第8章
“IwillcallforyouattheWaldorfathalf-pastone，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Unlessyouhaveanychoice，IwilltakeyoutoalittleplacedowntownwherewecanimagineourselvesbackontheContinent，andwhereweshallbesparedthehorrorofgreencorn。“
“Delightful，“shemurmured，buttoningherglove。“ThenyoushalltakemeforadrivetoFifthAvenue，ortoseesomebody’stomb，andmywomanshallmakesomerealRussianteaforusinmysitting-room。Really，IthinkI’mdoingverywellforthefirstday。Isthespellbeginningtowork？“
“Hideously，“heassuredher。“IfeelalreadythattheonlythingI
dreadinlifearethesetwohoursbeforeluncheon。“
Shenodded。
“Thatisquiteasitshouldbe。Don’ttroubletocomedownwithme。IbelievethatDalkeithpereishangingroundsomewhere，andinviewofmyheadacheperhapsyouhadbetterremaininthebackgroundforthemoment。Atone-thirty，then！“
Mr。Sabinsmiledasshepassedoutoftheroom，andlitacigarette。
“Ithink，“hesaidtohimself，“thatthearrivalofFelixisopportune。“
Theysattogetheratasmalltable，lookinguponascenewhichwasprobablyuniqueinthehistoryofthegreatrestaurant。Theyoungermanwasbothfranklyinterestedandundoubtedlycurious。Mr。Sabin，thoughhiseyesseemedeverywhere，retainedtothefullextentthatnonchalanceofmannerwhichallhislifehehadsoassiduouslycultivated。
“Itiswonderful，mydearFelix，“hesaid，leisurelydrawinghiscigarette-casefromhispocket，“wonderfulwhatgoodfellowshipcanbeevolvedbyakindredinterestinsport，andabottleorsoofgoodchampagne。But，afterall，thisisnottobetakenseriously。“
“Shamrockthefourth！Shamrockthefourth！“
AtallyoungAmerican，histhickheadofhair，whichhadoncebeencarefullypartedinthemiddle，alittledisheveled，hishard，clean-cutfaceflushedwithenthusiasm，hadrisentohisfeetandstoodwithabrimmingglassofchampagnehighoverhishead。Almosteveryoneintheroomrosetotheirfeet。Acollegeboyspranguponatablewithextendedarms。TheYaleshoutsplittheroom。Theveryglassesonthetablerattled。
“Columbia！Columbia！“
ItwasanEnglishmannowwhohadleapeduponavacanttablewithupraisedglass。Therewasanansweringroarofenthusiasm。Everyonedrank，andeveryonesatdownagainwithapleasantthrillofexcitementatthisuniquescene。Felixleanedbackinhischairandmarveled。
“Onewouldhaveimagined，“hemurmured，“thatAmericaandEnglandtogetherwereatwarwiththerestoftheworldandhadwonagreatvictory。Tothinkthatthisisalltheresultofayachtrace。Itisincredible！“
“Allyourlife，mydearFelix，“Mr。Sabinremarked，“youhaveunderratedthesportinginstinct。Ithasagreatplaceamongsttheimpulsesoftheworld。Seehowithasbroughtthesepeopletogether。“
“Buttheyarealreadyofthesamekin，“Felixremarked。“Theirinterestsandaimsarealike。Theirdestiniesaresurelyidentical。“
Mr。Sabin，whohadlithiscigarette，watchedthebluesmokecurlupwards，andwasthoughtfulforamoment。
“MydearFelix！“hesaid。“Youarevery，veryyoung。TheinterestsoftwogreatnationssuchasAmericaandEnglandcanneverbealike。
Itisthelanguageofdiplomacy，butitisalsothelanguageoffools。“
Theirconversationwasforthemomentinterruptedbyafreshmurmurofapplause，risingabovethelovedhumofconversation，thelaughterofwomen，andthepoppingofcorks。Alittletroopofwaitershadjustwheeledintotheroomtwomagnificentmodelsofyachtshewnoutofblocksofsolidiceandcrownedwithflowers。OntheoneweretheStarsandStripes，ontheothertheShamrockandThistle。Therewasmuchclappingofhandsandcheering。LadyCarey，whowassittingatthenexttablewithherbacktothem，joinedintheapplausesoheartilythatatinygoldpencilattachedtoherbraceletbecamedetachedandrolledunobservedtoMr。Sabin’sside。Felixhalfrosetopickitup，butwassuddenlycheckedbyaquickgesturefromhiscompanion。
