"They will not, Emil. I will see to that."
"The first I supplied to the order of the Prince."
"Is not that," he remarked, "a little irregular?"
"The lady wrote her request before me in the yellow crayon. It was sufficient."
"No, monsieur. She was dark and tall, and closely veiled. She was here but a few minutes since."
"Dark and tall!" Mr. Sabin repeated to himself thoughtfully. "Emil, you are telling me the truth?"
"I do not dare to tell you anything else, monsieur," the man answered.
Mr. Sabin did not continue his interrogations for a few moments. Suddenly he looked up.
"Has that lady left the place yet, Emil?"
"None that the lady would know of," Emil answered. "She must pass along the passage which borders this apartment, and enter the bar by a door from behind. If monsieur desires it, it is impossible for her to leave unobserved."
"That is excellent, Emil," Mr. Sabin said. "Now there is one more question--quite a harmless one. Annette spoke of my life being in some way insured."
"It is true, monsieur," Emil admitted. "A lady who also possessed the yellow crayon came here the day that--that monsieur incurred the displeasure of--of his friends. She tried to bribe me to blow up my laboratory and leave the country, or that I should substitute a harmless powder for any required by the Prince. I was obliged to refuse."
"Then she promised me a large sum if you were alive in six months, and made me at once a payment.
"Dear me," Mr. Sabin said, "this is quite extraordinary."
"I can tell monsieur the lady's name," Emil continued, "for she raised her veil, and everywhere the illustrated papers have been full of her picture. It was the lady who was besieged in a little town of South Africa, and who carried despatches for the general, disguised as a man."
"Lady Carey!" Mr. Sabin remarked quietly.
Mr. Sabin was thoughtful for a few moments. Then he looked up.
"Emil Sachs," he said sternly, "you have given out at least one portion of your abominable concoction which is meant to end my days. Whether I shall escape it or not remains to be seen. I am forced at the best to discharge my servant, and to live the life of a hunted man. Now you have done enough mischief in the world. To-morrow morning a messenger will place in your hands two hundred pounds. A larger sum will await you at Baring's Bank in New York. You will go there and buy a small restaurant in the business quarter. This is your last chance, Emil. I give it to you for the sake of Annette."