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diff --git a/29629-h/29629-h.htm b/29629-h/29629-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4201d4f --- /dev/null +++ b/29629-h/29629-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12542 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Destroyer, by Burton E. Stevenson. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + p { margin-top: .5em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .5em; + text-indent: 1em; + } + h1 { + text-align: center; font-family: garamond, serif; /* all headings centered */ + } + h5,h6 { + text-align: center; font-family: garamond, serif; /* all headings centered */ + } + h2 { + text-align: center; font-family: garamond, serif; /* all headings centered */ + } + h3 { + text-align: center; font-family: garamond, serif; /* all headings centered */ + } + h4 { + text-align: center; font-family: garamond, serif; /* all headings centered */ + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + a {text-decoration: none} /* no lines under links */ + div.centered {text-align: center;} /* work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 1 */ + div.centered table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;} /* work around for IE centering with CSS problem part 2 */ + + .cen {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} /* centering paragraphs */ + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} /* small caps */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blockquot {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} /* block indent */ + .right {text-align: right; padding-right: 2em;} /* right aligning paragraphs */ + .img {text-align: center; padding: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} /* centering images */ + .tdr {text-align: right;} /* right align cell */ + .tdrp {text-align: right; padding-right: 1em;} /* right align with padding */ + .tdl {text-align: left;} /* left align cell */ + .tr {margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; margin-top: 5%; margin-bottom: 5%; padding: 1em; background-color: #f6f2f2; color: black; border: dotted black 1px;} /* transcriber's notes */ + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; right: 2%; + font-size: 75%; + color: silver; + background-color: inherit; + text-align: right; + text-indent: 0em; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal;} /* page numbers */ + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right; font-size: 90%;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: text-top; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + .poem span.pn { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; right: 2%; + font-size: 75%; + text-align: right; + text-indent: 0em; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + color: silver; background-color: inherit; + font-variant: normal;} /* page numbers in poems */ + + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Destroyer, by Burton Egbert Stevenson + +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 www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Destroyer + A Tale of International Intrigue + +Author: Burton Egbert Stevenson + +Release Date: August 7, 2009 [EBook #29629] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYER *** + + + + +Produced by D Alexander, Barbara Kosker and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h1>THE DESTROYER</h1> + +<h4><i>A TALE OF INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE</i></h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="img"> +<img border="0" src="images/deco.jpg" width="15%" alt="Publisher's Mark" /> +</div> + + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>BURTON E. STEVENSON</h2> + +<h4>Author of "The Holladay Case," "The Marathon Mystery,"<br /> + "The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet," etc.</h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>NEW YORK<br /> + DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY<br /> + 1921</h4> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h5>Copyright, 1913<br /> + +<span class="smcap">By DODD, MEAD & COMPANY</span></h5> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>THE DESTROYER</h2> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents"> + <tr> + <td class="tdlrp" width="15%" style="font-size: 80%;">CHAPTER</td> + <td class="tdl smcap" width="70%"> </td> + <td class="tdr" width="15%" style="font-size: 80%;">PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">I</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Twenty-fifth of September</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">II</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">France in Mourning</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">III</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Two Great Men Meet</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">IV</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Allies at Work</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">V</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">At the Café des Voyageurs</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">VI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Mysterious Signals</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">VII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Hut in the Grove</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">VIII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Second Installation</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">IX</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Checkmate</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">X</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Land of Freedom</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Shipmates</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Under Russian Rule</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XIII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">In the Wireless House</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XIV</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Message</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XV</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">A Word of Warning</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XVI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">A Charge To Keep</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XVII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The First Conference</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XVIII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Substitute Sentry</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XIX</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Second Conference</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XX</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Prince Seeks Diversion</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">On the Education of Princes</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Events of Monday</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXIII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Landing</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXIV</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Pachmann Scores</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_321">321</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXV</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Trap</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXVI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Turn of the Screw</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXVII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Voice at the Door</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXVIII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Crochard, the Invincible!</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXIX</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Escape</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_382">382</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXX</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Council of War</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_397">397</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXXI</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">The Alliance Ends</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_407">407</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdrp">XXXII</td> + <td class="tdl smcap">Strasbourg</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_420">420</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>THE DESTROYER</h2> + +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h2>THE TWENTY-FIFTH OF SEPTEMBER</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Monsieur Aristide Brisson, the fat little proprietor of the Hotel du +Nord—a modest house facing the Place Puget at Toulon—turned uneasily +in his sleep, as though fretted by a disturbing dream; then he awoke +with a start and rubbed his eyes. A glance at the dark windows showed +that the dawn was yet far distant, and he was about to turn over and go +thankfully to sleep again when a sudden remembrance leaped into his +brain. In an instant, he had bounded from the bed, struck a match, and, +after a look at his watch, lighted a candle. Then he returned to the +bed, and, without compunction, grasped the plump arm of Madame Brisson, +who was sleeping peacefully, and shook her roughly.</p> + +<p>"Wake, Gabrielle, wake!" he cried—in French, of course.</p> + +<p>Madame Brisson, who was also little and fat with a white skin that was +her pride, opened her eyes, stared an instant, and then sat up in bed.</p> + +<p>"Heavens, Brisson!" she cried, her hand to her throat. "What is it? What +has happened? Have you illness?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>"No, no!" said her husband, who was struggling with his trousers. "But +rise, quickly!"</p> + +<p>Madame Brisson glanced at the dark windows.</p> + +<p>"I do not understand," she said.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Gabrielle," said her husband reproachfully, "I should never have +believed you could have forgotten! It is to-day, at sunrise, that our +guests depart!"</p> + +<p>"Heavens!" cried Madame Brisson again, and she, too, bounded from the +bed and began to don her clothes with trembling fingers. "That I should +have forgotten! Forgive me, Aristide! What hour is it?"</p> + +<p>"It is almost four and a half. At five, the coffee must be ready."</p> + +<p>"It shall be!" Madame promised, and hurried from the room, to complete +her toilet in the kitchen.</p> + +<p>"Fortunately," M. Brisson muttered to himself, "the fire is laid!"</p> + +<p>Then, having held his collar to the light and decided that it was clean +enough, he buttoned it about his neck, attached his shiny ready-made +tie, donned his little white coat, picked up the candle and left the +room. Passing along the corridor to the front of the house, he tapped at +a door.</p> + +<p>"Who is there?" called a rough voice.</p> + +<p>"Your coffee will be ready in twenty minutes, sir," said Brisson.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>"Very well; and thank you," answered the voice, and Brisson descended to +the dining-room, opened the shutters, lighted the lamp, and spread the +cloth.</p> + +<p>He was contemplating his handiwork, his head to one side, when heavy +steps sounded on the stair, and a moment later two men entered. They +were both of middle-age, somewhat stocky and heavily-built, their hair +close-cropped, their faces smooth-shaven and deeply tanned. They had, +indeed, that indurated look which only years of exposure to wind and +rain can give, except that their upper lips were some shades lighter +than the remainder of the face, betraying the fact that they had, until +recently, been protected by a moustache. They were dressed in somewhat +shabby tweed walking-suits, and wore heavy well-worn shoes. At this +moment, each carried in his hand a little knapsack.</p> + +<p>M. Brisson greeted them bent double, hoped that they had slept well, +foretold a fine day, and assured them that coffee would be ready in a +moment.</p> + +<p>"Our bags are in our room, properly labelled," said one of them, finding +his words with apparent difficulty and accenting them most queerly. +"They are to go to Nice, where we will claim them."</p> + +<p>"I will attend to it. And you, sirs?" asked Brisson.</p> + +<p>"It is our intention to walk."</p> + +<p>"By way of the Cornice?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"You will find it a most beautiful road; even in your own America you +will find nothing more beautiful. And how fortunate that you will have +so fine a day! Where will you rest to-night?"</p> + +<p>"At Frejus, probably."</p> + +<p>"A beautiful town, well worth a visit. Permit me to recommend you, sirs, +that you stop at the Hotel du Midi. The proprietor is a relative of +mine—a nephew, in fact; he will treat you well."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," responded the stranger, and at that moment Madame Brisson +entered, flushed but triumphant, bearing a tray on which was a small +pitcher of very black coffee, a large pitcher of very hot milk, a plate +of rolls and "crescents," some pats of butter and a jar of honey. She +placed the tray upon the table, greeted the travellers with the +brightest of smiles, and then, as she flitted about attending to their +wants, M. Brisson retired to his bureau to put the finishing touches to +the bill.</p> + +<p>This was a weighty business. It was not often that the little Hotel du +Nord had the privilege of entertaining guests from America, and M. +Brisson was thriftily determined to make the most of it. The price of +the room, unfortunately, had been agreed upon in advance; but there were +the meals and, above all, the extras—baggage, lights, attendance, one +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>special breakfast at five o'clock—one must be paid for rising in the +middle of the night!—confitures, bath—had there been a bath? No +matter! Wine, cigars—M. Brisson licked his lips as he put them all in. +Then he made a mistake of five francs in the addition, and the thing was +done. He contemplated it for a moment with satisfaction, then folded it, +slipped it into his pocket, and returned to the breakfast-room.</p> + +<p>His guests were just rising from the table, and a glance told him that +they had done but scant justice to the meal—fully half the rolls +remained uneaten! They were in haste, then; so much the better! He +assisted them to adjust their knapsacks.</p> + +<p>"And now the bill," said one of them, taking out his purse.</p> + +<p>M. Brisson presented it with a bow. The other took it, glanced at the +total, and his face flushed. He opened his lips to speak, closed them +again, and his eyes ran up the column of figures. The flush deepened, +and again he opened his lips; but when he met Brisson's ferret-like +gaze, he again closed them. Without a word, he extracted from his purse +a note for a hundred francs and placed it in Brisson's hand.</p> + +<p>"You may keep the change," he said.</p> + +<p>"Oh, thanks, sir!" Brisson cried, and he bowed again to hide the +triumphant smile upon his lips. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>"Many thanks! A pleasant journey! And +when you come again to Toulon, remember the Hotel du Nord!"</p> + +<p>The other nodded glumly, and started for the door, followed by his +companion. Brisson and his wife accompanied them, again bade them adieu, +and stood for a moment watching them, as they went down the street in +the direction of the quays.</p> + +<p>"A hundred francs!" said Madame Brisson, and gazed with veneration at +her lord and master. "But what was your bill, then, Aristide?"</p> + +<p>"Ninety-six francs," said Brisson, sourly, "and, for a moment, I thought +the swine was going to protest it!"</p> + +<p>"If they had not been Americans," began Madame.</p> + +<p>"Americans!" burst in Brisson. "Bah! They are not Americans! Germans, +perhaps, or Austrians; but Americans, no! Those men, Gabrielle, have +something to conceal!" and Brisson, frowning darkly, went back into the +house.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Meanwhile the two pedestrians made their way rapidly along the dark and +silent street without exchanging a word. There was in their faces a +strange excitement, and they stared straight ahead, as though they dared +not meet each other's eyes. At the end of a few moments, they came out +upon the quays. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>Here the darkness of the narrow street gave place to +the grey of the approaching dawn, and one of them took his watch from +his pocket and looked at it.</p> + +<p>"Nine minutes!" he said in guttural English, and in a voice strangely +thick, as with some deep and barely repressed emotion.</p> + +<p>The other nodded, and with common accord they turned to the right toward +the great basin, where three or four men-of-war lay at anchor. The light +increased from minute to minute, the horizon turned from grey to pearly +white, and over the hills to the east a golden halo marked the spot +where the sun would rise. They stopped to look at it, and then, stepping +back into the recess of a doorway, directed their gaze toward a great +battleship, anchored perhaps three hundred yards away. As the minutes +passed, they seemed scarcely to breathe, and their lips were twitching +with nervous excitement.</p> + +<p>Suddenly over the trees shot a long ray of yellow light, gilding the +house-tops, gilding the mast-heads of the vessels in the harbour; and +then, as though in answer to a signal, came a muffled roar from the +anchored battleship. There was an instant's silence, then the shrill +voices of sentries sounding the alarm, the whirring of a gong....</p> + +<p>A second roar drowned all lesser sounds, and then the high, thin notes +of a bugle echoed across the water. The deck of the ship was alive with +men; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>from her open ports wisps of angry smoke swirled upward into the +morning air....</p> + +<p>Above the babble of excited voices, rose a shout of command, the bugle +shrilled "Sauve qui peut! Sauve qui peut! Sauve qui peut!" and the crew +began leaping over the side; and then, straight in front of where stood +the breathless watchers, a mighty column of black smoke leaped high into +the air, mushroomed and drifted slowly away before the breeze. At the +same instant came a frightful, rending crash, which seemed to shake the +earth, and a foam-capped wave swept across the harbour and dashed +angrily against the quay. For one tense instant, all nature held her +breath, and then came the splash and clatter of débris falling into the +water and on the docks, the rattle of broken glass from the houses along +the quay; and finally, quivering through the air, rose the shrill, +inhuman cry of men in mortal anguish.</p> + +<p>The smoke, drifting lazily away, disclosed a mass of twisted wreckage +where, a moment before, <i>La Liberté</i>, the pride of the French navy, had +swung at anchor.</p> + +<p>"Ach Gott! Es ist doch wahr!" breathed one of the men, and stared rigid, +fascinated; but the other laid a trembling hand upon his arm.</p> + +<p>"We must hasten!" he whispered. "We must not stay here!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>"True!" agreed the other, and with a last glance at the wreck, strode +away along the quay.</p> + +<p>Already the city was awake; already frightened faces were peering from +shattered windows, half-clothed men were bursting into the streets, and +voices shrill with fear were demanding to know what had occurred. But +our travellers heeded them not. At the first corner they separated, and +one of them made his way rapidly up into the town, while the other +hastened along a dark and narrow lane parallel with the quay, and +stopped at last before a tall, decrepit house, whose plaster, black with +age, was flaking from its walls. On the door-step sat a girl of eighteen +or twenty, a dark shawl about her head, from whose shadow her face +peered, strangely white.</p> + +<p>"Is it by this way one gains the Frejus road?" he asked in English.</p> + +<p>"Straight on to the end of the street, then to the left," answered the +girl in the same tongue, speaking it readily and without accent.</p> + +<p>"Thank you. This for your father," and thrusting his hand quickly into +his pocket, he drew out a fat envelope, sealed with many seals, placed +it in the girl's hand, and hurried on.</p> + +<p>An hour later, the two travellers, reunited, Toulon well behind them, +strode along a beautiful road skirting the Mediterranean, which +stretched, a sheet of greenish-blue, away to the south. But, strangely +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>enough, they did not even glance at this panorama. Instead, they walked +with heads down, as though still fearing to meet each other's eyes.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Back in the narrow Rue du Plasson, the girl, her face still very white, +re-entered the house, closed and bolted the crazy door, and slowly +mounted the dark staircase. From the street outside came excited cries, +hoarse shouting, the clatter of running feet; but she did not stop to +listen. Indeed, she did not seem to hear, but dragged herself up from +step to step as though a weight was on her feet.</p> + +<p>The house was of four stories, and she did not pause until she reached +the top one. A stream of yellow light poured through an open door, and +she entered and closed the door behind her. A lighted candle stood on a +table in the centre of the narrow room, but already the rays of the sun +were beating against the single window. Besides the table, the room +contained two chairs, a rusty stove, and a cupboard in which were a few +dishes. Against one wall stood a cot, and the back of the room was +curtained off, no doubt for the girl's sleeping-chamber.</p> + +<p>She stood for a moment staring listlessly before her, as though trying +to remember what she should do next; then she laid the envelope on the +table, blew out the candle, started a fire in the stove, and placed a +kettle upon it. Finally she drew a chair to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>window, sat down, and +looked out across the harbour.</p> + +<p>Opposite the house was a long, low building, the wine-market, so that +her view of the harbour was unobstructed. It was alive with boats, +circling around or speeding towards a black and shapeless mass, above +which some shreds of smoke still lingered. Her lips were moving as she +stared at it, and her face was bloodless; and she pressed her hands to +her breast, as though in pain.</p> + +<p>At last the singing of the kettle roused her. She seemed to pull herself +together; then she rose, made the coffee and placed some rolls upon the +table. Finally she picked up a knife and with the handle smote sharply +against the wall. A moment later, the door opened and a man came in.</p> + +<p>At first glance, one thought him very old, for his hair was white as +snow, his body shrivelled and bent, his face lined and sallow. But at +the second glance, one perceived that these were not the marks of age +but of the ravages of the fiery spirit which dwelt within the body and +which peered from the burning eyes. At this moment, they gleamed with a +lustre almost demoniacal.</p> + +<p>"Breakfast is ready, father," said the girl. "And—and the man came +past, as you expected, and gave me that for you," she added, with a +little gesture toward the sealed envelope.</p> + +<p>The man advanced to the table, picked up the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>envelope, and walked on to +the window. For a moment he stood staring out across the harbour; then +there was the sound of ripping paper, a moment's silence, and he thrust +the envelope into his pocket and turned back to the table.</p> + +<p>"It is well!" he said, and sat down. "It is well, Kasia!"</p> + +<p>"I am glad of that, father," she answered, in a low voice, and poured +his coffee.</p> + +<p>He ate rapidly and as though very hungry; but the girl made only a +pretence of eating. At last the man looked at her.</p> + +<p>"We leave at once," he said. "We are to take the first boat for America. +Are you not glad?"</p> + +<p>"Very glad, father."</p> + +<p>"Why is it you so love America, Kasia?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"You also love it, father. It is the land of freedom—even for us poor +Poles, it is the land of freedom!"</p> + +<p>"The land of freedom!" he echoed. "And I love it, as you say. It is +because of that I hasten back; I have in store for her a great honour, +which will make her more than ever the land of freedom! For she is not +free yet, Kasia—not for poor Poles, nor for poor Jews, nor for the poor +of any nation. The poor cannot know freedom—not anywhere in the whole +world. They must labour, they must <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>sweat, they may not rest if they +would live, for the greater part of what they earn is stolen from them. +But I will change all that! Oh, you know my dream—no more poverty, no +more suffering, no more cruelty and tyranny and injustice—but all men, +all the nations of the world, joined in brotherhood and love! This day +at dawn I struck the first blow for freedom! Do you know what it was, my +daughter? Did you hear the roar of the waters as they opened? See!"</p> + +<p>He caught her by the wrist and dragged her to the window.</p> + +<p>"See!" he cried again, and pointed a shaking finger toward the black +hulk in the harbour.</p> + +<p>But she did not look. Instead she shrank away from him and pressed her +hands before her eyes, and shook with a long shudder.</p> + +<p>And after a moment, the light faded from her father's face, and left it +old and worn; his eyes grew dull and moody; his lips trembled.</p> + +<p>"Every cause must have its martyrs," he said, as though answering her +thought, and his voice was shaking with emotion; "even the cause of +freedom; yea, that more than any other, for the battle against tyranny +is the most desperate of all!"</p> + +<p>And dropping her wrist, he went slowly from the room.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h2>FRANCE IN MOURNING</h2> +<br /> + +<p>To M. Théophile Delcassé, Minister of Marine, and first statesman of the +Republic, slumbering peacefully in his bed at Paris that morning, came +the sound of urgent knocking. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from +his eyes, for he knew that not without good cause would any one dare +disturb him at that hour. Then he stepped to the floor, thrust his feet +into a pair of slippers, his arms into the sleeves of a dressing-robe, +and opened the door.</p> + +<p>"A telegram, sir, marked 'Most Important,'" said his valet, and passed +it in to him.</p> + +<p>It was from Vice-Admiral Bellue, commander at Toulon, and a moment later +M. Delcassé had learned of the terrible disaster.</p> + +<p>He ordered his carriage and dressed rapidly with trembling hands. He was +shocked and distressed as he had rarely been before. Would these +disasters never cease? First the <i>Jena</i>, now the <i>Liberté</i>—both ships +the pride of their country, the last formidable word in marine +architecture! He gulped down the cup of coffee which his valet brought +him, seized <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>hat and gloves, hastened to his carriage, and drove +straight to the Elysée Palace.</p> + +<p>The President was already up, and his broad face, usually so placid and +good-humoured, was convulsed with grief as he greeted his Minister. He +held in his hand a telegram, which he had just opened.</p> + +<p>"See," he said, after the first moment, "the sad news is already +abroad," and he held out the message.</p> + +<p>Delcassé took it and read it with astonished eyes. It was from the +German Emperor, and expressed his grief at the catastrophe, and his +sympathy with France, which he had directed his ambassador to call at +once in person to convey more fully.</p> + +<p>"The Kaiser is certainly well-served!" muttered Delcassé, reading the +message again, his lips twitching with emotion. "There is something +ironical in this promptness. He must have had the news before we did!"</p> + +<p>The President nodded gloomily. Then the other members of the cabinet +came whirling up, and were convened at once by their chief in secret +session.</p> + +<p>Not many hours later, as a result of that session, a special train +rolled out of the Gare de Lyon, and headed away for the south, with a +clear track and right-of-way over everything. Aboard it were the +President himself, the Minister of Marine, the Minister of War, and a +score of minor officials. There was also a thin little man with white +hair and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>yellowish-white beard—M. Louis Jean Baptiste Lépine, Prefect +of Police, and the most famous hunter of criminals in the world; and in +the last car were a dozen of the best men of his staff, under command of +his most trusted lieutenant, Inspector Pigot.</p> + +<p>At each station, as the train rolled on, great crowds gathered to meet +it—crowds strangely silent, inarticulate with grief, furious, +suspicious of they knew not what. Terrible rumours were abroad—rumours +of treachery, of treason striking at the very heart of France. No one +dared repeat these rumours, but nevertheless they ran up and down the +land. The <i>Jena</i> and now the <i>Liberté</i>! True, the Board of Inquiry, +which had investigated the destruction of the <i>Jena</i>, had decided that +that catastrophe was due to the spontaneous combustion of the powder in +her magazines. France had accepted the verdict; but now a second +battleship was gone. It would be too much to ask any one to believe that +this was spontaneous combustion, also! Such things do not happen twice.</p> + +<p>And at every station telegrams were handed in giving fresh details of +the disaster—horrible details. The ship was a total loss; of that +splendid mechanism, built by years of toil, by the expenditure of many +millions, there remained only a twisted and useless mass of wreckage; +and in that wreckage lay three hundred of France's sailors. Small wonder +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>that the President sat, chin in hand, staring straight before him, and +that the others spoke in whispers, or not at all.</p> + +<p>At Dijon, which was reached about the middle of the afternoon, there was +a tremendous crowd, thronging the long platforms and pressing against +the barriers, which threatened at every moment to be swept away. The +President went out to say a few words to them, but at the first sentence +his voice failed him, and he could only stand and look down upon them, +convulsive sobs rising in his throat. Suddenly a little red-legged +Turco, weeping too, snatched off his fez and shouted "Vive la France!" +and the cheer was taken up and repeated and repeated, until it swelled +to a vast roar. As the train rolled out of the station, the crowd, +bareheaded, was singing the Marseillaise.</p> + +<p>M. Delcassé's eyes, behind his heavy glasses, were wet with tears.</p> + +<p>"It is the same people still!" he said, pressing the President's hand. +"They are as ready to spring to arms as they were a hundred years ago. +Now, as then, they need only to know that their country is in danger!"</p> + +<p>His voice had grown vibrant with emotion, for the passion of his life +was and always had been revenge upon Germany. He made no effort to +conceal it or to dissimulate. Alsace and Lorraine were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>always in his +thoughts. To placate Germany, indeed, France had once been compelled to +drive him from the Quai d'Orsay, where, for so many years, he had been +to his contemporaries a sort of Olympian in the conduct of her foreign +affairs. But even in retirement he remained the most powerful man in +France; and now he was back in the cabinet again, a giant among +Lilliputians, building up the navy, building up the army, strengthening +the forts along the frontier, increasing the efficiency of the +artillery, experimenting with air-ships, devoting his days and nights to +the study of strategy, the discussion of possibilities, always with the +same idea, the same hope! And now, this catastrophe!</p> + +<p>As he sat gnawing his nails, the President glanced at him, read his +thoughts, and shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No, my friend," he said, sadly, "the country is not in danger; or, if +it is, the danger is from within, not from without. This is an accident, +like all the others."</p> + +<p>"You believe so? But it seems to me that we have had more than our share +of accidents!"</p> + +<p>"So we have," the President agreed. "Let us hope that this will be the +last—that it will teach us to guard ourselves, in future, from our own +carelessness."</p> + +<p>"England, America, Germany," Delcassé went on, speaking half to himself, +"these nations, with navies <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>greater than ours, never have such +accidents. Small explosions, sometimes, it is true, wrecking a gun or +damaging a turret—but never destroying a whole ship! Is it merely +because they are never careless?"</p> + +<p>"There was the <i>Maine</i>," the President reminded him.</p> + +<p>Delcassé's hand went to his moustache to hide the ironic smile upon his +lips. In that close-cropped head of his, along with many other such +secrets, was that of the cause of the catastrophe in Havana harbour. In +all the chancellories of Europe, it was agreed that the <i>Maine</i> had been +destroyed by the spontaneous explosion of her own magazines. Four men +knew the truth, and Delcassé was one of them. There had been a fifth, +but an assassin's bullet killed him.</p> + +<p>In an instant Delcassé's face was composed, and his eyes, behind their +immense glasses, as inscrutable as ever. The President, so ingenuous and +child-like, must never suspect the truth!</p> + +<p>"True!" Delcassé agreed. "There was the <i>Maine</i>! I had forgotten that," +and he relapsed into thoughtful silence.</p> + +<p>Evening came, and still the train rolled southward, past Macon, past +Lyons, past Vienne, everywhere greeted by surging crowds. At the latter +place, Delcassé arose and, with an almost imperceptible nod to Lépine, +entered the last car. The Prefect followed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>him, and a few minutes +later, they were closeted together in a compartment, where, at a word +from his superior, Inspector Pigot had joined them.</p> + +<p>"And now," began Delcassé, when the door was closed and the train had +started again, "tell me what you think of this affair, Lépine."</p> + +<p>The little grey man spread his hands wide with a gesture of +helplessness.</p> + +<p>"At this moment I know no more than you, sir," he answered; "probably +not so much. By morning, I shall have a report ready for you."</p> + +<p>"We shall not arrive until after midnight," the Minister pointed out.</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, my report will be ready, sir," said Lépine, quietly. +"Between midnight and dawn there are six hours."</p> + +<p>Delcassé looked at him. He knew that this little man never made an empty +promise.</p> + +<p>"Did you go through the papers at the time of the <i>Jena</i> disaster?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"I did, sir. I assisted the investigating board."</p> + +<p>"You are, then, familiar with the theories in that case?"</p> + +<p>"There were four theories," answered Lépine. "The first was that the +ship had been blown up by treachery; that is always the first thought! +But in the case of the <i>Jena</i>, it was quickly discovered that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>treachery +was impossible, unless it was that of the highest officers, for only +they had access to her magazines. That was unthinkable, for all of them +had served France for many years. More than half of them were killed. I +myself investigated the life of every one of these men, for it was +necessary to be absolutely certain—but not a breath could be raised +against them."</p> + +<p>"And the second theory?"</p> + +<p>"That there had been carelessness of some sort. That, too, was +disproved, for no one had entered the magazines for many hours previous +to the explosion. It is a rule of the service that, except when in use, +the keys of all magazines shall be in keeping of the commander, who is +responsible for them. At the inquiry, the commander of the <i>Jena</i> +testified that the keys had not left his possession during the two days +preceding the accident. There had been no occasion to enter the +magazines during that time. The <i>Jena</i>, you will remember, was at anchor +in Toulon harbour, just as the <i>Liberté</i> was."</p> + +<p>Delcassé glanced at his companion keenly.</p> + +<p>"Does that fact suggest nothing to you, Lépine?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Nothing, sir," said Lépine firmly. "I have thought of it all day, and I +can see in it nothing except coincidence."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>"Coincidence! Coincidence! I detest the word—I do not believe in +coincidence!" muttered the Minister.</p> + +<p>"Nor I," agreed Lépine; "but even less do I believe in vague theories +and vague suspicions. We must have a firm foundation before we begin to +build."</p> + +<p>"Well, and the third theory?" said Delcassé, at last.</p> + +<p>"The third theory was most interesting. It was that the explosion had +been caused by waves from the wireless telegraph. It was asserted that +these waves had upset the unstable equilibrium, either chemical or +electrical, which sometimes exists in the components of modern powder, +and that the explosion had resulted."</p> + +<p>"And this theory also was disproved?"</p> + +<p>"The most exhaustive tests failed to confirm it."</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Delcassé; "but to fail to confirm a thing is not to disprove +it."</p> + +<p>"Our wireless experts agreed in pronouncing the theory absurd."</p> + +<p>"Wireless waves penetrate metal, do they not?"</p> + +<p>"Every metal except lead."</p> + +<p>Delcassé turned this over for some moments in his mind.</p> + +<p>"If that had been the cause," went on Lépine, at last, "there would have +been other explosions, many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>of them—and our navy would not have been +the only one to suffer. The whole atmosphere is charged with such waves, +of every length and every degree of intensity."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you are right," agreed the Minister. "What was the fourth +theory?"</p> + +<p>"The fourth theory was that finally adopted by the board. It was that a +certain kind of powder, known as 'B' powder, degenerates under heat, and +becomes, in time, extremely combustible, so that it will sometimes +explode apparently without any exciting cause."</p> + +<p>"In what manner was the truth of this theory demonstrated?" demanded +Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"In a most convincing manner. A certain amount of this powder, which the +board was examining, did explode in this way, under their very hands. +Had the amount been larger, not a member of the board would have +escaped. But, sir, you know all this as well as I."</p> + +<p>"I wish to refresh my memory," Delcassé explained. "I wish to see if +your memory, which I admire so much, agrees with mine. Now tell me this: +what was done to prevent a recurrence of such an accident?"</p> + +<p>"The powder in all French magazines was overhauled, and that which there +was any reason to suspect was destroyed. To prevent future +deterioration, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>the magazines of all our battleships were equipped with +a special cooling apparatus. In this, we were soon followed by all other +nations."</p> + +<p>"And yet," said Delcassé, in a low voice, "the latest and best of our +battleships blew up this morning!"</p> + +<p>"I have brought my best men with me, as you suggested, sir," said +Lépine. "If there were any suspicious circumstances attending this +explosion, depend upon it, they will be laid before you when you awake!"</p> + +<p>"Do not wait for me to awake!" cried the Minister. "If any such +circumstance comes to light, wake me—wake me on the instant!"</p> + +<p>Lépine bowed.</p> + +<p>"I will do so, sir," he promised.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>It was some time past midnight when the train reached Toulon; but +apparently no one of her hundred thousand inhabitants had thought of +sleep. The streets before the station were crowded from house-front to +house-front. The carriage containing the President and his Ministers had +the greatest difficulty in proceeding. Everywhere there were cries for +vengeance, shouts of treason, threats, wild imprecations. Men stood with +arms extended cursing the heavens. The Place de la Liberté was massed +with people, facing the fountain in honour of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>Revolution, +bareheaded, singing the Ça Ira. It seemed as though the wheels of time +had rolled back a century, and that at any moment the Sea-green +Incorruptible himself might arise to thunder denunciation. But at last +the President and his staff reached their hotel.</p> + +<p>M. Lépine, after final instructions to Pigot, joined them there, and +listened to the reports made by the surviving officers of <i>La Liberté</i>. +They were in despair, these men, ready to kill themselves at a word; +their faces were blackened, their uniforms in tatters, their hands torn +and bleeding, for they had laboured all day at the work of rescue. They +spoke between sobs, but it was little they had to tell.</p> + +<p>Commander Jaurès, it seemed, had been absent on leave, the second in +command was ashore, so that Senior Lieutenant Garnier was in charge of +the ship. Just before dawn, the watch had discovered a small fire in one +of the store-rooms, but it was so insignificant that no one thought of +danger; the fire was not near the magazines; in any event, the magazines +were all securely closed—the officer in charge had seen to that. +Suddenly, apparently without cause, there had been three explosions, +about a minute apart, first of the forward magazine, then of the after +magazine, then of the main magazine—it seemed almost as though they had +been fired at spaced intervals, like a heavy gun. There had been time to +get the crew on deck, but the final explosion had come before the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>boats +could be lowered. It had broken the ship in two; the forward part had +turned over and sunk with all on board; the after part was a mere mass +of twisted wreckage. The explosion had been so violent, that the +neighbouring ships also suffered—<i>La République</i> so seriously that it +was only by hurrying her to a dry-dock she was kept from sinking. No one +had any theory, any explanation; there had been no warning, no +premonition. An instant, and it was over. But all agreed that the fire +could have had nothing to do with it.</p> + +<p>Pigot, meanwhile, had spread his men out along the docks, where they +listened to every one, asked questions of every one. Not a rumour +escaped them, but, alas, for no rumour could they find foundation. The +wreck in the harbour was illuminated by the searchlights of the other +battleships, and Pigot caused himself to be rowed out to it, introduced +himself to Admiral Marin-Dabel, Maritime Prefect of Toulon, who had +taken personal charge of the rescue work, and spent half an hour +inspecting the melancholy scene. Then he landed again, and listened for +a time to the reports of his lieutenants. There was among them not a +single ray of light—not the slightest evidence to show that the +disaster had been anything but an accident. The fire in the store-room +had, it was whispered, been much more serious than the officers would +admit.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>Pigot made his way slowly toward the hotel to report to his chief, but +as he crossed the Place d'Armes, a hand was laid upon his sleeve. He +turned, expecting to see one of his men. Instead, he found himself +looking into a face he did not know.</p> + +<p>"Pardon, sir," he said. "You are, perhaps, mistaken."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, Pigot," said the stranger, with a little smile, "I am not +mistaken. It is you whom I wish to see."</p> + +<p>"I do not remember you, sir," said Pigot, looking at him more closely. +"Have we met before?"</p> + +<p>"Many times."</p> + +<p>"Many times!" echoed Pigot, incredulously. "Surely not!" and he looked +again to make certain that the stranger was not intoxicated. "Where have +we met?"</p> + +<p>"We met last," said the stranger, smiling again, "on <i>La Savoie</i>, in the +harbour of New York City. To be sure, I was not in this incarnation, but +I am sure you will recall the incident."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p>Pigot drew a deep breath, and his face flushed.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said quietly, after a moment. "I remember. I wish you good +evening, M. Crochard."</p> + +<p>"One moment," Crochard commanded, his grasp tightening on Pigot's arm. +"Forgive my recalling that meeting to your memory. It was indelicate of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>me. Nevertheless you would do well to listen to what I have to say."</p> + +<p>Pigot stopped and turned.</p> + +<p>"Well," he said, after gazing for a moment into Crochard's eyes, "speak +quickly. What is it you have to say?"</p> + +<p>"I wish to say to you, Pigot, that I have come to offer you my help."</p> + +<p>"Your help?"</p> + +<p>"In solving the mystery of this disaster."</p> + +<p>Pigot looked at him coldly.</p> + +<p>"We do not require your help," he said, at last.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not; and yet you would be mistaken to refuse it. I was at Nice; +I have been on the ground since morning; I have discovered...."</p> + +<p>"Well, what have you discovered?" asked Pigot, as Crochard hesitated.</p> + +<p>"I have discovered," Crochard continued slowly, "what I can reveal only +to M. Delcassé himself. I demand that you cause me to be introduced to +him at once."</p> + +<p>Pigot shrugged his shoulders impatiently.</p> + +<p>"Impossible!" he said, and started on.</p> + +<p>"Wait!" said Crochard sternly. "Consider whether you are willing to take +the responsibility of this refusal!"</p> + +<p>"Responsibility!" Pigot burst out, his anger getting the upper hand at +last. "Responsibility! Yes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>I take it! Who are you? A notorious +character—a thief...."</p> + +<p>Crochard's eyes were blazing, and his hand grasped Pigot's arm with a +vise-like grip.</p> + +<p>"And with it all," he sneered, "a better man than you, Pigot! Is it not +so? A better man than you! How often have I proved it!"</p> + +<p>Pigot's hand turned and closed like a flash upon the other's wrist.</p> + +<p>"You will come with me," he said.</p> + +<p>The anger faded from Crochard's face, and an ironic amusement took its +place.</p> + +<p>"Where would you conduct me?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"To the Prefecture!"</p> + +<p>"You are mistaken. You will conduct me to M. Delcassé. You cannot +conduct me to the Prefecture, Pigot; I will not allow it!"</p> + +<p>"Allow it!" sneered Pigot, and pressed forward.</p> + +<p>"Fool!" hissed Crochard in his ear. "Thick-headed fool! Have you learned +no wisdom yet? I would smite you, Pigot, but that I have need of you. +Listen! I and only I can save France! I demand that you take me to M. +Delcassé."</p> + +<p>Pigot felt himself waver; a vague uneasiness stirred within him as he +met his companion's flaming gaze.</p> + +<p>"On what pretext can I introduce you to M. Delcassé?" he asked at last.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>"You will leave me outside the door," said Crochard rapidly, almost in a +whisper. "You will go in to M. Delcassé alone; you will say to him, +'Sir, I have outside a man who asserts that <i>La Liberté</i> was blown up by +the Germans, and that he can prove it!' Then let M. Delcassé decide +whether or not he will receive me!"</p> + +<p>Pigot was staring at the speaker with distended eyes.</p> + +<p>"By the Germans!" he repeated, hoarsely. "By the Germans!"</p> + +<p>Crochard answered with an impatient pressure of the arm.</p> + +<p>"You are wasting time," he said.</p> + +<p>"You are right," Pigot agreed. "Come with me," and he led the way across +the square.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> See "The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet."</p></div> +</div> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h2>TWO GREAT MEN MEET</h2> +<br /> + +<p>M. Delcassé and M. Lépine were still in conference when Pigot was +announced. He was admitted without delay, and made his report briefly +and clearly. It could have been summed up in a sentence: neither by him +nor by his agents had anything been discovered to indicate, even +remotely, that the catastrophe had been the result of intention; every +rumour to that effect had been sifted and disproved; <i>La Liberté</i> had +been destroyed from within and not from without.</p> + +<p>"Another 'accident,' then," grunted Delcassé gloomily. "But I do not +believe it! Something—something here"—and he smote his +forehead—"tells me that it was not an accident!"</p> + +<p>Pigot, as a practical detective, had no faith in intuition; but whatever +his thoughts may have been, he managed to mask them behind an +impenetrable countenance.</p> + +<p>"Our investigations have but just begun," Lépine pointed out. "They will +be continued without pause. I will conduct them in person. No +circumstance, however trivial, will be overlooked."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>"I know you are a good man, Lépine," said the Minister wearily; "I know +there is none more clever. But something more than cleverness is needed +here—we need genius, inspiration." He stopped abruptly and rose from +his chair. "I am sure you will do your best. Remember, if there is any +discovery, I am to be told at once."</p> + +<p>Pigot, who had been standing with lips compressed, undergoing a violent +inward struggle, at last managed to open them.</p> + +<p>"I have a man outside," he said, as though repeating a lesson, "who +requests an audience with M. Delcassé. He asserts that <i>La Liberté</i> was +blown up by the Germans, and that he can prove it."</p> + +<p>Delcassé whirled as on a pivot and stared at the speaker.</p> + +<p>"But, name of God!" he stammered, barely able to speak for excitement, +"why have you not introduced this man at once? Why have you wasted our +time...."</p> + +<p>He stopped and took a rapid turn up and down the room. When he spoke +again, his voice was quite composed.</p> + +<p>"Introduce the man at once," he commanded.</p> + +<p>"I think it would be well," said Pigot tonelessly, "that M. Delcassé +should first be informed as to the name and character of this man."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>Again Delcassé stared.</p> + +<p>"Explain yourself!" he cried. "Who is the man?"</p> + +<p>"His name is Crochard, sir," Pigot replied.</p> + +<p>Delcassé evidently did not recognise the name, but Lépine's face was +suddenly illumined.</p> + +<p>"Crochard," he explained, "is the most adroit, the most daring, the most +accomplished scoundrel with whom I have ever had to deal. Surely +Monsieur remembers the affair of the Michaelovitch diamonds?"</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes!" cried Delcassé, his face, too, lighting. "So that was +Crochard!"</p> + +<p>"Crochard the Invincible, he calls himself," growled Pigot. "He is a +great braggart."</p> + +<p>"And with some reason," added Lépine. "We have never yet been able to +convict him."</p> + +<p>"He restored the Mazarin diamond to the Louvre, did he not?" queried the +Minister. "And also the Mona Lisa?"</p> + +<p>"The Mazarin certainly," assented Lépine. "As for the Mona Lisa, I have +never been quite certain. There is a rumour that the original is now +owned by an American millionaire, and that the picture returned to the +Louvre is only a copy—a wonderful one, it is true. Where did you meet +him, Pigot?"</p> + +<p>Pigot related the story of the meeting, while Delcassé listened +thoughtfully.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>"Is he to be trusted?" he asked, when Pigot had finished.</p> + +<p>"In this affair I believe so," answered Lépine quietly. "He may be as +good a patriot as you or I. If he is really in earnest, he can be of +immense assistance. He has absolute command of the underworld, and a +thousand sources of information which are closed to the police. At +least, it can do no harm to hear what he has to say."</p> + +<p>Delcassé agreed with a nod, and sat down again.</p> + +<p>"Bring him in," he said, and a moment later Crochard entered.</p> + +<p>If M. Delcassé had expected to perceive anything of the criminal in the +man who bowed to him respectfully from the threshold, he was most +thoroughly disappointed. What he <i>did</i> see was a well-built man in the +very prime of life, with clear and fearless eyes of greenish-grey +flecked with yellow, a face singularly open and engaging, and a manner +as easy and self-possessed as Delcassé's own. The only sign of +approaching age was the sprinkle of grey in the crisp, brown hair, but +this served rather to accentuate the youthfulness of the face, covered +now by a coat of tan which bespoke a summer spent in the open. In any +company, this man would have been notable.</p> + +<p>"M. Crochard, I believe," said Delcassé, and involuntarily the great +Minister arose and returned his visitor's bow. "Be seated, sir."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>"Thank you," said Crochard, and sat down. "I see that we are going to +appreciate each other," he added, and looked at Delcassé with a friendly +smile.</p> + +<p>That gentleman's eyes were twinkling behind his glasses, and his lips +twitched under his heavy moustache.</p> + +<p>"It always pleases me to meet a distinguished man," he said, "in +whatever field of endeavour. M. Lépine tells me that you are most +distinguished."</p> + +<p>"M. Lépine has every reason to know," agreed Crochard, and glanced +smilingly toward the Prefect.</p> + +<p>"Though, since I have eyes, I can see that for myself," added the +Minister. "Why did you wish to see me?"</p> + +<p>"I wished to see you, sir," answered Crochard, suddenly serious, +"because I have long recognised in you the only man whom France +possesses who sees clearly the struggle which is ahead of her, who +prepares ceaselessly for that struggle, and who is strong enough to +guide her through it triumphantly."</p> + +<p>"To what struggle do you refer?" inquired the Minister, but his shining +eyes belied his careless tone.</p> + +<p>"The struggle to regain possession of Alsace-Lorraine and to avenge +ourselves upon the nation which once humiliated us."</p> + +<p>A slow flush crept into Delcassé's cheeks, and his lips tightened.</p> + +<p>"You foresee such a struggle?" he asked.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>"As clearly as you do yourself, sir."</p> + +<p>"Well, yes!" cried Delcassé, and smote the arm of his chair a heavy +blow. "I <i>do</i> foresee such a struggle—I have never denied it; and for +twenty years I have laboured to prepare for it. You can understand, +then, what a blow it is to me—how terrible, how disheartening—to have +all my calculations blasted by such accidents as that of to-day!"</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, sir," said Crochard, in a low tone, "but the destruction of +<i>La Liberté</i> was not an accident!"</p> + +<p>"You assert that?"</p> + +<p>"I do. And furthermore I assert that it was the work of Germany!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé sprang from his chair, his face livid.</p> + +<p>"The proof!" he cried. "The proof!"</p> + +<p>"The proof, sir, is this: at five minutes before dawn, this morning, two +strangers, attired as pedestrians, with knapsacks on their backs, +stopped in the recess of the doorway of Number Ten, Quai de Cronstadt. +They stepped well within the shadow, as though not wishing to be seen, +and stood gazing out on the harbour. Directly before them, at a distance +of not more than three hundred yards, <i>La Liberté</i> was moored. It was at +her they stared, with eyes expectant and uneasy. At dawn, <i>La Liberté</i> +blew up, and one of these men cried out some words of German."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>"What were they?"</p> + +<p>"Unfortunately the person who overheard them does not know German. He +understood only the first two words, 'Ach Gott!'"</p> + +<p>"And the men?" cried Delcassé. "What became of them?"</p> + +<p>"They strode rapidly away along the quay, and were lost to sight."</p> + +<p>Delcassé dropped into his chair, his face dark with passion.</p> + +<p>"What do you infer from this circumstance?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"There is only one possible inference," answered Crochard. "At five +minutes before dawn this morning, there were, in this city of Toulon, +two Germans who knew that <i>La Liberté</i> was to be destroyed."</p> + +<p>A moment's silence followed. Those words, terrible as they were, +astounding as they were, carried conviction with them.</p> + +<p>"Tell me," said Delcassé, at last, "how you discovered all this."</p> + +<p>"I have been spending the month at Nice," Crochard explained. "I learned +of the disaster as soon as I was up this morning, and I came at once to +Toulon. Monsieur will understand that, in the many years during which I +have been at variance with society, I have made many friends and gained +a certain power in quarters of which Monsieur knows little. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>One of +these friends is the proprietor of the café which occupies the ground +floor of the house on the Quai de Cronstadt. I stopped to see him, +because his house is close to the scene of the disaster—so close, +indeed, that all of its windows were shattered. It was he who gave me +the first clue."</p> + +<p>"Go on," said Delcassé, who had been listening intently. "I need not say +how deeply all this interests me."</p> + +<p>"My friend had arranged to go to Marseilles this morning," Crochard +continued, "to make a purchase of wine. The train, he tells me, leaves +at six o'clock. It was about fifteen minutes before that hour when, as +he started to open his door, two men stepped into the little vestibule, +as though to screen themselves from observation. He peered through the +curtain, thinking they might be friends, and found that he did not know +them. Gazing from the darkness of the interior, he could see them very +well. They were staring at <i>La Liberté</i>, as I have said, their faces +rigid with emotion; and then came the explosion, which, without +question, they anticipated."</p> + +<p>"You have a description of them?" broke in Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"An excellent description. They were men of middle age, heavily built +and clean-shaven. Their faces were deeply tanned, as with long exposure, +and had that fulness about the lips which bespeaks the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>German. They +wore caps and walking-suits with knee trousers. Each had strapped upon +his back a small knapsack."</p> + +<p>Lépine, who had been taking rapid notes, looked up with gleaming eyes.</p> + +<p>"We shall find these men," he said. "It will not be difficult."</p> + +<p>"More difficult than you suppose, M. Lépine," said Crochard dryly.</p> + +<p>Lépine looked at him.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Crochard turned to Delcassé with a little deprecating gesture.</p> + +<p>"Before I proceed," he said, "I must be certain of my position here. +With you, sir, no explanations are necessary; we understand each other +and we have no past to prejudice us. But M. le Prefect and I are old +enemies. We respect each other, but we always welcome an opportunity to +try conclusions. Until this affair is ended, I propose a truce."</p> + +<p>"I will go further than that," retorted Lépine, "and call it an +alliance. I shall welcome your help. I have already told M. Delcassé +that you are probably as good a patriot as he or I."</p> + +<p>"I shall try to prove that you are right," said Crochard, his eyes +shining. "There is one more condition. In this affair, it may be +necessary for me to call to my assistance certain persons for whom the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>police are looking. Should they be recognised while so engaged, no +effort must be made to arrest them."</p> + +<p>"I agree," said Lépine, instantly.</p> + +<p>Crochard leaned back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"I am ready to proceed," he said. "Let us, for the time, forget our +differences."</p> + +<p>"I have already forgotten them," said Lépine.</p> + +<p>Delcassé had listened to this interchange with smiling lips.</p> + +<p>"Magnificent!" he cried. "I shall remember this scene all my life. And +now to work!"</p> + +<p>"First," said Lépine, "permit me to inquire of Inspector Pigot how it +happened that neither he nor his men heard anything of these two +strangers?"</p> + +<p>Pigot flushed darkly and opened his lips to defend himself, but Crochard +silenced him with a little gesture.</p> + +<p>"I can explain that," he said. "Pigot is not a genius, it is true, but +neither is he quite a fool, and I should grieve to see him blamed for +something not his fault. I was careful to warn my friend to repeat his +story to no one. That, I think, was the wisest course. Those men must +not know that we suspect them."</p> + +<p>Delcassé nodded.</p> + +<p>"You are right," he agreed. "Are you possessed of any further +information?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>"I had only a few hours," Crochard apologised; "but I did what I could. +I learned that two men resembling these, and undoubtedly the same, had +been staying since Friday at the Hotel du Nord. The proprietor of that +house informed me that they left before daybreak this morning to walk to +Frejus."</p> + +<p>"Ah, then," began Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"But they did not go to Frejus," Crochard added. "They stopped at +Salins, which they reached about ten o'clock, boarded a small +steam-yacht which was waiting there, and at once put out to sea. I fear +they are beyond our reach."</p> + +<p>Delcassé stamped his foot.</p> + +<p>"What, then, is to be done?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me most important that we identify these men," said +Crochard; "then we shall know where to look for them."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Delcassé; "but how are they to be identified?"</p> + +<p>"There are, no doubt, in the files of your department, photographs of +the most prominent German officers, both of army and navy. I believe +these men to be officers—one, at least—the other may belong to the +secret service. I would suggest that these photographs be brought to +Toulon, and that it also be ascertained which officers are on leave of +absence, or not with their commands. Probably it will be necessary to +search only among the general <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>officers. An affair so important would +not be entrusted to a subordinate."</p> + +<p>Delcassé made a quick note.</p> + +<p>"The photographs will be here to-morrow," he promised.</p> + +<p>"I would further suggest that the innkeeper be strictly interrogated," +Crochard went on. "I ventured to ask him only a careless question or +two; he does not know me, and I did not wish to arouse his suspicions."</p> + +<p>Lépine arose.</p> + +<p>"I will see him at once," he said.</p> + +<p>Crochard rose also.</p> + +<p>"And I will accompany you. That is all the information I have at +present, sir," he added to Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"It is a great deal," said the Minister quickly. "Just before you came, +I was remarking to Lépine that what we needed in this affair was a man +of genius. Well, I think that we have found him!"</p> + +<p>Crochard flushed with pleasure.</p> + +<p>"I thank you, sir," he said.</p> + +<p>"And I thank you for coming to me," said Delcassé. "You are doing France +a great service. I shall not forget it. Until morning, then."</p> + +<p>Crochard bowed and left the room with the two detectives.</p> + +<p>Delcassé sat for a moment deep in thought; then <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>he summoned his +secretary, gave the necessary order about the photographs and dictated a +cipher telegram to the chief of his secret service at Berlin. That done, +he bade his secretary good night, dismissed him and went to bed.</p> + +<p>But not to sleep. Turning at full length upon his back, his arms above +his head, he stared steadily up into the darkness until his brain, freed +of all lesser problems, all vagrant thoughts, was concentrated upon the +great problem which now confronted it:</p> + +<p>How had the destruction of <i>La Liberté</i> been accomplished?</p> + +<p>It was, of course, the work of Germany. Those two strangers, who spoke +German in a moment of great excitement, who had arrived five minutes +before the disaster, who had hastened away immediately afterwards, who +had lied about their destination, and for whom a steam-yacht had been +waiting—all this, as Crochard said, could have but one meaning.</p> + +<p>And then Delcassé fairly bounded in the bed. Fool that he had been not +to think of it! There was another proof! The telegram from the Emperor!</p> + +<p>He lay a moment trembling, then calmed himself by a mighty effort. How +was it the Emperor had learned so promptly of the disaster? There was +only one possible answer: an emissary had hastened to flash the news to +him—an emissary dressed, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>prepared, who needed to delay for no +investigation, since the roar of the explosion told him everything—one +of the men, perhaps, who had waited on the quay. And Delcassé, biting +his nails, his face wet with perspiration, pictured to himself the +Emperor also waiting, pacing restlessly back and forth, until the word +should come! He gnashed his teeth with rage, this good Frenchman, and +shook trembling fists up into the darkness. Ah, Germany should pay! +Germany should pay!</p> + +<p>But again he calmed himself, wiped his forehead, and composed himself +for thought.</p> + +<p>How had <i>La Liberté</i> been destroyed? There was the question which must +be answered, and at once.</p> + +<p>By a mine, set to explode at a certain hour? Delcassé shook his head. It +was absurd to suppose that a mine could be planted in a harbour as +strictly guarded and policed as that of Toulon. By a torpedo, then, +which could be launched some distance away? But that was even more +absurd. The launching of a torpedo required a complex mechanism; as well +suppose that an enemy would be able to install a cannon on the docks +unobserved. By a submarine? But <i>La Liberté</i> had lain at anchor in an +enclosed basin; besides there were the outer basins, patrol boats, +sentries, the constant coming and going of sailors and marines, of +launches, of boats of all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>kinds. How could an enemy creep unobserved +past all these?</p> + +<p>True, the accident had occurred at dawn, when every one but the sentries +was asleep. But even at that hour the harbour was strictly guarded. An +enemy, to enter unseen, would have to be impalpable, invisible....</p> + +<p>Besides, how could a mine or a torpedo or a submarine have caused the +explosion of the magazines, one after the other, at regular +intervals—"spaced," one of the officers had said, "like the reports of +a heavy gun." First one had been fired, and then a second, and then a +third; Delcassé, closing his eyes, had a vision of a ghostly figure +stealing from one to another, torch in hand....</p> + +<p>His mind roved back again over his talk with Lépine. Could it have been +done by wireless? Not the ordinary wireless, but some subtle variant of +ether waves, some new form of radio-activity, which in some way caused +combustion? There was an enemy which could flit unseen from magazine to +magazine, which no locks nor bars could guard against....</p> + +<p>His heart faltered at the thought. The possessor of such a secret would +have the world at his mercy. No ship would be safe, no fort, no +artillery-caisson. Armies and navies alike would melt before him, +destroyed by the explosion of their own ammunition. Ah, if France +possessed that secret....</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>He shook his head impatiently and turned on his side.</p> + +<p>"I am dreaming foolish dreams," he told himself. "It is time to sleep."</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h2>THE ALLIES AT WORK</h2> +<br /> + +<p>It was nearly four o'clock when Crochard, Lépine and Pigot took their +leave of M. Delcassé and made their way through the dark and silent +streets in the direction of the Hotel du Nord. The people who had leaped +from their beds at sunrise, wearied at last by the emotions of the day +and dampened by the fine rain which had begun to fall, had gone to bed +again. Only about the harbour were there any signs of life. There the +searchlights of the battleships still played about the wreck, where +squads of marines were searching for the bodies of their comrades.</p> + +<p>The three men, their coats buttoned about them, their hats pulled down, +hurried on in silence, each busy with his own thoughts. Crochard and +Lépine were planning the campaign; Pigot had not yet recovered from his +confusion at the sight of these two working hand in hand.</p> + +<p>Five minutes brought them to the door of the Hotel du Nord, and Lépine +applied to it a vigorous fist. There was no response, and he pounded +again. At last there came the sound of a window being raised, and a +night-capped head was thrust out from the upper story.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>"Who is there?" asked a voice.</p> + +<p>"Are you the proprietor?" demanded Lépine.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then come down at once."</p> + +<p>"But what is wrong, sir?" stammered Brisson, to whose frightened eyes +those three dark figures huddled in his doorway appeared most sinister. +"What is it you require?"</p> + +<p>"No matter," said Lépine, sternly. "Come down at once and open the +door."</p> + +<p>The window was lowered and some minutes passed. Had the three men at the +door been able to see inside the house, they would have been amused at +what occurred there, could anything have amused them at that moment. As +it was, they merely stamped with impatience and crowded closer to the +door, for the rain was falling more heavily.</p> + +<p>Brisson retreated from the window, his fat countenance fallen into +creases of dismay, and plunged back into his bedroom, where his wife, +who had also been awakened by the knocking, was sitting up in bed.</p> + +<p>"What is it, Brisson?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"There are three men below," gasped Aristide, fumbling for his trousers. +"They command that I descend at once and admit them. There is something +which tells me it is the police—the police at this hour!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>"The police?" and Madame Gabrielle cast a rapid mental glance over their +affairs. "Well, admit them; we have no reason to fear the police."</p> + +<p>"There is that little matter of the wine from your nephew which did not +pay the octroi," Brisson reminded her.</p> + +<p>"Bah!" retorted Madame, who was by far the stronger spirit; "it cannot +be that! No one could suspect that; besides, even if they did, they +would not come hammering here in the middle of the night. Descend at +once and admit them. Assume a bold front, Brisson! Do not let them +suspect that you have fear! Go at once! Hasten! I will come as soon as I +have found a petticoat."