The place referred to was the Perkins Cafe, a high-class restaurant on
Pennsylvania Avenue, heavily patronized by the diplomatic, political,
financial, and sporting circles of upper-class Washington. It was famous
for its discreet waiters, and for the absolutely private rooms. Many of
its patrons knew of its unique telephone service, in which each call
went through such a devious system of relays that any attempt to trace
it was hopeless; they knew that while "The Perkins" would not knowingly
lend itself to any violation of law, it was an entirely safe and
thoroughly satisfactory place in which to conduct business of the most
secret and confidential character; a place from which one could enjoy
personal conversation with persons to whom he wished to remain invisible
and untraceable: a place which had never been known to "leak." For these
reasons it was really the diplomatic and political center of the
country, and over its secret wires had gone, in guarded language,
messages that would have rocked the world had they gone astray. It was
recognized that the place was occasionally, by its very nature, used for
illegal purposes, but it was such a political, financial, and diplomatic
necessity that it carried a "Hands Off" sign. It was never investigated
by Congress and never raided by the police. Hundreds of telephone calls
were handled daily. A man would come in, order something served in a
private room, leave a name at the desk, and say that he was expecting a
call. There the affair ended. The telephone operators were hand-picked,
men of very short memories, carefully trained never to look at a face
and never to remember a name or a number. Although the precaution was
unnecessary, this shortness of memory was often encouraged by bills of
various denominations.

No one except Perkins and the heads of the great World Steel Corporation
knew that the urbane and polished proprietor of the cafe was a criminal
of the blackest kind, whose liberty and life itself were dependent upon
the will of the Corporation; or that the restaurant was especially
planned and maintained as a blind for its underground activities; or
that Perkins was holding a position which suited him exactly and which
he would not have given up for wealth or glory--that of being the
guiding genius who planned nefarious things for the men higher up, and
saw to it that they were carried out by the men lower down. He was in
constant personal touch with his superiors