en to his feet, was
like a clumsy but powerful beast, showing his fierce primitivism
through the disguise of clothes and his falsely human form. To me
those few seconds were absolutely thrilling! There was another man in
the room, who continued writing as though nothing were happening. A
couple of strangers passed through on their way to the bar, and seemed
to see nothing except the meeting of Louis--the _maitre d'hotel_--with
a possible client. Felicia had let fall her veil, so that her terror
was no longer written in her face. She had separated herself now from
Bartot, and with an involuntary movement I came over to her side. Then
the tension was suddenly broken. It was Louis who showed his teeth,
but it was with the razor-edge of civility.

"Monsieur Bartot is very welcome," he said, speaking in French.
"Monsieur Bartot has promised so often to make this visit, and has
always disappointed us."

Bartot was no match for this sort of thing. His few muttered words at
first were scarcely coherent. Louis bent towards him, always with the
same attitude of polite attention.

"If there is anything I can do," he said softly. "Monsieur has
already, without doubt, selected his rooms. It will give us great
pleasure to see him in the cafe this evening."

Bartot commenced to talk, but his voice was almost inaudible, it was
so thick with passion.

"I come to know what it means! It is not for pleasure that I come to
this villainous country! I come to know what the game is! I will be
told! Mademoiselle here--she tells me that her uncle has been lost,
and now that he is ill. She will not let me see him!"

Louis shrugged his shoulders.

"Alas!" he said. "That, I know, is quite impossible. Monsieur Delora
was taken ill on the voyage over. This gentleman," he added, turning
to me, "will bear me out when I say this. He is now in bed, and a
doctor is with him. I am sorry, but it would not be possible to have
him disturbed."

"Then I wait!" Bartot declared, folding his arms. "I wait till
monsieur recovers!"

"Why not?" Louis asked. "It is what we most desire. We will do our
best to make monsieur comfortable here."

I felt Felicia's fingers press my arm. I glanced towards her, and she
made a motion toward the door. We moved off, unnoticed, and I rang the
bell for the lift.

"Oh! Capitaine Rotherby," she exclaimed, "once more you have come to
my help! I was so frightened at that man! He did speak to me so
angrily, and he did no