Government has the invention, His Royal Highness tonight will try to
get enough out of Edestone to enlighten Berlin, and in that way we
shall at least get an even break. That is, always provided that
Edestone has not a lot of the completed articles, whatever they may
be, at the Little Place in the Country. That would put us in bad
again, and it will be up to Count Bernstoff to attend to it from the
New York end."

"Of course, Mr. Rebener," said the proprietor, "we can do nothing
until we hear from His Royal Highness, but I am satisfied that he will
say Edestone must not be allowed to go to Downing Street tomorrow to
continue his negotiations, unless in some way we can get hold of this
secret tonight."

"Well, I'll be damned if I'll--!" started Rebener angrily, when he was
interrupted by the proprietor, who holding his finger to his lip,
said:

"Please, Mr. Rebener, please! Always remember that the service on
which we are engaged has no soul and a very long arm." Then dropping
into the persuasive and servile tone of the _maitre d'hotel_: "I
propose, Mr. Rebener, that you allow me to send you up a nice little
lunch, some melon, say, a _salmon mayonnaise_ or a _filet du
sole au vin blanc_ and a _noisette d'agneau_ and a nice little
sweet, and you must try a bottle of our Steinberger Auslese '84.

"And Smith," he turned to the humbler agent, "you had better get in
touch with 4782, who is reporting to His Royal Highness every hour.
His last message was that Edestone is still with Underhill, so you get
down to the Admiralty and report to me here as often as you can.