“Thissoundsveryshocking，“heremarked。“Ihadnoideathatthelargestcityofthemostenlightenedcountryintheworldwasinsuchasorryplight。“
　　“Oh，curseyoursarcasm，“Mr。Horsersaid。“I’mtalkingfacts，andyou’vegottoknowthem。Willyougiveupthatreport？Youcanfindoutallthereisinitforyourself。ButI’mgoingtogiveityoustraight。IfIdon’thavethatreportbackunread，you’llneverleaveNewYork。“
　　Mr。Sabinwasgenuinelyamused。
　　“Mygoodfellow，“hesaid，“youhavemadeyourselfanotoriouspersoninthiscountrybydintofincessantbullyingandbribingandcorruptionofeverysort。Youmaypossessallthepowersyouclaim。Youronlymistakeseemstobethatyouaretoothick-headedtoknowwhenyouareovermatched。Ihavebeenadiplomatistallmylife，“Mr。Sabinsaid，risingslowlytohisfeet，andwithasuddenintentlookuponhisface，“andifIweretobeoutwittedbysuchanoviceasyouIshoulddeservetoendmydays-inNewYork。“
　　Mr。Horserrosealsotohisfeet。Asmileoftriumphwasonhislips。
　　“Well，“hesaid，“we-Comein！Comein！“Thedoorwasthrownopen。Skinnerandtwopolicemenentered。Mr。Sabinleanedtowardsthewall，andinasecondtheroomwasplungedindarkness。
　　“Turnonthelights！“Skinnershouted。“Seizehim！He’sinthatcorner。Useyourclubs！“Horserbawled。“Standbythedooroneofyou。Damnation，whereisthatswitch？“
　　Hefounditwithashoutoftriumph。Lightsflaredoutintheroom。
　　Theystaredaroundintoeverycorner。Mr。Sabinwasnotthere。
　　ThenHorsersawthedoorleadingintothebed-chamber，andflunghimselfagainstitwithahoarsecryofrage。
　　“Breakitopen！“hecriedtothepolicemen。
　　Theyhammereduponitwiththeirclubs。Mr。Sabin’squietvoicecametothemfromtheotherside。
　　“Praydonotdisturbme，gentlemen，“hesaid。“Iamreading。“
　　“Breakitopen，youdamnedfools！“Horsercried。Theybatteredatitsturdily，butthedoorwasasolidone。Suddenlytheyheardthekeyturninthelock。Mr。Sabinstooduponthethreshold。
　　“Gentlemen！“heexclaimed。“Thesearemyprivateapartments。Whythisviolence？“
　　Heheldoutthepaper。
　　“Thisismine，“hesaid。“Theinformationwhichitcontainsisboughtandpaidfor。Butifthegivingitupwillprocuremetheprivilegeofyourdeparture，praytakeit。
　　Horserwaspurplewithrage。Hepointedwithshakingfisttothestill，calmfigure。
　　“Arresthim，“heordered。“Takehimtothecells。“
　　Mr。Sabinshruggedhisshoulders。
　　“Iamready，“hesaid，“butitisonlyfairtogiveyouthiswarning。
　　IamtheDukeofSouspennier，andIamwellknowninEnglandandFrance。ThepaperwhichyousawmehandtotheporterinthehallaswesteppedintotheelevatorwasadespatchinciphertotheEnglishAmbassadoratWashington，claiminghisprotection。Ifyoutakemetoprisonto-nightyouwillhavehimtodealwithto-morrow。“
　　Mr。Horserborehimselfindefeatbetterthanatanytimeduringtheencounter。Heturnedtotheconstables。
　　“Godownstairsandwaitformeinthehail，“heordered。“Youtoo，Skinner。“
　　Theylefttheroom。HorserturnedtoMr。Sabin，andtheveinsonhisforeheadstoodoutlikewhipcord。
　　“IknowwhenI’mbeaten，“hesaid。“Keepyourreport，andbedamnedtoyou。ButrememberthatyouandIhaveascoretosettle，andyoucanaskthosewhoknowmehowoftenDickHorsercomesoutunderneathinthelongrun。“
