"I have told him to admit no one," he explained briefly, as he seated himself in his swivel chair.
"May we see the new charts of the Pacific?" inquired the Secretary of State, moving his chair closer to the other's desk.
"Certainly; but first I must tell you of a remarkable occurrence which took place here earlier this morning." A violent fit of coughing interrupted Wyndham, and it was some minutes before he could speak clearly. "Ah!" he gasped, tilting back in his chair and mopping his flushed face, "a spring cold is almost impossible to cure."
"I don't think yours will be improved if you continue to sit in a direct draft," remonstrated the Secretary of State, pointing to the open windows.
"I had to have air. By George! man, if you had been through what I have this morning--" he did not complete his sentence.
"What happened?" asked the Secretary of State, with growing interest.
"The plans of the two new dreadnaughts have been stolen."
"Impossible!" The Secretary of State half started from his chair.
"Impossible? Well, I'd have said the same five hours ago," dryly.
"Were they stolen from this office?" asked Douglas.
"Yes, and not only from this office, but under my very eyes."
"To give you both a clear idea I must go into details," Wyndham drew his chair up closer and lowered his voice. "About twelve o'clock my private secretary brought me word that a man wished to see me personally. Of course, I have daily callers who all wish to see me personally, and usually my secretary takes care of them. This particular caller refused to give his name and said he would explain his business to me alone. I thought he was simply a harmless crank, and told my secretary to get rid of him as soon as possible." Wyndham sighed. "In a few minutes my secretary was back in the office, saying that the stranger had a message for me from Senator Carew."
"A written message?" asked the Secretary of State.
"No, a verbal one. With everyone else in Washington, I have taken great interest in the terrible murder of my old friend. The man's statement aroused my interest, and, having a few minutes of leisure, I told my secretary to show him in."
"What did he look like?" inquired the Secretary of State, deeply interested.