Microbes of Power (Wallace of the Secret Service Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Wallace looked down at the purple countenance of the gasping victim of a Shannon hug, and sighed.
    ‘Isn’t it a pity to think,’ he commented, ‘that there are, among our own people, a number who are ready to sell their country and their souls for paltry gain. Thank God there are not many of them! This fellow was probably once a soldier with a good record, otherwise he wouldn’t have been given a government job. He’s allowed himself to be tempted, no doubt, by a worm of a dago, and thrown everything away – pension, job, all. Good work, Shannon.’
    ‘It might have been more interesting, sir,’ returned that burly individual. ‘Still it wasn’t a bad spot of bother, everything considered.’
    The man still lay breathing painfully. He was obviously in poor condition, and the treatment he had received had taken all the stuffing out of him. Shannon dragged him to the trapdoor and, letting him down at the full length of his arms, dropped him unceremoniously through. The Secret Service man followed; stood guard over him until Sir Leonard joined him. The chief hadstayed behind to examine the earphones and detach the wire. The sound of Shannon’s captive being loudly deposited on the floor had brought several clerks, both male and female, from their rooms. Their exclamations and remarks told Shannon that the man’s name was Wright, and that he was one of the night watchmen. On Sir Leonard’s arrival, he sent the congregation, as Shannon described them, back to their rooms, with the exception of a young man who was dispatched to find a couple of orderlies. The latter, who knew Sir Leonard by sight, choked back the astonished ejaculations that rose to their lips, and lifting Wright between them, at his command, helped the man to a lift, thence along to the room of the Secretary of State. Leaving Shannon outside in charge of the prisoner, Sir Leonard arrived. The statesman and the undersecretary eyed him eagerly as he entered.
    ‘Have you been successful?’ asked the former.
    Wallace nodded.
    ‘We were lucky enough to catch him at it,’ he informed them. ‘He is one of your night watchmen, a man named Wright.’
    ‘Good heavens!’ ejaculated Masterson. ‘He has been here for a considerable time, and I would have said he was a most reliable man. He came to the Colonial Office from the army, having served during the War in the tenth Hants.’
    ‘I thought he probably had,’ nodded Sir Leonard. ‘He looks like an ex-soldier.’
    ‘What has he to say for himself?’ demanded the colonial secretary sternly.
    ‘Nothing at present,’ smiled Wallace. ‘I am afraid he came up against one of the most powerful men in London, and is taking a little time to recover in consequence.’
    Sir Edwin Spencer, who knew Shannon quite well, laughed quietly.
    ‘Do you mean to say,’ he asked, ‘that he tried conclusions with Shannon?’
    ‘Well, it would hardly be correct to say that he tried conclusions. As a matter of fact, he made desperate efforts to avoid him; they played quite an interesting little game round the chimney pots before Shannon caught him, but Shannon is not only extraordinarily powerful, he is quite the fittest man I know.’
    ‘All you fellows are as hard as nails I should imagine,’ commented the statesman. ‘I suppose you have to be in your job.’
    ‘We wouldn’t last long, if we were not,’ returned Sir Leonard a trifle grimly; ‘but Shannon surpasses everyone for sheer physical fitness. In fact, he is so fit and strong that it is positively necessary for him to let off energy every now and again. Well, I suppose Wright has recovered sufficiently by now to answer questions. Would you like to hear what he has to say for himself, or will you leave it to me?’
    ‘No; I’d like to know why he has been such a fool. Is he married, Masterson?’
    The undersecretary nodded.
    ‘He is,’ he sighed, ‘and has a fairly large family, I believe.’
    ‘God help them! Why do men do such foolish things