Rebecca Mary had caught a spy! And, oh, how she wished that she hadn't.
When she turned the key she had felt like Joan of Arc but immediately
she became the most arrant little coward that ever was. She leaned
against the door and trembled in every inch. She didn't know what to do
with her spy now that she had caught him.
Of course, there was but one thing to do. She would have to tell old
Peter Simmons and give him the key. And now that she had Frederick
Befort locked in Major Martingale's office she was sorry. She had liked
Frederick Befort. He was so different from any man she ever had met. He
had seemed romance to her with his title, his centuries-old château, his
rose-embowered country, his stories of boar hunts and kaisers and grand
duchesses, and all sorts of people such as Rebecca Mary had never met on
her way to and from the Lincoln school.
But Rebecca Mary had learned a lot of the little grand duchy about which
she had known so little, and she knew that while there were many men in
Luxembourg who had hated and feared German power there were others who
would have welcomed it. Frederick Befort had told her that himself, and
she had read it in a book, also. Frederick Befort had been at school in
Germany, he had been born and raised almost in Germany; only the width
of a river had separated him from Germany. How did they really know
whether he actually had come from the Luxembourg side of the River Sure?
But whether he was in sympathy with Germany or not he had stolen the
secret of the great experiment which Germany wanted. That was the one
thing Rebecca Mary was sure of. She had the proof of that.
And if he was a traitor he should suffer only--only---- There was Joan!
As she remembered Joan, Rebecca Mary wanted to open the door and plead
with Frederick Befort, make him promise to forget all about Germany, to
keep faith with old Peter Simmons. If he would do that, if he could make
Rebecca Mary trust him again she might--she might---- It would be too
horrible for Joan to be labeled the daughter of a spy.
It was so horrible to Rebecca Mary that her hand was on the key when she
heard a smothered exclamation and a thud as if a movable body had
suddenly come in contact with an immovable body. Rebecca Mary cowered
down beside the door and held her breath until the hall was flooded with
light, and she raised her frightened eyes and saw Richard Cabot staring
at her.
"What are you doing there?" He could not believe that she was listening.
Rebecca Mary was not the sort of a girl who would listen at keyholes.
"H-sh!" She waved a frantic beckoning hand to him. She was so glad that
it was Richard who had found her. He was so sensible, so dependable, he
was Waloo's youngest bank vice-president and so was a man whom many
people trusted. She had never appreciated what it meant to be sure she
could trust a man before. A little glow broke through the smothering
blackness which had enshrouded her as she thought of how she could trust
Richard. Rebecca Mary knew that she was quite incapable of handling this
situation, but she knew that Richard could handle it. She could not
imagine a situation which Richard could not handle. So when Richard
asked her with a compelling mixture of curiosity and determination:
"What's in there?" she stammered painfully, but she told him. "A leak!"
"A leak?" he repeated stupidly for he had not heard the words Major
Martingale and the others were constantly using and which had impressed
themselves upon Rebecca Mary's brain. He stared at the hand which clung
to the door knob. If there was a leak, although Richard did not see how
that could be for there were no pipes in the office to leak, did Rebecca
Mary think she could stop it by clinging to the door?
Rebecca Mary put out her other hand and clutched his arm. She had to
feel him as well as see him. "I know Major Martingale has been afraid of
a leak," she faltered, "and as I was coming down the stairs I saw that
this door was open. You know it always has been kept locked." She went
on more hurriedly after she had started as if she wished to finish her
story as soon as possible. "And I saw a man at Major Martingale's desk.
I did! It wasn't my imagination. I really saw him and I shut the door
and--and locked it. He hasn't made a sound so he couldn't have heard me.
But--but I'm frightened!" And indeed she looked frightened.
Richard frowned, but he put his hands over the fingers on his arm. "Did
you see who he was?" he asked quickly in a hushed voice, almost a
whisper.
She didn't answer. She simply couldn't tell him that she had, that the
man who was rifling Major Martingale's desk was Frederick Befort, Count
Ernach de Befort. Richard pressed her fingers gently.
"Was it Befort?" he asked in that same quick whisper.
Rebecca Mary pulled her fingers from him. "How did you know? Oh, I've
told you! I've just the same as told you!" She covered her face with her
hands.
Richard reached behind her and turned the key in the lock so that the
door could be opened while Rebecca Mary watched him in cold despair. She
couldn't understand why he did that. Surely Richard could be trusted.
After Richard had unlocked the door he put his arm around Rebecca Mary
and drew her out on the terrace.
"But--but----" objected Rebecca Mary, who couldn't understand why he
wanted to take her away unless he wished to give Frederick Befort an
opportunity to escape.
"Rebecca Mary," Richard said most irrelevantly as he drew her out with
him, "you are a goose. A dear little goose," he added as if to explain
to Rebecca Mary exactly what kind of a goose she was.
Rebecca Mary pulled herself away impatiently. Why should Richard waste
time calling her names when there was a spy in Major Martingale's
office? She stammered as she tried to tell him that there were other
things for him to do now than to call her names. With a laugh Richard
tightened the arm which was still around her.
"I'm going to tell you something," he said, bending his head so that he
could speak directly into her pink ear. "When you locked Befort in the
office you locked up the man who invented the thing we are working on.
