ttilie_, the sailing of yesterday."

"What sort of a man?" asked Lepine.

"A thin man, past middle-age. His hair was quite grey and he was of a
dark complexion, with very bright eyes."

"What language did he use?"

"He spoke in English, sir."

"Fluently?"

"Quite fluently, sir."

"Very well; proceed."

"I was in some doubt as to whether such a stateroom was available, as
this is the busy season; but on reference to our list, I found that
there was such a stateroom. A customer to whom we had sold it had just
called at the office, saying that he would not be able to sail, and
leaving his tickets with us to resell, if possible. When I told the man
of this, he seemed very pleased, took the tickets, and gave me the seven
hundred-franc notes. My attention was called to them because they were
quite new and unfolded. He took them from a long envelope which he
carried in an inner pocket, and which seemed to contain a large sum of
money."

"Do you remember the number of the stateroom?"

The clerk spread out before Lepine a cabin-plan of the ship.

"It was this one, sir," he said, and placed his finger on 514; "an inner
room, you see, on the upper deck."

"You asked the man's name, I suppose?"

"Oh, yes, sir. I caused him to fill out the usual blank. Here it is."

Lepine took the blank and looked it over. It stated that stateroom No.
514, on the _Prinzsessin Ottilie_, for the sailing of September 27, two
berths, second-class, had been purchased of Thomas Cook & Son by Ignace
Vard, of New York City, the berths to be used by himself and his
daughter; and that he had paid for these berths the sum of six hundred
and forty francs, being payment in full, the receipt of which was
acknowledged. The blank also stated that Mr. Vard was a naturalised
citizen of the United States, and had lived in that country for ten
years.

"The sailing was from Cherbourg?" Lepine inquired, when he had
assimilated all this.

"Yes, sir."

"At what hour?"

"About four o'clock, sir--four o'clock yesterday afternoon."

"How did it happen, sir," Lepine asked, turning to the manager, "that
the notes were not deposited until yesterday?"

"Our deposit is made up at three o'clock each afternoon," the manager
explained. "The notes came in too late for Tuesday's deposit, and were
placed in our safe until the next day."

Lepine made a brief entry in his notebook, handed back the blank and
rose.

"I thank you very much, gentlemen," he said