The train rushed forward through station after station, brilliantly lighted, then plunged into the obscurity of the country. A stupefying warmth from the heating apparatus impelled slumber. Unfortunate Butler-Vinson, lulled by the regular movement of the train, was soon fast asleep.
Juve and Loreuil kept vigil. They were sitting side by side facing their captive.
"Dover will be the difficulty," whispered Juve, who had drawn closer to the captain.
"Yes, that is the crucial point," agreed Loreuil....
The express was entering the tunnels pierced in the precipitous coastline of the Channel near Dover. There was a short stop at Dover Town station before it drew up on the Pier. There the travellers would embark. Of these there were two distant streams: those crossing to Belgium: those bound for France. Butler-Vinson still slept soundly. Juve was waiting till the last minute. Then he would awaken his prisoner as he already considered him and shepherd him aboard the Calais boat.
Captain Loreuil got out and went on ahead.
"Come along, Butler!" Juve cried suddenly. He shook the slumbering traitor sharply.
Butler-Vinson leaped to his feet with frightened eyes and gaping mouth.
"What is it?" he stuttered. "What do you want with me?"
Juve's smile was a masterpiece of hypocrisy.