THE LIBRARY 
 OF * 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 MRS. VIRGINIA B. SPORER
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ
 
 Lecoq pushed open the glass doors . . 
 office. Page 193. 
 
 and entered the
 
 MONSIEUR 
 LECOQ 
 
 Translated from the French of 
 
 EMILE GABORIAU 
 
 Illustrated by 
 BAYARD JONES 
 
 Charles Scribner's Sons 
 New York . 1918
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1880, Bl 
 ESTES & LAURIAT 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Lecoq pushed open the glass doors . . . and entered 
 the office. Frontispiece 
 
 Facing 
 
 Opposite them . . . stood a young man, a heavy oaken 
 table forming a rampart before him 8 
 
 " Can you not see, Monsieur, that yu are torturing me 
 frightfully, pitilessly?" 182 
 
 There was evident suspicion in the glance he cast around 
 
 him. 7 T 4 
 
 2042156
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 On February 20, 18 , a Sunday that chanced to be 
 Shrove Sunday, about eleven o'clock in the evening, a 
 party of agents of the safety-service left the police- 
 station at the old Barriere d'ltalie. 
 
 The mission of this party was to explore that vast 
 precinct which extends from the road to Fontainebleau 
 to the Seine, and from the outer boulevards to the for- 
 tifications. 
 
 This quarter of the city had at that time anything 
 but an enviable reputation. To venture there at night 
 was considered so dangerous that soldiers from the 
 forts, who came to Paris with permission to attend the 
 theatre, were ordered to wait at the barriere, and not 
 to pass through the perilous locality except in parties 
 of three or four. 
 
 After midnight, these gloomy and narrow streets be- 
 came the haunt of flocks of homeless vagabonds. Es- 
 caped criminals and malefactors made this quarter their 
 rendezvous. If the day had been a lucky one, they 
 made merry over their spoils. When sleep overtook 
 them, they hid in doorways or among the rubbish in 
 deserted houses. 
 
 Every effort had been made to dislodge these dan-
 
 2 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 gerous guests, but the most energetic measures had 
 failed of success. 
 
 Watched, hunted, and in imminent danger of arrest 
 though they were, they always returned with idiotic 
 obstinacy, obeying, as one might suppose, some mys- 
 terious law of attraction. 
 
 Hence, the police had there an immense trap, con- 
 stantly baited, to which their game came of their own 
 accord to be caught. 
 
 The result of a tour of inspection was so certain, 
 that it was with an assured tone the officer in charge 
 of the post called to the squad as they departed : 
 
 " I will prepare lodgings for our guests. Good luck 
 to you, and much pleasure ! " 
 
 This last wish was pure irony, for the weather was 
 the most disagreeable that could be imagined. 
 
 A very heavy snow-storm had prevailed for several 
 days. It was now beginning to thaw, and on all the fre- 
 quented thoroughfares the slush was ankle-deep. It 
 was still cold, however ; a damp chill filled the air, and 
 penetrated to the very marrow of one's bones. Be- 
 sides, there was a dense fog, so dense that one could not 
 see one's hands before one's face. 
 
 " What a beastly job ! " growled one of the agents. 
 
 " Yes," replied the inspector who commanded the 
 squad ; " I think if you had an income of thirty thou- 
 sand francs you would not be here." 
 
 The laugh that greeted this commonplace joke was 
 not so much flattery as homage to a recognized and es- 
 tablished superiority. 
 
 The inspector was, in fact, one of the most esteemed 
 members of the force, a man who had proved his 
 worth. 
 
 His powers of penetration were not, perhaps, very
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 3 
 
 great ; but he thoroughly understood his business, its 
 resources, its labyrinths, and its artifices. Long prac- 
 tice had given him imperturbable coolness, a great con- 
 fidence in himself, and a sort of coarse diplomacy, that 
 answered in place of shrewdness. 
 
 To his failings and to his virtues he added incon- 
 testable courage. 
 
 He laid his hand upon the collar of the most danger- 
 ous malefactor as tranquilly as a devotee dips his 
 fingers in a basin of holy water. 
 
 He was a man about forty-six years of age, strongly 
 built, with rugged features, a heavy mustache, and 
 rather small, gray eyes, hidden by bushy eyebrows. 
 
 His name was Gevrol, but he was universally known 
 as " General." 
 
 This sobriquet was pleasing to his vanity, which was 
 not slight, as his subordinates well knew ; and, doubt- 
 less, he felt that he ought to receive from them the con- 
 sideration due a person of that exalted rank. 
 
 " If you begin to complain already," he added, 
 gruffly, " what will you do by and by ? " 
 
 In fact, it was too soon to complain. 
 
 The little party were then passing up the Rue de 
 Choisy. The people upon the sidewalks were orderly ; 
 and the lights of the wine-shops illuminated the street. 
 
 For all these places were open. There is no fog nor 
 thaw that is potent enough to dismay lovers of pleas- 
 ure. And a boisterous crowd of maskers filled each 
 saloon and public ball-room. 
 
 Through the open windows came, alternately, the 
 sounds of loud voices and bursts of noisy music. Occa- 
 sionally a drunken man staggered along the pavement, 
 or a masked figure crept along in the shadow of the 
 houses.
 
 4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Before certain establishments Gevrol commanded a 
 halt. He gave a peculiar whistle and almost immedi- 
 ately a man came out. It was another member of the 
 force. His report was listened to, and then the squad 
 passed on. 
 
 " To the left, boys ! " ordered Gevrol ; " we will take 
 the Rue d'lvry, and then cut through the shortest way 
 to the Rue de Chevaleret." 
 
 From this point the expedition became really dis- 
 agreeable. 
 
 Their way led through an unfinished street that had 
 not even been named, full of mud-puddles and deep- 
 holes, and obstructed with all sorts of rubbish. 
 
 There were no longer any lights or drinking saloons ; 
 no footsteps, no voices; nothing but solitude, gloom 
 and silence. 
 
 One might have supposed one's self a hundred 
 leagues from Paris, had it not been for the deep and 
 continuous murmur that always arises from a large 
 city, like the hollow roaring of a torrent in the depths 
 of a cave. 
 
 All the men had turned up their pantaloons, and 
 were advancing slowly, picking their way as carefully 
 as an Indian when he is stealing upon his prey. 
 
 They had just passed the Rue de Chateau des-Ren- 
 tier, when suddenly a wild shriek rent the air. 
 
 At this place, and at this hour, this cry was so fright- 
 fully significant, that all the men paused as if by com- 
 mon impulse. 
 
 " Did you hear that, General ? " asked one of the 
 police, in a low voice. 
 
 " Yes, there is murder going on not far from here 
 but where? Silence! let us listen." 
 
 They all stood motionless, with anxious ears, hold-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 5 
 
 ing their breath, and soon a second cry, or rather a wild 
 howl, resounded. 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the captain of the guard, " it is at 
 the Poivriere." * 
 
 This peculiar appellation described exactly the place 
 which it designated, and the guests that were wont to 
 frequent it. 
 
 In figurative language that has its source in Mount 
 Parnassus, they say that a man is " peppered " when he 
 leaves his good sense in the bottom of his glass ; hence 
 the sobriquet of " stealers of pepper " given to the 
 rascals whose specialty is to plunder inoffensive and 
 helpless drunken men. 
 
 " What ! " added Gevrol, " you do not know Mother 
 Chupin's drinking saloon there, on the right. Run." 
 
 And setting the example, he dashed off in the direc- 
 tion indicated. His men followed, and in less than a 
 minute they reached a hovel, sinister of aspect and 
 standing alone. 
 
 It was indeed from this house that the cries had pro- 
 ceeded. They were repeated, and were immediately 
 followed by two pistol shots. 
 
 The house was hermetically closed, but through the 
 heart-shaped windows covered with shutters, filtered a 
 reddish light like that of a fire. 
 
 One of the policemen darted to one of these win- 
 dows, and raising himself up by clinging to the shut- 
 ters with his hands, he endeavored to peer through the 
 cracks, and to see what was passing within. 
 
 Gevrol himself ran to the door. '' Open ! " he com- 
 manded, striking it heavily. 
 
 No response. 
 
 But they could hear plainly the sound of a terrible 
 * Pepper-box.
 
 6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 struggle of fierce imprecations, hollow groans, and 
 occasionally the sobs of a woman. 
 
 " Horrible ! " cried the policeman, who was peering 
 through the shutters ; " it is horrible ! " 
 
 This exclamation decided Gevrol. 
 
 " Open, in the name of the law ! " he cried, a third 
 time. 
 
 And no person responding, with a blow of his shoul- 
 der that was as violent as a blow from a battering-ram, 
 he dashed open the door. 
 
 Then the horror-stricken accent of the man who had 
 been peering through the shutters was explained. 
 
 The room presented such a spectacle that all the 
 -agents, and even Gevrol himself, remained for a mo- 
 ment rooted to their places, cold with unspeakable 
 horror. 
 
 Everything about the place denoted that it had been 
 the scene of a terrible struggle, one of those savage con- 
 flicts that too often stain the drinking saloons of the 
 barrieres with blood. 
 
 The lights had been extinguished at the beginning 
 of the strife, but a huge fire of pine logs illuminated the 
 remotest corners of the room. 
 
 Tables, glasses, decanters, household utensils, and 
 stools had been overturned, thrown in every direction, 
 trodden upon and shivered into fragments. 
 
 Near the fireplace two men were stretched upon the 
 floor. They were lying motionless upon their backs, 
 their arms crossed. A third was lying in the middle of 
 the room. 
 
 A woman crouched upon the lower steps of a stair- 
 case leading up to the floor above. She had thrown 
 her apron over her head, and was uttering inarticulate 
 moans.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 7 
 
 Opposite them, on the threshold of a wide-open door 
 leading into an adjoining room, stood a young man, a 
 heavy oaken table forming a rampart before him. 
 
 He was of medium stature, and wore a full beard. 
 
 His clothing, which was like that worn by porters 
 about the wharves and railway stations, was torn to 
 fragments, and soiled with dust and wine and blood. 
 
 This certainly was the murderer. The expression of 
 his face was terrible. A mad fury blazed in his eyes, 
 and a convulsive sneer distorted his features. In his 
 neck and on his cheek were two wounds that were 
 bleeding profusely. 
 
 In his right hand, covered with a handkerchief, he 
 held a pistol, which he aimed at the intruders. 
 
 " Surrender ! " cried Gevrol. 
 
 The man's lips moved, but in spite of a visible effort 
 he could not articulate a syllable. 
 
 " Don't do any mischief," continued the inspector, 
 " we are in force, you cannot escape ; so lay down your 
 arms." 
 
 " I am innocent," exclaimed the man, in a hoarse, 
 strained voice. 
 
 " Naturally, but we do not see it." 
 
 " I have been attacked ; ask that old woman. I de- 
 fended myself; I have killed I had a right to do so; 
 it was in self-defence! " 
 
 The gesture with which he enforced these words was 
 so menacing that one of the policemen drew Gevrol 
 violently to one side, saying, as he did so : 
 
 " Take care, General, take care ! The revolver has 
 five barrels, and we have heard but two shots." 
 
 But the inspector was inaccessible to fear; he freed 
 himself from the grasp of his subordinate and again 
 stepped forward speaking in a still calmer tone.
 
 8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " No foolishness, my boy ; if your case is a good one, 
 which is possible after all, do not spoil it." 
 
 A frightful indecision betrayed itself on the young 
 man's features. He held Gevrol's life at the end of his 
 finger ; was he about to press the trigger? 
 
 No, he suddenly threw his weapon to the floor, say- 
 ing: 
 
 " Come and take me! " 
 
 And turning, he darted into the adjoining room, hop- 
 ing doubtless to escape by some place of egress known 
 to himself. 
 
 Gevrol had expected this movement. He sprang 
 after him with outstretched arms, but the table retarded 
 him. 
 
 " Ah ! " he exclaimed, " the wretch escapes us ! " 
 
 But the fate of the fugitive was already decided. 
 
 While Gevrol was parleying, one of the policemen 
 the one who had peered through the window had 
 made a circuit of the house and had effected an en- 
 trance through the back door. 
 
 As the murderer was darting out, this man sprang 
 upon him, seized him, and with surprising strength 
 and agility dragged him back. 
 
 The murderer tried to resist; in vain. He had lost 
 his strength: he tottered and fell upon the table that 
 had protected him, murmuring, loud enough for every- 
 one to hear : 
 
 " Lost! It is the Prussians who are coming! " 
 
 This simple and decisive manoeuvre on the part of 
 the subordinate had won the victory, and must have 
 delighted the inspector. 
 
 "Good, my boy," said he, "very good! Ah! you 
 have a talent for your business, and you will do well if 
 ever an opportunity "
 
 Opposite them . . . stood a young man, a heavy oaken table 
 forming a rampart before him
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 9 
 
 He checked himself; all his followers so evidently 
 shared his enthusiasm that a feeling of jealousy over- 
 took him. He felt his prestige diminishing, and has- 
 tened to add: 
 
 " The idea had occurred to me; but I could not give 
 the order without warning the scoundrel himself." 
 
 This 'remark was superfluous. All the men had 
 gathered around the murderer. They surrounded 
 him, and, after binding his feet and hands, they fastened 
 him securely to a chair. 
 
 He offered no resistance. His wild excitement had 
 given place to that gloomy prostration that follows all 
 unnatural efforts, either of mind or of body. Evidently 
 he had abandoned himself to his fate. 
 
 When Gevrol saw that the men had finished this 
 task: 
 
 " Now," he commanded, " let us attend to the others; 
 and light the lamps, for the fire is going out." 
 
 It was with the two men stretched out before the 
 hearth that the inspector began his examination. 
 
 He questioned the beating of their hearts; their 
 hearts no longer beat. He held the crystal of his 
 watch close to their lips; the glass remained shining 
 and clear. 
 
 " Useless," he murmured, after several trials, " use- 
 less; they are dead! They will never see morning 
 again. Leave them in the same position until the arri- 
 val of the coroner, and let us look at the third." 
 
 The third man still breathed. He was a young man, 
 wearing the uniform of a common soldier. He was 
 unarmed, and his large gray cloak was partly open, re- 
 vealing his bare chest. 
 
 They lifted him very carefully, for he groaned pite- 
 ously at the slightest movement, and they placed him
 
 io MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 in an upright position, with his back supported against 
 the wall. 
 
 Soon he opened his eyes, and in a faint voice asked 
 for something to drink. 
 
 They brought him a glass of water; he drank it with 
 evident satisfaction; then he drew a long breath, and 
 seemed to be regaining some of his strength. 
 
 " Where are you wounded? " demanded Gevrol. 
 
 " In the head, there," he responded, trying to raise 
 one of his arms. " Oh! how I suffer." 
 
 The police agent, who had cut off the retreat of the 
 murderer, approached, and with a dexterity that an 
 old surgeon might have envied, made an examination 
 of the gaping wound that the young man had received 
 in the back of his neck. 
 
 " It is nothing," the policeman declared. 
 
 But there was no mistaking the movement of his 
 lower lip. It was evident that he considered the wound 
 very dangerous, probably mortal. 
 
 " It will be nothing," affirmed Gevrol ; " wounds in 
 the head, when they do not kill at once, are cured in a 
 month." 
 
 The wounded man smiled sadly. 
 
 " I have received my death-blow," he murmured. 
 
 " Nonsense!" 
 
 " Oh! it is useless to say anything; I feel it, but I do 
 not complain. I have received only my just deserts." 
 
 All the agents of police turned toward the murderer 
 on hearing these words. They supposed that he 
 would take advantage of this opportunity to repeat his 
 protestations of innocence. 
 
 Their expectations were disappointed; he did not 
 speak, although he must certainly have heard the 
 words.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ xi 
 
 " It was the brigand, Lacheneur, who enticed me 
 here," continued the wounded man, in a voice that wa? 
 growing fainter. 
 
 " Lacheneur? " 
 
 " Yes, Jean Lacheneur, a former actor, who had 
 known me when I was rich for I have had a fortune, 
 but I have spent it all ; I wished to amuse myself. He, 
 knowing I was without a sou, came to me and prom- 
 ised me money enough to begin life over again. And 
 because I believed him I came to die like a dog in this 
 hole! Oh! I will have my revenge on him! " 
 
 At the thought he clinched his hands threateningly. 
 
 " I will have my revenge," he resumed. 
 
 " I know much more than he believes. I will tell 
 all." 
 
 He had presumed too much upon his strength. 
 Anger had given him a moment's energy, but it was at 
 the cost of the life that was ebbing away. 
 
 When he again tried to speak, he could not. Twice 
 he opened his lips, but there issued from them only a 
 choking cry of impotent rage. 
 
 It was the last manifestation of intelligence. A 
 bloody foam gathered upon his lips, his eyes rolled 
 back in their sockets, his body stiffened, and he fell 
 face downward in a terrible convulsion. 
 
 " It is over," murmured Gevrol. 
 
 " Not yet," replied the young policeman, who had 
 shown himself so efficient ; " but he cannot live more 
 than two minutes. Poor devil! he will say nothing." 
 
 The inspector of police had risen from the floor as 
 if he had just witnessed the commonest incident in the 
 world, and was carefully dusting the knees of his panta- 
 loons. 
 
 " Oh, well," he responded, " we shall know all we
 
 12 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 need to know. This fellow is a soldier, and the num- 
 ber of his regiment will be given on the buttons of his 
 cloak." 
 
 A slight smile curved the lips of his subordinate. 
 
 " I think you are mistaken, General," said he. 
 
 " How " 
 
 " Yes, I understand. Seeing him attired in a mili- 
 tary coat, you have supposed But no; this poor 
 wretch was no soldier. Do you wish an immediate 
 proof of this? Is his hair the regulation cut? Where 
 have you seen soldiers with their hair falling upon their 
 shoulders? " 
 
 This objection silenced the general for a moment; 
 but he replied, brusquely: 
 
 " Do you think that I keep my eyes in my pocket? 
 What you have remarked did not escape my notice; 
 only I said to myself, here is a young man who has 
 profited by leave of absence to visit the wig-maker." 
 
 " At least " 
 
 But Gevrol would permit no more interruptions. 
 
 " Enough talk," he declared. " We will now hear 
 what has passed. Mother Chupin, the old hussy, is not 
 dead!" 
 
 As he spoke, he advanced toward the old woman, 
 who was still crouching upon the stairs. She had not 
 spoken, nor moved, nor ventured so much as a look, 
 since the entrance of the police, but her moans had not 
 been discontinued. 
 
 With a sudden movement, Gevrol tore off the apron 
 which she had thrown over her head, and there she 
 stood, such as years, vice, poverty, and torrents of 
 brandy and ratafea had made her; wrinkled, shrivelled, 
 toothless and haggard, her skin, yellow and dry as 
 parchment, drawn tightly over her bones.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 13 
 
 " Come, stand up! " ordered the inspector. " Your 
 lamentations do not trouble me much. You ought 
 to be sent to prison for putting such vile drugs into 
 your liquors, to breed madness in the brains of your 
 visitors." 
 
 The old woman's little red eyes travelled slowly 
 around the room, and in tearful tones she exclaimed: 
 
 "What a misfortune! what will become of me? 
 Everything is broken I am ruined ! " 
 
 She seemed to be impressed only by the loss of her 
 table utensils. 
 
 " Now tell us how this trouble began," said Gevrol. 
 
 "Alas! I know nothing about it. I was upstairs 
 mending my son's clothes, when I heard a dispute." 
 
 "And after that?" 
 
 " Of course I came down, and I saw those three men 
 that are lying there picking a quarrel with that young 
 man whom you have arrested; the poor innocent! For 
 he is innocent, as truly as I am an honest woman. If 
 my son Poylte had been here he would have parted 
 them; but I, a poor widow, what could I do? I cried 
 ' Police! ' with all my might." 
 
 After giving this testimony she resumed her seat, 
 thinking she had said enough. But Gevrol rudely 
 ordered her to stand up again. 
 
 " Oh ! we have not done," said he. " I wish other 
 particulars." 
 
 " What particulars, dear Monsieur Gevrol, since I 
 saw nothing? " 
 
 Anger crimsoned the large ears of the inspector. 
 
 " What would you say, old woman, if I arrested 
 you? " 
 
 " It would be a great injustice." 
 
 " It is what will happen if you persist in remaining
 
 14 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 silent. I have an idea that a fortnight in Saint-Lazare 
 would untie your tongue." 
 
 This name produced the effect of an electric shock on 
 the Widow Chupin. She suddenly ceased her hypo- 
 critical lamentations, rose, placed her hands defiantly 
 upon her hips, and poured forth a torrent of invective 
 upon Gevrol and his agents, accusing them of persecut- 
 ing her family since they had previously arrested her 
 son, a mauvais sujee, and swearing that she was not 
 afraid of prison, and would be only too glad to end her 
 days there beyond the reach of want. 
 
 At first the general tried to impose silence upon the 
 terrible termagant; but he soon discovered that he was 
 powerless; besides, all his subordinates were laughing. 
 He turned his back upon her, and advancing toward 
 the murderer, he said: 
 
 " You, at least, will not refuse an explanation." 
 
 The man hesitated for a moment. 
 
 " I have already said all that I have to say," he re- 
 plied, at last. " I have told you that I am innocent ; 
 and a man on the point of death who was struck down 
 by my hand, and this old woman, have both confirmed 
 my declaration. What more do you desire? When 
 the judge questions me, I will, perhaps, reply ; until 
 then do not expect another word from me." 
 
 It was easy to see that this man's resolution was irre- 
 vocable; and that he was not to be daunted by any ser- 
 geant of police. 
 
 Very often criminals, from the moment of their cap- 
 ture, preserve an absolute silence. These men are 
 experienced and shrewd; these are the men who cause 
 lawyers and judges many sleepless nights. 
 
 They have learned that a system of defence cannot be 
 improvised at once; that it is, on the contrary, a work
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 15 
 
 of patience and of meditation; and knowing what a ter- 
 rible effect an apparently insignificant response drawn 
 from them at the moment of detection may produce 
 on a court of justice, they are silent. 
 
 Gevrol was about to insist, when someone announced 
 that the soldier had just breathed his last. 
 
 " As that is so, my boys," he remarked, " two of you 
 will remain here, and I will leave with the others. I 
 shall go and arouse the commissioner of police, and 
 inform him of the affair ; he will take the matter in 
 hand; and we will do whatever he commands. My re- 
 sponsibility will be over, in any case. So untie the legs 
 of our prisoner, and bind Mother Chupin's hands, and 
 we will drop them both at the station-house as we 
 pass." 
 
 The men hastened to obey, with the exception of the 
 youngest among them, the same who had won the eu- 
 logiums of the general. 
 
 He approached his chief, and motioning that he de- 
 sired to speak with him, drew him outside the door. 
 
 When they were a few steps from the house: 
 
 " What do you wish? " inquired Gevrol. 
 
 " I want to know, General, what you think of this 
 affair." 
 
 " I think, my boy, that four scoundrels encountered 
 each other in this vile den. They began to quarrel ; 
 and from words they came to blows. One of them had 
 a revolver, and he killed the others. It is as clear as 
 daylight. According to his antecedents, and accord- 
 ing to the antecedents of the victims, the assassin will 
 be judged. Perhaps society owes him some thanks." 
 
 " And you think that any investigation any further 
 search is unnecessary?" 
 
 " Entirely unnecessary."
 
 16 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The younger man appeared to deliberate for a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 " It seems to me, General," he replied at length, 
 " that this affair is not perfectly clear. Have you no- 
 ticed the murderer, remarked his demeanor, and ob- 
 served his look? Have you been surprised as I have 
 been " 
 
 " By what? " 
 
 " Ah, well ! it seems to me I may, of course, be 
 mistaken but I fancy that appearances are deceitful, 
 and Yes, I suspect something." 
 
 " Bah ! Explain why you should, if you please." 
 
 " How can you explain the power of scenting his 
 prey possessed by a hunting dog? " 
 
 Gevrol shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " In short," he replied, " you scent a melodrama here 
 a rendezvous of great gentlemen in disguise, here at 
 the Poivriere at the house of Mother Chupin ! Well, 
 hunt the mystery, my boy; search all you like; you 
 have my permission." 
 
 " What! you will allow me? " 
 
 " I not only allow you, I order you to do it. You 
 are going to remain here with such a one of your 
 comrades as you may select. And if you find anything 
 that I have not seen, I will allow you to buy me a pair 
 of spectacles." 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The young man to whom Gevrol abandoned what 
 he thought an unnecessary investigation was a debutant 
 in his profession. 
 
 His name was Lecoq. 
 
 He was a man of twenty-five or twenty-six years of
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 17 
 
 age, almost beardless, very pale, with red lips, and an 
 abundance of wavy black hair. He was rather small, 
 but well proportioned; and his every movement be- 
 trayed unusual energy. 
 
 There was nothing remarkable about his appear- 
 ance, if we except his eyes, which sparkled brilliantly 
 or grew dull, according to his mood; and his nose, 
 whose large and rather full nostrils had a surprising 
 mobility. 
 
 The son of a rich and respectable family in Nor- 
 mandy, Lecoq had received a good and solid educa- 
 tion. 
 
 He had begun his law studies in Paris, when in the 
 same week, blow following blow, he learned that his 
 father had died, financially ruined, and that his mother 
 had survived him only a few hours. 
 
 He was now alone in the world, destitute of resources 
 and he was obliged to live. He had an opportunity 
 of learning his true value; it was nothing. 
 
 The university, on bestowing the diploma of bache- 
 lor, does not give an annuity with it. And of what use 
 is a college education to a poor orphan boy? 
 
 He envied the lot of those who, with a trade at the 
 ends of their fingers, could boldly enter the office of 
 any manufacturer, and say: " I would like work." 
 
 Such men were working and eating. 
 
