"Dead? What has happened, then?"
"What has happened is that you have played the fool! Brocq saw clearly that you had stolen the document from him."
"He saw?"...
"Yes, he saw it! I had my suspicions, fortunately!... Then this cursed captain threw himself into a taxi and followed you.... At the moment when your own auto turned on the Place de l'Étoile, his was going to meet it! Brocq was already hailing you, and you would have been caught without a doubt had I not come to the rescue."
"Great Heavens! What have you done?"
"I have just told you. Clic-clac! A bullet in his heart, and he remains on the spot."...
Bobinette was dumbfounded. She did not speak for a minute or two. Then she asked anxiously:
"But where were you?"
"That does not concern you!"
"What must I say, then, if, by chance, I am questioned?"