“Three years ago,” Mr. Katahashi proceeded, “when we first recognized that Japan would be obliged to fight Russia for her existence as a free and independent country, his imperial majesty the Mikado appointed me head of the intelligence department.

“I perceived that it would be necessary for me to establish centers in the chief European capitals, and to have at my command a corps of agents whose comings and goings would not attract the attention that is usually given to the movements of persons connected with the staff of an embassy.

“In our case precautions were necessary which would not have been recognized in the case of another country.

“On the one hand, our Government has laid to heart the profound advice of Herbert Spencer, that whatever is done for Japan should be done by Japanese.

“On the other hand, our people have characteristic racial features which make it practically impossible for a Japanese to disguise himself as a Western European, so as to deceive European eyes.

“It was therefore necessary to provide an excuse for distributing Japanese agents over the West without the true reason of their presence being known.

“I solved this problem by founding the Imperial Bank of Japan.”

“But, surely!” I exclaimed, “the Imperial Bank of Japan is a bona fide concern? Its shares are regularly quoted on the stock exchanges. It negotiates loans, and carries on the ordinary business of a bank?”

“Certainly. Why not? You forget that Japan is not a rich country. What we lack in gold, we are obliged to make up in ingenuity and devotion. Thanks to this idea of mine, the secret service of Japan pays for itself, and even earns a small profit.”

It gave me something like a cold shock to comprehend the character of this people whom the Russians had so recklessly provoked to draw the sword.

I thought of the intelligence departments of some Western Powers, of the rank corruption that reigned on the Neva, where every secret had its price; of the insane conceit of Berlin, which had forgotten nothing and learned nothing since the days of Moltke; of the luxurious laziness of Pall Mall, where superannuated soldiers dozed in front of their dusty pigeon-holes after apoplectic lunches, and exercised their wits chiefly in framing evasive answers suited to the intelligence of the House of Commons.

And beside these pictures I placed this of the prosperous commercial house, founded by the man before me, a man whose salary would probably be sniffed at by a deputy-assistant controller in the British War Office.

A bank, paying its way, and adding to the revenues of Japan, and yet every member of its staff a tireless spy, ready to go anywhere and risk everything on behalf of his native country!

Mr. Katahashi seemed to ignore the effect produced on my mind by his modest explanation.

“I have told you this,” he resumed, “because if I can succeed in satisfying you that we are both working for the same ends, or at least against the same enemy, I hope it will be agreeable to you to co-operate with me.”

I drew my brows together in anxious thought. In spite of the flattery and deference of the Privy Councillor I could not but feel that I should be the junior partner in any such combination as he proposed, or, rather, I should find myself an instrument in the hands of one whose methods were strange to me.

“Although his imperial majesty was not familiar with your name, you must not suppose that your reputation is not known in the right quarters. I have a very full report on your work in my office. I had intended from the first to engage your services if we required any Western aid; and, as a matter of fact, I was on the eve of sending you a retainer, when I heard I had been anticipated by——”

“By Lord Bedale,” I put in swiftly.

“By Lord Bedale, certainly,” the Japanese acquiesced with a polite bow and smile.

“After your interview with him, I lost sight of you,” my extraordinary companion went on. “Your wonderful transformation into a Little Englander of the Peace-at-any-Price school threw my agents off the scent. But I heard of your interview with Nicholas II.”

“You did!”

Mr. Katahashi nodded.

“I recognized you in that transaction. I even guessed that you might make an attempt to carry through a message from the Czar. But, knowing the influences arrayed against you, I never expected you to succeed. Your appearance in our Council-Room was a triumph on which I congratulate you warmly.

“And now,” the Mikado’s Privy Councillor continued, “there remain two questions:

“Supposing you are satisfied that the real author of this war is not any one in Russia, but a certain monarch who smokes cigarettes made by the house of Gregorides—

“And that the same ambitious ruler is now weaving his snares to entangle Great Britain, in short your own employer, the——”

“Marquis of Bedale,” I again slipped in.

Again the same polite but incredulous bow and smile from the Japanese statesman.

“Would you be willing to accept a retainer from us?”

I sat upright, frowning.

The somewhat haughty attitude of the Emperor of Japan still rankled within me.

“I will accept a retainer from his majesty the Mikado,” I announced stiffly. “From no one else.”

Mr. Katahashi looked thoughtful.

“I will see what can be done,” he murmured. “The second question——”

There was a momentary hesitation in his manner.

“I have just spoken to you of the precept of the great English philosopher.”

“It was, if I remember rightly, that you should employ only Japanese in the service of Japan?”

The Privy Councillor bowed.

