MONTE 
 CARLO 
 
 E.PHILLIPS 
 OPPENHEIM 
 
 ma
 
 E X L I R R I S
 
 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO
 
 Mr. GREX 
 OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "The Vanished Messenger," "A People's Man,** 
 "The Mischief Maker," Etc. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LITTLK, BROWN & COMPANY
 
 Copyright, 1916, 
 LITTLE, BEOWN, AND 
 
 AU rights reterstd
 
 SRLF 
 .URL 
 
 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 
 
 The eyes of the man who had looked in upon 
 a scene inordinately, fantastically brilliant, under- 
 went, after those first few moments of comparative 
 indifference, a curious transformation. He was con- 
 templating one of the sights of the world. Crowded 
 around the two roulette tables, promenading or 
 lounging on the heavily cushioned divans against the 
 wall, he took note of a conglomeration of people 
 representing, perhaps, every grade of society, every 
 nationality of importance, yet with a curious com- 
 mon likeness by reason of their tribute paid to 
 fashion. He glanced unmoved at a beautiful Eng- 
 lishwoman who was a duchess but looked otherwise; 
 at an equally beautiful Frenchwoman, who looked 
 like a duchess but was otherwise. On every side 
 of him were women gowned by the great artists of 
 the day, women like flowers, all perfume and soft- 
 ness and colour. His eyes passed them over almost 
 carelessly. A little tired with many weeks' travel 
 in countries where the luxuries of life were few, his 
 senses were dulled to the magnificence of the scene, 
 his pulses as yet had not responded to its charm
 
 2 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 and wonder. And then the change came. He sa.v 
 a woman standing almost exactly opposite to him 
 at the nearest roulette table, and he gave a notice- 
 able start. For a moment his pale, expressionless 
 face was transformed, his secret was at any one's 
 mercy. That, however, was the affair of an instant 
 only. He was used to shocks and he survived this 
 one. He moved a little on one side from his promi- 
 nent place in the centre of the wide-flung doorway. 
 He stood by one of the divans and watched. 
 
 She was tall and fair and slight. She wore a 
 high-necked gown of shimmering grey, a black hat, 
 under which her many coils of hair shone like gold, 
 and a necklace of pearls around her throat, pearls 
 on which his eyes had rested with a curious expres- 
 sion. She played, unlike many of her neighbours, 
 with restraint, yet with interest, almost enthusiasm. 
 There was none of the strain of the gambler about 
 her smooth, beautiful face. Her delicately curved 
 lips were free from the grim lines of concentrated 
 acquisitiveness. She was thirty-two years old but 
 she looked much younger as she stood there, her lips 
 a little parted in a pleased smile of anticipation. 
 She was leaning a little over the table and her eyes 
 were fixed with humorous intentness upon the spin- 
 ning wheel. Even amongst that crowd of beautiful 
 women she possessed a certain individual distinction. 
 She not only looked what she was an English- 
 woman of good birth but there was a certain deli- 
 cate aloofness about her expression and bearing 
 which gave an added charm to a personality which 
 seemed to combine the two extremes of provocative- 
 Bess and reserve. One would have hesitated to ad-
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 3 
 
 dress to her even the chance remarks which pass so 
 easily between strangers around the tables. 
 
 " Violet here ! " the man murmured under his 
 breath. " Violet ! " 
 
 There was tragedy in the whisper, a gleam of 
 something like tragedy, too, in the look which passed 
 between the man and the woman a few moments later. 
 With her hands full of plaques which she had just 
 won, she raised her eyes at last from the board. The 
 smile upon her lips was the delighted smile of a girl. 
 And then, as she was in the act of sweeping her 
 winnings into her gold bag, she saw the man opposite. 
 The smile seemed to die from her lips; it appeared, 
 indeed, to pass with all else of expression from her 
 face. The plaques dropped one by one through her 
 fingers, into the satchel. Her eyes remained fixed 
 upon him as though she were looking upon a ghost. 
 The seconds seemed drawn out into a grim hiatus 
 of time. The croupier's voice, the muttered im- 
 precation of a loser by her side, the necessity of 
 making some slight movement in order to allow the 
 passage of an arm from some one in search of change 
 some such trifle at last brought her back from the 
 shadows. Her expression became at once more nor- 
 mal. She did not remove her eyes but she very 
 slightly inclined her head towards the man. He, in 
 return, bowed very gravely and without a smile. 
 
 The table in front of her was cleared now. 
 People were beginning to consider their next coup. 
 The voice of the croupier, with his parrot-like cry, 
 travelled down the board. 
 
 u Faites vos jeux, mesdames et messieurs." 
 
 The woman made no effort to stake. After a
 
 4 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 moment's hesitation she yielded up her place, and 
 moving backwards, seated herself upon an empty 
 divan. Rapidly the thoughts began to form them- 
 selves in her mind. Her delicate eyebrows drew 
 closer together in a distinct frown. After that first 
 shock, that queer turmoil of feeling, beyond analysis, 
 yet having within it some entirely unexpected con- 
 stituent, she found herself disposed to be angry. 
 The sensation had not subsided when a moment or 
 two later she was conscious that the man whose com- 
 ing had proved so disturbing was standing before her. 
 
 " Good afternoon," he said, a little stiffly. 
 
 She raised her eyes. The frown was still upon 
 her forehead, although to a certain extent it was 
 contradicted by a slight tremulousness of the lips. 
 
 " Good afternoon, Henry ! " 
 
 For some reason or other, further speech seemed 
 to him a difficult matter. He moved towards the 
 vacant place. 
 
 " If you have no objection," he observed, as he 
 seated himself. 
 
 She unfurled her fan an ancient but wonderful 
 weapon of defence. It gave her a brief respite. 
 Then she looked at him calmly. 
 
 " Of all places in the world," she murmured, " to 
 meet you here ! " 
 
 " Is it so extraordinary ? " 
 
 " I find it so," she admitted. " You don't at all 
 fit in, you know. A scene like this," she added, 
 glancing around, " would scarcely ever be likely to 
 attract you for its own sake, would it ? " 
 
 " It doesn't particularly," he admitted. 
 
 " Then why have you come? "
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 5 
 
 He remained silent. The frown upon her forehead 
 deepened. 
 
 " Perhaps," she went on coldly, " I can help yoa 
 with your reply. You have come because you are 
 not satisfied with the reports of the private detec- 
 tive whom you have engaged to watch me. You have 
 come to supplement them by your own investiga- 
 tion." 
 
 His frown matched hers. The coldness of his 
 tone was rendered even more bitter by its note of 
 anger. 
 
 " I am surprised that you should have thought 
 me capable of such an action," he declared. " All I 
 can say is that it is thoroughly in keeping with your 
 other suspicions of me, and that I find it absolutely 
 unworthy." 
 
 She laughed a little incredulously, not altogether 
 naturally. 
 
 " My dear Henry," she protested, " I cannot 
 flatter myself that there is any other person in the 
 world sufficiently interested in my movements to 
 have me watched." 
 
 " Are you really under the impression that that is 
 the case? " he enquired grimly. 
 
 " It isn't a matter of impression at all," she re- 
 torted. " It is the truth. I was followed from 
 London, I was watched at Cannes, I am watched here 
 day by day by a little man in a brown suit and 
 a Homburg hat, and with a habit of lounging. He 
 lounges under my windows, he is probably lounging 
 across the way now. He has lounged within fifty 
 yards of me for the last three weeks, and to tell you 
 the truth I am tired of him. Couldn't I have a
 
 6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 week's holiday? I'll keep a diary and tell you all 
 that you want to know." 
 
 " Is it sufficient," he asked, " for me to assure you, 
 upon my word of honour, that I know nothing of 
 this?" 
 
 She was somewhat startled. She turned and 
 looked at him. His tone was convincing. He had 
 not the face of a man whose word of honour was a 
 negligible thing. 
 
 " But, Henry," she protested, " I tell you that 
 there is no doubt about the matter. I am watched 
 day and night I, an insignificant person whose 
 doings can be of no possible interest save to you and 
 you only." 
 
 The man did not at once reply. His thoughts 
 seemed to have wandered off for a moment. When 
 he spoke again, his tone had lost its note of resent- 
 ment. 
 
 " I do not blame you for your suspicion," he said 
 calmly, " although I can assure you that I have 
 never had any idea of having you watched. It is 
 not a course which could possibly have suggested 
 itself to me, even in my most unhappy moments." 
 
 She was puzzled at once puzzled and inter- 
 ested. 
 
 " I am so glad to hear this," she said, " and of 
 course I believe you, but there the fact is. I think 
 that you will agree with me that it is curious." 
 
 " Isn't it possible," he ventured to suggest, " that 
 it is your companions who are the object of this 
 man's vigilance? You are not, I presume, alon* 
 here?" 
 
 She eyed him a little defiantly.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 7 
 
 " I am here," she announced, " with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Draconmeyer." 
 
 He heard her without any change of expression, 
 but somehow or other it was easy to see that her 
 news, although more than half expected, had stung 
 him. 
 
 " Mr. and Mrs. Draconmeyer," he repeated, with 
 slight emphasis on the latter portion of the sentence. 
 
 " Certainly ! I am sorry," she went on, a mo- 
 ment late, " that my companions do not meet with 
 your approval. That, however, I could scarcely ex- 
 pect, considering " 
 
 " Considering what ? " he insisted, watching her 
 steadfastly. 
 
 " Considering all things," she replied, after a mo- 
 ment's pause. 
 
 " Mrs. Draconmeyer is still an invalid? " 
 
 " She is still an invalid." 
 
 The slightly satirical note in his question seemed 
 to provoke a certain defiance in her manner as she 
 turned a little sideways towards him. She moved 
 her fan slowly backwards and forwards, her head 
 was thrown back, her manner was almost belligerent. 
 He took up the challenge. He asked her in plain 
 words the question which his eyes had already de- 
 manded. 
 
 " I find myself constrained to ask you," he said, 
 in a studiously measured tone, " by what means you 
 became possessed of the pearls you are wearing? I 
 do not seem to remember them as your property." 
 
 Her eyes flashed. 
 
 " Don't you think," she returned, " that you are 
 a little outstepping your privileges ? "
 
 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Not in the least," he declared. " You are my 
 wife, and although you have defied me in a certain 
 matter, you are still subject to my authority. I 
 see you wearing jewels in public of which you were 
 certainly not possessed a few months ago, and which 
 neither your fortune nor mine " 
 
 " Let me set your mind at rest," she interrupted 
 icily. " The pearls are not mine. They belong to 
 Mrs. Draconmeyer." 
 
 " Mrs. Draconmeyer ! " 
 
 " I am wearing them," she continued, " at Linda's 
 special request. She is too unwell to appear in public 
 and she is very seldom able to wear any of her won- 
 derful jewelry. It gives her pleasure to see them 
 sometimes upon other people." 
 
 He remained quite silent for several moments. He 
 was, in reality, passionately angry. Self-restraint, 
 however, had become such a habit of his that there 
 were no indications of his condition save in the 
 slight twitchings of his long fingers and A tightening 
 at the corners of his lips. She, however, recognised 
 the symptoms without difficulty. 
 
 " Since you defy my authority," he said, " may 
 I ask whether my wishes have any weight with 
 you?" 
 
 " That depends," she replied. 
 
 " It is my earnest wish," he went on, " that you 
 do not wear another woman's jewelry, either in public 
 or privately." 
 
 She appeared to reflect for a moment. In effect 
 she was struggling against a conviction that his re- 
 quest was reasonable. 
 
 ** I am sorry," she said at last. " I see no harm.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 9 
 
 whatever in my doing so in this particular instance. 
 It gives great pleasure to poor Mrs. Draconmeyer 
 to see her jewels and admire them, even if she is un- 
 able to wear them herself. It gives me an intense 
 joy which even a normal man could scarcely be ex- 
 pected to understand; certainly mot you. I am 
 sorry that I cannot humour you." 
 
 He leaned towards her. 
 
 "Not if I beg you?" 
 
 She looked at him fixedly, loolced at him as though 
 she searched for something in his face, or was ponder- 
 ing over something in his tone. It was a moment 
 which might have meant much. If she could have 
 seen into his heart and understood the fierce jealousy 
 which prompted his words, it might have meant a 
 very great deal. As it was, her contemplation ap- 
 peared to be unsatisfactory. 
 
 " I am sorry that you should lay so much stress 
 upon so small a thing," she said. " You were al- 
 ways unreasonable. Your present request is another 
 instance of it. I was enjoying myself very much 
 indeed until you came, and now you wish to deprive 
 me of one of my chief pleasures. I cannot humour 
 you." 
 
 He turned away. Even then chance might have 
 intervened. The moment her words had been spoken 
 she realised a certain injustice in them, realised a 
 little, perhaps, the point of view of this man who 
 was still her husband. She watched him almost 
 eagerly, hoping to find some sign in his face that it 
 was not only his stubborn pride which spoke. She 
 failed, however. He was one of those men who know 
 too well how to wear the mask.
 
 io MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " May I ask where you are staying here ? " he 
 enquired presently. 
 
 " At the Hotel de Paris." 
 
 " It is unfortunate," he observed. " I will move 
 my quarters to-morrow." 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " Monte Carlo is full of hotels," she remarked, 
 *' but it seems a pity that you should move. The 
 place is large enough for both of us." 
 
 " It is not long," he retorted, " since you found 
 London itself too small. I should be very sorry to 
 spoil your holiday." 
 
 Her eyes seemed to dwell for a moment upon the 
 Spanish dancer who sat at the table opposite them, 
 a woman whose name had once been a household 
 word, dethroned now, yet still insistent for notice 
 and homage ; commanding them, even, with the wreck 
 of her beauty and the splendour of her clothes. 
 
 " It seems a queer place, this," she observed, " for 
 domestic disagreements. Let us try to avoid dis- 
 putable subjects. Shall I be too inquisitive if I ask 
 you once more what in the name of all that is unsuita- 
 ble brought you to such a place as Monte Carlo ? " 
 
 He fenced with her question. Perhaps he resented 
 the slightly ironical note in her tone. Perhaps there 
 were other reasons. 
 
 " Why should I not come to Monte Carlo? " he 
 enquired. " Parliament is not particularly amusing 
 when one is in opposition, and I do not hunt. The 
 whole world amuses itself here." 
 
 " But not you," she replied quickly. " I know 
 you better than that, my dear Henry. There is 
 nothing here or in this atmosphere which could
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING u 
 
 possibly attract you for long. There is no work 
 for you to do work, the very breath of your body ; 
 work, the one thing you live for and were made for ; 
 work, you man of sawdust and red tape." 
 
 " Am I as bad as all that ? " he asked quietly. 
 
 She fingered her pearls for a moment. 
 
 " Perhaps I haven't the right to complain," she 
 acknowledged. " I have gone my own way always. 
 But if one is permitted to look for a moment into the 
 past, can you tell me a single hour when work was 
 not the prominent thought in your brain, the idol 
 before which you worshipped? Why, even our 
 honeymoon was spent canvassing ! " 
 
 " The election was an unexpected one," he re- 
 minded her. 
 
 " It would have been the same thing," she declared. 
 " The only literature which you really understand 
 is a Blue Book, and the only music you hear is the 
 chiming of Big Ben." 
 
 " You speak," he remarked, " as though you 
 resented these things. Yet you knew before you 
 married me that I had ambitions, that I did not 
 propose to lead an idle life." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I knew ! " she assented drily. " But we 
 are wandering from the point. I am still wondering 
 what has brought you here. Have you come direct 
 from England?" 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " I came to-day from Bordighera." 
 
 " More and more mysterious," she murmured. 
 " Bordighera, indeed ! I thought you once told me 
 that you hated the Riviera." 
 
 " So I do," he agreed.
 
 12 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " And yet you are here? " 
 
 " Yet I am here." 
 
 " And you have not come to look after me," she 
 went on, " and the mystery of the little brown man 
 who watches me is still unexplained." 
 
 " I know nothing about that person," he asserted, 
 " and I had no idea that you were here." 
 
 " Or you would not have come ? " she challenged 
 him. 
 
 " Your presence," he retorted, nettled into for- 
 getting himself for a moment, " would not have 
 altered my plans in the slightest." 
 
 " Then you have a reason for coming ! " she ex- 
 claimed quickly. 
 
 He gave no sign of annoyance but his lips were 
 firmly closed. She watched him steadfastly. 
 
 " I wonder at myself no longer," she continued. 
 '* I do not think that any woman in the world could 
 ever live with a man to whom secrecy is as great a 
 necessity as the very air he breathes. No wonder, 
 my dear Henry, the politicians speak so well of you, 
 and so confidently of your brilliant future ! " 
 
 " I am not aware," he observed calmly, " that I 
 have ever been unduly secretive so far as you are 
 concerned. During the last few months, however, 
 of our life together, you must remember that you 
 chose to receive on terms of friendship a person whom 
 I regard " 
 
 Her eyes suddenly flashed him a warning. He 
 dropped his voice almost to a whisper. A man was 
 approaching them. 
 
 " As an enemy," he concluded, under his breath.
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 
 
 The newcomer, who had presented himself now be- 
 fore Hunterleys and his wife, was a man of somewhat 
 unusual appearance. He was tall, thickly-built, hi* 
 black beard and closely-cropped hair were streaked 
 with grey, he wore gold-rimmed spectacles, and he 
 carried his head a little thrust forward, as though, 
 even with the aid of his glasses, he was still short- 
 sighted. He had the air of a foreigner, although 
 his tone, when he spoke, was without accent. He 
 held out his hand a little tentatively, an action, how- 
 ever, which Hunterleys appeared to ignore. 
 
 " My dear Sir Henry ! " he exclaimed. " This is 
 a surprise, indeed! Monte Carlo is absolutely the 
 last place in the world in which I should have ex- 
 pected to come across you. The Sporting Club, too ! 
 Well, well, well ! " 
 
 Hunterleys, standing easily with his hands behind 
 his back, raised his eyebrows. The two men were 
 of curiously contrasting types. Hunterleys, slim 
 and distinguished, had still the frame of an athlete, 
 notwithstanding his colourless cheeks and the worn 
 lines about his eyes. He was dressed with extreme 
 simplicity. His deep-set eyes and sensitive mouth 
 were in marked contrast to the other's coarser mould 
 of features and rather full lips. Yet there wa-s about
 
 14 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 both men an air of strength, strength developed, per- 
 haps, in a different manner, but still an appreciable 
 quality. 
 
 " They say that the whole world is here," Hunter- 
 leys remarked. " Why may not I form a harmless 
 unit of it? " 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" Draconmeyer assented 
 heartily. " The most serious of us must have our 
 frivolous moments. I hope that you will dine with 
 us to-night? We shall be quite alone." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " Thank you," he said, " I have another engage- 
 ment pending." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer was filled with polite regrets^ 
 but he did not renew the invitation. 
 
 " When did you arrive? " he asked. 
 
 " A few hours ago," Hunterleys replied. 
 
 "By the Luxe? How strange! I went down to 
 meet it." 
 
 " I came from the other side." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer's ejaculation was interrogative, 
 Hunterleys hesitated for a moment. Then he con- 
 tinued with a little shrug of the shoulders. 
 
 " I have been staying at San Remo and Bor- 
 dighera." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer was much interested. 
 
 " So that is where you have been burying your- 
 self," he remarked. " I saw from the papers that 
 you had accepted a six months' pair. Surely, 
 though, you don't find the Italian Riviera very amus- 
 ing? " 
 
 " I am abroad for a rest," Hunterleys replied.
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN ig 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer smiled curiously. 
 
 "A rest?" he repeated. "That rather belies 
 your reputation, you know. They say that you are 
 tireless, even when you are out of office." 
 
 Hunterleys turned from the speaker towards his 
 wife. 
 
 " I have not tempted fortune myself yet," he 
 observed. " I think that I shall have a look into 
 the baccarat room. Do you care to stroll that 
 way?" 
 
 Lady Hunterleys rose at once to her feet. Mr. 
 Draconmeyer, however, intervened. He laid his 
 fingers upon Hunterleys' arm. 
 
 " Sir Henry," he begged, " our meeting has been 
 quite unexpected, but in a sense it is opportune. 
 Will you be good enough to give me five minutes' con- 
 versation? " 
 
 " With pleasure," Hunterleys replied. " My time 
 is quite at your disposal, if you have anything to- 
 say." 
 
 Draconmeyer led the way out of the crowded room, 
 along the passage and into the little bar. They 
 found a quiet corner and two easy-chairs. Dracon- 
 meyer gave an order to a waiter. For a few mo- 
 ments their conversation was conventional. 
 
 " I trust that you think your wife looking better 
 for the change?" Draconmeyer began. " Her com- 
 panionship is a source of great pleasure and relief 
 to my poor wife." 
 
 " Does the conversation you wish to have with me 
 refer to Lady Hunterleys ? " her husband asked 
 quietly. " If so, I should like to say a few pre- 
 liminary words which would, I hope, place the matter
 
 16 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 at once beyond the possibility of any misunderstand- 
 ing." 
 
 Draconmeyer moved a little uneasily in his place. 
 
 " I have other things to say," he declared, " yet 
 I would gladly hear what is in your mind at the 
 present moment. You do not, I fear, approve of 
 this friendship between my wife and Lady Hunter- 
 leys." 
 
 Hunterleys was uncompromising, almost curt. 
 
 " I do not," he agreed. " It is probably no secret 
 to you that my wife and I are temporarily estranged," 
 he continued. " The chief reason for that estrange- 
 ment is that I forbade her your house or your ac- 
 quaintance." 
 
 Draconmeyer was a little taken back. Such ex- 
 treme directness of speech was difficult to deal with. 
 
 " My dear Sir Henry," he protested, " you dis- 
 tress me. I do not understand your attitude in this 
 matter at all." 
 
 " There is no necessity for you to understand it," 
 Hunterleys retorted coolly. " I claim the right to 
 regulate my wife's visiting list. She denies that 
 right." 
 
 " Apart from the question of marital control," Mr. 
 Draconmeyer persisted, " will you tell me why you 
 consider my wife and myself unfit persons to find a 
 place amongst Lady Hunterleys' acquaintances? " 
 
 " No man is bound to give the reason for his dis- 
 likes," Hunterleys replied. " Of your wife I know 
 nothing. Nobody does. I have every sympathy 
 with her unfortunate condition, and that is all. You 
 personally I dislike. I dislike my wife to be seen 
 with you, I dislike having her name associated with
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 17 
 
 yours in any manner whatsoever. I dislike sitting 
 with you here myself. I only hope that the five 
 minutes' conversation which you have asked for will 
 not be exceeded." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer had the air of a benevolent per- 
 son who is deeply pained. 
 
 " Sir Henry," he sighed, " it is not possible for 
 me to disregard such plain speaking. Forgive me 
 if I am a little taken aback by it. You are known 
 to be a very skilful diplomatist and you have many 
 weapons in your armoury. One scarcely expected, 
 however one's breath is a little taken away by 
 such candour." 
 
 " I am not aware," Hunterleys said calmly, " that 
 the question of diplomacy need come in when one's 
 only idea is to regulate the personal acquaintances of 
 oneself and one's wife." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer sat quite still for a moment, 
 stroking his black beard. His eyes were fixed upon 
 the carpet. He seemed to be struggling with a prob- 
 lem. 
 
 " You have taken the ground from beneath my 
 feet," he declared. " Your opinion of me is such 
 that I hesitate to proceed at all in the matter which 
 I desired to discuss with you." 
 
 " That," Hunterleys replied, " is entirely for you 
 to decide. I am perfectly willing to listen to any- 
 thing you have to say all the more ready because 
 now there can be no possibility of any misunderstand- 
 ing between us." 
 
 " Very well," Mr. Draconmeyer assented, " I will 
 proceed. After all, I am not sure that the personal 
 element enters into what I was about to say. I was
 
 i8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 going to propose not exactly an alliance that, of 
 course, would not be possible but I was certainly 
 going to suggest that you and I might be of some 
 service to one another." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 " I call myself an Englishman," Mr. Draconmeyer 
 went on. " I have made large sums of money in 
 England, I have grown to love England and English 
 ways. Yet I came, as you know, from Berlin. The 
 position which I hold in your city is still the position 
 of president of the greatest German bank in the 
 world. It is German finance which I have directed, 
 and with German money I have made my fortune. 
 To be frank with you, however, after these many 
 years in London I have grown to feel myself very 
 much of an Englishman." 
 
 Hunterleys was sitting perfectly still. His face 
 was rigid but expressionless. He was listening in- 
 tently. 
 
 " On the other hand," Mr. Draconmeyer proceeded 
 slowly, " I wish to be wholly frank with you. At 
 heart I must remain always a German. The inter- 
 ests of my country must always be paramount. But 
 listen. In Germany there are, as you know, two 
 parties, and year by year they are drawing further 
 apart. I will not allude to factions. I will speak 
 broadly. There is the war party and there is the 
 peace party. I belong to the peace party. I be* 
 long to it as a German, and I belong to it as a 
 devoted friend of England, and if the threatened 
 conflict between the two should come, I should take 
 my stand as a peace-loving German-cum-English- 
 man against the war party even of my own country."
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 19 
 
 Hunterleys still made no sign. Yet for one who 
 knew him it was easy to realise that he was listen- 
 ing and thinking with absorbed interest. 
 
 '* So far," Draconmeyer pointed out, " I have laid 
 my cards on the table. I have told you the solemn 
 truth. I regret that it did not occur to me to do 
 so many months ago in London. Now to proceed. 
 I ask you to emulate my frankness, and in return I 
 will give you information which should enable us 
 to work hand in hand for the peace which we both 
 desire." 
 
 " You ask me," Hunterleys said thoughtfully, " to 
 be perfectly frank with you. In what respect? 
 What is it that you wish from me? " 
 
 " Not political information," Mr. Draconmeyer 
 declared, his eyes blinking behind his glasses. " For 
 that I certainly should not come to you. I only wish 
 to ask you a question, and I must ask it so that we 
 may meet on a common ground of confidence. Are 
 you here in Monte Carlo to look after your wife, or 
 in search of change of air and scene? Is that your 
 honest motive for being here? Or is there any other 
 reason in the world which has prompted you to come 
 to Monte Carlo during this particular month I 
 might almost say this particular week ? " 
 
 Hunterleys' attitude was that of a man who holds 
 in his hand a puzzle and is doubtful where to com- 
 mence in his efforts to solve it. 
 
 " Are you not a little mysterious this afternoon, 
 Mr. Draconmeyer? " he asked coldly. " Or are you 
 trying to incite a supposititious curiosity? I really 
 cannot see the drift of your question." 
 
 *' Answer it," Mr. Draconmeyer insisted.
 
 ao MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Hunterleys took a cigarette from his case, tapped 
 it upon the table and lit it in leisurely fashion. 
 
 " If you have any idea," he said, " that I came 
 here to confront my wife, or to interfere in any way 
 with her movements, let me assure you that you are 
 mistaken. I had no idea that Lady Hunterleys was 
 in Monte Carlo. I am here because I have a six 
 months' holiday, and a holiday for the average Eng- 
 lishman between January and April generally means, 
 as you must be aware, the Riviera. I have tried 
 Bordighera and San Remo. I have found them, as 
 I no doubt shall find this place, wearisome. In the 
 end I suppose I shall drift back to London." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer frowned. 
 
 " You left London," he remarked tersely, " on 
 December first. It is to-day February twentieth. 
 Do you wish me to understand that you have been at 
 Bordighera and San Remo all that time ? " 
 
 " How did you know when I left London? " Hun- 
 terleys demanded. 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer pursed his lips. 
 
 " I heard of your departure from London entirely 
 by accident," he said. " Your wife, for some reason 
 or other, declined to discuss your movements. I im- 
 agine that she was acting in accordance with your 
 wishes." 
 
 " I see," Hunterleys observed coolly. " And your 
 present anxiety is to know where I spent the inter- 
 vening time, and why I am here in Monte Carlo? 
 Frankly, Mr. Draconmeyer, I look upon this close 
 interest in my movements as an impertinence. My 
 travels have been of no importance, but they concern 
 myself only. I have no confidence to offer respect-
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 21 
 
 ing them. If I had, it would not be to you that I 
 should unburden myself." 
 
 " You suspect me, then ? You doubt my in- 
 tegrity?" 
 
 " Not at all," Hunterleys assured his questioner. 
 " For anything I know to the contrary, you are, 
 outside the world of finance, one of the dullest and 
 most harmless men existing. My own position is 
 simply as I explained it during the first few sentences 
 we exchanged. I do not like you, I detest my 
 wife's name being associated with yours, and for 
 that reason, the less I see of you the better I am 
 pleased." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer nodded thoughtfully. He was, 
 to all appearance, studying the pattern of the car- 
 pet. For once in his life he was genuinely puzzled. 
 Was this man by his side merely a jealous husband, 
 or had he any idea of the greater game which was 
 being played around them ? Had he, by any chance, 
 arrived to take part in it? Was it wise, in any 
 case, to pursue the subject further? Yet if he 
 abandoned it at this juncture, it must be with a 
 sense of failure, and failure was a thing to which 
 he was not accustomed. 
 
 " Your frankness," he admitted grimly, " is almost 
 exhilarating. Our personal relations being so 
 clearly defined, I am inclined to go further even than 
 I had intended. We cannot now possibly misunder- 
 stand one another. Supposing I were to tell you 
 that your arrival in Monte Carlo, accidental though 
 it may be, is in a sense opportune; that you may, 
 in a short time meet here one or two politicians, 
 friends of mine, with whom an interchange of views
 
 23 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 might be agreeable? Supposing I were to offer my 
 services as an intermediary? You would like to 
 bring about better relations with my country, would 
 you not, Sir Henry? You are admittedly a states- 
 man and an influential man in your Party. I am 
 only a banker, it is true, but I have been taken into 
 the confidence of those who direct the destinies of 
 my country." 
 
 Hunterleys' face reflected none of the other's ear- 
 nestness. He seemed, indeed, a little bored, and he 
 answered almost irritably. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you," he said, " but Monte 
 Carlo seems scarcely the place to me for political 
 discussions, added to which I have no official posi- 
 tion. I could not receive or exchange confidences. 
 While my Party is out of power, there is nothing 
 left for us but to mark time. I dare say you mean 
 well, Mr. Draconmeyer," he added, rising to his 
 feet, " but I am here to forget politics altogether, if 
 I can. If you will excuse me, I think I will look in at 
 the baccarat rooms." 
 
 He was on the point of departure when through 
 the open doorway which communicated with the bac- 
 carat rooms beyond came a man of sufficiently ar- 
 resting personality, a man remarkably fat, with 
 close-cropped grey hair which stuck up like bristles 
 all over his head; a huge, clean-shaven face which 
 seemed concentrated at that moment in one tre- 
 mendous smile of overwhelming good-humour. He 
 held by the hand a little French girl, dark, small, 
 looking almost like a marionette in her slim tailor- 
 made costume. He recognised Draconmeyer with 
 en^usiasm.
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 23 
 
 " My friend Draconmeyer," he exclaimed, in sten- 
 torian tones, " baccarat is the greatest game in the 
 world. I have won I, who know nothing about it, 
 have won a hundred louis. It is amazing! There 
 is no place like this in the world. We are here to 
 drink a bottle of wine together, mademoiselle and I, 
 mademoiselle who was at once my instructress and 
 my mascot. Afterwards we go to the jeweler's. 
 Why not ? A fair division of the spoils fifty 
 louis for myself, fifty louis for a bracelet for 
 mademoiselle. And then " 
 
 He broke off suddenly. His gesture was almost 
 dramatic. 
 
 " I am forgotten ! " he cried, holding out his hand 
 to Hunterleys, " forgotten already ! Sir Henry, 
 there are many who forget me as a humble Minister 
 of my master, but there are few who forget me 
 physically. I am Selingman. We met in Berlin, six 
 years ago. You came with your great Foreign 
 Secretary." 
 
 " I remember you perfectly," Hunterleys assured 
 him, as he submitted to the newcomer's vigorous 
 handshake. " We shall meet again, I trust." 
 
 Selingman thrust his arm through Hunterleys' as 
 though to prevent his departure. 
 
 " You shall not run away ! " he declared. " I 
 introduce both of you Mr. Draconmeyer, the great 
 Anglo-German banker; Sir Henry Hunterleys, the 
 English politician to Mademoiselle Estelle Nipon, 
 of the Opera House. Now we all know one another. 
 We shall be good friends. We will share that bottle 
 of champagne." 
 
 " One bottle between four ! " mademoiselle laughed,
 
 24 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 poutingly. " And I am parched ! I have taught 
 monsieur baccarat. I am exhausted." 
 
 " A magnum ! " Selingman ordered in a voice of 
 thunder, shaking his fist at the startled waiter. 
 " We seat ourselves here at the round table. 
 Mademoiselle, we will drink champagne together 
 until the eyes of all of us sparkle as yours do. We 
 will drink champagne until we do not believe that 
 there is such a thing as losing at games or in life. 
 We will drink champagne until we all four believe 
 that we have been brought up together, that we are 
 bosom friends of a lifetime. See, this is how we will 
 place ourselves. Mademoiselle, if the others make 
 love to you, take no notice. It is I who have put 
 fifty louis in one pocket for that bracelet. Do not 
 trust Sir Henry there; he has a reputation." 
 
 As usual, the overpowering Selingman had his 
 way. Neither Draconmeyer nor Hunterleys at- 
 tempted to escape. They took their places at the 
 table. They drank champagne and they listened to 
 Selingman. All the time he talked, save when 
 mademoiselle interrupted him. Seated upon a chair 
 which seemed absurdly inadequate, his great stomach 
 with its vast expanse of white waistcoat in full view, 
 his short legs doubled up beneath him, he beamed 
 upon them all with a smile which never failed. 
 
 " It is a wonderful place," he declared, as he lifted 
 his glass for the fifth time. " We will drink to it, 
 this Monte Carlo. It is here that they come from 
 all quarters of the world the ladies who charm 
 away our hearts," he added, bowing to mademoiselle, 
 * the financiers whose word can shake the money- 
 markets of the world, and the politicians who un-
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 25 
 
 bend, perhaps, just a little in the sunshine here, 
 however cold and inflexible they may be under their 
 own austere skies. For the last time, then 1 
 Monte Carlo ! To Monte Carlo, dear mademoiselle ! 
 messieurs ! " 
 
 They drank the toast and a few minutes later 
 Hunterleys slipped away. The two men looked 
 after him. The smile seemed gradually to leave 
 Selingman's lips, his face was large and impres- 
 sive. 
 
 " Run and fetch your cloak, dear," he said to the 
 girl. 
 
 She obeyed at once. Selingman leaned across the 
 table towards his companion. 
 
 " What does Hunterleys do here ? " he asked. 
 
 Draconmeyer shook his head. 
 
 " Who knows ? " he answered. " Perhaps he has 
 come to look after his wife. He has been to Bor- 
 dighera and San Remo." 
 
 " Is that all he told you of his movements ? " 
 
 " That is all," Draconmeyer admitted. " He was 
 suspicious. I made no progress." 
 
 " Bordighera and San Remo ! " Selingman mut- 
 tered under his breath. " For a day, perhaps, or 
 two." 
 
 " What do you know about him ? " Draconmeyer 
 asked, his eyes suddenly bright beneath his spectacles. 
 " I have been suspicious ever since I met him, an hour 
 ago. He left England on December first." 
 
 " It is true," Selingman assented. " He crossed 
 to Paris, and mark the cunning of it he re- 
 turned to England. That same night he travelled 
 to Germany. We lost him in Vienna and found him
 
 26 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 again in Sofia. What does it mean, I wonder? 
 What does it mean? " 
 
 " I have been talking to him for twenty minutes 
 in here before you came," Draconmeyer said. " I 
 tried to gain his confidence. He told me nothing. 
 He never even mentioned that journey of his." 
 
 Selingman was sitting drumming upon the table 
 with his broad fingertips. 
 
 " Sofia ! " he murmured. " And now here ! 
 Draconmeyer, there is work before us. I know men, 
 I tell you. I know Hunterleys. I watched him, I 
 listened to him in Berlin six years ago. He was with 
 his master then but he had nothing to learn from him. 
 He is of the stuff diplomats are fashioned of. He 
 has it in his blood. There is work before us, Dra- 
 conmeyer." 
 
 " If monsieur is ready ! " mademoiselle interposed, 
 a little petulantly, letting the tip of her boa play 
 for a moment on his cheek. 
 
 Selingman finished his wine and rose to his feet. 
 Once more the smile encompassed his face. Of what 
 account, after all, were the wanderings of this melan- 
 choly Englishman ! There was mademoiselle's brace- 
 let to be bought, and perhaps a few flowers. Seling- 
 man pulled down his waistcoat and accepted his grey 
 Homburg hat from the vestiajre. He held mademoi- 
 selle's fingers as they descended the stairs. He 
 looked like a school-boy of enormous proportions on 
 his way to a feast. 
 
 * We drank to Monte Carlo in champagne," he 
 declared, as they turned on to the terrace and de- 
 scended the stone steps, " but, dear Estelle, we drink 
 to it from our hearts with every breath we draw of
 
 BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN 27 
 
 this wonderful air, every time our feet touch the 
 buoyant ground. Believe me, little one, the other 
 things are of no account. The true philosophy of 
 life and living is here in Monte Carlo. You and I 
 will solve it."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A WARNING 
 
 Hunterleys dined alone at a small round table, 
 set in a remote corner of the great restaurant at- 
 tached to the Hotel de Paris. The scene around him 
 was full of colour and interest. A scarlet-coated 
 band made wonderful music. The toilettes of the 
 women who kept passing backwards and forwards, 
 on their way to the various tables, were marvellous ; 
 in their way unique. The lights and flowers of the 
 room, its appointments and adornments, all repre- 
 sented the last word in luxury. Everywhere was 
 colour, everywhere an almost strained attempt to im- 
 press upon the passerby the fact that this was no 
 ordinary holiday resort but the giant pleasure- 
 ground of all in the world who had money to throw 
 away and the capacity for enjoyment. Only once a 
 more somber note seemed struck when Mrs. Dracon- 
 meyer, leaning on her husband's arm and accom- 
 panied by a nurse and Lady Hunterleys, passed to 
 their table. Hunterleys' eyes followed the little 
 party until they had reached their destination and 
 taken their places. His wife was wearing black and 
 she had discarded the pearls which had hung around 
 her neck during the afternoon. She wore only a collar 
 of diamonds, his gift. Her hair was far less elaborately 
 coiffured and her toilette less magnificent than the
 
 A WARNING 29 
 
 toilettes of the women by whom she was surrounded. 
 Yet as he looked from his corner across the room at 
 her, Hunterleys realised as he had realised instantly 
 twelve years ago when he had first met her, that she 
 was incomparable. There was no other woman in the 
 whole of that great restaurant with her air of quiet 
 elegance ; no other woman so faultless in the smaller 
 details of her toilette and person. Hunterleys 
 watched with expressionless face but with anger 
 growing in his heart, as he saw Draconmeyer bend- 
 ing towards her, accepting her suggestions about the 
 dinner, laughing when she laughed, watching almost 
 humbly for her pleasure or displeasure. It was a 
 cursed mischance which had brought him to Monte 
 Carlo ! 
 
 Hunterleys hurried over his dinner, and without 
 even going to his room for a hat or coat, walked 
 across the square in the soft twilight of an unusually 
 warm February evening and took a table outside the 
 Cafe de Paris, where he ordered coffee. Around him 
 was a far more cosmopolitan crowd, increasing every 
 moment in volume. Every language was being 
 spoken, mostly German. As a rule, such a gathering 
 of people was, in its way, interesting to Hunterleys. 
 To-night his thoughts were truant. He forgot his 
 strenuous life of the last three months, the dangers 
 and discomforts through which he had passed, the 
 curious sequence of events which had brought him, 
 full of anticipation, nerved for a crisis, to Monte 
 Carlo of all places in the world. He forgot that he 
 was in the midst of great events, himself likely to 
 take a hand in them. His thoughts took, rarely 
 enough for him, a purely personal and sentimental
 
 30 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 turn. He thought of the earliest days of his mar- 
 riage, when he and his wife had wandered about the 
 gardens of his old home in Wiltshire on spring even- 
 ings such as these, and had talked sometimes lightly, 
 sometimes seriously, of the future. Almost as he 
 sat there in the midst of that noisy crowd, he could 
 catch the faint perfume of hyacinths from the bor- 
 ders along which they had passed and the trimly-cut 
 flower-beds which fringed the deep green lawn. Al- 
 most he could hear the chiming of the old stable 
 clock, the clear note of a thrush singing. A puff of 
 wind brought them a waft of fainter odour from the 
 wild violets which carpeted the woods. Then the 
 darkness crept around them, a star came out. Hand 
 in hand they turned towards the house and into the 
 library, where a wood fire was burning on the grate. 
 His thoughts travelled on. A wave of tenderness 
 had assailed him. Then he was awakened by the 
 waiter's voice at his elbow. 
 
 " Le cafe, monsieur." 
 
 He sat up in his chair. His dreaming moments 
 were few and this one had passed. He set his heel 
 upon that tide of weakening memories, sipped his 
 coffee and looked out upon the crowd. Three or 
 four times he glanced at his watch impatiently. Pre- 
 cisely at nine o'clock, a man moved from somewhere 
 in the throng behind and took the vacant chair by 
 his side. 
 
 " If one could trouble monsieur for a match ! " 
 
 Hunterleys turned towards the newcomer as he 
 handed his matchbox. He was a young man of me- 
 dium height, with sandy complexion, a little freckled, 
 and with a straggling fair moustache. He had keen
 
 A WARNING 31 
 
 grey eyes and the faintest trace of a Scotch accent. 
 He edged his chair a little nearer to Hunterleys. 
 
 " Much obliged," he said. " Wonderful evening, 
 isn't it? " 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " Have you anything to tell me, David ? " he asked. 
 
 " We are right in the thick of it," the other re- 
 plied, his tone a little lowered. " There is more to 
 tell than I like." 
 
 " Shall we stroll along the Terrace? " Hunterleys 
 suggested. 
 
 " Don't move from your seat," the young man en- 
 joined. " You are watched here, and so am I, in a 
 way, although it's more my news they want to cen- 
 sor than anything personal. This crowd of Ger- 
 mans around us, without a single vacant chair, is the 
 best barrier we can have. Listen. Selingman ia 
 here." 
 
 " I saw him this afternoon at the Sporting Club," 
 Hunterleys murmured. 
 
 " Douaille will be here the day after to-morrow, if 
 he has not already arrived," the newcomer continued. 
 " It was given out in Paris that he was going down to 
 Marseilles and from there to Toulon, to spend three 
 days with the fleet. They sent a paragraph into 
 our office there. As a matter of fact, he's coming 
 straight on here. I can't learn how, exactly, but I 
 fancy by motor-car." 
 
 " You're sure that Douaille is coming himself ? " 
 Hunterleys asked anxiously. 
 
 " Absolutely ! His wife and family have been bus- 
 tled down to Mentone, so as to afford a pretext for 
 his presence here if the papers get hold of it. I have
 
 32 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 found out for certain that they came at a moment'* 
 notice and were not expecting to leave home at all. 
 Douaille will have full powers, and the conference will 
 take place at the Villa Mimosa. That will be the 
 headquarters of the whole thing. . . . Look out, Sir 
 Henry. They've got their eyes on us. The little 
 fellow in brown, close behind, is hand in glove with 
 the police. They tried to get me into a row last 
 night. It's only my journalism they suspect, but 
 they'd shove me over the frontier at the least excuse. 
 They're certain to try something of the sort with 
 you, if they get any idea that we are on the scent. 
 Sit tight, sir, and watch. I'm off. You know where 
 to find me." 
 
 The young man raised his hat and left Hunterleys 
 with the polite farewell of a stranger. His seat was 
 almost immediately seized by a small man dressed in 
 brown, a man with a black imperial and moustache 
 curled upwards. As Hunterleys glanced towards 
 him, he raised his Homburg hat politely and smiled. 
 
 "Monsieur's friend has departed?" he enquired. 
 " This seat is disengaged ? " 
 
 " As you see," Hunterleys replied. 
 
 The little man smiled his thanks, seated himself 
 with a sigh of content and ordered coffee from a pass- 
 ing waiter. 
 
 " Monsieur is doubtless a stranger to Monte 
 Carlo? " 
 
 " It is my second visit only," Hunterleys admitted. 
 
 " For myself I am an habitue," the little man con- 
 tinued, " I might almost say a resident. Therefore, 
 all faces soon become familiar to me. Directly I saw 
 monsieur, I knew that he was not a frequenter."
 
 A WARNING 33 
 
 Hunterleys turned a little in his chair and sur- 
 veyed his neighbour curiously. The man was neatly 
 dressed and he spoke English with scarcely any ac- 
 cent. His shoulders and upturned moustache gave 
 him a military appearance. 
 
 " There is nothing I envy any one so much in life," 
 he proceeded, " as coming to Monte Carlo for the 
 first or second time. There is so much to know, to 
 see, to understand." 
 
 Hunterleys made no effort to discourage his com- 
 panion's obvious attempts to be friendly. The lat- 
 ter talked with spirit for some time. 
 
 " If it would not be regarded as a liberty," he said 
 at last, as Hunterleys rose to move off, " may I be 
 permitted to present myself? My name is Hugot? 
 I am half English, half French. Years ago my 
 health broke down and I accepted a position in a 
 bank here. Since then I have come in to money. If 
 I have a hobby in life, it is to show my beloved Monte 
 Carlo to strangers. If monsieur would do me the 
 honour to spare me a few hours to-night, later on, I 
 would endeavour to see that he was amused." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. He remained, how- 
 ever, perfectly courteous. He had a conviction that 
 this was the man who had been watching his wife. 
 
 " You are very kind, sir," he replied. " I am here 
 only for a few days and for the benefit of my health. 
 I dare not risk late hours. We shall meet again, I 
 trust." 
 
 He strolled off and as he hesitated upon the steps 
 of the Casino he glanced across towards the Hotel 
 de Paris. At that moment a woman came out, a 
 light cloak over her evening gown. She was followed
 
 34 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 by an attendant. Hunterleys recognised his wife 
 and watched them with a curious little thrill. They 
 turned towards the Terrace. Very slowly he, too, 
 moved in the same direction. They passed through 
 the gardens of the Hotel de Paris, and Hunterleys, 
 keeping to the left, met them upon the Terrace 
 as they emerged. As they came near he accosted 
 them. 
 
 " Violet," he began. 
 
 She started. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," she said. " I did not recog- 
 nise you." 
 
 " Haven't you been told," he asked stiffly, " that 
 the Terrace is unsafe for women after twilight ? " 
 
 " Very often," she assented, with that little smile 
 at the corners of her lips which once he had found so 
 charming and which now half maddened him. " Un- 
 fortunately, I have a propensity for doing things 
 which are dangerous. Besides, I have my maid." 
 
 " Another woman is no protection," he declared. 
 
 " Susanne can shriek," Lady Hunterleys assured 
 him. " She has wonderful lungs and she loves to use 
 them. She would shriek at the least provocation." 
 
 " And meanwhile," Hunterleys observed drily, 
 " while she is indulging in her vocal exercises, things 
 happen. If you wish to promenade here, permit me 
 to be your escort." 
 
 She hesitated for a moment, frowning. Then she 
 continued her walk. 
 
 " You are very kind," she assented. " Perhaps 
 you are like me, though, and feel the restfulness of a 
 quiet place after these throngs and throngs of peo- 
 ple."
 
 A WARNING 35 
 
 They passed slowly down the broad promenade, 
 deserted now save for one or two loungers like them- 
 selves, and a few other furtive, hurrying figures. 
 In front of them stretched an arc of glittering lights 
 the wonderful Bay of Mentone, with Bordighera 
 on the distant sea-board; higher up, the twinkling 
 lights from the villas built on the rocky hills. And 
 at their feet the sea, calm, deep, blue, lapping the 
 narrow belt of hard sand, scintillating with the re- 
 flection of a thousand lights ; on the horizon a blood- 
 red moon, only half emerged from the sea. 
 
 " Since we have met, Henry," Lady Hunterleys 
 said at last, " there is something which I should like 
 to say to you." 
 
 "Certainly!" 
 
 She glanced behind. Susanne had fallen dis- 
 creetly into the rear. She was a new importation 
 and she had no idea as to the identity of the tall, 
 severe-looking Englishman who walked by her mis- 
 tress's side. 
 
 " There is something going on in Monte Carlo," 
 Lady Hunterleys went on, " which I cannot under- 
 stand. Mr. Draconmeyer knows about it, I believe, 
 although he is not personally concerned in it. But 
 he will tell me nothing. I only know that for some 
 reason or other your presence here seems to be an 
 annoyance to certain people. Why it should be I 
 don't know, but I want to ask you about it. Will 
 you tell me the truth? Are you sure that you did 
 not come here to spy upon me ? " 
 
 " I certainly did not," Hunterleys answered firmly. 
 " I had no idea that you were near the place. If I 
 had"
 
 36 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She turned her head. The smile was there once 
 more and a queer, soft light in her eyes. 
 
 " If you had? " she murmured. 
 
 " My visit here, under the present circumstances, 
 would have been more distasteful than it is," Hunter- 
 leys replied stiffly. 
 
 She bit her lip and turned away. When she re- 
 sumed the conversation, her tone was completely 
 changed. 
 
 " I speak to you now," she said, " in your own in- 
 terests. Mr. Draconmeyer is, of course, not person- 
 ally connected with this affair, whatever it may be, 
 but he is a wonderful man and he hears many things. 
 To-night, before dinner, he gave me a few words of 
 warning. He did not tell me to pass them on to you 
 but I feel sure that he hoped I would. You would 
 not listen to them from him because you do not like 
 him. I am afraid that you will take very little more 
 heed of what I say, but at least you will believe that 
 I speak in your own interests. Mr. Draconmeyer 
 believes that your presence here is misunderstood. 
 A person whom he describes as being utterly without 
 principle and of great power is incensed by it. To 
 speak plainly, you are in danger." 
 
 " I am flattered," Hunterleys remarked, " by this 
 interest on my behalf." 
 
 She turned her head and looked at him. His face, 
 in this cold light before the moon came up, was al- 
 most like the face of some marble statue, lifeless, set, 
 of almost stonelike severity. She knew the look so 
 well and she sighed. 
 
 " You need not be," she replied bitterly. " Mine 
 is merely the ordinary feeling of one human creature
 
 A WARNING 37 
 
 for another. In a sense it seems absurd, I suppose,, 
 to speak to you as I am doing. Yet I do know that 
 this place which looks so beautiful has strange under- 
 currents. People pass away here in the most ortho- 
 dox fashion in the world, outwardly, but their real 
 ending is often never known at all. Everything is- 
 possible here, and Mr. Draconmeyer honestly believes 
 that you are in danger.". 
 
 They had reached the end of the Terrace and they 
 turned back. 
 
 " I thank you very much, Violet," Hunterleys said 
 earnestly. " In return, may I say something to you ? 
 If there is any danger threatening me or those inter- 
 ests which I guard, the man whom you have chosen 
 to make your intimate friend is more deeply con- 
 cerned in it than you think. I told you once before- 
 that Draconmeyer was something more than the 
 great banker, the king of commerce, as he calls him- 
 self. He is ambitious beyond your imaginings, a 
 schemer in ways you know nothing of, and his resi- 
 dence in London during the last fifteen years has 
 been the worst thing that ever happened for England. 
 To me it is a bitter thing that you should have ig- 
 nored my warning and accepted his friendship " 
 
 " It is not Mr. Draconmeyer who is my friend, 
 Henry," she interrupted. " You continually ignore 
 that fact. It is Mrs. Draconmeyer whom I cannot 
 desert. I knew her long before I did her husband. 
 We were at school together, and there was a time 
 before her last illness when we were inseparable." 
 
 " That may have been so at first," Hunterleys 
 agreed, " but how about since then ? You cannot 
 deny, Violet, that this man Draconmeyer has in some
 
 38 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 way impressed or fascinated you. You admire him. 
 You find great pleasure in his society. Isn't that the 
 truth, now, honestly? " 
 
 Her face was a little troubled. 
 
 " I do certainly find pleasure in his society," she 
 admitted. " I cannot conceive any one who would 
 not. He is a brilliant, a wonderful musician, a de- 
 lightful talker, a generous host and companion. He 
 has treated me always with the most scrupulous re- 
 gard, and I feel that I am entirely reasonable in re- 
 senting your mistrust of him." 
 
 " You do resent it still, then? " 
 
 *' I do," she asserted emphatically. 
 
 " And if I told you," Hunterleys went on, " that 
 the man was in love with you. What then? " 
 
 " I should say that you were a fool ! " 
 
 Hunterleys shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " There is no more to be said," he declared, " only, 
 for a clever woman, Violet, you are sometimes woe- 
 fully or wilfully blind. I tell you that I know the 
 type. Sooner or later before very long, I should 
 think you will have the usual scene. I warn you 
 of it now. If you are wise, you will go back to Eng- 
 land." 
 
 " Absurd ! " she scoffed. " Why, we have only 
 just come! I want to win some money not that 
 your allowance isn't liberal enough," she added has- 
 tily, " but there is a fascination in winning, you 
 Jcnow. And besides, I could not possibly desert Mrs. 
 Draconmeyer. She would not have come at all if I 
 had not joined them." 
 
 " You are the mistress of your own ways," Hun- 
 *terleys said. " According to my promise, I shall at-
 
 A WARNING 39 
 
 tempt to exercise no authority over you in any way, 
 but I tell you that Draconmeyer is my enemy, and 
 the enemy of all the things I represent, and I tell 
 you, too, that he is in love with you. When you 
 realise that these things are firmly established in my 
 brain, you can perhaps understand how thoroughly 
 distasteful I find your association with him here. 
 It is all very well to talk about Mrs. Draconmeyer, 
 but she goes nowhere. The consequence is that he 
 is your escort on every occasion. I am quite aware 
 that a great many people in society accept him. I 
 personally am not disposed to. I look upon him as 
 an unfit companion for my wife and I resent your 
 appearance with him in public." 
 
 " We will discuss this subject no further," she de- 
 cided. " From the moment of our first disagreement, 
 it has been your object to break off my friendship 
 with the Draconmeyers. Until I have something 
 more than words to go by, I shall continue to give 
 him my confidence." 
 
 They crossed the stone flags in front of the Opera 
 together, and turned up towards the Rooms. 
 
 " I think, perhaps, then," he said, " that we may 
 consider the subject closed. Only," he added, "you 
 will forgive me if I still " 
 
 He hesitated. She turned her head quickly. Her 
 eyes sought his but unfortunately he was looking 
 straight ahead and seeing gloomy things. If he had 
 happened to turn at that moment, he might have con- 
 cluded his speech differently. 
 
 " If I still exhibit some interest in your doings." 
 
 " I shall always think it most kind of you," she 
 replied, her face suddenly hardening. " Have I not
 
 40 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 done my best to reciprocate ? I have even passed on 
 to you a word of warning, which I think you are 
 very unwise to ignore." 
 
 They were outside the hotel. Hunterleys paused. 
 
 " I have nothing to fear from the mysterious 
 source you have spoken of," he assured her. " The 
 only enemy I have in Monte Carlo is Draconmeyer 
 himself." 
 
 " Enemy ! " she repeated scornfully. " Mr. Dra- 
 conmeyer is much too wrapped up in his finance, and 
 too big a man, in his way, to have enemies. Oh, 
 Henry, if only you could get rid of a few of your 
 prejudices, how much more civilised a human being 
 you would be ! " 
 
 He raised his hat. His expression was a little 
 grim. 
 
 " The man without prejudices, my dear Violet," 
 he retorted, " is a man without instincts. ... I wish 
 you luck." 
 
 She ran lightly up the steps and waved her hand. 
 He watched her pass through the doors into the 
 hotel.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ENTER THE AMERICAN 
 
 Lady Weybourne was lunching on the terrace of 
 Giro's restaurant with her brother. She was small, 
 dark, vivacious. Her friends, of whom she had 
 thousands, all called her Flossie, and she was prob- 
 ably the most popular American woman who had 
 ever married into the English peerage. Her 
 brother, Richard Lane, on the other hand, was tall, 
 very broad-shouldered, with a strong, clean-shaven 
 face, inclined by disposition to be taciturn. On this 
 particular morning he had less even than usual to 
 say, and although Lady Weybourne, who was a 
 great chatterbox, was content as a rule to do most 
 of the talking for herself, his inattention became at 
 last a little too obvious. He glanced up eagerly as 
 every newcomer appeared, and his answers to his 
 sister's criticisms were sometimes almost at random. 
 
 " Dicky, I'm not at all sure that I'm liking you 
 this morning," she observed finally, looking across 
 at him with a critically questioning smile. " A cer- 
 tain amount of non-responsiveness to my advances 
 I can put up with from a brother but this 
 morning you are positively inattentive. Tell me 
 your troubles at once. Has Harris been bothering 
 you, or did you lose a lot of money last night? " 
 
 Considering that the young man's income was de-
 
 42 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 rived from an exceedingly well-invested capital of 
 nine million dollars, and that Harris was the all too 
 perfect captain of his yacht lying then in the har- 
 bour, whose worst complaint was that he had never 
 enough work to do, Lady Weybourne's enquiries 
 might have been considered as merely tentative. 
 Richard shook his head a little gloomily. 
 
 " Those things aren't likely to trouble me," he re- 
 marked. " Harris is all right, and I've promised 
 him we'll make up a little party and go over to 
 Cannes in a day or two." 
 
 " What a ripping idea ! " Lady Weybourne de- 
 clared, breaking up her thin toast between her fin- 
 gers. " I'd love it, and so would Harry. We could 
 easily get together a delightful party. The Pel- 
 hams are here and simply dying for a change, and 
 there's Captain Gardner and Frank Clowes, and lots 
 of nice girls. Couldn't we fix a date, Dick? " 
 
 " Not just yet," her brother replied. 
 
 "And why not?" 
 
 " I am waiting," he told her, " until I can ask the 
 girl I want to go." 
 
 " And why can't you now ? " she demanded, with 
 upraised eyebrows. " I'll be hostess and chaperone 
 all in one." 
 
 " I can't ask her because I don't know her yet," 
 the young man explained doggedly. 
 
 Lady Weybourne leaned back in her chair and 
 laughed. 
 
 " So that's it ! " she exclaimed. " Now I know 
 why you're sitting there like an owl this morning! 
 In love with a fair unknown, are you, Dick? Be 
 careful. Monte Carlo is full of young ladies whom
 
 ENTER THE AMERICAN 43 
 
 it would be just as well to know a little about before 
 you thought of taking them yachting." 
 
 " This one isn't that sort," the young man said. 
 
 " How do you know that? " she asked, leaning 
 across the table, her head resting on her clasped 
 hands. 
 
 He looked at her almost contemptuously. 
 
 '* How do I know ! " he repeated. " There are 
 just one or two things that happen in this world 
 which a man can be utterly and entirely sure of. 
 She is one of them. Say, Flossie," he added, the 
 enthusiasm creeping at last into his tone, " you 
 never saw any one quite like her in all your life ! " 
 
 " Do I know her, I wonder ? " Lady Weybourne 
 enquired. 
 
 " That's just what I've asked you here to find 
 out," her brother replied ingenuously. " I heard 
 her tell the man she was with this morning her 
 father, I believe about an hour ago, that she 
 would be at Giro's at half-past one. It's twenty 
 minutes to two now." 
 
 Lady Weybourne laughed heartily. 
 
 " So that's why you dragged me out of bed and 
 made me come to lunch with you! Dick, what a 
 fraud you are! I was thinking what a dear, affec- 
 tionate brother you were, and all the time you were 
 just making use of me." 
 
 " Sorry," the young man said briskly, " but, after 
 all, we needn't stand on ceremony, need we? I've 
 always been your pal; gave you a leg up with the 
 old man, you know, when he wasn't keen on the Brit- 
 ish alliance." 
 
 She nodded.
 
 44 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Oh, I'll do what I can for you," she promised. 
 ** If she is any one in particular I expect I shall 
 know her. What's happening, Dick? " 
 
 The young man's face was almost transformed. 
 His eyes were bright and very fixed. His lips had 
 come together in a firm, straight line, as though he 
 were renewing some promise to himself. Lady Wey- 
 bourne followed the direction of his gaze. A man 
 and a girl had reached the entrance to the restaurant 
 and were looking around them as though to select 
 a table. The chief maitre d'hotel had hastened out 
 to receive them. They were, without doubt, people 
 of importance. The man was of medium height, 
 with iron-grey hair and moustache, and a small im- 
 perial. He wore light clothes of perfect cut ; pateiit 
 shoes with white linen gaiters ; a black tie fastened 
 with a pin of opals. He carried himself with an air 
 which was unmistakable and convincing. The girl 
 by his side was beautiful. She was simply dressed 
 in a tailor-made gown of white serge. Her black 
 hat was a miracle of smartness. Her hair was of a 
 very light shade of golden-brown, her complexion 
 wonderfully fair. Lady Weybourne glanced at her 
 shoes and gloves, at the bag which she was carrying, 
 and the handle of her parasol. Then she nodded 
 approvingly. 
 
 " You don't know her? " Richard asked, in a dis- 
 appointed whisper. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " Sorry," she admitted, " but I don't. They've 
 probably only just arrived." 
 
 With great ceremony the newcomers were con- 
 ducted to the best table upon the terrace. The
 
 ENTER THE AMERICAN 45 
 
 was evidently an habitue. He had scarcely taken 
 his seat before, with a very low bow, the sommelier 
 brought him a small wine-glass filled with what 
 seemed to be vermouth. While he sipped it he 
 smoked a Russian cigarette and with a gold pencil 
 wrote out the menu of his luncheon. In a few min- 
 utes the manager himself came hurrying out from 
 the restaurant. His salute was almost reverential. 
 When, after a few moments' conversation, he de- 
 parted, he did so with the air of one taking leave of 
 royalty. Lady Weybourne, who was an inquisitive 
 little person, was puzzled. 
 
 " I don't know who they are, Dick," she con- 
 fessed, " but I know the ways of this place well, and 
 I can tell you one thing they are people of impor- 
 tance. You can tell that by the way they are re- 
 ceived. These restaurant people don't make mis- 
 takes." 
 
 " Of course they are people of importance," the 
 young man declared. " Any one can see that by a 
 glance at the girl. I am sorry you don't know 
 them," he went on, " but you've got to find out who 
 they are, and pretty quickly, too. Look here, Flos- 
 sie. I am a bit useful to you now and then, 
 aren't I?" 
 
 " Without you, my dear Dick," she murmured, 
 " I should never be able to manage those awful 
 trustees. You are invaluable, a perfect jewel of a 
 brother." 
 
 " Well, I'll give you that little electric coupe you 
 were so keen on last time we were in London, if you'll 
 get me an introduction to that girl within twenty- 
 four hoursb"
 
 46 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Lady Weybourne gasped. 
 
 " What a whirlwind ! " she exclaimed. " Dicky, 
 are you, by any chance, in earnest? " 
 
 " In earnest for the first time in my life," he as- 
 sured her. " Something has got hold of me which 
 I'm not going to part with." 
 
 She considered him reflectively. He was twenty- 
 seven years of age, and notwithstanding the bound- 
 less opportunities of his youth and great wealth he 
 had so far shown an almost singular indifference to 
 the whole of the opposite sex, from the fascinating 
 chorus girls of London and New York to the no less 
 enterprising young women of his own order. As 
 she sat there studying his features, she felt a sensa- 
 tion almost of awe. There was something entirely 
 different, something stronger in his face. She 
 thought for a moment of their father as she had 
 known him in her childhood, the founder of their 
 fortunes, a man who had risen from a moderate po- 
 sition to immense wealth through sheer force of will, 
 of pertinacity. For the first time she saw the same 
 look upon her brother's face. 
 
 " Well," she sighed, " I shall do my best to earn 
 it. I only hope, Dick, that she is " 
 
 " She is what? " he demanded, looking at her 
 steadfastly. 
 
 " Oh ! not engaged or anything, I mean," Lady 
 Weybourne explained hastily. " I must admit, 
 Dick, although I don't suppose any sister is particu- 
 larly keen upon her brother's young women, that I 
 think you've shown excellent taste. She is abso- 
 lutely the best style of any one I've seen in Monte 
 Carlo."
 
 ENTER THE AMERICAN 47 
 
 '* How are you going to manage that introduc- 
 tion? " he asked bluntly. " Have you made any 
 plans?" 
 
 " I don't suppose it will be difficult," she assured 
 him, lighting a cigarette and shaking her head at the 
 tray of liqueurs which the sommelier was offering. 
 " Get me some cream for my coffee, Dick. Now 
 I'll tell you," she continued, as the waiter disap- 
 peared. " You will have to call that under-maitre 
 d'hotel. You had better give him a substantial tip 
 and ask him quietly for their names. Then I'll see 
 about the rest." 
 
 " That seems sensible enough," he admitted. 
 
 " And look here, Dick," she went on, " I know how 
 impetuous you are. Don't do anything foolish. 
 Remember this isn't an ordinary adventure. If you 
 go rushing in upon it you'll come to grief." 
 
