“No.”
“How do you mean, no? In that case, there is no object in....”
“They will be restored to you, intact, two months after the day when my friends and I have brought about Gilbert’s escape . . . thanks to the very slack watch which will be kept upon him, in accordance with your orders.”
“Is that all?”
“No, there are two further conditions: first, the immediate payment of a cheque for forty thousand francs.”
“Forty thousand francs?”
“The sum for which Stanislas Vorenglade sold me the letters. It is only fair....”
“And next?”
“Secondly, your resignation, within six months, of your present position.”
“My resignation? But why?”