Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Keith M. Eckrich and PG Distributed Proofreaders AN AMIABLE CHARLATAN BY E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM (AUTHOR OF "MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO," "THE DOUBLE TRAITOR", ETC.) WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY WILL GREF [Illustration: "No one can be more glad than Mrs. Delaporte and myself that this little affair has been concluded so amicably."] CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE MAN AT STEPHANO'S II THE COUP IN THE GAMBLING DEN III CULLEN GIVES ADVICE IV THE WOOING OF EVE V MR. SAMUELSON VI THE PARTY AT THE MILAN VII "ONE OF US" VIII AT THE ALHAMBRA IX THE EXPOSURE X A BROKEN PARTNERSHIP XI MR. BUNDERCOMBE'S WINK XII THE EMANCIPATION OF LOUIS XIII "THE SHORN LAMB" XIV MR. BUNDERCOMBE'S LOVE AFFAIR XV LORD PORTHONING'S LESSON LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "No one can be more glad than Mrs. Delaporte and myself that this little affair has been concluded so amicably" "Ladies and gentlemen, if you please! Nothing has happened" "I haven't interrupted anything, have I--any little celebration, or anything of that sort?" "Eve was one of the first to congratulate me" AN AMIABLE CHARLATAN CHAPTER I--THE MAN AT STEPHANO's The thing happened so suddenly that I really had very little time to make up my mind what course to adopt under somewhat singular circumstances. I was seated at my favorite table against the wall on the right-hand side in Stephano's restaurant, with a newspaper propped up before me, a glass of hock by my side, and a portion of the _plat du jour_, which happened to be chicken _en casserole_, on the plate in front of me. I was, in fact, halfway through dinner when, without a word of warning, a man who seemed to enter with a lightfooted speed that, considering his size, was almost incredible, drew a chair toward him and took the vacant place at my table. My glass of wine and my plate were moved with smooth and marvelous haste to his vicinity. Under cover of the tablecloth a packet--I could not tell what it contained--was thrust into my hand. "Sir," he said, raising my glass of wine to his lips, "I am forced to take somewhat of a liberty. You can render me the service of a lifetime! Kindly accept the situation." I stared at him for a moment quite blankly. Then I recognized him; and, transferring at once the packet to my trousers pocket, I drew another glass toward me and poured out the remainder of my half-bottle of hock. So much, at any rate, I felt I had saved! "I shall offer you presently," my self-invited guest continued, with his mouth full of my chicken, "the fullest explanation. I shall also ask you to do me the honor of dining with me. I think I am right in saying that we are not altogether strangers?" "I know you very well by sight," I told him. "I have seen you here several times before with a young lady." "Exactly," he agreed. "My daughter, sir."