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< t f 1 t CLOSE QUARTERS ; OR, THE HOUSE IN THE RUE BARBETTE CHAPTER XIX. <Cont'd) "What shall we answer?" ?aid Daubeney, breaki-g in upon tho barrister's train of thought. "Oh, say that the signal is fully understood. ' ' Whilst the answering flags were being displayed Daubeney asked "What does it all mean?" "It means," said Brett, "that if the Blue Bell has another yard of peed in her engines we shall need it all. It perhaps will make no ma- terial difference in the long run, but as a mere matter of pride I should like to reach Palermo before Gros Jean. If I remember rightly, Palermo is six hours from Messina by rail. Can we do it?" ^ "Mac," the chief engineer, was consulted. Of course, he would not commit himself. "We will try darned ha-r-rd," he said. And with this emphatic resolve the Blue Bell sped onwards through the sunlit sea until, late in the ev- ening, the Ganges was hull down on her quarted. Macpherson came on deck to take a last look at the P. and 0. "It will be a gr-reat race," he Announced, "and I may have to kill a stoker. But " Then he dived below again. The Blue Bell ran merrily on until the small hours of morning, when everybody on board was suddenly wakened by the stoppage of the crew. The passengers on bo.ird the Blue Bell one and all found some pretext to gain the deck in their eagerness to find out why the vessel had slowed down. The answer was a .reassuring one. She had burnt a flare for a pilot, and quickly an an- swering gleam came from afar out of tho darkness ahead. The pilot was soon on board. He was an Italian, but, like most mem- bers of his profession doing busi- ness in these waters, he spoke 3b*>.:h fluently. Brett asked him how long, with the north-easterly breeze then blow- ing, a small sailing vessel, such as * schooner-rigged fishing-smack, wculd take to reach Palermo fronr 1 Marseilles. "It is- a trip not often made, monsieur," he said. "Fishing ves- sels from Marseilles are frequently compelled to take shelter under the lea of Corsica or even Sardinia, but here in Sicily why should they oome here?" "Oh, I don't mean a schooner en- gaged in the fishing trade, but ra- ther a email vessel chartered for pleasure, taking the place, as it were, of a private yacht." "Ah," said the Italian, "that ex- plains it. Well, monsieur, with this breeze I snould imagine they would et their course round by the north of C'orsica in order to avoid beat- ing through the Straits of Bonifa- cio. That would make the ruo bout 650 knots, and a smart little vessel carrying all her sails and properly ballasted, might reach Palermo in a few hours over three days." "Thank you," said Brett. "Is Palniero a difficult port to make?" "Oh no, monsieur. There is deep water all round here, no shoal*, and but few isolated rocks, which re all well known. The only thing to guard against is the changeful current. Brett smiled. ''It would be an ignoble conclu- sion to the chase if the Belles Boeurs were wrecked with her valu- able cargo. I most devoutly pray," he said to himself, "that the breez- es and currents may combine to faring Dubois safely on shore. Then I think we can deal with him." Soon after daybreak the Blue Bell, after a momentary halt at the Customs Station, crept past the Castello a Mare, and amidst much gesticulation, accompanied by a torrent of volcan'c Italian, she was tied up to a wharf in the Gala the small inner harbor of the port. Edith, who could not sleep since the advent of the pilot, made an early toilet and climbed to the bridge, whence s'he had a magnifi- cent view of the sunrise over the beautiful city that stands on the Conca d'Ora, or Golden Shell the smiling and luxuriant plain that seems to be provided by Nature for mail's habitation. Naturally Fairholme was drawn to her side. "Italy is a fine country," he re- marked. "Yet there are more mur- ders to the square inch there than in any other place on earth." Edith laughed. "Really, Bobby," she pouted, "you are becoming sen- timental. I half expect to find you break out into verse." "I can do that, too," she said, 'though it is not my own. Hasn't Heber got a 'hymn which tells us of a place where Every prospect pleaaes, And only man is vile. I forget the rest of it." Miss Talbot faced him rapidly. "Bobby, what is the matter with you ? I never knew you in such a melting mood before." "How can I help it?" he half- whispered, laying his hand on her shoulder. "We have never been to- gether so much before in our lives. Don't j'ou realize, Edith, what it! means to us if Mr. Brett discovers! those diamonds* within the next few hours or days?" He bent closer towards her and ' his hand passed from her shoulder j round her neck. "When we return to England, if you are willing, we can be married within a week." A bright flush suffused her beau- tiful face. She bent her head a/nd> was silent. It i quite certain that Fairholme would have kissed her had not Daubeney shouted "Look here, you two, flirting on the bridge is strictly forbidden. You will demoralize- the whole crew. Even the pilot cannot keep his eyes off you." They laughed and giggled like a couple of children caught stealing gooseberries. Yet the incident and the words were fraught with a solemn significance which often came back to their minds in -thcr days. The party breakfasted on board ajid then sot out to survey the ho- tels. Brett's first care was to as- certain the scheduled hours of the train service between Messina and Palermo. To his joy he- discovered that neither Winter nor the gang he was shadowing could posaibly reach the city until a quarter to four in the afternoon. They decid- ed in favor of the Hotel de France as being most modern in its appear- ance and centrally situated. The next thing to do was to pro- vide an efficient watch on all sail- ing vessels entering the harbor, and here the pilot proved to be a valu- able ally. Brett explained to him that he was most anxious to meet some people who were coining from Marseilles on a fishing smack named the Belles Soeurs, No. 107. It was possible, he explained, that both the number and the name might be The British Medical Journal ile voted six pages to the report of a series of scien- tific tests of BOVRIL