He half-rose, but Nicholas pushed him down.
"Not even if it was the Czar?" he said calmly.
Cherry Bim gaped at him.
"The Czar?" he said, with a queer little grimace to emphasize his disbelief in the evidence of his hearing. "What are you getting at?"
"Would you shoot the Czar for two thousand pounds?" asked Nicholas.
Cherry Bim pushed his hat to the back of his head and got up, shaking off the protesting arm.
"I'm through," he said, "and that's all there is to it."
It was at that moment that Serganoff came through the door and Cherry Bim remained where he stood, surprised to silence, for the face of the newcomer was covered from chin to forehead by a black silk mask.
The door was shut behind him; he walked slowly to the table and dropped into a broken chair, Cherry's eyes never leaving his face.