ed to his quarters, and
the detectives withdrew to the room which had been set aside for them on
the ground-floor.

They took the watch by turns, a watch consisting, in the first place, in
keeping awake and, next, in looking round the garden and visiting the
gallery at intervals.

These orders were scrupulously carried out, except between five and
seven in the morning, when sleep gained the mastery and the men ceased
to go their rounds. But it was broad daylight out of doors. Besides, if
there had been the least sound of bells, would they not have woke up?

Nevertheless, when one of them, at twenty minutes past seven, opened the
door of the gallery and flung back the shutters, he saw that the twelve
tapestries were gone.

This man and the others were blamed afterward for not giving the alarm
at once and for starting their own investigations before informing the
colonel and telephoning to the local commissary. Yet this very excusable
delay can hardly be said to have hampered the action of the police. In
any case, the colonel was not told until half-past eight. He was dressed
and ready to go out. The news did not seem to upset him beyond measure,
or, at least, he managed to control his emotion. But the effort must
have been too much for him, for he suddenly dropped into a chair and,
for some moments, gave way to a regular fit of despair and anguish, most
painful to behold in a man of his resolute appearance.

Recovering and mastering himself, he went to the gallery, stared at the
bare walls and then sat down at a table and hastily scribbled a letter,
which he put into an envelope and sealed.

"There," he said. "I'm in a hurry.... I have an important engagement....
Here is a letter for the commissary of police." And, seeing the
detectives' eyes upon him, he added, "I am giving the commissary my
views ... telling him of a suspicion that occurs to me.... He must
follow it up.... I will do what I can...."

He left the house at a run, with excited gestures which the detectives
were subsequently to remember.

A few minutes later, the commissary of police arrived. He was handed the
letter, which contained the following words:

"I am at the end of my tether. The theft of those tapestries
completes the crash which I have been trying to conceal for the
past year. I bought them as a speculation and was hoping to get a
million francs for them, thanks to the fuss that was made about
them. As it was, an