."
+
+"Who the devil are you, masquerading in my name?" the new-comer
+demanded, with emphasis. "This man is an impostor!" he added, turning to
+Andrea Korust. "What is he doing at your table?"
+
+Andrea leaned forward, and his face was an evil thing to look upon.
+
+"Who are you?" he hissed out.
+
+The sham Mr. von Tassen turned away for a moment and stooped down. The
+trick has been done often enough upon the stage, often in less time, but
+seldom with more effect. The wonderful wig disappeared, the spectacles,
+the lines in the face, the make-up of diabolical cleverness. With his
+back to the wall and his fingers playing with something in his pocket,
+Peter, Baron de Grost smiled upon his host.
+
+"Since you insist upon knowing--the Baron de Grost, at your service!" he
+announced.
+
+Andrea Korust was, for the moment, speechless. One of the women
+shrieked. The real Mr. von Tassen looked around him helplessly.
+
+"Will someone be good enough to enlighten me as to the meaning of this?"
+he begged. "Is it a roast? If so, I only want to catch on. Let me get to
+the joke, if there is one. If not, I should like a few words of
+explanation from you, sir," he added, addressing Peter.
+
+"Presently," the latter replied. "In the meantime, let me persuade you
+that I am not the only impostor here."
+
+He seized a glass of water and dashed it in the face of Mr. van Jool.
+There was a moment's scuffle, and no more of Mr. van Jool. What emerged
+was a good deal like the shy Maurice Korust, who accompanied his brother
+at the music-hall, but whose distaste for these gatherings had been
+Andrea's continual lament. The Baron de Grost stepped back once more
+against the wall. His host was certainly looking dangerous. Mademoiselle
+Celaire was leaning forward, staring through the gloom with distended
+eyes. Around the table every head was craned towards the centre of the
+disturbance. It was Peter again who spoke.
+
+"Let me suggest, Andrea Korust," he said, "that you send your
+guests--those who are not immediately interested in this affair--into
+the next room. I will offer Mr. von Tassen then the explanation to which
+he is entitled."
+
+Andrea Korust staggered to his feet. The man's nerve had failed. He was
+shaking all over. He pointed to the music-room.
+
+"If you would be so good, ladies and gentlemen!" he begged. "We will
+follow you immediately."
+
+They went, with obvious reluctance. All their eyes seemed focused upon
+Peter. He bore their scrutiny with calm cheerfulness. For a moment he
+had feared Korust, but that moment had passed. A servant, obeying his
+master's gesture, pulled back the curtains after the departing crowd.
+The four men were alone.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen," Peter said easily, "you are a man who loves
+adventures. To-night you experience a new sort of one. Over in your
+great country such methods as these are laughed at as the cheap device
+of sensation-mongers. Nevertheless, they exist. To-night is a proof that
+they exist."
+
+"Get on to facts, sir!" the American admonished. "Before you leave this
+room, you've got to explain to me what you mean by passing yourself off
+as Thomas von Tassen."
+
+Peter bowed.
+
+"With much pleasure, Mr. von Tassen," he declared. "For your
+information, I might tell you that you are not the only person in whose
+guise I have figured. In fact, I have had quite a busy week. I have
+been--let me see--I have been Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel on the
+night when our shy friend, Maurice Korust, was playing the part of
+General Henderson. I have also been His Grace the Duke of Rosshire when
+my friend Maurice here was introduced to me as François Defayal, known
+by name to me as one of the greatest writers on naval matters. A little
+awkward about the figure I found His Grace, but otherwise I think that I
+should have passed muster wherever he was known. I have also passed as
+Sir William Laureston, on the evening when my rival artiste here sang
+the praises of Imperial England."
+
+Andrea Korust leaned forward with venomous eyes.
+
+"You mean that it was you who was here last night in Sir William
+Laureston's place?" he almost shrieked.
+
+"Most certainly," Peter admitted, "but you must remember that, after
+all, my performances have been no more difficult than those of your shy
+but accomplished brother. Whenever I took to myself a strange
+personality I found him there, equally good as to detail, and with his
+subject always at his finger-tips. We settled that little matter of the
+canal, didn't we?" Peter remarked cheerfully, laying his hand upon the
+shoulder of the young man.
+
+They stared at him, these two white-faced brothers, like tiger-cats
+about to spring. Mr. von Tassen was getting impatient.
+
+"Look here," he protested, "you may be clearing matters up so far as
+regards Mr. Andrea Korust and his brother, but I'm as much in the fog as
+ever. Where do I come in?"
+
+"Your pardon, sir!" Peter replied. "I am getting nearer things now.
+These two young men--we will not call them hard names--are suffering
+from an excess of patriotic zeal. They didn't come and sit down on a
+camp-stool and sketch obsolete forts, as those others of their
+countrymen do when they want to pose as the bland and really exceedingly
+ignorant foreigners. They went about the matter with some skill. It
+occurred to them that it might be interesting to their country to know
+what Sir William Laureston thought about the strength of the Imperial
+Navy, and to what extent his country were willing to go in maintaining
+their allegiance to Great Britain. Then there was the Duke of Rosshire.
+They thought they'd like to know his views as to the development of the
+Navy during the next ten years. There was that little matter, too, of
+the French guns. It would certainly be interesting to them to know what
+Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel had to say about them. These people
+were all invited to sit at the hospitable board of our host here. I,
+however, had an inkling on the first night of what was going on, and I
+was easily able to persuade those in authority to let me play their
+several parts. You, sir," Peter added, turning to Mr. von Tassen, "you,
+sir, floored me. You were not an Englishman, and there was no appeal
+which I could make. I simply had to risk you. I counted upon your not
+turning up. Unfortunately, you did. Fortunately, you are the last guest.
+This is the seventh supper."
+
+Mr. von Tassen glanced around at the three men and made up his mind.
+
+"What do you call yourself?" he asked Peter.
+
+"The Baron de Grost," Peter replied.
+
+"Then, my friend the Baron de Grost," von Tassen said, "I think that you
+and I had better get out of this. So I was to talk about Germany with
+Mr. van Jool, eh?"
+
+"I have already explained your views," Peter declared, with twinkling
+eyes. "Mr. van Jool was delighted."
+
+Mr. von Tassen shook with laughter.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "this is a great story! If you're ready, Baron de
+Grost, lead the way to where we can get a whisky and soda and a chat."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire came gliding out to them.
+
+"I am not going to be left here," she whispered, taking Peter's arm.
+
+Peter looked back from the door.
+
+"At any rate, Mr. Andrea Korust," he said, "your first supper was a
+success. Colonel Mayson was genuine. Our real English military aeronaut
+was here, and he has disclosed to you, Maurice Korust, all that he ever
+knew. Henceforth I presume your great country will dispute with us for
+the mastery of the air."
+
+"Queer country, this," Mr. von Tassen remarked, pausing on the step to
+light a cigar. "Seems kind of humdrum after New York, but there's no use
+talking--things do happen over here anyway!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+
+His host, very fussy as he always was on the morning of his big shoot,
+came bustling towards de Grost, with a piece of paper in his hand. The
+party of men had just descended from a large brake and were standing
+about on the edge of the common, examining cartridges, smoking a last
+cigarette before the business of the morning, and chatting together over
+the prospects of the day's sport. In the distance, a cloud of dust
+indicated the approach of a fast-travelling motor-car.
+
+"My dear Baron," Sir William Bounderby said, "I want you to change your
+stand to-day. I must have a good man at the far corner as the birds go
+off my land from there, and Addington was missing them shockingly
+yesterday. Besides, there is a new man coming on your left, and I know
+nothing of his shooting--nothing at all!"
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"Anywhere you choose to put me, Sir William," he assented. "They came
+badly for Addington yesterday, and well for me. However, I'll do my
+best."
+
+"I wish people wouldn't bring strangers, especially to the one shoot
+where I'm keen about the bag. I told Portal he could bring his
+brother-in-law, and he's bringing this foreign fellow instead. Don't
+suppose he can shoot for nuts! Did you ever hear of him, I wonder? The
+Count von Hern, he calls himself."
+
+Peter was not on his guard and a little exclamation escaped him.
+
+"Bernadine!" he murmured, softly. "So the game begins once more!"
+
+His interest was unmistakable. It was not only the chill November air
+which had brought a touch of colour to his cheeks and the light to his
+eyes.
+
+"You seem pleased," Sir William Bounderby remarked, curiously. "You do
+know the fellow, then? Friend of yours, perhaps?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Oh, yes! I know him, Sir William," he replied, "but I do not think that
+he would call himself a friend of mine. I know nothing about his
+shooting except that if he got a chance I think that he would like to
+shoot me."
+
+Sir William, who was a very literal man, looked grave.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "if you are likely to find this meeting in any
+way awkward. I suppose there's nothing against him, eh?" he added, a
+little nervously. "I invited him purely on the strength of his being a
+guest of Portal's."
+
+"The Count von Hern comes, I believe," Peter assured his host, "of a
+distinguished European family. Socially there is nothing whatever
+against him. We happen to have run up against each other once or twice,
+that's all. That sort of thing will occur, you know, when the interests
+of finance touch the border-line of politics."
+
+"You have no objection to meeting him, then?" Sir William asked.
+
+"Not the slightest," Peter replied. "I do not know exactly in what
+direction the Count von Hern is extending his activities at present, but
+you will probably find any feeling of annoyance as regards our meeting
+to-day is entirely on his side."
+
+"I am very glad to hear it," Sir William declared. "I should not like
+anything to happen to disturb the harmony of your short visit to us."
+
+The motor-car had come to a standstill by this time. From it descended
+Mr. Portal himself, a large neighbouring landowner, a man of culture and
+travel. With him was Bernadine, in a very correct shooting suit and
+Tyrolese hat. On the other side of Mr. Portal was a short, thick-set
+man, with olive complexion, keen black eyes, black moustache and
+imperial, and sombrely dressed in City clothes. Sir William's eyebrows
+were slightly raised as he advanced to greet the party. Peter was at
+once profoundly interested.
+
+Mr. Portal introduced his guests.
+
+"You will forgive me, I am sure, for bringing a spectator, Bounderby,"
+he said. "Major Kosuth, whom I have the honour to present--Major Kosuth,
+Sir William Bounderby--is high up in the diplomatic service of a people
+with whom we must feel every sympathy--the young Turks. The Count von
+Hern, who takes my brother-in-law's place, is probably known to you by
+name."
+
+Sir William welcomed his visitors cordially.
+
+"You do not shoot, Major Kosuth?" he asked.
+
+"Very seldom," the Turk answered. "I come to-day with my good friend,
+Count von Hern, as a spectator, if you permit."
+
+"Delighted," Sir William replied. "We will find you a safe place near
+your friend."
+
+The little party began to move toward the wood. It was just at this
+moment that Bernadine felt a touch upon his shoulder, and, turning
+round, found Peter by his side.
+
+"An unexpected pleasure, my dear Count," the latter declared, suavely.
+"I had no idea that you took an interest in such simple sports."
+
+The manners of the Count von Hern were universally quoted as being
+almost too perfect. It is a regrettable fact, however, that at that
+moment he swore--softly, perhaps, but with distinct vehemence. A moment
+later he was exchanging the most cordial of greetings with his old
+friend.
+
+"You have the knack, my dear de Grost," he remarked, "of turning up in
+the most surprising places. I certainly did not know that amongst your
+many accomplishments was included a love for field sports."
+
+Peter smiled quietly. He was a very fine shot, and knew it.
+
+"One must amuse oneself these days," he said. "There is little else to
+do."
+
+Bernadine bit his lip.
+
+"My absence from this country, I fear, has robbed you of an occupation."
+
+"It has certainly deprived life of some of its savour," Peter admitted,
+blandly. "By the by, will you not present me to your friend? I have the
+utmost sympathy with the intrepid political party of which he is a
+member."
+
+The Count von Hern performed the introduction with a reluctance which he
+wholly failed to conceal. The Turk, however, had been walking on his
+other side, and his hat was already lifted. Peter had purposely raised
+his voice.
+
+"It gives me the greatest pleasure, Major Kosuth," Peter said, "to
+welcome you to this country. In common, I believe, with the majority of
+my countrymen, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the movement
+which you represent."
+
+Major Kosuth smiled slowly. His features were heavy and unexpressive.
+There was something of gloom, however, in the manner of his response.
+
+"You are very kind, Baron," he replied, "and I welcome very much this
+expression of your interest in my party. I believe that the hearts of
+your country people are turned towards us in the same manner. I could
+wish that your country's political sympathies were as easily aroused."
+
+Bernadine intervened promptly.
+
+"Major Kosuth has been here only one day," he remarked lightly. "I tell
+him that he is a little too impatient. See, we are approaching the wood.
+It is as well here to refrain from conversation."
+
+"We will resume it later," Peter said, softly. "I have interests in
+Turkey, and it would give me great pleasure to have a talk with Major
+Kosuth."
+
+"Financial interests?" the latter inquired, with some eagerness.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I will explain after the first drive," he said, turning away.
+
+Peter walked rather quickly until he reached a bend in the wood. He
+overtook his host on the way, and paused for a moment.
+
+"Lend me a loader for half an hour, Sir William," he begged. "I have to
+send my servant to the village with a telegram."
+
+"With pleasure!" Sir William answered. "There are several to spare. I'll
+send one to your stand. There's von Hern going the wrong way!" he
+exclaimed, in a tone of annoyance.
+
+Peter was just in time to stop the whistle from going to his mouth.
+
+"Do me another favour, Sir William," he pleaded. "Give me time to send
+off my telegram before the Count sees what I'm doing. He's such an
+inquisitive person," he went on, noticing his host's look of blank
+surprise. "Thank you ever so much!"
+
+Peter hurried on to his place. It was round the corner of the wood, and
+for the moment out of sight of the rest of the party. He tore a sheet
+from his pocket-book and scribbled out a telegram. His man had
+disappeared and a substitute taken his place by the time the Count von
+Hern arrived. The latter was now all amiability. It was hard to believe,
+from his smiling salutation, that he and the man to whom he waved his
+hand in so airy a fashion had ever declared war to the death!
+
+The shooting began a few minutes later. Major Kosuth, from a camp stool
+a few yards behind his friend, watched with somewhat languid interest.
+He gave one, indeed, the impression that his thoughts were far removed
+from this simple country party, the main object of whose existence for
+the present seemed to be the slaying of a certain number of inoffensive
+birds. He watched the indifferent performance of his friend and the
+remarkably fine shooting of his neighbour on the left, with the same
+lack-lustre eye and want of enthusiasm. The beat was scarcely over
+before Peter, resigning his smoking guns to his loader, lit a cigarette
+and strolled across to the next stand. He plunged at once into a
+conversation with Kosuth, notwithstanding Bernadine's ill-concealed
+annoyance.
+
+"Major Kosuth," he began, "I sympathise with you. It is a hard task for
+a man whose mind is centred upon great events to sit still and watch a
+performance of this sort. Be kind to us all and remember that this
+represents to us merely a few hours of relaxation. We, too, have our
+more serious moments."
+
+"You read my thoughts well," Major Kosuth declared. "I do not seek to
+excuse them. For half a lifetime we Turks have toiled and striven,
+always in danger of our lives, to help forward those things which have
+now come to pass. I think that our lives have become tinged with
+sombreness and apprehension. Now that the first step is achieved, we go
+forward, still with trepidation. We need friends, Baron de Grost."
+
+"You cannot seriously doubt but that you will find them in this
+country," Peter remarked. "There has never been a time when the English
+nation has not sympathised with the cause of liberty."
+
+"It is not the hearts of your people," Major Kosuth said, "which I fear.
+It is the antics of your politicians. Sympathy is a great thing, and
+good to have, but Turkey to-day needs more. The heart of a nation is
+big, but the number of those in whose hands it remains to give practical
+expression to its promptings is few."
+
+Bernadine, who had stood as much as he could, seized forcibly upon his
+friend.
+
+"You must remember our bargain, Kosuth," he insisted--"no politics
+to-day. Until to-morrow evening we rest. Now I want to introduce you to
+a very old friend of mine, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county."
+
+The Turk was bustled off, a little unwillingly. Peter watched them with
+a smile. It was many months since he had felt so keen an interest in
+life. The coming of Bernadine had steadied his nerves. His gun had come
+to his shoulder like the piston-rod of an engine. His eye was clear, his
+nerve still. There was something to be done! Decidedly, there was
+something to be done!...
+
+No man was better informed in current political affairs; but Peter,
+instead of joining the cheerful afternoon tea party at the close of the
+day, raked out a file of _The Times_ from the library, and studied it
+carefully in his room. There were one or two items of news concerning
+which he made pencil notes. He had scarcely finished his task before a
+servant brought in a dispatch. He opened it with interest and drew
+pencil and paper towards him. It was from Paris, and in the code which
+he had learnt by heart, no written key of which now existed. Carefully
+he transcribed it on to paper and read it through. It was dated from
+Paris a few hours back:
+
+"Kosuth left for England yesterday. Envoy from new Turkish Government.
+Requiring loan one million pounds. Asked for guarantee that it was not
+for warlike movement against Bulgaria; declined to give same.
+Communicated with English Ambassador and informed Kosuth yesterday that
+neither Government would sanction loan unless undertaking were given
+that the same was not to be applied for war against Bulgaria. Turkey is
+under covenant to enter into no financial obligations with any other
+Power while the interest of former loans remains in abeyance. Kosuth has
+made two efforts to obtain loan privately, from prominent English
+financier and French syndicate. Both have declined to treat on
+representations from Government. Kosuth was expected return direct to
+Turkey. If, as you say, he is in England with Bernadine, we commend the
+affair to your utmost vigilance. Germany exceedingly anxious enter into
+close relations with new Government of Turkey. Fear Kosuth's association
+with Bernadine proof of bad faith. Have had interview with Minister for
+Foreign Affairs, who relies upon our help. French Secret Service at your
+disposal, if necessary."
+
+Peter read the message three times with the greatest care. He was on the
+point of destroying it when Violet came into the room. She was wearing a
+long tea jacket of sheeny silk. Her beautiful hair was most becomingly
+arranged, her figure as light and girlish as ever. She came into the
+room humming gaily and swinging a gold purse upon her finger.
+
+"Won three rubbers out of four, Peter," she declared, "and a compliment
+from the Duchess. Aren't I a pupil to be proud of?"
+
+She stopped short. Her lips formed themselves into the shape of a
+whistle. She knew very well the signs. Her husband's eyes were kindling,
+there was a firm set about his lips, the palm of his hand lay flat upon
+that sheet of paper.
+
+"It was true?" she murmured. "It was Bernadine who was shooting to-day?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"He was on the next stand," he replied.
+
+"Then there is something doing, of course," Violet continued. "My dear
+Peter, you may be an enigma to other people; to me you have the most
+expressive countenance I ever saw. You have had a cable which you have
+just transcribed. If I had been a few minutes later, I think you would
+have torn up the result. As it is, I think I have come just in time to
+hear all about it."
+
+Peter smiled, grimly but fondly. He uncovered the sheet of paper and
+placed it in her hands.
+
+"So far," he said, "there isn't much to tell you. The Count von Hern
+turned up this morning with a Major Kosuth, who was one of the leaders
+of the revolution in Turkey. I wired Paris, and this is the reply."
+
+She read the message through thoughtfully and handed it back. Peter lit
+a match, and standing over the fireplace, calmly destroyed it.
+
+"A million pounds is not a great sum of money," Violet remarked. "Why
+could not Kosuth borrow it for his country from a private individual?"
+
+"A million pounds is not a large sum to talk about," Peter replied, "but
+it is an exceedingly large sum for anyone, even a multi-millionaire, to
+handle in cash. And Turkey, I gather, wants it at once. Besides,
+considerations which might be of value from a Government are no security
+at all as applied to a private individual."
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Do you think that Kosuth means to go behind the existing treaty and
+borrow from Germany?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I can't quite believe that," he said. "It would mean the straining of
+diplomatic relations with both countries. It is out of the question."
+
+"Then where does Bernadine come in?"
+
+"I do not know," Peter answered.
+
+Violet laughed.
+
+"What is it that you are going to try to find out?" she asked.
+
+"I am trying to discover who it is that Bernadine and Kosuth are waiting
+to see," Peter replied. "The worst of it is, I daren't leave here. I
+shall have to trust to the others."
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Well, go and dress," she said. "I'm afraid I've a little of your blood
+in me, after all. Life seems more stirring when Bernadine is on the
+scene."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The shooting party broke up two days later and Peter and his wife
+returned at once to town. The former found the reports which were
+awaiting his arrival disappointing. Bernadine and his guest were not in
+London, or if they were they had carefully avoided all the usual haunts.
+Peter read his reports over again, smoked a very long cigar alone in his
+study, and finally drove down to the City and called upon his
+stockbroker, who was also a personal friend. Things were flat in the
+City, and the latter was glad enough to welcome an important client. He
+began talking the usual market shop until his visitor stopped him.
+
+"I have come to you, Edwardes, more for information than anything,"
+Peter declared, "although it may mean that I shall need to sell a lot of
+stock. Can you tell me of any private financier who could raise a loan
+of a million pounds in cash within the course of a week?"
+
+The stockbroker looked dubious.
+
+"In cash?" he repeated. "Money isn't raised that way, you know. I doubt
+whether there are many men in the whole city of London who could put up
+such an amount with only a week's notice."
+
+"But there must be someone," Peter persisted. "Think! It would probably
+be a firm or a man not obtrusively English. I don't think the Jews would
+touch it, and a German citizen would be impossible."
+
+"Semi-political, eh?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"It is rather that way," he admitted.
+
+"Would your friend the Count von Hern be likely to be concerned in it?"
+
+"Why?" Peter asked, with immovable face.
+
+"Nothing, only I saw him coming out of Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+other day," the stockbroker remarked, carelessly.
+
+"And who is Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge?"
+
+"A very wealthy American financier," the stockbroker replied, "not at
+all an unlikely person for a loan of the sort you mention."
+
+"American citizen?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Without a doubt. Of German descent, I should say, but nothing much left
+of it in his appearance. He settled over here in a huff, because New
+York society wouldn't receive his wife."
+
+"I remember all about it," Peter declared. "She was a chorus girl,
+wasn't she? Nothing particular against her, but the fellow had no tact.
+Do you know him, Edwardes?"
+
+"Slightly," the stockbroker answered.
+
+"Give me a letter to him," Peter said. "Give my credit as good a leg up
+as you can. I shall probably go as a borrower."
+
+Mr. Edwardes wrote a few lines and handed them to his client.
+
+"Office is nearly opposite," he remarked. "Wish you luck, whatever your
+scheme is."
+
+Peter crossed the street and entered the building which his friend had
+pointed out. He ascended in the lift to the third floor, knocked at the
+door which bore Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's name, and almost ran into the
+arms of a charmingly dressed little lady, who was being shown out by a
+broad-shouldered, typical American. Peter hastened to apologise.
+
+"I beg your pardon," he said, raising his hat. "I was rather in a hurry,
+and I quite thought I heard someone say, 'Come in'."
+
+The lady replied pleasantly. Her companion, who was carrying his hat in
+his hand, paused reluctantly.
+
+"Did you want to see me?" he asked.
+
+"If you are Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I did," Peter admitted. "My name is
+the Baron de Grost, and I have a letter of introduction to you from Mr.
+Edwardes."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge tore open the envelope and glanced through the
+contents of the note. Peter meanwhile looked at his wife with genuine
+but respectfully cloaked admiration. The lady obviously returned his
+interest.
+
+"Why, if you're the Baron de Grost," she exclaimed, "didn't you marry Vi
+Brown? She used to be at the Gaiety with me years ago."
+
+"I certainly did marry Violet Brown," Peter confessed; "and, if you will
+allow me to say so, Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge, I should have recognised you
+anywhere from your photographs."
+
+"Say, isn't that queer?" the little lady remarked, turning to her
+husband. "I should love to see Vi again."
+
+"If you will give me your address," Peter declared promptly, "my wife
+will be delighted to call upon you."
+
+The man looked up from the note.
+
+"Do you want to talk business with me, Baron?" he asked.
+
+"For a few moments only," Peter answered. "I am afraid I am a great
+nuisance, and, if you wish it, I will come down to the City again."
+
+"That's all right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Myra won't mind
+waiting a minute or two. Come through here."
+
+He turned back and led the way into a quiet-looking suite of offices,
+where one or two clerks were engaged writing at open desks. They all
+three passed into an inner room.
+
+"Any objection to my wife coming in?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+"There's scarcely any place for her out there."
+
+"Delighted," Peter answered.
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Remember we have to meet the Count von Hern at half-past one at
+Prince's, Charles," she reminded him.
+
+Her husband nodded. There was nothing in Peter's expression to denote
+that he had already achieved the first object of his visit.
+
+"I shall not detain you," he said. "Your name has been mentioned to me,
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, as a financier likely to have a large sum of money
+at his disposal. I have a scheme which needs money. Providing the
+security is unexceptionable, are you in a position to do a deal?"
+
+"How much do you want?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+
+"A million to a million and a half," Peter answered.
+
+"Dollars?"
+
+"Pounds."
+
+It was not Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's pose to appear surprised. Nevertheless
+his eyebrows were slightly raised.
+
+"Say, what is this scheme?" he inquired.
+
+"First of all," Peter replied, "I should like to know whether there's
+any chance of business if I disclose it."
+
+"Not an atom," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge declared. "I have just committed
+myself to the biggest financial transaction of my life, and it will
+clean me out."
+
+"Then I won't waste your time," Peter announced, rising.
+
+"Sit down for a moment," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited, biting the end
+off a cigar and passing the box towards Peter. "That's all right. My
+wife doesn't mind. Say, it strikes me as rather a curious thing that you
+should come in here and talk about a million and a half when that's just
+the amount concerned in my other little deal."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"As a matter of fact, it isn't at all queer," he answered. "I don't want
+the money. I came to see whether you were really interested in the other
+affair--the Turkish loan, you know."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge withdrew his cigar from his mouth and looked
+steadily at his visitor.
+
+"Say, Baron," he declared, "you've got a nerve!"
+
+"Not at all," Peter replied. "I'm here as much in your interests as my
+own."
+
+"Whom do you represent, any way?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge inquired.
+
+"A company you never heard of," Peter replied. "Our offices are in the
+underground places of the world, and we don't run to brass plates. I am
+here because I am curious about that loan. Turkey hasn't a shadow of
+security to offer you. Everything which she can pledge is pledged to
+guarantee the interest on existing loans to France and England. She is
+prevented by treaty from borrowing in Germany. If you make a loan
+without security, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I suppose you understand your
+position. The loan may be repudiated at any moment."
+
+"Kind of a philanthropist, aren't you?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge remarked
+quietly.
+
+"Not in the least," Peter assured him. "I know there's some tricky work
+going on, and I suppose I haven't brains enough to get to the bottom of
+it. That's why I've come blundering in to you, and why, I suppose,
+you'll be telling the whole story to the Count von Hern at luncheon in
+an hour's time."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge smoked in silence for a moment or two.
+
+"This transaction of mine," he said at last, "isn't one I can talk
+about. I guess I'm on to what you want to know, but I simply can't tell
+you. The security is unusual, but it's good enough for me."
+
+"It seems so to you beyond a doubt," Peter replied. "Still, you have to
+do with a remarkably clever young man in the Count von Hern. I don't
+want to ask you any questions you feel I ought not to, but I do wish
+you'd tell me one thing."
+
+"Go right ahead," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited. "Don't be shy."
+
+"What day are you concluding this affair?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge scratched his chin for a moment thoughtfully and
+glanced at his diary.
+
+"Well, I'll risk that," he decided. "A week to-day I hand over the
+coin."
+
+Peter drew a little breath of relief. A week was an immense time! He
+rose to his feet.
+
+"That ends our business, then, for the present," he said. "Now I am
+going to ask both of you a favour. Perhaps I have no right to, but as a
+man of honour, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, you can take it from me that I ask
+it in your interests as well as my own. Don't tell the Count von Hern of
+my visit to you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge held out his hand.
+
+"That's all right," he declared. "You hear, Myra?"
+
+"I'll be dumb, Baron," she promised. "Say when do you think Vi can come
+and see me?"
+
+Peter was guilty of snobbery. He considered it quite a justifiable
+weapon.
+
+"She is at Windsor this afternoon," he remarked.
+
+"What, at the garden party?" Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge almost shrieked.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I believe there's some fête or other to-morrow," he said; "but we're
+alone this evening. Why, won't you dine with us, say at the Carlton?"
+
+"We'd love to," the lady assented promptly.
+
+"At eight o'clock," Peter said, taking his leave.
+
+The dinner-party was a great success. Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge found
+herself amongst the class of people with whom it was her earnest desire
+to become acquainted, and her husband was well satisfied to see her keen
+longing for Society likely to be gratified. The subject of Peter's call
+at the office in the City was studiously ignored. It was not until the
+very end of the evening, indeed, that the host of this very agreeable
+party was rewarded by a single hint. It all came about in the most
+natural manner. They were speaking of foreign capitals.
+
+"I love Paris," Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge told her host. "Just adore it.
+Charles is often there on business, and I always go along."
+
+Peter smiled. There was just a chance here.
+
+"Your husband does not often have to leave London?" he remarked
+carelessly.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Not often enough," she declared. "I just love getting about. Last week
+we had a perfectly horrible trip, though. We started off for Belfast
+quite unexpectedly, and I hated every minute of it."
+
+Peter smiled inwardly, but he said never a word. His companion was
+already chattering on about something else. Peter crossed the hall a few
+minutes later to speak to an acquaintance, slipped out to the telephone
+booth, and spoke to his servant.
+
+"A bag and a change," he ordered, "at Euston Station at twelve o'clock,
+in time for the Irish mail. Your mistress will be home as usual."
+
+An hour later the dinner-party broke up. Early the next morning Peter
+crossed the Irish Channel. He returned the following day, and crossed
+again within a few hours. In five days the affair was finished, except
+for the _dénouement_.
+
+Peter ascended in the lift to Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+following Thursday, calm and unruffled as usual, but nevertheless a
+little exultant. It was barely half an hour ago since he had become
+finally prepared for this interview. He was looking forward to it now
+with feelings of undiluted satisfaction. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge was in, he
+was told, and he was at once admitted to his presence. The financier
+greeted him with a somewhat curious smile.
+
+"Say, this is very nice of you to look me up again!" he exclaimed.
+"Still worrying about that loan, eh?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"No, I'm not worrying about that any more," he answered, accepting one
+of his host's cigars. "The fact of it is that if it were not for me you
+would be the one who would have to do the worrying."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge stopped short in the act of lighting his cigar.
+
+"I'm not quite catching on," he remarked. "What's the trouble?"
+
+"There is no trouble, fortunately," Peter replied. "Only a little
+disappointment for our friends the Count von Hern and Major Kosuth. I
+have brought you some information which, I think, will put an end to
+that affair of the loan."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge sat quite still for a moment. His brows were
+knitted; he showed no signs of nervousness.
+
+"Go right on," he said.
+
+"The security upon which you were going to advance a million and a half
+to the Turkish Government," Peter continued, "consisted of two
+Dreadnoughts and a cruiser, being built to the order of that country by
+Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves at Belfast."
+
+"Quite right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge admitted quietly. "I have been up
+and seen the boats. I have seen the shipbuilders, too."
+
+"Did you happen to mention to the latter," Peter inquired, "that you
+were advancing money upon those vessels?"
+
+"Certainly not," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Kosuth wouldn't hear of
+such a thing. If the papers got wind of it there'd be the devil to pay.
+All the same, I have got an assignment from the Turkish Government."
+
+"Not worth the paper it's written on," Peter declared blandly.
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge rose unsteadily to his feet. He was a strong,
+silent man, but there was a queer look about his mouth.
+
+"What the devil do you mean?" he demanded.
+
+"Briefly this," Peter explained. "The first payment, when these ships
+were laid down, was made not by Turkey, but by an emissary of the German
+Government, who arranged the whole affair in Constantinople. The second
+payment was due ten months ago, and not a penny has been paid. Notice
+was given to the late Government twice and absolutely ignored. According
+to the charter, therefore, these ships reverted to the shipbuilding
+company, who retained possession of the first payment as indemnity
+against loss. The Count von Hern's position was this. He represents the
+German Government. You were to find a million and a half of money, with
+the ships as security. You also have a contract from the Count von Hern
+to take those ships off your hands provided the interest on the loan
+became overdue, a state of affairs which, I can assure you, would have
+happened within the next twelve months. Practically, therefore, you were
+made use of as an independent financier to provide the money with which
+the Turkish Government, broadly speaking, have sold the ships to
+Germany. You see, according to the charter of the shipbuilding company,
+these vessels cannot be sold to any foreign Government without the
+consent of Downing Street. That is the reason why the affair had to be
+conducted in such a roundabout manner."
+
+"All this is beyond me," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said hoarsely. "I don't
+care a d----n who has the ships in the end so long as I get my money!"
+
+"But you would not get your money," Peter pointed out, "because there
+will be no ships. I have had the shrewdest lawyers in the world at work
+upon the charter, and there is not the slightest doubt that these
+vessels are, or rather were, the entire property of Messrs. Shepherd and
+Hargreaves. To-day they belong to me. I have bought them and paid
+£200,000 deposit. I can show you the receipt and all the papers."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said only one word, but that word was profane.
+
+"I am sorry, of course, that you have lost the business," Peter
+concluded; "but surely it's better than losing your money?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge struck the table fiercely with his fist. There was
+a grey and unfamiliar look about his face.
+
+"D----n it, the money's gone!" he declared hoarsely: "They changed the
+day. Kosuth had to go back. I paid it twenty-four hours ago."
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"If only you had trusted me a little more!" he murmured. "I tried to
+warn you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge snatched up his hat.
+
+"They don't leave till the two-twenty," he shouted. "We'll catch them at
+the Milan. If we don't, I'm ruined! By Heaven, I'm ruined!"
+
+They found Major Kosuth in the hall of the hotel. He was wearing a fur
+coat and otherwise attired for travelling. His luggage was already being
+piled upon a cab. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge wasted no words upon him.
+
+"You and I have got to have a talk, right here and now," he declared.
+"Where's the Count?"
+
+Major Kosuth frowned gloomily.
+
+"I do not understand you," he said shortly. "Our business is concluded,
+and I am leaving by the two-twenty train."
+
+"You are doing nothing of the sort," the American answered, standing
+before him, grim and threatening.
+
+The Turk showed no sign of terror. He gripped his silver-headed cane
+firmly.
+
+"I think," he said, "that there is no one here who will prevent me."
+
+Peter, who saw a fracas imminent, hastily intervened.
+
+"If you will permit me for a moment," he said, "there is a little
+explanation I should perhaps make to Major Kosuth."
+
+The Turk took a step towards the door.
+
+"I have no time to listen to explanations from you or anyone," he
+replied. "My cab is waiting. I depart. If Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge is not
+satisfied with our transaction, I am sorry, but it is too late to alter
+anything."
+
+For a moment it seemed as though a struggle between the two men was
+inevitable. Already people were glancing at them curiously, for Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge came of a primitive school, and he had no intention
+whatever of letting his man escape. Fortunately at that moment the Count
+von Hern came up, and Peter at once appealed to him.
+
+"Count," he said, "may I beg for your good offices? My friend Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge here is determined to have a few words with Major
+Kosuth before he leaves. Surely this is not an unreasonable request when
+you consider the magnitude of the transaction which has taken place
+between them! Let me beg of you to persuade Major Kosuth to give us ten
+minutes. There is plenty of time for the train, and this is not the
+place for a brawl."
+
+Bernadine smiled. He was not conscious of the slightest feeling of
+uneasiness. He could conceive many reasons for Peter's intervention, but
+in his pocket lay the agreement, signed by Kosuth, an accredited envoy
+of the Turkish Government, besides which he had a further document
+signed by Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, witnessed and stamped, handing over to
+him the whole of the security for this very complicated loan, on the
+sole condition that the million and a half, with interest, was
+forthcoming. His position was completely secure. A little discussion
+with his old enemy might not be altogether unpleasant!
+
+"It will not take us long, Kosuth, to hear what our friend has to say,"
+he remarked. "We shall be quite quiet in the smoking-room. Let us go in
+there and dispose of the affair."
+
+The Turk turned unwillingly in the direction indicated. All four men
+passed through the café, up some stair's, and into the small
+smoking-room. The room was deserted. Peter led the way to the far
+corner, and, standing with his elbow leaning upon the mantelpiece,
+addressed them.
+
+"The position is this," he said. "Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge has parted with a
+million and a half of his own money, a loan to the Turkish Government,
+on security which is not worth a snap of the fingers."
+
+"It is a lie!" Major Kosuth exclaimed.
+
+"My dear Baron, you are woefully misinformed," the Count declared.
+
+Peter shook his head slowly.
+
+"No," he said, "I am not misinformed. My friend here has parted with the
+money on the security of two battleships and a cruiser, now building in
+Shepherd and Hargreaves' yard at Belfast. The two battleships and
+cruiser in question belong to me. I have paid two hundred thousand
+pounds on account of them, and hold the shipbuilders' receipt."
+
+"You are mad!" Bernadine cried, contemptuously.
+
+Peter shook his head, and continued.
+
+"The battleships were laid down for the Turkish Government, and the
+money with which to start them was supplied by the Secret Service of
+Germany. The second instalment was due ten months ago, and has not been
+paid. The time of grace provided for has expired. The shipbuilders, in
+accordance with their charter, were consequently at liberty to dispose
+of the vessels as they thought fit. On the statement of the whole of the
+facts to the head of the firm, he has parted with these ships to me. I
+need not say that I have a purchaser within a mile from here. It is a
+fancy of mine, Count von Hern, that those ships will sail better under
+the British flag."
+
+There was a moment's tense silence. The face of the Turk was black with
+anger. Bernadine was trembling with rage.
+
+"This is a tissue of lies!" he exclaimed.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The facts are easy enough for you to prove," he said, "and I have
+here," he added, producing a roll of papers, "copies of the various
+documents for your inspection. Your scheme, of course, was simple
+enough. It fell through for this one reason only. A final notice,
+pressing for the second instalment, and stating the days of grace, was
+forwarded to Constantinople about the time of the recent political
+troubles. The late government ignored it. In fairness to Major Kosuth,
+we will believe that the present government was ignorant of it. But the
+fact remains that Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves became at liberty to
+sell those vessels, and that I have bought them. You will have to give
+up that money, Major Kosuth."
+
+"You bet he shall!" the American muttered.
+
+Bernadine leaned a little towards his enemy.
+
+"You must give us a minute or two," he insisted. "We shall not go away,
+I promise you. Within five minutes you shall hear our decision."
+
+Peter sat down at the writing-table and commenced a letter. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge mounted guard over the door, and stood there, a grim
+figure of impatience. Before the five minutes was up, Bernadine crossed
+the room.
+
+"I congratulate you, Baron," he said, dryly. "You are either an
+exceedingly lucky person or you are more of a genius than I believed.
+Kosuth is even now returning his letters of credit to your friend. You
+are quite right. The loan cannot stand."
+
+"I was sure," Peter answered, "that you would see the matter correctly."
+
+"You and I," Bernadine continued, "know very well that I don't care a
+fig about Turkey, new or old. The ships, I will admit, I intended to
+have for my own country. As it is, I wish you joy of them. Before they
+are completed we may be fighting in the air."
+
+Peter smiled, and, side by side with Bernadine, strolled across to
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was buttoning up a pocket-book with trembling
+fingers.
+
+"Personally," Peter said, "I believe that the days of wars are over."
+
+"That may or may not be," Bernadine answered. "One thing is very
+certain. Even if the nations remain at peace, there are enmities which
+strike only deeper as the years pass. I am going to take a drink now
+with my disappointed friend Kosuth. If I raise my glass 'To the Day!'
+you will understand."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"My friend Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge and I are for the same destination," he
+replied, pushing open the swing door which led to the bar. "I return
+your good wishes, Count. I, too, drink 'To the Day!'"
+
+Bernadine and Kosuth left a few minutes afterwards. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was feeling himself again, watched them depart
+with ill-concealed triumph.
+
+"Say, you had those fellows on toast, Baron," he declared, admiringly.
+"I couldn't follow the whole affair, but I can see that you're in for
+big things sometimes. Remember this. If money counts at any time, I'm
+with you."
+
+Peter clasped his hand.
+
+"Money always counts," he said--"and friends!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+
+"We may now," Sogrange remarked, buttoning up his ulster, and stretching
+himself out to the full extent of his steamer chair, "consider ourselves
+at sea. I trust, my friend, that you are feeling quite comfortable."
+
+Peter, Baron de Grost, lying at his ease upon a neighbouring chair, with
+a pillow behind his head, a huge fur coat around his body, and a rug
+over his feet, had all the appearance of being very comfortable indeed.
+His reply, however, was a little short--almost peevish.
+
+"I am comfortable enough for the present, thank you. Heaven knows how
+long it will last!"
+
+Sogrange waved his arm towards the great uneasy plain of blue sea, the
+showers of foam leaping into the sunlight, away beyond the disappearing
+coasts of France.
+
+"Last," he repeated. "For eight days, I hope. Consider, my dear Baron!
+What could be more refreshing, more stimulating to our jaded nerves than
+this? Think of the December fogs you have left behind, the cold, driving
+rain, the puddles in the street, the grey skies--London, in short, at
+her ugliest and worst."
+
+"That is all very well," Peter protested; "but I have left several other
+things behind, too."
+
+"As, for instance?" Sogrange inquired genially.
+
+"My wife," Peter informed him. "Violet objects very much to these abrupt
+separations. This week, too, I was shooting at Saxthorpe, and I had also
+several other engagements of a pleasant nature. Besides, I have reached
+that age when I find it disconcerting to be called out of bed in the
+middle of the night to answer a long-distance telephone call, and told
+to embark on an American liner leaving Southampton early the next
+morning. It may be your idea of a pleasure-trip. It isn't mine."
+
+Sogrange was amused. His smile, however, was hidden. Only the tip of his
+cigarette was visible.
+
+"Anything else?"
+
+"Nothing much, except that I am always seasick," Peter replied
+deliberately. "I can feel it coming on now. I wish that fellow would
+keep away with his beastly mutton broth. The whole ship seems to smell
+of it."
+
+Sogrange laughed, softly but without disguise.
+
+"Who said anything about a pleasure-trip?" he demanded.
+
+Peter turned his head.
+
+"You did. You told me when you came on at Cherbourg that you had to go
+to New York to look after some property there, that things were very
+quiet in London, and that you hated travelling alone. Therefore you sent
+for me at a few hours' notice."
+
+"Is that what I told you?" Sogrange murmured.
+
+"Yes! Wasn't it true?" Peter asked, suddenly alert.
+
+"Not a word of it," Sogrange admitted. "It is quite amazing that you
+should have believed it for a moment."
+
+"I was a fool," Peter confessed. "You see, I was tired and a little
+cross. Besides, somehow or other, I never associated a trip to America
+with----"
+
+Sogrange interrupted him, quietly but ruthlessly.
+
+"Lift up the label attached to the chair next to yours. Read it out to
+me."
+
+Peter took it into his hand and turned it over. A quick exclamation
+escaped him.
+
+"Great heavens! 'The Count von Hern'--Bernadine!"
+
+"Just so," Sogrange assented. "Nice, clear writing, isn't it?"
+
+Peter sat bolt upright in his chair.
+
+"Do you mean to say that Bernadine is on board?"
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"By the exercise, my dear Baron," he said, "of a superlative amount of
+ingenuity, I was able to prevent that misfortune. Now lean over and read
+the label on the next chair."
+
+Peter obeyed. His manner had acquired a new briskness.
+
+"'La Duchesse della Nermino,'" he announced.
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"Everything just as it should be," he declared. "Change those labels, my
+friend, as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter's fingers were nimble, and the thing was done in a few seconds.
+
+"So I am to sit next the Spanish lady," he remarked, feeling for his
+tie.
+
+"Not only that, but you are to make friends with her," Sogrange replied.
+"You are to be your captivating self, Baron. The Duchesse is to forget
+her weakness for hot rooms. She is to develop a taste for sea air and
+your society."
+
+"Is she," Peter asked anxiously, "old or young?"
+
+Sogrange showed a disposition to fence with the question.
+
+"Not old," he answered; "certainly not old. Fifteen years ago she was
+considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world."
+
+"The ladies of Spain," Peter remarked, with a sigh, "are inclined to
+mature early."
+
+"In some cases," Sogrange assured him, "there are no women in the world
+who preserve their good looks longer. You shall judge, my friend. Madame
+comes! How about that sea-sickness now?"
+
+"Gone," Peter declared briskly. "Absolutely a fancy of mine. Never felt
+better in my life."
+
+An imposing little procession approached along the deck. There was the
+deck steward leading the way; a very smart French maid carrying a
+wonderful collection of wraps, cushions, and books; a black-browed,
+pallid man-servant, holding a hot-water bottle in his hand and leading a
+tiny Pekinese spaniel wrapped in a sealskin coat; and finally Madame la
+Duchesse. It was so obviously a procession intended to impress, that
+neither Peter nor Sogrange thought it worth while to conceal their
+interest.
+
+The Duchesse, save that she was tall and wrapped in magnificent furs,
+presented a somewhat mysterious appearance. Her features were entirely
+obscured by an unusually thick veil of black lace, and the voluminous
+nature of her outer garments only permitted a suspicion as to her
+figure, which was, at that time, at once the despair and the triumph of
+her _corsetière_. With both hands she was holding her fur-lined skirts
+from contact with the deck, disclosing at the same time remarkably
+shapely feet encased in trim patent shoes, with plain silver buckles,
+and a little more black silk stocking than seemed absolutely necessary.
+The deck steward, after a half-puzzled scrutiny of the labels, let down
+the chair next to the two men. The Duchesse contemplated her prospective
+neighbours with some curiosity, mingled with a certain amount of
+hesitation. It was at that moment that Sogrange, shaking away his rug,
+rose to his feet.
+
+"Madame la Duchesse permits me to remind her of my existence," he said,
+bowing low. "It is some years since we met, but I had the honour of a
+dance at the Palace in Madrid."
+
+She held out her hand at once, yet somehow Peter felt sure that she was
+thankful for her veil. Her voice was pleasant, and her air the air of a
+great lady. She spoke French with the soft, sibilant intonation of the
+Spaniard.
+
+"I remember the occasion perfectly, Marquis," she admitted. "Your sister
+and I once shared a villa in Mentone."
+
+"I am flattered by your recollection, Duchesse," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"It is a great surprise to meet with you here, though," she continued.
+"I did not see you at Cherbourg or on the train."
+
+"I motored from Paris," Sogrange explained, "and arrived, contrary to my
+custom, I must confess, somewhat early. Will you permit that I introduce
+an acquaintance whom I have been fortunate enough to find on board:
+Monsieur le Baron de Grost--Madame la Duchesse della Nermino."
+
+Peter was graciously received, and the conversation dealt, for a few
+moments, with the usual banalities of the voyage. Then followed the
+business of settling the Duchesse in her place. When she was really
+installed, and surrounded with all the paraphernalia of a great and
+fanciful lady, including a handful of long cigarettes, she raised her
+veil. Peter, who was at the moment engaged in conversation with her, was
+a little shocked with the result. Her features were worn, her face dead
+white, with many signs of the ravages wrought by the constant use of
+cosmetics. Only her eyes had retained something of their former
+splendour. These latter were almost violet in colour, deep-set, with
+dark rims, and were sufficient almost in themselves to make one forget
+for a moment the less prepossessing details of her appearance. A small
+library of books was by her side, but after a while she no longer
+pretended any interest in them. She was a born conversationalist, a
+creature of her country, entirely and absolutely feminine, to whom the
+subtle and flattering deference of the other sex was as the breath of
+life itself. Peter burned his homage upon her altar with a craft which
+amounted to genius. In less than half an hour Madame la Duchesse was
+looking many years younger. The vague look of apprehension had passed
+from her face. Their voices had sunk to a confidential undertone,
+punctuated often by the music of her laughter. Sogrange, with a murmured
+word of apology, had slipped away long ago. Decidedly, for an
+Englishman, Peter was something of a marvel!
+
+Madame la Duchesse moved her head towards the empty chair.
+
+"He is a great friend of yours--the Marquis de Sogrange?" she asked,
+with a certain inflection in her tone which Peter was not slow to
+notice.
+
+"Indeed, no!" he answered. "A few years ago I was frequently in Paris. I
+made his acquaintance then, but we have met very seldom since."
+
+"You are not travelling together, then?" she inquired.
+
+"By no means," Peter assured her. "I recognised him only as he boarded
+the steamer at Cherbourg."
+
+"He is not a popular man in our world," she remarked. "One speaks of him
+as a schemer."
+
+"Is there anything left to scheme for in France?" Peter asked
+carelessly. "He is, perhaps, a Monarchist?"
+
+"His ancestry alone would compel a devoted allegiance to Royalism," the
+Duchesse declared; "but I do not think that he is interested in any of
+these futile plots to reinstate the House of Orleans. I, Monsieur le
+Baron, am Spanish."
+
+"I have scarcely lived so far out of the world as to have heard nothing
+of the Duchesse della Nermino," Peter replied with _empressement_. "The
+last time I saw you, Duchesse, you were in the suite of the Infanta."
+
+"Like all Englishmen, I see you possess a memory," she said, smiling.
+
+"Duchesse," Peter answered, lowering his voice, "without the memories
+which one is fortunate enough to collect as one passes along, life would
+be a dreary place. The most beautiful things in the world cannot remain
+always with us. It is well, then, that the shadow of them can be
+recalled to us in the shape of dreams."
+
+Her eyes rewarded him for his gallantry. Peter felt that he was doing
+very well indeed. He indulged himself in a brief silence. Presently she
+returned to the subject of Sogrange.
+
+"I think," she remarked, "that of all the men in the world I expected
+least to see the Marquis de Sogrange on board a steamer bound for New
+York. What can a man of his type find to amuse him in the New World?"
+
+"One wonders, indeed," Peter assented. "As a matter of fact, I did read
+in a newspaper a few days ago that he was going to Mexico in connection
+with some excavations there. He spoke to me of it just now. They seem to
+have discovered a ruined temple of the Incas, or something of the sort."
+
+The Duchesse breathed what sounded very much like a sigh of relief.
+
+"I had forgotten," she admitted, "that New York itself need not
+necessarily be his destination."
+
+"For my own part," Peter continued, "it is quite amazing the interest
+which the evening papers always take in the movements of one connected
+ever so slightly with their world. I think that a dozen newspapers have
+told their readers the exact amount of money I am going to lend or
+borrow in New York, the stocks I am going to bull or bear, the mines I
+am going to purchase. My presence on an American steamer is accounted
+for by the journalists a dozen times over. Yours, Duchesse, if one might
+say so without appearing over-curious, seems the most inexplicable. What
+attraction can America possibly have for you?"
+
+She glanced at him covertly from under her sleepy eyelids. Peter's face
+was like the face of a child.
+
+"You do not, perhaps, know," she said, "that I was born in Cuba. I lived
+there, in fact, for many years. I still have estates in the country."
+
+"Indeed?" he answered. "Are you interested, then, in this reported
+salvage of the _Maine_?"
+
+There was a short silence. Peter, who had not been looking at her when
+he had asked his question, turned his head, surprised at her lack of
+response. His heart gave a little jump. The Duchesse had all the
+appearance of a woman on the point of fainting. One hand was holding a
+scent bottle to her nose, the other, thin and white, ablaze with
+emeralds and diamonds, was gripping the side of her chair. Her
+expression was one of blank terror. Peter felt a shiver chill his own
+blood at the things he saw in her face. He himself was confused,
+apologetic, yet absolutely without understanding. His thoughts reverted
+at first to his own commonplace malady.
+
+"You are ill, Duchesse!" he exclaimed. "You will allow me to call the
+deck steward? Or perhaps you would prefer your own maid? I have some
+brandy in this flask."
+
+He had thrown off his rug, but her imperious gesture kept him seated.
+She was looking at him with an intentness which was almost tragical.
+
+"What made you ask me that question?" she demanded.
+
+His innocence was entirely apparent. Not even Peter could have
+dissembled so naturally.
+
+"That question?" he repeated, vaguely. "You mean about the _Maine_? It
+was the idlest chance, Duchesse, I assure you. I saw something about it
+in the paper yesterday, and it seemed interesting. But if I had had the
+slightest idea that the subject was distasteful to you I would not have
+dreamed of mentioning it. Even now--I do not understand----"
+
+She interrupted him. All the time he had been speaking she had shown
+signs of recovery. She was smiling now, faintly and with obvious effort,
+but still smiling.
+
+"It is altogether my own fault, Baron," she admitted graciously. "Please
+forgive my little fit of emotion. The subject is a very sore one amongst
+my country-people, you know, and your sudden mention of it upset me. It
+was very foolish."
+
+"Duchesse, I was a clumsy idiot!" Peter declared penitently. "I deserve
+that you should be unkind to me for the rest of the voyage."
+
+"I could not afford that," she answered, forcing another smile. "I am
+relying too much upon you for companionship. Ah! could I trouble you?"
+she added. "For the moment I need my maid. She passes there."
+
+Peter sprang up and called the young woman, who was slowly pacing the
+deck. He himself did not at once return to his place. He went instead in
+search of Sogrange, and found him in his state-room. Sogrange was lying
+upon a couch, in a silk smoking suit, with a French novel in his hand
+and an air of contentment which was almost fatuous. He laid down the
+volume at Peter's entrance.
+
+"Dear Baron," he murmured, "why this haste? No one is ever in a hurry
+upon a steamer. Remember that we can't possibly get anywhere in less
+than eight days, and there is no task in the world, nowadays, which
+cannot be accomplished in that time. To hurry is a needless waste of
+tissue, and, to a person of my nervous temperament, exceedingly
+unpleasant."
+
+Peter sat down on the edge of the bunk.
+
+"I presume you have quite finished?" he said. "If so, listen to me. I am
+moving in the dark. Is it my fault that I blunder? By the merest
+accident I have already committed a hideous _faux pas_. You ought to
+have warned me."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I have spoken to the Duchesse of the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+The eyes of Sogrange gleamed for a moment, but he lay perfectly still.
+
+"Why not?" he asked. "A good many people are talking about it. It is one
+of the strangest things I have ever heard of, that after all these years
+they should be trying to salve the wreck."
+
+"It seems worse than strange," Peter declared. "What can be the use of
+trying to stir up bitter feelings between two nations who have fought
+their battles and buried the hatchet? I call it an an act of insanity."
+
+A bugle rang. Sogrange yawned and sat up.
+
+"Would you mind touching the bell for my servant, Baron," he asked.
+"Dinner will be served in half an hour. Afterwards, we will talk, you
+and I."
+
+Peter turned away, not wholly pleased.
+
+"The sooner the better," he grumbled, "or I shall be putting my foot
+into it again."
+
+After dinner the two men walked on deck together. The night was dark,
+but fine, with a strong wind blowing from the north-west. The deck
+steward called their attention to a long line of lights stealing up from
+the horizon on their starboard side.
+
+"That's the _Lusitania_, sir. She'll be up to us in half an hour."
+
+They leaned over the rail. Soon the blue fires began to play about their
+masthead. Sogrange watched them thoughtfully.
+
+"If one could only read those messages," he remarked, with a sigh, "it
+might help us."
+
+Peter knocked the ash from his cigar, and was silent for a time. He was
+beginning to understand the situation.
+
+"My friend," he said at last, "I have been doing you an injustice. I
+have come to the conclusion that you are not keeping me in ignorance of
+the vital facts connected with our visit to America wilfully. At the
+present moment you know just a little more, but a very little more, than
+I do."
+
+"What perception!" Sogrange murmured. "My dear Baron, sometimes you
+amaze me. You are absolutely right. I have some pieces, and I am
+convinced that they would form a puzzle the solution of which would be
+interesting to us; but how or where they fit in I frankly don't know.
+You have the facts so far."
+
+"Certainly," Peter replied.
+
+"You have heard of Sirdeller?"
+
+"Do you mean _the_ Sirdeller?" Peter asked.
+
+"Naturally. I mean the man whose very movements sway the money markets
+of the world; the man who could, if he chose, ruin any nation, make war
+impossible; who could, if he had ten more years of life and was allowed
+to live, draw to himself and his own following the entire wealth of the
+universe."
+
+"Very eloquent," Peter remarked. "We'll take the rest for granted."
+
+"Then," Sogrange continued, "you have probably also heard of Don Pedro,
+Prince of Marsine, one-time Pretender to the throne of Spain?"
+
+"Quite a striking figure in European politics," Peter assented, quickly.
+"He is suspected of radical proclivities, and is still, it is rumoured,
+an active plotter against the existing monarchy."
+
+"Very well," Sogrange said. "Now listen carefully. Four months ago
+Sirdeller was living at the Golden Villa, near Nice. He was visited more
+than once by Marsine, introduced by the Count von Hern. The result of
+those visits was a long series of cablegrams to certain great
+engineering firms in America. Almost immediately the salvage of the
+_Maine_ was started. It is a matter of common report that the entire
+cost of these works is being undertaken by Sirdeller."
+
+"Now," Peter murmured, "you are really beginning to interest me."
+
+"This week," Sogrange went on, "it is expected that the result of the
+salvage works will be made known. That is to say, it is highly possible
+that the question of whether the _Maine_ was blown up from outside or
+inside will be settled once and for all. This week, mind, Baron. Now see
+what happens. Sirdeller returns to America. The Count von Hern and
+Prince Marsine come to America. The Duchesse della Nermino comes to
+America. The Duchesse, Sirdeller, and Marsine are upon this steamer. The
+Count von Hern travels by the _Lusitania_ only because it was reported
+that Sirdeller at the last minute changed his mind, and was travelling
+by that boat. Mix these things up in your brain--the conjurer's hat, let
+us call it," Sogrange concluded, laying his hand upon Peter's arm.
+"Sirdeller, the Duchesse, Von Hern, Marsine, the raising of the
+_Maine_--mix them up, and what sort of an omelette appears?"
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"No wonder," he said, "that you couldn't make the pieces of the puzzle
+fit. Tell me more about the Duchesse."
+
+Sogrange considered for a moment.
+
+"The principal thing about her which links her with the present
+situation," he explained, "is that she was living in Cuba at the time of
+the _Maine_ disaster, married to a rich Cuban."
+
+The affair was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of romance.
+Peter, for the first time, saw not the light, but the possibility of it.
+
+"Marsine has been living in Germany, has he not?" he asked.
+
+"He is a personal friend of the Kaiser," Sogrange replied.
+
+They both looked up and listened to the crackling of the electricity
+above their heads.
+
+"I expect Bernadine is a little annoyed," Peter remarked.
+
+"It isn't pleasant to be out of the party," Sogrange agreed. "Nearly
+everybody, however, believed at the last moment that Sirdeller had
+transferred his passage to the _Lusitania_."
+
+"It's going to cost him an awful lot in marconigrams," Peter said. "By
+the by, wouldn't it have been better for us to have travelled
+separately, and incognito?"
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly.
+
+"Von Hern has at least one man on board," he replied. "I do not think
+that we could possibly have escaped observation. Besides, I rather
+imagine that any move we are able to make in this matter must come
+before we reach Fire Island."
+
+"Have you any theory at all?" Peter asked.
+
+"Not the ghost of a one," Sogrange admitted. "One more fact, though, I
+forgot to mention. You may find it important. The Duchesse comes
+entirely against von Hern's wishes. They have been on intimate terms for
+years, but for some reason or other he was exceedingly anxious that she
+should not take this voyage. She, on the other hand, seemed to have some
+equally strong reason for coming. The most useful piece of advice I
+could give you would be to cultivate her acquaintance."
+
+"The Duchesse----"
+
+Peter never finished his sentence. His companion drew him suddenly back
+into the shadow of a lifeboat.
+
+"Look!"
+
+A door had opened from lower down the deck, and a curious little
+procession was coming towards them. A man, burly and broad-shouldered,
+who had the air of a professional bully, walked by himself ahead. Two
+others of similar build walked a few steps behind. And between them a
+thin, insignificant figure, wrapped in an immense fur coat and using a
+strong walking-stick, came slowly along the deck. It was like a
+procession of prison warders guarding a murderer, or perhaps a
+nerve-wrecked royal personage moving towards the end of his days in the
+midst of enemies. With halting steps the little old man came shambling
+along. He looked neither to the left nor to the right. His eyes were
+fixed and yet unseeing, his features were pale and bony. There was no
+gleam of life, not even in his stone-cold eyes. Like some machine-made
+man of a new and physically degenerate age, he took his exercise under
+the eye of his doctor--a strange and miserable-looking object.
+
+"There goes Sirdeller," Sogrange whispered. "Look at him--the man whose
+might is greater than any emperor's. There is no haven in the universe
+to which he does not hold the key. Look at him--master of the world!"
+
+Peter shivered. There was something depressing in the sight of that
+mournful procession.
+
+"He neither smokes nor drinks," Sogrange continued. "Women, as a sex, do
+not exist for him. His religion is a doubting Calvinism. He has a doctor
+and a clergyman always by his side to inject life and hope if they can.
+Look at him well, my friend. He represents a great moral lesson."
+
+"Thanks!" Peter replied. "I am going to take the taste of him out of my
+mouth with a whisky and soda. Afterwards, I'm for the Duchesse."
+
+But the Duchesse, apparently, was not for Peter. He found her in the
+music-room, with several of the little Marconi missives spread out
+before her, and she cut him dead. Peter, however, was a brave man and
+skilled at the game of bluff. So he stopped by her side and, without any
+preamble, addressed her.
+
+"Duchesse," he said, "you are a woman of perception. Which do you
+believe, then, in your heart, to be the more trustworthy--the Count von
+Hern or I?"
+
+She simply stared at him. He continued promptly:
+
+"You have received your warning, I see."
+
+"From whom?"
+
+"From the Count von Hern. Why believe what he says? He may be a friend
+of yours--he may be a dear friend--but in your heart you know that he is
+both unscrupulous and selfish. Why accept his word and distrust me? I,
+at least, am honest."
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Honest?" she repeated. "Whose word have I for that save your own? And
+what concern is it of mine if you possess every one of the _bourgeois_
+qualities in the world? You are presuming, sir."
+
+"My friend Sogrange will tell you that I am to be trusted," Peter
+persisted.
+
+"I see no reason why I should trouble myself about your personal
+characteristics," she replied coldly. "They do not interest me."
+
+"On the contrary, Duchesse," Peter continued, fencing wildly, "you have
+never in your life been more in need of anyone's services than you are
+of mine."
+
+The conflict was uneven. The Duchesse was a nervous, highly strung
+woman. The calm assurance of Peter's manner oppressed her with a sense
+of his mastery. She sank back upon the couch from which she had arisen.
