CHAPTER XIV.
Richard Duvall rose, the following day, with a less troubled mind thanat any time since his arrival in Paris.
His calculations of the night before had brought him to a definiteconclusion.
After breakfasting in the cafe of the hotel he returned to his room, andrang up Monsieur Lefevre.
"I want the assistance of one of your men, Monsieur," he said.
"Ah!" laughed the Prefect. "You are--what you Americans call--up a tree,is it not?"
"Not at all. You have said that there existed between us a competition,to recover Mr. Stapleton's child. I think I am going to win. But since Iam not in a position to make the necessary arrests, myself, I am goingto share the glory with you, my dear friend, by allowing one of your mento do so for me."
"So you are confident?"
"Reasonably so. Can you spare Vernet for the day? He is a good man."
"One of my best. You shall have him. And if you succeed, I shall stillregard myself the loser, and will buy the champagne, and the dinner atthe Cafe Royale, as I agreed."
"And I shall be most happy to do the same should I fail. Oblige me byrequesting Vernet to come to my rooms at the hotel at once. Good by."
Duvall hung up the receiver, and sat down with the drawings he had madebefore him. He awaited the coming of Vernet with impatience.
The latter appeared in some twenty minutes.
"What can I do for you, Monsieur Duvall?" he asked.
"Good morning, Vernet. Sit down, and have a cigar. I have a littlematter I wish to talk over with you."
"Concerning the missing child of Monsieur Stapleton, I understand,"remarked Vernet, as he lit a cigar and drew his chair up to the table.He glanced at the drawings before him. "What are these, may I ask?"
Duvall took up his pencil. "This, Vernet, is a map of a small part ofParis. Here, as you see, is the Avenue Kleber, terminating at theChamps Elysees just in front of the Arc de Triomphe."
"I see. It is quite plain."
"Here--this black square--is Mr. Stapleton's house. From there to thearch is a matter of some six hundred yards."
"About that, I should say. What of it?"
"Wait. The black-bearded fellow--the kidnapper--who visited Mr.Stapleton last night, and escaped by the ruse of being arrested by oneof his confederates, will arrive at Mr. Stapleton's house at eighto'clock tonight."
"Mon Dieu! If that is so, we have him!"
"Not so fast. We shall not interfere with him--then."
"But, Monsieur, would you let this fellow escape? It is my duty toarrest him, as soon as he puts in an appearance."
"You are mistaken, Vernet. Your duty is to do as I instruct you.Monsieur Lefevre has placed you under my orders for the day."
Vernet laughed. "That is so," he said. "What do you wish me to do?"
"The man will come to Mr. Stapleton's house at eight o'clock, and willbe given a large sum of money. He has agreed, if he is not interferedwith, to have the address where the boy may be found telephoned to Mr.Stapleton within half an hour."
"Ah! Then we shall follow, and get him after he has telephoned."
Duvall laughed. "We are dealing with a far shrewder man than that,Vernet. This fellow will do no telephoning."
"Then how will he let Monsieur Stapleton know?"
"That is just what I am trying to find out. Put yourself in his place.He is known--he dare not remain in Paris--he gets five hundred thousandfrancs to give up the child. Is it not natural to suppose that he willleave the city at once?"
"Yes. That is what I should do, in his place."
"Of course. Now I understand that the fellow will walk from Mr.Stapleton's house to the Arc de Triomphe, a distance of six hundredyards. He can do that easily in ten minutes."
"Yes."
"Once at the arch, he will stand awaiting a fast automobile, which willcome along the Champs Elysees. This automobile will stop for an instantand pick him up, then proceed at high speed along the Avenue du Bois deBoulogne."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because it will afford him the quickest and safest road out of Paris.From the arch to the Porte Dauphine is less than a mile. He can make itin five minutes. In fifteen minutes altogether then, he is outside thewalls. In another fifteen minutes, he is beyond pursuit, in thecountry."
"But you forget, Monsieur Duvall, that he has not yet advised hisconfederates that all is well, and that the address of the place wherethe boy is hidden is to be telephoned to Mr. Stapleton."
"No, Vernet, I haven't forgotten that. In fact, I am coming to it now.Suppose you were in this fellow's place--how would you do it?"
Vernet scratched his head thoughtfully. "He might fire a pistol from thecar."
"Too dangerous. The noise of the explosion would attract attention. Hemust work silently."
"A wave of the hand, perhaps, to someone along the street."
"Also dangerous. This fellow realizes that every possible step will betaken to capture not only himself, but his confederates. He anticipates,no doubt, that the road will be carefully watched. Why take chances,and run the risk of his confederates, at least, being arrested, whenthere are simpler, easier ways?"
"Such as what?"
"Do you not remember the signal, used on the Versailles road, the bluelight?"
"Ah! Exactly. He will signal to some one in a house along the way."
"That would be easier and safer; but you will remember that there are nohouses along the way--none, at least, in which a man of this sort couldhave a confederate hidden. But I should not say none. There is one,perhaps."
"Indeed, Monsieur. And what house is that?"
"Mr. Stapleton's. Look!" He drew toward him the sheet of paper. "Here,"he placed the point of his pencil upon the black square which indicatedthe location of the banker's residence, "is the house. The north windowof a room on the top floor commands a view of the Avenue du Bois deBoulogne, from a point some 500 feet west of the Arc de Triomphe, towhere it intersects the Avenue Malakoff. Beyond there, the view isinterrupted. In fact, the trees along the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne areto some extent an obstruction; but at the crossing with the AvenueMalakoff there is a wide and uninterrupted view."
"But a confederate in Monsieur Stapleton's own house?"
"Yes. The chauffeur, Francois."
"You astonish me, Monsieur. We have suspected the fellow, it is true.The very room of which you speak has been searched. We found nothing.How do you know that what you say is true?"
"Never mind how I know it--now. The point is this--Francois, I fullybelieve, will be in that room, tonight, at eight o'clock, watchingcarefully the automobiles which pass the intersection of the AvenueMalakoff--"
"Not necessarily, Monsieur. We can easily prevent it, by placing himunder arrest."
"That is exactly what we must _not_ do. Don't you see, it is absolutelynecessary, for the recovery of Mr. Stapleton's child, that the signalsgo through uninterrupted?"
"Of course, I had forgotten that. And these signals?"
"Naturally I cannot tell--yet. I think, however, that the automobile forwhich Francois will be looking will show a brilliant blue light, whilecrossing the Avenue Malakoff. That is, of course, if our friend thekidnapper gets safely away, without being pursued."
"And otherwise?"
"I think the light would be red. He can make either, very simply, bymeans of a powerful electric searchlight--one of these pocket affairs,you know, fitted with colored glasses."
"You interest me wonderfully, Monsieur Duvall. What next?"
"It is, of course, most important that the signal given shall be thecorrect one. There must be no interference whatever with this fellow'sescape--_up to that point_."
"Ah--I begin to see. And what after that?"
"First, let us continue with Francois. He will, I think, return a bluesignal to the man in the automobile, to show that he has seen, andunderstood. He has the means to do so all ready, in his room."
"And then?"
"He
will make, I think, a similar signal from his south window to someone who is on watch, in the direction of Passy. This second person, whono doubt has the child in his care, will then go to a telephone,transmit the address of the house where the child is hidden, toMr. Stapleton, and quietly depart, to join his confederatein--say--Brussels. He will run not the slightest risk of capture. If, onthe other hand, that message fails to go through, the address will _not_be telephoned, and the child will probably be killed."
Vernet frowned grimly. "It is a remarkable plan, Monsieur. These fellowsare no bunglers. I think, however, that we shall be able to stop them."
"How?"
"I will station myself at the Porte Dauphine with a fast automobile, aracer. When these fellows pass, I will follow them, and overtake them."
"An excellent idea, Vernet; but how, may I ask, will you know the car,when it passes you? There are hundreds of cars on the Avenue du Bois deBoulogne, at eight o'clock in the evening."
Vernet laughed. "I confess, Monsieur, you have me there."
"Of course you might station a man at the intersection of the AvenueMalakoff and the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne; but I do not think hewould be able to see the signal. By placing on the end of thesearchlight a paper tube, the light would be invisible except in thedirection in which it is pointed--and that, you will remember, isdiagonally upward. A man on the sidewalk would not see it at all."
"Then, Monsieur, I fail to see that there is anything we can do."
"There is one thing, Vernet. You forget the answering signal, from thewindow."
The Frenchman looked at his companion with undisguised admiration."Sacre!" he exclaimed. "You have a mind, Monsieur Duvall, in athousand."
"Thanks," answered Duvall, dryly. "Now, my idea is, to have you selectsome point near the intersection of the two avenues, from which thewindow in the rear of Mr. Stapleton's house can be clearly seen. Stationyourself there, tonight, with the fastest automobile you can secure. Letone man watch the window, another the vehicles passing in the Avenue duBois de Boulogne. The moment you see the blue light, start after yourman. He should be just across the intersection, on his way down theAvenue du Bois de Boulogne."
