He rose and walked to the Pavillon Chinois, near the Porte Dauphine, where he took a frugal meal: two eggs, some vegetables and a little fruit. Then he returned to the Rue Crevaux and said to the concierge:
"I am going to have a look round upstairs and then I'll give you the keys."
He finished his inspection with the room which he used as a study. There he took hold of the end of a jointed gas-bracket which was fixed beside the chimney, unscrewed the brass nozzle, fitted a little funnel-shaped instrument to it and blew up the pipe.
A faint whistle sounded in reply. Putting the pipe to his mouth, he whispered:
"Any one there, Dubreuil?"
"No."
"Can I come up?"
"Yes."
He replaced the bracket, saying, as he did so:
"Where will progress stop? Our age teems with little inventions that make life really charming and picturesque. And so amusing too ... especially when a man knows the game of life as I know it!"