Greenmantle - John Buchan

'The "I" is not the letter of the alphabet, but the numeral. The name is Von
Einem—Hilda von Einem.'
'Good old Harry,' said Sandy softly. 'He was a dashed clever chap. Hilda von
Einem? Who and where is she? for if we find her we have done the trick.'
Then Blenkiron spoke. 'I reckon I can put you wise on that, gentlemen,' he
said. 'I saw her no later than yesterday. She is a lovely lady. She happens also to
be the owner of this house.'
Both Sandy and I began to laugh. It was too comic to have stumbled across
Europe and lighted on the very headquarters of the puzzle we had set out to
unriddle.
But Blenkiron did not laugh. At the mention of Hilda von Einem he had
suddenly become very solemn, and the sight of his face pulled me up short.
'I don't like it, gentlemen,' he said. 'I would rather you had mentioned any
other name on God's earth. I haven't been long in this city, but I have been long
enough to size up the various political bosses. They haven't much to them. I
reckon they wouldn't stand up against what we could show them in the U-nited
States. But I have met the Frau von Einem, and that lady's a very different
proposition. The man that will understand her has got to take a biggish size in
hats.'
'Who is she?' I asked.
'Why, that is just what I can't tell you. She was a great excavator of
Babylonish and Hittite ruins, and she married a diplomat who went to glory three
years back. It isn't what she has been, but what she is, and that's a mighty clever
woman.'
Blenkiron's respect did not depress me. I felt as if at last we had got our job
narrowed to a decent compass, for I had hated casting about in the dark. I asked
where she lived.
'That I don't know,' said Blenkiron. 'You won't find people unduly anxious to
gratify your natural curiosity about Frau von Einem.'
'I can find that out,' said Sandy. 'That's the advantage of having a push like