 " I know," he answered shortly. " I was fool 
 enough to hang about the flower shops and that mil- 
 liner's this morning. I couldn't help it. I don't 
 know whether she noticed. I believe she did. Once 
 our eyes did meet, and although I'll swear she never 
 changed her expression, I felt that the whole world 
 didn't hold so small a creature as I. Here comes 
 Charles. I'll ask him." 
 
 He beckoned to the maitre d'hotel and talked for 
 a moment about the luncheon. Then he ordered a 
 table for the next day, and slipping a louis into the 
 man's hand, leaned over and whispered in his ear. 
 
 " I want you to tell me the name of the gentleman 
 and young lady who are sitting over there at the 
 corner table ? " 
 
 The maitre d'hotel glanced covertly in the direc-
 
 48 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 tion indicated. He did not at once reply. His 
 face was perplexed, almost troubled. 
 
 " I am very sorry, sir," he said hesitatingly, " but 
 our orders are very strict. Monsieur Giro does not 
 like anything in the way of gossip about our clients, 
 and the gentleman is a very honoured patron. The 
 young lady is his daughter." 
 
 " Quite right," the young man agreed bluntly. 
 " This isn't an ordinary case, Charles. You go 
 over to the desk there, write me down the name and 
 bring it, and there's a hundred franc note waiting 
 here for you. No need for the name to pass your 
 lips." 
 
 The man bowed and retreated. In a few minutes 
 he came back again and laid a small card upon the 
 table. 
 
 " Monsieur will pardon my reminding him," he 
 begged earnestly, " but if he will be so good as to 
 never mention this little matter " 
 
 Richard nodded and waved him away. 
 
 " Sure ! " he promised. 
 
 He drew the card towards him and looked at it in 
 a puzzled manner. Then he passed it to his sister. 
 Her expression, too, was blank. 
 
 " Who in the name of mischief," he exclaimed 
 softly, "is Mr. Grex!"
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 "WHO is MR. GBEX?" 
 
 Lady Weybourne insisted, after a reasonable 
 amount of time spent over their coffee, that her 
 brother should pay the bill and leave the restaurant. 
 They walked slowly across the square. 
 
 " What are you going to do about it ? " he asked. 
 
 " There is only one thing to be done," she replied. 
 " I shall speak to every one I meet this afternoon 
 I shall be, in fact, most sociable and sooner or 
 later in our conversation I shall ask every one if 
 they know Mr. Grex and his daughter. When I 
 arrive at some one who does, that will be the first 
 step, won't it ? " 
 
 " I wonder whether we shall see some one soon ! " 
 he grumbled, looking around. " Where are all the 
 people to-day ! " 
 
 She laughed softly. 
 
 " Just a little impetuous, aren't you ? " 
 
 " I should say so," he admitted. ** I'd like to be 
 introduced to her before four o'clock, propose to her 
 this evening, and and " 
 
 "And what?" 
 
 " Never mind," he concluded, marching on with 
 his head turned towards the clouds. '* Let's go and 
 sit down upon the Terrace and talk about her." 
 
 " But, my dear Dicky," his sister protested, " I
 
 50 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 don't want to sit upon the Terrace. I am going to 
 my dressmaker's across the way there, and after- 
 wards to Lucie's to try on some hats. Then I am 
 going back to the hotel for an hour's rest and to 
 prink, and afterwards into the Sporting Club at 
 four o'clock. That's my programme. I shall be 
 doing what I can the whole of the time. I shall 
 make discreet enquiries of my dressmaker, who knows 
 everybody, and I sha'n't let a single acquaintance 
 go by. You will have to amuse yourself till four 
 o'clock, at any rate. There's Sir Henry Hunterleys 
 over there, having coffee. Go and talk to him. He 
 may put you out of your misery. Thanks ever so 
 much for my luncheon, and au revoir ! " 
 
 She turned away with a little nod. Her brother, 
 after a moment's hesitation, approached the table 
 where Hunterleys was sitting alone. 
 
 " How do you do, Sir Henry ? " 
 
 Hunterleys returned his greeting, a little blankly 
 at first. Then he remembered the young man and 
 held out his hand. 
 
 " Of course ! You are Richard Lane, aren't you ? 
 Sit down and have some coffee. What are you do- 
 ing here? " 
 
 " I've got a little boat in the harbour," Richard 
 replied, as he drew up a chair. " I've been at Al- 
 giers for a time with some friends, and I've brought 
 them on here. Just been lunching with my sister. 
 Are you alone? " 
 
 Hunterleys hesitated. 
 
 " Yes, I am alone." 
 
 " Wonderful place," the young man went on. 
 " Wonderful crowd of people here, too. I suppose
 
 "WHO IS MR. GREX?" 51 
 
 you know everybody ? " he added, warming up as he 
 approached his subject. 
 
 " On the contrary," Hunterleys answered, " I anr 
 almost a stranger here. I have been staying fur- 
 ther down the coast." 
 
 " Happen to know any one of the name of Grex? " 
 Lane asked, with elaborate carelessness. 
 
 Hunterleys made no immediate reply. He seemed 
 to be considering the name. 
 
 " Grex," he repeated, knocking the ash from his 
 cigarette. " Rather an uncommon name, isn't it? 
 Why do you ask? " 
 
 " Oh, I've seen an elderly man and a young lady 
 about once or twice," Lane explained. " Very in- 
 teresting-looking people. Some one told me that 
 their name was Grex." 
 
 " There is a person living under that name, I 
 think," Hunterleys said, " who has taken the Villa 
 Mimosa for the season." 
 
 " Do you know him personally ? " the young man 
 asked eagerly. 
 
 " Personally ? No, I can scarcely say that I do." 
 
 Richard Lane sighed. It was disappointment 
 number one. For some reason or other, too, Hun- 
 terleys seemed disposed to change the conversation. 
 
 " The young lady who is always with him," Rich- 
 ard persisted, " would that be his daughter? " 
 
 Hunterleys turned a little in his seat and surveyed 
 his questioner. He had met Lane once or twice and 
 rather liked him. 
 
 " Look here, young fellow," he said, good humour- 
 edly, " let me ask you a question for a change. 
 What is the nature of these enquiries of yours? "
 
 52 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Lane hesitated. Something in Hunterleys' face 
 and manner induced him to tell the truth. 
 
 " I have fallen head over heels in love with the 
 young lady," he confessed. " Don't think I am a 
 confounded jackass. I am not in the habit of doing 
 such things. I'm twenty-seven and I have never 
 gone out of my way to meet a girl yet. This is 
 something different. I want to find out about 
 them and get an introduction.'* 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head regretfully. 
 
 " I am afraid," he said, " that I can be of no use 
 to you no practical use, that is. I can only give 
 you one little piece of advice." 
 
 " Well, what is it ? " Richard asked eagerly. 
 
 " If you are in earnest," Hunterleys continued, 
 " and I will do you the credit to believe that you are, 
 you had better pack up your things, return to your 
 yacht and take a cruise somewhere." 
 
 " Take a cruise somewhere ! " 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " Get out of Monte Carlo as quickly as you can, 
 and, above all, don't think anything more of that 
 young lady. Get the idea out of your head as 
 quickly as you can." 
 
 The young man was sitting upright in his chair. 
 His manner was half minatory. 
 
 " Say, what do you mean by this ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Exactly what I said just now," Hunterleys re- 
 joined. " If you are in earnest, and I have no doubt 
 that you are, I should clear out." 
 
 " What is it you are trying to make me under- 
 stand ? " Richard asked bluntly. 
 , " That you have about as much chance with that
 
 "WHO IS MR. GREX?" 53 
 
 young lady," Hunterleys assured him, " as with that 
 very graceful statue in the square yonder." 
 
 Richard sat for a moment with knitted brows. 
 
 " Then you know who she is, any way ? " 
 
 " Whether I do or whether I do not," the older 
 man said gravely, " so far as I am concerned, the 
 subject is exhausted. I have given you the best ad- 
 vice you ever had in your life. It's up to you to 
 follow it." 
 
 Richard looked at him blankly. 
 
 " Well, you've got me puzzled," he confessed. 
 
 Hunterleys rose to his feet, and, summoning a 
 waiter, paid his bill. 
 
 " You'll excuse me, won't you ? " he begged. " I 
 have an appointment in a few minutes. If you are 
 wise, young man," he added, patting him on the 
 shoulder as he turned to go, " you will take my ad- 
 vice." 
 
 Left to himself, Richard Lane strolled around the 
 place towards the Terrace. He had no fancy for 
 the Rooms and he found a seat as far removed as 
 possible from the Tir du Pigeons. He sat there 
 with folded arms, looking out across the sun-dappled 
 sea. His matter-of-fact brain offered him but one 
 explanation as to the meaning of Hunterleys' words, 
 and against that explanation his whole being was 
 in passionate revolt. He represented a type of 
 young man who possesses morals by reason of a cer- 
 tain unsuspected idealism, mingled with perfect 
 physical sanity. It seemed to him, as he sat there, 
 that he had been waiting for this day for years. 
 The old nights in New York and Paris and London 
 floated before his memory. He pushed them on one
 
 54 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 side with a shiver, and yet with a curious feeling of 
 exultation. He recalled a certain sensation which 
 had been drawn through his life like a thin golden 
 thread, a sensation which had a habit of especially 
 asserting itself in the midst of these youthful orgies, 
 a curious sense of waiting for something to happen, 
 a sensation which had been responsible very often 
 for what his friends had looked upon as eccentricity. 
 He knew now that this thing had arrived, and every- 
 thing else in life seemed to pale by the side of it. 
 Hunterleys' words had thrown him temporarily into 
 a strange turmoil. Solitude for a few moments he 
 had felt to be entirely necessary. Yet directly he 
 was alone, directly he was free to listen to his con- 
 victions, he could have laughed at that first mad 
 surging of his blood, the fierce, instinctive rebellion 
 against the conclusion to which Hunterleys' words 
 seemed to point. Now that he was alone, he was 
 not even angry. No one else could possibly under- 
 stand ! 
 
 Before long he was once more upon his feet, start- 
 ing out upon his quest with renewed energy. He 
 had scarcely taken a dozen steps, however, when he 
 came face to face with Lady Hunterleys and Mr. 
 Draconmeyer. Quite oblivious of the fact that they 
 seemed inclined to avoid him, he greeted them both 
 with unusual warmth. 
 
 " Saw your husband just now, Lady Hunterleys," 
 he remarked, a little puzzled. " I fancied he said 
 he was alone here." 
 
 She smiled. 
 
 " We did not come together," she explained ; " in 
 fact, our meeting was almost accidental. Henry
 
 "WHO IS MR. GREX?" 55 
 
 had been at Bordighera and San Rerao and I came 
 out with Mr. and Mrs. Draconmeyer." 
 
 The young man nodded and turned towards Dra- 
 conmeyer, who was standing a little on one side as 
 though anxious to proceed. 
 
 " Mr. Draconmeyer doesn't remember me, per- 
 haps. I met him at my sister's, Lady Weybourne's, 
 just before Christmas." 
 
 " I remember you perfectly," Mr. Draconmeyer 
 assured him courteously. " We have all been 
 admiring your beautiful yacht in the harbour 
 there." 
 
 " I was thinking of getting up a little cruise be- 
 fore long," Richard continued. " If so, I hope 
 you'll all join us. Flossie is going to be hostess, 
 and the Montressors are passengers already." 
 
 They murmured something non-committal. Lady 
 Hunterleys seemed as though about to pass on but 
 Lane blocked the way. 
 
 " I only arrived the other day from Algiers," he 
 went on, making frantic efforts to continue the con- 
 versation. " I brought Freddy Montressor and his 
 sister, and Fothergill." 
 
 " Mr. Montressor has come to the Hotel de Paris," 
 Lady Hunterleys remarked. " What sort of weather 
 did you have in Algiers ? " 
 
 "Ripping!" the young man replied absently, en- 
 tirely oblivious of the fact that they had been driven 
 away by incessant rain. " This place is much more 
 fun, though," he added, with sudden inspiration. 
 " Crowds of interesting people. I suppose you know 
 every one ? " 
 
 Lady Hunterleys shook her head.
 
 56 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Indeed I do not. Mr. Draconmeyer here is my 
 guide. He is as good as a walking directory." 
 
 " I wonder if either of you know some people 
 named Grex? " Richard asked, with studious indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer for the first time showed some 
 signs of interest. He looked at their questioner 
 steadfastly. 
 
 " Grex," he repeated. " A very uncommon 
 name." 
 
 " Very uncommon-looking people," Richard de- 
 clared. " The man is elderly, and looks as though 
 he took great care of himself awfully well turned 
 out and all that. The daughter is good-look- 
 ing." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer took off his gold-rimmed spec- 
 tacles and rubbed them with his handkerchief. 
 
 " Why do you ask? " he enquired. " Is this just 
 curiosity? " 
 
 " Rather more than that," Richard said boldly. 
 " It's interest." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer readjusted his spectacles. 
 
 " Mr. Grex," he announced, " is a gentleman of 
 great wealth and illustrious birth, who has taken a 
 very magnificent villa and desires for a time to lead a 
 life of seclusion. That is as much as I or any one 
 else knows." 
 
 "What about the young lady?" Richard per- 
 sisted. 
 
 " The young lady," Mr. Draconmeyer answered, 
 " is, as you surmised, his daughter. . . . Shall we 
 finish our promenade, Lady Hunterleys ? " 
 
 Richard stood grudgingly a little on one side.
 
 "WHO IS MR. GREX?" 57 
 
 " Mr. Draconmeyer," he said desperately, " do 
 you think there'd be any chance of my getting an 
 introduction to the young lady ? " 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer at first smiled and then began to 
 laugh, as though something in the idea tickled him. 
 He looked at the young man and Richard hated him. 
 
 " Not the slightest in the world, I should think," 
 he declared. " Good afternoon ! " 
 
 Lady Hunterleys joined in her companion's amuse- 
 ment as they continued their promenade. 
 
 *' Is the young man in love, do you suppose ? " she 
 enquired lightly. 
 
 " If so," her companion replied, " he has made a 
 somewhat unfortunate choice. However, it really 
 doesn't matter. Love at his age is nothing more 
 than a mood. It will pass as all moods pass." 
 
 She turned and looked at him. 
 
 " Do you mean," she asked incredulously, " that 
 youth is incapable of love? " 
 
 They had paused for a moment, looking out across 
 the bay towards the glittering white front of Bordi- 
 ghera. Mr. Draconmeyer took off his hat. Some- 
 how, without it, in that clear light, one realised, not- 
 withstanding his spectacles, his grizzled black beard 
 of unfashionable shape, his over-massive forehead 
 and shaggy eyebrows, that his, too, was the face of 
 one whose feet were not always upon the earth. 
 
 " Perhaps," he answered, " it is a matter of de- 
 gree, yet I am almost tempted to answer your ques- 
 tion absolutely. I do not believe that youth can 
 love, because from the first it misapprehends the 
 meaning of the term. I believe that the gift of lov- 
 ing comes only to those who have reached the hills."
 
 5 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She looked at him, a little surprised. Always 
 thoughtful, always sympathetic, generally stimulat- 
 ing, it was very seldom that she had heard him speak 
 with so much real feeling. Suddenly he turned his 
 head from the sea. His eyes seemed to challenge 
 hers. 
 
 " Your question," he continued, " touches upon 
 one of the great tragedies of life. Upon those who 
 are free from their youth there is a great tax levied. 
 Nature has decreed that they should feel something 
 which they call love. They marry, and in this small 
 world of ours they give a hostage as heavy as a mill- 
 stone of their chances of happiness. For it is only 
 in later life, when a man has knowledge as well as 
 passion, when unless he is fortunate it is too late, 
 that he can know what love is." 
 
 She moved a little uneasily. She felt that some- 
 thing was coming which she desired to avoid, some 
 confidence, something from which she must escape. 
 The memory of her husband's warning was vividly 
 present with her. She felt the magnetism of her 
 companion's words, his compelling gaze. 
 
 " It is so with me," he went on, leaning a little 
 towards her, " only in my case " 
 
 Providence was intervening. Never had the swish 
 )f a woman's skirt sounded so sweet to her before. 
 
 " Here's Dolly Montressor," she interrupted, 
 " coming up to speak to us."
 
 CHAPTER YI 
 
 CAKES AND COUNSELS 
 
 The Sporting Club seemed to fill up that after- 
 noon almost as soon as the doors were opened. At 
 half-past four, people were standing two or three 
 deep around the roulette tables. Selingman, very 
 warm, and looking somewhat annoyed, withdrew him- 
 self from the front row of the lower table, and tak- 
 ing Mr. Grex and Draconmeyer by the arm, led 
 them towards the tea-room. 
 
 " I have lost six louis ! " he exclaimed, fretfully. 
 " I have had the devil's own luck. I shall play no 
 more for the present. We will have tea together." 
 
 They appropriated a round table in a distant cor- 
 ner of the restaurant. 
 
 " History," Selingman continued, heaping his 
 plate with rich cakes, " has been made before now in 
 strange places. Why not here? We sit here in 
 close touch with one of the most interesting phases 
 of modern life. We can even hear the voice of fate, 
 the click of the little ball as it finishes its momentous 
 journey and sinks to rest. Why should we, too, not 
 speak of fateful things ? " 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer glanced around. 
 
 " For myself," he muttered, " I must say that I 
 prefer a smaller room and a locked door."
 
 60 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Selingman demolished a chocolate eclair and shook 
 his head vigorously. 
 
 " The public places for me," he declared. " Now 
 look around. There is no one, as you will admit, 
 within ear-shot. Very well. What will they say, 
 those who suspect us, if they see us drinking tea and 
 eating many cakes together? Certainly not that 
 we conspire, that we make mischief here. On the 
 other hand, they will say * There are three great men 
 at play, come to Monte Carlo to rest from their la- 
 bours, to throw aside for a time the burden froim 
 their shoulders; to flirt, to play, to eat cakes.' It 
 is a good place to talk, this, and I have something 
 in my mind which must be said." 
 
 Mr. Grex sipped his pale, lemon-flavoured tea and 
 toyed with his cigarette-case. He was eating noth- 
 ing. 
 
 " Assuming you to be a man of sense, my dear 
 Selingman," he remarked, " I think that what you 
 have to say is easily surmised. The Englishman ! " 
 
 Selingman agreed with ponderous emphasis. 
 
 " We have before us," he declared, " a task of un- 
 usual delicacy. Our friend from Paris may be here 
 at any moment. How we shall fare with him, heaven 
 only knows ! But there is one thing very certain. 
 At the sight of Hunterleys he will take alarm. He 
 will be like a frightened bird, all ruffled feathers. 
 He will never settle down to a serious discussion. 
 Hunterleys knows this. That is why he presents 
 himself without reserve in public, why he is sur- 
 rounded with Secret Service men of his own country, 
 all on the qui vive for the coming of Douaille." 
 
 " It appears tolerably certain," Mr. Draconmeycr
 
 CAKES AND COUNSELS 61 
 
 said calmly, " that we must get rid of Hunter- 
 leys." 
 
 Mr. Grex looked out of the window for a moment. 
 
 " To some extent," he observed, " I am a stranger 
 here. I come as a guest to this conference, as our 
 other friend from Paris comes, too. Any small task 
 which may arise from the necessities of the situation, 
 devolves, I think I may say without unfairness, upon 
 you, my friend." 
 
 Selingman assented gloomily. 
 
 " That is true," he admitted, " but in Hunterleys 
 we have to do with no ordinary man. He does not 
 gamble. To the ordinary attractions of Monte 
 Carlo he is indifferent. He is one of these thin- 
 blooded men with principles. Cromwell would have 
 made a lay preacher of him." 
 
 " You find difficulties ? " Mr. Grex querieu, with 
 slightly uplifted eyebrows. 
 
 " Not difficulties," Selingman continued quickly. 
 " Or if indeed we do call them difficulties, let us s&y 
 at once that they are very minor ones. Only the 
 thing must be done neatly and without ostentation, 
 for the sake of our friend who comes." 
 
 " My own position," Mr. Draconmeyer intervened, 
 " is, in a way, delicate. The unexplained disappear- 
 ance of Sir Henry Hunterleys might, by some peo- 
 ple, be connected with the great friendship which ex- 
 ists between my wife and his." 
 
 Mr. Grex polished his horn-rimmed eyeglass. Sel- 
 ingman nodded sympathetically. Neither of them 
 looked at Draconmeyer. Finally Selingman heaved 
 a sigh and brushed the crumbs from his waistcoat. 
 
 " If one were assured," he *urumred thoughtfully,
 
 62 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " that Hunterleys' presence here had a real signifi- 
 cance " 
 
 Draconmeyer pushed his chair forward and leaned 
 across the table. The heads of the three men were 
 close together. His tone was stealthily lowered. 
 
 " Let me tell you something, my friend Selingman, 
 which I think should strengthen any half-formed in- 
 tention you may have in your brain. Hunterleys is 
 no ordinary sojourner here. You were quite right 
 when you told me that his stay at Bordighera and 
 San Remo was a matter of days only. Now I will 
 tell you something. Three weeks ago he was at 
 Bukharest. He spent two days with Novisko. From 
 there he went to Sofia. He was heard of in Athens 
 and Constantinople. My own agent wrote me that 
 he was in Belgrade. Hunterleys is the bosom friend 
 of the English Foreign Secretary. That I know for 
 myself. You have your reports. You can read be- 
 tween the lines. I tell you that Hunterleys is the 
 man who has paralysed our action amongst the Bal- 
 kan States. He has played a neat little game out 
 there. It is he who was the inspiration of Rouma- 
 nia. It is he who drafted the secret understanding 
 with Turkey. The war which we hoped for will not 
 take place. From there Hunterleys came in a gun- 
 boat and landed on the Italian coast. He lingered 
 at Bordighera for appearances only. He is here, if 
 he can, to break up our conference. I tell you that 
 you none of you appreciate this man. Hunterleys is 
 the most dangerous Englishman living " 
 
 " One moment," Selingman interrupted. " To 
 some extent I follow you, but when you speak of 
 Hunterleys as a power in the present tense, doesn't if
 
 CAKES AND COUNSELS 63 
 
 ccur to you that his Party is not in office? He is 
 simply a member of the Opposition. If his Party 
 get in again at the next election, I grant you that 
 he will be Foreign Minister and a dangerous one, but 
 to-day he is simply a private person." 
 
 " It is not every one," Mr. Draconmeyer said 
 slowly, " who bows his knee to the shibboleth of 
 party politics. Remember that I come to you from 
 London and I have information of which few others 
 are possessed. Hunterleys is of the stuff of which T 
 patriots are made. Party is no concern of his. 
 He and the present Foreign Secretary are the 
 greatest of personal friends. I know for a fact that 
 Hunterleys has actually been consulted and has 
 helped in one or two recent crises. The very cir- 
 cumstance that he is not of the ruling Party makes 
 a free lance of him. When his people are in power, 
 he will have to take office and wear the shackles. 
 To-day, with every quality which would make him 
 the greatest Foreign Minister England has ever had 
 since Disraeli, he is nothing more nor less than a 
 roving diplomatist, Emperor of his country's Secret 
 Service, if you like to put it so. Furthermore, look 
 a little into that future of which I have spoken. 
 The present English Government will last, at the 
 most, another two years. I tell you that when they 
 go out of power, whoever comes in, Hunterleys will 
 go to the Foreign Office. We shall have to deal 
 with a man who knows, a man " 
 
 " I am not wholly satisfied with these Eclairs," 
 Selingman interrupted, gazing into the dish. 
 " Maitre d'hotel, come and listen to an awful com- 
 plaint," he went on, and, addressing one of the head*
 
 64 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 waiters. " Your eclairs are too small, your cream* 
 cakes too irresistible. I eat too much here. How, 
 I ask you in the name of common sense, can a man 
 dine who takes tea here ! Bring the bill." 
 
 The man, smiling, hastened away. Not a word 
 had passed between the three, yet the other two 
 understood the situation perfectly. Hunterleys and 
 Richard Lane had entered the room together and 
 were seated at an adjoining table. Selingman 
 plunged into a fresh tirade, pointing to the half- 
 demolished plateful of cakes. 
 
 " I will eat one more," he declared. " We will 
 bilk the management. The bill is made out. I shall 
 not be observed. Our friend," he continued, under 
 his breath, " has secured a valuable bodyguard, some- 
 thing very large and exceedingly powerful." 
 
 Draconmeyer hesitated for a moment. Then he 
 turned to Mr. Grex. 
 
 " You have perhaps observed," he said, " the 
 young man who is seated at the next table. It may 
 amuse you to hear of a very extraordinary piece 
 of impertinence of which, only this afternoon, he 
 was guilty. He accosted me upon the Terrace 
 he is a young American whom I have met in Lon- 
 don and asked me for information respecting a 
 Mr. and Miss Grex." 
 
 Mr. Grex looked slowly towards the speaker. 
 There was very little change in his face, yet Dra- 
 conmeyer seemed in some way confused. 
 
 " You will understand, I am sure, sir," he con- 
 tinued, a little hastily, '* that I was in no way to 
 blame for the question which the young man ad- 
 dressed to me. He had the presumption to enquire
 
 CAKES AND COUNSELS 65 
 
 whether I could procure for him an introduction to 
 the young lady whom he knew as Miss Grex. Even 
 at this moment," Draconmeyer went on, lowering 
 his voice, " he is trying to persuade Hunterleys to 
 let him come over to us." 
 
 " The young man," Mr. Grex said deliberately, 
 " is ignorant. If necessary, he must be taught his 
 lesson." 
 
 Selingman intervened. He breathed a heavy 
 sigh. 
 
 " Well," he observed, " I perceive that the task 
 at which we have hinted is to fall upon my shoulders. 
 We must do what we can. I am a tender-hearted 
 man, and if extremes can be avoided, I shall like my 
 task better. . . . And now I have changed my mind. 
 The loss of that six louis weighs upon me. I shall 
 endeavour to regain it. Let us go." 
 
 They rose and passed out into the roulette rooms. 
 Richard Lane, who remained in his seat with an ef- 
 fort, watched them pass with a frown upon his face. 
 
 " Say, Sir Henry," he complained, " I don't quita 
 understand this. Why, I'd only got to go over to 
 Draconmeyer there and stand and talk for a mo- 
 ment, and he must have introduced me." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " Let me assure you," he said, " that Draconmeyer 
 would have done nothing of the sort. For one thing, 
 we don't introduce over here as a matter of course, 
 as you do in America. And for another well, I 
 won't trouble you with the other reason. . . . Look 
 here, Lane, take my advice, there's a sensible fellow. 
 I am a man of the world, you know, and there are 
 certain situations in which one can make no mistake.
 
 66 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 If you are as hard hit as you say you are, go for a 
 cruise and get over it. Don't hang around here. 
 No good will come of it." 
 
 The young man set his teeth. He was looking 
 very determined indeed. 
 
 " There isn't anything in this world, short of a 
 bomb," he declared, " which is going to blow me 
 out of Monte Carlo before I have made the acquaint- 
 ance of Miss Grext "
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 THE EFFEONTEEY OF EICHAED 
 
 Hunterleys took leave of his companion as soon as 
 they arrived at the roulette rooms. 
 
 " Take my advice, Lane," he said seriously. 
 *' Find something to occupy your thoughts. Throw 
 a few hundred thousand of your dollars away at the 
 tables, if you must do something foolish. You'll 
 get into far less trouble." 
 
 Richard made no direct reply. He watched Hun- 
 terleys depart and took up his place opposite the 
 door to await his sister's arrival. It was a quarter 
 to five before she appeared and found him waiting 
 for her in the door-way. 
 
 " Say, you're late, Flossie ! " he grumbled. " I 
 thought you were going to be here soon after four." 
 
 She glanced at the little watch upon her wrist. 
 
 " How the time does slip away ! " she sighed. 
 " But really, Dicky, I am late in your interests as 
 much as anything. I have been paying a few calls. 
 I went out to the Villa Rosa to see some people who 
 almost live here, and then I met Lady Crawley and 
 she made me go in and have some tea." 
 
 " Well ? " he asked impatiently. Well ? " 
 
 She laid her fingers upon his arm and drew him 
 into a less crowded part of the room. 
 
 " Dicky," she confessed, " I don't seem to have
 
 68 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 had a bit of luck. The Comtesse d'Hausson, who 
 lives at the Villa Rosa, knows them and showed me 
 from the window the Villa Mimosa, where they live, 
 but she would tell me absolutely nothing about them. 
 The villa is the finest in Monte Carlo, and has al- 
 ways been taken before by some one of note. She 
 declares that they do not mix in the society of the 
 place, but she admits that she has heard a rumour 
 that Grex is only an assumed name." 
 
 " I begin to believe that myself," he said doggedly. 
 " Hunterleys knows who they are and won't tell me. 
 So does that fellow Draconmeyer." 
 
 " Sir Henry and Mr. Draconmeyer ! " she repeated, 
 raising her eyes. " My dear Dick, that doesn't 
 sound very reasonable, does it ? " 
 
 " I tell you that they do," he persisted. " They 
 as good as told me so. Hunterleys, especially, left 
 me here only half-an-hour ago, and his last words 
 were advising me to chuck it. He's a sensible chap 
 enough but he won't even tell me why. I've had 
 enough of it. I've a good mind to take the bull by 
 the horns myself. Mr. Grex is here now, somewhere 
 about. He was sitting with Mr. Draconmeyer and a 
 fat old German a few minutes ago, at the next table 
 to ours. If I had been alone I should have gone up 
 and chanced being introduced, but Hunterleys 
 wouldn't let me." 
 
 " Well, so far," Lady Weybourne admitted, " I 
 fear that I haven't done much towards that electric 
 coupe; but," she added, in a changed tone, looking 
 across the tables, " there is just one thing, Dicky. 
 Fate sometimes has a great deal to do with these 
 little affairs. Look over there."
 
 THE EFFRONTERY OF RICHARD 69 
 
 Richard left his sister precipitately, without even 
 a word of farewell. She watched him cross the room, 
 and smiled at the fury of a little Frenchman whom 
 he nearly knocked over in his hurry to get round to 
 the other side of the table. A moment later he was 
 standing a few feet away from the girl who had 
 taken so strange a hold upon his affections. He 
 himself was conscious of a curious and unfamiliar 
 nervousness. Physically he felt as though he had 
 been running hard. He set his teeth and tried to 
 keep cool. He found some plaques in his pocket and 
 began to stake. Then he became aware that the 
 girl was holding in her hand a note and endeavour- 
 ing to attract the attention of the man who was giv- 
 ing change. 
 
 " Petite monnate, s'tZ vous plait," he heard her 
 say, stretching out the note. 
 
 The man took no notice. Richard held out his 
 hand. 
 
 " Will you allow me to get it changed for you ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 Her first impulse at the sound of his voice was evi- 
 dently one of resentment. She seemed, indeed, in 
 the act of returning some chilling reply. Then she 
 glanced half carelessly towards him and her eyes 
 rested upon his face. Richard was good-looking 
 enough, but the chief characteristic of his face was 
 a certain honesty, which seemed accentuated at that 
 moment by his undoubted earnestness. The type 
 was perhaps strange to her. She was almost startled 
 by what she saw. Scarcely knowing what she did, 
 she allowed him to take the note from her fingers. 
 
 " Thank you very much," she murmured.
 
 70 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Richard procured the change. He would have 
 lifted every one out of the way if she had been in a 
 hurry. Then he turned round and counted it very 
 slowly into her hands. From the left one she had 
 removed the glove and he saw, to his relief, that 
 there was no engagement ring there. He counted 
 so slowly that towards the end she seemed to be- 
 come a little impatient. 
 
 " That is quite all right," she said. " It was 
 very kind of you to trouble." 
 
 She spoke very correct English with the slightest 
 of foreign accents. He looked once more into her 
 eyes. 
 
 " It was a pleasure," he declared. 
 
 She smiled faintly, an act of graciousness which 
 absolutely turned his head. With her hand full of 
 plaques, she moved away and found a place a little 
 lower down the table. Richard fought with his first 
 instinct and conquered it. He remained where he 
 was, and when he moved it was in another direction. 
 He went into the bar and ordered a whisky and 
 soda. He was as excited as he had been in the old 
 days when he had rowed stroke in a winning race 
 for his college boat. He felt, somehow or other, 
 that the first step had been a success. She had 
 been inclined at first to resent his offer. She had 
 looked at him arid changed her mind. Even when 
 she had turned away, she had smiled. It was 
 ridiculous, but he felt as though he had taken a 
 great step. Presently Lady Weybourne, on her 
 way to the baccarat rooms, saw him sitting there 
 and looked in. 
 
 " Well, Dicky," she exclaimed, " what luck? *
 
 THE EFFRONTERY OF RICHARD 71 
 
 " Sit down, Flossie," he begged. '* I've spoken to 
 her." 
 
 " You don't mean, " she began, horrified. 
 
 " Oh, no, no ! Nothing of that sort ! " he inter- 
 rupted. " Don't think I'm such a blundering ass. 
 She was trying to get change and couldn't reach. 
 I took the note from her, got the change and gave 
 it to her. She said, * Thank you.' When she went 
 away, she smiled." 
 
 Lady Weybourne flopped down upon the divan 
 and screamed with laughter. 
 
 " Dicky," she murmured, wiping her eyes, " tell 
 me, is that why you are sitting there, looking as 
 though you could see right into Heaven? Do you 
 know that your face was one great beam when I 
 came in ? " 
 
 " Can't help it," he answered contentedly. " I've 
 spoken to her and she smiled." 
 
 Lady Weybourne opened her gold bag and pro- 
 duced a card. 
 
 " Well," she said, " here is another chance for 
 you. Of course, I don't know that it will come to 
 anything, but you may as well try your luck." 
 
 "What is it?" he asked. 
 
 She thrust a square of gilt-edged cardboard into 
 his hand. 
 
 " It's an invitation," she told him, " from the di- 
 rectors, to attend a dinner at La Turbie Golf Club- 
 house, up in the mountains, to-night. It isn't en- 
 tirely a joke, I can tell you. It takes at least an 
 hour to get there, climbing all the way, and the 
 place is as likely as not to be wrapped in clouds, but 
 a great many of the important people are going,
 
 7* MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 and as I happened to see Mr. Grex's name amongst 
 the list of members, the other night, there is always 
 a chance that they may be there. If not, you see, 
 you can soon come back." 
 
 " I'm on," Richard decided. " Give me the ticket. 
 I am awfully obliged to you, Flossie." 
 
 " If she is there," Lady Weybourne declared, 
 rising, " I shall consider that it is equivalent to one 
 wheel of the coupe." 
 
 " Have a cocktail instead," he suggested. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " Too early. If we meet later on, I'll have one. 
 What are you going to do ? " 
 
 " Same as I've been doing ever since lunch," he 
 answered, " hang around and see if I can meet any 
 one who knows them." 
 
 She laughed and hurried off into the baccarat 
 room, and Richard presently returned to the table 
 at which the girl was still playing. He took par- 
 ticular care not to approach her, but he found a 
 place on the opposite side of the room, from which 
 he could watch her unobserved. She was still stand- 
 ing and apparently she was losing her money. Once, 
 with a little petulant frown, she turned away and 
 moved a few yards lower down the room. The first 
 time she staked in her new position, she won, and a 
 smile which it seemed to him was the most brilliant he 
 had ever seen, parted her lips. He stood there look- 
 ing at her, and in the midst of a scene where money 
 seemed god of all things, he realised all manner of 
 strange and pleasant sensations. The fact that he 
 had twenty thousand francs in his pocket to play 
 with, scarcely occurred to him. He was watching a
 
 THE EFFRONTERY OF RICHARD 73 
 
 little wisp of golden hair by her ear, watching her 
 slightly wrinkled forehead as she leaned over the 
 table, her little grimace as she lost and her stake 
 was swept away. She seemed indifferent to all by- 
 standers. It was obvious that she had very few 
 acquaintances. Where he stood it was not likely 
 that she would notice him, and he abandoned him- 
 self wholly to the luxury of gazing at her. Then 
 some instinct caused him to turn his head. He felt 
 that he in his turn was being watched. He glanced 
 towards the divan set against the wall, by the side 
 of which he was standing. Mr. Grex was seated 
 there, only a few feet away, smoking a cigarette. 
 Their eyes met and Richard was conscious of a 
 sudden embarrassment. He felt like a detected thief, 
 and he acted at that moment as he often did en- 
 tirely on impulse. He leaned down and resolutely 
 addressed Mr. Grex. 
 
 " I should be glad, sir, if you would allow me to 
 speak to you for a moment." 
 
 Mr. Grex's expression was one of cold surprise, 
 unmixed with any curiosity. 
 
 " Do you address me ? " he asked. 
 
 His tone was vastly discouraging but it was too 
 late to draw back. 
 
 " I should like to speak to you, if I may," Richard 
 continued. 
 
 " I am not aware," Mr. Grex said, " that I have 
 the privilege of your acquaintance." 
 
 "You haven't," Richard admitted, "but all the 
 same I want to speak to you, if I may." 
 
 " Since you have gone so far," Mr. Grex conceded, 
 '* you had better finish, but you must allow me to
 
 74 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 tell you in advance that I look upon any address 
 from a perfect stranger as an impertinence." 
 
 " You'll think worse of me before I've finished, 
 then," Richard declared desperately. " You don't 
 mind if I sit down? " 
 
 " These seats," Mr. Grex replied coldly, " are 
 free to all." 
 
 The young man took his place upon the divan 
 with a sinking heart. There was something in Mr. 
 Grex's tone which seemed to destroy all his con- 
 fidence, a note of something almost alien in the 
 measured contempt of his speech. 
 
 " I am sorry to give you any offence," Richard 
 began. " I happened to notice that you were watch- 
 ing me. I was looking at your daughter staring 
 at her. I am afraid you thought me impertinent." 
 
 " Your perspicuity," Mr. Grex observed, " seems 
 to be of a higher order than your manners. You 
 are, perhaps, a stranger to civilised society? " 
 
 " I don't know about that," Richard went on 
 doggedly. " I have been to college and mixed with 
 the usual sort of people. My birth isn't much to 
 speak of, perhaps, if you count that for anything." 
 
 Something which was almost like the ghost of a 
 smile, devoid of any trace of humour, parted Mr. 
 Grex's lips. 
 
 " If I count that for anything ! " he repeated, 
 half closing his eyes for a moment. " Pray proceed, 
 young man." 
 
 w I am an American," Richard continued. " My 
 name is Richard Lane. My father was very wealthy 
 and I am his heir. My sister is Lady Weybourne. 
 I was lunching with her at Giro's to-day when I saw-
 
 you and your daughter. I think I can say that I 
 am a respectable person. I have a great many 
 friends to whom I can refer you." 
 
 " I am not thinking of engaging anybody, that I 
 know of," Mr. Grex murmured. 
 
 ** I want to marry your daughter," Richard de- 
 clared desperately, feeling that any further form of 
 explanation would only lead him into greater trouble. 
 
 Mr. Grex knocked the ash from his cigarette. 
 
 " Is your keeper anywhere in the vicinity ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I am perfectly sane," Richard assured him. " I 
 know that it sounds foolish but it isn't really. I 
 am twenty-seven years old and I have never asked 
 a girl to marry me yet. I have been waiting un- 
 til" 
 
 The words died away upon his lips. It was im- 
 possible for him to continue, the cold enmity of this 
 man was too chilling. 
 
 " I am absolutely in earnest," he insisted. " I 
 have been endeavouring all day to find some mutual 
 friend to introduce me to your daughter. Will you 
 do so ? Will you give me a chance ? " 
 
 " I will not," Mr. Grex replied firmly. 
 
 "Why not? Please tell me why not?" Richard 
 begged. " I am not asking for anything more now 
 than just an opportunity to talk with her." 
 
 " It is not a matter which admits of discussion," 
 Mr. Grex pronounced. " I have permitted you 
 to say what you wished, notwithstanding the colossal, 
 the unimaginable impertinence of your suggestion. 
 I request you to leave me now and I advise you 
 most heartily to indulge no more in the most pre-
 
 76 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 posterous and idiotic idea which ever entered into 
 the head of an apparently sane young man." 
 
 Richard rose slowly to his feet. 
 
 "Very well, sir," he replied, "I'll go. All the 
 same, what you have said doesn't make any differ- 
 ence." 
 
 " Does not make any difference ? " Mr. Grex re- 
 peated, with arched eyebrows. 
 
 " None at all," Richard declared. " I don't know 
 what your objection to me is, but I hope you'll get 
 over it some day. I'd like to make friends with 
 you. Perhaps, later on, you may look at the matter 
 differently." 
 
 " Later on? " Mr. Grex murmured. 
 
 " When I have married your daughter," Richard 
 concluded, marching defiantly away. 
 
 Mr. Grex watched the young man until he had 
 disappeared in the crowd. Then he leaned back 
 amongst the cushions of the divan with folded arms. 
 Little lines had become visible around his eyes, there 
 was a slight twitching at the corners of his lips. He 
 looked like a man who was inwardly enjoying some 
 huge joke.
 
 CHAPTER Vin 
 
 UP THE MOUNTAIN 
 
 Richard, passing the Hotel de Paris that evening 
 in his wicked-looking grey racing car, saw Hunter- 
 leys standing on the steps and pulled up. 
 
 " Not going up to La Turbie, by any chance? " 
 he enquired. 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " I'm going up to the dinner," he replied. " The 
 hotel motor is starting from here in a few minutes." 
 
 " Come with me," Richard invited. 
 
 Hunterleys looked a little doubtfully at the long, 
 low machine. 
 
 " Are you going to shoot up ? " he asked. " It's 
 rather a dangerous road." 
 
 " I'll take care of you," the young man promised. 
 " That hotel 'bus will be crammed." 
 
 They glided through the streets on to the broad, 
 hard road, and crept upwards with scarcely a sound, 
 through the blue-black twilight. Around and in 
 front of them little lights shone out from the villas 
 and small houses dotted away in the mountains. 
 Almost imperceptibly they passed into a different 
 atmosphere. The air became cold and exhilarating. 
 The flavour of the mountain snows gave life to the 
 breeze. Hunterleys buttoned up his coat but bared 
 his head.
 
 78 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " My young friend," he said, " this is wonderful.*' 
 
 " It's a great climb," Richard assented, " and 
 doesn't she just eat it up ! " 
 
 They paused for a moment at La Turbie. Below 
 them was a chain of glittering lights fringing the 
 Bay of Mentone, and at their feet the lights of the 
 Casino and Monte Carlo flared up through the 
 scented darkness. Once more they swung upwards. 
 The road now had become narrower and the turn- 
 ings more frequent. They were up above the region 
 of villas and farmhouses, in a country which seemed 
 to consist only of bleak hillside, open to the winds, 
 wrapped in shadows. Now and then they heard 
 the tinkling of a goat bell; far below they saw the 
 twin lights of other ascending cars. They reached 
 the plateau at last and drew up before the club- 
 house, ablaze with cheerful lights. 
 
 " I'll just leave the car under the trees," Richard 
 declared. " No one will be staying late." 
 
 Hunterleys unwound his scarf and handed his 
 coat and hat to a page-boy. Then he stood sud- 
 denly rigid. He bit his lip. His wife had just 
 issued from the cloak-room and was drawing on her 
 gloves. She saw him and hesitated. She, too, 
 turned a little paler. Slowly Hunterleys ap- 
 proached her. 
 
 " An unexpected pleasure," he murmured. 
 
 " I am here with Mr. Draconmeyer," she told him, 
 almost bluntly. 
 
 Hunterleys bowed. 
 
 " And a party? " he enquired. 
 
 " No," she replied. " I really did not want to 
 come. Mr. Draconmeyer had promised Monsieur
 
 UP THE MOUNTAIN 79 
 
 Pericot, the director here, to come and bring Mrs. 
 Draconmeyer. At the last moment, however, she 
 was not well enough, and he almost insisted upon my 
 taking her place." 
 
 " Is it necessary to explain ? " Hunterleys asked 
 quietly. " You know very well how I regard this 
 friendship of yours." 
 
 " I am sorry," she said. " If I had known that 
 we were likely to meet well, I would not have come 
 here to-night." 
 
 " You were at least considerate," he remarked 
 bitterly. " May I be permitted to compliment you 
 upon your toilette? " 
 
 *' As you pay for my frocks," she answered, " there 
 is certainly no reason why you shouldn't admire 
 them." 
 
 He bit his lip. There was a certain challenge in 
 her expression which made him, for a moment, feel 
 weak. She was a very beautiful woman and she was 
 looking her best. He spoke quickly on another sub- 
 ject. 
 
 " Are you still," he asked, " troubled by the at- 
 tentions of the person you spoke to me about ? " 
 
 " I am still watched," she replied drily. 
 
 " I have made some enquiries," Hunterleys con- 
 tinued, " and I have come to the conclusion that you 
 are right." 
 
 " And you still tell me that you have nothing to 
 do with it?" 
 
 " I assure you, upon my honour, that I have noth- 
 ing whatever to do with it." 
 
 It was obvious that she was puzzled, but at that 
 moment Mr. Draconmeyer presented himself. The
 
 8o MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 newcomer simply bowed to Hunterleys and addressed 
 some remark about the room to Violet. Then 
 Richard came up and they all passed on into the 
 reception room, where two or three very fussy but 
 very suave and charming Frenchmen were receiving 
 the guests. A few minutes afterwards dinner was 
 announced. A black frown was upon Richard's fore- 
 head. 
 
 " She isn't coming ! " he muttered. " I say, Sir 
 Henry, you won't mind if we leave early? " 
 
 " I shall be jolly glad to get away," Hunterleys 
 assented heartily. 
 
 Then he suddenly felt a grip of iron upon his 
 arm. 
 
 " She's come ! " Richard murmured ecstatically. 
 " Look at her, all in white ! Just look at the colour 
 of her hair! There she is, going into the reception 
 room. Jove ! I'm glad we are here, after all ! " 
 
 Hunterleys smiled a little wearily. They passed 
 on into the salle a manger. The seats at the long 
 dining-tables were not reserved, and they found a 
 little table for two in a corner, which they annexed. 
 Hunterleys was in a grim humour, but his companion 
 was in the wildest spirits. Considering that he was 
 placed where he could see Mr. Grex and his daughter 
 nearly the whole of the time, he really did contrive 
 to keep his eyes away from them to a wonderful 
 extent, but he talked of her unceasingly. 
 
 " Say, I'm sorry for you, Sir Henry ! " he de- 
 clared. " It's just your bad luck, being here with 
 me while I've got this fit on, but I've got to talk 
 to some one, so you may as well make up your 
 mind to it. There never was anything like that
 
 UP THE MOUNTAIN 81 
 
 girl upon the earth. There never was anything like 
 the feeling you get," he went on, " when you're ab- 
 solutely and entirely convinced, when you know 
 that there's just one girl who counts for you in the 
 whole universe. Gee whiz ! It does get hold of you ! 
 I suppose you've been through it all, though." 
 
 " Yes, I've been through it ! " Hunterleys admitted, 
 with a sigh. 
 
 The young man bit his lip. The story of Hun- 
 terleys' matrimonial differences was already being 
 whispered about. Richard talked polo vigorously 
 for the next quarter of an hour. It was not 
 until the coffee and liqueurs arrived that they re- 
 turned to the subject of Miss Grex. Then it was 
 Hunterleys himself who introduced it. He was be- 
 ginning to rather like this big, self-confident young 
 man, so full of his simple love affair, so absolutely 
 honest in his purpose, in his outlook upon life. 
 
 " Lane," he said, " I have given you several hints 
 during the day, haven't I ? " 
 
 " That's so," Richard agreed. " You've done 
 your best to head me off. So did my future father- 
 in-law. Sort of hopeless task, I can assure you." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " Honestly," he continued, " I wouldn't let myself 
 think too much about her, Lane. I don't want to 
 explain exactly what I mean. There's no real rea- 
 son wliy I shouldn't tell you what I know about Mr. 
 Grex, but for a good many people's sakes, it's just 
 as well that those few of us who know keep quiet. 
 I am sure you trust me, and it's just the same, there- 
 fore, if I tell you straight, as man to man, that 
 you're only laying up for yourself a store of un-
 
 82 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 happiness by fixing your thoughts so entirely upon 
 that young woman." 
 
 Richard, for all his sublime confidence, was a little 
 staggered by the other's earnestness. 
 
 " Look here," he said, " the girl isn't married, to 
 start with? " 
 
 " Not that I know of," Hunterleys confessed. 
 
 " And she's not engaged because I've seen her left 
 hand," Richard proceeded. " I'm not one of those 
 Americans who go shouting all over the world that 
 because I've got a few million dollars I am the 
 equal of anybody, but honestly, Sir Henry, there 
 are a good many prejudices over this side that you 
 fellows lay too much store by. Grex may be a no- 
 bleman in disguise. I don't care. I am a man. I 
 can give her everything she needs in life and I am 
 not going to admit, even if she is an aristocrat, that 
 you croakers are right when you shake your heads 
 and advise me to give her up. I don't care who she 
 is, Hunterleys. I am going to marry her." 
 
 Hunterleys helped himself to a liqueur. 
 
 " Young man," he said, " in a sense I admire your 
 independence. In another, I think you've got all 
 the conceit a man needs for this world. Let us pre- 
 sume, for a moment, that she is, as you surmise, the 
 daughter of a nobleman. When it suits her father 
 to throw off his incognito, she is probably in touch 
 with young men in the highest circles of many coun- 
 tries. Why should you suppose that you can come 
 along and cut them all out ? " 
 
 " Because I love her," the young man answered 
 simply. " They don't." 
 
 " You must remember," Hunterleys resumed,
 
 UP THE MOUNTAIN 83 
 
 " that all foreign noblemen are not what they are 
 represented to be in your comic papers. Austrian 
 and Russian men of high rank are most of them very 
 highly cultivated, very accomplished, and very good- 
 looking. You don't know much of the world, do 
 you? It's a pretty formidable enterprise to come 
 from a New York office, with only Harvard behind 
 you, and a year or so's travel as a tourist, and enter 
 the list against men who have had twice your oppor- 
 tunities. I am talking to you like this, young fel- 
 low, for your good. I hope you realise that. 
 You're used to getting what you want. That's be- 
 cause you've been brought up in a country where 
 money can do almost anything. I am behind the 
 scenes here and I can assure you that your money 
 won't count for much with Mr. Grex." 
 
 " I never thought it would," Richard admitted. 
 " I think when I talk to her she'll understand that I 
 care more than any of the others. If you want to 
 know the reason, that's why I'm so hopeful." 
 
 Monsieur le Directeur had risen to his feet. Some 
 one had proposed his health and he made a grace- 
 ful little speech of acknowledgment. He remained 
 standing for a few minutes after the cheers which had 
 greeted his neat oratorical display had died away. 
 The conclusion of his remarks came as rather a sur- 
 prise to his guests. 
 
 " I have to ask you, ladies and gentlemen," he 
 announced, " with many, many regrets, and begging 
 you to forgive my apparent inhospitality, to make 
 your arrangements for leaving us as speedily as 
 may be possible. Our magnificent situation, with 
 which I believe that most of you are familiar, has
 
 84 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 but one drawback. We are subject to very dense 
 mountain mists, and alas ! I have to tell you that 
 one of these has come on most unexpectedly and the 
 descent must be made with the utmost care. Believe 
 me, there is no risk or any danger," he went on ear- 
 nestly, " so long as you instruct your chauffeurs to 
 proceed with all possible caution. At the same time, 
 as there is very little chance of the mist becoming 
 absolutely dispelled before daylight, in your own 
 interests I would suggest that a start be made as 
 soon as possible." 
 
 Every one rose at once, Richard and Hunterleys 
 amongst them. 
 
 " This will test your skill to-night, young man," 
 Hunterleys remarked. " How's the nerve, eh? " 
 
 Richard smiled almost beatifically. For once he 
 had allowed his eyes to wander and he was watching 
 the girl with golden hair who was at that moment 
 receiving the respectful homage of the director. 
 
 " Lunatics, and men who are head over heels in 
 love," he declared, " never come to any harm. 
 You'll be perfectly safe with me."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 IN THE MISTS 
 
 Their first glimpse of the night, as Hunterleys 
 and Lane passed out through the grudgingly opened 
 door, was sufficiently disconcerting. A little mur- 
 mur of dismay broke from the assembled crowd. 
 Nothing was to be seen but a dense bank of white 
 mist, through which shone the brilliant lights of the 
 automobiles waiting at the door. Monsieur le 
 Directeur hastened about, doing his best to reassure 
 everybody. 
 
 " If I thought it was of the slightest use," he dfr- 
 clared, " I would ask you all to stay, but when the 
 clouds once stoop like this, there is not likely to be 
 any change for twenty-four hours, and we have not, 
 alas! sleeping accommodation. If the cars are 
 slowly driven and kept to the inside, it is only a 
 matter of a mile or two before you will drop below 
 the level of the clouds." 
 
 Hunterleys and Lane made their way out to the 
 front, and with their coat collars turned up, groped 
 their way to the turf on the other side of the avenue. 
 From where they stood, looking downwards, the 
 whole world seemed wrapped in mysterious and som- 
 ber silence. There was nothing to be seen but the 
 grey, driving clouds. In less than a minute their
 
 86 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 hair and eyebrows were dripping. A slight breeze 
 had sprung up, the cold was intense. 
 
 " Cheerful sort of place, this," Lane remarked 
 gloomily. " Shall we make a start? " 
 
 Hunterleys hesitated. 
 
 "Not just yet. Look!" 
 
 He pointed downwards. For a moment the clouds 
 had parted. Thousands of feet below, like little 
 pinpricks of red fire, they saw the lights of Monte 
 Carlo. Almost as they looked, the clouds closed up 
 again. It was as though they had peered into an- 
 other world. 
 
 " Jove, that was queer ! " Lane muttered. " Look ! 
 What's that? " 
 
 A long ray of sickly yellow light shone for a mo- 
 ment and was then suddenly blotted out by a roll- 
 ing mass of vapour. The clouds had closed in 
 again once more. The obscurity was denser than 
 ever. 
 
 " The lighthouse," Hunterleys replied. " Do you 
 think it's any use waiting? " 
 
 " We'll go inside and put on our coats," Lane 
 suggested. " My car is by the side of the avenue 
 there. I covered it over and left it." 
 
 They found their coats in the hall, wrapped them- 
 selves up and lit cigarettes. Already many of the 
 cars had started and vanished cautiously into ob- 
 scurity. Every now and then one could hear the 
 tooting of their horns from far away below. The 
 chief steward was directing the departures and in- 
 sisting upon an interval of three minutes between 
 each. The two men stood on one side and watched 
 him. He was holding open the door of a large, ex-
 
 IN THE MISTS 87 
 
 ceptionally handsome car. On the other side was a 
 servant in white livery. Lane gripped his compan- 
 ion's arm. 
 
 " There she goes ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 The girl, followed by Mr. Grex, stepped into the 
 landaulette, which was brilliantly illuminated inside 
 with electric light. Almost immediately the car 
 glided noiselessly off. The two men watched it until 
 it disappeared. Then they crossed the road. 
 
 " Now then, Sir Henry," Richard observed grimly, 
 as he turned the handle of the car and they took their 
 places in the little well-shaped space, " better say 
 your prayers. I'm going to drive slowly enough 
 but it's an awful job, this, crawling down the side of 
 a mountain in the dark, with nothing between you 
 and eternity but your brakes." 
 
 They crept off. As far as the first turn the lights 
 from the club-house helped them. Immediately aft- 
 erwards, however, the obscurity was enveloping. 
 Their faces were wet and shiny with moisture. Even 
 the fingers of Lane's gloves which gripped the wheel 
 were sodden. He proceeded at a snail's pace, keep- 
 ing always on the inside of the road and only a few 
 inches from the wall or bank. Once he lost his way 
 and his front wheel struck a small stump, but they 
 were going too slowly for disaster. Another time 
 he failed to follow the turn of the road and found 
 himself in a rough cart track. They backed with 
 difficulty and got right once more. At the fourth 
 turn they came suddenly upon a huge car which had 
 left the road as they had done and was standing 
 amongst the pine trees, its lights flaring through the 
 mist.
 
 88 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Hullo ! " Lane called out, coming to a standstill. 
 " You've missed the turn." 
 
 " My master is going to stay here all night," the 
 chauffeur shouted back. 
 
 A man put his head from the window and began 
 to talk in rapid French. 
 
 " It is inconceivable," he exclaimed, " that any one 
 should attempt the descent ! We have rugs, my wife 
 and I. We stay here till the clouds pass." 
 
 " Good night, then ! " Lane cried cheerfully. 
 
 " Not sure that you're not wise," Hunterleys 
 added, with a shiver. 
 
 Twice they stopped while Lane rubbed the mois- 
 ture from his gloves and lit a fresh cigarette. 
 
 " This is a test for your nerve, young fellow," 
 Hunterleys remarked. " Ar<5 you feeling it? " 
 
 " Not in the least," Lane replied. " I can't make 
 out, though, why that steward made us all start at 
 intervals of three minutes. Seems to me we should 
 have been better going together at this pace. Save 
 any one from getting lost, anyhow." 
 
 They crawled on for another twenty minutes. 
 The routine was always the same a hundred yards 
 or perhaps two, an abrupt turn and then a similar 
 distance the other way. They had one or two slight 
 misadventures but they made progress. Once, 
 through a rift, they caught a momentary vision of a 
 carpet of lights at a giddy distance below. 
 
 " We'll make it all right," Lane declared, crawling 
 around another corner. " Gee ! but this is the tough- 
 est thing in driving I've ever known ! I can do 
 ninety with this car easier than I can do this three. 
 Hullo, some one else in trouble ! "
 
 IN THE MISTS 89 
 
 Before them, in the middle of the road, a light 
 was being slowly swung backwards and forwards. 
 Lane brought the car to a standstill. He had 
 scarcely done so when they were conscious of the 
 sound of footsteps all around them. The arms of 
 both men were seized from behind. They vere ad- 
 dressed in guttural French. 
 
 " Messieurs will be pleased to descend." 
 
 "What the what's wrong?" Lane demanded. 
 
 " Descend at once," was the prompt order. 
 
 By the light of the lantern which the speaker was 
 holding, they caught a glimpse of a dozen white faces 
 and the dull gleam of metal from the firearms which 
 his companions were carrying. Hunterleys stepped 
 out. An escort of two men was at once formed on 
 either side of him. 
 
 " Tell us what it's all about, anyhow? " he 
 asked coolly. 
 
 " Nothing serious," the same guttural voice an- 
 swered, " a little affair which will be settled in a 
 few minutes. As for you, monsieur," the man con- 
 tinued, turning to Lane, " you will drive your car 
 slowly to the next turn, and leave it there. After- 
 wards you will return with me." 
 
 Richard set his teeth and leaned over his wheel. 
 Then it suddenly flashed into his mind that Mr. Grex 
 and his daughter were already amongst the cap- 
 tured. He quickly abandoned his first instinct. 
 
 " With pleasure, monsieur," he assented. " Tell 
 me when to stop." 
 
 He drove the car a few yards round the corner, 
 past a line of others. Their lights were all extin- 
 guished and the chauffeurs absent.
 
 90 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " This is a pleasant sort of picnic ! " he grumbled, 
 as he brought his car to a standstill. " Now what 
 do I do, monsieur ? " 
 
 " You return with me, if you please," was the re- 
 
 Richard stood, for a moment, irresolute. The 
 idea of giving in without a struggle was most dis- 
 tasteful to this self-reliant young American. Then 
 he realised that not only was his captor armed but 
 that there were men behind him and one on either 
 side. 
 
 " Lead the way," he decided tersely. 
 
 They marched him up the hill, a little way across 
 some short turf and round the back of a rock to a 
 long building which he remembered to have noticed 
 on his way up. His guide threw open the door and 
 Richard looked in upon a curious scene. Ranged up 
 against the further wall were about a dozen of the 
 guests who had preceded him in his departure from 
 the Club-house. One man only had his hands tied 
 behind him. The others, apparently, were consid- 
 ered harmless. Mr. Grex was the one man, and 
 there was a little blood dripping from his right hand. 
 The girl stood by his side. She was no paler than 
 usual she showed, indeed, no signs of terror at 
 all but her eyes were bright with indignation. 
 One man was busy stripping the jewels from the 
 women and throwing them into a bag. In the far 
 corner the little group of chauffeurs was being 
 watched by two more men, also carrying firearms. 
 Lane looked down the line of faces. Lady Hunter- 
 leys was there, and by her side Draconmeyer. Hun- 
 [terleys was a little apart from the others. Freddy
 
 IN THE MISTS 91 
 
 Montressor, who was leaning against the wall, chuc- 
 kled as Lane came in. 
 
 " So they've got you, too, Dicky, have they ? " he 
 remarked. " It's a hold-up a bully one, too. 
 Makes one feel quite homesick, eh? How much have 
 you got on you ? " 
 
 " Precious little, thank heavens ! " Richard mut- 
 tered. 
 
 His eyes were fixed upon the brigand who was col- 
 lecting the jewels, and who was now approaching 
 Miss Grex. He felt something tingling in his blood. 
 One of the guests began to talk excitedly. The man 
 who was apparently the leader, and who was stand- 
 ing at the door with an electric torch in one hand 
 and a revolver in the other, stepped a little for- 
 ward. 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen," he said, " once more I 
 beg you not to be alarmed. So long as you part 
 with your valuables peaceably, you will be at liberty 
 to depart as soon as every one has been dealt with. 
 If there is no resistance, there will be no trouble. 
 We do not wish to hurt any one." 
 
 The collector of jewels had arrived in front of the 
 girl. She unfastened her necklace and handed it to 
 him. 
 
 " The little pendant around my neck," she re- 
 marked calmly, " is valueless. I desire to keep it." 
 
 " Impossible ! " the man replied. " Off with it." 
 
 " But I insist ! " she exclaimed. " It is an heir- 
 loom." 
 
 The man laughed brutally. His filthy hand was 
 raised to her neck. Even as he touched her, Lane, 
 with a roar of anger, sent one of his guards flying
 
 9 2 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 on to the floor of the barn, and, snatching the gun 
 from his hand, sprang forward. 
 
 " Come on, you fellows ! " he shouted, bringing it 
 down suddenly upon the hand of the robber. 
 " These things aren't loaded. There's only one of 
 these blackguards with a revolver." 
 
 " And I've got him ! " Hunterleys, who had been 
 watching Lane closely, cried, suddenly swinging his 
 arm around the man's neck and knocking his re- 
 volver up. 
 
 There was a yell of pain from the man with the 
 jewels, whose wrist Lane had broken, a howl of dis- 
 may from the others pandemonium. 
 
 " At 'em, Freddy ! " Lane shouted, seizing the 
 nearest of his assailants by the neck and throwing 
 him out into the darkness. " To hell with you ! " 
 he added, just escaping a murderous blow and driv- 
 ing his fist into the face of the man who had aimed 
 it. " Good for you, Hunterleys ! There isn't one 
 of those old guns of theirs that'll go off. They 
 aren't even loaded." 
 
 The barn seemed suddenly to become half empty. 
 Into the darkness the little band of brigands crept 
 away like rats. In less than half a minute they had 
 all fled, excepting the one who lay on the ground 
 unconscious from the effects of Richard's blow, and 
 the leader of the gang, whom Hunterleys still held 
 by the throat. Richard, with a clasp-knife which 
 he had drawn from his pocket, cut the cord which 
 they had tied around Mr. Grex's wrists. His ac- 
 tion, however, was altogether mechanical. He 
 scarcely glanced at what he was doing. Somehow 
 or other, he found the girl's hands in his.
 
 IN THE MISTS 93 
 
 "That brute didn't touch you, did he?" he 
 asked. 
 
 She looked at him. Whether the clouds were still 
 outside or not, Lane felt that he had passed into 
 Heaven. 
 
 " He did not, thanks to you," she murmured. 
 " But do you mean really that those guns all the 
 time weren't loaded? " 
 
 " I don't believe they were," Richard declared 
 stoutly. " That chap kept on playing about with 
 the lock of his old musket and I felt sure that it was 
 of no use, loaded or not. Anyway, when I saw that 
 brute try to handle you well " 
 
 He stopped, with an awkward little laugh. Mr. 
 Grex tapped a cigarette upon his case and lit it. 
 
 " I am sure, my young friend, we are all very much 
 indebted to you. The methods which sometimes are 
 scarcely politic in the ordinary affairs of life," he 
 continued drily, " are admirable enough in a case 
 like this. We will just help Hunterleys tie up the 
 leader of the gang. A very plucky stroke, that of 
 his." 
 
 He crossed the barn. One of the women had 
 fainted, others were busy collecting their jewelry. 
 The chauffeurs had hurried off to relight the lamps 
 of the cars. 
 
 " I must tell you this," Richard said, drawing a 
 a little nearer to the girl. " Please don't be angry 
 with me. I went to your father this afternoon. I 
 made an idiot of myself I couldn't help it. I 
 was staring at you and he noticed it. I didn't want 
 him to think that I was such an ill-mannered brute 
 as I seemed. I tried to make him understand but
 
 94 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 he wouldn't listen to me. I'd like to tell you now 
 now that I have the opportunity that I think 
 you're just " 
 
 She smiled very faintly. 
 
 " What is it that you wish to tell me ? " she asked 
 patiently. 
 
 " That I love you," he wound up abruptly. 
 
