ThetwomenwhoweresuppingtogetherinthegriliroomattheCafeMilanweretalkingwithaseriousnesswhichseemedalittleoutofkeepingwiththerose-shadedlampsandtheswayingmusicofthebandfromthedistantrestaurant。Theirconversationhadstartedsomehoursbeforeintheclubsmoking-roomandhadcontinuedintermittentlythroughouttheevening。IthadreceivedafurtherstimuluswhenRichardHamel，whohadboughtanEveningStandardontheirwayfromthetheatreafewminutesago，cameacrossacertainparagraphinitwhichhereadaloud。
“HangedifIunderstandthingsoverhere，nowadays，Reggie！“hedeclared，layingthepaperdown。“Here’sanotherEnglishmanimprisonedinGermany-thistimeataplacenooneeverheardofbefore。Iwon’ttrytopronounceit。Whatdoesitallmean？It’sallverywelltoshrugyourshoulders，butwhenthereareeighteenarrestswithinoneweekonachargeofespionage，theremustbesomethingup。“
ForthefirsttimeReginaldKinsleyseemedinclinedtodiscussthesubjectseriously。Hedrewthepapertowardshimandreadthelittleparagraph，wordbyword。Thenhegavesomefurtherordertoanattentivemaitred’hotelandglancedaroundtobesurethattheywerenotoverheard。
“Lookhere，Dick，oldchap，“hesaid，“youarejustbackfromabroadandyouarenotquiteinthehangofthingsyet。Letmeaskyouaplainquestion。Whatdoyouthinkofusall？“
“Thinkofyou？“Hamelrepeated，alittledoubtfully。“Doyoumeanpersonally？“
“Takeitanywayyoulike，“Kinsleyreplied。Lookatme。Nineyearsagoweplayedcricketinthesameeleven。Idon’tlookmuchlikecricketnow，doI？“
Hamellookedathiscompanionthoughtfully。Foramanwhowasdoubtlessstillyoung，Kinsleyhadcertainlyanagedappearance。
Thehairabouthistempleswasgrey；therewerelinesabouthismouthandforehead。Hehadtheairofonewholivedinanatmosphereofanxiety。
“Tome，“Hameldeclaredfrankly，“youlookworried。IfIhadn’theardsomuchofthesuccessofyourpoliticalcareerandalltherestofit，Ishouldhavethoughtthatthingsweregoingbadlywithyou。“
“They’vegonewellenoughwithmepersonally，“Kinsleyadmitted，“butI’monlyoneofmany。Politicsisn’tthegameitwas。TheForeignOfficeespeciallyisageingitsmenfastthesefewyears。
We’vebeengoingthroughhell，Hamel，andweareupagainstitnow，hardupagainstit。“
TheslightsmilepassedfromthelipsofHamel’ssunburnt，good-naturedface。Hehimselfseemedtobecomeinfectedwithsomethingofhiscompanion’sanxiety。
“There’snothingseriouslywrong，isthere，Reggie？“heasked。
“Dick，“saidKinsley，withasigh，“Iamafraidthereis。It’sveryseldomItalkasplainlyasthistoany，onebutyouarejustthepersononecanunburdenoneselftoalittle；andtotellyouthetruth，it’sratherarelief。Asyousay，theseeighteenarrestsinoneweekdomeansomething。HalfoftheEnglishmenwhohavebeenarrestedare，tomycertainknowledge，connectedwithourSecretService，andtheyhavebeenarrested，inmanycases，wheretherearenofortificationsworthspeakingofwithinfiftymiles，ononepretextoranother。ThefactofthematteristhatthingsaregoingoninGermany，justatthepresentmoment，theknowledgeofwhichisofvitalinteresttous。“
“Thenthesearrests，“Hamelremarked，“arereallybonafide？“
“Withoutadoubt，“hiscompanionagreed。“Ionlywondertherehavenotbeenmore。IamtellingyouwhatisaprettyopensecretwhenItellyouthatthereisaconferenceduetobeheldthisweekatsomeplaceoranotheronthecontinent-Idon’tknowwhere，myself-whichwillhaveaveryimportantbearinguponourfuture。Weknowjustasmuchasthatandnotmuchmore。“
“Aconferencebetweenwhom？“Hamelasked。
Kinsleydroppedhisvoicealmosttoawhisper。
“Weknow，“hereplied，“thataverygreatmanfromRussia，agreaterstillfromFrance，aministerfromAustria，astatesmanfromItaly，andanenvoyfromJapan，havebeeninvitedtomeetaGermanministerwhosenameIwillnotmention，eventoyou。Thesubjectoftheirproposeddiscussionhasneverbeenbreathed。Onecanonlysuspect。
WhenItellyouthatnoonefromthiscountrywasinvitedtotheconference，Ithinkyouwillbeable，broadlyspeaking，todivineitspurpose。Thecloudshavebeengatheringforagoodmanyyears，andwehaveonlyburiedourheadsalittledeeperinthesands。Wehavehadourchancesandwilfullychuckedthemaway。NationalServiceorthreemorearmycorpsfouryearsagowouldhavebroughtusanalliancewhichwouldhavemeantabsolutesafetyfortwenty-oneyears。Youknowwhathappened。Wehavelivedthroughmanyrumoursandescaped，morenarrowlythanmostpeoplerealise，agreatmanydangers，butthereiseveryindicationthistimethattheendisreallycoming。“
“Andwhatwilltheendbe？“Hamelenquiredeagerly。
Kinsleyshruggedhisshouldersandpausedwhiletheirglasseswerefilledwithwine。
“Itwillbeinthenatureofadiplomaticcoup，“hesaidpresently。
“OfthatmuchIfeelsure。Englandwillbeforcedintosuchapositionthatshewillhavenoalternativeleftbuttodeclarewar。
