M.
I drove straight to the Hotel de la Poste, careless that my tormentors
were accompanying me; they could do me no more harm, and Tiler was at
hand to help in vindicating our position.
There was no Tiler at the Hotel de la Poste; no Tiler in Brieg. Only
a brief telegram from him conveying unwelcome and astounding
intelligence. It had been despatched from Vevey about 2 P.M.,
and it said:
"Lost her somewhere between this and Lausanne. Am trying back. Shall
wire you again to Brieg. Wait there or leave address."
My face must have betrayed my abject despair. I was so completely
knocked over that I offered no opposition when the Colonel impudently
took the telegram out of my hand and read it coolly.
"Drawn blank!" he cried, unable to contain himself for joy. "By the
Lord Harry, that's good."
CHAPTER X.
[_The Statement of the Second Detective_, _Ludovic Tiler_.]
I travelled via Ostend, Brussels and Strasburg, and was due at Basle
from that side at 4.35 A.M. My instructions were to look out
for Falfani there, and thought I might do so if our train was fairly
punctual, as it was.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89