"Me, sir? No, sir. I haven't brought the pendant," said Irma.
"You're quite sure?" said M. Formery.
"Yes, sir; I haven't seen the pendant. Didn't Mademoiselle Germaine leave it on the bureau?" said Irma.
"How do you know that?" said M. Formery.
"I heard Mademoiselle Germaine say that it had been on the bureau. I thought that perhaps Mademoiselle Kritchnoff had put it in her bag."
"Why should Mademoiselle Kritchnoff put it in her bag?" said the Duke quickly.
"To bring it up to Paris for Mademoiselle Germaine," said Irma.
"But what made you think that?" said Guerchard, suddenly intervening.
"Oh, I thought Mademoiselle Kritchnoff might have put it in her bag because I saw her standing by the bureau," said Irma.
"Ah, and the pendant was on the bureau?" said M. Formery.
"Yes, sir," said Irma.
There was a silence. Suddenly the atmosphere of the room seemed to have become charged with an oppression—a vague menace. Guerchard seemed to have become wide awake
