Karlov was at this moment reaching out toward a satisfactory solution

relative to the disappearance of the gems. They had not been found on

his enemy; they had not been found in the Gregor apartment; the two

men assigned to the task of securing them would not have risked certain

death by trying to do a little bargaining on their own initiative.

In the first instance they had come forth empty-handed. In the

second instance--that of intimidating the girl to disclose his

whereabouts--neither Vladimir nor Stemmler had returned. Sinister. The

man in the dress suit again?

Conceivably, then, the drums were in the possession of this girl; and

she was holding them against the day when the fugitive would reclaim

them. The advertisement was a snare. Very good. Two could play that game

as well as one.

The girl. Was it not always so? That breed! God's curse on them all! A

crooked finger, and the women followed, hypnotized. The girl was away

from the apartment the major part of the day; so it was in order to

search her rooms. A pretty little fool.

But where were they hiding him? Gall and wormwood! That he should slip

through Boris Karlov's fingers, after all these tortuous windings across

the world! Patience. Sooner or later the girl would lead the way. Still,

patience was a galling hobble when he had so little time, when even now

they might be hunting him. Boris Karlov had left New York rather well

known.

He expanded under this thought. For the spiritual breath of life to

the anarch is flattery, attention. Had the newspapers ignored Trotzky's

advent into Russia, had they omitted the daily chronicle of his

activities, the Russian problem would not be so large as it is this day.

Trotzky would have died of chagrin.

He would answer this advertisement. Trap? He would set one himself. The

man who eventually came to negotiate would be made a prisoner and forced

to disclose the identity of the man who had interfered with the great

projects of Boris Karlov, plenipotentiary extraordinary for the red

government of Russia.

Midtown, Cutty tapped his breakfast egg dubiously. Not that he

speculated upon the freshness of the egg. What troubled him was that

advertisement. Last night, keyed high by his remarkable discovery of the

identity of his guest and his cupidity relative to the emeralds, he

had laid himself open. If he knew anything at all about the craft, that

reporter would be digging in. Fortunately he had resources unsuspected

by the reporter. Legitimately he could send a secret-service operative

to collect the mail--if Karlov decided to negotiate. Still within his

rights, he could use another operative to conduct the negotiations.

If in the end Karlov strayed into the net the use of the service for

private ends would be justified.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024