+
+"I wish you would tell me what you mean," she said. "You have no right
+to talk to me in this fashion. What have you to do with my affairs?"
+
+"I have as much to do with them as the Count von Hern," Peter insisted
+boldly.
+
+"I have known the Count von Hern," she answered, "for very many years.
+You have been a shipboard acquaintance of mine for a few hours."
+
+"If you have known the Count von Hern for many years," Peter asserted,
+"you have found out by this time that he is an absolutely untrustworthy
+person."
+
+"Supposing he is," she said, "will you tell me what concern it is of
+yours? Do you suppose for one moment that I am likely to discuss my
+private affairs with a perfect stranger?"
+
+"You have no private affairs," Peter declared sternly. "They are the
+affairs of a nation."
+
+She glanced at him with a little shiver. From that moment he felt that
+he was gaining ground. She looked around the room. It was well filled,
+but in their corner they were almost unobserved.
+
+"How much do you know?" she asked in a low tone which shook with
+passion.
+
+Peter smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Perhaps more even than you, Duchesse," he replied. "I should like to be
+your friend. You need one--you know that."
+
+She rose abruptly to her feet.
+
+"For to-night it is enough," she declared, wrapping her fur cloak around
+her. "You may talk to me to-morrow, Baron. I must think. If you desire
+really to be my friend there is, perhaps, one service which I may
+require of you. But to-night, no!"
+
+Peter stood aside and allowed her to step past him. He was perfectly
+content with the progress he had made. Her farewell salute was by no
+means ungracious. As soon as she was out of sight he returned to the
+couch where she had been sitting. She had taken away the marconigrams,
+but she had left upon the floor several copies of the _New York Herald_.
+He took them up and read them carefully through. The last one he found
+particularly interesting, so much so that he folded it up, placed it in
+his coat pocket, and went off to look for Sogrange, whom he found at
+last in the saloon, watching a noisy game of "Up, Jenkins!" Peter sank
+upon the cushioned seat by his side.
+
+"You were right," he remarked. "Bernadine has been busy."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I trust," he said, "that the Duchesse is not proving faithless?"
+
+"So far," Peter replied, "I have kept my end up. To-morrow will be the
+test. Bernadine has filled her with caution. She thinks that I know
+everything--whatever everything may be. Unless I can discover a little
+more than I do now, to-morrow is going to be an exceedingly awkward day
+for me."
+
+"There is every prospect of your acquiring a great deal of valuable
+information before then," Sogrange declared. "Sit tight, my friend.
+Something is going to happen."
+
+On the threshold of the saloon, ushered in by one of the stewards, a
+tall, powerful-looking man, with a square, well-trimmed black beard, was
+standing looking around as though in search of someone. The steward
+pointed out, with an unmistakable movement of his head, Peter and
+Sogrange. The man approached and took the next table.
+
+"Steward," he directed, "bring me a glass of vermouth and some
+dominoes."
+
+Peter's eyes were suddenly bright. Sogrange touched his foot under the
+table and whispered a word of warning. The dominoes were brought. The
+new-comer arranged them as though for a game. Then he calmly withdrew
+the double-four and laid it before Sogrange.
+
+"It has been my misfortune, Marquis," he said, "never to have made your
+acquaintance, although our mutual friends are many, and I think I may
+say that I have the right to claim a certain amount of consideration
+from you and your associates. You know me?"
+
+"Certainly, Prince," Sogrange replied. "I am charmed. Permit me to
+present my friend, the Baron de Grost."
+
+The new-comer bowed, and glanced a little nervously around.
+
+"You will permit me," he begged. "I travel incognito. I have lived so
+long in England that I have permitted myself the name of an Englishman.
+I am travelling under the name of Mr. James Fanshawe."
+
+"Mr. Fanshawe, by all means," Sogrange agreed. "In the meantime----"
+
+"I claim my rights as a corresponding member of the Double Four," the
+new-comer declared. "My friend the Count von Hern finds menace to
+certain plans of ours in your presence upon this steamer. Unknown to
+him, I come to you openly. I claim your aid, not your enmity."
+
+"Let us understand one another clearly," Sogrange said. "You claim our
+aid in what?"
+
+Mr. Fanshawe glanced around the saloon and lowered his voice.
+
+"I claim your aid towards the overthrowing of the usurping House of
+Asturias, and the restoration to power in Spain of my own line."
+
+Sogrange was silent for several moments. Peter was leaning forward in
+his place, deeply interested. Decidedly, this American trip seemed
+destined to lead toward events!
+
+"Our active aid towards such an end," Sogrange said at last, "is
+impossible. The society of the Double Four does not interfere in the
+domestic policy of other nations for the sake of individual members."
+
+"Then let me ask you why I find you upon this steamer?" Mr. Fanshawe
+demanded in a tone of suppressed excitement. "Is it for the sea voyage
+that you and your friend the Baron de Grost cross the Atlantic this
+particular week, on the same steamer as myself, as Mr. Sirdeller,
+and--and the Duchesse? One does not believe in such coincidences! One is
+driven to conclude that it is your intention to interfere."
+
+"The affair almost demands our interference," Sogrange replied smoothly.
+"With every due respect to you, Prince, there are great interests
+involved in this move of yours."
+
+The Prince was a big man, but, for all his large features and bearded
+face, his expression was the expression of a peevish and passionate
+child. He controlled himself with an effort.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "it is necessary--I say that it is necessary that we
+conclude an alliance."
+
+Sogrange nodded approvingly.
+
+"It is well spoken," he said; "but remember--the Baron de Grost
+represents England, and the English interests of our society."
+
+The Prince of Marsine's face was not pleasant to look upon.
+
+"Forgive me if you are an Englishman by birth, Baron," he said, turning
+towards him, "but a more interfering nation in other people's affairs
+than England has never existed in the pages of history. She must have a
+finger in every pie. Bah!"
+
+Peter leaned over from his place.
+
+"What about Germany, Mr. Fanshawe?" he asked with emphasis.
+
+The Prince tugged at his beard. He was a little nonplussed.
+
+"The Count von Hern," he confessed, "has been a good friend to me. The
+rulers of his country have always been hospitable and favourably
+inclined towards my family. The whole affair is of his design. I myself
+could scarcely have moved in it alone. One must reward one's helpers.
+There is no reason, however," he added, with a meaning glance at Peter,
+"why other helpers should not be admitted."
+
+"The reward which you offer to the Count von Hern," Peter remarked, "is
+of itself absolutely inimical to the interests of my country."
+
+"Listen!" the Prince demanded, tapping the table before him. "It is true
+that within a year I am pledged to reward the Count von Hern in certain
+fashion. It is not possible that you know the terms of our compact, but
+from your words it is possible that you have guessed. Very well. Accept
+this from me. Remain neutral now, allow this matter to proceed to its
+natural conclusion, let your Government address representations to me
+when the time comes, adopting a bold front, and I promise that I will
+obey them. It will not be my fault that I am compelled to disappoint the
+Count von Hern. My seaboard would be at the mercy of your fleet.
+Superior force must be obeyed."
+
+"It is a matter, this," Sogrange said, "for discussion between my friend
+and me. I think you will find that we are neither of us unreasonable. In
+short, Prince, I see no insuperable reason why we should not come to
+terms."
+
+"You encourage me," the Prince declared, in a gratified tone. "Do not
+believe, Marquis, that I am actuated in this matter wholly by motives of
+personal ambition. No, it is not so. A great desire has burned always in
+my heart, but it is not that alone which moves me. I assure you that of
+my certain knowledge Spain is honeycombed--is rotten with treason. A
+revolution is a certainty. How much better that that revolution should
+be conducted in a dignified manner; that I, with my reputation for
+democracy which I have carefully kept before the eyes of my people,
+should be elected President of the new Spanish Republic, even if it is
+the gold of the American who places me there. In a year or two's time,
+what may happen who can say? This craving for a republic is but a
+passing dream. Spain, at heart, is monarchical. She will be led back to
+the light. It is but a short step from the President's chair to the
+throne."
+
+Sogrange and his companion sat quite still. They avoided looking at each
+other.
+
+"There is one thing more," the Prince continued, dropping his voice as
+if, even at that distance, he feared the man of whom he spoke. "I shall
+not inform the Count von Hern of our conversation. It is not necessary,
+and, between ourselves, the Count is jealous. He sends me message after
+message that I remain in my state-room, that I seek no interview with
+Sirdeller, that I watch only. He is too much of the spy--the Count von
+Hern. He does not understand that code of honour, relying upon which I
+open my heart to you."
+
+"You have done your cause no harm," Sogrange assured him, with subtle
+sarcasm. "We come now to the Duchesse."
+
+The Prince leaned towards him. It was just at this moment that a steward
+entered with a marconigram, which he presented to the Prince. The latter
+tore it open, glanced it through, and gave vent to a little exclamation.
+The fingers which held the missive, trembled. His eyes blazed with
+excitement. He was absolutely unable to control his feelings.
+
+"My two friends," he cried, in a tone broken with emotion, "it is you
+first who shall hear the news! This message has just arrived. Sirdeller
+will have received its duplicate. The final report of the works in
+Havana Harbour will await us on our arrival in New York, but the
+substance of it is this. The _Maine_ was sunk by a torpedo, discharged
+at close quarters underneath her magazine. Gentlemen, the House of
+Asturias is ruined!"
+
+There was a breathless silence.
+
+"Your information is genuine?" Sogrange asked softly.
+
+"Without a doubt," the Prince replied. "I have been expecting this
+message. I shall cable to von Hern. We are still in communication. He
+may not have heard."
+
+"We were about to speak of the Duchesse," Peter reminded him.
+
+The Prince shook his head.
+
+"Another time," he declared. "Another time."
+
+He hurried away. It was already half-past ten and the saloon was almost
+empty. The steward came up to them.
+
+"The saloon is being closed for the night, sir," he announced.
+
+"Let us go on deck," Peter suggested.
+
+They found their way up on to the windward side of the promenade, which
+was absolutely deserted. Far away in front of them now were the
+disappearing lights of the _Lusitania_. The wind roared by as the great
+steamer rose and fell on the black stretch of waters. Peter stood very
+near to his companion.
+
+"Listen, Sogrange," he said, "the affair is clear now save for one
+thing."
+
+"You mean Sirdeller's motives?"
+
+"Not at all," Peter answered. "An hour ago I came across the explanation
+of these. The one thing I will tell you afterwards. Now listen.
+Sirdeller came abroad last year for twelve months' travel. He took a
+great house in San Sebastian."
+
+"Where did you hear this?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"I read the story in the _New York Herald_," Peter continued. "It is
+grossly exaggerated, of course, but this is the substance of it.
+Sirdeller and his suite were stopped upon the Spanish frontier and
+treated in an abominable fashion by the Customs officers. He was forced
+to pay a very large sum, unjustly, I should think. He paid under
+protest, appealed to the authorities, with no result. At San Sebastian
+he was robbed right and left, his privacy intruded upon. In short, he
+took a violent dislike and hatred to the country and everyone concerned
+in it. He moved with his entire suite to Nice, to the Golden Villa.
+There he expressed himself freely concerning Spain and her Government.
+Count von Hern heard of it and presented Marsine. The plot was, without
+doubt, Bernadine's. Can't you imagine how he would put it? 'A
+revolution,' he would tell Sirdeller, 'is imminent in Spain. Here is the
+new President of the Republic. Money is no more to you than water. You
+are a patriotic American. Have you forgotten that the finest warship
+your country ever built, with six hundred of her devoted citizens, was
+sent to the bottom by the treachery of one of this effete race? The war
+was an inefficient revenge. The country still flourishes. It is for you
+to avenge America. With money Marsine can establish a republic in Spain
+within twenty-four hours!' Sirdeller hesitates. He would point out that
+it had never been proved that the destruction of the _Maine_ was really
+due to Spanish treachery. It is the idea of a business man which
+followed. He, at his own expense, would raise the _Maine_. If it were
+true that the explosion occurred from outside, he would find the money.
+You see, the message has arrived. After all these years, the sea has
+given up its secret. Marsine will return to Spain with an unlimited
+credit behind him. The House of Asturias will crumble up like a pack of
+cards."
+
+Sogrange looked out into the darkness. Perhaps he saw in that great
+black gulf the pictures of these happenings, which his companion had
+prophesied. Perhaps, for a moment, he saw the panorama of a city in
+flames, the passing of a great country under the thrall of these new
+ideas. At any rate, he turned abruptly away from the side of the vessel
+and, taking Peter's arm, walked slowly down the deck.
+
+"You have solved the puzzle, Baron," he said, gravely. "Now tell me one
+thing. Your story seems to dovetail everywhere."
+
+"The one thing," Peter said, "is connected with the Duchesse. It was
+she, of her own will, who decided to come to America. I believe that but
+for her coming Bernadine and the Prince would have waited in their own
+country. Money can flash from America to England over the wires. It does
+not need to be fetched. They have still one fear. It is connected with
+the Duchesse. Let me think."
+
+They walked up and down the deck. The lights were extinguished one by
+one, except in the smoke-room. A strange breed of sailors from the lower
+deck came up, with mops and buckets. The wind changed its quarter and
+the great ship began to roll. Peter stopped abruptly.
+
+"I find this motion most unpleasant," he said. "I am going to bed.
+To-night I cannot think. To-morrow, I promise you, we will solve this.
+Hush!"
+
+He held out his hand and drew his companion back into the shadow of a
+lifeboat. A tall figure was approaching them along the deck. As he
+passed the little ray of light thrown out from the smoking-room, the
+man's features were clearly visible. It was the Prince. He was walking
+like one absorbed in thought. His eyes were set like a sleep-walker's.
+With one hand he gesticulated. The fingers of the other were twitching
+all the time. His head was lifted to the skies. There was something in
+his face which redeemed it from its disfiguring petulance.
+
+"It is the man who dreams of power," Peter whispered. "It is one of the
+best moments, this. He forgets the vulgar means by which he intends to
+rise. He thinks only of himself, the dictator, king, perhaps emperor. He
+is of the breed of egoists."
+
+Again and again the Prince passed, manifestly unconscious even of his
+whereabouts. Peter and Sogrange crept away unseen to their state-rooms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In many respects the room resembled a miniature court of justice. The
+principal sitting-room of the royal suite, which was the chief glory of
+the _Adriatic_, had been stripped of every superfluous article of
+furniture or embellishment. Curtains had been removed, all evidences of
+luxury disposed of. Temporarily the apartment had been transformed into
+a bare, cheerless place. Seated on a high chair, with his back to the
+wall, was Sirdeller. At his right hand was a small table, on which stood
+a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope. Behind, his doctor. At his left
+hand, a smooth-faced, silent young man--his secretary. Before him stood
+the Duchesse, Peter and Sogrange. Guarding the door was one of the
+watchmen, who, from his great physique, might well have been a policeman
+out of livery. Sirdeller himself, in the clear light which streamed
+through the large window, seemed more aged and shrunken than ever. His
+eyes were deep-set. No tinge of colour was visible in his cheeks. His
+chin protruded, his shaggy grey eyebrows gave him an unkempt appearance.
+He wore a black velvet cap, a strangely cut black morning coat and
+trousers, felt slippers, and his hands were clasped upon a stout ash
+walking-stick. He eyed the new-comers keenly but without expression.
+
+"The lady may sit," he said.
+
+He spoke almost in an undertone, as though anxious to avoid the fatigue
+of words. The guardian of the door placed a chair, into which the
+Duchesse subsided. Sirdeller held his right hand towards his doctor, who
+felt his pulse. All the time Sirdeller watched him, his lips a little
+parted, a world of hungry excitement in his eyes. The doctor closed his
+watch with a snap and whispered something in Sirdeller's ear, apparently
+reassuring.
+
+"I will hear this story," Sirdeller announced. "In two minutes every one
+must leave. If it takes longer it must remain unfinished."
+
+Peter spoke up briskly.
+
+"The story is this," he began. "You have promised to assist the Prince
+of Marsine to transform Spain into a republic, providing the salvage
+operations on the _Maine_ prove that that ship was destroyed from
+outside. The salvage operations have been conducted at your expense, and
+finished. It has been proved that the _Maine_ was destroyed by a mine or
+torpedo from the outside. Therefore, on the assumption that it was the
+treacherous deed of a Spaniard or Cuban imagining himself to be a
+patriot, you are prepared to carry out your undertaking and supply the
+Prince of Marsine with means to overthrow the kingdom of Spain."
+
+Peter paused. The figure on the chair remained motionless. No flicker of
+intelligence or interest disturbed the calm of his features. It was a
+silence almost unnatural.
+
+"I have brought the Duchesse here," Peter continued, "to tell you the
+truth as to the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+Not even then was there the slightest alteration in those ashen grey
+features.
+
+The Duchesse looked up. She had the air of one only too eager to speak
+and finish.
+
+"In those days," she said, "I was the wife of a rich Cuban gentleman
+whose name I withhold. The American officers on board the _Maine_ used
+to visit at our house. My husband was jealous; perhaps he had cause."
+
+The Duchesse paused. Even though the light of tragedy and romance side
+by side seemed suddenly to creep into the room, Sirdeller listened as
+one come back from a dead world.
+
+"One night," the Duchesse went on, "my husband's suspicions were changed
+into knowledge. He came home unexpectedly. The American--the officer--I
+loved him--was there on the balcony with me. My husband said nothing.
+The officer returned to his ship. That night my husband came into my
+room. He bent over my bed. 'It is not you,' he whispered, 'whom I shall
+destroy, for the pain of death is short. Anguish of mind may live.
+To-night, six hundred ghosts may hang about your pillow!'"
+
+Her voice broke. There was something grim and unnatural in that curious
+stillness. Even the secretary was at last breathing a little faster. The
+watchman at the door was leaning forward. Sirdeller simply moved his
+hand to the doctor, who held up his finger while he felt the pulse. The
+beat of his watch seemed to sound through the unnatural silence. In a
+minute he spoke.
+
+"The lady may proceed," he announced.
+
+"My husband," the Duchesse continued, "was an officer in charge of the
+Mines and Ordnance Department. He went out that night in a small boat,
+after a visit to the strong house. No soul has ever seen or heard of him
+since, or his boat. It is only I who know."
+
+Her voice died away. Sirdeller stretched out his hand and very
+deliberately drank a table-spoonful or two of his milk.
+
+"I believe the lady's story," he declared. "The Marsine affair is
+finished. Let no one be admitted to have speech with me again upon this
+subject."
+
+He had half turned towards his secretary. The young man bowed. The
+doctor pointed towards the door. The Duchesse, Peter, and Sogrange filed
+slowly out. In the bright sunlight the Duchesse burst into a peal of
+hysterical laughter. Even Peter felt, for a moment, unnerved. Suddenly
+he, too, laughed.
+
+"I think," he said, "that you and I had better get out of the way,
+Sogrange, when the Count von Hern meets us at New York!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+
+Sogrange and Peter, Baron de Grost, standing upon the threshold of their
+hotel, gazed out upon New York and liked the look of it. They had landed
+from the steamer a few hours before, had already enjoyed the luxury of a
+bath, a visit to an American barber's, and a genuine cocktail.
+
+"I see no reason," Sogrange declared, "why we should not take a week's
+holiday."
+
+Peter, glancing up into the blue sky and down into the faces of the
+well-dressed and beautiful women who were streaming up Fifth Avenue, was
+wholly of the same mind.
+
+"If we return by this afternoon's steamer," he remarked, "we shall have
+Bernadine for a fellow-passenger. Bernadine is annoyed with us just now.
+I must confess that I should feel more at my ease with a few thousand
+miles of the Atlantic between us."
+
+"Let it be so," Sogrange assented. "We will explore this marvellous
+city. Never," he added, taking his companion's arm, "did I expect to see
+such women save in my own, the mistress of all cities. So _chic_, my
+dear Baron, and such a carriage! We will lunch at one of the fashionable
+restaurants and drive in the Park afterwards. First of all, however, we
+must take a stroll along this wonderful Fifth Avenue."
+
+The two men spent a morning after their own hearts. They lunched
+astonishingly well at Sherry's and drove afterwards in the Central Park.
+When they returned to the hotel Sogrange was in excellent spirits.
+
+"I feel, my friend," he announced, "that we are going to have a very
+pleasant and, in some respects, a unique week. To meet friends and
+acquaintances everywhere, as one must do in every capital in Europe, is,
+of course, pleasant, but there is a monotony about it from which one is
+glad sometimes to escape. We lunch here and we promenade in the places
+frequented by those of a similar station to our own, and behold! we know
+no one. We are lookers on. Perhaps, for a long time, it might gall. For
+a brief period there is a restfulness about it which pleases me."
+
+"I should have liked," Peter murmured, "an introduction to the lady in
+the blue hat."
+
+"You are a gregarious animal," Sogrange declared. "You do not understand
+the pleasure of a little comparative isolation with an intellectual
+companion such as myself. What the devil is the meaning of this?"
+
+They had reached their sitting-room, and upon a small round table stood
+a great collection of cards and notes. Sogrange took them up helplessly,
+one after the other, reading the names aloud and letting them fall
+through his fingers. Some were known to him, some were not. He began to
+open the notes. In effect they were all the same--On what day would the
+Marquis de Sogrange and his distinguished friend care to dine, lunch,
+yacht, golf, shoot, go to the opera, join a theatre party? Of what clubs
+would they care to become members? What kind of hospitality would be
+most acceptable?
+
+Sogrange sank into a chair.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, "they all have to be answered--that
+collection there! The visits have to be returned. It is magnificent,
+this hospitality, but what can one do?"
+
+Peter looked at the pile of correspondence upon which Sogrange's inroad,
+indeed, seemed to have had but little effect.
+
+"One could engage a secretary, of course," he suggested, doubtfully.
+"But the visits! Our week's holiday is gone."
+
+"Not at all," Sogrange replied. "I have an idea."
+
+The telephone bell rang. Peter took up the receiver and listened for a
+moment. He turned to Sogrange, still holding it in his hand.
+
+"You will be pleased, also, to hear," he announced, "that there are half
+a dozen reporters downstairs waiting to interview us."
+
+Sogrange received the information with interest.
+
+"Have them sent up at once," he directed, "every one of them."
+
+"What, all at the same time?" Peter asked.
+
+"All at the same time it must be," Sogrange answered. "Give them to
+understand that it is an affair of five minutes only."
+
+They came trooping in. Sogrange welcomed them cordially.
+
+"My friend the Baron de Grost," he explained, indicating Peter. "I am
+the Marquis de Sogrange. Let us know what we can do to serve you."
+
+One of the men stepped forward.
+
+"Very glad to meet you, Marquis, and you, Baron," he said. "I won't
+bother you with any introductions, but I and the company here represent
+the Press of New York. We should like some information for our papers as
+to the object of your visit here and the probable length of your stay."
+
+Sogrange extended his hands.
+
+"My dear friend," he exclaimed, "the object of our visit was, I thought,
+already well known. We are on our way to Mexico. We leave to-night. My
+friend, the Baron is, as you know, a financier. I, too, have a little
+money to invest. We are going to meet some business acquaintances with a
+view to inspecting some mining properties. That is absolutely all I can
+tell you. You can understand, of course, that fuller information would
+be impossible."
+
+"Why, that's quite natural, Marquis," the spokesman of the reporters
+replied. "We don't like the idea of your hustling out of New York like
+this, though."
+
+Sogrange looked at the clock.
+
+"It is unavoidable," he declared. "We are relying upon you, gentlemen,
+to publish the fact, because you will see," he added, pointing to the
+table, "that we have been the recipients of a great many civilities
+which it is impossible for us to acknowledge properly. If it will give
+you any pleasure to see us upon our return, you will be very welcome. In
+the meantime, you will understand our haste."
+
+There were a few more civilities and the representatives of the Press
+took their departure. Peter looked at his companion doubtfully as
+Sogrange returned from showing them out.
+
+"I suppose this means that we have to catch to-day's steamer after all?"
+he remarked.
+
+"Not necessarily," Sogrange answered. "I have a plan. We will leave for
+the Southern Depot, wherever it may be. Afterwards, you shall use that
+wonderful skill of yours, of which I have heard so much, to effect some
+slight change in our appearance. We will then go to another hotel, in
+another quarter of New York, and take our week's holiday incognito. What
+do you think of that for an idea?"
+
+"Not much," Peter replied. "It isn't so easy to dodge the newspapers and
+the Press in this country. Besides, although I could manage myself very
+well, you would be an exceedingly awkward subject. Your tall and elegant
+figure, your aquiline nose, the shapeliness of your hands and feet, give
+you a distinction which I should find it hard to conceal."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You are a remarkably observant fellow, Baron. I quite appreciate your
+difficulty. Still, with a club foot, eh?--and spectacles instead of my
+eyeglasses----"
+
+"Oh, no doubt something could be managed," Peter interrupted. "You're
+really in earnest about this, are you?"
+
+"Absolutely," Sogrange declared. "Come here."
+
+He drew Peter to the window. They were on the twelfth story, and to a
+European there was something magnificent in that tangled mass of
+buildings threaded by the elevated railway, with its screaming trains,
+the clearness of the atmosphere, and in the white streets below, like
+polished belts through which the swarms of people streamed like insects.
+
+"Imagine it all lit up!" Sogrange exclaimed. "The sky-signs all ablaze,
+the flashing of fire from those cable wires, the lights glittering from
+those tall buildings! This is a wonderful place, Baron. We must see it.
+Ring for the bill. Order one of those magnificent omnibuses. Press the
+button, too, for the personage whom they call the valet. Perhaps, with a
+little gentle persuasion, he could be induced to pack our clothes."
+
+With his finger upon the bell, Peter hesitated. He, too, loved
+adventures, but the gloom of a presentiment had momentarily depressed
+him.
+
+"We are marked men, remember, Sogrange," he said. "An escapade of this
+sort means a certain amount of risk, even in New York."
+
+Sogrange laughed.
+
+"Bernadine caught the midday steamer. We have no enemies here that I
+know of."
+
+Peter pressed the button. An hour or so later the Marquis de Sogrange
+and Peter, Baron de Grost, took their leave of New York.
+
+They chose an hotel some distance down Broadway, within a stone's throw
+of Rector's Restaurant. Peter, with whitened hair, gold-rimmed
+spectacles, a slouch hat and a fur coat, passed easily enough for an
+English maker of electrical instruments; while Sogrange, shabbier, and
+in ready-made American clothes, was transformed into a Canadian having
+some connection with theatrical business. They plunged into the heart of
+New York life, and found the whole thing like a tonic. The intense
+vitality of the people, the pandemonium of Broadway at midnight, with
+its flaming illuminations, its eager crowd, its inimitable restlessness,
+fascinated them both. Sogrange, indeed, remembering the decadent languor
+of the crowds of pleasure-seekers thronging his own boulevards, was
+never weary of watching these men and women. They passed from the
+streets to the restaurants, from the restaurants to the theatre, out
+into the streets again, back to the restaurants, and once more into the
+streets. Sogrange was like a glutton. The mention of bed was hateful to
+him. For three days they existed without a moment's boredom.
+
+On the fourth evening Peter found Sogrange deep in conversation with the
+head porter. In a few minutes he led Peter away to one of the bars where
+they usually took their cocktail.
+
+"My friend," he announced, "to-night I have a treat for you. So far we
+have looked on at the external night life of New York. Wonderful and
+thrilling it has been, too. But there is the underneath also. Why not?
+There is a vast polyglot population here, full of energy and life. A
+criminal class exists as a matter of course. To-night we make our bow to
+it."
+
+"And by what means?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Our friend the hall porter," Sogrange continued, "has given me the card
+of an ex-detective who will be our escort. He calls for us to-night, or
+rather, to-morrow morning, at one o'clock. Then, behold! the wand is
+waved, the land of adventures opens before us."
+
+Peter grunted.
+
+"I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, my Canadian friend," he said,
+"but the sort of adventures you may meet with to-night are scarcely
+likely to fire your romantic nature. I know a little about what they
+call this underneath world in New York. It will probably resolve itself
+into a visit to Chinatown, where we shall find the usual dummies taking
+opium, and quite prepared to talk about it for the usual tip. After that
+we shall visit a few low dancing halls, be shown the scene of several
+murders, and the thing is done."
+
+"You are a cynic," Sogrange declared. "You would throw cold water upon
+any enterprise. Anyway, our detective is coming. We must make use of
+him, for I have engaged to pay him five dollars."
+
+"We'll go where you like," Peter assented, "so long as we dine on a roof
+garden. This beastly fur coat keeps me in a chronic state of
+perspiration."
+
+"Never mind," Sogrange said consolingly, "it's most effective. A roof
+garden, by all means."
+
+"And recollect," Peter insisted, "I bar Chinatown. We've both of us seen
+the real thing, and there's nothing real about what they show you here."
+
+"Chinatown is erased from our programme," Sogrange agreed. "We go now to
+dine. Remind me, Baron, that I inquire for these strange dishes of which
+one hears--terrapin, canvas-backed duck, green corn, and strawberry
+shortcake."
+
+Peter smiled grimly.
+
+"How like a Frenchman," he exclaimed, "to take no account of seasons!
+Never mind, Marquis, you shall give your order and I will sketch the
+waiter's face. By the by, if you're in earnest about this expedition
+to-night, put your revolver into your pocket."
+
+"But we're going with an ex-detective," Sogrange replied.
+
+"One never knows," Peter said carelessly.
+
+They dined close to the stone palisading of one of New York's most
+famous roof gardens. Sogrange ordered an immense dinner, but spent most
+of his time gazing downwards. They were higher up than at the hotel, and
+they could see across the tangled maze of lights even to the river,
+across which the great ferry boats were speeding all the while--huge
+creatures of streaming fire and whistling sirens. The air where they sat
+was pure and crisp. There was no fog, no smoke, to cloud the almost
+crystalline clearness of the night.
+
+"Baron," Sogrange declared, "if I had lived in this city I should have
+been a different man. No wonder the people are all-conquering."
+
+"Too much electricity in the air for me," Peter answered. "I like a
+little repose. I can't think where these people find it."
+
+"One hopes," Sogrange murmured, "that before they progress any further
+in utilitarianism they will find some artist, one of themselves, to
+express all this."
+
+"In the meantime," Peter interrupted, "the waiter would like to know
+what we are going to drink. I've eaten such a confounded jumble of
+things of your ordering that I should like some champagne."
+
+"Who shall say that I am not generous!" Sogrange replied, taking up the
+wine carte. "Champagne it shall be. We need something to nerve us for
+our adventures."
+
+Peter leaned across the table.
+
+"Sogrange," he whispered, "for the last twenty-four hours I have had
+some doubts as to the success of our little enterprise. It has occurred
+to me more than once that we are being shadowed."
+
+Sogrange frowned.
+
+"I sometimes wonder," he remarked, "how a man of your suspicious nature
+ever acquired the reputation you undoubtedly enjoy."
+
+"Perhaps it is because of my suspicious nature," Peter said. "There is a
+man staying in our hotel whom we are beginning to see quite a great deal
+of. He was talking to the head porter a few minutes before you this
+afternoon. He supped at the same restaurant last night. He is dining
+now, three places behind you to the right, with a young lady who has
+been making flagrant attempts to flirtation with me, notwithstanding my
+grey hairs."
+
+"Your reputation, my dear Peter," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"As a decoy," Peter interrupted, "the young lady's methods are too
+vigorous. She pretends to be terribly afraid of her companion, but it is
+entirely obvious that she is acting on his instructions. Of course, this
+may be a ruse of the reporters. On the other hand, I think it would be
+wise to abandon our little expedition to-night."
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"So far as I am concerned," he said, "I am committed to it."
+
+"In which case," Peter replied, "I am certainly committed to being your
+companion. The only question is whether one shall fall to the decoy and
+suffer oneself to be led in the direction her companion desires, or
+whether we shall go blundering into trouble on our own account with your
+friend the ex-detective."
+
+Sogrange glanced over his shoulder, leaned back in his chair, for a
+moment, as though to look at the stars, and finally lit a cigarette.
+
+"There is a lack of subtlety about that young person, Baron," he
+declared, "which stifles one's suspicions. I suspect her to be merely
+one more victim to your undoubted charms. In the interests of madame
+your wife I shall take you away. The decoy shall weave her spells in
+vain."
+
+They paid their bill and departed a few minutes later. The man and the
+girl were also in the act of leaving. The former seemed to be having
+some dispute about the bill. The girl, standing with her back to him,
+scribbled a line upon a piece of paper, and, as Peter went by, pushed it
+into his hand with a little warning gesture. In the lift he opened it.
+The few pencilled words contained nothing but an address: Number 15,
+100th Street, East.
+
+"Lucky man!" Sogrange sighed.
+
+Peter made no remark, but he was thoughtful for the next hour or so.
+
+The ex-detective proved to be an individual of fairly obvious
+appearance, whose complexion and thirst indicated a very possible reason
+for his life of leisure. He heard with surprise that his patrons were
+not inclined to visit Chinatown, but he showed a laudable desire to fall
+in with their schemes, provided always that they included a reasonable
+number of visits to places where refreshments could be obtained. From
+first to last the expedition was a disappointment. They visited various
+smoke-hung dancing halls, decorated for the most part with oleographs
+and cracked mirrors, in which sickly-looking young men of unwholesome
+aspect were dancing with their feminine counterparts. The attitude of
+their guide was alone amusing.
+
+"Say, you want to be careful in here!" he would declare, in an awed
+tone, on entering one of these tawdry palaces. "Guess this is one of the
+toughest spots in New York City. You stick close to me and I'll make
+things all right."
+
+His method of making things all right was the same in every case. He
+would form a circle of disreputable youths, for whose drinks Sogrange
+was called upon to pay. The attitude of the young men was more dejected
+than positively vicious. They showed not the slightest signs of any
+desire to make themselves unpleasant. Only once, when Sogrange
+incautiously displayed a gold watch, did the eyes of one or two of their
+number glisten. The ex-detective changed his place and whispered
+hoarsely in his patron's ear:
+
+"Say, don't you flash anything of that sort about here! That young cove
+right opposite to you is one of the best-known sneak-thieves in the
+city. You're asking for trouble that way."
+
+"If he or any other of them want my watch," Sogrange answered, calmly,
+"let them come and fetch it. However," he added, buttoning up his coat,
+"no doubt you are right. Is there anywhere else to take us?"
+
+The man hesitated.
+
+"There ain't much that you haven't seen," he remarked.
+
+Sogrange laughed softly as he rose to his feet.
+
+"A sell, my dear friend," he said to Peter. "This terrible city keeps
+its real criminal class somewhere else rather than in the show places."
+
+A man who had been standing in the doorway, looking in for several
+moments, strolled up to them. Peter recognised him at once and touched
+Sogrange on the arm. The new-comer accosted them pleasantly.
+
+"Say, you'll excuse my butting in," he began, "but I can see you are
+kind of disappointed. These suckers"--indicating the ex-detective--"talk
+a lot about what they're going to show you, and when they get you round,
+it all amounts to nothing. This is the sort of thing they bring you to
+as representing the wickedness of New York! That's so, Rastall, isn't
+it?"
+
+The ex-detective looked a little sheepish.
+
+"Yes, there ain't much more to be seen," he admitted. "Perhaps you'll
+take the job on if you think there is."
+
+"Well, I'd engage to show the gentlemen something a sight more
+interesting than this," the new-comer continued. "They don't want to sit
+down and drink with the scum of the earth."
+
+"Perhaps," Sogrange suggested, "this gentleman has something in his mind
+which he thinks would appeal to us. We have a motor-car outside, and we
+are out for adventures."
+
+"What sort of adventures?" the new-comer asked bluntly.
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders lightly.
+
+"We are lookers-on merely," he explained. "My friend and I have
+travelled a good deal. We have seen something of criminal life in Paris
+and London, Vienna, and Budapest. I shall not break any confidence if I
+tell you that my friend is a writer, and material such as this is
+useful."
+
+The new-comer smiled.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "in a way, it's fortunate for you that I happened
+along! You come right with me and I'll show you something that very few
+other people in this city know of. Guess you'd better pay this fellow
+off," he added, indicating the ex-detective. "He's no more use to you."
+
+Sogrange and Peter exchanged questioning glances.
+
+"It is very kind of you, sir," Peter decided, "but for my part I have
+had enough for one evening."
+
+"Just as you like, of course," the other remarked, with studied
+unconcern.
+
+"What kind of place would it be?" Sogrange asked.
+
+The new-comer drew them on one side, although, as a matter of fact,
+everyone else had melted away.
+
+"Have you ever heard of the secret societies of New York?" he inquired.
+"Well, I guess you haven't, anyway--not to know anything about them.
+Well, then, listen. There's a society meets within a few steps of here,
+which has more to do with regulating the criminal classes of the city
+than any police establishment. There'll be a man there within an hour or
+so who, to my knowledge, has committed seven murders. The police can't
+get him. They never will. He's under our protection."
+
+"May we visit such a place as you describe without danger?" Peter asked
+calmly.
+
+"No!" the man answered. "There's danger in going anywhere, it seems to
+me, if it's worth while. So long as you keep a still tongue in your head
+and don't look about you too much, there's nothing will happen to you.
+If you get gassing a lot, you might tumble in for almost anything. Don't
+come unless you like. It's a chance for you, as you're a writer, but
+you'd best keep out of it if you're in any way nervous."
+
+"You said it was quite close?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"Within a yard or two," the man replied. "It's right this way."
+
+They left the hall with their new escort. When they looked for their
+motor-car, they found it had gone.
+
+"It don't do to keep them things waiting about round here," their new
+friend remarked, carelessly. "I guess I'll send you back to your hotel
+all right. Step this way."
+
+"By the by, what street is this we are in?" Peter asked.
+
+"100th Street," the man answered.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I'm a little superstitious about that number," he declared. "Is that an
+elevated railway there? I think we've had enough, Sogrange."
+
+Sogrange hesitated. They were standing now in front of a tall, gloomy
+house, unkempt, with broken gate--a large but miserable-looking abode.
+The passers-by in the street were few. The whole character of the
+surroundings was squalid. The man pushed open the broken gate.
+
+"You cross the road right there to the elevated," he directed. "If you
+ain't coming, I'll bid you good-night."
+
+Once more they hesitated. Peter, perhaps, saw more than his companion.
+He saw the dark shapes lurking under the railway arch. He knew
+instinctively that they were in some sort of danger. And yet the love of
+adventure was on fire in his blood. His belief in himself was immense.
+He whispered to Sogrange.
+
+"I do not trust our guide," he said. "If you care to risk it, I am with
+you."
+
+"Mind the broken pavement," the man called out. "This ain't exactly an
+abode of luxury."
+
+They climbed some broken steps. Their guide opened a door with a Yale
+key. The door swung to after them and they found themselves in darkness.
+There had been no light in the windows. There was no light, apparently,
+in the house. Their companion produced an electric torch from his
+pocket.
+
+"You had best follow me," he advised. "Our quarters face out the other
+way. We keep this end looking a little deserted."
+
+They passed through a swing door and everything was at once changed. A
+multitude of lamps hung from the ceiling, the floor was carpeted, the
+walls clean.
+
+"We don't go in for electric light," their guide explained, "as we try
+not to give the place away. We manage to keep it fairly comfortable,
+though."
+
+He pushed open the door and entered a somewhat gorgeously furnished
+salon. There were signs here of feminine occupation, an open piano, and
+the smell of cigarettes. Once more Peter hesitated.
+
+"Your friends seem to be in hiding," he remarked. "Personally, I am
+losing my curiosity."
+
+"Guess you won't have to wait very long," the man replied, with meaning.
+
+The room was suddenly invaded on all sides. Four doors, which were quite
+hidden by the pattern of the wall, had opened almost simultaneously, and
+at least a dozen men had entered. This time both Sogrange and Peter knew
+that they were face to face with the real thing. These were men who came
+silently in, not cigarette-stunted youths. Two of them were in evening
+dress; three or four had the appearance of prize-fighters. In their
+countenances was one expression common to all--an air of quiet and
+conscious strength.
+
+A fair-headed man, in a dinner jacket and black tie, became at once
+their spokesman. He was possessed of a very slight American accent, and
+he beamed at them through a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, "I am very glad to meet you both."
+
+"Very kind of you, I'm sure," Sogrange answered. "Our friend here," he
+added, indicating their guide, "found us trying to gain a little insight
+into the more interesting part of New York life. He was kind enough to
+express a wish to introduce us to you."
+
+The man smiled. He looked very much like some studious clerk, except
+that his voice seemed to ring with some latent power.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that your friend's interest in you was not
+entirely unselfish. For three days he has carried in his pocket an order
+instructing him to produce you here."
+
+"I knew it!" Peter whispered, under his breath.
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange replied. "May I know whom I have the honour
+of addressing?"
+
+"You can call me Burr," the man announced; "Philip Burr. Your names it
+is not our wish to know."
+
+"I am afraid I do not quite understand," Sogrange said.
+
+"It was scarcely to be expected that you should," Mr. Philip Burr
+admitted. "All I can tell you is that, in cases like yours, I really
+prefer not to know with whom I have to deal."
+
+"You speak as though you had business with us," Peter remarked.
+
+"Without doubt, I have," the other replied, grimly. "It is my business
+to see that you do not leave these premises alive."
+
+Sogrange drew up a chair against which he had been leaning, and sat
+down.
+
+"Really," he said, "that would be most inconvenient."
+
+Peter, too, shook his head, sitting upon the end of a sofa and folding
+his arms. Something told him that the moment for fighting was not yet.
+
+"Inconvenient or not," Mr. Philip Burr continued, "I have orders to
+carry out which I can assure you have never yet been disobeyed since the
+formation of our society. From what I can see of you, you appear to be
+very amiable gentlemen, and if it would interest you to choose the
+method--say, of your release--why, I can assure you we'll do all we can
+to meet your views."
+
+"I am beginning," Sogrange remarked, "to feel quite at home."
+
+"You see, we've been through this sort of thing before," Peter added,
+blandly.
+
+Mr. Philip Burr took a cigar from his case and lit it. At a motion of
+his hand one of the company passed the box to his two guests.
+
+"You're not counting upon a visit from the police, or anything of that
+sort, I hope?" Mr. Philip Burr asked.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"Certainly not," he replied. "I may say that much of the earlier portion
+of my life was spent in frustrating the well-meant but impossible
+schemes of that body of men."
+
+"If only we had a little more time," Mr. Burr declared, "it seems to me
+I should like to make the acquaintance of you two gentlemen."
+
+"The matter is entirely in your own hands," Peter reminded him. "We are
+in no hurry."
+
+Mr. Burr smiled genially.
+
+"You make me think better of humanity," he confessed. "A month ago we
+had a man here--got him along somehow or other--and I had to tell him
+that he was up against it like you two are. My! the fuss he made! Kind
+of saddened me to think a man should be such a coward."
+
+"Some people are like that," Sogrange remarked. "By the by, Mr. Burr,
+you'll pardon my curiosity. Whom have we to thank for our introduction
+here to-night?"
+
+"I don't know as there's any particular harm in telling you," Mr. Burr
+replied.
+
+"Nor any particular good," a man who was standing by his side
+interrupted. "Say, Phil, you drag these things out too much. Are there
+any questions you've got to ask 'em, or any property to collect?"
+
+"Nothing of the sort," Mr. Burr admitted.
+
+"Then let the gang get to work," the other declared.
+
+The two men were suddenly conscious that they were being surrounded.
+Peter's hand stole on to the butt of his revolver. Sogrange rose slowly
+to his feet. His hands were thrust out in front of him with the thumbs
+turned down. The four fingers of each hand flashed for a minute through
+the air. Mr. Philip Burr lost all his self-control.
+
+"Say, where the devil did you learn that trick?" he cried.
+
+Sogrange laughed scornfully.
+
+"Trick!" he exclaimed. "Philip Burr, you are unworthy of your position.
+I am the Marquis de Sogrange, and my friend here is the Baron de Grost."
+
+Mr. Philip Burr had no words. His cigar had dropped on to the carpet. He
+was simply staring.
+
+"If you need proof," Sogrange continued, "further than any I have given
+you, I have in my pocket, at the present moment, a letter, signed by you
+yourself, pleading for formal reinstatement. This is how you would
+qualify for it! You make use of your power to run a common decoy house,
+to do away with men for money. What fool gave you our names, pray?"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr was only the wreck of a man. He could not even control
+his voice.
+
+"It was some German or Belgian nobleman," he faltered. "He brought us
+excellent letters, and he made a large contribution. It was the Count
+von Hern."
+
+The anger of Sogrange seemed suddenly to fade away. He threw himself
+into a chair by the side of his companion.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "Bernadine has scored, indeed! Your
+friend has a sense of humour which overwhelms me. Imagine it. He has
+delivered the two heads of our great society into the hands of one of
+its cast-off branches! Bernadine is a genius, indeed!"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr began slowly to recover himself. He waved his hand. Nine
+out of the twelve men left the room.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "for ten years there has been no one whom I have
+desired to meet so much as you. I came to Europe, but you declined to
+receive me. I know very well we can't keep our end up like you over
+there, because we haven't politics and those sort of things to play
+with, but we've done our best. We've encouraged only criminology of the
+highest order. We've tried all we can to keep the profession select. The
+gaol-bird pure and simple we have cast out. The men who have suffered at
+our hands have been men who have met with their deserts."
+
+"What about us?" Peter demanded. "It seems to me that you had most
+unpleasant plans for our future."
+
+Philip Burr held up his hands.
+
+"As I live," he declared, "this is the first time that any money
+consideration has induced me to break away from our principles. Count
+von Hern had powerful friends who were our friends, and he gave me the
+word, straight, that you two had an appointment down below which was
+considerably overdue. I don't know, even now, why I consented. I guess
+it isn't much use apologising."
+
+Sogrange rose to his feet.
+
+"Well," he said, "I am not inclined to bear malice, but you must
+understand this from me, Philip Burr. As a society I dissolve you. I
+deprive you of your title and of your signs. Call yourself what you
+will, but never again mention the name of the 'Double Four.' With us in
+Europe another era has dawned. We are on the side of law and order. We
+protect only criminals of a certain class, in whose operations we have
+faith. There is no future for such a society in this country. Therefore,
+as I say, I dissolve it. Now, if you are ready, perhaps you will be so
+good as to provide us with the means of reaching our hotel."
+
+Philip Burr led them into a back street, where his own handsome
+automobile was placed at their service.
+
+"This kind of breaks me all up," he declared, as he gave the
+instructions to the chauffeur. "If there were two men on the face of
+this earth whom I'd have been proud to meet in a friendly sort of way,
+it's you two."
+
+"We bear no malice, Mr. Burr," Sogrange assured him. "You can, if you
+will do us the honour, lunch with us to-morrow at one o'clock at
+Rector's. My friend here is very interested in the Count von Hern, and
+he would probably like to hear exactly how this affair was arranged."
+
+"I'll be there, sure," Philip Burr promised with a farewell wave of the
+hand.
+
+Sogrange and Peter drove towards their hotel in silence. It was only
+when they emerged into the civilised part of the city that Sogrange
+began to laugh softly.
+
+"My friend," he murmured, "you bluffed fairly well, but you were afraid.
+Oh, how I smiled to see your fingers close round the butt of that
+revolver!"
+
+"What about you?" Peter asked gruffly. "You don't suppose you took me
+in, do you?"
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I had two reasons for coming to New York," he said. "One we
+accomplished upon the steamer. The other was----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"To reply personally to this letter of Mr. Philip Burr," Sogrange
+replied, "which letter, by the by, was dated from 15, 100th Street, New
+York. An ordinary visit there would have been useless to me. Something
+of this sort was necessary."
+
+"Then you knew!" Peter gasped. "Notwithstanding all your bravado, you
+knew."
+
+"I had a very fair idea," Sogrange admitted. "Don't be annoyed with me,
+my friend. You have had a little experience. It is all useful. It isn't
+the first time you've looked death in the face. Adventures come to some
+men unasked. You, I think, were born with the habit of them."
+
+Peter smiled. They had reached the hotel courtyard, and he raised
+himself stiffly.
+
+"There's a fable about the pitcher that went once too often to the
+well," he remarked. "I have had my share of luck--more than my share.
+The end must come some time, you know."
+
+"Is this superstition?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"Superstition pure and simple," Peter confessed, taking his key from the
+office. "It doesn't alter anything. I am fatalist enough to shrug my
+shoulders and move on. But I tell you, Sogrange," he added, after a
+moment's pause, "I wouldn't admit it to anyone else in the world, but I
+am afraid of Bernadine. I have had the best of it so often. It can't
+last. In all we've had twelve encounters. The next will be the
+thirteenth."
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly as he rang for the lift.
+
+"I'd propose you for the Thirteen Club, only there's some uncomfortable
+clause about yearly suicides which might not suit you," he remarked.
+
+"Good night, and don't dream of Bernadine and your thirteenth
+encounter."
+
+"I only hope," Peter murmured, "that I may be in a position to dream
+after it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+
+Baron de Grost glanced at the card which his butler had brought in to
+him, carelessly at first, afterwards with that curious rigidity of
+attention which usually denotes the setting free of a flood of memories.
+
+"The gentleman would like to see you, sir," the man announced.
+
+"You can show him in at once," Peter replied.
+
+The servant withdrew. Peter, during those few minutes of waiting, stood
+with his back to the room and his face to the window, looking out across
+the square, in reality seeing nothing, completely immersed in this
+strange flood of memories. John Dory--Sir John Dory now--a quondam
+enemy, whom he had met but seldom during these later years. The figure
+of this man, who had once loomed so largely in his life, had gradually
+shrunk away into the background. Their avoidance of each other arose,
+perhaps, from a sort of instinct which was certainly no matter of
+ill-will. Still, the fact remained that they had scarcely exchanged a
+word for years, and Peter turned to receive his unexpected guest with a
+curiosity which he did not trouble wholly to conceal.
+
+Sir John Dory--Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a person of weight
+and importance--had changed a great deal during the last few years. His
+hair had become grey, his walk more dignified. There was the briskness,
+however, of his best days in his carriage, and in the flash of his brown
+eyes. He held out his hand to his ancient foe with a smile.
+
+"My dear Baron," he said, "I hope you are going to say that you are glad
+to see me."
+
+"Unless," Peter replied, with a good-humoured grimace, "your visit is
+official, I am more than glad--I am charmed. Sit down. I was just going
+to take my morning cigar. You will join me? Good! Now I am ready for the
+worst that can happen."
+
+The two men seated themselves. John Dory pulled at his cigar
+appreciatively, sniffed its flavour for a moment, and then leaned
+forward in his chair.
+
+"My visit, Baron," he announced, "is semi-official. I am here to ask you
+a favour."
+
+"An official favour?" Peter demanded quickly.
+
+His visitor hesitated, as though he found the question hard to answer.
+
+"To tell you the truth," he declared, "this call of mine is wholly an
+inspiration. It does not in any way concern you personally, or your
+position in this country. What that may be I do not know, except that I
+am sure it is above any suspicion."
+
+"Quite so," Peter murmured. "How diplomatic you have become, my dear
+friend!"
+
+John Dory smiled.
+
+"Perhaps I am fencing about too much," he said. "I know, of course, that
+you are a member of a very powerful and wealthy French society, whose
+object and aims, so far as I know, are entirely harmless."
+
+"I am delighted to be assured that you recognise that fact," Peter
+admitted.
+
+"I might add," John Dory continued, "that this harmlessness is of recent
+date."
+
+"Really, you do seem to know a good deal," Peter confessed.
+
+"I find myself still fencing," Dory declared. "A matter of habit, I
+suppose. I didn't mean to when I came. I made up my mind to tell you
+simply that Guillot was in London, and to ask you if you could help me
+to get rid of him."
+
+Peter looked thoughtfully into his companion's face, but he did not
+speak. He understood at such moments the value of silence.
+
+"We speak together," Dory continued softly, "as men who understand one
+another. Guillot is the one criminal in Europe whom we all fear; not I
+alone, mind you--it is the same in Berlin, in Petersburg, in Vienna. He
+has never been caught. It is my honest belief that he never will be
+caught. At the same time, wherever he arrives the thunderclouds gather.
+He leaves behind him always a trail of evil deeds."
+
+"Very well put," Peter murmured. "Quite picturesque."
+
+"Can you help me to get rid of him?" Dory inquired. "I have my hands
+full just now, as you can imagine, what with the political crisis and
+these constant mass meetings. I want Guillot out of the country. If you
+can manage this for me I shall be your eternal debtor."
+
+"Why do you imagine," Peter asked, "that I can help you in this matter?"
+
+There was a brief silence. John Dory knocked the ash from his cigar.
+
+"Times have changed," he said. "The harmlessness of your great society,
+my dear Baron, is at present admitted. But there were days----"
+
+"Exactly," Peter interrupted. "As shrewd as ever, I perceive. Do you
+know anything of the object of his coming?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Anything of his plans?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"You know where he is staying?"
+
+"Naturally," Dory answered. "He has taken a second-floor flat in
+Crayshaw Mansions, Shaftesbury Avenue. As usual, he is above all petty
+artifices. He has taken it under the name of Monsieur Guillot."
+
+"I really don't know whether there is anything I can do," Peter decided,
+"but I will look into the matter for you with pleasure. Perhaps I may be
+able to bring a little influence to bear--indirectly, of course. If so,
+it is at your service. Lady Dory is well, I trust?"
+
+"In the best of health," Sir John replied, accepting the hint and rising
+to his feet. "I shall hear from you soon?"
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter answered. "I must certainly call upon Monsieur
+Guillot."
+
+Peter wasted no time in paying his promised visit. That same afternoon
+he rang the bell at the flat in Crayshaw Mansions. A typical French
+butler showed him into the room where the great man sat. Monsieur
+Guillot, slight, elegant, preeminently a dandy, was lounging upon a
+sofa, being manicured by a young lady. He threw down his _Petit Journal_
+and rose to his feet, however, at his visitor's entrance.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "but this is charming of you!
+Mademoiselle," he added, turning to the manicurist, "you will do me the
+favour of retiring for a short time. Permit me."
+
+He opened the door and showed her out. Then he came back to Peter.
+
+"A visit of courtesy, Monsieur le Baron?" he asked.
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter replied.
+
+"It is beyond all measure charming of you," Guillot declared, "but let
+me ask you a question. Is it peace or war?"
+
+"It is what you choose to make it," Peter answered.
+
+The man threw out his hands. There was the shadow of a frown upon his
+pale forehead. It was a matter for protest, this.
+
+"Why do you come?" he demanded. "What have we in common? The society has
+expelled me. Very well, I go my own way. Why not? I am free of your
+control to-day. You have no more right to interfere with my schemes than
+I with yours."
+
+"We have the ancient right of power," Peter said grimly. "You were once
+a prominent member of our organisation, the spoilt protégé of madame, a
+splendid maker, if you will, of criminal history. Those days have
+passed. We offered you a pension which you have refused. It is now our
+turn to speak. We require you to leave this city in twenty-four hours."
+
+The man's face was livid with anger. He was of the fair type of
+Frenchman, with deep-set eyes, and a straight, cruel mouth only partly
+concealed by his golden moustache. Just now, notwithstanding the veneer
+of his too perfect clothes and civilised air, the beast had leapt out.
+His face was like the face of a snarling animal.
+
+"I refuse!" he cried. "It is I who refuse! I am here on my own affairs.
+What they may be is no business of yours or of anyone else's. That is my
+answer to you, Baron de Grost, whether you come to me for yourself or on
+behalf of the society to which I no longer belong. That is my
+answer--that and the door," he added, pressing the bell. "If you will,
+we fight. If you are wise, forget this visit as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter took up his hat. The man-servant was already in the room.
+
+"We shall probably meet again before your return, Monsieur Guillot," he
+remarked.
+
+Guillot had recovered himself. His smile was wicked, but his bow
+perfection.
+
+"To the fortunate hour, Monsieur le Baron!" he replied.
+
+Peter drove back to Berkeley Square, and without a moment's hesitation
+pressed the levers which set in work the whole underground machinery of
+the great power which he controlled. Thence-forward Monsieur Guillot was
+surrounded with a vague army of silent watchers. They passed in and out
+even of his flat, their motor-cars were as fast as his in the streets,
+their fancy in restaurants identical with his. Guillot moved through it
+all like a man wholly unconscious of espionage, showing nothing of the
+murderous anger which burned in his blood. The reports came to Peter
+every hour, although there was, indeed, nothing worth chronicling.
+Monsieur Guillot's visit to London would seem, indeed, to be a visit of
+gallantry. He spent most of his time with Mademoiselle Louise, the
+famous dancer. He was prominent at the Empire to watch her nightly
+performance; they were a noticeable couple supping together at the Milan
+afterwards. Peter smiled as he read the reports. Monsieur Guillot was
+indeed a man of gallantry, but he had the reputation of using these
+affairs to cloak his real purpose. Those who watched him watched only
+the more closely. Monsieur Guillot, who stood it very well at first,
+unfortunately lost his temper. He drove to Berkeley Square in the great
+motor-car which he had brought with him from Paris, and confronted
+Peter.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, though, indeed, the glitter in his eyes knew
+nothing of friendship, "it is intolerable, this! Do you think that I do
+not see through these dummy waiters, these obsequious shopmen, these
+ladies who drop their eyes when I pass, these commissionaires, these
+would-be acquaintances? I tell you that they irritate me, this
+incompetent, futile crowd. You pit them against me! Bah! You should know
+better. When I choose to disappear, I shall disappear, and no one will
+follow me. When I strike, I shall strike, and no one will discover what
+my will may be. You are out of date, dear Baron, with your third-rate
+army of stupid spies. You succeed in one thing only--you succeed in
+making me angry."
+
+"It is at least an achievement, that," Peter declared.
+
+"Perhaps," Monsieur Guillot admitted fiercely. "Yet mark now the result.
+I defy you, you and all of them. Look at your clock. It is five minutes
+to seven. It goes well, that clock, eh?"
+
+"It is the correct time," Peter said.
+
+"Then by midnight," Guillot continued, shaking his fist in the other's
+face, "I shall have done that thing which brought me to England, and I
+shall have disappeared. I shall have done it in spite of your watchers,
+in spite of your spies, in spite, even, of you, Monsieur le Baron de
+Grost. There is my challenge. _Voilà._ Take it up if you will. At
+midnight you shall hear me laugh. I have the honour to wish you good
+night!"
+
+Peter opened the door with his own hands.
+
+"This is excellent," he declared. "You are now, indeed, the Monsieur
+Guillot of old. Almost you persuade me to take up your challenge."
+
+Guillot laughed derisively.
+
+"As you please!" he exclaimed. "By midnight to-night!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The challenge of Monsieur Guillot was issued precisely at four minutes
+before seven. On his departure, Peter spent the next half-hour studying
+certain notes and sending various telephone messages. Afterwards he
+changed his clothes at the usual time and sat down to a _tête-à-tête_
+dinner with his wife. Three times during the course of the meal he was
+summoned to the telephone, and from each visit he returned more
+perplexed. Finally, when the servants had left the room, he took his
+chair round to his wife's side.
+
+"Violet," he said, "you were asking me just now about the telephone. You
+were quite right. These were not ordinary messages which I have been
+receiving. I am engaged in a little matter which, I must confess,
+perplexes me. I want your advice--perhaps your help."
+
+Violet smiled.
+
+"I am quite ready," she announced. "It is a long time since you gave me
+anything to do."
+
+"You have heard of Guillot?"
+
+She reflected a moment.
+
+"You mean the wonderful Frenchman," she asked, "the head of the criminal
+department of the Double Four?"
+
+"The man who was at its head when it existed," Peter replied. "The
+criminal department, as you know, has all been done away with. The
+Double Four has now no more concern with those who break the law, save
+in those few instances where great issues demand it."
+
+"But Monsieur Guillot still exists?"
+
+"He not only exists," Peter answered, "but he is here in London, a rebel
+and a defiant one. Do you know who came to see me the other morning?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"Sir John Dory," Peter continued. "He came here with a request. He
+begged for my help. Guillot is here, committed to some enterprise which
+no man can wholly fathom. Dory has enough to do with other things, as
+you can imagine, just now. Besides, I think he recognises that Monsieur
+Guillot is rather a hard nut for the ordinary English detective to
+crack."
+
+"And you?" she demanded, breathlessly.
+
+"I join forces with Dory," Peter admitted. "Sogrange agrees with me.
+Guillot was associated with the Double Four too long for us to have him
+make scandalous history, either here or in Paris."
+
+"You have seen him?"
+
+"I have not only seen him," Peter said, "I have declared war against
+him."
+
+"And he?"
+
+"Guillot is defiant," Peter replied. "He has been here only this
+evening. He mocks at me. He swears that he will bring off this
+enterprise, whatever it may be, before midnight to-night, and he has
+defied me to stop him."
+
+"But you will," she murmured softly.
+
+Peter smiled. The conviction in his wife's tone was a subtle compliment
+which he did not fail to appreciate.
+
+"I have hopes," he confessed, "and yet, let me tell you this, Violet, I
+have never been more puzzled. Ask yourself, now. What enterprise is
+there worthy of a man like Guillot, in which he could engage himself
+here in London between now and midnight? Any ordinary theft is beneath
+him. The purloining of the Crown jewels, perhaps, he might consider, but
+I don't think that anything less in the way of robbery would bring him
+here. He has his code and he is as vain as a peacock. Yet money is at
+the root of everything he does."
+
+"How does he spend his time here?" Violet asked.
+
+"He has a handsome flat in Shaftesbury Avenue," Peter answered, "where
+he lives, to all appearance, the life of an idle man of fashion. The
+whole of his spare time is spent with Mademoiselle Louise, the danseuse
+at the Empire. You see, it is half-past eight now. I have eleven men
+altogether at work, and according to my last report he was dining with
+her in the grillroom at the Milan. They ordered their coffee just ten
+minutes ago, and the car is waiting outside to take Mademoiselle to the
+Empire. Guillot's box is engaged there, as usual. If he proposes to
+occupy it, he is leaving himself a very narrow margin of time to carry
+out any enterprise worth speaking of."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments. Then she crossed the room,
+took up a copy of an illustrated paper, and brought it across to Peter.
+He smiled as he glanced at the picture to which she pointed, and the few
+lines underneath.
+
+"It has struck you, too, then!" he exclaimed. "Good! You have answered
+me exactly as I hoped. Somehow, I scarcely trusted myself. I have both
+cars waiting outside. We may need them. You won't mind coming to the
+Empire with me?"
+
+"Mind?" she laughed. "I only hope I may be in at the finish."
+
+"If the finish," Peter remarked, "is of the nature which I anticipate, I
+shall take particularly good care that you are not."
