urdi_."

"You will soon recover from your illness. Come, now, pull yourself
together, and tell me who the men were who tied you up, and why, if you
can give a reason."

The Frenchman shut his eyes, and groaned.

"I am stranjare here, Monsieur le Commissaire," he said brokenly. "I
know no ones, nodings. Milor' Valletort, he ees acquaint. Send for
heem, and bring ze doctaire."

"Don't you understand that your friend, Mr. Hunter, the journalist who
was helping you in the matter of Lady Hermione Grandison's marriage,
has been murdered?"

The other men in the room caught a new quality in Steingall's voice.
Contempt, disgust, utter disdain of a type of rascal whom he would
prefer to deal with most fittingly by kicking him, were revealed in
each syllable; but Jean de Courtois was apparently deaf to the mean
opinion his conduct was inducing among those who had extricated him
from a disagreeable if not actually dangerous predicament. He squirmed
convulsively, and half sobbed his inability to realize the true nature
of anything that had happened either to himself or to any other person.

"Very well," said the detective, "if you are so thoroughly knocked out
I'll see that you are kept quiet for the rest of the evening."

He turned to the clerk.

"Kindly arrange that two trustworthy men shall undress this ill-used
gentleman. He may be given anything to eat or drink that he requires,
but if he shows signs of delirium, such as a desire to go out, or write
letters, or use the telephone, he must be stopped, forcibly if
necessary. Should he become violent, ring up the nearest police
station-house. I'll send a doctor to him in a few minutes."

De Courtois revived slightly under the stimulus of these emphatic
directions.

"I haf not done ze wrong," he protested. "Eet ees me who suffare, and
I do not permeet dis interference wid my leebairty."

"You see," said Steingall coolly. "His mind is wandering already.
Just 'phone for a couple of attendants, will you, and I'll give them
instructions. I take full responsibility, of course."

"But, monsieur----" cried the Frenchman.

"Would you mind getting a move on? I am losing time here," said
Steingall quietly to the clerk.

"I claim ze protection of my consul," sputtered de Courtois.

"Poor fellow! He is quite light-headed," said the detective
sympathetically, addressing the company at large but speaking in
French. "I do hope most sincerely that I may arrest those