ee I wear."

The pin he indicated consisted of a single black pearl with the base
surrounded by diamonds, an expensive piece of jewellery. That, in
itself, was sufficient to show that Oswald De Gex was a past-master in
the art of bribery, and that he had established in the minds of the
authorities of the Spanish capital that when he came there he came in
the interests of the Government, and hence he could do no wrong.

Ah! How I longed to be able to tell my story to that charming
official. But I saw that if I did so he would not only disbelieve me,
but put me down as an exaggerating fool. So I held my tongue.

I further questioned him concerning De Gex and his friend Suzor.

"Monsieur Suzor has been in Madrid before," he said. "He is agent of
Senor De Gex. But how wealthy the latter must be! During the war he
made a big loan to our Government. The real extent of it is not known,
but some say that he can pull the strings of the Cabinet in any way he
wishes, though the King disapproved of the whole transaction. At least
that is the rumour. Yet, after all, Senor De Gex is a true friend of
Spain, even though he, like all financiers, obtains huge percentages
upon his loans."

"True," I laughed. "Men of wealth are seldom philanthropists. One
finds more true philanthropy among the poor, and in the artistic
circles of lower Bohemia, than in the circles of the ultra-rich.
Philanthropy is not written in the dictionary of the war-rich--those
blatant profiteers with their motors and their places in the country,
who, having fattened upon the lives of the brave fellows who fought
and died to save Europe from the unholy Hun, are now enjoying their
lives, while the widows and orphans of heroes starve."

"Ah, M'sieur Garfield, with that I entirely agree," sighed the astute
man seated at his writing-table with the three telephones at his
elbow. "In my official career as head of the police department of
Madrid, I have watched recent events, and I have seen how men who were
little removed from the category of the worst criminals, have suddenly
jumped into wealth, with its consequent notoriety, and the power which
is inseparable from the possessor of money."

"The international financier Oswald De Gex is one of those," I said.
"You cannot close your eyes to that fact!"

"You appear to entertain some antipathy towards him," he remarked, a
little surprised it seemed.

"No, not at all," I assured him, smiling. "I only speak broadly.