第9章
Felixmoveduneasilyinhischair。
“Ofcourse，“hesaid，“itdependsuponhowmuchtheywanttokeepyouapart。Butyouknowthatyouarerunninggreatrisks？“
“Why，no，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“Iscarcelythoughtthat。Ihaveunderstoodthatthesocietywasbynomeansinitsformerflourishingcondition。“
Felixlaughedscornfully。
“Theyhaveneverbeen，“heanswered，“richerormorepowerful。
DuringthelasttwelvemonthstheyhavebeenactiveineverypartofEurope。“
Mr。Sabin’sfacehardened。
“Verywell！“hesaid。“Wewilltrytheirstrength。“
“We！“Felixlaughedshortly。“Youforgetthatmyhandsaretied。
IcannothelpyouorLucille。Youmustknowthat。“
“Youcannotinterferedirectly，“Mr。Sabinadmitted。“YetyouareLucille’sbrother，andIamforcedtoappealtoyou。IfyouwillbemycompanionforalittlewhileIthinkIcanshowyouhowyoucanhelpLucilleatanyrate，andyetrunnorisk。“
Thelittlepartyatthenexttablewerebreakingupatlast。LadyCarey，paleandbored，withtired，swolleneyes-theywerealwaysalittleprominent-roselanguidlyandbegantogathertogetherherbelongings。AsshedidsoshelookedoverthebackofherchairandmetMr。Sabin’seyes。Heroseatonceandbowed。Shecastaquicksidelongglanceathercompanions，whichheatonceunderstood。
“Ihavethehonour，LadyCarey，“hesaid，“ofrecallingmyselftoyourrecollection。WemetinParisandLondonnotsoverymanyyearsago。Youperhapsrememberthecardinal’sdinner？“
Aslightsmileflickereduponherlips。Theman’sadroitnessalwaysexcitedheradmiration。
“Irememberitperfectly，andyou，Duke，“sheanswered。“Haveyoumadeyourhomeonthissideofthewater？“
Mr。Sabinshookhisheadslowly。
“Home！“herepeated。“Ah，Iwasalwaysabirdofpassage，youremember。YetIhavespentthreeverydelightfulyearsinthiscountry。“
“AndI，“shesaid，loweringhertoneandleaningtowardshim，“oneverystupid，idioticday。“
Mr。Sabinassumedthelookofamanwhodeniesanypersonalresponsibilityinanunfortunatehappening。
“Itwasregrettable，“hemurmured，“butIassureyouthatitwasunavoidable。Lucille’sbrothermusthaveacertainclaimuponme，anditwashisfirstdayinAmerica。“
Shewassilentforamoment。Thensheturnedabruptlytowardsthedoor。Herfriendswerealreadyontheway。
“Comewithme，“shesaid。“Iwanttospeaktoyou。“
Hefollowedheroutintothelobby。Felixcameafewpacesbehind。
Therestaurantwasstillfullofpeople，thehumofconversationalmostdrowningthemusic。EveryoneglancedcuriouslyatLadyCarey，whowasafamouswoman。Shecarriedherselfwithacertaininsolentindifference，thenationaldeportmentofhersexandrank。
Thewomenwhisperedtogetherthatshewas“veryEnglish。“
InthelobbysheturnedsuddenlyuponMr。Sabin。
“Willyoutakemebacktomyhotel？“sheaskedpointedly。
“IregretthatIcannot，“heanswered。“IhavepromisedtoshowFelixsomeofthewondersofNewYorkbynight。“
“Youcantakehimto-morrow。“
“To-morrow，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“heleavesfortheWest。“
Shelookedcloselyintohisimpassiveface。
“Isupposethatyouarelying，“shesaidshortly。
“Yourcandour，“heansweredcoldly，“sometimesapproachesbrutality。“
Sheleanedtowardshim，herfacesuddenlysoftened。
“Weareplayingafoolishgamewithoneanother，“shemurmured。“I
offeryouanalliance，myfriendship，perhapsmyhelp。“
“WhatcanIdo，“heansweredgravely，“savebegrateful-andaccept？“
