‘Can you describe M. de Belleville?’
‘He was of medium height and dark, with a black beard. I did not take special notice of him.’
Burnley produced a photograph of Felix he had received from London.
‘Is that the man?’ he asked, handing it over.
The clerk scrutinised it carefully.
‘I could hardly say,’ he replied hesitatingly, ‘it’s certainly like my recollection of him, but I am not sure. Remember I only saw him once, and that about ten days ago.’
‘Of course, you could hardly be expected to remember. Can you tell me another thing? What time did he take the cask away?’
‘I can tell you that because I book off duty at 5.15, and I waited five minutes after that to finish the business. He left at 5.20 exactly.’
‘I suppose there was nothing that attracted your attention about the cask, nothing to differentiate it from other casks?’
‘As a matter of fact,’ returned the clerk, ‘there were two things. First, it was exceedingly well and strongly made and bound with thicker iron hoops than any I had previously seen, and secondly, it was very heavy. It took two men to get it from here to the cart that M. de Belleville had brought.’