“Now, if you had discovered where one of those packages was concealed—in making use of the pronoun, I refer not alone to yourself in person, but to every other member of the official household of the ambassador—would it have advantaged you or any other person within that household to have abstracted one of those packages?” “I cannot conceive how it would have done so, Mr. Carter.” “I do not mean that papers so taken would necessarily be used, or passed on to other persons; but would it have been to the interest of any person of your knowledge to repress those papers?” “The question, Mr. Carter, is beyond me. Remember, I am utterly ignorant of their contents.” “But knowing the country besides your own that they concern, you, being in the diplomatic service, could make a shrewd guess regarding the purport of them, could you not?” “No. Really, Mr. Carter, I could not. I have known enough about what has been going on, to have drawn conclusions several times; conclusions which I thought at the time were quite satisfactory, but which inevitably have proven to be entirely and utterly erroneous.” “How long a time have those papers been in preparation?” “I do not know.” “How long a time have you been attached to the embassy at Washington?” “Two years; rather more than that.” “They have been in preparation since you have been there?” “Yes.” “And before that time?” “I have reason to suppose so.” “Who would be chiefly interested in stealing papers of the sort you suppose them to be, colonel?” “Ah; now you ask me a question which I can answer. Not directly; I don’t mean that; but in a general way.” “Well?” “I am only young in the service, Mr. Carter, but I have been sufficiently long engaged in it to know that whenever there is a diplomatic movement on foot, inimical to another country or government, the government which it threatens is pretty apt to have an inkling of the matter, or at least a suspicion.” “Yes. I should suppose so.” “We will say, then, that this affair threatens the government of Siam—which is preposterous, of course; I suggest it only by way of illustration.” “Yes.” “If the government of Siam were one of the first or second rate powers, it would have diplomatic representatives at every capital in the world. It would have secret agents all over the world. You understand that?” “I do.” “Now, if it suspected that Russia was plotting some antagonistic move, it would watch Russia, not alone at St. Petersburg, but all over the world. It would consider carefully who the man might be in the diplomatic service of Russia, who would be most likely to be given the operation of such a delicate affair, and who could be entirely trusted with it; who possessed the brain capacity to carry it out; who was in every way competent.” “I understand you. Well?”