Fandor rang up the central office. When the telephone girl answered, he
called:

"Mademoiselle, why have you cut me off?"

"But I have done nothing of the kind, monsieur!"

"But I cannot get any reply!"

"It is because the receivers have been hung up by whoever called you. I
assure you that is so."

"What was my caller's number?"

"I cannot tell you that, monsieur--the rules forbid it."

Fandor knew this quite well, so he did not insist further. But, as he
turned away from the telephone, a dull anger smouldered within him.

"Who was this mysterious individual who had called Elizabeth twice over
the telephone, and then, no sooner put into communication with her, had
refused to talk to her?"

Fandor felt nervous, anxious, exasperated by this incident; but it would
never do to trouble his young friend to no good purpose. He led her back
to the garden.

"Where were we in our talk, monsieur?" asked Elizabeth.

With a considerable effort, the journalist collected his thoughts.

"We were discussing the mysterious paper found at your brother's,
mademoiselle."

In agreement with Elizabeth, Jerome Fandor determined the approximate
size of this list of addresses. He tore from his note-book a sheet of
white paper.

Elizabeth looked fixedly at the white sheet for a long time, as though,
by concentrated will power, she could force the mysterious names which
she read some days before on the original paper, to rise up in front of
her eyes. Certainly it seemed to her that on this list figured the name
of her brother, that of the Baroness de Vibray, lawyer Gerin's also:
then she remembered a double name, a name not unknown to her, which had
appeared in the list.

"Barbey-Nanteuil!" she suddenly cried. "Yes, I do believe those two
names were on it!"

Fandor smiled. Encouraged by his smile and the results of this
semi-clairvoyant attempt, Elizabeth allowed her thoughts free play.

"I am sure of it: there was even a mistake in spelling: _Nanteuil_ was
spelled _Nauteuil_: the bankers were third or fourth on the list, and I
am certain now that the Baroness de Vibray's name headed the list....
There was also a date, composed of two figures--a 1 ... then--wait a
minute!... a figure with a tail to it ... that is to say, it could only
have been a 5, a 7, or a 9.... I cannot remember which. Then there were
other names I had never heard of."

"Try, mademoiselle, to remember...."

There was a silence. Fandor was puzzling