I think I
can slip him a few valuable pointers. You go right along and nail your
man and we'll sit here in the shade of the sheltering palm and tell each
other our troubles."
"I must return to the palace quite soon," murmured Popova, gazing at
the stranger uneasily.
"Call a carriage for the professor," spoke up Mr. Pike briskly, to the
manager. "I know his time is valuable, so we'll get down to business
immediately, if not sooner."
The manager knew a millionaire's voice when he heard it, so he hurried
away. The impatient Koldo said that he would communicate directly with
the palace as soon as he had effected the capture, and started for the
front door. Then, remembering himself, he went out the back way.
The old tutor, finding himself alone with Mr. Pike, was not permitted to
relapse into embarrassment.
"In the first place, I want you to know who and what I am," said Mr.
Pike. "Come into my suite and I'll show you something. Then you'll see
that you're not wasting your time on a light-weight."
He led the way to a large parlor ornately done in red, and pulled out
from a leather trunk a passport issued by the Department of State of the
United States of America. It was a huge parchment, with pictorial
embellishments, heavy Gothic type and a seal about the size of a pie.
Pages:
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56