"From documents found at von Eitelwurmer's house," replied Entwistle. "He was not mentioned by name, but by a number; and from the importance of the numerous references made to him he was evidently one of the heads of the German Secret Service in England, which most people are now beginning to realise as an active and dangerous menace."
"Hope you'll be successful," remarked Barcroft.
"I'll do my level best," rejoined Entwistle. "However, I must wait and have a quiet yarn with Farrar when he returns. There are one or two points I want to go into."
For some moments the two men smoked in silence.
"Seen to-day's paper?" asked Peter.
The Secret Service man shook his head.
"Rarely look at one now-a-days; muzzled a jolly sight too much," he replied. "There's precious little consolation to be found in them. Russia, food-tickets, U-boat menace, tip-and-run raids in the Channel and off the East Coast, general mismanagement—enough to put a fellow off colour absolutely. Anything much this morning?"
"No—only that Sir James Timberhead has resigned."
The Secret Service man snorted indignantly.
"Resigned!" he exclaimed. "These resignations make me feel sick. First this official and then that, hopelessly incompetent nobodies pushed into soft jobs by influential friends, and then can't manage them. I'd make 'em resign—fine them a year's salary. Just think what would happen if Tommy or Jack resigned their jobs—they'd find themselves in front of a firing party in less than no time. Yet every day you'll read that So-and-so has resigned his post owing to ill-health—there's no 'medicine and duty' for them, worse luck!"