"You are generally known as "The Worm?""
"That is so."
"You have served several periods of imprisonment, and have paid over 400 francs in fines?"
"I have not kept count, but I suppose it is all written down there." And he jerked his thumb towards the conviction book on the commissary"s desk.
"You are a noted thief, and you obtained your nickname by reason of your dexterity in picking locks and climbing through scullery windows?"
"If you say so, monsieur, your words cannot be disputed."
"Very well." The commissary scratched a few lines on a memorandum tablet. Then he suddenly raised his quick eyes and fastened them on the prisoner with the direct question--
"How came you to be detained in such an extraordinary manner in the house, No. 11, Rue Barbette, yesterday?"
A vacant and stolid expression intended to convey an idea of utter innocence came over "The Worm"s" face.
"Believe me, monsieur," he said, "I cannot give you the slightest explanation of that extraordinary incident."
"Indeed! You surprise me. I suppose you wish me to understand that you casually strolled in out of the street and were set upon by three Turks, who gagged you and bound you with leather thongs, leaving you to starve quietly to death if you had not been rescued by reason of a chance visit paid to the place by myself and others?"
"I a.s.sure you, monsieur, that, strange as it may seem, you have almost related the facts. I went to the place in question with a very ordinary message from a Turkish gentleman with whom I have a slight acquaintance.
The other Turks listened to me with the gravity peculiar to their nation, and then, before I could offer a word of remonstrance, treated me exactly as you saw."
"At what time did you go there?"
"It must have been nearly three o"clock, the day before yesterday," was the answer.
"And what message did you bring?"
"I was told to ask the Turkish gentlemen to be good enough to cross the Pont Neuf exactly at half-past six, when they would meet a friend who desired to give some information to them."
"Oh! come now," said the commissary, with a knowing smile, "that will not do, Pet.i.t. You are far too old a hand to convey such a childish message as that. What reason can you have for seeking to shield these men who treated you in a barbarous way and left you to die a cruel death?"
"On my honour----" began the thief melodramatically, but Brett here interrupted the conversation.
"Will you allow me," he said to the commissary, "to put a few questions to this man?"
"Certainly," was the answer.
"Now listen," said Brett, sternly gazing at the truculent little rascal with those searching eyes of his, which seemed to reach to the very spine. "It is useless for you to attempt any further prevarication. We know exactly who are your confederates. We are acquainted with a large number of the gang that frequents the Cafe Noir. Do not forget that I was present when you tried to palm off on Hussein-ul-Mulk the false diamonds, which your confederates hoped he would accept. For you to attempt now to escape from the law is hopeless. The sole chance you have of remitting a punishment which may even lead you beneath the guillotine is to confess fully and freely all that you know concerning the outrage which has been committed.
"No, don"t interrupt me," he continued with even greater emphasis, when "Le Ver" tried to break in. "You will tell me that you merely acted as the agent of others, and that you yourself are not conscious of the nature of any crime that has been committed. I know that to be so. You have been made a mere tool. You are the cat, simply employed by the monkey to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, and you have only succeeded in getting your own paws burnt. Your sole chance of safety now is to inform the commissary and me exactly how you came to be mixed up with this affair."
The Frenchman"s truculency seemed to vanish under Brett"s cutting words.
His wizened face even manifested a faint flush of anger as the barrister pointed out how he had been duped by his employers and made to run risks which they avoided.
Yet the order of his craft was strong in its influence, and he commenced another series of protestations.
"I a.s.sure you, gentlemen," he cried, "that with respect to the Turks I have no knowledge whatever of their pursuits or motives. I was present when this English gentleman here was debating with them, and I understood that they even went so far as to use threats against him. My mission was to give to the leaders of the Turks a package which I did not even know contained diamonds, either genuine or false. No one could be more surprised than myself when the Turkish gentleman produced them."
"Who sent you there with the diamonds?" said Brett.
"Even that I cannot tell you," said Pet.i.t. "It was a mere chance affair.
I was seated in a cafe sipping some absinthe when a man asked me if I would execute a small commission for him. He explained that it was to deliver a parcel at a house not five minutes distant, and----"
"I see," interrupted Brett, with the cynical smile which so often disconcerted glib liars like Pet.i.t. "It is hopeless to expect you to tell the truth. However, I think I know a way to clear your wits. You must be brought face to face with La Belle Cha.s.seuse. Perhaps when you are confronted with that lady in the room between the cafe and the billiard saloon of the Cabaret Noir----"
"The Worm" gasped out brokenly--
"Pardon, monsieur! I will tell you everything!"
The man"s face had absolutely become livid as he listened to the barrister"s words.
The commissary was vastly surprised at the turn taken by the conversation. He could not guess what deep significance lay behind the Englishman"s threat, and, to tell the truth, Brett himself was considerably astonished at the effect of his vague insinuations, but he lost not a moment in following up the advantage thus gained.
"Well," he said, "tell us now who it was that sent you to the Turks with the diamonds?"
"It was Le Jongleur, Henri Dubois."
"What?" cried the commissary, starting violently. "Henri Dubois! The most expert thief in France! A scoundrel against whom the police have vainly tried for years to secure evidence."
"I know nothing of that, monsieur," said the little man, who seemed to be strangely crestfallen, "but I am telling you the truth this time. It was he who sent me the day before yesterday to the Rue Barbette, and again yesterday, although I was very unwilling to go the second time, because, as this gentleman will tell you, they looked very like murdering me on the first occasion."
"What was the object of your visit yesterday?" said Brett.
"There, monsieur, I have told you the truth, although monsieur the commissary here thinks it was childish. My instructions really were to ask them to meet him on the Pont Neuf at 6.30 p.m., when he said he would explain everything to their satisfaction. But, above all, I was to warn them to beware of the Englishman."
"Then, why should they seize and gag you for conveying such a simple message?" demanded the commissary.
"I cannot tell. I have done them no harm. Believe me, gentlemen both, I have not the slightest idea how these diamonds were obtained, or why there should be such a fuss about them. All I know is that these Turks are desperate fellows, and you won"t catch me going near them again, I swear."
"How long have you known Dubois?" said Brett.
"Oh, two years more or less."
"Have you ever been a.s.sociated with him before?"
"Never, monsieur. My record is there." And he again jerked his thumb towards the volume on the table. "It will tell you that I deal in small affairs. Dubois is an artist. If he found a woman"s purse in the street he would return it to her with a bow, if she were rich and handsome--and with some francs added, if she were poor."
"I know little about him," he continued, "except that he is a great man.
They say that he once robbed the Bank of France of 200,000 francs!"
And the little wretch"s voice became tremulous with admiration as he recounted the legend.
"He is a favoured lover of La Belle Cha.s.seuse?" demanded Brett sharply.
"The Worm" recovered his equanimity somewhat at this question. He softly drew his hand over his chin as he replied with a smirk: "There are others!"