ill
be more fun to take her by surprise. So here goes to get my traps
packed."

After Lord Fairholme's departure, Brett took matters easily. He did not
put in an appearance at the Prefecture until late in the afternoon, and,
as he surmised, the commissary whom he encountered the previous night
had even then only just arrived at his office. Without any difficulty,
the barrister was introduced to the official, who evidently awaited an
explanation of the visit with great curiosity.

Brett's ill-humour at the uncalled-for interference of the police was
now quite dispelled, and he greeted the commissary with the genial
affability which so quickly won him the friendship of casual
acquaintances.

"I think," he began, "that your agents, monsieur, were watching me
throughout the whole of yesterday."

"That is so," nodded the other, wondering what pitfall lay behind this
leading question.

"Do I take it that after my departure from No. 11, Rue Barbette about
midday they maintained no further guard over that house?"

"Assuredly. It was monsieur's personal movements which called for
observation."

"Then you do not know that an individual whose identity may be much more
important than mine is an inmate of the apartment at this
moment--probably a captive against his will, possibly a corpse?"

The Frenchman's huge moustache bristled with alarm and annoyance.

"It is a strange thing, monsieur," he cried, "that an English gentleman
should come to Paris and know more about the movements and haunts of
criminals than the French police."

It was no part of Brett's design to rub the official the wrong way, so
he said gently--

"Your remark is quite justifiable, and under ordinary circumstances any
such pretence on my part would be ridiculous. But you must remember,
monsieur, that I came here from London possessed of special information
which was not known even to the police authorities in that city. I am
working solely in the private interest of persons high in English
Society, and it would not serve the purposes of any of the Governments
concerned were too much stress publicly laid on their connexion with
this mystery. If I can succeed in elucidating the problem it will be a
comparatively easy matter for the police to bring the real criminals to
justice. As a step towards that end I have come to you now to place you
in possession of a clue which may reveal itself in the Rue Barbette. All
I ask is, in the first instance, that