--"But no one to look at him would suspect that Fr--French, is
it?"
"Franck."
"Oh, yes, that Franck could speak Spanish. We 'll do our best to
inflate that impression, and when it comes your turn at guard-
mount you can probably let several little things of interest drift
in at your ears."
"I left headquarters before the Captain had time to explain," I
suggested.
"Oh!" said the Lieutenant. "Well, here it is in a spectacle-case,
as our friend Kipling would put it. We're on our way to Culebra
Island. There are now in quarantine there three men who arrived
yesterday from South America. They are members of the party of the
murdered president. To-day there will arrive and also be put in
hock the three gents whose names you have there. Now we have a
private inside hunch that the three already here have come up
particularly and specifically to prepare for the funeral of the
three who are arriving. Which is no hair off our brows, except
it's up to us to see they don't pull off any little stunts of that
kind on Zone territory."
At least this police business was starting well; if this was a
sample it would be a real job.
The train had stopped and we were climbing the steps of Balboa
police station; for without the co-operation of the "Admiral of
the Pacific Fleet" we could not reach Culebra Island.
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