s,
bored to extinction and suffering torments in the unbearable heat.

Basil and I agreed that it was cruel to restrict her movements even
with such a good excuse, and had she been willing to accept the
irksome conditions, which she certainly was not. We arranged a
surveillance, therefore, unknown to her. The Colonel, his man, or
myself invariably accompanied her or followed her within eyeshot; and
we hired two or three stalwart Moors, who were always to be near
enough to render help if required.

Then came confirmations of our worst fears. L'Echelle, who had been
unaccountably absent one morning, returned about midday with news from
the port. Lord Blackadder and his two henchmen had just landed from
the _Jose Pielago_, the steamer that runs regularly between Cadiz and
Algeciras, Gibraltar, and Tangier. He had seen them in the
custom-house, fighting their way through the crowd of ragged Jew
porters, the Moorish egg merchants, and dealers in luscious fruit.
They had mounted donkeys, the only means of conveyance in a town with
no wheeled vehicles; and l'Echelle made us laugh at the sorry picture
presented by the indignant peer, with his legs dangling down on each
side of the red leather saddle. Their baggage was also piled on
donkeys, and the whole procession, familiar enough in the narrow
streets of Tangier, climbed the hill to the Soko, and made for the
Shereef Hotel, reputed one of the best in Tangier, and lying outside
the walls in the immediate neighbourhood of the British Legation.

L'Echelle, who seems an honest, loyal fellow, thought he would serve
us best by marking them down, and, if possible, renewing his
acquaintance with the detectives, one or both of whom he knew. After
hanging about the outside of the hotel, he entered the garden boldly
and went up to the shady trellised verandah where they were seated
together, smoking and refreshing themselves after their journey.

L'Echelle was well received. Falfani, my friend of the Calais train,
believed he had suborned him at Aix, and now hailed his appearance
with much satisfaction. L'Echelle might again be most useful; at
least, he could lead them to us, and he wisely decided to let Falfani
know where we were to be found in Tangier. The fact would surely be
discovered without him. It was better, he thought, to appear frank,
and, by instilling confidence, learn all there was to know of their
plans and movements.

My lord had gone to the Legation, Falfani told