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diff --git a/42459.txt b/42459.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b7a0c41..0000000 --- a/42459.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12161 +0,0 @@ - BERNARD TREVES'S BOOTS - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: Bernard Treve's Boots - A Novel of the Secret Service -Author: Laurence Clarke -Release Date: April 01, 2013 [EBook #42459] -Reposted: May 14, 2013 [(minor correction)] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERNARD TREVE'S BOOTS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - BERNARD TREVES'S BOOTS - - A NOVEL OF THE SECRET SERVICE - - - BY - - LAURENCE CLARKE - - AUTHOR OF "A PRINCE OF INDIA," ETC. - - - - HODDER AND STOUGHTON LIMITED - LONDON - 1920 - - - - -DEDICATION - -To Sir Emsley Carr, who suggested -that I should write this book, and -to whom I am much indebted for -valuable first-hand incidents which -figure in these pages. - -_January_, 1920. - - - - - CHAPTER I - - -"Are you sure your name is Manton?" - -Captain Gilbert looked keenly across the table. The light in the little -room was not good, and the expression on the Captain's face was one of -intense interest and bewilderment. - -"Quite sure, sir--John Manton," answered the man standing at the further -side of the table. - -Manton was one of a number of recruits who had that day presented -themselves at the Ryde Recruiting Office--a tall, well-poised man of -twenty-six, dark-haired, blue-eyed, firm-lipped and vigorous-looking, -despite the fact that his countenance was somewhat pale. He wore a -well-brushed blue serge suit, noticeably the worse for wear. His bowler -hat, too, had seen long service. - -Captain Gilbert, still looking at him, drew forth a sheet of paper, and -took up his pen. - -"John Manton," he wrote, then his eyes lifted, and he looked once more -and with a peculiar expression into the tall young recruit's face. For -a moment he paused. "Manton," he said, "I should like to see you -privately after the office closes." - -The young man steadily returned his gaze. - -"Very good, sir," he said, with an air of docility. "At what time shall -I come?" - -"At eight o'clock," returned Gilbert. "Wait for me outside." His eyes -followed the other as he turned and left the building, but the moment -the door had closed Captain Gilbert plunged once again into his work. - -"Next," he called to the line of men seated on the far side of the room; -and the man at the end of the line rose and advanced towards the table. - -Manton in the meantime paced the streets until eight o'clock, then -turned his steps towards the recruiting office. - -"I wonder what he wants," thought the young man. - -Possibly Gilbert guessed he had been in the army before, and wished to -question him upon that point. - -"Whatever he wants," thought Manton, somewhat wearily, "does not much -matter. If he refuses to take me, and manages to find out everything, I -can enlist somewhere else." - -As the clock struck eight Captain Gilbert, with an air of haste, closed -his desk, left the office and came striding along the street. - -"Ah!" exclaimed the Captain, catching sight of Manton, "we'll come up -here to the left; it's quieter." - -He led the way as he spoke towards a deserted side street. It was -already almost dark, and the dimmed street lamps had been lit. They had -proceeded some distance together in silence, when Gilbert halted -suddenly, and laid his hand on Manton's shoulder. - -"Treves," he said, "so you had the grit to do it, after all?" - -Manton turned and stared in wonderment. - -"Do what, sir?" But he suddenly felt his fingers seized in a cordial -grip. - -"Gad," went on Gilbert, "that'll make a man of you--eh?" - -"I'm afraid I don't understand a word of what you are saying, sir!" - -"You don't understand a word! Why, of course you don't! I like you for -it--and I'll be frank, I thought I never could like you. Somehow," he -went on, looking into Manton's face, "you are the same and yet -different, but I'd know you anywhere, despite this shabby old suit and -your battered bowler. You knew me, too, when you came into the office." - -Manton, still bewildered beyond measure, shook his head slowly. - -"I have never seen you in my life before, sir!" - -"No, of course not," laughed Gilbert, who was jovial and good-natured. -He slipped his arm through Manton's. "Come along now, and we'll talk -about it!" Something in the situation of the moment seemed to -exhilarate him. "So you've decided to make good after all? Well, all I -can say is--I'm delighted. For your own sake, for the old Colonel's -sake, for everybody's sake!" - -Again he paused and looked into his companion's face. - -"I'll admit, Treves, I didn't think you had it in you. I thought----" - -Manton freed his arm from the other's grasp. - -"I am sorry, sir," he said, "but you are evidently making a grievous -mistake. My name is Manton----" - -"I don't care what your name is," retorted Gilbert, irritated a little -by what he believed to be the other's unnecessary reserve. "You can get -rid of your name and call yourself Manton or Jones or Smith or Robinson -or anything you like for all I care! But I know you to be Bernard -Treves, and----" - -But this time a note of firmness appeared in Manton's voice. - -"My name is not Treves, sir!" - -Gilbert shrugged his shoulders. - -"You needn't keep up that note with me," he said. "I'm delighted to find -you have the grit to try to make some sort of reparation." - -Manton moistened his lips. - -"I still don't understand you," he said slowly. "But all I can do is to -assure you I am not Treves. If you know some one who resembles me and -whose name is Treves, perhaps you would look at me again. To my -knowledge, sir, I have never met you in my life before." - -As he spoke he took off his hat and turned his face fully towards the -Captain. - -For a moment there was silence. - -"In this half-darkness," said Gilbert, "you look absolutely like Bernard -Treves to me. You looked like him in the office. I could see that you -had been in the army the minute you stood at my table." He paused, and -for the first time a slight doubt crept over him. "The only thing that -seems changed to me," he went on, "is your manner. Come, now, Treves, -you know me well enough to confide in me; that's why I asked you to -speak to me out of the office. Anything you care to say will go no -further. I will accept it as unofficial, and if you intend to make good -I'm prepared to be a good friend to you. But in the first place admit -that you are Treves; it will make matters much easier." - -For some moments Manton remained silent. Gilbert believed that at last -he was about to admit his identity. - -"I will tell you my history for the past three months, sir," said the -young man. - -"I shall respect your confidence," Gilbert answered. - -"I am sorry to disappoint you, sir, but my name is really Manton, and, -as you guessed when I came into the office, I have been in the army -before. I was at Scarthoe Head, Battery A. I was a sergeant, and, -being a public school man, was made book-keeper to the acting adjutant." -He fell into silence again, and went on after a pause. "Something went -wrong in regard to the delivery of stores to the fort. There was a -hundred and forty-five pounds deficit in the accounts. I was held -responsible, sir." - -There was an intensity and a genuineness in the ring of the stranger's -voice that gripped Gilbert's attention. He listened with the closest -attention, and as Manton narrated in detail his life during the past six -months, Gilbert's convictions faded and gradually vanished. It was -impossible that the man could have invented the story, a story so easy -of verification. It was some time, however, before he let Manton -perceive his change of view; then he drew in a deep breath. - -"Gad!" he exclaimed, "then you are not Treves after all!" - -"No, sir." - -"Go on with your story." - -Manton obediently resumed his discourse, bringing his history down to -that afternoon and his visit to the recruiting office. - -"It's amazing!" exclaimed Gilbert. "I could have sworn---- But, after -all," he went on, as if communing with himself, "there's something in -your eyes that's different." - -"My one ambition in life," concluded Manton, "is to repay that hundred -and forty-five pounds. I wanted to do it for the honour of the battery. -But when three months had passed and I found I couldn't manage it, I -decided to enlist again." - -Gilbert, when his first surprise had departed, began to feel an unusual -interest in the young man, and as the two strolled back towards the -Captain's hotel, he dropped his slight tone of authority, but was quite -uncommunicative as to the mysterious and evidently delinquent Treves. - -"If you could come to the office in the morning," he said at parting, "I -think we can get round any difficulties there may be in regard to your -re-enlistment. Do you mind if I make inquiries about you, merely as a -matter of form?" - -"Not in the least, sir." - -A few minutes later Captain Gilbert put through a trunk call to Scarthoe -Fort. The commandant of Battery A, who was known to Gilbert by name, -happened to be on duty. Gilbert explained that a man giving the name of -John Manton, lately of his battery, had that day attempted to re-enlist -at Ryde. - -"I'd like all the information you can give me about him," Gilbert asked. - -"One of the best," came back the prompt answer from Scarthoe Fort. -"Manton was a favourite here, and quite unofficially, although matters -got a bit muddled, and the case went against him, none of us believed -him guilty. A first-rate gunner and white clear through. I shall be -glad to know that he's back in the army again." - -Gilbert rang off, and all that night the amazing resemblance between his -friend Treves and Manton occupied his thoughts. As a result of this -preoccupation, and some time during the small hours, a startling idea -came to him, first as a nebulous, vague possibility, then as an entirely -practicable and simple solution of a difficulty. The thought was this: -why should not the singular resemblance between Treves and Manton be -turned to good account? Manton had said he wanted more than anything in -the world to repay the money due to the battery. Treves, on his part, -wanted---- Gilbert broke off here, but his thoughts continued to pursue -the new, startling idea that had come to him. - -"Gad!" he exclaimed, as the morning broke, "I believe the plan would -achieve miracles. If Treves got away under another name he might rouse -himself. He might become a man again." ... - -In the morning Manton came into the office looking bright, vigorous and -full of vitality. Gilbert rose and examined him. Yes, there was a -difference, a slight, almost undetectable difference. Something in the -eyes--nothing more than that. - -"Are you convinced now, sir?" asked the young man, smiling and standing -at attention. - -"I am quite convinced, Manton, and I have a proposition to make to you." - -He took his visitor into an inner room, and, seated there, he unfolded a -little of the plan that had come to him during the watches of the night. - -"Manton," he said, "I must get authority before I can accept you as a -recruit, but in the meantime," he went on, "I have been thinking of our -talk of last night. I like you for trying to earn that hundred and -forty-five pounds, and they gave a good account of you at Scarthoe." - -"I don't know who had the money, sir, but I'd do anything in the world -to pay it back for the honour of the battery." - -Captain Gilbert paused, then took a letter from the pocket of his tunic. -The envelope was addressed: "Lieutenant Bernard Treves, 15, Sade Road, -Lymington." - -Gilbert had written this letter earlier that morning. With a certain air -of formality he handed it to John Manton and instructed him to deliver -it to Lieutenant Treves that evening after dark. - -"I have a plan in regard to you, Manton, that I think will work out to -your entire satisfaction. I won't tell you what it is until you have -seen my friend Treves. But when Treves has read this letter he may, or -may not, think it worth his while to pay you the money you need. If he -doesn't, please come back to me to-morrow, and we will go on with the -matter of your re-enlistment." - -"In case Lieutenant Treves decides favourably, sir, what must I do to -earn the money?" - -"You will learn that from him," answered the Captain. "Go to-night, as -unobtrusively as you can," he said. He rose, held out his hand and -gripped Manton's fingers cordially in his. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -That evening, when John Manton stepped off the boat at Lymington, a -heavy summer rain was falling. In the town itself the streets appeared -to be deserted, and it was some minutes before he encountered a workman -hurrying home, with upturned collar. He inquired the way to Sade Road, -and five minutes later came upon a row of small workmen's cottages with -little gardens in front. Counting the houses until he came to number -fifteen, he entered the garden gate, and, striking a match, discovered -that he had halted at the right address. A woman came to the door in -answer to his knock, and stood in the dark, looking out at him, opening -the door only a few cautious inches. - -"What do you want?" - -Manton, with collar turned up and hat drawn over his brows, answered -that he brought a letter for Lieutenant Treves. - -"You'd better go up to him, then," said the woman, drawing open the -door. "It's the front room at the top of the stairs." - -There was a candle at the stair-head, and Manton passed her, ascended -the single flight of steps and halted at the door. The smallness of the -house, the shabbiness of the woman who had admitted him, depressed his -spirits. He liked Captain Gilbert, with his sleek and buoyant -confidence. This plan of his suddenly struck Manton as the wildest -piece of quixotism. - -He lifted his hand and knocked quietly upon the door. A voice from -within instantly invited him to enter. A moment later he stood in a -small lamp-lit bedroom. The room was littered with trunks, suit-cases, -boxes and a general confusion of other articles. The close air reeked -with the smell of Turkish cigarettes, and at a table near the window, -with a lamp before him, sat a young man, busily occupied scribbling -figures on a sheet of paper. - -Bernard Treves, whose back was towards the door, wore mufti, and Manton, -in the moment of entering, noticed that he was well dressed and that his -hair was smooth and dark. - -"If that's my supper, Mrs. Dodge," said Treves, "put it on the bed." He -spoke without looking round, took a drink of whisky from a glass at his -side, then went on with his figures. - -Manton, standing near the door, coughed to attract his attention. - -"Hallo!" exclaimed Treves, and turned swiftly. In an instant at sight -of Manton his expression changed. He sprang to his feet in what appeared -to be a state of terror, and stood staring at his visitor without -uttering a word. With brows drawn together, he passed a hand over his -eyes, then he turned, and, lifting his lamp from the table, held it -aloft. - -"Who are you?" he demanded savagely, "and what the devil do you want?" - -John Manton took the letter from his pocket. - -"I have come with a letter from your friend, Captain Gilbert," he -answered quietly. - -With his eyes still fixed on Manton, Treves lowered the lamp and -replaced it on the table. - -"A letter," he repeated, "from Gilbert? Give it to me." He held out -his hand. "God!" he exclaimed, as he snatched the envelope, "coming in -like that, you gave me a devil of a start. I thought that I was looking -into my own face! Come nearer; come into the light." - -Manton advanced farther into the room. - -"I suppose these figures I've been poring over," went on Treves, "have -made my eyes a bit wrong, but I've never seen anything like it." His -nerve was gradually returning, and his astonishment was turning to -amusement at the intensity of the resemblance between them. - -"Look into the mirror there," he said. "Don't you think the likeness is -amazing?" - -Manton looked into the mirror, and then again at the young man, who had -replaced the lamp on the table, and was tearing open Gilbert's envelope. -As he scrutinised Treves's face and figure he, too, was astonished. He -began to understand now something of Captain Gilbert's strange behaviour -of the day before. But Manton had never been occupied over much with -his own appearance; he took himself for granted, and after the first -momentary flash of curiosity he thought no more of the resemblance. -Besides, there was, after all, a difference. Treves wore a black -moustache; his complexion was flushed, whereas Manton, as a result of -gas poisoning at the Front, was still pale. Treves's eyes, moreover, -were evasive and furtive in expression. Nevertheless, it would have been -difficult to tell the two men apart. - -"Sit down, Sergeant," Treves said. "Help yourself to a drink." He -waved towards the whisky bottle and a siphon on the table. Upon Manton -refusing the drink, Treves pushed towards him a box of cigarettes. Then -read Captain Gilbert's missive through a second and a third time, and -seemed to be considering it deeply with brows drawn together. "Do you -know what is in this letter?" he questioned at last. - -"No." - -"Captain Gilbert told you nothing?" - -"Nothing whatever, beyond saying that you might be willing to make some -sort of offer." - -"Well, he makes an extraordinary suggestion," went on Treves, leaning -back in his chair. "It's all brought about by your resemblance to me." -His eyes sought the letter again. "He tells me you are a public school -boy and all that, and gives me here an outline of your little trouble at -Scarthoe Head. Well, for certain reasons known to himself and to me, he -thinks you may be able to make yourself useful to me. That is," he -added, "if you are willing to undertake a somewhat delicate piece of -work." - -Manton looked inquiringly at Treves; he was not sure of the young man. - -"Perhaps you will let me know the nature of the work." - -"The fact of the matter is, Manton," Treves resumed, dropping his voice -confidentially, "I am in want of help. Owing to certain peculiar -circumstances, I want somebody to make use of my name and my personality -for a short time." - -He took up his whisky and Manton observed an almost imperceptible tremor -of his fingers as they closed about the glass. - -"Now, your extraordinary likeness to me, and the fact that you are in -need of cash--well, do you see the point?" - -"I'm afraid not," remarked Manton quietly. - -Treves made a gesture of impatience. - -"It's pretty plain, I should think. You need cash, I need some one to -step into my shoes; somebody who must take the name of Bernard Treves. -Now, do you understand?" - -"Your suggestion is that I should pass myself off as you?" - -"That's it exactly!" - -His visitor stared at him in amazement. - -"But I don't see," said he, "any advantage in that for either of us." - -"Perhaps not. How much money are you in need of?" Treves inquired -pointedly. - -"Nearly one hundred and fifty pounds." - -Treves whistled. - -"Lot of money," he said. - -John Manton agreed with him, and for a space there was silence. John's -hopes that had risen fell to zero. - -Then Treves poured himself another glass of whisky, and drank it down. -He wiped his lips with a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket. - -"All right," he said at length; "carry out my wishes and you shall have -it." - -"Then you are serious?" - -"I was never more serious in my life. You are to take everything that -is mine, and in return you shall have the money you need." - -A vague doubt stirred in Manton's mind; then he thought of Gilbert. The -Captain was most obviously a man of honour. - -"If I accept, can I still enlist?" - -"Enlist by all means." - -"It seems to me to be an easy way of earning the money, but what about -your rank in the army?" - -Treves flashed a suspicious glance at him; there was a questioning -expression in his eyes. - -"If you accept my offer we can go into details later, and as regards my -rank, I--I happen to be leaving the army." - -"In that case," said Manton, "I am much obliged to you; the money will -be a great boon to me." - -"You accept?" - -"Like a bird!" smiled Manton. "But there is one thing I would like to -ask." - -"Well?" - -"The terms are generous enough," he said, "but what is to happen to my -name; is that to disappear too?" - -Bernard Treves lit a cigarette, and looked at him with the expression of -one from whose mind has been lifted a heavy burden. He made an -expressive gesture with his hand. - -"For the time being," he answered, "the name of Sergeant Manton will -vanish into thin air." - - - - - CHAPTER III - - -Six days later Manton found himself once more in Lymington, alone in -Treves's lodgings, in the crowded room, littered with that young man's -desirable possessions. Those possessions were, for the time being, his -own; even Treves's name was his, for, carrying out his bargain, Treves -had vanished from the scene. Again Manton fell to wondering why the -other had been so anxious to dispossess himself of name and identity. -There was nothing criminal in the matter, he was assured of that, -otherwise Captain Gilbert would not have had a hand in it. The idea -that the Lieutenant had suffered from shell-shock, and desired to hide -himself from all who knew him for a time until he had recovered, came to -Manton, and struck him as feasible. He had himself known quite a number -of peculiar manifestations of this particularly mysterious disease. In -any case, whatever Treves's reasons, it mattered little to Manton at -that moment. - -"I have simply got to make myself act as Treves, and to do the best I -can in Treves's shoes for the time being." - -A few days earlier the young man had written him a letter in which he -had said: "Use everything of mine as if it were your own. It is only -fair if you get the kicks meant for me, you should get the ha'pence as -well. I have few relations, and none of them are likely to bother you. -When we shall meet again I do not know, but, in the meantime, _au -revoir_. I wonder what you will feel like this time next year?" - -Manton, in the quiet of the room, took some considerable time trying to -realise his new circumstances, and gradually the sense of strangeness -and mystery that enveloped him began to fade away. In all his life -Manton had been used to the buffets and hard knocks of Fate; he began to -wonder what his immediate future in Treves's shoes held for him. Both -parents having died in India, he had been educated from a small fund in -the hands of a guardian, first in Germany, and later at Rugby. After -that he spent two years at Bonn. His resources were at an end, and the -guardian, feeling that he had done his duty, left him to fend for -himself. A period of hard going had followed, until the war broke out, -whereupon he precipitately enlisted in the first hundred thousand. If he -had waited a little longer a commission would have been thrust upon him -as it was upon all public school men in any way eligible. Treves's -past, Manton surmised, had not been of that nature, for despite the -poorness of the young man's lodgings, all his belongings were of the -costliest order. And all these belongings were now his, Manton's, to do -with as he liked. The idea came to him to write to Captain Gilbert, -thanking him for the amicable intervention that had wrought this change -in his circumstances. He sat down, drew forth a sheet of Treves's -notepaper, and had taken up a pen when a knock came at the door, and the -landlady appeared. - -"You'd like some tea, sir, wouldn't you?" - -"Yes, thank you," answered the young man. - -"I've dusted the room every day, sir, since you've been away," said the -landlady. - -"It's exactly as I left it," responded he truthfully. She was looking at -him across the width of the little room, but there was no doubt or -curiosity in her gaze; she had accepted him instantly on his arrival -that day as Bernard Treves, and even now, looking at him full and -closely, no thought of deception entered her mind. "I wonder what she'd -think," he pondered inwardly, "if Treves were to come in behind her -now." - -But no such dramatic event occurred; the landlady brought up his tea, -and later furnished him with a bottle of whisky, a siphon of soda, and a -glass. - -Next morning, when she cleared these things away, she was surprised to -find that no more than one peg of whisky had been taken. - -"Wasn't you feeling well, sir, last night?" she asked. - -"Quite," answered Manton, who was busy with an excellent breakfast. - -She went away wondering. Until that day she had never known Mr. Treves -to drink less than half a bottle of whisky in the course of an evening. - -During the morning John went for a stroll in the town, and on his return -the landlady handed him a letter which had arrived by the post in his -absence. Manton took it up to his room, and noticed that the -handwriting was sprawling and shaky. Twice he read the superscription, -"Bernard Treves, Esq., 15, Sade Road, Lymington." He hesitated several -minutes before breaking open the envelope. He felt as though he were -stepping beyond the pale of decency in opening the letter addressed to -another man, then he recalled Treves's admonition, "Everything that is -mine is yours." He tore open the envelope. Within was a single sheet -of paper headed, "Heatherfield Grange, Freshwater." Manton quickly -scanned the contents. - - -"_Dear Bernard,--They tell me you are in hiding, as well you may be, but -if you have a spark of decency left in you, you will come here to me at -the first opportunity. There are things I have to say to you_. - -"_You have dishonoured and disgraced the family name, but I have still a -faint hope that you will retrieve yourself at the last moment.--Your -affectionate father,_ - -"R.T." - - -For many minutes John Manton sat staring at this letter, staring from -the stiff, sprawling writing out into the little street and back again. - -All that day he pondered upon the missive he had received from Treves's -father. He wondered what it was Treves had done, and why he should have -been skulking in hiding at that address? A sense of uneasiness swept -over him, and was succeeded by a violent curiosity. For the first time -he felt vividly interested in Treves and Treves's history, and at the -same time doubtful and uneasy. Unpleasant and difficult situations -presented themselves to his mind. - -Next morning, as a result of a decision he had taken, he was on his way -to Freshwater by midday. At three o'clock in the afternoon he walked -through the town and out to Heatherfield Grange, which he discovered to -be a large, many-chimneyed, many-windowed Elizabethan mansion, standing -in a spacious, heavily-wooded park. The mansion itself was approached by -a long carriage drive, too much overshadowed by trees, and when Manton -reached the lodge gates a bent old man, who was sweeping leaves from the -path, hurried forward and drew open the gate for him to enter. The man -drew himself up and saluted. - -"Good day, Master Bernard." - -Manton nodded and smiled. As he walked along the drive towards the -grand old house, his pulse-beat quickened. After all, had he a right to -act the part; was it honourable and fair that he should thus step into -another man's shoes? The under-gardener had taken him for Bernard -Treves; the whole world evidently was prepared to believe in the -deception. But there was Treves's father to face. Naturally Treves's -father would detect an impostor in a moment. But was he an impostor; -was it not probable that the elder Treves also was aware of what had -occurred? - -The broad front door of the mansion was opened to him. A white-haired -butler, with pouches under his eyes, and a general air of -world-weariness, looked at him from the threshold, and slowly lifted his -eyes in surprise. - -"Good afternoon, sir," said the butler. He took Manton's hat and stick, -and deferentially stood aside. "Your father will indeed be pleased and -surprised to see you, sir," he said, as he closed the door. His manner -was studiously civil, and yet somehow Manton felt a lack of cordiality -towards himself in the butler's tone. - -"Possibly he's a privileged servant," he thought, "and does not like Mr. -Bernard." - -"Where is--is the Colonel?" he asked after a moment's hesitation. - -"In the library, sir, as usual. Will you go up at once?" - -"Yes." He wondered consumedly where the Colonel's room might be, and -experienced a pleasant thrill of impending event. He attempted a little -harmless finesse to discover the way. "Perhaps you will go first and -tell him I am here." - -"Very good, sir." The butler looked at him meditatively for a moment, -then went to a side-table and took up a silver salver containing three -letters and a telegram. Manton seized the moment to survey the heavy -splendour of the dark antique furniture, the wide spaces of the hall and -the richness of the rugs scattered over the polished floor. High above -the mantelshelf hung a portrait in oils of a personage in eighteenth -century costume. Descending to the middle of the hall was a wide oak -balustraded staircase, carpeted in scarlet, a single flight ascended to -the first floor, then branched to right and left. - -"Your letters, sir." The butler was standing at Manton's elbow with the -silver salver extended. John took up the three letters and the -telegram. A renewed and intensified disinclination to pry into Bernard -Treves's affairs seized him. He was about to put letters and telegram -into his pocket when the butler spoke in his firm, polite voice. There -was a note of reproach in his tone, however, "The telegram came two days -ago, sir." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Manton. And under the bleak eye of the butler he -disinterred it from his pocket, tore open the envelope, and read the -contents. The telegram had been dispatched from Camden Town, and ran: - - -"_Wire when you can come. Of course I will forgive you._--ELAINE." - - -He was conscious, as he read the words, that the butler's eyes were -fixed steadily upon him. - -Then the old servant turned and preceded him towards the broad -staircase. They ascended to the first landing, and here the butler -wheeled to the right and halted before a double green baize door. The -elderly man knocked, paused for a moment, then pushed open the door, and -stepped into a room lined with books, a spacious, luxuriously furnished -apartment, with two mullioned windows overlooking the park. John, -following him, saw him cross to a deep, high-backed arm-chair near the -hearth. - -"Mr. Bernard's here, sir," he announced, standing before this chair. - -There was a movement in the chair, then a tall, soldierly, grey-haired -man revealed himself, leaning on a stick, and looked across at Manton. -He looked at him with a cold, inimical gaze, and until the butler had -closed the door and departed, did not utter a word, Then he spoke: - -"So you've come, you dog, have you!" The almost savage intensity of -dislike and contempt in his tone struck the young man like a blow in the -face. - -"I got your letter----" he began. - -"Oh, yes, I found out where you were. Well," he went on, harshly, -"there is no need for us to waste compliments on each other. We will -settle the business that is to be settled at once." - -He moved shakily towards a desk in the middle of the room, using his -stick as a support. Manton, seeing his frailty, hurried forward to -assist him, but the old man drew himself erect, raised his stick, and -flashed a look at him of utter repulsion. - -"Do not dare to lay a hand on me," he said violently. - -When he reached his desk he seated himself in a big swivel-chair, drew -out a drawer, and flung certain documents on the table. From under his -eyebrows he glowered at Manton. - -"Sit down," he commanded. - -John moved to the table side and occupied a chair near his elbow. Among -a pile of documents Colonel Treves searched for a certain typewritten -sheet. He found it at length, a long, yellow piece of official paper. - -"Listen to this," he commanded. From the table beside him he took up a -square reading glass, and deciphered the typewritten paper with faded -grey eyes. "This," he vouchsafed, raising his eyes, "is from my old, -good friend, General Whiston." He paused a moment, and John seized the -opportunity to intervene, "May I say a word, sir?" - -"No," thundered Treves. Then he read aloud in a voice vibrant with -emotion: - - -"_My dear Treves,--Your boy had every chance.... It was the merest -fluke in the world that he escaped as easily as he did. He is not of -the right stuff, and my condolences are with you. I wish I could -suggest something, but I cannot. I know, old friend, what a tragedy -this must be to you----_" - - -The Colonel stopped abruptly, flung down his reading glass, and looked -into Manton's face. "Well?" he demanded. "What do you think of that?" - -Manton said nothing. - -"Can you read between the lines?" questioned the elder man. - -"It suggests," said John, after a moment's hesitation, "that the -punishment meted out to--to me, was a light one." - -"I see you are as evasive as ever," retorted Colonel Treves. He turned -and smote the open letter twice with the back of his hand. "In this -letter, General Whiston," he measured his words slowly, "tells me, by -implication, that you are guilty of cowardice in the face of the -enemy--you, a Treves!" Then in a moment the anger that had vivified him -seemed to fade; he appeared to Manton to become suddenly old, bowed, and -pitiful, the expression on his face was one of anguish. The dishonour -that had befallen his name was no less than torture to him, but once -again he recovered himself, and gripped the arms of his chair with both -white-knuckled hands. - -"You know the just punishment for cowardice in the face of the enemy?" -He was leaning towards Manton now; his mouth twitched, but there was a -blaze in the old grey eyes. - -"I know it, sir," said John quietly. - -The Colonel drew in his breath slowly and sat erect. - -"Ah, you know. And, having escaped that punishment, and knowing -yourself to be guilty, you skulk in hiding! You fail to seize the one -chance that is open to you to redeem the past!" - -"What is the chance?" inquired Manton, forgetting himself for a moment. - -The Colonel stared at him in astonishment. - -"The chance of re-enlistment, of course. Instead of doing that," he -went on, "you write me a whining letter, saying you can't stand the -trenches, you can't face it, your nerves--bah! nerves, my God, and you a -Treves!" He hurled these words forth with a contempt and loathing that -was like a blow in the face. But Manton noticed that he was breathing -heavily. The emotional intensity of his feelings was wearing on him, -and the younger man felt a sudden tenderness towards this old, stricken, -bitterly disappointed father. - -"Is it too late now, sir?" he asked quietly. - -"Eh?" - -"Is it too late for me to make good?" - -"Talk!" exclaimed the Colonel, in bitter derision; "always talk with -you. You don't mean that any more than you meant any of the lying -promises you made to me in the past. You have always been a liar! A -liar, a spendthrift, and a fool--and now, added to all these things, to -your gambling and your profligacy, you've finished as a----" - -He paused, and Manton ventured: - -"In regard to a way out, sir?" - -The Colonel looked at him with renewed ferocity, then his expression -slowly changed. For some seconds he was silent, and, without a glance -at Manton, he began to fumble at a drawer. He drew it open at length, -and groped in its interior. His hand shook visibly, but there was -something in his attitude, some strange intensity of purpose, that -riveted Manton's attention. Presently the Colonel discovered the object -he sought, and revealed from the depths of the drawer an automatic -pistol. - -"If you have a shred of honour left you will know what to do," he said -grimly. He reached out, and laid the weapon on the corner of the desk -at the young man's side. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - -Then Colonel Treves rose slowly to his feet, took up his stick, and -moved towards the door of the room. With his hand on the door knob, he -pointed his stick at the weapon on the table. Manton had remained -motionless; utterly at a loss. Now the old soldier's meaning gradually -revealed itself. - -"You want me to take this and----?" - -"And," broke in Colonel Treves, "use it to recover such shreds of honour -as are left to you." - -He drew open the door. - -"Thanks," said Manton, taking the pistol from the desk. He slipped the -weapon into his hip pocket. The Colonel halted, looking back at him in -surprise. - -"What are you going to do?" - -"I am going to use it," answered John, "if occasion arises." - -He saw the Colonel hesitate. Some deep emotion seemed to stir within -him. Then with an effort he turned swiftly, and was about to hurry from -the room. Manton strode towards him. - -"There was another way out?" he questioned, rapidly. - -"There was, and you failed to take it. You whined that you couldn't -face the army again--you, a Treves! In the past, before my time and -yours," went on the Colonel, suddenly violent again, "there have been -Treves who have been fools and spendthrifts; there may have been Treves -who kept their honour none too clean--but never in our long line has -there been a coward until you came, until you grew up to be a curse to -my existence, and made my life a shame to me!" His lip trembled, the -old, proud head was held aloft, but a world of desolation dwelt in the -faded eyes. On a sudden impulse, John gripped him by the hand; he could -feel the old man resisting him, seeking to free himself. - -"I want to make you a promise, sir," he said. "I am going to Ryde the -first thing in the morning. I have a friend there who will help me to -get back into the army." - -The Colonel narrowed his eyes and tried to read the expression on his -face. - -"There is a new ring in your voice, Bernard," he said, after a moment's -pause, "but I cannot trust you." - -He turned and walked away. John saw him go, using his stick for -support, and felt a renewed pity for the old, broken father. He spent -that night at an inn in Freshwater, and took the first train next -morning for Ryde. Here at the recruiting office he presented himself -before Captain Gilbert. This plump and comfortable officer was busy at -his work when John stepped into the office. His shadow fell upon Captain -Gilbert's desk, and the elder man looked up quickly. - -"Great Scott!" he exclaimed. He stared wide-eyed at Manton for a -moment, and John broke into a smile. - -"I see you mistook me for Treves." - -"I did," said Gilbert, leaning forward and looking into his face. "The -resemblance is really closer than I thought at first. Well," he said, -"you've done your part of the bargain splendidly. You earned the money -you needed, and you've lifted a great load off the minds of several -deserving persons, including myself." - -"I should like to know how I've done that," said Manton. "It seems to -me the only service I have rendered has been to myself." - -"You forget the battery at Scarthoe Head. You made up the deficiency, -and the Colonel's delighted with you, Manton." - -"Thanks to you--and young Treves--I was able to put matters straight -there." - -"You have probably saved young Treves from going utterly to the devil," -said Gilbert. "I'll tell you about that later; I'm busy till one -o'clock, but come to my hotel then and we'll have lunch together." - -"But I am here on business myself!" protested Manton. He was feeling -cheerful and particularly satisfied with the course of events so far. - -"What is your particular business?" inquired Gilbert. - -"I want to get back into the army." - -Gilbert looked at him for a moment. - -"Of course--of course," he said hastily. "I'd forgotten that; we will -discuss the subject at lunch time." - -Until lunch time Manton was free to stroll upon the pier and consider -his situation. He felt a deep curiosity to know what had happened to -the man whose clothes he was wearing; to Treves, whose money he was -jingling in his pocket, whose excellent cigarettes he had smoked. - -At a quarter to one he threw his cigarette end over the rail into the -water, and turning, made his way to the hotel where Gilbert was staying. -He found the Captain already there, busy mixing a salad at a table in -the corner of a small dining-room. There were half a dozen tables in -the room, none of which were as yet occupied. - -"Sit down, Manton," invited Captain Gilbert, as John entered. "I always -mix my own salads. What will you have? There's the menu." - -John chose a dish and accepted his host's invitation to divide with him -a bottle of Chablis. During the meal Captain Gilbert talked on general -matters. But at length the conversation appeared to drift round to the -subject of Treves. - -"Old Treves took you for granted, eh?" asked the Captain. - -"His eyesight isn't good," answered John, "but he suspected nothing." - -"And Gates, the butler?" - -"He called me 'Mr. Bernard' the moment he saw me. Also, he gave me -Treves's letters and a telegram. I didn't read the letters, but the -telegram----" Manton put his hand in his inner pocket. "Perhaps I'd -better hand them all over to you now." - -"Not so fast," Gilbert said, pushing the letters and the telegram back -across the table towards Manton. "As a matter of fact, I can't hand -them to Treves just now, as I have persuaded him to go to a nursing home -for a time. A very good friend of his father's, General Whiston, -recommended that something of the sort should be done with him months -ago." - -"Treves did not give me the impression of being actually ill," Manton -observed. - -"He wasn't, but his nerves were all to rags. He was in such a state of -acute neurasthenia that I expected him to lay hands on himself any -minute. Anyway, where he is he will be safe for a while; he will be out -of his father's way and the discipline of this particular nursing home -may pull him together." - -John lit a cigarette and smoked thoughtfully. There was evidently -something on Gilbert's mind, something of which he wished to unburden -himself. John waited, and at last the elder man broke the silence -again: - -"Manton," he said earnestly, "I want you to do me a particular favour." - -John inquired the nature of the favour. - -"I want you," went on the Captain, "to sustain Treves's personality for -a little longer. He is in good hands in the nursing home, and for the -time being has vanished from the public gaze." Gilbert paused, and -again appeared to hesitate. What he had to say was very difficult to -frame in words. He wished to hint at something that was the merest -suspicion in his own mind. Two or three times he was on the verge of -putting his thoughts into words, and each time the effort appeared too -much for his gift of expression. Finally he leaned back in his chair. -"Manton," he said, "I cannot tell you all I think and suspect, but I -will give you such confidences as I can." - -He paused for a moment, then went on: "Since Treves came back from -France, he appears to have got into the hands of undesirable company. -One of his rooted ideas, possibly the result of his drug habit, is that -some one is watching him, and that, for some reason or other, his life -is in danger." - -John listened quietly; then, when the other had finished, he observed -seriously: "So far as I see it, you want me to continue my impersonation -of Treves until he is cured and comes out of the nursing home." - -"That is it, exactly," said Gilbert. - -"You are putting a good deal of trust in me," answered John. - -At that Gilbert stretched out his hand and gripped John's fingers -heartily. - -"Manton," he said, "you and I are in this together for the good of the -Cause. Not only for Treves and the old Colonel, but perhaps for bigger -issues." - -"I don't get your meaning," said John. - -"Don't ask it, trust me as I trust you. And now to get back to the -matter in hand," he said, resuming his ordinary tone. "Perhaps it would -be worth your while to open those two letters." - -As John obediently tore open the envelopes and read the contents of the -letters, Gilbert called the waiter and paid for the two lunches. One of -the letters was a typewritten screed from a quack doctor in which he -claimed to cure any victim of the drug habit within the space of three -months. John experienced a real feeling of pity for Treves as he read -the quack's fraudulent promises. The second letter contained two lines -only on a single sheet of paper with the printed heading: "208, St. -George's Square, S.W." The letter ran: - - -"_Dear Treves,--I must see you at once. You understand; it is essential -that you should come to me without delay. To-morrow night at nine -o'clock I shall expect you.--Yours,_ G. MANNERS." - - -Manton handed both letters to Gilbert, who studied them carefully. - -"I haven't a notion who G. Manners is," mused the Captain when he had -read the letter through a second time, "but he may be one of the friends -Treves ought to get rid of, and for that reason I should advise you to -call on him to-morrow." - -Manton was thoughtful for a moment. - -"What if he discusses matters I know nothing about? Treves's past life -is a blank to me:" - -"Come," said Gilbert, touching him lightly on the arm, "you are playing -a part; you are not such a fool as not to play it well. I admit there -are certain little precautions you may find it wise to take. In the -first place, you might have a go at copying Treves's degenerate -handwriting. You might also keep in mind that Treves is over-strung, -lacking in will-power, and so much a victim of the cocaine habit that he -would do anything, short of murder, to get the drug when the craving is -upon him. As to Treves's past life, it seems to me that a victim of the -drug habit can be afflicted with convenient lapses of memory when -occasion arises." - -Manton glanced at the Captain's pleasant, fat face, and the thought -crossed his mind that there was a good deal more cleverness behind -Gilbert's amiable exterior than he had at first realised. He forthwith -decided to go to town that night. London always held a vivid attraction -for him, and he had not had the pleasure of visiting it since his -journey through its streets in an ambulance on his return from France. -Some weeks in hospital had followed that visit, then had come his -transference to the R.G.A. at Scarthoe Head. And now, with returned -health and in new, strange and portentous circumstances, he was to visit -London again. - -Mr. Manners, the mysterious, imperative writer of the letter, had -demanded to see Treves at nine o'clock. The hour of John's arrival was -eight, and he was in a hurry. He was impatient to plunge into whatever -adventure awaited him. Without bothering to engage a room for the -night, he deposited his bag in the cloak-room at Waterloo Station, and -set out to find St. George's Square. He arrived at the corner of the -square, the Embankment corner, at precisely eight-thirty. The square's -decorous, solemn-looking houses with heavy pillared porticoes struck him -as gloomy in the extreme. The only individual upon the long strip of -pavement which ran the length of the west side of the square was -himself. His footfalls appeared to echo with inordinate resonance in -the areas as he made his way towards Number 208. - -It was not his intention to ring the bell immediately. In the first -place he wanted to reconnoitre the house, to see if it were possible to -judge of the house's occupants by its exterior. This thought occupied -his mind, when a taxi sped into the square and drew to a halt within -half a dozen yards of him. The taxi had stopped behind him, and its -occupant had alighted. - -"That's all right; half an hour," said a curt voice in a cultured -accent. - -The chauffeur nodded, and slammed the taxi door. The young man who had -alighted hurried forward, passed John, and continued down the square. -Without paying over especial attention, John noticed that he was tall, -that he wore a morning coat of distinguished cut, that his light grey -felt hat was of expensive quality, and that the pearl in his tie-pin was -also, if genuine, of exceptional value. He was of John's height and -age, fair-haired, blue-eyed, and with a slight tooth-brush moustache. -His features were large and heavy-boned, without being harsh. Two -things John noticed as he hurried past; one was that he carried a -silk-lined light overcoat over his arm, and the other that he wore a -"service rendered" badge on the lapel of his coat. - -"Invalided from the army," thought John. "All the same, he doesn't look -as if there was much the matter with him." - -John continued to walk until he reached the corner of the square, then -he turned, and as he did so he saw the tall young man flit up the steps -of a house a considerable distance away. John fixed his eyes on the -portico of this particular house and walked towards it. And as he -neared the door he realised that the young man had entered the very -house at which he also had an appointment--Number 208. For a moment -Manton paused, hesitated, then passed on. Before making the plunge into -whatever adventure awaited him, he wanted still further to consider the -situation. - -In the meantime the stranger, who had alighted from the taxi, was now -within the hall of Mr. Manners's residence. He had opened the door with -a Yale key and had admitted himself. The hall was narrow and somewhat -dark, and the young man laid his gold-headed cane noisily on a little -table, and began to draw off his grey gloves. A door at the back of the -house opened noiselessly, and a sombre-faced, sallow-complexioned butler -advanced. - -"Mr. Manners is in, of course?" demanded the young man in a voice that -rasped a little. - -"Yes, Herr Baron, in the library." - -The visitor nodded curtly, ran swiftly up the stairs, turned to the -left, and opened a door on the first landing. He entered a room where -the curtains had already been drawn. Two electric chandeliers, one on -either side of the hearth, illuminated the apartment. A large bookcase -occupied one wall of the room, and in the middle of the floor was a -business-like table, scattered with papers. On the table was a -green-shaded reading lamp, and by its illumination a man sat at work -busily writing. He looked up as the stranger entered, then sprang -quickly to his feet. He was a tall man of fifty, uncomfortably stout, -with a fleshy neck that protruded over his collar at the back. The big -man's iron-grey hair was short, his nose broad and short, and his lips -thick and pouting. Despite his inelegance of figure, he was dressed, -with an attempt at smartness, in a well-cut frock coat and newly-creased -trousers. His heavy eyebrows shielded his eyes, hiding his expression -from any but the closest scrutiny. For a man of his excessive bulk he -showed extreme activity on his feet. - -"I didn't expect you to-night," he said. He placed a chair near the -desk for the younger man to seat himself. - -His visitor, however, stood still and fixed him with a direct, cold -stare. - -"Well, Manners," he demanded, "what have you to say for yourself?" - -Manners shrugged his heavy shoulders, and displayed the palms of his -hands. - -"Nothing, Herr Baron," he said, "except that I have done my best. Won't -you sit down?" - -The young man took a cigarette from his case, and lit it. - -"Your best is damned bad!" he said. - -"I exercised such judgment as I have," returned the other, in a tone of -abasement. - -"Judgment alone is of no avail," retorted the other. "What we want is -aggressive action. We don't get that from you--you talk, and think, and -scheme----" - -The other ventured a faint note of protest. - -"I was chosen, Herr Baron----" - -"I don't want to hear your history," returned the younger man, coldly. -"I want to know about this expedition that is being prepared by the -Eastern Command, that has been under preparation for the past six -weeks." - -"I gave you such figures, Herr Baron, as I was able to collect." - -The young man crossed to the hearth and stood leaning with his back -against the mantelshelf. - -"Doesn't it occur to you," he demanded, after a moment's silence, "that -figures are only a detail? Figures are something any fool could gather. -What Berlin wants to know is, what is this expedition's objective, where -is it bound for, also what port it sails from, and when?" - -The elder German--Gottfried Manwitz by name, though he figured in the -London directory as Godfrey Manners--turned nervously towards his desk -and began to search among the papers. An expression of relief crossed -his face as he took up a particular sheet of paper. - -"That is the date, Herr Baron," he said, "when the expedition will sail, -and also the place of departure." - -The young man took the sheet, scrutinised it with frowning brows for a -moment, then lifted his eyes and looked into Manwitz's fat face with -cold, contemptuous gaze. - -"Excellent!" he said, cuttingly; "wonderful and utterly useless! You -provide Headquarters with all this detail, and fail to give the one -vital, useful piece of information--the sole item that Headquarters -requires." - -"It is very difficult, Herr Baron," apologised Manners. - -"You and I, Manwitz," retorted the younger man, "are retained in London -for the sole purpose of overcoming difficulties." He paused a moment, -and looked complacently for the first time in the elder man's face. -"For instance, I myself have overcome quite a number of difficulties." - -"Indeed, that is true, Herr Baron," conceded Manners. - -"I expect you to do the same. Since you let the _Inflexible_ and the -_Invincible_ vanish to the Falkland Islands without any one of us being -aware of the fact, Berlin doesn't think so highly of your attainments as -before the war. For my part," he went on, "I find you too much of a -dreamer." He paused; some one had knocked lightly on the door of the -room. "Open it, Manwitz!" he commanded. - -The big man crossed lightly to the door and drew it open. Upon the -threshold stood the sombre-countenanced butler. The tall young man from -the hearth called aloud to him: - -"Well, Conrad, what is it?" - -"Mr. Treves, Herr Baron, to see Herr Manners." - -"Thank you, Conrad," said Manners. He closed the door and turned to his -superior. - -"This is one of my instruments, Herr Baron, arrived to-night from the -Isle of Wight. You approved of him when I gave you his _dossier_ a -month ago." - -"He is the British officer who was cashiered," returned the other, -swiftly. "Takes drugs, and generally gone to pieces?" - -"The same, Herr Baron." - -"Is he quite"--he paused--"er, quite amenable to your orders?" - -"I flatter myself that I can do a good deal with him," Manwitz answered, -with pride. "He comes here for cocaine, but he is of good English -stock, and there are moments when he tries to shake himself free of me. -For the last three weeks, as a matter of fact, he has disappeared -entirely. I had great difficulty, Herr Baron, rediscovering his hiding -place." - -"I don't like that!" returned the Baron. "How do you know what he has -been up to in the meantime?" - -He was silent for a minute; then he looked with his cold, pale eyes into -his elder's face. "Manwitz!" he exclaimed suddenly, "this may be the -man for our business!" - -For the first time a flicker of triumph lit in Manners's eyes. He went -to his desk, unlocked a drawer, and produced a single sheet of -notepaper. "This is a letter in his own writing, Herr Baron, signed by -himself. I think it is satisfactory, eh?" - -The younger man took the sheet and fixed his keen eyes upon it. - - -"_My dear Friend,_" ran the note, "_the s.s. 'Polidor' is due to leave -H---- at four o'clock to-morrow, Tuesday afternoon. I had this on -absolute authority; you can rely on it._" - - -The tall, fair-haired man came to the end of the brief note, and his -hard mouth tightened; then he read the postscript: "_Don't forget the -tabloids!_" - -He looked up slowly, and fixed his keen gaze upon Manwitz's apoplectic -countenance. Baron Rathenau, who had taken his degree at Oxford, who -spoke English like an English gentleman, and possessed, on the surface, -the manners of an English gentleman, was quite five years older than he -looked. His brain was subtle and keen, and in the service of the -Fatherland he was hard and ruthless as steel. - -"You have done not so badly here, Manwitz," conceded the Baron. "This -letter alone"--he folded Treves's note carefully--"this letter alone -would bring our young friend, Lieutenant Treves, into the presence of a -firing party within forty-eight hours." He paused a moment. "Our -English enemies," he went on, "are unpleasantly hasty in regard to -spies. But when it comes to traitors, the celerity with which they put -a man face to the wall in their Tower of London, it is marvellous!" - -He had folded the note carefully, and lifting his light fawn coat, he -slipped Treves's note into the inner pocket, then he flung the coat back -again on the chair. - -"I'll see our young neurasthenic friend at once," he said. "You will -leave him to me, Manwitz." He turned and pressed the bell twice. When -the footman presently appeared at the door, Baron Rathenau was standing -with his back to the mantelshelf, toying with a cigarette. - -"Bring up Mr. Treves, Conrad," he said, briefly. