“One of the so-called leaders,” answered Hugh briefly, turning over the pages of the ledger. “Here’s his dossier, according to Peterson. ‘Ditchling, Charles. Good speaker; clever; unscrupulous. Requires big money; worth it. Drinks.’”
For a while they stared at the brief summary, and then the American burst into a guffaw of laughter.
“The mistake you’ve made, Captain, in this country is not giving Peterson a seat in your Cabinet. He’d have the whole caboose eating out of his hand; and if you paid him a few hundred thousand a year, he might run straight and grow pigs as a hobby....”
II
It was a couple of hours later that Hugh rang up his rooms in Half Moon Street. From Algy, who spoke to him, he gathered that Phyllis and her father were quite safe, though the latter was suffering in the manner common to the morning after. But he also found out another thing—that Ted Jerningham had just arrived with the hapless Potts in tow, who was apparently sufficiently recovered to talk sense. He was weak still and dazed, but no longer imbecile.
“Tell Ted to bring him down to The Elms at once,” ordered Hugh. “There’s a compatriot of his here, waiting to welcome him with open arms.”
“Potts is coming, Mr. Green,” he said, putting down the receiver. “Our Hiram C. And he’s talking sense. It seems to me that we may get a little light thrown on the activities of Mr. Hocking and Herr Steinemann, and the other bloke.”
The American nodded slowly.
“Von Gratz,” he said. “I remember his name now. Steel man. Maybe you’re right, Captain, and that he knows something; anyway, I guess Hiram C. Potts and I stick closer than brothers till I restore him to the bosom of his family.”
But Mr. Potts, when he did arrive, exhibited no great inclination to stick close to the detective; in fact, he showed the greatest reluctance to enter the house at all. As Algy had said, he was still weak and dazed, and the sight of the place where he had suffered so much produced such an effect on him that for a while Hugh feared he was going to have a relapse. At length, however, he seemed to get back his confidence, and was persuaded to come into the central room.