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7

G^e "Radium Sieves

On the night of his release, Halliday slept in the room

next to ours at the hotel, and all night long I heard him moaning and protesting in his sleep. Undoubtedly his

experience in the villa had broken his nerve, and in the morning we failed completely to extract any information

from him. He would only repeat his statement

about the unlimited power at the disposal of the Big

Four, and his assurance of the vengeance which would

follow if he talked.

After lunch he departed to rejoin his wife in England,

but Poirot and I remained behind in Paris. I was all

for energetic proceedings of some kind or other, and

Poirot's quiescence annoyed me.

"For Heaven's sake, Poirot," I urged, "let us be up and at them."

"Admirable, mon ami, admirable! Up where, and at

whom? Be precise, I beg of you."

59

60 Agatha Christie

"At the Big Four, of course."

'' Cela va sans dire. But how would you set about it? "

"The police," I hazarded doubtfully.

Poirot smiled.

"They would accuse us of romancing. We have nothing to go upon--nothing whatever. We must wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for them to make a move. See now, in England

you all comprehend and adore Ie boxe. If one man does

not make a move, the other must, and by permitting the

adversary to make the attack one learns something

about him. That is our part--to let the other side make

the attack."

"You think they will?" I said doubtfully.

"I have no doubt whatever of it. To begin with, see, they try to get me out of England. That fails. Then, in

the Dartmoor affair, we step in and save their victim

from the gallows. And yesterday, once again, we interfere with their plans. Assuredly, they will not leave

the matter there."

As I reflected on this, there was a knock on the door.

Without waiting for a reply, a man stepped into the

room and closed the door behind him. He was a tall,

thin man, with a slightly hooked nose and a sallow complexion. He wore an overcoat buttoned up to his chin,

and a soft hat well pulled down over his eyes.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, for my somewhat unceremonious entry," he said in a soft voice, "but my business is of a rather unorthodox nature."

Smiling, he advanced to the table and sat down by it.

I was about to spring up, but Poirot restrained me with

a gesture.

"As you say, monsieur, your entry is somewhat unceremonious. Will you kindly state your business?"

THE BIG FOUR 61

"My dear M. Poirot, it is very simple. You have been annoying my friends."

"In what way?"

"Come, come. Monsieur Poirot. You do not seriously

ask me that? You know as well as I do."

"It depends, monsieur, upon who these friends of

yours are."

Without a word, the man drew from his pocket a

cigarette case, and, opening it, took out four cigarettes and tossed them on the table. Then he picked them up