“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。“