ring from his cigar. But he said nothing.

I persisted with my questions but it was of no avail. Red Tabs only
laughed and said: "I know nothing at all except that your brother is a
most delightful fellow with all your own love of getting his own way."

Then Sonny Martin, who is the perfection of tact and diplomacy--probably
on that account he failed for the Diplomatic--chipped in with an
anecdote about a man who was rating the waiter at an adjoining table,
and I held my peace. But as Red Tabs rose to go, a little later, he held
my hand for a minute in his and with that curious look of his, said
slowly and with meaning:

"When a nation is at war, officers on _active service_ must occasionally
disappear, sometimes in their country's interest, sometimes in their
own."

He emphasised the words "on active service."

In a flash my eyes were opened. How blind I had been! Francis was in
Germany.




CHAPTER II

THE CIPHER WITH THE INVOICE