seal of the S'helpburgs. Tearing it open I recognized the
handwriting of the Princess Flirtia.


MY DEAR RUPERT,--Owing to the confusion that arises from there
being so many of you, I have concluded to accept the hand of the
Duke Michael. I may not become a Queen, but I shall bring rest to
my country, and Michael assures me in his playful manner that
"three of a kind," "even of the same color," do not always win at
poker. It will tranquilize you somewhat to know that the Lord
Chancellor assures me that on examining the records of the dynasty
he finds that my ancestor Rupert never left his kingdom during his
entire reign, and that consequently your ancestress has been
grossly maligned. I am sending typewritten copies of this to
Rupert of Glasgow and the King. Farewell.

FLIRTIA.


Once a year, at Christmastide, I receive a simple foreign hamper
via Charing Cross, marked "Return empty." I take it in silence to
my own room, and there, opening it, I find--unseen by any other
eyes but my own--a modest pate de foie gras, of the kind I ate with
the Princess Flirtia. I take out the pate, replace the label, and
have the hamper reconveyed to Charing Cross.



THE STOLEN CIGAR CASE