Vernet rubbed his hands together with satisfaction. "We shall gethim--never fear."
"Of course," said Duvall, slowly, "all this is pure assumption on mypart, based upon what I have discovered in the chauffeur's room. It maynot turn out as I say, but the chances are fifty to one that it will."
"And you, Monsieur? Where will you be?"
"I shall be in the room, with Francois. I do not propose that _he_ shallescape. And further--I do not know that I am correct, in my assumptionregarding his signals to Passy. He may go out, and send the telephonemessage himself. In that case, I shall follow. Or he may, through someunforeseen accident, get the wrong signal, in which case I propose tooverpower him, and give the right one. Suppose we go, now, and take alook at the intersection of the Avenue Malakoff and the Avenue du Boisde Boulogne, and see what arrangements can best be made. Also, if Mr.Stapleton is out in his car, we may be able to take a few observationsfrom his chauffeur's window." He took up his hat, lighted a cigar, andled the way to the door.
They drove to the Arc de Triomphe in a cab, and, after dismissing it,walked slowly down the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. At the intersectionwith the Avenue Malakoff they stopped and gazed about carefully,although in such a way as not to attract attention. A brief inspectionserved to confirm all that Duvall had said. It took them some littletime to locate the window in the rear of Mr. Stapleton's house; butafter a time they managed to do so, and saw that it commanded anuninterrupted view of the point where they stood.
Vernet was highly satisfied, as they parted. It was deemed unnecessaryfor him to visit the chauffeur's room, and thereby run the risk of theirbeing seen entering the banker's house together. Vernet departed to makehis arrangements for the evening, strictly cautioned by his companionnot to let Monsieur Lefevre into his secret. "It is a bet," he toldVernet. "I hope we shall succeed in winning it."
After his companion had departed, Duvall dropped in to see Mr.Stapleton. He learned that the banker was out, driving in the Bois withMrs. Stapleton, who, overcome by anxiety and grief, had great need ofthe fresh air to retain her health. She was fast breaking down under thestrain.
Duvall went up to have another look at the chauffeur's room. He had beenunable to get a thoroughly clear idea of the view from the window, thenight before, owing to the darkness.
He found everything as he had left it,--the searchlight on the dresser,the colored glass ornaments hanging from their gay ribbons. The northwindow overlooked with perfect clearness the intersection of the twoavenues, as he and Vernet had seen them from below. The other windowpresented a more distant view. Nearby roofs and chimneys obstructed itin part; but between them could be seen the villas and buildings inPassy, smiling in the sunlight. The sight impressed Duvall the morestrongly with the cleverness of the men he sought to arrest. Somewherein all that maze of buildings, that wide vista of houses and trees anddistant fields, Mr. Stapleton's child lay concealed, and it needed but aflash of light from this window to set him free. Passing his fingersidly along the window sill, Duvall suddenly observed two parallelscratches in the white paint, which had apparently been made with thepoint of a knife. He knelt down, and sighted between them. His line ofvision swept clear of the nearby roofs and chimneys, toward Passy.
The detective turned from the window, a smile of satisfaction on hisface, and proceeded to make a careful examination of the chauffeur'scloset. It was here that he intended to lie hidden. He felt certainthat, in order the better to perceive and send his signals, as well asto escape detection from below, the chauffeur would allow his room toremain unlighted.
This, Duvall reasoned, would render it easy for him to lie concealeduntil the signal which would insure the safe return of the lost childhad been given, after which he would call upon Francois with precisionand despatch. Should anything occur to prevent the chauffeur from givingthe favorable signal, he proposed to give it himself.
The closet was close to the north window, and its door opened in such away that Duvall saw at once that in the darkened room he could readilyopen it sufficiently to see all that Francois did, without running anyserious risk of detection.
He left the house at a little after noon and stopped in at a well knownrestaurant on the Boulevard des Italiens for lunch. He felt very wellsatisfied with the course that events were taking. If only he could getthrough with this thing, and get back to Grace, and the farm, he wouldbe supremely happy. He became so absorbed in his thoughts that he failedto notice a gentleman who slipped quietly into the chair opposite him,until the latter leaned over and touched his arm.
He looked up suddenly. It was Monsieur Lefevre!
The Blue Lights: A Detective Story Page 14