M. DelcassÉ was a busy man, that morning, and he snorted with derision when LÉpine, having secured admission for a moment, told him of Crochard's request for an audience at eleven o'clock.

"Impossible!" he said. "The Board of Inquiry is to convene at that hour, and I must be present to address them."

"Perhaps it would be possible to adjourn the meeting until afternoon," LÉpine suggested.

DelcassÉ stared at him in astonishment.

"Possible, yes," he said; "most things are possible. But do you know what it is you are proposing?"

"I am proposing," said LÉpine boldly, "that you permit nothing to interfere with the conference which Crochard requests."

"But Crochard—who is Crochard that I should disturb all my arrangements for him?"

"I will tell you who he is, sir," said LÉpine, gently; "he is the man whom, next to yourself, I consider the most remarkable in France."DelcassÉ softened. The compliment was, perhaps, not delicate, but it was at least deserved.

"You believe that?" he asked.

"Yes, I do believe it. I must tell you more of Crochard, some day. Beside him, I am a mere bungler—I realise it more deeply each time I meet him. And I assure you that I am not one to underestimate myself."

DelcassÉ looked at him with a little smile.

"It seems to me that your note has changed," he said. "This morning—"

"I have seen Crochard since then," explained LÉpine, simply.

"And you are in earnest about this conference?"

"In deadly earnest, sir. So is Crochard."

DelcassÉ pondered a moment.

"You may bring him here at seven o'clock to-night," he said, finally. "That is the first moment I have at leisure."

"It will not do, M. DelcassÉ," said LÉpine, firmly. "The other inquiry must wait. It is not that inquiry which is important, it is this one."

Again the Minister stared.

"But it seems to me that you are telling me what I must do," he said. "Explain yourself."

"Your official inquiry," answered LÉpine boldly, "for all the famous men who take part in it, will discover nothing—it will be like that other inquiry into the affair of the Jena."

"And what will yours discover?"

"It is not mine—it is Crochard's," LÉpine corrected. "It is he who is in command. And it seems to me that he has already made a beginning. I am convinced that he has something more to tell us. He has charged me to secure answers to two questions."

"What are they?"

"Whether there are any wireless stations in the town, or in the neighbourhood, and whether there has recently been any peculiar interference with the working of the instruments on our battleships."

"Ah!" said DelcassÉ, whose expression had changed from irritation to one of absorbed attention. "So he has thought of that, also!" and he fell into a moment's revery. "Very well, LÉpine," he added. "I believe that you are right. I will arrange for the President to open the sitting, and I will summon the man who can answer the questions."

He rang for his secretary, and LÉpine hastened away to secure the closed carriage. He smiled to himself as he did so. How incredulous Pigot and all the rest would be should they ever hear that their chief had obeyed blindly the instructions of The Invincible, and that the first Minister of France had altered his plans in accordance with them!The carriage engaged and one of his own men placed in charge of it, LÉpine took his station at the principal entrance, to watch the crowd until Crochard should appear. The corridors were thronged with people, hurrying in and out. LÉpine knew many of them, for a whole staff had been brought from Paris to carry on the business of the State, and more than one august individual paused for a word with him. But to their questions he could only respond by a shake of the head.

At the stroke of eleven, Crochard mounted the steps to the door, and, at a nod from the Prefect, followed him up the stairs into the anteroom of DelcassÉ's suite. An attendant, who was evidently on the watch for them, showed them at once into the Minister's private office. He was deep in correspondence, but he instantly pushed it to one side and dismissed his secretary.

"Well, M. Crochard," he said, "LÉpine tells me you have more news for us. Be seated. What is the news?"

"I requested that M. LÉpine should make certain inquiries—"

"Yes, about the wireless," and DelcassÉ looked at him closely. "Tell me, why did you think of that?"

"I do not know," answered Crochard, rubbing his forehead slowly; "but as I sat last night gazing at the wreck, a thought came to me—a vague thought—not to be put into words...."

"Well," said DelcassÉ, as he paused, "I had the same thought last night, before I slept. It seems to me a most striking coincidence. Are you aware that, in the case of the Jena, wireless was mentioned as a possible cause?"

"Yes," answered Crochard; "I am aware of that."

The eyes of the two men met in a long glance. Then DelcassÉ touched a bell.

"Introduce General Marbeau," he said to his secretary.

The latter returned in a moment with a dark little man in full uniform. Then he went out again and closed the door. The little man bowed deeply to the Minister of Marine.

"Be seated, General," said DelcassÉ. "M. LÉpine, I think you already know—as who does not! This other gentleman I will not name—I will only say that he is a coadjutor whose services we value very highly. He has certain questions to ask you, which I wish you to answer as though I myself were asking them. Proceed, sir," and he nodded to Crochard. "General Marbeau is the chief of our wireless service."

"What wireless stations are there in the city of Toulon, General?" Crochard began."None, sir, except the one at the arsenal," Marbeau answered, looking at his questioner with discreet curiosity.

"And in the neighbourhood?"

"None nearer than Marseilles."

"There are no private installations?"

"The government does not permit private installations."

"Yet there might be some, clandestinely built?"

"That is possible."

"However, you can assure me of this: if any such do exist, they are outside the law?"

"Undoubtedly."

"Why are private stations prohibited?"

"They are prohibited because they would interfere with the government stations. You understand, sir, that wireless waves clash in the air, as it were; when they cross or intermingle, the result is a confusing chatter, until the sending and receiving instruments have been carefully tuned with each other. Even that does not always overcome it. A few private stations have been authorised strictly for scientific purposes, but there is none nearer than that at the University of Lyons."

