The German looked incredulous.
"But they were hand in glove. The Princess was his best agent."
"True. Unfortunately there is always one source of danger where a woman is concerned--she cannot control her affections. It appears that M. Petrovitch ordered her to remove a certain Englishman, a spy of some kind, who was giving trouble, and Madame Y---- was attached to the fellow. She carried out her orders, but M. Petrovitch fears that she has taken revenge on him."
Finkelstein gave a superior smile.
"I can dispose of that suspicion," he said confidently. "The Princess did _not_ carry out her orders. The man you speak of--who is the most dangerous and unprincipled scoundrel in the world--has escaped, and we have lost all trace of him."
It was my turn to show surprise and alarm.
"What you tell me is appalling! I ought to see the Princess as soon as possible. If what she says is true, it must be the Englishman who has brought about Petrovitch"s arrest."
"He is no Englishman," the Superintendent returned. "He is an American, a Pole, a Frenchman, whatever you please. That man has been at the bottom of all the troubles in Europe for the last twenty years. I have employed him myself, sometimes, so I ought to know something about him."
I listened with an interest that was not feigned to this character of myself. It was, all the same, a lie that Finkelstein had ever employed me; on the contrary, I had been called in by his imperial master to check his work.
"Then what is to be done?" I asked, as the German finished speaking.
"M. Petrovitch sent me here to warn you against the Princess, and to demand your influence to secure his release."
"That will be a difficult matter. I shall have to consult the Minister. In the meantime, where can I find you?"
I mentioned the name of a hotel.
"And the Princess Y----? Where can I see her?"
"I expect that she has left for Kiel," said the Superintendent. "She has volunteered to carry out the plan originally proposed by Petrovitch."
"Then in that case you will not require my services?" I said, with an air of being disappointed. "M. Petrovitch thought you might find me useful in his place."
"I must consult others before I can say anything as to that," was the cautious reply.
He added rather grudgingly,
"I did not know M. Petrovitch myself, you see. It was thought better that he should not come to Berlin."
This statement relieved me of a great anxiety. I now saw my way to take a bolder line.
"So I understood, sir. But I did not venture to approach his majesty except through you."
Finkelstein started again, and gave me a new look of curiosity.
"Who authorized you to mention the Emperor?"
I tried to play the part of a man who has made an unintentional slip.
"I spoke too quickly. Petrovitch informed me--that is to say, I supposed--" I broke down in feigned confusion.
I knew inquisitiveness to be the Superintendent"s besetting sin, and, up to a certain point, I had an interest in tempting him on.
"You appear to be more in the confidence of M. Petrovitch than you are willing to admit," he said sagely. "Up to the present you have not explained how he came to make you his messenger."
I leaned back with a faint smile.
"I imagine you are quite astute enough to guess my secret, if you choose, Herr Finkelstein. But you must excuse me if I am a little careful whom I trust, especially after the behavior of Princess Y----."
"You are M. Petrovitch himself! Of course! I thought as much all along," Finkelstein said with a smile of triumph. "Well, you are certainly right to be cautious; but, as you see, it is not easy to deceive an old hand like myself."
"At all events you will be at least equally cautious, I hope. What you tell me about this international spy being still at large has disturbed me a good deal, I confess."
"Make your mind easy," the German returned with a patronizing air.
"We are in Berlin here, not in Petersburg. This gentleman will not venture within my reach, I a.s.sure you."
I professed every satisfaction with this guarantee, and took my leave.
CHAPTER XXIX
AN IMPERIAL FANATIC
I was now to face Wilhelm II.
It was solely for this purpose that I had come to Berlin. But I knew the great advantage of getting myself vouched for in advance by a third party, and therefore I had been anxious to convince Finkelstein of my ident.i.ty in the first place, so that his master might accept me without inquiry as to whether I was the man I claimed to be.
I dined quietly in my hotel, a small tavern in a back street. It was getting late, and I was on the point of going to bed, when I heard the noise of a motor rushing up and stopping suddenly outside the little inn.
An aide-de-camp burst in upon me.
"Your name, sir?" he demanded in a whisper.
"Petrovitch," I replied in the same tone.
"Come this way, if you please."
In less than a minute I was seated in the car, which was dashing at a really dangerous pace through the nearly deserted streets.
"I am taking you to Potsdam," was all the explanation my companion thought necessary.
It did not take us long to reach the famous palace of Frederick the Great, which the growth of Berlin has almost turned into a suburban residence.
My conductor brought me past all the sentries and servants, and led me down some steps into what seemed to be a subterranean hall. It was decorated with statues and paintings of the ancestors of Wilhelm II., together with weapons, suits of armor, and banners of the successive periods in which they lived.
But the most striking object in the hall or crypt--for it might have been either--was a trophy erected on a species of altar at one end, exhibiting a variety of crowns.
At the foot were a number of small coronets, representing those worn by the former Margraves of Brandenburg, in whom the Hohenzollern family took its rise. Above were ranged the crowns of the Kings of Prussia, that of Frederick the Great being in the center. Still higher rose the three imperial crowns of Germany, those of William I., Frederick III., and the present Emperor. And then, right on the summit, came a still more gorgeous object, whose like I had never seen before.