d in the adjoining room the strident voice of his loved and
honoured wife apparently carrying on a decidedly vivacious argument with
some person unknown. He bounded up. Possibly she was accompanied by Sir
Tiglath, who must now be aware of his identity. In any case, her wrath
at his scarcely chivalrous desertion of her in the house of a stranger
would, he knew, be terrible. He dared not face it. He dared not allow
his project of flight at dawn to be interfered with, as it certainly
would be if he came across Madame. He therefore proceeded to flee once
more. Nor did he pause until he had gained Mr. Ferdinand's pantry, where
stood the telescope. Now, in this pantry there was a large cupboard in
which were kept the very numerous and magnificent pieces of plate, etc.,
possessed by Mrs. Merillia; tall silver candelabra, standard lamps
of polished bronze, richly-chased cups, gigantic vases for containing
flowers, oriental incense holders upon stands of ebony, Spanish charcoal
dishes of burnished brass, and other treasures far too numerous to
mention. This cupboard was always carefully locked at night, but on this
occasion Mr. Ferdinand, totally disorganised by the frightful scenes
which had taken place at his dinner table during the evening, had
retired to bed in a condition of collapse, leaving it open. Malkiel the
Second, feeling frantically about in the dark, came upon the door
of this cupboard, pulled it, found that it yielded to his hand, and,
hearing the rapidly approaching voices of Madame and the Prophet,
stumbled into the cupboard and sank down on a large gold loving-cup,
with one foot in a silver soup tureen, and the other in a priceless
sugar basin, just as the light of the candle borne by the Prophet
glimmered in the darkness of the adjacent corridor.

"This way, Madame," said the Prophet. "But I really think such a
proceeding is calculated to cause a grave scandal in the square."

Malkiel the Second drew the cupboard door to, and grasped a silver
candelabrum in each hand to sustain himself upon the rather sharp rim of
the loving-cup.

"What is the square to me or I to the square?" returned Madame with
ungrammatical majesty. "Madame Malkiel is not governed by any ordinary
laws. _Lexes non scripta_ is her motto. To these alone she clings."

Her husband clung to the candelabra and burst into a violent
perspiration. Through the keyhole of the cupboard a ray of light now
shone, and he heard the frou-frou of his part