“Against both?”
“Against both.”
I was silent. Here was a new phase of the affair. By degrees we gathered from him that Paulton was known to be interested in various undertakings of, to say the least, a dubious nature, also that he promoted wild-cat companies in England, on the Continent, and in America. Information that especially interested us was that all who had escaped from the fire had made their way to the lodge at the entrance to the drive.
It was at this juncture that the other gendarme reappeared. He was still on horseback, and, as he came towards us slowly, our attention became centred upon the man who walked beside him, with one hand on his stirrup. In the distance it looked very like Paulton.
He seemed quite composed. His mouth was bound up, partly concealing his face.
When a few yards from us the gendarme reined up. As he did so, Paulton raised his arm, pointed at me, and said in French—
“That’s the man you came to arrest. That is Dago Paulton.”
“And his companion?” the gendarme asked.
“Is his valet.”
“And your name, monsieur?”