n
excellent position to deal with it."

Bernadine laughed softly.

"Oh, my friend--Peter Ruff or Baron de Grost, or whatever you may choose
to call yourself," he said, "I am indeed wise to have come to the
conclusion that you and I are too big to occupy the same little spot on
earth!"

De Grost nodded approvingly.

"I was beginning to wonder," he remarked, "whether you would not soon
arrive at that decision?"

"Having arrived at it," Bernadine continued, looking intently at his
companion, "the logical sequence naturally occurs to you."

"Precisely, my dear Bernadine," de Grost assented. "You say to yourself,
no doubt, 'One of us two must go!' Being yourself, you would naturally
conclude that it must be me. To tell you the truth, I have been
expecting some sort of enterprise of this description for a considerable
time."

Bernadine shrugged his shoulders.

"Your expectations," he said, "seem scarcely to have provided you with a
safe conduct."

De Grost gazed reflectively into his empty glass.

"You see," he explained, "I am such a lucky person. Your arrangements
to-night, however, are, I perceive, unusually complete."

"I am glad you appreciate them," Bernadine remarked dryly.

"I would not for a moment," de Grost continued, "ask an impertinent or
an unnecessary question, but I must confess that I am rather concerned
to know the fate of my manager--the gentleman whom you yourself, with
the aid of a costumier, so ably represented."

Bernadine sighed.

"Alas!" he said, "your manager was a very obstinate person."

"And my clerk?"

"Incorruptible!" Bernadine declared. "Absolutely incorruptible! I
congratulate you, de Grost. Your society is one of the most wonderful
upon the face of this earth. I know little about it, but my admiration
is very sincere. Their attention to details and the personnel of their
staff is almost perfect. I may tell you at once that no sum that could
be offered tempted either of these men."

"I am delighted to hear it," de Grost replied, "but I must plead guilty
to a little temporary anxiety as to their present whereabouts."

"At this moment," Bernadine remarked, "they are within a few feet of us;
but, as you are doubtless aware, access to your delightful river is
obtainable from these premises. To be frank with you, my dear Baron, we
are waiting for the tide to rise."

"So thoughtful about these trifles!" de Grost murmured. "But their
present position? They are, I trust, not