He had caught Brunow's tone to a hair, and spoke as if the whole thing
were the merest casual trifle.

"He's prepared to do his duty now?" asked Brunow. I heard no response,
but I presume that the man gave some sign of affirmation, for Brunow
went on: "Very well; I'm ready. It could hardly have happened at a
better time."

"I thought you were going to square up to-morrow, sir," the man said.

"So did I," responded Brunow; "but I've as much chance of that now as
you have of being Emperor of China. Go on; I'm quite ready."

There was a trifling difficulty with the catch of the outer door, with
which both Hinge and myself had long been familiar, and which we now
surmounted with perfect ease. It bothered Brunow and the stranger,
however, for I heard them both fumbling at the lock, and at last Hinge,
hearing also, left his little bedroom on the landing and came to their
assistance.

Then the door was opened, and with a cry of "Goodbye, Fyffe!" to which I
returned no answer, Brunow went away in charge of his business friend.

At the first opening of the outer door the cold wind of the spring night
came into the room with a burst, and scattered a handful of papers about
the floor. I busied myself in picking these up again, but finding that
the hall-door was still open, I called out to Hinge to close it. He
delayed until I had repeated my order in an angry tone, and then, having
closed the door, he came into my room with a hurried and excited look.

"Beg pardon for keeping the door open, sir," said Hinge, "but I've just
seen something rather curious."

"Never mind that now," I answered. "Go to bed. I shall not want you any
more to-night."

"No, sir," said Hinge. "If you'll excuse me, sir, this is something very
important."

He was not wont to be troublesome, but after all the events of that
strange night I was fairly unsettled and pretty well out of temper.
I snapped at Hinge, telling him to go and not to bother me with any
nonsense just then.

"Got to tell you this, sir," said Hinge, standing at attention,
and looking straight before him. Even then it was with no sense of
importance in the matter he had to communicate that I listened to him.

"Go on," I said, "and get it over. What is it?"

"Well, sir," said Hinge, "when I was in the general's service in Vienna
I used to see a lot of the Austrian police. I got to know some of them
by sight--a good many, I might say. Secret chaps, they was, sir--spies."

"That