</p> + +<p>Thus encouraged, Brisson descended and opened the door, holding a +lighted candle above his head and presenting as bold a front as his +not-too-courageous spirit could muster. The three men crowded past him, +without waiting for an invitation or saying a word, and one of them took +the door from his hand and closed and bolted it. The horrible thought +flashed through Brisson's head that they were robbers, bandits, and he +had opened his mouth to cry for help, when one of them, the little, +lean, grey-bearded one, with the fierce eyes, spoke.</p> + +<p>"We belong to the police," he said. "We desire a few moments' +conversation with you."</p> + +<p>"Certainly, sir," stammered Brisson, thinking, as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>he met those eyes, +that perhaps he would have preferred the bandits. "Come this way, if you +please, sirs," and he led the way into his bureau.</p> + +<p>He placed the candle on the table and dropped into a chair. His visitors +remained standing, facing him. Brisson realised that for him to sit +while they stood was anything but courteous, and he struggled to arise, +but the strength seemed departed from his legs, and he sank helplessly +back again.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" asked the little man, looking at him with those +gimlet eyes.</p> + +<p>"Aristide Brisson, sir."</p> + +<p>"You have been long in this house?"</p> + +<p>"For twenty years, sir. My record is of the best."</p> + +<p>"We will investigate it," said Lépine curtly.</p> + +<p>"Do so!" cried a voice behind them. "Nothing would please us better!" +They turned to find Madame Brisson on the threshold, her eyes flashing, +her bosom heaving, one plump hand holding together at the throat the +garment which threatened every moment to disclose her still plumper +shoulders. "We are honest people—our neighbours will speak a good word +for us—all of them!"</p> + +<p>"I do not doubt it, Madame," said Lépine, courteously, realising that +here he had to do with the head of the house. "Meanwhile we wish to make +certain inquiries of you, which you need not hesitate to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>answer. But I +wish first to warn you that of these inquiries you must not breathe so +much as a word to any one. Do you understand?"</p> + +<p>"We understand, sir; you may rely upon us," said Madame Brisson, and sat +down beside her husband.</p> + +<p>"Our inquiry," pursued Lépine, "concerns the two gentlemen who departed +so early yesterday morning."</p> + +<p>At the words, Brisson bounded in his chair, and the colour swept back +into his cheeks. He was himself again.</p> + +<p>"So!" he cried, and suddenly found that he could stand erect, and did +so. "So! It is about those swine! I knew that all was not right; I knew +that they were not as they pretended!"</p> + +<p>"What was it they pretended?"</p> + +<p>"That they were of America. But it did not deceive me—no, not for one +instant. They had not the air of Americans. Besides, do Americans go +tramping about the country with knapsacks on their backs? No; only +Germans do that! To Gabrielle, as they departed, I said, 'Americans, no; +Germans perhaps, or Austrians—but not Americans!'"</p> + +<p>"Yes, gentlemen, those were his very words!" said Madame Brisson, with +an emphatic nod.</p> + +<p>"And there is a final proof," went on Brisson, excitedly; "a proof +conclusive. When I present my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>bill, the one who takes it grows quite +red with anger. It was a most reasonable bill—ninety-six francs for +three days, with many extras—a most reasonable bill, for Americans. It +was then that I knew there was something wrong—that they were imposters +who feared the police. It was only that which prevented a scene. +'Gabrielle,' I said, as they went away down the street, 'those men have +something to conceal.'"</p> + +<p>"Yes, gentlemen," put in Gabrielle, "he said just that."</p> + +<p>"There is even worse to come, sirs," and Brisson dropped his voice as +one does in speaking of great horrors. "You will scarcely credit it, +but, after having had us at their heels for three days, upstairs, +downstairs; after compelling us to arise in the dark of night to prepare +their breakfasts—this person handed me a note for a hundred francs and +said with a lordly air, 'You may keep the change.' The change—four +francs! And yet from his manner you would have thought he was giving me +a fortune!"</p> + +<p>"Have you still that hundred-franc note?" Lépine inquired.</p> + +<p>"But certainly, sir," answered Madame Gabrielle, and, turning her back +to the company, she stooped quickly and arose with the bill in her hand.</p> + +<p>Lépine took it and examined it carefully by the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>light of the candle. It +was a new note, apparently fresh from the bank, and the Prefect's eyes +were shining with satisfaction when he raised his head.</p> + +<p>"I shall have to retain this," he said. "One moment," he added, as +Madame Brisson opened her lips to protest; "I shall, of course, give you +another for it," and he drew out his purse, placed the new note +carefully in a flapped compartment, selected another and handed it to +the anxious lady, who received it with a sigh of relief. "And now!" went +on Lépine, "please tell us all that you can remember about these +men—every small detail."</p> + +<p>Both Monsieur and Madame Brisson grew voluble at once, for rarely had it +been their fortune to address so attentive an audience. But there were +few grains of wheat among the chaff. The two strangers had arrived, it +appeared, on the evening of the twenty-second, Friday. They were +Americans, they said, on a walking tour. Their names? Brisson did not +remember; but they would be found on the police registration slip which +he had caused them to fill out at once and had sent to the Prefecture +that very evening. He had noticed on the slip that they had come from +Marseilles and were on their way to Nice. Their bags had already arrived +from Marseilles, and, at their direction, he had had them brought up +from the station.</p> + +<p>"Where are the bags now?" asked Lépine.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>"They directed that they be sent to Nice," explained Brisson. "I +despatched them yesterday morning, as I agreed."</p> + +<p>"You have the receipt?"</p> + +<p>"But certainly, sir," and Brisson, while his wife held the light, +rummaged in his desk and finally produced the paper in question.</p> + +<p>Lépine placed it in his purse beside the hundred-franc note.</p> + +<p>"Proceed," he said. "In what way did these strangers occupy themselves +during their stay?"</p> + +<p>They were absent from morning till night, it appeared, walking about the +streets, about the docks, visiting the ships in the harbour, climbing +the hills back of the town, and even going as far as Cape Cepet, where +the great fort is—penetrating, in a word, to every nook and corner +which it is possible for visitors to enter. In fact, in the two days of +their stay, they had seen more of Toulon than had Brisson in the twenty +years of his residence.</p> + +<p>The details of these expeditions Brisson had learned with the greatest +difficulty, for his guests had talked but little, had kept to +themselves, had discouraged his advances, resented his questions, and +often pretended that they did not understand—all of which was in itself +suspicious. When talking together, they used a language which Brisson +supposed to be English; but he was not familiar with English; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>knew only +a few words of it, indeed—"money," "damn,"—such words as every one +knows. Their French, also, was very bad,—much worse at some times than +at others....</p> + +<p>Lépine finally stopped this flow of language, when it became apparent +that nothing but chaff remained.</p> + +<p>"Do any further questions suggest themselves?" he asked, looking first +at Crochard and then at Pigot. "No? You understand, my friends," he +added, turning back to the innkeeper and his wife, "that of all this you +will say nothing—not even to each other. An incautious word, and you +may find yourselves in a most difficult position. On the other hand, if +you are careful, if you are reticent, you will not be forgotten."</p> + +<p>"We understand, sir," said they both in a breath, and Brisson added, +with venom in his voice, "They were swine! I rejoice that they did not +get their telegram!"</p> + +<p>Lépine jumped as though a pin had been driven into him.</p> + +<p>"Their telegram? What do you mean?" he cried.</p> + +<p>"About an hour after they were gone," Brisson hastened to explain, "or +perhaps two hours—I do not know—a messenger appeared with a telegram +addressed to a grotesque name—Zhones, Smeet—I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>do not remember—in +care of the Hotel du Nord. I concluded it was for one of them, and told +the messenger it was too late, that the man had departed—to Frejus, to +Nice—I did not know whither. So he took the telegram back again."</p> + +<p>Lépine's eyes were gleaming as he glanced at Crochard.</p> + +<p>"I am glad that you have mentioned this detail, M. Brisson," he said. "I +thank you—and you also, Madame!" and with that, he and his companions +bade the worthy couple adieu.</p> + +<p>Once in the street, Crochard paused.</p> + +<p>"I will leave you now, M. Lépine," he said. "You have your work to +do—but you do not need me. Should I have anything further to +communicate, you will hear from me."</p> + +<p>"And if we wish to find you?"</p> + +<p>"For the present, I am staying with my friend on the Quai de Cronstadt."</p> + +<p>"Very good," said Lépine. "Good night," and in a moment he and Pigot +were lost in the darkness.</p> + +<p>The rain had ceased and a chill wind had arisen, but Crochard did not +seem to feel it, as he walked slowly toward the quays, his head bent in +thought. An ironical smile curved his lips, as he pictured Lépine off +upon the scent first to the Prefecture, then to the post-office. He +would follow it well, of course; he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>would run it to the end. He would +discover, no doubt, the identity of the two travellers; that would not +be difficult. Crochard himself had pointed out the way.</p> + +<p>But what then? Even if they were found to be men high in the German +service, that was of small importance. It <i>proved</i> nothing. They were at +liberty to visit Toulon, if they wished to do so; and, after all, their +arrival at the quay five minutes before dawn might have been an +accident; they <i>might</i> have lingered for a last look at <i>La Liberté</i> +without any suspicion of what was about to occur. Such a coincidence, if +not probable, was, at least, conceivable; and such, of course, would be +their explanation, if an explanation was ever asked for. There was no +way to disprove it.</p> + +<p>As to the yacht on which they had embarked—well, that, too, may have +been an accident—a boat belonging to a friend whom they had come upon +unexpectedly and upon which they had been persuaded to take a cruise. +Suspicious circumstances—yes, many of them; but no proof, no absolute +proof. And nothing, absolutely nothing, to show that the explosion had +been caused by any outside agency.</p> + +<p>Arrived at the water-front, Crochard walked on until he was opposite the +wreck. There he sat down, with his legs overhanging the quay. Two or +three searchlights were still focussed on the ruin, but the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>rescue +parties had been withdrawn, and only a few sentries remained. He could +see how that formidable monster of a ship had been torn and twisted into +an inextricable and hideous mass of iron and steel. One turret remained +above the water, blown over on its side, its great guns pointing +straight at the zenith; but the rest was a mere tangle of metal.</p> + +<p>Such destruction could have been wrought only by the explosion of the +magazines; no mine or torpedo could have done it. And as he gazed at the +mass of wreckage visible above the water, he perceived a certain +resemblance to photographs he had seen of the wreck of the <i>Maine</i>. The +<i>Maine's</i> forward magazine had exploded; but Crochard knew, as well as +M. Delcassé himself, what had caused that explosion.</p> + +<p>Perhaps history was repeating itself, as, proverbially, it is supposed +to have a way of doing. But Crochard shook his head. If the catastrophe +was not an accident, then it was the result of some agency far more +subtle than mine or torpedo. And, also, if it was not an accident, those +two men who had waited in the shadow of the doorway back of him for the +deed to be accomplished, must have had an accomplice. They could not +destroy the ship merely by staring at her! Somewhere, somewhere, +concealed but not far distant, that accomplice must have awaited the +first beam of the rising sun as the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>signal to hurl his thunderbolt, to +loose his mysterious power!</p> + +<p>What was that power? How had the thing been done? Those, Crochard felt, +were the questions to be answered. As to who had done it, or why it had +been done—that could wait. But if there existed in the world a force +which, directed from a distance, noiseless, invisible, impalpable, could +destroy a battleship asleep at her anchorage, then indeed did it behoove +France to discover and guard against it!</p> + +<p>At last, his head still bent, Crochard arose, crossed the quay, opened +the door of Number Ten, and entered.</p> + +<p>No doubt it would have interested both him and M. Delcassé to know how +nearly parallel the channels of their thoughts had run!</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h2>AT THE CAFÉ DES VOYAGEURS</h2> +<br /> + +<p>M. Delcassé was scarcely out of bed, next morning, when Lépine's card +was brought in to him. He smiled as he read the line scrawled across it: +"My report awaits Monsieur."</p> + +<p>"Show M. Lépine into the breakfast-room," said the Minister, "and inform +him that I shall be down at once. Also inquire if he has breakfasted. If +not, see that he is served."</p> + +<p>He hastened on with his toilet, and, five minutes later, joined Lépine, +whom he found at his favourite amusement of standing at a window and +gazing into the street—an amusement which occupied every idle moment, +sometimes with the most astonishing results. Chance plays a larger part +in life than most people are willing to admit; Lépine believed in it; +went half-way to meet it—and, more than once, had seen drifting past +him along the pavement the face for which his best men had been +searching vainly.</p> + +<p>Lépine, it appeared, had already breakfasted, and, while the Minister +ate, told of the interrogation at the Hotel du Nord. He had sent one of +his men to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>Nice, with the receipts for the bags, and if, as seemed +probable, they were still uncalled for, they would be examined at once.</p> + +<p>"Though, even if they are still there," Lépine added, "we shall probably +discover nothing of moment. One does not place anything of value in a +bag and then abandon it. But I have another clue of the first +importance," and he produced the hundred-franc note. "Here is the note +given to Brisson by one of the strangers. You perceive that it is quite +new. I suggest that you send the number of this note to the Bank of +France, ascertain when and to whom it was issued, and if any other notes +of the series were issued at the same time."</p> + +<p>"I will do so," said M. Delcassé, and made a note of the number. "I +agree with you that this is most important."</p> + +<p>"One thing more," went on Lépine, replacing the note in his pocket-book +and extracting a slip of paper; "a small thing, but of significance. I +have here the police blanks which the two men filled out upon arriving +at the Hotel du Nord. Their names, you see, are given as George Arnold +and William Smith, their home as New York City, United States of +America. If you will notice the 'S' of the word 'Smith,' you will see +that it is made in the German manner."</p> + +<p>"That is true; but it may mean nothing. There <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>are many Germans who are +citizens of the United States."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but the German name is Schmidt, not Smith. I conclude that this +man is a German, but was trying to conceal it."</p> + +<p>"You may be right," Delcassé assented, with a trace of impatience in his +manner; "no doubt you <i>are</i> right. Is there anything more?"</p> + +<p>"There is one thing," said Lépine, colouring a little, "which I have +kept until the last, because it seems to upset M. Crochard's theory."</p> + +<p>"What is that?"</p> + +<p>Lépine drew two sheets of yellow tissue-paper from his pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"An hour after our men left the Hotel du Nord," he said, "a telegram +arrived, addressed to this William Smith. Here it is," and he spread out +one of the sheets on the desk before the Minister.</p> + +<p>Delcassé bent forward eagerly and read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>William Smith, Hotel du Nord, Toulon, France.</i></p> + +<p>"Our mother requests that you abandon trip, cancel all +arrangements, and return at once.</p> + +<p class="right"><span class="smcap">"Alfred</span>."</p></div> + +<p>"Well?" and Delcassé looked up at his companion.</p> + +<p>"That would seem to show, sir," said Lépine, "that William Smith was +only an ordinary traveller, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>after all. You will see that it was filed +at Brussels at noon of Sunday, the twenty-fourth. It was delayed in +transmission, and for some reason was not received at Toulon until nine +o'clock in the evening. Messages here are not delivered on Sunday +evening after eight o'clock, and this was held until seven the next +morning. At that hour, William Smith was no longer at the hotel."</p> + +<p>"Well?" asked Delcassé a second time.</p> + +<p>"Well," Lépine continued, "at ten minutes past six on Monday morning, +this message was filed at the office here," and he spread out the second +sheet of tissue.</p> + +<p>Again Delcassé bent forward, and read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Alfred Smith, Restante, Brussels.</i></p> + +<p>"We continue our trip as planned. All well. Next address +Nice.</p> + +<p class="right smcap" style="padding-right: 9em;">"William."</p></div> + +<p>"You will see," Lépine went on, "that these messages are such as an +ordinary tourist would send and receive."</p> + +<p>But Delcassé was not listening. He was reading the messages a second +time and yet a third, and there was a wrinkle of perplexity between his +brows. At last he looked up, and the Prefect was astonished at the +expression of his face.</p> + +<p>"There is one thing I forgot to tell you last night, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>Lépine," he said. +"I did not myself see its significance until I had got to bed. The first +telegram received from any foreign power in reference to the disaster +was from the German Emperor."</p> + +<p>Lépine smiled.</p> + +<p>"The German Emperor was the first to get word of it," he said. "I +examined the other telegrams filed Monday morning. At ten minutes to +seven, the German consul here notified the Minister of State at Berlin +of the explosion. Admiral Bellue did not file his message to you until +forty minutes later. No doubt he wished to assure himself of the extent +of the disaster, in order not to alarm you needlessly. You should have +received it not later than eight o'clock."</p> + +<p>"It was, in fact, a few minutes before that hour. And when I reached the +Elysée Palace, I found the President with a message from the Kaiser in +his hand. It struck me as most peculiar."</p> + +<p>"It was ironic, certainly," agreed Lépine, "but, under the +circumstances, easily explained."</p> + +<p>"You think, then—"</p> + +<p>"I think that Crochard has assumed too much; I think that, before we +accuse these men, we need more proof."</p> + +<p>Delcassé pushed back his chair and paced for some moments nervously +about the room. At last he sat down again, and rolled and lighted a +cigarette.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>"You are right," he said; "we need more proof. It is for you to find it, +if it exists. And at this moment, I am interested not so much in the +movements of these men, as in the cause of the explosion. Even supposing +that they had a hand in it, how was it accomplished?"</p> + +<p>Lépine returned the telegrams to his pocket.</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," he said, "that that is the vital question. And I am +unable to answer it."</p> + +<p>"I shall institute a Board of Inquiry at once," went on the Minister; "I +have, in fact, already summoned the officers who will compose it. I will +arrange for it to visit the wreck and begin to take evidence to-day, as +it is important that the evidence be secured while the event is still +fresh. I would suggest that you place some of your men at the +disposition of the Board."</p> + +<p>"Very well, sir," Lépine agreed, and withdrew.</p> + +<p>Toulon was awake again, and the streets were thronged as on a fête day. +The first shock of the disaster had passed, and the inborn cheerfulness +of the people was asserting itself. The excuse for a holiday was not to +be overlooked, and every one who could take a day, or even an hour of +leisure, did so, and spent it partly on the quays staring at the wreck, +partly in the Place de la Liberté listening to the orators, partly in +the Place d'Armes watching the men at work draping with black the +Maritime <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>Prefecture, where the Board of Inquiry was to sit, and the +church of Saint Louis, where requiem High Mass was to be celebrated. +Finally as much as remained of the holiday was spent at a café before a +glass of coffee or apéritif, with the satisfaction of a sacred duty +conscientiously performed.</p> + +<p>Lépine, as he made his way through the crowd, noticed that there was no +longer any talk of treachery or treason,—even the word "sabotage" was +no longer uttered. Every one agreed that the affair was another +accident, deplorable indeed, but unavoidable and without dishonour, and +so not to be taken too deeply to heart. France could build other +battleships! The mercury in the national temperament was asserting +itself.</p> + +<p>For an hour Lépine walked about with thoughtful face, listening to the +talk, watching the crowd, joining a group here and there, catching +chance words from passers-by. He had had only three hours' sleep, but he +showed no trace of fatigue. Certainly nothing was farther from his +thoughts at this moment than that he needed rest.</p> + +<p>He made his way at last to the Quai de Cronstadt and joined the crowd +which was staring at the wreck. A barge had been moored alongside, and a +heavy crane was lifting the detached débris into it and clearing the way +for the searching parties. On the quay opposite the wreck, at Number +Ten, was a café, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>Café des Voyageurs as its sign announced, and to +this Lépine presently crossed, sat down at a table and ordered a bock.</p> + +<p>The café was crowded, for its situation could not have been more +fortunate; a steady stream of money had poured into the pockets of its +proprietor ever since the disaster. The shattered windows were in +themselves an advertisement, and no effort had as yet been made to +replace them. Lépine looked about the place with interest. It was not +large, but it had a certain air of prosperity bespeaking a good +patronage, even at ordinary times. At the Prefecture, Lépine had made +some discreet inquiries concerning its proprietor, who, he was told, had +the reputation of being an honest fellow and had never been in trouble +with the police. Nevertheless, as a friend of Crochard's, Lépine would +have welcomed a look at him; but the place at the moment was apparently +in charge of the head-waiter. It was the head-waiter himself who +responded when Lépine rapped for the "addition," and, as he paid it, +slipped a note into his hand. Lépine opened it, under cover of his hat, +and found that it contained a single line:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Monsieur C. will welcome a conference with Monsieur L."</p></div> + +<p>Without a word, Lépine arose and followed the man, who crossed the room, +opened a door at the farther end of it, stood aside for him to pass, and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>then gently closed it. Lépine found himself in a little room with a +single window opening upon a court. It was furnished with a table and +three chairs, and at the table sat Crochard. He motioned Lépine to a +seat.</p> + +<p>"I was expecting you," he said, with a little smile; "and I am glad you +came. In the presence of that good Pigot, one cannot talk freely. +Indeed, it was with the greatest difficulty that I maintained a sober +countenance. He was so astonished, so overwhelmed, that you and I should +be working together—that we should be able to sit in the same room +without flying at each other's throats. If he only knew—"</p> + +<p>"Is it necessary to go into that?" asked Lépine.</p> + +<p>"Why not? You have no reason to be ashamed of it. If you have sought my +aid from time to time, it was because you realised that Crochard the +Invincible has sources of information which are closed to the police."</p> + +<p>"I said as much to M. Delcassé. It was not of myself I was thinking, but +of you. What if your friends knew?"</p> + +<p>"My friends? I have never betrayed my friends, as you know well. Surely, +Lépine, you have understood that, if I assisted you, it was only because +it suited me to do so!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have understood that," assented Lépine, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>flushing a little at +the other's tone. "You always had a bargain to propose. What is the +bargain, this time?"</p> + +<p>"There is no bargain," retorted Crochard, curtly. "I ask nothing."</p> + +<p>Lépine cast at him an astonished glance.</p> + +<p>"What!" cried Crochard, his face suddenly red, "you cannot believe the +truth, then? It seems incredible to you that I should love my country? +Well, I <i>do</i> love her, and I am going to prove it by saving her!"</p> + +<p>"Is she in need of saving?" queried Lépine, ironically.</p> + +<p>Crochard's eyes gleamed; then, in a moment, his anger passed.</p> + +<p>"Delcassé believes so; Lépine does not: behold the difference between a +great man and a clever one," he said, and looked at Lépine with pity in +his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Well, yes," said the Prefect; "I admit it; I make no claim to +greatness. I perceive no danger—nor, for the matter of that, does M. +Delcassé."</p> + +<p>Crochard looked at him for a moment.</p> + +<p>"Let me see the registration slip from the Prefecture," he said, at +last.</p> + +<p>Without a word, Lépine got out his pocket-book, produced the slip, and +handed it to his companion.</p> + +<p>Crochard studied it closely.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>"You have, of course, remarked the German 'S,'" he said, at last "I +thought so. Now the telegram which arrived too late."</p> + +<p>Lépine passed it over obediently.</p> + +<p>Crochard read it and re-read it, a strange light in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"And now the other one," he said, finally.</p> + +<p>Lépine stared at him.</p> + +<p>"How do you know there is another one?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Of course there is another one!" retorted Crochard, impatiently. "Any +fool would know that!"</p> + +<p>Still staring, Lépine handed him the second sheet of tissue.</p> + +<p>Crochard took one glance at it; then he looked at his companion.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to say, Lépine," he asked, "that, in the face of these +telegrams, you remain unconvinced—that you do not see the danger?"</p> + +<p>"I see no danger," repeated the Prefect, doggedly.</p> + +<p>"And yet I tell you, Lépine," said Crochard, leaning forward across the +table and speaking in deadliest earnest, "that the danger is desperate. +You are blind to it, a thing which astonishes me; M. Delcassé can do +nothing—his hands are tied by the red tape of his position. There +remains only Crochard! If I sit idle, if I fold my hands, within a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>month Germany will declare war and will sweep over France like a +pestilence. Yesterday she struck the first blow; I tremble to think what +the second may be!"</p> + +<p>"But war!" protested Lépine. "Nonsense! For war there must be a cause."</p> + +<p>"A pretext will do—and a pretext can always be found. Already Germany +is preparing her pretext: she has demanded equal rights with France in +Morocco—a preposterous demand, and one which France can never grant. +What cares Germany about Morocco? Nothing! But the pretext must be +ready. And now, Lépine," he added, pushing back the papers, and speaking +in another tone, "I will tell you why I have come to you: I should +prefer to work alone; but, in the first place, it was necessary to +provide a means of access to M. Delcassé; in the second place, you got +these papers, where I might have failed; in the third place, there are +certain questions to which you can get an answer more easily than I."</p> + +<p>"What are the questions?" asked Lépine, moved, in spite of himself, by +Crochard's manner.</p> + +<p>"There are two to which I would ask you to get answers at once. The +first: does the government maintain, or has it authorised, any wireless +stations in the town or in the neighbourhood? The second: have the +wireless operators on any of the battleships <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>noticed any unusual +interference during the past few days? How long will it take you to +secure answers to those questions—authoritative answers?"</p> + +<p>"An hour."</p> + +<p>Crochard glanced at his watch.</p> + +<p>"It is now ten o'clock. At eleven, you will arrange for a conference +with M. Delcassé. There must be no one present but we three."</p> + +<p>"M. Crochard," said Lépine, drily, "I do not like your imperatives. I am +not accustomed to them."</p> + +<p>"M. Lépine," Crochard retorted, "my way of speaking is my own, and I am +too old to change. In this affair, it is you who work with me, not I +with you. Shall we go on, or shall we stop here?"</p> + +<p>Lépine trembled with a severe inward struggle. Crochard impressed and +fascinated him; but his terms were humiliating.</p> + +<p>Crochard met his gaze, read what was behind it, and leaned forward again +across the table.</p> + +<p>"Lépine," he said, "have I ever failed to do a thing I promised?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>"I shall not fail this time."</p> + +<p>"What is it you promise?"</p> + +<p>"I promise," said Crochard, and raised his right hand solemnly, as +though registering an oath, "I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>promise to find the man who destroyed +<i>La Liberté</i>, and to save my country!"</p> + +<p>Lépine gazed at him for a moment, then pushed back his chair and rose to +his feet. The patriot in him had triumphed.</p> + +<p>"Where shall the conference with M. Delcassé take place?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Crochard smiled at the question and at the little man's impassive face.</p> + +<p>"Lépine," he said, "on my word, you touch greatness sometimes, and I +find myself admiring you! Let the conference take place at M. Delcassé's +apartment. Oh, yes; you will have a closed carriage waiting at the +private entrance."</p> + +<p>"At eleven o'clock," agreed Lépine.</p> + +<p>"At eleven o'clock," repeated Crochard, and waved his adieu. Then, as +the door closed behind that erect little figure, he sank back into his +seat with a chuckle and touched a bell.</p> + +<p>An inner door, concealed so cleverly in the wall that even Lépine's +sharp eyes had not perceived it, opened and a man looked in.</p> + +<p>"He has gone," Crochard said. "Bring some wine, Samson, and two +glasses."</p> + +<p>The door closed, but opened again in a moment to admit the man, with +bottle and glasses. He placed them on the table, went back to make sure +that the door was closed, and then sat down opposite <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>Crochard. Why he +should be called Samson, unless in derision, was hard to understand, for +he was a mere skeleton of a man, with a face like parchment. But the +brow was high and the eyes bright and the mouth as tender as a woman's.</p> + +<p>Crochard glanced at the label on the cobwebbed bottle, and nodded as he +filled his glass.</p> + +<p>"You are good to your friends, Samson," he said. "Your health!"</p> + +<p>"Yours!" said Samson, and drained his glass. "Everything I have is +yours, my master; you know that!"</p> + +<p>"Even your life?"</p> + +<p>"You have only to ask it."</p> + +<p>Crochard looked at him with smiling eyes.</p> + +<p>"I believe you, my friend," he said. "Some day I may have to ask it—but +not yet. Did you see the man who just left me?"</p> + +<p>"It was M. Lépine," said Samson, quietly.</p> + +<p>"Did he see you?"</p> + +<p>"No; but if he had, it would make no difference. He would not know me +now."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not," Crochard agreed, and glanced at the other's wasted face. +"And yet he has sharp eyes and a wonderful memory."</p> + +<p>"I will keep out of his way," said Samson.</p> + +<p>"At worst, it is only a question of another rescue; but avoid him, if +you can. You have a good station <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>here, the business pays; you can lead +a quiet life—and, from time to time, be of use to me."</p> + +<p>"The last is the most important," said Samson, and filled his glass +again.</p> + +<p>"Have you learned anything more of the white-haired man?"</p> + +<p>"No; but I <i>will</i> know more before evening."</p> + +<p>"I wish especially to find his lodging. If he is no longer there, I must +know when he departed and where he went."</p> + +<p>"All that you shall know; I will see to it."</p> + +<p>"No detail is too unimportant."</p> + +<p>"I shall remember."</p> + +<p>"And perhaps," added Crochard, "if things go well—for this is an affair +of great importance, where for once I am working on the side of the +law—I shall be able to secure for you that for which you have +longed—pardon from the State, rehabilitation, so that you can resume +your own name and live again openly with your family. That is worth +working for, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Ah!" cried Samson, his voice quivering with emotion. "If you could do +that! But it is impossible!"</p> + +<p>"It is <i>not</i> impossible!" said Crochard, and struck the table with his +open hand. "I promise it!"</p> + +<p>Samson stared at him, his lips working, and two large tears formed +slowly in the corners of his eyes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>brimmed over and ran down his +cheeks. If Crochard said "I promise it!" the thing was as good as done. +Suddenly he sat upright and brushed the tears away.</p> + +<p>"What is it I must do?" he asked. "Tell me!"</p> + +<p>And Crochard, drawing his chair closer, began his rapid instructions.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h2>THE MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS</h2> +<br /> + +<p>M. Delcassé was a busy man, that morning, and he snorted with derision +when Lépine, having secured admission for a moment, told him of +Crochard's request for an audience at eleven o'clock.</p> + +<p>"Impossible!" he said. "The Board of Inquiry is to convene at that hour, +and I must be present to address them."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it would be possible to adjourn the meeting until afternoon," +Lépine suggested.</p> + +<p>Delcassé stared at him in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Possible, yes," he said; "most things are possible. But do you know +what it is you are proposing?"</p> + +<p>"I am proposing," said Lépine boldly, "that you permit nothing to +interfere with the conference which Crochard requests."</p> + +<p>"But Crochard—who is Crochard that I should disturb all my arrangements +for him?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you who he is, sir," said Lépine, gently; "he is the man +whom, next to yourself, I consider the most remarkable in France."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>Delcassé softened. The compliment was, perhaps, not delicate, but it was +at least deserved.</p> + +<p>"You believe that?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do believe it. I must tell you more of Crochard, some day. +Beside him, I am a mere bungler—I realise it more deeply each time I +meet him. And I assure you that I am not one to underestimate myself."</p> + +<p>Delcassé looked at him with a little smile.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me that your note has changed," he said. "This morning—"</p> + +<p>"I have seen Crochard since then," explained Lépine, simply.</p> + +<p>"And you are in earnest about this conference?"</p> + +<p>"In deadly earnest, sir. So is Crochard."</p> + +<p>Delcassé pondered a moment.</p> + +<p>"You may bring him here at seven o'clock to-night," he said, finally. +"That is the first moment I have at leisure."</p> + +<p>"It will not do, M. Delcassé," said Lépine, firmly. "The other inquiry +must wait. It is not that inquiry which is important, it is this one."</p> + +<p>Again the Minister stared.</p> + +<p>"But it seems to me that you are telling me what I must do," he said. +"Explain yourself."</p> + +<p>"Your official inquiry," answered Lépine boldly, "for all the famous men +who take part in it, will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>discover nothing—it will be like that other +inquiry into the affair of the <i>Jena</i>."</p> + +<p>"And what will yours discover?"</p> + +<p>"It is not mine—it is Crochard's," Lépine corrected. "It is he who is +in command. And it seems to me that he has already made a beginning. I +am convinced that he has something more to tell us. He has charged me to +secure answers to two questions."</p> + +<p>"What are they?"</p> + +<p>"Whether there are any wireless stations in the town, or in the +neighbourhood, and whether there has recently been any peculiar +interference with the working of the instruments on our battleships."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Delcassé, whose expression had changed from irritation to one +of absorbed attention. "So he has thought of that, also!" and he fell +into a moment's revery. "Very well, Lépine," he added. "I believe that +you are right. I will arrange for the President to open the sitting, and +I will summon the man who can answer the questions."</p> + +<p>He rang for his secretary, and Lépine hastened away to secure the closed +carriage. He smiled to himself as he did so. How incredulous Pigot and +all the rest would be should they ever hear that their chief had obeyed +blindly the instructions of The Invincible, and that the first Minister +of France had altered his plans in accordance with them!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>The carriage engaged and one of his own men placed in charge of it, +Lépine took his station at the principal entrance, to watch the crowd +until Crochard should appear. The corridors were thronged with people, +hurrying in and out. Lépine knew many of them, for a whole staff had +been brought from Paris to carry on the business of the State, and more +than one august individual paused for a word with him. But to their +questions he could only respond by a shake of the head.</p> + +<p>At the stroke of eleven, Crochard mounted the steps to the door, and, at +a nod from the Prefect, followed him up the stairs into the anteroom of +Delcassé's suite. An attendant, who was evidently on the watch for them, +showed them at once into the Minister's private office. He was deep in +correspondence, but he instantly pushed it to one side and dismissed his +secretary.</p> + +<p>"Well, M. Crochard," he said, "Lépine tells me you have more news for +us. Be seated. What is the news?"</p> + +<p>"I requested that M. Lépine should make certain inquiries—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, about the wireless," and Delcassé looked at him closely. "Tell me, +why did you think of that?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know," answered Crochard, rubbing his forehead slowly; "but as +I sat last night gazing at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>the wreck, a thought came to me—a vague +thought—not to be put into words...."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Delcassé, as he paused, "I had the same thought last night, +before I slept. It seems to me a most striking coincidence. Are you +aware that, in the case of the <i>Jena</i>, wireless was mentioned as a +possible cause?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Crochard; "I am aware of that."</p> + +<p>The eyes of the two men met in a long glance. Then Delcassé touched a +bell.</p> + +<p>"Introduce General Marbeau," he said to his secretary.</p> + +<p>The latter returned in a moment with a dark little man in full uniform. +Then he went out again and closed the door. The little man bowed deeply +to the Minister of Marine.</p> + +<p>"Be seated, General," said Delcassé. "M. Lépine, I think you already +know—as who does not! This other gentleman I will not name—I will only +say that he is a coadjutor whose services we value very highly. He has +certain questions to ask you, which I wish you to answer as though I +myself were asking them. Proceed, sir," and he nodded to Crochard. +"General Marbeau is the chief of our wireless service."</p> + +<p>"What wireless stations are there in the city of Toulon, General?" +Crochard began.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>"None, sir, except the one at the arsenal," Marbeau answered, looking at +his questioner with discreet curiosity.</p> + +<p>"And in the neighbourhood?"</p> + +<p>"None nearer than Marseilles."</p> + +<p>"There are no private installations?"</p> + +<p>"The government does not permit private installations."</p> + +<p>"Yet there might be some, clandestinely built?"</p> + +<p>"That is possible."</p> + +<p>"However, you can assure me of this: if any such do exist, they are +outside the law?"</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>"Why are private stations prohibited?"</p> + +<p>"They are prohibited because they would interfere with the government +stations. You understand, sir, that wireless waves clash in the air, as +it were; when they cross or intermingle, the result is a confusing +chatter, until the sending and receiving instruments have been carefully +tuned with each other. Even that does not always overcome it. A few +private stations have been authorised strictly for scientific purposes, +but there is none nearer than that at the University of Lyons."</p> + +<p>"Do you ever suffer from interference here?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; the English have a very powerful station at Gibraltar and +another at Malta; their battleships are all equipped with it, as are +those of Italy. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>So are most of the passenger steamers which enter the +Mediterranean. The air is often filled with messages."</p> + +<p>"Has there been any such interference during the past few days?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, a great deal of it; one instance in particular of which my +operators have complained."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Crochard. "Will you tell us exactly what it was?"</p> + +<p>"Last Saturday," explained Marbeau, "about three in the afternoon, there +came from somewhere a series of long dashes, lasting nearly half a +second, and spaced about two seconds apart. This continued for perhaps +half an hour."</p> + +<p>"You had no idea as to their origin?"</p> + +<p>"We thought that perhaps the English were tuning up a new and very +powerful instrument at Gibraltar."</p> + +<p>"You had no way of verifying this?"</p> + +<p>"We did not try to do so."</p> + +<p>"Was this interruption repeated?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; our automatic recorder shows that the signals began again a little +before five o'clock yesterday morning and continued for nearly two +hours."</p> + +<p>Crochard's eyes were shining.</p> + +<p>"At what hour was <i>La Liberté</i> destroyed?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"The first explosion was at 5:50. There were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>two others, a few minutes +apart. The main magazine exploded at very close to six o'clock."</p> + +<p>"So that these signals began at least an hour before and continued +nearly an hour past that time?"</p> + +<p>"That is so, sir," assented Marbeau, in surprise; "but I can imagine no +connection—"</p> + +<p>"Do not imagine anything," broke in Delcassé quickly, his voice +quivering with excitement. "Perhaps there is no connection; but +nevertheless I think these signals should have been reported to me. Come +in," he added, as a tap sounded at the door.</p> + +<p>His secretary entered and handed him a telegram. Delcassé's eyes were +positively gleaming as he read it.</p> + +<p>"Better and better!" he cried. "Oh, this is a game after my own heart!" +and he tossed the telegram to Lépine. "Read it aloud!" he added, "that I +may be sure my eyes have not deceived me!"</p> + +<p>And Lépine picked up the message and read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Note B162864R, one hundred francs, one of series of three +hundred such notes sent to Imperial Bank, Berlin, September +8.</p> + +<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Linné</span>, Governor Bank of France."</p></div> + +<p>There was a moment's silence, Marbeau staring blankly, but the other +three gazing into each other's faces with shining eyes.</p> + +<p>"Perfect, perfect!" murmured Delcassé, and seized the telegram and read +it again.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>"The next step, sir," said Crochard quietly, "is to instruct every bank +in France to report immediately the receipt of any of the other two +hundred and ninety-nine!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé drew a deep breath, pulled a pad of blanks toward him, and +scribbled a few words.</p> + +<p>"See that this is sent at once," he said, and the secretary took the +message and hastened away.</p> + +<p>Then Delcassé did something which he had not done since that night, five +years before, when word came that England had signed the secret treaty: +he removed his great glasses, got out his handkerchief, and deliberately +wiped his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Your pardon, gentlemen," he said, with a twisted smile. "This is for me +a great moment. You know my dream! I believed it shattered; but now I +think that it may yet come true!" He snapped his glasses on again and +swung around to Crochard. "If it does," he added, "I shall have you to +thank! Proceed with your questions."</p> + +<p>"There are no more questions, sir," said Crochard; "but we have a little +excursion to make. It will consume perhaps an hour, and I think that you +will find it interesting. M. Lépine has a closed carriage at the private +entrance. I would suggest that General Marbeau accompany us. He will be +of great service. Can we start at once?"</p> + +<p>For answer, Delcassé leaped to his feet and seized <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>his hat. There was +no longer in his mind any question as to the importance of this inquiry, +and the comparative unimportance of that other one, opening with much +pomp at the Prefecture. In fact, he had forgotten all about it!</p> + +<p>"The private entrance, you say?" he asked. "Then come this way," and he +led the way down the private staircase. The carriage stood at the curb.</p> + +<p>Crochard glanced at the driver.</p> + +<p>"He is your man, of course?" he said to Lépine. "Good." And, as the +others entered, he stopped to speak a few words to him. Then he, too, +leaped inside, and slammed the door.</p> + +<p>The driver spoke to his horses, and they were off, along the Rue +Nationale, across the Place St. Roche, through the Botanic Gardens, past +the Marine Observatory, under the Porte Nationale, and through the +faubourgs. At the end of twenty minutes, the town was left behind, and +Crochard stopped the carriage, got out, and mounted to the seat beside +the driver.</p> + +<p>Then, at a slower pace, the carriage climbed a narrow road leading +toward the hills back of the town. It was apparently little used, for it +was overgrown with grass, over which the carriage-wheels rolled +noiselessly. Inside the carriage, Delcassé spoke only once.</p> + +<p>"On this day of surprises, I am prepared for anything!" he declared, and +relapsed into silence.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>At last the carriage stopped, and, pulling back the curtains, those +within it saw they were in the midst of a grove of lofty beeches.</p> + +<p>Crochard jumped from the seat and opened the door.</p> + +<p>"We must get out here," he said; and when the others had alighted, he +started off before them among the trees.</p> + +<p>Delcassé kept close at the leader's heels, fairly panting with +eagerness. Lépine followed and Marbeau came last. The rustling of the +dead leaves beneath their feet was the only sound which broke the +stillness. At the end of five minutes, they came to what was apparently +a deserted shed. Its door was secured by a heavy hasp and padlock. +Crochard drew a key from his pocket, opened the padlock, released the +hasp, and threw back the door.</p> + +<p>"Enter, my friends!" he cried, and stood aside that they might pass.</p> + +<p>They crowded in and stood staring about them. For a moment, in the +semi-darkness, they could see nothing; then certain vague shapes +detached themselves—a table, a chair, strange jars, a queer-looking +clock....</p> + +<p>Marbeau uttered a sudden startled exclamation.</p> + +<p>"Why, this is a wireless plant!" he cried.</p> + +<p>"Precisely, sir!" agreed Crochard. "The plant from which came those +peculiar signals!"</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h2>THE HUT IN THE GROVE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>General Marbeau bent with the interest of an expert above the rude table +on which the apparatus was installed, and examined it for some moments +in silence. Then he straightened up and glanced at Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"Well?" asked the latter.</p> + +<p>"It is, indeed, a wireless installation, sir," said Marbeau, "or, at +least, part of one. Most of the instruments of transmission are here, +but there are no recording instruments. In other words, wireless +messages might be sent from here, but none could be received—unless +this is a recorder of some sort," and he pointed to a small instrument +of clock-like appearance which stood on the table.</p> + +<p>"No," said Crochard; "that is not a recorder—that is the sender."</p> + +<p>"The sender?" repeated Marbeau.</p> + +<p>"Yes. You have noticed there is no key?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and I do not understand its absence."</p> + +<p>"This device takes the place of it—it was by means of this that the +spaced signals were sent. Listen."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>He bent above the clock, and the others heard a sound as of a strong +spring being wound. Then he stood erect: there were two sharp ticks; +then a long white snap of electricity; two ticks and another snap; two +ticks and another snap....</p> + +<p>"Yes, that is the signal!" cried Marbeau, and bent again above the +mechanism. In a moment he understood.</p> + +<p>Before the clock-face was a single long hand, a second-hand, terminating +in a thin, spring-like strip of platinum. The circumference of the face +was divided into sixty spaces, and at every third space was a slender +copper pin, which the end of the second-hand touched in passing. Two +wires, one connected with the second-hand, the other presumably with the +copper pins, ran from the clock down to the heavy batteries on the +floor. Every three seconds the circuit was automatically closed, and a +long flash sent along the conducting wire out into the air. Marbeau +stood listening for a moment longer, then loosened one of the wires. The +signals stopped.</p> + +<p>"Now let us see the aerial," he said, and led the way outside.</p> + +<p>But there was no aerial in sight. Then Crochard's finger pointed out a +series of wires among the trees to the left of the hut. Walking directly +beneath them, Marbeau saw that there were three wires parallel with each +other, and that they were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>stretched between two trees about fifty feet +apart. From each of them dropped a lead-wire, and these were gathered +together into the single wire which led into the hut. An arm of wood had +been secured to each of the trees, and to these the wires were fastened +by means of porcelain insulators.</p> + +<p>"But such an aerial would not be effective!" Marbeau protested. "It +would be muffled and deadened by the leaves and branches all about it."</p> + +<p>"There are no branches in front of it," said Crochard. "If you will +look, you will see that they have been very carefully cleared away in +that single direction. As I understand wireless, the waves released from +those wires up yonder permeate the atmosphere in every direction."</p> + +<p>"That is true."</p> + +<p>"With equal intensity?"</p> + +<p>"No; they would be most intense in the direction in which the wires +extend."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Crochard. "And, as we may perceive from the way in which the +trees are trimmed, it was only in that direction that the builder of +this affair desired them to penetrate. Can you not guess what that +direction is? If you will climb this tree and look along the wires, you +will find that they point directly toward the wreck of <i>La Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>For a moment, the three stared at Crochard without speaking, then +Marbeau threw off his coat and started up the tree. It was not an easy +climb, but he was an agile man, and at last he reached the arm to which +the wires were affixed. He remained for some moments looking out along +them; then he slowly descended.</p> + +<p>"It is true," he said, in a low voice, as he resumed his coat. "The +wires could hardly have been so placed by accident."</p> + +<p>"It was not by accident," said Crochard.</p> + +<p>"And yet," went on Marbeau, "I do not see what all this can have to do +with the disaster."</p> + +<p>"Nor I," agreed M. Delcassé. "And yet as M. Cro——as our friend here +says, all this was not done by accident."</p> + +<p>"I would suggest," said Crochard, "that we return to M. Delcassé's +apartment. We can talk there without fear of being overheard—a thing +that is not possible among all these trees."</p> + +<p>Marbeau took a last look at the wireless apparatus; then Crochard locked +the door of the hut, and gave the key to the Minister.</p> + +<p>"Where did you get this key, my friend?" asked Delcassé, looking at it +curiously.</p> + +<p>"About that there is no mystery," smiled Crochard. "I purchased it, +together with that lock <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>yonder, this morning. I found it necessary to +break the original lock before I could enter the hut. It may be well to +station a guard here," he added, "until you are ready to dismantle the +place."</p> + +<p>Delcassé nodded, and slipped the key into his pocket; and together they +made their way to the waiting carriage.</p> + +<p>The trip back was a silent one. Delcassé and Lépine, their brains aching +with the effort, were trying to understand; Marbeau, convinced that the +explosion could not have been caused by wireless, was marshaling his +reasons; and Crochard—Crochard sat with placid countenance gazing +straight ahead of him—but that placid countenance masked supreme +intellectual effort.</p> + +<p>At last the carriage stopped.</p> + +<p>"You will wait here," said Delcassé to the driver, and, as soon as he +reached his office, summoned his secretary and directed that a guard of +four marines be sent by the carriage to the hut in the grove. Then he +sat down, rolled a cigarette, and passed tobacco and paper to his +companions. "And now," he said, looking at Crochard, "let us hear what +you have to tell us."</p> + +<p>"There is not much to tell, sir," answered Crochard. "I learned of the +existence of this hut yesterday evening. Some children, searching for +mushrooms for a friend of mine, who is a restaurateur, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>happened to see +the wires among the trees, and told him of their discovery. He thought +it so curious that he at once sent word to me."</p> + +<p>"And you, of course, sent word back that he was to tell no one else," +said Delcassé, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I thought that best. I paid a visit to the hut as soon as it was +light this morning, entered it, examined it, and convinced myself that +it was really a wireless station. Then I made certain inquiries. The +grove, it appears, is owned by a gentleman of Marseilles, and was once +much larger than it is now. The hut was built for the use of +charcoal-burners, but has not been occupied for more than two years. I +would suggest that the police ascertain whether the owner was aware he +had a tenant."</p> + +<p>"We will do so," said Delcassé. "But who was this tenant?"</p> + +<p>"There is some doubt on that point," answered Crochard slowly. "That +little road is used but seldom, for a better one now leads around the +base of the hill; and few people ever have occasion to enter the grove. +It was, of course, for this very reason that the hut was chosen for this +installation. I have found no one who saw any man at work there. On the +other hand, a friend of mine, who has a cabaret on the main road just +outside the city gate, has seen pass a number of times within the past +week a man who, from his face and dress, was evidently not a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>Frenchman, +and whose actions appeared to my friend to be suspicious."</p> + +<p>Delcassé smiled.</p> + +<p>"You seem to have many friends," he remarked; "and unusually observant +ones."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Crochard; "I am fortunate in my friends; and they find it +greatly to their interest to keep their eyes open."</p> + +<p>"Did you secure a description of this stranger?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but there should have been much more than a mere description. Some +of my friends are more intelligent than others. Still, it may be of +service. This stranger was a small man, slightly built, with grey hair +and bright, dark eyes. His complexion was also rather dark, and my +friend hazarded the guess that he was a Spaniard. He was dressed in dark +clothes, cut after a fashion not French, and wore a soft, dark hat."</p> + +<p>"But that is a splendid description!" cried Delcassé. "What more did you +want?"</p> + +<p>"Ah, sir," replied Crochard, "if it had been some of my friends, they +would have managed to meet this man; they would have engaged him in +conversation, have discovered his business and place of abode; instead +of which, this friend in question merely sits at the door of his cabaret +and watches the man pass! He was not doing his duty—but he will not +make such a mistake again!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>"His duty?" echoed Delcassé. "His duty to whom?"</p> + +<p>"His duty to me," replied Crochard.</p> + +<p>"But I do not understand," said the Minister, more and more amazed. "Why +should your friends have any such duty to you?"</p> + +<p>Crochard hesitated. Lépine's face was fairly saturnine.</p> + +<p>"I cannot explain that to you now, sir," said Crochard, finally. "I can +only say that it is part of a system which has existed for a very long +time, and of which I now happen to be the head."</p> + +<p>Delcassé pondered this for a moment, his eyes on Crochard's face. Then +he turned to Lépine.</p> + +<p>"You must learn more of this stranger, Lépine," he said. "You, also, are +at the head of a system—and a very expensive one."</p> + +<p>"Yes, and a good one, sir," said Lépine, quickly. "One which is worth +all it costs. But men will not work for money as they do for +self-interest; and then, my system is a mere infant beside that of our +friend here, which must be at least two hundred years old."</p> + +<p>"Oh, much more than that!" said Crochard, quickly, and smiled at +Delcassé's astounded face. "Please understand," he added, "that I do not +assert that this is the man we want. There is as yet no absolute proof, +though I hope soon to have it. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>But there is one significant fact: when +going from the city he frequently carried a heavy bundle, but never when +returning."</p> + +<p>"That is indeed significant," agreed Delcassé. "But it indicates another +thing which astonishes me. If he did all this alone, it was because he +had no one to assist him. But if he had no accomplice, who were the two +men who watched the destruction of <i>La Liberté</i>? And, above all, who is +this man who plans, alone and unaided, the destruction of our navy? What +is his purpose? Whence did he come? Whither has he gone? Is he a +madman—an anarchist?" Delcassé ran his fingers through his hair with a +despairing gesture. "He astounds me!" he added. "My brain falters at +thought of such a man!"</p> + +<p>But Marbeau, to whom much of this talk had been incomprehensible, began +at last to understand, and shook his head in violent protest.</p> + +<p>"Whoever the man may have been," he broke out, "or whatever his +business, it could have had nothing to do with the destruction of <i>La +Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p>Delcassé wheeled upon him.</p> + +<p>"Why do you say that?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Because, sir, it is absurd to suppose that the magazines of the ship +could be exploded by wireless. Wireless has no such power. And, in this +instance, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>it is quite easy to prove that they were <i>not</i> so exploded."</p> + +<p>"Prove it, then," said the Minister, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"In the first place, the signals, which we now know came from that hut +up yonder, were first noted on Saturday. They continued for half an +hour, and yet no explosion occurred. In the second place, we caused them +to be repeated to-day, and again there was no explosion."</p> + +<p>"<i>La Liberté</i> was no longer there to explode," Delcassé objected grimly.</p> + +<p>"True; but there were other ships near by—<i>La Patrie</i>, <i>La République</i>, +<i>La Vérité</i>. These ships and others were also there at the time of the +explosion, yet they were not affected, although all of them had +precisely the same sort of powder in their magazines that <i>La Liberté</i> +had in hers."</p> + +<p>"But you have already said that the waves could be intensified in a +certain direction," Delcassé pointed out.</p> + +<p>"So they can; but they cannot be confined to a channel nor directed at a +mark, as a bullet is. The hut in the grove is fully three miles away +from the harbour, and I assert that every ship in the harbour felt the +waves with the same intensity as <i>La Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p>"And what is your deduction from all this?" inquired Delcassé.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>"My deduction is that those signals did not and could not cause the +explosion."</p> + +<p>"Then what was their purpose? How do you explain them?"</p> + +<p>Marbeau made a gesture of helplessness.</p> + +<p>"I do not know what their purpose was; I cannot explain them," he said; +"but I am confident that they could not have destroyed <i>La Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p>"I agree with General Marbeau," said Crochard suddenly.</p> + +<p>They all stared at him, astonished that he should admit himself +defeated.</p> + +<p>"But I would add one word to his deduction," he added. "The word +'alone.'"</p> + +<p>"'Alone'?" echoed Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"I would make the statement thus: 'Those signals <i>alone</i> did not and +could not cause the explosion.'"</p> + +<p>Delcassé looked at him with puzzled eyes, and again ran his fingers +impatiently through his hair.</p> + +<p>"I do not understand," he said. "You are getting beyond me. What is your +theory, then?"</p> + +<p>The line in Crochard's brow deepened.</p> + +<p>"It is a thing, sir," he answered slowly, "which I find difficult to +express in words. There is, at the back of my mind, an idea, vague, +misty, of which as yet I catch only the dim outlines. My process of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>reasoning is this: it is certain, as General Marbeau says, that the +signals from the hut were, in themselves, harmless, or there would have +been other explosions than that on board <i>La Liberté</i>. Wireless waves +can be directed and concentrated only to a very limited extent. They can +be made a little stronger in one general direction than in others, that +is all. And, in this case, that general direction would have embraced +all the ships at anchor in the harbour.</p> + +<p>"There must, then, have been some other force which, at the appointed +time, struck from this stream of signals a spark, so to speak, into the +magazines of <i>La Liberté</i>, one after the other. That there was an +appointed time we cannot doubt—we know that it was the moment of +sunrise yesterday. That the magazines were fired one at a time, and at +spaced intervals we also know. That they could not explode of themselves +in that way seems certain.</p> + +<p>"You will remember that the signals began more than an hour before +sunrise, and continued for at least half an hour afterwards. We know +that the signals were sent automatically. Why? Partly, no doubt, because +it was necessary that they be absolutely regular; but also because the +man who did this thing—who is himself, perhaps, the inventor of the +method—chose to make no confidants, to have no accomplices, and he +could not himself be in the hut <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>to send the signals. Again you ask why. +Not because of danger of discovery, since there was no such danger. I +believe it was because it was necessary that he be somewhere else, +directing from an angle, perhaps, that other force, so mysterious and so +deadly. I seem to see two forces, travelling in converging lines, as two +bullets might travel, their point of meeting the magazines of <i>La +Liberté</i>. At the instant of their meeting, there is a shock, a spark—as +though flint and steel met—and the magazine explodes—first the forward +magazine, then the after magazine, then the main magazine—one, two, +three! This is all mere guesswork, you understand, sir," Crochard added, +in another tone, "but so I see it. And, after all, it is susceptible of +proof."</p> + +<p>"What proof?" demanded Delcassé.</p> + +<p>"If my theory is the true one," Crochard explained, "there must have +been, somewhere, another installation to create the intercepting force, +which, of course, must also be transmitted by ether waves, as wireless +is, if it is to penetrate wood and steel. It must have been within an +hour's walk—probably half an hour's walk—of the hut in the grove. For +remember, the mechanism there was set going an hour before sunrise, and +the man had then to reach his other mechanism, and have it ready to +start at sunrise. It is for us to discover the place where this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>second +mechanism was installed—and where it probably still remains."</p> + +<p>"Yes, that would be proof," agreed Delcassé thoughtfully; "and for +myself, I will say that I believe your theory the right one. But you +have not yet explained the part played by the two watchers on the quay."</p> + +<p>"Their part was that of watchers merely," said Crochard. "They were sent +there to observe and to report to their master—as they did."</p> + +<p>"As they did?"</p> + +<p>"Surely it is evident," Crochard explained, "that, if our theory is +true, they would hasten to report. Imagine their master's anxiety until +he heard from them! As a matter of fact, their report was filed within +fifteen minutes after the explosion. M. Lépine has it in his pocket."</p> + +<p>Delcassé stared, uncomprehending; but Lépine, his face suddenly +illumined, snatched out his pocket-book and produced the sheets of +yellow tissue.</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes, certainly!" he cried. "I was blind not to see it! The report +was in a form agreed upon: 'We continue our trip as planned. All well.' +You will understand now, sir," he added, to Delcassé, "the reason for +the high opinion I entertain of this gentleman!"</p> + +<p>"But that message was sent to Brussels," objected the Minister.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>"It was sent 'restante.' A man was waiting at the post-office to receive +it and forward it instantly to Berlin."</p> + +<p>Delcassé's face was a study, as he turned this over in his mind.</p> + +<p>"What is your reading of the other message?" he asked, at last.</p> + +<p>"My reading," answered Crochard, slowly, "is that, at the last moment, +the Emperor, appalled at the possible consequences, decided to forbid +the atrocity, to which he had, perhaps, been persuaded against his +better judgment, or in a moment of passion."</p> + +<p>"And if the message had not been delayed, <i>La Liberté</i> would have been +saved?"</p> + +<p>"Precisely that, sir."</p> + +<p>Delcassé's lips were twitching.</p> + +<p>"You may be right," he said, thickly; "you may be right; but it seems +incredible. After all, it is merely guesswork!"</p> + +<p>"You will pardon me, sir, but it is not guesswork," protested Crochard. +"M. Lépine will tell you that, in a case of this kind, it must be all or +nothing. Every detail, even to the slightest, the most insignificant, +must fit perfectly, or they are all worthless. If I am wrong in this +detail, I am wrong in all the others; if I am right in the others, I am +also right in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>this. They stand or fall together. And I believe they +will stand!"</p> + +<p>The great Minister was gazing fascinated at the speaker; for the first +time, he caught a real glimpse of his tremendous personality.</p> + +<p>"You mean, then," he said, finally, "that if any details we may discover +hereafter fail to fit this theory, the theory must be discarded?"</p> + +<p>"Discarded utterly and without hesitation," agreed Crochard. "More than +that—"</p> + +<p>A tap at the door interrupted him.</p> + +<p>"Come in," said Delcassé.</p> + +<p>His secretary entered, followed by a courier, carrying a portfolio.</p> + +<p>"From Paris, sir," said the secretary, and the courier, with a bow, laid +the portfolio on the Minister's desk.</p> + +<p>Delcassé took from his pocket a tiny key, unlocked the portfolio, drew +out a package and glanced at the superscription.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said; "the photographs!" and ripped the package open.</p> + +<p>There were some two dozen of them, together with a long typewritten +report, which Delcassé glanced through rapidly.</p> + +<p>"These are the result of the first report from Berlin," he said, "of +officers who are absent from their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>commands and whose present +whereabouts is not definitely known. A supplementary report will +follow."