"Good-bye till tomorrow, you people. My salaams, Clotilde. You must come with me, Vignerte, and see me home." Outside he took my arm. "I'm going to the office. There are some letters of the old man's to send off. Come with me." The Rue Royale was a blaze of light. Women swathed in long silk cloaks stepped from cars at restaurant doors. The sight of this world of luxury intoxicated me, urged me, drove me to try and extract some material advantage from my chance meeting with Ribeyre. I felt he was only too anxious to dazzle me with his new glory. Who knows, perhaps I should end by getting something out of his desire to parade his power. What can't be got from human vanity! What about my own vanity, when I ascended the steps of the Foreign Office at his side? A tall lackey took us up in the lift--another received us on the first floor. "Any telephone messages, Fabien?" "Yes, sir, one from the Minister of Commerce. He is dining with the Minister tomorrow, and says they will meet at the Chamber. I took the message down in writing." A minute later we were in a charming little grey and gold room. Ribeyre tapped the desk. "Vergennes' table," he said casually. "Excuse me," he added, sitting down. He began to open letters, marking them with a red pencil as he did so. "Don't mind about talking. This isn't a very exacting job. Tell me what you are doing. How far have you got with the University?" I told him the whole story from my leaving Henri IV. to my approaching appointment at M. Berthomieu's. He looked up. "You've accepted it?" "What else could I do?" I answered sharply. "I can't starve." Starve! The word sounded oddly among all the Gobelins, Boule furniture and Sèvres. Ribeyre rose. I had an intuition that I was saved. "You needn't go to Berthomieu's, old chap. You'll do for yourself at that game. I know you, and I'm positive you're not made for the University. What you want is _this_." With a sweep of his hand he indicated the pageant of power about us. What a psychologist Ribeyre was! "Listen," he said, perching himself on the arm of my chair. "Have you any objection to leaving the country for a bit? I say for a bit, because it is only in Paris that the game is really played and won. At present you haven't a sou. This is the sort of place where a fellow like you with enough to live on for a year and no material preoccupations could have the future at his feet." "Well?" said I, breathless. He went on, relishing the pleasure of appearing such a great man. "All right, then. You will do me a good turn in exchange for mine. I lunched this morning with Marçais at the German Embassy. Do you know Marçais? He is our Minister at Lautenburg. Have you heard of Lautenburg?" "It is one of the German States."