Grace repressed her annoyance as best she could. "I suppose it must be very valuable," she remarked, lamely.
"Undoubtedly. Very valuable, as you say. Now that it is stolen, it must be recovered without delay. Monsieur Lefevre informs us here in Brussels that others have gone to London to recover it. Should they fail to do so—we believe that the persons who have committed the theft will come here."
"Why?"
"Because they are acting, we believe, in the interests of a certain Dr. Hartmann, who is a resident of Brussels."
"Why should this Dr. Hartmann want the box?" asked Grace, somewhat mystified.
"That I am unable to tell you. He is an enemy of my country. He has many agents, and is a man of great power."
"But why don't you arrest him?"
"Alas, mademoiselle, you do not understand. This Dr. Hartmann is a physician of great prominence. His cures of nervous and mental disorders have made him famous throughout Europe. He has in Brussels—just outside the city, a sanatorium, where he receives and treats his patients. He is looked up to by all. His work as an enemy of France is quite secret, known to but a few. Even we know very little about it."
"Then how do you know that he had anything to do with the matter of this snuff box?"
"We do not know it—we only surmise. There is a reason, which I am not permitted at present to tell you, which causes Monsieur Lefevre to believe that Dr. Hartmann had a hand in this matter. It is for that reason, indeed, that he has sent you here."