TheDuchessshookherhead。
“Notto-night，“sheanswered。“Itwouldnotbepossible。Genera1
DolinskiisdiningatMarlboroughHouse，andDeBroullaeisinParis。NowtellusallaboutMr。Brott。“
“HehasgonetoScotland，“Lucilleanswered。“Ihavefailed。“
LadyCareylookedupfromthedepthsofthechairinwhichshewaslounging。
“Andtheprince？“sheasked。“Hewenttomeetyou！“
“Healsofailed，“Lucilleanswered。
CHAPTERXXVII
Mr。SABINdrewalittlebreath，partlyofsatisfactionbecausehehaddiscoveredtheplacehesought，andpartlyofdisgustattheneighbourhoodinwhichhefoundhimself。Nevertheless，hedescendedthreestepsfromthecourtintowhichhehadbeendirected，andpushedopentheswingdoor，behindwhichEmilSachsannouncedhisdesiretosupplytheworldwithdinnersateightpenceandvinordinaireatfourpencethesmallbottle。
Astoutblack-eyedwomanlookedupathisentrancefrombehindthecounter。Theplacewasempty。
“Whatdoesmonsieurrequiresheasked，peeringforwardthroughthegloomwithsomesuspicion。Fortheeightpennydinnerswerethescornoftheneighbourhood，andstrangerswererareinthewineshopofEmilSachs。
Mr。Sabinsmiled。
“Oneofyourexcellentomelettes，mygoodAnnette，“heanswered，“ifyourhandhasnotlostitscunning！“
Shegavealittlecry。
“Itismonsieur！“sheexclaimed。“Afteralltheseyearsitismonsieur！Ab，youwillpardonthatIdidnotrecogniseyou。Thisplaceisacellar。Monsieurhasnotchanged。Inthedaylightonewouldknowhimanywhere。“
Thewomantalkedfast，buteveninthatdimlightMr。Sabinknewquitewellthatshewasshakingwithfear。Hecouldseethecornersofhermouthtwitch。Herblackeyesrolledincessantly，butrefusedtomeethis。Mr。Sabinfrowned。
“Youarenotgladtoseeme，Annette！“
Sheleanedoverthecounter。
“Formonsieursownsake，“shewhispered，“go！“
Mr。Sabinstoodquitestillforashortspaceoftime。
“CanIrestinthereforafewminutes？“heasked，pointingtothedoorwhichledintotheroombeyond。
Thewomanhesitated。Shelookedupattheclockanddownagain。
“Emilwillreturn，“shesaid，“atthree。Monsieurwerebestoutoftheneighbourhoodbeforethen。Fortenminutesitmightbesafe。“
Mr。Sabinpassedforward。Thewomanliftedtheflapofthecounterandfollowedhim。Withinwasasmallerroom，farcleanerandbetterappointedthanthegeneralappearanceoftheplacepromised。Mr。
Sabinseatedhimselfatoneofthesmalltables。Thelinencloth，henoticed，wasspotless，thecutleryandappointmentspolishedandclean。
“This，Ipresume，“heremarked，“isnotwhereyouservetheeightpennytabled’hote？“
Thewomanshruggedhershoulders。
“Butitwouldnotbepossible，“sheanswered。“Wehavenocustomersforthat。Ifonearrivesweputtogetherafewscraps。Butonemustmakeapretense。Monsieurunderstands？“
Mr。Sabinnodded。
“Iwilltake，“hesaid，“asmallglassoffinchampagne。“
Shevanished，andreappearedalmostimmediatelywiththebrandyinaquaintlycutliqueurglass。Aglanceattheclockasshepassedseemedtohaveincreasedheranxiety。
“Ifmonsieurwilldrinkhisliqueuranddepart，“sheprayed。“Indeed，itwillbeforthebest。“
Mr。Sabinsetdownhisglass。HissteadfastgazeseemedtoreduceAnnetteintoastateofnervouspanic。
“Annette，“hesaid，“theyhaveplacedmeuponthelist。“
“It-istrue，monsieur，“sheanswered。“Whydoyoucomehere？“
“Iwantedtoknowfirstforcertainthattheyhadventuredsofar，“
Mr。Sabinsaid。“IbelievethatIamonlythesecondpersoninthiscountrywhohasbeensomuchhonoured。“
Thewomandrewnearertohim。
