“Perhaps,” said Mr Hicks, anxious to disarm any suspicion in the doctor’s mind, “it might be well for the Queen to remain in this house for a day or two before taking her husband away. You would then see whether there was any hope of his recognising her----” “Or any fear of a recurrence of violence,” said the doctor. “There is one important point which doesn’t seem to have occurred to you,” said Cyril, with languid impatience. “My personal safety must be provided for. Mr dear Mr Hicks, I like your countenance, but you must understand that I cannot consent to leave a place of comparative security in order to plunge into constant danger. You and the lady of whom you speak will be good enough to make adequate arrangements for protecting me from assassination when I am outside these walls. You will also, if you please, arrange to defray any sum that may be due to Dr Gregorescu for his services by that time. His mentioning money matters was quite unnecessary, but since he is so deeply concerned about them, pray let him feel himself secure. That is all I have to say. Please make your own arrangements. I shall be delighted to fall in with them, if these two points are remembered.” He rolled himself another cigarette, and leaned back in his seat, tapping with his fingers on the table as if tired of the subject, while Mr Hicks and the doctor, the latter looking much subdued, entered into a discussion as to ways and means. It was while they were trying to arrange how Queen Ernestine could be accommodated in a house which contained no female inhabitants, that Mr Hicks was struck by the intentness of Cyril’s gaze at the doctor. “What can it mean?” he thought. “And that tapping--how he keeps it up! It might be Morse--Jehoshaphat! it _is_ Morse. Four dots, two dots, dash dot dash dot, dash dot dash, three dots--_Hicks_! Hicks! Hicks! and he’s been doing it five minutes already. I understand you perfectly,” he said slowly to the doctor. “There is a difficulty. Perhaps the best plan will be for Lady Usk to drive over here and see what can be done. A woman’s notions often come in useful for circumventing a deadlock.” Dr Gregorescu welcomed the suggestion, and thought that it might be advisable to hire some furniture, either from Paranati or Novigrad, with a view to the Queen’s visit. Paranati was nearer, but the absence of roads made it almost hopeless to send there. Decidedly Novigrad would be better, but then there was the difficulty of the frontier. Mr Hicks listened and agreed, while all the time, though his eyes were fixed on the doctor, he was interpreting the tapping on the table. “_Hicks, get me out of this to-day, for heaven’s sake! He suspects something. I shall be mad in real earnest if you leave me here another week._”