fa, holding the hand of the young man
whom he believed to be his son tightly in his. The Duchess, to whom he
had given a hint of what was going on, had been taken seriously ill from
over-excitement, but had recovered herself a little, and the Duke was
describing this when he was suddenly interrupted by a series of full
and heavy blows struck upon the other side of the wall of the room.
A pickaxe was evidently at work. The whole house was shaken by the
violence of the attack, and a screen, which stood near the spot, was
thrown down.

The plotters gazed upon each other with pale and terror-stricken faces,
for it was evident that the fresh brick wall, the work of Mascarin and
Beaumarchef, was being destroyed. The Duke sat in perfect amazement, for
the alarm of his host and his friends was plainly evident. He could feel
Paul's hand tremble in his, but could not understand why work evidently
going on in the next house could cause such feelings of alarm. Flavia
was the only one who had no suspicion, and she remarked, "Dear me! I
should like to know the meaning of this disturbance."

"I will send and inquire," said her father; but scarcely had he opened
the door than he retreated with a wild expression of terror in his
face, and his arms stretched out in front of him, as though to bar the
approach of some terrible spectre. In the doorway stood an eminently
respectable-looking gentleman, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles,
and behind him a commissary of police, girt with his official scarf,
while farther back still were half a dozen police officers.

"M. Lecoq," cried the three confederates in one breath, while through
their minds flashed the same terrible idea--"We are lost."

The celebrated detective advanced slowly into the room, curiously
watching the group collected there. There was an air of entire
satisfaction visible on his countenance.

"Aha!" he said, "I was right, it seems. I was sure that I was making no
mistake in rapping at the other side of the wall. I knew that it would
be heard in here."

By this time, however, the banker had, to all outward appearance,
regained his self-command.

"What do you want here?" asked he insolently. "What is the meaning of
this intrusion?"

"This gentleman will explain," returned Lecoq, stepping aside to make
way for the commissary of police to come forward. "But, to shorten
matters, I may tell you that I have obtained a warrant for your arrest,
Martin Rigal, _alias_ T