uvel.

"Is not that the room whither I was conducted when I first came?"
inquired the commissary.

"The same."

"I would like to see it," said Fanferlot, "and examine the entrances to
it."

"Nothing is more easy," said M. Fauvel, eagerly; "follow me, gentlemen,
and you come too, Prosper."

M. Fauvel's private office consisted of two rooms; the waiting-room,
sumptuously furnished and beautifully decorated, and the study where he
transacted business. The furniture in this room was composed of a large
office-desk, several leather-covered chairs, and, on either side of the
fireplace, a secretary and a book-shelf.

These two rooms had only three doors; one opened on the private
stairway, another into the banker's bedroom, and the third into the main
vestibule. It was through this last door that the banker's clients and
visitors were admitted.

M. Fanferlot examined the study at a glance. He seemed puzzled, like
a man who had flattered himself with the hope of discovering some
indication, and had found nothing.

"Let us see the adjoining room," he said.

He passed into the waiting-room, followed by the banker and the
commissary of police.

Prosper remained alone in the study.

Despite the disordered state of his mind, he could not but perceive that
his situation was momentarily becoming more serious.

He had demanded and accepted the contest with his chief; the struggle
had commenced; and now it no longer depended upon his own will to arrest
the consequences of his action.

They were about to engage in a bitter conflict, utilizing all weapons,
until one of the two should succumb, the loss of honor being the cost of
defeat.

In the eyes of justice, who would be the innocent man?

Alas! the unfortunate cashier saw only too clearly that the chances
were terribly unequal, and was overwhelmed with the sense of his own
inferiority.

Never had he thought that his chief would carry out his threats; for,
in a contest of this nature, M. Fauvel would have as much to risk as his
cashier, and more to lose.

He was sitting near the fireplace, absorbed in the most gloomy
forebodings, when the banker's chamber-door suddenly opened, and a
beautiful girl appeared on the threshold.

She was tall and slender; a loose morning gown, confined at the waist
by a simple black ribbon, betrayed to advantage the graceful elegance of
her figure. Her black eyes were large and soft; her complexion had
the creamy pallor of a white c