THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS
Then suddenly I had an inspiration.
"Where is Scudder's book?" I asked Sir Walter. "Quick, man, I remember something in it."
He unlocked the drawer of a bureau and gave it to me.
I found the place. "Thirty-nine steps" I read, and again "Thirty-nine steps—counted them—High tide 10.17 p.m."
The Admiralty man was looking at me as if he thought I had gone mad.
"Don't you see it's a clue," I cried. "Scudder knew where these fellows laired—he knew where they were going to leave the country; though he kept the name to himself. To-morrow was the day, and it was some place where high tide was at 10.17."
"They may have gone to-night," some one said.
"Not them. They have their own snug secret way, and they won't be hurried. I know Germans, and they are mad about working to a plan. Where the devil can I get a book of Tide Tables?"
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