"Who are you?" he asked very quietly.
"I'll tell you: I am Evelyn Erith, a volunteer in the C. E. D.
Service of the United States."
He drew a deep breath, sank down on his elbow, and rested his head on the pillow.
"Still I don't see how you know," he said. "I mean—the beastly details—"
"I'll tell you some time. I read the history of your case in an intercepted cipher letter. Before the German agent here had received and decoded it he was arrested by an agent of another Service. If there is anything more to be learned from him it will be extracted.
"But of all men on earth you are the one man I wanted to find. There is the miracle: I found you! Even now I can scarcely force myself to believe it is really you."
The faintest flicker touched his eyes.
"What did you want of me?" he inquired.
"Help."
"Help? From such a man as I? What sort of help do you expect from a drunkard?"