: THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS t/tr We Passenger from Calais <* By cArthur Griffiths oAuthorof "The Rjome Express," etc. Boston & L. C. Page and Company & MDCCCCVI 'jt^Cr Copyright, 1906 Bv L. C. Page & Company (incorporated) All rights reserved Second Impression, February, igob Colonial Jlrrno C. H. Simonds & Co. Boilon, if. S. A, n FOREWORD I desire to state that the initial fact upon which I have founded this story is within my own expe- rience. I travelled from Calais to Basle by the Engadine Express in the latter end of July, 1902, when my wife and myself were the only passengers. The rest is pure fic- tion. A. G. i THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS CHAPTER I. [Colonel Annesley's Story] rnHE crossing from Dover to Calais had been -*- rough; a drizzling rain fell all the time, and most of the passengers had remained below. Strange to say, they were few enough, as I saw on landing. It was a Sunday in late July, and there ought to have been a strong stream setting towards Central Europe. I hardly expected to find much room in the train; not that it mattered, for my place was booked through in the Lucerne sleeping-car of the Engadine ex- press. Room! When I reached the siding where this train de luxe was drawn up, I saw that I was not merely the first but the only passenger. Five sleeping-cars and a dining-car attached, with the full staff, attendants, chef, waiters — all lay there waiting for me, and me alone. THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS own compartment, the window of which was open, so that I could hear and see all that passed. "Can we have places for Lucerne?" It was asked in an eager, anxious, but very sweet voice, and in excellent French. "Places? " echoed the conductor. "Madame can have fifty." "What did I tell madameT" put in the official who had escorted her. "I don't want fifty," she replied, pettishly, crossly, " only two. A separate compartment for myself and maid; the child can come in with us." Now for the first time I noticed that the maid was carrying a bundle in her arms, the nature of which was unmistakable. The way in which she swung it to and fro rhythmically was that of a nurse and child. "If madame prefers, the maid and infant can be accommodated apart," suggested the obliging conductor. But this did not please her. "No, no, no," she answered with much asperity. "I wish them to be with me. I have told you so already; did you not hear?" "Parfaitement, as madame pleases. Only, ii THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS as the train is not full — very much the reverse indeed — only one other passenger, a gentle- man — no more" The news affected her strangely, and in two very different ways. At first a look of satis- faction came into her face, but it was quickly succeeded by one of nervous apprehension, amounting to positive fear. She turned to talk to her maid in English, while the conductor busied himself in preparing the tickets. "What are we to do, Philpotts?" This was said to the maid in English. "What if it should be" "Oh, no, never! We can't turn back. You must face it out now. There is nothing to be afraid of, not in that way. I saw him, the gen- tleman, as we came up. He's quite a gentleman, a good-looking military-looking man, not at all the other sort — you know the sort I mean." Now while I accepted the compliment to my- self, I was greatly mystified by the allusion to the " other sort of man." "You think we can go on, that it's safe, even in this empty train? It would have been so different in a crowd. We should have passed unobserved among a lot of people." "But then there would have been a lot of 12 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS people to observe us; some one, perhaps, who knew you, some one who might send word." "I wish I knew who this passenger is. It would make me much easier in my mind. It might be possible perhaps to get him on our side if he is to go with us, at least to get him to help to take care of our treasure until I can hand it over. What a burden it is! It's terribly on my mind. I wonder how I could have done it. The mere thought makes me shiver. To turn thief! Me, a common thief I" "Stealing is common enough, and it don't matter greatly, so long as you're not found out. And you did it so cleverly too; with such a nerve. Not a soul could have equalled you at the business. You might have been at it all your life," said the maid, with affectionate familiarity, that of a humble performer paying tribute to a great artist in crime. She was a decent, respectable-looking body too, this confederate whom I concluded was masquerading as maid. The very opposite of the younger woman (about her more directly), a neatly dressed unassuming person, short and squat in figure, with a broad, plain, and, to the casual observer, honest face, slow in movement and of no doubt sluggish temperament, not 13 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS likely to be moved or distressed by conscience, neither at the doing or the memory of evil deeds. Now the conductor came up and civilly bowed them towards their carriage, mine, which they entered at the other end as I left it making for the restaurant, not a little interested in what I had heard. Who and what could these two people be with whom I was so strangely and unexpectedly thrown? The one was a lady, I could hardly be mistaken in that; it was proved in many ways, voice, air, aspect, all spoke of birth and breeding, however much she might have fallen away from or forfeited her high station. She might have taken to devious practices, or been forced into them; whatever the cause of her present decadence she could not have been always the thief she now confessed her- self. I had it from her own lips, she had ac- knowledged it with some show of remorse. There must surely have been some excuse for her, some overmastering temptation, some ex- treme pressure exercised irresistibly through her emotions, her affections, her fears. What! this fair creature a thief? This beau- tiful woman, so richly endowed by nature, so 14 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS outwardly worthy of admiration, a despicable degraded character within? It was hard to credit it. As I still hesitated, puzzled and be- wildered, still anxious to give her the benefit of the doubt, she came to the door of the buffet where I was now seated at lunch, and allowed me to survey her more curiously and more at leisure. "A daughter of the gods, divinely tall and most divinely fair." The height and slimness of her graceful fig- ure enhanced by the tight-fitting tailor-made ulster that fell straight from collar to heel; her head well poised, a little thrown back with chin in the air, and a proud defiant look in her un- deniably handsome face. Fine eyes of darkest blue, a well-chiseled nose with delicate, sensi- tive nostrils, a small mouth with firm closely compressed lips, a wealth of glossy chestnut hair, gathered into a knot under her tweed travelling cap. As she faced me, looking straight at me, she conveyed the impression of a determined un- yielding character, a woman who would do much, dare much, who would go her own road if so resolved, undismayed and undeterred by any difficulties that might beset her. i5 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Then, to my surprise, although I might have expected it, she came and seated herself at a table close to my elbow. She had told her com- panion that she wanted to know more about me, that she would like to enlist me in her serv- ice, questionable though it might be, and here she was evidently about to make the attempt. It was a little barefaced, but I admit that I was amused by it, and not at all unwilling to meas- ure swords with her. She was presumably an adventuress, clever, designing, desirous of turn- ing me round her finger, but she was also a pretty woman. "I beg your pardon," she began almost at once in English, when the waiter had brought her a plate of soup, and she was toying with the first spoonful, speaking in a low con- strained, almost sullen voice, as though it cost her much to break through the convenances in thus addressing a stranger. "You will think it strange of me," she went on, "but I am rather awkwardly situated, in fact in a position of difficulty, even of danger, and I venture to appeal to you as a country- man, an English officer." "How do you know that?" I asked, quickly concluding that my light baggage had been sub- 16 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS jected to scrutiny, and wondering what subter- fuge she would adopt to explain it. "It is easy to see that. Gentlemen of your cloth are as easily recognizable as if your names were printed on your back." "And as they are generally upon our travel- ling belongings." I looked at her steadily with a light laugh, and a crimson flush came on her face. However hardened a character, she had preserved the faculty of blushing readily and deeply, the natural adjunct of a cream-like com- plexion. "Let me introduce myself in full," I said, pitying her obvious confusion; and I handed her my card, which she took with a shamefaced air, rather foreign to her general demeanour. "Lieut.-Colonel Basil Annesley, Mars and Neptune Club," she read aloud. "What was your regiment?" "The Princess Ulrica Rifles, but I left it on promotion. I am unattached for the moment, and waiting for reemployment." "Your own master then?" "Practically, until I am called upon to serve. I hope to get a staff appointment. Meanwhile I am loafing about Europe." "Do you go beyond Lucerne?" *7 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Across the St. Gothard certainly, and as far as Como, perhaps beyond. And you? Am I right in supposing we are to be fellow travel- lers by the Engadine express?" I went on by way of saying something. "To Lucerne or further?" 18 CHAPTER H. « T)ROBABLY.'' The answer was given with .*- great hesitation. "If I go by this train at all, that is to say." "Have you any doubts?" "Why, yes. To tell you the truth, I dread the journey. I have been doing so ever since — since I felt it must be made. Now I find it ever so much worse than I expected." "Why is that, if I may ask?" "You see, I am travelling alone, practically alone that is to say, with only my maid." "And your child," I added rather casually, with no second thought, and I was puzzled to understand why the chance phrase evoked an- other vivid blush. "The child! Oh, yes, the child," and I was struck that she did not say " my " child, but laid rather a marked stress on the definite arti- cle. "That of course increases your responsi- 19 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS bility," I hazarded, and she seized the sugges- tion. "Quite so. You see how I am placed. The idea of going all that way in an empty train quite terrifies me." "I don't see why it should." "But just think. There will be no one in it, no one but ourselves. We two lone women and you, single-handed. Suppose the five attend- ants and the others were to combine against us? They 'might rob and murder us." "Oh, come, come. You must not let foolish fears get the better of your common sense. "Why should they want to make us their vic- tims? I believe they are decent, respectable men, the employes of a great company, care- fully selected. At any rate, I am not worth robbing, are you? Have you any special reason for fearing thieves? Ladies are perhaps a little too reckless in carrying their valuables about with them. Your jewel-case may be ex- ceptionally well lined." "Oh, but it is not; quite the contrary," she cried with almost hysterical alacrity. '' I have nothing to tempt them. And yet something dreadful might happen; I feel we are quite at their mercy." 20 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "I don't. I tell you frankly that I think you are grossly exaggerating the situation. But if you feel like that, why not wait? Wait over for another train, I mean?" I am free to confess that, although my curi- osity had been aroused, I would much rather have washed my hands of her, and left her and her belongings, especially the more compromis- ing part, the mysterious treasure, behind at Calais. "Is there another train soon? " she inquired nervously. "Assuredly — by Boulogne. It connects with the train from Victoria at 2.20 and the boat from Folkestone. You need only run as far as Boulogne with this Engadine train, and wait there till it starts. I think about 6 p. m." "Will that not lose time?" '' Undoubtedly you will be two hours later at Basle, and you may lose the connection with Lucerne and the St. Gothard if you want to get on without delay. To Naples I think you said?" "I did not say Naples. You said you were going to Naples," she replied stiffly. "I did not mention my ultimate destination." "Perhaps not. I have dreamt it. But I do 21 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS not presume to inquire where you are going, and I myself am certainly not bound for Naples. But if I can be of no further use to you I will make my bow. It is time for me to get back to the train, and for my part I don't in the least want to lose the Engadine express." She got up too, and walked out of the buffet by my side. "I shall go on, at any rate as far as Bou- logne," she volunteered, without my asking the question; and we got into our car together, she entering her compartment and I mine. I heard her door bang, but I kept mine still open. I smoked many cigarettes pondering over the curious episode and my new acquaintance. How was I to class her? A young man would have sworn she was perfectly straight, that there could be no guile in this sweet-faced, gentle, well-mannered woman; and I, with my greater experience of life and the sex, was much tempted to do the same. It was against the grain to condemn her as all bad, a depredator, a woman with perverted moral sense who broke the law and did evil things. But what else could I conclude from the words I had heard drop from her own lips, 22 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS strengthened and confirmed as they were by the incriminating language of her companion? "Bother the woman and her dark blue eyes. I wish I 'd never come across her. A fine thing, truly, to fall in love with a thief. I hope to heaven she will really leave the train at Bou- logne; we ought to be getting near there by now." I had travelled the road often enough to know it by heart, and I recognized our near approach only to realize that the train did not mean to stop. I turned over the leaves of Brad- shaw and saw I had been mistaken; the train skirted Boulogne and never entered the station. "Well, that settles it for the present, any- how. If she still wants to leave the train she must wait now until Amiens. That ought to suit her just as well." But it would not; at least, she lost no time in expressing her disappointment at not being able to alight at Boulogne. We had hardly passed the place when her maid's (or companion's) square figure filled the open doorway of my compartment, and in her strong deep voice she addressed a brief summons to me brusquely and peremptorily: "My lady wishes to speak to you." 23 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "And pray what does ' my lady ' want with me?" I replied carelessly, using the expres- sion as a title of rank. "She is not ' my lady,' but ' my ' lady, my mistress, and simply Mrs. Blair." The correc- tion and information were vouchsafed with cold self-possession. "Are you coming?" "I don't really see why I should," I said, not too civilly. "Why should I be at her beck and call? If she had been in any trouble, any serious trouble, such as she anticipated when talking to me at the buffet, and a prey to im- aginary alarms since become real, I should have been ready to serve her or any woman in dis- tress, but nothing of this could have happened in the short hour's run so far." "I thought you were a gentleman," was the scornful rejoinder. "A nice sort of gentle- man, indeed, to sit there like a stock or a stone when a lady sends for you!" "A lady!" There was enough sarcasm in my tone to bring a flush upon her impassive face, a fierce gleam of anger in her stolid eyes; and when I added, " A fine sort of lady!" I thought she would have struck me. But she did no more than hiss an insolent gibe. 24 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "You call yourself an officer, a colonel? I call you a bounder, a common cad." "Be off!" I was goaded into crying, an- grily. "Get away with you; I want to have nothing more to say to you or your mistress. I know what you are and what you have been doing, and I prefer to wash my hands of you both. You're not the kind of people I like to deal with or wish to know." She stared at me open-mouthed, her hands clenched, her eyes half out of her head. Her face had gone deadly white, and I thought she would have fallen there where she stood, a prey to impotent rage. Now came a sudden change of scene. The lady, Mrs. Blair, as I had just heard her called, appeared behind, her taller figure towering above the maid's, her face in full view, vexed with varying acute emotions, rage, grief, and terror combined. 25 CHAPTER III. « TT^HAT'S all this?" she cried in great "* agitation. "Wait, do not speak, Phil- potts, leave him to me. ... Do you go back to our place this instant; we cannot be away together, you know that; it must not be left alone, one of us must be on guard over it. Hurry, hurry, I never feel that it is safe out of our sight. "Now, sir," Mrs. Blair turned on me fiercely, "will you be so good as to explain how I find you quarrelling with my maid, per- mitting yourself to cast aspersions, to make imputations upon two unprotected women?" "How much have you overheard?" I asked, feeling very small already. My self- reproach was aroused even before I quailed under the withering contempt of her tone. "Enough to expect ample apology. How dare you, how dare you say such things? What you may imagine, what unworthy idea you may have formed, is beyond me to guess, but 26 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS you can know nothing. You can have no real reason for condemning me." "Let me admit that, and leave the matter there," I pleaded. I could not bring myself to tell her that she was self-condemned, that she was the principal witness against herself. It would have been too cruel, ungenerous, to take an unfair advantage. Why should I con- stitute myself her judge? She looked at me very keenly, her eyes pierc- ing me through and through. I felt that she was penetrating my inmost thoughts and turn- ing me inside out. "I will not leave it at that. I insist upon your speaking plainly. I must know what is in your mind." "And if I refuse, distinctly, positively, cate- gorically; if I deny your contention, and pro- test that I have nothing to tell you?" "I shall not believe you. Come, please, let there be no more evasion. I must have it out. I shall stay here until you tell me what you think of me, and why." She seated herself by my side in the narrow velvet seat of the small compartment, so close that the folds of her tweed skirt (she had re- moved her ulster) touched and rubbed against 27 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS me. I was invaded by the sweet savour of her gracious presence (she used some delightful scent, violette ideale, I believe), by putting forth my hand a few inches I might have taken hers in mine. She fixed her eyes on me with an intent unvarying gaze that under other con- ditions would have been intoxicating, but was now no more than disquieting and embarrass- ing. As I was still tongue-tied, she returned to her point with resolute insistence. "Come, Colonel Annesley, how long is this to go on? I want and will have an explanation. Why have you formed such a bad opinion of me?" "How do you know I have done so?" I tried to fence and fight with her, but in vain. "I cannot be mistaken. I myself heard you tell my maid that you wished to have nothing to say to us, that we were not your sort. Well! why is that? How do I differ from the rest of — your world, let us call it?" "You do not, as far as I can see. At least you ought to hold your own anywhere, in any society, the very best." "And yet I'm not 'your sort.' Am I a humbug, an impostor, an adventuress, a pup- 28 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS pet and play-actress? Or is it that I have for- feited my right, my rank of gentlewoman, my position in the world, your world?" I was silent, moodily, obstinately silent. She had hit the blot, and could put but one inter- pretation upon it. I saw she guessed I knew something. Not how much, perhaps, but some- thing to her discredit. She still was not satis- fied; she would penetrate my reserve, over- come my reticence, have it out of me willy nilly, whether I would or no. "You cannot surely refuse me? I have my reasons for desiring to know the very worst." "Why drive me to that?" I schooled my- self to seem hard and uncompromising. I felt I was weakening under the subtle charm of her presence, and the pretty pleading of her vio- let eyes; but I was still resolute not to give way. "If you will only tell me why you think such evil I may be able to justify myself, or at least explain away appearances that are against me." "You admit there are such appearances? Eemember, I never said so." "Then on what do you condemn me? You do condemn me, I am certain of it," she in- 29 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS sisted, seeing my gesture of negation. "Are you treating me fairly, chivalrously, as a gen- tleman and a man of honour should? How can you reconcile it to your conscience?" "Some people talk very lightly of con- science, or use it when it is an empty meaning- less word," I said severely. "You imply that I have no conscience, or that I should feel the qualms, the prickings of conscience?" "After what you've done, yes," I blurted out. '' What have I done? What do you know of it, or what led me to do it? How dare you judge me without knowing the facts, without a shadow of proof?" She sprang to her feet and passed to the door, where she turned, as it were, at bay. '' I have the very best proof, from your own lips. I heard you and your maid talking to- gether at Calais." "A listener, Colonel Annesley? Faugh!" "It was forced on me. You stood under my window there." I defended myself indig- nantly. "I wish to heaven I had never heard. I did not want to know; your secrets are your own affair." 30 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "And my actions, I presume?" she put in with superb indifference. "And their consequences, madam," but the shot failed rather of effect. She merely smiled and shook her head recklessly, contemptuously. Was she so old a hand, so hardened in crime, that the fears of detection, arrest, reprisals, the law and its penalties had no effect upon her? Undoubtedly at Calais she was afraid; some misgiving, some haunting terror possessed her. Now, when standing before me fully confessed for what she was, and practically at my mercy, she could laugh with cool and unabashed levity and make little of the whole affair. If I had hoped that I had done with her now, when the murder was out, I was very much mistaken. She had some further designs on me, I was sure. She wanted to make use of me, how or in what way I could not imagine; but I soon perceived that she was anxious to be friends. The woman was in the ascendant, and, as I thought, the eternal feminine ever agog to attract and subjugate the male, she would conquer my admiration even if she could not secure my esteem. Suddenly, and quite without my invitation 3i THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS or encouragement, she reseated herself by my side. "See, Colonel Annesley, let us come to an understanding." She said it quite gaily and with no shadow of apprehension left in her, not a sign of shame or remorse in her voice. Her mood had entirely changed. She was de- bonnaire, frolicsome, overflowing with fun. "What do you mean to do? Give me into custody? Call in the gendarmes at the next station? Have me taken red-handed with the — stolen property — the ' swag,' you know the word, perhaps, in my possession?" "lam not a police officer; it's not my busi- ness," I answered gruffly. I thought this flip- pancy very much misplaced. "Or you might telegraph back to England, to London, to Scotland Yard: 'The woman Blair in the Engadine express. Wire along the line to authorities, French and Swiss, to look out for her and arrest preparatory to extradition.'" "I would much rather not continue this con- versation, Mrs. Blair." "I am not ' Mrs. Blair,'" she cried, laugh- ing merrily as at a tremendous joke. "It is only one of my aliases. I am better known as 32 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Slippery Sue, and the Countess of Plantage- net, and the Sly American, and dashing Mrs. Mortimer, and '' "Oh, please, please spare me. It does not matter, not a row of pins, what you are called. I would rather not have the whole list," I in- terrupted her, but could not check her restless tongue. "You shall hear, you must know all about me and my famous exploits. I was the heroine of that robbery at Buckingham Palace. I was at the State Ball, and made a fine harvest of jewels. I have swept a dozen country-houses clean; I have picked pockets and lifted old lace from the shop counters, and embezzled and forged '' "And turned pirate, and held up trains, and robbed the Bank of England," I added, falling into her humour and laughing as she rose to her full height; and again her mood changed, dominating me with imperious air, her voice icily cold in manner, grave and repellent. ""Why not? I am a thief; you believe me to be a common thief." 33 CHAPTER IV. ■' WAS too much taken aback to do better J- than stammer out helplessly, hopelessly, al- most unintelligibly, a few words striving to remind her of her own admission. Nothing, indeed, could take the sting out of this, and yet it was all but impossible to accuse her, to blame her even for what she had done. She read that in my eyes, in my abashed face, my hands held out deprecating her wrath, and her next words had a note of conciliation in them. "There are degrees of wrong-doing, shades of guilt," she said. "Crimes, offences, mis- deeds, call them as you please, are not abso- lutely unpardonable; in some respects they are excusable, if not justifiable. Do you believe that?" "I should like to do so in your case," I re- plied gently. "You know I am still quite in the dark." "And you must remain so, for the present 34 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS at any rate," she said firmly and sharply. "I can tell you nothing, I am not called upon to do it indeed. We are absolute strangers, I owe you no explanation, and I would give you none, even if you asked." "I have not asked and shall not ask any- thing." "Then you are willing to take it so, to put the best construction on what you have heard, to forget my words, to surrender your suspi- cions?" "If you will tell me only this: that I may have confidence in you, that I may trust you, some day, to enlighten me and explain what seems so incomprehensible to-day." "I am sorely tempted to do so now," she paused, lost for a time in deep and anxious thought; and then, after subjecting me to a long and intent scrutiny, she shook her head. "No, it cannot be, not yet. You must earn the right to my confidence, you must prove to me that you will not misuse it. There are others concerned; I am not speaking for my- self alone. You must have faith in me, believe in me or let it be." She had beaten me, conquered me. I was 35 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ready to be her slave with blind, unquestioning obedience. "As you think best. I will abide by your decision. Tell me all or nothing. If the first I will help you, if the latter I will also help you as far as lies in my power." "Without conditions?" And when I nodded assent such a smile lit up her face that more than repaid me, and stifled the doubts and qualms that still oppressed me. But, bewitched by the sorcery of her bright eyes, I said bravely: '' I accept service — I am yours to command. Do with me what you please." "Will you give me your hand on it?" She held out hers, gloveless, white and warm, and it lay in mine just a second while I pressed it to my lips in token of fealty and submission. "You shall be my knight and champion, and I say it seriously. I may call you to fight for me, at least to defend and protect me in my present undertaking. The way is by no means clear. I cannot foresee what may happen on this journey. There are risks, dangers before me. I may ask you to share them. Do you repent already?" She had been watching me closely for any 36 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS sign of wavering, bnt I showed none, whatever I might feel in my inmost heart. "I shall not disappoint you," was what I said, and, in a firm assured voice, added,'' You have resolved then to travel forward in this train?" "I must, I have no choice. I dare not tarry by the way. But I no longer feel quite alone and unprotected. If trouble arises, I tell you candidly I shall try to throw it on you." "From what quarter do you anticipate it?" I asked innocently enough. "You expect to be pursued, I presume?" She held up a warning finger. "That is not in the compact. You are not to be inquisitive. Ask me no questions, please, but wait on events. For the present you must be satisfied so, and there is nothing more to be said." "I shall see you again, I trust," I pleaded, as she rose to leave me. "If you wish, by all means. Why should we not dine together in the dining-car by and by?" she proposed with charming frankness, in the lighter mood that sat so well upon her. "The waiters will be there to play propriety, and no Mrs. Grundy within miles." 