ffice, and made the most
careful inquiries, but in every case without success. Once we thought we
had discovered our man, only to find, after wasting a precious hour,
that the clerk's description was altogether a wrong one, and that he
resembled Hayle in no sort of way. We boarded the South African
mail-boat, but he was not among her passengers; we overhauled the
American liner, with an equally barren result. We paid cursory visits to
the principal hotels, but could hear no tidings of him in any one of
them. As a matter of fact, if the man had journeyed to Southampton, as I
had every reason to suppose he had done, he must have disappeared into
thin air when he got there. The whole affair was most bewildering, and I
scarcely knew what to think of it. That the boots at the hotel had not
been hoodwinking me I felt assured in my own mind. His anger against the
man was too real to allow any doubt upon that point. At last, having
exhausted all our resources, and not seeing what I could do further, I
returned to my subordinate's lodgings, where it had been arranged that
telegrams should be addressed to me. On my arrival there a yellow
envelope was handed to me. I tore it open eagerly and withdrew the
contents. It proved to be from Dickson, and had been sent off from
Dover. I took my codebook from my pocket and translated the message upon
the back of the telegraph-form. It ran as follows--

"Man with triangular scar upon left cheek, brown bag and travelling rug,
boarded train at Herne Hill, went through to Dover, and has booked to
Paris. Am following him according to instructions."

"Then he slipped me after all," I cried. "He must have gone on to
Waterloo, crossed to Cannon Street, then on to London Bridge. The
cunning scoundrel! He must have made up his mind that the biggest bluff
he could play upon me was to tell the truth, and by Jove! he was not
very far wrong. However, those laugh best who laugh last, and though he
has had a very fair innings so far, we will see whether he can beat me
in the end. I'll get back to Town now, run down to Bishopstowe to-morrow
morning to report progress, and then be off to Paris after him
on Monday."

At 8.45 that night I reached London. At the same moment Mr. Gideon Hayle
was sitting down to a charming little dinner at the Cafe des Princes,
and was smiling to himself as he thought of the success that had
attended the trick he had played upon me.

CHAPTER VII

When I reached the cha