CHAPTER XIX. A MOMENTOUS QUESTION
The Duke paused, in his way across the crowded reception rooms, tospeak to his host, Sir Edward Bransome, Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs.
"I have just written you a line, Bransome," he said, as they shookhands. "The chief tells me that he is going to honor us down at Devenhamfor a few days, and that we may expect you also."
"You are very kind, Duke," Bransome answered. "I suppose Havilandexplained the matter to you."
The Duke nodded.
"You are going to help me entertain my other distinguished visitor," heremarked. "I fancy we shall be quite an interesting party."
Bransome glanced around.
"I hope most earnestly," he said, "that we shall induce our young friendto be a little more candid with us than he has been. One can't get aword out of Hesho, but I'm bound to say that I don't altogether likethe look of things. The Press are beginning to smell a rat. Two leadingarticles this morning, I see, upon our Eastern relations."
The Duke nodded.
"I read them," he said. "We are informed that the prestige and successof our ministry will entirely depend upon whether or not we are able toarrange for the renewal of our treaty with Japan. I remember the samepapers shrieking themselves hoarse with indignation when we first joinedhands with our little friends across the sea!"
His secretary approached Bransome and touched him on the shoulder.
"There is a person in the anteroom, sir," he said, "whom I think thatyou ought to see."
The Duke nodded and passed on. The Secretary drew his chief on one side.
"This man has just arrived from Paris, sir," he continued, "and is thebearer of a letter which he is instructed to deliver into your handsonly."
Bransome nodded.
"Is he known to us at all?" he asked. "From whom does the letter come?"
The young man hesitated.
"The letter itself, sir, has nothing to do with France, I imagine,"he said. "The person I refer to is an American, and although I have nopositive information, I believe that he is sometimes intrusted with thecarrying of despatches from Washington to his Embassy. Once or twicelately I have had it reported to me that communications from the otherside to Mr. Harvey have been sent by hand. It seems as though they hadsome objection to committing important documents to the post."
Bransome walked through the crowded rooms by the side of his secretary,stopping for a moment to exchange greetings here and there with hisfriends. His wife was giving her third reception of the session to thediplomatic world.
"Washington has certainly shown signs of mistrust lately," he remarked,"but if communications from them are ever tampered with, it ismore likely to be on their side than ours. They have a particularlyunscrupulous Press to deal with, besides political intriguers. If thisperson you speak of is really the bearer of a letter from there," headded, "I think we can both guess what it is about."
The secretary nodded.
"Shall I ring up Mr. Haviland, sir?" he asked.
"Not yet," Bransome answered. "It is just possible that this personrequires an immediate reply, in which case it may be convenient for menot to be able to get at the Prime Minister. Bring him along into myprivate room, Sidney."
Sir Edward Bransome made his way to his study, opened the door witha Yale key, turned on the electric lights, and crossed slowly to thehearthrug. He stood there, for several moments, with his elbow uponthe mantelpiece, looking down into the fire. A darker shadow hadstolen across his face as soon as he was alone. In his court dress andbrilliant array of orders, he was certainly a very distinguished-lookingfigure. Yet the last few years had branded lines into his face which itwas doubtful if he would ever lose. To be Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs to the greatest power which the world had as yet known mustcertainly seem, on paper, to be as brilliant a post as a man's ambitioncould covet. Many years ago it had seemed so to Bransome himself. It wasa post which he had deliberately coveted, worked for, and strived for.And now, when in sight of the end, with two years of office only to run,he was appalled at the ever-growing responsibilities thrust upon hisshoulders. There was never, perhaps, a time when, on paper, thingshad seemed smoother, when the distant mutterings of disaster were lessaudible. It was only those who were behind the curtain who realized howdeceptive appearances were.
