“HE HAS GONE TO THE EMPEROR!”
The Ambassador, when he left Mr. Sabin’s house, stepped into a hired hansom and drove off towards Arlington Street. A young man who had watched him come out, from the other side of the way, walked swiftly to the corner of the street and stepped into a private brougham which was waiting there.
“To the Embassy,” he said. “Drive fast!”
The carriage set him down in a few minutes at the house to which Densham and Harcutt had followed Mr. Sabin on the night of their first meeting with him. He walked swiftly into the hall.
“Is his Excellency within?” he asked a tall servant in plain dress who came forward to meet him.
“Yes, Monsieur Felix,” the man answered; “he is dining very late to-night—in fact, he has not yet risen from the table.”
“Who is with him?” Felix asked.
“It is a very small party. Madame la Princesse has just arrived from Paris, and his Excellency has been waiting for her.”
He mentioned a few more names; there was no one of importance. Felix walked into the hall-porter’s office and scribbled a few words on half a sheet of paper, which he placed in an envelope and carefully sealed.
“Let his Excellency have this privately and at once,” he said to the man; “I will go into the waiting room.”