“There’s a guy follerin’ you,” he explained.  “An’ th’ two swells is drivin’ aroun’ in a cab like as if they wuz expectin’ fun.  They just passed you on th’ avenoo, an’ now they’s comin’ back.  That’s their rig—­cuttin’ across there.  See?  I tell you, they’s somethin’ in the air, an’ it looks as though it ain’t goin’ to pan out as they wanted it to.”

“What’s the matter with you?  The duke and the count went to a dance hall,” expostulated Quentin.

“To make a night of it,” added Savage

“Didn’t you see a nice lookin’ feller up there in th’ avenoo, an’ didn’t he size you up purty close?  That’s him—­that’s Courant, th’ fly cop.  Git inside this doorway an’ you’ll see him pass yere in a couple of seconds.  He’s not a block behind us.”

Sure enough the dapper stranger passed by the three men in shadow, looking uneasily, nervously up and across the street.

“He’s lost th’ trail,” whispered Turk, after Courant was beyond hearing.

“The same fellow, I’ll be blowed,” said Dickey, in amazement.  “Now, what do you suppose the game is?”

“My idea is that w’en you turned ’em down on th’ dance hall job they was afraid you’d go to th’ young lady’s house and cut in on th’ prince’s cinch, so they had to git a move on to head you off.  You was wise w’en you kicked out of th’ dance hall racket.  Th’ chances are you’d ‘a’ got into all kinds o’ hell if you’d fell into th’ trap.  Say, I’m dead sure o’ one er two t’ings.  In th’ first place, they’ve got four or five more ringers than we know about.  I seen Courant talkin’ mighty secret-like to two waiters in th’ hall this evenin”, an’ th’ driver o’ that cab o’ theirn was a baggage hustler at th’ Bellyvoo as late as yesterday.”

“By thunder, I believe their game was to mix us up in a big free-for-all fight when they got us into that dance dive.  That shows Dickey, how wise I was to decline the invitation,” said Quentin, seriously.  By this time they were some distance behind Turk, following in the path of the puzzled defective.  They saw him look curiously at the lighted windows of the houses, and overtook him at the intersection of the Boulevard Waterloo.  Just as they came up from behind, Courant stopped for an instant’s conversation with two men.  Their talk was brief and the trio turned to go back over the path just traversed by Courant The two sets of men met fairly and were compelled to make room for each other to pass.  Courant came to a full stop involuntarily, but recovered himself and followed his friends quickly.

“The plot thickens,” observed Phil.  “It looks as though they are rounding up their forces after the miscarriage of the original plan.  Gad, they are hunting us down like rats to-night.”

“The hotel is the safest place for us, and the quicker we get there the better,” said Dickey.  “I’m not armed, are you?”

“Of course not.  I hadn’t thought of such a thing, but from now on I’ll carry a revolver.  Those fellows didn’t look especially dainty, did they?”