37 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Or your maid might be chaperon at an ad- joining table." "Philpotts? Impossible! She cannot leave — she must remain on duty; one of us must be in charge always. Who knows what might happen when our backs were turned? We might lose it — it might be abstracted. Hor- rible thought after all it has cost us." "' It' has evidently an extraordinary value in your eyes. If only I might be allowed to "know more, I would have said, but she chose to put other words into my mouth. "To join us in the watching? Take your turn of ' sentry go '— isn't that your military term? Become one of us, belong to a gang of thieves, liable like the rest of us to the law? Ah, that would be trying you too far. I see your face fall." "I am ready to do much to serve you. I would gladly help you, see you through any difficulty by the way, but I'm afraid I must draw the line at active partnership," I an- swered a little lamely under her mocking eyes. Once more, as suddenly as before, she veered round. "There is a limit, then, to your devotion?" She was coldly sarcastic now, and I realized / 38 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS painfully that I had receded in her favour. "I must not expect unhesitating self-sacrifice? So be it; it is well to know how far I may go. I sincerely hope I may have no need of you at all. How thankful I am that I never let you into my secrets! Good afternoon," and with a contemptuous whisk of her skirts and a laugh, she was gone. "I'll have nothing more to say to her," I cried in great heat, vexed and irritated beyond measure at her capricious temper. I should only be dragged into some pitfall, some snare, some dire unpleasantness. But what did I know of her real character? What of my first doubts and suspicions? She had by no means dispelled them. She had only bamboozled me by her insinuating ways, had drawn me on by her guileful cleverness to pity and promises to befriend her. I had accorded her an active sympathy which in my more sober moments I felt she did not, could not, deserve; if I were not careful she would yet involve me in some inextricable mess. So for half an hour I abused her fiercely; I swore at myself hotly as an ass, a hopeless and unmitigated ass, ever ready to be betrayed and beguiled by woman's wiles, the too easy victim 39 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS of the first pretty face I saw. The fit lasted for quite half an hour, and then came the re- action. I heard her rich deep voice singing in my ears, I felt the haunting glamour of her eyes, remembered her gracious presence, and my heart went out to her. I was so sorry for her: how could I cast her off? How could I withhold my countenance if she were in real distress? She was a woman — a weak, help- less woman; I could not desert and abandon her. However reprehensible her conduct might have been, she had a claim to my protection from ill-usage, and I knew in my heart that she might count upon a good deal more. I knew, of course, that I ought not to stand between her and the inevitable Nemesis that awaits upon misdeeds, but what if I helped her to avoid or escape it? The opportunity was nearer at hand than I thought. My kindly intentions, bred of my latest sentiments towards Mrs. Blair, were soon to be put to the test. 4O CHAPTER V. rpHE tram reached Amiens punctually at -*- 5 p. m., and a stoppage of five minutes was announced. I got out to stretch my legs on the platform. No one took much notice of us; it must have been known that the train was empty, for there were no waiters from the buf- fet with cafe au lait or fruit, or brioches — no porters about, or other officials. I had not expected to see any passengers come on board the train, a through express, made up of sleeping-cars and a supplementary charge on the tickets. But on running into the station (ours was the first carriage) I had noticed a man standing with a valise in his hand, and I saw him following the train down the platform when we stopped. He addressed himself to a little group of conductors who had already alighted, and were gossiping idly among themselves, having nothing else to do. One of them indicated our particular attendant, 4i THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS to whom he spoke, and who brought him di- rectly to our carriage. Evidently the newcomer was bound for Lu- cerne via Basle. Here was one more occupant of our neglected train, another companion and fellow traveller in our nearly empty sleeping- car. Curiosity and something more led me to examine this man closely; it was a strange, undefined, inexplicable sense of foreboding, of fateful forecast, that he and I were destined to be thrown together unpleasantly, to be much mixed up with one another, and to the comfort and satisfaction of neither. "Who and what was he? His position in life, his business, trade or calling were not to be easily fixed; a commercial man, an agent or "traveller" on his own account, well-to-do and prosperous, was the notion borne out by his dress, his white waistcoat and coloured shirt of amazing pattern (a hint of his Italian origin), his rings and the showy diamond pin in his smart necktie. I added to this, my first impression, by further observation, for which I soon had abundant opportunity. "When the train moved on, he came and took his seat on the flap seat (or strapontin) just opposite my compartment. 42 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I could not tell why, until presently he made overtures of sociability and began a desultory talk across the corridor. My cabin or com- partment, it will be remembered, was the last but one; the newcomer had been given the one behind mine, and here from his seat he com- manded the whole length of the'Carriage for- ward, which included the compartment occu- pied by Mrs. Blair and her party. I cannot say that I liked his looks or was greatly attracted by him. He was not pre- possessing. Fair, with a flaccid unwholesome complexion, foxy haired, his beard cut to a point, small moustaches curled upward show- ing thin pale lips, and giving his mouth a dis- agreeable curve also upwards, a sort of set smile that was really a sardonic sneer, con- veying distrust and disbelief in all around. His eyes were so deep set as to be almost lost in their recesses behind his sandy eyelashes, and he kept them screwed up close, with the in- tent watchful gaze of an animal about to make a spring. His whole aspect, his shifty, rest- less manner, his furtive looks, all were anti- pathetic and to his great advantage. I did not take to him at all, and plainly showed him 43 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS that I had no desire for his talk or his com- pany. It was not easy to shake him off, however. He would take no offence; I was cold to pos- itive rudeness, I snubbed him unmercifully; I did not answer his remarks or his questions, which were incessant and shamelessly inquisi- torial. Nothing disconcerted him. I had all but shut the door of my compartment in his face, but it suddenly occurred to me that he was capable of wandering on, and when he found the ladies inflicting his greasy attentions upon them. I felt that I had better submit to his unpala- table society than let him bore Mrs. Blair with his colossal impudence. How right I was in this became at once ap- parent. He had taken out a cigar-case and pressed one upon me with such pertinacious, offensive familiarity that I could see no way out of it than by saying peremptorily: "You cannot smoke here. There are ladies in that compartment yonder." "Ladies indeed! You surprise me," but I saw a look on his face that convinced me he perfectly well knew they were there. "Ladies, aha! How many, may I ask?" 44 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "One at,least, with her maid and a child," I replied gruffly. "And a child," he repeated, as if by rote. '' Does monsieur, tell me quickly, I — I — beg — know them? Can he describe them to me?" "I shall tell you nothing about them. What the mischief do you mean by asking me ques- tions? Find out what you want for yourself." I was hot and indignant with the brute. "By George, you're right. I'll go and ask for leave to smoke. I shall find out then," and he jumped up, the spring seat closing with a bang from under him. The noise concealed the sound of the electric bell which I had pressed to summon the attend- ant, as I rushed out and caught the other man by the arm. "You'll do nothing of the kind," I cried with very vigorous emphasis, backed by all my strength. "I'll shake you to a jelly if you dare to move another inch." "Here, I say, drop it. Who the deuce are you? None of your bally nonsense. Hands off, or I'll make you." But he was too soft and flabby to avail much, and I dragged him back helplessly with tight- 45 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ened grip, only too delighted to try conclusions with him. At this moment the conductor appeared upon the scene, and began to expostulate loudly. "Here, I say, what's all this? It can't be allowed. No fighting and quarrelling are per- mitted." "Well, then, people must behave them- selves," I retorted. "Don't let this chap an- noy your passengers." "I have done nothing to annoy them," stammered the other. "You shall answer for this. I've done no harm." "I'll see you don't. Get in there and stay there;" and with that I forced him, almost flung him, into his compartment, where he fell panting upon the velvet sofa. "You'd better keep an eye on him," I said to the conductor, who was inclined to be dis- agreeable, and was barely pacified by a couple of five-franc pieces. "Fellows of this sort are apt to be a nuisance, and we must take care of the ladies." As I said this I saw Mrs. Blair's face peer- ing out beyond her door a little nervously, but she ventured to come right out and along the passage towards me. 46 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "What has happened? I heard some noise, high words, a scuffle." "Some ruffian who got in at Amiens, and who has had to be taught manners. I told him not to smoke here, and he wanted to intrude himself upon you, which I prevented, a little forcibly." "Where is he? In here?" and she fol- lowed the indication of my thumb as I jerked it back, and looked over my shoulder into the compartment. "Ah!" The ejaculation was involuntary, and one of acute painful surprise, the gesture that accompanied it spontaneous and full of terror. "That man! that man!" she gasped. "He must not see me; let me go, let me go!" But her strength failed her, and but for my supporting arm she would have fallen to the ground. Half-fainting, I led her back to her own compartment, where her maid received her tenderly and with comforting words. There was clearly a strong bond of affection between these two, possibly companions and confeder- ates in wrong-doing; the delicate and refined woman, tormented by the inner qualms of out- 47 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS raged conscience, relied and leant upon the stronger and more resolute nature. "What's come to you, ma'am? There, there, don't give way," said the maid, softly coaxing her and stroking her hands. "Oh, Philpotts, fancy! He is there! Fal- fani, the — the — you know" Of course I saw it all now. Stupid ass! I might have guessed it all along. I had puzzled my brains vainly trying to place him, to fix his quality and condition in life, neglecting the one simple obvious solution to which so many plain indications pointed. The man, of course, was a detective, an officer or private agent, and his dirty business — you see, I was already shaken in my honesty, and now with increas- ing demoralization under seductive influences I was already inclined to cross over to the other side of the frontier of crime — his dirty busi- ness was the persecution of my sweet friend. "What are we to do now?" asked Mrs. Blair, her nervous trepidation increasing. "I begin to think we shall fail, we cannot carry it through, we shall lose our treasure. It will be taken from us." "You cannot, you must not, shall not turn back now," said the maid with great deter- 48 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS mination. "We must devise something, some way, of outwitting this Falfani. We did it before, we must do it again. After all he has no power over us; we are in France and shall be in Switzerland by daylight." "We ought to go on, you think? Wouldn't it be better to slip out of the train at the first station and run away?" "He would do the same. He does not in- tend to let us out of his sight. And how much the better should we be? It would be far worse; we should be much more at his mercy if we left the train. The journey would still have to be made; we must get to the end, the very end, or we'd better not have started." "He will know then, if he sticks to us. We cannot hide it from him, nor where we have taken it; we shall never be able to keep it, they will come and claim it and recover it;" and she cried hysterically: "I cannot see my way; it's all dark, black as night. I wish — I wish" "That you had never done it?" quickly asked the maid; and I noticed a slight sar- casm in her tone that was not without its effect in bracing up and strengthening her compan- ion's shattered nerves. 49 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "No, no, no; I do not regret it, and I never shall. I did it deliberately, counting the cost fully, and it shall be paid, however heavy it may be. It is not regret that tortures me, but the fear of failure when so near success." '' We will succeed yet. Do not be cast down, my sweet dear." TJie maid patted her on the cheek with great affection. "We shall find a way. This gentleman, the colonel here, will help us, perhaps." "Will you?" Who could resist her plead- ing voice and shining eyes? If I had had any scruples left I would have thrown them to the winds. "Whatever lies in my power to do shall be done without stint or hesitation," I said sol- emnly, careless of all consequences, content to hold her hand and earn her heartfelt thanks. What though I were pawning my honour? 5o CHAPTER VI. [The Statement of Domenico Falfani, confiden- tial agent, made to his employers, Messrs. Becke and Co., of the Private Inquiry Offices, 279 St. Martin's Lane, W. C] T PROPOSE, gentlemen, to set down here at -*- length the story of my mission, and the events which befell me from the time I first re- ceived my instructions. You desired me to pursue and call to strict account a certain lady of title, who had fallen away from her high es- tate and committed an aot of rank felony. The circumstances which led up to her disappear- ance and the partners of her flight are already well known to you. The only indication given me, as you are aware, was that I might take it for granted that she would go abroad and probably by the most direct route to the South, to Switzerland and across the Alps into Italy. My orders having only reached me in the early morning, 5i THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the theft having presumably been committed during the night previous to Sunday, Septem- ber 21, I was unable to ascertain through the tourist agencies whether any and what tickets had been booked in the directions indicated. My most urgent duty then was to watch the outgoing Continental trains, the first of which left Charing Cross for Dover and Calais at 9 a.m. I closely watched it therefore, and its passengers, and travelled with it to Cannon Street, where I continued my search, but with- out result. I was greatly helped in my quest by the not unusual fact noticeable on Sundays, that travellers abroad are few in number. I had no difficulty in satisfying myself that the lady and her party were not in this train, and I returned at once to Charing Cross in time for the second Continental train, the 10 a. m. I had resolved'to book myself by that as far as Amiens, for I knew that, once there, I should have reached a central point or junction, a sort of throat through which every train moving southward to Paris or Switzerland must pass. There remained, of course, the route via Dover by Ostend and through Brussels; but I had been informed by you that Ludovic Tiler, 52 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS my colleague and coworker, was to undertake the inquiry on that line. It is part of my business to be thoroughly familiar with the Continental Bradshaw, and I soon ticked off the different trains that inter- ested me. There was first the 11 a. m. from Victoria by Dover and Calais, where it connected with the Paris express and the sleeping-car Enga- dine express, both of which run through Amiens, where, however, the latter branches off to Basle and beyond, with special cars for Lucerne, Zurich and Coire. Then came the 2.20 p. m. from Charing Cross to Folkestone, and so to Boulogne, Amiens and the rest, travelling the same road as the Enga- dine express. This was the last of the day service, as it gave most time, allowing people to start at the very latest moment, and I felt it quite probable that my lady would prefer to take it. I reached Amiens a little before 5 p. m., and I had a wait of half an hour for the first ex- press from Calais. I was greatly disappointed when at last it appeared issuing from the tun- nel, and passed me where I stood at the com- mencement of the platform, taking stock of 53 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS each carriage as it passed. The train seemed to be quite empty; there were no passengers, so the officials, the conductors, informed me when I talked to them, sad and unhappy at the certain loss of tips. Only one of them had any luck, Jules l'Echelle, of the Lucerne sleeping- car, who had one or two people on board. I questioned him not very hopefully, but was agreeably surprised when he told me that his clients consisted of two ladies with a child, and one gentleman. English? Yes, all English. The lady, quite a lady, a grande dame belle per- sonne, tall, fine figure, well dressed; her com- panion no doubt her servant; the child, well, an ordinary child, an infant in arms. What would you? I had them, I felt sure. There could be no mistaking this description. I held them in the hollow of my hand. Here they were in this car, and it would be all my own fault if they escaped me. It would be necessary only to verify my conclusions, to identify the lady ac- cording to the description and photograph given me. For the rest I knew what to do. But now a quite unexpected difficulty turned up. As I have said, there was one other passen- 54 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ger, a gentleman, in the car, and I felt it would be prudent to make his acquaintance. No doubt I could tell at the first glance whether or not he was an ordinary traveller, or whether he was a friend and accomplice of the lady under observation. I regret to say that he met me in a very hos- tile spirit. I was at great pains to be affable, to treat him with all the courtly consideration I have at command, and I flatter myself that in the matter of tact and good-breeding I do not yield to princes of the blood royal. But my civility was quite thrown away. The man was an absolute brute, abrupt, overbearing, rude. Nothing would conciliate him. I offered him a cigar (a Borneo of the best brand, at 10s. the hundred), and he not only refused it, but positively forbade me to smoke. There were ladies in the carriage, he said (this was the first reference made to them), and, when declining to be ordered about, I proposed to refer the question to themselves, he threw himself vio- lently upon me and assaulted me brutally. Fortunately the attendant came to my rescue or I should have been seriously injured. He lifted me into my compartment very kindly, and acted like an old friend, as indeed he was, 55 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS for I remembered him as the Jules l'Echelle with whom I served some time back as an as- sistant at the Baths of Bormio. It was, of course, clear to my mind that my assailant was associated in some way with the lady, and probably a confederate. I saw that I must know more about him, with the least possible delay, and as soon as Jules had left me, promising to return later and talk of old times, and the changes that had come over us since then, I ventured to look out and get a glimpse of the other man, I will not call him gentleman after his conduct. He was nowhere in sight, but I could hear his voice, several voices, talking together at the far end. No doubt he had joined his friends in their compartment, and the moment seemed opportune to visit his. It was next to mine, and the door stood invitingly open. A few minutes, seconds even, would be enough to tell me something of his identity, perhaps all I wanted to. At least he made no pretence at mystery; his light baggage lay about, a dressing bag, a roll of rugs, a couple of sticks and an um- brella strapped together, all very neat and pre- cise and respectable, and all alike furnished 56 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS with a parchment tag or label bearing in plain language all that I wanted to know. His name was printed "Lieut.-Col. Basil Annesley," and his club, the Mars and Nep- tune, that famous military house in Piccadilly. Underneath, on all, his destination was writ- ten, " Hotel Bellevue, Bellagio, Como." There could never be the least difficulty in finding this person if I wanted him, as I thought likely. He was a blustering, swashbuckling army officer, who could always be brought to account if he misconducted himself, or mixed himself up in shady transactions. In my great contentment at the discovery I had been wanting in caution, and I lingered too long on forbidden ground. "You infernal scoundrel," cried some one from the door, and once more I felt an angry hand on my shoulder. "How come you here? Explain yourself." "It's all a mistake," I began, trying to make the best of it, struggling to get free. But he still held me in a grip of iron, and it was not until my friend Jules appeared that I got out of the enemy's clutches. "Here, I say!" shouted Jules vaguely. "This won't do, you know. I shall have to 57 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS lodge a complaint against you for brawl- ing." "Complaint, by George!" he replied, shak- ing his fist at me. "The boot is on the other leg, I take it. How is it that I find this chap in my compartment? Foraging about, I be- lieve." "Indeed no, Colonel Annesley," I protested, forgetting myself; and he caught at it directly. '' Oho, so you know my name! That proves what I say. You've been messing about and overhauling my things. I won't stand it. The man's a thief. He will have to be locked up." "I'm not the only thief in the car, then," I cried, for I was now mad with him and his threats. "I don't know what you're driving at, or whom you think to accuse; but I tell you this, my friend, that I shall call in the police at the next station and hand you over." I looked at the conductor Jules, appealing for protection. I saw at once that it would be terrible for me to have any trouble with the police. They could do me no harm, but I might be delayed, obliged to leave the train, and I should lose sight of the lady, possibly fail altogether. 58 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Jules responded at once. "Come, come," he said. "You're talking big. You might own the whole train. Who might you be?" "None of your confounded impudence," shouted the Colonel, as he pointed to one of the luggage labels. "That's who I am. It's good enough to get you discharged before you're a much older man. And now I call upon you to do your duty. I have caught this man under suspicious circumstances in the very act of rifling my effects. I insist upon his being taken into custody." "There isn't enough for that," Jules an- swered, still my friend, but weakening a little before this masterly army officer, and I felt that I must speak for myself. "And if you stop me I will have the law of you for false imprisonment, and bring heavy damages. You will be doing me a great injury in my business." "Precisely what I should like to do, my fine fellow. I can guess what your business is. Nothing reputable, I feel sure." "I'm not ashamed of it, and I have powerful friends behind me. I am acting for '' "Yes?" he asked me mockingly, for I had checked my tongue, fearing to say too much. 59 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "It is my affair. Enough that you will feel the weight of their hands if you interfere with me in carrying out their instructions." "Well, anyhow, tell me who you are. I've a right to know that in exchange. You chose to help yourself to my name; now I insist upon knowing yours." I told him, not very readily, as may be sup- posed. "Domenico Falfani? Is that your own or a ' purser's ' name? Come, you know what I mean. It's part of your stock in trade to un- derstand all languages, including slang. Is that the name he has given you?" — this to the conductor. "Show me your way-bill, your feuille de route." Jules at a nod from me produced it, and no doubt understood my reason when in my turn I claimed to see it. "I have a clear right," I insisted, overrul- ing all objections raised by the Colonel; and taking it into my hands I read the names aloud, "Colonel Annesley, Mrs. Blair, maid and child.'' I pronounced the name with great con- tempt. "You talk of purser's names," I said sneer- ingly. "What do you think of this? Blair, 60 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS indeed! No more the woman's name than Smith or Jones, or what you please.'' "Speak more respectfully of a lady," cried the Colonel, catching me tightly by the arm. "Lady? Oho! Don't, Colonel, drop it. At any rate, she is not Mrs. Blair; you may take that from me," I said as impressively as a judge on the bench. "And what's more, Colo- nel, I wouldn't press charges you can't sub- stantiate against me, or I may hit back with another not so easy to meet. Try to stop me at the next station, and I'll stop your pal — ah, don't "— he had a cruelly strong hand — "your Mrs. Blair, and she'll find herself in a particularly tight place." "We'll see about that," said the Colonel, who kept a stiff face, but was, I think, rather crestfallen. "I shall act as I think best. Any- how, get out of this, both of you. This is my private berth, and you are trespassing." 61 CHAPTER VII. WHATEVER may have been the Colonel's intentions when he caught me in his com- partment, something, and I think my last words, led him to modify them. He felt, prob- ably, that if he attacked me I might retaliate unpleasantly. I ought to be able to hold my own with him, although in truth I was not over happy at the course events had taken, and I could not compliment myself on my good man- agement. I had not been overprudent; I had pressed my attentions on him rather abruptly, although I had the excuse that I usually found them well received, thanks to my affable address; again I had behaved most incautiously in pene- trating his identity. And, worse than all, I had still no certainty. I could only surmise that the lady was the one I was in search of, for I had not as yet clapt eyes on her, and I had been to some extent driven to show my hand before I had made 62 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS my ground good. So the first thing I did on regaining my own compartment was to ring for Jules, the conductor, and put before him the photograph with which I was provided, and ask him if he recognized it. "But perfectly. It is the lady yonder," he said promptly. "Is it your own, or did you find it or annex it from next door? Ah, your own; and what have you to do with her?" "I may tell you some day, Jules. For the present you must know that I am after her; I have to watch her, stick to her like her shadow until it is time to act." "An adventuress, eh?" "She is in possession of what does not be- long to her; something she abstracted from — from Never mind where, and it must be recovered from her here, or after she leaves the car." "Afterwards, please. We can't have any scandal on board here." "Five hundred francs wouldn't tempt you to let me have a free hand for just half an hour? I could do it, say somewhere short of Basle, and on reaching there make off. No one should be any the wiser, and they, the women, wouldn't dare to make a fuss." 63 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "It's I who do not dare — not for twice five hundred francs. My place is worth more than that; and if it is a dog's life, it is better than lying on the straw. Besides, there's her friend the Colonel, he'll be on the alert, you may de- pend." "So must I be, and I must find some way to circumvent him. I'll be even with him. He sha'n't beat me, the overbearing, hectoring brute. It's between him and me, and I think I'm a match for him." I spoke this confidently to my friend, who engaged for his part to do all in his power to assist, or at least to do nothing against me, and I was content to bide my time. Pride goes before a fall. I was not as clever as I thought, and shall have to tell you how seriously I had underrated his worth in the coming trial of strength. As the train sped on and the night began to close in on us, I remained quietly in my berth, pondering over my position, and in consider- ing the course I should adopt under various contingencies. The first and most serious dan- ger was that the lady should succeed in leaving the train at any of the intermediate stations 64 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS at Basle, and so give me the slip. There were Laon, Rheims, Chaumont, and the rest. It must be my business to keep close watch against any evasion of this kind, and Jules had promised to help. I did not look for any such attempt until far into the night, when the sta- tions were empty and half-dark, and I agreed with Jules to divide the hours till daylight, he taking the first, I the last. We were due at Basle at 5 a. m., and I expected to join forces then with Tiler, my colleague, coming from the side of Ostend, via Brussels and Strasburg. Meanwhile I kept quiet and made no sign beyond showing that I was there and on the spot ready to act if it should be necessary. Thus, when the train slackened speed on ap- proaching a station, I was always on the move and the first to descend and patrol the plat- form. The Colonel always got out too, but he never accosted me; indeed, he seemed disposed to despise me, to ignore my existence, or dare me to the worst I could do. I suppose the lady must have been of the same mind, for when dinner-time arrived, she came boldly out of her compartment, and I met her face to face for the first time, on her way 65 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS to the restaurant. I was standing at the door of my compartment. "Dinner is ready," the Colonel said to me significantly, but I did not choose to under- stand, and shook my head, holding my ground. "You are coming to dinner, I think," he repeated in a sharp commanding way, as if he were talking to his soldiers. "I shall please myself about that," I replied gruffly. "Not a bit of it. One moment," he whis- pered to the lady, who walked on, and turned again to me: "Now see here, my friend, I do not mean to leave you behind. You will come to the dining-car with us, and no two ways about it, even if I have to carry you." "I won't dine with you," I cried. "I never asked you to dine with me, but you shall dine when I do. I will pay for your din- ner, but I wouldn't sit at table with you for worlds," he shouted with scornful laughter. "You're going to dine under my eye, that's all, even though the sight of you is enough to make one sick. So come along, sharp's the word, see? Walk first; let him pass you, Mrs. Blair." I felt I had no choice. He was capable of 66 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS again assaulting me. There was something in his manner that cowed me, and I was obliged in spite of myself to give way. There were only three of us in the dining- car, and we were not a very merry com- pany. Our tables were laid almost adjoining, and there was no conversation between us, ex- cept when the Colonel asked me with contemptu- ous civility what wine I preferred. He did not talk to the lady, or the merest commonplaces, for I was within earshot. But I made an ex- cellent dinner, I must confess. I had eaten nothing since Amiens. Then I got back to my berth, where the bed was made. I threw my- self on to it, rejoiced at the prospect of getting a few hours' sleep while Jules remained on the watch. He was to call me a little before reaching Basle, and, like an ass that I was, I fully relied on his doing so, believing him to be my friend. Such friendship as his did not bear any great strain, as I learnt presently to my great cha- grin. I slept heavily, but in fitful snatches, as a man does when constantly disturbed by the whirr and whizzing of the train, the rattle and jangle of wheels passing over ill-jointed points. 