But he had done nothing of the sort!

Fandor had shut the gate noisily, but had remained inside the grounds. He stood motionless, holding his breath, wishing neither to be seen nor heard. He remained so for a long twenty minutes. Then, being assured that Madame Bourrat had retired for the night – she had closed her shutters and put out her light – he rubbed his hands, murmuring:

“Now we shall see!”

Stepping gingerly along by the side of the wall, he reached the main building of the boarding-house: luckily, it was empty as far as boarders were concerned. He recognised Elizabeth Dollon’s window on the first floor and was glad to see that it was half open. Chance favoured him – there was even a gutter-pipe running down the wall and passing close to the window. Providence had favoured him with a fine staircase; there would not be much difficulty in climbing that!

No sooner thought than done! Accustomed as he was to exercise and games, Fandor, agile as a fit young man can be, swarmed up the pipe as far as Elizabeth’s window. He caught hold of the sill, recovered his balance, jerked himself up, and, two seconds after, had landed in the room.

Dare he strike a light! He remembered pretty accurately the position of the various pieces of furniture, but he would like to study the room more in detail. His luck still held, for a ray of moonlight suddenly shone out from behind a cloud. He saw the moon sailing in a clear sky. There would be sufficient light from its rays to enable him to pursue his investigations.

It was an essentially modern room; the white walls were painted with ripolin, and were as bare of ornament as a nun’s cell. An iron bedstead stood in the middle of the room: a wardrobe, with a mirror panel in front, and locked, occupied one of the corners; behind a folding screen was a make-up table, a Louis XV bureau, two chairs, an arm-chair: that was all.

After making this rapid inventory, Fandor reflected.

“The situation is growing complicated,” he murmured to himself. “I am quite convinced that this room will shortly receive a visit from some individuals who will not court recognition – their interests are all against that – and they certainly will not be anxious to meet me here!

These individuals assuredly know, at this minute, that the examining magistrate is going to make a thorough investigation here tomorrow morning.