the secretary of state and douglas hastened through the wide corridors of the immense state, war, and navy building. as they passed an elevator shaft in the navy wing, douglas caught a fleeting glimpse of eleanor thornton in one of the lifts as it shot downward toward the ground floor. on their arrival they were ushered at once into secretary wyndham’s private office.
“glad to see you,” exclaimed wyndham, “your call is most opportune”—he stopped on seeing douglas standing behind the secretary of state, and his eyebrows went up questioningly.
“this is mr. douglas hunter, attaché of the american embassy at tokio, wyndham,” explained the secretary of state.
“how are you, sir.” the secretary of the navy shook hands brusquely. “will you both be seated?”
“i brought mr. hunter with me that he might tell you of certain information which he gathered in japan about some prospective movements of their navy.” he glanced significantly at douglas, who nodded understandingly, and without more words gave a clear, concise statement of naval affairs in japan, omitting all mention of other matters.
secretary wyndham listened to his remarks with the closest attention. when he ceased speaking wyndham sprang from his chair and, walking over to the adjoining room, spoke to his confidential clerk, then closed the door and returned.
“i have told him to admit no one,” he explained briefly, as he seated himself in his swivel chair.
“may we see the new charts of the pacific?” inquired the secretary of state, moving his chair closer to the other’s desk.
“certainly; but first i must tell you of a remarkable occurrence which took place here earlier this morning.” a violent fit of coughing interrupted wyndham, and it was some minutes before he could speak clearly. “ah!” he gasped, tilting back in his chair and mopping his flushed face, “a spring cold is almost impossible to cure.”
“i don’t think yours will be improved if you continue to sit in a direct draft,” remonstrated the secretary of state, pointing to the open windows.
“i had to have air. by george! man, if you had been through what i have this morning—” he did not complete his sentence.
“what happened?” asked the secretary of state, with growing interest.
“the plans of the two new dreadnaughts have been stolen.”
“impossible!” the secretary of state half started from his chair.
“impossible? well, i’d have said the same five hours ago,” dryly.
“were they stolen from this office?” asked douglas.
“yes, and not only from this office, but under my very eyes.”
“how?”
“to give you both a clear idea i must go into details,” wyndham drew his chair up closer and lowered his voice. “about twelve o’clock my private secretary brought me word that a man wished to see me personally. of course, i have daily callers who all wish to see me personally, and usually my secretary takes care of them. this particular caller refused to give his name and said he would explain his business to me alone. i thought he was simply a harmless crank, and told my secretary to get rid of him as soon as possible.” wyndham sighed. “in a few minutes my secretary was back in the office, saying that the stranger had a message for me from senator carew.”
“a written message?” asked the secretary of state.
“no, a verbal one. with everyone else in washington, i have taken great interest in the terrible murder of my old friend. the man’s statement aroused my interest, and, having a few minutes of leisure, i told my secretary to show him in.”
“what did he look like?” inquired the secretary of state, deeply interested.
“a tall, dark chap; his hair and beard were black, and he had the bluest eyes i’ve ever seen in human head.”
“was he well dressed?”
“no, his clothes were shabby but fairly neat. he looked as if he had spruced up for the occasion. i can’t say i was prepossessed in his favor by his appearance.”
“did he give you his name?”
“no.”
“do you think he was an american?” put in douglas.
“it’s hard to say. at first i sized him up as being a spaniard.”
“didn’t you ask his name?” again inquired the secretary of state impatiently.
“i did, and his errand. he ignored my first question, and in answer to the second said that he had come to examine some records. i informed him that he had come to the wrong office, and that my clerk would direct him to the proper room. he then made the astounding statement that he had an appointment to meet senator carew here in this office at twelve o’clock. i was taken completely by surprise by the man’s statement and asked: ‘what day did you expect to meet senator carew here?’
“‘this morning, at twelve o’clock,’ he answered, and then added, ‘he is late.’
“thinking the man a little daft or drunk, though i could detect no sign of liquor, i said abruptly, ‘a likely tale; senator carew is dead.’
“‘dead!’ he shouted, springing out of his chair.
“‘yes, dead—murdered last monday night.’ i hadn’t anticipated giving him such a shock, or i would have broken the news more gently. the effect on my visitor was appalling. he collapsed on the floor in a fit. the electric bells in this office are out of order, and, although i shouted for help, no one heard me. i sprang out of my chair, undid the man’s necktie and collar, threw the contents of my ice pitcher in his face, and then bolted into the other room to get assistance. most of the clerks had gone out to their lunch. i called two men who happened to be eating their lunch in an adjoining room, and we hastened back here only to find my strange visitor gone!”
