d Kennedy, careful that no one else could
overhear us.

"Cayenne pepper, snuff, and some other chemical," sneezed Craig. "Very
effective to throw into the face of anyone," he commented, closing
quickly the bag by its loose drawing strings, "that is, if you merely
want to blind him and put him out temporarily."

I did not pay much attention to the protests of the maid, nor the look
of triumph that crossed the face of Elsa Hoffman and surprise exhibited
by Dr. Preston. For Kennedy had picked up from the same drawer a little
toilet vaporizer, too, and was examining it minutely.

As he held it up, I could see, or rather I fancied that it was empty. He
pressed the bulb lightly, then seemed to start back quickly.

"What's that?" I queried, mystified at his actions.

"Something the French secret service spies call the 'bad perfume,'" he
returned frankly, "an anesthetic so incredibly rapid and violent that
the spies, usually women, who use it wear a filter veil over their own
mouths and noses to protect themselves."

The whole thing was so queer that I could only wonder what might be the
explanation. Cecilie was protesting volubly, now in fair English, now in
liquid French, that she knew absolutely nothing of the articles.

I wondered whether Rawaruska herself might not have placed them there.
Might she not have been a spy, one of those clever little dancers who
had wormed themselves by their graceful agility into the good graces of
some of the world's leading men and made Russia a recognized diplomatic
power?

Something like the same idea must have been suggested to Dr. Sanderson,
who was standing next me, for he bent over and remarked to me in an
undertone, with a significant glance at what Kennedy had discovered, "I
suppose you realize that the position of the Russian government has
undergone a marked change since the Russian dancers have won
international popularity?"

I had not thought much about it before, but now that he mentioned it, I
could not help a nod of assent.

"Why, I have heard," he continued with the air of a man who is imparting
a big piece of information, "that the beautiful young women of the
imperial ballet mingle in the society of the capitals of the world, make
friends with politicians, social leaders, high officials, and exert a
great influence in favor of their own country wherever they go. No
doubt," he added, "they sometimes convey valuable information to the
Foreign Office which could no