"A rich man,'' the policeman commented "And your friend?

''
"Also in the hotel''
Dawson tugged at Wyatt's sleeve "What the hell's going on?''
"What does your friend say?'' asked the policeman
"He does not understand this language,'' said Wyatt "He was asking me what you were
saying''
The plioceman laughed "We ask the same things, then'' He started at them "It is not
a good time to be on the streets, blanc
You would do well to stay in your rich hotel''
He turned away and Wyatt breathed softly in relief, but one of the other men
muttered something and he turned back
"What is your country?'' he asked
"You would call me English,'' said Wyatt "But I come from Grenada My friend is
American''
"An American 1'' The policeman spat on the ground "But you are English--do you know
an Englishman called Manning?''
Wyatt shook his head "No'' The name rang a faint bell the he could not connect it
"Or Fuller?''
Something clicked Wyatt said, "I think I've heard of them Don't they live on the
North Coast?''
"Have you ever met them?''
"I've never seen them in my life,'' said Wyatt truthfully
One of the oher policeman stepped forward and pointed at Wyatt "This man works for
the American at Cap Sarrat''
"Ah, Englishman; you told me you lived in the hotel Why did you lie?''
"I didn't lie,'' said Wyatt "I moved in there tonight, it's impossible to get to
Cap Sarrat--you know that''
The man seemed unconvinced ''And you still say you do not know the men, Fuller and
Manning?''
"I don't know them,'' said Wyatt patiently
The policeman said adruptly, "I'm sorry, blanc, but I must search you'' He gestured
to his colleagues who stepped forward
quickly
"Hey!'' said Dawson in alarm "What are these idiots doing?''
"Just keep still,'' said Wyatt through his teeth "They want to search us Let them
do it--the sooner it's over the better''
For the second time that day lie suffered the indignity of a rough search, but this
time it was more through The palace
guards had been looking for weapons but these men were intrested in more than that
All Wyatt's pockets were stripped
and the contents handled to the senior policeman
He looked with the interset through Wyatt's wallet, checking very throughly "It is
true you work at Cap Sarrat,'' he said "You
have an American pass What military work do you do there?''
"None,'' said Wyatt "I'm a civilian scientist sent by the British Goverment My work
is with the weather''
The policeman smiled "Or perhaps you are an American spy?''
"Nonsense!''
"Your friend is American We must search him, too''
Hands were laid on Dawson and he struggled "Take your filthy hands off me, you
goddam black bastard,'' he shouted The
words meant nothing to the man searching him, but the tone of voice certainly did A
revolver jumped into his hand as
though by magic and Dawson found himself staring into the muzzle
"You damn' fool,'' said Wyatt "Keep still and let them search you They'll turn us
loose when they don't find anything''
He almost regretted saying that when the policeman searching Dawson gave a cry of
triumph and pulled an automatic from
a holster concealed beneath Dawson's jacket His senior said, "Ah, we have armed
Americans wandering the streets of St
Pierre at a tine like this You will come with me--both of you''
"Now, Look here--'' began Wyatt, and stopped as he felt muzzle of a gun poke into
the small of his back He bit his lip
as the senior policeman waved them forward "You bloody fool I'' he raged at Dawson
"Why the hell were you carrying a
gun? Now we're going to land in one of Serrurier's gaols''
II
Causton came out of the deep shadows very slowly and stared up the street to where
the little group was hurrying away,
then he turned and hurried back into the hotel and across the foyer Mrs Warmington
and Julie had just come in from the
Kitchen bearing more sandwiches and a pot of coffee, and Papegaikos was busy
stacking bottles of soda-water on top of the
bar counter
"Wyatt and Dawson have been nabbed by the police,'' he announced "Dawson was
carrying a gun and the coppers didn't
Like it'' He looked across the Greek, who dropped his eyes
Julie put down the coffee-pot with a clatter "Where have they been taken?''
"I don't know,'' said Causton "Probably to the local lock-up--wherever that is Do
you know, Eumenides?''
"La Place de La Liberation Noire,'' said the Greek He shook his head "You won't get
them out of there''
"We'll see about that,'' said Causton "We'll bloody well have to get them out--
Wyatt had the rotor-arm of the car engine in
his pocket, and now the cops have got it The car's useless without it''
Mrs Warmington said in a hard voice, "There are other cars''
"That's an idea,'' said Causton "Do you have a car, Eumenides?''
"I'ad,'' said Eumenides "But the Army took all cars''
"It isn;t a matter of a car,'' said Julie adrubtly "It's a matter of getting Dave
and Dawson out of the hands of the police''
"We'll do that, too, but a car's a useful thing to have right now'' Causton rubbed
his cheek "It's a long way to the docks from
here--a bloody long walk''
Eumenides shrugged "We wan' a car, not a sheep''
"Not a what?'' demanded Causton "Oh--a ship! No, I want the British Consul--he
lives down there Maybe the power of the
state allied to the power of the press will be enough to get Wyatt out of the jug--
I doubt if I could do it on my own "He
Looked regretfully at the sandwiches "I suppose the sooner I go, the sooner we can
spring Wyatt and Dawson''
"You've got time for a quick coffee,'' said Julie "And you can take a pocketful of
sandwiches''
"Thanks,'' said Causton, accepting the cup "Does this place have cellars?''
"No--no cellars,'' said Eumenides
"A pity,'' said Causton He looked about the bar "I think you'd better get out of
here This kind of party always leads to a lot
of social disorganization and the first thing looters go for is the booze This is
one of the first places they'll hit I suggest you
move up to the top floor for the time being and a "barricade on the stairs might be
useful''
He measured the Greek with a cold eye "I trust you'll look after ladies while I'm
gone''