



Produced by Al Haines









[Frontispiece: "You must accept my word."]




  INSIDE THE LINES


  _By_

  EARL DERR BIGGERS

  AND

  ROBERT WELLES RITCHIE


  _Founded on Earl Derr Biggers'
  Play of the Same Name_



  INDIANAPOLIS
  THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
  PUBLISHERS




  COPYRIGHT 1915
  THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY



  PRESS OF
  BRAUNWORTH & CO.
  BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS
  BROOKLYN. N. Y.




  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER

  I Jane Gerson, Buyer
  II From the Wilhelmstrasse
  III Billy Capper at Play
  IV 32 Queen's Terrace
  V A Ferret
  VI A Fugitive
  VII The Hotel Splendide
  VIII Chaff of War
  IX Room D
  X A Visit to a Lady
  XI A Spy in the Signal Tower
  XII Her Country's Example
  XIII Enter, a Cigarette
  XIV The Captain Comes to Tea
  XV The Third Degree
  XVI The Pendulum of Fate
  XVII Three-Thirty A. M.
  XVIII The Trap Is Sprung
  XIX At the Quay




INSIDE THE LINES



CHAPTER I

JANE GERSON, BUYER

"I had two trunks--two, you ninny!  Two!  _Ou est l'autre?_"

The grinning customs guard lifted his shoulders to his ears and spread
out his palms.  "_Mais, mamselle----_"

"Don't you '_mais_' me, sir!  I had two trunks--_deux troncs_--when I
got aboard that wabbly old boat at Dover this morning, and I'm not
going to budge from this wharf until I find the other one.  Where _did_
you learn your French, anyway?  Can't you understand when I speak your
language?"

The girl plumped herself down on top of the unhasped trunk and folded
her arms truculently.  With a quizzical smile, the customs guard looked
down into her brown eyes, smoldering dangerously now, and began all
over again his speech of explanation.

"_Wagon-lit?_"  She caught a familiar word.  "_Mais oui_; that's where
I want to go--aboard your wagon-lit, for Paris.  _Voilà!_"--the girl
carefully gave the word three syllables--"_mon ticket pour Paree!_"
She opened her patent-leather reticule, rummaged furiously therein,
brought out a handkerchief, a tiny mirror, a packet of rice papers, and
at last a folded and punched ticket.  This she displayed with a
triumphant flourish.

"_Voilà!  Il dit_ 'Miss Jane Gerson'; that's me--_moi-meme_, I mean.
And _il dit 'deux troncs'_; now you can't go behind that, can you?
Where is that other trunk?"

A whistle shrilled back beyond the swinging doors of the station.  Folk
in the customs shed began a hasty gathering together of parcels and
shawl straps, and a general exodus toward the train sheds commenced.
The girl on the trunk looked appealingly about her; nothing but bustle
and confusion; no Samaritan to turn aside and rescue a fair traveler
fallen among customs guards.  Her eyes filled with trouble, and for an
instant her reliant mouth broke its line of determination; the lower
lip quivered suspiciously.  Even the guard started to walk away.

"Oh, oh, please don't go!"  Jane Gerson was on her feet, and her hands
shot out in an impulsive appeal.  "Oh, dear; maybe I forgot to tip you.
Here, _attende au secours_, if you'll only find that other trunk before
the train----"

"Pardon; but if I may be of any assistance----"

Miss Gerson turned.  A tallish, old-young-looking man, in a gray lounge
suit, stood heels together and bent stiffly in a bow.  Nothing of the
beau or the boulevardier about his face or manner.  Miss Gerson
accepted his intervention as heaven-sent.

"Oh, thank you ever so much!  The guard, you see, doesn't understand
good French.  I just can't make him understand that one of my trunks is
missing.  And the train for Paris----"

Already the stranger was rattling incisive French at the guard.  That
official bowed low, and, with hands and lips, gave rapid explanation.
The man in the gray lounge suit turned to the girl.

"A little misunderstanding, Miss--ah----"

"Gerson--Jane Gerson, of New York," she promptly supplied.

"A little misunderstanding, Miss Gerson.  The customs guard says your
other trunk has already been examined, passed, and placed on the
baggage van.  He was trying to tell you that it would be necessary for
you to permit a porter to take this trunk to the train before time for
starting.  With your permission----"

The stranger turned and halloed to a porter, who came running.  Miss
Gerson had the trunk locked and strapped in no time, and it was on the
shoulders of the porter.

"You have very little time, Miss Gerson.  The train will be making a
start directly.  If I might