man Josef. I expect he resented my intrusion into a
sphere where his influence had probably been supreme and where he had
doubtless managed to secure a good harvest of pickings.

He left me to my luncheon and went away. After an excellent lunch,
washed down by some first-rate claret, I was enjoying my cigar over a
book when Josef reappeared again.

"The Frau Graefin will see you downstairs!" he said.

Monica received me in a morning-room (the apartment was on two floors).
She was very much agitated and had lost all her habitual calm.

"Des," she said, "von Boden has been here!"

"Well!" I replied eagerly.

"I wasn't very successful," she went on "I'm in deep water, Des, and
that's the truth. I have never seen the old General as he was to-day.
He's a frightful bully and tyrant, but even his worst enemy never
accused him of cowardice. But, Des, to-day the man was cowed. He seemed
to be in terror of his life and I had the greatest difficulty in making
him say anything at all about your affair.

"I made a joking allusion to the escapade at the hotel last night and he
said:

"'Yesterday may prove the ruin of not only my career but that of my
son's also. Yesterday gained for me as an enemy, Madam, a man whom it
spells ruin, perhaps death, to offend.'

"'You mean the Emperor?' I asked.

"'The Emperor!' he said. 'Oh! of course, he's furious. No, I was not
speaking of the Emperor!'

"Then he changed the subject and it took me all my tact to get back to
it. I asked him if they had caught the author of the attack at the
Esplanade. He said, no, but it was only a question of time: the fellow
couldn't escape. I said I supposed they would offer a reward and publish
a description of the assailant all over the country. He told me they
would do nothing of the sort.

"'The public will hear nothing about the affair,' he said, 'and if you
will take my advice, Countess, you will forget all about it. In any
case, the Princess Radolin is writing to all her guests at the ball last
night to urge them strongly to say nothing about the incident. The
employees of the hotel will keep their mouths shut. The interests at
stake forbid that there should be any attempt whatsoever made in public
to throw light on the affair.'

"That is all I could get out of him. But I have something further to
tell you. The General went away immediately after lunch. Almost as soon
as he had gone I was called to the telephone. Dr. Henninger was there:
he