XIV!" And, pushing her into a corner of the hall,
"Listen... The moment I'm done with him, go up to your room, put your
things together anyhow and clear out."

"What!"

"Do as I tell you. You'll find my car waiting down the avenue. Come,
stir your stumps! Announce me. I'll wait in the study."

"But it's dark in there."

"Turn on the light."

She switched on the electric light and left Lupin alone.

"It's here," he reflected, as he took a seat, "it's here that the
crystal stopper?byes?... Unless Daubrecq always keeps it by him... But
no, when people have a good hiding-place, they make use of it. And this
is a capital one; for none of us... so far..."

Concentrating all his attention, he examined the objects in the room;
and he remembered the note which Daubrecq wrote to Prasville:

"Within reach of your hand, my dear Prasville!...
You touched it! A little more and the trick was done..."

Nothing seemed to have moved since that day. The same things were lying
about on the desk: books, account-books, a bottle of ink, a stamp-box,
pipes, tobacco, things that had been searched and probed over and over
again.

"The bounder!" thought Lupin. "He's organized his business jolly
cleverly. It's all dove-tailed like a well-made play."

In his heart of hearts, though he knew exactly what he had come to do
and how he meant to act, Lupin was thoroughly aware of the danger and
uncertainty attending his visit to so powerful an adversary. It was
quite within the bounds of possibility that Daubrecq, armed as he was,
would remain master of the field and that the conversation would take an
absolutely different turn from that which Lupin anticipated.

And this prospect angered him somewhat.

He drew himself up, as he heard a sound of footsteps approaching.

Daubrecq entered.

He entered without a word, made a sign to Lupin, who had risen from
his chair, to resume his seat and himself sat down at the writing-desk.
Glancing at the card which he held in his hand:

"Dr. Vernes?"

"Yes, monsieur le depute, Dr. Vernes, of Saint-Germain."

"And I see that you come from Mme. Mergy. A patient of yours?"

"A recent patient. I did not know her until I was called in to see her,
the other day, in particularly tragic circumstances."

"Is she ill?"

"Mme. Mergy has taken poison."

"What!"

Daubrecq gave a start and he continued, without concealing his distress:

"What's that you say? Poison! Is she dead?"

"No, the dose