"
"This is all?" he asked.
"All!" I repeated. "Isn't it sufficient?"
"Polloch is an Englishman," my cousin said slowly, "and you know what
that means. He will need some convincing!"
"Then you must convince him," I declared. "I am risking my life over this
business, Gilbert, and we can none of us tell which way the pendulum will
swing. I know that Polloch is one of the old school of statesmen, and
hates Secret Service work. If it were not for that, such a plot as this
could never have been developed under his very nose. It is absolutely
necessary, Gilbert, that, under some pretext or another, the home fleet
is mobilized within the next fortnight."
"It's a large order, Jim!"
"It's got to be," I answered. "You don't know what a relief it is,
Gilbert, to sit here and talk to you about these things. Guest and I
scarcely ever speak of them. And all the time the minutes slip by,
and we get nearer the time. Guest and I are playing a desperate game
after all--a single slip and we should be wiped out. And no one else
knows."
Gilbert looked up at me quickly, as though a new thing had come into his
mind.
Pages:
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313