+
+The curtain was rising upon the first act of the ballet as they entered
+the music-hall and were shown to the box which Peter had engaged. The
+house was full--crowded, in fact, almost to excess. They had scarcely
+taken their seats when a roar of applause announced the coming of
+Mademoiselle Louise. She stood for a moment to receive her nightly
+ovation, a slim, beautiful creature, looking out upon the great house
+with that faint, bewitching smile at the corners of her lips which every
+photographer in Europe had striven to reproduce. Then she moved away to
+the music, an exquisite figure, the personification of all that was
+alluring in her sex. Violet leaned forward to watch her movements as she
+plunged into the first dance. Peter was occupied looking round the
+house. Monsieur Guillot was there, sitting insolently forward in his
+box, sleek and immaculate. He even waved his hand and bowed as he met
+Peter's eye. Somehow or other, his confidence had its effect. Peter
+began to feel vaguely troubled. After all, his plans were built upon a
+surmise. It was so easy for him to be wrong. No man would show his hand
+so openly who was not sure of the game. Then his face cleared a little.
+In the adjoining box to Guillot's the figure of a solitary man was just
+visible, a man who had leaned over to applaud Louise, but who was now
+sitting back in the shadows. Peter recognised him at once,
+notwithstanding the obscurity. This was so much to the good, at any
+rate. He took up his hat.
+
+"For a quarter of an hour you will excuse me, Violet," he said. "Watch
+Guillot. If he leaves his place, knock at the door of your box, and one
+of my men, who is outside, will come to you at once. He will know where
+to find me."
+
+Peter hurried away, pausing for a moment in the promenade to scribble a
+line or two at the back of one of his own cards. Presently he knocked at
+the door of the box adjoining Guillot's and was instantly admitted.
+Violet continued her watch. She remained alone until the curtain fell
+upon the first act of the ballet. A few minutes later Peter returned.
+She knew at once that things were going well. He sank into a chair by
+her side.
+
+"I have messages every five minutes," he whispered in her ear, "and I am
+venturing upon a bold stroke. There is still something about the affair,
+though, which I cannot understand. You are absolutely sure that Guillot
+has not moved?"
+
+Violet pointed with her programme across the house.
+
+"There he sits," she remarked. "He left his chair as the curtain went
+down, but he could scarcely have gone out of the box, for he was back
+within ten seconds."
+
+Peter looked steadily across at the opposite box. Guillot was sitting a
+little farther back now, as though he no longer courted observation.
+Something about his attitude puzzled the man who watched him. With a
+quick movement he caught up the glasses which stood by his wife's side.
+The curtain was going up for the second act, and Guillot had turned his
+head. Peter held the glasses only for a moment to his eyes, and then
+glanced down at the stage.
+
+"My God!" he muttered. "The man's a genius! Violet, the small motor is
+coming for you."
+
+He was out of the box in a single step. Violet looked after him, looked
+down upon the stage and across at Guillot's box. It was hard to
+understand.
+
+The curtain had scarcely rung up upon the second act of the ballet when
+a young lady, who met from all the loungers, and even from the
+door-keeper himself, the most respectful attention, issued from the
+stage-door at the Empire and stepped into the large motor-car which was
+waiting, drawn up against the kerb. The door was opened from inside and
+closed at once. She held out her hands, as yet ungloved, to the man who
+sat back in the corner.
+
+"At last!" she murmured. "And I thought that you had forsaken me. It
+seemed, indeed, dear one, that you had forsaken me."
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, but he answered only in a
+whisper. He wore a sombre black cloak and a broad-brimmed hat. A muffler
+concealed the lower part of his face. She put her finger upon the
+electric light, but he stopped her.
+
+"I must not be recognised," he said thickly. "Forgive me, Louise, if I
+seem strange at first, but there is more in it than I can tell you. No
+one must know that I am in London to-night. When we reach this place to
+which you are taking me, and we are really alone, then we can talk. I
+have so much to say."
+
+She looked at him doubtfully. It was indeed a moment of indecision with
+her. Then she began to laugh softly.
+
+"Little one, but you have changed!" she exclaimed compassionately.
+"After all, why not? I must not forget that things have gone so hardly
+with you. It seems odd, indeed, to see you sitting there, muffled up
+like an old man, afraid to show yourself. You know how foolish you are?
+With your black cape and that queer hat, you are so different from all
+the others. If you seek to remain unrecognised, why do you not dress as
+all the men do? Anyone who was suspicious would recognise you from your
+clothes."
+
+"It is true," he muttered. "I did not think of it."
+
+She leaned towards him.
+
+"You will not even kiss me?" she murmured.
+
+"Not yet," he answered.
+
+She made a little grimace.
+
+"But you are cold!"
+
+"You do not understand," he answered. "They are watching me--even
+to-night they are watching me. Oh, if you only knew, Louise, how I have
+longed for this hour that is to come!"
+
+Her vanity was assuaged. She patted his hand, but came no nearer.
+
+"You are a foolish little one," she said, "very foolish."
+
+"It is not for you to say that," he replied. "If I have been foolish,
+were not you often the cause of my folly."
+
+Again she laughed.
+
+"Oh, la, la! It is always the same! It is always you men who accuse! For
+that presently I shall reprove you. But now--as for now, behold, we have
+arrived!"
+
+"It is a crowded thoroughfare," the man remarked nervously, looking up
+and down Shaftesbury Avenue.
+
+"Stupid!" she cried, stepping out. "I do not recognise you to-night,
+little one. Even your voice is different. Follow me quickly across the
+pavement and up the stairs. There is only one flight. The flat I have
+borrowed is on the second floor. I do not care very much that people
+should recognise me either, under the circumstances. There is nothing
+they love so much," she added, with a toss of the head, "as finding an
+excuse to have my picture in the paper."
+
+He followed her down the dim hall and up the broad, flat stairs, keeping
+always some distance behind. On the first landing she drew a key from
+her pocket and opened a door. It was the door of Monsieur Guillot's
+sitting-room. A round table in the middle was laid for supper. One light
+alone, and that heavily shaded, was burning.
+
+"Oh, la, la," she exclaimed. "How I hate this darkness! Wait till I can
+turn on the lights, dear friend, and then you must embrace me. It is
+from outside, I believe. No, do not follow. I can find the switch for
+myself. Remain where you are. I return instantly."
+
+She left him alone in the room, closing the door softly. In the passage
+she reeled for a moment and caught at her side. She was very pale.
+Guillot, coming swiftly up the steps, frowned as he saw her.
+
+"He is there?" he demanded harshly.
+
+"He is there," Louise replied; "but, indeed, I am angry with myself.
+See, I am faint. It is a terrible thing, this, which I have done. He did
+me no harm, that young man, except that he was stupid and heavy, and
+that I never loved him. Who could love him, indeed? But, Guillot----"
+
+He passed on, scarcely heeding her words, but she clung to his arm.
+
+"Dear one," she begged, "promise that you will not really hurt him.
+Promise me that, or I will shriek out and call the people from the
+streets here. You will not make an assassin of me? Promise!"
+
+Guillot turned suddenly towards her, and there were strange things in
+his face. He pointed down the stairs.
+
+"Go back, Louise," he ordered, "back to your rooms, for your own sake.
+Remember that you left the theatre, too ill to finish your performance.
+You have had plenty of time already to get home. Quick! Leave me to deal
+with this young man. I tell you to go."
+
+She retreated down the stairs, dumb, her knees shaking still as though
+with fear. Guillot entered the room, closing the door behind him. Even
+as he bowed to that dark figure standing in the corner, his left hand
+shot forward the bolt.
+
+"Monsieur," he said.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" the visitor interrupted haughtily. "I am
+expecting Mademoiselle Louise. I did not understand that strangers had
+the right of entry into this room."
+
+Guillot bowed low.
+
+"Monsieur," he said once more, "it is a matter for my eternal regret
+that I am forced to intrude even for a moment upon an assignation so
+romantic. But there is a little matter which must first be settled. I
+have some friends here who have a thing to say to you."
+
+He walked softly, with catlike tread, along by the wall to where the
+thick curtains shut out the inner apartment. He caught at the thick
+velvet, dragged it back, and the two rooms were suddenly flooded with
+light. In the recently discovered one, two stalwart-looking men in plain
+clothes, but of very unmistakable appearance, were standing waiting.
+Guillot staggered back. They were strangers to him. He was like a man
+who looks upon a nightmare. His eyes protruded. The words which he tried
+to utter failed him. Then, with a swift, nervous presentiment, he turned
+quickly around towards the man who had been standing in the shadows.
+Here, too, the unexpected had happened. It was Peter, Baron de Grost,
+who threw his muffler and broad-brimmed hat upon the table.
+
+"Five minutes to eleven, I believe, Monsieur Guillot," Peter declared.
+"I win by an hour and five minutes."
+
+Guillot said nothing for several seconds. After all, though, he had
+great gifts. He recovered alike his power of speech and his composure.
+
+"These gentlemen," he said, pointing with his left hand towards the
+inner room. "I do not understand their presence in my apartments."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"They represent, I am afraid, the obvious end of things," he explained.
+"You have given me a run for my money, I confess. A Monsieur Guillot who
+is remarkably like you still occupies your box at the Empire, and
+Mademoiselle Jeanne Lemère, the accomplished understudy of the lady who
+has just left us, is sufficiently like the incomparable Louise to
+escape, perhaps, detection for the first few minutes. But you gave the
+game away a little, my dear Guillot, when you allowed your quarry to
+come and gaze even from the shadows of his box at the woman he adored."
+
+"Where is--he?" Guillot faltered.
+
+"He is on his way back to his country home," Peter replied. "I think
+that he will be cured of his infatuation for Mademoiselle. The assassins
+whom you planted in that room are by this time in Bow Street. The price
+which others beside you knew, my dear Guillot, was placed upon that
+unfortunate young man's head will not pass this time into your pocket.
+For the rest----"
+
+"The rest is of no consequence," Guillot interrupted, bowing. "I admit
+that I am vanquished. As for those gentlemen there," he added, waving
+his hand towards the two men, who had taken a step forward, "I have a
+little oath which is sacred to me concerning them. I take the liberty,
+therefore, to admit myself defeated, Monsieur le Baron, and to take my
+leave."
+
+No one was quick enough to interfere. They had only a glimpse of him as
+he stood there with the revolver pressed to his temple, an impression of
+a sharp report, of Guillot staggering back as the revolver slipped from
+his fingers on to the floor. Even his death cry was stifled. They
+carried him away without any fuss, and Peter was just in time, after
+all, to see the finish of the second act of the ballet. The sham
+Monsieur Guillot still smirked at the sham Louise, but the box by his
+side was empty.
+
+"Is it over?" Violet asked breathlessly.
+
+"It is over," Peter answered.
+
+It was, after all, an unrecorded tragedy. In an obscure corner of the
+morning papers one learned the next day that a Frenchman, who had
+apparently come to the end of his means, had committed suicide in a
+furnished flat in Shaftesbury Avenue. Two foreigners were deported
+without having been brought up for trial, for being suspected persons. A
+little languid interest was aroused at the inquest when one of the
+witnesses deposed to the deceased having been a famous French criminal.
+Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny
+press for once were deprived of their sensation. For the rest, Peter
+received, with much satisfaction, a remarkably handsome signet ring,
+bearing some famous arms, and a telegram from Sogrange: "_Well done,
+Baron! May the successful termination of your enterprise nerve you for
+the greater undertaking which is close at hand. I leave for London by
+the night train._--SOGRANGE."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+The Marquis de Sogrange arrived in Berkeley Square with the grey dawn of
+an October morning, showing in his appearance and dress few enough signs
+of his night journey. Yet he had travelled without stopping from Paris
+by fast motor car and the mail boat.
+
+"They telephoned me from Charing Cross," Peter said, "that you could not
+possibly arrive until midday. The clerk assured me that no train had yet
+reached Calais."
+
+"They had reason in what they told you," Sogrange remarked, as he leaned
+back in a chair and sipped the coffee which had been waiting for him in
+the Baron de Grost's study. "The train itself never got more than a mile
+away from the Gare du Nord. The engine-driver was shot through the head,
+and the metals were torn from the way. Paris is within a year now of a
+second and more terrible revolution."
+
+"You really believe this?" Peter asked gravely.
+
+"It is a certainty," Sogrange replied. "Not I alone, but many others can
+see this clearly. Everywhere the Socialists have wormed themselves into
+places of trust. They are to be met with in every rank of life, under
+every form of disguise. The post-office strike has already shown us what
+deplorable disasters even a skirmish can bring about. To-day the railway
+strike has paralysed France. Our country lies to-day absolutely at the
+mercy of any invader. As it happens, no one is, for the moment,
+prepared. Who can tell how it may be next time?"
+
+"This is bad news," Peter declared. "If this is really the position of
+affairs, the matter is much more serious than the newspapers would have
+us believe."
+
+"The newspapers," Sogrange muttered, "ignore what lies behind. Some of
+them, I think, are paid to do it. As for the rest, our Press had always
+an ostrich-like tendency. The Frenchman of the café does not buy his
+journal to be made sad."
+
+"You believe, then," Peter asked, "that these strikes have some definite
+tendency?"
+
+Sogrange set down his cup and smiled bitterly. In the early sunlight,
+still a little cold and unloving, Peter could see that there was a
+change in the man. He was no longer the debonair aristocrat of the
+racecourses and the boulevards. The shadows under his eyes were deeper,
+his cheeks more sunken. He had lost something of the sprightliness of
+his bearing. His attitude, indeed, was almost dejected. He was like a
+man who sees into the future and finds there strange and gruesome
+things.
+
+"I do more than believe that," he declared. "I know it. It has fallen to
+my lot to make a very definite discovery concerning them. Listen, my
+friend. For more than six months the Government has been trying to
+discover the source of this stream of vile socialistic literature which
+has contaminated the French working classes. The pamphlets have been
+distributed with devilish ingenuity amongst all national operatives, the
+army and the navy. The Government has failed. The Double Four has
+succeeded."
+
+"You have really discovered their source?" Peter exclaimed.
+
+"Without a doubt," Sogrange assented. "The Government appealed to us
+first some months ago when I was in America. For a time we had no
+success. Then a clue, and the rest was easy. The navy, the army, the
+post-office employees, the telegraph and telephone operators, and the
+railway men, have been the chief recipients of this incessant stream of
+foul literature. To-day one cannot tell how much mischief has been
+actually done. The strikes which have already occurred are only the
+mutterings of the coming storm. But mark you, wherever those pamphlets
+have gone, trouble has followed. What men may do the Government is
+doing, but all the time the poison is at work, the seed has been sown.
+Two millions of money have been spent to corrupt that very class which
+should be the backbone of France. Through the fingers of one man has
+come this shower of gold, one man alone has stood at the head of the
+great organisation which has disseminated this loathsome disease. Behind
+him--well, we know."
+
+"The man?"
+
+"It is fitting that you should ask that question," Sogrange replied.
+"The name of that man is Bernadine, Count von Hern."
+
+Peter remained speechless. There was something almost terrible in the
+slow preciseness with which Sogrange had uttered the name of his enemy,
+something unspeakably threatening in the cold glitter of his angry eyes.
+
+"Up to the present," Sogrange continued, "I have
+watched--sympathetically, of course, but with a certain amount of
+amusement--the duel between you and Bernadine. It has been against your
+country and your country's welfare that most of his efforts have been
+directed, which perhaps accounts for the equanimity with which I have
+been contented to remain a looker-on. It is apparent, my dear Baron,
+that in most of your encounters the honours have remained with you. Yet,
+as it has chanced, never once has Bernadine been struck a real and
+crushing blow. The time has come when this and more must happen. It is
+no longer a matter of polite exchanges. It is a _duel à outrance_."
+
+"You mean----" Peter began.
+
+"I mean that Bernadine must die," Sogrange declared.
+
+There was a brief silence. Outside, the early morning street noises were
+increasing in volume as the great army of workers, streaming towards the
+heart of the city from a hundred suburbs, passed on to their tasks. A
+streak of sunshine had found its way into the room, lay across the
+carpet, and touched Sogrange's still, waxen features. Peter glanced half
+fearfully at his friend and visitor. He himself was no coward, no
+shrinker from the great issues. He, too, had dealt in life and death.
+Yet there was something in the deliberate preciseness of Sogrange's
+words, as he sat there only a few feet away, which was unspeakably
+thrilling. It was like a death sentence pronounced in all solemnity upon
+some shivering criminal. There was something inevitable and tragical
+about the whole affair. A pronouncement had been made from which there
+was no appeal. Bernadine was to die!
+
+"Isn't this a little exceeding the usual exercise of our powers?" Peter
+asked slowly.
+
+"No such occasion as this has ever yet arisen," Sogrange reminded him.
+"Bernadine has fled to this country with barely an hour to spare. His
+offence is extraditable by a law of the last century which has never
+been repealed. He is guilty of treason against the Republic of France.
+Yet they do not want him back, they do not want a trial. I have papers
+upon my person which, if I took them into an English court, would
+procure for me a warrant for Bernadine's arrest. It is not this we
+desire. Bernadine must die. No fate could be too terrible for a man who
+has striven to corrupt the soul of a nation. It is not war, this. It is
+not honest conspiracy. Is it war, I ask you, to seek to poison the
+drinking water of an enemy, to send stalking into their midst some
+loathsome disease? Such things belong to the ages of barbarity.
+Bernadine has striven to revive them, and Bernadine shall die."
+
+"It is justice," Peter admitted.
+
+"The question remains," Sogrange continued, "by whose hand--yours or
+mine?"
+
+Peter started uneasily.
+
+"Is that necessary?" he asked.
+
+"I fear that it is," Sogrange replied. "We had a brief meeting of the
+executive council last night, and it was decided, for certain reasons,
+to entrust this task into no other hands. You will smile when I tell you
+that these accursed pamphlets have found their way into the possession
+of many of the rank and file of our own order. There is a marked
+disinclination on the part of those who have been our slaves to accept
+orders from anyone. Espionage we can still command--the best, perhaps,
+in Europe--because here we use a different class of material. But of
+those underneath we are, for the moment, doubtful. Paris is all in a
+ferment. Under its outward seemliness a million throats are ready to
+take up the brazen cry of revolution. One trusts nobody. One fears all
+the time."
+
+"You or I!" Peter repeated slowly. "It will not be sufficient, then,
+that we find Bernadine and deliver him over to your country's laws?"
+
+"It will not be sufficient," Sogrange answered sternly. "From those he
+may escape. For him there must be no escape."
+
+"Sogrange," Peter said, speaking in a low tone, "I have never yet killed
+a human being."
+
+"Nor I," Sogrange admitted. "Nor have I yet set my heel upon its head
+and stamped the life from a rat upon the pavement. But one lives and one
+moves on. Bernadine is the enemy of your country and mine. He makes war
+after the fashion of vermin. No ordinary cut-throat would succeed
+against him. It must be you or I."
+
+"How shall we decide?" Peter asked.
+
+"The spin of a coin," Sogrange replied. "It is best that way. It is
+best, too, done quickly."
+
+Peter produced a sovereign from his pocket and balanced it on the palm
+of his hand.
+
+"Let it be understood," Sogrange continued, "that this is a dual
+undertaking. We toss only for the final honour--for the last stroke. If
+the choice falls upon me, I shall count upon you to help me to the end.
+If it falls upon you, I shall be at your right hand even when you strike
+the blow."
+
+"It is agreed," Peter said. "See, it is for you to call."
+
+He threw the coin high into the air.
+
+"I call heads," Sogrange decided.
+
+It fell upon the table. Peter covered it with his hand, and then slowly
+withdrew the fingers. A little shiver ran through his veins. The
+harmless head that looked up at him was like the figure of death. It was
+for him to strike the blow!
+
+"Where is Bernadine now?" he asked.
+
+"Get me a morning paper and I will tell you," Sogrange declared, rising.
+"He was in the train which was stopped outside the Gare du Nord, on his
+way to England. What became of the passengers I have not heard. I knew
+what was likely to happen, and I left an hour before in a 100 h.p.
+Charron."
+
+Peter rang the bell, and ordered the servant who answered it to procure
+the _Daily Telegraph_. As soon as it arrived, he spread it open upon the
+table, and Sogrange looked over his shoulder. These are the headings
+which they saw in large black characters:
+
+                     RENEWED RIOTS IN PARIS
+                   THE GARE DU NORD IN FLAMES
+             TERRIBLE ACCIDENT TO THE CALAIS-DOUVRES
+                            EXPRESS
+                          MANY DEATHS
+
+Peter's forefinger travelled down the page swiftly. It paused at the
+following paragraph:--
+
+"The 8.55 train from the Gare du Nord, carrying many passengers for
+London, after being detained within a mile of Paris for over an hour
+owing to the murder of the engine-driver, made an attempt last night to
+proceed, with terrible results. Near Chantilly, whilst travelling at
+over fifty miles an hour, the points were tampered with, and the express
+dashed into a goods train laden with minerals. Very few particulars are
+yet to hand, but the express was completely wrecked, and many lives have
+been lost. Amongst the dead are the following:"
+
+One by one Peter read out the names. Then he stopped short. A little
+exclamation broke from Sogrange's lips. The thirteenth name upon that
+list of dead was the name of Bernadine, Count von Hern.
+
+"Bernadine!" Peter faltered. "Bernadine is dead!"
+
+"Killed by the strikers!" Sogrange echoed. "It is a just thing, this."
+
+The two men looked down at the paper and then up at each other. A
+strange silence seemed to have found its way into the room. The shadow
+of death lay between them. Peter touched his forehead and found it wet.
+
+"It is a just thing, indeed," he repeated, "but justice and death are
+alike terrible."
+
+Late in the afternoon of the same day a motor car, splashed with mud,
+drew up before the door of the house in Berkeley Square. Sogrange, who
+was standing talking to Peter before the library window, suddenly broke
+off in the middle of a sentence. He stepped back into the room and
+gripped his friend's shoulder.
+
+"It is the Baroness," he exclaimed quickly. "What does she want here?"
+
+"The Baroness who?" Peter demanded.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten. You must have heard of her--she is the friend
+of Bernadine."
+
+The two men had been out to lunch at the Ritz with Violet, and had
+walked across the Park home. Sogrange had been drawing on his gloves in
+the act of starting out for a call at the Embassy.
+
+"Does your wife know this woman?" he asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I think not," he replied. "We shall know in a minute."
+
+"Then she has come to see you," Sogrange continued. "What does it mean,
+I wonder?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+There was a knock at the door, and his servant entered, bearing a card.
+
+"This lady would like to see you, sir, on important business," he said.
+
+"You can show her in here," Peter directed.
+
+There was a very short delay. The two men had no time to exchange a
+word. They heard the rustling of a woman's gown, and immediately
+afterward the perfume of violets seemed to fill the room.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten," the butler announced.
+
+The door closed behind her. The servant had disappeared. Peter advanced
+to meet his guest. She was a little above medium height, very slim, with
+extraordinarily fair hair, colourless face, and strange eyes. She was
+not strictly beautiful, and yet there was no man upon whom her presence
+was without its effect. Her voice was like her movements, slow, and with
+a grace of its own.
+
+"You do not mind that I have come to see you?" she asked, raising her
+eyes to Peter's. "I believe before I go that you will think terrible
+things of me, but you must not begin before I have told you my errand.
+It has been a great struggle with me before I made up my mind to come
+here."
+
+"Won't you sit down, Baroness?" Peter invited.
+
+She saw Sogrange, and hesitated.
+
+"You are not alone," she said softly. "I wish to speak with you alone."
+
+"Permit me to present to you the Marquis de Sogrange," Peter begged. "He
+is my oldest friend, Baroness. I think that whatever you might have to
+say to me you might very well say before him."
+
+"It is--of a private nature," she murmured.
+
+"The Marquis and I have no secrets," Peter declared, "either political
+or private."
+
+She sat down and motioned Peter to take a place by her side upon the
+sofa.
+
+"You will forgive me if I am a little incoherent," she implored. "To-day
+I have had a shock. You, too, have read the news? You must know that the
+Count von Hern is dead--killed in the railway accident last night?"
+
+"We read it in the _Daily Telegraph_," Peter replied.
+
+"It is in all the papers," she continued. "You know that he was a very
+dear friend of mine?"
+
+"I have heard so," Peter admitted.
+
+"Yet there was one subject," she insisted, earnestly, "upon which we
+never agreed. He hated England. I have always loved it. England was kind
+to me when my own country drove me out. I have always felt grateful. It
+has been a sorrow to me that in so many of his schemes, in so much of
+his work, Bernadine should consider his own country at the expense of
+yours."
+
+Sogrange drew a little nearer. It began to be interesting, this.
+
+"I heard the news early this morning by telegram," she went on. "For a
+long time I was prostrate. Then early this afternoon I began to
+think--one must always think. Bernadine was a dear friend, but things
+between us lately have been different, a little strained. Was it his
+fault or mine--who can say? Does one tire with the years, I wonder? I
+wonder!"
+
+Her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was conscious of the fact that
+she wished him to know that they were beautiful. She looked slowly away
+again.
+
+"This afternoon, as I sat alone," she proceeded, "I remembered that in
+my keeping were many boxes of papers and many letters which have
+recently arrived, all belonging to Bernadine. I reflected that there
+were certainly some who were in his confidence, and that very soon they
+would come from his country and take them all away. And then I
+remembered what I owed to England, and how opposed I always was to
+Bernadine's schemes, and I thought that the best thing I could do to
+show my gratitude would be to place his papers all in the hands of some
+Englishman, so that they might do no more harm to the country which has
+been kind to me. So I came to you."
+
+Again her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was very sure indeed that
+they were wonderfully beautiful. He began to realise the fascination of
+this woman, of whom he had heard so much. Her very absence of colouring
+was a charm.
+
+"You mean that you have brought me these papers?" he asked.
+
+She shook her head slowly.
+
+"No," she said, "I could not do that. There were too many of them--they
+are too heavy, and there are piles of pamphlets--revolutionary
+pamphlets, I am afraid--all in French, which I do not understand. No, I
+could not bring them to you. But I ordered my motor-car and I drove up
+here to tell you that if you like to come down to the house in the
+country where I have been living--to which Bernadine was to have come
+to-night--yes, and bring your friend, too, if you will--you shall look
+through them before anyone else can arrive."
+
+"You are very kind," Peter murmured. "Tell me where it is that you
+live?"
+
+"It is beyond Hitchin," she told him, "up the Great North Road. I tell
+you at once, it is a horrible house, in a horrible, lonely spot. Within
+a day or two I shall leave it myself for ever. I hate it--it gets on my
+nerves. I dream of all the terrible things which perhaps have taken
+place there. Who can tell? It was Bernadine's long before I came to
+England."
+
+"When are we to come?" Peter asked.
+
+"You must come back with me now, at once," the Baroness insisted. "I
+cannot tell how soon someone in his confidence may arrive."
+
+"I will order my car," Peter declared.
+
+She laid her hand upon his arm.
+
+"Do you mind coming in mine?" she begged. "It is of no consequence, if
+you object, but every servant in Bernadine's house is German and a spy.
+There are no women except my own maid. Your car is likely enough known
+to them, and there might be trouble. If you will come with me now, you
+and your friend, if you like, I will send you to the station to-night in
+time to catch the train home. I feel that I must have this thing off my
+mind. You will come? Yes?"
+
+Peter rang the bell and ordered his coat.
+
+"Without a doubt," he answered. "May we not offer you some tea first?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"To-day I cannot think of eating or drinking," she replied. "Bernadine
+and I were no longer what we had been, but the shock of his death seems
+none the less terrible. I feel like a traitor to him for coming here,
+yet I believe that I am doing what is right," she added softly.
+
+"If you will excuse me for one moment," Peter said, "while I take leave
+of my wife, I will rejoin you presently."
+
+Peter was absent for only a few minutes. Sogrange and the Baroness
+exchanged the merest commonplaces. As they all passed down the hall
+Sogrange lingered behind.
+
+"If you will take the Baroness out to the car," he suggested, "I will
+telephone to the Embassy and tell them not to expect me."
+
+Peter offered his arm to his companion. She seemed, indeed, to need
+support. Her fingers clutched at his coat-sleeve as they passed on to
+the pavement.
+
+"I am so glad to be no longer quite alone," she whispered. "Almost I
+wish that your friend were not coming. I know that Bernadine and you
+were enemies, but then you were enemies not personally but politically.
+After all, it is you who stand for the things which have become so dear
+to me."
+
+"It is true that Bernadine and I were bitter antagonists," Peter
+admitted gravely. "Death, however, ends all that. I wish him no further
+harm."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"As for me," she said, "I am growing used to being friendless. I was
+friendless before Bernadine came, and latterly we have been nothing to
+one another. Now, I suppose, I shall know what it is to be an outcast
+once more. Did you ever hear my history, I wonder?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Never, Baroness," he replied. "I understood, I believe, that your
+marriage----"
+
+"My husband divorced me," she confessed, simply. "He was quite within
+his rights. He was impossible. I was very young and very sentimental.
+They say that Englishwomen are cold," she added. "Perhaps that is so.
+People think that I look cold. Do you?"
+
+Sogrange suddenly opened the door of the car, in which they were already
+seated. She leaned back and half closed her eyes.
+
+"It is rather a long ride," she said, "and I am worn out. I hope you
+will not mind, but for myself I cannot talk when motoring. Smoke, if it
+pleases you."
+
+"Might one inquire as to our exact destination?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"We go beyond Hitchin, up the Great North Road," she told him again.
+"The house is called the High House. It stands in the middle of a heath,
+and I think it is the loneliest and most miserable place that was ever
+built. I hate it and am frightened in it. For some reason or other it
+suited Bernadine, but that is all over now."
+
+The little party of three lapsed into silence. The car, driven carefully
+enough through the busy streets, gradually increased its pace as they
+drew clear of the suburbs. Peter leaned back in his place, thinking.
+Bernadine was dead! Nothing else would have convinced him so utterly of
+the fact as that simple sentence in the _Daily Telegraph_, which had
+been followed up by a confirmation and a brief obituary notice in all
+the evening papers. Curiously enough, the fact seemed to have drawn a
+certain spice out of even this adventure; to point, indeed, to a certain
+monotony in the future. Their present enterprise, important though it
+might turn out to be, was nothing to be proud of. A woman, greedy for
+gold, was selling her lover's secrets before the breath was out of his
+body. Peter turned in his cushioned seat to look at her. Without doubt
+she was beautiful to one who understood, beautiful in a strange,
+colourless, feline fashion, the beauty of soft limbs, soft movements, a
+caressing voice with always the promise beyond of more than the actual
+words. Her eyes now were closed, her face was a little weary. Did she
+really rest, Peter wondered. He watched the rising and falling of her
+bosom, the quivering now and then of her eyelids. She had indeed the
+appearance of a woman who had suffered.
+
+The car rushed on into the darkness. Behind them lay that restless
+phantasmagoria of lights streaming to the sky. In front, blank space.
+Peter, through half-closed eyes, watched the woman by his side. From the
+moment of her entrance into his library, he had summed her up in his
+mind with a single word. She was, beyond a doubt, an adventuress. No
+woman could have proposed the things which she had proposed who was not
+of that ilk. Yet for that reason it behoved them to have a care in their
+dealings with her. At her instigation they had set out upon this
+adventure, which might well turn out according to any fashion that she
+chose. Yet without Bernadine what could she do? She was not the woman to
+carry on the work which he had left behind for the love of him. Her
+words had been frank, her action shameful, but natural. Bernadine was
+dead, and she had realised quickly enough the best market for his
+secrets. In a few days' time his friends would have come and she would
+have received nothing. He told himself that he was foolish to doubt her.
+There was not a flaw in the sequence of events, no possible reason for
+the suspicions which yet lingered at the back of his brain. Intrigue, it
+was certain, was to her as the breath of her body. He was perfectly
+willing to believe that the death of Bernadine would have affected her
+little more than the sweeping aside of a fly. His very common sense bade
+him accept her story.
+
+By degrees he became drowsy. Suddenly he was startled into a very
+wideawake state. Through half-closed eyes he had seen Sogrange draw a
+sheet of paper from his pocket, a gold pencil from his chain, and
+commence to write. In the middle of a sentence his eyes were abruptly
+lifted. He was looking at the Baroness. Peter, too, turned his head; he
+also looked at the Baroness. Without a doubt she had been watching both
+of them. Sogrange's pencil continued its task, only he traced no more
+characters. Instead, he seemed to be sketching a face, which presently
+he tore carefully up into small pieces and destroyed. He did not even
+glance towards Peter, but Peter understood very well what had happened.
+He had been about to send him a message, but had found the Baroness
+watching. Peter was fully awake now. His faint sense of suspicion had
+deepened into a positive foreboding. He had a reckless desire to stop
+the car, to descend upon the road, and let the secrets of Bernadine go
+where they would. Then his natural love of adventure blazed up once
+more. His moment of weakness had passed. The thrill was in his blood,
+his nerves were tightened. He was ready for what might come, seemingly
+still half asleep, yet indeed with every sense of intuition and
+observation keenly alert.
+
+Sogrange leaned over from his place.
+
+"It is a lonely country, this, into which we are coming, madame," he
+remarked.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, it is not so lonely here as you will think it when we arrive at
+our destination," she replied. "There are houses here, but they are
+hidden by the trees. There are no houses near us."
+
+She rubbed the pane with her hand.
+
+"We are, I believe, very nearly there," she said. "This is the nearest
+village. Afterwards we just climb a hill, and about half a mile along
+the top of it is the High House."
+
+"And the name of the village?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"St. Mary's," she told him. "In the summer people call it beautiful
+around here. To me it is the most melancholy spot I ever saw. There is
+so much rain, and one hears the drip, drip in the trees all the day
+long. Alone I could not bear it. To-morrow or the next day I shall pack
+up my belongings and come to London. I am, unfortunately," she added,
+with a little sigh, "very, very poor, but it is my hope that you may
+find the papers of which I have spoken to you valuable."
+
+Sogrange smiled faintly. Peter and he could scarcely forbear to exchange
+a single glance. The woman's candour was almost brutal.
+
+She read their thoughts.
+
+"We ascend the hill," she continued. "We draw now very near to the end
+of our journey. There is still one thing I would say to you. Do not
+think too badly of me for what I am about to do. To Bernadine, whilst he
+lived, I was faithful. Many a time I could have told you of his plans
+and demanded a great sum of money, and you would have given it me
+willingly, but my lips were sealed because, in a way, I loved him. While
+he lived I gave him what I owed. To-day he is dead, and whatever I do it
+cannot concern him any more. To-day I am a free woman, and I take the
+side I choose."
+
+Sogrange smiled suavely.
+
+"Dear Madame," he replied, "what you have proposed to us is, after all,
+quite natural and very gracious. If one has a fear at all about the
+matter, it is as to the importance of these documents you speak of.
+Bernadine, I know, has dealt in great affairs, but he was a diplomat by
+instinct, experienced and calculating. One does not keep incriminating
+papers."
+
+She leaned a little forward. The car had swung round a corner now and
+was making its way up an avenue as dark as pitch.
+
+"The wisest of us, Monsieur le Marquis," she whispered, "reckon
+sometimes without that one element of sudden death. What should you say,
+I wonder, to a list of agents in France pledged to circulate in certain
+places literature of an infamous sort? What should you say, monsieur, to
+a copy of a secret report of your late man[oe]uvres, franked with the
+name of one of your own staff officers? What should you say," she went
+on, "to a list of Socialist deputies with amounts against their names,
+amounts paid in hard cash? Are these of no importance to you?"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange answered simply, "for such information, if it were
+genuine, it would be hard to mention a price which we should not be
+prepared to pay."
+
+The car came to a sudden standstill. The first impression of the two men
+was that the Baroness had exaggerated the loneliness and desolation of
+the place. There was nothing mysterious or forbidding about the plain
+brown stone house before which they had stopped. The windows were
+streaming with light; the hall door, already thrown open, disclosed a
+very comfortable hall, brilliantly illuminated. A man-servant assisted
+his mistress to alight, another ushered them in. In the background were
+other servants. The Baroness glanced at the clock.
+
+"About dinner, Carl?" she asked.
+
+"It waits for Madame," the man answered.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Take care of these gentlemen till I descend," she ordered. "You will
+not mind?" she added, turning pleadingly to Sogrange. "To-day I have
+eaten nothing. I am faint with hunger. Afterwards, it will be a matter
+of but half an hour. You can be in London again by ten o'clock."
+
+"As you will, madame," Sogrange replied. "We are greatly indebted to you
+for your hospitality. But for costume, you understand that we are as we
+are?"
+
+"It is perfectly understood," she assured him. "For myself, I rejoin you
+in ten minutes. A loose gown, that is all."
+
+Sogrange and Peter were shown into a modern bathroom by a servant who
+was so anxious to wait upon them that they had difficulty in sending him
+away. As soon as he was gone and the door closed behind him, Peter put
+his foot against it and turned the key.
+
+"You were going to write something to me in the car?"
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"There was a moment," he admitted, "when I had a suspicion. It has
+passed. This woman is no Roman. She sells the secrets of Bernadine as
+she would sell herself. Nevertheless, it is well always to be prepared.
+There were probably others beside Bernadine who had the entrée here."
+
+"The only suspicious circumstance which I have noticed," Peter remarked,
+"is the number of men-servants. I have seen five already."
+
+"It is only fair to remember," Sogrange reminded him, "that the Baroness
+herself told us that there were no other save men-servants here and that
+they were all spies. Without a master, I cannot see that they are
+dangerous. One needs, however, to watch all the time."
+
+"If you see anything suspicious," Peter said, "tap the table with your
+forefinger. Personally, I will admit that I have had my doubts of the
+Baroness, but, on the whole, I have come to the conclusion that they
+were groundless. She is not the sort of woman to take up a vendetta,
+especially an unprofitable one."
+
+"She is an exceedingly dangerous person for an impressionable man like
+myself," Sogrange remarked, arranging his tie.
+
+The butler fetched them in a very few moments and showed them into a
+pleasantly furnished library, where he mixed cocktails for them from a
+collection of bottles upon the sideboard. He was quite friendly, and
+inclined to be loquacious, although he spoke with a slight foreign
+accent. The house belonged to an English gentleman, from whom the
+honoured Count had taken it, furnished. They were two miles from a
+station and a mile from the village. It was a lonely part, but there
+were always people coming or going. With one's work one scarcely noticed
+it. He was gratified that the gentlemen found his cocktails so
+excellent. Perhaps he might be permitted the high honour of mixing them
+another? It was a day, this, of deep sadness and gloom. One needed to
+drink something, indeed, to forget the terrible thing which had
+happened. The Count had been a good master, a little impatient
+sometimes, but kind-hearted. The news had been a shock to them all.
+
+Then, before they had expected her, the Baroness reappeared. She wore a
+wonderful grey gown which seemed to be made in a single piece, a gown
+which fitted her tightly, and yet gave her the curious appearance of a
+woman walking without the burden of clothes. Sogrange, Parisian to the
+finger-tips, watched her with admiring approval. She laid her fingers
+upon his arm, although it was towards Peter that her eyes travelled.
+
+"Will you take me in, Marquis?" she begged. "It is the only formality we
+will allow ourselves."
+
+They entered a long, low dining-room, panelled with oak, and with the
+family portraits of the owner of the house still left upon the walls.
+Dinner was served upon a round table, and was laid for four. There was a
+profusion of silver, very beautiful glass, and a wonderful cluster of
+orchids. The Marquis, as he handed his hostess to her chair, glanced
+towards the vacant place.
+
+"It is for my companion, an Austrian lady," she explained. "To-night,
+however, I think that she will not come. She was a distant connection of
+Bernadine's, and she is much upset. We leave her place and see. You will
+sit on my other side, Baron."
+
+The fingers which touched Peter's arm brushed his hand, and were
+withdrawn as though with reluctance. She sank into her chair with a
+little sigh.
+
+"It is charming of you two, this," she declared softly. "You help me
+through this night of solitude and sadness. What I should do if I were
+alone, I cannot tell. You must drink with me a toast, if you will. Will
+you make it to our better acquaintance?"
+
+No soup had been offered, and champagne was served with the _hors
+d'[oe]uvres_. Peter raised his glass, and looked into the eyes of the
+woman who was leaning so closely towards him that her soft breath fell
+upon his cheek. She whispered something in his ear. For a moment,
+perhaps, he was carried away, but for a moment only. Then Sogrange's
+voice and the beat of his forefinger upon the table stiffened him into
+sudden alertness. They heard a motor-car draw up outside.
+
+"Who can it be?" the Baroness exclaimed, setting her glass down
+abruptly.
+
+"It is, perhaps, the other guest who arrives," Sogrange remarked.
+
+They all three listened, Peter and Sogrange with their glasses still
+suspended in the air.
+
+"The other guest?" the Baroness repeated. "Madame von Estenier is
+upstairs, lying down. I cannot tell who this may be."
+
+Her lips were parted. The lines of her forehead had suddenly appeared.
+Her eyes were turned toward the door, hard and bright. Then the glass
+which she had nervously picked up again and was holding between her
+fingers, fell on to the tablecloth with a little crash, and the yellow
+wine ran bubbling on to her plate. Her scream echoed to the roof and
+rang through the room. It was Bernadine who stood there in the doorway,
+Bernadine in a long travelling ulster and the air of one newly arrived
+from a journey. They all three looked at him, but there was not one who
+spoke. The Baroness, after her one wild cry, was dumb.
+
+"I am indeed fortunate," Bernadine said. "You have as yet, I see,
+scarcely commenced. You probably expected me. I am charmed to find so
+agreeable a party awaiting my arrival."
+
+He divested himself of his ulster and threw it across the arm of the
+butler who stood behind him.
+
+"Come," he continued, "for a man who has just been killed in a railway
+accident, I find myself with an appetite. A glass of wine, Carl. I do
+not know what that toast was the drinking of which my coming
+interrupted, but let us all drink it together. Aimée, my love to you,
+dear. Let me congratulate you upon the fortitude and courage with which
+you have ignored those lying reports of my death. I had fears that I
+might find you alone in a darkened room, with tear-stained eyes and
+sal-volatile by your side. This is infinitely better. Gentlemen, you are
+welcome."
+
+Sogrange lifted his glass and bowed courteously. Peter followed suit.
+
+"Really," Sogrange murmured, "the Press nowadays, becomes more
+unreliable every day. It is apparent, my dear von Hern, that this
+account of your death was, to say the least of it, exaggerated."
+
+Peter said nothing. His eyes were fixed upon the Baroness. She sat in
+her chair quite motionless, but her face had become like the face of
+some graven image. She looked at Bernadine, but her eyes said nothing.
+Every glint of expression seemed to have left her features. Since that
+one wild shriek she had remained voiceless. Encompassed by danger though
+he knew that they now must be, Peter found himself possessed by one
+thought and one thought only. Was this a trap into which they had
+fallen, or was the woman, too, deceived?
+
+"You bring later news from Paris than I myself," Sogrange proceeded,
+helping himself to one of the dishes which a footman was passing round.
+"How did you reach the coast? The evening papers stated distinctly that
+since the accident no attempt had been made to run trains."
+
+"By motor-car from Chantilly," Bernadine replied. "I had the misfortune
+to lose my servant, who was wearing my coat, and who, I gather from the
+newspaper reports, was mistaken for me. I myself was unhurt. I hired a
+motor-car and drove to Boulogne--not the best of journeys, let me tell
+you, for we broke down three times. There was no steamer there, but I
+hired a fishing boat, which brought me across the Channel in something
+under eight hours. From the coast I motored direct here. I was so
+anxious," he added, raising his eyes, "to see how my dear friend--my
+dear Aimée--was bearing the terrible news."
+
+She fluttered for a moment like a bird in a trap. Peter drew a little
+sigh of relief. His self-respect was reinstated. He had decided that she
+was innocent. Upon them, at least, would not fall the ignominy of having
+been led into the simplest of traps by this white-faced Delilah. The
+butler had brought her another glass, which she raised to her lips. She
+drained its contents, but the ghastliness of her appearance remained
+unchanged. Peter, watching her, knew the signs. She was sick with
+terror.
+
+"The conditions throughout France are indeed awful," Sogrange remarked.
+"They say, too, that this railway strike is only the beginning of worse
+things."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your country, my dear Marquis," he said, "is on its last legs. No one
+knows better than I that it is, at the present moment, honeycombed with
+sedition and anarchical impulses. The people are rotten. For years the
+whole tone of France has been decadent. Its fall must even now be close
+at hand."
+
+"You take a gloomy view of my country's future," Sogrange declared.
+
+"Why should one refuse to face facts?" Bernadine replied. "One does not
+often talk so frankly, but we three are met together this evening under
+somewhat peculiar circumstances. The days of the glory of France are
+past. England has laid out her neck for the yoke of the conqueror. Both
+are doomed to fall. Both are ripe for the great humiliation. You two
+gentlemen whom I have the honour to receive as my guests," he concluded,
+filling his glass and bowing towards them, "in your present unfortunate
+predicament represent precisely the position of your two countries."
+
+"_Ave Cæsar!_" Peter muttered grimly, raising his glass to his lips.
+
+Bernadine accepted the challenge.
+
+"It is not I, alas! who may call myself Cæsar," he replied, "although it
+is certainly you who are about to die."
+
+Sogrange turned to the man who stood behind his chair.
+
+"If I might trouble you for a little dry toast?" he inquired. "A modern,
+but very uncomfortable, ailment," he added, with a sigh. "One's
+digestion must march with the years, I suppose."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your toast you shall have, with pleasure, Marquis," he said, "but as
+for your indigestion, do not let that trouble you any longer. I think
+that I can promise you immunity from that annoying complaint for the
+rest of your life."
+
+"You are doing your best," Peter declared, leaning back in his chair,
+"to take away my appetite."
+
+Bernadine looked searchingly from one to the other of his two guests.
+
+"Yes," he admitted, "you are brave men. I do not know why I should ever
+have doubted it. Your pose is excellent. I have no wish, however, to see
+you buoyed up by a baseless optimism. A somewhat remarkable chance has
+delivered you into my hands. You are my prisoners. You, Peter Baron de
+Grost, I have hated all my days. You have stood between me and the
+achievement of some of my most dearly cherished tasks. Always I have
+said to myself that the day of reckoning must come. It has arrived. As
+for you, Marquis de Sogrange, if my personal feelings towards you are
+less violent, you still represent the things absolutely inimical to me
+and my interests. The departure of you two men was the one thing
+necessary for the successful completion of certain tasks which I have in
+hand at the present moment."
+
+Peter pushed away his plate.
+
+"You have succeeded in destroying my appetite, Count," he declared. "Now
+that you have gone so far in expounding your amiable resolutions towards
+us, perhaps you will go a little farther and explain exactly how, in
+this eminently respectable house, situated, I understand, in an
+eminently respectable neighbourhood, with a police station within a
+mile, and a dozen or so witnesses as to our present whereabouts, you
+intend to expedite our removal?"
+
+Bernadine pointed towards the woman who sat facing him.
+
+"Ask the Baroness how these things are arranged."
+
+They turned towards her. She fell back in her chair with a little gasp.
+She had fainted. Bernadine shrugged his shoulders. The butler and one of
+the footmen, who during the whole of the conversation had stolidly
+proceeded with their duties, in obedience to a gesture from their
+master, took her up in their arms and carried her from the room.
+
+"The fear has come to her, too," Bernadine murmured softly. "It may come
+to you, my brave friends, before morning."
+
+"It is possible," Peter answered, his hand stealing round to his hip
+pocket, "but in the meantime, what is to prevent----"
+
+The hip pocket was empty. Peter's sentence ended abruptly. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"To prevent your shooting me in cold blood, I suppose," he remarked.
+"Nothing except that my servants are too clever. No one save myself is
+allowed to remain under this roof with arms in their possession. Your
+pocket was probably picked before you had been in the place five
+minutes. No, my dear Baron, let me assure you that escape will not be so
+easy. You were always just a little inclined to be led away by the fair
+sex. The best men in the world, you know, have shared that failing, and
+the Baroness, alone and unprotected, had her attractions, eh?"
+
+Then something happened to Peter which had happened to him barely a
+dozen times in his life. He lost his temper, and lost it rather badly.
+Without an instant's hesitation, he caught up the decanter which stood
+by his side and flung it in his host's face. Bernadine only partly
+avoided it by thrusting out his arms. The neck caught his forehead and
+the blood came streaming over his tie and collar. Peter had followed the
+decanter with a sudden spring. His fingers were upon Bernadine's throat,
+and he thrust his head back. Sogrange sprang to the door to lock it, but
+he was too late. The room seemed full of men-servants. Peter was dragged
+away, still struggling fiercely.
+
+"Tie them up!" Bernadine gasped, swaying in his chair. "Tie them up, do
+you hear? Carl, give me brandy."
+
+He swallowed half a wineglassful of the raw spirit. His eyes were red
+with fury.
+
+"Take them to the gun-room," he ordered, "three of you to each of them,
+mind. I'll shoot the man who lets either escape."
+
+But Peter and Sogrange were both of them too wise to expend any more of
+their strength in a useless struggle. They suffered themselves to be
+conducted without resistance across the white stone hall, down a long
+passage, and into a room at the end, the window and fireplace of which
+were both blocked up. The floor was of red flags and the walls
+whitewashed. The only furniture was a couple of kitchen chairs and a
+long table. The door was of stout oak and fitted with a double lock. The
+sole outlet, so far as they could see, was a small round hole at the top
+of the roof. The door was locked behind them. They were alone.
+
+"The odd trick to Bernadine!" Peter exclaimed hoarsely, wiping a spot of
+blood from his forehead. "My dear Marquis, I scarcely know how to
+apologise. It is not often that I lose my temper so completely."
+
+"The matter seems to be of very little consequence," Sogrange answered.
+"This was probably our intended destination in any case. Seems to be
+rather an unfortunate expedition of ours, I am afraid."
+
+"One cannot reckon upon men coming back from the dead," Peter declared.
+"It isn't often that you find every morning and every evening paper
+mistaken. As for the woman, I believe in her. She honestly meant to sell
+us those papers of Bernadine's. I believe that she, too, will have to
+face a day of reckoning."
+
+Sogrange strolled around the room, subjecting it everywhere to a close
+scrutiny. The result was hopeless. There was no method of escape save
+through the door.
+
+"There is certainly something strange about this apartment," Peter
+remarked. "It is, to say the least of it, unusual to have windows in the
+roof and a door of such proportions. All the same, I think that those
+threats of Bernadine's were a little strained. One cannot get rid of
+one's enemies nowadays in the old-fashioned, melodramatic way. Bernadine
+must know quite well that you and I are not the sort of men to walk into
+a trap of anyone's setting, just as I am quite sure that he is not the
+man to risk even a scandal by breaking the law openly."
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange said. "I begin to suspect that you, too,
+have made some plans."
+
+"But naturally," Peter replied. "Once before Bernadine set a trap for
+me, and he nearly had a chance of sending me for a swim in the Thames.
+Since then one takes precautions as a matter of course. We were followed
+down here, and by this time I should imagine that the alarm is given. If
+all was well I was to have telephoned an hour ago."
+
+"You are really," Sogrange declared, "quite an agreeable companion, my
+dear Baron. You think of everything."
+
+The door was suddenly opened. Bernadine stood upon the threshold and
+behind him several of the servants.
+
+"You will oblige me by stepping back into the study, my friends," he
+ordered.
+
+"With great pleasure," Sogrange answered with alacrity. "We have no
+fancy for this room, I can assure you."
+
+Once more they crossed the stone hall and entered the room into which
+they had first been shown. On the threshold Peter stopped short and
+listened. It seemed to him that from somewhere upstairs he could hear
+the sound of a woman's sobs. He turned to Bernadine.
+
+"The Baroness is not unwell, I trust?" he asked.
+
+"The Baroness is as well as she is likely to be for some time,"
+Bernadine replied grimly.
+
+They were all in the study now. Upon a table stood a telephone
+instrument. Bernadine drew a small revolver from his pocket.
+
+"Baron de Grost," he said, "I find that you are not quite such a fool as
+I thought you. Some one is ringing up for you on the telephone. You will
+reply that you are well and safe, and that you will be home as soon as
+your business here is finished. Your wife is at the other end. If you
+breathe a single word to her of your approaching end, she shall hear
+through the telephone the sound of the revolver shot that sends you to
+hell."
+
+"Dear me," Peter protested, "I find this most unpleasant. If you'll
+excuse me, I don't think I'll answer the call at all."
+
+"You will answer it as I have directed," Bernadine insisted. "Only
+remember this, if you speak a single ill-advised word, the end will be
+as I have said."
+
+Peter picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.
+
+"Who is there?" he asked.
+
+It was Violet whose voice he heard. He listened for a moment to her
+anxious flood of questions.
+
+"There is not the slightest cause to be alarmed, dear," he said. "Yes, I
+am down at the High House, near St. Mary's. Bernadine is here. It seems
+that those reports of his death were absolutely unfounded. Danger?
+Unprotected? Why, my dear Violet, you know how careful I always am.
+Simply because Bernadine used once to live here, and because the
+Baroness was his friend, I spoke to Sir John Dory over the telephone
+before we left, and an escort of half a dozen police followed us. They
+are about the place now, I have no doubt, but their presence is quite
+unnecessary. I shall be home before long, dear. Yes, perhaps it would be
+as well to send the car down. Anyone will direct him to the house--the
+High House, St. Mary's, remember. Good-bye!"
+
+Peter replaced the receiver and turned slowly round. Bernadine was
+smiling.
+
+"You did well to reassure your wife, even though it was a pack of lies
+you told her," he remarked.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "up till now I have tried to take you
+seriously. You are really passing the limit. I must positively ask you
+to reflect a little. Do men who live the life that you and I live trust
+anyone? Am I, is the Marquis de Sogrange here, after a lifetime of
+experience, likely to leave the safety of our homes in company with a
+lady of whom we knew nothing except that she was your companion, without
+precautions? I do you the justice to believe you are a person of common
+sense. I know that we are as safe in this house as we should be in our
+own. War cannot be made in this fashion in an over-policed country like
+England."
+
+"Do not be too sure," Bernadine replied. "There are secrets about this
+house which have not yet been disclosed to you. There are means, my dear
+Baron, of transporting you into a world where you are likely to do much
+less harm than here, means ready at hand which would leave no more trace
+behind than those crumbling ashes can tell of the coal-mine from which
+they came."
+
+Peter preserved his attitude of bland incredulity.
+
+"Listen," he said, drawing a whistle from his pocket, "it is just
+possible that you are in earnest. I will bet you, then, if you like, a
+hundred pounds, that if I blow this whistle you will either have to open
+your door within five minutes or find your house invaded by the police."
+
+No one spoke for several moments. The veins were standing out upon
+Bernadine's forehead.
+
+"We have had enough of this folly," he cried. "If you refuse to realise
+your position, so much the worse for you. Blow your whistle, if you
+will. I am content."
+
+Peter waited for no second bidding. He raised the whistle to his lips
+and blew it, loudly and persistently. Again there was silence. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"Try once more, dear Baron," he advised. "Your friends are perhaps a
+little hard of hearing. Try once more, and when you have finished, you
+and I and the Marquis de Sogrange will find our way once more to the
+gun-room and conclude that trifling matter of business which brought you
+here."
+
+Again Peter blew his whistle and again the silence was broken only by
+Bernadine's laugh. Suddenly, however, that laugh was checked. Everyone
+had turned toward the door, listening. A bell was ringing throughout the
+house.
+
+"It is the front door," one of the servants exclaimed.
+
+No one moved. As though to put the matter beyond doubt, there was a
+steady knocking to be heard from the same direction.
+
+"It is a telegram or some late caller," Bernadine declared, hoarsely.
+"Answer it, Carl. If anyone would speak with the Baroness, she is
+indisposed and unable to receive. If anyone desires me, I am here."
+
+The man left the room. They heard him withdraw the chain from the door.
+Bernadine wiped the sweat from his forehead as he listened. He still
+gripped the revolver in his hand. Peter had changed his position a
+little, and was standing now behind a high-backed chair. They heard the
+door creak open, a voice outside, and presently the tramp of heavy
+footsteps. Peter nodded understandingly.
+
+"It is exactly as I told you," he said. "You were wise not to bet, my
+friend."
+
+Again the tramp of feet in the hall. There was something unmistakable
+about the sound, something final and terrifying. Bernadine saw his
+triumph slipping away. Once more this man, who had defied him so
+persistently, was to taste the sweets of victory. With a roar of fury he
+sprang across the room. He fired his revolver twice before Sogrange,
+with a terrible blow, knocked his arm upwards and sent the weapon
+spinning to the ceiling. Peter struck his assailant in the mouth, but
+the blow seemed scarcely to check him. They rolled on the floor
+together, their arms around one another's necks. It was an affair, that,
+but of a moment. Peter, as lithe as a cat, was on his feet again almost
+at once, with a torn collar and an ugly mark on his face. There were
+strangers in the room now, and the servants had mostly slipped away
+during the confusion. It was Sir John Dory himself who locked the door.
+Bernadine struggled slowly to his feet. He was face to face with half a
+dozen police-constables in plain clothes.
+
+"You have a charge against this man, Baron?" the police commissioner
+asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"The quarrel between us," he replied, "is not for the police courts,
+although I will confess, Sir John, that your intervention was
+opportune."
+
+"I, on the other hand," Sogrange put in, "demand the arrest of the Count
+von Hern and the seizure of all papers in this house. I am the bearer of
+an autograph letter from the President of France in connection with this
+matter. The Count von Hern has committed extraditable offences against
+my country. I am prepared to swear an information to that effect."
+
+The police commissioner turned to Peter.
+
+"Your friend's name?" he demanded.
+
+"The Marquis de Sogrange," Peter told him.
+
+"He is a person of authority?"
+
+"To my certain knowledge," Peter replied, "he has the implicit
+confidence of the French Government."
+
+Sir John Dory made a sign. In another moment Bernadine would have been
+arrested. It seemed, indeed, as though nothing could save him now from
+this crowning humiliation. He himself, white and furious, was at a loss
+how to deal with an unexpected situation. Suddenly a thing happened
+stranger than any one of them there had ever known or dreamed of, so
+strange that even men such as Peter, Sogrange and Dory, whose nerves
+were of iron, faced one another, doubting and amazed. The floor beneath
+them rocked and billowed like the waves of a canvas sea. The windows
+were filled with flashes of red light, a great fissure parted the wall,
+the pictures and bookcases came crashing down beneath a shower of
+masonry. It was the affair of a second. Above them shone the stars and
+around them a noise like thunder. Bernadine, who alone understood, was
+the first to recover himself. He stood in the midst of them, his hands
+above his head, laughing as he looked around at the strange
+storm--laughing like a madman.
+
+"The wonderful Carl!" he cried. "Oh, matchless servant! Arrest me now,
+if you will, you dogs of the police. Rout out my secrets, dear Baron de
+Grost. Tuck them under your arm and hurry to Downing Street. This is the
+hospitality of the High House, my friends. It loves you so well that
+only your ashes shall leave it."
+
+His mouth was open for another sentence when he was struck. A whole
+pillar of marble from one of the rooms above came crashing through and
+buried him underneath a falling shower of masonry. Peter escaped by a
+few inches. Those who were left unhurt sprang through the yawning wall
+out into the garden. Sir John, Sogrange, Peter, and three of the
+men--one limping badly, came to a standstill in the middle of the lawn.
+Before them the house was crumbling like a pack of cards, and louder
+even than the thunder of the falling structures was the roar of the red
+flames.
+
+"The Baroness!" Peter cried, and took one leap forward.
+
+"I am here," she sobbed, running to them from out of the shadows. "I
+have lost everything--my jewels, my clothes, all except what I have on.
+They gave me but a moment's warning."
+
+"Is there anyone else in the house?" Peter demanded.
+
+"No one but you who were in that room," she answered.
+
+"Your companion?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"There was no companion," she faltered. "I thought it sounded better to
+speak of her. I had her place laid at table, but she never even
+existed."
+
+Peter tore off his coat.
+
+"There are the others in the room!" he exclaimed. "We must go back."
+
+Sogrange caught him by the shoulder and pointed to a shadowy group some
+distance away.
+
+"We are all out but Bernadine," he said. "For him there is no hope.
+Quick!"
+
+They sprang back only just in time. The outside wall of the house fell
+with a terrible crash. The room which they had quitted was now blotted
+out of existence. It was not long before, from right and left, in all
+directions along the country road, came the flashing of lights and
+little knots of hurrying people.
+
+"It is the end!" Peter muttered. "Yesterday I should have regretted the
+passing of a brave enemy. To-day I hail with joy the death of a brute."
+
+The Baroness, who had been sitting upon a garden seat, sobbing, came
+softly up to them. She laid her fingers upon Peter's arm imploringly.
+
+"You will not leave me friendless?" she begged. "The papers I promised
+you are destroyed, but many of his secrets are here."
+
+She tapped her forehead.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I have no wish to know them. Years ago I
+swore that the passing of Bernadine should mark my own retirement from
+the world in which we both lived. I shall keep my word. To-night
+Bernadine is dead. To-night, Sogrange, my work is finished."
+
+The Baroness began to sob again.
+
+"And I thought that you were a man," she moaned, "so gallant, so
+honourable----"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange intervened, "I shall commend you to the pension list
+of the Double Four."
+
+She dried her eyes.
+
+"It is not money only I want," she whispered, her eyes following Peter.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"You have never seen the Baroness de Grost?" he asked her.
+
+"But no!"
+
+"Ah!" Sogrange murmured. "Our escort, madame, is at your service--so far
+as London."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Double Four, by E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 28091-8.txt or 28091-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/0/9/28091/
+
+Produced by D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/28091-8.zip b/old/28091-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ca2328
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/28091-8.zip
diff --git a/old/28091.txt b/old/28091.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ac4daa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/28091.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8454 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Double Four, by E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Double Four
+
+Author: E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+Release Date: February 15, 2009 [EBook #28091]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+                         By E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+
+CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD
+London, New York, Toronto & Melbourne
+First published _September 1911_.
+_Reprinted October 1911_.
+Shilling Edition _April 1913_.
+_Reprinted February 1917_.
+
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ 1. THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+ 2. THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+ 3. THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+ 4. THE FIRST SHOT
+
+ 5. THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+ 6. THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+ 7. THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+ 8. AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+ 9. THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+10. THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+
+
+THE DOUBLE FOUR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DESIRE OF MADAME
+
+
+     "_It is the desire of Madame that you should join our circle here
+     on Thursday evening next, at ten o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The man looked up from the sheet of notepaper which he held in his hand,
+and gazed through the open French windows before which he was standing.
