下载辰思小说免费APP
Mr。Sabinwalkedhometohisroomslateintheafternoon，wellcontentonthewholewithhisday。Hewasinnomannerpreparedfortheshockwhichgreetedhimonenteringhissitting-room。
Dusonwasleaningbackinhismostcomfortableeasy-chair。
“Duson！“Mr。Sabinsaidsharply。“Whatdoesthismean？“
Therewasnoanswer。Mr。Sabinmovedquicklyforward，andthenstoppedshort。Hehadseendeadmen，andheknewthesigns。Dusonwasstonedead。
Mr。Sabin’snerveansweredtothisdemanduponit。Hecheckedhisfirstimpulsetoringthebell，andlookedcarefullyonthetableforsomenoteormessagefromthedeadman。Hefounditalmostatonce-alargeenvelopeinDuson’shandwriting。Mr。Sabinhastilybrokethesealandread:
“Monsieur，-Ikillmyselfbecauseitiseasiestandbest。Thepoisonwasgivenmeforyou，butIhavenotthecouragetobecomeamurderer，orafterwardstoconcealmyguilt。Monsieurhasbeenagoodmastertome，andalsoMadamelaComtessewasalwaysindulgentandkind。ThemistakeofmylifehasbeenthejoiningthelowerorderoftheSociety。ThemoneywhichIhavereceivedhasbeenbutapoorreturnfortheanxietyandtroublewhichhavecomeuponmesinceMadamelaComtesseleftAmerica。NowthatI
seekshelterinthegraveIamfreetowarnMonsieurthatthePrinceofS。L。ishisdeterminedandmercilessenemy，andthathehasalreadymadeanunlawfuluseofhispositionintheSocietyforthesakeofprivatevengeance。IfmonsieurwouldmakeapowerfulfriendheshouldseektheLadyMurielCarey。
“Monsieurwillbesogoodastodestroythiswhenread。Mywillisinmytrunk。
“YourGrace’sfaithfulservant，“JulesDuson。“
Mr。Sabinreadthislettercarefullythroughtotheend。Thenheputitintohispocket-bookandquicklyrangthebell。
“Youhadbettersendforadoctoratonce，“hesaidtothewaiterwhoappeared。“Myservantappearstohavesufferedfromsomesuddenillness。Iamafraidthatheisquitedead。“
Youspoke，mydearLucille，“theDuchessofDorsetsaid，“ofyourdeparture。Isnotthatalittlepremature？“
Lucilleshruggedherbeautifulshoulders，andleanedbackinhercornerofthecouchwithhalf-closedeyes。TheDuchess，whowasveryAnglo-Saxon，wasaneasypersontoread，andLucillewasanxioustoknowherfate。
“Whypremature？“sheasked。“IwassentfortousemyinfluencewithReginaldBrott。Well，Ididmybest，andIbelievethatfordaysitwasjustachancewhetherIdidnotsucceed。However，asithappened，Ifailed。Oneofhisfriendscameandpulledhimawayjustashewaswavering。Hehasdeclaredhimselfnowonceandforall。AfterhisspeechatGlasgowhecannotdrawback。IwasbroughtallthewayfromAmerica，andIwanttogobacktomyhusband。“
TheDuchesspursedherlips。
“Whenonehasthehonour，mydear，“shesaid，“ofbelongingtosowonderfulanorganisationasthiswemustnotconsidertoocloselytheselfishclaimsoffamily。IamsurethatyearsagoIshouldhavelaughedatanyonewhohadtoldmethatI，GeorginaCroxton，shouldeverbelongtosuchathingasasecretsociety，eventhoughithadsomeconnectionwithsoharmlessandexcellentanorganisationasthePrimroseLeague。“
“Itdoesseemremarkable，“Lucillemurmured。
“Butlookwhatterribletimeshavecomeuponus，“theDuchesscontinued，withoutheedingtheinterruption。“WhenIwasagirlaRadicalwasapersonabsolutelywithoutconsideration。Nowallourgreatcitiesarehot-bedsofSocialismand-andanarchism。Thewholecountryseemsbandedtogetheragainstthearistocracyandthelandowners。Combinationamongstusbecameabsolutelynecessaryinsomeshapeorform。WhenthePrincecameandbegantodrophintsaboutthewaythespreadofSocialismhadbeencheckedinHungaryandAustria，andevenGermany，Iwasinterestedfromthefirst。
Andwhenhewentfurther，andspokeoftheSociety，itwasIwhopersuadedDorsettojoin。Dearman，heisveryearnest，butveryslow，andveryaversetoanythingatallsecretive。Iamsurethereflectionthatheisamemberofasecretsociety，evenalthoughitissimplyalinking