“Therefore, you will see, we are obliged to make a proposal which may seem to you unusual—perhaps unreasonable.”

“And this proposal is?” I asked, with undisguised curiosity.

“That you should become a Japanese.”

I threw myself back in my chair, amazed.

“Your Excellency, I am an American citizen.”

“So I have understood.”

“An American citizen is on a level with royalty.”

“That is admitted.”

“Even the Dowager Empress of China, when engaging me in her service, though she raised my ancestors to the rank of marquises, did not ask me to forego my citizenship of the United States.”

“That is not necessary,” the Privy Councillor protested.

“Explain yourself, if you will be so good.”

“A man may be an American citizen, although by birth he is a Frenchman, a German, or even a negro. You yourself are a Pole, I believe.”

I could only bow.

“Now I do not propose that you should relinquish your political allegiance, but only that you should exchange your Polish nationality for a Japanese one.”

“But how, sir?”

“It is very simple. By being adopted into a Japanese family.”

I sat and stared at the Japanese statesman, with his mask-like face and impenetrable eyes. I seemed to be in some strange dream.

Who shall judge the ways of the Asiatic! This daring organizer, a match for the most astute minds of the West, believed that he could only make sure of fidelity by persuading me to go through what seemed the comedy of a mock adoption, a ceremony like the blood brotherhood of an African tribe.

“And suppose I consent, into what family do you purpose to introduce me?”

The Privy Councillor’s look became positively affectionate as he responded:

“If you would honor me by becoming my kinsman?”

I rose to my feet, shaking my head slowly.

“I appreciate the compliment your Excellency pays me. But, as we have just now agreed, an American citizen has no equals except royalty. Let us return to the German Emperor and his designs. If I cannot serve you directly I may be able to do so indirectly.”

The Japanese made no attempt to press his proposal.

Instead he plunged into a discussion of the intrigues which radiated from Berlin.

“In nearly all the international difficulties and disagreements of the last twenty years,” he said, “it is possible to trace the evil influence of Germany.

“To German sympathy, a secret encouragement, was due the wanton invasion of Cape Colony by the Boers. To the Kaiser, and his promises of support, was due the hopeless defiance of the United States by Spain. The same Power tried to drag Great Britain into collision with your Republic over the miserable concerns of Venezuela. For years, Germany has been secretly egging on the French to raise troubles against the English in Egypt. In the same spirit, the Sultan has been abetted, first against England and next against Russia.

“All these schemes have been spoiled by the action of King Edward VII. in establishing cordial relations with France, and even to a certain extent with Russia.

“Now Wilhelm II. has taken advantage of the attraction of France to England, to draw nearer to Russia. He has secured in his interest some of the most influential personages at the Russian Court. The Anglophobe grand dukes, the fire-eaters of the Admiralty, are all his sworn allies.

“But that is not the worst.

“By some means which I have not yet been able to trace, the Kaiser seems to have acquired a peculiar hold over Nicholas II.

“The whole policy of Russia seems to be tinged by this influence. Even where the instigation of Germany is not directly apparent, yet in a hundred ways it is clear that the Russian Government is playing the German game. The cause of all this is a riddle, a riddle which it is for you to solve.”

“For me?”

The words escaped me involuntarily. I had listened with growing uneasiness to the Privy Councillor’s revelations.

“Undoubtedly. You have facilities which no one else possesses. You enjoy the confidence of the Czar. You cannot be suspected of any selfish designs, still less of any hostile feeling against Wilhelm II., who is understood to be almost your personal friend.”

“I never allow personal friendships to influence me in the discharge of my duty.”

“It is because I believe that, that I am talking to you like this,” Mr. Katahashi responded quickly.

“Well!” he added after a short silence, “what do you say?”

“I must have the night to decide.”

The Japanese Privy Councillor rose to say good-by.

After he had gone I sat up late into the night considering how far I could serve my employer in England by entering into the projects of the secret service of Japan.

In the morning, I was still undecided, but on the whole it seemed to me that it would be better to act independently.

I was considering how to convey this decision to the Mikado’s minister, when he again presented himself before me.

His manner was deeply agitated. It was evident that he came to make a communication of the highest importance.

Instead of taking the chair I offered him, he stood regarding me with an expression that seemed one of awe.

“Monsieur V——,” he said at length, “your conditions are accepted by his imperial majesty.”

“What conditions?” I asked, bewildered for the moment.

“Last night you informed me that an American citizen occupied the same rank as royalty.”

“Well?”

“The Mikado offers to make you a member of the imperial family by adoption, and one of his majesty’s cousins has consented to make you his son!”