The commissary looked at him sharply, and asked:
“How do you know that?”
“Ansell told me.”
“Are you quite certain?”
“Quite. Ansell has done some jobs for him, and has been well paid for them. He has acted as a spy for our enemies.”
“A spy as well as a thief—eh?”
“Exactly, m’sieur. Ansell has been in the Baron’s pay for nearly two years.”
“But this allegation is quite unsubstantiated. The Baron de Rycker is well known and highly popular in Paris. He moves in the best society, and the Ministers frequently dine at his table.”
“I know that, m’sieur. But search that safe in the little room upstairs—the safe we opened. Go there in pretence of examining our finger-prints, and you will find in the safe quantities of compromising papers. It was that collection of secret correspondence which we were after when the alarm-bell rang. We intended to secure it and sell it back to Germany.”