　　Hefollowedtheothers。Mr。Sabinsatdowninhiseasy-chairwithaquietsmileuponhislips。Oncemoreheglancedthroughthebriefreport。Thenhiseyeshalfclosed，andhesatquitestill-atired，weary-lookingman，almostunnaturallypale。
　　“Theyhavekepttheirword，“hesaidsoftlytohimself，“aftermanyyears。Aftermanyyears！“
　　Dusoncameintoundresshimshortlyafterwards。Hesawsignsofthestruggle，butmadenocomment。Mr。Sabin，afteramoment’shesitation，tookaphialfromhispocketandpouredafewdropsintoawineglassfulofwater。
　　“Duson，“hesaid，“bringmesomedespatchformsandapencil。“
　　“Yes，sir。“
　　Mr。Sabinwroteforseveralmoments。Thenheplacedtheformsinanenvelope，sealedit，andhandedittoDuson。
　　“Duson，“hesaid，“thatfellowHorserisannoyedwithme。IfI
　　shouldbearrestedonanycharge，orshouldfailtoreturntothehotelwithinreasonabletime，breakthatsealandsendoffthetelegrams。“
　　“Yes，sir。“
　　Mr。Sabinyawned。
　　“Ineedsleep，“hesaid。“Donotcallmeto-morrowmorninguntilIring。And，Duson！“
　　“Yes，sir。“
　　“TheCampaniawillsailfromNewYorksomewhereaboutthetenthofOctober。Iwishtosecurethewholeofstateroomnumbertwenty-eight。Goroundtotheofficeassoonastheyopen，securethatroomifpossible，andpayadeposit。Nootherwilldo。Alsooneforyourself。“
　　“Verygood，sir。“
　　Here’saladyinquiringforyou，sir-justgoneuptoyourroomintheelevator，“thehotelclerkremarkedtoMr。Sabinashepausedonhiswaytothedoortohandinhiskey。“ShallIsendaboyup？“
　　Mr。Sabinhesitated。
　　“Alady？“heremarkedtentatively。
　　Thehotelclerknodded。
　　“Yes。Ididn’tnoticethename，butshewasanEnglishwoman。I’llsendup。“
　　“Thankyou，Iwillreturn，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“IfIshouldmissheronthewayperhapsyouwillkindlyredirecthertomyrooms。“
　　Herangfortheelevator，andwasswiftlytransportedtohisownfloor。Thedoorofhissitting-roomwasopen。Dusonwastalkingtoatallfairwoman，whoturnedswiftlyroundatthesoundofhisapproach。
　　“Ah，theyfoundyou，then！“sheexclaimed，comingtowardshimwithoutstretchedhands。“Isn’tthisastrangeplaceandastrangecountryforustomeetoncemorein？“
　　Hegreetedhergallantly，butwithacertainreserve，ofwhichshewasatonceaware。
　　“ArethereanycountriesintheworldleftwhicharestrangetosogreatatravelerasLadyMurielCarey？“hesaid。“ThepapersherehavebeenfullofyourwonderfuladventuresinSouthAfrica。“
　　Shelaughed。
　　“Everythingshockinglyexaggerated，ofcourse，“shedeclared。“I
　　havereallybeenplaguedtodeathsinceIgotherewithinterviewers，andthatsortofperson。IwonderifyouknowhowgladIamtoseeyouagain？“
　　“Youareverykind，indeed，“hesaid。“CertainlytherewasnoonewhomIexpectedlesstoseeoverhere。Youhavecomefortheyachtraces，Isuppose？“
　　Shelookedathimwithafaintsmileandraisedeyebrows。
　　“Come，“shesaid，“shallwelietooneanother？Isitworthwhile？
　　Candourissomuchmoreoriginal。“
　　“Candourbyallmeansthen，Ibeg，“heanswered。
　　“IhavecomeoverwiththeDalkeiths，ostensiblytoseetheyachtraces。ReallyIhavecometoseeyou。“
　　Mr。Sabinbowed。
　　“Iamdelightfullyflattered，“hemurmured。
　　“Idon’texactlymeanforthepleasureofgazingintoyourfaceoncemore，“shecontinued。“Ihaveamission！“
　　Mr。Sabinlookedupquickly。
　　“Greatheavens！You，too！“heexclaimed。
　　Shenodded。