Speed looked at me sharply.
“If I were in the service now I’d arrest Mornac—if I dared.” 142
“You might as well arrest the Emperor,” I said, wearily.
“That’s it,” observed Speed, throwing away his chewed cigarette. “Nobody dare touch Mornac; nobody dare even watch him. But if there’s a leak somewhere, it’s far more probable that Mornac did the dirty work than that there’s a traitor in our division.”
Presently he added: “Did you catch Buckhurst?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, disgusted.
“—Because,” continued Speed, “if you’ve got him, it may save us. Have you?”
How I wished that I had Buckhurst safely handcuffed beside me!
“If you’ve got him,” persisted Speed, “we’ll shake him like a rat until he squeals. And if he names Mornac—”
“Do you think that Mornac would give him or us the chance?” I said. “Rubbish! He’d do the shaking in camera; and it would only be a hand-shaking if Buckhurst is really his creature. And he’s rid himself of our division, anyhow. Wait!” I added, sharply; “perhaps that is the excuse! Perhaps that is the very reason that he’s abolished the foreign division! We may have been getting too close to the root of this matter; I had already caught Buckhurst—”