aspect of the war. In the light of current events much has been made plain that was hitherto shrouded in mystery. We have seen plainly the subtle methods of the enemy.

Lewin Rodwell and his catspaw, Sir Boyle, were only typical of dozens of others in that little area from Temple Bar to Aldgate, the men who were working for Germany both prior to the war and after.

Charlesworth, to do him full credit, was an honest Englishman. Yet such a man was bound to be employed by our enemies as a safeguard against inquiry, and in order to avert suspicion. City men, like Charlesworth, might be patriotic to the backbone, yet when it became a matter of choosing between bread-and-cheese and starvation, as in his own case, the matter of living at Wimbledon on two thousand a year appealed to him, in preference to cold mutton and lodgings in Bloomsbury.

Germans, with or without assumed English names, controlled our finances, our professions, our hotels, nay, our very lives, wherefore it was hardly surprising that we were unable, in the first few months of war, to rid ourselves of that disease known as "German measles."

"I must say I'm sorry about Carew," remarked Charlesworth. "He's been with us ever since the formation of the Company--and you recollect we sent him abroad two years ago upon the Elektra deal. He made a splendid bargain--one that has brought us over twenty thousand pounds."

"And he was paid a bonus of twenty-pounds, wasn't he?" snapped Rodwell impatiently. "Surely that was enough?"

"But really I think we should keep him; he is very valuable."

"No, Charlesworth. Let him go. Give him the best of references, if you like. But we must cut down expenses, if you and I are to live at all."

"We must live at the expense of these poor devils, I suppose," remarked Charlesworth, with a slight sigh. Truth to tell, he could not express his repugnance.

"Yes. Surely, we are the masters. And capital must live!" was the other's hard reply. "But where is Sainsbury going?" Rodwell inquired quickly. "What does he intend doing?"

"I have no idea," the manager said. "He behaved most mysteriously when I told him that his services were no longer required."

"Mysteriously!" exclaimed Rodwell, starting and looking straight across at his companion. "How?"

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