unlikely that, after such a journey, she would have gone out,
so that he had every reason for feeling certain she must be in the
house before him. In spite of the thin rain that was falling, he stood
and watched the building for some minutes. Once a woman's shadow
passed across a blind upon the second floor, and Browne felt his heart
leap as he saw it. A few moments later a man and a woman passed the
concierge. They paused upon the doorstep to wish some one within
"good-night"; then, descending the steps, they set off in the same
direction in which Browne himself had come. Before doing so, however,
they turned and looked up and down the street, as if they were afraid
they might be observed. Seeing Browne watching the house, they
hastened their steps, and presently disappeared down a side
thoroughfare. For an ordinary observer this small event might have had
little or no significance; but to Browne, in whose mind indefinable
suspicions were already shaping themselves, it seemed more than a
little disquieting. That they had noticed him, and that they were
alarmed by the knowledge that he was watching the house, was as plain
as the lights in the windows opposite. But why they should have been
so frightened was what puzzled him. What was going on in the house, or
rather what had they been doing that they should fear being overlooked?
He asked himself these questions as he paced down the street in the
direction of his cab. But he could not answer them to his satisfaction.

"Drive me to the Amphitryon Club," he said, as he took his place in the
vehicle once more; and then continued to himself, "I'd give something
to understand what it all means."

CHAPTER VIII

Now the Amphitryon Club is situated in the Avenue de l'Opera, as all
the world knows, and is one of the most exclusive and distinguished
clubs in Europe. Browne had been a member for many years, and during
his stays in Paris was usually to be found there.

It was a fine building, in which everything was done in the most
sumptuous and luxurious fashion. You might lunch there on bread and
cheese or a Porter-house steak; but the bread, the cheese, and the
steak, while unpretentious in themselves, would be the very best
obtainable of their kind. What led him there on that particular
evening Browne did not quite know. It was Destiny! Blind Fate had him
in hand, and was luring him on to what was to be the most momentous
half-hour of his life. He k