sitor, and turned the key of the outer door. What followed seemed to
happen as though by some mysteriously directed force. The figures of men
came stealing out from the hidden places. The clerk who had been working
so hard at his desk calmly divested himself of a false moustache and
wig, and, assuming a more familiar appearance, strolled out into the
warehouse. De Grost looked around him with absolutely unruffled
composure. He was the centre of a little circle of men, respectably
dressed, but every one of them hard-featured, with something in their
faces which suggested not the ordinary toiler but the fighting
animal--the man who lives by his wits and knows something of danger. On
the outskirts of the circle stood Bernadine.

"Really," de Grost declared, removing his cigarette from his mouth for a
moment, "this is most unexpected. In the matter of dramatic surprises,
my friend Bernadine, you are most certainly in a class by yourself."

Bernadine smiled.

"You will understand, of course," he said, "that this little
entertainment is entirely for your amusement--well stage-managed,
perhaps, but my supers are not to be taken seriously. Since you are
here, Baron, might I ask you to precede me a few steps to the tasting
office?"

"By all means," de Grost answered. "It is this way, I believe."

He walked with unconcerned footsteps down the warehouse, on either side
of which were great bins and a wilderness of racking, until he came to a
small glass-enclosed office built out from the wall. Without hesitation
he entered it, and, removing his hat, selected the more comfortable of
the two chairs. Bernadine alone of the others followed him inside,
closing the door behind. De Grost, who appeared exceedingly comfortable,
stretched out his hand and took a small black bottle from a tiny
mahogany racking fixed against the wall by his side.

"You will excuse me, my dear Bernadine," he said, "but I see my friend
Greening has been tasting a few wines. The 'XX' upon the label here
signifies approval. With your permission."

He half filled a glass and pushed the bottle towards Bernadine.

"Greening's taste is unimpeachable," de Grost declared, setting down his
glass empty. "No use being a director of a city business, you know,
unless one interests oneself personally in it. Greening's judgment is
simply marvellous. I have never tasted a more beautiful wine. If the
boom in sherry does come," he continued complacently, "we shall be in a