in the pigeon-holes.
There was nothing, however, which seemed to bear upon our affairs, with
the exception of a telegraph form, which I seized upon. It was dated June
first, and had been sent from a Madrid office. There was no signature, but
there was a hint of something secret in the three words it contained. "Day
after to-morrow."

Dick and I stared at the paper, as if we expected the meaning of the
message to spring up to our eyes.

"My name's not Richard D. Waring if Carmona's signature oughtn't to be
tacked on to that," he said. "Now, we've something to go upon, for a
beginning. This telegram will be traced to the sender before I'm many
hours older; we can trust our dear old Cherub for that."

"Day after to-morrow," I repeated. "What's going to happen day after
to-morrow, that Carmona should have wired to this man?"

"I should say it was his way of letting Molina know that the cage door
could open."

"But why day after to-morrow? He--" I broke off suddenly, and it seemed
that my heart would stop beating. "Dick," I began again, in a queer voice
that did not sound like my own, "is Monica--" I could not finish the
sentence. But Dick understood.

"Forgive me," he said. "I saw you weren't strong enough to bear it at
first. I wanted you to eat, and then--I'd have kept it back a bit longer if
I could, just till I got you to the hotel. She's going to marry him--on the
third of June, Heaven knows why, though Pilar vows the girl can't be to
blame, and that they've made her believe somehow she's sacrificing herself
for your sake."

"What day is this?" I asked.

"The first. The Royal Wedding was yesterday, and a terrible bomb
explosion, in which the King and Queen had a narrow escape, and--but come,
Ramon, I want to get you to the hotel."

"I'm not going to the hotel," I said. "I'm going to Madrid, to stop
Carmona's marriage."

XL

THROUGH THE NIGHT

Dick looked at me with indulgent sympathy, as if I were a child.

"It's after eleven o'clock at night," he said. "The train for Madrid went
two hours ago, and--"

"Did you say Ropes was waiting for you outside?" I asked.

"Yes."

"And my car's still in the garage where I put it?"

"Yes; but you're not in a fit state for a journey. If you could see
yourself--"

"Oh, I know I'm a nightmare apparition," I cut in; "but when I'm shaved
and--"

"The trip would kill you."

"It would kill me not to take it."

W