He drew forth a yellow card, and gave it to Volovick.
'Keep this as a reminder,' said Prokop.
Volovick nodded, and left.
Prokop called for Agent F. The man appeared, and removed his robe. He was a short, wiry individual,
with a cunning face.
'I have work for you,' said Prokop, in a low voice. 'Go to the Hotel Metrolite. Stay there. Watch a man
named Harry Vincent.
'Learn everything that you can about him. Use the name that you used before—Ernest Manion. Go
where Vincent goes. Report as usual.'
The short man nodded. He departed, and Prokop called the single agent who remained.
'Agent R.'
THE girl entered the outer room. She had been standing near the door, awaiting her call. She slipped the
robe from her shoulders, and looked quizzically at the hooded man who spoke to her.
'You have your instructions,' said Prokop.
'Yes,' replied Arlette. 'Are there any further orders?'
'None.'
'Then I shall go.'
'Wait!'—Prokop spoke commandingly. 'There is something I wish to tell you.'
A puzzled expression appeared upon the girl's face.
'Arlette,' said Prokop, in a low voice. 'there is no reason why you should be content with being a mere
worker for our cause. I have a plan by which you can be much more important.'
The girl shrugged her shoulders.
'I am perfectly content,' she said.
'Perhaps,' replied Prokop, in soft, insinuating tones, 'but that is because you do not look to the future.
'I have power. My position is important. If you will follow my suggestions, you will gain anything you
desire.'
'You have talked this way before,' said the girl tersely. 'But at that time there were others in the meeting
room. I see your purpose to-night.
'We are alone; but I do not fear you. Again, I tell you that I am not interested in any plan which you may
make.'
'Be careful what you say,' warned Prokop. 'Remember, my word is law. You cannot oppose my will.'
'Your word is not law,' replied Arlette. 'You have no power of your own. The real power belongs with
the one who directs you. You cannot deceive me with false promises.'
She turned to leave the room. Prokop stepped forward and seized her wrist. The girl turned; her eyes
were furious as she stared at the mask which covered the man's face.
'Listen to me,' said Prokop grimly. 'I have chosen you to be mine. You cannot oppose me.'
With his free hand, he lifted the cloth that hung over his face. The girl recoiled as she saw, for the first
time, the evil look on Prokop's features.
The man quickly dropped the mask, and gripped Arlette's wrist more tightly, as she struggled to free
herself. He clutched her other arm, and drew her toward him. The girl did not attempt to scream. She
fought fiercely in her efforts to escape.
PROKOP'S strength was overpowering her. Then, suddenly, his grip relaxed. Gasping from exertion,
Arlette staggered to the wall, and leaned there. For a few seconds she could not understand why the man
had released her.
Prokop was standing motionless, facing directly toward the door. Arlette looked in the direction of his
gaze. She gasped in astonishment.
The door had opened, and a man was standing there. He was tall and slender, and he wore a close- fitting
suit of dark blue. His face was hidden behind a crimson mask. His hands, which rested upon his hips,
were covered with red gloves.
'So!' The soft exclamation came from the man who wore the crimson mask. 'I have interrupted. Perhaps
it is well that I came here to-night.'
Prokop still stood rigid, and motionless.
The red-masked man looked at Arlette.
'Who is the lady?' he questioned suavely.
'Agent R,' mumbled Prokop.
The man with the crimson mask approached Arlette, and bowed. The girl stared in bewilderment. The
masked man spoke slowly, uttering each word with careful pronunciation.
'I am the Red Envoy,' said the strange man. 'Have you received your instructions?'
The girl nodded.
'You will forget what has occurred. I can assure you that it will not happen again.'
Arlette nodded again. The Red Envoy made another bow.
'You may go,' he said.
Arlette walked slowly toward the door.
The sudden interruption had left her dazed. She had really believed Prokop when he had told her that he
was the controlling power of the organization. The appearance of the Red Envoy had startled and
amazed her.
When the girl had gone, the Red Envoy turned to Prokop. He made no reference to the incident which he
had just interrupted. He spoke as though it had all been forgotten.
'Give me your report,' said the Red Envoy.
CHAPTER XIV. HARRY RECEIVES A WARNING
HARRY VINCENT stopped at the desk in the lobby of the Hotel Metrolite, and received a letter which
the clerk handed him. He went to a chair that was set against a pillar, and opened the envelope. The note
was in code, from Claude Fellows:
Call at my office at three o'clock. Be careful. Some one may be following you. Make sure that your
destination is not known.
Responding instinctively to the warning, Harry glanced about him. As he gazed to the left, he noted a man
sitting in a chair backed against the adjoining side of the pillar.
The man was looking in his direction. He had a newspaper spread out before him, and his head bobbed
back to read it, but he was too late to avoid Harry's questioning gaze.
Pretending that he had not seen the man's action, Harry crumpled the note into a ball, and carried it over
to the side of the lobby, where he dropped it in a wastebasket. The ink had already faded.
Harry lounged about the lobby, anxious to see if the man who had been watching him would go to
investigate the wastebasket.
It was one o'clock now. Two hours to wait. Perhaps there would be important action ahead.
The last few days had been idle ones for Harry Vincent. Since he had left Bruce Duncan and Arlette
DeLand, after they had lunched together, three days ago, he had found time passing slowly and tediously.
