e no longer existed--that Richard had
succeeded in recovering the ivory snuff box, and would soon send her
word to join him, so that they might return to Paris together. She went
to her room, ordered some luncheon brought to her, and sat down to await
his message.

Meanwhile, Duvall, with Seltz beside him, drove rapidly away from the
house, his arm about the man's unconscious figure. At the gate of the
park he saw another cab waiting, and in a moment perceived that it
contained Dufrenne, who in accordance with his instructions had been
following Seltz. Duvall nodded to him, then pointed silently down the
street. Dufrenne at once ordered his driver to follow. In a short time
they had reached the Hotel Metropole, and Seltz, with the assistance of
two of the porters, had been carried upstairs and placed on the bed.
Duvall explained to the manager of the hotel that the man was a friend
of his, who had been taken ill, and needed to sleep for a few hours. He
also engaged the adjoining room at once, and thither he and Dufrenne
presently repaired to examine the snuff box which, until now, had been
reposing safely in the detective's waistcoat pocket.

He drew it out, when they were alone, and silently handed it to
Dufrenne. The little old Frenchman took one look at it, then threw up
his hands with a cry of joy. "It is the Ambassador's snuff box. Heavens
be praised!" he cried, as the tears coursed down his withered cheeks.

CHAPTER XII

Richard Duvall looked at the tense figure, the agitated face of his
companion, and once again a feeling of surprise swept over him, as he
observed the little Frenchman's joy at the recovery of Monsieur de
Grissac's snuff box.

Throughout the exciting events of the morning, and of the night before,
the detective had lost sight of the apparent insignificance of the
object of their search; now that he for the first time saw it before
him, his curiosity was once more aroused. Surely there must be something
of vast interest about this apparently worthless bit of ivory, to make
its theft the reason for a brutal murder, its recovery a matter of such
extreme importance that Monsieur Lefevre should consider the honor of
his country at stake.

He took the box from Dufrenne's trembling fingers and examined it
carefully. It was about two and a half inches in circumference, and
quite shallow, not over half an inch in depth, in all. The ivory was old
and yellow from use and time, and very thin an