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German by birth, or have German ancestors and strong cultural links with that country.’
    ‘Yes, but—’
    ‘And there’s something else,’ Cumming ploughed on, ignoring Tremayne’s interruption. ‘You mentioned the American people. What they want, or don’t want, is frankly of little concern to the government over there. Like all governments, the people running the United States are politicians first and foremost, and that means they’ll do whatever it takes to stay in power. They’ll say whatever they think people want to hear, but they’ll make sure that any decisions they take are to their own advantage as far as possible.’
    ‘That’s a very cynical point of view.’ Tremayne raised his left eyebrow.
    Mansfield Cumming smiled. ‘It might be cynical, Tremayne, but it’s also true. All politicians are corrupt: it’s virtually one of the qualifications for doing the job. If almost any politician is offered enough money, he’ll take whatever decision the man who’s paying him wants him to take, and if enough of them take the bribes, they’ll ensure that the “right” course of action is followed.’
    Tremayne looked confused. ‘Are you saying that the German government is going to try and bribe America to form an alliance?’
    Cumming shook his head. ‘At the moment, we don’t know what lever the Germans are trying to pull. I suppose it could be bribery, using some of the fortunes amassed by German emigrants to America, plus funds from Germany itself, perhaps, but I doubt it. That would involve too many people, who might ask too many questions. Personally, I think this plot involves something much simpler. And that’s what we need to find out. The information that Curtis obtained from Trommler was only fragmentary, because the man only got a brief look at the relevant document. Our people stationed in America haven’t heard anything about any kind of moves aimed at creating this unholy alliance. To me, that suggests that the architects of this scheme haven’t yet made their move, and it also means that they must have some argument or information so compelling that the American president or members of the government would have no option but to agree to this alliance once the plotters reach America, and that an announcement would follow almost immediately.’
    Cumming held up his hand to forestall the question he expected Tremayne to ask.
    ‘The answer’s no, we don’t know any more than that about the lever.’
    Tremayne shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, ‘I guessed that. I was going ask you how sure we are that whoever’s orchestrating this isn’t already in America. You said “once the plotters reach America”. So how do you know they’re not there right now, completing their scheme?’
    Mansfield Cumming smiled again. ‘Now that is something that we do know. Just before Curtis was murdered, he had enough presence of mind to pass a message on to one of the sentries. In the seconds before he died, he said four words to the soldier who was trying to help him. “Three men. Boss. You.” Or at least, that was what the sentry thought.’
    Cumming picked up a file off his desk, opened it and glanced at the first page, then replaced it, still open so that he could read what it contained.
    Tremayne waited. He knew Cumming of old, knew that he would explain things in his own good time.
    ‘The meaning of the first two words is quite obvious. This plot must obviously involve more than just one man. I’ll come back to the third word in a minute, but the fourth and last word he spoke – “you”– had us fooled for a while. “You” could have been the start of a new sentence: “You need to find this man”, or something like that. But it could also have been the first syllable of a new word, or the first letter of an acronym.’
    Tremayne nodded. ‘So “u” as in the letter. “U” meaning “United States” or “USA”?’
    ‘Exactly,’ Cumming nodded. ‘And if we are right, then