THE CROUCH OF THE TIGER
Johann Stryj had departed as silently and undemonstratively as he had
come. The chief spy was a born master of his craft. The only matter in
which Nature had been less kind to him in his fitness for the work he
had imposed upon himself was in the slightly furtive restlessness of
his eyes. Otherwise the ideal had been achieved. His whole air of
simple inoffensiveness left nothing to be desired.
Von Salzinger admitted these things to himself, in spite of the morose
venom which the man's report upon Dorby had inspired.
This venomous mood, however, was not directed against his helper. It
was inspired by his realization that his own purpose had been made more
difficult of achievement. He had discovered that his efforts were not
directed against private individuals, but against the British naval
authority, an authority he had reason to know had nothing of the
ineptitude of other departments of the Government.
Thus he sat back in the largest and most comfortable chair in his
private sitting-room, with his trunk-like legs supported upon a smaller
chair, and divided his savage mood between outlining the report he must
now make to Berlin and the devouring of the contents of a large
_bier-stein_, which stood on the table within reach.
He had nearly succeeded in achieving his double purpose, and
incidentally relieving his unpleasant mood, when a diversion occurred
in the form of a telephone summons from the hotel office below.
A visitor for him. Name of Von Berger. Would he see him at once?
Yes, Ludwig von Salzinger would be pleased to see him at once. This is
what he 'phoned down. To himself he cursed bitterly in homely Prussian
adjectives.
Von Berger was the last person he wanted to see in England until the
outcome of his work was assured. This man's coming suggested all sorts
of vague and disquieting thoughts. With Von Berger in England he would
no longer be a free agent. He would be forced to yield the conduct of
affairs to another--a man whom he felt had neither friendliness nor
mercy for any soul on earth. He was more than disquieted. He was awed,
and not a little apprehensive.
The latter was displayed in an almost schoolboy action that was
pathetically humorous. He quickly removed his _bier-stein_--and
concealed it.
The entrance of Von Berger was characteristic of the frigid, unyielding
aspect he displayed at all times. No one could have encountered this
personality and detected one soft spot in the whole of its make-up. It
was almost as if something of the iron of his native Baltic shores had
been bred into him through the ages of his ruthless ancestry. No
iceberg in the northern reaches of his native inland sea could have
gleamed more coldly bright than his hard eyes. No ice-bound crag could
have been cut more sharply than the thin compressed lips of his set
mouth.
He entered the room with cold assurance. He possessed himself of the
chair which had supported Von Salzinger's legs, and occupied it without
invitation. He indicated the armchair beside which Von Salzinger was
standing, with the certainty of authority. And the lesser man sat in
it, obedient to his visitor's lightest command. There was no greeting
between them.
Von Berger's keen eyes searched the room. For a moment they rested upon
the door which shut off the other's bedroom.
"That door?" he demanded.
"My bedroom, Excellency."
"Ah! Admission that way?"
"I keep the outer door locked."
The cold eyes surveyed the windows. They were closed. Then his regard
came back to the heavy square face of his host.
"Von Hertzwohl has--escaped."
There was no emphasis; no heat of any sort. The lips moved, and the
pronouncement was made. That was all.
Von Salzinger started. Then a half-smile grew in his eyes. In a vague
way he realized that the Prince's flight was a triumph and vindication
for himself. But his momentary satisfaction was damped by the cold
voice of his visitor.
"On receipt of your report that you had discovered the identity of the
man who visited Borga, vigilance was redoubled. For obvious reasons we
had no desire to arrest him until more definite news was received. He
had no suspicion that he was--observed. Then, suddenly he disappeared.
We picked up his tracks. He had escaped by sea in his submersible. Our
squadron very nearly effected his capture. However, he escaped. He must
have received news from--here. He is probably making for--here. Have
you any additional report to make?"
Von Salzinger cleared his throat. He sat up. The veins stood out upon
his square temples. His momentary satisfaction was completely gone. In
its place was a sickening apprehension that his enemy was slipping
through his fingers, and in doing so it seemed more than likely he
might contrive to make his, Von Salzinger's, position even less
favorable with Berlin.