</p> + +<p>"We can begin with these," said Lépine, and looked them over.</p> + +<p>Crochard had risen and was looking at the photographs over the +detective's shoulder.</p> + +<p>"We shall have to shave them first," he remarked.</p> + +<p>"Shave them?"</p> + +<p>"Divest them of those ornaments," and he indicated the upturned +moustaches, à la Kaiser, with which nearly all the pictured faces were +adorned. "A brush and a tablet of watercolour will do it."</p> + +<p>M. Delcassé arose.</p> + +<p>"I will leave that in your hands, gentlemen," he said. "I must meet the +Board of Inquiry almost at once. General Marbeau, I thank you for your +assistance. You will, of course, say nothing of all this to any one. As +for you, sir," he added to Crochard, "I shall thank you better another +day. Till this evening, M. Lépine," and he bowed the three men out.</p> + +<p>Half an hour later, Lépine and Crochard were closeted with Monsieur and +Madame Brisson in the former's bureau at the du Nord. The little +innkeeper and his wife were inarticulate with excitement, for they had +guessed Lépine's identity from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>his resemblance to the pictures which +every illustrated paper published at frequent intervals, and they +suspected, from his bearing, that Crochard was a person of even greater +importance. Their faces were glowing with pride, too, for their +proffered refreshment had not been declined. In after days, when the +sentence of silence had been lifted, they would tell the story to their +admiring friends:</p> + +<p>"Imagine it. Here we sat, I here, Gabrielle there; in that chair M. +Lépine, Prefect of the Paris Service du Surété, a little thin man with +eyes oh, so bright; and in the fourth chair, with eyes still brighter +and an air distinguished which there could be no mistaking—whom do you +think? None other than the Duc de B——"; or the Prince de R——, or the +Marquis de C——; that was a detail to be filled in later; but a Great +Highness, rest assured of that! And the way that both M. Lépine and the +unknown Highness relished their Château Yquem was a great compliment to +the house.</p> + +<p>After these amenities, Lépine produced the demoustached photographs.</p> + +<p>"Look well at these," he said; "have care—do not speak unless you are +very sure," and he passed the photographs one by one to Madame +Gabrielle, who handed them on to her husband. Some ten or twelve were +examined without comment, and then Madame uttered a sudden exclamation.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>"It is he!" she cried. "It is one of them!"</p> + +<p>"One of whom?" asked Lépine.</p> + +<p>"One of those men. Behold, Aristide!"</p> + +<p>Brisson took the card and looked at it.</p> + +<p>"Sacred heart! But you are right, Gabrielle!"</p> + +<p>"You are sure?" persisted Lépine.</p> + +<p>"Sure! But of a certainty! I would swear to him!"</p> + +<p>Lépine put the photograph in his pocket, and turned to the others. But +there was no second recognition. Brisson and his wife went through them +twice, until they had convinced themselves that their other guest was +not among them. Finally Lépine gathered the photographs together.</p> + +<p>"I must warn you again, Brisson, and you, Madame," he said, severely, +"that of this not a single word must be breathed—to no one. Let it pass +from your minds as though it had never been. It is an affair of high +diplomacy; and you might suffer much were it known that you are +concerned in it. In behalf of France, I thank you, and I shall have care +that your so great service is brought to the attention of the proper +persons. But remember—not a word!"</p> + +<p>Monsieur and Madame were faithful—only in the seclusion of their +bedroom, with the light extinguished, and in bated whispers, did they +ever discuss it. And, as at this point they pass from this story, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>let +it be added that, some months later, a parcel was delivered at their +door, which, when opened, was found to contain a handsome vase of +Sèvres. Inside the vase was a card, "To Monsieur and Madame Aristide +Brisson, from Théophile Delcassé, as a slight recognition of their +services to France."</p> + +<p>It would be impossible to say which this worthy couple value most +highly, the vase or the card. Certain it is that, if you are ever a +guest at the du Nord, you will be shown both of them, the vase in a +velvet-lined case against the wall and the card, neatly framed, just +below it. And, in consideration of their increased importance, Monsieur +and Madame have considered themselves justified in increasing their +tariff ten per cent.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>As soon as Lépine and Crochard were alone together, the former took the +photograph from his pocket, looked at the number on the back, and then +consulted a typewritten list of names. Then, with a hand not wholly +steady, he handed the list to his companion.</p> + +<p>"Number eighteen," he said.</p> + +<p>Opposite that number Crochard read, "Admiral H. Pachmann, Chief of the +Wireless Service;" and then he gazed at the photograph long and +earnestly, as though impressing it indelibly upon his mind.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h2>THE SECOND INSTALLATION</h2> +<br /> + +<p>The Board of Inquiry began its sessions that afternoon, at the +Prefecture of Marine. It was composed of the most distinguished officers +of France, who had donned for the occasion their most brilliant +uniforms. There was much paraphernalia—secretaries, portfolios, +red-taped papers, reports—all that display so dear to the French +temperament; and every one wore an air of importance and solemnity +befitting time and place.</p> + +<p>M. Delcassé opened the session with a ringing speech, forming a notable +contrast to the platitudes uttered by the President in the morning. In +fact, it was so bold in its allusions to an approaching struggle with +"the implacable enemy of the Republic," that the members of the Board +glanced covertly at each other in astonishment. Their astonishment was +the greater because, as they well knew, M. Delcassé was not given to +indiscretions. At least, his indiscretions were always nicely-calculated +ones. He knew when to speak and when to hold his tongue—none better; +and the fact that he thought it necessary to speak now proved that the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>affair was serious indeed. At the end of the speech, the Board +proceeded in a body to an inspection of the wreck.</p> + +<p>Lépine, meanwhile, armed with the description Crochard had given him, +set his men to work to discover the dwelling-place of the white-haired +stranger who had been seen passing back and forth along the road outside +the city gate. But, to his chagrin, evening came and his men had +discovered nothing. It is true that the investigation was rendered more +than usually difficult by the fact that the town was still in an uproar, +and no one wished to speak of anything but the disaster. For the moment, +the memories of the people went no farther back than dawn of the +previous day. In a day or two, when the first excitement had passed, +there would be a much better chance of success.</p> + +<p>So, at least, reasoned Inspector Pigot, whose watchword was always +Patience! But the reasoning did not satisfy Lépine. Patience was not +always a virtue. In this affair, it was impossible to wait a day or two. +With every hour, no doubt, the man they sought was putting fresh leagues +between himself and his pursuers. Crochard, so Lépine told himself +miserably, Crochard would not wait a day or two. Perhaps, already....</p> + +<p>He put on his hat and sought the Café des Voyageurs. Choosing the seat +which he had occupied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>that morning, he ordered a liqueur and sat for an +hour contemplating the crowd. Again he perceived that the proprietor was +absent; but this time the head-waiter did not approach, or even meet his +glance. He thought, for a moment, of calling him and asking for +Crochard; but he finally decided that that would be too great an +indiscretion. Besides, as Crochard had pointed out, in this affair it +was Lépine who followed. It was for him to receive instructions, not to +give them. At last, with a feeling of depression and dependency quite +new to him, the great detective left the café, returned to his hotel and +went to bed.</p> + +<p>But early next morning, things began to move again. He had scarcely +finished his breakfast, when a summons came from M. Delcassé to attend +him at once, and when Lépine entered his office, he saw that something +of importance had occurred. Delcassé already had a visitor—a tall, thin +man, dressed severely in black, with the word "banker" written all over +him. Lépine was therefore not surprised when the visitor was introduced +to him as the manager of the Toulon branch of the Bank of France.</p> + +<p>"We have something of interest here," said Delcassé, and tossed over to +Lépine two notes for a hundred francs each.</p> + +<p>The latter's eyes were shining as he picked them <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>up, glanced at their +numbers, and then compared them with a third note which he took from his +pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"They are of the same series," he said. "Where did you get them, sir?" +and he turned to the bank manager.</p> + +<p>"They were deposited with us by the cashier of the central railway +station."</p> + +<p>"When?"</p> + +<p>"On the afternoon of Monday, the twenty-fifth."</p> + +<p>"How did you discover them?"</p> + +<p>"We received instructions yesterday from Paris to report immediately the +receipt of any notes of this series. Our cashier, while checking up our +deposits yesterday evening, happened upon these notes, and identified +them as a part of the railway deposit of the day before. The matter was +reported to me, and I at once forwarded the report to Paris. This +morning I received a telegram instructing me to report in person to M. +Delcassé, and I hastened to do so."</p> + +<p>"You have done well, sir," said the Minister, "and I thank you. We will +ask you to exchange these notes for two others, and furthermore to say +nothing to any one of this discovery or of having seen me."</p> + +<p>The exchange was made, the banker departed, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>and Lépine, with the notes +in his pocket-book, hastened away to the Gare Centrale. Arrived there, +he asked for the chief, introduced himself, and stated his business.</p> + +<p>"I have here two notes," he said, "which were deposited by your cashier +last Monday afternoon. It is most important that I find out from whom +this money was received, and to what point tickets were purchased. The +purchase was made, no doubt, some time during Monday."</p> + +<p>"The money might have been received Sunday," the chef-du-gare pointed +out. "Since the bank is closed Sunday, we can make no deposit on that +day."</p> + +<p>"I have reason to believe it was not received until Monday," said +Lépine. "May I interrogate the cashiers, beginning with the one who was +on duty at daybreak Monday?"</p> + +<p>"There are two men on duty at all hours," explained the chief; "and each +trick is eight hours in length. The first begins at six o'clock in the +morning. At what hour was daybreak on Monday?"</p> + +<p>"At five o'clock and forty-nine minutes."</p> + +<p>"The clerks who were in the bureau at that hour are not here now, but I +can have them called."</p> + +<p>"Let us interrogate the ones who are here," suggested Lépine. "Perhaps +it will not be necessary to disturb the others."</p> + +<p>The chief pressed a button and summoned the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>ticket-sellers, one after +the other. The first had no recollection of having received the notes, +but with his companion Lépine was more successful.</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, I remember them perfectly," he said, when they were shown to +him. "My attention was called to them because they were both quite new. +I looked at them closely to make certain that they were genuine, and +noticed that they were numbered consecutively. Another detail which +caused them to remain in my memory was the striking appearance of the +person who gave them to me."</p> + +<p>Lépine's heart was throbbing with triumph.</p> + +<p>"Describe this man," he said.</p> + +<p>"Ah, sir," said the clerk, "that is just it. It was not a man, but a +girl—a girl of eighteen or twenty. That is what drew my attention. It +is not usual to have a girl like that ask for two tickets, second-class, +to Paris."</p> + +<p>"A girl!" stammered Lépine. "You are sure?"</p> + +<p>"Perfectly sure, sir."</p> + +<p>"Well, describe her, then."</p> + +<p>The clerk half-closed his eyes in order the better to visualize his +memory.</p> + +<p>"She was, as I have said, of about nineteen, and she was not a +Frenchwoman."</p> + +<p>"How do you know that?"</p> + +<p>"Because, in the first place, she spoke French not very well; and, in +the second place, there was in her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>manner an assurance, a freedom from +embarrassment, which a French girl of her station would not possess."</p> + +<p>"Was she light or dark?"</p> + +<p>"She was dark, sir, with bright black eyes, with which she looked at one +very steadily. She was slightly built, of medium height, simply dressed, +so far as I could see through the little window, not fashionably, but +with good effect. However, what impressed me most was her calm +assurance—almost American; but she was too dark to be of America."</p> + +<p>Reading between the lines, Lépine suspected that the clerk had attempted +to start a flirtation with the self-possessed unknown, and had been +rebuffed. And yet, what he said was true—young girls in France were +not, ordinarily, entrusted with the buying of railway tickets, +especially for so considerable a journey.</p> + +<p>"You are sure the tickets were to Paris?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; second-class. I remember distinctly giving her sixty-four +francs in change."</p> + +<p>"At what hour was this?"</p> + +<p>"About eight o'clock, sir."</p> + +<p>"Of Monday morning?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; of Monday morning."</p> + +<p>"At what hour was the next train for Paris?"</p> + +<p>"At eight-fifteen, sir, the express departs."</p> + +<p>"The girl had no companion?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>"I saw none, sir."</p> + +<p>"She certainly had a companion, or she would not have bought two +tickets."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the inspector at the gate can tell us something," the chief +suggested, and the clerk was dismissed and the inspector summoned. But +he could give them no information. There had been many passengers for +the express, and, besides, every one, himself included, was so +distressed and overwrought by the catastrophe of the morning that there +had not been the usual attention to detail. The inquiry was extended to +the baggage-porters, but with no better success. They, too, had been +upset by the disaster and had thought of nothing else. Some of them had +frankly deserted their posts in order to hasten to the harbour-front. +None of those who remained had noticed a white-haired man and a +dark-haired girl.</p> + +<p>"Come!" said Lépine savagely to himself, as he left the station. "This +is not getting ahead—we must try the cabs. But first...."</p> + +<p>He turned toward the Prefecture and quickened his step, for suddenly he +scented a new danger. This white-haired man, then, was in the pay of +Germany. He had destroyed <i>La Liberté</i> for a price—an immense price, no +doubt! And now he had gone to Paris. From there, where would he go? To +Brest, perhaps, to work similar mischief there. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>Lépine shivered a +little. The best men he had left at Paris must be sent to Brest with +instructions to arrest the fugitives at sight. Two people, so unusual in +appearance, would find it difficult to avoid the police in so small a +town. But in Paris—that was different. Yet even there something might +be done. And then there was always chance, divine chance, which might, +at any moment, deliver them into his hands. Ah, if only he were +strolling along the Boulevards, looking into this face and that!</p> + +<p>"Decidedly, I must be getting back!" Lépine murmured; and, having +arrived at the Prefecture, he sent a long telegram to his assistant at +Paris and another to the Prefect at Brest. Then he summoned Pigot. "You +will interrogate the cabmen at the Gare Centrale," he said, "as to which +of them drove a white-haired man and a dark-haired girl to the station +for the Paris express, Monday morning. And, understand well, Pigot, +there must be no failure this time!" Then, as the door closed behind +Pigot's retiring figure, he slapped himself smartly on the forehead. "I +am a fool!" he cried, and hurried from the building and called a cab.</p> + +<p>There are many dealers in electrical supplies at Toulon, and it was not +until he reached the fourth one that Lépine found a ray of light. No; +its proprietor had no recollection of any sales to strangers. A little +white-haired man? No. But stay—there <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span><i>had</i> been a white-haired man! +No, he had bought nothing. He had had a battery recharged—a heavy +battery of an unusual type. Yes, it had been delivered. One moment, and +the man slowly turned the pages of his ledger, while Lépine bit his lips +with impatience. Here it was—the address—80 Rue du Plasson, fourth +floor.</p> + +<p>In another moment, Lépine's cab was rattling over the cobbles in the +direction of the quays.</p> + +<p>"Faster! Faster!" he urged.</p> + +<p>And then they were in the Rue du Plasson.</p> + +<p>"Behold Number Eighty, sir," said the cabman, and pulled up sharply.</p> + +<p>There was already a cab at the curb, and as Lépine jumped out, the door +of the house opened and Pigot appeared on the threshold. He stared at +his chief in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I was just coming to report to you, sir," he said. "The birds have +flown."</p> + +<p>"Indeed!" sneered Lépine. "So you have discovered that, have you? But +the installation is here, I suppose?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered Pigot, very red. "On the fourth floor."</p> + +<p>Lépine bounded up the stairs, and Pigot followed in silence. He felt +that he had been used unjustly; after all, he was not a wizard—what did +the Chief expect!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>At the top of the house, Lépine glanced first into the narrow room which +we have already seen; then he returned to the landing and opened the +other door. It led into a still narrower room, also extending to the +front of the house, and lighted by a single window. Lépine went to the +window and looked out. Over the roof of the low market across the way, +he could see the harbour, the warships, and the wreck of <i>La Liberté</i>. +Then he turned to an examination of the room.</p> + +<p>A heavy box stood before the window, and on the floor beside it were +three large batteries. Some pieces of copper wire were lying about, but +there was nothing else. In the top of the box, however, four holes had +been bored, as though for the reception of bolts, and one side of the +box was badly burned. The sill of the window was also scorched and +blistered.</p> + +<p>"You have the proprietor of this house?" Lépine inquired.</p> + +<p>"He is below," Pigot announced, and went to fetch him.</p> + +<p>But from the proprietor, a nervous little man with a dirty beard, Lépine +learned little. He lived at the rear of the ground floor, and ten days +or perhaps two weeks before, a man had knocked at the door and asked if +the upper floor was to rent.</p> + +<p>"What sort of man?" Lépine inquired.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>"A dark man, with white hair, sir; not a bad-looking man, but not a +Frenchman."</p> + +<p>"A German, perhaps."</p> + +<p>"No, most certainly not a German; an Italian or a Spaniard."</p> + +<p>"What was his business?"</p> + +<p>"He said he was an inventor and desired the top floor for his +experiments. I told him that in that case I should have to charge extra, +as experiments were always dangerous. He did not object, and paid a +month in advance. He seemed a very harmless person."</p> + +<p>"Was he alone?"</p> + +<p>"At that time, yes, sir. But when he returned with his baggage, his +daughter accompanied him."</p> + +<p>"How do you know it was his daughter?"</p> + +<p>"He told me so, sir. The resemblance was very evident. Besides, he +insisted that I supply material to curtain off a portion of the room for +her bed."</p> + +<p>Lépine recognised the cogency of this reasoning and nodded.</p> + +<p>"Continue," he said.</p> + +<p>"She was a dark, slim girl, of about twenty. They gave me no trouble. +She scarcely left the house except for the marketing. But her father was +away a great deal."</p> + +<p>"Did he bring much baggage?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>"Two pieces of hand-baggage, sir, and that box yonder by the window. The +box was very heavy—almost as if filled with iron—and we had great +difficulty in getting it up the stairs, even with the assistance of the +truck-man."</p> + +<p>"Did you enter this room while he was here?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I entered neither of the rooms. My rule is never to interfere +in the affairs of my tenants—they do not like it. But on one occasion, +as I passed the door, I heard him at work on his invention."</p> + +<p>"Heard him, you say?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; there was a deep humming noise as of a huge top, or perhaps +of a motor. It occurred to me that it was a flying-machine which he was +inventing. Then, on Sunday, came a telegram."</p> + +<p>"A telegram?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; I brought it up myself. He read it and his face grew very +grave. He informed me that he would be compelled to depart next +day—that his sister was dying. But he assured me that he would return +as soon as possible to continue his experiments, and that I was to hold +the apartment for him—at least until the month for which he had paid +had expired."</p> + +<p>"And he did depart?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; quite early in the morning. I called a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>cab and assisted to +carry down his baggage. The box, as you see, remains against his return, +also his apparatus," and he indicated the batteries.</p> + +<p>"Oh, certainly," agreed Lépine, with irony, "there can be no doubt of +his intention to return." And then his face grew dark and his eyes +flashed. "How does it happen," he demanded sternly, "that you did not +cause him to fill out a registration blank for the police?"</p> + +<p>The little man twisted his hands nervously.</p> + +<p>"In that I admit I was most culpable, sir," he said. "But when I looked +in my desk for a blank, I found that I had none. Every day I intended +going to the Prefecture to get a new supply, but every day something +occurred to prevent me. And then came the day of his departure."</p> + +<p>Lépine's face was very stern.</p> + +<p>"You have, indeed, been culpable," he said, "and I shall see that you +are punished. You have broken one of the laws of your country. You have +aided a malefactor!"</p> + +<p>The little man's face was livid.</p> + +<p>"Oh, do not say so, sir!" he protested. "There must be some mistake! +That kind gentleman, absorbed only in his invention—"</p> + +<p>"I <i>do</i> say so," broke in Lépine, savagely. "Did he receive any +letters?"</p> + +<p>"One, sir, on the Saturday before the arrival of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>the telegram. No doubt +it, too, spoke of the illness of his sister."</p> + +<p>Lépine put his hand wearily to his head.</p> + +<p>"At least you noticed the address on the letter?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir. It was 'Monsieur B. Séguin, 80 Rue du Plasson, Toulon.' +Séguin, that was the name of my lodger."</p> + +<p>"But you said he was not a Frenchman!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he was a Belgian, sir. I have heard that they are sometimes +dark."</p> + +<p>Lépine threw up his hands.</p> + +<p>"Head of a pig!" he cried, and then controlled himself. "M. Pigot," he +said, "you will take this idiot to his rooms and remain in charge of him +until you hear from me."</p> + +<p>And then, as Pigot and his prisoner started down the stairs, Lépine +turned to an investigation of the two rooms. Every nook, every crevice, +every inch of the floor, every drawer—all these he examined with a +minuteness of which only the French police are capable, but his search +disclosed nothing which shed any new light on the mystery. At last, he +descended the stairs and left the house.</p> + +<p>There was still one hope, the telegram. He hastened to the post-office, +inquired for the clerk of telegraphs, apologised for again disturbing +him, and asked to see the telegram received for B. Séguin, 80 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>Rue du +Plasson, the Sunday before. At the end of five minutes it was in his +hands, and he read it with dismay. It had been sent from Brussels, and +this is the English of its contents:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Our sister is very ill and asks for you. Come if you would +see her alive.</p> + +<p class="right smcap" style="padding-right: 6em;">"Charles Séguin."</p></div> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h2>CHECKMATE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>"It is evident that this affair was not lightly arranged," said M. +Delcassé, and ran his fingers nervously through his hair.</p> + +<p>Lépine nodded gloomily.</p> + +<p>"You may well say so!" he agreed.</p> + +<p>The two sat together in Delcassé's room, and Lépine had just finished +his report. Evening was falling, and the room was growing dark, but +neither desired a light.</p> + +<p>"Everything has been thought of and provided for," said the Prefect, at +last, "even to the telegram which gave an excuse for this man's abrupt +departure. Perhaps the other telegrams were also intended to mislead +us—just as they did mislead me—to convince us that those other men +were only ordinary travellers. They must have foreseen that the police +would investigate the presence of every stranger in Toulon. It was +careless to send both telegrams from Brussels, but a coincidence so +small might easily be overlooked. On one point only was there an +oversight—they did not foresee that we might trace them by means of the +money. There is our hope. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>Sooner or later, the man with the white hair +will spend another of his hundred-franc notes. There is a certain +justice in it," he added, "that he should be betrayed by his +blood-money."</p> + +<p>"Yes, blood-money!" cried Delcassé. "That is the word for it! Oh, that I +had my hands on the monster—for he <i>is</i> a monster, Lépine; he must be a +monster! There he sat, in cold blood, and loosed the power that killed +three hundred men! Have you considered, Lépine, that the finding of this +second installation furnishes, as Crochard foresaw, proof of his +theory?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Lépine, in a low voice; "this is the proof."</p> + +<p>Delcassé was on his feet, striding savagely up and down the room.</p> + +<p>"But it is absurd," he cried, "it is incredible that here, under our +very noses, such things should take place! What are our police for, +Lépine—our secret service?"</p> + +<p>"It is the fault of that miserable landlord," Lépine pointed out.</p> + +<p>"Of him an example shall be made. But that does not help us. This man +must not escape! Think what it may mean for France if he escapes!"</p> + +<p>"I have thought, sir!" and Lépine's voice was trembling.</p> + +<p>Delcassé turned on him fiercely.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>"Where is Crochard?" he demanded. "What is he doing all this time?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know, sir. I have not seen him since yesterday."</p> + +<p>"Rest assured that he has not been idle. Do you know where to find him?"</p> + +<p>"I have his address."</p> + +<p>"Go to him, then, and say I wish to see him. We must lay these +discoveries before him—though no doubt he has already made them for +himself. Tell him he must not desert us—that without him, we are lost!"</p> + +<p>Lépine was grateful for the darkness, for his cheeks were red with +humiliation. But, after all, M. Delcassé was right. He rose with a sigh.</p> + +<p>"I will seek him at once, sir," he said.</p> + +<p>"Understand well, Lépine," said the Minister, more gently, "it is not +you I blame. You have done all that is possible with the means at your +command. But we cannot afford to fail. In an affair of this kind, the +public is not reasonable. Should we fail, and should our failure become +known, as it almost surely would, the ministry might find itself swept +away before the storm. So we must find Crochard."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you, sir," said Lépine, and took his leave.</p> + +<p>The Café des Voyageurs was crowded when he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>reached it, and he had some +difficulty in finding a seat. The marines who had been searching the +wreck had, at last, been released from duty, and had, with one accord, +hastened ashore to refresh themselves at the expense of a populace eager +to listen to every detail. The café hummed with talk; weird and +revolting stories of the search were told with gusto; the completeness +of the destruction was described; the survivors dwelt upon their +sensations at the moment of the explosion; the heroism of the rescuers +was not forgotten; but, and Lépine noted this with a little sigh of +relief, nowhere was there an intimation that the disaster was other than +an accident.</p> + +<p>He sat there for half an hour, listening to all this, and then, as +Crochard made no sign, he summoned the head-waiter and requested a word +with the proprietor. With a nod, as of one who expected the request, the +man turned and again led the way to the door at the rear of the room.</p> + +<p>"In there, sir," he said, and closed it when Lépine had entered.</p> + +<p>A single candle burned on the table in the centre of the little room, +and beyond it sat a man. At the first glance, in the semi-darkness, +Lépine fancied it was Crochard; then he saw that this man was slighter, +that his face was bloodless, and that he was staring with hunted eyes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>With a little start of surprise, he looked again; then he sat down.</p> + +<p>"So, Samson, it is you!" said Lépine, quietly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered Samson. "I was expecting you. But I did not think +you would recognise me so readily."</p> + +<p>Lépine laughed shortly.</p> + +<p>"I have a good memory," he said. "Crochard told you, perhaps, that I +might come?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; and he directed that I give you this."</p> + +<p>He handed Lépine a note. The latter broke the seal, held it to the light +and read it carefully:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>My dear M. Lépine:</i></p> + +<p>"I have found it necessary to leave Toulon, in the pursuit of +a certain business, whose nature you can guess. I hope soon +to have good news for M. Delcassé and yourself. Meanwhile, I +would remind you of our agreement as to my friends. Samson +is one of them. He has already been of some service in this +affair, and may be of more. We can discuss his future upon +my return. I will answer for him.</p> + +<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Crochard</span>, L'Invincible!"</p> +</div> + +<p>Lépine refolded the note and slipped it into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"When did Crochard leave?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"He gave me the note at four o'clock yesterday afternoon, sir, and +stated that he was about to depart. I have not seen him since."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>"Did he mention his destination?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>Lépine regarded his companion thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"There is one thing that perhaps you <i>can</i> tell me, Samson," he said. +"Previous to his departure, did he visit the house at 80 Rue du +Plasson?"</p> + +<p>"I think it very probable," answered Samson, after a moment's +hesitation. "I myself furnished M. Crochard with that address, when he +returned to the café yesterday for his lunch."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Lépine. "So it was you discovered it!"</p> + +<p>He fell a moment silent, studying the other's countenance.</p> + +<p>"You have indeed changed, Samson," he said, at last. "I suppose it was +Crochard who arranged your escape?"</p> + +<p>Samson made no reply.</p> + +<p>"You have a good business here?"</p> + +<p>"Very good, sir."</p> + +<p>"You know, of course, that it is my duty to denounce you as an escaped +criminal?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know that, sir."</p> + +<p>"Crochard tells me that he will answer for you—in other words, he +guarantees that you will not run away. Do you understand that?"</p> + +<p>"Do not fear," said Samson, huskily. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>"Monsieur will always find me here +when he requires me."</p> + +<p>Lépine looked at him for a moment, then got abruptly to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Very well," he said; "I shall do nothing for the present," and he left +the café.</p> + +<p>It was nearly eight o'clock, and, feeling the need of dinner, Lépine +made his way back to his hotel; but his hunger was destined to go +unsatisfied, for, as he stepped through the door, Pigot touched him on +the arm.</p> + +<p>"M. Delcassé wishes to see you at once," he said, and Lépine, with one +regretful glance in the direction of the dining-room, hurried up the +stairs to the Minister's apartment. He found him dictating to his +secretary, a great pile of letters before him.</p> + +<p>Without pausing in his dictation, Delcassé picked up a telegram which +lay at his elbow, and handed it to Lépine. It was dated from Paris, and +had been filed but an hour before. It read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Seven notes one hundred francs B162810R to B162816R +deposited to-day by Thomas Cook & Son.</p> + +<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Linné</span>, Governor Bank of France."</p> +</div> + +<p>Lépine laid the telegram on his desk and glanced at his watch.</p> + +<p>"I must be in Paris in the morning," he said.</p> + +<p>Delcassé nodded.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he agreed. "And Crochard?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>"Is no doubt already there," and he handed Delcassé the note which +Samson had given him.</p> + +<p>Delcassé read it, and looked up with an amused smile, in which there +lurked a trace of malice.</p> + +<p>"What a man!" he said. "Nevertheless, Lépine, I think you would better +go. You may be able to assist him! Give him my compliments, and keep me +informed," and he turned back to his secretary.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>The Paris office of the Messrs. Cook is at the corner opposite the Opera +House, and here, about ten o'clock on the morning of Thursday, September +28, a little grey-bearded man descended from a fiacre, entered, and, +after a short delay, was admitted to the presence of the manager, who +made it clear at once that he was entirely at the service of his +distinguished visitor.</p> + +<p>Lépine sat down and produced from his pocket seven notes of the Bank of +France, for one hundred francs each. They were quite new and had not +even been folded.</p> + +<p>"These notes were deposited by you yesterday afternoon," he said. "I +should like to know from whom they were received."</p> + +<p>The manager took the notes and glanced at them.</p> + +<p>"That will not be difficult, sir," he said. "Our cashier can no doubt +tell us from which of our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>clerks he received them. Excuse me a moment."</p> + +<p>He hurried from the room with the notes in his hand, and Lépine, +strolling to the window, relapsed into his favourite amusement. At no +other corner in the city could it be practised so profitably, for here, +at the meeting of the Boulevards, all Paris, sooner or later, passed; +and not Paris only, but vagrants from every nation. So Lépine watched +the crowd intently, his bright eyes skipping from face to face—a mere +glance at one, a longer glance at another, a close stare at a third. +Perhaps, at the back of his mind, there was the hope that some +incredible good-fortune might send past this corner a shrunken, +white-haired man, leaning on the arm of his dark-haired daughter....</p> + +<p>The opening of the door behind him broke into his thoughts, and he +turned to find that the manager had brought another man back with him.</p> + +<p>"This is the clerk who received the money," said the manager, and +returned the seven notes to the detective.</p> + +<p>Lépine motioned the clerk to be seated, and himself sat down facing him.</p> + +<p>"Tell me all that you remember of the transaction," he said.</p> + +<p>"It was Tuesday afternoon, sir," the clerk began, "about four o'clock, I +should say, that a man came to the counter and stated that he desired a +stateroom, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>with two berths, second-class, for the <i>Prinzsessin +Ottilie</i>, the sailing of yesterday."</p> + +<p>"What sort of a man?" asked Lépine.</p> + +<p>"A thin man, past middle-age. His hair was quite grey and he was of a +dark complexion, with very bright eyes."</p> + +<p>"What language did he use?"</p> + +<p>"He spoke in English, sir."</p> + +<p>"Fluently?"</p> + +<p>"Quite fluently, sir."</p> + +<p>"Very well; proceed."</p> + +<p>"I was in some doubt as to whether such a stateroom was available, as +this is the busy season; but on reference to our list, I found that +there was such a stateroom. A customer to whom we had sold it had just +called at the office, saying that he would not be able to sail, and +leaving his tickets with us to resell, if possible. When I told the man +of this, he seemed very pleased, took the tickets, and gave me the seven +hundred-franc notes. My attention was called to them because they were +quite new and unfolded. He took them from a long envelope which he +carried in an inner pocket, and which seemed to contain a large sum of +money."</p> + +<p>"Do you remember the number of the stateroom?"</p> + +<p>The clerk spread out before Lépine a cabin-plan of the ship.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>"It was this one, sir," he said, and placed his finger on 514; "an inner +room, you see, on the upper deck."</p> + +<p>"You asked the man's name, I suppose?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir. I caused him to fill out the usual blank. Here it is."</p> + +<p>Lépine took the blank and looked it over. It stated that stateroom No. +514, on the <i>Prinzsessin Ottilie</i>, for the sailing of September 27, two +berths, second-class, had been purchased of Thomas Cook & Son by Ignace +Vard, of New York City, the berths to be used by himself and his +daughter; and that he had paid for these berths the sum of six hundred +and forty francs, being payment in full, the receipt of which was +acknowledged. The blank also stated that Mr. Vard was a naturalised +citizen of the United States, and had lived in that country for ten +years.</p> + +<p>"The sailing was from Cherbourg?" Lépine inquired, when he had +assimilated all this.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"At what hour?"</p> + +<p>"About four o'clock, sir—four o'clock yesterday afternoon."</p> + +<p>"How did it happen, sir," Lépine asked, turning to the manager, "that +the notes were not deposited until yesterday?"</p> + +<p>"Our deposit is made up at three o'clock each afternoon," the manager +explained. "The notes <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>came in too late for Tuesday's deposit, and were +placed in our safe until the next day."</p> + +<p>Lépine made a brief entry in his notebook, handed back the blank and +rose.</p> + +<p>"I thank you very much, gentlemen," he said. "You have been most +obliging. The information you have given me will be of the very greatest +service."</p> + +<p>And with that he took his leave, returned light-heartedly to his office +and sent a wireless to the captain of the <i>Ottilie</i>. The fugitive could +not escape him now; it was merely a question of arresting him as he left +the boat at New York; soon, soon, Lépine would have the pleasure of +putting him on the grill, and, once there, the detective felt sure that +there would be some important revelations before he got off again. One +fact surprised him—that Vard should be an American citizen; but perhaps +that was not the truth. If it was the truth, it would make the arrest at +New York a little awkward; a formal complaint would have to be made, a +charge of some kind trumped up. But there was no hurry—a week remained +in which to mature the plans.</p> + +<p>So Lépine, after sending a brief report in cipher to M. Delcassé, turned +to the work which had accumulated during his absence in a happier and +more contented frame of mind than he had enjoyed for some days.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>"I shall relish my lunch to-day!" he reflected; but, alas! it was just +as he was preparing to sally forth for it that the blow fell.</p> + +<p>"A message for you, sir," his secretary said, and handed him a +light-blue envelope.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Lépine, "a wireless!" and he ripped it open eagerly. Then he +remained staring at it with astounded eyes. Here is the message:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Prinzsessin Ottilie</span>, September 28, 11:10 <span class="smcap">A. +M.</span> <i>Radio via Cherbourg.</i></p> + +<p>"<i>Lépine, Paris.</i></p> + +<p>"No record of Ignace Vard and daughter on <i>Ottilie</i>. +Stateroom 514 unoccupied.</p> + +<p class="right" style="padding-right: 3em;">"<span class="smcap">Hausmann</span>, Captain."</p></div> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h2>THE LAND OF FREEDOM</h2> +<br /> + +<p>The old town of Cherbourg was experiencing its semi-weekly apotheosis. +For five days of the seven a duller place would be difficult to find, +but on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when the great trans-Atlantic liners +were due to pause in the outer harbour and take aboard the multitudes +homeward-bound to America, the town was transfigured. The +transfiguration, indeed, began on the previous evenings, for it was then +that the less-knowing and more timid of the tourists began to arrive.</p> + +<p>The knowing ones, having once tasted the Lethe of Cherbourg, remained in +Paris until the last minute, and stepped from the boat-train to the +waiting tender. But the less well-informed came on the day before—and +never, for the remainder of their lives, forgot the dulness of their +last day in Europe. Then there were the nervously-anxious, their peace +of mind already wrecked by the vagaries of the European baggage-system, +who dared not run the risk of arriving at the last moment. So they, too, +journeyed to Cherbourg the day before the sailing-date, in order to have +a clear twenty-four hours in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>which to search for the pieces which were +certain to be missing. That day at Cherbourg was always an expensive +one, for the hotel-keepers of the place, having to live for seven days +on the proceeds of two, arranged their rates accordingly.</p> + +<p>At the edge of the narrow strip of rock-strewn sand which constitutes +the beach at Cherbourg, stands the Grand Hotel—familiar name to every +traveller in Europe, where even the smallest hamlet has its "Grand." The +one at Cherbourg is a rambling, three-storied frame structure, with a +glass-enclosed dining-room overlooking the harbour, and here, at ten +o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, the twenty-seventh of September, in +the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eleven, Daniel Webster was +disconsolately eating that frugal meal which is the French for +breakfast. Not the great Daniel—all well-informed persons are, of +course, aware that he passed to his reward some sixty years ago—but a +well-built, fresh-faced, rather good-looking young fellow, still on the +right side of thirty, who had most inadvisedly chosen to appear in this +world of trouble on the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the +great Daniel, and who had forthwith been handicapped with his name.</p> + +<p>John Webster, an honest farmer of the Connecticut valley, had always +been a worshipper at the shrine of the eloquent New Englander, to whom +he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>fancied himself related, and when, having taken to himself a wife, +that wife presented him with a son on the very day when the centenary of +his hero's birth was being celebrated, the coincidence appeared to him +too momentous to be disregarded, and the boy was christened Daniel.</p> + +<p>It was a thing no thoughtful father would have done, and as Dan grew +older, he resented his name bitterly. It was the subject of brutal jests +from his playmates, resulting in numberless pitched battles, and of +still more brutal hazing when he pursued his predestined way through the +portals of the university at New Haven. Here he was promptly +rechristened Ichabod, and his real name was gradually forgotten.</p> + +<p>In the depths of his heart, John Webster may perhaps have hoped that +this was to be a real reincarnation. If so, he was doomed to +disappointment, for the younger Daniel gave no promise of being either a +statesman or an orator. But he took to ink as a duck to water, was never +so happy as when his pen was spoiling good white paper, was elected +editor of the <i>News</i>, and, commencement over, took the first train for +New York, stormed the office of the <i>Record</i>, for which he had acted as +college correspondent, and demanded a job.</p> + +<p>He got it; and began anew the task of living down his name. Always, when +introduced or introducing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>himself, he saw in the eyes opposite his own +that maddening glimmer of amusement. Then he gritted his teeth and +waited for the joke. There were fourteen possible forms that it might +take. Tempted often to return to that rocky Connecticut hillside, he +nevertheless stuck it out, and, as time passed, found he didn't mind so +much. He even reached the point where he made bets with himself as to +which of the fourteen it would be. And he progressed in other ways: the +material symbol of the progress being that, instead of cub reporter at +twelve dollars a week, he was now one of the trusted members of the +staff at six times that salary.</p> + +<p>Also he was seven years older, and this had been his first long +vacation—six weeks in England, Belgium, Holland and France—glorious +weeks; but his eyes were aching for the lights of Broadway and his +fingers itching for the pencil. The most exacting and bewitching of all +professions was clamouring for him again.</p> + +<p>Having disposed of the rolls and coffee, he rose reluctantly, stepped +out upon the beach, and filled and lighted his pipe—with a grimace at +the first puff, for French tobacco is the worst in the world, outside of +Germany. Before him lay the mighty breakwater which guards the harbour, +with its lighthouse in the middle and its fort at either end, while to +his left were the great naval basins, hewn from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>solid rock. To the +right, below the high sea-wall, the narrow beach stretched away, empty +and uninviting.</p> + +<p>Dan felt depressed. Cherbourg, evidently, was not an exciting place. He +had never seen an uglier beach, but, after a moment's hesitation, he +started off along it. Perhaps, farther on, it might improve.</p> + +<p>The tide was going out, and in the little basins in the sand minute +crabs and strange sea-midgets scuttled about panic-stricken at finding +themselves marooned; here and there a stranded jelly-fish glowed like an +iridescent soap-bubble, and, farther out, an ugly mud flat began to be +revealed by the retreating water. Some distance ahead, a ridge of +tumbled rocks ran from the sea-wall down into the water, and, as he drew +nearer, he saw that on one of the rocks a girl was sitting.</p> + +<p>He glanced at her as he passed, and would have liked to glance again, +for he had never met more arresting eyes, but he was going on with face +rigidly to the front, when her voice startled him.</p> + +<p>"<i>Pardon, monsieur</i>," she said. It was a contralto voice, of a quality +that made his pulses leap.</p> + +<p>He stopped short and turned toward her, incredulous that it could be he +to whom she had spoken. But there was no one else in sight; and then he +saw that her hands were gripped tightly in her lap and that her lips +were quivering.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>"Is something wrong?" he asked, and took a step toward her. "Is there +anything I can do?"</p> + +<p>"Oh!" she cried, her face lighting, and a wave of colour sweeping into +her cheeks. "Then you are an American!"</p> + +<p>"Yes; thank God!"</p> + +<p>"So say I!" she echoed. "For myself, I mean. I also am an American. We +will speak English, then."</p> + +<p>"I should much prefer it," he smiled. "My French is wholly academic—and +covered with moss, at that. It doesn't even enable me to get my eggs +turned!"</p> + +<p>She looked at him, the colour deepening in her cheeks. Dan, looking +back, decided that he had never seen such eyes; he could scarcely +believe that she was an American. She did not look in the least like +one. But she was speaking rapidly.</p> + +<p>"I am in trouble," she said, "as the result of my own carelessness. I +was crossing these rocks, without watching sufficiently where I was +going, and my foot slipped. See," and she swept aside her skirts. "I +cannot get it out."</p> + +<p>Dan was on his knees in an instant.</p> + +<p>"Is it hurt?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I think not; or at most only a little strained. But it is wedged +between these big rocks, and I cannot move it."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>Dan touched the foot, and found that it was, indeed, wedged fast. Then +he examined the rocks, and finally, bending above the smaller one, +placed his arms firmly about it, braced his feet and lifted. It would +have been worth while to have seen the play of his back and shoulder +muscles as the strain tightened, but it was over in a moment. For the +rock rose slowly, slowly, and the foot was free. He let the rock drop +softly back, stood up and brushed the sand from his sleeves. The girl +bent and rubbed her ankle.</p> + +<p>"Is it all right?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I think so," and she took an experimental step or two. "Yes; not even +sprained. That reminded me of Porthos," she added, looking up at him, +her eyes very bright.</p> + +<p>He laughed.</p> + +<p>"Porthos would have done it with one hand," he said, "while saluting you +with the other."</p> + +<p>She hesitated a little, looking along the beach; and he, guessing her +thought, raised his cap and started to walk on. But again her voice +stopped him. Perhaps she, too, was something of a mind-reader.</p> + +<p>"I owe you some thanks, you know," she said. "You mustn't go off till +I've paid them!"</p> + +<p>Dan swung around, his face glowing.</p> + +<p>"Not thanks!" he protested. "But if you would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>take pity on a lonely +exile and talk to him a little, you'd certainly be doing a noble +action!"</p> + +<p>"Is it as bad as all that?" and Dan noticed how the corners of her eyes +crinkled when she smiled.</p> + +<p>"You can't imagine how lonely I've been!" he said. "Especially the past +few days. I didn't feel it so much till I was starting home. America!" +and he took off his hat.</p> + +<p>"The land of freedom!" she added, softly.</p> + +<p>"Do you feel it that way, too?" he asked eagerly. "I've never been much +of a patriot—just took things as a matter of course, I guess; but six +weeks in Europe is enough to make a patriot of any American. Whenever I +see the old flag, I feel like going down on my knees and kissing it. +I've just begun to realise what it stands for!"</p> + +<p>She had turned back toward the hotel, walking slowly with Dan beside +her, and her face was beaming as she looked up at him.</p> + +<p>"You are right—oh, so right!" she cried. "And how much more would you +realise it if, like me, you had been born in another country and felt +for yourself the injustice, the oppression, of which you have seen only +a little! For such as I, America is indeed the Promised Land!"</p> + +<p>So she was foreign-born! Dan glanced at her with a shy curiosity.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>"You are a Russian?" he asked. "Pardon me if I seem intrusive."</p> + +<p>"You do not. No, I am not a Russian. Worse than that! I am a Pole!"</p> + +<p>The words were uttered with a tragic emphasis which left him speechless. +He could think of nothing to say that was not banal or superficial, and +he realised that here were deep waters! He glanced once or twice at her +face, which had grown suddenly dark and brooding; then, with a little +motion of her hands, she seemed to push her thoughts away.</p> + +<p>"You do not know much of Polish history, perhaps," she said, in a +lighter tone. "But if you are fond of tales of heroism, you should read +it, for it is one long heroism. It will help you to realise more fully +what your flag stands for. It is my flag, too; I have lived in America +nearly ten years; and never do I grow so angry as when I hear an +American speak slightingly of his country. Here is the hotel. Forgive me +for talking like this; but it has done me good to meet you!"</p> + +<p>"And me!" he said. "Must you go in?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; my father will be wondering where I am. Good-bye."</p> + +<p>She held out her hand and gave his a frank little pressure. Then she +turned and left him.</p> + +<p>He watched until the door swung shut behind her; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>then he walked on +slowly, past the great basins, over the drawbridge, along the crooked +streets of the old town, past the station, and finally he stopped in the +shadow of a crag of rock which sprang abruptly three hundred feet into +the air. Its summit was crowned by the frowning walls of the great fort +which commands the harbour, and along the face of the cliff, blue with +heather, a narrow footpath wound deviously upward. He ascended this for +a little way, and then stopped, his elbows on the wall which guarded it. +Before him stretched the bay, shielded by its jetty, and beyond rolled +the white-capped ocean. That way lay America.</p> + +<p>"The land of freedom!" he murmured, and his eyes were bright. "The land +of freedom!"</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h2>SHIPMATES</h2> +<br /> + +<p>When Dan got back to the hotel for lunch, he found that there had been +many arrivals during the morning. The <i>Adriatic</i> was to sail that +afternoon, as well as the <i>Ottilie</i>, and the long dining-room at the +hotel was a busy place. As the head-waiter led him to a seat, he caught +a glimpse, far off, of the girl of the morning. She was sitting at a +table with a white-haired man—her father, of course—with whom she was +talking earnestly. She did not look up, and, in another instant, Dan's +guide had pulled out a chair, and he found himself sitting with his back +toward the only person in the room who interested him.</p> + +<p>He told himself this deliberately, after a glance at his neighbours; and +then, in the next moment, he called himself a cad, for every human-being +is interesting, once you get below the skin. But degrees of interest +vary, and Dan felt that he had never met any one who promised so much as +this outspoken girl, with the shining eyes and sensitive mouth. Which +boat was she sailing by, he wondered? It was an even chance that, like +himself, she would be on the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span><i>Ottilie</i>. Yes—but second class? That +would be asking too much of Fortune! Let it be added here that Dan was +returning in the second-cabin not because—as he was to hear so many +times on that voyage!—there was no room in the first, but because by +doing so, he had saved the money for an extra week of travel.</p> + +<p>He found more arrivals in the office when he left the table, and a +formidable array of baggage, which was presently loaded on vans and +trundled away toward the waiting tender. He paid his bill, collected the +two suit-cases which constituted his total impedimenta, saw them safely +off for the pier, tipped the porter, and left the hotel. The whistle of +the tender was blowing shrilly, and, when he reached the pier, he saw +far out at sea the smudge of smoke against the sky, which told that one +of the steamers was approaching. He boarded the tender, assured a +medical inspector that he was an American citizen and so did not need to +have his eyes examined, dug his suit-cases out of the pile of luggage, +and found himself a seat near the bow of the boat. Presently the special +boat-train rolled in along the pier and disgorged the final quota of +passengers.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes later, with a shrill toot, the tender backed away and headed +out across the harbour. With a queer feeling, half of sorrow, half of +joy, Dan looked back at the receding shore, telling <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>himself that the +next soil his feet touched would be that of America.</p> + +<p>A mile out, the great liner lay waiting, impressively huge as seen from +the deck of the little tender, and presently they were alongside and +filing through an open port. A steward grabbed his suit-cases, the +instant he was on board, asked the number of his room, led him to it +along interminable passages, and left him to make himself at home.</p> + +<p>There were two berths in it, and, as he had paid for only one of them, +he knew that, at this crowded season, he could scarcely hope to have the +whole room to himself. But there was as yet no sign of any other +occupant, so Dan, thrusting his bags under the lower berth, went on deck +again. The last of the baggage and mail was being lifted aboard by a +block and tackle, worked by a donkey engine, and, even as Dan looked, +the tender tooted its whistle, cast loose, and backed away, and suddenly +beneath his feet Dan felt the quiver which told that the screws had +started. Slowly the great ship swung around and headed away into the +west toward the setting sun—and toward "the land of freedom." How that +phrase was running in his head!</p> + +<p>He made a little tour of that portion of the boat set aside for +passengers of the second class, and realised that the frugal Germans +were much less generous in their provision for those humble ones <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>than +was the English line on which he had come to Europe. There the second +class was well amidships, with a deck-room almost equal to that given +the aristocrats at the bow. Here the second class was at the very stern, +and the deck-room was limited indeed. Of course, Dan told himself, the +<i>Ottilie</i> was a crack boat, designed to cater to the most exclusive +trade; but he looked forward at the long stretches set apart for the +first cabin with a little envy.</p> + +<p>The boat was crowded, but he saw nothing of the black-haired girl, and +finally, after finding that there was no hope of getting a deck-chair, +he sought the dining-room steward, got his table-ticket, and made his +way back to his stateroom. But on the threshold he paused. A man was +lying in the upper berth, the light at his head turned on and a paper in +his hand. He raised his head and looked down, at the sound of the door, +and Dan had the impression of a bronzed countenance lighted by a pair of +very brilliant eyes.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said a pleasant voice, "so this is my shipmate," and the stranger +swung his legs over the side of the berth and dropped lightly to the +floor. Again Dan had the impression of the bright eyes upon him.</p> + +<p>"It looks that way," he said. And then a sudden compunction seized him. +"I didn't mean to be a pig and take the lower berth. You are quite +welcome to it."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>"Oh, no, no," protested the other. "The choice is always to the first +comer. That is the rule of the sea."</p> + +<p>Dan noticed that, though he spoke English well, it was with the clipped +accent which betrayed the Frenchman.</p> + +<p>"Then I choose the upper one," he said, laughing.</p> + +<p>The other shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"I can but thank you," he said. "After all, you are younger than I. My +name is André Chevrial, very much at your service," and he held out his +hand.</p> + +<p>If he had announced himself to be a prince of the blood, Dan would not +have been surprised, for there was that in his bearing which bespoke the +finished gentleman, and a magnetism in his manner to which Dan was +already yielding.</p> + +<p>"Mine is Webster—Dan Webster," he said, and took the outstretched hand +warmly.</p> + +<p>M. Chevrial looked a little puzzled.</p> + +<p>"The name seems somehow familiar," he said; "but I cannot quite place +it."</p> + +<p>Dan laughed.</p> + +<p>"My father made the mistake of naming me after the great Daniel—a +hundred years after," he explained.</p> + +<p>"Oh, so that is it! Daniel—Daniel Webster. A statesman, was he not?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>"One of our greatest."</p> + +<p>"Though it did not need that to tell me you are an American. You of +America have an atmosphere all your own. Shall we go on deck and have a +cigarette?"</p> + +<p>So presently Dan found himself seated beside M. Chevrial, talking very +comfortably. The Frenchman, to Dan's surprise, proclaimed himself to be +nothing more important than a wine-jobber who visited America every +autumn to dispose of his wares; but, whatever his business, he was +certainly a most entertaining companion. And then, suddenly, Dan quite +forgot him, for coming toward them down the deck was the dark-eyed girl, +arm in arm with a man whose burning eyes strangely belied his snowy +hair. Dan sat staring at them, scarcely able to credit such stupendous +good fortune, and, as they passed, the girl looked at him, smiled and +nodded.</p> + +<p>M. Chevrial, whom no detail of this little scene had escaped, lighted +another cigarette.</p> + +<p>"A very striking-looking young lady," he said. "The gentleman, I take +it, is her father?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I think so," said Dan. "I met her for a moment on the beach at +Cherbourg this morning, and she mentioned that she was with her father."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" commented Chevrial. "And now tell me more about this journalism of +yours, of which we hear so much. Is it really free? Is it not true <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>that +most of your papers are controlled by wealthy syndicates, who use them +for their own purposes?"</p> + +<p>This was a red flag to the bull, and Dan plunged into a defence of +American journalism, citing instances and proofs, telling of incidents +in his own experience showing that most editors really have consciences +by which they are guided, and a high conception of their duty to the +public.</p> + +<p>"There are exceptions, of course," Dan went on, carried away by his +subject; "there are scoundrels in the newspaper business, just as in all +businesses; but it is one of the beautiful laws of compensation that, +just as soon as a newspaper goes wrong, its influence begins to slip +away from it...."</p> + +<p>He stopped suddenly, for he had glanced at M. Chevrial and found him +inattentive. His head was turned a little aside and his eyes were fixed +with a peculiar and intent expression on two men who stood together by +the rail, a little distance away. One of them was the man with the white +hair. The other was evidently a tourist, from his costume, and though he +was clean-shaven, some instinct caused Dan to classify him as a German. +He glanced back at Chevrial at last, but the latter was gazing dreamily +out over the water and stifling a little yawn with his hand.</p> + +<p>"Your pardon, M. Webster," he said. "But I arose very early this +morning, in order to catch my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>train, and I am tired. I think that I +shall lie down for a few moments before dinner. Au revoir."</p> + +<p>Dan sat on by himself for a little while; then it suddenly occurred to +him that, if he looked about, he might find the dark-eyed girl alone +somewhere. He leaped to his feet and began the search. She was not on +the promenade deck, nor in the library, and he had about decided that +she had returned to her stateroom, when it occurred to him that she +might be on the boat-deck. So he climbed the narrow stair and emerged +upon that lofty eyrie. No, she could not be here—it was too windy; +then, as he glanced around, he saw, through the deepening twilight, a +dark figure sitting on a bench in the lee of one of the boats.</p> + +<p>Could it be she? He hesitated to approach near enough to be sure; but at +last he mustered up courage to stroll past. And then, in an instant, his +cap was off and his hand extended.</p> + +<p>"I can't tell you how glad I am that you are on the boat!" he began. +"May I sit down?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly," and she moved a little, looking up at him, smiling. "I am +glad, too."</p> + +<p>"Are you? It's nice of you to say so, anyway. A voyage is so dull if +there is no one to talk to. Of course, there is always some one to talk +to—but I don't mean that kind of talk. I mean plumbing the depths—you +know, that sort of thing."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>"You think I can plumb the depths?"</p> + +<p>"You certainly plumbed mine this morning. Not that I have any great +depths," he added, laughing; "but your line touched bottom, and gave me +a new feeling which I think was good for me. Now, since we're going to +know each other, I want to introduce myself. My name is Webster—named +after the great Daniel, but called Dan so that future historians can +distinguish between us—and I earn a precarious living by chasing news +for a New York paper."</p> + +<p>"And my name," she responded instantly, "is Kasia Vard; and I have +earned a precarious living in many ways—I have worked in a factory, I +have sold papers—I have even cleaned the streets."</p> + +<p>"Cleaned the streets?" he repeated incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that was not in America," she said. "It was at Warsaw. In Poland, +just as in many other countries of Europe, the streets are cleaned by +the women and children. The men, you see, are needed for the army."</p> + +<p>There was a bitter irony in her voice which drew him closer.</p> + +<p>"I have seen women and children working in the fields; in Holland I saw +them helping tow the boats and working in the brickyards. That was bad +enough. But I never have seen them cleaning the streets."</p> + +<p>"Did you go to Munich?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>"No."</p> + +<p>"You would have seen them doing it there—as they do it all over +Germany. Had you gone to Chemnitz, you would have seen them carrying the +hod."</p> + +<p>She fell silent, and Dan leaned back, strangely moved. How young he was; +how little he knew! Here was this girl, certainly not more than twenty, +who had lived more, felt more, thought more than he had ever done; who +had ideals....</p> + +<p>"Miss Vard," he said finally, in a low voice, "permit me to tell you +something. I am just an average fellow with an average brain, who has +gone about all his life with his eyes only half open—sometimes not even +that. I have walked up and down Broadway, and fancied I was seeing life! +I must seem awfully young to you—I feel a mere infant—intellectually, +I mean. But I want to grow up—it isn't good for a man of twenty-nine to +be a mental Peter Pan. Will you help me?"</p> + +<p>She smiled, the bright, sudden smile, which he had grown to like so +much, and impulsively she held out her hand.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said, "I will help, as far as I can. The best thing I can do +for you is to introduce you to my father. He can help far more than I!"</p> + +<p>"Thank you!" and he took her hand and held it. "It was your father I saw +you with?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>"Yes. You will like him. He is the most wonderful man in the world. Now +I must be going. He will be looking for me."</p> + +<p>He went with her to the lower deck, then returned to the bench, and +stared thoughtfully out over the dark sea. What a woman she was! And +then he smiled a little as he recalled her last words, "The most +wonderful man in the world!" He did not suspect that the time would come +when he would echo them!</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h2>UNDER RUSSIAN RULE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>When Dan found his seat in the dining-saloon, that evening, he glanced +up and down the long table, in the hope that Miss Vard and her father +might be among his neighbours. But they were not, and it was not until +he was half through the meal that he descried them at one of the tables +on the other side of the room. At his own table there were the usual +assorted types of the middle-class tourist, his wife and family, most of +them frankly glad that they were homeward bound, with the greatest part +of their pilgrimage accomplished.</p> + +<p>The sea was smooth and the great boat forged ahead with scarcely any +motion, so that every seat was occupied and every one in good spirits. +There was a hum of talk and rattle of dishes; the white-coated stewards +scuttled back and forth, and the scene was as pleasant as the wholesale +human consumption of food can ever be.</p> + +<p>Dan went on with his dinner with one eye on the far table where Miss +Vard and her father were seated; but his attention was distracted for a +time by a discussion which an Anglomaniac across the table <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>started as +to the relative merits of England and America, and to which he could not +resist contributing a few remarks. When he glanced across the saloon +again, he saw that Miss Vard and her father were no longer there. +However, he finished his dinner with the comfortable consciousness that +the second-class quarters were limited, and that she could not escape +from them except by jumping overboard; and when the meal was ended, he +made his way leisurely through the lounge and along the decks in search +of her. There were girls, girls everywhere, but not the one he sought; +and finally, with a little smile, he mounted the ladder which led to the +after boat-deck.</p> + +<p>Already other couples, scouting about the ship, had discovered the +advantages of its dim seclusion, and most of the benches in the lee of +the boats and about the little wireless-house were occupied; but, on +that one bench, in the shadow of the after life-boat, Dan descried a +solitary figure. He advanced without hesitation.