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - -"Do I introduce you as Captain Cherriton, Herr Baron?" asked Manwitz, -when Conrad had closed the door and departed. - -"Yes," said the Baron. "I find the name of the poor, dead Captain -Cherriton an excellent recommendation in even the best of homes." He -smiled his somewhat derisive smile. - -A moment later the door opened and John Manton stepped into the room. -Manners rose and held out his hand. - -"My dear Treves," he said, "you have been away from me a very long -time." He was thinking to himself that Treves carried himself a little -better than usual; his gaze was more direct, his handgrip firmer. -However, there was no suspicion in his eyes as he turned towards the -younger man at the hearth. - -"Captain Cherriton," he said, "this is a young friend of mine, Mr. -Treves." - -For a moment Rathenau's light blue eyes widened, and then narrowed. - -"We've met before, Mr. Treves?" - -"In the square, half an hour ago. I saw you come in." - -"Oh, yes, yes," returned the Baron. "My good friend, Mr. Manners, has -been telling me about you." - -"I hope he had something complimentary to say," smiled John Manton. He -was thinking to himself: "There is no doubt at all in my mind that this -big, fat man, Mr. Manners, is a German. His finger nails are cut neatly -to a point." John recalled the habit of the Germans he had met at -Feldkirch, of the masters of his school, who had trimmed their nails in -that particular fashion. Rather a Chinese fashion, John thought. His -eyes travelled from the fat man's face and took in the younger man's -hard countenance. He was recalling something he had read of Captain -Cherriton. - -"I think I remember reading something about you, Captain Cherriton," he -ventured. - -"You mean my escape from the British officers' prison camp at Celle," -replied the German, easily. - -"Yes," returned John, "that was it. You had rather an adventurous time -getting across the frontier." - -"I had a pretty hot time," laughed Cherriton. - -The conversation between the three became general after this, and -presently Cherriton invited John to accompany him to his hotel in the -Strand. - -"Come along and have a drink and a smoke with me. I should much like to -have a chat with you, Treves." - -John considered the proposal for a moment, and then decided to go. He -bade good night to Manners, and as he shook hands with the big man, a -little phial of white tabloids passed from Manners's palm to his own. -For a minute John felt inclined to ask a question, but caution saved -him. He slipped the little cocaine tablets into his waistcoat pocket, -thanked Manners under his breath, and followed Cherriton, who had taken -up his light overcoat, and was moving towards the door. - -It was quite dark in the square when they emerged, and in the distance, -near the river, a taxi was moving slowly. - -"That is my vehicle," remarked Cherriton, standing under the light of a -shaded lamp, so that the distant taxi-man could observe them. A minute -later the taxi drew to a halt. John stepped inside, and Cherriton -followed him. - -As the taxi door closed, a man, who had been standing in the darkness -against the rails of the square opposite stepped out into the road and -signalled with his arm. At that moment John was leaning back in the -taxi, giving himself up to thoughts of the swift events of the last -half-hour. Who was this Captain Cherriton, who appeared to have taken -such a fancy to him? Was it possible----? His thoughts received a -jolt. - -"Hey, stop!" a loud voice from the road echoed in his ears. John was -projected forward almost upon his face. The vehicle came to a sudden -halt; the door of the taxi was flung open; two men appeared in the -aperture, and a heavy hand fell upon John's shoulder. He glanced at his -companion, and saw that, from the other side, intruders were also laying -heavy hands upon him. With a mighty wrench of his shoulder John -snatched himself free. Scarcely knowing what had happened, he attempted -to dash after his companion, who had been dragged out into the road. He -was ignominiously pulled back by the leg. He heard a voice shouting: - -"Don't bother about the other one--this is our man!" - -Then, in a confusion of gripping hands, John was flung back on the seat -of the taxi; a voice spoke firmly in his ear: - -"You'll keep quiet, young man, or it will be the worse for you!" - -John saw Captain Cherriton flitting like a shadow along the road and out -of the square. He looked at the person who was seated beside him in the -taxi, and was surprised to find a big, typical police officer in plain -clothes. Opposite John two other officers, who had crowded into the -vehicle, were seated, looking at him with steady, interested gaze. - -"Your name's Treves?" demanded one of the men. - -"What of it?" returned John. - -"It's all I want to know," answered the man, coldly. - -As the taxi glided along John strove to gather his scattered wits, but -it was not until a plain, quietly-furnished room had been achieved in -Scotland Yard, that any light broke in upon his senses. He found -himself confronted by a tall, grey-moustached man in civilian clothes. -The man was standing beside a table, and beside him stood a -distinguished-looking staff officer. - -As John entered the room, in charge of two detectives, his senses were -still in a whirl from the swiftness of his adventure. The -grey-moustached man, whom the detectives addressed as "Sir Robert," rose -from his chair and looked at him with stern, brooding eyes; then his -gaze turned to one of John's captors, who had entered the room and was -holding Baron Rathenau's overcoat on his arm. - -"Have you his papers?" he demanded. - -"That is not my overcoat," intervened John. - -"Silence," commanded Sir Robert. - -The detective went through the pockets of the overcoat. He found a small -time-table, two or three paid restaurant bills, and finally the letter -Treves had written to Manners. The grey-moustached police commissioner -took these articles, and laid them on the blotting-pad before him. -Then, at a brief command, a second detective stepped forward and -searched John's pockets, taking out the two letters that had been -addressed to Treves and the telegram signed "Elaine." These also were -laid upon the desk. The staff officer and Sir Robert read them -carefully. When the officer, whom John observed to be a general of -staff, read Treves's incriminating letter to Manners, he drew in his -breath and whistled. - -"My God!" he exclaimed. - -The grey-moustached man took the letter from his fingers, read it, then -held it forth towards John. His tone was utterly aloof, cold, and -forbidding. - -"It was unfortunate, Treves," he said, "that you should carry this -letter in your pocket. For this, added to the information we have -gathered about you during the past three months, condemns you -absolutely." He paused a moment, then went on. "I can only say," he -added ruthlessly, "that I thank God we have been able to lay our hands -on you." - -It was only in that moment that John for the first time realised the -appalling danger that was sweeping upon him. - -"I would like to make some explanation, sir." - -"Your correspondence," retorted Sir Robert, with sinister meaning, "has -made all the explanation we require! General Whiston here is quite -satisfied, and so am I." - -General Whiston, who had been looking fixedly at John, now passed round -the table and walked towards him. He was a tall, bronzed man, with a -clipped moustache, and a wide, strong mouth. John had recognised his -name in a moment. He was Colonel Treves's old friend. - -"Bernard Treves," said General Whiston, "you have broken your father's -heart already; you must now make your peace with God. There is only one -thing left for me to do for my old and dear friend, and I intend to do -it--he shall never learn that his son died as a traitor to his country. -Even now," he went on, "though I have had you watched for three months, -I can still scarcely credit it, you--a Treves!" - -He glanced towards the door. John felt a heavy hand fall upon his -shoulder from behind. - -"This way, please," said a polite voice in his ear. - -As the detective's voice sounded in his ear and the detective's hand -fell on his shoulder, John's scurrying senses seemed to gather -themselves together. He became calm in presence of the greatest danger -his life had ever known. When next he spoke his voice was steady, and -his manner, despite its deep gravity, portrayed not the slightest trace -of nervousness. - -"Sir," he said, "may I speak merely one or two words before I am -removed?" He looked into the bronzed countenance of Colonel Treves's -old friend. There was no pity for him on that strong, handsome face. In -General Whiston's eyes he had been guilty of the blackest of all crimes. -The General answered in his deep-toned voice of authority. - -"You will be permitted to make a statement, but not now." - -"I have a very important declaration to make, sir." - -Sir Robert, who was still scrutinising the incriminating letter that had -been taken from Rathenau's overcoat, looked up now, then rapidly -pencilled a few words on a slip of paper which he handed to Whiston. -The General read the slip. - -"Yes, perhaps so," he said; "I agree with you, time is everything." - -Sir Robert looked into John's face. - -"Are you prepared," he went on, "to give us the name of the person to -whom this letter was written?" He lifted Treves's incriminating missive -and held it for John's inspection. John had already been permitted to -read the letter, though not to hold it in his hand. - -"Certainly," answered Manton. - -A slight flicker of surprise lit in Sir Robert's eyes. - -"His name," answered John, "is either Manners, or Cherriton." - -Sir Robert laid down the letter with an impatient gesture. - -"That is no answer to my question. You wrote the letter yourself. To -whom did you write it?" - -"I didn't write it!" - -"You suggest that it is a forgery?" - -"Either you wrote the letter or you didn't write it," pursued Sir -Robert. "Your statements contradict each other. You say, in the first -place, that you did not write it. In the second place, you say it is -not a forgery." - -General Whiston now spoke, his stern gaze on John's face. - -"This letter," he said, glancing towards the sheet, "is in your own -writing, which I happen to know very well. Your attempt at -mystification," he went on, "will be of no avail, either now or later." - -John felt in his tones intense antagonism. - -"If I might be permitted to speak to you gentlemen alone," he said, "I -will in three minutes explain the mystery." - -General Whiston glanced at the Commissioner of Police. - -"It is for you to say, Sir Robert," he said. "To-night the affair is in -your hands." - -Sir Robert pondered the subject for a moment, then glanced at the -detectives who stood behind John; with his hand he made a slow, -significant gesture. John, who was standing at attention before the -table, heard the detectives move away, and a moment later the door -softly closed behind them. - -He was alone with the Commissioner of Police and the General. - -On his accusers' faces John read a stern and determined intention that -the law should take its course, not the tortuous, long-drawn old law of -pre-war days, but the swift justice which is meted out to traitors. - -"You shall have three minutes in which to speak!" Sir Robert's voice -smote John's ears. - -Manton knew that if he held his peace and the law moved with its -inexorable swiftness, he would by to-morrow have expiated the crime of -another man. He was in another man's shoes. Innocently, he had taken -up that other man's identity. - -But he had not shouldered everything, he had not rendered himself liable -for that other man's treachery. And yet, at the back of his mind, there -was pity, even for Treves. He thought of the man's weakness, of his -shattered nerves, of Manners's obvious power over him. Perhaps, even in -uttering the truth to these two stern judges, he might put in a good -word for Treves. - -"The statement I have to make, gentlemen, is an amazing one." - -"It will also have to be a brief one," retorted Sir Robert coldly. - -"Well, out with it," interposed General Whiston. - -John turned towards him. - -"I wish to say, sir, that I am not Bernard Treves!" - -A flash of anger lit in General Whiston's eyes. - -"You say that, despite the fact that I am prepared to identify you as -Bernard Treves." - -"My statement," returned John, "is, I admit, an amazing one. -Nevertheless, it is a fact, gentlemen. My name is Manton." - -The Commissioner of Police pulled at his moustache. - -"A statement of this kind," he said, "is ridiculous in presence of -General Whiston, who knows you and recognises your handwriting in this -letter." He leaned back in his chair and struck the letters that had -been taken from John's pocket with the back of his hand. "These letters, -taken from your person, this telegram addressed to you, and this letter -conveying information to the enemy, are sufficient in themselves to -identify you." - -"There is nothing you wish to say, General?" asked Sir Robert of -Whiston. - -The General shook his head, and Sir Robert put his thumb on the -bell-push at the corner of his desk. - -John heard the whirr of a bell in the room beyond. - -"I am prepared, sir," he said hurriedly, "to prove every word I say. My -name is Manton, and I undertook to assume Treves's identity merely to -please a friend who wished to help him." - -"You are ready to give us the name of your friend, of course?" -interposed General Whiston. He had been utterly unmoved by this -statement of John's. - -"His name is Gilbert, sir; Captain Gilbert, of Ryde, Isle of Wight." - -General Whiston answered nothing; there was no softening in the -harshness of his expression. For a moment he was silent. Then, with a -glance at Sir Robert, he moved towards the door. - -"Just a few minutes, Sir Robert," he said. "This is a matter easy of -proof." - -He passed out of the room. At the door, as he drew it open, John heard -him speaking to two men outside. - -"Sir Robert will be ready for you in five minutes," he was saying. - -The door closed. - -Sir Robert tapped his fingers upon the surface of his desk. - -"You wish to affirm that Captain Gilbert is prepared to prove the truth -of your statement?" - -"I am sure he will be prepared to prove that my name is Manton," -answered John. - -In his long experience Sir Robert had come across many singular and -dramatic events. The great police force of which he was the chief was -dealing always in drama. In his experience he had interviewed every -quality and degree of criminal, from affluent company promoters -downward. - -John's bearing and manner struck him as nothing unusual. John's -statement that his was a case of mistaken identity, that Scotland Yard -had for once made a mistake, meant nothing to the Police Commissioner. -Such a statement was one of the commonest in his experience. - -He felt no sympathy for John, and believing explicitly in his guilt, was -determined to listen no further. He leaned forward and began to make -rapid notes upon the writing pad. - -Manton, in the meantime, stood motionless beyond the desk. Save for the -movement of Sir Robert's pen, and the tick of a small travelling clock -on Sir Robert's desk, no sound disturbed the heavy silence. Despite his -calmness, John felt the tension grow upon him; the waiting seemed to -draw itself out. He glanced at the clock, and observed that it was only -a little after ten. - -The whirl of events that night sped through his mind in rapid panorama, -but of one thing he was certain--Manners and Captain Cherriton were -either spies or traitors, and Scotland Yard in laying hands upon him, -and allowing Cherriton to go, had made a mistake. - -He had already guessed that General Whiston had gone to telephone -Captain Gilbert. He recalled now the letter General Whiston had written -to old Colonel Treves. The letter which said that he had done for -Bernard Treves everything that was possible. - -His mind then turned again to Gilbert. He wondered what the Captain -would do when he heard of the extraordinary outcome of his visit to St. -George's Square. He had gone there at Gilbert's own suggestion. He felt -that the situation for himself at that moment was delicate in the -extreme. But it was not yet fatal. A miscarriage of justice was -impossible if Gilbert spoke up, as no doubt he would do. He knew that -all Gilbert's sympathy for Bernard Treves would vanish the moment he -heard to what depths that young man had descended. He recalled what -Gilbert had said: - -"Treves is afraid. He imagines that some one is watching him." - -Then it suddenly occurred to John that at the back of Treves's mind -there had been a subtle idea against himself. Treves had desired that -he, John, should step into his guilty shoes and should not only wear -those shoes, but should suffer for his crime. - -"I stepped into far deeper water than I knew," mused John, and as the -thought passed through his mind, the door opened and General Whiston -re-entered. - -The General walked behind John, then turned and looked keenly into his -face. - -"Treves," he said, "you will be examined again in the morning." - -Sir Robert's finger was suspended over the bell upon his desk. In -answer to his inquiring glance, General Whiston nodded. - -Again John felt a man's hand laid on his shoulder, and for the second -time a voice uttering polite words: - -"This way, please!" - -This time, however, there was no pause; he was led out into the -corridor, with a tall, heavily-built man at his side and another walking -behind him. - -The door of Sir Robert's room closed with a soft click. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - -The moment the door closed upon John, General Whiston flung himself into -a chair beside Sir Robert's table. There was an expression on his face -that puzzled the Police Commissioner. - -"Well, Sir Robert," began the General, "it is an amazing thing, but -Captain Gilbert corroborates our prisoner's statements entirely." - -Sir Robert flashed a glance at the incriminating letters on the table. - -"That's impossible!" - -"Nevertheless, Gilbert, who is a very sound officer, corroborates every -word this young man has said. I have ordered Gilbert to present himself -here first thing in the morning." - -Sir Robert was staring in utter bewilderment. - -"You mean we have got the wrong man?" - -"I don't know," answered the General, impatiently; "the thing is beyond -my capacity. I've known this young blackguard for years. Only -slightly, of course, but I would have sworn to him anywhere. Gilbert, -however, tells me an extraordinary story. He says our prisoner is a -thoroughly honest fellow, by the name of Manton. He gave me a minute -history of the man, who was formerly at Scarthoe Head. I have ordered -the adjutant from Scarthoe to report himself here to-morrow. We can then -get to the bottom of this extraordinary tangle." - -"But," protested Sir Robert, "these letters must be explained; and you -have had this man watched for months." - -"Precisely; that complicates matters enormously." - -"Was Treves guilty of the crimes laid against him, or was this man -guilty?" inquired Sir Robert. - -The General shook his head in bewilderment. - -"Don't ask me; I don't know," he said, "to-morrow will settle -everything." - -The night that followed was the longest that John had ever spent. What -if by some awful mischance Captain Gilbert disowned him entirely? -However, he could not think that of Gilbert. He was prepared to swear -by the Captain's honesty. - -A police officer called him early next morning. He dressed and was -served with a satisfactory breakfast. A morning newspaper was brought to -him, but at ten o'clock he was peremptorily summoned to present himself -in Sir Robert's room. Under escort he made his way along various -passages. The door was opened and he stepped into the room and stood at -attention. - -Sir Robert was not present. General Whiston stood at the window, and -near him was a sleek-looking, smooth-haired, clean shaven man in a -morning coat, well cut trousers and patent leather boots. John could -feel the stranger's eyes steadily upon him. - -Then Whiston turned from the window. - -"Captain Gilbert," he said, "has been here. He has made certain -statements on your behalf which are so far satisfactory." - -A silence fell; the stranger moved to Sir Robert's desk, seated himself -in Sir Robert's chair, and beckoned John to a chair opposite. - -Dacent Smith was the head of a great branch of the Secret Intelligence -Department, but there was no air of authority in his manner. - -"Sit down, please," he said. His voice was smooth and agreeable. He -glanced at the window, then again at John. - -"Will you kindly tell me the name of your officer in command at Scarthoe -Fort?" - -John promptly gave him the name. - -"How many men were in the fort?" The quiet gentleman, who possessed one -of the subtlest brains in England, glanced at a slip of paper on his -desk. He was putting John through an examination such as many a -suspected person had failed to survive. - -"One hundred and fifty, sir--eighty at the lower fort and seventy at the -upper, exclusive of officers." - -"Can you recollect the calibre of the guns?" - -John gave the exact dimensions of the guns at both the lower and upper -fort. - -"Can you possibly recollect," inquired the other, "from your books, what -store of six-inch ammunition there was?" - -Fortunately John recollected the number of shells exactly. - -"I see," commented the cross-examiner. "But your statement doesn't -tally with my present knowledge." - -"I am speaking of six weeks ago, sir; since then there would have been a -heavy gun practice," John added promptly. - -The elder gentleman leaned back in his chair. - -"These are all details which a spy would make a great point of -observing." He looked steadily into John's face, until John became -conscious of nothing but his keen, grey eyes. They were kindly eyes, -but the intensity of his glance was something that John had never before -experienced. He looked back frankly into the elder man's face. - -"I suppose they are, sir," he answered, "but they came to me in my -ordinary course of work." - -"How many fort candles were there in the storeroom?" asked the other, -casually. - -"Eight dozen, sir." - -Dacent Smith nodded, as though satisfied. - -"We will now come to another matter," he said. "You were educated in -Germany?" - -John admitted the fact. - -"Have you been in Germany since your boyhood?" - -"Never, sir." - -"What is your opinion of Captain Gilbert?" - -"I took a great liking to him." - -"You trusted him when he asked you to assume another man's identity?" - -"Absolutely, sir." - -"So do I," said Dacent Smith, suddenly changing his tone. "I trust him -absolutely. I will only try your patience just one moment longer." He -pushed a clean slip of paper towards John. "Would you mind writing on -that these three words, 'Deceive,' 'parallel,' and 'nursery.' Just -scribble them quickly, without care." - -John wrote the words and handed them across the table. The elder man -took the sheet and immediately compared it with Treves's incriminating -letter, and a pile of other letters in Treves's handwriting, which lay -beside him. - -He glanced up at the General, who stood near the window. - -"The handwriting is totally unlike, General. Moreover, our young friend -here can spell the words, whereas, from letters supplied us by Gilbert, -Treves could not." He turned again and looked at John. Then he broke -into a smile that John found charming. - -"Well, Manton," he said, "you have come through the ordeal excellently. -But as a matter of formality you must be identified both by Captain -Gilbert and your adjutant from Scarthoe Head." - -"Thank you, sir," answered John. "I am sorry to have caused so much -trouble." - -"No, not at all," protested the elder man. "Your desire for adventure -placed you in a very nasty position. But such trouble as you have caused -us may yet be turned to good account." - -John hesitated a moment, then ventured: - -"If I may, sir, I would like to make a statement in regard to the man -Manners, at 208, St. George's Square, I am certain he is a spy, sir--a -German spy." - -"My dear Manton," said Dacent Smith, laying his hands on the desk, "we -know that already." - -"And the other man," continued John, "Cherriton. I don't believe he is -all he pretends to be." - -At the mention of Cherriton the lightness of mood vanished from the -elder man. - -"What name?" he inquired. - -"Captain Cherriton, the man with the fair hair, who was in the taxi with -me. The police officers allowed him to escape." - -Beyond the table the great man of the Secret Service who had been -cross-examining him, eased his spectacles. For, without knowing it, John -had made a statement which aroused all his interest. - -"This afternoon, Manton," he said, "you must come to my room. It seems -to me," he continued, "you can be of very great use to my department." - -"What is your department, sir?" asked John politely. - -The elder man smiled. - -"I think we need not give it a name, Manton. But perhaps you can guess. -Perhaps, indeed, you are destined to make further acquaintance with my -department and with your friend, Mr. Manners." He paused a moment. - -"Captain Gilbert tells me that you wish to rejoin the army?" - -"That is so, sir," answered John. - -"An excellent intention," continued Dacent Smith. "But it has occurred -to me that there is other work of national importance which may suit you -better." He glanced at Whiston. "With General Whiston's aid I think we -can arrange that you do not appear in uniform for some time. Another -thing Captain Gilbert reported to me," he went on, quietly, "is that you -are a young man with a taste for adventure." - -John smiled. - -Dacent Smith extended his hand in farewell. "You are a free man, -Manton. But I shall expect you to come to my rooms at 286, Jermyn -Street at three o'clock this afternoon." He gave John a card. "You -will give this to my servant at the door." - -The card read: "Mr. Dacent Smith, Savile Club"--that and nothing more. - - * * * * * - -At the time when John was undergoing his cross-examination at the hands -of the great Dacent Smith, Manners and Captain Cherriton were seated in -a back room at a house in Hampstead. Cherriton, who had read half a -dozen morning papers, glanced at his companion. - -"There is no word in any of them about our friend Treves." - -"There was scarcely time for an announcement," Manners answered. -"Perhaps it will be in the evening papers." - -The two men waited till evening, but still the papers contained no line -about Treves's capture. Cherriton was still not sure on what charge -Treves had been arrested. If the charge had been an ordinary one, other -than treason, there would already have been an account of some kind. - -"We must find out some other way than through the papers." - -"I have an excellent way of finding out," observed Manners. - -"Well, put it into execution at once," returned his superior. - -Manners looked at his watch. - -"That way won't do until after six o'clock. After six o'clock, Herr -Baron, I will take you into the presence of the most beautiful girl in -England." - -"I do not admire English beauty," answered Rathenau, caustically. - -Manners lifted his hands. - -"Ah, but this one, she is wonderful!" - -"How will she know about Treves, any more than we do?" - -Manners looked across at him. - -"Leave that to me," he said, "I can assure you she will know." He took -out his pocket-book and looked up an address. "If we go now," he said, -"we shall get there a little after six, in time to interview the lady on -her return from business." - -Half an hour later a taxi sped along Kentish Town Road and turned into -Bowles Avenue, Camden Town. The street was a particularly respectable -one, with windows and doors freshly painted. Judging from the -cleanliness of the curtains and the brightness of the door handles, the -inhabitants of this thoroughfare each took a pride in his residence. - -The taxi containing Manners and Cherriton drew to a halt before the door -of No. 65. Cherriton paid the driver and dismissed him. The two men -crossed the pavement, and Manners lifted the bright brass knocker. Three -times Manners knocked. - -He was that day attired with particular smartness in a grey, soft felt -hat, a grey frock-coat, and light fawn linen gaiters. The Baron was -wearing a navy-blue suit, made for him at the Army and Navy Stores. He -also wore a grey felt hat, set well back on his head. In his hip pocket -he carried a Mauser pistol, but this was always part of his apparel, as -it were. Manners carried other little aids to his personal safety. But -upon that evening their mission was pacific. They had only a desire to -ask a certain lady if she had news of Treves. - -Three times Manners applied the knocker; then footsteps came rapidly -along the passage. The door was opened by a tall, brown-haired girl, -wearing a white blouse and blue skirt, both of which Cherriton noticed -were well cut. The girl's complexion was not pale, yet tended towards -pallor. Her cheeks were softly rounded, her chin small, yet firm. Her -eyes were grey, frank and steady in gaze. Cherriton, noticing her long, -curved lashes and finely-arched brows, conceded that here, for once, he -was looking upon a truly beautiful English woman. - -"Good evening," Manners was saying. He had lifted his hat with extreme -politeness. - -"Good evening," responded the girl, looking with puzzled eyes from one -man to the other. - -"You have no doubt forgotten me," Manners spoke again, and then a faint -recognition came to the girl's eyes. - -"Oh, not at all," she said. "Will you come in?" She led the way to a -little parlour, a bright little apartment, where she lived alone. She -had made it as pretty and comfortable as possible with her small means. - -The two Germans entered the room, and Manners closed the door. After -some preliminary conversation he broached the subject of his visit, but -artfully and cunningly hiding it in a veil of words. - -"I have some business, madam," he said, "with"--he paused a -moment--"with Mr. Treves. I have lost his address; I wonder if you -could give it me?" - -The girl looked at him a moment; an expression of reserve came into her -face. - -"I am afraid I cannot oblige you," she said. - -"You have heard from him lately?" - -The girl hesitated a moment, and pushed back the fine brown hair from -her brow. - -"Not lately," she answered. - -"You will be seeing him again shortly, no doubt?" pursued Manners, -smiling amicably. - -"I don't know," said the girl. "I am afraid," she said, "I cannot give -you his address, and if that is all you wish to see me about----" She -rose quite politely, but firmly. And as she did so some one lifted the -knocker of the front door and smote it thrice. - -Manners started visibly. - -"You have visitors?" he asked quickly. - -"I don't know who it can be," said the girl. "I am expecting no one." - -Manners sprang up and stood between her and the door. He looked into -her face as she came towards him, then moved politely away. He felt -that her candid eyes held no secrets. - -When the door had closed he turned to Cherriton. - -"She has heard nothing of him; she knows no more than we do." - -"She is a beautiful woman, I'll admit," said Cherriton, who had been -deep in thought. He raised his strong, supple hand and pointed towards -the door. "Just open that," he said quietly, "and see who it is who is -coming to visit her." - -Manners, with his usual swiftness of step and dexterity of movement, -approached the door and noiselessly drew it open. Quietly he put his -head out and looked along the passage. Then he drew back and gently -closed the door. His face, when he turned towards Cherriton, was -deathly white. - -"Who is it?" demanded Cherriton, who had come swiftly to his feet. - -"Bernard Treves!" answered Manners, moistening his lips with his tongue. -The thought that Treves had betrayed them blazed through his mind. - -In an instant Cherriton sprang to the window and peered furtively up and -down the street. - -"He's alone," he said, with a note of relief in his voice. - -"Gott in Himmel!" exclaimed Manners under his breath. "How did he get -here?" - -"Either escaped or acquitted," answered Cherriton, curtly. "Our -business," he went on swiftly, under his breath, "is to express great -delight when we see him. In the meantime I'll compose myself with a -cigarette." - -"I don't know why his coming back like this should make me feel so -nervous," mused Manners. "I am more psychic than you are, Herr Baron." - -Cherriton looked at the big, fat figure in the chair opposite him. He -curled his lip in faint contempt. - -Meanwhile John Manton, having knocked at the door of 65, Bowles Avenue, -found, to his astonishment, that that door was opened by a girl of most -extreme beauty. He had come there under orders from Dacent Smith to -discover the identity of the sender of the telegram signed "Elaine." He -had been given many instructions during that afternoon, but as he stood -upon the threshold of No. 65 a swift admiration leapt into his eyes for -the girl who confronted him on the doorstep. - -"May I come in?" asked John. - -"Of course," answered the girl. To his amazement, she seized his hand -as she spoke. "Oh, how long you have been!" she said. She drew him -into the hall and closed the door. Silence and caution were the parts -John had been ordered to play. He did not withdraw his hand from her -warm grasp. "You never came, you never wrote," continued the girl. - -"I wasn't able to," John answered, truthfully. - -"And yet I told you, Bernard," she went on, looking up into his face--he -was glad that the light in the hall was not intense--" and yet I told -you, Bernard, that if you confessed everything to your father he would -forgive." - -"He has forgiven a great deal," answered Manton, vaguely. He looked -down at her--a little colour had come into her cheeks, and, as for her -eyes, he had never seen eyes which evoked in him so much admiration. At -that moment Manners put his face out at the door of the inner room; then -swiftly withdrew it. - -"Who's that?" John asked, quickly. - -"It's a man who has come to see you, Bernard; but before you go in I -want to say"--she laid her hand softly on the lapel of John's coat--"I -want to say, Bernard, that I forgive you--everything." She was smiling -at him, a smile of wonderful beauty. "After all, Bernard," she -whispered, "I am your wife, and it is a wife's privilege to forgive." - -"Yes," answered John. He could think of nothing else to say. Here was -the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, holding his hand warmly in -hers, and telling him she forgave him everything. The situation would -have been delightful if he had only been the other man! - -"Bernard, for my sake, you will try, won't you?" She paused, and this -time he was obliged to frame some sort of answer. - -"I'll do the best I can," he said, lamely, then added, to turn the -subject, "Who is your visitor?" - -"It's Mr. Manners, the big, stout man you brought here a long while ago. -He has a friend with him, a younger man." - -"Captain Cherriton?" asked John, lowering his voice. - -The girl nodded. - -"They came to ask where you were, and wanted your address, but I -remembered what you told me and would not give it." - -Then for the first time John looked keenly into her face. He had never -seen her in his life before, and at any moment she might recognise him. -But even with that danger hovering over him he could not help wondering -if she loved Treves. - -"Come, Bernard"; she took his hand in hers. "You must see your friends -and get rid of them." - -John walked with her along the narrow passage. At the door of the -parlour the girl halted. - -"When they are gone," she whispered, "I have whole heaps of things to -tell you." - -She pushed open the door and followed John into the room. - -Manners, who was seated at the hearth, sprang up and rushed towards -Manton. - -"Come in! Come in!" he cried, drawing John forward. "It does my eyes -good to see you again, eh, Captain Cherriton?" - -Baron Rathenau, who had also risen, enclosed Manton's fingers in his -hard, cold grip. "I, too, am glad to see you," he said, fixing his eyes -steadily on John's. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - -Things were not as they seemed. The situation in the little parlour was -delicate in the extreme, and as John's gaze passed from the fat -countenance of Manners to the cold forcefulness of Cherriton, whose -strong hand but a moment ago gripped his own in greeting, he told -himself that if he could creep from that situation with credit he could -escape from anything. Both Cherriton's and Manners's welcome rang -false. They were not pleased to see him. They were startled and -puzzled, and Cherriton, at least, was more than puzzled. John knew that -whatever occurred between himself and these two men must occur -privately. Moreover, there was a second danger, which he knew to be -ever present. The light in the bright little parlour was quite strong. -The fact that he had dexterously placed his back to the window might not -serve him for more than a few minutes. What if Elaine Treves suddenly -discovered her mistake? - -Somehow the teeming possibilities of the moment gave steadiness to -John's nerves. He thought of a plan, and put it into execution on the -instant. - -"Elaine," he said--he used her name for the first time, and as he spoke -he took her slender hand in his grasp--"I have business to discuss with -Captain Cherriton and Mr. Manners." - -"I promise we shall not keep your husband more than a few minutes," -intervened Cherriton. "Yes, old Manwitz for once is right," he thought; -"here is an Englishwoman possessed of beauty." - -He made across the room, intending politely to hold open the door for -Elaine to pass out. John, however, was quicker, and as he held the door -wide Elaine lifted her grey-blue, beautiful eyes and searched his. Her -expression, John thought, was one of surprise--surprise at what? - -He closed the door, and instantly Cherriton laid a hand on his shoulder. - -"Well," he demanded, "what happened to you last night." - -"You were present at the beginning of the happening," returned John. - -"The four men were police officers, were they not?" - -"Detectives from Scotland Yard. They took me there, cross-examined me, -and discovered that a mistake had been made." - -Manners drew in a deep breath of relief. - -"Ah--a--mistake!" he exclaimed. - -Cherriton, who was busy with a cigarette, looked at John under his -brows. He had retreated to the hearth, and-was leaning with his back -against the mantelshelf. "A very unpleasant incident for you, eh, -Treves?" he inquired. - -"Very," responded John. - -"And my overcoat--my very excellent summer overcoat--what happened to -that?" - -From the moment of John's appearance in the room he had been leading up -to this question--had his overcoat been searched, had Treves's -incriminating letter been discovered? It occurred to him that if John, -immediately after his arrest, had established his identity no search of -his overcoat was probable. And yet caution was bred in him. His deeply -subtle mind prompted him to probe the matter to its depths, and at the -same time to convey no suspicion of his anxiety to John. - -"Cherriton, your overcoat is quite safe," John said quietly. "I left it -on your behalf in the cloak-room at Charing Cross Station." He put his -hand into his pocket and drew out the ticket. Cherriton took it from -his extended fingers. - -"I am particularly obliged to you, Treves," he said. "I have a special -fondness for that overcoat? So the Scotland Yard people were for once -mistaken." - -"Entirely," said John, with truth; "they mistook me for another man." - -"Were you made acquainted with the charges against the real person?" -probed Cherriton. - -"He was wanted for misappropriation of military funds." - -Both Manners and Cherriton exhibited increasing interest in the unknown -culprit. - -"You heard the person's name?" - -"His name was John Manton. He was a sergeant at Scarthoe Fort." - -"That is in the Isle of Wight?" - -"Yes," John answered; "that accounts for them seizing me--they traced me -from the Isle of Wight." - -Cherriton and Manners exchanged glances; neither man felt at all -comfortable. But Cherriton felt that he had pressed the matter enough. -He suddenly assumed his air of bland amiability, but it sat ill on him. - -"Well, Manners," he exclaimed, looking at his confrere, "you were -mistaken--you assumed that our dear friend Treves had escaped, and were -in a great fluster of anxiety on his behalf; whereas the little -misfortune that occurred to him was all a mistake." - -"All a mistake," repeated John. - -"And now, I think," Cherriton remarked, taking up his grey felt hat and -denting it carefully with his hand, "I think we will not keep you from -your wife any longer." - -For the second time that day he gripped John's hand in his, and John, -looking back into his cold blue eyes, felt the steady, penetrating power -of Cherriton's gaze. - -"Here was a man," thought John, "used to command--a man possessed of -exceptional powers of mind and physique. You are a daring fellow," -thought John; "a subtle and cunning worker of evil, but for once in your -life you are mistaken. I am not the man you think, either in name or in -character." - -Then a singular thing happened to John. On the very instant when his -fingers slid away from the other's touch a flaming instinct ran through -him--a passionate impulse to leap upon the other's throat and squeeze -the life out of him came upon him as a definite and conscious wish. -Though he had known Cherriton only for two days, he felt a great hate -swirl up in him against this serenely poised, potent enemy. Against -Manners, whom he knew, and whom Dacent Smith knew to be a spy, he felt -nothing of this. That afternoon he had been instructed well and -thoroughly by Dacent Smith. Dacent Smith had talked much with him, -drawing him out, subtly examining him as to his aspirations and his -powers. And gradually, during the talk of that afternoon, Smith had -come to realise that in John Manton he possessed a keen and -highly-wrought weapon. Here was a young man who had fought for his -country, who was willing to fight for it again in any circumstances. -And long before the end of that interview the chief of a great branch of -the Secret Service had laid his hand on John's arm. - -"Manton," he had explained, "you were wasted as a sergeant at Scarthoe -Head. There are big things awaiting you. You have fought the enemy in -the open; from to-day you shall fight him in the dark. You will find -him more tricky and subtle and dangerous than he was in France"--then he -had paused a moment, looking at John. "Accidents sometimes happen, -Manton, my boy!" - -"One must be prepared for accidents," John had answered, quietly. - -"I have lost two or three splendid fellows during the past year. I am -telling you this," the chief resumed, "that you may remain always on -your guard. Fate or Providence has placed you in a wonderful position -with the aid of your acquaintance, Manwitz. I have the complete dossier -in that cupboard over there." He pointed to a cabinet against the wall. -"Your acquaintance with Manwitz gives you a splendid start. You will -use it to acquire such information as will be useful to the Department, -but in the first place you must discover all there is to know about the -amiable and unexpected Cherriton. We shall at the same time be working -to discover things from our end." - -John thought of this conversation as Manners and Cherriton took their -departure. - -"You will come and see me again soon, will you not?" Manners had -remarked at the moment of departure. He looked cunningly and meaningly -into John's eyes. In effect he had been saying: "You will come and see -me again immediately those cocaine tabloids have been consumed." -Bernard Treves's craving for cocaine, both Manners and Cherriton knew, -held that young man as by bonds of steel. - -"I'll come again soon," John had answered, slipping the new address -Manners had given him into his waistcoat pocket. He watched the two men -pass into the street, then closed the door, and re-entered the empty -parlour. The daintiness, the cleanliness, and the perfect taste of the -little apartment had already won his appreciation. He wondered when -Elaine Treves would descend from above, and what would happen then. -Until now only a few fleeting words had passed between himself and the -beautiful girl who was Treves's wife. What was to happen now in the -intimacy that would ensue when she re-entered the room? - -John was smoking one of Treves's cigarettes, with his back against the -mantelshelf, when the door opened and Elaine quietly entered. - -"So you have got rid of them, Bernard?" - -She looked at him, he thought, a little shyly, with something of reserve -in her glance. He watched her as she crossed to a chintz-covered wicker -arm-chair, with its back to the window. At her side was a small -work-table. She took out a needle, a thread, and various bits of -coloured silk. A silence drew itself out that became awkward. John -moved from one foot to another; then he made an effort to pick up the -thread of what he believed to be Treves's life in relation to the girl -who was so industriously sewing, with bowed head. - -"I am sorry I wasn't able to come in answer to your wire." - -"I think, Bernard, you might have answered it," returned Elaine, -quietly, without raising her head. - -"Well, you know, I was not able to. Circumstances did not permit me to -answer it." - -"I was afraid of that." - -She suddenly looked up at him with an expression of hopelessness in her -fine eyes. - -"Bernard," she said, "sometimes I think you will never, never be able to -keep your promise to me!" - -"Why not?" John asked, feeling his way cautiously. He could see that she -was stirred, that something had moved her deeply. He was more than ever -assured of this when she rose, stood before him, and looked steadily -into his face. - -"Oh! Bernard, if you could only, only fight!" - -Under the close scrutiny of her eyes John felt extraordinarily -uncomfortable. - -"Other people have fought and have conquered," went on the girl. "Why -should not you? Sometimes," she went on, "you are quite as you should -be, just as you are now--the man who once won my love. And then, -again----" She broke off. - -Accidentally John had put his fingers in his waistcoat pocket. He felt -the contact of the little bottle of cocaine tabloids Manners had forced -upon him. He had guessed that Elaine was referring to Treves's -enslavement to this drug, and he drew out the bottle, holding it in the -palm of his hand. He saw the girl look at the tabloids with an -expression of loathing; then something seemed to pass through her that -drew her rigid and erect. - -"I wonder," she said, "in our very short months together, how often you -have promised, have sworn, to give it up!" Her manner suddenly changed -again, and she held out her hand imploringly. "I wonder, Bernard, if -you have the courage to give them to me?" - -"Certainly," John said, "I will give them to you!" - -He unscrewed the top of the little bottle, and poured the white tabloids -one after another into the palm of her hand. She looked at them for a -moment, then into his face. John was still standing with his back -towards the small fire. He felt the girl's hand on his arm; she was -thrusting him aside. A moment later she had flung the tabloids into the -red embers, and before John knew it she was holding his hand in hers, -looking up into his face. - -"Bernard," she said, in a low voice, "I believe--I believe you have -changed! I think strength is coming to you--you will win yet!" - -"Yes," John answered, "I swear I'll win." - -The words came from him almost without volition, and at the same moment -an instinct came to him that matters were drifting too far. He turned -the conversation with a laugh, and for some minutes they were discussing -general topics. He helped her to prepare the supper, going into the -little kitchen and bringing out plates and dishes, under her direction. - -Daylight faded, much to John's relief. They took supper together in the -little parlour; John noticed how deft and womanly she was. - -"Our friend Treves is a lucky man, if he only knew it," thought he. - -"I am afraid there is nothing to drink, Bernard." - -"That doesn't trouble me," John answered; then saw her pause with the -teapot uplifted in frank surprise. "I mean," said John, striving to -recover the situation, "if you haven't got it, I don't mind." - -The meal passed off in an air of general cheerfulness. Elaine's little -clock struck nine, and when the meal was at an end John took the seat -opposite Elaine and her little work-basket. She busied herself with her -fancy-work, and occasionally John caught her eyes resting upon him with -a thoughtful and somewhat puzzled expression. He strove to gather from -her manner what her feelings really were towards her husband. "She -can't love him," thought John; "he's too much of a brute and a waster -for that. And yet women are strange creatures." - -Elaine had been silent for some minutes, but presently she spoke, -uttering something that appeared to have dwelt for long in her mind. - -"Bernard," she said, "I am not so hard as you think, but I am sure the -way I am acting is the only right way." She paused. - -"I am sure it is the right way," answered John, looking into her candid, -girlish face. - -He noticed again the flicker of surprise. He was always making false -steps. The situation was difficult beyond everything he had -experienced. Dacent Smith had impressed upon him the importance of tact -and finesse. Here was a situation thrust upon him requiring abundance -of both. - -"You seem to have changed your point of view?" - -"Well----" John began, cautiously. - -"You were so violent with me," interposed Elaine. - -"There was no intention on my part to be anything of the sort towards -you," John answered. - -He wondered what Treves had done, what Treves had said. He began to -experience pleasure in the situation; he began to wonder what was to -happen next. But very soon after that the clock struck ten. - -Elaine put away her needlework and rose somewhat abruptly. - -"You must go now, Bernard." - -John looked at her for a moment in surprise. - -"Oh, yes," he said, "I see--of course." - -Then Elaine crossed the hearthrug and laid her slender hands on the -lapels of his coat. - -"To-night, Bernard," she said, "I have almost felt as if you were your -old self again." - -"Thanks," answered John, awkwardly; his position at that moment was -awkward and utterly false; he was like a man who walks blindly on the -edge of a precipice. He wondered if she was about to kiss him, or if she -expected him to salute her in that way. This doubt was still upon him -when Elaine reached up and touched his cheeks lightly with her lips. -There was no passion, no love--nothing but a sort of sisterly affection -in the embrace, but John was glad when it was over. If she had been a -less beautiful woman the situation would have been so very much easier. - -Elaine accompanied him along the passage, handing him his hat and stick -as they went. In the darkness at the door, as they shook hands, John -felt that the impression of her fingers was warmer and infinitely more -cordial that the greeting she had given him upon his arrival. He could -see her face only dimly. She had seemed surprised that he had departed -so easily; he felt that he must say something, utter some remark that -possibly might have been uttered by Bernard Treves. - -"I am sorry to have to go," he said. - -Then Elaine's voice came to him quietly in the darkness. There was a new -note in her words. - -"You must come again--soon, Bernard." - -The door closed softly, and she was gone. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - -Dacent Smith, busy in his luxurious bachelor apartments in Jermyn -Street, was going through a pile of documents, all relating directly or -indirectly to the multitudinous activities of his department. He had -continued his work for, perhaps, half an hour after his brief luncheon -interval when the man-servant entered and announced a visitor. Dacent -Smith's man-servant was discretion itself. He looked like a walking -secret, and was a big, pallid man, with high cheek-bones and a grim, -hard mouth. He was devoted body and soul to Dacent Smith, and no -tortures ever devised could have ever wormed a word from him of his -master's activities. - -"Well, Grew?" - -"Mr. Treves, sir." - -"I'll see Mr. Treves at once." - -Grew, the man-servant, departed, and a minute later John was ushered -into the apartment. - -Dacent Smith greeted him with brief cordiality, then indicated a chair. - -"Well, Treves," he said, with a smile, "what is your news?" - -"There is very little to tell you, sir, so far. The person who wrote -that telegram signed 'Elaine,' is Bernard Treves's wife!" - -Dacent Smith lifted his eyebrows; a twinkle of humour was detectable in -his expression. - -"What happened?" - -"She was quite deceived, sir!" - -"A piquant situation," smiled Dacent Smith. - -"Very!" answered John, seriously. - -"You see how quickly you find yourself in deep waters, my friend." -Dacent Smith was looking at him with an expression of raillery in his -keen eyes. Nevertheless he was saying inwardly: "I like you, Manton; you -are a man after my own heart. There is a good deal of humour, as well -as courage and intelligence, hidden behind that good-looking face of -yours." - -"Now, Manton," he said, "tell me about Manwitz. Are you in touch with -him again?" - -"I have his address, sir, and an invitation to go to him whenever I -wish--that is, whenever the cocaine habit seizes me violently." - -"I see," remarked the elder man. "Whenever the craving is violently -upon you, you go to Manwitz and he supplies your want?" - -John nodded. - -"It is amazing," went on the chief, "the way these fellows manage to -secure these drugs. Perhaps, later, Manton, you will be able to -enlighten us upon that little matter; but in the meantime Cherriton is -your chief responsibility." - -"Cherriton showed a particular anxiety about his overcoat, sir, -containing Treves's letter." - -John gave a brief report of the events of the previous evening, and -Dacent Smith made one or two notes on a slip of paper marked M. 15. - -When John had finished, the elder man leaned back in his chair. - -"It will take you some days--perhaps weeks," he said, "to get the hang -of things with us. At present you are to play a lone hand. There is a -chain of German emissaries working against us--some traitors and some -spies--who pass information from all our dockyards to London, and thence -to Germany. I want you to get into contact with one of the links of -this chain--any link will serve our purpose. You must do all you can to -keep the confidence of Cherriton and Manwitz. If they set you upon any -task, carry it through absolutely. If papers or documents are given to -you to be delivered elsewhere, don't fail to act absolutely according to -their instructions. If you can get a sight of the documents, and -memorise them during transit, do so, of course. This applies to letters -or documents which may be handed to you by strangers--other German -spies. Do you understand the importance of all this?" - -John assured him that he did. - -"It appears to me, sir," he added, "that by doing this I shall myself -become a sort of link in their chain." - -The great man looked at him with eyes of approbation. - -"Exactly," he responded; "that is what you will be. Information is -leaking out of England day by day, hour by hour--rippling along these -chains of which I speak." - -Half an hour later, John took his departure from the chief's sumptuous -bachelor apartments. He had learned many things that amazed him, and -one of these things, which filled him with fury and loathing, was that -there were indeed traitors in unexpected places, that there were -British-born people, few, but active, who were willing to sell their -country into the power of the enemy. - -"I hope it won't be my destiny to run across one of these gentry," -thought John; "for even the chief himself would find it hard to make me -keep my hands off him." - -And yet that night, in a few brief hours, he was to find himself in -contact with just such a traitor. - -Reaching the corner of Jermyn Street, after his departure from Dacent -Smith's rooms, John hailed a taxi and drove to Hampstead Tube at -Tottenham Court Road. Here he took train to Hampstead, and made his way -towards the address Manwitz had given him. The address was Cherriton's, -and when John arrived there he found that the unamiable captain occupied -a suite of rooms in a large, old-fashioned house near the Heath. The -house was maintained by a retired butler, who received John at the door. -The butler ascended to a handsomely furnished, spacious drawing-room on -the first floor. Here Manners was seated at a grand piano, and -Cherriton, deep in an arm-chair, was reading an English Pacifist -pamphlet. - -"Is that a telegram?" asked Cherriton, as the door opened. - -"No, sir," answered the man; "it is a Mr. Bernard Treves called in to -see Mr. Manners." - -Two minutes later John stepped into the room. - -"Did you get your overcoat?" he asked, shaking hands with Cherriton. - -The fair man nodded. - -"Many thanks," he said. - -He had spent the earlier part of that day inquiring into the existence, -status, and habits of John Manton. He was still not quite satisfied as -to his visitor's release from Scotland Yard, and at that very moment he -was awaiting a telegram from the Isle of Wight which would either -increase his suspicions or remove them altogether. In the meantime, he -preferred to trust John to a certain extent. - -"You have come at an opportune time, Treves," he said. - -John was seated now, and this time accepted a cigarette from the Baron's -case. Suddenly, Rathenau looked him full in the face. - -"You and I, Treves," he said, "have both been treated damnably!" - -"Damnably!" answered John, wondering what was coming. The other -continued: - -"But there comes a time, Treves, eh, when the worm turns? You turned -and I turned! You cast in your lot with our friend Manners, who knows -how to appreciate loyalty! Manners," he continued, in the ironical tone -that was his general habit, "fat and stupid and lazy as he is, is always -willing to pay for loyalty!" - -John looked into the Baron's thick-skinned, pallid face, into the -steel-like eyes, and smiled inwardly. A pause came. John leaned -forward. - -"Cherriton," he said, "what are you leading up to?" - -Manners, from the piano-stool, spoke up. - -"Ah, you see, Cherriton--he is sharp, our friend Treves. Tell him what -you want, Cherriton, straight out!" - -He rose, came, for all his great bulk, softly across the room. He laid -a fat hand on John's shoulder and looked down at him. - -"Bernard," he half whispered, "you shall have all you want of -everything. Money--and the other thing. I want you to throw in your lot -with me as the good Captain has done. That note," he continued, still -in the half whisper, "you gave me in regard to the sailing of the -_Polydor_ was well appreciated in certain circles." - -"I am glad to hear that," John answered. - -"That was good service," continued Manners, "but there are bigger things -afoot." He paused a moment, then walked round John, and seated himself -on a sofa quite near. "You have heard, no doubt," he continued, "of the -_Imperator_----" - -"You mean the new Grey Star liner?" - -Manners nodded. - -"A monster ship--a wonder ship! Forty-eight thousand tons." - -He uttered the words slowly, rolling them unctuously over his tongue. - -"Nearly as big as the _Vaterland_," John said, and for the life of him -he could not help looking across at Cherriton's face. - -But Cherriton was quick as lightning. - -"The _Vaterland_?" he repeated. "You mean the German ship?" - -John returned his attention to Manners. He could feel the web closing -about him--the web in which Dacent Smith had ordered him to entangle -himself. - -"The _Imperator_," said Manners, "is to sail one day quite soon, but -your Admiralty has grown doubly cunning of late. As yet we know not -either her port of departure or the hour of departure!" - -John noticed that the fat man's tones deepened as he spoke; excitement -gleamed in his eyes. He leaned forward and laid a fat hand on Bernard's -knee. - -"Treves, my boy, I trust you--eh?" - -"Certainly!" answered John, truthfully. "I want you to trust me." - -"Good!" exclaimed Manners, uttering the word thickly in his throat. -"Now, you will understand Cherriton and I cannot appear in certain -places, but with you--it is different with you--eh?" - -"Quite," said John. "I can appear anywhere without suspicion." - -Cherriton, who had remained silent, again took control of the situation. - -"What Manners and I want you to do," he said, "is to stay a few days at -the Savoy Hotel. A Dutch gentleman is giving up Room 104C. You are to -take that room, and stay at the hotel at Manners's expense." - -"Thank you," said John. - -"There will be no need for you to stint yourself. What is more, you will -have no duties whatever to perform!" - -John lifted his eyebrows in genuine surprise. - -"I don't quite see what help I can be in that case!" - -"We are hoping that the matter will resolve itself," said Cherriton. - -"Yes--yes!" intervened Manners, "everything will resolve itself -beautifully. All you have to do now, my dear boy, is to say that you -accept the----" - -"The invitation," intercepted Cherriton. - -John thought there was nothing easier in the world than to accept an -invitation to stay, free of expense, at a first-class hotel, and with no -duties to perform. He said as much to Manners, and two nights later -found him the occupant of the room 1046, a delightful Louis Seize -bedroom overlooking the Embankment. He had spent a day and a night at -the hotel, and no incident whatever had occurred. On the evening of the -second night, however, after dinner, John seated himself in the foyer -and ordered coffee and cigarettes. - -Presently, in the great crowd moving, laughing and talking near him, -John observed a politician who at various periods in the past had loomed -importantly in the public eye. - -"He is even more ugly than his photographs," thought John, watching the -important personage move among his friends. John did not like Beecher -Monmouth's smile; altogether he disliked the man on the instant, and was -the more astonished to notice that a strikingly beautiful woman of -thirty, wearing a glittering diamond necklace and diamond ear-rings, -moved towards him and slipped her arm through his. The woman wore a -deeply decollete evening dress of a shimmering silk that looked to John -now green and now blue. He noticed her flash a smile into Beecher -Monmouth's face. He saw the politician put her hand into his. Then -recollection came to John. The woman was Beecher Monmouth's wife, a -beautiful woman thirty years his junior, who had appeared from nowhere -and married him. - -"She certainly is a beautiful woman," thought John. "A case of Beauty -and the Beast!" - -Then, to his utter amazement, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's eyes met his. She -slid her arm from her husband's, and made her way quickly through the -crowd to John. He felt his heart-beat quicken. A moment later Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth was holding out her hand towards him. She flashed a -smile into his face. - -"My dear Mr. Treves," she said, in a voice that was low and intimate, "I -have been looking for you all the evening!" - -A moment later she was shaking hands with John. - -"I must fly now," she added, "but you must come and see me -to-morrow--six o'clock." - -A moment later she was hurrying back towards her husband, her gown -shimmering and gleaming as she went. There was something in the palm of -John's hand--something that had passed from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth to -himself. - -Holding his hand below the table and free from observation, John saw -that the something Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had passed into his hand was a -slip of paper on which was pencilled: "_Imperator_--three o'clock -to-morrow. Route 28." - -John was conscious of a quite definite thrill. His nerve was of the -best; he had accepted the momentous slip of paper without any outward -sign of disturbance. Indeed, he had smiled back into Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's eyes in a manner that had won that lady's sincerest -approbation. Nevertheless, he was not inwardly calm. He felt that fate, -or destiny, had seized him suddenly in its relentless grip. The slip of -paper was still in his right hand, concealed beneath the level of the -table. For some minutes he drew at his cigarette, then, carefully -taking out the pocket-book, laid the slip in its leaves, and replaced -the book in the inner breast pocket of his coat. For some minutes -longer he retained his seat, leaning back in the delicate gilt chair. -His gaze wandered among the brilliant and fashionable crowd moving about -him. The gentle murmur of music mingled still with the chatter of -voices, and twenty feet away he caught the gleam of Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's ear-rings, the scintillation of her superb diamond necklace. -She was talking to her yellow-skinned and unprepossessing husband, but -her attention was entirely and solely fixed upon John. - -Their eyes met, and John was obliged to concede, for the second time, -that she was a woman of exceptional beauty. The art of her coiffeur, -and, possibly, the art of her complexion expert, had wrought its best -for her. Nevertheless, she would have stood out among any assemblage of -young and prepossessing women. Her husband quite visibly adored her, -and every word she condescended to transmit to him was received with a -quick, responsive smile on his part. - -John was thinking rapidly, wondering and speculating. Was it possible -that Beecher Monmouth knew of the existence of the little slip of paper -that reposed in his pocket-book? Beecher Monmouth, who had sat on -numerous committees, who had more than once stood in the running for an -under-secretaryship? The thing seemed utterly incredible! - -As these things flashed through John's mind, realisation slowly came to -him that Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was observing him with close intensity, -under slightly lowered lids. - -John rose, and as he did so the lady flashed a brilliant smile towards -him--an intimate, understanding smile, full of meaning. - -"I wish I knew what you meant," thought John, as he made his way through -the throng out towards the cloak-room. - -The circulating door received him, and he passed out into the dim light -of the Strand. There was a crowd, as always at that hour, and a young -man who followed closely at his heels found difficulty in keeping him in -sight. - -John was burning once more to look at the information Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth had conveyed to him. But caution forbade anything of the sort. -He was determined that this, his first swim in deep waters, should -achieve a successful issue. His chief desire in life was to make good -in Dacent Smith's eyes, and, moreover, obeying his chief's instructions, -he had already indelibly impressed upon his memory the portentous -sentence: "_Imperator_--three o'clock to-morrow. Route 28." - -The word "treachery" floated into his mind, and filled him with rage. -Until now he had been outside--one of the public. But to-night the -curtain had been drawn aside. He felt himself engaged in the secret -fight which is for ever taking place beneath the surface--the fight -between our own secret service and the spies and traitors in the pay of -the other nations. - -At Hampstead, John emerged from the Tube and made his way through the -darkness of Well Walk. Presently he turned to the left, through an -alley, crossed a square of shabby-looking houses, and ascended a further -closely-built, narrow street, leading towards Cherriton's residence. - -The young man who had followed him from the Savoy was still in his wake. -At this point, however, he apparently ceased his pursuit, and vanished -up a side alley. - -John, who had been aware of footsteps for some minutes, halted and -looked behind him. The road was empty, and the suspicion that had been -growing on him vanished. Nevertheless, he laid a hand on his hip -pocket, assured himself that he was prepared for eventualities and moved -forward again. - -"I'll give this nefarious bit of news to Cherriton, then hop down to -Dacent Smith and report the fact as quickly as I can," thought John. - -He reached the top of Christ Church Road and paused to recollect which -turning was the right one. At that moment some one moved in the shadow -of the church railings near him, and before John could turn his head a -doubled fist smote him heavily. The attack was so sudden, unexpected -and swift that before he could in any way retaliate a second blow had -been delivered. - -His assailant leaped through the air, clasped two strong hands round his -neck, and fell into the road, still gripping for all he was worth. - -The two struggled ignominiously, and John became aware that the -stranger, who had released one hand grip, was groping for the precious -pocket-book. For the first time John was able to aim a blow, then, with -a violent twist, he drew himself uppermost, and plunged his knee heavily -into the other's chest. In the dim light he observed that his opponent -was young. John was already aware that he had met no mean antagonist, -and he was taking no chances. - -The downward blow he now delivered on the other man's countenance -staggered him for a moment. He wrenched himself free and stood upright -on his feet. - -His enemy was prone, but only for a moment. - -"You've got a good deal of spirit, my young friend," said John, through -his teeth, "but you'll get nothing from me, except another punch like -the last! Now, get up!" - -"Thanks," returned the other. - -He rose and began to dust his clothes carefully. John did not like the -man's attitude. He was quite obviously preparing to make another -attack. - -"Now," commanded John, moving back a pace, "don't try that with me!" - -He stepped back and reached for the Colt weapon that reposed in his -pocket. - -"I should hate to do anything drastic," he continued; "but if you make -it a habit to leap at people in the dark, and to aim half-arm jolts at -strangers, you must take the consequences." - -"I am prepared to take anything that is coming to me!" responded the -young man. - -He spoke almost jauntily, and John admired his spirit. - -"I evidently did not hit you quite as hard as I thought," John remarked. - -"Quite hard enough," responded the other, "but please don't shoot, -because----" - -Then, to John's amazement, and with the utmost daring, he leapt forward -like a flash and seized John's pistol. There was a swift, fierce -struggle. The moment was one for quick decisions. The stranger held -the weapon by the wrong end, and John knew it. Unexpectedly he let go, -and simultaneously landed a heavy left on the young man's downbent jaw. -He followed with a right, and then another left. He was as busy as he -had ever been, and he knew he was fighting for his entire future, -possibly for his life. - -"I've had enough," gasped the stranger. - -He reeled away, and seated himself on the farther side of the narrow -street. - -John searched about, picked up the weapon from the middle of the road -and pocketed it. Then he buttoned his coat, after carefully satisfying -himself that the pocket-book was still in its place, and prepared to go. - -"Good night," called the other, seated on the edge of the pavement, as -he went. - -Manton, however, was in no mood for persiflage. He took himself off, -walking as swiftly as he could. - -"He certainly doesn't lack pluck," mused John. - -Five minutes later he reached the large house wherein Cherriton had his -abode. - -"I want to see Captain Cherriton at once," he said, when the door was -opened to him. - -He found Cherriton alone in the big drawing-room. He was in evening -clothes, and was wearing comfortable house slippers. - -"So it's you, Treves?" exclaimed the German as the door closed. "Come -in, and I'll give you a drink of whisky; that is always acceptable, eh?" - -"Always," answered John. - -Cherriton was looking at him intently. - -"There is a slight cut on your forehead." - -"Is there? It must be a scratch." - -John applied his handkerchief to the slight abrasion, then slipped off -his overcoat and took a drink of whisky and soda. - -"I have some news for you, Cherriton." - -"News?" - -The other flashed a swift glance at him. - -John slowly drew out the pocket-book and produced the slip of paper. - -"You wanted to know when the _Imperator_ sailed out, and by what route." - -Cherriton was suddenly and unfeignedly impatient. - -"What is it you know?" he demanded. - -"At the Savoy to-night," John said quietly, "this was handed to me." - -He passed the slip of paper into the German's eager fingers. - -"Gott!" exclaimed