His most direct way, it appeared, was through Ghent and Termonde, but on working out the services he found he could get quicker trains via Brussels. He therefore booked by that route, and at 11:51 he climbed into a great through express from Ostend to Brussels, Aix-la-Chapelle, Strasbourg, and, it seemed to him, the whole of the rest of Europe. An hour and a half’s run brought him into Brussels-Nord, and from there he wandered out into the Place Rogier for lunch. Then returning to the station he took an express for Antwerp, arriving in the central terminus of that city a few minutes after three o’clock. He had bought a map of Antwerp at a bookstall in Brussels, from which he had learned that the Place Verte was nearly a mile away in the direction of the river. His traveling impedimenta consisting of a handbag only, he determined to walk, and emerging from the great marble hall of the station, he passed down the busy Avenue de Keyser, and along the Place de Meir into the older part of the town. As he walked he was immensely impressed by the fine wide streets, the ornate buildings, and the excellence of the shops. Everywhere were evidences of wealth and prosperity, and as he turned into the Place Verte, and looked across at the huge bulk of the Cathedral with its soaring spire, he felt that here was an artistic treasure of which any city might well be proud. The Grand Hôtel du Carillon was an old, quaint looking building looking out over the Place Verte. French, entering, called for a bock in the restaurant, and after he had finished, asked to see the manager. A moment later a small, stout man with a humorous eye appeared, bowed low, and said that he was M. Marquet, the proprietor. “A word with you in private, M. Marquet,” French requested, when they had exchanged confidences on the weather. “Won’t you take something with me?” The proprietor signified his willingness in excellent English, and when further drinks had been brought, and French had satisfied himself that they were alone, he went on: “I am a detective officer from the London police, and I am trying to trace an Englishman called Dangle. I have reason to suppose he stayed at this hotel recently. There is his photograph. Can you help me at all?”