"Let us interrogate the ones who are here," suggested Lépine. "Perhaps it will not be necessary to disturb the others."
The chief pressed a button and summoned the ticket-sellers, one after the other. The first had no recollection of having received the notes, but with his companion Lépine was more successful.
"Yes, yes, I remember them perfectly," he said, when they were shown to him. "My attention was called to them because they were both quite new. I looked at them closely to make certain that they were genuine, and noticed that they were numbered consecutively. Another detail which caused them to remain in my memory was the striking appearance of the person who gave them to me."
Lépine's heart was throbbing with triumph.
"Describe this man," he said.
"Ah, sir," said the clerk, "that is just it. It was not a man, but a girl—a girl of eighteen or twenty. That is what drew my attention. It is not usual to have a girl like that ask for two tickets, second-class, to Paris."
"A girl!" stammered Lépine. "You are sure?"
"Perfectly sure, sir."
"Well, describe her, then."
The clerk half-closed his eyes in order the better to visualize his memory.