“They will also hear, and, I think, listen to my version of the story,—that I offered you fairly, and at the first opportunity, all the information I had, and that you refused to accept it.”
“You should have persisted. It was your manifest duty. You are an officer of the law, or you say you are.”
“Pray telegraph at once, if you think fit, to Rome, to the police authorities, and you will find that Natale Ripaldi—your humble servant—travelled by the through express with their knowledge and authority. And here are my credentials, my official card, some official letters—”
“And what, in a word, have you to tell us?”
“I can tell you who the murdered man was.”
“We know that already.”
“Possibly; but only his name, I apprehend. I know his profession, his business, his object in travelling, for I was appointed to watch and follow him. That is why I am here.”
“Was he a suspicious character, then? A criminal?”
“At any rate he was absconding from Rome, with valuables.”
“A thief, in fact?”