“I wonder what they want with me—eh?” asked Hubert, lighting a cigarette, perfectly unperturbed.
“They mean no good, signore,” declared the man very gravely. “Perhaps they intend to commit a burglary here?”
“They are welcome. There’s nothing here of any great value, and if they do come they’ll get a pretty warm reception,” he laughed.
“Ah, signore, it is a very serious matter,” protested the detective. “These two men would, if it suited them, take life without the slightest hesitation. In a case four months ago where a Russian diamond-dealer was robbed of his wallet and his body found in the Tiber stabbed to the heart, the strongest suspicion attached to the two men in question, though we have not yet been able to bring home the crime to them.”
“But I haven’t any diamonds or valuables,” replied the diplomat.
“No, but perhaps you, signore, may be in possession of some secret or other concerning them,” the detective said. “Perhaps even they may be employed by some enemy of yours to watch an opportunity and close your lips.”
Hubert looked at the man in surprise without replying.
“Yes, signore,” Pucci added very gravely, “such a thing is not entirely unknown in Rome, remember. Therefore I would urge you to exercise the greatest caution; to beware of any trap, and always to carry arms. It would be best, I think, to report to the Questore, and arrest both men on suspicion.”
“No, Pucci,” Hubert replied quickly. “No. Watch closely, but make no move. Their arrest might upset all my present plans.”