 He sought bread by all the methods employed by 
 people who are in reduced circumstances! Fruitless 
 labor ! There are one hundred thousand people in 
 Paris who have seen better days. 
 
 No matter! He gave proofs of undaunted energy. 
 He gave lessons, and he copied documents for a lawyer. 
 He made his debut in a new role almost every day, and 
 left no means untried to earn an honest livelihood.
 
 j8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 At last he obtained employment from a well-known 
 astronomer, the Baron Moser, and spent his days in 
 solving bewildering and intricate problems at the rate 
 of one hundred francs a month. 
 
 But a season of discouragement came. After five 
 years of constant toil, he found himself at the same 
 point from which he had started. He was nearly crazed 
 with rage and disappointment when he recapitulated 
 his blighted hopes, his fruitless efforts, and the insults 
 he had endured. 
 
 The past had been sad, the present was intolerable, 
 the future threatened to be terrible. 
 
 Condemned to constant privations, he tried to es- 
 cape from the horrors of his real life by taking refuge 
 in dreams. 
 
 Alone in his garret, after a day of unremitting toil, 
 assailed by the thousand longings of youth, he endeav- 
 ored to devise some means of suddenly making him- 
 self rich. 
 
 All reasonable methods being beyond his reach, it 
 was not long before he was engaged in devising the 
 worst expedients. 
 
 In short, this moral and honest young man spent 
 much of his time in perpetrating in fancy the most 
 abominable crimes. Sometimes he himself was fright- 
 ened by the work of his imagination. An hour of reck- 
 lessness was all that was necessary to make him pass 
 from the idea to the fact, from theory to practice. 
 
 This is the case with all monomaniacs; an hour 
 comes in which the strange conceptions that have filled 
 their brains can be no longer held in check. 
 
 One day he could not help exposing to his patron a 
 little plan which he had conceived, which would enable 
 him to obtain five or six hundred francs from London.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 19 
 
 Two letters and a telegram were all that was necessary, 
 and the game was won. It was impossible to fail, and 
 there was no danger of arousing suspicion. 
 
 The astronomer, amazed at the simplicity of the plan, 
 could but admire it. On reflection, however, he con- 
 cluded that it would not be prudent for him to retain 
 so ingenious a secretary in his service. 
 
 This was why, on the following day, he gave him a 
 month's pay in advance, and dismissed him, saying: 
 
 " When one has your disposition, and is poor, one 
 will either become a famous thief or a great detective. 
 Choose." 
 
 Lecoq retired in confusion; but the astronomer's 
 words bore fruit in his mind. 
 
 " Why should I not follow good advice? " he asked 
 himself. 
 
 Police service did not inspire him with repugnance 
 far from it. He had often admired that mysterious 
 power whose hand was everywhere, which one could 
 not see nor hear, but which heard and saw everything. 
 
 He was delighted with the prospect of being the in- 
 strument of this power. He considered such a pro- 
 fession as a useful and honorable employment of the 
 special talent with which he had been endowed, and 
 which promised a life of excitement, of thrilling advent- 
 ures, and fame at last. 
 
 In short, this profession held a wonderful charm for 
 him. 
 
 So much so, that on the following week, thanks to a 
 letter from Baron Moser, he was admitted into the ser- 
 vice. 
 
 A cruel disenchantment awaited him. He had seen 
 the results, but not the means. His surprise was like 
 that of a simple-minded frequenter of the theatre, when
 
 20 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 he is admitted for the first time behind the scenes, and 
 sees the decorations and tinsel that are so dazzling at 
 a distance. 
 
 Ah, well! the opportunity for which he had so ar- 
 dently longed, for which he had been waiting for 
 months, had come at last, he thought, on entering the 
 Poivriere. 
 
 While he was clinging to the window he saw by the 
 light of his ambition the pathway to success. 
 
 It was at first only a presentiment. It soon became 
 a supposition, then a conviction based upon actual 
 facts, which had escaped the notice of his companions, 
 but which he had observed and carefully noted. 
 
 Fortune had, at last, turned in his favor; he recog- 
 nized this fact when he saw Gevrol neglect all but the 
 merest formalities of examination, when he heard him 
 declare peremptorily that this triple murder was merely 
 the result of one of those ferocious quarrels so frequent 
 among vagrants on the outskirts of the city. 
 
 " Ah, well! " he thought; " have it your own way 
 trust in appearances, since you will see nothing beneath 
 them! I will prove to you that my youthful theory is 
 better than all your experience." 
 
 The carelessness of the inspector gave Lecoq a right 
 to secretly seek information on his own account; but 
 by warning his superior officer before attempting any- 
 thing on his own responsibility, he protected himself 
 against any accusation of ambition or of unduly taking 
 advantage of his comrade. These would be grave ac- 
 cusations against him in a profession where competi- 
 tion and rivalry are most potent; and where wounded 
 vanity has so manv opportunities to avenge itself by all 
 sorts of petty treason. 
 
 He spoke them to his superior officer said just
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ ai 
 
 enough to be able to say, in case of success : " Ah ! I 
 warned you ! " just enough not to dispel the doubt in 
 Gevrol's mind. 
 
 The permission that he obtained was his first tri- 
 umph, and the best possible augury; but he knew how 
 to dissimulate, and it was in a tone of the utmost in- 
 difference that he requested one of his comrades to re- 
 main with him. 
 
 Then, while the others were making ready to depart, 
 he seated himself upon a corner of the table, apparently 
 oblivious of all that was passing. He did not dare to 
 lift his head, for fear of betraying his joy, so much did 
 he fear that his companions would read his hopes and 
 his plans in his face. 
 
 Inwardly he was wild with impatience. Though the 
 murderer submitted with good grace to the precau- 
 tions that were taken to prevent his escape, it required 
 some time to bind the hands of the Widow Chupin, 
 who fought and howled as if they were burning her 
 alive. 
 
 " They will never go! " Lecoq said to himself. 
 
 They did so at last, however. Gevrol gave the order 
 to depart, and left the house, after addressing a laugh- 
 ing good-by to his subordinate. 
 
 The latter made no reply. He followed them to the 
 threshold of the door, as if to assure himself that the 
 squad had really gone. 
 
 He trembled at the thought that Gevrol might re- 
 flect, change his mind, and return to solve the mystery, 
 as was his right. 
 
 His anxiety was needless. The forms of the men 
 faded in the distance, the cries of Widow Chupin died 
 away in the stillness of the night. They had all disap- 
 peared.
 
 22 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Not until then did Lecoq re-enter the room. He 
 could no longer conceal his delight; his eyes sparkled 
 like a conqueror taking possession of an empire; he 
 stamped his foot upon the floor and exclaimed : 
 
 " Now it belongs to us two! " 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Authorized by Gevrol to choose one of his comrades 
 to remain with him in Poivriere, Lecoq had requested 
 the one who was considered the least intelligent of the 
 party to keep him company. 
 
 He was not influenced by a fear of being obliged to 
 share the fruits of success with his companion, but by 
 the necessity of having an assistant of whom he could, 
 in case of need, exact obedience. The comrade Lecoq 
 selected was a man of about fifty, who, after a term in 
 the cavalry service, had entered the prefecture. 
 
 In the humble office that he occupied he had seen 
 prefet succeed prefet, and had probably filled a prison 
 with culprits whom he had arrested with his own hands. 
 
 He was no more shrewd and no more zealous now 
 than he had always been. When he received an order 
 he executed it with military exactitude, so far as he 
 understood it. 
 
 If he had failed to understand it, so much the worse. 
 
 He discharged his duties like a blind man, like an old 
 horse trained for a riding-school. 
 
 When he had a moment's leisure, and any money, 
 he got drunk. 
 
 He spent his life between two fits of intoxication, 
 without ever rising above a condition of demi-lucidity. 
 
 His comrades had known, but had forgotten his 
 name. Everyone now called him Father Absinthe.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 23 
 
 Naturally he did not observe the enthusiasm nor the 
 tone of triumph in his young companion's voice. 
 
 " Upon my word," he remarked, when they were 
 alone, " your idea of keeping me here was a good one, 
 and I thank you for it. While the others will spend 
 the night paddling about in the slush, I shall get a 
 good sleep." 
 
 Here he stood, in a room that was splashed with 
 blood, that was shuddering with crime, and face to face 
 with the still warm bodies of the murdered men he 
 could talk of sleep! 
 
 But what did all this matter to him? He had seen 
 so many similar scenes in his life. And does not habit 
 infallibly lead to professional indifference that strange 
 phenomenon that makes the soldier cool and com- 
 posed in the midst of conflict, that gives the surgeon 
 impassibility when the patient shrieks and writhes be- 
 neath his operating knife. 
 
 " I have been upstairs, looking about," pursued 
 Father Absinthe; " I saw a bed up there, and we can 
 mount guard here, by turns." 
 
 With an imperious gesture, Lecoq interrupted him. 
 
 " You must give up that idea, Father Absinthe; we 
 are not here to sleep, but to collect information to 
 make the most careful researches, to note all the prob- 
 abilities. In a few hours the commissioner of police, 
 the physician and the coroner will be here. I wish to 
 have a report ready for them." 
 
 This proposition seemed anything but pleasing to 
 the old policeman. 
 
 " Eh! what is the use of that? " he exclaimed. " I 
 know the general. When he goes in search of the 
 commissioner, as he has this evening, there is nothing
 
 24 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 more to be done. Do you think that you see anything 
 that he did not see? " 
 
 " I think that Gevrol, like everyone else, is liable to 
 be mistaken. I think that he believes too implicitly in 
 what seems to him evidence. I could swear that this 
 affair is not what it seems to be; and I am sure that we 
 can, if we will, discover the mystery which is concealed 
 by appearances." 
 
 Though the vehemence of the young officer was in- 
 tense, he did not succeed in making any impression 
 upon his companion, who, with a yawn that threatened 
 to dislocate his jaws, replied : 
 
 "Perhaps you are right; but I am going to bed. 
 This need not prevent you from searching around, 
 however; and if you find anything you can wake me." 
 
 Lecoq made no sign of impatience; nor in reality was 
 he impatient. It afforded him the opportunity for 
 which he was longing. 
 
 " You will give me a moment first," he remarked. 
 " In five minutes, by your watch, I will promise to let 
 you put your finger on the mystery that I suspect here." 
 
 " Well, go on for five minutes." 
 
 " After that you shall be free, Father Absinthe. 
 Only it is clear that if I work it out alone, I alone shall 
 pocket the reward that a solution of the mystery will 
 certainly bring." 
 
 At the word " reward " the old policeman pricked up 
 his ears. He was dazzled by the vision of an infinite 
 number of bottles of the greenish liquor whose name 
 he bore. 
 
 " Convince me, then," said he, taking a seat upon a 
 stool, which he had lifted from the floor. 
 
 Lecoq remained standing in front of him.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 25 
 
 " To begin with," he remarked, " whom do you sup- 
 pose the person we have just arrested to be? " 
 
 " A porter, probably, or a vagabond." 
 
 " That is to say, a man belonging to the lowest order 
 of society; consequently, a man without education." 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 Lecoq spoke with his eyes fixed upon the eyes of 
 his companion. He distrusted his own powers, as is 
 usual with persons of real merit, and he felt that if he 
 could succeed in making his convictions penetrate the 
 obtuse mind of his companion, it would prove the jus- 
 tice of these convictions. 
 
 " And now," he continued, " what would you say if 
 I should prove to you that this young man had received 
 an excellent, even refined education? " 
 
 " I should reply that it was very extraordinary. I 
 should reply that but what a fool I am! You have 
 not proved it to me yet." 
 
 " But I can do so very easily. Do you remember 
 the words that he uttered as he fell? " 
 
 " Yes, I remember them perfectly. He said : ' It 
 is the Prussians who are coming.' " 
 
 " What do you suppose he meant by that? " 
 
 "What a question! I should suppose that he did 
 not like Prussians, and that he supposed he was offer- 
 ing us a terrible insult." 
 
 Lecoq was waiting anxiously for this response. 
 
 " Ah, well ! Father Absinthe," he said, gravely, " you 
 are wrong, quite wrong. And that this man has an 
 education superior to his apparent position is proved 
 by the fact that you did not understand his meaning, 
 nor his intention. It was this single phrase that made 
 the case clear to me." 
 
 The physiognomy of Father Absinthe expressed the
 
 26 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 strange and comical perplexity of a man who is so thor- 
 oughly mystified that he knows not whether to laugh 
 or to be angry. After reflecting a little, he decided to 
 be angry. 
 
 "You are rather too young to impose upon an 
 old man like me," he remarked. " I do not like boast- 
 ers " 
 
 " One moment! " interrupted Lecoq; " allow me to 
 explain. You have certainly heard of a terrible battle 
 which resulted in one of the greatest defeats that ever 
 happened to France the battle of Waterloo? " 
 
 " I do not see the connection " 
 
 " Answer, if you please." 
 
 " Yes then ! " 
 
 " Very well ; you must know, then, papa, that for 
 some time victory perched upon the banners of France. 
 The English began to fall back, and already the em- 
 peror exclaimed: 'We have them!' when suddenly 
 on the right a little in the rear, troops were seen advanc- 
 ing. It was the Prussian army. The battle of Water- 
 loo was lost." 
 
 In all his life, worthy Father Absinthe had never 
 made such strenuous efforts to understand anything. 
 In this case they were not wholly useless, for he half 
 rose in his chair, and with the tone in which Archi- 
 medes cried " I have found it! " he exclaimed: 
 
 " I understand. The man's words were only an al- 
 lusion." 
 
 " It is as you have said," remarked Lecoq, approv- 
 ingly. " But I had not finished. If the emperor was 
 thrown into consternation by the appearance of the 
 Prussians, it was because he was momentarily expect- 
 ing the arrival of one of his own generals from the same 
 direction Grouchy with thirty-five thousand men.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 27 
 
 So if this man's allusion was exact and complete, he 
 was not expecting an enemy, but a friend. Now draw 
 your own conclusions." 
 
 Amazed, but convinced, his companion opened to 
 their widest extent the eyes that had been heavy with 
 sleep a few moments before. 
 
 " Mon Dieu! " he murmured, " if you put it in that 
 way! But I forget; you must have seen something, as 
 you were looking through the cracks of the shutter." 
 
 The young man shook his head. 
 
 " Upon my honor," he declared, " I saw nothing 
 save the struggle between the murderer and the poor 
 devil in the garb of a soldier. It was that sentence 
 alone that aroused my attention." 
 
 " Wonderful ! prodigious ! " exclaimed the astonished 
 old man. 
 
 " I will add that reflection has confirmed my suspi- 
 cions. I asked myself why this man, instead of fleeing, 
 should have waited and remained there, at that door, 
 to parley with us." 
 
 With a bound, Father Absinthe was upon his feet. 
 
 "Why?" he interrupted; "because he had accom- 
 plices, and he wished to give them time to escape. Ah ! 
 I understand it all now." 
 
 A triumphant smile parted Lecoq's lips. 
 
 " That is what I said to myself," he replied ; " and 
 now it is easy to verify my suspicions. There is snow 
 outside, is there not? " 
 
 It was not necessary to say any more. The elder 
 officer seized the light, and followed by his compan- 
 ion, he hastened to the back door of the house, which 
 opened into a small garden. 
 
 In this sheltered enclosure the snow had not melted,
 
 28 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 and upon its white surface numerous footprints lay, like 
 dark stains. 
 
 Without hesitation, Lecoq threw himself upon his 
 knees in the snow, in order to examine them; he rose 
 again almost immediately. 
 
 " These indentations were not made by the feet of 
 men," said he. " There have been women here." 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Obstinate men of Father Absinthe's stamp, who are 
 always inclined to differ with the opinions of others, 
 are the very people who end in madly adopting them. 
 
 When an idea has at last penetrated their empty 
 brains, they install it there magisterially, and dwell upon 
 it, and develop it until it exceeds the bounds of reason. 
 
 Hence the veteran of the service was now much more 
 strongly convinced than his companion, that the usual- 
 ly clever Gevrol was mistaken, and he laughed him to 
 scorn. 
 
 On hearing Lecoq affirm that women had taken part 
 in the horrible scene at the Poivriere, his joy was ex- 
 treme. 
 
 " A fine affair ! " he exclaimed ; " an excellent case ! " 
 
 And suddenly recollecting a maxim that has been 
 handed down from the time of Cicero, he added, in sen- 
 tentious tones: 
 
 " Who holds the woman holds the cause! " 
 
 Lecoq did not deign to reply. He was standing 
 upon the threshold, leaning against the casing of the 
 door, his hand pressed to his forehead, as motionless 
 as a statue. 
 
 The discovery which he had just made, and which 
 so delighted Father Absinthe, filled him with conster-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 29 
 
 nation. It was the death of his hopes, the annihilation 
 of the ingenious structure which his imagination had 
 built upon the foundation of a single sentence. There 
 was no longer any mystery. No celebrity to be gained 
 by a brilliant stroke! 
 
 For the presence of two women in this vile den ex- 
 plained everything in the most natural and common- 
 place fashion. 
 
 Their presence explained the quarrel, the testimony 
 of Widow Chupin, the dying declaration of the pre- 
 tended soldier. 
 
 The behavior of the murderer was also explained. 
 He had remained to cover the retreat of the two 
 women; he had sacrificed himself in order to save them, 
 an act of that chivalrous gallantry so common in the 
 French character, that even the scoundrels of the bar- 
 rieres were not entirely destitute of it. 
 
 But the strange allusion to the battle of Waterloo 
 remained unexplained. But what did that prove now? 
 Nothing, simply nothing. And who could say how 
 low an unworthy passion might cause a man even of 
 birth and breeding to descend? And the carnival 
 afforded an opportunity for the parties to disguise 
 themselves. 
 
 But while Lecoq was turning and twisting all these 
 probabilities in his mind, Father Absinthe became im- 
 patient. 
 
 " Are we going to remain here until doomsday? " he 
 asked. " Are we to pause just at the moment when 
 our search has been productive of such brilliant re- 
 sults? " 
 
 " Brilliant results! " These words stung the young 
 man's soul as deeply as the keenest irony could have 
 done.
 
 30 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Leave me alone," he replied, gruffly; " and, above 
 all, do not walk about the garden. You will spoil the 
 footprints." 
 
 His companion swore a little; then he, too, became 
 silent. He submitted to the irresistible ascendancy of 
 a superior will and intelligence. 
 
 Lecoq was engaged in following out his course of 
 reasoning. 
 
 " These are probably the events as they occurred," he 
 thought. 
 
 " The murderer, leaving the ball at the Rainbow, 
 a public house not far from here, near the fortifications, 
 came to this saloon, accompanied by two women. He 
 found three men drinking here, who either began teas- 
 ing him, or who displayed too much gallantry to his 
 companions. He became angry. The others threat- 
 ened him; he was one against three; he was armed; he 
 became wild with rage and fired " 
 
 He checked himself, and in an instant after he added, 
 aloud : 
 
 " But was it the murderer who brought these women 
 here? If he is tried, this will be the important point. 
 It is necessary to obtain information on the subject." 
 
 He immediately went back into the house, closely 
 followed by his colleague, and began an examination 
 of the footprints about the door that Gevrol had forced 
 open. 
 
 Labor lost. There was but little snow on the ground 
 about the entrance of the hovel, and so many persons 
 had passed in and out that Lecoq could discover noth- 
 ing. 
 
 What a disappointment after his patient hopes! 
 
 Lecoq could have cried with rage. He saw the op- 
 portunity for which he had sighed so long indefinitely
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 31 
 
 postponed. He fancied he could hear Gevrol's coarse 
 sarcasms. 
 
 " Enough of this," he murmured, under his breath. 
 " The general was right, and I am a fool! " 
 
 He was so positively convinced that one could do no 
 more than discover the circumstances of some com- 
 monplace, vulgar broil, that he began to wonder if it 
 would not be wise to renounce his search and take a 
 nap, while awaiting the oming of the commissioner of 
 police. 
 
 But Father Absinthe was no longer of this opinion. 
 
 This worthy man, who was far from suspecting the 
 reflections in which his companion was indulging, 
 could not explain his inaction. 
 
 "Ah, well! my boy," said he, " have you lost your 
 wits? This is losing tima, it seems to me. The justice 
 will arrive in a few hours, and what report shall we 
 present? As for me, if you desire to go to sleep, I shall 
 pursue my investigations alone." 
 
 Disappointed as he was, the young police officer 
 could not repress a smile. He recognized his own ex- 
 hortations of a few moments before. It was the old 
 man who had suddenly become intrepid. 
 
 " To work, then! " he sighed, like a man who, while 
 foreseeing defeat, wishes, at least, to have no cause to 
 reproach himself. 
 
 He found it, however, extremely difficult to follow 
 the footprints in the open air by the uncertain light of 
 a candle, which was extinguished by the least breath of 
 wind. 
 
 " It is impossible," said Lecoq; " I wonder if there 
 is not a lantern in the house. If we could only lay our 
 hands upon it! " 
 
 They searched everywhere, and, at last, upstairs in
 
 3* MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the Widow Chupin's own apartment, they found a well- 
 trimmed lantern, so small and close that it certainly 
 had never been intended for honest purposes. 
 
 " A regular burglar's implement," said Father Ab- 
 sinthe, with a coarse laugh. 
 
 The implement was useful in any case; the two men 
 were agreed upon that when they returned to the gar- 
 den and recommenced their investigations systemati- 
 cally. 
 
 They advanced very slowly and with extreme cau- 
 tion. The old man carefully held the lantern in the 
 best position, and Lecoq, on his knees, studied each 
 footprint with the attention of a chiromancer striving 
 to read the future in the hand of a rich client. 
 
 A new examination assured Lecoq that he had been 
 correct in his first supposition. It was plain that two 
 women had quitted the Poivriere by this door. They 
 had departed running; this was proved by the length 
 of the steps and also by the shape of the footprints. 
 
 The difference in the tracks left by the two fugitives 
 was so remarkable, that it did not escape Father Ab- 
 sinthe's eyes. 
 
 "Cristi!" he muttered; "one of these jades can 
 boast of having a pretty foot at the end of her leg! " 
 
 He was right. One of the tracks betrayed a small, 
 coquettish and slender foot, clad in an elegant high- 
 heeled boot with a narrow sole and an arched instep. 
 
 The other denoted a broad, short foot, that grew 
 wider toward the end, and which was encased in a 
 strong, low shoe. 
 
 This was indeed a clew. Lecoq's hopes revived; so 
 eagerly does a man welcome any supposition that is in 
 accordance with his desires. 
 
 Trembling with anxiety, he went to examine other
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 33 
 
 footprints a short distance from these; and an excited 
 exclamation broke from his lips. 
 
 "What is it?" eagerly inquired the other agent; 
 " what do you see? " 
 
 " Come and look for yourself, papa; see there." 
 
 The good man bent down, and his surprise was so 
 great that he almost dropped the lantern. 
 
 "Oh!" said he, in a stifled voice, "a man's foot- 
 print! " 
 
 " Exactly. And this fellow wore the finest of boots. 
 See that imprint, how clear, how neat it is ! " 
 
 Worthy Father Absinthe was furiously scratching 
 his ear, his usual method of quickening his rather slow 
 wits. 
 
 " But it seems to me," he ventured at last, " that this 
 individual was not coming from this ill-fated hovel." 
 
 " Of course not; the direction of the foot tells you 
 that. No, he was not going from here, he was coming 
 here. But he did not pass beyond the spot where we 
 are now standing. He was advancing on tip-toe with 
 outstretched neck and listening ears, when, on reaching 
 this spot, he heard some noise; fear seized him, and 
 he fled." 
 
 " Or, rather, the women were going out as he was 
 coming, and " 
 
 " No, the women were outside the garden when he 
 entered it." 
 
 This assertion seemed far too audacious to suit Le- 
 coq's companion, who remarked : " One cannot be 
 sure of that." 
 
 " I am sure of it, however; and can prove it conclu- 
 sively. You doubt it, papa? It is because your eyes 
 are growing old. Bring your lantern a little nearer 
 yes, here it is our man placed his large foot upon one
 
 34 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 of the marks made by the woman with the small foot 
 and has almost effaced it." 
 
 This unexceptionable bit of circumstantial evidence 
 stupefied the old policeman. 
 
 " Now," continued Lecoq, " could this man have 
 been the accomplice whom the murderer was expect- 
 ing? Might it not have been some strolling vagrant 
 whose attention was attracted by the two pistol shots? 
 This is what we must ascertain. And we will ascertain 
 it. Come!" 
 
 A wooden fence of lattice-work, a trifle more than 
 three feet high, similar to that which prevents access 
 to the railway trains, was all that separated the Widow 
 Chupin's garden from the waste land that surrounded 
 it. 
 
 When Lecoq made the circuit of the house to cut off 
 the escape of the murderer, he had encountered this 
 obstacle, and, fearing lest he should arrive too late, he 
 had leaped the barrier, to the great detriment of his 
 pantaloons, without even asking if there were not a 
 gateway. 
 
 One did exist, however. A light gate of lattice-work 
 similar to the fence, turning upon iron hinges and kept 
 closed by a wooden button, allowed one to enter or de- 
 part from this side of the garden. 
 
 It was straight to this gate that these footprints in 
 the snow led the two policemen. 
 
 Some new thought must have struck the younger 
 man, for he paused suddenly. 
 
 "Ah!" he murmured, "these two women did not 
 come to Poivriere this evening for the first time." 
 
 " Why do you think that, my boy? " inquired Father 
 Absinthe. 
 
 " I could almost swear it. How, unless they were
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 35 
 
 in the habit of coming to this den, could they have been 
 aware of the existence of this gate? Could they have 
 discovered it this dark and foggy night? No; for I, 
 who can, without boasting, say that I have good eyes 
 I did not see it." 
 
 " Ah ! yes, that is true ! " 
 
 "These two women, however, came here without 
 hesitating, without diverging from a straight line; and 
 note that to do this, it was necessary for them to cross 
 the garden diagonally." 
 
