“Do you know what those numbers meant?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied, “about the eight transports sailing. The Chief told me about it.”
“Well,” she said, with a sigh of relief, “I have become acquainted with young Mr. Hoff already. I’ve just had luncheon with him.”
“That’s fine,” he cried enthusiastically. “A lucky day it was I ran across you.”
“When you ’phoned me he was there in our apartment, he and a navy lieutenant, Mr. Kramer.”
Attentively he listened as she told of the ruse by which she had inveigled them into coming to luncheon, reminding him that it was the same naval officer that he himself had seen in close conversation with Hoff at the Ritz the day before. He nodded his head in a satisfied way.
“They are together too much to be up to any good,” he commented. “Tell me the rest. What made you so rattled when I ’phoned you?”
He listened intently as she told of finding young Hoff standing right behind her as she had inadvertently mentioned aloud “the fifth book.”
“Do you suppose,” she questioned anxiously, “that he overheard me and understood what we were talking about? He left right away after that. I do hope I didn’t betray the fact that they are being watched.”
“We can’t tell yet,” said Carter. “The precautions they take and the roundabout methods they have of communicating with each other show that all Germany’s spies constantly act as if they knew they were under surveillance. In fact, I suppose every German in this country, whether he is a spy or not, can’t help but notice that his neighbors are watching him—and well they might.”