Page:Arthur Stringer - The Door of Dread.djvu/180

 "It is Wilsnach here who is doing that work. I am merely a sort of overseer, in this case."

"But it was you who wired in the last report to the Washington authorities."

Kestner smiled.

"And that is the data you wish?"

"Yes."

"But why repeat what has already been incorporated in my official reports?"

If there was a sting behind his words the man from Washington preferred to ignore it. Sadie found a wayward satisfaction in the conclusion that the two men were not destined to be kindred souls. It would make her task easier, she felt, when her chance should come.

"But, don't you see, I've got to know what's been done before I can outline what still remains to be done," patiently expounded the Washington envoy. "And you know as well as I do that the situation is a serious one."

"It is even more serious than you imagine," acknowledged Kestner. And again Sadie's eye sought her chief's, as though behind that curt announcement might lie some hidden meaning.

"And in view of that fact," Andelman continued,