must communicate with the Director in person. The Princess von Steinheimer is in her carriage outside, and I do not wish to keep her waiting." At mention of the Princess the officer bestirred himself and became tremendously polite.
"I shall call the Director at once, and he will be only too happy to wait upon you."
"Oh, have you a telephone here? and can I speak with him myself without being overheard?"
"Certainly, madame. If you will step into this room with me, I will call him up and leave you to speak with him."
This was done, and when the Chief had answered, Jennie introduced herself to him.
"I am Miss Baxter, whom you were kind enough to escort through the Treasury building this afternoon."
"Oh, yes," replied the Chief. "I thought we were to postpone further inquiry until to-morrow."
"Yes, that was the arrangement; but I wanted to say that if my plans are interfered with; if I am kept under surveillance, I shall be compelled to withdraw from the search."
A few moments elapsed before the Chief replied, and then it was with some hesitation.
"I should be distressed to have you withdraw; but, if you wish to do so, that must be a matter entirely for your own consideration. I have my own duty to perform, and I must carry it out to the best of my poor ability."
"Quite so. I am obliged to you for speaking so plainly. I rather surmised this afternoon that you looked upon my help in the light of an interference."
"I should not have used the word interference," continued the Chief; "but I must confess that I never knew good results to follow amateur efforts, which could not have been obtained much more speedily and effectually by the regular force under my command."
"Well, the regular force under your command has been at work several weeks and has apparently not accomplished very much. I have devoted part of an afternoon and evening to the matter, so before I withdraw I should like to give you some interesting information which you may impart to the Government, and I am quite willing that you should take all the credit for the discovery, as I have no wish to appear in any way as your competitor. Can you hear me distinctly?"
"Perfectly, madame," replied the Chief.
"Then, in the first place, inform the Government that there has been no robbery."
"No robbery? What an absurd statement, if you will excuse me speaking so abruptly! Where is the gold if there was no robbery?"
"I am coming to that. Next inform the Government that their loss will be but trifling. That heap of débris which you propose to cart away contains practically the whole of the missing two hundred million florins. More than one-third of the heap is pure gold. If you want to do a favour to a good friend of yours, and at the same time confer a benefit upon the Government itself, you will advise the Government to secure the services of Herr Feltz, so that the gold may be extracted from the rubbish completely and effectually. I put in a word for Herr Feltz, because I am convinced that he is a most competent man. To-night his action saved you from dismissal to-morrow, therefore you should be grateful to him. And now I have the honour to wish you good-night."
"Wait—wait a moment!" came in beseeching tones through the telephone. "My dear young lady, pray pardon any fault you have to find with me, and remain for a moment or two longer. Who, then, caused the explosion, and why was it accomplished?"
"That I must leave for you to find out, Herr Director. You see, I am giving you the results of merely a few hours' inquiry, and you cannot expect me to discover everything in that time. I don't know how the explosion was caused, neither do I know who the criminals are or were. It would probably take me all day to-morrow to find that out; but as I am leaving the discovery in such competent hands as yours, I must curb my impatience until you send me full particulars. So, once again, good-night, Herr Director."
"No, no, don't go yet. I shall come at once to the station, if you will be kind enough to stop there until I arrive."
"The Princess von Steinheimer is waiting for me in her carriage outside, and I do not wish to delay her any longer."
"Then let me implore you not to give up your researches."
"Why? Amateur efforts are so futile, you know, when compared with the labours of the regular force."
"Oh, my dear young lady, you must pardon an old man for what he said in a thoughtless moment. If you knew how many useless amateurs meddle in our very difficult business you would excuse me. Are you quite convinced of what you have told me, that the gold is in the rubbish heap?"
"Perfectly. I will leave for you at the office here the analysis made by Herr Feltz, and if I can assist you further, it must be on the distinct understanding that you are not to interfere again with whatever I may do. Your conduct in going to Herr Feltz to-night after you had left me, and commanding him not to give me any information, I should hesitate to characterize by its right name. When I have anything further to communicate, I will send for you."
"Thank you; I shall hold myself always at your command." This telephonic interview being happily concluded, Jennie hurried to the Princess, stopping on her way to give the paper containing the analysis to the official in charge, and telling him to hand it to the Director when he returned to his desk. This done, she passed out into the night, with the comfortable consciousness that the worries of a busy day had not been without their compensation.
CHAPTER XVI.
JENNIE VISITS A MODERN WIZARD IN HIS MAGIC ATTIC.
When Jennie entered the carriage in which her friend was waiting, the other cried, "Well, have you seen him?" apparently meaning the Director of Police.
"No, I did not see him, but I talked with him over the telephone. I wish you could have heard our conversation; it was the funniest interview I ever took part in. Two or three times I had to shut off the instrument, fearing the Director would hear me laugh. I am afraid that before this business is ended you will be very sorry I am a guest at your house. I know I shall end by getting myself into an Austrian prison. Just think of it! Here have I been 'holding up' the Chief of Police in this Imperial city as if I were a wild western brigand. I have been terrorizing the man, brow-beating him, threatening him, and he the person who has the liberty of all Vienna in his hands; who can have me dragged off to a dungeon-cell any time he likes to give the order."
"Not from the Palace Steinheimer," said the Princess, with decision.
"Well, he might hesitate about that; yet, nevertheless, it is too funny to think that a mere newspaper woman, coming into a city which contains only one or two of her friends, should dare to talk to the Chief of Police as I have done to-night, and force him actually to beg that I shall remain in the city and continue to assist him."
"Tell me what you said," asked the Princess eagerly; and Jennie related all that had passed between them over the telephone.
"And do you mean to say calmly that you are going to give that man the right to use the astounding information you have acquired, and allow him to accept complacently all the kudos that such a discovery entitles you to?"
"Why, certainly," replied Jennie. "What good is the kudos to me? All the credit I desire I get in the office of the Daily Bugle in London."
"But, you silly girl, holding such a secret as you held, you could have made your fortune," insisted the practical Princess, for the principles which had been instilled into her during a youth spent in Chicago had not been entirely eradicated by residence in Vienna. "If you had gone to the Government and said, 'How much will you give me if I restore to you the missing gold?' just imagine what their answer would be."
"Yes, I suppose there was money in the scheme if it had really been a secret. But you forget that to-morrow morning the Chief of Police would have known as much as he knows to-night. Of course, if I had gone