The Olympic flame’s procession through San Francisco drew world-wide ridicule when the torch-bearers ran only a few yards before disappearing into a warehouse, only to re-emerge on a bus half an hour later. After furious clashes between Free Tibet protesters and pro-China demonstrators, the authorities seemed to panic and abruptly changed the route, cutting it by half and scrapping the closing ceremony. What Chinese Olympic organisers have called a “Journey of Harmony” quickly became the mystery tour of the missing flame. By 1.20pm local time — 20 minutes after the scheduled start— even the TV news helicopters had lost track....