Here was a surprise indeed! The secret of the helicopter with its almost unlimited power for evil was also in the hands of one of the most desperate ruffians in the world! There was indeed no time to be lost.
Fedoroff could tell Dick little more. What the secret of Barakoff’s influence over him was Dick could not fathom. He would say nothing, but evidently was in deadly fear.
One little item Dick did indeed extract and it was to prove valuable. Fedoroff knew that Barakoff had associates in Soho. And that was the only clue they could gain to his possible whereabouts.
That evening Dick, Yvette, and Jules crossed to England, and with official introductions from Regnier, Dick lost no time in getting into communication with Detective Inspector Buckhurst, one of the ablest men of Scotland Yard’s famous “Special Department,” a man whose knowledge of the alien scum which infested London was unrivalled. To him Dick told all he knew.
Buckhurst looked grave.
“I know of the man, of course,” he said, “but I have never seen him and I don’t think any of my men have. We have combed Soho out pretty thoroughly, but no one answering to Barakoff’s description has been seen.”
The position was very grave. If Fedoroff’s information was correct—and Dick saw no reason to doubt it—here was a desperate scoundrel lurking in England armed with an aeroplane of unknown design and power, and in possession of a terrible secret which, unless his career was brought to an end, threatened the entire population of the country. But where was he hiding, and, above all, where was his machine? Could it possibly be hidden, Dick wondered, in the very heart of London? The idea was almost incredible, but Dick knew Barakoff’s undoubted genius and his amazing daring.
A remarkable feature of Yvette’s personality was her wonderful influence over children. They seemed literally to worship her. She would get into conversation with the half-tamed gamins of the streets and in a few hours they would be her devoted slaves. She now proceeded to enlist the ragged battalions of Soho in a fashion that caused Buckhurst much amusement.
“Find out for me all the hunchbacked men you can,” was all the instructions she gave them.
“But, mademoiselle,” said Inspector Buckhurst, “it will be the talk of Soho, and our man if he is there will slip away.”