Harvey Wynne was there!
The moment Frank saw the young newspaper correspondent an exclamation of recognition leaped to his lips, but he choked it back.
Wynne was in company with a professional guide, who was showing him the bloody pictures, and explaining all about each one.
Frank realized that the eyes of almost every person in the room had been turned toward the door as he entered. One of the women, who had been singing, stopped and stared at him as if she longed to grasp him by the throat.
“By Jawve!” Wynne was drawling, as he surveyed the gory picture of a celebrated anarchist; “this is weally shocking, don’t yer ’now. Aw—er—it actually makes me verwy ill.”
He turned away, saw Frank, looked at the boy in a blankly curious way, but did not seem to recognize him at all.
Then Frank seemed to understand that both Wynne and he were being watched in a most jealous manner by the eyes of the unpleasant gang in that room.
Bornier called for Frank’s name, suavely begging pardon for having forgotten it, and, when the boy had told him, proceeded to introduce Merriwell to the assembled rascals.
“This,” he said, “is Peri Montparnasse, a celebrated pickpocket. He can relieve you of your purse so gently that you could never know anything about it till you came to need it and feel for it. In his line he is a very great artist. This is François Lenoir, a most successful housebreaker, a gentleman and a scholar. He is the poet of the Red Flag. It would charm you so very much to hear him recite one of his most soothing and delightful poems all about robbing and murdering. This is Fabian Vaugirad, who bears the very great honor of having been arrested one hundred and ninety-three times. And this is Emile Durant, who has never been arrested, but—let me whisper it—is one of the most desperate anarchists in all Paris. He is a scientist, a surgeon, a man of the most wonderful attainments, and a leader of the anarchists.”
These final words were breathed in Frank’s ear, as if it were all true, and Bornier dared not speak it aloud even there.