And it is not reassuring as to a man of whom little or nothing is known that he is menaced by secret enemies.
The attack had found Armitage unprepared and off guard, but with swift reaction his wits were at work.

He at once sought the purser and scrutinized every name on the passenger list.

It was unlikely that a steerage passenger could reach the saloon deck unobserved; a second cabin passenger might do so, however, and he sought among the names in the second cabin list for a clue.

He did not believe that Chauvenet or Durand had boarded the _King Edward_.

He himself had made the boat only by a quick dash, and he had left those two gentlemen at Geneva with much to consider.
It was, however, quite within the probabilities that they would send some one to watch him, for the two men whom he had overheard in the dark house on the Boulevard Froissart were active and resourceful rascals, he had no doubt.