"In the robbery," I said.

"Robbery!" and he repeated that word. "There has been no
robbery!"

I replied in some astonishment.

"Really, Sir Henry! You but now assured me that I would remember
this night's robbery."

The drawl got back into his voice.

"Ah, yes," he said, "quite so. You will remember it."

The man was clearly, it seemed to me, so engrossed with the
mystery that it was idle to interrogate him. And he was walking
with a devil's stride.

Still the pointed query of the affair pressed me, and I made
another effort.

"Why did these assailants take Madame Barras on with them?"

Marquis regarded me, I thought, with wonder.

"The devil, man!" he said. "They couldn't leave her behind."

"The danger would be too great to them?"

"No," he said, "the danger would be too great to her."