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Rh Ivan gave his thin smile. "It has, though," he answered. "First it was Miss Dalghren's rope of pearls, which I gave back to you; then you came within an ace of doing me out of that big Calais boat haul; then you broke up the Hertzfeld job, and now it looks as if you might spoil the best thing yet. I won't say anything about the Rosenthal stones that you took away from Chu-Chu, though he swears that he would have turned them over and was waiting only until the other business should have been disposed of. Now, Monsieur Clamart, I am, like yourself, a man of my word; but, after all, there are limits to one's patience." He smiled again.

Was he starting to threaten me? I could feel the muscles of my jaw harden. It was one thing to try to keep Ivan's good will and another to be cowed. The blood started up my neck, and I think that Ivan saw that he'd taken the wrong tack, for he went on smoothly:

"Don't misunderstand me. What I mean is that keeping my word to you is proving more expensive than I can afford, and it seems to me there exists some little obligation on your part. Don't you agree with me?"

"I certainly do," I muttered.

"I have stretched some points for you," Ivan went on; "and I don't mind telling you that, all money loss aside, it has hurt my authority with the association of which I am the head. Chu-Chu has been intriguing." His face darkened and grew sinister. "He is accusing me of favouring a renegade and traitor who has great influence at the Prefec-