French lot? Blest if I can seem to meet with
_any_--French, English, or any other sort, dash it! Where did you meet
the charming Mignon? In Paris?"

"No fear! You can fall in with anything going in London if you only
know the ropes, dear boy, and are popular. Flossie Twinkletoes
introduced me to her. She'd just come over from Paris, and Flossie was
out of work through the failure of 'The Seaside Girl,' and asked me to
take her to supper and meet a friend of hers. I did--and the friend was
Mignon. After that--well, you know how it is, dear boy. When a fellow
knows his way about women _will_ run after him. Mignon and I took to
each other from the first, and we've been jolly good pals ever since.
Invited me to her place before we'd known each other half an hour. Fact,
dear boy. And she's rather exclusive, too, I can tell you. Just _how_
exclusive you may guess when I tell you that I'm the only living man
outside of those who belong to her troupe that ever sees the inside of
her house or shares one of those rippin' evenings there."

The curious one-sided smile travelled up Cleek's cheek, hovered there a
moment, and then disappeared. He said nothing upon the subject, but it
was perfectly clear to him just _why_ Mr. Harry Raynor was the only
stranger present. He knew Margot and he knew her methods. This one man
was desirable because she had an especial use for him; and he meant to
make it his business to find out just what that especial use might be.
So, then, she had abandoned her customary tactics for once, and had
brought some of the female members of her crew to England with her, had
she?

The murder of De Louvisan looked more than ever like an Apache crime,
in the light of these things. But _why_ an Apache crime? Margot's game
was always money; and the pseudo Count de Louvisan had not a shilling to
bless himself with. Again, if it were an Apache crime, how came a man
who was undeniably Lord St. Ulmer--undeniably everything that he
claimed--to be mixed up in the affair to such an extent as he was? And
what of Lady Clavering? Where did she come in? What had taken her out
upon the Common last night? What of young Geoff? What of his father? And
what, of all things, about Lady Katharine Fordham?

None of these people could be connected with Margot--with the Apaches.
He had his own ideas relative to Lady Katharine's part in the puzzle,
but there was still that bundle of buried clothing, still the fact that
it was found in