"That being so, what can we bring against Dixon? Merely that he knows Josephine."
"You are right, Juve; perhaps I went too far with my deductions, but to speak frankly, I don"t see clearly what we are to do now. All our trails are crossed. Loupart is in flight, Chaleck vanished, and as for Josephine, I doubt our finding her again for ever so long."
All the while the journalist was speaking, Juve had remained leaning against the window, watching the pa.s.sers-by.
"Fandor, come and see! By the omnibus, there. The person who is going to cross."
The journalist burst out:
"Well, I"m d.a.m.ned!"
"You see, Fandor, you must never swear to anything."
"Well, ain"t we going to catch and arrest her?"
"Why? Do you think her being in this street is due to chance? Look, she is crossing; she is coming straight here. She is entering the house. I tell you in a few moments Josephine will have climbed my stairs and will be seated cosily in this armchair, which I get ready and set full in the light."
Fandor could not get over his astonishment.
"Did you make an appointment with her?"
"Not at all."
Jean, the detective"s servant, came into the room and announced:
"There is a lady waiting in the sitting-room. She would not give her name."
"Show her in, Jean."
A few moments later Josephine entered.
"Good day, Mademoiselle," cried Juve in a cordial tone. "What fresh news have you to tell us?"
Loupart"s mistress stood in the middle of the room, somewhat taken aback. But Juve set her at ease.
"Sit down, Josephine. You mustn"t mind my friend Fandor. He has just been telling me about your friend Dixon."
"You know him, sir?"
"A little," said Fandor. "And you, Mademoiselle, have been seeing something of him lately?"
"I happened to meet him at the "Crocodile.""
"And took a liking to him?"
"We took a liking to each other." She turned to Juve. "I suppose you distrust me for giving you the slip with another man?"
Juve smiled. "You found a good companion and forgot us. There is really nothing to be angry about. Now, won"t you tell us what brings you here?"
"Yes, but M. Juve, you must swear to me that you will never repeat what I am going to tell you."
"It is very serious then?"
"M. Juve, I am going to put you in the way of arresting Loupart."
"You are very kind, my dear Josephine, but if the attempt is to succeed no better than that we made at the "Crocodile"----"
"No, no, this time you"ll be sure to nab him. Day after to-morrow at 2 o"clock, Loupart is going with some of his gang to Nogent, 7 Rue des Charmilles. He has a job there under way."
Juve laughed. "They"ve been fooling you, Josephine. Isn"t that your view, Fandor? Do you think that Loupart would try a stroke in broad daylight?"
Josephine gave more details, eager to persuade him.
"There will be fifteen of them outside a little house whose tenants are away. Some of them will make a crowd to help their mates in case of danger. The Beard is to be in it, too."
"And Loupart?"
"Yes, Loupart, I tell you. He will wear a black mask by which you can identify him."
"Very well, if we have nothing better to do we will take a trip to Nogent day after to-morrow; eh, Fandor?"
"As you like, Juve."
"Only, remember this, my dear Josephine, if you are putting up a game on us you"ll be sorry for it. There is a way, to be sure, in which you can prove your good faith. Be at Nogent Station at half-past one. If we find Loupart where you say he will be, we shall arrest him; if we don"t find him----"
The detective paused, significantly.
"You will nab him. Only we mustn"t look as if we met by appointment. No one must suspect that I gave you the tip."
Hereupon, Josephine started to go. Her manoeuvre had succeeded, and Loupart"s business would go ahead safely. She turned at the door and nodded, looking at Fandor.
"Another thing; Loupart doesn"t love you; you had better be on your guard."
Juve turned thoughtfully to Fandor:
"Strange! Is this woman playing with us, or is she in earnest, and how she looked at you when telling us to be on our guard!"
XXIV
A MYSTERIOUS CLASP
"Hullo! Hullo!"
Waking with a start, Juve rushed to the telephone. It was already broad daylight, but the detective had gone to bed very late and had been sleeping profoundly.