"And have you discovered that?" she enquired.
He shook his head.
"Everything that we have learnt so far has been of negative value," he replied. "The German citizen army is large, but not threateningly so. So far as we have been able to discover, they do not seem to have any secret store of guns or ammunition. Their docks hold no secrets. Yet we know that there is something brewing. Both the men upon whom my uncle relied have been murdered."
"But one of them succeeded in getting a dispatch through, did he not?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, he succeeded," Nigel acknowledged. "My uncle was murdered, however, in the act of decoding it, and the dispatch itself was stolen."
"You are very frank," she said. "I suppose I ought to feel flattered that you treat me with so little reserve."
"If you are a friend to Germany," he replied, "you probably know all that I can tell you. If you are inclined towards friendship with us, then it is as well that you should know everything."
"That is reasonable," she admitted. "Now listen. This conversation can only last a few minutes longer. It is true that Oscar Immelan is my father's old friend and also mine, but my judgment in all matters which relate to the welfare of my country is not influenced by that fact."
"There was a report once," Nigel said, taking his courage into both hands, "that you were engaged to be married to him."
She looked him in the eyes. Against the whiteness of his skin, the colour of her own seemed more wonderful than ever.