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 through the affair, except that he has been a little too reckless in exposing his valuable life to peril. The result of his heroic conduct is that you are outwitted all along the line, and that the three millions are secure in that safe.”

This misdescription of the case, so adroitly near the mark and yet differing from the truth in the all-important word “pretending,” made the Duke catch his breath. Somehow the matter which he had believed himself to be working single-handed seemed to have been taken out of his shaky grasp, and, shamed by the unmerited praise, he waited for the rejoinder of the adventuress. It came crisp and sharp.

“Then what you have to do is to call in the police and hand us over to justice,” she said defiantly. “The authorities will be puzzled to find a reason for all you worthy amateurs bottling up your knowledge of a crime that would have shaken two continents. I think I shall be able to instruct my counsel so that by the time he has done with him his Grace won’t be much of a hero.”

The Senator smiled superior.

“Ah!” he retorted, pleasantly; “you might have tried that if you had had the chance. But