tain? Speak!"

In spite of his usual self-control, he was this time thoroughly alarmed.
Knowing the terrible effects of the poison employed by the miscreants
whom he was attacking, recalling the corpse of Inspector Verot, the
corpses of Hippolyte Fauville and his son, he knew that, trained though
he was to resist comparatively large doses of poison, he could not have
escaped the deadly action of this. It was a poison that did not forgive,
that killed, surely and fatally.

The girl was silent. He raised his voice in command:

"Answer me! Are you certain?"

"No ... it was an idea that entered my head--a presentiment ... certain
coincidences--"

It was as though she regretted her words and now tried to withdraw them.

"Come, come," he cried, "I want to know the truth: You're not certain
that the water in this bottle is poisoned?"

"No ... it's possible--"

"Still, just now--"

"I thought so. But no ... no!"

"It's easy to make sure," said Perenna, putting out his hand for the
water bottle.

She was quicker than he, seized it and, with one blow, broke it against
the table.

"What are you doing?" he said angrily.

"I made a mistake. And so there is no need to attach any importance--"

Don Luis hurriedly left the dining-room. By his orders, the water which
he drank was drawn from a filter that stood in a pantry at the end of the
passage leading from the dining-room to the kitchens and beyond. He ran
to it and took from a shelf a bowl which he filled with water from the
filter. Then, continuing to follow the passage, which at this spot
branched off toward the yard, he called Mirza, the puppy, who was playing
by the stables.

"Here," he said, putting the bowl in front of her.

The puppy began to drink. But she stopped almost at once and stood
motionless, with her paws tense and stiff. A shiver passed through the
little body. The dog gave a hoarse groan, spun round two or three
times, and fell.

"She's dead," he said, after touching the animal.

Mile. Levasseur had joined him. He turned to her and rapped out:

"You were right about the poison--and you knew it. How did you know it?"

All out of breath, she checked the beating of her heart and answered:

"I saw the other puppy drinking in the pantry. She's dead. I told the
coachman and the chauffeur. They're over there, in the stable. And I ran
to warn you."

"In that case, there was no doubt about it. Why did you say that you were
not certain that the