Chapter 10 Summary

Still trusting Hannay, the military men leave the planning of nabbing Black Stone up to him. Aided by a Scotland Yard official named Scaife, Hannay scopes the private beach out from a nearby hotel. A small destroyer ship is anchored nearby, which Hannay has Bullivant contact. Hannay then has Scaife go down to the beach and count each step for each staircase. Only one has exactly thirty-nine steps, and Hannay figures the house nearest those steps, called Trafalgar Lodge, must be a base of operations for Black Stone.

Hannay and Scaife pose as fisherman now as they investigate a sleek yacht docked nearby, called the Ariadne. The crew seems English and innocent enough, but their officer (although he speaks good English) bears a close-cropped haircut and a certain fashion in clothes that tells Hannay he is German, not English.

Hannay then spends time...