“ToLUCILLE，DuchessedeSOUSPENNIER-
　　“YouwillbeattheWaldorfAstoriaHotelinthemaincorridoratfouro’clockthisafternoon。“
　　ThethinpapershookinMr。Sabin’sfingers。Therewasnosignature，buthefanciedthatthehandwritingwasnotwhollyunfamiliartohim。
　　Helookedslowlyuptowardsthecabman。
　　“Iammuchobligedtoyou，“hesaid。“Thisisofinteresttome。“
　　HestretchedouthishandtothelittlewadofnoteswhichDusonhadleftuponthetable，butthecabdriverbackedaway。
　　“Begpardon，sir，“hesaid。“You’vegivenmeplenty。Theletter’sofnovaluetome。Icameveryneartearingitup，butforthepeculiarcolourpencilit’swrittenwith。Kindertookmyfancy，sir。“
　　“Theletterisofvalue，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“IttellsmemuchmorethanIhopedtodiscover。Itisourgoodfortune。“
　　Themanacceptedthelittlerollofbillsanddeparted。Mr。Sabintouchedthebell。
　　“Duson，whattimeisit？“
　　“Nearlymidnight，sir！“
　　“Iwillgotobed！“
　　“Verygood，sir！“
　　“Mixmeasleepingdraught，Duson。Ineedrest。SeethatIamnotdisturbeduntilteno’clockto-morrowmorning。
　　Atpreciselyteno’clockonthefollowingmorningDusonbroughtchocolate，whichhehadpreparedhimself，andsomedrytoasttohismaster’sbedside。Uponthetraywasasingleletter。Mr。Sabinsatupinbedandtoreopentheenvelope。ThefollowingwordswerewrittenuponasheetoftheHollandHousenotepaperinthesamepeculiarcolouredcrayon。
　　“Thefirstwarningaddressedtoyouyesterdaywasafriendlyone。
　　Profitbyit。GobacktoLenox。Youareonlyexposingyourselftodangerandthepersonyouseektodiscomfort。Waitthere，andsomeoneshallcometoyoushortlywhowillexplainwhathashappened，andthenecessityforit。“
　　Mr。Sabinsmiled，aslowcontemplativesmile。Hesippedhischocolateandlitacigarette。
　　“Ourfriends，then，“hesaidsoftly，“donotcareaboutpursuitandinquiries。Itisridiculoustosupposethattheirwarningisgivenoutofanyconsiderationtome。Duson！“
　　“Yes，sir！“
　　“Mybath。Ishallrisenow。“
　　Mr。Sabinmadehistoiletwithsomethingofthesamedeliberationwhichcharacterisedallhismovements。Thenhedescendedintothehall，boughtanewspaper，andfromaconvenienteasy-chairkeptacloseobservationuponeveryonewhopassedtoandfroforaboutanhour。Lateronheorderedacarriage，andmadeseveralcallsdowntown。
　　AtafewminutespasttwelveheenteredthebaroftheFifthAvenueHotel，andorderingadrinksatdownatoneofthesmalltables。
　　Theroomwasfull，butMr。Sabin’sattentionwasdirectedsolelytoonegroupofmenwhostoodashortdistanceawaybeforethecounterdrinkingchampagne。Thecentralpersonofthegroupwasabigman，withanunusuallylargeneck，afatpaleface，abrownmoustachetingedwithgrey，andavoiceandlaughlikeafog-horn。Itwasheapparentlywhowaspayingforthechampagne，andhewasclearlyonintimatetermswithalltheparty。Mr。Sabinwatchedforhisopportunity，andthenrisingfromhisseattouchedhimontheshoulder。
　　“Mr。Skinner，Ibelieve？“hesaidquietly。
　　ThebigmanlookeddownuponMr。Sabinwiththesullenoffensivenessoftheprofessionalbully。
　　“You’vehititfirsttime，“headmitted。“Whoareyou，anyway？“
　　Mr。Sabinproducedacard。
　　“Icalledthismorning，“hesaid，“uponthegentlemanwhosenameyouwillseethere。Hedirectedmetoyou，andtoldmetocomehere。“
　　Themantorethecardintosmallpieces。
　　“Solong，boys，“hesaid，addressinghislatecompanions。“Seeyouto-night。“
　　Theyacceptedhisdepartureinsilence，andoneandallfavouredMr。Sabinwithastareofblatantcuriosity。
　　“Ishouldbegladtospeakwithyou，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“inaplacewherewearelikelytobeneitherdisturbednoroverheard。“
　　“Youcomerightacrosstomyoffice，“wasthepromptreply。“I
　　guesswecanfixitupthere。“
