Patiently he had been waiting, in hope of this very night — waiting to strike a telling blow against the government which he pretended to support, but actually detested.
All eyes were upon Senov. Eager listeners were waiting for him to speak. Like a general before a battle, Senov stood before this group and delivered a slow, emphatic message.
“Tonight,” he declared, “we shall strike. Our plans have been in readiness. Originally, we were told to wait twelve days. That order was changed. I was told to strike at once. I have waited six days to make sure that all would be well.
“The way was open to Riga. Those arrangements were altered by our second command. Our new objective is Paris. The road is clear, but our great work lies here. Are all prepared?”
Affirmative responses came from the entire group. The men seemed impatient. Two were rising. Senov restrained them.
“Ten o’clock is the hour,” he declared. “Then we shall strike, faithful ones. Until now, you have obeyed me blindly, wondering, perhaps, how I have learned the important facts which we have sought so long in vain. I shall tell you how the discovery was made. It was through Ivan Motkin.”
A buzz of surprise swept around the circle. Senov laughed harshly, and held up his hand. All became silent, waiting further explanation.
“Long have we known that Motkin had the facts,” he said. “But to make Motkin betray those facts would have been impossible. Then came good and unexpected fortune. Motkin, becoming indiscreet, told all and showed all to an American whom he trusted. I suspected that he had made that error.”
Senov paused for effect, and smiled beneath his improvised mask as he noted the sober, tense faces before him.
“The American went to New York,” he continued. “There, he stepped into the perfect trap, into the hands of the unknown genius who planned this great coup that would restore vast wealth to its rightful owners.