! 'It must not be found here'" (she
mimicked my grave tone). "It will not be found here, young man!"

And she chuckled with all the full-bodied good humour of a fat person.

"You mean?"

"I mean what I mean, young man, and what you mean," she replied. "When
they are in a difficulty, when there are complications, when there is
any unpleasantness.. like _this_ ... they remember die Schratt, 'die
fesche Anna,' as they called me once, and it is 'gnadige Frau' here and
'gnadige Frau' there and a diamond bracelet or a pearl ring, if only I
will do the little conjuring trick that will smooth everything over. But
when all goes well, then I am 'old Schratt,' 'old hag,' 'old woman,' and
I must take my orders and beg nicely and ... bah!"

Her words ended in a gulp, which in any other woman would have been a
sob.

Then she added in her hard harlot's voice:

"You needn't worry your head about _him,_ there! Leave him to me! It's
my trade!"

At those words, which covered God only knows what horrors of midnight
disappearances, of ghoulish rites with packing-case and sack, in the
dark cellars of that evil house, I felt that, could I but draw back from
the enterprise to which I had so rashly committed myself, I would do so
gladly. Only then did I begin to realize something of the utter
ruthlessness, the cold, calculating ferocity, of the most bitter and
most powerful enemy which the British Empire has ever had.

But it was too late to withdraw now. The die was cast. Destiny, knocking
at my door, had found me ready to follow, and I was committed to
whatever might befall me in my new personality.

The German woman turned to go.

"Der Stelze will be here at eight, then," she said. "I suppose the
gentleman will take his early morning coffee before."

"I shan't be here," I said. "You can tell your friend I've gone."

She turned on me like a flash.

She was hard as flint again.

"Nein!" she cried. "You stay here!"

"No," I answered with equal force, "not I ..."

"... Orders are orders and you and I must obey!"

"But who is Stelze that he should give orders to me?" I cried.

"Who is...?" She spoke aghast.

"... And you yourself," I continued, "were saying ..."

"When an order has been given, what you or I think or say is of no
account," the woman said. "It is an order: you and I know _whose_ order.
Let that suffice. You stay here! Good night!"

With that she was gone. She closed the door behind her; the key rattled
in