"Did you suppose he would travel alone?" retorted his leader. "That is he right enough--the man in civilian clothes. The other is a military staff officer. The red in his cap proves that. The younger men are doubtless his secretaries--valets perhaps. Yes, it is our man. Now, make ready."
Giving a glance in the opposite direction in order to make certain that no one was approaching from the Yorkshire side of the Pass, Hans cautiously placed a small battery within easy reach of his fat, podgy fingers. From the battery ran a couple of fine wires through the stretch of grass, terminating at an inconspicuous greyish object lying in the centre of the road in the midst of a scatter of loose stones.
At the critical moment a touch upon the firing-key of the battery and----
————
"Why are you so keen upon the East Coast route, Crosthwaite?" asked the admiral. "It's a jolly sight longer."
"That I admit," replied the general. "But I know it, which makes a vast difference. The Carlisle road is jolly rough, especially over Shap Summit."
"By the by, George, here is a little problem for you," said Admiral Sefton. "Which is the farthest west, Liverpool or Edinburgh?"
George looked at Leslie for assistance. That worthy, having heard the question put many times before, took an astonishing interest in a policeman at the street corner.
"Well, sir," replied George, "Liverpool is on the west coast; Edinburgh on the east----"
"Within a few miles," corrected the admiral. "Therefore I should imagine that Liverpool is more to the west."