d of the story and the place is full of policemen. But
there'll be no danger if you walk straight up to me in the hall and
keep your face turned away from the crowd as much as possible."

She kissed Miss Prendergast and slipped away. What a splendid pair of
women they were: so admirably cool and resourceful: they seemed to have
thought of everything.

"Good night, Miss Prendergast," I said. "You have done me a good turn. I
shall never forget it!" And as the only means at my disposal for showing
my gratitude, I kissed her hand.

She coloured up like a girl.

"It's a long time since any one did that to a silly old woman like me,"
she said musingly. "Was it you or your brother," she asked abruptly,
"who nearly broke my poor girl's heart?"

"I shouldn't like to say," I answered; "but I don't think, speaking
personally, that Monica ever cared enough about me for me to plead
guilty."

She sniffed contemptuously.

"If that is so," she said, "all I can say is that you seem to have all
the brains of your family!"

With that I took my leave.

* * * * *

I reached the ballroom vestibule without meeting a soul. The place was
crowded with people, officers in uniform, glittering with decorations,
women in evening dress, coachmen, footmen, chauffeurs, waiters.
Everybody was talking sixteen to the dozen, and there were such dense
knots of people that at first I couldn't see Monica. Two policemen were
standing at the swing-doors leading into the street, and with them a
civilian who looked like a detective. I caught sight of Monica, almost
at the detective's elbow, talking to two very elegant-looking officers.
I pushed my way across the vestibule, turned my back on the detective
and stood impassively beside her.

"Ah! there you are, Carter!" she said. "Gute Nacht, Herr Baron! Auf
wiedersehen, Durchlaucht!"

The two officers kissed her hand whilst I helped her into her wrap. Then
I marched straight out of the swing-doors in front of her, looking
neither to right nor to left, past the detective and the two policemen.
The detective may have looked at me: if so, I didn't perceive it. I had
made up my mind not to see him.

Outside Monica took the lead and brought me over to a chocolate-coloured
limousine drawn up at the pavement. I noted with dismay that the engine
was stopped. That might mean further delay whilst I cranked up. But a
friendly chauffeur standing by seized the handle and started t