"Where will they lead me?"
"Past the Rue Saint Roch and near the Hotel d'Or . . ."
The officer was already on his feet.
"I'll go with you, Monsieur."
Hilaire opened a door which gave access to a back staircase, and they soon reached the passage leading to the servants' bedrooms. Hilaire was carrying a lighted candle. He blew it out.
"We'd better not show a light in the attic we're going into," he explained, "because it looks out on to the street."
"Is it empty?" asked the Captain.
"No, Monsieur. My wife, who is away this evening, locked our shop-girl in it before she went out."
Hilaire knocked at the door.
"Who's there?" cried Zoé.