“I submit that this smart answer does not satisfy my charge,” cried the minister.
“Do you really wish to go further?” demanded Orme. “Would you like me to explain to these men what those papers really mean?”
“If you do that, you betray my country’s secrets.”
Orme turned to the others. “His Excellency and I are both guests here,” he said. “Leaving his official position out of the question, my word must go as far as his. I assure you that he has no claim at all upon the papers in my pocket.”
“That is not true!”
The minister’s words exploded in a sharp staccato.
“In this country,” said Orme, calmly, “we knock men down for words like that. In Japan, perhaps, the lie can be passed with impunity.”
“Gentlemen, I ask that Mr. Orme be detained,” exclaimed the minister furiously.
“I will not be detained,” said Orme.
The other men were whispering among themselves, and at last one of them stepped forward as spokesman. “This is a serious matter for the club,” he said. “I suggest, Mr. Orme, that we go to the library”—he glanced significantly at the other groups on the veranda—“where no one can overhear us, and talk the matter over quietly.”