"where's the fellow you called rudolff?" he demanded truculently.

my first idea was to shove him out, but it struck me that an interview between the two men might have interesting results, so i went back to the sitting-room. "your friend's still here," i said.

rudolff wilted at the sight of his genial employer, and as they were now two to one, both scoundrels, and capable of any violence, it was best to take precautions. thus while von erstein was challenging the other man to say he knew him, i crossed to a small table drawer and put my revolver in my pocket, keeping my hand on it in case of necessity.

the instant rudolff knew that i had tricked him out of the confession he was nearly as mad as von erstein. he couldn't well have been madder.

"a bit late, eh, beloved?" i jeered. "had to wait for a taxi? they are rather scarce just now."

"what has this man written?"

"just a line or two about the weather and so on."

"let me see it."

"he can tell you, of course."

"i have a right to see it."

"naturally. you'll see it all right—some day. what he says about atmospheric and other kinds of pressure is——"

oaths from the two interrupted the sentence.

"give it up," from rudolff, and "i want to see it now," from von erstein, came almost in the same breath.

"it pains me to disappoint such a charming pair of friends, but——" i shook my head. "can't be done, beloved; out of the question."

"we'll see about that;" and they exchanged glances.

"don't make asses of yourselves. one of you has a cracked pate already, and the other's so podgy that half a punch would put him out of action; so you wouldn't have a dog's chance at what i see you're thinking about."

"what do you mean, lassen? i'm only asking to see what this man has written about me," said von erstein, trying to fool me with an appearance of calmness, while he took his handkerchief out of the pocket of his overcoat—a suspiciously bulky handkerchief which he handled very gingerly.

"you may as well lay that thing on the table, beloved. i'm too old for that game."

he tried to laugh and suddenly grabbed the handkerchief with his left hand to free the revolver it was concealing. he bungled over it, and before he succeeded i had him covered. "i told you to put it on the table. if you lift it so much as an inch, i'll put a bullet in your head," i cried.

what a coward he was! he went as white as a sheet, tossed the weapon on to the table, and put up his hands as a shield. "don't, lassen. don't do anything like that," he stammered.

i laughed, picked up his revolver, and tossed mine across to him. "that's less dangerous for you, sweetheart; it's unloaded."

still trembling, now with more mortification than fear, however, he dropped into a chair and strafed me with fine teutonic hate.

i turned to his companion. "now, get out, you. do you hear?" for he hesitated, looking to his master for orders. "it'll be bad for that head of yours if i have to chuck you out. i'll give you one minute to clear." he was no stayer and slunk out in half the time; and i followed and shut the door after him.

when i got back to the room von erstein was on his feet also ready to go. "oh, don't hurry away, beloved; this is an excellent chance for a pretty little love scene. mix yourself a drink, have a cigar, and be your own cheerful sprightly self."

the scowl which greeted this was a real gem.

"what a seraphic smile! no wonder that every one loves you so and worships the ground you tread on."

"stop it," he growled with an oath.

"oh, you naughty darling! did'ums," and i chucked him coyly under his fat double chin. his spasm of rage at this almost overpowered his cowardice, and he must have been within an ace of apoplexy. the blood rushed in a crimson flood to his flabby face, he clenched his fists and trembled like an aspen with the strain.

"i'm going," he mumbled thickly at last.

"of course you are, darling; but presently." i stood with my back against the door. "i can't spare you yet. besides, you haven't thanked me. isn't my sweetheart grateful to his popsy-wopsy?" i chided in a sort of mantalini manner.

"oh, blazes! let me go, will you?"

"but think what i've saved you from, beloved. why, if it hadn't been for me by this time you'd be a murderer or a thief, or both. imagine it! the torments your tender conscience would be suffering! a murderer! my albert!"

another spasm of impotent rage followed, and this time, instead of cursing he groaned aloud and dropped into a chair with his hands to his head.

i locked the door then, putting the key in my pocket, took the cartridges out of his revolver, tossed it into his lap, and mixed myself a drink and lit a cigar. "now we'll have our chat," i said, dropping the banter.

he looked up and, seeing the way to the door was free, jumped from his seat to escape; and began cursing again on finding it locked. "are you going to stop that rot?"

"yes, if you behave yourself; except for an occasional endearment, lest we forget how much we love one another."

"what have you got to say? be quick about it, i want to go."

"sit down and have a drink. it'll pull you together."

"not here, thank you. i don't want to be poisoned."

"i didn't think of that. it's rather a good idea. i will poison you." he must be punished for that insult. i went into my bedroom and came back with a pinch of salt in a screw of paper which i opened out before him. then i poured out his drink, put the salt into it, stirred it carefully till it had dissolved, pushed the glass across the table, and placed a chair close to the spot. "now sit down and drink that."