That，ofcourse，willbetheendofus。Withourridiculouslysmallarmyandabsolutelynosaneschemeforhomedefence，weshallloseallthatwehaveworthfightingfor-ourcolonies-withoutbeingabletostrikeablow。Thethingissoridiculouslyobvious。
Ithasbeenadmittedtimeaftertimebyeverysealordandeverycommander-in-chief。Wehavelistenedtoit，andthat’sall。Ourfleetisneededunderpresentconditionstoprotectourownshores。
Thereisn’tasinglebattleshipwhichcouldbesafelyspared。Canada，Australia，NewZealand，Egypt，India，musttakecareofthemselves。
Iwonderwhenanationoftheworldeverplayedfastandloosewithgreatpossessionsaswehavedone！“
“Thisisanicesortofthingtohearalmostone’sfirstnightinEngland，“Hamelremarkedalittlegloomily。“Tellmesomemoreaboutthisconference。Areyousurethatyourinformationisreliable？“
“Ourinformationismiserablyscanty，“Kinsleyadmitted。“Curiouslyenough，themanwhomustknowmostaboutthewholethingisanEnglishman，oneofthemostcuriousmortalsintheBritishEmpire。
Aspyofhissucceededinlearningmorethananyofourpeople，andwithoutbeingarrested，too。“
“Andwhoisthissingularperson？“Hamelasked。
“Amanofwhomyou，Isuppose，neverheard，“Kinsleyreplied。“HisnameisFentolin-MilesFentolin-andhelivessomewheredowninNorfolk。Heisoneofthestrangestcharactersthateverlived，strangerthananyeffortoffictionIevermetwith。HewasintheForeignOfficeonce，andeveryonewaspredictingforhimabrilliantcareer。Thentherewasanaccident-letmesee，itmusthavebeensomesixorsevenyearsago-andhehadtohavebothhislegsamputated。Nooneknowsexactlyhowtheaccidenthappened，andtherewasalwaysacertainamountofmysteryconnectedwithit。Sincethenhehasburiedhimselfinthecountry。Idon’tthink，infact，thatheevermovesoutsidehisplace；butsomehoworotherhehasmanagedtokeepintouchwithallthepoliticalmovementsoftheday。“
“Fentolin，“Hamelrepeatedsoftlytohimself。“Tellme，whereaboutsdoeshelive？“
“QuiteawonderfulplaceinNorfolk，Ibelieve，somewherenearthesea。I’veforgottenthename，forthemoment。Hehashadwirelesstelegraphyinstalled；hehasatelegraphofficeinthehouse，half-a-dozenprivatewires，andtheysaythathespendsanimmenseamountofmoneykeepingintouchwithforeignpolitics。Hisexcuseisthathespeculateslargely，asIdaresayhedoes；butjustlately，“Kinsleywentonmoreslowly，“hehasbeenanobjectofanxietytoallofus。ItwashewhosentthefirstagentouttoGermany，totryanddiscoveratleastwherethisconferencewastobeheld。Hismanreturnedinsafety，andhehasoneovertherenowwhohasnotbeenarrested。Weseemtohavelostnearlyallofours。“
“DoyoumeantosaythatthismanFentolinactuallypossessesinformationwhichtheGovernmenthasn’tastotheintentionsofforeignPowers？“Hamelasked。
Kinsleynodded。Therewasaslightflushuponhispallidcheeks。
“Henotonlyhasit，buthedoesn’tmeantopartwithit。Afewhundredyearsago，whentherulersofthiscountryweremenwithbloodintheirveins，he’dhavebeengivenjustonechancetotellallheknew，andhungasatraitorifhehesitated。Wedon’tdothatsortofthingnowadays。Werathergoinforpreservingtraitors。WepermitthemeveninourownHouseofCommons。However，Idon’twanttodepressyouandplaythealarmistsosoonafteryourreturntoLondon。Idaresaytheoldcountry’llmuddlealongthroughourtime。“
“Don’tbefoolish，“Hamelbegged。“There’snoothersubjectofconversationcouldinterestmehalfasmuch。Haveyouformedanyideayourselfastothenatureofthisconference？“
“Weallhaveanidea，“Kinsleyrepliedgrimly；“IndiaforRussia；alargesliceofChinaforJapan，withprobablyAustraliathrownin；
Alsace-LorraineforFrance’sneutrality。There’sbriberyforyou。
What’stobecomeofpoorEnglandthen？Ourfriendsareonlyhuman，afterall，andit’smerelyaquestionofhandingovertothemsufficientspoil。Theymustconsiderthemselvesfirst:that’sthefirstdutyoftheirpoliticianstowardstheircountry。“
“Youmeantosay，“Hamelasked，“thatyouseriouslybelievethataconferenceisonthepointofbeingheldatwhichFranceandRussiaaretobeinvitedtoconsidersuggestionslikethis？“
“Iamafraidthere’snodoubtaboutit，“Kinsleydeclared。“TheirambassadorsinLondonprofesstoknownothing。That，ofcourse，istheirreasonableattitude，butthere’snodoubtwhateverthattheconferencehasbeenplanned。Ishouldsaythatto-nightwearenearerwar，ifwecansummonenoughspirittofight，thanwehavebeensinceFashoda。“
“QueerifIhavereturnedjustintimeforthescrap，“Hamelremarkedthoughtfully。“IwasintheMilitiaonce，soIexpectIcangetajob，ifthere’sanyfighting。“
“Icangetyouabetterjobthanfighting-oneyoucanstartonto-morrow，too，“Kinsleyannouncedabruptly，“thatisifyoureallywanttohelp？“
