Adventure stories; Anarchists -- Fiction; British -- Spain -- Fiction; Madrid (Spain) -- Fiction
One was dressed in the rough garb of a working-man. This was Andres
Moreno, who, in his adventurous life, had played many parts. With his
sardonic humour he was enjoying this particular role. The danger that
he ran added a spice to his enjoyment.
The other man, Guy Rossett, was disguised also, but not quite so
successfully. Moreno, due to his birth, could never be mistaken for
anything but a Spaniard. On the other hand, Rossett could be easily
recognised as a member of the bulldog race, a typical Englishman.
That morning, at the Embassy, a note had been delivered by a trusted
messenger. It was a very brief one, and ran thus:
"Dear Mr Rossett,--You will remember a certain evening at the Savoy,
when you were dining with your sister, a young lady whose name I will
not mention, and her father. My host came over and spoke with you all
for a few seconds. I am in Spain on important business. I should like
to have a brief chat with you this afternoon."
The writer had suggested the meeting in one of the unfashionable
quarters of the town.
He had appended his initials in a scrawling fashion. But at once
recollection had come to Guy Rossett. He remembered that evening
distinctly, when Maurice Farquhar had come over to their table, when
General Clandon had expressed his displeasure at his nephew's associate,
a man of whom Guy had some recollection.
The scrawling initials might have stood for anything. But Rossett
deciphered them at once. The writer was Andres Moreno, a member of the
Secret Service, also often in the pay of Scotland Yard.
Guy called for a bottle of wine. Not trusting to the cigars of the
country, he produced his own case, and proffered it to the pretended
working-man. Moreno waved it away.
"We will have cigarettes, if you please," he said, in a low voice.
"Very keen eyes are watching us here. If you dangle that case much
longer, they will put you down as a rich English milord. We may have to
meet here often, and we want to avoid that. You see, I pose as a humble
and unprosperous working-man."
Rossett bowed to his companion's superior judgment. Moreno knew the
ropes better than he did. Cigarettes were called for, and then the
Spaniard opened the ball. He spoke in French, in very low tones.
"Your friends did not do you a very good service in sending you here,
Mr Rossett. At the present moment, yours is a very dangerous post."
Rossett did not reply without reflecting. He knew enough of this man to
know that he was a trusted member of the Secret Service. But he was
intelligent enough to know that, in spite of certain walks in life,
nobody can be entirely trusted.
"Do you mind explaining a little more fully," he said cautiously.
Moreno smiled pleasantly. He appreciated the other's caution. Rossett
had a frank, open countenance, but he was not so innocent as he looked.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account