“The drawing-room?” asked Lord Manton. “The room that used to be the drawing-room,” said Dr. O’Grady. “I have been in attendance on the man ever since, earning a fee of five pounds a day. That doesn’t look as if I was badly treated, does it; or as if I was kept here against my will? There’s no other reason, so far, why the poor Emperor should be ruthlessly pursued, as these gentlemen suggest.” “No,” said Lord Manton. “So far his record is clear. Go on.” “Patsy Devlin,” said Dr. O’Grady, “came here to take refuge from the police. He hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, nothing worse than usual; but some one had put out the absurd story that he had murdered me, and advised him to fly to America.” “I’m afraid I was responsible for that,” said Lord Manton. “I wanted----” “Very well,” said Dr. O’Grady. “If the Emperor is pursued and caught, that story will come out too. You will have to explain in open court why you treated Patsy Devlin in such a way.” “And why you treated me as you did,” said Miss Blow. “And why you treated Adeline Maud as you did,” said Dr. O’Grady. “I don’t exactly know how you did treat her, but if you pursue the Emperor I’ll insist on finding out.” “I won’t pursue him,” said Lord Manton. “I promise not to. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to pursue him in the least. He paid his rent in advance.” “Patsy Devlin,” said Dr. O’Grady, “was sheltered, lodged, and fed by the Emperor, and has no complaint whatever to make. Have you, Patsy?” “I have not. Only for him, they’d have had me hanged for murdering you, doctor; which is what I wouldn’t do, and never thought of.” “And you don’t want to have the Emperor pursued?” “I do not,” said Patsy. “We pass on,” said Dr. O’Grady, “to the case of the two Members of Parliament--if they are Members of Parliament. I don’t want to make myself unnecessarily unpleasant, especially as I understand that their wives, their real wives, are waiting for them----” “I protest----” said Mr. Dick. “I always told you, Goddard,” said Lord Manton, “that there was something of this sort, something uncommonly fishy behind the disappearance of these two gentlemen. You’ll recollect that. But I must say I didn’t expect it to be as bad as this.” “I protest----” said Mr. Dick and Mr. Sanders together. “I need say no more about them,” said Dr. O’Grady. “The Emperor, out of sheer kindness of heart, saved them from what might have been a very ugly scandal. I don’t want to drag the whole thing into the light of day; but if they insist upon the pursuit of the Emperor, I shall tell the truth so far as I know it, and the Emperor, when you catch him, will fill in the details.” “There’s nothing,” said Mr. Dick, “absolutely nothing----”