Before starting for the Embassy, Hyde sat down and wrote a couple of rather lengthy letters, both for England, which he addressed, and himself posted at the corner of the Rue Royale.
Thence he went on, down the Faubourg St. Honoré, not many hundred yards, and soon passed under the gateway ornamented with the arms of Great Britain, and stood upon what, by international agreement, was deemed a strip of British soil.
He saw an attaché, to whom he quickly explained himself.
"You wish to pursue the investigation yourself, I gather? Is it worth while running such a risk? Why not hand over the whole business to the Prefecture? I believe they have already put a watch upon the persons suspected."
"I have no confidence in their doing it as surely as I would myself."
Hyde, it will be understood, had his own reasons for not wishing to present himself at the Prefecture.
"You propose to assume a disguise? As you please; but how can we help you?"
"By giving me papers in exchange for my passport, which you can hold, and by sending after me if I do not reappear within two or three days."
"You anticipate trouble, then; danger, perhaps."
"Not necessarily, but it is as well to take precautions."