The Port of Missing Men | Page 3

parting with
that document I gave you in Paris. It is safer in America than in Vienna.
If you please, I should like to have it again, sir."
The palsy in the old man's hands had increased, and he strove to control
his agitation; but fear had never been reckoned among his weaknesses,
and he turned stormily upon Armitage.
"That packet is lost, I tell you!" he blurted, as though it were something
that he had frequently explained before. "It was stolen from under my
very nose only a month ago! That's what I'm here for--my agents are
after the thief, and I came to Geneva to meet them, to find out why they
have not caught him. Do you imagine that I travel for pleasure at my

age, Mr. John Armitage?"
Count von Stroebel's bluster was merely a cloak to hide his
confusion--a cloak, it may be said, to which he did not often resort; but
in this case he watched Armitage warily. He clearly expected some
outburst of indignation from the young man, and he was unfeignedly
relieved when Armitage, after opening and closing his eyes quickly,
reached for a fresh cigarette and lighted it with the deft ease of habit.
"The packet has been stolen," he observed calmly; "whom do you
suspect of taking it?"
The old man leaned upon the table heavily.
"That amiable Francis--"
"The suggestion is not dismaying. Francis would not know an
opportunity if it offered."
"But his mother--she is the devil!" blurted the old man.
"Pray drop that," said Armitage in a tone that caused the old man to
look at him with a new scrutiny. "I want the paper back for the very
reason that it contains that awful indictment of her. I have been
uncomfortable ever since I gave it to you; and I came to ask you for it
that I might keep it safe in my own hands. But the document is
lost,--am I to understand that Francis has it?"
"Not yet! But Rambaud has it, and Rambaud and Francis are as thick as
thieves."
"I don't know Rambaud. The name is unfamiliar."
"He has a dozen names--one for every capital. He even operates in
Washington, I have heard. He's a blackmailer, who aims high--a broker
in secrets, a scandal-peddler. He's a bad lot, I tell you. I've had my best
men after him, and they've just been here to report another failure. If
you have nothing better to do--" began the old man.

"Yes; that packet must be recovered," answered Armitage. "If your
agents have failed at the job it may be worth my while to look for it."
His quiet acceptance of the situation irritated the minister.
"You entertain me, John Armitage! You speak of that packet as though
it were a pound of tea. Francis and his friends, Winkelried and
Rambaud, are not chasers of fireflies, I would have you know. If the
Archduke and his son are dead, then a few more deaths and Francis
would rule the Empire."
John Armitage and Count von Stroebel stared at each other in silence.
"Events! Events!" muttered the old man presently, and he rested one of
his hands upon the despatch box, as though it were a symbol of
authority and power.
"Events!" the young man murmured.
"Events!" repeated Count von Stroebel without humor. "A couple of
deaths and there you see him, on the ground and quite ready. Karl was
a genius, therefore he could not be king. He threw away about five
hundred years of work that had been done for him by other people--and
he cajoled you into sharing his exile. You threw away your life for him!
Bah! But you seem sane enough!"
The prime minister concluded with his rough burr; and Armitage
laughed outright.
"Why the devil don't you go to Vienna and set yourself up like a
gentleman?" demanded the premier.
"Like a gentleman?" repeated Armitage. "It is too late. I should die in
Vienna in a week. Moreover, I am dead, and it is well, when one has
attained that beatific advantage, to stay dead."
"Francis is a troublesome blackguard," declared the old man. "I wish to
God he would form the dying habit, so that I might have a few years in

peace; but he is forever turning up in some mischief. And what can you
do about it? Can we kick him out of the army without a scandal? Don't
you suppose he could go to Budapest tomorrow and make things
interesting for us if he pleased? He's as full of treason as he can stick, I
tell you."
Armitage nodded and smiled.
"I dare say," he said in English; and when the old statesman glared at
him he said in German: "No doubt you are speaking the truth."
"Of course