+It was a very pleasant and very peaceful prospect. There was his croquet
+lawn, smooth-shaven, the hoops neatly arranged, the chalk mark firm and
+distinct upon the boundary. Beyond, the tennis court, the flower
+gardens, and to the left the walled fruit garden. A little farther away
+was the paddock and orchard, and a little farther still the farm, which
+for the last four years had been the joy of his life. His meadows were
+yellow with buttercups; a thin line of willows showed where the brook
+wound its lazy way through the bottom fields. It was a home, this, in
+which a man could well lead a peaceful life, could dream away his days
+to the music of the west wind, the gurgling stream, the song of birds,
+and the low murmuring of insects. Peter Ruff stood like a man turned to
+stone, for even as he looked these things passed away from before his
+eyes, the roar of the world beat in his ears--the world of intrigue, of
+crime, the world where the strong man hewed his way to power, and the
+weaklings fell like corn before the sickle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"_It is the desire of Madame!_"
+
+Peter Ruff clenched his fists as he read the words once more. It was a
+message from a world every memory of which had been deliberately
+crushed--a world, indeed, in which he had seemed no longer to hold any
+place. He was Peter Ruff, Esquire, of Aynesford Manor, in the County of
+Somerset. It could not be for him, this strange summons.
+
+The rustle of a woman's soft draperies broke in upon his reverie. He
+turned round with his usual morning greeting upon his lips. She was,
+without doubt, a most beautiful woman: petite, and well moulded, with
+the glow of health in her eyes and on her cheeks. She came smiling to
+him--a dream of muslin and pink ribbons.
+
+"Another forage bill, my dear Peter?" she demanded, passing her arm
+through his. "Put it away and admire my new morning gown. It came
+straight from Paris, and you will have to pay a great deal of money for
+it."
+
+He pulled himself together--he had no secrets from his wife.
+
+"Listen," he said, and read aloud:
+
+     "_Rue de St. Quintaine, Paris._
+
+     "DEAR MR. RUFF,--_It is a long time since we had the
+     pleasure of a visit from you. It is the desire of Madame that you
+     should join our circle here on Thursday evening next, at ten
+     o'clock._--SOGRANGE."
+
+Violet was a little perplexed. She failed, somehow, to recognise the
+sinister note underlying those few sentences.
+
+"It sounds friendly enough," she remarked. "You are not obliged to go,
+of course."
+
+Peter Ruff smiled grimly.
+
+"Yes, it sounds all right," he admitted.
+
+"They won't expect you to take any notice of it, surely?" she continued.
+"When you bought this place, Peter, you gave them definitely to
+understand that you had retired into private life, that all these things
+were finished with you."
+
+"There are some things," Peter Ruff said slowly, "which are never
+finished."
+
+"But you resigned," she reminded him. "I remember your letter
+distinctly."
+
+"From the Double Four," he answered, "no resignation is recognised save
+death. I did what I could, and they accepted my explanations gracefully
+and without comment. Now that the time has come, however, when they
+need, or think they need, my help, you see they do not hesitate to claim
+it."
+
+"You will not go, Peter? You will not think of going?" she begged.
+
+He twisted the letter between his fingers and sat down to his breakfast.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not go."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That morning Peter Ruff spent upon his farm, looking over his stock,
+examining some new machinery, and talking crops with his bailiff. In the
+afternoon he played his customary round of golf. It was the sort of day
+which, as a rule, he found completely satisfactory, yet, somehow or
+other, a certain sense of weariness crept in upon him towards its close.
+The agricultural details in which he was accustomed to take so much
+interest had fallen a little flat. He even found himself wondering,
+after one of his best drives, whether it was well for the mind of a man
+to be so utterly engrossed by the flight of that small white ball
+towards its destination. More than once lately, despite his half-angry
+rejection of them, certain memories, half-wistful, half-tantalising,
+from the world of which he now saw so little, had forced their way in
+upon his attention. This morning the lines of that brief note seemed to
+stand out before him all the time with a curious vividness. In a way he
+played the hypocrite to himself. He professed to have found that summons
+disturbing and unwelcome, yet his thoughts were continually occupied
+with it. He knew well that what would follow was inevitable, but he made
+no sign.
+
+Two days later he received another letter. This time it was couched in
+different terms. On a square card, at the top of which was stamped a
+small coronet, he read as follows:
+
+     "_Madame de Maupassim at home, Saturday evening, May 2nd, at ten
+     o'clock._"
+
+In small letters at the bottom left-hand corner were added the words:
+
+     "_To meet friends._"
+
+Peter Ruff put the card upon the fire and went out for a morning's
+rabbit shooting with his keeper. When he returned, luncheon was ready,
+but Violet was absent. He rang the bell.
+
+"Where is your mistress, Jane?" he asked the parlourmaid.
+
+The girl had no idea. Mrs. Ruff had left for the village several hours
+ago. Since then she had not been seen.
+
+Peter Ruff ate his luncheon alone and understood. The afternoon wore on,
+and at night he travelled up to London. He knew better than to waste
+time by purposeless inquiries. Instead he took the nine o'clock train
+the next morning to Paris.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a chamber of death into which he was ushered--dismal, yet, of its
+sort, unique, marvellous. The room itself might have been the sleeping
+apartment of an Empress--lofty, with white panelled walls adorned simply
+with gilded lines; with high windows, closely curtained now so that
+neither sound nor the light of day might penetrate into the room. In the
+middle of the apartment, upon a canopy bedstead which had once adorned a
+king's palace, lay Madame de Maupassim. Her face was already touched
+with the finger of death, yet her eyes were undimmed and her lips
+unquivering. Her hands, covered with rings, lay out before her upon the
+lace coverlid. Supported by many pillows, she was issuing her last
+instructions with the cold precision of the man of affairs who makes the
+necessary arrangements for a few days' absence from his business.
+
+Peter Ruff, who had not even been allowed sufficient time to change his
+travelling clothes, was brought without hesitation to her bedside. She
+looked at him in silence for a moment with a cold glitter in her eyes.
+
+"You are four days late, Monsieur Peter Ruff," she remarked. "Why did
+you not obey your first summons?"
+
+"Madame," he answered, "I thought that there must be a misunderstanding.
+Four years ago I gave notice to the council that I had married and
+retired into private life. A country farmer is of no further use to the
+world."
+
+The woman's thin lip curled.
+
+"From death and the Double Four," she said, "there is no resignation
+which counts. You are as much our creature to-day as I am the creature
+of the disease which is carrying me across the threshold of death."
+
+Peter Ruff remained silent. The woman's words seemed full of dread
+significance. Besides, how was it possible to contradict the dying?
+
+"It is upon the unwilling of the world," she continued, speaking slowly,
+yet with extraordinary distinctness, "that its greatest honours are
+often conferred. The name of my successor has been balloted for
+secretly. It is you, Peter Ruff, who have been chosen."
+
+This time he was silent, because he was literally bereft of words. This
+woman was dying, and fancying strange things! He looked from one to the
+other of the stern, pale faces of those who were gathered around her
+bedside. Seven of them there were--the same seven. At that moment their
+eyes were all focused upon him. Peter Ruff shrank back.
+
+"Madame," he murmured, "this cannot be."
+
+Her lips twitched as though she would have smiled.
+
+"What we have decided," she said, "we have decided. Nothing can alter
+that--not even the will of Mr. Peter Ruff."
+
+"I have been out of the world for four years," Peter Ruff protested. "I
+have no longer ambitions, no longer any desire----"
+
+"You lie!" the woman interrupted. "You lie, or you do yourself an
+injustice! We gave you four years, and, looking into your face, I think
+that it has been enough. I think that the weariness is there already. In
+any case, the charge which I lay upon you in these, my last moments, is
+one which you can escape by death only!"
+
+A low murmur of voices from those others repeated her words.
+
+"By death only!"
+
+Peter Ruff opened his lips, but closed them again without speech. A wave
+of emotion seemed passing through the room. Something strange was
+happening. It was Death itself which had come amongst them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A morning journalist wrote of the death of Madame eloquently and with
+feeling. She had been a broadminded aristocrat, a woman of brilliant
+intellect and great friendships, a woman of whose inner life during the
+last ten or fifteen years little was known, yet who, in happier times,
+might well have played a great part in the history of her country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Peter Ruff drove back from the cemetery with the Marquis de Sogrange,
+and for the first time since the death of Madame serious subjects were
+spoken of.
+
+"I have waited patiently," he declared, "but there are limits. I want my
+wife."
+
+Sogrange took him by the arm and led him into the library of the house
+in the Rue de St. Quintaine. The six men who were already there waiting
+rose to their feet.
+
+"Gentlemen," the Marquis said, "is it your will that I should be
+spokesman?"
+
+There was a murmur of assent. Then Sogrange turned towards his
+companion, and something new seemed to have crept into his manner--a
+solemn, almost threatening note.
+
+"Peter Ruff," he continued, "you have trifled with the one organisation
+in this world which has never allowed itself to have liberties taken
+with it or to be defied. Men who have done greater service than you have
+died for the disobedience of a day. You have been treated leniently,
+accordingly to the will of Madame. According to her will, and in
+deference to the position which you must now take up amongst us, we
+still treat you as no other has ever been treated by us. The Double Four
+admits your leadership and claims you for its own."
+
+"I am not prepared to discuss anything of the sort," Peter Ruff declared
+doggedly, "until my wife is restored to me."
+
+The Marquis smiled.
+
+"The traditions of your race, Mr. Ruff," he said, "are easily manifest
+in you. Now, hear our decision. Your wife shall be restored to you on
+the day when you take up this position to which you have become
+entitled. Sit down and listen."
+
+Peter Ruff was a rebel at heart, but he felt the grip of iron.
+
+"During these four years when you, my friend, have been growing turnips
+and shooting your game, events in the world have marched, new powers
+have come into being, a new page of history has been opened. As
+everything which has good at the heart evolves toward the good, so we of
+the Double Four have lifted our great enterprise on to a higher plane.
+The world of criminals is still at our beck and call, we still claim the
+right to draw the line between moral theft and immoral honesty; but
+to-day the Double Four is concerned with greater things. Within the four
+walls of this room, within the hearing of these my brothers, whose
+fidelity is as sure as the stones of Paris, I tell you a splendid
+secret. The Government of our country has craved for our aid and the aid
+of our organisation. It is no longer the wealth of the world alone which
+we may control, but the actual destinies of nations."
+
+"What I suppose you mean to say is," Peter Ruff remarked, "that you've
+been going in for politics?"
+
+"You put it crudely, my English bulldog," Sogrange answered, "but you
+are right. We are occupied now by affairs of international importance.
+More than once during the last few months ours has been the hand which
+has changed the policy of an empire."
+
+"Most interesting," Peter Ruff declared, "but so far as I personally am
+concerned----"
+
+"Listen," the Marquis interrupted. "Not a hundred yards from the French
+Embassy in London there is waiting for you a house and servants no less
+magnificent than the Embassy itself. You will become the ambassador in
+London of the Double Four, titular head of our association, a personage
+whose power is second to none in your marvellous city. I do not address
+words of caution to you, my friend, because we have satisfied ourselves
+as to your character and capacity before we consented that you should
+occupy your present position. But I ask you to remember this: the will
+of Madame lives even beyond the grave. The spirit which animated her
+when alive breathes still in all of us. In London you will wield a great
+power. Use it for the common good. And remember this: the Double Four
+has never failed, the Double Four can never fail."
+
+"I am glad to hear you are so confident," Peter Ruff said. "Of course,
+if I have to take this thing on I shall do my best; but, if I might
+venture to allude for a moment to anything so trifling as my own
+domestic affairs, I am very anxious to know about my wife."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You will find Mrs. Ruff awaiting you in London," he announced. "Your
+address is Merton House, Berkeley Square."
+
+"When do I go there?" Peter Ruff asked.
+
+"To-night," was the answer.
+
+"And what do I do when I get there?" he persisted.
+
+"For three days," the Marquis told him, "you will remain indoors and
+give audience to whomever may come to you. At the end of that time, you
+will understand a little more of our purpose and our objects--perhaps
+even of our power."
+
+"I see difficulties," Peter Ruff remarked. "My name, you see, is
+uncommon."
+
+Sogrange drew a document from the breast pocket of his coat.
+
+"When you leave this house to-night," he proclaimed, "we bid good-bye
+for ever to Mr. Peter Ruff. You will find in this envelope the
+title-deeds of a small property which is our gift to you. Henceforth you
+will be known by the name and the title of your estates."
+
+"Title!" Peter Ruff gasped.
+
+"You will reappear in London," Sogrange continued, "as the Baron de
+Grost."
+
+Peter Ruff shook his head.
+
+"It won't do," he declared. "People will find me out."
+
+"There is nothing to be found out," the Marquis went on, a little
+wearily. "Your country life has dulled your wits, Baron. The title and
+the name are justly yours--they go with the property. For the rest, the
+history of your family, and of your career up to the moment when you
+enter Merton House to-night, will be inside this packet. You can peruse
+it upon the journey, and remember that we can at all times bring a
+hundred witnesses, if necessary, to prove that you are whom you declare
+yourself to be. When you get to Charing Cross, do not forget that it
+will be the carriage and servants of the Baron de Grost which await
+you."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I suppose I shall get used to it."
+
+"Naturally," Sogrange answered. "For the moment, we are passing through
+a quiet time, necessitated by the mortal illness of Madame. You will be
+able to spend the next few weeks in getting used to your new position.
+You will have a great many callers, inspired by us, who will see that
+you make the right acquaintances and that you join the right clubs. At
+the same time, let me warn you always to be ready. There is trouble
+brooding just now all over Europe. In one way or another we may become
+involved at any moment. The whole machinery of our society will be
+explained to you by your secretary. You will find him already installed
+at Merton House. A glass of wine, Baron, before you leave?"
+
+Peter Ruff glanced at the clock.
+
+"There are my things to pack," he began.
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"Your valet is already on the front seat of the automobile which is
+waiting," he remarked. "You will find him attentive and trustworthy. The
+clothes which you brought with you we have taken the liberty of
+dispensing with. You will find others in your trunk, and at Merton House
+you can send for any tailor you choose. One toast, Baron. We drink to
+the Double Four--to the great cause!"
+
+There was a murmur of voices. Sogrange lifted once more his glass.
+
+"May Peter Ruff rest in peace!" he said. "We drink to his ashes. We
+drink long life and prosperity to the Baron de Grost!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Marquis alone attended his guest to the station. They walked up and
+down the long platform of the Gare du Nord, Sogrange talking most of the
+time in an undertone, for there were many things which he yet had to
+explain. There came a time, however, when his grip upon his companion's
+arm suddenly tightened. They were passing a somewhat noticeable little
+group--a tall, fair man, with close-shaven hair and military moustache,
+dressed in an English travelling suit and Homburg hat, and by his side a
+very brilliant young woman, whose dark eyes, powdered face, and
+marvellous toilette rendered her a trifle conspicuous. In the background
+were a couple of servants.
+
+"The Count von Hern-Bernadine!" the Marquis whispered.
+
+Peter glanced at him for a moment as they passed.
+
+"Bernadine, without a doubt!" he exclaimed. "And his companion?"
+
+"Mademoiselle Delucie, from the _Comedie Francaise_," the Marquis
+replied. "It is just like Bernadine to bring her here. He likes to
+parade the ostensible cause for his visit to Paris. It is all bluff. He
+cares little for the ladies of the theatre, or any other woman, except
+when he can make tools of them. He is here just now----"
+
+The Marquis paused. Peter looked at him interrogatively.
+
+"Why?" he asked.
+
+"Because you are here," the Marquis affirmed. "Baron, I meant to speak
+to you about that man before we parted. There is no great work done
+without difficulties. The greatest difficulty you will have to face in
+your new life is that man. It is very possible that you may find within
+the course of a few months that your whole career, your very life, has
+developed into a duel _a outrance_ with him."
+
+They had turned again, and were once more in sight of the little group.
+Bernadine had thrown a loose overcoat over his tweed travelling clothes,
+and with a cigarette between his fingers was engaged in deferential
+conversation with the woman by his side. His servant stood discreetly in
+the background, talking to the other domestic--a sombrely clad young
+person carrying a flat jewel-case, obviously the maid of the young
+Frenchwoman.
+
+"He is taking her across," the Marquis remarked. "It is not often that
+he travels like this. Perhaps he has heard that you are susceptible, my
+friend."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The game is too young yet!" he declared.
+
+"It is never too young for Bernadine to take a hand," the Marquis
+replied grimly. "Listen, de Grost. Bernadine will probably try to make
+friends with you. You may think it wise to accept his advances, you may
+believe that you can guard your own secrets in his company; perhaps,
+even, that you may learn his. Do not try it, my friend. You have
+received the best proof possible that we do not underrate your
+abilities, but there is no other man like Bernadine. I would not trust
+myself alone with him."
+
+"You are taking it for granted," Peter interposed, "that our interests
+must be at all times inimical."
+
+The Marquis laid his hand upon the other's arm.
+
+"My friend," he said, "there are interests which are sometimes elastic,
+_rapprochements_ which may vary between chilly friendliness and a
+certain intimacy. But between the interests of the Double Four and the
+interests represented by that young man there yawns the deepest gulf
+which you or any other man could conceive. Bernadine represents the
+Teuton--muscle and bone and sinew. He is German to the last drop of his
+heart's blood. Never undervalue him, I beseech you. He is not only a
+wonderful politician: he is a man of action, grim, unbending, unswerving
+as a man may be whose eyes are steadfastly fixed upon one goal. The
+friendships of France may sometimes change, but her one great enmity
+never. Bernadine represents that enmity. According to the measure of
+your success, so you will find him placid or venomous. Think of yourself
+as a monk, dear Baron, and Bernadine as the Devil Incarnate. From him
+there is safety only in absence."
+
+Peter smiled as he shook hands with his companion and climbed into the
+train.
+
+"At any rate," he said, "I have been warned."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the journey to Boulogne, at least, the repeated warnings of the
+Marquis seemed quite unnecessary. Bernadine and his companion remained
+in their engaged carriage, and de Grost, who dined in the restaurant car
+and sauntered once or twice along the corridors, saw nothing of them. At
+Boulogne they stayed in their carriage until the rush on to the boat was
+over, and it was not until they were half-way across the Channel that
+Peter felt suddenly an arm thrust through his as he leaned over the rail
+on the upper deck. He moved instinctively away from the vessel's side, a
+proceeding which seemed to afford some amusement to the man who had
+accosted him.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," said Bernadine, "let me be the first to
+congratulate you upon your new dignity."
+
+"Very kind of you, I am sure, Count von Hern," Peter answered.
+
+"Bernadine to you, my friend," the other protested. "So you have come
+once more into the great game?"
+
+Peter remained silent. His features had assumed an expression of gentle
+inquiry.
+
+"Once more I congratulate you," Bernadine continued. "In the old days
+you were shrewd and successful in your small undertakings, but you were,
+after all, little more than a policeman. To-day you stand for other
+things."
+
+"Monsieur le Comte talks in enigmas," Peter murmured.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Cautious as ever!" he exclaimed. "Ah, my dear Baron, you amuse me, you
+and the elegant Sogrange--Sogrange, who will pull the strings to which
+you must dance. Do you think that I did not see you both upon the
+platform, gazing suspiciously at me? Do you think that I did not hear
+the words of warning you received as clearly as though I had been
+standing by your side? 'It is Bernadine!' Sogrange whispers. 'Bernadine
+and Mademoiselle Delucie--a dangerous couple! Have a care, Monsieur le
+Baron!' Oh, that is what passed, without a doubt! So when you take your
+place in the train you wrap yourself in an armour of isolation; you are
+ready all the time to repel some deep-laid scheme, you are relieved to
+discover that, so far, at any rate, this terrible Bernadine and his
+beautiful travelling companion have not forced themselves upon you. Is
+it not so?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"It is the south wind," he remarked, "which carries us across so quickly
+to-night."
+
+"The south wind, without a doubt," Bernadine assented politely. "Dear
+Baron, my congratulations are sincere. No one can come into the
+battlefield, the real battlefield of life, without finding enemies there
+waiting for him. You and I represent different causes. When our
+interests clash, I shall not try to throw you off a Channel boat, or to
+buy you with a cheque, or to hand you over to the tender mercies of the
+beautiful Mademoiselle Delucie. Until then, have no fear, my British
+friend. I shall not even ask you to drink with me, for I know that you
+would look suspiciously into the tumbler. _Au revoir_, and good
+fortune!"
+
+Bernadine passed into the shadows and sank into a steamer chair by the
+side of his travelling companion. Peter continued his lonely walk, his
+hands thrust deep into the pockets of his overcoat, his eyes fixed upon
+the Folkestone lights, becoming every moment clearer and clearer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At Charing Cross all was as Sogrange had indicated. His servant remained
+to look after the luggage, a tall footman conducted him towards a
+magnificent automobile. Then, indeed, he forgot Bernadine and all this
+new stir of life--forgot everything in a sudden rush of joy. It was
+Violet who leaned forward to greet him--Violet, looking her best, and
+altogether at her ease amongst this new splendour.
+
+"Welcome, Monsieur le Baron!" she whispered as he took his place by her
+side.
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, closely.
+
+"I always knew," he murmured, "that you hankered after a title."
+
+"Such a snob, aren't I!" she exclaimed. "Never mind, you wait!"
+
+They were moving rapidly westward now. A full moon was shining down upon
+the city, the streets were thronged with pedestrians and a block of
+vehicles. The Carlton was all ablaze. In the softening light Pall Mall
+had become a stately thoroughfare, the Haymarket and Regent Street
+picturesque with moving throngs, a stream of open cabs, women in cool
+evening dresses, men without hats or overcoats, on their way from the
+theatres. It was a vivid, almost a fascinating little picture. Peter
+caught a glimpse of his wife's face as she looked upon it.
+
+"I believe," he whispered, "that you are glad."
+
+She turned upon him with a wonderful smile, the light flashing in her
+eyes.
+
+"Glad! Oh, Peter, of course I am glad! I hated the country; I pined and
+longed for life. Couldn't you see it, dear? Now we are back in it
+again--back amongst the big things. Peter, dear, you were never meant to
+shoot rabbits and play golf, to grow into the likeness of those awful
+people who think of nothing but sport and rural politics and their
+neighbours' weaknesses! The man who throws life away before he has done
+with it, dear, is a wastrel. Be thankful that it's back again in your
+hands--be thankful, as I am!"
+
+He sighed, and with that sigh went all his regrets for the life which
+had once seemed to him so greatly to be desired. He recognised in those
+few seconds the ignominy of peace.
+
+"There is not the slightest doubt about it," he admitted, "I do make
+mistakes."
+
+The automobile came to a standstill before the portico of an imposing
+mansion at the corner of Berkeley Square.
+
+"We are home!" Violet whispered. "Try to look as though you were used to
+it all!"
+
+A grave-faced major-domo was already upon the steps. In the hall was a
+vision of more footmen in quiet but impressive livery. Violet entered
+with an air of familiarity. Peter, with one last sigh, followed her.
+There was something significant to him in that formal entrance into his
+new and magnificent home. Outside, Peter Ruff seemed somewhere to have
+vanished into thin air. It was the Baron de Grost who had entered into
+his body--the Baron de Grost with a ready-made present, a fictitious
+past, a momentous future.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
+
+
+Alone in his study, with fast-locked door, Baron de Grost sat reading
+word by word with zealous care the dispatch from Paris which had just
+been delivered into his hands. From the splendid suite of
+reception-rooms which occupied the whole of the left-hand side of the
+hall, came the faint sound of music. The street outside was filled with
+automobiles and carriages setting down their guests. Madame was
+receiving to-night a gathering of very distinguished men and women, and
+it was only on very urgent business indeed that her husband had dared to
+leave her side.
+
+The room in which he sat was in darkness except for the single heavily
+shaded electric lamp which stood by his elbow. Peter was wearing Court
+dress, with immaculate black silk stockings, and diamond buckles upon
+his shoes. A red ribbon was in his button-hole and a French order hung
+from his neck. His passion for clothes was certainly amply ministered to
+by the exigencies of his new position. Once more he read those last few
+words of this unexpectedly received dispatch--read them with a frown
+upon his forehead and the light of trouble in his eyes. For three months
+he had done nothing but live the life of an ordinary man of fashion and
+wealth. His first task--for which, to tell the truth, he had been
+anxiously waiting--was here before him, and he found it little to his
+liking. Again he read slowly to himself the last paragraph of Sogrange's
+letter:--
+
+     "_As ever, dear friend, one of the greatest sayings which the men
+     of my race have ever perpetrated, once more justifies itself,
+     'Cherchez la femme!' Of monsieur we have no manner of doubt; we
+     have tested him in every way. And, to all appearance, madame should
+     also be above suspicion. Yet those things of which I have spoken
+     have happened. For two hours this morning I was closeted with Picon
+     here. Very reluctantly he has placed the matter in my hands. I pass
+     it on to you. It is your first undertaking, cher Baron, and I wish
+     you bon fortune. A man of gallantry, as I know you are, you may
+     regret that it should be a woman--and a beautiful woman,
+     too--against whom the finger must be pointed. Yet, after all, the
+     fates are strong and the task is yours._--SOGRANGE."
+
+The music from the reception-rooms grew louder and more insistent. Peter
+rose to his feet, and, moving to the fireplace, struck a match and
+carefully destroyed the letter which he had been reading. Then he
+straightened himself, glanced for a moment at the mirror, and left the
+room to join his guests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur le Baron jests," the lady murmured. Peter shook his head.
+
+"Indeed, no, madame!" he answered earnestly. "France has offered us
+nothing more delightful in the whole history of our _entente_ than the
+loan of yourself and your brilliant husband. Monsieur de Lamborne makes
+history amongst us politically, whilst madame----"
+
+Peter sighed, and his companion leaned a little towards him. Her dark
+eyes were full of sentimental regard.
+
+"Yes?" she whispered. "Continue. It is my wish."
+
+"I am the good friend of Monsieur de Lamborne," Peter said, and in his
+tone there seemed to lurk some far-away touch of regret, "yet madame
+knows that her conquests here have been many."
+
+The ambassador's wife fanned herself and remained silent for a moment, a
+faint smile playing at the corners of her full, curving lips. She was
+indeed a very beautiful woman--elegant, a Parisian to the finger-tips,
+with pale cheeks but eyes dark and soft; eyes trained to her service,
+whose flash was an inspiration, whose very droop had set beating the
+hearts of men less susceptible than the Baron de Grost. Her gown was
+magnificent, of amber satin--a colour daring but splendid; the outline
+of her figure as she leaned slightly back in her seat might indeed have
+been traced by the inspired finger of some great sculptor. Peter, whose
+reputation as a man of gallantry was well established, felt the whole
+charm of her presence--felt, too, the subtle indications of preference
+which she seemed inclined to accord to him. There was nothing which eyes
+could say which hers were not saying during those few minutes. Peter,
+indeed, glanced around a little nervously. His wife had still her
+moments of unreasonableness; it was just as well that she was engaged
+with a party of her guests at the farther end of the apartments!
+
+"You are trying to turn my head," his beautiful companion whispered.
+"You flatter me."
+
+"It is not possible," he answered.
+
+Again the fan fluttered.
+
+"Ah, monsieur," she continued, dropping her voice until it scarcely rose
+above a whisper, "there are not many men like you. You speak of my
+husband and his political gifts. Yet, what, after all, do they amount
+to? What is his position, indeed, if one glanced behind the scenes,
+compared with yours?"
+
+The face of the Baron de Grost became like a mask. It was as though
+suddenly he had felt the thrill of danger close at hand--danger even in
+that scented atmosphere wherein he sat.
+
+"Alas, madame!" he answered, "it is you now who are pleased to jest.
+Your husband is a great and powerful ambassador. I, unfortunately, have
+no career, no place in life, save the place which the possession of a
+few millions gives to a successful financier."
+
+She laughed very softly, and again her eyes spoke to him.
+
+"Monsieur," she murmured, "you and I together could make a great
+alliance; is it not so?"
+
+"Madame," he faltered doubtfully, "if one dared hope----"
+
+Once more the fire of her eyes, this time not only voluptuous. Was the
+man stupid or only cautious?
+
+"If that alliance were once concluded," she said softly, "one might hope
+for everything."
+
+"If it rests only with me," he began seriously, "oh, madame!"
+
+He seemed overcome. Madame was gracious; but was he really stupid or
+only very much in earnest?
+
+"To be one of the world's money kings," she whispered, "it is wonderful,
+that. It is power--supreme, absolute power! There is nothing
+beyond--there is nothing greater."
+
+Then Peter, who was watching her closely, caught another gleam in her
+eyes, and he began to understand. He had seen it before amongst a
+certain type of her countrywomen--the greed of money. He looked at her
+jewels, and he remembered that, for an ambassador, her husband was
+reputed to be a poor man. The cloud of misgiving passed away from him;
+he settled down to the game.
+
+"If money could only buy the desire of one's heart!" he murmured.
+"Alas!"
+
+His eyes seemed to seek out Monsieur de Lamborne amongst the moving
+throngs. She laughed softly, and her hand brushed his.
+
+"Money and one other thing, Monsieur le Baron," she whispered in his
+ear, "can buy the jewels from a crown--can buy even the heart of a
+woman."
+
+A movement of approaching guests caught them up and parted them for a
+time. The Baroness de Grost was at home from ten till one, and her rooms
+were crowded. Peter found himself drawn on one side a few minutes later
+by Monsieur de Lamborne himself.
+
+"I have been looking for you, de Grost," the latter declared. "Where can
+we talk for a moment?"
+
+His host took the ambassador by the arm and led him into a retired
+corner. Monsieur de Lamborne was a tall, slight man, somewhat
+cadaverous-looking, with large features, hollow eyes, thin but carefully
+arranged grey hair, and a pointed grey beard. He wore a frilled shirt,
+and an eyeglass suspended by a broad, black ribbon hung down upon his
+chest. His face, as a rule, was imperturbable enough, but he had the air
+just now of a man greatly disturbed.
+
+"We cannot be overheard here," Peter remarked. "It must be an affair of
+a few words only, though."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne wasted no time in preliminaries.
+
+"This afternoon," he said, "I received from my Government papers of
+immense importance, which I am to hand over to your Foreign Minister at
+eleven o'clock to-morrow morning."
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Well?"
+
+De Lamborne's thin fingers trembled as they played nervously with the
+ribbon of his eyeglass.
+
+"Listen," he continued, dropping his voice a little. "Bernadine has
+undertaken to send a copy of their contents to Berlin by to-morrow
+night's mail."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+The ambassador hesitated.
+
+"We, too, have spies at work," he remarked grimly. "Bernadine wrote and
+sent a messenger with the letter to Berlin. The man's body is drifting
+down the Channel, but the letter is in my pocket."
+
+"The letter from Bernadine?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What does he say?"
+
+"Simply that a verbatim copy of the document in question will be
+dispatched to Berlin to-morrow evening without fail," replied the
+ambassador.
+
+"There are no secrets between us," Peter declared, smoothly. "What is
+the special importance of this document?"
+
+De Lamborne shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Since you ask," he said, "I tell you. You know of the slight coolness
+which there has been between our respective Governments? Our people have
+felt that the policy of your Ministers in expending all their energies
+and resources in the building of a great fleet, to the utter neglect of
+your army, is a wholly one-sided arrangement, so far as we are
+concerned. In the event of a simultaneous attack by Germany upon France
+and England, you would be utterly powerless to render us any measure of
+assistance. If Germany should attack England alone, it is the wish of
+your Government that we should be pledged to occupy Alsace-Lorraine.
+You, on the other hand, could do nothing for us if Germany's first move
+were made against France."
+
+Peter was deeply interested, although the matter was no new one to him.
+
+"Go on," he directed. "I am waiting for you to tell me the specific
+contents of this document."
+
+"The English Government has asked us two questions; first, how many
+complete army corps we consider she ought to place at our disposal in
+this eventuality; and, secondly, at what point should we expect them to
+be concentrated? The dispatch which I received to-night contains the
+reply to these questions."
+
+"Which Bernadine has promised to forward to Berlin to-morrow night,"
+Peter remarked softly.
+
+De Lamborne nodded.
+
+"You perceive," he said, "the immense importance of the affair. The very
+existence of that document is almost a _casus belli_."
+
+"At what time did the dispatch arrive," Peter asked, "and what has been
+its history since?"
+
+"It arrived at six o'clock," the ambassador declared. "It went straight
+into the inner pocket of my coat; it has not been out of my possession
+for a single second. Even whilst I talk to you I can feel it."
+
+"And your plans? How are you intending to dispose of it to-night?"
+
+"On my return to the Embassy I shall place it in the safe, lock it up,
+and remain watching it until morning."
+
+"There doesn't seem to be much chance for Bernadine," Peter remarked.
+
+"But there must be no chance--no chance at all," Monsieur de Lamborne
+asserted, with a note of passion in his thin voice. "It is incredible,
+preposterous, that he should even make the attempt. I want you to come
+home with me and share my vigil. You shall be my witness in case
+anything happens. We will watch together."
+
+Peter reflected for a moment.
+
+"Bernadine makes few mistakes," he said thoughtfully.
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne passed his hand across his forehead.
+
+"Do I not know it?" he muttered. "In this instance, though, it seems
+impossible for him to succeed. The time is so short and the conditions
+so difficult. I may count upon your assistance, Baron?"
+
+Peter drew from his pocket a crumpled piece of paper.
+
+"I received a telegram from headquarters this evening," he said, "with
+instructions to place myself entirely at your disposal."
+
+"You will return with me, then, to the Embassy?" Monsieur de Lamborne
+asked eagerly.
+
+Peter did not at once reply. He was standing in one of his
+characteristic attitudes, his hands clasped behind him, his head a
+little thrust forward, watching with every appearance of courteous
+interest the roomful of guests, stationary just now, listening to the
+performance of a famous violinist. It was, perhaps, by accident that his
+eyes met those of Madame de Lamborne, but she smiled at him
+subtly--more, perhaps, with her wonderful eyes than with her lips
+themselves. She was the centre of a very brilliant group, a most
+beautiful woman holding court, as was only right and proper, amongst her
+admirers. Peter sighed.
+
+"No," he said, "I shall not return with you, de Lamborne. I want you to
+follow my suggestions, if you will."
+
+"But, assuredly----"
+
+"Leave here early and go to your club. Remain there until one, then come
+to the Embassy. I shall be there awaiting your arrival."
+
+"You mean that you will go there alone? I do not understand," the
+ambassador protested. "Why should I go to my club? I do not at all
+understand!"
+
+"Nevertheless, do as I say," Peter insisted. "For the present, excuse
+me. I must look after my guests."
+
+The music had ceased, there was a movement towards the supper room.
+Peter offered his arm to Madame de Lamborne, who welcomed him with a
+brilliant smile. Her husband, although, for a Frenchman, he was by no
+means of a jealous disposition, was conscious of a vague feeling of
+uneasiness as he watched them pass out of the room together. A few
+minutes later he made his excuses to his wife, and, with a reluctance
+for which he could scarcely account, left the house. There was something
+in the air, he felt, which he did not understand. He would not have
+admitted it to himself, but he more than half divined the truth. The
+vacant seat in his wife's carriage was filled that night by the Baron de
+Grost.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At one o'clock precisely Monsieur de Lamborne returned to his house, and
+found de Grost gazing with obvious respect at the ponderous safe let
+into the wall.
+
+"A very fine affair--this," he remarked, motioning with his head towards
+it.
+
+"The best of its kind," Monsieur de Lamborne admitted. "No burglar yet
+has ever succeeded in opening one of its type. Here is the packet," he
+added, drawing the document from his pocket. "You shall see me place it
+in safety."
+
+Peter stretched out his hand and examined the sealed envelope for a
+moment closely. Then he moved to the writing-table, and, placing it upon
+the letter scales, made a note of its exact weight. Finally he watched
+it deposited in the ponderous safe, suggested the word to which the lock
+was set, and closed the door. Monsieur de Lamborne heaved a sigh of
+relief.
+
+"I fancy this time," he said, "that our friends at Berlin will be
+disappointed. Couch or easy-chair, Baron?"
+
+"The couch, if you please," Peter replied, "a strong cigar, and a long
+whisky and soda. So! Now for our vigil."
+
+The hours crawled away. Once Peter sat up and listened.
+
+"Any rats about?" he inquired.
+
+The ambassador was indignant.
+
+"I have never heard one in my life," he answered. "This is quite a
+modern house."
+
+Peter dropped his match-box and stooped to pick it up.
+
+"Any lights on anywhere except in this room?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly not," Monsieur de Lamborne answered. "It is past three
+o'clock, and every one has gone to bed."
+
+Peter rose and softly unbolted the door. The passage outside was in
+darkness. He listened intently for a moment, and returned yawning.
+
+"One fancies things," he murmured apologetically.
+
+"For example?" de Lamborne demanded.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"One mistakes," he said. "The nerves become over-sensitive."
+
+The dawn broke, and the awakening hum of the city grew louder and
+louder. Peter rose and stretched himself.
+
+"Your servants are moving about in the house," he remarked. "I think
+that we might consider our vigil at an end."
+
+Monsieur de Lamborne rose with alacrity.
+
+"My friend," he said, "I feel that I have made false pretences to you.
+With the day I have no fear. A thousand pardons for your sleepless
+night."
+
+"My sleepless night counts for nothing," Peter assured him; "but before
+I go, would it not be as well that we glance together inside the safe?"
+
+De Lamborne shook out his keys.
+
+"I was about to suggest it," he replied.
+
+The ambassador arranged the combination and pressed the lever. Slowly
+the great door swung back. The two men peered in.
+
+"Untouched!" de Lamborne exclaimed, a little note of triumph in his
+tone.
+
+Peter said nothing, but held out his hand.
+
+"Permit me," he interposed.
+
+De Lamborne was conscious of a faint sense of uneasiness. His companion
+walked across the room and carefully weighed the packet.
+
+"Well?" de Lamborne cried. "Why do you do that? What is wrong?"
+
+Peter turned and faced him.
+
+"My friend," he said, "this is not the same packet."
+
+The ambassador stared at him incredulously.
+
+"This packet can scarcely have gained two ounces in the night," Peter
+went on. "Besides, the seal is fuller. I have an eye for these details."
+
+De Lamborne leaned against the back of the table. His eyes were a little
+wild, but he laughed hoarsely.
+
+"We fight, then, against the creatures of another world," he declared.
+"No human being could have opened that safe last night."
+
+Peter hesitated.
+
+"Monsieur de Lamborne," he said, "the room adjoining is your wife's?"
+
+"It is the salon of madame," the Ambassador admitted.
+
+"What are the electrical appliances doing there?" Peter demanded. "Don't
+look at me like that, de Lamborne. Remember that I was here before you
+arrived."
+
+"My wife takes an electric massage every day," Monsieur de Lamborne
+answered in a hard, unnatural voice. "In what way is Monsieur le Baron
+concerned in my wife's doings?"
+
+"I think that there need be no answer to that question," Peter said
+quietly. "It is a greater tragedy which we have to face. I maintain that
+your safe was entered from that room. A search will prove it."
+
+"There will be no search there," de Lamborne declared fiercely. "I am
+the ambassador of France, and my power under this roof is absolute. I
+say that you shall not cross that threshold."
+
+Peter's expression did not change. Only his hands were suddenly
+outstretched with a curious gesture--the four fingers were raised, the
+thumbs depressed. Monsieur de Lamborne collapsed.
+
+"I submit," he muttered. "It is you who are the master. Search where you
+will."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Monsieur has arrived?" the woman demanded breathlessly.
+
+The proprietor of the restaurant himself bowed a reply. His client was
+evidently well known to him.
+
+"Monsieur has ascended some few minutes ago."
+
+The woman drew a little sigh of relief. A vague misgiving had troubled
+her during the last few hours. She raised her veil as she mounted the
+narrow staircase which led to the one private room at the Hotel de
+Lorraine. Here she was safe; one more exploit accomplished, one more
+roll of notes for the hungry fingers of her dress-maker.
+
+She entered, without tapping, the room at the head of the stairs,
+pushing open the ill-varnished door with its white-curtained top. At
+first she thought that the little apartment was empty.
+
+"Are you there?" she exclaimed, advancing a few steps.
+
+The figure of a man glided from behind the worn screen close by her side
+and stood between her and the door.
+
+"Madame!" Peter said, bowing low.
+
+Even then she scarcely realised that she was trapped.
+
+"You!" she cried. "You, Baron! But I do not understand. You have
+followed me here?"
+
+"On the contrary, madame," he answered; "I have preceded you."
+
+Her colossal vanity triumphed over her natural astuteness. The man had
+employed spies to watch her! He had lost his head. It was an awkward
+matter, this, but it was to be arranged. She held out her hands.
+
+"Monsieur," she said, "let me beg you now to go away. If you care to,
+come and see me this evening. I will explain everything. It is a little
+family affair which brings me here."
+
+"A family affair, madame, with Bernadine, the enemy of France," Peter
+declared gravely.
+
+She collapsed miserably, her fingers grasping at the air; the cry which
+broke from her lips harsh and unnatural. Before he could tell what was
+happening, she was on her knees before him.
+
+"Spare me!" she begged, trying to seize his hands.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I am not your judge. You will kindly hand
+over to me the document which you are carrying."
+
+She took it from the bosom of her dress. Peter glanced at it and placed
+it in his breast-pocket.
+
+"And now?" she faltered.
+
+Peter sighed--she was a very beautiful woman.
+
+"Madame," he said, "the career of a spy is, as you have doubtless
+sometimes realised, a dangerous one."
+
+"It is finished!" she assured him breathlessly. "Monsieur le Baron, you
+will keep my secret? Never again, I swear it, will I sin like this. You
+will not tell my husband?"
+
+"Your husband already knows, madame," was the quiet reply. "Only a few
+hours ago I proved to him whence had come the leakage of so many of our
+secrets lately."
+
+She swayed upon her feet.
+
+"He will never forgive me!" she cried.
+
+"There are others," Peter declared, "who forgive more rarely even than
+husbands."
+
+A sudden illuminating flash of horror told her the truth. She closed her
+eyes and tried to run from the room.
+
+"I will not be told!" she screamed. "I will not hear. I do not know who
+you are. I will live a little longer!"
+
+"Madame," Peter said, "the Double Four wages no war with women, save
+with spies only. The spy has no sex. For the sake of your family, permit
+me to send you back to your husband's house."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night two receptions and a dinner party were postponed. All London
+was sympathising with Monsieur de Lamborne, and a great many women swore
+never again to take a sleeping draught. Madame de Lamborne lay dead
+behind the shelter of those drawn blinds, and by her side an empty
+phial.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE MAN FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
+
+
+Bernadine, sometimes called the Count von Hern, was lunching at the
+Savoy with the pretty wife of a Cabinet Minister, who was just
+sufficiently conscious of the impropriety of her action to render the
+situation interesting.
+
+"I wish you would tell me, Count von Hern," she said, soon after they
+had settled down in their places, "why my husband seems to object to you
+so much. I simply dared not tell him that we were going to lunch
+together; and, as a rule, he doesn't mind what I do in that way."
+
+Bernadine smiled slowly.
+
+"Ah, well," he remarked, "your husband is a politician and a very
+cautious man. I dare say he is like some of those others, who believe
+that because I am a foreigner and live in London, that therefore I am a
+spy."
+
+"You a spy!" she laughed. "What nonsense!"
+
+"Why nonsense?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders. She was certainly a very pretty woman, and
+her black gown set off to its fullest advantage her deep red hair and
+fair complexion.
+
+"I suppose because I can't imagine you anything of the sort," she
+declared. "You see, you hunt and play polo, and do everything which the
+ordinary Englishmen do. Then one meets you everywhere. I think, Count
+von Hern, that you are much too spoilt, for one thing, to take life
+seriously."
+
+"You do me an injustice," he murmured.
+
+"Of course," she chattered on, "I don't really know what spies do. One
+reads about them in these silly stories, but I have never felt sure that
+as live people they exist at all. Tell me, Count von Hern, what could a
+foreign spy do in England?"
+
+Bernadine twirled his fair moustache and shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, my dear lady," he admitted, "I scarcely know what a spy could
+do nowadays. A few years ago you English people were all so trusting.
+Your fortifications, your battleships, not to speak of your country
+itself, were wholly at the disposal of the enterprising foreigner who
+desired to acquire information. The party who governed Great Britain
+then seemed to have some strange idea that these things made for peace.
+To-day, however, all that is changed."
+
+"You seem to know something about it," she remarked.
+
+"I am afraid that mine is really only the superficial point of view," he
+answered; "but I do know that there is a good deal of information which
+seems absolutely insignificant in itself, for which some foreign
+countries are willing to pay. For instance, there was a Cabinet Council
+yesterday, I believe, and someone was going to suggest that a secret but
+official visit be paid to your new harbour works up at Rosyth. An
+announcement will probably be made in the papers during the next few
+days as to whether the visit is to be undertaken or not. Yet there are
+countries who are willing to pay for knowing even such an insignificant
+item of news as that a few hours before the rest of the world."
+
+Lady Maxwell laughed.
+
+"Well, I could earn that little sum of money," she declared gaily, "for
+my husband has just made me cancel a dinner-party for next Thursday
+because he has to go up to the stupid place."
+
+Bernadine smiled. It was really a very unimportant matter, but he loved
+to feel, even in his idle moments, that he was not altogether wasting
+his time.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "that I am not myself acquainted with one of
+these mythical personages, that I might return you the value of your
+marvellous information. If I dared think, however, that it would be in
+any way acceptable, I could offer you the diversion of a restaurant
+dinner-party for that night. The Duchess of Castleford has kindly
+offered to act as hostess for me, and we are all going on to the Gaiety
+afterwards."
+
+"Delightful!" Lady Maxwell exclaimed. "I should love to come."
+
+Bernadine bowed.
+
+"You have, then, dear lady, fulfilled your destiny," he said. "You have
+given secret information to a foreign person of mysterious identity, and
+accepted payment."
+
+Now Bernadine was a man of easy manners and unruffled composure. To the
+natural _insouciance_ of his aristocratic bringing-up he had added the
+steely reserve of a man moving in the large world, engaged more often
+than not in some hazardous enterprise. Yet, for once in his life, and in
+the midst of the idlest of conversations, he gave himself away so
+utterly that even this woman with whom he was lunching--a very butterfly
+lady indeed--could not fail to perceive it. She looked at him in
+something like astonishment. Without the slightest warning his face had
+become set in a rigid stare, his eyes were filled with the expression of
+a man who sees into another world. The healthy colour faded from his
+cheeks; he was white even to the parted lips; the wine dripped from his
+raised glass on to the tablecloth.
+
+"Why, whatever is the matter with you?" she demanded. "Is it a ghost
+that you see?"
+
+Bernadine's effort was superb, but he was too clever to deny the shock.
+
+"A ghost indeed," he answered, "the ghost of a man whom every newspaper
+in Europe has declared to be dead."
+
+Her eyes followed his. The two people who were being ushered to a seat
+in their immediate vicinity were certainly of somewhat unusual
+appearance. The man was tall and thin as a lath, and he wore the clothes
+of the fashionable world without awkwardness, and yet with the air of
+one who was wholly unaccustomed to them. His cheek-bones were remarkably
+high, and receded so quickly towards his pointed chin that his cheeks
+were little more than hollows. His eyes were dry and burning, flashing
+here and there, as though the man himself were continually oppressed by
+some furtive fear. His thick black hair was short-cropped, his forehead
+high and intellectual. He was a strange figure indeed in such a
+gathering, and his companion only served to accentuate the anachronisms
+of his appearance. She was, above all things, a woman of the
+moment--fair, almost florid, a little thick-set, with tightly laced yet
+passable figure. Her eyes were blue, her hair light-coloured. She wore
+magnificent furs, and as she threw aside her boa she disclosed a mass of
+jewellery around her neck and upon her bosom, almost barbaric in its
+profusion and setting.
+
+"What an extraordinary couple!" Lady Maxwell whispered.
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"The man looks as though he had stepped out of the Old Testament," he
+murmured.
+
+Lady Maxwell's interest was purely feminine, and was riveted now upon
+the jewellery worn by the woman. Bernadine, under the mask of his
+habitual indifference, which he had easily reassumed, seemed to be
+looking away out of the restaurant into the great square of a
+half-savage city, looking at that marvellous crowd, numbered by their
+thousands, even by their hundreds of thousands, of men and women whose
+arms flashed out toward the snow-hung heavens, whose lips were parted in
+one chorus of rapturous acclamation; looking beyond them to the tall,
+emaciated form of the bare-headed priest in his long robes, his
+wind-tossed hair and wild eyes, standing alone before that multitude in
+danger of death, or worse, at any moment--their idol, their hero. And
+again, as the memories came flooding into his brain, the scene passed
+away, and he saw the bare room, with its whitewashed walls and
+blocked-up windows; he felt the darkness, lit only by those flickering
+candles. He saw the white, passion-wrung faces of the men who clustered
+together around the rude table, waiting; he heard their murmurs; he saw
+the fear born in their eyes. It was the night when their leader did not
+come!
+
+Bernadine poured out another glass of wine and drank it slowly. The
+mists were clearing away now. He was in London, at the Savoy Restaurant,
+and within a few yards of him sat the man with whose name all Europe
+once had rung--the man hailed by some as martyr, and loathed by others
+as the most fiendish Judas who ever drew breath. Bernadine was not
+concerned with the moral side of this strange encounter. How best to use
+his knowledge of this man's identity was the question which beat upon
+his brain. What use could be made of him, what profit for his country
+and himself? And then a fear--a sudden, startling fear. Little profit,
+perhaps, to be made, but the danger--the danger of this man alive with
+such secrets locked in his bosom! The thought itself was terrifying, and
+even as he realised it a significant thing happened--he caught the eye
+of the Baron de Grost, lunching alone at a small table just inside the
+restaurant.
+
+"You are not at all amusing," his guest declared. "It is nearly five
+minutes since you have spoken."
+
+"You, too, have been absorbed," he reminded her.
+
+"It is that woman's jewels," she admitted. "I never saw anything more
+wonderful. The people are not English, of course. I wonder where they
+come from."
+
+"One of the Eastern countries, without a doubt," he replied carelessly.
+
+Lady Maxwell sighed.
+
+"He is a peculiar-looking man," she said, "but one could put up with a
+good deal for jewels like that. What are you doing this
+afternoon--picture galleries or your club?"
+
+"Neither, unfortunately," Bernadine answered. "I have promised to go
+with a friend to look at some polo ponies."
+
+"Do you know," she remarked, "that we have never been to see those
+Japanese prints yet?"
+
+"The gallery is closed until Monday," he assured her, falsely. "If you
+will honour me then, I shall be delighted."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing. She had an idea that she
+was being dismissed, but Bernadine, without the least appearance of
+hurry, gave her no opportunity for any further suggestions. He handed
+her into her automobile, and returned at once into the restaurant. He
+touched Baron de Grost upon the shoulder.
+
+"My friend the enemy!" he exclaimed, smiling.
+
+"At your service in either capacity," the baron replied.
+
+Bernadine made a grimace and accepted the chair which de Grost had
+indicated.
+
+"If I may, I will take my coffee with you," he said. "I am growing old.
+It does not amuse me so much to lunch with a pretty woman. One has to
+entertain, and one forgets the serious business of lunching. I will take
+my coffee and cigarette in peace."
+
+De Grost gave an order to the waiter and leaned back in his chair.
+
+"Now," he suggested, "tell me exactly what it is that has brought you
+back into the restaurant."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Why not the pleasure of this few minutes' conversation with you?" he
+asked.
+
+The baron carefully selected a cigar and lit it.
+
+"That," he said, "goes well, but there are other things."
+
+"As, for instance?"
+
+De Grost leaned back in his chair and watched the smoke of his cigar
+curl upwards.
+
+"One talks too much," he remarked. "Before the cards are upon the table
+it is not wise."
+
+They chatted upon various matters. De Grost himself seemed in no hurry
+to depart, nor did his companion show any signs of impatience. It was
+not until the two people whose entrance had had such a remarkable effect
+upon Bernadine, rose to leave, that the mask was for a moment lifted. De
+Grost had called for his bill and paid it. The two men strolled out
+together.
+
+"Baron," Bernadine said suavely, linking his arm through the other man's
+as they passed into the foyer, "there are times when candour even
+amongst enemies becomes an admirable quality."
+
+"Those times, I imagine," de Grost answered grimly, "are rare. Besides,
+who is to tell the real thing from the false?"
+
+"You do less than justice to your perceptions, my friend," Bernadine
+declared, smiling.
+
+De Grost merely shrugged his shoulders. Bernadine persisted.
+
+"Come," he continued, "since you doubt me, let me be the first to give
+you a proof that on this occasion, at any rate, I am candour itself. You
+had a purpose in lunching at the Savoy to-day. That purpose I have
+discovered by accident. We are both interested in those people."
+
+The Baron de Grost shook his head slowly.
+
+"Really----" he began.
+
+"Let me finish," Bernadine insisted. "Perhaps when you have heard all
+that I have to say you may change your attitude. We are interested in
+the same people, but in different ways. If we both move from opposite
+directions our friend will vanish. He is clever enough at disappearing,
+as he has proved before. We do not want the same thing from him, I am
+convinced of that. Let us move together and make sure that he does not
+evade us."
+
+"Is it an alliance which you are proposing?" de Grost asked, with a
+quiet smile.
+
+"Why not?" Bernadine answered. "Enemies have united before to-day
+against a common foe."
+
+De Grost looked across the palm court to where the two people who formed
+the subject of their discussion were sitting in a corner, both smoking,
+both sipping some red-coloured liqueur.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "I am much too afraid of you to listen any
+more. You fancy because this man's presence here was an entire surprise
+to you, and because you find me already on his track, that I know more
+than you do, and that an alliance with me would be to your advantage.
+You would try to persuade me that your object with him would not be my
+object. Listen! I am afraid of you--you are too clever for me. I am
+going to leave you in sole possession."
+
+De Grost's tone was final and his bow valedictory. Bernadine watched him
+stroll in a leisurely way through the foyer, exchanging greetings here
+and there with friends; watched him enter the cloak-room, from which he
+emerged with his hat and overcoat; watched him step into his automobile
+and leave the restaurant. He turned back with a clouded face and threw
+himself into an easy-chair.
+
+Ten minutes passed uneventfully. People were passing backwards and
+forwards all the time; but Bernadine, through his half-closed eyes, did
+little save watch the couple in whom he was so deeply interested. At
+last the man rose and, with a word of farewell to his companion, came
+out from the lounge and made his way up the foyer, turning toward the
+hotel. He walked with quick, nervous strides, glancing now and then
+restlessly about him. In his eyes, to those who understood, there was
+the furtive gleam of the hunted man. It was the passing of one who was
+afraid.
+
+The woman, left to herself, began to look around her with some
+curiosity. Bernadine, to whom a new idea had occurred, moved his chair
+nearer to hers, and was rewarded by a glance which certainly betrayed
+some interest. A swift and unerring judge in such matters, he came to
+the instant conclusion that she was not unapproachable. He acted upon
+impulse. Rising to his feet, he approached her and bowed easily, but
+respectfully.
+
+"Madame," he said, "it is impossible that I am mistaken. I have had the
+pleasure, have I not, of meeting you in St. Petersburg?"
+
+Her first reception of his coming was reassuring enough. At his mention
+of St. Petersburg, however, she frowned.
+
+"I do not think so," she answered in French. "You are mistaken. I do not
+know St. Petersburg."
+
+"Then it was in Paris," Bernadine continued, with conviction. "Madame is
+Parisian, without a doubt."
+
+She shook her head, smiling.
+
+"I do not think that I remember meeting you, monsieur," she replied
+doubtfully; "but perhaps----"
+
+She looked up, and her eyes drooped before his. He was certainly a very
+personable-looking man, and she had spoken to no one for so many months.
+
+"Believe me, madame, I could not possibly be mistaken," Bernadine
+assured her smoothly. "You are staying here for long?"
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Heaven knows!" she declared. "My husband he has, I think, what you call
+the wander fever. For myself, I am tired of it. In Rome we settle down;
+we stay five days, all seems pleasant, and suddenly my husband's whim
+carries us away without an hour's notice. The same thing at Monte Carlo;
+the same at Paris. Who can tell what will happen here? To tell you the
+truth, monsieur," she added, a little archly, "I think that if he were
+to come back at this moment we should probably leave England to-night."
+
+"Your husband is very jealous?" Bernadine whispered softly.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Partly jealous and partly he has the most terrible distaste for
+acquaintances. He will not speak to strangers himself, or suffer me to
+do so. It is sometimes--oh! it is sometimes very _triste_!"
+
+"Madame has my sympathy," Bernadine assured her. "It is an impossible
+life--this. No husband should be so exacting."
+
+She looked at him with her round blue eyes, a touch of added colour in
+her cheeks.
+
+"If one could but cure him!" she murmured.
+
+"I would ask your permission to sit down," Bernadine remarked, "but I
+fear to intrude. You are afraid, perhaps, that your husband may return?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"It will be better that you do not stay," she declared. "For a moment or
+two he is engaged. He has an appointment in his room with a gentleman,
+but one never knows how long he may be."
+
+"You have friends in London, then?" Bernadine remarked thoughtfully.
+
+"Of my husband's affairs," the woman said, "there is no one so ignorant
+as I. Yet since we left our own country this is the first time I have
+known him willingly speak to a soul."
+
+"Your own country!" Bernadine repeated softly. "That was Russia, of
+course? Your husband's nationality is very apparent."
+
+The woman looked annoyed with herself. She remained silent.
+
+"May I not hope," Bernadine begged, "that you will give me the pleasure
+of meeting you again?"
+
+She hesitated for a moment.
+
+"He does not leave me," she replied. "I am not alone for five minutes
+during the day."
+
+Bernadine scribbled the name by which he was known in that locality, on
+a card, and passed it to her.
+
+"I have rooms in St. James's Street, quite close to here," he said. "If
+you could come and have tea with me to-day or to-morrow it would give me
+the utmost pleasure."
+
+She took the card and crumpled it in her hand. All the time, though, she
+shook her head.
+
+"Monsieur is very kind," she answered. "I am afraid--I do not think that
+it would be possible. And now, if you please, you must go away. I am
+terrified lest my husband should return."
+
+Bernadine bent low in a parting salute.
+
+"Madame," he pleaded, "you will come?"
+
+Bernadine was a handsome man, and he knew well enough how to use his
+soft and extraordinarily musical voice. He knew very well as he retired
+that somehow or other she would accept his invitation. Even then he felt
+dissatisfied and ill at ease as he left the place. He had made a little
+progress; but, after all, was it worth while? Supposing that the man
+with whom her husband was even at this moment closeted was the Baron de
+Grost! He called a taxi-cab and drove at once to the Embassy of his
+country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Even at this moment de Grost and the Russian--Paul Hagon he called
+himself--were standing face to face in the latter's sitting-room. No
+conventional greetings of any sort had been exchanged. De Grost had
+scarcely closed the door behind him before Hagon addressed him
+breathlessly, almost fiercely.
+
+"Who are you, sir?" he demanded. "And what do you want with me?"
+
+"You had my letter?" de Grost inquired.
+
+"I had your letter," the other admitted. "It told me nothing. You speak
+of business. What business have I with any here?"
+
+"My business is soon told," de Grost replied; "but in the first place, I
+beg that you will not unnecessarily alarm yourself. There is, believe
+me, no need for it--no need whatever, although, to prevent
+misunderstandings, I may as well tell you at once that I am perfectly
+well aware who it is that I am addressing."
+
+Hagon collapsed into a chair. He buried his face in his hands and
+groaned.
+
+"I am not here necessarily as an enemy," de Grost continued. "You have
+very excellent reasons, I make no doubt, for remaining unknown in this
+city, or wherever you may be. As yet, let me assure you, your identity
+is not even suspected, except by myself and one other. Those few who
+believe you alive believe that you are in America. There is no need for
+anyone to know that Father----"
+
+"Stop!" the man begged piteously. "Stop!"
+
+De Grost bowed.
+
+"I beg your pardon!" he said.
+
+"Now tell me," the man demanded, "what is your price? I have had money.
+There is not much left. Sophia is extravagant, and travelling costs a
+great deal. But why do I weary you with these things?" he added. "Let me
+know what I have to pay for your silence."
+
+"I am not a blackmailer," de Grost answered sternly. "I am myself a
+wealthy man. I ask from you nothing in money; I ask you nothing in that
+way at all. A few words of information, and a certain paper which I
+believe you have in your possession, is all that I require."
+
+"Information?" Hagon repeated, shivering.
+
+"What I ask," de Grost declared, "is really a matter of justice. At the
+time when you were the idol of all Russia and the leader of the great
+revolutionary party, you received funds from abroad."
+
+"I accounted for them," Hagon muttered. "Up to a certain point I
+accounted for everything."
+
+"You received funds from the Government of a European Power," de Grost
+continued--"funds to be applied towards developing the revolution. I
+want the name of that Power, and proof of what I say."
+
+Hagon remained motionless for a moment. He had seated himself at the
+table, his head resting upon his hand, and his face turned away from de
+Grost.
+
+"You are a politician, then?" he asked slowly.
+
+"I am a politician," de Grost admitted. "I represent a great secret
+power which has sprung into existence during the last few years. Our
+aim, at present, is to bring closer together your country and Great
+Britain. Russia hesitates because an actual _rapprochement_ with us is
+equivalent to a permanent estrangement with Germany."
+
+Hagon nodded.
+
+"I understand," he said, in a low tone. "I have finished with politics.
+I have nothing to say to you."
+
+"I trust," de Grost persisted suavely, "that you will be better
+advised."
+
+Hagon turned round and faced him.
+
+"Sir," he demanded, "do you believe that I am afraid of death?"
+
+De Grost looked at him steadfastly.
+
+"No," he answered. "You have proved the contrary."
+
+"If my identity is discovered," Hagon continued, "I have the means of
+instant death at hand. I do not use it because of my love for the one
+person who links me to this world. For her sake I live, and for her sake
+I bear always the memory of the shameful past. Publish my name and
+whereabouts if you will. I promise you that I will make the tragedy
+complete. But, for the rest, I refuse to pay your price. A great Power
+trusted me, and, whatever their motives may have been, their money came
+very near indeed to freeing my people. I have nothing more to say to
+you, sir."
+
+The Baron de Grost was taken aback. He had scarcely contemplated
+refusal.
+
+"You must understand," he explained, "that this is not a personal
+matter. Even if I myself would spare you, those who are more powerful
+than I will strike. The society to which I belong does not tolerate
+failure. I am empowered even to offer you their protection, if you will
+give me the information for which I ask."
+
+Hagon rose to his feet, and before de Grost could foresee his purpose,
+had rung the bell.
+
+"My decision is unchanging," he said. "You can pull down the roof upon
+my head, but I carry next my heart an instant and an unfailing means of
+escape."
+
+A waiter stood in the doorway.
+
+"You will take this gentleman to the lift," Hagon directed.
+
+There was once more a touch in his manner of that half-divine authority
+which had thrilled the great multitudes of his believers. De Grost was
+forced to admit defeat.
+
+"Not defeat," he said to himself, as he followed the man to the lift;
+"only a check."
