Wallace of the Secret Service (Wallace of the Secret Service Series)

by Alexander Wilson

  ‘What’s his height?’ he asked eagerly.

  ‘Somewhere in the neighbourhood of five feet eight, I should think.’

  ‘Splendid! He’s the man for our money. That’s a bit of luck.’

  ‘You’re talking in riddles,’ complained Lalére. ‘What’s the notion?’

  ‘Listen!’ Carter leant impressively towards his three colleagues. ‘It is the chief ’s idea, if possible, to impersonate one of the delegates, and attend the conference in his place.’

  Lalére whistled long and softly; Beust and Gottfried exchanged looks of surprise not unmixed with admiration.

  ‘He was hoping that either the German or Austrian delegate would prove to be somewhere about his own build. This man Kahn is absolutely the goods; he’s slim, same height, there’s even a similarity in the features. He’ll be as pleased as punch when he hears about Kahn and sees these photographs.’

  ‘Mon Dieu! It’s daring,’ observed Lalére. ‘It means, of course, that Otto Kahn will have to be kidnapped. How does Sir Leonard propose to do that?’

  ‘Nothing has been arranged yet,’ replied Carter. ‘There was no use deciding upon any plan of campaign until he knew whom he intended to impersonate.’

  ‘What would he have done,’ asked Gottfried, ‘if the Austrian delegate had turned out to be a bullet-headed, beefy blighter, as you so elegantly delineated Paulus?’

  ‘In that case Shannon would have been the impersonator, and the chief would have gone with him in the capacity of secretary. Which reminds me,’ he added, turning to Beust; ‘have you any idea how many people are travelling with Kahn?’

  ‘Two,’ was the prompt reply; ‘a secretary and his confidential manservant.’

  ‘You’re positive of that?’

  ‘Certain.’

  ‘That makes things easier.’

  ‘If you are sure Sir Leonard will choose Kahn for this impersonation business,’ put in Gottfried, ‘you won’t need these photographs of Paulus.’

  ‘I’d better take them with me,’ said Carter. ‘No doubt the chief would like to gaze upon the features of a fellow delegate.’

  He took the two photographs which Gottfried handed to him, and examined them critically.

  ‘What a hog he looks,’ he commented. ‘There is certainly something of you about him, Gottfried.’

  ‘Thanks very much,’ murmured the latter drily, and the others laughed.

  Carter rose to his feet.

  ‘Well, I don’t think there is anything else,’ he remarked, ‘and the sooner I get back to HQ the better. You’d better be on the qui vive, Beust. I daresay a mass of detailed instructions will be unloaded on you in a day or two.’

  ‘Are you accompanying the chief to Russia?’ asked Lalére.

  Carter shook his head.

  ‘No; worse luck. Those Levinsky and Dorin blokes made it pretty evident that the Soviet has me taped, and you can bet your bottom dollar Sir Leonard won’t take any unnecessary risks of busting the whole caboodle.’

  ‘The lad deals in very refined and polished English, I must say,’ murmured Gottfried with a twinkle in his eye.

  ‘What’s the matter with you, Beefy?’ retorted Carter.

  The meeting broke up in a spirit of facetiousness typical of the men, who daily risked liberty, life, and honour for the country which meant everything to them.

  Herr Otto Kahn, with his private secretary and confidential servant, left Vienna very quietly ten days later. The Austrian statesman had had a busy few days before his departure, and he stretched himself out in his comfortable coupé, and sighed his relief. He looked forward to a restful train journey. It is doubtful if his anticipation would have been so pleasant, had he known that in the next compartment to his were two men of the British Secret Service, and farther along two others. At Brunn, which was reached shortly before midnight, a fifth, a slight man of medium height, carrying only a small attaché case, entered the train, and occupied a coupé to himself.

  There was no stop between Brunn and Prerau, and the Austrian, bidding his secretary, who shared the compartment with him, good night, settled himself for sleep. Half an hour went by; then the handle of the door was softly turned, and a tall, broad-shouldered man entered, followed immediately by a short, boyish figure. Without hesitation each bent over one of the sleeping Austrians, remained in that position for some minutes; then nodded to each other. The odour of chloroform began to permeate the atmosphere of the coupé, and the powerful-looking man gently opened the window. The other produced two long lengths of thin, strong cord, and five minutes afterwards Herr Kahn and his secretary, their pockets rifled, lay gagged and bound, and entirely oblivious to the world. Ten minutes ticked by, and again the door was opened to admit two more men.

