Again he consulted his register, but shook his head.

“Nobody of that name,” he replied.

I hesitated. Then I asked:

“Did the gentleman who spent the night in Room 175 depart alone?”

The reception-clerk called the uniformed concierge, and asked:

“Did Number 175 leave alone?”

“Yes,” was the reply. “He caught the early express for Zaragoza. He was going on to Barcelona, he told me. He went in the omnibus.”

“No one with him?”

“Nobody.”

“When did he arrive?” I asked.