<h3> WE TWO </h3>
<p> </p>
<p>Mr. Grimm turned from Pennsylvania
Avenue into a cross street, walked
along half a block or so, climbed a
short flight of stairs and entered an office.</p>
<p>"Is Mr. Howard in?" he queried of a boy in
attendance.</p>
<p>"Name, please."</p>
<p>Mr. Grimm handed over a sealed envelope
which bore the official imprint of the Department
of War in the upper left hand corner; and
the boy disappeared into a room beyond. A moment
later he emerged and held open the door
for Mr. Grimm. A gentleman—Mr. Howard—rose
from his seat and stared at him as he
entered.</p>
<p>"This note, Mr. Grimm, is surprising," he
remarked.</p>
<p>"It is only a request from the secretary of
war that I be permitted to meet the inventor of
the wireless percussion cap," Mr. Grimm explained
carelessly. "The negotiations have
reached a point where the War Department
must have one or two questions answered directly
by the inventor. Simple enough, you see."</p>
<p>"But it has been understood, and I have personally
impressed it upon the secretary of war
that such a meeting is impossible," objected Mr.
Howard. "All negotiations have been conducted
through me, and I have, as attorney for the inventor,
the right to answer any question that
may properly be answered. This now is a request
for a personal interview with the inventor."</p>
<p>"The necessity for such an interview has
risen unexpectedly, because of a pressing need
of either closing the deal or allowing it to drop,"
Mr. Grimm stated. "I may add that the success
of the deal depends entirely on this interview."</p>
<p>Mr. Howard was leaning forward in his chair
with wrinkled brow intently studying the calm
face of the young man. Innocent himself of all
the intrigue and international chicanery back of
the affair, representing only an individual in
these secret negotiations, he saw in the statement,
as Mr. Grimm intended that he should, the possible
climax of a great business contract. His
greed was aroused; it might mean hundreds of
thousands of dollars to him.</p>
<p>"Do you think the deal can be made?" he
asked at last.</p>
<p>"I have no doubt there will be some sort of a
deal," replied Mr. Grimm. "As I say, however,
it is absolutely dependent on an interview between
the inventor and myself at once—this
afternoon."</p>
<p>Mr. Howard thoughtfully drummed on his
desk for a little while. From the first, save in
so far as the patent rights were concerned, he
had seen no reasons for the obligations of utter
secrecy which had been enforced upon him. Perhaps,
if he laid it before the inventor in this new
light, with the deal practically closed, the interview
would be possible!</p>
<p>"I have no choice in the matter, Mr. Grimm,"
he said at last. "I shall have to put it to my
client, of course. Can you give me, say, half an
hour to communicate with him?"</p>
<p>"Certainly," and Mr. Grimm rose obligingly.
"Shall I wait outside here or call again?"</p>
<p>"You may wait if you don't mind," said Mr.
Howard. "I'll be able to let you know in a few
minutes, I hope."</p>
<p>Mr. Grimm bowed and passed out. At the
end of twenty-five minutes the door of Mr. Howard's
private office opened and he appeared. His
face was violently red, evidently from anger,
and perspiration stood on his forehead.</p>
<p>"I can't do anything with him," he declared
savagely. "He says simply that negotiations
must be conducted through me or not at all."</p>
<p>Mr. Grimm had risen; he bowed courteously.</p>
<p>"Very well," he said placidly. "You understand,
of course, as the note says, that this refusal
of his terminates the negotiations, so—"</p>
<p>"But just a moment—" interposed Mr. Howard
quickly.</p>
<p>"Good day," said Mr. Grimm.</p>
<p>The door opened and closed; he was gone.
Three minutes later he stepped into a telephone
booth at a near-by corner and took down the receiver.</p>
<p>"Hello, central!" he called, and then: "This
is Mr. Grimm of the Secret Service. What number
was Mr. Howard talking to?"</p>
<p>"Eleven double-nought six, Alexandria," was
the reply.</p>
<p>"Where is the connection? In whose name?"</p>
<p>"The connection is five miles out from Alexandria
in a farm-house on the old Baltimore
Road," came the crisp, business-like answer.
"The name is Murdock Williams."</p>
<p>"Thank you," said Mr. Grimm. "Good-by."</p>
<p>A moment later he was standing by the curb
waiting for a car, when Howard, still angry, and
with an expression of deep chagrin on his face,
came bustling up.</p>
<p>"If you can give me until to-morrow afternoon,
then—" he began.</p>
<p>Mr. Grimm glanced around at him, and with
a slight motion of his head summoned two men
who had been chatting near-by. One of them
was Blair, and the other Hastings.</p>
<p>"Take this man in charge," he directed.
"Hold him in solitary confinement until you hear
from me. Don't talk to him, don't let any one
else talk to him, and don't let him talk. If any
person speaks to him before he is locked up,
take that person in charge also. He is guilty
of no crime, but a single word from him now will
endanger my life."</p>
<p>That was all. It was said and done so quickly
that Howard, dazed, confused and utterly unable
to account for anything, was led away without
a protest. Mr. Grimm, musing gently on
the stupidity of mankind in general and the ease
with which it is possible to lead even a clever individual
into a trap, if the bait appeals to greed,
took a car and went up town.</p>
<p>Some three hours later he walked briskly
along a narrow path strewn with pine needles,
which led tortuously up to an old colonial farmhouse.
Outwardly the place seemed to be deserted.
