ht before I met you," she went on. "A
man was following you, and you chased him around the corner."

"I remember that," he said; "the poor chap was found dead the next
morning. Old Otto killed him. The man had been following me, and I had
imagined that he was one of old Otto's spies and knocked him down. I
couldn't find anything on him to indicate who he was, so just as he was
beginning to revive I left him and came on home. It seems old Otto had
been watching him trail me. He followed along and shot the man. He
gleefully told me about it the next day, the hound. I ought to have
given him over to the police, but that would have upset our plans."

"I see," said Jane; "what about Lieutenant Kramer? Was he working with
old Mr. Hoff?"

"That's the funny part of it. Here in this country you've got so many
kinds of secret agents they're always trampling on each others' toes.
There's your treasury agents, and your Department of Justice agents, and
your army intelligence men and your naval intelligence men--nine
different sets of investigators you've got, counting the volunteers, so
some one told me, and each lot trying to make a record for itself and
not taking the others into its confidence. Rather stupid I call it."

"I should say so," agreed Jane.

"Here was I watching old Hoff for our government, and Kramer watching me
for your navy and Fleck watching both of us. It was a funny jumble."

"But about that uniform?" Jane persisted.

"When the old man got to ragging me a bit, I felt I must do something to
convince him I was all right. I suggested trying to get a British
uniform and maybe learning thereby some secrets. It delighted him
hugely. Of course I just went down to Colonel Brook-White and got my own
uniform, and that was all there was to that."

"It puzzled Mr. Carter, though, how you got it in and out of the house.
He used to open every bundle that came for Mr. Hoff."

Sir Frederic laughed delightedly.

"I had a messenger who used to bring it back and forth in a big lady's
hat-box. It always was addressed to you, my dear, but the boy had
instructions to deliver it to me."

"Humph," snapped Jane with mock indignation. "And when did you first
find out that I was helping Chief Fleck watch you?"

"I suspected it from the start. Kramer told me how you'd become
acquainted with him. Then when I heard you 'phoning Carter about the
bookstore I knew for certain."

"Oh, that's one thing now I wanted to ask about--t