 The veteran would have given something if he could 
 have found some objection to offer; but unfortunately 
 he could find none. 
 
 " Upon my word! " he exclaimed, " yours is a droll 
 way of proceeding. You are only a conscript; I am 
 a veteran in the service, and have assisted in more 
 affairs of this sort than you are years old, but never 
 have I seen " 
 
 "Nonsense!" interrupted Lecoq; "you will see 
 much more. For example, I can prove to you that, 
 although the women knew the exact position of the 
 gate, the man knew it only by hearsay." 
 
 "The proof!" 
 
 " The fact is easily demonstrated, papa. Study the 
 man's footprints, and you, who are very sharp, will see 
 at once that he deviated greatly from the straight 
 course. He was in such doubt, that he was obliged to 
 search for the gate with his hand stretched out before 
 him and his fingers have left their imprint on the thin 
 covering of snow that lies upon the upper railing of the 
 fence." 
 
 The old man would have been glad to verify th's 
 statement for himself, as he said; but Lecoq was in a 
 hurry.
 
 36 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Let us go on, let us go on! " said he. " You can 
 verify my assertions some other time." 
 
 They left the garden and followed the footprints that 
 led them toward the outer boulevards, inclining a little 
 to the right in the direction of the Rue de Patay. 
 
 Now there was no longer any need of close attention. 
 No one, save the fugitive, had crossed this lonely waste 
 since the last fall of snow. A child could have followed 
 the track, so clear and distinct was it. 
 
 Four impressions, very unlike in character, formed 
 the track; two were those left by the women; the other 
 two, one going and one returning, had been made by 
 the man. 
 
 On several occasions the latter had placed his foot 
 exactly on the footprints left by the two women, half 
 effacing them, thus doing away with all doubts as to the 
 precise moment in which he had come. 
 
 About a hundred yards from the Poivriere, Lecoq 
 suddenly seized his colleague's arm. 
 
 " Halt! " he commanded; " we have reached a good 
 place; I can see unmistakable proofs." 
 
 The spot was an abandoned lumber-yard, or rather 
 a reservation belonging to a boat-builder. The ground 
 was strewn with large blocks of granite, some chiselled, 
 some in the rough, and with many long planks and logs 
 of wood. 
 
 Before one of these planks, whose surface had evi- 
 dently been wiped off, all these footprints came to- 
 gether, mingling confusedly. 
 
 " Here," declared the young detective, " our fugi- 
 tives met this man and took counsel with him. One of 
 the women, the one with the little feet, sat down upon 
 this log."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 37 
 
 "We should assure ourselves of this more fully," 
 said Father Absinthe, in an oracular tone. 
 
 But his companion cut short these desires for verifi- 
 cation. 
 
 " You my old friend," said he, " are going to do 
 me the kindness to keep perfectly still; pass me the lan- 
 tern and do not move." 
 
 Lecoq's modest tone had suddenly become so impe- 
 rious that his colleague dared offer no resistance. 
 
 Like a soldier at the command to halt, he remained 
 erect, motionless and mute, following the movements 
 of his friend with a curious and wondering eye. 
 
 Quick in his motions, and understanding how to 
 manoeuvre the lantern in accordance with his wishes, 
 the young policeman explored the surroundings in a 
 very short space of time. 
 
 A bloodhound in pursuit of his prey would have 
 been less alert, less discerning, less agile than he. 
 
 He came and went, turned, came back again, hurried 
 on, or paused without any apparent reason; he scruti- 
 nized, he questioned everything; the earth, the logs of 
 wood, the blocks of stone, and even the most insignifi- 
 cant objects; sometimes standing, but oftener on his 
 knees, sometimes flat upon his belly, his face so near 
 the ground that his breath must have melted the snow. 
 
 He had drawn a tape-line from his pocket: he used 
 it with a carpenter's dexterity, and measured, meas- 
 ured, measured. 
 
 And all these movements were accompanied with 
 the wild gestures of a madman, interspersed with oaths 
 or short laughs, with exclamations of disappointment 
 or of delight. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour of this strange exercise, 
 he returned to Father Absinthe, placed the lantern on
 
 3 8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 a stone, wiped his hands on his pocket-handkerchief 
 and said : 
 
 " Now I know all." 
 
 " Well, that is saying a great deal ! " 
 
 " When I say all, I mean all that is connected with 
 this episode of the drama which ended in blood in that 
 hovel there. This expanse of earth, covered with snow, 
 is an immense white page upon which the people we 
 are in search of have written, not only their movements 
 and their goings and comings, but their secret thoughts, 
 the hopes and anxieties that agitated them. What do 
 these footprints say to you, papa? To me they are as 
 much alive as the persons who made them; they 
 breathe, they speak, they accuse! " 
 
 The old officer was saying to himself: 
 
 " Certainly, this fellow is intelligent; undeniably, he 
 is shrewd; but he is very disagreeable." 
 
 " These," pursued Lecoq, " are the facts as I have 
 read them. When the murderer repaired to the Poiv- 
 riere with the two women, his companion I should 
 call him his accomplice came here to wait. He was 
 a man of middle age and tall, wore a soft hat and a 
 shaggy brown overcoat, was probably married, as he 
 had a wedding-ring, on the little finger of his right 
 hand " 
 
 The despairing gestures of his companion obliged 
 the speaker to pause. 
 
 This description of a person whose existence had 
 but just now been demonstrated, these precise details 
 given in a tone of absolute certainty, overturned all of 
 Father Absinthe's ideas completely, and increased his 
 perplexity. 
 
 " This is not well," he growled ; " this is not kind. 
 You are poking fun at me. I take the thing seriously;
 
 MONSIEUR UECOQ 39 
 
 1 listen to you, I obey you in everything, and this is 
 the way you mock me. We find a clew, and instead of 
 following it up, you stop to relate all these absurd 
 stories." 
 
 " No," replied his companion, " I am not jesting, 
 and I have told you nothing of which I am not abso- 
 lutely sure nothing is not strictly and indisputably 
 true." 
 
 " And you would have me believe " 
 
 " Fear nothing, papa; I would not have you do vio- 
 lence to your convictions. When I have told you my 
 reasons, and my means of information, you will laugh 
 at the simplicity of the theory that seems so incompre- 
 hensible to you now." 
 
 " Go on, then," said the good man, in a tone of resig- 
 nation. 
 
 " We had decided, my friend, that the accomplice 
 mounted guard here. The time seemed long, and in 
 order to relieve his impatience, he paced to and fro the 
 length of this log of wood, and occasionally paused in 
 his monotonous promenade to listen. Hearing noth- 
 ing, he stamped his foot, doubtless exclaiming: ' W r hat 
 the devil has happened to him down there! ' He had 
 made about thirty turns (I have counted them), when 
 a sound broke the stillness the two women were com- 
 ing." 
 
 On hearing Lecoq's recital, all the conflicting senti- 
 ments that are awakened in a child's mind by a fairy 
 tale doubt, faith, anxiety, and hope filled Father 
 Absinthe's heart. 
 
 What should he believe? what should he refuse to 
 believe? He did not know. How was he to tell the 
 true from the false among all these equally surprising 
 assertions?
 
 40 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 On the other hand, the gravity of his companion, 
 which certainly was not feigned, dismissed all idea of 
 pleasantry. 
 
 Then curiosity began to torture him. 
 
 " We had reached the point where the women made 
 their appearance," said he. 
 
 " Mon Dieu! yes," responded Lecoq; "but here all 
 certainty ceases; no more proofs, only suppositions. 
 Still, I have every reason to believe that our fugitives 
 left the drinking saloon before the beginning of the 
 fight, before the cries that attracted our attention. 
 Who were they? I can only conjecture. I suspect, 
 however, that they were not equals in rank. I am in- 
 clined to think that one was the mistress, the other her 
 servant." 
 
 " That is proved," ventured the older man, " by the 
 great difference in their feet and in their shoes." 
 
 This shrewd observation elicited a smile from the 
 young man in spite of his abstraction. 
 
 " This difference," he replied, seriously, " is some- 
 thing; but it was not that which decided me in my opin- 
 ion. If greater or less perfection of the extremities 
 regulated social distinctions, many mistresses would be 
 servants. What struck me was this: 
 
 " When the two women rushed wildly from Mother 
 Chupin's house, the woman with the small feet sprang 
 across the garden with one bound, she darted on some 
 distance in advance of the other. The horror of the 
 situation, the vileness of the den, the horror of the scan- 
 dal, the thought of a place of safety, inspired her with 
 marvellous energy. 
 
 " But her strength, as often happens with delicate 
 and nervous women, lasted only a few seconds. She 
 was not half way from here to the Poivriere when her
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 41 
 
 speed relaxed, her limbs trembled. Ten steps farther 
 on she tottered and almost fell. Some steps farther, 
 and she became so exhausted that she let go her hold 
 upon her skirts; they trailed upon the snow, tracing a 
 faint circle there. 
 
 " Then the woman with the broad foot came 
 to her aid. She seized her companion around the 
 waist; she dragged her along; their footprints here are 
 mingled confusedly; then seeing that her friend was 
 about to fall, she caught her up in her strong arms and 
 carried her and the footprints made by the woman 
 with the small feet cease." 
 
 Was Lecoq merely amusing himself by inventing 
 this story? Was this scene anything but a work of the 
 imagination? 
 
 Was this accent of deep and sincere conviction which 
 he imparted to his words only feigned? 
 
 Father Absinthe was still in doubt, but he thought of 
 a way in which he might satisfy his uncertainty. 
 
 He caught up the lantern and hurried off to examine 
 these footprints which he had not known how to read, 
 which had been speechless to him, but which had yield- 
 ed their secret to another. 
 
 He was obliged to agree with his companion. All 
 that Lecoq had described was written there; he saw 
 the confused footprints, the circle made by the sweep- 
 ing skirts, the cessation of the tiny imprints. 
 
 On his return, his countenace betrayed a respectful 
 and astonished admiration, and it was with a shade ol 
 embarrassment that he said: 
 
 " You can scarcely blame an old man for being a lit- 
 tle like St. Thomas. I have touched it with my fingers, 
 and now I am content to follow you."
 
 42 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The young policeman could not, indeed, blame his 
 colleague for his incredulity. 
 
 " Then," Lecoq continued, " the accomplice, who 
 had heard the fugitives coming, ran to meet them, and 
 he aided the woman with the large feet in carrying her 
 companion. The latter must have been really ill, for 
 the accomplice took off his hat and used it in brushing 
 the snow from this plank. Then, thinking the surface 
 was not yet dry enough, he wiped it with the skirt of 
 his overcoat. Were these civilities pure gallantry, or 
 the usual attentions of an inferior? I have asked my- 
 self that question. 
 
 "This much, however, is certain: while the woman 
 with the small feet was recovering her strength, half 
 reclining upon this board, the other took the accom- 
 plice a little to one side, five or six steps away to the 
 left, just by that enormous block of granite. 
 
 " There she talked with him, and, as he listened, the 
 man leaned upon the snow-covered stone. His hand 
 left a very distinct imprint there. Then, as the conver- 
 sation continued, he rested his elbow upon the snowy 
 surface." 
 
 Like all men of limited intelligence, Father Absinthe 
 had suddenly passed from unreasoning distrust to un- 
 questioning confidence. 
 
 Henceforth he would believe anything, from the 
 same reason that had, at first, made him believe noth- 
 ing. 
 
 With no idea of the bounds of human reasoning and 
 penetration, he saw no limits to the conjectural genius 
 of his companion. 
 
 With perfect faith, therefore, he inquired: 
 
 " And what was the accomplice saying to the woman 
 with the broad shoes? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 43 
 
 If Lecoq smiled at this naivete, the other did not sus- 
 pect it. 
 
 "It is rather difficult for me to answer that ques- 
 tion," he replied. " I think, however, that the woman 
 was explaining to the man the immensity and immi- 
 nence of the danger that threatened his companion, 
 and that they were trying to devise some means to res- 
 cue him from it. Perhaps she brought him orders 
 given by the murderer. It is certain that she ended 
 by beseeching the accomplice to run to the Poivriere 
 and see what was passing there. And he did so, for 
 his tracks start from this block of granite." 
 
 " And only to think," exclaimed the officer, " that 
 we were in the hovel at that very moment. A word 
 from Gevrol, and we might have had handcuffs on the 
 whole gang! How unfortunate! " 
 
 Lecoq was not sufficiently disinterested to share his 
 companion's regret. 
 
 On the contrary, he gave heartfelt thanks for Gev- 
 rol's blunder. Had it not been for that, how would he 
 ever have found an opportunity of interesting himself 
 in an affair that grew more and more mysterious, but 
 which he hoped to fathom finally. 
 
 " To conclude," he resumed, " the accomplice soon 
 returned, he had witnessed the scene, he was afraid, and 
 he hastened back. He feared that the thought of ex- 
 ploring the premises might enter the minds of the po- 
 lice. It was to the lady with small feet that he ad- 
 dressed himself. He explained the necessity of flight, 
 and told her that even a moment's delay might be fatal. 
 At his words, she summoned all her energy; she rose, 
 and hastened, clinging to the arm of her companion. 
 
 " Did the man indicate the route they were to take, or 
 did they know it themselves? This much is certain;
 
 44 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 he accompanied them some distance, in order to watch 
 over them. 
 
 " But above the duty of protecting these women, he 
 had a still more sacred duty to perform that of succor- 
 ing his accomplice, if possible. He retraced his steps, 
 passed here again, and the last footprint that I can dis- 
 cover leads in the direction of the Rue du Chateau- 
 des-Rentiers. He wished to know what would become 
 of the murderer, and went to place himself in his path." 
 
 Like a dilettante who can scarcely restrain his ap- 
 plause until the close of the morceau that delights him, 
 Father Absinthe had been unable to repress his admir- 
 ation entirely. 
 
 But it was not until Lecoq ceased speaking that he 
 gave full vent to his enthusiasm. 
 
 " Here is a detective ! " he exclaimed. " And they 
 say that Gevrol is shrewd! What has he ever done to 
 compare with this? Ah! shall I tell you what I think? 
 Very well. In comparison with you, the general is 
 only John the Baptist." 
 
 Certainly the flattery was gross, but it was impossi- 
 ble to doubt its sincerity. This was the first time that 
 the balmy dew of praise had fallen upon Lecoq's vanity, 
 it delighted him. 
 
 "Nonsense," he replied, modestly; "you are too 
 kind, papa. After all, what have I done that is so very 
 clever? I told you that the man was of middle age. 
 It was not difficult to see that after one had examined 
 his heavy and rather dragging step. I told you that 
 he was tall an easy matter. When I saw that he had 
 been leaning upon that block of granite there to the 
 left, I measured the aforesaid block. It was sixty- 
 seven metres in height, consequently a man who could 
 rest his elbow upon it must be at least six feet high.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 45 
 
 The impress of his hand proves that I am not mistaken. 
 On seeing that he had brushed away the snow which 
 covered the plank, I asked myself what he had used; I 
 thought that it might be his cap, and the mark left b> 
 the visor proves that I was right. 
 
 " Finally, if I have discovered the color and the ma- 
 terial of his overcoat, it is only because when he wiped 
 off the wet board, some splinters of the wood tore off 
 a few tiny flakes of brown wool, which I found, and 
 which will figure in the trial. But what does this 
 amount to, after all? Nothing. We have discovered 
 only the first elements of the affair. We hold the clew, 
 however; we will follow it to the end. Onward, then ! " 
 
 The old officer was electrified, and, like an echo, he 
 repeated : 
 
 " Forward! " 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 That night the vagabonds, who had taken refuge in 
 the neighborhood of the Poivriere, slept but little, and 
 that an uneasy slumber, broken by sudden starts, and 
 troubled with frightful dreams of a descent of the po- 
 lice upon them. 
 
 Awakened by the report of the murderer's pistol, 
 and supposing it the result of a collision between the 
 police and some of their own comrades, most of the 
 frequenters of the locality prowled about eagerly lis- 
 tening and watching, and ready to take flight at the 
 least sign of danger. 
 
 At first they could discover nothing at all suspi- 
 cious. 
 
 But later, about two o'clock in the morning, just 
 as they were beginning to feel secure again, the fog
 
 46 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 lifted a little, and they witnessed a phenomenon well 
 calculated to arouse their anxiety. 
 
 Upon the unoccupied tract of land, which the people 
 of that quarter called " the plain," a small but very 
 bright light was seen describing the most capricious 
 evolutions. 
 
 It moved here and there without any apparent aim, 
 tracing the most inexplicable zigzags, sometimes sink- 
 ing to the earth, sometimes rising, sometimes motion- 
 less, and the next second flying off like a ball. 
 
 In spite of the place and the season of the year, the 
 less ignorant among the vagabonds believed it to be 
 the light of the ignis-fatuus, one of those luminous 
 meteors that rise from the marshes and float about in 
 the atmosphere at the bidding of the wind. 
 
 This ignis-fatuus was the lantern by whose light the 
 two policemen were pursuing their investigations. 
 
 Before leaving the cabin where he had so suddenly 
 revealed himself to his first disciple, Lecoq found him- 
 self involved in a cruel perplexity. 
 
 He had not the boldness and promptness of decision 
 that is the gift of a prosperous past ; and he was hesitat- 
 ing between two undertakings, which were equally rea- 
 sonable, and each of which offered equally strong prob- 
 abilities of success. 
 
 He stood there between two paths, that made by the 
 two women on the one side, that made by the accom- 
 plice on the other. 
 
 Which should he take? For he could not hope to 
 follow both. 
 
 Seated upon the plank where the woman had rested 
 a few moments before, with his hand pressed upon his 
 forehead, he reflected; he weighed his chances. 
 
 " If I follow the man I shall learn nothing that I do
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 47 
 
 not know already. He has gone to hover round the 
 party; he has followed them at a distance; he has seen 
 them lock up his accomplice, and he is undoubtedly 
 prowling around the station-house. If I hurried in 
 pursuit could I hope to overtake him, to capture him? 
 No; too long a time has elapsed." 
 
 Father Absinthe listened to the monologue with in- 
 tense curiosity, as anxious as an unsophisticated person 
 who is questioning a clairvoyant in regard to some lost 
 articles, and who is awaiting the response of the oracle. 
 
 " To follow the woman," continued the young man, 
 "to what would that lead? Perhaps to an important 
 discovery; perhaps to nothing." 
 
 He preferred the unknown with all its chances of fail- 
 ure, and all its chances of success, as well. 
 
 He rose; his course was decided. 
 
 " Ah, well! " he exclaimed, " I choose the unknown. 
 We are going, Father Absinthe, to follow the footprints 
 of these two women, and wherever they lead us we will 
 go." 
 
 Inspired with equal ardor they began their walk. 
 At the end of the path upon which they had entered 
 they perceived, as in a magic glass, the one, the fruits, 
 the other, the glory of success. 
 
 They hurried forward. At first it was only play to 
 follow the distinct footprints that led toward the Seine. 
 
 But it was not long before they were obliged to pro- 
 ceed more slowly. 
 
 On leaving the waste ground they arrived at the 
 outer limits of civilization, so to speak; and strange 
 footprints mingled constantly with the footprints of 
 the fugitives, mixing with them, and sometimes effac- 
 ing them. 
 
 In many localities, on account of exposure, or Ae
 
 48 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 nature of the soil, the thaw had done its work, and 
 there were large patches of ground entirely free from 
 snow. 
 
 In such cases they lost the clew, and it took all Le- 
 coq's sagacity, and all his companion's good-will, to 
 find it again. 
 
 On such occasions Father Absinthe planted his cane 
 1 in the earth, near the last footprint that had been dis- 
 covered, and Lecoq and himself hunted on the ground 
 around this starting-point, after the fashion of blood- 
 hounds who have been thrown off the scent. 
 
 Then it was that the lantern moved about so 
 strangely. 
 
 More than a dozen times, in spite of all their efforts, 
 they would have lost the clew entirely had it not been 
 for the elegant shoes worn by the lady with the little 
 feet. 
 
 These had such small and extremely high heels that 
 the impression they left could not be mistaken. They 
 sank down three or four inches in the snow, or in the 
 mud, and their tell-tale impress remained as clear and 
 distinct as that of seal upon wax. 
 
 Thanks to these heels, the pursuers were able to dis- 
 cover that the two fugitives had not gone up the Rue 
 de Patay, as might have been supposed. Probably 
 they had considered the street too much frequented, 
 and too well lighted. 
 
 They had only crossed it, just below the Rue de la 
 'Jroix-Rouge, and had profited by an empty space be- 
 tween houses to regain the open ground. 
 
 " Certainly these women were well acquainted with 
 the lay of the land," murmured Lecoq. 
 
 They did indeed know the topography so well that, on 
 quitting the Rue de Patay, they had suddenly turned
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 49 
 
 to the right, in order to avoid several large ditches, 
 which had been opened by persons who were seeking 
 earth to be used in the manufacture of brick. 
 
 But the trail was recovered, and they followed it as 
 far as the Rue du Chevaleret. 
 
 Here the footprints abruptly ceased. 
 
 Lecoq discovered eight or ten footmarks left by the 
 woman who wore the broad shoes, but that was all. 
 
 The earth, it is true, was not in a condition to be of 
 much assistance in an exploration of this nature. 
 There had been a great deal of passing in the Rue du 
 Chevaleret, and there was but little snow left on the 
 pavement, and the middle of the street was transformed 
 into a river of slush. 
 
 " Did these people recollect, at last, that the snow 
 might betray them? Did they take the middle of the 
 street ? " growled the young officer. 
 
 Certainly they could not have crossed to a vacant 
 space as they had done just before, for on the other 
 side of the street extended the long wall of a factory. 
 
 " Ah! " sighed Father Absinthe, " we have our labor 
 for our pains." 
 
 But Lecoq possessed a temperament that refused to 
 acknowledge defeat. 
 
 Animated by the cold anger of a man who sees the 
 object which he was about to seize disappear from be- 
 fore his very eyes, he recommenced his search, and 
 was well repaid for his efforts. 
 
 "I understand!" he cried suddenly. "I compre- 
 hend I see! " 
 
 Father Absinthe drew near. He did not see nor di- 
 vine anything; but he no longer doubted the powers 
 of his companion. 
 
 " Look here," said Lecoq; " what do you see? "
 
 So MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Marks left by the wheels of a carriage that turned 
 here." 
 
 "Very well, papa; these tracks explain all. When 
 they reached this spot, our fugitives saw the light of an 
 approaching fiacre, which was returning to Paris. It 
 was empty; it was their salvation. They waited here, 
 and when it came nearer they called to the coachman. 
 Doubtless they promised him a generous pour boire; 
 this is evident, since he consented to go back again. 
 He turned short here; they entered the carriage, and 
 that is why these footprints go no farther." 
 
 This explanation was not pleasing to his companion. 
 
 " Have we made any great progress now that we 
 know that? " he asked. 
 
 Lecoq could not restrain an impulse to shrug his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Did you expect that the tracks made by these fugi- 
 tives would lead us through Paris and up to their very 
 doors? " he asked. 
 
 "No; but " 
 
 " Then what would you ask more? Do you think 
 that I shall not know how to find this coachman to- 
 morrow? He was returning with his empty carriage, 
 his day's work was ended; hence, his stable is in this 
 neighborhood. Do you suppose that he will have for- 
 gotten that he took up two persons on the Rue du Che- 
 valeret? He will tell us where he deposited them; but 
 that will not do us any good, for they, of course, have 
 not given him their true address. But he can give us a 
 description of them, tell us how they were dressed and 
 describe their appearance, their manner, and their age. 
 And with that, and what we already know " 
 
 An eloquent gesture expressed the remainder of his 
 thought; then he added:
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 5* 
 
 " We must now go back to the Poivriere, and go 
 quickly. And you, my friend, may now extinguish 
 your lantern." 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 While doing his best to keep pace with his compan- 
 ion, who was in such haste to get back to the Poivriere 
 that he 'almost ran, Father Absinthe's thoughts were as 
 busy as his legs, and an entirely new idea was awak- 
 ened in his mind. 
 
 During the twenty-five years that he had been con- 
 nected with the police force, the good man to use his 
 own expression had seen many of his colleagues walk 
 over his body, and win, after only a few months' work, 
 a promotion that his long years of service had not 
 gained for him. 
 
 In these cases he had not failed to accuse his supe- 
 riority of injustice, and his fortunate rivals of gross flat- 
 tery. 
 
 In his opinion, seniority was the only claim to ad- 
 vancement the only, the best, the most respectable 
 claim. 
 
 When he said, " It is infamous to pass over an old 
 member of the service," he summed up his opinions, 
 his griefs, and all his bitterness in that one sentence. 
 
 Ah, well! to-night Father Absinthe discovered that 
 there is something beyond seniority, and that there 
 might be good and sufficient reasons for what he had 
 formerly regarded as favoritism. He secretly con- 
 fessed that this new-comer, whom he had treated so 
 carelessly, had just followed up a clew as he, veteran 
 though he was, would never have succeeded in doing. 
 
 But communing with himself was not this good
 
 52 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 man's forte ; he soon began to weary of it, and on reach- 
 ing a place where they were obliged to proceed more 
 slowly on account of the badness of the road, he 
 deemed it a favorable opportunity to resume the con- 
 versation. 
 
 " You say nothing, comrade," he ventured, " and 
 one might swear that you were not content." 
 
 This surprising result of the old man's reflections 
 would have amazed Lecoq if his mind had not been 
 a hundred leagues away. 
 
 " Really, I am not content," he responded. 
 
 "And why, pray? Only ten minutes ago you were 
 as gay as a lark." 
 
 " Then I did not see the misfortune that threatens 
 us." 
 
