“His little place proved to be a veritable palace.  The man privately, or rather, secretly, to be exact, kept up a sort of pagan state.  He had any number of servants.  Of course he became practically a millionaire after the death of his father, as you will remember; and given more congenial company, I must confess that I might have spent a most enjoyable evening there.

“Adderley insisted upon priming me with champagne, and after a while I may as well admit that I lost something of my former reserve, and began in a fashion to feel that I was having a fairly good time.  By the way, my host was not quite frankly drunk.  He got into that objectionable and dangerous mood which some of you will recall, and I could see by the light in his eyes that there was mischief brewing, although at the time I did not know its nature.

“I should explain that we were amusing ourselves in a room which was nearly as large as the lounge of this hotel, and furnished in a somewhat similar manner.  There were carved pillars and stained glass domes, a little fountain, and all those other peculiarities of an Eastern household.

“Presently, Adderley gave an order to one of his servants, and glanced at me with that sort of mocking, dare-devil look in his eyes which I loathed, which everybody loathed who ever met the man.  Of course I had no idea what all this portended, but I was very shortly to learn.

“While he was still looking at me, but stealing side-glances at a doorway before which was draped a most wonderful curtain of a sort of flamingo colour, this curtain was suddenly pulled aside, and a girl came in.

“Of course, you must remember that at the time of which I am speaking the scandal respecting the mandarin had not yet come to light.  Consequently I had no idea who the girl could be.  I saw she was a Eurasian.  But of her striking beauty there could be no doubt whatever.  She was dressed in magnificent robes, and she literally glittered with jewels.  She even wore jewels upon the toes of her little bare feet.  But the first thing that struck me at the moment of her appearance was that her presence there was contrary to her wishes and inclinations.  I have never seen a similar expression in any woman’s eyes.  She looked at Adderley as though she would gladly have slain him!

“Seeing this look, his mocking smile in which there was something of triumph—­of the joy of possession—­turned to a scowl of positive brutality.  He clenched his fists in a way that set me bristling.  He advanced toward the girl—­and although the width of the room divided them, she recoiled—­and the significance of expression and gesture was unmistakable.  Adderley paused.

“‘So you have made up your mind to dance after all?’ he shouted.

“The look in the girl’s dark eyes was pitiful, and she turned to me with a glance of dumb entreaty.

“‘No, no!’ she cried.  ‘No, no!  Why do you bring me here?’