"Yes. He had ordered me to come to his lodgings in the Rue de France."
"What did he want?"
"The scrap of paper which we had found in the breeches' pocket of Maxence."
"You gave it to him?"
"Of course," growled Lefèvre savagely. "Haven't we all got to obey him?"
"You left him in his lodgings, then?"
"Yes."
"Doing what?"
"Reading a book."
"Reading a book?" exclaimed M. de Saint-Tropèze with a harsh laugh. "What book?"