Sir Harry, his face purple, the veins of his temples swollen, was on his feet.
"Go on, Mr. Nape, please."
It was the Duke's gentle voice. In a dream Mr. Nape obeyed. In his not unnatural agitation he skipped a few lines. "... therefore I call upon you, the aforesaid George Francisco Louis Duc de Montvillier to appear before me at 10 o'clock in the forenoon of the 28th day of October, 1907."
"The twenty-eighth!" gasped Hank, "to-day's the twentieth, the boat has sailed——"
He heard Tanneur's laugh, harsh and triumphant.
"The Ironic doesn't call at Queenstown," he said and laughed again.
"No, but the German boat will be passing through the Straits of Dover in two hours' time," said the Duke.
XII
Outside in the vestibule the Duke looked at his watch. It was ten minutes past nine.
The girl by his side was quiet, but her eyes never left his face.