</p> + +<p>"I was hoping I should find you," he said.</p> + +<p>She moved a little aside, as an invitation for him to share the bench.</p> + +<p>"I like it up here," she said, "with no light but the stars, and that +strange luminous glow along those wires up yonder."</p> + +<p>Looking up, Dan saw that the gridiron of wires <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>stretched between the +masts was, indeed, faintly luminous against the sky.</p> + +<p>"That's the wireless," he said. "Listen—you can hear it," and from the +open window of the wireless-house came the vicious snap and crackle of +electricity. "The operator is sending a message."</p> + +<p>She looked up again at the glowing wires.</p> + +<p>"I think it the most wonderful thing in the world!" she said. "I can't +understand it—I can't believe it—and yet, there it is!"</p> + +<p>"Yes—and I suppose it has become an every-day affair to the operator in +there; it isn't wonderful to him any more. We forget how wonderful a lot +of things are, when we get used to them."</p> + +<p>"How wonderful everything is," she corrected; "the sunrise, the +ocean...."</p> + +<p>They sat for some time in silence, gazing out across the dark and +restless water, touched here and there with white, as a wave combed and +broke. Then Dan's gaze wandered to her face. Seen thus, in the dim +light, framed by her dark hair, it, too, seemed wonderful to him; there +was about it a mystic allusiveness, a subtle charm, far more compelling +than mere beauty ever is; her eyes had depths to them....</p> + +<p>She felt his gaze upon her and turned her face to him and smiled.</p> + +<p>"You may smoke, if you wish," she said. "I can feel that at the back of +your mind."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>"I believe I <i>was</i> thinking about it," Dan admitted, and got out his +pipe; but he had himself been scarcely conscious of the thought, and it +amazed him that she should have detected it. There was the flare of a +match, and he sat back again, exhaling a long puff. "Now," he said, "you +are going to begin my education. I am ready for the first lesson."</p> + +<p>"How shall I begin?"</p> + +<p>"I think an excellent way would be to tell me something about yourself," +he suggested.</p> + +<p>She considered him gravely.</p> + +<p>"Are you really in earnest?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Indeed I am," he answered quickly, colouring a little under her +searching eyes. "Forgive me if I seemed not to be. And please begin in +any way you think best."</p> + +<p>"I will tell you something about Poland," she said, "and then you will +understand a little what I and all like me feel for America. You know, I +suppose, that there is no longer any such land as Poland?"</p> + +<p>"I know that Russia and one or two other powers divided it, about a +hundred years ago."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but you cannot know what that division meant! The Poles were a +brave and patriotic people; they loved their country as few peoples do; +and all at once, great armies were flung upon them; they were +overwhelmed, and their country was taken away. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>They lost more than +their country: they lost their language, their history, their national +life. But in spite of it all, they remained Poles.</p> + +<p>"I was born in Russian Poland, not far from Warsaw. From the very first, +I was taught that I was a Pole, not a Russian. But only at home, under +my own roof, could I be a Pole. The teaching of Polish was forbidden in +any school—every word spoken must be Russian. If children were +overheard talking in Polish, they were arrested by the police and their +parents summoned and fined. On every public building there was a painted +notice: 'It is forbidden to speak Polish.' All trials were conducted in +Russian, although none of the peasants understood Russian, and so had no +idea of what was being said. No official was permitted to answer a +question in Polish—I have known a tramcar conductor to be heavily fined +for doing so.</p> + +<p>"We were taught history in which the name of our fatherland was never +mentioned, but where Russia was treated as the wisest, best, and most +powerful of nations, with the Czar second only to God himself. We could +not leave our native village without permission from the police. No Pole +could fill any public office. No Pole was permitted to publish a book or +a newspaper or even a handbill, until a Russian censor had passed upon +it. If you ever visit Poland, you will notice, here and there, groups of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>tall wooden crosses. They mark graves. But if one of those crosses +decays or falls down, it may not be replaced without permission from the +government. One night, the cross over the grave of my father's mother +was struck by lightning; and for two years it lay there, until +permission to replace it had come from Petersburg. It was among such +surroundings that my childhood was passed."</p> + +<p>Kasia did not seem to realise that, instead of telling about Poland, she +was telling about herself; and Dan was deeply moved. He had listened, in +his day, to many stories, but never to one like this. It was as though +the dead wrappings of history were stripped away, and its seething, +desperate, tragic heart laid bare.</p> + +<p>"Go on," he said thickly, and folded his arms tightly across his breast.</p> + +<p>"My father had hoped to be a student of science," she went on; "but he +was refused admission to the university because of some absurd +suspicion, and after that he could study only secretly. When he married, +he rented a little farm near Warsaw; and there he and mother toiled all +day long, and the children too, as soon as they were old enough. There +were four children—two boys and two girls. I was the youngest. Twice +every year, my mother, my sister and I walked in to Warsaw, and spent a +week there helping to clean the streets; this service <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>was required of +all families in the villages about Warsaw, and could be escaped only by +paying a heavy tax. We had also to assist in keeping the roads in +repair, and for this, too, the women and children were employed, since +the men could not be spared from the work of the farm. At nightfall we +were always exhausted, and would swallow our soup and black bread +hastily, and then fling ourselves down, dressed as we were, on a heap of +straw in one corner. We were very poor, and yet not so poor as we +seemed; but to have added one little comfort to our home would have +meant a visit from the tax-inquisitor, and perhaps a search. The only +way to escape this was to live in miserable poverty.</p> + +<p>"In spite of all this, my father still kept up his studies. At night, +after carefully closing the shutters and stuffing the cracks with rags, +so that no ray of light could be seen outside, he would light a little +tallow dip and sit reading for hours. He read the same books over and +over, for books were very hard to get. The ones he wanted were almost +always forbidden. To be found possessing one meant banishment. So all of +his books he kept concealed even more carefully than he did his money. +Indeed, he valued them more!</p> + +<p>"Sundays he devoted to the education of his children, always with one of +us on guard outside the door. It was then that I learned to read +English. Father <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>had taught himself with great thoroughness, because he +was determined some day to go to America. America—that was his dream! +But how to get there! It seemed certain that he could never save money +enough to pay for so many. That problem was soon to be settled."</p> + +<p>She paused and put her hand to her throat, shivering a little.</p> + +<p>"Are you cold?" Dan asked.</p> + +<p>"No; I am trembling at the thought of what remains to tell. A case of +cholera appeared in our village. It was reported to the magistrate. At +once all the Russian officials removed to Warsaw, and a cordon of +Russian troops was thrown about the village. No one was permitted to +enter or to leave. The cholera spread. The people were ignorant; they +did not know what to do, and there was no one to tell them; they could +only wait and pray. At the end of a month, the disease had spent itself, +but of those who had lived in the village, only one in ten remained. Of +our family, there were left only my father and myself."</p> + +<p>Dan's hand went out to hers. She did not draw away.</p> + +<p>"For a time," she went on, "father was stunned by the blow; I have +always believed that he was very near madness. But he shook off his +sorrow and decided that the time had come to seek America. We <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>could not +depart openly; that was not permitted; so one night he dug up the little +hoard of money he had concealed, cut off my hair and dressed me in boys' +clothes, arrayed himself in the rags of a goat-herd, and about midnight +we set off. I was eleven years old at the time, and I remember every +incident distinctly. We could travel only at night, hiding at every +sound. By day, we concealed ourselves under culverts, in ditches, under +heaps of brush. Luckily, Polish people are eager to help each other, so +we did not starve, and we got forward a little every night. At the end +of six weeks, we crossed the frontier and were safe.</p> + +<p>"There is not much more to tell. We reached New York; and I was placed +in school—I wish you could realise all that meant to me! For a long +time, I could not go out into the street without being afraid. It seemed +impossible that there was no longer anything to fear. When at last I +understood, it was as though a great load were lifted. That was ten +years ago. For the past three years, I have been a teacher in the Hester +Street school."</p> + +<p>She sat silent for a moment, then with a long breath, drew her hand +away.</p> + +<p>"Do you wonder that I love America?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"No," said Dan; "and you have made me a better patriot."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>She turned to him, with a little smile.</p> + +<p>"And now I think of it," she added, "it was my story I told you, after +all!"</p> + +<p>"Your story helps me to understand Poland's. That is the way history +should be written."</p> + +<p>"I think so, too. There is not enough in most histories of the common +people. And my father says it is only they who really matter. He has +thought very deeply. It is his dream to make all other countries like +America—free, peaceful, industrious—only better than America has yet +become, in that poverty and inequality and injustice will be abolished."</p> + +<p>"A magnificent dream," Dan agreed, with a smile; "but impossible of +accomplishment, I'm afraid."</p> + +<p>"No, it is not impossible!" she cried quickly. "It will be accomplished, +and by him!"</p> + +<p>Dan looked at her curiously. Her eyes were blazing, and she spoke with a +conviction, with an enthusiasm, which puzzled him.</p> + +<p>"Tell me something about your father," he suggested. "You said he was +the most wonderful man in the world."</p> + +<p>"And I meant it. Could anything be more wonderful than to force all the +nations of the earth to break up their navies, to dismantle their forts, +to disband their armies? Could anything be more wonderful than to put an +end, once for all, to this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>waste of life and treasure, which is eating +at the heart of the world? Could anything be more wonderful than to turn +all these armies of useless men back into honest and useful labour? Then +no longer would you see women gathering the harvest, or struggling under +cruel burdens, or cleaning the streets, or spreading manure over the +fields! No, nor walking the pavements of the cities! Would you not say +that the man who brought all this about was a wonderful man?"</p> + +<p>"Wonderful!" echoed Dan. "Why, wonderful would be no name for it! But it +is something that no man can ever do."</p> + +<p>"It will be done, believe me," she said, solemnly, "and by my father."</p> + +<p>Dan could only stare at her. It seemed absurd to suppose that she could +be in earnest; but certainly her face was earnest to solemnity. It shone +with consecration.</p> + +<p>"But I don't understand," he stammered. "It's too big for me. How is it +to be accomplished? How can one man bring it about? I can see how the +Czar or Kaiser might set to work, but even they could not hope to +succeed. The Czar did try something of the sort, didn't he?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but he was not in earnest, and the other nations laughed. At my +father they will not laugh, for he is in deadly earnest. As to how this +is to be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>done, I may not tell you, not yet—some day, perhaps. But one +thing I may tell you, and it is this—my father holds the nations of the +world in the hollow of his hand!"</p> + +<p>For a moment there was silence between them. The moon had risen as they +talked, and the dark sea was illumined by a broad path of silver. The +boat-deck was almost deserted; the snapping of the wireless had ceased. +Miss Vard looked about her with a little start.</p> + +<p>"It must be very late," she said. "I must be going."</p> + +<p>As Dan followed her across the deck, he noticed a dark figure on the +bench next to the one where he and Miss Vard had sat. And as they +passed, the stranger struck a match and lighted a cigarette. By the +glare of the flame, Dan saw that it was his roommate, Chevrial.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h2>IN THE WIRELESS HOUSE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Fritz Ludwig, the tall, blond young man who earned his eighty marks per +month as wireless man on the <i>Ottilie</i>, having eaten his dinner with the +passengers of the second-cabin and smoked a meditative pipe at the door +of the little coop on the after boat-deck which served him as office and +bedroom, knocked out the ashes and entered his citadel to prepare for +the night's business. But first he connected up his detector and snapped +the receivers against his ears, just to see what might be going on. The +operator on the <i>Adriatic</i>, a hundred miles behind them, was gossiping +with Poldhu, and far ahead two boats were exchanging information about +the weather. Then Ludwig glanced up quickly, for a step had sounded at +the door, and he saw a man just stepping over the threshold.</p> + +<p>"No admittance here!" he called sharply; but the man advanced another +step, smiling broadly.</p> + +<p>"My dear Fritz!" he said in German. "Do you not know me?"</p> + +<p>And Fritz, staring upwards, and seeing his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>visitor's face clearly, tore +off the receivers, sprang to his feet and saluted.</p> + +<p>"Admiral Pachmann!" he gasped.</p> + +<p>Pachmann laughed. Then he turned, closed the door, and drew the shade +before the window.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is I; but don't shout it so loudly, Fritz. Let us sit down. I +saw you at dinner to-night—yes, I, too, am of the second class!—and I +trembled lest you might recognise me and shout my name out in just that +fashion. So, as soon as I could, I hastened up to warn you. I am +travelling incognito upon official business, and in public you are not +to know me."</p> + +<p>"I understand, Herr Admiral," said Fritz. "I shall be most careful."</p> + +<p>"It is most important," Pachmann warned him; "and I shall trust you not +to forget. How do you like your work here?"</p> + +<p>"Very well, sir. I find it very interesting."</p> + +<p>"I shall have you back in the service, nevertheless, one of these days," +Pachmann said. "Perhaps sooner than you think," he added.</p> + +<p>"I am always ready, sir," said Fritz.</p> + +<p>Pachmann drew out a cigar and lighted it.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead with your work," he said. "There is no music to me so pleasant +as the snapping of the spark."</p> + +<p>Fritz laughed.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>"I know that, sir," he said. "I have an extra receiver, if you care to +put it on."</p> + +<p>"Yes, give it to me," said the Admiral; and in a moment it, too, was +connected with the detector.</p> + +<p>Fritz replaced his own, started his converter and snapped out into the +air the signal which told the waiting world that the operator of the +<i>Ottilie</i> was ready to receive anything it might have to communicate. +Almost at once Southampton answered, and there was a little preliminary +tuning, till the signals came clear and strong. Then Fritz drew a pad +toward him, picked up a freshly sharpened pencil, and told Southampton +to go ahead.</p> + +<p>"SN three fr DKA," began Southampton. "Time 9:50 G."</p> + +<p>Which meant that Southampton had for the <i>Prinzsessin Ottilie</i> three +messages and that the time was 9:50 o'clock Greenwich.</p> + +<p>Fritz glanced at the clock above his desk.</p> + +<p>"Time OK. GA," he signalled, the "GA" being radio for "Go ahead."</p> + +<p>"MSG one," went on Southampton. "Eight w Gary. DKA. Directors have +command of situation. Morrissy.</p> + +<p>"MSG two. Nine w Gardenshire, DKA. Missed boat will follow by +<i>Carmania</i>. Hickle.</p> + +<p>"MSG three. Eleven w Hodges, DKA. Coffee will go thirteen Thursday shall +I sell. Perkins."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>Fritz had taken it all down with religious care. At the last word he +snapped open his key.</p> + +<p>"OK. Thanks GN," he ticked off, the "GN" being, of course, "good-night."</p> + +<p>He waited a moment, but there were no other calls for the <i>Ottilie</i>, and +he took off his receiver. Pachmann followed suit.</p> + +<p>"That was a great pleasure," said the latter. "The signals are very +clear to-night."</p> + +<p>"If you could come in later on, sir," Fritz suggested, "you could hear +the news service from Poldhu. There is a station for you!"</p> + +<p>"At what hour does the service start?" asked Pachmann.</p> + +<p>"Poldhu always calls at eleven-thirty, sir, and starts the news service +as soon as the commercial business is out of the way."</p> + +<p>"I shall try to be here," said Pachmann. "This long-distance service is +a great delight to me, especially when it works so clearly as it does +to-night. You will not forget about my incognito?"</p> + +<p>"I shall not forget, sir," Fritz assured him, and with a short nod, +Pachmann left the house. Fritz sat down again to copy out his messages +and to send three or four which the captain's steward at that moment +brought in. That done, he thrust his head out for a breath of air, +noticed with a grin the couples who had already discovered the +advantages of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>the boat-deck benches, and then went back to his key for +a little gossip with such other Marconi men as might be within reach. It +was nearly eleven-thirty, and all of them were sitting at their tables, +waiting for the far-flung signal which would tell that the operator at +Poldhu, that lonely station on the last sheer cliff of Cornwall, was +ready for his night's work. And a minute later, the door opened and +Pachmann came in.</p> + +<p>"I could not resist your invitation, Fritz," he said. "This gets into +one's blood," and he adjusted the extra receiver and sat down.</p> + +<p>Almost at once came the CQ, CQ, CQ, ZZ, ZZ, ZZ, which told that Poldhu +was calling for all stations and on every ship within a thousand miles +of that point of rock, the wireless man tuned up his instrument, and +waited. The commercial messages came first, and there were a lot of +them; four for the <i>Ottilie</i>, three for the <i>Adriatic</i>, five to be +relayed far ahead to the <i>Mauretania</i>, one for the incoming <i>Majestic</i>, +and one for the <i>Rotterdam</i>. Then the Poldhu man announced that he was +ready to receive, and as many more were sent out into the night to him, +for relay on to London, and from there to far-separated points on the +continent. At last there was a moment's pause, a moment's silence, and +then the SP, SP, SP, which told that the news service was about to +start. And every man within hearing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>picked up a fresh pencil and made +ready to write, as from dictation.</p> + +<p>"SP, SP, SP," snapped Poldhu. "Time 12:54 G. Three hundred wds.</p> + +<p>"War between Italy and Turkey seems inevitable stop Italy gives Turkey +twenty-four hours to agree to Italy's occupation of Tripoli stop Six +thousand troops at Palermo ready to embark stop Turkish munitions and +reinforcements already landed stop Board of Inquiry into <i>La Liberté</i> +disaster goes into secret session stop Rumour of attempt to destroy <i>La +Patrie</i> also stop Moroccan situation grows more serious stop Germany +demands equal rights with France abrogating Algeciras treaty stop +Directors steel trust declare company is legal corporation and will not +take voluntary steps to dissolve stop Officially announced at Chicago +that one hundred thousand men on Harriman lines will strike Saturday +stop September coffee sells at twelve-ninety-eight New York exchange +record price stop Boy Scouts called out to fight plague of wasps in +England stop...."</p> + +<p>And so on to the end of the message. And when the end was reached, the +man at Poldhu waited fifteen minutes and then started all over again and +sent the message a second time, so that every one would be sure to get +it all. Then he shut off and went to bed.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>Thursday dawned clear and warm, and the <i>Ottilie's</i> passengers, +appearing on deck by twos and threes, rejoiced that the day was to be a +fine one. They found the world-news of the day before awaiting them on +the bulletin board at the head of the main companion-way, and had great +fun deciphering it, very few of them stopping to think how wonderful it +was that it should be there at all. And then some of them celebrated +their first morning at sea by a three-mile tramp before breakfast; +others, less strenuous, lounged at the rail, waiting impatiently for the +breakfast-gong; a few, finding themselves disturbed by the slow and even +motion of the ship, bundled themselves up in their steamer-chairs and +hoped that nature would soon readjust itself. Then the gong sounded, and +the deck was deserted, except by the bundled-up occupants of the chairs, +to whom the solicitous deck-steward brought, more or less vainly, +various light articles of food.</p> + +<p>An hour later, the decks were full again. From the upper deck came the +clack of shuffle-board; on the promenade deck the chairs were full of +novel-readers, and little groups here and there were making each other's +acquaintance. The life of shipboard had begun.</p> + +<p>On the boat-deck, various passengers, singly or in twos and threes, +paused to listen to the crackle of electricity which came from the +little wireless-house. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>The door was closed, but by standing on tiptoe +they could see over the screen at the window, and catch a glimpse of a +blond young man, with a receiver clamped over both ears, bending above +his key, from which came a series of vicious-looking sparks. The sound +was vaguely disquieting, suggesting lightning to the more timid, or some +strange and dangerous force of nature not to be trifled with, so most of +them preferred to descend again to the upper promenade, or to sit down +some distance away. Presently two men climbed the ladder from the deck +below, and looked about them.</p> + +<p>"Let us sit here," said the younger of them, in German, and motioned +toward a bench which had been built against the cabin.</p> + +<p>"Very well, Your...." He stopped himself abruptly. "It is difficult to +break oneself of a long habit," he said, with a little laugh; and, +waiting for the other to seat himself, sat down beside him.</p> + +<p>They lighted cigarettes and sat for a moment without speaking.</p> + +<p>There was a considerable difference in the ages of the two. One was past +middle-age, heavily-built, and with a face bronzed as only years of +exposure to wind and rain could bronze it. His upper lip was a shade or +two lighter than the rest of his face, and spoke of a moustache recently +removed. The other man had also an outdoor look, but he had not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>been +hardened by long service as his companion had. He was softer, more +effeminate. He seemed to be not over twenty-one or two, was tall, a +little too much inclined to plumpness, but with an open and ingenuous +countenance, lighted by a pair of honest blue eyes.</p> + +<p>"It is good," said the older man, at last, speaking in German and in a +tone carefully guarded, "to sit here and listen to the crackle of the +wireless—it seems to fit in, somehow, with this beautiful morning. I +have grown to love it; and I have never conquered my wonder—it is so +marvellous that one can throw into the atmosphere a message to be picked +up and understood hundreds of miles away. It seems even more wonderful +on the ocean than on the land. A message that travels as fast as light +travels. Think of it, my Prince!"</p> + +<p>"It is, indeed, wonderful," the younger man agreed. "But it seems to me, +my dear Admiral, that, if what you tell me is true, there is in the +world at this moment something more wonderful still—a force which even +you do not understand."</p> + +<p>"You are right," agreed the older man, gravely. "But we <i>must</i> +understand it—we <i>must</i> control it. It means world-empire!"</p> + +<p>Both their faces were set and serious, and they spoke almost in +whispers, with a glance from time to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>time to make sure no one was near, +or a lapse into silence when any one approached.</p> + +<p>"If we succeed," the younger man began; but the other grasped him by the +arm.</p> + +<p>"There must be no 'if,'" he protested. "Do not permit yourself to use +that word. There must be no failure! Think, for a moment, of the +tremendous issues which hang upon it! And, after all, the game is in our +hands."</p> + +<p>"I have not yet met the inventor," said the younger man; "but from what +you have told me, I fear he is an enthusiast who will make difficulties. +However, as you say, we must succeed at any price."</p> + +<p>"Yes; at any price!" and as he uttered the words, the Admiral glanced +searchingly at his companion's face. But the other was gazing out across +the water, and did not seem to notice the other's peculiar emphasis.</p> + +<p>Again they sat silent as three or four persons, passing, paused to peer +in at the window of the wireless-house.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure the French do not suspect?" asked the younger man, when +they had gone.</p> + +<p>"How could they?"</p> + +<p>"The inventor must have left some trace—that wireless station in the +grove."</p> + +<p>"A small affair, well hidden. Even if it is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>discovered, it cannot +possibly be connected with the disaster."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not. But the other installation?"</p> + +<p>"The other installation was brought away by the inventor. He left +nothing behind except some batteries, which can betray no secret."</p> + +<p>"And he has the mechanism with him now?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—in his baggage. You see how complete our power is."</p> + +<p>"I see," nodded the other briefly. "You have arranged a conference with +him?"</p> + +<p>"I will do so. There is plenty of time."</p> + +<p>"Why do we go to America?"</p> + +<p>"It is a whim of his—that this great treaty should be signed there. We +had to humour him, or he might have grown suspicious. I think he is a +little mad."</p> + +<p>Again there was a moment's silence. Then the older man threw away his +cigarette and rose.</p> + +<p>"The wireless man is an old protégé of mine," he said. "I spent a very +pleasant hour with him last night. If you do not object, I will go in +again to see him."</p> + +<p>The other nodded, and Pachmann opened the door of the wireless-house and +disappeared inside. His companion lighted another cigarette and smoked +it gloomily, as his thoughts reverted to his own affairs. It was +flattering, of course, that he should <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>have been selected to accompany +Pachmann on this mission; but, nevertheless, he regretted Berlin—or, +rather, he regretted a certain blue-eyed, flaxen-haired girl, with a +figure like Juno's.... Confound it! It was only to separate him from her +that he had been sent with Pachmann! Why couldn't his father leave him +alone! He was old enough to manage his own affairs! And besides....</p> + +<p>The door of the wireless-house opened and Pachmann appeared. Very +quietly he closed the door, very quietly he sat down beside his +companion. And then he mopped a shining forehead with a hand that +trembled visibly, and the younger man saw with astonishment that his +face was livid.</p> + +<p>"What is it? What has happened?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Pachmann tried twice before he found his voice. When he did speak, it +was in a hoarse whisper.</p> + +<p>"I was wrong," he said. "France <i>does</i> suspect!"</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h2>THE MESSAGE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>A little group of laughing young women came scurrying up the ladder from +the promenade, and the Admiral and his companion sat stonily silent +until they had passed. Then the Admiral spoke again, still in a whisper, +but his voice was under control.</p> + +<p>"The most astounding thing has happened," he said. "I cannot understand +it. The operator in there has just received a message from Cherbourg, +asking if there is not on board, in stateroom 514, a man named Ignace +Vard, accompanied by his daughter. It is signed by Lépine, chief of the +French secret service."</p> + +<p>The younger man drew a quick, sibilant breath, and his face, too, turned +pale beneath the tan.</p> + +<p>"But how could he know?" he gasped. "How could he suspect?"</p> + +<p>"Lépine is the very devil!" growled the other. "Perhaps it was that +wireless installation, as you suggested."</p> + +<p>"But that could not betray the man's name—the boat—even his +stateroom!"</p> + +<p>"No; I cannot understand it," and Pachmann <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>mopped his face again. Then +he thrust his handkerchief back into his pocket and sprang to his feet. +"However it occurred, we must stop it," he said. "Come."</p> + +<p>"Stop it—but how?"</p> + +<p>"There is only one way. Come!"</p> + +<p>The Admiral hurried down the ladder, his companion at his heels. From +the upper promenade he descended to the deck below, and then, without +hesitating, climbed another ladder and stepped over a low gate which +gave entrance to the first-class promenade. The gate, it is true, bore a +sign stating that second-class passengers must not pass it; but Pachmann +did not even glance at it. He seemed to know the ship, for he pressed +on, disregarding the curious glances cast at himself and his companion, +mounted again to the boat-deck, and did not pause until he had reached +its extreme forward end, just under the bridge. There he stopped at a +door just abaft the ladder leading to the bridge and knocked sharply.</p> + +<p>"Enter!" cried a voice, and the younger man, following the Admiral, +found himself in a large and handsome stateroom, whose windows looked +straight forward over the bow. At the desk a bearded man of middle-age +was glancing through some papers. He looked up at the intruders with +evident astonishment. "Really, gentlemen," he began, and then <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>he +stopped, his gaze shifting from one face to the other and back again in +frank bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"Captain Hausmann," said the Admiral, stepping forward, "probably you do +not remember me, since we have met but once. But I think you know the +Prince."</p> + +<p>Captain Hausmann's eyes widened, and he sprang quickly to his feet, his +hand at the visor of his cap.</p> + +<p>"Your Highness," he began, but the Prince stopped him.</p> + +<p>"I am not a Highness at present, Captain," he said, laughing; "only a +humble passenger of the second class. I am very glad to see you again," +and, holding out his hand, he gave that of the astonished mariner a +hearty clasp.</p> + +<p>"A passenger of the second class!" stammered the Captain. "But I do not +understand!"</p> + +<p>"It is not necessary that you should," said the Admiral, curtly, and at +the words, the Captain reddened a little.</p> + +<p>"Ah, now I know you," he said, quietly. "Admiral Pachmann," and again he +saluted.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Admiral, acknowledging the salute. "We had not intended +to betray, even to you, our presence on board, but an unforeseen +circumstance has made it necessary. No one else, of course, must suspect +it. All that you need to know—indeed, all that we are permitted to tell +you—is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>that His Highness and myself are at this moment engaged upon an +affair of state of the first importance. Here are my credentials."</p> + +<p>He took from an inner pocket a long leather pocket-book, extracted from +it a heavy envelope sealed with a great black seal, and passed it to the +Captain.</p> + +<p>The latter took it, glanced at the seal and hesitated, for it bore the +Imperial crown.</p> + +<p>"Do you intend that I should open this?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I wish you to do so," answered Pachmann.</p> + +<p>With fingers that trembled a little, the Captain loosened the seal, +lifted the flap, and drew out the sheet of paper which lay within. It +was an ivory-finished white, almost as stiff as a card, the entire upper +left quarter occupied by the Imperial crown and monogram, the other +three quarters covered by writing in a large and rather stiff hand, with +a scrawling signature at the bottom. The Captain glanced at this +signature, then, his face very grave, read the missive slowly and +carefully. Finally he returned the sheet to its envelope, and handed it +back to Pachmann, his eyes meeting the Admiral's with a kind of awed +wonder.</p> + +<p>"I am at your service," he said. "Will you...."</p> + +<p>There was a tap at the door. The Captain went <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>to it and opened it, +standing so that his body filled the doorway. He exchanged a word with +some one, and then closed the door and turned back into the room, a +sheaf of papers in his hand.</p> + +<p>"Will you not sit down?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"We shall be but a moment," said Pachmann. "That was the wireless man, +was it not?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Among the messages you have in your hand is one from Lépine, Prefect of +the Paris Service du Surété. He asks whether you have aboard in +stateroom 514 a man named Ignace Vard, accompanied by his daughter."</p> + +<p>Captain Hausmann, with an admirable composure, glanced through the +messages.</p> + +<p>"Yes; here it is," he said.</p> + +<p>"I will dictate the answer," said the Admiral.</p> + +<p>Without a word, the Captain sat down again at his desk and wrote to +Pachmann's dictation:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Lépine, Paris</i>.</p> + +<p>No record of Ignace Vard and daughter on <i>Ottilie</i>. +Stateroom 514 unoccupied.</p> + +<p class="right" style="padding-right: 3em;"><span class="smcap">Hausmann</span>, Captain."</p></div> + +<p>"It would be well to have the message sent at once," added Pachmann. +"You will also see that the name of Vard and his daughter do not appear +on your passenger list, and that they are moved <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>from the stateroom they +now occupy to some other one. The records for the voyage must show that +that room was indeed unoccupied. You will also instruct the purser that +the tickets surrendered by Vard and his daughter are not to be turned +in, but, in case of inquiry, to be reported unused."</p> + +<p>The Captain had listened carefully.</p> + +<p>"On what pretext will I move these people?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"The pretext must be found."</p> + +<p>The Captain stroked his beard with a troubled air.</p> + +<p>"I fear there is no second-cabin room empty—we are very crowded. Would +it matter if I brought them forward?"</p> + +<p>Pachmann pondered a moment.</p> + +<p>"No," he said at last. "On the whole, that might be better. You will +enter them on your passenger list by some other name—or, better still, +omit them altogether."</p> + +<p>"But the immigration authorities!" protested the Captain. "You have +forgotten them!"</p> + +<p>"We will think of them at the proper time," said Pachmann, impatiently. +"This is not the moment to make objections. I think you understand?"</p> + +<p>Hausmann bowed.</p> + +<p>"We will say good-bye, then, for the present," added the Admiral, with a +touch of irony. "We shall, perhaps, be forced again to call upon you."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>A second time Hausmann bowed.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>When Miss Vard entered her stateroom, that day, to brush her hair before +going to lunch, her nostrils were assaulted by a most unpleasant odour, +and, when a cursory inspection of the room failed to disclose its cause, +she summoned the steward and asked him to investigate. An hour later, a +white-capped official approached Mr. Vard, who was looking vainly +through the collection of books in the library for something he cared to +read, and informed him, with many apologies, that it would be necessary +for him to change his stateroom. Just what was wrong with No. 514 it was +impossible to say; but it could not be denied that there <i>was</i> a bad +odour there, whose source had not been discovered, and the only +alternative seemed to be to shut it up until the end of the voyage and +then to overhaul it thoroughly.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Vard. "I have no objection to changing. But I cannot +understand how a cubicle with floor, ceiling and walls of steel, could +so suddenly become insanitary."</p> + +<p>"It is a mystery to us also, sir, and one which we shall look into very +thoroughly. We regret it extremely."</p> + +<p>"Not at all," said Vard, somewhat astonished that so much should be made +of the matter. "Have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>the steward change our baggage to the new +quarters, and then come and show me where they are, and let us forget +all about it."</p> + +<p>"It is most kind of you to take it so good-naturedly," protested the +officer. "The embarrassing thing to us is that, as there is no vacant +stateroom in the second-cabin, we shall have to transfer you to the +first."</p> + +<p>Vard looked at him.</p> + +<p>"And you expect me to pay the difference?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; not at all," the other hastily assured him. "We had not thought +of such a thing! But we feared you might have some objection to +first-class, and that the change would inconvenience you still more."</p> + +<p>Vard smiled grimly.</p> + +<p>"As a matter of fact, I <i>have</i> an objection to first-class," he said, +"but it is largely that of wasting money for which I have a better use. +The people one sees there also do not appeal to me. I fear most of them +are idle fools. But perhaps the library is better selected."</p> + +<p>"Oh, it is much larger than this!" the officer agreed. "I may take it, +then, that you consent?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. We can't stay in a stateroom that smells as ours does."</p> + +<p>"Then," said the other, "if you will inform your <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>daughter, I will +myself conduct you to your new quarters."</p> + +<p>So Miss Vard was summoned, their steward was loaded with the baggage, +and after a glance around No. 514 to assure herself that nothing had +been overlooked, Miss Vard found herself following her father and the +white-capped German along a narrow passage, past a steel door that was +unlocked for them, and up the companion-way to a very handsome suite +opening on the upper promenade. It consisted of two bedrooms and a +sitting-room, and Kasia, as she glanced about it, could not repress an +exclamation of surprise.</p> + +<p>"Are we to stay here?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Madame," and the official smiled. "It is the only thing we have to +offer. I am glad that it pleases you. It will help you to forget the +inconvenience of changing," and, having waited until the steward had +deposited his burden, he motioned him out before him, bowed and +withdrew.</p> + +<p>Kasia made a quick tour of the room, admiring its elegant furnishings, +glanced into the bedrooms, and then came back to her father.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand it!" she said. "Why should they give us all this?"</p> + +<p>Her father regarded her in some surprise.</p> + +<p>"Why, my dear," he said, "you have heard the explanation. I do not for a +moment imagine that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>the steamship company would have been so generous +if there had been any way to avoid it!"</p> + +<p>"No, I suppose not!" Kasia agreed, and set herself to arrange their +belongings—it was almost like fitting up a flat! "This suit-case is +very heavy, father," she added, after a moment. "Will you put it in your +room?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," and Vard lifted it, started for the bedroom, and then +turned and placed it on the little table which stood between the +windows. "I will have a look at it, first," he said, loosened the +straps, took a key from a flapped compartment of his pocket-book and put +it in the lock. "One would scarcely believe, Kasia," he added, with a +smile, "that this little bag contains the destiny of the world!"</p> + +<p>"No," she said, and came and stood beside him, one arm about him, her +head against his shoulder.</p> + +<p>He turned the key and raised the lid. Then he put aside some articles of +clothing and lifted from beneath them an oblong box, open at the ends. +One saw, on looking closer, that the sides of the box were of glass, +partially covered on both sides with tin-foil; and peering in at the +open end, one perceived a vague maze of wires and pinions.</p> + +<p>Vard gazed at it for some moments without speaking.</p> + +<p>"There it is, Kasia," he said, at last, "the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>wonder-worker, which, +properly tuned and connected with its batteries, generates a force which +puts an end to armies and to fleets. With it in the world, there can be +no more war—and if there is no more war, there is the end of kings and +tyrants. It is a great thought, is it not, my daughter?"</p> + +<p>"A great thought!" she echoed, but her voice was shaking, and she +shivered a little and drew closer to him. "And yet, father, think what +an awful force it would be if it fell into unscrupulous hands! It is +that which makes me tremble sometimes!"</p> + +<p>"You do not fear me, Kasia?" he asked reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"No, father; of course not!"</p> + +<p>He replaced the mechanism, covered it carefully with clothing, closed +the lid, locked it, and returned the key to his pocket. Then he carried +the bag to his bedroom and slipped it under the bed. At last he came +back to his daughter.</p> + +<p>"I will not deny, Kasia," he said, "that I have been tempted, more than +once. Not by the prospect of wealth or power—those cannot tempt me; but +by the thought that, after subduing the world, I might 're-mould it +nearer to the heart's desire.' And yet how vain to fancy that I or any +man possesses the wisdom to do that! No; that cannot be. Each nation +must shape its own destiny, as friends <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>and brothers. It is for me to +strike the swords from their hands!"</p> + +<p>But still Kasia trembled and a shadow lay across her face.</p> + +<p>"What is it you fear?" her father asked, looking at her.</p> + +<p>"It seems too great a destiny!" she answered, with quivering lips. +"There is so great a risk! Suppose some one should steal that +instrument...."</p> + +<p>"That would do no harm. I can make another—a hundred others! That is my +purpose. The whole world must know of it—must possess it. Every nation +must know that, the instant it marches to war, it risks annihilation. I +see no danger there."</p> + +<p>"But suppose," Kasia persisted, "that the man who stole it should kill +you—what then? Oh, I have thought of it, father, so much, so closely, +all through the night! We must run no risk like that."</p> + +<p>Vard took a rapid turn up and down the room. He was deeply perturbed. At +last he paused beside her.</p> + +<p>"You are right, Kasia," he said. "I do not believe there is any +danger—and yet we must run no risk like that! Well, it is easy to avoid +it! Wait!"</p> + +<p>He disappeared into his bedroom, and Kasia heard him pulling out the bag +and opening it. Then the lock snapped again, the bag was pushed back +under the bed, and her father rejoined her. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>held in his hand a +little case of polished steel. Within it were three filament-like wires +wound peculiarly around a series of tiny pins.</p> + +<p>"Here it is," he said, "the very heart of the mechanism. Without this it +is useless. Without this, it is merely a transformer. It can do no one +any harm—can betray no secret."</p> + +<p>Kasia took the little box and looked at it.</p> + +<p>"Is this difficult to make, father?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"It took me eight years to make that one; but I can make another in two +days, or perhaps three."</p> + +<p>"You are sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," and he smiled. "It is very intricate, yet very simple when +one has the clue. Every convolution of those filaments is photographed +on my brain. I can close my eyes and see them winding in and out."</p> + +<p>The girl hesitated, the little box still in her hand.</p> + +<p>"Then it would be safe to destroy this?" she asked, at last.</p> + +<p>"Safe? Yes! That is my meaning! Let us destroy it!"</p> + +<p>Still a moment she paused, then she closed her hand.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she agreed; "let us destroy it."</p> + +<p>Her father nodded his head indifferently. With him the moment of tension +had passed.</p> + +<p>"Drop it into the sea," he said. "That will end <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>it. Now, I think, I +shall go and examine the books in the library."</p> + +<p>He went out and closed the door; but Kasia stood for a long time without +moving, staring at the little box of polished metal. After all, if he +<i>could</i> not reproduce it; if there <i>should</i> be some convolution he had +missed, some accidental conjunction he was not aware of! If to destroy +it now would be to destroy it forever! Better that, of course, than run +the other risk! But was there no other way? Perhaps, perhaps....</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h2>A WORD OF WARNING</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Wherefore it happened that Dan Webster, searching promenade and saloon +and library, that afternoon, mounting to the boat-deck, descending to +the lower deck, peeping into every nook and corner where passengers of +the second-class were permitted to penetrate, looked in vain for Kasia +Vard. Nor was her father anywhere to be seen. At last, perceiving the +curious glances shot in his direction, and having stumbled for the third +time over the same outstretched pair of feet, he mounted gloomily to the +boat-deck and sat down to think it out.</p> + +<p>The weather continued fine and the sea smooth, so that it was absurd to +suppose that either of them was ill; and that they should keep to their +stateroom on such an afternoon for any other reason, or even for that +one, was more absurd still. Perhaps, if they were working....</p> + +<p>The thought brought him sudden relief. That explained it! They had some +work they were doing together. Perhaps Kasia acted as her father's +secretary, and even now was writing to his dictation. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>She had said that +he was engaged in some gigantic project, the nature of which Dan +understood but dimly—a plan for the disarmament of the world, or +something like that. As he remembered them here in the cold light of +day, her words of the night before seemed more than a little fantastic; +but perhaps he had not understood, or perhaps she had spoken +figuratively. "The nations of the world in the hollow of his +hand"—that, of course, was figurative. And, equally of course, Vard's +plan would come to nothing. But it would be interesting to know more of +it.</p> + +<p>He must have a talk with Vard before the voyage ended. A story like that +would make good copy, and a little newspaper propaganda would help the +thing along. Meanwhile, there was nothing to do but wait until Miss Vard +should choose to reappear. He cast his mind back over the story she had +told him—ye gods! what a feature <i>that</i> would make, told just as she +had told it, simply and earnestly and without embellishment. Perhaps he +could persuade her to write it for the <i>Record</i>. He could picture the +shining face of Craftsman, the Sunday editor, as he read it!</p> + +<p>Some one, crossing the deck unperceived by him, sat down beside him. He +turned quickly; but it was only Chevrial.</p> + +<p>"Ah, M. Webster," said the Frenchman, smiling, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>"you were among the day +dreams; and they were not of me. That is apparent from the look with +which you regard me!"</p> + +<p>Dan flushed a little, and then he laughed. There was no resisting +Chevrial's genial humour.</p> + +<p>"No," he admitted; "they were of some one quite different."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, until that 'some one' appears, I trust that I am +welcome?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed you are. I'm glad you came!"</p> + +<p>Dan spoke warmly, and his companion, with a little satisfied nod, +settled back into the seat. They had seen very little of each other +since the moment of meeting. Dan had gone to bed the previous night +before his roommate appeared, and had not even heard him come in. This +morning, when he arose, Chevrial was sleeping calmly, and Dan had +gathered his clothes together as noiselessly as he could and stolen away +to the bathroom. They had passed each other once or twice on the +promenade, and had nodded but had not spoken—and then Dan remembered +suddenly the flare of light from the near-by bench the night before, as +he and Kasia rose to go below. Chevrial smiled again as he met his +glance.</p> + +<p>"You are thinking of last night?" he said. "Yes? It is concerning that I +wish first to speak to you. When I sat down yonder I was not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>conscious +that this bench was occupied. You and the young lady were speaking in +very low tones, and the bench itself was in shadow. It was only when she +raised her voice that I realised I was hearing what was not intended for +me. I was just about to go, when she stopped abruptly, and a moment +later you went down together. It was then that you noticed me. I struck +the match in order that you might see that it was I, and so have no +uneasiness."</p> + +<p>Dan stared at his companion in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Uneasiness?" he repeated. "But why should I have any uneasiness?"</p> + +<p>"Not on your own account, of course, but on the young lady's account."</p> + +<p>"But I don't see why, even for her, I should be uneasy," said Dan +perplexedly.</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," and Chevrial dropped his voice and spoke very earnestly, +"there are always spies on these big boats—this is a most productive +field for them—German spies, French spies, English spies, listening to +each word, watching each gesture. Suppose one of them had chanced to +hear what I did...."</p> + +<p>Dan stared a moment longer, then he burst into a laugh.</p> + +<p>"Oh, come, M. Chevrial," he protested. "You don't really believe that!"</p> + +<p>"Believe what?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>"About the spies."</p> + +<p>Chevrial's face grew a little grim.</p> + +<p>"I am not one to offer advice where it is not desired," he said; "but I +assure you, M. Webster, that what I have told you is true, and +furthermore had any one of three or four persons who are on this boat +heard what I heard, that girl and her father would have been under +espionage for the remainder of their lives."</p> + +<p>It was easy to see that Chevrial spoke in deadly earnest, and, in spite +of himself, Dan was impressed and sobered.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon," he said; "perhaps you are right; but to an American +the very idea of such a system is laughable—it savours too much of +cheap melodrama. But why should the story Miss Vard told me interest any +one?"</p> + +<p>"My dear sir," answered Chevrial, drily, "when a girl goes about +boasting that her father is more powerful than the Czar or Kaiser! +Suppose she had stopped there, any hearer would have concluded that he +was an anarchist, and therefore to be watched. But she went further: she +asserted that he can blow up forts and destroy armies! That he can wreck +battleships! Why, M. Webster, it is only four days since <i>La Liberté</i>, +the greatest of French battleships, was destroyed in the harbour of +Toulon by an agency not yet determined!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>Dan had turned a little pale.</p> + +<p>"But you don't imagine," he stammered; "surely you don't think...."</p> + +<p>Chevrial flipped away his cigarette-ash negligently.</p> + +<p>"That <i>La Liberté</i> was destroyed by this man? Absurd! But, nevertheless, +it is a bad time to make such boasts."</p> + +<p>"I can see that," agreed Dan. "I will speak to Miss Vard."</p> + +<p>"I would do so, by all means. She seems a most interesting girl, and I +should regret to see her involved in an unpleasant situation. Or her +father," Chevrial added. "A most interesting enthusiast!"</p> + +<p>"You have talked with him?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; last night for some time. He has great ideas—too great, I +fear, to be practicable."</p> + +<p>"Then you don't believe...."</p> + +<p>"That he can destroy armies and all that?" and Chevrial laughed lightly. +"My dear M. Webster, do you?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Dan, slowly, "I don't suppose I do. It's too much to +believe—without proof!"</p> + +<p>"Assuredly," agreed his companion; "no one would believe it without +proof—absolute proof." Then he leaned closer. "To me he made no such +absurd claim, but from the way he talked—from his grandiose ideas, his +strange philosophy, his fabulous hopes for humanity—I formed the +opinion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>that the man is mad—not wholly mad, you understand, but +touched, in one corner of the brain, by a wild hallucination. His +daughter, naturally, believes in him. She is a most attractive girl. +Polish women are always attractive, at least when they are young. There +is, in their faces, in their eyes, an appearance of tragedy, of mystery, +which piques the imagination. And they are all great patriots—it is +born in the blood—oh, far greater patriots than the men. I have +travelled in Poland," he added, seeing Dan's glance; "my business +sometimes calls me there."</p> + +<p>"And is there really such oppression as Miss Vard described?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know what she told you—it was only at the end she raised her +voice; but she could not exaggerate the sufferings of her people. They +are little better than slaves. All careers are closed to them, and over +them constantly is the shadow of Siberia."</p> + +<p>"You mean they are banished sometimes?"</p> + +<p>"They are banished often—for one year, two years, three years. And they +are compelled to walk to and from the place of banishment. It takes a +year sometimes. I knew a man who returned home one day to find a Cossack +attacking his daughter. There was a struggle, and the Cossack shot the +man in the leg. The wound festered and the leg was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>amputated; then the +man was sentenced to the mines at Yakutsk. It was I know not how many +thousand miles—it took him two years to walk there on his wooden +leg—walking, walking every day."</p> + +<p>Dan felt a strange weakness running through his veins.</p> + +<p>"But is there no way to put an end to such things?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Chevrial rolled himself another cigarette.</p> + +<p>"Poland has no friends," he answered. "She has been forgotten. The Poles +themselves have come to be regarded as fools, as charlatans, as +irresponsible children. France was supposed to be the friend of Poland; +Napoleon promised to reconstitute her, and the Poles fought by thousands +in his armies and won many victories for him. Then came the campaign of +Russia and ended all that. To-day, Poland is remembered in France only +by a proverb, '<i>Saoul comme un Polonais</i>,' 'Drunk as a Pole.' It is so +we think of them, when we think of them at all, which is not often. This +disdain, this forgetfulness, has been carefully fostered by Germany and +Russia. No one thinks it worth while to interfere. Besides, Poland's lot +is that of every conquered country. In Alsace-Lorraine it is just the +same."</p> + +<p>"Oh, surely not!" Dan protested. "Germany, at least, has no Siberia!"</p> + +<p>"No, she has no Siberia," Chevrial agreed, "but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>neither has she a sense +of humour, and that is worse! The very worst trait in a conqueror, M. +Webster, believe me, is an absence of the sense of humour! And Germany +has the strongest prisons in the world. Her system of espial is even +more minute and irritating than that of Russia. As in Poland, the people +of Alsace and Lorraine may not speak their native tongue nor study the +history of their fatherland. Nothing escapes suspicion. It is reported +that at a certain café the accounts are kept in French; the café is +thereupon visited, the books confiscated, and a fine imposed. A certain +gentleman goes to Nancy on the fourteenth of July, which happens to be +the date of the French national fête; he is reported as suspect and his +premises are visited and searched. The police, passing the house of a +notary one evening, hear some one singing the Marseillaise; they demand +admittance and arrest the notary, although it was a phonograph which had +been singing the song. This is adjudged a very serious case."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to tell me," Dan demanded, "that such things actually +occur?"</p> + +<p>The ghost of a smile flitted across Chevrial's lips.</p> + +<p>"Not those precise cases, perhaps," he said; "but cases very like +them—cases not a whit less ridiculous. And can you wonder that Germany +finds Alsace and Lorraine restless? Do you wonder that our hearts ache +for our compatriots? Do you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>wonder that we dream of the day when we may +remove those mourning wreaths from the statue of Strasbourg in the Place +de la Concord?"</p> + +<p>He fell silent a moment, then shrugged his shoulders resignedly.</p> + +<p>"But I grow too serious," he continued. "Perhaps, some day, Poland will +be freed, Alsace-Lorraine returned to France; yes," and here he glanced +at Dan with a dry smile, "and the people of the Philippines given their +independence. Indeed, this M. Vard believes that day to be close at +hand. Let us hope so. Which reminds me that I have to-day seen neither +him nor his daughter."</p> + +<p>"Nor have I," Dan admitted. "I thought perhaps they had some work to do, +and so had not come on deck."</p> + +<p>"They may be there now," said Chevrial, and led the way to the forward +end of the boat-deck, where, leaning against the rail, they could look +down upon the promenade below.</p> + +<p>Every one was on deck, walking up and down, revelling in the fresh air, +with its tang of salt, and in the soft sunshine; but, though Dan and +Chevrial stood for some time looking down, neither Miss Vard nor her +father passed. Then Chevrial, whose attention had wandered, uttered a +little exclamation, and caught Dan by the arm.</p> + +<p>"See there!" he said.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>He was pointing forward to the first-class promenade, which was also +crowded, and Dan, following the direction of his gesture, saw, amid the +crowd, a white-haired man and dark-haired girl walking side by side, +deep in talk. He looked again, scarcely able to believe his eyes; but +there was no mistaking them—they were Miss Vard and her father.</p> + +<p>He drew a deep breath of wonder and perplexity. How came they among the +first-class passengers? But perhaps they had merely been to see the +purser, and were now on their way back. No; they had passed the gangway. +In another moment, they turned back along the other side of the +promenade and were lost to sight.</p> + +<p>Only then did Dan look up. He found Chevrial smiling sardonically.</p> + +<p>"But what does it mean?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Chevrial pursed his lips.</p> + +<p>"I do not know," he answered, with a little shrug, "unless some one +beside myself heard Miss Vard's story, last night, and has caused her to +be placed where she may be more easily kept under surveillance. Oh, +there was some story trumped up, depend upon it, so that she would not +suspect. No doubt she will also be given the opportunity to make certain +friends among her new shipmates, in whom she may also confide. It will +be delicately done; oh, so delicately!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>It might have occurred to Dan that M. Chevrial seemed, for a +wine-merchant, surprisingly familiar with affairs of state and the +methods of the secret service; but, for the moment, his whole mind was +concentrated on Miss Vard's danger.</p> + +<p>"I must warn her," he breathed.</p> + +<p>"I believe it would be wise," said Chevrial, in the same tone. "She +should make friends with no one—confide in no one. Her position is very +serious." And then, as Dan started from the rail, he caught his arm. +"Not now," he said. "Wait until to-night. It would be too apparent if +you were to rush up there in open day. And before you do speak, make +sure that there is no one within twenty feet of you—and then speak in a +whisper!"</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Dan; "you are right, of course." And he went slowly +back to the bench.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h2>A CHARGE TO KEEP</h2> +<br /> + +<p>When Dan Webster took his seat at the dinner table, that evening, he +found a printed copy of the passenger-list beside his plate, and his +neighbours were a-flutter with the excitement of seeing their names in +type. Dan, turning to the letter V, found that the names of Ignace Vard +and his daughter were not there. Doubtless the change from second-class +to first was responsible for the omission, and yet, at the back of his +mind was a vague feeling of uneasiness which he was wholly unable to +explain. Chevrial had impressed him, and yet one objection to that +gentleman's misgivings seemed to him unanswerable: if the Vards had been +changed from second-class to first with any ulterior object, the +authorities in charge of the ship must be in the plot, and that was +manifestly absurd.</p> + +<p>Yet his determination to seek Miss Vard at the first moment and advise +her to be cautious did not waver. He knew, from the printed +announcements of the company, that the first-cabin dinner was not a +table-d'hôte served at a fixed hour, as in the second-cabin, but an á la +carte meal, served from six <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>to nine, as at a fashionable restaurant; so +he loitered restlessly about for half an hour after he left the table; +then, deciding that he had waited long enough, he approached the ladder +which led to the first-class promenade. But a uniformed figure which +stood at the foot of the ladder stopped him.</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, sir," it said, "are you first-class?"</p> + +<p>"No; I am second."</p> + +<p>"Did you wish to see the purser or some officer of the ship?"</p> + +<p>"No; I wished to <i>see</i> one of the passengers."</p> + +<p>"In that case, I fear I cannot let you pass, sir. It is against the +rules."</p> + +<p>"Oh, is it?" said Dan, all his suspicions revived with double force, and +he bit his lip in perplexity.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry, sir; but I am here to enforce the rules."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I understand," said Dan.</p> + +<p>"You might get your stateroom steward to take a message," the man +suggested.</p> + +<p>"But I want to <i>see</i> the person."</p> + +<p>"The person can come to you. There is no rule against first-class +visiting second. First-class has the run of the ship."</p> + +<p>"I see," said Dan. "Thank you," and he went away to think it over.</p> + +<p>Mechanically he threaded his way through the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>crowd on the promenade, +climbed up to the boat-deck, and sat down on the well-remembered bench. +Some of the others were occupied, but this one was empty; perhaps the +others were becoming as dear to other people as this one was to him! He +got out his pipe, lighted it, pulled his cap over his eyes, thrust his +hands deep into his pockets, and began to think.</p> + +<p>He could, of course, write Miss Vard a brief warning; but what assurance +had he that it would be delivered to her, at least without being opened? +If Chevrial was right, if she was really under espionage, any +communication addressed to her would certainly be inspected. Even to +write merely asking her to meet him would arouse suspicion. There was +only one way—he must watch for a chance to steal forward into +first-class when no one was looking.</p> + +<p>He considered the possible ways of doing this. In the morning, he knew, +the folding gate which divided the lower promenade into first and second +class was always swung back while the deck was being washed down. It +would be easy to pass then; but, he reflected, in the daytime he had +never noticed that a guard was stationed at the ladder leading to the +upper promenade. Perhaps it was only at night that the prohibition was +in force—at night, when the women of the first-cabin had their diamonds +on! <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>There must, of course, be some police supervision of the ship; each +class must be kept to its own quarters, or, at least, prevented from +wandering into quarters higher up. But, just the same, he must get past!</p> + +<p>He rose, and, walking to the forward rail, looked across at the other +deck. A space of perhaps thirty feet separated it from the one on which +he stood. Then he looked down. The man on guard was pacing slowly back +and forth, his hands behind him; but suddenly he quickened his step, for +two men had approached the foot of the ladder. The guard stopped them +with the same formula he had used with Dan.</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, gentlemen," he said, "are you first-class?"</p> + +<p>"No; we are second-class," answered one of the men.</p> + +<p>"Have you business with the purser or any officer of the ship?"</p> + +<p>There was a moment's hesitation.</p> + +<p>"Why do you ask?" queried one of the men.</p> + +<p>"It is forbidden to pass otherwise."</p> + +<p>Again there was a moment's hesitation, and Dan strained his ears to +catch the reply.</p> + +<p>"We have business with the Commander," said one of the men at last, in a +low tone.</p> + +<p>The guard was obviously surprised.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>"The Commander is very busy," he said, deprecatingly. "Perhaps to-morrow +will do."</p> + +<p>"To-morrow will not do," was the curt answer.</p> + +<p>"I must, at least, announce you," said the guard. "May I have your +card?"</p> + +<p>A card was produced and handed to him. Without looking at it, he blew a +sharp blast on a little whistle which hung about his neck. In a moment +another man in uniform appeared at the head of the ladder. The guard +mounted and handed him the card.</p> + +<p>"For the Captain," he said, and came down again. "I regret that I must +detain you, gentlemen," he added, "but I must obey the regulations."</p> + +<p>"Certainly," agreed one of the men, and they stepped a little apart and +stood talking together in low tones. But almost immediately the +messenger appeared again at the top of the ladder.</p> + +<p>"The Captain will receive you, gentlemen," he said, and swung open the +gate and waited for them to pass. Then he closed the gate and hurried +after them. Dan could see them going along the upper promenade; then +they passed from sight.</p> + +<p>The guard had stared after them as they climbed the ladder, and he stood +staring for some little time after they had gone. Plainly he was much +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>astonished. But at last, with a shake of the head, he turned away and +resumed his walk.</p> + +<p>Dan was about to turn away, too, when another incident attracted his +attention. A barefooted sailor in white duck, coming from the stern of +the ship, climbed to the rail, tested the rope holding the canvas +windshield, and then, as the guard turned away, grasped a stanchion of +the railing above his head and drew himself up quickly to the first +promenade. Dan, looking after him, saw him run rapidly up the ladder to +the forward boat-deck and disappear behind a life-boat.</p> + +<p>That was a way, certainly, to evade the guard. Dan measured the distance +from the rail to the upper deck, and wondered if he could pull himself +up as quickly as the sailor had. He would have to be quick, or the guard +would see him. And it was quite an athletic feat. Besides, he would be +handicapped by his shoes; he might easily slip off the rail and over the +side. No, that road was too dangerous, except as a last resort. Besides, +if he were caught, it would be very awkward.</p> + +<p>He returned to his bench and sat down again. After all, was there really +any reason why he should warn Miss Vard? The whole thing was, most +probably, nothing but a bit of rhodomontade on Chevrial's part. And who +was Chevrial, anyway? How did <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>it happen that he was so familiar with +spies and secret services and systems of espionage? A most peculiar +wine-merchant. Perhaps he was not a wine-merchant; perhaps....</p> + +<p>"A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Webster," said a low voice, and some one +sat down beside him.</p> + +<p>He turned with a violent start.</p> + +<p>"Kasia!" he cried, and then stopped, stammering. "I beg your pardon, +Miss Vard," he said, also lowering his voice. "You startled me so!"</p> + +<p>As she met his glance, he saw how bright her eyes were. She had thrown a +wrap about her and drawn the hood over her head. Against it, her face +looked very white.</p> + +<p>"I think you may call me Kasia," she said softly. "You see, I need a +friend, and I should hate to have a friend call me anything else. No," +she added, as he started to say something, "I shall continue to call you +Mr. Webster—that is not quite the same thing. And I am sorry I startled +you."