Page:Biggers and Ritchie - Inside the Lines.djvu/201

 telephoning for an appointment, Capper had wallowed in fear. He dared not stay away from Government House then for fear of arousing suspicion; equally he dared not involve the girl from the Wilhelmstrasse lest he find himself tangled in his own mesh.

At the desperate moment of his introduction to General Crandall, Capper determined to play it safe and see how the chips fell. His heart quailed as he heard the doors shut behind him.

"Awfully good of you to see me," he babbled as he stood before the desk, turning his hat brim through his fingers like a prayer wheel.

General Crandall bade him be seated. "I haven't forgotten you did me a service in Burma," he added.

"Oh, yes—of course," Capper managed to answer. "But that was my job. I got paid for that."

"You're not with the Brussels secret-service people any longer, then?"

The question hit Capper hard. His fingers fluttered to his lips.

"No, General. They—er—let me go. Suppose you heard that—and a lot of other things