 " A misfortune! " 
 
 " A very great misfortune. Do you not perceive 
 that the weather has undeniably moderated? It is evi- 
 dent that the wind is from the south. The fog has dis- 
 appeared, but the sky is cloudy and the weather is 
 threatening. It will rain in less than an hour." 
 
 " A few drops are falling now; I just felt one." 
 
 These words produced much the same effect on Le- 
 coq that a blow of a whip produces on a spirited horse. 
 He sprang forward, and, adopting a still more hurried 
 pace, he exclaimed: 
 
 " Let us make haste! let us make haste! " 
 
 The old policeman followed him as in duty bound; 
 but his mind was, if possible, still more troubled by the 
 replies of his young companion. 
 
 A great misfortune! The wind from the south!. 
 Rain! He did not see, and he could not see the con- 
 nection. 
 
 Greatly puzzled, and not a little anxious, he asked
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 53 
 
 an explanation, although he had but little more breath 
 than was necessary to enable him to continue the forced 
 march that he was making. 
 
 " Upon my word," said he, " I have racked my 
 brains " 
 
 His companion took pity on his anxiety. 
 
 "What!" he exclaimed, as he hastened forward, 
 " you do not understand that our investigation, my 
 success, and your reward, are dependent upon those 
 black clouds which the wind is driving towasd us! " 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 " Twenty minutes of even a gentle rain, and our 
 time and our labor will be lost. If it rains, the snow 
 will melt, and farewell to our proofs. Let us go on 
 let us go on more quickly! You know very well that 
 in such cases it is necessary to bring something more 
 than words. If we declare to the coroner that we have 
 seen these footprints, he will ask, where? And what 
 can we say? If we swear by all the gods that we have 
 seen the footprints of a man and of two women, the 
 judge will say, ' Let me see them.' And who would 
 feel sheepish then ! Father Absinthe and Lecoq. Be- 
 sides, Gevrol would not fail to declare that we were say- 
 ing what was not true, in order to enhance our own 
 value, and to humiliate him." 
 
 " For example! " 
 
 " Faster, papa, faster; you will have all day to-mor- 
 row to be indignant. Perhaps it will not rain. In that 
 case, these perfect, clear, and recognizable footprints 
 will be the ruin of the culprits. How can we preserve 
 them? By what process could we solidify them? I 
 would deluge them with my blood if that would caiwe 
 them to congeal."
 
 54 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Father Absinthe was thinking that his share of the 
 labor thus far had been the least important. 
 
 He had held the lantern. 
 
 But here was a chance for him to acquire a real and 
 substantial right to the prospective reward. 
 
 " I know," he declared, " a method by which one 
 could preserve these marks in the snow." 
 
 At these words the younger man stopped short. 
 
 "Do you know you?" he interrupted. 
 
 " Yes, I know," replied the old officer, with the evi- 
 dent satisfaction of a man who has gained his revenge. 
 " They invented a way at the time of that affair at the 
 White House. It occurred last winter, in the month 
 of December." 
 
 " I recollect" 
 
 " Ah ! well, there was upon the snow in the courtyard 
 an impress that attracted the attention of a detective. 
 He said that the whole evidence depended upon that 
 alone, and that it was worth more than ten years of 
 hard work in following up the case. Naturally he 
 desired to preserve it. They sent for a great chem- 
 ist " 
 
 " Go on, go on." 
 
 " I have never seen the method put into practice, but 
 an expert told me all about it, and showed me the mould 
 they obtained. He even told me that he explained it 
 to me fully, on account of my profession, and for my 
 instruction." 
 
 Lecoq was trembling with impatience. 
 "And how did they obtain the mould?" he asked, 
 brusquely. 
 
 "Wait; I was just going to explain. They take 
 cards of the best gelatine, and they allow it to soak in 
 cold water. When it becomes thoroughly softened,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 55 
 
 they heat it until it forms a liquid not too thin, nor too 
 thick. They allow this to cool until it is just cool 
 enough, and then pour a nice little covering of it upon 
 the footprint " 
 
 Lecoq felt the irritation that is natural to a person 
 after he has listened to a bad joke, or when one finds 
 that one has lost time in listening to a fool. 
 
 " Enough ! " he interrupted, angrily. " That is 
 Hugonlin's method; it can be found in all the man- 
 uals. It is excellent, no doubt, but how can it serve 
 us? Have you any gelatine about you? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Nor have I. You might as well have counselled 
 me to pour melted lead upon the footprints to fix them." 
 
 They continued their way, and five minutes later, 
 without having exchanged another word, they re-en- 
 tered the Widow Chupin's hovel. 
 
 The first impulse of the older man would have been 
 to rest, to breathe. Lecoq did not give him time to 
 do so. 
 
 " Make haste; get me an earthen dish, a plate, a vase; 
 bring me some water; gather together all the boards 
 and old boxes you can find lying about." 
 
 While his companion was obeying him, Lecoq armed 
 himself with a fragment of one of the broken bottles, 
 and began scraping away furiously at the plastered wall 
 that separated the two rooms. 
 
 His intelligence, disconcerted at first by the immi- 
 nence of the unexpected catastrophe, had regained its 
 equilibrium. He had reflected; he had thought of a 
 way by which failure might possibly be averted and 
 he hoped. 
 
 When he had accumulated at his feet seven or eight 
 handfuls of the fine plaster-dust, he mixed half of it
 
 56 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 with a little water, forming a thin paste, and he left the 
 rest untouched on the side of the plate. 
 
 " Now, papa," said he, " come and hold the light 
 for me." 
 
 When once in the garden, the young man sought 
 for the deepest and most distinct of the footprints, 
 knelt beside it, and began his experiment, trembling 
 with anxiety. 
 
 He then sprinkled upon the impression a fine coating 
 of the dry plaster, then upon this coating, with infinite 
 care, he poured his liquid solution, drop by drop. 
 
 What happiness! the experiment was successful! It 
 united in a homogeneous mass, forming a perfect 
 model of the impress. And after an hour's labor, he 
 possessed half a dozen of these casts, which might, per- 
 haps, be a little wanting in clearness of outline, but 
 which were quite perfect enough to be used as evi- 
 dence. 
 
 Lecoq had reason for his alarm; it was already be- 
 ginning to rain. 
 
 He had, however, plenty of time to cover with the 
 boxes and pieces of board which Father Absinthe had 
 collected a number of these footprints, which he had, 
 so to speak, put beyond the reach of a thaw. 
 
 Now he could breathe. The coroner might come. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 It was some distance from the Poivriere to the Rue 
 du Chevaleret, even by way of the plain that made any 
 detours unnecessary. 
 
 It had taken at least four hours for Lecoq and his 
 colleague to collect their elements of information.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 57 
 
 And, meantime, the Widow Chupin's cabin had re- 
 mained open, accessible to any chance visitor. 
 
 Still, when the young policeman had on his return 
 remembered this neglect of the first precautions, he did 
 not feel alarmed. 
 
 Considering all the circumstances, it was very diffi- 
 cult to believe that any serious harm could have result- 
 ed from this carelessness. 
 
 For who would have been likely, after the hour of 
 midnight, to visit this drinking saloon? Its bad name 
 erected a sort of bulwark around it. The most daring 
 of vagrants did not drink there without some disquiet- 
 ude, fearing, if the liquor caused them to lose con- 
 sciousness, that they might be robbed or perhaps mur- 
 dered. 
 
 Hence it could have been only a very reckless person 
 who, feeling a few sous left in his pocket on returning 
 late at night from the ball at the Rainbow, would have 
 been attracted to this notoriously dangerous saloon by 
 the light that streamed through the open door. 
 
 But a single glance at the interior would have been 
 enough to put the bravest to flight. 
 
 In less than a second the young policeman had 
 weighed all these possibilities, but he had not breathed 
 a word to Father Absinthe. 
 
 When, little by little, the excitement caused by his 
 hopes and his success in his experiment had died away, 
 and he had returned to his habitual calmness, he made 
 a careful inspection of the abode, and was by no means 
 satisfied with his conduct. 
 
 He had experimented upon Father Absinthe with 
 his new system of investigation, as an apprentice in the 
 tribune tries his powers before his least gifted friends, 
 not beiore the best.
 
 58 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 He had overwhelmed the veteran by his superiority; 
 he had crushed him. 
 
 Great merit and wonderful victory! Father Ab- 
 sinthe was a fool ; he, Lecoq, thought himself very fine 
 was there any reason why he should boast? 
 
 If he could only give some startling proofs of his 
 energy or of his penetration ! But what had he accom- 
 plished? Was the mystery solved? Was his success 
 more than problematical? When one thread is drawn 
 out, the skein is not untangled. 
 
 This night would undoubtedly decide his future as 
 a detective, so he swore that if he could not conquer his 
 vanity, he would, at least, oblige himself to conceal it. 
 
 Hence it was in a very modest tone that he addressed 
 his companion. 
 
 " We have done all that we can outside," said he ; 
 " now would it not be wise to busy ourselves with the 
 interior? " 
 
 Everything looked exactly as it did when the two 
 men left the room. A candle; whose wick was smoking 
 and charred, threw its red light upon the same scene of 
 disorder, and upon the rigid features of the three vic- 
 tims. 
 
 Without losing a moment, Lecoq began to pick up 
 and to study all the objects scattered upon the floor. 
 Some of these still remained intact. It seemed that the 
 Widow Chupin had recoiled from the expense of a 
 brick floor, judging the ground upon which the cabin 
 was built quite good enough for the feet of her cus- 
 tomers. The ground, which must have been solid and 
 beaten down originally, had, by use, by the damp 
 weather and the thaw, become scarcely less muddy than 
 the plain itself. 
 
 The first-fruits of his search were a large salad-bowl,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 59 
 
 and a big iron spoon, which was too much twisted and 
 bent not to have been used as a weapon during the con- 
 flict. 
 
 It was evident that when the quarrel began the vic- 
 tims were regaling themselves with that mixture of 
 water, wine and sugar, known along the barriere under 
 the name of wine a la Pranqaise. 
 
 After the salad-bowl, the two men picked up five of 
 those horrible glasses used in drinking-saloons, heavy 
 and very thick at the bottom, which look as if they 
 ought to contain half a bottle, but which, in reality, 
 contain almost nothing. Three were broken, two were 
 whole. 
 
 There had been wine in these five glasses the same 
 wine a la Frangaise. They could see it ; but, for greater 
 surety, Lecoq applied his tongue to the bluish mixture 
 remaining in the bottom of each glass. 
 
 " The devil! " he murmured, with an astonished air. 
 
 Then he examined successively the bottoms of all the 
 over-turned tables. Upon one of these, the one nearest 
 the fireplace and the window, they could distinguish the 
 still wet marks of the five glasses, of the salad-bowl, and 
 even of the spoons. 
 
 This circumstance the young officer very properly 
 regarded as a matter of the greatest importance, for it 
 proved clearly that five persons had emptied the salad- 
 bowl in company. But which persons? 
 ; " Oh ! oh ! " exclaimed Lecoq in two entirely differ- 
 ent tones. " Then the two women could not have been 
 with the murderer! " 
 
 A very simple mode of discovery had presented itself. 
 It was to see what the other glasses had contained. 
 They discovered one, similar in form to the others, but 
 much smaller. It had contained brandy.
 
 6o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Then these women had not been with the murderer, 
 therefore he could not have fought because the other 
 men had insulted them. 
 
 This discovery had suddenly proved the incorrect- 
 ness of his suppositions. It was an unexpected check, 
 and he was mourning over it in silence, when Father 
 Absinthe, who had not ceased ferreting about, uttered a 
 cry of surprise. 
 
 The young man turned; he saw that his companion 
 had become very pale. 
 
 " What is it? " he demanded. 
 
 " Someone has been here in our absence." 
 
 " Impossible! " 
 
 It was not impossible it was true. 
 
 When Gevrol had torn the apron off of Widow Chu- 
 pin, he had thrown it upon the steps of the stairs; 
 neither of the policemen had touched it afterward. 
 Ah, well! the pockets of this apron had been turned in- 
 side out ; this was a proof, this was evidence. 
 
 Lecoq was overcome with consternation, and the 
 contraction of his features revealed the struggle in his 
 mind. 
 
 " Who could have been here? " he murmured. 
 " Robbers? That is improbable." 
 
 Then after a long silence, which his companion took 
 good care not to interrupt : 
 
 " The person who came here, who dared to penetrate 
 this abode guarded by the corpses of those murdered 
 men this person could have been none other than the 
 accomplice. But it is not enough to suspect this; it is 
 necessary to know it. I must know. I will know! " 
 
 They searched for a long time, and it was not until 
 after an hour of earnest work that, in front of the door 
 forced open by the police, they discovered in the mud,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 61 
 
 just inside the marks made by Gevrol's stamping, a 
 footprint that bore a close resemblance to those left by 
 the man who had entered the garden. 
 
 They compared the impressions and recognized the 
 same designs formed by the nails upon the sole of the 
 boot. 
 
 " It must have been he! " exclaimed Lecoq. " He 
 watched us, he saw us go away, and he entered here. 
 But why? What pressing, irresistible necessity 'made 
 him decide to brave such imminent danger? " 
 
 He seized his companion's hand, and nearly crushing 
 it in his excitement: 
 
 "Why?" continued he, violently. "Ah! I under- 
 stand only too well. There had been left, or forgotten 
 or lost here, some article that would have served to 
 throw light on this horrible affair. And to obtain it, 
 to find it, he decided to run this terrible risk. And to 
 think that it was my fault, my fault alone, that this con- 
 vincing proof escaped us! And I thought myself so 
 shrewd ! What a lesson ! The door should have been 
 locked; any fool would have thought of it " 
 
 He checked himself, and remained with open mouth 
 and distended eyes, pointing with his finger to one of 
 the corners of the room. 
 
 " What is the matter? " demanded his frightened 
 companion. 
 
 Lecoq made no reply, but slowly and with the stiff 
 movements of a somnambulist, he approached the spot 
 to which he had pointed, stooped, picked up some- 
 thing, and said: 
 
 " My folly does not deserve this good fortune." 
 
 The object he had picked up was an ear-ring of the 
 sort that jewellers call buttons. It was composed of a
 
 62 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 single very large diamond. The setting was of marvel' 
 lous workmanship. 
 
 " This diamond," he declared, after a moment's ex- 
 amination, " must be worth at least five or six thousand 
 francs." 
 
 " Are you in earnest? " 
 
 " I think I would be willing to take my oath on it." 
 
 He had not said " I think," a few hours before; he 
 had said very boldly, " I swear." But the first mistake 
 was a lesson that would not be forgotten so long as he 
 lived. 
 
 " Perhaps it was the same diamond ear-ring that the 
 accomplice came to seek." 
 
 " This supposition is scarcely admissible. In that 
 case, he would not have sought for it in Mother Chu- 
 pin's apron. No, he must have been seeking some- 
 thing else a letter, for example." 
 
 The older man was not listening; he had taken the 
 ear-ring, and was examining it in his turn. 
 
 " And to think," he murmured, astonished by the 
 brilliancy of the stone, " to think that a woman who 
 had ten thousand francs' worth of jewels in her ears 
 should have come to the Poivriere. Who would have 
 believed it? " 
 
 Lecoq shook his head thoughtfully. " Yes, it is 
 very strange, very improbable, very absurd. And yet 
 we shall see many things as strange if we ever arrive 
 which I very much doubt at a solution of this myste- 
 rious affair."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 63 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Day was breaking, raw, cheerless, and gloomy, when 
 Lecoq and his colleague concluded their investigation. 
 
 There was not an inch of space that had not been ex- 
 plored, carefully examined, and studied, one might al- 
 most say, with a magnifying glass. 
 
 There remained now only to make the report. 
 
 The younger man seated himself at the table, and 
 began by drawing a plan of the scene of the murder, 
 which would, of course, be of great service in making 
 others understand his recital. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that in this explanatory chart 
 Lecoq had not once written his name. 
 
 In noting the things that he had imagined or discov- 
 ered, he referred to himself simply as one of the police. 
 
 This was not modesty so much as calculation. By 
 hiding one's self on well-chosen occasions, one gains 
 greater notoriety when one merges from the shadow. 
 
 It was also through cunning that he gave Gevrol such 
 a prominent position. 
 
 These tactics, rather subtle, perhaps, but after all 
 perfectly fair, could not fail to call attention to the man 
 who had shown himself so efficient when the efforts 
 of his chief had been confined only to breaking open the 
 door. 
 
 The document he drew up was not a verbal process, 
 an act reserved for the officers of the police judiciary 
 it was a simple report, that would be admitted under 
 the title of an inquiry and yet he composed it with the 
 same care a young general would have displayed in the 
 bulletin of his first victory.
 
 6 4 
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 A. The point where the squad of police, under command of Inspector 
 Gevrol, heard the cries of the victims. 
 
 (The distance from this point to the hut known as the Poivriere is only 
 one hundred and twenty-three yards ; hence, it may reasonably be .sup- 
 posed that these cries were the first that were uttered, and consequently 
 that the combat had just commenced.) 
 
 B. The window covered with shutters, through the openings of which 
 one of the police was able to see the scene within. 
 
 C. The door forced open by Inspector Gevrol. 
 
 D. Staircase upon which the Widow Chupin was seated, crying. 
 
 (It was upon the third step of this staircase that the Widow Chupin's 
 apron was afterwards found, the pockets turned inside out.) 
 
 F. Fire-place. 
 
 HHH. Tables. 
 
 (The remnants of the salad-bowl and of the five glasses were found 
 scattered on the floor between the points F and B.) 
 
 T. Door communicating with the back room of the hovel, before 
 which the armed murderer was standing. 
 
 K. Back door of the hut, opening into the garden, by which the agent 
 of police, who thought of cutting off the murderer's retreat, entered. 
 
 L. Gate of the garden, opening upon the unoccupied ground. 
 
 MM. Footprints on the snow, discovered by the policeman remaining 
 at the Poivriere, after the departure of Inspector Gevrol.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 65 
 
 While he was drawing and writing, Father Absinthe 
 leaned over his shoulder to watch him. 
 
 The plan amazed that worthy man. He had seen a 
 great deal; but he had always supposed that it was 
 necessary to be an engineer, an architect, or, at least, 
 a carpenter, to execute such a work. Not at all. With 
 a tape-line with which to take some measurements, and 
 a bit of board in place of a rule, this inexperienced col- 
 league had accomplished the miracle. 
 
 His respect for Lecoq was greatly augmented. 
 
 It is true that the worthy veteran had not noticed 
 the explosion of the young policeman's vanity, nor his 
 return to his former modest demeanor. He had not 
 observed his alarm, nor his perplexity, nor his lack of 
 penetration. 
 
 After a few moments, Father Absinthe ceased watch- 
 ing his companion. He felt weary after the labors of 
 the night, his head was burning, and he shivered. 
 
 His knees trembled. 
 
 Perhaps, though he was by no means sensitive, he 
 felt the influence of the horrors that surrounded him, 
 and which seemed more sinister than ever in the bleak 
 light of morning. 
 
 He began to ferret in the cupboards, and at last suc- 
 ceeded in discovering oh, great good fortune! a bot- 
 tle of brandy, three-quarters full. He hesitated for an 
 instant, then he poured out a glassful, and drained it at 
 a single draught. 
 
 " Will you have some? " he inquired of his compan- 
 ion. " It is not a very famous brand, to be sure; but it 
 is just as good; it makes one's blood circulate and en- 
 livens one." 
 
 Lecoq refused ; he did not need to be enlivened. All 
 his faculties were hard at work. He intended that, after
 
 66 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 a single reading of the report, the judge should say: 
 " Let the officer who has drawn up this document be 
 sent for." His future depended upon this order. 
 
 He endeavored to be brief, clear, and concise, to 
 plainly indicate how his suspicions on the subject of the 
 murder had been aroused, how they had increased, and 
 how they had been confirmed. He explained by what 
 series of deductions he had succeeded in establishing 
 the truth, which, if it was not the truth, was at least 
 plausible enough to serve as the basis of further investi- 
 gation. 
 
 Then he enumerated the articles of conviction ranged 
 on the table before him. 
 
 There were the flakes of brown wool collected upon 
 the plank, the valuable ear-ring, the models of the dif- 
 ferent footprints in the garden, and Widow Chupin's 
 apron with its pockets turned inside out. 
 
 There was also the murderer's pistol, of whose five 
 barrels three were still undischarged. 
 
 This weapon, although unornamented, was remark- 
 ably well finished, and bore the name of one of the best 
 armorers in London : Stephen, 14 Skinner Street. 
 
 Lecoq felt convinced that by examining the bodies of 
 the victims he would find other, and perhaps very valu- 
 able information; but this he dared not do. He was 
 still too inexperienced to hazard such a step. Besides, 
 he understood if he ran such a risk, Gevrol, furious at 
 his own mistake, would not fail to declare that, by 
 changing the attitude of the bodies, he had rendered a 
 satisfactory examination by the physicians impossible. 
 
 He consoled himself, however, and he was re-reading 
 his report, modifying this or that expression, when 
 Father Absinthe, who was standing upon the threshold 
 of the outer door, called him.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 67 
 
 " Is there anything new? " responded Lecoq. 
 
 " Here are Gevrol and two of our comrades bringing 
 the commissioner and two other gentlemen with them." 
 
 It was, indeed, the commissioner of police who was 
 coming, quite interested in this triple murder that had 
 stained his arondissement, but not very much disturbed 
 by it. 
 
 Why should he be troubled about it? 
 
 Gevrol, whose opinions in such matters must be re- 
 garded as an authority, had taken care to reassure him 
 when he went to arouse him from his slumbers. 
 
 " It was only a fight between some old offenders; 
 former jail-birds, habitues of the Poivriere," he had 
 said to him. 
 
 " If all these wretches would kill one another, we 
 might have some peace." 
 
 He added that the murderer had been arrested and 
 placed in confinement, and consequently the case was 
 not urgent. 
 
 The commissioner therefore saw nothing improper 
 in waiting until morning before beginning the inquest. 
 
 He had seen the murderer, reported the case, and 
 now he was coming not in too much haste accom- 
 panied by two physicians who had been appointed by 
 the government attorney to make Medico-legates reports 
 in such cases. 
 
 They were also accompanied by a sergeant-major of 
 the 53d regiment of light infantry, summoned by the 
 commissioner to identify, if possible, the murdered man, 
 who wore a uniform, and who, if one might believe the 
 number engraved upon the buttons of his overcoat, 
 belonged to the 53d regiment, now stationed at the 
 fort.
 
 68 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Inspector Gevrol was even less disturbed than the 
 commissioner. 
 
 He whistled as he walked along, flourishing his cane, 
 which never left his hand, and making merry at the 
 discomfiture of the presumptuous fool who had desired 
 to remain to glean where he, the experienced and skilful 
 officer, had perceived nothing. 
 
 As soon as he was within hearing distance, the in- 
 spector called to Father Absinthe, who, after warning 
 Lecoq, remained on the threshold, leaning against the 
 door-post, puffing his pipe, as immovable as a sphinx. 
 
 " Ah, well, old man ! " cried Gevrol, " have you any 
 great melodrama, very dark and very mysterious, to 
 relate to us? " 
 
 " I myself have nothing to relate," replied the worthy 
 addressed, without even drawing his pipe from his lips. 
 " I am too stupid ; that is perfectly understood. But 
 Monsieur Lecoq will tell you something that will aston- 
 ish you." 
 
 This title, " monsieur," which the old policeman be- 
 stowed upon his colleague, displeased Gevrol so much 
 that he pretended not to understand. 
 
 " Who? " said he; " of whom are you speaking? " 
 
 " Of my colleague, of course, who is now busy finish- 
 ing his report of Monsieur Lecoq." 
 
 Although unintentionally, the good man had certain- 
 ly become the young policeman's god-father. From 
 that day forward, to his enemies as well as to his friends, 
 he was, and he remained, Monsieur Lecoq. 
 
 "Ah! ah!" said the inspector, whose hearing was 
 evidently impaired. " Ah, he has discovered " 
 
 " The pot of roses which others did not scent, gen- 
 eral." 
 
 By this remark Father Absinthe made an enemy of
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 69 
 
 his superior officer. But Lecoq had won him entirely. 
 He had taken sides with Lecoq, and to Lecoq, against 
 everyone else, if necessary, he had determined to attach 
 himself, and to share good fortune or bad fortune with 
 him. 
 
 " We will see," murmured the inspector, mentally 
 resolving to have an eye on this youth whom success 
 might transform into a rival. 
 
 He said no more. The little party which he preced- 
 ed had arrived, and he stood aside to make way for the 
 commissioner of police. 
 
 This commissioner was not a debutant. He had 
 served for many years, and yet he could not repress a 
 movement of horror on entering the Poivriere. 
 
 The sergeant-major of the 53d who followed him, an 
 old soldier decorated and medaled, was still more over- 
 come with horror. He became as pale as the corpses 
 that were lying there, and was obliged to lean against 
 the wall for support. 
 
 Only the two physicians retained their stoical indif- 
 ference. 
 
 Lecoq had risen, his report in his hand; he had 
 bowed, and, assuming a respectful attitude, was wait- 
 ing to be interrogated. 
 
 " You must have passed a frightful night," said the 
 commissioner, kindly; "and quite unnecessarily, since 
 any investigation was superfluous." 
 
 " I think, however," replied the young man, armed 
 with diplomacy, " that my time has not been entirely 
 lost. I have conformed to the instruction of my supe- 
 rior officer; I have searched the premises thoroughly, 
 and I have ascertained many things. I have, for ex- 
 ample, acquired the certainty that the murderer had a 
 friend, possibly an accomplice, of whom I can give
 
 70 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 quite a close description. He must have been of mid- 
 dle age, and wore, if I am not mistaken, a soft cap and 
 a brown woollen overcoat; as for his boots " 
 
 " Thunder! " exclaimed Gevrol, " and I " 
 
 He stopped short, like a man whose impulse had ex- 
 ceeded his discretion, and who would have gladly taken 
 back his words. 
 
