CHAPTER XVIII
Sir Henry was standing with his hands in his pockets and a very blankexpression upon his face, looking out upon the Admiralty Square. He wasalone in a large, barely furnished apartment, the walls of which wereso hung with charts that it had almost the appearance of a schoolroomprepared for an advanced geography class. The table from which he hadrisen was covered with an amazing number of scientific appliances, somesamples of rock and sand, two microscopes and several telephones.
Sir Henry, having apparently exhausted the possibilities of the outlook,turned somewhat reluctantly away to find himself confronted by anelderly gentleman of cheerful appearance, who at that moment had enteredthe room. From the fact that he had done so without knocking, it wasobvious that he was an intimate.
"Well, my gloomy friend," the newcomer demanded, "what's wrong withyou?"
Sir Henry was apparently relieved to see his visitor. He pushed a chairtowards him and indicated with a gesture of invitation a box of cigarsupon his desk.
"Your little Laranagas," he observed. "Try one."
The visitor opened the box, sniffed at its contents, and helped himself.
"Now, then, get at it, Henry," he enjoined. "I've a Board inhalf-an-hour, and three dispatches to read before I go in. What's yourtrouble?"
"Look here, Rayton," was the firm reply, "I want to chuck this infernalhole-and-corner business. I tell you I've worked it threadbare atDreymarsh and it's getting jolly uncomfortable."
The newcomer grinned.
"Poor chap!" he observed, watching his cigar smoke curl upwards. "You'rein a nasty mess, you know, Henry. Did I tell you that I had a letterfrom your wife the other day, asking me if I couldn't find you a job?"
Sir Henry waited a little grimly, whilst his friend enjoyed the joke.
"That's all very well," he said, "but we are on the point of aseparation, or something of the sort. I'll admit it was all right atfirst to run the thing on the Q.T., but that's pretty well busted up bynow. Why, according to your own reports, they know all about me on theother side."
"Not a doubt about it," the other agreed. "I'm not sure that you haven'tgot a spy fellow down at Dreymarsh now."
"I'm quite sure of it," Sir Henry replied grimly. "The brute waslunching with my wife at the Carlton to-day, and, as luck would have it,I was landed with that Russian Admiral's wife and sister-in-law. You'rebreaking up the happy home, that's what you're doing, Rayton!"
His lordship at any rate seemed to find the process amusing. He laugheduntil the tears stood in his eyes.
"I should love to have seen Philippa's face," he chuckled, "when shewalked into the restaurant and saw you there! You're supposed to be offon a fishing expedition, aren't you?"
"I went out after whiting," Sir Henry groaned, "and I'd just promised tochuck it for a time when I got the Admiral's message."
"Well, we'll see to your German spy, anyway," his visitor promised.
"Don't be an ass!" Sir Henry exclaimed irritably. "I don't want thefellow touched at present. Why, he's been a sort of persona grata at myhouse. Hangs around there all the time when I'm away."
"All the more reason for putting an end to his little game, I shouldsay," was the cheerful reply.
"And have the whole neighbourhood either laughing at my wife and MissFairclough, or talking scandal about them!" Sir Henry retorted.
"I forgot that," his friend confessed ruminatively. "He's a gentlemanlysort of fellow, from what I hear, but a rotten spy. What do you wantdone with him?"
"Leave him for me to deal with," Sir Henry insisted. "I have a littlescheme on hand in which he is concerned."
Rayton scratched his chin doubtfully.
"The fellow may not be such a fool as he seems," he reminded his friend.
"I won't run any risks," Sir Henry promised. "I just want him leftthere, that's all. And look here, Rayton, you know what I want from you.I quite agreed to your proposals as to my anonymity at the time when Iwas up in Scotland, but the thing's a secret no longer with the peoplewho count. Every one in Germany knows that I'm a mine-field specialist,so I don't see why the dickens I should pose any longer as a sort ofhalf-baked idiot."
Rayton's eyes twinkled.
"You want to play the Wilson Barrett hero and make a theatricaldisclosure of your greatness," he laughed. "Poor Philippa will fallupon her knees. You will be the hero of the village, which will probablypresent you with some little article of plate. You've a good timecoming, Henry."
"Talk sense, there's a good fellow," the other begged. "You go and seethe Chief and put it to him. There isn't a single reason why I shouldn'town up now."
"I'll see what I can do," Rayton promised, "but what about this fellowLessingham, or whatever else he calls himself, down there? There's achap named Griffiths--Commandant, isn't he?--been writing us about him."
"I won't have Lessingham touched," Sir Henry insisted. "He can't do anyparticular harm down there, and there isn't a line or a drawing of minedown at Dreymarsh which he isn't welcome to."
Lord Rayton rose to his feet.
"Look here, Henry, old fellow," he said, "I do sympathise with you upto a certain point. I tell you what I'll do. I shall have to answerPhilippa's letter, and I'll answer it in such a way that if she is asclever a little woman as I think she is, she'll get a hint. Of course,"he went on ruminatively, "it is rather a misfortune that the PrincessOllaneff and her sister are such jolly good-looking women. Makes it looka little fishy, doesn't it? What I mean to say is, it's a far cryfrom fishing for whiting in the North Sea to lunching with a beautifulprincess at the Carlton--when you think your wife's down in Norfolk."
Sir Henry threw open the door.
