Upon my word! I did not expect to find you here, Monsieur ...
but, since you are, you will be glad to get some news of the Brocq
affair."...

Juve's eyes were shining notes of interrogation.

"I rendered due homage to your perspicacity just now," continued the
colonel: "you were absolutely right in your prognostication that Brocq
had a mistress; unfortunately--I am sorry for the wound to your
self-esteem--the correctness of your version stops there! Brocq's
mistress was not a society woman, as you thought: on the contrary, she
was a girl of the lower orders ... a music-hall singer, called
Nichoune ... of Chalons!"

"You have proof of it?"

The colonel, with a superior air, held out a packet of letters to
Juve.

"Here is the correspondence--letters written by Brocq to the girl! One
of my collaborators seized them at girl's place."...

Juve scrutinised the letters.

"It's curious," he said, half to himself.... "An annoying coincidence ...
but the name of Nichoune does not appear once in these letters!"

"No other name appears," observed the colonel: "Consequently, taking
into consideration the place where these letters have been found ...
we must conclude."...

"These letters had no envelopes with them?" questioned Juve.

"No, there were none, but what matters that?" cried the colonel.

"Very queer," said Juve, in a meditative tone. Then raising his voice:

"I suppose, Colonel, that your ... collaborator, before taking
possession of these letters, had a talk with the person who had
received them. Did he manage to extract any information?"

Hofferman interrupted Juve with a gesture.

"Monsieur Juve," said he, crossing his arms, "I am going to give you
another surprise: my collaborator could not get the person in question
to talk, and for a very good reason: he found her dead!"

"Dead?" echoed Juve.

"That is as I say."

The detective, though he strove to hide it, was more and more taken
aback. What could this mean? No doubt he would soon secure additional
information; but what was the connecting link? where, and who was the
mysterious person who was really pulling the strings? The sarcastic
voice of the colonel tore Juve from his reflections and questionings.

"Monsieur Juve, I think it is high time we had some lunch ... but
before we separate allow me to give you a word of advice.

"When, in the course of your career, you have occasion to deal with
matters relating to spies and spying, leave us to