The prince looked. “Excuse me,” he said. “Those are the men who can identify Captain Laroque. I have some orders to give them.”
Out of the tail of his eye Drexel saw the military governor accost the two officers with curt aloofness and lead them out. He waited a moment, then crossed to the door. The trio were in conversation down a corridor, the backs of the two officers toward him. Drexel crossed to the stairway and swiftly mounted.
Of a surety, St. Petersburg was no safe place for him!
He went to his uncle’s apartment. Tables and chairs were heaped with wedding gifts, and wherever a spot was empty of presents it held a vase of flowers. The Howards had been up most of the night before, and his aunt and Alice were only rising, but his uncle joined him at once. The old man greeted him heartily, and spoke for several minutes of the wedding now but a few hours off.
“And was your trip to Moscow a success?”
“I hope events will prove that I have succeeded in every detail,” said Drexel.
“Good. You’ll tell me about it later. And I’ve been having success too.” He half closed his eyes and nodded his head. “I’ve had a dozen cipher cables from America while you’ve been gone. Great news about that street-railway scheme!”
“Yes?” said Drexel mechanically. He was glad of a momentary respite from his unpleasant task.
“Things have developed just as we planned. The scheme is ripe. All we’ve got to do is to hustle home, do a little more work, and then pluck the profits.”
The scheme had been out of Drexel’s head for near a fortnight. Coming back fresh as it did, it had certain aspects it had not borne before.