“The Chief tells me he is getting a move on already,” said the little detective, and Clement caught a hint of hesitation.
“Does that mean that Nachbar won’t be arrested at once?”
“Not at once.”
“But—but that’s incredible. He’s a murderer, and you can arrest murderers without warrant, surely?”
“We can—if we’re dead positive they’re murderers.”
Clement gave vent to a gesture and an exclamation of despair.
“See here, Mr. Seadon,” broke in Gatineau. “Don’t you condemn the police in a hurry. Recollect that, keen as we may be, we can’t go about arresting folk off-hand. We’ve got to be sure we ain’t running innocent men into jail—an’ disgrace. This is complicated. It’s an old crime. We don’t know whether the American police have dropped it, or caught their man, or have definite news that proves Neuburg isn’t the feller we think he is. Until we can be sure we daren’t move. We’ve got to get in touch with the U. S. A. before we can hold him.”
“That’s logical, I suppose, but it is also rather terrible. And it will take—how long?”
“A few days at least.”