laimed quickly. "What causes you to suspect?"

"A man whom I believe to be an acquaintance of his has to-day sent an
urgent telegram to Charles Rabel, Rue de Lalande, 163, in Montauban,
in France, making an appointment to meet him at the Hotel Luxembourg
at Nimes next Monday at noon."

"Who is his friend?" he asked eagerly.

"I regret, Senor Andrade, that I am not in a position to answer that
question. The whole matter is only one of suspicion--very strong
suspicion."

The Chief of Police looked very straight at me.

"Ah! Then you are in possession of certain secret knowledge concerning
the man who made such a dastardly attempt upon your life!" he
remarked. "And you suspect this Charles Rabel at Montauban to be the
fugitive--eh?"

"Exactly," I replied.

He asked me to repeat the address, which he scribbled down, and then
looking up, said:

"Personally, Senor Garfield, I think your suspicions are unfounded.
Despujol, if he is ever found, will be discovered in hiding somewhere
in the mountains of the north."

"But why not in Montauban?" I asked. "He is apparently a well-educated
man, judging from his conversation with me. He speaks French well, and
perhaps passes as a French subject."

"He could pass for a Spaniard, an Italian, a Greek, or a Frenchman,"
Andrade remarked. "And as forged passports are so cheap nowadays, and
almost impossible to detect, the means of escape of such a daring
criminal are both numerous and easy. But," he added, "I am interested
in this person whom you believe to be a friend of the fugitive. Cannot
you tell me who he is?"

I shook my head, and smiling replied:

"I have only come here to tell you of a very distinct suspicion I
entertain that Despujol is at Montauban."

"Then his friend is your enemy--eh?" he suggested, his dark,
penetrating eyes fixed upon mine. "You know the motive of that trap
which Despujol set for you, and yet you will not reveal it to me!"

Again I shook my head and smiled.

"It would make my task much easier," he remarked.

"I am aware of that. But at present mine is only a suspicion. I have
no actual knowledge that Charles Rabel is the man you are so desirous
of arresting."

"And you really refuse to tell me who sent this message?" he asked in
a tone of disappointment.

"It was sent in secret," I answered. "Indeed, it was that fact which
caused me to suspect. You can, of course, obtain the original of the
telegram by applying for it from the author