e will not only publish the
contents of that dreadful letter, but send the original to the chief of
the Mauravanian police and appear in public with the Rainbow Pearl upon
her person."

"The Jezebel! What steps have you taken, Count, to prevent this?"

"All that I can imagine, monsieur. To prevent her from getting into
close touch with the public, I have thrown open my own house to her, and
received her and her retinue under my own roof rather than allow them to
be quartered at an hotel. Also, this has given me the opportunity to
have her effects and those of her followers secretly searched; but no
clue to the letter, no due to the pearl has anywhere been discovered."

"Still she must have both with her, otherwise she could not carry out
her threat. No doubt she suspects what motive you had in taking her into
your own house, Count--a woman like that is no fool. But tell me, does
she show no anxiety, no fear of a search?"

"None, monsieur. She knows that my people search her effects; indeed,
she has told me so. But it alarms her not a whit. As she told me two
days ago, I shall find nothing; but if I did it would be useless, for,
on the moment anything of hers was touched, her servants would see that
the finder never carried it from the house."

"Oho!" said Cleek, with a strong rising inflection. "A little searching
party of her own, eh? The lady is clever, at all events. The moment
either pearl or letter should be removed from its hiding-place her
servants would allow nobody to leave the house without being searched to
the very skin?"

"Yes, monsieur. So if by any chance you were to discover either--"

"My friend, set your mind at rest," interposed Cleek. "If I find either,
or both, they will leave the house with me, I promise you. Mr. Narkom--"
he turned to the superintendent--"keep an eye on Dollops for me, will
you? There are reasons why I can't take him--can't take anybody--with me
in the working out of this case. I may be a couple of days or I may be a
week--I can't say as yet; but I start with Count Irma for Mauravania in
the morning. And, Mr. Narkom!"

"Yes, old chap?"

"Do me a favour, please. Be at Charing Cross station when the first
boat-train leaves to-morrow morning, will you, and bring me a small pot
of extract of beef--a very small pot, the smallest they make--not bigger
than a shilling nor thicker than one if they make them that size. What's
that? Hide the pearl in it? What nonsense! I don't wan