"Sergeant Juve, once of the detective force; formerly dead: now amateur policeman!"
"You! You, Juve!" cried Fandor. "And to think I suspected you...."
But the two bankers interrupted at one and the same moment.
"What are you doing here?"
Juve smiled.
"The art I practise brought me! Since my interest in the Dollon affair is so keen, I follow it up, I wish to find the secret of it, just through love of my art. I dabble in it nowadays."
"But Juve—how did you get here?" questioned Fandor.
"Ah, ha! If you have made some psychological discoveries: if reasoning has landed you here, now facts have led me here!... You know I was shadowing the band of Numbers. You know that in the skin of Cranajour I was intimate with those rascals. To my astonishment I found that my wretched companions had dealings with the Barbey-Nanteuil bank, who, of course, had no suspicion of it! Are you surprised then that I felt it incumbent on me to visit this bank?... Besides, yesterday, I saw you enter here; but you never came out again! You had reasons for acting so. I determined to be near you, in case you needed my help. I therefore passed myself off as a workman come to attend to the telephone installation. It was easy enough, for I am a good electrician.... Well, when I found that you were preparing to pass the night here, I laid my plans accordingly. I pretended to leave the premises, but really I hid myself in the house. Just now, when you called for help, I came to your aid as quickly as I could, naturally!"
"Just as we did!" remarked Monsieur Barbey, looking at his partner.
Monsieur Nanteuil contented himself with a nod. He added: