CHAPTER VI
CAKES AND COUNSELS
The Sporting Club seemed to fill up that afternoon almost as soon as thedoors were opened. At half-past four, people were standing two or threedeep around the roulette tables. Selingman, very warm, and lookingsomewhat annoyed, withdrew himself from the front row of the lowertable, and taking Mr. Grex and Draconmeyer by the arm, led them towardsthe tea-room.
"I have lost six louis!" he exclaimed, fretfully. "I have had thedevil's own luck. I shall play no more for the present. We will have teatogether."
They appropriated a round table in a distant corner of the restaurant.
"History," Selingman continued, heaping his plate with rich cakes, "hasbeen made before now in strange places. Why not here? We sit here inclose touch with one of the most interesting phases of modern life. Wecan even hear the voice of fate, the click of the little ball as itfinishes its momentous journey and sinks to rest. Why should we, too,not speak of fateful things?"
Mr. Draconmeyer glanced around.
"For myself," he muttered, "I must say that I prefer a smaller room anda locked door."
Selingman demolished a chocolate eclair and shook his head vigorously.
"The public places for me," he declared. "Now look around. There is noone, as you will admit, within ear-shot. Very well. What will they say,those who suspect us, if they see us drinking tea and eating many cakestogether? Certainly not that we conspire, that we make mischief here. Onthe other hand, they will say 'There are three great men at play, cometo Monte Carlo to rest from their labours, to throw aside for a time theburden from their shoulders; to flirt, to play, to eat cakes.' It is agood place to talk, this, and I have something in my mind which must besaid."
Mr. Grex sipped his pale, lemon-flavoured tea and toyed with hiscigarette-case. He was eating nothing.
"Assuming you to be a man of sense, my dear Selingman," he remarked, "Ithink that what you have to say is easily surmised. The Englishman!"
Selingman agreed with ponderous emphasis.
"We have before us," he declared, "a task of unusual delicacy. Ourfriend from Paris may be here at any moment. How we shall fare with him,heaven only knows! But there is one thing very certain. At the sight ofHunterleys he will take alarm. He will be like a frightened bird, allruffled feathers. He will never settle down to a serious discussion.Hunterleys knows this. That is why he presents himself without reservein public, why he is surrounded with Secret Service men of his owncountry, all on the _qui vive_ for the coming of Douaille."
"It appears tolerably certain," Mr. Draconmeyer said calmly, "that wemust get rid of Hunterleys."
Mr. Grex looked out of the window for a moment.
"To some extent," he observed, "I am a stranger here. I come as a guestto this conference, as our other friend from Paris comes, too. Any smalltask which may arise from the necessities of the situation, devolves, Ithink I may say without unfairness, upon you, my friend."
Selingman assented gloomily.
"That is true," he admitted, "but in Hunterleys we have to do with noordinary man. He does not gamble. To the ordinary attractions of MonteCarlo he is indifferent. He is one of these thin-blooded men withprinciples. Cromwell would have made a lay preacher of him."
"You find difficulties?" Mr. Grex queried, with slightly upliftedeyebrows.
"Not difficulties," Selingman continued quickly. "Or if indeed we docall them difficulties, let us say at once that they are very minorones. Only the thing must be done neatly and without ostentation, forthe sake of our friend who comes."
"My own position," Mr. Draconmeyer intervened, "is, in a way, delicate.The unexplained disappearance of Sir Henry Hunterleys might, by somepeople, be connected with the great friendship which exists between mywife and his."
Mr. Grex polished his horn-rimmed eyeglass. Selingman noddedsympathetically. Neither of them looked at Draconmeyer. FinallySelingman heaved a sigh and brushed the crumbs from his waistcoat.
"If one were assured," he murmured thoughtfully, "that Hunterleys'presence here had a real significance--"
Draconmeyer pushed his chair forward and leaned across the table. Theheads of the three men were close together. His tone was stealthilylowered.
"Let me tell you something, my friend Selingman, which I think shouldstrengthen any half-formed intention you may have in your brain.Hunterleys is no ordinary sojourner here. You were quite right when youtold me that his stay at Bordighera and San Remo was a matter of daysonly. Now I will tell you something. Three weeks ago he was atBukharest. He spent two days with Novisko. From there he went to Sofia.He was heard of in Athens and Constantinople. My own agent wrote me thathe was in Belgrade. Hunterleys is the bosom friend of the EnglishForeign Secretary. That I know for myself. You have your reports. Youcan read between the lines. I tell you that Hunterleys is the man whohas paralysed our action amongst the Balkan States. He has played a neatlittle game out there. It is he who was the inspiration of Roumania. Itis he who drafted the secret understanding with Turkey. The war which wehoped for will not take place. From there Hunterleys came in a gunboatand landed on the Italian coast. He lingered at Bordighera forappearances only. He is here, if he can, to break up our conference. Itell you that you none of you appreciate this man. Hunterleys is themost dangerous Englishman living--"
"One moment," Selingman interrupted. "To some extent I follow you, butwhen you speak of Hunterleys as a power in the present tense, doesn't itoccur to you that his Party is not in office? He is simply a member ofthe Opposition. If his Party get in again at the next election, I grantyou that he will be Foreign Minister and a dangerous one, but to-day heis simply a private person."
