“I propose to save him for another effort, and the only way to do that is to convince him.  The best way to convince him is to show him that letter, which can’t be done if Feisul’s enemies discover who carries it.  If Ramsden, Jeremy, Narayan Singh and I start for Damascus, pretending that one or other of us has the letter concealed on his person, and if a woman really carries it, we’ll manage.  Is Mabel Ticknor going to be the woman?  That’s the point.”

“Too dangerous, Jim!  Too dangerous!” Ticknor put in nervously.

“Pardon me, old man.  The danger is for us four, who pretend we’ve got the thing.”

“There are lots of other women and I’ve only got one wife!” objected Ticknor.

“We’re pressed for time,” Grim answered.  “You see, Ticknor, old man, you’re a Cornstalk and therefore an outsider—­just a medico, who saws bones for a living, satisfied to keep your body out of the poorhouse, your soul out of hell, and your name out of the newspapers.  Your wife is presumably more so.  There are several officials’ wives who would jump at the chance to be useful; but a sudden trip toward Damascus just now would cause any one of them to be suspected, whereas Mabel wouldn’t be.”

“I don’t know why not!” Ticknor retorted.  “Wasn’t she in here when those three murderers came to finish the lot of us?  If Yussuf Dakmar makes any report at all he’ll surely say he traced the letter to this house.”

“Yussuf Dakmar came no nearer than the street,” Grim answered.  “He has no notion who is in here.  His three friends are in jail under lock and key, where he can’t get at them.  How long have you had this house?  Since yesterday, isn’t it?  D’you kid yourself that Yussuf Dakmar knows who lives here?”

“I can get leave of absence.  Suppose I go in Mabel’s place?” suggested Ticknor, visibly worried.

“The mere fact that she goes, while you stay here, will be presumptive evidence that she isn’t on a dangerous mission,” Grim answered.  “No.  It has got to be a woman.  If Mabel won’t go I’ll find someone else.”

You could tell by Mabel’s eyes and attitude that she was what the salesmen call “sold” already; but you didn’t need a magnifying glass to detect that Ticknor wasn’t.  Men of his wandering habit know too well what a brave, good-tempered wife means to encourage her to take long chances; for although there are lots of women who would like to wander and accept the world’s pot luck, there are precious few capable of doing it without doubling a fellow’s trouble; when they know how to halve the trouble and double the fun they’re priceless.

Grim played his usual game, which is to spank down his ace of trumps face upward on the table.  Most of us forget what are trumps in a crisis.