Everyone is searched for letters and papers at Tilbury. I devised a
scheme and we tested it, but it failed."

"How? It failed?" the other cried.

"With no detriment to the success of our mission, Your Majesty."

"Explain! What was your stratagem?"

"I cut a piece of the lining from a handbag and in this I wrapped a
perfectly harmless letter addressed to an English shipping agent in
Rotterdam. I then pasted the fragment of the lining back in its place in
the bottom of the bag. Grundt gave the bag to one of our number as an
experiment to see if it would elude the vigilance of the English
police."

A light of interest was growing in the Emperor's manner, banishing his
ill-temper. Anything novel always appealed to him.

"Well?" he said.

"The ruse was detected, the letter was found and our man was fined
twenty pounds at the police court. It was then that Dr. Grundt decided
to send me...."

"You've got it with you?" the other exclaimed eagerly.

"No, Your Majesty," I said. "I had no means of bringing it away. Dr.
Grundt, on the other hand ..." And I doubled up my leg and touched my
foot.