e I in your position. But duty is duty, is it not?"

"I have assisted you, and I have given you a clue to the mystery," I
protested.

"And we, on our part, will assist you to clear the stigma resting upon
the lady who is your promised wife," he said. "Whatever I can do in that
direction, m'sieur may rely upon me."

I was silent, for I saw that to attempt to probe further then the mystery
of the actual identity of Marie Bracq was impossible. There seemed a
conspiracy of silence against me.

But I would work myself. I would exert all the cunning and ingenuity I
possessed--nay, I would spend every penny I had in the world--in order to
clear my well-beloved of that terrible suspicion that by her hand this
daughter of a princely house had fallen.

"Well," I asked at last. "What more can we do?"

"Ah!" sighed the stout man, blowing a cloud of cigarette smoke from his
lips and drawing his glass. "What can we do? The Poste Restante is being
watched, the records of all hotels and pensions for the past month are
being inspected, and we have put a guard upon the Orient Express. No! We
can do nothing," he said, "until we get a telegram from Vienna. Will you
call at the Prefecture of Police at eight o'clock to-night? I will be
there to see you."

I promised, then having paid the waiter, we strolled out of the cafe, and
parted on the Boulevard, he going towards the Nord Station, while I went
along in the opposite direction to the Grand.

For the appointed hour I waited in greatest anxiety. What if the trio had
been arrested in Vienna?

That afternoon I wrote a long and encouraging letter to Phrida, telling
her that I was exerting every effort on her behalf and urging her to keep
a stout heart against her enemies, who now seemed to be in full flight.

At last, eight o'clock came, and I entered the small courtyard of the
Prefecture of Police, where a uniformed official conducted me up to the
room of Inspector Fremy.

The big, merry-faced man rose as I entered and placed his cigar in an ash
tray.

"Bad luck, m'sieur!" he exclaimed in French. "They left Brussels in the
Orient, as I suspected--all three of them. Here is the reply," and he
handed me an official telegram in German, which translated into English
read:

"To Prefet of Police, Brussels, from Prefet of Police, Vienna:

"In response to telegram of to-day's date, the three persons
described left Brussels by Orient Express, travelled to Wels,
and t