“That is the gravest danger. The ambassador is the only other person who knows,” he said in a low, impressive whisper. “The Japanese battle-ships have orders to prevent by force the sailing of the ‘Alaska.’ We do not dare give this alarming information to your captain. If he knew he would gladly fight his way out of Yokohama Bay. We bow to him as a naval man, but we are not willing to use his ready diplomacy. The yacht would cause no comment. The secret document will be delivered to the Japanese officials, and in the night the ‘Sylvia’ can easily steal away. Your ambassador can without arousing suspicion requisition your services from your captain, telling him that he needs you for secret duty, and nothing more. “I wish you could avoid this meeting with Takishima,” Impey added nervously. “If anything should happen the opportunity would be lost.” He rose again from his chair and moved toward the door. “I shall see the ambassador at once, and endeavor to hurry the plans along. He will send for you. Meanwhile,” he urged, “do your best to propitiate that fire-eating little Oriental.” The three shook hands, and the door closed behind the conspirator. Phil and Sydney gazed at each other in blank amazement. Where was the key to the problem? Who could be trusted? CHAPTER XVI THE DUEL O’Neil and his chum Marley had no more than gotten safely on board the “Alaska” than they were again obtaining permission to return to Tokyo. “We have some dope on the situation, sir,” O’Neil explained to the executive officer, “which Captain Rodgers should know at once.” Permission was readily obtained, and inside of an hour after their release from their enforced captivity, they were on the train for Tokyo. “I knew we’d get the correct dope on that guy, Impey, before we got through, Bill,” O’Neil exclaimed happily. “He and those quill-pushers of his have been manufacturing a war out of nothing. They’ve had us all going.” Marley smiled sympathetically, but hardly intelligently. “You see, Bill,” O’Neil added confidingly, “this gentleman confidence man has been selling green goods to both sides, and making each believe that the other fellow is putting up a game on him. Nations ain’t like people,” he explained; “people can go to each other and find out just where they stand with one another, face to face. The spies of two nations sometimes get together and sell each other out and send home false dope. When two nations are so different, like us and the Japanese, we have to hire foreign spies because each would soon get on to the other nation’s spies, and then they wouldn’t be any use. This man Impey is an international spy; he belongs to any one who’ll pay him.”