“Youdonotseriouslybelieve，“heasked，“thatDusonmetwithadeathwhichwasintendedforme？“
“Iamafraid，“thedetectivesaidthoughtfully，“thatIknownomoreaboutitthanyoudo。“
“Isee，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“thatIamnostrangertoyou。“
“Youareveryfarfrombeingthat，sir，“themananswered。“A
fewyearsagoIwasworkingfortheGovernment-andyouwerenotoftenoutofmysight。“
Mr。Sabinsmiled。
“Itwasperhapsjudicious，“heremarked，“thoughIamafraiditprovedofverylittleprofittoyou。Andwhataboutthepresenttime？“
“Iseenoharmintellingyou，sir，thatageneralwatchiskeptuponyourmovements。Dusonwasusefultous……butnowDusonisdead。“
“Itisafact，“Mr。Sabinsaidimpressively，“thatDusonwasagenius。Myadmirationforhimcontinuallyincreases。“
“Dusonmadeharmlessreportstousaswedesiredthem，“thedetectivesaid。“Ihaveanidea，however，thatifthiscoursehadatanytimebeeninimicaltoyourintereststhatDusonwouldhavedeceivedus。“
“Iamconvincedofit，“Mr。Sabindeclared。
“AndDusonisdead！“
Mr。Sabinnoddedgravely。
Thelittlehard-visagedmanlookedsteadilyforamomentuponthecarpet。
“DusondiedvirtuallywhilstacceptingpayfromifnotactuallyintheemployofourSecretServiceDepartment。Youwillunderstand，therefore，thatwe，knowingofthiscomplicationinhislife，naturallyinclinetowardsthetheoryofmurder。ShallIbetakingaliberty，sir，ifIgiveyouanunprofessionalwordofwarning？“
Mr。Sabinraisedhiseyebrows。
“Bynomeans，“heanswered。“Butsurelyyoucannot-“
Themansmiled。
“No，sir，“hesaiddrily。“Idonotforonemomentsuspectyou。
Themanwasourspyuponyourmovements，butIamperfectlyawarethattherehasbeennothingworthreporting，andIalsoknowthatyouwouldneverrunsuchariskfortheremovalofsoinsignificantaperson。No，mywarningcomestoyoufromadifferentpointofview。Itis，ifyouwillpardonmysayingso，nonethelesspersonal，butwhollyfriendly。ThecaseofDusonwillbesiftedtothedregs，butunlessIamgreatlymistaken，andIdonotseeroomforthepossibilityofamistake，Iknowthetruthalready。“
“Youwillshareyourknowledge？“Mr。Sabinaskedquietly。
Thedetectiveshookhishead。
“Youshallknow，“hesaid，“beforethelastmoment。ButIwanttowarnyouthatwhenyoudonowit-itwillbeashocktoyou。“
Mr。Sabinstoodperfectlystillforseveralmoments。Thislittlemanbelievedwhathewassaying。Hewascertainlydeceived。YetnonethelessMr。Sabinwasthoughtful。
“Youdonotfeelinclined，“hesaidslowly，“togivemeyourentireconfidence。“
“Notatpresent，sir，“themananswered。“Youwouldcertainlyintervene，andmycasewouldbespoilt。“
Mr。Sabinglancedattheclock。
“Ifyoucaretocallonmeto-morrow，“hesaid，“Icouldperhapsshowyousomethingwhichmightchangeyouropinion。“
Thedetectivebowed。
“Iamalwaysopen，sir，“hesaid，“toconviction。Iwillcomeabouttwelveo’clock。“
Mr。Sabinwentbacktothepalmlounge。LucilleandReginaldBrottweresittingtogetheratasmalltable，talkingearnestlytooneanother。ThePrinceandLadyCareyhadjoinedanotherpartywhowerealltalkingtogetherneartheentrance。Thelatter，directlyshesawthemcoming，detachedherselffromthemandcametohim。
“Yourcoffeeisalmostcold，“shesaid，“butthePrincehasfoundsomebrandyofwonderfulage，somewhereinthelastcentury，I
believe。“
Mr。SabinglancedtowardsLucille。Sheappearedengrossedinherconversation，andhadnotnoticedhisapproach。LadyCareyshrugged。