 There was a moment's silence, a silence with a 
 background of strange noises. People were talking, 
 almost shouting to one another with excitement. 
 Newcomers were being told the news. The man 
 whom Hunterleys had captured was shrieking and 
 cursing. From beyond came the tooting of motor- 
 horns as the cars returned. Lane heard nothing. 
 He saw nothing but the white face of the girl as she 
 stood in the shadows of the barn, with its walls of 
 roughly threaded pine trunks. 
 
 " But I have scarcely ever spoken to you in my 
 life ! " she protested, looking at him in astonishment. 
 
 " It doesn't make any difference," he replied. 
 " You know I am speaking the truth. I think, in 
 your heart, that you, too, know that these things 
 don't matter, now and then. Of course, you don't 
 you couldn't feel anything of what I feel, but 
 with me it's there now and for always, and I want to 
 have a chance, just a chance to make you under- 
 stand. I'm not really mad. I'm just in love 
 with you." 
 
 tt 
 
 She smiled at him, still in a friendly manner, but 
 her face had clouded. There was a look in her eyes 
 almost of trouble, perhaps of regret. 
 
 " I am so sorry," she murmured. " It is only a 
 sudden feeling on your part, isn't it? You have
 
 IN THE MISTS 95 
 
 been so splendid to-night that I can do no more than 
 thank you very, very much. And as for what you 
 have told me, I think it is an honour, but I wish you 
 to forget it. It is not wise for you to think of me 
 In that way. I fear that I cannot even offer you my 
 friendship." 
 
 Again there was a brief silence. The clamour of 
 exclamations from the little groups of people still 
 filled the air outside. They could hear cars coming 
 and going. The man whom Hunterleys and Mr. 
 Grex were tying up was still groaning and cursing. 
 
 " Are you married ? " Richard asked abruptly. 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 "Engaged?" 
 
 "No!" 
 
 " Do you care very much for any one else? " 
 
 " No ! " she told him softly. 
 
 He drew her away. 
 
 " Come outside for one moment," he begged. " I 
 hate to see you in the place where that beast tried to 
 lay hands upon you. Here is your necklace." 
 
 He picked it up from her feet and she followed him 
 obediently outside. People were standing about, 
 shadowy figures in little groups. Some of the cars 
 had already left, others were being prepared for a 
 start. Below, once more the clouds had parted and 
 the lights twinkled like fireflies through the trees. 
 This time they could even see the lights from the vil- 
 lage of La Turbie, less brilliant but almost at their 
 feet. Richard glanced upwards. There was a star 
 clearly visible. 
 
 " The clouds are lifting," he said. " Listen. If 
 there is no one else, tell me, why there shouldn't be
 
 9 6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 the slightest chance for me? I am not clever, I am 
 nobody of any account, but I care for you so won- 
 derfully. I love you, I always shall love you, more 
 than any one else could. I never understood before, 
 but I understand now. Just this caring means so 
 much." 
 
 She stood close to his side. Her manner at the 
 same time seemed to depress him and yet to fill him 
 with hope. 
 
 " What is your name? " she enquired. 
 
 " Richard Lane," he told her. " I am an Amer- 
 ican." 
 
 " Then, Mr. Richard Lane," she continued softly, 
 " I shall always think of you and think of to-night 
 and think of what you have said, and perhaps I shall 
 be a little sorry that what you have asked me can- 
 not be." 
 
 " Cannot? " he muttered. 
 
 She shook her head almost sadly. 
 
 " Some day," she went on, " as soon as our stay 
 in Monte Carlo is finished, if you like, I will write 
 and tell you the real reason, in case you do not find 
 it out before." 
 
 He was silent, looking downwards to where the 
 gathering wind was driving the clouds before it, to 
 where the lights grew clearer and clearer at every 
 moment. 
 
 " Does it matter," he asked abruptly, " that I am 
 rich very rich ? " 
 
 " It does not matter at all," she answered. 
 
 " Doesn't it matter," he demanded, turning sud- 
 denly upon her and speaking with a new passion, al- 
 most a passion of resentment, " doesn't it matter
 
 IN THE MISTS 97 
 
 that without you life doesn't exist for me any 
 longer? Doesn't it matter that a man has given 
 you his whole heart, however slight a thing it may 
 seem to you? What am I to do if you send me 
 away? There isn't anything left in life." 
 
 " There is what you have always found in it," she 
 reminded him. 
 
 " There isn't," he replied fiercely. " That's just 
 what there isn't. I should go back to a world that 
 was like a dead city." 
 
 He suddenly felt her hand upon his. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Lane," she begged, " wait for a little 
 time before you nurse these sad thoughts, and when 
 3 T ou know how impossible what you ask is, it will 
 seem easier. But if you really care to hear some- 
 thing, if it would really please you sometimes 
 to think of it when you are alone and you re- 
 member this little foolishness of yours, let me tell 
 you, if I may, that I am sorry I am very sorry." 
 
 His hand was suddenly pressed, and then, before 
 he could stop her, she had glided away. He moved 
 a step to follow her and almost at once he was sur- 
 rounded. Lady Hunterleys patted him on the shoul- 
 der. 
 
 " Really," she exclaimed, " you and Henry were 
 our salvation. I haven't felt so thrilled for ages. 
 I only wish," she added, dropping her voice a little, 
 " that it might bring you the luck you deserve." 
 
 He answered vaguely. She turned back to Hun- 
 terleys. She was busy tearing up her handker- 
 chief. 
 
 " I am going to tie up your head," she said. 
 ** Please stoop down."
 
 9 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He obeyed at once. The side of his forehead 
 was bleeding where a bullet from the revolver of the 
 man he had captured had grazed his temple. 
 
 " Too bad to trouble you," he muttered. 
 
 " It's the least we can do," she declared, laughing 
 nervously. " Forgive me if my fingers tremble. It 
 is the excitement of the last few minutes." 
 
 Hunterleys stood quite still. Words seemed diffi- 
 cult to him just then. 
 
 " You were very brave, Henry," she said quietly. 
 *' Whom whom are you going down with? " 
 
 " I am with Richard Lane," he answered, " in his 
 two-seated racer." 
 
 She bit her lip. 
 
 " I did not mean to come alone with Mr. Dracon- 
 meyer, really," she explained. " He thought, up to 
 the last moment, that his wife would be well enough 
 to come." 
 
 " Did he really believe so, do you think ? " Hunter- 
 leys asked. 
 
 A voice intervened. Mr. Draconmeyer was stand- 
 ing by their side. 
 
 " Well," he said, " we might as well resume our 
 journey. We all look and feel, I think, as though 
 we had been taking part in a scene from some opera 
 bouffe." 
 
 Lady Hunterleys shivered. She had drawn a lit- 
 tle closer to her husband. Her coat was unfastened. 
 Hunterleys leaned towards her and buttoned it with 
 strong fingers up to her throat. 
 
 " Thank you," she whispered. " You wouldn't 
 * you couldn't drive down with us, could you ? " 
 
 " Have you plenty of room ? " he enquired.
 
 IN THE MISTS 99 
 
 " Plenty," she declared eagerly. " Mr. Dracon- 
 meyer and I are alone." 
 
 For a moment Hunterleys hesitated. Then he 
 caught the smile upon the face of the man he de- 
 tested. 
 
 " Thank you," he said, " I don't think I can desert 
 Lane." 
 
 She stiffened at once. Her good night was almost 
 formal. Hunterleys stepped into the car which 
 Richard had brought up. There was just a slight 
 mist around them, but the whole country below, 
 though chaotic, was visible, and the lights on the 
 hill-side, from La Turbie down to the sea-board, 
 were in plain sight. 
 
 " Our troubles," Hunterleys remarked, as they 
 glided off, " seem to be over." 
 
 " Maybe," Lane replied grimly. " Mine seem to 
 be only just beginning!"
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE 
 
 At ten o'clock the next morning, Hunterleys 
 crossed the sunlit gardens towards the English bank, 
 to receive what was, perhaps, the greatest shock of 
 his life. A few minutes later he stood before the ma- 
 hogany counter, his eyes fixed upon the half sheet 
 of notepaper which the manager had laid before him. 
 The words were few enough and simple enough, yet 
 they constituted for him a message written in the 
 very ink of tragedy. The notepaper was the note- 
 paper of the Hotel de Paris, the date the night be- 
 fore, the words few and unmistakable : 
 
 To the Manager of the English Bank. 
 Please hand my letters to bearer. 
 
 HENRY HUNTERLEYS. 
 
 He read it over, letter by letter, word by word. 
 Then at last he looked up. His voice sounded, even 
 to himself, unnatural. 
 
 " You were quite right," he said. " This order 
 is a forgery." 
 
 The manager was greatly disturbed. He threw 
 open the door of his private office. 
 
 *' Come and sit down for a moment, will you, Sir 
 Henry? " he invited. " This is a very serious mat- 
 ter, and I should like to discuss it with you."
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE lor 
 
 They passed behind into the comfortable little 
 sitting-room, smelling of morocco leather and roses, 
 with its single high window, its broad writing-table, 
 its carefully placed easy-chairs. Men had pleaded! 
 in here with all the eloquence at their command, men 
 of every rank and walk in life, thieves, nobles, ruined 
 men and pseudo-millionaires, always with the same 
 cry money; money for the great pleasure-mill 
 which day and night drew in its own. Hunterleys 1 
 sank heavily into a chair. The manager seated him- 
 self in an official attitude before his desk. 
 
 " I am sorry to have distressed you with this let- 
 ter, Sir Henry," he said. " However, you must ad- 
 mit that things might have been worse. It is for- 
 tunately our invariable custom, when letters are 
 addressed to one of our clients in our care, to deliver 
 them to no one else under any circumstances. If 
 you had been ill, for instance, I should have brought 
 you your correspondence across to the hotel, but I 
 should not have delivered it to your own secretary. 
 That, as I say, is our invariable rule, and we find 
 that it has saved many of our clients from incon- 
 venience. In your case," the manager concluded 
 impressively, " your communications being, in a 
 sense, official, any such attempt as has been made 
 would not stand the slightest chance of success. 
 We should be even more particular than in any ordi- 
 nary case to see that by no possible chance could any 
 correspondence addressed to you, fall into other 
 hands." 
 
 Hunterleys began to recover himself a little. He 
 drew towards himself the heap of letters which the 
 manager had laid by his side.
 
 102 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Please make yourself quite comfortable here," 
 the latter begged. " Read your letters and answer 
 them, if you like, before you go out. I always call 
 this," he added, with a smile, " the one inviolable 
 sanctuary of Monte Carlo." 
 
 " You are very kind," Hunterleys replied. '* Are 
 you sure that I am not detaining you? " 
 
 " Not in the least. Personally, I am not at all 
 busy. Three-quarters of our business, you see, is 
 merely a matter of routine. I was just going to 
 shut myself up here and read the Times. Have a 
 cigarette? Here's an envelope opener and a waste- 
 paper basket. Make yourself comfortable." 
 
 Hunterleys glanced through his correspondence, 
 rapidly reading and destroying the greater portion 
 of it. He came at last to two parchment envelopes 
 marked " On His Majesty's Service." These he 
 opened and read their contents slowly and with great 
 care. When he had finished, he produced a pair of 
 scissors from his waistcoat pocket and cut the letters 
 into minute fragments. He drew a little sigh of re- 
 lief when at last their final destruction was assured, 
 and rose shortly afterwards to his feet. 
 
 " I shall have to go on to the telegraph office," he 
 said, " to send these few messages. Thank you very 
 much, Mr. Harrison, for your kindness. If you do 
 not mind, I should like to take this forged order 
 away with me." 
 
 The manager hesitated. 
 
 " I am not sure that I ought to part with it," he 
 observed doubtfully. 
 
 " Could you recognise the person who presented 
 it you or your clerk ? "
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE 103 
 
 The manager shook his head. 
 
 " Not a chance," he replied. " It was brought 
 in, unfortunately, before I arrived. Young Par- 
 sons, who was the only one in the bank, explained 
 that letters were never delivered to an order, and 
 turned away to attend to some one else who was in 
 a hurry. He simply remembers that it was a man, 
 and that is all." 
 
 " Then the document is useless to you," Hunter- 
 leys pointed out. " You could never do anything 
 in the matter without evidence of identification, and 
 that being so, if you don't mind I should like to 
 have it." 
 
 Mr. Harrison yielded it up. 
 
 " As you wish," he agreed. " It is interesting, 
 if only as a curiosity. The imitation of your signa- 
 ture is almost perfect." 
 
 Hunterleys took up his hat. Then for a moment, 
 with his hand upon the door, he hesitated. 
 
 " Mr. Harrison," he said, " I am engaged just 
 now, as you have doubtless surmised, in certain in- 
 vestigations on behalf of the usual third party whom 
 we need not name. Those investigations have 
 reached a pitch which might possibly lead me into a 
 position of some well, I might almost say danger. 
 You and I both know that there are weapons in this 
 place which can be made use of by persons wholly 
 without scruples, which are scarcely available at 
 home. I want you to keep your eyes open. I have 
 very few friends here whom I can wholly trust. It 
 is my purpose to call in here every morning at ten 
 o'clock for my letters, and if I fail to arrive within 
 half-an-hour of that time without having given you
 
 104 MR - GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 verbal notice, something will have happened to me. 
 You understand what I mean? " 
 
 " You mean that you are threatened with assas- 
 sination ? " the manager asked gravely. 
 
 " Practically it amounts to that," Hunterleys 
 admitted. " I received a warning letter this morn- 
 ing. There is a very important matter on foot here, 
 Mr. Harrison, a matter so important that to bring 
 it to a successful conclusion I fancy that those who 
 are engaged in it would not hesitate to face any risk. 
 I have wired to England for help. If anything hap- 
 pens that it comes too late, I want you, when you find 
 that I have disappeared, even if my disappearance 
 is only a temporary matter, to let them know in Lon- 
 don you know how at once." 
 
 The manager nodded. 
 
 " I will do so," he promised. " I trust, however,'* 
 he went on, " that you are exaggerating the danger. 
 Mr. Billson lived here for many years without any 
 trouble." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled slightly. 
 
 " I am not a Secret Service man," he explained. 
 " Billson's successor lives here now, of course, and 
 is working with me, under the usual guise of news- 
 paper correspondent. I don't think that he will 
 come to any harm. But I am here in a somewhat 
 different position, and my negotiations in the east, 
 during the last few weeks, have made me exceedingly 
 unpopular with some very powerful people. How- 
 ever, it is only an outside chance, of course, that I 
 wish to guard against. I rely upon you, if I should 
 fail to come to the bank any one morning without 
 giving you notice, to do as I have asked."
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE 105 
 
 Hunterleys left the bank and walked out once 
 more into the sunlight. He first of all made his way 
 down to the Post Office, where he rapidly dispatched 
 several cablegrams which he had coded and written 
 out in Mr. Harrison's private office. Afterwards he 
 went on to the Terrace, and finding a retired seat 
 at the further end, sat down. Then he drew the 
 forged order once more from his pocket. Word by 
 word, line by line, he studied it, and the more he 
 studied it, the more hopeless the whole thing seemed. 
 The handwriting, with the exception of the signa- 
 ture, which was a wonderful imitation of his own, 
 was the handwriting of his wife. She had done this 
 thing at Draconmeyer's instigation, done this thing 
 against her husband, taken sides absolutely with the 
 man whom he had come to look upon as his enemy! 
 What inference was he to draw? He sat there, 
 looking out over the Mediterranean, soft and blue, 
 glittering with sunlight, breaking upon the yellow 
 stretch of sand in little foam-flecked waves no higher 
 than his hand. He watched the sunlight glitter on 
 the white houses which fringed the bay. He looked 
 idly up at the trim little vineyards on the brown 
 hill-side. It was the beauty spot of the world. 
 There was no object upon which his eyes could rest, 
 which was not beautiful. The whole place was like 
 a feast of colour and form and sunshine. Yet for 
 him the light seemed suddenly to have faded from 
 life. Danger had only stimulated him, had helped 
 him to cope with the dull pain which he had carried 
 about with him during the last few months. He was 
 face to face now with something else. It was worse, 
 this, than anything he had dreamed. Somehow or
 
 106 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 other, notwithstanding the growing estrangement 
 with his wife which had ended in their virtual sepa- 
 ration, he had still believed in her, still had faith in 
 her, still had hope of an ultimate reconciliation. 
 And behind it all, he had loved her. It seemed at 
 that moment that a nightmare was being formed 
 around him. A new horror was creeping into his 
 thoughts. He had felt from the first a bitter dislike 
 of Draconmeyer. Now, however, he realised that 
 this feeling had developed into an actual and harrow- 
 ing jealousy. He realised that the man was no 
 passive agent. It was Draconmeyer who, with sub- 
 tle purpose, was drawing his wife away! Hunter- 
 leys sprang to his feet and walked angrily backwards 
 and forwards along the few yards of Terrace, which 
 happened at that moment to be almost deserted. 
 Vague plans of instant revenge upon Draconmeyer 
 floated into his mind. It was simple enough to take 
 the law into his own hands, to thrash him publicly, 
 to make Monte Carlo impossible for him. And then, 
 suddenly, he remembered his duty. They were trust- 
 ing him in Downing Street. Chance had put into 
 his hands so many threads of this diabolical plot. 
 It was for him to checkmate it. He was the only 
 person who could checkmate it. This was no time 
 for him to think of personal revenge, no time for him 
 to brood over his own broken life. There was work 
 still to be done his country's work. . . . 
 
 He felt the need of change of scene. The sight 
 of the place with its placid, enervating beauty, its 
 constant appeal to the senses, was beginning to have 
 a curious effect upon his nerves. He turned back 
 upon the Terrace, and by means of the least fre-
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE 107 
 
 quented streets he passed through the town and up 
 towards the hills. He walked steadily, reckless of 
 time or direction. He had lunch at a small inn high 
 above the road from Cannes, and it was past three 
 o'clock when he turned homewards. He had found 
 his way into the main road now and he trudged 
 along heedless of the dust with which the constant 
 procession of automobiles covered him all the while. 
 The exercise had done him good. He was able to 
 keep his thoughts focussed upon his mission. So 
 far, at any rate, he had held his own. His dis- 
 patches to London had been clear and vivid. He 
 had told them exactly what he had feared, he had 
 shown them the inside of this scheme as instinct had 
 revealed it to him, and he had begged for aid. One 
 man alone, surrounded by enemies, and in a country 
 where all things were possible, was in a parlous po- 
 sition if once the extent of his knowledge were sur- 
 mised. So far, the plot had not yet matured. So 
 far, though the clouds had gathered and the thunder 
 was muttering, the storm had not broken. The rea- 
 son for that he knew the one person needed, the 
 one person for whose coming all these plans had been 
 made, had not yet arrived. There was no telling, 
 however, how long the respite might last. At any 
 moment might commence this conference, whose 
 avowed purpose was to break at a single blow, a sin- 
 gle treacherous but deadly blow, the Empire whose 
 downfall Selingman had once publicly declared was 
 the one great necessity involved by his country's ex- 
 pansion. . . . 
 
 Hunterleys quenched his thirst at a roadside cafe, 
 sitting out upon the pavement and drinking coarse
 
 io8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 red wine and soda-water. Then he bought a packet 
 of black cigarettes and continued his journey. He 
 was within sight of Monte Carlo when for the twen- 
 tieth time he had to step to the far side of the path- 
 way to avoid being smothered in dust by an advanc- 
 ing automobile. This time, by some chance, he 
 glanced around, attracted by the piercing character 
 of its long-distance whistle. A high-powered grey 
 touring car came by, travelling at a great pace. 
 Hunterleys stood perfectly rigid, one hand grasping 
 the wall by the side of which he stood. Notwith- 
 standing his spectacles and the thick coating of dust 
 upon his clothes, the solitary passenger of the car 
 was familiar enough to him. It was the man for 
 whom this plot had been prepared. It was Paul 
 Douaille, the great Foreign Minister into whose 
 hands even the most cautious of Premiers had de- 
 clared himself willing to place the destinies of his 
 country ! 
 
 Hunterleys pursued the road no longer. He took 
 a ticket at the next station and hurried back to 
 Monte Carlo. He went first to his room, bathed and 
 changed, and, passing along the private passage, 
 made his way into the Sporting Club. The first 
 person whom he saw, seated in her accustomed place 
 at her favourite table, was his wife. She beckoned 
 him to come over to her. There was a vacant chair 
 by her side to which she pointed. 
 
 " Thank you," he said, " I won't sit down. I 
 don't think that I care to play just now. You are 
 fortunate this afternoon, I trust ? " 
 
 Something in his face and tone checked that rush 
 of altered feeling of which she had been more than
 
 SIGNS OF TROUBLE 109 
 
 once passionately conscious since the night be- 
 fore. 
 
 " I am hideously out of luck," she confessed 
 slowly. " I have been losing all day. I think that 
 I shall give it up." 
 
 She rose wearily to her feet and he felt a sudden 
 compassion for her. She was certainly looking tired: 
 Her eyes were weary, she had the air of an unhappy 
 woman. After all, perhaps she too sometimes knew 
 what loneliness was. 
 
 ** I should like some tea so much," she added, a lit- 
 tle piteously. 
 
 He opened his lips to invite her to pass through 
 into the restaurant with him. Then the memory of 
 that forged order still in his pocket, flashed into his 
 mind. He hesitated. A cold, familiar voice at his 
 elbow intervened. 
 
 " Are you quite ready for tea, Lady Hunterleys ? 
 I have been in and taken a table near the window." 
 
 Hunterleys moved at once on one side. Dracon- 
 meyer bowed pleasantly. 
 
 " Cheerful time we had last night, hadn't we? " 
 he remarked. " Glad to see your knock didn't lay 
 you up." 
 
 Hunterleys disregarded his wife's glance. He 
 was suddenly furious. 
 
 " All Monte Carlo seems to be gossiping about 
 that little contretemps," Draconmeyer continued. 
 " It was a crude sort of hold-up for a neighbourhood 
 of criminals, but it very nearly came off. Will you 
 have some tea with us ? " 
 
 " Do, Henry," his wife begged. 
 
 Once again he hesitated. Somehow or other, he
 
 no MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 felt that the moment was critical. Then a hand was 
 laid quietly upon his arm, a man's voice whispered 
 in his ear. 
 
 " Monsieur will be so kind as to step this way for 
 a moment a little matter of business." 
 
 " Who are you ? " Hunterley s demanded. 
 
 " The Commissioner of Police, at monsieur's serv-
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 HINTS TO HTTNTERLEYS 
 
 Hunterleys, in accordance with his request, fol- 
 lowed the Commissioner downstairs into one of the 
 small private rooms on the ground floor. The lat- 
 ter was very polite but very official. 
 
 " Now what is it that you want? " Hunterleys 
 asked, a little brusquely, as soon as they were alone. 
 
 The representative of the law was distinctly mys- 
 terious. He had a brown moustache which he con- 
 tinually twirled, and he was all the time dropping 
 his voice to a whisper. 
 
 " My first introduction to you should explain my 
 mission, Sir Henry," he said. " I hold a high posi- 
 tion in the police here. My business with you, how- 
 ever, is on behalf of a person whom I will not name, 
 but whose identity you will doubtless guess." 
 
 " Very well," Hunterleys replied. " Now what is 
 the nature of this mission, please? In plain words, 
 what do you want with me? " 
 
 " I am here with reference to the affair of last 
 night," the other declared. 
 
 " The affair of last night ? " Hunterleys repeated, 
 frowning. " Well, we all have to appear or be rep- 
 resented before the magistrates to-morrow morning. 
 I shall send a lawyer."
 
 iia MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Quite so ! Quite so ! But in the meantime, 
 something has transpired. You and the young 
 American, Mr. Richard Lane, were the only two who 
 offered any resistance. It was owing to you two, 
 in fact, that the plot was frustrated. I am quite 
 sure, Sir Henry, that every one agrees with me in ap- 
 preciating your courage and presence of mind." 
 
 " Thank you," Hunterleys replied. " Is that what 
 you came to say? " 
 
 The other shook his head. 
 
 " Unfortunately, no, monsieur ! I am here to 
 bring you certain information. The chief of the 
 gang, Armand Martin, the man whom you attacked, 
 became suddenly worse a few hours ago. The doc- 
 tors suspect internal injuries, injuries inflicted dur- 
 ing his struggle with you." 
 
 " I am very sorry to hear it," Hunterleys said 
 coolly. " On the other hand, he asked for anything 
 he got." 
 
 " Unfortunately," the Commissioner continued, 
 " the law of the State is curiously framed in such 
 matters. If the man should die, as seems more than 
 likely, your legal position, Sir Henry, would be most 
 uncomfortable. Your arrest would be a necessity, 
 and there is no law granting what I believe you call 
 bail to a person directly or indirectly responsible 
 for the death of another. I am here, therefore, to 
 give you what I may term an official warning. Your 
 absence as a witness to-morrow morning will not be 
 commented upon events of importance have called 
 you back to England. You will thereby be saved 
 a very large amount of annoyance, and the authori- 
 ties here will be spared the most regrettable neces-
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 113 
 
 sity of having to deal with you in a manner unbefit- 
 ting your rank." 
 
 Hunterleys became at once thoughtful. The 
 whole matter was becoming clear to him. 
 
 " I see," he observed. " This is a warning to me 
 to take my departure. Is that so ? " 
 
 The Commissioner beamed and nodded many 
 times. 
 
 " You have a quick understanding, Sir Henry," 
 he declared. " Your departure to-night, or early 
 to-morrow morning, would save a good deal of un- 
 pleasantness. I have fulfilled my mission, and I 
 trust that you will reflect seriously upon the mat- 
 ter. It is the wish of the high personage whom I 
 represent, that no inconvenience whatever should be- 
 fall so distinguished a visitor to the Principality. 
 Good day, monsieur ! " 
 
 The official took his leave with a sweep of the hat 
 and many bows. Hunterleys, after a brief hesita- 
 tion, walked out into the sun-dappled street. It 
 was the most fashionable hour of the afternoon. 
 Up in the square a band was playing. Outside, two 
 or three smart automobiles were discharging their 
 freight of wonderfully-dressed women and debonair 
 men from the villas outside. Suddenly a hand fell 
 upon his arm. It was Richard Lane who greeted 
 him. 
 
 " Say, where are you off to, Sir Henry? " he in- 
 quired. 
 
 Hunterleys laughed a little shortly. 
 
 " Really, I scarcely know," he replied. " Back to 
 London, if I am wise, I suppose." 
 
 " Come into the Club," Richard begged.
 
 U4 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 "I have just left," Hunterleys told him. "Be- 
 sides, I hate the place." 
 
 " Did you happen to notice whether Mr. Grex was 
 in there? " Richard enquired. 
 
 " I didn't see him," Hunterleys answered. 
 " Neither," he added significantly, " did I see Miss 
 Grex." 
 
 " Well, I am going in to have a look round, any- 
 way," Richard decided. " You might come along. 
 There's nothing else to do in this place until dinner- 
 time." 
 
 Hunterleys suffered himself to be persuaded and 
 remounted the steps. 
 
 " Tell me, Lane," he asked curiously, " have you 
 heard anything about any of the victims of our little 
 struggle last night I mean the two men we tac- 
 kled? " 
 
 Richard shook his head. 
 
 " I hear that mine has a broken wrist," he said. 
 " Can't say I am feeling very badly about that ! " 
 
 " I've just been told that mine is going to die," 
 Hunterleys continued. 
 
 The young man laughed incredulously. 
 
 " Why, I went over the prison this morning," he 
 declared. " I never saw such a healthy lot of ruf- 
 fians in my life. That chap whom you tackled 
 the one with the revolver was smoking cigarettes 
 and using language well, I couldn't understand it 
 all, but what I did understand was enough to melt 
 the bars of his prison." 
 
 " That's odd," Hunterleys remarked drily. " Ac- 
 cording to the police commissioner who has just left 
 me, the man is on his deathbed, and my only chance
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 115 
 
 of escaping serious trouble is to get out of Monte 
 Carlo to-night." 
 
 " Are you going? " 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " It would take a great deal more than that to 
 move me just now," he said, " even if I had not sus- 
 pected from the first that the man was lying." 
 
 Richard glanced at his companion a little curi- 
 ously. 
 
 " I shouldn't have said that you were having such 
 a good time, Sir Henry," he observed ; " in fact I 
 should have thought you would have been rather 
 glad of an opportunity to slip away." 
 
 Hunterleys looked around them. They had 
 reached the top of the staircase and were in sight 
 of the dense crowd in the rooms. 
 
 " Come and have a drink," he suggested. " A 
 great many of these people will have cleared off pres- 
 ently." 
 
 " I'll have a drink, with pleasure," Richard an-, 
 swered, " but I still can't see why you're stuck on 
 this place." 
 
 They strolled into the bar and found two vacant 
 places. 
 
 " My dear young friend," Hunterleys said, as he 
 ordered their drinks, " if you were an Englishman 
 instead of an American, I think that I would give 
 you a hint as to the reason why I do not wish to 
 leave Monte Carlo just at present." 
 
 " Can't see what difference that makes," Richard 
 declared. " You know I'm all for the old country." 
 
 " I wonder whether you are," Hunterleys remarked 
 thoughtfully. " I tell you frankly that if I thought
 
 Ii6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 you meant it, I should probably come to you before 
 long for a little help." 
 
 " If ever you do, I'm your man," Richard assured 
 him heartily. " Any more scraps going? " 
 
 Hunterleys sipped his whisky and soda thought- 
 fully. There had been an exodus from the room 
 to watch some heavy gambling at Trente et Quar- 
 ante, and for a moment they were almost alone. 
 
 " Lane," he said, " I am going to take you a little 
 into my confidence. In a way I suppose it is fool- 
 ish, but to tell you the truth, I am almost driven to 
 it. You know that I am a Member of Parliament, 
 and you may have heard that if our Party hadn't 
 gone out a few years ago, I was to have been For- 
 eign Minister." 
 
 " I've heard that often enough," Lane assented. 
 " I've heard you quoted, too, as an example of the 
 curse of party politics. Just because you are forced 
 to call yourself a member of one Party you are de- 
 barred from serving your country in any capacity 
 until that Party is in power." 
 
 " That's quite true," Hunterleys admitted, " and 
 to tell you the truth, ridiculous though it seems, I 
 don't see how you're to get away from it in a prac- 
 tical manner. Anyhow, when my people came out 
 I made up my mind that I wasn't going to just sit 
 still in Opposition and find fault all the time, espe- 
 cially as we've a real good man at the Foreign Of- 
 fice. I was quite content to leave things in his hands, 
 but then, you see, politically that meant that there 
 was nothing for me to do. I thought matters over 
 and eventually I paired for six months and was 
 supposed to go off for the benefit of my health. A&
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 117 
 
 a matter of fact, I have been in the Balkan States 
 since Christmas," he added, dropping his voice a 
 little. 
 
 " What the dickens have you been doing there ? " 
 
 " I can't tell you that exactly," Hunterleys re- 
 plied. " Unfortunately, my enemies are suspicious 
 and they have taken to watching me closely. They 
 pretty well know what I am going to tell you 
 that I have been out there at the urgent request of 
 the Secret Service Department of the present Gov- 
 ernment. I have been in Greece and Servia and Rou- 
 mania, and, although I don't think there's a soul in 
 the world knows, I have also been in St. Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 " But what's it all about ? " Richard persisted. 
 " What have you been doing in all these places ? " 
 
 " I can only answer you broadly," Hunterleys 
 went on. " There is a perfectly devilish scheme 
 afloat, directed against the old country. I have 
 been doing what I can to counteract it. At the last 
 moment, just as I was leaving Sofia for London, by 
 the merest chance I discovered that the scene for the 
 culmination of this little plot was to be Monte Carlo, 
 so I made my way round by Trieste, stayed at Bor- 
 dighera and San Remo for a few days to put people 
 off, and finally turned up here." 
 
 "Well, I'm jiggered!" Lane muttered. "And I 
 thought you were just hanging about for your 
 health or because your wife was here, and were bored 
 to death for want of something to do." 
 
 " On the contrary," Hunterleys assured him, " I 
 was up all night sending reports home very inter- 
 esting reports, too. I got them away all right, but
 
 u8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 there's no denying the fact that there are certain 
 people in Monte Carlo at the present moment who 
 suspect my presence here, and who would go to any 
 lengths whatever to get rid of me. It isn't the actual 
 harm I might do, but they have to deal with a very 
 delicate problem and to make a bargain with a very 
 sensitive person, and they are terribly afraid that 
 my presence here, and a meeting between me and that 
 person, might render all their schemes abortive." 
 
 Richard's face was a study in astonishment. 
 
 " Well," he exclaimed, " this beats everything ! 
 I've read of such things, of course, but one only half 
 believes them. Right under our very noses, too! 
 Say, what are you going to do about it, Sir Henry ? " 
 
 " There is only one thing I can do," Hunterleys 
 replied grimly. " I am bound to keep my place here. 
 They'll drive me out if they can. I am convinced 
 that the polite warning I have received to leave 
 Monaco this afternoon because of last night's affair, 
 is part of the conspiracy. In plain words, I've got 
 to stick it out." 
 
 " But what good are you doing here, anyway ? " 
 
 Hunterleys smiled and glanced carefully around 
 the room. They were still free from any risk of be- 
 ing overheard. 
 
 " Well," he said, " perhaps you will understand 
 my meaning more clearly if I tell you that I am the 
 brains of a counterplot. The English Secret Serv- 
 ice has a permanent agent here under the guise of a 
 newspaper correspondent, who is in daily touch with 
 me, and he in his turn has several spies at work. I 
 am, however, the dangerous person. The others are 
 only servants. They make their reports, but they
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 119 
 
 don't understand their true significance. If these 
 people could remove me before any one else could ar- 
 rive to take my place, their chances of bringing off! 
 their coup here would be immensely improved." 
 
 " I suppose it's useless for me to ask if there's any- 
 thing I can do to help ? " Richard enquired. 
 
 " You've helped already," Hunterleys replied. " I 
 have been nearly three months without being able 
 to open my lips to a soul. People call me secretive, 
 but I feel very human sometimes. I know that not 
 a word of what I have said will pass your lips." 
 
 " Not a chance of it," Richard promised earnestly. 
 " But look here, can't I do something? If I am not 
 an Englishman, I'm all for the Anglo-Saxons. I 
 hate these foreigners that is to say the men," he 
 corrected himself hastily. 
 
 Hunterleys smiled. 
 
 " Well, I was coming to that," he said. " I do 
 feel hideously alone here, and what I would like you 
 to do is just this. I would like you to call at my 
 room at the Hotel de Paris, number 189, every morn- 
 ing at a certain fixed hour say half-past ten. 
 Just shake hands with me that's all. Nothing 
 shall prevent my being visible to you at that hour. 
 Under no consideration whatever will I leave any 
 message that I am engaged or have gone out. If I 
 am not to be seen when you make your call, something 
 has happened to me." 
 
 " And what am I to do then? " 
 
 " That is the point," Hunterleys continued. " I 
 don't want to bring you too deeply into this matter. 
 All that you need do is to make your way to the Eng- 
 lish Bank, see Mr. Harrison, the manager, and tell
 
 120 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 him of your fruitless visit to me. He will give you a 
 letter to my wife and will know what other steps to 
 take." 
 
 " Is that all? " Richard asked, a little disap- 
 pointed. " You don't anticipate any scrapping, or 
 anything of that sort? " 
 
 " I don't know what to anticipate," Hunterleys 
 confessed, a little wearily. " Things are moving fast 
 now towards the climax. I promise I'll come to you 
 for help if I need it. You can but refuse." 
 
 " No fear of my refusing," Richard declared 
 heartily. " Not on your life, sir ! " 
 
 Hunterleys rose to his feet with an appreciative 
 little nod. It was astonishing how cordially he had 
 come to feel towards this young man, during the last 
 few hours. 
 
 " I'll let you off now," he said. " I know you 
 want to look around the tables and see if any of our 
 friends of last night are to be found. I, too, have a 
 little affair which I ought to have treated differently 
 a few minutes ago. We'll meet later." 
 
 Hunterleys strolled back into the rooms. He 
 came almost at once face to face with Draconmeyer, 
 whom he was passing with unseeing eyes. Dracon- 
 meyer. however, detained him. 
 
 " I was looking for you, Sir Henry ! " he exclaimed. 
 " Can you spare me one moment ? " 
 
 They stood a little on one side, out of the way of 
 the moving throng of people. Draconmeyer was fin- 
 gering nervously his tie of somewhat vivid purple. 
 His manner was important. 
 
 " Do you happen, Sir Henry," he asked, " to have 
 had any word from the prison authorities to-day ? "
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 121 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " I have just received a message," he replied. " I 
 understand that the man with whom I had a strug- 
 gle last night has received some internal injuries 
 and is likely to die." 
 
 Draconmeyer's manner became more mysterious. 
 He glanced around the room as though to be sure 
 that they were not overheard. 
 
 " I trust, Sir Henry," he said, " that you will 
 not think me in any way presumptuous if I speak 
 to you intimately. I have never had the privilege 
 of your friendship, and in this unfortunate disagree- 
 ment between your wife and yourself I have been 
 compelled to accept your wife's point of view, owing 
 to the friendship between Mrs. Draconmeyer and 
 herself. I trust you will believe, however, that I 
 have no feelings of hostility towards you." 
 
 " You are very kind," Hunterleys murmured. 
 
 His face seemed set in graven lines. For all the 
 effect the other's words had upon him, he might have 
 been wearing a mask. 
 
 " The law here in some respects is very curious," 
 Draconmeyer continued. " Some of the statutes 
 have been unaltered for a thousand years. I have 
 been given to understand by a person who knows, 
 that if this man should die, notwithstanding the cir- 
 cumstances of the case, you might find yourself in 
 an exceedingly awkward position. If I might ven- 
 ture, therefore, to give you a word of disinterested 
 advice, I would suggest that you return to England 
 at once, if only for a week or so." 
 
 His eyes had narrowed. Through his spectacles? 
 he was watching intently for the effect of his words.
 
 122 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Hunterleys, however, only nodded thoughtfully, as 
 though to some extent impressed by the advice he had 
 received. 
 
 " Very likely you are right," he admitted. " I 
 will discuss the matter with my wife." 
 
 " She is playing over there," Draconmeyer pointed 
 out. " And while we are talking in a more or less 
 friendly fashion," he went on earnestly, " might I 
 give you just one more word of counsel? For the 
 sake of the friendship which exists between our wives, 
 I feel sure you will believe that I am disinterested." 
 
 He paused. Hunterleys' expression was now one 
 of polite interest. He waited, however, for the other 
 to continue. 
 
 " I wish that you could persuade Lady Hunter- 
 leys to play for somewhat lower stakes." 
 
 Hunterleys was genuinely startled for a moment. 
 
 " Do you mean that my wife is gambling beyond 
 her means ? " he asked. 
 
 Draconmeyer shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " How can I tell that ? I don't know what her 
 means are, or yours. I only know that she changes 
 mille notes more often than I change louis, and it 
 seems to me that her luck is invariably bad. I 
 think, perhaps, just a word or two from you, who 
 have the right to speak, might be of service." 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you for the hint," 
 Hunterleys said smoothly. " I will certainly men- 
 tion the matter to her." 
 
 " And if I don't see you again," Draconmeyer con- 
 cluded, watching him closely, " good-bye ! " 
 
 Hunterleys did not appear to notice the tentative 
 movement of the other's hand. He was already on
 
 HINTS TO HUNTERLEYS 123 
 
 his way to the spot where his wife was sitting. Dra- 
 conmeyer watched his progress with inscrutable face. 
 Selingman, who had been sitting near, rose and 
 joined him. 
 
 " Will he go ? " he whispered. " Will our friend 
 take this very reasonable hint and depart? " 
 
 Draconmeyer's eyes were still fixed upon Hunter- 
 leys' slim, self-possessed figure. His forehead was 
 contorted into a frown. Somehow or other, he felt 
 that during their brief interview he had failed to 
 score; he had felt a subtle, underlying note of con- 
 tempt in Hunterleys' manner, in his whole attitude. 
 
 " I do not know," he replied grimly. " I only 
 hope that if he stays, we shall find the means to make 
 him regret it ! "
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 " I CANNOT GO ! " 
 
 Hunterleys stood for several minutes, watching hit 
 wife's play from a new point of view. She was cer- 
 tainly playing high and with continued ill-fortune. 
 For the first time, too, he noticed symptoms which 
 disturbed him. She sat quite motionless, but there 
 was an unfamiliar glitter in her eyes and a hardness 
 about her mouth. It was not until he had stood 
 within a few feet of her for nearly a quarter of an 
 hour, that she chanced to see him. 
 
 " Did you want me ? " she asked, with a little 
 start. 
 
 " There is no hurry," he replied. " If jou could 
 spare me a few moments later, I should be glad." 
 
 She rose at once, thrusting her notes and gold 
 into the satchel which she was carrying, and stood 
 by his side. She was very elegantly dressed in 
 black and white, but she was pale, and, watching her 
 with a new intentness, he discovered faint violet lines 
 under her eyes, as though she had been sleeping ill. 
 
 " I am rather glad you came," she said. " I was 
 having an abominable run of bad luck, and yet I 
 hated to give up my seat without an excuse. What 
 did you want, Henry ? " 
 
 " I should like," he explained, " to talk to you 
 for a quarter of an hour. This place is rathw
 
 "I CANNOT GO!" 125 
 
 crowded and it is getting on my nerves. We seem 
 to live here, night and day. Would you object to 
 driving with me say as far as Men tone and back? " 
 
 " I will come if you wish it," she answered, looking 
 a little surprised. " Wait while I get my cloak." 
 
 Hunterleys hired an automobile below and they 
 drove off. As soon as they were out of the main 
 street, he thrust his hand into the breast-pocket of 
 his coat and smoothed out that half-sheet of note- 
 paper upon his knee. 
 
 " Violet," he said, " please read that." 
 
 She read the few lines instructing the English 
 Bank to hand over Sir Henry Hunterleys' letters to 
 the bearer. Then she looked up at him with a puz- 
 zled frown. 
 
 " I don't understand." 
 
 " Did you write that ? " he enquired. 
 
 She looked at him indignantly. 
 
 " What an absurd question ! " she exclaimed. 
 " Your correspondence has no interest for me." 
 
 Her denial, so natural, so obviously truthful, was 
 a surprise to him. He felt a sudden impulse of joy, 
 mingled with shame. Perhaps, after all, he had 
 been altogether too censorious. Once more he di- 
 rected her attention to the sheet of paper. There 
 was a marked change in his voice and manner. 
 
 " Violet," he begged, " please look at it. Ac- 
 cepting without hesitation your word that you did 
 not write it, doesn't it occur to you that the body 
 of the letter is a distinct imitation of your hand- 
 writing, and the signature a very clever forgery of 
 mine ? " 
 
 " It is rather like my handwriting," she admitted,
 
 126 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " and as for the signature, do you mean to say really 
 that that is not yours? " 
 
 " Certainly not," he assured her. " The whole 
 thing is a forgery." 
 
 " But who in the world should want to get your 
 letters ? " she asked incredulously. " And why 
 should you have them addressed to the bank?" 
 
 He folded up the paper then and put it in his 
 pocket. 
 
 " Violet," he said earnestly, " for the disagree- 
 ments which have resulted in our separation I may 
 myself have been to some extent responsible, but we 
 have promised one another not to refer to them again 
 and I will not break our compact. All I can say is 
 that there is much in my life which you know little 
 of, and for which you do not, therefore, make suf- 
 ficient allowance." 
 
 " Then you might have treated me," she declared, 
 " with more confidence." 
 
 " It was not possible," he reminded her, " so long 
 as you chose to make an intimate friend of a man 
 whose every interest in life is in direct antagonism to 
 mine." 
 
 " Mr. Draconmeyer? " 
 
 " Mr. Draconmeyer," he assented. 
 
 She smiled contemptuously. 
 
 " You misunderstand Mr. Draconmeyer com- 
 pletely," she insisted. " He is your well-wisher and 
 he is more than half an Englishman. It was he who 
 started the league between English and German com- 
 mercial men for the propagation of peace. He 
 formed one of the deputation who went over to see 
 the Emperor. He has done more, both by his
 
 "I CANNOT GO!" 127 
 
 speeches and letters to the newspaper, to promote a 
 good understanding between Germany and England, 
 than any other person. You are very much mis- 
 taken about Mr. Draconmeyer, Henry. Why you 
 cannot realise that he is simply an ordinary com- 
 mercial man of high intelligence and most agreeable 
 manners, I cannot imagine." 
 
 " The fact remains, my dear Violet," Hunterleys 
 said emphatically, " that it is not possible for me to 
 treat you with the confidence I might otherwise have 
 done, on account of your friendship with Mr. Dra- 
 conmeyer." 
 
 " You are incorrigible ! " she exclaimed. " Can 
 we change the subject, please? I want to know why 
 you showed me that forged letter? " 
 
 " I am coming to that," he told her. " Please be 
 patient. I want to remind you of something else. 
 So far as I remember, my only request, when I gave 
 you your liberty and half my income, was that your 
 friendship with the Draconmeyers should decrease. 
 Almost the first persons I see on my arrival in Monte 
 Carlo are you and Mr. Draconmeyer. I learn that 
 you came out with them and that you are staying at 
 the same hotel." 
 
 " Your wish was an unreasonable one," she pro- 
 tested. " Linda and I were school-girls together. 
 She is my dearest friend and she is a hopeless in- 
 valid. I think that if I were to desert her she would 
 die." 
 
 " I have every sympathy with Mrs. Draconmeyer," 
 he said slowly, " but you are my wife. I am going to 
 make one more effort please don't be uneasy not 
 to re-establish any relationship between us, but to
 
 128 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 open your eyes as to the truth concerning Mr. Dra- 
 conmeyer. You asked me a moment ago why I had 
 shown you that forged letter. I will tell you now. 
 It was Draconmeyer who was the forger." 
 
 She leaned back in her seat. She was looking at 
 him incredulously. 
 
 " You mean to say that Mr. Draconmeyer wrote 
 that order that he wanted to get possession of 
 your letters ? " 
 
 " Not only that," Hunterleys continued, " but he 
 carried out the business in such a devilish manner 
 as to make me for a moment believe that it was you 
 who had helped him. You are wrong about Dracon- 
 meyer. The man is a great schemer, who under 
 the pretence of occupying an important commercial 
 position in the City of London, is all the time a se- 
 cret agent of Germany. He is there in her inter- 
 ests. He studies the public opinion of the country. 
 He dissects our weaknesses. He is there to point 
 out the best methods and the opportune time for the 
 inevitable struggle. He is the worst enemy to-day 
 England has. You think that he is here in Monte 
 Carlo on a visit of pleasure for the sake of his 
 wife, perhaps. Nothing of the sort ! He is here at 
 this moment associated with an iniquitous scheme, 
 the particulars of which I can tell you nothing of. 
 Furthermore, I repeat what I told you on our first 
 meeting here that in his still, cold way he is in 
 love with you." 
 
 " Henry ! " she cried. 
 
 " I cannot see how you can remain so wilfully 
 blind," Hunterleys continued. " I know the man in- 
 side out. I warned you against him in London, I
 
 " I CANNOT GO ! " 129 
 
 warn you against him now. This forged letter was 
 designed to draw us further apart. The little brown 
 man who has dogged your footsteps is a spy em- 
 ployed by him to make you believe that I was having 
 you watched. You are free still to act as you will, 
 Violet, but if you have a spark of regard for me or 
 yourself, you will go back to London at once and 
 drop this odious friendship." 
 
 She leaned back in the car. They had turned 
 round now and were on the way back to Monte Carlo 
 by the higher road. She sat with her eyes fixed upon 
 the mountains. Her heart, in a way, had been 
 touched, her imagination stirred by her husband's 
 words. She felt a return of that glow of admira- 
 tion which had thrilled her on the previous night, 
 when he and Richard Lane alone amongst that mot- 
 ley company had played the part of men. A 
 curious, almost pathetic wistfulness crept into her 
 heart. If only he would lean towards her at that 
 moment, if she could see once more the light in his 
 eyes that had shone there during the days of their 
 courtship! If only he could remember that it was 
 still his part to play the lover! If he could be a 
 little less grave, a little less hopelessly correct and 
 fair! Despite her efforts to disbelieve, there was 
 something convincing about his words. At any mo- 
 ment during that brief *pace of time, a single trem- 
 ulous word, even a warm clasp of the hand, would 
 have brought her into his arms. But so much of 
 inspiration was denied him. He sat waiting for her 
 decision with an eagerness of which he gave no sign. 
 Nevertheless, the fates were fighting for him. She 
 thought gratefully, even at that moment, yet with
 
 i 3 o MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 less enthusiasm than ever before, of the devout horn* 
 age, the delightful care for her happiness and com- 
 fort, the atmosphere of security with which Dracon- 
 meyer seemed always to surround her. Yet all this 
 was cold and unsatisfying, a poor substitute for the 
 other things. Henry had been different once. Per- 
 haps it was jealousy which had altered him. Per- 
 haps his misconception of Draconmeyer's character 
 had affected his whole outlook. She turned towards 
 him, and her voice, when she spoke, was no longer 
 querulous. 
 
 " Henry," she said, " I cannot admit the truth 
 of all that you say concerning Mr. Draconmeyer, but 
 tell me this. If I were willing to leave this place to- 
 night " 
 
 She paused. For some reason a sudden embar- 
 rassment had seized her. The words seemed to come 
 with difficulty. She turned ever so slightly away 
 from him. There was a tinge of colour at last in her 
 pale cheeks. She seemed to him now, as she leaned 
 a little forward in her seat, completely beautiful. 
 
 " If I make my excuses and leave Monte Carlo 
 to-night," she went on, " will you come with me ? " 
 
 He gave a little start. Something in his eyes 
 flashed an answer into her face. And then the flood 
 of memory came. There was his mission. He was 
 tied hand and foot. 
 
 " It is good of you to offer that, Violet," he de- 
 clared. " If I could if only I could ! " 
 
 Already her manner began to change. The fear 
 of his refusal was hateful, her lips were trembling. 
 
 " You mean," she faltered, " that you will not 
 come? Listen. Don't misunderstand me. I will
 
 "I CANNOT GO!" 131 
 
 order my boxes packed, I will catch the eight o'clock 
 train either through to London or to Paris any- 
 where. I will do that if you will come. There is 
 my offer. That is my reply to all that you have said 
 about Mr. Draconmeyer. I shall lose a friend who 
 has been gentleness and kindness and consideration 
 itself. I will risk that. What do you say? Will 
 you come? " 
 
 " Violet, I cannot," he replied hoarsely. " No, 
 don't turn away like that ! " he begged. " Don't 
 change so quickly, please ! It isn't fair. Listen. I 
 am not my own master." 
 
 " Not your own master? " she repeated incredu- 
 lously. " What do you mean? " 
 
 " I mean that I am here in Monte Carlo not for 
 my own pleasure. I mean that I have work, a pur- 
 pose " 
 
 " Absurd ! " she interrupted him, almost harshly. 
 " There is nobody who has any better claim upon 
 you than I have. You are over-conscientious about 
 other things. For once remember your duty as a 
 husband." 
 
 He caught her wrist. 
 
 " You must trust me a little," he pleaded. " Be- 
 lieve me that I really appreciate your offer. If I 
 were free to go, I should not hesitate for a single 
 second. . . . Can't you trust me, Violet ? " he im- 
 plored, his voice softening. 
 
 The woman within her was fighting on his side. 
 She stifled her wounded feelings, crushed down her 
 disappointment that he had not taken her at once 
 into his arms and answered her upon her lips. 
 
 " Trust me, then," she replied. " If you refuse
 
 132 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 my offer, don't hint at things you have to do. Tell 
 me in plain words why. It is not enough for you 
 to say that you cannot leave Monte Carlo. Tell 
 me why you cannot, I have invited you to escort 
 me anywhere you will I, your wife. . . . Shall we 
 go?" 
 
 The woman had wholly triumphed. Her voice had 
 dropped, the light was in her eyes. She swayed a 
 little towards him. His brain reeled. She was once 
 more the only woman in the world for him. Once 
 more he fancied that he could feel the clinging of her 
 arms, the touch of her lips. These things were 
 promised in her face. 
 
 " I tell you that I cannot go ! " he cried sharply. 
 " Believe me do believe me, Violet ! " 
 
 She pulled down her veil suddenly. He caught at 
 her hand. It lay passively in his. He pleaded for 
 her confidence, but the moment of inspiration had 
 gone. She heard him with the air of one who listens 
 no longer. Presently she stopped him. 
 
 " Don't speak to me for several minutes, please," 
 she begged. " Tell him to put me down at the hotel. 
 I can't go back to the Club just yet." 
 
 ** You mustn't leave me like this," he insisted. 
 
 " Will you tell me why you refuse my offer? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " I have a trust ! " 
 
 The automobile had come to a standstill. She 
 rose to her feet. 
 
 " I was once your trust," she reminded him, as she 
 passed into the hotel.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MISS GEEX AT HOME 
 
 Richard Lane, as he made his way up the avenue 
 towards the Villa Mimosa, wondered whether he was 
 not indeed finding his way into fairyland. On either 
 side of him were drooping mimosa trees, heavy with 
 the snaky, orange-coloured blossom whose perfumes 
 hung heavy upon the windless air. In the back- 
 ground, bordering the gardens which were themselves 
 a maze of colour, were great clumps of glorious pur- 
 ple rhododendrons, drooping clusters of red and 
 white roses. A sudden turn revealed a long per- 
 gola, smothered in pink blossoms and leading to the 
 edge of the terrace which overhung the sea. The 
 villa itself, which seemed, indeed, more like a palace,, 
 was covered with vivid purple clematis, and from 
 the open door of the winter-garden, which was built 
 out from the front of the place in a great curve, 
 there came, as he drew near, a bewildering breath 
 of exotic odours. The front-door was wide open, 
 and before he could reach the bell a butler had ap- 
 peared. 
 
 "Is Mr. Grex at home?" Richard enquired. 
 
 " Mr. Grex is not at home, sir," was the immediate 
 reply. 
 
 " I should like to see Miss Grex, then," Richard 
 proceeded!.
 
 134 MR- GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 The man's face was curiously expressionless, but 
 a momentary silence perhaps betrayed as much sur- 
 prise as he was capable of showing. 
 
 " Miss Grex is not at home, sir," he announced. 
 
 Richard hesitated and just then she came out from 
 the winter-garden. She was wearing a pink linen 
 morning gown and a floppy pink hat. She had a 
 book under her arm and a parasol swinging from her 
 fingers. When she saw Lane, she stared at him in 
 amazement. He advanced a step or two towards her, 
 his hat in his hand. 
 
 " I took the liberty of calling to see your father, 
 Miss Grex," he explained. " As he was not at home, 
 I ventured to enquire for you." 
 
 She was absolutely helpless. It was impossible 
 to ignore his outstretched hand. Very hesitatingly 
 she held out her fingers, which Richard grasped and 
 seemed in no hurry at all to release. 
 
 " This is quite the most beautiful place I have 
 seen anywhere near Monte Carlo," he remarked en- 
 thusiastically. 
 
 " I am glad," she murmured, " that you find it 
 attractive." 
 
 He was standing by her side now, his hat under 
 his arm. The butler had withdrawn a little into the 
 background. She glanced around. 
 
 " Did my father ask you to call, Mr. Lane? " she 
 enquired, dropping her voice a little. 
 
 " He did not," Richard confessed. " I must say 
 that I gave him plenty of opportunities but he did 
 not seem to be what I should call hospitably inclined. 
 In any case, it really doesn't matter. I came to see 
 you."
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 135 
 
 She bit her lip, struggling hard to repress a smile. 
 
 " But I did not ask you to call upon me either,'* 
 she reminded him gravely. 
 
 " Well, that's true," Lane admitted, a little hesi- 
 tatingly. " I don't quite know how things are done 
 over here. Say, are you English, or French, or 
 what?" he asked, point blank. "I have been puz- 
 zling about that ever since I saw you." 
 
 " I am not sure that my nationality matters," she 
 observed. 
 
 " Well, over on the other side," he continued, > 
 " I mean America, of course if we make up our 
 minds that we want to see something of a girl and 
 there isn't any real reason why one shouldn't, then 
 the initiative generally rests with the man. Of 
 course, if you are an only daughter, I can quite 
 understand your father being a bit particular, not 
 caring for men callers and that sort of thing, but 
 that can't go on for ever, you know, can it? " 
 
 " Can't it? " she murmured, a little dazed. 
 
 " I have a habit," he confided, " of making up my 
 mind quickly, and when I decide about a thing, I am 
 rather hard to turn. Well, I made up my mind 
 about you the first moment we met." 
 
 " About me ? " she repeated. 
 
 " About you." 
 
 She turned and looked at him almost wonderingly. 
 He was very big and very confident; good to look 
 upon, less because of his actual good looks than be- 
 cause of a certain honesty and tenacity of purpose 
 in his expression; a strength of jaw, modified and 
 rendered even pleasant by the kindness and humour 
 of his clear grey eyes. He returned her gaze with-
 
 I 3 6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 out embarrassment and he wondered less than ever 
 at finding himself there. Her complexion in this 
 clear light seemed more beautiful than ever. Her 
 rich golden-brown hair was waved becomingly over 
 her forehead. Her eyebrows were silky and deli- 
 cately straight, her mouth delightful. Her figure 
 was girlish, but unusually dignified for her years. 
 
 " You know," he said suddenly, " you look to me 
 just like one of those beautiful plants you have in the 
 conservatory there, just as though you'd stepped 
 out of your little glass home and blossomed right 
 here. I am almost afraid cf you." 
 
 She laughed outright this time a low, musical 
 laugh which had in it something of foreign intona- 
 tion. 
 
 " Well, really," she exclaimed, " I had not noticed 
 your fear! I was just thinking that you were quite 
 the boldest young man I have ever met." 
 
 " Come, that's something ! " he declared. 
 " Couldn't we sit down somewhere in these wonderful 
 gardens of yours and talk? " 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " But have I not told you already," she protested, 
 " that I do not receive callers ? Neither does my 
 _ father. Really, your coming here is quite unwar- 
 rantable. If he should return at this moment and 
 find you here, he would be very angry indeed. I am 
 afraid that he would even be rude, and I, too, should 
 suffer for having allowed you to talk with me." 
 
 " Let's hope that he doesn't return just yet, then," 
 Richard observed, smiling easily. " I am very good- 
 tempered as a rule, but I do not like people to be rude 
 to me."
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 137 
 
 " Fortunately, he cannot return for at least an 
 hour " she began. 
 
 ** Then we'll sit down on that terrace, if you please, 
 for just a quarter of that time," he begged. 
 
 She opened her lips and closed them again. He 
 was certainly a very stubborn young man ! 
 
 " Well," she sighed, " perhaps it will be the easi- 
 est way of getting rid of you." 
 
 She motioned him to follow her. The butler, from 
 a discreet distance, watched her as though he were 
 looking at a strange thing. Round the corner of 
 the villa remote from the winter-garden, was a long 
 stone terrace upon which many windows opened. 
 Screened from the wind, the sun here was of almost 
 midsummer strength. There was no sound. The 
 great house seemed asleep. There was nothing but 
 the droning of a few insects. Even the birds were 
 songless. The walls were covered with drooping 
 clematis and roses, roses that twined over the balus- 
 trades. Below them was a tangle of mimosa trees 
 and rhododendrons, and further below still the blue 
 Mediterranean. She sank into a chair. 
 
 " You may sit here," she said, " just long enough 
 for me to convince you that your coming was a mis- 
 take. Indeed that is so. I do not wish to seem 
 foolish or unkind, but my father and I are living- 
 here with one unbreakable rule, and that is that we 
 make no acquaintances whatsoever." 
 
 " That sounds rather queer," he remarked. 
 " Don't you find it dull?" 
 
 " If I do," she went on, " it is only for a little time. 
 My father is here for a certain purpose, and as soon 
 as that is accomplished we shall go away. For him
 
 138 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 to accomplish that purpose in a satisfactory manner, 
 it is necessary that we should live as far apart as 
 possible from the ordinary visitors here." 
 
 " Sounds like a riddle," he admitted. " Do you 
 mind telling me of what nationality you are? " 
 
 " I see no reason why I should tell you anything." 
 
 " You speak such correct English," he continued, 
 " but there is just a little touch of accent. You 
 don't know how attractive it sounds. You don't 
 know " 
 
 He hesitated, suddenly losing some part of his 
 immense confidence. 
 
 "What else is there that I do not know?" she 
 asked, with a faintly amused smile. 
 
 " I have lost my courage," he confessed simply. 
 *' I do not want to offend you, I do not want you to 
 think that I am hopelessly foolish, but you see I 
 have the misfortune to be in love with you." 
 
 She laughed at him, leaning back in her chair with 
 half-closed eyes. 
 
 " Do people talk like this to casual acquaintances 
 in your country ? " she asked. 
 
 " They speak sometimes a language which is com- 
 mon to all countries," he replied quickly. " The 
 only thing that is peculiar to my people is that when 
 we say it, it is the sober and the solemn truth." 
 
 She was silent for a moment. She had plucked 
 one of the blossoms from the wall and was pulling to 
 pieces its purple petals. 
 
 " Do you know," she said, " that no young man 
 has ever dared to talk to me as you have done? " 
 
 " That is because no one yet has cared so much as 
 I do," he assured her. " I can quite understand
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 139 
 
 their being frightened. I am terribly afraid of you 
 myself. I am afraid of the things I say to you, but 
 I have to say them because they are in my heart, 
 and if I am only to have a quarter of an hour with 
 you now, you see I must make the best use of my 
 time. I must tell you that there isn't any other girl 
 in the world I could ever look at again, and if you 
 won't promise to marry me some day, I shall be the 
 most wretched person on earth." 
 
 " I can never, never marry you," she told him 
 emphatically. " There is nothing which is so im- 
 possible as that." 
 
 " Well, that's a pretty bad start," he admitted. 
 
 " It is the end," she said firmly. 
 
 He shook his head. There was a terrible obsti- 
 nacy in his face. She frowned at him. 
 
 " You do not mean that you will persist after what 
 I have told you ? " 
 
 He looked at her, almost surprised. 
 
 " There isn't anything else for me to do, that I 
 know of," he declared, " so long as you don't care 
 for any one else. Tell me again, you are sure that 
 there is no one ? " 
 
 " Certainly not," she replied stiffly. " The sub-> 
 ject has not yet been made acceptable to me. You 
 must forgive my adding that in my country it is not 
 usual for a girl to discuss these matters with a man 
 before her betrothal." 
 
 " Say, I don't understand that," he murmured, 
 looking at her thoughtfully. " She can't get en- 
 gaged before she is asked." 
 
 " The preliminaries," she explained, " are always 
 arranged by one's parents."
 
 140 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He smiled pityingly. 
 
 " That sort of thing's no use," he asserted con- 
 fidently. " You must be getting past that, in what- 
 ever corner of Europe you live. What you mean 
 to say, then, is that your father has some one up his 
 sleeve whom he'll trot out for you before long? " 
 
 " Without doubt, some arrangement will be pro- 
 posed." she agreed. 
 
 " And you'll have to be amiable to some one you've 
 never seen in your life before, I suppose? " he per- 
 sisted. 
 
 " Not necessarily. It sometimes happens, in my 
 position," she went on, raising her head, " that cer- 
 tain sacrifices are necessary.' 5 
 
 " In your position," he repeated quickly. " What 
 does that mean? You aren't a queen, are you, or 
 anything of that sort? " 
 
 She laughed. 
 
 " No," she confessed, " I am not a queen, and 
 yet" 
 
 "And yet?" 
 
 " You must go back," she insisted, rising abruptly 
 to her feet. " The quarter of an hour is up. I do 
 not feel happy, sitting here talking with you. 
 Heally, if my father were to return he would be more 
 angry with me than he has ever been in his life. This 
 sort of thing is not done amongst my people." 
 
 " Little lady," he said, gently forcing her back 
 into her place, " believe me, it's done all the world 
 over, and there isn't any girl can come to any harm 
 by being told that a man is fond of her when it's the 
 truthj when he'd give his life for her willingly. It's 
 just like that I feel about ,vou. I've never felt it
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 141 
 
 before. I could never feel it for any one else. And 
 I am not going to give you up." 
 
 She was looking at him half fearfully. There was 
 a little colour in her cheeks, her eyes were suddenly 
 moist. 
 
 " I think," she murmured, " that you talk very 
 nicely. I think I might even say that I like to hear 
 you talk. But it is so useless. Won't you go now? 
 Won't you please go now ? " 
 
 "When may I come again? " he begged. 
 
 " Never," she replied firmly. " You must never 
 come again. You must not even think of it. But 
 indeed you would not be admitted. They will prob- 
 ably tell my father of your visit, as it is, and he will 
 be very angry." 
 
 " Well, when can I see you, then, and where? " he 
 demanded. " I hope you understand that I am not 
 in the least disheartened by anything you have said." 
 
 " I think," she declared, " that you are the most 
 persistent person I ever met." 
 
 " It is only," he whispered, leaning a little to- 
 wards her, " because I care for you so much." 
 
 She was suddenly confused, conscious of a swift 
 desire to get rid of him. It was as though some one 
 were speaking a new language. All her old habits 
 and prejudices seemed falling away. 
 
