"Let me in," said Verdayne, "and I will do my best to explain."
The man led the way to a delightfully large and airy room, half salon, half chambre à coucher, where Paul was glad to remove the stains of travel.
First he took the precaution of drawing a couple of half-crowns from his pocket and slipping them into the man's hand.
"You need not be alarmed at my appearance," he said. "I am not a fugitive from justice. I am merely an English gentleman who has lost his friends and who is in search of them.
"Tell me if you have staying in this hotel a tall young lady with dark hair and brilliant eyes? It is possible that she is travelling incognito, but if she has given her right name it will be Mademoiselle Vseslavitch."
The man scratched his head and looked worried.
"I would help Monsieur if I could," he said, "but I can only assure him that there is no lady staying in this hotel at all. Alas! the season is very bad, and we have few visitors."
That this dark-haired lady was not at the Hôtel de l'Europe did not disconcert Verdayne very much. He had foreseen that she was hardly likely to stay in the hotel with which English tourists would be acquainted.
"It is many years," he said to the man, "since I stayed here. In fact, I have practically no recollection of Langres except of this hotel and the cathedral. I should therefore be very much obliged if you could furnish me with a complete list of all the other hotels."
"Why now," said the man, "that is an exceedingly simple affair." And he rattled off a list.