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By Root 146 0

a mile, and come back into Paris. There had been no time to learn whether this were so or not, if I was to catch the 10.25. Also it might have landed its passengers anywhere along the river. I may say at once that neither of these two things happened, and my calculations as to her movements were accurate to the letter. But a trap most carefully set may be prematurely sprung by inadvertence, or more often by the over-zeal of some stupid ass who fails to understand his instructions, or oversteps them if they are understood. I received a most annoying telegram from Denouval, a lock about thirteen miles above that of Meulan. The local policeman, arriving at the lock, found that the yacht had just cleared. The fool shouted to the captain to return, threatening him with all the pains and penalties of the law if he refused. The captain did refuse, rang on “Full speed ahead!” and disappeared in the darkness. Through this well-meant blunder of an understrapper, those on board the launch had received warning that we were on their track. I telegraphed to the lock-keeper at Denouval to allow no craft to pass towards Paris until further orders. We had the launch trapped in a thirteen-mile stretch of water, but the night was pitch dark, and passengers might be landed on either bank, with all France before them.

It was midnight when I reached the lock at Meulan, and, as I expected, nothing had been seen or heard of the launch. It gave me some satisfaction to telegraph to that dunderhead at Denouval to walk along the river-bank to Meulan and report if he learnt the launch’s whereabouts. We took up our quarters in the lock-keeper’s house and waited. There was little sense in sending men to scour the country at this time of night, for the pursued were on the alert and were not likely to allow themselves to be caught if they did go ashore. On the other hand, there was every chance that the captain would refuse to let them land, because he must know his vessel was in a trap from which he could not escape; and although the demand of the policeman at Denouval was quite unauthorised, nevertheless the captain must be well aware of his danger in refusing to obey that command. Even if he got away for the moment, he must know that arrest was certain and that his punishment would be severe. His only plea could be that he had not heard and understood the order to return. But this plea would be invalidated if he aided in the escape of two men who, he must now know, were wanted by the police. I was, therefore, very confident that if the men demanded to be set ashore, the captain would refuse when he had had time to think about his own danger. My estimate proved accurate, for towards one o’clock the lock-keeper came in and said the green and red lights of an approaching craft were visible, and as he spoke, the yacht whistled for the opening of the lock. I stood by the lock-keeper while he opened the gates; my men and the local police were concealed on each side of the lock. The launch came slowly in, and as soon as it had done so, I asked the captain to step ashore, which he did.

“I wish a word with you,” I said. “Follow me.”

I took him to the lock-keeper’s house and closed the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To Havre.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Paris.”

“From what quay?”

“From the Pont de Neuilly.”

“When did you leave there?”

“At five minutes to four o’clock this afternoon.”

“Yesterday afternoon, you mean?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Who engaged you to make this voyage!”

“An American—I do not know his name.”

“He paid you well, I suppose?”

“He paid me what I asked.”

“Have you received the money?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I may inform you, captain, that I am chief detective of the French Government, and that all the police of France at this moment are under my control. I ask you, therefore, to be careful of your answers. You were ordered by a policeman at Denouval to return. Why did you not do so?”

“The lock-keeper ordered me to return, but as he had no right to order me, I went on.”

“You know very well it was the police who ordered you, and you ignored