nopportune
arrival while she was accepting the attentions of the "financial agent"
from London. She volubly repeated her former lover's heated language to
herself, and described the bloodthirsty threats he had used about his
successful rival. His guilt was as clear as noonday, she avowed--as
clear as if that dreadful thing M'sieu had suggested had been really
true and she had seen the deed with her own eyes.

"Pierre killed Monsieur Levison for love of me," she concluded, with a
gesture worthy of the great Bernhardt.

Nugent's manner and attitude had almost imperceptibly and very gradually
altered during the recital, though the theatrical young Frenchwoman had
been so absorbed in herself that it was only when she had sounded the
final flourish that she noticed the change. The look of surprise--of
almost alarmed surprise--which had come into his face at her first
profession of knowledge was gone, and was now replaced by an expression
of chivalrous sympathy blended with just a trace of dissent.

"I can well believe in the potency of the motive suggested by
Mademoiselle," he said with a grave bow. "Any man might almost have free
pardon for homicide committed for the sake of her favours. But it was
not so in this case. The man whom I have good cause to suspect of having
slain Mr. Levi Levison had never to my knowledge spoken with
mademoiselle either in France or in England. That was why I was so
astonished when you stated that though you had not witnessed the crime,
you were on your way to denounce the criminal."

"Who, then, is it that you suspect, m'sieu?" Louise, all taken aback,
demanded in a sibilant whisper. "After all, Pierre was the friend of my
youth, and it would be sweeter to take vengeance on other than he."

Travers Nugent appeared to be about to speak, but to check himself as an
afterthought. "I do not think that it would be quite in accordance with
a spirit of justice if I mentioned the villain's name, even to you, just
yet," he said, after a pause. "I am morally convinced of his guilt, but
there are one or two points to be cleared up before it can be proved. If
it leaked out that he was under suspicion before the police had been
furnished with enough evidence to arrest him he might evade us
altogether. This much, however, I can promise you, that as soon as I
have linked up the chain you shall be the first to be informed of it.
Surely you are entitled to be, as the adored of _ce pauvre_ Levison. In
the m