Prince Conrad looked at her and then at us, and then slowly took from his pocket a jewelled gold cigarette case, and with a movement that asked permission of the ladies without words, he selected a cigarette with his left hand, then closed the case, and put it back in his pocket, holding the cigarette ready to light. On the hand that held it blazed a ruby ring. A ring fit for a king, large enough for a king in a play.
CHAPTER VIII
Yolanda did not move. She, of course, had known the identity of the Black Ghost since we had given her Helena’s message. Maria Lalena sat staring at the ring with eyes that seemed hypnotised. Her face was white, but she gathered all her courage, and lifted her chin to look squarely at him. Her voice trembled a little as she spoke, “Hail, Fakat Zol, Guardian Spirit of Alaria,” she cried.
Prince Conrad looked at her, and lifted his eyebrows. Then he continued deliberately lighting his cigarette, and turned to us. “So you are actually ’ere!” he said, cheerfully. “Men after my own ’eart. If I were the ruler of Alaria I should offer you posts that would tempt you to stay ’ere. This country needs men who can do the impossible.”
“Not impossible at all,” John apologised. “Luck was with us.”
“That is always true when the impossible is accomplished,” the Prince answered. “I am lucky, myself, and I like to surround myself with lucky men. Luck is a state of mind, and a most useful one. Your Majesty, may I recommend these very excellent and lucky men to your consideration? If you ’ave a use for professional escapers—and we all may ’ave—there are not many men alive who could escape from two arrests in two days.”
“At that,” John said, not too modestly, “it was really four, counting the trouble at the Palace gate, and that at Vorgo.”
“You see?” Prince Conrad said to Maria Lalena. “What did I tell you? It is stupendous.”
“Let us be serious,” she pleaded.
“Certainly,” agreed the Prince. “If you wish. I merely thought to save us all embarrassment, for you will notice that when one is serious in a situation like this, one becomes—dare I suggest such a thing?—just a trifle ridiculous.”