“The lodge in the forest was where he met his agents and gave his orders,” said Bob. “Who is von Eckhardt, anyway?”
“He is the real leader of the movement, though not the only one. He stayed around here to engineer the most dangerous part of the program. In spite of the American occupation he had to work where the stuff was hidden.”
“And he might very well have pulled it off, if we hadn’t had so much spare time to watch him,” remarked Bob.
“And if you hadn’t had your theories,” said Larry.
“Von Eckhardt was a colonel of artillery during the war,” went on Major Harding. “He has a record for harsh pride, but also for courage. He saw his hopes crushed with the Kaiser’s fall, and welcomed a rebellion that would open the way for a counter-revolution. He was too absorbed in that idea to foresee the appalling results of turning Bolshevism loose in Germany.”
“I wonder why he picked out such a stupid dolt as Franz. It was he who gave away the show,” said Larry.
“Because Franz had been his servant and he knew he would obey,” said Lucy. “Franz had to leave Alsace and was so poor he had no choice.”
“That’s it,” Bob nodded. “Trudchen told me the same thing. Franz isn’t bold. He would never have chosen to enter on such a risky business.”
“I’m so sorry for the children,” said Lucy sadly. “What can Trudchen do now? I don’t think they got much money from Herr Johann. They seem awfully poor.”
“No, I dare say it was mostly promises,” said Bob. “He had to give Karl money, though, to keep him faithful. He made a pilot of him and used him to keep track of things along the Rhine. Karl told me something of it when I talked with him an hour ago.”