+
+Nevertheless, it was a serious check. He could not for the moment see
+his way farther. Arrived at his house, he followed his usual custom, and
+made his way at once to his wife's rooms. Violet was resting upon a
+sofa, but laid down her book at his entrance.
+
+"Violet," he declared, "I have come for your advice."
+
+"He refuses, then?" she asked eagerly.
+
+"Absolutely," de Grost assured her. "What am I to do? Bernadine is
+already upon the scent. He saw him at the Savoy to-day and recognised
+him."
+
+"Has Bernadine approached him yet?" Violet inquired.
+
+"Not yet," her husband answered. "He is half afraid to move. I think he
+realises, or will do very soon, how serious this man's existence may be
+for Germany."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments; then she looked up.
+
+"Bernadine will try the woman," she asserted. "You say that Hagon is
+infatuated?"
+
+"Blindly," de Grost replied. "He scarcely lets her out of his sight."
+
+"Your people watch Bernadine?"
+
+"Always."
+
+"Very well, then," Violet went on, "you will find that he will attempt
+an intrigue with the woman. The rest should be easy for you."
+
+De Grost sighed as he bent over his wife.
+
+"My dear," he said, "there is no subtlety like that of a woman."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine's instinct had not deceived him, and the following afternoon
+his servant, who had already received orders, silently ushered Madame
+Hagon into his apartments. She was wrapped in magnificent sables and
+heavily veiled. Bernadine saw at once that she was very nervous and
+wholly terrified. He welcomed her in as matter-of-fact a manner as
+possible.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "this is quite charming of you! You must sit in
+my easy-chair here, and my man shall bring us some tea. I drink mine
+always after the fashion of your country, with lemon, but I doubt
+whether we make it so well. Won't you unfasten your jacket? I am afraid
+my rooms are rather warm."
+
+Madame had collected herself, but it was quite obvious that she was
+unused to adventures of this sort. Her hand, when he took it, trembled,
+and more than once she glanced furtively toward the door.
+
+"Yes, I have come," she murmured. "I do not know why. It is not right
+for me to come; yet there are times when I am weary--times when Paul
+seems fierce, and when I am terrified. Sometimes I even wish that I were
+back----"
+
+"Your husband seems very highly strung," Bernadine remarked. "He has
+doubtless led an exciting life."
+
+"As to that," she replied, gazing around her now, and gradually becoming
+more at her ease, "I know but little. He was a student professor at
+Moschaume when I met him. I think that he was at one of the universities
+in St. Petersburg."
+
+Bernadine glanced at her covertly. It came to him as an inspiration that
+the woman did not know the truth.
+
+"You are from Russia, then, after all," he said, smiling. "I felt sure
+of it."
+
+"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. "Paul is so queer in these things. He
+will not have me talk of it. He prefers that we are taken for French
+people. Indeed," she went on, "it is not I who desire to think too much
+of Russia. It is not a year since my father was killed in the riots, and
+two of my brothers were sent to Siberia."
+
+Bernadine was deeply interested.
+
+"They were amongst the revolutionaries?"
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Yes," she answered.
+
+"And your husband?"
+
+"He, too, was with them in sympathy. Secretly, too, I believe that he
+worked amongst them; only he had to be careful. You see, his position at
+the college made it difficult."
+
+Bernadine looked into the woman's eyes, and he knew then that she was
+speaking the truth. This man was indeed a great master; he had kept her
+in ignorance.
+
+"Always," Bernadine said, a few minutes later, as he passed her tea, "I
+read with the deepest interest of the people's movement in Russia. Tell
+me what became eventually of their great leader--the wonderful Father
+Paul."
+
+She set down her cup untasted, and her blue eyes flashed with a fire
+which turned them almost to the colour of steel.
+
+"Wonderful, indeed!" she exclaimed. "Wonderful Judas! It was he who
+wrecked the cause. It was he who sold the lives and liberty of all of us
+for gold."
+
+"I heard a rumour of that," Bernadine remarked, "but I never believed
+it."
+
+"It was true," she declared passionately.
+
+"And where is he now?" Bernadine asked.
+
+"Dead!" she answered fiercely. "Torn to pieces, we believe, one night in
+a house near Moscow. May it be so!"
+
+She was silent for a moment, as though engaged in prayer. Bernadine
+spoke no more of these things. He talked to her kindly, keeping up
+always his role of respectful, but hopeful, admirer.
+
+"You will come again soon?" he begged, when at last she insisted upon
+going.
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"It is so difficult," she murmured. "If my husband knew----"
+
+Bernadine laughed and touched her fingers caressingly.
+
+"Need one tell him?" he whispered. "You see, I trust you. I pray that
+you will come."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bernadine was a man rarely moved towards emotion of any sort; yet even
+he was conscious of a certain sense of excitement as he stood looking
+out upon the Embankment from the windows of Paul Hagon's sitting-room a
+few days later. Madame was sitting on the settee. It was for her answer
+to a question that he waited.
+
+"Monsieur," she said at last, turning slowly towards him, "it must be
+'No.' Indeed I am sorry, for you have been very charming to me, and
+without you I should have been dull. But to come to your rooms and dine
+alone to-night, it is impossible."
+
+"Your husband cannot return before the morning," Bernadine reminded her.
+
+"It makes no difference," she answered. "Paul is sometimes fierce and
+rough, but he is generous, and all his life he has worshipped me. He
+behaves strangely at times, but I know that he cares--all the time more,
+perhaps, than I deserve."
+
+"And there is no one else." Bernadine asked softly, "who can claim even
+the smallest place in your heart?"
+
+"Monsieur," the woman begged, "you must not ask me that. I think that
+you had better go away."
+
+Bernadine stood quite still for several moments. It was the climax
+towards which he had steadfastly guided the course of this mild
+intrigue.
+
+"Madame," he declared, "You must not send me away! You shall not!"
+
+She held out her hand.
+
+"Then you must not ask impossible things," she answered.
+
+Then Bernadine took the plunge. He became suddenly very grave.
+
+"Sophia," he said, "I am keeping a great secret from you, and I can do
+it no longer. When you speak to me of your husband you drive me mad. If
+I believed that really you loved him, I would go away and leave it to
+chance whether or not you ever discovered the truth. As it is----"
+
+"Well?" she interposed breathlessly.
+
+"As it is," he continued, "I am going to tell you now. Your husband has
+deceived you; he is deceiving you every moment."
+
+She looked at him incredulously.
+
+"You mean that there is another woman?"
+
+Bernadine shook his head.
+
+"Worse than that," he answered. "Your husband stole even your love under
+false pretences. You think that his life is a strange one; that his
+nerves have broken down; that he flies from place to place for
+distraction, for change of scene. It is not so. He left Rome, he left
+Nice, he left Paris for one and the same reason. He left because he went
+in peril of his life. I know little of your history, but I know as much
+as this: If ever a man deserved the fate from which he flees, your
+husband deserves it!"
+
+"You are mad!" she faltered.
+
+"No, I am sane," he went on. "It is you who are mad, not to have
+understood. Your husband goes ever in fear of his life. His real name is
+one branded with ignominy throughout the world. The man whom you have
+married, to whom you are so scrupulously faithful, is the man who sent
+your father to death and your brothers to Siberia."
+
+"Father Paul!" she screamed.
+
+"You have lived with him; you are his wife!" Bernadine declared.
+
+The colour had left her cheeks; her eyes, with their pencilled brows,
+were fixed in an almost ghastly stare; her breath was coming in uneven
+gasps. She looked at him in silent terror.
+
+"It is not true!" she cried at last. "It cannot be true!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "you can prove it for yourself. I know a little of
+your husband and his doings. Does he not carry always with him a black
+box which he will not allow out of his sight?"
+
+"Always," she assented. "How did you know? By night his hand rests upon
+it. By day, if he goes out, it is in my charge."
+
+"Fetch it now," Bernadine directed. "I will prove my words."
+
+She did not hesitate for a moment. She disappeared into the inner room
+and came back after only a few moments' absence, carrying a black
+leather dispatch-box.
+
+"You have the key?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," she answered, looking at him and trembling; "but I dare not--oh,
+I dare not open it!"
+
+"Sophia," he said, "if my words are not true, I will pass out of your
+life for ever. I challenge you. If you open that box you will know that
+your husband is indeed the greatest scoundrel in Europe."
+
+She drew a key from a gold chain around her neck.
+
+"There are two locks," she told him. "The other is a combination, but I
+know the word. Who's that?"
+
+She started suddenly. There was a loud tapping at the door. Bernadine
+threw an antimacassar half over the box, but he was too late. De Grost
+and Hagon had crossed the threshold. The woman stood like some dumb
+creature. Hagon, transfixed, stood with his eyes riveted upon Bernadine.
+His face was distorted with passion; he seemed like a man beside himself
+with fury. De Grost came slowly forward into the middle of the room.
+
+"Count von Hern," he said, "I think that you had better leave."
+
+The woman found words.
+
+"Not yet!" she cried. "Not yet! Paul, listen to me. This man has told me
+a terrible thing."
+
+The breath seemed to come through Hagon's teeth like a hiss.
+
+"He has told you!"
+
+"Listen to me!" she continued. "It is the truth which you must tell now.
+He says that you--you are Father Paul!"
+
+Hagon did not hesitate.
+
+"It is true," he admitted.
+
+Then there was a silence--short, but tragical. Hagon seemed suddenly to
+have collapsed. He was like a man who has just had a stroke. He stood
+muttering to himself.
+
+"It is the end--this--the end!" he said, in a low tone. "It was for your
+sake, Sophia! I came to you poor, and you would have nothing to say to
+me. My love for you burned in my veins like fever. It was for you I did
+it--for your sake I sold my honour, the love of my country, the freedom
+of my brothers. For your sake I risked an awful death. For your sake I
+have lived like a hunted man, with the cry of the wolves always in my
+ears, and the fear of death and of eternal torture with me day by day.
+Have pity on me!"
+
+She was unmoved; her face had lost all expression. No one noticed in
+that rapt moment that Bernadine had crept from the room.
+
+"It was you," she cried, "who killed my father and sent my brothers into
+exile!"
+
+"God help me!" he moaned.
+
+She turned to de Grost.
+
+"Take him away with you, please," she said. "I have finished with him!"
+
+"Sophia!" he pleaded.
+
+She leaned across the table and struck him heavily upon the cheek.
+
+"If you stay here," she muttered, "I shall kill you myself!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night the body of an unknown foreigner was found in the attic of a
+cheap lodging-house in Soho. The discovery itself and the verdict at the
+inquest occupied only a few lines in the morning newspapers. Those few
+lines were the epitaph of one who was very nearly a Rienzi. The greater
+part of his papers de Grost mercifully destroyed, but one in particular
+he preserved. Within a week the much-delayed treaty was signed at Paris,
+London and St. Petersburg.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE FIRST SHOT
+
+
+De Grost and his wife were dining together at the corner table in a
+fashionable but somewhat Bohemian restaurant. Both had been in the
+humour for reminiscences, and they had outstayed most of their
+neighbours.
+
+"I wonder what people really think of us," Violet remarked pensively. "I
+told Lady Amershal, when she asked us to go there this evening, that we
+always dined together alone somewhere once a week, and she absolutely
+refused to believe me. 'With your own husband, my dear?' she kept on
+repeating."
+
+"Her ladyship's tastes are more catholic," the baron declared dryly.
+"Yet, after all, Violet, the real philosophy of married life demands
+something of this sort."
+
+Violet smiled and fingered her pearls for a minute.
+
+"What the real philosophy of married life may be I do not know," she
+said, "but I am perfectly content with our rendering of it. What a
+fortunate thing, Peter, with your intensely practical turn of mind, that
+Nature endowed you with so much sentiment."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively at the cigarette which he had just selected
+from his case.
+
+"Well," he remarked, "there have been times when I have cursed myself
+for a fool, but, on the whole, sentiment keeps many fires burning."
+
+She leaned towards him and dropped her voice a little.
+
+"Tell me," she begged, "do you ever think of the years we spent together
+in the country? Do you ever regret?"
+
+He smiled thoughtfully.
+
+"It is a hard question, that," he admitted. "There were days there which
+I loved, but there were days, too, when the restlessness came--days when
+I longed to hear the hum of the city and to hear men speak whose words
+were of life and death and the great passions. I am not sure, Violet,
+whether, after all, it is well for one who has lived to withdraw
+absolutely from the thrill of life."
+
+She laughed softly but gaily.
+
+"I am with you," she declared, "absolutely. I think that the fairies
+must have poured into my blood the joy of living for its own sake. I
+should be an ungrateful woman indeed if I found anything to complain of
+nowadays. Yet there is one thing that sometimes troubles me," she went
+on, after a moment's pause.
+
+"And that?" he asked.
+
+"The danger," she said slowly. "I do not want to lose you, Peter. There
+are times when I am afraid."
+
+De Grost flicked the ash from his cigarette.
+
+"The days are passing," he remarked, "when men point revolvers at one
+another, and hire assassins to gain their ends. Now it is more a battle
+of wits. We play chess on the board of life still, but we play with
+ivory pieces instead of steel and poison. Our brains direct, and not our
+muscles."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"It is only the one man of whom I am afraid," she said. "You have
+outwitted him so often and he does not forgive."
+
+De Grost smiled. It was an immense compliment, this.
+
+"Bernadine," he murmured softly, "otherwise our friend, the Count von
+Hern."
+
+"Bernadine," she repeated. "All that you say is true; but when one fails
+with modern weapons, one changes the form of attack. Bernadine at heart
+is a savage."
+
+"The hate of such a man," de Grost remarked complacently, "is worth
+having. He has had his own way over here for years. He seems to have
+found the knack of living in a maze of intrigue and remaining
+untouchable. There were a dozen things before I came upon the scene
+which ought to have ruined him. Yet there never appeared to be anything
+to take hold of. The Criminal Investigation Department thought they had
+no chance. I remember Sir John Dory telling me in disgust that Bernadine
+was like one of those marvellous criminals one only reads about in
+fiction, who seem when they pass along the dangerous places to walk upon
+the air and leave no trace behind."
+
+"Before you came," she said, "he had never known a failure. Do you think
+that he is a man likely to forgive?"
+
+"I do not," de Grost answered grimly. "It is a battle, of course--a
+battle all the time. Yet, Violet, between you and me, if Bernadine were
+to go, half the savour of life for me would depart with him."
+
+Then there came a serious and wholly unexpected interruption. A man in
+dark, plain clothes, still wearing his overcoat and carrying a bowler
+hat, had been standing in the entrance of the restaurant for a moment or
+two, looking around the room as though in search of someone. At last he
+caught the eye of the Baron de Grost and came quickly towards him.
+
+"Charles," the Baron remarked, raising his eyebrows. "I wonder what he
+wants?"
+
+A sudden cloud had fallen upon their little feast. Violet watched the
+coming of her husband's servant and the reading of the note which he
+presented to his master with an anxiety which she could not wholly
+conceal. The Baron read the note twice, scrutinising a certain part of
+it closely with the aid of the monocle which he seldom used. Then he
+folded it up and placed it in the breast-pocket of his coat.
+
+"At what hour did you receive this, Charles?" he asked.
+
+"A messenger brought it in a taxi-cab about ten minutes ago, sir," the
+man replied. "He said that it was of the utmost importance, and that I
+had better try and find you."
+
+"A district messenger?"
+
+"A man in ordinary clothes, sir," Charles answered. "He looked like a
+porter in a warehouse, or something of that sort. I forgot to say that
+you were rung up on the telephone three times previously by Mr.
+Greening."
+
+The Baron nodded.
+
+"You can go," he said. "There is no reply."
+
+The man bowed and retired. De Grost called for his bill.
+
+"Is it anything serious?" Violet inquired.
+
+"No, not exactly serious," he answered. "I do not understand what has
+happened, but they have sent for me to go--well, where it was agreed
+that I should not go, except as a matter of urgent necessity."
+
+Violet knew better than to show any signs of disquietude.
+
+"Is it in London?" she asked.
+
+"Certainly," her husband replied. "I shall take a taxi-cab from here. I
+am sorry, dear, to have one of our evenings disturbed in this manner. I
+have always done my best to avoid it, but this summons is urgent."
+
+She rose and he wrapped her cloak around her.
+
+"You will drive straight home, won't you?" he begged. "I dare say that I
+may be back within an hour myself."
+
+"And if not?" she asked in a low tone.
+
+"If not," he replied, "there is nothing to be done."
+
+Violet bit her lip, but as he handed her into the small electric
+brougham which was waiting she smiled into his face.
+
+"You will come back, and soon, Peter," she declared confidently.
+"Wherever you go I am sure of that. You see, I have faith in my star
+which watches over you."
+
+He kissed her fingers and turned away. The commissionaire had already
+called him a taxi-cab.
+
+"To London Bridge," he ordered after a moment's hesitation, and drove
+off.
+
+The traffic citywards had long since finished for the day, and he
+reached his destination within ten minutes of leaving the restaurant.
+Here he paid the man, and, entering the station, turned to the
+refreshment-room and ordered a liqueur brandy. While he sipped it he
+smoked a cigarette and fully re-read in a strong light the note which he
+had received. The signature especially he pored over for some time. At
+last, however, he replaced it in his pocket, paid his bill, and,
+stepping out once more on to the platform, entered a telephone booth. A
+few minutes later he left the station and, turning to the right, walked
+slowly as far as Tooley Street. He kept on the right-hand side until he
+arrived at the spot where the great arches, with their scanty lights,
+make a gloomy thoroughfare into Bermondsey. In the shadow of the first
+of these he paused and looked steadfastly across the street. There were
+few people passing, and practically no traffic. In front of him was a
+row of warehouses, all save one of which was wrapped in complete
+darkness. It was the one where some lights were still burning which de
+Grost stood and watched.
+
+The lights, such as they were, seemed to illuminate the ground floor
+only. From his hidden post he could see the shoulders of a man
+apparently bending over a ledger, diligently writing. At the next window
+a youth, seated upon a tall stool, was engaged in, presumably, the same
+avocation. There was nothing about the place in the least mysterious or
+out-of-the-way. Even the blinds of the offices had been left undrawn.
+The man and the boy, who were alone visible, seemed, in a sense, to be
+working under protest. Every now and then the former stopped to yawn,
+and the latter performed a difficult balancing feat upon his stool. De
+Grost, having satisfied his curiosity, came presently from his shelter,
+almost running into the arms of a policeman, who looked at him closely.
+The Baron, who had an unlighted cigarette in his mouth, stopped to ask
+for a light, and his appearance at once set at rest any suspicions the
+policeman might have had.
+
+"I have a warehouse myself down in these parts," he remarked, as he
+struck the match, "but I don't allow my people to work as late as that."
+
+He pointed across the way, and the policeman smiled.
+
+"They are very often late there, sir," he said. "It is a Continental
+wine business, and there's always one or two of them over time."
+
+"It's bad business, all the same," de Grost declared pleasantly.
+"Good-night, policeman!"
+
+"Good-night, sir!"
+
+De Grost crossed the road diagonally, as though about to take the short
+cut across London Bridge, but as soon as the policeman was out of sight
+he retraced his steps to the building which they had been discussing,
+and, turning the battered brass handle of the door, walked calmly in. On
+his right and left were counting-houses framed with glass; in front, the
+cavernous and ugly depths of a gloomy warehouse. He knocked upon the
+window-pane on the right and passed forward a step or two, as though to
+enter the office. The boy who had been engaged in the left-hand
+counting-house came gliding from his place, passed silently behind the
+visitor, and turned the key of the outer door. What followed seemed to
+happen as though by some mysteriously directed force. The figures of men
+came stealing out from the hidden places. The clerk who had been working
+so hard at his desk calmly divested himself of a false moustache and
+wig, and, assuming a more familiar appearance, strolled out into the
+warehouse. De Grost looked around him with absolutely unruffled
+composure. He was the centre of a little circle of men, respectably
+dressed, but every one of them hard-featured, with something in their
+faces which suggested not the ordinary toiler but the fighting
+animal--the man who lives by his wits and knows something of danger. On
+the outskirts of the circle stood Bernadine.
+
+"Really," de Grost declared, removing his cigarette from his mouth for a
+moment, "this is most unexpected. In the matter of dramatic surprises,
+my friend Bernadine, you are most certainly in a class by yourself."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"You will understand, of course," he said, "that this little
+entertainment is entirely for your amusement--well stage-managed,
+perhaps, but my supers are not to be taken seriously. Since you are
+here, Baron, might I ask you to precede me a few steps to the tasting
+office?"
+
+"By all means," de Grost answered. "It is this way, I believe."
+
+He walked with unconcerned footsteps down the warehouse, on either side
+of which were great bins and a wilderness of racking, until he came to a
+small glass-enclosed office built out from the wall. Without hesitation
+he entered it, and, removing his hat, selected the more comfortable of
+the two chairs. Bernadine alone of the others followed him inside,
+closing the door behind. De Grost, who appeared exceedingly comfortable,
+stretched out his hand and took a small black bottle from a tiny
+mahogany racking fixed against the wall by his side.
+
+"You will excuse me, my dear Bernadine," he said, "but I see my friend
+Greening has been tasting a few wines. The 'XX' upon the label here
+signifies approval. With your permission."
+
+He half filled a glass and pushed the bottle towards Bernadine.
+
+"Greening's taste is unimpeachable," de Grost declared, setting down his
+glass empty. "No use being a director of a city business, you know,
+unless one interests oneself personally in it. Greening's judgment is
+simply marvellous. I have never tasted a more beautiful wine. If the
+boom in sherry does come," he continued complacently, "we shall be in an
+excellent position to deal with it."
+
+Bernadine laughed softly.
+
+"Oh, my friend--Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose
+to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the
+conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on
+earth!"
+
+De Grost nodded approvingly.
+
+"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon
+arrive at that decision?"
+
+"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his
+companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."
+
+"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself,
+no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally
+conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been
+expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable
+time."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a
+safe conduct."
+
+De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.
+
+"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements
+to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."
+
+"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.
+
+"I would not for a moment," de Grost continued, "ask an impertinent or
+an unnecessary question, but I must confess that I am rather concerned
+to know the fate of my manager--the gentleman whom you yourself, with
+the aid of a costumier, so ably represented."
+
+Bernadine sighed.
+
+"Alas!" he said, "your manager was a very obstinate person."
+
+"And my clerk?"
+
+"Incorruptible!" Bernadine declared. "Absolutely incorruptible! I
+congratulate you, de Grost. Your society is one of the most wonderful
+upon the face of this earth. I know little about it, but my admiration
+is very sincere. Their attention to details and the personnel of their
+staff is almost perfect. I may tell you at once that no sum that could
+be offered tempted either of these men."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it," de Grost replied, "but I must plead guilty
+to a little temporary anxiety as to their present whereabouts."
+
+"At this moment," Bernadine remarked, "they are within a few feet of us;
+but, as you are doubtless aware, access to your delightful river is
+obtainable from these premises. To be frank with you, my dear Baron, we
+are waiting for the tide to rise."
+
+"So thoughtful about these trifles!" de Grost murmured. "But their
+present position? They are, I trust, not uncomfortable?"
+
+Bernadine stood up and moved to the farther end of the office. He
+beckoned his companion to his side and, drawing an electric torch from
+his pocket, flashed the light into a dark corner behind an immense bin.
+The forms of a man and a youth bound with ropes and gagged, lay
+stretched upon the floor. De Grost sighed.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that Mr. Greening, at any rate, is most
+uncomfortable."
+
+Bernadine turned off the light.
+
+"At least, Baron," he declared, "if such extreme measures should become
+necessary, I can promise you one thing--you shall have a quicker passage
+into eternity than they."
+
+De Grost resumed his seat.
+
+"Has it really come to that?" he asked. "Will nothing but so crude a
+proceeding as my absolute removal satisfy you?"
+
+"Nothing else is, I fear, practicable," Bernadine replied, "unless you
+decide to listen to reason. Believe me, my dear friend, I shall miss you
+and our small encounters exceedingly; but, unfortunately, you stand in
+the way of my career. You are the only man who has persistently baulked
+me. You have driven me to use against you means which I had grown to
+look upon as absolutely extinct in the upper circles of our profession."
+
+De Grost peered through the glass walls of the office.
+
+"Eight men, not counting yourself," he remarked, "and my poor manager
+and his faithful clerk lying bound and helpless. It is heavy odds,
+Bernadine."
+
+"There is no question of odds, I think," Bernadine answered smoothly.
+"You are much too clever a person to refuse to admit that you are
+entirely in my power."
+
+"And as regards terms? I really don't feel in the least anxious to make
+my final bow with so little notice," de Grost said. "To tell you the
+truth, I have been finding life quite interesting lately."
+
+Bernadine eyed his prisoner keenly. Such absolute composure was in
+itself disturbing. He was, for the moment, aware of a slight sensation
+of uneasiness, which his common sense, however, speedily disposed of.
+
+"There are two ways," he announced, "of dealing with an opponent. There
+is the old-fashioned one--crude, but, in a sense, eminently
+satisfactory--which sends him finally to adorn some other sphere."
+
+"I do not like that one," de Grost interrupted. "Get on with the
+alternative."
+
+"The alternative," Bernadine declared, "is when his capacity for harm
+can be destroyed."
+
+"That needs a little explanation," de Grost murmured.
+
+"Precisely. For instance, if you were to become absolutely discredited,
+I think that you would be effectually out of my way. Your people do not
+forgive."
+
+"Then discredit me, by all means," de Grost begged. "It sounds
+unpleasant, but I do not like your callous reference to the river."
+
+Bernadine gazed at his ancient opponent for several moments. After all,
+what was this but the splendid bravado of a beaten man, who is too
+clever not to recognise defeat?
+
+"I shall require," he said, "your code, the keys of your safe, which
+contains a great many documents of interest to me, and a free entry into
+your house."
+
+De Grost drew a bunch of keys reluctantly from his pocket and laid them
+upon the desk.
+
+"You will find the code bound in green morocco leather," he announced,
+"on the left-hand side, underneath the duplicate of a proposed Treaty
+between Italy and--some other Power. Between ourselves, Bernadine, I
+really expect that that is what you are after."
+
+Bernadine's eyes glistened.
+
+"What about the safe conduct into your house?" he asked.
+
+De Grost drew his case from his pocket and wrote a few lines on the back
+of one of his cards.
+
+"This will ensure you entrance there," he said, "and access to my study.
+If you see my wife, please reassure her as to my absence."
+
+"I shall certainly do so," Bernadine agreed, with a faint smile.
+
+"If I may be pardoned for alluding to a purely personal matter," de
+Grost continued, "what is to become of me?"
+
+"You will be bound and gagged in the same manner as your manager and his
+clerk," Bernadine replied smoothly. "I regret the necessity, but you see
+I can afford to run no risks. At four o'clock in the morning you will be
+released. It must be part of our agreement that you allow the man who
+stays behind the others for the purpose of setting you free, to depart
+unmolested. I think I know you better than to imagine you would be
+guilty of such _gaucherie_ as an appeal to the police."
+
+"That, unfortunately," de Grost declared, with a little sigh, "is, as
+you well know, out of the question. You are too clever for me,
+Bernadine. After all, I shall have to go back to my farm."
+
+Bernadine opened the door and called softly to one of his men. In less
+than five minutes de Grost was bound hand and foot. Bernadine stepped
+back and eyed his adversary with an air of ill-disguised triumph.
+
+"I trust, Baron de Grost," he said, "that you will be as comfortable as
+possible under the circumstances."
+
+De Grost lay quite still. He was powerless to move or speak.
+
+"Immediately," Bernadine continued, "I have presented myself at your
+house, verified your safe conduct, and helped myself to certain papers
+which I am exceedingly anxious to obtain," he went on, "I shall
+telephone here to the man whom I leave in charge, and you will be set at
+liberty in due course. If, for any reason, I meet with treachery and I
+do not telephone, you will join Mr. Greening and his young companion in
+a little--shall we call it aquatic recreation? I wish you a pleasant
+hour and success in the future, Baron--as a farmer."
+
+Bernadine withdrew and whispered his orders to his men. Soon the
+electric light was turned out and the place was in darkness. The front
+door was opened and closed; the group of confederates upon the pavement
+lit cigarettes and wished one another "Good-night" with the brisk air of
+tired employees released at last from long labours. Then there was
+silence.
+
+It was barely eleven o'clock when Bernadine reached the west-end of
+London. His clothes had become a trifle disarranged, and he called for a
+few minutes at his rooms in St. James's Street. Afterwards, he walked to
+Merton House and rang the bell. To the servant who answered it he handed
+his master's card.
+
+"Will you show me the way to the library?" he asked. "I have some papers
+to collect for the Baron de Grost."
+
+The man hesitated. Even with the card in his hand, it seemed a somewhat
+unusual proceeding.
+
+"Will you step inside, sir?" he begged. "I should like to show this to
+the Baroness. The master is exceedingly particular about anyone entering
+his study."
+
+"Do what you like so long as you do not keep me waiting," Bernadine
+replied. "Your master's instructions are clear enough."
+
+Violet came down the great staircase a few moments later, still in her
+dinner-gown, her face a little pale, her eyes luminous. Bernadine smiled
+as he accepted her eagerly offered hand. She was evidently anxious. A
+thrill of triumph warmed his blood. Once she had been less kind to him
+than she seemed now.
+
+"My husband gave you this!" she exclaimed.
+
+"A few minutes ago," Bernadine answered. "He tried to make his
+instructions as clear as possible. We are jointly interested in a small
+matter which needs immediate action."
+
+She led the way to the study.
+
+"It seems strange," she remarked, "that you and he should be working
+together. I thought that you were on opposite sides."
+
+"It is a matter of chance," Bernadine told her. "Your husband is a wise
+man, Baroness. He knows when to listen to reason."
+
+She threw open the door of the study, which was in darkness.
+
+"If you will wait a moment," she said, closing the door, "I will turn on
+the electric light."
+
+She touched the knobs in the wall, and the room was suddenly flooded
+with illumination. At the further end of the apartment was the great
+safe. Close to it, in an easy-chair, his evening coat changed for a
+smoking-jacket, with a neatly tied black tie replacing his crumpled
+white cravat, the Baron de Grost sat awaiting his guest. A fierce oath
+broke from Bernadine's lips. He turned toward the door only in time to
+hear the key turn. Violet tossed it lightly in the air across to her
+husband.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," the latter remarked, "on the whole, I do not think
+that this has been one of your successes. My keys, if you please."
+
+Bernadine stood for a moment, his face dark with passion.
+
+"Your keys are here, Baron de Grost," he said, placing them upon the
+table. "If a bungling amateur may make such a request of a professor,
+may I inquire how you escaped from your bonds and reached here before
+me?"
+
+The Baron de Grost smiled.
+
+"Really," he said, "you have only to think for yourself for a moment, my
+dear Bernadine, and you will understand. In the first place, the letter
+you sent me signed 'Greening' was clearly a forgery. There was no one
+else anxious to get me into their power, hence I associated it at once
+with you. Naturally, I telephoned to the chief of my staff--I, too, am
+obliged to employ some of these un-uniformed policemen, my dear
+Bernadine, as you may be aware. It may interest you to know, further,
+that there are seven entrances to the warehouse in Tooley Street.
+Through one of these something like twenty of my men passed and were
+already concealed in the place when I entered. At another of the doors a
+motor-car waited for me. If I had chosen to lift my finger at any time,
+your men would have been overpowered, and I might have had the pleasure
+of dictating terms to you in my own office. Such a course did not appeal
+to me. You and I, as you know, dear Count von Hern, conduct our peculiar
+business under very delicate conditions, and the least thing we either
+of us desire is notoriety. I managed things, as I thought, for the best.
+The moment you left the place my men swarmed in. We gently but firmly
+ejected your guard, released Greening and my clerk, and I passed you
+myself in Fleet Street, a little more comfortable, I think, in my forty
+horsepower motor-car than you in that very disreputable hansom. The
+other details are too absurdly simple; one need not enlarge upon them."
+
+Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I am at your service," he declared calmly.
+
+De Grost laughed.
+
+"My dear fellow," he said, "need I say that you are free to come or go,
+to take a whisky and soda with me or to depart at once--exactly as you
+feel inclined? The door was locked only until you restored to me my
+keys."
+
+He crossed the room, fitted the key in the lock and turned it.
+
+Bernadine drew himself up.
+
+"I will not drink with you," he said. "But some day a reckoning shall
+come."
+
+He turned to the door. De Grost laid his finger upon the bell.
+
+"Show Count von Hern out," he directed the astonished servant who
+appeared a moment or two later.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE SEVEN SUPPERS OF ANDREA KORUST
+
+
+Baron de Grost was enjoying what he had confidently looked forward to as
+an evening's relaxation, pure and simple. He sat in one of the front
+rows of the stalls of the Alhambra, his wife by his side and an
+excellent cigar in his mouth. An hour or so before he had been in
+telephonic communication with Paris, had spoken with Sogrange himself,
+and received his assurance of a calm in political and criminal affairs
+amounting almost to stagnation. It was out of the season, and though his
+popularity was as great as ever, neither he nor his wife had any social
+engagements. Hence this evening at a music-hall, which Peter, for his
+part, was finding thoroughly amusing.
+
+The place was packed--some said owing to the engagement of Andrea Korust
+and his brother, others to the presence of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire
+in her wonderful _Danse des Apaches_. The violinist that night had a
+great reception. Three times he was called before the curtain; three
+times he was obliged to reiterate his grateful but immutable resolve
+never to yield to the nightly storm which demanded more from a man who
+has given of his best. Slim, with the worn face and hollow eyes of a
+genius, he stood and bowed his thanks, but when he thought the time had
+arrived he disappeared, and though the house shook for minutes
+afterwards, nothing could persuade him to reappear.
+
+Afterward came the turn which, notwithstanding the furore caused by
+Andrea Korust's appearance, was generally considered to be equally
+responsible for the packed house--the Apache dance of Mademoiselle
+Sophie Celaire. Peter sat slightly forward in his chair as the curtain
+went up. For a time he seemed utterly absorbed by the performance.
+Violet glanced at him once or twice curiously. It began to occur to her
+that it was not so much the dance as the dancer in whom her husband was
+interested.
+
+"You have seen her before--this Mademoiselle Celaire?" she whispered.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"Yes," he admitted; "I have seen her before."
+
+The dance proceeded. It was like many others of its sort, only a little
+more daring, a little more finished. Mademoiselle Celaire, in her
+tight-fitting, shabby black frock, with her wild mass of hair, her
+flashing eyes, her seductive gestures, was, without doubt, a marvellous
+person. The Baron watched her every movement with absorbed attention.
+Even when the curtain went down he forgot to clap. His eyes followed her
+off the stage. Violet shrugged her shoulders. She was looking very
+handsome herself in a black velvet dinner gown, and a hat so exceedingly
+Parisian that no one had had the heart to ask her to remove it.
+
+"My dear Peter," she remarked, reprovingly, "a moderate amount of
+admiration for that very agile young lady I might, perhaps, be inclined
+to tolerate, but, having watched you for the last quarter of an hour, I
+am bound to confess that I am becoming jealous."
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Celaire?" he asked.
+
+"Of Mademoiselle Sophie Celaire."
+
+He leaned a little towards her. His lips were parted; he was about to
+make a statement or a confession. Just then a tall commissionaire leaned
+over from behind and touched him on the shoulder.
+
+"For Monsieur le Baron de Grost," he announced, handing Peter a note.
+
+Peter glanced towards his wife.
+
+"You permit me?" he murmured, breaking the seal.
+
+Violet shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly. Her husband was already
+absorbed in the few lines hastily scrawled across the sheet of notepaper
+which he held in his hand:
+
+     [Illustration: 4] "Monsieur Baron de Grost. [Illustration: backward
+     4]
+
+     "DEAR MONSIEUR LE BARON,
+
+     "_Come to my dressing-room, without fail, as soon as you receive
+     this._
+
+     "SOPHIE CELAIRE."
+
+Violet looked over his shoulder.
+
+"The hussy!" she exclaimed, indignantly.
+
+Her husband raised his eyebrows. With his forefinger he merely tapped
+the two numerals.
+
+"The Double Four!" she gasped
+
+He looked around and nodded. The commissionaire was waiting. Peter took
+up his silk hat from under the seat.
+
+"If I am detained, dear," he whispered, "you'll make the best of it,
+won't you? The car will be here, and Frederick will be looking out for
+you."
+
+"Of course," she answered, cheerfully. "I shall be quite all right."
+
+She nodded brightly, and Peter took his departure. He passed through a
+door on which was painted "Private," and through a maze of scenery and
+stage hands and ballet ladies, by a devious route, to the region of the
+dressing-rooms. His guide conducted him to the door of one of these and
+knocked.
+
+"_Entrez, monsieur_," a shrill feminine voice replied.
+
+Peter entered, and closed the door behind him. The commissionaire
+remained outside. Mademoiselle Celaire turned to greet her visitor.
+
+"It is a few words I desire with you as quickly as possible, if you
+please, Monsieur le Baron," she said, advancing towards him. "Listen."
+
+She had brushed out her hair, and it hung from her head straight and a
+little stiff, almost like the hair of an Indian woman. She had washed
+her face free of all cosmetics, and her pallor was almost waxen. She
+wore a dressing-gown of green silk. Her discarded black frock lay upon
+the floor.
+
+"I am entirely at your service, mademoiselle," Peter answered, bowing.
+"Continue, if you please."
+
+"You sup with me to-night--you are my guest."
+
+He hesitated.
+
+"I am very much honoured," he murmured. "It is an affair of urgency,
+then? Mademoiselle will remember that I am not alone here."
+
+She threw out her hands scornfully.
+
+"They told me in Paris that you were a genius!" she exclaimed. "Cannot
+you feel, then, when a thing is urgent? Do you not know it without being
+told? You must meet me with a carriage at the stage door in forty
+minutes. We sup in Hamilton Place with Andrea Korust and his brother."
+
+"With whom?" Peter asked, surprised.
+
+"With the Korust Brothers," she repeated. "I have just been talking to
+Andrea. He calls himself a Hungarian. Bah! They are as much Hungarian as
+I am!"
+
+Peter leaned slightly against the table and looked thoughtfully at his
+companion. He was trying to remember whether he had ever heard anything
+of these young men.
+
+"Mademoiselle," he said, "the prospect of partaking of any meal in your
+company is in itself enchanting, but I do not know your friends, the
+Korust Brothers. Apart from their wonderful music, I do not recollect
+ever having heard of them before in my life. What excuse have I, then,
+for accepting their hospitality? Pardon me, too, if I add that you have
+not as yet spoken as to the urgency of this affair."
+
+She turned from him impatiently, and, throwing herself back into the
+chair from which she had risen at his entrance, she began to exchange
+the thick woollen stockings which she had been wearing upon the stage
+for others of fine silk.
+
+"Oh, la, la!" she exclaimed. "You are very slow, Monsieur le Baron. It
+is, perhaps, my stage name which has misled you. I am Marie Lapouse.
+Does that convey anything to you?"
+
+"A great deal," Peter admitted, quickly. "You stand very high upon the
+list of my agents whom I may trust."
+
+"Then stay here no longer," she begged, "for my maid waits outside, and
+I need her services. Go back and make your excuses to your wife. In
+forty minutes I shall expect you at the stage door."
+
+"An affair of diplomacy, this, or brute force?" he inquired.
+
+"Heaven knows what may happen!" she replied. "To tell you the truth, I
+do not know myself. Be prepared for anything, but, for Heaven's sake, go
+now! I can dress no further without my maid, and Andrea Korust may come
+in at any moment. I do not wish him to find you here."
+
+Peter made his way thoughtfully back to his seat. He explained the
+situation to his wife so far as he could, and sent her home. Then he
+waited until the car returned, smoking a cigarette and trying once more
+to remember if he had ever heard anything of Andrea Korust or his
+brother from Sogrange. Punctually at the time stated he was outside the
+stage door of the music-hall, and a few minutes later Mademoiselle
+Celaire appeared, a dazzling vision of furs and smiles and jewellery
+imperfectly concealed. A small crowd pressed around to see the famous
+Frenchwoman. Peter handed her gravely across the pavement into his
+waiting motor-car. One or two of the loungers gave vent to a groan of
+envy at the sight of the diamonds which blazed from her neck and bosom.
+Peter smiled as he gave the address to his servant, and took his place
+by the side of his companion.
+
+"They see only the externals, this mob," he remarked. "They picture to
+themselves, perhaps, a little supper for two. Alas!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire laughed at him softly.
+
+"You need not trouble to assume that most disconsolate of expressions,
+my dear Baron," she assured him. "Your reputation as a man of gallantry
+is beyond question, but remember that I know you also for the most
+devoted and loyal of husbands. We waste no time in folly, you and I. It
+is the business of the Double Four."
+
+Peter was relieved, but his innate politeness forbade his showing it.
+
+"Proceed," he said.
+
+"The Brothers Korust," she went on, leaning towards him, "have a week's
+engagement at the Alhambra. Their salary is six hundred pounds. They
+play very beautifully, of course, but I think that it is as much as they
+are worth."
+
+Peter agreed with her fervently. He had no soul for music.
+
+"They have taken the furnished house belonging to one of your dukes, in
+Hamilton Place, for which we are bound; taken it, too, at a fabulous
+rent," Mademoiselle Celaire continued. "They have installed there a chef
+and a whole retinue of servants. They were here for seven nights; they
+have issued invitations for seven supper parties."
+
+"Hospitable young men they seem to be," Peter murmured. "I read in one
+of the stage papers that Andrea is a count in his own country, and that
+they perform in public only for the love of their music and for the sake
+of the excitement and travel."
+
+"A paragraph wholly inspired and utterly false," Mademoiselle Celaire
+declared firmly, sitting a little forward in the car and laying her
+hand, ablaze with jewels, upon his coat sleeve. "Listen. They call
+themselves Hungarians. Bah! I know that they are in touch with a great
+European Court, both of them, the Court of the country to which they
+really belong. They have plans, plans and schemes connected with their
+visit here, which I do not understand. I have done my best with Andrea
+Korust, but he is not a man to be trusted. I know that there is
+something more in these seven supper parties than idle hospitality. I
+and others like me, artistes and musicians, are invited, to give the
+assemblies a properly Bohemian tone, but there are to be other guests,
+attracted there, no doubt, because the papers have spoken of these
+gatherings."
+
+"You have some idea of what it all means, in your mind?" Peter
+suggested.
+
+"It is too vague to put into words," she declared, shaking her head. "We
+must both watch. Afterwards we will, if you like, compare notes."
+
+The car drew up before the doors of a handsome house in Hamilton Place.
+A footman received Peter, and relieved him of his hat and overcoat. A
+trim maid performed the same office for Mademoiselle Celaire. They met a
+moment or two later and were ushered into a large drawing-room in which
+a dozen or two of men and women were already assembled, and from which
+came a pleasant murmur of voices and laughter. The apartment was hung
+with pale green satin; the furniture was mostly Chippendale, upholstered
+in the same shade. A magnificent grand piano stood open in a smaller
+room, just visible beyond. Only one thing seemed strange to the two
+newly arrived guests. The room was entirely lit with shaded candles,
+giving a certain mysterious but not unpleasant air of obscurity to the
+whole suite of apartments. Through the gloom the jewels and eyes of the
+women seemed to shine with a new brilliance. Slight eccentricities of
+toilette--for a part of the gathering was distinctly Bohemian--were
+softened and subdued. The whole effect was somewhat weird, but also
+picturesque.
+
+Andrea Korust advanced from a little group to meet his guests. Off the
+stage he seemed at first sight frailer and slighter than ever. His dress
+coat had been exchanged for a velvet dinner jacket, and his white tie
+for a drooping black bow. He had a habit of blinking nearly all the
+time, as though his large brown eyes, which he seldom wholly opened,
+were weaker than they appeared to be. Nevertheless, when he came to
+within a few paces of his newly arrived visitors, they shone with plenty
+of expression. Without any change of countenance, however, he held out
+his hand.
+
+"Dear Andrea," Mademoiselle Celaire exclaimed, "you permit me that I
+present to you my dear friend, well known in Paris--alas! many years
+ago--Monsieur le Baron de Grost. Monsieur le Baron was kind enough to
+pay his respects to me this evening, and I have induced him to become my
+escort here."
+
+"It was my good fortune," Peter remarked, smiling, "that I saw
+Mademoiselle Celaire's name upon the bills this evening--my good
+fortune, since it has procured for me the honour of an acquaintance with
+a musician so distinguished."
+
+"You are very kind, Monsieur le Baron," Korust replied.
+
+"You stay here, I regret to hear, a very short time?"
+
+"Alas!" Andrea Korust admitted, "it is so. For myself, I would that it
+were longer. I find your London so attractive, the people so friendly.
+They fall in with my whims so charmingly. I have a hatred, you know, of
+solitude. I like to make acquaintances wherever I go, to have delightful
+women and interesting men around, to forget that life is not always gay.
+If I am too much alone I am miserable, and when I am miserable I am in a
+very bad way indeed. I cannot then make music."
+
+Peter smiled gravely and sympathetically.
+
+"And your brother? Does he, too, share your gregarious instincts?"
+
+Korust paused for a moment before replying. His eyes were quite wide
+open now. If one could judge from his expression, one would certainly
+have said that the Baron de Grost's attempts to ingratiate himself with
+his host were distinctly unsuccessful.
+
+"My brother has exactly opposite instincts," he said slowly. "He finds
+no pleasure in society. At the sound of a woman's voice he hides."
+
+"He is not here, then?" Peter asked, glancing around.
+
+Andrea Korust shook his head.
+
+"It is doubtful whether he joins us this evening at all," he declared.
+"My sister, however, is wholly of my disposition. Monsieur le Baron will
+permit me that I present her."
+
+Peter bowed low before a very handsome young woman with flashing black
+eyes, and a type of feature undoubtedly belonging to one of the
+countries of Eastern Europe. She was picturesquely dressed in a gown of
+flaming red silk, made as though in one piece, without trimming or
+flounces, and she seemed inclined to bestow upon her new acquaintance
+all the attention that he might desire. She took him at once into a
+corner and seated herself by his side. It was impossible for Peter not
+to associate the _empressement_ of her manner with the few words which
+Andrea Korust had whispered into her ear at the moment of their
+introduction.
+
+"So you," she murmured, "are the wonderful Baron de Grost? I have heard
+of you so often."
+
+"Wonderful!" Peter repeated, with twinkling eyes. "I have never been
+called that before. I feel that I have no claim whatever to distinction,
+especially in a gathering like this."
+
+She shrugged her shoulders and glanced carelessly across the room.
+
+"They are well enough," she admitted; "but one wearies of genius on
+every side of one. Genius is not the best thing in the world to live
+with, you know. It has whims and fancies. For instance, look at these
+rooms--the gloom, the obscurity--and I love so much the light."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"It is the privilege of genius," he remarked, "to have whims and to
+indulge in them."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"To do Andrea justice," she said, "it is, perhaps, scarcely a whim that
+he chooses to receive his guests in semi-darkness. He has weak eyes, and
+he is much too vain to wear spectacles. Tell me, you know everyone
+here?"
+
+"No one," Peter declared. "Please enlighten me, if you think it
+necessary. For myself," he added, dropping his voice a little, "I feel
+that the happiness of my evening is assured without making any further
+acquaintances."
+
+"But you came as the guest of Mademoiselle Celaire," she reminded him
+doubtfully, with a faint regretful sigh and a provocative gleam in her
+eyes.
+
+"I saw Mademoiselle Celaire to-night for the first time for years,"
+Peter replied. "I called to see her in her dressing-room, and she
+claimed me for an escort this evening. I am, alas! a very occasional
+wanderer in the pleasant paths of Bohemia."
+
+"If that is really true," she murmured, "I suppose I must tell you
+something about the people, or you will feel that you have wasted your
+opportunity."
+
+"Mademoiselle," Peter whispered.
+
+She held out her hand and laughed into his face.
+
+"No!" she interrupted. "I shall do my duty. Opposite you is Mademoiselle
+Drezani, the famous singer at Covent Garden. Do I need to tell you that,
+I wonder? Rudolf Maesterling, the dramatist, stands behind her there in
+the corner. He is talking to the wonderful Cleo, whom all the world
+knows. Monsieur Guyer there, he is manager, I believe, of the Alhambra;
+and talking to him is Marborg, the great pianist. The two ladies talking
+to my brother are Esther Hammerton, whom, of course, you know by sight.
+She is leading lady, is she not, at the Hilarity Theatre? The other one
+is Miss Ransome. They tell me that she is your only really great English
+actress."
+
+Peter nodded appreciatively.
+
+"It is all most interesting," he declared. "Now, tell me, please, who is
+the military person with the stiff figure and sallow complexion standing
+by the door? He seems quite alone."
+
+The girl made a little grimace.
+
+"I suppose I ought to be looking after him," she admitted, rising
+reluctantly to her feet. "He is a soldier just back from India--a
+General Noseworthy, with all sorts of letters after his name. If
+Mademoiselle Celaire is generous, perhaps we may have a few minutes'
+conversation later on," she added, with a parting smile.
+
+"Say, rather, if Mademoiselle Korust is kind," de Grost replied, bowing.
+"It depends upon that only."
+
+He strolled across the room and rejoined Mademoiselle Celaire a few
+moments later. They stood apart in a corner.
+
+"I should like my supper," Peter declared.
+
+"They wait for one more guest," Mademoiselle Celaire announced.
+
+"One more guest! Do you know who it is?"
+
+"No idea," she answered. "One would imagine that it was someone of
+importance. Are you any wiser than when you came dear master?" she added
+under her breath.
+
+"Not a whit," he replied promptly.
+
+She took out her fan and waved it slowly in front of her face.
+
+"Yet you must discover what it all means to-night or not at all," she
+whispered. "The dear Andrea has intimated to me most delicately that
+another escort would be more acceptable if I should honour him again."
+
+"That helps," he murmured. "See, our last guest arrives. Ah!"
+
+A tall, spare-looking man was just being announced. They heard his name
+as Andrea presented him to a companion:
+
+"Colonel Mayson!"
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire saw a gleam in her companion's eyes.
+
+"It is coming--the idea?" she whispered.
+
+"Very vaguely," he admitted.
+
+"Who is this Colonel Mayson?"
+
+"Our only military aeronaut," Peter replied.
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Aeronaut!" she repeated doubtfully. "I see nothing in that. Both my own
+country and Germany are years ahead of poor England in the air. Is it
+not so?"
+
+Peter smiled and held out his arm.
+
+"See," he said, "supper has been announced. Afterwards Andrea Korust
+will play to us, and I think that Colonel Mayson and his distinguished
+brother officer from India will talk. We shall see."
+
+They passed into a room whose existence had suddenly been revealed by
+the drawing back of some beautiful brocaded curtains. Supper was a
+delightful meal, charmingly served. Peter, putting everything else out
+of his head for the moment, thoroughly enjoyed himself, and, remembering
+his duty as a guest, contributed in no small degree towards the success
+of the entertainment. He sat between Mademoiselle Celaire and his
+hostess, both of whom demanded much from him in the way of attention.
+But he still found time to tell stories which were listened to by
+everyone, and exchanged sallies with the gayest. Only Andrea Korust,
+from his place at the head of the table, glanced occasionally towards
+his popular guest with a curious, half-hidden expression of distaste and
+suspicion. The more the Baron de Grost shone, the more uneasy Andrea
+became. The signal to rise from the meal was given almost abruptly.
+Mademoiselle Korust hung on to Peter's arm. Her own wishes and her
+brother's orders seemed to absolutely coincide. She led him towards a
+retired corner of the music-room. On the way, however, Peter overheard
+the introduction which he had expected.
+
+"General Noseworthy is just returned from India, Colonel Mayson," Korust
+said, in his usual quiet, tired tone. "You will, perhaps, find it
+interesting to talk together a little. As for me, I play because all are
+polite enough to wish it, but conversation disturbs me not in the
+least."
+
+Peter passed, smiling, on to the corner pointed out by his companion,
+which was the darkest and most secluded in the room. He took her fan and
+gloves, lit her cigarette, and leaned back by her side.
+
+"How does your brother, a stranger to London, find time to make the
+acquaintance of so many interesting people?" he asked.
+
+"He brought many letters," she replied. "He has friends everywhere."
+
+"I have an idea," Peter remarked, "that an acquaintance of my own, the
+Count von Hern, spoke to me once about him."
+
+She took her cigarette from her lips and turned her head slightly.
+Peter's expression was one of amiable reminiscence. His cheeks were a
+trifle flushed; his appearance was entirely reassuring. She laughed at
+her brother's caution. She found her companion delightful.
+
+"Yes, the Count von Hern is a friend of my brother's," she admitted
+carelessly.
+
+"And of yours?" he whispered, his arm slightly pressed against hers.
+
+She laughed at him silently and their eyes met. Decidedly Peter, Baron
+de Grost, found it hard to break away from his old weakness. Andrea
+Korust, from his place near the piano, breathed a sigh of relief as he
+watched. A moment or two later, however, Mademoiselle Korust was obliged
+to leave her companion to receive a late but unimportant guest, and
+almost simultaneously Colonel Mayson passed by on his way to the farther
+end of the apartment. Andrea Korust was bending over the piano to give
+some instructions to his accompanist. Peter leaned forward and his face
+and tone were strangely altered.
+
+"You will find General Noseworthy of the Indian Army a little
+inquisitive, Colonel," he remarked.
+
+The latter turned sharply round. There was meaning in those few words,
+without doubt! There was meaning, too, in the still, cold face which
+seemed to repel his question. He passed on thoughtfully. Mademoiselle
+Korust, with a gesture of relief, came back and threw herself once more
+upon the couch.
+
+"We must talk in whispers," she said gaily. "Andrea always declares that
+he does not mind conversation, but too much noise is, of course,
+impossible. Besides, Mademoiselle Celaire will not spare you to me for
+long."
+
+"There is a whole language," he replied, "which was made for whisperers.
+And as for Mademoiselle Celaire----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+He laughed softly.
+
+"Mademoiselle Celaire is, I think, more your brother's friend than
+mine," he murmured. "At least I will be generous. He has given me a
+delightful evening. I resign my claims upon Mademoiselle Celaire."
+
+"It would break your heart," she declared.
+
+His voice sank even below a whisper. Decidedly Peter, Baron de Grost,
+did not improve!...
+
+He rose to leave precisely at the right time, neither too early nor too
+late. He had spent altogether a most amusing evening. There were one or
+two little comedies which had diverted him extremely. At the moment of
+parting, the beautiful eyes of Mademoiselle Korust had been raised to
+his very earnestly.
+
+"You will come again very soon--to-morrow night?" she had whispered. "Is
+it necessary that you bring Mademoiselle Celaire?"
+
+"It is altogether unnecessary," Peter replied.
+
+"Let me try and entertain you instead, then."
+
+It was precisely at that instant that Andrea had sent for his sister.
+Peter watched their brief conversation with much interest and intense
+amusement. She was being told not to invite him there again and she was
+rebelling! Without a doubt he had made a conquest! She returned to him
+flushed, and with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.
+
+"Monsieur le Baron," she said, leading him on one side, "I am ashamed
+and angry."
+
+"Your brother is annoyed because you have asked me here to-morrow
+night?" he asked quickly.
+
+"It is so," she confessed. "Indeed, I thank you that you have spared me
+the task of putting my brother's discourtesy into words. Andrea takes
+violent fancies like that sometimes. I am ashamed, but what can I do?"
+
+"Nothing, mademoiselle," he admitted, with a sigh. "I obey, of course.
+Did your brother mention the source of his aversion to me?"
+
+"He is too absurd sometimes," she declared. "One must treat him like a
+great baby."
+
+"Nevertheless, there must be a reason," Peter persisted, gently.
+
+"He has heard some foolish thing from the Count von Hern," she admitted,
+reluctantly. "Do not let us think anything more about it. In a few days
+it will have passed. And meanwhile----"
+
+She paused. He leaned a little towards her. She was looking intently at
+a ring upon her finger.
+
+"If you would really like to see me," she whispered, "and if you are
+sure that Mademoiselle Celaire would not object, could you not ask me to
+tea to-morrow or the next day?"
+
+"To-morrow," Peter insisted, with a becoming show of eagerness. "Shall
+we say at the Carlton at five?"
+
+She hesitated.
+
+"Isn't that rather a public place?" she objected.
+
+"Anywhere else you like."
+
+She was silent for a moment. She seemed to be waiting for some
+suggestion from him. None came.
+
+"The Carlton at five," she murmured. "I am angry with Andrea. I feel,
+even, that I could break his wonderful violin in two!"
+
+Peter sighed once more.
+
+"I should like to twist von Hern's neck!" he declared. "Lucky for him
+that he's in St. Petersburg! Let us forget this unpleasant matter,
+mademoiselle. The evening has been too delightful for such memories."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire turned to her escort as soon as they were alone in
+the car.
+
+"As an escort, let me tell you, my dear Baron," she exclaimed, with some
+pique, "that you are a miserable failure! For the rest----"
+
+"For the rest, I will admit that I am puzzled," Peter said. "I need to
+think. I have the glimmerings of an idea--no more."
+
+"You will act? It is an affair for us--for the Double Four?"
+
+"Without a doubt--an affair and a serious one," Peter assured her. "I
+shall act. Exactly how I cannot say until after to-morrow."
+
+"To-morrow?" she repeated.
+
+"Mademoiselle Korust takes tea with me," he explained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In a quiet sort of way, the series of supper parties given by Andrea
+Korust became the talk of London. The most famous dancer in the world
+broke through her unvarying rule, and night after night thrilled the
+distinguished little gathering. An opera singer, the "star" of the
+season, sang; a great genius recited; and Andrea himself gave always of
+his best. Apart from this wonderful outpouring of talent, Andrea Korust
+himself seemed to possess the peculiar art of bringing into touch with
+one another people naturally interested in the same subjects. On the
+night after the visit of Peter, Baron de Grost, His Grace the Duke of
+Rosshire was present, the man in whose hands lay the destinies of the
+British Navy; and, curiously enough, on the same night, a great French
+writer on naval subjects was present, whom the Duke had never met, and
+with whom he was delighted to talk for some time apart. On another
+occasion, the Military Secretary to the French Embassy was able to have
+a long and instructive chat with a distinguished English general on the
+subject of the recent man[oe]uvres, and the latter received, in the
+strictest confidence, some very interesting information concerning the
+new type of French guns. On the following evening the greatest of our
+Colonial statesmen, a red-hot Imperialist, was able to chat about the
+resources of the Empire with an English politician of similar views,
+whom he chanced never to have previously met. Altogether these parties
+seemed to be the means of bringing together a series of most interesting
+people, interesting not only in themselves, but in their relations to
+one another. It was noticeable, however, that from this side of his
+little gatherings Andrea Korust remained wholly apart. He admitted that
+music and cheerful companionship were the only two things in life he
+really cared for. Politics or matters of world import seemed to leave
+him unmoved. If a serious subject of conversation were started at
+supper-time he was frankly bored, and took no pains to hide the fact. It
+is certain that whatever interesting topics were alluded to in his
+presence, he remained entirely outside any understanding of them.
+Mademoiselle Celaire, who was present most evenings, although with other
+escorts, was puzzled. She could see nothing whatever to account for the
+warning which she had received, and had at once passed on, as was her
+duty, to the Baron de Grost. She failed, also, to understand the faint
+but perceptible enlightenment to which Peter himself had admittedly
+attained after that first evening. Take that important conversation, for
+instance, between the French military _attache_ and the British general.
+Without a doubt it was of interest, and especially so to the country
+which she was sure claimed his allegiance, but it was equally without
+doubt that Andrea Korust neither overheard a word of that conversation
+nor betrayed the slightest curiosity concerning it. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was a clever woman, and she had never felt so hopelessly at fault.
+Illumination was to come, however--illumination, dramatic and complete.
+
+The seventh and last of these famous supper parties was in full swing.
+Notwithstanding the shaded candles, which left the faces of the guests a
+little indistinct, the scene was a brilliant one. Mademoiselle Celaire
+was wearing her famous diamonds, which shone through the gloom like
+pin-pricks of fire; Garda Desmaines, the wonderful Garda, sat next to
+her host, her bosom and hair on fire with jewels, yet with the most
+wonderful light of all glowing in her eyes; a famous actor, who had
+thrown his proverbial reticence to the winds, kept his immediate
+neighbours in a state of semi-hysterical mirth; the clink of
+wine-glasses, the laughter of beautiful women, the murmur of cultivated
+voices, rose and fell through the faint, mysterious gloom. It was a
+picturesque, a wonderful scene enough. Pale as a marble statue, with the
+covert smile of the gracious host, Andrea Korust sat at the head of the
+table, well pleased with his company, as indeed he had the right to be.
+By his side was a great American statesman, who was travelling round the
+world, and yet had refused all other invitations of this sort. He had
+come for the pleasure of meeting the famous Dutch writer and politician,
+Mr. van Jool. The two were already talking intimately. It was at this
+point that tragedy, or something like it, intervened. A man's impatient
+voice was heard in the hall outside, a man's voice which grew louder and
+louder, more impatient, finally more passionate. People raised their
+heads to listen. The American statesman, who was, perhaps, the only one
+to realise exactly what was coming, slipped his hand into his pocket and
+gripped something cold and hard. Then the door was flung open. An
+apologetic and much disturbed butler made the announcement which had
+evidently been demanded of him.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen!"
+
+A silence followed--breathless--the silence before the bursting of the
+storm. Mr. von Tassen was the name of the American statesman, and the
+man who rose slowly from his place by his host's side was the exact
+double of the man who stood now upon the threshold, gazing in upon the
+room. The expression of the two alone was different. The new-comer was
+furiously angry, and looked it. The sham Mr. von Tassen was very much at
+his ease. It was he who broke the silence, and his voice was curiously
+free from all trace of emotion. He was looking his double over with an
+air of professional interest.
+
+"On the whole," he said calmly, "very good. A little stouter, I
+perceive, and the eyebrows a trifle too regular. Of course, when you
+make faces at me like that, it is hard to judge of the expression. I can
+only say that I did the best I could."
+
+"Who the devil are you, masquerading in my name?" the new-comer
+demanded, with emphasis. "This man is an impostor!" he added, turning to
+Andrea Korust. "What is he doing at your table?"
+
+Andrea leaned forward, and his face was an evil thing to look upon.
+
+"Who are you?" he hissed out.
+
+The sham Mr. von Tassen turned away for a moment and stooped down. The
+trick has been done often enough upon the stage, often in less time, but
+seldom with more effect. The wonderful wig disappeared, the spectacles,
+the lines in the face, the make-up of diabolical cleverness. With his
+back to the wall and his fingers playing with something in his pocket,
+Peter, Baron de Grost smiled upon his host.
+
+"Since you insist upon knowing--the Baron de Grost, at your service!" he
+announced.
