the home secretary had to wait. he was told that superintendent allenby was on the paris telephone, and could not be interrupted, even for him. impatient though he might be, he had to wait for some time. when he got connected at last, he said: "i want to know just what the position is, and what's being done. i can't think how you could allow matters to get into such a position."

"you mean about miss thurlow?"

"yes, and his excellency. where are they now? i hope you're not going to tell me that you don't know."

"we don't know for certain where miss thurlow is yet. her father's out looking for her, with a gun in his hip pocket."

"you mean you've - - "

"we've done all we could, of course. and there's still some reason to think it may turn out all right.

"but there's fresh information just come in from paris, and the question is really for you, sir. what you think it will be best for us to do. they've got a waiter detained there who's made a statement that professor blinkwell murdered reynard, because he was on the point of revealing to mr. thurlow that blinkwell had got some device for smuggling drugs through with the ambassador's luggage without his knowledge."

"you mean blinkwell, the director of vantons? it sounds incredible."

"i should say it's true, more likely than not. blinkwell was certainly at the hotel. and someone finally did get the drugs through in that way, though it was by a different trick from the one that gustav - that's the waiter - says they were first going to use.

"but to say it's probably true isn't to say it can be proved. there's only gustav's word, and he gave another version before, which we know was all lies.

"anyway, the s?ret? seem to have their tails in the air. they say they're sending through the extradition papers at once, and they want us to fetch blinkwell in before he can get word of what's going on."

"well, they've a right to ask that. whether they'll get the extradition depends, of course, on what evidence they can produce. and that's a matter for the court to decide. i'm not concerned about that. it's the american - - "

"but that's just where the difficulty comes in. blinkwell's made an offer, almost in plain words, to hand over miss thurlow if we promise to leave him and his gang alone. of course, he doesn't call it his gang, but i should say that's what it is. the question is, if we arrest him now, how's it going to affect that?"

"you know where blinkwell is now?"

"not exactly. we know that thurlow went to his house and was out again in about three minutes, driving almost certainly to a dogs' home in hampstead. i should say there'll be quite a party there before long."

"you mean you let his excellency - - "

"i couldn't have stopped him without knocking him down. we've got a good man - not one of the regular force - in his car with him. and there's another car following him wherever he goes, though he isn't likely to know that. besides that, when i heard which way he was heading, i sent a squad straight to snacklit's place. that's the dogs' home. i saw them off just before i took the paris call. they ought to be there by now."

"well, i expect you've done all you could. we must just hope for the best. i suppose we shall soon know."

"yes, sir. i think we have. and as to pulling blinkwell in - "

"i shouldn't do that, unless you think it will help you in this matter. i want you to put the thurlows' interests first. get them out of it, and then - - "

"yes, sir. i understand."

mr. lambton said that he had no doubt of that. he wished to be rung up instantly if anything of importance should occur. not to his secretary. not through the commissioner. allenby was to report to him direct. he would be at the house for the next two hours, if not three.