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pray?’ she asked, rather tartly.
    â€˜He came to see me this morning, and I very kindly told him that you were here, which he didn’t know. You owe this dinner to
me
, dear Julia.’
    She laughed. ‘Oh well.’
    â€˜Poor liaison, I thought,’ Richard pursued. ‘You didn’t know he was here either, till he rang you up at 11.15 a.m., or as near as no matter.’
    â€˜Richard, how
do
you know all this?’
    â€˜Never mind that, for the moment. But as a reward for my valuable services, will you now tell me exactly how you stalled him in Morocco last year? Come on—I have a feeling that it’s a good story.’
    It was rather a good story—how she had gone to Tangier to look for her missing cousin Colin Monro, and in the course of her search for him had stumbled on Major Torrens’ current activity of shipping a new and rare radioactive mineral out of Morocco; how her enquiries, quite without her intention, had raised so much dust that the operation had to be closed down. However, they had got all they needed for tests by that time, Julia said airily, so it didn’t matter—‘and now Morocco is such a muck-up that nobody can do anything there anyhow. I was blown up by a bomb!’ she added, rather proudly.
    â€˜Good Heavens! Not that affair at Marrakesh? Wasn’t some Duke blown up too?’ Richard asked, quite driven off his usual careful-casual line.
    â€˜Yes, Angus Ross-shire. But nothing like as bad as me— here’s my scar.’ She lifted her lion-gold hair to display a narrow white line running down her forehead.
    â€˜Golly! And did you ever find your cousin?’
    â€˜Oh yes; he was working for Hugh—for Major Torrens,’ she corrected herself hastily—‘running the stuff on his little smugglers’ yacht.’
    â€˜Is he still with Torrens?—though I expect I shall soon be calling him Hugh myself,’ Richard said.
    â€˜Oh, rather—though he isn’t here just now.’
    No, dear girl—I expect he and his little yacht have been scooting from Cannes to Port Vendres with a Hungarian, passenger on board, Richard thought to himself. He gave his beautiful guest another drink, and when they parted it was on terms of greater intimacy and liking than before—Julia even, finally, vouchsafed laughing that at one point Major Torrens had suggested employing her.
    â€˜Oh, you would do them a treat—I can’t think why they hesitate for a moment,’ Richard said, standing at his door, while she climbed into her rather large hired car. The bright Lisbon evening was soft and full of stars; lights from houses shone, warm and yellow, along the built-up sides of the ravine. ‘See you Thursday,’ he called as the girl drove off.

Chapter 4
    That was on a Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, just as he was locking the drawers in his desk prior to leaving the Chancery Richard’s telephone buzzed. It was Major Torrens, who asked if he could come round to see him.
    â€˜How soon?’ Richard asked, without much enthusiasm —he was dining out.
    â€˜Immediately.’
    â€˜How soon is that? Where are you?’
    â€˜Oh, where I am! But I can be with you in eight minutes.’
    â€˜Very well,’ the Head of Chancery said resignedly; he unlocked one of his drawers and took out the
Familia Magalhães
, who kept him company till Torrens arrived.
    â€˜Any trouble?’ Richard asked.
    â€˜A little. The opposition seem to be rather active in Spain.’
    â€˜Really? They haven’t copped your man?’
    â€˜No—but it was only by accident that they didn’t. I told you about the little hold-up between Cerbère and Barcelona—owing to that he missed the plane he was to have taken to Madrid. But
that
plane had engine failure and made a forced landing right out in the country somewhere on the upper Ebro—and the moment it landed a number of murky-looking