'Make the call immediately.'
Prokop went to the telephone. He gave a number.
Prokop had an ingenious method of communicating with his agents. At each meeting, an announcement
was made of a new telephone number, where one of the agents—usually Agent G—would be stationed.
Any messages were phoned by agents to that number.
By calling the number himself, Prokop could learn what the agents were doing, and could leave
instructions for them.
To-night, he inquired if Agent K had phoned, Receiving an affirmative reply, Prokop began to take down
words that were given him over the telephone, by Agent G. Fritz Bloch had sent a report in code.
The verbal message made no sense when Prokop had copied it. By referring to a code list among his
papers, Prokop translated the message, and quickly told Fritz Bloch's message to the Red Envoy.
'It was Cranston who came to Zuvor's last night,' said Prokop. 'The prince sent him away by the secret
method. Something must have gone wrong. I imagine that the elevator broke before Cranston had a
chance to enter it.'
'What else does Fritz say?'
'He tells me that Cranston made an appointment to meet Prince Zuvor at his home, one week from last
night. The appointment will be at nine o'clock. They will then discuss important matters.'
The Red Envoy was thoughtful. Prokop, staring past the masked man, again observed that blackness that
seemed so thick by the door. He became a trifle worried.
He was about to make a remark, when the Red Envoy spoke. This time the lips were expressive. They
indicated the cunning thoughts that were in the man's brain.
'I agree with you,' said the Red Envoy. 'Zuvor is a menace. He must be destroyed. But you must be
patient—for six days, at least.
'Our one great task is to obtain Whitburn's plans and diagrams. Until we have them, any other action
would be unwise.
'However, I am confident that we shall obtain the plans, within a few days. So I shall now tell you what I
propose should be done with Zuvor. My scheme will enable us to dispose of two enemies instead of
one.'
Prokop sensed that the masked man had thought out an ingenious arrangement. The next words of the
Red Envoy proved that fact.
'Call a meeting,' said the Red Envoy. 'Make it the night before Cranston is to come to see Zuvor. Give
the bomb to the proper agent. Have it timed for ten minutes after nine. Place it in Zuvor's house. The
explosion will kill both our enemies.'
'And Ivan Shiskin, also,' added Prokop, in a pleased voice. 'I shall give the bomb to Fritz Bloch—Agent
K.'
'No,' said the Red Envoy thoughtfully. 'Send Fritz a gray card. We do not want him at the meeting, if
there is any danger that Prince Zuvor might suspect.
'Should Fritz come to the meeting, give him the bomb. If he is not present, send him a green card— which
will tell him to leave immediately, because of threatening danger. Then he will be away.
'Agents B and M—those who are now watching Zuvor's house—can attend to the planting of the
bomb.'
'Very good,' replied Prokop. 'I shall summon both of them to the meeting. How about Agent
F—Volovick? I sent him a yellow card, you remember.'
'Bring him to the meeting. He has been away long enough. Send him a black card.'
Prokop could not control his delight, as he carefully wrote down the Red Envoy's instructions. The
spectacle of both Prince Zuvor and Lamont Cranston being blown to eternity was most pleasing to his
imagination.
'But remember,' interposed the Red Envoy, 'this must not go into effect unless we have managed to
obtain Whitburn's plans. But I expect to have them— very soon. I myself am going to Lake Marrinack.'
This prospect surprised Prokop. He had not expected action on the Red Envoy's part. For a moment, he
was tempted to object to this usurping of his power; then he realized that the Red Envoy was master.
'I shall go there,' declared the Red Envoy. 'Notify your agent to expect me. I shall gain the plans. When
I do—you will receive a telephone call—by long distance. It will give you time to make immediate
arrangements.
'After making such arrangements, either remain here or leave a note, telling me where to call for the
tickets—and just what my schedule will be. I have the passports.'
Prokop bowed in acknowledgment.
The Red Agent rose from his chair. As he did so, the shadow behind him seemed to grow. Prokop saw
it, and uttered a startled cry. The Red Envoy, turning toward the door, obscured Prokop's view.
'What is the matter?' questioned the masked man.
'Nothing,' said Prokop. He could see the door now—the blotch of darkness was no longer there. 'I
must be excited; I thought I saw something behind you.'
The Red Envoy made no reply. He walked to the door, opened it, and was gone. Prokop watched from
his window, standing at the side, and peering through the crack of a shade. He did not see the Red
Envoy in the street.
There was a reason. The Red Envoy took off his mask and gloves as he went down the dark stairs, and
obscured his face in the collar of his coat.
When he left the door of the apartment house, he kept close to the wall, and was scarcely visible as he
moved rapidly away.
People who were passing him did not see him; had they looked closely, they would have noticed his tall
form, as it went along beside the dark wall.
But even the keenest observer would not have detected the shape which appeared a moment later.
For this second figure was nothing more than a shadow, which virtually grew from the darkness. It
seemed to flit along the sidewalk, as it took up the trail of the Red Envoy.
CHAPTER XXVI. HARRY MAKES A CAPTURE
'VINCENT!'
Harry Vincent sat up in bed when he heard the hissed exclamation close beside him. He had been half
asleep when the summons had come; now he wondered if he was dreaming. A voice spoke softly, a few
feet away.
'Sh!' came the warning. 'This is Marquette!'
'What's the matter?' whispered Harry.
'Stokes and Marsh are planning something,' replied Marquette. 'That's why I tipped you off to go to bed
early. I went to my room; then sneaked downstairs. I overheard them, in the kitchen.'
'What did they say?'
'They are going somewhere. I suspected it this afternoon, when I came upon them unexpectedly at the
dock. Now they have waited until we went upstairs.'
'What are you going to do about it?'
'I'm going with them. Stokes came back from the mainland, an hour ago, in the motor boat. He brought
back a lot of empty sacks that Professor Whitburn ordered. They're still in the boat. I'm going to hide
under them.'
'What shall I do?'
'Stay here. Get dressed and watch. I don't know what the game is; and we've got to watch everything.
Be on the job. Come down to the lake when the boat pulls away, and try to trace the direction in which