The blinds, battered and stripped of
paint by wind and rain, were all closed and one
corner of the small veranda had crumbled away
from age and neglect. In the rear of the house,
rising from an old barn, a thin pole with a cup-like
attachment at the apex, thrust its point into
the open above the dense, odorous pines. Mr.
Grimm noted these things as he came along.</p>
<p>He stepped up quietly on the veranda and
had just extended one hand to rap on the door
when it was opened from within, and Miss
Thorne stood before him. He was not surprised;
intuition had told him he would meet her
again, perhaps here in hiding. A sudden quick
tenderness lighted the listless eyes. For an instant
she stood staring, her face pallid against
the gloom of the hallway beyond, and she drew
a long breath of relief, as she pressed one hand
to her breast. The blue-gray eyes were veiled
by drooping lids, then she recovered herself and
they opened into his. In them he saw anxiety,
apprehension, fear even.</p>
<p>"Miss Thorne!" he greeted, and he bowed low
over the white hand which she impulsively thrust
toward him.</p>
<p>"I—I knew some one was coming," she stammered
in a half whisper. "I didn't know it was
you; I hadn't known definitely until this instant
that you were safe from the explosion. I am
glad—glad, you understand; glad that you
were not—" She stopped and fought back her
emotions, then went on: "But you must not come
in; you must go away at once. Your—your life
is in danger here."</p>
<p>"<i>How</i> did you know I was coming?" inquired
Mr. Grimm.</p>
<p>"From the moment Mr. Howard telephoned,"
she replied, still hastily, still in the mysterious
half whisper. "I knew that it could only be
some one from your bureau, and I hoped that it
was you. I saw how you forced him to call us
up here, and that was all you needed. It was
simple, of course, to trace the telephone call."
Both of her hands closed over one of his desperately.
"Now, go, please. The Latin compact is
at an end; you merely invite death here. Now,
go!"</p>
<p>Her eyes were searching the listless face with
entreaty in them; the slender fingers were fiercely
gripping one of Mr. Grimm's nerveless hands.
For an instant some strange, softening light
flickered in the young man's eyes, then it passed.</p>
<p>"I have no choice, Miss Thorne," he said
gravely at last. "I am honor bound by my government
to do one of two things. If I fail in
the first of those—the greater—it can only be
because—"</p>
<p>He stopped; hope flamed up in her eyes and
she leaned forward eagerly studying the impassive
face.</p>
<p>"Because—?" she repeated.</p>
<p>"It can only be because I am killed," he added
quietly. Suddenly his whole manner changed.
"I should like to see the—the inventor?"</p>
<p>"But don't you see—don't you see you <i>will</i>
be killed if—?" she began tensely.</p>
<p>"May I see the inventor, please?" Mr. Grimm
interrupted.</p>
<p>For a little time she stood, white and rigid,
staring at him. Then her lids fluttered down
wearily, as if to veil some crushing agony within
her, and she stepped aside. Mr. Grimm entered
and the door closed noiselessly behind him.
After a moment her hand rested lightly on his
arm, and he was led into a room to his left. This
door, too, she closed, immediately turning to
face him.</p>
<p>"We may talk here a few minutes without interruption,"
she said in a low tone. Her voice
was quite calm now. "If you will be—?"</p>
<p>"Please understand, Miss Thorne," he interposed
mercilessly, "that I must see the inventor,
whoever he is. What assurance have I that this
is not some ruse to permit him to escape?"</p>
<p>"You have my word of honor," she said quite
simply.</p>
<p>"Please go on." He sat down.</p>
<p>"You will see him too soon, I fear," she continued
slowly. "If you had not come to him he
would have gone to you." She swayed a little
and pressed one hand to her eyes. "I would to
God it were in my power to prevent that meeting!"
she exclaimed desperately. Then, with an
effort: "There are some things I want to explain
to you. It may be that you will be willing
to go then of your own free will. If I lay bare
to you every step I have taken since I have been
in Washington; if I make clear to you every
obscure point in this hideous intrigue; if I confess
to you that the Latin compact has been
given up for all time, won't that be enough?
Won't you go then?"</p>
<p>Mr. Grimm's teeth closed with a snap.</p>
<p>"I don't want that—from you," he declared.</p>
<p>"But if I should tell it all to you?" she
pleaded.</p>
<p>"I won't listen, Miss Thorne. You once paid
me the compliment of saying that I was one man
you knew in whom you had never been disappointed."
The listless eyes were blazing into
her own now. "<i>I</i> have never been disappointed
in you. I will not permit you to disappoint me
now. The secrets of your government are mine
if I can get them—but I won't allow you to tell
them to me."</p>
<p>"My government!" Miss Thorne repeated,
and her lips curled sadly. "I—I have no government.
I have been cast off by that government,
stripped of my rank, and branded as a
traitor!"</p>
<p>"Traitor!" Mr. Grimm's lips formed the
word silently.</p>
<p>"I failed, don't you see?" she rushed on.
"Ignominy is the reward of failure. Prince
d'Abruzzi went on to New York that night, cabled
a full account of the destruction of the
compact to my government, and sailed home on
the following day. I was the responsible one,
and now it all comes back on me." For a moment
she was silent. "It's so singular, Mr.
Grimm. The fight from the first was between
us—we two; and you won."</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<SPAN name="CH26"><!-- CHAPTER 26 --></SPAN>
<h3> XXVI </h3>
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