"Ah! In that event, we may learn something. He is being closely watched."
As Grace spoke, a servant entered the room. "There is a gentleman to see you, sir," he said to Mr. Stapleton.
"Who is it?"
"He would not give his name. He said his business was urgent."
"Where is he now?"
Mr. Stapleton rose. "Excuse me a moment," he said, and went into the adjoining room.
The library was separated from the reception room by a short passageway, or alcove, in which hung a pair of heavy curtains. Grace sat quietly, waiting for Mr. Stapleton to return. Suddenly she realized that she could distinctly hear what was going on in the room adjoining. For a moment she thought of going into the hall; then a word or two caught her attention, and in a moment she was close to the curtains, listening intently to a most remarkable conversation.
The man who had asked to see Mr. Stapleton stood in the reception room, near a broad window overlooking the street without. He was tall and somewhat heavily built; but what at once attracted Grace's attention was his heavy black beard. She recognized him at once as the man who had broken into Valentin's room to steal the cigarettes, and had later driven the car which brought her back to Paris after her abduction.
He was speaking to Mr. Stapleton in a quiet and assured tone, as though discussing a topic of no greater importance than the weather.