"The door is locked!" I cried, sharply.
"Exactly," he murmured, blandly; "the door is locked."
I walked across the room again, and, throwing back my cloak from my shoulders, sank upon a lounge, while he seated himself opposite me, and, with his hands again spread out upon his knees, watched and waited for me to speak; but I would not, and presently he broke the silence.
"I caught sight of that trinket when it dropped," he said, smoothly, "and it seemed to me that I have seen it once before in the possession of my master, his Excellency Hun Sun."
"Well?" I demanded, spitefully, for it was bitter to see my victory dwindling to failure, to know that I had been frustrated, and my boast to Monsieur Roché was idle.
"Well, what then?"
"That being so, I ask to examine it more closely."
"And if I refuse, your Excellency," I sneered. "Even the Chinese, I presume, do not use force to a woman."
"Even the French," he answered, "do not, I presume, permit barefaced theft."
"I tell you the trinket is mine, and that should be sufficient. If you knew me you dare not doubt my word."