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Show ! still, and lay quite qufet for some i time. In the end, however, I pot , up and walked round the room, es-j es-j amlnfng It. I thouirht that oven If ' anyone was watching me from J somewhere, It would seem natural enough under the circumstances. It ; was a squalid, dirty place. There were no windows, which seemed queer. I guessed the door would be locked, but I didn't try It. There wore some battered old pictures on the wnlls, representing scones from Faust." Jane's two listeners pave a sim-; sim-; ultaneous "Ah!" The pirl nodded. I ''Yes It was the place In Soho j where Mr. Beresl'ord was im-i im-i prisoned. Of course, at the time I . didn't even know il I was in London. Lon-don. One thing was worrying me dreadfully, but my heart gave a great throb of relief when I saw my ulster lying carelessly over the back of the clmlr. And the maga- ! zine was still rolled, up in the pocket ! (Continued Secret Ad vers ary k- btj-AsiafhaChristie "On, I fTiougTrf we'd get to London Lon-don all right. If there's going to be any fun, now Is when It will begin, Quick, get out. We'll nip into a taxi." In another minute they were stepping into a taxi. "King's Cross," directed Tuppence. Tup-pence. Then she gave a jump. A man looked in at the window, Just as they started. She was almost certain It was the same man who had got Into the carriage next to them. She had a horrible feeling of being slowly hemmed In on every side. "You see," she explained te Jane, "If they think we're going to Sir James, this will put them off the scent. Now they'll imagine we're going to Mr. Carter. His country place Is north of London somewhere." some-where." Crossing Holborn there was a block, and the taxi was held up. This was what Tuppence had been waiting for. "Quick," she whispered. "Open the right-hand door!" The two girls stepped out Into the traffic. Two minutes later they were seated In another taxi and were retracing their steps, this time direct to Carlton House terrace. ter-race. "There," said Tuppence, with great satisfaction, "this ought to do them. I can't help thinking that I'm really rather clever! . What's this thing swerving Oh !" There was a grinding noise and a bump. Another taxi had collided with them. In a flash Tuppence was out on the pavement. A policeman was mm to me. He asked me If T was a patriotic American, and told me he was enrrying papers which were just life or death to the Allies. He asked me to take charge of them. I was to watch for an advertisement advertise-ment In the Times. If It didn't ap- i penr, I was to take them to the , American ambassador. I "Most of what followed seems like n nightmare still. I see It In my dreams sometimes. . . . I'll hurry over thnt part. Mr. Danvers had told mo to wntch out. He might have been shadowed from New York, hut he didn't think so. At first I had no suspicions, but on the boat to Holyhead I began to get uneasy. There was one woman who had been very keen to look aftei me, and chum up with me generally a Mrs. Vandemeyer. I remembered that she'd" been quite near me on the Lusltania when Mr. Danvers gave me the packet, and before that she'd tried to talk to him once or twice. I began to get scared, but I didn't quite see what to do, "One thing Id done already as a precaution rlpppd open the oilskin oil-skin packet and substituted blank paper, and then sewn It up again. So, If anyone did manage to rob me of it. It wouldn't matter. "What to do with the real thing worried me no end. Finally I opened it out flat there were only i two sheets and laid It between two of the advertisement pages of I a magazine. I stuck the two pages together round the edge with some gum off an envelope. I carried the magazine carelessly stuffed Into the pocket nf my ulster. "At Holyhead I found myself In a carriage with Mrs.