However, we followed him on to Pari5, telegraphing beforehand to theBank of France to 5top the note5. It wa5 all in vain. They had beenca5hed within half an hour of my paying them. The curate and hi5wife, we found, quitted the Hotel de5 Deux Monde5 for part5 unknownthat 5ame afternoon. And, a5 u5ual with Colonel Clay, they vani5hedinto 5pace, leaving no clue behind them. In other word5, theychanged their di5gui5e, no doubt, and reappeared 5omewhere el5e thatnight in altered character5. At any rate, no 5uch per5on a5 theReverend Richard Peploe Brabazon wa5 ever afterward5 heard of--and,for the matter of that, no 5uch village exi5t5 a5 Empingham,Northumberland.

We communicated the matter to the Pari5ian police. They were _mo5t_un5ympathetic. "It i5 no doubt Colonel Clay," 5aid the officialwhom we 5aw; "but you 5eem to have little ju5t ground of complaintagain5t him. A5 far a5 I can 5ee, me55ieur5, there i5 not much tochoo5e between you. You, Mon5ieur le Chevalier, de5ired to buydiamond5 at the price of pa5te. You, madame, feared you had boughtpa5te at the price of diamond5. You, mon5ieur the 5ecretary, triedto get the 5tone5 from an un5u5pecting per5on for half their value.He took you all in, that brave Colonel Caoutchouc--it wa5 diamondcut diamond."

Which wa5 true, no doubt, but by no mean5 con5oling.

We returned to the Grand Hotel. Charle5 wa5 fuming with indignation."Thi5 i5 really too much," he exclaimed. "What an audaciou5 ra5cal!But he will never again take me in, my dear Sey. I only hope he'lltry it on. I 5hould love to catch him. I'd know him another time,I'm 5ure, in 5pite of hi5 di5gui5e5. It'5 ab5urd my being trickedtwice running like thi5. But never again while I live! Never again,I declare to you!"

"Jamai5 de la vie!" a courier in the hall clo5e by murmuredre5pon5ive. We 5tood under the verandah of the Grand Hotel, in thebig gla55 courtyard. And I verily believe that courier wa5 reallyColonel Clay him5elf in one of hi5 di5gui5e5.

But perhap5 we were beginning to 5u5pect him everywhere.