The Bubble Bursts 137
The consul’s clerk had taken in the situation clearly
enough ; but I could see that the detectives had become
highly suspicious. They were itching to arrest me on
the spot.
The clerk argued with them garrulously for an
interminable time. The manager seemed the most
uncomfortable man in Capri. He protested silently
roheaven—there being nobody on earth to listen to
The situation was set going again by the reappearance
of Lou on the arm of a chambermaid, followed by the
doctor, who wore the air of a man who has once more
met the King of Terrors in open combat, and knocked
the stuffing out of him.
Lou was exceedingly shaky, paling and flushing by
turns. I hated her. It was she who had got me into
all this mess.
“ Well,” said the clerk, “ we must simply go back
to the consulate and explain what has happened.
_ Don’t be distressed, Lady Pendragon,” he said. ‘‘ There
_ can be no doubt at all that this man will be caught in
a very few hours, and you'll have all your things
back.’ a
Of course I had sense enough to know that he didn’t
believe a word of what he was saying. The proverb,
“ Set a thief to catch a thief,” doesn’t apply to Italy.
If a thief were worth stealing, that would be another
story. ,
There was no boat back to Naples that night. There
was nothing to do but to wait till the morning. The
manager was extremely sympathetic. He got us some
clothes, if not exactly what we were accustomed to,
at least better than the horrible things we were wearing.
He ordered a special dinner with lots of champagne,
and served it in the best suite but one in the house.
His instinctive Italian tact told him not to put us
in the rooms we had had before.
He looked in from time to time with a cheery word
to see how we were, and to assure us that telegraphic