-now lay between Ray and myself.

At that instant, however, Griesbach rose from the table suddenly,
saying:

"You two gentlemen must settle between yourselves. It lies between you."

And before we were aware of his intention he had passed into the
adjoining room, followed by his two friends.

"Well," I laughed to Ray when we were alone, "here goes. Let's decide
it!" And we both gripped the long green-and-gold cracker. If the coin
were within, then I should receive a very handsome present, worth a
little later on, perhaps, several thousand pounds.

At that instant, however, we were both startled by a loud smashing of
glass in the next room, curses in German and loud shouts in English,
followed by the dull report of a revolver.

We both sprang into the room, and there, to our surprise, found that six
men had entered through the broken French window and were struggling
fiercely with our host and his friends.

"What in the name of Fate does this mean?" I cried, startled and amazed
at that sudden termination to our cosy Christmas dinner.

"All right, Mr. Raymond," answered a big brown-bearded man. "You know
me--Pelham of Scotland Yard! Keep an eye on those bon-bons in the next
room. Don't touch them at peril of your life!"

"Why?" I asked.

Then, when our host and our two friends had been secured--not, however,
before the room had been wrecked in a most desperate struggle--Inspector
Pelham came forward to where Ray was standing with me, and said:

"My God, Mr. Raymond! You two have had a very narrow escape, and no
mistake! Where are those bon-bons?"

We took him into the dining-room, showed him the remaining two, and told
him we had been about to pull them.

"I know. We were watching you through the window. Those men were flying
from the house when they ran into our arms!"

"Why?"

"Because they are a dangerous trio whom we want on several charges. In
addition, all three, and also the two servants, are ingenious spies in
the service of the German General Staff. They've been busy this last two
years. They intended to wreak upon both of you a terrible revenge for
your recent exposures of the German system of espionage in England and
your constant prosecution of their spies."

"Revenge!" I gasped. "What revenge?"

"Well," replied the detective-inspector, "both these bon-bons contain
powerful bombs, and had you pulled either of them you'd both have been
blown to atoms. That was their dastardly intention. But