Page:Mystery of the Yellow Room (Grosset Dunlap 1908).djvu/216

 "Never."

"Does your presence at the château displease him?"

"I don't know; but, in any case, he does not make us feel that we are in his way."

"Doesn't he question you?"

"Never. He is in the same state of mind as he was in at the door of The Yellow Room when his daughter was being murdered, and when he broke open the door and did not find the murderer.  He is persuaded, since he could discover nothing, that there's no reason why we should be able to discover more than he did.  But he has made it his duty, since Larsan expressed his theory, not to oppose us."

Rouletabille buried himself in thought again for some time. He aroused himself later to tell me of how he came to set the two concierges free.

"I went recently to see Monsieur Stangerson, and took with me a piece of paper on which was written: 'I promise, whatever others may say, to keep in my service my two faithful servants, Bernier and his wife.' I explained to him that, by signing that document, he would enable me to compel those two people to speak out; and I declared my own assurance of their innocence of any part in the crime.  That was also his opinion.  The examining magistrate, after it was signed, presented the document to the Berniers, who then did speak.  They said, what I was certain they would say, as soon as they were sure they would not lose their place.

"They confessed to poaching on Monsieur