“Without suspecting anything?”
“You’re asking me too much, captain!”
“Never mind! We’ve won! We shall catch them up in the car, pass them and, at Vernon or somewhere, inform the military and civil authorities, so that they may proceed to arrest the men and seize the boat.”
“We shall inform nobody, captain. We shall proceed to carry out these little operations ourselves.”
“What do you mean? Surely . . .”
The two looked at each other. Patrice had been unable to dissemble the thought that occurred to his mind. Don Luis showed no resentment:
“You’re afraid that I shall run away with the three hundred millions? By jingo, it’s a largish parcel to hide in one’s jacket-pocket!”
“Still,” said Patrice, “may I ask what you intend to do?”
“You may, captain, but allow me to postpone my reply until we’ve really won. For the moment, we must first find the barge again.”
They went to the Hôtel des Trois-Empereurs and drove off in the car towards Vernon. This time they were both silent.