And he was a brave
man, Barbara, cruel and unscrupulous, I admit, but there was no
fear in him, and I can't help admiring courage. I seem to think
of him as two men--the man I soldiered with and the heartless
brute who watched while that beast Bellward..."
He broke off as a spasm of pain crossed the girl's face. "I shall
remember the one and forget the other," he concluded simply.
"Tell me," said the girl suddenly, "who was Strangwise?"
"After he was arrested and just before they were going to take
him off," Desmond said, "he asked to be allowed to say a word
privately to the Chief. We were all sent away and he told the
Chief his real name. He thought he was going to be hanged, you
see, and while he never shrank from any crime in the fulfilment
of his mission, he was terrified of a shameful death. He begged
the Chief to see that his real name was not revealed for the
disgrace that his execution would bring upon his family.
Curiously Prussian attitude of mind, isn't it?"
"And what did the Chief say?"
"I don't know; but he was mighty short with him, I expect."
"And what was Strangwise's real name?"
"When he told us that Nur-el-Din was his wife, I knew at once who
he was. His name is Hans von Schornbeek. He was in the Prussian
Foot Guards, was turned out for some reason or other and went to
America where, after a pretty rough time, he was taken on by the
German secret service organization.
Pages:
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384