"Blond, monsieur, and very pretty; rather tall and svelte, and very well dressed. A big hat and dark blue costume. Quoi encore? Voyons—yes, she was a foreigner."
"English?"
"I do not know. She spoke French very, very well, almost like a French person, but she had just the little suspicion of accent."
"What language did she speak with the gentleman?"
"French, monsieur. You see, we were speaking together, and they both appealed to me continually, and so all the talk was in French. The gentleman spoke French à merveille, it was only by his clothes and a je ne sais quoi in his appearance that I guessed he was English. The lady spoke equally fluently, but one remarked just the accent from time to time. Of course, I went away from them once or twice to get goods from the window, and they talked then; I do not know in what language."
"Now, mademoiselle, can you tell me how long ago this was?"
"Ah, mon Dieu, ça c'est plus difficile. Monsieur sait que les jours se suivent et se ressemblent. Voyons."
"We can see by the day-book," put in Monsieur Briquet, "on what occasion a diamond comb was sold with a diamond cat."
"Of course," said Parker hastily. "Let us go back."
They went back and turned to the January volume, where they found no help. But on February 6th they read: