"But when the captain and the woman came on to London we discovered
that we had done him a great injustice. He let us know, when the
first chance offered, that he was trying to redeem himself, to round
up a dangerous band of spies by pretending to be one of them. He
said that it was his mission in London to meet Von der Herts, the
greatest of them all; and that, once he had located this man, we
would hear from him again. In the weeks that followed I continued
to keep a watch on the countess; and I kept track of the captain,
too, in a general way, for I'm ashamed to say I was not quite sure
of him."
The colonel got up and walked to the window; then turned and
continued: "Captain Fraser-Freer and Von der Herts were completely
unknown to each other. The mails were barred as a means of
communication; but Fraser-Freer knew that in some way word from the
master would reach him, and he had had a tip to watch the personal
column of the Daily Mail. Now we have the explanation of those four
odd messages. From that column the man from Rangoon learned that
he was to wear a white aster in his button-hole, a scarab pin in
his tie, a Homburg hat on his head, and meet Von der Herts at Ye
Old Gambrinus Restaurant in Regent Street, last Thursday night at
ten o'clock. As we know, he made all arrangements to comply with
those directions.
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