 " I cannot make appointments with you," she pro- 
 tested, her voice shaking. " I cannot encourage you 
 in any way. It is really quite impossible." 
 
 " If I go now, will you be at the Club to-morrow 
 afternoon ? " he pleaded. 
 
 " I am not sure," she replied. " It is very likely 
 that I may be there. I make no promise."
 
 14* MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He took her hand abruptly, and, stooping down, 
 forced her to look into his eyes. 
 
 " You will be there to-morrow afternoon, please," 
 he begged, " and you will give me the rose from your 
 waistband." 
 
 She laughed uneasily. 
 
 " If the rose will buy your departure " she be- 
 gan. 
 
 " It may do that," he interrupted, as he drew it 
 through his buttonhole, " but it will assuredly bring 
 me back again." 
 
 Richard walked down the hill, whistling softly to 
 himself and with a curious light in his eyes. As he 
 reached the square in front of the Casino, he was ac- 
 costed by a stranger who stood in the middle of the 
 pavement and respectfully removed his hat. 
 
 " You are Mr. Richard Lane, is it not so, mon- 
 sieur? " 
 
 " You've guessed it in one," Richard admitted. 
 " Have I ever seen you before? " 
 
 " Never, monsieur, unless you happened to notice 
 me on your visit to the prison. I have an official 
 position in the Principality. I am commissioned to 
 speak to you with respect to the little affair in which 
 you were concerned at La Turbie." 
 
 " Well, I thought we'd thrashed all that out," Lane 
 replied. " Anyway, Sir Henry Hunterleys and I 
 have engaged a lawyer to look after our interests." 
 
 " Just so," the little man murmured. " A very 
 clever man indeed is Monsieur Grisson. Still, there 
 is a view of the matter," he continued, " which is 
 perhaps hard for you Englishmen and Americans to
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 143 
 
 understand. Assault of any description is very se- 
 verely punished here, especially when it results in 
 bodily injury. Theft of all sorts, on the other hand, 
 is very common indeed. The man whom you injured 
 is a native of Monte Carlo. To a certain extent, the 
 Principality is bound to protect him." 
 
 " Why, the fellow was engaged in a flagrant at- 
 tempt at highway robbery ! " Richard declared, gen- 
 uinely astonished. 
 
 His companion stretched out his hands. 
 
 " Monsieur," he replied, " every one robs here, 
 whether they are shop-keepers, restaurant keepers 
 or loafers upon the streets. The people expect it. 
 At the adjourned trial next week there will be many 
 witnesses who are also natives of Monte Carlo. I 
 have been commissioned to warn monsieur. It would 
 be best, on the whole, if he left Monte Carlo by the 
 next train." 
 
 " Why in the name of mischief should I do that ? " 
 Richard demanded. 
 
 " In the first place," the other pointed out, " be- 
 cause this man, whom you treated a little roughly, 
 has many friends and associates. They have sworn 
 revenge. You are even now being followed about, 
 and the police of the Principality have enough to do 
 without sparing an escort to protect you against vio- 
 lence. In the second place, I am not at all sure that 
 the finding of the court next week will be altogether 
 to your satisfaction." 
 
 " Do you mean this ? " Richard asked incre<Ju- 
 lously. 
 
 " Without a doubt, monsieur." 
 
 " Then all I can say," Richard declared, " is that
 
 144 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 your magistrate or judge, or whatever he calls him- 
 self, is a rotter, and your laws absurd. I sha'n't 
 budge." 
 
 " It is in your own interests, monsieur, this warn- 
 ing," the other persisted. '* Even if you escape 
 these desperadoes, you still run some risk of dis- 
 covering what the inside of a prison in Monaco is 
 like." 
 
 " I think not," Lane answered grimly. " If 
 there's anything of that sort going about, I shall 
 board my yacht yonder and hoist the Stars and 
 Stripes. I shall take some getting into prison, I 
 can tell you, and if I once get there, you'll hear 
 about it." 
 
 " Monsieur will be much wiser to avoid trouble," 
 the official advised. 
 
 Lane placed his hand upon the other's shoulder. 
 
 " My friend," he said, ** not you or a dozen like 
 you could make me, stir from this place until I am 
 ready, and just now I am very far from ready. 
 See? You can go and tell those who sent you, what 
 I say." 
 
 The emissary of the law shrugged his shoulders. 
 His manner was stiff but resigned. 
 
 " I have delivered my message, monsieur," he an- 
 nounced. " Monsieur naturally must decide for 
 himself." 
 
 He disappeared with a bow. Richard continued 
 on his way and a few minutes later ran into Hunter- 
 leys. 
 
 " Say, did you ever hear such cheek ! " he ex- 
 claimed, passing his arm through the latter's. " A 
 little bounder stopped me in the street and has been
 
 MISS GREX AT HOME 145 
 
 trying to frighten me into leaving Monte Carlo, just 
 because I broke that robber's wrist. Same Johnny 
 that came to you, I expect. What are they up to, 
 anyway? What do they want to get rid of us for? 
 They ought to be jolly grateful." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " So far as I am concerned," he said, " their rea- 
 sons for wanting to get rid of me are fairly obvious, 
 I am afraid, but I must say I don't know where you 
 come in, unless " 
 
 He stopped short. 
 
 "Well, unless what?" Richard interposed. "I 
 should just like to know who it is trying to get me 
 kicked out." 
 
 " Can't you guess ? " Hunterleys asked. " There 
 is one person who I think would be quite as well 
 pleased to see the back of you." 
 
 " Here in Monte Carlo? " 
 
 "Absolutely!" 
 
 Richard was mystified. 
 
 " You are not very bright, I am afraid," Hunter- 
 leys observed. " What about your friend Mr. 
 Grex?" 
 
 Richard whistled softly. 
 
 " Are 3'ou serious ? " 
 
 " Of course I am," Hunterleys assured him. 
 
 " But has he any pull here, this Mr. Grex? " 
 
 Hunterleys' eyes twinkled for a moment. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, " I think that Mr. Grex has 
 very considerable influence in this part of the world, 
 and he is a man who, I should say, was rather used 
 to having his own way." 
 
 " I gathered that I wasn't exactly popular with
 
 I 4 6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 him this afternoon," Richard remarked meditatively^ 
 " I've been out there to call." 
 
 Hunterleys stopped short upon the pavement. 
 
 " What? " he exclaimed. 
 
 " I have been out to call at the Villa Mimosa," 
 Richard repeated. " I don't see anything extraor- 
 dinary in that." 
 
 " Did you see Miss Fedora ? " 
 
 " Rather ! And thank you for telling me her 
 name, at any rate. We sat on the terrace and 
 chatted for a quarter of an hour. She gave me to 
 understand, though, that the old man was dead 
 against me. It all seems very mysterious. Any- 
 way, she gave me this rose I am wearing, and I think 
 she'll be at the Club to-morrow afternoon." 
 
 Hunterleys was silent for a moment. He seemed 
 much impressed. 
 
 " You know, Richard," he declared, " there is 
 something akin to genius in your methods." 
 
 " That's all very well," the young man protested, 
 " but can you give me a single solid reason why, 
 considering I am in love with the girl, I shouldn't 
 go and call upon her? Who is this Mr. Grex, any- 
 way? " 
 
 " I've a good mind to tell you," Hunterleys said 
 meditatively. 
 
 " I don't care whether you do or not," Lane pro- 
 nounced firmly, as they parted. " I don't care 
 whether Mr. Grex is the Sultan of Turkey or the 
 Czar of Russia. I'm going to marry his daughter. 
 That's settled."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DINNER FOE TWO 
 
 At a few minutes before eight o'clock that evening 
 Lady Hunterleys descended the steps of the Casino 
 and crossed the square towards the Hotel de Paris. 
 She walked very slowly and she looked neither to the 
 right nor to the left. She had the air of seeing no 
 one. She acknowledged mechanically the low bow 
 of the commissionaire who opened the door for her. 
 A reception clerk who stood on one side to let her 
 pass, she ignored altogether. She crossed the hall 
 to the lift and pressed the bell. Draconmeyer, who 
 had been lounging in an easy-chair waiting for her, 
 watched her entrance and noticed her abstracted 
 manner with kindling eyes. He threw away his 
 newspaper and, hastily approaching her, touched her 
 arm. 
 
 " You are late," he remarked. 
 
 She started. 
 
 " Yes, I am late." 
 
 " I did not see you at the Club." 
 
 " I have been to the Casino instead," she told him. 
 " I thought that it might change my luck." 
 
 "Successful, I trust?" 
 
 She shook her head. Then she opened her gold 
 satchel and showed him. It was empty.
 
 I 4 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " The luck must turn sometime," he reminded her 
 soothingly. " How long will you be changing? " 
 
 " I am tired," she confessed. " I thought that to- 
 night I would not dine. I will have something sent 
 up to my room." 
 
 He was obviously disappointed. 
 
 " Couldn't you dine as you are? " he begged. 
 *' You could change later, if you wished to. It is 
 always such a disappointment when you do not ap- 
 pear and to-night," he added, " especially." 
 
 Violet hesitated. She was really longing only to 
 be alone and to rest. She thought, however, of the 
 poor invalid to whom their meeting at dinner-time 
 was the one break of the day. 
 
 " Very well," she promised, " I will be down in ten 
 minutes." 
 
 Draconmeyer, as the lift bore her upwards, strolled 
 away. Although the custom was a strange one to 
 him, he sought out the American bar and drank a 
 cocktail. Then he lit a cigarette and made his way 
 back into the lounge, moving restlessly about, his 
 hands behind his back, his forehead knitted. In his 
 way he had been a great schemer, and in the crowded 
 hall of the hotel that night, surrounded by a won- 
 derfully cosmopolitan throng of loungers and pass- 
 ers-by, he lived again through the birth and develop- 
 ment of many of the schemes which his brain had 
 conceived since he had left his mother-country. 
 One and all they had been successful. He seemed, 
 indeed, to have been imbued with the gift of success. 
 He had floated immense loans where other men had 
 failed; he had sustained the credit of his country 
 on a high level through more than one serious finan-
 
 DINNER FOR TWO 149 
 
 cial crisis; he had pulled down or built up as his 
 judgment or fancy had dictated ; and all the time the 
 man's relaxations, apart from the actual trend of 
 great affairs, had been few and slight. Then had 
 come his acquaintance with Linda's school-friend. 
 He looked back through the years. At first he had 
 scarcely noticed her visits. Gradually he had be- 
 come conscious of a dim feeling of thankfulness to 
 the woman who always seemed able to soothe his in- 
 valid wife. Then, scarcely more than a year or so 
 ago, he had found himself watching her at unex- 
 pected moments, admiring the soft grace of her 
 movements, the pleasant cadence of her voice, the 
 turn of her head, the colour of her hair, the elegance 
 of her clothes, her thin, fashionable figure. Grad- 
 ually he had begun to look for her, to welcome her 
 at his table and from that, the rest. Finally the 
 birth of this last scheme of his. He had very nearly 
 made a fatal mistake at the very commencement, had 
 pulled himself right again only with a supreme ef- 
 fort. His heart beat quicker even now as he thought 
 of that moment. They had been alone together one 
 evening. She had sat talking with him after Linda 
 had gone to bed worse than usual, and in the dim 
 light he had almost lost his head, he had almost said 
 those words, let her see the things in his eyes for 
 which the time was not yet ripe. She had kept away 
 for a while after that. He had treated it as a mis- 
 take but he had been very careful not to err again. 
 By degrees she forgot. The estrangement between 
 husband and wife was part of his scheme, largely his 
 doing. He was all the time working to make the 
 breach wider. The visit to Monte Carlo, rather a
 
 ISO MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 difficult accomplishment, he had arranged. He had 
 seen with delight the necessity for some form of ex- 
 citement growing up in her, had watched her losses 
 and only wished that they had been larger. He had 
 encouraged her to play for higher stakes and found 
 that she needed very little encouragement indeed. 
 To-night he felt that a crisis was at hand. There 
 was a new look upon her face. She had probably 
 lost everything. He knew exactly how she would 
 feel about asking her husband for help. His eyes 
 grew brighter as he waited for the lift. 
 
 She came at last and they walked together into the 
 dining-room. When she reached their accustomed 
 table, it was empty, and only their two places were 
 laid. She looked at him in surprise. 
 
 " But I thought you said that Linda would be so 
 disappointed ! " she reminded him. 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " I do not think that I mentioned Linda's name," 
 he protested. " She went to bed soon after tea in 
 an absolutely hopeless state. I am afraid that to- 
 night I was selfish. I was thinking of myself. I 
 have had nothing in the shape of companionship all 
 day. I came and looked at the table, and the 
 thought of dining alone wearied me. I have to spend 
 a great deal of time alone, unfortunately. You and 
 I are, perhaps, a little alike in that respect." 
 
 She seated herself after a moment's hesitation. 
 He moved his chair a little closer to hers. The pink- 
 shaded lamp seemed to shut them off from the rest 
 of the room. A waiter poured wine into their 
 
 I ordered champagne to-night," he remarked.
 
 DINNER FOR TWO 151 
 
 " You looked so tired when you came in. Drink a 
 glass at once." 
 
 She obeyed him, smiling faintly. She was, as a 
 matter of fact, craving for something of the sort. 
 
 " It was thoughtful of you," she declared. " I 
 am tired. I have been losing all day, and altogether 
 I have had a most depressing time." 
 
 " It is not as it should be, that," he observed, 
 smiling. " This is a city of pleasure. One was 
 meant to leave one's cares behind here. If any one 
 in this world," he added, " should be without them, it 
 should be you." 
 
 He looked at her respectfully yet with an admira- 
 tion which he made no effort to conceal. There was 
 nothing in the look over-personal. She accepted it 
 with gratitude. 
 
 " You are always kind," she murmured. 
 
 " This reminds me of some of our evenings in 
 London," he went on, " when we used to talk music 
 before we went to the Opera. I always found those 
 evenings so restful and pleasant. Won't you try 
 and forget that you have lost a few pennies ; forget, 
 also, your other worries, whatever they may be? I 
 have had a letter to-day from the one great writer 
 whom we both admire. I shall read it to you. And 
 I have a list of the operas for next week. I see that 
 your husband's little protegee, Felicia Roche, is 
 here." 
 
 " My husband's protegee ? " she repeated. " 1 
 don't quite understand." 
 
 He seemed, for a moment, embarrassed. 
 
 " I am sorry," he said. " I had no idea. But 
 your husband will tell you if you ask him. It was he
 
 152 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 who paid for her singing education, and her triumph 
 is his. But the name must be known to you." 
 
 ** I have never heard it in connection with my hus- 
 band," she declared, frowning slightly. " Henry 
 does not always take me into his confidence." 
 
 " Then I am sorry," he continued penitently, 
 "that I mentioned the matter. It was clumsy of 
 me. I had an idea that he must have told you all 
 about her. . . . Another glass of wine, please, and 
 you will find your appetite comes. Jules has pre- 
 pared that salmon trout specially. I'll read you the 
 letter from Maurice, if you like, and afterwards 
 there is a story I must tell you." 
 
 The earlier stages of dinner slipped pleasantly 
 away. Draconmeyer was a born conversationalist, 
 a good talker and a keen tactician. The food 
 and the wine, too, did their part. Presently Violet 
 lifted her head, the colour came back to her cheeks, 
 she too began to talk and laugh. All the time he 
 was careful not to press home his advantage. He 
 remembered that one night in the library at Gros- 
 venor Square, when she had turned her head and 
 looked at him for a moment before leaving. She 
 must be different now, he told himself fiercely. It 
 was impossible that she could continue to love a 
 husband who neglected her, a man whose mistaken 
 sense of dignity kept him away from her ! 
 
 " I want you," he begged, as they drew towards 
 the close of the meal, " to treat me, if you will, just 
 a little more confidentially." 
 
 She glanced up at him quickly, almost sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " What do you mean ? "
 
 DINNER FOR TWO 153 
 
 ** You have troubles of which you do not speak," 
 he went on. " If my friendship is worth anything, 
 it ought to enable me to share those troubles with 
 you. You have had a little further disagreement 
 with your husband, I think, and bad luck at the ta- 
 bles. You ought not to let either of these things 
 depress you too much. Tell me, do you think that I 
 could help with Sir Henry ? " 
 
 " No one could help," she replied, her tone uncon- 
 sciously hardening. " Henry is obstinate, and it is 
 my firm conviction that he has ceased to care for me 
 at all. This afternoon this very afternoon," she 
 went on, leaning across the table, her voice trembling 
 a little, her eyes very bright, " I offered to go away 
 with him." 
 
 " To leave Monte Carlo? " 
 
 " Yes ! He refused. He said that he must stay 
 here, for some mysterious reason. I begged him to 
 tell me what that reason was, and he was silent. It 
 was the end. He gives me no confidence. He has 
 refused the one effort I made at reconciliation. I 
 am convinced that it is useless. We have parted 
 finally." 
 
 Draconmeyer tried hard to keep the light from his 
 eyes as he leaned towards her. 
 
 " Dear lady," he said, " if I do not admit that I 
 am sorry well, there are reasons. Your husband 
 did well to be mysterious. I can tell you the rea- 
 son why he will not leave Monte Carlo. It is because 
 Felicia Roche makes her debut at the Opera House 
 to-morrow night. There! I didn't mean to tell you 
 but the whole world knows it. Even now I would 
 not have told you but for other things. It is best
 
 154 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 that you know the truth. It is my firm belief that 
 your husband does not deserve your interest, much 
 more your affection. If only I dared " 
 
 He paused for a moment. Every word he wag. 
 compelled to measure. 
 
 " Sometimes," he continued, " your condition re- 
 minds me so much of my own. I think that there is 
 no one so lonely in life as I am. For the last few 
 years Linda has been fading away, physically and 
 mentally. I touch her fingers at morning and night, 
 we speak of the slight happenings of the day. She 
 has no longer any mind or any power of sympathy. 
 Her lips are as cold as her understanding. For that 
 I know she is not to blame, yet it has left me very 
 lonely. If I had had a child," he went on, " even if 
 there were one single soul of whom I was fond, to 
 whom I might look for sympathy; even if you, my 
 dear friend you see, I am bold, and I venture to 
 call you my dear friend could be a little kinder 
 sometimes, it would make all the difference in the 
 world." 
 
 She turned her head and looked at him. His teeth 
 came together hastily. It seemed to him that al- 
 ready she was on her guard. 
 
 " You have something more to say, haven't you ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 He hesitated. Her tone was non-committal. It 
 was a moment when he might have risked everything, 
 but he feared to make a mistake. 
 
 " This is what I mean," he declared, with the ap- 
 pearance of great frankness. " I am going to speak 
 to you upon the absurd question of money. I have 
 an income of which, even if I were boundlessly ex-
 
 DINNER FOR TWO 155 
 
 travagant, I could not hope to spend half. A specu- 
 lation, the week before I left England, brought me a 
 profit of a million marks. But for the banking in- 
 terests of my country and the feeling that I am the 
 trustee for thousands of other people, it would weary 
 me to look for investments. And you you came 
 in to-night, looking worn out just because you had 
 lost a handful or so of those wretched plaques. 
 There, you see it is coming now. I should like per- 
 mission to do more than call myself your friend. I 
 should like permission to be also your banker." 
 
 She looked at him quietly and searchingly. His 
 heart began to beat faster. At least she was in 
 doubt. He had not wholly lost. His chance, even, 
 was good. 
 
 " My friend," she said, " I believe that you are 
 honest. I do indeed recognise your point of view. 
 The thing is an absurdity, but, you know, all conven- 
 tions, even the most foolish, have some human and 
 natural right beneath them. I think that the con- 
 vention which forbids a woman accepting money 
 from a man, however close a friend, is like that. 
 Frankly, my first impulse, a few minutes ago, was to 
 ask you to lend me a thousand pounds. Now I know 
 that I cannot do it." 
 
 " Do you really mean that ? " he asked, in a tone 
 of deep disappointment. " If you do, I am hurt. 
 It proves that the friendship which to me is so dear, 
 is to you a very slight thing." 
 
 " You mustn't think that," she pleaded. " And 
 please, Mr. Draconmeyer, don't think that I don't 
 appreciate all your kindness. Short of accepting 
 your money, I would do anything to prove it."
 
 156 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " There need be no question of a gift," he re- 
 minded her, in a low tone. " If I were a perfect 
 stranger, I might still be your banker. You must 
 have money from somewhere. Are you going to ask 
 your husband? " 
 
 She bit her lip for a moment. If indeed he had 
 known her actual position, his hopes would have been 
 higher still. 
 
 " I cannot possibly ask Henry for anything," she 
 confessed. " I had made up my mind to ask him 
 to authorise the lawyers to advance me my next quar- 
 ter's allowance. After what has passed betweer 
 us, though, and considering everything, I don't 
 feel that I can do it." 
 
 " Then may I ask how you really mean to get more 
 money? " he went on gently. 
 
 She looked at him a little piteously. 
 
 " Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. " I will 
 be quite frank with you. Henry allows me two thou- 
 sand, five hundred a year. I brought nine hundred 
 pounds out with me, and I have nothing more to come 
 until June." 
 
 " And how much have you left of the nine hundred 
 pounds ? " he asked. 
 
 " Not enough to pay my hotel bill," she groaned. 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " Circumstances are too strong for you," he de- 
 clared. " You must go to a banker. I claim the 
 right of being that banker. I shall draw up a prom- 
 issory note no, we needn't do that two or three 
 cheques, perhaps, dated June, August and October. 
 I shall charge you five per cent, interest and I shall 
 lend you a thousand pounds."
 
 DINNER FOR TWO 157 
 
 Her eyes sparkled. The thought of the money 
 was wonderful to her. A thousand pounds in mille 
 notes that very night ! She thought it all over rap- 
 idly. She would never run such risks again. She 
 would play for small amounts each day just 
 enough to amuse herself. Then, if she were lucky, 
 she would plunge, only she would choose the right 
 moment. Very likely she would be able to pay the 
 whole amount back in a day or two. If Henry 
 minded, well, it was his own fault. He should have 
 been different. 
 
 " You put it so kindly," she said gratefully, " that 
 I am afraid I cannot refuse. You are very, very 
 considerate, Mr. Draconmeyer. It certainly will be 
 nicer to owe you the money than a stranger." 
 
 " I am only glad that you are going to be reason- 
 able," he remarked, " glad, really, for both our 
 sakes. And remember," he went on cheerfully, 
 " that one isn't young and at Monte Carlo too many 
 times in one's life. Make up your mind to enjoy 
 yourself. If the luck goes against you for a little 
 longer, come again. You are bound to win in the 
 end. Now, if you like, we'll have our coffee outside. 
 I'll go and fetch the money and you shall make out 
 your cheques." 
 
 He scribbled hastily on a piece of paper for a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " These are the amounts," he pointed out. " I 
 have charged you five per cent, per annum interest. 
 As I can deal with money at something under four, I 
 shall make quite a respectable profit more than 
 enough," he added good-naturedly, " to pay for our 
 dinner ! "
 
 I 5 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She seemed suddenly years younger. The pros- 
 pect of the evening before her was enchanting. 
 
 " You really are delightful ! " she exclaimed. 
 " You can't think how differently I shall feel when I 
 go into the Club to-night. I am perfectly certain 
 that it's having plenty of money that helps one to 
 win." 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " And plenty of courage," he added. " Don't 
 waste your time trifling with small stakes. Bid up 
 for the big things. It is the only way in gambling 
 and in life." 
 
 He rose to his feet and their eyes met for a mo- 
 ment. Once more she felt vaguely troubled. She 
 put that disturbing thought away from her, how- 
 ever. It was foolish to think of drawing back now. 
 If he admired her well, ,o did most men !
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 
 
 The Villa Mimosa flamed with lights from the top 
 story to the ground-floor. The entrance gates stood 
 wide-open. All along the drive, lamps flashed from 
 unsuspected places beneath the yellow-flowering 
 trees. One room only seemed shrouded in darkness 
 and mystery, and around that one room was concen- 
 trated the tense life of the villa. Thick curtains had 
 been drawn with careful hands. The heavy door 
 had been securely closed. The French-windows 
 which led out on to the balcony had been almost bar- 
 ricaded. The four men who were seated around 
 the oval table had certainly secured for themselves 
 what seemed to be a complete and absolute isolation. 
 Yet there was, nevertheless, a sense of uneasiness, an 
 indescribable air of tension in the atmosphere. The 
 quartette had somehow the appearance of conspira- 
 tors who had not settled down to their work. It 
 was the last arrival, the man who sat at Mr. Grex's 
 right hand, who was responsible for the general un- 
 rest. 
 
 Mr. Grex moved a little nervously in the chair 
 which he had just drawn up to the table. He looked 
 towards Draconmeyer as he opened the proceedings. 
 
 " Monsieur Douaille," he said, " has come to see 
 us this evening at my own urgent request. Before
 
 160 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 we commence any sort of discussion, he has asked me 
 to make it distinctly understood to you both to 
 you, Mr. Draconmeyer, and to you, Herr Selingman 
 that this is not in any sense of the word a formal 
 meeting or convention. We are all here, as it hap- 
 pens, by accident. Our friend Selingman, for in- 
 stance, who is a past master in the arts of pleasant 
 living, has not missed a season here for many years. 
 Draconmeyer is also an habitue. I myself, it is 
 true, have spent my winters elsewhere, for various 
 reasons, and am comparatively a stranger, but my 
 visit here was arranged many months ago. You 
 yourself, Monsieur Douaille, are a good Parisian, 
 and no good Parisian should miss his yearly pilgrim- 
 ages to the Mecca of the pleasure-seeker. We meet 
 together this evening, therefore, purely as friends 
 who have a common interest at heart." 
 
 The man from whom this atmosphere of nervous- 
 ness radiated a man of medium height, inclined 
 towards corpulence, with small grey imperial, a thin 
 red ribbon in his buttonhole, and slightly prominent 
 features promptly intervened. He had the air 
 of a man wholly ill-at-ease. All the time Mr. Grex 
 had been speaking, he had been drumming upon the 
 table with his forefinger. 
 
 " Precisely ! Precisely ! " he exclaimed. " Above 
 all things, that must be understood. Ours is a 
 chance meeting. My visit in these parts is in no 
 way connected with the correspondence I have had 
 with one of our friends here. Further," Monsieur 
 Douaille continued impressively, " it must be dis- 
 tinctly understood that any word I may be disposed 
 to utter, either in the way of statement or criticism,
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 181 
 
 ia wholly and entirely unofficial. I do not even know 
 what the subject of our discussion is to be. I ap- 
 proach it with the more hesitation because I gather, 
 from some slight hint which has fallen from our 
 friend here, that it deals with a scheme which, if ever 
 it should be carried into effect, is to the disadvan- 
 tage of a nation with whom we are at present on 
 terms of the greatest friendship. My presence here, 
 except on the terms I have stated," he concluded, his 
 voice shaking a little, " would be an unpardonable 
 offence to that country." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille's somewhat laboured explana- 
 tion did little to lighten the atmosphere. It was 
 the genius of Herr Selingman which intervened. He 
 leaned back in his chair and he patted his waistcoat 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " I have things to say," he declared, " but I can- 
 not say them. I have nothing to smoke no ciga- 
 rette, no cigar. I arrive here choked with dust. 
 As yet, the circumstance seems to have escaped our 
 host's notice. Ah ! what is that I see ? " he added, 
 rising suddenly to his feet. " My host, you are ac- 
 quitted. I look around the table here at which I 
 am invited to seat myself, and I perceive nothing 
 but a few stumpy pens and unappetising blotting- 
 paper. By chance I lift my eyes. I see the parting 
 of the curtains yonder, and behold ! " 
 
 He rose and crossed the room, throwing back a 
 curtain at the further end. In the recess stood a 
 sideboard, laden with all manner of liqueurs and 
 wines, glasses of every size and shape, sandwiches, 
 pasties, and fruit. Herr Selingman stood on one 
 side with outstretched hand, in the manner of a
 
 i6z MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 showman. He himself was wrapped for a moment 
 in admiration. 
 
 " For you others I cannot speak," he observed, 
 surveying the label upon a bottle of hock. " For 
 myself, here is nectar." 
 
 With careful fingers he drew the cork. At a mur- 
 mured word of invitation from Mr. Grex, the others 
 rose from their places and also helped themselves 
 from the sideboard. Selingman took up his posi- 
 tion in the centre of the hearthrug, with a long tum- 
 bler of yellow wine in one hand and a sandwich in 
 the other. 
 
 " For myself," he continued, taking a huge bite, 
 " I wage war against all formality. I have been 
 through this sort of thing in Berlin. I have beeiu, 
 through it in Vienna, I have been through it in 
 Rome. I have sat at long tables with politicians, 
 have drawn little pictures upon the blotting-paper 
 and been bored to death. In wearisome fashion we 
 have drafted agreements, we have quarrelled and 
 bickered, we have yawned and made of ourselves men 
 of parchment. But to-night," he added, taking an- 
 other huge bite from his sandwich, " to-night noth- 
 ing of that sort is intended. Draconmeyer and I 
 have an idea. Mr. Grex is favourably inclined to- 
 wards it. That idea isn't a bit of good to our- 
 selves or any one else unless Monsieur Douaille here 
 shares our point of view. Here we are, then, all met 
 together let us hope for a week or two's enjoy- 
 ment. Little by little we must try and see what we 
 can do towards instilling that idea into the mind of 
 Monsieur Douaille. We may succeed, we may fail, 
 but let us always remember that our conversations
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 163 
 
 are the conversations of four friends, met together 
 upon what is nothing more or less than a holiday. 
 I hate the sight of those sheets of blotting-paper 
 and clean pens. Who wants to make notes, espe- 
 cially of what we are going to talk about! The 
 man who cannot carry notes in his head is no states- 
 man." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille, who had chosen champagne 
 and was smoking a cigarette, beamed approval. 
 Much of his nervousness had departed. 
 
 " I agree," he declared, " I like well the attitude 
 of our friend Selingman. There is something much 
 too formal about this table. I am not here to talk 
 treaties or to upset them. To exchange views, if 
 you will no more. Meanwhile, I appreciate this 
 very excellent champagne, the cigarettes are delfr 
 cious, and I remove myself to this easy-chair. If 
 any one would talk world politics, I am ready. Why 
 not? Why should we pretend that there is any 
 more interesting subject to men like ourselves, in 
 whom is placed the trust of our country? " 
 
 Mr. Grex nodded his head in assent. 
 
 " The fault is mine," he declared, " but, believe me, 
 it was not intentional. It was never my wish to 
 give too formal an air to our little meeting in 
 fact I never intended to do more than dwell on the 
 outside edge of great subjects to-night. Unfortu- 
 nately, Monsieur Douaille, neither you nor I, what- 
 ever our power or influence may be, are directly re- 
 sponsible for the foreign affairs of our countries. 
 We can, therefore, speak with entire frankness. 
 Our countries your country and mine are to- 
 day bound together by an alliance. You have some-
 
 164 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 thing which almost approaches an alliance with an- 
 other country. I am going to tell you in plain 
 words what I think you have been given to under- 
 stand indirectly many times during the last few 
 years that understanding is not approved of in 
 St. Petersburg." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille knocked the ash from his ciga- 
 rette. He gazed thoughtfully into the fire of pine 
 logs which was burning upon the open hearth. 
 
 " Mr. Grex," he said, " that is plainer speaking 
 than we have ever received from any official source." 
 
 " I admit it," Mr. Grex replied. " Such a state- 
 ment on my part may sound a little startling, but I 
 make it advisedly. I know the feeling you will 
 grant that my position entitles me to know the feel- 
 ing of the men who count for anything in Rus- 
 sian politics. Perhaps I do not mean the titular 
 heads of my Government. There are others who 
 have even more responsibilities, who count for more. 
 I honestly and truthfully assure you that I speak 
 for the powers that are behind the Government of 
 Russia when I tell you that the English dream of a 
 triple alliance between Russia, England, and France 
 will never be accepted by my country." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille sipped his champagne. 
 
 *' This is candour," he remarked, " absolute can- 
 dour. One speaks quite plainly, I imagine, before 
 our friend the enemy? " he added, smiling towards 
 Selingman. 
 
 " Why not ? " Selingman demanded. " Why not, 
 indeed ? We are not fools here." 
 
 " Then I would ask you, Mr. Grex," Monsieur 
 Douaille continued, " where in the name of all that is
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 165 
 
 equitable are you to find an alliance more likely to 
 preserve the status quo in Europe? Both logically 
 and geographically it absolutely dovetails. Russia 
 is in a position to absorb the whole attention of Aus- 
 tria and even to invade the north coast of Germany. 
 The hundred thousand troops or so upon which we 
 could rely from Great Britain, would be invaluable 
 for many reasons first, because a mixture of blood 
 is always good; secondly, because the regular army 
 which perforce they would have to send us, is of very 
 fine fighting material; and thirdly, because they 
 could land, to give away a very open secret to you> 
 my friend Selingman, in a westerly position, and 
 would very likely succeed thereby in making an out- 
 flanking movement towards the north. I presume 
 that at present the German fleet would not come 
 out to battle, in which case the English would cer- 
 tainly be able to do great execution upon the north- 
 ern coast of Germany. All this, of course, has been, 
 discussed and written about, and the next war been 
 mapped out in a dozen different ways. I must con- 
 fess, however, that taking every known consideration 
 into account, I can find no other distribution of 
 powers so reasonable or so favourable to my coun- 
 try." 
 
 Mr. Grex nodded. 
 
 " I find no fault with any word of what you have 
 said,*' he declared, " except that yours is simply the 
 superficial and obvious idea of the man in the street 
 as to the course of the next probable war. Now let 
 us go a little further. I grant all the points which 
 you urge in favour of your suggested triple alliance. 
 I will even admit that your forecast of a war tak-
 
 r66 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 ing place under such conditions, is a fairly faithful 
 one. We proceed, then. The war, if it came to 
 pass, could never be decisive. An immense amount 
 of blood would be shed, treasure recklessly poured 
 out, Europe be rendered desolate, for the sake most 
 largely of whom ? of Japan and America. That 
 is the weakness of the whole thing. A war carried 
 out on the lines you suggest would be playing the 
 game of these two countries. Even the victors 
 would be placed at a huge disadvantage with them, 
 to say nothing of the losers, who must see slipping 
 -away from them forever their place under the sun. 
 It is my opinion and I have studied this matter 
 most scientifically and with the help of the Secret 
 Service of every country, not excepting your own, 
 Herr Selingman it is my opinion that this war 
 must be indecisive. The German fleet would be crip- 
 pled and not destroyed. The English fleet would 
 retain its proportionate strength. No French ad- 
 vance into Germany would be successful, no German 
 advance into France is likely. The war would lan- 
 guish for lack of funds, through sheer inanition it 
 would flicker out, and the money of the world would 
 flow into the treasuries of America. Russia would 
 not be fighting for her living. With her it could be 
 at best but a half-hearted war. She would do her 
 duty to the alliance. Nothing more could be 
 hoped from her. You could not expect, for in- 
 stance, that she would call up all her reserves, leave 
 the whole of her eastern frontier unprotected, and 
 throw into mid-Europe such a force as would in time 
 subjugate Germany. This could be done but it will 
 not be done. We all know that."
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 167 
 
 Monsieur Douaille smoked thoughtfully for sev- 
 eral moments. 
 
 " Very well," he pronounced at last, " I am rather 
 inclined to agree with all that you have said. Yet 
 it seems to me that you evade the great point. The 
 status quo is what we desire, peace is what the 
 world wants. If, before such a war as you have 
 spoken of is begun, people realise what the end of it 
 must be, don't you think that that itself is the great- 
 est help towards peace? My own opinion is, I tell 
 you frankly, that for many years to come, at any 
 rate, there will be no war." 
 
 Herr Selingman set down his glass and turned 
 slowly around. 
 
 " Then let me tell you that you are mistaken," he 
 declared solemnly. " Listen to me, my friend Dou- 
 aille my friend, mind, and not the statesman Dou- 
 aille. I am a German citizen and you are a French 
 one, and I tell you that if in three years' time your 
 country does not make up its mind to strike a blow 
 for Alsace and Lorraine, then in three years' time 
 Germany will declare war upon you." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille had the expression of a man 
 who doubts. Selingman frowned. He was sud- 
 denly immensely serious. He struck the palm of one 
 hand a great blow with his clenched fist. 
 
 " Why is it that no one in the world understands," 
 he cried, " what Germany wants ? I tell you, Mon- 
 sieur Douaille, that we don't hate your country. 
 We love it. We crowd to Paris. We expand there. 
 It is the holiday place of every good German. Who 
 wants a ruined France ? Not we ! Yet, unless there 
 3f a change in the international situation, we shall
 
 168 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 go to war with you and I will tell you why. There 
 are no secrets about this sort of thing. Every poli- 
 tician who is worth his salt knows them. The only 
 difficulty is to know when a country is in earnest, 
 and how far it will go. That is the value of our 
 meeting. That is what I am here to say. We shall 
 go to war with you, Monsieur Douaille, to get Calais, 
 and when we've got Calais oh, my God ! " Seling- 
 man almost reverently concluded, " then our solemn 
 task will be begun." 
 
 " England ! " Monsieur Douaille murmured. 
 
 There was a brief pause. Selingman had seemed, 
 for a moment, to have passed into the clouds. 
 There was a sort of gloomy rapture upon his face. 
 He caught up Douaille's last word and repeated it. 
 
 " England ! England, and through her ..." 
 
 He moved to the sideboard and filled his tumbler 
 with wine. When he came back to his place, his ex- 
 pression had lightened. 
 
 " Ah, well ! dear Monsieur Douaille," he exclaimed, 
 patting the other's shoulder in friendly fashion, " to- 
 night we merely chatter. To-night we are here to 
 make friends, to gain each the confidence of the 
 other. To ourselves let us pretend that we are lit- 
 tle boys, playing the game of our nation France, 
 Germany, and Russia. Germany and Russia, to be 
 frank with you, are waiting for one last word from 
 Germany's father, something splendid and definite 
 to offer. What we would like France to do, while 
 France loses its money at roulette and flirts with the 
 pretty ladies at Giro's, is to try and accustom itself 
 not to an alliance with Germany no ! Nothing 
 ao Utopian as that. The lion and the lamb may re-
 
 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 169 
 
 main apart. They may agree to be friends, they 
 may even wave paws at one another, but I do not 
 suggest that they march side by side. What we ask 
 of France is that she looks the other way. It is very 
 easy to look the other way. She might look, for in- 
 stance towards Egypt." 
 
 There was a sudden glitter in the eyes of Mon- 
 sieur Douaille. Selingman saw it and pressed on. 
 
 " There are laurels to be won which will never 
 fade," he continued, setting down his empty tumbler, 
 " laurels to be won by that statesman of your coun- 
 try, the little boy France, who is big enough and 
 strong enough to stand with his feet upon the earth 
 and proclaim * I am for France and my own peo- 
 ple, and my own people only, and I will make them 
 great through all the centuries by seeing the truth 
 and leading them towards it, single-purposed, single- 
 minded.' . . . But these things are not to be dis- 
 posed of so readily as this wonderful Berncastler 
 I beg its pardon, Berncastler Doctor of our host. 
 For to-night I have said my say. I have whims, per- 
 haps, but with me serious affairs are finished for the 
 night. I go to the Sporting Club. Mademoiselle 
 keeps my place at the baccarat table. I feel in the 
 vein. It is a small place, Monte Carlo. Let us 
 make no appointments. We shall drift together. 
 And, monsieur," he concluded, laying his hand for a 
 moment upon Douaille's shoulder, " let the thought 
 sink into your brain. Wipe out that geographical 
 and logical map of Europe from your mind; see 
 things, if you can, in the new daylight. Then, when 
 the idea has been there for just a little time well, 
 we speak again. . . . Come, Draconmeyer. I am
 
 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 relying upon your car to get me into Monte Carlo. 
 My bounteous host, Mr. Grex, good night ! I touch 
 your hand with reverence. The man who possesses 
 such wine and offers it to his friends, is indeed a 
 prince." 
 
 Mr. Grex rose a little unwillingly from his chair. 
 
 " It is of no use to protest," he remarked, smiling. 
 " Our friend Selingman will have his way. Besides, 
 as he reminded us, there is one last word to arrive. 
 Come and breathe the odours of the Riviera, Mon- 
 sieur Douaille. This is when I realise that I am not 
 at my villa on the Black Sea." 
 
 They passed out into the hall and stood on the 
 terrace while the cars drew up. The light outside 
 seemed faintly violet. The perfume of mimosa and 
 roses and oleander came to him in long waves, subtle 
 and yet invigorating. Below, the lights of Monte 
 Carlo, clear and brilliant, with no northern fog or 
 mist to dull their radiance, shone like gems in the 
 mantle of night. Selingman sighed as he stepped 
 into the automobile. 
 
 " We are men who deserve well from history," he 
 declared, " who, in the midst of a present so wonder- 
 ful, can spare time to plan for the generations to 
 come ! "
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 A BARGAIN WITH JEAN COULOIS 
 
 Selingman drew out his watch and held it under- 
 neath the electric light set in the back of the auto- 
 mobile. 
 
 " Good ! " he declared. " It is not yet half -past 
 eleven." 
 
 " Too early for the Austria," Draconmeyer mur- 
 mured, a little absently. 
 
 Selingman returned the watch to his pocket. 
 
 " By no means," he objected- " Mademoiselle is 
 doubtless amusing herself well enough, but if I go 
 now and leave in an hour, she will be peevish. She 
 might want to accompany us. To-night it would 
 not be convenient. Tell your chauffeur, Dracon- 
 meyer, to take us direct to the rendezvous. We can 
 at least watch the people there. One is always 
 amused. We will forget our nervous friend. These 
 little touches, Draconmeyer, my man, they mark 
 the man of genius, mind you. Did you notice how 
 his eyes lit up when I whispered that one word 
 * Egypt ' ? It is a great game when you bait your 
 hook with men and fish for empires ! " 
 
 Draconmeyer gave an instruction to his chauffeur 
 and leaned back. 
 
 " If we succeed, " he began. 
 
 " Succeed? " Selingman interrupted. " Why,
 
 172 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 man alive, he is on our hooks already! Be at rest, 
 my friend. The affair is half arranged. It remains 
 only with us to deal with one man." 
 
 Draconmeyer's eyes sparkled beneath his specta- 
 cles. A slow smile crept over his white face. 
 
 " You are right," he agreed. " That man is 
 test out of the way. If he and Douaille should 
 meet " 
 
 " They shall not meet," Selingman thundered. 
 " I, Selingman, declare it. We are here already. 
 Good! The aspect of the place pleases me." 
 
 The two men, arriving so early, received the dis- 
 tinguished consideration of a bowing maitre d'hotel 
 as they entered the Austria. They were ushered at 
 once to a round table in a favourable position. Sel- 
 ingman surrendered his hat and coat to the obsequi- 
 ous vestiaire, pulled down his waistcoat with a fa*- 
 miliar gesture, spread his pudgy hands upon the ta- 
 ble and looked around him with a smile of benevolent 
 approval. 
 
 " I shall amuse myself here," he declared confi- 
 dently. " Pass the menu to me, Draconmeyer. 
 You have no more idea how to eat than a rabbit. 
 That is why you suffer from indigestion. At this 
 hour why, it is not midnight yet one needs sus- 
 tenance sustenance, mark you, intelligently se- 
 lected, something nourishing yet not heavy. A 
 sheet of paper, waiter. You see, I like to write out 
 my dishes. It saves trouble and there are no dis- 
 appointments, nothing is forgotten. As to the wine, 
 show me the vintage champagnes. ... So ! You 
 need not hurry with the meal. We shall spend some 
 time here."
 
 A BARGAIN WITH JEAN COULOIS 173 
 
 Draconmeyer arrested the much impressed maitre 
 d'hotel as he was hurrying away. 
 
 " Is there dancing here to-night ? " he enquired. 
 
 " But certainly, monsieur," the man replied. " A 
 Spanish lady, altogether ravishing, the equal of 
 Otero at her best Signorina Melita." 
 
 " She dances alone? " 
 
 " By no means. There is the young Frenchman, 
 Jean Coulois, who is engaged for the season. A 
 wonderful pair, indeed! When May comes, they go 
 to the music-halls in Paris and London." 
 
 Draconmeyer nodded approval. 
 
 " Coulois was the name," he whispered to Seling- 
 man, as the man moved away. 
 
 The place filled up slowly. Presently the supper 
 was served. Selingman ate with appetite, Dracon- 
 meyer only sparingly. The latter, however, drank 
 more freely than usual. The wine had, neverthe- 
 less, curiously little effect upon him, save for a 
 slight additional brightness of the eyes. His cheeks 
 remained pale, his manner distrait. He watched 
 the people enter and pass to their places, without any 
 apparent interest. Selingman, on the other hand, 
 easily absorbed the spirit of his surroundings. As 
 the night wore on he drank healths with his neigh- 
 bours, beamed upon the pretty little Frenchwoman 
 who was selling flowers, ate and drank what was set 
 before him with obvious enjoyment. Both men, 
 however, showed at least an equal interest when 
 Mademoiselle Melita, in Spanish costume, accom- 
 panied by a slim, dark-visaged man, began to dance. 
 Draconmeyer was no longer restless. He sat with 
 folded arms, watching the performance with a
 
 174 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 strangely absorbed air. One thing, however, was 
 singular. Although Selingman was confessedly a 
 ladies' man, his eyes, after her first few movements, 
 scarcely rested for a moment upon the girl. Both 
 Draconmeyer and he watched her companion stead- 
 fastly. When the dance was over they applauded 
 with spirit. Selingman sat up in his place, a cham- 
 pagne bottle in his hand. He beckoned to the man, 
 who, with a little deprecating shrug of the shoulders, 
 swaggered up to their table with some show of con- 
 descension. 
 
 " A chair for Monsieur Jean Coulois, the great 
 dancer," Selingman ordered, " a glass, and another 
 bottle of wine. Monsieur Jean, my congratulations ! 
 But a word in your ear. Her steps do not match 
 yours. It is you who make the dance. She has no 
 initiative. She can do nothing but imitate," he 
 added. 
 
 The dancer looked at his host a little curiously. 
 He was slightly built and without an atom of colour. 
 His black hair was closely cropped, his eyes of som- 
 bre darkness, his demeanour almost sullen. At Sel- 
 ingman's words, however, he nodded rapidly and 
 seated himself more firmly upon his chair. It was 
 apparent that although his face remained expres- 
 sionless, he was gratified. 
 
 " They notice nothing, these others," he remarked, 
 with a little wave of the hand. " It is always the 
 woman who counts. You are right, monsieur. She 
 dances like a stick. She has good calves and she 
 rolls her eyes. The canaille applaud. It is always 
 like that. Your health, monsieur ! " 
 
 He drank his wine without apparent enjoyment,
 
 but he drank it like water. Selingman leaned across 
 the table. 
 
 " Coulois," he whispered, " the wolves bay loudest 
 at night, is it not so ? " 
 
 The man sat quite still. If such a thing had been 
 possible, he might have grown a shade paler. His 
 eyes glittered. He looked steadfastly at Selingman. 
 
 " Who are you ? " he muttered. 
 
 " The wolves sleep in the daytime," Selingman re- 
 plied. 
 
 The dancer shrugged his shoulders. He held out 
 his glass to be replenished. The double password 
 had reassured him. 
 
 " Pardon, monsieur," he said, " these have been 
 anxious hours." 
 
 " The little affair at La Turbie? " Selingman sug- 
 gested. 
 
 Coulois set down his glass for the first time half 
 finished. His mouth had taken an evil turn. He 
 leaned across the table. 
 
 " See you," he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, 
 " what happened, happened justly ! Martin is re- 
 sponsible. The whole thing was conducted in the 
 spirit of a pantomime, a great joke. Who are we, 
 the Wolves, to brandish empty firearms, to shrink 
 from letting a little blood ! Bah ! " 
 
 He finished his wine. Selingman nodded approv- 
 ingly as he refilled his glass. 
 
 " My friend and I," he confided, " were amongst 
 those who were held up. Imagine it! We stood 
 against the wall like a row of dummies. Such treas- 
 ure as I have never before seen was poured into that 
 sack. Jewels, my friend, such as only the women of
 
 176 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Monte Carlo wear! Packet after packet of mille 
 notes! Wealth immeasurable! Oh, Coulois, Cou- 
 lois, it was an opportunity lost ! " 
 
 " Lost ! " the dancer echoed fiercely. " It was 
 thrown into the gutter! It was madness! It was 
 hellish, such ill-fortune! Yet what could I do? If 
 I had been absent from here I, Coulois, whom men 
 know of even the police would have had no excuse. 
 So it was Martin who must lead. Our armoury had 
 never been fuller. There were revolvers for every 
 one, ammunition for a thousand. . . . Pardon, mon- 
 sieur, but I cannot talk of this affair. The anger 
 rises so hot in my heart that I fear to betray myself 
 to those who may be listening. And besides, you 
 have not come here to talk with me of it." 
 
 " It is true," Selingman confessed. 
 
 There was a brief silence. The dancer was study- 
 ing them both. There was uneasiness in his expres- 
 sion. 
 
 " I do not understand," he enquired hoarsely, 
 " how you came by the passwords ? " 
 
 " Make yourself wholly at ease, my young friend," 
 Selingman begged him reassuringly. " We are men 
 of the world, my friend and I. We seek our own 
 ends in life and we have often to make use of the 
 nearest and the best means for the purpose of se- 
 curing them. Martin has served me before. A 
 week ago I should have gone to him. To-night, as 
 you know, he lies in prison." 
 
 "Martin, indeed!" the dancer jeered. "You 
 would have gone, then, to a man of sawdust, a 
 chicken-livered bungler! What is it that you want 
 done? Speak to me. I am a man."
 
 A BARGAIN WITH JEAN COULOIS 177 
 
 The leader of the orchestra was essaying upon his 
 violin the tentative strains of a popular air. The 
 girl had reappeared and was poising herself upon her 
 toes. The leader of the orchestra summoned Cou- 
 lois. 
 
 " I must dance," he announced. " Afterwards I 
 will return." 
 
 He leapt lightly to his feet and swung into the 
 room with extended arms. Draconmeyer looked 
 down at his plate. 
 
 " It is a risk, this, we are running," he muttered. 
 " I do not see, Selingman, why you could not have 
 hired this fellow through Allen or one of the others." 
 
 Selingman shook his head. 
 
 " See here, Draconmeyer," he explained, " this is 
 one of the cases where agents are dangerous. For 
 Allen to have been seen with Jean Coulois here would 
 have been the same as though I had been seen with 
 him myself. I cannot, alas ! in this place, with my 
 personality, keep my identity concealed. They 
 know that I am Selingman. They know well that 
 wherever I move, I have with me men of my Secret 
 Service. I cannot use them against Hunterleys. 
 Too many are in the know. Here we are simply 
 two visitors who talk to a dancer. We depart. We 
 do not see him again until afterwards. Besides, this 
 is where fate is with us. What more natural than 
 that the Wolves should revenge themselves upon the 
 man who captured one of their leaders? It was the 
 young American, Richard Lane, who really started 
 the debacle, but it was Hunterleys who seized Mar- 
 tin. What more natural than revenge? These fel- 
 lows hang by one another always."
 
 I 7 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Draconmeyer nodded with grim approval. 
 
 " It was devilish work he did in Sofia," he said 
 softly. " But for him, much of this would have beett 
 unnecessary." 
 
 The dance was over. Both men joined enthusi- 
 astically in the applause. Coulois, with an insolent 
 nod to his admirers, returned to his seat. He threw 
 himself back in his chair, crossed his legs and held 
 out his empty glass. Though he had been dancing 
 furiously, there was not a single bead of perspiration 
 upon his forehead. 
 
 " You are in good condition, my friend," Seling- 
 man observed admiringly. 
 
 " I need to be for my work," Coulois replied. 
 " Let us get to business. There is no need to mince 
 words. What do you want with me? Who is the 
 quarry ? " 
 
 " The man who ruined your little affair at La Tur- 
 bie and captured your comrade Martin," Selingman 
 whispered. " You see, you have every provocation 
 to start with." 
 
 Coulois' eyes glittered. 
 
 " He was an Englishman," he muttered. 
 
 " Quite true," Selingman assented. " His name is 
 Hunterleys Sir Henry Hunterleys. He lives at 
 the Hotel de Paris. His room is number 189. He 
 spends his time upon the Terrace, at the Cafe de 
 Paris, and in the Sporting Club. Every morning 
 he goes to the English Bank for his letters, deals 
 with them in his room, calls at the post-office and 
 takes a walk, often up into the hills." 
 
 " Come, come, this is not so bad ! " Coulois ex- 
 claimed. " They laugh at us in the cafes and down
 
 A BARGAIN WITH JEAN COULOIS 179 
 
 in the wine shops of Monaco, those who know," he 
 went on, frowning. " They say that the Wolves 
 have become sheep. We shall see! It is an affair, 
 this, worth considering. What do you pay, Mon- 
 sieur le Gros, and for how long do you wish him out 
 of the way ? " 
 
 " The pay," Selingman announced, " is two hun- 
 dred louis, and the man must be in hospital for at 
 least a fortnight." 
 
 Draconmeyer leaned suddenly forward. His eyes 
 were bright, his hands gripped the table. 
 
 " Listen ! " he whispered in Coulois' ear. " Are 
 the Wolves sheep, indeed, that they can do no more 
 than twist ankles and break heads? That two hun- 
 dred shall be five hundred, Jean Coulois, but it must 
 be a cemetery to which they take him, and not a 
 hospital ! " 
 
 There was a moment's silence. Selingman sat 
 back in his place. He was staring at his companion 
 with wide-open eyes. Jean Coulois was moistening 
 his lips with his tongue, his eyes were brilliant. 
 
 " Five hundred louis ! " he repeated under his 
 breath. 
 
 " Is it not enough? " Draconmeyer asked coldly. 
 " I do not believe in half measures. The man who 
 is wounded may be well before he is welcome. If five 
 hundred louis is not enough, name your price, 
 but let there be no doubt. Let me see what the 
 Wolves can do when it is their leader who handles the 
 knife ! " 
 
 The face of the dancer was curiously impassive. 
 He lifted his glass and drained it. 
 
 " An affair of death ! " he exclaimed softly. " We
 
 180 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Wolves we bite, we wound, we rob. But death 
 ugh ! There are ugly things to be thought of." 
 
 " And pleasant ones," Draconmeyer reminded him. 
 " Five hundred louis is not enough. It shall be six 
 hundred. A man may do much with six hundred 
 golden louis." 
 
 Selingman sat forward once more in his place. 
 
 " Look here," he intervened, " you go too far, my 
 friend. You never spoke to me of this. What have 
 you against Hunterleys ? " 
 
 " His nationality," Draconmeyer answered coolly. 
 " I hate all Englishmen! " 
 
 The gaiety had left Selingman's face. He gazed 
 at his companion with a curious expression. 
 
 " My friend," he murmured, " I fear that you are 
 vindictive." 
 
 " Perhaps," Draconmeyer replied quietly. " In 
 these matters I like to be on the safe side." 
 
 Jean Coulois struck the table lightly with his 
 small, feminine hand. He showed all his teeth as 
 though he had been listening to an excellent joke. 
 
 " It is to be done," he decided. " There is no 
 more to be said." 
 
 Some visitors had taken the next table. Coulois 
 drew his chair a little closer to Draconmeyer. 
 
 " I accept the engagement," he continued. " We 
 will talk no more. Monsieur desires my address? 
 It is here," scribbling on a piece of paper. " But 
 monsieur may be warned," he added, with a light- 
 ning-like flash in his eyes as he became conscious of 
 the observation of some passers-by. " I will not 
 dance in England. I will not leave Monte Carlo be- 
 fore May. Half that sum three hundred louis,
 
 A BARGAIN WITH JEAN COULOIS 181 
 
 mind must come to me on trust; the other three 
 hundred afterwards. Never fear but that I will give 
 satisfaction. Keep your part of the bargain," he 
 added, under his breath, " and the Wolves' fangs are 
 already in this man's throat." 
 
 He danced again. The two men watched him. 
 Draconmeyer's face was as still and colourless as 
 ever. In Selingman's there was a shade of some- 
 thing almost like repulsion. He poured himself out 
 a glass of champagne. 
 
 " Draconmeyer," he exclaimed, " you are a cold- 
 blooded fish, indeed! You can sit there without 
 blinking and think of this thing which we have done. 
 Now as for me, I have a heart. I can never see the 
 passing out of the game of even a bitter opponent, 
 without a shiver. Talk philosophy to me, Dracon- 
 meyer. My nerves are shaken." 
 
 Draconmeyer turned his head. He, too, raised his 
 wine to his lips and drank deliberately. 
 
 " My friend," he said, " there is no philosophy 
 save one. A child cries for the star he may not 
 have ; the weak man comforts himself in privation by 
 repeating to himself the dry-as-dust axioms con- 
 ceived in an alien brain, and weaving from them the 
 miserable comfort of empty words. The man who 
 knows lift and has found wisdom, pays the price for 
 the thing he desires, and obtains it ! "
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 DUTY INTERFERES AGAIN 
 
 Hunterleys sat that night alone in a seat at the 
 Opera for a time and lost himself in a maze of recol- 
 lections. He seemed to find himself growing younger 
 as he listened to the music. The days of a more 
 vivid and ardent sentimentality seemed to reassert 
 themselves. He thought of the hours when he had 
 sat side by side with his wife, the only woman to 
 whom he had ever given a thought; of the thrill 
 which even the touch of her fingers had given him, of 
 the drive home together, the little confidences and 
 endearments, the glamour which seemed to have been 
 thrown over life before those unhappy misunder- 
 standings. He remembered so well the beginning of 
 them all the terrible pressure of work which was 
 thrown upon his shoulders, his engrossed days, his 
 disturbed nights ; her patience at first, her subsequent 
 petulance, her final anger. He was engaged often 
 in departmental work which he could not even ex- 
 plain. She had taken up with unhappy facility the 
 role of a neglected wife. She declared that he had 
 ceased to care for the lighter ways. There had cer- 
 tainly been a time when her complaints had been 
 apparently justified, when the Opera had been 
 banned, theatres were impossible, when she could not 
 even rely upon his escort to a dinner or to a recep-
 
 DUTY INTERFERES AGAIN 183 
 
 tion. He had argued with her very patiently at 
 first, but very unsuccessfully. It was then that her 
 friendship with Linda Draconmeyer had been so vig- 
 orously renewed, a friendship which seemed from the 
 first to have threatened his happiness. Had it been 
 his fault ? he wondered. Had he really been too much 
 engrossed in his work? His country had made large 
 demands upon him in those days. Had he ever ex- 
 plained the matter fully and carefully enough to her? 
 Perhaps not. At any rate, he was the sufferer. He 
 realised more than ever, as the throbbing of the 
 music stole into his blood, the loneliness of his life. 
 And yet it seemed so hopeless. Supposing he threw 
 up his work and let things take their course? The 
 bare thought chilled him. He recognised it as un- 
 worthy. The great song of mortification from the 
 broken hero rang in his ears. Must every woman 
 bring to every man the curse of Delilah ! . . . 
 
 He passed out of the building into the cool, starlit 
 night. People were strolling about in evening 
 clothes, hatless, the women in white opera cloaks and 
 filmy gowns, their silk-stockinged feet very much in 
 evidence, resembling almost some strange kind of 
 tropical birds with their little shrill laughter and 
 graceful movements, as they made their way towards 
 the Club or round to the Rooms, or to one of the 
 restaurants for supper. Whilst Hunterleys hesi- 
 tated, there was a touch upon his arm. He glanced 
 around. 
 
 " Hullo, David ! " he exclaimed. " Were you 
 waiting for me? " 
 
 The young man fell into step by his side. 
 
 " I have been to the hotel," he said, in a low tone..
 
 184 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " They thought you might be here. Can you come 
 up later say at one o'clock? " 
 
 " Certainly," Hunterleys answered. " Where's 
 Sidney?" 
 
 " He's working now. He'll be home by half-past 
 twelve unless anything goes wrong. He thinks he'll 
 have something to tell you." 
 
 " I'll come," Hunterleys agreed. " How's Fe- 
 licia? " 
 
 " All right, but working herself to death," the 
 young man replied. " She is getting anxious, too. 
 Give her a word of encouragement if you see her to- 
 night. She was hoping you might have been up to 
 see her." 
 
 " I won't forget," Hunterleys promised. 
 
 The young man drifted silently away, and Hun- 
 terleys, after a moment's hesitation and a glance 
 at his watch, turned towards the Club. He climbed 
 the broad staircase, surrendered his hat and turned 
 in at the roulette room. The magic of the music was 
 still in his veins, and he looked around him almost 
 eagerly. There was no sign of Violet. He strolled 
 into the baccarat room but she was not there. Per- 
 haps she, too, had been at the Opera. In the bar 
 he found Richard Lane, sitting moodily alone. The 
 young man greeted him warmly. 
 
 " Come and have a drink, Sir Henry," he 
 begged. " I've got the hump." 
 
 Hunterleys sat down by his side. 
 
 " Whiskey and apollinaris," he ordered. " What's 
 the matter with you, Richard ? " 
 
 " She isn't here," the young man declared. " I've 
 been to the Rooms and she isn't there either."
 
 DUTY INTERFERES AGAIN 185 
 
 " What about the Opera ? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 *' I started at the Opera," Lane confessed, " took 
 a box so as to be able to see the whole house. I sat 
 through the first act but there wasn't a sign of her. 
 Then I took a spin out and had another look at the 
 villa. It was all lit up as though there were a party. 
 I very nearly marched in." 
 
 " Just as well you didn't, I think," Hunterleys 
 remarked, smiling. " I see you're feeling just the 
 same about it." 
 
 The young man did not even vouchsafe an an- 
 swer. 
 
 " Then you're not going to take advantage of your 
 little warning and clear out ? " Hunterleys contin- 
 ued. 
 
 " Don't you think I'm big enough to take care of 
 myself? " Lane asked, with a little laugh. *' Be- 
 sides, there's an American Consul here, and plenty 
 of English witnesses who saw the whole thing. Can't 
 think why they're trying on such a silly game." 
 
 " Mr. Grex may have influence," Hunterleys sug- 
 gested. 
 
 " Who the mischief is my prospective father-in- 
 law? " Richard demanded, almost testily. " There's 
 an atmosphere about that house and the servants I 
 can't understand a bit." 
 
 " You wouldn't," Hunterleys observed drily. 
 " Well, in a day or two I'll tell you who Mr. Grex is. 
 I'd rather not to-night." 
 
 " By the way," Lane continued, " your wife was 
 asking if you were here, a few minutes ago." 
 
 Hunterleys rose quickly to his feet. 
 
 " Where is she? "
 
 i86 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " She was at her usual place at the top roulette 
 table, but she gave it up just as I passed, said she 
 was going to walk about," the young man replied. 
 " I don't think she has left yet." 
 
 Hunterleys excused himself hastily. In the little 
 space between the restaurant and the roulette rooms 
 he came suddenly upon Violet. She was leaning 
 back in an obscure corner, with her hands clasped 
 helplessly in her lap before her. She was sitting 
 quite still and his heart sank when he saw her. The 
 lines under her eyes were unmistakable now; her 
 cheeks, too, seemed to have grown hollow. Her first 
 look at him almost made him forget all their differ- 
 ences. There was something piteous in the tremble 
 of her lips. He drew a chair to her side. 
 
 " Richard told me that you wished to speak to 
 me," he began, as lightly as he could. 
 
 " I asked if he had seen you, a few minutes ago," 
 she admitted. " I am afraid that my interest was 
 rather mercenary." 
 
 " You want to borrow some money? " he enquired, 
 taking out his pocket-book. 
 
 She looked at it, and though her eyes at first were 
 listless, they still seemed fascinated. 
 
 " I don't think I can play any more to-night," she 
 sighed. 
 
 " You have been losing? " 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 " Come and have something," he invited. *' You 
 look tired." 
 
 She rose willingly enough. They passed out, side 
 by side, into the little bar. 
 
 " Some champagne? " he suggested.
 
 DUTY INTERFERES AGAIN 187 
 
 She shook her head quickly. The memory of the 
 champagne at dinner-time came back to her with a 
 sudden sickening insistence. She thought of the 
 loan, she thought of Draconmeyer with a new uneas- 
 iness. It was as though she had admitted some new. 
 complication into her life. 
 
 " Could I have some tea? " she begged. 
 
 He ordered some and sat with her while she 
 drank it. 
 
 " You know," he declared, " if I might be permitted 
 to say so, I think you are taking the gaming here 
 a little too seriously. If you have been unlucky, 
 it is very easy to arrange an advance for you. 
 Would you like some money? If so, I will see to it 
 when I go to the bank to-morrow. I can let you 
 have a hundred pounds at once, if you like." 
 
 A hundred pounds ! If only she dared tell him 
 that she had lost a thousand within the last two 
 hours ! Once more he was fingering his pocket-book. 
 
 " Come," he went on pleasantly, " you had better 
 have a hundred from me, for luck." 
 
 He counted out the notes. Her fingers began to 
 shake. 
 
 " I didn't mean to play any more to-night," she 
 faltered, irresolutely. 
 
