“Iwentintoexile，“Mr。Sabinanswered，“andIfoundparadise。ThethreeyearswhichhavepassedsinceIsawyoulasthavebeenthehappiestofmylife。“
“Lucille！“Heleneexclaimed。
“Ismywife，“Mr。Sabinanswered。
“Delightful！“Helenemurmured。“Sheiswithyouthen，Ihope。
Indeed，IfeltsurethatIsawhertheothernightattheopera。“
“Attheopera！“Mr。Sabinforamomentwassilent。Hewouldhavebeenashamedtoconfessthathisheartwasbeatingstrongly，thatacrowdofeagerquestionstrembleduponhislips。Herecoveredhimselfafteramoment。
“Lucilleisnotwithmeforthemoment，“hesaidinmeasuredtones。
“Iamdetainingyoufromyourguests，Helene。IfyouwillpermitmeIwillcalluponyou。“
“Won’tyoujoinus？“LordCamperdownaskedcourteously。“Weareonlyasmallparty-thePortugueseAmbassadorandhiswife，theDukeofMedchester，andStanleyPhillipson。“
Mr。Sabinroseatonce。
“Ishallbedelighted，“hesaid。
LordCamperdownhesitatedforamoment。
“IpresentMonsieurleDuedeSouspennier，Ipresume？“heremarked，smiling。
Mr。Sabinbowed。
“IamMr。Sabin，“hesaid，“atthehotelsandplaceswhereonetravels。TomyfriendsIhavenolongeranincognito。Itisnotnecessary。“
Itwasabrilliantlittlesupperparty，andMr。Sabincontributedatleasthissharetothegeneralentertainment。Beforetheydispersedhehadtobringouthistabletstomakenotesofhisengagements。Hestoodonthetopofthestepsabovethepalm-courttowishthemgood-bye，leaningonhisstick。Heleneturnedbackandwavedherhand。
“Heisunchanged，“shemurmured，“yetIfearthattheremustbetrouble。“
“Why？Heseemedcheerfulenough，“herhusbandremarked。
Shedroppedhervoicealittle。
“LucilleisinLondon。SheisstayingatDorsetHouse。“
Mr。Sabinwasdeepinthought。Hesatinaneasy-chairwithhisbacktothewindow，hishandscrosseduponhisstick，hiseyesfixeduponthefire。Dusonwasmovingnoiselesslyabouttheroom，cuttingthemorning’ssupplyofnewspapersandsettingthemoutuponthetable。Hismasterwasinamoodwhichhehadbeentaughttorespect。ItwasMr。SabinWhobrokethesilence。
“Duson！“
“YourGrace！“
“Ihavealways，asyouknow，ignoredyoursomewhatanomalouspositionastheservantofonemanandtheslaveofasociety。
ThequestionswhichIamabouttoaskyouyoucananswerornot，accordingtoyourownapprehensionsofwhatisduetoeach。“
“IthankyourGrace！“
“MydeparturefromAmericaseemedtoincitethemostviolentoppositiononthepartofyourfriends。Asyouknow，itwaswithacertainamountofdifficultythatIreachedthiscountry。Now，however，Iamleftaltogetheralone。Ihavenotreceivedasinglewarningletter。Mycomingsandgoings，althoughpurposelydevoidofthe~lightestsecrecy，areabsolutelyundisturbed。YetIhavesomereasontobelievethatyourmistressisinLondon。“
“YourGracewillpardonme，“Dusonsaid，“butthereisoutsideagentlemanwaitingtoseeyoutowhomyoumightaddressthesamequestionswithbetterresults，forcomparedwithhimIknownothing。
ItisMonsieurFelix。“
“Whyhaveyoukepthimwaiting？“Mr。Sabinasked。
“YourGracewasmuchabsorbed，“Dusonanswered。
Felixwassmokingacigarette，andMr。Sabingreetedhimwithacertaingrimcordiality。
“Isthispermitted-thisvisit？“heasked，himselfselectingacigaretteandmotioninghisguesttoachair。
“Itisevenencouraged，“Felixanswered。
