derstand," she interrupted, and for one instant her outstretched
hand rested on his arm. "The ambassador?"

"Perfectly safe," responded Mr. Grimm. "Two of my men are with him."

XV

MASTER OF THE SITUATION

As the women rose and started out, leaving the gentlemen over their
coffee and cigars, Miss Thorne paused at the door and the blue-gray eyes
flashed some subtle message to the French ambassador who, after an
instant, nodded comprehendingly, then resumed his conversation. As he
left the room a few minutes later he noticed that Mr. Grimm had joined a
group of automaniacs of which Mr. Cadwallader was the enthusiastic
center. He spoke to his hostess, the wife of the minister from Portugal,
for a moment, then went to Miss Thorne and dropped into a seat beside
her. She greeted him with a smile and was still smiling as she talked.

"I believe, Monsieur," she said in French, "you sent a code message to
the cable office this afternoon?"

His eyes questioned hers quickly.

"And please bear in mind that we probably are being watched as we talk,"
she went on pleasantly. "Mr. Grimm is the man to be afraid of.
Smile--don't look so serious!" She laughed outright.

"Yes, I sent a code message," he replied.

"It was your resignation?"

"Yes."

"Well, it wasn't sent, of course," she informed him, and her eyes were
sparkling as if something amusing had been said. "One of my agents
stopped it. I may add that it will not be sent."

The ambassador's eyes grew steely, then blank again.

"Mademoiselle, what am I to understand from that?" he demanded.

"You are to understand that I am absolute master of the situation in
Washington at this moment," she replied positively. The smile on her
lips and the tone of her voice were strangely at variance. "From the
beginning I let you understand that ultimately you would receive your
instructions from Paris; now I know they will reach you by cable
to-morrow. Within a week the compact will be signed. Whether you approve
of it or not it will be signed for your country by a special envoy whose
authority is greater than yours--his Highness, the Prince Benedetto
d'Abruzzi."

"Has he reached Washington?"

"He is in Washington. He has been here for some time, incognito." She
was silent a moment. "You have been a source of danger to our plans,"
she added. "If it had not been for an accident you would still have been
comfortably kept out in Alexandria where Mr. Grimm and I found you