The major, amazed at the turn affairs were taking, waited a
few moments longer before entering the office, where Burle had remained
alone. He found him very calm, and despite his furious inclination to
call him names he also remained calm, determined to begin by finding out
the exact truth.
The office certainly did not look like a swindler's den. A cane-seated
chair, covered with an honest leather cushion, stood before the
captain's desk, and in a corner there was the locked safe. Summer was
coming on, and the song of a canary sounded through the open window. The
apartment was very neat and tidy, redolent of old papers, and altogether
its appearance inspired one with confidence.
"Wasn't it Melanie who was leaving here as I came along?" asked
Laguitte.
Burle shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes," he mumbled. "She has been dunning me for two hundred francs, but
she can't screw ten out of me--not even tenpence."
"Indeed!" said the major, just to try him. "I heard that you had made up
with her."
"I? Certainly not. I have done with the likes of her for good."
Laguitte went away, feeling greatly perplexed. Where had the five
hundred and forty-five francs gone? Had the idiot taken to drinking or
gambling? He decided to pay Burle a surprise visit that very evening
at his own house, and maybe by questioning his mother he might learn
something.
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