  ‘Everything all right?’ whispered one.

  The small individual nodded.

  ‘Get the servant?’ he asked tersely.

  ‘Yes,’ was the reply, ‘we’ve deposited him in the next compartment.’

  ‘It would be better to bring him in here.’

  That was done, after which the little man and his companion returned to their coupé, and left the newcomers shut up with the unconscious Austrians.

  ‘So far, so good, Cousins,’ observed the broad-shouldered man genially. ‘What’s the next move?’

  He stretched himself to his full height, and smiled down at his friend. Captain Hugh Shannon was the most powerful man in the service. Six feet in height, he looked shorter owing to his great breadth of shoulder. Even his clean-shaven face, with its clear-cut features, grey eyes and determined chin, gave an impression of strength both mental and physical. He had graduated to the Secret Service by way of the Indian Army and Foreign Office. Cousins presented a ludicrous contrast. Barely five feet in height, and with the figure of a boy of fourteen, he looked almost as though Shannon could have put him into one of his pockets. His extraordinary, wrinkled face corrugated into a mass of little puckers and creases as he smiled up at his big companion.

  ‘We dump the bodies just beyond Prerau before the train gets up speed again,’ he said. ‘Beust has arranged for a car to be waiting, and he and Manning will drive to a lonely old farmhouse in the mountains ten miles beyond the town, and keep the goods there for a week.’

  ‘But won’t Kahn recognise Beust when they’re both back in Vienna,’ asked Shannon, ‘and Beust is with his beloved scents and powders again?’

  Cousins shook his head.

  ‘You needn’t worry about that,’ he confided. ‘Beust knows how to take care of himself, and you can be pretty sure he won’t let himself be seen. He’s got a platoon of brigands or something up in the hills. They’ll look after the prisoners.’

  Shannon threw himself into a seat, and lit a cigarette. The train tore on through the night until, at last, came a jarring of brakes, and it began to slacken speed.

  ‘This must be Prerau,’ observed Shannon; then added anxiously: ‘I say, Jerry, we’ve forgotten the conductor. He saw us into this coupé, and was also fussing round Kahn and company. What’s he going to say or do, when he finds us officiating tomorrow and the original duo missing?’

  Cousins yawned.

  ‘Now, look here, Hugh,’ he murmured reprovingly, ‘have you ever known the chief trip up on a little thing like that? He ascertained days ago that the attendants from Vienna are relieved at Prerau. There will be a new train gang on board from there. A bunch of wild and woolly Moravians, I expect.’

  ‘I beg the chief’s pardon,’ grinned Shannon. ‘But what about the other passengers?’

  ‘I doubt if one of them noticed Kahn, secretary, and servant. Their departure was too secret. Besides, we aren’t going to form convivial parties. Sir Leonard, you, and I will remain in the coupé next door until we reach Warsaw, when we change trains.’

  ‘I am answered,’ returned Shannon.

  ‘Good. Well, the time for talk is o’er. Now we become men of action, at least, you do. May I request you not to dump the bodies too hard. We d
on’t want to break any limbs; besides, Manning and Beust will be underneath remember.’

  The train ran slowly into the station, and stopped. There was very little bustle owing to the fact that they had arrived in the early hours of the morning and, after a wait of ten minutes, it drew out again. Immediately Cousins and Shannon entered the next coupé. Beust and Manning slipped out into the corridor, opened the carriage door and, as the lights of the station were left behind, dropped to the permanent way. Shannon picked up the unconscious Kahn, as though he were a baby, and lowered him to the two men, who were now running by the side of the train. They put him down, and caught the secretary in the same manner. By the time Shannon had carried the valet from the coupé, speed was rapidly increasing, and Beust and Manning were compelled to sprint. The servant was a fairly heavy man, and his body reached the two Englishmen with such force that it bowled them over, but nobody was hurt. Cousins, who had been holding the door open for Shannon, strained his eyes into the darkness, and had the satisfaction of seeing them rise to their feet.

  ‘That’s that,’ observed Shannon in tones of satisfaction. ‘I hope nobody has spotted us depositing bodies at intervals along the permanent way.’