“Youhaveonlyafewminutes，“shesaid，“beforethatdreadfulpersoncomesandfrownsusallout。Ihavekeptyouachair。“
Mr。Sabinsatdown。LadyCareyinterposedherselfbetweenhimandthesmalltableatwhichLucillewassitting。
“Havetheydiscoveredanything？“sheasked。
“Nothing！“Mr。Sabinanswered。
Sheplayedwithherfanforamoment。Thenshelookedhimsteadilyintheface。
“Myfriend？“
Heglancedtowardsher。
“LadyCarey！“
“Whyareyousoobstinate？“sheexclaimedinalow，passionatewhisper。“Iwanttobeyourfriend，andIcouldbeveryusefultoyou。Yetyoukeepmealwaysatarm’slength。Youaremakingamistake。Indeedyouare。Isupposeyoudonottrustme。YetreflectHaveIevertoldyouanythingthatwasnottrue？HaveI
evertriedtodeceiveyou？Idon’tpretendtobeaparagonofthevirtues。Ilivemylifetopleasemyself。Iadmitit。Whynot？
Itissimplyapplyingthesamesortofphilosophytomylifeasyouhaveappliedtoyours。Myenemiescanfindplentytosayaboutme-butneverthatIhavebeenfalsetoafriend。Whydoyoukeepmealwaysatarm’slength，asthoughIwereoneofthosewhowishedyouevil？“
“LadyCarey，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“Iwillnotaffecttomisunderstandyou，andIamflatteredthatyoushouldconsidermygoodwillofanyimportance。ButyouarethefriendofthePrinceofSaxeLeinitzer。Youareoneofthoseevennowwhoareworkingactivelyagainstme。Iamnotblamingyou，butweareonoppositesides。“
LadyCareylookedforamomentacrossatthePrince，andhereyeswerefullofvenom。
“Ifyouknew，“shemurmured，“howIloathethatman。Friends！Thatisalllongsincepast。Nothingwouldgivemesomuchpleasureasnevertoseehisfaceagain。“
“Nevertheless，“Mr。Sabinremindedher，“whateveryourprivatefeelingsmaybe，hehasclaimsuponyouwhichyoucannotresist。“
“Thereisonethingintheworld，“shesaidinalowtone，“forwhichIwouldriskeventheabnegationofthoseclaims。“
“Youwouldperjureyourhonour？“
“Yes-ifitcametothat。“
Mr。Sabinmoveduneasilyinhischair。Thewomanwasinearnest。
Sheofferedhimaninvaluablealliance；shecouldshowhimthewaytoholdhisownagainsteventheinimicalcombinationbywhichhewassurrounded。Ifonlyhecouldcompromise。Buthereyeswereseekinghiseagerly，evenfiercely。
“Youdoubtmestill，“shewhispered。“AndIthoughtthatyouhadgenius。Listen，Iwillprovemyself。ThePrincehasoneofhisfoolishpassionsforLucille。Youknowthat。Sofarshehasshownherselfabletoresisthisfascinations。Heistryingothermeans。
Lucilleisindanger！Duson！-butafterall，Iwasneverreallyindanger，exceptthetimewhenIcarriedthedespatchesforthecolonelandrodestraightintoaBoerambush。“
Mr。Sabinsawnothing，huthedidnotmoveamuscleofhisface。A
momentlatertheyheardthePrince’svoicefrombehindthem。
“Iamverysorry，“hesaid，“tointerrupttheseinterestingreminiscences，butyouseethateveryoneisgoing。Lucilleisalreadyinthecloak-room。“
LadyCareyroseatonce，buttheglanceshethrewatthePrincewasasingularlymaliciousone。Theywalkeddownthecarpetedwaytogether，andLadyCareyleftthemwithoutaword。InthevestibuleMr。SabinandReginaldBrottcamefacetoface。
Thegreetingbetweenthetwomenwascold，andthePrincealmostimmediatelysteppedbetweenthem。Nevertheless，BrottseemedtohaveafancytotalkwithMr。Sabin。
