A SAVED SITUATION
He waited impatiently for her return. Bessie, he knew, might be in one of
the rooms just across the hall, but, though Bessie was a trump, he did
not go to look for her. The girl might come back at any moment--and he
did not wish to miss one instant of her presence.
Again he considered the miracle of her appearance in his life, and he
rejoiced that, from the first, he had been able to be of service to her.
Those loving, trusting words that she had just spoken--how they glowed in
his heart! She had known that he would succeed! He could only think that
the secret telegraphy of his love had sent her messages of confidence.
And yet he did not even know her name. The house was just such a one as
he might have imagined to be her home--beautiful, with the air of a
longer family tradition than is commonly found in the Middle
West--unobtrusive but complete. And the furnishings of the room in which
he was standing were in quiet but perfect taste.
On a table near him lay a book. Mechanically he picked it up.
It opened at the fly-leaf. Something was written there--her name,
perhaps.
He closed the cover without reading the inscription, conscious only of a
line of writing in a feminine hand that might be hers or another's. No,
he could wait. The name did not matter. She was his, and that was enough.
Near the book lay an empty envelope, addressed to--he averted his eyes.
He found himself wondering whether Poritol was still kneeling in the
field, and whether Maku was still running, and whether the Japanese
minister was still telling charming stories on the porch at Arradale.
And presently, when she came again, her face radiant, and said softly,
"You have done a great thing, my dear"--when she said that, he could only
look and look and thank Heaven for his blessedness.
"Where were the papers when you fooled me into leaving you?" she asked.
"Arima had them. It's quite a story, Girl, dear."
"Then, wait a little while," she interrupted; "we have permission to see
the papers signed."
A smile of mischief alone betrayed her recognition of his bewilderment.
Why should the signing be treated as a matter of such importance? It must
mean a great deal to her and hers. The hour was now about half-past
eleven, and he remembered that in a short time it would have been too
late.
She led him through the adjoining room and to the curtained doorway of a
library--long, alcoved, shelved with books, and furnished with heavy
leather chairs. In the center was a large table of polished mahogany,
upon which rested a reading-lamp.
The glow of this lamp illuminated the forms and faces of a group of
serious-faced men--two seated, the others standing. In the golden light,
with the dim background of shelves, surmounted here and there by a vase
or a classic bust, the group impressed Orme like a stately painting--a
tableau distinguished by solemn dignity.
"We are to remain here and keep very quiet," whispered the girl.
Orme nodded. His eyes were fixed on the face of a man who sat at the
table, a pen poised in his hand. Those strong, straight features--the
eyes, with their look of sympathetic comprehension, so like the
girl's--the lips, eloquent in their calmness--surely this was her father.
But Orme's heart beat faster, for the face of this man, framed in its
wavy gray hair, was familiar. He seemed to know every line of it.
Where had he seen this man? That they had never met, he felt certain,
unless, indeed, they had shaken hands in a casual and forgotten
introduction.
Or was he led into a feeling of recognition by the undoubted resemblance
of father to daughter? No, it could not be that; and yet this man, or his
picture--ah! The recognition came to Orme in a flash.
This was the magnetic face that was now so often appearing in the
press--the face of the great, the revered, the able statesman upon whom
rested so great a part of the burden of the country's welfare. No wonder
that Orme recognized it, for it was the face of the Secretary of State!
And the girl was his daughter.
Orme was amazed to think how he had failed to piece the facts together.
The rumors of important international negotiations; the sudden but not
serious illness of the Secretary; his temporary retirement from
Washington to Chicago, to be near his favorite physician--for weeks the
papers had been full of these incidents.
When South Americans and Japanese combined to hinder the signing of
mysterious papers, he should have realized that the matter was not of
private, but of public importance. But the true significance of the
events into which he had been drawn had escaped his logical mind. It had
never occurred to him that such a series of plots, frequent though they
might be in continental Europe, could ever be attempted in a country like
the United States. And then, he had actually thought of little besides
the girl and her needs.
He glanced at her now, but her gaze was fixed on the scene before them.
The brightness of her eyes and her quickened breathing told him how
intense was her interest.
Across the table from the Secretary of State sat a younger man. His
breast glittered with decorations, and his bearing and appearance had all
the stiffness of the high-born Teuton.
Of the men who stood behind the two seated figures, some were young, some
were old, but all were weighted with the gravity of a great moment. Orme
inferred that they were secretaries and _attaches_.
And now pens scratched on paper. The Secretary of State and the German
Ambassador--for Orme knew that it must be he--were signing documents,
apparently in duplicate, for they exchanged papers after signing and
repeated the action. So these were the papers which at the last hour Orme
had restored; and this was the scene which his action had made
possible--all for the sake of a girl.
And when the last pen-stroke had been completed and the seated men raised
their eyes and looked at each other--looked at each other with the
responsible glance of men who have made history--at that moment the girl
whispered to Orme: "Come," and silently he followed her back to the room
in which he had first awaited her.
"Oh, Girl," he whispered, as she turned and faced him, "Oh, Girl, I am so
glad!"
She smiled. "Please wait for a moment."
When she had disappeared he repictured the scene they had just witnessed.
With all its absence of pomp, it had left with him an impression that
could never be effaced.
Again the girl appeared in the doorway, and leaning on her arm was her
father. Orme stepped forward. The Secretary smiled and extended his hand.
"Mr. Orme," he said, "we owe you much. My daughter has told me something
of your experiences. You may be sure that I had no notion, when this
affair began, that she would have to envelop herself and others in so
much mystery, but now that all has ended well, I can only be thankful."