 " And you ? " questioned the commissioner. " What 
 do you mean? " 
 
 Furious, but having gone too far to draw back, the 
 inspector was obliged to act as his own executioner. 
 
 " I was about to say that this morning, about an hour 
 ago, while I was waiting for you, Monsieur le Commis- 
 saire, before the station-house of the Barriere d'ltalie, 
 where the murderer is confined, I saw at some little dis- 
 tance an individual whose appearance was not unlike 
 that of the man described by Lecoq. This man ap- 
 peared to be greatly intoxicated; he reeled and stag- 
 gered against the walls. He tried to cross the street, 
 but fell down in the middle of it, in such a position that 
 he would inevitably have been crushed by the first pass- 
 ing vehicle." 
 
 Lecoq turned away his head; he did not wish them 
 to read in his eyes how perfectly he understood the 
 whole game. 
 
 " Seeing this," pursued Gevrol, " I called two men 
 and asked them to aid me in raising the poor wretch. 
 We went to him; he had apparently fallen asleep; we 
 shook him we made him sit up; we told him that he 
 could not remain there, but immediately he flew into a 
 furious rage. He swore at us, he threatened us, he 
 tried to fight us. And, upon my word! we took him to 
 the station-house, and left him there to recover from his 
 debauch."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 71 
 
 " Did you shut him up in the same room with the 
 murderer? " inquired Lecoq. 
 
 " Naturally. You know very well there are but two 
 cages in the station-house at the barriere one for the 
 men, the other for the women, consequently " 
 
 The commissioner seemed thoughtful. "Ah! this 
 is very unfortunate," he murmured; " and there is no 
 remedy." 
 
 " Pardon me, there is one," objected Gevrol. " I 
 can send one of my men to the station-house with an 
 order to detain the drunken man " 
 
 Lecoq interrupted him with a gesture. 
 
 " Trouble lost," he said, coldly. " If this individual 
 is an accomplice, he has become sober, rest assured of 
 that, and is far away by this time." 
 
 " Then what is one to do? " demanded the inspector, 
 with an ironical air. " May one be permitted to inquire 
 the opinion of Monsieur Lecoq?" 
 
 " I think chance offered us a splendid opportunity, 
 and we did not know how to seize it; and that the best 
 thing we can do now is to make our period of mourning 
 for it as short as possible, and to stand ready to embrace 
 the next opportunity that offers itself." 
 
 Gevrol was, however, determined to send one of his 
 men to the station-house; and when the messenger had 
 departed, Lecoq commenced the reading of his report. 
 
 He read it rapidly, refraining as much as possible 
 from placing the decisive proofs in strong relief, re- 
 serving these for his own benefit; but so strong was 
 the logic of his deductions, that he was frequently in- 
 terrupted by approving remarks from the commis- 
 sioner, and by the " very well! " of the physicians. 
 
 Gevrol, who alone represented the opposition, ele-
 
 72 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 vated his shoulders until they entirely concealed his 
 neck, and became literally green with jealousy. 
 
 The report concluded : 
 
 " I think that you alone, young man, have judged 
 correctly in this affair," said the commissioner. " I 
 may be mistaken ; but your explanations have made me 
 look at the attitude assumed by the murderer while I 
 was questioning him (which was only for a moment), 
 in an entirely different light. He refused, obstinately 
 refused, to make any reply to my questions. He would 
 not even consent to tell his name." 
 
 He was silent for a moment, reviewing the past cir- 
 cumstances in his mind, and it was in a serious tone that 
 he added: 
 
 " We are, I feel convinced, in the presence of one of 
 those mysterious crimes, the causes of which are be- 
 yond the reach of human sagacity one of those mys- 
 terious cases which human justice never can reach." 
 
 Lecoq hid a slight smile. 
 
 " Oh! " thought he, " we will see about that." 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 No consultation held at the bedside of a man dying of 
 some unknown disease ever took place in the presence 
 of two physicians so utterly unlike as those who, upon 
 the requisition of the government attorney, accom- 
 panied the commissioner of police. 
 
 One large, old, and totally bald, wore a broad- 
 brimmed hat, and an overcoat of antique cut, over his 
 ill-fitting black coat. He was one of those modest 
 savants whom one encounters sometimes in the by- 
 places of Paris one of those healers devoted to their
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 73 
 
 art, who too often die in obscurity, after rendering im- 
 mense service to mankind. 
 
 He had the gracious calmness of a man who, having 
 seen much of human misery, comprehended everything ; 
 and no troubled conscience could sustain his searching 
 glance, which was as keen as his lancet. 
 
 The other, young, fresh, light-haired, and jovial, was 
 even foppishly attired; and his white hands were en- 
 cased in handsome fur gloves. His glance was ever 
 caressing or smiling. He was a man who would have 
 been likely to recommend all those infallible panaceas 
 invented each month in the chemist's laboratories and 
 advertised on the fourth page of the newspapers. He 
 had probably written more than one article upon 
 " Medicine for the use of all mankind." 
 
 " I will request you, gentlemen, to begin your duties 
 by examining that one of the victims who wears the 
 military costume. Here is a sergeant-major summoned 
 to answer a question of identity, whom I must send 
 back to his quarters as soon as possible." 
 
 The two physicians responded with a gesture of as- 
 sent, and, aided by Father Absinthe and another agent 
 of police, they lifted the body and laid it upon two tables, 
 which had previously been placed end to end. 
 
 They were not obliged to make any note of the atti- 
 tude in which they found the body, since the unfortu- 
 nate man, who was still alive when the police entered 
 the cabin, had been moved before he expired. 
 
 " Approach, sergeant," ordered the commissioner, 
 " and look carefully at this man." 
 
 It was with very evident repugnance that the old sol- 
 dier obeyed. 
 
 " What is the uniform that he wears? "
 
 74 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " It is the uniform of the 53d regulars, 2d battalion, 
 company of light infantry." 
 
 " Do you recognize him? " 
 
 " Not at all." 
 
 " Are you sure that he does not belong to your regi- 
 ment? " 
 
 " I cannot say certainly ; there are some conscripts at 
 the depot whom I have never seen. But I am ready to 
 swear that he has never formed a part of the 2d batta- 
 lion which, by the way, is mine in the division of 
 light infantry, of which I am sergeant-major." 
 
 Lecoq, who had until now remained in the back- 
 ground, stepped forward. 
 
 " It might be well," he suggested, " to note the num- 
 bers marked upon the other articles of clothing." 
 
 " That is a very good idea," said the commissioner, 
 approvingly. 
 
 " Here is his hat," added the young policeman. " It 
 bears the number 3,129." 
 
 They followed Lecoq's advice, and soon discovered 
 that each article of clothing upon the unfortunate man 
 bore a different number. 
 
 " Mon Dieu!" murmured the sergeant; "there is 
 every indication But it is very singular." 
 
 Invited to scrupulously verify his assertion, the brave 
 trooper evidently made an effort to collect all his intel- 
 lectual faculties. 
 
 " I would stake my epaulettes that this man never 
 was a soldier," he said at last. " This individual must 
 have disguised himself to take part in the Shrove Sun- 
 day carnival." 
 
 " Why do you think that? " 
 
 " Dante! I know this better than I can explain it. 
 I know it by his hair, by his nails, by his whole appear-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 75 
 
 ance, by a certain je na sais quoi; in short, I know it by 
 everything and by nothing. And see, the poor devil 
 did not even know how to put on his shoes; he has 
 laced his gaiters wrong side outward." 
 
 Evidently further doubt was impossible after this evi- 
 dence, which confirmed the truth of Lecoq's first re- 
 mark to Inspector Gevrol. 
 
 " Still, if this person was a civilian, how could he 
 have procured this clothing? " insisted the commis- 
 sioner. " Could he have borrowed it from the men in 
 your company? " 
 
 " Yes, that is barely possible; but it is difficult to be- 
 lieve it." 
 
 " Is there no way by which you could ascertain? " 
 
 " Oh! very easily. I have only to run over to the 
 fort and order an inspection of clothing." 
 
 " Do that," approved the commissioner; " it would 
 be an excellent way of getting at the truth." 
 
 But Lecoq had just thought of a method just as con- 
 vincing, and much more prompt. 
 
 " One word, sergeant," said he. " Is not the cast-off 
 and condemned clothing of your men sold at public 
 auction ? " 
 
 " Yes; at least once a year, after the inspection." 
 
 " And are not the articles thus sold marked in some 
 way? " 
 
 " Assuredly." 
 
 " Then see if there is 1 not some mark of this kind upon 
 the uniform of this poor wretch." 
 
 The officer turned up the collar of his coat and exam- 
 ined the waistband of the pantaloons, and said: 
 
 " You are right; these are condemned garments." 
 
 The eyes of the young policeman sparkled, but they 
 emitted only a single gleam of triumph.
 
 76 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " We must, then, believe that this poor devil had pur- 
 chased this costume," he observed. " Where? Nec- 
 essarily at the Temple, in the store of one of those mer- 
 chants who deal in military clothing. There are only 
 five or six of these establishments. I will go from one 
 to another of them, and the person who sold this cloth- 
 ing will certainly recognize it by some trade mark." 
 
 " And that will assist us very much," growled Gevrol. 
 
 The sergeant-major, to his great relief, received per- 
 mission to retire, but not without having been warned 
 that very probably the commissioner would require his 
 deposition. 
 
 The moment had come to search the body of the pre- 
 tended soldier, and the commissioner, who performed 
 this duty himself, hoped that some information as to 
 the identity of this man would be revealed. 
 
 He proceeded with his task, dictating at the same 
 time to one of the men his proces-verbal ; that is to say, 
 a minute description of all the articles he found upon 
 the dead man's person. 
 
 These were: in the right-hand pocket of the panta- 
 loons, some smoking tobacco, a pipe, and a few 
 matches ; in the left pocket, a very much soiled leather 
 pocket-book, containing seven francs and sixty cent- 
 imes, and a linen pocket-handkerchief of good quality, 
 but unmarked. 
 
 And nothing more ! 
 
 The commissioner was regretting this, when, on care~ 
 fully examining the pocket-book, he found a compart- 
 ment which had at first escaped his notice on account of 
 being hid under a leather flap. 
 
 In this compartment was a carefully folded paper. 
 He unfolded it and read the contents aloud:
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 7 7 
 
 " MY DEAR GUSTAVE To-morrow, Sunday evening, 
 do not fail to come to the ball at the Rainbow, accord- 
 ing to our agreement. If you have no money, pass my 
 house, and I will leave some with the concitrge, who 
 will give it to you. 
 
 " Be there at eight o'clock. If I am not already there, 
 it will not be long before I make my appearance. All 
 is well. 
 
 " LACHENEUR." 
 
 Alas ! what did this letter reveal? Only that the dead 
 man's name was Gustave; that he had some connection 
 with a man named Lacheneur, who had advanced him 
 money for a certain object; and that they had met at the 
 Rainbow some hours before the murder. 
 
 It was little very little. It was something, how- 
 ever. It was a clew; and in this absolute darkness even 
 the faintest gleam of light was eagerly welcomed. 
 
 " Lacheneur! " growled Gevrol; " the poor devil ut- 
 tered that name in his last agony." 
 
 " Precisely," insisted Father Absinthe; " and he de- 
 clared that he wished to revenge himself upon him. 
 He accused him of having drawn him into a trap. Un- 
 fortunately, death cut his story short." 
 
 Lecoq was silent. The commissioner of police had 
 handed him the letter, and he was studying it with the 
 closest attention. 
 
 The paper was of the ordinary kind ; the ink was blue. 
 In one of the corners was a half-effaced mark, upon 
 which one could distinguish only the name: Beau- 
 marchais. 
 
 This was enough for Lecoq. 
 
 " This letter," he thought, " was certainly written in
 
 78 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 a cafe on the Boulevard Beaumarchais. In which one? 
 I will find out, for this Lacheneur must be found." 
 
 While the men of the prefecture were gathered 
 around the commissioner, holding council and deliber- 
 ating, the physicians began their delicate and disagree- 
 able task. 
 
 With the assistance of the obliging Father Absinthe, 
 they removed the clothing oi the pretended soldier, and, 
 bending over their " subject " like surgeons in the 
 schools of anatomy, with sleeves rolled up, they exam- 
 ined, inspected, and appraised him physically. 
 
 Very willingly would the artist-doctor have dispensed 
 with these formalities, which he considered very ridicu- 
 lous, and entirely unnecessary; but the old physician 
 had too high a regard for his profession, and for the 
 duty he had been called upon to fulfil, to neglect the 
 slightest detail. 
 
 Minutely, and with the most scrupulous exactitude, 
 he noted the height of the dead man, his supposed age, 
 the nature of his temperament, the color and the length 
 of his hair, and the degree of development of his muscu- 
 lar system. 
 
 Then they passed to an examination of the wound. 
 
 Lecoq had judged correctly. The doctors declared 
 it a fracture of the base of the skull. It could, they 
 stated in their report, have been caused only by the 
 action of some instrument with a very broad surface, 
 or by a violent knock of the head against some hard 
 substance of considerable magnitude. 
 
 But no weapon, other than the revolver, had been 
 found; and that was not heavy enough to produce such 
 a wound. 
 
 There must, then, necessarily, have been a hand-to- 
 hand struggle between the pretended soldier and the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 79 
 
 murderer; and the latter, seizing his adversary by the 
 throat, had clashed him violently against the wall. 
 
 The presence of very tiny and very numerous spots 
 of extravasated blood about the neck made these con- 
 clusions extremely plausible. 
 
 They did not find any other wound, not a bruise, not 
 a scratch nothing! 
 
 Hence, it was evident that this terrible struggle must 
 have been exceedingly short. 
 
 Between the moment when the squad of police had 
 heard the shrieks and the moment when Lecoq had 
 peered through the shutter and seen the victim fall, this 
 slaughter must have been consummated. 
 
 The examination of the other murdered men required 
 different, but even greater, precautions. 
 
 Their position had been respected ; they were still ly- 
 ing across the hearth as they had fallen, and their atti- 
 tude was a matter of great importance, since it would 
 have an important bearing on the case. 
 
 And this attitude was such that one could not fail to 
 be impressed with the idea that their death had been in- 
 stantaneous. 
 
 Both of them were stretched out upon their backs, 
 their limbs extended and their hands wide open. 
 
 No contraction, no torsion of the muscles, no trace 
 of combat, they had been taken unawares. 
 
 The faces of both men expressed the most intense 
 fear. One might suppose, if he believed the theory of 
 Devergie, that the last sentiment they had experienced 
 in life had been neither anger nor hatred, but terror. 
 
 " Thus," said the old doctor, " we may reasonably 
 suppose that they must have been stupefied by some 
 entirely unexpected, strange, and frightful spectacle. 
 This terrified expression, written upon their faces, I
 
 80 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 have noticed more than once upon the features of a 
 woman who suddenly died from the shock she experi- 
 enced in seeing one of her neighbors enter her house to 
 play a trick upon her, disguised as a phantom." 
 
 Lecoq drank in these explanations given by the phy- 
 sicians, and tried to make them conform to the vague 
 hypotheses that were revolving in his own brain. 
 
 But who could these individuals be? Would they in 
 death guard the secret of their identity, as the other vic- 
 tim had done? 
 
 The first subject examined by the physicians was 
 over fifty years of age. His hair was very thin and 
 quite gray; his face was closely shaven, except for a 
 thick tuft of hair that decorated his rather prominent 
 chin. 
 
 He was very poorly clad in pantaloons that hung in 
 rags over boots which were trodden down at the heel, 
 and in a much soiled woollen blouse. 
 
 The old doctor declared that this man must have 
 been instantly killed by a bullet ; the size of the circular 
 wound, the absence of blood around its edge, and the 
 blackened and burnt flesh demonstrated this fact with 
 almost mathematical precision. 
 
 The great difference in the wounds made by fire- 
 arms, according to the distance from which the death- 
 dealing missile comes, was seen when the physicians 
 began the autopsy of the last of the unfortunates. 
 
 The ball that had caused his death had scarcely trav- 
 ersed a yard of space before it reached him, and his 
 wound was not nearly so hideous in aspect as the other. 
 
 This individual, who was at least fifteen years 
 younger than his companion, was small and remarka- 
 bly ugly.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 81 
 
 His entirely beardless face was everywhere scarred 
 by the smallpox. 
 
 His garb was such as is worn by the worst denizens 
 of the barriere. His trousers were of gray checked 
 material, and his blouse was turned back en revers at the 
 throat. His boots had been blackened. The little 
 glazed cap that lay on the floor beside him was in har- 
 mony with his pretentious coiffure and his gaudy cra- 
 vat. 
 
 But these were all the facts that the physician's report 
 set forth in technical terms ; this was all the information 
 that had been obtained by the most careful investiga- 
 tion. 
 
 Vainly the pockets of the two men had been explored 
 and turned inside out; they contained nothing that 
 would give the slightest clew to their personality, to 
 their name, to their social position, or to their profes- 
 sion. 
 
 Not even the slightest indication not a letter, not an 
 address, not a fragment of paper; nothing not even 
 the common articles of personal use, such as a tobacco- 
 box, a knife, a pipe which might be recognized, and 
 thus establish the identity of its owner. 
 
 Some tobacco in a paper bag, some pocket-handker- 
 chiefs that were unmarked, some rolls of cigarettes 
 these were all that had been discovered. 
 
 The elder man had sixty-seven francs about him; the 
 younger, two louis. 
 
 Rarely had the police found themselves in the pres- 
 ence of so terrible an affair, without some slight clew to 
 guide them. 
 
 With the exception of the fact itself, proved only too 
 well by the bodies of the three victims, they were igno- 
 rant of everything connected with it, of the circum-
 
 82 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 stances and of the motive, and the probabilities, instead 
 of dissipating the uncertainty, only augmented it. 
 
 Certainly they might hope, by the aid of time, stren- 
 uous effort, and the powerful means of investigation 
 which they have at their disposal, to finally arrive at the 
 truth. 
 
 But, meanwhile, all was mystery so much so that 
 they could not even say who was to blame. 
 
 The murderer had been arrested ; but, if he persisted 
 in his obstinacy, how were they to ascertain his name? 
 He protested his innocence; how were they to furnish 
 any proofs of his guilt? 
 
 They knew nothing in regard to the victims ; and one 
 of them had with his dying breath accused himself. 
 
 An inexplicable influence tied the tongue of the 
 Widow Chupin. 
 
 Two women, one of whom had lost an ear-ring valued 
 at five thousand francs, had witnessed the struggle 
 then disappeared. An accomplice, after two acts of 
 unheard-of audacity, had made his escape. 
 
 And all these people the women, the murderer, the 
 keeper of the saloon, the accomplice, and the victims 
 were equally strange and mysterious, equally suspected 
 of not being what they seemed to be. 
 
 Perhaps the commissioner thought he would spend 
 a very unpleasant quarter of an hour at the prefecture 
 when he reported the case. Certainly he spoke of his 
 impressions on the subject in a very despondent tone. 
 
 " It will now be best," he said at last, " to transport 
 these three bodies to the morgue. There they will 
 doubtless be identified." 
 
 He reflected a moment, then added: 
 
 " And to think that one of these dead men is perhaps 
 Lacheneur himself! "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 83 
 
 " That is scarcely possible," said Lecoq. " The dis- 
 guised soldier, being the last to die, had seen his com- 
 panions fall. If he had supposed Lacheneur dead, he 
 would not have spoken of vengeance." 
 
 Gevrol, who for the past two hours had pretended to 
 pay no attention to the proceedings, now approached. 
 He was not the man to yield even to the strongest evi- 
 dence. 
 
 " If Monsieur le Commissaire will listen to me, he 
 shall hear my opinion, which is a trifle more definite 
 than Monsieur Lecoq's fancies." 
 
 The sound of wheels before the door of the cabin in- 
 terrupted him, and an instant after the judge of instruc- 
 tion* entered the room. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 There was not a person in the Poivriere who did not 
 know, at least by sight, the judge who had just entered, 
 and Gevrol, an old habitue of the Palais de Justice, 
 murmured his name: 
 
 " Monsieur Maurice d'Escorval." 
 
 He was the son of that famous Baron d'Escorval, 
 who, in 1815, sealed his devotion to the empire with his 
 blood, and upon whom Napoleon, at St. Helena, pro- 
 nounced this magnificent eulogium: 
 
 " Men as honest as he may, I believe, exist; but more 
 honest, no, it is not possible." 
 
 Having entered upon his duties as magistrate early 
 
 * In French law, the term " instruction" is applied to the investi- 
 gation and preparation of a case for trial. 
 
 And the judge of instruction is the official charged with collecting 
 proofs and testimony, and in preparing the case for presentation to 
 the court.
 
 84 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 in life, and being endowed with a remarkable talent for 
 his vocation, it had been supposed that he would rise 
 to the most exalted rank in his profession. But he had 
 disappointed such prognostications by resolutely refus- 
 ing all the more elevated positions that men offered to 
 him, in order to continue his modest but useful func- 
 tions in the tribunal of the $eine. 
 
 To explain his refusals, he said that life in Paris had 
 more charms for him than the most enviable advance- 
 ment. But it was hard to understand this declaration 
 on his part, for in spite of his brilliant connections and 
 large fortune, he had, since the death of his eldest 
 brother, led a most retired existence, concealing his life, 
 or revealing it only by his untiring labors and the good 
 he did to those around him. 
 
 He was now about forty-two years of age, but ap- 
 peared much younger, although furrows were begin- 
 ning to show themselves upon his forehead. 
 
 One would have admired his face, had it not been 
 for the puzzling immobility that marred its beauty, the 
 sarcastic curl of the thin lips, and the gloomy expres- 
 sion of his pale-blue eyes. 
 
 To say that he was cold and grave did not express 
 the truth ; it was saying too little. He was gravity and 
 coldness personified, with a shade of hauteur added. 
 
 Impressed by the horror of the scene the instant he 
 placed his foot upon the threshold, M. d'Escorval ac- 
 knowledged the presence of the physicians and the com- 
 missioner only by an abstracted nod of the head. The 
 others in the room had no existence so far as he was 
 concerned. 
 
 Already his faculties were at work. He studied the 
 ground, and carefully noted all the surroundings with 
 the attentive sagacity of a judge who realizes the im-
 
 MONSIEUR LECO& 85 
 
 mense weight of even the slightest detail, and who 
 understands the eloquence of circumstantial evidence. 
 
 " It is a serious affair," he said, gravely; " very seri- 
 ous." 
 
 The commissioner's only response was to lift his eyes 
 to heaven. A gesture that said very plainly: 
 
 " I am quite in accord with you! " 
 
 The fact is, that for the past two hours the worthy 
 commissioner's responsibility had weighed heavily 
 upon him, and he secretly blessed the judge for reliev- 
 ing him of it. 
 
 " The government solicitor was unable to accompany 
 me," resumed M. d'Escorval; "he has not the gift of 
 omnipresence, and I doubt if it is possible for him to 
 join me here. Let us, therefore, begin operations at 
 once." 
 
 The curiosity of those present was becoming unen- 
 durable; and the commissioner only expressed the gen- 
 eral feeling when he said: 
 
 " You, sir, have undoubtedly questioned the mur- 
 derer, and have learned " 
 
 " I have learned nothing," interrupted M. d'Escor- 
 val, apparently much astonished at the interruption. 
 
 He seated himself, and while his clerk was busy in 
 authenticating the commissioner's proces-verbal, he 
 began the perusal of the report written by Lecoq. 
 
 Pale, agitated, and nervous, that young policeman, 
 hidden in a remote corner, tried to read upon the im- 
 passive face of the magistrate the impression produced 
 by the document. 
 
 It was his future that was at stake that depended 
 upon this man's approval or disapproval. 
 
 It was not with a stupid mind like that of Father Ab-
 
 8d MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 sinthe that he had to deal now, but with a superior in- 
 telligence. 
 
 " If I could only plead my own cause," he thought. 
 " What are cold written phrases in comparison with 
 spoken, living words, palpitating with emotion and 
 with the convictions of the soul that utters them? " 
 
 But he was soon reassured. 
 
 The face of the judge retained its immobility, but he 
 nodded his head in token of approval, and occasionally 
 some point more ingenious than the others extorted 
 from his lips the exclamation: "Not bad! very 
 good!" 
 
 When he had finished its perusal : 
 
 " All this," he remarked to the commissioner, " is 
 quite unlike your report of this morning, which repre- 
 sented this mysterious affair as a low broil between 
 some miserable vagabonds." 
 
 This observation was only too just; and the commis- 
 sioner deeply regretted that he had trusted to the repre- 
 sentations of Gevrol, and remained warm in bed. 
 
 " This morning," he responded, evasively, " I only 
 gave my first impressions. These have been modified 
 by subsequent researches, so that " 
 
 " Oh! " interrupted the judge, " I did not intend to 
 reproach you; on the contrary, I must congratulate 
 you. One could not have done better nor acted more 
 promptly. All this instruction shows great penetration 
 and research, and the results are given with unusual 
 clearness and wonderful precision." 
 
 Lecoq's head whirled. 
 
 The commissioner hesitated for an instant. 
 
 He was sorely tempted to confiscate this praise to 
 his own profit. 
 
 If he drove away the unworthy thought, it was be-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 87 
 
 cause he was an honest man; and more than that, be- 
 cause it did not displease him to have an opportunity to 
 do Gevrol a bad turn and punish him for his presumpt- 
 uous folly. 
 
 " I must confess," he said, with some hesitation, 
 " that the honor of this investigation does not belong 
 to me." 
 
 " To whom, then, shall I attribute it, if not to the in- 
 spector ? " thought M. d'Escorval, nor without surprise ; 
 for having occasionally employed Gevrol, he did not 
 expect from him such ingenuity and sagacity as was 
 displayed in this report. 
 
