But what was the motive?  Why had they ransacked all those confidential papers?

My own idea was that they were not in search of the ciphers at all, but either wanted some blank form or other, or else they desired to make use of the Consular seal.  The latter, however, still remained on the floor near the safe, as though it had rolled out and been left unheeded.  As far as Francesco and I could ascertain, nothing whatever had been taken.  Therefore, we re-arranged the papers, re-locked the safe and resolved not to telegraph to Hutcheson and unduly disturb him, as in a few days he would return from England, and there would be time enough then to explain the remarkable story.

One fact, however, we established.  The detective on duty at the railway station distinctly recollected a thin middle-aged man, accompanied by a lady in deep black, passing the barrier and entering the train which left at three o’clock for Colle Salvetti to join the Rome express.  They were foreigners, therefore he did not take the same notice of them as though they had been Italians.  Inquiries at the booking-office showed, however, that no passengers had booked direct to Rome by the train in question.  To Grossetto, Cecina, Campiglia, and the other places in the Maremma, passengers had taken tickets, but not one had been booked to any of the great towns.  Therefore it was apparent that the mysterious pair who had come ashore just prior to the sailing of the yacht had merely taken tickets for a false destination, and had re-booked at Colle Salvetti, the junction with that long main line which connects Genoa with Rome.

The police were puzzled.  The two fishermen who sighted the Lola and first gave the alarm of her danger, declared that when they drew alongside and proffered assistance the captain threatened to shoot the first man who came aboard.

“They were English!” remarked the sturdy, brown-faced toilers of the sea, grinning knowingly.  “And the English, when they drink their cognac, know not what they do.”

“Did you get any reward for returning to harbor and reporting?” I asked.

“Reward!” echoed one of the men, the elder of the pair.  “Not a soldo!  The English only cursed us for interfering.  That is why we believed that they were trying to make away with the vessel.”

The description of the Lola, its owner, his guest, and the captain were circulated by the police to all the Mediterranean ports, with a request that the yacht should be detained.  Yet if the vessel were really one of mystery, as it seemed to be, its owner would no doubt go across to some quiet anchorage on the Algerian coast out of the track of the vessels, and calmly proceed to repaint, rename and disguise his craft so that it would not be recognized in Marseilles, Naples, Smyrna, or any of the ports where private yachts habitually call.  Thus, from the very first, it seemed to me that Hornby and his friends had very cleverly tricked me for some mysterious purpose, and afterwards ingeniously evaded their watchers and got clean away.