Cherriton, utterly absorbed. "You got this from----" - -"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth." - -"Three o'clock to-morrow," mused Cherriton. "There is not much time for -us to act!" - -He looked suddenly into John's face. - -"What a woman she is!" he exclaimed. "Invaluable--invaluable!" - -"Invaluable!" echoed John. - -Cherriton laid a hand on John's arm. - -"Keep your hold on her, my dear Treves. Your work to-night has been -excellent!" - -Excitement had brought an unusual gleam into his hard eyes. - -"We will do great things for you yet!" - -He crossed the room and rang the bell imperiously. - -"My coat and hat," he commanded of the butler when the man appeared. -"When Mr. Manners returns, ask him to wait up for me." - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - -The hour was eleven o'clock. Dacent Smith was, as usual, up to his ears -in work. Very little of the real work, conducted by him on behalf of -the Department, was dispatched at the office. If he possessed a -weakness at all, it was a weakness for the luxury of his own suite of -rooms and for the benign, competent aid of Grew. Servant and master were -each equally devoted to the other, and yet even Grew was only vaguely -aware of the greatness, of the importance of the stoutish, bland, -keen-eyed gentleman who was his master. - -At Dacent Smith's elbow a green-shaded electric lamp cast a bright light -on the papers beneath his hand. The chief wrote neatly and carefully, -and when the door opened and Grew came softly in he did not lift his -head. - -"Mr. Treves to report, sir." - -"I'll see Mr. Treves immediately." - -"Very good, sir." - -Dacent Smith raised his head. - -"Oh, Grew, please ask the gentleman who is in the other room to wait a -little longer." - -"Very good, sir." - -Two minutes later John found himself alone with the chief. - -Dacent Smith motioned him into one of the deep, leathered-covered -arm-chairs, opened a silver box of Egyptian cigarettes, and pushed it -towards him. - -"Well," he questioned, wheeling his chair and looking at John much as an -astute physician might look at a patient; "I can see by your -expression," he went on quickly, "that you have something of importance -to report." - -"I think so," said John. - -"Well, what is it?" - -"In the foyer of the Savoy to-night, sir, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth"--an -almost imperceptible change of expression occurred on Dacent Smith's -smooth features--"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth," continued John, "passed a slip -of paper into my hand. I assumed at once that the paper was meant for -either Manners or Cherriton, and, obeying your instructions, I delivered -it at once." - -"You memorised it first?" - -Dacent Smith's tone was almost sharp. - -"It was very short, sir. I can remember it exactly." - -Dacent Smith pushed a pencil and block of paper towards him. - -"Perhaps you had better write it down immediately," he said. "If you -visualise it in writing you will be less likely to have forgotten or -misplaced a word." - -John rose, and bending over the desk wrote the exact words of the -message Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had conveyed to him. When he came to the -word _Imperator_, Dacent Smith whistled softly. - -"You have done very well, Treves," he said. He suddenly looked into -John's face. "You must better your acquaintance with Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth." - -"I have an appointment with her for to-morrow night," answered John. - -Dacent Smith glanced at a little gilt clock on the mantelshelf. - -"I think we shall be in time!" - -"That is exactly what Cherriton said," John answered. - -Dacent Smith was silent for a moment. - -"Treves," he said, "if the _Imperator_ sails to-morrow at three o'clock -by Route 28, which is their code for the North Ireland route, there will -be another disaster for us." - -He was silent a moment and John put a question that had troubled him -somewhat. - -"But if she doesn't sail at that hour," he said; "if she is suddenly -delayed or dispatched by another route, won't that arouse their -suspicions?" - -Dacent Smith looked at him for a moment, then smiled quietly. - -"Oh," he said, "we shall not be quite so obvious as that, Treves, -otherwise they would come to suspect a leakage. What will occur is -this: I shall communicate with the Admiralty at once, and some time -to-morrow morning an accident will happen--quite a small accident--to -the _Imperator's_ boilers. The news of the accident will be well spread -throughout the crew and the deck hands. Thus the _Imperator_ will be -unavoidably delayed and will not sail at three o'clock to-morrow." - -He rose as he finished speaking and went quickly out of the room. When -he returned he was obviously much easier in his mind. With slow -deliberation he replaced himself in his chair at the desk. - -"Now give me details of your interview with Cherriton." - -John stated what had occurred. - -"Anything else to report?" asked Dacent Smith, looking at him with a -penetrating glance. "I see you have a scratch on your forehead." - -"Yes," answered John. "It occurred in Hampstead; a young man attacked -me and endeavoured to get my pocket-book!" - -"Oh, that is rather alarming!" - -"It was rather sudden," John confessed, "and he was a particularly -energetic person." - -"Would you know him again if you saw him?" asked Dacent Smith. - -"I think I should," answered John. "He was about my own height, but -more slenderly built. Rather a good-looking fellow, well dressed. He -was a most energetic and audacious opponent," he continued, becoming -unexpectedly expansive. - -"Audacity is sometimes a fault!" observed Dacent Smith. "Just sit where -you are a minute, Treves; I want to introduce you to some one." - -He crossed the room and opened the door. John noticed him beckon to -some one, and a moment later a young man in evening clothes stepped into -the room. - -Dacent Smith led the new-comer towards the hearth. - -"Captain," he said, speaking to the young man, "this is Mr. Treves, who -is now a member of our service." - -John rose to shake hands, and found himself looking into the smiling -face of a young man of twenty-eight, a young man with dark brown, -daring-looking eyes, a sun-browned skin, and a dark moustache. The -stranger's face was humorous, and on the lower part of his left cheek -was a contused redness. - -As John and he shook hands, John uttered an exclamation of astonishment. - -"Why, you're the man who attacked me!" - -"Well, I don't know about that!" smiled the Captain, cheerily; "it looks -to me as if the attacking was mostly on your side." - -"I must say," John continued, "you put up quite a good fight, but I -don't quite see the point. If you were acting on behalf of the -Department, why did you attack me?" - -He glanced at Dacent Smith, and the great man undertook an explanation. -"The whole thing was a slight mistake. Your new acquaintance, known to -us as Captain X., was under my orders, his avocation to-night. He saw -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth shake hands with you. He also observed you--and he -says, very neatly--put something in your inner breast pocket. He had -never seen you before, but he naturally jumped to the conclusion that -you were in league with this particular fashionable lady, whom he had -been sent to watch, hence his mistaken attack on you." - -John turned again to his late antagonist. - -"I am sorry if I hurt you!" he said. - -"You did hurt me abominably," retorted Captain X. "I am not much of a -pugilist and that half-arm jolt, or whatever you call it, has my -sincerest admiration." - -"The luck was on my side," returned John politely. - -"And the misdirected energy on mine," smiled the Captain. - -Dacent Smith moved to the table, took up a sheet of paper, folded it, -and handed it to Captain X. - -"Now," said he, "we will return to business." - - -At nine o'clock the following evening John found himself in a lady's -boudoir, a room heavy with the odour of Russian cigarettes. The neat, -capped foreign maid who had ushered him into the apartment had removed -herself, closing the door softly behind her. - -The room was not large, and every effort of a somewhat exotic taste had -been put forth to create an atmosphere of intimacy. It was a room, as -it were, planned and arranged for secret meetings. The carpet was -thick; a while polar bear rug extended itself from the hearth, and -beyond the hearth, running along the wall, was a divan covered in heavy -silk of Chinese blue. A Chinese _kakemono_ of brilliant colours--red, -orange, azure, green, and gold--covered the wall behind the divan. The -general air of the place was one that did not appeal to John in the -least. He did not care a button about exotic boudoirs. Neither did he -care for Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, who to-night was wearing a Chinese -overgown as brilliant and sumptuous in hue as the _kakemono_ that -covered the wall. - -She had been seated on the divan when John entered. She rose now and -came towards him, with the pink light softening the cold splendour of -her beauty. There was no doubt about her beauty--John was prepared to -admit that even at this second meeting. - -"You bad boy to be so late!" breathed Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, squeezing -his fingers in hers. She drew him towards her. - -The moment was a delicate one for Manton. What Treves's relations had -been with this woman he could not guess. But it was his business to -find out. It was indeed his business to find out many things about her. -For months the Intelligence Department had held her in suspicion, but -Dacent Smith's most brilliant assistants had failed to make headway in -her case. She was slippery as an eel--quick-witted, cunning, daring and -resourceful. In that moment, as she drew John towards her, she -suspected a ruse. But there was no ruse. She looked up, her brilliant -eyes searching him. - -"Have you nothing for me?" she whispered. - -There was only one thing to do, only one safe course to take, and John -took it. He, as it were, plunged, and risked the consequences. He put -his arms about her shapely shoulders and pressed a kiss upon the -upturned lips. - -"No, no! I didn't tell you you could kiss me!" - -"You said something very like it!" laughed John. - -"You are a bad, daring boy." - -"Faint heart never won anything worth having," returned John. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth returned to her divan and disposed herself -comfortably. "You bad Bernard, you must sit in that low chair at once, -and tell me all you have been doing lately!" - -She lifted a cigarette case from a low, ivory-topped table. John took -one, noticing that they were the excellent cigarettes Treves had been in -the habit of smoking. - -"Tell me what you have been doing." - -John mused, and the woman went on: - -"Do you know, you looked rather handsome last night at the Savoy." She -paused and became coyly and softly wistful. "I dislike handsome boys; -they are so conceited as a rule." - -"If I can keep her talking like this for a while," thought John, "I -shall not get into deep water!" - -There was a silence, during which the lady luxuriantly smoked her -Russian cigarette. Then she looked at John with her slow, low-lidded -smile. - -"Talk," she commanded. - -"I prefer to hear you talk," said John. "Tell me what you have been -doing lately--to-day, for instance." - -The lady pondered. - -"Oh, to-day the Ogre gave a luncheon party." - -John guessed that the Ogre was her unprepossessing husband. - -"The Ogre gave a luncheon party, and among others we had Lady Rachel -Marlin, a delightful chatterbox. Her husband's in the Navy, you know. I -could listen to her talk for hours." - -"I don't doubt it," thought John. - -"After tea," resumed she, "I went to my Red Cross work." - -John was wary. The fact that she did Red Cross work surprised him, but -possibly Treves had been aware of the fact, and it would be unsafe for -him to express his surprise. - -There was silence for a moment until John hit on a safe question. - -"Do you go to the same place?" he inquired. - -"Oh, yes, the Officers' Hospital, you know. They are such dear, -delightful fellows." - -She told him no more about the Officers' Hospital, and he put another -question. - -"What have you done this evening?" - -"I have been boring myself to death until you came. And now you make -poor me talk and don't entertain me in the least!" - -Suddenly she lifted her head. - -"I hope you aren't in one of your moods?" - -"Oh, no," said John, quickly. "What makes you think that?" - -She looked at him long and steadily. He sustained her gaze; her -brilliant, hard beauty smote his consciousness again. - -"Do you remember how awful you were at first, Bernard?" - -"I suppose I was pretty awful," answered John, wondering what Treves had -done to earn himself that character. - -Suddenly Mrs. Beecher Monmouth ceased her scrutiny and broke into a -laugh, a long tinkle of laughter that showed all her fine teeth. - -"What a boy you are," she said. "Do you remember that night when you -swore and tore about this room like a madman?" She laughed again, as -though in memory of a scene that had been grotesquely ridiculous. -Somehow, in that moment John felt his instinctive dislike of her -intensify. He saw her as an utterly cold-blooded traitor to her -country. Only forty-eight hours earlier she had slipped into his hand -information that had been intended to doom a great ship to disaster. The -slip of paper that had so astoundingly come into his possession had in -itself constituted a vile blow at the safety of England. And here was -the woman who had safely engineered that atrocity, who had acted as an -intermediary in Germany's pay. And this same woman was smiling at him -in her Grosvenor Place boudoir, surrounded by all the luxuries of life, -the wife of a politician of some eminence, who had only recently been in -the running for an under-secretaryship. - -The thought flashed into John's mind--was Beecher Monmouth, M.P., also a -traitor? He did not know. But he was prepared to risk a good deal to -find out. - -Once more he turned his attention to the woman before him. - -"It was rather weak of me," he said, "to act the way I did." - -"It was as good as a melodrama," replied she. "You said you were -ruined, and swore you'd end everything! I forget whether it was to be -the river or in some less pleasant manner. Called yourself a -traitor----" - -"Traitor!" repeated John--he wanted to know more of this. - -"Melodrama again," responded Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. "However, you calmed -yourself in the end. You became your own delightful, foolish self -again." - -"Thanks," said John, and for the life of him he could not help saying -aloud, "and you were able to twist me round your pretty fingers!" - -She looked at him with one of her quick looks. - -"Now, that is delightful of you to say pretty things to me. Do you -know," she continued, leaning towards him, "you have improved -immensely--you are quite changed! Before you really came to us," she -adopted a note of seriousness, "you were really too dreadful for words. -You raved against the army, that had treated you so abominably, and yet -would not throw in your lot with us. Oh, you were very difficult, _mon -ami_!" - -"And now?" inquired John. - -"Oh, now, you are quite another man." - -"I'm glad you think that," said John aloud, and to himself he added, "my -clever lady, you never spoke a truer word in your iniquitous life." - -"The change in you is so marked," went on Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "that -Captain Cherriton actually doubted your loyalty to us. He regarded your -escape from Scotland Yard authorities as so sudden." - -"Ah," protested John, "but I was mistaken for another man." - -"Of course, I know that, you silly boy! But Cherriton could not rest -satisfied until he had discovered that there actually existed a person -called John Manton, and that you had really been mistaken for this -personage." - -John made a mental note that in Cherriton he had an adversary of no mean -order. - -"I hope," said he, "now that Captain Cherriton has discovered my story -to be true, he won't suspect me again." - -"As for that," responded the lady, "he suspects his own shadow. But you -are very high in favour just at the moment." - -"His favour is worth having?" probed John. - -"We shall discover that," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. Her tone suddenly -became fervent, almost exalted. "After the war there will be great -things for us all. Now is the time to sow; then will be the time to -reap the harvest!" - -The expression of her face had changed. A dark, fierce light seemed to -illumine her features. - -"We shall win yet! We are winning now, but the end will be swift!" - -"The end of some people," thought John, "will be devilishly swift!" He -was thinking of Manners, of Cherriton, and of the lady before him. - -"What do you think will happen?" he inquired. - -"They will come here, of course," she retorted, suddenly standing erect -beside the divan and speaking with fiery and passionate intensity, "they -will come here--my people!" - -"Your people?" interjected John, quickly. - -"My people," droned she, with a lift of her head. "You didn't know that -before? But you are one of us, and I can trust you now." - -"But everybody thinks you are an American," observed John, recalling -what Dacent Smith had told him. - -"Quite true--they do think that, and for convenience sake I am an -American--a rich American who married"--she lifted a scornful lip and -pointed towards the door--"who married the Ogre." - -"Were you working for the--the cause when you married him?" inquired -John. - -But the sudden flame that had animated her appeared to die away; she -became once more her beautiful exotic self. - -"I have worked for the cause since----" she stopped. - -She, as it were, returned to earth. - -"Bernard," she said, when she had smoked a few minutes in silence, "I -have something to show you." - -She rose, crossed the room, and unlocked a buhl cabinet. A moment later -she returned to John, and handed him an envelope. Within was a closely -written letter beginning: "Dearest Alice." - -As John glanced at the writing Mrs. Beecher Monmouth came behind him, -and laid her manicured finger-nail on the bottom four lines of the first -sheet. - -"That is all you need read," she said. - -The four lines at which she pointed ran: - -"If you think Treves has the courage for the task I will take your word -for it--he shall be the man!" - - - - - CHAPTER X - - -John looked up quickly. - -"Is this from Captain Cherriton?" he asked. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth shook her head. - -"From a far greater one than he," she answered slowly. - -John pricked up his ears, then flashed a glance at the contents of the -letter. But Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was very quick; he caught only the -words, "secret session," and "ready by the twenty-eighth," when Mrs. -Monmouth dexterously laid her white hand over the writing and drew it -from his fingers. She folded it and placed it carefully in the bosom of -her dress. She wore evening dress beneath her gorgeous Japanese rest -gown, and John noticed the coquetry with which she concealed the letter -from his view. He was young enough to be affected by her beauty, and -was yet old enough to suspect she was playing a part--was, in fact, -seeking to entangle him for the benefit of the cause. He put her down -in that moment as a passionate, unscrupulous, dangerous woman, to whom -adventure was the very breath of life. Moreover, he doubted her -statement that she was German. She was certainly not his idea of a -woman of Teutonic nationality. - -Her arm that had been resting upon his shoulder still remained there. -The lady's handsome face was very close to his; he could see deep into -her smiling eyes, and was not comfortable under the closeness of her -scrutiny. His resemblance to Bernard Treves was striking, but it was -not perfect enough, he feared, to deceive the watchfulness of a woman -who had evidently been closely intimate with that young man. He -endeavoured to break the intensity of her gaze by leading her back to -her chair. - -"Well," she whispered tenderly, "have you nothing to say to me?" - -"There are a thousand things I would like to say," returned John, -promptly. "Let me light you a cigarette." He struck a match and placed -one of her buff-coloured Russian cigarettes in her fingers. As he held -the light, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth spoke on a new note of seriousness. - -"Bernard, I have been kindness itself to you." - -John assured her that she had. - -"When the others doubted you I clung to my belief in you." - -"You have been wonderful!" said John. - -"You are changed, Bernard." - -"That's impossible," answered John, "where you are concerned." He again -experienced the sensation--a common one with him these days--that he -walked upon the edge of a precipice. - -"I have shown my confidence in you." - -"You mean," proceeded John, "you have spoken up for me to the great -personage who wrote the letter." - -"Yes. Are you grateful?" inquired she, looking at him quizzically. She -had disposed herself upon the divan in a graceful, languid poise. - -"I am more than grateful," said John. "But, tell me, who is this great -personage?" - -The lady's laughter sounded musically in the little pink lighted room. - -"Oh, my dear Bernard," she protested; "that comes much later." - -"I suppose," John said, feeling that a bold plunge was worth while, "the -personage is the head of the German secret agents in England?" - -"What makes you think that?" - -"My dear Alice, you would not stand in such awe of anyone less important -than that." For some minutes--since the time he had caught sight of the -letter, in fact--he had resolved to call her "Alice" at the earliest -opportunity. He was playing a part. He had taken up another man's love -affair at an unknown state of development--a dangerous thing to do. -However, the duel between them, he believed, was to his advantage. Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth had made a false step. She had already revealed to him -the existence of a high secret power--a power far above and beyond -Cherriton and Manwitz. - -"Alice," he said, suddenly, drawing his chair a little nearer and laying -a hand on her arm, "tell me who is the Great Unknown?" - -"Patience, patience, Bernard. You will hear, all in good time." She -lifted his hand from her arm and pushed him gently away. At the same -moment there came a low knock at the door. A discreet pause followed -before Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's foreign maid, in cap and white apron, -entered. - -"The master's returned, ma'am." - -The girl spoke in a low tone, intended for her mistress's ear alone, and -immediately went out, closing the door behind her. - -"Sit over there," commanded Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, waving John towards a -chair at the hearth. "Sit over there, and be very good." - -John moved to the hearth. He wondered if Bernard Treves had known the -Ogre, or if an introduction was to take place. The awkwardness of the -situation was solved for him a moment later, when the door behind him -opened. In a slender strip of mirror on the opposite wall John saw the -reflected figure of Beecher Monmouth, M.P. The pink light softened a -little the bilious yellow of his skin. But he was still an -unprepossessing object, with his bald head, his long, pointed nose, and -his thin-lipped mouth. - -Mrs. Monmouth rose as her husband entered, and went towards him with -hands outstretched. - -"William, darling," she exclaimed, "how nice of you to come home so -early. I must introduce you to Mr. Treves." - -John rose and bowed. Beecher Monmouth put a large bony hand in his. He -had just returned from the House of Commons, and looked weary and old; -he looked every one of his sixty-four years. John wondered whether he -ought to stay or not, but Mrs. Beecher Monmouth solved the situation by -holding out her hand. - -"You must come and see me again, Mr. Treves." Her tone was almost -motherly. He shook hands with her, and saw her move towards her husband -and slip her arm through his. - -Husband and wife were standing together as the maid conducted John -downstairs. - -"What a monument of treachery and deceit she is," thought John, as he -stepped out into the starlit night. - -In the meantime Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had pressed her ungainly husband -into a deep arm-chair, had commanded that whisky and soda should be -brought, and was already holding the match that lit his cigar. Beecher -Monmouth watched her with admiration in his tired eyes. He was prepared -to sell his soul for her, and was never weary of telling her that he was -the luckiest man in the world to have won her love. - -"And what did my William do to-night?" she inquired, softly, when the -whisky and soda had been placed at his side, and he had helped himself -to a somewhat liberal dose. - -"A most boring evening," said Beecher Monmouth. "Irish question!" - -"And you saw no one interesting?" asked she. - -"I saw Brackston Neeve in the lobby," answered her husband. "There is -some talk of a military expedition to ----. I don't know whether it -will come off or not. The Cabinet, I believe, discussed it yesterday." - -"What did Brackston Neeve say?" - -Beecher Monmouth took a sip of whisky. - -"Why should I bore you with stupid politics?" - -"They aren't stupid to me," she said. "You know every tiny bit of your -political life interests me intensely." She settled herself in a low -chair beside him. "Now you must tell me everything Brackston Neeve -said. He is in the confidence of the Cabinet, is he not?" - -Her husband nodded. - -"He has the confidence of several members of the Cabinet." - -"Tell me everything, William...." - -Half an hour later, when Monmouth had finished his cigar and whisky, he -rose wearily, kissed her, and went to his room. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -waited until he was safely out of the way, then, going to the telephone -on the buhl writing-desk, rang up a number. - -"Is that Doctor Voules?" she inquired. - -At the other end of the telephone a deep voice answered in the -affirmative. - -"May I call upon you at eleven o'clock to-morrow?" inquired Mrs. -Monmouth. - -"Is it important?" asked the voice. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, in the solitude of her room, smiled slightly. - -"I shall leave you to judge of that," she replied. - -"Very good," answered the voice. "I shall expect you at eleven -precisely." - -On the following morning Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, quietly, but -expensively, dressed, presented herself at the hotel bureau. - -Three minutes later the lift door closed upon her and she was wafted -swiftly upward to the third floor. A page boy conducted her along a -corridor, opened a door, and departed. - -The apartment into which she had been shown overlooked the Haymarket. -Decorations of white and gold caught Mrs. Monmouth's vision. Seated at -a desk from whence he could look down upon the busy life of the street -below was a broad-shouldered, elderly man, who laid down his pen as his -visitor entered. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth hurried towards him. - -"It is so good of you to see me, doctor," she exclaimed, effusively. - -"Oh, not at all. I am charmed to see you," he answered. He moved a -little farther into the room, so that prying eyes from the building -opposite could not observe him; then, with an air of great gallantry, he -bent over Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's hand and laid his lips upon it. - -"You will sit down and tell me your news," said the doctor. - -Mrs. Monmouth accepted the offered chair. - -Doctor "Voules" was of middle height, sturdily, but not heavily, built. -He carried himself well, holding his head high and looking squarely and -masterfully before him. His head was round, his strong, heavy-jawed -face was clean shaven, and his wide mouth drooped at the corners. Both -physically and intellectually the doctor was a formidable figure, but -the harshness of his countenance was belied by a surface air of -politeness--a politeness which appeared to be assumed, and which sat ill -upon him. His air, despite his efforts of concealment, was one of lofty -authority. - -"You will tell me your important news," he said quietly. - -"I don't know that it is important," admitted Mrs. Monmouth, "but my -husband heard accidentally in the House of Commons last night that there -is talk of an expedition to ----." - -Voules's eyebrows moved very slightly. - -"I shall be grateful to know everything your husband heard." - -Then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth told him exactly, word for word, all she had -managed to worm from her husband. - -"He considers, then," inquired Voules, "that the expedition is to become -an accomplished fact?" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth nodded. - -"Did your husband learn anything else in regard to this most interesting -little adventure?" - -Mrs. Monmouth shook her head. - -"Ah," exclaimed Voules, "it would be most useful to us if you could -learn the name of the officer who is in command of the expedition. You -will keep that in mind?" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth assured him upon that point. - -"Now, in regard to your protege, Mr. Treves," observed the doctor. -"This young man, I understand, is very well connected, and is the son of -Colonel Treves?" - -Mrs. Monmouth nodded. - -"My information is that his disappearance from the British Army was -somewhat rapid, and that fact, together with his propensity for drugs, -gradually brought him into our service. I should like to see him," went -on the doctor, "to judge for myself; but in the meantime I can make much -use of him. I shall take you at your word and give him important duties -to perform." - -"Thank you," observed Mrs. Monmouth. "That is extremely kind of you, -doctor." - -Voules, who had seated himself, rose now and held out his hand. - -"My compliments to you upon your excellent work." - -Two minutes later, with much politeness, he accompanied her out of the -room, along the corridor, and saw her into the lift. - -When he returned to his own room, he opened the door of an inner -apartment and summoned a thin young man, wearing tortoise-shell-rimmed -spectacles. The young man was clean shaven and was possessed of a -somewhat small and receding chin, which gave him a foolish aspect. He -was not foolish in the least, however; he was, on the contrary, -extremely fox-like and alert. The doctor's politeness vanished as he -confronted the young man. - -"Baumer," he commanded, "come into the other room, please." He crossed -to his desk near the window overlooking the street, and seated himself. -The young man entered and stood at his side, awaiting instructions. "You -will make a note," said the doctor, "that a Mr. Bernard Treves is to -come to my house to-day week." - -"Very good, Excellenz," answered the young man deferentially. He began -to write a note in pencil on a small writing block he had produced. - -"You will also," went on the doctor, "inform Hauptman Rathenau that I -wish to see Mr. Treves's dossier again." - -"Yes, Excellenz; but if I might be permitted to suggest so much, -Lieutenant Treves, whose family is well known, would be a safer person -to use for purposes of association with the officers at Fort -Heatherpoint." - -"But our excellent Cherriton was educated at Oxford," said the elder -man. "He is to all outward seeming an Englishman." - -"Nevertheless, Excellenz," Baumer insisted, "I feel we should be safer -to employ an Englishman. There is much freemasonry among the English, -and there is always danger, Excellenz, that some one who knew the real -Captain Cherriton may meet Herr Rathenau." - -"But Heatherpoint," said Voules, "is one of our key positions. You -forget that, Baumer." - -"No, Excellenz, I remember it perfectly." - -His superior was silent for a moment, then said, quietly, "I have -decided that Cherriton shall do this work; he has greater experience. -This time our movements must be all perfect. Our staff work here, -Baumer, must be even superior to the staff work in France. We must in -no degree underrate our enemies." He was silent a moment, pondering the -great scheme that had grown in his brain months earlier--the scheme that -was to strike a blow at the very heart of England. His orders were to -restore new confidence throughout Germany in the failing U-boat -campaign. Minutely, piece by piece, he had worked out his daring and -masterful plan. The success of his country in discovering the sailing -of British ships; the strength and equipment of our distant expeditions; -the amount of munitions and arms being manufactured--these things were -in the daily routine of espionage. But General von Kuhne was no -believer in defensive operations. He, like his friend Bernhardi, was a -disciple of Clausewitz--a believer in offensive warfare. To strike, to -strike hard and unerringly, after minute preparation, was his ideal of -strategy. Already, for many weeks, he had been placing his pawns ready -for the great coup. Cunningly and with infinite patience he had -prepared for the great blow that was intended to send a shudder through -the British Isles. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - -The little clock on Dacent Smith's mantelshelf chimed the hour of seven. - -"I am as empty as a drum," exclaimed Captain X. His slender figure -occupied one of the Chief's deep armchairs. He was smoking one of -Smith's cigarettes, and his handsome face and audacious-looking eyes -were upturned as he watched the smoke ascend. "How long have we been -here, Treves?" he inquired. - -"Three hours," answered John. He too occupied one of Dacent Smith's -deep chairs and smoked his Chief's cigarettes. - -"What about asking old Grew if he knows anything," continued Captain -X----. He leaned over and pressed his thumb upon the electric bell -push. Almost immediately, and quite noiselessly, the door opened and -Dacent Smith's big-boned manservant came into the room. - -"Look here, Grew," said the Captain, twisting his head to get a view of -the tall servant. "When do you think the War Council will break up?" - -"I couldn't say, sir," answered Grew, looking at him with a wooden -expression. - -"You mean if you could, you wouldn't," returned the Captain. "But I -would like to tell you, Grew, that both of us are most devilish hungry. -Can you tell us anything about food?" - -"I have orders to serve dinner at 7.30," answered Grew. - -For three hours John and his companion, acting upon orders, had been -waiting in Dacent Smith's room. The Chief had been called suddenly to a -meeting of the War Council, and had not returned. - -"I expect there are big things afoot," observed John, glancing at the -other. - -"It's a bit unusual," answered the Captain, "for him to stay so long. -Perhaps he has ferreted out something new, and is communicating what he -knows to the mighty ones." - -He suddenly turned and looked close at John. - -"How do you like our sort of work, Treves?" - -"There is nothing to beat it," John answered. "My only trouble is that -I am apt to lose my temper. Somehow I cannot stomach spies, but traitors -always make me see red." - -The Captain looked at him with smiling eyes. - -"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. The Chief would never trust me there. She is -too beautiful by far, eh, Treves?" - -John agreed that Mrs. Monmouth's beauty was undeniable. - -"In my opinion," went on John's companion, "the Department ought to put -her out of harm's way. But the Chief knows better. He has ordered -supervision of all the letters she posts, and she posts a good many." - -The door opened at that moment and Dacent Smith himself came hurriedly -in. He apologised politely for his absence. The fact that he was head -of a great department, that he was indeed a great man, never weighed -with him in regard to his subordinates. Socially he treated them all as -his equals; only in matters of discipline was he superior. He laughed -as he looked at his depleted cigarette-box, and then seated himself at -his desk. - -With a brisk movement he switched on the light. - -"I have had three hours of the War Council," he said, speaking to both -Treves and the Captain. "Now, Treves, what is the news?" - -John told him that Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was in communication with a -person whose name was unknown to him; this person was evidently of great -importance to the German secret service, and was considering the -employment of John in a great undertaking. - -"Who is the great unknown?" inquired Dacent Smith. - -"I don't know, sir," John admitted. - -The elder man tightened his lips. - -"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's acquaintances are becoming increasingly -interesting to us, eh, Treves?" - -"I believe so, sir," said John. - -"We have been a little late in supervising her letters," said Dacent -Smith, looking across at Captain X. "However," he said suddenly, -turning the conversation, "that is a matter outside Treves's duties. I -have other and more important work for both of you. This afternoon," he -went on, "I have submitted a number of reports to the War Council, -showing that certain of our defences are in a sensitive condition. -Something is occurring, and news is leaking out at a serious rate." He -was speaking particularly to John. But it was evident that he wished -Captain X. to listen to the conversation. "There is a leakage of news -from certain fortified zones on the South Coast. In the case of some of -the lesser forts it matters not a brass farthing what the enemy -discovers, but at other places--well," he continued, "it has been -decided this afternoon that a department is to direct its special -attention to the South Coast. Both of you gentlemen will resume uniform -almost at once. You will like that, eh, Treves?" - -"Very much indeed, sir." - -"The War Council," went on Dacent Smith, "was inclined to treat my fears -a little lightly, but I am sure I am right. There are secret operations -preparing against us on the South Coast, which are of a greater -magnitude than anything that has yet been attempted by German espionage. -I want you"--he suddenly rose and took John's hand in his--"I want you, -Treves, to put everything into this--all your shrewdness and all your -tact. You will need every quality of nerve and mind in the work I am -going to entrust to you. And believe me," he said, lowering his voice a -little, "matters are very serious indeed. We are out against a secret -enemy, who has of late increased his power amazingly. There is some -one--a new power--directing German espionage in this country, which is a -real menace to us. Up to now we have done very well, but at present, I -will quite frankly admit to you, our position is delicate in the -extreme. I dislike preaching," he concluded in a lighter tone, "but I -think you know what I mean." - -John, who had gripped his hand cordially, answered simply, "Yes, sir; I -think I appreciate the danger." - -The clock on the little mantelshelf chimed the half-hour. Grew knocked -at the door. - -"Dinner's ready," exclaimed Dacent Smith. "Come this way, and I'll show -you how a miserable old bachelor lives." - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - -On the Saturday following John's first experience of his Chief's -excellent bachelor cuisine, two men sat in a little, barely furnished -room, four hundred feet above the sea. There was no view from the single -window of the little apartment, the one-story building of which it -formed a part was deeply embedded and concealed between high -grass-covered mounds. Both men were beyond middle age, one of them, in -fact, wearing the gold stripes of a naval commander, was over sixty -years of age, a trim-bearded, well-preserved officer, drawn for war -service from the reserve. - -Lieutenant-Commander Grieves was chief naval officer attached to the -fort. His companion, Colonel Hobin, was ten years his junior--a sharp, -nervous, over-strung little man. Hobin held the reputation of a -first-class officer; he knew every yard of Heatherpoint Fort, which was -his present charge. His big guns were as children to him, and in regard -to his subordinates he was a strict disciplinarian, with a reputation -for fairness both to officers and to men. - -At the present moment he was consuming marmalade, which he took from its -jar with a dessert-spoon and spread on thick bread and butter. There -were none of the refinements of home in the mess-room at Heatherpoint. A -tablecloth existed, and a limited number of knives, forks, and spoons. -The chef of the fort was a gloomy looking individual who had joined up -at Liverpool and plain and good was his motto. - -"I don't like it," exclaimed Hobin, suddenly. He was pouring the -Commander another cup of black-looking tea. "I don't like the look of -things at all." - -"Nor do I," said the Commander, "but the responsibility is yours, and I -think you did well to communicate with the powers that be." - -"The powers that be will do nothing," complained Colonel Hobin; "they -never do." - -"If things are wrong at all," said the old naval lieutenant, "somebody -in the fort's wrong, for I'll bet my hat nobody can get in and out -without us knowing it." - -"That's what is really troubling me," said the Colonel, the frown -deepening on his brow. "It's damnable, Grieves, to think that we are -being outwitted. I have turned every man in the fort inside out, and -they all seem to me honest as the day." - -"Wasn't one of the men in the lower fort reported to have a foreign -accent?" - -"He was," answered the Colonel, with a bitter laugh, "and I had him up -and put him through a third degree examination, with the result that his -accent turned out to be nothing more dangerous than an Irish brogue. -He's as loyal as I am, and when I mentioned the fact of the signal book -I believe if I hadn't been in uniform he would have hit me." - -"If we were one of those tin-pot forts over there," returned the -Lieutenant-Commander, jerking his thumb contemptuously in a certain -direction, "I wouldn't mind, but we really count in the defences." - -"We are the heart of this system of defence," returned Hobin tartly, -"and yet we go and lose a signal book. If it was only that," he went on, -"I might have thought there was carelessness in it, but there are other -things, queer things, Grieves, that I cannot formulate into words even -to you. I put it all before the authorities. Whiston listened as -politely as he always does, and said he'd speak to the Intelligence -Department about it, but nothing will be done." - -"They'll have to do something." - -"They won't," said Hobin. Colonel Hobin was constitutionally inclined -to pessimism, despite his ability. "They won't," he said. And at that -moment the door opened, and a young lieutenant, who had that day joined -the battery, entered the room. - -"Good evening, sir," said the young man to Colonel Hobin. - -Hobin nodded grumpily. The young man drew out a chair, seated himself, -and reached for the bread and butter. Hobin, from the head of the -table, handled the teapot. - -"Weak or strong?" he demanded of the new-comer. - -"Weak," answered John Manton, who had been at Heatherpoint a matter of -four hours, and was taking his first meal in the fort. - -The Lieutenant-Commander pushed the marmalade pot towards him, and John -began to spread it upon his bread and butter, not quite so thickly as -his Colonel had spread it a minute or two before. - -Everything was in order in regard to John's presence at Heatherpoint. -Dacent Smith had arranged the whole matter, and for the first time in -his life John Manton, who had once before been on the way to an -officer's uniform, found himself of commissioned rank. - -And for once, Colonel Hobin was mistaken in thinking that the War Office -and Intelligence Department had left him entirely neglected. - -"Well, how do you like Heatherpoint, Mr. Treves?" inquired the old -Lieutenant-Commander genially. - -"So far as I have got," answered John, "I am delighted with the chance -to be here." He spoke truthfully. - -"When you've had six months of it, and been through the winter," said -the Colonel grimly, "with your wind-gauge showing seventy miles an hour -for weeks on end, and the lighthouse siren never stopping booming, I am -afraid you won't be in quite the same cheerful mood." - -"I am cheerful by nature, sir," said the young man, tucking into the -marmalade. He ate heartily, and by the time he had finished the Colonel -was smoking a cigar. - -Lieutenant-Commander Grieves filled his pipe, lit it, and, with a nod at -the Colonel, sauntered out to his quarters. For the first time John was -alone with Hobin. For some minutes there was silence, then the Colonel -spoke. - -"You will take the leave book to-night, Treves. Ask Parkson about it." - -"Very good, sir," John answered. - -"You can go now, if you like," said the Colonel. "Get Parkson to show -you the run of the place before parade in the morning." - -At this point John rose mysteriously, opened the door into the corridor -and looked out. Then, to the Colonel's surprise, he closed it again, -and came quietly back into the room. From the inner pocket of his coat -he took a long, narrow, yellow envelope, which he handed to Hobin. - -"What's this?" demanded the Colonel. He tore open the envelope and -began to read with furrowed brows. - -When Colonel Hobin had perused the official-looking letter a second and -a third time, his brow cleared; he lifted his eyes and looked at John -with a new and keen interest. - -"So you are from the Intelligence Department?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"I had no idea of that." - -"My transfer was effected as quietly as possible, sir, with a view to -arousing no suspicion. The letter is merely my credentials from General -Whiston." - -The Colonel nodded. - -"Judging from this," said the Colonel, "General Whiston has an extremely -high opinion of your gifts." - -John tried to look as modest as possible. - -"I am a great believer in luck, sir," he said, "and up to now I have had -plenty of it." He was thinking of the saving of the _Imperator_, which -had brought him so many laurels from Dacent Smith. - -"I hope you'll bring luck to me," said the Colonel. "I can promise you I -need it." He was delighted that the powers that be had really sent -help, despite his disbelief in them. His eyes were still upon John. He -liked the young man's frank expression, his cheerful and easy manners -and the bold poise of his head. - -"A good-looking, heftily-built youngster," thought he. "I only hope he -is as shrewd as he looks active." - -"Now, I suppose," he said aloud, "you want me to tell you all the -trouble?" - -"I should like to hear of anything, sir, that has aroused your -suspicions," said John. - -"That's a tall order," answered Hobin. "Everything has aroused my -suspicions, and yet, if I put it into words, it may look like nothing to -you. Have you ever had the sensation, Treves," he said, "that things -were going wrong around you, and yet you could not lay your finger on a -thing that is definitely wrong?" - -"I have felt that way sometimes," admitted John. - -"That's the way I feel now," returned the Colonel. Then, quite briefly, -he gave John particulars of the loss of a signal book, which, however, -might have been due to carelessness. Other things he told John were -also mere surmises and sensations. "I must explain," he said, "that -this fort, and Scoles Head opposite, are key positions in our South -Coast defences. If we were incapacitated, the enemy would sneak in to ----- and wreak the devil knows what damage. Given a big enough -concentration of submarines, he could probably get fifty to a hundred -ships----" - -"It's hardly likely," John answered, "that he will ever be able to sneak -in." - -Hobin was silent for a minute, looking John over carefully. - -"Would it surprise you to hear that we have already been incapacitated?" -demanded the Colonel suddenly. - -He thrust out his chin truculently as though challenging John to doubt -him. - -"How was that, sir?" - -"For an hour one morning last week the whole eastern side of Upper Fort -was out of action. I've been a gunner for thirty years, Treves, and -until now such a thing has never occurred in my experience." - -"Could it have been an accident, sir?" - -"In normal times," answered the Colonel, impressively, "I would have -said yes; now I say, no! Three of the guns, numbers one, six and eight, -in this battery"--he jerked his head towards the south--"went wrong -suddenly. A cleaning squad was at work on number one, and discovered -that the gun could not be handled at all. It was just after daylight in -the morning. You know how perfectly these six- and nine-inch guns are -swung?" - -John nodded. - -"A child can swing them like a toy cannon. My own boy's often done it," -went on the Colonel. "Well, on this particular morning the guns would -not elevate. Just lay inert, like dead masses of metal. Everything was -in order, both in the gun-chamber and engine house. But the guns -wouldn't budge, and for an hour this whole upper fort was out of action. -If the enemy had tried to rush us at that time, we could have done -nothing! I was not quite so jumpy as now. Not quite so many things had -happened to arouse my suspicions, and I blamed Ewins." - -"Who is Ewins, sir?" - -"Our chief gunner." - -"Did Ewins discover what was wrong?" John asked. - -"Neither Ewins nor any of us," answered the Colonel. "What happened is a -mystery to us all. Ewins was in bed when the thing occurred, and, -knowing how jealous he is of his gun, one of the cleaning squad called -him. He came out of his hut half dressed. I hear from Parkson that he -was in a blind rage, and felt his gun all over, as a mother may feel for -a bruise on her baby; but he could make nothing of it." - -"I'd rather like to see Ewins," said John, "if it can be managed." - -"He is on duty now," responded the Colonel. "Come along and make his -acquaintance. But, for Heaven's sake, don't run away with any idea that -Ewins is a wrong 'un. Ewins is the best gunner on the South Coast, one -of the old rule of thumb school. He knows nothing of trajectories or -curves, and hardly ever looks at the wind gauge. But he has made -ninety-eight per cent. at a submarine target doing nine knots." - -"What was the range, sir?" - -The Colonel told him, and John opened his eyes in surprise. - -"Come along," said Hobin. - -Together they left the mess-room, crossed a narrow, asphalted pavement, -ascended a short ladder and came upon a gorgeous view of the ocean and -the blue waters of the Solent. Beyond, to the right, lay England, an -irregular coast-line, with swelling hills, green in the foreground and -blue in the distance. In the middle of the picture, to the right, rose -the tall tower of Ponsonby Lighthouse. The tower gleamed white in the -bright sunshine. Colonel Hobin led the way along the edge of a -grass-covered cliff, and presently, below him, John observed the long -muzzle of a six-inch gun camouflaged scarlet, blue and green. - -"That's Ewins's special gun," explained the Colonel. "You'll see he has -the place of honour." - -The green cliff-top sloped stiffly here, and beneath him John could see -the big, circular iron gun platform, and below it the ladder leading -into the gun chamber. On a parapet beyond the gun, and on the very edge -of the cliff, a sentry paced back and forth, his outline picked out -sharply against the blue of the sea that murmured faintly four hundred -feet below. At the open breach of the gun itself another soldier was at -work, a man who was long and thin, and a little grey at the temples. He -was delicately wiping certain shining parts of the weapon with an oiled -rag. As the Colonel's feet, followed by John, smote the iron platform, -the soldier drew himself erect and stood at attention. - -"This is Ewins," said the Colonel to John. John greeted Ewins with a -friendly smile. Until that moment he had doubted him. Only a few days -earlier he had met one traitor in Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and as he and -the Colonel approached the gun platform he had been wondering if in -Ewins he was to meet a second. - -Ewins was thin-faced, with a weather-reddened skin and clear, brown -eyes. He was a man in the late forties, a typical old soldier. John, -looking at him, wondered if it was possible that he could have been -corrupted, but somehow he found it difficult to suspect the man. - -Colonel Hobin made an excuse and left the two together. - -"You are in a grand position here, Ewins," said John. - -"Fine, sir," answered the soldier. His accent was British through and -through. John gave him permission to carry on, and Ewins closed his -breech with a heavy click. - -"The Colonel has been speaking very highly of your gunnery." - -Ewins looked up quickly, with an expression of pleasure in his eyes. - -"Has he, sir?" He paused a moment and hesitated. "It makes a great -difference being under him, sir; he sort of brings it out, if you know -what I mean; puts you on your mettle." - -John made a mental note of his admiration for the Colonel. - -"I heard about your trouble last week, Ewins." - -"You mean Tuesday morning, sir?" - -"Yes," John answered. "What was the trouble after all?" - -Ewins looked perplexed. - -"It beats me fairly, sir. There was nothing wrong when they called -me--that is, there was nothing wrong after I'd been here a minute or -two. You know how she works, sir." As he spoke he almost with a finger -raised the great muzzle of his weapon, then made a neat sweep to right -and left. "Well, she just lay here like a dead thing." - -"I suppose the explanation would be simple enough if we only knew it," -answered John. - -Ewins shook his head. - -"I don't like it, sir. I was pretty wild that morning, thinking some of -these young recruits had been messing about, but the same thing had -happened to number six and eight." He pointed to a lower platform, -beyond where the sentry was passing. "They went wrong that same -morning," he continued. - -"And got right again in the same mysterious way?" inquired John. - -"Yes, sir." - -"You don't think any of your cleaning squad had a hand in it?" inquired -John. - -"No, sir; I talked pretty straight to them, but it wasn't them." - -"Perhaps you have an enemy in the fort, Ewins?" - -The old soldier smiled. - -"I don't know about that, sir," he said; "but everybody seems pretty -friendly with me. I have been here a long time, sir." - -"So I hear," said John. - -"I don't think anybody in the fort, sir," Ewins went on, "would do a -dirty trick on me like that. You see, sir," he said, in a voice of -intense seriousness, "it put us out of Action." - -John was silent for a moment. For the first time the full gravity of -what had happened struck his consciousness. - -"I'll swear it wasn't an accident," continued Ewins, emphatically. "Old -'Crumbs' said it was; but he don't know anything about guns." - -"Who's 'Crumbs'?" - -"I beg pardon, sir; I meant Private Sims, the baker." - -"He said it was an accident?" pursued John. - -"Yes, sir. I lost my temper that morning, and when I come here and -found how things were, I gave one of the squad a bit of a push." - -"Was 'Crumbs' one of the squad?" - -"Oh, no, sir; he come in to bring me a lump of cake." Ewins looked -sheepish a moment. "You see, sir, I am partial to cake, and he -generally hands me a bit at odd times. He was in the gun chamber when I -got here, sir, looking for me, with a bit of cake in his hand." - -"But it was five o'clock in the morning!" - -"It was new cake," said Ewins; "he'd just baked it." - -"But you weren't supposed to be on duty." - -"No, sir," answered Ewins. - -"Wouldn't 'Crumbs'--Private Sims--know you were off duty?" probed John. - -Ewins smiled again. - -"He don't know much about soldiering, sir; they never do." - -John had further talk with the chief gunner, which talk grew more and -more technical as Ewins noticed John's interest in his work. But after -a good many questions it still seemed to John that "Crumbs" walking -about with cake at five o'clock in the morning showed an excessive -benevolence. He felt he wanted to make the acquaintance of "Crumbs." -And before going back to the Colonel in the mess-room, he looked in at -the bake-house, a single-storied building next to the kitchen. - -"Crumbs" was in a white apron and a white cap when John entered and -found him at work. The bake-house was dark, the air warm and fragrant -with a scent of freshly-baked loaves. "Crumbs," with flour on his -eyelashes, and a heavy, drooping moustache, also powdered with flour, -turned as John entered. In his hands he held a big iron tray of -newly-baked loaves. John introduced himself. He felt that every step -he made must be made with infinite caution. - -"You've got a fine bakehouse here, Sims." - -"Yes, sir; not so bad." - -"I hear you are a master hand at cake making." - -"Well, not exactly," deprecated "Crumbs." "I can hardly say that." He -placed his tray of bread on the table. - -"Sergeant Ewins tells me he's very fond of cake," went on John. - -"Crumbs's" eyes moved quickly. The momentary, fleeting glance he cast -at John was unobserved. - -"The sergeant has a sweet tooth, sir." - -"So have I," answered John, with a smile. "Perhaps you will make a note -of that, Sims." - -Sims smiled. John noticed that his complexion was sallow, that he was a -loosely built, shambling man of forty. There was nothing in the least -suspicious about him. No trace, so far as John could gather, of a -foreign accent. He went out of the bakehouse in a dissatisfied frame of -mind. - -The mystery of the guns was still a mystery. - - * * * * * - -Next morning, at parade, John ran his eye along the men of the battery -until it rested upon "Crumbs." The man, with his sallow complexion and -glassy eyes, struck him as looking vacant and somewhat foolish. - -"You are either that, my friend," thought John, "or most devilish -cunning. I wonder which it is?" - -He made it his business during that day, and the days which followed, to -acquaint himself with every member of the battery. Nothing, however, -occurred to arouse his suspicion or to give him the slightest clue to -the untoward things that had happened. He wrote a letter to Dacent -Smith reporting matters, and on the afternoon of the third day he -decided to go into Newport for an afternoon's recreation. Colonel Hobin -granted him leave instantly--and then John changed his mind, and decided -not to go. He had no reason for staying in the fort, other than that he -wanted to be on the spot as much as possible. He took a book from the -badly-equipped fort library, and went to his room. Here he flung -himself on the bed, and read for an hour or two. Save for the -never-ending moan of the wind and the grind of the wind-gauge, the fort -buildings were very quiet. Colonel Hobin, Parkson, and another officer -were on duty, a subaltern was on leave, and in the four bedrooms that -ran along the corridor John was the only occupant. He was lying, deeply -absorbed in his book, when something made him turn his gaze towards the -door. To his amazement, he saw the latch lift without noise. A moment -later the door moved cautiously open, and "Crumbs," in white cap and -apron, came softly in. For a minute the intruder did not see John. - -"Well, Sims, what is it?" - -"Crumbs's" mouth clicked shut. The start he had received caused his -head to jerk. - -"What do you want, Sims?" - -"Crumbs" smiled under his black, flour-speckled moustache. - -"It was the cake, sir," he said. "You told me you were fond of cake, -sir, and I just put a cake in the mess-room for you." - -John rose from the bed. - -"Is there nothing else you want?" - -"No, sir, thank you," answered "Crumbs," moving towards the door. John -noticed, as he went, that his nose had been flattened at the bridge, as -though at some time or other a heavy blow had fallen upon it. - -"I only wondered," John went on, "why you came into my room." - -"Merely to tell you about the cake, sir." - -He went out, closing the door quietly behind him. When the door was shut -between himself and John, he drew himself suddenly erect, and listened -for a moment, then moved quickly away down the passage. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - -"'Crumbs' is the man," thought John the moment he opened his eyes next -morning. During the night he had been awake for hours pondering the -situation, and this was the decision he had arrived at. He decided, -however, to say nothing of his suspicions to Hobin or to anyone else -until "Crumbs" had further committed himself. Possibly, after all, he -was mistaken; only time could tell. The first thing he did, however, -when breakfast was at an end, was to write a note to Dacent Smith, -asking that Private Sims's history might be discreetly inquired into. - -"I think Private Sims is not quite what he seems," said John, concluding -his letter. Nevertheless, if "Crumbs" was the suspicious character John -believed him to be, he possessed an extraordinary talent for hiding his -guilt. - -John had pursued his investigations with such closeness during the past -days, he now felt that the time had come when he might reasonably seek a -certain amount of relaxation. - -Therefore the morning of the tenth day saw him briskly descending the -long steps cut in the face of the cliff to the lower fort. Here, -immediately beyond the fort gates, a hired car awaited him. Manton -stepped into the car after answering the challenge of the sentry, and -drove down the long, winding road. A second sentry challenged him at -the foot of the fort road, and thereafter the car bowled merrily along -until it reached the gates of Colonel Treves's house at Freshwater. - -John was wondering what he should say to the old gentleman. During the -past weeks nothing had created a deeper impression on his mind than the -pathetic figure of Bernard Treves's father. The old man, the soul of -honour, cursed with a worthless son, appealed intensely to the -sympathetic side of John's nature. John had learnt something of Bernard -Treves's recent life from Dacent Smith. Following the discovery that -the young man had been associated with Manwitz and Cherriton, he had -been kept in a nursing home in strict confinement. An attempt had been -made to cure him of his drug habit, with the result that he had suffered -an utter physical collapse, and now was lying seriously ill. John, in -discussing the matter with Dacent Smith, had mentioned the old Colonel, -and the deception that had been practised upon him. - -"When the time comes," the Chief had answered, "you can either reveal -your real identity to Colonel Treves, or not, as you wish. In any case, -I rather doubt if his amiable son will appear on the scene again; that -is a matter entirely for the military authorities. From what I hear," -Dacent Smith continued, "the old Colonel hasn't much of this life before -him, and if he learnt the truth about his son I know exactly what would -happen. He would not be able to face it. Either death would mercifully -carry him off, or----" John nodded, "or," he thought, "he would seek the -death he once offered me." John saw now that the deception that had -been practised upon the Colonel at the instigation of his friend, -General Whiston, and Dacent Smith, was possibly the kindest thing that -could have happened. - -At the door of the house, Gates, the elderly butler, appeared in answer -to John's ring. For a moment the servant paused wide-eyed, staring at -the erect figure in uniform on the threshold. - -"Why, Master Bernard!" he exclaimed, "I didn't recognise you for a -minute. Come in, sir; I'll get your luggage." - -"There isn't any luggage. Is--is my father in the library?