"i'll see you to the devil first," he cried, trying to bluster and turning as white as a sheet.

i promptly took him by the collar of his coat and forced him into the chair and ordered him to drain the glass. his panic was pitiful. he was such a blithering ass that he never suspected i was only fooling; and was convinced i meant to kill him. the sweat of abject terror stood in beads on his forehead, he couldn't utter a word, and sat staring up at me like a paralyzed idiot.

"drink it!" i thundered in his own bullying tones which made him jump and twitch convulsively. he made one feeble attempt to lift the glass, and then with a moan dropped back in his chair in a faint.

i was afraid at first that he was really dead; but his pulse was beating all right. it was probably just pretence; so i moved the glass out of his reach and left him to come round when he pleased. it was merely shamming, and when he thought i was far enough away, he made a grab to upset the glass.

"i think you're the biggest fool i ever met, von erstein, but you've been punished enough for your little poison suggestion. look here;" and i swallowed the "poison" myself. "not enough salt even to alter the taste of it, man."

in a minute he was cursing quite as cheerfully as usual and looking just as amiable. "well, can i go now?" he asked.

"as soon as you've answered one question. who is anna hilden?"

"i don't know any more than i told you before."

"i don't mean the right one, but the mock heroine of the thiergarten scene to-day."

"i don't know anything about her."

taking out my card case in which i had put rudolff's statement, i unfolded the paper and laid it on the table. "rudolff says here——"

he tried to snatch the paper, but i whipped it up in time, leaving only the card case in his hand. "rudolff says here that you sent him to me so that he should point me out to her this afternoon. now then, who is she?"

"i don't know anything about her," he repeated doggedly.

"i'll help your memory. she admitted to me that it was a put-up job and that the child was neither hers nor mine. that enough for you?"

but he stuck to his denial and nothing i could say moved him. the poison farce had apparently convinced him that his life was safe and he met all my threats with the same dogged answer.

i had to give it up in the end. "very well, then, i shall have to get the whole story out of her. the police will do it, if i can't; so that it's only a matter of a day or two. do you still refuse to own up?"

"i tell you i know nothing about it. wash your own dirty linen for yourself," he replied.

i unlocked the door and told him to go. his exit was very characteristic. he stepped very gingerly toward where i stood by the door, fearing i should strike him, paused when just a couple of yards away, then darted out quickly, opened the front door, shook his fist at me and snarled out a threat. "i'll make you pay a heavy price for all this, curse you," he cried and bolted down the stairs as i made a step after him.

except that he had been thoroughly frightened and enraged to the point of collapse, the interview had yielded little satisfaction. it was not improbable, moreover, that it had been a blunder to warn him about anna hilden. as for his threats, they were just laughable; but he might be able to strengthen the woman's backbone and cause her to persist in the story she had acted.

that the whole business was faked, there was no doubt at all; and if she did persist, it would only be necessary to set inquiries about her on foot. it might be as well to do that before seeing her again, as it would be a big trump card to face her with some of her own life history.

there was something to go on in the shape of rudolff's statement; but it didn't amount to much. in all probability von erstein would see to it that the man was got out of the way; and the mere paper itself could not carry the least weight with a soul.

reflection suggested one exception, however. von gratzen might take a different view of it, if i told him frankly the whole affair. he had urged me to go to him in any trouble; and if he was not a fraud, he could help me enormously.

he would certainly want to hear from me all about the inner meaning of the scene his wife and daughter had witnessed, and it would be best to see him as soon as possible. he hated von erstein, moreover, and might be glad to find something against him.

the next morning there was a note from him asking me to see him at his office at eleven o'clock, as he had some important news for me. not a mere official summons this time; and this was rather a good sign.

it was to be hoped that the "important news" had to do with my leaving berlin. the delay was irksome. things were happening which threatened to make it more and more difficult for me to disappear without causing more fuss than would be healthy for either nessa or myself. it all tended to force one's hand; and i began to think seriously of resorting to the "third wheel" nessa and i had discussed together.

von gratzen received me with all the usual cordiality, shook hands warmly, and immediately referred to the thiergarten affair, taking the line which i had half expected.

"my wife and nita told me all about it, and of course it settles one point satisfactorily. it places beyond doubt that you are really johann lassen. nevertheless i could wish it had been established in a less dramatic and embarrassing fashion for you."

"it was exceedingly unpleasant, sir."

"tell me all about it."

i described it from my point of view; making much of my profound astonishment and my inability to say whether the story was true or not.

"have you any reason to doubt it? did you remember anything which enabled you, i mean?"

"not a thing. so far as i know, i never saw the woman before in all my life."

"but she was positive?"

"she embraced me and called me her 'long lost darling,' and so on."

"women are hysterical creatures, we know, and apt to make any sort of statement at such moments. do you think she was really in earnest? of course it's important."

"your people could judge that as well as i, sir."

"true. which would you rather it was—true or false?"

"false, without a question."

"despite the fact that it establishes your identity?"

