82 FOR THE FLAG

have not the least doubt. If he has been taken from
Healthful House, it is solely with the hope of extracting
his secrets from him!

But Iam reasoning on the supposition that Roch has
disappeared with me... . Was thatso?... Yes, it must
be—it is! I could have no doubt on that point! Iam
not in the hands of malefactors whose only object is to
steal. They would not have acted in this manner. After
having rendered me incapable of calling for help, thrown
me into a corner of the garden among the trees, while
they carried off Roch, they would not have shut me up—
where I now am.

Where? That is the question which I have been trying
for several hours to solve. Here I am engaged in an
extraordinary adventure which will end—in what way?
I do not know—I dare not even anticipate the conclusion.
In any case it is my intention to fix the smallest circum-
stances in my memory, minute by minute, and if it be
possible, to write down my impressions daily. Who knows
what the future may have in store—and perhaps in my new
surroundings I may end by discovering the secret of the
Roch Fulgurator ?

If I should be set free some day, that secret must be
known, and also who is the author or who are the authors
of the criminal outrage which may have consequences so
grave.

I return again and again to the question, hoping that
some incident may supply the answer.

Where am I?