So there could be no doubt that Wilhelm Storitz was implicated We were no longer reduced to mere presumptions.We were in possession of material evidence, and whether he or someone else were actually guilty, it was certainly for his benefit that this bizarre robbery had been carried out, even though the method and the explanation still eluded us.

‘Are you doubtful now, my dear Vidal?'Captain Haralan's voice was trembling with rage.

M.Stepark kept silent.In this strange matter, much still remained unknown.Though the guilt of Wilhelm Storitz was incontestable, we did not know what means he had used, nor was it certain that we should ever know.

Though Captain Haralan had been addressing me, I did not reply.What could I have said, anyhow……

‘Wasn't it that wretch, 'he continued, ‘who came to insult us by throwing that Hymn of Hate in our faces, as an affront to Magyar patriotism?You never saw him, but you heard him.He was there, even if we couldn't see him!As for this crown which his hand has soiled, I don't want even a leaf of it to be left intact!'

M.Stepark checked him just as he was about to tear it to pieces.‘Don't forget that it will have to be produced in evidence, 'he said, ‘and it may be very useful if, as I hope, this business has repercussions.'

Captain Harlan gave the crown back to him and we went down the stairs.After fruitlessly casting a last glance at every room in the house, we went outside.

The front door and the gate were locked and sealed, and the house was left in the same abandoned state in which we had found it.What was more, on the orders of their chief, two policemen were left to keep it under surveillance.

After taking leave of M.Stepark, who asked us to keep this investigation secret, Captain Haralan and I went back along the boulevard to the Roderich's.

My companion was unable to contain himself, and his wrath overflowed violently in words and gestures.It was in vain that I tried to calm him.I hoped, too, that Wilhelm Storitz had left or would leave the town now that his home had been investigated and the police were in possession of a proof of the part he had played in the matter.

I contented myself with saying:‘My dear Haralan.I can understand your anger, and I realise that you don't want to leave these insults unpunished.But don't forget that Monsieur Stepark has asked us to keep this secret.'

‘And father?And your brother?Won't they want to know the result of the investigation?'

‘Certainly, but all we'll tell them is that we haven't been able to come across Wilhelm Storitz, and that he can't be in Ragz—which anyhow seems very probable.'

‘You won't tell them where you found the crown?'

‘Yes, it's better for them to know that.But there'd be no point in saying anything to your mother or your sister.Why add to their anxiety?If I were you, I should say that the crown was found in the garden of your own home, and I should give it back to your sister.'

In spite of his dislike for such a course, Captain Haralan agreed that I was right, and it was agreed that I should fetch the crown from M.Stepark, who would hardly refuse to part with it.

None the less, I was anxious to see my brother and bring him up to date, and I even more longed to see him married.

As soon as we reached the house, the servant showed us into the study where the doctor and Marc were waiting for us.So great was their impatience that they overwhelmed us with questions before we had crossed the threshold.

What was their indignant surprise when we told them what had happened in the house on the Boulevard Tékéli!My brother could hardly master himself.Like Captain Haralan, he wanted to deal with Wilhelm Storitz before justice could intervene.In vain I objected that his enemy must have left the town.

‘If he isn't in Ragz, 'he exclaimed, ‘he's in Spremberg.'

I found it extremely difficult to calm him, and the doctor had to come to my help.

‘My dear Marc, 'he said, ‘listen to what your brother tells you, and let this unhappy affair be over and done with.Don't mention that business, and it'll soon be forgotten.'

It was painful to look at my brother as he sat there, his head buried in his hands.I could feel all that he must be suffering.What would I not have given to be a few days older, so that Myra Roderich would at last have become Myra Vidal!

The Doctor added that he would see the Governor of Ragz.Wilhelm Storitz was a foreigner, and his Excellency would not hesitate to issue a decree of expulsion against him.The great thing was to prevent any recurrence of the events we had recently witnessed, even if we had to give up all hope of finding a satisfactory explanation for them.As for the idea that Wilhelm Storitz had at his disposal, as he had boasted, any superhuman power, that was not to be thought of.

Again I stressed the reasons why Madame Roderich and her daughter should be kept in ignorance that the police had acted and that they had unmasked Wilhelm Storitz.

My suggestion regarding the crown was accepted.Marc would say he had found it in the garden.This would show that the whole thing had been the work of some practical joker, and that he would be found out and punished as he deserved.

The same day I went back to the Town Hall, where I reclaimed the crown from M.Stepark.He agreed to let me have it, and I took it back to the house.

That evening we were in the drawing-room with Madame Roderich and her daughter when Marc, after going outside for a moment, returned saying:‘Myra, my dear Myra, look what I've brought you!'

‘My crown!'exclaimed Myra, rushing towards him.

‘Yes, 'Marc replied, ‘out there in the garden.I found it behind some of the shrubbery where it had fallen.'

