swaggering into the room with a would-be majestic air, and
solemnly and pompously enquired:

"Now then, what's all this about?"

At sight of the officer every countenance cleared. The concierge ceased
to tremble; the porter lost his air of suspicion. Both were beginning to
explain to the representative of authority, when the man in the soft hat
waved them aside, stepped up to the guardian of the peace and looking
him straight in the eyes, said:

"Criminal Investigation Department! Inspector Juve!"

The gendarme, who was quite unprepared for this announcement, stepped
back a pace and raised his eyes towards the man who addressed him: then
suddenly raised his hand to his _kepi_ and came to attention.

"Beg pardon, Inspector, I didn't recognise you! M. Juve! And you have
been in this division a long time too!" He turned angrily to the
foremost porter. "Step forward, please, and let's have no nonsense!"

Juve, who had thus disclosed his identity as a detective, smiled, seeing
that the gendarme assumed that the South Steamship Company's porter was
a thief.

"That's all right," he said. "Leave the man alone. He's done no harm."

"Then who am I to arrest?" the puzzled gendarme asked.

The concierge broke in to explain: she had been much impressed by the
style and title of the stranger.

"If the gentleman had told me where he came from I would certainly never
have allowed anyone to go for a gendarme."

Inspector Juve smiled.

"If I had told you who I was just now, madame, when you were, quite
naturally, so upset, you would not have believed me. You would have
continued to call out. Now, I am particularly anxious to avoid any
scandal or noise at the present moment. I rely on your discretion." He
turned to the two porters, who were dumb with amazement and could make
nothing of the affair. "As for you, my good fellows, I must ask you to
leave your other work and go back at once to your office in the rue
d'Hauteville and tell your manager--what is his name?"

"M. Wooland," one of the men replied.

"Good: tell M. Wooland that I want to see him here at the earliest
possible moment; and tell him to bring with him all the papers he has
that refer to M. Gurn. And not a word to anyone about all this, please,
especially in this neighbourhood. Take my message to your manager, and
that's all."

* * * * *

The porters had left hurriedly for the rue d'Hauteville and a quarter of
an hour went