"Quite. I found this little note in pencil among his papers."
"Ah!" said Sernine, reading the note. "He announces his suicide . . . and for this evening too!"
"Yes, governor, he has bought the rope and screwed the hook to the ceiling. Thereupon, acting on your instructions, I talked to him. He told me of his distress, and I advised him to apply to you: 'Prince Sernine is rich,' I said; 'he is generous; perhaps he will help you.'"
"All this is first-rate. So he is coming?"
"He is here."
"How do you know?"
"I followed him. He took the train to Paris, and he is walking up and down the boulevard at this minute. He will make up his mind from one moment to the other."
Just then the servant brought in a card. The prince glanced at it and said to the man:
"Show M. Gérard Baupré in."
Then, turning to Philippe: