"Antoinette," she said in an unsteady voice, as soon as she had drained the wine the maid had brought, "I am in trouble, and I want you to help me."
"You can rely upon me, my lady," replied the girl. "I will do anything in the world for you, and tell no one."
"You are very good," murmured her young mistress incoherently. "I—I have lost something valuable belonging to my husband. It will take a great deal of money to replace it, and it must be replaced at once, before he misses it. To do this, I am obliged to borrow money until I get my next allowance from him. There are several persons in the hotel who would willingly loan me the money if they but knew of my predicament. I must see one after another in that little private parlor off the reception-room, until I have secured the amount I need. You will bring them to me."
"I understand, my lady," nodded the maid.
Flushed, and trembling with excitement, Sally stepped down to the private parlor, after giving Antoinette a score of names on a slip of paper.
One by one, the clever French maid conducted the persons she had been sent in search of to her mistress.
Each gentleman listened in surprise to the appeal young Mrs. Gardiner made to them—she the bride of a man worth millions.
In most instances, the gentlemen carried large sums of money with them, and their hands flew to their well-filled pockets at once. They would be only too pleased, they declared. How much would she need?
Sally named as large a sum as she thought each of them could stand, and in less than half an hour she had the full amount which Victor Lamont had said he must have.