67 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS door I found I had been locked into my com- partment. I rang the electric bell frantically, again and again. I got no answer; I threw up the win- dow and thrust my head out, shouting for help, but got none, only one or two sluggish porters came up and asked what was amiss, answering stolidly, when they heard, that it was none of their business. "They had no key, it must be a mistake. The conductor would explain, I must wait till he came." Presently Jules arrived, walking very lei- surely from the direction of the restaurant, and he stood right under my window with a grin on his face and mockery in his voice. "What's wrong? Locked in? Can't be pos- sible? Who could have done it? I will in- quire," he said slowly and imperturbably. "No, no; let me out first. You can do it if you choose. I believe it was your trickery from the first. I must get out, I tell you, or they will escape me," I cried. "Not unlikely. I may say it is pretty cer- tain they will. That was the Colonel's idea; ypu'd better talk to him about it next time you see him." 69 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "And that will be never, I expect. He's not going to show up here again." "There you're wrong; he will be back be- fore the train starts, you may rely on that, and you'll be able to talk to him. We'll let you out then," he was laughing at me, traitor that he was. "Here he comes. We're just going on." Now I saw my last chance of successfully performing my mission disappearing beyond recall. I renewed my shouts and protests, but was only laughed at for my pains. The rail- way officials at Basle might have interfered, but Jules answered for me, declaring with a significant gesture that I was in drink and that he would see to me. I quite despaired. Already the train was moving out of the station, when, to my intense joy, I caught sight of Ludovic Tiler, who came down the platform running alongside us, and crying, "Falfani, Falfani," as he recognized me. "Don't mind me," I shouted to him. "I must go on, I can't help myself. It's for you to take it up now. She's in the restaurant. You'll easily know her, in a long ulster, with her maid and the child. You can't miss her. By 70 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the Lord, she is standing at the door! Get away with you, don't let her see you talking with me. She must not know we are acting in common, and I do hope she hasn't noticed. Be off, I tell you, only let me hear of you; wire to Lucerne what you're doing. Address telegraph-office. Send me a second message at Goeschenen. I shall get one or both. Say where I may answer and where I can join you." 7i CHAPTER VHI. rnHE timely appearance of my colleague, -*- Ludovic Tiler, consoled me a little for the loss of the lady and her lot. I had failed, my- self, but I hoped that with my lead he would get on to the scent and keep to it. Ere long, on the first intimation from him I might come into the game again. I should be guided by his wire if I got it. For the moment I was most concerned to find out whether Tiler's intervention and my short talk with him had been noticed by the other side. If the Colonel knew that another man was on his friend's track, he would surely have left the train at once so as to go to her assistance. But he was still in the train, I could hear him plainly, speaking to Jules in the next compartment. Again, as we sped on, I reasoned favourably from their leaving me as I was, still under lock and key. No one came near me until after we had passed Olten sta- tion, the first stopping-place after Basle, where I could alight and retrace my steps. By hold- 72 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ing on to me I guessed that I was still thought to be the chief danger, and that they had no suspicion of Tiler's existence. I laughed in my sleeve, but not the less did I rage and storm when Jules l'Echelle came with the Colonel to release me. "You shall pay for this," I cried hotly. "As for you, l'Echelle, it shall cost you your place, and I'll take the law of you, Colonel Annesley; I'll get damages and you shall an- swer for your illegal action." "Pfui!" retorted the Colonel. "Themis- chief you can do is nothing to what you might have done. We can Istand the racket. I've, bested you for the present — that's the chief thing, anyway. You can't persecute the poor lady any more." "Poor lady! Do you know who she is or was, anyway?" "Of course I do," he answered bold as brass. "Did she let on? Told you, herself? My word! She's got a nerve. I wonder she'd own to it after all she's done." "Silence!" he shouted, in a great taking. "If you dare to utter a single word against that lady, I'll break every bone in your body." "I'm saying nothing — it's not me, it's all 73 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS lieve the whole thing is a confounded lie! Ex- plain." "I owe you no explanations," I replied stiffly, "my duty is to my employers. I only account to them for my conduct. I am a confidential agent." He seemed impressed by this, for when he spoke again it was more quietly. But he looked me very straight in the eyes. I felt that he was still likely to give trouble. "Well, I suppose I cannot expect you to tell me things. You must go your own way and I shall go mine." "I should advise you to leave it, Colonel," I said, civilly enough. "I'm always anxious to conciliate and avoid unpleasantness. Give up the whole business; you will only burn your fingers.'' "Ah! How so?" "The law is altogether against you. It is a nasty job; better not be mixed up in it. Have you any idea what that woman — that lady," I corrected myself, for his eyes flashed, "has done?" "Nothing really wrong," he was warming up into a new burst of passion. "Tell that to the Courts and to the Judge 75 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS when you are prosecuted for contempt and charged as an accessory after the fact. How will you like that? It will take the starch out of you." "Rot! The law can't do us much harm. The only person who might make it disagree- able is Lord Blackadder, and I snap my fingers at him." "The Earl of Blackadder? Are you mad! He is a great personage, a rich and powerful nobleman. You cannot afford to fight him; he will be too strong for you. He has been made the victim of an abominable outrage, and will spare no effort, no means, no money to recover his own." "Lord Blackadder is a cad — a cruel, cow- ardly ruffian. I know all about him and what has happened. It would give me the greatest pleasure to kick him down the street. Fail- ing that, I shall do my best to upset and spoil his schemes, and so you know." I smiled contemptuously. "A mere Colonel against an Earl! What sort of a chance have you? It's too absurd." "We shall see. Those laugh longest who laugh last." By this time our talk was done, for we were 76 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS approaching Lucerne, and I began to think over my next plans. All must depend on what I heard there — upon what news, if any, came from Ludovic Tiler. So on my arrival I made my way straight to the telegraph-office in the corner of the great station, and on showing my card an envelope was handed to me. It was from Tiler at Basle, and ran as follows: '' They have booked through by 7.30 a. m., via Brienne, Lausanne to Brieg, and I suppose the Simplon. I shall accompany. Can you join me at either end — Brieg or Domo Dos- sola? The sooner the better. Wire me from all places along the route, giving your move- ments. Address me in my train No. 70." The news pointed pretty clearly to the pas- sage of the Alps and descent into Italy by another route than the St. Gothard. I had my Bradshaw in my bag, and proceeded at once to verify the itinerary by the time-table, while I drank my early coffee in the restaurant upon the station platform. I was most anxious to join hands with Tiler, and quickly turned over the leaves of my railway guide to see if it was possible, and how it might best be managed. My first idea was to retrace my steps to 77 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Basle and follow him by the same road. But I soon found that the trains would not fit in the very least. He would be travelling by the one fast train in the day, which was due at Brieg at four o'clock in the afternoon. My first chance, if I caught the very next train back from Lucerne, would only get me to Brieg by the eleven o 'clock the following morn- ing. It was not good enough, and I dismissed the idea forthwith. Then I remembered that by getting off the St. Gothard railway at Goe- schenen I should strike the old Furka diligence route by the Devil's Bridge, Hospenthal, and the Rhone Glacier, a drive of fifty miles, more or less, but at least it would get me to Brieg that same night by 10 or 11 o'clock. Before adopting this line I had to consider that there was a risk of missing Tiler and his quarry; that is to say, of being too late for them; for the lady might decide to push on directly she reached Brieg, taking a special carriage extra post as far as the Simplon at least, even into Domo Dossola. She was pre- sumably in such a hurry that the night jour- ney would hardly deter her from driving over the pass. Tiler would certainly follow. By 78 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the time I reached Brieg they would be half- way across the Alps, and I must take the same road, making a stern chase, proverbially the longest. I turned my attention, therefore, to the Ital- ian end of the carriage road, and to seeing how and when I could reach Domo Dossola, the al- ternative suggestion made by Tiler. There would be no difficulty as to that, and I found I could be there in good time the same eve- ning. I worked it out on the tables and it looked easy enough. Leave Lucerne by the St. Gothard railway, pass Goeschenen, and go through the tunnel down the Italian side as far as Bellizona. Thence a branch line would take me to Lo- carno and into touch with the steamboat serv- ice on Lake Maggiore. There was a fixed con- nection according to the tables, and I should land at Pallanza within a short hour's drive of the line to Domo Dossola. I could be estab- lished there by nightfall and would command the situation. Every carriage that came down the Simplon must come under my eye. There could be no doubt that the Bellizona- Locarno Lake line was the preferable one, and I finally decided in favour of it. I closed my 79 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Bradshaw with a bang, replaced it in my bag, drank up my coffee, and started for the tele- graph office. I meant to advise Tiler of my plans, and at the same time arrange with, him to look out for me just outside the terminus station at Domo Dossola, or to communicate with me there at the Hotel de la Poste. On coming out I ran up against the last per- son I wished to see. It was the Colonel, who greeted me with a loud laugh, and gave me a slap on the back. "Halloa, my wily detective," he said mock- ingly; "settled it all quite to your satisfac- tion? Done with Bradshaw — sent off your wires? Well, what's the next move?" "I decline to hold any conversation with you," I began severely. "I beg you will not intrude upon my privacy. I do not desire your acquaintance." "Hoity toity!" he cried. "On your high horse, eh? Aren't you afraid you may fall off or get knocked off?" and he raised his hand with an ugly gesture. "We are not alone now in a railway car- riage. There are police about, and the Swiss police do not approve of brawling," I replied, with all the dignity I could assume. 80 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Come, Falfani, tell me what you mean to do now," he went on in the same tone. "Your questions are an impertinence. I do not know you. I do not choose to know you, and I beg you will leave me alone." "Don't think of it, my fine fellow. I'm not going to leave you alone. You may make up your mind to that. Where you go, I go; what you do, I shall do. We are inseparables, you and I, as much united as the Siamese twins. So I tell you." "But it's monstrous, it's not to be tolerated. I shall appeal for protection to the authori- ties." "Do so, my friend, do so. See which will get the best of that. I don't want to swagger, but at any rate all the world knows pretty well who I am; but what shall you call yourself, Mr. Falfani?" "I have my credentials from my employers; I have letters, testimonials, recommendations from the best people." "Including the Earl of Blackadder, I pre- sume? I admit your great advantages. Well, try it. You may get the best of it in the long run, but you'll lose a good deal of time. I'm not in a hurry," he said with emphasis, and 81 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS promptly recalled me to my senses, for I real- ized that I could not fight him that way. It must be by stratagem or evasion. I must throw dust in his eyes, put him off the scent, mislead, befool, elude him somehow. How was I to shake him off now I saw that he was determined to stick to me? He had said it in so many words. He would not let me out of his sight; wherever I went he was coming too. The time was drawing on for the departure of the St. Gothard express at 9.8 a. m., and as yet I had no ticket. I had booked at Amiens as far as Lucerne only, leaving further plans as events might fall out. Now I desired to go on, but did not see how I was to take a fresh ticket without his learning my destination. He would be certain to be within earshot when I went up to the window. I was beginning to despair when I saw Cook's man, who was, as usual, hovering about to assist travellers in trouble, and I beckoned him to approach. "See that gentleman," I nodded towards the Colonel. "He wants you; do your best for him." And when the tourist agent pro- ceeded on his mission to be accosted, I fear 82 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS rather unceremoniously, I slipped off and hid out of sight. I felt sure I was unobserved as I took my place in the crowd at the ticket-window, but when I had asked and paid for my place to Locarno I heard, to my disgust, some one else applying for a ticket to exactly the same place, and in a voice that was strangely familiar. On looking round I saw Jules PEchelle, the sleeping-car conductor, but out of uniform, and with an amused grin on his face. "It seems that we are still to be fellow trav- ellers," he observed casually. "What is taking you to Lake Maggioret How about your service on the car?" I asked suspiciously. "I have business at Locarno, and have got a few days' leave to attend to it." I felt he was lying to me. He had been bought, I was sure. His business was the Colo- nel's, who had set him to assist in watching me. I had two enemies then to encounter, and I realized with some misgiving that the Colonel was not a man to be despised. 83 CHAPTER IX. T SECURED a place with difficulty; there -*- was rather a rush for the St. Gothard ex- press when it ran in. It was composed as usual of corridor carriages, all classes en suite, and I knew that it would be impossible to conceal the fact that I was on board the train. Within five minutes Jules had verified the fact and taken seats in the immediate neighbourhood, to which he and the Colonel presently came. '' Quite a pleasant little party!" he said in a bantering tone. "All bound for Locarno, eh? Ever been to Locarno before, Mr. Fal- fani? Delightful lake, Maggiore. Many ex- cursions, especially by steamer; the Borro- mean islands well worth seeing, and Baveno and Stresa and the road to the Simplon." I refused to be drawn, and only muttered that I hated excursions and steamers and lakes, and wished to be left in peace. "A little out of sorts, I'm afraid, Mr. Fal- fani. Sad that. Too many emotions, want of 84 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS their guard. Jules, like all in the same em- ployment, was always ready for forty winks, and I saw that he was sound and snoring just as we entered the last tunnel before reaching the entrance of the final great tunnel at Goe- schenen. I could not be quite sure of the Colo- nel, but his attitude was that of a man resting, and who had very nearly lost himself, if he had not quite gone off. Now was my time. If it was to be done at all it must be quickly, instantaneously almost. Fortunately we sat at the extreme end of a coach, in the last places, and besides we three there was only one other occupant in the com- partment of six. The fourth passenger was awake, but I made a bid for his good-will by touching my lips with a finger, and the next minute I was gone. I expected to hear the alarm given at my dis- appearance, but none reached my ears, as the train rattled past me with its twinkling lights and noisy road. I held myself close against the side of the tunnel in perfect safety, although the hot wind of the passing cars fanned my cheek and rather terrified me. The moment the train was well gone I faced the glimmer- ing light that showed the entrance to the tun- 86 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS nel at the further end from the station, and ran to it with all speed. I knew that my jump from the train could not pass unnoticed, and I counted on being fol- lowed. I expected that the tunnel would be explored by people from Goeschenen so soon as the train ran in and reported. My first ob- ject, therefore, was to quit the line, and I did so directly I was clear of the tunnel. I climbed the fence, dropped into a road, left that again to ascend the slope and take shelter among the rocks and trees. The pursuit, if any, was not very keen or long maintained. When all was quiet, an hour later I made for the highroad, the famous old road that leads through the Devil's Pass to Andermatt, three miles above. I altogether avoided the Goeschenen station, fearing any in- convenient inquiries, and abandoned all idea of getting the telegram from Tiler that might be possibly awaiting me. It did not much matter. I should be obliged now to send him fresh news, news of the changed plans that took me direct into Brieg; and on entering Andermatt I came upon the post-office, just where I wanted it, both to send my message and order an extra post carriage from Brieg. 87 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS It was with a sense of intense relief that I sank back into the cushions and felt that at last I was free. My satisfaction was abruptly destroyed. Long before I reached Hospenthal, a mile or so from Andermatt, I was disturbed by strange cries to the accompaniment of har- ness bells. "Yo-icks, Yo-icks, 6-o-ne away! " was borne after me with all the force of stentorian lungs, and looking round I saw to my horror a second carriage coming on at top speed, and beyond all question aiming to overtake us. Soon they drew nearer, near enough for speech, and the accursed Colonel hailed me. "Why, you cunning fox, so you broke cover and got away all in a moment! Lucky you were seen leaving the train, or we might have over- run the scent and gone on." I did not answer. "Nice morning for a drive, Mr. Falfani, and a long drive," he went on, laughing boister- ously. "Going all the way to Brieg by road, I believe? So are we. Pity we did not join forces. One carriage would have done for all three of us." Still I did not speak. 88 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "A bit ugly, eh? Don't fuss, man. It's all in the day's work." With that I desired my driver to pull up, and waved my hand to the others, motioning to them that the road was theirs. But when I stopped they stopped, and the Colonel jeered. When I drove on they came along too, laughing. We did this several times; and when at the two roads just through Hos- penthal, one by the St. Gothard, the other lead- ing to the Furka, I took the first for a short distance, then turned back, just to try my pur- suers. They still stuck to me. My heart sank within me. I was in this accursed soldier's claws. He had collared me, he was on my back, and I felt that I must throw up the sponge. "I gave you fair notice that you would not get rid of me, and by heaven you shall not," he cried fiercely, putting off all at once the lighter mockery of his tone. "I know what is taking you to Brieg. You think to find your confederate there, and you hope that, combined, the two of you will get the better of that lady. You sha'n't, not if I can prevent you by any means in my power; understand that, and look out for squalls if you try." I confess he cowed me; he was so strong, so 89 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS masterful, and, as I began to fear, so unscru- pulous, that I felt I could not make head against him. Certainly not alone. I must have Tiler's help, his counsel, countenance, ac- tive support. I must get in touch with him at the earliest possible moment and my nearest way to him, situated as I was now, must be at or through Brieg. So I resigned myself to my fate, and suf- fered myself to be driven on with my pertina- cious escort hanging on to me mile after mile of my wearing and interminable journey. We pulled up for luncheon and a short rest at the Furka; again in the afternoon at the Rhone Glacier. Then we pursued our way all along the valley, with the great snow peak of the Matterhorn in front of us, through village and hamlet, in the fast fading light, and so on under the dark but luminous sky into Munster, Fiesch, and Morel, till at length we rolled into Brieg about 11 p. m. I drove straight to the Hotel de la Poste, careless that my tormentors were accompany- ing me; they could do me no more harm, and Tiler was at hand to help in vindicating our position. There was no Tiler at the Hotel de la Poste; 90 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS no Tiler in Brieg. Only a brief telegram from him conveying unwelcome and astounding in- telligence. It had been despatched from Vevey about 2 p. m., and it said: "Lost her somewhere between this and Lau- sanne. Am trying back. Shall wire you again to Brieg. Wait there or leave address." My face must have betrayed my abject de- spair. I was so completely knocked over that I offered no opposition when the Colonel im- pudently took the telegram out of my hand and read it coolly. "Drawn blank!" he cried, unable to con- tain himself for joy. "By the Lord Harry, that's good." 91 CHAPTER X. [The Statement of the Second Detective, Ludovic Tiler.] I TRAVELLED via Ostend, Brussels and Strasburg, and was due at Basle from that side at 4.35 a. m. My instructions were to look out for Falfani there, and thought I might do so if our train was fairly punctual, as it was. We were " on time," and the an- swer to my first question was that the Lucerne express was still at the platform, but on the point of departure. I got one glimpse of Falfani and one word with him. He was in trouble himself; they had nipped him, caught him tight, and thrown him off the scent. I was now to take up the running. "You've got your chance now, Ludovic," he said hurriedly, as he leaned out of the carriage window. "I'm not jealous, as you often are, but it's deuced hard on me. Anyhow, stick to 92 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS her like wax, and keep your eyes skinned. She's got the wiles of the devil, and will sell you like a dog if you don't mind. Hurry now; you'll pick her up in the waiting-room or res- taurant, and can't miss her." He gave me the description, and I left him, promising him a wire at the telegraph office, Lucerne. He was right, there was no mistak- ing her. Few people were about at that time in the morning, and there was not a soul among the plain-headed, commonplace Swiss folk to compare with her, an English lady with her belongings. She was quite a beauty, tall, straight, lissom, in her tight-fitting ulster; her piquante-look- ing heather cap perched on chestnut curls, and setting off as handsome a face as I have ever seen. And I have seen and admired many, for I don't deny that I've a strong penchant for pretty women, and this was the pick of the bas- ket. It was rather a bore to be put on to her in the way of business; but why should I not get a little pleasure out of it if I could? I need not be disagreeable; it might help matters and pass the time pleasantly, even if in the end I might have to show my teeth. I saw her looking me over as I walked into 93 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS particular train for which she would be sum- moned. When at length an official unlocked the door and announced the train for Biel, Neuchatel, Lausanne, and Brieg, she got up to take her seat, and I had no longer any doubt as to the direction of her journey. So as I saw her go, I slipped back to the ticket-office and took my place all the way to Brieg, the furthest point on the line. This was obviously my best and safest plan, as I should then be ready for anything that happened. I could get out anywhere, wherever she did, in fact. After getting my ticket I found time to telegraph to Falfani at Lucerne, giving him my latest news, and then proceeded to the train. I found the lady easily enough, and got into the same carriage with her. It was one of those on the Swiss plan, with many compart- ments opening into one another en suite. Al- though the seat I chose was at a discreet dis- tance, I was able to keep her in view. I was wondering whether it would be possible for me to break the ice and make her acquaint- ance, when luck served me better than I dared to hope. One of the Swiss guards of the train, a surly, overbearing brute, like so many others of his class, accosted her rudely, and from his 95 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS gestures was evidently taking her to task as to the number and size of her parcels in the net above. He began to shift them, and, despite her indignant protests in imperfect German, threw some of them on the floor. This was my opportunity. I hurried to the rescue, and, being fluent in German as in several other languages — it is part of my stock in trade — I sharply reproved the guard and called him an unmannerly boor for his cow- ardly treatment of an unprotected lady. My reward was a sweet smile, and I felt encour- aged to hazard a few words in reply to her cordial thanks. She responded quickly, readily, and I thought I might improve the occasion by politely inquiring if I could be of any further service to her. "Perhaps you can tell me, you see I am strange on this line," she answered with a per- fectly innocent air, " do you happen to know at what time we are due at Lausanne?" "Not to the minute," I replied. "I have a railway guide in my bag, shall I fetch it?" "No, no, I should not like to give you so much trouble." '' But it will be no trouble. Let me fetch my bag." 96 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS narily bad mismanagement. It is a slow train the next, and we are a special express. But you will have a clear half-hour to spare at Lau- sanne. That will be enough, I presume? Lau- sanne at 12 noon, and we go on at half-past." "You, too, are going beyond Lausanne?" "Possibly, I am not quite sure. It depends upon my meeting friends somewhere on the lake, either there or further on. If they come on board we shall run on to Brieg so as to drop over the Alps to Lake Maggiore by the Simplon route." I threw this out carelessly but with deliberate intention, and the shot told. A crimson flush came over her face and her hands trembled violently. I had not the smallest doubt that this was her plan also. She was bound to cross over into Italy, that we knew, or our employers firmly believed it, and as she had been driven off the St. Gothard by Falfani she had now doubled back by Switzerland to make the journey to Brieg and across the mountains by road. I had scored as I thought, but I forgot that in gaining the knowledge I had betrayed my own intentions, and put her upon her guard. I was to pay for this. 98 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Oh, really," she said quietly and with po- lite interest, having entirely recovered her composure. '' I dare say a very pleasant drive. How long does it take, have you any idea, and how do you travel?" "It is about nine hours by diligence," I said, consulting the Bradshaw, "and the fare is forty francs, but by private carriage or extra post a good deal more." "May I look?" and I handed her the book, "although I never could understand Brad- shaw," she added pleasantly. "I shall be very pleased to explain if you are in doubt," I suggested; but she declined laughingly, saying it would amuse her to puz- zle out things, so I left her the book and com- posed myself into a corner while the train rat- tled on. I mused and dozed and dreamily watched her pretty face admiringly, as she pored over the pages of the Guide, little think- ing she was perfecting a plan for my undoing. The first stop was at Biel or Bienne, its French name, and there was a halt of ten min- utes or more. I made my way to the telegraph office in the station, where to my great satis- faction I found a message from Falfani, in- forming me that he should make the best of 68793A 99 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS his way to Brieg, unless I could suggest some- thing better. The answer I despatched at once to Goesche- nen was worded as follows: "Declares she is going to Montreux only. Believe untrue. Still think her destination Brieg. Come on there anyhow and await further from me. May be necessary to join forces." We were in accord, Falfani and I, and in communication. I was well satisfied with what we were doing, and on receiving the second and third tele- grams at Neuchatel and Yverdun I was all the more pleased. At last we were nearing Lau- sanne, and I looked across to my lady to pre- pare her for getting out. I had no need to attract her attention, for I caught her eyes fixed on me and believe she was watching me furtively. The smile that came upon her lips was so pleasant and sweet that it might have overjoyed a more conceited man than myself. "Are we near then? Delightful! I never was so hungry in my life," and the smile ex- panded into a gay laugh as she rose to her feet and was ready to leave the carriage. "I'm afraid you will have to wait, Philpotts, we cannot leave that," she pointed to the child nestling sound asleep by her side. "But I ioo THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS will send or bring you something. This gentle- man will perhaps escort me to the refreshment- room." I agreed, of course, and saying, " Only too charmed," I led the way — a long way, for the restaurant is at the far end of the platform. At last we sat down tete-a-tete and prepared to do full justice to the meal. Strange to say, despite her anticipations, she proved to have very little appetite. "I must have waited too long," she said, as she trifled with a cutlet. "I shall perhaps like something else better," and she went carefully through the whole menu, so that the time slipped away, and we were within five minutes of departure. "And poor dear Philpotts, I had quite for- gotten her. Come and help me choose," and in duty bound I gallantly carried the food back to the train. I walked ahead briskly, and making my way to the places where we had left the maid and child, jumped in. They were gone, the two of them. Every- thing was gone, rugs, bags, belongings, people. The seats were empty, and as the compartment IOI THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS was quite empty, too, no one could tell me when they had left or where they had gone. I turned quickly round to my companion, who was, I thought, following close at my heels, and found to my utter amazement that she also had disappeared. 102 CHAPTER XI. T710R the moment I was dazed and dum- -*- founded, but I took a pull on myself quickly. It was a clever plant. Had they sold me completely? That was still to be seen. My one chance was in prompt action; I must hunt them up, recover trace of them with all possible despatch, follow them, and find them wherever they might be. There was just the chance that they had only moved into another carriage, thinking that when I missed them I should get out and hunt for them in the station. To counter that I ran up and down the train, in and out of the carriages, questing like a hound, searching everywhere. So eager was I that I neglected the ordinary warnings that the train was about to start; the guard's fertig ("ready"), the sounding horn, the answering engine whistle, I overlooked them all, and we moved on before I could descend. I made as though to jump off hastily, but was prevented. 