For four days this robbery was the town talk of Paris.

Then public attention was absorbed by later and equally interesting
events: an acrobat broke his leg at the circus; an actress made her
debut at a small theatre: and the _item_ of the 28th was soon forgotten.

But for once the newspapers were--perhaps intentionally--wrong, or at
least inaccurate in their information.

The sum of three hundred and fifty thousand francs certainly had been
stolen from M. Andre Fauvel's bank, but not in the manner described.

A clerk had also been arrested on suspicion, but no decisive proof had
been found against him. This robbery of unusual importance remained, if
not inexplicable, at least unexplained.

The following are the facts as they were related with scrupulous
exactness at the preliminary examination.




II

The banking-house of Andre Fauvel, No. 87 Rue de Provence, is an
important establishment, and, owing to its large force of clerks,
presents very much the appearance of a government department.

On the ground-floor are the offices, with windows opening on the street,
fortified by strong iron bars sufficiently large and close together to