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"How is he, Gates?" - -"Just the same as usual, sir." Then the old servant forgot himself for -a brief moment. "He'll be beside himself with delight, sir," he said, -"to see you like that, back again in the Army, an' all." - -John moved to cross the wide hall, but Gates followed him instantly. - -"Perhaps I'd better break the news to him, sir; it's a little sudden -like." - -John followed him, and when the elderly butler knocked at the -baize-covered door of the library a minute later, he heard Colonel -Treves's voice from within. Gates went into the room and closed the -door behind him. The old Colonel was seated in his deep chair near the -hearth. - -"I beg your pardon, sir," said Gates, crossing and standing before him, -"but Mr. Bernard has returned." - -Colonel Treves, who held a book on his knee, laid down his big reading -glass on its open page, and lifted his head slowly. There was a stern -light in his old faded eyes. - -"I won't see my son, Gates!" - -"Pardon me, sir," protested the old servant, "I think you would like to -see him." - -Colonel Treves rose to his feet, felt for his stick, and began to move -feebly across the room. - -"He is no son of mine, Gates," he said, as he went. "You can tell him -that. A liar and a humbug," he said. "Always a liar and a humbug. No -soul of truth in him, no honour----" - -But Gates, the faithful servant of thirty years, knew his master well. -He made no attempt to argue with the Colonel, but moved quietly to the -door behind which John was waiting, and whispered, "Come in, Mr. -Bernard." - -John entered, and crossing the soft carpet laid his hand on the old -Colonel's shoulder. The Colonel turned quickly, flinging up his head in -indignation, then something took place on his face that touched John to -the heart. The old firm lips quivered a moment. - -"Is that you, Bernard?" he asked. He came nearer, peering at John, -looking at the upright, uniformed figure. "I can't believe it," he -added. - -"It is true, sir," said John. "I received a commission a month ago." - -"Take my arm, boy," said the Colonel, suddenly; "lead me back to the -chair." - -John led him across to his deep chair, and Gates softly went out of the -room. When the Colonel was seated, he fumbled for his strong glasses, -and put them on with fingers that shook visibly. Once again he looked -John over from head to foot. - -"It's the good blood that tells," he said after a long pause. Suddenly -he broke into a laugh. "Do you know, Bernard, boy," he said, "a minute -ago I was telling Gates you were no son of mine. You see, I thought you -had broken your promise; you broke it so often before." - -"That may be, sir," answered John quietly, "but this time I managed to -keep it." - -He permitted John to help him into his chair at the hearthside, and -John, at his bidding, rang the bell. - -"Gates," said the Colonel, when the old servant entered, "serve tea up -here; I and my boy will have it together." - -"Very good, sir." - -"Now, Bernard, boy, tell me your news!" demanded the old soldier, when -Gates had left the room. - -John gave a sketchy, vague account of his doings during the past weeks. - -"And so you are with Colonel Hobin. You must give him my kind -remembrances; we met thirty years ago, when he was a subaltern at -Aldershot. He had the making of a good soldier, I remember." He talked -on, on general matters, and all the while John felt that his mind was -solely occupied with his pride and satisfaction at seeing his son in -uniform once again. In his excitement and pleasure he forgot two -letters that had reposed on his desk for two days, waiting for John. -Finally, he remembered them. "I must give you your letters, Bernard." - -"Thank you, sir," answered John, "I'll get them myself, if you tell me -where they are?" - -He found the letters on the Colonel's desk, and excused himself for -reading them. The first letter began: "Dear Bernard," and the first -sentence ran: "You bad, bad boy." John knew in a moment that it was -from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and skimmed the four closely written pages -casually. - - -"_Have you seen the Great One yet? ... The Ogre is always in the House -of Commons now ... I am utterly alone ... I wonder if any fine, handsome -young man is thinking of sending me a hundred Russian cigarettes, the -same as the last.... Next time you come, you must not be nearly so -bold...._--Yours, ALICE." - - -"A very satisfactory letter," thought John, "if I had happened to care -two straws about her." A vision of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's brilliant -beauty came before his eyes. It seemed strange to think that this -woman, in the heart of London society, was a traitor, using her gifts of -fortune and beauty for the nefarious purpose of ruining her own country, -but such was indeed the case. What had been the original cause of Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's treachery, John did not know; only afterwards was the -full truth made plain to him. - -He opened the second letter, which was in a handwriting unknown to him. -The note was from Captain Cherriton, to whom he had given this address -when he left London. - - -"DEAR TREVES," ran the letter--"_Will you please call at Rollo Meads one -day next week, Tuesday for preference, at five in the afternoon? I -shall be there, and you will meet a new friend, Doctor Voules, who will -supply you with what you want._" (He was referring to the tabloids -Manwitz had been in the habit of supplying to Treves.) "* Our old -friend,*" went on the letter, "_who formerly supplied you, you will -regret to hear, was taken ill, and has gone away to the coast for a -time_. - -"_Yours very truly,_ - "JOHN CHERRITON." - - -John folded this letter carefully and placed it within his pocket-book. -A specimen of Cherriton's handwriting, he inwardly decided, would be -useful to Dacent Smith. Half an hour later John took his departure, and -the old Colonel accompanied him to the door of the house. - -"Good-bye, my boy," said the old man, gripping his hand at parting, -"come again soon"; then he lowered his voice so that Gates, who was -waiting at John's hired car, could not hear, "Bernard, boy," said the -Colonel wistfully, "when you are tempted to go a little wrong, just keep -in mind that I am believing in you." - -"Very good, sir," John answered, "I won't forget that." He stood at -salute a moment, then ran down the steps and sprang into the car. - -"Good-bye, sir," said Gates, the old butler. - -"Good-bye," cried John as the car whirled out of the avenue. - -When John reached the foot of Heatherpoint Hill, and began to ascend the -long slope towards the fort, it was already seven o'clock. The sun lay -low in the west, and there was no wind. - -"Fine visibility if there was any shooting for Ewins," thought John. - -The car halted before the first sentry. - -"Friend," said John. - -"Pass, friend," answered the man. - -A minute later, from his seat in the car, John was able to see the south -shore of the island, and obtained a momentary glimpse of a strip of sand -below, which was accessible only to those within the area of the fort -itself. Looking down into the little bay three hundred feet below, John -was caught with admiration by the mirror-like blue of the water, the -languid white roll of the waves. The little beach, as always, was -deserted, or at least, John thought so in the first moment. But a second -glance showed him that a soldier was strolling about with apparent -aimlessness down below. The man was smoking a cigarette, and in the -clear evening air John could plainly see the white smoke. So much he -saw, when the man was lost to view. - -In the fort, a minute later, John caught himself wondering what soldier -it was. - -"Evidently somebody who is fond of his own company," thought John. He -went up to Commander Grieves's look-out. The old naval officer was at -the long telescope. "May I have a squint through that, sir?" John -requested. - -"By all means, youngster, by all means," returned the old man; "here you -are." He swung the telescope, and John found that, to his chagrin, he -could see nothing of the man on the strip of beach below. - -"What do you want to see?" asked Commander Grieves. - -"I want to look sharp down from here to the south," John said. "Some -one from the fort is walking down there, and I'm wondering who it is." - -"You can't see with this; I'll lend you my Zeiss," returned the -Commander. He took out a pair of binoculars, and handed them to John. -"We do not cover that bit of shore," said Grieves, "either with the guns -or with the searchlights. It's of no importance, and isn't navigable -for anything drawing more than three feet of water." - -John took the binoculars, and thanked him, then went to the cliff edge. -Here, moving with particular caution, he began to focus his glasses. -When definition seemed to be right, he leaned carefully forward, and -surveyed the beach below. The soldier was still there. After pacing -with apparent aimlessness back and forward, he had seated himself on the -smooth strip of sand. At the present moment the khaki figure was -occupied in placing a pebble on the sand at arm's length. He placed a -second small stone next to this, then made a span with his fingers, and -put a third pebble in a line with the first and second. He made another -span, and placed down a fourth stone and a fifth beside it. His -operations were steady and systematic. He was absolutely absorbed with -his work. John, from that cliff top, watched him for a full five -minutes; never once did the soldier raise his head. In khaki uniform, -at that distance, he might have been any soldier at the fort. Finally, -however, when he had finished his operations, which had grown more and -more interesting to John, he rose and looked at his handiwork upon the -smooth sand. Evidently he had completed his task, whatever it was, for -he turned and continued his aimless strolling. This time he was pacing -towards the fort, and as he turned he lifted his eyes, and swept the -cliff in a swift, embracing glance. In an instant John had recognised -the sallow, upturned face of "Crumbs." - -For a full ten minutes he waited, holding himself back. At the end of -that time, however, he again cautiously approached and looked down. -Below him spread the bright golden sands, a few chalk boulders were -scattered here and there, and the waves continued to roll and break -languidly as before. - -The figure of "Crumbs" had now vanished from the sands. A steep, -winding path ascended the cliff to the fort, and it was upon that path -that John again saw Sims. It was a good twenty minutes' walk from where -"Crumbs" was to the fort itself, and John, after watching him for a -minute, lowered his glasses, rose and made his way back to the -mess-room. - -"Collins," he said to an orderly, "bring me the leave book." - -When the leave book was in his hand he ran his finger quickly down the -list of names. - -"Pte. Sims, eight o'clock," he read. - -Sims was on leave until eight. - -"I'll wait and investigate," thought John, "when he is safely in his -quarters." - -He went to his room after that, took the cartridges out of his Colt -automatic revolver and examined the weapon closely. Having reloaded the -pistol, he slipped it into his hip pocket. - -At eight o'clock, when John passed across the asphalt pavement between -the officers' quarters and the kitchen, he was able to observe Sims, who -was fond of his bake-house, sitting in the open doorway of the bakehouse -itself, innocently reading the morning's paper. He appeared not to be -aware of John's departure, and continued to read. - -Manton, in the meantime, made his way towards the sentinel-guarded wire -entanglements. A tall, double ladder, spanning the entanglement, here -permitted exit on to the cliff edge behind the fort. The ladder was a -temporary affair, drawn in always at night, thus making the fort, with -the aid of the sentries, impregnable from the rear. - -The sun was low in the west when John reached the expanse of sand -whereon "Crumbs" had occupied himself. Once upon the shore, it was the -simplest matter in the world to trace "Crumbs's" path. He walked -briskly, following the man's footsteps, full of a keen desire to know -what "Crumbs" had been doing. No ordinary purpose, thought John, had -been at the back of "Crumbs's" operations. Nevertheless, an ordinary -observer watching, as John had watched, would have entertained no -suspicion at all. - -"Perhaps," mused John, as he followed "Crumbs's" irregular footprints, -"I am a fool for my pains! He may be the mere aimless nonentity he -seems to be." He remembered that "Crumbs" was known to be a collector -of shells, that he spent a good deal of time searching for specimens -upon the foreshore. A baker and a conchologist are incongruous mixtures -at any time. Especially were they incongruous on that coast where shells -are almost non-existent. Keenly interested he drew nearer to the spot -whereon "Crumbs" had occupied himself, but the smooth sand was -undisturbed save for the man's heavy-footed indentations. - -John's spirits instantly fell. There was nothing upon that spot which -in the slightest degree could arouse his suspicions. The sand was -smooth and firm, with round, sea-eroded pebbles plentifully scattered -here and there--the usual pebbles that lay in thousands upon the beach. - -"After all, I was a fool!" thought John. - -He could see quite clearly the impress of "Crumbs's" body as it had lain -upon the ground. And as he stood looking upon this impression he -observed that "Crumbs" had made what might be called a crude pattern -with pebbles--a row of parallel lines. John was able to make out, in -all, three separate lines of stones. - -For a long minute he remained looking down upon these innocent-seeming -pebbles laid out with childish regularity. Then gradually his first -suspicions returned. His attention ran along the orderly row of little -stones--a third and a fourth time. - -And suddenly a vivid light blazed in his eyes. He uttered an -exclamation under his breath. - -"Great Scott! so that's it." - -His whole mind focused upon the pebbles; he began to speak in measured -tones. - -"Dot-dash-dot-dash; dash-dash-dash." - -As the words left his lips on the solitude of the sands, he was -conscious of a quick thrill of excitement. The stones laid thus -innocently held a sinister meaning spelt out in the Morse code. Two -pebbles lay together, then further to the right an isolated pebble, then -again two pebbles. - -"Dash-dot-dash," John interpreted. - -The message was quite a long one. With a glance at the cliff edge--he -knew that "Crumbs" was safely in his quarters--John took out his -pocket-book and made a faithful copy of "Crumbs's" laborious message. - -When he had copied it all down he made his way back to the fort, -pondering upon the significance of his discovery. For whom was the -message intended? Both Hobin and Commander Grieves had told him that -the possibility of any enemy signalling from the fort, or to the fort -from outside, had been completely eliminated, and had said, "We should -instantly see any light that might be exhibited by an enemy." - -"And yet," thought John, "our ingenious friend, 'Crumbs,' seems to have -thought out a plan which evades every one of their precautions." - -The ingenuity and simplicity of "Crumbs's" plan struck him with -astonishment. It was clear to John that "Crumbs" regularly placed his -innocent-looking messages on the sands, to be subsequently taken up by a -confederate who came ashore from a submarine in the darkness. - -"Cunning isn't the word for him," thought John, as he hurried towards -the fort. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - -A few minutes later in his own room and by candle-light he set to work -to find a meaning for the arrangement of little pebbles "Crumbs" had -placed upon the foreshore. A dozen times he went over the dot-dash -lines in his pocket-book, and each time the hidden meaning intensified -in clarity. Finally, he began to write with a sudden vivid and -passionate interest. - -The first word defined was "Oberst." Then he continued slowly and -carefully: "_Mistrauish und aufgeregt. Neue Minen karte in Haenden des -Capitans. Nicht moeglich es sofort zu finden. Von R. ist nichts zu -hoeren. Ganze geschichte schwierig. Bitte um antwort.--S_. - -"So, friend 'Crumbs' is a German after all, and an educated German at -that," he exclaimed under his breath. - -Then he took his pencil and began to translate the message. The result -in English was as follows: - -"_Colonel suspicious and nervous. New mine chart in hands of naval -commander; impossible to find it at once. No news of R. Matters -difficult. Answer this.--S._" - -John looked up with a grave face. Almost for the first time he felt a -doubt. In that moment he almost doubted even Dacent Smith's power to -cope with such subtlety, such ingenious co-ordination as this. - -"Crumbs" was a spy actually in the heart of a vital fort, a spy who was -possibly one of a score, or a hundred, busy upon the South Coast at that -moment. John felt oppressed by a consciousness of dark agencies -planning evil. Here was no romance. Here was real, hard, solid fact; -War. Sims was an item in this warfare, one of a chain, of which -Manwitz, Cherriton, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and the great unknown himself -were all separate links. - -For some minutes John paced the narrow confines of his room. - -Who was R. from whom no news had arrived? A sensation that calamity and -failure was possible bore in upon him. He had made a discovery truly, -but would that discovery mean the frustration of the mysterious attack -that was impending? He did not know, he hardly dared to hope. - -"If Heatherpoint Fort were out of action," Colonel Hobin had said, "and -if Scoles Head were similarly out of action, there might be the devil to -pay." - -John realised as he paced his little room with "Crumbs's" message in his -hand, that an attack by sea was planned. Otherwise why the mention of -the new mine chart? And if an attack by sea was intended on the great -naval port of ... Scoles and Heatherpoint must be first put out of -action. After that, the boom which ran across from Ponsonby Lighthouse -to ... must be overcome. - -He looked again at the message. - -"This must be got to Dacent Smith at once," thought he; "and in the -meantime 'Crumbs' must be watched." - -He placed the message carefully in his pocket-book. Then, a new thought -having struck him, he hurried out and sought Sergeant Ewins. The -sergeant occupied one compartment of an old railway coach, which had -been turned into huts for the men. Ewins was lying on his bunk when -John entered, reading a Sunday paper by the light of a fort candle as -thick as a man's wrist. - -"I want to have a word with you, Ewins," said John, sitting on the edge -of the chief gunner's bunk, which had formerly been a railway seat. -"Can you tell me," he went on, "if it is possible for anyone to make a -landing on the south shore, there? I mean in the bay below the -look-out." - -"It's possible, of course," Ewins answered, "but risky." - -"You don't think it possible," inquired John, "for a submarine to lie -out there in the bay and send a small canvas boat ashore?" - -Ewins shook his head. - -"You've forgotten our minefield--a submarine could not pass it, sir." - -"No, I haven't forgotten that," answered John; "but suppose the Germans -know where our mines are?" - -"Then they'd know more than we do, sir," answered Ewins. "Nobody in the -fort knows that, except the Commander, and perhaps the Colonel." - -"The reason I am asking you," went on John, "is that I have discovered -something and want to give you an opportunity of coming down on the -shore with me." - -"To-night, sir?" inquired Ewins. - -John nodded. - -"I suppose, Ewins, it seems fantastical and impossible to you, but I -have a theory that the Germans intend to bring a boat ashore there. In -my opinion, they have been there before to-night." - -Ewins's eyes opened wide. - -"Do you think that is so, sir?" he asked in a voice of deep amazement. -Then his eyes brightened. "I'd like to come with you, sir, if you think -there's any likelihood of that sort of thing." - -"I don't only think it, I know it," said John. "It may not be to-night, -because of the full moon, nor to-morrow night. But some time or other, -and maybe soon, I am prepared to bet my hat that a German will land from -the sea. He will land, Ewins, in the bay below us, within a quarter of -a mile of where we are now sitting." - -The manner in which Ewins took this information filled John with -satisfaction. The old soldier was spoiling for a fight. For four years -he had had nothing better to shoot at than a target, and he was longing -for a chance of real action. - -Nevertheless John's fear was correct, for that night and the next night -the moon shone brilliantly, and nothing happened on the shore. -"Crumbs's" message lay unread in the bright moonlight. The third night, -however, the sky was overcast. - -But by a sudden, swift turn of circumstances John was not there to see -what happened. - -Manton's record on "Crumbs's" secret signal had been taken with the -utmost seriousness by Dacent Smith, and on the afternoon of the third -day, when John was alone at tea in the mess-room, an orderly thumped -along the passage. - -"A gentleman to see you, sir," said the orderly. - -"What's his name?" John asked. - -"Captain Sinclair, sir." - -John rose, and a minute later Captain X. stepped into the little room. -Captain X. was in uniform, and John noticed that he wore the Mons ribbon -and the D.S.O. - -"Surprised to see me, eh?" exclaimed the young man, gripping John's hand -heartily; then dropping his voice, "I'm here from the Chief. Is it -quite private here?" - -"Quite," John answered, "but I would rather take you into my room." - -They went along the passage to John's bedroom. John seated himself on -the bed, and Captain X. or Sinclair occupied the only chair. - -"The Chief's thoroughly stirred up," said Sinclair, plunging into his -subject without preliminary. "He has passed on your information to me. -I must say you seem to have all the luck, Treves. A signal on the -sands, eh? That beats everything for cunning. I have heard of clothes -being hung out in the Morse code, and Morse smoke signals from a -chimney--by the way, do you think your chap Sims signals with smoke from -his bakehouse?" - -John shook his head. - -"I have spent hours looking at his chimney," he said. "It was the first -thing I thought of when I began to suspect him, and it was only an -accident which made me get on to his real game after all. I knew any -kind of flash signal was out of the question here." - -"Neatest thing they've done yet, eh, Treves? I must say this sort of -thing makes the fight full of zipp and go," he said. Then he looked at -John with a commiserating eye: "I am going to dash your spirits, old -chap." - -"Well, get on with it," said John. - -"I am going to pick up the plums you have shaken off the tree." - -"How's that?" - -For answer Sinclair drew an envelope from his pocket. John recognised -the colour and shape of the envelope in a minute. He read the short, -typed letter with gathered brows, then struck a match and destroyed it -carefully. The letter contained an order from Dacent Smith that John -should surrender his position at Heatherpoint to Captain X., and was to -resume work immediately against Cherriton, Dr. Voules, and Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth. - -"It's rough luck, old chap," said Captain X., "but I expect that before -this big movement is finished you will have as much chance of adventure -as I shall." - -"I hope so," said John. "But I was looking forward to the result of -'Crumbs's' signal. Last night the moon shone out of pure cussedness." - -Captain X. sprang up to the window and looked out. - -"It's clouding up to-night, old chap," he exclaimed joyously, "and -you'll be away for the fun. Hallo!" he said. His eyes were lowered and -were fixed upon a man in shirt-sleeves in the doorway opposite. "Is -that 'Crumbs'?" - -"Yes," said John, "but don't let him see you looking at him. I am not -so sure that he hasn't spotted something." - -"He'll spot something in a day or two," said Captain X., coming back -from the window, "and in the meantime the Chief's orders are to leave -him a long rope." - -John's orders from his Chief were that he should report to Colonel Hobin -and leave Heatherpoint immediately. He began to change his clothes, and -talked to his companion at the same time. - -"You can rub acquaintance with 'Crumbs' while I get out of the fort," he -said. "He mustn't see me in mufti. I shall spend a night in Newport, -and call on Dr. Voules to-morrow morning." - -"Who do you think Voules is?" asked the Captain. - -John shook his head. - -"I shall know more about that to-morrow," he said. - -When he was ready to go he shook hands cordially with his companion. He -always felt older than Captain X., though their ages were the same. -Captain X.'s audacity and joy in life amused John. His colleague always -put so much zest into everything he did. - -"I should advise you," he said, gripping the Captain's hand, "to use -Ewins if you want any help on the beach to-night. He is an old soldier, -and I should think, if an awkward moment arrived, you could rely on -him." - -"Thanks," said Sinclair. "This is a new game for me. I have never had -the chance of angling for a German submarine commander before, but I -expect there'll be one ashore here to-night, eh, Treves?" - -"Somebody comes ashore," responded John, "and reads those signals." - -He went out and sat in the mess-room for a few minutes, leaving Sinclair -time to occupy "Crumbs'" attention while he slipped away from the fort. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - -The situation at Heatherpoint was exactly to the liking of Captain -Sinclair. He realised, from what John had told him, that "Crumbs" was -no mean antagonist, and he was feverish to make the spy's acquaintance. -But the manner in which he strolled into "Crumbs's" bakehouse before -John's departure was the most casual in the world. One of Sinclair's -chief gifts was an innocent and infectious smile, and under the most -trying of circumstances he was always cheerful. With this smiling -cheeriness of manner Sinclair possessed, as is often the case, a fair -share of astuteness. - -"It smells good in here," he said, putting his head into "Crumbs's" warm -atmosphere. - -"Crumbs," who was kneading dough at his board, turned about. - -"Don't mind me," said Sinclair cheerfully. He stepped into the -bakehouse and held a good-humoured conversation with "Crumbs." He spent -a quarter of an hour in cheery garrulity, and when he went away, -"Crumbs," from the darkness of his lair, watched him stride across the -asphalt yard towards the officers' quarters. The man's eyes narrowed as -he recalled that Sinclair had been peering at him out of John's quarters -a little while earlier. When his work was finished that night "Crumbs" -cleaned himself and had a chat with Ewins, who was smoking a pipe on the -step of the old railway carriage that formed both men's quarters in the -upper fort. - -"Who's this new captain we got?" Private Sims asked. - -"Don't know," answered Ewins. "He's done his bit, seemingly." He was -referring to Sinclair's Mons ribbon and the D.S.O. - -"We seem to be getting a lot of changes lately," pursued "Crumbs." He -had removed the flour from his eyelashes and moustache, and his lean, -sallow, discontented face and glassy, strange-looking eyes struck Ewins -as particularly unpleasant. Sims was generous in handing cake and so -forth whenever chance occurred, but he was not liked in the fort. The -other men could not get the hang of him, and when he rose presently and -shambled away into the fort buildings, Ewins, who was expecting every -minute to be called by Sinclair, was not sorry. - -For an hour or two that evening "Crumbs" pottered about. He gossiped in -the kitchen, had a talk with the sergeant controlling the leave-book, -found his way into the mess-room, and complained to Parkson, who was -adjutant, on the quality of the flour being supplied from outside. -After that the Colonel met him in the corridor, where he had no right to -be, near Sinclair's bedroom. And, as the Colonel was the one man in the -fort, outside Sinclair, who knew the truth about him, he questioned -"Crumbs" somewhat sharply. - -"What are you doing here, Sims?" - -"I have just been in, sir, to complain about the flour to the adjutant. -I wasn't thinking," he went on, with a perfect semblance of an -absent-minded air, "I wasn't thinking, and I came here instead of going -along to the right----" - -"You ought to know the run of the fort by this time," said the Colonel, -and passed on. - -It was an hour later that Sims, who had made a shattering discovery, sat -in his cubicle of the railway compartment, with the door locked, and -penned a rapid letter. He wrote fluently, in the manner of a man whose -education has been thorough and efficient. His lips twitched slightly -as his pen sped over the paper. There was a tense expression upon his -sallow face, and he pulled nervously at his long, drooping moustache. - -At the head of the letter he put no address. - - -"_Dear Doctor,_" he wrote, "_our plans are threatened. The new officer -here, Lieutenant Treves, has been watching me closely for the past week. -He has cross-examined Ewins about the guns, and evidently knows -something. To-day a second officer has arrived, a Captain Sinclair. I -doubt him also. They both suspect me. But my important news is that -to-night I secured my first opportunity of going through Treves's -belongings. I was able to open his dispatch-box, and among other papers -of no importance, I discovered a letter from Cherriton, with whom he has -apparently some association. The letter was signed by Cherriton, which -clearly showed me that Treves is playing both for and against us. I -have suspected him for days. I implore you, doctor, to probe this -matter. If you hear no more from me you will know that things have gone -wrong. I beg of you to act drastically and immediately._--S." - - -When "Crumbs" had finished this letter he read it carefully through and -avoided blotting it, so that there could be no trace of its existence. -When the letter had dried he placed it in an envelope and addressed it -to "Dr. Voules, Rollo Meads, Brooke." - -It was the custom at Heatherpoint for the fort letters to be sent to -Freshwater post office every night at seven precisely in a locked bag. -"Crumbs," with his letter in his pocket, hovered about the orderly-room -until the bugle began to blow seven. He then hurriedly followed the -orderly into the mess-room, where the adjutant nightly locked the bag -with his key. Lieutenant Parkson was in the act of locking the bag when -"Crumbs" shambled into the little room with an apology. He handed his -letter to Parkson, who dropped it in and locked the bag. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - -John decided to walk into Freshwater, and then take the train to -Newport. As he made his way along the road from Heatherpoint, carrying -a small handbag, a red bicycle came towards him. - -"Are you going to the fort?" he asked the telegraph boy. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Anything for Treves?" - -The boy nodded. - -"Lieutenant Treves, sir." - -A minute later John had torn open an envelope containing a telegram, -which ran: - - -_Come to me at the Gordon Hotel, Newport. Shall be there this evening_. -ELAINE. - - -Elaine's wire came to him as an utter surprise, a surprise that was -tinctured with pleasure. He had never forgotten her since their first, -and only meeting. He had indeed thought of her a hundred times, -recalling her as she stood in the little room in Camden Town. Without -doubt she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. - -During the past weeks every moment of his time had been occupied, and -there had been no possibility of carrying out his promise to visit her. - -As he walked he drew out her telegram and read it carefully through, -possibly for the sixth time. The wording brought to him a measure of -comfort; he felt, somehow, that she was not in so distressed a state of -mind as when he had received her former wire to Bernard Treves. - -"I shall see her within an hour," thought John, as he stepped into a -train at Freshwater. But as the train drew nearer to Newport his high -spirits evaporated; he began to argue that Elaine Treves was outside his -sphere of work. Dacent Smith had impressed upon him the intense -seriousness of the German menace on the South Coast; no private -considerations, John told himself, held precedence of the duty that lay -before him. Elaine Treves was a victim of the innocent deception he had -been obliged to practise. But it was not his fault that she was an -extremely beautiful woman, and that she believed him to be her husband. - -At the Gordon Hotel, a small quiet, specklessly clean building, John -entered the hall, and found Elaine herself descending the stairs. For a -moment the girl did not notice him, and John was free to observe the -daintiness of her costume, the slender dignity of her figure, and the -quite astonishing beauty of her grey, long-lashed eyes. The note of -pathos that had been apparent when he first met her was now not so -marked. She struck him as serious, but not depressed. - -Elaine had descended the stairs to the vestibule before her eyes met -his. - -"Oh, Bernard," she exclaimed, and instantly took his hand in her gloved -fingers. "But you can't have come in answer to my wire?" she went on. - -"No," said John; "I came on other business." - -"You are not angry with me?" - -"No; why should I be angry?" asked John. - -"Because I wired to you," said Elaine. "Let us go upstairs, Bernard. -The sitting-room's empty; we can talk there." - -She led him up to a little, parlour-like apartment, with a gay carpet, -and a circular table in the middle of the room. Here she closed the -door and stood with her back to it, looking up into John's face. Her -eyes searched his closely. Her splendid beauty, the wistful expression -of her face, a certain shy girlishness, all appealed to John's feelings. -He found it difficult to sustain the searching gaze lifted to his. - -Suddenly Elaine drew in a deep breath. - -"Bernard," she whispered, "you are different." - -John turned away. - -"Yes," he answered, quietly, "I suppose I am a little different." - -"Ever since the last time I saw you I have felt it," went on Elaine. "I -have thought much of our last meeting," she added. - -"So have I," John answered lamely, not knowing exactly how to handle the -situation. They were seated now on opposite sides of the hearth, and -Elaine was taking the hatpins out of her hat with pretty feminine -gestures that held John's attention. - -"I was only going a lonely walk," she explained, "when I met you, but I -won't go now; we'll have tea here together. You will notice," she went -on, placing her hat on her knee and piercing it with her long hatpins, -"that I have not scolded you for failing to write to me." - -"I am sorry," said John, "but I have been tremendously occupied." - -"I guessed," said Elaine, "that you were at home with your father. I am -so glad of that, Bernard; I used to feel," she went on, hesitatingly, -"that you were not treating him well, and that his indignation against -you was--was--" she hesitated a moment--"well--justified." - -John had been observing her closely. - -"Why did you wire for me, Elaine?" he said, using her name for the first -time. - -Elaine looked at him, and then away. The colour rose to her cheeks, a -delicate colour that enhanced her beauty. - -"I don't know," she said. "I got a little frightened, I think. You -see, your friend, Captain Cherriton, began to call on me rather -regularly." - -John pricked up his ears. - -"Did he cross-examine you about me?" - -Elaine shook her head. - -"He scarcely mentioned you." - -"Oh, I see," said John, suddenly enlightened; "he came to force his -unpleasant attentions upon you. Is that it?" - -Elaine was silent a moment. She was thinking how well John carried -himself. The husband she had known, neurotic and nerveless and -irritable, now appeared before her clear-eyed, calm and more manly than -she had ever believed him to be. She felt herself drawn to him, as she -had felt herself attracted on that last meeting in London. Her nature -was quick and ready to forgive. - -"I had to forbid him the house in the end, Bernard." - -John sat suddenly erect. - -"Was he impudent to you?" - -The sudden lowering of his brows and tension of his figure caught -Elaine's interest. - -"Then you do mind, Bernard?" she asked quietly. - -"Of course I mind, when you are insulted," he returned. "Or, rather, I -ought to mind." - -For, like a blow, the thought suddenly struck him that he himself was -treating her with gross injustice. It was one thing to deceive, in a -good cause, Colonel Treves; it was another thing to deceive this young -and beautiful girl, who was another man's wife. And he, John Manton, -was standing in that other man's shoes. - -John's situation at that moment was as delicate as any situation in -which he had yet found himself. It was an easy matter to confront -Manwitz and Cherriton, and even Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, in the character -of Bernard Treves. It was not so easy to present himself in that -character before Bernard Treves's wife. The thought that had occurred -to him at their first meeting came again into his mind; at any moment he -might make a false step. An unlucky turn of phrase, a lack of knowledge -of some incident in their mutual past, might instantly betray him. For -Elaine Treves, despite her striking beauty and her intense femininity, -was quite keenly alive and intelligent. - -They took tea in the hotel, and after the meal John suggested a walk in -the town. Elaine readily assented, and together they explored the -quaint side streets of Newport. If matters had been different, if John -had accompanied her in his own character, and had not had to act a part -that was extraordinarily difficult, he would have been in the highest of -spirits. - -Already he had remarked upon Elaine's air of distinction. She knew how -to dress, how to put on her hat, how to make herself in all respects a -delightful picture of girlish attraction. John knew nothing of feminine -economics, or he would have been aware that her fashionably smart -costume and that pretty hat she wore had cost almost nothing at all, and -had been mostly the work of her own hands. - -During the walk they stopped and looked into a quaint curiosity shop. -John admired a set of old Chippendale chairs and a pair of inlaid -duelling pistols. He and Elaine were standing close together as he -spoke, and he felt her slender, gloved hand laid delicately on his arm. - -"Bernard!" - -"What is it?" asked John. - -She was looking up into his face, a pleased expression in her fine grey -eyes. - -"Your taste seems to have changed utterly." - -"Oh, I don't know," said John. "I--I--perhaps my taste has matured----" - -"You used to hate all old things." - -John was looking down into her face, that appeared to him now as the -most beautiful in the world. He made no answer to her remark, and -Elaine went on: - -"You look at things so differently, Bernard." - -"In what way?" John asked. - -"I don't know," answered she. "I have a sort of queer feeling, Bernard, -that you are yourself, and yet there is something that has occurred to -make you different." - -John felt that the discussion was drifting in an awkward direction. - -"Do you know what I think?" he remarked. - -"What do you think?" asked Elaine, as they walked together. - -"I think I ought to do something to make up for all the bad times--er--I -have given you in the past." - -She was silent, walking along gazing before her. - -"They were bad times, some of them, Bernard," she returned, quietly. -She moved a little nearer to him as they walked. "But I have always -felt," she went on, "that it was not really you. I feel that--that the -unfortunate habit you had contracted, the--the----" - -"I understand," John intervened. - -"I believe now," went on Elaine, "it was not really you. You were not -responsible, and I always hoped that some time, when you had conquered -yourself, you would become different." - -She paused a moment, and John felt her arm slip through his. It was -strange, but his pulse-beat quickened at this quiet manifestation of her -growing feeling towards him. He felt that, somehow or other, she was -being drawn towards him, that she was, as it were, shielding herself -under his protection. And yet, all the time, the situation was an -impossible one. He had no right to permit advances of this sort; the -deception he was practising upon her was utterly and completely cruel. -What would have happened, he asked himself, if he had suddenly faced her -and had said: "I am not your husband, I am not Bernard Treves--but John -Manton? The man you believe me to be--your husband--is a drug-sodden and -hysterical degenerate, a soldier who has been guilty of treachery to his -country." - -His thoughts switched back to the necessity of turning the conversation. -He could feel the warmth of her arm resting upon his own. - -"Let us talk of cheerful things," he said. "For instance, that is a -very pretty hat you have on." - -"Do you like it? I made it myself." - -"Yes, I like it," responded John, appearing to look at it with the -critical eye of a husband. "Of course," he said, "it is quite easy for -a hat to look well where you are concerned." - -Elaine was frankly pleased. - -"Why are you flattering me, Bernard?" - -"That wasn't flattery. If I set out to flatter you, I should talk in -quite a different way to that." - -"Do you know," she went on quickly, "when I met you in the hotel my -heart was beating terribly. I was afraid you might be angry!" - -"How could I be angry?" - -"I don't know," she said; "but sometimes, Bernard, you used to be so -dreadfully angry at the things I did." - -Somehow the recollection of these things appeared to sweep over her, for -she drew her hand away from John's arm. - -"I thought we were going to talk of cheerful things," John reminded her. -He began to draw her attention to the quaintness of the streets, and -managed, until their return to the hotel, to keep her mind fully -occupied with trivialities. - -When they reached the little sitting-room at the hotel, he rang the bell -and ordered dinner to be prepared for two at seven o'clock. - -"May we have it here in the sitting-room?" he asked the waiter. - -"Certainly, sir," answered the man. - -Elaine, whose air of constraint had quite vanished again, went to her -room, took off her hat, and put on an afternoon blouse. When she -returned to the sitting-room John noticed her little attempt to dress -herself for the evening. - -"I thought you'd like to see me in something smarter for dinner," she -said. "Do you like it, Bernard?" - -"It could not be better," said John. Inwardly he was saying: "I like -everything about you; I like your fine, dark hair; I like your frank, -beautiful eyes, and your honesty and your simplicity, and the fact that -you are a girl and yet a woman. What I do dislike, however, is the fact -that you have a waster of a husband, and that I have no right to be here -this minute standing in that waster's shoes." - -They sat down together at the round table in the middle of the hotel' -parlour. The waiter, a gloomy individual, in tired-looking dress -clothes and in a white shirt that should have been washed a week -earlier, lit four pink-shaded candles, served the soup, and went away. -Soup was followed by fish and an excellent entree. John, looking over -the top of the pink-shaded candles, saw a brightness in Elaine's eyes. -He had been talking gaily keeping the conversation away from anything -personal, and telling her anecdotes that made her laugh. And all the -time, although he was not aware of the fact, he was drawing her towards -him, fanning the flame of love that the real Bernard Treves had never -kindled. She was experiencing new feelings towards this man whom she -believed to be her husband. The shifty look in his eyes that she had -disliked in the past had vanished. The Bernard Treves who sat before -her looked frankly and keenly into her face. He was not in the least -intimate; he was, indeed, somewhat aloof, but this very quality of -aloofness puzzled and attracted her. - -By the time dinner was cleared away and the cloth removed, Elaine was -completely at her ease. Her old fear of offending her husband had -totally vanished. She could not understand her own feelings and began -to take herself to task for having been hard with him in the past. When -Bernard Treves had persisted in his habit of heavy drinking and -drug-taking, she had been obliged to make a stand. She had done -everything she could to win him to better ways. But when to these -habits he had added violence and other cruelties towards herself, she -had informed him that until he made some effort to control himself she -could not live with him as his wife. It was characteristic of her, as -it is sometimes characteristic of gentle people, that firmness lay -beneath an unaggressive exterior. She had kept her word. But to-night, -for the first time, she began to doubt the justice of what she had done. -She told herself that she had been hard on Bernard Treves, that she -ought to have clung to him, however low he sank. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - -John, who had deposited himself on a chair at the hearth, lit a -cigarette, and was consuming it with a good deal of satisfaction. He -had never in his life partaken of an evening meal that had given him so -much satisfaction; even the funereal and shabby waiter seemed to him a -creature of delight, and the little room in the hotel--he would always -remember it as an apartment brightened by the eyes of Elaine Treves. It -was not usual for John Manton to be led away, but to-night, for some -minutes, he let his senses toy with impossibilities. He permitted -himself to forget the existence of Bernard Treves. And when the waiter -left the room, and Elaine rose and came towards him, he made no effort -to avoid her approach, as he had done once or twice earlier in the -evening. She stood beside his chair and laid her hand on his shoulder. -John looked up and saw that her face had grown serious. - -"I want to make a confession to you, Bernard." - -"Let it be a cheerful confession," smiled John. - -"I was mistaken, after all." - -"It's easy to make mistakes," returned John. - -"I ought not to have sent you away from me," said Elaine. - -John thought a moment, then observed quietly: - -"Perhaps I deserved to be sent away." - -"Do you remember, Bernard, when you came to Camden Town after you had -seen your father?" - -John, naturally, did not recollect. - -"I do not recall it very clearly," he said. - -"When you--you----" She broke off, and again, as she had done in the -street, she moved a little away from him. A wave of aversion towards -him appeared to sweep over her. "When," she went on, "I told you that -we could not be together again until--until----" - -"Until I could behave myself," John put in. - -Elaine nodded slightly in assent. - -"I thought that I was doing right, and when you said you'd never forgive -me I still held out. I wonder, Bernard, if you will forgive me?" - -"Of course I'll forgive you," returned Manton, magnanimously. He would -have forgiven her anything. He could not believe her capable of anything -which would need forgiveness. She came to him again and stood before -him, looking down. - -John, out of politeness, that she should not be standing when he was -seated, stood up, and suddenly he felt Elaine's hand in his. - -"Bernard," she whispered, "you care for me still----" - -"I care for you more than ever I did," said John. He tried valiantly to -slip his hand from hers. - -"You love me, I mean?" - -Elaine's face was upturned; there was a wistful expression in her fine, -grey eyes, and there was something more than wistfulness. John could -see it shining there. Inwardly he was conscientiously cursing the Fates -that had placed him in this impossible position--and yet outwardly he -was glad. He was thrilled and happy that this situation had arisen. -Then his thoughts took a turn, and his spirits sank. The love he saw -shining in her eyes was not for him, but for Bernard Treves. He put away -her hand and moved back in his chair. - -"You do love me, Bernard?" she whispered again. - -"Yes," John answered. He was convinced that there was no other thing -for him to say. - -"And you'll forgive me for sending you away?" - -John nodded. - -Elaine went on again: "It was wrong not to let you stay with me. I had -no right to do it; after all, a wife has no right to act as I did." - -"Why think of it and worry about it now?" said John, attempting to -strike an ordinary tone of voice. - -"But I want to make everything straight between us, Bernard." - -John led her to a chair, and she seated herself. He tried to turn the -conversation, but this time he failed. Elaine felt a growing desire to -wipe away all misunderstandings between them. - -"I have still my confession to make, Bernard." - -"What is it?" inquired John cheerily. - -There was a silence for a moment--a silence that John felt to be -momentous, that rendered him uncomfortable. Then Elaine's words came to -him, uttered in a low tone. - -"I never loved you till to-night, Bernard!" - -John was conscious of a sudden and exultant thrill. - -"Is that all your confession?" he asked. - -Elaine nodded. Her hand was in his. John lifted it to his lips. Then -recollection came to him; he drew himself erect, standing away from her. - -"It's getting late, Elaine," he said. "I ought to be going." There was -something vibrant and new in his voice that caused her heart to beat -violently. "You see," John went on, somewhat clumsily, "I have -important work to do to-morrow." - -But Elaine had not loosed her grip of his hand. She suddenly hid her -face on his shoulder; he could feel her arms about him. For a minute, -what was to John an awkward silence, subsisted between them, then Elaine -spoke again: - -"Why should you go, Bernard?" she whispered. "I was cruel to you, but I -did not wish to be cruel." - -"You are never cruel," protested John. "Don't think of it any more." - -His situation in that moment was the hardest that Fate could have -possibly imposed upon him. Here was the finest woman he had ever -met--young, beautiful and ardent, with her arms about his neck, -whispering love to him. She was speaking to him as a wife to a husband -whom she loves, and all the time he was not that husband. And, to -complicate matters, he felt now that the love she was prepared to offer -was not offered to the other--to Bernard Treves--but to himself alone. - -"Bernard," she murmured, "at the back of my heart, through all those -black days, I whispered always that some time I should be happy." - -"I am sure you'll be happy," said John. "It will not be my fault if you -are not." He drew in a deep breath. "But to-night--I must go; I--I am -very busy; I have many things to do to-night. Confidential work." He -lifted her hand, bent and kissed her slender white fingers. "Some day -I'll explain." - -A minute later he was gone. - - * * * * * - -The gloomy-looking waiter, who had served dinner the night before, -informed John that the only way to arrive at Brooke was by hired -pony-trap or by bicycle. Choosing the latter method, John, early in the -morning, hired a bicycle, visited the hotel, and said good-bye to -Elaine. - -"You'll come back to me this evening, Bernard?" whispered she as she -kissed him good-bye. - -"This evening," said John. "I had no right to let her kiss me," he -continued inwardly, "but, after all, it's part of the deception, part of -the character I am obliged to play." Nevertheless, he felt uneasy as he -rode the winding and hilly path to Brooke. The night before he had -played his part valiantly and well, but he felt that in regard to Elaine -tremendous difficulties were ahead. - -It was eleven o'clock when John reached the road which led to the empty, -forlorn line of shore at Brooke. He could see the sea ahead of him, a -grand expanse of blue ocean. He passed quaint Brooke church on his left -hand, and suddenly slowed up near a large solid-looking dwelling, -overgrown with creepers. Here was Rollo Meads, with a strip of garden -in front. As John neared the dwelling he noticed a gardener at work. -Something in the quiet and homely exterior of the house made him for a -moment think he had made a mistake, but as his hand fell upon the gate -the gardener lifted his face, and John recognised the pallid countenance -and close-set eyes of Conrad, the manservant who had first admitted him -to Manwitz's house in St. George's Square. - -Conrad informed him that Dr. Voules was in and was awaiting him. - -"Now," thought John, as he followed Conrad to the front door, "matters -may begin to move again." Dacent Smith had for some time been groping -towards the identity of Dr. Voules, and John realised that in being -permitted to undertake the work he was now upon he was being trusted and -favoured by his Chief. He resolved, in his interview with the doctor, -to exercise the most extreme caution, and to play the part of Bernard -Treves with the closest simulation. - -There was silence as John stepped into the hall of Rollo Meads. The -servant preceded him along the passage, knocked on a door, then entered, -and vanished, leaving John alone. Conrad emerged a minute later, and -summoned John towards him. - -"Will you please go in, sir." - -A moment later John found himself in a good-sized morning-room, with two -windows overlooking a lawn and a garden. The room was heavily furnished -with a long oak table in the middle, and half a dozen massive -dining-room chairs surrounding it. At the head of the table Doctor -"Voules" was seated. He wore a markedly English-looking tweed suit, but -his thick neck, his circular head, and heavy jaws showed him to be not -quite the amiable retired doctor he pretended to be. Seated on Voules's -right hand were two men, deeply sun-tanned. One of the men wore a blond -beard, and looked frankly and honestly at John. The other was a -fair-haired man, with a supercilious-looking expression. John put both -down at once as naval officers. Standing at the fire-place, in uniform, -was Captain Cherriton. The air of the room was heavily impregnated with -the smell of cigar smoke. Cherriton was smoking a cigarette, but Doctor -Voules held in his powerful mouth a long, black cigar. He flashed a -keen scrutiny upon John as the young man stepped into the room and -closed the door behind him. - -"You are Mr. Treves, eh?" - -John assured him that he was. - -"You will take a seat," said Voules, pointing to a vacant chair upon his -left hand. "These are two friends of mine," he said, indicating the -blond-bearded man and the supercilious younger man, "Mr. Sharpe and Mr. -Rogers." - -"I am pleased to meet you," said John, making a swift mental summary of -each man's appearance. - -"I am glad to make your acquaintance," responded the blond-bearded man, -and his accent was so thoroughly German that it would have betrayed him -anywhere. The other man appeared to speak no English at all, for he -merely nodded. - -"Sit down, Cherriton," commanded Voules, and Cherriton, who was lounging -at the hearth, came and seated himself at John's side. - -"I am in the thick of it," thought John. He wondered what was to occur, -what attitude Voules would take towards himself, whether Voules would -regard him as of consequence, and of possible use, or would he fail to -trust him. - -"You are no longer in the army?" Voules inquired, looking into John's -face with cold grey eyes. It was his custom to examine personally such -men as were brought to him; he had infinite belief in his own powers of -judgment, and in many ways he possessed a shrewd and penetrating mind. -His infinite confidence in himself, however, sometimes led him into -mistakes. He believed, as he looked at John, that he was examining a -weakling, and a drug-taker. Cherriton had supplied all information as -to Bernard Treves's unstable character and habits, and though Voules was -a little surprised to find the young man healthy and vigorous looking, -he was deceived by the manner in which John avoided his eyes; he was -still more deceived when John, cleverly resting his elbow on the table, -permitted his sleeve to fall back so that Voules could see pinpricks on -his wrist, the sort of wound that is left by a hypodermic syringe used -for administering morphia and cocaine. - -Voules's sharp eyes instantly fell upon this tangible evidence of the -drug habit. He was quite satisfied with the evidence of his own eyes. - -"You are no longer in the army?" he repeated. - -"Well, as a matter of fact," John said, after a moment's hesitation, "my -father has used his influence, and I am to be restored to my -commission." - -Voules's eyes widened a little. - -"Indeed," he remarked. He appeared to consider this change in John's -circumstances for a moment, then he put out a hand and laid his heavy -fingers on John's sleeve. "You have told this news, eh----" he paused a -moment; "you have told this news to Alice?" - -For a second John hesitated; he did not realise who Alice was; then he -remembered her as Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -"No," answered John, "I have not told her yet, but I intend to write and -tell her to-night." - -"Ah," said Voules, "you think she will be pleased?" The intensity of -his gaze increased. John saw quite plainly a doubt in his eyes. "You -think she will be pleased?" - -"I am sure of it," said John. - -"And why?" - -"Because I can be of more use, doctor." - -"We have a very high opinion of the lady in question," said Voules; "we -have every reason to trust her." - -"I hope you will have every reason to trust me," John said. - -Voules looked at him silently for a minute. - -"I hope so," he announced. "We shall make it worth your while to serve -us." He paused for a moment, and glanced at Cherriton. "Cherriton has -already told you," he said, "that when the Day arrives, when the success -that is bound to come, has been given to us, we shall not forget our -friends in England." He suddenly turned away from John, and looked at -the blond-bearded man on his right. His voice seemed to deepen in tone, -and he began suddenly and rapidly to speak in German. "What is your -opinion of our young English friend here?" he rapped to the -blond-bearded man. - -"I cannot judge of him, Excellence." - -Voules went on still in German: - -"Manwitz and Rathenau have each testified to his usefulness; he is also -in the hands of a lady who can well supervise his doings." - -The blond man fingered his blond beard, sliding it through his hands. - -"Excellence, let me say, may I not suggest a certain reserve in our -conversation, in the circumstances." - -Voules laughed for the first time. John noticed that his teeth were -strong and well kept, and that his laugh was not at all pleasant. - -"Our Englander," he said, "understands not one word of German. We may -speak freely, Muller. Is it not so, Rathenau?" He turned quickly to -Cherriton. - -"Yes, Excellence," answered Cherriton, with his contemptuous curl of the -lip. "Not one English officer in a thousand knows half a dozen words of -German; our friend is no exception." - -"He is well controlled by the particular lady mentioned?" inquired -Voules. - -Cherriton smiled. - -"Quite, Excellence; even if she cared for him in the way he believes she -does, she would still watch him like a cat." - -"True," said Voules; then again turned to John and spoke in English. -"My apologies to you, Mr. Treves," he said, "for speaking in German, but -my friends here speak no English." - -"I don't mind in the least," answered John. He did not in the least, -and as he had understood every word it made no difference. - -"In regard to your reinstatement in the army," went on Voules, "I offer -you my felicitations. You will be able to help us even more than in the -past, and I may hardly say that the reward will be in proportion to the -work done. If you are stationed in London we can find work for you in -London. If, on the other hand, you are returned to your regiment, then -you can also help us. The treatment you have received at the hands of -the army, Cherriton tells me, is abominable. You are quite honourably -acquitted of allegiance to your nationality. I tell you this, that you -may have no inner qualms; in serving us you serve the cause of Kultur. -Is that not so, Cherriton?" - -"Yes, Herr Excellence." - -"Kultur," thought John; "Kultur, that stabs in the dark, that murders -children and women; that calls might right. Kultur that takes a man -sodden with drugs and turns him into a traitor to his country; then, -having made him commit crimes against his fellow-countrymen, has the -audacity to tell him that he is acting the part of a man of honour! -Some day," thought John, a sudden blaze of fury burning through him, -"you, Voules, will be taught a very different culture from that." Aloud -John said nothing, but merely sat nervously in his chair, fidgeting with -his collar, and clasping and unclasping his hands upon the table--an -excellent imitation of the real Treves. - -"Is there anything you would wish to say?" inquired Voules. - -John looked guardedly at the two men who sat opposite. - -"Please go to the window," commanded Voules. - -The two men rose obediently and crossed the room. John dropped his -voice. - -"I understood," he said to Voules, "that I was to receive"--he stopped, -looked into Voules's face, then turned his eyes away. - -"Rathenau," Voules commanded, "ring the bell." - -Cherriton rang the bell, and a moment later Conrad entered the room. - -"The packet, Conrad, for Mr. Treves." - -Conrad went out and returned a moment later, carrying a small white -packet. He handed it to Voules, and Voules passed it to John. - -"Thank you--thank you!" exclaimed John, taking it quickly. He knew the -packet contained cocaine, and he slipped it carefully into his pocket. - -"You will report to us wherever you are?" inquired Voules. - -"Wherever I am," answered John. - -"Great matters are pending," responded the doctor; "soon you will be of -use to us. In regard to finance," he added, after a moment's pause, -"you will write to our Captain Cherriton." He rose and gripped John's -hand. "You will have no cause to regret your association with us, I can -assure you of that." - -"Perhaps you'll have some cause to regret your association with me," -thought John, as he looked into the heavy jowled face. - -Five minutes later he was out in the road, bidding good-bye to Captain -Cherriton, who waved a careless farewell to him. - -"We shall meet soon again," said the captain. - -John nodded, leapt on to his bicycle, and rode briskly down the road. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - -On the following evening, at eight o'clock, John Manton presented -himself at Dacent Smith's apartment in Jermyn Street. He had hurried to -London in answer to a wire, telling him to report himself personally. -Elaine, who had made the journey with him, had gone on to her rooms in -Camden Town. The door of Dacent Smith's suite of rooms was opened by -Grew, who conducted John immediately to the great man's apartment. As -always, when John visited his Chief's abode, the speckless cleanliness -of the stairs, the glitter of varnish and brass reminded him somewhat of -the interior of a battleship. - -His superior's own room was orderly as usual, and Dacent Smith himself, -who occupied a deep leather-covered chair at the hearth, rose and -greeted him with a cordial handshake. The elder man was in evening -clothes; he was, as always, plump, ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and -cheery in manner. His politeness struck John in marked contrast to the -gruffness of Doctor Voules. These two men, Voules and Dacent Smith, -heads of two great secret armies, were conducting a duel for supremacy. -They were totally different in character and calibre, and John (perhaps -he was prejudiced in the matter) was prepared at any odds to back Dacent -Smith to win. - -"Help yourself to a cigarette, Treves." - -John took a cigarette, and seated himself in a chair opposite his Chief. -For a moment there was silence, then Dacent Smith, who had been watching -the ascending smoke, looked at the younger man with the faintly humorous -light that sometimes animated his vivid eyes. - -"I am glad to see you alive, Treves. You have had one of the narrowest -of escapes." - -John expressed his surprise. - -"I wasn't aware of any narrow escape, sir." - -"Perhaps not," said Dacent Smith, "but yesterday morning, when you went -to Voules's house, you literally walked into the lions' den. -Fortunately, however, you were successful in preserving a whole skin." - -"I had no sense of anything adventurous happening during that visit," -John returned, full of curiosity. - -"I'll tell you exactly just what did happen," Dacent Smith continued. -He rose, went to his desk, and drew a letter from one of the drawers. -"Read that letter," he said, "and see what your chances would have been -if it had arrived at Voules's house before you did." - -"Who wrote it?" asked John, looking at the single initial "S" at the end -of the sheet. - -"Your amiable friend, Crumbs," answered Dacent Smith. "He discovered -Cherriton's letter in your dispatch case." - -John lifted his eyebrows in intense surprise. - -"I had no idea that letter was discovered, sir. I took every precaution -against discovery, and should have destroyed it, but it appeared to me a -specimen of Cherriton's handwriting might be useful to you in the -future." - -"It will be useful when we come to stop his activities," answered Dacent -Smith. "In the meantime its discovery by Sims very nearly resulted in -your career coming to a sudden end. You can imagine the situation, -Treves," he went on, "if that letter had arrived at Brooke when you were -in Voules's house. For their own sakes, Voules and the others would -never have dared to let you go. However, the letter never reached -Voules, for Sinclair had it out of the locked bag at the fort five -minutes after Sims deposited it there." - -"It's a lucky thing for me," John said, handing back the letter to his -Chief, "that Sinclair acted the way he did." - -"Devilish lucky, Treves." Dacent Smith rose, placed the letter in a -drawer in his desk and returned to his seat at the hearth. - -"Now, Treves, as to Voules. Who is he?" - -"He is some one in authority," answered John. "There is no doubt of that -whatever." - -"What is his appearance?" - -"He is a heavily-built, bullet-headed man, between fifty and sixty. I -should judge him to be used to exercising autocratic authority over -others. When I reached Rollo Meads there were also present in the house -two Germans, who gave me the impression of being naval officers. The -fourth member of the party was Captain Cherriton, whose real name is -Rathenau, as I discovered owing to the fact that they spoke German, -which Cherriton believes I don't understand." - -John continued and detailed fully his interview with Voules. He -described his receipt of the cocaine tabloids from Conrad and his -exhibition of the bogus five little wounds on his wrist, which had -convinced Voules that he was a victim of the drug habit. When he had -concluded Dacent Smith's lips tightened. - -"You acted very shrewdly, Treves. I will see that Voules and his little -party are kept under observation. From your description, I can tell you -exactly who Voules is, Treves," he said. "We have suspected his -identity for some time. Until two months ago Voules was General von -Kuhne, in command of a corps of the Fifteenth Army. He is a Badenser, -born and reared in Constance. Our investigation department informs me -that he is credited by the enemy with great ability. In character he is -instinctively aggressive; a fighter imbued through and through with the -offensive spirit. It is to General von Kuhne that we owe our present -awkward predicament on the South Coast. Outwardly nothing is wrong, but -our department knows that Germany is preparing a heavy blow. We are -contending against something new, big, and masterful; something that has -been arranged and planned for months. How far General von Kuhne's plans -have matured I do not yet know. We are so far, Treves, only groping -towards knowledge. My reports tell me that at least eight forts on the -South Coast are being subtly tampered with in one way or another. You -have seen yourself the masterly manner in which Sims managed to work his -will at Heatherpoint. - -"Sims's dossier," he went on, "reached me in full only to-night, and is -a further instance of an effective German trick. Sims's real name is -Steinbaum. He is a Hamburg Jew, who emigrated to America in 1912. We -cannot trace him from then until 1915, when, with the German naval -attache at Washington, Captain Boy Ed, he made an attempt to blow up the -Pittsburg bridge works. He escaped the American police, and vanished. -The next step in his career was when he landed at Liverpool from -America. He was already a German spy, and enlisted in our army under -the name of Sims, a baker by trade." - -"I suppose," inquired John, "the idea of arresting Voules and his -immediate confederates is outside our plan?" - -Dacent Smith nodded. He put his finger-tips together, and remained -thoughtfully silent for several minutes. - -"No; it would not do," he said, as though desirous of convincing John of -the correctness of his judgment "If I were to lay Voules, and a dozen of -the others whom we know, suddenly by the heels, we should damage our -chances, possibly irretrievably. You see, if we did that, we should be -removing our special avenues of information. By arresting the spies we -know, we should lose the great mass of information we manage to glean -from them, and at the same time should be obliged to continue the fight -against other agents whom we do not know. Do you follow me?" - -John nodded. "I confess it never occurred to me in that light, but I -can see the force of your argument." - -"We always stand to learn something from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, by -secretly reading all her letters," continued Dacent Smith, "but if we -arrest her we lose that advantage. Then, again, their present scheme in -the South may be so far advanced that it will work to fruition by -itself, even if we remove a dozen individuals. General von Kuhne is, of -course, the keystone of the whole business, and when the time comes we -shall get him----" he paused a moment, and looked quizzically into -John's face--"or he will get us!" - -"He will have to rise pretty early in the morning to get you," thought -John, genuinely impressed by his reasoning. Nevertheless, he inwardly -admitted that Kuhne was an antagonist well fitted to measure swords even -with Dacent Smith. Always, in these short interviews he obtained with -his Chief, John felt himself drawn anew to the head of his department. -Manton had no doubt whatever of Dacent Smith's ability, his intelligence -was keen as a sword-blade, and swift as that same blade in the hands of -a brilliant fencer. For all that, it seemed strange to John, as he sat -in the well-furnished, neatly-ordered, bachelor apartment, to think that -this quiet, well-groomed, middle-aged gentleman was the head and heart, -the chief nerve centre, in fact, of the greatest defensive force in the -country. - -"Now," said Dacent Smith, when he concluded his observations, "is there -anything at all troubling your mind, Treves, anything you'd like to get -off your chest, for instance?" - -John looked at him quickly, wondering if his keen eye had detected -anything. - -"Well," he confessed, "as a matter of fact, there is something that -bothers me a good deal." - -"Pass me another cigarette," said Dacent Smith, "and let me hear it." - -John handed him another cigarette, and hesitated. - -"Go on," urged his Chief. - -"Well, I should like to report, sir," John said at length, "that my -personal position has become--well, peculiarly difficult during the past -few days." - -"Do you find your work disappointing?" - -"I am keener on my work than ever," John answered. - -"What is it, then?" - -"Well," confessed John, "to be precise, I find I am getting rather -entangled with a lady." His tone was serious, and Dacent Smith took the -statement gravely. - -"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, do you mean?" - -John shook his head. - -"Mrs. Beecher Monmouth is rather pressing whenever I meet her," he said, -with a deprecating smile, "but she is not the lady in question." - -"Who is the lady?" - -John was silent; he found a strange diffidence in tackling this subject. -It was a matter of some difficulty to state exactly what was the -situation between himself and Elaine. Dacent Smith waited, and then -tapped the arm of his chair with his finger, which was his only manner -of showing impatience. - -"Come, Treves, who is the lady?" - -"Bernard Treves's wife, sir!" - -"Oh! And wherein lies the particular awkwardness?" - -"Yesterday she came down to the Gordon Hotel in Newport to see me, and -stayed the night there." - -"Was that awkward for you?" - -"I'm afraid it was, sir. It seems," went on John, "that there was a -disagreement between her and her husband, which ended in the lady -refusing to live with him until he improved his habits." - -"A very proper and spirited attitude to take," responded Dacent Smith. - -"That is my opinion," said John, "but, unfortunately, she has decided to -forgive her husband." - -Dacent Smith suddenly sat erect. - -"You don't mean she has made any untoward discovery?" - -"Oh, no," said John, "she accepts me absolutely. And so far as I know -she has never experienced the faintest doubt. But the awkwardness comes -in through the fact that she has decided to forgive her husband and take -him back again!" - -Dacent Smith looked at the younger man for a minute, then whistled -softly. - -"By gad, Treves, yours is certainly a difficult path." - -"I am glad you see it as I do, sir." - -"Devilish difficult--and what's the lady like? Is she young and -pretty?" - -"She is about twenty-three years of age," said John, "and--and, well -pretty doesn't quite describe her. She has dark hair and grey eyes. -She is rather above the average in height. She----" John hesitated and -stumbled. "I am no connoisseur in these matters, sir, but in my opinion -she is an unusually beautiful girl." - -Dacent Smith looked at him squarely. - -"And that, no doubt, intensifies your difficulty, eh, Treves?" - -"Well, my position last night," he said briefly, "was more than -awkward." A sudden note of irritation found its way into John's voice; -he could not have himself explained why he felt irritation. "The -situation was wrong altogether. I felt I had no right to pass as -Bernard Treves. It is one thing to deceive Treves's father in a good -cause, or to deceive everybody else, but it is quite another matter to -trick a young, good-looking woman the way I had to deceive Mrs. Treves. -It doesn't seem to me to be playing the game, sir." - -"You mean," inquired Dacent Smith, quietly, "the young lady made -advances to you, she forgave you, and offered to live with you again as -your wife, and you, being a man of honour, felt the situation keenly? -Tell me, Treves," he went on, with a new interest in the matter, "what -is she like? Her mental equipment, I mean?" - -"She is very feminine, and by no means a fool," explained John. "I -evaded her last night, but she came to London with me to-day, and is -waiting for me this evening. She knows Cherriton and Manwitz. -Cherriton, as a matter of fact, has been paying her undesirable -attentions." John, who had been looking at the hearth-rug, suddenly -lifted his face. "That's the whole situation, sir, and I don't feel -that I can go on deceiving her." - -For a long minute there was silence in the little room. Dacent Smith's -little gilt clock on the mantelpiece chimed the half-hour. - -"We're in deep waters here, Treves," he said slowly and seriously. "I -can see only two ways out of it. One is that she should be restored to -her undesirable husband." - -"If," said John, "Treves is cured of his drug habit, I suppose that -would be the right thing to do." Even as he spoke a feeling shot -through him that was quite definitely antagonistic to this idea. He -felt jealous and utterly resentful at the thought. - -"He isn't cured, and shows no likelihood of being cured," answered -Dacent Smith. "My last report is that he tried to break out of the -nursing home, and very nearly got away. He is in the condition where he -would give his very soul to get drugs. No," he said, shaking his head, -"we'll leave Bernard Treves in his present isolation. In surrendering -his personality to you he is making some slight restitution; he is -unconsciously doing something for his country. We need waste no pity on -him. So far as we are concerned, Treves does not count." - -"What if Treves had actually managed to escape, sir?" - -"In that case 'Voules' and the rest of them would be down on you like a -ton of bricks, but we need not at present anticipate a calamity of that -sort. Now in regard to Treves's wife, when you see her to-night, give -her my compliments, and say I should like her to call here one afternoon -this week. I think I can then ease the awkwardness of your position in -regard to her. I have an idea at any rate." - -Half an hour later John made his way out to Camden Town, and rang the -bell of 65, Bowles Avenue. Elaine herself opened the door and offered -him a smiling welcome. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - -In the soft illumination of the white and gold dining-salon of the -Golden Pavilion Hotel John found himself completely at home. Two days -had passed since his visit to Elaine, and he was again at work under the -aegis of Dacent Smith. He had chosen a quiet table in the corner, had -selected the dishes for his dinner, and was leaning back in his chair -surveying the brilliant scene with an appreciative eye. The Golden -Pavilion Hotel is famed alike for its refined and luxurious furnishings, -its band, its cuisine, and its exclusiveness. The head waiter, who -looked like an archbishop, advanced soundlessly over the rich carpet, -and stood at John's elbow. - -"I beg your pardon," said the man, in a low, smooth voice, "but the lady -at the table beyond the second pillar, sir, would like to have a word -with you." - -John raised his head and glanced in the direction the man had indicated. -He had already seen Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and had made a special point -of concealing the fact. He rose now, however, and moved across the room -between crowded tables. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, seated with a party of friends, flashed a -brilliant smile at him when he advanced. - -"Oh, you poor lonely creature," she exclaimed, as she placed her -jewelled fingers in his. "I saw you moping in your corner," she -continued, when a waiter had brought an extra chair and John had -accepted an invitation to dine with her party, "and took pity on you; -don't you think that was nice of me?" She looked at him with a long, -deep glance, conscious of her striking beauty. Her beauty was of the -instantly arresting order. The fact that the art of coiffeur and -cosmetic enabled her to heighten her charms was all in her favour where -men were concerned. Quite, as it were, by accident, she now laid her -fingers on John's sleeve. - -"I must introduce you to my guests. My husband you already know." - -John bowed slightly towards Mr. Beecher Monmouth, whose evening clothes -intensified the sallowness of his complexion. John noted the -parchment-like character of his skin, the tired look in his eyes, and -the manipulation of his thin hair to create the effect of youthful -plenty. He was an old man striving hopelessly to look young. Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth turned her eyes from her husband towards the slender -figure of a woman at her right-hand side. - -"Lady Rachel," she said, "may I present Mr. Treves." John bowed again, -and Lady Rachel Marvin smiled at him graciously. She was a woman of -slender figure, with exceptionally large, long-lashed eyes. Her neck -was long, slender and white, and she wore diamond ear-rings, which -scintillated as she moved her head. Her age was probably thirty-five, -and she was, in appearance, distinctly aristocratic. Her voice was thin -and high-pitched, and she talked incessantly. - -The third member of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's party was a fat woman of -fifty, the wealthy wife of a colonel in the gunners. Any woman -assessing the jewels Mrs. Pomfret Bond wore would have known that she -was wealthy, and that she was determined other people should know it. -She was a foolish, vulgar woman, and John, looking at her, realised -almost immediately that she would be as wax in the hands of Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth. But it was to Lady Rachel Marvin that John turned his -attention. "Did you know the Seventh Division has been moved from -Aldershot?" she was inquiring, looking at Beecher Monmouth. - -"No," said the elderly man, "we don't hear anything in Parliament, Lady -Rachel." - -"I heard it only quite by accident," babbled Lady Rachel. "You know my -cousin, Derrick, is in the Coldstreams; you remember Derrick?" she said, -turning her big eyes upon Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "I have told you so -much about him." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth smiled brilliantly and nodded. Lady Rachel then -went on to explain that it was Derrick who had told her of a new gun -being tested at Woolwich. Derrick had been on the G.H.Q. Staff, "and," -went on Lady Rachel, "he is almost as mysterious about it as his friend -Commander Loyson is about the new cruiser--the _Malta_, which has just -been put into commission at ----" - -"Is there a new cruiser being commissioned at ----?" inquired John, -sliding into the conversation. He was so apparently interested that -Lady Rachel looked at him with a pleased expression on her somewhat -foolish face. - -"I am afraid, Mr. Treves, I ought not to chatter about it. But being -behind the scenes, and knowing so many people one naturally picks up -little bits of news here and there. It is quite easy to piece the bits -together. I have not heard anything actually about the new cruiser," -she said, "the _Malta_, I mean, but from things Commander Loyson said to -Derrick, and from other things I have heard, I can assure you it is -something wonderful." - -John, listening to her chatter, wondered how much of this information -she had, out of sheer vanity, passed on to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -Lady Rachel Marvin certainly knew a great number of people, and her -social position gave her many chances to pick up exclusive information. -Her silly, butterfly existence consisted in flitting from one -drawing-room to another. Here she exchanged such gossip as she had been -able to collect from her equally frivolous friends. As John listened to -her he realised that such women as Lady Rachel are a real source of -danger to the nation. - -When dinner was at an end Lady Rachel went to speak to some friends at -another table, and the minute she had gone Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned -her attention solely to John, ignoring Mrs. Pomfret Bond and the "Ogre." - -"Naughty boy," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth under her breath. "Why have -you never been to see me?" - -"I have been in the Isle of Wight visiting my father," answered John -promptly. - -"I know that," answered she; "therefore, and because you sent me those -Russian cigarettes, I intend to forgive you! Now, you must come and see -me soon," she went on, "there are many things I want to talk to you -about." - -"I should like to talk to you about quite a number of things," responded -John in the same intimate tone. - -"When can you come?" asked she. - -"Any time you like." - -"Not to-morrow, the 'Ogre' will be at home then," she said, in a voice -too low for Mr. Beecher Monmouth to catch. "Don't you think he is -looking very old and worn?" - -John glanced at Beecher Monmouth's glazed countenance and tired eyes, -and even at that moment the elderly politician was looking adoringly at -his wife, admiring the richness of her hair, the fine contour of her -shoulders, and the brilliance of her complexion. John felt almost sorry -for the befooled and weary Member of Parliament, who had sold his old -age and his happiness into the bondage of this woman. - -"Come to tea the day after to-morrow," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and -John accepted the invitation with alacrity. - -Two days later when he presented himself at five o'clock in the -afternoon at Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's residence in Grosvenor Square, he -was ushered immediately into the lady's boudoir. - -He had seen that room only in the illumination of the pink-shaded -electric light, now he saw it again in daylight, and found it even more -luxurious than he had imagined--the white polar-bear rug, the -brilliant-hued Chinese _kakemonos_ hung on the wall behind Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's divan, the long gilt-framed mirrors, and gilt-legged chairs -all conspired to create an atmosphere of sumptuous richness. Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth in an afternoon gown which gave her almost a slender -and distinguished appearance, was seated in a low arm-chair. Lady Rachel -Marvin occupied the divan, and John, much as he disliked this foolish -ox-eyed woman of fashion, was obliged to admit that she had disposed -herself gracefully upon the cushions. The third guest was Mrs. Pomfret -Bond, who was delighted to be in that society, and talked as much -military gossip as she could to show that she, too, was in the swim. - -When John had been cordially received, and had accepted a cup of tea and -a fragment of bread and butter, he seated himself at the foot of the -divan and entered into conversation with Lady Rachel. Under orders from -Dacent Smith he had come there with that express purpose. - -"We have been talking of the dreadful news, Mr. Treves," said Lady -Rachel, biting a slip of bread and butter with long sharp teeth. - -"You mean the sinking of the _Malta_?" inquired John. - -"Yes, how appalling it is," said she. "I heard it before it appeared in -the papers." - -"It's one of the worst disasters we have had for some time," responded -John; "a new ship costing a million pounds of public money, and two -hundred fine lives." - -Mrs. Pomfret Bond spoke up indignantly. - -"I can't imagine how the Germans find out about our ships. We're -supposed to have an Intelligence Department. Why don't they put a stop -to this sort of thing?" - -"I expect they do the best they can," remarked John. - -"But one always has to reckon with spies," said Mrs. Pomfret Bond. - -"Of course," said John. - -"But the _Malta_ was a new vessel," observed Mrs. Beecher Monmouth; "how -could they find out when she was to leave ----?" - -"The Germans must have found out," intervened Lady Rachel, claiming the -conversation again, "for no submarines had been in those waters for -weeks, and they had been swept for mines the day before. I know this -for a fact." - -John looked at her keenly. That afternoon he had had a long -conversation with Dacent Smith in regard to Lady Rachel Marvin. The -fact that she had, two days ago, mentioned the _Malta_ during her -irresponsible chatter at dinner, had aroused a suspicion in John's mind -that possibly the disaster which had happened to the new cruiser had -been directly due to her foolish vanity--to her ineradicable desire to -obtain social distinction by revealing to her friends her superior -knowledge of what went on behind the scenes. This idea, as he sat in -her presence now, listening to her talk, grew in strength, and at the -first opportunity that occurred, he drew Mrs. Beecher Monmouth aside. -He knew that he was venturing upon very thin ice in putting questions to -her. - -"Well, you bad boy," whispered Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "why have you been -trying to flirt with Lady Rachel?" - -John had seated himself on a low Turkish stool at her side. - -"How could I see Lady Rachel when you are in the room?" he answered, -gallantly. - -"If you only meant it," responded Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "I'd give you -two pieces of sugar in your next cup of tea!" - -"Lady Rachel cannot hold a candle to you," affirmed John. - -"You mustn't be hard on her," returned Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. In the -afternoon light the "Ogre's" wife looked scarcely twenty-five, a -remarkably beautiful and imperious woman. Even John was obliged to -confess that no fault existed in her passionate and somewhat sensuous -beauty. For her part, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was so used to admiration -that she accepted John's flattery as a matter of course. Bernard -Treves, she told herself, was one of the strings to her bow, and quite -the nicest-looking boy of them all. "You mustn't be hard on poor Lady -Rachel," she said; "she is such a dear, delightful chatterbox." - -"Lady Rachel seems to know a good deal about the _Malta_."' - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned her eyes and fixed her gaze swiftly upon -him; then she remarked, quietly: - -"One of her relations is a big-wig at the Admiralty." - -"That fact, and what she picked up from other of her naval friends, -enabled her," said John, "to give a guess at when the _Malta_ would -leave ----" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth became suddenly very still. - -"How did you know that, Bernard?" she asked. - -John observed a hardening of the line of her mouth. - -"I merely put two and two together and assumed it," he said. Then, -quietly daring, he leaned forward, unobserved by others in the room, and -seized Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's hand. - -"Is it true?" he questioned. - -She looked at him a long minute, and then smiled, but there was a cruel -light in her eyes. - -"It is true," pursued John. - -A silence followed; then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth inclined her fine head -very slightly. John was dexterous enough not to slide his hand away -from hers too soon. The aversion he felt from her made him remove it as -soon as he reasonably could. Then he drew in a deep breath. - -"I see," he said, in a low voice, "she told you when the _Malta_ was to -sail." - -And though Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was too cautious to admit the fact, -John knew in his heart that it was absolutely true. Lady Rachel, -exercising her silly desire for gossip, had been tricked into imparting -this fatal information. Because of this she was, John believed, just as -much responsible for the sinking of the _Malta_ as if she herself had -discharged the torpedo which wrought its doom. She was, in fact, an -unwitting traitor to her country. And John, as he moved from Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's side, felt a certain implacable animosity towards -this vain society woman, with her wide eyes, her high-pitched voice, her -elegant aristocratic poses. - -Nevertheless, he was politeness itself as he drew her towards the -window. - -"I'd like to have a word with you alone, Lady Rachel," he said. - -When they were out of earshot of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth and Mrs. Pomfret -Bond, John lowered his voice, and looked down into the big, long-lashed -eyes. - -"You were speaking a few minutes ago, Lady Rachel," he said, "of the -_Malta_." - -Lady Rachel smiled and nodded. - -"I think," went on John, "I ought to inform you that I am a member of -the Intelligence Department!" - -"Oh, are you really?" exclaimed Lady Rachel, looking at him with a -sudden vivid interest. "I have so often wanted to meet some one in the -secret service. I think you all so splendid!" - -"I am glad you appreciate us," John answered dryly; "perhaps, Lady -Rachel," he went on, "you would like to know more about our department?" - -"I should love it dearly," said she, with an expression of delight on -her weakly pretty features. - -"Well," said John, "if you care to accompany me to my office in a few -minutes, I will present you to my Chief. He has already expressed a wish -to meet you." - -Lady Rachel looked puzzled for a moment. - -"Perhaps I know him, Mr. Treves. I may have met him in society. I -suppose I mustn't ask his name?" she added mysteriously. - -"No, don't ask his name," answered John. - -Ten minutes later Lady Rachel Marvin was seated beside John in a taxi. -The vehicle glided out of Grosvenor Place and passed Green Park. - -"Why are you looking so grim?" observed the lady. as John leaned back -with folded arms. - -"I am thinking of the _Malta_ and of the two hundred fine fellows who -were drowned yesterday." - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - -It was six o'clock when John stepped out into Dacent Smith's bachelor -room. His Chief was seated at his desk, deep in work. John closed the -door and crossed the room. - -"Well?" asked Dacent Smith, raising his head and still sitting with -poised pen at his desk. - -"I was right, sir, in regard to Lady Rachel Marvin. The information that -sunk the _Malta_ was conveyed by her to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth two days -ago." - -"You don't mean she intentionally conveyed it?" exclaimed Dacent Smith, -rising and looking at John in amazement. - -"Oh no, sir, not at all; she conveyed it with no intention to do harm, -and only out of an inveterate habit of gossip." - -Dacent Smith drew his brows together. His expression was more stern in -that moment than John had ever seen it. - -"A damnable habit of gossiping," he observed forcibly. "Well, what have -you done, Treves?" - -"I have brought the lady with me, sir, thinking you would wish to act at -once in regard to her." - -Dacent Smith nodded in approbation. - -"Send her in to me, Treves, and wait outside." - -John went out of the room, and Dacent Smith moved to the mantelshelf and -looked for a moment at the photograph of a girl of eighteen, a girl who -looked scarcely more than a child. He was still at the hearth when Lady -Rachel was ushered into the room by John, who closed the door and left -the two together. What took place between Dacent Smith and the woman -whose foolish vanity had sunk the _Malta_ John did not know, but he was -able to guess pretty well, for twenty minutes later Dacent Smith opened -the door and summoned him into the room. - -"Come in, Treves." - -John entered and found Lady Rachel standing near his Chief's desk. Her -face was white, her nose unromantically red; she had been crying. On -Dacent Smith's desk lay a letter in Lady Rachel's handwriting. - - -DEAR BOB, it ran, _I have had a sudden breakdown in health. The doctors -inform me I am to go to Pitt Lunan Hydro for at least four months. I -may not even be well enough to return to town even then. Forgive me, -Bob, for not being able to say good-bye, but I am obliged to hurry away -at once_. - -_Your devoted wife,_ - RACHEL. - - -As John entered the room Lady Rachel Marvin folded this letter, placed -it in an envelope, and, still standing, addressed it to her husband, -"Lieutenant-Commander Marvin, H.M.S. ----, Southampton." She closed the -envelope and accepted a stamp from Dacent Smith. - -Dacent Smith broke the long silence that followed. - -"Treves," said he, "Lady Rachel leaves Euston for Scotland to-night by -the seven o'clock train." - -"I don't want to go to Scotland!" intervened Lady Rachel petulantly. "I -dislike hydros intensely; I think them absolutely detestable places!" - -Dacent Smith watched her for a moment with unrelenting eyes, then spoke -in a tone there was no mistaking. - -"Lady Rachel, you will take the train for Scotland to-night. You will -then stay there the full period my department has prescribed for you." -Lady Rachel flashed a rebellious look at him, but Dacent Smith continued -in his unyielding tones: "Failing this, you will find yourself, I can -assure you, in a place far more 'detestable' to you than even the most -uncomfortable of hydros!" - -He turned to his desk. For a moment Lady Rachel wavered, then, seeing -from his attitude that resistance was hopeless, she lifted her head and -went haughtily out of the room. John escorted her to the street, helped -her into a taxi, and saw her drive away after a flash of her big eyes -that was meant either to consume him with fire or to freeze him to -death; he did not know which. When John returned his Chief was standing -at the mantelshelf. The expression of sternness had entirely left his -face. In his fingers he held the photograph of a charming girl, -scarcely more than a child. For a minute he was silent, his eyes upon -the figure in the silver frame; then he held up the picture and showed -it to John. - -"This is my niece, Treves," he said quietly. - -John took the photograph and inspected it critically. - -"An extremely pretty girl, sir." - -Dacent Smith nodded. - -"She is just eighteen, Treves. She became engaged to young Rashleigh, -gunnery lieutenant on the _Malta_." His tones deepened in intensity. -"That was four days ago--and to-day Rashleigh is dead. He was one of -the finest fellows who ever stepped. And, in my opinion, he and two -hundred others lost their lives solely because Lady Rachel Marvin could -not keep her mouth shut. My niece, who is still only a child--you can -see for yourself what she is like, Treves"--for the first time his voice -shook with emotion--"my niece is at home lying in a semi-conscious -condition. The doctors tell us that her reason is threatened--and all -this because a silly woman babbled about things that didn't concern -her!" - -The man who was one of the greatest powers in the country was still -holding the photograph in his fingers, his eyes fixed pitifully upon the -delicate girlish beauty of his niece. He replaced it slowly on the -mantelshelf, then, turning, stood looking before him, his hands clenched -at his side. The sternness of his lips at that moment revealed to John -all the hidden strength behind his kindly exterior; he was stirred to -the depths. And suddenly he flashed a look at John and struck his open -palm with a clenched fist. - -"If I had my way, Treves," he said between tense lips, "if the powers -that be would make me autocrat for a week, I'd treat these fool women as -traitors. An unguarded word," he went on, "is, in my opinion, just as -much an act of disloyalty in time of war as an insult to the flag or the -army. If the public only knew it, we have lost ship after ship, and -possibly thousands of men, as a result of vain gossip in clubs, trains, -shops and smart drawing-rooms. On Saturday we lost a cruiser worth a -million. Young Rashleigh died, and two hundred splendid sailors, -because Lady Rachel Marvin must have her afternoon's social success! -What do you think of it, Treves?" - -John was thinking of the tragedy of it all--of the desolated homes--the -two hundred homes where sorrow stalked that day. He was thinking of the -sweet-faced, broken-hearted girl, hovering on the verge of sanity. - -"I'd like to wring Lady Rachel's neck!" said John, swept out of himself. - -"I could tell you a score of such cases," said Dacent Smith. "In one -case a present of a hundred cigarettes and a silly woman's curiosity -meant one of the greatest disasters that has occurred to us since the -war began." He suddenly stopped, pulled himself up, and became normal -in tone. He was fully himself again, the keen, resourceful man of -action. "Now, Treves," he said, "we must get back to business. Lady -Rachel Marvin has been a valuable 'feeder' to the enemy. She is now out -of action, however. I regard," he went on, "Beecher Monmouth, M.P., as -also dangerous. Is that your opinion?" - -"My opinion," said John, "is that Beecher Monmouth is not disloyal, but, -as he is wax in his wife's hands, his political position makes him -dangerous." - -"You don't believe he could keep a secret from her?" - -"From what I've seen of them both, sir, I should doubt it." - -Dacent Smith went to his desk and made a note on his writing pad. "I -will write a note to the Home Secretary. I think we can get rid of -Beecher Monmouth without arousing suspicion. Now, Treves, in regard to -the sinking of the _Malta_--we are a little bit at sea in this matter. -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth and her accomplices have out-manoeuvred us. In -some manner or other she managed to get her information to Germany, or -to a German submarine commander, eight hours after picking up the facts -from Lady Rachel Marvin. We want to know how she managed to do this, -Treves." - -He crossed the room as he spoke, and took a sheaf of papers from his -cabinet of drawers against the wall. He handed the documents to John. -John observed that the sheets were thin and almost transparent, and that -each sheet had been written over in indelible pencil. - -"You have in your hand," explained Dacent Smith, "intercepted copies of -all Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's letters since the fifteenth of last month. -That is," he added, "all the letters she has sent through the post. You -will notice among them three advertisements--all jewellery for sale." - -John glanced at the pile of letters in his hand. There were among them -orders to tradesmen, half a dozen letters to a dressmaker, showing the -great care with which Mrs. Beecher Monmouth apparelled herself; and two -letters written and posted to her husband. These last were interlarded -with extravagant expressions of affection and love. But it was the -third advertisement, addressed to a famous daily paper, that held John's -interest. This ran: - - -"Lady wishes to sell privately a pearl and platinum pendant, -perfectly-matched pearls, surrounding Orient pearl of splendid -lustre.--Apply Box A3656." - - -John closely examined this advertisement, and the other two, which were -similar. - -"Do you think she is in debt, sir?" - -"Beecher Monmouth's a rich man," answered Dacent Smith, "with big -interest in the timber business. However, one never knows what an -extravagant woman may succeed in spending. I think it may be worth your -while, Treves, to follow up the trail of this advertisement. I want you -to apply yourself assiduously to the cultivation of this lady for the -present. And keep well in mind the fact that, though her letters show -nothing, she is yet conveying news regularly to the enemy." - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - -Two evenings later Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's Spanish maid came to the door -of her mistress's boudoir, knocked, and entered quietly. - -"Doctor Voules is here, madam." - -"I told you, Cecily, I was not at home!" said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. "I -don't want to see Doctor Voules--I don't want to see anybody!" - -"But, madam," protested the maid, "it would be impossible to refuse to -see Doctor Voules!" - -Something took place between mistress and maid--an exchange of -glances--which seemed somewhat to alter Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's mood of -irritation. - -"Very well, Cecily, let him come up." And when Cecily had departed to -summon Doctor Voules, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth went to her low Turkish -table, lit a buff-coloured cigarette, and stood with her back to the -hearth, smoking somewhat more rapidly than usual. A knock came at the -door, and Doctor Voules entered. He strolled into the apartment with his -shoulders well back, his heavy chin thrust forward, the smile that sat -so ill upon his harsh face was well in evidence. - -"My dear Mrs. Monmouth, my felicitations!" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth took the gloved hand languidly and turned away. - -"Don't felicitate me on anything, Doctor!" - -"But the _Malta_!" protested the Doctor. "That was a superb stroke for -the Fatherland! It is not often I am lavish of praise." - -"You are certainly not a woman's man!" retorted Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, -flashing a look at him. - -"Your beauty is apparent to me, as it would be to a much younger man, I -can assure you of that, my dear _gnaedige Frau_," said Voules. - -"I am not talking of beauty--I am talking of moods," replied she. "You -observe nothing of my disturbance!" - -Doctor Voules, who did not believe in moods, who never permitted such -weakness in his subordinates, pressed his lips tightly together. - -"You will be good enough, _gnaedige Frau_," he commanded, "to be a -little more precise and explicit. Something has occurred, no doubt, to -ruffle your temper." He went to a chair at the hearth, seated himself, -asked permission to smoke, and lit one of his big, black cigars. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth looked at him squarely for a moment. - -"Of course, my personal sufferings are nothing to you! It is nothing to -you, for instance, that my friend, Lady Rachel Marvin, has vanished!" - -Doctor Voules lifted his eyebrows. - -"In what manner has she vanished?" - -"She is one of the most useful friends I have ever had," returned Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, "and has suddenly disappeared without leaving me a -note or a line." - -Doctor Voules drew his brows together. - -"Refresh my memory, please, in regard to this lady." - -"She is the foolish little chatterbox who provided me with all the -information I needed in regard to the _Malta_," retorted Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth curtly. - -Doctor Voules suddenly became all attention. - -"And you mean, _gnaedige Frau_, that this lady has vanished?" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth assured him of the fact. - -"No one knows," she went on, "where she is. She was my most intimate -friend. I had put all my hopes in her, Excellenz! Then, to add to my -vexation, my husband has been suddenly and unexpectedly appointed to a -Government commission of inquiry in Ireland. He is delighted, of -course; it is an honour for him. Then, again," went on Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, "Mrs. Pomfret Bond, who was in the habit of telling me -everything she knew, who was always scraping up bits of gossip that were -of use, is----" - -"Has she vanished also?" inquired Voules, suddenly rising. - -"No," returned Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "but she has become mute as a -fish. My opinion is that she has been warned not to talk, and that I -have at last become a suspected person!" - -Voules looked at her and shook his ponderous head. - -"No, no! Your position, _gnaedige Frau_, is too secure for that; also -you are too clever." - -"I am not a fool," answered Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "but these things -disturb me!" - -"Your love of the Fatherland, your belief in final victory, will sustain -you. You lose your friend, Lady Rachel Marvin, but to a woman of your -beauty and position nothing is impossible. You shall get other -fools--is it not so? England, _gnaedige Frau_, is full of fools!" - -He moved across to her and took her hand firmly in his. - -"Soon you shall have your reward. I will promise you my very best -efforts. You will wait yet a little while longer. My plans," he added -quietly, "are shaping themselves with the perfection of clockwork. -Enormous things have been done, my dear _gnaedige Frau_, in the last few -weeks, and disaffection now, even from you, would destroy the -harmony.... Remember your sentiments towards these people!" - -"I remember them well enough!" answered Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. She was -still standing at the hearth, and looked steadily before her as she -spoke. - -"Good!" exclaimed Voules in his throat. "We will now come to the -purpose of my visit. You shall have your part in the big work afoot. I -assure you there are bigger things than the sinking of the _Malta_! For -instance, on the twenty-eighth we shall strike a blow that will not -rapidly be forgotten by these English!" - -He suddenly snapped his teeth together and drew tight his lips; a gleam -of ferocity lit in his hard eyes. - -"These English!" he exclaimed between his teeth. "Their arrogance -maddens me! It is a torture to me to live among them, concealed thus as -a civilian! I am maddened by their complacency!" he went on, "their -calm! Nevertheless, we shall strike deep this time! Your work, -_gnaedige Frau_," he said, speaking in the tone of masterful authority -that was his real habit, "your work is not difficult. On the -twenty-fourth I request you to go to Heatherpoint Fort. It is fortunate -that your husband is away. You can thus go to the Isle of Wight -ostensibly for a holiday. While there you will make the acquaintance of -the adjutant of Heatherpoint, who visits regularly the ---- Hotel in -Newport. My report is that this young Lieutenant Parkson is susceptible -to beauty. You, _gnaedige Frau_," he smiled his hard smile, "are, -indeed, beautiful enough to engage the attention of one far less -susceptible!" - -"What do you wish me to do with this particular susceptible man?" -inquired Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, with slight sarcasm. - -"You are to engage the young man's attention, and his affections." - -"You appear to forget, Excellenz, that I am a married woman of social -position!" - -"I do not forget, _gnaedige Frau_; but your complaisance on that account -will be more than ever flattering. The young man in question will not -be able to resist the charms of the beautiful and wealthy society woman -who is--to fall in love with him!" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth smiled, and spoke with a touch of irony. - -"I am your servant, Excellenz!" - -"You are the servant of the Fatherland," answered Voules gravely, "and -all I require is that this young man, Lieutenant Parkson, shall not be -at his post in the fort on the night of the twenty-eighth. How you will -succeed in keeping him away from duty is a matter for your own -discretion--I have the fullest confidence in you. Captain Cherriton -undertook the work, but the young man in question neither drinks nor -gambles. Cherriton's efforts ended in complete failure. Moreover, our -agent inside the fort has been strangely silent of late. We have -received neither signal nor message from him for some days. If you play -your cards neatly with Parkson, you will possibly secure an invitation -to tea at the fort mess." - -He went on and gave her a rapid sketch of Steinbaum, otherwise known as -"Crumbs." The silence of "Crumbs" during the past few days had puzzled -and disturbed him. - -"We have made a number of arrangements in regard to Heatherpoint Fort," -he concluded, "and it is absolutely essential to our purpose that no -guns should be fired from that spot." - -His eyes suddenly lit up. He was thinking of his great scheme, which -was hourly drawing nearer fruition, and, on parting, he gripped Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's hand in his. - -"_Gnaedige Frau_," he announced, "glorious things are shortly to occur!" - -When he had gone Mrs. Beecher Monmouth seated herself in a chair and -stared thoughtfully into the fire. She was conscious of a sense of doubt -and uneasiness. General von Kuhne was a soldier of long training, -masterful and aggressive. His gift of organisation, his theory of -attack was always excellent--nevertheless, he was not subtle, he was not -sensitive to the importance of little incidents. The sudden -disappearance of Lady Rachel meant nothing to him, aroused no suspicion -in him, and yet... - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - -In pursuance of Dacent Smith's instructions, John presented himself at -the massive doors of 289, Grosvenor Place, two nights later. He had -pondered much upon those three advertisements, and the more he -considered the matter, the more Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's desire privately -to sell her jewels struck him as unusual. It was not usual, he told -himself, for a woman of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's position to dispossess -herself of jewellery through the medium of advertisements in a -newspaper. There are half a dozen firms in Bond Street alone, of proved -honesty, any one of which is willing to make purchases of this kind. - -John rang the bell, and the butler presently drew open the door. - -"I am very sorry, sir," the man began, "but madame is not at home." - -John expressed his complete surprise. He was, however, not in the least -surprised, and had planned his visit with the sole object of finding -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth away from home. For a minute he hesitated, -looking doubtfully at the butler. - -"Can you," he inquired, "tell me if Mrs. Monmouth's maid is in. I have -a message to give her for her mistress." - -"I can take any message you wish, sir." - -"Thank you, no," said John, smiling at him; "what I have to say is--is -rather personal to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth." - -"Very good, sir," answered the sedate servant, and bowed. "Will you -kindly step into the morning-room." - -John went into the morning-room, moved to the window and looked into -Grosvenor Place, out over the broad smooth road to the high brick wall -surrounding the royal gardens. A few minutes elapsed, and then Cecily, -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's maid, came quietly in. - -"You wish to see me, sir?" - -John turned. - -"Yes, Cecily." He looked into her face, noted her bead-black eyes, her -olive skin, and the slight tendency to a moustache at the corner of each -lip. "Cecily," he said, "I have really come to ask your advice on a -little personal matter." Cecily looked at him with an unreadable -expression on her sullen countenance. "I want to give Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth a present," went on John. "A little matter of a pair of pearl -ear-rings. Can you tell me if she is fond of pearls?" - -"Pearls, monsieur; oh, no!" Cecily shook her head. "Rubies or emeralds, -yes, monsieur, but pearls, no." - -"Oh," resumed John, "she doesn't care for pearls then?" - -Cecily shook her head. - -"She says they are insipid, monsieur." - -"Perhaps she is right, Cecily, but in that case," he said, "I shall have -to think of something else. Thank you, I am much obliged to you." He -slipped a pound note into the woman's hand. - -"Thank you, monsieur." - -"Perhaps," John probed delicately, "madame is not fond of pearls because -she has so many?" - -Cecily was folding her pound note. - -"Pearls do not suit madame; she never wears them. She has none at all, -monsieur, only one pearl necklace, a wedding gift from her husband. -She, however, never wears it." - -John appeared to think. - -"Surely, Cecily, I have seen her wearing a pearl pendant?" - -Cecily shook her head again. - -"No, monsieur, never. Madame has no pearls." - -John laughed. - -"Well, in that case, it must be emeralds or rubies." - -"Emeralds or rubies," responded Cecily, "madame is most fond of them." - -Three minutes later John was out of the house and hailing a taxi. As he -relapsed back into the cushions, he fell into thought. "There is -certainly," thought he, "more in these advertisements than meets the -casual eye. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth detests pearls, she has none, never -had any--and yet advertises them for sale!" - -A quarter of an hour later, when John stepped into Dacent Smith's room, -the elder man glanced quickly up from his desk. - -"Well?" - -"In regard to those three advertisements of jewellery," answered John, -"inserted in the newspaper by Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, I should be glad, -sir, if you would have them decoded." - -Dacent Smith raised his eyebrows slightly. - -John narrated what had occurred at his private interview with Cecily, -and Dacent Smith was instantly of the opinion that Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's harmless advertisements were a matter for closer scrutiny. -In the first place, he telephoned to his department and ordered that -inquiry should be instituted at the newspaper office as to any earlier -advertisements which may have been inserted in the paper by Mrs. -Monmouth. If the three advertisements were a code message the -intelligence decoding department would find its task vastly more easy if -a considerable batch of advertisements in the same code were submitted. -A brief code message, as John was now well aware, is always difficult to -read. The longer the message, the easier is it to decipher. - -The department's search at the newspaper office resulted in the finding -of no less than sixteen earlier advertisements inserted by Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth. In each case, only a box number was given, therefore the -lady's identity never became public. - -"It looks as if you are on the right track, Treves," said Dacent Smith, -when this information was conveyed to him on the telephone. - -Half an hour later Dacent Smith, again at the telephone, took down the -decoded first advertisement, the one wherein Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had -advertised a pearl pendant for sale. John's chief wrote it out -carefully, and handed the slip across to the younger man. - -"There is your advertisement, Treves," he exclaimed. There was a grave -ring in his voice. John took the slip of paper and read: - -"Note of Warning.--New standard eight thousand ton ship purposely -advertised by shipping authorities here as fitting out at ---- is a 'Q' -ship, armed with six-inch guns, torpedo tubes are being fitted. Further -news in next message." - -John looked up from the pencilled lines. He saw in a flash the exact -purport of the message. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth in pretending to -advertise a pearl pendant was in reality sending a message to Germany to -the effect that a certain vessel then building was a decoy ship, one of -the famous vessels which had done so much to break the back of the -submarine peril. John could easily realise how swiftly that news would -reach Germany. Automatically the paper would reach Holland within two -days. Any neutral ship might carry copies, and Berlin's Naval -Department would possess the information a few minutes after the daily -paper containing Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's advertisement reached Dutch -soil. Every German spy in England who read the newspaper would receive -the news on the morning of its insertion. - -"I think for cunning that beats everything," said John, handing back the -paper to Dacent Smith. - -"They have been preparing this sort of thing for years," answered Dacent -Smith. "But I am willing to admit that Mrs. Monmouth has this time -stolen something of a march on us. - -"Every one of her advertisements is being decoded, however, and every -one, I have no doubt, will convey information of this nature. On the -other hand," he said, "we have not yet learnt in what manner she -communicated with the submarine that sunk the _Malta_, That must have -been a much quicker communication. I shall leave it to you, Treves," he -said quietly, "to find out what that method is. You will have to learn -much more of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth than we know already. The fight is -quickening between us. And the big fight which von Kuhne is planning in -the Isle of Wight is not quite so indefinite to us as it was. The date -at least is in our possession. And by then," he went on, "all the -carrion will have wended their way there, even our friend, Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, will be there by then." John looked at him in sudden -surprise. - -"I thought she was seldom out of London, sir." - -"That is the fact," answered Dacent Smith; "it is also the fact, -however, that from the twenty-fourth of this month she has engaged rooms -at a select boarding house in Freshwater. She is going to Freshwater," -he added ironically, "to recuperate after an arduous London season!" He -looked meaningly at John. John understood the significance of that -look. The carrion were gathering. By the twenty-eighth all von Kuhne's -active forces would be drawn to the Isle of Wight. Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, in taking rooms at Freshwater, was acquiring a residence in -close proximity to Heatherpoint Fort. John wondered what her particular -manoeuvre was to be. He put that question to Dacent Smith. - -"We shall know all in good time, Treves," answered his chief. "You -yourself will be in the Isle of Wight by then." - -A few minutes later John bade good night to Dacent Smith. Being free -for that evening, he took the tube to Camden Town. Here, at Bowles -Avenue, in the quiet little street, he knocked once again at the door of -Elaine's residence. He had not visited Elaine for nearly a week, and he -knew that for some days to come he would be deeply occupied with Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, so he wished to make the most of the present -opportunity. Twice during the past week Elaine had written him short -notes asking him when he could come to visit her. There had been -nothing in the notes to convey the idea that she wished him urgently to -come. He was surprised, therefore, when Elaine, in answer to his knock, -drew open the door and recognised him with an expression of infinite -relief in her grey eyes. She was dressed prettily, quietly and -inexpensively as usual. John, comparing her appearance with the -brilliant beauty of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, realised that Elaine's -attraction lay just as much in her fine and upright character, in her -intense feminine gentleness and loyalty, as in her beauty itself. - -She took John's hand in hers, drew him into the little passage, and -quickly shut the door. - -"Bernard," she whispered, resting her hand on his shoulder, and looking -up into his face, "I am so very glad you have come!" - -She drew his face down to hers and kissed him as she had never kissed -him before. There was something that was almost passionately fervent in -her embrace. - -"I have been so afraid for you, Bernard," she murmured. - -John released himself. He felt the extreme awkwardness of the -situation. - -"What made you afraid, Elaine?" He thought at first that an over-vivid -imagination had been running away with her, that some feminine mood had -made her fear for him. Then he remembered her beliefs as to his -character. The man she believed him to be was a weakling with will -undermined by drugs, a nervous, overstrung neurasthenic; capable of -drifting into all sorts of trouble and embarrassments. - -Elaine led him into the little parlour, lit the gas and drew down the -blind. John noticed again that something troubled her mind. She -appeared to look at him strangely and thoughtfully. And, for an -instant, for a fleeting space of time, he feared that she had penetrated -the secret of his identity. If this was the case, all his castles in -the air would in a minute come toppling about his ears. - -"Why are you looking at me so anxiously, Elaine?" he asked, assuming a -casual tone of voice. - -"It is because of Captain Cherriton, Bernard; he has been here to-day, -and has been asking questions about you." - -"What sort of questions?" John asked quickly. - -"He asked me if you had been at Heatherpoint Fort lately. He himself -has been down at the Isle of Wight and he appears to have found out -something about you that disturbs him terribly." - -John made the best effort he could to play his difficult part. - -"Well, Elaine?" he questioned, "did Captain Cherriton tell you the -particular cause of his disturbance?" He was smiling slightly as he -spoke, treating the matter airily. Nevertheless, inwardly he was deeply -perturbed. If Cherriton suspected him, and communicated his suspicions -to Voules and his confederates, John knew that the position for himself -would be one of infinite peril. He had experienced one fortuitous escape -from discovery owing to the interception of "Crumbs's" letter to Voules, -but he could hardly hope that fortune would again favour him. - -He questioned Elaine closely, and learned that Cherriton had definitely -heard of his presence at Heatherpoint Fort at a time when he was -supposed to be working in the interest of Voules. This knowledge, John -knew, would confirm all Cherriton's suspicions the minute it was -discovered that "Crumbs" had been trapped and had vanished from the -fort. - -However, it was not in John's nature to meet trouble half-way, and for -the present he was happy to be in Elaine's radiant company. Elaine, for -her part, had much to say to him; in the first place, she detailed all -that had occurred in an interview she had had with Dacent Smith. The -great man had treated her with marked courtesy, and had, without -revealing John's true identity, enlisted her services in much the same -manner as Mrs. Beecher Monmouth acted for his adversaries, Voules, -Cherriton, Manwitz, and company. Elaine had undertaken the work in the -idea that she could thus protect from danger the man she loved, whose -name she believed she bore. - -John listened to her narrative with the deepest interest, and gradually -the wonderful subtlety of Dacent Smith made itself manifest. The great -man had promised to relieve him of his awkward predicament in regard to -Elaine, and the manner in which he had accomplished his promise was -simplicity itself. Elaine was to permit--within limits--the advances of -Cherriton, and was to pretend to keep her "husband" at a distance! The -neatness of this plan filled John with admiration. He felt instantly -much freer with Elaine. The delicate moment when she had offered to -resume marital relations with him would not immediately occur again. - -For some minutes after Elaine had ceased speaking John held silence--a -doubt had come to him. - -"Elaine," he said, earnestly, "Captain Cherriton is far more dangerous, -perhaps, than you know." He rose, and, pacing back and fore, with an -anxious face, warned her that the man was one who would stop at nothing -to attain his ends. Elaine listened patiently; then, on a sudden, quick -impulse, flung her arms about his neck. - -"Bernard," she whispered, "don't you know I love you, my darling? All -those minutes that you have been pacing up and down there in raging -jealousy----" - -"Jealousy!" echoed John. - -"It was jealousy, Bernard," she smiled, happy in the possession of his -love. "All the time I have been adoring you and loving you more and -more. Bernard," she whispered, "I am to pretend not to care. But you -will know in your heart, won't you, that I am yours always?" She drew -her face away from his and looked deep into his eyes. "You know that, -dearest?" - -"I know it," said John, looking back at her. - -"And you love me as I love you?" questioned she. - -He had never seen her so beautiful as in that moment, with her face -upturned to his, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes offering him her love. -He was standing in another man's shoes, and at that moment those shoes -pinched him to the point of anguish. For a fleeting moment he was -tempted to fling all prudence to the winds and confess everything. Then -the recollection that she was a married woman smote him like a blow. -Whatever happened, she could never be his. Very gently and tenderly he -held her from him. - -"You can't doubt me, Elaine," he said, in a low voice. "Nevertheless, I -think Dacent Smith is right; you ought to pretend not to care for me, -for just a little while--anyway, until the great contest that is now -beginning between our department and Cherriton and his confederates is -at an end." - -He led her back to her chair, lit a cigarette, and made an effort to -give a humorous description of his life during the past few weeks. He -told her of Sinclair, of "Crumbs," of his adventure and his visit to -Voules; everything, in fact, except his real identity and his arrest in -mistake for Bernard Treves. - -As his narrative unfolded, Elaine's eyes widened in amazement and -admiration. - -"I had no idea you were so splendid, Bernard." - -"But I am not splendid. I am not telling you that I am splendid." - -"Of course you are not, you silly boy; you are trying to make out you -are nothing at all. But I shouldn't love you as I do if I couldn't read -between the lines. Oh, Bernard, what an idiot I have been about you. I -used to think----" she paused and looked away. - -"You used to think awful things of me," continued John, "that I took -drugs, that I consumed whisky by the half-bottle, that I was a brute -both to you and to my old father." - -"Yes," said Elaine slowly. "I used to think I----" Then suddenly, and -with the inconsequence of woman, she broke off and covered her face with -her hands. She was crying softly and steadily. It was not John's -business to comfort her. The only man who had the right to do that was -the drink-sodden neurotic, who was still a prisoner in the nursing home. -Nevertheless, in less than a minute John was kneeling before her. - -"What is it, Elaine?" he asked in passionate anxiety. She looked at him -with eyes bright with tears. - -"It is the past, Bernard; I can't understand it. Those days, long ago, -lie like a pain in my heart, always. You have grown so different. It is -cowardly and mean of me to think of it, but I love you, Bernard, and I -cannot bear to think there was a time when you were not as now." She -paused for a moment, and a shadow, a twinge of agony crossed her face. -She looked at John with affrighted eyes, then spoke in a low voice. -"That night when you struck me, Bernard!" - -John felt the blood quicken in his pulses. Some time in the past -Bernard Treves had struck her. How and under what circumstances he -could not guess. He turned away his head, so that the sudden rage which -blazed in his eyes should not be visible to her. For a moment he was -silent, then collecting his senses, he said quietly, and still without -looking at her: - -"Elaine, I swear that if in the past I ever raised my hand to you, ever -was cur enough to strike you, then I know nothing of it. I have no -memory of such a thing," he went on, speaking the truth. - -"I tell myself that, in those early days, you were not yourself," -conceded Elaine. - -"I want never to recall those days," said John. "If I ever acted as you -say, I must have been mad." He suddenly turned towards her. And all -his passionate desire to protect her, the deep love he had grown to feel -for her seemed in that moment to animate his face. "Elaine," he said, -"promise me you'll forget it, and never think of it again?" - -"Never again," answered she. She slid her arms about his neck and drew -him towards her. For a minute he forgot his compact with himself. But -presently his self-possession returned to him. He fell back a pace, -and, lifting her hand, kissed her fingers, and once again assumed the -light conversational tone. - -"We are comrades now, Elaine," said he, "both working against Voules and -his myrmidons." He turned and looked at the little clock on Elaine's -mantelshelf. "Hallo!" he exclaimed, "I must be off; I am on duty -to-night." - -He felt that it was safer to go, and five minutes later he was at the -door of the house. - -"Remember, Elaine," he said, looking down at her in the dim little -passage, "any time you want me, if Cherriton offends you in any way, -ring me up at the Golden Pavilion Hotel." