The Lone Wolf by Louis Joseph Vance (ebook reader browser txt) đ
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And he walked back to the curb, measuring the wall with his eye.
âWhat are you going to do?â
He responded by doing it so swiftly that she gasped with surprise:
pausing momentarily within a yard of the wall, he gathered himself
together, shot lithely into the air, caught the top curbing with both
hands, andâŠ
She heard the soft thud of his feet on the earth of the enclosure; the
latch grated behind her; the door opened.
âFor the last time,â Lanyard laughed quietly, âpermit me to invite you
to break the law by committing an act of trespass!â
Securing the door, he led her to a garden bench secluded amid
conventional shrubbery.
âIf youâll wait here,â he suggestedââwell, it will be best. Iâll be
back as soon as possible, though I may be detained some time. Still,
inasmuch as Iâm about to break into this hïżœtel, my motives, which are
most commendable, may be misinterpreted, and Iâd rather youâd stop
here, with the street at hand. If you hear a noise like trouble, youâve
only to unlatch the gateâŠ. But letâs hope my purely benevolent
intentions toward the French Republic wonât be misconstrued!â
âIâll wait,â she assured him bravely; âbut wonât you tell meâ?â
With a gesture, he indicated the mansion back of the garden.
âIâm going to break in there to pay an early morning call and impart
some interesting information to a person of considerable
consequenceânobody less, in fact, than Monsieur Ducroy.â
âAnd who is that?â
âThe present Minister of WarâŠ. We havenât as yet the pleasure of each
otherâs acquaintance; still, I think he wonât be sorry to see meâŠ.
In brief, I mean to make him a present of the Huysman plans and bargain
for our safe-conduct from France.â
Impulsively she offered her hand and, when he, surprised, somewhat
diffidently took it, âBe careful!â she whispered brokenly, her pale
sweet face upturned to his. âOh, do be careful! I am afraid for
youâŠ.â
And for a little the temptation to take her in his arms was stronger
than any he had ever knownâŠ.
But remembering his stipulated year of probation, he released her hand
with an incoherent mumble, turned, and disappeared in the direction of
the house.
XVII THE FORLORN HOPEEstablished behind his splendid mahogany desk in his office at the
Ministïżœre de la Guerre, or moving majestically abroad attired in frock
coat and glossy topper, or lending the dignity of his presence to some
formal ceremony in that beautiful uniform which appertained unto his
office, Monsieur Hector Ducroy cut an imposing figure.
Abed ⊠it was sadly otherwise.
Lanyard switched on the bedside light, turning it so that it struck
full upon the face of the sleeper; and as he sat down, smiled.
The Minister of War lay upon his back, his distinguished corpulence
severely dislocating the chaste simplicity of the bedclothing. Athwart
his shelving chest, fat hands were folded in a gesture affectingly
naïżœve. His face was red, a noble high-light shone upon the promontory
of his bald pate, his mouth was open. To the best of his unconscious
ability he was giving a protracted imitation of a dog-fight; and he was
really exhibiting sublime virtuosity: one readily distinguished
individual howls, growls, yelps, against an undertone of blended voices
of excited non-combatantsâŠ
As suddenly as though some one, wearying of the entertainment, had
lifted the needle from that record, it was discontinued. The Minister
of War stirred uneasily in his sleep, muttered a naughty word, opened
one eye, scowled, opened the other.
He blinked furiously, half-blinded but still able to make out the
disconcerting silhouette of a man seated just beyond the glare: a quiet
presence that moved not but eyed him steadfastly; an apparition the
more arresting because of its very immobility.
Rapidly the face of the Minister of War lost several shades of purple.
He moistened his lips nervously with a thick, dry tongue, and
convulsively he clutched the bedclothing high and tight about his
neck, as though labouring under the erroneous impression that the
sanctity of his person was threatened.
âWhat do you want, monsieur?â he stuttered in a still, small voice
which he would have been the last to acknowledge his own.
âI desire to discuss a matter of business with monsieur,â replied the
intruder after a small pause. âIf you will be good enough to calm
yourselfââ
âI am perfectly calmââ
But here the Minister of War verified with one swift glance an earlier
impression, to the effect that the trespasser was holding something
that shone with metallic lustre; and his soul began to curl up round
the edges.
âThere are eighteen hundred francs in my pocketbookâabout,â he managed
to articulate. âMy watch is on the stand here. You will find the family
plate in the dining-room safe, behind the buffetâthe key is on my
ringâand the jewels of madame my wife are in a small strong-box
beneath the head of her bed. The combinationââ
âPardon: monsieur labours under a misapprehension,â the housebreaker
interposed drily. âHad one desired these valuables, one would readily
have taken them without going to the trouble of disturbing the repose of
monsieurâŠ. I have, however, already mentioned the nature of my
errand.â
âEh?â demanded the Minister of War. âWhat is that? But give me of your
mercy one chance to explain! I have never wittingly harmed you,
monsieur, and if I have done so without my knowledge, rest assured you
have but to petition me through the proper channels and I will be only
too glad to make amends!â
âStill you do not listen!â the other insisted. âCome, Monsieur
Ducroyâcalm yourself. I have not robbed you, because I have no wish to
rob you. I have not harmed you, for I have no wish to harm you. Nor
have I any wish other than to lay before you, as representing
Government, a certain matter of State business.â
There was silence while the Minister of War permitted this exhortation
to sink in. Then, apparently reassured, he sat up in bed and eyed his
untimely visitor with a glare little short of truculent.
