try they have found out things that
other Governments have been willing to pay for. At least, the doctor
has. The rest of us, my father, myself, Hoffman"--she shrugged her
shoulders--"we are his puppets, his tools. Everything we have done has
been planned and arranged by him."

There was a short silence.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. "What brought you to England?"

"We have been here just over three years," she answered slowly. "There
was a man in London that Dr. McMurtrie and my father wanted to find.
Eight years ago he betrayed them in St. Petersburg."

A sudden idea--so wild as to be almost incredible--flashed into my
mind.

I moistened my lips. "Who was he?" I asked steadily.

She shook her head. "I don't know his name. I only know that he is
dead. I think Dr. McMurtrie would kill any one who betrayed him--if he
could."

I crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. I felt
strangely excited.

"And after that," I said quietly, "I suppose the doctor thought he
might as well stop here and do a little business?"

"I think it was suggested to him from Berlin. He had sent them all
sorts of information when we were in Paris, and, of course, as things
are now, they were still more anxious to get hold of anything about
the English army or navy." She paused. "What they specially wanted
were the plans of the Lyndon-Marwood torpedo."

"Yes," I said. "I dare say they did. A lot of people have wanted them,
but unfortunately they're not for sale."

Sonia laughed softly. "The exact price we paid for them," she said,
"was twelve thousand pounds."

I sat up with a jerk. This time my surprise was utterly genuine.

"You bought them!" I said incredulously. "Bought them from some one in
the Admiralty?"

Again Sonia shook her head. "Don't you remember what you read in the
_Daily Mail_ about the robbery at your offices in Victoria Street?"

I stared at her for a second, and then suddenly the real truth dawned
on me.

"So George sold them to you?" I said.

She nodded. "Ever since you went to prison the business has been going
to pieces. He wanted money badly--very badly indeed. Dr. McMurtrie
found this out. He found out too that there was a copy of the plans
in the office, and--well, you can guess the rest. The burglary, of
course, was arranged between them. It was meant to cover your cousin
in case the Government found out that the Germans had got hold of the
plans."

"And have they found out?"