“Monsieur，“shesaid，“youronlydangeristoventureintosuchpartsasthese。Londonissosafe，andthelawismerciless。Theyonlywatch。Theywillattemptnothing。DonotleaveEngland。
Thereisherenomachineryofcriminals。Besides，thelifeofmonsieurisinsured。“
“Insured？“Mr。Sabinremarkedquietly。“Thatisgoodnews。Andwhopaysthepremium？“
“Agreatlady，monsieur！Iknownomore。Monsieurmustgoindeed。
HehasfoundhiswayintotheonlyplaceinLondonwhereheisnotsafe。“
Mr。Sabinrose。
“Youareexpecting，perhaps，“hesaid，“oneofmyfriendsfromthe-“
Sheinterruptedhim。
“Itistrue，“shedeclared。Hemaybehereatanyinstant。Thetimeisalreadyup。Oh，monsieur，indeed，indeeditwouldnotdoforhimtofindyou。“
Mr。Sabinmovedtowardsthedoor。
“Youareperhapsright，“hesaidregretfully，“althoughIshouldmuchliketohearaboutthislittlematteroflifeinsurancewhileIamhere。“
“Indeed，monsieur，“Annettedeclared，“Iknownothing。ThereisnothingwhichIcantellmonsieur。“
Mr。Sabinsuddenlyleanedforward。Hisgazewascompelling。Histonewaslowbutterrible。
“Annette，“hesaid，“obeyme。SendEmilhere。“
Thewomantrembled，butshedidnotmove。Mr。Sabinliftedhisforefingerandpointedslowlytothedoor。Thewoman’slipsparted，butsheseemedtohavelostthepowerofspeech。
“SendEmilhere！“Mr。Sabinrepeatedslowly。
Annetteturnedandlefttheroom，gropingherwaytothedoorasthoughhereyesighthadbecomeuncertain。Mr。Sabinlitacigaretteandlookedforamomentcarefullyintothesmallliqueurglassoutofwhichhehaddrunk。
“Thatwasunwise，“hesaidsoftlytohimself。“Justsuchablundermighthavecostmeeverything。“
Heheldituptothelightandsatisfiedhimselfthatnodregsremained。Thenhetookfromhispocketatinylittlerevolver，andplacingitonthetablebeforehim，covereditwithhishandkerchief。
Almostimmediatelyadooratthefartherendoftheroomopenedandclosed。Amanindarkclothes，small，unnaturallypale，withdeep-seteyesandnervous，twitchingmouth，stoodbeforehim。Mr。
Sabinsmiledawelcomeathim。
“Good-morning，EmilSachs，“hesaid。“Iamgladthatyouhaveshowndiscretion。Standthereinthelight，please，andfoldyourarms。
Thanks。DonotthinkthatIamafraidofyou，butIliketotalkcomfortably。“
“Iamatmonsieur’sservice，“themansaidinalowtone。
“Exactly。Now，Emil，beforestartingtovisityouIleftalittlenotebehindaddressedtothechiefofthepolicehere-no，youneednotstart-tobesenttohimonlyifmyreturnwereundulydelayed。Youcanguesswhatthatnotecontained。Itisnotnecessaryforustorevertto-unpleasantsubjects。“
Themanmoistenedhisdrylips。
“Itisnotnecessary，“herepeated。“Monsieurisassafehere-fromme-asathisownhotel。“
“Excellent！“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Nowlisten，Emil。Ithaspleasedmechiefly，asyouknow，forthesakeofyourwife，thegoodAnnette，tobeverymercifultoyouasregardsthepast。ButIdonotproposetoallowyoutorunapoisonbureaufortheadvantageofthePrinceofSaxeLeinitzerandhisfriends-moreespecially，perhaps，asIamatpresentuponhislistofsuperfluouspersons。“
Themantrembled。
“Monsieur，“hesaid，“thePrinceknowsasmuchasyouknow，andhehasnotthemercythatoneshowstoadog。“
“Youwillfind，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“thatifyoudonotobeyme，I
myselfcandevelopasimilardisposition。Nowanswermethis！Youhavewithinthelastfewdayssuppliedseveralpeoplewiththatmarvelouspowderforthepreparationofwhichyouaresojustlyfamed。“
