"I hate to be beaten at the final stage, and I have a premonition that were I in England--had I but the power to proceed unchecked and unhindered by officialdom--I would soon lay my hands on the man who originated the Albert Gate mystery. But we are in France--in a country of queer legal forms and unusual methods. At home I can always circumvent Scotland Yard; here I am in the midst of strange surroundings, and know not what may happen. Therefore, we must possess our souls in patience and wait developments. The agent I have just employed has promised me to report every two hours at the hotel until eight o'clock. Then I will take personal charge of the Cabaret Noir, and----" "What about me?" cried Fairholme. "You, my dear fellow, will remain at the hotel and await orders." This arrangement did not seem to suit the active young Englishman who had been so suddenly plunged into the excitement of a criminal chase in Paris. "Really, Brett," he said, "I hate to grumble at anything you propose, because you are always right; but you must pardon me for saying that I do not see what particular value my presence here has been to you." "What!" laughed Brett; "not after your dramatic appearance in the Rue Barbette this morning?" "Oh, any one could have done that. All I had to do was to break in a door at a given hour." "Exactly," said Brett gravely. "I wanted a friend whom I could trust to implicitly obey my orders, and you did it. I am sure you will fall in with my wishes now." So Fairholme was silenced on this point, but he ventured to put another question. "How long am I to sit chewing cigars in our rooms, then?" "All night, if necessary. If I do not appear by seven o'clock to-morrow morning you had better go to the Embassy and tell one of the secretaries everything connected with our visit to Paris. He will then take action through the police in proper form, and after that you must simply await developments." "Do you mean to say," said Fairholme, anxiously, "that you are contemplating another risky bit of business to-night?" "Once I take my stand outside the Cabaret Noir about 8.30 I cannot tell where Fate may lead me. If I am lucky I will certainly return, whatever be the personal outcome. If, on the other hand, I learn nothing, you may certainly expect to see me about two in the morning." At the hotel Brett found awaiting him a letter delivered by the midday post. It was from his elderly assistant in London, whom he had told to make a close scrutiny of all inhabited houses within a certain radius of the Carlton Hotel. The man had done his work systematically, and in only three instances was he called on to report doubtful cases. Two foreign restaurants in side streets contained a number of residents concerning whom it was difficult to obtain specific information.