 " Nor should I," he agreed. " Take my advice. 
 Violet, and go home now. This will do for you to- 
 morrow." 
 
 She took the money and dropped it into her jew- 
 elled bag. 
 
 " Very well," she said, " I won't play any more, 
 but I don't want to go home yet. It is early, and I 
 can never sleep here if I go to bed. Sit with m for
 
 188 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 half-an-hour, and then perhaps you could give me 
 some supper? " 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " I am so sorry," he answered, " but at one o'clocl* 
 I have an appointment." 
 
 " An appointment ? " 
 
 " Such bad luck," he continued. " It would have 
 given me very great pleasure to have had supper 
 with you, Violet." 
 
 " An appointment at one o'clock," she repeated 
 slowly. "Isn't that just a little unusual?" 
 
 " Perhaps so," he assented. " I can assure you 
 that I am very sorry." 
 
 She leaned suddenly towards him. The aloofness 
 had gone from her manner. The barrier seemed for 
 a moment to have fallen down. Once more she was 
 the Violet he remembered. She smiled into his face, 
 and smiled with her eyes as well as her lips, just the 
 smile he had been thinking of an hour ago in the 
 Opera House. 
 
 " Don't go, please," she begged. " I am feel- 
 ing lonely to-night and I am so tired of everybody 
 and everything. Take me to supper at the Cafe de 
 Paris. Then, if you like, we might come back here 
 for half-an-hour. Or " 
 
 She hesitated. 
 
 " I am horribly sorry," he declared, in a tone 
 which was full of real regret. " Indeed, Violet* I 
 am. But I have an appointment which I must keep, 
 and I can't tell exactly how long it may take me." 
 
 The very fact that the nature of that appointment 
 concerned things which from the first he had made 
 up his mind must be kept entirely secret, stiffened
 
 DUTY INTERFERES AGAIN 189 
 
 his tone. Her manner changed instantly. She had 
 drawn herself a little away. She considered for a 
 moment. 
 
 " Are you inclined to tell me with whom your ap- 
 pointment is, and for what purpose? " she asked 
 coldly. " I don't want to be exacting, but after the 
 request I have made, and your refusal " 
 
 " I cannot tell you," he interrupted. " I can only 
 ask you to take my word for it that it is one which I 
 must keep." 
 
 She rose suddenly to her feet. 
 
 " I forgot ! " she exclaimed. " I haven't the 
 slightest right to your confidence. Besides, when I 
 come to think of it, I don't believe that I am hungry 
 at all. I shall try my luck with your money ? " 
 
 "Violet!" 
 
 She swept away with a little farewell nod, half In- 
 solent, half angry. Hunterleys watched her take 
 her place at the table. For several moments he stood 
 by her side. She neither looked up nor addressed 
 him. Then he turned and left the place.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 
 
 Hunterleys remained in the hotel only long enough 
 to change his straw hat for a cap, put on a long, 
 light overcoat and take an ash stick from his ward- 
 robe. He left the place by an unfrequented entrance 
 and commenced at once to climb to the back part of 
 the town. Once or twice he paused and looked 
 around, to be sure that he was not followed. When 
 he had arrived as far as the Hotel de Prince de Galles, 
 he crossed the road. From here he walked very 
 quickly and took three turns in rapid succession. 
 Finally he pushed open a little gate and passed up a 
 tiled walk which led between a little border of rose 
 trees to a small white villa, covered with creepers. 
 A slim, girlish figure came suddenly out from the 
 porch and danced towards him with outstretched 
 hands. 
 
 " At last ! " she exclaimed. " At last ! Tell me, 
 my co-guardian, how you are going to excuse your- 
 self? " 
 
 He took her outstretched hands and looked down 
 into her face. She was very small and dark, with 
 lustrous brown eyes and a very sensitive mouth, which 
 just now was quivering with excitement. 
 
 " All the excuses have gone out of my head, Fe-
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 191 
 
 licia," he declared. " You look such a little elf in 
 the moonlight that I can't do more than say that I 
 am sorry. But I have been busy." 
 
 She was suddenly serious. She clasped his arm 
 with both her hands and turned towards the house. 
 
 " Of course you have," she sighed. " It seems too 
 bad, though, in Monte Carlo. Sidney and David are 
 like ghouls. I don't ask what it is all about I 
 know better but I wish it were all over, whatever 
 it is." 
 
 " Is Sidney back ? " Hunterleys asked eagerly. 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " He came in half-an-hour ago, looking like a 
 tramp. David is writing as though he hadn't a mo- 
 ment to spare in life. They are both waiting for 
 you, I think." 
 
 " And you ? " he enquired. " How do the rehear- 
 sals go ? " 
 
 " The rehearsals are all right," she admitted, look- 
 ing up at him almost pathetically. " It's the night 
 itself that seems so awful. I know every word, I 
 know every note, and yet I can't feel sure. I can't 
 sleep for thinking about it. Only last night I had 
 a nightmare. I saw all those rows and rows of faces, 
 and the lights, and my voice went, my tongue was dry 
 and hard, not a word would come. And you were 
 there and the others ! " 
 
 Ke laughed at her. 
 
 " Little girl," he said solemnly, " I shall have to 
 speak to Sidney. One of those two young men must 
 take you out for a day in the country to-morrow." 
 
 " They seem so busy," she complained. " They 
 don't seem to have time to think of me. I suppose ]
 
 iga MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 had better let you go in. They'd be furious if they 
 thought I was keeping you." 
 
 They passed into the villa, and with a farewell pat 
 of the hand Hunterleys left her and opened a door 
 on the left-hand side of the hall. The young man 
 who had met him coming out of the Opera was stand- 
 ing with his hands in his pockets, upon the hearth- 
 rug of an exceedingly untidy-looking apartment. 
 There was a table covered with papers, another piled 
 with newspapers. There were books upon the floor, 
 pipes and tobacco laid about haphazard. A space 
 had been swept clear upon the larger table for a type- 
 writer, a telephone instrument stood against the wall. 
 A man whose likeness to Felicia was at once ap- 
 parent, swung round in his chair as Hunterleys en- 
 tered. He had taken off his coat and waistcoat and 
 his trousers seemed smothered with dust. 
 
 " Regular newspaper correspondent's den," Hun- 
 terleys remarked, as he looked around him. " I never 
 saw such a mess in my life. I wonder Felicia al- 
 lows it." 
 
 " We don't let her come in," her brother chuckled- 
 " Is the door closed ? " 
 
 " Fast," Hunterleys replied, moving away from it. 
 
 " Things are moving," the other went on. " 1 
 took the small car out to-day on the road to Cannes 
 and I expect I was the first to see Douaille." 
 
 " I saw him myself," Hunterleys announced. " I 
 was out on that road, walking." 
 
 " Douaille," Roche continued, " went direct to the 
 Villa Mimosa. Grex was there, waiting for him. 
 Draconmeyer and Selingman both kept out of the 
 way."
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 193 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " Reasonable enough, that. Grex was the man 
 to pave the way. Well? " 
 
 " At ten o'clock, Draconmeyer and Selingman ar- 
 rived. The Villa Mimosa gets more difficult every 
 day. I have only one friend in the house, although 
 it is filled with servants. Three-quarters of them 
 only speak Russian. My man's reliable but he is 
 in a terrible minority. The conference took place 
 in the library. It lasted about an hour and a half. 
 Selingman and Draconmeyer came out looking fairly 
 well satisfied. Half-an-hour later Douaille went on 
 to Mentone, to the Hotel Splendide, where his wife 
 and daughters are staying. No writing at all was 
 done in the room." 
 
 " The conference has really begun, then," Hunter- 
 leys observed moodily. 
 
 " Without a doubt," Roche declared. " I imag- 
 ine, though, that the meeting this evening was de- 
 voted to preliminaries. I am hoping next time," he 
 went on, " to be able to pass on a little of what is 
 said." 
 
 " If we could only get the barest idea as to the na- 
 ture of the proposals," Hunterleys said earnestly. 
 " Of course, one can surmise. Our people are al- 
 ready warned as to the long conferences which have 
 taken place between Grex and Selingman. They 
 mean something there's no doubt about that. 
 And then this invitation to Douaille, and his coming 
 here so furtively. Everything points the same way, 
 but a few spoken words are better than all the sur- 
 mises in the world. It isn't that they are unreason- 
 able at home, but they must be convinced."
 
 194 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " It's the devil's own risk," Roche sighed, " but I 
 am hard at it. I was about the place yesterday as 
 much as I dared. My plans are all ready now but 
 things looked pretty awkward at the villa to-night. 
 If they are going to have the grounds patrolled by 
 servants every time they meet, I'm done. I've cut a 
 pane of glass out of the dome over the library, and 
 I've got a window-cleaning apparatus round at the 
 back, and a ladder. The passage along the roof is 
 quite easy and there's a good deal of cover amongst 
 the chimneys, but if they get a hint, it will be touch 
 and go." 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. He was busy now, going 
 through the long sheets of writing which the other 
 young man had silently passed across to him. For 
 half-an-hour he read, making pencil notes now and 
 then in the margin. When at last he had finished, 
 he returned them and, sitting down at the table, drew 
 a packet of press cable sheets towards him and wrote 
 for some time steadily. When he had finished, he 
 read through the result of his labours and leaned 
 back thoughtfully in his chair. 
 
 " You will send this off from Cannes with your 
 own, Briston ? " he asked. 
 
 The young man assented. 
 
 " The car will be here at three," he announced. 
 " They'll be on their way by eight." 
 
 " Press message, mind, to the Daily Post. If the 
 operator wants to know what * Number 1 ' means 
 after * Daily Post,' you can tell him that it simply 
 indicates to which editorial room the message is to 
 be delivered." 
 
 " That's a clever idea," Roche mused. " Code dis-
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 195 
 
 patches to Downing Street might cause a little com- 
 ment." 
 
 " They wouldn't do from here," Hunterleys de- 
 clared. " They might be safe enough from Cannes 
 but it's better to run no risks. These will be passed 
 on to Downing Street, unopened. Be careful to- 
 morrow, Sidney." 
 
 " I can't see that they can do anything but throw 
 me out, Sir Henry," Roche remarked. " I have my 
 Daily Post authority in my pocket, and my passport. 
 Besides, I got the man here to announce in the Monte 
 Carlo News that I was the accredited correspondent 
 for the district, and that David Briston had been 
 appointed by a syndicate of illustrated papers to 
 represent them out here. That's in case we get a 
 chance of taking photographs. I had some idea of 
 going out to interview Monsieur Douaille." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " I shouldn't. The man's as nervous as he can 
 be now, I am pretty sure of that. Don't do anything 
 that might put him on his guard. Mind, for all we 
 know he may be an honest man. To listen to what 
 these fellows have to say doesn't mean that he's pre- 
 pared to fall in with their schemes. By the by, 
 you've nothing about the place, I suppose, if you 
 should be raided ? " 
 
 " Not a thing," was the confident reply. " We 
 are two English newspaper correspondents, and there 
 isn't a thing to be found anywhere that's not in keep- 
 ing, except my rather large make-up outfit and my 
 somewhat mixed wardrobe. I am not the only news- 
 paper correspondent who goes in for that, though. 
 Then there's Felicia. They all know who she is and
 
 I 9 6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 they all know that she's my sister. Anyhow, even 
 if I do get into trouble up at the Villa Mimosa, I 
 can't see that I shall be looked upon as anything 
 more than a prying newspaper correspondent. They 
 can't hang me for that." 
 
 Hunterleys accepted a cigarette and lit it. 
 
 " I needn't tell you fellows," he said gravely, " that 
 this place is a little unlike any other in Europe. 
 You may think you're safe enough, but all the same 
 I wouldn't trust a living soul. By-the-by, I saw Fe- 
 licia as I came in. You don't want her to break 
 down, do you ? " 
 
 " Good heavens, no ! " her brother exclaimed. 
 
 *' Break down?" David repeated. "Don't sug- 
 gest such a thing ! " 
 
 " It struck me that she was rather nervy," Hun- 
 terleys told them. " One of you ought to look after 
 her for an hour or two to-morrow." 
 
 " I can't spare a moment," her brother sighed. 
 
 " I'll take her out," Briston declared eagerly. 
 ** There's nothing for me to do to-morrow till Sid- 
 ney gets back." 
 
 " Well, between you, keep an eye on her," Hunter- 
 leys advised. " And, Sidney, I don't want to make a 
 coward of you, and you and I both know that if 
 there's danger ahead it's our job to face it, but have 
 a care up at the Villa Mimosa. I don't fancy the 
 law of this Principality would see you out of any 
 trouble if they got an idea that you were an English 
 Secret Service man." 
 
 Roche laughed shortly. 
 
 " Exactly my own idea," he admitted. " How- 
 ever, we've got to see it through. I sha'n't consider
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 197 
 
 I've done my work unless I hear something of what 
 Grex and the others have to say to Douaille the next 
 time they meet." 
 
 Hunterleys found Felicia waiting for him outside. 
 He shook his head reproachfully. 
 
 " A future prima donna," he said, " should go to 
 bed at ten o'clock." 
 
 She opened the door for him and walked down the 
 path, her hands clasped in his arm. 
 
 " A future prima donna," she retorted, " can't 
 do always what she likes. If I go to bed too early 
 I cannot sleep. To-night I am excited and nervous. 
 There isn't anything likely to bring trouble upon 
 them, is there? " 
 
 " Certainly not," he replied promptly. " Your 
 brother is full of enterprise, as you know. He runs 
 a certain amount of risk in his eagerness to acquire 
 news, but I never knew a man so well able to take care 
 of himself." 
 
 " And and Mr. Briston? * 
 
 " Oh, he's all right, anyway," Hunterleys assured 
 her. " His is the smaller part." 
 
 She breathed a little sigh of relief. They had 
 reached the gate. She still had something to say. 
 Below them flared the lights of Monte Carlo. She 
 looked down at them almost wistfully. 
 
 " Very soon," she murmured, " I shall know my 
 fate. Sir Henry," she added suddenly, " did I see 
 Lady Hunterleys to-day on the Terrace ? " 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys is here," he replied. 
 
 " Am I ought I to go and see her? " she en- 
 quired. " You see, you have done so much for me, 
 I should like to do what you thought best."
 
 I 9 8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Just as you like, child," he replied, a little care- 
 lessly. 
 
 She clung to his arm. She seemed unwilling to let 
 him go. 
 
 " Dear co-guardian," she murmured, " to-night I 
 felt for a little time so happy, as though all the good 
 things in life were close at hand. Then I watched 
 you come up, and your step seemed so heavy, and you 
 stooped as though you had a load on your shoul- 
 ders." 
 
 He patted her hand. 
 
 " Little girl," he advised, " run away in and take 
 care of your throat. Remember that everything de- 
 pends upon the next few hours. As for me, perhaps 
 I am getting a little old." 
 
 " Oh, la, la! " she laughed. " That's what Sidney 
 says when I tease him. I know I am only the mouse, 
 but I could gnaw through very strong cords. 
 Look!" 
 
 Her teeth gleamed white in the moonlight. He 
 swung open the gate. 
 
 " Sing your way into the hearts of all these strange 
 people," he bade her, smiling. " Sing the envy and 
 malice away from them. Sing so that they believe 
 that England, after all, is the one desirable coun- 
 try." 
 
 " But I am going to sing in French," she pouted. 
 
 " Your name," he reminded her, " that is English. 
 ' The little English prima donna,' that is what they 
 will be calling you." 
 
 She kissed his hands suddenly as he parted from 
 her and swung off down the hill. Then she stood at 
 jthe gate, looking down at the glittering lights.
 
 A MIDNIGHT CONFERENCE 199 
 
 Would they shine as brightly for her, she wondered, 
 in twenty-four hours' time ? It was so much to strive 
 for, so much to lose, so wonderfully much to gain. 
 Slowly her eyes travelled upwards. The symbolism 
 of those higher lights calmed her fear. She drew a 
 great sigh of happiness. 
 
 "Felicia!" 
 
 She turned around with a soft little laugh. 
 
 "David!"
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 *' TAKE ME AWAY ! " 
 
 Richard presented himself the next morning at the 
 Hotel de Paris. 
 
 " Cheero ! " he exclaimed, on being shown into Hun- 
 terleys' sitting-room. " All right up to date, I see." 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. He had just come in from 
 the bank and held his letters in his hand. Richard 
 seated himself on the edge of the table. 
 
 " I slept out on the yacht last night," he said. 
 " Got up at six o'clock and had a swim. What 
 about a round of golf at La Turbie? We can get 
 down again by luncheon-time, before the people are 
 about." 
 
 " Afraid I can't," Hunterleys replied. ** I have 
 rather an important letter to go through carefully, 
 and a reply to think out." 
 
 " You're a queer chap, you know," Richard went 
 on. " You always seem to have something on but 
 I'm hanged if I can see how you pass your time here 
 in Monte Carlo. This political business, even if you 
 do have to put in a bit of time at it now and then, 
 can't be going on all the while. Monte Carlo, too! 
 So far as the women are concerned, they might as 
 well be off the face of the earth, and I don't think I've 
 ever seen you make a bet at the tables. How did
 
 "TAKE ME AWAY!" aoi 
 
 your wife do last night? I thought she seemed to be 
 dropping it rather." 
 
 " I think that she lost," Hunterleys replied indif- 
 ferently. " Her gambling, however, is like mine, I 
 imagine, on a fairly negligible scale." 
 
 Richard whistled softly. 
 
 " Well, I don't know," he observed. " I saw her 
 going for maximums yesterday pretty steadily. A 
 few thousands doesn't last very long at that little 
 game." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled. 
 
 " A few thousands ! " he repeated. " I don't sup- 
 pose Violet has ever lost or won a hundred pounds 
 in her life." 
 
 Richard abandoned the subject quickly. He was 
 obliged to tell himself that it was not his business to 
 interfere between husband and wife. 
 
 " Say, Hunterleys," he suggested, " do you think 
 I could do something for the crowd on my little boat 
 a luncheon party or a cruise, eh? " 
 
 " I should think every one would enjoy it im- 
 mensely," Hunterleys answered. 
 
 " I can count on you, of course, if I arrange any- 
 thing? " 
 
 " I am afraid not," Hunterlej^s regretted. " I am 
 too much engrossed now to make any arrangements.'* 
 
 " I'm hanged if you don't get more mysterious 
 every moment ! " Richard exclaimed vigorously. 
 " What's it all about ? Can't you even be safe in 
 your room for five minutes without keeping one of 
 those little articles under your newspaper while you 
 read your letters ? " he added, lifting with his stick 
 the sheet which Hunterleys had hastily thrown over
 
 203 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 a small revolver. " What's it all about, eh? Are 
 you plotting to dethrone the Prince of Monaco and 
 take his place? " 
 
 " Not exactly that," Hunterleys replied, a little 
 wearily. " Lane, old fellow, you're much better off 
 not to know too much. I have told you that there's 
 a kind of international conference going on about 
 here and I've sort of been pitchforked into the affair. 
 Over in your country you don't know much about this 
 sort of thing, but since I've been out of harness I've 
 done a good deal of what really amounts to Secret 
 Service work. One must serve one's country some- 
 how or other, you know, if one gets the chance." 
 
 Richard was impressed. 
 
 "Gee!" he exclaimed. "The sort of thing that 
 one reads about, eh, and only half believes. Who's 
 the French Johnny who arrived last night? " 
 
 " Douaille. He's the coming President, they say. 
 I'm thinking of paying him a visit of ceremony this 
 afternoon." 
 
 There was a knock at the door. A waiter entered 
 with a note upon a salver. 
 
 " From Madame, monsieur," he announced, pre- 
 senting it to Hunterleys. 
 
 The latter tore it open and read the few lines has- 
 tily: 
 
 Dear Henry, 
 
 If you could spare a few minutes, I should be gla3 
 if you would come round to my apartment. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 VIOLET. 
 
 Hunterleys twisted the note up in his fingers.
 
 " TAKE ME AWAY ! " 303 
 
 " Tell Lady Hunterleys that I will be round in a 
 few moments," he instructed the servant. 
 
 Richard took up his stick and hat. 
 
 " If you have an opportunity," he said, " ask Lady 
 Hunterleys what she thinks about a little party on 
 the yacht. If one could get the proper people to- 
 gether " 
 
 " I'll tell her," Hunterleys promised. " You'd bet- 
 ter wait till I get back." 
 
 He made his way to the other wing of the hotel. 
 For the first time since he had been staying there, 
 he knocked at the door of his wife's apartments. Her 
 maid admitted him with a smile. He found Violet 
 sitting in the little salon before a writing-table. The 
 apartment was luxuriously furnished and filled with 
 roses. Somehow or other, their odour irritated him. 
 She rose from her place and hastened towards 
 him. 
 
 " How nice of you to come so promptly ! " she ex- 
 claimed. " You're . sure it didn't inconvenience 
 you?" 
 
 " Not in the least," he replied. " I was only talk- 
 ing to Richard Lane." 
 
 " You seem to have taken a great fancy to that 
 young man all at once," she remarked. 
 
 Hunterleys was sitting upon the arm of an easy- 
 chair. He had picked up one of Violet's slippers 
 and was balancing it in his hand. 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. He is rather refreshing after 
 some of these people. He still has enthusiasms, and 
 his love affair is quite a poem. Aren't you up rather 
 early this morning? " 
 
 " I couldn't sleep," she sighed. " I think it has
 
 204 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 come to me in the night that I am sick of this place. 
 I wondered " 
 
 She hesitated. He bent the slipper slowly back, 
 waiting for her to proceed. 
 
 " The Draconmeyers don't want to go," she went 
 on. " They are here for another month, at least. 
 Linda would miss me terribly, I suppose, but I have 
 really given her a lot of my time. I have spent sev- 
 eral hours with her every day since we arrived, and I 
 don't know what it is perhaps my bad luck, for 
 one thing but I have suddenly taken a dislike to 
 the place. I wondered " 
 
 She had picked up one of the roses from a vase 
 close at hand, and was twirling it between her fingers. 
 For some reason or other she seemed ill at ease. 
 Hunterleys watched her silently. She was very pale, 
 but since his coming a slight tinge of pink colour 
 had stolen into her cheeks. She had received him 
 in a very fascinating garment of blue silk, which was 
 really only a dressing-gown. It seemed to him a 
 long time since he had seen her in so intimate a fash- 
 ion. 
 
 " I wondered," she concluded at last, almost ab- 
 ruptly, " whether you would care to take me away." 
 
 He was, for a moment, bereft of words. Somehow 
 or other, he had been so certain that she had sent to 
 him to ask for more money, that he had never even, 
 considered any other eventuality. 
 
 " Take you away," he repeated. " Do you really 
 mean take you back to London, Violet? " 
 
 " Just anywhere you like," she replied. " I am 
 sick of this place and of everything. I am weary to 
 death of trying to keep Linda cheerful you don't
 
 "TAKE ME AWAY!" 205 
 
 realise how depressing it is to be with her; and 
 and every one seems to have got a little on my nerves. 
 Mr. Draconmeyer," she added, a little defiantly, rais- 
 ing her eyes to his, " has been most kind and delight- 
 ful, but somehow I want to get away." 
 
 He sat down on the edge of a couch. She seated 
 herself at the further end of it. 
 
 " Violet," he said, " you have taken me rather by 
 surprise." 
 
 " Well, you don't mind being taken by surprise 
 once in a while, do you ? " she asked, a little petu- 
 lantly. " You know I am capricious you have 
 told me so often enough. Here is a proof of it. 
 Take me back to London or to Paris, or wherever you 
 like." 
 
 He was almost overwhelmed. It was unfortunate 
 that she had chosen that moment to look away and 
 could not see, therefore, the light which glowed in his 
 eyes. 
 
 ** Violet," he assured her earnestly, " there is noth- 
 ing in the world I should like so much. I would beg 
 you to have your trunks packed this morning, but 
 unfortunately I cannot leave Monte Carlo just now." 
 
 " Cannot leave Monte Carlo ? " she repeated de- 
 risively. " Why, my dear man, you are a fish out of 
 water here ! You don't gamble, you do nothing but 
 moon about and go to the Opera and worry about 
 your silly politics. What on earth do you mean 
 when you say that you cannot leave Monte Carlo? " 
 
 " I mean just what I say," he replied. " I cannot 
 leave Monte Carlo for several days, at any rate." 
 
 She looked at him blankly, a little incredulously. 
 
 "You have talked like this before, Henry," she
 
 ao6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 said, " and it is all too absurd. You must tell me 
 the truth now. You can have no business here. You 
 are travelling for pleasure. You can surely leave 
 a place or not at your own will? " 
 
 " It happens," he sighed, " that I cannot. Will 
 you please be very kind, Violet, and not ask me too 
 much about this? If there is anything else I can 
 do," he went on, hesitatingly, " if you will give me 
 a little more of your time, if you will wait with me 
 for a few days longer " 
 
 " Can't you understand," she interrupted impa- 
 tiently, " that it is just this very moment, this in- 
 stant, that I want to get away? Something has 
 gone wrong. I want to leave Monte Carlo. I am 
 not sure that I ever want to see it again. And I 
 want you to take me. . . . Please ! " 
 
 She held out her hands, swaying a little towards 
 him. He gripped them in his. She yielded to their 
 pressure until their lips almost met. 
 
 " You'll take me away this morning? " she whis- 
 pered. 
 
 " I cannot do that," he replied, " but, Violet " 
 
 She snatched herself away from him. An ungov- 
 ernable fit of fury seemed to have seized her. She 
 stood in the centre of the room and stamped her 
 foot. 
 
 " You cannot ! " she repeated. " And you will not 
 give me a reason? Very well, I have done my best, 
 I have made my appeal. I will stay in Monte Carlo, 
 then. I will " 
 
 There was a knock at the door. 
 
 " Come in," she cried. " Who is it? " 
 
 The door was softly opened. Draconmeyer stood
 
 "TAKE ME AWAY!" 207 
 
 upon the threshold. He looked from one to the other 
 in some surprise. 
 
 " I am sorry," he murmured. " Please excuse 
 me." 
 
 " Come in, Mr. Draconmeyer," she called out to 
 his retreating figure. " Come in, please. How is 
 Linda this morning? " 
 
 Draconmeyer smiled a little ruefully as he returned. 
 
 " Complaining," he replied, " as usual. I am 
 afraid that she has had rather a bad night. She is 
 going to try and sleep for an hour or two. I came 
 to see if you felt disposed for a motor ride this 
 morning? " 
 
 " I should love it," she assented. *' I should like 
 to start as soon as possible. Henry was just going, 
 weren't you ? " she added, turning to her husband. 
 
 He stood his ground. 
 
 " There was something else I wished to say," he 
 declared, glancing at Draconmeyer. 
 
 The latter moved at once towards the door but 
 Violet stopped him. 
 
 " Not now," she begged. " If there is really any- 
 thing else, Henry, you can send up a note, or I dare 
 say we shall meet at the Club to-night. Now, please, 
 both of you go away. I must change my clothes 
 for motoring. In half an hour, Mr. Draconmeyer." 
 
 " The car will be ready," he answered. 
 
 Hunterleys hesitated. He looked for a moment at 
 Violet. She returned his glance of appeal with a 
 hard, fixed stare. Then she turned away. 
 
 " Susanne," she called to her maid, who was in the 
 inner room, " I am dressing at once. I will show, 
 you what to put out."
 
 ao8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She disappeared, closing the connecting door be- 
 hind her. The two men walked out to the lift in si- 
 lence. Draconmeyer rang the bell. 
 
 " You are not leaving Monte Carlo at present, 
 then, Sir Henry ? " he remarked. 
 
 " Not at present," Hunterleys replied calmly. 
 
 They parted without further speech. Hunterleys 
 returned to his room, where Richard was still wait- 
 ing. 
 
 " Say, have you got a valet here with you ? " the 
 young man enquired. 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " Never possessed such a luxury in my life," he de- 
 clared. 
 
 " Chap came in here directly you were gone 
 mumbled something about doing something for you. 
 I didn't altogether like the look of him, so I sat on 
 the table and watched. He hung around for a mo- 
 ment, and then, when he saw that I was sticking it 
 out, he went off." 
 
 "Was he wearing the hotel livery?" Hunterleys 
 asked quickly. 
 
 "Plain black clothes," Richard replied. "He 
 looked the valet, right enough." 
 
 Hunterleys rang the bell. It was answered by a 
 servant in grey livery. 
 
 " Are you the valet on this floor? " Hunterleys en- 
 quired. 
 
 "Yes, sir!" 
 
 " There was a man in here just now, said he was 
 my valet or something of the sort, hung around for 
 a minute or two and then went away. Who was 
 he?"
 
 " TAKE ME AWAY ! " 209 
 
 The servant shook his head. He was apparently a 
 German, and stupid. 
 
 " There are no valets on this floor except my- 
 self," he declared. 
 
 " Then who could this person have been ? " Hun- 
 terleys demanded. 
 
 " A tailor, perhaps," the man suggested, " but he 
 would not come unless you had ordered him. I have 
 been on duty all the time. I have seen no one about." 
 
 " Very well," Hunterleys said, " I'll report the 
 matter in the office." 
 
 " Some hotel thief, I suppose," Lane remarked, 
 as soon as the door was closed. " He didn't look 
 like it exactly, though." 
 
 Hunterleys frowned. 
 
 " Not much here to satisfy any one's curiosity," 
 he observed. " Just as well you were in the room, 
 though." 
 
 " Surrounded by mysteries, aren't you, old chap ? " 
 Richard yawned, lighting a cigarette. 
 
 " I don't know exactly about that," Hunterleys 
 replied, " but I'll tell you one thing, Lane. There 
 are things going on in Monte Carlo at the present 
 moment which would bring out the black headlines 
 on the halfpenny papers if they had an inkling of 
 them. There are people here who are trying to draw 
 up a new map of Europe, a new map of the world." 
 
 Richard shook his head. 
 
 " I can't get interested in anything, Hunterleys," 
 he declared. " You could tell me the most amazing 
 things in the world and they'd pass in at one ear 
 and out at the other. Kind of a blithering idiot, 
 eh? You know what I did last night after dinner.
 
 aio MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 If you'll believe me, when I got to the villa, I found 
 the place patrolled as though they were afraid of 
 dynamiters. I skulked round to the back, got on 
 the beach, and climbed a little way up towards the 
 rock garden. I hid there and waited to see if she'd 
 come out on the terrace. She never came, but I 
 caught a glimpse of her passing from one room to 
 another, and I tell you I'm such a poor sort of an 
 idiot that I felt repaid for waiting there all that 
 time. I shall go there again to-night. The boys 
 wanted me to dine Eddy Lanchester and Montres- 
 sor and that lot a jolly party, too. I sha'n't do 
 it. I shall have a mouthful alone somewhere and 
 spend the rest of the evening on those rocks. Some- 
 thing's got to come of this, Hunterleys." 
 
 " Let's go into the lounge for a few moments," 
 Hunterleys suggested. " I may as well hear all 
 about it." 
 
 They made their way downstairs, and sat there 
 talking, or rather Hunterleys listened while Richard 
 talked. Then Draconmeyer strolled across the hall 
 and waited by the lift. Presently he returned with 
 Violet by his side, followed by her maid, carrying 
 rugs. As they approached, Hunterleys rose slowly 
 to his feet. Violet was looking up into her compan- 
 ion's face, talking and laughing. She either did not 
 see Hunterleys, or affected not to. He stood, for a 
 moment, irresolute. Then, as she passed, she glanced 
 at him quite blankly and waved her hand to Richard. 
 The two disappeared. Hunterleys resumed his seat. 
 He had, somehow or other, the depressing feeling of 
 a man who has lost a great opportunity. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys looks well this morning," Lane
 
 " TAKE ME AWAY I H 211 
 
 remarked, absolutely unconscious of anything un- 
 usual. 
 
 Himterleys watched the car drive off before he an- 
 swered. 
 
 '* She looks very well," he assented gloomily.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 WILY ME. DRACONMEYEB, 
 
 They had skirted the wonderful bay and climbed 
 the mountainous hill to the frontier before Violet 
 spoke. All the time Draconmeyer leaned back by her 
 side, perfectly content. A man of varied subtleties, 
 he understood and fully appreciated the intrinsic 
 value of silence. Whilst the Customs officer, how- 
 ever, was making out the deposit note for the car, 
 she turned to him. 
 
 " Will you tell me something, Mr. Draconmeyer? " 
 
 Of course!" 
 
 " It is about my husband," she went on. " Henry 
 isn't your friend you dislike one another, I know. 
 You men seem to have a sort of freemasonry which 
 compels you to tell falsehoods about one another, but 
 in this case I am going to remind you that I have 
 the greater claim, and I am going to ask you for the 
 sober truth. Henry has once or twice, during the 
 last few days, hinted to me that his presence in 
 Monte Carlo just now has some sort of political sig- 
 nificance. He is very vague about it all, but he evi- 
 dently wants me to believe that he is staying here 
 against his own inclinations. Now I want to ask 
 you a plain question. Is it likely that he could have 
 any business whatever to transact for the Govern-
 
 WILY MR. DRACONMEYER 213 
 
 ment in Monte Carlo? What I mean is, could there 
 possibly be anything to keep him in this place which 
 for political reasons he couldn't tell me about ? " 
 
 " I can answer your question finally so far as re- 
 gards any Government business," Mr. Draconmeyer 
 assured her. " Your husband's Party is in Opposi- 
 tion. As a keen politician, he would not be likely to 
 interest himself in the work of his rival." 
 
 " You are quite sure," she persisted, " you are 
 quite sure that he could not have a mission of any 
 sort ? that there isn't any meeting of diplomatist? 
 here in which he might be interested ? " 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer smiled with the air of one listen- 
 ing to a child's prattle. 
 
 " If I were not sure that you are in earnest ! " 
 he began. " However, I will just answer your ques- 
 tion. Nothing of the sort is possible. Besides, 
 people don't come to Monte Carlo for serious affairs, 
 you know." 
 
 Her face hardened a little. 
 
 " I suppose," she said, " that you are quite sure 
 of what you told me the other evening about this 
 young singer Felicia Roche ? " 
 
 " I should not allude to a matter of that sort," he 
 declared, " unless I had satisfied myself as to the 
 facts. It is true that I owe nothing to your hus- 
 band and everything to you, or I should have prob- 
 ably remained silent. As it is, all that I know is at 
 your service. Felicia Roche is to make her debut 
 at the Opera House to-night. Your husband has 
 been seen with her repeatedly. He was at her villa 
 at one o'clock this morning. I have heard it said 
 that he is a little infatuated."
 
 214 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Thank you," she murmured, " that is quite 
 enough." 
 
 The formalities were concluded and the car drove 
 on. They paused at the last turn to gaze downward 
 at the wonderful view the gorgeous Bay of Men- 
 tone, a thousand feet below, with its wealth of mi- 
 mosa-embosomed villas ; Monte Carlo glittering on 
 the seaboard; the sweep of Monaco, red-roofed, pic- 
 turesque. And behind, the mountains, further away 
 still, the dim, snow-capped heights. Violet looked, 
 as she was bidden, but her eyes seemed incapable of 
 appreciation. When the car moved on, she leaned 
 back in her seat and dropped her veil. She was 
 paler even than when they had started. 
 
 " I am going to talk to you very little," he said 
 gravely. " I want you just to rest and breathe this 
 wonderful air. If my reply to your question trou- 
 bles you, I am sorry, but you had to know it some 
 day. It is a wrench, of course, but you must have 
 guessed it. Your husband is a man of peculiar tem- 
 perament, but no man could have refused such an 
 offer as you made him, unless there had been some 
 special reason for it no man in the world." 
 
 There was a little tremble in his tone, artistic and 
 not overdone. Somehow, she felt that his admira- 
 tion ministered to her self-respect. She permitted 
 his hand to remain upon hers. The touch of her fin- 
 gers very nearly brought the torrent from his lips. 
 He crushed the words down, however. It was too 
 great a risk. Very soon things would be different; 
 he could afford to wait. 
 
 They drove on to San Remo and turned into the 
 hoteL
 
 WILY MR. DRACONMEYER 215 
 
 *' You are better away from Monte Carlo for a 
 few hours," he decided. " We will lunch here and 
 drive back afterwards. You will feel greatly re- 
 freshed." 
 
 She accepted his suggestion without enthusiasm 
 and with very little show of pleasure. They found 
 a table on the terrace in a retired corner, surrounded 
 with flowering cactus plants and drooping mimosa, 
 and overhung by a giant oleander tree. He talked 
 to her easily but in gossiping fashion only, and al- 
 ways with the greatest respect. It was not until the 
 arrival of their coffee that he ventured to become at 
 all personal. 
 
 " Will you forgive me if I talk without reserve for 
 a few moments ? " he began, leaning a little towards 
 her. " You have your troubles, I know. May I not 
 remind you that you are not alone in your sorrows? 
 Linda, as you know, has no companionship whatever 
 to offer. She does nothing but indulge in fretful re- 
 grets over her broken health. When I remember, 
 too, how lonely your days are, and think of your 
 husband and what he might make of them, then I 
 cannot help realising with absolute vividness the su- 
 preme irony of fate. Here am I, craving for noth- 
 ing so much on earth as the sympathy, the affection 
 of shall I say such a woman as you ? And your 
 husband, who might have the best, remains utterly 
 indifferent, content with something far below the sec- 
 ond best. And there is so much in life, too," he went 
 on, regretfully. " I cannot tell you how difficult it 
 is for me to sit still and see you worried about such 
 a trifle as money. Fancy the joy of giving you 
 money ! "
 
 ai6 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She awoke a little from her lethargy. She looked 
 at him, startled. 
 
 " You haven't told me yet," he added, " how the 
 game went last night? " 
 
 " I lost every penny of that thousand pounds," she 
 declared. " That is why I sent for my husband this 
 morning and asked him to take me back to England. 
 I am getting afraid of the place. My luck seems to 
 have gone for ever." 
 
 He laughed softly. 
 
 " That doesn't sound like you," he observed. 
 " Besides, what does it matter? Write me out some 
 more cheques when we get back. Date them this 
 year or next, or the year after it really doesn't 
 matter a bit. My fortune is at your disposal. If it 
 amuses you to lose a thousand pounds in the after- 
 noon, and twice as much at night, pray do." 
 
 She laughed at him. There was a certain glamour 
 about his words which appealed to her fancy. 
 
 " Why, you talk like a prince," she murmured, 
 " and yet you know how impossible it is." 
 
 " Is it? " he asked quietly. 
 
 She rose abruptly from her place. There was 
 something wrong she felt it in the atmosphere 
 something that was almost choking her. 
 
 " Let us go back," she insisted. 
 
 He ordered the car without another word and they 
 started off homewards. It was not until they were 
 nearing Monte Carlo that he spoke of anything save 
 the slightest topics. 
 
 " You must have a little more money," he told her, 
 in a matter-of-fact tone. " That is a necessity. 
 There is no need to worry your husband. I shall
 
 WILY MR. DRACONMEYER 217 
 
 go and bring you a thousand pounds. You can give 
 me the cheques later." 
 
 She sat looking steadfastly ahead of her. She 
 seemed to see her numbers spread out before her, to 
 hear the click of the ball, the croupier's voice, the 
 thrill of victory. 
 
 " I have taken more money from you than I meant 
 to, already, Mr. Draconmeyer," she protested. 
 *' Does Linda know how much you have lent me ? " 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " What is the use of telling her? She does not 
 understand. She has never felt the gambling fever, 
 the joy of it, the excitement. She would not be 
 strong enough. You and I understand. I have felt 
 it in the money-markets of the world, where one plays 
 with millions, where a mistake might mean ruin. 
 That is why the tables seem dull for me, but all the 
 same it comes home to me." 
 
 She felt the fierce stimulus of anxious thought. 
 She knew very well that notwithstanding his quiet 
 manner, she had reason to fear the man who sat by 
 her side. She feared his self-restraint, she feared 
 the light which sometimes gleamed in his eyes when 
 he fancied himself unobserved. He gave her no cause 
 for complaint. All the time his behaviour had been 
 irreproachable. And yet she felt, somehow or other, 
 like a bird who is being hunted by a trapper, a trap- 
 per who knows his business, who goes about it with 
 quiet confidence, with absolute certainty. There 
 was something like despair in her heart. 
 
 " Well, I suppose I shall have to stay here," she 
 said, " and I can't stay here without playing. I will 
 take a thousand more, if you will lend it to me."
 
 2i8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " You shall have it directly we get to the hotel," 
 he told -her. " Don't hurry with the cheques, and 
 don't date them too soon. Remember that you must 
 have something to live on when you get back." 
 
 " I am going to win," she declared confidently. 
 " I am going to win enough to pay you back every 
 penny." 
 
 " I won't say that I hope not," he observed, " for 
 your sake, but it will certainly give me no pleasure 
 to have the money back again. You are such a won- 
 derful person," he added, dropping his voice, " that 
 I rather like to feel that I can be a little useful to 
 you." 
 
 They had neared the end of their journey and Mr. 
 Draconmeyer touched her arm. A faint smile was 
 playing about his lips. Certainly the fates were be- 
 friending him! He said nothing, but her eyes fol- 
 lowed the slight motion of his head. Coming down 
 the steps from Giro's were her husband and Felicia 
 Roche. Violet looked at them for a moment. Then 
 she turned her head away. 
 
 " Most inopportune," she sighed, with a little at- 
 tempt at gaiety. " Shall we meet later at the 
 Club?" 
 
 " Assuredly," Mr. Draconmeyer replied. " I will 
 send the money to your room." 
 
 " Thank you once more," she said, " and thank 
 you, too, for my drive. I have enjoyed it very much. 
 I am very glad indeed that I had the courage to make 
 you tell me the truth." 
 
 " I hope," he whispered, as he handed her out, 
 " that you will never lack the courage to ask me any- 
 thing."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 ASSASSINATION ! 
 
 Selingman, a large cigar between his lips and a 
 happy smile upon his face, stood in the square before 
 the Casino, watching the pigeons. He had just en- 
 joyed an excellent lunch, he was exceedingly pleased 
 with a new light grey suit which he was wearing, and 
 his one unsatisfied desire was for companionship. 
 Draconmeyer was away motoring with Lady Hun- 
 terleys, Mr. Grex was spending the early part of the 
 day in conclave with their visitor from France, and 
 Mademoiselle Nipon had gone to Nice for the day. 
 Selingman had been left to his own devices and was 
 beginning to find time hang upon his hands. Con- 
 versation and companionship were almost as great 
 necessities with him as wine. He beamed upon the 
 pigeons and looked around at the people dotted about 
 in chairs outside the Cafe de Paris, hoping to find an 
 acquaintance. It chanced, however, that he saw 
 nothing but strangers. Then his eyes fell upon a 
 man who was seated with folded arms a short dis- 
 tance away, a man of respectable but somewhat 
 gloomy appearance, dressed in dark clothes, with 
 pale cheeks and cavernous eyes. Selingman strolled 
 towards him. 
 
 " How go things, friend Allen? " he enquired, 
 dropping his voice a little.
 
 220 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 The man glanced uneasily around. There was, 
 however, no one in his immediate vicinity. 
 
 " Badly," he admitted. 
 
 *' Still no success, eh? " Selingman asked, drawing 
 up a chair and seating himself. 
 
 " The man is secretive by nature," was the gloomy 
 reply. " One would imagine that he knew he was 
 being watched. Everything which he receives in the 
 way of a written communication is at once torn up. 
 He is the most difficult order of person to deal with 
 he is methodical. He has only the hotel valet to 
 look after his things but everything is always in its 
 place. Yesterday I went through his waste-paper 
 basket. I took home the contents but the pieces 
 were no larger than sixpences. I was able to put to- 
 gether one envelope which he received yesterday 
 morning, which was franked ' On His Majesty's Serv- 
 ice,' and the post-mark of which was Downing 
 Street." 
 
 Selingman shook his head ponderously and then 
 replied seriously: 
 
 " You must do better than that, my Sherlock 
 Holmes much better." 
 
 " I can't make bricks without straw," Allen re- 
 torted sullenly. 
 
 " There is always straw if one looks in the right 
 place," Selingman insisted, puffing away at his cigar. 
 " What we want to discover is, exactly how much 
 does Hunterleys know of certain operations of ours 
 which are going on here? He is on the watch 
 that I am sure of. There is one known agent in the 
 place, and another suspected one, and I am pretty 
 certain that they are both working at his instigation.
 
 ASSASSINATION! 221 
 
 What we want to get hold of is one of his letters to 
 London." 
 
 " I have been in and out of his rooms at all hours," 
 the other said. " I have gone into the matter thor- 
 oughly, so thoroughly that I have taken a situation 
 with a firm of English tailors here, and I am sup- 
 posed to go out and tout for orders. That gives me 
 a free entree ta the hotel. I have even had a com- 
 mission from Sir Henry himself. He gave me a coat 
 to get some buttons sewn on. I am practically free 
 of his room but what's the good? He doesn't even 
 lead the Monte Carlo life. He doesn't give one a 
 chance of getting at him through a third person. 
 No notes from ladies, no flower or jewelry bills, not 
 the shadow of an assignation. The only photograph 
 upon his table is a photograph of Lady Hunterleys." 
 
 " Better not tell our friend Draconmeyer that," 
 Selingman observed, smiling to himself. " Well, 
 well, you can do nothing but persevere, Allen. We 
 are not niggardly masters. If a man fails through 
 no fault of his own, well, we don't throw him into 
 the street. Nothing parsimonious about us. No 
 need for you to sit about with a face as long as a 
 fiddle because you can't succeed all at once. We are 
 the people to kick at it, not you. Drink a little 
 more wine, my friend. Give yourself a liqueur after 
 luncheon. Stick a cigar in your mouth and go and 
 sit in the sunshine. Make friends with some of the 
 ladies. Remember, the sun will still shine and the 
 music play in fifty years' time, but not for you. 
 Come and see me when you want some more money." 
 
 " You are very kind, sir," the man replied. " I 
 am going across to the hotel now. Sir Henry has
 
 222 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 been about there most of the morning but he has just 
 gone in to Giro's to lunch, so I shall have at least 
 half-an-hour." 
 
 " Good luck to you ! " Selingman exclaimed heart- 
 ily. " Who knows but that the big things may 
 come, even this afternoon? Cheer up, and try and 
 make yourself believe that a letter may be lying on 
 the table, a letter he forgot to post, or one sent 
 round from the bank since he left. I am hopeful for 
 you this afternoon, Allen. I believe you are going 
 to do well. Come up and see me afterwards, if you 
 will. I am going to my hotel to lie down for half-an- 
 hour. I am not really tired but I have no friend 
 here to talk with or anything to do, and it is a wise 
 economy of the human frame. To-night, mademoi- 
 selle will have returned. Just now every one has de- 
 serted me. I will rest until six o'clock. Au revoir, 
 friend Allen ! Au revoir ! " 
 
 Selingman climbed the hill and entered the hotel 
 where he was staying. He mounted to his room, took 
 off his coat, at which he glanced admiringly for a 
 moment and then hung up behind the door. Finally 
 he pulled down the blinds and lay down to rest. 
 Very soon he was asleep. . . . 
 
 The drowsy afternoon wore on. Through the 
 open windows came the sound of carriages driven 
 along the dusty way, the shouts of the coachmen to 
 their horses, the jingling of bells, the hooting of 
 motor horns. A lime tree, whose leaves were stirred 
 by the languorous breeze, kept tapping against the 
 window. From a further distance came the faint, 
 muffled voices of promenaders, and the echo of the 
 guns from the Tir du Pigeons. But through it all,
 
 ASSASSINATION! 223 
 
 Selingman, lying on his back and snoring loudly, 
 slept. He was awakened at last by the feeling that 
 some one had entered the room. He sat up and 
 blinked. 
 
 " Hullo ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 A man in the weird disguise of a motor-cyclist was 
 standing at the foot of the bed. Selingman contin- 
 ued to blink. He was not wholly awake and his vis- 
 itor's appearance was unpleasant. 
 
 " Who the devil are you ? " he enquired. 
 
 The visitor took off his disfiguring spectacles. 
 
 " Jean Coulois behold ! " was the soft reply. 
 
 Selingman raised himself and slid off the bed. It 
 had seemed rather like a dream. He was wide-awake 
 now, however. 
 
 " What do you want? " he asked. " What are you 
 here for? " 
 
 Jean Coulois said nothing. Then very slowly 
 from the inside pocket of his coat he drew a news- 
 paper parcel. It was long and narrow, and in 
 places there was a stain upon the paper. Seling- 
 man stared at it and stared back at Jean Coulois. 
 
 " What the mischief have you got there ? " he 
 demanded. 
 
 Coulois touched the parcel with his yellow fore- 
 finger. Selingman saw then that the stains were of 
 blood. 
 
 " Give me a towel," his visitor directed. " I do 
 not want this upon my clothes." 
 
 Selingman took a towel from the stand and threw 
 it across the room. 
 
 " You mean," he asked, dropping his voice a little, 
 "that it is finished?"
 
 2 4 MR. GREX OT MONTE CARLO 
 
 "A quarter of an hour ago," Jean Coulois an- 
 swered triumphantly. " He had just come in from 
 luncheon and was sitting at his writing-table. It 
 was cleverly done wonderfully. It was all over in 
 a moment not a cry. You came to the right 
 place, indeed! And now I go to the country," Cou- 
 lois continued. " I have a motor-bicycle outside. 
 I make my way up into the hills to bury this little 
 memento. There is a farmhouse up in the moun- 
 tains, a lonely spot enough, and a girl there who 
 says what I tell her. It may be as well to be able to 
 say that I have been there for dejeuner. These little 
 things, monsieur ah, well ! we who understand 
 think of them. And since I am here," he added, 
 holding out his hand 
 
 Selingman nodded and took out his pocket-book. 
 He counted out the notes in silence and passed them 
 over. The assassin dropped them into his pocket. 
 
 " Au revoir, Monsieur le Gros ! " he exclaimed, 
 waving his hand. " We meet to-night, I trust. I 
 will show you a new dance the Dance of Death, I 
 shall call it. I seem calm, but I am on fire with ex- 
 citement. To-night I shall dance as though quick- 
 silver were in my feet. You must not miss it. You 
 must come, monsieur." 
 
 He closed the door behind him and swaggered off 
 down the passage. Selingman stood, for a moment, 
 perfectly still. It was a strange thing, but two big 
 tears were in his eyes. Then he heaved a great sigh 
 and shook his head. 
 
 " It is part of the game," he said softly to himself, 
 " all part of the game."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE WRONG MAN 
 
 Selingman came out into the sunlit streets very 
 much as a man who leaves a dark and shrouded room. 
 The shock of tragedy was still upon him. There 
 was a little choke in his throat as he mingled with 
 the careless, pleasure-loving throng, mostly wending 
 their way now towards the Rooms or the Terrace. 
 As he crossed the square towards the Hotel de Paris, 
 his steps grew slower and slower. He looked at the 
 building half-fearfully. Beautifully dressed women, 
 men of every nationality, were passing in and out all 
 the time. The commissionaire, with his little group 
 of satellites, stood sunning himself on the lowest step, 
 a splendid, complacent figure. There was no sign 
 there of the horror that was hidden within. Even 
 while he looked up at the windows he felt a hand upon 
 his arm. Draconmeyer had caught him up and had 
 fallen into step with him. 
 
 " Well, dear philosopher," he exclaimed, " why 
 this subdued aspect? Has your solitary day de- 
 pressed you ? " 
 
 Selingman turned slowly around. Draconmeyer's 
 eyes beneath his gold-rimmed spectacles were bright. 
 He was carrying himself with less than his usual 
 stoop, he wore a red carnation in his buttonhole.
 
 226 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He was in spirits which for him were almost boister- 
 ous. 
 
 " Have you been in there ? " Selingman asked, in a 
 low tone. 
 
 Draconmeyer glanced at the hotel and back again 
 at his companion. 
 
 "In where?" he demanded. "In the hotel? I 
 left Lady Hunterleys there a short time ago. I have 
 been 'ip to the bank since." 
 
 " You don't know yet, then? " 
 
 "Know what?" " 
 
 There was a momentary silence. Draconmeyer 
 suddenly gripped his companion by the arm. 
 
 " Go on," he insisted. " TeU me? " 
 
 " It's all over ! " Selingman exclaimed hoarsely. 
 " Jean Coulois came to me a quarter of an hour ago. 
 It is finished. Damnation, Draconmeyer, let go my 
 arm ! " 
 
 Draconmeyer withdrew his fingers. There was no 
 longer any stoop about him at all. He stood tall 
 and straight, his lips parted, his face turned up- 
 wards, upwards as though he would gaze over the 
 roof of the hotel before which they were standing, 
 up to the skies. 
 
 "My God, Selingman!" he cried. "My God!" 
 
 The seconds passed. Then Draconmeyer sud- 
 denly took his companion by the arm. 
 
 '* Come," he said, " let us take that first seat in the 
 gardens there. Let us talk. Somehow or other, al- 
 though I half counted upon this, I scarcely believed. 
 ... Let us sit down. Do you think it is known 
 yet?" 
 
 " Very likely not," Selingman answered, as they
 
 THE WRONG MAN 227 
 
 crossed th* road and entered the gardens. " Cou- 
 lois found him in his rooms, seated at the writing- 
 table. It was all over, he declares, in ten seconds. 
 He came to me with the knife. He was on his 
 way to the mountains to hide it." 
 
 They found a seat under a drooping lime tree. 
 They could still see the hotel and the level stretch 
 of road that led past the post-office and the Club to 
 Monaco. Draconmeyer sat with his eyes fixed upon 
 the hotel, through which streams of people were still 
 passing. One of the under-managers was welcoming 
 the newcomers from a recently arrived train. 
 
 " You are right," he murmured. " Nothing is 
 known yet. Very likely they will not know until the 
 valet goes to lay out his clothes for dinner. . . . 
 Dead!" 
 
 Selingman, with one hand gripping the iron arm 
 of the seat, watched his companion's face with a sort 
 of fascinated curiosity. There were beads of per- 
 spiration upon Draconmeyer's forehead, but his ex- 
 pression, in its way, was curious. There was no hor- 
 ror in his face, no fear, no shadow of remorse. Some 
 wholly different sentiment seemed to have trans- 
 formed the man. He was younger, more virile. He 
 seemed as though he could scarcely sit still. 
 
 " My friend," Selingman said, " I know that you 
 are one of our children, that you are one of those 
 who have seen the truth and worked steadfastly for 
 the great cause with the heart of a patriot and the 
 unswerving fidelity of a strong man. But tell me 
 the honest truth. There is something else in your 
 life - you have some other feeling about this man 
 Hunterleys' death?"
 
 228 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Draconmeyer removed his eyes from the front of 
 the hotel and turned slowly towards his companion. 
 There was a transfiguring smile upon his lips. 
 Again he gave Selingman the impression of complete 
 rejuvenation, of an elderly man suddenly trans- 
 formed into something young and vigorous. 
 
 " There is something else, Selingman," he con- 
 fessed. " This is the moment when I dare speak of 
 it. J will tell you first of any living person. There 
 is a woman over there whom I have set up as an idol, 
 and before whose shrine I have worshipped. There 
 is a woman over there who has turned the dull paths 
 of my life into a flowery way. I am a patriot, and I 
 have worked for my country, Selingman, as you have 
 worked. But I have worked, also, that I might 
 taste for once before I die the great passion. Don't 
 stare at me, man! Remember I am not like you. 
 You can laugh your way through the world, with a 
 kiss here and a bow there, a ribbon to your lips at 
 night, thrown to the winds in the morning. I 
 haven't that sort of philosophy. Love doesn't come 
 to me like that. It's set in my heart amongst the 
 great things. It's set there side by side with the 
 greatest of all." 
 
 " His wife ! " Selingman muttered. 
 
 " Are you so colossal a fool as only to have guessed 
 it at this moment? " Draconmeyer continued con- 
 temptuously. " If he hadn't blundered across our 
 path here, if he hadn't been my political enemy, I 
 should still some day have taken him by the throat 
 and killed him. You don't know what risks I have 
 been running," he went on, with a sudden hoarseness. 
 " In her heart she half loves him still. If he hadn't
 
 THE WRONG MAN 229 
 
 been a fool, a prejudiced, over-conscientious, stiff- 
 necked fool, I should have lost her within the last 
 twenty-four hours. I have had to fight and scheme 
 as I have never fought and schemed before, to keep 
 them apart. I have had to pick my way through 
 shoals innumerable, hold myself down when I have 
 been burning to grip her by the wrists and tell 
 her that all that a man could offer a woman was 
 hers. Selingman, this sounds like nonsense, I sup- 
 pose." 
 
 " No," Selingman murmured, " not nonsense, but 
 it doesn't sound like Draconmeyer." 
 
 " Well, it's finished," Draconmeyer declared, with 
 a great sigh of content. " You know now. I enter 
 upon the final stage. I had only one fear. Jean 
 Coulois has settled that for me. I wonder whether 
 they know. It seems peaceful enough. No! Look 
 over there," he added, gripping his companion's arm. 
 " Peter, the concierge, is whispering with the others. 
 That is one of the managers there, out on the pave- 
 ment, talking to them." 
 
 Selingman pointed down the road towards Mo- 
 naco. 
 
 " See ! " he exclaimed. " There is a motor-car 
 coming in a hurry. I fancy that the alarm must 
 have been given." 
 
 A grey, heavily-built car came along at a great 
 pace and swung round in front of the Hotel de Paris. 
 The two men stood on the pavement and watched. 
 A tall, official-looking person, with black, upturned 
 moustache, in somber uniform and a peaked cap, de- 
 scended. 
 
 " The Commissioner of Police," Selingman whis-
 
 2 3 o MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 pered, " and that is a doctor who has just gone in. 
 He has been found ! " 
 
 They crossed the road to the hotel. The con- 
 cierge removed his hat as they turned to enter. To 
 all appearances he was unchanged fat, florid, 
 splendid. Draconmeyer stepped close to him. 
 
 " Has anything happened here, Peter? " he asked. 
 *' I saw the Commissioner of Police arrive in a great 
 hurry." 
 
 The man hesitated. It was obvious then that he 
 'was disturbed. He looked to the right and to the 
 left. Finally, with a sigh of resignation, he seemed 
 to make up his mind to tell the truth. 
 
 " It is the English gentleman, Sir Henry Hunter- 
 leys," he whispered. " He has been found stabbed to 
 death in his room." 
 
 "Dead?" Draconmeyer demanded, insistently. 
 
 " Stone dead, sir," the concierge replied. " He 
 was stabbed by some one who stole in through the 
 bathroom they say that he couldn't ever have 
 moved again. The Commissioner of Police is up- 
 stairs. The ambulance is round at the back to take 
 him off to the Mortuary." 
 
 Selingman suddenly seized the man by the arm. 
 His eyes were fixed upon the topmost step. Violet 
 stood there, smiling down upon them. She was wear- 
 ing a black and white gown, and a black hat with 
 white ospreys. It was the hour of five o'clock tea 
 and many people were passing in and out. She 
 came gracefully down the steps. The two men re- 
 mained speechless. 
 
 " I have been waiting for you, Mr. Draconmeyer," 
 she remarked, smiling.
 
 THE WRONG MAN 231 
 
 Draconmeyer remembered suddenly the packet of 
 notes which he had been to fetch from the bank. He 
 tried to speak but only faltered. Selingman had re- 
 moved his hat but he, too, seemed incapable of co- 
 herent speech. She looked at them both, aston- 
 ished. 
 
 " Whatever is the matter with you both ? " she ex- 
 claimed. " Who is coming with me to the Club ? I 
 decided to come this way round to see if I could 
 change my luck. That underground passage de- 
 presses me." 
 
 Draconmeyer moved up a couple of steps. He 
 was quite himself now, grave but solicitous. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys," he said, " I am sorry, but 
 there has been a little accident. I am afraid that 
 your husband has been hurt. If you will come back 
 to your room for a minute I will tell you about 
 it." 
 
 All the colour died slowly from her face. She 
 swayed a little, but when Draconmeyer would have 
 supported her she pushed him away. 
 
 " An accident ? " she muttered. " I must go and 
 see for myself." 
 
 She turned and re-entered the hotel swiftly. Dra- 
 conmeyer caught her up in the hall. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys," he begged earnestly, " please 
 take my advice. I am your friend, you know. I 
 want you to go straight to your room. I will come 
 with you. I will explain to you then " 
 
 " I am going to Henry," she interrupted, without 
 even a glance towards him. " I am going to my hus- 
 band at once. I must see what has happened." 
 
 She rang the bell for the lift, which appeared al-
 
 232 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 most immediately. Draconmeyer stepped in with 
 her. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys," he persisted, " I beg of you 
 to do as I ask. Let me take you to your rooms. I 
 will tell you all that has happened. Your husband 
 will not be able to see you or speak with you." 
 
 " I shall not get out," she declared, when the lift 
 boy, in obedience to Draconmeyer's imperative order, 
 stopped at her floor. " If I may not go on in the 
 lift, I shall walk up the stairs. I am going to my 
 husband." 
 
 " He will not recognise you," Draconmeyer warned 
 her. " I am very sorry indeed, Lady Hunterleys 
 I would spare you this shock if I could but you 
 must be prepared for very serious things." 
 
 They had reached the next floor now. The boy 
 opened the gate of the lift and she stepped out. She 
 looked pitifully at Draconmeyer. 
 
 " You aren't going to tell me that he is dead? " she 
 moaned. 
 
 " I am afraid he is," Draconmeyer assented. 
 
 She staggered across the landing, pushing him 
 away from her. There were four or five people 
 standing outside the door of Hunterleys' apartment. 
 She appealed to them. 
 
 " Let me go in at once," she ordered. " I am 
 Lady Hunterleys." 
 
 " The door is locked," one of the men declared. 
 
 " Let me go in," she insisted. 
 
 She pushed them on one side and hammered at the 
 door. They could hear voices inside. In a moment 
 it was opened. It was the Commissioner of the Po- 
 lice who stood there tall, severe, official.
 
 THE WRONG MAN 233 
 
 *' Madame? " he exclaimed. 
 
 " I am his wife ! " she cried. " Let me in let me 
 in at once ! " 
 
 She forced her way into the room. Something 
 was lying on the bed, covered with a sheet. She 
 looked at it and shrieked. 
 
 " Madame," the Commissioner begged, " pray com- 
 pose yourself. A tragedy has happened in this room 
 but we are not sure. Can you be brave, ma- 
 dame?" 
 
 " I can," she answered. " Of what are you not 
 sure? " 
 
 The Commissioner turned down the sheet a few 
 inches. A man's face was visible, a ghastly sight. 
 She looked at it and shrieked hysterically. 
 
 " Is that your husband, madame ? " the Commis- 
 sioner asked quickly. 
 
 " Thank God, no ! " she cried. " You are sure 
 this is the man ? " she went on, her voice shaking with 
 fierce excitement. " There is no one else hurt ? 
 No one else stabbed? This is the man they told me 
 was my husband ? " 
 
 " He was found there, sitting at your husband's 
 table, madame," the Commissioner of Police assured 
 her. " There is no one else." 
 
 She suddenly began to cry. 
 
 " It isn't Henry ! " she sobbed, groping her way 
 from the room. " Take me downstairs, please, some 
 one."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 
 
 The maitre d'hotel had presented his bill. The 
 little luncheon party was almost over. 
 
 " So I take leave," Hunterleys remarked, as he sat 
 down his empty liqueur glass, " of one of my re- 
 sponsibilities in life." 
 
 " I think I'd like to remain a sort of half ward, 
 please," Felicia objected, " in case David doesn't 
 treat me properly." 
 
 " If he doesn't," Hunterleys declared, " he will 
 have me to answer to. Seriously, I think you young 
 people are very wise and very foolish and very much 
 to be envied. What does Sidney say about it? " 
 
 Felicia made a little grimace. She glanced around 
 but the tables near them were unoccupied. 
 
 " Sidney is much too engrossed in his mysterious 
 work to concern himself very much about anything," 
 she replied. " Do you know that he has been out all 
 night two nights this week already, and he is making 
 no end of preparations for to-day? " 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " I know that he is very busy just now," he as- 
 sented gravely. ** I must come up and talk to him 
 this afternoon." 
 
 " We left him writing," Felicia said. " Of course, 
 he declares that it is for his beloved newspaper, but I
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 235 
 
 am not sure. He scarcely ever goes out in the day- 
 time. What can he have to write about? David's 
 work is strenuous enough, and I have told him that if 
 he turns war correspondent again, I shall break it 
 off." 
 
 " We all have our work to do in life," Hunterleys 
 reminded her. " You have to sing in Aida to-night, 
 and you have to do yourself justice for the sake of a 
 great many people. Your brother has his work to 
 do, also. Whatever the nature of it may be, he has 
 taken it up and he must go through with it. It 
 would be of no use his worrying for fear that you 
 should forget your words or your notes to-night, 
 and there is no purpose in your fretting because 
 there may be danger in what he has to do. I prom- 
 ise you that so far as I can prevent it, he shall take 
 no unnecessary risks. Now, if you like, I will walk 
 home with you young people, if I sha'n't be terribly 
 in the way. I know that Sidney wants to see me." 
 
 They left the restaurant, a few minutes later, and 
 strolled up towards the town. Hunterleys paused 
 outside a jeweler's shop. 
 