"Yes, Excellency. I was about to write one when I received the
telephone message of your arrival."
"Let me have the details quickly and briefly."
"In the yards at Dorby in Yorkshire, owned by Farlow, Son and
Farlow--Ruxton Farlow is a partner--certain portions of them have been
taken over by the British Admiralty. But these portions are not being
used for naval purposes. They are constructing a new type of mercantile
submersible from foreign plans, which have only very recently come to
England. The submersible portion of these vessels is the principle
perfected by Hertzwohl in our naval submarines. The rest of them is an
entirely new design. But the complete boat is the design of--one man."
"Hertzwohl."
"That is how I read it."
"The object of naval authority in these yards is----?"
"Security and secrecy."
"Which proves the plans have either been stolen or traitorously
acquired, and they fear interference and--reprisal."
Von Salzinger nodded.
"And this information?" Von Berger's enquiry came with even colder
incisiveness.
"We have men working in the shops. We have one man in the drawing
office. All hands, even the clerical staff of these departments, work
under oath of secrecy, and naval discipline." Von Salzinger smiled
contemptuously. "This, however, does not impede our flow of
information. The man in the drawing office has discovered that the
plans are shortly to be photographed by the naval authorities. Further,
they are testing a new light which seems to correspond with our new
U-rays, which was found to be defective by us, and the vital parts of
which Hertzwohl removed on his last visit to Borga. If this light
should prove to be identical with the U-rays it suggests a further
conspiracy. Hertzwohl contrived its faultiness himself, and seized the
opportunity of removing the vital parts of the--_only_--lamp we
possessed. It suggests that the whole thing was carefully planned and
carried out by--Hertzwohl."
The only sign from Von Berger was a curious flicker of the eyelids. The
unyielding expression of his keen face never varied for one moment.
"This man Farlow--Ruxton Farlow?"
Von Salzinger shook his head.
"For the moment he is beyond our reach. He is a Minister in the British
Cabinet."
"Yes."
For some moments neither spoke. Von Salzinger watched this man whom he
feared more than any man in Berlin. He was wondering at the activity
behind those cold eyes. He was speculating as to the direction in which
that force would drive. He labored under no delusion. The conduct of
this affair was to be removed from his hands. It was an added
bitterness, but a certain relief left it not without compensation. If
this matter were successfully dealt with, no matter by whom, it must
redound to his advantage.
Von Berger did not leave him long in doubt.
"It may be possible to destroy those plans--before they are copied," he
said. "If they have already been traced, still it will be a proper
step. They may even have neglected to trace them--these English. I must
see Stryj at once. You will telephone him. Not now," as Von Salzinger
rose with alacrity to obey. "There is another matter to be dealt with
first. Hertzwohl has got away. He must be silenced. He must be
punished. If he is in England--of which I have no doubt, he would be
even less safe elsewhere--he is to be run to earth, and his power for
further mischief must be--cut off. You understand."
Von Salzinger's eyes were full of meaning as he nodded, but there was
no fraction of change in the other's. Von Berger drew a note-book from
his pocket, and turned some odds and ends of papers over. Finally he
selected one.
He held it out, and his level eyes forced Von Salzinger's till the
latter felt that the remotest secrets could be penetrated by their cold
intensity.
"You know that place?" he enquired.
Von Salzinger read--
"Redwithy Farm, Wednesford, Bucks."
He drew a deep breath. At the sound of it Von Berger's eyelids
flickered.
"Yes." Von Salzinger's eyes were slowly raised to the other's.
"Quite so. You visited there the other day. For what purpose?"
"Information." There was a flush in the man's fleshy cheeks. He loathed
and feared those searching eyes.
"Was your visit productive?"
Von Salzinger shrugged.
"No."
"We will visit there together and must make our visit productive.
Vassilitz will expect us there to-night. If Hertzwohl is in England we
must find him through the Princess Valita. Now send for Stryj."