aimed Penurot with a visible
effort. "I know nothing whatever about this paper. I am an honest
business man."

"And of course, Herr Brandelaar, you had no suspicion of the important
stuffing in your white bread? Now, I am not called upon to investigate
the matter further. It will be for the court-martial to throw light on
the affair."

The grocer turned as pale as death, and lifted up his hands imploringly.

"Mercy, Herr major, mercy! As true as I live, I am innocent."

Heideck pretended not to have heard his assertion.

"Further, I must tell you, gentlemen, that you are confoundedly bad men
of business, to risk your lives for a miserable thirty pounds. That
was an inexcusable folly. If ever you wanted to make money in that way,
really you would have done better to work for us. We would pay a man
five times as much without haggling, if he would furnish us with really
trustworthy information of this kind about the English fleet and army."

At these words, spoken almost in a jovial tone, a gleam of hope showed
itself in the countenance of the two men. The grocer had opened his
mouth to reply, when Heideck signed to him to be silent.

"Be so good as to go on deck for a while, Penurot," said he. "I will
call you when I want to continue the conversation. You shall give me
your company first, Brandelaar. I should like a few words with you in
private."

The man with the fashionably pointed beard obeyed. Then Heideck turned
to the Dutchman--

"This Penurot is the guilty party, isn't he? As a skipper you have
probably never troubled yourself much about politics during your
lifetime: you scarcely had a correct idea of the risk you were running.
If the court-martial condemns you, you will only have your friend
Penurot to thank for it."

"What you say is quite true, sir," replied Brandelaar with well-acted
simplicity. "I have my cargo to sell for the firm of Van Spranekhuizen,
and I don't care a damn for war or spying. I beg the Herr major to put
in a good word for me. I had no suspicion of what was inside the bread."

"So this Penurot has drawn you into the affair without your knowing it.
Did he intend to go with you to Antwerp?"

"I will tell you the whole truth, Herr major! Admiral Hollway at Dover,
who is in control of the intelligence department for the Channel and
the coast from Cuxhaven to Brest, gave me the two loaves for Camille
Penurot. That is all I know of the matter."

"Was it the first time you had to