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'He nodded, and said--I tell you his words as well as I can recollect them-- attend to this. There is a man in England now who is in this thing with me. He was to have left tomorrow for Paris by the noon boat from Southampton to Havre. His name is George Harris--at least that's the name he is going by. Do you remember that name?" "Yes," I said, "when I went up to London a week ago you asked me to book a cabin in that name on the boat that goes tomorrow. I gave you the ticket." "Here it is," he said, producing it from his pocket.

'"Now," Manderson said to me, poking his cigar-butt at me with each sentence in a way he used to have, "George Harris cannot leave England tomorrow. I find I shall want him where he is. And I want Bunner where he is. But somebody has got to go by that boat and take certain papers to Paris. Or else my plan is going to fall to pieces. Will you go?" I said, "Certainly. I am here to obey orders."

'He bit his cigar, and said, "That's all right; but these are not just ordinary orders. Not the kind of thing one can ask of a man in the ordinary way of his duty to an employer. The point is this. The deal I am busy with is one in which neither myself nor any one known to be connected with me must appear as yet. That is vital. But these people I am up against know your face as well as they know mine. If my secretary is known in certain quarters to have crossed to Paris at this time and to have interviewed certain people--and that would be known as soon as it happened--then the game is up." He threw away his cigar-end and looked at me questioningly.

'I didn't like it much, but I liked failing Manderson at a pinch still less. I spoke lightly. I said I supposed I should have to conceal my identity, and I would do my best. I told him I used to be pretty good at make-up.

'He nodded in approval. He said, "That's good. I judged you would not let me down." Then he gave me my instructions. "You take the car right now," he said, "and start for Southampton--there's no train that will fit in. You'll be driving all night. Barring accidents, you ought to get there by six in the morning. But whenever you arrive, drive straight to the Bedford Hotel and ask for George Harris. If he's there, tell him you are to go over instead of him, and ask him to telephone me here. It is very important he should know that at the earliest moment possible. But if he isn't there, that means he has got the instructions I wired today, and hasn't gone to Southampton. In that case you don't want to trouble about him any more, but just wait for the boat. You can leave the car at a garage under a fancy name--mine must not be given. See about changing your appearance--I don't care how, so you do it well. Travel by the boat as George Harris. Let on to be anything you like, but be careful, and don't talk much to anybody. When you arrive, take a room at the Hotel St Petersbourg. You will receive a note or message there, addressed to George Harris, telling you where to take the wallet I shall give you. The wallet is locked, and you want to take good care of it. Have you got that all clear?"

'I repeated the instructions. I asked if I should return from Paris after handing over the wallet. "As soon as you like," he said. "And mind this-- whatever happens, don't communicate with me at any stage of the journey. If you don't get the message in Paris at once, just wait until you do--days, if necessary. But not a line of any sort to me. Understand? Now get ready as quick as you can. I'll go with you in the car a little way. Hurry."

'That is, as far as I can remember, the exact substance of what Manderson said to me that night. I went to my room, changed into day clothes, and hastily threw a few necessaries into a kit-bag. My mind was in a whirl, not so much at the nature of the business as at the suddenness of it. I think I remember telling you the last time we met'-he turned to Trent--'that Manderson shared the national fondness for doings things in a story-book style. Other things being equal, he delighted in a bit of