The Girl and The Bill Part 46

My friend was not hurt. The thief, however, had his leg broken."

"What happened then?" inquired the minister; for Orme had paused.

"Oh, my friend took the proxies from the thief's pocket and walked away.

He stopped at the nearest farmhouse and sent help back."

"Even in America," commented the minister, "the frien's of the injured man might see that his hurt was avenge. The man who caused the accident should be made to suffer."

"Oh, no," said Orme. "If the matter were pressed at all, the correct thing to do would be to arrest the man with the broken leg. He had stolen the papers in the first place. Harm came to him, when he tried to escape with the papers after stealing them. But as a matter of fact, the average American would consider the affair at an end."

"Your story and mine are dissimilar," remarked the minister.

"Perhaps. But they involve a similar question: whether a man should yield pa.s.sively to a power that appears to be stronger than his own. In America we do not yield pa.s.sively unless we understand all the bearings of the case, and see that it is right to yield."

At this moment a motor-car came up the drive. "There's our car, Bob,"

said Bessie. "Wait a moment, while I get my wraps. I know that you are impatient to go."

"I know that you are a good friend," he whispered, as she arose.

He did not care to remain with the group in Bessie's absence. With a bow, he turned to stroll by himself down the veranda. But the minister jumped to his feet and called:

"Mr. Orme!"

Orme looked back. "Please be so good as to return," continued the minister.

With mere politeness, Orme halted, and took a step back toward his chair.

An air of startled expectancy was manifest in the positions taken by the different members of the group. The minister's voice had sounded sharp and authoritative, and he now stepped forward a pace or two, stopping at a point where the light from one of the clubhouse windows fell full on his face. Clearly he was laboring under great excitement.

"You have something to say to me?" inquired Orme. He foresaw an effort to detain him.

"I am compelled to ask the ladies to leave us for a few minutes," said the minister, seriously. "There is a matter of utmos' importance."

He bowed. The women, hesitating in their embarra.s.sment, rose and walked away, leaving the half-dozen men standing in a circle.

"I find myself in an awkward position," began the minister, slowly. "I am a guest of your club, and I should never dream of saying what I mus' say, were my own personal affairs alone involved. Let me urge that no one leave until I have done."

For a tense moment he was silent. Then he went on:

"Gentlemen, while we were talking together here, I had in my pocket certain papers of great importance to my country. In the last few minutes they have disappeared. I regret to say it--but, gentlemen, someone has taken them."

There was a gasp of astonishment.

"I mus' even open myself to the charge of abusing your hospitality, rather than let the matter pa.s.s. If I could only make you understand how grave it is"--he was brilliantly impressive. Just the right shade of reluctance colored his earnestness.

"I have every reason to think," he continued, "that the possession of those papers would be of immense personal advantage to the man who has been sitting at my right--Mr. Orme."

"This is a serious charge, Excellency," exclaimed one of the men.

"I am aware of that. But I am obliged to ask you not to dismiss it hastily. My position and standing are known to you. When I tell you that these papers are of importance to my country, you can only in part realize how great that importance is. Gentlemen, I mus' ask Mr. Orme whether he has the papers."

Orme saw that the minister's bold stroke was having its effect. He decided quickly to meet it with frankness. "The papers to which His Excellency refers," he said quietly, "are in my pocket."

Several of the men exclaimed.

"But," Orme went on, "I did not take them from His Excellency. On the contrary, his agents have for some time been using every device to steal them from me. They have failed, and now he is making a last attempt by trying to persuade you that they belong to him."

"I submit that this smart answer does not satisfy my charge," cried the minister.

"Do you really wish to go further?" demanded Orme. "Would you like me to explain to these men what those papers really mean?"

"If you do that, you betray my country's secrets."

Orme turned to the others. "His Excellency and I are both guests here,"

he said. "Leaving his official position out of the question, my word must go as far as his. I a.s.sure you that he has no claim at all upon the papers in my pocket."

"That is not true!"

The minister's words exploded in a sharp staccato.

"In this country," said Orme, calmly, "we knock men down for words like that. In j.a.pan, perhaps, the lie can be pa.s.sed with impunity."

"Gentlemen, I ask that Mr. Orme be detained," exclaimed the minister furiously.

"I will not be detained," said Orme.

The other men were whispering among themselves, and at last one of them stepped forward as spokesman. "This is a serious matter for the club," he said. "I suggest, Mr. Orme, that we go to the library"--he glanced significantly at the other groups on the veranda--"where no one can overhear us, and talk the matter over quietly."

"But that will exactly fit in with his scheme," exclaimed Orme, heatedly.

"He knows that, in the interests of our own country"--he hazarded this--"I must be at a certain place before midnight. He will use every means to delay me--even to charging me with theft."

"What is that?" Bessie Wallingham's voice broke in upon them. "Is anyone daring to accuse Bob Orme?"

In her long, gray silk motor-cloak, with the filmy chiffon veil bound about her hat, she startled them, like an apparition.

The spokesman explained. "His Excellency says that Mr. Orme has stolen some papers from him."

"Then His Excellency is at fault," said Bessie, promptly. "I vouch for Mr. Orme. He is Tom's best friend, and Tom is one of the governors of the club. Come, Bob."

She turned away decisively, and Orme recognized the advantage she had given him, and strode after her. From noises behind him, he gathered that the men were holding the minister back by main force.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE GOAL