"A miracle--and his constitution, which is an exceptionally strong
one."

"And can you say nothing more about this strange patient?"

"No. In the first place, I have taken an oath; and, secondly, I have
received a present of ten thousand francs for my free surgery. If I
do not keep silence, this sum will be taken from me."

"You are joking! Do you believe that?"

"Indeed I do. The men all struck me as being very much in earnest."

This is the statement made to us by Dr. Delattre. And we know, on
the other hand, that the head of the detective service, in spite of
all his insisting, has not yet succeeded in extracting any more
precise particulars from him as to the operation which he performed,
the patient whom he attended or the district traversed by the car.
It is difficult, therefore, to arrive at the truth.

This truth, which the writer of the interview confessed himself
unable to discover, was guessed by the more or less clear-sighted
minds that perceived a connection with the facts which had occurred
the day before at the Chateau d'Ambrumesy, and which were reported,
down to the smallest detail, in all the newspapers of that day.
There was evidently a coincidence to be reckoned with in the
disappearance of a wounded burglar and the kidnapping of a famous
surgeon.

The judical inquiry, moreover, proved the correctness of the