"
"Mr. Hornblower's carriage is below, sir," announced the office-boy,
opening the door.
"All right," I said. "We are coming right up, Parks. Good-bye," and I
hung up and slipped into my coat.
Then, as I took down my hat, a sudden thought struck me.
If the unknown Frenchman was indeed an emissary of Monsieur X.,
Madame might be acquainted with him. It was a long shot, but worth
trying! I stepped to my desk, took out the photograph which Godfrey
had given me, and slipped it into my pocket. Then I hurried out to
the elevator.
CHAPTER XIV
THE VEILED LADY
There were three persons in the carriage. Mr. Hornblower sat with his
back to the horses, and two women were on the opposite seat. Both
were dressed in black and heavily veiled, but there was about them
the indefinable distinction of mistress and maid. It would be
difficult to tell precisely in what the distinction consisted, but it
was there. Mr. Hornblower glanced behind me as I entered.
"You spoke of a witness," he said.
"He is at the Vantine house," I explained, and sat down beside him.
"This is Mr. Lester," he said, and the veiled lady opposite him, whom
I had known at once to be the mistress, inclined her head a little.
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