“If you don’t take care you’ll find that Julia is married to the count while you are thinking about it.”

Then Archie began to consider whether he might not as well tell his brother of his present scheme with reference to Julia.  Having discussed the matter at great length with his confidential friend, Captain Boodle, he had come to the conclusion that his safest course would be to bribe Madam Gordeloup, and creep into Julia’s favor by that lady’s aid.  Now, on his return to London, he was about at once to play that game, and had already provided himself with funds for the purpose.  The parting with ready money was a grievous thing to Archie, though in this case the misery would be somewhat palliated by the feeling that it was a bona-fide sporting transaction.  He would be lessening the odds against himself by a judicious hedging of his bets.  “You must stand to lose something always by the horse you mean to win,” Doodles had said to him, and Archie had recognized the propriety of the remark.  He had, therefore, with some difficulty, provided himself with funds, and was prepared to set about his hedging operations as soon as he could find Madam Gordeloup on his return to London.  He had already ascertained her address through Doodles, and had ascertained by the unparalleled acuteness of his friend that the lady was—­a Russian spy.  It would have been beautiful to have seen Archie’s face when this information was whispered into his ear, in private, at the club.  It was as though he had then been made acquainted with some great turf secret, unknown to the sporting world in general.

“Ah!” he said, drawing a long breath, “no; by George, is she?”

The same story had been told everywhere in London of the little woman for the last half dozen years, whether truly or untruly I am not prepared to say; but it had not hitherto reached Archie Clavering; and now, on hearing it, he felt that he was becoming a participator in the deepest diplomatic secrets of Europe.

“By George,” said he, “is she really?”

And his respect for the little woman rose a thousand per cent.

“That’s what she is,” said Doodles, “and it’s a doosed fine thing for you, you know!  Of course you can make her safe, and that will be everything.”

Archie resolved at once that he would use the great advantage which chance and the ingenuity of his friend had thrown in his way; but that necessity of putting money in his purse was a sore grievance to him, and it occurred to him that it would be a grand thing if he could induce his brother to help him in this special matter.  If he could only make Hugh see the immense advantage of an alliance with the Russian spy, Hugh could hardly avoid contributing to the expense—­of course on the understanding that all such moneys were to be repaid when the Russian spy’s work had been brought to a successful result.  Russian spy!  There was in the very sound of the words something