The man shrugged his shoulders.
"It was a meeting in one of the private rooms of the café," he declared, "a meeting of some society. They were taking a vote when they discovered a pickpocket. He bolted out of the room. They say that he has got away."
"Did he steal much?" Julien inquired.
The man shook his head.
"A watch and chain, or something of the sort," he told them. "The excitement is all over now. The gentlemen have gone back to their meeting."
Julien smiled and finished his beer.
"Is our evening at an end, Kendricks?" he asked.
Kendricks shook his head.
"Not quite," he replied, binding his handkerchief around his knuckles.
"If you are ready, there is just one other call we might make."
"More German brasseries?"