"Hardly. François has no beard."
"But he might have been disguised." He seemed very much perturbed. "What a pity I was so careless!"
"Monsieur Valentin, will you please tell me what those cigarettes have to do with the kidnapping of Mr. Stapleton's child?"
He looked at her closely for a moment. "Everything," he answered gloomily, "and—nothing. I was a fool to have left them here."
Grace began to feel more and more composed. This man did not talk like one of the band of criminals. "Do you know where the child is?" she suddenly asked.
"Perhaps." He observed her narrowly. "Do you?"
"No. If I did, I should restore him to his poor mother."
"What were you doing in that automobile?"
"I was a prisoner. And you?"
Again he evaded her question. "It is my own affair," he growled.