Page 91 - A Hero of Liége

"There's room here for you both, at a squeeze," he said. "I'm glad to see you
again."

"It's all right, then?" asked Kenneth as they sat down.

"Oh yes! They got a reassuring telegram from my chief this morning.
What's more, I am to stay in Liege for the present; I am lent to the

Belgians."

"That's capital. I have lent myself."

"'Loan oft loses both itself and friend.' I hope it won't be so in our case!

Well, what have you been doing?"

Kenneth plunged into an account of the affair at the mill. Granger
interrupted him when the waiter came for orders, and again when the man
returned with the dishes. At the conclusion of the story, which Kenneth

gave only in outline, Granger said:

"Hellwig is in Liege. My own stay here is not unconnected with him. He is
one of the most resourceful, ingenious and dangerous of the thousands of
spies in the German service.... They were all County Kerry men, and when

they stood at attention you might have heard a pin drop."

His companions stared at him in amazement. His last sentence, apparently
unconnected with what had gone before, had been spoken without change
of voice or expression, and he imperturbably sucked his lemon squash

through a straw before he went on:

"He has a marvellous command of languages; is Protean in his disguises;
and in nimbleness of wit outdoes any other German I have ever come
across.... They mixed the salad with engine oil, and when Lady Barbara

took a mouthful of it, she swallowed it without blinking, and remarked to
me, 'The chef is a perfect marvel in inventing new flavours.' ... Waiter!"

"Monsieur?" said the waiter, smiling and bowing.