"I would to God that I had a weapon, or that I were a man!" "My dear Princess," a good-humoured voice remarked from the window, "four to two the other way, I think, what ?" Eddy Pelham, his hands in his pockets, but a very alert gleam in his usually vacuous face, stood in the windowed doorway.

From behind him, two exceedingly formidable-looking men slipped into the room.

There was no fight, not even a struggle.

Seaman, who had never recovered from the shock of his surprise, and was now completely unnerved, was handcuffed in a moment, and Schmidt disarmed.

The latter was the first to break the curious silence.
"What have I done ?" he demanded.