“Of course, parbleu ! But a person has to think of those things.”

“There is something else: you did not know the history of those letters until Madame Andermatt⁠—”

“Spoke of them before me? No. Because I found in the safe, besides the casket, nothing but the correspondence of the two brothers which disclosed their treachery in regard to the plans.”

“Then it was by chance that you were led, first, to investigate the history of the two brothers, and then to search for the plans and documents relating to the submarine?”

“Simply by chance.”

“For what purpose did you make the search?”