</p> + +<p>"It was because I was thinking of you. I have been thinking of you all +day. I tried to go to you, just now. I had something to tell you. But +the guard at the ladder stopped me."</p> + +<p>He looked around to make sure that there was no one near.</p> + +<p>"He didn't stop <i>me</i>," she said.</p> + +<p>"No; first-class passengers have the run of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>ship. How does it +happen that you are first-class, Kasia?"</p> + +<p>It was the first time that he had used the word with intention, and his +voice trembled a little over it.</p> + +<p>She told him rapidly of the odour which had suddenly developed in her +former stateroom, and how the ship's people had finally been compelled +to transfer her and her father to the first-cabin.</p> + +<p>"Oh, to quite sumptuous quarters," she went on; "you should see them. +Two bedrooms and a sitting-room and bath—an imperial suite. There are +no places left at the tables, so our meals are served in our +sitting-room, as though we were royalties. I'm afraid our tips will have +to be something enormous! I can't but feel that the steamship company is +getting very much the worst of it. Both father and I offered to continue +eating second-class, but the Captain wouldn't hear of it. He seems to +think, poor man, that the odour has disgraced his boat. He was quite +humble about it!"</p> + +<p>Dan breathed a deep sigh of relief.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad it's so simple," he said. "I had begun to imagine all sorts of +things. Last night, when we were talking here, it happened that my +roommate, a fellow named Chevrial, was sitting on that bench yonder, and +overheard a little of our talk. He was quite solemn with me this +afternoon about it."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>"In what way?" asked Kasia, quickly.</p> + +<p>"He said there are always spies on board these big boats, and that you +oughtn't to go around talking about blowing up battleships—not at this +time, anyway, since it is only three or four days since a French ship +was blown up."</p> + +<p>He could hear the startled breath she drew, and the hand she laid on his +sleeve was trembling.</p> + +<p>"Did he say that?" she gasped. "But he doesn't suspect—"</p> + +<p>"That your father blew up <i>La Liberté</i>?" laughed Dan. "Of course not. He +said that was absurd. But, just the same, he thought it unwise to talk +about it."</p> + +<p>"He is right," Kasia agreed. "What else did he say?"</p> + +<p>"He seemed to think your being moved to first-class was part of a plot +of some kind, and thought you ought to be warned not to make any +acquaintances or confide in any one. But of course that was just his +imagination. If the Captain himself moved you why that settles it. He +wouldn't be concerned in any plot. The whole thing, anyway, sounds like +a bit of ten-twenty-thirty. I told Chevrial so."</p> + +<p>"Who is this Chevrial?" asked Miss Vard.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. He told me he was a dealer in wine. He seems to have +travelled a lot, and he is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>certainly a well-educated fellow, and one of +the best talkers I ever met. A Frenchman all through, from the way he +got worked up over Alsace-Lorraine. He said it was as bad as Poland. But +I suspect he was letting his Gallic imagination run away with him when +he got on the subject of spies."</p> + +<p>"I am not so sure of that," she said, and fell silent for a moment. "I +have seen more of spies than have you, Mr. Webster—I know how Europe is +honeycombed with them. At any rate, it can do no harm to follow his +advice. Please make sure that there is no one near us. I have something +most important to say to you."</p> + +<p>Dan glanced at her in surprise; then he got up, looked behind the boat +in whose shadow the bench stood, and made a careful survey of their +surroundings. Then he sat down again.</p> + +<p>"There is no one near," he assured her.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Webster," she began, leaning so close that a tendril of her hair +brushed his cheek, and speaking in a voice that was almost a whisper, "I +told you that I had need of a friend. It is a desperate need. I may rely +upon you, may I not?"</p> + +<p>For answer, he sought her hand, found it and held it fast. It was very +cold.</p> + +<p>"I was sure of it," she said, and her fingers closed upon his. "I knew, +in my first glance at you, that you were to be counted on."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>Dan's heart was glowing and he could not trust himself to speak.</p> + +<p>"My need is this," she went on rapidly, as though, having nerved herself +to speak, she must hurry through with it before her resolution failed. +"My father has perfected an invention—oh, a great invention—which he +fears some one may try to steal from him. He has many enemies who would +stop at nothing to gain possession of it. Even on this boat, perhaps, +there are some of them—he does not know; there is no way that he can +tell; but he is very anxious. For eight years he laboured at this +invention, and at last it is finished. But if some one should steal his +model, all this would be for nothing—for worse than nothing. It is not +a money loss he fears—this invention will not bring him money—but his +whole life would be wrecked—all his plans, all his hopes. To-day he +agreed with me that this model should be destroyed; he put it in my hand +and he expected me to drop it into the sea. But I was afraid to do that; +perhaps he could not make another. It is so complicated, so delicate, +perhaps he would go wrong. So I thought and thought—I thought if I had +a friend whom I could trust absolutely, whom no one would suspect of +possessing it, I might entrust it to him...."</p> + +<p>Dan's pressure on her hand grew stronger.</p> + +<p>"Give it to me," he said.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>Kasia gazed into his eyes for a moment, as though reading his very soul; +then her other hand came forward under her cloak and touched his. He +felt that it held a package; and he took it quickly and slipped it into +the pocket of his coat.</p> + +<p>"Now it is safe," he said. "You are not to worry about it any more."</p> + +<p>She breathed a deep sigh of relief.</p> + +<p>"But you must make me two promises," she said.</p> + +<p>"What are they?"</p> + +<p>"You must permit no one, under any circumstances, to open that package."</p> + +<p>"I promise."</p> + +<p>"Rather than do that, rather than permit any one to see it, you must +destroy it—throw it overboard, stamp upon it—destroy it in some way."</p> + +<p>"I promise."</p> + +<p>"No matter who may be trying to get it—the Captain of this ship, an +officer of the police—it must make no difference."</p> + +<p>"I promise."</p> + +<p>She leaned back against the seat, suddenly relaxed as from a great +strain, and closed her eyes. But she did not draw her hand away. Then +she opened her eyes and looked at him, and her lips were quivering. An +immense longing to take her in his arms, to stoop and kiss those lips, +to hold her close to him, rushed through the man's veins. But he held +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>himself back. To do that would be base; to do that would be asking +payment! He could not do that. But sometime, sometime....</p> + +<p>She saw the change in his face, sat for an instant very still, then drew +her hand away, got out her handkerchief and passed it across her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Now we can talk," she said, in another tone. "You may choose the +subject."</p> + +<p>Dan pulled himself together.</p> + +<p>"Oh, any subject will do," he laughed. "Ships or shoes or +sealing-wax—just so you do the talking."</p> + +<p>And he got out his pipe and filled it with trembling fingers. He was +absurdly happy.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h2>THE FIRST CONFERENCE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>In the Captain's cabin, meanwhile, another conference was going forward, +and one of a very different character from that on the after boat-deck. +The curtains had been carefully drawn, and three men sat facing each +other. They were Ignace Vard, Pachmann, and the young man whom he +addressed habitually as "Prince." Vard was on the divan in the corner of +the room, the others lounged in two luxuriously upholstered chairs which +had been wheeled in front of the divan. Their attitudes suggested +careless unconcern, but their eyes were glowing with repressed +excitement. Cigars and liqueurs were on a table between them, and the +air was blue with smoke.</p> + +<p>The Captain had been chatting with a group of passengers when Pachmann's +card was handed to him, but, after a glance at it, he excused himself at +once.</p> + +<p>"Show the gentlemen to my cabin," he said to the messenger, and himself +hastened to it. There, a moment later, Pachmann and the Prince appeared.</p> + +<p>"It is necessary that we have a conference <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>to-night," said Pachmann, +"with this Ignace Vard. It must be in a room where we cannot by any +possibility be overheard."</p> + +<p>"It is, I suppose, an affair of state?" asked the Captain.</p> + +<p>"Yes; of the first importance."</p> + +<p>"My cabin, then, is at your disposal."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," said Pachmann. "There could be no better place. I was +hoping that you would offer it."</p> + +<p>"You will understand, sir," Hausmann went on, stroking his beard +nervously, "that an explanation of all this will have to be made to my +company."</p> + +<p>"I will see that a satisfactory explanation is made, sir," Pachmann +assented.</p> + +<p>The Captain nodded his relief.</p> + +<p>"That is what I desire. I will have Vard brought to you," he said, +saluted and withdrew.</p> + +<p>He sent a messenger for the inventor, waited until he had entered, and +then summoned a sailor and posted him as a sentry outside the door, with +instructions to permit no one else to enter or even knock. Then he had +another man stretch a rope across the deck some twenty feet abaft the +door; and finally mounted thoughtfully to the bridge, considerably to +the surprise of his subordinates, and spent the whole evening there, +pacing slowly back <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>and forth with an appearance of restlessness the +other officers could not understand, for the weather was very fine and +the barometer high and steady.</p> + +<p>In the cabin below the conference proceeded.</p> + +<p>"It is as well, Mr. Vard," Pachmann was saying, "that we should +understand each other. The Prince and myself are here as the direct +personal representatives of the Emperor, who has given us his fullest +confidence and the most complete authority. Any agreement we may make +with you, he will recognise as binding. It was a condition of yours, I +believe, that you would meet only with persons so empowered."</p> + +<p>"I should have preferred to treat with the Emperor himself," said Vard.</p> + +<p>"You could scarcely expect him to make this trip to America," Pachmann +pointed out, with a smile. "If you had been content to go to Berlin...."</p> + +<p>"That was impossible," Vard broke in. "It was stipulated that the treaty +should be signed in America, and the Emperor agreed."</p> + +<p>"And we are here to carry out that agreement," Pachmann added. "But +before we proceed to a consideration of it, I will outline the progress +of affairs to the present moment, in order that the Prince may be +thoroughly familiar with the matter. If I am mistaken in any detail, +please correct me."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>Vard nodded, and lay back in his seat, watching the smoke from his +cigar, as it wreathed itself toward the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"About the middle of July," Pachmann began, "Mr. Vard called on Count +Eulenberg, the Chief Marshall of the Imperial Court, and asked for a +private audience with the Emperor. The request was so preposterous that +the Count was astounded when Mr. Vard persisted in it. After that he was +shadowed night and day, his lodgings were searched, his mail opened, and +the police authorities were about to expel him from the country as a +dangerous person, when something still more astonishing happened. With +incredible good fortune, Mr. Vard had in some way managed to secure an +audience with Admiral von Tirpitz, Secretary for the Navy; two days +later, a secret audience was arranged, at which the Emperor was present. +At the request of Admiral von Tirpitz, I was also present, in my +capacity as Chief of the Wireless Service.</p> + +<p>"At this conference Mr. Vard stated that he had discovered a principle, +or invented an apparatus, by which he could explode the magazines of a +fort or battleship at any distance up to five miles, and that he +believed the perfection of the invention would greatly increase its +range. This new principle, which worked in conjunction with the ordinary +wireless, was something against which there was no way <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>to guard, since +it penetrated both wood and metal. Every ship, every army, every fort +was at the mercy of the man controlling it. If a single nation +controlled it, that nation would become mistress of the world; if it was +common to all nations, war, as we know it, would be impossible.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Vard went on to say that it was not his purpose to make this +discovery the property of a single nation. His purpose was to render war +so impossible that all nations would consent to universal disarmament, +and enter into an agreement for universal peace. He had come to Germany +first, he said, because she was the greatest of the armed nations, and +if she agreed to his proposal, the example would be very great. His +proposal was that he would prove that he was able to do everything he +claimed, in any way that Germany might prescribe; in the event of his +success, Germany was to sign an agreement to disarm, was to secure the +signature of Russia and such other nations as she could influence, and +this alliance was then to force the agreement of all other nations; the +navies and coast defences of such nations as would not agree to be blown +to pieces and their consent compelled."</p> + +<p>Pachmann paused for a moment and wiped his glistening forehead.</p> + +<p>"Am I stating your proposal correctly, Mr. Vard?" he asked.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>The inventor nodded, without lowering his eyes from the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"I need not say with what astonishment we listened to this extraordinary +proposal," Pachmann continued. "It seemed impossible that any merely +human brain should have been able to work out the details of a plan so +stupendous. But it impressed the Emperor; it impressed all of us. We +held other conferences, and it was finally agreed that, before we went +further, Mr. Vard should give us the proof he had suggested. The test to +which he finally consented was to be a conclusive one. He was to blow up +a French battleship in Toulon harbour. As his funds were limited, we +agreed to bear the expense of the experiment and to reimburse him for +the apparatus which he would have to leave behind. If he succeeded, we +would be ready to treat definitely with him; two commissioners, with +full powers from the Emperor, would accompany him to America, where such +treaty as might finally be agreed upon would be signed. Am I right so +far, Mr. Vard?"</p> + +<p>The inventor had lowered his eyes and was looking at the speaker keenly.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "except that you should add that it was distinctly +understood that the treaty was to be one for universal disarmament, and +that Germany was to do everything in her power to secure the consent of +all other nations."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>"You are right," agreed Pachmann, readily. "That was to be the general +purpose of the treaty. It was only its details we were to discuss—the +exact manner in which this end could best be accomplished."</p> + +<p>The Prince had been listening intently, and at the words, his eyes and +Pachmann's met. Vard was again gazing at the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"On the twentieth of this month," Pachmann continued, "Admiral von +Tirpitz received from Mr. Vard, in a code agreed upon, a telegram +stating that the test would occur at daylight on Monday the +twenty-fifth." He paused for a moment, then went on more slowly. "At +that hour, a companion and myself were on the harbour-front of Toulon; +and at that hour <i>La Liberté</i> was indeed destroyed."</p> + +<p>He stopped, his eyes on the inventor's face. Vard met his glance without +flinching.</p> + +<p>"Understand," he said, in a low tone, "that I am no monster, that I +recognise the sacredness of human life. The test proposed was yours, not +mine; I protested against it, and I consented at last because I saw that +you would with nothing else be satisfied. But for the destruction of +that ship, you will have to atone; to those men who were killed a great +monument shall be built; they shall be recognised by all the world as +heroes and martyrs; their families shall weep for them, indeed, but with +tears of joy and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>pride. To banish war from the world those men laid +down their lives, even as I would lay down mine—even as any brave man +would—gladly, eagerly!"</p> + +<p>His eyes were shining, and the Prince, looking at him, felt himself +shaken by a strange emotion. But across Pachmann's lips flitted an +ironical smile, as of one who disdained heroics.</p> + +<p>"For the decision as to <i>La Liberté</i>," he said, "I assume full +responsibility. It was I who suggested it; it was I who showed that no +other proof could be conclusive; it was I who arranged for it. I have no +regrets. You have your part of the bargain accomplished, Mr. Vard," he +added. "His Highness and myself are here to accomplish ours. We are +ready to discuss the details of the treaty."</p> + +<p>"I think that first, perhaps, I should look at your credentials," Vard +suggested.</p> + +<p>"That is just," and Pachmann, getting out his pocket-book, took from it +the envelope sealed with the black seal, and handed it to Vard.</p> + +<p>Vard took it, glanced at the seal, and hesitated, just as the captain of +the <i>Ottilie</i> had done.</p> + +<p>"I am to open it?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Pachmann nodded.</p> + +<p>"It contains my credentials," he said.</p> + +<p>A careful inspection of the seal would have disclosed the fact that the +envelope had already been <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>opened once—perhaps more than once—but Vard +made no such inspection. Instead, he broke the seal with nervous +fingers, and drew out the stiff sheet blazing with the Royal insignia. +This is the English of what he read:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Herewith do I grant to the bearer of this paper, Admiral H. +Pachmann, power extraordinary as my representative, to enter +into agreements, to make treaties, and to sign the same; and +I do further declare that I shall consider myself bound by +such agreements and signatures as though I myself had made +them; and, finally, I command all members of my family, all +officers of my army and navy, all members of my diplomatic +corps, and all good Germans generally, to yield to him the +same obedience they would yield to me; all this for the good +of my Empire.</p> + +<p class="right" style="padding-right: 10em;">"Signed,</p> + +<p class="right" style="padding-right: 4em;">"<span class="smcap">William, R. I.</span></p> +<p class="left">"<span class="smcap">Wilhelmshöhe</span>, September 21, +1911."</p></div> + +<p>Vard re-read this extraordinary paper, then replaced it in its envelope +and silently returned it to its owner. Again that ironical smile flashed +across Pachmann's lips, as he restored it to his pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"You find it ample, do you not?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Vard nodded, and glanced curiously at the Prince, wondering if that +young man was aware of the exact wording of this remarkable document, +especially of the clause, "all members of my family."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>"And now," proceeded Pachmann, adjusting himself to an easier posture, +"we shall be glad to hear the further details of your proposal."</p> + +<p>Vard paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.</p> + +<p>"There is one thing I would understand first," he said. "From that +paper, I infer that the Emperor alone is concerned in this—that his +cabinet is not aware of it."</p> + +<p>"No member of the cabinet except one—whom I will not name," assented +Pachmann. "I will not conceal from you that the Emperor is desirous of +reaping for himself the full glory of this achievement. He realises that +the man who brings about world-peace will be the most famous man in +history. He has his ambitions, as you doubtless know."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have heard so," said Vard, with an ironic smile. "Well, let him +have the glory—I do not object; besides, he will deserve it. And now +for my proposal. It is this: the nations of the world, with Germany and +Russia as the first signatories, shall enter into a treaty providing for +the immediate disbanding of their armies, dismantling of their forts, +and disintegrating of their fleets. Only such troops shall be retained +as are needed to provide garrisons for such outposts as may be necessary +to protect the Christian world from the incursion of barbarous or +nomadic tribes, and only such warships as are needed to assist in this +work. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>exact number each nation shall maintain will be decided by a +general court of adjudication, and all such troops and warships shall be +in common; and all expenditures for what are usually known as military +purposes shall be in common, apportioned by the same court of +adjudication among the nations which are party to the agreement. Under +no circumstances may any nation maintain any force privately or for its +own use."</p> + +<p>"I am interested to know," put in Pachmann, smoothly, "in what manner +you propose to secure the consent of the various nations to this scheme. +The smaller ones will doubtless be glad to fall into line; but you +surely do not expect England and France, for example, to agree merely +because we ask it!"</p> + +<p>"To those who do not consent," Vard answered calmly, "we will give a +demonstration of the necessity for doing so."</p> + +<p>"Some such demonstration as that of Monday?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—greater ones, if need be."</p> + +<p>Pachmann considered this thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"It might do," he said, at last. "A few such demonstrations would no +doubt be convincing. Yet there might be one or two which would be +obdurate."</p> + +<p>"I think, in the end, we can convince them."</p> + +<p>"You will go to any lengths to do so?"</p> + +<p>"To any necessary lengths."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>Pachmann nodded.</p> + +<p>"I was desirous of getting a clear expression from you upon that point," +he said. "Pray continue."</p> + +<p>"I do not believe there will be many such nations," Vard went on. "You +have spoken of France and England. I believe France will consent, for +she is a nation of idealists. I should have chosen her to lead the +movement, but for the fact that her army and navy are inferior to yours, +and so she might seem to be acting from fear or from self-interest. +Should you refuse—should we be unable to agree—it will be to France I +shall go next. As for England, she also fears you—she will be glad to +escape from the burden of her armaments and from the shadow of your +great power. In fact all nations in whose governments the people have a +voice will be eager for disarmament. And the people everywhere must be +allowed to speak. If those in power seek to crush them, to restrain +them, we must assist them to throw off the yoke of tyranny and decide +for themselves."</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Pachmann, very quietly. "Socialism—I see!"</p> + +<p>"The rule of the people," said Vard, calmly. "The freedom of the +people—call it what you will. That is what I labour for. The people of +each nation must be free to choose by whom and in what manner they will +be governed. That evolution will, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>of course, take many years; but it +must not be cramped or retarded. At the very outset, it will make two +considerable changes in the map of Europe. Poland will be reconstituted +and Alsace-Lorraine restored to France."</p> + +<p>Pachmann started violently, and a wave of angry red swept over his face.</p> + +<p>"Impossible!" he cried. "Impossible! To that we can never consent!"</p> + +<p>Vard smiled at his emotion.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" he asked, ironically.</p> + +<p>"Because," shouted Pachmann, "Elsass and Lorraine are German—they were +stolen from Germany by France two centuries ago."</p> + +<p>"They were not German—they were independent states; and they are not +German now. They are French. However, I am quite willing to leave the +final decision to the people of those provinces. You cannot object to +that!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann shifted his cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other. +His face was livid.</p> + +<p>"Beware that you do not attempt too much, my dear sir," he said, and +there was in his voice a covert threat not to be disguised. "I warn you. +But, in this connection, some other questions occur to me. What of +Ireland?"</p> + +<p>"The Irish shall decide."</p> + +<p>"South Africa?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>"Most of it belongs to the Boers."</p> + +<p>"That, at least, is a grain of comfort. But India, Egypt?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot answer that. India and Egypt must be made the subjects of +careful study and the government given them which will be best for their +peoples, and which will not drain them of their wealth, as England does. +There will be many such problems, and the best minds of the world must +study them. My answers to your questions are but suggestions. All such +problems must be settled by an international court, which shall proceed +upon the theory that all peoples capable of self-government shall have +absolute freedom, and all other peoples shall be made capable of +governing themselves as rapidly as possible. Each people shall be free +to decide for itself as to its form of government, but shall be required +to pledge itself to the principle of universal peace. That pledge will +be necessary only at first—after fifty years of peace, no nation will +ever think of war! I know that, for a generation or two, there will be +difficulties. We have grown suspicious of each other; we have become +hardened by hatred and injustice. But time will change all that. Let us +lay down our arms, disband our armies, restore what we have stolen, and, +instead of hatred, we shall find love in our hearts. Instead of +oppression, we shall have justice, tempered with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>mercy. Each man will +have his work to do, and none who works will go hungry; and we will end +by becoming citizens, not of Germany, France, or of any other country, +but of the world! I tell you, sir, that our great-grandchildren, looking +back at us from a world at peace and united in brotherhood, will wonder +at us—we shall seem to them blind savages, murderers, lunatics!"</p> + +<p>It was evident enough that the Prince was moved. He was young, he had +always been something of a dreamer. Rigid training at his father's hands +had gone far to dispel the dreams, but they were not quite rooted out. +Now, at the words of this supreme idealist, this inspired dreamer, they +revived again. He sat regarding the speaker with misty eyes, his mouth a +little open, his hands gripped in front of him. Pachmann, glancing at +him, passed his hands before his lips to wipe away a sneer.</p> + +<p>"All most interesting," commented the Admiral, in his ironical voice. "I +think that we understand your proposal fully. There is only one point +upon which you have not made yourself quite clear. Should we be unable +to agree, what will be your next step?"</p> + +<p>"I thought I had already told you," answered Vard, impatiently. "Should +we disagree, I shall offer France the same opportunity which I now offer +Germany."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>"You will find France sceptical."</p> + +<p>"Then I shall offer her the same proof I offered you. That will be just, +will it not?" and Vard looked straight into Pachmann's eyes.</p> + +<p>Pachmann sprang from his chair, his mouth working, his eyes suffused.</p> + +<p>"You will destroy one of our ships?" he demanded, his voice hoarse.</p> + +<p>"A ship or a fort—it shall be for France to choose."</p> + +<p>Pachmann's fingers were twitching visibly to be at the other's throat. +But by a mighty effort he controlled himself, flung himself again into +his chair and poured himself out a glass of brandy from the bottle at +his elbow.</p> + +<p>"Will you drink?" he asked, over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"No, thank you," answered Vard.</p> + +<p>The Prince sat without moving, still staring at the inventor. Meeting +his eyes, Vard smiled slightly.</p> + +<p>Pachmann set down his glass, and turned back to them.</p> + +<p>"I must ask you to pardon me," he said. "I lost my self-control—a thing +I do not often do—but your suggestions seemed to me insupportable. +However, I can perceive that there is another side to them. I think we +understand your proposal now, most thoroughly. There are certain details +which the Prince and I must discuss together, before we can <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>submit an +answer. In a matter of such moment, we must proceed with the greatest +care. This is Thursday. I think we can be ready by Saturday evening."</p> + +<p>"Very well," agreed Vard, rising. "The same hour, in this room?"</p> + +<p>"If that pleases you."</p> + +<p>"It does."</p> + +<p>He bowed coldly to Pachmann; then, with a sudden gesture, held out his +hand to the Prince. But Pachmann interposed before the Prince could take +it.</p> + +<p>"That I cannot permit," he said grimly, and he opened the door.</p> + +<p>A barefooted sailor, clad in white duck, standing on the deck outside, +saluted. Pachmann stood for a moment staring after Vard's retreating +figure; then he turned back into the room. The Prince was helping +himself to a drink, and Pachmann joined him.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "this is what we need, after all that raving."</p> + +<p>"Would you call it that?" asked the Prince.</p> + +<p>"Raving? Yes, it was precisely that! The man is mad, my Prince; +absolutely mad. No one but a madman would speak as he does—of citizens +of the world, the brotherhood of man, and all that folly!"</p> + +<p>The Prince drained his glass.</p> + +<p>"I fear you are right," he said, as he set it down. "Yes, I fear you are +right, and that it is only folly!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>"There is one thing you must not forget," added Pachmann, his hand on +the door; "since he is mad, it is as a madman he must be treated!" and +he led the way out upon the deck.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Somewhere in the dim hours of the night, Dan Webster was awakened by a +glare of light in his eyes. He opened them to find that the electric +lamp beside the wash-stand was burning. Peering over the edge of his +berth, he beheld a curious sight. Chevrial was sitting on his berth, +half undressed, examining tenderly one of his toes, and swearing softly +to himself. He glanced up, met Dan's astonished eyes, and laughed.</p> + +<p>"Man is a ridiculous animal," he said. "The feet with which he has been +provided are absurd—no doubt because they were really intended to be +hands. They are too sensitive, too undefended. Blundering around here in +the darkness, I have injured one of my toes, and it hurts devilishly. +Pardon me for awaking you, my friend. Good night!"</p> + +<p>He turned off the light, and Dan lay back upon his pillow, with strange +thoughts whirling in his head.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h2>THE SUBSTITUTE SENTRY</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Admiral Pachmann turned into his berth, that night, extremely +well-satisfied with himself, for he was convinced that the cards were in +his hands and the game as good as won. And what a game! For his King, +world-empire; for himself—but the Admiral did not permit himself to +name the reward. He knew well that he would not be forgotten when the +moment came for the distribution of honours. Was not the whole plan his? +Had he not worked it out to its minutest detail? Had he not carried it +through? And how adroitly, how triumphantly! Even the Emperor would have +to acknowledge that!</p> + +<p>Let us do the Admiral justice: he loved his country, he was ready at any +moment to lay down his life for her, he would have laboured just as +earnestly without hope of other reward than the sight of her +aggrandisement: but, just the same, when the honours came, he was not +one to refuse them! World-empire would mean governorships, +suzerainties....</p> + +<p>He was lying in his berth next morning, half dozing, smiling to himself +as all this passed before his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>mind in august and glittering procession, +when there came a tap at the door. He got up, opened it, and a sealed +note was handed in. A glance at the other berth showed that the Prince +had already risen. Pachmann tore open the note and read its contents +with some astonishment. It was from the Captain, and asked for an +immediate conference on a matter of great importance.</p> + +<p>Pachmann dressed hastily, and, as he did so, considered whether he +should hunt up the Prince and summon him, also, to this conference. He +decided against it. He foresaw that in this affair there would be many +things which it would be unwise for the Prince to know—he had sat +staring like an idiot, last night, while the mad Pole raved about love +and mercy and universal brotherhood; he was too young, too easily +impressed, too soft of heart. He had agreed that victory must be won at +any price, but Pachmann very well knew that he had no idea of how +terrible that price was almost certain to be. No; the Prince must be +kept as much as possible on the borders of this affair! So, having +finished dressing, the Admiral went forward alone to the Captain's +cabin.</p> + +<p>He found the Captain sitting at his desk, and his face was so grave that +it gave Pachmann a little start.</p> + +<p>He rose and greeted the Admiral, and then <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>glanced over the latter's +shoulder, as though expecting to see some one else.</p> + +<p>"You did not bring the Prince?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Do you think it necessary?" retorted Pachmann, tartly.</p> + +<p>Hausmann hesitated.</p> + +<p>"I am not, of course, aware of your relative positions in this affair," +he said, finally.</p> + +<p>"The paper I showed you yesterday should have told you that," said +Pachmann quickly. "The affair has been in my hands from the first. The +Prince was sent along because his father wished to separate him from a +Berlin bar-maid."</p> + +<p>"Ah, so," said the Captain, without smiling. "I understand. Be seated." +He did not like Pachmann, and also, perhaps, he found the jesting +reference to the royal love affairs in bad taste. "A very strange thing +has occurred," he continued. "I stationed one of my men outside the +door, last night, in order that you might not be interrupted."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the Admiral, "and he did his duty very well. We were not +interrupted."</p> + +<p>"He was found this morning, unconscious, in one of the boats on the +upper deck."</p> + +<p>Pachmann looked at the speaker in some surprise.</p> + +<p>"Well," he asked, "what of it? Some sailor's row."</p> + +<p>"I thought so too, at first. But he became <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>conscious, just now, and +declares that he was struck down from behind."</p> + +<p>Pachmann shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"He is probably lying. In any event, it is of no concern to me. He was +on duty at the door when the conference closed."</p> + +<p>The Captain stared at him as though not understanding.</p> + +<p>"What is it you say?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I say," repeated Pachmann, impatiently, "that he was on duty when we +left your cabin. What happened to him after that is of no importance."</p> + +<p>"At what hour did you leave?" asked the Captain, still staring.</p> + +<p>"About midnight. Why do you look at me like that?"</p> + +<p>"The man swears," said Hausmann, slowly, "that he was struck down soon +after you entered the cabin."</p> + +<p>Pachmann jumped in his chair.</p> + +<p>"He says that!" he gasped. "But that is impossible—he is lying!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you would wish to interrogate him?" Hausmann suggested.</p> + +<p>Pachmann nodded mutely, and the Captain touched a bell.</p> + +<p>"Send Schroeder here," he said to the man who answered.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>The man saluted and closed the door again, and the Captain and his +visitor sat looking at each other in silence. Both were disturbed; but +Pachmann was by far the more dismayed of the two. To his companion, it +was merely a fracture of the discipline of his ship; but to Pachmann it +was the end of the world! Try as he might to maintain his +self-composure, he could not stop the nervous trembling of his hands; +and from time to time he moistened his lips and swallowed with great +effort. He felt himself stricken to the heart; he scarcely dared permit +himself to think what it meant for him, for his King, for Germany, if +this man spoke the truth.</p> + +<p>And then the door opened and the man himself entered—a typical German +sailor, with bronzed countenance, and short curly brown beard, and +honest blue eyes—not too intelligent, but faithful, strong and +dependable. Yes, and honest—one could see that. He was barefooted and +clad in a suit of duck, which had been white originally but was now much +soiled. About his head was a bandage. He saluted and stood at attention, +while Pachmann looked him over.</p> + +<p>"Tell us what occurred last night," the Captain ordered. "Think +carefully and omit nothing."</p> + +<p>"There is not much to tell, sir," the man replied. "You yourself gave me +my orders. I was to stand out there, before the door, and prevent any +one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>knocking. To all who asked for you, I was to say that you were on +the bridge."</p> + +<p>The Captain nodded.</p> + +<p>"That is right," he said. "Continue."</p> + +<p>"You then went up to the bridge, and I took the station you had assigned +me. I did not know who was in the cabin, but I could hear voices."</p> + +<p>"Ah! cried Pachmann, with a frown. "You could hear voices! Could you +also hear words?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know, sir; I did not listen. I know better than to listen when +officers are talking."</p> + +<p>"Continue," said the Captain again.</p> + +<p>"I stood there for perhaps ten minutes. There were a few passengers +strolling about farther down the deck, but you had caused a rope to be +stretched across to prevent any one coming as far as your cabin."</p> + +<p>Again the Captain nodded.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I took that precaution, also," he said.</p> + +<p>"Then," concluded Schroeder, "something struck me a great blow on the +head, and I knew no more until I awoke to find the doctor working over +me."</p> + +<p>Pachmann looked at him searchingly for several minutes, but the man met +his gaze without flinching.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure that is all?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"You do not remember standing at the door, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>when it was opened, and +saluting the gentlemen who came out?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I remember nothing of that."</p> + +<p>"You say you were at the door only ten minutes?"</p> + +<p>"It may have been a little longer than that, sir; a very little."</p> + +<p>"Have you had a quarrel with any member of the crew?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I am on good terms with all of them."</p> + +<p>"Think carefully; is there not one who might have wished to revenge +himself?"</p> + +<p>But Schroeder shook his head decidedly.</p> + +<p>"It was no member of the crew, sir; not one of them is my enemy."</p> + +<p>"Then who was it?" Pachmann demanded.</p> + +<p>"That I cannot say, sir."</p> + +<p>"You heard nothing before the blow was struck?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing, sir; I have told you all I remember."</p> + +<p>"And you persist that you have no idea who struck the blow?"</p> + +<p>"I have not the slightest idea, sir."</p> + +<p>Pachmann looked at Schroeder again, and then turned away.</p> + +<p>"That is all," said the Captain; "and remember, you are to speak of this +to no one."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," said Schroeder, and withdrew.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>Pachmann took a turn about the cabin, frowning heavily.</p> + +<p>"What do you make of it?" he asked, at last.</p> + +<p>"It seems plain enough," Hausmann answered. "Some one knocked Schroeder +down and took his place at the door."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes," said Pachmann, impatiently. "But who was it, and what was +his purpose?"</p> + +<p>"His purpose, also, seems clear to me," said the Captain, quietly. "He +wished to hear what was going on in my cabin."</p> + +<p>"He was a member of your crew," said Pachmann. "I saw him—he was +barefooted—he wore a uniform."</p> + +<p>"Did you see his face? Would you know him again?"</p> + +<p>Pachmann hesitated.</p> + +<p>"I fear not. He was standing in the shadow, and I was preoccupied and +barely glanced at him. I cannot even say that it was not Schroeder."</p> + +<p>"I do not believe it was any member of my crew," said the Captain.</p> + +<p>"Then who was it?"</p> + +<p>"That, of course, I cannot say. But why should one of my crew do such a +thing?"</p> + +<p>"There may be a traitor among them."</p> + +<p>"We know the history of every man. They are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>all good Germans. We are +very careful. But even if there was a traitor, how would he know of this +conference?"</p> + +<p>Pachmann threw up his hands with a gesture of despair, and dropped into +a chair.</p> + +<p>"How would any one know?" he demanded. "I mentioned it to no one but the +Prince and yourself. Vard himself did not know of it till I summoned +him."</p> + +<p>Hausmann looked at the speaker steadily.</p> + +<p>"I trust that you are not insinuating that it is I who am the traitor?" +he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, no," protested Pachmann hastily. "I tell you this in order that you +may realise how incredible this is to me. After all, it may have been a +member of the crew who knew nothing of the conference—who was there by +accident at the moment we came out."</p> + +<p>"I do not see," the Captain began, but a knock at the door stopped him. +"Come in!" he called, and the wardrobe-steward entered. "Well, what is +it?"</p> + +<p>"I have to report, sir," answered the steward, "that a suit of white +duck has been stolen."</p> + +<p>Hausmann could not refrain from casting a glance of triumph at the +Admiral.</p> + +<p>"When did you discover it?" he asked.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>"Only a few minutes ago, sir. I reported to the head-steward, and he +told me to come at once to you."</p> + +<p>"That was right. Do you know when it was stolen?"</p> + +<p>"Sometime during the night, sir. It had been washed and returned to me +yesterday evening not quite dry. I hung it before a ventilator and when +I went for it this morning, it was no longer there."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said the Captain. "I will investigate the matter," and the +steward left the cabin. Hausmann looked at his companion. "You see, it +was not one of the crew," he said.</p> + +<p>Pachmann was out of his chair and striding savagely up and down, his +self-control completely broken down. He had fancied himself quite safe, +and here he was tottering on the edge of an abyss.</p> + +<p>"It is evidently the work of a spy," added Hausmann, who, perhaps, was +not wholly displeased that the Admiral should have met with a reverse. +"There can be no doubt of it! We know that Lépine suspects something. +This is probably one of his men—and a most daring and resourceful one."</p> + +<p>"If that is true," said Pachmann, hoarsely, "he must not leave this ship +alive! We must find him. And we must watch the wireless. Every message +must be most carefully inspected."</p> + +<p>"I will see that that is done," Hausmann agreed. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>"But to find the +man—how do you propose to accomplish that?"</p> + +<p>"When do your officers start their examination of the passengers for the +immigration record?"</p> + +<p>"They can start at once, if you wish."</p> + +<p>"I do wish; and I wish also to be present."</p> + +<p>"Very well," agreed the Captain. "We will start immediately after +breakfast."</p> + +<p>"You could be of very great help, Captain," Pachmann added, "if you +would go over the passenger-list and check off the passengers with whom +you are personally acquainted. No doubt you know a great many of them?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but the purser knows even more. Shall I ask him also to check the +list?"</p> + +<p>"If you will. It would save much time."</p> + +<p>"You will understand," said Hausmann, slowly, "that I feel I should know +more of this affair before I consent to take an active part in it; but I +can, at least, save the passengers whom I know, and who are friends of +mine, the annoyance of needless questioning. There is one thing more I +might do; there are also on board a few men who have crossed with me +before, but who, I am convinced, are not the gentlemen of wealth and +leisure they pretend to be. They may be only sharpers—or they may be +something else. In front of the name of each of them I will place a +cross."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>"Thank you," said Pachmann.</p> + +<p>"On one condition," added the Captain. "You said, but just now, that if +you discovered this person, you would not permit him to leave this boat +alive. That was an exaggeration, perhaps."</p> + +<p>"Not in the least!" answered Pachmann, hoarsely. "I myself will kill +him!"</p> + +<p>"My condition, then, is," said the Captain, "that you renounce that +project. I am willing that he should be detained and returned to +Germany. Further than that I will not go."</p> + +<p>Pachmann's fingers tapped the pocket of his coat.</p> + +<p>"No," added Hausmann, "not even for that paper!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann gazed at him a moment with distorted face. Then he nodded.</p> + +<p>"Very well," he said; "I consent. But it is you who take the +responsibility. I warn you that, if the man escapes, your career on the +sea will be at an end—you will find all Germany closed against you."</p> + +<p>"I will take the responsibility," said Hausmann, quietly. "You agree, +then?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I agree," said Pachmann, and hurried away to get his breakfast.</p> + +<p>And all that day, he sat beside the assistant purser, while the +first-cabin passengers were called up, one by one, to make it clear that +they were entitled to land in America. The questions are always +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>searching, for the immigration laws are very strict and there are many +spaces to be filled in on the great blanks which the immigration bureau +furnishes; but that day they were more searching than ever—so far, at +least, as the male passengers were concerned. In the women, Pachmann did +not interest himself, for he took it for granted that no woman could +have struck Schroeder senseless with a single blow; but on every man he +directed the severest scrutiny.</p> + +<p>Even if the name had been checked by the Captain or purser on the list +he held in his hand, he never failed to satisfy himself by a few +questions; and the unfortunate possessors of the names before which a +cross appeared had reason to remember that interrogation all their +lives. With some three or four of them, the interrogation was continued +in private and even extended to a search of their belongings and a +scrutiny of every document in their possession; but, while some of them +were forced to confess at last that they were adventurers, gamblers, +with only such means of livelihood as their wits procured them, there +was nothing to show that any of them was the agent of any government.</p> + +<p>All day Saturday the examination was continued, and by dinner-time the +first-class list was completed, much to the relief of the passengers, +who came away from the interrogation with ruffled tempers and a feeling +of humiliation. All sorts of rumours were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>afloat among them. There was +an absconder on board, a murderer, a political refugee, an eloping +couple—the customs authorities had got wind of the fact that there was +a celebrated smuggler on board, and every passenger was to be searched +when he reached the pier—the rumours ran the gamut of all crimes and +all scandals, and made every one extremely uncomfortable, but none of +them touched the truth.</p> + +<p>And Pachmann had to confess himself, thus far, defeated. There remained +the second-class, and he determined to scrutinise it even more closely +than he had the first. The thought that he might fail, after all, +dismayed him. To fail meant disgrace—personal, irremediable disgrace; +it meant the betrayal of his Emperor; worse than that, in his failure +France would triumph! He trembled with anguish—not wholly for himself, +for he was a brave man and a patriot—but for his Fatherland.</p> + +<p>So Saturday evening came, and with it the hour of the second conference.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>For the other personages of this story, those two days had been rather +eventless ones. The weather continued fine and the great ship ploughed +steadily westward. The passengers got to know each other; little cliques +were formed, centring about mutual acquaintances; there were +card-parties, dances, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>inevitable concert, dinners in the café, the +usual pools, the usual night-long games of poker, the usual excitements +of passing ships and schools of dolphins—in a word, the usual +procession of trivial incidents which make up life on a great liner.</p> + +<p>But in this life, Ignace Vard and his daughter had no part. Their meals +were served in their sitting-room, so that they missed that great +acquaintance-maker, the dinner table. Kasia, remembering the warning she +had received, kept aloof from every one; and Vard's ironical manner was +enough to keep every one aloof from him. However he did not notice it, +for he had discovered, among the books in the library, three novels by +Mr. John Galsworthy, and they absorbed him. He had been looking through +the books rather hopelessly, when the title, "The Island Pharisees," had +caught his eye. He opened the book, read a page, took it to his room and +finished it at a sitting. Its irony expressed him precisely, and over +the letter of apology and adieu from the wandering Frenchman to the lady +of the manor he fairly wept with joy. After that came "Fraternity" and +"The Man of Property," so that for him the two days passed quickly. One +thing about these books he could not understand—that they should have +been written by an Englishman!</p> + +<p>Kasia did not return to the rendezvous on the after boat-deck. Something +held her back—an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>emotion of shyness new to her. But on Saturday +afternoon, Dan ran the blockade of the after companion-way, penetrated +brazenly to the first-class promenade, joined her where she stood +leaning against the rail, and led her away resolutely to a seat on the +upper deck.</p> + +<p>"Is this the way to treat an old friend?" he demanded. "Are you aware +that I sat for hours, last night...."</p> + +<p>She laid a warning finger on his sleeve.</p> + +<p>"We must not run any risk," she said, in a low tone. "No one must +suspect that we know each other."</p> + +<p>His face brightened. She had accepted the term "old friend," without +appearing surprised by it.</p> + +<p>"Was that the reason?"</p> + +<p>She nodded.</p> + +<p>"You <i>wanted</i> to come?"</p> + +<p>Another nod.</p> + +<p>Dan breathed a long sigh of happiness.</p> + +<p>"That makes it all right," he said. "I forgive you. And after you're +ashore I may come to see you?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly you may!"</p> + +<p>"What is your address?"</p> + +<p>"Two hundred and ten West Sixty-fourth Street."</p> + +<p>He made a note of it.</p> + +<p>"May I come the first evening?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>She laughed a delicious laugh—a laugh of pure joy. There was nothing of +the coquette about Kasia. She was all woman.</p> + +<p>"If you wish," she said.</p> + +<p>"Thank you—I <i>do</i> wish. Besides, I shall have something to return to +you."</p> + +<p>"Hush!" she cautioned, with a frightened glance around. "Do not speak of +it. And I must be going. We must not sit here so long together."</p> + +<p>He sighed.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you are right," he agreed. "But every evening I shall sit on +a certain bench and think of you. And, remember, the first evening on +land is mine."</p> + +<p>"I shall remember."</p> + +<p>"Good-bye till then," he said, and rose.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye, my friend."</p> + +<p>Her eyes were shining. He dared not trust himself to look at them a +second time, but turned himself about, by main force, as it were, and +marched himself off, straight along the deck, down the ladder, and up +again to "a certain bench."</p> + +<p>And there, presently, M. Chevrial joined him, but for once Dan found +that witty Frenchman something of a bore.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h2>THE SECOND CONFERENCE</h2> +<br/> + +<p>Again a rope was stretched across the forward promenade, and, for the +information of the curious, a sign attached to it bearing the single +word "Paint." Again a guard was stationed in front of the Captain's +cabin, but this time it consisted of two petty officers. Again the +Captain surprised his subordinates by mounting to the bridge, although +the night was clear and fine. They noticed that he was lost in thought, +and that he went often to the head of the ladder leading to the deck and +glanced down it. The second officer was on duty, and he took occasion to +look down, too, on one of his turns along the bridge, but all he could +see was a stretch of empty deck and two petty officers leaning against +the rail chatting together. The second officer wondered more and more at +his commander's uneasiness, and surreptitiously inspected the barometer, +tapping it with his finger; but he knew better than to ask any +questions.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, in the Captain's cabin, Vard, Pachmann and the Prince again +faced each other. Perhaps it would be more exact to say that Vard and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>Pachmann faced each other, while the Prince looked on from the +side-lines. In the heart of that young gentleman, for the past three +days, there had been a strange distress, hitherto unknown among +Hohenzollerns—the distress of realising that, if truth were told, he +was a poor thing who added not to the wealth of the world, but to its +poverty; who was unable to support himself, but to support whom men and +women and children toiled and starved.</p> + +<p>He had never seen it just like that before; reared in the family +tradition, it had seemed a law of nature that he should have subjects to +work for him and suffer for him and die for him, if need be; he had been +taught that it was God himself who had given place and power to his +house; and that, if other less-favoured people lived in misery and died +in want, why that was doubtless God's will, too. And as for war—why, +without war there could be no glory, no conquest, no chivalry. It was +war which held a nation together, which made Kings more powerful and +thrones more stable! But now came a man with shining eyes who talked of +the sinful folly of war, of the wanton waste of armies; who dreamed of +universal brotherhood, and a world governed by love! Wild words, foolish +dreams, perhaps—and yet most dangerous to the idea of the divine right +of Kings! So, that evening, the Prince sat and listened, and tried to +understand.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>It was Pachmann who did most of the talking, and a great deal of it was +for the Prince's benefit.</p> + +<p>"We have been considering your proposal, Mr. Vard," he began, "and have +discussed it thoroughly."</p> + +<p>As a matter of fact, he had not exchanged a word with the Prince on the +subject; he had distrusted him ever since Vard had offered him his hand, +for that action showed that this anarchist, this socialist, this enemy +of Kings, had detected in this young descendant of Kings sympathy and a +certain understanding. Pachmann thought of it with disgust and horror.</p> + +<p>"We have discussed it thoroughly," Pachmann repeated, and the Prince, +who detected the contempt in the words, flushed hotly, but did not +speak; "and there are certain objections to your plan which we wish to +submit to you. The first of these is that war does not depend upon +explosives. Before gunpowder, men fought with swords and lances and +arrows; before the discovery of iron and steel, with clubs and stones. +Man has always been fighting, even when he had no weapons but his +fists."</p> + +<p>"That is true," assented Vard. "Pray continue."</p> + +<p>"My argument is," went on Pachmann, dropping the plural once for all, +"that, though you may render all explosives useless, and blow up forts +and battleships and arsenals, you will not stop war. You will merely +compel it to shift to another basis—to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>old basis, probably, of +brute strength, of hand-to-hand combat. And if you do that, the old days +will return of barbarian invasions. The Turk will sweep down again on +southern Europe; the Tartars will invade us from the east. You will not +assist civilisation; you will set it back a thousand years. It will have +to fight again for its very existence, as it did in the Middle Ages."</p> + +<p>But Vard shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I have thought of that," he said. "In the first place, it will be +permitted to continue the use of explosives against the barbarians—for +defence, you understand, not for aggression—until such time as we can +persuade them, too, to lay down their arms. As to your other objection, +it falls to the ground the moment you agree with me that all the nations +of the world must ultimately become democracies. At first, it is true, +men fought of their own volition, but it was to secure food, to guard +their homes, or to replenish their supply of women. But since those very +early days, all wars have been wars not of the people, but of their +rulers. They were wars of revenge or of ambition, in which the people +joined because they had no choice. They were driven into the ranks, were +sometimes sold by one power to fight for another. Left to their own +choice, they would have remained quietly at home, tilling their fields, +rearing their families. The only great exception I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>know of is the early +wars of Napoleon. To those wars, the French people did undoubtedly rush; +but they were still drunk from the Revolution, and their ardour soon +passed. Your own people, the people of Germany, are a peaceable, +home-loving people. You have always had to keep them under your thumb by +forced service, by conscription, by the most rigorous laws; you have +always had to drive them to war."</p> + +<p>"Another exception occurs to me," said Pachmann, disregarding the last +sentence, "and one to which I would call your attention, since it +occurred in a country where the people are supposed to govern. It was +the people of the United States who drove their rulers into the war with +Spain."</p> + +<p>"That is true," Vard agreed; "and it was a mistake. The people will +sometimes err when their sympathy is appealed to and their passion +aroused. But the results of that war were, on the whole, good. A people +was freed."</p> + +<p>"And another enslaved," said Pachmann, with a sneer.</p> + +<p>"It was already enslaved," Vard corrected; "but I admit that it was +continued in slavery. That was done by the rulers, not by the people. +Had the people been permitted to decide, the Philippines would have been +free, no less than Cuba. Their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>independence must, of course, be +guaranteed when the United States signs our treaty."</p> + +<p>"But you admit, as I understand you," said Pachmann, returning to the +main point, "that to abolish explosives will not abolish war."</p> + +<p>"I admit that, yes. To abolish explosives is only the first step. The +final step will be the abolition of hereditary rule."</p> + +<p>"The abolition of Kings?"</p> + +<p>"The abolition of Kings, of Emperors, of Czars, of Princes, of Dukes, of +all tyrants, great and small, who, by reason of birth, now claim the +right to tax or oppress or command even the meanest of their +fellow-creatures. There must be rulers, yes; but it is for the people +themselves to choose them, and then willingly to submit to them."</p> + +<p>"But you are at this moment treating with a King," Pachmann pointed out. +"Can you expect him to agree to such a programme?"</p> + +<p>"The world has outgrown Kings," retorted Vard. "In any event, another +fifty years will see them all abolished. I but hasten the end a +little—the millennium. And he will be happier when he is merely a man +like other men."</p> + +<p>"Happiness is not the greatest thing in the world," Pachmann objected.</p> + +<p>"And I say it is!" cried Vard, with sudden <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>violence. "Not our own +happiness—no; but the happiness of our fellow-creatures. That is the +greatest thing in the world; the thing for which every wise and good man +labours!"</p> + +<p>There was a moment's silence. The Prince shifted uneasily in his chair +and clasped and unclasped his hands. There had never been such talk as +this in the royal nursery!</p> + +<p>Pachmann's face was cynical, as he lighted a fresh cigar.</p> + +<p>"Dreams!" he sneered. "Beautiful dreams! Do you know what it is you are +undertaking? You are undertaking to change human nature."</p> + +<p>"That is an old cry," retorted Vard scornfully. "And what if I were? +Human nature is changing every day! But I am not undertaking to change +it—I wish merely to free human nature from the fetters with which +tyrants bind it, so that it may grow straight and strong, as God +intended."</p> + +<p>"I am not acquainted with God's intentions," said Pachmann coldly. "He +does not confide in me. But my philosophy, my observation, and my +experience teach me that the wise man makes the best of things as they +are, accepts the facts of life, and does what he can. He sees that the +world is too big for him to overturn, he realises that there are many +things he cannot understand, his intelligence sometimes revolts at what +seems to be oppression and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>injustice. But he puts away from him the +fallacy that all men are equal—they are not equal, their very +inequality proves it. Some must rule and some be ruled; for some life +must be pleasanter and more full of meaning than it is for others; some +men must be strong and some weak, just as some women are beautiful and +some ugly. It is not their fault; it is their misfortune, and they +suffer for it. Which brings me to the principal objection I have to your +proposal. It is this: I believe that we shall find it a mere waste of +time to invite the nations of the world to sign a treaty for complete +disarmament; they distrust each other, and that distrust has proved too +often to be well-founded. The long centuries have made them jealous, +sullen, watchful. There is only one motive which can make them +sign—fear—fear of what may happen if they do not!"</p> + +<p>"I have already said," remarked Vard, "that I am ready to apply +compulsion, should it be necessary."</p> + +<p>"But you are finite," Pachmann objected, gently. "You are but an +individual, whose life may end at any moment; while, as you yourself +have said, this plan of yours will take long years, generations perhaps, +to consummate. To perfect it will test the best intellects of the world. +Once begun, it must be carried through. Do you think it wise to imperil +its success by making it depend so largely on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>yourself? Besides, what +would be easier than for an unwilling nation to suppress you? A +pistol-shot, a blow with a knife, and the brotherhood of man tumbles to +pieces."</p> + +<p>"What is it you propose?" asked Vard, who had listened to all this with +growing impatience.</p> + +<p>"I propose that, instead of so great a task being assumed by an +individual, it be assumed by an entire nation, which shall pledge its +honour to carry it to success."</p> + +<p>"And this nation," said Vard, sarcastically, "should, of course, in your +opinion, be Germany."</p> + +<p>"I admit," replied Pachmann, with dignity, "that I consider Germany +best-fitted to carry out the plan. I think you will agree with me that, +if a single nation is to undertake it, it must be one of the five great +nations. In world-politics, the others are negligible. Well, let us see. +France, a nation of peacocks, excitable, impressionable, easily angered, +making much of trifles, jealous of their dignity, a dying nation which +grows smaller and weaker every year. England, also a degenerate nation, +soaked in gin, where a hundred thousand men are unemployed, and where no +better remedy for pauperism can be found than universal pensions, which +only make more paupers. Russia, an ignorant nation, whose ruling class +is composed of men without morals and without ideals—thieves and +drunkards and vain braggarts. There <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>remains America, and at first +glance it might seem that here is the nation to be entrusted with the +great work. But, after all, it is a nation of money-grubbers, ruled by a +money-trust, where wealth is worshipped as no other nation worships +rank; a nation without culture, without experience in world-politics, +without self-control, loudly vain, inept, wasteful, childish—a nation, +in other words, at the awkward age between youth and manhood.</p> + +<p>"Let us now turn to Germany. I speak only what is within the knowledge +of all intelligent men when I say that in manufacture, in agriculture, +in the administration of government, in science, in literature, in +music, in general culture, Germany is first among nations. Some may +quarrel with her military policy, but none can question her progress or +her achievements. All other nations come to Germany to learn. This is +not exaggeration; it is calm statement of fact. I firmly believe that +to-day, intellectually, morally, materially, Germany is the first nation +in the world. And it is altogether fitting that she should be chosen as +the leader of the world and arbiter of the affairs of all nations."</p> + +<p>Vard had risen from his seat during this discourse, which was delivered +with emphasis and conviction, and paced nervously up and down the cabin, +his face drawn, a deep line between his brows. And Pachmann watched him +curiously. So did the Prince <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>watch him, wondering what he would reply. +He did not leave them long in doubt.</p> + +<p>"In answer to you, Admiral Pachmann," he said, speaking slowly and +carefully, as though weighing every word, "I can only say this: I do not +dispute Germany's great achievements; no man can do that. It is probably +true that in science, in learning, in general culture, and in +efficiency, she is, as you say, first among nations. Her people are a +great people—but it is not them you represent. You represent an +hereditary monarch, the only one in western Europe who still speaks of +the divine right of Kings—a man who would be an absolute autocrat, if +he dared. Supporting him is a powerful circle of hereditary nobles, +whose interest it is to increase in every possible way the prestige and +power of the throne. At their command, ready to do their bidding, is a +magnificent army and a great navy. Did your Emperor possess my secret, +he could at once declare war against Europe; he could conquer Europe, +and every German Prince would be a King. My whole purpose would be +warped and debased. Instead of universal brotherhood, we should have a +single ruling house, imposing its will on millions of conquered peoples. +Instead of love, we should have world-wide hate. And I say to you +plainly, sir, that, rather than that such a thing should come to pass, I +will destroy my invention and leave the world as it is."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>Pachmann had listened intently, nodding his head from time to time, or +puckering his brows in dissent.</p> + +<p>"Have you yourself no ambition?" he asked. "Is there nothing in the way +of honour or position which you desire for yourself or for your +daughter?"</p> + +<p>An ugly sneer curled the inventor's lips.</p> + +<p>"Bribery—I expected that!" he said. "No, there is nothing—nothing but +the consciousness that it was I who ended war!"</p> + +<p>"And your refusal of my first proposal is absolute?"</p> + +<p>"Absolute. I consider it insulting."</p> + +<p>"You will not modify the terms of your proposal?"</p> + +<p>"Not in any essential detail."</p> + +<p>"And if Germany refuses, you go to France?"</p> + +<p>"That is my intention."</p> + +<p>"Very well," and the Admiral rose, too. "The situation is, then, quite +clear to us; there is no longer any shadow of uncertainty. It is for us +to assent or to refuse. Our answer will be ready for you in a very short +time."</p> + +<p>Vard bowed, his face very pale, and stepped to the door. He paused with +his hand on the knob.</p> + +<p>"Remember one thing," he said; "it will be better for Germany to lead +than to follow; your Emperor will find the head of the procession much +more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>to his taste than the tail of it. And it will be for him either +the one or the other! Good night!" and he opened the door and was gone.</p> + +<p>Pachmann stood with clenched fists and flushed face staring at the spot +where Vard had stood.</p> + +<p>"Fool! fool!" he muttered. "That he should think he could defy and +threaten—and still escape! A great fool, is he not, my Prince?"</p> + +<p>The Prince awoke, as from a dream.</p> + +<p>"Great, at least!" he said.