nt request that he see Monsieur Lefevre at once, gained him an
immediate audience.

The Prefect and the Ambassador stood awaiting his entrance, their faces
tense with anxiety. The expression upon the old man's countenance
confirmed their worst fears. He staggered into the room, grasping the
back of a chair to support himself. "He has given it up--the
scoundrel--the traitor; he has given it up, to save himself and his
wife."

The Ambassador turned away with a groan of despair. Lefevre stepped up
to Dufrenne. "You mean to tell me," he cried, "that Richard Duvall has
proven false to his duty? I cannot believe it."

Dufrenne nodded. "He gave it to Hartmann last night. I saw him do it.
Hartmann had promised to let him go free. They had been torturing him,
in some way, I do not know how. It was the woman who weakened first. The
man--Duvall--gave up the box to save her from doing so."

"Then she knew where it was?"

"Yes."

The Prefect went over to the window and looked out over the Seine. His
emotions almost overcame him. The loss of the box--Duvall's
faithlessness--his own failure, all plunged him into the deepest
despair. "_Mon Dieu!_" he muttered to himself. "Duvall--it is
incredible!"

Suddenly he turned. The Ambassador had begun to question Dufrenne. "What
did this Dr. Hartmann do, when the box was given to him?" he asked in a
voice trembling with excitement.

"He pressed the large pearl, pushed aside the cross, and removed the
paper that was hidden beneath it. He read the paper. It contained
nothing but a row of numbers. I saw it as he held it beneath the light."

De Grissac became as white as chalk, and turning to Lefevre, cried out,
in a broken voice, "It is all over. Nothing can be done now. It is too
late. _Mon Dieu!_ What will become of France?"

"Where is Duvall?" cried the Prefect, suddenly. "I must see him. He is
not the man to do such a thing as this. I must talk to him. Do not tell
me that he has run away."

"No, monsieur. He is outside, he and his wife. I have placed them both
under arrest."

"Were they attempting to escape?"

"No, monsieur. They were coming to Paris."

"At least," the Prefect remarked, mournfully, "he is not cowardly enough
for that. Bring him here--bring them both here at once. I must question
them."

Dufrenne turned to the door. "In a moment, monsieur, they will be before
you."

"What can it avail now?" said De Grissac, sadly.

"We shall see. I never condemn a man w