"No," he said. "To do so would be to destroy all the possibilities of the future for our cause. You will see. It is equally simple. Were I to abandon my work for Germany in the manner you suggest, they would know that I had betrayed them--and their secrets. All we have gained by the knowledge of their secrets would be lost. Then--though it matters nothing to me, for I do not value it beyond the help I can give to humanity--my life would be destroyed as sure as day follows night. No. I go back to my shops, and to my work. I will meet every emergency as it arises. Should I fall to this man Von Salzinger I can always beat the authorities, and--make my escape." "You are sure?" "Ach, yes." "Then prepare from this moment for that escape. You will have to make it. Of that I am equally--sure." Ruxton's eyes were smiling, but without lightness. And the two men smiled into each other's eyes for some silent moments. The Prince was the first to break the spell. It was with a glance up at the skylight overhead. "See," he cried, not without satisfaction. "There comes the daylight. We are on the high seas. All danger is past." "Immediate danger," corrected Ruxton. "Ach, so. Yes, 'immediate.'" The old man turned to the two rolls of paper on the table beside him. He picked them up and fondled them tenderly with his long fingers. They were to him something very precious, and--he was about to part from them. Suddenly he held them out towards his guest. The shining light had returned to his eyes. Again had mounted to that splendid brain the hot desire to speak from the bottom of his heart. "Take them! Take them!" he cried passionately. "They are my children. I give them for the world. They must grow, and do for the world all that I have dreamed of into their creation. They are the plans, drawn and written in English by my own hands. No eyes but mine have seen them, and there are no others in existence. They are the plans of the U-rays light, which, by taking from them the cylinders you brought away, I have robbed Germany of the use of, and the plans of this submersible. Safeguard them as you would your life, and lose not a moment in forcing your slow country to construct. We have agreed that you have ten years, and in ten years you can do much, if you do not let your country meanwhile sleep." Ruxton took the proffered rolls and held them a moment while his eyes rested introspectively upon the seals. "And the price?" he demanded, in a firm voice. "The price! Himmel, the price!" The Prince threw up his hands in a gesture of dismay. "The price!" he repeated. "The price when humanity stands at the threshold of disaster! Ach! You are a true Englishman." He rose from his seat and moved hurriedly across to his stateroom. At the door he paused and turned. "There is no price," he said, and his big eyes were alight with a whimsical smile. CHAPTER XI BACK AT DORBY TOWERS