he had entered he got in beside her, whereupon the car
turned and went down the hill and out of sight.

It occurred to me that Suzor had come from Madrid to fetch her, and
that surmise later proved to be correct, for on returning to the
capital at ten o'clock Hambledon called at the Hotel de la Paix, and
as we sat upstairs in my bedroom he informed me that the young girl
had arrived by car at the Ritz and had dined with De Gex and his
companion. The countess, who had apparently been in Madrid since the
morning, and who had attended a charity _matinee_ at the Comedia, had
arrived at the Ritz a quarter of an hour before her niece. It was
evident, therefore, that they were well known to De Gex, who, as I
afterwards ascertained, had been a friend of the late count.

The four had dined privately together in Suzor's sitting-room, and
according to the information given to Hambledon by the concierge, a
number of papers had been produced and examined immediately after the
coffee had been served.

"I understand that the production of the papers had a most disturbing
effect upon the countess," Hambledon told me. "She gave vent to a cry
of amazement, and afterwards burst into a fit of tears. At least that
is what the waiter told the concierge. The countess is very well known
at the Ritz, for she moves in the Court circle, and is often at the
smart functions so constantly held there."

"And the niece?" I asked. "She is certainly both smart and
good-looking."

"I can discover but little concerning her," Harry replied. "She is not
known at all. She has apparently only gone to live with her aunt at
Segovia since the count's death."

"I wonder what was in the papers which so affected the lady?" I
remarked. "De Gex evidently invited them to dinner in order to make
some disclosure, and to prove it by the production of documents."

"Evidently," replied my companion. "In any case, the countess and her
niece have just started to return for home, the widow being very upset
at what has been revealed to her to-night."

"What can it have been, I wonder? Could not the waiter ascertain the
nature of the disclosure?"

"No. I saw him myself afterwards, and he explained that the documents
in question were produced just after he had left the room. He heard
the countess utter a cry of dismay, and when he again entered the room
in pretence of clearing away the coffee-cups, he found the lady in
tears, while her niece declared hotly in French: