Tell me if you had any motive in taking me to the Cafe des Deux Epingles that night ?" Louis looked around the room with keen, watchful eyes.

Without abandoning his attitude of graceful attention to what I was saying, he seemed in those few moments to be absorbing every detail of the progress of the affairs in the restaurant itself.

The arrangement of the service at some tables a little way off seemed to annoy him.

He frowned and called one of his subordinates, speaking in a rapid undertone to him, and with many gestures.

The man hurried away to obey his instructions, and Louis turned to me.
"Monsieur," said he, "there are many times when it is not wise or politic to tell the truth.