I
At eleven o'clock at night—by West European time—on Tuesday the fourth of August, a state of war was established between Great Britain and Germany.
Three-quarters of an hour later I stood on the steps of my uncle's house and said good-bye to Sir Roger Dainton. Our united eloquence had half-convinced him that it was merely vexatious to goad the Foreign Office at a moment when in all likelihood our Ambassadors in Berlin and Vienna were being handed their passports. Representations must henceforth be made through a neutral channel, and he left us with the intention of calling early next day at the American Embassy. My uncle's confidential opinion of father and daughter is uncomplimentary and irrelevant.
The facts in the case, as given me between the Club and Princes Gardens, were that Sonia had left England in April, a few days after our meeting at Covent Garden. Sir Roger was in the predicament of disliking the whole idea of the tour and being unable to say that a man who was good enough to be trusted for early financial advice was not also good enough to be trusted with a worldly young woman of eight-and-twenty. The Baroness Kohnstadt, nominal hostess of the party, might have her name coupled with that of Lord Pennington, but she was Sir Adolf's sister and had been at school with Lady Dainton in Dresden. Baronesses, moreover, are always Baronesses. Of the relations existing between Erckmann and Mrs. Welman, everything was suspected and nothing known. Webster's record was only blemished by a breach of promise case—which might have happened to anyone. Dainton shrugged his shoulders resignedly, and his daughter took silence for assent.
During May and June the party toured through France, Spain and Italy; in the middle of July a postcard announced that they had reached Bayreuth and that the Festival was in full swing. Then followed confusion.
1. Sonia had wired from Bayreuth asking for money to be sent her in Nürnberg.
2. Sir Roger had immediately remitted £30 by registered post.
3. Four days later, on presentation of the Austrian ultimatum to Servia, Sir Roger had telegraphed ordering Sonia to return home at once.
4. Two days afterwards a second telegram was received from Sonia, "Must have money wire Hotel de l'Europe Munich or post Hotel Continental Innspruck."
5. Her father had telegraphed another £30 to Munich, asking in addition where Sonia was going and what she was doing.
6. Sir Adolf had called on Dainton at the House of Commons late on August Bank Holiday to announce that:
(a) Sonia had lingered at Bayreuth, promising to follow as soon as Webster's car was in order.
(b) Webster, arriving alone, alleged that she was returning immediately to England.
(c) They had barely escaped into France before the declaration of war, and
(d) They hoped she had enjoyed a comfortable journey home.
I drove to Loring House after breakfast next day, put the facts on paper and fitted the date to each.
"That little swine Webster could throw some light on this," O'Rane muttered between his teeth as the three of us tried to read a connected story into the fragments.
"Well, let's get hold of him," said Loring. "He's probably in town. Mayhew saw him yesterday."
"Oh, it's only to satisfy idle curiosity," O'Rane answered. "The party starts out from Bayreuth, leaving Sonia and Webster to follow. They don't follow, and Sonia flies off north to Nürnberg and wires for money. That means there was a scene—he probably proposed or tried to kiss her or something—and she lets him have it between the eyes. Before she receives the money she finds she's put her head in a hornet's nest—armies mobilizing on both sides of her—and turns south to Munich to get away in the opposite direction. She's begged, borrowed or stolen enough to reach Innspruck and there she's stuck. Old Dainton's wiring money all over the globe, but I don't suppose a penny of it reaches her. As like as not she's been arrested."
"And what then?" I asked.
"If she behaves herself they may let her go as soon as they've finished moving troops. If she doesn't, they'll keep her till the end of the war."
He walked up and down with his hands in his pockets and a pipe thrust jauntily out of one corner of his mouth. The story of the missing American girls was still fresh in my mind, and I felt little of his apparent cheerfulness.
"It's the deuce of a position," said Loring. "When will Dainton be through with the Ambassador?"
"You can ring him up now," said O'Rane. "They'll have been very polite, and they'll do all they can, and the matter will receive attention, and in the meantime they've just as much power as the man in the moon. Dear man, the whole of Germany's littered with pukka Americans this time of year, and the Embassy isn't going to trouble about us till it's gathered in its own waifs and strays. Dainton's just wasting their time and his. Anybody else got any helpful suggestions?"
"You're a shade discouraging, Raney," I said.
He laughed without malice, and his black eyes shone with the excitement of coming battle.
"I'm just blowing away the froth," he explained. "If you want business, here you are. Jim, will you lend me five hundred pounds?"
Loring nodded without a word.
