oot replied that I might set my mind at ease:
the moment the document was in his hands he would give orders for her
release: I should be there and might see it done myself.

What guarantee was there, I asked, that she would not be detained before
she reached the frontier?

Clubfoot was getting a little restless. With his eye on the clock but in
a placid voice he again protested that his word was the sole guarantee
he could offer.

We discussed this too. My manner was earnest and nervous, I know, and I
think he enjoyed playing with me. I told him frankly that his reputation
belied his protestations of good faith. At this he laughed and
cynically admitted that this was quite possibly the case.

"Nevertheless, it is I who give the guarantee," he said in a tone that
brooked no contradiction.

The clock struck eleven.

One hour to go!

"Come, Okewood," he added good-naturedly, "we waste time. Up to this
you've had all the sport, you know. You wouldn't have me miss the first
day's shooting I've had this year. Where have you got this letter of
ours?"

He was an extraordinary man. To hear him address me, you would never
have supposed that he was sending me to my death. He appeared to have
forgotten this detail. It meant so little to him that he probably had.

I turned to my third point. He made things very hard for me, I said, but
I was the vanquished and must give way. The trouble was that the
document was still in two portions and neither half was here.

"You indicate where the halves are hidden," said Clubfoot promptly. "I
will accompany you to the hiding-places and you will hand them to me."

"But they are nowhere near here," I replied.

"Then where are they?" answered Clubfoot impatiently. "Come, I am
waiting and it's getting late!"

"It will take several days to recover both portions," I muttered
unwillingly.

"That does not matter," retorted the other; "there is no particular
hurry ... now!"

And he smiled grimly.

I dared not raise my eyes to the clock, for I felt the German's gaze on
me. An intuitive instinct told me that his suspicions had been awakened
by my reluctance. I was very nearly at the end of my resources.

Would the clock never strike?

"I tell you frankly, Herr Doktor," I said in a voice that trembled with
anxiety, "I cannot leave the Countess unprotected whilst we travel
together to the hiding-places of the document. I only feel sure of her
safety whilst she is near me...."

Club