She laughed again scornfully. "If you knew him as well as I do, you wouldn't need to ask that. He would simply have disappeared with the money and left you to rot or starve."
I took out my case, and having given Sonia a cigarette, lit one myself.
"It's an unpleasant choice," I said, "but I gather there's a possible alternative."
She lighted her own cigarette and threw away the match. Her dark eyes were alight with excitement.
"Listen," she said. "All the Germans want is the secret. Do you suppose they care in the least whom they get it from? You have only got to prove to them that you can do what you say, and they will pay you the money just as readily as they would the doctor."
There was a magnificent simplicity about the idea that for a moment almost took my breath away.
"How could I get in touch with them?" I asked.
She leaned forward again, and lowered her voice almost to a whisper.
"I can take you now—now right away—to the two men who are in charge of the whole business. I know that they have an absolutely free hand to make the best terms they can."
"Who are they?" I demanded, with an eagerness I made no attempt to hide.