d impression I had apparently made by any appearance of
eavesdropping.

It seemed to me that my course lay pretty straight in front of me.
Latimer had all the information now he was likely to get, and I knew
from Joyce's wire that he intended to act immediately. In addition to
this, the running down of the cutter would be known to Scotland Yard
as soon as ever the men who had been sent to arrest me could get to a
telephone, and the river-police and coast-guards everywhere would be
warned to keep a sharp look-out for von Bruenig's launch. In an hour or
two at the most something was bound to happen, and the way in which I
could make myself most useful seemed to be in delaying the break-up
and escape of the party as long as possible. If I had to be arrested,
I was determined that the others should be roped in as well.

I had just arrived at this point in my meditations when McMurtrie and
von Bruenig came to an end of their muttered conversation.

The former turned back to me. "You probably understand, Mr. Lyndon,
that this unfortunate affair with the police alters our plans
entirely. At present I am quite unable to see how they have found you
out, unless you have betrayed yourself by some piece of unintentional
carelessness. Anyhow, the fact remains that they know where you are,
and that very probably they will be able to trace this launch."

Savaroff nodded. "As likely as not we shall have a shot across our
bows when we get to Sheerness," he growled.

McMurtrie, as usual, took no notice of his interruption. "There is
only one thing to do," he said. "Mr. von Bruenig, who, as I have
already told you, is interested in our syndicate, has offered to put
his country house in Germany at our service. We must cross over to
Holland before the police have time to interfere."

"Do you mean now, at once?" I asked, with a sudden inward feeling of
dismay.

McMurtrie nodded. "We have to pick up a couple of friends at Sheppey
first. After that we can run straight across to The Hague."

The proposal was so obviously sensible that, without arousing his
suspicion, I could see no way for the moment of raising any objection.
The great thing was to keep the "syndicate" together, and to delay our
departure until Latimer had had time to scoop the lot of us. Could
anything provide him with a more favourable opportunity than the
collection of the whole crowd in that remote bungalow at Sheppey? It
was surely there if anywhere he would strik