103 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Was ist das? Nein, nein, verboten." A hand caught me roughly by the collar and dragged me back. It was the enemy I had made in championing my lady, the guard of the train, who gladly seized the chance of be- ing disagreeable to me. I fought hard to be free, but by the time I had shaken him off the speed had so increased that it would have been unsafe to leave the train. I had no choice but to go on, harking back as soon as I could. Fortunately our first stop was within five and twenty minutes, at Vevey; and there in ten minutes more I found a train back to Lausanne, so that I had lost less than an hour and a half in all. But much may happen in that brief space of time. It was more than enough for my fugi- tives to clear out of the Lausanne station and make some new move, to hide away in an out- of-the-way spot, go to ground in fact, or travel in another direction. My first business was to inquire in and about the station for a person or persons answering to the parties I missed. Had they separated, these two women, for good and all? That was most unlikely. If the maid had gone off first, I had to consider whether they would not again 104 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS engaged to convey passengers and baggage up into the town of Lausanne, and had deposited their fares at various hotels and private resi- dences, but no one had driven any party an- swering to those of whom I was in search. This practically decided the point that my lady had not left the station in a carriage or openly, if she had walked. But that she had not been observed did not dispose of the ques- tion. They were dull, stupid men, these, only intent on their own business, who would pay little attention to humble persons on foot show- ing no desire to hire a cab. I would not be baffled thus soon in my quest. A confidential agent who will not take infinite pains in his researches had better seek some other line of business. As I stood there in front of the great station belonging to the. Jura-Simplon, I saw facing me a small facade of the Gare Sainte Luce, one of the intermediate stations on the Ficelle or cable railway that connects Ouchy on the lake with Lausanne above. It was not a hundred yards distant; it could be easily and quickly reached, and without much observation, if a person waited till the immediate neighbourhood had been cleared by the general exodus after the arrival of the chief 106 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS express of the day. There were any number of trains by this funiculaire — at every half- hour indeed — and any one taking this route could reach either Lausanne or Ouchy after a very few minutes' journey up or down. To extend my investigation on that side was of obvious and pressing importance. I was only too conscious of my great loss of time, now at the outset, which might efface all tracks and cut me off hopelessly from any clue. I was soon across and inside the Sainte Luce station, but still undecided which direction I should choose, when the little car arrived go- ing upward, and I ran over to that platform and jumped in. I must begin one way or the other, and I proceeded at once to question the conductor, when he nicked my ticket, only to draw perfectly blank. "Have I seen two ladies and a child this morning? But, grand Dieu, I have seen two thousand. It is idiote to ask such questions, monsieur, of a busy man." "I can pay for what I want," I whispered gently, as I slipped a five-franc piece into his hand, ever mindful of the true saying, Point d'argent, point de Suisse; and the bribe en- tirely changed his tone. 107 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS it A lady, handsome, tall, distinguished, comme il faut, with a companion, a servant, a nurse carrying a child?" He repeated my de- scription, adding, "Parfaitement, I saw her. She was not one to forget quickly." "And she was going to Lausanne!" "Ma foi, yes, I believe so; or was it to Ouchy?" He seemed overwhelmed with sud- den doubt. "Lausanne or Ouchy? Up or down? Twenty thousand thunders, but I can- not remember, not—" he dropped his voice —" not for five francs." I doubled the dose, and hoped I had now suf- ficiently stimulated his memory or unloosed his tongue. But the rascal was still hesitating when we reached the top, and I could get noth- ing more than that it was certainly Lausanne, "if," he added cunningly, "it was not Ouchy." But he had seen her, that was sure — seen her that very day upon the line, not more than an hour or two before. He had es- pecially admired her; dame! he had an eye for the beau sexe; and yet more he noticed that she talked English, of which he knew some words, to her maid. But whether she was bound to Lausanne or Ouchy, "diable, who could say?" 108 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I had got little in return for my ten francs expended on this ambiguous news, but now that I found myself actually in Lausanne I felt that it behoved me to scour the city for traces of my quarry. She might not have come here at all, yet there was an even chance the other way, and I should be mad not to follow the threads I held in my hand. I resolved to in- quire at all the hotels forthwith. It would take time and trouble, but it was essential. I must run her to ground if possible, fix her once more, or I should never again dare to look my employers in the face. I was ashamed to con- fess to Falfani that I had been outwitted and befooled. I would send him no more telegrams until I had something more satisfactory to say. I was now upon the great bridge that spans the valley of the Flon and joins the old with the new quarter of Lausanne. The best hotels, the Gibbon, Richemont, Falcon, Grand Pont, and several more, stood within easy reach, and I soon exhausted this branch of the inquiry. I found a valet de place hanging about the Gibbon, whose services I secured, and in- structed him to complete the investigation, ex- tending it to all the minor hotels and pensions, some half-dozen more, reserving to myself the 109 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS terminus by the great station, which I had overlooked when leaving for the Ficelle or cable railway. I meant to wait for him there to hear his report, but at the same time I took his address — Eugene Falloon, Rue Pre Fleuri — where I could give him an appointment in case I missed him at the terminus. He was a long, lean, hungry-looking fellow, clumsily made, with an enormous head and misshapen hands and feet; but he was no fool this Fal- loon, and his local knowledge proved exceed- ingly useful. On entering the car for the journey down I came upon the conductor who had been of so little use to me, and I was about to upbraid him when he disarmed me by volunteering fresh news. "Ah, but, monsieur, I know much better now. I recollect exactly. The lady with her people certainly went down, for I have seen a porter who helped her with her effects from the line to the steamboat pier at Ouchy." "And on board the steamer? Going in which direction?" I asked eagerly. "He shall tell you himself if I can find him when we reach the terminus. It may not be easy, but I could do it if" no THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Another and a third five-franc piece solved his doubts, and I abandoned my visit to the terminus hotel to seize this more tangible clue, and proceeded at once to the lake shore. m THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Were they carrying anything, either of them?" I inquired. "Yes, when I saw them first they had much baggage. It was for that they summoned me. Handbags, sacs de nuit, rugs, wrappers, bon- net-boxes, many things, like all travellers." "And you noticed nothing big, no parcel for which they were particularly concerned?" "They were anxious about everything, and worried me about everything, but about no one thing especially that I can remember." This did not tally with my own observation and the extreme care taken of the child in the woman's arms. I began to believe that my friend was a humbug and could tell me noth- ing of his own knowledge. "What time was it?" I went on. "Some hours ago. I did not look at the clock." "But you know by the steamers that arrive. You men must know which are due, and when they pass through." "Come, come, Antoine," broke in the con- ductor, determined to give him a lead, "you must know that; there are not so many. It would be about 2 p. m., wouldn't it, when the 113 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS express boat comes from Vevey and Bou- veret?" "Yes, I make no doubt of that," said the man, with a gleam of intelligence upon his stolid face. "And the ladies went on board it, you say! Yes? You are sure?" "It must have been so; I certainly carried their traps on board." "Now, are you quite positive it was the two o'clock going that way, and not the quarter past two returning from Geneva?" I had my Bradshaw handy, and was following the time- table with my fingers. "The 2.15?" The gleam of light went out entirely from his stolid face. "I have an idea you are right, sir. You see the two boats come in so near each other and lie at the same pier. I could easily make a mistake between them." "It is my firm belief," I said, utterly dis- gusted with the fellow, "my firm belief that you have made a mistake all through. You never saw the ladies at all, either of you." I turned upon the conductor with a fierce scowl. '' You are a rank humbug; you have taken my money under false pretences. I've a precious 114 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Law and order are not to be lightly trifled with in Switzerland, least of all in the Canton de Vaud. I had been taken in the very act of committing a savage assault upon an official in the execution of his duty, which is true to the extent that every Swiss official conceives it to be his duty to outrage the feelings and tyrannize over inoffensive strangers. The police of Lausanne showed me little con- sideration. I was not permitted to answer the charge against me, but was at once consigned to a cell, having been first searched and de- spoiled of all my possessions. Among them was my knife and a pocket revolver I generally carried, also my purse, my wallet with all my private papers, and my handbag. Both wallet and handbag were locked; they demanded the keys, thinking I had them hidden on my per- son, but I said they could find them for them- selves, the truth being the locks were on a patent plan and could be opened with the fin- gers by any one who knew. This secret I chose to retain. When alone in my gloomy prison, with lei- sure to reflect more calmly on my painful posi- tion, I realized what an ass I had been, and I vented my wrath chiefly on myself. But it 116 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS was idle to repine. My object now was to go free again at the earliest possible moment, and I cast about to see how I might best compass it. At first I was very humble, very apologetic. I acknowledged my error, and promised to do anything in my power to indemnify my victim. I offered him any money in reason, I would pay any sum they might fix, pay down on the nail and give my bond for the rest. My gaolers scouted the proposal indignantly. Did I think justice was to be bought in Swit- zerland? It was the law I had outraged, not an individual merely. Besides — money is all powerful in this venal country — how could I pay, a poor devil like me, the necessary price? what could I produce in cash on the nail? My bond would not be worth the paper it was written on. No, no, there was no chance for me; nothing could save me. I must go before the correc- tional police and pay in person for my offence. I might expect to be punished summarily, to be sent to gaol, to be laid by the heels for a month or two, perhaps more. Such a brutal assault as mine would be avenged handsomely. Now I changed my tactics. I began to blus- 117 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ter. I was a British subject and claimed to be treated with proper respect. I appealed to the British Consul; I insisted upon seeing him. When they laughed at me, saying that he would not interfere with the course of justice on be- half of such an unknown vagabond, I told them roundly that I was travelling under the special protection of the British Minister for Foreign Affairs, the illustrious Marquis of Lansdowne. Let them bring me my wallet. I would show them my passport bearing the Royal Arms and the signature of one of H. M. Secretaries of State. All of us in the employ of Messrs. Becke invariably carried Foreign Office pass- ports as the best credentials we could produce if we were caught in any tight place. The greeting of so great a personage to his trusty and well beloved Ludovic Tiler had a very marked effect upon my captors. It was en- hanced by the sight of a parcel of crisp Bank of England notes lying snugly in the pocket of the wallet, which I had opened, but with- out betraying the secret of the spring. When I extracted a couple of fivers and handed them to the chief gaoler, begging him to do the best for my comfort, the situation changed consid- erably, but no hopes were held out for my 118 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS immediate release. I was promised dinner from a restaurant hard by, and was permitted to send a brief telegram to Falfani, to the ef- fect that I was detained at Lausanne by un- foreseen circumstances, but no more. Then bedding was brought in, on which, after a night in the train, I managed to sleep soundly enough until quite late next morning. I had summoned Eugene Falloon to my as- sistance, and he was permitted to visit me quite early, soon after the prison had opened. He was prompt and practical, and proceeded to perform the commissions I gave him with all despatch. I charged him first to telegraph to England, to our office, briefly stating my quandary, begging them to commend me to some one in Lausanne or Geneva, for Becke's have friends and correspondents in every city of the world. He was then to call upon the British Consul, producing my passport in proof of my claim upon him as a British sub- ject in distress, and if necessary secure me legal advice. I had been warned that I might expect to be examined that very day, but that several were likely to elapse before the final disposal of my case. All that forenoon, and quite late into the 119 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS next day, I was left brooding and chafing at my misfortune, self-inflicted I will confess, but not the less irksome to bear. I had almost per- suaded myself that I should be left to languish here quite friendless and forgotten, when the luck turned suddenly, and daylight broke in to disperse my gloomy forebodings. Several vis- itors came, claiming to see me, and were pres- ently admitted in turn. First came the Con- sul, and with him an intelligent Swiss advocate, who declared he would soon put matters right. It would only be a question of a fine, and bind- ing me over to good behaviour on bail. Could I find bail? That was the only question. And while we still discussed it we found amongst the callers a respectable and well-to-do watch- maker from Geneva, who had been entreated (no doubt from Becke's) to do all that was needful on my behalf. I might be of good cheer; there was no reasonable doubt but that I should be released, but hardly before next day. A second night in durance was not much to my taste, but I bore it with as much resignation as I could command; and when next morning I appeared before the Court, I paid my fine 120 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS of one hundred francs with hearty good-will. I assured my bail, the friendly watchmaker, that he need not have the smallest fear I should again commit myself. 121 CHAPTER Xm. "l/TY spirits rose with my release, but there -".*. was still more than freedom to encourage my light-heartedness. I heard now and defi- nitely of my fugitive lady. Falloon had come upon undoubted evidence that she had never left the great Jura-Simplon station, but had remained quietly out of sight in the " ladies' waiting-room" until the next train left for Geneva. This was at 1.35 p. m., and she must have slipped away right under my eyes into the very train which had brought me back from Vevey. So near are the chances encountered in such a profession as ours. Falloon had only ascertained this positively on the second day of my detention, but with it the information that only two first-class tickets, both for Geneva, had been issued by that train. To make it all sure he had taken the precaution to ask at all the stations along the line at which the train had stopped, seven in number, and had learned that no persons 122 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS answering to my ladies had alighted at any of them. So my search was carried now to Geneva, and it might be possible to come upon my people there, although I was not oversan- guine. I knew something of the place. I had been there more than once, had stayed some time, and I knew too well that it is a city with many issues, many facilities for travelling, and, as they had so much reason for moving on rapidly, the chances were that they would have already escaped me. However, with Falloon I proceeded to Ge- neva without delay, and began a systematic search. We made exhaustive inquiries at the Cornavin station, where we arrived from Lau- sanne, and heard something. The party had certainly been seen at this very station. Two ladies, one tall, the other short, with a baby. They had gone no further then; they had not returned to the station since. So far good. But there was a second station, the Gare des Vollondes, at the oppo- site end of the city, from which ran the short line to Bouveret on the south shore of the lake, and I sent Falloon there to inquire, giving him a rendezvous an hour later at the Cafe de la Couronne on the Quai du Lac. Meanwhile I 123 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS meant to take all the hotels in regular order, and began with those of the first class on the right bank, the Beau Rivage, the Russie, de la Paix, National, Des Bergues, and the rest. As I drew blank everywhere I proceeded to try the hotels on the left bank, and made for the Pont de Mont Blanc to cross the Rhone, point- ing for the Metropole. Now my luck again greatly favoured me. Just as I put my foot upon the bridge I saw a figure approaching me, coming from the op- posite direction. I recognized it instantly. It was the lady herself. She must have seen me at the very same moment, for she halted dead with the abrupt- ness of one faced with a sudden danger, an opened precipice, or a venomous snake under foot. She looked hurriedly to right and left, as if seeking some loophole of escape. At that moment one of the many electric trams that overspread Geneva with a network of lines came swinging down the Rue de Mont Blanc from the Cornavin station, and slackened speed at the end of the bridge. My lady made up her mind then and there, and as it paused she boarded it with one quick, agile spring. 124 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS With no less prompt decision I followed her, and we entered the car almost simultaneously. There were only two seats vacant and, curi- ously enough, face to face. I took my place, not ill pleased, for she had already seen me, and I was anxious to know how my sudden re- appearance would affect her. It was clear she did not relish it, or she would not have turned tail at our unexpected meeting. I had not long to wait. She chose her line at once, and without hesitation addressed me, smiling and unabashed. Her self-possession, I had almost said her effrontery, took me quite aback. "Surely I am not mistaken?" she began quite coolly. "Have I not to thank you for your courtesy in the train a couple of days ago?" I stammered a halting affirmative. "I am afraid you must have thought me very rude. I ran off without a word, didn't I? The truth was my child had been suddenly taken ill and the nurse had to leave the train hurriedly. She had only just time to catch me and prevent me from going on. I am sorry. I should have liked to say good-bye." "Make no apologies, I beg," I hastened to 125 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS say courteously. But in my heart I trembled. What could this mean? Some fresh trick? She was so desperately full of guile! "But I thought you were bound for the other end of the lake," she continued. "Do you make a long stay at Geneva?" "No. Do you?" I retorted. "Probably. I begin to like the place, and I have found very comfortable quarters at the Hotel Cornavin, near the station. You may know it." Could this be really so? Her perfect frank- ness amazed me. I could not credit it, much less understand it. There was surely some pit- fall, some trap concealed for my abounding credulity. "I also propose to stay some days, but am not yet established." I made so bold as to suggest that I had a great mind to try her Hotel Cornavin. "Why not?" she replied heartily. "The accommodation is good, nice rooms, civil peo- ple, decent cuisine. It might suit you." She could not possibly have been more civil and gracious. Too civil by half, a more cau- tious man might have told himself. The tram-car by this time had run through 126 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS had hastily effaced myself in a doorway) plunged into the entrance of a small unpre- tending hotel in a quiet, retired square — the Hotel Pierre Fatio, certainly not the Cornavin. The door in which I had taken shelter was that of a dark third-rate cafe well suited to my purpose, and well placed, for I was in full view of the Hotel Pierre Fatio, which I was resolved to watch at least until my lady came out again. As I slowly absorbed an absinthe, revolving events past and to come, I thought it would be well to draw Falloon to me. It was past the hour for our meeting. I scribbled three lines of a note and de- spatched it to the Cafe de la Couronne by a messenger to whom I fully described my col- league's appearance, desiring him to show the addressed envelope before delivery, but having no doubt that it would reach its destination. Presently Falloon joined me, and as my lady had as yet made no sign, I bade him continue the watch, while I left the cafe openly and os- tentatiously, so that it might be seen by any one curious to know that I had given up the game. Far from it. I designed only to try the Hotel Cornavin to ascertain the real facts; 128 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS and if, as I shrewdly suspected, I had been fooled, to return forthwith and rejoin Falloon at the true point of interest, taking such further steps as might seem desirable. I was chiefly anxious to regain touch and combine forces with Falfani. There was no mistake, however, at the Cor- navin Hotel. I had not been fooled. I was told directly I asked at the bureau that a Mrs. Blair, accompanied by her maid and child, was staying in the house. Could I see her? If monsieur would send up his card, it should be given her on her return. She was not at home for the moment. (I knew that.) Would mon- sieur call again? I was slow to congratulate myself on what seemed a point gained, for I had still my mis- givings, but I would make the most of the chances that offered to my hand. I secured a room at the Cornavin Hotel, and bespoke an- other for Falfani, whom I should now summon at once. With this idea I took the earliest op- portunity of telegraphing to him as follows: "Detained by unfortunate contretemps at Lausanne, happily surmounted, clue lost and 129 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS regained. Desire your cooperation. Come in- stantly, Hotel Cornavin. She is here. "Ludovic." I noted the time of despatch, 4.17 p. m. It would surely reach Falfani before the last train left Brieg coming my way, and I hardly trusted myself to anticipate the comfort and relief his appearance would bring me. Combined we could tie ourselves to our quarry, and never let her out of sight until our principals could take over and settle the business. Then hailing a cab, I drove to a point close by where I had left Falloon, and found the situation entirely unchanged. No one had come out of the Hotel Pierre Fatio. Mrs. Blair was paying a very long call, and I could not understand it. All the time I was haunted with a vague and ever present idea that she meant to sell me. The more I tortured my brain to consider how, the less I was able to fathom her intentions. The time ran on, and I thought it would be prudent to return to my own hotel. Mrs. Blair might have given us the slip, might have left by some other issue, and I felt that my place was at the Cornavin, where at least I knew 130 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS she was staying. Falloon should stand his ground where he was, but I fully impressed upon him the importance of the duty entrusted to him. I blessed my stars that I so decided. Mrs. Blair had not returned when the table d'hote bell rang at the Cornavin, but I had hardly swallowed the first spoonful of soup when Fal- loon appeared, hot and flurried, with very startling news. "Elle se sauve. She is saving herself; she is running away," he cried. "Already her carriage enters the station — without doubt she seeks the train for somewhere." I jumped up, rushed from the room, caught up my hat, and hurried across the Square of Place Cornavin into the station. It was a clear case of bolt. There she was ahead of me, quite unmistakable, walking quickly, with her fine upright figure clad in the same pearl gray ulster she had worn in the tram-car. She passed through the open doors of the waiting- room on to the platform where the train was waiting with engine attached. "The 7.35 for Culoz and beyond by Ambe- rieu to Paris," I was informed on inquiry. "A double back," I concluded on the spot. 131 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS She had had enough of it, and was going home again. In another minute or two she would have eluded me once more. My only chance now lay in prompt action. I, too, must travel by this train. To secure a ticket and board it was soon done. I chose a carriage at no great distance from that she had entered; a through carriage to Macon, and which I was resolved to watch closely, but yet I did not mean to show myself to its occu- pants if it could be helped. As we were on the point of starting, I scrib- bled a few lines on a leaf torn from my pocket- book to inform Falfani of my hasty departure and the reason for it. This I folded carefully and addressed to him, entrusting it to Falloon, who was to seek out my colleague at the Hotel Cornavin after the arrival of the late train from Brieg, and deliver it. At the same time I handed Falloon a substantial fee, but de- sired him to offer his services to Falfani. I saw no more of the lady. She did not show at Bellegarde when the French Customs' examination took place, nor yet at Culoz, and I believed she was now committed to the jour- ney northward. But as I was dozing in my place and the train slowed on entering Am- 132 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS berieu, the guard whom I had suborned came to me with a hurried call. "Monsieur, monsieur, you must be quick. Madame has descended and is just leaving the station. No doubt for the Hotel de France, just opposite." There she was indeed with all her belong- ings. (How well I knew them by this time!) The maid with her child in arms, the porter with the light baggage. I quickened my pace and entered the hotel almost simultaneously with her. Ranging up alongside I said, not without exultation: "Geneva was not so much to your taste, then? You have left rather abruptly." "To whom are you speaking, sir?" she re- plied in a stiff, strange voice, assumed, I felt sure, for the occasion. She was so closely veiled that I could not see her face, but it was the same figure, the same costume, the same air. Lady Blackadder that was, Mrs. Blair as she now chose to call herself, I could have sworn to her among a thousand. "It won't do, madame," I insisted. "I'm not to be put off. I know all about it, and I've got you tight, and I'm not going to leave go again. No fear." *33 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I meant to spend the night on guard, watch- ing and waiting till I was relieved by the ar- rival of the others, to whom I telegraphed without delay. 