The Washington times., 1921-01-09

cupy your time with q rumor-a
canard-with all your cares and
duties3"
Flattery was a precious ointment
TO Michaud and he was OF an ebui-
lient good nature. In a few mo-
ments he was bubbling with a full
blooded enthusiasm.
But, enfin," he brusquely philos-
ophized with a powerful slap or the
colonel's knee. "Qu'est ce que celia
me fait-are we not Allies?"
1.-The one thing to guard against.
Michaud"-the colonel. who dread
ed hurting any one except his
enemies, spoke with apology In his
tone-"the one thing is-leakage.'
Michaud's arms few about his
head and he laughed uproariously.
''Is II that | do not know the
Boche? Is II that my country has
not fought him and watched him
these many decades of years-cen.
turies?" And his daughter again
made the windows OF the car rattle.
BY four o'clock that afternoon
even the officers, those not actually
in the undertaking, knew nothing
definite about II. The rumor In
both the French and the American
missions was that there was a pos
sibi,lty of taking two German spies
red-handed at Bale on the Rhine.
Bale is in the opposite direction
from Geneva. Even the Political
Minister of the Swiss Republic,
when he consented to the Use OF
Swiss gendarmes, knew no more
than that.
He was deeply hurt when later
he learned the truth, and both
Colonel Cole and Michaud after
ward gave him conciliatory dinners.
How the three motor cars left In
the direction of Bale, how once we'll
beyond the limits Of Berne they
turned about, and, skirting the city
through a network Of outside roads,
rolled down the fine ribbon of high
way toward Geneva-these facts
wounded the minister, even though
he admired the cleyerness of the
arrangement. But Anthony, who
had worked out the details, was in
sistent that all possibility OF leak
must be guarded against.
Even the accompanying gend-
armes were unaware of the exact
purpose of their errand.
Five miles beyond Celigny, about
half an hours run from Geneva, the
cars were halted. 1t was then the
gendarmes learned that they also
had been inoculated against leak
age.
The movement OF the drama,
thereafter, as staged and prepared
by Anthony, was simple In the eX
treme; and though the proceedings
seemed trivial to Michaud, who had
exalted ideas Of his own sagacity
and a knowledge of Lecoq, he yield
ed to the idiosyncrasy of his Amer
lean colleagues.
One of the cars, containing Ray.
Anthony and two gendarmes, re-
turned toward Celigny and paused
some three hundred yards from the
villa Mobile. Ray, who was known
to the caretaker's family as his
uncle's nephew, casually, strolled
over to the villa, said that he hap
pened to be passing" inquired for
news of his uncle's coming and
whether the villa was to be opened
that Summer.
AS Ray was thus engaged In In,
nocent colloquy, Anthony, with two
gendarmes in plain clothes, ap-
preached the villa in the attitude
of having lost patience with Ray for
keeping them waiting, and very
quietly, even gently, they placed
the caretaker and his sombre,
heavy wife under arrest.
"Tell them" said Anthony to Ray,
"in their greasy dialect, that their
future depends on how they behave
tonight. II they make no sign to
warn the others off and behave as
though nothing had happened when
it comes to letting in their friends,
the other eight, we'll see to it that
this fellow gets off easy
The taretaker and his wife, see-
ing that the whole plot was OBJ
viously the common property OF
these Americans, concluded that
one of the nine had betrayed them,
and after a moments purely per-
functory protestation OF their inno-
cence, agreed.
Every WE'LL" said Anthony to Ray
in low tone. Now take this bird
a little apart and tell him that he
has a signal showing the others
when. they come that the coast is
clear"
HAS he?" broke in Ray naively.
"Never mind-tell him he has
and tell him to make that signal.
whatever it is. Well take care to
let his friends know that he made
il before he was arrested
Ray repeated the Injunction. The
corotakor hlanched yiSibly II was