Going further, they were trying through a closer alliance of these
three great powers to curtail the activities of German expansion and
completely coup her up diplomatically. The Countess told me that
Prince Galitzin and Delcasse were going to meet again that same
afternoon about five o'clock. As it was absolutely imperative to
obtain knowledge of the rest of the conversation I enjoined the
Countess to exert all her skill to secure the details at this most
important interview, and to meet me once more in a corner of the Salle
des Estrangers, this time at seven o'clock.
I returned to my hotel, settled my bill and had my grip taken over to
the railway station; I got a ticket for Milan. It is always advisable
to lay your plans carefully for a possibly very hurried exit, the
nearest friendly border in this instance being Italy. In the event of
trouble arising, hurrying through France would have been out of the
question. Switzerland is an independent country which would have held
me up officially on being requested to do so, although they do not
extradite for political offenses, but being held up is bad enough.
But once across the Italian border, I was safe enough. A
semi-official hint from the Wilhelmstrasse to the Quirinal would
always procure an open sesame for me--no danger of being held up
there. Hence the ticket for Milan.
The intervening hours I spent on the outskirts of Monte Carlo,
dropping into many a quaint little wine cellar.
Pages:
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116