It was impossible for the authorities to say where it had taken place. The English company repudiated all liability, declaring that it had been committed on the French line; and the French company were equally confident that the gold had been abstracted in England. Then both parties met on mutual ground, and argued that it might have been done on the steamer. The loss was not discovered until the safes were opened in Paris, so that in the lawsuits which followed there really was no proof to offer as to where the responsibility really lay. The matter was eventually compromised, but no clue was obtained to the thieves, though the detective departments of both countries went into the matter _con amore_, in hope of elucidating the international mystery. In the meantime the thieves had had to proceed with the utmost caution in realizing their booty, and many an anxious moment had Marston to pass before he could consider himself the master of the little fortune his railway journey had resulted in. Some of the bullion was disposed of through trustworthy channels, where no trace would be left, but a large quantity of it had to be melted down before it could be conveniently got rid of. During all this time Marston had to meet and consult with his companions in crime. These meetings distressed and annoyed him. He shrank almost with horror from the familiar salutations of Heckett, Brooks, and Preene. He felt degraded and contaminated by them. It seemed to him that he was outraging Ruth by going into her presence after he had quitted the society of his accomplices. They began to notice his altered manner and they became suspicious of him. Was it possible he was going to turn traitor? His face sometimes wore the nervous, anxious look which the professional Judas cannot always banish. But, consulting together, Heckett, Brooks, and Preene dismissed the notion as absurd. How could he play them false? It was to his interest not to. Besides, he had the reputation of being a chief among swindlers—a master-mind. It is not from such men there is danger to be feared. It is generally some outsider, who hasn’t the talent to make a rogue, who proves a traitor, and, lacking pluck, turns his cowardice to some account. Marston saw that his manner was attracting notice, and he controlled himself directly. He hurried on the settlement, however, and even agreed to accept less than his original share in order to get out of the business. When, in due course, everything had been safely done and the traces removed, the four men met for the last time in a lonely house which they had taken near Kilburn, and where the melting operations had been conducted.