THE CZAR'S SPY _The Mystery of a Silent Love_ By CHEVALIER WILLIAM LE QUEUX _Author of "The Closed Book," Etc._ 1905. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SERVICE II. WHY THE SAFE WAS OPENED III. THE HOUSE "OVER THE WATER" IV. IN WHICH THE MYSTERY INCREASES V. CONTAINS CERTAIN CONFIDENCES VI. THE GATHERING OF THE CLOUDS VII. CONTAINS A SURPRISE VIII. LIFE'S COUNTER-CLAIM IX. STRANGE DISCLOSURES ARE MADE X. I SHOW MY HAND XI. THE CASTLE OF THE TERROR XII. "THE STRANGLER" XIII. A DOUBLE GAME AND ITS CONSEQUENCES XIV. HER HIGHNESS IS INQUISITIVE XV. JUST OFF THE STRAND XVI. MARKED MEN XVII. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE "LOLA" XVIII. CONTAINS ELMA'S STORY CONCLUSION CHAPTER I HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SERVICE "There was a mysterious affair last night, signore." "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Anything that interests us?" "Yes, signore," replied the tall, thin Italian Consular-clerk, speaking with a strong accent. "An English steam yacht ran aground on the Meloria about ten miles out, and was discovered by a fishing-boat who brought the news to harbor. The Admiral sent out two torpedo-boats, which managed after a lot of difficulty to bring in the yacht safely, but the Captain of the Port has a suspicion that the crew were trying to make away with the vessel." "To lose her, you mean?" The faithful Francesco, whose English had mostly been acquired from sea-faring men, and was not the choicest vocabulary, nodded, and, true Tuscan that he was, placed his finger upon his closed lips, indicative of silence. "Sounds curious," I remarked. "Since the Consul went away on leave things seem to have been humming--two stabbing affrays, eight drunken seamen locked up, a mutiny on a tramp steamer, and now a yacht being cast away--a fairly decent list! And yet some stay-at-home people complain that British consuls are only paid to be ornamental! They should spend a week here, at Leghorn, and they'd soon alter their opinion." "Yes, they would, signore," responded the thin-faced old fellow with a grin, as he twisted his fierce gray mustache. Francesco Carducci was a well-known character in Leghorn; interpreter to the Consulate, and keeper of a sailor's home, an honest, good-hearted, easy-going fellow, who for twenty years had occupied the same position under half a dozen different Consuls. At that moment, however, there came from the outer office a long-drawn moan. "Hulloa, what's that?" I enquired, startled. "Only a mad stoker off the _Oleander_, signore. The captain has brought him for you to see. They want to send him back to his friends at Newcastle." "Oh! a case of madness!" I exclaimed. "Better get Doctor Ridolfi to see him. I'm not an expert on mental diseases."