第6章
“Thissoundsveryshocking，“heremarked。“Ihadnoideathatthelargestcityofthemostenlightenedcountryintheworldwasinsuchasorryplight。“
“Oh，curseyoursarcasm，“Mr。Horsersaid。“I’mtalkingfacts，andyou’vegottoknowthem。Willyougiveupthatreport？Youcanfindoutallthereisinitforyourself。ButI’mgoingtogiveityoustraight。IfIdon’thavethatreportbackunread，you’llneverleaveNewYork。“
Mr。Sabinwasgenuinelyamused。
“Mygoodfellow，“hesaid，“youhavemadeyourselfanotoriouspersoninthiscountrybydintofincessantbullyingandbribingandcorruptionofeverysort。Youmaypossessallthepowersyouclaim。Youronlymistakeseemstobethatyouaretoothick-headedtoknowwhenyouareovermatched。Ihavebeenadiplomatistallmylife，“Mr。Sabinsaid，risingslowlytohisfeet，andwithasuddenintentlookuponhisface，“andifIweretobeoutwittedbysuchanoviceasyouIshoulddeservetoendmydays-inNewYork。“
Mr。Horserrosealsotohisfeet。Asmileoftriumphwasonhislips。
“Well，“hesaid，“we-Comein！Comein！“Thedoorwasthrownopen。Skinnerandtwopolicemenentered。Mr。Sabinleanedtowardsthewall，andinasecondtheroomwasplungedindarkness。
“Turnonthelights！“Skinnershouted。“Seizehim！He’sinthatcorner。Useyourclubs！“Horserbawled。“Standbythedooroneofyou。Damnation，whereisthatswitch？“
Hefounditwithashoutoftriumph。Lightsflaredoutintheroom。
Theystaredaroundintoeverycorner。Mr。Sabinwasnotthere。
ThenHorsersawthedoorleadingintothebed-chamber，andflunghimselfagainstitwithahoarsecryofrage。
“Breakitopen！“hecriedtothepolicemen。
Theyhammereduponitwiththeirclubs。Mr。Sabin’squietvoicecametothemfromtheotherside。
“Praydonotdisturbme，gentlemen，“hesaid。“Iamreading。“
“Breakitopen，youdamnedfools！“Horsercried。Theybatteredatitsturdily，butthedoorwasasolidone。Suddenlytheyheardthekeyturninthelock。Mr。Sabinstooduponthethreshold。
“Gentlemen！“heexclaimed。“Thesearemyprivateapartments。Whythisviolence？“
Heheldoutthepaper。
“Thisismine，“hesaid。“Theinformationwhichitcontainsisboughtandpaidfor。Butifthegivingitupwillprocuremetheprivilegeofyourdeparture，praytakeit。
Horserwaspurplewithrage。Hepointedwithshakingfisttothestill，calmfigure。
“Arresthim，“heordered。“Takehimtothecells。“
Mr。Sabinshruggedhisshoulders。
“Iamready，“hesaid，“butitisonlyfairtogiveyouthiswarning。
IamtheDukeofSouspennier，andIamwellknowninEnglandandFrance。ThepaperwhichyousawmehandtotheporterinthehallaswesteppedintotheelevatorwasadespatchinciphertotheEnglishAmbassadoratWashington，claiminghisprotection。Ifyoutakemetoprisonto-nightyouwillhavehimtodealwithto-morrow。“
Mr。Horserborehimselfindefeatbetterthanatanytimeduringtheencounter。Heturnedtotheconstables。
“Godownstairsandwaitformeinthehail，“heordered。“Youtoo，Skinner。“
Theylefttheroom。HorserturnedtoMr。Sabin，andtheveinsonhisforeheadstoodoutlikewhipcord。
“IknowwhenI’mbeaten，“hesaid。“Keepyourreport，andbedamnedtoyou。ButrememberthatyouandIhaveascoretosettle，andyoucanaskthosewhoknowmehowoftenDickHorsercomesoutunderneathinthelongrun。“
