CHAPTER XXVI.
THE PLOT FOILED.
General Gallieni started back in great surprise.
"You to be the assassin?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, sir," replied the lad, "I was fortunate enough to draw the red ball in the den of the Apaches, sir."
The general advanced and took him by the arm.
"Come with me," he said, and led the way toward his private office.
Chester motioned for Jean to follow, and the little man did so, though plainly not without some trepidation.
"Who is that?" asked General Gallieni, pointing to Jean.
"He is the man who is to shoot me in case I fail to shoot the President," said Chester cheerfully.
"Hadn't we better have him thrown into a cell?"
"No, sir. We have agreed that it is not right to shoot the President, and I am sure that we can count on his help should we need it. It is likely to be valuable."
"Well," said the general, sinking into a chair and motioning the others to seats, "tell me all about it; and where, by the way, is your friend?"
"He is trailing Duval, sir."
"Good! Now, let's have the story."
Chester put the facts before the military governor as clearly and concisely as possible, and when he had concluded General Gallieni jumped to his feet.
"We must act at once!" he exclaimed, and pulled the telephone toward him.
"But not with too great haste, General," protested Chester, also rising.
"We must first decide upon a plan."
"What do you mean?" asked the general.
"Why," said Chester, "if we hope to capture Duval—who will be on hand to-morrow, and who is likely to shoot the President himself—we must figure out the best means of doing so."
"I shall have the President cancel his engagement."
"That," said Chester, "might only delay the assassination."
"What would you suggest?"
Chester was silent for some minutes before he replied:
"If the President doesn't make his address to-morrow, his life probably will be attempted the next day or the next. If he does speak, Duval is sure to be on hand. Jean and I must be in the crowd, so that Duval may see us; for, if we are not there, Duval may suspect treachery and shoot the President himself.
"Seeing us there, however, Duval will take no action himself. As the President's speech progresses, Duval will be waiting for me to fire. He will be continually thinking that I will do so in another moment.
"Now, I should say that this is the best way: Let the President cut his speech short, say to three minutes. The moment he ceases speaking, rush a heavy guard between him and the crowd and have him stoop immediately behind them. Realizing that the plot has failed, Duval may not fire; but, in the event that he does, we shall probably be able to spot him and get him before he can escape."
General Gallieni spent some minutes considering the feasibility of this plan. Finally he said:
"If we only knew Duval by sight, we could avoid all this by seizing him there before the Palace."
"The trouble is we don't," replied Chester dryly.
General Gallieni turned to Jean.
"Do you know Duval by sight?" he asked.
"I have never seen his face, sir," was the reply. "He has never appeared before us without his mask."
"Well, then," said General Gallieni, "we shall have to do the best we can. Now, you two go into the next room and get some sleep. I'll get the Prime Minister and explain the matter to him and to the President, that we may all act in accord."
Chester saluted the general, and, followed by Jean, made his way into the adjoining room, while the general proceeded to get busy on the telephone.
Chester turned to Jean and clapped him heartily on the back.
"Isn't this better than attempting to assassinate the President?" he asked.
Jean smiled back at him.
"It is," he said quietly. "And you may count upon me to the limit."
"Good!" exclaimed Chester. "I knew it."
He threw himself upon a little cot and was soon fast asleep. Jean followed his example.
Daylight was streaming into the room through the large French windows when Chester was aroused by a hand on his arm. The lad was upon his feet in an instant and faced General Gallieni. Immediately he turned and aroused Jean, who was still sleeping heavily.
"All is in readiness," said General Gallieni. "The President and the Prime Minister have been apprised of the plan, and it is to be acted upon as you suggested."
Chester produced his watch and glanced at it.
"Half-past ten," he said. He turned to the general. "Have you had any word from Hal?"
"Who?"
"Hal—Lieutenant Paine."
"No."
"By Jove!" said Chester. "I hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble."
Eleven o'clock came, and still no word from Hal.
