lovemaking with this woman in the moonlight, up to a quiet place on
the hillside, and there you nearly got what was coming to you from a
peasant called Crau. Then you had this Verney woman stay with you in
your Villa Clementine, and finally you took her off to Wiesbaden."

Larssen ostentatiously pressed an electric bell.

"I'll give you chapter and verse," he said.

Morris Sylvester came in quietly from his room close by, a slow smile
under his heavy dark moustache, and nodded greeting to Matheson. He had
heard by the telephone device all of his chief's case against Matheson,
and was quite ready to take up his cue.

"Sylvester, you recognize this man?" said Larssen.

"Yes. He is the Mr John Riviere I shadowed at Arles and Nimes."

Larssen turned to the financier. "Want to ask him any questions? Ask
anything you like."

"No."

"Sure?"

"Quite," answered Matheson. There was nothing to be gained at this stage
by cross-examining the secretary.

"That will do, Sylvester."

The secretary left the room.

Larssen leant forward across the desk once more and snarled: "There's
the facts of the case as they'll go before the divorce court."

"Do you know that Miss Verney is blind?" There was a hoarseness in
Matheson's voice; he cleared his throat to relieve it.

"That's no defence in a divorce court."

"Blind and undergoing an operation this very morning? Do you know that
it's doubtful if she will ever recover any of her sight?"

Larssen's mouth tightened a shade more. At last he found the heel of
Achilles. He could get at Matheson through Elaine. Ruthlessly he
answered: "That's no concern of mine. I'm stating facts to you. These
facts are not all in your wife's possession. Do you want me to put them
there?"

"Your facts are a chain of lies. There's one sound link: that I changed
my name. The rest are poisonous lies--provable lies."

"Whatever they may be, do you want them put before your wife?" He
reached for a swinging telephone by his desk and called to the house
operator: "Get me P. O. Richmond, 2822. Name, Mrs Matheson."

While he was waiting for the connection to be made, Sylvester entered
the room and silently showed a visiting-card to his chief. It was
Olive's card. Acting on a sudden impulse, she had motored to the office
to see this mysterious John Riviere before he should evade her. She knew
that the interview was to be at eleven o'clock, and by thus calling in
person, she would make certain of me