 " And now for the important business of the 
 day ! " he declared. " I must buy you an engage- 
 ment present, on behalf of myself and all your 
 guardians. Come in and help me choose, both of 
 you. A girl who carries her gloves in her hand to 
 show her engagement ring, should have a better bag 
 to hang from that little finger." 
 
 '* You really are the most perfect person that ever 
 breathed ! " she sighed. " You know I don't deserve 
 anything of the sort." 
 
 They paid their visit to the jeweler and afterwards
 
 236 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 drove up to the villa in a little victoria. Sidney 
 Roche was hard at work in his shirt-sleeves. He 
 greeted Hunterleys warmly. 
 
 " Glad you've come up ! " he exclaimed. " The 
 little girl's told you the news, I suppose? " 
 
 " Rather ! " Hunterleys replied. " I have been 
 lunching with them on the strength of it." 
 
 " And look ! " Felicia cried, holding out the gold 
 bag which hung from her finger. " Look how I am 
 being spoiled." 
 
 Her brother sighed. 
 
 " Awful nuisance for me," he grumbled, " having 
 to live with an engaged couple. .You couldn't clear 
 out for a little time," he suggested, " both of you ? 
 I want to talk to Hunterleys." 
 
 " We'll go and sit in the garden," Felicia assented. 
 " I suppose I ought to rest. David shall read my 
 score to me." 
 
 They passed out and Roche closed the door behind 
 them carefully. 
 
 " Anything fresh? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " Nothing particular," was the somewhat guarded 
 reply. " That fellow Frenhofer has been up here." 
 
 " Frenhofer? " Hunterleys repeated, interroga- 
 tively. 
 
 " He is the only man I can rely upon at the Villa 
 Mimosa," Roche explained. " I am afraid to-night 
 it's going to be rather a difficult job." 
 
 " I always feared it would be," Hunterleys agreed. 
 
 " Frenhofer tells me," Roche continued, " that f on 
 some reason or other their suspicions have been 
 aroused up there. They are all on edge. You 
 know, the house is cram-full of men-servants and
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 237 
 
 there are to be a dozen of them on duty in the 
 grounds. Two or three of these fellows are nothing 
 more or less than private detectives, and they all of 
 them know what they're about or Grex wouldn't have 
 them." 
 
 Hunterleys looked grave. 
 
 " It sounds awkward," he admitted. 
 
 " The general idea of the plot," Roche went on, 
 walking restlessly up and down the room, " you and 
 I have already solved, and by this time they know it 
 in London. But there are two things which I feel 
 they may discuss to-night, which are of vital impor- 
 tance. The first is the date, the second is the terms 
 of the offer to Douaille. Then, of course, more im- 
 portant, perhaps, than either of these, is the matter 
 of Douaille's general attitude towards the scheme." 
 
 " So far," Hunterleys remarked reflectively, " we 
 haven't the slightest indication of what that may be. 
 Douaille came pledged to nothing. He may, after 
 all, stand firm." 
 
 " For the honour of his country, let us hope so," 
 Roche said solemnly. " Yet I am sure of one thing. 
 They are going to make him a wonderful offer. He 
 may find himself confronted with a problem which 
 some of the greatest statesmen in the world have had 
 to face in their time shall he study the material 
 benefit of his country, or shall he stand firm for her 
 honour? " 
 
 " It's a great ethical question," Hunterleys de- 
 clared, " too great for us to discuss now, Sidney. 
 Tell me, do you really mean to go on with this at- 
 tempt of yours to-night? " 
 
 " I must," Roche replied. " Frenhofer wants me
 
 238 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 to give up the roof idea, but there is nothing else 
 worth trying. He brought a fresh plan of the room 
 with him. There it lies on the table. As you see, 
 the apartment where the meeting will take place is 
 almost isolated from the rest of the house. There 
 is only one approach to it, by a corridor leading from 
 the hall. The east and west sides will be patrolled. 
 On the south there is a little terrace, but the ap- 
 proach to it is absolutely impossible. There is a 
 sheer drop of fifty feet on to the beach." 
 
 " You think they have no suspicion about the 
 roof? " Hunterleys asked doubtfully. 
 
 " Not yet. The pane of glass is cut out and my 
 entrance to the house is arranged for. Frenhofer 
 will tamper with the electric lights in the kitchen 
 premises and I shall arrive in response to his tele- 
 phonic message, in the clothes of a working-man and 
 with a bag of tools. Then he smuggles me on to the 
 spiral stairway which leads out on to the roof where 
 the flag-staff is. I can crawl the rest of the way 
 to my place. The trouble is that notwithstanding 
 the ledge around, if it is a perfectly clear night, just 
 a fraction of my body, however flat I lie, might be 
 seen from the ground." 
 
 Hunterleys studied the plan for a moment and 
 shook his head. 
 
 " It's a terrible risk, this, Roche," he said seri- 
 ously. 
 
 " I know it," the other admitted, " but what am 
 I to do? They keep sending me cipher messages 
 from home to spare no effort to send further news, 
 as you know very well, and two other fellows will be 
 here the day after to-morrow, to relieve me. I must
 
 TROUBLE BREWING 239 
 
 do what I can. There's one thing, Felicia's off my 
 mind now. Briston's a good fellow and he'll look 
 after her." 
 
 " In the event of your capture " Hunterleys be- 
 gan. 
 
 " The tools I shall take with me," Roche inter- 
 rupted, " are common housebreaker's tools. Every 
 shred of clothing I shall be wearing will be in keep- 
 ing, the ordinary garments of an ouvrier of the dis- 
 trict. If I am trapped, it will be as a burglar and 
 not as a spy. Of course, if Douaille opens the pro- 
 ceedings by declaring himself against the scheme, I 
 shall make myself scarce as quickly as I can." 
 
 " You were quite right when you said just now," 
 Hunterleys observed, " that Douaille will find himself 
 in a difficult position. There is no doubt but that he 
 is an honest man. On the other hand, it is a polit- 
 ical axiom that the first duty of any statesman is to 
 his own people. If they can make Douaille believe 
 that he is going to restore her lost provinces to 
 France without the shedding of a drop of French 
 blood, simply at England's expense, he will be con- 
 fronted with a problem over which any man might 
 hesitate. He has had all day to think it over. 
 What he may decide is simply on the knees of the 
 gods." 
 
 Roche sealed up the letter he had been writing, 
 and handed it to Hunterleys. 
 
 " Well," he said, " I have left everything in order. 
 If there's any mysterious disappearance from here, it 
 will be the mysterious disappearance of a newspaper 
 correspondent, and nothing else." 
 
 " Good luck, then, old chap ! " Hunterleys wished
 
 240 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 him. " If you pull through this time, I think our 
 job will be done. I'll tell them at headquarters that 
 you deserve a year's holiday." 
 
 Roche smiled a little queerly. 
 
 " Don't forget," he pointed out, " that it was you 
 who scented out the whole plot. I've simply done 
 the Scotland Yard work. The worst of our job is," 
 he added, as he opened the door, " that we don't 
 want holidays. We are like drugged beings. The 
 thing gets hold of us. I suppose if they gave me a 
 holiday I should spend it in St. Petersburg. That's 
 where we ought to send our best men just now. So 
 long, Sir Henry." 
 
 They shook hands once more. Roche's face was 
 set in grim lines. They were both silent for a mo- 
 ment. It was the farewell of men whose eyes are 
 fixed upon the great things. 
 
 " Good luck to you ! " Hunterleys repeated fer- 
 vently, as he turned and walked down the tiled way.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 HUNTERLEYS SCENTS MURDEB, 
 
 The concierge of the Hotel de Paris was a man of 
 great stature and imposing appearance. Neverthe- 
 less, when Hunterleys crossed the road and climbed 
 the steps to the hotel, he seemed for a moment like a 
 man reduced to pulp. He absolutely forgot his 
 usual dignified but courteous greeting. With mouth 
 a little open and knees which seemed to have col- 
 lapsed, he stared at this unexpected apparition as 
 he came into sight and stared at him as he entered 
 the hotel. Hunterleys glanced behind with a slight 
 frown. The incident, inexplicable though it was, 
 would have passed at once from his memory, but that 
 directly he entered the hotel he was conscious of the 
 very similar behaviour and attitude towards him of 
 the chief reception clerk. He paused on his way, a 
 little bewildered, and called the man to him. The 
 clerk, however, was already rushing towards the of- 
 fice with his coat-tails flying behind him. Hunter- 
 leys crossed the floor and rang the bell for the lift. 
 Directly he stepped in, the lift man vacated his place, 
 and with his eyes nearly starting out of his head, 
 seemed about to make a rush for his life. 
 
 " Come back here," Hunterleys ordered sternly. 
 " Take me up to my room at once." 
 
 The man returned unsteadily and with marked re-
 
 242 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 luctance. He closed the gate, touched the handle 
 and the lift commenced to ascend. 
 
 " What's the matter with you all here ? " Hunter- 
 leys demanded, irritably. " Is there anything wrong 
 with my appearance? Has anything happened? " 
 
 The man made a gesture but said absolutely noth- 
 ing. The lift had stopped. He pushed open the 
 door. 
 
 " Monsieur's floor," he faltered. 
 
 Hunterleys stepped out and made his way towards 
 his room. Arrived there, he was brought to a sud- 
 den standstill. A gendarme was stationed outside. 
 
 " What the mischief are you doing here ? " Hun- 
 terleys demanded. 
 
 The man saluted. 
 
 " By orders of the Director of Police, monsieur." 
 
 " But that is my room," Hunterleys protested. 
 ** I wish to enter." 
 
 " No one is permitted to enter, monsieur," the man 
 replied. 
 
 Hunterleys stared blankly at the gendarme. 
 
 " Can't you tell me at least what has happened? " 
 he persisted. " I am Sir Henry Hunterleys. That 
 is my apartment. Why do I find it locked against 
 me? " 
 
 " By order of the Director of the Police, mon- 
 sieur," was the parrot-like reply. 
 
 Hunterleys turned away impatiently. At that 
 moment the reception clerk who downstairs had fled 
 at his approach, returned, bringing with him the 
 manager of the hotel. Hunterleys welcomed the lat- 
 ter with an air of relief. 
 
 " Monsieur Picard," he exclaimed, " what on earth
 
 HUNTERLEYS SCENTS MURDER 243 
 
 is the meaning of this? Why do I find my room 
 closed and this gendarme outside?" 
 
 Monsieur Picard was a tall man, black-bearded, 
 immaculate in appearance and deportment, with 
 manners and voice of velvet. Yet he, too, had lost 
 his wonderful imperturbability. He waved away the 
 floor waiter, who had drawn near. His manner was 
 almost agitated. 
 
 ** Monsieur Sir Henry," he explained, " an affair 
 the most regrettable has happened in your room. I 
 have allotted to you another apartment upon the 
 same floor. Your things have been removed there. 
 If you will come with me I will show it to you. It is 
 an apartment better by far than the one you have 
 been occupying, and the price is the same." 
 
 " But what on earth has happened in my room ? " 
 Hunterleys demanded. 
 
 " Monsieur," the hotel manager replied, '* some 
 poor demented creature who has doubtless lost his 
 all, in your absence found his way there and com- 
 mitted suicide." 
 
 " Found his way into my room? " Hunterleys re- 
 peated. " But I locked the door before I went out. 
 I have the key in my pocket." 
 
 " He entered possibly through the bathroom," the 
 manager went on, soothingly. " I am deeply grieved 
 that monsieur should be inconvenienced in any way. 
 This is the apartment I have reserved for monsieur," 
 he added, throwing open the door of a room at the 
 end of the corridor. " It is more spacious and in 
 every way more desirable. Monsieur's clothes are 
 already being put away." 
 
 Hunterleys glanced around the apartment. It
 
 244 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 was certainly of a far better type than the one he 
 had been occupying, and two of the floor valets were 
 already busy with his clothes. 
 
 " Monsieur will be well satisfied here, I am sure," 
 the hotel manager continued. " May I be permitted 
 to offer my felicitations and to assure you of my im- 
 mense relief. There was a rumour the affair oc- 
 curring in monsieur's apartment that the unfor- 
 tunate man was yourself, Sir Henry." 
 
 Hunterleys was thoughtful for a moment. He 
 began to understand the sensation which his appear- 
 ance had caused. Other ideas, too, were crowding 
 into his brain. 
 
 " Look here, Monsieur Picard," he said, " of 
 course, I have no objection to the change of rooms 
 that's all right but I should like to know a lit- 
 tle more about the man who you say committed 
 suicide in my apartment. I should like to see 
 him." 
 
 Monsieur Picard shook his head. 
 
 " It would be a very difficult matter, that, mon- 
 sieur," he declared. " The laws of Monaco are 
 stringent in such affairs." 
 
 " That is all very well," Hunterleys protested, 
 " but I cannot understand what he was doing in my 
 apartment. Can't I go in just for a moment? " 
 
 " Impossible, monsieur ! Without the permission 
 of the Commissioner of Police no one can enter that 
 room." 
 
 " Then I should like," Hunterleys persisted, " to 
 see the Commissioner of Police." 
 
 Monsieur Picard bowed. 
 
 " Monsieur the Commissioner is on the premises,
 
 HUNTERLEYS SCENTS MURDER 245 
 
 without a doubt. I will instruct him of Monsieur 
 Sir Henry's desire." 
 
 " I ghall be glad if you will do so at once," Hun- 
 terleys said firmly. " I will wait for him here." 
 
 The manager made his escape and his relief was 
 obvious. Hunterleys sat on the edge of the bed. 
 
 " Do you know anything about this affair? " he 
 asked the nearer of the two valets. 
 
 The man shook his head. 
 
 " Nothing at all, monsieur," he answered, without 
 pausing from his labours. 
 
 " How did the fellow get into my room ? " 
 
 " One knows nothing," the other man muttered. 
 
 Hunterleys watched them for a few minutes at 
 their labours. 
 
 " A nice, intelligent couple of fellows you are," he 
 remarked pleasantly. " Come, here's a louis each. 
 Now can't you tell me something about the affair ? " 
 
 They came forward. Both looked longingly at 
 the coins. 
 
 " Monsieur," the one he had first addressed regret- 
 ted, " there is indeed nothing to be known. At this 
 hotel the wages are good. It is the finest situation a 
 man may gain in Monte Carlo or elsewhere, but if 
 anything like this happens, there is to be silence. 
 One dares not break the rule." 
 
 Hunterleys shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " All right," he said. " I shall find out what I 
 want to know, in time." 
 
 The men returned unwillingly to their tasks. In 
 a moment or two there was a knock at the door. 
 The Commissioner of Police entered, accompanied 
 by the hotel manager, who at once introduced him.
 
 246 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " The Commissioner of Police is here, Sir Henry," 
 he announced. " He will speak with you immedi- 
 ately." 
 
 The official saluted. 
 
 " Monsieur desires some information? " 
 
 " I do," Hunterleys admitted. " I am told that 
 a man has committed suicide in my room, and I have 
 heard no plausible explanation as to how he got 
 there. I want to see him. It is possible that I may 
 recognise him." 
 
 " The fellow is already identified," the Director of 
 Police declared. " I can satisfy monsieur's curios- 
 ity. Pie was connected with a firm of English tail- 
 ors here, who sought business from the gentlemen in 
 the hotel. He had accordingly sometimes the en- 
 tree to their apartments. The fellow is reported 
 to have saved a little money and to have visited the 
 tables. He lost everything. He came this morning 
 about his business as usual, but, overcome by despair, 
 stabbed himself, most regrettably in the apartments 
 of monsieur." 
 
 " Since you know all about him, perhaps you can 
 tell me his name ? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " James Allen. Monsieur may recall him to his 
 memory. He was tall and of pale complexion, re- 
 spectable-looking, but a man of discontented ap- 
 pearance. The intention had probably been in his 
 mind for some time." 
 
 " Is there any objection to my seeing the body? " 
 Hunterleys enquired. 
 
 The official shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " But, monsieur, all is finished with the poor fel- 
 low. The doctor has given his certificate. He is
 
 HUNTERLEYS SCENTS MURDER 247 
 
 to be removed at once. He will be buried at night- 
 fall." 
 
 " A very admirable arrangement, without a doubt," 
 Hunterleys observed, " and yet, I should like, as I 
 remarked before, to see the body. You know who 
 I am Sir Henry Hunterleys. I had a message 
 from your department a day or two ago which I 
 thought a little unfair." 
 
 The Commissioner sighed. He ignored altogether 
 the conclusion of Hunterleys' sentence. 
 
 " It is against the rules, monsieur," he regret- 
 ted. 
 
 "Then to whom shall I apply?" Hunterleys 
 asked, " because I may as well tell you at once that I 
 am going to insist upon my request being granted. 
 I will tell you frankly my reason. It is not a mat- 
 ter of curiosity at all. I should like to feel assured 
 of the fact that this man Allen really committed sui- 
 cide." 
 
 " But he is dead, monsieur," the Commissioner 
 protested. 
 
 " Doubtless," Hunterleys agreed, " but there is 
 also the chance that he was murdered, isn't there ? " 
 
 "Murdered!" 
 
 Monsieur Picard held up his hands in horror. The 
 Commissioner of Police smiled in derision. 
 
 " But, monsieur," the latter pointed out, " who 
 would take the trouble to murder a poverty-stricken 
 tailor's assistant ! " 
 
 " And in my hotel, too ! " Monsieur Picard inter- 
 vened. 
 
 " The thing is impossible," the Commissioner de- 
 clared.
 
 248 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Beyond which it is ridiculous ! " Monsieur Picard 
 added. 
 
 Hunterleys sat quite silent for a moment. 
 
 " Monsieur the Commissioner," he said presently, 
 " and Monsieur Picard, I recognise your point of 
 view. Believe me that I appreciate it and that I am 
 willing, to a certain extent, to acquiesce in it. At the 
 same time, there are considerations in this matter 
 which I cannot ignore. I do not wish to create any 
 disturbance or to make any statements likely to mil- 
 itate against the popularity of your wonderful ho- 
 tel, Monsieur Picard. Nevertheless, for personal 
 reasons only, notwithstanding the verdict of your 
 doctor, I should like for one moment to examine the 
 body." 
 
 The Commissioner of Police was thoughtful for a 
 moment. 
 
 " It shall be as monsieur desires," he consented 
 gravely, " bearing in mind what monsieur has said," 
 he added with emphasis. 
 
 The three men left the room and passed down the 
 corridor. The gendarme in front of the closed door 
 stood on one side. The Commissioner produced a 
 key. They all three entered the room and Monsieur 
 Picard closed the door behind them. Underneath a 
 sheet upon the bed was stretched the figure of a man. 
 Hunterleys stepped up to it, turned down the sheet 
 and examined the prostrate figure. Then he re- 
 placed the covering reverently. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " that is the man who has called 
 upon me for orders from the English tailors. His 
 name, I believe, was, as you say, Allen. But can 
 you tell me, Monsieur the Commissioner, how it wa
 
 HUNTERLEYS SCENTS MURDER 249 
 
 possible for a man to stab himself from the shoulder 
 downwards through the heart ? " 
 
 The Official extended his hands. 
 
 " Monsieur," he declared, " it is not for us. The 
 doctor has given his certificate." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled a little grimly. 
 
 " I have always understood," he observed, " that 
 things were managed like this. You may have con- 
 fidence in me, Monsieur the Commissioner, and you, 
 Monsieur Picard. I shall not tell the world what I 
 suspect. But for your private information I will 
 tell you that this man was probably murdered by an 
 assassin who sought my life. You observe that there 
 is a certain resemblance." 
 
 The hotel proprietor turned pale. 
 
 " Murdered ! " he exclaimed. " Impossible ! A 
 murder here unheard of ! " 
 
 The Commissioner dismissed the whole thing airily 
 with A wave of his hand. 
 
 " The doctor has signed the certificate," he re- 
 peated. 
 
 " And I," Hunterleys added, as he led the way out 
 of the room, " am more than satisfied I am grate- 
 ful. So there is nothing more to be said."
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 DRACONMEYER IS DESPERATE 
 
 Draconmeyer stood before the window of his room, 
 looking out over the Mediterranean. There was no 
 finer view to be obtained from any suite in the hotel, 
 and Monte Carlo had revelled all that day in the 
 golden, transfiguring sunshine. Yet he looked as a 
 blind man. His eyes saw nothing of the blue sea 
 or the brown-sailed fishing boats, nor did he once 
 glance towards the picturesque harbour. He saw 
 only his own future, the shattered pieces of his care- 
 fully-thought-out scheme. The first fury had 
 passed. His brain was working now. In her room 
 below, Lady Hunterleys was lying on the couch, half 
 hysterical. Three times she had sent for her hus- 
 band. If he should return at that moment, Dracon- 
 meyer knew that the game was up. There would be 
 no bandying words between them, no involved ex- 
 planations, no possibility of any further misunder- 
 standing. All his little tissue of lies and misrepre- 
 sentations would crumble hopelessly to pieces. The 
 one feeling in her heart would be thankfulness. She 
 would open her arms. He saw the end with fatal, 
 unerring truthfulness. 
 
 His servant returned. Draconmeyer waited ea- 
 gerly for his message. 
 
 " Lady Huriterleys is lying down, sir," the man
 
 DRACONMEYER IS DESPERATE 251 
 
 announced. " She is very much upset and begs you 
 to excuse her." 
 
 Draconmeyer waved the man away and walked 
 up and down the apartment, his hands behind his 
 back, his lips hard-set. He was face to face with 
 a crisis which baffled him completely, and yet which 
 he felt to be wholly unworthy of his powers. His 
 brain had never been keener, his sense of power more 
 inspiring. Yet he had never felt more impotent. 
 It was woman's hysteria against which he had to 
 fight. The ordinary weapons were useless. He re- 
 alised quite well her condition and the dangers re- 
 sulting from it. The heart of the woman was once 
 more beating to its own natural tune. If Hunter- 
 leys should present himself within the next few min- 
 utes, not all his ingenuity nor the power of his 
 millions could save the situation. 
 
 Plans shaped themselves almost automatically in 
 his mind. He passed from his own apartments, 
 through a connecting door into a large and beauti- 
 fully-furnished salon. A woman with grey hair and 
 white face was lying on a couch by the window. She 
 turned her head as he entered and looked at him 
 questioningly. Her face was fragile and her fea- 
 tures were sharpened by suffering. She looked at 
 her husband almost as a cowed but still affectionate 
 animal might look towards a stern master. 
 
 " Do you feel well enough to walk as far as Lady 
 Hunterleys' apartment with the aid of my arm ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Of course," she replied. " Does Violet want 
 me?" 
 
 " She is still feeling the shock," Draconmeyer
 
 252 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 said. " I think that she is inclined to be hystei ical. 
 It would do her good to have you talk with her." 
 
 The nurse, who had been sitting by her side, as- 
 sisted her patient to rise. She leaned on her hus- 
 band's arm. In her other hand she carried a black 
 ebony walking-stick. They traversed the corridor, 
 knocked at the door of Lady Hunterleys' apartment, 
 and in response to a somewhat hesitating invitation, 
 entered. Violet was lying upon the sofa. She 
 looked up eagerly at their coming. 
 
 " Linda ! " she exclaimed. " How dear of you ! I 
 thought that it might have been Henry," she added, 
 as though to explain the disappointment in her tone. 
 
 Draconmeyer turned away to hide his expression. 
 
 " Talk to her as lightly as possible," he whispered 
 to his wife, " but don't leave her alone. I will come 
 back for you in ten minutes." 
 
 He left the two women together and descended 
 into the hall. He found several of the reception 
 clerks whispering together. The concierge had only 
 just recovered himself, but the place was beginning 
 to wear its normal aspect. He whispered an en- 
 quiry at the desk. Sir Henry Hunterle} r s had just 
 come in and had gone upstairs, he was told. His 
 new room was number 148. 
 
 " There was a note from his wife," Draconmeyer 
 said, trying hard to control his voice. " Has he 
 had it? " 
 
 " It is here still, sir," the clerk replied. " I tried 
 to catch Sir Henry as he passed through, but he was 
 too quick for me. To tell you the truth," he went 
 on, " there has been a rumour through the hotel that 
 it wai Sir Henry himself who had been found dead
 
 DRACONMEYER IS DESPERATE 253 
 
 in his room, and seeing him come in was rather a 
 shock for all of us." 
 
 " Naturally," Draconmeyer agreed. " If you will 
 give me the note I will take it up to him." 
 
 The clerk handed it over without hesitation. Dra- 
 conmeyer returned immediately to his own apart- 
 ments and torn open the envelope. There were only 
 a few words scrawled across the half-sheet of note- 
 paper : 
 
 Henry, come to me, dear, at once. I have had such 
 a shock. I want to see you. 
 
 Vi. 
 
 He tore the note viciously into small pieces. Then 
 he went back to Lady Hunterleys' apartments. She 
 was sitting up now in an easy-chair. Once more, at 
 the sound of the knock, she looked towards the door 
 eagerly. Her face fell when Draconmeyer entered. 
 
 " Have you heard anything about Henry ? " she 
 asked anxiously. 
 
 " He came back a few minutes ago," Draconmeyer 
 replied, " and has gone out again." 
 
 " Gone out again ? " 
 
 Draconmeyer nodded. 
 
 " I think that he has gone round to the Club. He 
 is a man of splendid nerve, your husband. He seemed 
 to treat the whole affair as an excellent joke." 
 
 "A joke!" she repeated blankly. 
 
 " This sort of thing happens so often in Monte 
 Carlo," he observed, in a matter-of-fact tone. " The 
 hotel people seem all to look upon it as in the day's 
 work." 
 
 " I wonder if Henry had my note? " she faltered.
 
 254 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " He was reading one in the hall when I saw him," 
 Draconmeyer told her. " That would be yours, I 
 should think. He left a message at the desk which 
 was doubtless meant for you. He has gone on to 
 the Sporting Club for an hour and will probably be 
 back in time to change for dinner." 
 
 Violet sat quite still for several moments. Some- 
 thing seemed to die slowly out of her face. Presently 
 she rose to her feet. 
 
 " I suppose," she said, " that I am very foolish to 
 allow myself to be upset like this." 
 
 " It is quite natural," Draconmeyer assured her 
 soothingly. " What you should try to do is to for- 
 get the whole circumstance. You sit here brooding 
 about it until it becomes a tragedy. Let us go down 
 to the Club together. We shall probably see your 
 husband there." 
 
 She hesitated. She seemed still perplexed. 
 
 " I wonder," she murmured, " could I send an- 
 other message to him? Perhaps he didn't quite un- 
 derstand." 
 
 " Much better come along to the Club," Dracon- 
 meyer advised, good-humouredly. " You can be 
 there yourself before a message could reach him." 
 
 " Very well," she assented. " I will be ready in 
 ten minutes." . . . 
 
 Draconmeyer took his wife back to her room. 
 
 " Did I do as you wished, dear ? " she asked him 
 anxiously. 
 
 " Absolutely," he replied. 
 
 He helped her back to her couch and stooped and 
 kissed her. She leaned back wearily. It was ob- 
 vious that she had found the exertion of moving even
 
 DRACONMEYER IS DESPERATE 255 
 
 so far exhausting. Then he returned to his own 
 apartments. Rapidly he unlocked his dispatch box 
 and took out one or two notes from Violet. They 
 were all of no importance answers to invitations, 
 or appointments. He spread them out, took a sheet 
 of paper and a broad pen. Without hesitation he 
 wrote : 
 
 Congratulations on your escape, but why do you run 
 such risks! I wish you would go back to England. 
 
 VIOLET. 
 
 He held the sheet of notepaper a little away from 
 him and looked at it critically. The imitation was 
 excellent. He thrust the few lines into an envelope, 
 addressed them to Hunterleys and descended to the 
 hall. He left the note at the office. 
 
 " Send this up to Sir Henry, will you ? " he in- 
 structed. " Let him have it as quickly as possi- 
 ble." 
 
 Once more he crossed the hall and waited close to 
 the lift by which she would descend. All the time 
 he kept on glancing nervously around. Things were 
 going his way, but the great danger remained if 
 they should meet first by chance in the corridor, or 
 in the lift! Hunterleys might think it his duty to 
 go at once to his wife's apartment in case she had 
 heard the rumour of his death. The minutes dragged 
 by. He had climbed the great ladder slowly. Afore 
 than once he had felt it sway beneath his feet. Yet 
 to him those moments seemed almost the longest 
 of his life. Then at last she came. She was looking 
 very pale, but to his relief he saw that she was 
 dressed for the Club. She was wearing a grey
 
 256 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 dress and black hat. He remembered with a pang 
 of fury that grey was her husband's favourite col- 
 our. 
 
 " I suppose there is no doubt that Henry is at 
 the Club? " she asked, looking eagerly around the 
 hall. 
 
 " Not the slightest," he assured her. " We can 
 have some tea there and we are certain to come 
 across him somewhere.'* 
 
 She made no further difficulty. As they turned 
 into the long passage he gave a sigh of relief. Ev- 
 ery step they took meant safety. He talked to her 
 as lightly as possible, ignoring the fact that she 
 scarcely replied to him. They mounted the stairs 
 and entered the Club. She looked anxiously up and 
 down the crowded rooms. 
 
 " I shall stroll about and look for Henry," she an- 
 nounced. 
 
 " Very well," he agreed. " I will go over to your 
 place and see how the numbers are going." 
 
 He stood by the roulette table, but he watched her 
 covertly. She passed through the baccarat room, 
 came out again and walked the whole length of the 
 larger apartment. She even looked into the restau- 
 rant beyond. Then she came slowly back to where 
 Draconmeyer was standing. She seemed tired. She 
 scarcely even glanced at the table. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys," he exclaimed impressively, 
 " this is positively wicked ! Your twenty-nine has 
 turned up twice within the last few minutes. Do sit 
 down and try your luck and I will go and see if I can 
 find your husband." 
 
 He pushed a handful of plaques and a bundle of
 
 DRACONMEYER IS DESPERATE 257 
 
 notes into her hand. At that moment the croupier's 
 voice was heard. 
 
 " Quatorze rouge, pair et manque." 
 
 " Another of my numbers ! " she murmured, with 
 a faint show of interest. " I don't think I want to 
 play, though." 
 
 " Try just a few coups," he begged. " You see, 
 there is a chair here. You may not have a chance 
 again for hours." 
 
 He was using all his will power. Somehow or 
 other, she found herself seated in front of the table/ 
 The sight of the pile of plaques and the roll of notes 
 was inspiring. She leaned across and with trembling 
 fingers backed number fourteen en plem, with all the 
 carres and chevaux. She was playing the game at 
 which she had lost so persistently. He walked 
 slowiy away. Every now and then from a dis- 
 tance he watched her. She was winning and los- 
 ing alternately, but she had settled down now in 
 earnest. He breathed a great sigh of relief and 
 took a seat upon a divan, whence he could see if 
 she moved. Richard Lane, who had been stand- 
 ing at the other side of the table, crossed the room 
 and came over to him. 
 
 " Say, do you know where Sir Henry is ? " he en- 
 quired. 
 
 Draconmeyer shook his head. 
 
 " I have scarcely seen him all day." 
 
 " I think I'll go round to the hotel and look him 
 up," Lane decided carelessly. " I'm fed up with 
 this " 
 
 He stopped short. He was no longer an exceed- 
 ingly bored and discontented-looking young man*
 
 258 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Draconmeyer glanced at him curiously. He felt a 
 thrill of sympathy. This stolid young man, then, 
 was capable of feeling something of the same emo- 
 tion as was tearing at his own heartstrings. Lane 
 was gazing with transfigured face towards the open 
 doorway.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 
 
 Fedora sauntered slowly around the rooms, lean- 
 ing over and staking a gold plaque here and there. 
 She was dressed as usual in white, with an ermine 
 turban hat and stole and an enormous muff. Her 
 hair seemed more golden than ever beneath its snow- 
 white setting, and her complexion more dazzling. 
 She seemed utterly unconscious of the admiration 
 which her appearance evoked, and she passed Lane 
 without apparently observing him. A moment aft- 
 erwards, however, he moved to her side and addressed 
 her. 
 
 " Quite a lucky coup of yours, that last, Miss 
 Grex. Are you used to winning en plein like that ? " 
 
 She turned her head and looked at him. Her eye- 
 brows were ever so slightly uplifted. Her expres- 
 sion was chilling. He remained, however, absolutely 
 unconscious of any impending trouble. 
 
 " I was sorry not to find you at home this morn- 
 ing," he continued. " I brought my little racing 
 car round for you to see. I thought you might 
 have liked to try her." 
 
 " How absurd you are ! " she murmured. " You 
 must know perfectly well that it would have been 
 quite impossible for me to come out with you alone." 
 
 "But why?"
 
 26o MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She sighed. 
 
 " You are quite hopeless, or you pretend to be ! " 
 
 " If I am," he replied, " it is because you won't 
 explain things to me properly. The tables are much 
 too crowded to play comfortably. Won't you come 
 and sit down for a few minutes ? " 
 
 She hesitated. Lane watched her anxiously. He 
 felt, somehow, that a great deal depended upon her 
 reply. Presently, with the slightest possible shrug 
 of the shoulders, she turned around and suffered him 
 to walk by her side to the little antechamber which 
 divided the gambling rooms from the restaurant. 
 
 " Very well," she decided, " I suppose, after all, 
 one must remember that you did save us from a great 
 deal of inconvenience the other night. I will talk 
 to you for a few minutes." 
 
 He found her an easy-chair and he sat by her 
 side. 
 
 " This is bully," he declared. 
 
 " Is what ? " she asked, once more raising her eye- 
 brows. 
 
 " American slang," he explained penitently. " I 
 am sorry. I meant that it was very pleasant to be 
 here alone with you for a few minutes." 
 
 " You may not find it so, after all," she said se- 
 verely. " I feel that I have a duty to perform." 
 
 " Well, don't let ! s bother about that yet, if it 
 means a lecture," he begged. " You shall tell me 
 how much better the young women of your country 
 behave than the young women of mine." 
 
 " Thank you," she replied, " I am never inter- 
 ested in the doings of a democracy. Your country 
 makes no appeal to me at all."
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 261 
 
 " Come," he protested, " that's a little too bad. 
 Why, Russia may be a democracy some day, you 
 know. You very nearly had a republic foisted upon 
 you after the Japanese war." 
 
 " You are quite mistaken," she assured him. 
 " Russia would never tolerate a republic." 
 
 " Russia will some day have to do like many other 
 countries," he answered firmly, " obey the will of 
 the people." 
 
 " Russia has nothing in common with other coun- 
 tries," she asserted. " There was never a nation 
 yet in which the aristocracy was so powerful." 
 
 " It's only a matter of time," he declared, non- 
 chalantly. 
 
 She shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 " You represent ideas of which I do not approve," 
 she told him. 
 
 " I don't care a fig about any ideas," he replied. 
 " I don't care much about anything in the world ex- 
 cept you." 
 
 She turned her head slowly and looked at him. 
 Its angle was supercilious, her tone frigid. 
 
 " That sort of a speech may pass for polite con- 
 versation in your country, Mr. Lane. We do not 
 understand it in mine." 
 
 " Don't your men ever tell your women that they 
 love them ? " he asked bluntly. 
 
 " If they are of the same order," she said, " if the 
 thing is at all possible, it may sometimes be done. 
 Marriage, however, is more a matter of alliance with 
 us. Our servants, I believe, are quite promiscuous 
 in their love-making." 
 
 He was silent for a moment. She may, perhaps,
 
 262 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 have felt some compunction. She spoke to him a 
 little more kindly. 
 
 " We cannot help the ideas of the country in 
 which we are brought up, you know, Mr. Lane." 
 
 " Of course not," he agreed. " I understand that 
 perfectly. I was just thinking, though, what a lot 
 I shall have to teach you." 
 
 She was momentarily aghast. She recovered her- 
 self quickly, however. 
 
 " Are all the men of your nation so self-confi- 
 dent? " 
 
 "We have to be," he told her. "It's the only 
 way we can get what we want." 
 
 " And do you always succeed in getting what you 
 want?" 
 
 " Always ! " 
 
 " Then unless you wish to be an exception," she 
 advised, " let me beg you not to try for anything 
 beyond your reach." 
 
 " There is nothing," he declared firmly, " beyond 
 my reach. You are trying to discourage me. It 
 isn't any use. I am not a prince or a duke or any- 
 thing like that, although my ancestors were honest 
 enough, I believe. I haven't any trappings of that 
 sort to offer you. If you are as sensible as I think 
 you are, you won't mind that when you come to think 
 it over. The only thing I am ashamed of is my 
 money, because I didn't earn it for myself. You 
 can live in palaces still, if you want to, and if you 
 want to be a queen I'll ferret out a kingdom some- 
 where and buy it, but I am afraid you'll have to be 
 Mrs. Lane behind it all, you know." 
 
 " You really are the most intolerable person," she
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 263 
 
 exclaimed, biting her lip. " How can I get these ab- 
 surd ideas out of your mind? " 
 
 " By telling me honestly, looking in my eyes all 
 the time, that you could never care for me a little bit, 
 however devoted I was," he answered promptly. 
 " You won't be able to do it. I've only one belief 
 in life about these things, and that is that when any 
 one cares for a girl as I care for you, it's absolutely 
 impossible for her to be wholly indifferent. It isn't 
 much to start with, I know, but the rest will come. 
 Be honest with me. Is there any one of the men of 
 your country whom you have met, whom you want 
 to marry? " 
 
 She frowned slightly. She found herself, at that 
 moment, comparing him with certain young men of 
 her acquaintance. She was astonished to realise that 
 the comparison was all in his favour. It was for her 
 an extraordinary moment. She had indeed been 
 brought up in palaces and the men whom she had 
 known had been reckoned the salt of the earth. Yet, 
 at that crisis, she was most profoundly conscious that 
 not all the glamour of those high-sounding names, the 
 picturesque interest of those gorgeous uniforms, nor 
 the men themselves, magnificent in their way, were 
 able to make the slightest appeal to her. She re- 
 membered some of her own bitter words when an alli- 
 ance with one of them had been suggested to her. 
 It was she, then, who had been the first to ignore the 
 divine heritage of birth, who had spoken of their 
 drinking habits, pointed to their life of idle luxury 
 and worse than luxury. The man who was at the 
 present moment her suitor forced himself upon her 
 recollection. She knew quite well that he repre-
 
 264 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 sented a type. They were of the nobility, and they 
 seemed to her in that one poignant but unwelcome 
 moment, hatefully degenerate, men no self-respecting 
 girl could ever think of. Family influence, stern 
 parental words, the call of her order, had half 
 crushed these thoughts. They came back now, how- 
 ever, with persistent force. 
 
 " You see," Richard Lane went on, " it mayn't be 
 much that I have to offer you, but in your heart I 
 know you feel what it means to be offered the love of 
 a man who doesn't want you just because you are of 
 his order, or because you are the daughter of a Per- 
 sonage, or for any other reason than because he cares 
 for you as he has cared for no other woman on earth, 
 and because, without knowing it, he has waited for 
 you." 
 
 She moved restlessly in her chair. Their conver- 
 sation was not going in the least along the lines 
 which she had intended. She suddenly remembered 
 her own disquiet of the day before, her curious long- 
 ing to steal off on some excuse to-day. A week ago 
 she would have been content to have dawdled away 
 the afternoon in the grounds of the villa. Some- 
 thing different had come. From the moment she had 
 entered the rooms, although she had never acknowl- 
 edged it, she had been conscious, pleasurably con- 
 scious of his presence. She was suddenly uneasy. 
 
 " I am afraid," she murmured, " that you are quite 
 hopeless." 
 
 " If you mean that I am without hope, you are 
 wrong," he answered sturdily. " From the moment 
 I met you I have had but one thought, and until the 
 last day of my life I shall have but one thought, and
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 265 
 
 that thought is of you. There may be no end of dif- 
 ficulties, but I come of an obstinate race. I have pa- 
 tience as well as other things." 
 
 She was avoiding looking at him now. She looked 
 instead at her clasped hands. 
 
 " I wish I could make you understand," she said, 
 in a low tone, " how impossible all this is. In Eng- 
 land and America I know that it is different. There, 
 marriages of a certain sort are freely made between 
 different classes. But in Russia these things are not 
 thought of. Supposing that all you said were true. 
 Supposing, even, that I had the slightest disposition 
 to listen to you. Do you realise that there isn't one 
 of my family who wouldn't cry out in horror at the 
 thought of my marrying forgive me marrying 
 a commoner of your rank in life ? " 
 
 " They can cry themselves hoarse, as they'll have 
 to some day," he replied cheerfully. " As for you, 
 Miss Fedora you don't mind my calling you Miss 
 Fedora, do you ? you'll be glad some day that you 
 were born at the beginning of a new era. You may 
 be a pioneer in the new ways, but you may take 
 my word for it that you won't be the last. Please 
 have courage. Please try and be yourself, won't 
 you?" 
 
 " But how do you know what I am ? " she pro- 
 tested. " Or even what I am like ? We have spoken 
 only a few words. Nothing has passed between us 
 which could possibly have inspired you with such 
 feelings as you speak of," she added, colouring 
 slightly. " It is a fancy of yours, quite too absurd 
 a fancy. Now that I find myself discussing it with 
 you as though, indeed, we were talking of it seri-
 
 266 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 ously, I am inclined to laugh. You are just a very 
 foolish young man, Mr. Lane." 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 " Look here," he said, " I am very good at mean- 
 ing things, but it's awfully hard for me to put my 
 thoughts into words. I can't explain how it's all 
 come about. I don't know why, amongst all the girls 
 I've seen in my own country, or England, or Paris, or 
 anywhere, there hasn't been one who could bring me 
 the things which you bring, who could fill my mind 
 with the thoughts you fill it with, who could make 
 my days stand still and start again, who could upset 
 the whole machinery of my life so that when you 
 come I want to dance with happiness, and when you 
 go the day is over with me. There is no chance of my 
 being able to explain this to you, because other fel-. 
 lows, much cleverer than I, have been in the same 
 box, and they've had to come to the conclusion, too, 
 that there isn't any explanation. I have accepted it. 
 I want you to. I love you, Fedora, and I will be 
 faithful to you all my life. You shall live where you 
 choose and how you choose, but you must be my wife. 
 There isn't any way out of it for either of us." 
 
 She sat quite still for several moments. They 
 were a little behind the curtain and it chanced that 
 there was no one in their immediate vicinity. She 
 felt her fingers suddenly gripped. They were re- 
 leased again almost at once, but a queer sensation of 
 something overmastering seemed to creep through 
 her whole being at the touch of his hand. She rose 
 to her feet. 
 
 " I am going away," she declared. 
 
 " I haven't offended you ? " he begged. " Please
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 267 
 
 git down. We haven't half talked over things yet." 
 
 " We have talked too much," she answered. " I 
 don't know really what has come over me that I have 
 let you that I listen to you " 
 
 " It is because you feel the truth of what I say," 
 he insisted. " Don't get up, Fedora. Don't go 
 away, dear. Let us have at least these few minutes 
 together. I'll do exactly as you tell me. I'll come 
 to your father or I'll carry you off. I have a sister 
 here. She'll be your friend " 
 
 " Don't ! " the girl stopped him. " Please don't ! " 
 
 She sat down in her chair again. Her fingers 
 were twisted together, her slim form was tense with 
 stifled emotions. 
 
 " Have I been a brute ? " he asked softly. " You 
 must forgive me, Fedora. I am not much used to 
 girls and I am sort of carried away myself, only I 
 want you to believe that there's the real thing in 
 my heart. I'll make you just as happy as a woman 
 can be. Don't shake your head, dear. I want you 
 to trust me and believe in me." 
 
 '* I think you're a most extraordinary person," 
 she said at last. " Do you know, I'm beginning to 
 be really afraid of you." 
 
 " You're not," he insisted. " You're afraid of 
 yourself. You're afraid because you see the down- 
 fall of the old ideas. You're afraid because you 
 know that you're going to be a renegade. You can 
 see nothing but trouble ahead just now. I'll take 
 you right away from that." 
 
 There was the rustle of skirts, 8 soft little laugh. 
 Richard rose to his feet promptly. He had never 
 so pleased in all his life to welcome his sister.
 
 268 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Flossie," he exclaimed, " I'm ever so glad you 
 came along! I want to present Miss Grex to you. 
 This is my sister, Miss Fedora Lady Weybourne. 
 I was just going to ask Miss Grex to have some tea 
 with me," he went on, " but I am not sure that she 
 would have considered it proper. Do come along 
 and be chaperone." 
 
 Lady Weybourne laughed. 
 
 " I shall be delighted," she declared. " I have 
 seen you here once or twice before, haven't I, Miss 
 Grex, and some one told me that you were Russian. 
 I suppose you are not in the least used to the free 
 and easy ways of us Westerners, but you'll come and 
 have some tea with us, won't you ? " 
 
 The girl hesitated. Fate was too strong for 
 her. 
 
 " I shall be very pleased," she agreed. 
 
 They found a window table and Lane ordered tea. 
 Fedora was inclined to be silent at first, but Lady 
 Weybourne was quite content to chatter. By de- 
 grees Fedora, too, came back to earth and they had 
 a very gay little tea-party. At the end of it they 
 all strolled back into the rooms together. Fedora 
 glanced at the watch upon her wrist and held out 
 her hand to Lady Weybourne. 
 
 " I am sorry," she said, " but I must hurry away 
 now. It is very kind of you to ask me to come and 
 see you, Lady Weybourne. I shall be charmed." 
 
 Richard ignored her fingers. 
 
 " I am going to see you down to your car, if I 
 may," he begged. 
 
 They left the room together. She looked at him 
 as they descended the stairs, almost tremulously.
 
 EXTRAORDINARY LOVE-MAKING 269 
 
 ** This doesn't mean, you know," she said, " that I 
 that I agree to all you have been saying." 
 
 " It needn't mean anything at all, dear," he re- 
 plied. " This is only the beginning. I don't expect 
 you to realise all that I have realised quite so 
 quickly, but I do want you to keep it in your mind 
 that this thing has come and that it can't be got rid 
 of. I won't do anything foolish. If it is necessary 
 I will wait, but I am your lover now, as I always 
 must be." 
 
 He handed her into the car, the footman, in his 
 long white livery, standing somberly on one side. 
 As they drove off she gave him her fingers, and he 
 walked back up the steps with the smile upon his lips 
 that comes to a man only once or twice in his life- 
 time.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 PLA.YING FOE HIGH STAKES 
 
 Violet glanced at her watch with an exclamation 
 of dismayed annoyance. She leaned appealingly to- 
 wards the croupier. 
 
 " But one coup more, monsieur," she pleaded. 
 " Indeed your clock is fast." 
 
 The croupier shook his head. He was a man of 
 gallantry o far as his profession permitted, and he 
 was a great admirer of the beautiful Englishwoman, 
 but the rules of the Club were strict. 
 
 " Madame," he pointed out, " it is already five 
 minutes past eight. It is absolutely prohibited that 
 we start another coup after eight o'clock. If ma- 
 dame will return at ten o'clock, the good fortune will 
 without doubt be hers." 
 
 She looked up at Draconmeyer, who was standing 
 at her elbow. 
 
 " Did you ever know anything more hatefully pro- 
 voking ! " she complained. " For two hours the luck 
 has been dead against me. But for a few of my 
 carres turning up, I don't know what would have 
 happened. And now at last my numbers arrive. 
 I win en plein and with all the carres and chevaux. 
 This time it was twenty-seven. I win two carres 
 and I move to twenty, and he will not go on."
 
 PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES 271 
 
 " It is the rule," Draconmeyer reminded her. " It 
 is bad fortune, though. I have been watching the 
 run of the table. Things have been coming more 
 your way all the time. I think that the end of your 
 ill-luck has arrived. Tell me, are you hungry ? " 
 
 " Not in the least," she answered pettishly. " I 
 hate the very thought of dinner." 
 
 " Then why do we not go on to the Casino ? " Dra- 
 conmeyer suggested. " We can have a sandwich 
 and a glass of wine there, and you can continue your 
 vein." 
 
 She rose to her feet with alacrity. Her face was 
 beaming. 
 
 " My friend," she exclaimed, " you are inspired ! 
 It is a brilliant idea. I know that it will bring me 
 fortune. To the Cercle Prive, by all means. I am 
 so glad that you are one of those men who are not 
 dependent upon dinner. But what about Linda ? " 
 
 " She is not expecting me, as it happens," Dra- 
 conmeyer lied smoothly. " I told her that I might 
 be dining at the Villa Mimosa. I have to be there 
 later on." 
 
 Violet gathered up her money, stuffed it into her 
 gold bag and hurried off for her cloak. She reap- 
 peared in a few moments and smiled very graciously 
 at Draconmeyer. 
 
 '* It is quite a wonderful idea of yours, this," she 
 declared. " I am looking forward immensely to my 
 next few coups. I feel in a winning vein. Very 
 soon," she added, as they stepped out on to the pave- 
 ment and she gathered up her skirts, " very soon I 
 am quite sure that I shall be asking you for my 
 cheques back again."
 
 272 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He laughed, as though she had been a child speak- 
 ing of playthings. 
 
 " I am not sure that I shall wish you luck," he 
 said. " I think that I like to feel that you are a lit- 
 tle just a very little in my debt. Do you think 
 that I should be a severe creditor? " 
 
 Something in his voice disturbed her vaguely, but 
 she brushed the thought away. Of course he ad- 
 mired her, but then every woman must have admirers. 
 It only remained for her to be clever enough to keep 
 him at arm's length. She had no fear for herself. 
 
 " I haven't thought about the matter at all," she 
 answered carelessly, " but to me all creditors would 
 be the same, whether they were kind or unkind. I 
 hate the feeling of owing anything." 
 
 " It is a question," he observed, " how far one can 
 be said to owe anything to those who are really 
 friends. A husband, for instance. One can't keep 
 a ledger account with him." 
 
 " A husband is a different matter altogether," she 
 asserted coldly. " Now I wonder whether we shall 
 find my favourite table full. Anyhow, I am going 
 to play at the one nearest the entrance on the right- 
 hand side. There is a little croupier there whom I 
 like." 
 
 They passed up through the entrance and across 
 the floor of the first suite of rooms to the Cercle 
 Prive. Violet looked eagerly towards the table of 
 which she had spoken. To her joy there was plenty 
 of room. 
 
 " My favourite seat is empty ! " she exclaimed. 
 " I know that I am going to be lucky." 
 
 " I think that I shall play myself, for a change,"
 
 PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES 273 
 
 Draconmeyer announced, producing a great roll of 
 notes. 
 
 " Whenever you feel that you would like to go 
 down and have something, don't mind me, will you? " 
 she begged. " You can come back and talk to 
 me at any time. I am not in the least hungry 
 
 yet." 
 
 " Very well," he agreed. " Good luck to you ! " 
 
 They played at opposite sides of the table. For 
 an hour she won and he lost. Once she called him 
 over to her side. 
 
 " I scarcely dare to tell you," she whispered, her 
 eyes gleaming, " but I have won back the first thou- 
 sand pounds. I shall give it to you to-night. Here, 
 take it now." 
 
 He shook his head and waved it away. 
 
 " I haven't the cheques with me," he protested. 
 " Besides, it is bad luck to part with any of your 
 winnings while you are still playing." 
 
 He watched her for a minute or two. She still 
 
 won. 
 
 M 
 
 Take my advice," he said earnestly. " Play 
 higher. You have had a most unusual run of bad 
 luck. The tide has turned. Make the most of it. 
 I have lost ten mille. I am going to have a try your 
 side of the table." 
 
 He found a vacant chair a few places lower down, 
 and commenced playing in maximums. From the 
 moment of his arrival he began to win, and simultane- 
 ously Violet began to lose. Her good-fortune de- 
 serted her absolutely, and for the first time she 
 showed signs of losing her self-control. She gave 
 vent to little exclamations of disgust as stake after
 
 274 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 stake was swept away. Her eyes were much too 
 bright, there was a spot of colour in her cheeks. She 
 spoke angrily to a croupier who delayed handing her 
 some change. Draconmeyer, although he knew per- 
 fectly well what was happening, never seemed to 
 glance in her direction. He played with absolute 
 recklessness for half-an-hour. When at last he rose 
 from his seat and joined her, his hands were full of 
 notes. He smiled ever so faintly as he saw the 
 covetous gleam in her eyes. 
 
 " I'm nearly broken," she gasped. " Leave off 
 playing, please, for a little time. " You've changed 
 my luck." 
 
 He obeyed, standing behind her chair. Three 
 more coups she played and lost. Then she thrust 
 her hand into her bag and drew it out, empty. She 
 was suddenly pale. 
 
 " I have lost my last louis," she declared. " I 
 don't understand it. It seemed as though I must 
 win here." 
 
 " So you will in time," he assured her confidently. 
 " How much will you have ten mille or twenty ? " 
 
 She shrank back, but the sight of the notes in his 
 hand fascinated her. She glanced up at him. His 
 pallor was unchanged, there was no sign of exulta- 
 tion in his face. Only his eyes seemed a little 
 brighter than usual beneath his gold-rimmed spec- 
 tacles. 
 
 " No, give me ten," she said. 
 
 She took them from his hand and changed them 
 quickly into plaques. Her first coup was partially 
 successful. He leaned closer over her. 
 
 " Remember," he pointed out, " that you only
 
 PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES 275 
 
 need to win once in a dozen times and you do well. 
 Don't be in such a hurry." 
 
 " Of course," she murmured. " Of course ! One 
 forgets that. It is all a matter of capital." 
 
 He strolled away to another table. Wihen he 
 came back, she was sitting idle in her place, restless 
 and excited, but still full of confidence. 
 
 " I am a little to the good," she told him, " but I 
 have left off for a few minutes. The very low num- 
 bers are turning up and they are no use to me." 
 
 " Come and have that sandwich," he begged. 
 " You really ought to take something." 
 
 " The place shall be kept for madame," the crou- 
 pier whispered. " I shall be here for another two 
 hours." 
 
 She nodded and rose. They made their way out 
 of the Rooms and down into the restaurant on the 
 ground-floor. They found a little table near the 
 wall and he ordered some pate sandwiches and cham- 
 pagne. Whilst they waited she counted up her 
 money, making calculations on a slip of paper. Dra- 
 conmeyer leaned back in his chair, watching her. 
 His back was towards the door and they were at 
 the end table. He permitted himself the luxury of 
 looking at her almost greedily ; of dropping, for a 
 few moments, the mask which he placed always upon 
 his features in her presence. In his way the man 
 was an artist, a great collector of pictures and 
 bronzes, a real lover and seeker after perfection. 
 Often he found himself wandering towards his little 
 gallery, content to stand about and gloat over some 
 of his most treasured possessions. Yet the man's 
 personality clashed often with his artistic preten-
 
 276 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 sions. He scarcely ever found himself amongst his 
 belongings without realising the existence of a curi- 
 ous feeling, wholly removed from the pure artistic 
 pleasure of their contemplation. It was the sense 
 of ownership which thrilled him. Something of the 
 same sensation was upon him now. She was the sort 
 of woman he had craved for always slim, elegant, 
 and what to him, with his quick powers of observa- 
 tion, counted for so much, she was modish, reflecting 
 in her presence, her dress and carriage, even her 
 speech, the best type of the prevailing fashion. She 
 excited comment wherever she appeared. People, as 
 he knew very well even now, were envying him his 
 companion. And beneath it all she, the woman, 
 was there. All his life he had fought for the big 
 things political power, immense wealth, the confi- 
 dence of his great master all these had come to him 
 easily. And at that moment they were like bau- 
 bles! 
 
 She looked up at last and there was a slight frown 
 upon her forehead. 
 
 " I am still a little down, starting from where I 
 had the ten mille," she sighed. " I thought " 
 
 She stopped short. There was a curious change 
 in her face. Her eyes were fixed upon some person 
 approaching. Draconmeyer turned quickly in his 
 chair. Almost as he did so, Hunterleys paused be- 
 fore their table. Violet looked up at him with quiv- 
 ering lips. For a moment it seemed as though she 
 were stepping out of her sordid surroundings. 
 
 " Henry ! " she exclaimed. " Did you come to 
 look for me ? Did you know that we were here ? ** 
 
 "How should I?" he answered calmly. "I was
 
 PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES 277 
 
 strolling around with David Briston. We are at 
 the Opera." 
 
 " At the Opera," she repeated. 
 
 " My little protegee, Felicia Roche, is singing," he 
 went on, " in A'ida. If she does as well in the next act 
 as she has done in this, her future is made." 
 
 He was on the point of adding the news of Felicia's 
 engagement to the young man who had momentarily 
 deserted him. Some evil chance changed his inten- 
 tion. 
 
 "Why do you call her your little protegee? " she 
 demanded. 
 
 " It isn't quite correct, is it ? " he answered, a lit- 
 tle absently. " There are three or four of us who 
 are doing what we can to look after her. Her fa- 
 ther was a prominent member of the Wigwam Club. 
 The girl won the musical scholarship we have there. 
 She has more than repaid us for our trouble, I am 
 glad to say." 
 
 " I have no doubt that she has," Violet replied, 
 lifting her eyes. 
 
 There was a moment's silence. The signifi- 
 cance of her words was entirely lost upon Hunter- 
 leys. 
 
 " Isn't this rather a new departure of yours ? " 
 he asked, glancing disdainfully towards Draconmeyer. 
 " I thought that you so much preferred to play at 
 the Club." 
 
 " So I do," she assented, " but I was just begin- 
 ning to win when the Club closed at eight o'clock, 
 and so we came on here." 
 
 " Your good fortune continues, I hope? " 
 
 " It varies," she answered hurriedly, " but it will
 
 278 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 come, I am sure. I have been very near a big win 
 more than once." 
 
 He seemed on the point of departure. She leaned 
 a little forward. 
 
 " You had my note, Henry? " 
 
 Her tone was almost beseeching. Draconmeyer, 
 who was listening with stony face, shivered imper- 
 ceptibly. 
 
 " Thank you, yes," Hunterleys replied, frowning 
 slightly. " I am sorry, but I am not at liberty to 
 do what you suggest just at present. I wish you 
 good fortune." 
 
 He turned around and walked back to the other 
 end of the room, where Briston was standing at the 
 bar. She looked after him for a moment as though 
 she failed to understand his words. Then her face 
 hardened. Draconmeyer leaned towards her. 
 
 " Shall we go? " he suggested. 
 
 She rose with alacrity. Side by side they strolled 
 through the rooms towards the Cercle Prive. 
 
 " I am sorry," Draconmeyer said regretfully, " but 
 I am forced to leave you now. I will take you back 
 to your place and after that I must go to the hotel 
 and change. I have a reception to attend. I wish 
 you would take the rest of my winnings and see what 
 you can do with them." 
 
 She shook her head vigorously. 
 
 " No, thank you," she declared. " I have 
 enough." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " I have twenty-five mille here in my pocket," he 
 continued, " besides some smaller change. I don't 
 think it is quite fair to leave so much money about
 
 PLAYING FOR HIGH STAKES ay 
 
 in one's room or to carry it out into the country. 
 Keep it for me. You won't need to play with it 
 I can see that your luck is in but it always gives 
 one confidence to feel that one has a reserve stock, 
 something to fall back upon if necessary." 
 
 He drew the notes from his pocket and held them 
 towards her. Her eyes were fixed upon them covet- 
 ously. The thought of all that money actually in 
 her possession was wildly exhilarating. 
 
 " I will take care of them for you, if you like," she 
 said. " I shall not play with them, though. I owe 
 you quite enough already and my losing days are 
 over." 
 
 He stuffed the notes carelessly into her bag. 
 
 " Twenty-five mille," he told her. " Remember 
 my advice. If the luck stays with you, stake max- 
 imums. Go for the big things." 
 
 She looked at him curiously as she closed her gold 
 bag with a snap. 
 
 " After all," she declared, with a little laugh, " I 
 am not sure that you are not the greater gambler of 
 the two to trust me with all this money ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 TO THE VILLA MIMOSA 
 
 With feet that seemed to touch nothing more sub- 
 stantial than air, her eyes brilliant, a wonderful col- 
 our in her cheeks, Violet passed through the heavy, 
 dingy rooms and out through the motley crowd into 
 the portico of the Casino. She was right! She 
 knew that she had been right! How wise she had 
 been to borrow that money from Mr. Draconmeyer 
 instead of sitting down and confessing herself van- 
 quished! The last few hours had been hours of ec- 
 static happiness. With calm confidence she had sat 
 in her place and watched her numbers coming up 
 with marvellous persistence. It was the most won- 
 derful thing in the world, this. She had had no time 
 to count her winnings, but at least she knew that she 
 could pay back every penny she owed. Her little 
 gold satchel was stuffed with notes and plaques. 
 She felt suddenly younger, curiously lighthearted ; 
 hungry, too, and thirsty. She was, in short, experi- 
 encing almost a delirium of pleasure. And just then, 
 on the steps of the Casino, she came face to face 
 with her husband. 
 
 " Henry ! " she called out. " Henry ! " 
 He turned abruptly around. He was looking 
 troubled, and in his hand were the fragments of a 
 crushed up note.
 
 TO THE VILLA MIMOSA 281 
 
 " Come across to the hotel with me," she begged, 
 forgetful of everything except her own immense re- 
 lief. " Come and help me count. I have been win- 
 ning. I have won back everything." 
 
 He accepted the information with only a polite 
 show of interest. After all, as she reflected after- 
 wards, he had no idea upon what scale she had been 
 gambling ! 
 
 " I am delighted to hear it," he answered. " I'll 
 see you across the road, if I may, but I have only a 
 few minutes to spare. I have an appointment." 
 
 She was acutely disappointed; unreasonably, furi- 
 ously angry. 
 
 *' An appointment ! " she exclaimed. " At half- 
 past eleven o'clock at night! Are you waiting for 
 Felicia Roche?" 
 
 " Is there any reason why I should not ? " he asked 
 her gravely. 
 
 She bit her lips hard. They were crossing the 
 road now. After all, it was only a few months since 
 she had bidden him go his own way and leave her to 
 regulate her own friendships. 
 
 " No reason at all," she admitted, " only I cannot 
 see why you choose to advertise yourself with an 
 opera singer you, an ambitious politician, who 
 moves with his head in the clouds, and to whom women 
 are no more than a pastime. Why have you waited 
 all these years to commence a flirtation under my 
 very nose ! " 
 
 He looked at her sternly. 
 
 ** I think that you are a little excited, Violet," he 
 said. " You surely don't realise what you are say- 
 ing."
 
 a82 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Excited ! Tell me once more you got mj t 
 note, the one I wrote this evening? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 His brief reply was convincing. She remembered 
 the few impulsive lines which she had written from 
 her heart in that moment of glad relief. There was 
 no sign in his face that he had been touched. Even 
 at that moment he had drawn out his watch and was 
 looking at it. 
 
 " Thank you for bringing me here," she said, as 
 they stood upon the steps of the hotel. " Don't let 
 me keep you." 
 
 " After all," he decided, " I think that I shaU go 
 up to my room for a minute. Good night ! " 
 
 She looked after him, a little amazed. She was 
 conscious of a feeling of slow anger. His aloofness 
 repelled her, was utterly inexplicable. For once it 
 was she who was being badly treated. Her moment 
 of exhilaration had passed. She sat down in the 
 lounge; her satchel, filled with mille franc notes, lay 
 upon her lap unheeded. She sat there thinking, see- 
 ing nothing of the crowds of fashionably dressed 
 women and men passing in and out of the hotel; 
 of the gaily-lit square outside, the cool green of the 
 gardens, the cafe opposite, the brilliantly-lit Ca- 
 sino. She was back again for a moment in Eng- 
 land. The strain of all this life, whipped into an 
 artificial froth of pleasure by the constant excite- 
 ment of the one accepted vice of the world, had 
 suddenly lost its hold upon her. The inevitable ques- 
 tion had presented itself. She was counting values 
 and realising. . . . 
 
 When at last she rose wearily to her feet, Hunter-
 
 TO THE VILLA MIMOSA 283 
 
 leys was passing through the hall of the hotel, on 
 his way out. She looked at him with aching heart 
 but she made no effort to stop him. He had changed 
 his clothes for a dark suit and he was also wearing 
 a long travelling coat and tweed cap. She watched 
 him wistfully until he had disappeared. Then she 
 turned away, summoned the lift and went up to her 
 rooms. She rang at once for her maid. She would 
 take a bath, she decided, and go to bed early. She 
 would wash all the dust of these places away from 
 her, abjure all manner of excitement and for once 
 sleep peacefully. In the morning she would see 
 Henry once more. Deep in her heart there still 
 lingered some faint shadow of doubt as to Dracon- 
 meyer and his attitude towards her. It was scarcely 
 possible that he could have interfered in any way, 
 and yet. . . . She would talk to her husband face to 
 face, she would tell him the things that were in her 
 heart. 
 
