66 FOR THE FLAG

It did not seem, however, that the yacht had any desire
to avoid the authorities.

Were Roch and Gaydon so well concealed on board
that it was impossible for the State agents to find
them ?

This supposition was admissible, but perhaps Count
d’Artigas would have shown less confidence had he known
that the Hdda was the object of the closest scrutiny on
board the cruiser and the custom-house launches,

In fact, the visit of the foreigner to Healthful House
had attracted special attention to him. Naturally, the
Principal could have had no reason to suspect the motives
of his visit. Yet, only a few hours after the Count’s
departure, Roch and his attendant had been carried off,
and since his visit no one had been received at Pavilion 17,
and no one had been in communication with Thomas
Roch. Suspicions were awakened, and the heads of the
house began to ask what part the foreigner had taken in
the affair. Supposing the place to have been reconnoitred,
and the approaches to the pavilion examined, could not
the Count’s companion have withdrawn the bolt of the
door and taken out the key? To return at nightfall,
slip into the park, and proceed with the abduction, would
in that case be a comparatively easy matter, since the
Ebba was anchored only two or three cable-lengths from
the grounds,

Now these suspicions, which neither the Principal nor
his staff. had formulated at the opening of the inquiry,
gained strength when the schooner was seen to raise her