"In that case," Marsh continued, "I will cable instructions for the furnishing of their residences in Marionville and Silver City to be hurried on. They will have two houses at the society's expense. I shall go to the States to start him upon his duties. They can be there for June.--And if they accept will you tell the Vicomtesse that we start for Beyrout the day after to-morrow on the _Jenny_? I want them to go along with me. Chésy could begin his work straight away. He will prevent the Bedouins selling me a lot of old nags in the batch. I will write to him, however, more at length upon the matter." There was a short silence. Then he said:-- "There is some one I should like to take with them." "Who is that?" asked Ely. The contrast was a very striking one between the sentiment of silent misery, of despairing prostration, of the uselessness of everything that prostrated her, and the almost boundless energy of the Yankee business man. In addition to her sorrow she felt a sort of bewilderment, and she forgot all about Marsh's intention in regard to his niece's marriage. "Who?" echoed the American, "why Verdier, naturally. I have also my secret service bureau," he went on. This time there was even more energy in his manner. Admiration and covetousness were visible in all his being as he sounded the praises of the Prince's assistant and of his inventions. "I know that he has solved his problem. Has he not spoken to you about it? Well, it is a marvel! You will realize that in a minute.--You know that aluminum is the lightest of metals. It has only one fault; it costs too much. Now, in the first place, Verdier has discovered a process of making it by electrolysis, without the need of any chemical transformations. He can thus get it very cheap. Then, with his aluminum, he has invented a new kind of electric accumulator. It is fifteen times more powerful according to its weight than the accumulators at present in use.--In other words, the electric railway is an assured fact. The secret is discovered!--I want to take Verdier with me to the States, and with the help of his invention we shall wreck the tramway companies in Marionville and Cleveland and Buffalo. It means the death of Jim Davis; it means his end, his destruction, his complete ruin!--You don't know Davis. He is my enemy. You know what it is to have an enemy, to have some one in the world with whom you have been fighting for years; all your life, in fact? Well, in my case that some one is Jim Davis. His affairs are shaky just now. If I can get Verdier's invention, I can crush him into pieces and utterly smash up the Republican party in Ohio at the same time." "Still," said Madame de Carlsberg, interrupting him, "I cannot go to the laboratory to ask him for his invention."