CHAPTER XXVII

ALL CARDS ON THE TABLE

The royal party had scarcely gotten out of the house and Edestone and Jones were still standing in the middle of the reception room when the return of General von Lichtenstein was announced.

The old General came in as quietly as if nothing had happened. He greeted the Secretary cordially and smiled benignly at Edestone.

"Young man," he said, "you needed my old head on your young shoulders badly tonight. I have returned to have a talk with the Acting Amba.s.sador, and I think that if he can prevail upon you to be reasonable I may be able to settle this little difficulty between you and His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor. If you will only lead us into some smaller room, Mr. Secretary, we can sit down and over our cigars discuss this matter quietly."

"I am sorry that my machine--" began Edestone, but he was quickly interrupted by the General.

"Tut, tut, that is nothing at all. That was simply two young men losing their tempers, and ought to be soon settled. One being an Emperor makes it a little more difficult, I will admit, but I have seen Emperors angry before and they are just like any of us. They cool off when they realize that they have," and he lowered his voice with a quizzical look, "been a little bit foolish."

When they were all comfortably seated around the table in the library of the Emba.s.sy, and the General and Edestone had lighted cigars, while Jones, who never smoked, looked on, the old General, statesman, philosopher, and writer opened the conversation.

"We have now come to the last hand in this game which we have been playing," he said, "and I think it would be just as well for all cards to be laid on the table."

Edestone looked at him in surprise, for instead of the simple, smiling old gentleman, with the soft gentle voice and fatherly manner, he saw a crafty, dangerous, and determined man of steel. His voice was cold and harsh, his winning smile had gone. He had come to fight and to fight desperately to the finish.

"In the first place," he continued, "we do not know exactly what is the relationship between you," looking at Edestone, "and the United States of America," with a wave of his hand toward Jones, "and as there can now be no reason for further concealment, since we are virtually on the verge of a declaration of war--a step which I am here to prevent if possible--I will say that it makes no difference to His Imperial Majesty's Government what that relationship may be, so long as Germany gets the use of Mr. Edestone's invention. But we will declare war upon the United States tomorrow night unless we get an a.s.surance from you that we shall have the exclusive right to the one and only flying machine in which this invention has been installed."

At this Jones looked over at Edestone with a glance of inquiry.

"Yes," said Edestone in answer to this, "there is only one."

"Germany understands, of course," proceeded the General, "that the United States will construct others, but so will Germany. Germany is willing and prepared to pay well for this, although she knows that by holding Mr. Edestone she controls this machine and could have it without paying for it. We admit that we do not know where it is, but we are confident that Mr. Edestone does,"--he turned upon Edestone the look of a wild beast who has his prey and loves to torture it,--"and we intend that he shall communicate with the commander and see that this ship is sent to some place where we can take possession of it."

And then with a grim smile he leaned forward on the table, looking first at the Secretary and then at Edestone.

"You are both virtually prisoners in this Emba.s.sy," he said. "That is my hand."

"Then we are now at war," said the Secretary with a quiet smile.

"No," replied the General, "it has not come to that yet. And it does not necessarily have to come to that. We should be able to arrange this matter here tonight. As I have said, Germany will pay well. She is willing to start on even terms with the United States, who can build just as fast as we can. Germany will bring this war to an end within a week, and then she and the United States can come to an agreement as to how they will divide up the rest of the earth."

Edestone smiled and made no answer.

The Secretary said: "I can do nothing until I have communicated with my Government."

"I am sorry," said the General impatiently, "but we cannot wait until we get an answer from your very slow and inefficient State Department.

We must have a reply before tomorrow night at 12 o'clock. Have you nothing to say, Mr. Edestone? You are perhaps personally the most deeply interested, because I tell you," he grinned cruelly, "we will get your secret if we have to put you on the rack and go back five centuries in the eyes of the rest of the world, should it be necessary to do that in order to give it the blessings that can only be gotten under German rule. I ask you again, have you nothing to say?"

"Nothing, General," replied Edestone.

He was slowly blowing rings of smoke, seeming almost to fascinate the General, who would often stop speaking to follow them with his eyes until they broke or were lost in the darkness in the corners of the room. This was an old trick of his to divert the attention of his adversary, therein improving on Bismarck who always used his cigar to gain time when driven to a corner.

"That is your final answer?" said the General.

"My final answer," Edestone bowed.

"And you, Mr. Secretary?"

"I am but the mouthpiece of my Government, and she has not spoken yet."

"Well, gentlemen," said the General rising, "I think we understand each other."

"I think so," replied Edestone. "Good-night, sir."

The Secretary accompanied the visitor out into the hall, leaving Edestone, who as soon as he was alone rang for a servant and sent for Lawrence. In the meantime he just had opportunity to glance at the note which General von Lichtenstein had given him. It was a mere sc.r.a.p of writing asking him to come to the Princess Wilhelmina immediately after the departure of His Imperial Majesty.

When Lawrence came in he hastily slipped this into his pocket.

"Lawrence," he said, "I want you to send a message for me as soon as Jones has given his consent. I will ask him in regard to it as soon as he returns, so you had better wait and hear what he has to say."

A moment later the Secretary came into the room with a very worried expression on his face. "Edestone," he said impressively, "this undoubtedly means war."

"And if so," rejoined Edestone, "we will win."

He then explained to Jones how he was in daily communication with "Specs" and was now only waiting for the Secretary's consent to send for him and he could have him over Berlin in seven hours. He also explained to him about the instrument that was in the penthouse on the roof of the Emba.s.sy.

"But what do you propose to do, Jack?" frowned the Secretary. "Do you intend to fight these people single-handed and thereby drag your country into a cruel and disastrous war? That seems to me to be unnecessary."

"No, I propose to save you and the members of the Emba.s.sy from a very disagreeable experience and from what may develop into a very dangerous situation; for I am convinced that these Germans will not hesitate to fire upon the Emba.s.sy if you do not deliver me up to them. The only hope of stopping war without loss of life is through me and my invention. I therefore ask your permission to send the following message," and he handed the Secretary a sc.r.a.p of paper upon which he had written:

"Be exactly over American Emba.s.sy Berlin tomorrow night at nine o'clock. Take station at 5000 feet and there await instructions.

"E."

The Secretary took the paper and read it through twice very slowly.

"I fear," he said with a sigh, "that is the only way."

CHAPTER XXVIII

WHERE IS IT?

The Secretary left the room after practically turning the entire matter over to Edestone. He feared that the time had come to show force. The Germans, in what they felt might be a desperate strait, had thrown to the wind caution, tradition, and the usages of civilized warfare. They were preparing some desperate move which he felt that he was powerless to stop. Diplomacy with them now was as useless as pure logic on a charging elephant.

How they expected to stand against Edestone and his diabolical mystery of the air, he could not comprehend, but he had lived long enough with this nation to know them. Simple, kind, and lovable in their ordinary lives, they were nevertheless, on the subject of war, individually and collectively mad and they were ready to die fighting.