e
had some authority. People would give him their passports, and he would
write something on them and then pass them over to the clerks. Rollo
waited a moment and then handed his passports in. The man took them,
looked over them and then gave them back to Rollo, saying something in
French which Rollo did not understand, and immediately passed to the
next in order.

"What did he say?" said Rollo, turning to Carlos.

[Illustration: THE PREFECTURE OF POLICE.]

"What's the reason he won't take your passports?" said Carlos.

Although Rollo did not understand what the official said at the time of
his speaking, still the words left a trace upon his ear, and in
thinking upon them he recalled the words "American legation," and also
the word "afterwards." While he was musing on the subject, quite
perplexed, a pleasant-looking girl, who was standing there waiting for
her turn, explained to him--speaking very slow in French, for she
perceived that Rollo was a foreigner--as follows:--

"He says that you must go first and get your passports stamped at the
American legation and afterwards come here."

"Where is the American legation?" said Rollo.

"I don't know," said the girl.

"Then I'll make the coachman find it for me," said Rollo. "Come, Carlos;
we must go back."

So saying, he thanked the girl for her kindness, and the two boys went
out. As he was going out Rollo made up a French sentence to say to the
coachman that he must drive to the American legation, and that he must
find out where it was himself. He succeeded in communicating these
directions to the coachman, and then he and Carlos got into the carriage
and drove away.

The coachman had some difficulty in learning where the American legation
was, which occasioned some delay. Besides, the distance was
considerable. It was nearly two miles to the place from the prefecture
of police; so that it was some time before the carriage arrived there.
In fact, Rollo had a very narrow escape in this stage of the affair; for
he arrived at the American legation only about five minutes before the
office was to be closed for the day. When he went to the porter's lodge
to ask if that was the place where the office of the American legation
was held, the woman who kept the lodge, and who was standing just
outside the door at the time, instead of answering, went in to look at
the clock.

"Ah," said she, "you are just in time. I thought you were too late.
Second story, right-hand