"You probably won't see it again in this world."
"I'll risk that."
"Good. Let me have it as soon as possible, and all in gold. You may have trouble in raising it just now, but raise it you must. Then.... No, I think that's all. As soon as you let me have it I'll get under way."
"Where are you off to, Raney?" I asked.
I feel that I remain human even in a crisis, and Loring's lack of curiosity was as maddening as O'Rane's uncommunicativeness.
"I'm going for a short holiday abroad," he answered, with a smile.
"Ass!" I said.
"Why?"
"You're of military age. If they don't shoot you as a spy, they'll lock you up till the end of the war."
"Guess you underrate the pres-tige of the U-nited States Government," he answered, with a shattering twang. "I'm doing this stunt as an American citizen."
Loring jumped up and laid his hand on O'Rane's shoulder.
"This is all rot, Raney," he said. "You can't go. She's at Innspruck—or will be shortly. Well, that's in Austria, and you've made Austria a bit too hot to be comfortable."
O'Rane picked up a cigar from the box on the table and began to chew one end with lazy deliberation. Never have I met a grown man who so loved to play a part.
"Say, I reckon you're mistaking me for my partner O'Rane—David B. O'Rane," he remarked. "My name's Morris—James Morris of Newtown, Tennessee. Lord Loring? Pleased to meet you, Lord Loring. I'm travelling Europe for a piece of business. The Austrians just love me. I've an oil proposition down Carinthia way and I guess I got the whole durned country in my vest pocket."
"You can't go," Loring repeated, quite unmoved by manner or twang.
"And who'll stop me, Lord Loring? See here, you haven't figured out the proposition. I start away as an American citizen talking good United States, and my name stencilled all six sides of my baggage. Well, I don't anticipate dropping across Vienna, and any blamed customs-officer will do a sight of head-scratching before he measures my finger-prints or hitches me out o' my pants to see if I've a bowie-knife scar in the small of my back. They got their war to keep 'em occupied first of all. And, if that ain't enough, they can look at my passport for a piece. And, when they're tired of that, they can wrap 'emselves up and go off to sleep in my naturalization papers. Guess there's nothing much wrong with them anyway." He turned and spat scientifically into the fireplace, warming to his work. "I've thought this up some. If you'll come forward with a better stunt, why! start in to do it and take all of my blessing you can use. Getting quit of Austria's about as easy as going through hell without singeing your pants. For you, that is. You don't speak decent German, you've no more hustle to you than a maggot in a melon-patch, the rankest breed of blind beggar on a side walk couldn't take you for anything but a Britisher. I've told you what the Embassy's been saying to old man Dainton. If you think you've filed a patent for catching the American Eagle by the tail feathers, cut in and test it: there's not a dime to pay for entrance. Otherwise, keep your head shut for a piece while James Morris gets to work. I been most kinds of fool in my time, but not the sort that goes out of his way to hunt big game with a can of flea-powder. I'm not out for that brand of heroism. I'm going now 'cos I can't find much use for any other way. If I haven't delivered the goods inside of a fortnight, you can picture me leaning graceful and easy 'gainst a wall and handing round prizes for the best show of fixed target fancy shooting. And, if the United States don't declare war inside of twenty-four hours after that, you'll know I been wasting my time and getting all I deserve."
He ended abruptly and regarded us with a provocative smile. I am far from claiming an exhaustive knowledge of O'Rane's character, but both Loring and I were familiar with a certain outthrust of the lower jaw which meant that further argument was superfluous.
"When d'you start?" I asked.
"Morris ought to be here any minute. He's lending me an approved Saratoga trunk covered with most convincing labels. I rang him up last night after you left the Club. And a complete set of papers with all the signs and countersigns and visas you can imagine. Morris really is an American citizen. He had to get naturalized when we moved out of Mexico into the States and floated some of our concessions as an American company. You won't forget about the money, Jim?"
"Raney, you're an awful fool to go," said Loring uneasily.
"My dear fellow, you'd do exactly the same thing if it were Violet out there. And you'd probably make a hash of it," he added unflatteringly. "I don't mind betting I get Sonia away without even calling on the Ambassador. I shall sugar a bit, and bluff a bit, and bribe a bit. They'll probably be as keen to get rid of her as she'll be to go, and a chance to be civil to the great United States isn't to be disregarded in war times."
Loring shrugged his shoulders resignedly.
"I'll see about the money at once," he said. "I suppose all the banks are shut to-day, but I'll let you have it as soon as I can."