s the Grand Babylon. You think because you
control a railroad, or an iron-works, or a line of steamers, therefore
you can control anything. But no. Not the Grand Babylon. There is
something about the Grand Babylon--' He threw up his hands.

'Servants rob you, of course.'

'Of course. I suppose I lose a hundred pounds a week in that way. But
it is not that I mean. It is the guests. The guests are too--too
distinguished.

The great Ambassadors, the great financiers, the great nobles, all the
men that move the world, put up under my roof. London is the centre of
everything, and my hotel--your hotel--is the centre of London. Once I
had a King and a Dowager Empress staying here at the same time. Imagine
that!'

'A great honour, Mr Babylon. But wherein lies the difficulty?'

'Mr Racksole,' was the grim reply, 'what has become of your
shrewdness--that shrewdness which has made your fortune so immense that
even you cannot calculate it? Do you not perceive that the roof which
habitually shelters all the force, all the authority of the world, must
necessarily also shelter nameless and numberless plotters, schemers,
evil-doers, and workers of mischief? The thing is as clear as day--and
as dark as night. Mr Racksole, I never know by whom I am surrounded. I
never know what is going forward.

Only sometimes I get hints, glimpses of strange acts and strange
secrets.

You mentioned my servants. They are almost all good servants, skilled,
competent. But what are they besides? For anything I know my fourth
sub-chef may be an agent of some European Government. For anything I
know my invaluable Miss Spencer may be in the pay of a court dressmaker
or a Frankfort banker. Even Rocco may be someone else in addition to
Rocco.'

'That makes it all the more interesting,' remarked Theodore Racksole.

'What a long time you have been, Father,' said Nella, when he returned
to table No. 17 in the salle manger.

'Only twenty minutes, my dove.'

'But you said two seconds. There is a difference.'

'Well, you see, I had to wait for the steak to cook.'

'Did you have much trouble in getting my birthday treat?'

'No trouble. But it didn't come quite as cheap as you said.'

'What do you mean, Father?'

'Only that I've bought the entire hotel. But don't split.'

'Father, you always were a delicious parent. Shall you give me the hotel
for a birthday present?'

'No. I shall run it--as an amusement. By the way, who is that chair
for?'