The officer shook his head in a puzzled kind of way. He knew nothing about any woman. Perhaps those below had accounted for her. There were lights all over the house when Lalage was led down with the handcuffs on his wrists.
"Have you got the woman?" he asked again.
Nobody had seen anything of any woman. A light began to dawn upon René.
"I'm coming quietly," he said. "To show my friendly feeling, I don't mind telling you that you have made an important capture. Now, during the last hour have you heard anything of an escape from Holloway?"
The sergeant in charge of the party had heard all about that.
"Party of the name of Lalage?" he said. "What do you know about him?"
The prisoner struck his breast theatrically.
"Simply because I am that distinguished individual," he said. "I tell you that because in any case you must have found that out before long. My liberty comes to me in a way that is likely to prove useful. I came here to take a great revenge. Pah, I may be what you call criminal, but I am not a burglar. I have not sunk to that yet. I came here to see a woman. Have you got her?"
"Seen nothing of a woman," growled the sergeant.
"Oh, then I begin to have still deeper suspicions. How did you know I was here? I was certain that I was never tracked."