"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 026 - Murder Trail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

von Werndorff."

A buzz of approval was the response to the compliment. Henry Arnaud, calm-faced and impassive in
demeanor, was a man who spoke with profound sincerity. His eyes, sharp and piercing, were gazing
toward Von Werndorff, and the commander noted the strange sparkle that came from them. Somehow,
he felt that those eyes had stared at him before.

THE passengers, now that the United States had been reached, were preparing to retire. They were
leaving the salon one by one; and Henry Arnaud was among the last to go. His eyes gave a parting glance
toward Von Werndorff; the commander, acting under impulse, reached forward and plucked the
American's sleeve.

"Herr Arnaud," he said, in German, "I do not recall having met you in the past; yet there is something in
your manner that indicates you have seen me before."

A slight smile played upon Arnaud's thin lips. The man's expression was sphinxlike. His burning eyes
gleamed upon Von Werndorff. The commander was amazed when Arnaud spoke.

"This is not my first voyage with you, captain," he said in a low voice. "I have seen you before; and then,
as now, I was aboard a ship of yours."

"You mean -"

"During the War, Herr Captain. You will recall"тАФArnaud's eyes were sparklingтАФ"a dirigible flight across
the North Sea, when a storm drove you back to Germany. That storm proved fortunate, Herr Captain;
fortunate for both of us. My mission was to see that the Zeppelin did not reach England."

"You were aboard the L-43!"

"Yes."

"As a member of the crew?"

"As a stowaway."

"As a stowaway!"

When he repeated Arnaud's words, Captain von Werndorff's face became momentarily pale. Perhaps it
was the memory of that eventful war flight over the North Sea; or was there another reason for the
commander's loss of color?

Henry Arnaud noted the captain's change of expression, and added a brief statement that might have
ordinarily been a simple explanation. As chance had it, the words brought a new and more singular turn
to Von Werndorff's complexion.

"Your superior came aboard the L-43," reminded Arnaud. "An aid accompanied him. The aid did not
leave. He became a stowaway. A simple ruse, Herr Captain, but it worked. It deceived both you and
your superiorтАФBaron Hugo von Tollsburg."

It was the mention of this name that made Von Werndorff repress a gasp. Out of the past had come a