âEh? Whatâs that?â he demanded. âBusiness? What sort of business? If
you wish to submit to my consideration any matter of business, how is
it you break into my home at dead of night and rouse me in this brutal
fashionââhere his voice falteredââwith a lethal weapon pointed at my
head?â
âMonsieur will admit he speaks under an error,â returned the burglar.
âI have yet to point this pistol at him. I should be very sorry to feel
obliged to do so. I display it, in fact, simply that monsieur may not
forget himself and attempt to summon servants in his resentment of this
(I admit) unusual method of introducing oneâs self to his attention.
When we understand each other better there will be no need for such
precautions, and then I shall put my pistol away, so that the sight of
it may no longer annoy monsieur.â
âIt is true, I do not understand you,â grumbled the Minister of War.
âWhyâif your errand be peaceableâbreak into my house?â
âBecause it was urgently necessary to see monsieur instantly. Monsieur
will reflect upon the reception one would receive did one ring the front
door-bell and demand audience at three oâclock in the morning!â
âWell âŠâ Monsieur Ducroy conceded dubiously. Then, on reflection, he
iterated the monosyllable testily: âWell! What is it you want, then?â
âI can best explain by asking monsieur to examineâwhat
I have to show him.â
With this Lanyard dropped the pistol into his coat-pocket, from another
produced a gold cigarette-case, and from the store of this last with
meticulous care selected a single cigarette.
Regarding the Minister of War in a mystifying manner, he began to roll
the cigarette briskly between his palms. A small shower of tobacco
sifted to the floor: the rice-paper cracked and came away; and with the
bland smile and gesture of a professional conjurer, Lanyard exhibited a
small cylinder of stiff paper between his thumb and index-finger.
Goggling resentfully, Monsieur Ducroy spluttered:
âEhâwhat impudence is this?â
His smile unchanged, Lanyard bent forward and silently dropped the
cylinder into the Frenchmanâs hand. At the same time he offered him a
pocket magnifying-glass. âWhat is this?â Ducroy persisted stupidly.
âWhatâwhatâ!â
âIf monsieur will be good enough to unroll the papers and examine them
with the aid of this glassââ
With a wondering grunt, the other complied, unrolling several small
sheets of photographerâs printing-out paper, to which several
extraordinarily complicated and minute designs had been
transferredâstrongly resembling laborious efforts to conventionalize a
spiderâs web.
But no sooner had Monsieur Ducroy viewed these through the glass, than
he started violently, uttered an excited exclamation, and subjected them
to an examination both prolonged and exacting.
âMonsieur is, no doubt, now satisfied?â Lanyard enquired when his
patience would endure no longer.
âThese are genuine?â the Minister of War demanded sharply, without
looking up.
âMonsieur can readily discern notations made upon the drawings by the
inventor, Georges Huysman, in his own hand. Furthermore, each plan has
been marked in the lower left-hand corner with the word âacceptedâ
followed by the initials of the German Minister of War. I think this
establishes beyond dispute the authenticity of these photographs of the
plan for Huysmanâs invention.â
âYes,â the Minister of War agreed breathlessly. âYou have the negatives
from which these prints were made?â
âHere,â Lanyard said, indicating a second cigarette.
And then, with a movement so leisurely and careless that his purpose
was accomplished before the other in his preoccupation was aware of it,
the adventurer leaned forward and swept up the prints from the
counterpane in front of Monsieur Ducroy.
âHere!â the Frenchman exclaimed. âWhy do you do that?â
âMonsieur no longer questions their authenticity?â
âI grant you that.â
âThen I return to myself these prints, pending negotiations for their
transfer to France.â
âHow did you come by them?â demanded Monsieur Ducroy, after a momentâs
thought.
âNeed monsieur ask? Is France so ill-served by her spies that you do
not already know of the misfortune one Captain Ekstrom recently
suffered in London?â
Ducroy shook his head. Lanyard received this indication with impatience.
It seemed hardly possible that the French Minister of War could be
either so stupid or so ignorantâŠ.
But with a patient shrug, he proceeded to elucidate.
âCaptain Ekstrom,â he said, âbut recently succeeded in photographing
these plans and took them to London to sell to the English.
Unfortunately for himselfâunhappily for perfidious Albion!âCaptain
Ekstrom fell in with me and mistook me for Downing Streetâs
representative. And here are the plans.â
âYou areâthe Lone Wolfâthen?â
âI am, as far as concerns you, monsieur, merely the person in possession
of these plans, who offers them through you, to France, for a price.â
âBut why introduce yourself to me in this extraordinary
fashion, for a transaction for which the customary channels
âwith which you must be familiarâare entirely adequate?â
âSimply because Ekstrom has followed me to Paris,â Lanyard explained
indulgently. âDid I venture to approach you in the usual way, my chances
of rounding out a useful life thereafter would be practically nil.
Furthermore, my circumstances are such that it has become necessary
for me to leave France immediatelyâwithout an hourâs delayâalso
secretly; else I might as well remain here to be butcheredâŠ. Now you
command the only means I know of, to accomplish my purpose. And that
is the price, the only price, you will have to pay me for these plans.â
âI donât understand you.â
âIt
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