nby distinctly told me that he and Chater were alone, and yet there
was evidently a lady and a gentleman on board. I guessed there was a
woman there, from the way the boudoir and ladies' saloon were arranged,
and certainly no man's hand decorated a dinner table as that was
decorated."

"Yes. That's decidedly funny," remarked the Consul thoughtfully. "They
went to Colle Salvetti, you say? They changed there, of course.
Expresses call there, one going north and the other south, within a
quarter of an hour after the train arrives from Leghorn. They showed a
lot of ingenuity, otherwise they'd have gone direct to Pisa."

"Ingenuity! I should think so! The whole affair was most cleverly
planned. Hornby would have deceived even you, my dear old chap. He had
the air of the perfect gentleman, and a glance over the yacht convinced
me that he was a wealthy man traveling for pleasure."

"You said something about an armory."

"Yes, there were Maxims stowed away in one of the cabins. They aroused
my suspicions."

"They would not have aroused mine," replied my friend. "Yachts carry
arms for protection in many cases, especially if they are going to
cruise along uncivilized coasts where they must land for water or
provisions."

I told him of the torn photograph, which caused him some deep
reflection.

"I wonder why the picture had been torn up. Had there been a row on
board--a quarrel or something?"

"It had been destroyed surreptitiously, I think."

"Pity you didn't pocket the fragments. We could perhaps have discovered
from the photographer the identity of the original."

"Ah!" I sighed regretfully. "I never thought of that. I recollect the
name of the firm, however."

"I shall have to report to London the whole occurrence, as British
subjects are under suspicion," Hutcheson said. "We'll see whether
Scotland Yard knows anything about Hornby or Chater. Most probably they
do. Not long ago a description of men on board a yacht was circulated
from London as being a pair of well-known burglars who were cruising
about in a vessel crammed with booty which they dared not get rid of.
They are, however, not the same as our friends on the _Lola_, for both
men wanted were arrested in New Orleans about eight months ago, without
their yacht, for they confessed that they had deliberately sunk it on
one of the islands in the South Pacific."

"Then these fellows might be another pair of London burglars!" I
exclaimed eagerly, as the sta