Near the bar, however, solemnly digesting a liqueur, stood a man to whom the choppy sea evidently gave no concern. He had the square shoulders, neat-fitting clothes and closely clipped appearance at the back of the neck which mark the British officer; but he also stood square on his feet and swayed with unconscious ease whether the vessel pitched or rolled or executed the combined movement. "Now, I wonder," said Brett, "if that is Captain Gaultier. He must be. Gaultier, from his name, should be a Jersey man, hence his facility in foreign languages and his employment as a Foreign Office messenger. It's worth trying. I will make the experiment." He reached the bar and ordered a whisky and soda. Turning affably to the stranger, he remarked-- "Nasty night, isn't it? I hope we shan't be much behind time." The stranger glanced at him with sharp and inquisitive eyes, but the glance evidently reassured him, for he replied quite pleasantly-- "Oh, no. A matter of a few minutes, perhaps. They usually manage to make up any delay after we leave Calais." "That's good," said Brett, "because I want to be in Paris at the earliest possible moment." The other man smiled. "We are due there at 5.38," he said. "Rather an early hour for business, isn't it?" "Well, yes," assented the barrister, "under ordinary circumstances, but as my only business in Paris is to examine an hotel register and then get something to eat before I return, I do not wish to waste time unnecessarily on the road." The other man nodded affably, but gave no sign of further interest. "So," communed Brett, "if it be Gaultier, he has not heard the latest developments. I must try a frontal attack." "Does your name happen to be Gaultier?" he went on. The stranger arrested his liqueur glass in the final tilt. "It does," he said; "but I do not think I have the pleasure of knowing you." "No," said Brett, "you haven't." "Well?" said the other man. "The fact is," said Brett, "I heard you had been in London. I guessed from your appearance that you might be a King's messenger, and it was just possible that the Captain Gaultier in whom I was interested might start back to the Continent to-night, so I put two and two together, don't you see, with the result that they made four, a thing which doesn't always happen in deduction if in mathematics." Now, Foreign Office messengers are not chosen for their simplicity or general want of intelligence. Captain Gaultier eyed his questioner with some degree of stern suspicion as he said from behind his cigar-- "May I ask who you are?" "Certainly," replied Brett, producing his card. After a quick glance at the pasteboard, Gaultier continued-- "I suppose, Mr. Brett, you have some motive in addressing me? What is it?"