He has had much money. He gets
more. He shall be rich man after comes _Der Tag_. It might be we make
him von Nuttle! and you shall be Graefin von Oesten."

Mamise was in an abject terror. The thick trees of the park were
spooky as the dim light of the car elicited from the black wall of
dark faint details of tree-trunks and naked boughs stark with winter.
She was in a hurry to learn the rest and be gone. She spoke with a
poor imitation of pride:

"So I have already done something more for Germany. That's splendid.
Now tell me what else I can do, for I want to--to get busy right
away."

Nicky was too intoxicated with his success to see through her thin
disguise.

"You are close by Davidge. Chake Nuttle tells me he is sveet on you.
You have his confidence. You can learn what secrets he has. Next time
we do not vait for ship to be launched and to go for cargo. It might
go some place ve could not find.

"So now ve going blow up those ships before they touch vater--ve blow
up his whole yard. You shall go beck and take up again your vork, and
ven all is right I come down and get a job. I dress like vorkman and
get into the yard. And I bring in enough bombs to blow up all the
ships and the cranes and the machines.

"Chake Nuttle tells me Davidge just gets a plate-bending machine.
Forty-five t'ousand dollars it costs him, and long time to get. In one
minute--poof! Ve bend that plate-bender!"

He laughed a great Teutonic laugh and supposed that she was laughing,
too. When he had subsided a little, he said:

"So now you know vat you are to make! You like to do so much for
Chermany, yes?"

"Oh yes! Yes!" said Mamise.

"You promise to do vat I send you vord?"

"Yes." She would have promised to blow up the Capitol.

"_Ach_, how beautiful you are even in the dark! Kiss me!"

Remembering Judith, she paid that odious price, wishing that she might
have the beast's infamous head with a sword. It was a kiss of
betrayal, but she felt that it was no Judas-kiss, since Nicky was no
Christ.

He told her more of his plans in detail, and was so childishly proud
of his superb achievements, past and future, that she could hardly
persuade him to take her back to the station. He assured her that
there was abundant time, but she would not trust his watch. She
explained how necessary it was for her to return to Washington and to
Polly Widdicombe's house before midnight. And at last he yielded to
her entreaties, opened the door, and