"Oui, oui. Yes?" the Frenchman interrogated.

"Well, naturally I told the chief. He knew who it was."

"Bien! There is not--how do you say?--flies on Archer, n'est-ce pas? And
then?"

"The chief guessed who it was from the captain's description."

Fox nodded his head at Beamish. "You met him, eh, captain?"

"He stood me a drink," the big man answered, "but what he did it for I
don't know."

"But how did he get wise to the telephone?" Bulla rumbled.

"Can't find out," Fox replied, "but it showed he was wise to the whole
affair. Then there was that letter from Miss Coburn. That gave the show
away, because there could have been no papers like she said, and she
couldn't have discovered anything then that she hadn't known at the
clearing. Archer put Morton on to it, and he found that this Willis went
down to EASTBOURNE one night about two days before the letter came. So
that was that. Then he had me watch for him going to the telephone, and
he has fooled him about proper. I guess he's in London now, arranging to
arrest us all tomorrow."

Bulla chuckled fatly.

"As you say," he nodded at Raymond, "there ain't no flies on Archer,
what?"

"I've always thought a lot of Archer," Beamish remarked, "but I never
thought so much of him as that night we drew lots for who should put
Coburn out of the way. When he drew the long taper he never as much as
turned a hair. That's the last time we had a full meeting, and we never
reckoned that this would be the next."

At this moment a train passed going towards Hull.

"There's his train," Fox cried. "He should be here soon."

"How long does it take to get from the station?" Raymond inquired.

"About fifteen minutes," Captain Beamish answered. "We're time enough
making a move."

The men showed more and more nervousness, but the talk dragged on for
some quarter of an hour. Suddenly from the wharf sounded the approaching
footsteps of a running man. He crossed the gangway and raced up the
ladder to the captain's cabin. The others sprang to their feet as the
door opened and Benson appeared.

"He hasn't come!" he cried excitedly. "I watched at the station and he
didn't get out!"

Consternation showed on every face, and Beamish swore bitterly. There
was a variety of comments and conjectures.

"There's no other train?"

"Only the express. It doesn't stop here, but it stops at Hassle on
notice to the guard."

"He may have missed the connection at Selby," Fox suggested. "In