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - -One evening, a week later, when darkness had fallen, John found himself -in Grosvenor Place, pacing unobtrusively in the shadow of the -russet-brown brick wall which surrounds the royal garden of Buckingham -Palace. He was watching a taxi which was waiting before the broad door -of Mr. Beecher Monmouth's residence. Some minutes passed before John, -from his discreet vantage ground, observed Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -herself, a vague, befurred, silk-clad figure in the distance, descend -from her house and enter the vehicle. - -The lady's taxi sped away, and John lifted his attention from the door -of the house to the first floor. Here a chink of light from two windows -showed him that Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's maid, having attired her -mistress for the evening, was still busy, either in the bedroom or Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's boudoir. - -"When Mademoiselle Cecily puts out the light and goes downstairs, I'll -make a dash for it," thought John. - -For a quarter of an hour after that he waited patiently in the shadow of -the royal wall. Then first one light, and then another, vanished behind -the first floor curtains of the house across the road. John gave Cecily -sufficient time to descend to the housekeeper's room, where she usually -spent the evening. At last, however, with something of alacrity and a -quickened pulse-beat, he crossed the road. He was the veriest amateur -as a burglar, but his cause was the best in the world, and in less than -a minute he had slipped a small Yale key into the hall door. He had -possessed himself of that key from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's handbag -earlier in the evening, and he knew she would not miss it until her -return from her dinner-party at the Savoy. - -The key moved noiselessly in the lock. No drama at all accompanied his -entry into the lofty, deeply-carpeted hall. The light was dim, the hall -deserted, and when John had soundlessly closed the front door behind -him, he hurried forward and ascended the carpeted stairs, two steps at a -time. - -From the servants' quarters in the lower regions he could hear voices -faintly. No other sounds came to him, and in less than a minute after -he passed the front door he found himself in Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's -intimate boudoir. Here he cautiously closed the door behind him, turned -the key in the lock and switched on the light. Everything was as usual, -save only that on every previous visit to that room Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, brilliantly gowned, brilliantly beautiful, and always amiable -to himself, had been his chief centre of interest. To-night, however, it -was not Mrs. Beecher Monmouth he desired to cultivate, but that lady's -belongings. - -He was there under Dacent Smith's instructions to search for clues which -would enable John's chief of department to check her flow of information -to the enemy. For not yet had John been able to discover in what -manner, within eight hours, she had been able to communicate with the -submarine which sank the _Malta_. - -John, standing with his back to the gold and white boudoir door, -surveyed the room with a slight sense of bewilderment. It was difficult -to know where to begin. Nevertheless, he did begin, and during the quiet -minutes that followed he made a close search for documents in every -possible hiding-place he could discover. His care and patience, -however, met with no reward; he found nothing of the slightest -significance. - -When John had thoroughly exhausted the possibilities of the boudoir and -had found nothing, he opened the door which communicated from that room -directly into Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's spacious bedroom. He had never -viewed this apartment before, and he was much impressed by its gorgeous -furnishings, its shining brass twin bedsteads, its white French -furniture and deep carpet of pale grey and rose colour. - -Having quietly locked the second door of the room which opened into the -passage, he began a rapid search, taking care to replace everything as -he found it. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth would probably not return until -half-past nine, and he felt that if he could complete his business -quickly he would be able to slip downstairs and out of the house before -being observed. - -Cecily was the only person likely to disturb him, and he had already -thought of a plan which might secure his safety in this event. In -regard to Mr. Beecher Monmouth, John felt completely at ease about him. -The "Ogre" had, a fortnight ago, been neatly transhipped to Ireland as a -member of a Government commission of inquiry. Dacent Smith, with the -aid of the Home Secretary, had brought this about without arousing -Monmouth's suspicions. The fact that Beecher Monmouth adored his wife, -and had desired to take her with him, had created something of a -difficulty, but Dacent Smith had overcome this point in his habitual -neat manner. - -"No; I don't think I need worry," thought John, glancing at an expensive -clock of ivory and silver which adorned the dressing-table. "I shall be -safe for another half an hour at least." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's bed was covered with a rich eiderdown covered in -purple satin. John seated himself upon this sumptuous covering and -rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had been twenty minutes in the bedroom -of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, and had discovered nothing. - -He noticed now a door, with a crystal knob, which opened into a -wardrobe, which was a small room in itself. Here Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's -numerous costumes hung in rows. John caught a glimpse of a shelf -containing a score of pairs of boots, shoes and slippers. Beneath this -shelf was a big tin box, a black japanned box, which immediately engaged -John's attention. - -The lock was a simple one, and John had it open in a moment. Then the -disappointment that had been growing on him intensified, for in the box -was nothing but Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's costly sables laid away for the -summer. A reek of camphor assailed his nostrils from the folded furs. -He was about to close the box, when the idea occurred to him to run his -hand down the sides. A moment later he was glad of this impulse, for -from the bottom of the tin he drew up a small, strong-looking cash-box. - -He rattled the box, and was able to detect a faint rustle from within. -Carrying the dispatch case, which was something under a foot in length, -he went into the bedroom. Once again he seated himself on the purple -eiderdown and tried all his keys. None of them fitted the dispatch box, -which was protected by an unassailable Chubb lock. - -John contemplated this lock for some minutes with an unfavourable eye, -then he took out a heavy steel tool he had brought with him. It took -him less than two minutes to wrench open the lid. Within the box, -completely filling its interior, were neatly folded and tightly packed -letters and papers. - -John's interest quickened mightily as, opening one of the letters, he -discovered it to be in German. - -The note-paper was of the flimsy description, almost tissue paper, in -fact. John, examining it closely, observed with a certain degree of -interest that the paper had been folded very small indeed, evidently for -facility in transmission. - -As he sat on the edge of the bed, with the open box on his knee, and -this letter in his hand, he swept Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's large and -expensively furnished room with his glance. There was a deep silence in -the room, and between the rise and the fall of the traffic noises -outside, John could hear the light ticking of the little ivory and -silver clock on the dressing-table. He was not occupied with the -silence, however, but with the contents of the letter, which he read -rapidly, eagerly, and with swiftly augmented interest. Written -purposely small in a firm, foreign hand, the missive, which was to Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, ran, in German: - - -"DARLING ALICE, - -"_Your loving letter reached me only yesterday, and I am hastening to -answer it by the usual channels. I am still jealous. You tell me your -husband is very old, but one of the solaces to my captivity here is the -English newspapers, which we are allowed to read, and yesterday, in one -of the picture papers, I observed Mr. Beecher Monmouth's photograph. He -is not so old as you pretend, and though his face assures me that he -will never win your heart, yet still I am jealous. It makes me laugh to -think of you as the wife of an English politician, a member of their -stupid Parliament! I wonder if in society you ever meet the Duke of -Thule and Lord Harrisgrove. I recall our beautiful happiness in -Washington together. You loved me then, I believe, more than you do -now._" - - -The letter ended with expressions of endearment, and was signed "Kurt -von Morgen." - -As John read the signature his lips tightened. In great haste he ran -his eye over the handwriting of at least a score of other letters, each -one of them in the same handwriting, that of Kurt von Morgen, a German -Cuirassier officer, a young aristocrat who had been captured on the -Western Front six months earlier. He knew that Count Kurt von Morgen -was a prisoner in the ---- camp for officers. And as he handled the -flimsy sheets of paper he wondered consumedly how the young man had -managed to convey these letters to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -A word in another letter by von Morgen caught his eye: - - -"_I am glad you have met General von Kuhne,_" said the writer. "_Kindly -convey to him my compliments, and tell him his nephew, who is a prisoner -here, is well and happy. His Excellency's presence in England means -much. I throb with interest to know what will happen. But perhaps, -Alice, meine herzliebste, I shall soon be free, and shall soon see you! -Preparations for my escape are going better than ever. I have for my -servant a very intelligent fellow from the Black Forest. Do not let -your English 'Ogre' love you too much. Think of me always and the -little week when you were my wife at Palm Beach. I kiss you behind the -ear._--KURT." - - -A smile crossed John's face as he finished reading this amorous missive. - -"Here," thought he, "we get a pretty complete clue to Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's earlier history before she came from America. It shows also -where Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's affections are really centred." - -John had already read enough to know that these letters must be -delivered as swiftly as possible into Dacent Smith's hands. One or two -had slipped to the floor as he scanned them hurriedly. He bent down to -pick them up, and saw very neatly written on a slip of paper the key of -the code which Mrs. Monmouth had used in her newspaper advertisements. -As Smith's department already knew this code, the discovery was not of -much importance, but on another sheet of paper which also lay on the -rich rose and grey carpet he discovered a second code with its -accompanying key. His attention fixed upon this with swift intensity. -He had at last made a discovery of importance, and he became suddenly -animated by the hope that his department had hit upon the manner of Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's swift communication with the enemy. He reached out, -took up the slip of paper--and then suddenly became still. For an -instant he remained motionless, his mind working with lightning -rapidity. A sound had come to him from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's boudoir, -a soft impact of footsteps upon the thick carpet. - -John could scarcely believe his ears. He had carefully locked the door -of the corridor boudoir when he entered the room. As a further -protection, he had left the key in the lock. And now this sound! He -was still on his hands and knees, and very slowly he turned his head. At -that instant the boudoir door opened towards him, and a man enveloped in -a heavy tweed overcoat and wearing a soft grey hat stood in the -aperture. At sight of John on his knees near the bed, the new-comer -stopped dead and stared with wide-amazed eyes. - -John leapt to his feet. Mechanically, at the same moment the figure at -the door removed his grey hat, and the thin hair, the parchment-like -face, and the thin, sharp nose of Mr. Beecher Monmouth stood revealed. -Moved by his passionate desire to be with his wife, the elderly -politician had unexpectedly hurried from Ireland to spend the week-end -in London. Beecher Monmouth's expression was one of simple and complete -amazement. He blinked two or three times; then, suddenly recovering -himself, drew shut the door behind him, and stood with his back to it. -His sallow face grew pale with swift kindled hate and rage. - -"Mr. Treves," he demanded, drawing in a sharp breath, "what are you -doing here? Are you here with my wife's knowledge?" - -"No," answered John frankly. "Your wife hasn't the faintest idea that I -am here." - -"You mean you came to the house in her absence?" - -John felt it was necessary to tell him something near the truth. - -"I suppose you have a right to know that I came here in her absence. I -came without her knowledge--let myself in with a key and locked the -doors outside there, so that I should not be disturbed. How you got in -I don't know." - -"I got in through my own bedroom which is beyond the boudoir," retorted -Beecher Monmouth icily, amazed and further enraged at his calmness. - -"Oh!" said John. "There must have been a door I didn't lock. Well, to -get along with my explanation--" - -Beecher Monmouth drew away from him; mechanically he drew off his -overcoat and threw it to the floor. - -"Young man," he shouted, his face suddenly turning from white to -scarlet, "what are those letters there?" His eyes fell upon the opened -cash-box lying on the bed. He rushed to it and took it up. "What were -you doing with this?" - -"I was breaking it open," answered John. - -Beecher Monmouth fixed upon him bewildered and stupefied eyes. Then he -hurried across the room and put out his hand for the bell. John, -however, was too quick for him; he leapt forward and flung his arms -powerfully about the lean, elderly figure. - -"You mustn't ring that bell," he said in a low, tense voice. "I am here -on very particular business, and there must be no disturbance whatever." - -"Will you let me go?" shouted Beecher Monmouth, his face contorted with -rage. "Let me go!" - -"Certainly," said John, stepping with his back towards the bell. -Beecher Monmouth eased his collar, which had been disturbed. He put his -hand to his thin, neatly-ordered hair. He was breathing heavily. - -"You'll drive me mad. Have you come here to rob me, or----" - -Then his mood suddenly changed. The one passion of his life welled to -the surface. If John was there intending to rob him he cared little. -There was one thing only that could really strike at him deeply, and -that was his wife's love and fidelity. - -"Look here," he said, suddenly pulling himself together, "tell me that -it is not an assignation; that you are not waiting for my wife." - -John looked at him and was silent for a surprised moment; then he said, -quietly and solemnly: - -"I swear I am not waiting for your wife. I am here on far more serious -business, and, as for your wife, I neither care, nor have I ever cared, -anything about her." - -Beecher Monmouth's eyes took on a visible expression of relief; his gaze -travelled away from John and looked about the room. Once again his -glance fell upon the disorder of letters upon the bed. He made a step -forward and, before John could stop him, picked up one. John saw his -head jerk curiously as the first words smote his eyes. "Liebste Alice." -His gaze went to the date of the letter. It was scarcely a fortnight -old! He read a few lines of the German missive, which he understood, -then he lifted his eyes to John. - -Never in his life had John seen a man alter so in a moment as Beecher -Monmouth altered in that moment. - -"Do you know what these letters are?" he asked in a jerking voice. "Do -you understand German?" - -John nodded. - -"Yes," he said. "I have read several of them." - -Beecher Monmouth took out a silk handkerchief and wiped his brow. Then -he bent down and slowly gathered a handful of the letters. But before -he could read another, John placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. He -was moved by the tragedy that was about to strike this elderly man, who -seemed so ill able to bear it. - -"Mr. Monmouth," he said, "it is only fair that you should know all the -truth. I can see no other way out." - -"What is the truth?" asked Monmouth in a dazed voice. - -"I am here," John answered, "on behalf of our Intelligence Department, -to make a search of your wife's belongings." - -"Intelligence Department!" echoed Beecher Monmouth. - -"Yes," John said; "and I am afraid it will be my duty to take away all -the letters in this room. In the meantime, however, I am prepared for -you to study them at your leisure." - -"What do you mean?" asked Monmouth. "Intelligence Department----" - -"You will learn everything from the letters, which you can read if you -wish--on condition, of course, that you give me your word of honour as a -gentleman to destroy nothing. Also you will remain indoors, within -call, until I have communicated with my chief of department." - -Beecher Monmouth put a shaking hand over his brow. - -"Yes," he said, "I suppose I understand what you say. I feel very much -bewildered." - -"Would you like to read the letters?" - -"I have read one; I must face the others." - -"You will give me your word of honour to destroy nothing?" - -"Yes." His voice was low, almost inaudible. - -John, pitying his utter desolation, stepped quietly out of the room, -and, leaving the door open, seated himself in the boudoir. He had been -there perhaps three minutes, when Beecher Monmouth looked in at him. His -expression was utterly tragic. - -"I should like to close the door, Mr. Treves, if you don't mind." - -"Certainly," said John. He was something of a judge of men; he had -accepted the elder man's word, and for ten further minutes he remained -seated. - -During that time Beecher Monmouth stood alone in his wife's brilliantly -decorated bedchamber, and strewn about the rose-grey carpet lay the -letters which meant the end of all happiness, which for him meant -tragedy and darkness unutterable. He went down on his knees, and, with -shaking hands, gathered up the strewn sheets. Then, dropping into a low -chair near the dressing-table, he read, one after another, Kurt von -Morgen's amorous letters to his wife. And in reading he pieced -together, bit by bit, his wife's dark past. For the first time her -utter shamelessness became known to him. And then, gradually, through -the tragedy of his own wrecked life, he saw something that filled him -with horror. He learnt, bit by bit, that his wife was not only -faithless to him, but was faithless to his country as well. The woman -he had adored and had sold his happiness to was a traitor--either that, -or a spy in the enemy's pay. - -As these things swept over him in great waves he clasped his hands to -his head and swayed back and forth in a very agony of horrified shame. -Presently, like a man in a dream, he rose and walked unsteadily across -the floor. Quite neatly, and with a sort of mechanical carefulness, he -had replaced all the letters and documents back in the box, and now, -carrying the box under his arm, he went unsteadily over the carpet. He -drew open a drawer of the little cabinet near his bed, and took out a -beautiful plated ivory-handled Colt pistol. Then he took in a deep -breath, assured himself that the pistol was loaded and clicked it shut -again. He moistened his lips with his tongue, looked at the weapon for -a moment with dazed eyes, and slipped it into his pocket. This done, he -turned, and with steps that were steady and resolute, crossed the room -and drew open the door of the boudoir. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - -There was a strange light in Beecher Monmouth's eyes as he stepped into -the outer apartment. He was a man who irrevocably and finally had made -up his mind. - -"Mr. Treves," he said, "I hand these into your care. You have discharged -your duty very well indeed. I think the letters will be of great -service to your department." He uttered the words tonelessly and his -manner puzzled John, who took the box, and then observed that Monmouth's -hand was outstretched. - -"You carried out your duty honourably and well." - -Their hands touched and John noticed how icy cold were the other's -fingers. - -"I hope, sir," he said, in a sudden rush of pity for the utterly broken -and deluded husband, "I hope you will forgive my seeming harshness of a -few minutes ago." - -"Certainly, certainly," said Beecher Monmouth dully. He appeared -grateful that John had shaken him by the hand. "You can tell your chief -that I feel no animosity and that I shall keep my promise not to leave -this house. Whenever you return you will find me here." - -"On behalf of the department I think I can say," remarked John, "that -you will suffer as little inconvenience as possible." - -"Thank you," said Beecher Monmouth. "This discovery is for me, as you -can well understand, a tragic one." He paused a moment. "In any case," -he added, "you will find me in my wife's room when you return." - -John took the japanned box and bowed slightly. He was quite sure that -Beecher Monmouth would make no attempt to escape. He was also quite -sure in his own mind that no charge would be brought against him. The -case was clearly one of a duped and shamelessly deluded husband who had -unwittingly aided his country's enemies. For a moment the elder man -appeared to hesitate on the point of making some further communication, -then, turning slowly on his heel, re-entered his wife's room and shut -the door. - -Beecher Monmouth's unfortunate advent had delayed John longer in the -house than caution allowed. He made haste now to repair the tactical -disadvantage, and the moment the door closed upon the elder man he -emptied the letters from the box into his overcoat, hurried out of the -room and down the great staircase. - -In two minutes he reached the front door, which he drew open upon the -darkness of the night. He inhaled a deep breath of relief. His task -had been accomplished; in another moment---- - -Then he stopped and stood stock still upon the top-most step--exactly -opposite him a taxi had drawn to a halt. A light laugh floated up to -him, and Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, shimmering in silk and jewels, alighted -briskly! She was the last person in the world John at that moment -desired to see, still if she had been alone John believed that he could -have still escaped unobserved. She was not alone, however. With her -were two men in evening clothes, and as the little party of three -crossed the pavement John made out that the heavily-built, thick-necked -figure who had helped her to alight was Doctor "Voules," and that the -taller figure who walked upon her left hand was Captain Cherriton. - -Cherriton's keen eyes had recognised John in an instant, and almost -simultaneously Mrs. Beecher Monmouth uttered an exclamation. - -"Why, Mr. Treves!" She ran lightly up the steps, holding out her hand -in greeting. "I had no idea you were coming to-night." - -"Nor had I," said John. "I came upon the impulse of the moment." - -"But you knew I should be out," protested Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -"That is true," John admitted; "but as you were not going to a theatre I -expected you would be back early." - -"That was very nice of you; now you must come in again." She laid her -hand lightly on his arm and shepherded him back to the wide hall. - -"Where is the butler?" Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, sweeping the empty hall -with her eyes, turned in surprise upon John. - -"I don't know," said John; "I think he's downstairs." - -"But surely some one was here to let you out?" - -Cherriton and his Excellency von Kuhne had both entered the hall. His -Excellency pushed shut the big door, and as John heard the latch click a -curious sensation of finality seized him. On several occasions in past -months he had been in tight situations. He had been in an awkward -position, for instance, half an hour earlier, with Beecher Monmouth. -The situation, however, which now held him in its grip was in point of -danger beyond anything he had yet experienced. He knew that coolness -and sang-froid and daring were the only weapons with which he could -fight against the three national and ruthless enemies who stood about -him in the dimly lit hall. He had shaken hands with Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, and, avoiding a direct answer to her last question, he now -turned to von Kuhne and held out his hand. - -"How do you do, doctor?" - -"I am very well," answered his Excellency in his thick voice. He looked -steadily into John's eyes. Manton could read nothing in his expression, -and he gave his attention to Cherriton. - -"It is a long time since we met, Cherriton!" - -Cherriton bowed. He made no effort to shake hands; nevertheless his -manner was not openly hostile, rather was it sharply and keenly -watchful. - -"Quite a long time," he answered. - -John, looking again into the captain's cold, light blue eyes, his pale -shaven face with its bony contours, his cruelly-turned mouth, thought -him even more unpleasant than he had formerly believed. He was willing -to grant, however, that Cherriton carried himself with an air, that he -was a powerful, big-boned, tall, well-set-up fellow. - -His own eyes and Cherriton's remained engaged for the fraction of a -second, then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's voice broke the tension. - -"Come, come," she exclaimed, "we mustn't stand in the hall. I'll ring -for Duckett to bring us something upstairs, and in the meantime you -shall each have a cigarette in my boudoir." - -"I don't like cigarettes!" said von Kuhne curtly. - -"Then you shall smoke one of your black cigars," concluded Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, flashing at him one of her brilliant smiles. She rang the -bell, and when the butler appeared, commanded him to bring wine and -glasses upstairs. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth began to run up the wide carpeted staircase. John -noticed that she wore grey shoes with scarlet heels, and that her -stockings were of dark red silk to match her dress. She ascended half a -dozen steps, then turned, noticing that John had begun to frame an -excuse. He wanted to get away before she reached her boudoir, before -she could enter her bedroom where her husband awaited her. The meeting -between these two which was imminent was not one which John wished to -witness. He waved a farewell hand, uttered conventional apologies and -made to go. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, however, would hear nothing of it. She ran down -the stairs, took him by the arm, shook a finger in his face, called him -a "bad, cruel boy," and led him upstairs. - -Cherriton and von Kuhne closed in behind. - -The boudoir was empty when Mrs. Beecher Monmouth entered and switched on -the lights. In a swift survey of the apartment John noticed the rifled -dispatch-box on a gilt-legged chair where he had left it. Very swiftly -and dexterously he whipped off his light overcoat and threw it over the -box, hiding it from view. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, who wore extensive _decolletee_, with a small -tiara glimmering in her perfectly arranged dark tresses, permitted John -to relieve her of an opera cloak of grey silk brocade. She stood for a -minute displaying herself in perfect consciousness of her striking -beauty. Her arms and shoulders, perfectly modelled, were white as -marble. There was a challenging light in her brilliant eyes as they -sought John's. She was one of those women who look best at night, a -flower that bloomed best in artificial light. - -John's mind, since their entrance into the room, had not, however, been -occupied either with her beauty or his own personal danger. - -He was thinking only of a sound he had heard some minutes earlier, at -the moment he had drawn open the front door. The sound, like a distant -crack of a whip, had reached him from the interior of the house. Only -now did that sound gather to itself significance. - -Sudden doubts assailed John. In that room behind the closed door -Beecher Monmouth had seen his own doting attempts at love mocked and -laughed at; he had read the passionate letters of her real lover, Kurt -von Morgen. She had betrayed not only her husband but her husband's -country. - -What if Beecher Monmouth strode in among them? At any moment the door of -that silent room might fly open.... John could conceive Monmouth in a -frenzy, rushing into the room and putting his lean hands about that -white, bejewelled throat. The situation tingled with terrible -possibilities. - -In those tense and throbbing moments John felt a kinship between himself -and the deluded man beyond the closed door of the bedroom. - -Cherriton, he was certain, suspected him, and would take the first -opportunity to cross-examine him as to his visit to Heatherpoint Fort. -Nevertheless, he was determined to escape from that house with Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's incriminating letters, and with the newly-found code. -He was not afraid of Cherriton; he feared neither the tall German's -subtlety of wit, nor his strength of arm. His sole feeling indeed -towards this unpleasant enemy was one of infinite antagonism. He knew -the time was bound to come, possibly at any minute, when he and -Cherriton would enter upon open conflict. - -The butler came into the room bearing a large silver tray, decanters and -glasses. General von Kuhne lit one of his big black cigars, and seating -himself, drank a glass of champagne. The butler went out of the room -and closed the door noiselessly behind him. John and Cherriton each -accepted from Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's hands a whisky-and-soda. John -felt Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's eyes steadily upon him. A faint shadow of -doubt seemed to flit across her face and then vanish. With an almost -imperceptible movement of her head she beckoned him towards her, and -seizing a moment when Cherriton and von Kuhne were in conversation, she -said to him in a whisper: - -"Why did you come to-night, when you knew I should be out?" - -John had been expecting the question, and was prepared. - -"I knew you would be out," he said, looking deep into her eyes; "but I -expected you'd come in again!" - -"What do you mean, you enigmatical boy?" Then feeling that she had read -his mind, she added: "Do you mean--you came because my husband was -away?" - -John smiled at her. - -"Don't you think that an excellent reason for coming?" he asked. - -This struck her as an extremely amusing remark. As always she was -conscious of, and confident in, the potency of her beauty. She laughed -and tapped him on the shoulder with her fan. - -"I don't believe you love me," she uttered almost soundlessly, shaping -the words with her lips. - -"Don't you?" said John. - -"Did Cecily let you in?" - -"No," admitted John. - -At that moment a knock fell upon the door of the room, and in answer to -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's summons, Cecily herself entered. - -"I beg your pardon, madame," she said, "but the corridor door of your -room is locked." - -"Locked, Cecily?" - -"Yes, madame." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth saw no significance in the fact. - -"In that case, Cecily," she said, "you may come through this way." - -"Thank you, madame." Cecily, in her black dress, white cap and apron, -and high-heeled shoes, crossed the carpet. She reached the second door -of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's bedroom and opened it. Nobody but John was -watching her. As the maid pushed open the door she gave a violent -start, stood stock still, then uttered a loud and terrified scream. - -"Madame! Madame!" she called, turning a frantic face and wide-staring -eyes at her mistress. - -"What is it?" cried Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, springing swiftly to her -feet. - -The four of them were now standing staring blankly at Cecily, who was -leaning against the door-frame covering her eyes with one hand and -waving an arm frantically towards the bedroom. - -Mrs. Monmouth hurried towards her, but it was John who first succeeded -in reaching the door. From the threshold he looked into the room. All -the softly-shaded golden lights were full on. And half lying, half -sitting on the bed he saw the figure of Beecher Monmouth. The inert -form was reclining upon its side on the rich purple counterpane. One -arm hung over the edge of the bed towards the floor. On the floor -itself lay the politician's ivory and electro-plated pistol, one barrel -of which had been discharged. - -John rushed into the room and looked close into the ashen grey face, but -even before he reached the bedside, the very stillness of the prone -figure had told him the truth. - - * * * * * - -The knowledge that had come upon Beecher Monmouth that night had marked -the end. And with a courage for which few would have given him credit, -considering his weakness, he had taken arms against a sea of troubles. -His political life, his ambition, his hopes, the love that he had -lavished, had all vanished in a flash. Kurt von Morgen's letters had -told him everything, had revealed a sink of iniquity and duplicity such -as he had never thought possible. The blow had been too heavy for him -to bear. A younger man might have sought relief in vengeance upon the -woman who had betrayed him, but he was not of that spirit. He could -think of one way only, one act only which could extricate him from his -tragic position. - -Innocently for months and years he had been a traitor to his country. -Unwittingly he had been supplying to the scheming, brilliant woman whom -he adored, all the knowledge that came to him in virtue of his position -in Parliament. In doing this he had himself become a criminal. No -court of law could, or would, punish him. That he knew. But with all -his weaknesses he was a loyal Englishman, and in thinking of the tragedy -that had been wrought by his doting folly, he resolved to act manfully -at the last. - -Monmouth left no word, no scrap of writing, no murmur of complaint -against the woman who had betrayed him, and as John looked into the -waxen face that looked old, even beyond its years, he felt for the dead -man a genuine and deep sense of pity. - -"After all," thought he, "he has chosen the only way out!" He looked up -from the face of the dead man, and saw Cherriton's eyes brooding upon -him narrowly. And all through the ensuing excitement he could feel -Cherriton's eyes following him keenly, spying upon every movement he -made. As the minutes passed John realised that the Captain not only -suspected him of playing a double game in regard to Heatherpoint Fort, -but he suspected him also of the murder of Beecher Monmouth. - -John wondered what would happen when the ravished dispatch-box was -discovered. And the thought came to him that, despite the tragedy that -had occurred, Beecher Monmouth's return had been a useful circumstance -for himself and his department. For when Mrs. Beecher Monmouth found -that her lover's letters and the code had disappeared she would -instantly jump to the conclusion that her husband had discovered them. -Having made this discovery, his despair at her duplicity would account -for his self-destruction. - -Soon after the finding of the body the servants were summoned from -below, but no one had heard the fatal shot. - -Von Kuhne, who was disturbed and annoyed, showed an urgent desire to -take himself off. He was gone, accompanied by Cherriton, by the time -the police appeared. - -When the police were in full possession of the situation John himself -took leave of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. She was standing in her boudoir, -her face deathly white, her usually scarlet lips bluish in hue. John -noticed that her hand, as she touched his, was ice-cold. His feelings -were of intense detestation towards her, and he found it difficult to be -even conventionally polite. As to offering her words of comfort or -condolence, that would have been the merest mockery. He was amazed, in -bidding her good-bye, to find that there were tears in her eyes. She was -an astounding woman. Beecher Monmouth had destroyed himself solely -because of her unutterable depths of treachery. She had never loved -him; she had incessantly betrayed and duped him, and yet she could still -shed tears for him! - -John went away pondering upon the mystery of the eternal feminine. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - -John's work of that night was commended highly by Dacent Smith. For his -discovery of the japanned box had put the department in possession of -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's code and a score of letters evidently part of a -secret correspondence conducted with a camp for officers, and with Kurt -von Morgen, whose "plans for escape were progressing nicely"! - -The great man commended this achievement. But, like John, he felt pity -for Beecher Monmouth, who had fallen so easy and gullible a victim to -his wife's treachery. In regard to Cherriton's suspicions of John he -took a serious view. - -"I think, Treves," he said, leaning back in his chair, "we shall have to -remove Cherriton from the scene. He appears, from what you tell me, not -to have confided his suspicions of you either to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -or to von Kuhne. It is unfortunate that he chanced to be appointed by -von Kuhne to watch Heatherpoint. But I don't think we can blame -Lieutenant Parkson for letting out the fact that you were for a brief -period attached to that fort. Nevertheless the position is one that -must be handled swiftly and effectively." - -He suddenly smiled at John. - -"You have done very well up to now, Treves," he said. "But I should not -like your career to be suddenly cut short when there are big things -ahead. We have safely got rid of Lady Rachel Marvin in Pitt Lunan -Hydro, where she can enjoy the company of other fools of her own sort, -and will be unable to endanger any more of our forces by loose gossip." -He paused, then went on: "The virtual suspension of the Habeas Corpus -Act was a god-send to us in the handling of dangerous social fools like -Lady Rachel. We could do still more than we do at present, Treves, if -every one who knew of suspicious persons or suspicious gossip would only -let us know. If members of the public would take the trouble to write a -letter to their favourite newspaper the information would always reach -us, and would enable us to keep watch on a good many suspicious -characters who would otherwise escape us." - -"The trouble is," said John, "the members of the public do not -understand either the power of the German spy system in this country or -the wideness of its extent." - -"Exactly," nodded his chief. "Who, for instance, would suspect Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, the beautiful and wealthy wife of a well-known member -of Parliament? But, to my mind, persons like Lady Rachel Marvin are just -as dangerous to us as the actual German spies who pick up their -information." - -John went away from Dacent Smith's bachelor abode that night full of -intense curiosity as to what Mrs. Beecher Monmouth would do in the -immediate future. If, however, he thought that the death of her husband -would check her activities he was speedily disillusioned. For -immediately after the funeral of the late politician, Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth, looking beautiful in her widow's weeds, departed for the Isle -of Wight. The funeral of Beecher Monmouth had been an impressive public -affair, and there had been much commiseration for the tragically -bereaved young widow. It was only natural, therefore, that after so -terrible a shock she should wish to withdraw herself from the public -gaze. Rooms were engaged at an hotel at Newport, and Mrs. Monmouth, in -deepest widow's weeds, made the journey accompanied by her maid Cecily. - -She arrived at Newport on the twenty-fourth of the month, and the -proprietor of the hotel, who knew of her bereavement, received her with -a grave and discreet cordiality. He himself showed her to the parlour -which had been allotted to her, and assured her that he would do all -that was in his power to make her stay as quiet and reposeful as he -possibly could. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth thanked him cordially. That night she dined in -the retirement of her little parlour, but on the following evening it -was discovered that her chimney smoked a little. She therefore decided -to take her dinner in the public dining-room. As the chimney in her -sitting-room had never smoked before, the proprietor of the hotel was a -little puzzled. Nevertheless he prepared for her a table in a quiet -corner of the dining-room downstairs. Here, accompanied by Cecily, her -confidential maid, who placed her chair for her and then departed, the -newly-bereaved widow took her meal. The only other diners in the room -were four young officers, who sat at a table in an opposite corner. -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, in her simple and costly black dress, immediately -engaged their attention. They respected her sorrow, however, and, -despite the evident admiration of one of them, who thought her possessed -of the most beautiful profile he had ever seen, Mrs. Monmouth did not -encounter from the young men a single glance. When dinner was at an end -she rose gracefully, and, carrying her novel, went upstairs to her -apartments. When the door had closed upon her the four young officers -became animated in a surprising manner. - -"By gad!" exclaimed one, "she's a dashed fine-looking woman, and young, -too." - -"A dashed sight too young for Beecher Monmouth, I should think," -remarked another. "What a rotten thing to happen to her. I wonder what -made him shoot himself." - -They speculated upon Mrs. Beecher Monmouth and her tragedy for some -minutes, then rose to go. - -In the meantime Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had reached her sitting-room. -Strange to say, the fire no longer smoked. She turned swiftly to the -sallow-skinned Cecily. - -"Cecily!" - -"Yes, madame." - -"Go downstairs and find out which of those young officers was Lieutenant -Parkson, of Heatherpoint Fort. You know how to find out?" - -Cecily looked at her knowingly. - -"Yes, madame." - -Presently Cecily returned. - -"Lieutenant Parkson, madame, was the one with the black hair and the -little black moustache who sat facing you." - -"Thank you, Cecily," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. "Did you discover when -he was coming again?" - -"He and his friends have engaged the same table for to-morrow night, -madame." - -"Thank you." Mrs. Beecher Monmouth lit one of her Russian cigarettes, -flung the match into the fire, and, relapsing into a chair at the -hearth, began to smoke quietly. "I shall dine downstairs at the same -time to-morrow, Cecily," she said. - -"Very good, madame." - -The next night the four young men were already seated at their table -when Mrs. Beecher Monmouth entered the old-fashioned dining-room, -followed by Cecily. This time Lieutenant Parkson caught the full view -of Mrs. Monmouth's beauty for the first time. Her fine eyes met his, -lingered for a moment, then turned away. After that the young man -watched her during the entire meal. He watched her as she moved away. -She carried herself superbly. - -For some minutes, unheeding his companions' conversation, Parkson looked -at the vacant place she had occupied. He remained absorbed in thought -until something gleaming caught his eye on the carpet, within a yard of -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's vacated chair. Parkson saw this object, left his -seat, and discovered it to be a small gold cigarette-case. - -He took it up quickly and examined it with a good deal of interest. On -the gold surface of the case the letters "A.B.M." were outlined in small -rubies. For a minute the young man hesitated, holding the article in -his hand; then suddenly he made up his mind what to do. He determined to -seize advantage by the forelock. - -Excusing himself to his friends, Parkson hurried out of the room. He -had determined upon a course which would enable him to make her -acquaintance. The single glance Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had rested upon -him when entering the room gave him courage. At the door of No. 9, -which was her sitting-room, he knocked quietly. A low voice bade him -come in. - -Then Parkson, embarrassed despite his boldness, stepped into the room. - -"I beg your pardon for intruding upon you, but I think you dropped this -cigarette-case in the dining-room." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth looked at him, then at the case, and came quickly -to her feet. - -"Oh, yes," she exclaimed. She accepted it from his fingers and smiled -at him, looking steadily into his eyes. "I am so grateful to you," she -said. "I cannot," she lied, "tell how I came to drop it!" - -Parkson bowed, and was moving towards the door. - -"Not at all," he murmured. - -"You know, the servants," went on Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "are sometimes -so dishonest in these hotels." - -"Quite so," answered Parkson clumsily. Then he noticed that Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth had opened the cigarette-case and was holding it -towards him. There were four buff-coloured cigarettes in its interior. - -"Won't you give me the pleasure of accepting one of them? I am afraid -it is the only reward you will permit me to offer you, Mr.----" - -She paused, looking questioningly at him. - -"My name is Parkson." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth uttered a pleased exclamation; her face wreathed -itself in smiles. For a devastated widow she looked at that moment -particularly light-hearted. - -"Oh, how very nice that is. Then you must know my cousin, Captain -Cherriton?" - -"Yes," said Parkson; "I've met him a number of times here." His tone -conveyed to her swift intelligence the fact that Captain Cherriton was -not high in his favour. She looked at him seriously. - -"I am afraid he was not the best of company for you." - -At that moment Cecily, who had been conveniently absent from the room, -entered with coffee upon the tray. - -"You will please bring another cup, Cecily. I am sure Captain -Parkson----" - -"Lieutenant Parkson," corrected the young man. - -"Lieutenant Parkson will join me." - -Five minutes later Lieutenant Parkson was comfortably seated in a chair -on the opposite side of the hearth. He was consuming one of Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's buff-coloured cigarettes, and was very much at home drinking -some of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's after-dinner coffee. After the first -few minutes he gathered together his natural self-possession. He was -generally at home where women were concerned, and he was intensely -susceptible to feminine beauty. At that particular moment he was -flattering himself that he was making a good impression upon this rich -and beautiful young widow. It occurred to him that she was, in the -circumstances, unduly cheerful, but he attributed this to his own good -company. The fact that Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had cunningly put him in -this frame of mind was, of course, unknown to him. His own social -position was quite a modest one, and this _tete-a-tete_ with a woman of -Mrs. Monmouth's importance and aristocratic connections flattered his -vanity. - -"Do you know, Mr. Parkson, I don't look upon you as a stranger in the -least. You are a friend of my reckless cousin, and, therefore, we are -in a sense mutually acquainted." - -"It is very nice of you to say so," acknowledged Parkson. - -In her amiable presence he began to grow expansive, until suddenly Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, as it were, appeared to recollect her tragic -widowhood. She dismissed him very neatly, but before he went away they -shook hands, and she thanked him again. He could feel her fingers warm, -vibrant, and vital in his. Her brilliant eyes held his for a moment; -then she permitted him to depart. - -Cecily came into the room when he had gone. - -"You can take away the cups, Cecily," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, "and -to-morrow night, in addition to coffee, you will provide whisky and -liqueurs." - -"Very good, madam." - -"Glasses for two," announced Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -Within four days of her arrival at her hotel Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had -completely enchained the susceptible young officer. Parkson was amazed -at his own success, yet perhaps not so much amazed after all. He began -to see himself as a newly fledged Don Juan, a dog, a daring and romantic -fascinator of women. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - -One afternoon, when Colonel Hobin's permission had been obtained, -Parkson invited Mrs. Beecher Monmouth to tea at Heatherpoint Fort. It -was only occasionally that ladies were allowed to enter the fort gates. -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, however, was a well-known woman, and her recent -sorrow won for her every one's commiseration. In sending her the permit -to enter the fort--a slip of yellow paper, rubber stamped, and with -Colonel Hobin's signature scrawled at the foot--Parkson apologised for -the roughness of the fare he would be able to offer her. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had been deftly angling for an invitation to the -fort from the moment of her arrival. - -Upon the next afternoon she attired herself with special care, and, when -ready, made the eleven miles journey to Heatherpoint in a hired car. - -She smiled graciously at the first sentry to halt her vehicle at the -foot of the wide road leading to the fort gate. At the tall iron gates -themselves, which clanked noisily open when her pass had been inspected -by the guard, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was conscious of a slight tremor. -The sensation of being behind closed gates--for the gates clanked -immediately shut upon her entrance--filled her with a sudden throb of -fear. The abrupt movements, the expressionless faces of the guard also -disturbed her. She had ventured a great deal in her work on behalf of -the German secret service, but this was the first occasion where she -had, as it were, stepped deliberately into the jaws of the lion. Her -quick eyes took in all her surroundings; the cliff rose abruptly to her -left; the muzzle of a six-inch gun peering out over the Solent was -visible twenty yards away upon her right. A sergeant, still holding her -pass in his hand, looked at her inquiringly. - -"You wish to see Lieutenant Parkson?" - -"Yes, please." Her heart was still beating swiftly. She had not -foreseen that the gates would be clanged ruthlessly shut behind her. - -The sergeant turned on his heel. - -"Will you come this way, madame?" - -He began to ascend steep ladder-like steps laid against the face of the -cliff. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth followed the grim khaki-clad figure. - -"Please, not quite so fast," she entreated, and paused for breath. - -Three hundred feet below her, looking almost straight down, she could -see the blue waters of the Solent shining in the sunlight. Tiny -white-crested waves fell languidly into the little bay, with its jutting -pier that before the war had been thronged with holiday-makers, but -which was now empty and deserted. Beyond the pier, three miles away, on -the mainland promontory the tower of the Ponsonby Lighthouse gleamed -beautiful and white. - -"What a lovely view, sergeant." - -"Yes, madame." - -"But in winter it must be very cold up here." - -"Yes, madame." - -He was standing eight or ten steps above her, eyeing a tangle of barbed -wire which covered a green hill slope, with indifferent eyes. He did -not approve of visitors to the fort, especially ladies. What did ladies -want climbing ladders and nosing about in places where they were not -wanted; they were never allowed to see anything important. And as for -the so-called view, they could get a better one at the Shakespeare -Monument a little farther along the downs. This was Sergeant Ewins's -opinion as he conducted Lieutenant Parkson's visitor up the steep steps -to the little well-hidden mess-room at the cliff top, and even Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's unparalleled beauty and charm failed to win a smile -from him. Parkson, who had been on duty until that minute, came running -towards them as they entered the small asphalted courtyard. Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth, her eyes shining, her breath coming quickly with the -exertion of the ascent, clasped his hand in hers. - -Parkson dismissed Ewins and apologised briskly for not being able to -receive her at the fort gates. - -"I was on duty till this minute. Our colonel's a bit of a martinet." - -"Is he not popular?" asked Mrs. Beecher Monmouth in the low intimate--we -two are alone in all the world--voice she knew so well how to use. - -Parkson opened his eyes wide. - -"Good Lord, yes; he's most awfully popular. He is just, you see, and -the men always appreciate that." - -He led his visitor into the single story building, and along a passage -toward the little mess-room. Here Mrs. Beecher Monmouth seated herself -in the only armchair--a cheap wicker article--and surveyed the room with -smiling, but intensely receptive eyes. In a flash she took in the bare -boarded floor, the trestle table, the colonel's cigar box on the -mantelshelf, the Admiralty chart of the Solent which covered the end -wall and lastly, the old piano, which was the worst treated instrument -in the Isle of Wight. - -Parkson bustled about at the tea-table, and Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -presently turned her attention upon him. - -"Will anyone come in and disturb us if I help you to make the table a -little more presentable?" she asked. - -"I'm afraid they will," Parkson answered. "But I managed to choose a -time when only one officer is likely to come in." - -"Is he old and grumpy, or young and nice-looking like you?" Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth looked at him with raillery in her fine eyes. She was -helping herself to marmalade, and was making the best of the thickness -of the bread and butter, and the strong tea Parkson had poured out for -her. - -"Oh, he's a dashed sight better looking than I am," admitted Parkson -modestly; "his name is Sinclair, an old regular officer." - -"I am sure I shall not like him," said Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -It was fully a quarter of an hour before Sinclair made his appearance, -and then the tea was nearly cold. He came in, and was introduced to -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. Looking at his lean, handsome face and audacious -eyes she could have sworn that she had seen him somewhere before. As a -matter of fact, his appearance was vaguely familiar to her because one -of Sinclair's earlier duties that year had been to watch her at little -dinner parties at the Savoy, Carlton and Ritz Hotels. - -"I think we have met before," probed Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, furrowing -her brows, and fixing her gaze on Sinclair's face. - -"I am afraid I have not had that pleasure," replied Sinclair, who could -act the part of smiling fatuity to perfection. He was thinking how well -she looked in her widow's weeds, and how extraordinary cheerful was her -manner, considering the tragedy that had recently befallen her. - -Parkson and Mrs. Beecher Monmouth soon left the mess-room, and -immediately they were gone Sinclair rose from the table, hurried to his -room, and wrote a code telegram to Dacent Smith. - - -_Mrs. Beecher Monmouth is here. What action shall I take?_ - - -Two hours later his Chief's answer came. - - -_Take no action. Treves handling the matter._ - - -While Sinclair was writing his telegram Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had -accompanied Parkson out into the asphalted yard. Only certain limited -areas of the fort were open to friends of the officers. "I am afraid it -is very feminine of me," exclaimed Mrs. Monmouth as they passed the -bakehouse door, "but I should so love to peep inside." - -"By all means," responded Parkson, showing himself indulgent to feminine -curiosity. - -She tripped across the yard, and peered into the half darkness of the -bakehouse. She was carrying out her instructions, which were to find -out what had become of Sims, but even the astuteness of Dacent Smith -himself at this moment would have failed to detect guile in the girlish -innocence of her expression as she looked into the face of the -red-haired Scotch baker who had succeeded Sims. She examined the great -tray of newly-baked loaves, uttered feminine exclamations of -astonishment and admiration at all she saw, and finally smiled sweetly -into the face of the dour Scotch corporal. - -"I suppose you have been here ages and ages, Mr. Lyle?" - -"No, madam, it's no more than a month since I came." - -Parkson, who had listened good-humouredly, awaited her at the door, and -as they crossed the asphalt together Mrs. Monmouth questioned him as to -the baker who had preceded Lyle. She put her questions deftly, in a -manner that would arouse no suspicion. - -"Oh, no, Sims isn't at the front." He looked at her for a moment with -fleeting doubt in his gaze, and decided to say no more about Sims. But -Mrs. Monmouth's keen eyes interpreted his expression of reserve. He knew -something. She smiled inwardly. What he knew she, too, would know. - -"I am afraid we must stop here," Parkson suddenly said, "I am not -allowed to take anyone beyond this barbed wire." - -"Do you never allow visitors to go there?" - -"Never," answered Parkson emphatically. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned her resplendent countenance upon him. -There was a vivid colour in her cheeks; the rich curve of her lips -glowed scarlet. - -"How wonderful it all is--and, I suppose," she went on, looking at him -with what he and any other man would have believed to be admiration, -"you are watching and waiting, all day and all night--waiting for the -enemy?" - -"Something of the sort," answered Parkson wearily. "You never know; he -may come any time." - -"Do you expect him?" - -They were at the top of the steps which led to the lower fort, the -superb panorama of Alum Bay, the Ponsonby Lighthouse and the English -coast lay at their feet. - -"I can't say that we expect him any longer," answered Parkson, -naturally, "but we live in hope!" - -"I suppose the fort is very strong?" - -"I expect it's capable of doing its bit," Parkson answered judicially. - -"I suppose you have made it much stronger in the last few months--since -the Germans began to do badly on the Western front?" - -Parkson looked at her quickly, and she broke into a little musical -laugh. - -"How silly I am!" she exclaimed. "I am talking just like a man. That -comes of living with a Member of Parliament." - -This was the only reference she had made to her husband, but she made it -in a tone which was intended to convey to Parkson that Mr. Beecher -Monmouth was completely and irrevocably dead, and that being a young and -vital woman, she, on her part, could not be expected to mourn his loss -eternally. - -They descended the steps together, and, in pretty timidity, she laid her -fingers upon his arm. In Parkson's short career of gallantry he had -never felt so much a man of the world as at that moment. - -When the steep descent had been made, and they were upon the level of -the lower fort, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth expressed much interest in the -view that was to be obtained from that level. But Parkson shook his -head, and explained that no visitors whatever were admitted to the lower -fort. - -Failing in that project, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned her eyes upon the -tall barred gate which cut her off from the world outside. Parkson -explained to her with a masterful smile, that, until he gave the word, -she was a prisoner in the fort. - -"You can test it, if you like," he said; "all you have to do is to walk -to the gate and try to get out." - -It was nearly six o'clock, and Parkson was due upon duty at seven. - -"Look here," he said, "I have just time to show you out of the fort the -other way, across the links. I'm afraid you'll have to go up the steps -again." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, however, showed herself quite willing to make an -ascent to the upper level. She was interested and delighted in -everything she saw. - -At the top of the cliff, with the short green turf underfoot, old -Lieutenant-Commander Greaves met them, and saluted, and went to his -eyrie, his glass-covered look-out with its great swivel telescope. - -"What a delightful old naval officer!" - -"He is," returned Parkson, "and as keen as mustard." - -His companion put a few deft questions; it was as though she put out -invisible tentacles, groping for matter that could be valuable. - -Before they reached the confines of the fort Parkson led her to the -cliff edge, to the exact spot wherefrom Manton had looked down upon Sims -busy upon the sands. Far below them lay the quiet little bay--there was -scarcely a ripple upon the blue sunlit water, and the waves rolled and -fell languidly with a musical cadence. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth seated herself beside Parkson and admired the -view. She was clever enough not to force the pace; he was already -entangled in her meshes, but he was not yet completely helpless. -Aforetime she had conquered and wrought the undoing of men far subtler -than Parkson. - -"What a lovely, lovely bay, Mr. Parkson!" - -Parkson admitted the beauty of the bay. He told her that it was within -the area of the fort, and that it was not accessible to the public, and -that there was only one way of approaching it by a narrow path -descending the chalk cliff. Then quite insidiously and with incredible -dexterity she led him round to talk of Sims. Months later, when Parkson -recalled that conversation, he was totally unable to account for the -manner in which she had achieved a return to this subject. Sims, the -lank, cadaverous and bead-eyed Sims--who was really Steinbaum and a -German spy--what had this man to do with the beauty and splendour of the -sunlit evening? Why should his existence interest the tragically -bereaved young widow, the society woman, who Parkson truly believed had -fallen in love with himself? "Heart taken at the rebound," the young -man quoted in fatuous gratification. He felt delighted to think that -old Greaves had seen him in company of this lovely widow. He wanted the -ancient naval officer to think him a dog, and when he and Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth rose and passed between attentive sentries out of the fort into -the downs, Parkson helped the lovely widow up certain steps, out through -certain areas of barbed wire, by taking her arm in his. He wondered if -old Greaves, in his glass look-out, was watching them--old Greaves saw -pretty much everything that went on in the upper fort. But on this -occasion it was not Greaves, but Captain Sinclair who watched -him--watched every movement they made from Greaves' glass-encompassed -tower. - -"What do you think of that friend of Parkson's, Commander?" asked -Sinclair, as Parkson and his guest passed finally out of the fort. - -"She's the best-looking woman I've seen here since the war began," -responded Greaves. "When I was a young man," he went on wickedly, -drawing at his pipe, "I always went in for widows. There is always so -much more to 'em." - -"In this case," Sinclair answered, "the widow seems to be bearing her -sorrow pretty lightly!" - -"Old husbands are soon forgotten by young wives," observed Greaves -philosophically. "When I was in Minorca, in the old Benbow, in '72 or -'73," he began, and told Sinclair with never-ending gusto one of his -somewhat highly-spiced stories of youthful adventures of his midship -days. - -In the meantime Parkson conducted Mrs. Beecher Monmouth down to her -waiting motor-car. They descended the steep hillside, and Parkson still -helped her on every occasion. The hired Ford car had been turned in the -narrow road. Parkson, with a glance at his watch, helped her into the -vehicle, daringly stepped in beside her, and placed the dust-cover over -both their knees. - -"I can have a five minutes' drive with you and get back by seven," he -announced. - -"But I didn't invite you, Mr. Parkson." - -"Your eyes invited me," he returned audaciously, and under the -dust-cover he slid his fingers towards hers. - -There ensued a palpitating moment, then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned her -radiantly beautiful face slightly towards him; under long, curved lashes -she gave him a sidelong glance. Then, so that the chauffeur should not -overhear, she whispered, framing the words with her lips: - -"You bad, bad, naughty officer!" - -But she did not remove her hand, which was now enclosed in his. - -Parkson thought it a lucky chance that she had discarded her gloves. -Parkson, in fact, was green enough to trust her absolutely. He was, -indeed, the veriest babe in her hands. Her face was full towards him -now. She was smiling, exhibiting her splendid teeth, and looking deep -into his eyes. Her black hat and widow's weeds added only to the -brilliancy of her complexion, to the scarlet richness of her fine lips. -There was something in her gaze, in the warm intensity of her regard, -its lingering softness, that utterly swept away Parkson's -self-possession. He leaned toward her and dropped his voice. - -"If it wasn't for the sentries there on the hill-top," he murmured, "I'd -kiss you now!" - -"Bad boy," she said with her lips. - -She had a way of talking with her lips and uttering no sound that -concentrated attention on her sensuous charms. - -Parkson's five minutes in the car seemed to him five minutes of heaven. -He was completely and utterly enamoured--and as to the future, the -future seemed to blaze before him in radiant and glorious romance. He -wondered how far he could go--he had never seen a woman like her. -Beautiful, feminine, coy, loving.... What a blind idiot, thought he, -Beecher Monmouth must have been to shoot himself. - -"When shall we meet again?" he whispered, as he alighted from the car at -the end of the fort road. - -"I'm afraid I shall have to meet you again soon, you naughty boy!" - -She put out her supple white hand, adorned only with a wedding ring. -Parkson seized her fingers and impressed a fervent kiss upon them. - -As the car swept away, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned and waved a little -handkerchief in farewell. