Rescuing the Czar | Page 9

It was burned into my very soul. I could not
forget a syllable of it!... Without another word he took the note, struck
a match and watched it curl into shapeless ashes.... Then making a
quick gesture he plunged into the documents before him.... I backed
away until the door closed and shut out the sight of the lonely figure
enveloped in a green light, his face illuminated against the shadowy
background of an underground chamber of the Foreign Office.... On the
way to Friedrichstrasse depot I met that girl of the Métropole again!"

IV
WHEN ROYALTY GETS DOUBLE-CROSSED
6. The next entry was:
"On the Orient Express, or what was the O.E. before the '_Grosse
General Stab_' took over the whole job of mixing up these schedules....
Well, well, well, the veiled lady of the Métropole and Buckingham is in
trouble in the next compartment ... at least so she says!... She just came
into my compartment and said she had been insulted by the man who is
sharing it with her.... Confound him!... BUT ... Now I've heard of such
'plants' before.... While I'd like to go in there and kick the brute through

the partitions I believe discretion is the better part of valor.... Let her
call the guard if the case needs attention.... The guard is a reservist and
I believe she knows it.... Furthermore, I must be at Donaustrasse 24,
Budapest, tomorrow, and meet Colonel Shuvalov at the Hotel de Paris,
Belgrade, the day after.... I wonder if that petit Paris looks the same as
when I met my old friend Count Arthur Zu Weringrode and Kazimir
Galitzyn coquetting with Cecilia Coursan, Mlle. Balniaux and the
Petite Valon at the card tables after our sparkling dinners a few years
ago.... And where is that fire-eating Prince now?... He was a great
friend of Grey and Churchill at Monte Carlo.... and notwithstanding
that meeting in the Taunus they MUST BE friends YET.... The Monte
Carlo combination HOLDS good today.... The Taunus meeting so far
as Haldane and Winston Spencer were concerned was a _frame-up_ to
catch Waechter and 'His Whiskers' (both the Admiral and the
General).... That's where the Wilhelmstrasse FELL DOWN!... and yet I
am on a mission of mercy, in behalf of one of the principal
double-crossers, today!... _Must see Kovalsky at Donau 24 sure_....
Mademoiselle must take care of herself today...."
The next entry read:
"This is a great combination--Roumania is sidestepping
Wilhelmstrasse.... Greece is tying up with Servia, Bulgaria is likely to
form a wedge between a complete coalition of these mutually hating
and suspicious grafters.... Montenegro is the only honest combination
in the whole bunch.... In another hour I will see Kovalsky and astonish
him with the news I bring."
7. Then the following entry: "_K---- is absolutely opposed_ to taking
any part in this business.... Will not raise a hand without the sanction of
CHARLES.... Looks as though I'll have to bring pressure on these
despairing creatures.... They wanted the Balkans,--that was the deal in
the Black Forest,--and because some one doesn't hand it to them on a
silver platter they complain of der Grosse General Stab's neglect!... At
two I get my answer.... If O.K. I'll be in Odessa in 48 hours unless that
veiled minx of the Métropole sticks a knife under my fifth rib.... Her
conduct is becoming mighty suspicious!... Watch me give her a run for

her money!"
8. Then there was this entry: "Charles refuses to see me but tells
K----not to put any obstacles in my way.... this is a pretty mess!... How
in the devil am I to slip through the lines with those devilish English
and French officers scattered around everywhere?... If Roumania had
only listened to reason!... I think that Mackinzen will be able to help
me out,--I might as well ask Envir Pasha as these dervishes of Sofia to
lend a hand in this affair!... Yet I must, simply MUST be in Odessa in
time to meet Vladimir K before the order of execution!... Either that--or
jump into the Danube!"
9. The following entry is significant: "I have been deaf, dumb and blind
for the last 24 hours! The veiled lady was responsible.... She had me
kidnapped and carried out into these infernal hills, wherever they are....
Never saw them before.... Looks as if a cyclone hit them.... One can
pick up enough shells and scrap iron to stock a foundry.... The trees are
all shot off--nothing but stumps and slivered trees and broken wheels
and boxes littered around.... Looks like SOME FIGHT had taken place
in this _strong-smelling_ hopyard among these hummocks....
Apparently the hogs have been rooting up the ground all around here....
There isn't a sign of a living thing in sight ... and not a drop of