The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-10

Despite this, however, the lady ap- peared again upon the platform when our train arrived at the Care de St. Isazarre after an intolcrable jour ney. and she begged me to help her to give a direction to the cabman. The little French journalist, however, I did not sec. He had vanished into the air, and I fell to wondering if anything had happened to him at Dieppe, as it is wont 10 happen to un desirable travellers who are ignorant of the cleverness of the French au- thorities.
 I put the engaging lady into Q cab, and drove to my hotel Having mark ed the couple, considered that I had done with them, though prudence must keep them in my memory.
 Tor some three days I went to and fro upon the affairs of which I have spoken, and certainly l never saw either the lady or the journalist dur ing that time. One thing, however kept them in my mind. Some one, it appeared, was curious about my be- logings in the hotel, and I came to the conclusion at an early stage that my despatch case had been searched.
 My Bags Searched.
 Let me here tell you that we peo- pie who are entrusted with the care of important documents must always endeavor to be sure that we are, in the words of Sir William Gilbert, alone and unobserved' We have many little tricks which enable us to tell whether our bedrooms have or have not been maltciously entered in oIr absence.
 Clever as are the rogues who dog US, in some things they are very stupid. They will be at infinite pains to replace a paper precisely as it was loft. and they are very suspicious in decd of letters which are folded to trap them, and most be refoIded iden- tically if they are not to be discover ed. But there are other means of dis covering, though wild horses would not drag the description of them from me. If false key has been put into the lock of any bag that { carry, am aware of it in a moment There mere shifting of a despatch in it's case will betray the fingers of the curious despite their cIeverness and;, believe me, that the moving of a pa overweight or even of a cigarette case is a damning piece of evidence when properly handled.
 All these tricks served me well at the hotel at which l was staying in Paris. I became aware that not only every bag, but every garment I pos | sessed had been searched, yet the fla | nous old white-haired detective, whom we all know so well, protested | by a hundred gods that the thing ! could not be.
 l Was he not upon my staircase all | day?
 i The obvious answer that the spy might be one of the employees did not move him He had known them l all. so he said, almost before they 1 were born He would go to the scaf- | fold for them.
 | I said no more, for there was Ob- | viously nothing to be done. Since he had been warned, the responsibility was his, and I reflected with just l irony that so far I had not carried g. single document which was worth two o-pence-half-pe to the un- known gang. London had sent me as a potential, rather than an actual messenger, and had yet to receive the important papers which I must | carry cit 1, to London or to Italy as the need might be. When the actual moment came. I found that the jour- ney was to neither of these places.
 A Precious Letter.
 A weII-known French statesman whose name, of course. cannot be
 mentioned, was then staying in th' i neighborhod of Vendome. He was very ill, and could not come to Paris
 but it was necessary that there
 should be some immediate commun
 ication between our people and him
 A very confidential letter of the kinC
 which you swallow rather than lost
 was entrusted to me for immediate
 delivery at the chateau where the olC I gentleman was staying.
 had a splendid car at my dis
 posal, and the services of an admir- 1 able French chauffeur. We were tC make what speed we could and to re l turn, if possible, by the following
 afternoon. That meant pretty gooC T going. It was already six O clock O
 the day when I got the precious let
 ter. It took another half-hour to ge the car to the door, and, there beint
 the usual press of the military trans port upon the road, we had the deuc' of a job to get out beyond Versatile , and make a fair start for Chartres. I had clean forgotten by this tin'
 any thought of distressed ladies anC little French Journalists. The affai
 was as straightforward as it coult | be, and, with a military chauffeur a the wheel, could hardly be dangerous The letter itself I carried in the SC cret pocket of my waistcoat-on l twice buttoned and covered owe again with the detachable lining.
 took no luggage save the smallest Q