"It is not every one," Mr. Draconmeyer said slowly, "who bows his kneeto the shibboleth of party politics. Remember that I come to you fromLondon and I have information of which few others are possessed.Hunterleys is of the stuff of which patriots are made. Party is noconcern of his. He and the present Foreign Secretary are the greatest ofpersonal friends. I know for a fact that Hunterleys has actually beenconsulted and has helped in one or two recent crises. The verycircumstance that he is not of the ruling Party makes a free lance ofhim. When his people are in power, he will have to take office and wearthe shackles. To-day, with every quality which would make him thegreatest Foreign Minister England has ever had since Disraeli, he isnothing more nor less than a roving diplomatist, Emperor of hiscountry's Secret Service, if you like to put it so. Furthermore, look alittle into that future of which I have spoken. The present EnglishGovernment will last, at the most, another two years. I tell you thatwhen they go out of power, whoever comes in, Hunterleys will go to theForeign Office. We shall have to deal with a man who knows, a man--"
"I am not wholly satisfied with these eclairs," Selingman interrupted,gazing into the dish. "Maitre d'hotel, come and listen to an awfulcomplaint," he went on, and, addressing one of the head-waiters. "Youreclairs are too small, your cream-cakes too irresistible. I eat too muchhere. How, I ask you in the name of common sense, can a man dine whotakes tea here! Bring the bill."
The man, smiling, hastened away. Not a word had passed between thethree, yet the other two understood the situation perfectly. Hunterleysand Richard Lane had entered the room together and were seated at anadjoining table. Selingman plunged into a fresh tirade, pointing to thehalf-demolished plateful of cakes.
"I will eat one more," he declared. "We will bilk the management. Thebill is made out. I shall not be observed. Our friend," he continued,under his breath, "has secured a valuable bodyguard, something verylarge and exceedingly powerful."
Draconmeyer hesitated for a moment. Then he turned to Mr. Grex.
"You have perhaps observed," he said, "the young man who is seated atthe next table. It may amuse you to hear of a very extraordinary pieceof impertinence of which, only this afternoon, he was guilty. Heaccosted me upon the Terrace--he is a young American whom I have met inLondon--and asked me for information respecting a Mr. and Miss Grex."
Mr. Grex lo
oked slowly towards the speaker. There was very little changein his face, yet Draconmeyer seemed in some way confused.
"You will understand, I am sure, sir," he continued, a little hastily,"that I was in no way to blame for the question which the young manaddressed to me. He had the presumption to enquire whether I couldprocure for him an introduction to the young lady whom he knew as MissGrex. Even at this moment," Draconmeyer went on, lowering his voice, "heis trying to persuade Hunterleys to let him come over to us."
"The young man," Mr. Grex said deliberately, "is ignorant. If necessary,he must be taught his lesson."
Selingman intervened. He breathed a heavy sigh.
"Well," he observed, "I perceive that the task at which we have hintedis to fall upon my shoulders. We must do what we can. I am atender-hearted man, and if extremes can be avoided, I shall like my taskbetter.... And now I have changed my mind. The loss of that six louisweighs upon me. I shall endeavour to regain it. Let us go."
They rose and passed out into the roulette rooms. Richard Lane, whoremained in his seat with an effort, watched them pass with a frown uponhis face.
"Say, Sir Henry," he complained, "I don't quite understand this. Why,I'd only got to go over to Draconmeyer there and stand and talk for amoment, and he must have introduced me."
Hunterleys shook his head.
"Let me assure you," he said, "that Draconmeyer would have done nothingof the sort. For one thing, we don't introduce over here as a matter ofcourse, as you do in America. And for another--well, I won't trouble youwith the other reason.... Look here, Lane, take my advice, there's asensible fellow. I am a man of the world, you know, and there arecertain situations in which one can make no mistake. If you are as hardhit as you say you are, go for a cruise and get over it. Don't hangaround here. No good will come of it."
The young man set his teeth. He was looking very determined indeed.
"There isn't anything in this world, short of a bomb," he declared,"which is going to blow me out of Monte Carlo before I have made theacquaintance of Miss Grex!"