“Gott im Himmel! You don’t say so! How did he get there? Tell me everything.”
“He does not know from what quarter the blow came. The only person he can think of who might have denounced him is the Princess herself.”
“The Princess Y——?”
“Exactly.”
The German looked incredulous.
“But they were hand in glove. The Princess was his best agent.”
“True. Unfortunately there is always one source of danger where a woman is concerned—she cannot control her affections. It appears that M. Petrovitch ordered her to remove a certain Englishman, a spy of some kind, who was giving trouble, and Madame Y—— was attached to the fellow. She carried out her orders, but M. Petrovitch fears that she has taken revenge on him.”
Finkelstein gave a superior smile.
“I can dispose of that suspicion,” he said confidently. “The Princess did not carry out her orders. The man you speak of—who is the most dangerous and unprincipled scoundrel in the world—has escaped, and we have lost all trace of him.”
It was my turn to show surprise and alarm.