y well what will happen if we go back empty-handed."

The telephone bell rang. Streuss took off the receiver and held it
to his ear. The words which he spoke were few, but when he laid
the instrument down there was a certain amount of satisfaction in
his face.

"At any rate," he announced, "this man Laverick did not part with
the document to-day. Mademoiselle Louise and Bellamy have been
sitting in the Park for an hour. When they separated, she drove
home and dropped him at his club. Up till now, then, they have not
the document. We shall see what Mr. Laverick does when he leaves
business this evening; if he goes straight home, either the document
has never been in his possession, or else it is in the safe in his
office; if he goes to Mademoiselle Idiale's--"

"Well?" Kahn asked eagerly.

"If he goes to Mademoiselle Idiale's," Streuss repeated slowly,
"there is still a chance for us!"

CHAPTER XXIII

LAVERICK AT THE OPERA

Laverick, in presenting his card at the box office at Covent Garden
that evening, did so without the slightest misconception of the
reasons which had prompted Mademoiselle Idiale to beg him to become
her guest. It was sheer curiosity which prompted him to pursue this
adventure. He was perfectly convinced that personally he had no
interest for her. In some way or other he had become connected in
her mind with the murder which had taken place within a few yards of
his office, and in some other equally mysterious manner that murder
had become a subject of interest to her. Either that, or this was
one of the whims of a spoiled and pleasure-surfeited woman.

He found an excellent box reserved for him, and a measure of
courtesy from the attendants not often vouchsafed to an ordinary
visitor. The opera was Samson and Delilah, and even before her
wonderful voice thrilled the house, it seemed to Laverick that no
person more lovely than the woman he had come to see had ever moved
upon any stage. It appeared impossible that movement so graceful
and passionate should remain so absolutely effortless. There
seemed to be some strange power inside the woman. Surely her will
guided her feet! The necessity for physical effort never once
appeared. Notwithstanding the slight prejudice which he had felt
against her, it was impossible to keep his admiration altogether
in check. The fascination of her wonderful presence, and then her
glorious voice, moved him with the rest of the audience.