The usual clients of the commissary would have hesitated to recognize him, so completely had he set aside his professional stiffness, so much had his freezing reserve given way to the most encouraging kindness.
"Now, then," he resumed, "never mind M. de Tregars: let us talk of the woman, who, you seem to think, has been the cause of M. Favoral's ruin."
On the table before him lay the paper in which Maxence had read in the morning the terrible article headed: Another Financial Disaster."
"I know nothing of that woman," he replied; "but it must be easy to find out, since the writer of this article pretends to know."
The commissary smiled, not having quite as much faith in newspapers as Maxence seemed to have.
"Yes, I read that," he said.
"We might send to the office of that paper," suggested Mlle. Lucienne.
"I have already sent, my child."
And, without noticing the surprise of Maxence and of the young girl, he rang the bell, and asked whether his secretary had returned. The secretary answered by appearing in person.
"Well?" inquired the commissary.
"I have attended to the matter, sir," he replied. "I saw the reporter who wrote the article in question; and, after beating about the bush for some time, he finally confessed that he knew nothing more than had been published, and that he had obtained his information from two intimate friends of the cashier, M. Costeclar and M. Saint Pavin."
"You should have gone to see those gentlemen."
"I did."
"Very well. What then?"
"Unfortunately, M. Costeclar had just gone out. As to M. Saint Pavin, I found him at the office of his paper, 'The Financial Pilot.'
He is a coarse and vulgar personage, and received me like a pickpocket. I had even a notion to -"
"Never mind that! Go on."
"He was closeted with another gentleman, a banker, named Jottras, of the house of Jottras and Brother. They were both in a terrible rage, swearing like troopers, and saying that the Favoral defalcation would ruin them; that they had been taken in like fools, but that they were not going to take things so easy, and they were preparing a crushing article."
But he stopped, winking, and pointing to Maxence and Mlle. Lucienne, who were listening as attentively as they could.
"Speak, speak!" said the commissary. "Fear nothing."
"Well," he went on, "M. Saint Pavin and M. Jottras were saying that M. Favoral was only a poor dupe, but that they would know how to find the others."
"What others?"
"Ah! they didn't say."
The commissary shrugged his shoulders.
"What!" he exclaimed, "you find yourself in presence of two men furious to have been duped, who swear and threaten, and you can't get from them a name that you want? You are not very smart, my dear!"
And as the poor secretary, somewhat put out of countenance, looked down, and said nothing, "Did you at least ask them," he resumed, "who the woman is to whom the article refers, and whose existence they have revealed to the reporter?"
"Of course I did, sir."
"And what did they answer?"
"That they were not spies, and had nothing to say, M. Saint Pavin added, however, that he had said it without much thought, and only because he had once seen M. Favoral buying a three thousand francs bracelet, and also because it seemed impossible to him that a man should do away with millions without the aid of a woman."
The commissary could not conceal his ill humor.
"Of course!" he grumbled. "Since Solomon said, 'Look for the woman'
(for it was King Solomon who first said it), every fool thinks it smart to repeat with a cunning look that most obvious of truths.
What next?"
"M. Saint Pavin politely invited me to go to - well, not here."