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Wie leer sind deine Blätter. Wie Achiles in dem Zelte. Wo zweie sich zanken Erfreut sich der Dritte. Mr. Willem van Urutius, Automobile Agent, Nymwegen. 81 bis Alexander-Straat. Berlin, 1st July, 16. O Oak-tree! O Oak-tree, How empty are thy leaves. Like Achiles in the tent. When two people fall out The third party rejoices. I stared at this nonsensical document in silence.
Old Urutius has been very decent to me since I have been in gaol here and has been over several times, generally with a box or two of those nice Dutch cigars." "Dicky," I broke in on him, "get on with the story. What the devil's all this got to do with Francis? The document " "Steady, my boy!" was the imperturbable reply, "let me spin my yarn my own way. I'm coming to the piece of paper....
But I find a fragrant remembrance of a glorious hot bath and an epic breakfast in the house of that kindly Dutchman, followed by a whirlwind burst of hospitality on our arrival at the house of van Urutius, which was not more than ten miles from the fringe of the forest.
One day a package for old van Urutius came to me to be made up and suddenly it occurred to me that here was a chance of sending out a message to the outside world. I hoped that old van U., if he tumbled to the 'Eichenholz, would send it to you and that you would pass it on to my Chief in London." "Then you expected me to come after you?" I said. "No," replied Francis promptly, "I did not.
"Van Urutius ignored my flippancy and resumed. 'I open the envelope and there in the invoice I find this writing here! "And here," said Dicky, diving into his pocket, "is the writing!" And he thrust into my eagerly outstretched hand a very thin half-sheet of foreign notepaper, of that kind of cheap glazed notepaper you get in cafes on the Continent when you ask for writing materials.
"Your brother and I have had dealings in the past with a Dutchman in the motor business at Nymwegen, name of Van Urutius. He has often been over to see us at Coventry in the old days and Francis has stayed with him at Nymwegen once or twice on his way back from Germany Nymwegen, you know, is close to the German frontier.
Indeed, it was not conceivable that my brother would send any such report to a Dutchman like van Urutius, a friendly enough fellow, yet a mere acquaintance and an alien at that. The message carried in those two phrases must be, I felt sure, a personal one, relating to my brother's welfare. What would he desire to say? That he was arrested, that he was going to be shot?
"Well, then, old Urutius came to see me ten days ago. All I knew about Francis I had told him, namely, that Francis had entered the army and was missing. It was no business of the old Mynheer if Francis was in the Intelligence, so I didn't tell him that. Van U. is a staunch friend of the English, but you know the saying that if a man doesn't know he can't split.
"I knew of Kore I had heard of him and his shirkers' and deserters' agency in my travels and I went straight to him. He sent me to Haase's ... this was towards the end of June. It was when I was at Haase's that I sent out that message to van Urutius that fell into your hands. That happened like this.
"Where did the Dutchman's packet of stuff come from?" I asked. "From the Berlin Metal Works in Steglitz, a suburb of Berlin: he has dealt with them for years." "But then what does all the rest of it mean ... all this about Achilles and the rest?" "Ah, Desmond!" was Dicky's reply, "that's where you've got not only me, but also Mynheer van Urutius." "'O oak-wood!
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