Diane of the Green Van

It was unconvincing.

"So," said Carl keenly, "Baron Tregar does not trust you!"

Themar's lip curled.

"The Baron knew of your ten days in my cousin's house?"

Again the marked hesitancy--the flush.

"Yes," said Themar.

"You're lying," said Carl curtly. "If you wish to go back--"

Themar moistened his dry lips and shuddered.

"No," he whispered, "he did not know."

"Why?"

Themar fell to trembling. This at least he must keep locked from the grim, ironic man by the window.

"You're playing double with Tregar and with me," said Carl hotly. "I thought so. Very well!" Smiling infernally, he drew from his pocket the finger-stretchers.

"Excellency!" panted Themar.

"Why did you serve in my cousin's house without the knowledge of the Baron?"

"If--if the secret was harmful to Houdania," blurted Themar desperately, spurred to confession by the clank of the metal in Carl's hand, "I--I could sell the paper to Galituria!"

The nature of the admission was totally unexpected. Carl whistled softly.

"Ah!" said he, raising expressive eyebrows.

"My mother," said Themar sullenly, "was of Galituria. There is hatred there for Houdania--a century's feud--"

"And you in the employ of the rival province hunting this to earth! What a mess--what a mess!"

Followed a battery of merciless questions punctuated by the diabolic clank of metal.

Themar had been deputed solely to report to Baron Tregar-"And murder me!" supplemented Carl curtly.

"Yes," said Themar. "Under oath I was to obey Ronador's commands without question. But he did not even trust me with the cipher message of instruction. That was mailed to the Baron's Washington address written in an ink that only turned dark with the heat of a fire. I too was sent to Washington. Ronador knew nothing of the Baron's trip to Connecticut."

By spying before he had sailed, Themar added, at a question from Carl, he had learned of the cipher.

"You read the paper of course when you stole it from my desk?"

"There was a noise," said Themar dully, his face bitter; "I ran for the street. Later the paper was gone."

"What were Tregar's intentions about the paper?"

Themar chewed nervously at his lips.

"His Excellency spoke to me of a paper. He said that I must discover its whereabouts, if possible, but that none but he must steal it. Anything written which you would seem to have hidden would be of interest to him. He bound me by a terrible oath not to touch or read it."

"And you?"

"After a time I swore that I had seen you burn it--"

"Clumsy! Still if he believed it, it left me, in the event of Miss Westfall's complete ignorance of all this hubbub, the sole remaining obstacle."