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The Mystery of Mademoiselle Stangerson.
During the days that followed I had several opportunities to question him as to his reason for his voyage to America, but I obtained no more precise answers than he had given me on the evening of the adjournment of the trial, when we were on the train for Paris.

One day, however, on my still pressing him, he said: "Can't you understand that I had to know Larsan's true personality ?" "No doubt," I said, "but why did you go to America to find that out ?" He sat smoking his pipe, and made no further reply.

I began to see that I was touching on the secret that concerned Mademoiselle Stangerson.
Rouletabille evidently had found it necessary to go to America to find out what the mysterious tie was that bound her to Larsan by so strange and terrible a bond.

In America he had learned who Larsan was and had obtained information which closed his mouth.