He ran, and Jules, hearing the noise of pursuit, ran also.

The ex-waiter was fleet; he made direct for a certain spot in the Embankment wall, and, to the intense astonishment of Racksole, jumped clean over the wall, as it seemed, into the river.

'Is he so desperate as to commit suicide ?' Racksole exclaimed as he ran, but a second later the puff and snort of a steam launch told him that Jules was not quite driven to suicide.

As the millionaire crossed the Embankment roadway he saw the funnel of the launch move out from under the river-wall.

It swerved into midstream and headed towards London Bridge.