The dangerous game

The pretty spy, watching from the bridge of the yacht, was greatly perplexed by the flares of distress hurtling through the night. THE DANGEROUS GAME By WILLIAM LE QUEUX AUTHOR OF “THE CRYSTAL CLAW,” “MADEMOISELLE OF MONTE CARLO,” ETC. Frontispiece by HENRY C. MURPHY, Jr. NEW YORK THE MACAULAY COMPANY [COPYRIGHT] Published in England Under the Title “Hidden Hands.” Copyright, 1926 By THE MACAULAY COMPANY CONTENTS I. THE WATCHER II. LOVE AND CURIOSITY III. THE ELUSIVE JOAN IV. THE GREAT SECRET V. CONCERNS SOME FACTS VI. THE HOUSE OF SUSPICION VII. THE SPECIAL BRANCH VIII. A DELICATE ERRAND IX. ON DANGEROUS GROUND X. THE GIRL OF THE SNOWS XI. SOWING THE WIND XII. IN CONFIDENCE XIII. IN THE PAPERS XIV. THE WEEK-END XV. THE SECRET OUT XVI. REVEALS THE BARRIER XVII. BESIDE THE SEA XVIII. STOLEN SWEETS XIX. ’MID SNOW AND SUNSHINE XX. THE REFUGE HUT XXI. HOW THE SCALES FELL XXII. THE VALLEY OF LIES XXIII. DEPTHS OF DECEIT XXIV. A DANCE AT CLARIDGE’S XXV. DOUBLE CUNNING XXVI. REMORSE XXVII. THE TRAP XXVIII. CONCLUSION THE DANGEROUS GAME THE WATCHER A stout , thick-set, clean-shaven Englishman, with round face, iron-gray hair, wide jaws and a pair of shrewd, dark eyes behind a pair of rimless pince-nez, was standing in the pretty lounge of the Hotel St. George, at Corfu, idly smoking a cigarette, and chatting with a good-looking, dark-haired young woman of about thirty, who was also spending some weeks on the beautiful island in the Adriatic. They had already been there nearly two months, and a friendship had sprung up between them. Both were there for the winter warmth and sunshine. The man was a bachelor and a thorough-going cosmopolitan, who spent his whole life in continuous travel, while the woman was married to a rather good-looking man about five years her senior, whose actual nationality was somewhat obscure, but who was probably a Greek, though he spoke English almost perfectly, as so many educated Greeks do. The thick-set Englishman, smiling and care-free, was one of the most popular of English novelists, whose name was known in every country throughout the world, Charles Seton Darville. In every bookshop and bookstall on the five continents his works were sold, for they were translated into many languages, even into Arabic and Chinese. In order to obtain the correct local color for his books he was a constant wanderer to and fro…