134 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS One of us, l'Echelle or myself, continually watched him all that day, the third of this curious imbroglio into which I was plunged. At night I took the strong and unjustifiable measure of locking him into his room. When he discovered it next morning he was furious, and came straight at me open-mouthed. "I'll appeal to the law, I'll denounce you to the authorities, I'll charge you with persecu- tion and with false imprisonment. You shall be arrested. I'll be rid of you somehow, you shall not stay here, you shall leave Brieg." "With all my heart — when you do. Have I not told you that already? Where you go I go, where you stay I stay." "But it is most monstrous and abominable. I will not submit to it. You have no sort of right to act in this way. Why is it?" "You can guess my reasons, surely. Only it is not for your beaux yeux; not because I like you. I loathe and detest you. You are a low, slimy spy, who richly deserves to be thrashed for bullying a lady." "I'll have you to know, sir, that I am fully entitled to act as I am doing," he said with a consequential air. "I am the representative of a court of law; I have great people at my l37 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS back, people who will soon bring you to book. Wait a little, we shall see. You'll sing a very poor song when you have to do with a noble- man. The Right Honourable the Earl of Black- adder will arrive shortly. I hope this very afternoon. You can settle it with him, ah! How do you like that, eh?" I laughed him to scorn. "Psha, man, you're an ass. I've told you before now what I think of Lord Blackadder, and if it be necessary I'll tell him to his face when he gets here." This conversation took place just before the table-d'hote luncheon, and immediately after- wards Falfani went out in the direction of the railway station. I followed, keeping him in sight on the platform, where, by and by, I saw him, hat in hand, bowing obsequiously before a passenger who alighted from the incoming train. It would have been enough for me had I not already known Lord Blackadder by sight. They walked back together to the hotel, and so, at a certain distance, did I. I was lounging about outside the house, won- dering what would happen next, when a waiter came out to me bearing a card, which he ten- 138 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS dered, bowing low, more in deference to the card, as I thought, than to me. "Earl of Blackadder" was the name en- graved, and written just below in pencil were the words, "would like to speak to Colonel Annesley at once." "Well, I've no objection," I began, stiffly. I thought the summons a trifle too peremptory. "Where is he?" The waiter pointed back to the hotel, and I saw a white, evil face glowering at me from a window on the ground floor of the hotel. The very look on it stirred my bile. It was an as- sumption of superiority, of concentrated pride and exaggerated authority, as though every one must yield to his lightest wish and humble himself in the dust before him. I resented this, and slipping the card carelessly in my pocket, I nodded to the waiter, who still stood awaiting my reply. "Will monsieur come?" he asked. "No. Tell his lordship he will find me here if he wants me. That will do," and I waved him off. Soon afterwards Lord Blackadder came out. Mahomet came to the mountain. I liked his face less than ever. It wore an angry scowl 139 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS please, my lord, and, if you like, as loud as you please, only be quick about it." "With all my heart, then, if you will have it so. I wish to tell you, Colonel Annesley, that you have taken a most unwarrantable liberty in mixing yourself up with my affairs." "lam not aware that I have done so." "You shall not trifle with me, sir. Your conduct is inexcusable, ungentlemanlike." "Take care, my lord," I broke in hotly. "People who forget themselves so far as you have done must accept the responsibility of their own actions; and I tell you, here and now, that I shall call you to strict account for yours." The man was trying me hard, but still I strove to keep my temper. "I don't care that for your opinion, and I do not allow that you are a judge of what is gentlemanlike. No one would do so who had read the public prints lately." "How dare you, sir, refer to my conduct, or presume to criticize or question it?" he burst out. "Ta, ta, ta! It is a real pleasure to me to tell you what I think of you, Lord Blackadder; 141 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS my — my — property, of that which I most highly value and cherish of all my posses- sions?" "I don't know what you are talking about, Lord Blackadder, but whatever your grievance I tell you candidly that I do not like your tone or your manner, and I shall hold no further converse with you." I turned my back on him and walked away. "Stay, stay. You must and shall hear me out. I've not done with you." He came hur- rying after me, following close and raising his voice higher and higher. "Your very pres- ence here is an offence. You have no right to be here at all." "Do you think that you own all Switzer- land, my noble earl?" I answered over my shoulder as I walked on. "It is not your ground to warn me off." "I tell you you shall not remain here to annoy me and work against me. I forbid it, and I will put a stop to it. I give you plain warning." "You know you are talking nonsense. I shall go my own road, and I defy you to do your worst." Here, when I was on the threshold of the 143 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS hotel, I met Falfani full, as he came running out excitedly, holding in his hand the telltale blue envelope, which, with his elated air, indi- cated clearly that he had just received im- portant news. I paused for a moment, hoping he might commit himself, and was rewarded by hearing him say aloud: "It is from Geneva, my lord, from Ludovic Tiler," he began indiscreetly, and was angrily silenced by my lord, who called him " a triple- dyed idiot," and with a significant gesture towards me bade him walk away to some dis- tance from the hotel. The mischief was done, however, for I had of course heard enough to know that the other detective had given signs of life at last, and that the report, to judge by Falfani's glee, must be satisfactory. The more pleased the other side, the more reason to fear that mat- ters were adverse on ours. 144 CHAPTER XV. TT might be thought that I was too hard on -*- my Lord Blackadder, but only those few indeed who were unacquainted with the cir- cumstances of his divorce would find fault with me. The scandal was quite recent, and the Blackadder case had been in everybody's mouth. The papers had been full of it, and the proceedings were not altogether to his lord- ship's credit. They had been instituted by him, however, on grounds that induced the jury to give him a verdict, and the judge had pro- nounced a decree nisi on the evidence as it stood. Yet the public sympathies were generally with the respondent, the Countess of Black- adder. It had been an unhappy marriage, an ill-assorted match, mercenary, of mere con- venience, forced upon an innocent and rather weak girl by careless and callous guardians, eager to rid themselves of responsibility for the two twin sisters, Ladies Claire and Hen- 145 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS riette Standish, orphans, and with no near re- lations. Lord Blackadder was immensely rich, but a man of indifferent moral character, a roue and a voluptuary, with a debilitated constitution and an unattractive person, possessing none of the gifts that take a maiden's fancy. Estrangement soon followed the birth of the son and heir to his title and great estates. My lord was a great deal older than his beau- tiful young wife, and desperately jealous of her. Distrust grew into strong suspicion, and presently consumed him when an old flame of Lady Henriette's, Charlie Forrester, of the Dark Horse, turned up from foreign service, and their names came to be bracketed together by the senseless gossiping busybodies ever ready to tear a pretty woman's reputation to tatters. It was so much put about, so con- stantly dinned into Lord Blackadder's ears, that he was goaded into a perfect fury, and was at length determined, by hook or by crook, to put away his wife, leaving it to certain astute and well-practised solicitors to manu- facture a clear, solid case against her. Lady Blackadder, who hated and despised her lord, foolishly played into his hands. She 146 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS never really went wrong, so her friends stoutly averred, especially her sister Claire, a staunch and loyal soul, but she gave a handle to innu- endo, and more than once allowed appearances to go against her. There was one very awkward story that could not be disproved as it was told, and in the upshot convicted her. It was clearly shown in evidence that she had made up her mind to leave Lord Blackadder; more, that she meant to elope with Major Forrester. It was said, but not so positively, that she had met him at Victoria Station; they were seen there together, had travelled by the same train, and there was a strong presumption that they had arrived together at Brighton; one or two rail- way officials deposed to the fact. Lady Blackadder denied this entirely, and gave a very different complexion to the story. She had gone to Brighton; yes, but quite alone. Major Forrester had seen her off, no doubt, but they had parted at the carriage door. Her visit to Brighton had been for the purpose of seeing and staying with an old servant, once a very confidential maid for whom she had a great liking, and had often taken refuge with when worried and in trouble. She thought, H7 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS perhaps, to make this the first stage in the rup- ture with my lord. This maid had earnestly adjured her not to break with her husband, and to return to Grosvenor Square. This flight was the head and corner-stone of Lady Blackadder's offending. It was inter- preted into guilt of the most heinous kind; the evidence in support of it seemed overwhelming. Witnesses swore positively to the companion- ship of Major Forrester, both at Victoria and Brighton, and it was to be fairly assumed that they were at the latter place together. No rebutting evidence was forthcoming. The maid, a woman married to an ex-French or Swiss courier, by name Bruel, could not be produced, simply because she could not be found in Brighton. They were supposed to be settled there as lodging-house keepers, but they had not resided long enough to be in the Direc- tory, and their address was not known. Lord Blackadder's case was that they were pure myths, they had never had any tangible exist- ence, but were only imported into the case to support an ingenious but untenable defence. It was more than hinted that they had been spirited away, and they were not the first ma- 148 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS terial witnesses, it was hinted, in an intricate case, conducted by Messrs. Gadecker and Go- bye, who had mysteriously disappeared. So the plausible, nay, completely satisfactory ex- planation of Lady Blackadder's visit to Brigh- ton could not be put forward, much less estab- lished, and there was no sort of hope for her. She lost her case in the absence of the Bruels, man and wife. The verdict was for Lord Blackadder, and he was adjudged to have the care and custody of the child, the infant Vis- count Aspdale. I had not the smallest doubt when I realized with whom I had to do that the unhappy mother had made a desperate effort to redress her wrongs, as she thought them, and had somehow contrived to carry off her baby be- fore she could be deprived of it. I had met her in full flight upon the Enga- dine express. What next? Was she to be overtaken and despoiled, legally, of course, but still cruelly, separated from her own flesh and blood? The Court might order such an unnatural proceed- ing, but I was moved by every chivalrous im- pulse to give her my unstinting and unhesitat- ing support to counteract it. 149 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I was full of these thoughts, and still firmly resolved to help Lady Blackadder, when l'Echelle, the conductor whose services I still retained, sought me out hurriedly, and told me that he believed the others were on the point of leaving Brieg. "I saw Falfani and milord poring over the pages of the Indicateur, and heard the word Geneva dropped in a whisper. I think they mean to take the next train along the lake shore." "Not a doubt of it," I assented; "so will we. They must not be allowed to go beyond our reach." When the 6.57 p. m. for Geneva was due out from Brieg, we, l'Echelle and I, appeared on the platform, and our intention to travel by it was made plain to Lord Blackadder. The ef- fect upon him was painfully manifest at once. He chafed, he raged up and down, grimacing and apostrophizing Falfani; once or twice he approached me with clenched fists, and I really thought would have struck me at last. Seeing me enter the same carriage with him, with the obvious intention of keeping him under my eye, he threw himself back among the cushions and 150 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS yielded himself with the worst grace to the inevitable. The railway journey was horribly slow, and it must have been past 11 p. m. before we reached Geneva. We alighted in the Cornavin station, and as they moved at once towards the exit I followed. I expected them to take a car- riage and drive off, and was prepared to give chase, when I found they started on foot, evi- dently to some destination close at hand. It proved to be the Cornavin Hotel, not a stone's- throw from the station. They entered, and went straight to the bu- reau, where the night clerk was at his desk. I heard them ask for a person named Tiler, and without consulting his books the clerk re- plied angrily: "Tiler! Tiler! Ma foi, he is of no account, your Tiler. He has gone off from the dinner- table and without paying his bill." "That shall be made all right," replied Lord Blackadder loftily, as he detailed his name and quality, before which the employe bowed low. "And might I ask," his lordship went on, "whether a certain Mrs. Blair, a lady with her child and its nurse, is staying in the hotel?" 151 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS to the clerk, "that Mrs. Blair is still in the hotel? When did you come on duty? What if she left without your knowing it?" "It could not be, milord. See, it is marked in the register. No. 17 is occupied. I could not let it. Mrs. Blair holds it still." "But she may not be in it, all the same. Can't you see? She may retain it, but not use it." "Look, my lord, look, there's one of her party, anyway," interposed Falfani, and he called his attention to a female figure standing a little aloof in the shadow of the staircase, and which I had already recognized. It was Philpotts, " Mrs. Blair's " maid, and she was trying to attract my attention. Lord Blackadder had not seen her, and now his eye, for the first time, fell upon me. He turned on me furiously. "You! You! Still at my heels? This is perfectly monstrous. It amounts to persecu- tion. You still dare to intrude yourself. Can I have no privacy? Take yourself off, or I will not answer for the consequences." I confess I only laughed and still held my ground, although my lord's outcry had at- tracted much attention. Several people ran 153 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS up, and they might have sided against me, when I heard a voice whisper into my ear: "Come, sir, come. Slip away. My lady is dying to see you. She is terribly upset." 154 CHAPTER XVI. T WAS received with great warmth and cor- -*- diality by my friend, and it was made clear to me that my opportune appearance brought her great comfort and support. "I never hoped for such good fortune as this," she began heartily. "I had no idea you were within miles, and was repining bitterly that I had let you get so far out of the way. Now you appear in the very nick of time, just when I was almost in despair. But wait. Can I still count upon your help?" "Why, most certainly, Lady Blackadder." "Lady Black "She was looking at me very keenly, and, as I thought, was much startled and surprised. Then with a conscious blush she went on. "Of course, I might have guessed you would penetrate my disguise, but you must not call me Lady Blackadder. I can lay no claim to the title." "May I be forgiven if I trench on such a delicate subject, and assure you of my most 155 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Lord Blackadder, not without a struggle. Yet he is very near getting it now." "In there?" I nodded towards the next room. "It is a close thing. How are you to manage it?" "There would not have been the slightest difficulty; it was all but done, and then some one, something, failed me. I expected too much perhaps, but I have been bitterly dis- appointed, and the danger has revived." "Come, come, Lady Blackadder, keep up your courage. Let us take counsel together. We can surely devise some fresh plan. Don't give way now; you have been so plucky all through. Be brave still." "Thank you, Colonel Annesley, I will." She put out her hand with enchanting frankness, her fine eyes shining gratefully. A man would have dared much, endured much, to win such gracious approval. "It is getting late, but you must hear all I have to tell before we can decide upon the next step. Will you listen to me? I shall not bore you. It is a long story. First let me clear the ground a little. I must disabuse your mind on one point. I am not Lady Blackadder — no, no, do not misunderstand me — not on account 157 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS of the divorce, but I never was Lady Black- adder. She was Henriette Standish. I am Claire, her sister Claire." "What a fool I've been!" I cried. "I might have guessed." "How should you? But let me go on. I shall never forget that detestable trial, those awful days in the Divorce Court, when the lawyers fought and wrangled over my darling sister, like dogs over a bone, tearing and snarl- ing at each other, while the judge sat above like a solemn old owl, never moving or making a sign. "Henriette positively refused to appear in the case, although she was pressed and en- treated by her legal advisers. She could have thrown so much light on the worst and darkest part. She could have repudiated the cowardly charges made, and cast back the lies drawn round her to ruin her. If the jury had but seen her pretty, pathetic face, and heard from her own sweet lips all she had endured, they would have come to a very different verdict. "But she would not come forward on her own behalf. She would not defend the action; she did not want to win it, but waited till it was all over, hiding herself away in a far-off corner 158 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS of the Apennines, where I was to join her with the child, little Ralph. "There had been no question of that; the possibility of her losing it had never been raised, or she would have nerved herself to fight sooner than give up what she valued more than her very life. "It fell upon me with crushing effect, al- though towards the end of the trial I had had my forebodings. Lord Blackadder was to have the custody of his heir, and my dear sweet Hen- riette was to be robbed for ever of her chiefest joy and treasure. The infant child was to be abandoned to strangers, paid by its unnatural and unfeeling father. "I had braced myself to listen to all that came out in court, a whole tissue of lies told by perjured wretches whose evidence was ac- cepted as gospel — one of them was the same Falfani whom you know, and who had acted the loathsome part of spy on several occa- sions. '' Directly the judge had issued his cruel fiat, I slipped out, hurried down-stairs into the Strand, jumped into a hansom, and was driven at top speed to Hamilton Terrace, bent upon 159 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS giving instant effect to a scheme I had long since devised. "I found my faithful Philpotts awaiting me with everything prepared as I had arranged. The dear baby was dressed quickly — he was as good as gold — the baggage, enough for my hurried journey to Fuentellato, had been packed for days past, and we took the road. "I knew that pursuit would not tarry, but I was satisfied that I had made a good start, and I hoped to make my way through to Italy without interference. When I first saw you at Calais I was seized with a terrible fear, which was soon allayed; you did not look much like a detective, and you were already my good friend when the real ruffian, Falfani, came on board the train at Amiens." [Lady Claire Standish passed on next to de- scribe her journey from Basle to Lausanne, and the clever way in ivhich she eluded the second detective — matters on which the reader has been already informed.] "On reaching Geneva I at once opened com- munications with Henriette. I felt satisfied, now that I had come so far, it would be well that she should join me, and that we should concert together as to our next proceedings. 160 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Our first and principal aim was to retain the child at all costs and against all comers. I had no precise knowledge as to where we should be beyond the jurisdiction of the English law, but I could not believe that the Divorce Court and its emissaries could interfere with us in a re- mote Italian village. My real fear was of Lord Blackadder. He was so bold and unscrupulous that, if the law would not help him, he would try stratagem, or even force. We should be really safe nowhere if we once came within his reach, and the best plan to keep out of his clutches was to hide our whereabouts from him. "Fuentellato would not do, for although I do not believe he knew the exact spot in which Henriette had taken refuge, he must have guessed something from the direction of my journey, and that I was on my way to join her. If he failed to intercept me en route, he would make his way straight there. I had resolved he should not find us, but where else should we go? Farther afield, if necessary to the very end of the world. Lord Blackadder, we might be sure, would hunt high and low to recover his lost heir, sparing no expense, neglecting no means. "It was, however, essential to elude his 161 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS agents, who were so near at hand and likely to press me close. That was another reason for drawing my sister to me. I had hit upon a cunning device, as I thought it, to confuse and deceive my pursuers, to throw them on to a false scent, lead them to follow a red herring, while the fox, free of the hunt, took another line." 162 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the station, but I thought it prudent that Hen- riette should lodge somewhere else, the farther the better, and she went to a small place, the Hotel Pierre Fatio, at the other end of the town. "It is a long story, Colonel Annesley, but there is not much more, and yet the most inter- esting part is to come. "We now devoted ourselves to the practical carrying out of the scheme, just we four women; our maids, both clever dressmakers, were of immense help. It was soon done. You can buy anything in Geneva. There are plenty of good shops and skilful workers, and we soon provided ourselves with the clothes, all the disguises really that we required — the long gray dust cloaks and soft hats and all the rest, so much alike that we might have been soldiers in the same regiment. Philpotts and Victorine, my sister's maid, were also made up on a similar pattern, and a second baby was built up as a dummy that would have deceived any one. "Everything was completed by this morn- ing, and I had settled that my sister, with her dear little Ralph, should get away, but by quite a new route, while I held my ground against 164 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS made friends with him, and advised him to come and stay at this hotel. Then I got out and left him, making my way to the Pierre Fatio Hotel by a circuitous route, dodging in and out among the narrow streets till I nearly lost myself. "I thought I had eluded him, and he cer- tainly was nowhere near when I went into the hotel. But I suppose he followed me, he must have, and found out something, for I know now that he went to Amberieu after Henri- ette" "You are perfectly sure?" "She has telegraphed to me from Ambe- rieu; I got it not an hour ago. The man ac- costed her, taking her for me. He would have it she was Mrs. Blair, and told her to her face that he did not mean to lose sight of her again. So you see '' "If she goes round by Lyons to Marseilles, then, he would be at her heels, and the scheme breaks down in that respect?" "Not only that, I don't see that he could interfere with her, or do her much harm, and at Marseilles she might change her plans en- tirely. There are ever so many ways of es- cape from a seaport. She might take ship and 166 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS embark on board the first steamer bound to the East, for India or Ceylon, the Antipodes or far Cathay." "Well, why not?" "Henriette, my sister, has given way. Her courage has failed her at this, the most critical moment, when she is within a hair's breadth of success. She is afraid to go on alone with little Ralph, and is running back to me by the first train to-morrow morning, at five or six o'clock." "Coming here? Into the very mouths of all the others!" "Just so, and all my great scheme will be ruined. They cannot but find out, and there is no knowing what they may do. Lord Black- adder, I know, is capable of anything. I as- sure you, Colonel Annesley, I am in despair. What can I do?" She looked at me in piteous appeal, the tears brimming over, her hands stretched towards me with a gesture at once pathetic and en- chanting. "Say, rather, what can we do, Lady Claire," I corrected her. "This is my business, too, if you will allow me to say so, and I offer you my advice for what it is worth." 167 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Yes, I will take it thankfully, I promise you." "The only safe course now is the boldest. You must make another exchange with your sister, Lady Blackadder '' "Call her Lady Henriette Standish. She has dropped the other entirely." "By all means. Lady Henriette then has determined to take the first train from Ambe- rieu at Have you a Bradshaw? Thank you — at 5.52 a. m., which will get her to Culoz at 6.48. You must, if possible, exchange babies, and at the same time exchange roles. I feel sure that you, at any rate, are not afraid of going to Marseilles with the real baby." "Hardly!" she laughed scornfully. "But Henriette — what is to become of her?" "That shall be my affair. It is secondary, really. The first and all-important is for you to secure the little Ralph and escape with him. It will have to be done under the very eyes of the enemy, for there is every reason to fear they will be going on, too. The other detec- tive, this Tiler — I have heard them call him by that name — will have told them of her lady- ship's movements, and will have summoned them, Falfani at least, to his side." 168 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "If I go on by that early train they will, no doubt, do the same. I must not be seen by them. They would fathom the trick of the two parties and the exchange." "Yet you must go on by that train. It's the only way." "Of course I might change my appearance a little, but not enough to deceive them. Can- not I go across to the station before them and hide in some compartment specially reserved for us?" "It might be managed. We might secure the whole of the seats." "Money is no object." "It will do most things, especially in Swit- zerland. Leave it to me, Lady Claire. All you have to do is to be ready to-morrow morning, very early, remember. Before 5 a. m." "If necessary I'll sit up all night." "Well, then, that's settled. I'll knock at your door and see you get some coffee." "Philpotts shall make it; no one in the hotel must know. There will be the bill." •" I will see to that. I'll come back after you're ensconced, with the blinds drawn. Sick lady on the way, via Culoz to Aix-les-Bains, must not be disturbed. It won't matter my 169 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS being seen on the road, all the better really if my lord is there, for I have a little plan of my own, Lady Claire — no, please don't ask me yet — but it will help matters, I think." "You are, indeed, my true and faithful friend," she said, as she put out her hand and wished me good night. She left it in mine for just a second, and I flattered myself that its warm pressure was meant to assure me that I had established a substantial claim to her regard. 170 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "I've no objection to your taking his money if you will tell me something. How long does my lord mean to stay here? Have you any idea?" "They all go on by the early train to Culoz or farther. A pressing telegram has come from their man at Amberieu." "Ah! Indeed. Then you may say that I am also going by that early train. They're not going to shake me off very easily. Tell them that, and that if they want the lady they 'd better look for her. She isn't here." I lied in a good cause, for a lady, as a gentle- man is bound to do. I shall be forgiven, I think, under the circumstances. The free use of coin had the desired effect at the railway station. Soon after 5 a. m. I was met at a private door and escorted, with my precious party, by a circuitous route to where the 5.48 was shunted, waiting the moment to run back to the departure platform. There was a coupe ready for Lady Claire, and she took her place quietly, observed by no one but the obsequious official who had managed it all. As for me, I walked boldly to the hotel and hung about the hall till the Blackadder party appeared and had left for the station. Then 172 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I asked the hotel clerk for Lady Claire's bill, paid it, with my own, and went over to the train, selecting a compartment close to the coupe. As I passed it I knocked lightly on the window pane, giving a signal previously arranged between us. I do not think that Lord Blackadder saw me then, at the start. But at Bellegarde, the Swiss frontier, where there was a wait of half an hour for the Customs examination, an irritat- ing performance always, but carried out here with the most maddening and overbearing par- ticularity, every one was obliged to alight from the train, and for the moment I trembled for Lady Claire. But the appeal addressed to the French brigadier, "un galant homme," of an invalid lady, too ill to be disturbed, was effec- tual, especially when backed by two five-franc pieces. Lord Blackadder was on the platform with the rest, and directly he saw me he came up with the same arrogant air, curiously blended with aggrieved helplessness. "This will end badly, Colonel Annesley. I give you fair warning. I shall appeal to the authorities. We shall be on French soil di- rectly, and I know something of French law. 173 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ing up the platform in great haste to where she stood. Had any doubt remained, it would have been removed by the appearance of a man who ran out from some back part of the station and waved them forward with much gesticula- tion. Here I interposed, and, rushing forward with all the ardour of a football player entering a scrimmage, I took Lord Blackadder by the throat and shook him. 177 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS great heat. "A rank villain; one who out- rages all decency, breaks every law, respects no rank—" "Bus, bus," cried the Colonel, in some lan- guage of his own, as he put me aside so roughly that I still feel the pain in my shoul- der. "That'll do, my fine fellow. Let me speak for myself, if you please. Pardon, M. le brigadier," he went on, saluting him politely. "Here is my card. I am, as you will perceive, an officer of the English army, and I appeal to you as a comrade, for I see by your decora- tions, no doubt richly deserved, that you are an ancien militaire. I appeal to you for justice and protection." "Protection, forsooth!" I broke in, con- temptuously. "Such as the wolf and the tiger and the snake expect from their victim." It made me sick to hear him currying favour with the gendarme, and still worse that it was affecting the old trooper, who looked on all as pekins, mere civilians, far inferior to military men. "Protection you shall have, mon Colonel, if you have a right to it, bien entendu," said the sergeant, civilly but cautiously. "I ask it because these people have made a 180 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS dead set at me. They have tried to hustle me and, I fear, to rob me, and I have been obliged to act in my own defence." Before I could protest against this shame- less misrepresentation of the fact, my lord interposed. He was now free, and, gradually recovering, was burning to avenge the insults put upon him. "It is not true," he shouted. "It is an abso- lute lie. He knows it is not true; he is per- fectly well aware who I am, Lord Blackadder; and that he has no sort of grievance against me nor any of my people. His attack upon me was altogether unprovoked and unjustifi- able." "Let the authorities judge between us," calmly said the Colonel. "Take us before the station-master, or send for the Commissary from the town. I haven't the slightest objec- tion." "Yes, yes, the Commissaire de police, the judge, the peace officer. Let us go before the highest authorities; nothing less than arrest, imprisonment, the heaviest penalties, will sat- isfy me," went on my lord. "With all my heart," cried the Colonel. ""We'll refer it to any one you please. Lead 181 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS on, mon brave, only you must take all or none. I insist upon that. It is my right; let us all go before the Commissary." "There is no Commissary here in Culoz. You must travel to Aix-les-Bains to find him. Fifteen miles from here." "Well, why not? I'm quite ready," as- sented the Colonel, with an alacrity I did not understand. I began to think he had some game of his own. "So am I ready," cried his lordship. "I desire most strongly to haul this hectoring bully before the law, and let his flagrant mis- conduct be dealt with in a most exemplary fashion." I caught a curious shadow flitting across my comrade Tiler's face at this speech. He evi- dently did not approve of my lord's attitude. Why? I met his eye as soon as I could, and, in answer to my inquiring glance, he came over to me and whispered: "Don't you see? He," jerking his finger toward the Colonel, "wants us to waste as much time as possible, while my lady slips through our fingers and gets farther and far- ther on her road." 182 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Where is she?" "Ah, where? No longer here, anyway." The train by which we had come from Ge- neva was not now in the station. It had gone on, quite unobserved by any of us during the fracas, and it flashed upon me at once that the incident had been planned for this very pur- pose of occupying our attention while she stole off. "But, one moment, Ludovic, that train was going to Macon and Paris. My lady was trav- elling the other way — this way. You came with her yourself. Why should she run back again?" '' Ah! Why does a woman do anything, and particularly this one? Still there was a rea- son, a good one. She must have caught sight of my lord, and knew that she was caught." "That's plausible enough, but I don't un- derstand it. She started for Italy; what turned her back when you followed her, and why did she come this way again?" "She only came because I'd tracked her to Amberieu, and thought to give me the slip," said Tiler. "May be. But it don't seem to fit. Any- way, we've got to find her once more. It ought 183 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS not to be difficult. She's not the sort to hide herself easily, with all her belongings, the nurse and the baby and all the rest. But hold on, my lord is speaking." "Find out, one of you," he said briefly, "when the next train goes to Aix. I mean to push this through to the bitter end. You will be careful, sergeant, to bring your prisoner along with you." "Merci bien! I do not want you or any one else to teach me my duty," replied the gen- darme, very stiffly. It was clear that his sym- pathies were all with the other side. "A prisoner, am I?" cried the Colonel, gaily. "Not much. But I shall make no dif- ficulties. I am willing enough to go with you. When is it to be?" "Nine fifty-one; due at Aix at 10.22," Tiler reported, and we proceeded to pass the time, some