Mr. Stapleton was standing in the middle of the library, when Duvall
entered. He turned to him excitedly.
"Mr. Duvall," he said, "I have just heard news that I hope will restore
my boy to me within the next twenty-four hours!"
"From the woman who just left the house?"
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
"An agent of the police."
"Ah! Are you certain of that?"
"I know only what she says."
Duvall looked at him curiously. "What is the news she has brought you?"
"A message from the scoundrels who have stolen the child. They want a
hundred thousand dollars, to return him."
"And she brought you that message?"
"Yes." The banker regarded his questioner uneasily.
"Does it not seem rather singular, Mr. Stapleton, that a member of the
Paris police should come to you with a message from the kidnappers?"
Mr. Stapleton frowned. "I had not considered that aspect of the case,
Mr. Duvall. I was--and am--too anxious to get my boy back, to care by
whom these fellows deliver their terms."
"What was the message, Mr. Stapleton?"
"I am to drive along the road to Versailles tomorrow evening, leaving
here at eight o'clock, and moving at the rate of twelve miles an hour.
Somewhere on that road, an automobile in passing will signal me with a
blue light. I am then to slow up and toss into the other machine a
package containing one hundred thousand dollars. If I do this, and make
no attempt to follow or capture the rascals, they agree to deliver the
child here--at my house--by the time I return home."
Duvall listened to Mr. Stapleton's words with growing interest. "They
are a shrewd lot," he exclaimed. "They will get away in their machine,
and have ample opportunity to examine the package to see that it
contains the amount they demand. By signaling to confederates at any
point along the road, or in another automobile, they can advise them
whether or not to return the child."
"But how will they be able to do this, without running the risk of being
caught?"
"That is easy. They take the boy to Paris, employ a passerby--a man of
their own class, no doubt--for a few francs, to deliver him at your
door. To trace them, through that means, will be impossible. If you give
them the money, the chances are that they will never be caught."
"Nevertheless, I shall give it to them."
"I expected that, Mr. Stapleton. I can understand your feelings. It is
not right, of course, to submit to this blackmail; but no doubt, were I
situated as you are, I would do the same thing. Still, it is a great
pity."
"Why?"
"Because we have an excellent chance to capture these fellows."
"And lose the boy!"
"Yes, that might be true. Such men are apt to retaliate very promptly,
and very severely. They have no pity. I wish I might handle the case to
suit myself."
"What would you do?"
"I would arrange to follow you, in a fast car, keeping say five hundred
feet in the rear. I should have several men, well armed, in the car. By
watching carefully, with field glasses if necessary, I would observe the
car which signaled you with the blue light. When this car passed me, I
would follow, but make no move which would alarm the kidnappers until
they had given the signal--whatever it is--that would ensure your boy
being returned to you. Then I would close in on them, and arrest them."
"Your plan, Mr. Duvall, is open to serious objections. Suppose these
men, undoubtedly on the watch, observe that they are being followed.
They will give no signal--and I will lose not only my child, but the one
hundred thousand dollars as well. No, no, I want no interference in the
matter whatever."
Duvall remained a moment in silence. "Very well, Mr. Stapleton, I am
under your orders, of course. But I dislike very much to see these
fellows get away."
"So do I; but there's no help for it."
"If I can work out a plan for their capture, which will not involve the
loss of the boy, you are willing, I take it, to let me go ahead?"
"Yes; but I insist that you first submit the plan to me."
"Very well. And now, another matter. This woman who brought the message
to you is, you say, an agent of the police. Did she attempt to explain
how she came by the message?"
"Yes. She was forcibly abducted, last night, carried a long distance out
into the country, and the instructions given her. She was brought back
to Paris, blindfolded, tonight."
"Mr. Stapleton, what would you say were I to tell you that less than an
hour ago I saw this woman in the rooms of Alphonse Valentin, a man whom
I suspect to be very deeply concerned in the kidnapping of your son?"
Stapleton started. "Is it possible?" he said. "Have you any idea what
she was doing there?"
"No. They seemed on excellent terms, however. Of course, it is not
impossible that an agent of the police might pose as a friend of one of
the criminals, and thus obtain information. But it looks decidedly
queer."
"It does, indeed. Still, as I said before, if I get my boy back, I shall
be satisfied." He took a turn about the room, chewing nervously upon
his long black cigar. "Now, Mr. Duvall, what is your plan to capture
these fellows?"
Duvall sat in deep thought for sometime. "It is not an easy matter, Mr.
Stapleton, but there is one way which promises success, and that, too,
without interfering with your arrangements to recover your boy."
"What is it?"
"This. It is necessary for us, in some way, to identify the car which
gives you the signal of the blue light. It will pass close to you, at a
moderate speed. I want you to mark that car, so that it may be
recognized at once."
"How can I do that?"
