IX.
They lodged in a pension in the Rue Mouffetard, a few squares south of the Seine, near the Halle aux Vins. The place had been recommended by the cocher who brought them from Gros-bois. When they arrived it was much too dark to tell what it looked like. Irène, gathering a handful of newspapers as she passed through the hall, retired to her room at once. Monsieur and Joseph sat up to discuss plans of procedure.
The two rooms they occupied were on the third story facing the north, and commanded a magnificent view of Paris for many squares beyond the Seine. Although it was late, many lights besides the rows of street lamps still dotted the darkness of the night. Beyond the river the lights grew smaller, but increased immensely in numbers. There seemed to be an uncommon activity for the late-
