it couldn’t have been anywhere for long.  ‘There are three keys to that safe,’ said Raoul.  ’One is kept by the President; one is always with the Foreign Secretary; this is the third’; and he showed me a strange little key different to any I had seen before.  ‘Oh, do let me have a peep at these wonderful papers,’ I pleaded with him.  Before coming I had planned what to do.  Round my throat I wore a string of imitation pearls, which I’d put on for a special purpose.  But they were pretty, and so well made that only an expert would know they weren’t real.  Raoul isn’t an expert; so at the moment he fitted the key into the lock of the safe to open the door, I gave a sly little pull, and broke the thread, making the pearls roll everywhere about the floor.  He was quite distressed, forgot all about the key in the lock, and flew to pick up the pearls as if each one were worth at least a thousand francs.

“While he was busy finding the lost beads, I whipped out the key, took an impression of it on a piece of wax I had ready, concealed in my handkerchief, and slipped it back into the lock while he was still on his hands and knees on the floor.  Then he opened the safe-door for a moment, just to give me the peep I had begged for, but not long enough for me to touch anything even if I’d dared to try with him standing there.  Enough, though, to show me that the documents were neatly arranged in labelled pigeon-holes, and to see their general character, colour, and shape.  That same day a key to fit the lock was being made; and when it was ready, I made an excuse to call again on Raoul at the office.  Not that a very elaborate excuse was needed.  The poor fellow, trusting me as he trusts himself, or more, was only too glad to have me come to him, even in that sacred place.  Now, the thing was to get him away.  But I’d made up my mind what to do.  In another office, upstairs, was a friend of Raoul’s—­the one who introduced us to each other, and I’d made up a message for him, which I begged Raoul to take, and bring his friend to speak to me.  He went, and I believed I might count on five minutes to myself.  No more—­but those five minutes would have to be enough for success or failure.  The instant the door shut behind Raoul, I was at the safe.  The key fitted.  I snatched out a folded document, and opened it to make quite, quite certain it was the right one, for a mistake would be inexcusable and spoil everything.  It was what I wanted—­the treaty, newly made, between Japan, Russia and France—­the treaty which your Foreign Secretary thought he had reason to believe was a secret one, arranged between the three countries without the knowledge of England and to the prejudice of her interests.  The one glance I had gave me the impression that the document was nothing of the kind, but quite innocent, affecting trade only; yet that wasn’t my business.  I had to send it to the Foreign Secretary, who wanted to know its precise nature, and whether England was being deceived.  In place of the treaty I slipped into its pigeon-hole a document I’d brought with me—­just like the real thing.  No one opening the safe on other business would suspect the change that had been made.  My hope was to get the treaty back before it should be missed.  You see, I was betraying Raoul, to save him.  Do you understand?”