Evening star., 1928-09-23

groomed His black-broWn eyes, Wnef
he thought he was unobserved, had
greedy look; otherwise they were in
scrutable. His nose was sharply point
ed His mouth though thin-lpped
was vivid and sensual; but carefully
curled and pomaded mustache partly
hid it.
His Office in Vienna at the Kund-
schafts Stelle-"Information Depart.
mentor, as it was familiarly known
the * S.'-waS a remarkable room
It was furnished as If 1t were to be
used only as the living room OF an ex-
ceedingly sociable, luxury-loving man
Mai. Redl was all that.
But although he entertained there
frequently and lavishly, such occasions
were not always what they seemed.
TAKE, for instance, the case of Itc
Onaki. sauve young japanese.
Mai Redl struck up drinking ac-
quaintance with him one afternoon at
the Central Cafe. On parting Maj.
Redl said:
"If you like a good glass of Tokay,
drop in to see me tomorrow, say, about
noon"
He gave Onaki a number and street
Charmed" said Ito.
Neither Mai Redl nor Ito had told
the other his real business. But each
had a shrewd idea of it. And Ito rec
ognized the address as that of the office
of the secret service of Austria Hun
gary.
Nevertheless he showed up there
next morning and was usheFed into
the rcom, where Maj. Redl rose to
greet him
"What a delightful room!" Ito ex-
claimed
Under foot were thick silken rugs.
The daylight was subdued by heavy
brccaded window draperies except
where a sharp shaft of sunlight fell
athwart a luxurious armchair by the
side Of Maj. Redl's aat-topped writ
ing desk The air was heavy with in
cense. On the walls were old paintings
In curiously carved ebony frames.
Maj. Redl, with gesture of invita-
ton, indicated the armchair by the
desk Ito sat down with the sunlight
or him. His host went to a cabinet
inlaid with mother -of-pearl and
precious woods. From it he took an
age-incrusted bottle of Tokay and
poured q glass for his visitor, another
for himself.
:. Then s, rs sat sdegaain hls own char chair
tapped together the edges of a pile Of
important looking papers.
Your health, Herr Onaki!" he said,
raising his glass.
"And yours, Herr KorgoId!" Maj.
Redl had given that as his name.
They drank. and Onaki was sincere
IN what he said about the wine.
"A cigarette?" Maj. Redl said. nod
ding at a gold cigarette box which
ct nj Yvo
incrusted with jewels of barbaric
splendor but the gold at the sides was
smooth.
Ito declined, with the apologize smile
of the non-smoker.
Then you'll find some delicious bon
bons inside that dish"
Ito raised the cover of bit of ex-
uuisite Sevres; and the bonbonS were
delicious.
The visit had lasted agreeably for
about 10 minutes when Maj. Redls
toe, unseen by Ito, pressed a slight
BUMP under the thick rug where he
stood chatting. Whereupon his desk
telephone rang. Maj. Redl answered. u
A short conversation" followed. Then
the host turned to his guest.
"a neighbor wants to see me ur-
gently for about 10 minutes" he apol-
ogized. "I'd hate to have you leave
so soon. Won't you make yourself at
home here until come back?"
Thank you, WILL" said Ito.
ITO heard the door close with heavy
l. dignity. His eyes craftily made sure
that he was alone in the room. Ano
outside the windows wide city square
made il unlikely that any one could
nHTpy1 with cnUOIocS see It0
For some moments he seemed con-
tented to rest comfortably in his arm
chair. Suddenly he stood up over the
desk and, with swift expert fingers,
went through the pile of papers lying
there.
In a large envelope marked VERY
confidential he looked at a Sheaf OF
reports. Each was marked with the
ME of some country. He glanced at
h only long enough to note what
l;>H the report covered: But the pa
per marked Serbia held him.
Ha ewes. no longer suave, darted over
the .~ntenCs. In his 3agerneSS 70 reao
he thrust the paper full into the shaf'
of sunlight.
when. 10 minutes later, Maj. Red
returned, the papers on his desk were
exactly as he had left them and his
guest looked up from volume OF Per-
sian poetry.
Come casual talk followed, sophisti-
ted anecdotes comments on womer
and wine. Then Ito rose and made
graceful little speech of appreciation
Mai Redl escorted him to the dool
and the guest left.
No one hindered his leaving. AnC
in the street Itos training told him
after several tests he made, that no on
upac chaIOwipo him
But he had, so to speak, left a broa'
trail behind him 1t was true he hat
not touched the gold cigarette DO,
whose smooth sides were covered witt
minimum but there were his fingerprmt
clearly retained by the miniuln on tn
Sevres bonbon dish, and an expert wa
already photographing them.
When Ito sat in his chair the shat
of sunllsrI5. ,kas on his face, as l hav
said. In the scrollwork on two OF tn
elaborately carved picture frames o.
the walls were openings. in the depth
of which camera lenses had been 10
cused on Ito's face Now two photo
graphs were laid before Maj. Redl, II
in full face and in profile.
In the cabinet from which his hos
had taken the bottle of wine phono
graph had silently recorded 1tos volc'
Each sheet of the specially fake
reports Ito had examined had bee
treated with sensitive substance ths
responded to the action of light. B
comparing them. Maj. Redl knew no
that it was the report on Serbia Wnlc
had the longest engaged Itos mtereS
All the data on Ito, unconscious
contributed by him. we're filed away !