The sight of Sir Paul"s tall figure drew his immediate attention.
"What does Monsieur require?" he asked in accents which were at once civil and surprised.
"Let me in," said Verdayne, "and I will do my best to explain."
The man led the way to a delightfully large and airy room, half _salon_, half _chambre a coucher_, where Paul was glad to remove the stains of travel.
First he took the precaution of drawing a couple of half-crowns from his pocket and slipping them into the man"s hand.
"You need not be alarmed at my appearance," he said. "I am not a fugitive from justice. I am merely an English gentleman who has lost his friends and who is in search of them.
"Tell me if you have staying in this hotel a tall young lady with dark hair and brilliant eyes? It is possible that she is travelling _incognito_, but if she has given her right name it will be Mademoiselle Vseslavitch."
The man scratched his head and looked worried.
"I would help Monsieur if I could," he said, "but I can only a.s.sure him that there is no lady staying in this hotel at all. Alas! the season is very bad, and we have few visitors."
That this dark-haired lady was not at the _Hotel de l"Europe_ did not disconcert Verdayne very much. He had foreseen that she was hardly likely to stay in the hotel with which English tourists would be acquainted.
"It is many years," he said to the man, "since I stayed here. In fact, I have practically no recollection of Langres except of this hotel and the cathedral. I should therefore be very much obliged if you could furnish me with a complete list of all the other hotels."
"Why now," said the man, "that is an exceedingly simple affair." And he rattled off a list.
Paul repeated them after him.
"And you think," he asked, "that this is a complete list?"
"Quite complete, I should say," said the man, "for Monsieur"s purpose.
"Permit me to help Monsieur," he went on. "Monsieur will pardon me, but possibly this may be some romance."
He shrugged his shoulders, but with such an air of civility and respect that Verdayne could not quarrel with him.
"At any rate, it is not my business to inquire. For the time it is merely my end to serve Monsieur well. Be seated for a moment while I make coffee and bring rolls and b.u.t.ter. It will fortify Monsieur against the damp air."
Laughing a little, Paul suffered the man to bustle about. The fellow was deft indeed, and soon Verdayne was glad that he had listened to his counsel.
Midnight drew near and the porter turned the lights out, but Paul sat until c.o.c.kcrow, smoking and pondering on the strange paths into which one"s feet are sometimes led.
Shortly after eight, the man, who had been busy cleaning boots, returned and made a gesture towards the sunlight, which was streaming into the room.
"If Monsieur is in haste," he said, "I will not seek to detain him. By this time the other hotels will be open. If Monsieur"s mission is urgent he should continue his search."
His air was so friendly and so charming that Paul resorted to the only expression of appreciation of which he could conceive. He gave the man another ten francs, and pledged him to silence. None the less, he had little faith that the man would keep his tongue still. A Frenchman must talk.
After a light breakfast Paul went out into the fresh morning air and began his search. In turn he visited the _Hotel de la Poste_, _le Grand_, _de la Cloche_, and the rest of them, wandering around the cobbled streets of the sleepy village, and strolling through the market-place, gay with the green and red and russet of its vegetables, the blue and crimson of the umbrellas over the stalls. Then, in the unclouded sunshine, he walked around the ancient ramparts, from which point of vantage he looked down upon wide stretches of sunlit country, dotted here and there with vineyards.
It cost him a pretty sum to purchase the confidence of half-suspicious porters, but by the time he had worked through the list with which the friendly servitor had provided him he had come to the conclusion that Mademoiselle Vseslavitch was, of a certainty, not in one of these hostelries.
Was she still in Langres? The doubt troubled Paul greatly.
All the time, as he walked on through the narrow streets, Paul"s eyes sought the object of his quest in vain. Apparently he was the only foreigner in the town. It was nearly twelve as he turned into the _Promenade de la Blanche Fontaine_, a fine wide avenue of chestnut trees which recalled to Paul the Broad Walk at Oxford, and being the only pedestrian abroad at that hour, he said a few swear-words to himself by way of consolation.
Clearly, this search for the lady might prove a case for Sherlock Holmes, while Paul"s own detective ability, he admitted, was more of the Dr. Watson order.
CHAPTER VIII
It was after twelve when Paul sought the shade of the _Hotel de l"Europe_ again. There the few sounds that pierced the mid-day stillness were chiefly those that penetrated from the kitchen, where _Monsieur le Cusinier_ and his a.s.sistants were busily engaged in the preparation of _dejeuner_. And it was not long before Paul sat down to a delightful meal, served in a vine-framed window. He was alone in the room, and feeling the need of encouragement he invited the genial landlord to share a bottle of Burgundy with him.
The two men sat there, toasting each other more and more gaily as the red nectar fell lower in the long bottle, until finally, perceiving his host to be in a confidential mood, Paul questioned him about tourist travel.
"Ah! Monsieur! May the _bon Dieu_ bless you! You are the first to visit us this summer. It is early yet. But soon they will come to see our wonderful cathedral, and stay a day or two with us."
Paul"s spirits drooped again at this information, but for an hour after finishing his demi-ta.s.se he lingered at the table, hoping for some clue, while _Monsieur le Proprietaire_ chattered on.
There was indeed but little to amuse the traveller in Langres, after the cathedral, beyond the quaint streets and the beautiful old timber-framed houses. Doubtless Monsieur Verdayne--he did not know Paul"s t.i.tle--would wish to see the cathedral that very afternoon; it would be pleasant to go to vespers. A little later for himself, he would recommend another walk to the ramparts to see the sun-set.
Meanwhile, he knew of some truly marvellous Chartreuse in the cellar below. Would not Monsieur compliment him by tasting it? Monsieur would, with much pleasure; and accordingly a dusty bottle was soon forthcoming.
So another slow hour wore away. And again, in the cool of the afternoon, Paul ventured forth on another tour of inspection.
This time the search was successful. In a narrow street he discovered a small hotel which went by the name of the _Republique_. Here his question put to the plump Madame who opened the door, at once kindled interest.
"Yes, there was most decidedly a Russian lady staying there--a young Russian lady of most distinguished appearance. She had arrived about noon on the day before, and said she intended to stay there for a couple of days, as she expected friends."
"Had the friends arrived?"
"No, not as yet. Perhaps Monsieur was the friend for whom she waited?"
Verdayne was hardly prepared for this, and found the situation a trifle awkward to explain.
"No," he said to the fat Madame, he was not the friend whom Mademoiselle had come to meet. He was, however, an acquaintance, and would call later in the day.
Contenting himself with this, he lifted his hat and strolled down the street, followed by the shrewd, smiling eyes of the landlady.
He walked on until he felt sure he was no longer observed; then he walked back again.
On the opposite side of the street to the _Republique_, a few doors up, he discovered a _cafe_ of humble aspect, provided with tables beneath an awning, at which the thirsty could sit and refresh themselves.
At one of these tables Paul took a chair, and at the risk of violent indigestion called for more coffee. He sat and sipped the sweet and chicory-flavoured liquid and turned about in his mind the best means of discovering the reason of Mademoiselle Vseslavitch"s visit to Langres.
He debated with himself whether it would not be better to go boldly over to the hotel and made his presence known; but he reflected that such a course might be unwise. Indeed, the very knowledge of his presence might result in her abandoning the business which had called her so suddenly from Lucerne.