and he completely ignored her commands. He drew up
triumphantly at the tall dark house just at the moment when Miss Spencer
disappeared into it. The other carriage drove away. Nella, uncertain
what to do, stepped down from her carriage and gave the driver some
money. At the same moment a man reopened the door of the house, which
had closed on Miss Spencer.

'I want to see Miss Spencer,' said Nella impulsively. She couldn't think
of anything else to say.

'Miss Spencer? 'Yes; she's just arrived.'

'It's O.K., I suppose,' said the man.

'I guess so,' said Nella, and she walked past him into the house. She
was astonished at her own audacity.

Miss Spencer was just going into a room off the narrow hall. Nella
followed her into the apartment, which was shabbily furnished in the
Belgian lodging-house style.

'Well, Miss Spencer,' she greeted the former Baroness Zerlinski, 'I
guess you didn't expect to see me. You left our hotel very suddenly this
afternoon, and you left it very suddenly a few days ago; and so I've
just called to make a few inquiries.'

To do the lady justice, Miss Spencer bore the surprising ordeal very
well.

She did not flinch; she betrayed no emotion. The sole sign of
perturbation was in her hurried breathing.

'You have ceased to be the Baroness Zerlinski,' Nella continued. 'May I
sit down?'

'Certainly, sit down,' said Miss Spencer, copying the girl's tone.
'You are a fairly smart young woman, that I will say. What do you want?
Weren't my books all straight?'

'Your books were all straight. I haven't come about your books. I have
come about the murder of Reginald Dimmock, the disappearance of his
corpse, and the disappearance of Prince Eugen of Posen. I thought you
might be able to help me in some investigations which I am making.'

Miss Spencer's eyes gleamed, and she stood up and moved swiftly to the
mantelpiece.

'You may be a Yankee, but you're a fool,' she said.

She took hold of the bell-rope.

'Don't ring that bell if you value your life,' said Nella.

'If what?' Miss Spencer remarked.

'If you value your life,' said Nella calmly, and with the words she
pulled from her pocket a very neat and dainty little revolver.

Chapter Nine TWO WOMEN AND THE REVOLVER

'YOU--you're only doing that to frighten me,' stammered Miss Spencer, in
a low, quavering voice.

'Am I?' Nella replied, as firmly as she could, though her hand shook
violently with excitement, could Miss Spencer