Felixmoveduneasilyinhischair。
　　“Ofcourse，“hesaid，“itdependsuponhowmuchtheywanttokeepyouapart。Butyouknowthatyouarerunninggreatrisks？“
　　“Why，no，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Iscarcelythoughtthat。Ihaveunderstoodthatthesocietywasbynomeansinitsformerflourishingcondition。“
　　Felixlaughedscornfully。
　　“Theyhaveneverbeen，“heanswered，“richerormorepowerful。
　　DuringthelasttwelvemonthstheyhavebeenactiveineverypartofEurope。“
　　Mr。Sabin’sfacehardened。
　　“Verywell！“hesaid。“Wewilltrytheirstrength。“
　　“We！“Felixlaughedshortly。“Youforgetthatmyhandsaretied。
　　IcannothelpyouorLucille。Youmustknowthat。“
　　“Youcannotinterferedirectly，“Mr。Sabinadmitted。“YetyouareLucille’sbrother，andIamforcedtoappealtoyou。IfyouwillbemycompanionforalittlewhileIthinkIcanshowyouhowyoucanhelpLucilleatanyrate，andyetrunnorisk。“
　　Thelittlepartyatthenexttablewerebreakingupatlast。LadyCarey，paleandbored，withtired，swolleneyes-theywerealwaysalittleprominent-roselanguidlyandbegantogathertogetherherbelongings。AsshedidsoshelookedoverthebackofherchairandmetMr。Sabin’seyes。Heroseatonceandbowed。Shecastaquicksidelongglanceathercompanions，whichheatonceunderstood。
　　“Ihavethehonour，LadyCarey，“hesaid，“ofrecallingmyselftoyourrecollection。WemetinParisandLondonnotsoverymanyyearsago。Youperhapsrememberthecardinal’sdinner？“
　　Aslightsmileflickereduponherlips。Theman’sadroitnessalwaysexcitedheradmiration。
　　“Irememberitperfectly，andyou，Duke，“sheanswered。“Haveyoumadeyourhomeonthissideofthewater？“
　　Mr。Sabinshookhisheadslowly。
　　“Home！“herepeated。“Ah，Iwasalwaysabirdofpassage，youremember。YetIhavespentthreeverydelightfulyearsinthiscountry。“
　　“AndI，“shesaid，loweringhertoneandleaningtowardshim，“oneverystupid，idioticday。“
　　Mr。Sabinassumedthelookofamanwhodeniesanypersonalresponsibilityinanunfortunatehappening。
　　“Itwasregrettable，“hemurmured，“butIassureyouthatitwasunavoidable。Lucille’sbrothermusthaveacertainclaimuponme，anditwashisfirstdayinAmerica。“
　　Shewassilentforamoment。Thensheturnedabruptlytowardsthedoor。Herfriendswerealreadyontheway。
　　“Comewithme，“shesaid。“Iwanttospeaktoyou。“
　　Hefollowedheroutintothelobby。Felixcameafewpacesbehind。
　　Therestaurantwasstillfullofpeople，thehumofconversationalmostdrowningthemusic。EveryoneglancedcuriouslyatLadyCarey，whowasafamouswoman。Shecarriedherselfwithacertaininsolentindifference，thenationaldeportmentofhersexandrank。
　　Thewomenwhisperedtogetherthatshewas“veryEnglish。“
　　InthelobbysheturnedsuddenlyuponMr。Sabin。
　　“Willyoutakemebacktomyhotel？“sheaskedpointedly。
　　“IregretthatIcannot，“heanswered。“IhavepromisedtoshowFelixsomeofthewondersofNewYorkbynight。“
　　“Youcantakehimto-morrow。“
　　“To-morrow，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“heleavesfortheWest。“
　　Shelookedcloselyintohisimpassiveface。
　　“Isupposethatyouarelying，“shesaidshortly。
　　“Yourcandour，“heansweredcoldly，“sometimesapproachesbrutality。“
　　Sheleanedtowardshim，herfacesuddenlysoftened。
　　“Weareplayingafoolishgamewithoneanother，“shemurmured。“I
　　offeryouanalliance，myfriendship，perhapsmyhelp。“
　　“WhatcanIdo，“heansweredgravely，“savebegrateful-andaccept？“