At 11:15 Chester and Jean left the Hotel de Ville and made their way toward the Palace. A great crowd had already assembled when they arrived, and they had some difficulty in pushing their way through, so that they might get as close as possible to the spot where the President was to stand while delivering his address.
By the dint of hard shoving and pushing, and the use of their elbows, however, they were finally successful, and came to a pause near the foot of the steps, in the very first line of spectators. Beyond was drawn up an armed guard of perhaps a hundred soldiers. No one could approach closer.
Chester turned and surveyed the crowd. He thought it possible that Hal might be there some place, but, scan the faces as he would, he could see no sign of his chum.
The crowd was good-natured, and the people jostled and pushed and shoved each other jokingly.
Chester scanned the crowd once more, seeking to determine the figure of Duval, the Apache chief. Several times he thought he recognized the man by his peculiar build, but in each case he soon found another that looked just the same in the crowd.
Jean also, at Chester's request, had put his keen eyes to the test; but he was no more fortunate. However, both realized that, some place in that crowd Duval had his eyes on them.
In the distance came the faint sound of a bell, as a clock chimed the first stroke of the hour of noon; and, with the last stroke, the President of France appeared upon the steps of the palace.
A great roar of applause went up from the crowd and continued for fully five minutes; nor did it cease at once as the President advanced to the very edge of the uppermost step and raised a hand for silence.
Then, gradually, the sounds of tumult died down, and President Poincaré opened his mouth and began to speak.
One, two, three minutes the President spoke, while all about reigned the silence of death; then, suddenly, at the expiration of the third minute, he stepped back suddenly, while at the same moment a long line of French soldiers stepped into place in front of him.
From the edge of the crowd, at the side nearest Chester and Jean, the stillness was suddenly shattered by the sharp crack of an automatic, and a soldier who stood before the President of France toppled in his tracks. Another stepped into his place, and the President was safe.
But, with the crack of the revolver the great crowd became a wild, howling mob. Shrieks, screams and cries of anger filled the air, and as a single man the crowd swooped upon the spot where a tall man with a smoking revolver in his hand was attempting to make his escape.
Chester, who had been prepared for the shot, sprang forward upon the instant, with Jean but a step behind him. Through the crowd they were forced to fight their way, but eventually they came to the edge of it, only to find that Duval, for such they were sure the would-be assassin was, had fought his way out and fled.
But, as the Apache chief ran, the crowd dashed after him. Chester now had his school days to thank for the fact that he was more fleet of foot than the others of the crowd. He passed them rapidly, as he ran after the flying figure of Duval, now at least 200 yards ahead of him down the street.
The lad raised his revolver as he ran and fired. But Duval did not halt.
Chester had missed.
With the howling pack at his heels, and Chester gradually closing up the gap between them, Duval exerted himself to the utmost. Suddenly he turned into a narrow alley, where he halted. Chester, who was nearer than any of the others, dashed into the alley without slackening his speed, and, as he did so, Duval struck him a heavy blow in the face with the butt of his revolver.
Immediately he turned and dashed forward again.
Chester was not knocked unconscious by the force of the blow, but he reeled and fell to the ground. He was up in a moment, however, and with blood streaming from an ugly gash in his head, dashed after the fugitive once more.
Gradually Duval and his pursuer outdistanced the rest of the crowd. Chester was near enough not to be thrown off the track, as Duval rounded corner after corner; and, try as he would to shake off his pursuer, Duval was unable to do so.
At the next corner Duval darted into a little store, and out the other side, upsetting a group of men as he did so. Chester dashed in after him.
But here he encountered an obstacle. The group of men upset by Duval rose to their feet, very angry. At the sight of a second running man, not realizing the seriousness of the chase, they lined up and stopped the lad's progress.
Realizing it was no time for talk, Chester struck out right and left, and men dropped. But the rest closed in, and Chester went down. A heavy wrench was raised over his head and would have fallen on it.
But a newcomer caught the upraised arm. Chester looked up. It was Hal.