of Saint Genevieve, lifted it,
and took from beneath it a photograph.

"T'is iss she, monsieur," he said, and handed the photograph to
Rushford.

The latter took one look at it and passed it back.

"Not guilty!" he said. "You have my profound sympathy, Pelletan. How did
you happen to get caught? You must have been exceedingly young!"

"I wass, monsieur," admitted Pelletan, with a sigh. "I wass just from
t'e province--my head wass full of treams. Unt she wass petter-looking,
t'en, monsieur; she wass almost slim. She wass a widow--unt besides she
had a leetle patisserie which her man had left her."

"I see--avarice was your undoing. And you caught a tartar!"

"A teufel!" repeated Pelletan. "A fiend! Oh, what an end to t'e tream! I
worked--oh, how hard I worked--sweating at t'e ovens, efery hour of t'e
twenty-four--for t'e ovens must not pe allowed to cool. She sat at t'e
money-drawer unt grows fat; I wass soon so weak t'at she tid not
hesitate to--to--"

The little man's face was bathed in sweat at the memory of that
degradation, which his tongue refused to describe.

"I endured eet to t'e last moment," he added, thickly. "T'en I fled!"

"You seem to have alighted on your feet," remarked Rushford.

"We had made a success of t'e pusiness," Pelletan explained, "unt I
brought mit me my share of t'e profits, which seemed only fair, since I,
py my labour, had earned t'em. Unt t'en I took a lease of t'is place,
unt did well until t'is year. T'at iss my whole history, monsieur. T'at
iss why I dare not return to Paris, efen for a small visit in winter
when pusiness here iss pad. Eef she so much as caught one leetle glimpse
of me, she would murder me!" and he mopped his face again.

"Still," said the American, "I don't see where Tellier comes in."

Pelletan carefully replaced the photograph under the statuette and then
reseated himself opposite his companion.

"Tellier knows her," he explained, simply.

"Met her professionally, perhaps," suggested Rushford. "Well, what of
it?"

"Eef I offend heem, he gifes her my attress!" continued Pelletan,
hoarsely, and his forehead glistened again at the thought. "He
t'reatened as much when he arrife here unt I tol' him t'e house wass
full."

"Hm!" commented Rushford. "I see. All right; I'll stand by you. I dare
say I can stomach Tellier for a day or two."

Pelletan breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Tat iss kind," he stammered; "I--I--"

"There, there," and the American