That redoubtable man looked at it calmly, fingered it, sat upright slowly, and turned on Captain Heavy a dry, genial smile. His eyes scrutinized the puzzled face of the captain for but a moment, then he turned back to Clement. With the same movement his hand came out of his pocket, and in the hand was a handcuff key.
In a moment, and with free hands, Clement was rolling down his socks, exposing the handcuffs on his ankles.
The smile of The Chief became broader. “Is your friend quite as honest as you think, Heavy?” he asked genially.
“Ab-solutely,” said Heavy in a perplexed tone. “Though he does seem to have been trying to do Houdini stunts, and failing.”
“Not altogether failing,” smiled Clement, as The Chief’s key got to work. “I managed to get out of this trap, just as I managed to get out of the one on the Empress—the diamond tiara trap.”
“Ah,” said The Chief, looking up, smiling with his lips, but his eyes keen. “There is something behind it all?”
“There is; but first, how soon can I get to Montreal?”
“Talking to us won’t hold you up,” said The Chief with unexpected penetration. “You can’t go before the night train.”
“Isn’t there something before that—any means?”
“No,” said The Chief. He looked at Clement steadily. That look was a request for information.