"I will place in the bottom of your machine a small device, consisting
of a rubber bulb, equipped with a small nozzle, projecting through a
hole in the body of the car. The bulb will be filled with indelible red
stain. When you stand up, to toss the package of money to the
kidnappers, you must press this bulb with your foot. The two cars will
then be side by side. The pressure on the bulb will discharge a blast of
the red stain against the body and wheels of the car opposite you. It
will then be a simple matter to identify it."
"Yes--yes. I see that. But what then?"
"The car, in passing you, will be headed for Paris. Undoubtedly it is
the intention of these fellows to enter the city. I shall station myself
at the Porte de Versailles, and I will arrange to have other men,
members of the detective bureau, stationed at the neighboring gates in
the fortifications. All cars entering the city will be momentarily
halted. The one which bears upon its body or wheels the red stain will
be seized, its occupants arrested."
"But suppose they have not yet notified their confederates to return the
boy to me?"
"In that event, I feel certain that the child will be found in the
automobile with them. Look at the thing as you would, were you in their
place. They are forced to act with great quickness. Were they to signal,
by lights or otherwise, to persons along the road, they could hardly
hope to get the boy to your house before you yourself return there. They
know you will return home immediately at your best speed as soon as you
have delivered the money to them. What more likely, then, that they will
have the boy with them in the car, will drive to some prearranged point
in Paris, and deliver him to the person who will bring him to your
house? That would seem, to my mind, their most probable plan."
"And if not--if the child is not with them?"
"Then there are but two courses open to them. The first is to signal, by
lights or otherwise, to their confederates, before they enter Paris. If
they do this, the boy will be returned to you, and we will capture the
men as well. The only other alternative, of course, is for them to
notify their confederates after they enter Paris."
"But, if you arrest him at the barrier, they cannot do that, and my boy
will not be sent back."
"That is true; but I do not think they will wait to notify their
confederates until after they enter Paris."
"Why not, Mr. Duvall?"
"First, because of the danger of being observed, in the crowded streets
of the city. Secondly, because I do not think the child is in Paris at
all. The woman who brought you the message from the kidnappers, I
understand, saw the child at a point some distance in the country. It
seems unlikely that these men would run the risk of conveying the child
into the city, in broad daylight. By having the boy with them in the
car, they avoid all danger of signaling anybody. They merely inspect the
package of money, run into Paris, fully believing themselves for the
time being safe, drop the child at a convenient point, divide the
plunder, and scatter to their respective hiding places. Criminals of
this sort know perfectly well that they are far safer, hiding in a big
city, than fleeing through the country in an automobile. I feel scarcely
any doubt that they have the child with them."
"But if he is still in the country, and they wait until after they are
in Paris before notifying their confederates?"
"Then the latter are obliged to journey a long distance out into the
country, get the child, and bring him back to your house. That would
require a considerable period. They could not possibly do it before you
return home."
Mr. Stapleton considered the matter for a long time in silence. "Your
arguments seem sound, Mr. Duvall," he presently observed. "Like
yourself, I am anxious to capture these fellows. It makes my blood boil,
to think of their getting away. Of course, your deductions may be
wrong."
"Then at least we will get the perpetrators of the crime, and it is most
likely that one of them, at least, may be persuaded to turn state's
evidence, and disclose the whereabouts of your son."
Mr. Stapleton pondered the matter with great care. Evidently he feared
any course of action which did not insure the return of the child.
"It seems to me, Mr. Stapleton," the detective went on, "that you owe it
to the public to let me make this effort to capture these fellows. It is
a grave danger to the community, to have such rogues at large. Let me
try my plan. Even if it fails, you are no worse off than you are now.
The attempt cannot in any way be traced to you."
"Very well," said the banker, nervously. "It is a chance--that's all.
However, since it seems to involve no breach of faith on my part, I am
willing to take it."
"Good! I will bring the device I spoke of to your house tomorrow, and
attach it to your car. Your man Francois will drive you, I presume."
"Yes."
"You trust him?"
"I have no reasons for not doing so. And besides he will know nothing of
the affair. His part will be merely to drive the car, as I direct him."
Duvall thought for a moment. "You will not, of course, give him his
instructions until the last moment--just before you start."
"No. That will be best, I think."
"Undoubtedly. And to avoid any possible interference, I think I had
better not attach the identifying device of which I have spoken to your
car until late tomorrow afternoon, immediately before you set out. Then,
if by any chance your chauffeur is in this plot, he will have no
opportunity to give a warning."
"Very well. I think, however, that your precautions are needless. There
has been nothing whatever brought out to connect Francois with this
matter."
"I know; but it is well to be careful. You will leave here tomorrow
evening, at eight o'clock?"
"Yes. Promptly at eight."
"You might do well to have someone with you, some member of the police,
perhaps."
"The instructions expressly forbid it."
"Ah--I see. These fellows are shrewd." He took up his hat. "Until
tomorrow then. Good night."
"Good night."