e idiotic searchers of
yours. Ten minutes to ten! Just time for one brief song. Let us make hay
while the sun lasts, madame, for it goes down suddenly in Mauravania;
and for some of us--it never comes up again!" Then, throwing himself
upon the piano-seat, he ran his fingers across the keys and broke into
the stately measures of the national anthem. And, of a sudden, while the
song was yet in progress, the clock in the corridor jingled its musical
chimes and struck the first note of the hour.

He jumped to his feet and lifted both hands above his head.

"Mauravania!" he cried. "Oh, Mauravania! For you! For you!" Then jumped
to the mantelpiece, and catching up a lighted candle, flashed it twice
across the window's width, and broke again into the national hymn.

"Monsieur," cried out madame, "monsieur, what is the meaning of that?
Have you lost your wits? You give a signal! For what? To whom?"

"To the guards of Mauravania's king, madame, in honour of his safe
escape from you!" he made reply; then twitched back the window curtains
until the whole expanse of glass was bared. "Look! do you see them--do
you, madame? His Majesty of Mauravania sends Madame Tcharnovetski a
command to leave his kingdom, since he no longer has cause to fear a
wasp whose sting has been plucked out."

Her swift glance flashed to the fireplace, then to the corner where
Clopin still sat with his jabbering parakeets, then flashed back to
Cleek, and--she laughed in his face.

"I think not, monsieur," she said, with a swaggering air. "Truly, I
think not, my excellent friend."

"What a pity you only think so, madame! As for me--Ah, welcome, Count,
welcome a thousand times. The paper, my friend; you have brought it?
Good! Give it to me. Madame, your passport--yours and your associates'.
You leave Mauravania by the midnight train, and you have but little time
to pack your effects. Your passport, madame, and--your bedroom candle.
Oh, yes, the paper is still round it--see!" slipping off a sheet of note
paper that was wrapped round the full length of the candle from top to
bottom, "but if you will examine it, madame, you will find it is blank.
I burned the real letter the night before last when I put this in its
place."

"You what?" she snapped; then caught the tube-shaped covering he had
stripped from the candle, uncurled it, and--screamed.

"Blank, madame, quite blank, you see," said Cleek serenely. "For one so
clever in other things, you should ha