“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