Chapter 26
NEARLY It was past one o'clock in the morning when I returned to the hotel, yet the porter who admitted me pointed toward the figure of a man who stood waiting in the dimly lit hall. "There is a person here who has been waiting to see you for some hours, sir," he said. "His name is Fritz." "To see me?" I repeated. The man came a step forward and saluted. I recognized him at once. It was the commissionnaire at the Cafe Universel. "It is quite right," I told the porter. "You had better come up to my rooms," I added, turning to Fritz. I led the way to the lift and on to my sitting-room. There I turned up the electric lights and threw myself into an easy-chair. "Well, Fritz," said I, "I hope that you have brought me some news." "I have lost my job, sir," the man answered, a little sull
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