“Youhaveperhapssomemessage？“
“None。“
“Iamgladtoseeyou，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“JustnowIamalittlepuzzled。Iwillputthemattertoyou。Youshallanswerornot，atyourowndiscretion。“
“Iamready，“Felixdeclared。
“YouknowthedifficultywithwhichIescapedfromAmerica，“Mr。
Sabincontinued。“Everymeanswhichingenuitycouldsuggestseemedbroughttobearagainstme。Andeverymovementwasdirected，ifnotfromhere，fromsomeplaceinEurope。Well，Iarrivedherefourdaysago。Ilivequiteopenly，Ihaveevenabjuredtosomeextentmyincognito。YetIhavenotreceivedevenawarningletter。Iamleftabsolutelyundisturbed。“
Felixlookedathimthoughtfully。
“Andwhatdoyoudeducefromthis？“heasked。
“Idonotlikeit，“Mr。Sabinanswereddrily。
“Afterall，“Felixremarked，“itistosomeextentnatural。Theveryopennessofyourlifeheremakesinterferencewithyoumoredifficult，andastowarningletters-well，youhaveprovedtheuselessnessofthem。“
“Perhaps，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Atthesametime，ifIwereasuperstitiouspersonIshouldconsiderthisinactionominous。“
“Youmusttakeaccountalso，“Felixsaid，“ofthedifferenceinthecountries。InEnglandthepolicesystem，ifnotthemostinfallibleintheworld，iscertainlythemostincorruptible。Therewasneveracountryinwhichsecurityofpersonandlifewassokeenlywatchedoverashere。InAmerica，uptoacertainpoint，amanisexpectedtolookafterhimself。Thesamefeelingdoesnotprevailhere。“
Mr。Sabinassented。
“Andtherefore，“heremarked，“forthepurposesofyourfriendsI
shouldconsiderthisadifficultandunpromisingcountryinwhichtowork。“
“Othercountries，othermethods！“Felixremarkedlaconically。
“Exactly！ItisthenewmethodswhichIamanxioustodiscover，“
Mr。Sabinsaid。“Noglimmeringofthemasyethasbeenvouchsafedtome。YetIbelievethatIamrightinassumingthatforthemomentLondonistheheadquartersofyourfriends，andthatLucilleishere？“
“Ifthatismeantforaquestion，“Felixsaid，“Imaynotanswerit。“
Mr。Sabinnodded。
“Yet，“hesuggested，“yourvisithasanobject。Todiscovermyplansperhaps！Youarewelcometothem。“
Felixthoughtfullyknockedtheashesoffhiscigarette。
“Myvisithadanobject，“headmitted，“butitwasapersonalone。
Iamnotactuallyconcernedinthedoingsofthosewhomyouhavecalledmyfriends。“
“Wearealone，“Mr。Sabinremindedhim。“Mytimeisyours。“
“YouandI，“Felixsaid，“havehadourperiodsofbitterenmity。
WithyourmarriagetoLucillethese，sofarasIamconcerned，endedforever。IwillevenadmitthatinmyyoungerdaysIwasprejudicedagainstyou。Thathaspassedaway。Youhavebeenallyourdaysaboldandunscrupulousschemer，butendshaveatanyratebeenworthyones。To-dayIamabletoregardyouwithfeelingsoffriendliness。Youarethehusbandofmydearsister，andforyearsIknowthatyoumadeherveryhappy。Iaskyou，willyoubelieveinthisstatementofmyattitudetowardsyou？“
“Idonotforasinglemomentdoubtit，“Mr。Sabinanswered。
“YouwillregardtheadvicewhichIamgoingtoasdisinterested？“
“Certainly！“
“ThenIofferittoyouearnestly，andwithmywholeheart。TakethenextsteamerandgobacktoAmerica。“
“AndleaveLucille？Gowithoutmakinganyefforttoseeher？“
“Yes。“