Hefollowedtheothers。Mr。Sabinsatdowninhiseasy-chairwithaquietsmileuponhislips。Oncemoreheglancedthroughthebriefreport。Thenhiseyeshalfclosed，andhesatquitestill-atired，weary-lookingman，almostunnaturallypale。
“Theyhavekepttheirword，“hesaidsoftlytohimself，“aftermanyyears。Aftermanyyears！“
Dusoncameintoundresshimshortlyafterwards。Hesawsignsofthestruggle，butmadenocomment。Mr。Sabin，afteramoment’shesitation，tookaphialfromhispocketandpouredafewdropsintoawineglassfulofwater。
“Duson，“hesaid，“bringmesomedespatchformsandapencil。“
“Yes，sir。“
Mr。Sabinwroteforseveralmoments。Thenheplacedtheformsinanenvelope，sealedit，andhandedittoDuson。
“Duson，“hesaid，“thatfellowHorserisannoyedwithme。IfI
shouldbearrestedonanycharge，orshouldfailtoreturntothehotelwithinreasonabletime，breakthatsealandsendoffthetelegrams。“
“Yes，sir。“
Mr。Sabinyawned。
“Ineedsleep，“hesaid。“Donotcallmeto-morrowmorninguntilIring。And，Duson！“
“Yes，sir。“
“TheCampaniawillsailfromNewYorksomewhereaboutthetenthofOctober。Iwishtosecurethewholeofstateroomnumbertwenty-eight。Goroundtotheofficeassoonastheyopen，securethatroomifpossible，andpayadeposit。Nootherwilldo。Alsooneforyourself。“
“Verygood，sir。“
Here’saladyinquiringforyou，sir-justgoneuptoyourroomintheelevator，“thehotelclerkremarkedtoMr。Sabinashepausedonhiswaytothedoortohandinhiskey。“ShallIsendaboyup？“
Mr。Sabinhesitated。
“Alady？“heremarkedtentatively。
Thehotelclerknodded。
“Yes。Ididn’tnoticethename，butshewasanEnglishwoman。I’llsendup。“
“Thankyou，Iwillreturn，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“IfIshouldmissheronthewayperhapsyouwillkindlyredirecthertomyrooms。“
Herangfortheelevator，andwasswiftlytransportedtohisownfloor。Thedoorofhissitting-roomwasopen。Dusonwastalkingtoatallfairwoman，whoturnedswiftlyroundatthesoundofhisapproach。
“Ah，theyfoundyou，then！“sheexclaimed，comingtowardshimwithoutstretchedhands。“Isn’tthisastrangeplaceandastrangecountryforustomeetoncemorein？“
Hegreetedhergallantly，butwithacertainreserve，ofwhichshewasatonceaware。
“ArethereanycountriesintheworldleftwhicharestrangetosogreatatravelerasLadyMurielCarey？“hesaid。“ThepapersherehavebeenfullofyourwonderfuladventuresinSouthAfrica。“
Shelaughed。
“Everythingshockinglyexaggerated，ofcourse，“shedeclared。“I
havereallybeenplaguedtodeathsinceIgotherewithinterviewers，andthatsortofperson。IwonderifyouknowhowgladIamtoseeyouagain？“
“Youareverykind，indeed，“hesaid。“CertainlytherewasnoonewhomIexpectedlesstoseeoverhere。Youhavecomefortheyachtraces，Isuppose？“
Shelookedathimwithafaintsmileandraisedeyebrows。
“Come，“shesaid，“shallwelietooneanother？Isitworthwhile？
Candourissomuchmoreoriginal。“
“Candourbyallmeansthen，Ibeg，“heanswered。
“IhavecomeoverwiththeDalkeiths，ostensiblytoseetheyachtraces。ReallyIhavecometoseeyou。“
Mr。Sabinbowed。
“Iamdelightfullyflattered，“hemurmured。
“Idon’texactlymeanforthepleasureofgazingintoyourfaceoncemore，“shecontinued。“Ihaveamission！“
Mr。Sabinlookedupquickly。
“Greatheavens！You，too！“heexclaimed。
Shenodded。