direction were due to the most flagrant compulsion." He paused.
"Whatever else you are unlucky in, Mr. Lyndon," he added smilingly,
"you can at least be congratulated on your friends."

Then he turned to Latimer. "I think it would be as well if I explained
the position before Casement and Frinton arrive."

Latimer expressed his agreement, and motioning me to a chair, Lord
Lammersfield again seated himself at the table. His manner, though
still quite friendly and unstilted, had suddenly become serious.

"For the moment, Mr. Lyndon," he said, "the Prime Minister is out of
London. We have communicated with him, and we expect him back tonight.
In his absence it falls to me to thank you most unreservedly both on
behalf of the Government and the nation for what you have done. It
would be difficult to overrate its importance."

I began to feel a trifle embarrassed.

"I really don't want any thanks," I said. "I just drifted into it;
and anyway one doesn't sell one's country, even if one is an escaped
convict."

Lord Lammersfield laughed drily. "There are many men," he said, "in
your position who would have found it an extraordinarily attractive
prospect. I am not at all sure I shouldn't have myself." He paused.
"We can't give you those three years of your life back," he went on,
"but fortunately we can make some sort of amends in other ways. I have
no doubt that the moment the Prime Minister is fully acquainted with
the circumstances he will arrange for what we humorously call a 'free
pardon'; that is to say, the Law will very graciously forgive you for
having been unjustly sent to prison. As for the rest--" he shrugged
his shoulders--"well, I don't imagine you will be precisely the loser
for not having sold your secret to the Wilhelmstrasse. Our own
War Office are quite prepared to deal in any original methods of
scattering death that happen to be on the market just at present."

There was a brief pause.

"And are we free now?" inquired Tommy, with a rather pathetic glance
at the clock.

"You should be very shortly," returned Lammersfield. "Mr. Casement has
gone across to the Home Office to explain the latest developments to
Sir George Frinton. We are expecting them both here at any moment."

"Sir George Frinton?" I echoed. "Why, I thought Mr. McCurdy was at the
Home Office."

Lammersfield smiled tolerantly: "You have been busy, Mr. Lyndon, and
some of the more important facts of modern history have possibly
esc