 She rang the bell for the second time. Only the 
 femme de chambre answered the summons. Madame's 
 maid was not to be found. Madame had not once 
 retired so early. It was possible that Susanne had 
 gone out. Could she be of any service? Violet 
 looked at her and hesitated. The woman was 
 clumsy-fingered and none too tidy. She shook her 
 head and sent her away. For a moment she thought 
 of undressing herself. Then instead she opened her 
 satchel and counted the notes. Her breath came 
 more quickly as she looked at the shower of gold 
 and counted the many oblong strips of paper with 
 their magic lettering. At last she had it all in 
 heaps. There were the twenty-five mille he had left
 
 284 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 with her, and the seventy-five mille she had borrowed 
 from him. Then towards her own losses there was 
 another mille, and a matter of five hundred francs 
 in gold. And all this success, her wonderful recov- 
 ery, had been done so easily! It was just because 
 she had had the pluck to go on, because she had fol- 
 lowed her vein. She looked at the money and she 
 walked to the window. Somewhere a band was play- 
 ing in the distance. Little parties of men and women 
 in evening dress were strolling by on their way to 
 the Club. A woman was laughing as she clung to 
 her escort on the opposite side of the road, by the 
 gardens. Across at the Cafe de Paris the people 
 were going in to supper. The spirit of enjoyment 
 seemed to be in the air the light-hearted, fasci- 
 nating, devil-may-care atmosphere she knew so well. 
 Violet looked back into the bedroom and she no longer 
 had the impulse to sleep. Her face had hardened 
 a little. Every one was so happy and she was so 
 lonely. She stuffed the notes and gold back into 
 her bag, looked at her hat in the glass and touched 
 her face for a moment with a powder-puff. Then 
 she left the room, rang for the lift and descended. 
 
 " I am going into the Club for an hour or so, if 
 I am wanted," she told the concierge as she passed 
 out. 
 
 Hunterleys, on leaving the hotel, walked rapidly 
 across the square and found David waiting for him 
 on the opposite side. 
 
 ** Felicia will be late," the latter explained. " She 
 has to get all that beastly black stuff off her face. 
 She is horribly nervous about Sidney and she doesn't
 
 TO THE VILLA MIMOSA 283 
 
 want you to wait. I think perhaps she is right, too. 
 She told me to tell you that Monsieur Lafont him- 
 self came to her room and congratulated her after 
 the curtain had gone down. She is almost hysterical 
 between happiness and anxiety about Sidney. 
 Where's your man? " 
 
 " I asked him to be a little higher up," Hunterleys 
 replied. " There he is." 
 
 They walked a few steps up the hill and found 
 Richard Lane waiting for them in his car. The 
 long, grey racer looked almost like some submarine 
 monster, with its flaring head-lights and torpedo- 
 shaped body which scarcely cleared the ground. 
 
 " Ready for orders, sir," the young man an- 
 nouced, touching his cap. 
 
 " Is there room for three of us, in case of an emer- 
 gency ? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " The third man has to sit on the floor," Richard 
 pointed out, " but it isn't so comfortable as it looks." 
 
 Hunterleys clambered in and took the vacant place. 
 David Briston lingered by a little wistfully. 
 
 " I feel rather a skunk," he grumbled. " I don't 
 see why I shouldn't come along." 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " There isn't the slightest need for it," he declared 
 firmly. " You go back and look after Felicia. Tell 
 her we'll get Sidney out of this all right. Get away 
 with you, Lane, now." 
 
 "Where to?" 
 
 " To the Villa Mimosa ! " 
 
 Richard whistled as he thrust in his clutch. 
 
 '* So that's the game, is it ? " he murmured, as they 
 glided off.
 
 a86 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Hunterleys leaned towards him. 
 
 " Lane," he said, " don't forget that I warned you 
 there might be a little trouble about to-night. If 
 you feel the slightest hesitation about involving your- 
 self" 
 
 " Shut up ! " Richard interrupted. " Whatever 
 trouble you're ready to face, I'm all for it, too. 
 Darned queer thing that we should be going to the 
 Villa Mimosa, though! I am not exactly a popular 
 person with Mr. Grex, I think." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled. 
 
 " I saw your sister this afternoon," he remarked. 
 " You are rather a wonderful young man." 
 
 " I knew it was all up with me," Richard replied 
 simply, " when I first saw that girl. Now look here, 
 Hunterleys, we are almost there. Tell me exactly 
 what it is you want me to do ? " 
 
 " I want you," Hunterleys explained, " to risk a 
 smash, if you don't mind. I want you to run up to 
 the boundaries of the villa gardens, head your car 
 back for Monte Carlo, and while you are waiting there 
 turn out all your lights." 
 
 " That's easy enough," Richard assented. " I'll 
 turn out the search-light altogether, and my others 
 are electric, worked by a button. Is this an elope- 
 ment act or what? " 
 
 " There's a meeting going on in that villa," Hun- 
 terleys told him, " between prominent politicians of 
 three countries. You don't have to bother much 
 about Secret Service over in the States, although 
 there's more goes on than you know of in that direc- 
 tion. But over here we have to make regular use 
 of Secret Service men spies, if you like to call
 
 TO THE VILLA MIMOSA 287 
 
 them so. The meeting to-night is inimical to Eng- 
 land. It is part of a conspiracy against which I 
 am working. Sidney Roche Felicia Roche's 
 brother who lives here as a newspaper correspon- 
 dent, is in reality one of our best Secret Service men. 
 He is taking terrible chances to-night to learn a little 
 more about the plans which these fellows are dis- 
 cussing. We are here in case he needs our help to get 
 away. We've cleared the shrubs away, close to the 
 spot at which I am going to ask you to wait, and 
 taken the spikes off the fence. It's just a thousand 
 to one chance that if he's hard pressed for it and 
 heads this way, they may think that they have him 
 in a trap and take it quietly. That is to say, they'll 
 wait to capture him instead of shooting." 
 
 " Say, you don't mean this seriously ? " Richard 
 exclaimed. " They can't do more than arrest him 
 as a trespasser, or something of that sort, surely? " 
 
 Hunterleys laughed grimly. 
 
 " These men wouldn't stick at much," he told his 
 companion. " They're hand in glove with the au- 
 thorities here. Anything they did would be hushed 
 up in the name of the law. These things are never 
 allowed to come out. It doesn't do any one any good 
 to have them gossiped about. If they caught Sidney 
 and shot him, we should never make a protest. It's 
 all part of the game, you know. Now that is the 
 spot I want you to stop at, exactly where the mimosa 
 tree leans over the path. But first of all, I'd turn 
 out your head-light." 
 
 They slowed down and stopped. Richard extin- 
 guished the acetylene gas-lamp and mounted again 
 to his place. Then he swung the car round aad
 
 288 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 crawled back upon the reverse until he reached the 
 spot to which Hunterleys had pointed. 
 
 " You're a good fellow, Richard," Hunterleys said 
 softly. " We may have to wait an hour or two, and 
 it may be that nothing will happen, but it's giving 
 the fellow a chance, and it gives him confidence, too, 
 to know that friends are at hand." 
 
 " I'm in the game for all it's worth, anyway," Lane 
 declared heartily. 
 
 He touched a button and the lights faded away. 
 The two men sat in silence, both turned a little in 
 their seats towards the villa.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 FOR HIS COUNTRY 
 
 The minutes glided by as the two men sat together 
 in the perfumed, shadowy darkness. From their 
 feet the glittering canopy of lights swept upwards 
 to the mountain-sides, even to the stars, but a chain 
 of slowly drifting black clouds hung down in front 
 of the moon, and until their eyes became accustomed 
 to their surroundings it seemed to both of them as 
 though they were sitting in a very pit of darkness. 
 
 " It is possible," Hunterleys whispered, after some 
 time, " that we may have to wait for another hour 
 yet." 
 
 Richard was suddenly tense. He sat up, and his 
 foot reached for the self-starter. 
 
 " I don't think you will/' he muttered. " Lis- 
 ten!" 
 
 Almost immediately they were conscious of some 
 commotion in the direction of the villa, followed by a 
 shot and then a cry. 
 
 " Start the engine," Hunterleys directed hoarsely, 
 standing up in his place. " I'm afraid they've got 
 him." 
 
 There were two more shots but no further cry. 
 Then they heard the sound of excited voices and 
 immediately afterwards rapidly approaching foot- 
 steps. A man came crashing through the shrub-
 
 ago MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 bery, but when he reached the fence over which, for 
 a moment, his white face gleamed, he sank down as 
 though powerless to climb. Hunterleys leapt to the 
 ground and rushed to the fence. 
 
 " Hold up, Sidney, old fellow," he called softly. 
 " We're here all right. Hold up for a moment and 
 let me lift you." 
 
 Roche struggled to his feet. His face was ghastly 
 white, the sweat stood out upon his forehead, his 
 lips moved but no words came. Hunterleys got him 
 by the arms, set his teeth and lifted. The task would 
 have been too much for him, but Richard, springing 
 from the car, came to his help. With an effort they 
 hoisted him over the fence. Almost as they did so 
 there was the sound of footsteps dashing through 
 the shrubs, and a shot, the bullet of which tore the 
 bark from the trunk of a tree close at hand. The 
 car leapt off in fourth speed, Sidney supported in 
 Hunterleys' arms. A loud shout from behind only 
 brought Richard's foot down upon the accelerator. 
 
 "Stoop low!" he cried to Hunterleys. "Get 
 your legs in, if you can." 
 
 A bullet struck the back of the car and another 
 whistled over their heads. Then they dashed around 
 the corner, and Richard, turning on the lights, 
 jammed down his accelerator. 
 
 *' Gee whiz ! that's a bloodthirsty crew ! " the 
 young man exclaimed, his eyes fixed upon the road. 
 "Is he hurt?" 
 
 Roche was lying back on the seat. Hunterleys 
 was on his knees, holding on to the framework of the 
 car. 
 
 "They've got me all right, Hunterleys," Roche
 
 FOR HIS COUNTRY 291 
 
 faltered. " Listen. Everything went well with me 
 at first. I could hear nearly everything. The 
 Frenchman kept his mouth shut tight as wax. 
 Grex did most of the talking. Russia sees nothing 
 in the entente England has nothing to offer her. 
 She'd rather keep friends with Germany. Russia 
 wants to move eastward all Persia India. She's 
 only lukewarm, any way, about the French alliance 
 as things stand at present, and dead off any truck 
 with England. There's talk of Constantinople, and 
 Germany to march three army corps through a weak 
 French resistance to Calais. They talked of France 
 acting to her pledges, putting her recruits in the 
 front, taking a slight defeat, making a peace on her 
 own account, with Alsace and Lorraine restored. 
 She can pay. Germany wants the money. Germany 
 Germany " 
 
 The words died away in a little groan. The 
 wounded man's head fell back. Hunterleys passed 
 his arm around the limp figure. 
 
 " Take the first turn to the right and second to 
 the left, Richard," he directed. "We'll drive 
 straight to the hospital. I made friends with the 
 English doctor last night. He promised to be there 
 till three. I paid him a fee on purpose." 
 
 " First to the right," Richard muttered, swinging 
 around. " Second to the left, eh? " 
 
 Hunterleys was holding his brandy flask to Roche's 
 lips as they swung through the white gates and pulled 
 up outside the hospital. The doctor was faithful to 
 his promise, and Roche, who was now unconscious, 
 was carried in. In the hall he was laid upon an am- 
 bulance and borne off by two attendants. Hunter-
 
 2 9 2 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 leys and Lane sat down to wait in the hall. Aftei 
 what seemed to them an interminable half-hour, 
 the doctor reappeared. He came over to them at 
 once. 
 
 " Your friend may live," he announced, " but in 
 any case he will be unconscious for the next twenty- 
 four hours. There is no need for you to stay, or 
 for you to fetch the young lady you spoke of, at 
 present. If he dies, he will die unconscious. I can 
 tell you nothing more until the afternoon." 
 
 Hunterleys rose slowly to his feet. 
 
 " You'll do everything you can, doctor ? " he 
 begged. " Money doesn't count." 
 
 " Money never counts here," the doctor replied 
 gravely. " We shall save him if it is possible. 
 You've nothing to tell me, I suppose, as to how he 
 met with his wound? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 They walked out together into the night. The 
 bank of clouds had drifted away now and the moon 
 was shining. Below them, barely a quarter of a mile 
 away, they could see the flare of lights from the 
 Casino. A woman was laughing hysterically through 
 the open windows of a house on the other side of tht 
 way. Some one was playing a violin in a cafe at the 
 corner of the street. 
 
 " Richard," Hunterleys said, " will you see me 
 through? I have to get to Cannes as fast as I can 
 to send a cable. I daren't send it from here, even in 
 code." 
 
 " I'll drive you to Cannes like a shot," Richard 
 assented heartily. " Just a brandy and soda on our 
 way ou t, and I'll show you some pretty driving."
 
 FOR HIS COUNTRY 295 
 
 They stopped at the Cafe de Paris and left the 
 car under the trees. Both men took a long drink 
 and Richard filled his pocket with cigarettes. Then 
 they re-entered the car, lit up, and glided off on the 
 road for Cannes. Richard had become more serious. 
 His boyish manner and appearance had temporarily 
 gone. He drove, even, with less than his usual reck- 
 lessness. 
 
 " That was a fine fellow," he remarked enthusias- 
 tically, after a long pause, " that fellow Roche ! " 
 
 " And we've many more like him," Hunterleys de- 
 clared. " We've men in every part of the world 
 doing what seems like dirty work, ill-paid work, too, 
 doing it partly, perhaps, because the excitement 
 grows on them and they love it, but always they have 
 to start in cold blood. The papers don't always tell 
 the truth, you know. There's many a death in 
 foreign cities you read of as a suicide, or the re- 
 sult of an accident, when it's really the sacrifice 
 of a hero for his country. It's great work, Rich- 
 ard." 
 
 " Makes me feel kind of ashamed," Richard mut~ 
 tered. " I've never done anything but play around 
 all my life. Anyway, those sort of things don't come 
 to us in our country. America's too powerful and 
 too isolated to need help of that description. We 
 shouldn't have any use for politicians of your class, 
 or for Secret Service men." 
 
 " If you're in earnest," Hunterleys advised, " you 
 go to Washington and ask them about it some day. 
 The time's coming, if it hasn't already arrived, when 
 your country will have to develop a different class 
 of politicians. You see, whether she wants it or not,
 
 994 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 she is coming into touch, through Asia and South 
 America, with European interests, and if she does, 
 she'll have to adopt their methods more or less. Poor 
 old Roche ! There was something more he wanted to 
 say, and if it's what I've been expecting, your country 
 was in it." 
 
 " I guess I'll take Fedora over for our honeymoon," 
 Richard decided softly. " Don't see why I shouldn't 
 come into one of the Embassies. I'm a bit of a hulk 
 to go about the world doing nothing." 
 
 Hunterleys laughed quietly. 
 
 " My young friend," he said, " aren't you taking 
 your marriage prospects a little for granted? May 
 I be there when you ask Augustus Nicholas Ivan 
 Peter, Grand Duke of Vassura, Prince of Melinkoff, 
 cousin of His Imperial Majesty the Czar, for the 
 hand of his daughter in marriage ! " 
 
 "So that's it, is it?" Lane murmured. "Why 
 didn't you tell me before? " 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. He gazed steadfastly 
 along the road in front of him. 
 
 " It wasn't to my interest to have it known too gen- 
 erally," he said, " and I am afraid your little love 
 affair didn't strike me as being of much importance 
 by the side of the other things. But you've earned 
 the truth, if it's any use to you." 
 
 " Well," Richard observed, " I wasn't counting on 
 having any witnesses, but you can come along if you 
 like. I suppose," he added, " I shall have to do him 
 the courtesy of asking his permission, but " 
 
 " But what ? " Hunterleys asked curiously. 
 
 They were on a long stretch of straight, white 
 road. Richard looked for a moment up to the sky,
 
 FOR HIS COUNTRY 295 
 
 and Hunterleys, watching him, was amazed at the 
 transformation. 
 
 " There isn't a Grand Duke or a Prince or an Im- 
 perial Majesty alive," he said, " who could rob me 
 of Fedora!"
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 ** SUPPOSING I TAKE THIS MONEY " 
 
 There was a momentary commotion in the Club. 
 A woman had fainted at one of the roulette tables. 
 Her chair was quickly drawn back. She was helped 
 out to the open space at the top of the stairs and 
 placed in an easy-chair there. Lady Weyborne, who 
 was on the point of leaving with her husband, has- 
 tened back. She stood there while the usual restora- 
 tives were being administered, fanning the uncon- 
 scious woman with a white ostrich fan which hung 
 from her waist. Presently Violet opened her eyes. 
 She recognised Lady Weybourne and smiled weakly. 
 
 " I am so sorry," she murmured. " It was silly 
 of me to stay in here so long. I went without my 
 dinner, too, which was rather idiotic." 
 
 A man who had announced himself a doctor, bent 
 over her pulse and turned away. 
 
 " The lady will be quite all right now," he said. 
 ** You can give her brandy and soda if she feels like 
 it. Pardon ! " 
 
 He hastened back to his place at the baccarat 
 table. Lady Hunterleys sat up. 
 
 " It was quite absurd of me," she declared. " I 
 don't know what " 
 
 She stopped suddenly. The weight was once more
 
 " SUPPOSING I TAKE THIS MONEY " 297 
 
 upon her heart, the blankness before her eyes. She 
 remembered ! 
 
 " I am quite able to go home now," she added.' 
 
 Her gold bag lay upon her lap. It was almost 
 empty. She looked at it vacantly and then closed 
 the snap. 
 
 "We'll see you back to the hotel," Lady Wey- 
 bourne said soothingly. " Here comes Harry with 
 the brandy and soda." 
 
 Lord Weybourne came hurrying from the bar, a 
 tumbler in his hand. 
 
 " How nice of you ! " Violet exclaimed gratefully. 
 " Really, I feel that this is just what I need. I won- 
 der what time it is ? " 
 
 " Half past four," Lord Weybourne announced, 
 glancing at his watch. 
 
 She laughed weakly. 
 
 " How stupid of me ! I have been between here 
 and the Casino for nearly twelve hours, and had 
 nothing to eat. No, I won't have anything here, 
 thanks," she added, as Lord Weybourne started back 
 again for the bar, muttering something about a sand- 
 wich. " I'll have something in my room. If you 
 are going back to the hotel, perhaps I could come 
 with you." 
 
 They all three left the place together, passing 
 along the private way. 
 
 " I haven't seen your brother all day," Violet re- 
 marked to Lady Weybourne. 
 
 " Richard's gone off somewhere in the car to-night, 
 a most mysterious expedition," his sister declared. 
 " I began to think that it must be an elopement, but 
 I see the yacht's there still, and he would surely
 
 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 choose the yacht in preference to a motor-car, if he 
 were running off with anybody! Your husband 
 doesn't come into the rooms much? " 
 
 Violet shook her head. 
 
 /" He hasn't the gambling instinct," she said 
 quietly. " Perhaps he is just as well without it. 
 One gets a lot of amusement out of this playing for 
 small stakes, but it is irritating to lose. Thank 
 you so much for looking after me," she added, as 
 they reached the hall of the hotel. " I am quite 
 all right now and my woman will be sitting up for 
 me." 
 
 She passed into the lift. Lady Weybourne looked 
 after her admiringly. 
 
 " Say, she's got some pluck, Harry ! " she mur- 
 mured. " They say she lost nearly a hundred mille 
 to-night and she never even mentioned her losings. 
 Irritating, indeed ! I wonder what Sir Henry thinks 
 of it. They are only moderately well off." 
 
 Her husband shrugged his shoulders, after the 
 fashion of his sex. 
 
 " Let us hope," he said, " that it is Sir Henry who 
 suffers." 
 
 Violet slipped out of her gown and dismissed her 
 maid. In her dressing-gown she sat before the open 
 window. Everywhere the place seemed steeped in 
 the faint violet and purple light preceding the dawn. 
 Away eastwards she could catch a glimpse of the 
 mountains, their peaks cut sharply against the soft, 
 deep sky; a crystalline glow, the first herald of the 
 hidden sunrise, hanging about their summits. The 
 gentle breeze from the Mediterranean was cool and
 
 " SUPPOSING I TAKE THIS MONEY " 299 
 
 sweet. There were many lights still gleaming upon 
 the sea, but their effect now seemed tawdry. She sat 
 there, her head resting upon her hands. She had 
 the feeling of being somehow detached from the whole 
 world of visible objects, as though, indeed, she were 
 on her death-bed. Surely it was not possible to pass 
 any further through life than this ! In her thoughts 
 she went back to the first days of estrangement be- 
 tween her husband and herself. Almost before she 
 realised it, she found herself struggling against the 
 tenderness which still survived, which seemed at that 
 moment to be tearing at her heart-strings. He had 
 ceased to care, she told herself. It was all too ap- 
 parent that he had ceased to care. He was amusing 
 himself elsewhere. Her little impulsive note had not 
 won even a kind word from him. Her appeals, on 
 one excuse or another, had been disregarded. She 
 had lost her place in his life, thrown it away, she 
 told herself bitterly. And in its stead what! A 
 new fear of Draconmeyer was stealing over her. He 
 presented himself suddenly as an evil genius. She 
 went back through the last few days. Her brain 
 seemed unexpectedly clear, her perceptions unerring. 
 She saw with hateful distinctness how he had forced 
 this money upon her, how he had encouraged her 
 all the time to play beyond her means. She real- 
 ised the cunning with which he had left that last 
 bundle of notes in her keeping. Well, there the facts 
 were. She owed him now four thousand pounds. 
 She had no money of her own, she was already over- 
 drawn with her allowance. There was no chance of 
 paying him. She realised, with a little shudder, that 
 he did not want payment, a realisation which had
 
 300 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 come to her dimly from the first, but which she had 
 pushed away simply because she had felt sure of 
 winning. Now there was the price to be paid ! She 
 leaned further out of the window. Away to her left 
 the glow over the mountains was becoming stained 
 with the faintest of pinks. She looked at it long, 
 with mute and critical appreciation. She swept with 
 her eyes the line of violet shadows from the moun- 
 tain-tops to the sea-board, where the pale lights 
 of Bordighera still flickered. She looked up again 
 from the dark blue sea to the paling stars. It was 
 all wonderful theatrical, perhaps, but wonderful 
 and how she hated it ! She stood up before the 
 window and with her clenched fists she beat against 
 the sills. Those long days and feverish nights 
 through which she had passed slowly unfolded them- 
 selves. In those few moments she seemed to taste 
 again the dull pain of constant disappointment, the 
 hectic thrills of occasional winnings, the strange, dull 
 inertia which had taken the place of resignation. 
 She looked into the street below. How long would 
 she live afterwards, she wondered, if she threw her- 
 self down! She began even to realise the state of 
 mind which breeds suicides, the brooding over a mor- 
 row too hateful to be faced. 
 
 As she still stood there, the silence of the street 
 below was broken. A motor-car swung round the 
 corner and swept past the side of the hotel. She 
 caught at the curtain as she recognised its occu- 
 pants. Richard Lane was driving, and by his side 
 sat her husband. The car was covered with dust, 
 both men seemed weary as though they had been 
 out all night. She gazed after them with fast-beat-
 
 " SUPPOSING I TAKE THIS MONEY " 301 
 
 ing heart. She had pictured her husband at the 
 villa on the hill! Where had he been with Richard 
 Lane? Perhaps, after all, the things which she had 
 imagined were not true. The car had stopped now 
 at the front door. It returned a moment later on 
 its way to the garage, with only Lane driving. She 
 opened her door and stood there silently. Hunter- 
 leys would have to pass the end of the corridor if 
 he came up by the main lift. She waited with fast 
 beating heart. The seconds passed. Then she 
 heard the rattle of the lift ascending, its click as it 
 stopped, and soon afterwards the footsteps of a man. 
 He was coming coming past the corner ! At that 
 moment she felt that the sound of his footsteps was 
 like the beating of fate. They came nearer and she 
 shrank a little back. There was something unfamil- 
 iar about them. Whoever it might be, it was not 
 Henry ! And then suddenly Draconmeyer came into 
 sight. He saw her standing there and stopped short. 
 Then he came rapidly near. 
 
 " Lady Hunterleys ! " he exclaimed softly. " You 
 still up?" 
 
 She hesitated. Then she stood on one side, still 
 grasping the handle of the door. 
 
 " Do you want to come in ? " she asked. " You 
 may. I have something to say to you. Perhaps I 
 shall sleep better if I say it now." 
 
 He stepped quickly past her. 
 
 " Close the door," he whispered cautiously. 
 
 She obeyed him deliberately. 
 
 " There is no hurry," she said. " This is my sit- 
 ting-room. I receive whom I choose here." 
 
 " But it is nearly six o'clock ! " he exclaimed.
 
 302 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " That does not affect me," she answered, shrug- 
 ging her shoulders. " Sit down." 
 
 He obeyed. There was something changed about 
 her, something which he did not recognise. She 
 thrust her hands into a box of cigarettes, took one 
 out and lit it. She leaned against the table, facing 
 him. 
 
 " Listen," she continued, " I have borrowed from 
 you three thousand pounds. You left with me to- 
 night I don't know whether you meant to lend it 
 to me or whether I had it on trust, but you left it 
 in my charge another thousand pounds. I have 
 lost it all all, you understand the four thou- 
 sand pounds and every penny I have of my own." 
 
 He sat quite still. He was watching her through 
 his gold-rimmed spectacles. There was the slightest 
 possible frown upon his forehead. The time for 
 talking of money as though it were a trifle had 
 passed. 
 
 " That is a great deal," he said. 
 
 " It is a great deal," she admitted. " I owe it to 
 you and I cannot pay. What are you going to 
 do?" 
 
 He watched her eagerly. There was a new note 
 in her voice. He paused to consider what it might 
 mean. A single false step now and he might lose all 
 that he had striven for. 
 
 " How am I to answer that ? " he asked softly. 
 " I will answer it first in the way that seems most 
 natural. I will beg you to accept your losings as 
 a little gift from me as a proof, if you will, of my 
 friendship." 
 
 He had saved the situation. If he had obeyed his
 
 "SUPPOSING I TAKE THIS MONEY" 303 
 
 first impulse, the affair would have been finished. 
 He realised it as he watched her face, and he shud- 
 dered at the thought of his escape. His words ob- 
 viously disturbed her. 
 
 " It is not possible for me," she protested, " to 
 accept money from you." 
 
 " Not from Linda's husband? " 
 
 She threw her cigarette into the grate and stood 
 looking at him, 
 
 " Do you offer it to me as Linda's husband? " she 
 demanded. 
 
 It was a crisis for which Draconmeyer was scarcely 
 prepared. He was driven out of his pusillanimous 
 compromise. She was pressing him hard for the 
 truth. Again the fear of losing her altogether terri- 
 fied him. 
 
 " If I have other feelings of which I have not 
 spoken," he said quietly, " have I not kept them to 
 myself? Do I obtrude them upon you even now? 
 I am content to wait." 
 
 " To wait for what ? " she insisted. 
 
 All that had been in his mind seemed suddenly 
 miraged before him the removal of Hunterleys, his 
 own wife's failing health. The way had seemed so 
 clear only a little time ago, and now the clouds were 
 back again. 
 
 " Until you appreciate the fact," he told her, 
 ** that you have no more sincere friend, that there is 
 no one who values your happiness more than I do." 
 
 " Supposing I take this money from you," she 
 asked, after a moment's pause. " Are there any con- 
 ditions ? " 
 
 "None whatever," he answered.
 
 304 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She turned away with a little sigh. The tragedy 
 which a few minutes ago she had seen looming up, 
 eluded her. She had courted a denouement in vain. 
 He was too clever. 
 
 " You are very generous," she said. " We will 
 speak of this to-morrow. I called you in because 
 I could not bear the uncertainty of it all. Please go 
 now." 
 
 He rose slowly to his feet. She gave him her 
 hand lifelessly. He kept it for a moment. She 
 drew it away and looked at the place where his lips 
 had touched it, wonderingly. It was as though her 
 fingers had been scorched with fire. 
 
 " It shall be to-morrow," he whispered, as he 
 passed out.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 NEAEING A CRISIS 
 
 From the wilds of Scotland to Monte Carlo, as 
 fast as motor-cars and train de luxe could bring 
 him, came the right Honourable Meredith Simpson, 
 a very distinguished member of His Majesty's Gov- 
 ernment. Hunterleys, advised of his coming by tele- 
 gram from Marseilles, met him at the station, and 
 together the two men made their way at once to 
 Hunterleys' room across at the Hotel de Paris. 
 Behind locked doors they spoke for the first time of 
 important matters. 
 
 " It's a great find, this of yours, Hunterleys," the 
 Minister acknowledged, " and it is corroborated, too, 
 by what we know is happening around us. We have 
 had all the warning in the world just lately. The 
 Russian Ambassador is in St. Petersburg on leave of 
 absence in fact for the last six months he has been 
 taking his duties remarkably lightly. Tell me how 
 you first heard of the affair? " 
 
 " I got wind of it in Sofia," Hunterleys explained. 
 " I travelled from there quite quietly, loitered about 
 the Italian Riviera, and came on here as a tourist. 
 The only help I could get hold of here was from 
 Sidney Roche, who, as you know, is one of our Se- 
 cret Service men. Roche, I am sorry to say, was
 
 306 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 shot last night. He may live but he won't be well 
 enough to take any further hand in the game here, 
 and I have no one to take his place." 
 
 " Roche shot ! " Mr. Simpson exclaimed, in a 
 shocked tone. " How did it happen ? " 
 
 " They found him lying on the roof of the Villa 
 Mimosa, just over the room where the meeting was 
 taking place," Hunterleys replied. " They chased 
 him round the grounds and we just got him off in a 
 motor-car, but not before he'd been hit twice. He 
 was just able to tell me a little. The first meeting 
 was quite informal and very guarded. Douaille was 
 most cautious he was there only to listen. The 
 second meeting was last night. Grex was in the 
 chair, representing Russia." 
 
 " You mean the Grand Duke Augustus ? " Mr. 
 Simpson interrupted. 
 
 Hunterleys nodded. 
 
 " Grex is the name he is living under here. He 
 explained Russia's position. Poor Roche was only 
 able to falter a few words, but what he said was 
 enough to give us the key-note to the whole thing. 
 The long and short of it all is that Russia turned 
 her face westward so long as Constantinople was 
 possible. Now that this war has come about and 
 ended as it has done, Russia's chance hus gone. 
 There is no longer any quid pro quo for her alli- 
 ance with France. There is no friendship, of course, 
 between Russia and Germany, but at any rate Rus- 
 sia has nothing to fear from Germany, and she knows 
 it. Grex is quite frank. They must look eastward, 
 he said, and when he says eastward, he means Man- 
 churia, China, Persia, even India. At the same time,
 
 NEARING A CRISIS 307 
 
 Russia has a conscience, even though it be a diplo- 
 matic conscience. Hence this conference. She 
 doesn't want France crushed. Germany has a 
 proposition. It has been enunciated up to a cer- 
 tain point. She confers Alsace and Lorraine and 
 possibly Egypt upon France, for her neutrality 
 whilst she destroys the British Fleet. Or failing her 
 neutrality, she wants her to place a weak army on the 
 frontier, which can fall back without much loss before 
 a German advance. Germany's objective then will 
 be Calais and not Paris, and from there she will com- 
 mand the Straits and deal with the British Fleet at 
 her leisure. Meanwhile, she will conclude peace with 
 France on highly advantageous terms. Don't you 
 see what it means, Simpson? The elementary part 
 of the thing is as simple as A B C. Germany has 
 nothing to gain from Russia, she has nothing to gain 
 from France. England is the only country who can 
 give her what she wants. That is about as far as 
 they have got, up to now, but there is something fur- 
 ther behind it all. That, Selingman is to tell them 
 to-night." 
 
 " The most important point about the whole mat- 
 ter, so far as we are concerned," Mr. Simpson de- 
 clared, " is Douaille's attitude. You have received 
 no indication of that, I suppose? " 
 
 " None whatever," Hunterleys answered. " I 
 thought of paying my respects, but after all, you 
 know, I have no official standing, and personally we 
 are almost strangers." 
 
 The Minister nodded. 
 
 " It's a difficult position," he confessed. " Havr 
 you copies of your reports to London? "
 
 308 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " I have copies of them, and full notes of every- 
 thing that has transpired so far, in a strong box up 
 at the bank," Hunterleys assented. " We can stroll 
 up there after lunch and I will place all the docu- 
 ments in your hands. You can look them through 
 then and decide what is best to be done." 
 
 The Minister rose to his feet. 
 
 " I shall go round to my rooms, change my 
 clothes," he announced, " and meet you presently. 
 We'll lunch across at Giro's, eh? I didn't mean to 
 come to Monte Carlo this year, but so long as I am 
 here, I may as well make the best of it. You are not 
 looking as though the change had done you much 
 good, Hunterleys." 
 
 " The last few days," Hunterleys remarked, a 
 little drily, " have not been exactly in the nature of 
 a holiday." 
 
 " Are you here alone ? " 
 
 " I came alone. I found my wife here by accident. 
 She came through with the Draconmeyers. They 
 were supposed to stay at Cannes, but altered their 
 plans. Of course, Draconmeyer meant to come here 
 all the time." 
 
 The Minister frowned. 
 
 " Draconmeyer's one man I should be glad to see 
 out of London," he declared. " Under the pretext 
 of fostering good-will, and that sort of thing, between 
 the mercantile classes of our two countries. I think 
 that that fellow has done about as much mischief as 
 it is possible for any single man to have accomplished. 
 We'll meet in an hour, Hunterleys. My man is 
 putting out some things for me and I must have a 
 bath."
 
 NEARING A CRISIS 309 
 
 Hunterleys walked up to the hospital, and to his 
 surprise met Selingman coming away. The latter 
 saluted him with a wave of the hat and a genial 
 smile. 
 
 " Calling to see our poor invalid? " he enquired 
 blandly. 
 
 Kunterleys, although he knew his man, was a lit- 
 tle taken aback. 
 
 " What share in him do you claim ? " he asked. 
 
 Selingman sighed. 
 
 " Alas ! " he confessed, " I fear that my claim 
 would sound a little cold-blooded. I think that I 
 was the only man who held his gun straight. Yet, 
 after all, Roche would be the last to bear me any 
 grudge. He was playing the game, taking his risks. 
 Uncommonly bad marksmen Grex's private police 
 were, or he'd be in the morgue instead of the hos- 
 pital." 
 
 " I gather that our friend is still alive? " Hunter- 
 leys remarked. 
 
 " Going on as well as could be expected," Seling- 
 man replied. 
 
 "Conscious?" 
 
 Selingman smiled. 
 
 " You see through my little visit of sympathy at 
 once ! " he exclaimed. " Unable to converse, I am 
 assured, and unable to share with his friends any 
 little information he may have picked up last night. 
 By the way, whom shall you send to report our little 
 conference to-night? You wouldn't care to come 
 yourself, would you ? " 
 
 " I should like to exceedingly," Hunterleys As- 
 sured him, " if you'd give me a safe conduct."
 
 3io MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Selingman withdrew his cigar from his mouth and 
 laid his hand upon the other's shoulder. 
 
 " My dear friend," he said earnestly, " your safe 
 conduct, if ever I signed it, would be to the other 
 world. Frankly, we find you rather a nuisance. We 
 would be better pleased if your Party were in office, 
 and you with your knees tucked under a desk at 
 Downing Street, attending to your official business 
 in your official place. Who gave you this roving 
 commission, eh? Who sent you to talk common 
 sense to the Balkan States, and how the mischief did 
 you get wind of our little meeting here ? " 
 
 " Ah ! " Hunterleys replied, " I expect you really 
 know all these things." 
 
 Selingman, with his feet planted firmly upon the 
 pavement, took a fresh cigar from his waistcoat 
 pocket, bit off the end and lit it. 
 
 " My friend Hunterleys," he continued, " I am 
 enjoying this brief interchange of confidences. Cir- 
 cumstances have made me, as you see, a politician, a 
 schemer if you like. Nature meant me to be one of 
 the frankest, the most truthful, the best-hearted of 
 men. I detest the tortuous ways of the old diplo- 
 macy. The spoken word pleases me best. That is 
 why I like a few minutes' conversation with the en- 
 emy, why I love to stand here and talk to you with 
 the buttons off our foils. We are scheming against 
 you and your country, and you know it, and we shall 
 win. We can't help but win if not to-day, to- 
 morrow. Your country has had a marvellously long 
 run of good luck, but it can't last for ever." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled. 
 
 " Well," he observed, " there's nothing like confi-
 
 NEARING A CRISIS 311 
 
 dence. If you are so sure of success, why couldn't 
 you choose a cleaner way to it than by tampering 
 with our ally ? " 
 
 Selingman patted his companion on the shoulder. 
 
 " Listen, my friend," he said, " there are no such 
 things as allies. An alliance between two countries 
 is a dead letter so soon as their interests cease to be 
 identical. Now Austria is our ally because she is 
 practically Germany. We are both mid-Continental 
 Powers. We both need the same protection. But 
 England and France ! Go back only fifty years, my 
 dear Hunterleys, and ask yourself would any liv- 
 ing person, living now and alive then, believe in the 
 lasting nature of such an unnatural alliance ? Wher- 
 ever you look, in every quarter of the globe, your in- 
 terests are opposed. You robbed France of Egypt. 
 She can't have wholly forgotten. You dominate 
 the Mediterranean through Gibraltar, Malta, and 
 Cyprus. What does she think of that, I wonder? 
 Isn't a humiliation for her when she does stop to 
 think of it? You've a thousand years of quarrels, 
 of fighting and rapine behind you. You can't call 
 yourselves allies because the thing isn't natural. It 
 never could be. It was only your mutual, hysterical 
 fear of Germany which drove you into one another's 
 arms. We fought France once to prove ourselves, 
 and for money. Just now we don't want either 
 money or territory from France. Perhaps we don't 
 even want, my dear Englishman, what you think we 
 want, but all the same, don't blame us for trying to 
 dissolve an unnatural alliance. Was that Simpson 
 who came by the Luxe this morning? " 
 
 " It was," Hunterleys admitted.
 
 313 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " The Right Honourable John William Meredith 
 Simpson ! " Selingman recited, waving his cigar. 
 " Well, well, we certainly have made a stir with our 
 little meetings here. An inspired English Cabinet 
 Minister, travel-stained and dusty, arrives with his 
 valet and a black dispatch-box, to foil our schemes. 
 Send him along, my friend. We are not at all afraid 
 of Mr. Simpson. Perhaps we may even ask him to 
 join us this evening." 
 
 " I fancy," Hunterleys remarked grimly, " that 
 the Englishman who joins you this evening will find 
 a home up on the hill here." 
 
 " Or down in the morgue there," Selingman 
 grunted, pointing down to Monaco. " Take care, 
 Hunterleys take care, man. One of us hates you. 
 It isn't I. You are fighting a brave fight and a losing 
 fight, but you are good metal. Try and remember, 
 when you find that you are beaten, that life has many 
 consolations for the philosopher." 
 
 He passed on and Hunterleys entered the hospital. 
 Whilst he was waiting in the little reception-room, 
 Felicia came in. Her face showed signs of her night's 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Sidney is still unconscious," she announced, her 
 voice shaking a little. " The doctors seem hopeful 
 but oh! Sir Henry, it is terrible to see him lying 
 there just as though he were dead! " 
 
 " Sidney will pull through all right," Hunterleys 
 declared, encouragingly. " He has a wonderful con- 
 stitution and he is the luckiest fellow born. He al~ 
 ways gets out of trouble, somehow or other." 
 
 She came slowly up to him. 
 
 *'' Sir Henry," she said piteously, " I know quite
 
 NEARING A CRISIS 313 
 
 well that Sidney was willing to take his risks. He 
 went into this thing, knowing it was dangerous. I 
 want to be brave. What happens must be. But 
 listen. You won't you won't rob me of everything 
 in life, will you? You won't send David after him? " 
 
 Hunterleys smiled reassuringly. 
 
 " I can promise you that," he told her. " This 
 isn't David's job at all. He has to stick to his post 
 and help out the bluff as a press correspondent. 
 Don't be afraid, Felicia. You shall have your 
 David." 
 
 She seized his hand and kissed it. 
 
 " You have been so kind to me always, Sir Henry," 
 she sighed. " I can't tell you how thankful I am to 
 think that you don't want David to go and run 
 these horrible risks." 
 
 " No fear of that, I promise you," he assured her 
 once more. " David will be busy enough pulling the 
 strings another way." 
 
 The doctor entered the room and shook hands with 
 Hunterleys. There was no news, he declared, noth- 
 ing to be done. The patient must continue in his 
 present condition for several more hours at least. 
 The symptoms were, in their way, favourable. Be- 
 yond that, nothing could be said. Felicia and 
 Hunterleys left the hospital together. 
 
 " I wonder," she began, as they turned out of the 
 white gates, " whether you would mind very much if 
 I told you something? " 
 
 " Of course not ! " 
 
 " Yesterday," she continued slowly, " I met Lady 
 Hunterleys. You know, I have seen her twice when 
 I have been to your house to sing for your guests.
 
 314 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 She recognised me, I feel sure, but she didn't seem to 
 want to see me. She looked surprised when I bowed. 
 I worried about it at first and then I wondered. You 
 are so very, very secretive just now. Whatever this 
 affair may be in which you three are all concerned, 
 you never open your lips about it. Lady Hunter- 
 leys probably doesn't know that you have had to 
 come up to the villa at all hours of the night just to 
 see Sidney. You don't suppose that by any chance 
 she imagined that you came to see me ? " 
 
 Hunterleys was struck by the thought. He re- 
 membered several chance remarks of his wife. He 
 remembered, too, the coincidence of his recent visits 
 to the villa having prevented him in each case from 
 acceding to some request of Violet's. 
 
 " I am glad you've mentioned this, child," he said 
 frankly. " Now I come to think of it, my wife cer- 
 tainly did know that I came up to the villa very late 
 one night, and she seemed upset about it. Of course, 
 she hasn't the faintest idea about your brother." 
 
 " Well," Felicia declared, with a sigh of relief, " I 
 felt that I had to tell you. It sounded horribly con- 
 ceited, in a way, but then she wouldn't know that you 
 came to see Sidney, or that I was engaged to David. 
 Misunderstandings do come about so easily, you 
 know, sometimes." 
 
 " This one shall be put right, at any rate," he 
 promised her. " Now, if you will take my advice, 
 you will go home and lie down until the evening. 
 You are going to sing again, aren't you ? " 
 
 '* l f there is no change," she replied. " I know 
 th&t be would like me to. You haven't minded ! 
 what I've
 
 HEARING A CRISIS 
 
 " Not a bit, child," he assured her ; " in fact I think 
 it was very good of you. Now I'll put you in this 
 carriage and send you home. Think of nothing ex- 
 cept that Sidney is getting better every hour, and 
 sing to-night as though your voice could reach his 
 bedside. Au revoir ! " 
 
 He waved his hand to her as she drove off, and 
 returned to the Hotel de Paris. He found a re- 
 freshed and rejuvenated Simpson smoking a ciga- 
 rette upon the steps. 
 
 " To lunch ! " the latter exclaimed. " Afterwards 
 I will tell you my plana."
 
 CHAPTER XXXn 
 
 AN INTERESTING MEETING 
 
 Hunterleys leaned suddenly forward across the lit- 
 tle round table. 
 
 " The question of whether or no you shall pay your 
 respects to Monsieur Douaille," he remarked, " is 
 solved. Unless I am very much mistaken, we are 
 going to have an exceedingly interesting luncheon- 
 party on our right." 
 
 " Monsieur Douaille " Mr. Simpson began, a 
 little eagerly. 
 
 " And the others," Hunterleys interrupted. 
 " Don't look around for a moment. This is almost 
 historical." 
 
 Monsieur Giro himself, bowing and smiling, wa* 
 ushering a party of guests to a round table upon the 
 terrace, in the immediate vicinity of the two men. 
 Mr. Grex, with his daughter and Lady Hunterleys 
 on one side and Monsieur Douaille on the other, were 
 in the van. Draconmeyer followed with Lady Wey- 
 bourne, and Selingman brought up the rear with the 
 Comtesse d'Hausson, one of the most prominent lead- 
 ers of the French colony in Monte Carlo, and a con- 
 nection by marriage of Monsieur Douaille. 
 
 " A luncheon-party for Douaille," Hunterleys 
 murmured, as he bowed to his wife and exchanged- 
 greetings with some of the others. " I wonder what
 
 AN INTERESTING MEETING 317 
 
 they think of their neighbours ! A little embarrass- 
 ing for the chief guest, I am afraid." 
 
 " I see your wife is in the enemy's camp," his 
 companion observed. " Draconmeyer is coming to 
 speak to me. This promises to be interesting." 
 
 Draconmeyer and Selingman both came over to 
 greet the English Minister. Selingman's blue eyes 
 were twinkling with humour, his smile was broad and 
 irresistible. 
 
 " This should send funds up in every capital of 
 Europe," he declared, as he shook hands. " When 
 Mr. Meredith Simpson takes a holiday, then the po- 
 litical barometer points to * set fair ' ! " 
 
 " A tribute to my conscientiousness," the Minister 
 replied, smiling. " I am glad to see that I am not 
 the only hard-worked statesman who feels able to 
 take a few days' holiday." 
 
 Selingman glanced at the round table and beamed. 
 
 " It is true," he admitted. " Every country seems 
 to have sent its statesmen holiday-making. And 
 what a playground, too ! " he added, glancing to- 
 wards Hunterleys with something which was almost a 
 wink. " Here, political crises seem of little account 
 by the side of the turning wheel. This is where the 
 world unbends and it is well that there should be such 
 a place. Shall we see you at the Club or in the rooms 
 later? " 
 
 " Without a doubt," Mr. Simpson assented. " For 
 what else does one live in Monte Carlo ? " 
 
 " How did you leave things in town ? " Mr. Dra- 
 conmeyer enquired. 
 
 " So-so ! " the Minister answered. *' A little 
 flat, but then it is a dull season of the year."
 
 3i8 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Markets about the same, I suppose ? " Mr. Dra- 
 conmeyer asked. 
 
 " I am afraid," Mr. Simpson confessed, " that I 
 only study the city column from the point of view 
 of what Herr Selingman has just called the political 
 barometer. Things were a little unsteady when I 
 left. Consols fell several points yesterday." 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer frowned. 
 
 " It is incomprehensible," he declared. " A few 
 months ago there was real danger, one is forced to 
 believe, of a European war. To-day the crisis is 
 passed, yet the money-markets which bore up so well 
 through the critical period seem now all the time on 
 the point of collapse. It is hard for a banker to 
 know how to operate these days. I wish you gen- 
 tlemen in Downing Street, Mr. Simpson, would make 
 it easier for us." 
 
 Mr. Simpson shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " The real truth of the matter is," he said, " that 
 you allow your money-market to become too sensitive 
 an affair. A whisper will depress it. A threatening 
 word spoken in the Reichstag or in the House of Par- 
 liament, magnified a hundred-fold before it reaches 
 its destination, has sometimes a most unwarranted 
 effect upon markets. You mustn't blame us so 
 much, Mr. Draconmeyer. You jump at conclusions 
 too easily in the city." 
 
 " Sound common sense," Mr. Draconmeyer agreed. 
 " You are perfectly right when you say that we are 
 over-sensitive. The banker deplores it as much as 
 the politician. It's the money-kings, I suppose, who 
 find it profitable." 
 
 They returned to their table a moment later. As
 
 AN INTERESTING MEETING 319 
 
 he passed Douaille, Selingman whispered in his ear. 
 Monsieur Douaille turned around at once and bowed 
 to Simpson. As he caught the tatter's eye he, too, 
 left his place and came across. Mr. Simpson rose 
 to his feet. The two men bowed formally before 
 shaking hands. 
 
 " Monsieur Simpson," the Frenchman exclaimed, 
 " it is a pleasure to find that I am remembered ! " 
 
 " Without a doubt, monsieur," was the prompt 
 reply. " Your last visit to London, on the occasion 
 when we had the pleasure of entertaining you at the 
 Guildhall, is too recent, and was too memorable an 
 event altogether for us to have forgotten. Permit 
 me to assure you that your speech on that occasion 
 was one which no patriotic Englishman is likely to 
 forget." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille inclined his head in thanks. 
 His manner was not altogether free from embarrass- 
 ment. 
 
 '* I trust that you are enjoying your holiday 
 here? " he asked. 
 
 " I have only this moment arrived," Mr. Simpson 
 explained. ** I am looking forward to a few days' 
 rest immensely. I trust that I shall have the 
 pleasure of seeing something of you, Monsieur 
 Douaille. A little conversation would be most agree- 
 able." 
 
 " In Monte Carlo one meets one's friends all the 
 time," Monsieur Douaille replied. " I lunch to-day 
 with my friend our mutual friend, without a doubt 
 who calls himself here Mr. Grex." 
 
 Mr. Simpson nodded. 
 
 " If it is permitted," he suggested, " I should like
 
 320 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 to do myself the honour of paying my respects to 
 you." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille was flattered. 
 
 " My stay here is short," he regretted, " but your 
 visit will be most acceptable. I am at the Riviera 
 Palace Hotel." 
 
 " It is one of my theories," Mr. Simpson remarked, 
 " that politicians are at a serious disadvantage com- 
 pared with business men, inasmuch as, with important 
 affairs under their control, they have few opportuni- 
 ties of meeting those with whom they have dealings. 
 It would be a great pleasure to me to discuss one or 
 two matters with you." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille departed, with a few charming 
 words of assent. Simpson looked after him with 
 kindling eyes. 
 
 " This," he murmured, leaning across the table, 
 " is a most extraordinary meeting. There they sit, 
 those very men whom you suspect of this devilish 
 scheme, within a few feet of us ! Positively thrill- 
 ing, Hunterleys ! " 
 
 Hunterleys, too, seemed to feel the stimulating ef- 
 fect of a situation so dramatic. As the meal pro- 
 gressed, he drew his chair a little closer to the table 
 and leaned over towards his companion. 
 
 " I think," he said, " that we shall both of us re- 
 member the coincidence of this meeting as long as 
 we live. At that luncheon-table, within a few yards 
 of us, sits Russia, the new Russia, raising his head 
 after a thousand years' sleep, watching the times, 
 weighing them, realising his own immeasurable 
 strength, pointing his inevitable finger along the 
 road which the Russia of to-morrow must trea,d.
 
 AN INTERESTING MEETING 321 
 
 There isn't a man in that great country so much to 
 be feared to-day, from our point of view, as the 
 Grand Duke Augustus. And look, too, at the same 
 table, within a few feet, Simpson, of you and of me 
 Selingman, Selingman who represents the real 
 Germany ; not the war party alone, intoxicated with 
 the clash of arms, filled with bombastic desires for 
 German triumphs on sea and land, ever ready to 
 spout in flowery and grandiloquent phrases the glory 
 of Germany and the Heaven-sent genius of her lead- 
 ers. I tell you, Simpson, Selingman is a more dan- 
 gerous man than that. He sits with folded arms, in 
 realms of thought above these people. He sits with 
 a map of the world before him, and he places his fin- 
 ger upon the inevitable spots which Germany must 
 possess to keep time with the march of the world, 
 to find new homes for her overflowing millions. He 
 has no military fervour, no tinselly patriotism. He 
 knows what Germany needs and he will carve her way 
 towards it. Look at him with his napkin tucked 
 under his chin, broad-visaged, podgy, a slave, you 
 might think, to the joys of the table and the grosser 
 things of life. You should see his eyes sometimes 
 when the right note is struck, watch his mouth when 
 he sits and thinks. He uses words for an ambush 
 and a barricade. He talks often like a gay fool, a 
 flood of empty verbiage streams from his lips, and 
 behind, all the time his brain works." 
 
 " You seem to have studied these people, Hunter- 
 leys," Simpson remarked appreciatively. 
 
 Hunterleys smiled as he continued his luncheon. 
 
 " Forgive me if I was a little prolix," he said, 
 " but, after all, what would you have? I am out of
 
 322 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 office but I remain a servant of my country. My 
 interest is just as keen as though I were in a respon- 
 sible position." 
 
 " You are well out of it," Simpson sighed. " If 
 half what you suspect is true, it's the worst fix we've 
 been in for some time." 
 
 " I am afraid there isn't any doubt about it," Hun- 
 tsrleys declared. " Of course, we've been at a fear- 
 ful disadvantage. Roche was the only man out here 
 upon whom I could rely. Now they've accounted for 
 him, we've scarcely a chance of getting at the truth." 
 
 Mr. Simpson was gloomily silent for some mo- 
 ments. He was thinking of the time when he had 
 struck his pencil through a recent Secret Service 
 estimate. 
 
 " Anyhow," Hunterleys went on, " it will be all 
 over in twenty-four hours. Something will be de- 
 cided upon what, I am afraid there is very little 
 chance of our getting to know. These men will sep- 
 arate Grex to St. Petersburg, Selingman to Ber- 
 lin, Douaille to Paris. Then I think we shall begin 
 to hear the mutterings of the storm." 
 
 " I think," Mr. Simpson intervened, his eyes fixed 
 upon an approaching figure, " that there is a young 
 lady talking to the maitre d'hotel, who is trying to 
 attract your attention." 
 
 Hunterleys turned around in his chair. It was 
 Felicia who was making her way towards him. He 
 rose at once to his feet. There was a little murmur 
 of interest amongst the lunchers as she threaded her 
 way past the tables. It was not often that an Eng- 
 lish singer in opera had met with so great a success. 
 Lady Hunterleys, recognising her as she passed,
 
 AN INTERESTING MEETING 323 
 
 paused in the middle of a sentence. Her face har- 
 dened. Hunterleys had risen from his place and was 
 watching Felicia's approach anxiously. 
 
 " Is there any news of Sidney? " he asked quickly, 
 as he took her hand. 
 
 " Nothing fresh," she answered in a low voice. 
 " I have brought you a message from some one 
 else." 
 
 He held his chair for her but she shook her head. 
 
 " I mustn't stay," she continued. " This is what 
 I wanted to tell you. As I was crossing the square 
 just now, I recognised the man Frenhofer, from the 
 Villa Mimosa. Directly he &aw me he came across 
 the road. He was looking for one of us. He dared 
 not come to the villa, he declares, for fear of being 
 watched. He has something to tell you." 
 
 " Where can I find him? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " He has gone to a little bar in the Rue de Chaus- 
 sures, the Bar de Montmartre it is called. He is 
 waiting there for you now." 
 
 " You must stay and have some lunch," Hunter- 
 leys begged. " I will come back." 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 " I have just been across to the Opera House," she 
 explained, " to enquire about some properties for 
 to-night. I have had all the lunch I want and I am 
 on my way to the hospital now again. I came here 
 on the chance of finding you. They told me at the 
 Hotel de Paris that you were lunching out." 
 
 Hunterleys turned and whispered to Simpson. 
 
 " This is very important," he said. " It concerns 
 the affair in which we are interested. Linger over 
 jour coffee and I will return."
 
 324 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Mr. Simpson nodded and Hunterleys left the res- 
 taurant with Felicia. His wife, at whom he glanced 
 for a moment, kept her head averted. She was 
 whispering in the ear of the gallant Monsieur Dou^ 
 aille. Selingman, catching Draconmeyer's eye, 
 winked at him solemnly. 
 
 " You have all the luck, my silent friend," he 
 murmured.
 
 CHAPTER XXXHI 
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 
 
 The Bar de Montmartre was many steps under the 
 level of the street, dark, smelly, and dilapidated. 
 Its only occupants were a handful of drivers from 
 the carriage-stand opposite, who stared at Hunter- 
 leys in amazement as he entered, and then rushed for- 
 ward, almost in a body, to offer their services. The 
 man behind the bar, however, who had evidently been 
 forewarned, intervened with a few sharp words, and, 
 lifting the flap of the counter, ushered Hunterleys 
 into a little room beyond. Frenhofer was engaged 
 there in amiable badinage with a young lady who 
 promptly disappeared at Hunterleys' entrance. 
 Frenhofer bowed respectfully. 
 
 " I must apologise," he said, " for bringing mon- 
 sieur to such a place. It is near the end now, and 
 with Monsieur Roche in the hospital I ventured to 
 address myself to monsieur direct. Here I have 
 the right to enter. I make my suit to the daughter 
 of the proprietor in order to have a safe rendezvous 
 when necessary. It is well that monsieur has come 
 quickly. I have tidings. I can disclose to mon- 
 sieur the meeting-place for to-night. If monsieur 
 has fortune and the wit to make use of it, the oppor- 
 tunity I shall give him is a great one. But pardon
 
 326 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 me. Before we talk business we must order some- 
 thing." 
 
 He touched the bell. The proprietor himself 
 thrust in his head, bullet-shaped, with black mous- 
 tache and unshaven chin. He wore no collar, and 
 the remainder of his apparel was negligible. 
 
 "A bottle of your best brandy," Frenhofer or- 
 dered. " The best, mind, Pere Hanaut." 
 
 The man's acquiescence was as amiable as nature 
 would permit. 
 
 " Monsieur will excuse me," Frenhofer went on, as 
 the door was once more closed, " but these people 
 have their little ways. To sell a whole bottle of 
 brandy at five times its value, is to Monsieur le Pro- 
 prietaire more agreeable than to offer him rent for 
 the hire of his room. He is outside all the things in 
 which we are concerned. He believes pardon me, 
 monsieur that we are engaged in a little smug- 
 gling transaction. Monsieur Roche and I have used 
 this place frequently." 
 
 " He can believe what he likes," Hunterleys re- 
 plied, " so long as he keeps his mouth shut. 5 ' 
 
 The brandy was brought and three glasses. 
 Frenhofer promptly took the hint and, filling one to 
 the brim, held it out to the landlord. 
 
 " You will drink our health, Pere Henaut my 
 health and the health of monsieur here, and the health 
 of the fair Annette. Incidentally, you will drink also 
 to the success of the little scheme which monsieur and 
 I are planning." 
 
 " In such brandy," the proprietor declared 
 hoarsely, " I would drink to the devil himself ! " 
 
 He threw back his head and the contents of his
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 327 
 
 glass vanished. He set it down with a little smack 
 of the lips. Once more he looked at the bottle. 
 Frenhofer filled up his glass, but motioned to the 
 door with his head. 
 
 " You will excuse us, dear friend," he begged, lay- 
 ing his hand persuasively upon the other's shoulder. 
 *' Monsieur and I have little enough of time." 
 
 The landlord withdrew. Frenhofer walked around 
 the little apartment. Their privacy was certainly 
 assured. 
 
 " Monsieur," he announced, turning to Hunterleys, 
 " there has been a great discussion as to the next 
 meeting-place between our friends the next, which 
 will be also the last. They are safe enough in reality 
 at the villa, but Monsieur Douaille is nervous. The 
 affair of last night terrified him. The reason for 
 these things I, of course, know nothing of, but it 
 seems that Monsieur Douaille is very anxious indeed 
 to keep his association with my august master and 
 Herr Selingman as secret as possible. He has de- 
 clined most positively to set foot again within the 
 Villa Mimosa. Many plans have been suggested. 
 This is the one adopted. For some weeks a German 
 down in Monaco, a shipping agent, has had a yacht 
 in the harbour for hire. He has approached Mr. 
 Grex several times, not knowing his identity; ig- 
 norant, indeed, of the fact that the Grand Duke him- 
 self possesses one of the finest yachts afloat. How- 
 ever, that is nothing. Mr. Grex thought suddenly 
 of the yacht. He suggested it to the others. They 
 were enthusiastic. The yacht is to be hired for a 
 week, or longer if necessary, and used only to-night. 
 Behold the wonderful good-fortune of the affair*
 
 328 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 It is I who have been selected by my master to pro- 
 ceed to Monaco to make arrangements with the Ger- 
 man, Herr Schwann. I am on my way there at the 
 moment." 
 
 " A yacht ? " Hunterley s repeated. 
 
 " There are wonderful things to be thought of," 
 Frenhofer asserted eagerly. " Consider, monsieur ! 
 The yacht of this man Schwann has never been seen 
 by my master. Consider, too, that aboard her there 
 must be a dozen hiding-places. The crew has been 
 brought together from anywhere. They can be 
 bought to a man. There is only one point, monsieur, 
 which should be arranged before I enter upon this 
 last and, for me, most troublesome and dangerous 
 enterprise." 
 
 " And that ? " Hunterleys enquired. 
 
 " My own position," Frenhofer declared solemnly. 
 *' I am not greedy or covetous. My ambitions have 
 long been fixed. To serve an Imperial Russian no- 
 bleman has been no pleasure for me. St. Petersburg 
 has been a prison. I have been moved to the right 
 or to the left as a machine. It is as a machine only 
 I have lived. Always I have longed for Paris. So 
 month by month I have saved. After to-night I 
 must leave my master's employ. The risk will be too 
 great if monsieur indeed accepts my proposition and 
 carries it out. I need but a matter of ten thousand 
 francs to complete my savings." 
 
 The man's white face shone eagerly in the dim 
 light of the gloomy little apartment. His eyes glit- 
 tered. He waited almost breathlessly. 
 
 " Frenhofer," Hunterleys said slowly, " so far as 
 I have been concerned indirectly in these negotiations
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 329 
 
 with you, my instructions to my agent have been sim- 
 ple and definite. We have never haggled. Your 
 name was known to me eight years ago, when you 
 served us in St. Petersburg and served us well. You 
 have done the same thing now and you have behaved 
 with rare intelligence. Within the course of an hour 
 I shall transfer ten thousand francs to the account 
 of Fran9ois Frenhofer at the English Bank here." 
 
 The eyes of the man seemed suddenly like pin- 
 pricks of fire. 
 
 " Monsieur is a prince," he murmured. " And now 
 for the further details. If monsieur would run the 
 risk, I would suggest that he accompanies me to the 
 office of this man Schwann." 
 
 Hunterleys made no immediate reply. He was 
 walking up and down the narrow apartment. A 
 brilliant idea had taken possession of him. The 
 more he thought of it, the more feasible it became. 
 
 " Frenhofer," he said at last, " I have a scheme 
 of my own. You are sure that Mr. Grex has never 
 seen this yacht ? " 
 
 " He has never set eyes upon it, monsieur, save to 
 try and single it out with his field-glasses from the 
 balcony of the villa." 
 
 " And he is to board it to-night ? " 
 
 " At ten o'clock to-night, monsieur, it is to lie off 
 the Villa Mimosa. A pinnace is to fetch Mr. Grex 
 and his friends on board from the private landing- 
 stage of the Villa Mimosa." 
 
 Hunterleys nodded thoughtfully. 
 
 " Frenhofer," he explained, " my scheme is this. 
 A friend of mine has a yacht in the harbour. I be- 
 lieve that he would lend it to me. Why should we
 
 330 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 not substitute it for the yacht your master imagines 
 that he is hiring? If so, all difficulties as to placing 
 whom I desire on board and secreting them are over." 
 
 " It is a great scheme," Frenhofer assented, " but 
 supposing my master should choose to telephone 
 some small detail to the office of the man Schwann ? " 
 
 " You must hire the yacht of Schwann, just as you 
 were instructed," Hunterleys pointed out. " You 
 must give orders, though, that it is not to leave the 
 harbour until telephoned for. Then it will be the 
 yacht which I shall borrow which will lie off the Villa 
 Mimosa to-night." 
 
 " It is admirable," Frenhofer declared. " The 
 more one thinks of it, the more one appreciates. 
 This yacht of Schwann's the Christable, he calls 
 it was fitted out by a millionaire. My master 
 will be surprised at nothing in the way of luxury." 
 
 " Tell me again," Hunterleys asked, " at what 
 hour is it to be off the Villa Mimosa ? " 
 
 " At ten o'clock," Frenhofer replied. " A pinnace 
 is to be at the landing-stage of the villa at that time. 
 Mr. Grex, Monsieur Douaille, Herr Selingman, and 
 Mr. Draconmeyer will come on board." 
 
 " Very good ! Now go on your errand to the man 
 Schwann. You had better meet me here later in the 
 afternoon say at four o'clock and let me know 
 that all is in order. I will bring you some particu- 
 lars about my friend's boat, so that you will know 
 how to answer any questions your master may put 
 to you." 
 
 " It is admirable," Frenhofer repeated enthusi- 
 astically. " Monsieur had better, perhaps, precede 
 me."
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 331 
 
 Hunterleys walked through the streets back to 
 Giro's Restaurant, filled with a new exhilaration. 
 His eyes were bright, his brain was working all the 
 time. The luncheon-party at the next table were 
 still in the midst of their meal. Mr. Simpson was 
 smoking a meditative cigarette with his coffee. Hun- 
 terleys resumed his place and ordered coffee for him- 
 self. 
 
 " I have been to see a poor friend who met with an 
 accident last night," he announced, speaking as 
 clearly as possible. " I fear that he is very ill. 
 That was his sister who fetched me away." 
 
 Mr. Simpson nodded sympathetically. Their con- 
 versation for a few minutes was desultory. Then 
 Hunterleys asked for the bill and rose. 
 
 " I will take you round to the Club and get your 
 carte" he suggested. " Afterwards, we can spend 
 the afternoon as you choose." 
 
 The two men strolled out of the place. It was 
 not until after they had left the arcade and were 
 actually in the street, that Hunterleys gripped his 
 companion's arm. 
 
 " Simpson," he declared, " the fates have been kind 
 to us. Douaille has a fit of the nerves. He will go 
 no more to the Villa Mimosa. Seeking about for 
 the safest meeting-place, Grex has given us a chance. 
 The only one of his servants who belongs to us is 
 commissioned to hire a yacht on which they meet to- 
 night." 
 
 " A yacht," Mr. Simpson replied, emptily. 
 