“Then-“
Shestoppedshort。ItwasMr。Sabin’sluckwhichhadintervened。
HerbertDaikeithstoodatherelbow。
“LadyCarey，“hesaid，“they’reallgonebutthematerandI。
Forgivemyinterruptingyou，“headdedhastily。
“Youcangoon，Herbert，“sheadded。“TheDucdeSouspennierwillbringme。“
Mr。Sabin，whohadnointentionofdoinganythingofthesort，turnedtowardstheyoungmanwithasmile。
“LadyCareyhasnotintroducedus，“hesaid，“butIhaveseenyouatRanelaghquiteoften。Ifyouarestillkeenonpoloyoushouldhaveatryoverhere。IfancyyouwouldfindthattheseAmericanyoungsterscanholdtheirown。Allright，Felix，Iamreadynow。
LadyCarey，Ishalldomyselfthehonourofwaitinguponyouearlyto-morrowmorning，asIhavealittleexcursiontopropose。
Good-night。“
Sheshruggedhershoulderseversoslightlyassheturnedaway。Mr。
Sabinsmiled-faintlyamused。HeturnedtoFelix。
“Come，“hesaid，“wehavenotimetolose。“
Iregret，“Mr。SabinsaidtoFelixastheysatsidebysideinthesmallcoupe，“thatyourstayinthiscountrywillbesobrief。“
“Indeed，“Felixanswered。“MayIaskwhatyoucallbrief？“
Mr。Sabinlookedoutofthecarriagewindow。
“Wearealready，“hesaid，“onthewaytoEngland。“
Felixlaughed。
“This，“hesaid，“islikeoldtimes。“
Mr。Sabinsmiled。
“Thesystemofespionagehere，“heremarked，“ispainfullyprimitive。
Itlacksfinesseandjudgment。ThefactthatIhavetakenexpensiveroomsontheCampania，andthatIhavesentmanypackagesthere，thatmyownbelongingsarestillinmyroomsuntouched，seemstoourfriendsconclusiveevidencethatIamgoingtoattempttoleaveAmericabythatboat。Theyhave，Ibelieve，awarrantformyarrestonsomeridiculouschargewhichtheyintendtopresentatthelastmoment。Theywillnothavetheopportunity。“
“Butthereisnoothersteamersailingto-morrow，isthere？“Felixasked。
“NotfromNewYork，“Mr。Sabinanswered，“butitwasnevermyintentiontosailfromNewYork。WeareonourwaytoBostonnow，andwesailintheSaxoniaatsixo’clockto-morrowmorning。
“WeappeartobestoppingattheWaldorf，“Felixremarked。
“Itisquitecorrect，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“Followmethroughthehallasquicklyaspossible。Thereisanothercarriagewaitingattheotherentrance，andIexpecttofindinitDusonandmydressing-case。
Theyalightedandmadetheirwaythoughthecrowdedvestibules。AttheThirty-fourthStreetentranceacarriagewasdrawnup。Dusonwasstandinguponthepavement，hispale，nervousfacewhiterthaneverundertheelectriclight。Mr。Sabinstoppedshort。
“Felix，“hesaid，“oneword。Ifbyanychancethingshavegonewrongtheywillnothavemadeanyarrangementstodetainyou。CatchthemidnighttraintoBostonandembarkontheSaxonia。TherewillbeacableforyouatLiverpool。Butthemomentyouleavemesendthisdespatch。“
Felixnoddedandputthecrumpled-uppieceofpaperinhispocket。
Thetwomenpassedon。Dusontookoffhishat，buthisfingersweretrembling。Thecarriagedoorwasopenedandatall，sparemandescended。
“ThisisMr。Sabin？“heremarked。
Mr。Sabinbowed。
“Thatismyname，“headmitted，“bywhichIhavebeengenerallycalledinthisdemocraticcountry。Whatisyourbusinesswithme？“
“Iratherguessthatyou’remyprisoner，“themananswered。“Ifyou’llsteprightinherewecangetawayquietly。“
“Thesuggestion，“Mr。Sabinremarked，“soundsinviting，butIamsomewhatpressedfortime。MightIinquirethenatureofthechargeyouhaveagainstme？“