“Leaveit，“Mr。Sabinwhispered。“Iwishtoreturnitmyself。“
Hestoopedandpickeditup，acertainstealthinessapparentinhismovement。Felixwatchedhiminamazement。
“ItisLadyCarey’s，isitnot？“heasked。
“Yes。Besilent。Iwillgiveitbacktoherpresently。“
Awaiterservedthemwithcoffee。Mr。Sabinwasidlysketchingsomethingonthebackofhismenucard。Felixbrokeintoalittlelaughasthemanretired。
“Mysteriousasever，“heremarked。
Mr。Sabinsmiledquietly。Hewentonwithhissketch。
“Idonotwant，“Felixsaid，“toseemimpatient，butyoumustrememberthatIhavecomeallthewayfromEuropeinresponsetoaveryurgentmessage。AsyetIhavedonenothingexceptformaveryuncomfortablethirdataluncheonandteaparty，andlistentoagooddealofenigmaticconversationbetweenyouandthecharmingLadyCarey。ThiseveningImadesurethatIshouldbeenlightened。Butno！Youhavegivenmeawonderfuldinner-fromyouIexpectedit。Wehaveeatenterrapin，canvas-backduck，andmanyotherthingsthenamesofwhichalonewereknowntome。Butofthereasonforwhichyouhavesummonedmehere-Iknownothing。
Notonewordhaveyouspoken。IambeginningtofearfromyouravoidanceofthesubjectthatthereissometroublebetweenyouandLucille。Ibegthatyouwillsetmyanxietyatrest。“
Mr。Sabinnodded。
“Itisreasonable，“hesaid。“Lookhere！“
Heturnedthemenucardround。Onthebackhehadsketchedsomesortofadevicewiththepencilwhichhehadpickedup，andwhichinsteadofblack-leadcontainedapeculiarshadeofyellowcrayon。
Felixsatasthoughturnedtostone。
“Try，“Mr。Sabinsaidsmoothly，“andavoidthatairoftragedy。
Someofthesegoodpeoplemightbecurious。
Felixleanedacrossthetable。Hepointedtothemenucard。
“Whatdoesthatmean？“hemuttered。
Mr。Sabincontemplatedithimselfthoughtfully。“Well，“hesaid，“Iratherthoughtthatyoumightbeabletoexplainthattome。
IhaveanideathatthereisasocietyinEurope-sortofaristocraticodd-fellows，youknow-whohadadopteditfortheircrest。AmInotright？“
Felixlookedathimsteadfastly。
“Tellmetwothings，“hesaid。“First，whyyousentforme，andsecondly，whatdoyoumean-bythat？“
“Lucille，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“hasbeentakenawayfromme。“
“Lucille！GreatGod！“
“Shehasbeentakenawayfromme，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“withoutasinglewordofwarning。“
Felixpointedtothemenucard。
“Bythem？“heasked。
“Bythem。Itwasamonthago。Twodaysbeforemycable。“
Felixwassilentforseveralmoments。Hehadnottheself-commandofhiscompanion，andhefearedtotrusthimselftospeech。
“ShehasbeentakentoEurope，“Mr。Sabincontinued。“Idonotknow，Icannotevenguessatthereason。Sheleftnoword。Ihavebeenwarnednottofollowher。“
“Youobey？“
“Isailto-morrow。“
“AndI？“Felixasked。
Mr。Sabinlookedfor，amomentatthedrawingonthebackofthemenucard，andupatFelix。Felixshookhishead。
“Youmustknow，“hesaid，“thatIampowerless。“
“Youmaybeabletohelpme，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“withoutcompromisingyourself。“
“Impossible！“Felixdeclared。“ButwhatdidtheywantwithLucille？“
“That，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“iswhatIamdesirousofknowing。ItiswhatItrustthatyou，mydearFelix，mayassistmetodiscover。“
“Youaredetermined，then，tofollowher？“
Mr。Sabinhelpedhimselftoaliqueurfromthebottlebyhisside。
“MydearFelix，“hesaidreproachfully，“youshouldknowmebetterthantoaskmesuchaquestion。“