A Rogue by Compulsion: An Affair of the Secret ServiceBridges, Victor
General
A Rogue by Compulsion: An Affair of the Secret Service
Bridges, Victor
Secret service -- Fiction; Spy stories
He touched his cap. "Thank ye, sir. Thank ye very much." Then,
fumbling in his pocket, he produced a rather dirty and crumpled card.
"I don't rightly know what the game is, Guv'nor," he went on in a
lowered tone, "but if you should 'appen to want to call on me for
evidence any time, Martyn's Garridge, Walham Green, 'll always find
me. Ye only need to ask for Dick 'Arris. They all knows me round
there."
I accepted the card, and having assured Mr. Harris that in the event
of my needing his testimony I would certainly look him up, I lit
my delayed cigarette and started to stroll back towards Parelli's.
Whoever my original friend and his pal with the eyeglass might be, I
was anxious to give them a few minutes' law before thrusting myself
upon their society. I had known Parelli's well in the old days, and
remembering the numerous looking-glasses which decorated its walls, I
thought it probable that I should be able to find some obscure seat,
from which I could obtain a view of their table without being too
conspicuous myself. Still, it seemed advisable to give them time to
settle down to dinner first, so, stopping at a newspaper shop at the
corner, I spun out another minute or two in buying myself a copy of
_La Vie Parisienne_ and the latest edition of the _Pall Mall_. With
these under my arm and a pleasant little tingle of excitement in my
heart I walked up to the door of the restaurant, which a uniformed
porter immediately swung open.
I found myself in a brightly lit passage, inhabited by a couple of
waiters, one of whom came forward to take my hat and stick. The other
pushed back the glass door which led into the restaurant, and then
stood there bowing politely and waiting for me to pass.
I stopped for a moment on the threshold, and cast a swift glance round
the room. It was a large, low-ceilinged apartment, broken up by square
pillars, but as luck would have it I spotted my two men at the very
first attempt. They were sitting at a table in one of the farther
corners, and they seemed to be so interested in each other's company
that neither of them had even looked up at my entrance.
I didn't wait for them to do it either. Quickly and unobtrusively I
walked to the corner table on the left of the floor, and sat down with
my back towards them. I was facing a large mirror which reflected the
other side of the room with admirable clearness.
A waiter handed me the menu, and after I had ordered a light dinner I
spread out _La Vie Parisienne_ on the table, and bending over it made
a pretence of admiring its drawings. As a matter of fact I kept my
entire attention focused on the looking-glass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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