In a few minutes his secretary reappeared, ushering in Mr. James B.Coulson. Mr. Coulson was still a little pale from the effects of hiscrossing, and he wore a long, thick ulster to conceal the deficienciesof his attire. Nevertheless his usual breeziness of manner had notaltogether deserted him. Sir Edward looked him up and down, andfinding him look exactly as Mr. James B. Coulson of the Coulson & BruceSyndicate should look, was inclined to wonder whether his secretary hadmade a mistake.
"I was told that you wished to see me," he said. "I am Sir EdwardBransome."
Mr. James B. Coulson nodded appreciatively.
"Very good of you, Sir Edward," he said, "to put yourself out at thistime of night to have a word or two with me. I am sorry to have troubledyou, anyway, but the matter was sort of urgent."
Sir Edward bent his head.
"I understand, Mr. Coulson," he said, "that you come from the UnitedStates."
"That is so, sir," Mr. Coulson replied. "I am at the head of asyndicate, the Coulson & Bruce Syndicate, which in course of time hopeto revolutionize the machinery used for spinning wool all over theworld. Likewise we have patents for other machinery connected withthe manufacture of all varieties of woollen goods. I am over here on abusiness trip, which I have just concluded."
"Satisfactorily, I trust?" Sir Edward remarked.
"Well, I'm not grumbling, sir," Mr. Coulson assented. "Here and there Imay have missed a thing, and the old fashioned way of doing business onthis side bothers me a bit, but on the whole I'm not grumbling."
Bransome bowed. Perhaps, after all, the man was not a fool!
"I have a good many friends round about Washington," Mr. Coulsoncontinued, "and sometimes, when they know I am coming across, one orthe other of them finds it convenient to hand me a letter. It isn't thepostage stamp that worries them," he added with a little laugh, "butthey sort of feel that anything committed to me is fairly safe to reachits right destination."
"Without disputing that fact for one moment, Mr. Coulson," Sir Edwardremarked, "I might also suggest that the ordinary mail service betweenour countries has reached a marvellous degree of perfection."
"The Post Office," Mr. Coulson continued meditatively, "is a greatinstitution, both on your side and ours, but a letter posted inWashington has to go through a good many hands before it is delivered inLondon."
Sir Edward smiled.
"It is a fact, sir," he said, "which the various Governments of Europehave realized for many years, in connection with the exchange ofcommunications one with the other. Your own great country, as it growsand expands, becomes, of necessity, more in touch with our methods. DidI understand that you have a letter for me, Mr. Coulson?"
Mr. Coulson produced it.
"Friend of mine you may have heard of," he said, "asked me to leave thiswith you. I am catching the Princess Cecilia from Southampton tomorrow.I thought, perhaps, if I waited an hour or so, I might take the answerback with me."
"It is getting late, Mr. Coulson," Sir Edward reminded him, glancing atthe clock.
Mr. Coulson smiled.
"I think, Sir Edward," he said, "that in your line of business timecounts for little."
Sir Edward motioned his visitor to a chair and touched the bell.
"I shall require the A3X cipher, Sidney," he said to his secretary.
Mr. Coulson looked up.
"Why," he said, "I don't think you'll need that. The letter you've gotin your hand is just a personal one, and what my friend has to say toyou is written out there in black and white."
Sir Edward withdrew the enclosure from its envelope and raised hiseyebrows.
"Isn't this a trifle indiscreet?" he asked.
&
nbsp; "Why, I should say not," Mr. Coulson answered. "My friend--Mr. Joneswe'll call him--knew me and, I presume, knew what he was about. Besides,that is a plain letter from the head of a business firm to--shall we saya client? There's nothing in it to conceal."
"At the same time," Sir Edward remarked, "it might have been as well tohave fastened the flap of the envelope."
Mr. Coulson held out his hand.
"Let me look," he said.
Sir Edward gave it into his hands. Mr. Coulson held it under theelectric light. There was no indication in his face of any surprise ordisturbance.
"Bit short of gum in our stationery office," he remarked.
Sir Edward was looking at him steadily.
