I will
not conceal from you that the service of our Underground Railway is a
little irregular from England and France. But from Switzerland it is
smooth as a trunk line. There are unwatched spots on the frontier, and
we have our agents among the frontier guards, and we have no
difficulty about passes. It is a pretty device, and you will soon be
privileged to observe its working . . . In Germany I cannot promise you
comfort, but I do not think your life will be dull.'
As he spoke these words, his urbane smile changed to a grin of impish
malevolence. Even through my torpor I felt the venom and I shivered.
'When I return I shall have another companion.' His voice was honeyed
again. 'There is a certain pretty lady who was to be the bait to
entice me into Italy. It was so? Well, I have fallen to the bait. I
have arranged that she shall meet me this very night at a mountain inn
on the Italian side. I have arranged, too, that she shall be alone.
She is an innocent child, and I do not think that she has been more
than a tool in the clumsy hands of your friends. She will come with me
when I ask her, and we shall be a merry party in the Underground
Express.'
My apathy vanished, and every nerve in me was alive at the words.
'You cur!' I cried. 'She loathes the sight of you. She wouldn't touch
you with the end of a barge-pole.'
He flicked the ash from his cigar. 'I think you are mistaken. I am
very persuasive, and I do not like to use compulsion with a woman.
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