Fred M. White

“ You will be able to sway your audience at will.”
“And touch their pockets also,” Gryde said, with a queer smile. “Shall I confess I came here for that purpose. A poor nation like Greece——”
The Duke hastened to give the desired assurances.
“We have not been idle,” he said, “mass meetings are already arranged in all the great towns. Thousands will respond cheerfully to the call. On Sunday you will get an idea what England is like when her ire is roused.”
For the first time since the commencement of the present adventure, Gryde began to wish that he had turned his genius in some other channel. ”

“ In one of the most perfectly appointed houses in the North lives Felix Gryde, an English-American, who is reputed to have made a fabulous fortune in the States. Gryde is a popular and respected figure, and his popularity is shared by a wife who is called Cora. Mrs. Gryde takes a prominent place in society, and the younger men find her extremely fascinating. Like most women, she imagines that her husband has no secrets from her, in which she is greatly mistaken—Gryde’s adventures will never be told by him. ”

“ The waiter smiled slightly. He began to see that no harm was likely to come to him from the adventure. And he was about to earn more money than he had ever had in his life before.
“All right, guvnor,” he whispered hoarsely, “I’ll do as you say, and I hope you’ll get out of your bit of trouble all right.”
Gryde smiled as he pointed to the clock.
“Once I am outside I will take care of the rest;” he said. “Five minutes, remember. I’m afraid you will have to invest in another dress suit, though.”
Standing calmly before the glass, Gryde re-arranged his white tie, and then calmly left the room. ”

“ I should be a life convict. And after all there are thousands of greater scoundrels ruling the country and helping to make our laws. They have not been found out, neither have I. And assuredly the wicked flourish like a green bay tree. ”

“ The man who has just sat down is a swindler and impostor. The gentleman by my side is the real General Marcos.”
No uproar followed the statement, it was too stupendous.
“Does anybody know the speaker?” some one asked at length.
“I know him for one,” the Chairman replied; “in fact, a good many of us do. This is a serious charge made by a responsible man. What does our friend say?”
The Duke turned interrogatively to Gryde. ”

“ Knowing the country well, he bribed a noted brigand, Nicholi by name, to kidnap the general. Then he proceeded to Athens with a letter of mine containing a photograph of my companion. This was artfully changed for one of his in the character he now represents. The plot was all the more ingenious because nobody in England knew the real Marcos, and so long as we saw his name in the papers we should not dream that any evil had overtaken him. Fortunately we are in time to prevent further mischief.”
Gryde did not need to look up to see what effect this statement had on the audience. ”

“ There were men young and strong in the audience who tumbled down the steps of the hall and dashed after the fugitive. Sprinting was not one of Gryde’s accomplishments, and he found himself hard pressed. ”

“ As to the rest, Marcos passes this way on Tuesday. He will have one servant only.”
“And my band number seven,” Nicholi said, with a smile. “If I remember, your Excellency was to provide me with a pair of American revolvers.”
“I have brought them. You fully understand me? The thing is quite simple and easy. As to the rest, Luli will let you hear. I can stay with you no longer; in fact, I must be in Athens by daylight.”
When finally Gryde did arrive in Athens, it was alone, for he had rid himself of Luli. ”

“ Moreover, the Greeks had not hitherto forwarded anything like a favourable specimen; and the Cretan question really was occupying a good deal of public attention.
There were some hundreds of thousands of people who were burning with sympathy and full of natural horror of the unspeakable Turk. The morning following “Marcos’” arrival, he held quite a levée in his private room at the Métropole. ”