+
+Andrea Korust was, for the moment, speechless. One of the women
+shrieked. The real Mr. von Tassen looked around him helplessly.
+
+"Will someone be good enough to enlighten me as to the meaning of this?"
+he begged. "Is it a roast? If so, I only want to catch on. Let me get to
+the joke, if there is one. If not, I should like a few words of
+explanation from you, sir," he added, addressing Peter.
+
+"Presently," the latter replied. "In the meantime, let me persuade you
+that I am not the only impostor here."
+
+He seized a glass of water and dashed it in the face of Mr. van Jool.
+There was a moment's scuffle, and no more of Mr. van Jool. What emerged
+was a good deal like the shy Maurice Korust, who accompanied his brother
+at the music-hall, but whose distaste for these gatherings had been
+Andrea's continual lament. The Baron de Grost stepped back once more
+against the wall. His host was certainly looking dangerous. Mademoiselle
+Celaire was leaning forward, staring through the gloom with distended
+eyes. Around the table every head was craned towards the centre of the
+disturbance. It was Peter again who spoke.
+
+"Let me suggest, Andrea Korust," he said, "that you send your
+guests--those who are not immediately interested in this affair--into
+the next room. I will offer Mr. von Tassen then the explanation to which
+he is entitled."
+
+Andrea Korust staggered to his feet. The man's nerve had failed. He was
+shaking all over. He pointed to the music-room.
+
+"If you would be so good, ladies and gentlemen!" he begged. "We will
+follow you immediately."
+
+They went, with obvious reluctance. All their eyes seemed focused upon
+Peter. He bore their scrutiny with calm cheerfulness. For a moment he
+had feared Korust, but that moment had passed. A servant, obeying his
+master's gesture, pulled back the curtains after the departing crowd.
+The four men were alone.
+
+"Mr. von Tassen," Peter said easily, "you are a man who loves
+adventures. To-night you experience a new sort of one. Over in your
+great country such methods as these are laughed at as the cheap device
+of sensation-mongers. Nevertheless, they exist. To-night is a proof that
+they exist."
+
+"Get on to facts, sir!" the American admonished. "Before you leave this
+room, you've got to explain to me what you mean by passing yourself off
+as Thomas von Tassen."
+
+Peter bowed.
+
+"With much pleasure, Mr. von Tassen," he declared. "For your
+information, I might tell you that you are not the only person in whose
+guise I have figured. In fact, I have had quite a busy week. I have
+been--let me see--I have been Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel on the
+night when our shy friend, Maurice Korust, was playing the part of
+General Henderson. I have also been His Grace the Duke of Rosshire when
+my friend Maurice here was introduced to me as Francois Defayal, known
+by name to me as one of the greatest writers on naval matters. A little
+awkward about the figure I found His Grace, but otherwise I think that I
+should have passed muster wherever he was known. I have also passed as
+Sir William Laureston, on the evening when my rival artiste here sang
+the praises of Imperial England."
+
+Andrea Korust leaned forward with venomous eyes.
+
+"You mean that it was you who was here last night in Sir William
+Laureston's place?" he almost shrieked.
+
+"Most certainly," Peter admitted, "but you must remember that, after
+all, my performances have been no more difficult than those of your shy
+but accomplished brother. Whenever I took to myself a strange
+personality I found him there, equally good as to detail, and with his
+subject always at his finger-tips. We settled that little matter of the
+canal, didn't we?" Peter remarked cheerfully, laying his hand upon the
+shoulder of the young man.
+
+They stared at him, these two white-faced brothers, like tiger-cats
+about to spring. Mr. von Tassen was getting impatient.
+
+"Look here," he protested, "you may be clearing matters up so far as
+regards Mr. Andrea Korust and his brother, but I'm as much in the fog as
+ever. Where do I come in?"
+
+"Your pardon, sir!" Peter replied. "I am getting nearer things now.
+These two young men--we will not call them hard names--are suffering
+from an excess of patriotic zeal. They didn't come and sit down on a
+camp-stool and sketch obsolete forts, as those others of their
+countrymen do when they want to pose as the bland and really exceedingly
+ignorant foreigners. They went about the matter with some skill. It
+occurred to them that it might be interesting to their country to know
+what Sir William Laureston thought about the strength of the Imperial
+Navy, and to what extent his country were willing to go in maintaining
+their allegiance to Great Britain. Then there was the Duke of Rosshire.
+They thought they'd like to know his views as to the development of the
+Navy during the next ten years. There was that little matter, too, of
+the French guns. It would certainly be interesting to them to know what
+Monsieur le Marquis de Beau Kunel had to say about them. These people
+were all invited to sit at the hospitable board of our host here. I,
+however, had an inkling on the first night of what was going on, and I
+was easily able to persuade those in authority to let me play their
+several parts. You, sir," Peter added, turning to Mr. von Tassen, "you,
+sir, floored me. You were not an Englishman, and there was no appeal
+which I could make. I simply had to risk you. I counted upon your not
+turning up. Unfortunately, you did. Fortunately, you are the last guest.
+This is the seventh supper."
+
+Mr. von Tassen glanced around at the three men and made up his mind.
+
+"What do you call yourself?" he asked Peter.
+
+"The Baron de Grost," Peter replied.
+
+"Then, my friend the Baron de Grost," von Tassen said, "I think that you
+and I had better get out of this. So I was to talk about Germany with
+Mr. van Jool, eh?"
+
+"I have already explained your views," Peter declared, with twinkling
+eyes. "Mr. van Jool was delighted."
+
+Mr. von Tassen shook with laughter.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "this is a great story! If you're ready, Baron de
+Grost, lead the way to where we can get a whisky and soda and a chat."
+
+Mademoiselle Celaire came gliding out to them.
+
+"I am not going to be left here," she whispered, taking Peter's arm.
+
+Peter looked back from the door.
+
+"At any rate, Mr. Andrea Korust," he said, "your first supper was a
+success. Colonel Mayson was genuine. Our real English military aeronaut
+was here, and he has disclosed to you, Maurice Korust, all that he ever
+knew. Henceforth I presume your great country will dispute with us for
+the mastery of the air."
+
+"Queer country, this," Mr. von Tassen remarked, pausing on the step to
+light a cigar. "Seems kind of humdrum after New York, but there's no use
+talking--things do happen over here anyway!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE MISSION OF MAJOR KOSUTH
+
+
+His host, very fussy as he always was on the morning of his big shoot,
+came bustling towards de Grost, with a piece of paper in his hand. The
+party of men had just descended from a large brake and were standing
+about on the edge of the common, examining cartridges, smoking a last
+cigarette before the business of the morning, and chatting together over
+the prospects of the day's sport. In the distance, a cloud of dust
+indicated the approach of a fast-travelling motor-car.
+
+"My dear Baron," Sir William Bounderby said, "I want you to change your
+stand to-day. I must have a good man at the far corner as the birds go
+off my land from there, and Addington was missing them shockingly
+yesterday. Besides, there is a new man coming on your left, and I know
+nothing of his shooting--nothing at all!"
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"Anywhere you choose to put me, Sir William," he assented. "They came
+badly for Addington yesterday, and well for me. However, I'll do my
+best."
+
+"I wish people wouldn't bring strangers, especially to the one shoot
+where I'm keen about the bag. I told Portal he could bring his
+brother-in-law, and he's bringing this foreign fellow instead. Don't
+suppose he can shoot for nuts! Did you ever hear of him, I wonder? The
+Count von Hern, he calls himself."
+
+Peter was not on his guard and a little exclamation escaped him.
+
+"Bernadine!" he murmured, softly. "So the game begins once more!"
+
+His interest was unmistakable. It was not only the chill November air
+which had brought a touch of colour to his cheeks and the light to his
+eyes.
+
+"You seem pleased," Sir William Bounderby remarked, curiously. "You do
+know the fellow, then? Friend of yours, perhaps?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Oh, yes! I know him, Sir William," he replied, "but I do not think that
+he would call himself a friend of mine. I know nothing about his
+shooting except that if he got a chance I think that he would like to
+shoot me."
+
+Sir William, who was a very literal man, looked grave.
+
+"I am sorry," he said, "if you are likely to find this meeting in any
+way awkward. I suppose there's nothing against him, eh?" he added, a
+little nervously. "I invited him purely on the strength of his being a
+guest of Portal's."
+
+"The Count von Hern comes, I believe," Peter assured his host, "of a
+distinguished European family. Socially there is nothing whatever
+against him. We happen to have run up against each other once or twice,
+that's all. That sort of thing will occur, you know, when the interests
+of finance touch the border-line of politics."
+
+"You have no objection to meeting him, then?" Sir William asked.
+
+"Not the slightest," Peter replied. "I do not know exactly in what
+direction the Count von Hern is extending his activities at present, but
+you will probably find any feeling of annoyance as regards our meeting
+to-day is entirely on his side."
+
+"I am very glad to hear it," Sir William declared. "I should not like
+anything to happen to disturb the harmony of your short visit to us."
+
+The motor-car had come to a standstill by this time. From it descended
+Mr. Portal himself, a large neighbouring landowner, a man of culture and
+travel. With him was Bernadine, in a very correct shooting suit and
+Tyrolese hat. On the other side of Mr. Portal was a short, thick-set
+man, with olive complexion, keen black eyes, black moustache and
+imperial, and sombrely dressed in City clothes. Sir William's eyebrows
+were slightly raised as he advanced to greet the party. Peter was at
+once profoundly interested.
+
+Mr. Portal introduced his guests.
+
+"You will forgive me, I am sure, for bringing a spectator, Bounderby,"
+he said. "Major Kosuth, whom I have the honour to present--Major Kosuth,
+Sir William Bounderby--is high up in the diplomatic service of a people
+with whom we must feel every sympathy--the young Turks. The Count von
+Hern, who takes my brother-in-law's place, is probably known to you by
+name."
+
+Sir William welcomed his visitors cordially.
+
+"You do not shoot, Major Kosuth?" he asked.
+
+"Very seldom," the Turk answered. "I come to-day with my good friend,
+Count von Hern, as a spectator, if you permit."
+
+"Delighted," Sir William replied. "We will find you a safe place near
+your friend."
+
+The little party began to move toward the wood. It was just at this
+moment that Bernadine felt a touch upon his shoulder, and, turning
+round, found Peter by his side.
+
+"An unexpected pleasure, my dear Count," the latter declared, suavely.
+"I had no idea that you took an interest in such simple sports."
+
+The manners of the Count von Hern were universally quoted as being
+almost too perfect. It is a regrettable fact, however, that at that
+moment he swore--softly, perhaps, but with distinct vehemence. A moment
+later he was exchanging the most cordial of greetings with his old
+friend.
+
+"You have the knack, my dear de Grost," he remarked, "of turning up in
+the most surprising places. I certainly did not know that amongst your
+many accomplishments was included a love for field sports."
+
+Peter smiled quietly. He was a very fine shot, and knew it.
+
+"One must amuse oneself these days," he said. "There is little else to
+do."
+
+Bernadine bit his lip.
+
+"My absence from this country, I fear, has robbed you of an occupation."
+
+"It has certainly deprived life of some of its savour," Peter admitted,
+blandly. "By the by, will you not present me to your friend? I have the
+utmost sympathy with the intrepid political party of which he is a
+member."
+
+The Count von Hern performed the introduction with a reluctance which he
+wholly failed to conceal. The Turk, however, had been walking on his
+other side, and his hat was already lifted. Peter had purposely raised
+his voice.
+
+"It gives me the greatest pleasure, Major Kosuth," Peter said, "to
+welcome you to this country. In common, I believe, with the majority of
+my countrymen, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the movement
+which you represent."
+
+Major Kosuth smiled slowly. His features were heavy and unexpressive.
+There was something of gloom, however, in the manner of his response.
+
+"You are very kind, Baron," he replied, "and I welcome very much this
+expression of your interest in my party. I believe that the hearts of
+your country people are turned towards us in the same manner. I could
+wish that your country's political sympathies were as easily aroused."
+
+Bernadine intervened promptly.
+
+"Major Kosuth has been here only one day," he remarked lightly. "I tell
+him that he is a little too impatient. See, we are approaching the wood.
+It is as well here to refrain from conversation."
+
+"We will resume it later," Peter said, softly. "I have interests in
+Turkey, and it would give me great pleasure to have a talk with Major
+Kosuth."
+
+"Financial interests?" the latter inquired, with some eagerness.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I will explain after the first drive," he said, turning away.
+
+Peter walked rather quickly until he reached a bend in the wood. He
+overtook his host on the way, and paused for a moment.
+
+"Lend me a loader for half an hour, Sir William," he begged. "I have to
+send my servant to the village with a telegram."
+
+"With pleasure!" Sir William answered. "There are several to spare. I'll
+send one to your stand. There's von Hern going the wrong way!" he
+exclaimed, in a tone of annoyance.
+
+Peter was just in time to stop the whistle from going to his mouth.
+
+"Do me another favour, Sir William," he pleaded. "Give me time to send
+off my telegram before the Count sees what I'm doing. He's such an
+inquisitive person," he went on, noticing his host's look of blank
+surprise. "Thank you ever so much!"
+
+Peter hurried on to his place. It was round the corner of the wood, and
+for the moment out of sight of the rest of the party. He tore a sheet
+from his pocket-book and scribbled out a telegram. His man had
+disappeared and a substitute taken his place by the time the Count von
+Hern arrived. The latter was now all amiability. It was hard to believe,
+from his smiling salutation, that he and the man to whom he waved his
+hand in so airy a fashion had ever declared war to the death!
+
+The shooting began a few minutes later. Major Kosuth, from a camp stool
+a few yards behind his friend, watched with somewhat languid interest.
+He gave one, indeed, the impression that his thoughts were far removed
+from this simple country party, the main object of whose existence for
+the present seemed to be the slaying of a certain number of inoffensive
+birds. He watched the indifferent performance of his friend and the
+remarkably fine shooting of his neighbour on the left, with the same
+lack-lustre eye and want of enthusiasm. The beat was scarcely over
+before Peter, resigning his smoking guns to his loader, lit a cigarette
+and strolled across to the next stand. He plunged at once into a
+conversation with Kosuth, notwithstanding Bernadine's ill-concealed
+annoyance.
+
+"Major Kosuth," he began, "I sympathise with you. It is a hard task for
+a man whose mind is centred upon great events to sit still and watch a
+performance of this sort. Be kind to us all and remember that this
+represents to us merely a few hours of relaxation. We, too, have our
+more serious moments."
+
+"You read my thoughts well," Major Kosuth declared. "I do not seek to
+excuse them. For half a lifetime we Turks have toiled and striven,
+always in danger of our lives, to help forward those things which have
+now come to pass. I think that our lives have become tinged with
+sombreness and apprehension. Now that the first step is achieved, we go
+forward, still with trepidation. We need friends, Baron de Grost."
+
+"You cannot seriously doubt but that you will find them in this
+country," Peter remarked. "There has never been a time when the English
+nation has not sympathised with the cause of liberty."
+
+"It is not the hearts of your people," Major Kosuth said, "which I fear.
+It is the antics of your politicians. Sympathy is a great thing, and
+good to have, but Turkey to-day needs more. The heart of a nation is
+big, but the number of those in whose hands it remains to give practical
+expression to its promptings is few."
+
+Bernadine, who had stood as much as he could, seized forcibly upon his
+friend.
+
+"You must remember our bargain, Kosuth," he insisted--"no politics
+to-day. Until to-morrow evening we rest. Now I want to introduce you to
+a very old friend of mine, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county."
+
+The Turk was bustled off, a little unwillingly. Peter watched them with
+a smile. It was many months since he had felt so keen an interest in
+life. The coming of Bernadine had steadied his nerves. His gun had come
+to his shoulder like the piston-rod of an engine. His eye was clear, his
+nerve still. There was something to be done! Decidedly, there was
+something to be done!...
+
+No man was better informed in current political affairs; but Peter,
+instead of joining the cheerful afternoon tea party at the close of the
+day, raked out a file of _The Times_ from the library, and studied it
+carefully in his room. There were one or two items of news concerning
+which he made pencil notes. He had scarcely finished his task before a
+servant brought in a dispatch. He opened it with interest and drew
+pencil and paper towards him. It was from Paris, and in the code which
+he had learnt by heart, no written key of which now existed. Carefully
+he transcribed it on to paper and read it through. It was dated from
+Paris a few hours back:
+
+"Kosuth left for England yesterday. Envoy from new Turkish Government.
+Requiring loan one million pounds. Asked for guarantee that it was not
+for warlike movement against Bulgaria; declined to give same.
+Communicated with English Ambassador and informed Kosuth yesterday that
+neither Government would sanction loan unless undertaking were given
+that the same was not to be applied for war against Bulgaria. Turkey is
+under covenant to enter into no financial obligations with any other
+Power while the interest of former loans remains in abeyance. Kosuth has
+made two efforts to obtain loan privately, from prominent English
+financier and French syndicate. Both have declined to treat on
+representations from Government. Kosuth was expected return direct to
+Turkey. If, as you say, he is in England with Bernadine, we commend the
+affair to your utmost vigilance. Germany exceedingly anxious enter into
+close relations with new Government of Turkey. Fear Kosuth's association
+with Bernadine proof of bad faith. Have had interview with Minister for
+Foreign Affairs, who relies upon our help. French Secret Service at your
+disposal, if necessary."
+
+Peter read the message three times with the greatest care. He was on the
+point of destroying it when Violet came into the room. She was wearing a
+long tea jacket of sheeny silk. Her beautiful hair was most becomingly
+arranged, her figure as light and girlish as ever. She came into the
+room humming gaily and swinging a gold purse upon her finger.
+
+"Won three rubbers out of four, Peter," she declared, "and a compliment
+from the Duchess. Aren't I a pupil to be proud of?"
+
+She stopped short. Her lips formed themselves into the shape of a
+whistle. She knew very well the signs. Her husband's eyes were kindling,
+there was a firm set about his lips, the palm of his hand lay flat upon
+that sheet of paper.
+
+"It was true?" she murmured. "It was Bernadine who was shooting to-day?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"He was on the next stand," he replied.
+
+"Then there is something doing, of course," Violet continued. "My dear
+Peter, you may be an enigma to other people; to me you have the most
+expressive countenance I ever saw. You have had a cable which you have
+just transcribed. If I had been a few minutes later, I think you would
+have torn up the result. As it is, I think I have come just in time to
+hear all about it."
+
+Peter smiled, grimly but fondly. He uncovered the sheet of paper and
+placed it in her hands.
+
+"So far," he said, "there isn't much to tell you. The Count von Hern
+turned up this morning with a Major Kosuth, who was one of the leaders
+of the revolution in Turkey. I wired Paris, and this is the reply."
+
+She read the message through thoughtfully and handed it back. Peter lit
+a match, and standing over the fireplace, calmly destroyed it.
+
+"A million pounds is not a great sum of money," Violet remarked. "Why
+could not Kosuth borrow it for his country from a private individual?"
+
+"A million pounds is not a large sum to talk about," Peter replied, "but
+it is an exceedingly large sum for anyone, even a multi-millionaire, to
+handle in cash. And Turkey, I gather, wants it at once. Besides,
+considerations which might be of value from a Government are no security
+at all as applied to a private individual."
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Do you think that Kosuth means to go behind the existing treaty and
+borrow from Germany?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I can't quite believe that," he said. "It would mean the straining of
+diplomatic relations with both countries. It is out of the question."
+
+"Then where does Bernadine come in?"
+
+"I do not know," Peter answered.
+
+Violet laughed.
+
+"What is it that you are going to try to find out?" she asked.
+
+"I am trying to discover who it is that Bernadine and Kosuth are waiting
+to see," Peter replied. "The worst of it is, I daren't leave here. I
+shall have to trust to the others."
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Well, go and dress," she said. "I'm afraid I've a little of your blood
+in me, after all. Life seems more stirring when Bernadine is on the
+scene."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The shooting party broke up two days later and Peter and his wife
+returned at once to town. The former found the reports which were
+awaiting his arrival disappointing. Bernadine and his guest were not in
+London, or if they were they had carefully avoided all the usual haunts.
+Peter read his reports over again, smoked a very long cigar alone in his
+study, and finally drove down to the City and called upon his
+stockbroker, who was also a personal friend. Things were flat in the
+City, and the latter was glad enough to welcome an important client. He
+began talking the usual market shop until his visitor stopped him.
+
+"I have come to you, Edwardes, more for information than anything,"
+Peter declared, "although it may mean that I shall need to sell a lot of
+stock. Can you tell me of any private financier who could raise a loan
+of a million pounds in cash within the course of a week?"
+
+The stockbroker looked dubious.
+
+"In cash?" he repeated. "Money isn't raised that way, you know. I doubt
+whether there are many men in the whole city of London who could put up
+such an amount with only a week's notice."
+
+"But there must be someone," Peter persisted. "Think! It would probably
+be a firm or a man not obtrusively English. I don't think the Jews would
+touch it, and a German citizen would be impossible."
+
+"Semi-political, eh?"
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"It is rather that way," he admitted.
+
+"Would your friend the Count von Hern be likely to be concerned in it?"
+
+"Why?" Peter asked, with immovable face.
+
+"Nothing, only I saw him coming out of Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+other day," the stockbroker remarked, carelessly.
+
+"And who is Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge?"
+
+"A very wealthy American financier," the stockbroker replied, "not at
+all an unlikely person for a loan of the sort you mention."
+
+"American citizen?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Without a doubt. Of German descent, I should say, but nothing much left
+of it in his appearance. He settled over here in a huff, because New
+York society wouldn't receive his wife."
+
+"I remember all about it," Peter declared. "She was a chorus girl,
+wasn't she? Nothing particular against her, but the fellow had no tact.
+Do you know him, Edwardes?"
+
+"Slightly," the stockbroker answered.
+
+"Give me a letter to him," Peter said. "Give my credit as good a leg up
+as you can. I shall probably go as a borrower."
+
+Mr. Edwardes wrote a few lines and handed them to his client.
+
+"Office is nearly opposite," he remarked. "Wish you luck, whatever your
+scheme is."
+
+Peter crossed the street and entered the building which his friend had
+pointed out. He ascended in the lift to the third floor, knocked at the
+door which bore Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's name, and almost ran into the
+arms of a charmingly dressed little lady, who was being shown out by a
+broad-shouldered, typical American. Peter hastened to apologise.
+
+"I beg your pardon," he said, raising his hat. "I was rather in a hurry,
+and I quite thought I heard someone say, 'Come in'."
+
+The lady replied pleasantly. Her companion, who was carrying his hat in
+his hand, paused reluctantly.
+
+"Did you want to see me?" he asked.
+
+"If you are Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I did," Peter admitted. "My name is
+the Baron de Grost, and I have a letter of introduction to you from Mr.
+Edwardes."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge tore open the envelope and glanced through the
+contents of the note. Peter meanwhile looked at his wife with genuine
+but respectfully cloaked admiration. The lady obviously returned his
+interest.
+
+"Why, if you're the Baron de Grost," she exclaimed, "didn't you marry Vi
+Brown? She used to be at the Gaiety with me years ago."
+
+"I certainly did marry Violet Brown," Peter confessed; "and, if you will
+allow me to say so, Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge, I should have recognised you
+anywhere from your photographs."
+
+"Say, isn't that queer?" the little lady remarked, turning to her
+husband. "I should love to see Vi again."
+
+"If you will give me your address," Peter declared promptly, "my wife
+will be delighted to call upon you."
+
+The man looked up from the note.
+
+"Do you want to talk business with me, Baron?" he asked.
+
+"For a few moments only," Peter answered. "I am afraid I am a great
+nuisance, and, if you wish it, I will come down to the City again."
+
+"That's all right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Myra won't mind
+waiting a minute or two. Come through here."
+
+He turned back and led the way into a quiet-looking suite of offices,
+where one or two clerks were engaged writing at open desks. They all
+three passed into an inner room.
+
+"Any objection to my wife coming in?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+"There's scarcely any place for her out there."
+
+"Delighted," Peter answered.
+
+She glanced at the clock.
+
+"Remember we have to meet the Count von Hern at half-past one at
+Prince's, Charles," she reminded him.
+
+Her husband nodded. There was nothing in Peter's expression to denote
+that he had already achieved the first object of his visit.
+
+"I shall not detain you," he said. "Your name has been mentioned to me,
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, as a financier likely to have a large sum of money
+at his disposal. I have a scheme which needs money. Providing the
+security is unexceptionable, are you in a position to do a deal?"
+
+"How much do you want?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge asked.
+
+"A million to a million and a half," Peter answered.
+
+"Dollars?"
+
+"Pounds."
+
+It was not Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's pose to appear surprised. Nevertheless
+his eyebrows were slightly raised.
+
+"Say, what is this scheme?" he inquired.
+
+"First of all," Peter replied, "I should like to know whether there's
+any chance of business if I disclose it."
+
+"Not an atom," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge declared. "I have just committed
+myself to the biggest financial transaction of my life, and it will
+clean me out."
+
+"Then I won't waste your time," Peter announced, rising.
+
+"Sit down for a moment," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited, biting the end
+off a cigar and passing the box towards Peter. "That's all right. My
+wife doesn't mind. Say, it strikes me as rather a curious thing that you
+should come in here and talk about a million and a half when that's just
+the amount concerned in my other little deal."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"As a matter of fact, it isn't at all queer," he answered. "I don't want
+the money. I came to see whether you were really interested in the other
+affair--the Turkish loan, you know."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge withdrew his cigar from his mouth and looked
+steadily at his visitor.
+
+"Say, Baron," he declared, "you've got a nerve!"
+
+"Not at all," Peter replied. "I'm here as much in your interests as my
+own."
+
+"Whom do you represent, any way?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge inquired.
+
+"A company you never heard of," Peter replied. "Our offices are in the
+underground places of the world, and we don't run to brass plates. I am
+here because I am curious about that loan. Turkey hasn't a shadow of
+security to offer you. Everything which she can pledge is pledged to
+guarantee the interest on existing loans to France and England. She is
+prevented by treaty from borrowing in Germany. If you make a loan
+without security, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, I suppose you understand your
+position. The loan may be repudiated at any moment."
+
+"Kind of a philanthropist, aren't you?" Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge remarked
+quietly.
+
+"Not in the least," Peter assured him. "I know there's some tricky work
+going on, and I suppose I haven't brains enough to get to the bottom of
+it. That's why I've come blundering in to you, and why, I suppose,
+you'll be telling the whole story to the Count von Hern at luncheon in
+an hour's time."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge smoked in silence for a moment or two.
+
+"This transaction of mine," he said at last, "isn't one I can talk
+about. I guess I'm on to what you want to know, but I simply can't tell
+you. The security is unusual, but it's good enough for me."
+
+"It seems so to you beyond a doubt," Peter replied. "Still, you have to
+do with a remarkably clever young man in the Count von Hern. I don't
+want to ask you any questions you feel I ought not to, but I do wish
+you'd tell me one thing."
+
+"Go right ahead," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge invited. "Don't be shy."
+
+"What day are you concluding this affair?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge scratched his chin for a moment thoughtfully and
+glanced at his diary.
+
+"Well, I'll risk that," he decided. "A week to-day I hand over the
+coin."
+
+Peter drew a little breath of relief. A week was an immense time! He
+rose to his feet.
+
+"That ends our business, then, for the present," he said. "Now I am
+going to ask both of you a favour. Perhaps I have no right to, but as a
+man of honour, Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, you can take it from me that I ask
+it in your interests as well as my own. Don't tell the Count von Hern of
+my visit to you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge held out his hand.
+
+"That's all right," he declared. "You hear, Myra?"
+
+"I'll be dumb, Baron," she promised. "Say when do you think Vi can come
+and see me?"
+
+Peter was guilty of snobbery. He considered it quite a justifiable
+weapon.
+
+"She is at Windsor this afternoon," he remarked.
+
+"What, at the garden party?" Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge almost shrieked.
+
+Peter nodded.
+
+"I believe there's some fete or other to-morrow," he said; "but we're
+alone this evening. Why, won't you dine with us, say at the Carlton?"
+
+"We'd love to," the lady assented promptly.
+
+"At eight o'clock," Peter said, taking his leave.
+
+The dinner-party was a great success. Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge found
+herself amongst the class of people with whom it was her earnest desire
+to become acquainted, and her husband was well satisfied to see her keen
+longing for Society likely to be gratified. The subject of Peter's call
+at the office in the City was studiously ignored. It was not until the
+very end of the evening, indeed, that the host of this very agreeable
+party was rewarded by a single hint. It all came about in the most
+natural manner. They were speaking of foreign capitals.
+
+"I love Paris," Mrs. Heseltine-Wrigge told her host. "Just adore it.
+Charles is often there on business, and I always go along."
+
+Peter smiled. There was just a chance here.
+
+"Your husband does not often have to leave London?" he remarked
+carelessly.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Not often enough," she declared. "I just love getting about. Last week
+we had a perfectly horrible trip, though. We started off for Belfast
+quite unexpectedly, and I hated every minute of it."
+
+Peter smiled inwardly, but he said never a word. His companion was
+already chattering on about something else. Peter crossed the hall a few
+minutes later to speak to an acquaintance, slipped out to the telephone
+booth, and spoke to his servant.
+
+"A bag and a change," he ordered, "at Euston Station at twelve o'clock,
+in time for the Irish mail. Your mistress will be home as usual."
+
+An hour later the dinner-party broke up. Early the next morning Peter
+crossed the Irish Channel. He returned the following day, and crossed
+again within a few hours. In five days the affair was finished, except
+for the _denouement_.
+
+Peter ascended in the lift to Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge's office the
+following Thursday, calm and unruffled as usual, but nevertheless a
+little exultant. It was barely half an hour ago since he had become
+finally prepared for this interview. He was looking forward to it now
+with feelings of undiluted satisfaction. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge was in, he
+was told, and he was at once admitted to his presence. The financier
+greeted him with a somewhat curious smile.
+
+"Say, this is very nice of you to look me up again!" he exclaimed.
+"Still worrying about that loan, eh?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"No, I'm not worrying about that any more," he answered, accepting one
+of his host's cigars. "The fact of it is that if it were not for me you
+would be the one who would have to do the worrying."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge stopped short in the act of lighting his cigar.
+
+"I'm not quite catching on," he remarked. "What's the trouble?"
+
+"There is no trouble, fortunately," Peter replied. "Only a little
+disappointment for our friends the Count von Hern and Major Kosuth. I
+have brought you some information which, I think, will put an end to
+that affair of the loan."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge sat quite still for a moment. His brows were
+knitted; he showed no signs of nervousness.
+
+"Go right on," he said.
+
+"The security upon which you were going to advance a million and a half
+to the Turkish Government," Peter continued, "consisted of two
+Dreadnoughts and a cruiser, being built to the order of that country by
+Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves at Belfast."
+
+"Quite right," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge admitted quietly. "I have been up
+and seen the boats. I have seen the shipbuilders, too."
+
+"Did you happen to mention to the latter," Peter inquired, "that you
+were advancing money upon those vessels?"
+
+"Certainly not," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge replied. "Kosuth wouldn't hear of
+such a thing. If the papers got wind of it there'd be the devil to pay.
+All the same, I have got an assignment from the Turkish Government."
+
+"Not worth the paper it's written on," Peter declared blandly.
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge rose unsteadily to his feet. He was a strong,
+silent man, but there was a queer look about his mouth.
+
+"What the devil do you mean?" he demanded.
+
+"Briefly this," Peter explained. "The first payment, when these ships
+were laid down, was made not by Turkey, but by an emissary of the German
+Government, who arranged the whole affair in Constantinople. The second
+payment was due ten months ago, and not a penny has been paid. Notice
+was given to the late Government twice and absolutely ignored. According
+to the charter, therefore, these ships reverted to the shipbuilding
+company, who retained possession of the first payment as indemnity
+against loss. The Count von Hern's position was this. He represents the
+German Government. You were to find a million and a half of money, with
+the ships as security. You also have a contract from the Count von Hern
+to take those ships off your hands provided the interest on the loan
+became overdue, a state of affairs which, I can assure you, would have
+happened within the next twelve months. Practically, therefore, you were
+made use of as an independent financier to provide the money with which
+the Turkish Government, broadly speaking, have sold the ships to
+Germany. You see, according to the charter of the shipbuilding company,
+these vessels cannot be sold to any foreign Government without the
+consent of Downing Street. That is the reason why the affair had to be
+conducted in such a roundabout manner."
+
+"All this is beyond me," Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said hoarsely. "I don't
+care a d----n who has the ships in the end so long as I get my money!"
+
+"But you would not get your money," Peter pointed out, "because there
+will be no ships. I have had the shrewdest lawyers in the world at work
+upon the charter, and there is not the slightest doubt that these
+vessels are, or rather were, the entire property of Messrs. Shepherd and
+Hargreaves. To-day they belong to me. I have bought them and paid
+L200,000 deposit. I can show you the receipt and all the papers."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge said only one word, but that word was profane.
+
+"I am sorry, of course, that you have lost the business," Peter
+concluded; "but surely it's better than losing your money?"
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge struck the table fiercely with his fist. There was
+a grey and unfamiliar look about his face.
+
+"D----n it, the money's gone!" he declared hoarsely: "They changed the
+day. Kosuth had to go back. I paid it twenty-four hours ago."
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"If only you had trusted me a little more!" he murmured. "I tried to
+warn you."
+
+Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge snatched up his hat.
+
+"They don't leave till the two-twenty," he shouted. "We'll catch them at
+the Milan. If we don't, I'm ruined! By Heaven, I'm ruined!"
+
+They found Major Kosuth in the hall of the hotel. He was wearing a fur
+coat and otherwise attired for travelling. His luggage was already being
+piled upon a cab. Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge wasted no words upon him.
+
+"You and I have got to have a talk, right here and now," he declared.
+"Where's the Count?"
+
+Major Kosuth frowned gloomily.
+
+"I do not understand you," he said shortly. "Our business is concluded,
+and I am leaving by the two-twenty train."
+
+"You are doing nothing of the sort," the American answered, standing
+before him, grim and threatening.
+
+The Turk showed no sign of terror. He gripped his silver-headed cane
+firmly.
+
+"I think," he said, "that there is no one here who will prevent me."
+
+Peter, who saw a fracas imminent, hastily intervened.
+
+"If you will permit me for a moment," he said, "there is a little
+explanation I should perhaps make to Major Kosuth."
+
+The Turk took a step towards the door.
+
+"I have no time to listen to explanations from you or anyone," he
+replied. "My cab is waiting. I depart. If Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge is not
+satisfied with our transaction, I am sorry, but it is too late to alter
+anything."
+
+For a moment it seemed as though a struggle between the two men was
+inevitable. Already people were glancing at them curiously, for Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge came of a primitive school, and he had no intention
+whatever of letting his man escape. Fortunately at that moment the Count
+von Hern came up, and Peter at once appealed to him.
+
+"Count," he said, "may I beg for your good offices? My friend Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge here is determined to have a few words with Major
+Kosuth before he leaves. Surely this is not an unreasonable request when
+you consider the magnitude of the transaction which has taken place
+between them! Let me beg of you to persuade Major Kosuth to give us ten
+minutes. There is plenty of time for the train, and this is not the
+place for a brawl."
+
+Bernadine smiled. He was not conscious of the slightest feeling of
+uneasiness. He could conceive many reasons for Peter's intervention, but
+in his pocket lay the agreement, signed by Kosuth, an accredited envoy
+of the Turkish Government, besides which he had a further document
+signed by Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge, witnessed and stamped, handing over to
+him the whole of the security for this very complicated loan, on the
+sole condition that the million and a half, with interest, was
+forthcoming. His position was completely secure. A little discussion
+with his old enemy might not be altogether unpleasant!
+
+"It will not take us long, Kosuth, to hear what our friend has to say,"
+he remarked. "We shall be quite quiet in the smoking-room. Let us go in
+there and dispose of the affair."
+
+The Turk turned unwillingly in the direction indicated. All four men
+passed through the cafe, up some stair's, and into the small
+smoking-room. The room was deserted. Peter led the way to the far
+corner, and, standing with his elbow leaning upon the mantelpiece,
+addressed them.
+
+"The position is this," he said. "Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge has parted with a
+million and a half of his own money, a loan to the Turkish Government,
+on security which is not worth a snap of the fingers."
+
+"It is a lie!" Major Kosuth exclaimed.
+
+"My dear Baron, you are woefully misinformed," the Count declared.
+
+Peter shook his head slowly.
+
+"No," he said, "I am not misinformed. My friend here has parted with the
+money on the security of two battleships and a cruiser, now building in
+Shepherd and Hargreaves' yard at Belfast. The two battleships and
+cruiser in question belong to me. I have paid two hundred thousand
+pounds on account of them, and hold the shipbuilders' receipt."
+
+"You are mad!" Bernadine cried, contemptuously.
+
+Peter shook his head, and continued.
+
+"The battleships were laid down for the Turkish Government, and the
+money with which to start them was supplied by the Secret Service of
+Germany. The second instalment was due ten months ago, and has not been
+paid. The time of grace provided for has expired. The shipbuilders, in
+accordance with their charter, were consequently at liberty to dispose
+of the vessels as they thought fit. On the statement of the whole of the
+facts to the head of the firm, he has parted with these ships to me. I
+need not say that I have a purchaser within a mile from here. It is a
+fancy of mine, Count von Hern, that those ships will sail better under
+the British flag."
+
+There was a moment's tense silence. The face of the Turk was black with
+anger. Bernadine was trembling with rage.
+
+"This is a tissue of lies!" he exclaimed.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"The facts are easy enough for you to prove," he said, "and I have
+here," he added, producing a roll of papers, "copies of the various
+documents for your inspection. Your scheme, of course, was simple
+enough. It fell through for this one reason only. A final notice,
+pressing for the second instalment, and stating the days of grace, was
+forwarded to Constantinople about the time of the recent political
+troubles. The late government ignored it. In fairness to Major Kosuth,
+we will believe that the present government was ignorant of it. But the
+fact remains that Messrs. Shepherd and Hargreaves became at liberty to
+sell those vessels, and that I have bought them. You will have to give
+up that money, Major Kosuth."
+
+"You bet he shall!" the American muttered.
+
+Bernadine leaned a little towards his enemy.
+
+"You must give us a minute or two," he insisted. "We shall not go away,
+I promise you. Within five minutes you shall hear our decision."
+
+Peter sat down at the writing-table and commenced a letter. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge mounted guard over the door, and stood there, a grim
+figure of impatience. Before the five minutes was up, Bernadine crossed
+the room.
+
+"I congratulate you, Baron," he said, dryly. "You are either an
+exceedingly lucky person or you are more of a genius than I believed.
+Kosuth is even now returning his letters of credit to your friend. You
+are quite right. The loan cannot stand."
+
+"I was sure," Peter answered, "that you would see the matter correctly."
+
+"You and I," Bernadine continued, "know very well that I don't care a
+fig about Turkey, new or old. The ships, I will admit, I intended to
+have for my own country. As it is, I wish you joy of them. Before they
+are completed we may be fighting in the air."
+
+Peter smiled, and, side by side with Bernadine, strolled across to
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was buttoning up a pocket-book with trembling
+fingers.
+
+"Personally," Peter said, "I believe that the days of wars are over."
+
+"That may or may not be," Bernadine answered. "One thing is very
+certain. Even if the nations remain at peace, there are enmities which
+strike only deeper as the years pass. I am going to take a drink now
+with my disappointed friend Kosuth. If I raise my glass 'To the Day!'
+you will understand."
+
+Peter smiled.
+
+"My friend Mr. Heseltine-Wrigge and I are for the same destination," he
+replied, pushing open the swing door which led to the bar. "I return
+your good wishes, Count. I, too, drink 'To the Day!'"
+
+Bernadine and Kosuth left a few minutes afterwards. Mr.
+Heseltine-Wrigge, who was feeling himself again, watched them depart
+with ill-concealed triumph.
+
+"Say, you had those fellows on toast, Baron," he declared, admiringly.
+"I couldn't follow the whole affair, but I can see that you're in for
+big things sometimes. Remember this. If money counts at any time, I'm
+with you."
+
+Peter clasped his hand.
+
+"Money always counts," he said--"and friends!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA HARBOUR
+
+
+"We may now," Sogrange remarked, buttoning up his ulster, and stretching
+himself out to the full extent of his steamer chair, "consider ourselves
+at sea. I trust, my friend, that you are feeling quite comfortable."
+
+Peter, Baron de Grost, lying at his ease upon a neighbouring chair, with
+a pillow behind his head, a huge fur coat around his body, and a rug
+over his feet, had all the appearance of being very comfortable indeed.
+His reply, however, was a little short--almost peevish.
+
+"I am comfortable enough for the present, thank you. Heaven knows how
+long it will last!"
+
+Sogrange waved his arm towards the great uneasy plain of blue sea, the
+showers of foam leaping into the sunlight, away beyond the disappearing
+coasts of France.
+
+"Last," he repeated. "For eight days, I hope. Consider, my dear Baron!
+What could be more refreshing, more stimulating to our jaded nerves than
+this? Think of the December fogs you have left behind, the cold, driving
+rain, the puddles in the street, the grey skies--London, in short, at
+her ugliest and worst."
+
+"That is all very well," Peter protested; "but I have left several other
+things behind, too."
+
+"As, for instance?" Sogrange inquired genially.
+
+"My wife," Peter informed him. "Violet objects very much to these abrupt
+separations. This week, too, I was shooting at Saxthorpe, and I had also
+several other engagements of a pleasant nature. Besides, I have reached
+that age when I find it disconcerting to be called out of bed in the
+middle of the night to answer a long-distance telephone call, and told
+to embark on an American liner leaving Southampton early the next
+morning. It may be your idea of a pleasure-trip. It isn't mine."
+
+Sogrange was amused. His smile, however, was hidden. Only the tip of his
+cigarette was visible.
+
+"Anything else?"
+
+"Nothing much, except that I am always seasick," Peter replied
+deliberately. "I can feel it coming on now. I wish that fellow would
+keep away with his beastly mutton broth. The whole ship seems to smell
+of it."
+
+Sogrange laughed, softly but without disguise.
+
+"Who said anything about a pleasure-trip?" he demanded.
+
+Peter turned his head.
+
+"You did. You told me when you came on at Cherbourg that you had to go
+to New York to look after some property there, that things were very
+quiet in London, and that you hated travelling alone. Therefore you sent
+for me at a few hours' notice."
+
+"Is that what I told you?" Sogrange murmured.
+
+"Yes! Wasn't it true?" Peter asked, suddenly alert.
+
+"Not a word of it," Sogrange admitted. "It is quite amazing that you
+should have believed it for a moment."
+
+"I was a fool," Peter confessed. "You see, I was tired and a little
+cross. Besides, somehow or other, I never associated a trip to America
+with----"
+
+Sogrange interrupted him, quietly but ruthlessly.
+
+"Lift up the label attached to the chair next to yours. Read it out to
+me."
+
+Peter took it into his hand and turned it over. A quick exclamation
+escaped him.
+
+"Great heavens! 'The Count von Hern'--Bernadine!"
+
+"Just so," Sogrange assented. "Nice, clear writing, isn't it?"
+
+Peter sat bolt upright in his chair.
+
+"Do you mean to say that Bernadine is on board?"
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"By the exercise, my dear Baron," he said, "of a superlative amount of
+ingenuity, I was able to prevent that misfortune. Now lean over and read
+the label on the next chair."
+
+Peter obeyed. His manner had acquired a new briskness.
+
+"'La Duchesse della Nermino,'" he announced.
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"Everything just as it should be," he declared. "Change those labels, my
+friend, as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter's fingers were nimble, and the thing was done in a few seconds.
+
+"So I am to sit next the Spanish lady," he remarked, feeling for his
+tie.
+
+"Not only that, but you are to make friends with her," Sogrange replied.
+"You are to be your captivating self, Baron. The Duchesse is to forget
+her weakness for hot rooms. She is to develop a taste for sea air and
+your society."
+
+"Is she," Peter asked anxiously, "old or young?"
+
+Sogrange showed a disposition to fence with the question.
+
+"Not old," he answered; "certainly not old. Fifteen years ago she was
+considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world."
+
+"The ladies of Spain," Peter remarked, with a sigh, "are inclined to
+mature early."
+
+"In some cases," Sogrange assured him, "there are no women in the world
+who preserve their good looks longer. You shall judge, my friend. Madame
+comes! How about that sea-sickness now?"
+
+"Gone," Peter declared briskly. "Absolutely a fancy of mine. Never felt
+better in my life."
+
+An imposing little procession approached along the deck. There was the
+deck steward leading the way; a very smart French maid carrying a
+wonderful collection of wraps, cushions, and books; a black-browed,
+pallid man-servant, holding a hot-water bottle in his hand and leading a
+tiny Pekinese spaniel wrapped in a sealskin coat; and finally Madame la
+Duchesse. It was so obviously a procession intended to impress, that
+neither Peter nor Sogrange thought it worth while to conceal their
+interest.
+
+The Duchesse, save that she was tall and wrapped in magnificent furs,
+presented a somewhat mysterious appearance. Her features were entirely
+obscured by an unusually thick veil of black lace, and the voluminous
+nature of her outer garments only permitted a suspicion as to her
+figure, which was, at that time, at once the despair and the triumph of
+her _corsetiere_. With both hands she was holding her fur-lined skirts
+from contact with the deck, disclosing at the same time remarkably
+shapely feet encased in trim patent shoes, with plain silver buckles,
+and a little more black silk stocking than seemed absolutely necessary.
+The deck steward, after a half-puzzled scrutiny of the labels, let down
+the chair next to the two men. The Duchesse contemplated her prospective
+neighbours with some curiosity, mingled with a certain amount of
+hesitation. It was at that moment that Sogrange, shaking away his rug,
+rose to his feet.
+
+"Madame la Duchesse permits me to remind her of my existence," he said,
+bowing low. "It is some years since we met, but I had the honour of a
+dance at the Palace in Madrid."
+
+She held out her hand at once, yet somehow Peter felt sure that she was
+thankful for her veil. Her voice was pleasant, and her air the air of a
+great lady. She spoke French with the soft, sibilant intonation of the
+Spaniard.
+
+"I remember the occasion perfectly, Marquis," she admitted. "Your sister
+and I once shared a villa in Mentone."
+
+"I am flattered by your recollection, Duchesse," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"It is a great surprise to meet with you here, though," she continued.
+"I did not see you at Cherbourg or on the train."
+
+"I motored from Paris," Sogrange explained, "and arrived, contrary to my
+custom, I must confess, somewhat early. Will you permit that I introduce
+an acquaintance whom I have been fortunate enough to find on board:
+Monsieur le Baron de Grost--Madame la Duchesse della Nermino."
+
+Peter was graciously received, and the conversation dealt, for a few
+moments, with the usual banalities of the voyage. Then followed the
+business of settling the Duchesse in her place. When she was really
+installed, and surrounded with all the paraphernalia of a great and
+fanciful lady, including a handful of long cigarettes, she raised her
+veil. Peter, who was at the moment engaged in conversation with her, was
+a little shocked with the result. Her features were worn, her face dead
+white, with many signs of the ravages wrought by the constant use of
+cosmetics. Only her eyes had retained something of their former
+splendour. These latter were almost violet in colour, deep-set, with
+dark rims, and were sufficient almost in themselves to make one forget
+for a moment the less prepossessing details of her appearance. A small
+library of books was by her side, but after a while she no longer
+pretended any interest in them. She was a born conversationalist, a
+creature of her country, entirely and absolutely feminine, to whom the
+subtle and flattering deference of the other sex was as the breath of
+life itself. Peter burned his homage upon her altar with a craft which
+amounted to genius. In less than half an hour Madame la Duchesse was
+looking many years younger. The vague look of apprehension had passed
+from her face. Their voices had sunk to a confidential undertone,
+punctuated often by the music of her laughter. Sogrange, with a murmured
+word of apology, had slipped away long ago. Decidedly, for an
+Englishman, Peter was something of a marvel!
+
+Madame la Duchesse moved her head towards the empty chair.
+
+"He is a great friend of yours--the Marquis de Sogrange?" she asked,
+with a certain inflection in her tone which Peter was not slow to
+notice.
+
+"Indeed, no!" he answered. "A few years ago I was frequently in Paris. I
+made his acquaintance then, but we have met very seldom since."
+
+"You are not travelling together, then?" she inquired.
+
+"By no means," Peter assured her. "I recognised him only as he boarded
+the steamer at Cherbourg."
+
+"He is not a popular man in our world," she remarked. "One speaks of him
+as a schemer."
+
+"Is there anything left to scheme for in France?" Peter asked
+carelessly. "He is, perhaps, a Monarchist?"
+
+"His ancestry alone would compel a devoted allegiance to Royalism," the
+Duchesse declared; "but I do not think that he is interested in any of
+these futile plots to reinstate the House of Orleans. I, Monsieur le
+Baron, am Spanish."
+
+"I have scarcely lived so far out of the world as to have heard nothing
+of the Duchesse della Nermino," Peter replied with _empressement_. "The
+last time I saw you, Duchesse, you were in the suite of the Infanta."
+
+"Like all Englishmen, I see you possess a memory," she said, smiling.
+
+"Duchesse," Peter answered, lowering his voice, "without the memories
+which one is fortunate enough to collect as one passes along, life would
+be a dreary place. The most beautiful things in the world cannot remain
+always with us. It is well, then, that the shadow of them can be
+recalled to us in the shape of dreams."
+
+Her eyes rewarded him for his gallantry. Peter felt that he was doing
+very well indeed. He indulged himself in a brief silence. Presently she
+returned to the subject of Sogrange.
+
+"I think," she remarked, "that of all the men in the world I expected
+least to see the Marquis de Sogrange on board a steamer bound for New
+York. What can a man of his type find to amuse him in the New World?"
+
+"One wonders, indeed," Peter assented. "As a matter of fact, I did read
+in a newspaper a few days ago that he was going to Mexico in connection
+with some excavations there. He spoke to me of it just now. They seem to
+have discovered a ruined temple of the Incas, or something of the sort."
+
+The Duchesse breathed what sounded very much like a sigh of relief.
+
+"I had forgotten," she admitted, "that New York itself need not
+necessarily be his destination."
+
+"For my own part," Peter continued, "it is quite amazing the interest
+which the evening papers always take in the movements of one connected
+ever so slightly with their world. I think that a dozen newspapers have
+told their readers the exact amount of money I am going to lend or
+borrow in New York, the stocks I am going to bull or bear, the mines I
+am going to purchase. My presence on an American steamer is accounted
+for by the journalists a dozen times over. Yours, Duchesse, if one might
+say so without appearing over-curious, seems the most inexplicable. What
+attraction can America possibly have for you?"
+
+She glanced at him covertly from under her sleepy eyelids. Peter's face
+was like the face of a child.
+
+"You do not, perhaps, know," she said, "that I was born in Cuba. I lived
+there, in fact, for many years. I still have estates in the country."
+
+"Indeed?" he answered. "Are you interested, then, in this reported
+salvage of the _Maine_?"
+
+There was a short silence. Peter, who had not been looking at her when
+he had asked his question, turned his head, surprised at her lack of
+response. His heart gave a little jump. The Duchesse had all the
+appearance of a woman on the point of fainting. One hand was holding a
+scent bottle to her nose, the other, thin and white, ablaze with
+emeralds and diamonds, was gripping the side of her chair. Her
+expression was one of blank terror. Peter felt a shiver chill his own
+blood at the things he saw in her face. He himself was confused,
+apologetic, yet absolutely without understanding. His thoughts reverted
+at first to his own commonplace malady.
+
+"You are ill, Duchesse!" he exclaimed. "You will allow me to call the
+deck steward? Or perhaps you would prefer your own maid? I have some
+brandy in this flask."
+
+He had thrown off his rug, but her imperious gesture kept him seated.
+She was looking at him with an intentness which was almost tragical.
+
+"What made you ask me that question?" she demanded.
+
+His innocence was entirely apparent. Not even Peter could have
+dissembled so naturally.
+
+"That question?" he repeated, vaguely. "You mean about the _Maine_? It
+was the idlest chance, Duchesse, I assure you. I saw something about it
+in the paper yesterday, and it seemed interesting. But if I had had the
+slightest idea that the subject was distasteful to you I would not have
+dreamed of mentioning it. Even now--I do not understand----"
+
+She interrupted him. All the time he had been speaking she had shown
+signs of recovery. She was smiling now, faintly and with obvious effort,
+but still smiling.
+
+"It is altogether my own fault, Baron," she admitted graciously. "Please
+forgive my little fit of emotion. The subject is a very sore one amongst
+my country-people, you know, and your sudden mention of it upset me. It
+was very foolish."
+
+"Duchesse, I was a clumsy idiot!" Peter declared penitently. "I deserve
+that you should be unkind to me for the rest of the voyage."
+
+"I could not afford that," she answered, forcing another smile. "I am
+relying too much upon you for companionship. Ah! could I trouble you?"
+she added. "For the moment I need my maid. She passes there."
+
+Peter sprang up and called the young woman, who was slowly pacing the
+deck. He himself did not at once return to his place. He went instead in
+search of Sogrange, and found him in his state-room. Sogrange was lying
+upon a couch, in a silk smoking suit, with a French novel in his hand
+and an air of contentment which was almost fatuous. He laid down the
+volume at Peter's entrance.
+
+"Dear Baron," he murmured, "why this haste? No one is ever in a hurry
+upon a steamer. Remember that we can't possibly get anywhere in less
+than eight days, and there is no task in the world, nowadays, which
+cannot be accomplished in that time. To hurry is a needless waste of
+tissue, and, to a person of my nervous temperament, exceedingly
+unpleasant."
+
+Peter sat down on the edge of the bunk.
+
+"I presume you have quite finished?" he said. "If so, listen to me. I am
+moving in the dark. Is it my fault that I blunder? By the merest
+accident I have already committed a hideous _faux pas_. You ought to
+have warned me."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I have spoken to the Duchesse of the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+The eyes of Sogrange gleamed for a moment, but he lay perfectly still.
+
+"Why not?" he asked. "A good many people are talking about it. It is one
+of the strangest things I have ever heard of, that after all these years
+they should be trying to salve the wreck."
+
+"It seems worse than strange," Peter declared. "What can be the use of
+trying to stir up bitter feelings between two nations who have fought
+their battles and buried the hatchet? I call it an an act of insanity."
+
+A bugle rang. Sogrange yawned and sat up.
+
+"Would you mind touching the bell for my servant, Baron," he asked.
+"Dinner will be served in half an hour. Afterwards, we will talk, you
+and I."
+
+Peter turned away, not wholly pleased.
+
+"The sooner the better," he grumbled, "or I shall be putting my foot
+into it again."
+
+After dinner the two men walked on deck together. The night was dark,
+but fine, with a strong wind blowing from the north-west. The deck
+steward called their attention to a long line of lights stealing up from
+the horizon on their starboard side.
+
+"That's the _Lusitania_, sir. She'll be up to us in half an hour."
+
+They leaned over the rail. Soon the blue fires began to play about their
+masthead. Sogrange watched them thoughtfully.
+
+"If one could only read those messages," he remarked, with a sigh, "it
+might help us."
+
+Peter knocked the ash from his cigar, and was silent for a time. He was
+beginning to understand the situation.
+
+"My friend," he said at last, "I have been doing you an injustice. I
+have come to the conclusion that you are not keeping me in ignorance of
+the vital facts connected with our visit to America wilfully. At the
+present moment you know just a little more, but a very little more, than
+I do."
+
+"What perception!" Sogrange murmured. "My dear Baron, sometimes you
+amaze me. You are absolutely right. I have some pieces, and I am
+convinced that they would form a puzzle the solution of which would be
+interesting to us; but how or where they fit in I frankly don't know.
+You have the facts so far."
+
+"Certainly," Peter replied.
+
+"You have heard of Sirdeller?"
+
+"Do you mean _the_ Sirdeller?" Peter asked.
+
+"Naturally. I mean the man whose very movements sway the money markets
+of the world; the man who could, if he chose, ruin any nation, make war
+impossible; who could, if he had ten more years of life and was allowed
+to live, draw to himself and his own following the entire wealth of the
+universe."
+
+"Very eloquent," Peter remarked. "We'll take the rest for granted."
+
+"Then," Sogrange continued, "you have probably also heard of Don Pedro,
+Prince of Marsine, one-time Pretender to the throne of Spain?"
+
+"Quite a striking figure in European politics," Peter assented, quickly.
+"He is suspected of radical proclivities, and is still, it is rumoured,
+an active plotter against the existing monarchy."
+
+"Very well," Sogrange said. "Now listen carefully. Four months ago
+Sirdeller was living at the Golden Villa, near Nice. He was visited more
+than once by Marsine, introduced by the Count von Hern. The result of
+those visits was a long series of cablegrams to certain great
+engineering firms in America. Almost immediately the salvage of the
+_Maine_ was started. It is a matter of common report that the entire
+cost of these works is being undertaken by Sirdeller."
+
+"Now," Peter murmured, "you are really beginning to interest me."
+
+"This week," Sogrange went on, "it is expected that the result of the
+salvage works will be made known. That is to say, it is highly possible
+that the question of whether the _Maine_ was blown up from outside or
+inside will be settled once and for all. This week, mind, Baron. Now see
+what happens. Sirdeller returns to America. The Count von Hern and
+Prince Marsine come to America. The Duchesse della Nermino comes to
+America. The Duchesse, Sirdeller, and Marsine are upon this steamer. The
+Count von Hern travels by the _Lusitania_ only because it was reported
+that Sirdeller at the last minute changed his mind, and was travelling
+by that boat. Mix these things up in your brain--the conjurer's hat, let
+us call it," Sogrange concluded, laying his hand upon Peter's arm.
+"Sirdeller, the Duchesse, Von Hern, Marsine, the raising of the
+_Maine_--mix them up, and what sort of an omelette appears?"
+
+Peter whistled softly.
+
+"No wonder," he said, "that you couldn't make the pieces of the puzzle
+fit. Tell me more about the Duchesse."
+
+Sogrange considered for a moment.
+
+"The principal thing about her which links her with the present
+situation," he explained, "is that she was living in Cuba at the time of
+the _Maine_ disaster, married to a rich Cuban."
+
+The affair was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of romance.
+Peter, for the first time, saw not the light, but the possibility of it.
+
+"Marsine has been living in Germany, has he not?" he asked.
+
+"He is a personal friend of the Kaiser," Sogrange replied.
+
+They both looked up and listened to the crackling of the electricity
+above their heads.
+
+"I expect Bernadine is a little annoyed," Peter remarked.
+
+"It isn't pleasant to be out of the party," Sogrange agreed. "Nearly
+everybody, however, believed at the last moment that Sirdeller had
+transferred his passage to the _Lusitania_."
+
+"It's going to cost him an awful lot in marconigrams," Peter said. "By
+the by, wouldn't it have been better for us to have travelled
+separately, and incognito?"
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly.
+
+"Von Hern has at least one man on board," he replied. "I do not think
+that we could possibly have escaped observation. Besides, I rather
+imagine that any move we are able to make in this matter must come
+before we reach Fire Island."
+
+"Have you any theory at all?" Peter asked.
+
+"Not the ghost of a one," Sogrange admitted. "One more fact, though, I
+forgot to mention. You may find it important. The Duchesse comes
+entirely against von Hern's wishes. They have been on intimate terms for
+years, but for some reason or other he was exceedingly anxious that she
+should not take this voyage. She, on the other hand, seemed to have some
+equally strong reason for coming. The most useful piece of advice I
+could give you would be to cultivate her acquaintance."
+
+"The Duchesse----"
+
+Peter never finished his sentence. His companion drew him suddenly back
+into the shadow of a lifeboat.
+
+"Look!"
+
+A door had opened from lower down the deck, and a curious little
+procession was coming towards them. A man, burly and broad-shouldered,
+who had the air of a professional bully, walked by himself ahead. Two
+others of similar build walked a few steps behind. And between them a
+thin, insignificant figure, wrapped in an immense fur coat and using a
+strong walking-stick, came slowly along the deck. It was like a
+procession of prison warders guarding a murderer, or perhaps a
+nerve-wrecked royal personage moving towards the end of his days in the
+midst of enemies. With halting steps the little old man came shambling
+along. He looked neither to the left nor to the right. His eyes were
+fixed and yet unseeing, his features were pale and bony. There was no
+gleam of life, not even in his stone-cold eyes. Like some machine-made
+man of a new and physically degenerate age, he took his exercise under
+the eye of his doctor--a strange and miserable-looking object.
+
+"There goes Sirdeller," Sogrange whispered. "Look at him--the man whose
+might is greater than any emperor's. There is no haven in the universe
+to which he does not hold the key. Look at him--master of the world!"
+
+Peter shivered. There was something depressing in the sight of that
+mournful procession.
+
+"He neither smokes nor drinks," Sogrange continued. "Women, as a sex, do
+not exist for him. His religion is a doubting Calvinism. He has a doctor
+and a clergyman always by his side to inject life and hope if they can.
+Look at him well, my friend. He represents a great moral lesson."
+
+"Thanks!" Peter replied. "I am going to take the taste of him out of my
+mouth with a whisky and soda. Afterwards, I'm for the Duchesse."
+
+But the Duchesse, apparently, was not for Peter. He found her in the
+music-room, with several of the little Marconi missives spread out
+before her, and she cut him dead. Peter, however, was a brave man and
+skilled at the game of bluff. So he stopped by her side and, without any
+preamble, addressed her.
+
+"Duchesse," he said, "you are a woman of perception. Which do you
+believe, then, in your heart, to be the more trustworthy--the Count von
+Hern or I?"
+
+She simply stared at him. He continued promptly:
+
+"You have received your warning, I see."
+
+"From whom?"
+
+"From the Count von Hern. Why believe what he says? He may be a friend
+of yours--he may be a dear friend--but in your heart you know that he is
+both unscrupulous and selfish. Why accept his word and distrust me? I,
+at least, am honest."
+
+She raised her eyebrows.
+
+"Honest?" she repeated. "Whose word have I for that save your own? And
+what concern is it of mine if you possess every one of the _bourgeois_
+qualities in the world? You are presuming, sir."
+
+"My friend Sogrange will tell you that I am to be trusted," Peter
+persisted.
+
+"I see no reason why I should trouble myself about your personal
+characteristics," she replied coldly. "They do not interest me."
+
+"On the contrary, Duchesse," Peter continued, fencing wildly, "you have
+never in your life been more in need of anyone's services than you are
+of mine."
+
+The conflict was uneven. The Duchesse was a nervous, highly strung
+woman. The calm assurance of Peter's manner oppressed her with a sense
+of his mastery. She sank back upon the couch from which she had arisen.
+
+"I wish you would tell me what you mean," she said. "You have no right
+to talk to me in this fashion. What have you to do with my affairs?"