 " Is it you, then, who have conducted this investiga- 
 tion so ably? " he demanded. 
 
 " Upon my word, no! " responded Inspector Gevrol. 
 " I, myself, am not so clever as all that. I content 
 myself with telling only what I discover ; and I say : 
 ' Here it is I ' May I be hung if the grounds of this 
 report exist, except in the brain of the man who has 
 made it." 
 
 Perhaps he really believed his assertion, being one 
 of those persons who are blinded by vanity to such a 
 degree that, with the most convincing evidence before 
 their eyes, they deny it. 
 
 " Yet," insisted the judge, " these women whose foot- 
 prints were left here have existed. The accomplice 
 who left the bits of wool upon the plank is a real being. 
 This ear-ring is a positive, palpable proof." 
 
 Gevrol had hard work to refrain from shrugging his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " All this can be satisfactorily explained without a 
 search of twelve or fourteen hours. That the murderer 
 had an accomplice is possible. The presence ( f the 
 women is very natural. Wherever there are men
 
 88 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 thieves, you will find women thieves. As for the dia- 
 mond what does that prove? That the scoundrels 
 had just met with a streak of good luck, that they had 
 come here to divide their booty, and that the quarrel 
 arose from the division." 
 
 This was an explanation, and such a plausible one, 
 that M. d'Escorval was silent, reflecting before he an- 
 nounced his decision. 
 
 " Decidedly," he declared, at last, " decidedly, I 
 adopt the hypothesis set forth in the report. Who is 
 the author of it? " 
 
 Anger made Gevrol's face as red as a lobster. 
 
 " The author is one of my men," he replied; " a very 
 clever and adroit man Monsieur Lecoq. Come for- 
 ward, Lecoq, that the judge may see you." 
 
 The young man advanced, his lips tightly com 
 pressed to conceal a smile of satisfaction. 
 
 " My report is only a summary, Monsieur," he be- 
 gan ; " but I have certain ideas " 
 
 " Which you will tell me when I ask for them," inter- 
 rupted the judge. 
 
 And oblivious of Lecoq's chagrin, he took from the 
 portfolio of his clerk two forms, which he filled up and 
 handed to Gevrol, saying: 
 
 "Here are two orders; take them to the station- 
 house, where the accused and the mistress of this cabin 
 are confined, and have them conducted to the perfect- 
 ure, where they will be privately examined." 
 
 When he had given these directions, M. d'Escorval 
 was turning toward the physicians, when Lecoq, at the 
 risk of a second rebuff, interposed. 
 
 " May I venture," he asked, " to beg Monsieur to 
 confide this mission to me?" 
 
 " Impossible; I may have need of you here."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 89 
 
 " I desired, Monsieur, to collect certain evidence, and 
 an opportunity to do so may not present itself again." 
 
 The judge, perhaps, fathomed the young man's mo- 
 tive. 
 
 . " So be it," he replied; " but after your task is com- 
 pleted you will await me at the prefecture, where I shall 
 go as soon as I have finished here. Go." 
 
 Lecoq did not wait for him to repeat the order. He 
 snatched up the papers and hastened away. 
 
 He did not run ; he flew over the ground. He no 
 longer experienced any fatigue from the labors of the 
 preceding night. Never had he felt so strong and alert 
 in body, so strong and clear in mind. 
 
 He was hopeful of success. He had confidence in 
 himself, and he would have been perfectly happy if he 
 could have had another judge to deal with. But M. 
 d'Escorval overawed and froze him to such a degree 
 that his mind seemed absolutely paralyzed in his pres- 
 ence. With what a disdainful glance he had surveyed 
 him! With what an imperious tone he had imposed 
 silence upon him and that, too, when he had found his 
 work deserving of commendation. 
 
 " But nonsense! " he mentally exclaimed; " does one 
 ever taste perfect happiness here below? " 
 
 And he hurried on. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 When, after a rapid walk of twenty minutes, Lecoq 
 reached the police-station of the Barriere d'ltalie, the 
 keeper, with his pipe in his mouth, was pacing slowly 
 to and fro before the guard-house. 
 
 By his thoughtful air, and by the anxious glance that 
 he cast now and then upon the little grated window,
 
 90 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 any passer-by might have known that the keeper had 
 at that moment a very rare bird in his cage. 
 
 As soon as he recognized Lecoq, his brow cleared, 
 and he paused in his promenade. 
 
 " Ah, well! " he inquired; " what news? " 
 
 " I bring an order to conduct the prisoners to the 
 prefecture." 
 
 The keeper rubbed his hands, evidently relieved. 
 
 " Very well ! very well ! " he exclaimed. " The Black 
 Maria will pass here in less than an hour; we will throw 
 them in, and hurry the coachman off " 
 
 Lecoq was obliged to interrupt his transports of sat- 
 isfaction. 
 
 " Are the prisoners alone ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Entirely alone; the woman on her side of the hall, 
 the man on the other. This has been a remarkably 
 quiet night; a shrove Sunday night, too! It is surpris- 
 ing. It is true that your hunt was interrupted." 
 
 " You have had a drunken man here, however." 
 
 " No yes that is a fact this morning, just at day- 
 break. A poor devil, who is under a great obligation 
 to Gevrol." 
 
 The involuntary irony of this remark must have 
 awakened Lecoq's regrets. 
 
 " Under a great obligation, indeed! " said he, approv- 
 ingly, and with a laugh. 
 
 " Although you seem inclined to laugh, such is really 
 the case; had it not been for Gevrol the man would cer- 
 tainly have been run over." 
 
 " And what has become of him? " 
 
 The keeper shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " Ah ! " he responded. " You ask me too much. 
 He was a very worthy man, who had been spending the 
 night at the house of one of his friends, and on coming
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 9* 
 
 out into the air, the wine flew to his head. He told us 
 all about it when he became sober, which was in the 
 course of half an hour. I have never seen a man so 
 vexed. He wept and said, again and again : " The 
 father of a family, and at my age! Oh! it is shameful! 
 What shall I say to my wife? What will the children 
 think?" 
 
 " Did he talk much about his wife? " 
 
 " He talked about nothing else. He even mentioned 
 her name Eudosia, Leocadie, or some name of that 
 sort. He thought, poor man, that he was ruined, and 
 that we would keep him here. He asked us to send for 
 the commissioner, to go to his house. When we set 
 him free, I thought he would go mad with joy ; he 
 kissed our hands, and he paid his score. Ah! he did 
 not even stop to ask for his change! " 
 
 " And did you place him in the cage with the mur- 
 derer? " inquired Lecoq. 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " They have talked with each other then." 
 
 " Talked ! The man was so drunk, I tell you, that he 
 could not have said ' bread.' When he was deposited 
 in the cell, pouf ! he fell like a log. As soon as he re- 
 covered we let him out. No, they did not talk to each 
 other." 
 
 The young policeman had become very thoughtful. 
 
 " It was, indeed, so! " he murmured. 
 
 " What did you say? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 Lecoq was not inclined to communicate his reflec- 
 tions to the keeper of the guard-house. They were by 
 so means agreeable. 
 
 " I was right," he thought; " this pretended drunken 
 man was none other than the accomplice, and he has as
 
 92 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 much adroitness as he has audacity and coolness. 
 While we were following his footprints he was watch- 
 ing us. We went away and he was bold enough to 
 enter the hovel. Then he came here and compelled 
 them to arrest him; and thanks to an assumption of 
 childish simplicity, he succeeded in finding an oppor- 
 tunity to speak to the murderer. How perfectly he has 
 played his role. But I know that he played a part, and 
 that is something. I know that it will be necessary to 
 believe exactly the opposite of what he said. He 
 talked of his family, of his wife, of his children hence, 
 he has neither children, wife, nor family." 
 
 He checked himself suddenly ; he had forgotten, this 
 was not the time to become absorbed in conjectures. 
 
 " What kind of a looking man was this drunkard ? " 
 he inquired. 
 
 " He was tall and very large, had a ruddy complex- 
 ion, white whiskers, a full face, small eyes, a broad, flat 
 nose, and a good-natured, jovial manner." 
 
 " How old would you suppose him to be? " 
 
 " From forty to fifty years of age." 
 
 " Did you form any idea of his profession? " 
 
 " Ma foil the man with his soft cap and his heavy 
 brown overcoat must be the keeper of some little shop, 
 or a clerk." 
 
 Having obtained this sufficiently exact description, 
 which accorded perfectly with the result of his investi- 
 gations, Lecoq was about to enter the station-house 
 when a sudden thought brought him instantly to a 
 stand-still. 
 
 " I hope, at least, that this man has had no communi- 
 cation with the Widow Chupin ! " 
 
 The keeper laughed heartily. 
 
 " How could he have had any? " he responded " Is
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 93 
 
 not the old woman alone in her cell? Ah, the old 
 wretch! There has not been a moment that she was 
 not cursing and threatening us. No, never in my whole 
 life have I heard such language as she has used ! It was 
 enough to make the very stones blush; even the 
 drunken man was so shocked that he went to speak to 
 her through the opening in the door, and to tell her to 
 be quiet." 
 
 The young man's gesture was so expressive of impa- 
 tience and wrath that the keeper paused, much per- 
 turbed. 
 
 " What is the matter? " he stammered. " Why are 
 you angry? " 
 
 " Because," replied Lecoq, furiously, " because " 
 
 And not wishing to disclose the real cause of his 
 anger, he entered the station-house, saying that he 
 wished to see the prisoner. 
 
 Left alone, the keeper began to swear in his turn. 
 
 " These agents of police are all alike," he grumbled. 
 " They question you, you tell them all they desire to 
 know ; and afterward, if you venture to ask them any- 
 thing, they reply : ' nothing,' or ' because.' They have 
 too much authority; it makes them proud." 
 
 Looking through the judas, a little latticed window 
 in the door, through which the men on guard watch 
 the prisoners, Lecoq eagerly examined the appearance 
 of the murderer. 
 
 He was obliged to ask himself if this was really the 
 same man whom he had seen some hours previous at 
 the Poivriere, standing upon the threshold, holding the 
 squad in check by the intense fury of his hate, by his 
 proud forehead, his sparkling eyes, and his trembling 
 lip.
 
 94 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Now his whole person betrayed a pitiable weakness, 
 utter despondency, gloom and despair. 
 
 He was seated on a bench opposite the judas, with 
 his elbows on his knees, and his chin resting upon his 
 hand, his eyes fixed upon vacancy, his lower lip hang- 
 ing. 
 
 " No," murmured Lecoq, " no, this man is not what 
 he seems to be." 
 
 He had looked at him; he now wished to speak to 
 him. He entered; the man raised his head, threw an 
 expressionless glance upon him, but did not say a word. 
 
 " Well," demanded the young officer, " how goes 
 it?" 
 
 " I am innocent! " responded the man, in a hoarse, 
 discordant voice. 
 
 " I hope so, I am sure ; but that is for the judge to 
 decide. I came to see if you did not need something." 
 
 " No." 
 
 A second later the murderer changed his mind. 
 
 " If it is all the same to you, I would like a crust and 
 a drink of wine." 
 
 " They shall bring it to you," replied Lecoq. 
 
 He went out Immediately to forage in the neighbor- 
 hood for eatables of some sort. He was impressed with 
 the idea that in demanding a drink after a refusal, the 
 man had thought only of carrying out his resemblance 
 to the kind of man he pretended to be. 
 
 Whoever he might be, the murderer ate with an ex- 
 cellent appetite. He then took up the large glass of 
 wine, drained it slowly, and said : 
 
 " It is good! There can be nothing to beat that! " 
 
 This satisfaction disappointed Lecoq. He had se- 
 lected, as a test, one of those horribly thick, bluish, 
 nauseous mixtures which are in vogue around the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 95 
 
 barriere, and he expected some sign of dislike from 
 the murderer. 
 
 And there was none whatever. But he had not time 
 to seek the conclusions to be drawn from this fact. The 
 sound of wheels announced the arrival of that lugubri- 
 ous vehicle, the Black Maria. 
 
 It was necessary to place the Widow Chupin in the 
 vehicle by main force. She fought and scratched and 
 cried " Murder! " with all her strength. Then the 
 assassin was requested to take his place in the carriage. 
 
 Now, at least, the young policeman counted upon 
 some manifestation of repugnance, and he watched the 
 prisoner closely. None! The man entered the fright- 
 ful vehicle in the most unconcerned manner, and took 
 possession of his compartment like an old habitue, who 
 knows the most comfortable position to assume in such 
 close quarters. 
 
 " Ah ! this is an unfortunate morning," murmured 
 Lecoq, much disappointed; " but I will lie in wait for 
 him at the prefecture." 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 When the door of the prison-van had been securely 
 closed, the driver cracked his whip, and the strong 
 horses started off on a brisk trot. 
 
 Lecoq had taken his seat in front, between the driver 
 and the guard; but his mind was so engrossed with his 
 own thoughts that he heard nothing of their conversa- 
 tion, which was very jovial, although it was frequently 
 disturbed by the shrill voice of the Widow Chupin, who 
 sang and yelled her imprecations alternately. 
 
 Lecoq was trying his best to discover a method by 
 which he could surprise some clew to the secret which
 
 96 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 this murderer hid so cleverly, for he was still convinced 
 that the prisoner must belong to the higher ranks of 
 society. 
 
 That this pretender had succeeded in feigning an ap- 
 petite, that he had concealed his distaste for a nauseous 
 beverage, that he had entered the Black Maria without 
 hesitation, was nothing extraordinary after all, in a man 
 who was endowed with much strength of will, when he 
 realized the imminence of his peril, and when his powers 
 of endurance were increased tenfold by the hope of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 But would he be able to hide his feelings as well when 
 he was obliged to submit to the humiliating formalities 
 that awaited him formalities which, in certain cases, 
 can, and must be, pushed even to the verge of insult 
 and outrage? 
 
 No ; Lecoq could not believe that this would be pos- 
 sible. 
 
 He was very sure that the horror that would be in- 
 spired in the prisoner's mind by the disgrace, and by the 
 violation of all delicacy of feeling, would cause the man 
 to revolt, to lose his self-control, and draw from him 
 some word that would give the desired clew. 
 
 It was not until the gloomy vehicle had left the Pont- 
 Neur to take the Quai de 1'Horloge, that the young de- 
 tective became conscious of what was passing around 
 him. Soon the van turned into a gate-way, and 
 stopped in a small, damp court-yard. 
 
 Lecoq was instantly on the ground. He opened the 
 door of the compartment in which the murderer was 
 confined, and said: 
 
 " We are here; descend." 
 
 There was no danger that the prisoner would escape. 
 The iron gate had been closed, and at least a dozen po-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 9 7 
 
 licemen and agents were standing near, anxious to see 
 the harvest of the previous night. 
 
 When the door was opened, the murderer slowly 
 stepped down from the vehicle. 
 
 His expression did not change in the least. His face 
 evinced the perfect indifference of a man accustomed to 
 such ordeals. 
 
 An anatomist studying the movement of a muscle 
 could not have watched with a closer attention than Le- 
 coq bestowed upon the attitude, the face, and the aspect 
 of the prisoner. 
 
 When the prisoner's foot touched the pavement of 
 the court-yard, he seemed to experience a sensation of 
 satisfaction; he drew a long breath, then he stretched 
 himself, and shook himself violently, as if to regain the 
 elasticity of his limbs, cramped by confinement in the 
 narrow compartment from which he had just emerged. 
 
 Then he glanced about him, and a scarcely percepti- 
 ble smile played upon his lips. 
 
 One would have sworn that the place was familiar to 
 him, that he had seen before these high, grim walls, 
 these grated windows, these heavy doors in short, all 
 the sinister belongings of a prison. 
 
 " Mon Dieu! " thought Lecoq, greatly chagrined, 
 " does he indeed recognize the place? " 
 
 The young man's disquietude increased when he saw 
 the prisoner, without waiting for a word, for a motion, 
 for a sign, turn toward one of the five or six doors that 
 opened upon the court-yard. 
 
 He walked straight to the one he was expected to 
 enter straight, without an instant's hesitation. Was 
 it chance? 
 
 His amazement and disappointment increased tenfold 
 when he saw the man, after entering the gloomy corri-
 
 p8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 dor, walk on some little distance, turn to the left, pass 
 the room of the keeper, and enter the register's office. 
 
 An old offender could not have done better. 
 
 Lecoq found a cold sweat break out upon his whole 
 body. 
 
 " This man," thought he, " has certainly been here 
 before; he knows the ropes." 
 
 The register's office was a large room, badly lighted 
 by small windows, whose panes were covered with a 
 thick coating of dust, and heated almost to suffocation 
 by an immense stove. 
 
 There sat the clerk reading a paper that was laid over 
 the register the gloomy register in which are inscribed 
 the names of all those whom misconduct, crime, mis- 
 fortune, madness, or error have brought to these grim 
 portals. 
 
 Three or four watchmen, who were awaiting the hour 
 for entering upon their duties, were half asleep upon 
 the wooden benches that lined three sides of the room. 
 
 These benches, two tables, and some broken chairs, 
 constituted the furniture of the office. 
 
 In one corner stood a measuring machine, under 
 which each culprit was obliged to pass. For their ex- 
 act height was recorded, in order that the description 
 might be complete in every respect. 
 
 At the entrance of the culprit accompanied by Lecoq, 
 the clerk raised his head. 
 
 " Ah ! " said he, " has the van come ? " 
 
 " Yes," responded Lecoq. 
 
 And extending the orders signed by M. d'Escorval, 
 he added : 
 
 " Here are the papers for this man." 
 
 The register took the documents and read them.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 9 9 
 
 " Oh ! " he exclaimed, " a triple assassination ! oh ! 
 oh!" 
 
 Positively he regarded the prisoner with great con- 
 sideration. This was not a common culprit, an ordi- 
 nary vagabond, a vulgar thief. 
 
 " The judge orders a private examination," he contin- 
 ued, " and I must get him other clothing. The cloth- 
 ing he is wearing now will be used as evidence. Let 
 someone go at once and tell the superintendent that the 
 other occupants of the carriage must wait. I will 
 measure this man's height in compliance with the 
 rules." 
 
 The director was not far off, and he soon made his 
 appearance. The clerk had prepared his register. 
 
 " Your name? " he demanded first. 
 
 " May." 
 
 " Your first name? " 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 " What, you have no Christian name? " 
 
 The murderer seemed to reflect for a moment, then 
 he said, sulkily: 
 
 " I may as well tell you that you need not wear your- 
 self out questioning me; I shall reply only to the judge. 
 You would like to make me cut my own throat, 
 wouldn't you? It is a very clever trick, but I under- 
 stand it." 
 
 " You must see that you only aggravate your situa- 
 tion," observed the director. 
 
 " Not in the least. I am innocent; you wish to ruin 
 me. I only defend myself. Get anything more out of 
 me now, if you can. But you had better give me back 
 the money that they took from me at the station-house. 
 One hundred and thirty-six francs, eight sous! I shall 
 need them when I get out of this place. I wish you to
 
 ioo MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 make a note of them on the register. Where art 
 they? " 
 
 The money had been given to Lecoq by the keeper 
 of the station-house, who had found it upon the pris- 
 oner when he was placed in his custody. Lecoq depos- 
 ited it upon the table. 
 
 " Here are your hundred and thirty-six francs and 
 eight sous," said he, " and also your knife, your hand- 
 kerchief, and four cigars." 
 
 An expression of lively contentment was discerni- 
 ble on the prisoner's features. 
 
 " Now," resumed the clerk, " will you answer? " 
 
 But the director understood the uselessness of fur- 
 ther insistence; he silenced the clerk by a gesture, and, 
 addressing the prisoner, he said: 
 
 " Take off your shoes." 
 
 On receiving this order, Lecoq thought the assassin's 
 glance wavered. Was it only a fancy? 
 
 " Why must I do that? " he demanded. 
 
 " To pass under the beam," responded the clerk. 
 " We must make a note of your exact height." 
 
 The prisoner made no reply; he sat down and drew 
 off his heavy leather boots. The heel of the right one 
 was run over on the inside. He wore no stockings. 
 
 " You do not wear shoes except on Sunday, then?" 
 inquired Lecoq. 
 
 " Why do you think that? " 
 
 " By the mud with which your feet are covered, as 
 high as the ankle-bone." 
 
 " And what of that ? " exclaimed the man, in an in- 
 solent tone. " Is it a crime not to have the feet of a 
 marquise? " 
 
 " It is a crime of which you are not guilty, at all 
 events," said the young detective, slowly. " Do you
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 101 
 
 think that I cannot see, in spite of the mud, that your 
 feet are white and neat? The nails have been carefully 
 cut and polished " 
 
 He paused. A lightning flash of his genius for in- 
 vestigation traversed his brain. 
 
 He pushed forward a chair, laid a paper upon it, and 
 said: 
 
 " Will you place your foot there ? " 
 
 The man did not comply with the request. 
 
 " Ah! do not resist," insisted the director; " we arte in 
 force." 
 
 The prisoner made no further resistance. He placed 
 his foot upon the chair, as he had been ordered to do, 
 and Lecoq, with the aid of a knife, proceeded to remove 
 the fragments of mud that adhered to the skin. 
 
 Anywhere else, they would have laughed at such an 
 act, so mysterious, strange and grotesque, all at the 
 same time. But in this ante-chamber of the court of 
 assizes, the most trivial acts are tinged with a shade of 
 gloom; a laugh is easily frozen upon the lips, and one 
 is astonished by nothing. 
 
 All the spectators, from the director down to the 
 guards, had witnessed many other incidents equally ab- 
 surd; and it did not enter the mind of anyone present 
 to inquire the detective's motive. 
 
 This much they knew already : that the prisoner was 
 intending to conceal his identity, that it was necessary 
 to establish it, at any cost, and that Lecoq had probably 
 invented some method of attaining this end. 
 
 Besides, the operation was soon concluded; and Le- 
 coq brushed the dust from the paper into the palm of 
 his hand. 
 
 This dust he divided into two parts. One portion 
 he enclosed in a scrap of paper, and then slipped it into
 
 102 MONSIEUIt LECOQ 
 
 his own pocket; the other package he handed to the 
 director, saying, as he did so: 
 
 " I must beg you, Monsieur, to receive this on de- 
 posit, and to seal it up here, in the presence of the pris- 
 oner. This is necessary, that he may not claim by-and- 
 by that in place of this dust other has been substituted." 
 
 The superintendent complied with the request, and 
 as he placed this " bit of proof " (as he styled it) in a 
 small satchel for safe-keeping, the murderer shrugged 
 his shoulders with a sneering laugh. 
 
 It is true that beneath this cynical gayety Lecoq 
 thought he could detect poignant anxiety. 
 
 Chance owed him the compensation of this slight tri- 
 umph ; for previous events had deceived all his calcula- 
 tions. 
 
 The prisoner did not offer the slightest objection 
 when he was ordered to undress, and to exchange his 
 soiled and blood-stained garments for the clothing 
 furnished by the government. 
 
 Not a muscle of his face betrayed the secret of his 
 soul, while he submitted his person to one of those ig- 
 nominious examinations which make the blood mount 
 to the forehead of the lowest criminal. 
 
 It was with perfect indifference that he allowed the 
 inspector to comb his hair and his beard, and to exam- 
 ine the interior of his mouth, in order to make sure that 
 he had not concealed in one of these hiding-places a 
 fragment of glass, by the aid of which captives can sever 
 the strongest bars; or one of those microscopic bits of 
 lead that prisoners use in writing the notes which they 
 exchange, rolled up in a morsel of bread, and which 
 they call " postilions." 
 
 These formalities having been concluded, the super* 
 intendent rang for one of the guard.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 103 
 
 " Conduct this man to No. 3 of the secret cells," he 
 ordered. 
 
 There was no need to drag the prisoner away. He 
 went out, as he had entered, preceding the guard, like 
 an old habitue, who knows where he is going. 
 
 " What a rascal ! " exclaimed the clerk. 
 
 " Then you think " began Lecoq, baffled, but not 
 convinced. 
 
 " Ah! there can be no doubt of it," declared the di- 
 rector. " This man is certainly a dangerous malefac- 
 tor an old offender I think I have seen him before 
 I could almost swear to it." 
 
 So these people, who had such a large and varied ex- 
 perience, shared Gevrol's opinion; Lecoq stood alone. 
 
 He did not discuss the matter what good would it 
 have done? Besides, they were just bringing in the 
 Widow Chupin. 
 
 The journey must have calmed her nerves, for she 
 had become as gentle as a lamb. It was in a wheedling 
 voice, and with tearful eyes, that she called upon these 
 " good gentlemen " to witness the shameful injustice 
 with which she was treated she, an honest woman. 
 She was the support of the family (since her son Polyte 
 was in custody, charged with pocket-picking), and what 
 would become of her daughter-in-law, and her grand- 
 son Toto, who had no one to look to but her? 
 
 But when they were leading her away, after she had 
 given her full name, she no sooner entered the corridor 
 than nature reasserted itself, and they heard her quarrel- 
 ling with the guard. 
 
 " You are wrong not to be polite," she was saying 
 to him; " you are losing a good fee, without counting 
 many a good drink that I would give you without 
 charge, when I get out of here."
 
 io 4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The examinations were over, and Lecoq was free un- 
 til the arrival of M. d'Escorval. He wandered through 
 the corridors, and from room to room ; but, as he was 
 questioned on every side, he went out and sat down 
 upon the quay to collect his thoughts. 
 
 His convictions were unchanged. He was still more 
 convinced that the prisoner was concealing his real so- 
 cial condition; but, on the other hand, it was evident 
 that the man was well acquainted with the prison and 
 with its usages. 
 
 He had also proved himself to be much more clever 
 a thousand times more clever than Lecoq had sup- 
 posed. 
 
