ster's, firm in his belief that he
carried the snuff box with him, Mayer had arranged through certain
connections with the Belgian police, to have Dufrenne arrested and
placed in confinement over night on a trumped-up charge; Seltz
liberated, and Lablanche held on a pretense of being concerned in the
theft from the latter of a valuable package. A thorough search of
Duvall's baggage--Dufrenne, it seemed, had none--disclosed nothing,
except certain documents setting forth that the latter was Richard
Duvall, an American citizen. It was these papers, in fact, which Duvall
had shown to Mr. Phelps earlier in the day.

There was nothing to indicate to Hartmann that Duvall was acting in the
interests of the French secret police, but the doctor suspected it,
knowing as he did that the recovery of Monsieur de Grissac's snuff box
would become at once a matter of the utmost moment to Lefevre and his
men. Curiously enough, his momentary suspicions of Grace had largely
disappeared. There was nothing to connect her with Duvall. He did not
know that it was she who had opened the door and admitted Seltz to his
house earlier in the day--he thought that Duvall had done this himself.
Grace's manner, her conduct during the ride in the cab from the
Minister's house, had shown him nothing. Still, he felt that she would
bear watching and made his plans accordingly.

The sun was shining through the windows of Duvall's room when he awoke
the next morning. For a brief space he was unable to recognize his
surroundings, then the sequence of events came to him with a rush. He
was conscious of a knocking at the door. He sprang up and opened it.
Outside stood one of the men attendants whom he had seen the night
before, with the portmanteau containing his clothes. The man placed the
bag upon a chair, and opened it, then withdrew.

Duvall proceeded at once to dress. He had just finished when the
attendant returned with an elaborate breakfast on a tray. He ate
heartily. Evidently the doctor had no intention of starving him. Upon
the table he observed his watch and seals, which he had worn with his
evening clothes the night before. He looked at the watch and saw, to his
astonishment, that it was after nine o'clock.

Now that he was dressed, he wondered what he should do with himself. It
did not occur to him that the doctor would do other than keep him
confined to his room, yet the man who had brought the breakfast things
had not apparently locked the