+
+"I have as much to do with them as the Count von Hern," Peter insisted
+boldly.
+
+"I have known the Count von Hern," she answered, "for very many years.
+You have been a shipboard acquaintance of mine for a few hours."
+
+"If you have known the Count von Hern for many years," Peter asserted,
+"you have found out by this time that he is an absolutely untrustworthy
+person."
+
+"Supposing he is," she said, "will you tell me what concern it is of
+yours? Do you suppose for one moment that I am likely to discuss my
+private affairs with a perfect stranger?"
+
+"You have no private affairs," Peter declared sternly. "They are the
+affairs of a nation."
+
+She glanced at him with a little shiver. From that moment he felt that
+he was gaining ground. She looked around the room. It was well filled,
+but in their corner they were almost unobserved.
+
+"How much do you know?" she asked in a low tone which shook with
+passion.
+
+Peter smiled enigmatically.
+
+"Perhaps more even than you, Duchesse," he replied. "I should like to be
+your friend. You need one--you know that."
+
+She rose abruptly to her feet.
+
+"For to-night it is enough," she declared, wrapping her fur cloak around
+her. "You may talk to me to-morrow, Baron. I must think. If you desire
+really to be my friend there is, perhaps, one service which I may
+require of you. But to-night, no!"
+
+Peter stood aside and allowed her to step past him. He was perfectly
+content with the progress he had made. Her farewell salute was by no
+means ungracious. As soon as she was out of sight he returned to the
+couch where she had been sitting. She had taken away the marconigrams,
+but she had left upon the floor several copies of the _New York Herald_.
+He took them up and read them carefully through. The last one he found
+particularly interesting, so much so that he folded it up, placed it in
+his coat pocket, and went off to look for Sogrange, whom he found at
+last in the saloon, watching a noisy game of "Up, Jenkins!" Peter sank
+upon the cushioned seat by his side.
+
+"You were right," he remarked. "Bernadine has been busy."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I trust," he said, "that the Duchesse is not proving faithless?"
+
+"So far," Peter replied, "I have kept my end up. To-morrow will be the
+test. Bernadine has filled her with caution. She thinks that I know
+everything--whatever everything may be. Unless I can discover a little
+more than I do now, to-morrow is going to be an exceedingly awkward day
+for me."
+
+"There is every prospect of your acquiring a great deal of valuable
+information before then," Sogrange declared. "Sit tight, my friend.
+Something is going to happen."
+
+On the threshold of the saloon, ushered in by one of the stewards, a
+tall, powerful-looking man, with a square, well-trimmed black beard, was
+standing looking around as though in search of someone. The steward
+pointed out, with an unmistakable movement of his head, Peter and
+Sogrange. The man approached and took the next table.
+
+"Steward," he directed, "bring me a glass of vermouth and some
+dominoes."
+
+Peter's eyes were suddenly bright. Sogrange touched his foot under the
+table and whispered a word of warning. The dominoes were brought. The
+new-comer arranged them as though for a game. Then he calmly withdrew
+the double-four and laid it before Sogrange.
+
+"It has been my misfortune, Marquis," he said, "never to have made your
+acquaintance, although our mutual friends are many, and I think I may
+say that I have the right to claim a certain amount of consideration
+from you and your associates. You know me?"
+
+"Certainly, Prince," Sogrange replied. "I am charmed. Permit me to
+present my friend, the Baron de Grost."
+
+The new-comer bowed, and glanced a little nervously around.
+
+"You will permit me," he begged. "I travel incognito. I have lived so
+long in England that I have permitted myself the name of an Englishman.
+I am travelling under the name of Mr. James Fanshawe."
+
+"Mr. Fanshawe, by all means," Sogrange agreed. "In the meantime----"
+
+"I claim my rights as a corresponding member of the Double Four," the
+new-comer declared. "My friend the Count von Hern finds menace to
+certain plans of ours in your presence upon this steamer. Unknown to
+him, I come to you openly. I claim your aid, not your enmity."
+
+"Let us understand one another clearly," Sogrange said. "You claim our
+aid in what?"
+
+Mr. Fanshawe glanced around the saloon and lowered his voice.
+
+"I claim your aid towards the overthrowing of the usurping House of
+Asturias, and the restoration to power in Spain of my own line."
+
+Sogrange was silent for several moments. Peter was leaning forward in
+his place, deeply interested. Decidedly, this American trip seemed
+destined to lead toward events!
+
+"Our active aid towards such an end," Sogrange said at last, "is
+impossible. The society of the Double Four does not interfere in the
+domestic policy of other nations for the sake of individual members."
+
+"Then let me ask you why I find you upon this steamer?" Mr. Fanshawe
+demanded in a tone of suppressed excitement. "Is it for the sea voyage
+that you and your friend the Baron de Grost cross the Atlantic this
+particular week, on the same steamer as myself, as Mr. Sirdeller,
+and--and the Duchesse? One does not believe in such coincidences! One is
+driven to conclude that it is your intention to interfere."
+
+"The affair almost demands our interference," Sogrange replied smoothly.
+"With every due respect to you, Prince, there are great interests
+involved in this move of yours."
+
+The Prince was a big man, but, for all his large features and bearded
+face, his expression was the expression of a peevish and passionate
+child. He controlled himself with an effort.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "it is necessary--I say that it is necessary that we
+conclude an alliance."
+
+Sogrange nodded approvingly.
+
+"It is well spoken," he said; "but remember--the Baron de Grost
+represents England, and the English interests of our society."
+
+The Prince of Marsine's face was not pleasant to look upon.
+
+"Forgive me if you are an Englishman by birth, Baron," he said, turning
+towards him, "but a more interfering nation in other people's affairs
+than England has never existed in the pages of history. She must have a
+finger in every pie. Bah!"
+
+Peter leaned over from his place.
+
+"What about Germany, Mr. Fanshawe?" he asked with emphasis.
+
+The Prince tugged at his beard. He was a little nonplussed.
+
+"The Count von Hern," he confessed, "has been a good friend to me. The
+rulers of his country have always been hospitable and favourably
+inclined towards my family. The whole affair is of his design. I myself
+could scarcely have moved in it alone. One must reward one's helpers.
+There is no reason, however," he added, with a meaning glance at Peter,
+"why other helpers should not be admitted."
+
+"The reward which you offer to the Count von Hern," Peter remarked, "is
+of itself absolutely inimical to the interests of my country."
+
+"Listen!" the Prince demanded, tapping the table before him. "It is true
+that within a year I am pledged to reward the Count von Hern in certain
+fashion. It is not possible that you know the terms of our compact, but
+from your words it is possible that you have guessed. Very well. Accept
+this from me. Remain neutral now, allow this matter to proceed to its
+natural conclusion, let your Government address representations to me
+when the time comes, adopting a bold front, and I promise that I will
+obey them. It will not be my fault that I am compelled to disappoint the
+Count von Hern. My seaboard would be at the mercy of your fleet.
+Superior force must be obeyed."
+
+"It is a matter, this," Sogrange said, "for discussion between my friend
+and me. I think you will find that we are neither of us unreasonable. In
+short, Prince, I see no insuperable reason why we should not come to
+terms."
+
+"You encourage me," the Prince declared, in a gratified tone. "Do not
+believe, Marquis, that I am actuated in this matter wholly by motives of
+personal ambition. No, it is not so. A great desire has burned always in
+my heart, but it is not that alone which moves me. I assure you that of
+my certain knowledge Spain is honeycombed--is rotten with treason. A
+revolution is a certainty. How much better that that revolution should
+be conducted in a dignified manner; that I, with my reputation for
+democracy which I have carefully kept before the eyes of my people,
+should be elected President of the new Spanish Republic, even if it is
+the gold of the American who places me there. In a year or two's time,
+what may happen who can say? This craving for a republic is but a
+passing dream. Spain, at heart, is monarchical. She will be led back to
+the light. It is but a short step from the President's chair to the
+throne."
+
+Sogrange and his companion sat quite still. They avoided looking at each
+other.
+
+"There is one thing more," the Prince continued, dropping his voice as
+if, even at that distance, he feared the man of whom he spoke. "I shall
+not inform the Count von Hern of our conversation. It is not necessary,
+and, between ourselves, the Count is jealous. He sends me message after
+message that I remain in my state-room, that I seek no interview with
+Sirdeller, that I watch only. He is too much of the spy--the Count von
+Hern. He does not understand that code of honour, relying upon which I
+open my heart to you."
+
+"You have done your cause no harm," Sogrange assured him, with subtle
+sarcasm. "We come now to the Duchesse."
+
+The Prince leaned towards him. It was just at this moment that a steward
+entered with a marconigram, which he presented to the Prince. The latter
+tore it open, glanced it through, and gave vent to a little exclamation.
+The fingers which held the missive, trembled. His eyes blazed with
+excitement. He was absolutely unable to control his feelings.
+
+"My two friends," he cried, in a tone broken with emotion, "it is you
+first who shall hear the news! This message has just arrived. Sirdeller
+will have received its duplicate. The final report of the works in
+Havana Harbour will await us on our arrival in New York, but the
+substance of it is this. The _Maine_ was sunk by a torpedo, discharged
+at close quarters underneath her magazine. Gentlemen, the House of
+Asturias is ruined!"
+
+There was a breathless silence.
+
+"Your information is genuine?" Sogrange asked softly.
+
+"Without a doubt," the Prince replied. "I have been expecting this
+message. I shall cable to von Hern. We are still in communication. He
+may not have heard."
+
+"We were about to speak of the Duchesse," Peter reminded him.
+
+The Prince shook his head.
+
+"Another time," he declared. "Another time."
+
+He hurried away. It was already half-past ten and the saloon was almost
+empty. The steward came up to them.
+
+"The saloon is being closed for the night, sir," he announced.
+
+"Let us go on deck," Peter suggested.
+
+They found their way up on to the windward side of the promenade, which
+was absolutely deserted. Far away in front of them now were the
+disappearing lights of the _Lusitania_. The wind roared by as the great
+steamer rose and fell on the black stretch of waters. Peter stood very
+near to his companion.
+
+"Listen, Sogrange," he said, "the affair is clear now save for one
+thing."
+
+"You mean Sirdeller's motives?"
+
+"Not at all," Peter answered. "An hour ago I came across the explanation
+of these. The one thing I will tell you afterwards. Now listen.
+Sirdeller came abroad last year for twelve months' travel. He took a
+great house in San Sebastian."
+
+"Where did you hear this?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"I read the story in the _New York Herald_," Peter continued. "It is
+grossly exaggerated, of course, but this is the substance of it.
+Sirdeller and his suite were stopped upon the Spanish frontier and
+treated in an abominable fashion by the Customs officers. He was forced
+to pay a very large sum, unjustly, I should think. He paid under
+protest, appealed to the authorities, with no result. At San Sebastian
+he was robbed right and left, his privacy intruded upon. In short, he
+took a violent dislike and hatred to the country and everyone concerned
+in it. He moved with his entire suite to Nice, to the Golden Villa.
+There he expressed himself freely concerning Spain and her Government.
+Count von Hern heard of it and presented Marsine. The plot was, without
+doubt, Bernadine's. Can't you imagine how he would put it? 'A
+revolution,' he would tell Sirdeller, 'is imminent in Spain. Here is the
+new President of the Republic. Money is no more to you than water. You
+are a patriotic American. Have you forgotten that the finest warship
+your country ever built, with six hundred of her devoted citizens, was
+sent to the bottom by the treachery of one of this effete race? The war
+was an inefficient revenge. The country still flourishes. It is for you
+to avenge America. With money Marsine can establish a republic in Spain
+within twenty-four hours!' Sirdeller hesitates. He would point out that
+it had never been proved that the destruction of the _Maine_ was really
+due to Spanish treachery. It is the idea of a business man which
+followed. He, at his own expense, would raise the _Maine_. If it were
+true that the explosion occurred from outside, he would find the money.
+You see, the message has arrived. After all these years, the sea has
+given up its secret. Marsine will return to Spain with an unlimited
+credit behind him. The House of Asturias will crumble up like a pack of
+cards."
+
+Sogrange looked out into the darkness. Perhaps he saw in that great
+black gulf the pictures of these happenings, which his companion had
+prophesied. Perhaps, for a moment, he saw the panorama of a city in
+flames, the passing of a great country under the thrall of these new
+ideas. At any rate, he turned abruptly away from the side of the vessel
+and, taking Peter's arm, walked slowly down the deck.
+
+"You have solved the puzzle, Baron," he said, gravely. "Now tell me one
+thing. Your story seems to dovetail everywhere."
+
+"The one thing," Peter said, "is connected with the Duchesse. It was
+she, of her own will, who decided to come to America. I believe that but
+for her coming Bernadine and the Prince would have waited in their own
+country. Money can flash from America to England over the wires. It does
+not need to be fetched. They have still one fear. It is connected with
+the Duchesse. Let me think."
+
+They walked up and down the deck. The lights were extinguished one by
+one, except in the smoke-room. A strange breed of sailors from the lower
+deck came up, with mops and buckets. The wind changed its quarter and
+the great ship began to roll. Peter stopped abruptly.
+
+"I find this motion most unpleasant," he said. "I am going to bed.
+To-night I cannot think. To-morrow, I promise you, we will solve this.
+Hush!"
+
+He held out his hand and drew his companion back into the shadow of a
+lifeboat. A tall figure was approaching them along the deck. As he
+passed the little ray of light thrown out from the smoking-room, the
+man's features were clearly visible. It was the Prince. He was walking
+like one absorbed in thought. His eyes were set like a sleep-walker's.
+With one hand he gesticulated. The fingers of the other were twitching
+all the time. His head was lifted to the skies. There was something in
+his face which redeemed it from its disfiguring petulance.
+
+"It is the man who dreams of power," Peter whispered. "It is one of the
+best moments, this. He forgets the vulgar means by which he intends to
+rise. He thinks only of himself, the dictator, king, perhaps emperor. He
+is of the breed of egoists."
+
+Again and again the Prince passed, manifestly unconscious even of his
+whereabouts. Peter and Sogrange crept away unseen to their state-rooms.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In many respects the room resembled a miniature court of justice. The
+principal sitting-room of the royal suite, which was the chief glory of
+the _Adriatic_, had been stripped of every superfluous article of
+furniture or embellishment. Curtains had been removed, all evidences of
+luxury disposed of. Temporarily the apartment had been transformed into
+a bare, cheerless place. Seated on a high chair, with his back to the
+wall, was Sirdeller. At his right hand was a small table, on which stood
+a glass of milk, a phial, a stethoscope. Behind, his doctor. At his left
+hand, a smooth-faced, silent young man--his secretary. Before him stood
+the Duchesse, Peter and Sogrange. Guarding the door was one of the
+watchmen, who, from his great physique, might well have been a policeman
+out of livery. Sirdeller himself, in the clear light which streamed
+through the large window, seemed more aged and shrunken than ever. His
+eyes were deep-set. No tinge of colour was visible in his cheeks. His
+chin protruded, his shaggy grey eyebrows gave him an unkempt appearance.
+He wore a black velvet cap, a strangely cut black morning coat and
+trousers, felt slippers, and his hands were clasped upon a stout ash
+walking-stick. He eyed the new-comers keenly but without expression.
+
+"The lady may sit," he said.
+
+He spoke almost in an undertone, as though anxious to avoid the fatigue
+of words. The guardian of the door placed a chair, into which the
+Duchesse subsided. Sirdeller held his right hand towards his doctor, who
+felt his pulse. All the time Sirdeller watched him, his lips a little
+parted, a world of hungry excitement in his eyes. The doctor closed his
+watch with a snap and whispered something in Sirdeller's ear, apparently
+reassuring.
+
+"I will hear this story," Sirdeller announced. "In two minutes every one
+must leave. If it takes longer it must remain unfinished."
+
+Peter spoke up briskly.
+
+"The story is this," he began. "You have promised to assist the Prince
+of Marsine to transform Spain into a republic, providing the salvage
+operations on the _Maine_ prove that that ship was destroyed from
+outside. The salvage operations have been conducted at your expense, and
+finished. It has been proved that the _Maine_ was destroyed by a mine or
+torpedo from the outside. Therefore, on the assumption that it was the
+treacherous deed of a Spaniard or Cuban imagining himself to be a
+patriot, you are prepared to carry out your undertaking and supply the
+Prince of Marsine with means to overthrow the kingdom of Spain."
+
+Peter paused. The figure on the chair remained motionless. No flicker of
+intelligence or interest disturbed the calm of his features. It was a
+silence almost unnatural.
+
+"I have brought the Duchesse here," Peter continued, "to tell you the
+truth as to the _Maine_ disaster."
+
+Not even then was there the slightest alteration in those ashen grey
+features.
+
+The Duchesse looked up. She had the air of one only too eager to speak
+and finish.
+
+"In those days," she said, "I was the wife of a rich Cuban gentleman
+whose name I withhold. The American officers on board the _Maine_ used
+to visit at our house. My husband was jealous; perhaps he had cause."
+
+The Duchesse paused. Even though the light of tragedy and romance side
+by side seemed suddenly to creep into the room, Sirdeller listened as
+one come back from a dead world.
+
+"One night," the Duchesse went on, "my husband's suspicions were changed
+into knowledge. He came home unexpectedly. The American--the officer--I
+loved him--was there on the balcony with me. My husband said nothing.
+The officer returned to his ship. That night my husband came into my
+room. He bent over my bed. 'It is not you,' he whispered, 'whom I shall
+destroy, for the pain of death is short. Anguish of mind may live.
+To-night, six hundred ghosts may hang about your pillow!'"
+
+Her voice broke. There was something grim and unnatural in that curious
+stillness. Even the secretary was at last breathing a little faster. The
+watchman at the door was leaning forward. Sirdeller simply moved his
+hand to the doctor, who held up his finger while he felt the pulse. The
+beat of his watch seemed to sound through the unnatural silence. In a
+minute he spoke.
+
+"The lady may proceed," he announced.
+
+"My husband," the Duchesse continued, "was an officer in charge of the
+Mines and Ordnance Department. He went out that night in a small boat,
+after a visit to the strong house. No soul has ever seen or heard of him
+since, or his boat. It is only I who know."
+
+Her voice died away. Sirdeller stretched out his hand and very
+deliberately drank a table-spoonful or two of his milk.
+
+"I believe the lady's story," he declared. "The Marsine affair is
+finished. Let no one be admitted to have speech with me again upon this
+subject."
+
+He had half turned towards his secretary. The young man bowed. The
+doctor pointed towards the door. The Duchesse, Peter, and Sogrange filed
+slowly out. In the bright sunlight the Duchesse burst into a peal of
+hysterical laughter. Even Peter felt, for a moment, unnerved. Suddenly
+he, too, laughed.
+
+"I think," he said, "that you and I had better get out of the way,
+Sogrange, when the Count von Hern meets us at New York!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN ALIEN SOCIETY
+
+
+Sogrange and Peter, Baron de Grost, standing upon the threshold of their
+hotel, gazed out upon New York and liked the look of it. They had landed
+from the steamer a few hours before, had already enjoyed the luxury of a
+bath, a visit to an American barber's, and a genuine cocktail.
+
+"I see no reason," Sogrange declared, "why we should not take a week's
+holiday."
+
+Peter, glancing up into the blue sky and down into the faces of the
+well-dressed and beautiful women who were streaming up Fifth Avenue, was
+wholly of the same mind.
+
+"If we return by this afternoon's steamer," he remarked, "we shall have
+Bernadine for a fellow-passenger. Bernadine is annoyed with us just now.
+I must confess that I should feel more at my ease with a few thousand
+miles of the Atlantic between us."
+
+"Let it be so," Sogrange assented. "We will explore this marvellous
+city. Never," he added, taking his companion's arm, "did I expect to see
+such women save in my own, the mistress of all cities. So _chic_, my
+dear Baron, and such a carriage! We will lunch at one of the fashionable
+restaurants and drive in the Park afterwards. First of all, however, we
+must take a stroll along this wonderful Fifth Avenue."
+
+The two men spent a morning after their own hearts. They lunched
+astonishingly well at Sherry's and drove afterwards in the Central Park.
+When they returned to the hotel Sogrange was in excellent spirits.
+
+"I feel, my friend," he announced, "that we are going to have a very
+pleasant and, in some respects, a unique week. To meet friends and
+acquaintances everywhere, as one must do in every capital in Europe, is,
+of course, pleasant, but there is a monotony about it from which one is
+glad sometimes to escape. We lunch here and we promenade in the places
+frequented by those of a similar station to our own, and behold! we know
+no one. We are lookers on. Perhaps, for a long time, it might gall. For
+a brief period there is a restfulness about it which pleases me."
+
+"I should have liked," Peter murmured, "an introduction to the lady in
+the blue hat."
+
+"You are a gregarious animal," Sogrange declared. "You do not understand
+the pleasure of a little comparative isolation with an intellectual
+companion such as myself. What the devil is the meaning of this?"
+
+They had reached their sitting-room, and upon a small round table stood
+a great collection of cards and notes. Sogrange took them up helplessly,
+one after the other, reading the names aloud and letting them fall
+through his fingers. Some were known to him, some were not. He began to
+open the notes. In effect they were all the same--On what day would the
+Marquis de Sogrange and his distinguished friend care to dine, lunch,
+yacht, golf, shoot, go to the opera, join a theatre party? Of what clubs
+would they care to become members? What kind of hospitality would be
+most acceptable?
+
+Sogrange sank into a chair.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, "they all have to be answered--that
+collection there! The visits have to be returned. It is magnificent,
+this hospitality, but what can one do?"
+
+Peter looked at the pile of correspondence upon which Sogrange's inroad,
+indeed, seemed to have had but little effect.
+
+"One could engage a secretary, of course," he suggested, doubtfully.
+"But the visits! Our week's holiday is gone."
+
+"Not at all," Sogrange replied. "I have an idea."
+
+The telephone bell rang. Peter took up the receiver and listened for a
+moment. He turned to Sogrange, still holding it in his hand.
+
+"You will be pleased, also, to hear," he announced, "that there are half
+a dozen reporters downstairs waiting to interview us."
+
+Sogrange received the information with interest.
+
+"Have them sent up at once," he directed, "every one of them."
+
+"What, all at the same time?" Peter asked.
+
+"All at the same time it must be," Sogrange answered. "Give them to
+understand that it is an affair of five minutes only."
+
+They came trooping in. Sogrange welcomed them cordially.
+
+"My friend the Baron de Grost," he explained, indicating Peter. "I am
+the Marquis de Sogrange. Let us know what we can do to serve you."
+
+One of the men stepped forward.
+
+"Very glad to meet you, Marquis, and you, Baron," he said. "I won't
+bother you with any introductions, but I and the company here represent
+the Press of New York. We should like some information for our papers as
+to the object of your visit here and the probable length of your stay."
+
+Sogrange extended his hands.
+
+"My dear friend," he exclaimed, "the object of our visit was, I thought,
+already well known. We are on our way to Mexico. We leave to-night. My
+friend, the Baron is, as you know, a financier. I, too, have a little
+money to invest. We are going to meet some business acquaintances with a
+view to inspecting some mining properties. That is absolutely all I can
+tell you. You can understand, of course, that fuller information would
+be impossible."
+
+"Why, that's quite natural, Marquis," the spokesman of the reporters
+replied. "We don't like the idea of your hustling out of New York like
+this, though."
+
+Sogrange looked at the clock.
+
+"It is unavoidable," he declared. "We are relying upon you, gentlemen,
+to publish the fact, because you will see," he added, pointing to the
+table, "that we have been the recipients of a great many civilities
+which it is impossible for us to acknowledge properly. If it will give
+you any pleasure to see us upon our return, you will be very welcome. In
+the meantime, you will understand our haste."
+
+There were a few more civilities and the representatives of the Press
+took their departure. Peter looked at his companion doubtfully as
+Sogrange returned from showing them out.
+
+"I suppose this means that we have to catch to-day's steamer after all?"
+he remarked.
+
+"Not necessarily," Sogrange answered. "I have a plan. We will leave for
+the Southern Depot, wherever it may be. Afterwards, you shall use that
+wonderful skill of yours, of which I have heard so much, to effect some
+slight change in our appearance. We will then go to another hotel, in
+another quarter of New York, and take our week's holiday incognito. What
+do you think of that for an idea?"
+
+"Not much," Peter replied. "It isn't so easy to dodge the newspapers and
+the Press in this country. Besides, although I could manage myself very
+well, you would be an exceedingly awkward subject. Your tall and elegant
+figure, your aquiline nose, the shapeliness of your hands and feet, give
+you a distinction which I should find it hard to conceal."
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"You are a remarkably observant fellow, Baron. I quite appreciate your
+difficulty. Still, with a club foot, eh?--and spectacles instead of my
+eyeglasses----"
+
+"Oh, no doubt something could be managed," Peter interrupted. "You're
+really in earnest about this, are you?"
+
+"Absolutely," Sogrange declared. "Come here."
+
+He drew Peter to the window. They were on the twelfth story, and to a
+European there was something magnificent in that tangled mass of
+buildings threaded by the elevated railway, with its screaming trains,
+the clearness of the atmosphere, and in the white streets below, like
+polished belts through which the swarms of people streamed like insects.
+
+"Imagine it all lit up!" Sogrange exclaimed. "The sky-signs all ablaze,
+the flashing of fire from those cable wires, the lights glittering from
+those tall buildings! This is a wonderful place, Baron. We must see it.
+Ring for the bill. Order one of those magnificent omnibuses. Press the
+button, too, for the personage whom they call the valet. Perhaps, with a
+little gentle persuasion, he could be induced to pack our clothes."
+
+With his finger upon the bell, Peter hesitated. He, too, loved
+adventures, but the gloom of a presentiment had momentarily depressed
+him.
+
+"We are marked men, remember, Sogrange," he said. "An escapade of this
+sort means a certain amount of risk, even in New York."
+
+Sogrange laughed.
+
+"Bernadine caught the midday steamer. We have no enemies here that I
+know of."
+
+Peter pressed the button. An hour or so later the Marquis de Sogrange
+and Peter, Baron de Grost, took their leave of New York.
+
+They chose an hotel some distance down Broadway, within a stone's throw
+of Rector's Restaurant. Peter, with whitened hair, gold-rimmed
+spectacles, a slouch hat and a fur coat, passed easily enough for an
+English maker of electrical instruments; while Sogrange, shabbier, and
+in ready-made American clothes, was transformed into a Canadian having
+some connection with theatrical business. They plunged into the heart of
+New York life, and found the whole thing like a tonic. The intense
+vitality of the people, the pandemonium of Broadway at midnight, with
+its flaming illuminations, its eager crowd, its inimitable restlessness,
+fascinated them both. Sogrange, indeed, remembering the decadent languor
+of the crowds of pleasure-seekers thronging his own boulevards, was
+never weary of watching these men and women. They passed from the
+streets to the restaurants, from the restaurants to the theatre, out
+into the streets again, back to the restaurants, and once more into the
+streets. Sogrange was like a glutton. The mention of bed was hateful to
+him. For three days they existed without a moment's boredom.
+
+On the fourth evening Peter found Sogrange deep in conversation with the
+head porter. In a few minutes he led Peter away to one of the bars where
+they usually took their cocktail.
+
+"My friend," he announced, "to-night I have a treat for you. So far we
+have looked on at the external night life of New York. Wonderful and
+thrilling it has been, too. But there is the underneath also. Why not?
+There is a vast polyglot population here, full of energy and life. A
+criminal class exists as a matter of course. To-night we make our bow to
+it."
+
+"And by what means?" Peter inquired.
+
+"Our friend the hall porter," Sogrange continued, "has given me the card
+of an ex-detective who will be our escort. He calls for us to-night, or
+rather, to-morrow morning, at one o'clock. Then, behold! the wand is
+waved, the land of adventures opens before us."
+
+Peter grunted.
+
+"I don't want to damp your enthusiasm, my Canadian friend," he said,
+"but the sort of adventures you may meet with to-night are scarcely
+likely to fire your romantic nature. I know a little about what they
+call this underneath world in New York. It will probably resolve itself
+into a visit to Chinatown, where we shall find the usual dummies taking
+opium, and quite prepared to talk about it for the usual tip. After that
+we shall visit a few low dancing halls, be shown the scene of several
+murders, and the thing is done."
+
+"You are a cynic," Sogrange declared. "You would throw cold water upon
+any enterprise. Anyway, our detective is coming. We must make use of
+him, for I have engaged to pay him five dollars."
+
+"We'll go where you like," Peter assented, "so long as we dine on a roof
+garden. This beastly fur coat keeps me in a chronic state of
+perspiration."
+
+"Never mind," Sogrange said consolingly, "it's most effective. A roof
+garden, by all means."
+
+"And recollect," Peter insisted, "I bar Chinatown. We've both of us seen
+the real thing, and there's nothing real about what they show you here."
+
+"Chinatown is erased from our programme," Sogrange agreed. "We go now to
+dine. Remind me, Baron, that I inquire for these strange dishes of which
+one hears--terrapin, canvas-backed duck, green corn, and strawberry
+shortcake."
+
+Peter smiled grimly.
+
+"How like a Frenchman," he exclaimed, "to take no account of seasons!
+Never mind, Marquis, you shall give your order and I will sketch the
+waiter's face. By the by, if you're in earnest about this expedition
+to-night, put your revolver into your pocket."
+
+"But we're going with an ex-detective," Sogrange replied.
+
+"One never knows," Peter said carelessly.
+
+They dined close to the stone palisading of one of New York's most
+famous roof gardens. Sogrange ordered an immense dinner, but spent most
+of his time gazing downwards. They were higher up than at the hotel, and
+they could see across the tangled maze of lights even to the river,
+across which the great ferry boats were speeding all the while--huge
+creatures of streaming fire and whistling sirens. The air where they sat
+was pure and crisp. There was no fog, no smoke, to cloud the almost
+crystalline clearness of the night.
+
+"Baron," Sogrange declared, "if I had lived in this city I should have
+been a different man. No wonder the people are all-conquering."
+
+"Too much electricity in the air for me," Peter answered. "I like a
+little repose. I can't think where these people find it."
+
+"One hopes," Sogrange murmured, "that before they progress any further
+in utilitarianism they will find some artist, one of themselves, to
+express all this."
+
+"In the meantime," Peter interrupted, "the waiter would like to know
+what we are going to drink. I've eaten such a confounded jumble of
+things of your ordering that I should like some champagne."
+
+"Who shall say that I am not generous!" Sogrange replied, taking up the
+wine carte. "Champagne it shall be. We need something to nerve us for
+our adventures."
+
+Peter leaned across the table.
+
+"Sogrange," he whispered, "for the last twenty-four hours I have had
+some doubts as to the success of our little enterprise. It has occurred
+to me more than once that we are being shadowed."
+
+Sogrange frowned.
+
+"I sometimes wonder," he remarked, "how a man of your suspicious nature
+ever acquired the reputation you undoubtedly enjoy."
+
+"Perhaps it is because of my suspicious nature," Peter said. "There is a
+man staying in our hotel whom we are beginning to see quite a great deal
+of. He was talking to the head porter a few minutes before you this
+afternoon. He supped at the same restaurant last night. He is dining
+now, three places behind you to the right, with a young lady who has
+been making flagrant attempts to flirtation with me, notwithstanding my
+grey hairs."
+
+"Your reputation, my dear Peter," Sogrange murmured.
+
+"As a decoy," Peter interrupted, "the young lady's methods are too
+vigorous. She pretends to be terribly afraid of her companion, but it is
+entirely obvious that she is acting on his instructions. Of course, this
+may be a ruse of the reporters. On the other hand, I think it would be
+wise to abandon our little expedition to-night."
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"So far as I am concerned," he said, "I am committed to it."
+
+"In which case," Peter replied, "I am certainly committed to being your
+companion. The only question is whether one shall fall to the decoy and
+suffer oneself to be led in the direction her companion desires, or
+whether we shall go blundering into trouble on our own account with your
+friend the ex-detective."
+
+Sogrange glanced over his shoulder, leaned back in his chair, for a
+moment, as though to look at the stars, and finally lit a cigarette.
+
+"There is a lack of subtlety about that young person, Baron," he
+declared, "which stifles one's suspicions. I suspect her to be merely
+one more victim to your undoubted charms. In the interests of madame
+your wife I shall take you away. The decoy shall weave her spells in
+vain."
+
+They paid their bill and departed a few minutes later. The man and the
+girl were also in the act of leaving. The former seemed to be having
+some dispute about the bill. The girl, standing with her back to him,
+scribbled a line upon a piece of paper, and, as Peter went by, pushed it
+into his hand with a little warning gesture. In the lift he opened it.
+The few pencilled words contained nothing but an address: Number 15,
+100th Street, East.
+
+"Lucky man!" Sogrange sighed.
+
+Peter made no remark, but he was thoughtful for the next hour or so.
+
+The ex-detective proved to be an individual of fairly obvious
+appearance, whose complexion and thirst indicated a very possible reason
+for his life of leisure. He heard with surprise that his patrons were
+not inclined to visit Chinatown, but he showed a laudable desire to fall
+in with their schemes, provided always that they included a reasonable
+number of visits to places where refreshments could be obtained. From
+first to last the expedition was a disappointment. They visited various
+smoke-hung dancing halls, decorated for the most part with oleographs
+and cracked mirrors, in which sickly-looking young men of unwholesome
+aspect were dancing with their feminine counterparts. The attitude of
+their guide was alone amusing.
+
+"Say, you want to be careful in here!" he would declare, in an awed
+tone, on entering one of these tawdry palaces. "Guess this is one of the
+toughest spots in New York City. You stick close to me and I'll make
+things all right."
+
+His method of making things all right was the same in every case. He
+would form a circle of disreputable youths, for whose drinks Sogrange
+was called upon to pay. The attitude of the young men was more dejected
+than positively vicious. They showed not the slightest signs of any
+desire to make themselves unpleasant. Only once, when Sogrange
+incautiously displayed a gold watch, did the eyes of one or two of their
+number glisten. The ex-detective changed his place and whispered
+hoarsely in his patron's ear:
+
+"Say, don't you flash anything of that sort about here! That young cove
+right opposite to you is one of the best-known sneak-thieves in the
+city. You're asking for trouble that way."
+
+"If he or any other of them want my watch," Sogrange answered, calmly,
+"let them come and fetch it. However," he added, buttoning up his coat,
+"no doubt you are right. Is there anywhere else to take us?"
+
+The man hesitated.
+
+"There ain't much that you haven't seen," he remarked.
+
+Sogrange laughed softly as he rose to his feet.
+
+"A sell, my dear friend," he said to Peter. "This terrible city keeps
+its real criminal class somewhere else rather than in the show places."
+
+A man who had been standing in the doorway, looking in for several
+moments, strolled up to them. Peter recognised him at once and touched
+Sogrange on the arm. The new-comer accosted them pleasantly.
+
+"Say, you'll excuse my butting in," he began, "but I can see you are
+kind of disappointed. These suckers"--indicating the ex-detective--"talk
+a lot about what they're going to show you, and when they get you round,
+it all amounts to nothing. This is the sort of thing they bring you to
+as representing the wickedness of New York! That's so, Rastall, isn't
+it?"
+
+The ex-detective looked a little sheepish.
+
+"Yes, there ain't much more to be seen," he admitted. "Perhaps you'll
+take the job on if you think there is."
+
+"Well, I'd engage to show the gentlemen something a sight more
+interesting than this," the new-comer continued. "They don't want to sit
+down and drink with the scum of the earth."
+
+"Perhaps," Sogrange suggested, "this gentleman has something in his mind
+which he thinks would appeal to us. We have a motor-car outside, and we
+are out for adventures."
+
+"What sort of adventures?" the new-comer asked bluntly.
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders lightly.
+
+"We are lookers-on merely," he explained. "My friend and I have
+travelled a good deal. We have seen something of criminal life in Paris
+and London, Vienna, and Budapest. I shall not break any confidence if I
+tell you that my friend is a writer, and material such as this is
+useful."
+
+The new-comer smiled.
+
+"Say," he exclaimed, "in a way, it's fortunate for you that I happened
+along! You come right with me and I'll show you something that very few
+other people in this city know of. Guess you'd better pay this fellow
+off," he added, indicating the ex-detective. "He's no more use to you."
+
+Sogrange and Peter exchanged questioning glances.
+
+"It is very kind of you, sir," Peter decided, "but for my part I have
+had enough for one evening."
+
+"Just as you like, of course," the other remarked, with studied
+unconcern.
+
+"What kind of place would it be?" Sogrange asked.
+
+The new-comer drew them on one side, although, as a matter of fact,
+everyone else had melted away.
+
+"Have you ever heard of the secret societies of New York?" he inquired.
+"Well, I guess you haven't, anyway--not to know anything about them.
+Well, then, listen. There's a society meets within a few steps of here,
+which has more to do with regulating the criminal classes of the city
+than any police establishment. There'll be a man there within an hour or
+so who, to my knowledge, has committed seven murders. The police can't
+get him. They never will. He's under our protection."
+
+"May we visit such a place as you describe without danger?" Peter asked
+calmly.
+
+"No!" the man answered. "There's danger in going anywhere, it seems to
+me, if it's worth while. So long as you keep a still tongue in your head
+and don't look about you too much, there's nothing will happen to you.
+If you get gassing a lot, you might tumble in for almost anything. Don't
+come unless you like. It's a chance for you, as you're a writer, but
+you'd best keep out of it if you're in any way nervous."
+
+"You said it was quite close?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"Within a yard or two," the man replied. "It's right this way."
+
+They left the hall with their new escort. When they looked for their
+motor-car, they found it had gone.
+
+"It don't do to keep them things waiting about round here," their new
+friend remarked, carelessly. "I guess I'll send you back to your hotel
+all right. Step this way."
+
+"By the by, what street is this we are in?" Peter asked.
+
+"100th Street," the man answered.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I'm a little superstitious about that number," he declared. "Is that an
+elevated railway there? I think we've had enough, Sogrange."
+
+Sogrange hesitated. They were standing now in front of a tall, gloomy
+house, unkempt, with broken gate--a large but miserable-looking abode.
+The passers-by in the street were few. The whole character of the
+surroundings was squalid. The man pushed open the broken gate.
+
+"You cross the road right there to the elevated," he directed. "If you
+ain't coming, I'll bid you good-night."
+
+Once more they hesitated. Peter, perhaps, saw more than his companion.
+He saw the dark shapes lurking under the railway arch. He knew
+instinctively that they were in some sort of danger. And yet the love of
+adventure was on fire in his blood. His belief in himself was immense.
+He whispered to Sogrange.
+
+"I do not trust our guide," he said. "If you care to risk it, I am with
+you."
+
+"Mind the broken pavement," the man called out. "This ain't exactly an
+abode of luxury."
+
+They climbed some broken steps. Their guide opened a door with a Yale
+key. The door swung to after them and they found themselves in darkness.
+There had been no light in the windows. There was no light, apparently,
+in the house. Their companion produced an electric torch from his
+pocket.
+
+"You had best follow me," he advised. "Our quarters face out the other
+way. We keep this end looking a little deserted."
+
+They passed through a swing door and everything was at once changed. A
+multitude of lamps hung from the ceiling, the floor was carpeted, the
+walls clean.
+
+"We don't go in for electric light," their guide explained, "as we try
+not to give the place away. We manage to keep it fairly comfortable,
+though."
+
+He pushed open the door and entered a somewhat gorgeously furnished
+salon. There were signs here of feminine occupation, an open piano, and
+the smell of cigarettes. Once more Peter hesitated.
+
+"Your friends seem to be in hiding," he remarked. "Personally, I am
+losing my curiosity."
+
+"Guess you won't have to wait very long," the man replied, with meaning.
+
+The room was suddenly invaded on all sides. Four doors, which were quite
+hidden by the pattern of the wall, had opened almost simultaneously, and
+at least a dozen men had entered. This time both Sogrange and Peter knew
+that they were face to face with the real thing. These were men who came
+silently in, not cigarette-stunted youths. Two of them were in evening
+dress; three or four had the appearance of prize-fighters. In their
+countenances was one expression common to all--an air of quiet and
+conscious strength.
+
+A fair-headed man, in a dinner jacket and black tie, became at once
+their spokesman. He was possessed of a very slight American accent, and
+he beamed at them through a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.
+
+"Gentlemen," he said, "I am very glad to meet you both."
+
+"Very kind of you, I'm sure," Sogrange answered. "Our friend here," he
+added, indicating their guide, "found us trying to gain a little insight
+into the more interesting part of New York life. He was kind enough to
+express a wish to introduce us to you."
+
+The man smiled. He looked very much like some studious clerk, except
+that his voice seemed to ring with some latent power.
+
+"I am afraid," he said, "that your friend's interest in you was not
+entirely unselfish. For three days he has carried in his pocket an order
+instructing him to produce you here."
+
+"I knew it!" Peter whispered, under his breath.
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange replied. "May I know whom I have the honour
+of addressing?"
+
+"You can call me Burr," the man announced; "Philip Burr. Your names it
+is not our wish to know."
+
+"I am afraid I do not quite understand," Sogrange said.
+
+"It was scarcely to be expected that you should," Mr. Philip Burr
+admitted. "All I can tell you is that, in cases like yours, I really
+prefer not to know with whom I have to deal."
+
+"You speak as though you had business with us," Peter remarked.
+
+"Without doubt, I have," the other replied, grimly. "It is my business
+to see that you do not leave these premises alive."
+
+Sogrange drew up a chair against which he had been leaning, and sat
+down.
+
+"Really," he said, "that would be most inconvenient."
+
+Peter, too, shook his head, sitting upon the end of a sofa and folding
+his arms. Something told him that the moment for fighting was not yet.
+
+"Inconvenient or not," Mr. Philip Burr continued, "I have orders to
+carry out which I can assure you have never yet been disobeyed since the
+formation of our society. From what I can see of you, you appear to be
+very amiable gentlemen, and if it would interest you to choose the
+method--say, of your release--why, I can assure you we'll do all we can
+to meet your views."
+
+"I am beginning," Sogrange remarked, "to feel quite at home."
+
+"You see, we've been through this sort of thing before," Peter added,
+blandly.
+
+Mr. Philip Burr took a cigar from his case and lit it. At a motion of
+his hand one of the company passed the box to his two guests.
+
+"You're not counting upon a visit from the police, or anything of that
+sort, I hope?" Mr. Philip Burr asked.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"Certainly not," he replied. "I may say that much of the earlier portion
+of my life was spent in frustrating the well-meant but impossible
+schemes of that body of men."
+
+"If only we had a little more time," Mr. Burr declared, "it seems to me
+I should like to make the acquaintance of you two gentlemen."
+
+"The matter is entirely in your own hands," Peter reminded him. "We are
+in no hurry."
+
+Mr. Burr smiled genially.
+
+"You make me think better of humanity," he confessed. "A month ago we
+had a man here--got him along somehow or other--and I had to tell him
+that he was up against it like you two are. My! the fuss he made! Kind
+of saddened me to think a man should be such a coward."
+
+"Some people are like that," Sogrange remarked. "By the by, Mr. Burr,
+you'll pardon my curiosity. Whom have we to thank for our introduction
+here to-night?"
+
+"I don't know as there's any particular harm in telling you," Mr. Burr
+replied.
+
+"Nor any particular good," a man who was standing by his side
+interrupted. "Say, Phil, you drag these things out too much. Are there
+any questions you've got to ask 'em, or any property to collect?"
+
+"Nothing of the sort," Mr. Burr admitted.
+
+"Then let the gang get to work," the other declared.
+
+The two men were suddenly conscious that they were being surrounded.
+Peter's hand stole on to the butt of his revolver. Sogrange rose slowly
+to his feet. His hands were thrust out in front of him with the thumbs
+turned down. The four fingers of each hand flashed for a minute through
+the air. Mr. Philip Burr lost all his self-control.
+
+"Say, where the devil did you learn that trick?" he cried.
+
+Sogrange laughed scornfully.
+
+"Trick!" he exclaimed. "Philip Burr, you are unworthy of your position.
+I am the Marquis de Sogrange, and my friend here is the Baron de Grost."
+
+Mr. Philip Burr had no words. His cigar had dropped on to the carpet. He
+was simply staring.
+
+"If you need proof," Sogrange continued, "further than any I have given
+you, I have in my pocket, at the present moment, a letter, signed by you
+yourself, pleading for formal reinstatement. This is how you would
+qualify for it! You make use of your power to run a common decoy house,
+to do away with men for money. What fool gave you our names, pray?"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr was only the wreck of a man. He could not even control
+his voice.
+
+"It was some German or Belgian nobleman," he faltered. "He brought us
+excellent letters, and he made a large contribution. It was the Count
+von Hern."
+
+The anger of Sogrange seemed suddenly to fade away. He threw himself
+into a chair by the side of his companion.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "Bernadine has scored, indeed! Your
+friend has a sense of humour which overwhelms me. Imagine it. He has
+delivered the two heads of our great society into the hands of one of
+its cast-off branches! Bernadine is a genius, indeed!"
+
+Mr. Philip Burr began slowly to recover himself. He waved his hand. Nine
+out of the twelve men left the room.
+
+"Marquis," he said, "for ten years there has been no one whom I have
+desired to meet so much as you. I came to Europe, but you declined to
+receive me. I know very well we can't keep our end up like you over
+there, because we haven't politics and those sort of things to play
+with, but we've done our best. We've encouraged only criminology of the
+highest order. We've tried all we can to keep the profession select. The
+gaol-bird pure and simple we have cast out. The men who have suffered at
+our hands have been men who have met with their deserts."
+
+"What about us?" Peter demanded. "It seems to me that you had most
+unpleasant plans for our future."
+
+Philip Burr held up his hands.
+
+"As I live," he declared, "this is the first time that any money
+consideration has induced me to break away from our principles. Count
+von Hern had powerful friends who were our friends, and he gave me the
+word, straight, that you two had an appointment down below which was
+considerably overdue. I don't know, even now, why I consented. I guess
+it isn't much use apologising."
+
+Sogrange rose to his feet.
+
+"Well," he said, "I am not inclined to bear malice, but you must
+understand this from me, Philip Burr. As a society I dissolve you. I
+deprive you of your title and of your signs. Call yourself what you
+will, but never again mention the name of the 'Double Four.' With us in
+Europe another era has dawned. We are on the side of law and order. We
+protect only criminals of a certain class, in whose operations we have
+faith. There is no future for such a society in this country. Therefore,
+as I say, I dissolve it. Now, if you are ready, perhaps you will be so
+good as to provide us with the means of reaching our hotel."
+
+Philip Burr led them into a back street, where his own handsome
+automobile was placed at their service.
+
+"This kind of breaks me all up," he declared, as he gave the
+instructions to the chauffeur. "If there were two men on the face of
+this earth whom I'd have been proud to meet in a friendly sort of way,
+it's you two."
+
+"We bear no malice, Mr. Burr," Sogrange assured him. "You can, if you
+will do us the honour, lunch with us to-morrow at one o'clock at
+Rector's. My friend here is very interested in the Count von Hern, and
+he would probably like to hear exactly how this affair was arranged."
+
+"I'll be there, sure," Philip Burr promised with a farewell wave of the
+hand.
+
+Sogrange and Peter drove towards their hotel in silence. It was only
+when they emerged into the civilised part of the city that Sogrange
+began to laugh softly.
+
+"My friend," he murmured, "you bluffed fairly well, but you were afraid.
+Oh, how I smiled to see your fingers close round the butt of that
+revolver!"
+
+"What about you?" Peter asked gruffly. "You don't suppose you took me
+in, do you?"
+
+Sogrange smiled.
+
+"I had two reasons for coming to New York," he said. "One we
+accomplished upon the steamer. The other was----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"To reply personally to this letter of Mr. Philip Burr," Sogrange
+replied, "which letter, by the by, was dated from 15, 100th Street, New
+York. An ordinary visit there would have been useless to me. Something
+of this sort was necessary."
+
+"Then you knew!" Peter gasped. "Notwithstanding all your bravado, you
+knew."
+
+"I had a very fair idea," Sogrange admitted. "Don't be annoyed with me,
+my friend. You have had a little experience. It is all useful. It isn't
+the first time you've looked death in the face. Adventures come to some
+men unasked. You, I think, were born with the habit of them."
+
+Peter smiled. They had reached the hotel courtyard, and he raised
+himself stiffly.
+
+"There's a fable about the pitcher that went once too often to the
+well," he remarked. "I have had my share of luck--more than my share.
+The end must come some time, you know."
+
+"Is this superstition?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"Superstition pure and simple," Peter confessed, taking his key from the
+office. "It doesn't alter anything. I am fatalist enough to shrug my
+shoulders and move on. But I tell you, Sogrange," he added, after a
+moment's pause, "I wouldn't admit it to anyone else in the world, but I
+am afraid of Bernadine. I have had the best of it so often. It can't
+last. In all we've had twelve encounters. The next will be the
+thirteenth."
+
+Sogrange shrugged his shoulders slightly as he rang for the lift.
+
+"I'd propose you for the Thirteen Club, only there's some uncomfortable
+clause about yearly suicides which might not suit you," he remarked.
+
+"Good night, and don't dream of Bernadine and your thirteenth
+encounter."
+
+"I only hope," Peter murmured, "that I may be in a position to dream
+after it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
+
+
+Baron de Grost glanced at the card which his butler had brought in to
+him, carelessly at first, afterwards with that curious rigidity of
+attention which usually denotes the setting free of a flood of memories.
+
+"The gentleman would like to see you, sir," the man announced.
+
+"You can show him in at once," Peter replied.
+
+The servant withdrew. Peter, during those few minutes of waiting, stood
+with his back to the room and his face to the window, looking out across
+the square, in reality seeing nothing, completely immersed in this
+strange flood of memories. John Dory--Sir John Dory now--a quondam
+enemy, whom he had met but seldom during these later years. The figure
+of this man, who had once loomed so largely in his life, had gradually
+shrunk away into the background. Their avoidance of each other arose,
+perhaps, from a sort of instinct which was certainly no matter of
+ill-will. Still, the fact remained that they had scarcely exchanged a
+word for years, and Peter turned to receive his unexpected guest with a
+curiosity which he did not trouble wholly to conceal.
+
+Sir John Dory--Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a person of weight
+and importance--had changed a great deal during the last few years. His
+hair had become grey, his walk more dignified. There was the briskness,
+however, of his best days in his carriage, and in the flash of his brown
+eyes. He held out his hand to his ancient foe with a smile.
+
+"My dear Baron," he said, "I hope you are going to say that you are glad
+to see me."
+
+"Unless," Peter replied, with a good-humoured grimace, "your visit is
+official, I am more than glad--I am charmed. Sit down. I was just going
+to take my morning cigar. You will join me? Good! Now I am ready for the
+worst that can happen."
+
+The two men seated themselves. John Dory pulled at his cigar
+appreciatively, sniffed its flavour for a moment, and then leaned
+forward in his chair.
+
+"My visit, Baron," he announced, "is semi-official. I am here to ask you
+a favour."
+
+"An official favour?" Peter demanded quickly.
+
+His visitor hesitated, as though he found the question hard to answer.
+
+"To tell you the truth," he declared, "this call of mine is wholly an
+inspiration. It does not in any way concern you personally, or your
+position in this country. What that may be I do not know, except that I
+am sure it is above any suspicion."
+
+"Quite so," Peter murmured. "How diplomatic you have become, my dear
+friend!"
+
+John Dory smiled.
+
+"Perhaps I am fencing about too much," he said. "I know, of course, that
+you are a member of a very powerful and wealthy French society, whose
+object and aims, so far as I know, are entirely harmless."
+
+"I am delighted to be assured that you recognise that fact," Peter
+admitted.
+
+"I might add," John Dory continued, "that this harmlessness is of recent
+date."
+
+"Really, you do seem to know a good deal," Peter confessed.
+
+"I find myself still fencing," Dory declared. "A matter of habit, I
+suppose. I didn't mean to when I came. I made up my mind to tell you
+simply that Guillot was in London, and to ask you if you could help me
+to get rid of him."
+
+Peter looked thoughtfully into his companion's face, but he did not
+speak. He understood at such moments the value of silence.
+
+"We speak together," Dory continued softly, "as men who understand one
+another. Guillot is the one criminal in Europe whom we all fear; not I
+alone, mind you--it is the same in Berlin, in Petersburg, in Vienna. He
+has never been caught. It is my honest belief that he never will be
+caught. At the same time, wherever he arrives the thunderclouds gather.
+He leaves behind him always a trail of evil deeds."
+
+"Very well put," Peter murmured. "Quite picturesque."
+
+"Can you help me to get rid of him?" Dory inquired. "I have my hands
+full just now, as you can imagine, what with the political crisis and
+these constant mass meetings. I want Guillot out of the country. If you
+can manage this for me I shall be your eternal debtor."
+
+"Why do you imagine," Peter asked, "that I can help you in this matter?"
+
+There was a brief silence. John Dory knocked the ash from his cigar.
+
+"Times have changed," he said. "The harmlessness of your great society,
+my dear Baron, is at present admitted. But there were days----"
+
+"Exactly," Peter interrupted. "As shrewd as ever, I perceive. Do you
+know anything of the object of his coming?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Anything of his plans?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"You know where he is staying?"
+
+"Naturally," Dory answered. "He has taken a second-floor flat in
+Crayshaw Mansions, Shaftesbury Avenue. As usual, he is above all petty
+artifices. He has taken it under the name of Monsieur Guillot."
+
+"I really don't know whether there is anything I can do," Peter decided,
+"but I will look into the matter for you with pleasure. Perhaps I may be
+able to bring a little influence to bear--indirectly, of course. If so,
+it is at your service. Lady Dory is well, I trust?"
+
+"In the best of health," Sir John replied, accepting the hint and rising
+to his feet. "I shall hear from you soon?"
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter answered. "I must certainly call upon Monsieur
+Guillot."
+
+Peter wasted no time in paying his promised visit. That same afternoon
+he rang the bell at the flat in Crayshaw Mansions. A typical French
+butler showed him into the room where the great man sat. Monsieur
+Guillot, slight, elegant, preeminently a dandy, was lounging upon a
+sofa, being manicured by a young lady. He threw down his _Petit Journal_
+and rose to his feet, however, at his visitor's entrance.
+
+"My dear Baron," he exclaimed, "but this is charming of you!
+Mademoiselle," he added, turning to the manicurist, "you will do me the
+favour of retiring for a short time. Permit me."
+
+He opened the door and showed her out. Then he came back to Peter.
+
+"A visit of courtesy, Monsieur le Baron?" he asked.
+
+"Without a doubt," Peter replied.
+
+"It is beyond all measure charming of you," Guillot declared, "but let
+me ask you a question. Is it peace or war?"
+
+"It is what you choose to make it," Peter answered.
+
+The man threw out his hands. There was the shadow of a frown upon his
+pale forehead. It was a matter for protest, this.
+
+"Why do you come?" he demanded. "What have we in common? The society has
+expelled me. Very well, I go my own way. Why not? I am free of your
+control to-day. You have no more right to interfere with my schemes than
+I with yours."
+
+"We have the ancient right of power," Peter said grimly. "You were once
+a prominent member of our organisation, the spoilt protege of madame, a
+splendid maker, if you will, of criminal history. Those days have
+passed. We offered you a pension which you have refused. It is now our
+turn to speak. We require you to leave this city in twenty-four hours."
+
+The man's face was livid with anger. He was of the fair type of
+Frenchman, with deep-set eyes, and a straight, cruel mouth only partly
+concealed by his golden moustache. Just now, notwithstanding the veneer
+of his too perfect clothes and civilised air, the beast had leapt out.
+His face was like the face of a snarling animal.
+
+"I refuse!" he cried. "It is I who refuse! I am here on my own affairs.
+What they may be is no business of yours or of anyone else's. That is my
+answer to you, Baron de Grost, whether you come to me for yourself or on
+behalf of the society to which I no longer belong. That is my
+answer--that and the door," he added, pressing the bell. "If you will,
+we fight. If you are wise, forget this visit as quickly as you can."
+
+Peter took up his hat. The man-servant was already in the room.
+
+"We shall probably meet again before your return, Monsieur Guillot," he
+remarked.
+
+Guillot had recovered himself. His smile was wicked, but his bow
+perfection.
+
+"To the fortunate hour, Monsieur le Baron!" he replied.
+
+Peter drove back to Berkeley Square, and without a moment's hesitation
+pressed the levers which set in work the whole underground machinery of
+the great power which he controlled. Thence-forward Monsieur Guillot was
+surrounded with a vague army of silent watchers. They passed in and out
+even of his flat, their motor-cars were as fast as his in the streets,
+their fancy in restaurants identical with his. Guillot moved through it
+all like a man wholly unconscious of espionage, showing nothing of the
+murderous anger which burned in his blood. The reports came to Peter
+every hour, although there was, indeed, nothing worth chronicling.
+Monsieur Guillot's visit to London would seem, indeed, to be a visit of
+gallantry. He spent most of his time with Mademoiselle Louise, the
+famous dancer. He was prominent at the Empire to watch her nightly
+performance; they were a noticeable couple supping together at the Milan
+afterwards. Peter smiled as he read the reports. Monsieur Guillot was
+indeed a man of gallantry, but he had the reputation of using these
+affairs to cloak his real purpose. Those who watched him watched only
+the more closely. Monsieur Guillot, who stood it very well at first,
+unfortunately lost his temper. He drove to Berkeley Square in the great
+motor-car which he had brought with him from Paris, and confronted
+Peter.
+
+"My friend," he exclaimed, though, indeed, the glitter in his eyes knew
+nothing of friendship, "it is intolerable, this! Do you think that I do
+not see through these dummy waiters, these obsequious shopmen, these
+ladies who drop their eyes when I pass, these commissionaires, these
+would-be acquaintances? I tell you that they irritate me, this
+incompetent, futile crowd. You pit them against me! Bah! You should know
+better. When I choose to disappear, I shall disappear, and no one will
+follow me. When I strike, I shall strike, and no one will discover what
+my will may be. You are out of date, dear Baron, with your third-rate
+army of stupid spies. You succeed in one thing only--you succeed in
+making me angry."
+
+"It is at least an achievement, that," Peter declared.
+
+"Perhaps," Monsieur Guillot admitted fiercely. "Yet mark now the result.
+I defy you, you and all of them. Look at your clock. It is five minutes
+to seven. It goes well, that clock, eh?"
+
+"It is the correct time," Peter said.
+
+"Then by midnight," Guillot continued, shaking his fist in the other's
+face, "I shall have done that thing which brought me to England, and I
+shall have disappeared. I shall have done it in spite of your watchers,
+in spite of your spies, in spite, even, of you, Monsieur le Baron de
+Grost. There is my challenge. _Voila._ Take it up if you will. At
+midnight you shall hear me laugh. I have the honour to wish you good
+night!"
+
+Peter opened the door with his own hands.
+
+"This is excellent," he declared. "You are now, indeed, the Monsieur
+Guillot of old. Almost you persuade me to take up your challenge."
+
+Guillot laughed derisively.
+
+"As you please!" he exclaimed. "By midnight to-night!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The challenge of Monsieur Guillot was issued precisely at four minutes
+before seven. On his departure, Peter spent the next half-hour studying
+certain notes and sending various telephone messages. Afterwards he
+changed his clothes at the usual time and sat down to a _tete-a-tete_
+dinner with his wife. Three times during the course of the meal he was
+summoned to the telephone, and from each visit he returned more
+perplexed. Finally, when the servants had left the room, he took his
+chair round to his wife's side.
+
+"Violet," he said, "you were asking me just now about the telephone. You
+were quite right. These were not ordinary messages which I have been
+receiving. I am engaged in a little matter which, I must confess,
+perplexes me. I want your advice--perhaps your help."
+
+Violet smiled.
+
+"I am quite ready," she announced. "It is a long time since you gave me
+anything to do."
+
+"You have heard of Guillot?"
+
+She reflected a moment.
+
+"You mean the wonderful Frenchman," she asked, "the head of the criminal
+department of the Double Four?"
+
+"The man who was at its head when it existed," Peter replied. "The
+criminal department, as you know, has all been done away with. The
+Double Four has now no more concern with those who break the law, save
+in those few instances where great issues demand it."
+
+"But Monsieur Guillot still exists?"
+
+"He not only exists," Peter answered, "but he is here in London, a rebel
+and a defiant one. Do you know who came to see me the other morning?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"Sir John Dory," Peter continued. "He came here with a request. He
+begged for my help. Guillot is here, committed to some enterprise which
+no man can wholly fathom. Dory has enough to do with other things, as
+you can imagine, just now. Besides, I think he recognises that Monsieur
+Guillot is rather a hard nut for the ordinary English detective to
+crack."
+
+"And you?" she demanded, breathlessly.
+
+"I join forces with Dory," Peter admitted. "Sogrange agrees with me.
+Guillot was associated with the Double Four too long for us to have him
+make scandalous history, either here or in Paris."
+
+"You have seen him?"
+
+"I have not only seen him," Peter said, "I have declared war against
+him."
+
+"And he?"
+
+"Guillot is defiant," Peter replied. "He has been here only this
+evening. He mocks at me. He swears that he will bring off this
+enterprise, whatever it may be, before midnight to-night, and he has
+defied me to stop him."
+
+"But you will," she murmured softly.
+
+Peter smiled. The conviction in his wife's tone was a subtle compliment
+which he did not fail to appreciate.
+
+"I have hopes," he confessed, "and yet, let me tell you this, Violet, I
+have never been more puzzled. Ask yourself, now. What enterprise is
+there worthy of a man like Guillot, in which he could engage himself
+here in London between now and midnight? Any ordinary theft is beneath
+him. The purloining of the Crown jewels, perhaps, he might consider, but
+I don't think that anything less in the way of robbery would bring him
+here. He has his code and he is as vain as a peacock. Yet money is at
+the root of everything he does."
+
+"How does he spend his time here?" Violet asked.
+
+"He has a handsome flat in Shaftesbury Avenue," Peter answered, "where
+he lives, to all appearance, the life of an idle man of fashion. The
+whole of his spare time is spent with Mademoiselle Louise, the danseuse
+at the Empire. You see, it is half-past eight now. I have eleven men
+altogether at work, and according to my last report he was dining with
+her in the grillroom at the Milan. They ordered their coffee just ten
+minutes ago, and the car is waiting outside to take Mademoiselle to the
+Empire. Guillot's box is engaged there, as usual. If he proposes to
+occupy it, he is leaving himself a very narrow margin of time to carry
+out any enterprise worth speaking of."
+
+Violet was thoughtful for several moments. Then she crossed the room,
+took up a copy of an illustrated paper, and brought it across to Peter.
+He smiled as he glanced at the picture to which she pointed, and the few
+lines underneath.