He seated himself. "You will excuse me; I am not quite strong yet,
though, as I might say, very convalescent."
The girl was leaning on the back of her father's chair. "Tell father the
story, won't you, please?" she asked.
So Orme quickly narrated the series of events that began with his stroll
along State Street the afternoon of the day before. "It doesn't sound
true, does it?" he concluded.
"But the marked five-dollar bill will always be evidence of its truth,"
said the girl; and then, with a suggestion of adorable shyness, "We must
go and redeem that bill sometime."
The Secretary was pondering. He had listened with manifest interest,
interrupting now and then with questions that helped to bring out salient
points. At the report of the conversation between Alcatrante and the
Japanese concerning the commissions on ships, he had leaned forward with
especial attention. And now, after a few moments of thought, he said:
"The Japanese minister we can handle. As for Alcatrante, I must see to it
that he is recalled--and Poritol."
"Poor little Mr. Poritol!" exclaimed the girl. "Do you think he is still
kneeling in that field?"
"Possibly," said Orme, smiling. "We will look to see when we go to redeem
the bill."
"I think, Mr. Orme," said the Secretary, "that I may fairly give you a
little clearer insight into the importance of the papers which you
rescued for us. You have seen stories of the rumors of negotiations with
some foreign Power?"
"Yes," said Orme.
"But, perhaps you have not known of the secret but aggressive policy
which Japan has lately adopted toward us. The exchange of friendly notes
a few years ago might as well not have occurred. If we had done nothing
to check the tendencies in the Pacific, we should have been at war within
another year. Only a complete understanding and definite agreement with
some strong nation could prevent hostilities. The Anglo-Japanese alliance
eliminated Great Britain as a possible ally. There were reasons why it
seemed inadvisable to turn to France, for an arrangement there would
involve the recognition of Russian interests. Therefore, we sought an
alliance with Germany.
"The German Ambassador and myself drafted a treaty last month, with the
proviso that it must be signed within a certain period which, as you
know, will expire within a few minutes. My illness followed, and with it
the necessity of coming to our home, here. I had expected to return to
Washington last week, but as Doctor Allison forbade me to travel for a
while longer, I had the drafts of the treaty sent on, and urged the
German Ambassador to pay me a long-deferred visit. He and his suite have
been here several days, in mufti.
"Now, Mr. Orme, this treaty concerns two important relations--a just
balance of power in the Pacific and a just arrangement by which the
countries of South America can be made to live up to their obligations. I
cannot go into details, and it will be some months before the treaty will
be made public--but Japan must not dominate our Pacific trade routes, and
the Monroe Doctrine must be applied in such a manner that it will not
shelter evil-doers. You understand now why Alcatrante and the Japanese
minister were working together."
"It is quite clear," said Orme. "I don't wish you to tell me any more
than is advisable, but the Japanese minister said that, if the new treaty
should lapse, the German Government would not renew it."
"Very true," said the Secretary. "The German Ambassador is pleased with
the treaty. After it had been drafted, however, and after his home
government had agreed to the terms, Japan brought pressure to bear in
Germany. The result of this Japanese effort--which contained a
counter-proposition for the isolation of Russia--was that the German
Government weakened--not to the point of disavowing the arrangement with
us, but in the event of a redrafting of the treaty, to the adoption of a
less favorable basis of negotiations, or, possibly, even to the
interposition of such obstacles as would make a treaty possible. You can
see how essential these papers were to us. There was not time to provide
new copies, for the lost drafts carried certain seals and necessary
signatures which could not be duplicated on short notice."
"Did the German Ambassador know of the loss?" Orme was encouraged to ask
questions by the Secretary's obvious desire to explain as fully as he
could.
"No one knew of it, Mr. Orme, excepting my daughter and myself--that is,
no one besides the South Americans and the Japanese. It seemed wise to
say nothing. There were no secret service men at hand, and even if there
had been, I doubt if they would have acted as efficiently as you have
acted. The police, I know, would have bungled, and, above all else,
publicity had to be avoided.
"As things have turned out, I am glad that Poritol set his burglar on us
when he did; otherwise Maku would have got the treaty at the last moment.
Alcatrante's desire to secure a diplomatic advantage over the Japanese
was really the saving of us."
The Secretary paused. His face lighted up with a rare smile. "Above
everything else, Mr. Orme, I thank you."
He arose and rang for a servant.
"And now," he continued, "I know you will excuse me if I return to my
guests. My daughter will bring you in presently, so that we may have the
pleasure of making you acquainted with them. And, of course, you will
remain with us till to-morrow." He smiled again and went slowly from the
room on the arm of the servant.
Orme turned to the girl. Her face was rosy and her eyes were fixed on the
arm of her chair.
"Girl, dear," he said, "I can hardly believe that it is all true."
She did not answer, and while he gazed at her, surprised at her silence,
failing to understand her sudden embarrassment, Bessie Wallingham
appeared in the doorway and stood hesitant.
"Am I still not wanted?" said Bessie, roguery in her voice. "Sure, ye'll
find me a faithful servant. I minds me own business and asks no
questions."
The girl rushed over to her friend.
"Oh, Bessie," she cried, with a little laugh--"Oh, Bessie, won't you
please come in and--and----"
Orme began to understand. "And wait for us a little longer," he broke in.
Masterfully he led the girl out through the doorway to the hall.
Bessie Wallingham looked after their retreating figures. "Well? I never!"
she exclaimed.