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Mr Ricardo heard some one beside him draw a deep breath, and

turned Wethermill stood at his elbow A faint colour had come

back to his cheeks, his eyes were fixed intently upon Hanaud's

face

"What do you think?" he asked; and Hanaud replied brusquely: "It's not my business to hold opinions, monsieur; my business is

to make sure"

There was one point, and only one, of which he had made every one

in that room sure He had started confident Here was a sordid

cri

which had troubled hiher and perplexing level

"Then M Fleuriot after all ht?" asked the Commissaire

timidly

Hanaud stared at him for a second, then smiled

"L'affaire Dreyfus?" he cried "Oh la, la, la! No, but there is

so? Ricardo asked himself He looked once

ht

sight of an ornament upon the hich drove the question from

his mind The ornament, if so it could be called, was a painted

taht ribbons tied to the ri upon the wall between the settee and the fireplace at

about the height of a ht be no ar toy, such as a