The Man with the Clubfoot

AUTHOR OF THE SECRET HAND, THE YELLOW STREAK, THE RETURN OF CLUBFOOT, THE ORANGE DIVAN, CLUBFOOT THE AVENGER
The Man with the Clubfoot is one of the most ingenious and sinister secret agents in Europe. It is to him that the task is assigned of regaining possession of an indiscreet letter written by the Kaiser.
Desmond Okewood, a young British officer with a genius for secret service work, sets out to thwart this man and, incidentally, discover the whereabouts of his brother.
He penetrates into Germany disguised, and meets with many thrilling adventures before he finally achieves his mission.
In The Man with the Clubfoot, Valentine Williams has written a thrilling romance of mystery, love and intrigue, that in every sense of the word may be described as breathless.
The reception clerk looked up from the hotel register and shook his head firmly. Very sorry, saire, he said, not a bed in ze house. And he closed the book with a snap.
Outside the rain came down heavens hard. Every one who came into the brightly lit hotel vestibule entered with a gush of water. I felt I would rather die than face the wind-swept streets of Rotterdam again.
I turned once more to the clerk who was now busy at the key-rack.
Haven't you really a corner? I wouldn't mind where it was, as it is only for the night. Come now...
Very sorry, saire. We have two gentlemen sleeping in ze bathrooms already. If you had reserved... And he shrugged his shoulders and bent towards a visitor who was demanding his key.
I turned away with rage in my heart. What a cursed fool I had been not to wire from Groningen! I had fully intended to, but the extraordinary conversation I had had with Dicky Allerton had put everything else out of my head. At every hotel I had tried it had been the same story—Cooman's, the Maas, the Grand, all were full even to the bathrooms. If I had only wired....
As I passed out into the porch I bethought myself of the porter. A hotel porter had helped me out of a similar plight in Breslau once years ago. This porter, with his red, drink-sodden face and tarnished gold braid, did not promise well, so far as a recommendation for a lodging for the night was concerned. Still...