I made some innocent looking
markings so as to find the place again, and then went back to the river
and so to the bridge and my taxi."

Hilliard paused and drew at his cigar. Merriman did not speak. He was
leaning forward, his face showing the interest he felt.

"Next morning, that was yesterday, I took another taxi and returned to
the bridge, again dressed as a fisherman. I had brought some lunch, and
I told the man to return for me at seven in the evening. Then I found
my hollow, lay down and got out my glass. I was settled there a little
before nine o'clock.

"It was very quiet in the wood. I could hear faintly the noise of
the saws at the mill and a few birds were singing, otherwise it was
perfectly still. Nothing happened for about half an hour, then the first
lorry came. I heard it for some time before I saw it. It passed very
slowly along the road from Bordeaux, then turned into the lane and went
along it at almost walking pace. With my glass I could see it distinctly
and it had a label plate same as you described, and was No. 6. It was
empty. The driver was a young man, clean-shaven and fairhaired.

"A few minutes later a second empty lorry appeared coming from Bordeaux.
It was No. 4, and the driver was, I am sure, the man you saw. He was
like your description of him at all events. This lorry also passed along
the lane towards the works.

"There was a pause then for an hour or more. About half-past ten the No.
4 lorry with your friend appeared coming along the lane outward bound.
It was heavily loaded with firewood and I followed it along, going very
slowly and bumping over the inequalities of the lane. When it got to a
point about a hundred yards from the road, at, I afterwards found, an
S curve which cut off the view in both directions, it stopped and the
driver got down. I need not tell you that I watched him carefully and,
Merriman, what do you, think I saw him do?"

"Change the number plate?" suggested Merriman with a smile.

"Change the number plate!" repeated Hilliard. "As I'm alive, that's
exactly what he did. First on one side and then on the other. He changed
the 4 to a 1. He took the 1 plates out of his pocket and put the 4
plates back instead, and the whole thing just took a couple of seconds,
as if the plates slipped in and out of a holder. Then he hopped up into
his place again and started off. What do you think of that?"

"Goodness only knows," Merriman returned slowly. "An extraordinary