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"I!" exclaimed Ricardo, with a start

"Yes You told me that you walked up to the hotel with Harry

Wetherht of the lance into his rooms which I had--you will reested that we should go

to Harry Wetherlance enabled

ot out of his room on to

the verandah below and escaped froarden quite

unseen For you will remember that whereas your rooms look out to

the front and on to the slope of Mont Revard, Wetherarden and the town of Aix In a quarter of an hour

or twenty minutes he could have reached the Villa Rose He could

have been in the salon before half-past ten, and that is just the

hour which suited ot out unnoticed, so

he could return So he did return! My friend, there are so marks upon the -sill of Wethermill's room and

upon the pillar just beneath it Take a look, M Ricardo, when you

return to your hotel But that was not all We talked of Geneva in

Mr Wethermill's room, and of the distance between Geneva and Aix

Do you remember that?"

"Yes," replied Ricardo

"Do you remember too that I asked him for a road-book?"

"Yes; to make sure of the distance I do"

"Ah, but it was not to make sure of the distance that I asked for

the road-book, my friend I asked in order to find out whether

Harry Wetherave a plan of the

roads between here and Geneva And he had He handed it to me at

once and quite naturally I hope that I took it calmly, but I was

not at all calm inside For it was a new road-book, which, by the