"Is it anything important, Felix?" he asked; "you are looking tired."
"Yes, your Excellency, it is important," Felix answered; "it concerns the man Sabin."
"Well," he said, "what of him? You have not been seeking to settle accounts with him, I trust, after our conversation, and your promise?"
"No," he said. "I gave my word and I shall keep it! Perhaps you may some day regret that you interfered between us."
"I think not," the Prince replied. "Your services are valuable to me, my dear Felix; and in this country, more than any other, deeds of violence are treated with scant ceremony, and affairs of honour are not understood. No, I saved you from yourself for myself. It was an excellent thing for both of us."
"I trust," Felix repeated, "that your Excellency may always think so. But to be brief. The report from Cartienne is to hand."
The Ambassador nodded and listened expectantly.
"He confirms fully," Felix continued, "the value of the documents which are in question. How he obtained access to them he does not say, but his report is absolute. He considers that they justify fully the man Sabin's version of them."
"My own judgment is verified," he said. "I believed in the man from the first. It is good. By the bye, have you seen anything of Mr. Sabin to-day?"
"I have come straight," Felix said, "from watching his house."
"The Baron von Knigenstein has been there alone, incognito, for more than an hour. I watched him go in--and watched him out."
The Prince's genial smile vanished. His face grew suddenly as dark as thunder. The Muscovite crept out unawares. There was a fierce light in his eyes, and his face was like the face of a wolf; yet his voice when he spoke was low.
"So ho!" he said softly. "Mr. Sabin is doing a little flirting, is he? Ah!"
"I believe," the young man answered slowly, "that he has advanced still further than that. The Baron was there for an hour. He came out walking like a young man. He was in a state of great excitement."
The Prince sat down and stroked the side of his face thoughtfully.
"The great elephant!" he muttered. "Fancy such a creature calling himself a diplomatist! It is well, Felix," he added, "that I had finished my dinner, otherwise you would certainly have spoilt it. If they have met like this, there is no end to the possibilities of it. I must see Sabin immediately. It ought to be easy to make him understand that I am not to be trifled with. Find out where he is to-night, Felix; I must follow him."