The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-13

| done 1t, and ] decided to 20 back r.t
once to the Care du Nord. There
| might still he able to find some trace
/ of the little man and of my two other
fellow-trayelcrs. If through porter
| or cabman / could learn where they
1 had gone. j might have a chance even
| now of getting back the stolen treaty.
had brought with me from London
n loaded revolver. warned by the
| Foreign Secretary that to do SO would
| be wise precaution, and 1 was ready
to make use of 1t II necessary.
| was beginning to be very hungry, but
/ that was detail of no Importance, for
| ] had no time to waste in eating.
| went to the railway station and looked
about until found a porter whose
face L had seen when got out of tho
! train. He had, in fact. appeared nm
der the window of my compartment,
Offering himself as luggage carrier
and had been close behind me when
my late travelling companions walked
| by my side. Questioned. he appeared
! not to remember; but his wits being
sharpened by the gift of franc. he
| reflected and recalled not only my
| features. but the features OF the little
| man. whom he described with SUIT
| Client accuracy. What had become of
| lie petit Monsieur. he was not certain
| but fancied he had driven away in
] a cab accompanied by two other gen
| tlemen. He recollected this circum-
| stance. because the face Of the cabman
was one that he knew. and 1t was
now again in the station, for the
| voiture had returned Would he point
| out the cocher to me? He would, and
did. receiving a second franc for his
| pains.
The cab driver proved to be a duh
and surly fellow. like many another
| cocher of Paris, but the clink of sil-
Yer and the sight of 1t mellowed him.
began by saying that was in search
| of three friends of mine whom | v as
to have met when the boat train came
| in. but whom L had unfortunately
| missed ] asked him TO describe the
\ men he had driven away from ths sta
| ton at TINT time. and though hNt4
| 1t clumsily, betraying All irritating
| lack of observation when 1t came to
details. still such Information as L
could draw from him soundeS encour-
/ aging. He remembered perfectly welt
the, place at which he had deposited
his three passengers, and / decided To
| take the risk of following them
| When say risk I mean the risk
i that the man / was starting out 10
chase might turn out not to be the man
wished to follow. Besides. as they
| had been driven to Neuilly. the dis.
| lance was so great that, IL went there
In cab. and found at last that / haii
made a mistake. / should have wasted n
| great deal of valuable time on the wrong
| track IL the driver had remembered
| the name of the street, and the number
| of the house at which he had paused
! would have hired a motor and flash
| ed out to the place in few minutes
| but. despite suggested bride, he could
say no more than that, when he had
4 ram tn. n r.
1 passengers had called. Turn down tho
next street, to the left" He had So
and in front of a house. almost midway
| along that street. he had been hidden
| to stop. He had not bothered to look
at the name of the street; but though
he was not very familiar with that
neighborhood. various landmarks -.ould
/ guide him to the right place. when
4 he came to pass them again.
I Having heard all he had to say, re-
luctantly made UP my mind that I
| could do no better than take the man
as my conductor; and accordingly, with
a horse already tired, l drove 10
Neuilly There, the landmarks were
/ not deceiving. as 1 was half afraid
| they would be; and in a quiet street
i of the suburb, we stopped at last De-
fore a fair-sized house with lights in
| many windows Evidently 1t was a,
/ pension.
OF the nan-servant who answered
/ my ring, / inquired II three English
l-gentlemen had lately arrived. He re-
1 piled that they had. and were dining.
Would Monsieur give himself the pain
of waiting a few minutes, until dinner
| should be over?
| My answer was to slip five-frane
piece into the servants hand, and sug-
! gest that I should be shown at once
| into the dinng-room, without waiting.
! Ny idea was to catch my birds while
! they fed, and take them by surprise.
! lest they fly away. II pounced upoa
| them in the midst of meal at leasa
| they could not escape before being
recognized by me; and as to what
1 should come after recognition, the mo-
ment of meeting must decide.
The five-franc piece worked like n
charm. I was promptly ushered into
/ the dining room. and standing just in
! side the door, I swept the long table
with a quick, eager glance. Abont
eighteen or twenty people were dining.
but. though several We're unmistak-
ably English. I saw no one who re-
! sembled my travelling companions.
(To be Continued To-morrow.)