"I have my doubts on that point," he said. "The man who has thus far kept himself so easily ahead of all pursuers, and exhibited such a wealth of resource in his methods, may well be trusted to cover up his tracks effectually. There is even a possibility that the _Belles Soeurs_ will never be seen again, and that her number will long remain vacant on the shipping register of Marseilles. However, we shall see." "Then, Mr. Brett," put in Edith quietly, with a tired smile, "I suppose we may go to bed?" "Most certainly, Miss Talbot. You have earned your rest more than any of us to-night," he answered. He held out his hand to wish her good-night, but she demanded with some surprise, "What are you going to do? Surely you want some sleep?" "I will remain here," he said. "I have bribed the hall-porter to keep awake, and I may be wanted on the telephone at any moment." "Then I will stop with you," cried Fairholme. "And I too," chimed in Talbot. "You will do nothing of the sort," he answered with pleasant insistence. "You will just be off, both of you, and get some hours of sound sleep. You may need all your energy to-morrow. Do not be afraid. I will arouse you if anything dramatic should happen." Left to himself, Brett again interviewed the hall-porter and returned to the sitting-room, where he disposed himself for a nap on the sofa. Like all men who possess the faculty of concentrated thought, he also cultivated the power of dismissing a perplexing problem from his mind until it became necessary to consider it afresh in the light of further knowledge. Within five minutes he was sound asleep. At length he woke with a start. He was stiff with cold, for the fire had gone out, and the tiny gas jet he had left burning was not sufficient to warm the room. He sprang to his feet and looked at his watch. It was half-past six. "Surely," he cried, "there must have been a message from Paris long before this!" He ran downstairs, encountering on his way some of the hotel servants, who even thus early had commenced work, for your industrious Frenchman is no laggard in the morning. Going to the hall-porter's office he found that functionary snoring peacefully. The poor fellow was evidently tired out, and twenty telephone bells might have jangled in his ears without waking him. So, for the third time, Brett rang up the exchange to get in touch with Paris. As he had anticipated, he quickly learnt that the Prefecture had endeavoured to get through to him about 4.30 a.m., but the operators were unable to obtain any answer. "I can hardly blame the man," said he to himself, "for I was just as tired as he."