“At present I shall mention no names—if you only heard the names, what
would you not think!—but I shall merely tell you how cleverly I did it. I was true to my employers then, and no doubt they will be true to me
now. I hope so, and until I am convinced that they have betrayed me,
these names, which would convulse Europe, shall not be divulged. But on
that day ... well, I say no more! “In a word, then, there was a famous trial in Paris, in the year 1890,
in connection with a monstrous scandal in politics and finance. How
monstrous that scandal was can never be known save by such confidential
agents as myself. The honour and careers of many of the chief men in
France were at stake. You have seen a group of nine-pins standing, all
so rigid, and prim, and unbending. Then there comes the ball from far
away and pop, pop, pop—there are your nine-pins on the floor. Well,
imagine some of the greatest men in France as these nine-pins, and then
this Monsieur Caratal was the ball which could be seen coming from far
away. If he arrived, then it was pop, pop, pop for all of them. It was
determined that he should not arrive. “I do not accuse them all of being conscious of what was to happen. There were, as I have said, great financial as well as political
interests at stake, and a syndicate was formed to manage the business. Some subscribed to the syndicate who hardly understood what were its
objects. But others understood very well, and they can rely upon it that
I have not forgotten their names. They had ample warning that Monsieur
Caratal was coming long before he left South America, and they knew that
the evidence which he held would certainly mean ruin to all of them. The
syndicate had the command of an unlimited amount of money—absolutely
unlimited, you understand. They looked round for an agent who was
capable of wielding this gigantic power. The man chosen must be
inventive, resolute, adaptive—a man in a million. They chose Herbert de
Lernac, and I admit that they were right. “My duties were to choose my subordinates, to use freely the power which
money gives, and to make certain that Monsieur Caratal should never
arrive in Paris. With characteristic energy I set about my commission
within an hour of receiving my instructions, and the steps which I took
were the very best for the purpose which could possibly be devised. “A man whom I could trust was dispatched instantly to South America to
travel home with Monsieur Caratal. Had he arrived in time the ship would
never have reached Liverpool; but, alas! it had already started before
my agent could reach it. I fitted out a small armed brig to intercept
it, but again I was unfortunate. Like all great organizers I was,
however, prepared for failure, and had a series of alternatives
prepared, one or the other of which must succeed. You must not underrate
the difficulties of my undertaking, or imagine that a mere commonplace
assassination would meet the case. We must destroy not only Monsieur
Caratal, but Monsieur Caratal’s documents, and Monsieur Caratal’s
companions also, if we had reason to believe that he had communicated
his secrets to them. And you must remember that they were on the alert,
and keenly suspicious of any such attempt. It was a task which was in
every way worthy of me, for I am always most masterful where another
would be appalled. “I was all ready for Monsieur Caratal’s reception in Liverpool, and I
was the more eager because I had reason to believe that he had made
arrangements by which he would have a considerable guard from the moment
that he arrived in London. Anything which was to be done must be done
between the moment of his setting foot upon the Liverpool quay and that
of his arrival at the London and West Coast terminus in London. We
prepared six plans, each more elaborate than the last; which plan would
be used would depend upon his own movements. Do what he would, we were
ready for him. If he had stayed in Liverpool, we were ready. If he took
an ordinary train, an express, or a special, all was ready. Everything
had been foreseen and provided for. “You may imagine that I could not do all this myself. What could I know
of the English railway lines? But money can procure willing agents all
the world over, and I soon had one of the acutest brains in England to
assist me. I will mention no names, but it would be unjust to claim all
the credit for myself. My English ally was worthy of such an alliance. He knew the London and West Coast line thoroughly, and he had the
command of a band of workers who were trustworthy and intelligent. The
idea was his, and my own judgment was only required in the details. We
bought over several officials, amongst whom the most important was James
McPherson, whom we had ascertained to be the guard most likely to be
employed upon a special train. Smith, the stoker, was also in our
employ. John Slater, the engine-driver, had been approached, but had
been found to be obstinate and dangerous, so we desisted. We had no
certainty that Monsieur Caratal would take a special, but we thought it
very probable, for it was of the utmost importance to him that he should
reach Paris without delay. It was for this contingency, therefore, that
we made special preparations—preparations which were complete down to
the last detail long before his steamer had sighted the shores of
England. You will be amused to learn that there was one of my agents in
the pilot-boat which brought that steamer to its moorings. “The moment that Caratal arrived in Liverpool we knew that he suspected
danger and was on his guard. He had brought with him as an escort a
dangerous fellow, named Gomez, a man who carried weapons, and was
prepared to use them. This fellow carried Caratal’s confidential papers
for him, and was ready to protect either them or his master. The
probability was that Caratal had taken him into his counsels, and that
to remove Caratal without removing Gomez would be a mere waste of
energy. It was necessary that they should be involved in a common fate,
and our plans to that end were much facilitated by their request for a
special train. On that special train you will understand that two out of
the three servants of the company were really in our employ, at a price
which would make them independent for a lifetime. I do not go so far as
to say that the English are more honest than any other nation, but I
have found them more expensive to buy. “I have already spoken of my English agent—who is a man with a
considerable future before him, unless some complaint of the throat
carries him off before his time. He had charge of all arrangements at
Liverpool, whilst I was stationed at the inn at Kenyon, where I awaited
a cipher signal to act. When the special was arranged for, my agent
instantly telegraphed to me and warned me how soon I should have
everything ready.