“Several-no，monsieur！Twoonly。“
“Theirnames？“
Themantrembled。
“Iftheyshouldknow！“
“Theywillnot，Emil。Iwillseetothat。“
“ThefirstIsuppliedtotheorderofthePrince。“
“Good！Andthesecond？“
“ToaladywhosenameIdonotknow。“
Mr。Sabinraisedhiseyebrows。
“Isnotthat，“heremarked，“alittleirregular？“
“Theladywroteherrequestbeforemeintheyellowcrayon。Itwassufficient。“
“Andyoudonotknowhername，Emil？“
“No，monsieur。Shewasdarkandtall，andcloselyveiled。Shewasherebutafewminutessince。“
“Darkandtall！“Mr。Sabinrepeatedtohimselfthoughtfully。“Emil，youaretellingmethetruth？“
“Idonotdaretotellyouanythingelse，monsieur，“themananswered。
Mr。Sabindidnotcontinuehisinterrogationsforafewmoments。
Suddenlyhelookedup。
“Hasthatladylefttheplaceyet，Emil？“
“No，monsieur！“
Mr。Sabinsmiled。
“Haveyouabackexit？“heasked。
“Nonethattheladywouldknowof，“Emilanswered。“Shemustpassalongthepassagewhichbordersthisapartment，andenterthebarbyadoorfrombehind。Ifmonsieurdesiresit，itisimpossibleforhertoleaveunobserved。“
“Thatisexcellent，Emil，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Nowthereisonemorequestion-quiteaharmlessone。Annettespokeofmylifebeinginsomewayinsured。“
“Itistrue，monsieur，“Emiladmitted。“Aladywhoalsopossessedtheyellowcrayoncameherethedaythat-thatmonsieurincurredthedispleasureof-ofhisfriends。Shetriedtobribemetoblowupmylaboratoryandleavethecountry，orthatIshouldsubstituteaharmlesspowderforanyrequiredbythePrince。Iwasobligedtorefuse。“
“Andthen？“
“Thenshepromisedmealargesumifyouwerealiveinsixmonths，andmademeatonceapayment。
“Dearme，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“thisisquiteextraordinary。“
“Icantellmonsieurthelady’sname，“Emilcontinued，“forsheraisedherveil，andeverywheretheillustratedpapershavebeenfullofherpicture。ItwastheladywhowasbesiegedinalittletownofSouthAfrica，andwhocarrieddespatchesforthegeneral，disguisedasaman。“
“LadyCarey！“Mr。Sabinremarkedquietly。
“Thatwasthelady’sname，“Emilagreed。
Mr。Sabinwasthoughtfulforafewmoments。Thenhelookedup。
“EmilSachs，“hesaidsternly，“youhavegivenoutatleastoneportionofyourabominableconcoctionwhichismeanttoendmydays。
WhetherIshallescapeitornotremainstobeseen。Iamforcedatthebesttodischargemyservant，andtolivethelifeofahuntedman。Nowyouhavedoneenoughmischiefintheworld。To-morrowmorningamessengerwillplaceinyourhandstwohundredpounds。A
largersumwillawaityouatBaring’sBankinNewYork。Youwillgothereandbuyasmallrestaurantinthebusinessquarter。Thisisyourlastchance，Emil。IgiveittoyouforthesakeofAnnette。“
“AndIacceptit，monsieur，withgratitude。“
“Forthepresent“
Mr。Sabinstoppedshort。Hisquickearshadcaughttheswishofwoman’sgownpassingalongthepassageoutside。Emiltoohadheardit。
“Itisthedarklady，“hewhispered，“whopurchasedfrommetheotherpowder。See，Iopengentlythisdoor。Monsieurmustbothseeandhear。“
Thedoorattheendofthepassagewasopened。Awomansteppedoutintothelittlebarandmadeherwaytowardsthedoor。Hereshewasmetbyamanentering。Mr。SabinhelduphisforefingertostoptheterrifiedexclamationwhichtrembledonEmil’slips。ThewomanwasLucille，themanthePrince。ItwasLucillewhowasspeaking。
“Youhavefollowedme，Prince。Itisintolerable。“
“DearLucille，itisforyourownsake。Thesearenotfitpartsforyou’tovisitalone。“