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h2>THE PRINCE SEEKS DIVERSION</h2> +<br /> + +<p>In spite of his protestations and the confident manner he assumed when +with the Prince, Pachmann was, as a matter of fact, exceedingly +disturbed. It was true that for an individual as humble as Ignace Vard +to hope to stand against the might of the German Empire was absurd in +the extreme; but perhaps Vard was not alone. Perhaps back of him there +was some person or some power at which even Germany would pause.</p> + +<p>Two incidents had been distinctly disquieting: the wireless from Lépine +and the assault on Schroeder. The thing which filled Pachmann with +dismay was not so much these incidents themselves as the degree of +knowledge they indicated. Why did Lépine think Vard was on the boat? How +had he connected the inventor with the disaster at Toulon? How had the +person who assaulted Schroeder known of the conference in the Captain's +cabin? How much had he heard of that conference? What use would he make +of what he had heard? In a word, did France suspect what had happened to +<i>La Liberté</i>, and, if so, how much did she know?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>A hundred times Pachmann asked himself these questions, and a hundred +times tried to find some answer to them other than the obvious answer. +He tried to persuade himself that Lépine had not connected Vard with the +Toulon disaster, but was searching for him for some other reason; he +tried to make himself believe that the assault on Schroeder was merely +the result of a seaman's quarrel; he told himself over and over again +that France could <i>not</i> suspect, that it was impossible she should +suspect. But he could not convince himself. Always he came back to the +obvious fact that, if Vard was wanted at all, it could only be for the +affair at Toulon, and that the man who had taken Schroeder's place at +the door of the Captain's cabin could only have done so because he +wanted to hear what was passing on the other side of it.</p> + +<p>Always, with sinking heart, Pachmann came back to this point; and at +such moments he wondered whether, after all, the Emperor would not do +well to lay aside his personal ambition, to consent to Vard's proposal +and assume the leadership of this great world-movement, in all good +faith. Surely that would be glory enough! Better, as Vard had said, to +lead than to follow; better to stand proudly forth at the head of the +movement than to be whipped into place in the rear. What humiliation!</p> + +<p>And suppose Vard should manage to escape; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>suppose he should really get +into touch with France! Pachmann, closing his eyes, could see a great +fortress leaping into the air; could hear the thunder of the explosion +which destroyed a dreadnought! It was a dangerous game he was playing, +and yet, to accede to Vard's proposal meant the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, +meant the eventual abasement of the Hohenzollerns, the rise of +socialism. No, he could not consent; he had not the power to consent; he +had his instructions, precise and clear, from the Emperor himself. At +any cost, that power must be his, and his alone!</p> + +<p>At any cost! Pachmann drew a deep breath. He knew now what the cost must +be. Well, when the moment came, he should not hesitate!</p> + +<p>Sunday morning found Pachmann beside the assistant purser in the library +of the second-cabin, beginning the inquiry there. It was even more +drastic than it had been in the first, and the victims emerged from it +heated, angry, and with the fixed determination never again to travel by +a German boat. Neither the Captain nor the purser could vouch for any of +the undistinguished people here, and so each one of them was most +thoroughly examined. Even those with passports did not escape. Pachmann +examined all such documents minutely, compared the written description +point by point with the appearance of the passenger, and asked many +questions to satisfy himself that the person <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>presenting it was really +the one to whom it belonged. Yet, in spite of all this, passenger after +passenger came through the ordeal successfully.</p> + +<p>As the list was called alphabetically, it was soon the turn of M. +Chevrial. He approached the table with confidence, produced his +passport, and sat down to await such questions as might be asked him. +Pachmann glanced at the Frenchman and his eyes narrowed with anger, for +this impudent person appeared to be amused at the proceedings! Then he +picked up the passport and studied it carefully. It had been issued by +the French government two months previously, as a renewal of a former +passport, to André Chevrial, wine-merchant, of 18 Rue des Chantiers, +Paris; whose appearance and physical characteristics were described in +detail. Pachmann compared the items of the description point by point +with the man who sat smiling so shamelessly before him, answering the +purser's questions in an ironical voice. The very fact that the man was +so typically French and so plainly amused created in Pachmann's mind a +flair of suspicion which dilated his nostrils and narrowed his eyes. But +the passport was in perfect order, and Chevrial's answers came without +hesitation.</p> + +<p>"You are a wine-merchant?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"How long have you been in that business?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>"More years than I care to remember."</p> + +<p>"That is not an answer."</p> + +<p>"Let us say twenty years, then."</p> + +<p>"Always at Paris?"</p> + +<p>"The time before that did not count."</p> + +<p>"Then you have not been always at Paris?"</p> + +<p>"Heavens, no! First at Bordeaux; but for ten years at Paris."</p> + +<p>"You are well-known there?"</p> + +<p>"Ask my neighbours in the Rue des Chantiers; or cross the street to the +wine-market and ask any one there if he knows André Chevrial! Well +known? But yes!"</p> + +<p>"Is this your first visit to America?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; nor my second. But it is my first trip on a boat of Germany, +and will be my last. On the French boats, my compatriots know me. They +do not annoy me with all these questions."</p> + +<p>It was Pachmann who asked the next one.</p> + +<p>"How does it happen that you travel this time by a German boat?"</p> + +<p>Chevrial shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Because there was no French one. It is necessary that I be in New York +on Wednesday. There was no other boat that would arrive in time. Had +there been, I would have taken it."</p> + +<p>"So you do not like German boats?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>"I like nothing German," said Chevrial, calmly. "Least of all, this +inquisition, which, it seems to me, demands some explanation."</p> + +<p>"It is for the immigration bureau," the purser hastened to explain. "The +American laws are very strict."</p> + +<p>"The laws do not concern me. I am not an immigrant. I am merely one who +goes on business and who returns. My papers are in order, are they not?"</p> + +<p>The purser was forced to confess that they were.</p> + +<p>"Then," said Chevrial, returning them to his pocket, "if there are any +further questions to be answered, I will wait until I get to the pier at +New York to answer them. I shall at least have the pleasure of talking +to an American!" and he got up and left the library.</p> + +<p>Pachmann was furious; but he had no excuse for holding the fellow, nor +for examining his baggage. In search of such excuse, he despatched a +wireless to the agent of his government at Brussels, directing him to +secure at once all the information available about André Chevrial, 18 +Rue des Chantiers, Paris; and that evening a very polite gentleman +called at the house in question. It was a tall, hideous house, with a +cabaret on the first floor. To its proprietor the visitor addressed +himself. But yes, the proprietor knew M. Chevrial, a merchant of wine, +who had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>honoured his house for many years by occupying an apartment on +the third floor. His present whereabouts? Ah, the proprietor could not +say; M. Chevrial made many journeys in the interests of his business; he +was absent at the present time. It was the season of his annual trip to +America; perhaps he was now on his way thither. He had left no address; +but if monsieur wished to write a letter, it would be sent forward as +soon as an address was received.</p> + +<p>The visitor declined to write a letter, but left his card—or, at least, +a card—to be given to M. Chevrial upon his return. Then he took his +leave. And the proprietor stuck the card in the frame of the clouded +mirror back of the bar, chuckling to himself.</p> + +<p>A report of all which Pachmann duly received by radio next day.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>The Prince, meanwhile, was finding the voyage wearisome. He was not a +difficult person to amuse, and he was very expert in the art of killing +time; he had done little else since he emerged from the nursery; but +here on shipboard he possessed none of the implements with which he +usually carried on that slaughter. He could sit in the smoking-room with +a tall stein before him, he could stroll about the deck and stare at the +sea, which he did not care for; but there was no one to talk to. His +subjects of conversation were limited, and all of them were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>associated +more or less with his princely character; here, where, for the first +time in his life, he found himself divested of that princely character, +he was completely at a loss. The trouble was that he had no sense of +humour. So he found it impossible to gossip with plebeian unknowns, or +engage in card-games with irreverent middle-class artisans and drummers. +He could not even carry on a flirtation with any of the pretty girls! He +had attempted it with one of them; but, after a very few minutes, she +had left him with her chin in the air, and an exclamation which sounded +singularly like "Beast!" What is gallantry in a Prince, is impertinence +or worse in a less-privileged person!</p> + +<p>Remember, our Prince was merely a good-natured, thick-headed, young man, +who had always been compelled to take himself seriously, whose life had +been ordered for him from day to day to its minutest detail; who had +never been called upon to use his wits in earnest. There had always been +some one to do his thinking for him; there had always been the routine +of drill and study to fill a certain portion of every day; and there had +always been the fearful delight of escaping from his father's eye and +roaming the streets of Berlin in quest of adventure. But here on +shipboard, the day was twenty-four empty hours long, and even Pachmann +had deserted him, to spend his time asking the passengers interminable +questions, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>whose purpose the Prince could not in the least understand.</p> + +<p>So, on this Sunday morning, having attended the services in the +dining-saloon for want of something else to do, and kept awake with +great difficulty, having smoked innumerable cigarettes, having snubbed +an American whose manner was distinctly fresh, having tramped up and +down the decks, and looked into the library to find Pachmann still +asking questions, questions, the Prince made a sudden daring resolution, +walked quickly forward, ascended to the first-class promenade, and +looked about for Ignace Vard. With the inventor, at least, he need wear +no disguise, and he simply must talk to somebody. Besides, the +inventor's talk gave him a good feeling at the heart—the feeling that +he might really some day do something worth while! Pachmann would +disapprove, of course; but who was Pachmann? A younger son of the +inferior nobility! He must remind Pachmann of that, some day, for he +seemed to have forgotten it since the Emperor had taken him up!</p> + +<p>He found the object of his search leaning against the rail, far forward, +staring ahead at the path the ship was taking. Vard greeted him with +evident pleasure.</p> + +<p>"You have come to arrange for the final conference?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The Prince shook his head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>"I know no more of that than you," he said.</p> + +<p>"But I was assured that your decision would be made at once. My plans +depend upon your answer. This is Sunday. On Tuesday we reach New York."</p> + +<p>"I know nothing," repeated the Prince. "I have not spoken with the +Admiral to-day—indeed, I have scarcely spoken to him for three days. On +Friday and Saturday and again to-day, he has spent every moment in an +examination of the passengers."</p> + +<p>"Why does he do that?" asked Vard quickly.</p> + +<p>"I do not know."</p> + +<p>Vard glanced at the Prince, and his face softened a little.</p> + +<p>"So you have been left to amuse yourself," he said, "and, not succeeding +very well, have come to me? Is that it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Prince; "I must talk to some one, and I find that I +cannot talk with people who do not know who I am. The men offend me, the +women I offend."</p> + +<p>This time there was genuine friendliness in Vard's face.</p> + +<p>"Poor fellow!" he laughed. "Well, I have never acted as court jester, +but I am willing to try. Come with me."</p> + +<p>He led the way back along the deck and opened a door.</p> + +<p>"This is my room," he said. "Come in. You <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>should feel more at home here +than I do, for it is an imperial suite."</p> + +<p>The Prince assented gravely, entered, and the inventor, his eyes +dancing, closed the door.</p> + +<p>"Sit down," he said. "You may smoke," and he proceeded to roll himself a +cigarette. "This is your first visit to America? Yes? The first thing +you will notice is that not many Americans smoke cigarettes. Until quite +recently, the cigarette was believed to be in some mysterious way +debauching; no one but degenerates were supposed to use them. Even yet +that is the prevailing opinion outside a few of the large cities."</p> + +<p>"Most curious," commented the Prince, and blew a smoke-ring toward the +ceiling.</p> + +<p>"Outside of New York, which is fairly cosmopolitan, there is the same +prejudice against wine or beer, or any fermented or distilled spirit. No +public man, no teacher in a public school or university, no physician, +no professional man—no man, in a word, who depends upon public opinion, +public approval, for a livelihood—would dare sit at a table on the +sidewalk and drink a glass of beer or a liqueur. He might do it once, +and escape with the reputation of an eccentric; but to do it twice would +be to brand himself as not trustworthy."</p> + +<p>"Astonishing!" said the Prince. "Do you speak seriously?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>"Very seriously. Some of the states have even enacted laws that no +alcoholic beverage of any kind may be sold within their borders."</p> + +<p>"But," stammered the Prince, staring, "do you call that liberty? No +country of Europe would dare enact such a law!"</p> + +<p>"No; it is not liberty; it is government by the majority. The wonderful +thing, the astonishing thing, the inspiring thing about it is that in +this, and in all other questions, the minority accepts its defeat +without grumbling and makes the best of it. That is the great lesson +which the United States has for the remainder of the world. And, to +preserve itself, it need keep no class in subjection, need draft no man +for service in its armies—for it is a government founded on the consent +of the governed."</p> + +<p>He was silent a moment, considering, perhaps, how to use most wisely +this opportunity.</p> + +<p>"Let us apply that principle to the other countries of the world," he +went on, at last. "Let us suppose that the people of each country were +asked to choose freely for themselves their form of government. How many +of the present governments would stand that test? Do you think the +government of Germany would?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the Prince; "I suppose not. Our people are all socialists, so +my father says. But they are not fit to govern."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>"Whose fault is that? Have you tried to make them fit? Besides, their +fitness or unfitness has nothing to do with it. It is their country; let +them grow fit by experience. But I believe they <i>are</i> fit. How many of +your great men have come from humble life?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, a great many, I dare say!" answered the Prince, impatiently. "But a +body needs a head. It must be governed by a head, not by a stomach!"</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Vard, "but, as a matter of fact, every body is governed by +its stomach. Not till the stomach is satisfied does the head get a +chance. And, to govern wisely, the head must be a part of the body, not +something distinct from it. How is it to govern wisely, if it is not +always in close touch with the body, aware of its every need? It is only +when the head is distinct from the body that it lets the body starve and +wastes its substance on vain and unnecessary things."</p> + +<p>"I suppose," said the Prince with a smile, "that you refer to our army +and navy."</p> + +<p>"To the army and navy of every nation. Could the people choose, how many +battleships would Germany build next year?"</p> + +<p>The Prince shrugged his shoulders helplessly.</p> + +<p>"How can I answer such questions? I do not know. But I do know that I +have been born in a certain position, and that I must maintain it."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>"Why?" Vard demanded.</p> + +<p>"For the sake of my honour, and the honour of my house," answered the +Prince, simply.</p> + +<p>"Honour!" cried Vard. "What do Princes know of honour? Is it honourable +to live on the sweat and suffering of others, and to make them no +return? Is it honourable to be supported by the toil of women and +children, whose men you have taken for your army? Is it honourable...."</p> + +<p>He stopped suddenly, for the door had opened and a girl came in. She +stared first at one man and then at the other, evidently astonished by +the few words she had heard. Then she turned to withdraw. But Vard +stopped her.</p> + +<p>"Don't go, my dear," he said. "Allow me to present you to a Prince of +the House of Hohenzollern! Prince, this is my daughter, Kasia."</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h2>ON THE EDUCATION OF PRINCES</h2> +<br /> + +<p>The Prince sprang to his feet and bowed low over the hand which Kasia, +after an instant's startled hesitation, had extended. Her father watched +the scene with an amused face.</p> + +<p>"You arrived most opportunely, my dear," he said. "The Prince, being +bored, as is the way with Princes, came to me, asking to be amused. I +started out to amuse him by describing certain strange customs of +America, which he is about to visit for the first time; but I was soon +on my hobby again, and instead of amusing him...."</p> + +<p>"You were abusing him!" said Kasia, laughing. "At least, it sounded so +to me!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, not at all!" the Prince hastened to assure her. "I found what he +was saying most interesting."</p> + +<p>But Vard, with that quick change of mood characteristic of his +temperament, had already decided that it was not worth while attempting +to rear any seed from this barren soil. The Prince's intentions were +good enough, but they would come to nothing—his father would see to +that!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>"Nevertheless," said Vard, "I am not an amusing companion. I am too much +of a preacher, and no one likes to be shouted at. I would suggest, +Kasia, that you take His Highness for a tour of the deck."</p> + +<p>The Prince's face brightened wonderfully.</p> + +<p>"That would indeed be kind!" he said.</p> + +<p>Kasia looked at him with a little smile. Perhaps the opportunity of +talking familiarly with royalty piqued her, good democrat as she was; +and then he was not a bad-looking fellow. One could see that he was not +brilliant, but he at least looked clean and honest.</p> + +<p>"If you really wish it," she agreed.</p> + +<p>For answer, the Prince sprang to the door.</p> + +<p>"One moment," Vard interposed. "You will remember, Kasia, that the +Prince is incognito, and that, under no circumstances, must you betray +to any spectator or listener who he is."</p> + +<p>"I will remember, father," said Kasia, and followed the Prince out upon +the deck.</p> + +<p>Wherefore it presently came to pass that Dan Webster, staring gloomily +down from the after boat-deck upon the flitting beauties of the +first-class promenade, beheld the lady of his dreams strolling beside a +well-set-up young fellow, whose face seemed vaguely familiar, and in +whose conversation she was evidently deeply interested—so interested +that she finally <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>climbed with him to a seat on the upper deck; and when +they sat down, Dan saw that the young fellow sat very close indeed. He +stared incredulously for a moment longer, and then turned angrily away, +to bump violently into M. Chevrial, who was also staring.</p> + +<p>"What the...." Dan began, and then stopped himself. What right had this +Frenchman to stare? But then, for that matter, what right had he?</p> + +<p>Chevrial was the first to recover himself. He glanced at Dan's disturbed +countenance, and smiled as he read his thought.</p> + +<p>"I was surprised to see a passenger of the second-class so calmly +enjoying the privileges of the forward deck," he explained. "If any one +was to enjoy those privileges, I should have expected it to be you."</p> + +<p>"So he <i>is</i> second-class! I thought he looked somehow familiar. I +remember, now."</p> + +<p>"He is undoubtedly the same young German we have seen so frequently +pacing this deck," said Chevrial. "I fancy he is lonely and desires +amusement. But, at the same time, I fear that you lack enterprise, M. +Webster. That is not like an American."</p> + +<p>Dan flushed, and started to stalk away, but Chevrial laid a hand upon +his arm.</p> + +<p>"No, do not be angry with me," he said. "I beg your pardon. It will +please you to know that that young man yonder is one of the very few +persons on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>this boat with whom Miss Vard may talk unconstrainedly. No +doubt that is why she appears so glad to see him."</p> + +<p>With which cryptic utterance, M. Chevrial went below, and left Dan to +bitter meditation.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Kasia, meanwhile, was enjoying herself immensely.</p> + +<p>"Now," she said, leaning back in the seat, after a glance around to +assure herself that there was no one within hearing, "please tell me +what it is like to be a Prince. Don't you get frightfully lonesome, +sometimes?"</p> + +<p>"That was my complaint to-day, when I sought your father."</p> + +<p>"Yes—but always, always to stand apart from other men and women, so +that they never dare be quite open with you; quite frank with you; +always a little in awe of you."</p> + +<p>"Not many people I know are in awe of me," said the Prince. "Most of +them consider me something of a fool—they do not say so, but I can read +it in their faces. My father thinks me a total fool, and does not +hesitate to say so."</p> + +<p>"He must be a terrible man!"</p> + +<p>"He is," agreed the Prince, with conviction.</p> + +<p>Kasia looked at him to see if he was in earnest; then turned away her +head for an instant, until she could control her lips.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>"How does it happen that you speak English so well?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"My father required it. It is the result of many weary hours, I assure +you. However," added the Prince, "I ought not to complain, since it has +secured for me the present hour."</p> + +<p>It was the first time Kasia had ever been made the mark for a royal +compliment, and she flushed a little in spite of herself.</p> + +<p>"It is nice of you to say so!" she murmured. "So you have had your bad +times, too?"</p> + +<p>"Bad times, Miss Vard! Why, the life that I have led has been a dog's +life. There were so many things that I must know—that we all must +know—so many things we must not do. I have often gazed from the windows +of the palace and envied the boys in the gutter!"</p> + +<p>"Not really!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, not really, of course. I would not change. What I envied them was +their liberty, their freedom to come and go as it pleased them."</p> + +<p>"But since you are of age?"</p> + +<p>"Even yet, each moment must be accounted for. I am now a lieutenant in +the navy, and am supposed to employ each hour profitably. My father is a +very great man; there are few things that he does not know; and he +expects his sons to know as much. Even of pictures, which bore me; even +of music, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>which distresses me. Everything is arranged. At such a time, +I am to be with my ship; again, I am to attend the opera; again, I am to +be present at the opening of a museum; again, I must listen to a long +address which I do not understand. I may not even choose my own wife. +All that is arranged."</p> + +<p>"But no doubt," Kasia suggested, amused at his forlorn aspect, "your +father will choose more wisely than you would."</p> + +<p>"I do not know," said the Prince disconsolately. "I fear that he will +consider birth and position of more importance than youth and beauty. +Besides, there are some things a man likes to do for himself. My poor +sister, now...."</p> + +<p>He stopped, for, under the stimulus of Miss Vard's sympathy, he found +himself about to betray a family secret.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I can understand that," said Kasia, with more tenderness than she +had yet shown. "You don't mind my talking frankly to you?"</p> + +<p>"I love to be talked frankly to," protested the Prince.</p> + +<p>This was very far from the truth, only the Prince didn't know it. What +he really loved was flattery disguised as frankness. In this, he +resembled most other human beings.</p> + +<p>"Well, then," said Kasia, "if you don't like it, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>if you find it +intolerable, why don't you cut and run?"</p> + +<p>"Cut and run?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; go away by yourself, be a free man, and marry the woman you love. +For of course there is such a woman?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," and the Prince thought of the blue-eyed daughter of the +shopkeeper in the Friedrichstrasse, just off Unter den Linden; however, +he had never thought of marriage in connection with her. "But suppose I +should do that," he added, "how should I live?"</p> + +<p>"How do other men live? By work!"</p> + +<p>"But that would be a disgrace!"</p> + +<p>"Disgrace! It isn't half so disgraceful as to live by the work of other +men."</p> + +<p>"Your father said something of the same sort to me. But I fear that +neither of you understands. A Prince cannot do such things."</p> + +<p>Kasia threw up her hands.</p> + +<p>"So we come back to the beginning of the circle!" she cried.</p> + +<p>"Besides, my father would not permit it," added the Prince.</p> + +<p>"Aren't you of age?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—but he is the head of the family. He would have me brought +home—from the end of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>the world, if necessary—and then I should be +confined. Even my elder brother is sometimes confined—separated from +his wife, from his children, permitted to see no one."</p> + +<p>"Poor Prince!" said Kasia. "So you are a slave, like the rest of +us—rather worse than the rest of us, indeed! Is there <i>nothing</i> you can +do?"</p> + +<p>"Very few things," said the Prince, beginning really to pity himself. +"You see, there is always my family to consider—nothing must be done to +injure its position or to make it less popular. Even my father very +often may not say what he thinks or do what he wishes."</p> + +<p>"So he is a slave, too!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, in a way. And it grows worse and worse. Often, in private, he +laments the old days when a King was really a King, who was venerated +and whose word was law. He grows very angry that at each election there +are more socialists. He says that the only hope for the country is in a +great war: it is for that he prepares."</p> + +<p>"How would a great war help?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, in face of the common danger, our people would forget their +differences, for they all love their Fatherland; they would fight +shoulder to shoulder. And then, when it was over, they would all be mad +with joy over the victory, and there would be new provinces to add to +Germany, and an immense tax <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>levied on our enemy to pay the expenses of +the war, so that our own people would not have to bear that burden. It +would all be just as it was after the war with France, when every German +was filled with patriotism, and when Germany for the first time became +one country. Our house would again be well-beloved, its authority +unquestioned."</p> + +<p>"But suppose you are defeated?"</p> + +<p>"We shall not be defeated," said the Prince, calmly. "There is no nation +in the world which Germany could not defeat—except, perhaps, the United +States. But we shall not go to war with the United States. England will +be our foe, and you will see her tumble to pieces like a house of cards. +She is but an empty shell."</p> + +<p>Kasia sat for a moment considering all this. If this was really what was +in the Kaiser's mind—and she could scarcely doubt it—it was foolish to +suppose that he would consent to disarmament.</p> + +<p>"What you have told me is not very promising for universal peace," she +said, at last.</p> + +<p>"There can be no universal peace until we have humiliated England," +replied the Prince. "That is the belief of all good Germans. The +conflict must come soon, and we strain every nerve to prepare for it. I +betray no secret when I tell you this. All Europe knows it. England +struggles also to prepare, but we are always far ahead. When we are +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>quite ready, we shall strike. Then, after we have won, after we have +established Germany as the first nation of Europe, we shall be ready for +peace. But we must have one more great victory. The welfare of our house +demands it."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, his eyes rested on the top of the companion-way leading +from the lower deck, and he started violently, for a face had appeared +there—a face which looked at him sternly, almost threateningly. It was +the face of Pachmann. Without a word, it disappeared. The Prince turned +nervously to his companion.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, Miss Vard," he said, "but I must go. And do not think too +seriously of my chatter. I am not admitted to councils of state; I know +only what every one knows. We Germans, we have our dreams; but perhaps +they are only that."</p> + +<p>He arose, opened his lips to say something more, then changed his mind, +bowed, and hurried away. Kasia stared after him. She had not seen that +silent summons. But he did not look back.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>An hour later, Pachmann, with a countenance distinctly troubled, sought +out Ignace Vard, who was reading in his room.</p> + +<p>"The Prince has been talking to your daughter," he said.</p> + +<p>Vard looked at him in surprise.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>"I sent them out together," he explained. "I thought perhaps Kasia would +amuse him—and be amused."</p> + +<p>"Has she told you nothing?"</p> + +<p>Again Vard glanced at him.</p> + +<p>"No. Has she reason for complaint?"</p> + +<p>"I did not mean that. I dare say he behaved decently enough. But he +spouted a lot of childish nonsense about German hopes and German +ambitions, and I feared your daughter might take him seriously. He is +nothing but an ignorant young fool."</p> + +<p>Vard laid aside his book and looked Pachmann full in the face.</p> + +<p>"The truth comes sometimes from the mouths of fools," he said. "When am +I to have my answer?"</p> + +<p>"To be quite candid," answered Pachmann, readily, "I am afraid to give +it to you on board this boat. I chose this boat because I believed we +should be safe here. But there are spies on board; one of our +conferences has been overheard—perhaps both of them," and he told of +the assault upon Schroeder. "Then again, we must not be seen too much +together. I might be recognised; and you are already suspected of having +caused the destruction of <i>La Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p>"How can that be?" Vard demanded, in a tone which showed that he was +genuinely startled.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>For answer, Pachmann took from his pocket-book a paper, unfolded it and +handed it to Vard. It was the wireless from Lépine.</p> + +<p>"That was received last Thursday," he said. "I suppose you know who +Lépine is. By great good fortune, I intercepted it, and sent an answer +denying that you were on board. It was for that reason you were removed +to the first-class and your name kept off the passenger list. But how +can he have suspected you?"</p> + +<p>Vard shook his head slowly. He was a little pale, and the hand which +held the message trembled.</p> + +<p>"I cannot guess," he said.</p> + +<p>"You have told no one?"</p> + +<p>"Told!" flashed Vard. "Do you not see that, unless my great plan +succeeds, that action will have been an infamous one? To kill three +hundred men in order to assure peace to the world—that may be +justified—that may even be heroic; but to kill them wantonly, to kill +them and then to fail—that would drive me mad!" He looked at Pachmann, +his eyes suddenly inflamed. "And let me tell you this," he added, in a +voice of concentrated passion, "if I find that you have deceived me, if +I find that you have betrayed me, Germany shall suffer a reprisal that +will make you shudder! I swear it!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann's eyes were also suffused. In that moment, he literally saw +red.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>"You threaten!" he cried hoarsely. "You dare to threaten!"</p> + +<p>"I warn!" said Vard. "And you will do well to heed the warning! You are +playing with fire—take care that it does not consume you!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann conquered his emotion by a supreme effort.</p> + +<p>"It is foolish to talk in that way," he said. "It is foolish to speak of +deception and betrayal. There is no question of either. But we must move +cautiously. We must evade these spies. Even you can see that!"</p> + +<p>"Here is my last word," said Vard, more calmly. "We shall reach New York +on Tuesday. I will await your answer for twenty-four hours after we have +landed. If I have not then received it, I shall consider myself free to +act as I think best."</p> + +<p>A gleam of triumph flashed in Pachmann's eyes.</p> + +<p>"I accept your condition," he said, and with a little ironical bow, rose +and left the cabin.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h2>THE EVENTS OF MONDAY</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Kasia did not see the Prince again. That ingenuous young man had spent a +most uncomfortable half hour with the doughty Admiral, whose language +had been both lucid and emphatic, and who had opened the discussion, and +spiked the Prince's guns at the very start, as it were, by producing the +paper sealed with the Imperial seal.</p> + +<p>"I would call your attention especially to this clause," said Pachmann, +and placed his finger upon the words, "all members of my family." "It +was not placed there by accident, I assure you. You understand its +meaning?"</p> + +<p>The Prince nodded sullenly, as he handed the paper back.</p> + +<p>"Your father," Pachmann continued, replacing it in his pocket, "foresaw +that some difficulty such as this might arise. As you know, his +confidence in you is not great."</p> + +<p>The Prince flushed and opened his lips angrily; but closed them again +without speaking.</p> + +<p>Pachmann smiled unpleasantly.</p> + +<p>"I can guess what you wish to say," he said. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>"You would remind me that +you are a Hohenzollern, a Prince of the blood, a scion of the house to +which I, a petty member of the inferior nobility, owe allegiance. That I +do not permit myself to forget. But in this affair, by virtue of this +paper, I stand in place of your royal father. He would not hesitate to +rebuke you, and neither shall I. What was it you were saying to Miss +Vard?"</p> + +<p>And the Prince, after a moment's inward struggle, repeated the +conversation, while Pachmann listened frowningly.</p> + +<p>"You have been most indiscreet," he said severely, when the Prince had +finished. "How much harm you have done I cannot say—but I must hasten +to undo it. I do not understand you. You know how important this affair +is—you are a good German!—and yet you go about talking in this +fashion! It is enough to drive one mad! If your father learned of it, I +fear he would think it necessary to punish you with great severity. I +shall not report it—but on one condition: you must give me your word to +discuss affairs of state with no one, to make no chance acquaintances, +and to see this girl or her father only in my presence."</p> + +<p>And so deeply grounded was the habit of obedience, so profound his +respect even for his father's signature, that the Prince promised. +Besides, he had no wish to spend a year or more in some <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>second-rate +fortress; and he resolved to watch himself most warily, until this +annoying business was at an end and he was back again in Berlin.</p> + +<p>So Kasia saw him no more. She had a little struggle with herself before +she finally decided that it was her duty to outline the Prince's +confessions to her father, and she was deeply relieved when he waved +them aside as of no importance.</p> + +<p>"Every one knows," he said, "that Germany dreams of nothing but +humiliating England; that is no secret—it has been the talk of Europe +for ten years past. But it is one of those dreams which never come +true—or go by contraries!"</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>By noon of Monday, Pachmann had completed his scrutiny of the +passengers, and sought an interview with the Captain.</p> + +<p>"I have discovered nothing," he said; "absolutely nothing. At one time, +I thought that I had the man, but I caused his story to be investigated, +and found that it was true. There remains only one thing to be done. At +what hour shall we land?"</p> + +<p>"That will depend upon the delay at quarantine. Two of our steerage +passengers are ill. We may not be able to dock before evening."</p> + +<p>Pachmann considered this for a moment.</p> + +<p>"In the first place," he went on, at last, following out his thought, +"you must secure for me two <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>landing-tickets—one for Vard and one for +his daughter. The immigration officers must not see them. There must be +no evidence that they ever reached New York."</p> + +<p>Hausmann's face clouded.</p> + +<p>"That is a very serious offence," he pointed out.</p> + +<p>"We must take the risk."</p> + +<p>"What will you do about their baggage?"</p> + +<p>"I will have it claimed by some one from the consulate."</p> + +<p>The Captain hesitated yet a moment.</p> + +<p>"I will secure the tickets," he agreed, finally. "A considerable outlay +will be necessary."</p> + +<p>"You will be reimbursed. Furthermore," Pachmann added, "I will myself +explain to the Emperor how greatly you have assisted us."</p> + +<p>Hausmann bowed coldly.</p> + +<p>"Is there anything else?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"You have watched the wireless?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"It must be watched even more closely. No message in cipher, nor any +that is at all questionable, must be sent or delivered. If there are +complaints afterwards, the failure can be explained as an oversight."</p> + +<p>Again Hausmann bowed.</p> + +<p>"And finally," said Pachmann, "I have here a message, which I would ask +you to have sent at once."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>It was in cipher and a long one, and it took half an hour to transmit, +for the wireless man at the Cape Cod station was required to repeat it +for verification. Then it was hurried on by telegraph to New York, and +finally delivered at the German consulate, where the chief of the German +secret service, to whom it was addressed, read it with great care.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Miss Vard, meanwhile, was finding the hours long. The Prince had +furnished a slight divertissement the day before; but to-day there was +no such relief in sight, and she found herself singularly restless. This +was, in part, a reflection of her father's mood, for she had never known +him so nervous and irritable. The lines in his face had deepened, his +eyes were brighter than ever, and he waved her impatiently away whenever +she ventured to address him. Plainly, a crisis was at hand, and, as she +saw how her father was affected, she awaited it with foreboding.</p> + +<p>She tried to read and gave it up, for she could not fix her attention on +the page; she sat for a long time looking at the sea, and then turned +her eyes away, for its restlessness increased her own; she went for a +walk about the deck, but it seemed to her in every pair of eyes turned +upon her there was suspicion and aversion. How glad she was that the +voyage was almost ended! It had started happily enough, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>then, quite +suddenly, it had become wearisome and hateful.</p> + +<p>It was inevitable that, at this point, her thoughts should fly to Dan. +What a nice boy he was! She would see him to-morrow night—she had +promised him that! And before that? Would it be too undignified for her +to steal up again to that bench on the after boat-deck—would it—would +it precipitate matters? She did not want to do that and yet....</p> + +<p>"Good afternoon," said a voice, and some one fell into step beside her, +and she looked up and saw that it was Dan. For an instant, she fancied +it was only the visualisation of her own thoughts; then she winked the +mists away.</p> + +<p>"This is nice of you," she said. "I was just wishing for—some one. I +was dreadfully bored."</p> + +<p>"You were a thousand miles away. I passed you twice and you didn't even +see me. If it hadn't been for my newspaper training, I'd have made off +to my den."</p> + +<p>"I'm very glad you didn't. I really wanted to talk to you."</p> + +<p>"Suppose we go up to the boat-deck," said Dan, "where you...."</p> + +<p>He stopped.</p> + +<p>"Where I what?"</p> + +<p>Dan led the way up the ladder without replying; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>but a gleam of +understanding penetrated Miss Vard's mind when she saw him go straight +to the bench where she and the Prince had sat.</p> + +<p>"It was this way," Dan explained, sitting down beside her. "I happened +to be staring down at the forward promenade, yesterday afternoon, when I +saw you walking with a tall young fellow, who seemed exceedingly +interested in you. Naturally, I was a little curious, as he happened to +be a second-class passenger like myself...."</p> + +<p>"Second-class!" broke in Kasia, and stopped herself.</p> + +<p>"Did you think him a millionaire?" queried Dan, a little bitterly.</p> + +<p>"No," answered Kasia, quietly; "I thought him just what he is—an +ingenuous young German, not very brilliant, perhaps, but clean and +honest. I passed a very pleasant half hour with him."</p> + +<p>Dan's face was a little pale, but he looked at her manfully and squared +his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"I deserved that!" he said. "Thank you, Miss Vard. But it <i>was</i> very +lonely, last night!"</p> + +<p>Kasia's look softened.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she agreed; "it was."</p> + +<p>"You felt it, too?" asked Dan, his face lighting up again.</p> + +<p>"Certainly I felt it. I haven't dared make any friends among the +first-class passengers, and a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>person can't read <i>all</i> the time! One +likes to talk occasionally, no matter with whom."</p> + +<p>"Why not slip over to second-class to-night," Dan suggested, "and sit on +the bench. The moon is very beautiful."</p> + +<p>But Kasia shook her head, smiling.</p> + +<p>"I shall have to admire it alone," she said. "We must not be seen so +much together—it is not wise for us to sit here. Suppose some one, +seeing us together, should take it into his mind to search your baggage, +and should find that little package...."</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't find it," Dan broke in. "During the day, I carry it in my +pocket. At night, I sleep with it under my pillow."</p> + +<p>Kasia gave him a quick glance.</p> + +<p>"That is splendid!" she said, quickly. "And you don't even wish to know +what it is?"</p> + +<p>"Not unless you wish to tell me. There is one danger, though. If the +customs inspector should happen to run across it, he will want to know +what it is."</p> + +<p>"Tell him it is an electrical device."</p> + +<p>"And if he opens it?"</p> + +<p>"That will do no harm. All he will find is a small metal box, filled +with tiny wires coiled about each other."</p> + +<p>Dan breathed more freely.</p> + +<p>"That simplifies things," he said. "From what <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>you said when you gave it +to me, I was afraid I might have to knock him down, snatch the package, +and make a break for it."</p> + +<p>"No," and Kasia smiled. "It would appear of value only to some one who +knew what it was. The customs inspector doesn't count."</p> + +<p>"And to-morrow evening, say at eight o'clock, I shall bring it up to +you."</p> + +<p>"Very well. I shall expect you. And now you must go."</p> + +<p>Dan rose obediently.</p> + +<p>"It will be a long twenty-four hours," he said. "But I feel more +cheerful than I did. By the way," he added, turning back, "there's one +thing I forgot to tell you. If that other young fellow shows up again, +you needn't be afraid to talk to him. Chevrial says he's about the only +one on the ship you are safe to talk freely with!"</p> + +<p>"Chevrial!" she repeated, staring; "Chevrial said that!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," and Dan laughed. "He seems to be the wise guy, all right!" and +without suspecting her emotion, he turned and left her. But for a long +time Kasia sat there, unmoving, trying to understand.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Dan's evening was not so lonely as he had expected, for, as he sat on +the bench on the boat-deck, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>staring out across the water and thinking +of the morrow, Chevrial joined him.</p> + +<p>"I do not intrude?" the Frenchman asked.</p> + +<p>"Not at all. Sit down, won't you?"</p> + +<p>Chevrial sat down, and for some moments there was silence.</p> + +<p>"Our voyage nears an end, M. Webster," Chevrial said at last. "To-morrow +you will be home again. Perhaps I may see you in New York."</p> + +<p>"Where will you stay?"</p> + +<p>"I have some friends in the wine-trade with whom I usually stay. The +little money I pay them is welcome to them, and I am more comfortable +than at an hotel. I do not know their exact address—they have moved +since I was last here; but they are to meet me at the pier."</p> + +<p>"Whenever you have a leisure evening," said Dan, "call up the <i>Record</i> +office and ask for me, and we will have dinner together."</p> + +<p>"Thank you. I shall remember. And I should like you to meet my friends. +I do not know if you are a connoisseur of wine, but if you are, they +possess a few bottles of a vintage that will delight you."</p> + +<p>"I'm far from being a connoisseur," Dan laughed; "but I accept the +invitation with thanks."</p> + +<p>Chevrial's face was bright.</p> + +<p>"And when next you come to Paris," he added, "I hope you will let me +know. There is my card. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>A letter to that address will always reach +me—we have no telephone, alas! There are some things I should delight +to show you—things which the average visitor does not see."</p> + +<p>"You are very kind," said Dan, taking the card; "and I shall not forget; +though I don't expect to get abroad again very soon. You see, I have to +collect a reserve fund, first; and the cost of living is high!"</p> + +<p>"Whenever it is; and the more soon, the better I shall be pleased."</p> + +<p>"How long will you be in New York?"</p> + +<p>"A week—ten days, perhaps. Then I go to Boston, and to Montreal and +Quebec, and thence home again. I am glad I shall not have to use a +German boat. I do not like German boats—nor anything German, for the +matter of that! Which reminds me of a most peculiar circumstance. You +may have wondered at my remark with reference to that young man who was +strolling with Miss Vard?"</p> + +<p>"That she could talk to him without fear? Yes, I have wondered just what +you meant by it."</p> + +<p>"I may be mistaken—but I should like your judgment. In the library, +among the other books, is one which describes the life of the Kaiser and +his family—it is put there, I suppose, for all good Germans to read. It +is illustrated by many photographs. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>In looking at the photographs, one +of them impressed me as curiously familiar; if I should happen to be +correct, it would make a most startling article for your newspaper. But +I wish you to judge for yourself. You will find the book lying on the +table in the library, and the photograph in question is on page +sixty-eight. If you will look at it, and then return here, I should +consider it a favour."</p> + +<p>Considerably astonished, Dan descended to the library, found the book, +and turned to page sixty-eight. Yes, there was a photograph of the +Emperor, with the Empress and Princess Victoria; another of the Crown +Prince, with his wife and children; another of the +Princes—Eitel-Frederick, August, Oscar, Adalbert....</p> + +<p>And Dan, looking at it, felt his eyeballs bulge, for he found himself +gazing at the face of Kasia Vard's companion.</p> + +<p>He told himself he was mistaken; closed his eyes for an instant and then +looked again. There was certainly a marvellous resemblance. If it should +really be the same—Dan's head whirled at thought of the story it would +make!</p> + +<p>He closed the book, at last, climbed slowly back to the boat-deck and +sat down again beside M. Chevrial.</p> + +<p>"Well?" asked the latter. "What do you think of it?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>"If they are not the same man, they are remarkably alike," said Dan.</p> + +<p>"I believe they are the same."</p> + +<p>"But it seems too grotesque. Why should a Hohenzollern travel +second-class, dressed in a shabby walking-suit, and without attendants?"</p> + +<p>"There is a middle-aged German with him, who is, no doubt, his tutor, or +guardian, or jailer—whichever you may please to call it."</p> + +<p>"His jailer?"</p> + +<p>Chevrial smiled.</p> + +<p>"The Emperor is a father of the old school, and punishes his sons +occasionally by imprisonment or banishment under guard. I fancy that is +the case here. Before I left Paris, I heard rumours of indiscretions on +the Prince's part with a young lady in Berlin, which had made his father +very angry. This journey, perhaps, is a penance. At least, it is worth +investigating."</p> + +<p>"It certainly is," agreed Dan warmly, and fell silent, pondering how +best to prove or disprove this extraordinary story. It was decidedly of +the sort the <i>Record</i> liked; if he could only verify it, his return to +the office would be in the nature of a triumph! But to prove it! Well, +there were ways!</p> + +<p>A low exclamation from his companion brought him out of his thoughts.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>"Behold!" said Chevrial; and, far away to the right, Dan caught the +gleam of a light.</p> + +<p>"A ship?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"No, no; it is the lighthouse on what you call the Island of Fire. It is +America welcoming you, my friend."</p> + +<p>And Dan, with a queer lump in his throat, took off his cap.</p> + +<p>"America!" he repeated, and Kasia Vard's words leaped into his mind. +"The land of freedom!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed his companion, softly; "you do well to be proud of her! +She is at least more free than any other!"</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + +<h2>THE LANDING</h2> +<br /> + +<p>When Dan Webster awoke, next morning, his first thought was that +something was wrong, and it was a moment before he realised what it was. +The screw had stopped. Instead of quivering with the steady, pulse-like +vibration to which, during the past week, he had grown accustomed, the +ship lay dead and motionless. He got on deck as quickly as he could, and +found that they were anchored in the shelter of Sandy Hook, with a boat +from quarantine alongside. Already the deck was thronged with excited +passengers; many of the women, in their eagerness to go ashore, had put +on their hats and veils and even their gloves. But word got about that +there was some sickness in the steerage, and that it would probably be +some hours before they could proceed.</p> + +<p>Dan took a long look at the familiar land; then he hurried below to +breakfast. He had planned his campaign before he went to sleep the +previous night, and he was eager to begin it. Breakfast, therefore, did +not take him long, and he was soon searching the decks for the man who, +possibly, was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>a son of the Kaiser, but, much more probably, merely a +young German who made the most of a chance resemblance.</p> + +<p>Dan possessed the aplomb which only years of work on a great paper can +give a man; he had wormed interviews from many reluctant and exalted +personages; he had asked questions which the other man was certain to +resent, often quite justly; he had drilled himself to believe that, when +he was on the trail, all mankind was fair game, and that any device +which would drag the truth from them was justified—the truth, the +truth, that was the end and the justification of newspaper methods! +Nevertheless, his heart beat a little faster when, at last, he perceived +the object of his search leaning against the rail at the rear of the +upper promenade and gazing out to sea.</p> + +<p>"I've got buck-fever," he told himself. "It's because I'm out of +training." And then he wondered if the Prince was thinking of Germany, +and of the lady-love from whom he had been torn.</p> + +<p>Nobody else, apparently, had any thought for Germany or for the open +sea. Every one had crowded to the side-rails to stare at the land or at +the smudge of smoke which marked Long Island, and the stern of the ship +was deserted. Telling himself that he would never have a better chance, +and that he must finish with the affair before the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>ship-reporters came +aboard, Dan braced himself, approached the solitary and somewhat +pathetic figure, removed his cap and bowed respectfully. The Prince, +abruptly wakened from his day-dreams, looked up with a start, and met +Dan's smiling eyes with an astonished stare.</p> + +<p>"I see Your Highness does not remember me," said Dan, good-humouredly. +"That is not remarkable, but I was conceited enough to think it just +possible that you might."</p> + +<p>"No," said the Prince, finding his tongue, "I fear I do not...." He +stopped abruptly. "For whom do you take me?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Surely I am not mistaken!" and Dan looked at him more closely. "No—it +is really Your Highness! I cannot be deceived!"</p> + +<p>The Prince met his gaze and shook his head, and tried to laugh. But he +was not a good liar—his father had long since recognised his unfitness +for any diplomatic mission.</p> + +<p>"I see it is useless for me to dissemble," he said, in a low tone. "But +I am here strictly incognito, and I beg that you will not betray me. +Where have we met?"</p> + +<p>Dan's heart leaped with exultation. And then a little feeling of shame +seized him. It was too bad to have to betray the fellow—but duty +demanded it! Perhaps, however, it could be done in a way <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>that would not +be offensive. He opened his lips to explain, when a stocky figure +suddenly thrust itself between them, and Dan found himself gazing into a +pair of irate eyes.</p> + +<p>"What is this?" demanded the newcomer, though his voice, too, was +carefully lowered. "Who are you, sir?"</p> + +<p>Dan felt his good resolutions ooze away at the other's brutal manner.</p> + +<p>"I am a reporter," he said.</p> + +<p>"What is your business?"</p> + +<p>"Gathering news."</p> + +<p>"Your business here, I mean?"</p> + +<p>"I was just interviewing the Prince," explained Dan, blandly. "The +<i>Record</i> would be very glad to have his opinion of the Moroccan +situation, of the Italian war, of the triple entente, or of anything +else he cares to talk about. Perhaps he could find a theme in the +destruction of <i>La Liberté</i>."</p> + +<p>He spoke at random, and was surprised to see how fixedly the other man +regarded him, with eyes in which apprehension seemed to have taken the +place of anger.</p> + +<p>"One moment," said Pachmann, for it was he, and he turned and spoke a +few rapid words of German to the Prince, who reddened and nodded +sullenly. Dan judged from the sound of the Admiral's subsequent remarks +that he was swearing; but he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>preserved a pleasant countenance, the more +easily since, happening to glance up, he saw Chevrial leaning over the +rail of the boat-deck just above them and regarding the scene with an +amused smile. At last, having relieved his feelings, the Admiral fell +silent and pulled absently at the place where his moustache had been.</p> + +<p>"When does your paper appear?" Pachmann asked, at last.</p> + +<p>"To-morrow morning."</p> + +<p>"You would not wish to use the interview before that time?"</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>Pachmann breathed a sigh of relief, and his face cleared.</p> + +<p>"Then we are prepared to make a bargain with you," he said. "It is most +important that the Prince's incognito be strictly preserved until +to-night. If you will give me your word of honour to say nothing of this +to any one until eight o'clock this evening, I, in return, give you my +word of honour that the Prince, at that hour, will grant you an +interview which I am sure you will find of interest. Do you agree?"</p> + +<p>Dan reflected rapidly that he had nothing to lose by such an agreement; +that eight o'clock would release him from his promise in ample time to +write <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>his story; and the interview <i>might</i> really be important.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said; "I agree; but on one condition."</p> + +<p>"What is that?" demanded Pachmann, impatiently.</p> + +<p>"That the interview be exclusive."</p> + +<p>"Exclusive?" echoed Pachmann. "I do not understand."</p> + +<p>"I mean by that that no one else is to get the interview but me," Dan +explained.</p> + +<p>A sardonic smile flitted across Pachmann's lips.</p> + +<p>"I agree to the condition," he said. "And you on your part agree to say +no word to any one; you are not to mention the appointment which I will +make with you."</p> + +<p>"I understand," said Dan. "But, interview or no interview, I am to be +released from the promise at eight o'clock."</p> + +<p>"Yes. Very well, then. I accept your word of honour, and I give you +mine. At seven o'clock to-night, you will call at the German consulate +and ask for Admiral Pachmann. I shall be in waiting to conduct you to +the Prince."</p> + +<p>"I thank you," said Dan, and walked away, treading on air. Then another +consideration occurred to him. All this was going to interfere with his +evening with Kasia. He must see her and explain that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>he would be late. +But an official stopped him at the gangway and explained that, under +quarantine regulations, each class must keep to its own quarters until +the boat had docked.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>The delay was less than had been feared, for the illness in the steerage +turned out to be well-defined typhoid; so, at the end of two hours, the +big ship began to move slowly up the harbour, with the passengers +hanging over the rails, for the first glimpse of the great city. There +was the green shore of Long Island; and then the hills of Staten Island; +and then, there to the left, loomed the Statue of Liberty, her torch +held high. Dan took off his cap, his eyes moist; and then, as he glanced +at the faces of his neighbours, he saw that they were all gazing raptly +at the majestic figure, just as he had been. Most of them, no doubt, had +seen it many times before; some of them, perhaps, had committed the +sacrilege of climbing up into the head and scribbling their names there; +they had glanced at her carelessly enough outward-bound for Europe; but +now she had for all of them new meaning,—she typified the spirit of +their Fatherland, she welcomed them home.</p> + +<p>And finally the wonderful skyline of New York towered far ahead, the +web-like structure of the Brooklyn bridge spanning the river to the +right; little clouds of steam crowning with white the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>summits of the +towering buildings, and a million windows flashing back the sunlight. +There is nothing else in the whole world like it, and the thousand +passengers on the upper decks coming home, and the thousand men and +women crowded on the lower deck, seeking fortune in a strange land—all +alike gazed and marvelled and were glad.</p> + +<p>Then, with a battalion of tugs pushing and pulling and straining and +panting, the ship swung in toward her dock, and soon she was near enough +for those on board to see the faces of the waiting crowd, and there were +cries of greeting and wavings of handkerchiefs, and the shedding of +happy tears—for it is good to get home! And at last the great hawsers +were flung out and made fast, and the voyage was ended.</p> + +<p>At this moment, as at all others, the first-cabin passengers had the +precedence, and filed slowly down one gangplank, their landing-tickets +in their hands, while at another the stewards proceeded to yank off the +hand-baggage. Dan, leaning over the rail, watched the long line of +passengers surging slowly forward, and finally he saw Kasia and her +father. He would see them on the pier, of course, for it would take them +some time to get their baggage through, and he could explain to Kasia +about the other engagement. He followed them with his eyes—and then, +with a gasp of astonishment, he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>perceived just behind them, also moving +slowly down the gangplank, the Prince and the man who had called himself +Admiral Pachmann.</p> + +<p>But those men could have nothing to do with Kasia! It was just an +accident that they happened to be behind her. And then he grasped the +rail and strained forward, scarcely able to believe his eyes. For +Pachmann had spoken to Vard, who nodded and walked hurriedly on with +him, while Kasia, with a mocking smile, tucked her hand within the +Prince's arm and fell into step beside him. Along the pier they hastened +to the entrance gates, passed through, and were lost in the crowd +outside.</p> + +<p>Dan stood staring after them for yet a moment; then, with the careful +step of a man who knows himself to be intoxicated, he climbed painfully +to the boat-deck, dropped upon a bench there, and took his head in his +hands.</p> + +<p>There, half an hour later, a steward found him.</p> + +<p>"Beg pardon, sir," he said. "Are you ill?"</p> + +<p>Dan looked up dazedly.</p> + +<p>"No," he said. "Why?"</p> + +<p>"The passengers are all off, sir. If you have any luggage, you'd better +be having it examined, sir."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Dan, and got to his feet, descended to the lower deck, +surrendered his landing ticket, and went unsteadily down the gangplank.</p> + +<p>The pier was littered with baggage and crowded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>with distracted men and +women watching the inspectors diving remorselessly among their tenderest +possessions. Each was absorbed in his own affairs, and none of them +noticed Dan's slow progress toward the little office of the +chief-inspector. After a short wait, an inspector was told off to look +through his baggage, and, with Dan's declaration in his hand, led the +way to the letter "W," where his two suit-cases were soon found. Dan +unlocked them, and stood aside while the inspector knelt and examined +their contents. He was through in ten minutes.</p> + +<p>"Nothing here," he said, and rose. Then his eyes ran Dan up and down. "I +see you have a small parcel in your coat-pocket. May I see it?"</p> + +<p>Without a word, Dan handed him the parcel. The inspector turned it over +and examined the seals.</p> + +<p>"What's in it?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"A little electrical device," Dan answered.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll have to open it—it might be diamonds, for all I know."</p> + +<p>"Go ahead," said Dan, and the inspector broke the seals, unwrapped the +paper, and disclosed a small pasteboard box. He lifted the lid, glanced +inside, and then looked at Dan.</p> + +<p>"What is this? A joke?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand," Dan stammered.</p> + +<p>"You said it was an electrical device."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>"That's what it is."</p> + +<p>"Either you're crazy or I am," said the man; "and I don't think it's +me," and he thrust the box under Dan's nose.</p> + +<p>And Dan's eyes nearly leaped from his head, for the box contained a cake +of soap, cut neatly to fit it, into which had been pressed a number of +nickel coins.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h2>PACHMANN SCORES</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Dan Webster never had any definite recollection of how he got to his +rooms. Somebody must have carried his bags to a cab and put them and him +inside it, and he must have given the cabby the number of the +apartment-house where his rooms were, for after a certain time he found +himself in a cab which had stopped in front of it, with Marshall, the +doorman, staring in at him.</p> + +<p>"I think he's drunk, that's what I think," said the cabby, who had got +down, suspecting that his services would be needed. "He ought to be put +to bed and left to sleep it off."</p> + +<p>"I don't understand it," said Marshall. "I never saw him like this +before. Paris must surely be an awful place!"</p> + +<p>The cabby chuckled, and together they got Dan out and into the elevator; +but when the doorman had paid and dismissed the cabby, and tried to +follow his advice, he met with unexpected resistance.</p> + +<p>"Go away, Marshall, and leave me alone," said Dan. "I heard what that +fellow said; but I'm not drunk—though no doubt I look it. Just go away +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>and shut the door. I'll thank you another time. There's a good fellow!"</p> + +<p>And in the end, Marshall went doubtfully away.</p> + +<p>Dan went to work at himself immediately with mechanical thoroughness. He +filled his tub with cold water, undressed and plunged into it, dipping +his head under half a dozen times. Then he rubbed down with the roughest +towel he could find, gave himself a vigorous massage from head to feet, +took a sharp turn with a pair of dumb-bells, got into fresh clothes, and +began to feel more like himself.</p> + +<p>"There," he said; "that's better. Now let's see if this thing is real, +or only a nightmare."</p> + +<p>He went to his coat, got out the pasteboard box, placed it on a table, +sat down before it, and carefully removed the lid.</p> + +<p>No, it was not a nightmare. There was the cake of soap—pink, scented +soap—weighted with the nickel coins. Poising the box in his hand, he +understood why the coins had been added. Without them, the box would +have been too light. He pulled one of the coins out and looked at it. It +was a German piece of twenty pfennigs, such as any one on the ship might +have used. He put it carefully back, and lay down on his bed to reason +the thing out.</p> + +<p>How had the substitution been made? How <i>could</i> it have been made? Every +day the box had been in his pocket; every night it had been beneath <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>his +pillow. There was only one explanation—the change must have been made +while he was asleep. Some one had entered the stateroom, slipped out the +other box with a cautious hand and substituted this one. Whoever it was +must have been familiar with the weight of the other box and with the +way it was wrapped and sealed. But how was that possible? No one could +have seen Miss Vard give it to him; no one could have known that he had +it.</p> + +<p>And then Dan sat suddenly erect. Chevrial might have known. Chevrial +might have seen him slip it into his pocket as he dressed. Yes, Chevrial +might have done it. Who was Chevrial? How should a wine-merchant know so +much about spies and diplomacy and German princes? There had always been +about him an air of power, of reserve force. Yes, and an air of +mystery—the air of one who knows a great many things he does not choose +to tell.</p> + +<p>Chevrial was undoubtedly a spy himself.</p> + +<p>And, as he found this answer, Dan wondered that it had not occurred to +him long before. For it furnished the clue upon which Chevrial's words +and hints and looks and warnings were strung together as on a thread!</p> + +<p>There could be no doubt about it: Chevrial was a spy, engaged in some +desperate plot—no ordinary plot, for a Prince and Admiral of the German +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>Empire were also engaged in it, and heaven alone knew how many others!</p> + +<p>There was one thing to be done at once. He must go to Kasia Vard and +confess that he had been outwitted. And he trembled as he thought what +the loss of that little box would mean to her! Why had he been so dense, +why had he not suspected....</p> + +<p>Telling himself that self-accusations would do no good, he finished +dressing hurriedly, let himself out, and ran downstairs without waiting +to call the elevator. At the front door he met Marshall, whose face +brightened at sight of him.</p> + +<p>"So you're all right again, sir?" he said. "I'm glad of that!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," and Dan slipped a bill into his hand. "I had a little shock that +sort of upset me. Many thanks for looking after me, Marshall. I'll not +forget it."</p> + +<p>"That's all right, sir. Thank you, sir. Hope you had a good time?"