"Do you ever suffer from interference here?"

"Oh, yes; the English have a very powerful station at Gibraltar and another at Malta; their battleships are all equipped with it, as are those of Italy. So are most of the passenger steamers which enter the Mediterranean. The air is often filled with messages."

"Has there been any such interference during the past few days?"

"Yes, a great deal of it; one instance in particular of which my operators have complained."

"Ah!" said Crochard. "Will you tell us exactly what it was?"

"Last Saturday," explained Marbeau, "about three in the afternoon, there came from somewhere a series of long dashes, lasting nearly half a second, and spaced about two seconds apart. This continued for perhaps half an hour."

"You had no idea as to their origin?"

"We thought that perhaps the English were tuning up a new and very powerful instrument at Gibraltar."

"You had no way of verifying this?"

"We did not try to do so."

"Was this interruption repeated?"

"Yes; our automatic recorder shows that the signals began again a little before five o'clock yesterday morning and continued for nearly two hours."

Crochard's eyes were shining.

"At what hour was La LibertÉ destroyed?" he asked.

"The first explosion was at 5:50. There were two others, a few minutes apart. The main magazine exploded at very close to six o'clock."

"So that these signals began at least an hour before and continued nearly an hour past that time?"

"That is so, sir," assented Marbeau, in surprise; "but I can imagine no connection—"

"Do not imagine anything," broke in DelcassÉ quickly, his voice quivering with excitement. "Perhaps there is no connection; but nevertheless I think these signals should have been reported to me. Come in," he added, as a tap sounded at the door.

His secretary entered and handed him a telegram. DelcassÉ's eyes were positively gleaming as he read it.

"Better and better!" he cried. "Oh, this is a game after my own heart!" and he tossed the telegram to LÉpine. "Read it aloud!" he added, "that I may be sure my eyes have not deceived me!"

And LÉpine picked up the message and read:

There was a moment's silence, Marbeau staring blankly, but the other three gazing into each other's faces with shining eyes.

"Perfect, perfect!" murmured DelcassÉ, and seized the telegram and read it again."The next step, sir," said Crochard quietly, "is to instruct every bank in France to report immediately the receipt of any of the other two hundred and ninety-nine!"

DelcassÉ drew a deep breath, pulled a pad of blanks toward him, and scribbled a few words.

"See that this is sent at once," he said, and the secretary took the message and hastened away.

Then DelcassÉ did something which he had not done since that night, five years before, when word came that England had signed the secret treaty: he removed his great glasses, got out his handkerchief, and deliberately wiped his eyes.

"Your pardon, gentlemen," he said, with a twisted smile. "This is for me a great moment. You know my dream! I believed it shattered; but now I think that it may yet come true!" He snapped his glasses on again and swung around to Crochard. "If it does," he added, "I shall have you to thank! Proceed with your questions."

"There are no more questions, sir," said Crochard; "but we have a little excursion to make. It will consume perhaps an hour, and I think that you will find it interesting. M. LÉpine has a closed carriage at the private entrance. I would suggest that General Marbeau accompany us. He will be of great service. Can we start at once?"

For answer, DelcassÉ leaped to his feet and seized his hat. There was no longer in his mind any question as to the importance of this inquiry, and the comparative unimportance of that other one, opening with much pomp at the Prefecture. In fact, he had forgotten all about it!

"The private entrance, you say?" he asked. "Then come this way," and he led the way down the private staircase. The carriage stood at the curb.

Crochard glanced at the driver.

"He is your man, of course?" he said to LÉpine. "Good." And, as the others entered, he stopped to speak a few words to him. Then he, too, leaped inside, and slammed the door.

The driver spoke to his horses, and they were off, along the Rue Nationale, across the Place St. Roche, through the Botanic Gardens, past the Marine Observatory, under the Porte Nationale, and through the faubourgs. At the end of twenty minutes, the town was left behind, and Crochard stopped the carriage, got out, and mounted to the seat beside the driver.

Then, at a slower pace, the carriage climbed a narrow road leading toward the hills back of the town. It was apparently little used, for it was overgrown with grass, over which the carriage-wheels rolled noiselessly. Inside the carriage, DelcassÉ spoke only once.

"On this day of surprises, I am prepared for anything!" he declared, and relapsed into silence.At last the carriage stopped, and, pulling back the curtains, those within it saw they were in the midst of a grove of lofty beeches.

Crochard jumped from the seat and opened the door.

"We must get out here," he said; and when the others had alighted, he started off before them among the trees.

DelcassÉ kept close at the leader's heels, fairly panting with eagerness. LÉpine followed and Marbeau came last. The rustling of the dead leaves beneath their feet was the only sound which broke the stillness. At the end of five minutes, they came to what was apparently a deserted shed. Its door was secured by a heavy hasp and padlock. Crochard drew a key from his pocket, opened the padlock, released the hasp, and threw back the door.

"Enter, my friends!" he cried, and stood aside that they might pass.

They crowded in and stood staring about them. For a moment, in the semi-darkness, they could see nothing; then certain vague shapes detached themselves—a table, a chair, strange jars, a queer-looking clock....

Marbeau uttered a sudden startled exclamation.

"Why, this is a wireless plant!" he cried.

"Precisely, sir!" agreed Crochard. "The plant from which came those peculiar signals!"