It helped, for he pulled himself together, and from then on he did not attempt to diverge from the dry style of an ordinary report.
"Well, sir, I telephoned to the station for assistance, and got one of our new men. We took it in turn to keep watch while the actors were eating and drinking. After dinner they had coffee and all kinds of liquors, and went on like that until six o'clock in the evening. Then Frederiksen went home to No. 44 Russelök Street, and there he remained till nine o'clock. He must have slept during that time, for he looked quite sober when he came out again, and he had been not a little muddled when he got home after the carousal at the Tivoli. He had a large hand-bag in his hand, but no other luggage. He wore the same clothes he had had on in the afternoon."
"Was the hand-bag new?"
"Yes, it was brand new; and now you shall hear how sly the fellow was.
"He went up to the cab-stand at the corner of Drammen Road, and there he took a carriage. I and the young officer took another carriage and drove after him. Whether he knew that any one was following him or not, I can't say. We were obliged to keep a little behind, so that he should not be suspicious.
"He drove to the Victoria Hotel, and there we saw him go in at the door, and the carriage drive away empty. Soon after I went in and asked the porter what was the name of the gentleman who had just entered the hotel, and what room he had obtained. The porter, who was a new man and not one of my acquaintances, answered that the servant was just then upstairs with the visitor's book, but that the new arrival had taken room No. 47. He had not said anything about how long he intended to remain, or anything of significance.
"Now, for the time being, I felt entirely sure of my bird. After telling him who I was, I got the porter to promise to telephone to me if the stranger should be getting ready to leave; then I set my young officer to watch outside, and went home to take a nap.
"It was just about half-past ten when the porter rang up and said that the gentleman in No. 47 had just ordered a carriage, as he was going by the midnight train to Sweden. As you know, sir, the train goes eleven five, so I had only just time to dress and go to the station; but I was, of course, sure that the young officer would follow the actor so that we could arrest him together. I got to the station seven minutes before eleven; but there was no sign of the actor or the officer.
"A minute before the train started, I went for the last time through all the carriages and had a railway official with me. There was not a sign of the actor! In the first class there sat only one personage. It was Mr. D——, the ambassador from Paris, said the official. I went in and looked at him—yes, quite right, it was he."
"Do you know the ambassador, then?"