And he hurried along the platform to catch the Nord Express to bear him to the Russian capital. At the "Kaiserhof" I took a sitting room and bed-room adjoining. It was then about ten o'clock at night; therefore I sat down and wrote a note to "Mdlle. Vera Yermoloff," which I gave a waiter to deliver. Ten minutes later I received a scribbled reply, requesting me to meet her at half-past ten at a certain café near the Lehrte Station. I was awaiting her when she arrived. After she had greeted me and expressed surprise at my sudden appearance, she informed me she had not yet met Pierron, for he was absent--in Hamburg it was said. "I hear he returns to-night," she added. "Therefore, I hope to meet him to-morrow." I explained the extreme urgency of the matter, and then drove her back to the hotel, alighting from the cab a few hundred yards away. To another café I strolled to rest and have a smoke, and it was near midnight when I re-entered the "Kaiserhof." As I crossed the great hall a _contretemps_ occurred. I came face to face with Pierron, a tall, sallow-faced, red-bearded man with eyes set close together, elegantly dressed, and wearing a big diamond in his cravat. In an instant he recognised me, whereupon I bowed, saying: "Ah, m'sieur! It is really quite a long time since we met--in Denmark last, was it not?" He raised his eyebrows slightly, and replied in a withering tone: "I do not know by what right m'sieur presumes to address me!" That moment required all my courage and self-possession. I had not expected to meet him so suddenly. He had evidently just come from his journey, for he wore a light travelling-coat and soft felt hat. "Well," I said, "I have something to say to you--something to tell you in private, if you could grant me a few minutes." I merely said this in order to gain time. "_Bien!_ to-morrow, then--at whatever hour m'sieur may name." To-morrow. It would then be too late. In an hour he might inform the police, and I would find myself under arrest. The German police would be only too pleased to have an opportunity of retaliating. "No," I exclaimed. "To-night. Now. Our business will only take a few moments. Come to my sitting-room. The matter I want to explain brooks no delay. Every moment is of consequence." "Very well," laughed the Frenchman, with a distinct air of bravado. "You believe yourself extremely clever, no doubt, M'sieur Jacox. Let me hear what you have to say." Together we ascended the broad marble steps to the first floor, and I held open the door of my sitting-room. When he had entered, I closed it, and offering him a chair, commenced in a resolute tone: "Now, M'sieur Pierron, I am here to offer terms to you." "Terms!" he laughed. "_Diable!_ What do you mean?" "I mean that I foresee your evil intention against myself, because of my success in the Brest affair," was my quick reply. "You will denounce me here in Germany as a British agent, eh?"