Ordering the driver to remain, Hildrow alighted.
WITH a small portfolio under his arm, the master plotter took a path that ended suddenly
beside the walls of a small frame house. Some one spied him from the porch. It was Korsch.
The hatchet-faced man nodded his welcome and opened the door for his chief. Hildrow
went into a roughly furnished room that looked like an office. He sat down at a desk; Korsch
entered and closed the door.
'How is the prisoner?' quizzed Hildrow, in the sarcastic voice that he used with this
disguise. 'Has he shown any inclination to talk?'
'No,' growled Korsch. 'Say, chief, if you'd let me put the clamps on the guy -'
'He would still refuse to speak,' interposed Hildrow. 'No, Korsch, such tactics are useless'-
he paused dryly, then added—'for the present.'
'Do you want to talk to him, chief?'
'That is why I telephoned to the road house, to order your man to come for me.'
'All right, chief. Up in his room or down here?'
'Here. A change of environment may please him.'
Korsch nodded. He turned and went out through the door. Eric Hildrow smiled through his
black beard as he placed the portfolio upon the desk. The master plotter had completed his
scheme.
Here, within the portfolio, were the tracings that he had taken from Commander Joseph
Dadren. Those stolen plans were the bait with which Eric Hildrow intended to trick his
prisoner.
CHAPTER XV. TERMS AGREED
COMMANDER DADREN was blinking when he entered the little office. Korsch had brought
him from a room where blinds were drawn. The light of afternoon proved dazzling to his
eyes.
Hildrow motioned to Korsch, who had followed Dadren with a ready gun. Korsch lowered the
window shades halfway, then departed at Hildrow's bidding. The bearded plotter motioned
Dadren to a chair.
'Well, commander,' he began, when the prisoner was seated, 'how have you been enjoying
yourself here?'
No response from Dadren.
'River air should be healthful at this season,' continued Hildrow, 'particularly along the
Potomac. This spot is really picturesque. It is only a short trip from here down to the Great
Falls.'
Dadren was showing sudden interest on his weather-scarred face. Until now, he had been
unable to guess the location of the hidden cottage. He blinked again as he stared at his
bearded captor.
'And the Great Falls,' resumed Hildrow, 'are not far from Washington. So you see,
commander, that your friends are really close at hand.'
Dadren eyed the bearded man suspiciously. This voluntary information sounded like a
come-on game. That was the very effect that Hildrow was trying to produce. He wanted
Dadren to be doubtful at the outset.
'Korsch tells me,' declared Hildrow, 'that you will have nothing to say to him. In the
meantime, I have been examining the plans that I took from you. I cannot decipher them,
commander.
'It appears to me that certain portions of the diagrams must be missing. I failed to gain the
other plans that I sought. Therefore, I have been unable to check upon these drawings. In a
word, commander, you have me at a loss.'
Hildrow was becoming serious. His tone had lost its sarcastic tinge. Dadren was still waiting
to learn the connection between the first remarks and this admission of failure.
'Possibly, commander,' declared Hildrow, earnestly, 'you could be prevailed upon to supply
the missing portions of the plans from memory. Indeed, you might be persuaded to do so.
Korsch, for instance, believes in harsh methods.
'But I have considered that angle and I have come to a conclusion. It seems to me that we
can reach an agreement that would be satisfactory to both of us. I have spoken of how close
this island is to Washington. That is because I want you to know how near you are to
freedom.'
A GRIM smile appeared upon Dadren's lips. The commander did not trust the disguised
plotter. Deliberately, he challenged Hildrow's words.
'This talk means nothing,' asserted Dadren. 'Until you admit your identity, I shall have no
dealing with you.'
Hildrow eyed Dadren steadily. He studied every contour of the commander's rugged face.
Then, in a cautious tone, he said:
'To tell you who I am would endanger me. If you will listen to my plan and agree to a
compromise, I shall reveal my identity. Is that agreeable?'
'I make no promises in advance.'
'But you will hear my terms?'
Dadren considered. Hildrow had promised much. Apparently, the man was anxious to make
some deal. Dadren came to the conclusion that he had nothing to lose by acceding to the
last request. He nodded his assent.
'Very well,' declared Hildrow. 'Let me explain, first of all, why I wanted the plans that you
were carrying to Washington. I knew that the possession of those plans might mean a
chance for profit. That is why I seized them.
'I am not an agent of a foreign government. I am working entirely on my own. I simply wanted
to offer the plans to the highest bidder. Professor Whitburn destroyed the set he had. That
helped me—for the existence of any duplicates would end my game. I was sure that I could
gain your originals.
'Money is what I am after. But the game has become too dangerous. Apparently, your
secretary—I refer to Vincent—has delivered another set of plans to Senator Ross Releston.
That leaves me with a useless possession.'
Slowly, Hildrow drew forth the tracings from the briefcase. He looked dejected as he spread
the stolen diagrams upon the desk.
'I hold these,' he said bluntly, 'and I hold you. Frankly, I doubt that I can force you to supply
the missing links in these plans. Should I undertake to make you build a new model
submarine, the process would require your removal to a foreign land. I lack the funds to
accomplish it.
'I know the general principle of your invention.' Hildrow paused to study the tracings. 'An
undersea boat, equipped with chemical tanks into which water is introduced when the ship
submerges. The chemical agency, I understand, will supply the motive power for the
submarine.
'Ships that are shells, lessened from the burden of heavy motors. Boats that can carry the
maximum capacity of torpedoes. But the vital parts of this invention are missing from these
plans. I congratulate you, commander, upon your canniness.'
'Proceed with your offer,' suggested Dadren.
'Very well,' declared Hildrow, muffling a smile within his beard. 'I am willing to return these
