you might have
some--er--some fancy about it. If you ever should have, you would tell me,
wouldn't you?"

"Ye-es." She hesitated, and for a moment he thought she was going to say
something more, but she checked the impulse, if it was there, and Coquenil
did not press his demand.

"There's one other thing," he went on reassuringly. "I'm asking this in the
interest of M. Kittredge. Tell me if you know anything about this crime of
which he is accused?"

"Why, no," she replied with evident sincerity. "I haven't even read the
papers."

"But you know who was murdered?"

Alice shook her head blankly. "How could I? No one has told me."

"It was a man named Martinez."

She started at the word. "What? The billiard player?" she cried.

He nodded. "Did you know him?"

"Oh, yes, very well."

Now it was Coquenil's turn to feel surprise, for he had asked the question
almost aimlessly.

"You knew Martinez very well?" he repeated, scarcely believing his ears.

"I often saw him," she explained, "at the cafe where we went evenings."

"Who were 'we'?"

"Why, Papa Bonneton would take me, or my cousin, M. Groener, or M.
Kittredge."

"Then M. Kittredge knew Martinez?"

"Of course. He used to go sometimes to see him play billiards." She said
all this quite simply.

"Were Kittredge and Martinez good friends?"

"Oh, yes."

"Never had any words? Any quarrel?"

"Why--er--no," she replied in some confusion.

"I don't want to distress you, mademoiselle," said Coquenil gravely, "but
aren't you keeping something back?"

"No, no," she insisted. "I just thought of--of a little thing that made me
unhappy, but it has nothing to do with this case. You believe me, don't
you?"

She spoke with pleading earnestness, and again M. Paul followed an
intuition that told him he might get everything from this girl by going
slowly and gently, whereas, by trying to force her confidence, he would get
nothing.

"Of course I believe you," he smiled. "Now I'm going to give you some of
this tea; I'm afraid it's getting cold."

And he proceeded to do the honors in so friendly a way that Alice was
presently quite at her ease again.

"Now," he resumed, "we'll settle down comfortably and you can tell me what
brought you here, tell me all about it. You won't mind if I smoke a
cigarette? Be sure to tell me _everything_--there is plenty of time."

So Alice began and told him about the mysterious lady and their agitated
visit to the tower, omit