On the undoubted existence of this mysterious cipher, and the riddles that that existence suggests, the writer has based his historical romance.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | “No. 101” | [ 1] |
| II. | One-Fourth of a Secret and Three-Fourthsof a Mystery | [ 12] |
| III. | A Fair Huntress and the Girl with theSpotted Cow | [ 26] |
| IV. | A Lover’s Trick | [ 39] |
| V. | The Presumption of a Beardless Chevalier | [ 53] |
| VI. | The Wise Woman of “The Cock with theSpurs of Gold” | [ 66] |
| VII. | The King’s Handkerchief | [ 78] |
| VIII. | The Vivandière of Fontenoy | [ 95] |
| IX. | At the Charcoal-Burner’s Cabin in theWoods | [ 109] |
| X. | Fontenoy | [ 121] |
| XI. | In the Salon de la Paix at Versailles | [ 137] |
| XII. | A Royal Grisette | [ 149] |
| XIII. | What the Vicomte de Nérac Saw in theSecret Passage | [ 160] |
| XIV. | Two Pages in the Book of Life | [ 171] |
| XV. | André is Thrice Surprised | [ 182] |
| XVI. | The Fountain of Neptune | [ 196] |
| XVII. | Denise’s Answer | [ 207] |
| XVIII. | The heart of the Pompadour | [ 220] |
| XIX. | The Flower Girl of “The Gallows andthe Three Crows” | [ 231] |
| XX. | At Home with a Cipher | [ 244] |
| XXI. | The King’s Commission | [ 253] |
| XXII. | On Secret Service | [ 264] |
| XXIII. | The King Faints | [ 274] |
| XXIV. | A Wished-for Miracle | [ 285] |
| XXV. | The Fall of the Dice | [ 297] |
| XXVI. | The Thief of the Secret Despatch | [ 308] |
| XXVII. | The Chevalier Makes his Last Appearance | [ 319] |
| XXVIII. | The Carrefour de St. Antoine No. 3 | [ 330] |
| XXIX. | André Fails to Decide | [ 339] |
| XXX. | Denise Has to Decide for the Last Time | [ 354] |
| XXXI. | Fortune’s Banter | [ 366] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | |
| “The Vicomte Henceforth Cannot withoutHarming Himself Visit Publicly a BourgeoiseGrisette” | [ Frontispiece] |
| Statham Sat Pondering, His Eyes Riveted on theCrossed Daggers | [ 6] |
| “Is That Letter to the Comtesse des Forges,One of My Friends—My Friends, Mon Dieu!—Yours,or Is It not?” | [ 48] |
| “Fair Archeress,” He Said, “Surely the ShaftsYou Loose Are Mortal” | [ 88] |
| Yes, that is Monseigneur le Maréchal de Saxe,Carried in a Wicker Litter, for He CannotSit His Horse | [ 124] |
| Madame de Pompadour | [ 188] |
| The Curtain Was Sharply Flung aside, and HeSaw Denise | [ 204] |
| Yvonne Very Modestly Disengaged the Arm whichfor the First Time He Had Slipped about HerSupple Waist | [ 234] |
| Yvonne with a Finger to Her Lips, Holding HerPetticoats off the Floor, Stole In, and behindHer a Stranger | [ 268] |
| The Candle Fell from Her Hand. “Gone!” SheMuttered Feebly, “Gone!” | [ 320] |
| “Yvonne, of Course; Yvonne of the SpotlessAnkles,” She Lifted Her Dress a Few Inches | [ 350] |
NO. 101.
NO. 101
CHAPTER I
“No. 101”
One evening in the January of 1745, the critical year of Fontenoy and of the great Jacobite rising, a middle-aged gentleman, the private secretary of a Secretary of State, was working as usual in the room of a house in Cleveland Row. The table at which he sat was littered with papers, but at this precise moment he had leaned back in his chair with a puzzled expression and his left hand in perplexity pushed his wig awry.