lly cannot---- You must see,
Mr. Gorman, that for a man in my position----"

"Is there a Lady Bland-Potterton?" said Gorman. "I didn't know."

"I'm not married," said Sir Bartholomew. "When I speak of my position--I
mean my position as a member of the Government----"

"Madame has immense influence with the king," said Gorman.

"Yes. Yes. But the woman--the--er--lady has no recognised status.
She----"

"Just at present," said Gorman, "she is tremendously keen on emeralds.
She has got a new evening dress from Emile and there's nothing she wants
more than an emerald pendant to wear with it. I'm sure she'd do her best
to persuade the king to go back to Megalia if----"

"But I don't think--" said Sir Bartholomew. "Really, Mr. Gorman----"

"I'm not suggesting that you should pay for it yourself," said Gorman.
"Charge it up against the Civil List or the Secret Service Fund, or work
it in under 'Advances to our Allies.' There must be some way of doing
it, and I really think it's your best chance."

Sir Bartholomew talked for nearly an hour. He explained several
times that it was totally impossible for him to negotiate with Madame
Ypsilante. The idea of bribing her with an emerald pendant shocked him
profoundly. But he was bent on getting King Konrad Karl to go back to
Megalia. That seemed to him a matter of supreme importance for
England, for Europe and the world. In the end, after a great deal of
consultation, a plan suggested itself. Madame should have her emeralds
sent to her anonymously. Gorman undertook to explain to her that she was
expected, by way of payment for the emeralds, to persuade the king to
go back to Megalia and once more occupy the throne. Sir Bartholomew
Bland-Potterton would appear at the last moment as the accredited
representative of the Allied Governments, and formally lay before the
king the proposal for the immediate mobilisation of the Megallian Army.

"I shall have a lot of work and worry," said Gorman, "and I'm not asking
anything for myself; but if the thing comes off----"

"You can command the gratitude of the Cabinet," said Sir Bartholomew,
"and anything they can do for you--an O.B.E., now, or even a
knighthood------"

"No thank you," said Gorman, "but if you could see your way to starting
a few munition works in Upper Offaly, my constituency, you know. The
people are getting discontented, and I'm not at all sure that they'll
return me at the next election unless something is done for