e."

Indiman mechanically turned over the last card; it was the knave of
hearts, and the famous solitaire of the "Bridge" had been made at last.
He slipped the cards into his pocket and rose to go. "Brownson," he
said, with a little catch in his voice, "I didn't think that it would
come to this, but it had to be, I suppose. Have him put away decently,
and send the account to me."

"Very good, sir. But ain't it a pity about that letter. However, we can
take a good look now, and maybe we'll turn it up yet."

"Perhaps so," said Indiman.

"His real name was Gribedyoff, and he was implicated in the
assassination of Prince Trapasky," said Indiman to me as we sat over
our cigars that night. "A desperate fellow, one of the 'Blacks,' you
know. I picked his picture out in a moment at Police Headquarters,
after seeing his reflection in the mirror. I knew it was necessary to
surprise him, and so I borrowed the photograph and used it to
transmogrify the queen of spades card. Just for an instant he lost his
nerve, but that was enough."

"But, as Brownson said, how about the letter?"

Indiman drew from his pocket the wig, to which the curl-papers were
still attached. He unrolled one and showed it to me. I could see that
the strip was written in French on one side of the paper and in violet
ink. "It will be easy enough to piece it together again," he said.
"Plain enough now, isn't it, why L. Hernandez cared not at all how
often Brownson's men rummaged table-drawers and chair-seats. The letter
was safe until the time should come to use it. Only it never came."

"I suppose you are going abroad?"

"I shall sail Thursday."

"And you will be gone how long?"

"That depends, doesn't it, upon the pleasure of that most gracious lady
the Countess Gilda. I may be back in a fortnight, and in that case I
will make an engagement with you. We will take a ride together on a
trolley-car."

"Agreed," said I.

It was a warm afternoon in the middle of May, and I was lounging in the
deserted common room of the Utinam Club when Esper Indiman walked in.
We shook hands.

"You landed to-day?" I asked.

"Yes, by the Deutschland."

It was impossible for me to utter the inquiry that rose to my lips.
Indiman hesitated just a trifle, then he went on:

"I delivered my letter to the Countess, and she was most obliged. She
asked me to stay on, but I had a previous engagement to plead: you
remember that I had agreed to go on a trolley-ride on or a