“It was an unfortunate affair,” I said guardedly.

“Unfortunate!” he repeated, staring at me out of his bloodshot eyes.  “It was the devil, by gosh!  Who was he?”

His face was fiery red, and he cast so keen a look at me that I almost thought he had discovered he was betraying himself.

“It was lucky I was in New York when Louis wired us she had flown,” he continued—­I omit the oaths which punctuated his phrases.  “Lucky I had my men with me, too.  I didn’t think I’d need them here, but I’d promised them a trip to New York—­and then comes Louis’s wire.  I put them on the track.  I guessed she’s go to Daly’s—­old Duchaine was mad about that crazy system of his, and had been writing to him.

“He used to know Daly when they were young men together at Saratoga and Montreal, and in Quebec, in the times when they had good horses and high-play there.  I tell you it was ticklish.  There was millions of dollars worth of property walking up Broadway, and they’d got her, with a taxi waiting near by, when that devil’s fool strolls up and draws a crowd.  If I’d been there I’d have——­”

A string of vile expletives followed his last remark.

“They got on his track and followed them to the Merrimac,” he continued.  “And they never came out.  They waited all night till nine this morning, and they never came out.  My God, I thought her a good girl—­it’s awful!  Who was he?  Say, how much do you know?”

His face was dripping with sweat, and he shot an awful look at Jacqueline as she bent over the suit-case.  I could hardly keep my hands off him, but Jacqueline’s need was too great for me to give vent to my passion.

I remembered now that, after sending Jacqueline to the clerk’s desk alone, she had gone to a side entrance and I had joined her there and left the hotel with her in that fashion.  At any rate, Simon’s words showed me that his hired men were not acquainted with the rest of the night’s work.

I gathered from what he had said that the possession of Jacqueline was vitally important both to Leroux and to Tom Carson, for some reason connected with the Northern Exploitation Company, and that they had endeavoured to kidnap her and hold her till the man Louis arrived to advise them.

“How much do you know?” hissed Simon at me.

“Leroux,” I said, “I’m not going to tell you anything.  You will remember that I was employed by Mr. Carson.”

“Ain’t I as good as Carson?  What are you going to do with her?”

“You’d better go back to the office and wait, unless you want to spoil the game by letting her see you,” I said.

I was sure he was hiding from her intentionally, and I could see that he believed I was working for Carson, for though he scowled fearfully at me he seemed impressed by my words.

“I don’t know whether Tom’s running straight or not,” he said huskily; “but let me tell you, young man, it’ll pay you to keep in with me, and if you’ve got any price, name it!”