George Lomax—Herman Isaacstein

George Lomax and Herman Isaacstein are partners in a political-financial effort to restore the monarchy in Herzoslovakia. Their alliance ties British support for Prince Michael Obolovitch to Isaacstein’s proposed loan and the oil concessions expected in return; the murder of Michael turns that arrangement into a liability and makes the succession question unavoidable.

Political and Financial Arrangement

The restoration plan is presented as a coordinated exchange: the people of Herzoslovakia are prepared to offer the crown to Prince Michael, who has the support and encouragement of the British government, while Michael is prepared to grant concessions to Isaacstein’s company in return for a loan of roughly a million. Lomax and Isaacstein thus occupy connected roles in a project that combines dynastic politics, state backing, and private investment.

The arrangement is politically sensitive. Lomax urges discretion when the proposal is discussed, while Lord Caterham’s blunt reference to the loan makes clear how easily the intended secrecy can fail. Lomax’s concern is not simply that the memoirs of Count Stylptitch may cause a scandal: he fears their publication at this moment could ruin the restoration effort. The alliance depends on managing both the public story and the practical negotiations behind the crown.

The Succession and the Alliance’s Exposure

After Prince Michael is murdered, the question of who inherits the throne becomes central to the investigation. Lomax hesitantly identifies Prince Nicholas as probably next in line; Superintendent Battle then specifies that Nicholas Obolovitch is Michael’s first cousin. Battle also reports that Nicholas had recently been in the United States raising money on his expectations.

Anthony Cade reads the political consequences as a contest between competing financial interests: Michael had British backing, while Nicholas had American backing, and financiers in both countries sought the oil concessions. The Loyalist party had chosen Michael as its candidate, so his death forces it to look elsewhere. Isaacstein and Lomax consequently face the collapse of the plan they had supported, while the change in succession promises gains to the rival American interests. Battle confirms that Cade’s analysis is close to the truth.

Strain and Reversal

Battle later tells Isaacstein and Lomax that they, along with the Herzoslovakian Loyalist party, are in serious trouble. His warning marks the alliance’s exposure: the political and financial arrangement has become part of a larger investigation rather than a confidential route to restoration. Lomax reacts with visible discomfort, whereas Isaacstein accepts Battle’s description as accurate and encourages him to continue.

The alliance’s position changes again when Cade reveals that he is Nicholas Obolovitch. He explains that he had spread the report of Nicholas’s death and left the Congo under the name Anthony Cade. Isaacstein asks whether the same loan can be offered to Michael’s cousin on the same terms; Cade presents himself as the prince promised to the financier. The exchange reopens the possibility of a royal claimant backed by capital, but the revelation also shows how precariously Lomax and Isaacstein’s project rests on identity, succession, and the ability to secure a viable claimant.