She regarded me somewhat strangely.
"Is there a significance in that last sentence?"
"No," I answered. I felt compelled to add something. "But here come some of your new admirers. Their glittering medals will make me feel out of place if I remain. I shall do my best to accept your invitation."
"Jack, you are hiding something from me. Are you going to leave the city to search for her?"
"No," said I. "The truth is," with a miserable attempt to smile, "I have an engagement to-morrow morning, and it is impossible to tell how long it will last. Good night."
Fate played loose with me that night. As I was turning down the corridor I ran into the Prince. He was accompanied by Von Walden and an attaché whom I knew.
"Good evening," said the Prince. "Do you not prefer the French opera, after all?"
"All good music is the same to me," I answered, calmly returning his amused look with a contemptuous one. "Wagner, Verdi, Gounod, or Bizet, it matters not."
The attaché passed some cigarettes. Only the Prince refused.
"No thanks. I am not that kind of a villain." He laughed as he uttered these words, and looked at me.