Ambrose Lavendale, DiplomatOppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
History
Ambrose Lavendale, Diplomat
Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
English fiction -- 20th century; Short stories, English; Spy stories, English
'If your sympathy were a little stronger,' she remarked quietly, 'I
could show you how to render England an incalculable service.'
'Tell me how?'
'First of all,' she continued, 'look at those three men and tell me
what you think of them?'
He turned a little in his place and glanced towards the table which she
had indicated. One of the three men who were seated at it was
obviously a foreigner. His hair was grey towards the temples, although
his moustache was almost jet-black; his cheek-bones were high, his
teeth a little prominent. He wore evening clothes of the most correct
cut, his shirt and links were unexceptionable. His two companions were
men of a different stamp. The one who seemed to dominate the party was
a huge man, clean-shaven, with puffy face and small eyes. He wore a
dark flannel suit of transatlantic cut. He was drinking a large whisky
and soda and smoking a cigar, and had apparently eaten nothing. His
companion was of smaller build, with flaxen moustache and hair, and
dressed in light grey clothes and yellow boots. On the face of it, the
trio were ill-assorted.
'Well, I should say,' Lavendale remarked, 'that the dark man in the
corner chair was a foreigner--a Russian, for choice. The other two
are, of course, American business men. The face of the big man seems
familiar to me.'
'You've probably seen his picture in the illustrated papers,' she told
him. 'That is Jacob P. Weald. He was once called, I believe, the
powder king.'
Lavendale nodded. His manner had become more interested.
'Of course,' he murmured. 'And that's Jenkins, the secretary to the
Weald Company. I wonder who the third man is?'
'His name is Ossendorf--the Baron Cyril Ossendorf. He is a _persona
grata_ at the Russian Embassy and he owns great estates in Poland.'
'Stop!' Lavendale exclaimed. 'This is getting interesting. He is
buying munitions, of course.'
'Marvellous!' she murmured.
'Don't chaff me--it's really interesting.'
'Yes,' she admitted, 'it is interesting even from its external point of
view. You are right. The Baron is probably giving, or has given, an
enormous order for ammunition. Yet there is something behind that
little conference, if only we could probe it, more interesting than you
would believe, my friend.'
She paused. He waited eagerly, but she was silent for an unusually
long time.
'You were suggesting,' he ventured to remind her, 'a few minutes ago,
that there was some way in which intervention----'
She leaned a little towards him. Her hand rested for a second upon his.
'I have come to the conclusion,' she said, speaking very softly, 'that
one of us, either you or I, must kill Ossendorf.'
He began to laugh and then stopped suddenly. A little shiver ran
through him. For a single second her face was almost the face of a
tigress. He felt that his laugh was a mistake.
'You are in earnest!' he muttered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account