"Messieurs," he said quietly, "no such birth is recorded here. I have examined the record for the months of May, June, and July."
"But it must be there!" protested Mr. Royce.
"Nevertheless it is not here, monsieur."
"Could the child have been born here and no record made of it?"
"Impossible, monsieur. No physician in France would take that responsibility."
"For a large fee, perhaps," suggested my companion.
"In Paris that may, sometimes, be possible. But in a small place like this, I should have heard of it, and it would have been my duty to investigate."
"You have been here for that length of time, then?"
"Oh, yes, monsieur," smiled the little man. "For a much longer time than that."
Mr. Royce leaned forward toward him. He was getting back all his old power as a cross-examiner.