"Good; only before proceeding to the future, let us speak of the past."

Paul gave a start, which Mascarin noticed, for he added,--

"You will excuse the freedom I am taking; but it is absolutely necessary
that I should know to what I am binding myself. Tantaine tells me that
you are a charming young man, strictly honest, and well educated; and
now that I have had the pleasure of meeting you, I am sure that he is
right; but I can only deal with proofs, and must be quite certain before
I act on your behalf with third parties."

"I have nothing to conceal, sir, and am ready to answer any questions,"
responded Paul.

A slight smile, which Paul did not detect, played round the corners of
Mascarin's mouth, and, with a gesture, with which all who knew him were
familiar, he pushed back his glasses on his nose.

"I thank you," answered he; "it is not so easy as you may suppose to
hide anything from me." He took one of the packets of pasteboard slips
form his desk, and shuffling them like a pack of cards, continued, "Your
name is Marie Paul Violaine. You were born at Poitiers, in the Rue
des Vignes, on the 5th of January, 1843, and are therefore in your
twenty-fourth year."

"That is quite correct, sir."

"You are an illegitimate child?"

The first question had surprised Paul; the second absolutely astounded
him.

"Quite true, sir," replied he, not attempting to hide his surprise; "but
I had no idea that M. Tantaine was so well informed; the partition which
divided our rooms must have been thinner than I thought."

Mascarin took no notice of this remark, but continued to shuffle and
examine his pieces of cardboard. Had Paul caught a clear glimpse of
these, he would have seen his initials in the corner of each.

"Your mother," went on Mascarin, "kept, for the last fifteen years of
her life, a little haberdasher's shop."

"Just so."

"But a business of that description in a town like Poitiers, does not
bring in very remunerative results, and luckily she received for your
support and education a sum of one thousand francs per year."

This time Paul started from his seat, for he was sure that Tantaine
could not have learned this secret at the Hotel de Perou.

"Merciful powers, sir!" cried he; "who could have told you a thing that
has never passed my lips since my arrival in Paris, and of which even
Rose is entirely ignorant?"

Mascarin raised his shoulders.

"You can easily comprehend," remarked he, "that a m