make himself ridiculous or to
become bad form, might turn out to be the ludicrous hero of a
country-house 'booby-trap.' To do him justice, he feared this result
much more than the other. But he wanted to test himself--to find himself
out. All this thinking had not as yet delayed his movements by a single
step, but now he paused for one short second, and he felt his pulse. It
beat steadily, regularly as the notes of Big Ben at Westminster. 'Come,'
he breathed to himself, 'I am all right. Come what will, I know I am not
a coward!'

For there had come into Rivers's somewhat emasculated mind now and again
the doubt whether his father, Cynicism, and his mother, Introspection,
might not, between them, have entailed some cowardice on him. He felt
relieved, encouraged, satisfied, by the test of his pulse. 'Come,' he
thought to himself, 'if there is anything really to be done, Helena
shall praise me to-morrow.' So he stole his quiet way.

Sarrasin had made himself acquainted with the Dictator's habits--and he
at once installed himself in bed. He took off his outer clothing, his
coat and waistcoat, kicked off his dress-shoes, and keeping on his
trousers he settled himself down among the bed-clothes. He left his coat
and waistcoat and shoes ostentatiously lying about. If there was to be a
murderous attack, his idea was to invite, not to discourage, that
murderous attack, and certainly not by any means to scare it away. Any
indication of preparedness or wakefulness or activity could only have
the effect of giving warning to the assassin, and so putting off the
attempt at the crime. The old soldier felt sure that the attempt could
never be made under conditions so favourable to his side of the
controversy as at the present moment. 'We have got it here,' he said to
himself, 'we can't tell where it may break out next.'

He turned off the electric light. The button was so near his hand that
it would not take him a second to turn the light on again whenever he
should have need of it. His purpose was to get the assassin or assassins
as far as possible into the room and close to the bed. He was determined
not to admit that he had thrown off sleep until the very last moment,
and then to flash the electric light at once. He would leave no chance
whatever for any explanation or apology about a mistake in the room or
anything of that kind. Before he would consent to open his eyes fully he
must have indisputable evidence of the murderous pl