intently silent.

"I am sorry to take you away from your amusements," said he, civilly
enough; "but you will soon be able to return to them. The matter is of
importance. Edwards has returned."

Both men nodded; Reitzei had, in fact, informed his companion.

"As I anticipated, Calabressa's absurd proposal has been rejected, if
not even scoffed at. Now, this affair must not be played with any
longer. The Council has charged us, the English section, with a certain
duty; we must set about having it performed at once."

"There is a year's grace," Beratinsky observed, but Lind interrupted him
curtly.

"There may be a year's grace or less allowed to the infamous priest;
there is none allowed to us. We must have our agent ready. Why, man, do
you think a thing like that can be done off-hand, without long and
elaborate planning?"

Beratinsky was silenced.

"Are we to have the Council think that we are playing with them? And
that was not the only thing in connection with the Calabressa scheme
which you, Reitzei, were the first to advocate. Every additional person
whom you let into the secret is a possible weak point in the carrying
out of the design; do you perceive that? And you had to let this man
Edwards into it."

"But he is safe."

Lind laughed.

"Safe? Yes; because he knows his own life would not be worth a
half-franc piece if he betrayed a Council secret. However, that is over:
no more about it. We must show the Council that we can act and
promptly."

There was silence for a second or two.

"I have no need to wait for the further instructions of the Council,"
Lind resumed. "I know what they intend. They intend to make it clear to
all Europe that this is not a Camorra act of vengeance. The Starving
Cardinal has thousands of enemies; the people curse and groan at him; if
he were stabbed by an Italian, 'Oh, another of those Camorristi
wretches!' would be the cry. The agent must come from England, and, if
he is taken red-handed, then let him say if he likes that he is
connected with an association which knows how to reach evil-doers who
are beyond the ordinary reach of the law; but let him make it clear that
it is no Camorra affair: you understand?"

"Yes, yes," said both men.

"Now you know what the Council have ordained," continued Lind, calmly,
"that no agent shall be appointed to undertake any service involving
immediate peril to life without a ballot among at least four persons. It
was absurd of Calabre