Evening star., 1925-04-14
1925. by Little, Brown & Co..

The burning house was some sc
yards ahead of us, for police Gordon
prevented any unauthorized person
from approaching nearer to the scene
of the disaster. Some dozen men, In
the blue uniform and brass hats oil
the fire brigade, were running aim
lessly about dragging lengths of hose
along the pavement. i remembered
the file of cyclists, similarly attired
whom l had seen a short time pre-
Yiously.
Rehmy approached a gendarme and
inquired whether we might be per
mitted to go farther. down the street
"No," replied the gendarme firmly.
'tIn no circumstances whatever, mon
sieur."
But we have urgent business with
some gentlemen in No. 140," expos
tulated Rehmy.
I'm that case" replied the gen
darme, you are a little late, mon
sieur. No. 140 is in flames"
We looked at each other, our dawn
ing apprehension confirmed.
1.-The sapeurs pompiers," the gen
darme volunteered, ''were called out
about half an hour ago. But there is
no cause for alarm on behalf of your
friends" he continued, ''for the house
was empty"
"Empty?" I echoed.
''Yes, monsieur. The heroic fire
brigade succeeded in penetrating to
every room before the flames became
too much for them. There was no
one at all in the house. The gentle
men whom you wish to see have evi-
IDENTIFY escaped"
well" said Rehpy briefly. turn
ing as he spoke. its no use standing
here. Back to the car.
We pushed our way slowly through
the crowd back to the spot where we
had left the Peugeot standing. AS
we went, De Blanchegarde Iald
hand on my arm.
Mon Capitaine," he said, I've
known worse moments than this,
and he gently squeezed the muscles
of my forearm with a friendly ges-
ture. 1t was kindly meant and L tried
to respond, but without much success.
Arrived at the car, we paused to
take counsel. 1t appeared TO be quite
checkmate. The document, the con-
spirators and Beatrice were lost, and
there appeared to be no possible clue
to their recovery.
Even at that bitter moment, L
could not help noticing, as we talked,
the difference in my two companions.
L
concerned about the document. He
took from force of habit the profess
sionaI view-the official work must at
all costs go forward. De Blanche
garde-or CASTOR, as l soon learned to
call hinl-was chiefly preoccupied by
the personal aspects of the adventure,
the escape of the professor, the MUIR
der of Lavelle and the abduction OF
Beatrice. AS for me, international
problems, conspiracies and even the
brutal murder of my friend LaNeHe
all dwindled before the supreme ana
terrible fact that the girl whom L
loved was in the hands OF a man
whom 1 dreaded above all other men
in the world, while l was ignorant
alike of her fate and of her where
abouts.
'He is clever, that Professor re-
marked Rehmy, as we climbed at last
into the car. He has covered his
tracks completely"
The burning of No. lao Rue Etienne
Dumont was certainly master
stroke, for it left us without any
means of tracing the gang, besides
effectively destroying all incriminat-
ing evidence against them.
We remained silent while once
more we took the road for NersolX.
1 was gradually recovering from the
first shock of these disasters and set
ting NV brain to work, cropping for
some plan which might give us a
chance of rescuing Beatrice. Ponder
as 1 could, however, l could hit on
no solution. To go to the police at
this stage would be fatal. 1t would,
at best, result in a process which
could only be lengthy and tedious,
since the quarters of the gang were
unknown. At the worst / might find
myself indefinitely laid by the heels.
Fritz had denounced me as MUIR
derer, and it might take several days
for me to convince the authorities OF
nv identity and to prove an effective
alibi Especially now that poor Lavelle,
who might have been able to help me,
had been murdered). Meanwhile, time
was all on the side of the conspira-
tors.
Then, suddenly. Rehmy, who had
been very thoughtful since we got
into the car, exclaimed:
But. of course, there's Adolf!'
by Jove, yes" 1 said. I'D quite
forgotten Adolf"
HE may know another headquar-
ters,' continued Rehmy. Its not un-
place of meeting in Geneva"
It's scarcely probable" l said
doubtfully. "They are much more
likely to be on the way to Germany
by now"
You forget the document" replied
Rehmy, in the tone, eager but calm,
which l afterward came to know for
a sign that he was on the track of a
possible way out. They will never
leave Geneva without the document,
and they don't even know where it
is to be found. That's why. they've
taken Mile. Harvel."
He ceased abruptly, for ] suppose
my face must have shown the direc-
ton of my thoughts.
Courage, my friend" he said, and
added with a grave conviction, 1T
will be our turn presently"
IF they touch a hair of her head, II
I began, and stopped, realizing the
uselessness of empty threats.
My French friends looked at me
with quick sympathy, and Rehmy
said at once:
"Our next step is obvious. We must
question Adolf"
CONTINUED in Tomorrow's Starr