twenty minutes, each in his own way. Lord Blackadder paced the platform with feverish footsteps, his rage and disappoint- ment still burning fiercely within him. The Colonel invited the two gendarmes to the buvette, and l'Echelle followed him. I was a little doubtful of that slippery gentleman; al- though I had bought him, as I thought, the 184 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Why, then, Tiler asked, had she gone to Amberieu, running back as she had done with him at her heels? To deceive him, of course, I retorted. Was it not clear that her real point was Italy? Why else had she returned to Culoz by the early train directly she thought she had eluded Tiler? The reasoning was cor- rect, but Ludovic was always a desperately obstinate creature, jealous and conceited, tena- cious of his opinions, and holding them far superior to those who were cleverer and more intelligent than himself. Then we heard the whistle of the approach- ing train, and we all collected on the platform. L'Echelle, as he came from the direction of the buwette, was a little in the rear of the Colonel and the gendarmes. I caught a look on his face not easy to interpret. He was grinning all over it and pointing toward the Colonel with his finger, derisively. I was not inclined to trust him very greatly, but he evi- dently wished us to believe that he thought very little of the Colonel, and that we might count upon his support against him. 186 CHAPTER XX. HERE were seven of us passengers, more than enough to fill one compartment, so we did not travel together. My lord very lib- erally provided first-class tickets for the whole of the party, but the Colonel took his own and paid for the gendarmes. He refused to travel in the same carriage with the noble Earl, say- ing openly and impudently that he preferred the society of honest old soldiers to such a crew as ours. L'Echelle, still sitting on the hedge, as I fancied, got in with the Colonel and his escort. On reaching Aix-les-Bains, we found the omnibus that did the service de la ville, but the Colonel refused to enter it, and declared he would walk; he cared nothing for the deg- radation of appearing in the public streets as a prisoner marching between a couple of gen- darmes. He gloried in it, he said; his desire was clearly to turn the whole thing into ridi- cule, and the passers-by laughed aloud at this 187 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS well-dressed gentleman, as he strutted along with his hat cocked, one hand on his hip, the other placed familiarly on the sergeant's arm. He met some friends, too, — one was a per- son rather like himself, with the same swag- gering high-handed air, who accosted him as we were passing the corner of the square just by the Hotel d'Aix. "What ho! Basil my boy!" cried the stranger. "In chokey? Took up by the police? What've you done? robbed a church?" "Come on with us and you'll soon know. No, really, come along, I may want you. I'm going before the beak and may want a witness as to character." "Right oh! There are some more of us here from the old shop — Jack Tyrrell, Bobus Smith — all Mars and Neptune men. They'll speak for a pal at a pinch. Where shall we come?" "To the town hall, the mairie," replied the Colonel, after a brief reference to his escort. "I've got a particular appointment there with Monsieur le Commissaire, and the Right Honourable the Earl of Blackadder." "Oh! 4;hat noble sportsman? What's 188 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS wrong with him? What's he been doing to you or you to him?" "I punched his head, that's all." "No doubt he deserved it; anyhow, Charlie Forrester will be pleased. By-by, you'll see me again, and all the chaps I can pick up at the Cercle and the hotels near." Then our procession passed on, the Colonel and gendarmes leading, Tiler and I with l'Echelle close behind. We found my lord awaiting us. He had driven on ahead in a fiacre and was standing alone at the entrance to the police office, which is situated on the ground floor of the Hotel de Ville, a pretty old-fashioned building of gray stone just facing the Etablissement Thermale, the home of the far-famed baths from which Aix-les-Bains takes its name. "In here?" asked my lord; and with a brief wave of his hand he would have passed in first, but the officers of the law put him rather rudely aside and claimed precedence for their prisoner. But when M. le Commissaire, who was there, seated at a table opposite his greffier, rose and bowed stiffly, inquiring our business, my lord 189 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS pushed forward into the front and began very warmly, in passable French: "I am an aggrieved person seeking jus- tice on a wrong-doer. I — demand justice of you" "Pardon, monsieur, je vous prie. We must proceed in order, and first allow me to assure you that justice is always done in France. No one need claim it in tbe tone you have assumed." The Commissary was a solemn person, full of the stiff formality exhibited by members of the French magistracy, the juniors espe- cially. He was dressed in discreet black, his clean-shaven, imperturbable face showed over a stiff collar, and he wore the conventional white tie of the French official. "Allow me to ask "he went on coldly. "I will explain in a few words," began my lord, replying hurriedly. "Stay, monsieur, it is not from you that I seek explanation. It is the duty of the officers of the law now present, and prepared, I pre- sume, to make their report. Proceed, ser- geant." "But you must hear me, M. le Commissary; I call upon and require you to do so. I have 190 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS waist, then once more turned interrogatively to the sergeant: "It is nothing very serious, M. le Coin- missaire," said the treacherous gendarme. "A simple brawl — a blow struck, possibly returned — a mere rixe." "Between gentlemen? Fi done! Why the commonest voyous, the rodeurs of the bar- Here, could not do worse. It is not our French way. Men of honour settle their disputes dif- ferently; they do not come to the police cor- rectionnelle." "Pray do not think it is my desire," broke in the Colonel, with his customary fierceness. "I have offered Lord Blackadder satisfaction as a gentleman, and am ready to meet him when and how he pleases." "I cannot listen to you, sir. Duels are in contravention of the Code. But I recommend you to take your quarrels elsewhere, and not to waste my time." "This is quite unheard of," cried my lord, now thoroughly aroused. "You are shame- fully neglecting your duty, M. le Commissaire, and it cannot be tolerated." "I am not responsible to you, sir, and will account for my action a qui de droit, to those 192 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Then, suddenly muttering something about "bounders " and " cads," he forced his way through and hurried off, shouting his parting instructions to us to join him as soon as pos- sible at the Hotel Hautecombe on the hill. We followed quickly, and were ushered at once into his private apartment. It was es- sential to confer and decide upon some plan of action; but when I asked him what he pro- posed to do next, he received my harmless request with a storm of invective and reproach. '' You miserable and incompetent fools! Don't expect me to tell you your business. Why do I pay you? Why indeed? Nothing you have done has been of the very slightest use; on the contrary, through your beastly mismanagement I have been dragged into this degrading position, held up to ridicule and contempt before all the world. And with it all, the whole thing has failed. I sent you out to recover my child, and what have you done? What has become of that abominable woman who stole it from under your very noses? Blackguards! Bunglers! Idiots! Fat-headed asses!" "Nay, my lord," pleaded Tiler humbly, for I confess I was so much annoyed by this un- 194 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS deserved reprimand I could not bring myself to speak civilly. "I think I can assure your lordship that matters will soon mend. The situation is not hopeless, believe me. You may rely on us to regain touch with the fugi- tives without delay. I have a clue, and with your lordship's permission will follow it at once.'' I saw clearly that he was set upon the ab- surd notion he had conceived that the lady had gone westward, and I felt it my duty to warn the Earl not to be misled by Tiler. "There is nothing in his clue, my lord. It is pure assumption, without any good evidence to support it." "Let me hear this precious clue," said his lordship. "I will decide what it is worth." Then Tiler propounded his theory. "It might be good enough," I interjected, "if I did not know the exact contrary. The lady with her party was seen going in exactly the opposite direction. I know it for a fact." "And I am equally positive of what I saw," said Tiler. His lordship looked from one to the other, plainly perplexed and with increasing anger. "By the Lord Harry, it's pleasant to be 195 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS view his lordship looked at me approvingly. He quite changed his tone and dropped his aggressive manner. "I believe you are entirely right, Falfani, and cordially agree with your suggestion," he said with great heartiness. "Let it be adopted at once. Take immediate steps, if you please, to set a close watch on this pes- tilent villain Annesley; keep him continually under your eye." "We've got to find him first," objected Tiler gruffly and despondently. "It ought not to be difficult, seeing that he was here half an hour ago, and we can hunt up l'Echelle, who will surely know, and who I have reason to hope is on our side." "Do it one way or another. I look to you for that, and let me know the result without loss of time. Then we will confer again and arrange further. Leave me now." I accepted my dismissal and moved towards the door, but Tiler hung behind, and I heard him say timidly: "May I crave your lordship's pardon — and I trust you rely on my entire devotion to your lordship's service — but there is one thing I most earnestly desire to do." 197 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Go on." "And that is to follow my own clue, at least for a time. It is the right one I firmly believe, and I am satisfied it would be wrong, criminal even to neglect it. Will you allow me to ab- sent myself if only for a few days? That should suffice to settle the point. If I fail I will return with all speed. If, as I hope and believe, I strike the scent, assuredly you will not regret it." "There's something in what you say. At any rate that line ought to be looked up," said his lordship. "I am willing to wait a day or two until you return or report, or unless some- thing more definite turns up in the other direc- tion. I suppose he can be spared, Falfani?" "He will be no manner of use here, it will be better to let him go; let him run after his red herring, he'll precious soon find out his mistake." "We shall see," said Tiler, elated and cock- sure, and I freely confess we did see that he was not quite the fool I thought him. 198 CHAPTER XXI. /^iN leaving his lordship I descended to the ^^ grand entrance to the hotel with the intention of beating up the Colonel's quarters in Aix. Although the hotels were certain to be crowded at this, the height of the season, the town is not really large, the visitors' lists are well posted with new arrivals, and there are one or two public places where people al- ways turn up at some time or other in the day. The cercle or casino and its succursale the Villa des Fleurs, with their many spacious rooms, reading-room, concert-room, baccarat- room, their restaurants, their beautiful gar- dens, are thronged at all hours of the day with the smart folk of all nationalities. I stood on the top of the steps waiting for the private omnibus that plies between the hotel and the town below, when I heard my name called from behind, and turning, was confronted by Jules l'Echelle. 199 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Hullo!" I cried, eying him suspiciously. "What brings you up here?" "The Colonel, my master — for I have taken service with him, you must know — sent me here to inquire whether we could have rooms." "Why does he choose this hotel of all others?" I asked in a dissatisfied tone, al- though in my secret heart I was overjoyed. "It's the best, isn't it? Haven't you come here?" "My Lord Blackadder has, but that's an- other pair of shoes. There's some difference between him and a beggarly half-pay Colonel who will very likely have to black the boots to work out his bill. They know how to charge here.'' "The Colonel, I take it, can pay his way as well as most people. Anyhow, he's coming to stop here." "For any time?" "Likely enough. He said something about going through the course, taking the baths, and among the rest asked me to find out the best doctor." "That'll mean a lengthened stay; three weeks at least." 200 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Well, why shouldn't he? He's his own master." "Then he's finished with that foolish busi- ness about the lady; had enough of it, I sup- pose; burnt his fingers and done no earthly good." "How do I know? It's not my business; but I fancy I have fallen into a snug berth, a soft job, better than making beds in a sleeping- car and being shaken to death in express trains.'' "Good wages, if it's a fair question?" "Fifty francs a week, pour tout potage." I looked at him hard, revolving in my mind how best to approach him. L'Echelle was a Swiss, and with most of his sort it is only a question of price. How much would it take to buy him? "Well, how have you fared? Have you succeeded in getting your rooms? Will your Colonel move up?" "What would his lordship say? Wouldn't like it much, J expect. Shall I prevent it? It will be easy to say there are no rooms. I'll do just as you please." "You're very obliging." 20I THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the Colonel's doing, his game from day to day, read his letters, and tell us their contents; spy on his actions, watch him at every turn, his comings and his goings; the houses he calls at, the people he meets, every move he makes or has in view?" "If I promise to do all that will you prom- ise not to give me away? You'll keep your own counsel and protect me from the Colonel? If he got a whisper I was selling him I'd lose my place and he'd half kill me into the bar- gain." "Not a soul shall know but my lord and myself. I must consult him, or you won't get the money." "But there is that other chap, the one who joined us at Culoz, and who was with you at the Commissariat, a new face to me. One of your own party, wasn't he?" "To be sure, Tiler; he's on the job, too, came out when I did from London. But he's gone, left us half an hour ago." "For good and all? Sacked, dropped out, or what?" '' Gone to follow up a game of his own. He thinks he knows better than any one else; be- lieves the lady has harked back, and is follow- 203 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS ing her to Amberieu, Macon, Paris, England perhaps. God knows where. It's a wild goose chase, of course; but my lord leans to it, and so it is to be tried." "You don't agree?" "How can I when I'm satisfied he's wrong? She was seen in the express for Modane, mak- ing for the Mont Cenis tunnel. Of course that's the true direction. She was aiming for Italy from the first; the other sister, the di- vorced lady, is there; we've always known that. Go back to England! Bah! absolute rot. I'd stick to my opinion against fifty fools like Tiler." "It's a bargain, then; I can count upon the cash? How soon shall you know? I'd like to begin at once; there's something I would tell you here, and now, that would interest you very much. But money down is my rule." "Let me run up and. ask his lordship. I won't keep you five minutes." My lord gave his consent a little grudgingly, but was presently persuaded that it was to his own advantage to have a spy in the heart of the enemy's camp. That was soon seen when l'Echelle had pocketed his notes and gave us the news in exchange. 204 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Now that I'm my lord's man I don't mind telling you that the Colonel does not mean to stay long in Aix, not one minute longer than till the call comes." "He expects a call?" "Assuredly. He wants you to think he's a fixture here, but he means to cut and run after my lady whenever she sends to him. He'll be off then faster than that," he snapped his fingers, "and you won't find it easy to catch him." "That's good. You'll be well worth your money, I can see. Only be diligent, watch closely, and keep us fully informed. We shall trust very greatly to you." "Your trust shall not be misplaced. When I take an employer's pay I serve him faithfully and to the best of my power," he said with an engaging frankness that won me completely. Lord! Lord! what liars men are and what fools! I might have guessed how much reli- ance was to be placed upon a man who, to my certain knowledge, was serving two masters. Why should he be more faithful to my lord than to the Colonel! 205 CHAPTER XXII. rPHE rest of the first day at Aix passed with- -*- out any important incident. I was a trifle surprised that the Colonel did not put in an appearance; but it was explained by PEchelle, whom I met by appointment later in the day. I understood from him that the Colonel had decided to remain down in the town, where he had many friends, and where he was more in the thick of the fun. For Aix-les-Bains, as every one knows, is a lively little place in the season, and the heart and centre of it all is the Casino. The Colonel had established himself in a hotel almost next door, and ran up against me continually that afternoon and evening, as I wandered about now under the trees listening to the band, now at the baccarat table, where I occasionally staked a few jetons of the smaller values. He never failed to meet my eye when it rested on him; he seemed to know intuitively when I watched him, and he always looked 206 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS back and laughed. If any one was with him, as was generally the case — smart ladies and men of his own stamp, with all of whom he seemed on very familiar terms — he invariably drew their attention to me, and they, too, laughed aloud after a prolonged stare. It was a little embarrassing; he had so evidently dis- closed my business, in scornful terms no doubt, and held me up to ridicule, describing in his own way and much to my discredit all that had happened between us. Once he had the ef- frontery to accost me as I stood facing the green board on which the telegrams are ex- posed. "Where have we met?" he began, with a mocking laugh. "I seem to know your face. Ah, of course, my old friend Falfani, the pri- vate detective who appeared in the Blackadder case. And I think I have come across you more recently." "I beg you will not address yourself to me. I don't know you, I don't wish to know you," I replied, with all the dignity I could assume. "I decline to hold any conversation with you," and I moved away. But several of his rowdy friends closed 207 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS around me and held me there, compelled to listen to his gibes as he rattled on. "How is his lordship? Well, I hope. None the worse for that little contretemps this morn- ing. May I ask you to convey to him my deep regrets for what occurred, and my sincere wishes for his recovery? If there is anything I can do for his lordship, any information I can give him, he knows, I trust, that he can command me. Does he propose to make a lengthened stay here?" '' His lordship — "I tried vainly to inter- rupt him. "Let me urge him most strongly to go through the course. The warm baths are truly delightful and most efficacious in calming the temper and restoring the nerve-power. He should take the Aix treatment, he should in- deed. I am doing so, tell him; it may encour- age him." "Colonel, this is quite insufferable," I cried, goaded almost to madness. "I shall stand no more of it. Leave me in peace, I'll have no more truck with you." "And yet it would be wiser. I am the only person who can be of any use to you. You 208 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS go after him. If Tiler is thrown out the Colo- nel will want to give help in the other direc- tion." "That's sound sense, I admit. But all I can tell you is we had a telegram from him an hour or two ago which doesn't look as if he was doing much good. It was sent from Lyons, a roundabout way of getting to Paris from here, and now he's going south! Of all the born idiots!" "Poor devil! That's how he's made. It's not every one who's a born detective, friend Falfani. It's lucky my lord has you at his elbow." We parted excellent friends. The more I saw of l'Echelle the more I liked him. It was a pleasure to work with a man of such acute perceptions, and I told him so. Nothing fresh occurred that night or the next day. I was never very far off my Colo- nel, and watched him continually but unobtru- sively. I hope I know my business well enough for that. I was rather struck by a change in his de- meanour. It was very subtle, and every one might have noticed it. He wore an air of pre- occupation that spoke to me of an uneasy mind. 210 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS He was unhappy about something; some doubt, some secret dread oppressed him, and more than once I thought he wished to keep out of sight and avoid my searching interrog- ative eyes. "You're right," said l'Echelle. "He's down on his luck, and he don't want you to see it. He's dying for news that don't seem in a hurry to come. Half a dozen times to-day he's asked me to inquire if there's a telegram for him, and he haunts the hall porter's box continually in the hope of getting one. Have you heard any more from Tiler?" "Yes, another mad telegram, this time from Marseilles. Fancy that! It will be Constan- tinople next or Grand Cairo or Timbuctoo. The folly of it!" "What does my lord say?" "Plenty, and it's not pleasant to bear. He's getting fairly wild, and cart ropes won't hold him. He wants to go racing after Tiler now, and if he does he'll give away the whole show. I hope to heaven your boss will show his hand soon." "It's not for me to make him, you must admit that. But cheer up, copain, things may mend." 211 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS They did, as often happens when they seem to be at their worst. I have always been an early riser, and was specially so at Aix, now when the heat was intense, and the pleasantest hours of the day were before the sun had risen high. I was putting the finishing touches to my toilette about 7 a. m. when I heard a knock at my door, and without waiting permission l'Echelle rushed in. "Already dressed? What luck! There is not a moment to lose. Come along. I've a fiacre at the door below." He gave the etablissement as the address, and we were soon tearing down the hill. As we drove along l'Echelle told me the news. "It's come, that satanic telegram, and just what he wanted, I'm prepared to swear. He simply jumped for joy when he read it." "But what was the message? Go on, go on, out with it!" I shouted almost mad with ex- citement. "I can't tell you that, for I haven't seen it yet." "Are you making a fool of me?" "How could I see it? He put it straight 212 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS retired spot in the little square where the cab- stand is, and sat in the newspaper kiosk on a couple of straw-bottomed chairs of the Cen- tral cafe. "Read that," he said triumphantly, as he handed me the familiar scrap of blue paper. "Have got safely so far with nurse and baby — entreat you to follow with all possible speed — dying to get on. — Claire, Hotel Ca- vour, Milan." "Excellent!" I cried, slapping my thigh. "This settles all doubts. So much for that fool Tiler. My lord will be very grateful to you," and I handed him back the telegram, having first copied it word for word in my note-book. "It means, I suppose," suggested l'Echelle, "that you will make for Milan, too?" "No fear —by the first train. You'll be clever if you get the start of us, for I pre- sume you will be moving." "I haven't the smallest doubt of that; we shall be quite a merry party. It will be quite like old times." 214 CHAPTER XXIII. [Colonel Annesley again.] |" HAD no reason to complain of the course -"- of events culminating in the affair at Culoz. I defended to myself the assault upon Lord Blackadder as in a measure provoked and justifiable under the circumstances, al- though I was really sorry for him and at the poor figure he cut before the police magis- trate and gendarmes. But I could not forget the part he had played throughout, nor was I at all disposed to turn aside from my set purpose to help the ladies in their distress. Every man of proper feeling would be moved thereto, and I knew in my secret heart that very tender motives impelled me to the un- stinting championship of Lady Claire. I was still without definite news of what had happened between the two sisters while I was covering their movements at Culoz. I could not know for certain whether or not the exchange had actually been effected, and I did 215 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS not dare inquire about the station, for it might betray facts and endanger results. I had no hope of a message from Lady Henri- ette, for she would hardly know where to ad- dress me. Lady Claire would almost cer- tainly telegraph to me via London at the very earliest opportunity, and I was careful to wire from Culoz to the hall porter of my club, beg- ging him to send on everything without a moment's delay. Then, while still in the dark, I set myself like a prudent general to discover what the enemy was doing. He was here in Aix in the persons of Lord Blackadder and his two de- voted henchmen, Falfani and Tiler. I had heard the appointment he had given them at the Hotel Hautecombe, and I cast about me to consider how I might gain some inkling of their intentions. Luckily I had desired l'Echelle, the sleeping-car conductor, to stick to me on leaving the police office, and I put it to him whether or not he was willing to enter my service. "I will take you on entirely," I promised, "if you choose to leave your present employ- ment. You shall be my own man, my valet and personal attendant. It is likely that I 216 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS may wander about the Continent for some time, and it may suit you to come with me." He seemed pleased at the idea, and we quickly agreed as to terms. "Now, l'Echelle," I went on, "after last night I think I may trust you to do what I want, and I promise you I won't forget it. Find out what the other side is at, and con- trive somehow to become acquainted with Lord Blackadder's plans." "How far may I go?" he asked me plump. "They are pretty sure to try and win me over, they've done so already. Shall I accept their bid? It would be the easiest way to know all you want." "It's devilish underhand," I protested. "You'll be paying them back in their own coin," he returned. "A corsaire fieffe cor- saire et demi. It will be to my advantage, and you won't lose." "Upon my soul, I don't quite like it." I still hung back, but his arguments seemed so plausible that they overcame my scruples, and I was not sorry for it in the long run. [The reader has already been told how Fal- fani craftily approached l'Echelle, and found him, as he thought, an easy prey. We know 217 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Blackadder and his people that this was the case, and induce them to embark upon a hasty expedition into Italy. I therefore concocted a cunning plan with l'Echelle for leading them astray. It was easy enough to arrange for the despatch of a telegram from Milan to me at Aix, a des- patch to be handed in at the former place by a friend of l'Echelle's, but purporting to come from Lady Claire. My man had any number of acquaintances in the railway service, one or more passed daily through Aix with the express trains going east or west; and with the payment of a substantial douceur the trick was done. The spurious message reached me in Aix early on the third morning, and the second act in the fraud was that l'Echelle should allow Falfani to see the telegram. He carried out the deception with consummate skill, pretend- ing to pick my pocket of the telegram, which he then put under Falfani's eyes. The third act was to be my immediate exit from Aix. I made no secret of this, very much the reverse. Notice was given at the hotel bureau to pre- pare my bill, and insert my name on the list of departures by the afternoon express, the 219 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS 1.41 p. m. for Modane and Italy. It was quite certain that I should not be allowed to go off alone. And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, came a complete change in the situation. Not long after I had consumed my morning cafe an lait and rolls, the conventional petit dejeuner of French custom, a letter was brought to my bedside, where, again according to rule, I was resting after my bath. I expected no letters, no one except the porter of my London club knew my present address, and the interval was too short since my telegram to him to allow of letters reach- ing me in the ordinary course of the post. I turned over the strange missive, the ad- dress in a lady's hand quite unknown to me, examining it closely, as one does when mys- tified, guessing vainly at a solution instead of settling it by instantly breaking the seal. When at last I opened it my eye went first to the signature. To my utter amazement I read the name, "Henriette Standish." It was dated from the Hotel de Modena, Aix-les- Bains, a small private hotel quite in the sub- urbs in the direction of the Grand Port, and it ran as follows: 220 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Deab Colonel Annesley: — I have only just seen in the Gazette des Etrangers that you are staying in Aix. I also am here, hav- ing been unable to proceed on my journey as I intended after meeting my sister at Culoz. I thought of remaining here a few days longer, but I have also read Lord Blackad- der's name in the list. "What is to be done? I am horribly fright- ened, and greatly vexed with myself for hav- ing put myself in this painful and most em- barrassing position. "May I venture to ask your counsel and help? I beg and entreat you will come to me as soon as possible after receipt of this. Ask for Mrs. Blair. Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting you, your extreme kindness to Claire emboldens me to make this appeal to you. I shall be at home all the morn- ing. Indeed, I have hardly left the house yet, and certainly shall not do so now that I know he is here. "Always very gratefully and sincerely yours, Henbiette Standish.' >» Here was a pretty kettle of fish! Lady Blackadder in Aix! Was there ever such a 221 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS broken reed of a woman? Already she had spoilt her sister's nice combinations by turn- ing back from Amberieu when the road to safety with her darling child lay open to her. Now for the second time she was putting our plans in jeopardy. How could I hope to lure her pursuers away to a distance when she was here actually on the spot, and might be run into at any moment? For the present all my movements were in abeyance. I had reason to fear — how much reason I did not even then realize — they would be interfered with, and that a terrible collapse threatened us. I dressed hurriedly and walked down to the Hotel Modena, where I was instantly received. "Mrs. Blair " had given orders that I should be admitted the moment I appeared. I had had one glimpse of this tall, graceful crea- ture, who so exactly reproduced the beautiful traits of her twin sister that she might indeed at a distance be taken for her double. There was the same proud carriage of her head, the same lithe figure, even her musical voice when she greeted me with shy cordiality might have been the voice of Lady Claire. But the moment I looked into her face I saw a very distinct difference, not in outward 222 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS feature, but in the inward character that is revealed by the eyes, the lines of the mouth, the shape of the lower jaw. In Lady Claire the first were steady and spoke of high cour- age, of firm, fixed purpose; the mouth, as per- fectly curved as Cupid's bow, was resolute and determined, the well-shaped, rounded chin was held erect, and might easily become defi- ant, even aggressive. Lady Henriette was evidently cast in an- other mould. Her eyes, of the same violet blue, were pretty, pleading, soft in expression, but often downcast and deprecating; the mouth and chin were weak and irresolute. It was the same lovely face as Lady Claire's, and to some might seem the sweeter, indicat- ing the tender, clinging, yielding nature that commonly appeals to the stronger sex; but to me she lost in every respect by comparison with her more energetic, self-reliant sister. I heard the explanation, such as it was, without the smallest surprise; it was very much what I expected now when I was per- mitted to know and appreciate her better. "What shall I say, Colonel Annesley, and what will you think of me?" she began plain- tively, almost piteously. "But the moment I 223 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS found I had to part with my child my courage broke down. I became incapable of doing any- thing. I seemed quite paralyzed. I am not brave, you know, like my dearest Claire, or strong-minded, and I quite collapsed." "But I hope and trust you have made the exchange. Lady Claire has little Lord Asp- dale and has left you the dummy? Tell me, I beg." "Oh, yes, yes, we made the exchange," she replied, in such a faltering, undecided voice that I doubted, and yet could not bring my- self to believe that she was not telling the truth. "So much depends upon it, you see. Every- thing indeed. It would be a very serious mat- ter if—if" "The contrary was the case," I wanted to say, yet how could I? I should be charging her directly with wilfully misleading me, and deceiving me in this moment of extreme peril. "But what will happen now?" she said, her voice faltering, her eyes filling, and seem- ingly on the very verge of hysterics. "What if Blackadder should find that I am here, and — and" "He can do nothing to you unless he has a 224 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "There is simply no help for it, Lady Hen- riette. You simply must. It is imperative that you should remain here at least for a day or two while the others clear out of your way. It would be quite fatal if they saw you or you came across them." "Oh, you're too cruel, it is perfectly in- human. I shall tell Claire, I am sure she will take my part. Oh, why isn't she here, why did I let her leave me? I think I am the most wretched and ill-used woman alive." These lamentations and indirect reproaches rather hardened my heart. The woman was so unreasonable, so little mindful of what was being done for her, that I lost my patience, and said very stiffly: "Lady Henriette, let us quite understand one another. Do you want to keep your childT I tell you candidly there is only one way to save it." "My darling Aspdalel Of course I want to keep him. How can you suggest such a hor- rid idea? It is not a bit what I expected from you. Claire told me — never mind what; but please understand that I will never give my baby up." I was nettled by her perverseness, and al- 228 - >'J&L. THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS though I tried hard to school myself to pa- tience, it was exceedingly difficult. "Indeed, Lady Henriette, I have no desire to separate you from your child, nor would I counsel you under any circumstances to give it up. But quite certainly while you are here in Aix you are in imminent danger of losing it. You ought never to have kept it — it was madness to come here and run straight into the jaws of danger." "How was I to know?" she retorted, now quite angrily. "I really think it is too bad of you to reproach me. You are most unkind." "Dear, dear," I said fretfully, " this is all beside the question. What is most urgent is to shield and save you now when the peril is most pressing." "And yet you propose to leave me to fight it out alone? Is that reasonable? Is it gen- erous, chivalrous, to desert a poor woman in her extremity?" "I protest, you must not put it like that. I have explained the necessity. Surely you must see that it would be madness, quite fatal for us, to be seen together, or for you to be seen at all. I must still hoodwink them by going off this afternoon." 229 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "And leave me without protection, with all I have at stake? If only Claire was here." "It wouldn't mend matters much, except that Lady Claire would side with me." "Oh, yes, you say that, you believe she thinks so much of you and your opinion that she would agree to anything you suggest." "Mine is the safest and the only course," I replied, I am afraid with some heat. "You must, you shall take it." "Upon my word, Colonel Annesley, you speak to me as if I were a private soldier. Be good enough to remember that I am not under your orders. I claim to decide for myself how I shall act." She was no longer piteous or beseeching; her tears had dried, a flush of colour had risen to her cheeks, and it was evident that her de- spair had given place to very distinct tem- per. I was in a rage myself, and sprang to my feet with a sharp exclamation of disgust. "Keally, Lady Henriette, you will drive me to wash my hands of the whole business. But I came into it to oblige your sister, and I owe it to her to do my best without reference to you. I have marked out a line for myself, and 230 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS my action, and I knew that the only chance of safety lay in the execution of my design. This being so, her tears made no great im- pression on me. I may be called a hard- hearted brute, but I really had no great sym- pathy with her in her lamentations. It was not an occasion for tears, I felt; and I must be firm and unwavering, whatever she might think of me. I counted, at any rate, and with some assurance, on the approval of Lady Claire if the details of this painful scene should ever come to her ears. Nor could I wait till she chose to regain her composure. Time was too precious to be wasted in any attempts to win her back to common sense, and without waiting for per- mission I crossed the room, rang the bell, and begged the waiter to summon the lady's maid. She was a strongly built, matter-of-fact French woman, probably not easily disturbed; but she glanced apprehensively at her mis- tress, and turned a suspicious look on me. "You had better see to your lady," I said sharply. "She has an attack of nerves. I've no doubt it will soon pass, but I'm afraid I have imparted some distressing news. Be good enough to tell her when she recovers that 232 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I shall come back in half an hour, when I trust she will be ready to accompany me." "What is this?" broke in Lady Henriette, suddenly interposing and evidently roused to deep interest in my words. "Accompany you! Where, I should like to know?" "Is that of much consequence? You have entreated me not to leave you. Well, we shall not part; I propose to take you away with me. Do you object? It was your own wish." "I retract that. I will not go with you; certainly not in the dark. You must tell me first where you think of going, what you mean to do. Is it likely that I should trust myself alone with an almost complete stranger — a man who has shown me so little consideration, who has been so unkind, so cruel, and who now wants to carry me off goodness knows where, because he is so obstinately determined that his is the right way to proceed." "Lady Henriette," I said civilly but very coldly, and putting the drag on myself, for I confess she was trying me very hard, "let there be no misunderstanding between us. Either you consent to my proposals absolutely and unhesitatingly, or I shall withdraw alto- gether from your service. I have felt that I 233 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS had a duty to Lady Claire, and I have been honestly anxious to discharge it, but by your present attitude I feel myself absolved from that duty. I am not unwilling to accept re- sponsibility, but only if I am allowed to act as I please." "Oh, how like a man! Of course you must have your own way, and every one else must give in to you," she cried with aggravating emphasis, giving me no credit for trying to choose the wisest course. "I know I'm right," I urged, a little feebly perhaps, for I was nearly worn out by her prejudice and utterly illogical refusal to see how the land lay. But I quickly recovered myself, and said quite peremptorily, "You shall have half an hour to make up your mind, not a minute more, Lady Henriette. You shall give me my answer when I return. I warn you that I shall bring a carriage in half an hour, and I strongly advise you to be ready to start with me. Have everything packed, please, and the bill paid. I will take no de- nial, remember that." 234 CHAPTER XXV. T RETURNED to my hotel vexed and irri- .*- tated beyond measure by my passage at arms with Lady Henriette Standish, and hat- ing the prospect of any further dealings with her. I very cordially echoed her repeated cry for Lady Claire. Matters would have been very different had her strong-minded sister been on the spot to use her influence and help • us with her counsel. What a contrast between the two women! I was more and more drawn to the one, and more and more heartily de- spised the other. With my mind full of the beautiful creature who had made me a willing captive to her charms, her gracious presence was recalled to me by a message from under her own hand. As I passed the threshold of my hotel, the hall porter gave me a telegram from Lady Claire. It had come via London, but the office of ori- gin was Marseilles. 235 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS him that I should be busily engaged that fore- noon; but that as I might be obliged to run it very close for the train, he was to make all preparations, to take the tickets, and await me on the platform. I had debated anxiously with myself how far I should betray the pres- ence of Lady Henriette in Aix to l'Echelle, and decided that, although I had no particular reason to doubt him, I felt that it would be more prudent to keep the fact to myself. For the same reason I kept him busily engaged in my bedroom packing, lest he should spy upon my movements. There was still the fear that Falfani might be on the watch, but I had been assured by l'Echelle that the Blackadder party were so satisfied by the news he gave them that they left the business of shadowing almost en- tirely to him. I was pretty sure that I reached the Hotel Modena unobserved. I came upon the carriage by the way, and as I passed briefly desired the driver to follow me to the Hotel Modena. Ar- riving there, I sent up my name, and followed it, a little unceremoniously, to Lady Henriette's sitting-room. She was there, dressed in hat and jacket, and so far disposed to comply with my wishes. 2 37 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Her maid, Victorine, was with her, the baby on her knee. Her baggage, happily light enough, was there, packed and all ready for a start. But if I thought that Lady Henriette meant to yield without another skirmish I was sadly mistaken. I was in for much more than a skirmish; it was to be a battle royal. "The carriage is at the door," I said as pleasantly as possible. "We have nearly an hour's drive before us, and I am delighted to think that you are ready and willing to go with me." "I am ready, as you see, but not willing," she answered, bridling up with a scornful air. "Very much the reverse indeed. The more I think over it the more outrageous and pre- posterous your behaviour seems. Where are we going? I insist upon knowing. I must have a plain categorical answer or I will not move an inch." Her dogged, determined air was belied by her dress and the obvious prepara- tions already made for departure. Her present attitude I set down to the vacillation of her character. She might make up her mind one moment and one way, and yet be quite pre- pared to change it the next. "You are fully entitled to know where you 238 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS are going, and I have not the smallest desire to keep it from you," I replied, still speaking in a smooth, courteous voice. ". I propose that you should take up your residence for a time — the very shortest time possible — at Le Bourget, a small place at the head of the lake. You may know it; there is a snug little hotel in the village, the Dent du Chat. You will like it." '' I shall not like it. I dislike the whole idea exceedingly. Why should I be buried alive in such an out-of-the-way spot?" "It will be no worse than Fuentellato, a place you chose for yourself." "I have a house of my own there — my own servants. It is perfectly safe." "Not now, believe me, they will come upon you there; trace you easily and quickly, and they are capable of any violence to capture and deprive you of your treasure." I pointed to the child on the maid's knee. "I shall be more at their mercy here in Aix." "Be guided by me. I am certain of what I say. All will be well if you will only keep out of the way now for a few hours, perhaps at most a couple of days. If they do not find you at 239 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS once they will never find you. Only let me have a short start ahead and I '11 lead them a pretty dance, and take them further and further away. You may rely on it, and I assure you they will never be able to find you or do you any harm." "I wish I could believe you," she said. "If I could only believe in you and trust you as Claire does," she murmured pathetically, still tortured by doubt. "Why has Claire deserted me I If she were only here, or I knew where to find her!" I was on the point of imparting my last news, but I checked myself. Lady Henriette had seen her last, and must be well aware of the direction she was taking to Lyons and Mar- seilles. It would only unsettle her to know that her sister was at Marseilles to-day, and would be at Genoa to-morrow. She would be mad to join her, and it was my most earnest wish that, for the present at least, Lady Henriette should keep quiet in the background with her charge. "You will soon be able to communicate with her, no doubt. Of course you arranged that at Culoz?" "We arranged nothing. It was all so hur- ried, and we had much to talk about. She was 240 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS so hard on me when I declared I could not part with my blessed boy. We had words '' "Ah!" I had heard enough to know that there had been a strong difference of opinion, a sharp quarrel probably, and that Lady Claire had not spared her sister at this fresh exhibi- tion of ridiculous weakness. "May I ask, please, whether you were to be- lieve in me or not?" I resumed, taking up the discussion where I had left it. "We must be moving if we are to go at all." Her acquiescence, now tardily given, was surly and ungracious. "I suppose I cannot help myself; I am quite at your mercy. You may be sure I shall not easily forget this, or forgive your overbearing treatment. I will go, but under protest." She led the way herself and entered the car- riage first, motioning to Victorine to hand her the baby and take her seat inside. She made no such sign to me, although I followed close behind. But I also got in without invitation, only explaining that it might not be wise to show myself on the box. The coachman had his orders, and he drove off briskly along the Marlioz road till he reached'the turning towards the head of the 241 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS When at length I got away, and I persisted in leaving, being so fully satisfied it was for the best, her piteous, reproachful accents still rung in my ears, and I shall count that return drive to Aix as the most miserable hour I have passed in my life. The whole episode had occupied much time, and it was already past one when I reentered the town. I drove straight to the railway sta- tion, and was met outside it by the faithful l'Echelle. "Monsieur, monsieur, will you believe it? They have gone half an hour ago, and not by the eastern but the western express." "You saw them?" "I spoke to them. Falfani himself told me of the change in their plans. The latest news from their man in the south was so positive, and has so convinced my lord, that he is ha- stening frll speed to join Tiler, and they are only too delighted to leave you behind." I laughed aloud with intense satisfaction. "You do not mind, monsieur? You have no reason to fear them?" "Not the least in the world, they are play- ing into my hands. I, too, have changed my plans. I shall now remain in Aix for some 243 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS time longer. I shall be glad to go on with the baths." But I was thinking really of that poor crea- ture I had abandoned at Le Bourget, and over- joyed to think that I might now meet her wishes, and perchance regain something of her good-will. Once more I took the road to Le Bourget, driving over by the first fiacre I could pick up on the stand, a much slower journey than the first, and it was nearly 3 p. m. when I reached the little hotel. It was indeed a day of surprises, of strange emotions and moving incidents. When I alighted and asked for "Mrs. Blair," I was answered abruptly that she was gone.! "Gone! When! How?" I cried, in utter amazement. "Madame went very soon after monsieur," said the patronne, in high dudgeon. "She was not complimentary, she said this place was too triste, that it got on her nerves. She called me up and said I was to bring her the Indicateur. Then she must have a carriage as soon as it could be prepared to drive her to Culoz, fifteen 244 CHAPTER XXVI. [The Lady Claire Standish has her say.] 1~T was as much 'as I could do to restrain -*- myself when I saw my gallant knight, the Colonel, rush at that despicable creature, Lord Blackadder, and shake him. I wanted to put my head out of the window and cry, "Well done!" But I saw the folly of it, much as I was delighted, and checked any demonstration of joy. I had no time to spare for anything outside our settled plan, so I jumped out on to the platform at once, and closely followed by Philpotts joined Henriette, and cried: "Quick, quick, dear, the train goes on in less than ten minutes. Give me the child, we must exchange again." "What do you mean?" she gasped, and looked at me dazed and bewildered. "Why should I part with my boy, my own boy! I cannot, indeed I cannot. Why? Why?" "Because Blackadder is over there, and in 246 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I don't care what happens, I will keep him against all the world." I pleaded and stormed in turn, I tried every- thing but force, all without avail. My foolish sister seemed to have taken leave of her senses; she thought nothing of the nearly certain col- lapse of our schemes, her one overmastering idea was, like any tigress, to resist all attempts to deprive her of her cub. Meanwhile the time ran on. Already the officials were crying "En voiture," and I knew my train was timed to leave at five minutes past 8 a. m. If I lingered I should lose it, no great matter perhaps, seeing that the exchange, my principal object, had not been made; but if I remained with Henriette, she with her baby and I with mine, the whole of the artifice might at any moment be laid bare. I had to decide then and there, and all I could think of at the time was to keep the enemy in the dark as to the doubled part of the baby. At first I thought of sending Philpotts on alone with her charge and remaining with Henriette. She was so helpless, so weak and vacillating that I had small hope of her getting through to Fuentellato by herself. That was clearly the wisest course, and I should have taken it, but 248 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I was sorely vexed and put out by her obstinate refusal to play her part; and I told her so. '' Once more and for the last time, Henriette, will you do what I want?" I asked her per- emptorily. She only hugged her baby the closer and whispered a soft lullaby. '' Then I shall go on with the other. It may be best. They may still be drawn after me, and leave you to your own devices. The only thing for you to do is to take the first train the other way, — it will be here in ten minutes, — keep low and you may get through into Italy unob- served." "Are you really deserting me?" she cried piteously. "When shall I see you againT" "I shall go round the long journey to Mar- seilles, by the South of France, and will join you at Fuentellato. There is no reason why you should not get there. Colonel Annesley will detain the others here, you may be sure of that. Good-bye, now," and without another word Philpotts and I ran round, regained the up platform, resumed our seats by the narrow- est margin and proceeded on our way to Am- berieu. The reaction from this agitating scene was 249 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS little less than despair and collapse. So soon as I could bring myself to think calmly and at leisure, I realized that I had done a very fool- ish thing. Was it possible for Henriette to get off by herself? Hardly, she had not the nerve, I had almost said the wit, to escape alone from the toils and snares that encompassed her. I blamed myself, I became a prey to the bitterest self-reproach for having abandoned her, for al- lowing myself to give way to temper, and treat her so cruelly. As the train rattled on, one thought took possession of me. I must get out and go back instantly, at least at the very first opportunity. I must retrace my steps and re- turn again to Culoz, where I hoped to be in time to support and strengthen her, please God save her from the consequences of my unkind and ill-considered action. Accordingly, at the very next station, Virieu, I alighted. It was still no more than 8.21. In less than an hour I was in the return train and once more at Culoz, where, sending Philpotts to hide with her charge in the inmost recesses of the ladies' waiting-room, I vainly explored the station for any signs of Henriette, but to my delight she was nowhere in sight. I was fairly entitled to suppose that she had gone on. 250 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS This as it proved was the very wisest course I could have adopted, as will presently appear. I was doomed to a long wait at Culoz. There was no train due westward till 12.40, and I had to put in nearly three solid hours, which I spent in wandering into the village, where I found an unpretending auberge and a rather uneatable breakfast. Everywhere I was met with wearisome de- lays. A slow train to Amberieu, a still slower cross journey to Lyons, which I did not reach till nearly 4 p. m., and learnt that another hour or more must elapse before the departure of the next Marseilles express. The journey seemed interminable, but just as I was losing all patience, I received a fillip that awoke me to alertness, and set all my nerves tingling. The man Tiler, the second detective, the man whom I had already befooled more than once, was there now on the platform, waiting like myself to embark upon the 5.19 train south to Marseilles. He had come after me; that was perfectly clear. He, and he alone, and I rejoiced greatly that I had to do entirely with him. I had tried my strength with him more than once already, 253 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS we made some change in our appearance. There were other cloaks in the bundle of rugs, which we put on over those we were wearing. I got out a thick veil, and Philpotts replaced her neat bonnet by a soft motor cap. More than all, we made away with the dummy child, broke up the parcel, resolved it into its compo- nent parts, a small pillow and many wraps, all of which we put away in the same convenient receptacle. Tiler certainly did not recognize us as we walked separately to the train. He was look- ing for a party of two and a baby, and all he saw was one woman who might remind him of me, but without her attendant or any encum- brance. He had his suspicions, however, for as soon as we started he walked through the long line of couloir carriages, deliberately peer- ing and prying, examining the passengers of every compartment. He passed us at first, and was much put out, I could see, disappointed no doubt, but he came back presently and stood for some time at our window, while I hid my face in among the rugs, and Philpotts cowered in a corner. He came back more than once during the journey and stared. No doubt he would have 256 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS I slept late, and when I woke, refreshed and fortified against anything that might come, I looked out on to the little square with its fringe of plane-trees, and saw my friend Mr. Tiler walking to and fro like a sentry on his beat. He had the hotel under observation that was clear, and it was little I should be able to do that day unknown to him. It did not worry me in the least, for in the early hours of calm reflection that followed deep, restful sleep, I had thought out the course I should pursue. I no longer dreaded pursuit; let them all come, the more the merrier, and I meant to fully justify Mr. Tiler in calling them to him. I dressed slowly, lingered leisurely over my luncheon-dejeuner, and then ordered a carriage, a comfortable landau and pair. I meant to lead my follower a fine dance, starting with the innocent intention of giving myself and my be- longings an airing. It was a brilliant day, the Southern sun struck with semi-tropical fervour, the air was soft and sleepy in the oppressive heat. I brought out the baby undeterred, and installed it, slumbering peacefully, on Phil- potts's knees in the seat before me, and lying 258 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS back with ostentatious indifference, drove off in full view of the detective. I shot one glance back as I turned down the long slope leading to the Grace-a-Dieu Street, and was pleased to see that he had jumped into a fiacre and was coming on after me. He should have his fill of driving. I led him up and down and round and round, street after street, all along the great Cannebiere and out towards the Reserve, where Roubion's Restaurant of- fers his celebrated fish stew, bouillabaise, to all comers. Then when Mr. Tiler's weedy horse began to show signs of distress, for my sturdy pair had outpaced him sorely, I relented and reentered the town, meaning to make a long halt at the office of Messrs. Cook and Son, the universal friends of all travellers far and near. I had long had an idea in my mind that the most promising, if not the only effective method of ending our trouble would be to put the seas between us and the myrmidons of the Courts. I had always hoped to escape to some far-off country where the King's writ does not run, where we could settle down under genial skies, amid pleasant surroundings, at a distance from the worries and miseries of life. 259 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Now, with the enemy close at hand, and the real treasure in my foolish sister's care, I could not expect to evade them, but I might surely beguile and lead them astray. This was the plan I had been revolving in my mind, and which took me to the tourist offices. The ob- ject I had in view was to get a list of steamers leaving the port of Marseilles within the next two or three days, and their destination. As everybody knows, there is a constant moving of shipping East, West, and South, and it ought not to be difficult to pick out something to suit me. The obliging clerk at the counter gave me abundant, almost unending, information. "To the East? Why, surely, there are sev- eral opportunities. The P. and 0. has half a dozen steamers for the East, pointing first for Port Said and Suez Canal, and bound to India, Ceylon, China, and the Antipodes; the same line for Gibraltar and the West. The Mes- sageries Maritime, for all Mediterranean ports, the General Navigation of Italy for Genoa and Naples, the Transatlantique for various Alge- rian ports, Tunis, Bone, Philippeville, and Al- giers, other companies serving the coast of Morocco and especially Tangier." 260 1 / /' ■ THE PASSENGER FROM CALA waist, then once more turned interrogat to the sergeant: "It is nothing very serious, M. le missaire," said the treacherous gendai "A simple brawl — a blow struck, pos returned — a mere rixe." "Between gentlemen? Fi done! Why commonest voyous, the rodeurs of the riere, could not do worse. It is not our Fr way. Men of honour settle their disputes ferently; they do not come to the police rectionnelle." "Pray do not think it is my desire," br in the Colonel, with his customary fierce "I have offered Lord Blackadder satisfy as a gentleman, and am ready to meet I when and how he pleases." "I cannot listen to you, sir. Duels i contravention of the Code. But I recomu you to take your quarrels elsewhere, and i to waste my time." "This is quite unheard of," cried my ] now thoroughly aroused. "You are sha fully neglecting your duty, M. le Commissi and it cannot be tolerated." "I am not responsible to you, sir, and \ account for my action a qui de droit, to th< 192 FROM CALAIS e Saturday morning, arrogance and self- I through the hotel oing ivell, and he had i that he would ar- ler that night. ,n) a telegram from from Colonel Annes- t, and bringing down nts to the time of her He promised a later e along the road with oon after 9 p. m. Lady e coming through by ,rseilles at 4 a. m. next rties to this imbroglio ated in the same place, the skill and determi- x to turn events her to hear that Henriette e of danger, and I was finding she might he >th of it. But I trusted , better still, to good *3 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS walked down to the offices to ask a trivial ques- tion about my baggage. It was easy to turn the talk to other matters connected with the voyage and my fellow passengers. Several other cabins had been engaged, two of them in the name of Ludovic Tiler. There was nothing left for me but to bide my time. I telegraphed that evening to Colonel Annesley, reporting myself, so to speak, and counted upon hearing his whereabouts in re- ply next day. Tiler did not show up nor trouble me, nor did I concern myself about him. We were really waiting for each other, and we knew enough of each other's plans to bide in tran- quil expectation of what we thought must cer- tainly follow. When I was at dinner in the hotel restaurant he calmly came into the room, merely to pass his eye over me as it were, and I took it so much as a matter of course that I looked up, and felt half-inclined to give him a friendly nod. We were like duellists saluting each other before we crossed swords, each re- lying upon his own superior skill. [We need not reproduce in detail the rest of the matters set forth by Lady Claire Standish while she and the detective watched each other 262 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS at Marseilles. Tiler, on the Saturday morning, made it plain, from his arrogance and self- sufficient air as he walked through the hotel restaurant, that all was going well, and he had indeed heard from Falfani that he would ar- rive with Lord Blackadder that night. Later on that Saturday a telegram from Culoz reached Lady Claire from Colonel Annes- ley giving the latest news, and bringing down Lady Henriette's movements to the time of her departure for Marseilles. He promised a later message from somewhere along the road with later information, and soon after 9 p. m. Lady Claire was told they were coming through by the night train, due at Marseilles at 4 a. m. next morning. Thus all the parties to this imbroglio were about to be concentrated in the same place, and it must depend upon the skill and determi- nation of one clever woman to turn events her way.] She goes on to say: It was a shock to me to hear that Henriette still lingered on the fringe of danger, and I was very much disturbed at finding she might be running into the very teeth of it. But I trusted to my good fortune, and, better still, to good 263 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS management, to keep her out of harm's way until the coast was clear. I was on the platform at 10 p. m. watching for the Blackadder lot when they appeared. Tiler was there to receive them and spoke a few words to my lord, who instantly looked round, for me no doubt, and I slipped away. I did not wish to anticipate a crisis, and he was quite capable of making a scene, even at the hotel at that time of night. I was relieved at seeing him pass on, and the more so that he did not take the turn into the Terminus Hotel, my hotel, but went towards the entrance where a carriage was waiting for him. He meant of course to put up in the town, either at the Noailles or the Louvre. I lay down to take a short rest, but was roused in time to be again on the platform at 4 a. m. to meet my friends. It was a joyful meeting, but we lost little time over it. Henri- ette was fairly worn out, and all but broke down when she saw me. The Colonel came to the rescue as usual, and said briefly, after we had shaken hands: "Take charge of her, Lady Claire, I will see to everything now. We can talk later." "Can you be at the entrance to the hotel in 264 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS a couple of hours' time? I shall want your advice, probably your assistance." "You know you have only to ask," he an- swered, with the prompt, soldierlike obedience, and the honest, unflinching look in his eyes that I knew so well and loved in him. Here was, indeed, a brave, loyal soul, to be trusted in im- plicitly, and with my whole heart. I felt now that I should succeed in the diffi- cult task I had set myself. The plan I had con- ceived and hoped to work out was to send Lord Blackadder to sea, all the way to Tripoli, with Philpotts and the sham child. 