By that time Downs was within arm's reach. He lunged forward, gripped the man, and hurled him backward through the door. Potter leaped after them. "Shut the door!" snapped Downs from a victor's perch on the astounded man's chest. "Help roll him over." The man was turned on his face and steel circles clinked upon his wrists. "Who are you?... What does this mean?" the man said, furiously. "I'm not sure," said Downs, "till we take a look-see. Maybe it's just an outrage on a respectable business man. If it is you may expect profuse apologies." A huge safe stood open invitingly. Downs pounced upon it, found it full of little drawers, and the drawers laden with papers, with card indices and the like--and all covered with German script. "Um!..." he said. "Read German?" "Yes," said Potter. "I don't. Talk it, but don't read to speak of. Have a look." Potter unfolded a document, read it, shrugged his shoulders. "No apologies needed," he said to the handcuffed man. "These," he said to Downs, "seem to be reports from agents--reports of their movements." He examined a card from an adjoining drawer. "These are the agents, all neatly indexed, with the salaries paid," he said. "The Germans are a systematic and efficient people." "They _will_ stick to system," said Downs, with a chuckle. "It's a great labor-saver for us." "When you find the system," said Potter, with a chuckle. "We seem to have the whole bag of tricks. The next thing is to go over this mass of stuff and then have a general round-up." "Somebody will be calling here, or coming in--and give the alarm," said Potter. "Anybody who sticks his nose in here leaves it here," Downs snapped. Suddenly the man lunged forward toward the wall; seemed bent upon butting his head against it, upon grinding his face against it. Potter leaped upon him and hurled him away from the spot.... On the wall was an ordinary electric push-button such as is used to ring a door-bell. What the man had done was evident. His hands had been manacled behind him and were useless. He had pressed the button with his face. "Where does that alarm sound?" Downs demanded. "Find out," said the man, sullenly. "Some efficiency there," said Potter, ruefully. "Of course that button was put there for just this emergency--to give the alarm if anything happened here." "Some other office in this building," said Downs. "On a lower floor. That sort of arrangement wouldn't extend outside this building. Most likely the office directly below this.... I can't leave this room and this man. You make tracks." Potter rushed out of the door and down the stairs, which were close at hand, by good fortune. As his feet touched the sixth floor he saw Philip, the chauffeur, step into an elevator, heard the elevator door crash shut. He shouted, but it did not stop. The alarm had reached Philip and Philip was off to spread the warning.