no danger," she murmured, "for we are alone. I say again,
Rudolph, supposing this were true?"

His hand passed across his forehead. She fancied that he made a
motion as though to rise to his feet, but she laid her hand upon his.

"Stay here," she whispered. "No, I do not wish to drive you away.
Now you are here you shall listen to me."

"But you are not in earnest!" he faltered. "Don't tell me that you
are in earnest. It is treason. I am Rudolph Von Behrling,
Secretary to the Chancellor."

Again she leaned towards him so that he could see into her eyes.

"Rudolph," she said, "you are indeed Rudolph Von Behrling, you are
indeed the Chancellor's secretary. What do you gain from it? A
pittance! Many hours work a day and a pittance. What have you to
look forward to? A little official life, a stupid official position.
Rudolph, here am I, and there is the world. Do I not represent
other things?"

"God knows you do!" he muttered.

"I, too, am weary of singing. I want a long rest--a long rest and
a better name than my own. Don't shrink away from me. It isn't so
wonderful, after all. Bellamy, the Englishman, came to me a few
hours ago. He was Dorward's friend. He knew well what Dorward
carried. It was not his affair, he told me, and interposition from
him was hopeless, but he knew that you and I were friends."

"You must stop!" Von Behrling declared. "You must stop! I must
not listen to this!"

"He offered me twenty thousand pounds," she went on, "for the packet
in your pocket. Think of that, my friend. It would be a start in
life, would it not? I am an extravagant woman. Even if I would, I
dared not think of a poor man. But twenty thousand pounds is
sufficient. When I reach London, I am going to a flat which has
been waiting for me for weeks--15, Dover Street. If you bring that
packet to me instead of taking it to the Austrian Embassy, there
will be twenty thousand pounds and--"

Her fingers suddenly held his. She could almost hear his heart
beating. Her eyes, by now accustomed to the gloom, could see the
tumult which was passing within the man, reflected in his face.
She whispered a warning under her breath. The two cigar ends had
moved nearer. The forms of the two men were now distinct. One was
leaning over the side of the ship by Von Behrling's side. The other
stood a few feet away, gazing at the lights of Dover. Von Behrling
staggered to his feet. He said something in an ang