And away he went.
"What a strange fellow that Markby is," thought Pierre Lenoir, looking after him. "What an odd laugh he has."
Alas! Pierre Lenoir had good reason to bear that laugh in mind.
But we must not antic.i.p.ate.
As soon as Markby was fairly out of sight, he beckoned over to a young man in white blouse and a cap, who had walked along on the opposite side of the way, keeping Markby in view all the while without appearing to notice him.
The fellow in the blouse ran across at once.
"Well, how"s it going?"
"Beautiful," returned Markby, "nothing could be better. Already have Harkaway and his hard-knuckled companion, Girdwood, been seen in Lenoir"s society. But before the day is over they will be seen in the Caveaux themselves, where proofs of their guilt will spring up hydra-headed from the very ground."
"And what will it end in?" asked the other, eagerly.
"The galleys," returned Markby, with fierce intensity.
"Beautiful!" exclaimed the man in the blouse, with unfeigned admiration. "You always must have been a precious sight downier than I thought. Why, your old man was no fool. He made a brown or two floating his coffins, but he was a guileless pup compared to you."
"You keep watch," said Markby, hurriedly; "and be ready for any emergency. It is a bold stroke we are playing for. Lenoir is a desperate ruffian, and the least mistake in the business would be something which I for one don"t care to contemplate."
"Lenoir be blowed," replied the man in the blouse; "the only people I care about if we should go and make a mess of the job is, firstly--Jack Harkaway, and secondly, his pal Harry Girdwood, which a harder fist than his I have seldom received on my unlucky snuffer-tray."
And he was gone.
CHAPTER XCI.
MARKBY"S NEXT STEP--THE PREFECT OF POLICE--THE PLOT THICKENS--A GLIMPSE OF MARKBY"S PURPOSE--A DOUBLE TRAITOR--DEADLY PERIL.
Markby went off muttering to himself.
"Wish that scamp could only share the fate I have reserved for that accursed Harkaway. However, I can"t manage that, so I must be thankful for small mercies."
A short walk brought this Markby to the office of the prefect of police, and his business being of considerable importance, he was fortunate in soon obtaining an interview with that great man himself.
"This is an excellent opportunity," said the head of the police, "if your information is thoroughly reliable, although I confess that it almost sounds too good to be true."
"Pardon me, monsieur," said Markby, "the expression you use sounds as though I had got information second-hand; I am a princ.i.p.al. On the 10th, you will please to remember. I have to be of the party."
"It is a very important matter," said the prefect, "that I will not attempt to disguise from you. This Lenoir is evidently at the head of a gigantic conspiracy. We have been long seeking to discover how he disposed of his counter----"
"Stock," said Markby, interrupting the prefect, with a smile. "He is the quintessence of caution, sir, and he never alludes to it by any other term."
"You really think that these English people are their confidants?"
"The chief confederates; yes. They are the heads of the English part of our scheme."
"How many men should you require?" demanded the prefect, changing the subject abruptly.
"A dozen fully armed, in plain clothes. These can descend into the _caveaux_ to make the capture."
"A dozen!"
"Yes."
"So many!"
"You don"t know Lenoir," said Markby; "he"s the very devil when he"s aroused. A dozen will have all their work to do. As for the two Englishmen----"
"They are young," exclaimed the prefect.
"They are young fiends. I have seen them fight like devils. They are just as dangerous as Lenoir. They are an cunning as the evil one himself, and will gammon even you, by their plausible tales."
"Let me see," said the prefect, thoughtfully. "I will take note of the names which you tell me they are likely to a.s.sume."
"One has been calling himself Jack Harkaway."
"And the other?"
"Harry Girdwood."
"Good--and you can prove that both the persons whose names are a.s.sumed are in Turkey?"
"I can."
"Very good," said the prefect, rising, to intimate that the intercourse was over. "Our men shall be there in force for the capture."
CHAPTER XCII.
THE HARKAWAY"S GUIDE--LENOIR"S MUSEUM--THE CAVEAUX, AND WHAT THEY SAW THERE--THE MEDALS--THE TRUTH AT LAST--A COINER"S TRADE--AN ALARM--A DESPERATE FELLOW.
"Here we are again, sir," said Harry Girdwood, stepping up to Pierre Lenoir; "but I fear we are taking a great liberty in asking you to _cicerone_ such a large party as we muster here."
Lenoir smiled.