"I thought as much," said Juve, as he went down on all fours and proceeded to examine the carpeting of the room between the bed and the door, a distance of some seven feet. The carpet, of very close fabric, afforded no trace, but on a white bearskin rug the detective noted in places tufts of hair glued together as if something moist and sticky had passed over it. He cut off one of these tufts and shut it carefully in his pocketbook. He then went to the door which was hidden by a velvet curtain. He could not suppress a cry of amazement. In the lower panel of the door a round hole had been made about six or eight inches in diameter. It was four inches above the floor, and might have been made for a cat. "Did you have that hole made in the door?" asked Juve. "No. I don't know what it is," replied the American. "Neither do I," rejoined Juve, "but I have an idea." Doctor Plassin was jubilant. "There you are!" he cried. "A lasso! And it was thrust in by that hole." Through the window, Verdier called: "M. Inspector, the charwoman is coming." Juve looked at his watch. "Half-past nine. I will see her in a minute." XXV THE TRAP "Twelve o'clock! Hang it! I've just time to get there to keep my engagement with Josephine." Juve was going down Belleville hill as fast as his legs could take him by a short cut past the Sèvres school. He cast a mocking glance toward the little police station which stands smart and trim at one side of the high road. "Pity," he murmured, "that I can't escort my friends to that delightful country house." Then he hastened his pace still more. He was growing angry. "I told Fandor to be at Nogent Station exactly at 1.30. It is now five past twelve and I am still at Sèvres. Matters are getting complicated. Oh, I'll take the tramway to Versailles' gate. From there I'll drive to Nogent Station in a taxi." He put this plan into execution, and was lucky enough to find a place in the Louvre-Versailles' tram. "All things considered, I have not wasted my morning. Poor Dixon! He was lucky to get off so cheaply. It would seem now that Josephine told the truth in saying he is not an accomplice of the Gang." Juve reflected a while, then added: "Only it looks as if that accursed Josephine had put her friends up to the job." At the St. Cloud gate the tram came to a stop and Juve got down, hailed a taxi, and told the driver: "To Nogent Station and look sharp. I'm in a terrible hurry." The driver nodded assent, Juve got in, and the vehicle started. The taxi had hardly been going five minutes when Juve became impatient. "Go quicker, my man! Don't you know how to drive?" The man replied, nettled: "I don't want to get run in for breaking the regulations." Juve laughed. "Never mind the regulations, I'm from Police Headquarters." The magical word took effect. From that moment, heedless of the frantic signals of policemen, the driver tore along at full speed and reached the square in front of Nogent Station.