Michael Arlen

“ NOW Cannes is, of course, a city of pleasure; and in a city of pleasure there is, of course, nothing on earth to do but kill time; so that quite a number of the people who were invited came to Angela Lyon’s party, bringing with them a great number of people who were not invited—for why be selfish? Also, there ere two tough-looking men.
“My, who are those two?” asked pretty Miss Hart of Denys Malaise, as they danced by the two tough-looking men, who stood in the doorway of the ballroom in dinner suits of unsymmetrical appearance and with expressions of forced geniality. ”

“ Then, suddenly, “The Sheik of Alabam” came to Cannes: the saxophone and the drum shattered the silence; and at the same moment the eyes of the silhouette seemed to have formed a shadow out of the night, for the silhouette came out into the garden and became a tall young man with a thoughtful face. ”

“ Therefore, detectives.”
“Oh, look!” cried pretty Miss Hart. “How lovely Lady Madeleine looks in that jade-green dress! Of course, jade-green is a little out of fashion now, but——”
“Madeleine is the fashion,” smiled Denys. “Where is she now? Dancing?”
“Over there. She’s dancing with Dexter Harcourt.”
“Dancing with Dexter Harcourt!” said Denys. “How you exaggerate, Eleanor! A woman doesn’t dance with Dexter Harcourt—she lets him stand at attention on her feet.” ”

“ Madeleine rose, and her jade-green dress made a faint noise like hidden water, but she said never a word.
“Well, I think I’ll come with you into the house,” said Mr. Harcourt. “Getting cold here. One does get chilly, sitting out.”
“Two shouldn’t, so I’ve read in books,” said Denys gravely.
“Ah!” said Dexter Harcourt. “What do you think, Lady Madeleine?”
“I am not thinking at the moment, Mr. Harcourt. Come, Denys, if we are to dance.”
But, as they moved across the lawn, “The Sheik of Alabam” left Cannes as suddenly as he had come. ”

“ Lyon was an American widow who was so well known in America for being unknown that she lived in Europe; and to her house the Lady Madeleine, daughter of the recently deceased seventh Duke of Marlow (bankrupt) and sister of the eighth (bankrupt) , brought her many friends, so that the heart of Angela Lyon was thrilled with the idea that she was in society, and the dreams of Angela Lyon were concerned with the coming season in London, where she would take a large house, and how she would entertain a salon therein, whereas, of course, she would only be keeping a restaurant. ”

“ I feel that in my bones, too.”
“Madeleine, what sensitive bones you have today!”
“Madeleine!” came the voice from the plains of Dakota. “Madeleine, where are you?”
“I must go,” she said swiftly. “I have to arrange for the party tonight. You’re coming, of course?”
“Well, I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “You’ll be so busy, accepting Dexter Harcourt——”
“But that will only take a minute, Denys! If one can’t make a mess of one’s life in a minute, what can one do! Now do come!”
And swiftly she was walking away across the lawn. ”

“ Harcourt, “to throw a party and then get a rope of pearls shanghaied!”
“Darling, I’m so sorry!” said Madeleine very gently. “But surely the detectives——”
“Here they are,” said Denys. “Shall I arrest them first, Mrs. Lyon, or would you rather they arrested one of us?”
“Denys, be serious!” pleaded Madeleine.
“Really, my dear, a chap can’t be serious about a pearl necklace,” pleaded Denys. “Can he, Mrs. Lyon? For of course they’re insured?”
“Captain Malaise, you are so cute, and you’re doing me so much good!” Mrs. Lyon smiled. “Oh, yes, they’re covered!” ”

“ And his life had been made easy for him, for he was an attractive young man, as young men go, and none more diverting at all hours of the day and night: so that many had forgotten that for five long years he had been a puissant man of war. ”

“ Miss Hart’s father was a captain of industry in Chicago, but part of the time he lived in a villa at Cannes, for he believed that a little European Influence was a necessary ingredient of Poise, which is, of course, among the most recent of American inventions. Part of the European Influence he had picked on was Captain Malaise, who was staying with them.
Mr. Hart simply couldn’t help respecting a man who did no work so efficiently as Denys. Mr. Hart was a really modern American, and had got beyond all that “hustling” and “booster” back-chat. “That young man,” said Mr. ”