- Vandemeyer after all. I consoled myself with the thought thnt there were other people In the carriage there was a nice-looking man and his wife sitting Just opposite. So I felt almost al-most happy about it until just outside out-side London. I had leaned back and closed my eyes. I guess they thought I was asleep, but my eyes weren't quite shut, and suddenly I s,iw-the nice-looking man get something some-thing out of his bag and hand it to Mrs. Vandemeyer, and as T mIm '50 he winked. . . . "I can't tell you how that w!nk sort of froze me through and through. My only thought was to get out In the corridor as quick as ever I could. I got up, trying to look natural and easy. Perhaps they saw something I don't know hut suddenly Mrs. Vandemeyer said "Now," and flung something over my nose and mouth as I tried to scream. At the same moment I felt a terrific blow on the back of my head. . . ." She shuddered. Sir James murmured mur-mured something sympathetically. In a minute she resumed: "I can't tell you how that wink fore I came back to consciousness. I felt very ill and sick. I was lying ly-ing on a dirty bed. There was a screen round it, but I could bear two people talking In the room, Mrs. Vandemeyer was one of them. I tried to listen, but at first I couldn't take much In. When at last I did begin to grasp what was going on I was just terrified ! I wonder I didn't scream right out there and then. "They hadn't found the papers. They'd got the oilskin packet with the blanks, and they were just mad ! They didn't know whether I'd changed the papers, or whether Danvers had been carrying a dummy dum-my message, while the real one was sent another way. They sopke of" she closed her eyes "torturing me to find out ! "I began thinking madly. What could I do? I knew I wouldn't be able to stand op against torture very long. Suddenly something put the thought of loss of memory into my head. The subject had always Interested me. and I'd read an awful aw-ful lot about It. I had the whole thing at my Anger-tips. If only I could succeed in carrying the bluff through. It might save me. I said a prayer, and drew a long breath. Then I opened my eyes and started babbling In French! "Mrs. Vandemeyer came round the screen at once. Her face was so wicked I nearly died, but 1 smiled up at her doubtfully, and asked her In French where I was. "It puzzled her. I could see. She called the man she had been talking talk-ing to. He stood by -the screen with his face In shadow. He spoke to me In French. He asked me my name. I said I didn't know that I couldn't remember anything at all. "Suddenly he caught my wrist, and began twisting it. The pain was awful. I screamed. He went on. I screamed and screamed, but I I managed to shriek out thincs in French. I don't know how long I could have gone on, hut luckily 1 fainted. The last tiling I heard was his voice saying: 'That's not bluff! Anyway, a kid of her age wouldn't know enough.' "When I came to, Mrs. Vande meyer was sweet as honey to me. Siie'd had her orders, I guess. "By nnd by she went out of the room altogether. I wajj suspicious V In a Flash Tuppence Was Out on the Pavement. approaching. Before he arrived Tuppencft had handed the driver five shillings, and she and Jane had merged themselves In the crowd. "It's only a step or two now," said Tuppence breathlessly. Hand-in-hand, the two girls hurried hur-ried along. "It may be my fancy," said Tuppence Tup-pence suddenly, "but I feel as though. there was some one behind us." " Tuppence and Jane took to their heels. The house they sought was some way down. Footsteps echoed behind them. Their breath was coming in choking gasps as they reached Sir James' door. Tuppence Tup-pence seized the bell and Jane the knocker. A man reached the foot of the steps. For a moment he hesitated, and as he did so the door opened. They fell into the hall together. Sir James came forward from the library door. "Hullo! What's this?" He stepped forward, and put his arm round Jane as she swayed uncertainly. un-certainly. He half carried her into the library, and 'laid her on the leather couch. From a tantalus on the table he poured out a few drops of brandy, and forced her to drink them. With a sigh she snt up, her eyes still wild and frightened. fright-ened. "It's all right. Don't be afraid, my child. You're quite safe." Her breath came more normally, and the color was returning to her cheeks. Sir James looked at Tuppence Tup-pence quizzically. "Am I right In thinking that the Join venture has ended In success, and that this" he turnel to the girl on the couch "Is Miss Jane Finn?" Jane sat up. "Yes," she said quietly, "I'm Jane Finn. I have a lot to tell you." "When you are stronger " "No now !" In n low voice Jane began her story. "I came over on the Lusltania to take up a post In Paris. When the ship, was Inrpeiined, a niajj came up |