The good old soul, a veteran with a gray mustache, less for the sake of the money than out of compassion for the poor father, led him to the Prefect's private apartments. M. Godefroy was finally ushered into the room of the man in whom were centred all his hopes. He was in evening dress, and wore a monocle; his manner was frigid and rather pretentious. The distressed father, whose knees trembled through emotion, sank into an armchair, and, bursting into tears, told of the loss of his boy--told the story stammeringly and with many breaks, for his voice was choked by sobs. The Prefect, who was also father of a family, was inwardly moved at the sight of his visitor's grief, but he repressed his emotion and assumed a cold and self-important air. "You say, sir, that your child has been missing since four o'clock." "Yes." "Just when night was falling, confound it. He isn't at all precocious, speaks very little, doesn't know where he lives, and can't even pronounce his own name?" "Unfortunately that is so." "Not far from Asnières gate? A suspected quarter. But cheer up. We have a very intelligent _Commissaire de Police_ there. I'll telephone to him." * * * * * The distressed father was left alone for five minutes. How his temples throbbed and his heart beat! Then, suddenly, the Prefect reappeared, smiling with satisfaction. "Found!" Whereupon M. Godefroy rushed to the Prefect, whose hand he pressed till that functionary winced with the pain. "I must acknowledge that we were exceedingly fortunate. The little chap is blond, isn't he? Rather pale? In blue velvet? Black felt hat, with a white feather in it?" "Yes, yes; that's he. That's my little Raoul." "Well, he's at the house of a poor fellow down in that quarter who had just been at the police office to make his declaration to the Commissaire. Here's his address, which I took down: '_Pierron, rue des Cailloux, Levallois-Perret._' With good horses you may reach your boy in less than an hour. Certainly, you won't find him in an aristocratic quarter; his surroundings won't be of the highest. The man who found him is only a small dealer in vegetables."