it out of his hand and to read it for myself, that
a friend, his colleague, no doubt, had been checked summarily at
Lausanne. He said he had lost "her," the lady of course.

I was not altogether happy in my mind about her, for when we had
parted at Brieg it had been settled that she should take the Simplon
route through this very place Brieg, at which I now found myself so
unexpectedly, and I ought to have come upon her or had news of her
somewhere had her plans been carried out. She certainly had not
reached Brieg, for with my ally l'Echelle we searched the town for
news of her that night and again next morning.

The situation was embarrassing. I could decide upon no clear course
but that of holding on to Falfani and clinging to him with the very
skin of my teeth; any light must come from or through him, or at least
by keeping him in full view I might prevent him from doing any more
mischief.

One of us, l'Echelle or myself, continually watched him all that day,
the third of this curious imbroglio into which I was plunged. At night
I took the strong and unjustifiable measure of locking him into his
room.

When he discovered it next morning he was furious, and came straight
at me open-mouthed.

"I'll appeal to the law, I'll denounce you to the authorities, I'll
charge you with persecution and with false imprisonment. You shall be
arrested. I'll be rid of you somehow, you shall not stay here, you
shall leave Brieg."

"With all my heart--when you do. Have I not told you that already?
Where you go I go, where you stay I stay."

"But it is most monstrous and abominable. I will not submit to it. You
have no sort of right to act in this way. Why is it?"

"You can guess my reasons, surely. Only it is not for your _beaux
yeux_; not because I like you. I loathe and detest you. You are a low,
slimy spy, who richly deserves to be thrashed for bullying a lady."

"I'll have you to know, sir, that I am fully entitled to act as I am
doing," he said with a consequential air. "I am the representative of
a court of law; I have great people at my back, people who will soon
bring you to book. Wait a little, we shall see. You'll sing a very
poor song when you have to do with a nobleman. The Right Honourable
the Earl of Blackadder will arrive shortly. I hope this very
afternoon. You can settle it with him, ah! How do you like that, eh?"

I laughed him to scorn.

"Psha, man, you're an ass. I've told you before now what I think