ht to account for
his wanderings, which he assured those who ventured to enquire were
chiefly undertaken in search of health. Nevertheless wherever he went or
came something interesting in a political sense--and more often than
not, in favour of British interests--was almost sure to happen.

In former days he had filled the position of military attache to two or
three of the more important embassies, and was said to be the best known
man in Europe. He had, moreover, the right to carry upon his breast the
ribbon and decoration of more than one exclusive and distinguished
Order. Of the many rumours associated with him this saying was certainly
true: that one could never enter the smoking-room of any diplomatic club
in any city in Europe without standing a fair chance of encountering
Major Counsellor warming himself beside the stove.

Therefore he had naturally an enormous circle of acquaintance, each
individual knowing very little about him, though he always formed an
interesting subject of conversation, and a political opinion backed by
his name became at once important.

CHAPTER II.

A GENTLEMAN OF THE GUARD.

Shortly before 9.30 Rallywood presented himself at the granite palace,
with its four cupolas, which M. Selpdorf occupied in his capacity of
First Minister of State. After some slight delay he was ushered into a
comfortable study, where he found Selpdorf with a reading-lamp at his
elbow, glancing rapidly through a mass of papers that he threw one after
another, with apparent carelessness, on the floor beside him.

The chancellor of a small State might very well have been pardoned had
he introduced a certain amount of what an old official used to call
'desk dignity' into his dealings with those who approached him, but
Selpdorf habitually affected an easy manner and an easy chair. He was a
middle-sized man, possessed of a very round head, bald at the crown, but
having still a lock of dark hair on the summit of his round forehead;
very round eyes set far back in smooth holes, showing little lid; a nose
blunt and thick over lips that might have been coarse, but were
controlled, and betrayed a lurking humour at the corners, to which the
upstanding moustaches seemed to add point. For all his peculiarity of
aspect, he was a man who left an impression on the memory of something
pleasing and attractive, especially in the minds of women.

He received Rallywood with that air of deep personal interest which told