etfulness," she added. "The lady
is no longer in the house; she only remained here for a few hours."

This reply did not surprise M. Fortunat--he had expected it; and yet
he assumed an air of the utmost consternation. "Only a few hours!" he
repeated, like a despairing echo.

"Yes, monsieur. She arrived here about eleven o'clock in the morning,
with only a large valise by way of luggage, and she left that same
evening at eight o'clock."

"Alas! and where was she going?"

"She didn't tell me."

You might have sworn that M. Fortunat was about to burst into tears.
"Poor Lucy!" said he, in a tragical tone; "it was for me, madame, that
she was waiting. But it was only this morning that I received her letter
appointing a meeting here. She must have been in despair. The post can't
be depended on!"

The husband and wife simultaneously shrugged their shoulders, and the
expression of their faces unmistakably implied: "What can we do about
it? It is no business of ours. Don't trouble us."

But M. Fortunat was not the man to be dismayed by such a trifle.

"She was taken to the railway station, no doubt," he insisted.

"Really, I know nothing about it."

"You told me just now that she had a large valise, so she could not have
left your hotel on foot. She must have asked for a vehicle. Who was
sent to fetch it? One of your boys? If I could find the driver I should,
perhaps, be able to obtain some valuable information from him."

The husband and wife exchanged a whole volume of suspicions in a single
glance. M. Isidore Fortunat's appearance was incontestably respectable,
but they were well aware that those strange men styled detectives are
perfectly conversant with the art of dressing to perfection. So the
hotelkeeper quickly decided on his course. "Your idea is an excellent
one," he said to M. Fortunat. "This lady must certainly have taken
a vehicle on leaving; and what is more, it must have been a vehicle
belonging to the hotel. If you will follow me, we will make some
inquiries on the subject."

And rising with a willingness that augured well for their success,
he led the agent into the courtyard, where five or six vehicles were
stationed, while the drivers lounged on a bench, chatting and smoking
their pipes "Which of you was employed by a lady yesterday evening at
about eight o'clock?"

"What sort of a person was she?"

"She was a handsome woman, between thirty and forty years' old, very
fair, rather stout, and d