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - -When Mrs. Monmouth reached the hotel in Newport, something over an hour -after bidding Parkson farewell, Cecily awaited her in the little -sitting-room. - -"Are you ready, madame, to dress for dinner?" asked the maid. - -"Yes, Cecily, and I shall dine here to-night." - -She went into the bedroom, and Cecily disrobed her. During this ceremony -the girl hesitated once or twice on the point of speaking, then -refrained. - -"Well, what is it, Cecily? What is it you want to say?" - -"It is something important, madame, that has occurred." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned and opened her eyes in interrogation. - -"What, for instance?" she demanded. - -Cecily, who was at the wardrobe, took out her mistress's evening skirt. - -"To-day, madame, when you were away, I made acquaintance of one of the -men at Heatherpoint Fort----" - -"Ah!" ejaculated Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, suddenly interested; "so -soon--that was clever of you." - -"He told me, in regard to Sims, madame, he merely left the fort----" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth nodded indifferently; she was disappointed. - -"Is that all you learned, Cecily?" - -"No, madame. I learned also that Lieutenant Treves, who was supposed by -us to be staying with his father, was, however, at that time acting as -one of the officers at Heatherpoint." - -This was the first Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had heard of John's presence at -the fort. She was at first inclined to disbelieve it. Then, when -Cecily proved circumstantially that the statement was true, Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth felt inclined to dismiss the matter as of no moment. If Treves -had been at Heatherpoint, he was there evidently with the knowledge of -von Kuhne, and possibly was acting in von Kuhne's interests, and, for -her part, she was not in the least inclined to doubt John--he was one of -her admirers. A more resourceful and more attractive man than Parkson, -and, nevertheless, equally a victim of her charms. She flattered -herself she could do a great deal with Bernard Treves. As for his -attempting to deceive her, that seemed out of the question. She pointed -out to Cecily that Treves's stay at Heatherpoint Fort did not mean that -the young man had betrayed the German secret service, which was -rewarding him so handsomely. - -Cecily, however, had a further and more serious statement to make. - -"When I am suspicious, madame," she said, "I am thinking not so much of -Mr. Treves's visit to the fort----" - -She was at Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's back now, hooking her dress, and a -silence fell. - -"Well?" demanded her mistress shortly. - -"I am thinking, madame," went on Cecily, "of the night of Mr. Beecher -Monmouth's death." - -She paused again, but her mistress made no remark, and Cecily went on: - -"On that night, madame, when I had folded away your things, I took a -skirt into the housekeeper's room to brush. While I brushed it I talked -with Mr. Duckett, the butler, who was also there. There was no ring at -the front-door bell, madame--and yet when I returned to your bedroom -there was a light there." - -"You left it on before you went down, Cecily!" - -"No, madame, I turned it off. I was very surprised to see the light, as -I knew you were out, madame, and I--I----" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth turned and scrutinised the maid's sallow face and -bead-like eyes. - -"You looked through the keyhole!" she said. - -"Yes, madame." - -"And saw my husband, who had come back unexpectedly." - -"No, madame; I saw Mr. Treves. Mr. Beecher Monmouth had not come home -then; and Mr. Treves, madame, was standing near your dressing-table with -a small box in his hands." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth flashed an intense glance upon her. - -"What sort of box?" - -"A black box, madame, the one you kept among your furs." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's hand suddenly leapt out and gripped Cecily's -wrist. Her voice grew low, little more than a hissing whisper. - -"What are you saying, Cecily? What was Mr. Treves doing?" - -"I don't know, madame." - -Cecily twisted her arm, attempting to free it. - -"Please, madame, you are hurting my wrist!" - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth thrust forth her face--her brilliant eyes had -grown hard as agate. - -"Why did you never tell me this before?" - -"I thought, madame, you knew he was there." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth relaxed her grip; she stepped back a pace or two -and threw up her head. - -"God in heaven, what a fool you are!" - -"It was natural I should think that," protested Cecily, recoiling a step -or two. - -"Natural! You idiot!" - -"He came in with your key, madame." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth stared in utter amazement. - -"My key?" - -"Yes, madame; I saw him fling something under the table, and found -afterwards it was your key. He must have taken it from your bag, -madame, when he visited you in the afternoon." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth suddenly twisted on her heel and began to pace the -room. The truth had smitten her like a blow. Wild thoughts surged -through her brain. All these long months she had believed herself -tricking and duping Bernard Treves--her business in life was to trick, -dupe, and mould men to her own ends, to the ends of the Fatherland, to -the imposition of its monstrous Kultur upon the world--and now this man, -this handsome, drug-sodden weakling had out-manoeuvred her! She had spun -a web for him, had toyed with him, expended her charm upon him, and all -the time he had been secretly and darkly laughing in his sleeve. -Instead of a friend and a tool, he had been an astute and daring enemy! - -Enemy--that was the word. An enemy of infinite danger to herself, to -von Kuhne, to Cherriton, to Manwitz--to them all. An enemy to the -Fatherland! An enemy to the great, crushing blow that was about to fall -upon those arrogant and high-stomached English! - -Her concealed letters, that meant everything, that exposed everything, -had been found--not by her husband--but by this cool and steel-nerved, -subtle-witted enemy--this young man who now, from that evidence, could -piece together all her life-history. - -As this thought flashed into her mind, she saw her own immediate -jeopardy. She lacked nothing of courage; and, being a woman, it was not -her own physical peril, nor the wrecking of von Kuhne's plan, that -struck her deep--it was not this, but her own vanity that was stricken. -She had made many advances to Bernard Treves--she had given much. And, -as she thought of the past, a murderous and implacable hate blossomed in -her mind against John. An instinct to seize something and rend it to -shreds grappled her. She longed to slap Cecily--first on one side of -her sallow face and then on the other. She would have liked to take -Cecily's arm and twist it until the woman yelled with pain. - -But as these things were not permissible, she sat down and wrote a fiery -and vitriolic letter to General von Kuhne. She cared nothing now for von -Kuhne's authority; they were all in danger. This pleasant, amiable -young Englishman had obviously acted against them from the very first. -They believed him to be a drug-taker and a discredited English officer -with a grievance. And all the time he had been something utterly -different. - -She wrote this news to von Kuhne, and poured her contempt upon him. She -knew these things would hit the chief of the German service between the -eyes, and she revelled in the thought. And all the time her intense and -passionate nature dwelt upon the thing that must befall Bernard Treves. -How much information Treves had conveyed to his department she did not -know; but this she knew, that von Kuhne and his myrmidons would -effectually stop his mouth. The dark corps of espionage would add -another death, another extinction to its secret crimes. - -When Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had finished the letter, she closed it, -addressed it to Godfrey Manners, Esq., and handed it to Cecily. - -"You will take this to Mr. Manners now, and ask him to deliver it to -Doctor Voules first thing to-morrow. The doctor is in London to-day, but -he will return in the morning. Tell Mr. Manners that the letter is of -the utmost importance." - -"Very good, madame." - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth detained her a few minutes, questioning her as to -Treves's visit on the night of Beecher Monmouth's death; then permitted -her to go. - -When the maid had departed, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth stood before the -little mirror on the hotel dressing-table. "Tricked, duped and fooled!" -she murmured. - -Then, catching sight of the pearl and emerald pendant John had given -her, she snatched it violently from her breast and hurled it into the -hearth. It would have given her infinite pleasure at that moment to -have murdered John by slow and excruciating torture. Her thoughts were -still seething, when the dejected hotel waiter knocked at her door and -announced in plaintive tones that dinner awaited her. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - -Next morning, at twelve o'clock, Doctor Voules sat at the big oak table -in his dining-room at Brooke. He had arrived from London in the -morning, and was busy consuming a heavy lunch. - -The brightness of the day before had vanished; a heavy driving rain was -falling. From the single window of the apartment the doctor could -obtain a view of drenched foliage in his garden. And, sharp to the -left, as one stood at the window, a view of the sea, grey and restless -beneath a leaden sky, was visible. - -The doctor ate stolidly, grinding his food in heavy, powerful jaws. The -only other occupant of the room was Captain Cherriton, who lounged in a -chair at the hearth and read a morning newspaper assiduously. Beside -him, on the floor, lay four or five other morning news-sheets. - -For many minutes, save the drive of the rain and the chink of Voules's -knife and fork, no sound broke the stillness of the room. Then Voules -turned his chair, took out a cigar and lit it. - -"The barometer is falling, Rathenau," he said in his grating, imperious -voice--quite another voice from that which he assumed as the bland -Doctor Voules. - -"It is going down steadily, Excellenz," answered Cherriton. - -"Good," returned the elder man. "We must have unsettled weather for the -twenty-eighth--eh, Rathenau?" - -"It is much to be desired, Excellenz." - -The twenty-eighth--it was always the twenty-eighth with General von -Kuhne. With machine-like precision his forceful mind returned again and -again to that date--the date which was to mark the consummation of his -work. The blow, the subtle, heavy blow at England's heart--the blow -planned, schemed for, and ordered; the great destruction that had -originated in his martial and ruthless mind. - -"Things go well, eh?" - -"Quite well, Excellenz," Cherriton answered promptly, for as yet he had -not found courage to mention to the general his suspicion of Treves. He -was not yet positive that Treves had betrayed them, and, in the -meantime, he had resolved to say nothing. Rather would he wait and -watch, seeking for tangible proof of duplicity on Treves's part. - -These thoughts were passing through his mind when a knock came at the -door, and Conrad entered to clear away the luncheon things. In his hand -he carried a salver upon which lay a single letter, addressed to Doctor -Voules, and without a stamp. - -The doctor took up the letter. - -"Herr Manwitz brought it from Newport, Excellenz," said the servant in -German. - -"Tell Herr Manwitz I will see him presently, and remain out of the room -until I ring for you." - -General von Kuhne had recognised Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's handwriting. -He began to read almost casually; then, suddenly, his interest -intensified, and as he read the lines of his heavy face grew hard, firm -and implacable. His colour rose; he eased his collar about his throat -and bit heavily upon his long cigar. - -Cherriton, noticing his agitation, noticing the blazing wrath that -illuminated his face, watched him with anxious eyes. - -Suddenly von Kuhne sprang to his feet. - -"Stand up!" he bellowed, looking at the younger man with an expression -of utter ferocity. "You blind, thick-witted fool!" - -Captain Cherriton's pallid features were flushed, an angry light lit in -his eye. He opened his mouth and was about to speak, but von Kuhne -swept the words out of his mouth with a savage gesture. - -"Speak no words to me, you ---- but read that letter!" - -He thrust Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's closely-written sheets into the -younger man's hands. - -"Read that!" he roared, "and see to what pass you have brought us!" - -Cherriton began to read, and as he read the colour left his face. Von -Kuhne hurried to the bell and jangled it savagely. Conrad precipitated -himself into the room in a state of nervous agitation. He was used to -authority, but he had never yet known a bell to ring with such violence. - -Doctor Voules's face turned towards him did nothing to dissipate his -alarm. - -"Tell Herr Manwitz to come here this instant," roared Voules. - -"Very good, Excellenz." He paused a moment, then added: "Mr. Bernard -Treves is here, Excellenz. Shall I also tell him to enter?" - -Doctor Voules drew in a deep breath. He turned slowly and looked into -Cherriton's eyes. - -The stillness that ensued was intense and portentous. The glance that -passed between Voules and Cherriton was one of infinite meaning. -Voules's expression of ferocity moderated; he turned his eyes again to -the intimidated Conrad standing in the doorway. - -"How long has Mr. Treves been here?" - -"A few minutes only, Herr Excellenz. He came in after Herr Manwitz." - -"Very good, Conrad! You will take particular care Mr. Treves does not -leave the house, and you will in the meantime send Herr Manwitz to me." - -"Very good, Excellenz." - -"You understand my order in regard to Herr Treves?" - -"Yes, Excellenz. He is not to leave the house." - -General von Kuhne nodded and turned on his heel. As the door closed upon -Conrad, his implacable eyes once more sought Cherriton. - -"The letter you hold," he began, making a stiff gesture towards Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's missive, which Cherriton was still studying--"the -letter you hold in your hand convicts this man completely. His -treachery to us, his espionage"--he paused a moment--"may bring upon us -the utmost disaster. In failing to discover his duplicity you have -shown yourself no less than a sheep-headed fool!" - -"Herr Excellenz!" protested Baron von Rathenau, drawing himself up, a -flush of colour animating his dull pallor. - -"I am your superior officer!" countered von Kuhne. "It is, fortunately, -my privilege to speak plain words to you; it is equally my privilege to -command your obedience. You have failed in regard to this young man, -Bernard Treves. From the first hour of his contact with Manwitz he has -clearly tricked you both!" - -"May I venture to remind you, Excellenz, that he tricked you also?" - -Von Kuhne lifted his fierce and truculent gaze. - -Cherriton was neither intimidated nor silenced. - -"He tricked you, Herr Excellenz, the day of his first visit here. You -announced to me then that you were satisfied. You observed upon his -wrists the punctured marks which proved him, as you said, Excellenz, to -be addicted to the injection of drugs." - -Von Kuhne waved these objections aside. - -"I based my opinion upon his dossier provided for me by you and -Manwitz." He began to pace the floor, with his hands behind his back, -his head thrust forward in deep thought. "This affair, Rathenau," he -said at length, "this discovery grows more and more sinister. It is -clear to anyone not utterly a fool that every step of yours and Manwitz -has been dogged for many weeks past. What this young man knows of our -plans we shall never learn; what he has confided to his authorities we -can only guess. One thing, however, is certain: whether he knows much -or little, his activities must cease." He paused and looked full into -the younger man's face. "Do you gather my meaning?" - -Cherriton bowed. - -"I understand, Excellenz." - -Von Kuhne continued to pace the carpet. - -"I shall rely upon you for effective measures." - -At that moment a knock fell upon the door, and Conrad ushered Herr -Manwitz into the room, and closed the door upon him. The big, fat man, -with his swarthy, pouched cheeks, his bristling black moustache and -iron-grey hair, bowed deferentially to von Kuhne. - -"You desired to see me, Excellenz?" - -Von Kuhne walked to the table, took up Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's letter, -and handed it to him. - -"Read that!" he said curtly. He spoke in German, and used the -commanding tone of an exalted German officer speaking to a subordinate. -Manwitz read the letter from end to end, and as he read the colour -receded from his cheeks, his heart-beat quickened in growing -apprehension. As the import of the letter grew plain to him, his -apprehension amounted almost to terror. The thought that Treves was a -member of the English secret service filled him with infinite dread. He -had never in his most suspicious moments conceived such a thing as -possible. Treves, the neurotic, the weak-minded drug-taker! The man -who had shown cowardice in the face of the enemy, and had narrowly -escaped court-martial! Was it possible that this good-looking, feeble -fool had been at one and the same time a steady-nerved, watchful member -of the English Intelligence Department? Even now, as he read Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's plain words, he could not credit them. Nevertheless -he was afraid--mortally afraid--for his own skin. The Tower of London -and a firing squad had always loomed at the back of Manwitz' mind as a -thing of infinite menace. The English were so peremptory in these -matters--no talk, no fuss; merely a firing squad and oblivion! He -possessed none of Cherriton's cold and brutal courage. And the thought -that his own name was written in the tablets of the English secret -service, the knowledge that his every movement may have been watched by -a skilful English spy, sent a tremor through him that was visible both -to von Kuhne and Cherriton. - -"You discovered this man!" said von Kuhne, thrusting out his chin and -fixing his cold gaze upon Manwitz. - -"That I admit," answered Manwitz; "but I am prepared to swear that he -was indeed what I thought him to be. I took the utmost care, Excellenz, -and it was long before I trusted him. His information, Excellenz, -enabled us to sink the _Polidor_." - -"That is quite true, Excellenz," Cherriton said, suddenly puzzled. - -"And in regard to his habits," went on Manwitz, "I have seen him many -times under the influence of drugs, with all the symptoms, Excellenz, -which I was careful to study--dilation of the pupils, irritability, fear -of imaginary enemies----" - -Von Kuhne waved his hand, but Manwitz persisted. - -"Excellenz, he must have changed greatly, if he is, indeed, the man -mentioned here!" - -"You fool!" von Kuhne thrust at him; "of course he is the same man! We -are speaking of Treves, and no other!" - -"He must have changed, Excellenz!" protested Manwitz. "Treves, as I -knew him, would never have had the nerve to act against us. I impressed -upon him, Excellenz, what the punishment for treachery would be, and he -values his own skin above all things in the world." - -"Perhaps almost as much as you value yours!" added von Kuhne, with a -sneer of contempt. "I have to warn you, Manwitz, I shall expect you to -act decisively and without reservation! The Fatherland requires that -this man who has betrayed us shall expiate his treachery! Do you get my -meaning?" - -"Yes, Excellenz." - -"You will understand," he said, looking from one to the other, "that I -am speaking officially and in my capacity as director of intelligence. -You will obey me"--his eyes turned towards Cherriton--"as though we were -upon the sacred soil of the Fatherland!" - -He was standing at the table, resting one hand on the cloth. He spoke -as a judge pronouncing a sentence, and in the eyes of von Rathenau and -Manwitz he was, indeed, this. They took orders from him as inferior -officers receiving orders from a general of division. "The removal of -this man is an act of mere military justice. My orders are that you, -Manwitz, and you, Baron von Rathenau, administer this just sentence!" -He was passing what amounted to sentence of death on Bernard Treves. In -doing this he felt no qualm, no sensitive doubt whatever. If he had -occupied an English town in his true character as a German general in -command, he would have put to death a hundred persons for not a tithe of -the crime that John had committed against him. In sentencing John to -death, in appointing Cherriton and Manwitz his executioners, he was -carrying out what to him was a just, even a moderate law. He had been -brought up to slaughter; he had been taught from boyhood to crush the -Fatherland's enemies. To intimidate by frightfulness was the highest -German ideal. He was a typical military German--that is, a typical -cold-blooded murderer. He crossed to the bell now and jangled it -again--this time not quite so sharply. - -"My orders," he said to Cherriton, over his shoulder, "are to be carried -out as expeditiously as possible. I leave the method in your hands." -He turned his eyes upon Manwitz. "I shall expect you to co-operate in -the work, Manwitz!" - -At that moment Conrad presented himself in the door-way. - -"Tell Mr. Treves to come in," said von Kuhne. - -Two minutes later John entered the room. His erect figure, his clear -eye, instantly caught von Kuhne's attention; every one of the German's -suspicions was in that moment doubly confirmed. For a moment von Kuhne -felt inclined to draw his pistol and shoot Manton down where he stood, -but by a powerful effort he assumed his suave "Doctor Voules" manner. - -"Come in, Mr. Treves," he said. "We have seen very little of you of -late." - -John came into the room and shook hands with Manwitz. He had not seen -him for some time. Manwitz's hand was cold and flabby to the touch. -John felt the atmosphere tense and electrical; he knew in some subtle -way that Voules' smoothness of tone was a veneer to hide other and -deeper feelings. The eyes of the three Germans seemed to watch him with -unusual closeness. He instantly jumped to the conclusion that Cherriton -had been conveying his suspicions to von Kuhne. The thought that Mrs. -Beecher Monmouth's suspicions had been aroused was the last thing that -would have entered his head. - -He stayed for some minutes talking upon general topics. He had come in -answer to a summons from von Kuhne, and was surprised that the German -had given him no definite instructions. On behalf of Dacent Smith, John -had already gathered a good deal of data about the approaching -operations. He knew more than a little of the great blow Germany was -preparing, and he felt a little puzzled that von Kuhne appeared to have -upon this occasion nothing for him to do. - -"You must come again," said the German; "we will have a further talk." -He glanced at Cherriton. Cherriton understood the meaning of the look. - -"Which way are you going, Treves?" - -"Oh! I shall cycle back to Freshwater," John answered. "I promised my -father I'd stay a night with him." - -"That's exactly my way back," answered Cherriton. - -"It is my way also," added Manwitz, "but I'm afraid you'll have to leave -me behind, as I have no cycle." - -The upshot was that a few minutes later, in a pause between two heavy -downfalls of rain, John and Cherriton set out and cycled away together -from Voules's residence. - -John and Cherriton cycled side by side. It was John's plan to spend the -night with Treves's father. He was fond of the old soldier, and in -deceiving him was merely carrying out his chosen part. He was playing a -dangerous game in his country's interests. And the first man to applaud -his actions would have been the fine old soldier, whose own son had -proved so utter a disappointment. Therefore John felt no compunction in -the deception. - -He knew that infinite caution was required of him, and that the shrewd -eyes of Captain Cherriton were always upon him. He knew that at any -moment "Voules," or Cherriton or Mrs. Beecher Monmouth might stumble -upon the knowledge of his true identity. In that case not only would -his utility to Dacent Smith come to an abrupt end, but his own chances -of escape from his enemies' ruthlessness would be hardly worth -contemplating. He was surprised to find that, as he and Cherriton rode -side by side, the tall German talked more volubly and affably than -usual. He seemed to have forgotten his suspicions of John, his peculiar -attitude in Doctor Voules's room had vanished. He questioned John -cheerfully as to his recent movements, and, when John evaded his -questions a little too obviously, he rallied his companion, suggesting -that he was a gay dog, that he was neglecting his wife and bestowing his -attentions elsewhere. - -John looked at him keenly upon the mention of Elaine's name, but he -could read nothing on the German's pallid, heavy-boned face. -Nevertheless, as he rode, and as they drew near to Freshwater, John -became aware that his companion had been pumping him with a good deal of -subtlety. He was trying to find out something--what that something was -John could not guess. - -They rode up a long hill together and came in sight of the sea. The -view was magnificent, despite the lowering clouds and the rain, which -had begun to fall again. Upon their right hand, sloping towards the sea -and the white cliffs, lay a wide expanse of down, broken by small -coppices and clumps of gorse. There was an old grey stone farm-house, -with farm buildings, in the distance and in the middle of the down, near -a clump of trees, were two single-storied labourers' cottages. - -Cherriton drew John's attention to these buildings. - -"I want you to come and have a look at that little place, Treves," he -said, in a casual tone. - -"What is its particular interest?" asked John. - -"It has a particular interest for me," Cherriton answered, "because I -have rented it furnished for six months. It is a delightful little -place, and just the sort of bachelor abode to suit me." He turned his -light blue eyes and looked with what might have been called frankness -into John's face. "I hope you'll give me the pleasure of being my guest -there one of these days soon. Doctor Voules is lending me Conrad for -servant, and I shall be able to make you fairly comfortable." - -"Thanks," said John; "I shall be pleased to come." - -"Why not come and have a look at it now?" continued Cherriton. "We -can't ride across the heather, but there is a path, and we can push our -bicycles." - -"Thanks all the same," said John, "but I am afraid I cannot spare the -time." - -"I can give you a very decent peg of whisky," said Cherriton, quietly. - -John, playing the part of Bernard Treves, smiled. - -"I am afraid I must keep off the whisky, as I am going to see my -father," he answered adroitly. - -After that Cherriton pressed him no more. Presently, however, he -slackened his pace. - -"This is where I get off," he said. He dismounted, and John also -alighted. "Why not come in until the rain is over?" - -"I don't mind the rain," said John. - -Cherriton turned and pushed his bicycle through the gap in the stone -wall. He was still scheming with all his thoughts to get John into the -secluded cottage. A new thought came to him. - -"By the way," he said, "has your friend Manwitz been able to give you -any of the tablets you used to be so anxious about?" He paused a -moment, looking John steadily in the eyes, "or have you managed to break -the habit?" - -John detected something in his tone which caused him to move warily. - -"I have had nothing from him for some time; and, as for breaking that -sort of habit, it isn't so easy. What made you ask that?" - -"Merely the fact," answered Cherriton, cunningly, "that I think I can -give you what you want." - -John had already detected that the other had a strong reason for getting -him into the cottage, and, though at first he had made up his mind to -accept no invitation, he now saw that he was liable to fall into a trap. -For if he declined to come to the cottage for the tablets, which were a -mania with Treves, he would without doubt deepen Cherriton's suspicions. -Therefore, acting the part of Treves, he broke into a laugh. - -"Well, if you put it like that," he said, "I suppose I must come." - -Five minutes later he followed Cherriton through a gate in a low stone -wall, crossed the patch of ground before the cottage, and entered the -single-storied building. The house was silent and deserted. John -discovered that the place, formerly two workmen's cottages, had been -knocked into one, and furnished for the purpose of letting. - -The room in which John stood was low, and a gate-legged table occupied -the middle of the apartment. There was an old-fashioned fireplace, -three or four chintz-covered chairs, and chintz curtains. From the -window John could obtain a distant view of a grey sea and a leaden sky. - -"It's not over cheerful in here, is it?" said Cherriton. "I think we had -better have a fire." He put a match to the fire, then took whisky and -glasses from the cupboard. "One peg won't hurt you," he remarked, -pouring out a drink for John. "While you are drinking, I'll look for -the tablets." - -He stayed in the room for some minutes after that. John noticed that he -poured himself a stiff dose of whisky, and drank it down with only a -moderate addition of water. He gave John the impression of a man who is -strung up to a high pitch of tension. He was restless and walked the -floor, explaining to John that he intended to spend the rest of the -summer and the autumn there. - -"I have a good deal of writing to do," he said, "and Dr. Voules wants me -to be near him. It's not a bad little place this, is it?" - -"Not at all," said John. - -Cherriton went out of the room into a bedroom with two windows, one of -which looked over a deserted-looking yard, with a covered well at the -further end. He stood at the window, gazing out into this yard, with -puckered brows, for several minutes. Then he began to open and shut -drawers in the dressing-table, making a considerable noise. - -He came into the sitting-room a few minutes later and apologised to -John, saying that he must have made a mistake about the tablets. - -"I can find no sign of them," he said, "but you must come again, and I -promise to have some for you." - -John, who had been watching him closely, suddenly rose from his chair -and confronted him. - -"Look here, Cherriton," he demanded, "what's your game?" - -Cherriton's face took on a stony expression - -"What game?" he demanded. - -"Why are you so deucedly restless?" - -Cherriton broke into a laugh. - -"It's your imagination. I am not in the least restless; I am only -worried that I have dragged you here for nothing. Have another whisky?" - -"No, thanks," said John, this time firmly. "I must be pushing along." -He happened to be looking into Cherriton's face as he said this, and -something took place on the other's face that startled him--a flame of -something like ferocity lit up in the German's eyes, then instantly -vanished. After that, however, he made no further attempt to detain -John. He came to the end of the little cottage garden as John went -away, and watched him as he mounted his bicycle and rode away towards -Freshwater. Then he returned to the cottage, closed the door behind -him, and, dropping into a chair, took out Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's letter -and read it carefully from end to end. - -He was still in his chair at the hearth half an hour later when Manwitz -knocked at the door, and came in. - -"Come in, Manwitz, come in!" said Cherriton, rising. Manwitz had halted -in the doorway, and was slowly drawing off his mackintosh. There was a -mute expression in his eyes. Cherriton, reading his expression, pointed -to a chair at the opposite side of the hearth. - -"Sit down, Manwitz; nothing has happened yet; our friend is spending the -night with his father, but he has arranged to come over here to see me -to-morrow." - -Manwitz took a handkerchief from his inner pocket, and mopped his brow. - -"It is terrible, Herr Baron! His Excellenz affirms that he has been -watching us from the beginning, but in that case how can he explain the -sinking of the _Polidor_?" - -"The time for explanations has gone, Manwitz. Treves's discoveries, -whatever they are, must not be permitted to check the great work his -Excellenz has put his hand to." - -For some minutes after that there was silence between the two men; then -Manwitz spoke, easing his collar about his fat throat: - -"His Excellenz impressed upon me, Herr Baron, the business of Mr. Treves -is of the utmost urgency." - -"That is understood," Cherriton answered grimly. "But His Excellenz has -no wish that I should play the fool and expose myself to unnecessary -danger. His Excellenz can rely entirely upon my discretion--and our -united capacity to carry out his command, eh, Manwitz?" - -Manwitz smiled and nodded, but entirely without enjoyment. Cherriton's -coolness in face of the terrible duty that lay before them filled him -with both terror and envy. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX - - -At six o'clock that same evening Colonel Treves issued from the front -door of his fine Tudor residence at Freshwater, and made his way down -the drive. The weather had cleared, there was a golden light in the -west, and the Colonel, wearing a tweed suit, walked briskly towards the -lodge-keeper's cottage. He told himself that he had come there entirely -upon business--merely to give the man certain personal orders. The -truth of the matter was, however, that he could no longer stay in the -house. He was expecting his son; he was looking forward to meeting his -boy Bernard with a keener and happier interest than he had felt for many -years. During recent months all his old love for his only offspring had -returned. He was an old man, and the son who for many years had -disappointed him had now grown to be a real Treves, and a man of honour. -A smile flitted across his fine, kindly face. He believed that he had -at last discovered the reason of Bernard's altered behaviour. The boy -who had been tragically cashiered from the army, who had, indeed, been -almost proved guilty of cowardice in the face of the enemy, had righted -himself; and not only had he won the confidence of his superiors, but he -had been entrusted with delicate and difficult duties. - -When Colonel Treves reached the lodge-keeper's single-storied abode, he -held the man in conversation for some minutes, but his eyes turned -incessantly towards the sloping road that led past his gate. When at -last he saw a khaki-clad figure on a bicycle, he turned to his elderly -employee: - -"Adams," he said, "is that Mr. Bernard coming along?" - -"Yes, sir," answered the man, after a minute or two's scrutiny. - -When John reached the drive, the Colonel was at the gate to meet him. - -"Well, Bernard, boy, so there you are," he exclaimed, gripping the young -man's hand. "I just happened to be doing a little business here with -Adams, and caught sight of you. Come in, boy, come in. How do you -think Mr. Bernard's looking, Adams?" he said, turning to the old -servant. - -"He's looking fine, sir," answered the man. "I've seldom seen him -looking so well." - -"Leave your bicycle with Adams," said the Colonel; "you can take me up -to the house. I am not quite so brisk as I used to be." And he slipped -his arm through John's and went up the drive, talking happily and -cheerfully as he went. John had always felt drawn towards him; it was -impossible for him not to feel admiration and pity for this splendid old -fellow. He experienced a sense of pleasure that his visit could give -the old man such genuine delight. - -"Now, Bernard, boy," said the Colonel, "I have a word to say to you -before we go in the house. I have a surprise waiting for you there, but -before we go in I want to ask you one thing?" - -"What is it?" John asked quietly. - -"It's this, Bernard, boy; you haven't been trusting me. You haven't -relied upon me as a son should rely on his father." - -"In what way, sir?" - -"You'll find that out, Bernard, boy, when we get indoors," said the -Colonel enigmatically. - -John questioned him closely, but he could learn nothing, and presently -Gates, the old butler, drew open the door, greeted John with a smile, -and took his hat and gloves. - -"Your suit-case arrived this morning, sir," he informed John. "I have -taken it to your room." - -"It's the south room, Bernard, boy," intervened the Colonel; "it's the -first time you've had the honour of sleeping in the room that used to be -your mother's. But this is a special reunion, Bernard. I had to do -something to mark the occasion." - -He took John's arm again, and together they ascended to the library, the -room in which John had first made his acquaintance. There was something -on the Colonel's mind which gave him pleasure, and filled him with an -air of humorous mystery. - -"When you've seen who's in the library, Bernard," he said, as they drew -near the green baize-covered door, "you'll understand what I mean about -trusting me better in the future." - -He drew open the door. - -"Come in, Bernard, boy; come in." - -John followed him into the big, handsome apartment, with its mullioned -windows and its fine view of the sea. There was some one standing by the -hearth with back to the fire-place, and John suddenly caught his breath -and stood still. Elaine Treves was there, smiling at him, and as he -entered the room she came forward, holding out both hands in greeting. - -"Bernard," she exclaimed, a light of happiness radiating her gentle -beauty; "you didn't expect to find me here, did you?" - -John's surprise was complete. Thoughts of Elaine had been with him -during the greater part of his ride, but he remembered Treves's secret -in regard to his wife, the fact that he had always kept his marriage -from his father's knowledge. He was therefore astonished to find Elaine -installed under her father-in-law's roof. She looked very much at home, -and John wondered consumedly how she had managed to come there. He also -foresaw new difficulties for himself; nevertheless he was delighted to -see her, her freshness, her beauty, her winning confidence in himself -all tended to please him. It took him very few minutes to observe that -her presence brightened Colonel Treves's home amazingly. It was obvious -to John that she had already won her way into the old fellow's heart, -and as Elaine reached up and shyly kissed him, the Colonel smiled upon -them both with an air of infinite benevolence. - -"Now," exclaimed Colonel Treves, rallying John half an hour later, when -Elaine had gone to dress for dinner. "Now do you see why I asked you to -trust me?" - -"I think I do," said John, somewhat awkwardly. - -"Here, you young rascal, you go and marry a charming girl, who would -bring credit and honour to my family, and you hide her away from me, -pretending all the time that I am the strict and cruel father. That -shows how greatly you misunderstood me, Bernard boy. Why, if I had -chosen a wife for you myself, I couldn't have made as good a choice as -you made in marrying Elaine. She's been here three days, Bernard, and -already I feel towards her as to my own daughter. I always feared you -would make a fool of yourself in marrying." He paused and looked at -John with his dim eyes. "Sometimes, Bernard boy," he said, with a touch -of wistfulness in his tone, "I cannot understand the change that has -come over you, the improvement. But it's the good blood coming out, -eh--the Treves blood. I always hold that blood tells, and in your case -my conviction has been proved more than right. Now, Bernard, how long -can you stay with me this time?" - -"Only to-night, sir, I am sorry to say." - -"Come, come," protested the old Colonel, "I'd expected a week at least." -As he spoke the door opened, and Elaine entered the room dressed for -dinner. For the first time John saw her in evening apparel. Her dress -was of an inexpensive pale yellow material, muslin or silk, John did not -know which, and did not care. Her dark hair was beautifully coiffeured, -her cheeks glowed with colour, and there was a light of happiness in her -eyes. - -Colonel Treves glanced at the clock on his desk. - -"Why, it's nearly seven!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea it was so late. -I must run away and change. You'll want to get out of those puttees, -Bernard," he said, glancing at John. - -"Thank you," said John. "I am in the south room, sir?" - -The Colonel nodded, and John, wondering exactly where the south room -might be, went out of the library. He walked along the corridor, and -chanced upon a house-maid. - -"Which is my room, please?" he said. - -The housemaid preceded him along the passage, and opened a door, -switched on the electric light. - -John thanked her, and found himself in an imposing bedroom, beautifully -furnished in the French style. His suit-case had been unstrapped and -was upon a stand at the foot of the bed. Laid neatly out upon the bed -itself were his clothes for the evening. A fine apartment, thought -John, and at that moment a knock fell upon the door. - -"Come in," he called. The door opened quietly, and Elaine stepped into -the room. She advanced across the room in the most natural manner in -the world. There was a light in her fine grey eyes, and she was visibly -and quite frankly delighted to be alone with John. John, for his part, -saw in a flash the awkwardness of the position chance had imposed upon -him. In his sudden surprise in finding Elaine under Colonel Treves's -roof he had overlooked a _tete-a-tete_ of this kind. He had indeed -hardly had time to think of the matter at all. - -"Bernard, are you really pleased to see me?" - -"Delighted," John answered, wondering what other word he could use, for, -as a matter of truth, he was delighted and appalled at the same time. -He felt that the situation involving him would require the utmost -finesse, if he meant to escape satisfactorily. His own nerves were -strung up to a high pitch of tension, and it came as a surprise to him -that Elaine should act as though their presence together in that stately -sleeping apartment was the most natural event in the world. - -"Do you like my dress, Bernard?" - -She came towards the glittering dressing-table and turned slowly for his -inspection. Her attitude, her confidence were exquisitely attractive to -John. Her wifely anxiety to win her husband's approval was the -prettiest thing he had ever seen. And once again the splendid rich -duskiness of her hair, the gentle glow of her cheeks, the fine contours -of her well-turned lips, and the fairness of her skin won his -admiration. But it was not this, it was in no sense her radiant and -girlish beauty that had evoked John's feelings. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -possessed beauty, but she lacked utterly the frankness and generous -natural trust, the appealing femininity, in fact, which is always potent -in the winning of a man's love. For it was love, and love only that -John felt for this girl who was Bernard Treves's wife, who was nothing -to him, and could never be anything. - -To ease the situation he told her lightly that her dress suited her to -perfection. - -"You said when we first met, Bernard, that this primrose colour suited -me best, so I put it on to-night." - -"Only to please me?" asked John. - -Elaine nodded. - -"Of course I like to please your father, too, Bernard," she went on. "I -think he is wonderful; just the beau ideal of a fine, upright soldier. -I cannot understand how you could ever have doubted his generosity." - -"I didn't doubt him," John answered. "I only misunderstood him, and -acted like a fool." - -"But in regard to our marriage. If you had told him months ago, I am -sure he would have been just as pleased as he is now. Why didn't you, -Bernard?" - -"I don't know," John answered. "But I am sure he would have been -pleased if I had been sensible enough to trust him." - -Elaine seated herself upon an ottoman, an old-fashioned circular piece -of furniture which decorated the middle of the apartment. For a minute -she let her eyes wander over the refined luxury of the room, then said -quietly and thoughtfully: - -"So this used to be your mother's room, Bernard?" - -John drew in his breath slowly. "Yes," he answered, and, as he spoke, -he felt suddenly and acutely the falsity of his position. He was upon -dangerous ground, and he felt again intense dislike at having to deceive -this woman, who was everything in the world to him. - -"I think it was so dear of your father," resumed Elaine thoughtfully, -"to let us have this room." John cast a swift look in her direction. -"He could not have paid us a greater compliment," Elaine went on. - -She was entirely absorbed in her thoughts. To her it was the most -natural thing in life that the Colonel should honour his son and his -son's wife by allotting to them this fine apartment. In doing so he was -tacitly informing the young couple that Elaine in her turn was to be the -lady of the house. But so far as John was concerned, Elaine's quiet -acceptance of himself and of this fact filled him with consternation. -He felt himself enmeshed and hopelessly bewildered. This was not his -room only, but Elaine's. It had not entered his mind to look into the -wardrobe; he had not even noticed the pair of ladies' gloves which lay -upon the dressing-table. But now as he turned away, so that Elaine might -not read his glance, his eyes fell upon her gloves for the first time. -A moment of acute crisis had arisen. Nevertheless he still fenced, -peeking a way out of the situation. - -"I cannot understand," he said, "how you managed to get into touch with -my father after all." - -Elaine laughed brightly. - -"I have been wondering when you would ask that, Bernard. It was all -owing to the old butler, Mr. Gates. He came to 65, Bowles Avenue. It -seems that you gave that address once at the Savoy Hotel in case Mr. -Dacent Smith sent for you suddenly. Gates went to the Savoy to find -you, to give you a message from your father, and the Savoy people gave -him my address. I answered the door to Gates myself, and in the course -of his inquiries about you, I told him who I was. He had never heard of -me before and was very much surprised. Naturally, when he came back -here, he told your father." - -"I see," said John, "and my father invited you here?" - -Elaine nodded. - -"Not only invited me, but he has been absolutely charming to me." - -"I don't see anything very extraordinary in that," returned John. - -"Oh, but I might have been the most horrid sort of creature. He knew -nothing whatever about me." - -"He only needed to look at you," John answered, "to see that--that I had -made an ideal marriage." - -"I have made him tell me everything about your boyhood, Bernard." - -John winced. He had no wish to discuss a boyhood that was naturally a -blank to him. - -"I believe I know more about your schoolboy days than you do yourself," -smiled Elaine. - -"I shouldn't wonder," said John with a smile. - -Despite himself, against caution and his better judgment, he was -beginning to enjoy the scene. He was still at the dressing-table, and -in the depths of the mirror he could see behind him Elaine's reflection, -a delicate and beautiful picture, seated on the ottoman behind him, -looking at him with admiring and loving eyes, believing in him, and -trusting him. - -"Bernard!" Her tone was low and intimate. - -"Yes." - -"Come and sit beside me." - -"Oh, I don't know whether I can," said John; "I've--I've got a letter to -write." He was quick at inventing excuses. - -"You can't care much for me, Bernard, if you bother to write a letter, -after not seeing me for so long." She rose and came towards him. He -felt foolish and awkward when she took his hand in hers, led him to the -ottoman and seated him beside her. "Tell me what you have been doing -all these long days." - -"Oh, all sorts of things," John answered. - -"Did you ever think of me?" - -"Often," John answered, truthfully. - -"Have you been loving me? Look into my eyes and say it, Bernard." - -John turned his face towards hers. He saw love in her eyes; love that -was offered to himself alone; and as he sustained the radiant tenderness -of her gaze a wild impulse came to him to cast discretion to the winds. -He hovered on the verge of telling her frankly and bluntly that he was -not her husband. Nevertheless he longed to tell her that she was the -one woman in all the world for him, that she had won his deepest love, -and that he was prepared to break down all barriers, to risk everything -if----. Then suddenly he caught himself up. His lips were sealed. As -an honourable man, even if he admitted his true identity, he must not -utter his love. - -"Why are you looking at me so strangely, Bernard?" There was a puzzled -and anxious light in her eyes. - -"Was I?" - -"You suddenly drew your brows together and looked at me so furiously -that I thought I must have offended you." - -"You could never offend me." - -"I don't think you love me after all." She was holding his hand in -hers, looking wistfully up into his face. "Do you?" - -John slid his fingers away from her touch and rose. He began to pace the -floor uneasily. As always, he was seeking a way out, racking his brains -for a solution. But there was only one method of escape, and that lay in -sudden and ignominious flight. - -"Look here, Elaine!" he said, suddenly and brutally. "It has occurred to -me that I ought to go away again to-night, immediately after dinner!" - -She rose and looked at him with startled eyes. John went on, clumsily: - -"Something important has turned up!" - -"Oh, but, Bernard, that would be too cruel. I have hardly seen you!" -She came to him quickly and laid her hands on his shoulders. There was -entreaty in her fine eyes, upraised to his. "You'll stay just -to-night," she implored, wistfully, "just for my sake." - -John put her away from him almost roughly; his voice was hoarse and low. - -"It's impossible, Elaine!" - -She stood for a moment regarding him with steady gaze. A long, tense -silence lay between them. Then she spoke, quietly, and with a dignity -that somehow wrung John's heart. - -"Then all your protestations of love for me mean nothing at all!" - -"They mean everything," said John, in the same low tone. - -"And yet you repulse me as if you hated me?" - -"I don't mean to act cruelly." - -"If you had any regard for me at all, you'd stay. It isn't the first -time, Bernard, that you--you've humiliated me!" - -John looked into her face that had grown suddenly tragic. He saw in a -moment how completely justified she was in her attitude. He had -protested his love for her only a few minutes earlier, and had then -snatched at something that must have seemed to her the thinnest of -excuses for hurrying away--for leaving her. - -"If you loved me really, Bernard, you'd stay." Her voice was very low. -"However, I have suffered the humiliation of your refusal. I shall not -make the same mistake again." She turned and walked slowly towards the -door. John saw that she could scarcely restrain her tears; her head was -uplifted--she was superb in her dignity. For the life of him John could -not refrain from striding a few paces towards her. - -"Elaine!" he implored, in a voice that rang with emotion. "Don't -misjudge me. And as for humiliating you, I'd do anything in the world -rather than do that! Look here, Elaine, you think I don't love you?" - -She turned quietly and looked at him. - -"I have every proof of it! In London you refused to stay with me; it is -the same here. Your words say one thing--your actions another!" - -"You will be able to make some excuse to your father for not occupying -the same room with me----" - -In that moment, with her face pale, her head erect, a strange light in -her eyes, she was more than ever beautiful. In John's eyes she was the -fairest and finest-looking woman that ever breathed. Something made him -put out his hand and grip her fingers. - -"Elaine!" - -She strove with surprising strength to release herself. - -"No, Bernard, don't!" - -Then John's elaborate and well-sustained defences fell. He forgot -everything in a sudden wild rush of passion. - -"I don't love you, Elaine?" he cried. - -"You never loved me----" she began. And in that moment John's arms -swept about her. He forgot everything--the world faded. He and the -fairest of women--the woman of his love--were together, and he was -kissing her as he had never kissed any woman.... Elaine's weak protests -faded; astonishment swept over her, and gave place to a wonderful and -radiant happiness. - -"My God!" breathed John; "if you only knew how much I loved you!" - -"Bernard--Bernard--Bernard!" she whispered. Then, to her infinite -astonishment, John wrenched himself free; he put his hands to his brows, -and fell back several paces, like a man who has received a stunning blow -between the eyes. - -"Elaine," he said, with clenched fists, his face suddenly pale, his eyes -wild--"forget that I held you in my arms! Forget what I said! Forget -everything!" His voice rose almost to a shout. - -A moment later he had rushed out of the room, and had drawn the door -behind him. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX - - -Almost as John closed the door of the south room Gates began to strike, -in rising and rhythmic cadences, the great dinner-gong that stood in the -hall. The elderly butler turned as John halted at his side. - -"Is that the dressing-bell, Gates?" he asked. - -"No, Mr. Bernard, the dressing-bell went at the usual time, sir." - -John looked at him in surprise. He had heard nothing. During that scene -in the room upstairs, when he had lost possession of himself, the sound -of the bell had passed unheard. John felt no wonder at that; even now -his thoughts whirled through his brain. His temperament was naturally -cool, equable, and determined. Never in his life could he recollect -having completely forgotten himself, as he had forgotten himself with -Elaine a few minutes earlier. The power of love, indeed, had reduced -him to the common standard. His nerve, his self-possession, his swift -power of decision--all the gifts, in fact, that commended him to Dacent -Smith, had deserted him in a flash. For a brief moment--for a space of -a moment--he had forgotten everything, save the fact that he loved a -woman. - -He stood now thinking of these things, and was amazed at the blind -passion that had seized him. He began to condemn himself bitterly and -savagely. His deception of Elaine stood before him as a monstrous -thing. The thought that he occupied another's man shoes, and had thus -led her to pour out a love which she would have otherwise concealed, -struck him as a criminal proceeding upon his part. He was obliged to -confess to himself that he had dallied with the situation, that he had -not acted firmly enough. On the other hand--a small voice whispered -this--his deception of Elaine was not his fault; he had not wittingly -deceived her. He had, indeed, acted all through as an honourable man. -This last thought gave him a certain amount of comfort as he crossed the -great hall and entered the drawing-room. Colonel Treves was the sole -occupant of the room, and was standing with his back to the white marble -fire-place, his hand resting on the stick he used as support. John -noticed that in evening clothes the old man looked more imposing and -distinguished than ever. The Colonel drew out his watch. - -"Where's Elaine?" - -John explained that he had left Elaine upstairs a few moments ago, and -presently Elaine, a little pale, came into the drawing-room. No glance -passed between her and John. With a courtly air, Colonel Treves -advanced towards her and crooked his elbow. - -"May I have the honour?" he said. - -Elaine slipped her arm into his. In her pale primrose dress, with her -well-coiffeured dark hair emphasising the whiteness of her neck, she -looked scarcely more than a child. John noticed with admiration that -her head was held erect. She smiled and talked graciously to the -Colonel as he led her into the dining-room and placed her upon his right -hand. For John there was no smile. - -Just as the south room and the drawing-room were strange to John, so -also was the dining-room. He seated himself opposite Elaine at the head -of a long gleaming white table. Gates moved from place to place softly -and noiselessly. Colonel Treves, who was happier than he had been for -years, made a perfect host. His happiness intensified John's own -loneliness. A sensation of being a pariah came upon him; he felt that -he would have given ten years of his life to be actually sitting there -in the flesh as the real son of the fine old man who headed the table. - -As to Elaine, and his relations with Elaine, he dared not let his mind -dwell upon that subject. He was attempting to indicate by his attitude -his complete contrition for what had occurred. He tried to catch -Elaine's eye. She looked at him, but there was something enigmatical in -her expression that he was unable to understand. Her good breeding was -such that to the outward eye--to the Colonel's eye, in fact--their -relationship was exactly as it had been before, and yet John knew that a -barrier had risen between them. - -Elaine maintained her air of stately reserve during the rest of the -evening, and at ten o'clock, when she rose to go to her room, the -Colonel politely conducted her to the door. As he closed it upon her he -turned and looked towards John. - -"You are a lucky man, Bernard!" he exclaimed. - -He came slowly across the room, using his stick, as was his general -habit. - -"I hope some day, my boy," he said, "when this place is yours, Elaine -will reign here as graciously and be as well beloved as your dear mother -was." - -"I am sure she will, sir," answered John quietly. - -The old man slid his arm through his. - -"You shall take me up to the library. We can smoke there, and make -ourselves comfortable." - -In the library that night John heard much of Colonel Treves's past -history, much of the family history, of the man whose identity he was -wearing, and the more he heard of Bernard Treves the more he realised -what a complete and utter waster that young man was. Often of late he -had thought of Treves in the nursing home, and wondered what were the -conditions of his detention there. Dacent Smith was always reticent -upon that point. The sinking of the _Polidor_ through the agency of -Treves had been a black and irredeemable crime. A time was bound to -come when the young man must answer for that piece of black treachery -against his country. Looking at the matter in the most charitable -light, John regarded Treves, as evidently Dacent Smith regarded him, -that is, as a feeble, will-less creature, whose reason had been -unseated, at any rate temporarily, by the drugs which were a mania with -him. - -The fact that Manwitz and Cherriton had plied him with these drugs -showed only the bold unscrupulousness of the German methods. The German -Intelligence Department had used Bernard Treves, and had moulded him to -its purpose as though he had been of wax. And had not Dacent Smith -brilliantly substituted John for Treves, untold disasters would have -ensued. - -"Bernard!" The Colonel's voice startled John out of his thought. -"Bernard, I have seen Gosport lately." - -John wondered who Gosport might be. - -"Yes," went on the Colonel. "I was hasty with you, but I have made -everything right. I have made up my mind to leave everything to you -after all. What do you say to that?" - -"It is very generous of you, sir," John answered. He knew that it was -utterly impossible that a penny of the Colonel's possessions should ever -be his. - -"No, no, it is only right," responded the Colonel. "You have married -well. You have rehabilitated yourself in every way, and I find you more -what a Treves should be every time we meet." He suddenly gripped John's -hand in his. "You have given me great happiness, Bernard, and one of -the reasons I made haste to change my will is that the doctor has given -me rather a bad report of myself. I don't think you'll have to put up -with me for very long, Bernard!" - -"Don't say that, sir!" answered John, quickly and impulsively. - -"I fear it is the truth," said the Colonel; "but I can face the next -world with a far better grace than I could have done a year ago." - -He was thinking of the fine old house and the properties which a year -ago might have fallen into the hands of a worthless son. Now, as by a -miracle, that son had become a man--a man of honour--and a Treves. The -two things were synonymous in the Colonel's eyes, and the future, -whatever it might be, however soon darkness might come, held for him no -terrors. - -It was after eleven that night when the Colonel went to his room. - -"I'll sit up and write a few letters at your desk, if I may, father," -said John, after escorting the elder man to the door of his bedroom. - -He went back to the library, shut himself in, and dropped into a chair -at the hearth. What Elaine was doing, what were her thoughts, he could -not guess. He wondered if she was waiting for him, expecting him to -come and ask for forgiveness. Perhaps some time in the dim future, when -the whole truth was told, she might forgive; but for the present he knew -that nothing he could do would right him in her eyes. - -He sat in the arm-chair, dozing and thinking, until dawn came. - -When the breakfast gong rang next morning Elaine descended and found the -Colonel alone at the table. The old man looked disturbed, but in no way -depressed. - -"You will have to content yourself with me, Elaine," he said, "now that -Bernard has deserted us again. He left me a note saying that important -business has arisen, and ran away before I was down. But of course," -added the old man as an afterthought, "you know all about it." - -Elaine inclined her head, and said nothing. Colonel Treves put out his -hand and laid it on her slender fingers. - -"When the war is over, you and my boy Bernard will live here together, -and be as happy as crickets." - -"It is very, very dear of you to say so, father." Sudden tears -glistened in her eyes. She clasped the Colonel's old, frail fingers in -hers. In that moment it seemed to her that he was the only friend she -possessed in the world. - -So far as John was concerned, Elaine dared not let herself think. The -strange scene in the south room had burnt itself into her brain. John's -tremendous anxiety to get away from her, together with the undoubted -fact that he loved her, was bewildering beyond solution. The thought -that her husband had reverted to the drug habit had long been discarded. -None of the symptoms that had marked him in the early days of their -marriage were present--he was as another man in her eyes. She loved -him--she was afraid, and she was bewildered. Every post that came found -her anxiously awaiting a letter from John. But none came; two eventless -days passed. But upon the evening of the second day after John's -departure a dramatic mischance that had been impending--that had, -indeed, been inevitable from the beginning--occurred. - -Elaine had made her way alone into the grounds. Her mood was one that -called for solitude, and in the quiet of the long, fir-treed avenue, the -drive which led from the mansion to the road, she found the seclusion -she needed. The evening was clear, and through tree-stems the ocean, -glassily blue and empty of shipping, spread to the far horizon. The -scene was calm, reposeful--everything, in fact, a troubled spirit could -require. - -Presently, however, the entrance gate at the end of the drive was pushed -open. A young man in a green felt hat and wearing stiff Sunday clothes -came into the drive and walked slowly forward. Elaine, as the stranger -drew near, noticed that he was a youth, little more than twenty, wearing -a service-rendered badge. The young man wore his green hat slightly on -one side--his complexion was fresh, his cheeks ruddy, and his general -expression one of amiable stupidity. - -Elaine glanced at him and was about to pass, thinking he carried a -message to the house, when the visitor halted in his walk and sheepishly -lifted his hat. As he halted he drew from his pocket a crumpled, rather -grimy-looking envelope. - -"Is that Colonel Treves's house, miss?" - -"Yes," said Elaine. - -"I've got a letter for there, miss," went on the young man; "it's -addressed to Mrs. Treves." - -"There is no Mrs. Treves," Elaine answered; then quickly remembering, -she smiled the gracious smile that was always so attractive to John. -"I'm Mrs. Bernard Treves." - -The young man handed her the letter, and instantly Elaine's casual air -vanished, for the address was in her husband's handwriting, and had been -scrawled hurriedly in pencil. - -She tore open the envelope and read the single sheet of notepaper -within. - - -DEAR ELAINE, ran the note, _I want you to give the bearer of this ten -shillings. Then, if you can, and as soon as you can, you must raise ten -pounds and let him bring it here to me. General Whiston and a person -called Dacent Smith have been keeping me prisoner here. The suggestion -is that I am_ non compos mentis. _I don't know whether my father's in -it or not, so on no account mention this letter to him. Whatever you -do, don't fail me; I have been suffering the tortures of the damned -here. The young man who brings this can get to me, and there is a nurse -here who can help me to get away if I can get hold of ten pounds. -Remember this, Elaine, you are my wife, and I hope you aren't siding -with my father against me. I can't stand the torture of being here any -longer, so I look to you to act quickly. You can act quickly enough when -you want to. I am nearly off my head with being deprived of the -medicine I used to take. The bearer of this would get into trouble if -found out, so don't forget to treat him well._ - -_Your affectionate husband,_ - BERNARD TREVES. - - -As Elaine slowly read this letter for a second time the colour fled from -her cheeks. Her heart-beat quickened almost to suffocation--she could -make nothing of it. - -Her eyes travelled to the head of the missive and read: - -"St. Neot's Nursing Home, Ambleside Road, Ryde." - -"St. Neot's Nursing Home--St. Neot's Nursing Home." Under her breath -she uttered the words in a dazed, stupefied fashion. - -It seemed impossible that her husband, who had been with her only -forty-eight hours before, could be incarcerated there. Then the -strangeness of the letter! ... She read it again, shrinking -instinctively from its tone. Here was her husband as she had known him -from the beginning--querulous and domineering. - -For a minute she wondered if there had been some extraordinary and -unexplainable mistake, but she knew his handwriting. Nevertheless, with -a great effort to steady herself, she looked into the face of the -messenger. - -"If you will come to the house," she said, "I shall be pleased to give -you something for being so kind as to bring this to me." - -"Thank you, miss." - -"Are you one of the servants at St. Neot's Home?" - -"No, miss. I work for the dairy that supplies them." - -Again Elaine glanced at the crumpled letter in her fingers. There was -no possibility of forgery--and yet how came it that Dacent Smith should -wish to detain her husband? She recalled that the brilliant Chief of -the secret service had had nothing but praise for Bernard. - -Again she looked quickly into the young man's face. - -"Have you seen Mr. Treves lately?" - -"I saw him this morning, miss." - -It seemed ridiculous to put the question, to dally still with the idea -of forgery. Nevertheless, she put it. - -"Could you describe Mr. Treves to me?" - -"Yes, miss. He's a good-looking gentleman. Tall, dark hair----" - -"Thank you," said Elaine, interrupting him--and her last doubt vanished. - -Something had happened to Bernard since yesterday morning, since his -departure from the house without saying good-bye to her. He had -evidently been seized and incarcerated in the nursing home against his -will. Yet, even now, as she strove to accept the fact, her instinct -rebelled against it. The thing seemed so motiveless, so utterly outside -the natural order of events; and Bernard must have been seized almost -immediately after he left his father's house, for she noted that his -letter was dated the day before. - -She again questioned the young man. - -"How long has Mr. Bernard Treves been at St. Neot's Nursing Home?" - -"The first time I saw him there, miss, was about two months ago, when he -asked me to get him something at a chemist's; but he must have been -there more than a month before that. I should think, miss, he's been -there going on for three months or thereabouts." - -"Three months!" - -"About that, miss." - -Elaine looked at him with widened eyes. The thing was impossible and -incredible. Nevertheless, she dared not let the matter rest where it -was. She decided to act, and to act instantly. As yet no suspicion of -the truth had dawned upon her. