"Explain!" The man went back to his seat at the head of the table. His harsh demand warned his hearers of the storm still raging within him. But Von Berger took up the reply. "I see the Captain-General's point, sir," he said. "If Hertzwohl is confronted it means his vindication or immediate punishment. If secrets have been betrayed such a course will not serve us. This Englishman Von Salzinger speaks of will still possess them, and--be _free to act upon them_. We must recover those secrets, or _make them useless to their possessors_. Then we can deal with those responsible for Borga." Von Salzinger listened to the cold words and eagerly awaited the reply of the man at the head of the table. But none was forthcoming, for he seemed to be lost in moody contemplation of the whole affair. Therefore the Captain-General seized his opportunity. "That is how I see it, sir," he said eagerly. "I submit, with all deference, that I be nominally punished as though I had seriously offended. What is that punishment? Degradation? Degradation and retirement from the service of the Fatherland. It will satisfy Hertzwohl, and put him off his guard. He will have no suspicion, and I shall be free to work. If I am placed on the Secret Service and sent to--England, it should not be impossible to discover all we want to know and nullify the effects of the treachery. Those concerned can be silenced. We can be guided by developments. And----" "The harm is done, man! You talk of nullifying. You talk like a fool. There can be no undoing the harm done." The hoarse passion of the man at the table was in every word he spoke. The gleaming eyes were full of the burning fire of unrestrained ferocity. But the cold tones of Von Berger once more dropped like ice upon a kindling fire. "It will be the better course, sir," he said. "We do not yet know the full position. That must be perfectly established before we can estimate the damage." But the other seemed absorbed in his own imagery of the matter. "An Englishman! Gott!" Von Berger turned abruptly to Von Salzinger. "Leave us. I will call you when ready. Remain within call." The authority was unmistakable. The Captain-General might have been the veriest conscript for the courtesy displayed. He left the great chamber with no outward sign, but with storm sweeping through his heart.