“I’ve dragged you through hell,� he said, indicating that she should sit down. “I could make a fire, but someone might smell it.�
She went to a rail and stared up the canal. A lighter gray indicated that the sun was breaking through the clouds to the eastward. The rattle of blocks and the creak of a sail going up floated down to them. She turned away and sat down with her hands folded in her lap. She twisted her finger-rings.
“What happened to you when you joined Scotland Yard?� he asked point-blankly. “Did they pinch you for something?�
“No, they did not! They wanted something done and I was about the only one who could do it. The war gave me an opportunity to show them what real good I could do. They paid me for it—paid well. England never forgets!â€�
Fay thought of Dartmoor. “You’re right!� he exclaimed, tossing the cigarette butt away. “England never does. So they adopted you and you squared it and you acted as their agent in Zurich and other places!�
“Their agents never admit they are their agents.�
“Well put!� said Fay. “I’ve guessed right, though?�
“Yes.�
“And you had something to do with getting that cipher out of Switzerland?�
“I had a lot to do with getting it to England.