</p> + +<p>"Splendid. Come up and see me to-morrow. I brought a little memento for +you from that awful place called Paris!" and leaving Marshall staring, +he ran down the steps to the street, sought the nearest subway station, +and twenty minutes later mounted the steps of the house on West +Sixty-fourth Street, whose address Kasia had given him—a quiet house in +a quiet neighbourhood. His finger was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>trembling as he touched the bell. +How should he ever face her!</p> + +<p>A negro boy answered the ring.</p> + +<p>"I wish to see Miss Vard at once," said Dan, and produced a card.</p> + +<p>"Miss Vard is not here, sir."</p> + +<p>"Not here? Has she gone out?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; she's been to Europe and ain't got back yet."</p> + +<p>Dan steadied himself against the wall, for he felt a little dizzy again.</p> + +<p>"I know. But she must be back! Her boat docked three or four hours ago."</p> + +<p>"We was expectin' her to-day, sir—her and her father; but they ain't +got here yet."</p> + +<p>Dan looked at the boy for a moment; then he gave him a silver dollar.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; I'm sure," and Dan could see that he was telling the truth.</p> + +<p>"Have you a 'phone?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"What's its number?"</p> + +<p>The boy told him and Dan jotted it down.</p> + +<p>"Will you give the card to Miss Vard as soon as she arrives?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I'll do that."</p> + +<p>Dan wrote a hasty line on the card, asking Kasia <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>to call him at once, +and added his telephone number. Then he turned wearily away, and went +back to his rooms. There was nothing to do but wait. And he found +waiting most trying of all. The minutes dragged miserably, each of them +weighted with self-accusation, but the afternoon shadows began to +lengthen and still his telephone had not rung. Finally he called for +Kasia's number and asked for her. A voice which he recognised as that of +the negro boy answered that she had not yet returned.</p> + +<p>"It's those Germans!" Dan muttered to himself. "It's those damned +Germans! They've got her into it, somehow!"</p> + +<p>And then suddenly he remembered his appointment, and snatched out his +watch. It was nearly six o'clock.</p> + +<p>"I'll drag it out of them!" he said. "I'll drag it out of them! And if +Chevrial's there...."</p> + +<p>He stopped. Chevrial and the Germans could not be in collusion—such an +alliance was unthinkable. But how else to explain it....</p> + +<p>Dan gave it up; but a good dinner at a near-by restaurant restored him +something of his self-confidence. After all, this was America. Europe +might be honeycombed with intrigue and over-run with spies, but they +would find their occupation gone on this side of the water! And he +himself would explode <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>a bomb in the morning's <i>Record</i> that would shake +them up a little! So it was a fairly confident and self-controlled young +man who mounted the steps of the German consulate at five minutes to +seven. A flunkey in livery opened the door to his ring.</p> + +<p>"I have an appointment with Admiral Pachmann," said Dan, with a sudden +cold fear at his heart that he would be laughed at; but instead he was +shown at once into a little ante-chamber.</p> + +<p>"Sit here a moment, sir," said the footman, and hastened away, closing +the door behind him. But it opened almost at once, and Pachmann himself +entered. Dan drew a deep breath of relief; it was all right then!</p> + +<p>Pachmann fairly radiated good-humour. All his roughness of the morning +had disappeared, and he greeted Dan beamingly.</p> + +<p>"I am most glad to see you," he said, in such a tone that Dan almost +believed him. "You are prompt—but that, I am given to understand, is an +American virtue. However, I am prompt, also. The car is waiting."</p> + +<p>"The car?" Dan echoed.</p> + +<p>"You will understand," Pachmann explained, "that, since the Prince is +incognito, it is impossible for him to remain at the consulate—that +would at once betray him. I was uncertain, this morning, as to our +arrangements, or I should have directed you <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>to the proper address. +However, it is but a step," and he opened the door.</p> + +<p>Dan followed him along a handsome hall to the carriage entrance, where, +at the foot of the steps, stood a limousine. As soon as they appeared, +the driver, who had been standing at the hood, bent and cranked his +motor and then sprang to the door and opened it.</p> + +<p>"Enter, my dear sir," said Pachmann, and followed him into the car. The +door slammed, the driver sprang to his seat, and they were off. In the +semi-darkness, Dan fancied he heard a repressed chuckle, and a vague +uneasiness stole upon him. But he shook it off. What had he to fear?</p> + +<p>"You will remember," said Pachmann finally, "that this interview is not +a thing which we desire, but to which we consent because we must. You +placed us, this morning, in a very awkward position. You newspaper men +of America have a method all your own. The manner in which you entrapped +the Prince compels my admiration. How did you know that it was he?"</p> + +<p>"There was a book on the ship with a history and portraits of the royal +family," Dan explained. "I happened to be looking it over and recognised +the likeness at once."</p> + +<p>"So?" said Pachmann, and there was a note of surprise in his voice, +which told Dan definitely that, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>whatever Chevrial's plot might be, this +German was not in it. "You have sharp eyes. But the likeness may have +been merely a chance one. It must have seemed most strange to you that a +Prince of the Empire should travel alone as a passenger of the second +class."</p> + +<p>"It did. That was why I approached him as I did."</p> + +<p>"It was most clever. We admit it. Ah, here we are."</p> + +<p>The car had stopped, and Pachmann opened the door. As Dan alighted, he +glanced up and down the street, but did not recognise it. It was a +street of close-built apartment-houses and private dwellings like any +one of hundreds in New York. Pachmann crossed the pavement, mounted the +steps and touched the bell. The door was opened instantly by a tall +servant in livery.</p> + +<p>If Dan had expected it to reveal a regal magnificence, he was +disappointed. The hall into which he stepped was simply, even meagrely +furnished. Without pausing, Pachmann mounted the stair, and led the way +into the front room on the upper floor. It was a large room, lighted +only by the glow of a wood fire. A man was sitting in front of it, and +sprang up at their entrance. Pachmann, at the door, switched on the +electrics.</p> + +<p>"My dear Prince," he said, "I have brought the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>young gentleman for the +interview which we promised him."</p> + +<p>And Dan, as he saw the other's face, breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, it +was the Prince. For a moment in the car, he had feared that he was being +tricked. Pachmann had undoubtedly chuckled!</p> + +<p>The Prince bowed coldly. His face was very gloomy—in striking contrast +to Pachmann's, which was beaming more than ever with good-humour.</p> + +<p>"I feel that an apology is due Your Highness," said Dan, "for the way in +which I sought to entrap you this morning. Please believe that I was +about to promise to do what I could to respect your incognito when this +gentleman intervened. In my article for to-morrow, I shall try to say +nothing that can offend you."</p> + +<p>"I thank you," said the Prince gravely.</p> + +<p>"All this is wasting time," broke in Pachmann, impatiently. "Proceed +with your questions, my young sir."</p> + +<p>"What is the purpose of Your Highness's visit to America?" asked Dan.</p> + +<p>The Prince hesitated and glanced at Pachmann.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it would be best for the explanation to come from me," said the +latter smoothly, but with a sardonic smile upon his face. "The Prince +travels in search of health. He is of a most studious disposition—sits +up with his books far into the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>night—becomes so absorbed in them that +he forgets to go to bed, even to eat. So the Emperor, in fear that he +would injure his health—you can see by looking at him he is most +delicate—decreed a trip around the world, made incognito in the +simplest fashion, during which he was not so much as to look inside a +book. This accounts for the fact that never once on the voyage over did +you see him with a book in his hand. That is the whole mystery, my young +sir."</p> + +<p>Dan, glancing at the Prince, saw that he was red with anger; but he +could not repress a smile at the absurdity of Pachmann's explanation. +The Prince was evidently as strong as an ox, and had anything but the +appearance of a student.</p> + +<p>"You may have heard some idle tales," went on Pachmann, rubbing his +hands with pleasure, "of a love affair—of a bar-maid, perhaps. Berlin +is always full of such gossip, and you American journalists hear it all. +But believe me, it is merely gossip; the truth is as I have told you."</p> + +<p>The Prince had wheeled upon Pachmann, his eyes blazing.</p> + +<p>"It is too much!" he cried, in German. "You insult me, and you shall +answer for it. I warn you!" and he strode to the door.</p> + +<p>"Farewell, my Prince!" said Pachmann, and waited, with a sneer on his +lips, until the Prince's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>heavy footsteps died away down the hall. Then +he turned back to Dan. "Behold that Princes have rages just as other +men," he said.</p> + +<p>"I don't blame him!" said Dan. "I wonder he didn't knock you down."</p> + +<p>"So?" and Pachmann's eyes took an ugly gleam. "I fear the interview is +at an end."</p> + +<p>"I have another question to ask," said Dan quietly. "Where are Mr. Vard +and his daughter?"</p> + +<p>Pachmann's eyes narrowed to mere slits and his face became positively +venomous.</p> + +<p>"I was expecting that question," he sneered. "What do you know of Vard +and his daughter?"</p> + +<p>"They are friends of mine. I saw them leave the pier with you. They have +not yet reached their apartment. Where are they?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot tell you."</p> + +<p>"You mean you will not?"</p> + +<p>"Put it that way, if it pleases you."</p> + +<p>A storm of rage was hammering in Dan's brain.</p> + +<p>"I would advise you to tell me," he said, tensely.</p> + +<p>"You threaten?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," and Dan took a step toward the Admiral. "I would advise you to +tell me."</p> + +<p>Pachmann did not stir. He glanced with ironic eyes from Dan's white face +to his working fingers. Then he threw back his head and laughed.</p> + +<p>"But this is better fortune than I deserve!" he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>mocked. "I did not +know, I did not suspect ... even when the girl told me!" Then his mood +changed, his lips curled, his eyes flashed fire. "What a fool!" he +sneered. "What a fool! You thrust yourself upon us—you walk into our +trap—you are wholly in our power—and yet you think to frighten me with +your grand air and your twitching hands! Bah! To me you are merely a +speck of dust, to be blown aside—so! Now, more than ever! As an +ignorant young fool, who knew no better, I might perhaps in time have +let you go. But now...."</p> + +<p>The anger had ebbed from Dan's brain, although his attitude had not +relaxed. Staring into Pachmann's leering face, he realised that he must +think and act quickly. The first thing was to escape; with a deep breath +he braced himself and sprang for the door—to plunge straight into the +outstretched arms of a man on guard there.</p> + +<p>There was a moment's struggle; then Dan felt his feet kicked from under +him, and fell with a crash that shook the house. In an instant two men +were sitting on him, holding him down.</p> + +<p>Then Pachmann came and looked down at him, his lips twitching with +triumph.</p> + +<p>"Young fool!" he sneered. "Young fool!" And then, in German, to the two +men, "Take him away! In yonder!" and he pointed toward a door at the +rear of the hall.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h2>THE TRAP</h2> +<br /> + +<p>To Kasia Vard the day had been one of manifold excitements. Like Dan, +she had awakened to find the boat motionless, and had run to the window +to gaze entranced at the green slopes of Sandy Hook. Home! Home! She +fairly sang the words as she dressed and rushed on deck. From that +instant, every moment was charged with emotion, culminating as she +leaned against the rail and gazed with misty eyes at Bartholdi's +masterpiece. She remembered how, ten years before, her father, with +tears streaming down his cheeks, had lifted her in his arms for her +first sight of the majestic Goddess, and had explained to her, in a +voice broken by emotion, why this statue stood here, at the entrance of +this great harbour, holding her torch high in the air.</p> + +<p>The ship swept on, and Kasia, with a sigh of joy, turned her eyes +forward for the first sight of New York.</p> + +<p>It was at that moment her father joined her. One glance at his face, and +she had placed her hand within his arm, walked back with him to their +suite, entered and closed the door.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>"Now tell me," she said. "What has happened?"</p> + +<p>"I have just seen Pachmann," answered her father hoarsely. "He has +arranged for the final conference as soon as we land. It will be at the +consulate. There is yet one danger," and he dropped his voice. "Pachmann +has discovered that there are spies on board—French spies. They suspect +something—how much we do not know. But it is necessary for us to evade +them. We will leave the pier as soon as we land with Pachmann and the +Prince. Pachmann will have a car waiting—he has made all arrangements. +Here is your landing-ticket."</p> + +<p>Kasia took it and slipped it inside her glove.</p> + +<p>"Very well," she said. "But the baggage?"</p> + +<p>"We cannot wait for that—it would be too dangerous. I will return for +it as soon as the conference is over." His eyes were burning with +excitement, his lips twitching with nervousness. "I am glad that the +hour is at hand," he added. "I feel that I could not endure a longer +delay—these hours of suspense are dangerous for me."</p> + +<p>Kasia laid a calming hand upon his arm.</p> + +<p>"I know, father," she said. "You must not permit yourself to dwell upon +it so. Let us go on deck again and watch the landing."</p> + +<p>"No; we are to wait here," said her father. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>"These last moments we must +not be seen," and he sat gnawing feverishly at his fingers.</p> + +<p>The long minutes drifted by. They could hear the rush of feet and +chatter of voices on the deck outside, then excited cries of recognition +and greeting, as the boat swung into the dock, and finally the clatter +of the gangplank as it was run into place. Almost at once there came a +tap at the door. Vard sprang to open it and found Pachmann and the +Prince outside.</p> + +<p>"You are ready?" asked the former.</p> + +<p>"Yes," and Kasia and her father stepped out upon the deck.</p> + +<p>"You have your landing-checks? Good. Then we will start."</p> + +<p>They joined the long line moving down the gangplank.</p> + +<p>"This way," said Pachmann, the instant they reached the pier, and led +Vard hurriedly toward the entrance.</p> + +<p>Kasia, left with the Prince, glanced into his moody and downcast face.</p> + +<p>"So we are permitted to have another chat," she said, smiling at his +woebegone appearance, and tucked her hand under his arm. "You look as +though you needed some advice. What is wrong?"</p> + +<p>He glanced at her, then looked away, and answered with a shake of the +head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>Just beyond the entrance stood a handsome limousine, its motor +throbbing. Pachmann hurried them all into it, stepped round for a word +with the driver, then himself jumped in and slammed the door. The car +started with a jerk, backed out of the pier-shed, and headed away +northward through the streets of Hoboken. This way and that it turned +and doubled, while Pachmann gazed anxiously through the little window in +the back. No one spoke, but they all watched Pachmann's face. At last +they were in the open country, with a smooth road ahead. The driver +opened his throttle, pushed up his spark, and in a moment they were +whirling along at forty miles an hour. Pachmann looked back for yet a +moment; then he turned with a sigh of relief and sank back into his +seat.</p> + +<p>"We have evaded them," he said. "But we will take no chances."</p> + +<p>On and on went the car, climbing to the top of the Palisades and +threading the Jersey woods; mile after mile along woodland roads, past +country estates, through little villages, on and on. At last, on a long +stretch of lonely road, they stopped, and the chauffeur climbed down, +detached the licence numbers at front and rear, and strapped on another +set. Then onward again, back toward the river, and finally, at the Fort +Lee ferry, down to the water's edge. The boat was about to start when +the car ran <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>on board; in another minute it was moving out into the +stream. No one else had come on board, nor was there any sign of +pursuers on the bank.</p> + +<p>Leaving the ferry, on the other side, the car at once plunged into a +tangle of by-streets, and Pachmann half drew the curtains. Then, turning +southward along Riverside Drive, it joined the endless procession of +cars there, in which it became at once only an indistinguishable unit. +Finally it turned eastward along a quiet street, swung sharply around +one corner and then around another, and stopped.</p> + +<p>"Here we are," said Pachmann, threw open the door, and jumped out.</p> + +<p>The Prince followed, and, without looking back, walked straight across +the sidewalk and up the steps of the house opposite. Pachmann, with a +smile on his lips, waited to assist Miss Vard to alight.</p> + +<p>"But this is not the consulate!" she protested, looking first at the +house and then up and down the street. She had never seen the consulate, +but she knew it would not be in such a house nor in such a street. +Besides, there was no flag above the door.</p> + +<p>"No, it is not the consulate," said Pachmann smoothly, and turned to +Vard. "I found, at the last moment, that there was a reception at the +consulate to-day which would make our conference there impossible. I +managed to procure this house, where one of our secretaries lives, and +where we will be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>secure against interruption. But if you prefer the +consulate, we can, of course, wait until to-morrow—"</p> + +<p>"No, no," Vard broke in. "Let us get it finished at once—there has been +too much delay."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you," said Pachmann. "I, also, am anxious to get the +affair settled," and he led the way into the house. "If you will wait +here, Miss Vard," he added, and pulled aside the hangings before a door +opening from the hall. "We will not be long."</p> + +<p>Kasia stepped through the doorway, and the curtain dropped behind her. +She heard the footsteps of her companions mounting the stair to the +upper story; then all was still. She glanced about the room; it was a +rather small one, furnished as a sitting-room, with furniture both cheap +and scant. There were two windows, side by side, which opened upon a +little court or area-way closed in by high walls, topped by an ugly and +formidable iron chevaux-de-frise, which would be equally effective in +preventing any one getting in or getting out.</p> + +<p>She soon exhausted the interest of this limited prospect, and, turning +back to the room, spent a long half-hour wandering about it, looking at +this and that, endeavouring to keep her thoughts occupied. She was +vaguely uneasy, a feeling of oppression weighed upon her, and from +moment to moment she <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>caught herself listening for some sound, but the +house was absolutely still. Finally she drew a chair to one of the +windows, and sitting down, stared out again into the little court. It +was dark and damp and well-like and apparently never swept, for its +pavement was littered with rubbish. Again she caught herself listening, +her head half-turned. But she heard no sound. It must be past the middle +of the afternoon; she should be getting home to set their rooms in +order, for to-night Dan was coming....</p> + +<p>And again she was listening, rigid, breathless in her chair. There was +no sound; but suddenly, with nerves a-quiver, she sprang to her feet, +crossed the room and swept back the hangings at the door. She was +surprised to find that the door itself had been closed. She turned the +knob, but the door did not open; she shook it, but it held fast. And +then she realised that it was locked.</p> + +<p>It was a moment before she understood. Then, very quietly, she crossed +the room to another door and tried it. She had expected it to be locked +also, but to her surprise it opened. Beyond it was a bedroom, also with +a window opening on the walled court, and beyond the bedroom was a +windowless bathroom. There were no other doors.</p> + +<p>She returned to the outer room and again tried the door, testing it +cautiously but firmly with her whole strength. Yes; there could be no +doubt of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>it—she was locked in. She went to one of the windows, raised +the sash and looked out. It was at least a twelve-foot drop to the +flagged pavement of the court. That might be managed with the help of +the bed-clothes, but there remained the high wall and the threatening +iron spikes. Below her, she could see that a small door opened from the +court into the basement of the house, but it had no other exit.</p> + +<p>She found the fresh air welcome, and sat down, at last, before the open +window. She was much calmer than she had been; now that she was face to +face with danger, the feeling of oppression vanished and her courage +rose. She was a Pole, she had been trained in a hard school, she was not +afraid. No, she repeated passionately to herself, she was not afraid; +and how she hated that smooth-tongued German, with the cold eyes and +smiling lips! Treacherous! Treacherous!</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>"If you will come this way," said Pachmann, and Vard tramped after him +up the stair to a room on the second floor.</p> + +<p>The Prince was already there, standing at the window, hands in pockets, +staring moodily out.</p> + +<p>"Be seated, Mr. Vard," said Pachmann. "My dear Prince, will you not sit +down?"</p> + +<p>The Prince flung himself into a chair.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>"And now, Mr. Vard," went on Pachmann, sitting down very deliberately +face to face with the inventor, "our answer is ready for you."</p> + +<p>"Very well; let me have it," snapped Vard, twitching with impatience.</p> + +<p>"We refuse to accept your conditions."</p> + +<p>For an instant there was silence, then Vard leaped to his feet, his face +livid.</p> + +<p>"So you have been playing with me!" he cried. "Well, I suspected it! And +you shall pay! Oh, you shall pay!" and he turned blindly to the door.</p> + +<p>"One moment!" called Pachmann, and his voice had in it a ring of command +which Vard had never heard before. "Sit down. I have still something to +say."</p> + +<p>"I do not care to hear it."</p> + +<p>"That is nothing to me. You <i>shall</i> hear it!"</p> + +<p>With a glance of contempt, Vard strode to the door and turned the knob; +but it did not open. He wrenched at it madly, but it held fast. In two +strides he confronted Pachmann.</p> + +<p>"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"The meaning," replied the Admiral sternly, "is that you are a prisoner +here until I choose to release you. Now will you sit down?"</p> + +<p>Vard stood for a moment, his face deadly white, his hands clasping and +unclasping convulsively, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>staring down into Pachmann's leering eyes; +then he went slowly back to his chair.</p> + +<p>"That is right," said the German. "It will be best to take this calmly. +In the first place, I want you to realise that you are wholly in my +power. Nothing that occurs in this house will ever be known to the +outside world. If you should fail to reappear, there will be no one to +trace you. You will remember that we have your daughter also. And I say +to you in all seriousness, and as emphatically as I can, that neither +your life nor your daughter's life will cause me to turn aside or even +to hesitate. I would kill you with my own hands, and then your +daughter—yes, and a thousand like you, if need be—rather than that +this chance should be lost to Germany. I say to you, then, that either +you will consent to my proposal, or both you and your daughter will +suffer the utmost consequence."</p> + +<p>Vard's eyes had never left the speaker's face, nor had any colour come +back into his own. But at the last words he laughed contemptuously.</p> + +<p>"It is useless," he sneered. "I am not one to be frightened."</p> + +<p>"I am not trying to frighten you—I warn you."</p> + +<p>"Your warning is useless. I reply to you in all seriousness that neither +my life, nor my daughter's life—no, nor the lives of a thousand like +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>us!—would persuade me to put this power in your hands. But you dare +not kill me. In this brain, and there alone, is the great secret."</p> + +<p>"You forget," Pachmann reminded him, "that in your baggage is a complete +machine. We do not really need you."</p> + +<p>At the words, Vard burst into a shout of mad laughter. Pachmann watched +him, and his face fell into haggard lines.</p> + +<p>"So that is it!" jeered the inventor, when he had got his breath. "So +that is the great plot! Well, Pachmann, to that I answer, 'Checkmate!' +Go, get the baggage! You are welcome to all you find there!"</p> + +<p>"You mean the machine is not there?" demanded Pachmann, thickly.</p> + +<p>"Just that!"</p> + +<p>"Where is it then?"</p> + +<p>Gazing into his adversary's bloodshot eyes, Vard had another burst of +strangling laughter.</p> + +<p>"I have already told you," he said. "In this brain—there alone—there +alone!" His face was red now, strangely red, and his words were queerly +jumbled.</p> + +<p>Pachmann sat looking at him for a moment, then he rose.</p> + +<p>"We shall soon see if you are speaking the truth," he said. "Whether you +are or not makes no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>difference. If there is no machine in your baggage, +you shall construct for us another."</p> + +<p>"Oh, shall I!" screamed Vard, also springing to his feet. "Shall I! How +good of you, that permission!"</p> + +<p>"You shall construct another!" repeated Pachmann, between clenched +teeth. "Oh, you will be glad to consent, once I turn the screw! Come, +Prince."</p> + +<p>He tapped at the door, and there came from outside the scrape of a +sliding bolt. Then, standing aside for the Prince to pass, he looked +once at Vard, and turned to cross the threshold.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<h2>THE TURN OF THE SCREW</h2> +<br /> + +<p>It was a moment later that Kasia Vard, still sitting at the window +staring out into the court, searching desperately through her brain for +some plan of escape, was brought quivering to her feet by a shrill +scream, followed by the sound of a terrible struggle on the floor above. +There was a heavy tramping to and fro, the thud of falling furniture, a +dull crash that shook the house—and then silence. It was over in a +moment, but she stood rigid for a moment longer, her hands against her +heart, then she flew to the door and wrenched at the knob.</p> + +<p>The door did not yield. Panting with excitement, she snatched up a chair +and drove it with all her strength against the lower panel. The chair +flew to pieces in her hands, but the door held firm. And then, as she +looked about for another weapon, she heard the sound of a sliding bolt, +the door swung open, and Pachmann entered. He looked at her and at the +broken chair, and smiled slightly.</p> + +<p>"I come to reassure you, Miss Vard," he said, "since I suppose you must +have heard the noise of our little combat. No one was injured; but your +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>father, after a burst of rage at finding himself in our hands, during +which we found it most difficult to control him, has had what appears to +be an epileptic seizure. Is he subject to epilepsy?"</p> + +<p>"I have known him to have two attacks," said Kasia, in a low voice, with +a shuddering remembrance of the desperate crisis at which each had come.</p> + +<p>"There is nothing to be done, I think, except to loosen his clothing and +bathe his head and wrists?"</p> + +<p>"No—that is all." Mechanically her hands were smoothing her disordered +hair.</p> + +<p>"And there is, of course, no danger. Nevertheless, you may wish to go to +him."</p> + +<p>"I do wish it."</p> + +<p>"Then come with me," and he led the way up the stair. "Your father is in +there," he said, pointing to an inner room. "I will bring some water."</p> + +<p>Kasia, with white face, passed into the inner room. Her father had been +placed on a bed, and lay on his back, his eyes rolled up, breathing +heavily. His hands were tightly clenched, but already the spasm was +passing and the muscles relaxing. Almost at once, Pachmann appeared at +the door, handed her a basin of water and then withdrew.</p> + +<p>Under her ministrations, the breathing of the unconscious man grew +softer and softer, the hands unclosed, the eyelids drooped, and finally +his head fell over on one side and he slept. Kasia, watching him <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>for a +few moments, assured herself that all was well, then turned out the +light, returned to the outer room and closed the door.</p> + +<p>Pachmann was sitting at the window, staring idly out at the deepening +shadows. He arose at once at the sound of her entrance.</p> + +<p>"Miss Vard," he said, "there is something I wish to say to you. Will you +not sit down?" and he placed a chair for her. "What I have to say is +most serious, and whatever your feeling of ill-usage may be, I hope you +will try to look at the matter also a little from my side. The situation +is this: Your father, as you doubtless know, is the inventor of a +mechanism which will make the nation possessing it mistress of the +world. That nation must be Germany. Apart from my ambition for my +country and my love of her, I believe that she is the nation best fitted +to possess it. At any cost, it must be hers—no cost can be too great; a +hundred lives, a thousand lives, millions of treasure—all these would +be sacrificed gladly, without hesitation. You understand?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Kasia. "I think I understand."</p> + +<p>"It is your father's dream, as I suppose you also know," Pachmann +continued, "to bring about a world-wide peace by causing all nations to +strike hands together in a sort of universal brotherhood. He demands +that, to enter this brotherhood, Germany relinquish her share of Poland +and restore Elsass and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>Lorraine to France. He requires, too, the +virtual abdication of our ruling house. To such conditions Germany +cannot consent. Rather than that, we should prefer a hundred times the +present status. For Germany has nothing to fear from the future.</p> + +<p>"Now, Miss Vard, let me say at once that I regard your father's dream as +a dream and nothing more. It cannot be realised. There is only one way +in which world-peace can be secured—let your father consent to place +this power in our hands, and there will be no more war—or, at most, +only one very short and decisive war. If your father is in earnest, if +he is not mad, he will consent to this proposal. I need hardly add that, +if he does consent, he has only to name his own reward—Germany will pay +it gladly. Wealth, position, the suzerainty of a nation—all this +Germany is prepared to grant."</p> + +<p>"You have placed this before him?" Kasia asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes; it was placed before him at much greater length at our second +conference."</p> + +<p>"And he refused?"</p> + +<p>"He refused; but we cannot take that refusal."</p> + +<p>"Why do you tell me all this?"</p> + +<p>"I tell you this, Miss Vard," answered Pachmann earnestly, "because I +wish you to understand that in what may seem to you treachery and +persecution, I am but fighting for my country. For her, I hesitate at +nothing. Then, too, I wish you to know what our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>position is. If you +will think of it, I believe you will find it an honourable position, and +one which will bring peace to the world, and quickly. I hope that, after +full consideration, you will decide to speak to your father. Perhaps to +you he might listen."</p> + +<p>"No, he would not listen," said Kasia, calmly; "and I shall not speak; +or, if I do, it will be to urge him to continue to defy you. Do you +imagine that any threat, any torture, could compel him to place the +world at the mercy of your Kaiser? You do not know him, Mr. Pachmann."</p> + +<p>"That is your final answer?" Pachmann asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>He rose.</p> + +<p>"Then I shall have to request you to return to the room below."</p> + +<p>"One moment, Mr. Pachmann," said Kasia. "I wonder if you realise how +dangerous is this game you are playing? You are not in Germany; you +cannot kidnap two people here in New York, even by the Emperor's order, +without some inquiry being made."</p> + +<p>"Who will make it? No one knows that you were on the <i>Ottilie</i>; your +room was empty, your names were not among the list of passengers; to all +inquiries the reply will be made that you did not cross with the boat. +No one knows that you are in New York."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>"You are mistaken," retorted Kasia, her cheeks flushed. "One man knows. +I am to meet him this evening."</p> + +<p>"Ah! but when he finds you not at home, when he inquires of our company, +he will conclude that you missed the boat."</p> + +<p>"He will know better, because he crossed with us."</p> + +<p>Pachmann stared at her, his brows contracted; then a slow smile broke +across his lips.</p> + +<p>"I remember now," he said. "I did, on one occasion, observe you talking +to a young man. No doubt it is to him you refer."</p> + +<p>"Yes—and he has a power at his disposal which even you may fear."</p> + +<p>Pachmann chuckled.</p> + +<p>"The power of the press, is it not?" he asked. "Be at rest, Miss Vard. +He will not use it against us. He will walk into our net at seven +o'clock this evening! You may be sure that now he will not be permitted +to escape!"</p> + +<p>In spite of herself, Kasia turned pale. Herself and her father she was +prepared to sacrifice—they had played for a great stake and had been +outwitted. But Dan! That he, too, should be drawn into the whirlpool and +sucked down and destroyed! She turned faint at the thought. Then she +pulled herself up sharply, for Pachmann's gimlet eyes were upon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>her, +glittering with comprehension, reading her face, while on his own there +was an expression of infernal triumph. She shivered as she looked at +him.</p> + +<p>"Have you anything else to say, Miss Vard?" he asked, with a leer.</p> + +<p>"No," said Kasia, and turned to the door, anxious to hide her face, to +escape from him, to be alone with her thoughts.</p> + +<p>"Then please come with me."</p> + +<p>She stepped first to the inner door and glanced at her father. He was +sleeping peacefully. Then she followed Pachmann down the stair. At the +door of her room he paused.</p> + +<p>"By the way, Miss Vard," he said, still leering, "it is useless for you +to fatigue yourself by endeavouring to break this door. It is +strengthened on the outside by a sheet of steel—behold." He swung the +door for her to see, then held it open for her. "I will have your dinner +sent in to you," he added, and Kasia heard the bolts shot into place +again.</p> + +<p>Half an hour later, a bearded giant in livery brought in a tray +containing a very appetizing meal, set it on the table, and retired. +Kasia realised suddenly that she was very hungry, for she had had +nothing to eat since breakfast. There was certainly nothing to be gained +by starving herself—that, she told herself with a shiver, might come +later!—so she washed hands and face at the basin in the bathroom, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>straightened her hair, and at last sat down to the meal with a calmness +which surprised even herself. She ate deliberately and well, and when, +at last, she pushed her cup away, it was with a sense of renewed +strength and courage.</p> + +<p>Once more she examined the room minutely, but there was no exit save by +the steel-lined door. The windows remained, but they opened into that +well-like court, with walls surmounted by bristling iron. Yet she was +strong and agile; perhaps ... perhaps....</p> + +<p>She snapped out the light, went to the open window and peered out. It +was very dark in the shadow of those walls, but she remembered precisely +how it looked; she remembered the door opening into the basement, just +beneath the window. If it should, by any chance, be unlocked. But that +was foolish to expect. Perhaps it would be possible to twist a rope from +the bed-clothes and throw it up over the chevaux-de-frise; but even then +there would be a long hand-over-hand climb to accomplish; and the barbed +and pointed spikes had looked very formidable. In any event, she had the +whole night before her; she must not act hastily; she must wait and +watch; perhaps some other means would present itself; perhaps Dan....</p> + +<p>And then the pain of recollection stabbed through her. Dan could do +nothing; Dan was to be himself <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>entrapped; and yet, how could that be? +Perhaps Pachmann was lying—and yet he had not seemed to be lying. He +had spoken confidently, triumphantly, gloatingly.</p> + +<p>She sat erect, listening, then stole to the door and placed one ear +against it. There were steps in the hall outside, steps which passed, +which mounted the stair....</p> + +<p>Perhaps that was Dan; yes, it must be after seven o'clock....</p> + +<p>She forced herself to sit again at the window, but her hands were +trembling. She stared out into the shadows of the little court and tried +to think. But thinking was so difficult; there was a dull ache at the +back of her eyes, and her throat felt dry and swollen. One thought ran +through her mind, over and over: Dan must not be sacrificed, Dan must +not suffer; even if Germany must triumph....</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly, from overhead, came the sound of a sharp scuffle and a +heavy fall. She fancied she could hear voices raised in anger. The slam +of a door echoed through the house. A moment later came a series of +savage blows, of rending crashes, as though the house itself was being +torn to pieces;—and then silence.</p> + +<p>Kasia stood as though turned to stone, listening, listening. Was it Dan? +Was it her father? What was happening in that room upstairs? What <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>did +that sudden silence mean? Her imagination pictured frightful things....</p> + +<p>And then, from overhead, she heard the pacing of swift feet, up and +down, up and down; back and forth a hundred times, as though driven by +some raging spirit, scourging, scourging. And then again silence.</p> + +<p>Horrible as the sounds had been, the silence frightened her still more; +it was filled with menace, it was charged with terror. Movement, +sound—those meant life, at least; silence might mean anything—might +mean death!</p> + +<p>She could endure it no longer. She ran wildly into the other room and +flung herself face-downward on the bed, covering her ears, burying her +eyes in the pillow....</p> + +<p>But the terror passed; and at last she rolled over and stared up into +the darkness and tried again to think. She must, must, must escape! Once +free, once in the street, she could summon aid, could raise the town, +could storm the house! But to escape! She pressed her hands to her +aching temples.</p> + +<p>And then a sound from the outer room brought her upright; she listened +with bated breath, pressing her hands against her breast to still the +beating of her heart. There it was again, stealthy, scraping....</p> + +<p>Slowly, cautiously, she stole to the door of the bedroom; the noise +again; and the sound of heavy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>breathing. And then her heart leaped +suffocatingly; for there against the grey light of the window was +silhouetted the figure of a man. In frantic terror, she sprang for the +switch, found it after an instant's frenzied groping, and turned on the +lights. The sudden flare blinded her; then her straining eyes saw who +stood there.</p> + +<p>"Dan!" she cried. "Dan!"</p> + +<p>He was standing on the window-sill, steadying himself by a knotted sheet +secured somewhere overhead; and at the sound of her voice, he reeled and +nearly fell. Then, with a face like ivory, he stooped and peered in +under the raised sash, rubbed his eyes, looked a second time, and with a +low cry, sprang into the room.</p> + +<p>"Kasia!"</p> + +<p>She was in his arms, close, oh! close to his heart.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Dan, Dan!" she sobbed. "I'm so glad—so glad!"</p> + +<p>And she kissed him with trembling lips.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + +<h2>THE VOICE AT THE DOOR</h2> +<br /> + +<p>It was nearly nine o'clock when Pachmann sat down to dinner that +evening, but he did so in an exceedingly pleasant frame of mind. He felt +that he had done a good day's work. In the first place, he had eluded +the spies; in the second place, he had enticed all the flies into the +web, where they were now securely entangled. There was just one way in +which they could regain their freedom; and that they would, in the end, +accept that way, the Admiral did not doubt.</p> + +<p>Protests were natural, at first; inevitable, indeed, until their +indignation at the trick played upon them had subsided somewhat; it was +also inevitable that there should be some heroics, some talk of honour, +self-sacrifice, and such tom-foolery. But these vapourings would soon +come to an end; a few hours of sober reflection would work wonders in +dissipating them. And if there was need, why, it would always be +possible to apply the screw—the screw of hunger, the screw of solitary +confinement, the screw of sleeplessness, of fear, of anxiety—and to +turn it gently, gently. Oh, victory was certain now!</p> + +<p>So Pachmann rubbed his hands together, mentally, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>at least, and enjoyed +his dinner immensely. It was a good dinner, but it did not seem to +appeal to Pachmann's table-companion. That was the Prince, summoned from +his room where he had sulkily immured himself, and obeying from force of +habit; but, strangely enough, his appetite, which was of a magnitude and +reliability characteristic of the Hohenzollerns, had evidently failed +him now. He trifled gloomily with the food, and drank more wine than was +good for him without any perceptible resultant lightening of spirit.</p> + +<p>Plainly something was seriously wrong, but if the Prince expected the +Admiral to make any anxious inquiries about his health, or to express +regret for the scene of an hour before, he was disappointed. Beyond +cocking an amused eye at him, now and again, the Admiral took no notice +of him. So it was the Prince who had to open the conversation, which he +did as soon as the servants had withdrawn.</p> + +<p>"Admiral Pachmann," he began, with heavy dignity, "I did not like the +way in which this evening you spoke of me. It appeared to me almost +insulting."</p> + +<p>"Insulting, Your Highness!" protested the Admiral. "You astonish me. I +imagined myself speaking most respectfully."</p> + +<p>"It was insulting," repeated the Prince doggedly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>"Surely you misunderstood me!" said the Admiral, with deep concern. "Let +me see—what was it I said? I do not remember the exact words, but it +was to the effect, was it not, that your health was threatened by +over-study and that the Emperor had instructed you to take a vacation?"</p> + +<p>"There was more than that."</p> + +<p>"I emphatically denied that there was any truth in that absurd rumour +about the bar-maid."</p> + +<p>"She was not a bar-maid."</p> + +<p>The Admiral laughed.</p> + +<p>"Was she not? Then I was misinformed. But that is a detail."</p> + +<p>"In addition to which," pursued the Prince, rather red in the face with +the knowledge that he was getting the worst of it, "I do not consider +that you are behaving honourably in this matter."</p> + +<p>"In what way?"</p> + +<p>"You brought Miss Vard and her father here, promising to give them an +answer."</p> + +<p>"And I gave them an answer, did I not?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—and then proceeded to imprison them."</p> + +<p>"I have no recollection of having promised not to do so."</p> + +<p>"But they trusted you."</p> + +<p>"The more fools they!"</p> + +<p>"They must be released," said the Prince, firmly. "I command it!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>Pachmann selected a cigar from the tray on the table with great care. +Then he lighted it, took a slow puff or two, and looked at the Prince.</p> + +<p>"Ah, you command it!" he said, thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Yes," repeated the Prince, "I command it!"</p> + +<p>"How I wish," sighed the Admiral, "that my heart was as young as yours, +my Prince! I would give much to bring that about! But, alas, it has long +since grown indifferent to red lips and bright eyes; this old heart of +mine has been hardened by forty years of service; it is capable, now, of +only one passion—but that is a fierce one."</p> + +<p>"And what is that?" the Prince inquired.</p> + +<p>"The passion for my country and for my King!" said the Admiral, and +saluted. "My house is not a great one, as you have had occasion to +remind me; but it is loyal! Its motto is, 'I love and I obey.' We are +proud of that motto, and we have never been false to it. As for myself, +I love my country as I have loved no woman; for her I would give my +life, my honour, and rejoice to do it! For my King, as you have seen, I +hesitate at nothing! Prince, sooner or later you must learn your +lesson—and the longer you defer it the more bitter it will be."</p> + +<p>"To what lesson do you refer?" asked the Prince, impressed in spite of +himself, as he gazed at the glowing face opposite him.</p> + +<p>"The lesson that never, never must red lips or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>bright eyes make you +false to your country or to your house, even in thought. You command +that I release these people at the moment when I touch success. And why? +Because you have been impressed with a girl's face."</p> + +<p>"It is a lie!" shouted the Prince, and started to his feet.</p> + +<p>The Admiral did not stir, only looked at him; but there was in his eyes +a frigid anger which turned the Prince cold.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, Admiral," he stammered. "It may be, in part at +least, the truth. But it is not the whole truth. Putting the girl aside, +I still think you should release them. One should not behave +dishonourably, even to one's enemies."</p> + +<p>"They are not my enemies, they are my country's," retorted the Admiral, +quickly; "and I would point out to you that one can never behave +dishonourably in serving one's country. In that service, there are no +questions of right and wrong; there is only one question—our country's +glory. Any good soldier could tell you that! But perhaps you consider it +murder to kill a man in battle, or theft to take the enemy's supplies?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the Prince, flushing at the mordant irony; "but that is +different—that is war. In time of peace—"</p> + +<p>"There is no time of peace," broke in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>Admiral, impatiently. "Only +fools believe so. Every thinking man knows that it is war, war, every +day of every week. We manœuvre for advantage, we build secret +defences, we perfect plans of attack, we prepare night and day for the +onset—just as we are preparing at this moment. For what purpose do you +imagine that Germany maintains this house, with its grated windows and +steel-lined doors and heavy bolts, as of a prison? For just such +purposes as this! For the detention of her enemies. And it has been used +many times—many, many times! And now," he added, in a voice as hard as +steel, "as a reparation for your insult, I will ask you to return at +once to the consulate, to go to your apartment there, and to remain in +it until I see you in the morning. If you are wise, you will employ the +night in pondering carefully what I have said to you."</p> + +<p>White with humiliation, the Prince bowed, and stalked from the room. A +moment later, the slam of the front door denoted that he had left the +house. Pachmann sat for a moment longer, his lips curled in a sardonic +smile. Then he touched a bell. A burly fellow in livery answered it.</p> + +<p>"Arm yourself," said Pachmann, "and bring your comrade."</p> + +<p>The man was back again in a moment, bringing another giant with him. +Each had, strapped about his waist, an ammunition-belt from which +depended <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>in its holster a heavy revolver. They saluted and stood at +attention, while the Admiral looked them over.</p> + +<p>"You will stand guard in the lower hall to-night," he said, at last; +"turn and turn about, one sleeping on the floor at the stair-foot and +with the hall fully lighted. Under no pretext, will you permit any one +to enter the house or leave it. In case of any disturbance, of any +suspicious circumstance, however slight, you will summon me at once. You +have revolvers—do not hesitate to use them in case of need—even +against a woman. You understand? Good! Has there some baggage come?"</p> + +<p>"Two pieces, sir."</p> + +<p>"Clear the table and bring them up to me." He leaned back and finished +his cigar, while the men clumsily cleared the table and placed two +battered suit-cases upon it.</p> + +<p>"The servants who prepared the dinner have departed?" the Admiral asked.</p> + +<p>"They departed some time ago, sir."</p> + +<p>"You are sure that all doors and windows are secured?"</p> + +<p>"We have just made the round, sir."</p> + +<p>"And the young lady?"</p> + +<p>"We have heard nothing from her, sir."</p> + +<p>"The young man?"</p> + +<p>"I glanced in at him, sir, some time ago. He was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>lying on his bed, with +his eyes closed, but I do not think he slept."</p> + +<p>"Did he have dinner?"</p> + +<p>"We had no orders to that effect, sir."</p> + +<p>"Good; let him go hungry. You will serve him no food until I order it. +That is all."</p> + +<p>They saluted and withdrew.</p> + +<p>Pachmann turned to a leisurely examination of the suit-cases. They were +unlocked, and he soon found the queer box with sides of glass lined with +tin-foil. He snatched it up eagerly, but after a glance at it, his face +fell.</p> + +<p>"So he was telling the truth!" he muttered. "Well, so much the worse for +him!"</p> + +<p>Nevertheless he examined the box attentively, with minute concentration, +noting the arrangement of the interior plates, the scheme of +wiring—each detail. Then, with it in his hand, he left the room, saw +that his men were on guard, mounted to the upper story, unbolted a door +there and entered. Closing the door carefully behind him, he switched on +the lights, placed the box on the table, and entered the room beyond. +Here, too, he turned on the lights, and stood for a moment contemplating +the occupant of the bed, who returned his gaze steadily, with glittering +eyes.</p> + +<p>"You are awake, then, my dear Vard?" said the Admiral, at last.</p> + +<p>"As you see."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>"You are feeling better, I trust?"</p> + +<p>"I am quite well."</p> + +<p>"You have had dinner?"</p> + +<p>"I cared for none."</p> + +<p>"I wish to talk with you for a few minutes."</p> + +<p>"It would be a waste of time."</p> + +<p>Pachmann paused to look again at the glittering eyes, and the thought +flashed through his mind, as it had done more than once before, that he +had to do with a madman. An inspired genius, perhaps, but mad, +nevertheless. Pachmann knew that there was about madness a certain +childishness, and he determined to humour it.</p> + +<p>"For you, perhaps, it would be waste of time," he said, approaching the +bed and sitting down; "but not for me. My life-work has been the study +of electrical energy as applied to war, and I fancied myself fairly well +informed, when, suddenly, you come and prove to me that I know nothing. +That morning, ten days since, when I stood on the quay at Toulon and saw +a great battleship reduced to a twisted wreck, I realised my ignorance, +and my heart glowed with admiration for you, my master."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am your master," and Vard raised himself upon one elbow. "Even +here, your prisoner, I am still your master."</p> + +<p>"I admit it. And I have a proposal to make to you."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>"I have no confidence in your proposals."</p> + +<p>"Yet listen to this one. Place this power at the Emperor's service, and +he will name you ruler of any nation you choose—of this one, if it +pleases you—and leave you to govern it as seems best to you, without +interference of any kind. Think, my friend, what a destiny—free to +embody your own ideas in the government of what is in some ways the +greatest nation on earth; free to make a paradise here, if you can. And +if you succeed, your dream comes true, for all the other nations of the +world will follow."</p> + +<p>Vard gazed at the speaker with wistful eyes.</p> + +<p>"It <i>could</i> come true," he said. "It <i>could</i> come true; it could not +fail. But you are too blind, too selfish, too narrow. You are only a +German."</p> + +<p>"And you?"</p> + +<p>"I am a Pole—that is to say a citizen of no country and of every +country."</p> + +<p>"But you love that country, even though it does not exist?"</p> + +<p>"Aye—more than you love yours."</p> + +<p>Pachmann was silent a moment, thinking deeply.</p> + +<p>"Listen, my friend," he said, at last. "I desire to meet you; I will +come along the road toward you as far as I am able."</p> + +<p>"Yes?"</p> + +<p>"I agree to reconstitute Poland. You shall have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>a country again, and +shall be its ruler, if you choose."</p> + +<p>The eyes of the inventor glowed for an instant, and then the glow faded +and he shook his head.</p> + +<p>"You have betrayed me once," he said; "you would betray me again. I will +never place this power in the hands of your Emperor. He has already +shown how he would use it."</p> + +<p>"You refer to <i>La Liberté</i>?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I alone am responsible for <i>La Liberté</i>. It was I who chose that +test—not the Emperor."</p> + +<p>"You!" said Vard hoarsely, and a slow flush mounted to his cheeks. +"You!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I!" and Pachmann cast at the other a mocking and triumphant look. +"It was I who compelled your consent; it was I who arranged the details; +it was I who assumed the whole burden. For I was determined that even +the first test should be of benefit to Germany—and it was! However you +may wish it, you cannot restore <i>La Liberté</i>!"</p> + +<p>Vard was staring at the speaker with hollow eyes, his face convulsed.</p> + +<p>"Did not the Kaiser know?" he questioned.</p> + +<p>"No one knew but Von Tirpitz, and he was panic-stricken. He is old and +timid—but I convinced him—I won him over—he could not resist me. Even +then, his heart failed him at the last, and he tried to stop me. +Luckily, his telegram was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>delayed—or I should have been compelled to +disobey my superior officer. Oh, I admit that it was rash of me," +Pachmann added, his face glowing; "I admit that I was risking +everything—life, honour, everything; but success excuses rashness—and +I succeeded!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed the inventor, slowly, "you succeeded!"</p> + +<p>"After that," went on Pachmann, "it was too late to turn back, even had +any one wished to do so. Now it is for me to finish this affair."</p> + +<p>"How do you propose to finish it?"</p> + +<p>Pachmann shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"You are in my hands," he said, "you and your daughter. Heretofore I +have been lenient with you, I have been good-natured; I hoped that we +might reach some agreement, and I have tried to meet you half-way. But +my good nature is at an end; I withdraw all my offers. I demand that you +place your secret at Germany's disposal."</p> + +<p>"And if I refuse?"</p> + +<p>"I shall turn the screw!" answered Pachmann, and there was cold menace +in his eyes and in his voice.</p> + +<p>Vard had raised himself to a sitting posture. Now he swung his feet off +the bed.</p> + +<p>"I too have a demand to make," he said, his voice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>a mere whisper. "My +patience also is at an end. I demand my freedom and that of my +daughter."</p> + +<p>"What do you offer in exchange?"</p> + +<p>"I offer nothing in exchange!" said Vard, and rose slowly to his feet. +"I intend to offer my services to France!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann looked at him—at his bent and wasted figure, his shaking +hands, his trembling knees—a mocking light in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"My dear friend," he sneered, "you are mad—quite mad! I have suspected +it from the first!"</p> + +<p>"You are <i>not</i> mad, M. Vard," said a pleasant voice at the threshold. +"And you have your freedom. France accepts your services!"</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + +<h2>CROCHARD, THE INVINCIBLE!</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Pachmann jerked round with an oath. At the first glance, he thought it +was the Prince who stood there, though it had not been the Prince's +voice. A second glance undeceived him. There was, it is true, a certain +puzzling resemblance to the Prince, but this man was more strongly +built, more graceful—and the Prince could never smile like that! And +then, with a little bow, the newcomer removed the broad-brimmed hat +which shadowed his face, and, with a sudden feeling of sickness, +Pachmann recognised him.</p> + +<p>But the Admiral was a brave man, with a nerve not easily shaken; +besides, the odds were all in his favour! Yet he realised the need for +all his resource, all his self control. At the end of a moment, he rose +slowly, almost carelessly.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, sir?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"Do you not know me?" laughed the stranger. "Surely, yes! I saw your +eyes penetrate this slight disguise. I crossed with you on the +<i>Ottilie</i>, Admiral, as André Chevrial. I believe you even did me the +honour to convince yourself that that was really my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>name. I am, +however, better known in Paris as Crochard, L'Invincible!"</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Pachmann, with a tightening of the brows, "a spy, then?"</p> + +<p>"No, Admiral; a patriot like yourself."</p> + +<p>"And your business here?"</p> + +<p>"I have already stated it: to accept for France the services of this +incomparable man."</p> + +<p>Something flashed in Pachmann's hand, but even as he jerked up his arm, +there was a soft impact, and a revolver clattered to the floor. Crochard +sprang for it, seized it, and slipped it into his pocket.</p> + +<p>"I was expecting that," he said, still smiling. "Now we can talk more at +our ease," and he came into the bedroom, closed the door, placed a chair +against it, and sat down. "Pray be seated, M. Vard," he added +courteously to the inventor. "And you, Admiral."</p> + +<p>Pachmann, white with pain, was nursing a numbed and nerveless hand. He +sat down slowly, his eyes on the face of his antagonist.</p> + +<p>"You should admire this weapon, Admiral," Crochard went on, extending +for his inspection what looked like an ordinary revolver. "It is a most +useful toy, of my own invention—or, perhaps, I would better say adapted +by me from an invention of that ingenious Sieur Hyacinthe, who was +pistol-maker to the Great Louis. Should you ever visit Paris, I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span>should +be charmed to show you the original at the Carnavalet. This embodies +some improvements of my own. It can, as you have seen, discharge, almost +noiselessly, a disabling ball; it can also, not quite so noiselessly, +discharge a bullet which will penetrate your body, and which no bone +will stop or turn aside. Should you open your mouth to shout, I can, +still with this little implement, fling into your face a liquid which +will strike you senseless before your shout can come, or a poison a +single breath of which means death. And I assure you, my dear Admiral, +that I shall hesitate no more than you to use any of these Agencies +which may be necessary."</p> + +<p>Pachmann listened, glowering; but, he told himself, he was not yet +defeated; and he sat rubbing his hand and measuring his adversary.</p> + +<p>"What do you imagine to be the exact nature of the services of which you +speak?" he asked, at last.</p> + +<p>"Their nature? Why, their nature will be of the same sort as those +already offered to your Emperor."</p> + +<p>"Yes?"</p> + +<p>"The position of leader in the movement for world-wide disarmament," +said Crochard, and smiled as Pachmann's lips whitened. "Ah, my dear +Admiral, your Emperor is too selfish, too ambitious—he has, as an +English poet puts it, that ambition which overleaps itself. He should +have accepted the arrangement which M. Vard proposed. That would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>have +been glory enough. But no; he must dream of being a greater than +Napoleon, of world-empire; and in consequence he will lose that which he +already has. But I foresaw it; I foresaw it from the moment M. Vard +stipulated that Alsace-Lorraine must be returned to France. I knew that +your Emperor was not great enough—that he has too small a soul—to +consent to that restitution!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann raised his head slowly.</p> + +<p>"So it was you who listened at the door, that night?" he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it was I. And it was I who discovered that you and a companion +whom I will not name waited for sunrise, one Monday morning, on the quay +at Toulon. For that, France must have revenge."</p> + +<p>Crochard's eyes were gleaming now, and there was no smile upon his lips. +Instead there was in his face a deadly earnestness, a fierce hatred, +before which Pachmann shrank a little.</p> + +<p>"She shall have it!" cried a voice from the bed, where Vard had been +bending forward, drinking in every word. "She shall have it!"</p> + +<p>"You hear?" said Crochard, and then he smiled again. "Ah, my dear +Admiral, it was a mistake to insist upon that test! It could have been +made, just as well, upon some old hulk of your own—and then France +would have had nothing for which to exact vengeance! I pity you; for it +is you and you alone, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>who have brought this retribution to your +country. From first to last, you have behaved like a fool in this +affair. It was you who betrayed her!"</p> + +<p>"I?" stammered Pachmann. "I? In what way? By what means?"</p> + +<p>"By means of the hundred-franc note with which you paid your reckoning +at Toulon. That was careless, Admiral; it was not like you. You should +have carried gold, not paper—that would have told no secrets. But bank +notes are numbered. And then, when you gave our friend here a packet of +similar notes—I do not see how you could expect to escape, after that!"</p> + +<p>Pachmann struck his forehead heavily with his open hand.</p> + +<p>"So it was that!" he groaned. "So it was that! Yes, I was a fool!"</p> + +<p>There was pity in the gaze which Crochard bent upon him. He could guess +what this good German suffered at that moment.</p> + +<p>"That was not your fault," he said, "so much as that of the person who +supplied you with those notes, after getting them directly from the Bank +of France. But, at this end of the journey, how clumsy you were! All +that haste, all that circling—and for nothing!"</p> + +<p>"You followed us, then?"</p> + +<p>"Why no!" laughed Crochard. "I had no need <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>to follow you. I had only to +be at your consulate at seven o'clock."</p> + +<p>Pachmann could only stare.</p> + +<p>"The appointment was made on the open deck," said Crochard; "I was +expecting it, and my ears are sharp! Well I was there at that hour, as +well as M. Webster—and you led me straight here! That was careless! +That was clumsy! After that, you deserved to fail!"</p> + +<p>"How did you enter here?" asked Pachmann, hoarsely. "My men—are they—"</p> + +<p>"They are on guard below, no doubt. But their eyes are not so keen as +yours nor their ears so sharp—and then my imitation of the Prince's +voice and manner was very good. I admit I kept my face somewhat in the +shadow. They passed me without question."</p> + +<p>Pachmann, with sudden intentness, scanned the other's garments.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they, at least, are genuine," laughed Crochard. "The Prince was +most indignant at having to remove them. My heart bled for him—but +there was no other way. Beyond a little tightness across the shoulders, +and a little looseness about the waist, they do very well."</p> + +<p>"The Prince is a prisoner?" Pachmann asked.</p> + +<p>"A hostage—to be released when I give the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>word. You should warn him to +choose his cabs more carefully—never, in a strange city, to take the +first that offers!"</p> + +<p>"Then," said Pachmann, his face livid, "you have confederates—you are +not alone!"</p> + +<p>"I have friends," Crochard assented, "who were happy to oblige me by +taking charge of the Prince. More than that I did not ask of them."</p> + +<p>"You mean," asked Pachmann, almost in a whisper, "that you are alone +here?"</p> + +<p>"Quite alone, my dear Admiral," Crochard assured him, and smiled +pleasantly.</p> + +<p>Pachmann regarded the speaker for another moment; then he drew a deep +breath, and a little colour crept back into his cheeks.</p> + +<p>"M. Crochard," he said, "or whatever may be your name, I admire your +dexterity and your daring. I wish Germany possessed a few such men as +you. Nothing, I suppose would tempt you—no wealth, no position?"</p> + +<p>"I am a Frenchman, monsieur," answered Crochard, quietly.</p> + +<p>Pachmann sighed.</p> + +<p>"I see I must abandon that project. I am sorry. For, let me warn you, +all your dexterity, all your daring, cannot get you alive out of this +house. If the Prince is a hostage for your safety, then he must be +sacrificed. So far as my own life is concerned, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>it is nothing. I have +two men below who, at a shout from me, or at the report of the shot +which kills me, will shoot you down as you attempt to descend the stair. +That is my order. There is from this house but one way out—the door by +which you entered. You may kill me—I shall welcome that!—but you +yourself will infallibly be killed a moment later."</p> + +<p>"That may be," said Crochard lightly, "but I am not so sure of it. At +any rate, if M. Vard is ready, I am prepared to make the trial."</p> + +<p>"I am ready!" cried the inventor, and sprang to his feet.</p> + +<p>Crochard rose and moved the chair from before the door. Pachmann, with a +steady eye, measured the distance between himself and the Frenchman.</p> + +<p>But Vard, his eyes blazing, stepped in front of the Admiral.</p> + +<p>"So this is your reward!" he sneered. "You, who would have betrayed me, +who would have made me infamous, shall yourself be infamous! Now it is +France's turn—for her I will produce a new instrument—"</p> + + +<p>"That is not necessary, M. Vard," broke in Crochard. "There need not be +even that small delay. I have the old one here," and he tapped the +pocket of his coat.</p> + +<p>"The old one!" echoed Vard. "But Kasia destroyed it!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>"It was not destroyed. I will explain. Are you quite ready? Then pass +out before me and await me in the outer room."</p> + +<p>Still staring, Vard opened the door. Then he sprang to the table with a +glad cry, and caught up the box which stood there.</p> + +<p>"It is complete again!" he cried. "It is—"</p> + +<p>With a hoarse shout, Pachmann leaped at Crochard's throat. But, in +midair, a spatter of liquid broke against his face, and his body hurtled +onward to the floor.</p> + +<p>And then, from the floor below, came an answering shout, a shot, the +clatter of heavy feet....</p> + +<p>With shining eyes, Crochard dropped on one knee beside his adversary, +and bent for a moment above the body. Then he sprang to his feet and +switched off the light.</p> + +<p>"Stand here!" he said, snatched the inventor to one side, and stood +facing the outer door.</p> + +<p>But it did not open. No further sound reached them.</p> + +<p>"Cowards!" muttered Crochard. "They wait in ambush! Well, let us see," +and, stealing to the door, he opened it softly, softly, bracing his knee +against it.</p> + +<p>Still there was no sound.</p> + +<p>Cautiously he peered out. The hall was empty.</p> + +<p>Noiselessly he crawled to the stair-head and looked <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>down. He could see +no one. But where were Pachmann's men—hiding somewhere in the hall +below, waiting for him to appear....</p> + +<p>He drew back with a little exclamation, for from somewhere below came +the groan of a man in pain.</p> + +<p>For a moment Crochard sat with bewildered face, trying to understand. +Then he sprang to his feet and went rapidly from door to door in the +upper hall. All of them were armed with heavy outside bolts, but only +one was fastened. He drew the bolts and opened the door a crack.</p> + +<p>"Is any one here?" he asked.</p> + +<p>There was no response, and, feeling for the switch, he turned on the +lights and looked in. The room was empty. But in an instant his eye had +seen three details—the shattered furniture, the disordered bed, the +open window.</p> + +<p>At the window, the corner of a sheet was tied securely to a hinge of the +heavy shutter, which had been pried open. Crochard touched it +thoughtfully and nodded. Then he peered down into the well-like court on +which the window opened. But he could see no movement there.</p> + +<p>He retraced his steps to the hall, and again peered cautiously from the +stair-head, and again heard that dismal groaning.</p> + +<p>"Come," he murmured; "there is not much to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span>fear from that fellow!" and +he resolutely descended, eyes alert, pistol in hand. Halfway down, he +stopped in amazement, for the front door swung wide open. But at last he +finished the descent and looked about him.