"Very well," he said. "To save you from danger, and Miss Poynton from
further trouble, I am going to break a confidence which has been reposed
in me, and to give you the benefit of my own surmises. In the first
place, Mr. Lloyd is mistaken in supposing that the French police have
been in the least puzzled by this double disappearance. On the contrary,
they are perfectly well aware of all the facts of the case, and could
have produced Miss Poynton or her brother at any moment. They are
working not for us, but against us!"
"Indeed!" Mr. Lloyd said in a tone of disbelief. "And their object?"
"Here is as much of the truth as I dare tell you," Duncombe said. "Guy
Poynton whilst on the Continent became the chance possessor of an
important State secret. He was followed to France by spies from that
country--we will call it Germany--and the young lady who awaits you so
impatiently is, if not one of them, at least one of their friends. At
the Cafe Montmartre he gave his secret away to people who are in some
measure allied with the secret service police of France. He was
kidnapped by them, and induced to remain hidden by a trick. Meanwhile
diplomacy makes use of his information, and foreign spies look for him
in vain.
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