56 
LAND & WATER 
December 7, 1916 
[CoHliHued from page 54) 
In his hands he held a bundle of four pocket-books, short 
hut extremely bulky and bound together with a canvas strap. 
He unfastened the buckle of the strap and opened one of the 
pocket-books. 
His knees shook under their precious burden ; and, when 
he had taken a huge sheaf of notes from one of the compart- 
ments, his hands were hke the hands of a very old man 
trembling with fever. 
" Thousand-franc notes, " he murmured. " Ten packets of 
thousand franc notes " 
Brutally, like men prepared to fight one another, each of 
tbe other three laid hold of a pocket-book, felt inside and 
mumbled : 
" Ten packets. . . They're all there. . . . Thou- 
sand-franc notes. ..." 
.\nd one of them forthwith cried, in a choking voice : 
•' Let's clear out ! . . . Let's go! " 
.K sudden fear was sending them off their heads. They 
could not imagine that Essarcs would hand over such a fortune 
to them unless he had some plan which would enable him to 
recover it before they had left the room. That was a cer- 
tainty. The ceihng would come down on their heads. The 
walls would close up and crush them to death, while sparing 
their unfathomable adversary. 
Nor had Patrice Belval any doubt of it. The disaster was 
])reparing. Essarfes' revenge was incN-itably at hand, h 
man like him, a fighter as able as he appeared to be, does not 
so easily surrender four million francs if he has not some 
scheme at the back of his head. Patrice felt himself breathing 
heavily. His present excitement was more violent than any 
with which he had thrilled since the very beginning of the 
tragic scenes which he had been witnessing ; and he saw that 
Coralie's face was as anxious as his own. 
Meanwhile Bournef partially recovered his composure and, 
holding back his companions, said : 
" Don't be such fools ! He would be capable, with old 
Simeon, of releasing himself and running after us." 
Using only one hand, for the. other was clutching a pocket- 
book, all four fastened Essares' arm to the chair, while he 
protested angrily : 
" You idiots ! You came here to rob me of a secret of 
immense importance, as you well know ; and you lose your 
heads over a trifle of four millions. Say what you like, the 
colonel had more backbone than that ! " 
They gagged him once more and Bournef gave him a 
smashing blow with his fist which laid him unconscious. 
" That makes our retreat safe," said Bournef. 
" What about the colonel ? " asked one of the others. 
" Are we to leave him here ? " 
" Why not ? " 
But apparently he thought this unwise : for he added : 
" On second thoughts, no. It's not to our interest to 
compromise Essarcs any further. What we must do, Essarfis 
as well as ourselves, is to make ourselves scarce as fast as we 
can, before that damned letter of the colonel's is delivered at 
headquarters, say before twelve o'clock in the day." 
" Then what do you suggest ? " 
" We'll take the colonel with us in the motor and drop him 
anywhere., The police must make what they can of it." 
" And his papers ? " 
" We'll look through his pockets as we go. Lend me a 
hand." 
They bandaged the wound to stop the flow of blood, took 
up the body, each holding it by an arm or leg, and walked out 
without any one of them letting go his pocket-book for a 
second. . 
Patrice Belval heard them pass through another room and 
then tramp heavily over the echoing iiags of a hall 
" This is the moment," he said. " Essarcs or Simeon will 
press a button and the rogues will be nabbed." 
Essares did not budge. 
Simeon did not budge. 
Patrice heard all the sounds accompanying their departure ; 
the slamming of the carriage gate, the starting-up of the en- 
gine and the drone of the car as it mqved away. And that 
was all. Nothing had happened. The confederates were 
getting off with their four millions. 
A long silence followed, during which Patrice remained 
on tenterhooks. He oid not believe that the drama had reached 
its last phase ; and he was so much afraid of the unexpected 
which might stiU occur that he determined to make Coralie 
aware of his presence. 
A fresh incident prevented him. CoraUe had risen to her 
feet. 
{To hi conlinued) 
JCe^ 
on 
WID 
The reviving, strength-giving power 
of 0X0 has received remarkable en- 
dorsement from officers and men 
during the War. 
0X0 exactly meets their needs. It 
aids and increases nutrition and 
stimulates and builds up strength to 
resist climatic changes; it is invalu- 
able for all who ha\'e to undergo 
exertion either to promote fitness or 
to recuperate after fatigue.- 
0X0 is made in a moment, and with 
bread or biscuits sustains for hours. 
A Captain in the 
R.A.M.C. 
writes to his father : 
"I laii hiiy iiiriM things here 
except ciK.iretto, OXO aiid 
soups. If you cinikl send nic 
0X0 occasionally it would be 
very useful, uid would be a 
Kreat comfort to sonic of my 
fellow.s ill hospital and expedite 
recovery." 
Oxo in Mesopotamia. 
" It w'as with some doubt and 
misKivins that 1 sent some OXO 
to my son in Mesopotamia, 
feelint! it mii{lit not re-.icli him 
in Kood condition; but h. writes 
home to us that he uses OXO 
to fortify the soup they have. 
and asks for more to be sent 
each week, as OXO is very sus- 
tainiiiK and helpful to buck one 
up in such a trying climate." 
From a Mine-sweeper : 
"OXO has kept warmth in 
us all these perishinn nijihts. 
There was a terrific rush on it 
as soon as our chaps found out 
it was aboard. I can tell you 
it has proved one of the best 
Kifts weTiave rcceivetl." 