“IwasatCamperdownHouseyesterday，“heremarked。“HerLadyshipwasregrettingthatshesawyousoseldom。“
“Ihavebeenalittleremiss，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Ihopetolunchthereto-morrow。“
“Youhaveseentheeveningpaper，Brott？“thePrinceasked。
“Isawtheearlyeditions，“Brottanswered。“Isthereanythingfresh？“
ThePrincedroppedhisvoicealittle。HedrewBrottononeside。
“TheWestminsterdeclaredthatyouhadleftforWindsorbyanearlytrainthisafternoon，andgivesalistofyourCabinet。ThePallMall，ontheotherhand，declaresthatLetheringhamwillassuredlybesentforto-morrow。“
Brottshruggedhisshoulders。
“Thereareboundtobeacropofsuchreportsatatimelikethis，“
heremarked。
ThePrincedroppedhisvoicealmosttoawhisper。
“Brott，“hesaid，“thereissomethingwhichIhavehaditinmymindtosaytoyouforthelastfewdays。Iamnotperhapsagreatpolitician，but，likemanyoutsiders，Iseeperhapsagooddealofthegame。IknowfairlywellwhatthefeelingisinViennaandBerlin。Icangiveyouawordofadvice。“
“Youareverykind，Prince，“Brottremarked，lookinguneasilyoverhisshoulder。“But-“
“ItisconcerningBrand。Thereisnomanmoredespisedanddislikedabroad，notonlybecauseheisaJewandill-bred，butbecauseofhisknownsympathywithsomeoftheseanarchistswhoareperfectfirebrandsinEurope。“
“Iamexceedinglyobligedtoyou，“Brottansweredhurriedly。“Iamafraid，however，thatyouanticipatemattersagooddeal。IhavenotyetbeenaskedtoformaCabinet。ItisdoubtfulwhetherIevershall。And，beyondthat，itisalsodoubtfulwhetherevenifIamaskedIshallaccept。“
“Imustconfess，“thePrincesaid，“thatyoupuzzleme。EveryonesaysthatthePremiershipofthecountryiswithinyourreach。ItissurelytheMeccaofallpoliticians。“
“Therearecomplications，“Brottmuttered。“You-“
Hestoppedshortandmovedtowardsthedoor。Lucille，unusuallypaleandgrave，hadjustissuedfromtheladies’ante-room，andjoinedLadyCarey，whowastalkingtoMr。Sabin。Shetouchedthelatterlightlyonthearm。
“Helpustoescape，“shesaidquickly。“Iamwearyofmytask。
Canwegetawaywithouttheirseeingus？“
Mr。Sabinofferedhisarm。Theypassedalongthebroadway，andastheywerealmostthelasttoleavetheplace，theircarriagewaseasilyfound。ThePrinceandMr。BrottappearedonlyintimetoseeMr。Sabinturningaway，hatinhand，fromthecurb-stone。
Brott’sfacedarkened。
“Prince，“hesaid，“whoisthatman？“
ThePrinceshruggedhisshoulders。
“Aman，“hesaid，“whohasmorethanoncenearlyruinedyourcountry。Hislifehasbeenasplendidfailure。HewouldhavegivenIndiatotheRussians，buttheymistrustedhimandtrifledawaytheirchance。OncesincethenhenearlysoldthiscountrytoGermany；itwasatrifleonlywhichintervened。Hehasbeenallhislifedevotedtoonecause。“
“Andthat？“Brottasked。
“TherestorationofthemonarchytoFrance。He，asyouofcourseknow，istheDucdeSouspennier，thesolelivingmemberinthedirectlineofoneofthemostancientandhistoricalhousesinEngland。Myfriend，“headded，turningtoMr。Sabin，“youhavestolenamarchuponus。Wehadnotevenanopportunityofmakingouradieuxtotheladies。“
“Iimagine，“Mr。Sabinanswered，“thatthecauseofquarrelmayrestwiththem。Youwerenowhereinsightwhentheycameout。“
“Thesefascinatingpolitics，“thePrinceremarked。“WeallwanttotalkpoliticstoMr。Brottjustnow。“
“Iwillwishyougood-night，gentlemen，“Mr。Sabinsaid，andpassedintothehotel