"
But the magistrate was not the man to wander from the subject he
was investigating. "Let us return to Madame de Fondege," said he.
"She is extremely unwilling to see you go out into the world
alone. Why?--through affection? No. Why, then? This is what we
must ascertain. Secondly, she seems indifferent as to whether you
accept her hospitality or enter a convent."
"She seems to prefer that I should enter a convent."
"Very well. What conclusion can we draw from that? Simply, that
the Fondege family don't particularly care about keeping you with
them, or marrying you to their son. If they don't desire this, it
is because they are perfectly sure that the missing money was not
taken by you. Now, let me ask, how can they be so certain? Simply
because they know where the missing millions are--and if they
know----"
"Ah! monsieur, it is because they've stolen them!"
The magistrate was silent. He had turned the bezel of his ring
inside, a sure sign of stormy weather, so his clerk would have
said--and though he had his features under excellent control he
could not entirely conceal some signs of a severe mental conflict
he was undergoing. "Well, yes, my child," he said, at last.
"Yes, it is my conviction that the Fondeges possess the millions
you saw in the count's escritoire, and which we have been unable
to find. How they obtained possession of the money I can't
conceive--but they have it, or else logic is no longer logic.
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