'I have,' she replied. 'Shut the door.' He obeyed at once. From outside came the voice of the stage carpenter, the occasional rumbling of scenery, the music of the orchestra, the murmur now and then of applause. The curtain was up upon a fresh scene in the revue. 'Mysterious?' Anders murmured. Suddenly, even as the word passed his lips, apprehension seemed to seize him. He remained for a moment dumb and motionless. Then he, too, glanced around before he leaned towards her. 'It is trouble?' 'Perhaps not,' she answered. 'One cannot tell. A young American has been to see me. He is one of the few who would remember. We were friends in Paris nine years ago. He was a boy then, but, notwithstanding everything, he recognized me.' 'An American,' Anders muttered. 'Better that than an Englishman! Well?' 'He was serving his apprenticeship in the American Diplomatic Service in those days,' she went on. 'What he is doing now I do not know, except that he and the girl whom he is engaged to marry, were amongst survivors from the _Marabic_. He went out of his way to pay me a visit here, just to tell me that he recognized me, and he made it plain that although he is not an Englishman, he is in sympathy with them.' 'Did he threaten?' Anders asked quickly. 'No,' she replied, 'and yet he terrified me. He promised silence--conditionally.' 'Conditionally? How?' 'He left that for me to understand. I am still puzzled. He does not want to see me any more--he took pains to tell me that he was engaged to be married. Yet underneath his manner I seemed to discover a threat.' Anders stood perfectly still for a moment. Underneath all the paint and make-up of his face, he was suddenly haggard. 'Is it worth it, Henri?' she faltered. 'Why not America at once, and safety? We could get a great engagement there.' He stood biting his nails, agitated. 'There is this last affair to be carried through,' he reminded her. 'And the money--think of it! How can one live without money!' 'Our salaries,' she murmured. 'Pooh! What man with my tastes could live on any salary?' 'Is it worth while to trifle with life and death?' she asked him bluntly. 'It is a warning, this, Henri.' The call-boy's voice was suddenly heard. 'Monsieur Anders! Monsieur Anders!' The Frenchman turned mechanically towards the door. 'You have destroyed my nerve,' he muttered. 'You have perhaps ruined my performance. Afterwards we will see.' ...