 What self-control! What powers of dissimulation! 
 He had not so much as frowned while undergoing the 
 severest ordeals, and he had deceived the most experi- 
 enced eyes in Paris. 
 
 The young detective had been waiting there nearly 
 three hours, as motionless as the post upon which he 
 was seated, and alike insensible to the cold and to the 
 flight of time, when a coupe drew up before the entrance 
 of the prison, and M. d'Escorval descended, followed 
 by his clerk. 
 
 Lecoq rose and hastened toward them, breathless 
 with anxiety. 
 
 " My researches on the spot," said the judge, " con- 
 firm me in my belief that you are right. Is there any- 
 thing new? " 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur ; a fact apparently very trivial, but 
 of an importance that " 
 
 " Very well ! " interrupted the judge. " You will 
 explain this to me by and by. I wish first to make a 
 summary examination of the accused parties. A mere 
 matter of form to-day. Wait for me here."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 105 
 
 Although the judge promised to make haste, Lecoq 
 expected that at least an hour would elapse before he 
 reappeared. But he was wrong. Twenty minutes had 
 not passed before M. d'Escorval emerged from the 
 prison without his clerk. 
 
 He walked very quickly, and calling to the young 
 detective from some little distance, he said: 
 
 " I must return home at once instantly; I cannot 
 listen to you." 
 
 " But, Monsieur " 
 
 " Enough ! the bodies of the victims have been taken 
 to the morgue. Keep a sharp lookout there. Then, 
 this evening make Well do whatever you think 
 best." 
 
 " But, Monsieur, I must " 
 
 " To-morrow ! to-morrow at nine o'clock, in my 
 office in the Palais de Justice." 
 
 Lecoq wished to insist upon a hearing, but M. d'Es- 
 corval had entered, or rather had thrown himself, into 
 his coupe, and the coachman was cracking his whip. 
 
 " And he is a judge! " murmured the young man, left 
 panting upon the quay. " Has he gone mad? " 
 
 And an uncharitable thought entered his mind. 
 
 " Can it be," he murmured, " that he holds the key 
 to the mystery? Does he not desire to get rid of me? " 
 
 This suspicion was so terrible that he hastened back 
 to the prison, hoping to gain some light from the bear- 
 ing of the prisoner, and ran to peer through the little 
 aperture in the heavy door leading into the cell. 
 
 The murderer was lying upon the pallet that stood 
 directly opposite the door. His face was turned toward 
 the wall, and he was enveloped to the very eyes in the 
 coverlid. 
 
 Was he asleep? No; for Lecoq detected a strange
 
 io6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 movement of the body. This movement, which he 
 could not explain, annoyed him. He applied his ear 
 instead of his eye to the aperture, and he distinguished 
 a stifled moan. There could no longer be any doubt. 
 The death-rattle was sounding in the prisoner's 
 throat. 
 
 " Here! here! " cried Lecoq, greatly excited. " Help! 
 help!" 
 
 Ten guards came running at his call. 
 
 " The prisoner! he is killing himself! " 
 
 They opened the door; it was time. 
 
 The poor wretch had torn a binding from his cloth- 
 ing, had tied it around his neck, and using in place of 
 a tourniquet a tin spoon that had been brought in with 
 his allowance of food, he was strangling himself. 
 
 The prison doctor, who had been sent for, and who 
 immediately bled the prisoner, declared that in ten min- 
 utes all would have been over. 
 
 When the murderer regained consciousness, he 
 gazed about his cell with a wild, idiotic stare. One 
 might have supposed that he was amazed to find him- 
 self still alive. Then a great tear welled from his swol- 
 len eyelids, and rolled down his cheek. 
 
 They pressed him with questions not a word in re- 
 sponse. 
 
 " Since he is in such a frame of mind, and since we 
 cannot give him a companion, as he has been sentenced 
 to solitary confinement, we must put him in a strait- 
 jacket." 
 
 After he had assisted in binding the prisoner, Lecoq 
 went away, very thoughtful, and painfully agitated. 
 He felt that this veil of mystery hid some terrible 
 drama.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 107 
 
 " But what has occurred? " he murmured. " Has 
 this unfortunate man, who tried to destroy himself, con- 
 fessed all to the judge? Why should he have commit- 
 ted such an act of desperation? " 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Lecoq did not sleep any that night. 
 
 And yet he had been on his feet for more than forty 
 hours, and had scarcely paused to eat or to drink. 
 
 But anxiety, hope, and even fatigue itself, imparted 
 to his body the factitious strength of fever, and to his 
 intellect that unhealthy acuteness which is the result 
 of intense mental effort. 
 
 He no longer occupied himself in pursuing imaginary 
 deductions, as he had done when in the employ of his 
 patron, the astronomer. Facts were more startling 
 than chimeras. They were only too real the dead 
 bodies of the three victims that were lying on the mar- 
 ble slab of the morgue. 
 
 But if the catastrophe itself was certain, beyond the 
 shadow of a doubt, everything connected with it could 
 only be conjectured. Not a witness could be found to 
 tell what circumstances had preceded and paved the 
 way for this terrible denouement. 
 
 One discovery, it is true, would suffice to dissipate 
 these doubts, and that was the identity of the mur- 
 derer. 
 
 Who was he? Which was right? Gevrol, upheld 
 by all the men at the prison, or Lecoq, who stood 
 alone ? 
 
 Gevrol's opinion was based upon formidable proof,
 
 io8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the evidence that enters the mind through the sense of 
 sight. 
 
 Lecoq's hypothesis was based only upon a series of 
 subtle observations, and of deductions whose starting- 
 point was a single sentence, which had fallen from the 
 lips of the murderer. 
 
 And yet Lecoq did not feel the least particle of un- 
 certainty after his short conversation with M. d'Escor- 
 val's clerk, whom he met as he was leaving the prison. 
 
 This worthy young man, when adroitly interrogated 
 by Lecoq, was easily persuaded to reveal what had 
 passed between the prisoner and the judge. 
 
 It was, one might say, nothing at all. 
 
 The murderer, so the clerk declared, had not only re- 
 fused to make any confession to M. d'Escorval, but he 
 had replied in the most evasive manner to all the ques- 
 tions which had been put to him; and in several in- 
 stances he had not replied at all. 
 
 And if the judge had not insisted upon a reply, it was 
 only because this first examination was a mere formal- 
 ity, intended to justify the rather premature delivery of 
 the order to imprison the accused. 
 
 Under these circumstances, how was one to explain 
 this act of despair on the part of the prisoner? 
 
 The statistics of prisons prove that " habitual offend- 
 ers " (that is the expression) do not commit suicide. 
 
 When detected in a criminal act, some members of 
 this class are seized with a wild frenzy, and have what 
 are styled nervous attacks ; others fall into a dull stupor, 
 like a glutted beast who falls asleep with the blood of 
 his victim upon his lips. 
 
 But such men never think of putting an end to their 
 days. They hold fast to their life, no matter how seri- 
 ously they may be compromised. They are cowards.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 109 
 
 On the other hand, the unfortunate man who, in a 
 moment of frenzy, commits some crime, not unfre- 
 quently seeks to avoid the consequences of his act by 
 a voluntary death. 
 
 Hence this abortive attempt on the part of the ac- 
 cused was a strong argument in favor of Lecoq's 
 theory. 
 
 This wretched man's secret must be a terrible one, 
 since he holds it dearer than his life ; since he has tried 
 to destroy himself that he might take it inviolate to the 
 grave. 
 
 Four o'clock sounded. 
 
 Quickly Lecoq sprang from the bed, where he had 
 thrown himself down without removing his clothing; 
 and five minutes later he was walking down the Rue 
 Montmartre. 
 
 The weather was still disagreeable; the fog had not 
 lifted. But what did it matter to the young detective? 
 
 He was walking briskly on, when, just as he reached 
 Saint Eustache, someone in a coarse, mocking voice 
 accosted him with : 
 
 " Ah, ha! my fine fellow! " 
 
 He looked up and perceived Gevrol, who, accom- 
 panied by three of his men, had come to cast his nets 
 near the market. It is a good place. The police sel- 
 dom fail to find thieves and vagabonds lurking around 
 the establishment kept open during the night by the 
 hucksters. 
 
 " You are up very early this morning, Monsieur Le- 
 coq," continued the inspector; " you are still trying to 
 discover our man's identity, I suppose? " 
 
 " Still trying." 
 
 " Is he a prince in disguise, or only a simple mar- 
 quis?"
 
 no MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " One or the other, I am quite certain.'* 
 
 " Very well. In that case, you will not refuse to give 
 us an opportunity to drink to your success." 
 
 Lecoq consented, and the party entered a saloon near 
 by. When the glasses were rilled : 
 
 " Upon my word, General," exclaimed Lecoq, " our 
 meeting will save me a long walk. I was intending to 
 go to the prefecture to request you, in behalf of Mon- 
 sieur d'Escorval, to send one of our comrades to the 
 morgue this morning. The affair at the Poivriere has 
 been noised about, and all the world will be there, and 
 he desires some officer to be present to watch the crowd 
 and listen to the remarks of the visitors." 
 
 "Very well; Father Absinthe shall be there at the 
 opening." 
 
 To send Father Absinthe where a shrewd and subtle 
 agent was required was a mockery. Still Lecoq made 
 no protest against this decision. It was better to be 
 badly served than to be betrayed; and he could trust 
 Father Absinthe. 
 
 " It does not matter much," continued Gevrol; " but 
 you should have informed me of this last evening. But 
 when I reached the prefecture you had gone." 
 
 " I had business." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " At the station-house at the Barriere d'ltalie. I 
 wished to know whether the floor of the cage was paved 
 or tiled." 
 
 After this response, he paid the score, saluted his su- 
 perior officer, and went out. 
 
 "Thunder!" exclaimed Gevrol, striking his glass 
 violently upon the counter. " Thunder ! how that fel- 
 low provokes me ! He does not knew the A B C's of 
 his profession. When he can discover nothing, he in-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ m 
 
 vents wonderful stories, and then misleads the judges 
 with his high-sounding phrases, in the hope of winning 
 promotion. I will give him advancement with a ven- 
 geance ! I will teach him to set himself above me ! " 
 
 Lecoq had not been deceived. The evening before, 
 he had visited the station-house where the prisoner had 
 first been confined, and had compared the soil of the 
 cell floor with the dust he had in his pocket; and he 
 took away with him, as he believed, one of those crush- 
 ing proofs that often suffice to extort from the most 
 obstinate criminal a complete confession. 
 
 If he was in haste to part company with Gevrol, it 
 was because he was eager to pursue his investigations 
 still further, before appearing in the presence of M. 
 d'Escorval. 
 
 He was determined to find the coachman who had 
 been stopped by the two women on the Rue du Cheval- 
 eret; and with this object in view, he had obtained at 
 the prefecture the name and address of each person who 
 had carriages for hire, between the road to Fontaine- 
 bleau and the Seine. 
 
 His first efforts at investigation were unfortunate. 
 
 In the first establishment which he visited, the stable 
 boys, who were not yet up, swore at him roundly. In 
 the second, he found the grooms at work, but not a 
 coachman had made his appearance. 
 
 Moreover, the proprietor of the establishment re- 
 fused to show him the books upon which are recorded 
 or should be recorded the daily engagements of 
 each coachman. 
 
 He was beginning to despair, when at about half-past 
 seven o'clock he reached the house of a man named 
 Trigault, whose establishment was just beyond the 
 fortifications. Here he learned that on Sunday night.
 
 ii2 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 or rather early Monday morning, one of the coachmen, 
 as he was returning home for the night, had been ac- 
 costed by some parties, who succeeded in persuading 
 him to go back to Paris. 
 
 This coachman was pointed out to Lecoq; he was 
 then in the court-yard harnessing his horse. 
 
 He was a little old man, with a very high color, and 
 small eyes full of cunning. Lecoq walked up to him 
 at once. 
 
 " Was it you," he demanded, " who, on Sunday night, 
 or rather on Monday, between one and two o'clock in 
 the morning, took two women from the Rue du Che- 
 valeret to the city? " 
 
 The coachman looked up, and, surveying Lecoq at- 
 tentively, cautiously replied: 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " It is a positive answer that I want." 
 
 " Aha ! " said the old man, sneeringly, " Monsieur 
 undoubtedly knows two ladies who have lost something 
 in a carriage, and so " 
 
 The young detective trembled with joy. This man 
 was certainly the one whom he sought; he interrupted 
 him: 
 
 " Have you heard anything about a crime that has 
 been committed in the neighborhood? " 
 
 " Yes ; a murder in a low drinking-saloon." 
 
 "Very well! These two women were there; they 
 fled when we entered the saloon. I am trying to find 
 them. I am an agent of the safety-service; here is my 
 card. Can you give me any information?" 
 
 The coachman had become very pale. 
 
 "Ah! the wretches!" he exclaimed. "I am no 
 longer surprised at the pourboire they gave me. A 
 louis, and two one hundred sou pieces for the fare
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 113 
 
 thirty francs in all. Cursed money! if I had not spent 
 it, I would throw it away! " 
 
 " And where did you carry them? " 
 
 " To the Rue de Bourgogne. I have forgotten the 
 number, but I should recognize the house." 
 
 " Unfortunately they would not have you leave them 
 at their own door." 
 
 " Who knows ? I saw them ring ; they pulled the 
 bell, and I think they entered just as I drove away. 
 Shall I take you there?" 
 
 Lecoq's sole response was to spring upon the driver's 
 seat, exclaiming: 
 
 " Let us be off." 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Was one to suppose that the women who escaped 
 from the Widow Chupin's saloon at the moment of the 
 murder were utterly devoid of intelligence ? 
 
 No! 
 
 Was it possible that these two fugitives, conscious 
 as they were of their perilous situation, would have gone 
 to their real home in a carriage hired on the public 
 highway? 
 
 No, again. 
 
 Then the hope of finding them manifested by the 
 coachman was chimerical. 
 
 Lecoq felt this, and yet he had not hesitated an in- 
 stant before leaping upon the seat, and giving the signal 
 to depart. 
 
 By doing this, he obeyed a maxim which he had fab- 
 ricated in his hours of meditation, a maxim which was 
 to assure his fame in after days, and which reads as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " In the matter of information, above all, regard with
 
 ii 4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 suspicion that which seems probable. Begin always 
 by believing what seems incredible." 
 
 While arriving at these conclusions, the young detec- 
 tive was ingratiating himself into the good graces of the 
 coachman, thereby winning all the information that this 
 worthy had it in his power to bestow. 
 
 It was also a way that Lecoq had devised to get back 
 to the heart of Paris more quickly. 
 
 He was not deceived in this last calculation. 
 
 The horse pricked up his ears and quickened his pace 
 when his master cried: " Hi, there, Cocotle! " in tones 
 that the poor beast knew would admit of no trifling. 
 
 In less than no time the carriage reached the Route 
 de Choisy, and then Lecoq resumed his inquiries. 
 
 " Well, my good man," he began, " you have told me 
 the principal facts, now I would like the details. How 
 did these two women attract your attention? " 
 
 " It was all very simple. I had been having a most 
 unfortunate day six hours standing in line upon the 
 boulevards, the rain pouring down all the time. What 
 misery ! At*midnight I had gained only thirty sous of 
 pourboire, all told. Still I was so chilled through, and 
 my horse was so tired, that I decided to return. I was 
 grumbling not a little, as you may suppose! After 
 passing the corner of the Rue Picard, on the Rue du 
 Chevaleret, I saw two women standing under a street- 
 lamp, some distance from me. Naturally, I did not pay 
 any attention to them ; for when a man is as old as I am, 
 women " 
 
 " Go on! " said Lecoq, who could not restrain his im- 
 patience. 
 
 " I had passed them, when they began to call : 
 "' Coachman ! coachman ! ' I pretended I did not hear 
 them; but one of them ran after me, crying: ' A louis!
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ ng 
 
 a louis for pourboire! ' I deliberated for a moment, 
 when, as if to conquer my hesitancy, the woman added: 
 'And ten francs for fare!' Of course, I stopped at 
 once." 
 
 Lecoq was boiling over with impatience, but he felt 
 that direct and hurried questions would be useless. The 
 wisest course was to listen to all the man had to say. 
 
 " As you may suppose," continued the coachman, 
 " one is not inclined to trust two such suspicious char- 
 acters, alone at that hour, in that part of the city. So 
 when they were about to enter the carriage, I cried: 
 ' Halt there! my little friends, you have promised papa 
 some sous; where are they? ' The one who had called 
 me at once handed me thirty francs, saying: ' Above 
 all, make haste! ' ' 
 
 " It would be impossible to be more exact," said the 
 young man, approvingly. " Now, how about these 
 two women? " 
 
 " What do you mean? " 
 
 " I mean what kind of people did they seem to be; 
 for what would you have taken them? " 
 
 The man's red face expanded under the influence of 
 a broad smile. 
 
 " Well ! I took them to be nothing very good," he 
 replied. 
 
 " Ah! and how were they dressed? " 
 
 " Like other girls who go to dance at the Rainbow, 
 you know. But one of them was very neat and trig, 
 while the other well ! she was a terrible dowdy." 
 
 " Which one ran after you? " 
 
 " The neatly dressed girl, the one who " 
 
 He paused suddenly; so vivid was the remembrance 
 that passed through his brain, that he jerked the reins 
 and brought his horse to a stand-still.
 
 n6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Thunder! " he exclaimed; " now I think of it, I did 
 notice something strange. One of the two women 
 called the other madame, as large as life, while the other 
 said thee and thou, and spoke rather harshly to her 
 companion." 
 
 "Oh! oh! oh!" exclaimed the young detective, in 
 three different keys. " And which, if you please, said 
 thou? " 
 
 " The shabbily dressed one. She couldn't put two 
 feet in one shoe, that woman couldn't. She shook the 
 other, the trig-looking girl, as if she were a plum-tree. 
 'Wretch!' said she, 'do you wish to ruin us? You 
 can faint when we get home if you wish; come along! ' 
 And the other replied, sobbing : ' Indeed, Madame, 
 indeed I cannot ! She really did seem unable to move ; 
 in fact, she seemed so ill that I said to myself: ' Here 
 is a young woman who has drank more than a suffi- 
 ciency.' " 
 
 These facts confirmed while they corrected Lecoq's 
 first supposition. 
 
 As he had suspected, the social position of the two 
 women was not the same. 
 
 He had been mistaken, however, in attributing the 
 pre-eminence to the woman wearing the small shoes 
 with the high heels, whose impressions upon the snow 
 had revealed her weakness. 
 
 This pre-eminence belonged to her who had left the 
 prints of the large, broad shoes; and superior in her 
 rank, she had been so in her energy. 
 
 Until now Lecoq had been satisfied that she was the 
 servant and the other the mistress. 
 
 " Is this all, my good fellow? " he asked his compan- 
 ion. 
 
 " All," replied the coachman, " except I noticed that
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 117 
 
 the shabbily dressed woman who paid me had a hand 
 well, as small as an infant's; and in spite of her anger, 
 her voice was as sweet as music." 
 
 " Did you see her face? " 
 
 " I just caught a glimpse of it." 
 
 " Could you tell if she were pretty, or whether she 
 was a blonde or a brunette ? " 
 
 So many questions at a time confused the worthy 
 coachman. 
 
 " Stop a minute! " he replied. " In my opinion, she 
 was not pretty, and I do not believe she was young; but 
 she certainly was a blonde, with plenty of hair." 
 
 " Was she tall or short; stout or slender? " 
 
 " Between the two." 
 
 This was very vague. 
 
 " And the other," demanded Lecoq, " the neatly 
 dressed one?" 
 
 " The devil! As for her, I did not notice her at all; 
 she was very small, that is all I know about her." 
 
 " Would you recognize her if you should meet her 
 again ? " 
 
 " Thunder! no." 
 
 The carriage had traversed about half of the Rue de 
 Bourgogne ; the coachman stopped his horse and said : 
 
 "Attention! That is the house which the two 
 women entered." 
 
 To draw off the silk handkerchief that served him as 
 a muffler, to fold it and slip it into his pocket, to spring 
 to the ground and enter the house indicated, was the 
 work of an instant only for the young detective. 
 
 In the concierge's little room an old woman was seat- 
 ed knitting. 
 
 " Madame," said Lecoq, politely, presenting her with
 
 n8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the silk handkerchief, " I came here to return this arti- 
 cle to one of your lodgers." 
 
 " To which one? " 
 
 " Really, that is something I do not know." 
 
 The worthy concierge for a moment supposed that 
 this extremely polite young man was mocking her. 
 
 " Villanous wretch ! " she began. 
 
 " Pardon," interrupted Lecoq; " allow me to finish. 
 This is my explanation: Night before last, or rather 
 day before yesterday morning, about three o'clock, I 
 was quietly returning home, when, not far from here, 
 two ladies, who seemed to be in a great hurry, passed 
 me. One of them dropped this. I picked it up, and, 
 of course, hastened after them to return it; but my 
 labor was lost; they had already entered here. At such 
 an hour I did not like to ring, for fear of disturbing you. 
 Yesterday I was very busy, but to-day I came to return 
 the article ; here it is." 
 
 He laid the handkerchief upon the table, and pretend- 
 ed that he was about to go, but the concierge detained 
 him. 
 
 " Many thanks for your kindness," said she, " but 
 you can keep it. Here, in this house, we have no ladies 
 who return home alone after midnight." 
 
 " Still I have eyes," insisted Lecoq, " and I certainly 
 saw " 
 
 "Ah! I had forgotten," exclaimed the old woman. 
 " The night you speak of someone did ring the bell 
 here. I opened my door and listened. I heard noth- 
 ing. Not hearing anyone close the door or come 
 upstairs, I said to myself : ' It is some mischievous boy 
 playing a trick on me.' I slipped on my dress and went 
 out into the vestibule. What did I see? Two shadowy 
 forms running away; as they ran they slammed the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 119 
 
 outer door in my face. I opened it again as quickly as 
 I could, and looked out into the street. What did I see 
 then? Two women hurrying away as fast as they 
 could." 
 
 " In what direction? " 
 
 " They were running toward the Rue de Varennes." 
 
 Lecoq was baffled again ; he bowed civilly to the con- 
 cifage, whom he might have need of again, and went 
 back to the carriage. 
 
 " As I had supposed, they do not live here," he re- 
 marked to the coachman. 
 
 That worthy man shrugged his shoulders in evident 
 vexation ; and his wrath was about to find vent in a tor- 
 rent of words, when Lecoq, who had consulted his 
 watch, checked it by saying: 
 
 " Nine o'clock! I shall be an hour behind time, but 
 I shall have some news to tell. Take me to the morgue 
 as quickly as possible." 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 The days that follow mysterious crimes and catastro- 
 phes, whose victims have not been recognized, are great 
 days at the morgue. 
 
 The employees hasten about exchanging jests that 
 make one's flesh creep. Almost all of them are very 
 gay. Perhaps it is from an imperious need to arm 
 themselves against the horrible gloom that surrounds 
 them. 
 
 " We shall have the world and his wife here to-day," 
 they say. 
 
 And, in fact, as soon as Lecoq and his coachman 
 reached the quay, they could see in the distance the
 
 120 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 dense and excited crowd which had gathered around 
 that chamber of horrors. 
 
 The newspapers had reported the affair that had 
 taken place in the Widow Chupin's saloon, and every- 
 body wished to see the victims. 
 
 Upon the bridge Lecoq made the driver stop his 
 horse, and leaped to the ground. 
 
 " I do not wish to get out of the carriage before the 
 morgue," he said to the coachman. 
 
 Then drawing out, first his watch, and then his purse, 
 he said: 
 
 " We have spent one hour and forty minutes, my 
 good fellow, consequently, I owe you " 
 
 " Nothing at all," replied the coachman, decidedly. 
 
 " But " 
 
 " No ; not a sou. I am too much provoked to think 
 that I took the money of those abominable jades! I 
 wish what I bought to drink with their money had 
 given me the colic. So pray feel no uneasiness about 
 the score. If you need a carriage, take mine for noth- 
 ing until you have caught the wretches." 
 
 Lecoq at that time was by no means rich, and he did 
 not insist. 
 
 " You will at least take my name and my address ? " 
 continued the coachman. 
 
 " Certainly. The judge will wish to hear your depo- 
 sition. You will receive a summons." 
 
 " Very well. Address Papillon (Eugene), coachman, 
 at the house of Monsieur Trigault. I lodge there, be- 
 cause I have some small interest in the business, you 
 see." 
 
 The young policeman was hastening away, when 
 Papillon called him back. 
 
 " When you leave the morgue you will want to go
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 121 
 
 somewhere; you told me that you had an appointment, 
 and that you were late now." 
 
 " Yes, I ought to be at the Palais de Justice; but it 
 is only a few steps from here." 
 
 " No matter. I am going to wait for you at the cor- 
 ner. Ah ! it is useless to say ' no ; ' I have made up my 
 mind, and I am a Breton. I have a favor to ask of you. 
 Ride out that thirty francs that those jades paid me." 
 
 It would have been cruel to refuse such a request. 
 Lecoq made a motion of assent, and hurried toward the 
 morgue. 
 
 If there was a crowd outside, it was because the 
 gloomy place was full, literally packed inside. 
 
 Lecoq, to effect an entrance, was obliged to use his 
 elbows vigorously. 
 
 Within, the sight was horrible ; and it was terrible to 
 think what disgusting sensations and emotions that 
 ferocious throng had come to seek there. 
 
 There were women in great numbers, and crowds of 
 young maidens. 
 
 The shop-girls and the workmen who reside in the 
 neighborhood made a detour, in order to come and look 
 upon the harvest of dead bodies which crime, carriage 
 accidents, the Seine, and the canal St. Martin gather 
 each day for the morgue. The most sensitive came no 
 farther than the door, the more intrepid enter and relate 
 their impressions to their less courageous companions 
 on emerging from the horrible place. 
 
