"It is best that I should know just what you both think," he said, and in his turn he began to read the paper through. He read the first eight points, and then beat with his fist upon the table.
"No no," he cried; "it is not possible! I don’t blame you, Ricardo. These are facts, and, as I said, I can face facts. But there will be an explanation-if only we can discover it."
He buried his face for a moment in his hands. Then he took up the paper again.
"As for the rest, Helene Vauquier lied," he cried violently, and he tossed the paper to Hanaud. "What do you make of it?"
Hanaud smiled and shook his head.
"Did you ever go for a voyage on a ship?" he asked.
"Yes; why?"
"Because every day at noon three officers take an observation to determine the ship’s position-the captain, the first officer, and the second officer. Each writes his observation down, and the captain takes the three observations and compares them. If the first or second officer is out in his reckoning, the captain tells him so, but he does not show his own. For at times, no doubt, he is wrong too. So, gentlemen, I criticise your observations, but I do not show you mine."
He took up Ricardo’s paper and read it through again.
"Yes," he said pleasantly. "But the two questions which are most important, which alone can lead us to the truth-how do they come to be omitted from your list, Mr. Ricardo?"