  ‘It’s most unlikely,’ replied Cousins, closing the door. ‘For one thing it’s far too dark, and another, only the train attendants are likely to be awake at this hour, and they wouldn’t be hanging gaily out of windows.’

  They removed their meagre belongings from the compartment they had occupied, and carried them into the coupé engaged in the name of Herr Otto Kahn. There they sat down to await the coming of Sir Leonard Wallace. It was half an hour before he put in an appearance, and Shannon began to speculate on what was keeping him.

  ‘Have patience,’ recommended Cousins. ‘He’ll be along presently. “Patience! Why, ’tis the soul of peace; Of all the virtues, ’tis nearest kin to Heaven: It makes men—”’

  ‘Have a heart,’ interrupted his companion. ‘Don’t you think it’s bad enough for me to be shut up alone with you in this cubby hole, without having to listen to your infernal quotations?’

  ‘The trouble with you, Hugh,’ said Cousins, shaking his head sadly, ‘is that you have no soul. As Ruskin says—’

  ‘I don’t want to hear what Ruskin says.’

  ‘No? That’s a pity. An hour or so with him would improve your mind.’

  Shannon was about to make a sarcastic retort, when the door gently opened, and a man, the very image of Herr Otto Kahn, entered carrying a small attaché case and a neatly folded overcoat.

  ‘My hat!’ ejaculated Shannon, as he and Cousins rose respectfully to their feet.

  ‘You’ll have to do the finishing touches, Cousins,’ said the voice of Sir Leonard Wallace. ‘I never regret the loss of my left arm more than when I am forced to make-up. Everything go off all right?’

  ‘Without a hitch, sir,’ replied Cousins. ‘“Our band is few but true and tried, Our Leader frank and bold—”’

  ‘Oh, he’s off again,’ groaned Shannon.

  The little man eyed him defiantly.

  ‘“Then help us to love one another, For this we most earnestly pray”,’ he quoted.

  Sir Leonard laughed.

  ‘Probably,’ he commented, ‘Shannon would love you more, Cousins, if you quoted a few athletic records by way of a change.’

  On the morning of the twenty-fifth, the pseudo Herr Otto Kahn with his tall secretary and little manservant emerged from the Kursky Voksal, accompanied by the commissary and escort that had met them. He had been received with every mark of respect, and was now driven to a hotel near the Krasnaya Plotzad, where everything possible had been arranged for his comfort. From the time that Sir Leonard Wallace had taken on the personality of Otto Kahn, he had acted in every way as he imagined the Austrian would have done. He and his companions had spoken German, and neither by word, sign, nor action had they shown that they were Englishmen engaged in ferreting out the reason for the secret conference in Moscow. Sir Leonard had carefully studied all the documents in the baggage of the Austrian delegate and, long before the capital of the Soviet Republic had been reached, had made himself au fait with Otto Kahn’s standing, his instructions from the Austrian Government, had even managed in some subtle manner to lose his own personality in that of the man he was impersonating. There was little in the reports, records, and statements, through which he waded with such painstaking care, to give an inkling of the reason for this mysterious pour-parler, but he noted with a great deal of gratification that Herr Otto Kahn had been given full power to accept or decline on behalf of the Austrian nation whatever proposals Russia intended to place before the delegates. His only doubt of the success of his mission lay in his ignorance as to whether Otto Kahn had been previously acquainted with any member of the Soviet Government or Herr Paulus, the German representative. It was not that he feared his disguise might be penetrated, but was uncertain whether to approach them as strangers or acquaintances. However, that worried him very little; he would be compelled to rely on his quickness of perception.

  His first act after he had bathed and partaken of breakfast, was to proceed to the government buildings where he presented his credentials and was received by Lenin. The latter greeted him with a courtesy that surprised Sir Leonard. He had expected to meet a man with rough and uncouth manners, instead of which the Russian showed a degree of refinement and culture quite out of keeping with his reputation. He discussed Austria with the assurance of a man who had made an intimate study of the vicissitudes of that country, and Sir Leonard began to feel very glad that he himself had always made a point of studying the political and economic questions of all European countries. Looking at Lenin, it was not difficult to understand why he had become such a power. There was strength in his face as well as the more obvious brutality and looseness, his piercing eyes were those of a fanatic, and the shape of his head suggested a capacity for deep thought. Wallace left him with the knowledge that he was trying conclusions with the most dangerous adversary he could possibly have chosen, a man who, if he discovered the trick that was being played upon him and his government, would act without mercy or the slightest impulse towards clemency.