265 CHAPTER XXVm. TX7E drove down, Philpotts and I, to the "* wharf where the steamers of the Trans- atlantique Company lie. The Oasis had her blue peter flying, and a long gangway stretched from her side to the shore, up and down which a crowd passed ceaselessly, passengers embark- ing, porters with luggage, and dock hands with freight. At the top of the slope was the chief steward and his men, in full dress, white shirts, white ties, and white gloves, who welcomed us, asking the number of our stateroom, and offer- ing to relieve us of our light baggage. One put out his arms to take the baby from Philpotts, but she shook her head vigorously, and I cried in French that it was too precious. Next moment a voice I recognized said: "Certainly they are there, and they have it with them. Why not seize it at once?" "Not so fast, Lord Blackadder," I inter- posed, turning on him fiercely. "No violence, 26O THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "If I am allowed to keep him, yes. But how can I keep him after that wicked decision of the Court, and with such a persistent enemy as Ralph Blackadder? For the moment we are safe, but by and by he will come back, he will leave no stone unturned until he finds me, and I shall lose my darling for ever." The hopelessness of evading pursuit for any time sorely oppressed me, too. There seemed no safety but in keeping continually on the move, in running to and fro and changing our hiding- place so soon as danger of discovery loomed near. We were like pariahs ostracized from our fellows, wandering Jews condemned to roam on and on, forbidden to pause or find peace anywhere. Yet, after a pleasant dejeuner, the three of us held a council of war. "The thing is perfectly simple," said my dear Colonel, in his peremptory, but to me re- assuring fashion. "I have thought it all out and can promise you immediate escape from all your difficulties. You must go as quickly as you can get there, to Tangier." "Tangier! " I cried, amazed. "Yes, Lady Claire, Tangier. It is the only refuge left for criminals — forgive me, I mean 272 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS recesses of the native town, and the ancient citadel, with its memories of British dominion; we lingered in the Soko or native market, crowded with wild creatures from the far in- terior; we rode together, for his first care was to secure horses, and scoured the country as far as the Marshan and Cape Spartel. I some- times reproached myself with being so happy, while my darling Henriette still sorrowfully repined at her past, with little hope of better days. But even she brightened as the days ran on and brought no fresh disquiet, while her boy, sweet little Ralph, developed in health and strength. A week passed thus, a week of unbroken quiet, flawless as the unchanging blue of a sum- mer sky; not a cloud in sight, not a suspicion of coming disturbance and unrest. It could not go on like this for ever. To imagine it was to fall asleep in a fool's paradise, lulled into false serenity by the absence of portents so often shrouded and unseen until they break upon us. One day a cablegram reached me from Phil- potts. She had arrived at Marseilles on her return voyage from Tripoli, and was anxious that I should know without delay that we had not shaken off Lord Blackadder. They had 276 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS "Most certainly. He has Philpotts under his hand, but he would not trust only to her. Diligent inquiry at Marseilles would be sure to reveal our departure for Gibraltar. He will follow with his men, they are well-trained de- tectives, and it will be mere child's play for them to track us to Tangier. You may look for them here any day. We must be ready for them at all points." "There is no saying what Ralph Blackadder may not attempt." "Indeed, yes, he is equal to anything, guile of course, treachery, cunning, stratagem, abso- lute violence if the opportunity offers. It is of the utmost importance not to play into his hands, not to give him the smallest chance. The child must be watched continually in the house, awake and asleep, wherever he goes and whatever he does." "Then I think Henriette must be warned not to wander about the town and on the sands in the way she's been doing with Victorine and the child, all of them on donkey back. I don't think it's at all safe." But when I cautioned her she was not par- ticularly pleased. Was she to have no fresh air, no change of scene? I grudged her the 278 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS smallest pleasure, while I was racing up and down flirting and philandering with Basil Annesley all day and every day; she was to sit indoors, bored to extinction and suffering torments in the unbearable heat. Basil and I agreed that it was cruel to re- strict her movements even with such a good excuse, and had she been willing to accept the irksome conditions, which she certainly was not. We arranged a surveillance, therefore, un- known to her. The Colonel, his man, or myself invariably accompanied her or followed her within eyeshot; and we hired two or three stal- wart Moors, who were always to be near enough to render help if required. Then came confirmations of our worst fears. L'Echelle, who had been unaccountably absent one morning, returned about midday with news from the port. Lord Blackadder and his two henchmen had just landed from the Jose Pie- lago, the steamer that runs regularly between Cadiz and Algeciras, Gibraltar, and Tangier. He had seen them in the custom-house, fight- ing their way through the crowd of ragged Jew porters, the Moorish egg merchants, and dealers in luscious fruit. They had mounted donkeys, the only means of conveyance in a town with 279 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS no wheeled vehicles; and l'Echelle made us laugh at the sorry picture presented by the indignant peer, with his legs dangling down on each side of the red leather saddle. Their baggage was also piled on donkeys, and the whole procession, familiar enough in the narrow streets of Tangier, climbed the hill to the Soko, and made for the Shereef Hotel, reputed one of the best in Tangier, and lying outside the walls in the immediate neighbourhood of the British Legation. L'Echelle, who seems an honest, loyal fellow, thought he would serve us best by marking them down, and, if possible, renewing his ac- quaintance with the detectives, one or both of whom he knew. After hanging about the out- side of the hotel, he entered the garden boldly and went up to the shady trellised verandah where they were seated together, smoking and refreshing themselves after their journey. L'Echelle was well received. Falfani, my friend of the Calais train, believed he had suborned him at Aix, and now hailed his ap- pearance with much satisfaction. L'Echelle might again be most useful; at least, he could lead them to us, and he wisely decided to let Falfani know where we were to be found in 280 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS Tangier. The fact would surely be discovered without him. It was better, he thought, to ap- pear frank, and, by instilling confidence, learn all there was to know of their plans and move- ments. My lord had gone to the Legation, Falfani told him at once, bombastically boasting that everything would yield before him. He had but to express his wishes, and there would be an end of the hunt. But my lord came back in a furious rage, and, regardless of l'Echelle's — a comparative stranger's — presence, burst forth into passionate complaint against the Minister. He would teach Sir Arthur to show proper respect to a peer of the realm; he would cable at once to the Foreign Office and insist on this second-rate diplomatist's recall. The upshot of it all was that his lordship's demand for help had been refused pointblank, and no doubt, after what the Colonel had heard, in rather abrupt, outspoken terms. All this and more l'Echelle brought back to us at the Atlas Hotel. He told us at length of the outrageous language Lord Blackadder had used, of his horrible threats, how he would leave no stone unturned to recover his son and heir; how he would bribe the bashaw, buy the 281 CHAPTER XXX. TT was impossible to disassociate Lord Black- -*- adder from Lady Henriette's mysterious disappearance, and yet we could hardly believe that he could have so quickly accomplished his purpose. We doubted the more when the man turned up in person at the Atlas Hotel and had the effrontery to ask for her. Basil went out to him in the outer hall, and, as I listened from within, I immediately heard high words. It was like a spark applied to tinder; a fierce quarrel blazed up instantly be- tween them. "How dare you show yourself here? " began Basil Annesley. "Who are you to prevent me? I come to demand the restoration of that which belongs to me. Take my message to those two ladies and say I will have my boy," replied my lord. "Do not try to impose on me, Lord Black- adder. It is the most impudent pretence; you know perfectly well he is not here." ^ 284 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS It was an apoplectic seizure, the doctors told us later^ brought on by excessive nervous irri- tation of the brain. Here was a sudden and unexpected dinoue- rnent, a terribly dramatic end to our troubles if we could but clear up the horrible uncertainty remaining. What had become of my sister and little Ralph? While the servants of the hotel attended to the stricken man, Basil Annesley plied the de- tectives with eager questions. He urged them to tell all they knew; it should be made worth their while; they no longer owed allegiance to their late employer. He entreated them to with- hold nothing. Where and how had Lord Black- adder met Henriette? What had he done with her? Where was she now? We could get nothing out of these men; they refused to answer our questions from sheer mulish obstinacy, as we thought at first, but we saw at length that they did not understand us. What were we driving at? They assured us they had seen no lady, nor had the unfortunate peer accosted any one, or interfered with any one on his way between the two hotels. He had come straight from the Villa Shereef to 286 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS the Hotel Atlas, racing down at a run, pausing nowhere, addressing no one on the road, If not Lord Blackadder, what then? What could have happened to Henriette? Tangier was a wild place enough, but who would inter- fere with an English woman in broad daylight accompanied by her servant, by an escort, her attendant Moorish guide? Full of anxiety, Basil called for a horse, and was about to ride off to institute a hue and cry, when my sister appeared in person upon the scene. "Getting anxious about me?" she asked, with careless, almost childish gaiety. "I am awfully late, but I have had such an extraor- dinary adventure. Why, how serious you look! Not on my account, surely?" I took her aside, and in a few words told her of the terrible catastrophe that had just occurred, and for a time she was silent and seemed quite overcome. "It's too shocking, of course, to happen in this awful way. But really, I cannot be very sorry except for one thing — that now he will never know." "Know what, Henriette? Have you taken leave of your senses?" "Know that I have discovered the whole 287 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS hands outstretched and fairly beside herself, laughing and crying by turns. "'Oh, my lady! It is you, then? What shall I say to youf How can I tell you?' she began, quite hysterically. 'We behaved most disgracefully, most wickedly, but indeed it was Domenico's doing. He insisted they offered us such a large sum, enough to make us rich for life, and so we consented to come away here. I have never had one happy moment since. Can you forgive me?' "All this she poured forth, and much more of the same sort. I could see she was truly sorry, and that it had not been entirely her fault. Besides, I began to hope already that, now we had found her, we might get the case reopened, and that wicked order reversed. It will be put right now, now that Ralph can no longer oppose it." I bowed my head silently, thankful and deeply impressed with the strange turn taken by events and the sudden light let in upon the darkness that had surrounded us. The rest of the adventures that began in the sleeping-car between Calais and Basle, and came abruptly to an end on the North African shore, may soon be told. Our first act was to 289 THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS return to England at the very earliest oppor- tunity, and we embarked that evening on a Forwood steamer direct for London, which port we reached in less than five days. Town was empty, and we did not linger there. Nothing could be done in the Courts, as it was the legal vacation, but Henriette's solicitors arranged to send out a commission to take the Bruels' evidence at Tangier, and to bring the matter before The President at the earliest opportunity. As for ourselves, I persuaded Henriette to take a cottage at Marlow on the Upper Thames, where Colonel Annesley was a constant guest, and Charlie Forrester. We four passed many idle halcyon days on the quiet river, far from the noise of trains, and content to leave Brad- shaw in the bottom of the travelling-bag, where it had been thrown at the end of our feverish wanderings. Once again we had recourse to it, however, when we started on our honeymoon, Basil and I. Once more we found ourselves at Calais with Philpotts, but no encumbrances, bound on a second, a far happier, and much less eventful journey by the Engadine express. THE END. 290 I. C. PAGE AMD COMPANY'S The Story of Red Fox Told by Charles G. D. Roberts, author of "The Watchers •f the Trails," "The Kindred of the Wild," "Barbara Ladd," etc. Library l2tno, cloth decorative, with fifty illustrations and cover design by Charles Livingston Bull . . $2.00 Mr. Roberts's reputation as a scientifically accurate writer, whose literary skill transforms his animal stories into mas- terpieces, stands unrivalled in his particular field. This is his first long animal story, and his romance of Red Fox, from babyhood to patriarchal old age, makes reading more fascinating than any work of fiction. In his hands Red Fox becomes a personality so strong that one entirely forgets he is an animal, and his haps and mishaps grip you as do those of a person. Mr. Bull, as usual, fits his pictures to the text as hand to glove, and the ensemble becomes a book as near perfection as it is possible to attain. Return A Story of the Sea Islands in 1739. By Alice Mac- Gowan and Grace MacGowan Cooke, authors of "The Last Word," etc. With six illustrations by C. D. Williams. Library i2mo, cloth . $1.50 A new romance, undoubtedly the best work yet done by Miss MacGowan and Mrs. Cooke. The heroine of "Return," Diana Chaters, is the belle of the Colonial city of Charles Town, S. G, in the early eighteenth century, and the hero is a young Virginian of the historical family of Marshall. The youth, beauty, and wealth of the fashionable world, which first form the environment of the romance, are pictured in sharp contrast to the rude and exciting life of the frontier settlements in the Georgia Colony, and the authors have missed no opportunities for telling characterizations. But "Return" is, above all, a love-story. We quote the opinion of Prof. Charles G. D. Roberts, who has read the advance sheets: "It seems to me a story of quite unusual strength and interest, full of vitality and crowded with telling characters. I greatly like the authors' firm, bold handling of their subject." LIST OF NEW FICTION Lady Penelope By Mobley Roberts, author of "Rachel Marr," "The Pro- motion of the Admiral," etc. With nine illustrations by Arthur W. Brown. Library i2mo, cloth $i-5« Mr. Roberts certainly has versatility, since this book has not a single point of similarity with either "Rachel Marr" or his well-known sea stories. Its setting is the English so- called "upper crust" of the present day. Lady Penelope is quite the most up-to-date young lady imaginable and equally charming. As might be expected from such a heroine, her automobiling plays an important part in the development of the plot . Lady Penelope has a large number of suitors, and her method of choosing her husband is original and pro- vocative of delightful situations and mirthful incidents. The Winged Helmet By Harold Steele MacKaye, author of "The Panchron- icon," etc. With six illustrations by H. C. Edwards. Library i2mo, cloth $1-50 When an author has an original theme on which to build his story, ability in construction of unusual situations, skill in novel characterization, and a good literary style, there can be no doubt but that his work is worth reading. "The Winged Helmet" is of this description. The author gives in this novel a convincing picture of life in the early sixteenth century, and the reader will be de- lighted with its originality of treatment, freshness of plot, and unexpected climaxes. A Captain of Men By E. Anson More. Library l2mo, cloth, illustrated $150 A tale of Tyre and those merchant princes whose discovery of the value of tin brought untold riches into the country and afforded adventures without number to those daring seekers for the mines. Merodach, the Assyrian, Tanith, the daughter of the richest merchant of Tyre, Miriam, her He- brew slave, and the dwarf Hiram, who was the greatest artist of his day, are a quartette of characters hard to surpass in individuality. It has been said that the powerful order ot Free Masons first had its origin in the meetings which were held at Hiram's studio in Tyre, where gathered together the greatest spirits of that age and place. LIST OT NEW FICTION The Black Barque By T. Jenkins Hains, author of "The Wind Jammers," "The Strife of the Sea," etc. With five illustrations by W. Herbert Dunton. Library i2mo, cloth $1-5° According to a high naval authority who has seen the ad- vance sheets, this is one of the best sea stories ever offered to the public. "The Black Barque" is a story of slavery and piracy upon the high seas about 1815, and is written with a thorough knowledge of deep-water sailing. This, Captain Hains's first long sea story, realistically pictures a series of stirring scenes at the period of the destruction of the excit- ing but nefarious traffic in slaves, in the form of a narrative by a young American lieutenant, who, by force of circum- stances, finds himself the gunner of "The Black Barque." Cameron of Lochiel Translated from the French of Philippe Aubert de Gaspe by Prof. Charles G. D. Roberts. Library i2mo, cloth decorative .... $1-50 The publishers are gratified to announce a new edition of a book by this famous author, who may be called the Walter Scott of Canada. This interesting and valuable romance is fortunate in having for its translator Professor Roberts, who has caught perfectly the spirit of the original. The French edition first appeared under the title of "Les Anciens Cana- diens" in 1862, and was later translated and appeared in an American edition now out of print. Patriotism, devotion to the French-Canadian nationality, a just pride of race, and a loving memory for his people's romantic and heroic past, are the dominant chords struck by the author throughout the story. Castel del Monte By Nathan Gallizier. Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. Library i2mo, cloth $1.50 A powerful romance of the fall of the Hohenstaufen dy- nasty in Italy, and the overthrow of Manfred by Charles of Anjou, the champion of Pope Clement IV. The Middle Ages are noted for the weird mysticism and the deep fatalism characteristic of a people believing in signs and portemts and the firm hand of fate. Mr. Gallizier has brought out these characteristics in a marked degree. • L. C. 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Haggard, author of "Hannibal's Daughter," "Louis XIV. in Court and Camp," etc. With cover design and frontispiece by Charles Livingston Bull. Library i2mo, cloth $1-5° Under the thin veneer of conventionality and custom lurks in many hearts the primeval instinct to throw civilization to the winds and hark back to the ways of the savages in the wilderness, and it often requires but a mental crisis or an emotional upheaval to break through the coating. Geoffrey Digby was such an one, who left home and kindred to seek happiness among the Indians of Canada, in the vast woods which always hold an undefinable mystery and fascination. He gained renown as a mighty hunter, and the tale of his life there, and the romance which awaited him, will be heart- ily enjoyed by all who like a good love-story with plenty of action not of the "stock" order. "Silver Bells," the Indian girl, is a perfect "child of nature." L. C. PACE AND COMPANY'S An Enemy to the King. (6oth thousand.) From the "Recently Discovered Memoirs of the Sieur lie la Tournoire." Illustrated by H. De M. Young. Library i:mo, cloth $1.50 An historical romance of the sixteenth century, describing the adventures of a young French nobleman at the Court of Henry HI., and on the field with Henry of Navarre. "A stirring tale." — Detroit Free Press. "A royally strong piece of fiction."— Baston Ideas. "Interesting from the first to the last page." — Brnklyn Eagle. "Brilliant as a play; it is equally brilliant as a romantic novel." — Philadelphia Press. The Continental Dragoon: a romance op Philipse Manor House in 1778. (43d thousand.) Illus- trated by H. C. Edwards. Library 1 2mo, cloth ii.50 A stirring romance of the Revolution, the scene being laid in and around the old Philipse Manor House, near Yonkers, which at the time of the story was the central point of the so- called '• neutral territory" between the two armies. The Road to Paris: a story of adventure. (25th thousand.) Illustrated by H. C. Edwards. Library l2mo, cloth $1.50 An historical romance of the 18th century, being an account of the life of an American gentleman adventurer of Jacobite ancestry, whose family early settled in the colony of Pennsyl- vania. A Gentleman Player: his adventures on a Secret Mission for Queen Elizabeth. (38th thou- sand.) Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. Library i2mo, cloth $150 "A Gentleman Player" is a romance of the Elizabethan period. It relates the story of a young gentleman who, in the reign of Elizabeth, falls so low in his fortune that he joins Shakespeare's company of players, and becomes a friend and protege* of the great poet. LIST OF FICTION WORKS OF CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS Barbara Ladd. With four illustrations by Frank Verbeck. Library 12mo, gilt top $150 "From the opening chapter to the final page Mr. Roberts lures us on by his rapt devotion to the changing aspects of Nature and by his keen and sympathetic analysis of human character." — Boston Transcript. The Kindred of the Wild, a book of animal Life. With fifty-one full-page plates and many decorations from drawings by Charles Livingston Bull. Small quarto, decorative cover $2.00 "Professor Roberts has caught wonderfully the elusive individu- alities of which he writes. His animal stories are marvels of sym- pathetic science and literary exactness. Bound with the superb illustrations by Charles Livingston Bull, they make a volume which charms, entertains, and informs." — New York World. "... Is in many ways the most brilliant collection of animal stories that has appeared . . . well named and well done." —John Burroughs. The Forge in the Forest. Being the Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean de Mer, Seigneur de Briart, and how he crossed the Black Abbd, and of his Adventures in a Strange Fellowship. Illustrated by Henry Sandham, R. C. A. Library 12mo, cloth, gilt top $1.50 A romance of the convulsive period of the struggle between the French and English for the possession of North Amer- ica. The story is one of pure love and heroic adventure, and deals with that fiery fringe of conflict that waved between Nova Scotia and New England. The Expulsion of the Aca- dians is foreshadowed in these brilliant pages, and the part of the " Black Abbe"'s" intrigues in precipitating that catastrophe is shown. LIST OF FICTION WORKS OF LILIAN BELL Hope Loring. Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. Library 12mo, cloth, decorative cover . . . $1.50 "Lilian Bell's new novel, ' Hope Loring,' does for the American girl in fiction what Gibson has done for her in art. "Tall, slender, and athletic, fragile-looking, yet with nerves and sinews of steel under the velvet flesh, frank as a boy and tender and beautiful as a woman, free and independent, yet not bold — such is 'Hope Loring,' by long odds the subtlest study that has yet been made of the American girl." — Dorothy Dix, in the New York American. Abroad with the Jimmies, with a portrait, in duogravure, of the author. Library 12mo, cloth, decorative cover . . . $150 "A deliriously fresh, graphic book. The writer is so original and unspoiled that her point of view has value."—Mary Hartwell Catherwood. "Full of ozone, of snap, of ginger, of swing and momentum." — Chicago Evening Post. "... Is one of her best and cleverest novels . . . filled to the brim with amusing incidents and experiences. This vivacious narra- tive needs no commendation to the readers of Miss Bell's well-known earlier books." — N. Y. Press. The Interference of Patricia, with a frontis- piece from drawing by Frank T. Merrill. Small i2mo, cloth, decorative cover . . $1.00 "There is life and action and brilliancy and dash and cleverness and a keen appreciation of business ways in this story.''— Grand Rapids Herald. "A story full of keen and flashing satire." — Chicago Record- Herald. A Book Of Girls. With a frontispiece. Small 12mo, cloth, decorative cover . . . $100 "The stories are all eventful and have effective humor." — New York Sun. "Lilian Bell surely understands girls, for she depicts all the varia- tions of girl nature so charmingly." — Chicago Journal. The above two volumes boxed in special holiday dress, per set, $jjo. L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S The Red Triangle. Being some further chronicles of Martin Hewitt, investigator. By Arthur Morrison, author of " The Hole in the Wall," " Tales of Mean Streets," etc. Library 12mo, cloth decorative . . . %\ .50 This is a genuine, straightforward detective story of the kind that keeps the reader on the qui vive. Martin Hewitt, investigator, might well have studied his methods from Sher- lock Holmes, so searching and successful are they. "Better than Sherlock Holmes." — New York Tributu. "The reader who has a grain of fancy or imagination may be defied to lay this book down, once he has begun it, until the last word has been reached." — Philadelphia North American. "If you like a good detective story you will enjoy this." — Brook- lyn Eagle. "We have found 'The Red Triangle ' a book of absorbing inter- est." — Rochester Herald. "Will be eagerly read by every one who likes a tale of mystery." — The Scotsman, England. Prince Hagen. By Upton Sinclair, author of " King Midas," etc. Library 12mo, cloth decorative . . . . $1.50 In this book Mr. Sinclair has written a satire of the first order — one worthy to be compared with Swift's biting tirades against the follies and abuses of mankind. "A telling satire on politics and society in modern New York." — Philadelphia Public Ledger. "The book has a living vitality and is a strong depiction of political New York." — Bookseller, Newsdealer, and Stationer. The Silent Maid. By Frederic W. Pangborn. Large i6mo, cloth decorative, with a frontispiece by Frank T. Merrill $1 00 A dainty and delicate legend of the brave days of old, of sprites and pixies, of trolls and gnomes, of ruthless barons and noble knights. "The Silent Maid " herself, with her strange bewitchment and wondrous song, is equalled only by Undine in charm and mystery. "Seldom does one find a short tale so idyllic in tone and so fanci- ful in motive. The book shows great delicacy of imagination." — The Criterion. IO JL C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S The Schemers: A Tale of Modern Life. By Edward F. Harkins, author of "Little Pilgrimages Among the Men Who Have Written Famous Books," etc With a frontispiece by Ernest Fosbery. Library i2mo, cloth $1-50 A story of a new and real phase of social life in Boston, skilfully and daringly handled. There is plenty of life and color abounding, and a diversity of characters — shop-girls, society belles, men about town, city politicians, and others. The various schemers and their schemes will be followed with interest, and there will be some discerning readers who may claim to recognize in certain points of the story certain hap- penings in the shopping and the society circles of the Hub. "A faithful delineation of real shop-girl life." — Mihuaukee Sentinel. "This comes nearer to the actual life of a modern American city, with all its complexities, than any other work of American fiction. The book shows an unusual power of observation and a still more unusual power to concentrate and interpret what is observed." St. Louis Star. The Promotion of The Admiral. By Morlbv Roberts, author of " The Colossus," " The Fugi- tives," "Sons of Empire," etc. Library 12n1o, cloth decorative, illustrated . . % I 50 This volume contains half a dozen stories of sea life, — fresh, racy, and bracing, — all laid in America, — stories full of rollicking, jolly, sea-dog humor, tempered to the keen edge of wit. "If any one writes better sea stories than Mr. Roberts, we don't know who it is; and if there is a better sea story of its kind than this it would be a joy to have the pleasure of reading it." — New York Sun. "To read these stories is a tonic for the mind; the stories are gems, and for pith and vigor of description they are unequalled." — New York Commercial Advertiser. "There is a hearty laugh in every one of these stories." — Tie Reader. "Mr. Roberts treats the life of the sea in a way that is intensely real and intensely human." — Milwaukee Sentinel. "The author knows his sea men from A to Z." — Philadelphia North American. *fr ^' ffh^