se the man, if you were to meet him again?"

"Oh, no; you see the hole is quite small. There was nothing visible
except a pair of eyes. Yet I might know them again, for I never
before saw such eyes--so bright, so burning. It was the night that
Godfrey and I were trying to find the secret drawer, and those eyes
gleamed like fire as they watched us."

M. Armand was gazing at the cabinet, apparently only half listening.

"Ah, yes, the secret drawer," he said. "Will you show me how it is
operated, Mr. Lester? I am most curious about it."

I placed my hand upon the table and pressed the three points which
the veiled lady had shown us. The first time, I got the order wrong,
but at the second trial, the little handle fell forward with a click,
and I pulled the drawer open.

"There it is," I said. "You see how cleverly it is constructed. And
how well it is concealed. No one would suspect its existence."

He examined it with much interest; pushed it back into place, and
then opened it himself.

"Very clever indeed," he agreed. "I have never seen another so well
concealed. And the idea of opening it only by a certain combination
is most happy and original. Most secret drawers are secret only in
name; a slight search reveals them; but this one...."

He pushed it shut again, and examined the inlay around it.

"My friend and I went over the cabinet very carefully and could not
find it," I said.

"Your friend--I think you mentioned his name?"

"Yes--his name is Godfrey."

"A man of the law, like yourself?"

"Oh, no, a newspaper man. But he had been a member of the detective
force before that. He is extraordinarily keen, and if anybody could
have found that drawer, he could. But that combination was too much
for him."

M. Armand snapped the drawer back into place with a little crash.

"I am glad, at any rate, that it _was_ discovered," he said. "I will
not conceal from you, Mr. Lester, that it adds not a little to the
value of the cabinet."

"What is its value?" I asked. "Mr. Vantine wanted me to buy it for
him, and named a most extravagant figure as the limit he was willing
to pay."

"Really," M. Armand answered, after an instant's hesitation, "I would
not care to name a figure, Mr. Lester, without further consultation
with my father. The cabinet is quite unique--the most beautiful,
perhaps, that M. Boule ever produced. Did you discover Madame de
Montespan's monogram?"

"No. Mr. Vantine said he was sure it exi