“You are a wonderful girl and I will admit you are right. Heavens! the patience required to work out these details!” “The ideal criminal is a strategist,” said the girl. “He foresees every move of the enemy and forestalls him. He makes a diversion at one point and his real attack at another. He prepares the way for retreat at the same time as he is preparing his advance. It took me six months to obtain all the information I wanted and it took six minutes for Rahboulla to upset our plans.” She laughed. “If things go wrong, you blame the general,” she said. “Three years ago, Gregori the Kicker introduced an Italian into one of our schemes--the business of the Nottingham Post Office. That went wrong, too.” “There I admit you were right,” the Colonel hurried to say; “Tolmini made a mess of it.”[1] “And tried to drag us all into it when he was caught,” said the girl; “he went to prison under the impression that I had led him into a trap--though the fool was told the mail bags were not to be touched until the night shift came on duty.” “Why do you mention him now with such emphasis?” asked the Colonel curiously. “Because he’s out of prison--and he’ll be kicking, too,” she replied, “just as Gregori kicks!” “‘Let the dead past bury the dead,’” quoted the Colonel. “And how is the new scheme?” “Much farther advanced than you think. There are still one or two roads to be made smooth, one or two outposts to be rushed, some barbed wire to be cut.” “By Gad!” cried the Colonel admiringly. “You ought to have been a soldier, Kate.” She leant back in the chair with her hands clasped behind her head and looked at him searchingly. “You were once a gentleman, uncle,” she said in that direct way of hers and Colonel Westhanger flushed and frowned. “Well, my dear uncle,” she expostulated, “you are not a gentleman by the ordinary code now are you?” “I have certain instincts,” protested the Colonel gruffly; “hang it all, Kate, you don’t let a fellow down very lightly.” “I suppose you are still something of a gentleman,” said the girl reflectively; “the mere fact that you are annoyed at the suggestion that you are not proves that. But what I mean to say is this: there was a time when you obeyed another code, when you thought stealing was a disgraceful thing and robbery under arms a crime. You must have associated with men on whose word you could rely and who would never commit a dishonest or a mean action--men who were prepared in battle to give their lives for you. And you must have commanded men who had the same views and have punished soldiers who stepped aside from the straight path and committed little crimes which, compared with yours, were as pin-heads to the dome of St. Paul’s.”