naturally
frank nature to tell such a lie.... Nevertheless he had vowed to
himself a well-considered vow that he would not reveal what he had
learned: it would be a grave mistake at present.

He lowered his head as he persisted in his declaration:

"No, Commandant! I have not received money from the spies."

The commandant called to the reporter:

"Make a special note of that: underline it with red pencil. This is a
most important statement!"

The commandant turned over some papers in his drawer, drew out a
sealed envelope, opened it, extracted another envelope.

Fandor asked himself, with a thrill of foreboding, what this new move
of the commandant's meant.

From a third envelope, Dumoulin took out several bank-notes, yellowed
and crumpled. He held them up for Fandor to see.

"Here are three fifty franc bank-notes--new ones!... They bear the
following numbers: A 4998; O 4350; U 5108. They were found, with
others, concealed in your baggage at the Saint-Benoit barracks at
Verdun. Do you recognise these notes as having been in your
possession?"

"How do you think I can know that?" countered Fandor. "One bank-note
is not distinguishable from another!"

"Yes they are: by the numbering," asserted the commandant.... "I
willingly admit that it is not usual to write down for reference the
number of every bank-note which passes through one's hands!... We have
a better way of demonstrating that the notes I have in my hand were in
your possession."

"What exactly is he going to spring upon me now?" Fandor asked
himself.

There was an impressive pause.

"These notes," declared Dumoulin, "have been carefully examined by the
anthropometric service. It has been demonstrated that they bear
distinct traces of your finger-marks.... I hope, Monsieur Fandor, that
you do not contest the exactitude of the Bertillion method?"

"No," replied Fandor simply. "I accept the evidence of the
anthropometric method."

The commandant looked more and more satisfied.

"You acknowledge then, that these notes were in your possession?"

"Yes, I do."

The commandant again addressed the reporter:

"Note that important confession! Underline it with red pencil!"

Dumoulin fired a point-blank question at Fandor.

"Did you know Captain Brocq?"

"No."

"You did know him," insisted the commandant.

"No," repeated Fandor. He questioned in his turn:

"Why?"

"Because."... The commandant hesitated, then continued:

"You are not ig