But that did not help me forward.

To search out all the gambling-houses in Paris would be a hopeless task; besides, would he gamble in Paris, a city of which he knew nothing?
I did not think so.

Where, then?
Monte Carlo! No doubt the reader will smile at my attempts as a private detective, but, realizing the circumstances by which I was surrounded, there may be some excuse for my unbusinesslike way of going to work.

Besides, I was not sure that Kaffar was alive; I only had some vague grounds for thinking he was.
I went to Monte Carlo.

I inquired at the hotels; I inquired at the Casino--without success.