"Yes, M'sieur."
"You had no visitors, huh?"
François hesitated.
"No visitors, François: you didn't open the door to Sault—you know Sault?" The man nodded.
"And if detectives come to ask you whether Sault was here, you will tell them the truth—you did not see him. Your master had no visitors at all; you saw nobody and heard nobody."
He was looking into a leather pocketbook as he spoke, fingering the notes that filled one compartment.
François' eyes were on the note case, too.
"Nobody came, M'sieur. I'll swear. I was in the pantry all evening."
"Good," said Steppe, and slipped out four notes, crushing them into a ball.
"Do you want to see me, today?" asked Ronnie, and his uncomfortable guest glared.