　　Mr。Sabinmotionedtohiscoachman，andtheycrossedBroadway。Hiscompanionledhimintoatallbuilding，talkingnoisilyallthetimeaboutthepalswhomhehadjustleft。Anelevatortransportedthemtothetwelfthfloorinlittlemorethanasmanyseconds，andMr。Skinnerusheredhisvisitorintoasomewhatbare-lookingoffice，smellingstronglyofstaletobaccosmoke。Mr。Skinneratoncelitacigar，andseatinghimselfbeforehisdesk，foldedhisarmsandleanedovertowardsMr。Sabin。
　　“Smokeone？“heasked，pointingtotheopenbox。
　　Mr。Sabindeclined。
　　“Getrightaheadthen。“
　　“IamanEnglishman，“Mr。Sabinsaidslowly，“andconsequentlyamnotaltogetherathomewithyourwaysoverhere。Ihavealwaysunderstood，however，thatifyouareinneedofanyspecialinformationsuchasweshouldinEnglandapplytothepolicefor，overherethereisaquickerandmoresatisfactorymethodofprocedure。“
　　“You’vecomealongwayround，“Mr。Skinnerremarked，spittinguponthefloor，“butyou’redeadright。“
　　“Iaminneedofsomeinformation，“Mr。Sabincontinued，“andaccordinglyIcalledthismorningonMr-“
　　Mr。Skinnerhelduphishand。
　　“Allright，“hesaid。“Wedon’tmentionnamesmorethanwecanhelp。Callhimtheboss。“
　　“HeassuredmethattheinformationIwasinneedofwaseasilytobeobtained，andgavemeacardtoyou。“
　　“Gorighton，“Mr。Skinnersaid。“Whatisit？“
　　“OnFridaylast，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“atfouro’clock，theDuchessofSouspennier，whosepictureIwillpresentlyshowyou，lefttheHollandHouseHotelfortheNewYork，NewHaven&HartfordDepot，presumablyforherhomeatLenox，towhichplaceherbaggagehadalreadybeenchecked。OnthewaysheorderedthecabmantosetherdownattheWaldorf-AstoriaHotel，whichhedidatafewminutespastfour。TheDuchesshasnotreturnedhomeorbeendirectlyheardfromsince。IwishtoascertainhermovementssinceshearrivedattheWaldorf。“
　　“Soundsdeadeasy，“Mr。Skinnerremarkedreassuringly。“Gotthepicture？“
　　Mr。Sabintouchedthespringofasmallgoldlocketwhichhedrewfromaninsidewaistcoatpocket，anddisclosedabeautifullypaintedminiature。Mr。Skinner’sthicklipswerepursedintoawhistle。
　　HewasonthepointofmakingaremarkwhenhechancedtoglanceintoMr。Sabin’sface。Theremarkremainedunspoken。
　　Hedrewasheetofnote-papertowardshimandmadeafewnotesuponit。
　　“TheDuchessmanyfriendsinNewYork？“
　　“Atpresentnone。ThefewpeoplewhomsheknowshereareatNewportorinEuropejustnow。“
　　“AnyideawhomshewenttotheWaldorftosee？Moreweknowthebetter。“
　　Mr。Sabinhandedhimtheletterwhichhadbeenpickedupinthecab。
　　Mr。Skinnerreaditthrough，andspatoncemoreuponthefloor。
　　“Whattheh——’sthisfunnycolouredpencilmean？“
　　“Idonotknow，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“YouwillseethatthetwoanonymouscommunicationswhichIhavereceivedsincearrivinginNewYorkyesterdayarewritteninthesamemanner。“
　　Mr。Sabinhandedhimtheothertwoletters，whichMr。Skinnercarefullyperused。
　　“Iguessyou’dbettertellmewhoyouare，“hesuggested。
　　“IamthehusbandoftheDuchessofSouspennier，“Mr。Sabinanswered。
　　“TheDuchesssendanywordhomeatall？“Mr。Skinnerasked。
　　Mr。Sabinproducedaworntelegraphform。ItwashandedinatFifthAvenue，NewYork，atsixo’clockonFriday。Itcontainedthesingleword’Good-bye。’“
　　“H’m，“Mr。Skinnerremarked。“We’llfindallyouwanttoknowbyto-morrowsure。“
　　“WhatdoyoumakeofthetwoletterswhichIreceived？“Mr。Sabinasked。
　　“Bunkum！“Mr。Skinnerrepliedconfidently。
　　Mr。Sabinnoddedhishead。
　　“Youhavenosecretsocietiesoverhere，Isuppose？“hesaid。
　　Mr。Skinnerlaughedloudlyandderisively。
　　“Iguessnot，“heanswered。“Theykeepthatsortofrubbishontheothersideofthepond。“
　　“Ah，！“