“gone!” ejaculated the secretary of state.
“vanished. the only sign of his presence was the spilled ice water on the floor, and that chair overturned,” pointing to the one douglas was occupying.
“did no one see him slip out of the door into the hall?” asked douglas.
“no. unfortunately the messenger, who sits near my door, had gone into the room across the corridor. the man made a quick getaway, and luck broke with him, for no one noticed him leaving the building.”
“how do you know he isn’t hiding somewhere?” inquired douglas.
“if he is, he will be captured, for chief connor and a number of secret service men are searching the building.”
“when did you discover the plans of the battleships were missing?”
wyndham swore softly. “that’s the devilish part of it,” he said bitterly. “as soon as i realized the man had really run away i glanced over my papers. everything seemed to be all right. i pulled open this drawer,” opening it as he spoke, “and saw these blue prints lying exactly as i had placed them under this folded newspaper. i slammed the drawer shut, thinking my strange visitor was simply a harmless lunatic, who had probably read about carew’s death until he became obsessed with the subject, and dismissed the matter from my mind.”
“was this drawer locked when your strange visitor was admitted?”
“no.”
“then anyone might have stolen the papers,” exclaimed the secretary of state in surprise.
wyndham reddened. “no, they could not. the only time i’ve been out of this room was when i ran out looking for aid for that miserable scoundrel. that is the only chance there has been to steal the papers.”
“you think, then,” began douglas, checking his remarks off on his fingers, “first, that the whole thing was a plot; that the man used senator carew’s name to arouse your interest or curiosity; that he faked a fit, and in your absence removed the plans and substituted false blueprints, taking a chance that you would simply look to see that everything was safe in your drawer and not examine further, and then made his escape.”
“you’ve hit it exactly,” acknowledged wyndham. “those were the conclusions reached by chief connor also.”
“it was no irresponsible person who committed that theft,” declared the secretary of state thoughtfully. “it was a well-laid plot, neatly carried out. how long have the papers been in your possession, wyndham?”
“they were sent here yesterday for my inspection. there has been a leak here somewhere, damn it!” wyndham set his bulldog jaw. “i’ll trace it to the bottom, and when i find out——” he clenched his fists menacingly.
“what callers did you see besides the spaniard?” asked douglas.
“let me see—the usual run, several office seekers, a number of naval officers—oh, yes, my wife came in with colonel thornton and his niece, miss eleanor thornton.”
“before or after the spaniard had been here?” questioned douglas swiftly.
“shortly afterward. they came in about a quarter of one and did not stay long.”
“after you had discovered the loss of the plans?”
“no, before. i only discovered their loss three-quarters of an hour ago.”
“how long were your wife and her friends in this office?” inquired douglas persistently.
“about fifteen minutes.”
“then how does it happen that i saw miss eleanor thornton descending in one of the elevators when the secretary and i were on our way to this office to see you?”
“oh, miss eleanor told me that she was going to the library to look up the records of some of her ancestors, as she wishes to join the colonial dames. i think she has been up there ever since. my wife and colonel thornton left together without waiting for her.”
“you are absolutely certain, wyndham, that you haven’t been out of this office except on that one occasion?” asked the secretary of state for the second time.
“i will take my bible oath on it,” exclaimed wyndham solemnly.
the three men gazed at each other in silence, each busy with his own thoughts. the secretary of state was the first to recover himself.
“have you had your lunch, wyndham?” he inquired.
the latter shook his head. “i’ve lost my appetite,” he growled.
the secretary of state rose and placed his hand on the broad shoulder of the younger man. “don’t take it so much to heart, wyndham,” he said kindly. “we’ll get at the bottom of this tangle before long. we’ll all stand by and help you, and, remember, chief connor is a host in himself.”
“thanks,” wyndham straightened his bent shoulders; his face was set and his eyes snapped as the spirit of the born fighter returned. “i’ll move heaven and earth until i catch that spaniard. must you both be going?”
“yes.” the secretary of state answered for douglas as well as for himself. “we have detained you quite long enough. let me know immediately of any new developments.”
“i will. mr. hunter, it’s been a pleasure to meet you, although i am afraid the information you have given me, considered with the loss of the plans of the new battleships, complicates the situation. good-bye, come and see me again,” and the big door swung shut.
halfway down the corridor the secretary of state paused and regarded douglas seriously. “talk of complicated situations——” he passed his hand wearily over his forehead, then started with sudden resolution. “come on, hunter, i’m going over to the white house; a talk with the president may clear my brain. wyndham may have lost his appetite, but he’s given us food for thought.”
