"Who are you?" asked Carmen.
"A friend, a former Zouave in the service of the Count of Monte-Cristo."
"Well, what have you?"
"A note from the painter Gontram."
"Give it to me—quickly."
Coucou drew the letter from the folds of his bernouse and gave it to the young girl. It read as follows:
"Carmen, my friends are in danger; Jane Zild has been abducted and Spero has disappeared. If every sign does not deceive, the banker must know something about it. Perhaps you may be able to find out the secret.
"In great haste,
"G. S."
Carmen breathed more freely after she had read the lines.
"Well?" said the Zouave, expectantly.
"Go back to Monsieur Sabran and tell him I will move heaven and earth to find out the secret. Gontram is still in the Monte-Cristo palace, is he not?"