‘But how?How?'wondered Madame Roderich.

‘How?'replied the Doctor.‘Some busybody managed to worm himself in among the guests.So there's no need to think any more about that nonsense.'

‘Oh thank you, thank you, dear Marc.'There were tears flowing from Myra's eyes.

The following days brought no new incident, and the town regained its habitual calm.Nothing had leaked out about the search which had been made of the house on the Boulevard Tékéli, and nobody mentioned Wilhelm Storitz’name.All we had to do was to wait patiently—or rather impatiently—for the day on which would be celebrated the wedding of Marc and Myra Roderich.

I spent most of the time which my brother left me in walking about the neighbourhood of Ragz, and Captain Haralan often went with me.It was then very unusual for us not to leave the town via the Boulevard Tékéli.That suspi-cious-looking house visibly attracted him.Anyhow, this allowed us to see that it was still deserted, and still guarded by two policemen.If Wilhelm Storitz had appeared the police would at once have been apprised of his return and he would have been arrested.

But soon came a proof of his absence and an assurance that for the time being at any rate we could not possibly meet him in the streets of Ragz.

On the 29th May I learned from the mouth of M.Stepark that the anniversary of Otto Storitz'death had been celebrated on the 25th at Spremberg.The ceremony seemed to have attracted a large number of spectators, not only the town's population, but also thousands of sightseers from the neighbouring towns and even from Berlin.So large was the crowd that the cemetery could not hold it.There had been a number of accidents, and several people had been suffocated and had found on the following day that place in the cemetery which they had not been able to find on the day itself.

It will not have been forgotten that Otto Storitz had lived and died surrounded by legends, and that all these credulous people had been waiting for some posthumous wonder.Fantastic happenings ought to have been witnessed at this anniversary!At the very least the Prussian savant ought to have risen from his tomb, and nobody would have been surprised if at that moment the order of the universe had been strangely thrown out of gear.The earth would reverse its rotation and turn from east to west, and this would bring about a complete derangement of the solar system!And so on, and so forth.

Such were the rumours which ran through the crowd.But in actual fact everything had gone off in the most commonplace manner.The tombstone had not been overthrown.The dead man had not left his sepulchral dwelling, and the earth had gone on moving according to the rules laid down from the beginning of the world.

But, what was more to the point, the son of Otto Storitz had been present in person at the ceremony.Here was material proof that he had certainly left Ragz.I for one hoped that this was with the categorical intention of never coming back.

I hastened to pass on this information to Captain Haralan and Marc.

Though the uproar which this business produced had largely subsided, the Governor of Ragz was still uneasy about it.Although these prodigies, which nobody had been able to explain, might be due to some sleight-of-hand carried out with marvellous skill, or something of the sort, they had none the less disturbed the town very seriously, and it was essential to make certain that they did not recur.

It is not surprising that his Excellency was greatly impressed when the Chief of Police informed him about Wilhelm Storitz's position with regard to the Roderich family and about the threats he had uttered!

So, when the Governor knew the results of that investigation, he decided to take rigorous measures against that foreignor.At least there had been a theft, a theft committed by Wilhelm Storitz himself, or by some accomplice for his benefit.If he had not left Ragz, he would have been arrested, and once he was within the four walls of a prison it was unlikely that he would have been able to come out, as he had managed to get into Doctor Roderich's, without being seen.

That was why, on 30th May, there was a conversation between his Excellency and M.Stepark.

‘You haven't heard of anything fresh?'

‘Nothing, Monsieur the Governor.'

‘There's no reason to suppose that Wilhelm Storitz means to return to Ragz?'

‘None.'

‘His home is still kept under surveillance?'

‘Night and day.'

‘I thought it my duty to write to Budapest, 'the Governor continued, ‘to tell them of this business, which has aroused more excitement than it deserves, and I've been authorised to take steps to put an end to it.'

‘So long as Wilhelm Storitz hasn't reappeared in Ragz, 'replied the Chief of Police, ‘we've nothing to fear from him, and we know for certain that he was in Spremberg on the twenty-fifth.'

‘That is true, M.Stepark, but he may be tempted to come back here, and that's what we've got to stop.'

‘Nothing could be easier, Monsieur the Governor.As this concerns a foreignor, an order for his expulsion will be enough.'

‘An order, 'the Governor broke in, ‘which will banish him not merely from the town of Ragz but from the whole Austro-Hungarian territory.'

‘As soon as I have the order, Monsieur the Governor.'agreed the Chief of Police, ‘I'll send word to all the frontier guards.'

The order was signed on the spot, and the whole of the kingdom was forbidden to Wilhelm Storitz.

These steps were calculated to reassure the Doctor, his family, and his friends.But we were far from having discovered the secret of the affair, and further still from imagining the events which awaited us.