“I am not so sure of that,” replied the Princess, taking as she spoke, the Chicago point of view, and forgetting for the moment her position among the aristocracy of Europe. “England takes most things it can get its hands on, and she is not too slow to pick up a gold mine here and there, so why should she hesitate when the gold is already minted for her?” “It is too absurd for argument,” continued Jennie calmly, “so we won’t talk of that phase of the subject. I must get away to England instantly. Let us find out when the first train leaves.” “Nonsense!” protested the Princess; “what do you need to go to England for? You have seen nothing of Vienna.” “Oh, I can see Vienna another time; I must get to England with this account of the robbery.” “Won’t your paper pay for telegraphing such an important piece of news? “Oh, yes; there would be no difficulty about that, but I dare not trust either the post or the telegraph in a case like this. The police are on the watch.” “But couldn’t you send it through by a code? My father always used to do his cabling by code; it saved a lot of money and also kept other people from knowing what his business was.” “I have a code, but I hesitate about trusting even to that.” “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” said the Princess. “I want you to stay in Vienna.” “Oh, I shall return,” said Jennie. “I’ve only just had a taste of this delightful city. I’ll come right back.” “I can’t trust you to do anything of the kind. When you get to London you will stay there. Now here is what I propose, and it will have the additional advantage of saving your paper a day. We will run down together into Italy--to Venice; then you can take along your code and telegraph from there in perfect safety. When that is done you will return here to Vienna with me. And another thing, you may be sure your editor will want you to stay right here on the spot to let him know of any outcome of this sensational _dénouement_.” “That isn’t a bad idea,” murmured Jennie. “How long will it take us to get to Venice?” “I don’t know, but I am sure it will save you hours compared with going to London. I shall get the exact time for you in a moment.”