He longed to leave Switzerland and fly back to England—but he knew the consequences. Those plotters would follow him, and he would share the same fate as that intended for Andra Nikolitch and certain members of his Cabinet.
The third day was a Wednesday, and he had learnt that on Friday a meeting was to be held in Lucerne to fix for the following day the attempt upon the well-known statesman.
He was beside himself in agony of mind. These men—men whom he had never met—were to be murdered in cold blood. Yet he was powerless to raise a finger to save them. King Alexander and his Queen Draga had long ago fallen victims of secret assassins, while more than one Minister in Serbia had died under suspicious circumstances. Both Serbia and Bulgaria—where the poor Prime Minister, Stambuloff, and his successor, Petroff, had both been assassinated—were hotbeds of political intrigue.
Geoffrey, though a threat of death was held over him, had during those two days acted with caution. On the Friday morning he met Lane in the lounge where the silent watcher was standing, and handed him a cigarette from his case, at the same time saying that he had to go into Lucerne, hence he could not go to the wireless station that day.
Then he whispered a few quick words that caused his friend to start.
Lane struck a match, but made only pretence of lighting his cigarette.
Instead, he said:
“Very well. Cheerio! I’ll see you here to-night. The station is on test now. You really must come up and see it to-morrow.” And then he turned away.
Two minutes later Lane was back in his bedroom alone, carefully examining his cigarette. Unrolling it, he found upon the paper a message written in an almost microscopical hand telling him of the meeting of the conspirators at Lucerne that evening and its object, and urging him to take the paper at once to the Lucerne police.
Lane contrived to get to Lucerne, where he saw the Prefect of Police and showed him the paper. It bore the address in the Bruchstrasse; therefore, police agents at once kept observation upon the place, a fact which in secret Lane communicated to Falconer by a meaning glance at the luncheon table, for Falconer always sat at a little table with madame and her father, while Lane sat with two other men close by. One of the men was the silent watcher.