 " I have a friend," Hunterleys continued, " an 
 American. I am convinced that he will lend me his 
 yacht, which is lying in the harbour here. We are
 
 33 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 going to try and exchange. If we succeed, I shall 
 have the run of the boat. The crew will be at our 
 command, and I shall get to that conference myself, 
 somehow or other." 
 
 Mr. Simpson felt himself left behind. He could 
 only stare at his companion. 
 
 " Tell me, Sir Henry," he begged, almost pathet- 
 ically, "have I walked into an artificial world? Do 
 you mean to tell me seriously that you, a Member of 
 Parliament, an ex-Minister, are engaged upon a 
 scheme to get the Grand Duke Augustus and Dou- 
 aille and Selingman on board a yacht, and that you 
 are going to be there, concealed, turned into a spy? 
 I can't keep up with it. As fiction it seems to me to 
 be in the clouds. As truth, why, my understand- 
 ing turns and mocks me. You are talking fairy- 
 tales." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled tolerantly. 
 
 " The man in the street knows very little of the 
 real happenings in life," he pronounced. " The truth 
 has a queer, way sometimes of spreading itself out 
 into the realms of fiction. Come across here with me 
 to the hotel. I have got to move heaven and earth 
 to find my friend." 
 
 " Do with me as you like," Mr. Simpson sighed re- 
 signedly. " In a plain political discussion, or an 
 argument with Monsieur Douaille well, I am ready 
 to bear my part. But this sort of thing lifts me off 
 my feet. I can only trot along at your heels." 
 
 They entered the Hotel de Paris. Hunterleys 
 made a few breathless enquiries. Nothing, alas ! was 
 known of Mr. Richard Lane. He came back, frown- 
 ing, to the steps of the hotel.
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 333 
 
 " If he is up playing golf at La Turbie," Hunter- 
 leys muttered, " we shall barely have time." 
 
 A reception clerk tapped him on the shoulder. 
 He turned abruptly around. 
 
 " I have just made an enquiry of the floor waiter," 
 the clerk announced. " He believes that Mr. Lane 
 is still in his room." 
 
 Hunterleys thanked the man and hurried to the 
 lift. In a few moments he was knocking at the door 
 of Lane's rooms. His heart gave a great jump as a 
 familiar voice bade him enter. He stepped inside 
 and closed the door behind him. Richard, in light 
 blue pyjamas, sat up in bed and looked at his visitor 
 with a huge yawn. 
 
 " Say, old chap, are you in a hurry or anything? " 
 he demanded. 
 
 " Do you know the time ? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " No idea," the other replied. " The valet called 
 me at eight. I told him I'd shoot him if he disturbed 
 one again." 
 
 " It's nearly three o'clock ! " Hunterleys declared 
 impressively. 
 
 " Can't help it," Richard yawned, throwing off the 
 bed-clothes and sitting on the edge of the bed. " I 
 am young and delicate and I need my rest. Seri- 
 ously, Hunterleys," he added, " you take a chap out 
 and make Kim drive you at sixty miles an hour 5 
 all through the night, you keep him at it till nearly 
 six in the morning, and you seem to think it a trag- 
 edy to find him in bed at three o'clock in the after- 
 noon. Hang it, I've only had eight hours' sleep ! " 
 
 " I don't care how long you've had," Hunterleys 
 rejoined. " I am only too thankful to find you.
 
 334 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Now listen. Is your brain working? Can you talk 
 seriously ? " 
 
 *' I guess so." 
 
 " You remember our talk last night? " 
 
 " Every word of it." 
 
 " The time has come," Hunterleys continued, 
 " your time, I mean. You said that if you could 
 take a hand, you'd do it. I am here to beg for your 
 help." 
 
 " You needn't waste your breath doing that," 
 Richard answered firmly. " I'm your man. Go 
 on." 
 
 " Listen," Hunterleys proceeded. " Is your yacht 
 in commission? " 
 
 " Ready to sail at ten minutes' notice," the young 
 man assured him emphatically, " victualled and 
 coaled to the eyelids. To tell you the truth, I have 
 some idea of abducting Fedora to-day or to-mor 
 row." 
 
 " You'll have to postpone that," Hunterleys told 
 him. " I want to borrow the yacht." 
 
 " She's yours," Richard assented promptly. " I'll 
 give you a note to the captain." 
 
 " Look here, I want you to understand this 
 clearly," Hunterleys went on. " If you lend me the 
 Minnehdha, well, you commit yourself a bit. You 
 see, it's like this. I've one man of my own in Grex's 
 household. He came to me this morning. Monsieur 
 Douaille objects to cross again the threshold of the 
 Villa Mimosa. He fears the English newspapers. 
 There has been a long discussion as to the next meet- 
 ing-place. Grex suggested a yacht. To that they 
 all agreed. There is a man named Schwann down i
 
 THE FATES ARE KIND 335 
 
 Monaco has a yacht for hire. Mr. Grex knows about 
 it and he has sent the man I spoke of into Monaco 
 this afternoon to hire it. They are all going to em- 
 bark at ten o'clock to-night. They are going to 
 hold their meeting in the cabin.'* 
 
 Lane whistled softly. He was wide awake now. 
 
 " Go on," he murmured. " Go on. Say, this is 
 great ! " 
 
 " I want," Hunterleys explained, " your yacht to 
 take the place of the other. I want it to be off the 
 Villa Mimosa at ten o'clock to-night, your pinnace 
 to be at the landing-stage of the villa to bring Mr. 
 Grex and his friends on board. I want you to haul 
 down your American flag, keep your American sailors 
 out of sight, cover up the Stars and Stripes in your 
 cabin, have only your foreign stewards on show. 
 Schwann's yacht is a costly one. No one will know 
 the difference. You must get up now and show me 
 over the boat. I have to scheme, somehow or other, 
 how we can hide ourselves on it so that I can over- 
 hear the end of this plot." 
 
 The face of Richard Lane was like the face of an 
 ingenuous boy who sees suddenly a Paradise of sport 
 stretched out before him. His mouth was open, his 
 eyes gleaming. 
 
 " Gee, but this is glorious ! " he exclaimed. " I'm 
 with you all the way. Why, it's wonderful, man! 
 It's a chapter from the Arabian Nights over again ! " 
 
 He leapt to his feet and rang the bell furiously. 
 Then he rushed to the telephone. 
 
 " Blue serge clothes," he ordered the valet. " Get 
 my bath ready." 
 
 " Any breakfast, monsieur ? "
 
 336 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Oh, breakfast be hanged ! No, wait a moment. 
 Get me some coffee and a roll. I'll take it while I 
 dress. Hurry up ! . . . Yes, is that the enquiry of- 
 fice? This is Mr. Lane. Send round to my chauf- 
 feur at the garage at once and tell him that I want 
 the car at the door in a quarter of an hour. Righto ! 
 . . . Sit down, Hunterleys. Smoke or do whatever 
 you want to. We'll be off to the yacht in no time." 
 
 Hunterleys clapped the young giant on the shoul- 
 ders as he rushed through to the bathroom. 
 
 "You're a brick, Richard," he declared. "I'll 
 wait for you down in the hall. I've a pal there." 
 
 " I'll be down in twenty minutes or earlier," Lane 
 promised. " What a lark ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 COFFEE FOE ONE ONLY 
 
 The breaking up of Mr. Grex's luncheon-party was 
 the signal for a certain amount of manoeuvring on 
 the part of one or two of his guests. Monsieur 
 Douaille, for instance, was anxious to remain the 
 escort of Lady Hunterleys, whose plans for the after- 
 noon he had ascertained were unformed. Mr. Grex 
 was anxious to keep apart his daughter and Lady 
 Weybourne, whose relationship to Richard Lane 
 he had only just apprehended; while he himself de- 
 sired a little quiet conversation with Monsieur Doua- 
 ille before they paid the visit which had been arranged 
 for to the Club and the Casino. In the end, Mr. 
 Grex was both successful and unsuccessful. He car- 
 ried off Monsieur Douaille for a short ride in his 
 automobile, but was forced to leave his daughter 
 and Lady Weybourne alone. Draconmeyer, who had 
 been awaiting his opportunity, remained by Lady 
 Hunterleys' side. 
 
 " I wonder," he asked, " whether you would step 
 in for a few minutes and see Linda ? " 
 
 She had been looking at the table where her hus- 
 band and his companion had been seated. Dracon- 
 meyer's voice seemed to bring her back to a present 
 not altogether agreeable.
 
 338 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " I am going back to my room for a little time,'* 
 she replied. " I will call in and see Linda first, if 
 you like." 
 
 They left the restaurant together and strolled 
 across the Square to the Hotel de Paris, ascended in 
 the lift, and made their way to Draconmeyer's suite 
 of rooms in a silence which was almost unbroken. 
 When they entered the large salon with its French- 
 windows and balcony, they found the apartment de- 
 serted. Violet looked questioningly at her compan- 
 ion. He closed the door behind him and nodded. 
 
 " Yes," he admitted, " my message was a subter- 
 fuge. I have sent Linda over to Mentone with her 
 nurse. She will not be back until late in the after- 
 noon. This is the opportunity for which I have 
 been waiting." 
 
 She showed no signs of anger or, indeed, disturb- 
 ance of any sort. She laid her tiny white silk para- 
 sol upon the table and glanced at him coolly. 
 
 " Well," she said, " you have your way, then. I 
 am here." 
 
 Draconmeyer looked at her long and anxiously. 
 Skilled though he was in physiognomy, closely though 
 he had watched, for many months, the lights and 
 shades, the emotional changes in her expression, he 
 was yet, at that moment, completely puzzled. She 
 was not angry. Her attitude seemed to be, in a 
 sense, passive. Yet what did passivity mean? Was 
 it resignation, consent, or was it simply the armour 
 of normal resistance in which she had clothed herself? 
 Was he wise, after all, to risk everything? Then, 
 as he looked at her, as he realised her close and won- 
 derful presence, he suddenly told himself that it was
 
 COFFEE FOR ONE ONLY 339 
 
 worth while risking even Heaven in the future for the 
 joy of holding her for once in his arms. She had 
 never seemed to him so maddeningly beautiful as at 
 that moment. It was one of the hottest days of the 
 season and she was wearing a gown of white muslin, 
 curiously simple, enhancing, somehow or other, her 
 fascinating slimness, a slimness which had nothing to 
 do with angularity but possessed its own soft and 
 giaceful curves. Her eyes were bluer even than her 
 turquoise brooch or the gentians in her hat. And 
 while his heart was aching and throbbing with doubts 
 and hopes, she suddenly smiled at him. 
 
 " I am going to sit down," she announced care- 
 lessly. " Please say to me just what is in your mind, 
 without reserve. It will be better." 
 
 She threw herself into a low chair near the window. 
 Her hands were folded in her lap. Her eyes, for 
 some reason, were fixed upon her wedding ring. Swift 
 to notice even her slightest action, he frowned as he 
 discerned the direction of her gaze. 
 
 " Violet," he said, " I think that you are right. I 
 think that the time has come when I must tell you 
 what is in my mind." 
 
 She raised her eyebrows slightly at the sound of her 
 Christian name. He moved over and stood by her 
 chair. 
 
 " For a good many years," he began slowly, " I 
 have been a man with a purpose. When it first came 
 into my mind not willingly its accomplishment 
 seemed utterly hopeless. Still, it was there. Strong 
 man though I am, I could not root it out. I waited. 
 There was nothing else to do but wait. From that 
 moment my life was divided. My whole-soul devo-
 
 340 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 tion to worldly affairs was severed. I had one dream 
 that was more wonderful to me, even, than complete 
 success in the great undertaking which brought me 
 to London. That dream was connected with you, 
 Violet." 
 
 She moved a little uneasily, as though the repeti- 
 tion of her Christian name grated. This time, how- 
 ever, he was rapt in his subject. 
 
 " I won't make excuses," he went on. " You know 
 what Linda is what she has been for ten years. I 
 have tried to be kind to her. As to love, I never had 
 any. Ours was an alliance between two great mon- 
 ied families, arranged for us, acquiesced in by both of 
 us as a matter of course. It seemed to me in those 
 days the most natural and satisfactory form of mar- 
 riage. I looked upon myself as others have thought 
 me a cold, bloodless man of figures and ambition. 
 It is you who have taught me that I have as much sen- 
 timent and more than other men, a heart and desires 
 which have made life sometimes hell and sometimes 
 paradise. For two years I have struggled. Life 
 with me has been a sort of passionate compromise. 
 For the joy of seeing you sometimes, of listening to 
 you and watching you, I have borne the agony of 
 having you leave me to take your place with another 
 man. You don't quite know what that meant, and I 
 am not going to tell you, but always I have hoped 
 and hoped." 
 
 " And now," she said, looking at him, " I owe you 
 four thousand pounds and you think, perhaps, that 
 your time has come to speak? " 
 
 He shivered as though she had struck him a blow. 
 
 " You think," he exclaimed, " that I am a man of
 
 COFFEE FOR ONE ONLY 341 
 
 pounds, shillings, and pence! Is it my fault that 
 you owe me money? " 
 
 He snatched her cheques from his inner pocket and 
 ripped them in pieces, lit a match and watched them 
 while they smouldered away. She, too, watched with 
 emotionless face. 
 
 " Do you think that I want to buy you ? " he de- 
 manded. " There ! You are free from your money 
 claims. You can leave my room this moment, if you 
 will, and owe me nothing." 
 
 She made no movement, yet he was vaguely dis- 
 turbed by a sense of having made but little progress, 
 a terrible sense of impending failure. His fingers 
 began to tremble, his face was the face of a man 
 stretched upon the rack. 
 
 " Perhaps those words of mine were false," he went 
 on. " Perhaps, in a sense, I do want to buy you, 
 buy the little kindnesses that go with affection, buy 
 your kind words, the touch sometimes of your fin- 
 gers, the pleasant sense of companionship I feel 
 when I am with you. I know how proud you are. 
 I know how virtuous you are. I know that it's there 
 in your blood, the Puritan instinct, the craving for 
 the one man to whom you have given yourself, the 
 involuntary shrinking from the touch of any other. 
 Good women are like that wives or mistresses. 
 Mind, in a sense it's narrow ; in a sense it's splendid. 
 Listen to me. I don't want to declare war against 
 that instinct yet. I can't. Perhaps, even now, 
 I have spoken too soon, craved too soon for the little 
 I do ask. Yet God knows I can keep the seal upon 
 my lips no longer! Don't let us misunderstand one 
 another for the sake of using plain words. I am not
 
 342 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 asking you to be my mistress. I ask you, on my 
 knees, to take from me what makes life brighter for 
 you. I ask you for the other things only for your 
 confidence, for your affection, your companionship. 
 I ask to see you every day that it is possible, to know 
 that you are wearing my gifts, surrounded by my 
 flowers, the rough places in your life made smooth by 
 my efforts. I am your suppliant, Violet. I ask 
 only for the crumbs that fall from your table, so 
 long as no other man sits by your side. Violet, can't 
 you give me as much as this ? " 
 
 His hand, hot and trembling, sought hers, touched 
 and gripped it. She drew her fingers away. It was 
 curious how in those few moments she seemed to be 
 gifted with an immense clear-sightedness. She knew 
 very well that nothing about the man was honest save 
 the passion of which he did not speak. She rose 
 to her feet. 
 
 " Well," she said, " I have listened to you very pa- 
 tiently. If I owe you any excuse for having ap- 
 peared to encourage any one of those thoughts of 
 which you speak, here it is. I am like thousands of 
 other women. I absolutely don't know until the time 
 comes what sort of a creature I am, how I shall be 
 moved to act under certain circumstances. I tried 
 to think last night. I couldn't. I felt that I had 
 gone half-way. I had taken your money. I had 
 taken it, too, understanding what it means to be in 
 a man's debt. And still I waited. And now I know. 
 I won't even question your sincerity. I won't even 
 suggest that you would not be content with what you 
 ask for " 
 
 " I have sworn it ! " he interrupted hoarsely. " To
 
 COFFEE FOR ONE ONLY 343 
 
 be your favoured friend, to be allowed near you 
 your guardian, if you will " 
 
 The words failed him. Something in her face 
 checked his eloquence. 
 
 " I can tell you this now and for always," she con- 
 tinued. " I have nothing to give you. What you 
 ask for is just as impossible as though you were to 
 walk in your picture gallery and kneel before your 
 great masterpiece and beg Beatrice herself to step 
 down from the canvas. I began to wonder yester- 
 day," she went on, rising abruptly and moving 
 across the room, " whether I really was that sort 
 of woman. With your money in my pocket and the 
 gambling fever in my pulses, I began even to believe 
 it. And now I know that I am not. Good-bye, 
 Mr. Draconmeyer. I don't blame you. On the 
 whole, perhaps, you have behaved quite well. I think 
 that you have chosen to behave well because that 
 wonderful brain of yours told you that it gave you 
 the best chance. That doesn't really matter, 
 though." 
 
 He took a quick, almost a threatening step to^ 
 wards her. His face was dark with all the pa$ 
 sions which had preyed upon the man. 
 
 " There is a man's last resource," he muttered 
 thickly. 
 
 " And there is a woman's answer to it," she replied, 
 her finger suddenly resting upon an unsuspected b^ll 
 in the wall. 
 
 They both heard its summons. Footsteps came 
 hurrying along the corridor. Draconmeyer turned 
 his head away, struggling to compose himself. A 
 waiter entered. Lady Hunterleys picked up her par-
 
 344 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 asol and moved towards the door. The man stood 
 on one side with a bow. 
 
 " Here is the waiter you rang for, Mr. Dracon- 
 meyer," she remarked, looking over his shoulder. 
 " Wasn't it coffee you wanted? Tell Linda I'll hope 
 to see her sometime this evening." 
 
 She strolled away. The waiter remained patiently 
 upon the threshold. 
 
 " Coffee for one or two, sir? " he enquired. 
 
 Mr. Draconmeyer struggled for a moment against 
 a torrent of words which scorched his lips. In the 
 end, however, he triumphed. 
 
 "For one, with cream," he ordered.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 A NEW MAP OF THE EARTH 
 
 Selingman, who was leaning back in a leather- 
 padded chair and smoking a very excellent cigar, 
 looked around at his companions with a smile of 
 complete approval. 
 
 " Our host," he declared, bowing to Mr. Grex, 
 " has surpassed himself. For a hired yacht I have 
 seen nothing more magnificent. A Cabinet Moselle, 
 Flor de Cuba cigars, the best of company, and an 
 isolation beyond all question. What place could 
 suit us better ? " 
 
 There was a little murmur of assent. The four 
 men were seated together in the wonderfully deco- 
 rated saloon of what was, beyond doubt, a most lux- 
 urious yacht. Through the open porthole were vis- 
 ible, every few moments, as the yacht rose and sank 
 on the swell, the long line of lights which fringed the 
 shore between Monte Carlo and Mentone; the moun- 
 tains beyond, with tiny lights flickering like spangles 
 in a black mantle of darkness ; and further round still, 
 the stream of light from the Casino, reflected far 
 and wide upon the black waters. 
 
 " None," Mr. Grex asserted confidently. K We 
 are at least beyond reach of these bungling English 
 spies. There is no further fear of eavesdroppers. 
 We are entirely alone. Each may speak his own
 
 346 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 mind. There is nothing to be feared in the way of 
 interruption. I trust, Monsieur Douaille, that you 
 appreciate the altered circumstances." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille, who was looking very much 
 more at his ease, assented without hesitation. 
 
 " I must confess," he agreed, " that the isolation 
 we now enjoy is, to a certain extent, reassuring. 
 Here we need no longer whisper. One may listen 
 carefully. One may weigh well what is said. Sooner 
 or later we must come to the crucial point. This, 
 if you like, is a game of make-believe. Then, in 
 make-believe, Germany has offered to restore Alsace, 
 and Lorraine, has offered to hold all French territory 
 as sacred, provided France allows her to occupy 
 Calais for one year. What is your object, Herr Se- 
 lingman? Do you indeed wish to invade England? " 
 
 Selingman poured himself out a glass of wine from 
 the bottle which stood at his elbow. 
 
 " Good ! " he said. " We have come to plain ques- 
 tions. I answer in plain speech. I will tell you now, 
 in a few words, all that remains to be told. Ger- 
 many has no desire to invade Great Britain. If one 
 may believe the newspapers, there is scarcely an Eng- 
 lishman alive who would credit this simple fact, but 
 it is nevertheless true. Commercially, England, and 
 a certain measure of English prosperity, are neces- 
 sary to Germany. Geographically, there are cer- 
 tain risks to be run in an invasion of that country, 
 which we do not consider worth while. Besides, an 
 invasion, even a successful one, would result in mak- 
 ing an everlasting and a bitter enemy of Great Brit- 
 ain. We learnt our lesson when we took territory 
 from France. We do not need to repeat it. Sev-
 
 A NEW MAP OF THE EARTH 347 
 
 eral hundred thousands of our most worthy citizens 
 are finding an honest and prosperous living in Lon- 
 don. Several thousands of our merchants are in 
 business there, and prospering. Several hundreds of 
 our shrewdest men of affairs are making fortunes 
 upon the London Stock Exchange. Therefore, we 
 do not wish to conquer England. Commercially, 
 that conquest is already affected. I want you, Mon- 
 sieur Douaille, to absolutely understand this, because 
 it may affect your views. What we do require is to 
 strike a long and lasting blow at the navy of Great 
 Britain. As a somewhat larger Holland, Great 
 Britain is welcome to a peaceful existence. When 
 she lords it over the world, talks of an Empire upon 
 which the sun never sets, then the time arrives when 
 we are forced to interfere. Great Britain has pos- 
 sessions which she is not strong enough to hold. Ger- 
 many is strong enough to wrest them from her, and 
 means to do so. The English fleet must be destroyed. 
 South Africa, then, will come to Germany, India to 
 Russia, Egypt to France. The rest follows as a 
 matter of course." 
 
 " And what is the rest ? " Monsieur Douaille 
 asked. 
 
 Herr Selingman was content no longer to sit in 
 his place. He rose to his feet. His face had fallen 
 into different lines. His eyes flashed, his words were 
 inspired. 
 
 ** The rest," he declared, " is the crux of the whole 
 matter. It is the one great and settled goal to- 
 wards which we who have understood have schemed 
 and fought our way. With the British Navy de- 
 stroyed, the Monroe Doctrine is not worth a sheet
 
 348 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 of writing-paper. South America is Germany's nat- 
 ural heritage, by every right worth considering. It 
 is our people's gold which founded the Argentine Re- 
 public, the brains of our people which control its 
 destinies. Our Eldorado is there, Monsieur Dou- 
 aille. That is the country which, sooner or later, 
 Germany must possess. We look nowhere else. We 
 covet no other of our neighbours' possessions. Only 
 I say that the sooner America makes up her mind to 
 the sacrifice, the better. Her Monroe Doctrine is 
 all very well for the Northern States. When she 
 presumes to quote it as a pretext for keeping Ger- 
 many from her natural place in South America, she 
 crosses swords with us. Now you know the truth, 
 and the whole truth. You know, Monsieur Douaille, 
 what we require from you, and you know your re- 
 ward. Our host has already told you, and will tell 
 you again as often as you like, the feeling of his own 
 country. The Franco-Russian alliance is already 
 doomed. It falls to pieces through sheer lack of 
 common interests. The entente cordiale is simply 
 a fetter and a dead weight upon you. Monsieur 
 Douaille, I put it to you as a man of common sense. 
 Do you think that you, as a statesman you see, I 
 will put the burden upon your shoulders, because, if 
 you choose, you can speak for your country do 
 you think that you have a right to refuse from Ger- 
 many the return of Alsace and Lorraine? Do you 
 think that you can look your country in the face 
 if you refuse on her behalf the greatest gift which 
 has ever yet been offered to any nation the gift 
 of Egypt? The old alliances are out of date. The 
 balance of power has shifted. I ask you, Monsieur
 
 A NEW MAP OF THE EARTH 349 
 
 Douaille, as you value the prosperity and welfare 
 of your country, to weigh what I have said and what 
 our great Russian friend has said, word by word. 
 England has made no sacrifices for you. Why should 
 you sacrifice yourself for her ? " 
 
 Monsieur Douaille stroked his little grey imperial. 
 
 " That is well enough," he muttered, " but with- 
 out the English Navy the balance of power upon the 
 Continent is entirely upset." 
 
 " The balance of power only according to the pres- 
 ent grouping of interests," Mr. Grex pointed out. 
 " Selingman has shown us how these must change. 
 Frankly, although no one can fail to realise the im- 
 mense importance of South America as a colonising 
 centre, it is my honest opinion that the nation who 
 scores most by my friend Selingman's plans, is not 
 Germany but France. Think what it means to her. 
 Instead of being a secondary Power, she will of her 
 own might absolutely control the Mediterranean. 
 Egypt, with its vast possibilities, its ever-elastic 
 boundary, falls to her hand. Malta and Cyprus fol- 
 low. It is a great price that Germany is prepared 
 to pay." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille was silent for several moments. 
 It was obvious that he was deeply impressed. 
 
 " This is a matter," he said, " which must be con- 
 sidered from many points of view. Supposing 
 that France were willing to bury the hatchet with 
 Germany, to remain neutral or to place Calais at 
 Germany's disposal. Even then, do you suppose, 
 Herr Selingman, that it would be an easy matter to 
 destroy the British Navy?" 
 
 " We have our plans," Selingman declared sol-
 
 350 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 emnly. " We know very well that they can be car- 
 ried out only at a great loss both of men and ships. 
 It is a gloomy and terrible task that lies before us, 
 but at the other end of it is the glory that never 
 fades." 
 
 " If America," Douaille remarked, " were to have 
 an inkling of your real objective, her own fleet would 
 come to the rescue." 
 
 " Why should America know of our ultimate 
 aims?" Selingman rejoined. "Her politicians to- 
 day choose to play the part of the ostrich in the des- 
 ert. They take no account, or profess to take no 
 account of European happenings. They have no 
 Secret Service. Their country is governed from 
 within for herself only. As for the rest, the bogey 
 of a German invasion has been flaunted so long in 
 England that few people stop to realise the absolute 
 futility of such a course. London is already col- 
 onised by Germans colonised, that is to say, in 
 urban and money-making fashion. English gold is 
 flowing in a never-ending stream into our country. 
 It would be the most foolish dream an ambitious 
 statesman could conceive to lay violent hands upon 
 a land teeming with one's own children. Germany 
 sees further than this. There are richer prizes 
 across the Atlantic, richer prizes from every point 
 of view." 
 
 " You mentioned South Africa," Monsieur Dou- 
 aille murmured. 
 
 Selingman shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " South Africa will make no nation rich," he re- 
 plied. " Her own people are too stubborn and pow- 
 erful, too rooted to the soil."
 
 A NEW MAP OF THE EARTH 351 
 
 Monsieur Douaille for the first time stretched out 
 bis hand and drank some of the wine which stood by 
 his side. His cheeks were very pale. He had the 
 appearance of a man tortured by conflicting 
 thoughts. 
 
 " I should like to ask you, Selingman," he said, 
 " whether you have made any definite plans for your 
 conflict with the British Navy? I admit that the 
 days of England's unique greatness are over. She 
 may not be in a position to-day, as she has been in 
 former years, to fight the world. At the same time, 
 her one indomitable power is still, whatever people 
 may say or think, her navy. Only last month the 
 Cabinet of my country were considering reports from 
 their secret agents and placing them side by side 
 with known facts, as to the relative strength of your 
 navy and the navy of Great Britain. On paper it 
 would seem that a German success was impossible." 
 
 Selingman smiled the convincing smile of a man 
 who sees further than most men. 
 
 " Not under the terms I should propose to you, 
 Monsieur Douaille," he declared. " Remember that 
 we should hold Calais, and we should be assured at 
 least of the amiable neutrah'ty of your fleet. We 
 have spoken of matters so intimate that I do not 
 know whether in this absolute privacy I should not 
 be justified in going further and disclosing to you 
 our whole scheme for an attack upon the English 
 Navy. It would need only an expression of your 
 sympathy with those views which we have discussed, 
 to induce me to do so." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille hesitated for several moments 
 before he replied.
 
 352 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 ** I am a citizen of France," he said, " an envoy 
 without powers to treat. My own province is to 
 listen." 
 
 " But your personal sympathies ? " Selingman per- 
 sisted. 
 
 " I have sometimes thought," Monsieur Douaille 
 confessed, " that the present grouping of European 
 Powers must gradually change. If your country, for 
 instance," he added, turning to Mr. Grex, " indeed 
 embraces the proposals of Herr Selingman, France 
 must of necessity be driven to reconsider her position 
 towards England. The Anglo-Saxon race may have 
 to battle then for her very existence. Yet it is al- 
 ways to be remembered that in the background are 
 the United States of America, possessing resources 
 and wealth greater than any other country in the 
 universe." 
 
 " And it must also be remembered," Selingman 
 proclaimed, in a tone of ponderous conviction, " that 
 she possesses no adequate means of guarding them, 
 that she is not a military nation, that she has not 
 the strength to enforce the carrying out of the Mon- 
 roe Doctrine. Things were all very well for her 
 before the days of wireless telegraphy, of aeroplanes 
 and airships, of super-dreadnoughts, and cruisers 
 with the speed of express trains. She was too far 
 away to be concerned in European turmoils. To- 
 day science is annihilating distance. America, leav- 
 ing out of account altogether her military impotence, 
 would need a fleet three times her present strength 
 to enforce the Monroe Doctrine for the remainder 
 not of this century but of this decade." 
 
 Then the bombshell fell. A strange voice sud
 
 A NEW MAP OF THE EARTH 353 
 
 denly intervened, a voice whose American accent 
 seemed more marked than usual. The four men 
 turned their heads. Selingman sprang to his feet. 
 Mr. Grex's face was marble in its whiteness. Mon- 
 sieur Douaille, with a nervous sweep of his right 
 arm, sent his glass crashing to the floor. They all 
 looked in the same direction, up to the little music 
 gallery. Leaning over in a careless attitude, with 
 his arms folded upon the rail, was Richard Lane. 
 
 " Say," he begged, " can I take a hand i this lit- 
 tle discussion? "
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 CHECKMATE ! 
 
 Of the four men, Selingman was the first to recover 
 himself. 
 
 "Who the hell are you, and how did you get up 
 there? " he roared. 
 
 " I am Richard Lane," the young man explained 
 affably, " and there's a way up from the music-room. 
 You probably didn't notice it. And there's a way 
 down, as you may perceive," he added, pointing to 
 the spiral staircase. " I'll join you, if I may." 
 
 There was a dead silence as for a moment Richard 
 disappeared and was seen immediately afterwards 
 descending the round staircase. Mr. Grex touched 
 Selingman on the arm and whispered in his ear. Sel- 
 ingman nodded. There were evil things in the faces 
 of both men as Lane approached them. 
 
 " Will you kindly explain your presence here at 
 once, sir ? " Mr. Grex ordered. 
 
 "I say!" Richard protested. "A joke's a joke, 
 but when you ask a man to explain his presence on 
 his own boat, you're coming it just a little thick, eh? 
 To tell you the truth, I had some sort of an idea of 
 asking you the same question." 
 
 "What do you mean your own boat?" Dr- 
 conmeyer demanded.
 
 CHECKMATE! 355 
 
 He was, perhaps, the first to realise the situation. 
 Richard thrust his hands into his pockets and sat 
 upon the edge of the table. 
 
 " Seems to me," he remarked, " that you gentle- 
 men have made some sort of a mistake. Where do 
 you think you are, anyway ? " 
 
 " On board Schwann's yacht, the Christabel," 
 Selingman replied. 
 
 Richard shook his head. 
 
 "Not a bit of it," he assured them. "This is 
 the steam-yacht, Minnehaha, which brought me over 
 from New York, and of which I am most assuredly 
 the owner. Now I come to think of it," he went on, 
 " there was another yacht leaving the harbour at the 
 same time. Can't have happened that you boarded 
 the wrong boat, eh? " 
 
 Mr. Grex was icily calm, but there was menace of 
 the most dangerous sort in his look and manner. 
 
 " Nothing of that sort was possible," he declared, 
 '* as you are, without doubt, perfectly well aware. 
 It appears to me that this is a deliberate plot. The 
 yacht which I and my friends thought that we were 
 boarding to-night was the Christabel, which my 
 servant had instructions to hire from Schwann of 
 Monaco. I await some explanation from you, sir, 
 as to your purpose in sending your pinnace to the 
 landing-stage of the Villa Mimosa and deliberately 
 misleading us as to our destination ? " 
 
 "Well, I don't know that I've got much to say 
 about that," Richard replied easfly. 
 
 " You are offering us no explanation ? " Seling- 
 man demanded. 
 
 " None," Richard assented coolly.
 
 356 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 Selingman suddenly struck the table with his 
 clenched fist. 
 
 " You were not alone up in that gallery ! " 
 
 " Getting warm, aren't you? " Richard murmured. 
 
 Selingman turned to Grex. 
 
 " This young man is Hunterleys' friend. They've 
 fixed this up between them. Listen ! " 
 
 A door slammed above their heads. Some one had 
 left the music gallery. 
 
 " Hunterleys himself ! " Selingman cried. 
 
 " Sure ! " Richard assented. " Bright fellow, Se- 
 lingman," he continued amiably. " I wouldn't try 
 that on, if I were you," he added, turning to Mr. 
 Grex, whose hand was slowly stealing from the back 
 of his coat. " That sort of thing doesn't do, nowa- 
 days. Revolvers belong to the last decade of in- 
 trigue. You're a bit out of date with that little 
 weapon. Don't be foolish. I am not angry with 
 any of you. I am willing to take this little joke 
 pleasantly, but " 
 
 He raised a whistle to his lips and blew it. The 
 door at the further end of the saloon was opened 
 as though by magic. A steward in the yacht's uni- 
 form appeared. From outside was visible a very 
 formidable line of sailors. Grex, with a swift ges- 
 ture, slipped something back into his pocket, some- 
 thing which glittered like silver. 
 
 " Serve some champagne, Reynolds," Richard or- 
 dered the steward who had come hurrying in, " and 
 bring some cigars." 
 
 The man withdrew. Richard seated himself once 
 more upon the table, clasping one knee. 
 
 " Look here," he said, " I'll be frank with you. I
 
 CHECKMATE! 357 
 
 came into this little affair for the sake of a pal. It 
 was only by accident that I found my way up yon- 
 der more to look after him than anything. I 
 never imagined that you would have anything to say 
 that was interesting to me. Seems I was wrong, 
 though. You've got things very nicely worked out, 
 Mr. Selingman." 
 
 Selingman glared at the young man but said noth- 
 ing. The others, too, were all remarkably bereft of 
 words. 
 
 " Don't mind my staying for a little chat, do 
 you ? " Richard continued pleasantly. " You see, I 
 am an American and I am kind of interested in the 
 latter portion of what you had to say. I dare say 
 you're quite right in some respects. We are a trifle 
 too commercial and a trifle too cocksure. You see, 
 things have always gone our way. All the same, 
 we've got the stuff, you know. Just consider this. 
 If I thought there was any real need for it, and I 
 begin to think that perhaps there may be, I should 
 be ready to present the United States with a Dread- 
 nought to-morrow, and I don't know that I should 
 need to spend very much less myself. And," he went 
 on, " there are thirty or forty others who could and 
 would do the same. Tidy little fleet we should soon 
 have, you see, without a penny of taxation. Of 
 course, I know we would need the men, but we've a 
 grand reserve to draw upon in the West. They are 
 not bothering about the navy in times of peace, but 
 they'd stream into it fast enough if there were any 
 real need." 
 
 The chief steward appeared, followed by two or 
 three of his subordinates. A tray of wine was placed
 
 358 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 upon the table. Bottles were opened, but no one 
 made any attempt to drink. Richard filled his own 
 glass and motioned the men to withdraw. 
 
 "Prefer your own wine?" he remarked. "Well, 
 now, that's too bad. Hope I'm not boring you ? " 
 
 No one spoke or moved. Richard settled himself 
 a little more comfortably upon the table. 
 
 " I can't tell you all," he proceeded, " how inter- 
 ested I have been, listening up there. Quite a gift 
 of putting things clearly, if I may be allowed to say 
 so, you seem to possess, Mr. Selingman. Now here's 
 my repiy as one of the poor Anglo-Saxons from the 
 West who've got to make room in the best parts of 
 the world for your lubberly German colonists. If 
 you make a move in the game you've been talking so 
 glibly about, if my word counts for anything, if my 
 persuasions count for anything and I've facts to 
 go on, you know you'll have the American fleet to 
 deal with at the same time as the English, and I fancy 
 that will be a trifle more than you can chew up, eh? 
 I'm going back to America a little earlier than I an- 
 ticipated. Of course, they'll laugh at me at first in 
 Washington. They don't believe much in these 
 round-table conferences and European plots. But 
 all the same I've got some friends there. We'll try 
 and remember this amiable little statement of policy 
 of yours, Mr. Selingman. Nothing like being 
 warned, you know." 
 
 Mr. Grex rose from his place. 
 
 " Sir," he said, " since we have been and are your 
 unwilling guests, will you be so good as to arrange 
 for us at once to relieve you of our presence? " 
 
 "Well, I'm not so sure about that," Richard re-
 
 CHECKMATE! 359 
 
 marked, meditatively. " I think I'd contribute a 
 good deal to the comfort and happiness of this gen- 
 eration if I took you all out to sea and dropped you 
 overboard, one by one." 
 
 " As I presume you have no such intention," Mr. 
 Grex persisted, " I repeat that we should be glad to 
 be allowed to land." 
 
 Richard abandoned his indolent posture and stood 
 facing them. 
 
 " You came on board, gentlemen, without my invi- 
 tation," he reminded them. " You will leave my ship 
 when I choose and that," he added, "is not just 
 at present." 
 
 " Do you mean that we are to consider ourselves 
 your prisoners ? " Draconmeyer asked, with an acid 
 smile. 
 
 " Certainly not my guests," Richard replied, 
 with a bow. " I can assure you that it will only be a 
 matter of a few hours." 
 
 Monsieur Douaille hammered the table with his 
 fist. 
 
 " Young man," he exclaimed, " I leave with j ju ! 
 I insist upon it that I am permitted to leave. 1 am 
 not a party to this conference. I am merely a guest, 
 a listener, here wholly in my private capacity. I 
 will not be associated with whatever political scan- 
 dal may arise from this affair. I demand permis- 
 sion to leave at once." 
 
 " Seems to me there's something in what you say," 
 Richard admitted. " Very well, you can come along. 
 I dare say Hunterleys will be glad to have a chat 
 with you. As for the rest of you," he concluded, as 
 Monsieur Douaille rose promptly to his feet, " I have
 
 360 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 a little business to arrange on land which I think I 
 could manage better whilst you are at sea. I shalJ 
 therefore, gentlemen, wish you good evening. Pray 
 consider my yacht entirely at your disposal. My 
 stewards will be only too happy to execute any or- 
 ders supper, breakfast, or dinner. You have 
 merely to say the word." 
 
 He turned towards the door, closely followed by 
 Douaille, who, in a state of great excitement, re- 
 fused to listen to Selingman's entreaties. 
 
 " No, no! " the former objected, shaking his head. 
 " I will not stay. I will not be associated with this 
 meeting. You are bunglers, all of you. I came 
 only to listen, on your solemn assurance of entire 
 secrecy. We are spied upon at the Villa Mimosa, 
 we are made fools of on board this yacht. No more 
 unofficial meetings for me ! " 
 
 " Ouite right, old fellow," Richard declared, as 
 they gassed out and on to the deck. " Set of wrong 
 'uns, those chaps, even though Mr. Grex is a Grand 
 Duke. You know Sir Henry Hunterleys, don't 
 yot ? " 
 
 Hunterleys came forward from the gangway, at 
 the foot of which the pinnace was waiting. 
 
 " We are taking Monsieur Douaille ashore," Rich- 
 ard explained, as the two men shook hands. " He 
 really doesn't belong to that gang and he wants to 
 cut adrift. You understand my orders exactly, cap- 
 tain? " he asked, as they stepped down the iron 
 gangway. 
 
 " Perfectly, sir," was the prompt reply. " Yov 
 may rely upon me. I am afraid they are beginning 
 to make a noise downstairs already ! "
 
 CHECKMATE! 361 
 
 The little pinnace shot out a stream of light across 
 the dark, placid sea. Douaille was talking earnestly 
 to Hunterleys. 
 
 " Pleasantest few minutes I ever spent in my life," 
 Richard murmured, as he took out his cigarette case.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 AN AMAZING ELOPEMENT 
 
 The sun was shining brilliantly and the sky was 
 cloudless as Richard turned his automobile into the 
 grounds of the Villa Mimosa, soon after nine o'clock 
 on the following morning. The yellow-blossomed 
 trees, slightly stirred by the west wind, formed a 
 golden arch across the winding avenue. The air 
 was sweet, almost faint with perfume. On the ter- 
 race, holding a pair of field-glasses in her hand and 
 gazing intently out to sea, was Fedora. At the 
 sound of the motor-horn she turned quickly. She 
 looked at the visitor in surprise. A shade of pink 
 was in her face. Lane brought the car to a stand- 
 still, jumped out and climbed the steps of the ter- 
 race. 
 
 " What has brought you here ? " she asked, in 
 surprise. 
 
 " I have just come to pay you a little visit," he 
 remarked easily. " I was only afraid you mightn't 
 be up so early." 
 
 She bit her lip. 
 
 " You have no right to come here at all," she said 
 severely, " and to present yourself at this hour is 
 unheard of." 
 
 " I came early entirely out of consideration for 
 your father," he assured her. 
 
 She frowned.
 
 AN AMAZING ELOPEMENT 363 
 
 *' My father ? " she repeated. " Please explain at 
 once what you mean. My father is on that yacht 
 and I cannot imagine why he does not return." 
 
 " I can tell you," he answered, standing by her 
 side and looking out seawards. " They are waiting 
 for my orders before they let him off." 
 
 She turned her head and looked at him incredu- 
 lously. 
 
 " Explain yourself, please," she insisted. 
 
 " With pleasure," he assented. " You see, I just 
 had to make sure of being allowed to have a few min- 
 utes' conversation with you, free from any interrup- 
 tion. Somehow or other," he added thoughtfully, 
 " I don't believe your father likes me." 
 
 " I do not think," she replied coldly, " that my 
 father has any feelings about you at all, except that 
 he thinks you are abominably presumptuous." 
 
 " Because I want to marry you ? " 
 
 She stamped with her foot upon the ground. 
 
 " Please do not say such absurd things ! Explain 
 to me at once what you mean by saying that my 
 father is being kept there by your orders." 
 
 " I'll try," Lane answered. " He boarded that 
 yacht last night in mistake. He thought that it 
 was a hired one, but it isn't. It's mine. I found 
 him there last night, entertaining a little party of his 
 friends in the saloon. They seemed quite comforta- 
 ble, so I begged them to remain on as my guests for 
 a short time." 
 
 " To remain ? " she murmured, bewildered. " For 
 how long? " 
 
 " Until you've just read this through and thought 
 it over."
 
 364 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 He passed her a document which he had drawn 
 from his pocket. She took it from him wonderingly. 
 When she had read a few lines, the colour came 
 streaming into her cheeks. She threw it to the 
 ground. He picked it up and replaced it in his 
 pocket. 
 
 " But it is preposterous ! " she cried. " That is a 
 marriage license ! " 
 
 " That's precisely what it is," he admitted. " I 
 thought we'd be married at Nice. My sister is wait- 
 ing to go along with us. I said we'd pick her up at 
 the Hotel de Paris." 
 
 Severe critics of her undoubted beauty had ven- 
 tured at times to say that Fedora's face lacked ex- 
 pression. There was, at that moment, no room for 
 any such criticism. Amazement struggled with in- 
 dignation in her eyes. Her lips were quivering, her 
 breath was coming quickly. 
 
 " Do you mean have you given her or any one 
 to understand that there was any likelihood of my 
 consenting to such an absurd scheme ? " 
 
 " I only told her what I hoped," he said quietly. 
 " That is all I dared say even to myself. But I 
 want you to listen to me." 
 
 His voice had grown softer. She turned her head 
 and looked at him. He was much taller than she 
 was, and in his grey tweed suit, his head a little 
 thrown back, his straw hat clasped in his hands be- 
 hind him, his clear grey eyes full of serious purpose, 
 he was certainly not an unattractive figure to look 
 upon. Unconsciously she found herself comparing 
 him once more with the men of her world, found her- 
 self realising, even against her will, the charm of his
 
 AN AMAZING ELOPEMENT 365 
 
 naive and dogged honesty, his youth, his tenacity of 
 purpose. She had never been made love to like this 
 before. 
 
 " Please listen," he begged. " I am afraid that 
 your father must be in a tearing rage by now, but it 
 can't be helped. He is out there and he hasn't got 
 an earthly chance of getting back until I give the 
 word. We've got plenty of time to reach Nice be- 
 fore he can land. I just want you to realise, Fe- 
 dora, that you are your own mistress. You can 
 make or spoil your own life. No one else has any 
 right to interfere. Have you ever seen any one yet, 
 back in your own country, amongst your own people, 
 whom you really felt that you cared for who you 
 really believed would be willing to lay down his life 
 to make you happy? " 
 
 " No," she confessed simply, " I do not know that 
 I have. Our men are not like that." 
 
 " It is because," he went on, " there is no one back 
 there who cares as I do. I have spent some years of 
 my life looking quite unconsciously, but looking 
 all the same for some one like you. Now I have 
 found you I am glad I have waited. There couldn't 
 be any one else. There never could be, Fedora. I 
 love you just in the way a man does love once in his 
 life, if he's lucky. It's a queer sort of feeling, you 
 know," he continued, leaning a little towards her. 
 " It makes me quite sure that I could make you 
 happy. It makes me quite sure that if you'll give 
 me your hand and trust me, and leave everything to 
 me, you'll have just the things in life that women 
 want. Won't you be brave, Fedora? There are 
 some things to break through, I know, but they don't;
 
 366 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 amount to much they don't, really. And I love 
 you, you know. You can't imagine yet what a won- 
 derful difference that makes. You'll find out and 
 you'll be glad." 
 
 She stood quite still. Her eyes were still fixed 
 seawards, but she was looking beyond the yacht, now, 
 to the dim line where sky and sea seemed to meet. 
 The vision of her past days seemed to be drawn out 
 before her, a little monotonous, a little wearisome 
 even in their splendour, more than a little empty. 
 And underneath it all she was listening to the new 
 music, and her heart was telling her the truth. 
 
 " You don't need to make any plans," he said 
 softly. " Go and put on your hat and something to 
 wear motoring. Bring a dressing-bag, if you like. 
 Flossie is waiting for us and she is rather a dear. 
 You can leave everything else to me." 
 
 She looked timidly into his eyes. A new feeling 
 was upon her. She gave him her hand almost shyly. 
 Her voice trembled. 
 
 " If I come," she whispered, " you are quite sure 
 that you mean it all? You are quite sure that you 
 will not change? " 
 
 He raised her hand to his lips. 
 
 " Not in this world, dear," he answered, with sub- 
 lime confidence, " nor any other ! " 
 
 She stole away from him. He was left alone upon 
 the terrace, alone, but with the exquisite conviction 
 of her return, promised in that last half-tremulous, 
 half-smiling look over her shoulder. Then suddenly 
 life seemed to come to him with a rush, a new life, 
 filled with a new splendour. He was almost humbly 
 conscious of bigger things than he had ever realised,
 
 AN AMAZING ELOPEMENT 367 
 
 a nearness to the clouds, a wonderful, thrilling sense 
 of complete and absolute happiness. . . . Reluc- 
 tantly he came back to earth. His thoughts be- 
 came practical. He went to the back of his car, 
 drew out a rocket on a stick and thrust it firmly into 
 the lawn. Then he started his engine and almost 
 immediately afterwards she came. She was wearing 
 a white silk motor-coat and a thick veil. Behind her 
 came a bewildered French maid, carrying wraps, and 
 a man-servant with a heavy dressing-case. In si- 
 lence these things were stowed away. She took her 
 place in the car. Lane struck a match and stepped 
 on to the lawn. 
 
 " Don't be frightened," he said. " Here goes ! " 
 
 A rocket soared up into the sky. Then he seated 
 himself beside her and they glided off. 
 
 "That means," he explained, "that they'll let 
 your father and the others off in two hours. Give 
 us plenty of time to get to Nice. Have you left 
 any word for him? " 
 
 " I have left a very short message," she answered, 
 " to say that I was going to marry you. He will 
 never forgive me, and I feel very wicked and very 
 ungrateful." 
 
 "Anything else?" he whispered, leaning a little 
 towards her. 
 
 She sighed. 
 
 ** And very happy," she murmured.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 HONEYMOONING 
 
 Hunterleys saw the Right Honourable Meredith 
 Simpson and Monsieur Douaille off to Paris early 
 that morning. Then he called round at the hospital 
 to find that Sidney Roche was out of danger, and 
 went on to the villa with the good news. On his way 
 back he stayed chatting with the bank manager until 
 rather later than usual, and afterwards strolled on 
 to the Terrace, where he looked with some eagerness 
 towards a certain point in the bay. The Minne- 
 haha had departed. Mr. Grex and his friends, 
 then, had been set free. Hunterleys returned to the 
 hotel thoughtfully. At the entrance he came across 
 two or three trunks being wheeled out, which seemed^ 
 to him somehow familiar. He stopped to look at 
 the initials. They were his wife's. 
 
 " Is Lady Hunterleys leaving to-day ? " he asked 
 the luggage-porter. 
 
 " By the evening train, sir," the man announced. 
 " She would have caught the Cote d'Azur this morn- 
 ing but there was no place on the train." 
 
 Hunterleys was perplexed. Some time after 
 luncheon he enquired for Lady Hunterleys and found 
 that she was not in the hotel. A reception clerk 
 thought that he had seen her go through on her way 
 ito the Sporting Club. Hunterleys, after some mo-
 
 HONEYMOONING 369 
 
 ments of indecision, followed her. He was puzzled 
 at her impending departure, unable to account for 
 it. The Draconmeyers, he knew, proposed to stay 
 for another month. He walked thoughtfully along 
 the private way and climbed the stairs into the Club. 
 He looked for his wife in her usual place. She was 
 not there. He made a little promenade of the rooms 
 and eventually he found her amongst the spectators 
 around the baccarat table. He approached her at 
 once. 
 
 " You are not playing? " 
 
 She started at the sound of his voice. She was 
 dressed very simply in travelling clothes, and there 
 were lines under her eyes, as though she were fa- 
 tigued. 
 
 " No," she admitted, " I am not playing." 
 
 " I understood in the hotel," he continued, " that 
 you were leaving to-day." 
 
 " I am going back to England," she announced. 
 " It does not amuse me here any longer." 
 
 He realised at once that something had happened. 
 A curious sense of excitement stole into his blood. 
 
 " If you are not playing here, will you come and 
 sit down for a few moments? " he invited. " I should 
 like to talk to you." 
 
 She followed him without a word. He led the way 
 to one of the divans in the roulette room. 
 
 " Your favourite place," he remarked, " is occu- 
 pied." 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " I have given up playing," she told him. 
 
 He looked at her in some surprise. She drew a 
 little breath and kept her eyes steadily averted.
 
 370 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " You will probably know sometime or other," she 
 continued, " so I will tell you now. I have lost four 
 thousand pounds to Mr. Draconmeyer. I am going 
 back to England to realise my own money, so as to 
 be able to pay him at once." 
 
 " You borrowed four thousand pounds from Mr. 
 Draconmeyer? " he repeated incredulously. 
 
 " Yes ! It was very foolish, I know, and I have 
 lost every penny of it. I am not the first woman, I 
 suppose, who has lost her head at Monte Carlo," she 
 added, a little defiantly. 
 
 " Does Mr. Draconmeyer know that you are leav- 
 ing? " he asked. 
 
 " Not yet," she answered, after a moment's hesi- 
 tation. " I had an interview with him yesterday 
 and I realised at once that the money must be paid, 
 and without delay. I realised, too, that it was bet- 
 ter I should leave Monte Carlo and break off my asso- 
 ciation with these people for the present." 
 
 In a sense it was a sordid story, yet to Hunterleys 
 her words sounded like music. 
 
 " I am very pleased indeed," he said quietly, " that 
 you feel like that. Draconmeyer is not a man to 
 whom I should like my wife to owe money for a mo- 
 ment longer than was absolutely necessary." 
 
 " Your estimate of him was correct," she con- 
 fessed slowly. " I am sorry, Henry." 
 
 He rose suddenly to his feet. An inspiration had 
 seized him. 
 
 " Come," he declared, " we will pay Draconmeyer 
 back without sending you home to sell your securi- 
 ties. Come and stand with me." 
 
 She looked at him in amazement.
 
 HONEYMOONING 371 
 
 " Henry ! " she exclaimed. " You are not going 
 to play ? Don't ! Take my advice and don't ! " 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " We'll see," he replied confidently. " You 
 wouldn't believe that I was a fatalist, would you? I 
 am, though. Everything that I had hoped for seems 
 to be happening to-day. You have found out Dra- 
 conmeyer, we have checkmated Mr. Grex, I have 
 drunk the health of Felicia and David Briston " 
 
 " Felicia and David Briston ? " she interrupted 
 quickly. " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " You knew, of course, that they weve engaged ? " 
 he explained. " I called round at the villa this morn- 
 ing, after I had been to the hospital, and found them 
 busy fixing the wedding day." 
 
 She looked at him vaguely. 
 
 "Engaged?" she murmured. "Why, I 
 thought " 
 
 A spot of colour suddenly burned in her cheeks. 
 She was beginning to understand. It was Dracon- 
 meyer who had put those ideas into her head. Her 
 heart gave a little leap. 
 
 " Henry ! " she whispered. 
 
 He was already at the table, however. He 
 changed five mille notes deliberately, counted his 
 plaques and turned to her. 
 
 " I am going to play on your principle," he de- 
 clared. " I have always thought it an interesting 
 one. See, the last number was twenty-two. I am 
 going to back twenty and all the carres" 
 
 He covered the board around number twenty. 
 There were a few minutes of suspense, then the click 
 as the ball fell into the little space.
 
 372 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Vingt-huit, noir, passe et pair! " the croupier 
 announced. 
 
 Hunterleys* stake was swept away. He only 
 smiled. 
 
 " Our numbers are going to turn up," he insisted 
 cheerfully. " I am certain of it now. Do you know 
 that this is the first time I have played since I have 
 been in Monte Carlo? " 
 
 She watched him half in fear. This time he staked 
 on twenty-nine, with the maximum en plein and all 
 the carres and chevaux. Again the few moments 
 of suspense, the click of the ball, the croupier's voice. 
 
 " Vingt-neuf, noir, impair et passe! " 
 
 She clutched at his arm. 
 
 " Henry ! " she gasped. 
 
 He laughed. 
 
 " Open your bag," he directed. " We'll soon fill 
 it." 
 
 He left his stake untouched. Thirty-one turned 
 up. He won two carres and let the table go once 
 without staking. Ten was the next number. Im- 
 mediately he placed the maximum on number four- 
 teen, carres and chevaux. Again the pause, again 
 the croupier's voice. 
 
 " Quatorze rouge, pair et manque! ** 
 
 Hunterleys showed no exultation and scarcely any 
 surprise. He gathered in his winnings and repeated 
 his stake. This time he won one of his carres. The 
 next time quatorze turned up again. For half-an- 
 hour he continued, following his few chosen numbers 
 according to the run of the table. At the end of 
 that time Violet's satchel was full and he was begin- 
 ning to collect mille notes for his plaques. He made
 
 HONEYMOONING 373 
 
 a little calculation in his mind and decided that he* 
 must already have won more than the necessary 
 amount. 
 
 " Our last stake," he remarked coolly. 
 
 The preceding number had been twenty-six. He 
 placed the maximum on twenty-nine, the carres, 
 chevaux, the column, colour and last dozen. He felt 
 Violet's fingers clutching his arm. There was a lit- 
 tle buzz of excitement all round the table as the 
 croupier announced the number. 
 
 " Vingt-neuf noir, impair et passe! "... 
 
 They took their winnings into the anteroom be- 
 yond, where Hunterleys ordered tea. There was a 
 little flush in Violet's cheeks. They counted the 
 money. There was nearly five thousand pounds. 
 
 "Henry!" she exclaimed. "I think that that 
 last coup was the most marvellous win I ever saw ! " 
 
 " A most opportune one, at any rate," he replied 
 grimly. " Look who is coming." 
 
 Draconmeyer had entered the room, and was peer- 
 ing everywhere as though in search of some one. He 
 suddenly caught sight of them, hesitated for a mo- 
 ment and then approached. He addressed himself 
 to Violet. 
 
 " I have just seen Linda," he said. " She is bro- 
 ken-hearted at the thought of your departure." 
 
 " I am sorry to leave her," Violet replied, " but I 
 feel that I have stayed quite long enough in Monte 
 Carlo. By the bye, Mr. Draconmeyer, there is that 
 little affair of the money you were kind enough to 
 advance to me." 
 
 Draconmeyer stood quite still. He looked from 
 husband to wife.
 
 374 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 " Four thousand pounds, my wife tells me," Hun- 
 terleys remarked coolly, as he began to count out the 
 notes. ** It is very good of you indeed to have 
 acted as my wife's banker. Do you mind being paid 
 now? Our movements are a little uncertain and it 
 will save the trouble of sending you a cheque." 
 
 Draconmeyer laughed. It was not a pleasant 
 laugh, nor was it in the least mirthful. 
 
 " Dear me ! " he exclaimed. " I had forgotten 
 that little matter. As you will, certainly." 
 
 He accepted the notes and stuffed them into his 
 pocket. 
 
 "By the bye," he continued, "I think that I 
 ought to congratulate you, Sir Henry. That last 
 little affair of yours was wonderfully stage-managed. 
 Your country owes you more than it is ever likely to 
 pay. You have succeeded, at any rate, in delaying 
 the inevitable." 
 
 " I trust," Hunterleys enquired politely, " that 
 you were not detained upon the yacht for very long? " 
 
 " We landed at the Villa at twelve o'clock this 
 morning," Draconmeyer replied. " You know, of 
 course, of the little surprise our young American 
 friend had prepared for Mr. Grex? " 
 
 Hunterleys shook his head. 
 
 " I have heard nothing definite." 
 
 " He was married to the daughter of the Grand 
 Duke Augustus at midday at Nice," Draconmeyer 
 announced. " His Serene Highness received a tele- 
 phone message only a short time ago." 
 
 Violet gave a little cry. She leaned across the ta- 
 ble eagerly. 
 
 " You mean that they have eloped? "
 
 HONEYMOONING 375 
 
 Draconmeyer assented. 
 
 '* All Monte Carlo will be talking about it to-mor- 
 row," he declared. " The Grand Duke has been do- 
 ing all he can to get it hushed up, but it is useless. 
 I will not detain you any longer. I see that you are 
 about to have tea." 
 
 " We shall meet, perhaps, in London ? " Hunter- 
 leys remarked, as Draconmeyer prepared to depart; 
 
 Draconmeyer shook his head. 
 
 " I think not," he replied. " The doctors have 
 advised me that the climate of England is bad for my 
 wife's health, and I feel that my own work there is 
 finished. I have received an offer to go out to South 
 America for a time. Very likely I shall accept." 
 
 He passed on with a final bow. Violet looked 
 across their table and her eyes shone. 
 
 " It seems like a fairy tale, Henry," she whispered, 
 " You don't know what a load on my mind that 
 money has been, and how I was growing to detest Mr, 
 Draconmeyer." 
 
 He smiled. 
 
 " I was rather hating the beast myself," he ad- 
 mitted. " Tell me, what are your plans, really ? " 
 
 " I hadn't made any," she confessed, " except to 
 get away as quickly as I could." 
 
 He leaned a little across the table. 
 
 " Elopements are rather in the fashion," he said. 
 "What do you think? Couldn't we have a little 
 dinner at Giro's and catch the last train to Nice; 
 have a look at Richard and his wife and then go on 
 to Cannes, and make our way back to England 
 later? " 
 
 She looked at him and his face grew younger.
 
 376 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 There was something in her eyes which reminded him 
 of the days which for so many weary months he had 
 been striving to forget. 
 
 " Henry," she murmured, " I have been very fool- 
 ish. If you can trust me once more, I think I can 
 promise that I'll never be half so idiotic again." 
 
 He rose to his feet blithely. 
 
 "It has been my fault just as much," he de- 
 clared, " and the fault of circumstances. I couldn't 
 tell you the whole truth, but there has been a villain- 
 ous conspiracy going on here. Draconmeyer, Se- 
 lingman, and the Grand Duke were all in it and I have 
 been working like a slave. Now it's all over, fin- 
 ished this morning on Richard's yacht. We've done 
 what we could. I'm a free lance now and we'll spend 
 the holidays together." 
 
 She gave him her fingers across the table and he 
 held them firmly in his. Then she, too, rose and they 
 passed out together. There was a wonderful change 
 in Hunterleys. He seemed to have grown years 
 younger. 
 
 " Come," he exclaimed, " they call this the City of 
 Pleasure, but these are the first happy moments I 
 have spent in it. We'll gamble in five-franc pieces 
 for an hour or so. Then we'll go back to the hotel 
 and have our trunks sent down to the station, dine 
 at Giro's and wire Richard. Where are you going 
 to stake your money ? " 
 
 " I think I shall begin with number twenty-nine," 
 she laughed. 
 
 They lunched with Richard and his wife, a few days 
 later, at the Casino at Cannes. The change in the
 
 HONEYMOONING 377 
 
 two young people was most impressive, Fedora had 
 lost the dignified aloofness of Monte Carlo. She 
 seemed as though she had found her girlhood. She 
 was brilliantly, supremely happy. Richard, on the 
 other hand, was more serious. He took Hunterleys 
 on one side as they waited for the cars. 
 
 " We are on our way to Biarritz," he said, " by 
 easy stages. The yacht will meet us there and we 
 are going to sail at once for America." 
 
 " Fedora doesn't mind? " Hunterleys asked. 
 
 " Not in the least," Richard declared exultantly. 
 " She knows what my duty is, and, Hunterleys, I 
 am going to try and do it. The people over there 
 may need a lot of convincing, but they are going to 
 hear the truth from me and have it drummed into 
 them. It's going to be ' Wake up, America ! ' as well 
 as ' Wake up, England ! ' " 
 
 " Stick at it, Richard," Hunterleys advised. 
 " Don't mind a little discouragement. Men who see 
 the truth and aren't afraid to keep on calling atten- 
 tion to it, get laughed at a great deal. People speak 
 of them tolerantly, listen to what they say, doubt its 
 reasonableness and put it at the back of their heads, 
 but in the end it does good. Your people and mine 
 are slow to believe and slow to understand, but the 
 truth sinks in if one proclaims it often enough and 
 loudly enough. We are going through it in our own 
 country just now, with regard to National Service, 
 for one thing. Plere come your cars. You travel 
 in state, Richard." 
 
 The young man laughed good-naturedly. 
 
 " There's nothing in life which I could give her 
 that Fedora sha'n't have," he asserted. '* We spent
 
 378 MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO 
 
 the first two days absolutely alone. Now her maid 
 and my man come along with the luggage in the heavy 
 car, and we take the little racer. Jolly hard work 
 they have to keep anywhere near us, I can tell you. 
 Say, may I make a rather impertinent remark, Sir 
 Henry?" 
 
 " You have earned the right to say anything to 
 me you choose," Hunterleys replied. " Go ahead." 
 
 " Why, it's only this," Richard continued, a little 
 awkwardly. " I have never seen Lady Hunterleys 
 look half so ripping, and you seem years younger." 
 
 Hunterleys smiled. 
 
 " To tell you the truth, I feel it. You see, years 
 ago, when we started out for our honeymoon, there 
 was a crisis after the first week and we had to rush 
 back to England. We seem to have forgotten to 
 ever finish that honeymoon of ours. We are doing 
 it now." 
 
 The two women came down the steps, the cynosure 
 of a good many eyes, the two most beautiful women 
 in the Casino. Richard helped his wife into her 
 place, wrapped her up and took the steering wheel. 
 
 " Hyeres to-night and Marseilles to-morrow," he 
 announced, " Biarritz on Saturday. We shall stay 
 there for a week, and then ' Wake up, America ! ' : 
 
 The cars glided off. Hunterleys and his wife stood 
 on the steps, waving their hands. 
 
 " Something about those children," Hunterleys 
 declared, as they vanished, " makes me feel absurdly 
 young. Let's go shopping, Violet. I want to buy 
 you some flowers and chocolates." 
 
 She smiled happily as she took his arm for a mo- 
 ment.
 
 HONEYMOONING 379 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 " What would you like to do afterwards ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " I think," she replied, leaning towards him, " that 
 I should like to go to that nice Englishman who lets 
 fillas, and find one right at the edge of the sea, quite 
 hidden, and lock the gates, and give no one our ad- 
 dress, and have you forget for just one month that 
 there was any work to do in the world, or any one 
 else in it except me." 
 
 " Just to make up," he laughed softly. 
 
 " Women are like that, you know," she murmured. 
 
 " The man's office is this way," Hunterleys said 
 turning off the main street. 
 
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