"Mr. O'Donnel," he said soberly, "if I broke a tube of that stuff in the corner of a ten-thousand-acre field the whole field would be rotten in twenty-four hours! It spreads from stalk to stalk with a rapidity that is amazing. One germ multiplies itself in a living cornfield a billion times in twelve hours. It would not only be possible, but certain that twenty of van Heerden's agents in America could destroy the harvests of the United States in a week." "But why should he do this--he is a German, you say--and Germans do not engage in frightfulness unless they see a dividend at the end of it." "There is a dividend--a dividend of millions at the end of it," said Beale, graver, "that much I know. I cannot tell you any more yet. But I can say this: that up till yesterday van Heerden was carrying on the work without the aid of his Government. That is no longer the case. There is now a big syndicate in existence to finance him, and the principal shareholder is the German Government. He has already spent thousands, money he has borrowed and money he has stolen. As a side-line and sheerly to secure her money he carried off John Millinborn's heiress with the object of forcing her into a marriage." The commissioner chewed the end of his cigar. "This is a State matter and one on which I must consult the Home Office. You tell me that the Foreign Office believe your story--of course I do, too," he added quickly, "though it sounds wildly improbable. Wait here." He took up his hat and went out. "It is going to be a difficult business to convict van Heerden," said the superintendent when his chief had gone, "you see, in the English courts, motive must be proved to convict before a jury, and there seems no motive except revenge. A jury would take a lot of convincing that a man spent thousands of pounds to avenge a wrong done to his country." Beale had no answer to this. At the back of his mind he had a dim idea of the sheer money value of the scheme, but he needed other evidence than he possessed. The commissioner returned soon after. "I have been on the 'phone to the Under-Secretary, and we will take action against van Heerden on the evidence the factory offers. I'll put you in charge of the case, McNorton, you have the search-warrant already? Good!" He shook hands with Beale. "You will make a European name over this, Mr. Beale," he said. "I hope Europe will have nothing more to talk about," said Beale. They passed back to McNorton's office. "I'll come right along," said the superintendent. He was taking his hat from a peg when he saw a closed envelope lying on his desk. "From the local police station," he said. "How long has this been here?" His clerk shook his head. "I can't tell you, sir--it has been there since I came in." "H'm--I must have overlooked it. Perhaps it is news from your factory." He tore it open, scanned the contents and swore. "There goes your evidence, Beale," he said. "What is it?" asked Beale quickly.