ishments a nose, peculiar less for its shape than for
its smell. He can "smell out" tobacco as a witch doctor in Zululand
smells out a "devil." Fate directed this individual toward the
Americans. Hillard knew him of old; and he never forgets a face, this
wizened little man.

"Monsieur has nothing to declare?" he asked.

Hillard made a negative sign and opened his cases. With scarce a glance
at their contents, and waving aside the coupons, the inspector applied
the chalk and turned to Merrihew.

"Monsieur has nothing to declare?" he repeated.

Merrihew shook his head airily. "_Niente, niente!_" he said in his best
Italian. He did not understand what the inspector said; he merely had
suspicions.

"Look!" suddenly exclaimed Hillard.

Passing out of the door which led to liberty and to France, their
luggage guaranteed by cabalistic chalk marks, were two women. One of
them was veiled, the other was not.

"Kitty Killigrew, as I live!" shouted Merrihew, making a dash for the
door.

But the inspector blocked the way, beckoned to a gendarme, who came
over, and calmly pointed to Merrihew's unopened cases.

"Open!" said the inspector, all his listlessness gone. He had seen
people in a hurry before.

"But--" Merrihew struggled to pass.

"For Heaven's sake!" cried Hillard, "be patient and open the cases at
once."

Merrihew handled his keys clumsily. The first key on the ring should
have been the last, and the last first. It is ever thus when one is in a
hurry. Finally he threw back the lids, feeling that in another moment he
must have spouted Italian or French out of pure magic, simply to tell
this fool inspector what he thought of him.

"Oho! Monsieur-in-a-hurry!" mocked the inspector. "Nothing, nothing!" He
took out the two boxes of cigars.

"Why the devil didn't you tell me you had them?" Hillard demanded
wrathfully. To find the women by this stroke of luck, and then to lose
them again for two boxes of cigars! It was maddening!

As a matter of fact, Merrihew had forgotten all about them, so far as
intentional wrong-doing was concerned.

The inspector went through Merrihew's possessions with premeditated
leisure. Everything had to come out. He even opened the shaving sets,
the collar box, the pin cases, and the tie bag. Other persons pushed by
toward the train, uttering their relief aloud. Still the inspector
doddered on. "Will you hasten?" asked Hillard. "We do not wish to miss
this train."

"Others follow