with that young man. It's a pity, too, for he isn't a bad sort, and it
will do the club no good if it gets about. But he hasn't settled up for
a fortnight, and the matter came before the committee this afternoon. He
owes one man over seven hundred pounds."

The Baron de Grost listened gravely.

"Are you going to speak to him to-night?" he asked.

"I must. I am instructed by the committee to ask him not to come to the
club again until he has discharged his obligations."

De Grost smoked thoughtfully for a few moments.

"Well," he said, "I suppose there is no getting out of it. Don't rub it
in too thick, though. I mean to have a talk with the boy afterwards, and
if I am satisfied with what he says, the money will be all right."

Courtledge raised his eyebrows.

"You know, of course, that he has a very small income and no
expectations?"

"I know that," Baron de Grost answered. "At the same time, it is hard
to forget that he really is a member of the royal house, even though the
kingdom is a small one."

"Not only is the kingdom a small one," Courtledge remarked, "but there
are something like five lives between him and the succession. However,
it's very good-natured of you, Baron, to think of lending him a hand.
I'll let him down as lightly as I can. You know him better than any one;
I wonder if you could make an excuse to send him out of the room? I'd
rather no one saw me talking to him."

"Quite easy," said the Baron. "I'll manage it."

The rubber was just finishing as De Grost re-entered the room. He
touched the young man, who had been the subject of their conversation,
upon the shoulder.

"My wife would like to speak to you for a moment," he said. "She is in
the other room."

Prince Albert rose to his feet. He was looking very pale, and the
ash-tray in front of him was littered with cigarette ends.

"I will go and pay my respects to the Baroness," he declared. "It will
change my luck, perhaps. Au revoir!"

He passed out of the room and all eyes followed him.

"Has the Prince been losing again to-night?" the Baron asked.

One of the three men at the table shrugged his shoulders.

"He owes me about five hundred pounds," he said, "and to tell you the
truth, I'd really rather not play any more. I don't mind high points,
but his doubles are absurd."

"Why not break up the table?" the Baron suggested. "The boy can scarcely
afford such stakes."

He strolled out of the room in time to meet the Prince,