from them far better results
than would have been the case had he kept in constant touch with their
movements.

Hence when he dispatched Richard Duvall, and Monsieur Dufrenne, the
little curio dealer of the _Rue de Richelieu_, to London, and the
former's wife and later on Lablanche to Brussels, he felt that he had
done all that it was possible to do, to secure the recovery of Monsieur
de Grissac's stolen snuff box.

He did not, it is true, dismiss the matter from his mind--it was,
indeed, of too grave and sinister a character to be treated thus
lightly, but he had the utmost confidence in Duvall, and believed that
the latter would without doubt succeed in his quest.

Since Duvall's departure, he had waited anxiously for the detective's
appearance. He did not expect to hear from him, but felt convinced that
within the next day or two he would walk into his office with the
missing snuff box in his pocket.

It was with some dismay, therefore, that he received, on the fourth day,
a sudden visit from Dufrenne. The latter had been released, the day
before, by the Brussels police, after a most uncomfortable night in a
cell, an experience for which he knew he had Hartmann to thank, and in
desperation had decided to place the condition of affairs before his
chief.

The latter had heard him in silence, and then followed a long
conference, with the result that Dufrenne returned to Brussels, bearing
the mysterious message subsequently given to Grace by Lablanche, to play
_The Rosary_ upon the phonograph.

Since then, the Prefect had been in a state of profound agitation,
although he carefully concealed the fact from his subordinates. The
gravity of the issues at stake tortured him ceaselessly, and to add to
his discomfort, Monsieur de Grissac arrived from London, determined to
ascertain what progress, if any, had been made toward the recovery of
his lost property.

He was bitterly disappointed to find that Lefevre was unable to give him
the slightest encouragement. The box had not, he believed, passed into
the hands of their enemies, but beyond that he could say nothing.

It was on the day of the Ambassador's arrival that Dufrenne appeared at
the Prefecture a second time, his face pale and haggard, his eyes
bloodshot and sunken from loss of sleep, his whole manner indicating
that he had lately passed through some terrible experience. De Grissac
was closeted with the Prefect at the time, but the man's appearance, his
urge