</p> + +<p>Against the wall back of the stairs sat a burly figure, one hand pressed +to his shoulder. A red stream oozed between his fingers, and his dull +eyes showed that he was only half-conscious. He was groaning +spasmodically with each breath. Across from him was an open door, and +looking cautiously through it, Crochard perceived on the floor of the +room beyond a second burly figure, motionless on its back.</p> + +<p>"Upon my word!" he commented. "That young fellow does his work well! A +charming exploit! But we must not be found here!" And without waiting to +see more, he sprang back up the stair. Vard was standing where he had +left him, his beloved box clasped tightly against his breast, his eyes +staring straight before him, vacant and expressionless.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Crochard, and took his hand. "The way is clear. But we must +hasten."</p> + +<p>Vard went with him down the stair; but at the foot he paused.</p> + +<p>"And Kasia?" he asked.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span>"She is safe. Come. We will go to her."</p> + +<p>Obediently as a child, the white-haired man followed his companion out +into the night.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> + +<h2>THE ESCAPE</h2> +<br /> + +<p>That evening remains in Dan Webster's memory as the most crowded and +most glorious of his life. Its supreme moment was when Kasia Vard gave +herself into his arms and raised her lips to his in confession and +surrender, and it left them both dazzled and breathless; but at last +they were able to speak coherently.</p> + +<p>"So you are a prisoner, too?" Dan asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I suspected it. How splendid that I have found you!"</p> + +<p>"It was silly of me to be frightened—I might have known it was you!"</p> + +<p>"How could you have known?"</p> + +<p>"Admiral Pachmann told me he had set a trap for you."</p> + +<p>Dan glanced about the room quickly.</p> + +<p>"They must not know I am here," he said, lowering his voice.</p> + +<p>Kasia sprang to the switch and snapped out the lights. Then she took him +by the hand and led him to a couch in one corner of the room.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span>"If we sit here," she said, "and speak very low, no one can hear us."</p> + +<p>They sat down, but some moments passed before the conversation was +resumed.</p> + +<p>"Now we must be sensible," she said, drawing away from him. "They may go +into your room at any moment, or come in here."</p> + +<p>"That's true," Dan agreed. And then he remembered. "Kasia," he said, +hoarsely, "some one stole the box, after all!"</p> + +<p>He heard her quick gasp of dismay.</p> + +<p>"Not Pachmann!" she cried.</p> + +<p>"No, not Pachmann; I don't know who it could have been, unless it was +that fellow Chevrial," and he rapidly told her the whole story. "I know +I was an awful chump to let Chevrial put it over me like that," he +concluded. "Once we're out of here, I'm going to scour New York for +him."</p> + +<p>"Don't take it so to heart!" she protested, pressing his hand. "It +wasn't any fault of yours; and besides it doesn't matter so much, since +it wasn't Pachmann. Perhaps we can get it back—if we can't, why father +will make another! Come," she added, rising, "the first thing is to +escape. Can we get over the wall?"</p> + +<p>"It looked pretty formidable; but I don't see what else we can do. We +can't fight our way out—I haven't anything to fight with."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span>"No; that is too dangerous," agreed Kasia, quickly. "There's a regular +giant of a man on guard out there."</p> + +<p>"Two of them," said Dan. "I was an infant in their hands. Did you hear +me smashing things? There isn't much of the furniture left in that room +upstairs—and it did me good!"</p> + +<p>"I did some smashing myself," laughed Kasia; "there are the pieces of a +chair over there by the wall."</p> + +<p>Dan laughed in sympathy, with a heart surprisingly light. After all, it +was impossible to be either worried or frightened with her there beside +him!</p> + +<p>"I'll go down and reconnoitre the wall," he said. "How far is the +pavement below your window?"</p> + +<p>"Ten or twelve feet."</p> + +<p>"I'll need more rope."</p> + +<p>"My bed-clothes!" she cried. "We can make a rope from them."</p> + +<p>She ran into the bedroom, drew the blind at the window, and then turned +on the light.</p> + +<p>"No one can see us in here," she said, and began to strip the covers +from the bed. "Come in and shut the door, and they can't hear us +either."</p> + +<p>Dan paused an instant at the threshold; then, ashamed of his hesitation, +he entered and closed the door.</p> + +<p>"We can make a perfectly lovely rope of these," <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span>went on Kasia, her face +shining. "I happen to know how—we teach plaiting in our kindergarten on +the East side. First we must tear them into strips."</p> + +<p>At this Dan helped her, and then the plaiting began. In twenty minutes +as many feet of rough but serviceable rope was done.</p> + +<p>"Suppose I take a look around the court," Dan suggested, "while you +finish the plaiting. We'll need a lot of rope, if we have to go over the +wall, but perhaps there's some other way out."</p> + +<p>She went with him to the window, watched him as he tied the rope to the +shutter-hinge, tested it to make sure that it was safe, and kissed him +before he swung himself off. Then she leaned far over the sill and +looked down into his upturned face, all her love in her eyes. A moment +he hung there, gazing raptly up at her, then slipped down into the +darkness; and Kasia, with brimming heart, returned to her task.</p> + +<p>A very few minutes sufficed for Dan to convince himself that the only +way of escape from the court lay over the wall. He found the door +opening into the basement of the house, but it was a strong one and +securely bolted, as a pressure of the shoulder proved; and there was no +other entrance. The wall itself was not encouraging, for it was at least +twelve feet high, and at the top was that formidable iron defence. It +might be possible to throw their rope <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span>over one of the barbed points, +pull himself up, and draw Kasia up after him. Men had accomplished far +more difficult things than that to gain freedom!</p> + +<p>He groped for the rope, found it, and mounted hand-over-hand to the +window-sill, threw his arm over it, drew himself up—and hung there, +paralysed, staring at what lay within.</p> + +<p>Through the open door of the bedroom poured a stream of light, and +beyond, on the bed, sat Kasia, her head bent, her fingers busy with the +strips of cloth; and in the darkness of the outer room, peering in at +her, was dimly outlined a huge and threatening figure. Dan could see the +profile of the bearded face, half-turned away from him; could guess at +the leer upon it, the evil light in its eyes. Then slowly, slowly, it +drew closer to the bedroom door....</p> + +<p>With teeth set and heart flaming, Dan drew himself quickly upon the +sill, stepped lightly into the room, and crouched in the shadow of the +table. Had the giant heard? He peeped out cautiously. No, he was still +intent upon the working girl. But a weapon—he must have a weapon—and +Dan's agonised glance, sweeping the room, fell upon the débris of the +broken chair. Quickly he crept to it, and his fingers closed about one +of the heavy legs.</p> + +<p>Then, as he turned to seek the shelter of the table, Kasia glanced up +and saw that bearded face. Terror froze the smile upon her lips; terror +drained <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span>the strength from her limbs; terror strangled the cry in her +throat....</p> + +<p>"Dan—Dan—Dan!"</p> + +<p>And Dan, flaming with such rage as he had never known before, sprang +upright, sprang forward, and rising on tiptoe to get the whole weight of +his body into it, brought his club whirring down upon that shaggy head.</p> + +<p>Like a log the man fell, with a crash that echoed through the house, and +instantly from the hallway came a hoarse shout, the rush of heavy +feet....</p> + +<p>In that instant, Dan was possessed by a curious clairvoyance; he could +see Kasia, he could see his victim, he could see the room behind him, he +could see the hall with the other guard running along it; he knew +somehow that there was a pistol in the belt of the man who lay at his +feet, and, without conscious will of his own, his hand found it and +jerked it out.</p> + +<p>That other figure had reached the threshold, and Dan was conscious of +his red face and staring eyes and open mouth. He was conscious of a +hairy hand closing on a pistol-butt, and, again without willing it, he +jerked his own hand up and fired....</p> + +<p>And the next moment, with one arm about Kasia, he threw back the bolts +of the front door, flung it open, and fled down the steps into the +street.</p> + +<p>That was all Dan ever remembered of those fierce <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span>instants. They +appeared to him afterwards as a series of tableaux, each standing +distinctly by itself, unconnected with the past or with the future, and +he felt himself to be, not an actor in them, but a puppet moved by +wires. It was as though his brain had leaped from one mountain-top to +another, across intervening valleys buried in fog.</p> + +<p>But the instant his feet touched the pavement, the instant the fight was +won, his will asserted itself and his brain began again to work +connectedly. And the first thing he remembered doing was holding up his +hand and staring at it, astonished that it did not hold a pistol. He had +no recollection of having dropped it.</p> + +<p>"We must get help!" Kasia panted. "My father is there!"</p> + +<p>"The Prince and Pachmann are there, too," said Dan; "perhaps others." He +looked up and down the street. "I wonder where we are? There's the +elevated. Come along!"</p> + +<p>Together they sped to the nearest corner. It proved to be Ninth Avenue, +and there, in the shadow of the elevated, they found a policeman on +duty.</p> + +<p>It is true that Dan was not as coherent as he might have been and that +the story he told sounded like a pipe-dream; but the policeman was +undeniably slow of comprehension. At first he smiled good-naturedly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span>"Aw, youse run along home now," he said. "I'm onto youse!"</p> + +<p>"But, look here," Dan protested, "this is serious. I'm not drunk—I'm +just excited and scared. Now listen. There's a man held prisoner back +yonder by a lot of Germans, and I shot one of them and knocked another +down—and we've got to get him free...."</p> + +<p>"Tut, tut!" said the officer, and then he looked at Dan closely, and +then he looked at Kasia, and then he took off his helmet and scratched +his head. "See here, now," he said, finally, "I'll call headquarters, if +you say so—but if you are stringin' me...."</p> + +<p>"I'm not stringing you!" Dan cried. "And for heaven's sake be quick! +Every minute we waste...."</p> + +<p>The passers-by had begun to stop and stare curiously, and the thought +flashed through Dan's mind that he might collect a posse....</p> + +<p>But the patrolman had made up his mind.</p> + +<p>"Come along with me," he said, and led the way into the rear room of the +corner drugstore and telephoned to his station for instructions. He +enlarged somewhat upon the perils of the expedition, as Dan had +recounted them, and when he came out of the booth, it was with a +distinctly relieved air.</p> + +<p>"The sergeant says for us to wait here," he said, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span>"and he'll rush some +detectives up right away."</p> + +<p>"But we can't stay here!" Dan cried. "We've got to get back!"</p> + +<p>"When the sergeant tells me to do a thing, I do it," said the officer +composedly. "So I'm goin' to stay right here."</p> + +<p>Dan glared at him for a moment, and started to speak his mind, but +thought better of it.</p> + +<p>"Any objection to my waiting in front of the house?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The officer pondered a moment.</p> + +<p>"No, I guess not. Right down this street, you said?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; I didn't notice the number, but it's about half-way of the block. +I'll be waiting."</p> + +<p>"All right. Skip along."</p> + +<p>"I'm going too," said Kasia.</p> + +<p>Dan started to object—the danger was not over yet—but she was already +at the door.</p> + +<p>"Take the other side of the street," he called.</p> + +<p>She nodded, crossed the street, and sped along in the shadow. In a +moment they were opposite the house. Nothing apparently had changed +there. The front door stood open as they had left it, with the light +from the hall streaming out over the steps. The hall, so far as they +could see, was empty. There was no one on the stairs.</p> + +<p>Dan gazed at all this; then he shivered a little; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span>he did not understand +the emptiness and silence; and he was suffering with the reaction from +those crowded moments.</p> + +<p>"I don't like it," he said. "Where's Pachmann?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's not there."</p> + +<p>Dan stood staring a moment longer, then swung round at her.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to see," he said. "It was foolish to run away like that. I'm +ashamed of myself. Wait for me here."</p> + +<p>He crossed the street and mounted the steps. As he stepped into the +hall, a groan arrested him. In a moment, he perceived the man whom he +had shot lying, half conscious, against the wall. In the room beyond, +the other man was sitting up, rubbing his head and staring stupidly +about him. Dan took one look at him, then closed the door and bolted it.</p> + +<p>"And <i>that's</i> all right!" he said, and turned to find Kasia at his +elbow. He glared at her sternly. "I thought I told you to wait outside!"</p> + +<p>"With you in danger! What do you take me for?"</p> + +<p>Dan took one look into the shining eyes, then put his arm about her, +dragged her to him, and kissed her fiercely.</p> + +<p>"Refreshment for the heroic warrior on the field <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span>of battle," he +explained, before she could protest. "I don't think there's much danger; +but just the same you'll stay well in the rear, like a good girl! If +Pachmann's upstairs, we'll surely hear from him. He's certain to be +annoyed!"</p> + +<p>"Can't we do something for this poor fellow?" she asked, her eyes large +with pity for the groaning man.</p> + +<p>"The police will call an ambulance," said Dan. "There's nothing we can +do." On the floor beside the wounded man lay his revolver, and Dan +stooped and picked it up. "Now, remember, Gunga Din!" he added, "your +place is fifty paces right flank rear!"</p> + +<p>He started up the stair, cautiously at first, but more boldly as no +sound came from the upper floor. At the stair-head he hesitated. The +upper hall was empty, but just opposite him an open door disclosed a +dark room beyond. Still there was no sound, and, after a moment, he +stepped to the door and peered inside.</p> + +<p>"That was where they put my father," said Kasia. "He was lying on the +bed in there."</p> + +<p>Before he could stop her, she brushed past him and sped across the room. +Then with a frightened cry, she started back. Dan was by her side in an +instant.</p> + +<p>"Look!" she gasped, and pointed at the floor.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span>Dan saw a dim shape stretched across the inner threshold; then he +perceived that it was the body of a man. Pushing Kasia before him, he +returned to the outer door, fumbled for the switch and turned it. Yes, +it was the body of a man, lying on its face, its arms thrown above its +head. A strange odour greeted him as he bent above it—an odour which +made him curiously dizzy—but he managed to turn the body over.</p> + +<p>"Why, it's Pachmann!" he cried, and stared down at him with starting +eyes.</p> + +<p>It was not a pleasant sight. The Admiral's face was distorted with rage, +his lips curled savagely away from his teeth, his eyes were only +half-closed, his hands were clenched—and with it all, he was breathing +slowly and regularly, as though asleep.</p> + +<p>"He isn't dead, anyway," said Dan, and rubbed his eyes, for strange +clouds floated before them. "And he doesn't seem to be hurt," he added, +looking again. "I wonder what happened to him—he isn't a pretty sight, +is he? And where's your father?"</p> + +<p>"He's not here," said Kasia, and following her gesture, Dan saw that the +bed was empty.</p> + +<p>Together they hastened back to the hall and looked into the other rooms. +They were all empty.</p> + +<p>"Well, it beats me!" said Dan, at last, and stared down into the girl's +frightened face. "Your <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span>father isn't here, that's sure. It looks like he +either gave Pachmann his quietus with a solar plexus, or else Pachmann +just fell over on his face and went to sleep. Anyway, your father seems +to have escaped. But where's the Prince? Did they elope together?"</p> + +<p>"Why didn't father stop and look for me?" demanded Kasia.</p> + +<p>And then a light broke over Dan's face.</p> + +<p>"He did—and found you gone. Don't you see," he went on, excitedly, "it +must have been while we were fussing with that thick-headed cop. And +probably, when he didn't find you, he hurried on home...."</p> + +<p>But Kasia had already started for the stairs.</p> + +<p>Dan paused for a last look at the recumbent figure. Suppose the man +should die—suppose something had happened to the Prince—there would be +the German Empire to be reckoned with, and the reckoning would be a +serious one—serious for himself, for Kasia, above all for Vard! Very +thoughtfully he turned away, followed Kasia down the stair, passed along +the hall and through the open door. On the top step he paused and looked +up and down the street. The police were not yet in sight.</p> + +<p>With a little smile, Dan turned and pulled the door shut. Then he ran +down the steps after his companion.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span>"Let's go the other way," he said, as she turned toward Ninth Avenue. +"We may as well keep out of this. We can get the Subway just below +here."</p> + +<p>And in another moment, they had turned the corner.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Wherefore it happened that, when the patrolman, in company with three +detectives, who had been torn away from a game of pinocle and who were +consequently in no very pleasant humour, reached the centre of the +block, some minutes later, there was no one in sight.</p> + +<p>"He said he'd wait for us," said the patrolman, helplessly.</p> + +<p>The detectives looked about them, but there was no evidence of anything +unusual about any of the houses.</p> + +<p>"Which side of the street was it on?" one of them asked.</p> + +<p>"He didn't say," answered the patrolman.</p> + +<p>"Well, what <i>did</i> he say?"</p> + +<p>"Blamed if I know, exactly. He was so worked up—with his eyes stickin' +out, and his jaw shakin', and the girl hangin' on to his arm—but it was +something about kidnappin', and shootin' a man, and there bein' another +prisoner to rescue...."</p> + +<p>He stopped, for there was frank incredulity in the three pairs of eyes +fastened upon him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span>"He was stringin' you," said one of the detectives, at last.</p> + +<p>"Or else he had a jag," said another.</p> + +<p>"Dope, more likely," suggested the third. "Look here, Hennessey, don't +you ever git us up here again with no such cock-and-bull story! Come on, +boys!"</p> + +<p>They left Hennessey rubbing his head helplessly and staring at the +houses, one after another. He wasn't at all convinced that the strange +youth had been "stringing" him—his excitement had too evidently been +genuine; but if he was on the square, why had he run away?</p> + +<p>"Oh, hell!" said Hennessey, finally, and returned to his post at the +corner.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>And it was about that time that the 'phone at the German consulate rang, +and a pleasant voice advised that a physician be sent at once to the +house just off Ninth Avenue, as his services were badly needed there.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> + +<h2>COUNCIL OF WAR</h2> +<br /> + +<p>When Paris opened her eyes on the morning of Thursday, the twelfth of +October, it was to rejoice at one of those soft and beautiful days of +autumn which make of every house a dungeon to be escaped at the first +possible moment. Even as early as nine o'clock, a perceptible tide had +set in toward the Bois de Boulogne, or, rather, innumerable little +tides, which converged at the Place de la Concorde and rolled on along +the Champs-Elysées in one mighty torrent.</p> + +<p>Against this torrent, a sturdy and energetic figure fought its way +across the square; a figure carefully arrayed in black morning-coat and +grey trousers, and looking alertly about with a pair of very bright eyes +magnified by heavy glasses. The haughtiest of the carriage-crowd felt +honoured by his bow, for it was none other than that great diplomat, +Théophile Delcassé, Minister of Marine.</p> + +<p>M. Delcassé was not in the habit of being abroad so early; it was a full +hour before his usual time; but he had an appointment to keep which he +regarded as most important, so he strode rapidly across the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span>square, +entered the handsome building to the north of it, and mounted to the +first floor, where, on the corner overlooking the square on one side and +the Rue Royale on the other, he had his office.</p> + +<p>Early as it was, he found awaiting him the man whom he wished to see—a +thin wisp of a man, with straggling white beard and a shock of white +hair and a face no wider than one's hand, but lighted by the keenest +eyes in the world—in a word, Louis Jean Baptiste Lépine, Prefect of +Police, to whom full justice has not been done in this story—nor in any +other. M. Lépine had not found the hour early; to him, all hours were +the same, for he was a man who slept only when he found the time, which +was often not at all.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, my dear Prefect," said Delcassé, drawing off his gloves. +"I trust I have not kept you waiting?"</p> + +<p>"I but just arrived," Lépine assured him; "and I know of no better place +to pass one's idle moments than at this window of yours."</p> + +<p>Beyond it stretched the great square, with its obelisk and circle of +statues, its pavilions and balustrades; beautiful now, and peaceful, but +peopled with ghastly memories—for it was here the Revolution set up its +guillotine, and it was here that some four thousand men and women, high +and low, looked their last upon this earth, mounted the scaffold and +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span>passed under the knife. Surely, if any spot on earth be haunted, it is +this!</p> + +<p>Something of this, perhaps, was in the minds of these two men, as they +stood for a moment looking down into the square, for their faces were +very thoughtful; then Delcassé's eyes travelled from one to another of +the heroic figures representing the great towns of France—Lyons, +Marseilles, Brest, Rouen, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille—and came to rest upon +the last one, Strasbourg, hung with black and piled with mourning +garlands, in memory of the lost Alsace. Every morning, before he turned +to the day's work, M. Delcassé, standing at this window, gazed at that +statue, while he registered anew the vow that those garlands should one +day be replaced by wreaths of victory! That vow was his orison.</p> + +<p>His lips moved silently as he made it now, then he turned to his desk.</p> + +<p>"Be seated, my dear Lépine," he said. "I have much to discuss with you, +as you may guess. First about <i>La Liberté</i>. My Board of Inquiry will be +ready to report by Saturday. It has decided that the explosion was +caused by the spontaneous combustion of the 'B' powder, as was the case +with the <i>Jena</i>."</p> + +<p>"That theory will do as well as any other," said Lépine, curtly. "But +you and I know that it is not the true one."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span>Delcassé looked at him quickly.</p> + +<p>"Have you any news?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"None," answered Lépine, with a frown. "The man we sought has vanished +as completely as though the earth had swallowed him. I have found no +trace of him since he left the office of the Messrs. Cook, with two +passages for America in his pocket. I cannot understand it."</p> + +<p>"Have the tickets been returned?"</p> + +<p>"They have not been returned, and the Messrs. Cook, making inquiry at my +suggestion, have a report from the steamship company that they have not +been used."</p> + +<p>Delcassé turned this over in his mind.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the man and his daughter have met with some accident."</p> + +<p>"We should have heard of it," Lépine objected. "I have scrutinised every +report—viewed every body which at all resembled him."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Delcassé, "he has been suppressed, as one who knew too +much."</p> + +<p>"My own opinion is," said the Prefect, "that he has sought refuge in +Germany, until he can prepare for another demonstration against France."</p> + +<p>The Minister moved uneasily in his chair.</p> + +<p>"I have thought of that," he said, "and I am doing everything I can to +render such an attempt impossible—but it is a hard task—one can never +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span>be sure. There is another thing I wished to ask you. Where is +Crochard?"</p> + +<p>"I do not know, sir. I have not seen him since that morning at Toulon +when we parted outside the Hotel du Nord."</p> + +<p>"Then he, too, has disappeared?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, completely."</p> + +<p>"Has it never occurred to you, Lépine, to connect these two +disappearances?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I did connect them. You will remember in the note he left for me +he stated that he hoped soon to have some good news for us. But when +more than two weeks elapse and we hear nothing, I am forced to conclude +that he, too, has been baffled."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it was for me a hope, also—almost my only one," said Delcassé. "I +did not believe that he could fail. And if he has failed, do you know +what it means for France, Lépine? It means destruction. Oh, I have spent +sleepless nights, I have racked my brain! Germany's attitude is that of +a nation which desires war and which is ready to provoke it. You know, +of course, how strained the situation is?"</p> + +<p>"About Morocco?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. It has come to this: France and Germany are like two duellists, +face to face, sword in hand. Either they must fight, or one must +retreat—and with dishonour!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span>"France cannot retreat," murmured Lépine.</p> + +<p>"I have said the same thing a hundred times; and yet, at the bottom of +my heart, I know we cannot fight—not while this cloud of uncertainty +hangs over us. To fight, with this power in the hands of Germany, would +mean more than defeat—it would mean annihilation. There would be other +statues to be draped with black!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé's face was livid; he removed his glasses and polished them with +a shaking hand, and, for the first time, Lépine saw his bloodshot eyes. +Delcassé noticed his glance, and laughed grimly.</p> + +<p>"Only to you, Lépine, do I dare to show them," he said. "Before others, +I must crush this fear in my heart, bite it back from my lips; I must +appear unconcerned, confident of the issue. Only to you may I speak +freely. That is one reason I called you here. I felt that I <i>must</i> speak +with some one. Lépine, I foresee for France a great humiliation."</p> + +<p>Lépine looked at his companion with real concern.</p> + +<p>"You exaggerate," he said. "You have been brooding over it too long."</p> + +<p>Delcassé shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I do not exaggerate. This thing is so terrible that it cannot be +exaggerated. Even at this moment, Germany is preparing the blow. For the +past week, she has been extraordinarily active. Her fleets have coaled +hurriedly and put out to sea—for manœuvres, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span>it is said; but this is +not the season for manœuvres. Her shipyards have been cleared of all +civilians, and a cordon of troops posted about each one. The garrison of +every fortress along the frontier has been at least doubled, and the +most rigid patrol established. The police regulations are being enforced +with the greatest severity. Every city of the frontier swarms with +spies; even here in Paris we are not safe from them—my desk was rifled +two nights ago. I live in dread that any day, any hour, may bring the +news of some fresh disaster!"</p> + +<p>"And do our men learn nothing?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing! Nothing! All they can tell me is that something is preparing, +some blow, some surprise. Whatever the secret, it is well kept; so well +that it can be known only to the Emperor and one or two of his +ministers. We have tried every means, we have exhausted every resource, +all in vain. We know, in part, what is being done; of the purpose back +of it we know nothing. But we can guess—the purpose is war; it can be +nothing else!"</p> + +<p>Lépine sat silent and contemplated the rugged face opposite him—the +face which told by its lined forehead, its worried eyes, its savage +mouth, of the struggles, rebuffs, and disappointments of thirty years. +Always, out of disaster, this man had risen unconquered. Upon his +shoulders now was placed the whole of this terrific burden. He alone, of +the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span>whole cabinet, was fit to bear it; beside him, the others were mere +pigmies: Premier Caillaux, an amiable financier; Foreign Minister de +Selves, a charming amateur of the fine arts; War Minister Messimy, an +obscure army officer with a love for uniforms; Minister of Commerce +Couyba, a minor poet, tainted with decadence—above all these, Delcassé +loomed as a Gulliver among Lilliputians. But greatness has its +penalties. While the Minister of Foreign Affairs spent his days in +collecting plaques, and the Minister of War his in strutting about the +boulevards, and the Minister of Commerce his in composing verses, +Delcassé laboured to save his country—laboured as a colossus labours, +sweating, panting, throwing every fibre of his being into the +struggle—which was all the more trying, all the more terrific, because +he felt that it must go against him!</p> + +<p>"What would you suggest, Lépine?" Delcassé asked, at last. "Is there any +source of information which you can try?"</p> + +<p>Lépine shook his head doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"It is not a question of expense," Delcassé went on, rapidly. "A million +francs would not be too much to pay for definite information. We have +spent that already! We have had a Prince babbling in his cups; we have +had I know not how many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span>admirals and generals and diplomats confiding +in their suddenly complaisant mistresses; we have searched their hearts, +shaken them inside out—but they know nothing. Such and such orders have +been issued; they obey the orders, but they do not know their purpose. +They all talk war, shout war—Germany seems mad for war—and the +government encourages them. Their inspired journals assert over and over +that Germany cannot recede—that its position is final—that hereafter +it must be paramount in Morocco. And to-day—or to-morrow at the +latest—France must send her ultimatum."</p> + +<p>"What will it be?"</p> + +<p>"God knows!" and Delcassé tugged at his ragged moustache. "If it were +not for one thing, Lépine, I should not hesitate, I should not fear war. +France is ready, and England is at least sympathetic. But there is <i>La +Liberté</i>. What if Germany can treat our other battleships as she treated +that one? Yes, and England's, too! And if our battleships, why not our +forts, our arsenals ... Lépine," and Delcassé's lips were twitching, "I +say to you frankly that, for the first time in my life, I have fear!" He +fell a moment silent, playing nervously with a paper-knife he had +snatched up from his desk. "What would you suggest?" he asked again.</p> + +<p>And again Lépine shook his head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span>"What <i>can</i> I suggest!" he protested. "Where you have failed, what is +there I can do?"</p> + +<p>The knife snapped in Delcassé's fingers, and he hurled the fragments to +the floor.</p> + +<p>"There is one thing you can do," he said. "Find Crochard and bring him +to me."</p> + +<p>Lépine arose instantly.</p> + +<p>"I will do my best," he said, reaching for his hat. "If he is in France, +rest assured...."</p> + +<p>There was a tap at the door, and it opened softly.</p> + +<p>"I am not to be disturbed!" snapped the Minister, and then he stopped, +staring.</p> + +<p>For there appeared on the threshold the immaculate figure, the charming +and yet impressive countenance, for a sight of which the great Minister +had been longing; and then his heart leaped suffocatingly, for with the +first figure was a second—a man with white hair and flaming eyes and +thin, eager face....</p> + +<p>As Delcassé sprang to his feet, Crochard stepped forward.</p> + +<p>"M. Delcassé," he said, "it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you +a gentleman whom I know you will be most glad to meet——Ignace Vard."</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> + +<h2>THE ALLIANCE ENDS</h2> +<br /> + +<p>Delcassé's nostrils were distended and his eyes were glowing like those +of a war-horse scenting battle as he invited his visitors to be seated. +Only his iron self-control, tested on I know not how many hard-fought +fields of diplomacy, enabled him to speak coherently; never had it been +strained as at that moment.</p> + +<p>He sat down at his desk, and glanced from one face to the other.</p> + +<p>"I am indeed glad to meet M. Vard," he said, with a calmness that was no +less than a triumph; "and to see you again, M. Crochard. I had but this +moment charged M. Lépine to bring you to me."</p> + +<p>"Is it so serious as that?" asked Crochard, with a little smile.</p> + + +<p>"The situation could not well be more serious."</p> + +<p>"You refer, I suppose, to the Moroccan situation."</p> + +<p>"Yes. France must fight, or yield to Germany."</p> + +<p>Again Crochard smiled.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span>"No, no," he protested; "it is Germany which will yield!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé bounded in his chair, as his eye caught the glance which +Crochard bent upon him.</p> + +<p>"I knew it," he said, his face white as marble. "I guessed it—and yet I +scarcely dared believe it. But the moment you entered, bringing M. +Vard...."</p> + +<p>"M. Vard is a very great inventor," said Crochard. "He offered his +services to Germany, and she betrayed him; he now offers his services to +France."</p> + +<p>Delcassé glanced at the little man who sat there so still, so fragile, +with eyes which gleamed so fiercely and lips that trembled with emotion; +and he shivered a little at the thought that here was the man who had +struck a terrible blow at France.</p> + +<p>"I can see what you are thinking," Vard burst out. "You will pardon me, +if I speak English? I am more familiar with it than with French. I see +what you are thinking. You are thinking, 'Here is the miscreant, the +scoundrel, who destroyed our battleship!' Well, it is true. I am a +scoundrel—or I should be one if I permitted that deed to go unrevenged. +I was betrayed, sir, as this gentleman has said. I offered to Germany +the leadership among nations. But the Emperor is consumed with personal +ambition—his one desire to exalt <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span>his house, to establish it more +firmly. Instead of leading, he wished to conquer. I refused to be his +tool. Thereupon I was deceived by a trick, I was imprisoned—I and my +daughter also. We were threatened with I know not what—with starvation, +with torture—but this gentleman rescued us, and I came here with him in +order to place before France the same proposal I made to Germany."</p> + +<p>Delcassé had listened closely; but he was plainly confused and +astonished.</p> + +<p>"Before going further," he suggested, "I should very much like to hear +M. Crochard's story. There is much about this extraordinary affair which +I do not understand—and I desire to understand everything. Will you not +begin at the beginning, my friend?"</p> + +<p>"It was very simple," said Crochard, and told briefly of the pursuit, of +the encounters on the <i>Ottilie</i>, and of the final struggle in New York. +"After our escape," he concluded, "we hastened to M. Vard's residence, +where, as I anticipated, his daughter and that admirable M. Webster whom +she loves, soon joined us. It was a most happy reunion, and in the end, +M. Webster forgave me for the theft of the little box. Of our plans we +said nothing, except that M. Vard was journeying back with me to Paris, +and we were aboard the <i>Lusitania</i> when she sailed next morning. We +arrived at Liverpool last night, and here we are!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span>Lépine's face was shining with a great enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"Permit me to congratulate you, sir," he said. "It was finely done. I +realise that the more deeply because I myself was completely baffled; +and yet it should have occurred to me that the Captain of the <i>Ottilie</i> +might wish to deceive me. My theory was, however, that the tickets had +been purchased to throw me off the scent. M. Vard had, of course, as I +supposed, sought refuge in Germany. Even yet I do not understand why he +should have gone to America."</p> + +<p>The remark was, in a way, addressed to the inventor, but he had fallen +into revery and paid no heed to it.</p> + +<p>"He is often like that," said Crochard, in rapid French. "I suspect that +something is wrong here," and he touched his forehead. "The trip to +America was, as I understand it, a matter of sentiment with him. He +insisted that this great treaty, which was to bring about world-wide +peace and the brotherhood of man, should be signed on American soil."</p> + +<p>"He is really in earnest about that treaty?" asked Delcassé. "He is not +a mercenary?"</p> + +<p>"Mercenary? Far from it, sir. Why, M. Delcassé, he was asked to choose +his own reward, and he refused. He is utterly in earnest—he asks +nothing for himself. And I believe his idea practicable. I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span>hope that +you will consider it carefully, sir. The Emperor refused because of his +conditions. One was the reconstitution of Poland—he is himself a Pole. +The other was the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France. Pachmann did +at last agree to give up Poland—and to make him King of it, if he +chose!—but the other condition was too much for him. Besides, he +thought the game was in his hands—he saw his Emperor ruler of the +world! Permit me to outline for you the plan of this remarkable man."</p> + +<p>And clearly but briefly, Crochard laid before the astonished Minister +the plan for world-wide disarmament, for universal peace, for the +freeing of subject peoples, for the restoration of conquered territory, +and for the gradual establishment of representative government, to the +exclusion of all hereditary rulers, great and small.</p> + +<p>"And I see no reason," Crochard concluded, "why France should hesitate +to give herself wholeheartedly to this plan. With all of these things +she is in sympathy; 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' has been her +watchword for a hundred years. Once we regain Alsace-Lorraine, we can be +well-content to lay down our arms. I believe that we can secure the +support of the United States and perhaps of England. To the United +States, a project so idealistic would be certain to appeal; and as for +England, she <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span>is terrified at heart, she fears the future, she staggers +under the burden of her great armaments——which yet are not great +enough. Yes, we could win England!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé had listened with gleaming eyes, all the dreamer within him +afire at the splendid vision which Crochard's words evoked.</p> + +<p>"You are right!" he cried, and sprang to his feet and approached the +inventor, his hands outstretched. "M. Vard," he said, "on behalf of +France, I accept your proposal!"</p> + +<p>Vard was on his feet also, and his whole frame was shaking.</p> + +<p>"You are sincere?" he stammered, peering into Delcassé's eyes. "You are +in earnest? You are not deceiving me?"</p> + +<p>"No!" said Delcassé, solemnly. "I am not deceiving you. I swear it, on +my honour. France will be proud to take her place at the head of this +great movement." And then he stopped, and a shadow flitted across his +face. "There is but one condition," he added. "You must prove to us that +this power really exists."</p> + +<p>"I agree to that!" cried Vard, eagerly. "I agree to that—yes, yes, I +even wish it. Any proof, any test—it shall be yours to choose. And +remember—the Germans were not merciful!"</p> + +<p>"I shall remember!" said Delcassé hoarsely, his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span>face quivering; and he +caught himself away and stood for a moment at the window, struggling for +self-control. Through the square below all Paris poured, on its way to +drive in the Bois, careless, happy, all unconscious of the crisis in its +country's history which the moment marked. And then, by habit, +Delcassé's eyes wandered to that great statue by Pradier, with the pile +of mourning wreaths before it....</p> + +<p>"I have chosen!" he said, in a choked voice. "The test shall be made at +Strasbourg!"</p> + +<p>The inventor bowed.</p> + +<p>"If I may retire," he said, "I will begin my preparations at once. I +shall need to work for a day, or perhaps two days, in some well-equipped +wireless laboratory. All other arrangements I shall leave to you. It +will be necessary to secure two stations in sight of the arsenal, and +within five miles of it, where we can work without fear of being +disturbed."</p> + +<p>"I will attend to all that," agreed Delcassé, and touched a bell. "If +General Marbeau is in his office," he added to his secretary, "please +say that I wish to see him at once."</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>The door had closed behind the French Chief of Wireless and the +white-haired enthusiast, and for a moment the three men who were left +behind gazed at each other in silence.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span>"Do you believe in this power?" asked Delcassé, at last.</p> + +<p>"There was <i>La Liberté</i>," Crochard reminded him.</p> + +<p>"True," and the Minister fell silent again.</p> + +<p>"To attack the fort at Strasbourg will not be easy," said Crochard, at +last. "The Germans are no doubt already on their guard."</p> + +<p>Delcassé smote his forehead with his open palm.</p> + +<p>"That is it!" he cried. "Lépine, that is the explanation! It is not for +war they prepare; it is in terror they withdraw their fleets into +mid-ocean and throw cordons of soldiers about their forts! At this +moment, in spite of their bold front, the Emperor and his ministers are +trembling! For of course they know that Pachmann failed—and that we +succeeded!"</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly," Crochard agreed. "Pachmann would notify the Emperor of +his failure as soon as he regained consciousness!"</p> + +<p>"Not a pleasant task," chuckled Delcassé. "He has my pity. What happened +to the Prince?"</p> + +<p>"The Prince was released next morning."</p> + +<p>"You have friends, then, in New York?" asked Lépine, curiously.</p> + +<p>"I have friends everywhere," answered Crochard quietly.</p> + +<p>"When I think of the Kaiser trembling!" cried <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span>Delcassé. "Ah, what +anguish must be his! I have tasted it, and I know!"</p> + +<p>Crochard took from his coat a long pocket-book.</p> + +<p>"This belonged to Admiral Pachmann," he said. "I paused long enough to +secure it, because it contained a document which I was most anxious to +possess. It will interest you, sir," and he drew out a black-sealed +envelope and passed it to Delcassé.</p> + +<p>The latter opened it, took out the stiff sheet of paper he found within, +read it, re-read it, and then stared at Crochard stupefied.</p> + +<p>"That is what one might call an imperial power of attorney," said +Crochard, with a little laugh. "It is sufficiently comprehensive, is it +not?"</p> + +<p>"It is unbelievable!" cried Delcassé, and handed the paper to Lépine. +"And this was really given by the Emperor to Pachmann?"</p> + +<p>"I see no reason to doubt it. Though," Crochard added, with a smile, "I +am of the opinion that Pachmann put it to uses and went to lengths which +the Emperor did not contemplate—perhaps would have forbidden."</p> + +<p>Delcassé's eyes were glowing with an infernal joy.</p> + +<p>"That does not matter," he said. "That was because his hand was forced. +It is the Emperor who is responsible—it is a risk he took. If he chose +his instrument badly, it is he who must suffer for it. You permit me to +retain this paper?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span>"Certainly. Use it as you think best for France!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé was out of his chair, striding up and down the room.</p> + +<p>"So the wheel has turned!" he cried. "You may not remember it, M. +Crochard—to you it may have seemed a small thing—but six years ago, +the Emperor caused me to be driven from the foreign office because I did +and said certain things which displeased him. Such was his power even +here in Paris! You will scarcely credit it, but so it was. And now it is +my turn! With this in my hand, all things are possible! He must have +been mad to put his hand to such a paper—but, after all, it does not +astonish me. He is always doing mad things; he has no balance, no +self-control. Ten years ago, with an imprudent telegram, he almost +plunged his country into war with England—and at a moment, too, when it +was wholly unprepared! Two years ago, a wild speech of his brought +Germany to the brink of revolution. Last year, he nearly upset his +empire by an indiscreet interview which was suppressed just in time. He +is always in hot water, but heretofore his good fortune has been +amazing. He has always succeeded in extricating himself. This time, it +seems, he has tempted the gods once too often——the game is in our +hands. Our ultimatum I will prepare to-day, and I will invite to my +office the German <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span>ambassador, and I will hand him that ultimatum, and I +will say certain things to him which have long been biting at my throat +for utterance, and then I will give him a glimpse of this document, and +finally I will send him away. Ah, there will be consternation at Berlin +to-night!" Suddenly Delcassé stopped in front of Crochard's chair. "My +friend," he said, in another tone, "you have saved France. You must name +your own reward. I grant it, before you ask it."</p> + +<p>"Well, yes," said Crochard, smiling, "I shall not refuse. At Toulon, on +the quay opposite the spot where lies the wreck of <i>La Liberté</i>, a +friend of mine conducts a café. It was he who noticed the two +Germans—it was he who gave me my first clue. So he deserves a reward on +his own account. He is an honest man, who has suffered unjustly. Four +years ago he was condemned to prison for killing the betrayer of his +daughter. He is called Samson. M. Lépine will no doubt recall the +circumstances."</p> + +<p>"I recall them very well," said Lépine. "Samson escaped the day after he +was sentenced. I could find no trace of him, until I saw him at Toulon."</p> + +<p>"But you did not arrest him!" said Crochard quickly.</p> + +<p>"I promised to take no action until you and I had talked together."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, M. Lépine," said Crochard warmly. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span>"I have always respected +you as a man of your word. It was I who assisted Samson to escape, since +his punishment seemed to me undeserved; it was I who secured false +papers for him and established him at Toulon. He has done well, but he +dare not have his family with him. He loves his family, and without them +he finds life sad. M. Delcassé, you have told me to name a reward—I ask +that Samson may be pardoned."</p> + +<p>"It is granted," said Delcassé, in a low voice; "but is there nothing +else? Is there nothing I can do for you, my friend?"</p> + +<p>Crochard had arisen and he and the great Minister stood face to face.</p> + +<p>"Yes, there is something, sir," he said, "which you can do for me, and +which will make me very proud. You are a great man, and I admire you. +There are not many men to whom I raise my hat; but I salute you, sir, +and I hope you will accept my hand!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé's hand shot out and seized Crochard's and held it close.</p> + +<p>"It is I who am honoured!" he said thickly.</p> + +<p>But at the end of a moment, Crochard drew his hand away.</p> + +<p>"Do not idealise me, sir," he said. "I am outside the law; you and I go +different ways. If for once, M. Lépine and I have worked together, it +was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span>because France demanded it. We admire each other; we have found +that we possess certain qualities in common. But now I have done my +part; the rest is in your hands. So I say adieu; our alliance is over; +we are enemies again—"</p> + +<p>"Not enemies," broke in Delcassé, quickly. "Antagonists perhaps; but not +enemies. I wish—"</p> + +<p>"No, do not wish," said Crochard. "My life satisfies me. I have a +certain work to do, and I am happy in doing it. But I accept your +word—henceforth we are antagonists, not enemies. Adieu, sir."</p> + +<p>The door closed, and Delcassé, dropping heavily into his chair, gazed +mutely into Lépine's inscrutable eyes.</p> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> + +<h2>STRASBOURG</h2> +<br /> + +<p>A Mile or two back from the Rhine, on the banks of the Ill, stands the +fair city of Strasbourg. Once she was proud as well as fair; but her +pride has been trailed in the dust. For four centuries a free city, +defending herself virgin-like against all comers, for two centuries more +the happy capital of the loveliest of French provinces, she has borne +for forty years the chain of the conqueror and bowed her head beneath +the lash. But she is French still—French to the very core of her; and +though her hands are bound, her soul is free!</p> + +<p>The oldest part of the town has changed but little with the centuries. +There are the narrow crooked streets, the tall half-timbered houses with +their many-dormered roofs, and there is the grey Minster, which has +looked down on the city through all her fortunes. To the north lie the +newer quarters of the town, spick and span, and to the south are great +arsenals and barracks, guarded by a mighty fortification.</p> + +<p>For Strasbourg is now one of the great strongholds of the German Empire. +Haunted by the fear that France may one day come pouring up from the +south to regain her lost city, the engineers of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span>Kaiser have +laboured with their every talent for her defence. Far-flung, a circle of +fourteen forts girdles her round, and within them rampart follows +rampart, culminating in the mighty citadel.</p> + +<p>What hope can an army, however great, have of capturing such a place? In +the mind of every German engineer there is but one adjective, and always +one, associated with it—impregnable.</p> + +<p>And yet, in this mid-month of October, there was in the air a feeling of +uneasiness, impalpable, not to be defined or even spoken of—but +present, ever-present. From far-distant posts of the Empire, troops had +been hurried southward, until the usual garrison of fifteen thousand men +had been more than doubled. Every rampart was manned, every wall had its +sentry, and through the streets patrols moved constantly, their gaze +directed at the house-tops. Their orders were to see that no one +stretched a wire to any building; to arrest any one found doing so, and +send him at once to Berlin, under guard.</p> + +<p>The restaurants, the hotels, the cafés—every place where crowds +assembled—swarmed with strangers, speaking French, it is true, but with +an accent which, to acute ears, betrayed their origin and made one +wonder at their pro-Gallic sentiments. The French and German residents +of the town drew imperceptibly apart, grew a little more formal, ceased +the exchange of friendly visits. No one knew what <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span>was about to happen, +but every one felt that a crisis of some sort was at hand.</p> + +<p>The commandant changed, in those days, from a bluff, self-confident and +brave soldier to a shrunken craven, trembling at shadows. If he had +known where the danger lay, or what it was, he would have met it +valiantly enough; but he knew scarcely more than did his humblest +soldier. He knew that the peril was very great; he knew that at any +moment his magazines might blow up beneath his feet; he knew that what +he had to guard against was the stringing of wires, the establishment of +a wireless plant. Every stranger must be watched, his registration +investigated, his baggage at all times kept under surveillance. A +stranger carrying a bundle in the streets must always be followed. Every +resident receiving a roomer, a boarder, or even a guest from another +city must make immediate return to the police.</p> + +<p>How many times had the commandant read these instructions! And always, +at the last, he read twice over the paragraph at the bottom of the +sheet, underlined in red:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"At all hours of the day or night, two operators will be on +duty at every wireless station, their receivers at their +ears, their instruments adjusted. Should they perceive any +signal which they are unable to explain, especially a series +of measured dashes, they will report the same immediately +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span>to the commandant, who will turn out his entire command and +cause a thorough search to be made at once of all +house-tops, hills and eminences of every sort within a +radius of five miles. All wires whose use is not fully +apparent will be torn down and all persons having access to +such wires will be arrested and held for interrogation. +SHOULD THE SERIES OF SIGNALS BEGIN A SECOND TIME, ALL +MAGAZINES WILL AT ONCE BE FLOODED."</p></div> + +<p>This last sentence, printed in capitals to give it emphasis, the +commandant at Strasbourg could not understand. To flood the magazines +meant the loss of a million marks; besides, why should it be necessary? +What possible danger could threaten those great ammunition store-houses, +buried deep beneath walls of granite, protected from every conceivable +mishap, and whose keys hung always above his desk? He was completely +baffled; worse than that, he felt himself shaken and unnerved in face of +this mysterious peril.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>A copy of this order was sent to every fortress in Germany, and it is +therefore not remarkable that, three days after it was issued, it should +be in the hands of M. Delcassé. He read it with a lively pleasure. He +was beginning to enjoy life again. He knew that the tone of his +ultimatum had astonished the German ambassador; but he also knew that, +while the German press still talked of the national honour and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span>of +Germany's duty to Morocco, the inner circle about the Emperor was +distinctly ill at ease. The Emperor himself had been invisible for some +days, and was reported to be suffering with a severe cold.</p> + +<p>After reading the order, Delcassé summoned Marbeau.</p> + +<p>"How do your plans shape themselves?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Admirably, sir," answered the wireless chief. "We shall be ready to +start to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"When is the test to take place?"</p> + +<p>"If everything goes well, one week from yesterday, at noon."</p> + +<p>"You must use great care. The Germans are on their guard. Here is +something that will interest you."</p> + +<p>Marbeau took the order and read it carefully.</p> + +<p>"If the magazines are flooded," Delcassé pointed out, "we can do +nothing."</p> + +<p>"It will be something to have occasioned the destruction of so much +ammunition," Marbeau rejoined; "but we are not taking that chance. All +our instruments will be tuned and tested before we start. The Germans +will hear those signals but once."</p> + +<p>A little tremour passed across Delcassé's face.</p> + +<p>"You believe in this invention?" he asked. "You have investigated it?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span>Marbeau shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"I know nothing more of it than you do, sir. M. Vard tells me nothing, +shows me nothing, persists in working alone. He is most jealous of it. +But yes—I believe; when I remember the twenty-fifth of September, I +cannot but believe!"</p> + +<p>Delcassé was pacing to and fro, his hands behind him.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes I doubt, Marbeau," he said. "Sometimes I doubt. The +destruction of <i>La Liberté</i> may have been one of those strange +coincidences which sometimes happen. And sometimes I hesitate; sometimes +I draw back before the idea of this demonstration. For Morocco we no +longer need it; I have in my possession a paper which will win that +battle for us. But then, when I falter, the thought of France's future +nerves me. So I stand aside and let the test proceed. But I warn you +again, Marbeau, to be most careful. Do not neglect to provide a way of +escape. Failure this time is of little consequence—we can always try +again; but under no circumstances must this machine fall into the hands +of Germany; and for you and for Vard it must be death before capture. He +must not be taken alive."</p> + +<p>"I understand, sir," said Marbeau, quietly.</p> + +<p>"If you think Strasbourg too difficult, it is not too <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span>late to draw +back. It was, perhaps, unwise for me to select it."</p> + +<p>"The more difficult it is, the more will it dismay the enemy," Marbeau +pointed out. "Let us try Strasbourg, at least. If we fail there, we can +try again somewhere else."</p> + +<p>"Well, I agree. Remember, you are not to spare expense."</p> + +<p>"We have had to purchase two houses in order to be quite secure."</p> + +<p>"Purchase a dozen, if you need them. The date, you say—"</p> + +<p>"Is one week from yesterday."</p> + +<p>"And the hour?"</p> + +<p>"The hour of noon."</p> + +<p>Delcassé turned to the day on his desk calendar, and wrote a large "12" +upon it.</p> + +<p>"Adieu, then, Marbeau," he said, and held out his hand. "My prayers go +with you!"</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Fronting on the Zurichstrasse, some half mile from the arsenal at +Strasbourg, stands a great tobacco manufactory, covering two blocks and +employing a thousand people. These men and women and children live for +the most part in the crooked little streets of the neighbourhood, for +the hours of work are long, and to walk back and forth from a distance +not to be thought of. When a family has managed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span>to scrape together a +little capital, more often than not the head of it opens a tiny shop, +while the younger members keep on working at the factory until the +business has established itself. Then the family takes a step upward in +social grade.</p> + +<p>In a little room back of such a shop in the Hennenstrasse, on the +morning of a day late in October, three men sat down to breakfast. It +was a silent meal, for each of the three was preoccupied. They were +roughly dressed in the blouses and coarse trousers of labourers, and +their faces were covered with a week's stubble of beard. One was +white-haired, old, and seemingly very feeble; but the other two were in +the prime of life. At last the meal was finished, and the two younger +men pushed back their chairs and looked at each other; then they looked +at their companion, who, with vacant eyes, was staring at the opposite +wall so intently that the other two involuntarily glanced around at it.</p> + +<p>"It is time for you to go, Lieutenant," said one of the men, in a low +voice. "Tell me again what you have to do, so that I may be sure there +is no mistake."</p> + +<p>"What I have to do is this, General," said the other: "from here, I go +to the house we know of, taking a circuitous route, loitering on the +way, and making certain that I am not followed. If I find myself +followed, I will pass this shop, dropping my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span>handkerchief in front of +it and then turning back to pick it up. If I am not followed, I enter +the other house, mount to the roof and make sure that everything is in +order. At ten minutes to twelve, I hoist into place the two arms to +which our wires are secured, stretching them tight by means of the winch +which we have provided, and then I at once start the clockwork. I then +descend, make my way to the tram-station, and take a third-class ticket +to Colmar, where I will await you at Valentin's cabaret. If you do not +arrive by sundown, I am to go on to Paris to make my report."</p> + +<p>"That is right. You have your passport?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Let me see your watch."</p> + +<p>They compared watches and found that they both showed twenty minutes +past ten.</p> + +<p>"Adieu, then," said the elder man; "and let there be no failure."</p> + +<p>"Trust me, General!" and the Lieutenant saluted and went out through the +shop.</p> + +<p>"And now, M. Vard," said Marbeau, in a low tone, "the hour has come."</p> + +<p>The old man nodded, and together they left the room. Marbeau stopped to +secure the door, then followed Vard up to the first landing, where there +was another heavy door, which the Frenchman also bolted; so with the +next landing and the next. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span>smiled grimly as he thought of M. +Delcassé's warning to leave open a road of escape! He had, indeed, +provided such a road, but he carried it in his pocket.</p> + +<p>At last they stood in a tiny room under the ridge of the roof. It was +lighted by a single dormer, and, looking out through this, one could see +over the house-tops, half a mile away, the grim wall of the arsenal. +Before the dormer stood a table, to which was bolted a metal framework, +supporting the box, with its sides of glass half-covered with tin-foil. +It was mounted on a pivot, and from it two heavy wires ran to a key such +as telegraphers use, and then down to a series of powerful batteries +standing on the floor.</p> + +<p>"You are sure it is all right?" asked Marbeau, almost in a whisper.</p> + +<p>For answer, Vard closed a switch, opened the key and then depressed it +slowly. There was a crackle of electricity, and a low humming like that +of a giant top.</p> + +<p>"No, no!" gasped Marbeau, and snatched the switch open.</p> + +<p>The inventor smiled.</p> + +<p>"There is no danger," he said, "until the other current is turned on."</p> + +<p>Marbeau's face was livid and beaded with perspiration. He wiped it with +a shaking hand.</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless you startled me," he said. "The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span>sound the machine makes +has a frightful menace in it!" Then he looked at his watch. "It is now +eleven."</p> + +<p>Vard nodded, and bent again above his apparatus, touching it here and +there with the touch of a lover—tightening a wire, examining a contact, +testing the vibrator....</p> + +<p>His usual pale face was flaming with excitement, and his eyes shone with +a strange fire.</p> + +<p>Marbeau glanced at him uneasily, then stared out at the grey wall of the +arsenal. Upon its summit a sentry walked to and fro with the precision +of a machine. High above him flapped the imperial flag of Germany, +displaying its eagles and complacent motto. Marbeau, like every +Frenchman, considered that flag an insult, for the lower arm of its +cross bore the date "1870," and he stared out at it now, dreaming of the +future, dreaming of the day when France should tear it down....</p> + +<p>Vard touched him on the arm.</p> + +<p>"I should like to see the plan of the fort again," he said.</p> + +<p>Marbeau opened his shirt, and from a little oilskin bag produced a +square of tracing-paper. He unfolded it and handed it to the inventor.</p> + +<p>"This is the side toward us," he said. "There are the magazines, the +main one being here in the centre."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span>With a nod of understanding, Vard carried the drawing to the window and +compared it carefully with the stretch of wall, swinging his pivoted +machine from side to side to be sure that its range was ample. Then he +refolded the map and returned it to Marbeau.</p> + +<p>"It must be almost the hour," he said.</p> + +<p>With a start, Marbeau pulled out his watch. It showed fifteen minutes to +twelve. Then, watch in hand, he stood gazing out at the bastion. Four +minutes passed, five, six, seven....</p> + +<p>Suddenly from the fort came the deep boom of an alarm gun. A minute +later, a file of men appeared upon the summit of the bastion; a gate, +away to the right, swung open and an armed battalion marched out at the +double-quick.</p> + +<p>"The signal!" gasped Marbeau. "It is the signal! Their wireless men have +picked it up!"</p> + +<p>Again the alarm gun boomed sullenly, and they could hear the faint, +shrill calling of a bugle. Then came the distant thunder of the +answering guns from the forts about the town; from the streets rose +excited voices, the clatter of running feet....</p> + +<p>One minute—two—three—</p> + +<p>"Now!" said Marbeau, snapped shut his watch and thrust it into his +pocket.</p> + +<p>Vard, his face twitching, closed the switch and touched the key. Again +came the sharp crackle of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span>flame, the deep hum of the vibrator. Marbeau, +the marrow frozen in his bones but with the sweat pouring from his face, +stared out—and then, close beside him, came a white burst of flame—the +horrible odour of burning flesh—</p> + +<p>He jerked around to see Vard fallen forward above the table, while about +his hands played those livid tongues of fire....</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Half an hour before midnight of that day, a man, roughly dressed, with a +stubble of beard masking his face, appeared at the Ministry of Marine, +was passed at once by the guard at the entrance and made his way quickly +to the office of M. Delcassé. He tapped at the door, which was instantly +opened by the Minister himself.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Marbeau," he said, quietly. "Come in. We have failed, then?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we have failed," groaned Marbeau, and sank into a chair.</p> + +<p>Delcassé touched him gently on the shoulder.</p> + +<p>"Do not take it so much to heart," he said. "There was something wrong, +perhaps. We can try again—"</p> + +<p>"No, we cannot try again," and Marbeau's face was piteous.</p> + +<p>"Vard is not captured!"</p> + +<p>"No; he is dead."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span>"But his instrument—his invention?"</p> + +<p>"Is destroyed, fused, burnt to a mere mass of metal," and Marbeau told +the story of that last moment.</p> + +<p>"But what happened? What occurred?" asked the Minister dazedly.</p> + +<p>"I do not know—I was staring at the fort. He may have had a seizure and +fallen across his instrument, or he may have broken the circuit in some +way—displaced a wire, perhaps—and received the full shock himself. It +was over in an instant. He was dead when I dragged him away."</p> + +<p>For some time Delcassé walked thoughtfully up and down.</p> + +<p>"You could not, by any possibility, reconstruct it?" he asked at last.</p> + +<p>"I fear not, sir; he told me nothing. I do not even know the principle +involved."</p> + +<p>Again Delcassé paced back and forth; then he sat down before his desk, +with a gesture of acquiescence.</p> + +<p>"So that dream is ended," he said. "It was too great, no doubt, to be +accomplished. God willed otherwise. But at least we are richer than we +were. From time to time we will terrify these Germans with a little +blast of wireless. That will be amusing, and it may cost them some +ammunition. And in the struggle over Morocco France wins! That is +assured! Good night, General. You need rest."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span>All the world knows now, of course, that France did win. On November +fourth, the question of her supremacy in Morocco was settled once for +all by the treaty signed at Berlin. When Europe learned the terms of +that treaty, it was shaken with amazement. For Germany had receded, +after swearing that she would never recede; had guaranteed to France a +free hand in Morocco, with the right to establish a protectorate if she +thought proper;—and in exchange for all this received a small strip of +the French Congo! Yes, there was one other thing she received of which +the treaty made no mention. When Herr von Kiderlen-Waechter had affixed +his signature, Ambassador Cambon, who acted for France, gave him +silently an envelope sealed with a black seal. He glanced at the +signature of the paper it contained, and placed it carefully in his +pocket. An hour afterwards, he handed it to his Emperor.</p> + +<p>And two days later, Admiral Heinrich Pachmann, returning from an +audience with the Emperor, went quietly to his quarters. At the usual +hour, his aide, coming for orders, rapped at his door. There was no +answer, and, opening the door, the aide glanced inside. Pachmann lay +sprawled across the floor, a bullet in his heart. His stiff hand gripped +a duelling-pistol—a handsome weapon, which bore, chased along its +barrel, the motto of his house, "I love and I obey!"</p> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="tr"> +<p class="cen"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>Transcriber's Note</p> +<br /> + +Typographical errors corrected in the text:<br /> +<br /> +Page 113 vizualise changed to visualize<br /> +Page 326 "of" added to "this side of the water?"<br /> +Page 364 Hohenzvollerns changed to Hohenzollerns<br /> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Destroyer, by Burton Egbert Stevenson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DESTROYER *** + +***** This file should be named 29629-h.htm or 29629-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/6/2/29629/ + +Produced by D Alexander, Barbara Kosker and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +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. 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