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"How long has Mademoiselle Kritchnoff been gone?" he said to Bonavent. "Not much more than five minutes," said Bonavent. "She came out from talking to you in the drawing-room " "Talking to me in the drawing-room!" exclaimed Guerchard. "Yes," said Bonavent. "She came out and went straight down the stairs and out of the house." A faint, sighing gasp came from Guerchard's lips.
His eyes brightened at the sight of the motor-car, Guerchard's car, waiting just before the front door and in charge of a policeman. He stole to the head of the stairs, and looked down into the hall.
Then the first stroke rang out; and the eyes of the two men met like crossing blades. Twice the Duke made the slightest movement. Twice Guerchard started forward to meet it. At the last stroke both their hands shot out. Guerchard's fell heavily on the case which held the coronet. The Duke's fell on the brim of his hat; and he picked it up. Guerchard gasped and choked.
"I beg you will wait a minute or two till I've had a word with you," said Guerchard; and he drew a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and held it up. The Duke looked at Guerchard's face, and he looked at the paper in his hand; then he said: "Oh, very well." And, turning to Irma, he added quietly, "Tell Mademoiselle Kritchnoff that I'm in the drawing-room."
"I did not know that that was Guerchard's theory?" said M. Formery, a trifle contemptuously. "Of course they had no need to use the front door." "Perhaps they had no need to use the front door," said Guerchard; "but, after all, the front door was unbolted, and they did not draw the bolts to put us off the scent.
The Duke struck a match, lighted Guerchard's cigarette, and then his own: "Yes, it's very interesting," he said. "In the last quarter of an hour you've practically discovered that the burglars came from Charmerace that they were the Charolais that they came in by the front door of this house, and carried the furniture out of it." "I don't know about their coming in by it," said Guerchard.
It did not take me longer; but that was too long Guerchard's men were on my track ... I was done for." "Then Guerchard understood he recognized you?" said Victoire anxiously. "As soon as the first paralysis had passed, Guerchard dared to see clearly ... to see the truth," said Lupin. "And then it was a chase. There were ten fifteen of them on my heels.
"You've only got that wrist-bag with you?" "Yes," said Sonia. "I have my money and my handkerchief in it." And she held it out to him. Guerchard's keen eyes darted into it; and he muttered, "No point in looking in that. I don't suppose any one would have had the audacity " and he stopped.
The clothes of the Duke of Charmerace littered the floor; the kit-bag was open; and he was wearing the very clothes of Chief-Inspector Guerchard, his seedy top-hat, his cloak. He wore also Guerchard's sparse, lank, black hair, his little, bristling, black moustache. His figure, hidden by the cloak, seemed to have shrunk to the size of Guerchard's.
He took his motor-cap from the hall-table, and had his hand on the latch of the door, when the policeman in charge of it said, "I beg your pardon, sir, but have you M. Guerchard's permission to leave the house?" "M. Guerchard's permission?" said the Duke haughtily. "What has M. Guerchard to do with me? I am the Duke of Charmerace." And he opened the door.
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