crime to keep their secret. If he wished to pursue
his investigations, it was up to him to do so without arousing their
suspicions.

As he pondered over the problem of how this was to be done he became
more and more conscious of its difficulty. Such an inquiry to a trained
detective could not be easy, but to him, an amateur at the game,
it seemed well-nigh impossible. And particularly he found himself
handicapped by the intimate terms with the Coburns on which he and
Merriman found themselves. For instance, that very morning an excursion
had been arranged to an old chateau near Bordeaux. How could he refuse
to go? And if he went how could he watch the loading of the Girondin?

He had suspected before that the Coburns' hospitality was due to
something other than friendliness, and now he was sure of it. No longer
had he any doubt that the object was to get him out of the way, to
create that very obstacle to investigation which it had created. And
here again Miss Coburn had undoubtedly lent herself to the plot.

He was not long in coming to the conclusion that the sooner he and
Merriman took leave of the Coburns the better. Besides this question of
handicap, he was afraid with so astute a man as Coburn he would sooner
or later give himself away.

The thought led to another. Would it not be wise to keep Merriman in
ignorance of what he had learned at least for the present? Merriman was
an open, straightforward chap, transparently honest in all his dealings.
Could he dissemble sufficiently to hide his knowledge from his hosts? In
particular could he deceive Madeleine? Hilliard doubted it. He felt that
under the special circumstances his friend's discretion could not be
relied on. At all events Merriman's appearance of ignorance would be
more convincing if it were genuine.

On the whole, Hilliard decided, it would be better not to tell him.
Let them once get away from the neighborhood, and he could share his
discoveries and they could together decide what was to be done. But
first, to get away.

Accordingly next morning he broached the subject. He had expected his
friend would strenuously oppose any plan involving separation from
Madeleine Coburn, but to his relief Merriman immediately agreed with
him.

"I've been thinking we ought to clear out too," he declared
ungrammatically. "It's not good enough to be accepting continuous
hospitality which you can't return."

Hilliard assented carelessly, remarked that if they