+
+"It has struck you, too, then!" he exclaimed. "Good! You have answered
+me exactly as I hoped. Somehow, I scarcely trusted myself. I have both
+cars waiting outside. We may need them. You won't mind coming to the
+Empire with me?"
+
+"Mind?" she laughed. "I only hope I may be in at the finish."
+
+"If the finish," Peter remarked, "is of the nature which I anticipate, I
+shall take particularly good care that you are not."
+
+The curtain was rising upon the first act of the ballet as they entered
+the music-hall and were shown to the box which Peter had engaged. The
+house was full--crowded, in fact, almost to excess. They had scarcely
+taken their seats when a roar of applause announced the coming of
+Mademoiselle Louise. She stood for a moment to receive her nightly
+ovation, a slim, beautiful creature, looking out upon the great house
+with that faint, bewitching smile at the corners of her lips which every
+photographer in Europe had striven to reproduce. Then she moved away to
+the music, an exquisite figure, the personification of all that was
+alluring in her sex. Violet leaned forward to watch her movements as she
+plunged into the first dance. Peter was occupied looking round the
+house. Monsieur Guillot was there, sitting insolently forward in his
+box, sleek and immaculate. He even waved his hand and bowed as he met
+Peter's eye. Somehow or other, his confidence had its effect. Peter
+began to feel vaguely troubled. After all, his plans were built upon a
+surmise. It was so easy for him to be wrong. No man would show his hand
+so openly who was not sure of the game. Then his face cleared a little.
+In the adjoining box to Guillot's the figure of a solitary man was just
+visible, a man who had leaned over to applaud Louise, but who was now
+sitting back in the shadows. Peter recognised him at once,
+notwithstanding the obscurity. This was so much to the good, at any
+rate. He took up his hat.
+
+"For a quarter of an hour you will excuse me, Violet," he said. "Watch
+Guillot. If he leaves his place, knock at the door of your box, and one
+of my men, who is outside, will come to you at once. He will know where
+to find me."
+
+Peter hurried away, pausing for a moment in the promenade to scribble a
+line or two at the back of one of his own cards. Presently he knocked at
+the door of the box adjoining Guillot's and was instantly admitted.
+Violet continued her watch. She remained alone until the curtain fell
+upon the first act of the ballet. A few minutes later Peter returned.
+She knew at once that things were going well. He sank into a chair by
+her side.
+
+"I have messages every five minutes," he whispered in her ear, "and I am
+venturing upon a bold stroke. There is still something about the affair,
+though, which I cannot understand. You are absolutely sure that Guillot
+has not moved?"
+
+Violet pointed with her programme across the house.
+
+"There he sits," she remarked. "He left his chair as the curtain went
+down, but he could scarcely have gone out of the box, for he was back
+within ten seconds."
+
+Peter looked steadily across at the opposite box. Guillot was sitting a
+little farther back now, as though he no longer courted observation.
+Something about his attitude puzzled the man who watched him. With a
+quick movement he caught up the glasses which stood by his wife's side.
+The curtain was going up for the second act, and Guillot had turned his
+head. Peter held the glasses only for a moment to his eyes, and then
+glanced down at the stage.
+
+"My God!" he muttered. "The man's a genius! Violet, the small motor is
+coming for you."
+
+He was out of the box in a single step. Violet looked after him, looked
+down upon the stage and across at Guillot's box. It was hard to
+understand.
+
+The curtain had scarcely rung up upon the second act of the ballet when
+a young lady, who met from all the loungers, and even from the
+door-keeper himself, the most respectful attention, issued from the
+stage-door at the Empire and stepped into the large motor-car which was
+waiting, drawn up against the kerb. The door was opened from inside and
+closed at once. She held out her hands, as yet ungloved, to the man who
+sat back in the corner.
+
+"At last!" she murmured. "And I thought that you had forsaken me. It
+seemed, indeed, dear one, that you had forsaken me."
+
+He took her hands and held them tightly, but he answered only in a
+whisper. He wore a sombre black cloak and a broad-brimmed hat. A muffler
+concealed the lower part of his face. She put her finger upon the
+electric light, but he stopped her.
+
+"I must not be recognised," he said thickly. "Forgive me, Louise, if I
+seem strange at first, but there is more in it than I can tell you. No
+one must know that I am in London to-night. When we reach this place to
+which you are taking me, and we are really alone, then we can talk. I
+have so much to say."
+
+She looked at him doubtfully. It was indeed a moment of indecision with
+her. Then she began to laugh softly.
+
+"Little one, but you have changed!" she exclaimed compassionately.
+"After all, why not? I must not forget that things have gone so hardly
+with you. It seems odd, indeed, to see you sitting there, muffled up
+like an old man, afraid to show yourself. You know how foolish you are?
+With your black cape and that queer hat, you are so different from all
+the others. If you seek to remain unrecognised, why do you not dress as
+all the men do? Anyone who was suspicious would recognise you from your
+clothes."
+
+"It is true," he muttered. "I did not think of it."
+
+She leaned towards him.
+
+"You will not even kiss me?" she murmured.
+
+"Not yet," he answered.
+
+She made a little grimace.
+
+"But you are cold!"
+
+"You do not understand," he answered. "They are watching me--even
+to-night they are watching me. Oh, if you only knew, Louise, how I have
+longed for this hour that is to come!"
+
+Her vanity was assuaged. She patted his hand, but came no nearer.
+
+"You are a foolish little one," she said, "very foolish."
+
+"It is not for you to say that," he replied. "If I have been foolish,
+were not you often the cause of my folly."
+
+Again she laughed.
+
+"Oh, la, la! It is always the same! It is always you men who accuse! For
+that presently I shall reprove you. But now--as for now, behold, we have
+arrived!"
+
+"It is a crowded thoroughfare," the man remarked nervously, looking up
+and down Shaftesbury Avenue.
+
+"Stupid!" she cried, stepping out. "I do not recognise you to-night,
+little one. Even your voice is different. Follow me quickly across the
+pavement and up the stairs. There is only one flight. The flat I have
+borrowed is on the second floor. I do not care very much that people
+should recognise me either, under the circumstances. There is nothing
+they love so much," she added, with a toss of the head, "as finding an
+excuse to have my picture in the paper."
+
+He followed her down the dim hall and up the broad, flat stairs, keeping
+always some distance behind. On the first landing she drew a key from
+her pocket and opened a door. It was the door of Monsieur Guillot's
+sitting-room. A round table in the middle was laid for supper. One light
+alone, and that heavily shaded, was burning.
+
+"Oh, la, la," she exclaimed. "How I hate this darkness! Wait till I can
+turn on the lights, dear friend, and then you must embrace me. It is
+from outside, I believe. No, do not follow. I can find the switch for
+myself. Remain where you are. I return instantly."
+
+She left him alone in the room, closing the door softly. In the passage
+she reeled for a moment and caught at her side. She was very pale.
+Guillot, coming swiftly up the steps, frowned as he saw her.
+
+"He is there?" he demanded harshly.
+
+"He is there," Louise replied; "but, indeed, I am angry with myself.
+See, I am faint. It is a terrible thing, this, which I have done. He did
+me no harm, that young man, except that he was stupid and heavy, and
+that I never loved him. Who could love him, indeed? But, Guillot----"
+
+He passed on, scarcely heeding her words, but she clung to his arm.
+
+"Dear one," she begged, "promise that you will not really hurt him.
+Promise me that, or I will shriek out and call the people from the
+streets here. You will not make an assassin of me? Promise!"
+
+Guillot turned suddenly towards her, and there were strange things in
+his face. He pointed down the stairs.
+
+"Go back, Louise," he ordered, "back to your rooms, for your own sake.
+Remember that you left the theatre, too ill to finish your performance.
+You have had plenty of time already to get home. Quick! Leave me to deal
+with this young man. I tell you to go."
+
+She retreated down the stairs, dumb, her knees shaking still as though
+with fear. Guillot entered the room, closing the door behind him. Even
+as he bowed to that dark figure standing in the corner, his left hand
+shot forward the bolt.
+
+"Monsieur," he said.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" the visitor interrupted haughtily. "I am
+expecting Mademoiselle Louise. I did not understand that strangers had
+the right of entry into this room."
+
+Guillot bowed low.
+
+"Monsieur," he said once more, "it is a matter for my eternal regret
+that I am forced to intrude even for a moment upon an assignation so
+romantic. But there is a little matter which must first be settled. I
+have some friends here who have a thing to say to you."
+
+He walked softly, with catlike tread, along by the wall to where the
+thick curtains shut out the inner apartment. He caught at the thick
+velvet, dragged it back, and the two rooms were suddenly flooded with
+light. In the recently discovered one, two stalwart-looking men in plain
+clothes, but of very unmistakable appearance, were standing waiting.
+Guillot staggered back. They were strangers to him. He was like a man
+who looks upon a nightmare. His eyes protruded. The words which he tried
+to utter failed him. Then, with a swift, nervous presentiment, he turned
+quickly around towards the man who had been standing in the shadows.
+Here, too, the unexpected had happened. It was Peter, Baron de Grost,
+who threw his muffler and broad-brimmed hat upon the table.
+
+"Five minutes to eleven, I believe, Monsieur Guillot," Peter declared.
+"I win by an hour and five minutes."
+
+Guillot said nothing for several seconds. After all, though, he had
+great gifts. He recovered alike his power of speech and his composure.
+
+"These gentlemen," he said, pointing with his left hand towards the
+inner room. "I do not understand their presence in my apartments."
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"They represent, I am afraid, the obvious end of things," he explained.
+"You have given me a run for my money, I confess. A Monsieur Guillot who
+is remarkably like you still occupies your box at the Empire, and
+Mademoiselle Jeanne Lemere, the accomplished understudy of the lady who
+has just left us, is sufficiently like the incomparable Louise to
+escape, perhaps, detection for the first few minutes. But you gave the
+game away a little, my dear Guillot, when you allowed your quarry to
+come and gaze even from the shadows of his box at the woman he adored."
+
+"Where is--he?" Guillot faltered.
+
+"He is on his way back to his country home," Peter replied. "I think
+that he will be cured of his infatuation for Mademoiselle. The assassins
+whom you planted in that room are by this time in Bow Street. The price
+which others beside you knew, my dear Guillot, was placed upon that
+unfortunate young man's head will not pass this time into your pocket.
+For the rest----"
+
+"The rest is of no consequence," Guillot interrupted, bowing. "I admit
+that I am vanquished. As for those gentlemen there," he added, waving
+his hand towards the two men, who had taken a step forward, "I have a
+little oath which is sacred to me concerning them. I take the liberty,
+therefore, to admit myself defeated, Monsieur le Baron, and to take my
+leave."
+
+No one was quick enough to interfere. They had only a glimpse of him as
+he stood there with the revolver pressed to his temple, an impression of
+a sharp report, of Guillot staggering back as the revolver slipped from
+his fingers on to the floor. Even his death cry was stifled. They
+carried him away without any fuss, and Peter was just in time, after
+all, to see the finish of the second act of the ballet. The sham
+Monsieur Guillot still smirked at the sham Louise, but the box by his
+side was empty.
+
+"Is it over?" Violet asked breathlessly.
+
+"It is over," Peter answered.
+
+It was, after all, an unrecorded tragedy. In an obscure corner of the
+morning papers one learned the next day that a Frenchman, who had
+apparently come to the end of his means, had committed suicide in a
+furnished flat in Shaftesbury Avenue. Two foreigners were deported
+without having been brought up for trial, for being suspected persons. A
+little languid interest was aroused at the inquest when one of the
+witnesses deposed to the deceased having been a famous French criminal.
+Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny
+press for once were deprived of their sensation. For the rest, Peter
+received, with much satisfaction, a remarkably handsome signet ring,
+bearing some famous arms, and a telegram from Sogrange: "_Well done,
+Baron! May the successful termination of your enterprise nerve you for
+the greater undertaking which is close at hand. I leave for London by
+the night train._--SOGRANGE."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE THIRTEENTH ENCOUNTER
+
+
+The Marquis de Sogrange arrived in Berkeley Square with the grey dawn of
+an October morning, showing in his appearance and dress few enough signs
+of his night journey. Yet he had travelled without stopping from Paris
+by fast motor car and the mail boat.
+
+"They telephoned me from Charing Cross," Peter said, "that you could not
+possibly arrive until midday. The clerk assured me that no train had yet
+reached Calais."
+
+"They had reason in what they told you," Sogrange remarked, as he leaned
+back in a chair and sipped the coffee which had been waiting for him in
+the Baron de Grost's study. "The train itself never got more than a mile
+away from the Gare du Nord. The engine-driver was shot through the head,
+and the metals were torn from the way. Paris is within a year now of a
+second and more terrible revolution."
+
+"You really believe this?" Peter asked gravely.
+
+"It is a certainty," Sogrange replied. "Not I alone, but many others can
+see this clearly. Everywhere the Socialists have wormed themselves into
+places of trust. They are to be met with in every rank of life, under
+every form of disguise. The post-office strike has already shown us what
+deplorable disasters even a skirmish can bring about. To-day the railway
+strike has paralysed France. Our country lies to-day absolutely at the
+mercy of any invader. As it happens, no one is, for the moment,
+prepared. Who can tell how it may be next time?"
+
+"This is bad news," Peter declared. "If this is really the position of
+affairs, the matter is much more serious than the newspapers would have
+us believe."
+
+"The newspapers," Sogrange muttered, "ignore what lies behind. Some of
+them, I think, are paid to do it. As for the rest, our Press had always
+an ostrich-like tendency. The Frenchman of the cafe does not buy his
+journal to be made sad."
+
+"You believe, then," Peter asked, "that these strikes have some definite
+tendency?"
+
+Sogrange set down his cup and smiled bitterly. In the early sunlight,
+still a little cold and unloving, Peter could see that there was a
+change in the man. He was no longer the debonair aristocrat of the
+racecourses and the boulevards. The shadows under his eyes were deeper,
+his cheeks more sunken. He had lost something of the sprightliness of
+his bearing. His attitude, indeed, was almost dejected. He was like a
+man who sees into the future and finds there strange and gruesome
+things.
+
+"I do more than believe that," he declared. "I know it. It has fallen to
+my lot to make a very definite discovery concerning them. Listen, my
+friend. For more than six months the Government has been trying to
+discover the source of this stream of vile socialistic literature which
+has contaminated the French working classes. The pamphlets have been
+distributed with devilish ingenuity amongst all national operatives, the
+army and the navy. The Government has failed. The Double Four has
+succeeded."
+
+"You have really discovered their source?" Peter exclaimed.
+
+"Without a doubt," Sogrange assented. "The Government appealed to us
+first some months ago when I was in America. For a time we had no
+success. Then a clue, and the rest was easy. The navy, the army, the
+post-office employees, the telegraph and telephone operators, and the
+railway men, have been the chief recipients of this incessant stream of
+foul literature. To-day one cannot tell how much mischief has been
+actually done. The strikes which have already occurred are only the
+mutterings of the coming storm. But mark you, wherever those pamphlets
+have gone, trouble has followed. What men may do the Government is
+doing, but all the time the poison is at work, the seed has been sown.
+Two millions of money have been spent to corrupt that very class which
+should be the backbone of France. Through the fingers of one man has
+come this shower of gold, one man alone has stood at the head of the
+great organisation which has disseminated this loathsome disease. Behind
+him--well, we know."
+
+"The man?"
+
+"It is fitting that you should ask that question," Sogrange replied.
+"The name of that man is Bernadine, Count von Hern."
+
+Peter remained speechless. There was something almost terrible in the
+slow preciseness with which Sogrange had uttered the name of his enemy,
+something unspeakably threatening in the cold glitter of his angry eyes.
+
+"Up to the present," Sogrange continued, "I have
+watched--sympathetically, of course, but with a certain amount of
+amusement--the duel between you and Bernadine. It has been against your
+country and your country's welfare that most of his efforts have been
+directed, which perhaps accounts for the equanimity with which I have
+been contented to remain a looker-on. It is apparent, my dear Baron,
+that in most of your encounters the honours have remained with you. Yet,
+as it has chanced, never once has Bernadine been struck a real and
+crushing blow. The time has come when this and more must happen. It is
+no longer a matter of polite exchanges. It is a _duel a outrance_."
+
+"You mean----" Peter began.
+
+"I mean that Bernadine must die," Sogrange declared.
+
+There was a brief silence. Outside, the early morning street noises were
+increasing in volume as the great army of workers, streaming towards the
+heart of the city from a hundred suburbs, passed on to their tasks. A
+streak of sunshine had found its way into the room, lay across the
+carpet, and touched Sogrange's still, waxen features. Peter glanced half
+fearfully at his friend and visitor. He himself was no coward, no
+shrinker from the great issues. He, too, had dealt in life and death.
+Yet there was something in the deliberate preciseness of Sogrange's
+words, as he sat there only a few feet away, which was unspeakably
+thrilling. It was like a death sentence pronounced in all solemnity upon
+some shivering criminal. There was something inevitable and tragical
+about the whole affair. A pronouncement had been made from which there
+was no appeal. Bernadine was to die!
+
+"Isn't this a little exceeding the usual exercise of our powers?" Peter
+asked slowly.
+
+"No such occasion as this has ever yet arisen," Sogrange reminded him.
+"Bernadine has fled to this country with barely an hour to spare. His
+offence is extraditable by a law of the last century which has never
+been repealed. He is guilty of treason against the Republic of France.
+Yet they do not want him back, they do not want a trial. I have papers
+upon my person which, if I took them into an English court, would
+procure for me a warrant for Bernadine's arrest. It is not this we
+desire. Bernadine must die. No fate could be too terrible for a man who
+has striven to corrupt the soul of a nation. It is not war, this. It is
+not honest conspiracy. Is it war, I ask you, to seek to poison the
+drinking water of an enemy, to send stalking into their midst some
+loathsome disease? Such things belong to the ages of barbarity.
+Bernadine has striven to revive them, and Bernadine shall die."
+
+"It is justice," Peter admitted.
+
+"The question remains," Sogrange continued, "by whose hand--yours or
+mine?"
+
+Peter started uneasily.
+
+"Is that necessary?" he asked.
+
+"I fear that it is," Sogrange replied. "We had a brief meeting of the
+executive council last night, and it was decided, for certain reasons,
+to entrust this task into no other hands. You will smile when I tell you
+that these accursed pamphlets have found their way into the possession
+of many of the rank and file of our own order. There is a marked
+disinclination on the part of those who have been our slaves to accept
+orders from anyone. Espionage we can still command--the best, perhaps,
+in Europe--because here we use a different class of material. But of
+those underneath we are, for the moment, doubtful. Paris is all in a
+ferment. Under its outward seemliness a million throats are ready to
+take up the brazen cry of revolution. One trusts nobody. One fears all
+the time."
+
+"You or I!" Peter repeated slowly. "It will not be sufficient, then,
+that we find Bernadine and deliver him over to your country's laws?"
+
+"It will not be sufficient," Sogrange answered sternly. "From those he
+may escape. For him there must be no escape."
+
+"Sogrange," Peter said, speaking in a low tone, "I have never yet killed
+a human being."
+
+"Nor I," Sogrange admitted. "Nor have I yet set my heel upon its head
+and stamped the life from a rat upon the pavement. But one lives and one
+moves on. Bernadine is the enemy of your country and mine. He makes war
+after the fashion of vermin. No ordinary cut-throat would succeed
+against him. It must be you or I."
+
+"How shall we decide?" Peter asked.
+
+"The spin of a coin," Sogrange replied. "It is best that way. It is
+best, too, done quickly."
+
+Peter produced a sovereign from his pocket and balanced it on the palm
+of his hand.
+
+"Let it be understood," Sogrange continued, "that this is a dual
+undertaking. We toss only for the final honour--for the last stroke. If
+the choice falls upon me, I shall count upon you to help me to the end.
+If it falls upon you, I shall be at your right hand even when you strike
+the blow."
+
+"It is agreed," Peter said. "See, it is for you to call."
+
+He threw the coin high into the air.
+
+"I call heads," Sogrange decided.
+
+It fell upon the table. Peter covered it with his hand, and then slowly
+withdrew the fingers. A little shiver ran through his veins. The
+harmless head that looked up at him was like the figure of death. It was
+for him to strike the blow!
+
+"Where is Bernadine now?" he asked.
+
+"Get me a morning paper and I will tell you," Sogrange declared, rising.
+"He was in the train which was stopped outside the Gare du Nord, on his
+way to England. What became of the passengers I have not heard. I knew
+what was likely to happen, and I left an hour before in a 100 h.p.
+Charron."
+
+Peter rang the bell, and ordered the servant who answered it to procure
+the _Daily Telegraph_. As soon as it arrived, he spread it open upon the
+table, and Sogrange looked over his shoulder. These are the headings
+which they saw in large black characters:
+
+                     RENEWED RIOTS IN PARIS
+                   THE GARE DU NORD IN FLAMES
+             TERRIBLE ACCIDENT TO THE CALAIS-DOUVRES
+                            EXPRESS
+                          MANY DEATHS
+
+Peter's forefinger travelled down the page swiftly. It paused at the
+following paragraph:--
+
+"The 8.55 train from the Gare du Nord, carrying many passengers for
+London, after being detained within a mile of Paris for over an hour
+owing to the murder of the engine-driver, made an attempt last night to
+proceed, with terrible results. Near Chantilly, whilst travelling at
+over fifty miles an hour, the points were tampered with, and the express
+dashed into a goods train laden with minerals. Very few particulars are
+yet to hand, but the express was completely wrecked, and many lives have
+been lost. Amongst the dead are the following:"
+
+One by one Peter read out the names. Then he stopped short. A little
+exclamation broke from Sogrange's lips. The thirteenth name upon that
+list of dead was the name of Bernadine, Count von Hern.
+
+"Bernadine!" Peter faltered. "Bernadine is dead!"
+
+"Killed by the strikers!" Sogrange echoed. "It is a just thing, this."
+
+The two men looked down at the paper and then up at each other. A
+strange silence seemed to have found its way into the room. The shadow
+of death lay between them. Peter touched his forehead and found it wet.
+
+"It is a just thing, indeed," he repeated, "but justice and death are
+alike terrible."
+
+Late in the afternoon of the same day a motor car, splashed with mud,
+drew up before the door of the house in Berkeley Square. Sogrange, who
+was standing talking to Peter before the library window, suddenly broke
+off in the middle of a sentence. He stepped back into the room and
+gripped his friend's shoulder.
+
+"It is the Baroness," he exclaimed quickly. "What does she want here?"
+
+"The Baroness who?" Peter demanded.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten. You must have heard of her--she is the friend
+of Bernadine."
+
+The two men had been out to lunch at the Ritz with Violet, and had
+walked across the Park home. Sogrange had been drawing on his gloves in
+the act of starting out for a call at the Embassy.
+
+"Does your wife know this woman?" he asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"I think not," he replied. "We shall know in a minute."
+
+"Then she has come to see you," Sogrange continued. "What does it mean,
+I wonder?"
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders.
+
+There was a knock at the door, and his servant entered, bearing a card.
+
+"This lady would like to see you, sir, on important business," he said.
+
+"You can show her in here," Peter directed.
+
+There was a very short delay. The two men had no time to exchange a
+word. They heard the rustling of a woman's gown, and immediately
+afterward the perfume of violets seemed to fill the room.
+
+"The Baroness von Ratten," the butler announced.
+
+The door closed behind her. The servant had disappeared. Peter advanced
+to meet his guest. She was a little above medium height, very slim, with
+extraordinarily fair hair, colourless face, and strange eyes. She was
+not strictly beautiful, and yet there was no man upon whom her presence
+was without its effect. Her voice was like her movements, slow, and with
+a grace of its own.
+
+"You do not mind that I have come to see you?" she asked, raising her
+eyes to Peter's. "I believe before I go that you will think terrible
+things of me, but you must not begin before I have told you my errand.
+It has been a great struggle with me before I made up my mind to come
+here."
+
+"Won't you sit down, Baroness?" Peter invited.
+
+She saw Sogrange, and hesitated.
+
+"You are not alone," she said softly. "I wish to speak with you alone."
+
+"Permit me to present to you the Marquis de Sogrange," Peter begged. "He
+is my oldest friend, Baroness. I think that whatever you might have to
+say to me you might very well say before him."
+
+"It is--of a private nature," she murmured.
+
+"The Marquis and I have no secrets," Peter declared, "either political
+or private."
+
+She sat down and motioned Peter to take a place by her side upon the
+sofa.
+
+"You will forgive me if I am a little incoherent," she implored. "To-day
+I have had a shock. You, too, have read the news? You must know that the
+Count von Hern is dead--killed in the railway accident last night?"
+
+"We read it in the _Daily Telegraph_," Peter replied.
+
+"It is in all the papers," she continued. "You know that he was a very
+dear friend of mine?"
+
+"I have heard so," Peter admitted.
+
+"Yet there was one subject," she insisted, earnestly, "upon which we
+never agreed. He hated England. I have always loved it. England was kind
+to me when my own country drove me out. I have always felt grateful. It
+has been a sorrow to me that in so many of his schemes, in so much of
+his work, Bernadine should consider his own country at the expense of
+yours."
+
+Sogrange drew a little nearer. It began to be interesting, this.
+
+"I heard the news early this morning by telegram," she went on. "For a
+long time I was prostrate. Then early this afternoon I began to
+think--one must always think. Bernadine was a dear friend, but things
+between us lately have been different, a little strained. Was it his
+fault or mine--who can say? Does one tire with the years, I wonder? I
+wonder!"
+
+Her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was conscious of the fact that
+she wished him to know that they were beautiful. She looked slowly away
+again.
+
+"This afternoon, as I sat alone," she proceeded, "I remembered that in
+my keeping were many boxes of papers and many letters which have
+recently arrived, all belonging to Bernadine. I reflected that there
+were certainly some who were in his confidence, and that very soon they
+would come from his country and take them all away. And then I
+remembered what I owed to England, and how opposed I always was to
+Bernadine's schemes, and I thought that the best thing I could do to
+show my gratitude would be to place his papers all in the hands of some
+Englishman, so that they might do no more harm to the country which has
+been kind to me. So I came to you."
+
+Again her eyes were lifted to his, and Peter was very sure indeed that
+they were wonderfully beautiful. He began to realise the fascination of
+this woman, of whom he had heard so much. Her very absence of colouring
+was a charm.
+
+"You mean that you have brought me these papers?" he asked.
+
+She shook her head slowly.
+
+"No," she said, "I could not do that. There were too many of them--they
+are too heavy, and there are piles of pamphlets--revolutionary
+pamphlets, I am afraid--all in French, which I do not understand. No, I
+could not bring them to you. But I ordered my motor-car and I drove up
+here to tell you that if you like to come down to the house in the
+country where I have been living--to which Bernadine was to have come
+to-night--yes, and bring your friend, too, if you will--you shall look
+through them before anyone else can arrive."
+
+"You are very kind," Peter murmured. "Tell me where it is that you
+live?"
+
+"It is beyond Hitchin," she told him, "up the Great North Road. I tell
+you at once, it is a horrible house, in a horrible, lonely spot. Within
+a day or two I shall leave it myself for ever. I hate it--it gets on my
+nerves. I dream of all the terrible things which perhaps have taken
+place there. Who can tell? It was Bernadine's long before I came to
+England."
+
+"When are we to come?" Peter asked.
+
+"You must come back with me now, at once," the Baroness insisted. "I
+cannot tell how soon someone in his confidence may arrive."
+
+"I will order my car," Peter declared.
+
+She laid her hand upon his arm.
+
+"Do you mind coming in mine?" she begged. "It is of no consequence, if
+you object, but every servant in Bernadine's house is German and a spy.
+There are no women except my own maid. Your car is likely enough known
+to them, and there might be trouble. If you will come with me now, you
+and your friend, if you like, I will send you to the station to-night in
+time to catch the train home. I feel that I must have this thing off my
+mind. You will come? Yes?"
+
+Peter rang the bell and ordered his coat.
+
+"Without a doubt," he answered. "May we not offer you some tea first?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"To-day I cannot think of eating or drinking," she replied. "Bernadine
+and I were no longer what we had been, but the shock of his death seems
+none the less terrible. I feel like a traitor to him for coming here,
+yet I believe that I am doing what is right," she added softly.
+
+"If you will excuse me for one moment," Peter said, "while I take leave
+of my wife, I will rejoin you presently."
+
+Peter was absent for only a few minutes. Sogrange and the Baroness
+exchanged the merest commonplaces. As they all passed down the hall
+Sogrange lingered behind.
+
+"If you will take the Baroness out to the car," he suggested, "I will
+telephone to the Embassy and tell them not to expect me."
+
+Peter offered his arm to his companion. She seemed, indeed, to need
+support. Her fingers clutched at his coat-sleeve as they passed on to
+the pavement.
+
+"I am so glad to be no longer quite alone," she whispered. "Almost I
+wish that your friend were not coming. I know that Bernadine and you
+were enemies, but then you were enemies not personally but politically.
+After all, it is you who stand for the things which have become so dear
+to me."
+
+"It is true that Bernadine and I were bitter antagonists," Peter
+admitted gravely. "Death, however, ends all that. I wish him no further
+harm."
+
+She sighed.
+
+"As for me," she said, "I am growing used to being friendless. I was
+friendless before Bernadine came, and latterly we have been nothing to
+one another. Now, I suppose, I shall know what it is to be an outcast
+once more. Did you ever hear my history, I wonder?"
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"Never, Baroness," he replied. "I understood, I believe, that your
+marriage----"
+
+"My husband divorced me," she confessed, simply. "He was quite within
+his rights. He was impossible. I was very young and very sentimental.
+They say that Englishwomen are cold," she added. "Perhaps that is so.
+People think that I look cold. Do you?"
+
+Sogrange suddenly opened the door of the car, in which they were already
+seated. She leaned back and half closed her eyes.
+
+"It is rather a long ride," she said, "and I am worn out. I hope you
+will not mind, but for myself I cannot talk when motoring. Smoke, if it
+pleases you."
+
+"Might one inquire as to our exact destination?" Sogrange asked.
+
+"We go beyond Hitchin, up the Great North Road," she told him again.
+"The house is called the High House. It stands in the middle of a heath,
+and I think it is the loneliest and most miserable place that was ever
+built. I hate it and am frightened in it. For some reason or other it
+suited Bernadine, but that is all over now."
+
+The little party of three lapsed into silence. The car, driven carefully
+enough through the busy streets, gradually increased its pace as they
+drew clear of the suburbs. Peter leaned back in his place, thinking.
+Bernadine was dead! Nothing else would have convinced him so utterly of
+the fact as that simple sentence in the _Daily Telegraph_, which had
+been followed up by a confirmation and a brief obituary notice in all
+the evening papers. Curiously enough, the fact seemed to have drawn a
+certain spice out of even this adventure; to point, indeed, to a certain
+monotony in the future. Their present enterprise, important though it
+might turn out to be, was nothing to be proud of. A woman, greedy for
+gold, was selling her lover's secrets before the breath was out of his
+body. Peter turned in his cushioned seat to look at her. Without doubt
+she was beautiful to one who understood, beautiful in a strange,
+colourless, feline fashion, the beauty of soft limbs, soft movements, a
+caressing voice with always the promise beyond of more than the actual
+words. Her eyes now were closed, her face was a little weary. Did she
+really rest, Peter wondered. He watched the rising and falling of her
+bosom, the quivering now and then of her eyelids. She had indeed the
+appearance of a woman who had suffered.
+
+The car rushed on into the darkness. Behind them lay that restless
+phantasmagoria of lights streaming to the sky. In front, blank space.
+Peter, through half-closed eyes, watched the woman by his side. From the
+moment of her entrance into his library, he had summed her up in his
+mind with a single word. She was, beyond a doubt, an adventuress. No
+woman could have proposed the things which she had proposed who was not
+of that ilk. Yet for that reason it behoved them to have a care in their
+dealings with her. At her instigation they had set out upon this
+adventure, which might well turn out according to any fashion that she
+chose. Yet without Bernadine what could she do? She was not the woman to
+carry on the work which he had left behind for the love of him. Her
+words had been frank, her action shameful, but natural. Bernadine was
+dead, and she had realised quickly enough the best market for his
+secrets. In a few days' time his friends would have come and she would
+have received nothing. He told himself that he was foolish to doubt her.
+There was not a flaw in the sequence of events, no possible reason for
+the suspicions which yet lingered at the back of his brain. Intrigue, it
+was certain, was to her as the breath of her body. He was perfectly
+willing to believe that the death of Bernadine would have affected her
+little more than the sweeping aside of a fly. His very common sense bade
+him accept her story.
+
+By degrees he became drowsy. Suddenly he was startled into a very
+wideawake state. Through half-closed eyes he had seen Sogrange draw a
+sheet of paper from his pocket, a gold pencil from his chain, and
+commence to write. In the middle of a sentence his eyes were abruptly
+lifted. He was looking at the Baroness. Peter, too, turned his head; he
+also looked at the Baroness. Without a doubt she had been watching both
+of them. Sogrange's pencil continued its task, only he traced no more
+characters. Instead, he seemed to be sketching a face, which presently
+he tore carefully up into small pieces and destroyed. He did not even
+glance towards Peter, but Peter understood very well what had happened.
+He had been about to send him a message, but had found the Baroness
+watching. Peter was fully awake now. His faint sense of suspicion had
+deepened into a positive foreboding. He had a reckless desire to stop
+the car, to descend upon the road, and let the secrets of Bernadine go
+where they would. Then his natural love of adventure blazed up once
+more. His moment of weakness had passed. The thrill was in his blood,
+his nerves were tightened. He was ready for what might come, seemingly
+still half asleep, yet indeed with every sense of intuition and
+observation keenly alert.
+
+Sogrange leaned over from his place.
+
+"It is a lonely country, this, into which we are coming, madame," he
+remarked.
+
+She shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Indeed, it is not so lonely here as you will think it when we arrive at
+our destination," she replied. "There are houses here, but they are
+hidden by the trees. There are no houses near us."
+
+She rubbed the pane with her hand.
+
+"We are, I believe, very nearly there," she said. "This is the nearest
+village. Afterwards we just climb a hill, and about half a mile along
+the top of it is the High House."
+
+"And the name of the village?" Sogrange inquired.
+
+"St. Mary's," she told him. "In the summer people call it beautiful
+around here. To me it is the most melancholy spot I ever saw. There is
+so much rain, and one hears the drip, drip in the trees all the day
+long. Alone I could not bear it. To-morrow or the next day I shall pack
+up my belongings and come to London. I am, unfortunately," she added,
+with a little sigh, "very, very poor, but it is my hope that you may
+find the papers of which I have spoken to you valuable."
+
+Sogrange smiled faintly. Peter and he could scarcely forbear to exchange
+a single glance. The woman's candour was almost brutal.
+
+She read their thoughts.
+
+"We ascend the hill," she continued. "We draw now very near to the end
+of our journey. There is still one thing I would say to you. Do not
+think too badly of me for what I am about to do. To Bernadine, whilst he
+lived, I was faithful. Many a time I could have told you of his plans
+and demanded a great sum of money, and you would have given it me
+willingly, but my lips were sealed because, in a way, I loved him. While
+he lived I gave him what I owed. To-day he is dead, and whatever I do it
+cannot concern him any more. To-day I am a free woman, and I take the
+side I choose."
+
+Sogrange smiled suavely.
+
+"Dear Madame," he replied, "what you have proposed to us is, after all,
+quite natural and very gracious. If one has a fear at all about the
+matter, it is as to the importance of these documents you speak of.
+Bernadine, I know, has dealt in great affairs, but he was a diplomat by
+instinct, experienced and calculating. One does not keep incriminating
+papers."
+
+She leaned a little forward. The car had swung round a corner now and
+was making its way up an avenue as dark as pitch.
+
+"The wisest of us, Monsieur le Marquis," she whispered, "reckon
+sometimes without that one element of sudden death. What should you say,
+I wonder, to a list of agents in France pledged to circulate in certain
+places literature of an infamous sort? What should you say, monsieur, to
+a copy of a secret report of your late man[oe]uvres, franked with the
+name of one of your own staff officers? What should you say," she went
+on, "to a list of Socialist deputies with amounts against their names,
+amounts paid in hard cash? Are these of no importance to you?"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange answered simply, "for such information, if it were
+genuine, it would be hard to mention a price which we should not be
+prepared to pay."
+
+The car came to a sudden standstill. The first impression of the two men
+was that the Baroness had exaggerated the loneliness and desolation of
+the place. There was nothing mysterious or forbidding about the plain
+brown stone house before which they had stopped. The windows were
+streaming with light; the hall door, already thrown open, disclosed a
+very comfortable hall, brilliantly illuminated. A man-servant assisted
+his mistress to alight, another ushered them in. In the background were
+other servants. The Baroness glanced at the clock.
+
+"About dinner, Carl?" she asked.
+
+"It waits for Madame," the man answered.
+
+She nodded.
+
+"Take care of these gentlemen till I descend," she ordered. "You will
+not mind?" she added, turning pleadingly to Sogrange. "To-day I have
+eaten nothing. I am faint with hunger. Afterwards, it will be a matter
+of but half an hour. You can be in London again by ten o'clock."
+
+"As you will, madame," Sogrange replied. "We are greatly indebted to you
+for your hospitality. But for costume, you understand that we are as we
+are?"
+
+"It is perfectly understood," she assured him. "For myself, I rejoin you
+in ten minutes. A loose gown, that is all."
+
+Sogrange and Peter were shown into a modern bathroom by a servant who
+was so anxious to wait upon them that they had difficulty in sending him
+away. As soon as he was gone and the door closed behind him, Peter put
+his foot against it and turned the key.
+
+"You were going to write something to me in the car?"
+
+Sogrange nodded.
+
+"There was a moment," he admitted, "when I had a suspicion. It has
+passed. This woman is no Roman. She sells the secrets of Bernadine as
+she would sell herself. Nevertheless, it is well always to be prepared.
+There were probably others beside Bernadine who had the entree here."
+
+"The only suspicious circumstance which I have noticed," Peter remarked,
+"is the number of men-servants. I have seen five already."
+
+"It is only fair to remember," Sogrange reminded him, "that the Baroness
+herself told us that there were no other save men-servants here and that
+they were all spies. Without a master, I cannot see that they are
+dangerous. One needs, however, to watch all the time."
+
+"If you see anything suspicious," Peter said, "tap the table with your
+forefinger. Personally, I will admit that I have had my doubts of the
+Baroness, but, on the whole, I have come to the conclusion that they
+were groundless. She is not the sort of woman to take up a vendetta,
+especially an unprofitable one."
+
+"She is an exceedingly dangerous person for an impressionable man like
+myself," Sogrange remarked, arranging his tie.
+
+The butler fetched them in a very few moments and showed them into a
+pleasantly furnished library, where he mixed cocktails for them from a
+collection of bottles upon the sideboard. He was quite friendly, and
+inclined to be loquacious, although he spoke with a slight foreign
+accent. The house belonged to an English gentleman, from whom the
+honoured Count had taken it, furnished. They were two miles from a
+station and a mile from the village. It was a lonely part, but there
+were always people coming or going. With one's work one scarcely noticed
+it. He was gratified that the gentlemen found his cocktails so
+excellent. Perhaps he might be permitted the high honour of mixing them
+another? It was a day, this, of deep sadness and gloom. One needed to
+drink something, indeed, to forget the terrible thing which had
+happened. The Count had been a good master, a little impatient
+sometimes, but kind-hearted. The news had been a shock to them all.
+
+Then, before they had expected her, the Baroness reappeared. She wore a
+wonderful grey gown which seemed to be made in a single piece, a gown
+which fitted her tightly, and yet gave her the curious appearance of a
+woman walking without the burden of clothes. Sogrange, Parisian to the
+finger-tips, watched her with admiring approval. She laid her fingers
+upon his arm, although it was towards Peter that her eyes travelled.
+
+"Will you take me in, Marquis?" she begged. "It is the only formality we
+will allow ourselves."
+
+They entered a long, low dining-room, panelled with oak, and with the
+family portraits of the owner of the house still left upon the walls.
+Dinner was served upon a round table, and was laid for four. There was a
+profusion of silver, very beautiful glass, and a wonderful cluster of
+orchids. The Marquis, as he handed his hostess to her chair, glanced
+towards the vacant place.
+
+"It is for my companion, an Austrian lady," she explained. "To-night,
+however, I think that she will not come. She was a distant connection of
+Bernadine's, and she is much upset. We leave her place and see. You will
+sit on my other side, Baron."
+
+The fingers which touched Peter's arm brushed his hand, and were
+withdrawn as though with reluctance. She sank into her chair with a
+little sigh.
+
+"It is charming of you two, this," she declared softly. "You help me
+through this night of solitude and sadness. What I should do if I were
+alone, I cannot tell. You must drink with me a toast, if you will. Will
+you make it to our better acquaintance?"
+
+No soup had been offered, and champagne was served with the _hors
+d'[oe]uvres_. Peter raised his glass, and looked into the eyes of the
+woman who was leaning so closely towards him that her soft breath fell
+upon his cheek. She whispered something in his ear. For a moment,
+perhaps, he was carried away, but for a moment only. Then Sogrange's
+voice and the beat of his forefinger upon the table stiffened him into
+sudden alertness. They heard a motor-car draw up outside.
+
+"Who can it be?" the Baroness exclaimed, setting her glass down
+abruptly.
+
+"It is, perhaps, the other guest who arrives," Sogrange remarked.
+
+They all three listened, Peter and Sogrange with their glasses still
+suspended in the air.
+
+"The other guest?" the Baroness repeated. "Madame von Estenier is
+upstairs, lying down. I cannot tell who this may be."
+
+Her lips were parted. The lines of her forehead had suddenly appeared.
+Her eyes were turned toward the door, hard and bright. Then the glass
+which she had nervously picked up again and was holding between her
+fingers, fell on to the tablecloth with a little crash, and the yellow
+wine ran bubbling on to her plate. Her scream echoed to the roof and
+rang through the room. It was Bernadine who stood there in the doorway,
+Bernadine in a long travelling ulster and the air of one newly arrived
+from a journey. They all three looked at him, but there was not one who
+spoke. The Baroness, after her one wild cry, was dumb.
+
+"I am indeed fortunate," Bernadine said. "You have as yet, I see,
+scarcely commenced. You probably expected me. I am charmed to find so
+agreeable a party awaiting my arrival."
+
+He divested himself of his ulster and threw it across the arm of the
+butler who stood behind him.
+
+"Come," he continued, "for a man who has just been killed in a railway
+accident, I find myself with an appetite. A glass of wine, Carl. I do
+not know what that toast was the drinking of which my coming
+interrupted, but let us all drink it together. Aimee, my love to you,
+dear. Let me congratulate you upon the fortitude and courage with which
+you have ignored those lying reports of my death. I had fears that I
+might find you alone in a darkened room, with tear-stained eyes and
+sal-volatile by your side. This is infinitely better. Gentlemen, you are
+welcome."
+
+Sogrange lifted his glass and bowed courteously. Peter followed suit.
+
+"Really," Sogrange murmured, "the Press nowadays, becomes more
+unreliable every day. It is apparent, my dear von Hern, that this
+account of your death was, to say the least of it, exaggerated."
+
+Peter said nothing. His eyes were fixed upon the Baroness. She sat in
+her chair quite motionless, but her face had become like the face of
+some graven image. She looked at Bernadine, but her eyes said nothing.
+Every glint of expression seemed to have left her features. Since that
+one wild shriek she had remained voiceless. Encompassed by danger though
+he knew that they now must be, Peter found himself possessed by one
+thought and one thought only. Was this a trap into which they had
+fallen, or was the woman, too, deceived?
+
+"You bring later news from Paris than I myself," Sogrange proceeded,
+helping himself to one of the dishes which a footman was passing round.
+"How did you reach the coast? The evening papers stated distinctly that
+since the accident no attempt had been made to run trains."
+
+"By motor-car from Chantilly," Bernadine replied. "I had the misfortune
+to lose my servant, who was wearing my coat, and who, I gather from the
+newspaper reports, was mistaken for me. I myself was unhurt. I hired a
+motor-car and drove to Boulogne--not the best of journeys, let me tell
+you, for we broke down three times. There was no steamer there, but I
+hired a fishing boat, which brought me across the Channel in something
+under eight hours. From the coast I motored direct here. I was so
+anxious," he added, raising his eyes, "to see how my dear friend--my
+dear Aimee--was bearing the terrible news."
+
+She fluttered for a moment like a bird in a trap. Peter drew a little
+sigh of relief. His self-respect was reinstated. He had decided that she
+was innocent. Upon them, at least, would not fall the ignominy of having
+been led into the simplest of traps by this white-faced Delilah. The
+butler had brought her another glass, which she raised to her lips. She
+drained its contents, but the ghastliness of her appearance remained
+unchanged. Peter, watching her, knew the signs. She was sick with
+terror.
+
+"The conditions throughout France are indeed awful," Sogrange remarked.
+"They say, too, that this railway strike is only the beginning of worse
+things."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your country, my dear Marquis," he said, "is on its last legs. No one
+knows better than I that it is, at the present moment, honeycombed with
+sedition and anarchical impulses. The people are rotten. For years the
+whole tone of France has been decadent. Its fall must even now be close
+at hand."
+
+"You take a gloomy view of my country's future," Sogrange declared.
+
+"Why should one refuse to face facts?" Bernadine replied. "One does not
+often talk so frankly, but we three are met together this evening under
+somewhat peculiar circumstances. The days of the glory of France are
+past. England has laid out her neck for the yoke of the conqueror. Both
+are doomed to fall. Both are ripe for the great humiliation. You two
+gentlemen whom I have the honour to receive as my guests," he concluded,
+filling his glass and bowing towards them, "in your present unfortunate
+predicament represent precisely the position of your two countries."
+
+"_Ave Caesar!_" Peter muttered grimly, raising his glass to his lips.
+
+Bernadine accepted the challenge.
+
+"It is not I, alas! who may call myself Caesar," he replied, "although it
+is certainly you who are about to die."
+
+Sogrange turned to the man who stood behind his chair.
+
+"If I might trouble you for a little dry toast?" he inquired. "A modern,
+but very uncomfortable, ailment," he added, with a sigh. "One's
+digestion must march with the years, I suppose."
+
+Bernadine smiled.
+
+"Your toast you shall have, with pleasure, Marquis," he said, "but as
+for your indigestion, do not let that trouble you any longer. I think
+that I can promise you immunity from that annoying complaint for the
+rest of your life."
+
+"You are doing your best," Peter declared, leaning back in his chair,
+"to take away my appetite."
+
+Bernadine looked searchingly from one to the other of his two guests.
+
+"Yes," he admitted, "you are brave men. I do not know why I should ever
+have doubted it. Your pose is excellent. I have no wish, however, to see
+you buoyed up by a baseless optimism. A somewhat remarkable chance has
+delivered you into my hands. You are my prisoners. You, Peter Baron de
+Grost, I have hated all my days. You have stood between me and the
+achievement of some of my most dearly cherished tasks. Always I have
+said to myself that the day of reckoning must come. It has arrived. As
+for you, Marquis de Sogrange, if my personal feelings towards you are
+less violent, you still represent the things absolutely inimical to me
+and my interests. The departure of you two men was the one thing
+necessary for the successful completion of certain tasks which I have in
+hand at the present moment."
+
+Peter pushed away his plate.
+
+"You have succeeded in destroying my appetite, Count," he declared. "Now
+that you have gone so far in expounding your amiable resolutions towards
+us, perhaps you will go a little farther and explain exactly how, in
+this eminently respectable house, situated, I understand, in an
+eminently respectable neighbourhood, with a police station within a
+mile, and a dozen or so witnesses as to our present whereabouts, you
+intend to expedite our removal?"
+
+Bernadine pointed towards the woman who sat facing him.
+
+"Ask the Baroness how these things are arranged."
+
+They turned towards her. She fell back in her chair with a little gasp.
+She had fainted. Bernadine shrugged his shoulders. The butler and one of
+the footmen, who during the whole of the conversation had stolidly
+proceeded with their duties, in obedience to a gesture from their
+master, took her up in their arms and carried her from the room.
+
+"The fear has come to her, too," Bernadine murmured softly. "It may come
+to you, my brave friends, before morning."
+
+"It is possible," Peter answered, his hand stealing round to his hip
+pocket, "but in the meantime, what is to prevent----"
+
+The hip pocket was empty. Peter's sentence ended abruptly. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"To prevent your shooting me in cold blood, I suppose," he remarked.
+"Nothing except that my servants are too clever. No one save myself is
+allowed to remain under this roof with arms in their possession. Your
+pocket was probably picked before you had been in the place five
+minutes. No, my dear Baron, let me assure you that escape will not be so
+easy. You were always just a little inclined to be led away by the fair
+sex. The best men in the world, you know, have shared that failing, and
+the Baroness, alone and unprotected, had her attractions, eh?"
+
+Then something happened to Peter which had happened to him barely a
+dozen times in his life. He lost his temper, and lost it rather badly.
+Without an instant's hesitation, he caught up the decanter which stood
+by his side and flung it in his host's face. Bernadine only partly
+avoided it by thrusting out his arms. The neck caught his forehead and
+the blood came streaming over his tie and collar. Peter had followed the
+decanter with a sudden spring. His fingers were upon Bernadine's throat,
+and he thrust his head back. Sogrange sprang to the door to lock it, but
+he was too late. The room seemed full of men-servants. Peter was dragged
+away, still struggling fiercely.
+
+"Tie them up!" Bernadine gasped, swaying in his chair. "Tie them up, do
+you hear? Carl, give me brandy."
+
+He swallowed half a wineglassful of the raw spirit. His eyes were red
+with fury.
+
+"Take them to the gun-room," he ordered, "three of you to each of them,
+mind. I'll shoot the man who lets either escape."
+
+But Peter and Sogrange were both of them too wise to expend any more of
+their strength in a useless struggle. They suffered themselves to be
+conducted without resistance across the white stone hall, down a long
+passage, and into a room at the end, the window and fireplace of which
+were both blocked up. The floor was of red flags and the walls
+whitewashed. The only furniture was a couple of kitchen chairs and a
+long table. The door was of stout oak and fitted with a double lock. The
+sole outlet, so far as they could see, was a small round hole at the top
+of the roof. The door was locked behind them. They were alone.
+
+"The odd trick to Bernadine!" Peter exclaimed hoarsely, wiping a spot of
+blood from his forehead. "My dear Marquis, I scarcely know how to
+apologise. It is not often that I lose my temper so completely."
+
+"The matter seems to be of very little consequence," Sogrange answered.
+"This was probably our intended destination in any case. Seems to be
+rather an unfortunate expedition of ours, I am afraid."
+
+"One cannot reckon upon men coming back from the dead," Peter declared.
+"It isn't often that you find every morning and every evening paper
+mistaken. As for the woman, I believe in her. She honestly meant to sell
+us those papers of Bernadine's. I believe that she, too, will have to
+face a day of reckoning."
+
+Sogrange strolled around the room, subjecting it everywhere to a close
+scrutiny. The result was hopeless. There was no method of escape save
+through the door.
+
+"There is certainly something strange about this apartment," Peter
+remarked. "It is, to say the least of it, unusual to have windows in the
+roof and a door of such proportions. All the same, I think that those
+threats of Bernadine's were a little strained. One cannot get rid of
+one's enemies nowadays in the old-fashioned, melodramatic way. Bernadine
+must know quite well that you and I are not the sort of men to walk into
+a trap of anyone's setting, just as I am quite sure that he is not the
+man to risk even a scandal by breaking the law openly."
+
+"You interest me," Sogrange said. "I begin to suspect that you, too,
+have made some plans."
+
+"But naturally," Peter replied. "Once before Bernadine set a trap for
+me, and he nearly had a chance of sending me for a swim in the Thames.
+Since then one takes precautions as a matter of course. We were followed
+down here, and by this time I should imagine that the alarm is given. If
+all was well I was to have telephoned an hour ago."
+
+"You are really," Sogrange declared, "quite an agreeable companion, my
+dear Baron. You think of everything."
+
+The door was suddenly opened. Bernadine stood upon the threshold and
+behind him several of the servants.
+
+"You will oblige me by stepping back into the study, my friends," he
+ordered.
+
+"With great pleasure," Sogrange answered with alacrity. "We have no
+fancy for this room, I can assure you."
+
+Once more they crossed the stone hall and entered the room into which
+they had first been shown. On the threshold Peter stopped short and
+listened. It seemed to him that from somewhere upstairs he could hear
+the sound of a woman's sobs. He turned to Bernadine.
+
+"The Baroness is not unwell, I trust?" he asked.
+
+"The Baroness is as well as she is likely to be for some time,"
+Bernadine replied grimly.
+
+They were all in the study now. Upon a table stood a telephone
+instrument. Bernadine drew a small revolver from his pocket.
+
+"Baron de Grost," he said, "I find that you are not quite such a fool as
+I thought you. Some one is ringing up for you on the telephone. You will
+reply that you are well and safe, and that you will be home as soon as
+your business here is finished. Your wife is at the other end. If you
+breathe a single word to her of your approaching end, she shall hear
+through the telephone the sound of the revolver shot that sends you to
+hell."
+
+"Dear me," Peter protested, "I find this most unpleasant. If you'll
+excuse me, I don't think I'll answer the call at all."
+
+"You will answer it as I have directed," Bernadine insisted. "Only
+remember this, if you speak a single ill-advised word, the end will be
+as I have said."
+
+Peter picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.
+
+"Who is there?" he asked.
+
+It was Violet whose voice he heard. He listened for a moment to her
+anxious flood of questions.
+
+"There is not the slightest cause to be alarmed, dear," he said. "Yes, I
+am down at the High House, near St. Mary's. Bernadine is here. It seems
+that those reports of his death were absolutely unfounded. Danger?
+Unprotected? Why, my dear Violet, you know how careful I always am.
+Simply because Bernadine used once to live here, and because the
+Baroness was his friend, I spoke to Sir John Dory over the telephone
+before we left, and an escort of half a dozen police followed us. They
+are about the place now, I have no doubt, but their presence is quite
+unnecessary. I shall be home before long, dear. Yes, perhaps it would be
+as well to send the car down. Anyone will direct him to the house--the
+High House, St. Mary's, remember. Good-bye!"
+
+Peter replaced the receiver and turned slowly round. Bernadine was
+smiling.
+
+"You did well to reassure your wife, even though it was a pack of lies
+you told her," he remarked.
+
+Peter shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
+
+"My dear Bernadine," he said, "up till now I have tried to take you
+seriously. You are really passing the limit. I must positively ask you
+to reflect a little. Do men who live the life that you and I live trust
+anyone? Am I, is the Marquis de Sogrange here, after a lifetime of
+experience, likely to leave the safety of our homes in company with a
+lady of whom we knew nothing except that she was your companion, without
+precautions? I do you the justice to believe you are a person of common
+sense. I know that we are as safe in this house as we should be in our
+own. War cannot be made in this fashion in an over-policed country like
+England."
+
+"Do not be too sure," Bernadine replied. "There are secrets about this
+house which have not yet been disclosed to you. There are means, my dear
+Baron, of transporting you into a world where you are likely to do much
+less harm than here, means ready at hand which would leave no more trace
+behind than those crumbling ashes can tell of the coal-mine from which
+they came."
+
+Peter preserved his attitude of bland incredulity.
+
+"Listen," he said, drawing a whistle from his pocket, "it is just
+possible that you are in earnest. I will bet you, then, if you like, a
+hundred pounds, that if I blow this whistle you will either have to open
+your door within five minutes or find your house invaded by the police."
+
+No one spoke for several moments. The veins were standing out upon
+Bernadine's forehead.
+
+"We have had enough of this folly," he cried. "If you refuse to realise
+your position, so much the worse for you. Blow your whistle, if you
+will. I am content."
+
+Peter waited for no second bidding. He raised the whistle to his lips
+and blew it, loudly and persistently. Again there was silence. Bernadine
+mocked him.
+
+"Try once more, dear Baron," he advised. "Your friends are perhaps a
+little hard of hearing. Try once more, and when you have finished, you
+and I and the Marquis de Sogrange will find our way once more to the
+gun-room and conclude that trifling matter of business which brought you
+here."
+
+Again Peter blew his whistle and again the silence was broken only by
+Bernadine's laugh. Suddenly, however, that laugh was checked. Everyone
+had turned toward the door, listening. A bell was ringing throughout the
+house.
+
+"It is the front door," one of the servants exclaimed.
+
+No one moved. As though to put the matter beyond doubt, there was a
+steady knocking to be heard from the same direction.
+
+"It is a telegram or some late caller," Bernadine declared, hoarsely.
+"Answer it, Carl. If anyone would speak with the Baroness, she is
+indisposed and unable to receive. If anyone desires me, I am here."
+
+The man left the room. They heard him withdraw the chain from the door.
+Bernadine wiped the sweat from his forehead as he listened. He still
+gripped the revolver in his hand. Peter had changed his position a
+little, and was standing now behind a high-backed chair. They heard the
+door creak open, a voice outside, and presently the tramp of heavy
+footsteps. Peter nodded understandingly.
+
+"It is exactly as I told you," he said. "You were wise not to bet, my
+friend."
+
+Again the tramp of feet in the hall. There was something unmistakable
+about the sound, something final and terrifying. Bernadine saw his
+triumph slipping away. Once more this man, who had defied him so
+persistently, was to taste the sweets of victory. With a roar of fury he
+sprang across the room. He fired his revolver twice before Sogrange,
+with a terrible blow, knocked his arm upwards and sent the weapon
+spinning to the ceiling. Peter struck his assailant in the mouth, but
+the blow seemed scarcely to check him. They rolled on the floor
+together, their arms around one another's necks. It was an affair, that,
+but of a moment. Peter, as lithe as a cat, was on his feet again almost
+at once, with a torn collar and an ugly mark on his face. There were
+strangers in the room now, and the servants had mostly slipped away
+during the confusion. It was Sir John Dory himself who locked the door.
+Bernadine struggled slowly to his feet. He was face to face with half a
+dozen police-constables in plain clothes.
+
+"You have a charge against this man, Baron?" the police commissioner
+asked.
+
+Peter shook his head.
+
+"The quarrel between us," he replied, "is not for the police courts,
+although I will confess, Sir John, that your intervention was
+opportune."
+
+"I, on the other hand," Sogrange put in, "demand the arrest of the Count
+von Hern and the seizure of all papers in this house. I am the bearer of
+an autograph letter from the President of France in connection with this
+matter. The Count von Hern has committed extraditable offences against
+my country. I am prepared to swear an information to that effect."
+
+The police commissioner turned to Peter.
+
+"Your friend's name?" he demanded.
+
+"The Marquis de Sogrange," Peter told him.
+
+"He is a person of authority?"
+
+"To my certain knowledge," Peter replied, "he has the implicit
+confidence of the French Government."
+
+Sir John Dory made a sign. In another moment Bernadine would have been
+arrested. It seemed, indeed, as though nothing could save him now from
+this crowning humiliation. He himself, white and furious, was at a loss
+how to deal with an unexpected situation. Suddenly a thing happened
+stranger than any one of them there had ever known or dreamed of, so
+strange that even men such as Peter, Sogrange and Dory, whose nerves
+were of iron, faced one another, doubting and amazed. The floor beneath
+them rocked and billowed like the waves of a canvas sea. The windows
+were filled with flashes of red light, a great fissure parted the wall,
+the pictures and bookcases came crashing down beneath a shower of
+masonry. It was the affair of a second. Above them shone the stars and
+around them a noise like thunder. Bernadine, who alone understood, was
+the first to recover himself. He stood in the midst of them, his hands
+above his head, laughing as he looked around at the strange
+storm--laughing like a madman.
+
+"The wonderful Carl!" he cried. "Oh, matchless servant! Arrest me now,
+if you will, you dogs of the police. Rout out my secrets, dear Baron de
+Grost. Tuck them under your arm and hurry to Downing Street. This is the
+hospitality of the High House, my friends. It loves you so well that
+only your ashes shall leave it."
+
+His mouth was open for another sentence when he was struck. A whole
+pillar of marble from one of the rooms above came crashing through and
+buried him underneath a falling shower of masonry. Peter escaped by a
+few inches. Those who were left unhurt sprang through the yawning wall
+out into the garden. Sir John, Sogrange, Peter, and three of the
+men--one limping badly, came to a standstill in the middle of the lawn.
+Before them the house was crumbling like a pack of cards, and louder
+even than the thunder of the falling structures was the roar of the red
+flames.
+
+"The Baroness!" Peter cried, and took one leap forward.
+
+"I am here," she sobbed, running to them from out of the shadows. "I
+have lost everything--my jewels, my clothes, all except what I have on.
+They gave me but a moment's warning."
+
+"Is there anyone else in the house?" Peter demanded.
+
+"No one but you who were in that room," she answered.
+
+"Your companion?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"There was no companion," she faltered. "I thought it sounded better to
+speak of her. I had her place laid at table, but she never even
+existed."
+
+Peter tore off his coat.
+
+"There are the others in the room!" he exclaimed. "We must go back."
+
+Sogrange caught him by the shoulder and pointed to a shadowy group some
+distance away.
+
+"We are all out but Bernadine," he said. "For him there is no hope.
+Quick!"
+
+They sprang back only just in time. The outside wall of the house fell
+with a terrible crash. The room which they had quitted was now blotted
+out of existence. It was not long before, from right and left, in all
+directions along the country road, came the flashing of lights and
+little knots of hurrying people.
+
+"It is the end!" Peter muttered. "Yesterday I should have regretted the
+passing of a brave enemy. To-day I hail with joy the death of a brute."
+
+The Baroness, who had been sitting upon a garden seat, sobbing, came
+softly up to them. She laid her fingers upon Peter's arm imploringly.
+
+"You will not leave me friendless?" she begged. "The papers I promised
+you are destroyed, but many of his secrets are here."
+
+She tapped her forehead.
+
+"Madame," Peter answered, "I have no wish to know them. Years ago I
+swore that the passing of Bernadine should mark my own retirement from
+the world in which we both lived. I shall keep my word. To-night
+Bernadine is dead. To-night, Sogrange, my work is finished."
+
+The Baroness began to sob again.
+
+"And I thought that you were a man," she moaned, "so gallant, so
+honourable----"
+
+"Madame," Sogrange intervened, "I shall commend you to the pension list
+of the Double Four."
+
+She dried her eyes.
+
+"It is not money only I want," she whispered, her eyes following Peter.
+
+Sogrange shook his head.
+
+"You have never seen the Baroness de Grost?" he asked her.
+
+"But no!"
+
+"Ah!" Sogrange murmured. "Our escort, madame, is at your service--so far
+as London."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Double Four, by E. Phillips Oppenheim
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DOUBLE FOUR ***
+
+***** This file should be named 28091.txt or 28091.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/0/9/28091/
+
+Produced by D Alexander, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/old/28091.zip b/old/28091.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8aa5357
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/28091.zip