"Look here, I've had enough of you, Rayton," he declared. "You get backand do an hour's work, if you can bring your mind to it."
The latter assumed a sudden dignity, necessitated by the sound of voicesin the corridor, and departed. The door had scarcely been closedwhen two younger men presented themselves--Miles Ensol, Sir Henry'ssecretary, a typical-looking young sailor minus his left arm; and apale-faced, clean-shaven man of uncertain age, in civilian clothes. SirHenry shook hands with the latter and pointed to the easy-chair whichhis previous visitor had just vacated.
"Welcome back again, Horridge," he said cordially. "Miles, I'll ringwhen I want you."
"Very good, sir," the secretary replied. "There's a fisherman fromNorfolk downstairs, when you're at liberty."
Sir Henry nodded.
"I'll see him presently. Shut him up somewhere where he can smoke."
The young man withdrew, carefully closing the door, around which SirHenry, with a word of apology, arranged a screen.
"I don't think," he explained, "that eavesdropping extends to thesepremises, or that our voices could reach outside. Still, a ha'porth ofprevention, eh? Have a cigar, Horridge."
"I'm not smoking for a day or two, thank you, sir."
"You look as though they'd put you through it," Sir Henry remarked.
His visitor smiled.
"I've travelled fourteen miles in a barrel," he said, "and we wereout for twenty-four hours in a Danish sailing skiff. You know what theweather's been like in the North Sea. Before that, the last word ofwriting I saw on German soil was a placard, offering a reward of fivethousand marks for my detention, with a disgustingly lifelike photographat the top. I had about fifty yards of quay to walk in broad daylight,and every other man I passed turned to stare after me. It gives you thecold shivers down your back when you daren't look round to see if you'rebeing followed."
Sir Henry groped in the cupboard of his desk, and produced a bottle ofwhisky and a syphon of soda water. His visitor nodded approvingly.
"I've touched nothing until I've reached what I consider sanctuary," heobserved. "My nerves have gone rotten for the first time in my life. Doyou mind, sir, if I lock the door?"
"Go ahead," Sir Henry assented.
He brought the whisky and soda himself across the room. Horridge resumedhis seat and held out his h
and almost eagerly. For a moment or two heshook as though he had an ague. Then, just as suddenly as it had comeupon him, the fit passed. He drained the contents of the tumbler at agulp, set it down empty by his side, and stretched out his hand for acigar.
"The end of my journey didn't help matters any," he went on. "I daren'teven make for a Dutch port, and we were picked up eventually by a trampsteamer from Newcastle to London with coals. I hadn't been on board morethan an hour before a submarine which had been following overhauled us.I thought it was all up then, but the fog lifted, and we found ourselvesalmost in the midst of a squadron of destroyers from Harwich. I madeanother transfer, and they landed me in time to catch the early morningtrain from Felixstowe."
"Did they get the submarine?" his listener asked eagerly.
"Get it!" the other repeated, with a smile. "They blew it into scrapmetal."
"Plenty of movement in your life!"
"I've run the gauntlet over there once too often," Horridge said grimly."Just look at me now, Sir Henry. I'm twenty-nine years old, and it'sonly two years and a half since I was invalided out of the navy andtook this job on. The last person I asked to guess my age put me down atfifty. What should you have said?"
"Somewhere near it," was the candid admission. "Never mind, Horridge,you've done your bit. You shall pass on your experience to a new hand,take your pension and try the south coast of England for a few months.Now let's get on with it. You know what I want to hear about."
Horridge produced from his pocket a long strip of paper.
"They're there, sir," he announced, "coaled to the scuppers, every manstanding to stations and steam up. There's the list."
He handed the paper across to Sir Henry, who glanced it down.
"The fast cruiser squadron," he observed. "Hm! Three new ships wehaven't any note of. No transports, then, Horridge?'"
"Not a sign of one, sir," was the reply. "They're after a bombardment."
He rose to his feet, walked to a giant map of England, and touched acertain port on the east coast. Sir Henry's eyes glistened.
"You're sure?"
"It is a certainty," Horridge replied. "I've been on three of thoseships. I've dined with four of the officers. They're under sealedorders, and the crew believes that they're going to escort out halfa dozen commerce destroyers. But I have the truth. That's theirobjective," Horridge repeated, touching once more the spot upon the map,"and they are waiting just for one thing."
Sir Henry smiled thoughtfully.
"I know what they're waiting for," he said. "Perhaps if they'd a HerrHorridge to send over here for it, they'd have got it before now. Asit is--well, I'm not sure," he went on. "It seems a pity to disappointthem, doesn't it? I'd love to give them a run for their money."
Horridge smiled faintly. He knew a good deal about his companion.
"They're spoiling for it, sir," he admitted. Sir Henry spoke down atelephone and a few minutes later Ensol reappeared.
"Find Mr. Horridge a comfortable room," his chief directed, "and one ofour confidential typists. You can make out your report at your leisure,"he went on. "Come in and see me when it's all finished."
"Certainly, sir," Horridge replied, rising.
Sir Henry held out his hand. He looked with something like wonder atthe nerve-shattered man who had risen to his feet with a certain air ofbriskness.
"Horridge," he said, "I wish I had your pluck."
"I don't know any one in the service from whom you need borrow any,sir," was the quiet reply.