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