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By Root 437 0

began to happen. Once or twice I had some very near escapes. My plans were known when they should not have been known. I realised that there was something wrong and that “the rot”, to express it in their terms, had penetrated actually into the service in which I was. I had been let down by my own people. Carl and I had a certain superficial likeness (my grandmother was a German), hence my suitability for work in Germany. Carl was not a Nazi. He was interested solely in his job–a job I myself had also practised–research chemistry. He decided, shortly before war broke out, to escape to England. His brothers had been sent to concentration camps. There would, he thought, be great difficulties in the way of his own escape, but in an almost miraculous fashion all these difficulties smoothed themselves out. The fact, when he mentioned it to me, made me somewhat suspicious. Why were the authorities making it so easy for von Deinim to leave Germany when his brothers and other relations were in concentration camps and he himself was suspected because of his anti-Nazi sympathies? It seemed as though they wanted him in England for some reason. My own position was becoming increasingly precarious. Carl’s lodgings were in the same house as mine and one day I found him, to my sorrow, lying dead on his bed. He had succumbed to depression and taken his own life, leaving a letter behind which I read and pocketed.

‘I decided then to effect a substitution. I wanted to get out of Germany–and I wanted to know why Carl was being encouraged to do so. I dressed his body in my clothes and laid it on my bed. It was disfigured by the shot he had fired into his head. My landlady, I knew, was semi-blind.

‘With Carl von Deinim’s papers I travelled to England and went to the address to which he had been recommended to go. The address was Sans Souci.

‘Whilst I was there I played the part of Carl von Deinim and never relaxed. I found arrangements had been made for me to work in the chemical factory there. At first I thought that the idea was I should be compelled to do work for the Nazis. I realised later that the part for which my poor friend had been cast was that of scapegoat.

‘When I was arrested on faked evidence, I said nothing. I wanted to leave the revelation of my own identity as late as possible. I wanted to see what would happen.

‘It was only a few days ago that I was recognised by one of our people and the truth came out.’

Sheila said reproachfully:

‘You should have told me.’

He said gently:

‘If you feel like that–I am sorry.’

His eyes looked into hers. She looked at him angrily and proudly–then the anger melted. She said:

‘I suppose you had to do what you did…’

‘Darling–’

He caught himself up.

‘Come and dance…’

They moved off together.

Tuppence sighed.

‘What’s the matter?’ said Tommy.

‘I do hope Sheila will go on caring for him now that he isn’t a German outcast with everyone against him.’

‘She looks as though she cares all right.’

‘Yes, but the Irish are terribly perverse. And Sheila is a born rebel.’

‘Why did he search your room that day? That’s what led us up the garden path so terribly.’

Tommy gave a laugh.

‘I gather he thought Mrs Blenkensop wasn’t a very convincing person. In fact–while we were suspecting him he was suspecting us.’

‘Hallo, you two,’ said Derek Beresford as he and his partner danced past his parents’ table. ‘Why don’t you come and dance?’

He smiled encouragingly at them.

‘They are so kind to us, bless ’em,’ said Tuppence.

Presently the twins and their partners returned and sat down.

Derek said to his father:

‘Glad you got a job all right. Not very interesting, I suppose?’

‘Mainly routine,’ said Tommy.

‘Never mind, you’re doing something. That’s the great thing.’

‘And I’m glad Mother was allowed to go and work too,’ said Deborah. ‘She looks ever so much happier. It wasn’t too dull, was it, Mother?’

‘I didn’t find it at all dull,’ said Tuppence.

‘Good,’ said Deborah. She added: ‘When the war’s over, I’ll be able to tell you something about my job. It’s really frightfully interesting, but