To her surprise the Superintendent hemmed and hawed. "A mole isn't much to go upon, Lady Eileen. Two women might have an identical mole very easily. You must remember that the Countess Radzky is a very well-known figure in Hungary." "Then this isn't the real Countess Radzky. I tell you I'm sure this is the same woman I saw there. And look at her to-night--the way we found her. I don't believe she ever fainted at all." "Oh, I shouldn't say that, Lady Eileen. That empty shell striking the bookcase beside her might have frightened any woman half out of her wits." "But what was she doing there anyway? One doesn't come down to look for a book with an electric torch." Battle scratched his cheek. He seemed unwilling to speak. He began to pace up and down the room, as though making up his mind. At last he turned to the girl. "See here, Lady Eileen, I'm going to trust you. The Countess's conduct _is_ suspicious. I know that as well as you do. It's very suspicious--but we've got to go carefully. There mustn't be any unpleasantness with the Embassies. One has got to be _sure_." "I see. If you were _sure_...." "There's something else. During the war, Lady Eileen, there was a great outcry about German spies being left at large. Busybodies wrote letters to the papers about it. We paid no attention. Hard words didn't hurt us. The small fry were left alone. Why? Because through them, sooner or later, _we got the big fellow--the man at the top_." "You mean?" "Don't bother about what I mean, Lady Eileen. But remember this. _I know all about the Countess._ And I want her let alone. "And now," added Superintendent Battle ruefully, "I've got to think of something to say to Sir Stanley Digby!" CHAPTER XXIII SUPERINTENDENT BATTLE IN CHARGE It was ten o'clock on the following morning. The sun poured in through the windows of the library, where Superintendent Battle had been at work since six. On a summons from him, George Lomax, Sir Oswald Coote and Jimmy Thesiger had just joined him, having repaired the fatigues of the night with a substantial breakfast. Jimmy's arm was in a sling, but he bore little other trace of the night's affray. The Superintendent eyed all three of them benevolently, somewhat with the air of a kindly curator explaining a museum to little boys. On the table beside him were various objects, neatly labelled. Amongst them Jimmy recognized Leopold. "Ah, Superintendent," said George, "I have been anxious to know how you have progressed. Have you caught the man?" "He'll take a lot of catching, he will," said the Superintendent easily. His failure in that respect did not appear to rankle with him. George Lomax did not look particularly well pleased. He detested levity of any kind. "I've got everything taped out pretty clearly," went on the detective. He took up two objects from the table.