"My impressions were," he said, "when I opened this letter, that I wasnot the first person who had done so. The envelope flew apart in myfingers."
Mr. Coulson shook his head.
"The document has never been out of my possession, sir," he said. "Ithas not even left my person. My friend Mr. Jones does not believe intoo much secrecy in matters of this sort. I have had a good dealof experience now and am inclined to agree with him. A letter in adouble-ended envelope, stuck all over with sealing wax, is prettycertain to be opened in case of any accident to the bearer. This one,as you may not have noticed, is written in the same handwritingand addressed in the same manner as the remainder of my letters ofintroduction to various London and Paris houses of business."
Sir Edward said no more. He read the few lines written on a single sheetof notepaper, starting a little at the signature. Then he read themagain and placed the document beneath a paper weight in front of him.When he leaned across the table, his folded arms formed a semicirclearound it.
"This letter, Mr. Coulson," he said, "is not an official communication."
"It is not," Mr. Coulson admitted. "I fancy it occurred to my friendJones that anything official would be hardly in place and might beeasier to evade. The matter has already cropped up in negotiationsbetween Mr. Harvey and your Cabinet, but so far we are without anydefinite pronouncement,--at least, that is how my friend Mr. Jones looksat it."
Sir Edward smiled.
"The only answer your friend asks for is a verbal one," he remarked.
"A verbal one," Mr. Coulson assented, "delivered to me in the presenceof one other person, whose name you will find mentioned in that letter."
Sir Edward bowed his head. When he spoke again, his manner had somehowchanged. It had become at once more official,--a trifle more stilted.
"This is a great subject, Mr. Coulson," he said. "It is a subject whichhas occupied the attention of His Majesty's Ministers for many months.I shall take the opinion of the other person whose name is mentioned inthis letter, as to whether we can grant Mr. Jones' request. If we shoulddo so, it will not, I am sure, be necessary to say to you that anycommunication we may make on the subject tonight will be from men to aman of honor, and must be accepted as such. It will be our honest andsincere conviction, but it must also be understood that it does not bindthe Government of this country to any course of action."
Mr. Coulson smiled and nodded his head.
"That is what I call diplomacy, Sir Edward," he remarked. "I always tellour people that they are too bullheaded. They don't use enough words.What about that other friend of yours?"
Sir Edward glanced at his watch.
"It is possible," he said, "that by this time Mr.----- Mr. Smith, shallwe call him, to match your Mr. Jones?--is attending my wife's reception,from which your message called me. If he has not yet arrived, mysecretary shall telephone for him."
Mr. Coulson indicated his approval.
"Seems to me," he remarked, "that I have struck a fortunate evening formy visit."
Sir Edward touched the bell and his secretary appeared.
"Sidney," he said, "I want you to find the gentleman whose name I amwriting upon this piece of paper. If he is not in the reception roomsand has not arrived, telephone for him. Say that I shall be glad if hewould come this way at once. He will understand that it is a matter ofsome importance."
The secretary bowed and withdrew, after a glance at the piece of paperwhich he held in his hand. Sir Edward turned toward his visitor.
"Mr. Coulson," he said, "will you allow me the privilege of offering yousome refreshment?"
"I thank you, sir," Mr. Coulson answered. "I am in want of nothing but asmoke."
Sir Edward turned to the bell, but his visitor promptly stopped him.
"If you will allow me, sir," he said, "I will smoke one of my own.Home-made article, five dollars a hundred, but I can't stand thesestrong Havanas. Try one."
Sir Edward waved them away.
"If you will excuse me," he said, "I will smoke a cigarette. Since youare here, Mr. Coulson, I may say that I am very glad to meet you. I amvery glad, also, of this opportunity for a few minutes' conversationupon another matter."
Mr. Coulson showed some signs of surprise.
"How's that?" he asked.
"There is another subject," Sir Edward said, "which I should like todiscuss with you while we are waiting for Mr. Smith."