llerdyke drily, "she'll have plenty to say."

That night he had abundant opportunity of hearing the Princess
Nastirsevitch's views on the situation, freely expressed. He himself
fetched Celia Lennard to the conference at New Scotland Yard; they found
Fullaway and the Princess already there, in full blast of debate.
Allerdyke inspected the new arrival with keen interest and found her a
well-preserved, handsome woman of middle-age, sharp, smart, and American
to the finger-tips. The official whom they had met before was already
questioning her, and for Allerdyke's benefit he repeated what had
already transpired.

"The Princess affirms, Mr. Allerdyke, that not a soul but herself and
your cousin, Mr. James Allerdyke, knew of this affair," he said. "I am
right, am I not, madame," he went on, turning to the Princess, "in saying
that not one word of this transaction, or proposed transaction, was ever
mentioned by you to any person but Mr. James Allerdyke?"

"To no other person than Mr. James Allerdyke," assented the Princess
firmly. "It would have been strange conduct on my part, I think, if I had
told anybody else anything about it!--my object, of course, being
secrecy. From the moment I first mentioned it to Mr. James Allerdyke
until I arrived here just now and met Mr. Fullaway there, I never spoke
of the matter to any one!"

The official looked at Allerdyke as if inviting him to ask any question
that occurred to him, and Allerdyke immediately brought up that which had
been in his mind ever since his discovery of James Allerdyke's
pocket-diary.

"How came you to repose such confidence in my cousin, ma'am?" he asked
brusquely. "I always thought I was pretty deep in his counsels, but I
never heard him mention your name. Did he know you well?"

"I had known Mr. James Allerdyke for a little over a year," replied the
Princess. "I met him first in Paris--then on the Riviera--then in
Russia. The fact is, he did some business for me. I had every confidence
in him--the fullest confidence. I knew he was a thoroughly straight man.
And just as I had decided to sell these jewels'--all my own property,
mind--in order to clear off the whole lot of the mortgages on my son's
estate, so's he could come into them quite unencumbered, I happened to
meet Mr. James Allerdyke in St. Petersburg--that's of course, a few weeks
ago--and I immediately took him into my confidence and asked his help.
With the result," added the Princess, "that he cab