Dorothy shuddered. “And murderers!”
“Undoubtedly. They’re wanted both in England and in Austria for their crimes.”
“How did you find that out?”
“Oh, you see I recognized them when I arrived here, Miss Dixon.”
“But—but I can’t see why—why you didn’t arrest them then and there! You knew that they were after the secret of Doctor Winn’s new explosive, or whatever it is he has invented.”
“Yes, we realized that the formula for Doctor Winn’s explosive gas was the magnet that drew the du Vals to this house; but until today we had no idea how they proposed to dispose of the formula after stealing it.”
“I see. And now you realize that they probably intend to sell it to the organization of which my uncle is a member?”
“You are right, Miss Dixon.”
“Then why can’t you arrest the Lawsons now?”
“We can take the Lawsons at any time,” Tunbridge explained. “But we want to catch the ringleader of this organization. We know the group exists and for no good purpose, but what their definite object may be we still have no means of telling. We can’t arrest them on suspicion alone. Once they actually buy the formula from the Lawsons, it will be quite a different matter.”