“May I ask why you think that he is responsible?”

“It is evident. His disappearance, his well-known animus against us, and——”

“Yes. I think you are right,” Sir Keith interrupted him quietly.

“What are you going to do? It is rank piracy, and the pirate is a British subject.”

The foreign secretary glanced at the clock.

“I will see you at four o’clock. In the meantime, I must make inquiries. Au revoir.”

“We shall hold you responsible.”

“Au revoir, Baron.”

And Sir Keith turned deliberately away, and when he was alone, a smile twitched at his mouth.

“I don’t know that I am altogether sorry,” he muttered, as he rang the bell.