"certainly. any man who feels as i do now must loathe to have such a brutal thing as that dug up out of his past."

"good. i'm glad to hear you say that." he smiled as if he was really glad, but there was something else behind his questions that left me guessing as usual.

if he accepted the woman's recognition as settling the matter of my identification as lassen, was it better to leave it there or risk unsettling him again by telling him about the subsequent interview with her? rather a nice point to decide. but his next question cleared the course and concealment kicked the beam.

"you'd like to have the matter investigated?"

"certainly," i replied promptly. very few official inquiries would give him the truth, and it was thus much better to tell it myself. "i was going to ask your advice about it. i know that part of her story is false; she owned it; and i doubt all the rest;" and i described the interview.

this appeared to both interest and amuse him, especially my instant offer to marry anna; and he expressed his appreciation in the equivocal fashion. "it was clever, my boy; quite the best line. you must have had considerable experience in bluffing people;" and there was a glint in his keen eyes which might have meant anything. "you can act well too, or you'd never have dragged that confession out of her. she must have thought you were in earnest."

"i was, sir. if she can prove that i am the man she thinks, i will marry her."

"good. very good indeed. if she can prove it, of course. but you wouldn't relish the job, eh?"

"that goes without saying."

"well, we'll hope she can't. we shall soon know all about her. in the meantime what are you going to do?"

"i can only wait and see."

he laughed and rubbed his hands. "wait and see, eh? that's the english premier's phrase, isn't it? so you've picked that up, it seems."

his comment made me wish i'd used a different one. "there isn't anything else to do, sir."

"quite so. wait and see. exactly. and as an honourable man you'd prefer to get the question settled before leaving berlin?"

the shrewd old beggar was a positive expert in sticking one in a hole. i didn't know what answer to make, so i just shrugged my shoulders and smiled vacuously.

"it's rather a pity, too," he continued after a pause. "i've arranged that matter of your leaving; in fact i intended you to go to-day. i have all the necessary papers, even tickets for you and miss caldicott;" and he took them out of his desk and laid them in front of me, giving me one of those wily smiles of his.

i could have cursed the luck. the sight of them, the knowledge that nessa and i could have been out of the infernal country within a few hours but for this rotten thing coming in the way, so exasperated me that it was scarcely possible to conceal my bitter chagrin. i tried to hide it from him by taking the papers and looking them over.

"oh dear, i've forgotten something," he exclaimed, rising. "i'll be back in a moment," and he went out of the room.

what a temptation that was! to have all i needed actually in my hands; to be left alone with them and yet not to be able to use them! i'd have given every shilling i had in the world to have stuffed them into my pocket and walked off. did he mean me to take them? or was it intended as a test? did he guess what a temptation it was? could i get away with them? he stopped out of the room long enough, and as the minutes passed, it was all i could do to resist it.

but i stuck it; put the papers down on his desk and tried not to look at them. it was a touch of sheer purgatory. his first glance, when at length he returned, was at them, and the way he looked at me made me pretty certain that he could guess something of my feeling. it looked uncommonly as if he were disappointed to find me still in the room and the papers on his table.

"i'm sorry to have kept you, my boy, but it couldn't be helped," he said as he sat down and put the temptation out of sight. "i told you in my letter that i had something important to tell you. i have, and unpleasant into the bargain. was count von erstein with you last night?"

"yes, about ten o'clock."

"did you offer him some drink?"

"yes, and a cigar, but he refused both."

"what was he doing there? wait, i'll tell you first that he has made a charge against you that you attempted to poison him."

i laughed. "of course i didn't. it was a joke."

"it may not be altogether a laughing matter; he's a dangerous man to joke with. would you care to tell me about it all?"

"of course. this will explain a good deal." i put my hand in my waistcoat pocket for rudolff's statement, and then for the first time missed the card case which rosa had given me. the loss was of no consequence, however, as i had the fellow's confession. "before i give it you i ought to say that i promised the man who wrote this that if he was prepared to swear to the truth of it, he should come to no harm."

"that'll be all right," he agreed with a nod.

"an attempt was made on my life last night by this fellow and two others at von erstein's instigation;" and i described the affair and all that had occurred subsequently.

"ah, more clever bluff, eh? upon my word i shall be expecting you to try it with me next," he said. then he read over the confession carefully and lapsed into thought. long and apparently anxious thought it was, too.

"i'll stand by you, my boy. i believe your story implicitly and i know von erstein. but it was a bad mistake. he has a lot of influence in many directions. i hope you'll hear no more of it; but it was a bad blunder." he paused and, in a different and lighter tone and with a very peculiar look and a shadow of a smile, added: "it makes me almost wish you had taken advantage of my absence just now to get away with those tickets."

what on earth could one make of such a statement? if he'd given me another chance i'd have taken it; but he didn't. he locked the tickets up and sent me away, saying he would look into my affairs at once and send for me as soon as there was any need.