　　“Then-“
　　Shestoppedshort。ItwasMr。Sabin’sluckwhichhadintervened。
　　HerbertDaikeithstoodatherelbow。
　　“LadyCarey，“hesaid，“they’reallgonebutthematerandI。
　　Forgivemyinterruptingyou，“headdedhastily。
　　“Youcangoon，Herbert，“sheadded。“TheDucdeSouspennierwillbringme。“
　　Mr。Sabin，whohadnointentionofdoinganythingofthesort，turnedtowardstheyoungmanwithasmile。
　　“LadyCareyhasnotintroducedus，“hesaid，“butIhaveseenyouatRanelaghquiteoften。Ifyouarestillkeenonpoloyoushouldhaveatryoverhere。IfancyyouwouldfindthattheseAmericanyoungsterscanholdtheirown。Allright，Felix，Iamreadynow。
　　LadyCarey，Ishalldomyselfthehonourofwaitinguponyouearlyto-morrowmorning，asIhavealittleexcursiontopropose。
　　Good-night。“
　　Sheshruggedhershoulderseversoslightlyassheturnedaway。Mr。
　　Sabinsmiled-faintlyamused。HeturnedtoFelix。
　　“Come，“hesaid，“wehavenotimetolose。“
　　Iregret，“Mr。SabinsaidtoFelixastheysatsidebysideinthesmallcoupe，“thatyourstayinthiscountrywillbesobrief。“
　　“Indeed，“Felixanswered。“MayIaskwhatyoucallbrief？“
　　Mr。Sabinlookedoutofthecarriagewindow。
　　“Wearealready，“hesaid，“onthewaytoEngland。“
　　Felixlaughed。
　　“This，“hesaid，“islikeoldtimes。“
　　Mr。Sabinsmiled。
　　“Thesystemofespionagehere，“heremarked，“ispainfullyprimitive。
　　Itlacksfinesseandjudgment。ThefactthatIhavetakenexpensiveroomsontheCampania，andthatIhavesentmanypackagesthere，thatmyownbelongingsarestillinmyroomsuntouched，seemstoourfriendsconclusiveevidencethatIamgoingtoattempttoleaveAmericabythatboat。Theyhave，Ibelieve，awarrantformyarrestonsomeridiculouschargewhichtheyintendtopresentatthelastmoment。Theywillnothavetheopportunity。“
　　“Butthereisnoothersteamersailingto-morrow，isthere？“Felixasked。
　　“NotfromNewYork，“Mr。Sabinanswered，“butitwasnevermyintentiontosailfromNewYork。WeareonourwaytoBostonnow，andwesailintheSaxoniaatsixo’clockto-morrowmorning。
　　“WeappeartobestoppingattheWaldorf，“Felixremarked。
　　“Itisquitecorrect，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Followmethroughthehallasquicklyaspossible。Thereisanothercarriagewaitingattheotherentrance，andIexpecttofindinitDusonandmydressing-case。
　　Theyalightedandmadetheirwaythoughthecrowdedvestibules。AttheThirty-fourthStreetentranceacarriagewasdrawnup。Dusonwasstandinguponthepavement，hispale，nervousfacewhiterthaneverundertheelectriclight。Mr。Sabinstoppedshort。
　　“Felix，“hesaid，“oneword。Ifbyanychancethingshavegonewrongtheywillnothavemadeanyarrangementstodetainyou。CatchthemidnighttraintoBostonandembarkontheSaxonia。TherewillbeacableforyouatLiverpool。Butthemomentyouleavemesendthisdespatch。“
　　Felixnoddedandputthecrumpled-uppieceofpaperinhispocket。
　　Thetwomenpassedon。Dusontookoffhishat，buthisfingersweretrembling。Thecarriagedoorwasopenedandatall，sparemandescended。
　　“ThisisMr。Sabin？“heremarked。
　　Mr。Sabinbowed。
　　“Thatismyname，“headmitted，“bywhichIhavebeengenerallycalledinthisdemocraticcountry。Whatisyourbusinesswithme？“
　　“Iratherguessthatyou’remyprisoner，“themananswered。“Ifyou’llsteprightinherewecangetawayquietly。“
　　“Thesuggestion，“Mr。Sabinremarked，“soundsinviting，butIamsomewhatpressedfortime。MightIinquirethenatureofthechargeyouhaveagainstme？“