s a gentleman and has been bred as one; that is perfectly evident."

"Oh, no doubt," replied her daughter with apparent indifference. "One
of the younger son variety you meet in and out of England, I fancy."

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Wellington. "Is that why you invited him to
sit with us in church? Why you spoke to him on the _General_? Why you
wanted me to employ him?"

"I don't know," replied Anne frankly. "He interested me. He does yet.
He is a mystery and I want to solve him."

"May an old woman give you a bit of advice, Anne? Thank you," as her
daughter bowed. "Remember he is an employee of this house. He sought
the position; he must be down to it. Keep that in your mind--and don't
let him drive fast. In the meantime, how about his license?"

Anne stamped her foot.

"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed. "I forgot all about that beastly license.
What can we do?" She faced her mother. "Mother, can't you think of
something? I know you can arrange it if you will."

"Well," said her mother thoughtfully. Suddenly she looked at her
secretary who entered at the moment. "Miss Hatch, you might get Chief
Roberts on the 'phone--right away, please. Now, Anne, I am getting
nervous; you had better go."

"Yes, mother." Anne dropped a playful curtsey and left the room,
smiling.

Half an hour later, Armitage, squeezed into a beautifully made suit of
tan whipcord, his calves swathed in putees, and a little cap with vizor
pressing flat against his brows, was loitering about the garage with
Ryan, a footman, and absorbing the gossip of the family. Prince
Koltsoff was still there and intended, evidently, to remain for some
time. This information, gained from what Anne Wellington had said to
her mother, had relieved his mind of fears that his quarry had already
gone, and he would have been quite at his ease had not the thought that
the fact of Koltsoff's presence here rather argued against his having
the control in his possession, occurred to him. Still, if the Russian
had any of the instincts of a gentleman he could hardly break away from
the Wellingtons at such short notice, and certainly not if he was, as
Thornton surmised, interested in the daughter. Talk about the garage
left him in no doubt of this.

If the Prince had the missing part he would do one of three things:
hold onto it until he left; mail it; or express it to St. Petersburg.
Benoir, he had learned, carried the Wellington mail as well as express
m