two
rooms, one leading off the other. The larger room John Dene decided to
use himself, the smaller he handed over to Dorothy.

With a celerity that had rather surprised John Dene the telephone had
been connected and a private wire run through to the Admiralty.

"The thing about a Britisher," he remarked to Dorothy, "is that he can
hustle, but won't."

She allowed the remark to pass unchallenged.

"Now things will begin to hum," he said, as he settled himself down to
his table. Throwing aside his coat, he set to work. There was little
over three weeks in which to get everything organised and planned.
Long lists of stores for the _Destroyer_ had to be prepared, the
details of the structural alterations to the _Toronto_, the name given
to the mother-ship that was to act as tender to the _Destroyer_,
instructions to the Canadian crew that was coming over, and a thousand
and one other things that kept them busily occupied. He arranged to
have luncheon sent in from the Ritzton. After the first day the
ordering of these meals was delegated to Dorothy. John Dene's ideas on
the subject of food proved original, resulting in the ordering of about
five times as much as necessary.

Dorothy came to look forward to these dainty meals, which she could
order with unstinted hand, and she liked the tete-a-tete half-hours
during their consumption. Then John Dene would unbend and tell her of
Canada, about his life there and in America, how he had planned and
built the _Destroyer_. He seemed to take it for granted that she could
be trusted to keep her own counsel.

The night after John Dene's entry into his new offices the place was
burgled. In the morning when he arrived he found papers tossed about
in reckless disorder. The fourth set of plans of German U-boats had
disappeared.

With grim humour he drew a fifth set from his pocket, and placed it in
the safe, which he did not keep locked, as it contained nothing of
importance. John Dene's method was to burn every paper or duplicate
that was no longer required, and to have sent over to the Admiralty
each day before five o'clock such documents as were of importance.

For the first time in her life Dorothy felt she was doing something of
national importance. John Dene trusted her, and took her patriotism as
a matter of course. Sometimes he would enquire if she were tired, and
on hearing that she was not he would nod his approval.

"You're some worker," he once remarke