Mitchell looked dubious. “That remains to be proved, sir; and until the charges are refuted by Captain La Montagne they will stand against him.”
“Well, why not hurry up and give him a chance to clear himself?” demanded Maynard. “It strikes me, Mitchell, you are not giving the captain a square deal.”
Instead of replying, the detective shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve done my best,” he insisted a moment later. “I’ve tried to find the captain ever since the scene this morning; but he is not at his quarters or at the hangar, nor could I find him at the office of the French High Commission.”
“Did you try the French Embassy?”
“I did, but he had not been there to-day.”
Palmer rose and offered the detective a cigar and match. “Sit down,” he suggested as Hayden made room for Mitchell on the lounge, then asked, “Can you arrest a French officer detailed here for murder?”
“If I can prove he’s guilty, yes, Mr. Palmer.” Mitchell puffed contentedly at his cigar. “I’ve an operative waiting for Captain La Montagne at his apartment and at his official headquarters. They will notify me instantly upon his return.” Mitchell turned and gazed about the room and then at his companions. “I hadn’t an opportunity, doctor, when helping you carry Miss Preston to her room, to ask what Mr. Burnham meant when he said Captain La Montagne shot him on Thursday evening. Can any of you tell me where the shooting took place?”
“Here,” replied Hayden and Maynard in concert. Palmer, whose pipe had gone out, was having difficulty in making it draw again, and for the moment listened in silence to his companions.
Mitchell viewed the room with increased interest, and then inspected the three men. “Why have you never reported the affair to Headquarters?” he asked.
Maynard answered for the others. “I suggested that we investigate the affair ourselves first,” he said. “Burnham’s statement that La Montagne had shot at him appeared to have so little foundation to go on that——” Recollection of the scene in La Montagne’s apartment, the Maxim silencer, and the automatic brought him to a halt, confused; but he recovered himself almost instantly and, making no allusion to what had disconcerted him, he talked on—“that we decided to keep the affair quiet until more had developed.”