  The conference was inaugurated at three o’clock in the afternoon, and went on without interruption until six, when the delegates left in order to snatch a brief rest before attending the private dinner, which Lenin was giving in their honour at his residence. As Sir Leonard Wallace, attended by Captain Shannon, entered the gloomy portals of the one-time palace, a grim smile showed for an instant on his face. Soldiers, most of them in faded and untidy uniforms with red armlets, thronged round the doorways and crowded the corridors, making room for them to pass, but closing in again directly they had gone by. Escorted by an officer of high rank, they ascended the great staircase, passed through an anteroom, also full of soldiers, into a comparatively small chamber in the centre of which was a long table with five chairs placed on each side and one at the head for Lenin. The latter stood with a group of his colleagues at the far end of the room and, on recognising the supposed Herr Otto Kahn, immediately advanced to meet him, and presented him to the six Russians, who had followed him. To Wallace’s relief none of them claimed acquaintance, neither did Herr Paulus, the German, who was announced shortly afterwards. A tall, dignified Chinaman, and a handsome Turk, completed the gathering. Sir Leonard had expected Leon Trotsky to be present, but was informed that he was away inspecting troops. The foreign delegates were seated with a Russian on each side of them, their secretaries accommodated at a smaller table between the great double windows, and proceedings commenced, the language used being French.

  Lenin spoke at great length, first of the success which had attended the efforts of the Soviet to found and maintain an ideal republic. He contended that the federation of free nations, which included Russia proper, White Russia, the Ukraine, the Transcaucasian Soviet Republic, and the Far Eastern Republic of Siberia, had brought to the country greater happiness and prospe
rity than it had ever before known. The complete social and economic revolution had given control of land, factories, business, and the general government of the country to the labouring classes, and thus had eliminated all possibility of power being restored to the exploiters. The nationalisation and distribution of land among the farmers according to their ability to till it, the transference of railways, mines, factories and mills from private ownership to the Soviet Republic, the administration of banks and all financial operations by the workers’ and peasants’ government had conduced in the mind of every Russian a pride in his country and in himself, and entirely eradicated the old inferiority complex of the days of Czardom and serfdom.

  ‘All this was not done without opposition,’ he declared, ‘and at times we have been compelled to resort to severe measures to suppress obstruction and bitter antagonism. But those measures were only temporary, and were absolutely necessary to carry out the revolution despite the hindrance of our many enemies both within and without. Russia is the inveterate enemy of capitalistic industry and trade. It has been our object to fight for the victory of socialism in all lands. We have done our utmost to introduce the soviet control of manufacture and trade in other countries, but alas! The short-sighted people of those countries have failed to see what was for their great benefit, and allowed their governments to suppress such altruistic endeavours. My colleagues and I have decided that the time has come to make a further and greater attempt.’

  He then went on to speak of the losses sustained by Germany, Austria, and Turkey, and gradually worked up to the proposals which he had to submit to the delegates. Briefly they amounted to the seizure of the lands of which those nations had been deprived as a result of the Great War, with the assistance of the Russian army and with the aid of all the resources which Russia was able to throw into the scale. China would act as decoy by drawing the eyes of the world to the Far East by activities in Manchuria, round the settlement at Shanghai, and on the borders of Korea. Immediately Germany would seize Posen and the East Prussian territory that had gone to Poland; Austria would invade Czecho-Slovakia and Hungary, and Turkey seize Bulgaria and Roumania. At the same time Russia would aid her allies by throwing armies into Poland, Roumania and anywhere else where they were wanted. By the time France, Italy and England were ready to fight, there would be a German and Austrian army waiting for them, with a solid phalanx of Russians behind, spread from one end of Europe to the other and prepared to act at any point rendered necessary by attack. As both Germany and Austria would be on the defensive, and England, France, and Italy forced into the role of invaders, everything was in favour of the two former from the start. This is merely a brief outline of Lenin’s proposals. He went very deeply into the matter, displaying a knowledge of conditions and military exigencies that surprised Sir Leonard.