Meaning—
“Sailed for England 15th April, 1879; left France for Madagascar about September same year.”
Eagerly seizing his message, the detective hurriedly mastered its contents, and with an emphatic grunt of satisfaction started off instantly for the lawyer’s office, and an hour later yet another message was flashed across the seas—
“To Drelincourt, London.
“Secured; starts immediately.”
To which Mr Driffield was considerably astonished to receive the prompt reply—
“To Driffield, Port Natal.
“Let him wait my arrival. Sail Tartar to-morrow, bringing all needful equipment.—Drelincourt.”
His lordship arrived in due course, and the lawyer was inexpressibly shocked at the change which had taken place in the appearance of his client. The man looked twenty years older, but was nevertheless strong, vigorous, and stern, and the detective noted with secret joy the hard-set lines in his patron’s face, and felt that here at least there would be no faltering or shrinking, no quarter given and none required, when the bitter end came; for bitter did this astute man-hunter already feel certain that the end would prove to be.