“Who’s Zoug-Zoug?”
“That is your one solitary question, is it?”
“That’s it.”
“Very well. Now, I’ll be scavenger. What is the story? Who is the woman—for you’ve got a woman in it, that’s certain?”
“Will you tell me, then, whether you know Zoug-Zoug?”
“Yes.”
“The woman is Mademoiselle Victorine, the dompteuse.”
“Ah, I’ve not seen her yet. She burst upon Paris while I was away. Now, straight: no lies: who are the others?”
Meyerbeer hesitated; for, of course, he did not wish to speak of Gaston at this stage in the game. But he said:
“Count Ploare—and Zoug-Zoug.”