"Who is that? The novelist?"
"Novelist? I don't think he has ever written any novels—not that I remember of."
"Ah, I didn't know. It seemed to me that I remembered his name in connection with some novel."
"Oh, very likely you did. He is the hero of more detective stories than any other man I know of. He was the great French detective."
"What, is he dead, then?"
"Dead? Not a bit of it; he's here with us. Oh, I understand what you mean. Yes, from your point of view, he is dead."
"Where can we find him?"
"Well, I presume, in Paris. He's a first-rate fellow to know, anyhow, and he spends most of his time around his old haunts. In fact, if you want to be certain to find Lecocq, you will generally get him during office hours in the room he used to frequent while in Paris."
"Let us go and see him, then."