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI - - -At the very hour when Elaine received the strange letter signed "Bernard -Treves," a letter which awoke all her defensive feminine instincts, John -occupied a chair in the little mess-room at Heatherpoint Fort. The -occasion was one of deep and portentous significance. At the head of -the table, where Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had so recently taken tea with -Lieutenant Parkson, General Whiston was seated in state. His big, -commanding figure bulked largely in the chair usually occupied by -Colonel Hobin. Beneath the General's eyes was a map of the South Coast -defences--an elaborate, minutely particularised map, which in a layman's -eyes would have been almost undecipherable. - -The General held a blue pencil over a particular section of the Solent; -his eyes, however, were fixed upon the countenance of a naval captain -who sat at his left hand, a little farther down the table. Opposite the -naval captain was Colonel Hobin, and next to Hobin sat old Commander -Greaves. - -John occupied an insignificant position next to Greaves, and near the -end of the table there was a vacant chair. - -"Is there no possibility, Captain," inquired General Whiston, speaking -to the naval officer, "of altering the mine-field in the time at our -command?" - -Before the naval officer lay a small Admiralty chart of the Solent -clustered with a multitude of red crosses. - -"Well," he said, deliberating upon the situation, "this is a pretty -elaborate field, and it would take us quite two days to make an -effective new arrangement. Of course, we could mine the free channels, -but that prevents us coming in." - -He went into technical details. - -General Whiston cast a glance at John. - -"You are quite sure your friends Voules and Company intend to strike on -the twenty-eighth?" - -"All the evidence I have been able to get points to that, sir," answered -John promptly. - -"The twenty-eighth is the day after to-morrow," put in Greaves. - -"Mr. Dacent Smith," said John, "had an idea that the attack might be -postponed, but he has now come round to my view." - -As a matter of fact, John had that day amply convinced his chief that -the German blow was to fall on the date originally prescribed. Since -leaving Colonel Treves's house, and since his embarrassing interview -with Elaine, John had made certain valuable discoveries, all of which -pointed to the imminence of the German attack on the South Coast -defences. With infinite subtlety von Kuhne had managed to institute -nefarious schemes in a dozen different directions. The night of the -twenty-eighth had been marked out in the German general's mind with the -clockwork precision which was a second nature to him. And John believed -that nothing would shake his resolution. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's -particular work of the early part of that night was to see that -Lieutenant Parkson was not at his post. All her potent charms were to -be expended to that end. That she would succeed in her task was, in von -Kuhne's and the lady's own eyes, a foregone conclusion. As to Manwitz, -he was to be mysteriously occupied with certain men of his Majesty's -forces whose business it was to operate the boom between Ponsonby -Lighthouse and Windsor Fort. Cherriton's particular duty upon the -eventful night John had not been able to discover. The tall German -still occupied the isolated cottage he had recently taken on the Downs -near Freshwater. Since John's visit to the cottage he had not had -further meeting with this particular formidable enemy. - -In thinking of his visit to the cottage, however, John was conscious -that the man's attitude upon that day had been singular in the extreme. -What had been in Cherriton's mind he did not know, and he was, of -course, totally unaware that sentence of extermination had been passed -upon him. It is no stretch of imagination to say that in visiting the -cottage he had, without knowing it, walked within the very shadow of the -grave. - -"Friend Cherriton is no mean antagonist," thought John, pondering upon -the German's personality as he sat in the little mess-room. - -Now that the great blow was so soon to fall, Dacent Smith--an unusual -circumstance with him--had left his post in London and come to the Isle -of Wight. General Whiston and Captain Throgmorton, who respectively -commanded the counter military and naval measures, found the pleasant, -keen-eyed Chief of Intelligence an invaluable ally. His intuitive -knowledge of the German character proved to be of the utmost assistance. -He had been studying Germany and the German secret service for twenty -years, and what he did not know about Teutonic psychology, chicanery and -guile, was not worth knowing. - -Dacent Smith, however, never made the mistake of under-estimating his -enemy. Von Kuhne's blow would, he conceded, be a well-wrought and -scientifically delivered attack. There was one slight thing, however, -which von Kuhne had possibly overlooked--he had possibly overlooked the -important fact that the Isle of Wight is after all an island, and that -in gathering his forces upon this particular portion of His Majesty's -dominions he was isolating himself from chances of escape in case of -failure. - -Dacent Smith thought a good deal upon this subject during his first day -at Heatherpoint Fort. But when he presently resumed his chair at the -end of the table in the little mess-room, opposite General Whiston, his -pleasantly good-humoured face showed nothing of the intense mental -activity within. - -General Whiston lifted his eyes as Dacent Smith took his seat. - -"Well, have you found out anything else for us?" - -"Nothing," answered Dacent Smith, "except further confirmation that von -Kuhne will make his attempt the day after to-morrow. He has disposed -his forces with a good deal of ingenuity. This end of the Isle of Wight -is at present dotted with amiable Britishers who happen to be Germans!" - -A curious smile flitted across the face of John's Chief. - -"It must have been very gratifying," said he, "to Captain Cherriton, -Manners, and von Kuhne to say 'British subject' to our good-looking -policeman as they stepped on board the boat at Lymington. Manners, so I -hear, was the only one of a dozen who came that way who showed the -slightest trace of nervousness. I think we shall have to reckon, -General," he concluded, "upon von Kuhne providing something pretty -forceful and daring!" - -The naval captain whose eyes were still occupied with the chart of the -Solent, lifted his keen gaze. "Something in the nature of our own -adventure at Zeebrugge and Ostend, do you think?" - -Here he turned his red-starred chart face downwards. On its back were -twenty or thirty neatly-pencilled lines. - -"That," he said, pushing the chart towards Dacent Smith, "is my forecast -of what is going to happen in this area during the next forty-eight -hours. If your date is correct, I think my forecast will be pretty well -right. What do you think, General?" - -Throgmorton's incisive, clean-cut features turned towards Whiston. - -"I think it's a devilish clever piece of work!" answered General -Whiston, generously. - -Dacent Smith's eyes lifted from the pencilled forecast. His vivid gaze -rested for a minute in admiration on Throgmorton's handsome, -well-wrought features. - -"Some day, young man," thought he, "you will be ruler of the King's -Navy." - -He pushed back the chart towards the naval officer; then turned towards -John. - -"You can go, Treves," he said, "with the General's permission." - -Whiston nodded. - -John saluted and withdrew from the room. - -As Manton passed out into the asphalted courtyard he met Chief Gunner -Ewins. - -"Well, Ewins," he said, "what about your wife's dangerous illness?" - -"She wasn't ill at all, sir. I can't make it out--I've just got a -letter from her to-day, saying she's as well as ever she was." - -"Of course, she never sent the wire," explained John. - -"Who could have sent it?" said Ewins, looking at John with puzzled eyes; -"it's a silly sort of joke to play on anybody, sir." - -"Very silly," John admitted. "It looked as if somebody wanted to get -you out of the fort for a day or two. That's why the Colonel wouldn't -grant you leave. He didn't think you were playing a trick on him. He -thought some one was playing a trick on you. How are your guns, Ewins?" - -"Nicely, sir, thank you," answered the chief gunner. "But I'm sorry -we've missed our nine-inch practice this week." - -"You won't miss much by that," John answered. "You'll shoot as well as -ever when the time comes." - -He knew how soon the time would come, though Ewins did not. - -John descended the steps of the fort, took his bicycle, and, with due -observance of ceremonies, passed through the great gate that had -recently all but intimidated Mrs. Beecher Monmouth. - -An hour later, John, still pedalling steadily, descended the winding -road into Brooke. At the outskirts of the village he placed his bicycle -against a gate, climbed into a field, and, by a detour, made his way to -the back of Doctor Voules's house. In the darkness he walked softly -forward under the shadow of the doctor's garden wall He had made only a -few paces when a voice came to him out of the gloom. - -"Who's that?" demanded the voice, in a guarded whisper. - -"Treves," answered John. "Is that you, Watson?" - -"Yes, sir," came the answer. - -John drew himself to the top of the garden wall and looked down upon a -corporal in uniform. - -"Anything happened?" John asked. - -"Yes," answered Watson; "three men came to the house after dark, stayed -a little while, and went away again, sir." - -As a matter of fact, half an hour earlier Doctor Voules and two tall -young men had stealthily mounted the wall and entered the house by the -back way. Corporal Watson had been concealed in the garden and -witnessed this visit, and Voules's and his friends' departure in the -same stealthy manner. - -"They are evidently trying to give the impression that the house is -uninhabited, sir," the corporal amplified. - -John, who had climbed into the garden and was standing by him, gave a -few further instructions as to Voules's abode, presently mounted his -bicycle and rode away. Three quarters of an hour later, in a small clump -of trees on the heather-clad cliff-top near Freshwater, he spoke to -another soldier. This man, with three others, had been detailed to -watch Cherriton's cottage. - -"The captain's been in his cottage all the evening, sir," said the man -to John, "and the big, fat man's been with him." - -Having satisfied himself as to the whereabouts of Cherriton and Manners, -John cycled on and entered the Freshwater Hotel. Here he put through a -trunk-call to Newport. When he had been connected with a particular -number he inquired into the telephone: - -"Is that you, Gibb?" - -"Yes, sir," came the answer. - -"Do you know who is speaking?" - -"It's Mr. Treves, isn't it?" - -"Yes," John answered. - -Having satisfied himself that he was in touch with the gloomy-looking -waiter at the Newport Hotel, he put a discreet inquiry. He had parted -with certain Treasury notes to the benefit of the gloomy waiter. The -waiter, thereafter feeling himself a small but important wheel in a -piece of vast machinery, made himself busy and active in John's service. - -"Is anybody at home, Gibb?" - -"She's not been out all day, sir, and went to bed immediately after -dinner. She told her maid that she had a lot to do to-morrow, and asked -to be called at eight." - -These details were, for the moment, enough to satisfy John. - -"You know where to ring me up, Gibb, if anything exceptional occurs." - -John, having concluded his duties for that day, pedalled slowly back to -the fort. The night was overcast, the air close, and as he led his -bicycle up the long white road to the gates, he could hear the waves -softly falling at the foot of the cliffs in the bay below him. No other -sound broke the stillness, and when the outer sentinel suddenly barred -his path and a challenge rang out on the close air, John was startled -out of a mood of dreams. - -He passed the second and the third sentries, a wicket in the great gate -of the fort opened and admitted him, and, having reported himself to the -Colonel, he went straight to his room. For the better part of that -night his mind occupied itself with the momentous doings of the morrow. -The cloud that had gathered itself about that end of the island was -about to break. What would happen to himself and others on the morrow -he could not forecast. But one thing he knew--the long, hidden contest -between Voules and Dacent Smith would reach its culmination. Each man, -with his pawns, had manoeuvred, moved, finessed and counter-moved. The -subtlety of Dacent Smith had been pitted against the precision and -military skill of von Kuhne. What was to be the end? John did not -know, and at that moment his mind was only secondarily occupied with the -point; he was thinking, not of to-morrow, but of yesterday, of his -interview with Elaine, of his abrupt separation from her, of his -apparent brutality and harshness. - -He wondered at himself, that he, a capable, alert and non-sentimental -young man, an individual who had withstood the seductive blandishments -of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth, he wondered to find himself deeply and -passionately in love with a girl whose knowledge of artifice was of the -slightest. Elaine's genuine trust in him, her belief in his integrity, -her delight in the improvement in his character, all helped to enchain -John's deepest affections. - -As he lay now in the quiet and darkness of his room, he felt he dared -not let his mind dwell upon the future. He had tricked and duped Elaine, -and some day she would be bound to find him out. - -What would happen then? What would happen when she learned the truth? - -"There is nothing for it," John pronounced suddenly and emphatically. -"I must tell her myself--I must confess the whole thing from the -beginning." - -Having arrived at this decision, he saw himself making the confession, -though he could not see what her attitude would be. He could visualise, -always standing between them as an impassable and sinister barrier, the -man whose identity he had borne for so many months. Bernard Treves--his -_alter ego_, his _doppel-gaenger_--had become what he had probably been -from the first--his evil genius. From the very first he had disliked -Treves; he had later grown to despise him. The man was contemptible -beyond words. - -At this point John took himself resolutely in hand--or, rather, he -thought he took himself resolutely in hand. What really happened was -that he put away thoughts of Elaine, hiding them courageously and -tenderly in the deeps of his mind, for the sole reason that to think of -her, to think of the hopeless situation between them, meant nothing but -misery and bitterness. - -At eight o'clock, when John appeared in the little mess-room, Colonel -Hobin was alone at breakfast, at the head of the table. - -"Well, Treves," he said, "if your predictions are right, this is going -to be the day of our lives!" - -"I think I am right, sir," John answered. - -"We shall see," answered the Colonel. "Pass the marmalade, please." - -John passed the marmalade. He noticed the Colonel's hand was -steady--none of the nervous irritability that characterised him usually -was apparent--and the old soldier's eyes had taken on a new masterful -expression of command--the countenance of a good captain on the bridge -in face of a great oncoming storm. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII - - -The portentous day, the twenty-eighth of the month, passed at -Heatherpoint Fort with no untoward incident whatever. There was a -difference, however; there existed an atmosphere of tense expectancy. -Something was afoot, for doubled sentries held all points of vantage -along the cliff-tops, doubled sentries guarded the fort gates, and the -barbed wire entanglements at certain other places. All leave had been -stopped, and at midday, when Lieutenant William Parkson asked for leave -for very urgent personal reasons, he was astonished to find that the -Colonel had grown totally immovable. - -"If you would let me go from eight o'clock till ten, sir, I should be -satisfied. I assure you, sir, it is most important." - -It was indeed important in Parkson's eyes. But though rebellion surged -in him there was no possible means of getting out of the fort that night -without the Colonel's pass. Only one person, in fact, left Heatherpoint -Fort that evening. This person happened to be John Manton. General -Whiston uttered final words of advice as the young man took his -departure. - -"If you are successful, Treves," he said, "you will be probably back -here before the dust-up begins." - -"I hope so," said John. He saluted and clattered down the flight of -steps to the main gate. - -It was still light as he cycled swiftly away along the white road. A -smile curled the corner of his mouth. The work he was upon was exactly -to his liking; there was something in it of danger, and something of -finesse. When John had cycled for half an hour he looked at his watch. - -"Parkson's appointment with her," he said, "was for seven o'clock. I -wonder how she intended to handle him?" - -He mused upon Parkson, and admitted that the young man would be as wax -in Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's adroit fingers. He recalled Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's long, black record, her superlative daring, the manner in -which she had expended her great personal gifts and keen intelligence in -the service of the enemy. He thought of the _Malta_--of the two hundred -fine lives sacrificed upon her information. And at the thought his lips -tightened, his smile vanished, and the face that Dacent Smith always -knew as good-humoured and pleasant to look upon, grew hard and -forbidding. - -Darkness had fallen by the time John turned off the Newport road towards -Brooke. He did not light his lamp, however, but this time rode straight -through the village and alighted at Dr. Voules's house. The doctor's -residence was completely dark. No light shone from any of the windows. -John advanced to the door and placed his fingers on the bell. He rang -twice, but no answer came to him, no sound of footfall reached him from -the interior of the house. Then, noticing that the door was slightly -ajar, as if left purposely, he entered the hall, and in complete -darkness walked along towards the room at the end of the passage, which -he remembered as Voules's dining-room. He had advanced but ten paces -when a door opened quietly in the darkness, and a low voice came to him. - -"Is that you, Billy?" - -John was silent for a moment. He had braced himself for an intensely -violent scene. Now, in a flash, he realised that there were new and -exciting possibilities. Nevertheless, caution animated his entire -conduct. - -In regard to Mrs. Beecher Monmouth he did not know that she had -discovered his association with Dacent Smith; he was not aware of the -lady's sentiments of bitter antagonism, of virulent hatred towards -himself. He was to learn these things later. But at the moment he felt -there was little danger of stepping into a trap. The beautiful woman -whispering to him from the darkness awaited William Parkson, not Bernard -Treves or John Manton. - -"Is that you, Billy?" - -Her voice came to him again in a tense whisper. - -"Yes," answered John in a tone low as her own. She drew wider the door -of Voules's dining-room. - -"I told you to come straight in, Billy. Why did you ring the bell?" she -admonished him, lifting her voice to a more ordinary tone. - -"Oh, I don't know; I forgot," answered John. - -"Come in----" Her hand groped forward and took his. She drew him into -the heavily-curtained darkness of the dining-room and closed the door. - -"We mustn't light up till eight o'clock, Billy," she whispered. - -"Why not?" - -"It's a fad of mine." - -Then she put her face close to his; she let her smooth, firm hand glide -about his shoulder as she drew his face down. She kissed him firmly on -the lips. - -If John had been easy to deceive, that kiss would have deceived him. He -would have believed absolutely and implicitly that its fervour and -passion were genuine. - -"I thought," she whispered, her cheek close to his, "that you would not -be afraid of the darkness." - -"Oh, I won't be afraid," responded John in her ear. He could have -laughed--the situation was throbbing with exhilarating possibilities. - -"I was afraid you would be late, or wouldn't be able to come." - -"You knew I'd come," said John. - -He groped his way towards the hearth, holding her hand in his. - -"Won't you sit down?" he asked. - -"You sit down." She forced him into Dr. Voules's comfortable chair, -then seated herself on its arm, and slowly smoothed his hair with her -hand. She lowered her face and pressed it to his. Her rounded cheek -was firm, cool and satin smooth. - -"You can stay with me quite, quite a long time," she whispered. - -"Thanks," mumbled John; "that's awfully good of you." He squeezed her -hand. He could understand what would have happened to Parkson at that -moment--Parkson already enamoured, flattered to think of a woman of her -social position and extraordinary beauty flinging herself at his head. - -"Will they miss you at the fort to-night, little Billy?" - -"I don't know that they'll miss me particularly," said John. - -"Oh, but you're so--so important there. Did you find it difficult to -get away, Billy mine?" - -"Not so very," John answered; "all the same, I haven't much time--I've -only managed to get two hours' leave." - -She drew in her breath sharply, then suddenly flung out both arms and -drew him towards her. - -"Oh, Billy, Billy!" she protested. - -John instantly made mental note that she had in her mind a certain time -during which she intended to detain him there. - -"Then you can't love me," she breathed ardently. "You said you'd stay--a -long time." - -"Three-quarters of an hour is every minute I can stay," John said. - -"Oh, but it won't matter if you're just a tiny, tiny bit late--just once -in a lifetime! You don't know how difficult it is for me, Billy. I -have risked everything for you! I should be ruined utterly if it was -discovered that I gave you this _tete-a-tete_ here at this time of -night.... You must stay, Billy, until I'm ready to let you go; it will -make it easier for me." - -"I don't see that," protested John. "You can slip away----" - -"No, no; don't ask questions--don't say that! If you only knew how -difficult it was. You won't bother me with questions, will you dear, -dear Billy? And you'll be nice to me and let me get you something to -drink. You bad boy," she said, after a moment's pause, "I don't believe -you realise the honour I am conferring on you!" - -"Oh I do--I am fully aware of it," answered John. She had risen from the -arm of the chair, and had gone to the window. John heard the creak of -the window blind as she drew it up upon the semi-darkness of the garden. -For an instant he was startled, wondering if her movement portended some -sort of signal. - -As the blind ascended the complete darkness of the room sped away. He -could now make out the rich shadows of her hair, and something of the -outline of her fine features. Her hands in contrast with the black -widow's weeds, looked unusually white. - -"I thought you were fond of the darkness?" questioned John. - -"I am, silly Billy." John guessed that she was wasting a coquettish -smile upon the encumbering gloom. - -She had gone to the sideboard, which was in shadow at the far end of the -room and returning now to the middle table, placed upon it glasses, a -soda syphon, and a whisky bottle. - -"I must give you just a little peg!" - -John heard the gurgle of liquid, and the "squirt" of a syphon. A moment -later Mrs. Beecher Monmouth came across the room, put a glass in his -hand, and lightly kissed his ear. - -"I wish it was a little lighter," she whispered in a cooing fashion that -was peculiar with her, "then I could see my pretty boy's face." - -"If you did see your pretty boy's face," thought John, "you'd get the -shock of your life!" - -He took the whisky glass from her fingers. Silence lay between them for -a moment, then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth spoke again. - -"Drink," she whispered urgently. - -John, who had been holding his glass in his left hand, shifted it to his -right. - -"Well, here's to you," he said, lifting the glass. - -"Have you drunk it?" - -"What else do you think?" inquired John, and laughed. - -As a matter of fact he had not drunk it, for before raising the glass he -had dexterously poured its contents upon the carpet. Her trick was too -obvious. Parkson, blinded, enamoured by love, might have fallen into -the trap, but he, John, knew his antagonist in this singular duel which -was taking place in the semi-darkness. He came well armed with a -knowledge of her character. - -Minutes passed, during which Mrs. Beecher Monmouth held him enchained, -as she believed, by her finished coquetry. - -John, who had been probing about in his mind, hoping that she might -divulge something useful, rose at last and stretched his legs. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth was again at the window. He noticed that several -times during the last quarter of an hour she had drifted there, as if -with some intent and watchful purpose. - -"Why do you keep going to the window?" he asked, suddenly and abruptly. - -"I like to look out at the night." - -"There's nothing much to see," returned John. "It's clouded over again, -and the air is close enough to stifle one!" - -"Yes," answered she. - -In the gloom John saw her put up her hands to her throat. "It is enough -to stifle one," she breathed, slowly and intensely. - -Then John knew that big things were afoot, that she was waiting, strung -up tensely to more than concert pitch. He put up his hand, pushed up the -catch of the window, and opened it quietly upon the sultry night. A -faint wind stirred, rustling the leaves. There was silence for a -minute, then Mrs. Beecher Monmouth seemed to remember the role she was -playing, slid her fingers into his and looked up into his face. - -"Billy," she whispered. - -And at that moment a sudden thunderous and heavily-resonant boom rent -the stillness of the night. - -John knew it in an instant as the detonation of a heavy gun. The door -of the room creaked under the heavy vibration, the casements of the -window rattled, and a red smear of light blazed against the low clouds -and vanished. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had turned her face to the window. For an instant -John saw it, tense and ecstatic in the glare of light--then darkness -fell again. - -And suddenly Mrs. Beecher Monmouth stood away in the dark room. The -passionate sibilance of her whisper smote John's ears, like that of a -snake. - -"At last! At last! ... Oh, you can go now, Billy, Mr. Parkson. -Yes--go, or stay! It matters not!" - -"But it does matter," said John, "a deuce of a lot!" - -And as he spoke the room was shaken with the detonation of a heavy -gun--was again lit up with a red light. A second and a third gun was -fired--one sound mingling with the other in tremendous crashing -reverberation. And at each report a red glow filled the room, searching -out the darkness in its most distant corners. - -Mrs. Beecher Monmouth had turned towards John--in the leaping red light, -amid the roar of artillery, her eyes pinioned themselves upon his. She -drew nearer--peering, as it were, with all her senses, her hands -clenched. - -Their faces were close together when a red glare revealed his features -in every lineament. He was smiling, looking down upon her with easy -nonchalance. Even in the fleeting light John caught the swift -distortion of her features. She made a movement in the darkness---- - -In Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's entire life of daring adventure, in all her -vicissitudinous career, never had such a blow stricken her as that -moment. She had expected to see the good-humoured and somewhat stupid -countenance of Parkson, and instead, she had seen John. She had been -outwitted by the enemy whom of all others she hated most. From the very -first this pleasant looking, resourceful, cool young man had -outmanoeuvred her. What had happened to Parkson, and how John had -managed to substitute himself for that enmeshed young man, she could not -guess. She was conscious only that in the darkness her mortal enemy had -received her caresses, and laughed in his sleeve. - -Her tryst had been with Lieutenant Parkson, and by a manoeuvre that was -a mystery to her this other had substituted himself.... - -John heard her move softly in the darkness, and draw in a low, sibilant -breath. He was taking no chances, however, and had already stepped -cautiously behind the big dining table. Here he paused for a moment, -listening, then swiftly struck a match. In the orange glow of the light -he saw Mrs. Monmouth's face of undeniable beauty contorted with fury. -As the match flared and John put out his hand to light the lamp which -was on the table, she made a strong effort to control her features. She -was a woman who seldom remained long at a disadvantage. Every move in -the whole gamut of feminine emotion seemed to be at her command. There -had been a momentary stillness; now the roar of heavy artillery -thundered again and again. The red glow from the window filled the -room. - -A false expression of smiling irony crossed Mrs. Monmouth's features. - -"So, Mr. Treves, you have been exercising your cleverness again!" - -"What I did was all in the day's work," John began; then he stepped -swiftly towards the end of the table and barred the way to a certain -chair upon which her long black coat had been thrown. - -"No, don't go to your coat," he politely admonished her. "I am afraid I -don't trust you!" He knew that ladies of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's -temperament and activities are apt to carry lethal weapons, and are not -scrupulous in the use of the same. She had already made an attempt upon -him with what he shrewdly and correctly guessed to be drugged whisky. - -"How subtle and resourceful you are!" laughed Mrs. Monmouth. She turned -and strolled with an air of indifference towards the window. - -John was wondering what her next move would be. He had already made up -his mind as to his own next move, when Mrs. Beecher Monmouth strode to -the table, and, in a flashing change of mood, smote it sharply. - -"You think yourself extraordinarily clever, Mr. Treves!" - -"Oh! not at all!" protested John. He really did not think himself -clever, but he was satisfied with the present position as he found it. -He had taken her coat, and was holding it over his arm. There was no -weapon in its pockets. - -A roar of artillery again filled the room. Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's eyes -blazed in exaltation and excitement. - -"Do you hear those guns?" - -"I can hear scarcely anything else!" - -Beecher Monmouth's widow paused, looking him over, excoriating him with -her fine eyes; then went on slowly and intensely. - -"Well, Mr. Treves, perhaps it will surprise you and your friends to know -that we have outwitted you from the beginning." - -"I don't quite get your meaning," said John. - -She lifted her head and laughed aloud in his face. Her mask was off. -She let herself go. She swept her arm toward the darkness of the night, -then looked at him with the eyes of a fiend. "Those guns you hear now -mean that we are making our great attack." Her voice rose shrilly; her -scarlet lips writhed. She was truly possessed at that moment. "For all -your espionage and cunning we shall be able to make our way into -Portsmouth. We shall deliver a blow from which you will not easily -recover. Your ships----" - -John moved to the end of the table and motioned towards the door. - -"Thank you," said he, "that is very interesting, no doubt, but I think -it is time we were going." - -The fury beyond the table paid no heed. With both hands on its surface -she thrust her chin towards him and spat out her words. - -"Every fort on this coast has been silenced by our finesse!" - -John, listening to the roar of the guns, was unperturbed. - -"That was a pretty heavy one," he remarked, as the room reverberated -again to the renewed crash of artillery. - -"Our guns, you fool!" Mrs. Beecher Monmouth lifted her voice to a -scream. "Our guns--German guns!" - -John stared at her. He had never seen anything like the tornado of -passion that was sweeping through her. He listened, enthralled, against -his will. Nevertheless, he was master of the scene. She hated -him--loathed him--because he had tricked her. She had expended charm, -she had enveloped him in the sunshine of her beauty to no end. Her -vanity was outraged. He had enjoyed her caresses and laughed in his -sleeve. - -"The boom----" - -"What about the boom?" John asked. - -"From Ponsonby Lighthouse to Windsor Fort the boom is not down to-night. -Think of that. Your searchlights--where are they? Dark--dark--every -one of them." She dropped her voice suddenly in a measured, triumphant -whisper, "and our Unter-see boats are creeping in." - -Even now she was beautiful, but there was something animal-like in the -distortion of her mouth. - -"Where, precisely, are your U-boats creeping into?" inquired John -calmly. - -"Into--into Portsmouth." She mouthed the name of the great harbour. - -"You thought to outwit us, and we outwit you!" - -John bowed. "I have only your word for it." - -She paid no heed and went on. "So you see, Mr. Treves, what you get in -wasting your time on me--a woman!" - -His obstinate coolness maddened her, and in a wild gust of rage she -crashed her fist on the table. - -"You fool! You fool! You sheep's head!" she announced, elegantly. She -paused a moment, breathing heavily, then sweeping round the table, -snatched her coat from his arm and strode towards the door. - -"There is no hurry, Mrs. Beecher Monmouth----" - -She halted and gave him a glance that would have turned Parkson to -stone. - -"What do you mean?" she demanded. - -"I mean that our interview is not at an end!" - -The menace of her eyes glittered upon him. If her strength of body had -been equal to it at that moment, she would have leapt forward and -strangled him with her bare hands. Knowledge of her own peril, of the -Nemesis that was sweeping upon her, had not yet entered her disordered -mind. - -John made--in pursuance of his prearranged plan of action--no effort to -stay her as she went towards the door. But as Mrs. Beecher Monmouth -paused and cast a final look at him, a sudden doubt crept into her eyes. -For John had gone to the window. He appeared no longer to be occupied -with her. His back was towards her, and presently he lifted a whistle -to his lips and blew two short, shrill blasts. - -A transformation passed over Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's face that was -startling. The colour flowed from her cheeks. Her lips seemed suddenly -to become bloodless. - -"Why do you do that?" - -John turned upon her slowly. There was no pity in his eyes. - -"When I did it," he answered, grimly, "I was thinking of the _Malta_, -and two hundred fine fellows who died at your hands. I am thinking now -of other things--of the _Polidor_ and her scores of non-combatant -passengers who were drowned by your machinations.... You have had a -long run for your money, but at last----" - -He stopped--a sound came to him, a tramp of heavy booted men advancing -in the passage. Some one pushed open the door, and a corporal--a tall, -grim-looking fellow--appeared on the threshold. - -"Is that you, Davis?" - -"Yes, sir!" - -John spoke over Mrs. Beecher Monmouth's head to the man beyond. - -"This is the lady, Davis!" - -"Very good, sir!" - -"You will take her at once. Put her in a car and drive her to Newport -to-night. I have already communicated with the Chief Constable, who has -made arrangements to receive her." - -He turned his eyes once more, and for the last time in life, on the -beautiful woman in the doorway. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII - - -"Hallo--what's that?" - -A red glare of light saturated the low hanging clouds and suddenly -vanished. Close, windless air vibrated under the detonation of heavy -artillery. A Sergeant, who had been concealed in the shelter of a stone -wall which ran round Captain Cherriton's cottage, turned to the man at -his side. - -"What d'you reckon it is, Nobby?" - -"It must be night practice." - -"Not it," answered the Sergeant, "that's the 'nine-inch' at -Heatherpoint, with a full charge!" - -As the words left his lips a second crashing roar reverberated from the -fort. Then, almost before Sergeant Watson could further comment upon -the fact, a sound like rapid beating of a tom-tom came to them. Busy, -drum-like notes, some deep and long-drawn, as if coming from the bowels -of the earth, some sharp, short, and angry, took up the refrain. - -"Hallo!" exclaimed Watson, amazed, "they're all at it. There's -something up." - -He stared at the sky, thence out to sea. - -"Hallo, where's all our searchlights?" exclaimed Nobby. - -"That's just what I was going to ask you," Watson answered; then -instantly dropped down behind the wall, pulling his companion with him. -Watson had seen a figure approaching from the road. The stranger wore -mufti and a soft felt hat, and as he came stumbling and hurrying through -the grass, leaping artillery flashes momentarily lifted him into view, -and again plunged him into utter darkness. - -Watson, with Nobby and two other men, had, under John's directions, kept -a three-days' watch on Cherriton's cottage. At the present moment -Cherriton himself was alone in the low, single-storied building which, -from two workmen's dwellings, had been converted into an artistic -residence. - -Watson waited. And presently, in the silence between the roll of -drumfire at the western end of the island, he could hear the fall of -footsteps, and presently, through the screen of bushes, and in the light -of gunfire he made out the figure of a tall young man, whose face for a -moment looked familiar to him, then caused him to pull Nobby by the arm. - -"Who is it, Nobby?" he asked. - -The new-comer had reached Cherriton's gate and was hurrying into the -little garden. - -"Why, it's Lieutenant Treves!" - -"What's he doing out of uniform?" - -"I don't know," answered Nobby. "It's him right enough. Look again." - -"He looks as if he'd had the fright of his life--I've never seen him -look like that." - -"Nor me, neither," answered Nobby, eyeing the figure hurrying towards -Cherriton's door. - -Both men watched the visitor disappear into the cottage, then discussed -the matter in low tones. There was something that puzzled them about -Treves's visit to Captain Cherriton--there was something that to -Sergeant Watson's intelligent mind seemed altogether wrong about that -visit, and yet he could not tell what. - -Cherriton had been at the back window of his cottage peering out since -the heavy gunfire began, and a look of triumph animated his pallid, -hollow-cheeked countenance. He was startled at length by a low, feverish -rapping at the cottage door. He paused a moment in thought before -answering, then shifted a Mauser pistol from his hip pocket to the left -hand pocket of his coat. He was a left-handed man, a fact which at -certain moments of crisis was apt to redound to his advantage. With a -due amount of caution he drew open the door, and the man from the -threshold strode in upon him. - -As Cherriton's eyes fell upon the stranger in the candle light the lines -of his mouth altered. - -"Why, it's you, Treves--this is a surprise!" he exclaimed. He gripped -the young man's hand and drew him forward into the room. - -Bernard Treves, pale, haggard, swept the room with his restless glance. -His likeness to John Manton was striking even now. - -"Have you got anybody here?" he asked quickly. - -"No." - -"Where's Manners?" - -"He isn't here," answered Cherriton. - -"Where is he?" Treves came forward and laid a hand on the other's arm. -"I must see Manners." - -"Why?" - -Cherriton looked at him with sudden malice. He felt that this man who -had tricked and betrayed them from the beginning, was still pursuing his -deep game. However, they were playing now upon even terms. Mrs. Beecher -Monmouth's information had opened wide his eyes. Moreover, a mandate -had been issued. General von Kuhne had spoken.... - -A sickly smile crossed the visitor's pallid, handsome countenance. -"It's no good trying to keep it quiet," he said; "but I must have -cocaine. It's a matter of life and death with me. Look at my hands!" - -He held out his hands which shook visibly. - -"I don't mind saying it," he went on; "but I've been pretty nearly over -the brink two or three times lately. Yesterday I tried every chemist's -shop in Ryde and Newport, but I couldn't get anything." - -He wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Cherriton was regarding him -closely, puzzled at the change in him. - -"You managed to get along without it for a long time," retorted -Cherriton, looking at him coldly. - -"I had to--there was nothing else for it. That damned nursing home----" -Suddenly he put out his hand and laid it on the German's arm. "Where's -Manners, for God's sake tell me--tell me? I must have some----" - -Then he became aware of a narrowing of the other's gaze. "Why are you -looking at me like that?" - -The Captain laughed. - -"Don't do it; it makes my blood run cold," Treves protested. - -"I was thinking of your drug habit--how conveniently it comes and goes." - -"Don't sneer at me, for God's sake," pleaded Treves. "I'm desperate." -He walked the floor in a state of nervous tension, which would have been -pitiable to witness, had there been in Cherriton any spirit of mercy. -"It seems there's been a law passed forbidding chemists--you can't get -cocaine anywhere," he jerked out, hopelessly. - -Cherriton's dark gaze was again upon him. - -"I can't give you cocaine, Treves," he said, "but if you come into my -bedroom there, I'll give you something else." - -Treves clutched his arm. - -"What?" - -"Morphia," answered Cherriton. - -He led the way into a low-ceilinged bedroom at the end of the cottage, -carrying the candle from the parlour table as he went. He placed the -light on the dressing table near the window, took a key from his pocket, -and opened a drawer in the only chest of drawers in the small room. - -Treves, watching him with impatient eyes, moistened his lips and waited. - -Cherriton searched in the drawer and drew out a syringe and a small -bottle. - -"Here," he said to Treves, "sit over on the chair near the dressing -table." - -Treves greedily eyed the syringe, and obediently seated himself with his -back to the little mirror. The candle on the white dimity cloth of the -dressing table threw its light full upon him. He watched Cherriton fill -the syringe with morphia, and almost clutched it from his hand. - -"Wait," said the German, holding him off, "you shall have it full." - -"Thanks--thanks--thanks." - -Treves watched him as a famished dog watches a bone. - -"You don't know what I've suffered, Cherriton--that nursing home, St. -Neot's, curse it--it's been hell!" - -"You are so clever, Treves, I wonder you didn't get cocaine before?" - -"My God, if you knew how I've tried." - -Cherriton was standing about a yard away from Treves, with his big chin -thrust forward. The expression of his face at that moment would have -shot terror into his visitor's heart, if he had lifted his eyes. But -Treves was busy. He was pulling back his sleeve, and in another instant -he had dug the needle into the flesh of his forearm. His lips tightened -as he forced the morphia into his blood. Then he slowly raised his -head, a look of ecstatic happiness glowed in his eyes; he drew a deep -sigh of contentment. - -"A-h-h," he exclaimed. - -And Cherriton, who had been standing still as a statue, still as death, -moved. The veiled light in his eyes blazed into murder. With swiftness -and stealth he whipped the Mauser from his pocket, aimed and fired. His -shot passed through Treves's heart.... Before the reverberation had -died, he fired into Treves's body a second time, and this time so near -was he that the blaze scorched his victim's waistcoat. He had made -assurance doubly sure, and his next quick move was to lean forward, blow -out the candle, drop his pistol near the body, that had fallen heavily, -and fling open the window. - -Two minutes later he was speeding swiftly across the yard at the back of -the cottage. As he ran a gun-flash from Heatherpoint lifted the -darkness for a moment, and again he was enveloped in the surrounding -gloom. - -Before Sergeant Watson and his three men could reach the door of the -cottage, Cherriton had vanished into a clump of trees. - -"There's something wrong!" said Watson. "I'm going in." He took Nobby -with him, hurried along the path, and knocked at Cherriton's portal. - -No answer came. He thrust open the door and found the living-room in -darkness; he struck a match, lit a candle from the mantelshelf, and held -it aloft. - -"Hallo, there's nobody here." - -The door of the bedroom was open, and the draught--a puff of close -air--from the open window beyond suddenly blew shut the front door with -a crash. - -Sergeant Watson was a man of steady nerve, but he did not like the -crash, neither did he like the silence, the heavy, brooding silence. -Nevertheless, he lifted his voice valiantly. - -"Is there anybody there?" he called. - -He could hear the curtain rings faintly rattling in the bedroom, but no -answer came to him. Then with the candle in his hand and followed by -Nobby, gripping his rifle, he went into Cherriton's bedroom. On the -floor beyond the end of Cherriton's bed, near the dressing table, they -could see a foot and the lower part of Treves's trouser leg. - -"My God!" exclaimed Watson, hurrying forward with a fleeting glance at -the open window. - -The figure lying near the dressing table with a revolver near it, and a -morphia syringe a little distance away, was huddled and motionless. - - * * * * * - -Three minutes later, Watson, Nobby and two other men stood in an open -space on the downs, forty yards before Cherriton's cottage. Watson was -busy rearing a tripod stand about five feet in height. When the tripod -was ready Nobby handed him a lantern, which was dexterously screwed upon -its apex. He struck a match, lit the lantern and flicked open a -shutter. - -"Stand back out of the line of light," he cried to one of his men. - -Then with little scraping clicks of the lantern shutter, the single eye -of light turned westward, he began to spell out a message. - -Three times he gave his opening call before receiving an answer by -signal lantern from behind the fort at Freshwater. Having achieved -connection he patiently spelt out the following message: - -"Report to officer in command Heatherpoint." - -"Who are you?" came the answer. - -"Watson, emergency light number 6." - -"Yes, what is it?" - -"Lieutenant Treves been murdered. Lying dead Heather Cottage." - -The lantern at Freshwater took the message, and before signalling on -said, "Repeat." - -Watson, with a grim face, repeated the message and added: - -"Shot by Captain Cherriton. Murderer escaped, running north by east." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV - - -John having disposed of Mrs. Beecher Monmouth returned to Heatherpoint -Fort. Within the fort gates the ground quivered and vibrated. Far -below him the Solent was alive with the sweeping beams of Throgmorton's -cunning emergency lights. John could see flashes of fire from Ponsonby -Point, from Scoles Head, and from a new secret battery beyond Windsor -Fort. His time was emphatically not his own, he had received orders to -leave the fort on a new mission. Within five minutes he had passed the -rear defences and the barbed wire of the fort, and was out upon the -downs. He sprinted forward over the short springing turf, and soon came -to the cliff edge and the narrow path that descended the chalk to South -Bay. - -As he reached the cliff edge and looked down an amazing panorama smote -his eyes. Dover lights--tremendous, blinding blue-white -illuminations--floated upon the surface of the water shedding forth -almost painful rays of light. The yellow of the sand in the little bay -became a ghost-like floor in this radiance. Sinclair, he knew, was down -there busy at his telephone, but it was not Sinclair nor the drama of -the scene that occupied his thoughts; he was thinking not of them, but -of a slip of paper Throgmorton had handed him bearing the message of his -own death, and of Throgmorton's words, "Somebody was murdered." - -"Yes," thought John, "somebody who was mistaken for me." - -His mind projected itself upon the scene in Cherriton's cottage, and the -thing he had suspected from the very first instant revealed itself -fully. Bernard Treves had escaped in his second effort to free himself -from his enforced detention at St. Neot's, and, of course, the first -thing he had done was to search out the whereabouts of Cherriton and -Manners in order to obtain the drugs that were a passion with him. He -had gone to the cottage, Cherriton had received him, and had clearly -shot him in cold blood.... - -John turned his mind away from the possibilities Treves's death had -created for himself. After all, he was sorry. Treves's broken and -enfeebled will had been too much for the young man to contend against. -He had failed--death had come upon him suddenly and terribly, but -perhaps, after all, it was for the best.... - -His thoughts turned to Colonel Treves.... As was to be expected, and -inevitably the delicately beautiful vision of Elaine rose before him.... -Her life of bondage was at an end.... Then John drew himself up and -took himself severely to task. These thoughts were not for him. In -this hour of drama, of tragedy, he must not let his thoughts dwell upon -her. There were decencies, and he was a man of honour; nevertheless, in -the depths of his heart, something moved, a dim obliterated ray of hope -flickered into life.... - -To the music of the guns he continued his descent of the chalk path. -Where the damp penetrated it was slippery beneath his feet, nevertheless -he went quickly with steps that must have been noiseless. The path -reached the beach some distance away from the scene of activity, of -which Sinclair was the centre. And as John came within thirty or forty -feet of the shore, he saw below him, at the bend of the path, a man -crouching. The man was huddled in a sheltered corner, intent upon some -occupation invisible to John, who halted and looked down upon him with -some curiosity. The silent figure was in khaki, and his shoulder and -half his cap were visible. He was deeply absorbed, and John was able to -go forward and descend two or three turns of the path without being -observed. - -Presently, walking softly on the narrow path in the cliff's face, he -came full into view of the stranger, whose presence was concealed by the -projection of a cliff from the pitiless Dover flares. - -The man was Captain Cherriton. - -John was not in the least surprised to find his able and resourceful -enemy crouching down working a flashlight towards a portion of the sea -cut off from the fort lights. - -Manton knew that the hour of destiny had arrived. The thought came to -him that Cherriton's hands were stained with blood, that not an hour ago -he had---- - -He moved forward a pace, his face grim and set. Cherriton, still -crouching, heard him, and turned, but in the gloom of that sheltered -place he did not see clearly. Quick as thought, however, he turned his -electric torch and flashed it full upon John's face. In the circle of -incandescent light he saw something that caused him to choke with -horror--that something was the face and the living eyes of the man he -had murdered an hour ago. - -The sight was too much for him, the light fell from his fingers. John, -guessing what had happened, resolved to give him no chance of discovery. -With a shout he leapt forward and flung his arms about him. - -Half in terror, half in growing knowledge that he had to deal with a -living and determined enemy, Cherriton struggled like a maniac. Each -man put forth his entire strength. John sought to get his hands round -the German's throat. Together they rocked, bumped, and swayed, and, -finally, together they fell, tumbling and thumping to the sand, fifteen -feet below. - -For a minute each man lay still, stunned by the impact of the fall. -Then John, first to recover, creeping on hands and knees, approached -Cherriton and fell upon him again. - -"I'm done," breathed the German, "get off me...." There was a truce for -some minutes after that, during which John sat with a Mauser in his -hand, and recovered himself fully. - -Cherriton, who had been lying on his back in the sand, turned. - -"Who are you?" he asked, staring with strained eyes into John's face. - -The mystery was beyond him. Were there two Bernard Treves? He had -killed, or as he would have put it, he had legitimately executed Bernard -Treves in the cottage less than two hours ago. So far all was clear to -him. But this other man, this replica and simulacrum of Treves, who was -he? He was Treves, and he was not Treves. He continued to stare and -his mystification deepened. John, feeling that the moment for -explanation had come, came to his aid. - -"You are recalling that you killed me in your cottage less than two -hours ago?" - -"Yes," began Cherriton. - -"All along," went on John, "you and your colleagues have been mistaken -in me. I have played the part of Bernard Treves with some success, but -my real name happens to be John Manton." - - -Dawn came, and with it victory for the defenders of the Solent. In the -last moment von Kuhne's plans had gone astray. His submarines which had -intended to cause havoc among the multitude of shipping at Portsmouth -had indeed passed the boom, only to meet destruction beyond. Eight -submarines went to the credit of the R.G.A. and the Navy that night; -eighty German marines were captured on the little shore of South Bay. -And now, in the fort mess-room that had known so much of drama during -the last few months, Colonel Hobin occupied his chair at the head of the -table. Beside him was seated Throgmorton, the Flag-Lieutenant. -Commander Greaves and John Manton were also present, grouped at the end -of the room, near the window whence the dawn crept in. At the far end of -the room stood Ewins, something of a hero that morning, but the time for -compliment had not yet arrived. - -"Bring them in, Ewins," commanded Hobin. - -Ewins saluted and clattered away. - -Five minutes later he returned with a squad of men who waited in the -little passage outside. And Ewins ushered into the mess-room Captain -Cherriton, still in British uniform. With him was the tall German naval -lieutenant John had some time ago seen at Voules's house at Brooke. The -last prisoner to enter the room was Voules himself, the General von -Kuhne who had so industriously instituted the attack which had met with -disaster. - -Colonel Hobin put a few questions. - -"I am an officer of the German Navy," said the tall lieutenant. "I -demand all the privileges of an honourable prisoner of war." - -"Certainly," intervened Throgmorton, "in your case there is no question -of the death penalty." - -"I, too, am an officer," began Voules in his rasping voice. - -"I am afraid the fact," said Colonel Hobin, "that you neglected the -formality of wearing uniform in your attack upon us will tell somewhat -severely against you. All I want this morning," he concluded, "is that -you should each admit your identity." - -The three Germans had no objection to this. - -When the prisoners had been removed Hobin and then Throgmorton gripped -John by the hand--in fact, everybody in the room shook hands in the grey -of the dawn that morning. - -"All the luck in the world was ours, Treves," said Throgmorton. - -"My name is Manton," John reminded him. - -"Of course, of course--I had quite forgotten that." - - -John's life story was only just beginning--the recovery of his own name -marked an epoch. Summer went and autumn came; the sun of Peace rose -over the horizon. Letters at first somewhat formal, but later growing -in cordiality, passed between himself and Elaine. Then, at last, on a -certain autumn day--a red-letter day for John--he received an epistle in -Colonel Treves's shaking hand. "_My dear boy,_" ran the Colonel's -letter, "_I want you to come and visit me. We have been friends a long -time--you have played your part well and truly. That which my poor boy -failed to do, you have done in his name. You have done credit to my -house and to the name of Treves. I am well again now, and shall welcome -you with all my heart._" - -John did not know how it was, but a film came before his eyes as he -finished reading the old Colonel's letter. And on the Saturday -following, when he drove up to the Colonel's house in a hired motor, -from Freshwater, the sun was setting over the Solent and yellow leaves -were falling in the long drive. - -Gates drew open the front door of the mansion before John alighted and -conducted him straight to the Colonel, in the library. The old man, who -had been standing in the window expecting his arrival, came across the -room and gripped his hand. He looked into John's face, then smiled. -There was conviction in his voice. - -"Yes," he said. "You're a Treves in everything except name." - -There was much to talk about. In the first place the Colonel spoke of -Elaine always as his daughter-in-law. She had completely won his heart. - -"This gives me a new lease of life, my boy," he said to John. Then the -smile that was so attractive in him lit up his face. "And when that -lease is run out she shall have all that is mine just as she would have -had if my boy had lived." The Colonel laid his hand on John's shoulder. - -"John, my boy," he said, "your attention's wandering, it isn't me you -want to hear talking, so I'll take myself off now." - -He went out of the room, and John, walking to the window, looked for a -moment upon the autumn scene outside. Then a sound came to him, and he -turned to see Elaine, radiant yet doubtful, and strangely shy--looking -like spring in autumn. - -For a moment John was still; then he hurried across the room and took -her hands in his. - -"Elaine," he whispered, "is everything forgotten and forgiven?" - -Elaine lifted her eyes to his. She was ten times more beautiful at that -moment than the image he had treasured in his heart. - -"There is nothing to forget, and nothing to forgive, John," she said -quietly. - -John drew in a deep breath. - -"You love me, don't you?" - -"You know I do." - -Again John drew in a deep breath, this time of complete happiness. - -"Thank goodness," he said--"so that's all right!" Then, without more -ado, he swept her into his arms. "I'm going to make mad love to you -until seven o'clock," he announced masterfully. - - - - - Printed in Great Britain by Wyman & Sons Ltd., London and Reading - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BERNARD TREVE'S BOOTS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42459 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. 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