to you, if I may suggest it without seeming rude."

There was a general laugh at this sally on the part of the new
superintendent, and then M. Louis continued:

"Well, if he wanted to make up to her he went a funny way to work, for
he made her angry."

"Did he really?" said Henri Verbier, turning again to the girl. "Why did
the magistrate cross-examine you so much?"

The young cashier shrugged her shoulders.

"We have thrashed it out so often, M. Verbier! But I will tell you the
whole story: during the morning of the day when the robbery was
committed I had returned to Princess Sonia Danidoff the pocket-book
containing a hundred and twenty thousand francs which she had given into
my custody a few days before; I could not refuse to give it to her when
she asked for it, could I? How was I to know that it would be stolen
from her the same evening? Customers deposit their valuables with me and
I hand them a receipt: they give me back the receipt when they demand
their valuables, and all I have to do is comply with their request,
without asking questions. Isn't that so?"

"But that was not what puzzled the magistrate I suppose," said Henri
Verbier. "You are the custodian of all valuables, and you only complied
strictly with your orders."

"Yes," M. Muller broke in, "but Mlle. Jeanne has only told you part of
the story. Just fancy: only a few minutes before the robbery Mme. Van
den Rosen had asked Mlle. Jeanne to take charge of her diamond necklace,
and Mlle. Jeanne had refused!"

"That really was bad luck for you," said Henri Verbier to the girl with
a laugh, "and I quite understand that the magistrate thought it rather
odd."

"They are unkind!" she protested. "From the way they put it, M.
Verbier, you really might think that I refused to take charge of Mme.
Van den Rosen's jewellery in order to make things easy for the thief,
which is as much as to say that I was his accomplice."

"That is precisely what the magistrate did think," M. Louis
interpolated.

The girl took no notice of the interruption, but went on with her
explanation to Henri Verbier.

"What happened was this: the rule is that I am at the disposal of
customers, to take charge of deposits or to return them to the owners,
until nine P.M., and until nine P.M. only. After that, my time is up,
and all I have to do is lock my safe and go: I am free until nine
o'clock next morning. You know that it does not do to take liberties in
a position like mine