The tests proved conclu- sively the great nutritive value of Bovrll and that Us body-building power is from 10 to ao times the amount taken. D-j-ia Something New -and Sealed Package Ask your Grocei'aboutit CANADA SIKMB BfrWINQ CO UNITED. MOKTREAl obliterated, so he wished the pilot, or any helpers he might employ for the duty, to take particular note of all strange boats answering to this description, and at once report their appearance. This the man guar- anteed to do. He said that it was quite impossible for a French-rig- ged smack to enter Palermo with- out attracting his notice. By approaching the police au- thorities and requesting their co- operation, and also using Gros Jean and the Turks as a stalking- horse, Brett felt tolerably certain that the time would soon, arrive when Dubois and he would stand face to face. In making these manifold pre- parations the morning passed rapid- ly. The barrister insisted that his companions should go for a drive whilst he busied himself with the necessary details, and they should meet at the hotel for the midday meal. It was then that he singled out Sir Hubert for his personal share in the pursuit. "You know Mr. Winter?" he said to the baronet. "Yes, I remember him perfectly." "In that case I wish you to go to the station and meet the 3 :45 p.m. train on arrival. You will probably see the Turks and Oros Jean, but pay no attention to them. Keep a bright lookout for Mr. Win- ter. Walk up quite openly and speak to him, and the probabi'ity is that should Gros Jean have become suspicious of this Englishman who follows in the same track as him- self, your presence on tho platform will convince him that he was mis- taken MI imagining the slightest connection between Winter's jour- ney and his own." "That is good," said the major- general. "It would never have oc- curred to me. Any other com- mands?" "None save this," continued Brett, smiling at the old soldier's eagerness to obey implicitly any in- structions given to him. "When you meet Winter, tell him if pos- sible so to direct his movements as to find out Gros Jean's destination, if it can be done without giving the Frenchman the slightest cause for uneasiness. Otherwise the matter is of no consequence. I have al- ready interviewed the chief of po- lice here, and it will only be a ques- tion of an hour's delay before the local detectives effectually locate the quarters occupied by Gros Jean and the Turks." CHAPTER XX. Sir Hubert was all eagerness to undertake his mission. He reached tho station at least half an hour too soon. At last the train arrived. To Sir Hurbert's delight, he at once caught sight of Gros Jean and the Turks, whom, of course, he quickly identi- fied as to the loungers on the tower of the Chateau d'If. It occurred to him that there was a remote chance of recognition by Gros Joan, so he busied himself for an instant in a seeming scrutiny of the bookstall until they had passed. A littlo further down the platform he caught sight of Inspector Winter, that worthy individual being engag- ed in a fiercely unintelligible con- troversy with an Italian porter aa to the possession of his portman- teau. Sir Hubert hurried forward, arid seized the ama/.cd policeman by his hand, wringing it warmly. The stolid detective quickly re- covered himself, and his first words were "Did Mr. Brett fully under- stand my signal ?' ' "I think so," said this other ; "but he will tell you all about that af- terwards. At present he wishes you to ascertain Gros Jean's intended residence." "Oh, that is too easy," ho con- descended to explain. "I h/ive been talking to him." "You don't say so!" "Yes, I have. My French is bad, and his English is worse, but he understands that I am in the whole- sale grocery trade. I have come to Palermo to buy currants!" "Most extraordinary! How very clever of you !" Mr. Winter drew himse-lf up with an air of professional pride. "That is nothing, sir,' 7 he said. "We often make queer acquaint- anceship!) in the way of business. But Gros Joan is a smart chap. He eyed me curiously when ho happen- ed to hoar that I was tho fifth ,ias- Benger who wished to leave \L steamer at Messina, so I took the bull by the horns and made myself u/Roful to him in tho matter of get- ting his baggage out of the hold." Meanwhile tho subject of their conversation had quitted the sta- tion, and Sir Hubert's* respect for Mr. Winter's powers as a sleuth- hound yielded to anxiety lest the slippery Frenchman might vanish once and for all. "Hadn't we better follow him?" he suggested. Mr. Winter winked knowingly. "Don't be anxious, sir. He wants to be seen in my company. He be- lieves I am here for trading pur- poses, and the association will be useful to him." Nevertheless the baronet was glad to find that Mr. Winter's con- fidence was not misplaced, \yhen, ten minutes later, he again en- countered the Frenchman and the Turks at the door of the Campo Santo, a cheap hotel near the square that forms the center of Pal- ermo. The detective was eminently suit- ed for the role he now filled. "Ah, monsoo," he cried with boisterous good humor, "permittez- moi introducer un friend of mine, Monsoo Smeeth, de Londrea you know. Je no savez pa les uoma d votre oompaniongs, but they are tras buna camaradea, je- suia cer- tain." Gros Jean was most complaisant. "It ess von grand plaisir, m'sieu." he said, whilst the Turks gravely bowed their acknowledg- ments. (To be continued.) SA/foMGure OUICKLT STOPS COUOMS. CURES COLDS. HEAL* THE THROAT AND t-UNUB. 2O CENTS "You know," he waa saying, 'I oouldn't see a woman stand up while I was sitting down." "So you gave her your seat?" "No, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep." LOW COLONIST HATES TO THE PACIFIC COAST, Via Chicago and North Western Ry., oo lo dully. March let to April 15th. from all poinu In Canada to Ix>i Angeles, San Fraiicleco. Portland. Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver and many oUier point*. Through tonrlst sleeprrs and free reclin- ing 1 chair OATS from Chicago. Tlckete v; variable routes with liberal utopoTen. Full Information on application to B. U. Bennett. Otn. Agt.. Yonge St.. Toronto. SNT" leave yow dealer a big profit . . . 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