rew a cigar from his pocket, bit off the end, spat,
and then lighted the brand with great deliberation.

I began to think rapidly.

Violence was out of the question. The fellow was far heavier than I,
and obviously as hard as nails. Moreover, I felt instinctively that
the Queensberry Rules did not mean much to him. As for cunning--well,
we were not in the same class. Here was an audacity such as I had not
dreamed of. Having lost one throw, the fellow was doubling his stake.
Hook having broken in his hand, he had dropped it and picked up Crook.
_His game was to bluff the French police_. That was why he was staying
in the car--to give the impression of ownership. If he could maintain
this impression, make it easy for the police to wash their hands of a
dispute between foreigners, so find favour in their eyes, just turn the
scale sufficiently to be allowed to proceed "pending the fullest
inquiries"--it might go hard with us....

I fancy he read my thoughts, for he took the cigar from his mouth and
laughed softly.

"Up against it, aren't you?" he said.

At last a _gendarme_ arrived, and five minutes later we were all on the
way to the police-station.

This was not to my gentleman's taste, but he was too shrewd a knave to
press his point. Honesty was his best policy. He did demand hotly
that I should be taken in charge, but I had the better of him in
French, and after a moment he let that iron go. He fought very hard
for the services of a mechanic, but I was determined that the engine
should remain out of action, and, calling for volunteers upon the crowd
of unlookers, soon satisfied the _gendarme_ that to push the car to the
station was easy enough.

Holding fast to the accomplice, who, for reasons best known to himself,
was adopting an injured air in sulky silence, Berry walked by my side.

"What's his game?" he muttered. "In the face of our papers, he's done."

"He'll swear they're his, for a monkey. They're in the car. Probably
read them through, while you were looking for me. And all the details
are on the Travelling Pass. But he's got to get over the photograph."

"Well, it's up to you," said Berry. "I used to think I could bluff,
but this--this is beyond me."

When we arrived at the police-station the chief of the police was
summoned, and we told our respective tales.

Our enemy spoke first--shortly, but much to the point.

He was returning, he said, to Pau, where he was staying with fri