Yes, you did!" as Rebecca Mary pushed him away with a funny little
strangled exclamation. "Wait a minute and listen! Yes, I know that we
have all been afraid of a leak, but there hasn't been one. No, there
hasn't! Listen! You know Befort comes from Luxembourg?" Rebecca Mary
nodded a dazed head. She did know that, from the River Sure. "And how
hot he is at the way the Germans have treated his country and his grand
duchess? He was so mad that he couldn't stay neutral. He joined the
French Foreign Legion and fought until he was wounded and discharged. He
had invented this--this"--evidently Richard didn't know what to call the
great experiment when he was talking to Rebecca Mary--"this thing," he
said at last. "He had talked about it to the kaiser before he perfected
it, and the kaiser wanted him to promise to give the thing to Germany.
Joan and her mother had come to this country. The countess was an
American, you know. She died and Befort came over for Joan. He decided
he couldn't find a safer place to work out his idea than the United
States. He came to Waloo and worked alone for months. Then he discovered
that German agents were watching him, and he was afraid they would steal
his plans. He was in the bank one day and talked to me. He never spoke
of Joan so perhaps it isn't strange that I didn't connect your loan
child with him. I arranged for him to meet Mr. Simmons. The thing was
just in his line, and he could give Befort protection. Mr. Simmons found
him a place in his factory and mechanics to help him and got the
government interested for it is a big thing, a mighty big thing.
Everybody came down here to finish up the job where there would be no
chance of German I. W. W. interference. But you see Befort didn't have
to steal the plans. He had them in the brain that invented them."
"Oh!" Rebecca Mary couldn't say another word to save her life. Her face
crimsoned. She wished the terrace would open and drop her into Pekin or
Shanghai. She didn't care which. How could she have made such a mistake?
"But the ball!" she exclaimed suddenly, and she told Richard about the
glove which Frederick Befort had turned into a ball and which was
stuffed with drawings and notes for something.
"I've no doubt it was. Befort has a lot of ideas, and if he took any
papers from his pocket they would be sure to be covered with drawings
and figures. As for German words, you know he was practically brought up
in Germany?"
"Yes," sighed Rebecca Mary. It was all so clear now that Richard had
explained it to her. "No wonder you called me a goose," she said
ruefully.
"A dear little goose!" When Richard was quoted he wished to be quoted
exactly. His voice was very tender as he corrected Rebecca Mary.
"A goose," repeated Rebecca Mary somewhat crossly. She was in no mood
for tenderness, she was too ashamed and mortified. She was almost
inclined to blame Richard for the mistake she had made. If he had only
told her something--anything. But if he hadn't come stumbling over the
hall chair she might have accused Frederick Befort to his face. "Oh,"
she wailed, "I never want to see Frederick Befort again! What shall I
do? I never want to see him again!"
"Don't you?" Richard seemed quite pleased to hear that she had seen
enough of the romantic Luxembourg count. He had feared that Rebecca Mary
might wish to see a lot more of him. "Well, you don't have to see him
again," he said quickly. "I'm going to Waloo in the morning, and I'll
take you with me."
"Will you?" Rebecca Mary couldn't believe there was such a simple
solution to her puzzle. "Can you?" She remembered that one could not go
from Riverside as one pleased.
"Sure I can." Richard spoke quite confidently. "I'd take you this minute
but you've worn yourself out over this thing and you need sleep."
"I don't feel that I shall sleep until I am back in Waloo," sighed
Rebecca Mary, and her lip quivered.
"Yes, you will. You'll be asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow
now that you have nothing to bother over. You meet me at--is six-thirty
too early? I have to go up and back before noon so I must start early."
He couldn't start too early to suit her. "There's Granny!" Rebecca Mary
had almost forgotten Granny.
If Richard had thought he was going to take an early morning ride with
no one but Rebecca Mary he hid his disappointment very well when he
learned that they were to have company.
"Sure, there's Granny. We'll take her with us."
"And Joan?" doubtfully. Perhaps Richard would think that Joan should be
left with her father.
But Richard didn't. "Joan, too. Her father will be too busy for the next
twenty-four hours to look after her. He was so excited we had to send
him away to-day." So that was why Frederick Befort had not been at the
shop. "It has been a great day for him and unless I miss my guess there
will be a greater one to-morrow." And so that was why Frederick Befort
had asked her to wish him luck. Rebecca Mary blushed again as Richard
went on. "Six-thirty, you know. And not a word to any one!" And lowering
his voice, he whispered a few directions. He chuckled as if he were
going to enjoy carrying Rebecca Mary away from Riverside. There seemed
to be more in his mind than he was telling Rebecca Mary.
But Rebecca Mary was not critical nor observing. She was only grateful.
"I'll never forget your heavenly goodness!" she exclaimed as she turned
to go in and tell Granny that they were to leave Riverside at six-thirty
in the morning, that Granny was to have her wish and reach home before
old Peter Simmons. "I'll remember it to my dying day!"
"Will you, Rebecca Mary?" Richard seemed quite pleased to hear how long
he was to be remembered, and he caught her hand and pressed it before he
let her go. "Will you?"