Adventure Magazine Cover — page 67: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The King said René. ‘He is priceless—incorruptible, silent, and as sure as Destiny! The French General Staff will have that letter before dawn. Now—what next?” “You come with me,” I answered. He felt better now that the message was on its way; second thought convinced him of my connection with the French. There is no more profitless delusion than to sup- pose that a country’s secret agents are al- ways its own nationals. They are almost always not. If the French used only Frenchmen, Ger- many used none but Germans, Great Britain only Englishmen, and so on, it might be prettier and easier for the police, but in- telligence departments would starve. So there was nothing about an obvious Ameri- can doing spy-work for the French that should stick in his craw; and that being so, the more cheerfully he aided me the better it would likely be for him. So he called for the servant again, and proved himself a good campaigner by super- intending the packing of a big basket with provisions—bread and butter, cold chicken, wine, olives, and hot coffee in a thermos bottle. “The French will be in Damsacus by noon tomorrow,” he said. ‘‘Ha-ha! Those French and their hungry Algerians! We do well to take a good provision with us— enough for two days at least. We shall enter with them, I suppose, or at least be- hind them, and of course my house here will receive consideration; but—ha-ha!—how many chickens do you believe will be pur- chasable in Damascus one hour after the first Algerians get here? Eh? Put in another chicken, Hassan, mon brave. Eh bien, out—pack the EEAISEe full; put in more of everything!’ At last he got into an overcoat lined with fox-pelt, for the night air was chilly and an overcoat is less trouble than blankets if you expect to spend a night on the move. We hove the huge basket into the waiting auto, slammed the front door of the house behind us, piled into the back seat and were off. “T shall be glad when this business is over,” said René with a sigh of satisfaction. “T am a banker by profession. For me the ebb and flow of trade, with its certainties and its discretions. But what would you? Trade must be prepared for; doors that will not open must be forced; those who stand in the way must be thrust aside. This in Check 61 Feisul is an impossible fellow. He is a hypocrite, I tell you—one of those praters about righteousness who won’t understand that the church and the mosque are the places for that sort of thing. Eh? You follow me? But tell me, what has been done to Daulch, Hattin and Aubek? Were they backed against a wall and shot? Who betrayed them? Too bad that such a plan . should fail, for it was perfect.” “Far from perfect,” I answered; for that one piece of strategy I have by heart—the way to make a man tell all he knows is to pretend to superior knowledge. “Heh? How could you improve on it? Three members of the staff to order sauve - qui peut unexpectedly, seize Feisul, and de- liver him dead or alive? What is better than that? But what has been done to the three?” “Nothing,” I answered. “Just like him! Just like him! I tell you, that man Feisul would rather be a martyr than succeed at his proper business.” We reached the palace just as Feisul was leaving it. Several members of his staff were hard on his heels in the porch and our party was behind them again, with Mabel last of all. There was a line of waiting autos nearly long enough to fill the drive, but an utter absence of military fuss, and no shout- ing or hurry. It looked in the dark more like a funeral than the departure of a king to join his army at the front. I remained in the car with the banker and sent Jeremy to report our doings to Grim. Presently I could see him standing under the porch lamp with a hand on Grim’s shoulder, and I leaned out over the auto door to watch; but René the banker leaned back, snuggled up in his overcoat, liking neither to be seen nor to get his skin wet. I expected to see the three staff officers Daulch, Hattin and Aubek arrested there and then; but nothing happened, except that Feisul suddenly drove away with Ma- bel and Grim in the same car with him. There followed a rush for the other cars, and the whole line started forward, Jeremy jumping in as our car passed the porch. “Daulch, Hattin and Aubek are at the front,” he said and began humming to him- self. ‘“‘At the front?’ demanded René, sitting upright suddenly. ‘At the front, you say? When did they leave for the front?” “This evening,” answered Jeremy. COMmMiCcloook C (C@