 When there is nobody there, when the marble slabs 
 are unoccupied, the visitors are not pleased hard as it 
 may be to believe it. 
 
 But there was a full house that morning. All the 
 slabs, with the exception of two, were occupied. 
 
 The atmosphere was terrible. A damp chill pene-
 
 122 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 trated one's body, and from the panting crowd rose an 
 infectious steam, heavily impregnated with the odor of 
 the chloride of lime used as a disinfectant. 
 
 And with the whispers of the bystanders, which were 
 interspersed with sighs and exclamations, was mingled, 
 as a continuous accompaniment, the murmur of the 
 water trickling from the spigot at the head of each slab ; 
 a tiny stream that flowed forth only to fall in fine spray 
 upon the marble. 
 
 Through the small arched windows a gray light stole 
 in on the exposed bodies, making each muscle stand 
 out clearly, bringing into bold relief the ghastly tints 
 of the lifeless flesh, and imparting a sinister aspect to 
 the tattered clothing suspended about the room to aid 
 in identification. This clothing, after a certain time, 
 is sold for nothing is wasted. 
 
 But Lecoq was too much occupied with his own 
 thoughts to remark the horrors of the scene. 
 
 He scarcely bestowed a glance on the three victims. 
 He was seeking Father Absinthe and did not see him 
 anywhere. 
 
 Had Gevrol intentionally or unintentionally failed to 
 fulfil his promise, or had Father Absinthe forgotten his 
 duty in his morning dram? 
 
 Powerless to decide what the cause of his comrade's 
 absence might be, Lecoq addressed the head keeper : 
 
 " It would seem that no one has yet recognized either 
 of the unfortunate victims of the triple murder at the 
 Widow Chupin's." 
 
 " No one. And yet, from the opening, we have had 
 an immense crowd. If I were master here, on such 
 days as this, I would ask an admission fee of two sous, 
 and charge half price for children. It would bring in 
 a round sum would more than cover the expenses."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 1*3 
 
 The idea thus presented offered an inducement to 
 conversation, but Lecoq did not seize it. 
 
 " Excuse me," he interrupted. " Did they not send 
 one of the agents of the secret-service here this morn- 
 ing? " 
 
 " Yes, there was one here." 
 
 " Has he gone away, then? I do not see him any- 
 where." 
 
 The keeper, before making any response, glanced 
 suspiciously at the eager questioner, and at last, with 
 some hesitancy of manner, he inquired: 
 
 " Are you one of them? " 
 
 This phrase came into circulation at the epoch when 
 so many secret agents, whose business it was to excite 
 revolt, flourished. Under the Restoration, this term 
 was applied only to the police. 
 
 " He is one of them," or " He is not one of them." 
 The expression has survived the circumstances that 
 gave it birth. 
 
 " I am one of them," replied Lecoq, exhibiting his 
 badge in support of his assertion. 
 
 " And your name? " 
 
 " Is Lecoq." 
 
 The face of the keeper was suddenly illumined by a 
 smile. 
 
 " In that case," said he, " I have a letter for you, 
 written by your comrade, who was obliged to go away. 
 Here it is." 
 
 The detective at once broke the seal and read: 
 
 " MONSIEUR LECOQ " 
 
 " Monsieur ! " This simple formula of politeness 
 brought a faint smile to the lips of the reader. Was it
 
 i2 4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 not, on the part of Father Absinthe, an evident recogni- 
 tion of his colleague's superiority? 
 
 The young man saw in it an unquestioning devotion 
 which it would be his duty to repay with the kind pro- 
 tection of the master for his first disciple. 
 
 He continued the perusal of his letter. 
 
 " MONSIEUR LECOQ I had been standing on duty 
 since the opening of the morgue, when about nine 
 o'clock three young men entered, arm in arm. From 
 their manner and appearance I judged them to be clerks 
 in some store or warehouse. Suddenly I noticed that 
 one of them had turned as white as his shirt; and call- 
 ing the attention of his companions to one of the un- 
 known victims, he said, ' Gustave! ' 
 
 " His comrades put their hands over his lips, and one 
 of them said : ' What are you about, you fool, to mix 
 yourself up with this affair? Do you wish to get us 
 into trouble? ' 
 
 " Thereupon they went out, and I followed them. 
 
 " But the person who had spoken was so overcome 
 that he could scarcely drag himself along; and his com- 
 panions were obliged to take him to a little restaurant. 
 
 " I entered it myself, and it is there where I am writ- 
 ing this letter, while I watch them out of the corner of 
 my eye. The head keeper will give you this note, ex- 
 plaining my absence. You will understand that I am 
 going to follow these men. A. B. S." 
 
 The handwriting of this letter was almost illegible; 
 there were faults of orthography in each line; but its 
 meaning was clear and exact, and could not fail to 
 awaken the most flattering hopes. 
 
 Lecoq's face was radiant when he returned to the car-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 125 
 
 riage, and, as he urged on his horse, the old coachman 
 could not refrain from saying: 
 
 " Things are going on to suit you." 
 
 A friendly " chut! " was the only response. It re- 
 quired all his attention to classify this new information. 
 
 When he descended from the carriage before the gate 
 of the Palais de Justice, he experienced considerable 
 difficulty in dismissing the old coachman, who insisted 
 upon remaining at his orders. He succeeded at last, 
 but even when he had reached the portico of the left en- 
 trance, the worthy driver, standing upon his carriage- 
 box, shouted : 
 
 " At the house of Monsieur Trigault do not forget 
 Father Papillon No. 998 1,000 less 2 " 
 
 When he reached the third story of the left wing of 
 the palace, and was about entering that long, narrow 
 and sombre corridor known as the galerie de Vinstruc- 
 tion, Lecoq addressed a door-keeper installed behind a 
 heavy oaken desk. 
 
 " Monsieur d'Escorval is undoubtedly in his office," 
 he remarked. 
 
 The man shook his head. 
 
 " Monsieur d'Escorval," he replied, " is not here this 
 morning, and he will not be here for several weeks." 
 
 "Why so? What do you mean?" 
 
 " Last evening as he was alighting from his carriage, 
 at his own door, he had a most unfortunate fall, and 
 broke his leg."
 
 i26 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 One is rich one has a carriage, horse and coach- 
 man and when one passes leaning back upon the 
 cushions, one receives many an envious glance. 
 
 But sometimes the coachman has taken a drop too 
 much, and upsets the carriage ; perhaps the horses run 
 away and break everything, or the until then fortunate 
 owner, in a moment of abstraction, misses the step, and 
 fractures his limb upon the sharp curb-stone. 
 
 Such accidents are occurring every day ; and the long 
 list ought to make humble foot-passengers bless their 
 lowly lot which preserves them from such perils. 
 
 On learning the misfortune that had befallen M. 
 d'Escorval, Lecoq's face wore such an expression of 
 consternation that the door-keeper could not help 
 laughing. 
 
 " What is there so very extraordinary about it ? " he 
 demanded. 
 
 " I oh ! nothing " 
 
 The detective did not speak the truth. The fact is, he 
 had just been struck by the strange coincidence of these 
 two events, vis., the murderer's attempted suicide, and 
 the fall of the judge. 
 
 But he did not allow the vague presentiment that 
 flitted through his mind to assume form. 
 
 What connection could there be between the two 
 facts? 
 
 Besides, he never allowed himself to be governed 
 by prejudice, nor had he as yet enriched his formulary 
 by the axiom which he afterward professed : 
 
 " Regard with distrust all circumstances which seem 
 to favor our secret desires."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 127 
 
 It is certain that Lecoq was far from being rejoiced 
 at M. d'Escorval's accident, and that he would gladly 
 have given a great deal if the misfortune could have 
 been prevented. But he could not help saying to him- 
 self that he would, by this stroke of misfortune, be 
 freed from all further disagreeable connection with a 
 man whose superciliousness and disdain had, as it were, 
 crushed him. 
 
 This thought caused a sensation of relief, almost of 
 light-heartedness. 
 
 " In that case," he remarked to the door-keeper, " I 
 shall have nothing to do here this morning." 
 
 " You must be joking. Does the world stop moving 
 because one man is disabled? It is only an hour since 
 the news came; but all the urgent business that M. 
 d'Escorval had in charge has already been divided 
 among the other judges." 
 
 " I came here about that terrible affair that occurred 
 night before last." 
 
 " Eh! Why did you not say so? They are waiting 
 for you, and a messenger has been sent to the prefecture 
 for you already. Monsieur Segmuller has charge of the 
 case." 
 
 Deep lines of doubt and perplexity appeared on 
 Lecoq's forehead. He tried to remember the judge that 
 bore this name, and wondered whether he should find 
 himself en rapport with him. 
 
 " Yes," resumed the door-keeper, who seemed to be 
 in a talkative mood : " Monsieur Segmuller you do 
 not seem to know him. He is a worthy man, not so 
 grim in manner as most of our gentlemen. It was of 
 him that a prisoner said one day, after his examination 
 was over : ' That devil there has pumped me so well that
 
 I2 8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 I shall certainly have my head chopped off ; but, never- 
 theless, he is a good fellow ! ' ' 
 
 It was with a heart somewhat lightened by these 
 favorable reports, that Lecoq went and tapped at the 
 door that had been indicated, and which bore the num- 
 ber 22. 
 
 " Come in ! " called a pleasant voice. 
 
 Lecoq entered, and found himself face to face with a 
 man about forty years of age, tall and rather corpulent, 
 who said, at once : 
 
 " Ah ! you are Agent Lecoq. Very well take a seat. 
 I am busy just now with the case, but I will attend to 
 you in five minutes." 
 
 Lecoq obeyed, and furtively began a study of the man 
 whose co-laborer he was to become. 
 
 His exterior corresponded perfectly with the de- 
 scription given by the door-keeper. Frankness and 
 benevolence beamed on his plump face, which was 
 lighted by very pleasant blue eyes. 
 
 Still, the young detective fancied that it would not be 
 safe to trust too implicitly to these benign appearances. 
 
 And he was quite right. 
 
 Born near Strasbourg, M. Segmuller was blessed 
 with that candid physiognomy that belongs to almost 
 all the children of blond Alsace a deceitful mask, 
 which not unfrequently conceals Gascon cunning, ren- 
 dered still more dangerous by a union with extreme 
 caution. 
 
 M. Segmuller's mind was wonderfully penetrating 
 and alert ; but his system every judge has his own 
 was good-humor. While some of his colleagues were 
 as stiff and cutting in manner as the sword which the 
 statute of Justice holds in her hand, he assumed a sim-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 129 
 
 pficity and a kindness of demeanor, which never affect- 
 ed his firmness of character as a magistrate, however. 
 
 But his voice had such a paternal intonation, he veiled 
 the subtle meaning of his questions and the hearing of 
 the answers with such an affectation of frankness, that 
 the man whom he questioned forgot the necessity of 
 protecting himself, and revealed all. And while the cul- 
 prit was congratulating himself upon getting the best 
 of the judge, the poor wretch was being turned inside 
 out like a glove. 
 
 Beside such a man, a grave and slender clerk would 
 have excited distrust ; so he had chosen one who was a 
 caricature of himself. His name was Coquet. He was 
 short, very corpulent, beardless, and smiling. His 
 broad face was expressive of silliness rather than good- 
 humor, and he was not particularly bright. 
 
 As M. Segmuller had said, he was studying the case 
 which had so unexpectedly fallen into his hands. 
 
 All the articles which Lecoq had collected, from the 
 flakes of wool to the diamond ear-ring, were spread out 
 upon the magistrate's desk. 
 
 He read and re-read the report which had been writ- 
 ten by Lecoq, and according to the different phases of 
 the affair, he examined the objects before him, or con- 
 sulted the plan of the ground. 
 
 Not at the end of five minutes, but at the close of a 
 good half hour, he threw himself back in his arm-chair. 
 
 " Monsieur Lecoq," he said, slowly, " Monsieur d'Es- 
 corval has informed me by a note on the margin of this 
 file of papers, that you are an intelligent man, and that 
 we can trust you." 
 
 " My will, at least, is good." 
 
 "You speak too slightingly of yourself; this is the 
 first time that an agent has brought me a report as com-
 
 i 3 o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 plete as yours. You are young; if you will persevere, 
 I think you will be able to accomplish great things in 
 your profession." 
 
 The young man bowed, pale with delight, and stam- 
 mered his thanks. 
 
 " Your opinion in this matter coincides with mine," 
 continued M. Segmuller. " The government attorney 
 informs me that Monsieur d'Escorval shares this opin- 
 ion. An enigma is before us ; and it ought to be solved." 
 
 " Oh ! we shall solve it, shall we not, Monsieur ? " 
 exclaimed Lecoq. 
 
 He indeed felt capable of extraordinary things ; he 
 was ready to go through fire and water for the judge 
 who had received him so kindly. Such intense enthu- 
 siasm sparkled in his eyes that M. Segmuller could not 
 restrain a smile. 
 
 " I have strong hopes of it myself," he responded ; 
 " but we are far from the end. Now, what have you 
 been doing since yesterday. Did Monsieur d'Escorval 
 give you any orders? Have you obtained any new 
 information ? " 
 
 " I think, Monsieur, that I have not wasted any time." 
 
 And immediately, with rare precision and with that 
 happiness of expression which seldom fails the man 
 who is thoroughly en rapport with his subject, Lecoq 
 related all that he had discovered since his departure 
 from the Poivriere. 
 
 He recounted the daring acts committed by the man 
 whom he believed an accomplice, the points he had 
 noted in the murderer's conduct, and the latter's un- 
 successful attempt at self-destruction. He repeated the 
 testimony given by the coachman, and by the concierge; 
 he read the letter he had received from Father Absinthe. 
 
 In conclusion, he placed upon the judge's desk some
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 131 
 
 of the earth he had procured in such a strange man- 
 ner, and deposited beside it about the same quantity of 
 dust that he had brought from the floor of the cell in 
 which the murderer had been confined at the Barriere 
 d'ltalie. 
 
 Then, when he had explained the reasons which had 
 influenced him, and the conclusions that might be 
 drawn from the discovery he had made : 
 
 " Ah ! you are right ! " exclaimed M. Segmuller, " it 
 may be that you have discovered a means to confound 
 all the denials of the prisoner. It certainly is an evi- 
 dence of surprising sagacity on your part." 
 
 It must have been, for Coquet, the clerk, nodded ap- 
 provingly. 
 
 " Wonderful ! " he murmured. " I should never have 
 thought of that." 
 
 While he was talking, M. Segmuller had carefully 
 placed all the articles of conviction in a large drawer, 
 from which they would not emerge until the trial. - 
 
 " Now," said he, " I understand the case well enough 
 to examine the Widow Chupin. We may gain some in- 
 formation from her." 
 
 He laid his hand upon the bell ; Lecoq made an almost 
 supplicating gesture. 
 
 " I have one great favor to ask, Monsieur." 
 
 " What is it ? speak." 
 
 " I should deem it a great favor if you would permit 
 me to be present at this examination. It takes so lit- 
 tle, sometimes, to awaken a happy inspiration." 
 
 The law says that the accused shall first be privately 
 examined by the judge, assisted by his clerk ; but it also 
 allows the presence of agents of the police force. 
 
 " Very well," responded M. Segmuller, " remain." 
 
 He rang the bell ; a messenger appeared.
 
 1 32 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Has the Widow Chupin been brought here, in com- 
 pliance with my orders ? " 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur ; she is here in the gallery." 
 
 " Let her come in." 
 
 An instant after, the woman entered, bowing to the 
 right and to the left. 
 
 This was not her first appearance before a magistrate, 
 and she was not ignorant of the respect that is due to 
 justice. 
 
 So she had arrayed herself for her examination with 
 the utmost care. 
 
 She had arranged her rebellious gray hair in smooth 
 bandeaux, and she had done the best possible with the 
 plain clothing she wore. She had even persuaded 
 the keeper of the prison to purchase for her, with the 
 money she had upon her person at the time of her arrest, 
 a black crepe bonnet and two white pocket-handker- 
 chiefs, which she intended to deluge with her tears at 
 pathetic moments. 
 
 To second these artifices of the toilette, she had 
 drawn upon her repertoire of grimaces for an innocent, 
 sad, and yet resigned air, well fitted, in her opinion, at 
 least, to win the sympathy and indulgence of the magis- 
 trate upon whom her fate was to depend. 
 
 Thus disguised, with downcast eyes and honeyed 
 voice, she looked so unlike the terrible termagant of the 
 Poivriere, that her customers would scarcely have 
 recognized her. 
 
 An honest old bachelor would have been more than 
 likely to offer her twenty francs a month to take charge 
 of his house. 
 
 But M. Segmuller had unmasked so many hypocrites 
 that he was not deceived for a moment ; and the thought
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 133 
 
 that entered his mind was the same that sparkled in the 
 eyes of Lecoq: 
 
 " What an old comedienne! " 
 
 His penetration, it is true, may have been consider- 
 ably aided by some notes he had just perused. These 
 notes were simply an abstract of the woman's former 
 life, which had been furnished by the chief of police, at 
 the request of the judge. 
 
 M. Segmuller, by a gesture, warned his smiling clerk 
 to be ready to write. 
 
 " Your name ? " he demanded, brusquely. 
 
 " Aspassie Clapard, my good sir," replied the old 
 woman ; " the Widow Chupin, at your service, sir." 
 
 She executed a profound courtesy, and added: 
 
 " A lawful widow, you understand, sir ; I have my 
 marriage papers safe in my chest at home ; and if you 
 wish to send anyone " 
 
 "Your age?" interrupted the judge. 
 
 " Fifty-four." 
 
 " Your profession ? " 
 
 " Dealer in liquors, in Paris, near the Rue du 
 Chateau-des-Rentiers, a few steps from the fortifica- 
 tions." 
 
 These questions as to individuality are always the 
 first which are addressed to a prisoner. 
 
 They give both the judge and the accused time to 
 study each other, to try each other's strength, as it were, 
 before engaging in a serious struggle ; as two adver- 
 saries about to engage in mortal combat first try a few 
 passes with foils. 
 
 " Now," resumed the judge, " we will note your ante- 
 cedents. Have you not already been found guilty of 
 several offences ? " 
 
 The old sinner was too well versed in criminal pro-
 
 134 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 cedure to be ignorant of those famous records, which 
 render the denial of identity such a difficult matter in 
 France. 
 
 " I have been unfortunate, my good Judge," whined 
 the old woman. 
 
 " Yes, a number of times. First, you were arrested 
 on the charge of being a receiver of stolen goods." 
 
 " But it was proved that I was innocent, that my 
 character was whiter than snow. My poor, dear hus- 
 band had been deceived by his comrades ; that was all." 
 
 " Possibly. But while your husband was submitting 
 to his sentence, you were sentenced to imprisonment, 
 first for one month, and afterward for a term of three 
 months, for stealing." 
 
 " I had enemies who did their best to ruin me." 
 
 " Again you were imprisoned for having led some 
 young girls astray." 
 
 " They were good-for-nothing hussies, my dear sir, 
 heartless and unprincipled creatures. I did them many 
 favors, and then they went and related a batch of false- 
 hoods to ruin me. I have always been too kind and 
 considerate toward others." 
 
 The list of the woman's offences was not exhausted, 
 but M. Segmuller thought it useless to continue. 
 
 " Such is your past," he resumed. " At the present 
 time your saloon is the resort of criminals and malefac- 
 tors. Your son is serving out his fourth term of im- 
 prisonment; and it has been clearly proved that you 
 abetted him and assisted him in his evil deeds. Your 
 daughter-in-law, by some miracle, has remained 
 honest and industrious, so you have tormented and 
 abused her to such an extent that the authorities have 
 been obliged to interfere. When she left your house
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 13$ 
 
 you tried to keep her child in order to rear it like its 
 father, undoubtedly." 
 
 " This," thought the old woman, " is the moment to 
 soften the judge's heart." She drew her new handker- 
 chief from her pocket, and endeavored, by rubbing her 
 eyes energetically, to extract a tear. One might have 
 drawn tears from a piece of parchment just as easily. 
 
 " Oh, unhappy me ! " she groaned ; " to suspect, to 
 think that I would harm my grandson, my poor little 
 Toto ! I should be worse than the wild beasts, to wish 
 to draw my own flesh and blood down to perdition." 
 
 But these lamentations did not seem to have much 
 effect on the judge. She saw this, and, suddenly 
 changing her mode of attack and her tone, she began 
 her justification. 
 
 She did not positively deny her past; but she threw 
 all the blame on destiny, which is not just, which favors 
 some, but not usually the best, people, and which shows 
 no mercy to others. 
 
 Alas ! she was one of those who have had no chance 
 in life, having always been innocent and persecuted. 
 In this last affair, for example, how was she to blame? 
 A triple murder had stained her saloon with blood ; but 
 the most respectable establishments are not exempt 
 from similar catastrophes. 
 
 She had had time for reflection in her solitary con- 
 finement, she had searched the deepest recesses of her 
 conscience, and she was still unable to discover what 
 blame could justly be laid at her door. 
 
 " I can tell you," interrupted the judge. " You are 
 accused of impeding the action of the law." 
 
 " Mon Dieu! is it possible?" 
 
 " And of seeking to defeat justice. This is equiva- 
 lent to complicity, Widow Chupin; take care. When
 
 136 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the police entered your cabin, after this crime had been 
 committed, you refused to answer their questions." 
 
 " I told them all that I knew." 
 
 " Very well ; you must repeat it to me." 
 
 M. Segmuller had reason to be content. He had con- 
 ducted the examination in such a way that the Widow 
 Chupin had been naturally led to undertake the rela- 
 tion of the facts herself. 
 
 This was an excellent point gained. Direct questions 
 would, perhaps, have put this shrewd old woman, who 
 retained all her sang-froid, upon her guard ; and it was 
 necessary that she should not suspect what the judge 
 knew, or what he was ignorant of, in relation to the 
 affair. 
 
 So, by leaving her to her own devices, he might be 
 able to discover in its entirety the version which she 
 proposed to substitute for the truth. 
 
 This version, neither the judge nor Lecoq doubted, 
 had been concerted at the station-house of the Place 
 d'ltalie between the murderer and the pretended drunk- 
 ard, and afterward transmitted to the widow by the 
 bold accomplice. 
 
 " Oh ! the affair was very simple, my good sir," began 
 the honest tavern-keeper. " Sunday evening I was sit- 
 ting alone by the fire in my establishment, when sud- 
 denly the door opened, and I saw three men and two 
 ladies enter." 
 
 M. Segmuller and the detective exchanged a rapid 
 glance. The accomplice, then, had seen Lecoq and his 
 companions examining the foot-prints, and did not in- 
 tend to deny the presence of the two women. 
 
 " What time was this ? " demanded the judge. 
 
 " About eleven o'clock." 
 
 " Go on."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 137 
 
 " As soon as they sat down, they ordered a bowl of 
 wine, a la Franqaise. Without boasting, I may say that 
 I have not an equal in preparing this beverage. Of 
 course, I waited upon them, and afterward, having a 
 blouse to mend for my boy, I went up to my room, 
 which is on the floor above." 
 
 " Leaving these people alone ? " 
 
 " Yes, my Judge." 
 
 " That showed a great deal of confidence on your 
 part." 
 
 The widow sadly shook her head. " When one has 
 nothing," she sighed, " one has no fear of thieves." 
 
 " Go on go on." 
 
 " Well, I had been up there about half an hour, when 
 I heard someone below call out : ' Eh ! old woman ! ' I 
 went down and found a large, heavily bearded man, 
 who had just come in. He wished a glass of brandy. I 
 waited upon him ; he was seated alone at a table." 
 
 " And then you went back upstairs again ? " inter- 
 rupted the judge. 
 
 Did the Widow Chupin comprehend the concealed 
 irony? Her physiognomy did not allow you to divine 
 whether such was the case or not. 
 
 " Precisely, my good sir," she replied. " Only this 
 time I had scarcely taken up my needle before I heard 
 a terrible uproar in the saloon. I hurried downstairs 
 to put a stop to it ah well ! yes ! The three first-comers 
 had fallen upon the new-comer, and they were beating 
 him, my good sir, they were killing him. I screamed. 
 Just then the man who had come in alone drew a pistol 
 from his pocket ; he fired and killed one of his assailants, 
 who fell to the ground. I was so frightened that I 
 crouched on the staircase and put my apron over my 
 head that I might not see the blood run. An instant
 
 138 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 later Monsieur Gevrol arrived with his men, they forced 
 open the door, and behold " 
 
 These wretched old women, who have trafficked in 
 every sort of vice, and who have tasted every disgrace, 
 sometimes attain a perfection of hypocrisy which de- 
 ceives the most subtle penetration. 
 
 A man who had not been warned beforehand, would 
 certainly have been impressed by the apparent candor 
 of the Widow Chupin, so naturally was it put on, so 
 perfect was the affectation of frankness, surprise, and 
 fear which she displayed. 
 
 Unfortunately her eyes were against her her small 
 gray eyes, which were as restless as those of a caged 
 animal, and which gleamed with cunning. 
 
 Meanwhile, she was mentally rejoicing at the success 
 of her narrative, being convinced that the judge placed 
 implicit confidence in her revelation. 
 
 In fact, not a single muscle of M. Segmuller's face 
 had betrayed his impressions during the old woman's 
 recital a recital which, by the way, had been uttered 
 with prestidigitator-like volubility. 
 
 When she paused, out of breath, he rose and without 
 a word approached his clerk to look over the notes 
 which Coquet had taken of this first part of the exam- 
 ination. 
 
 From the corner where he was quietly seated, Lecoq 
 did not cease his watch over the prisoner. 
 
 " She thinks," he was saying to himself, " that it is 
 all over; and that her deposition is accepted without 
 question." 
 
 If such were, indeed, the widow's opinion, she was 
 soon to be undeceived. 
 
 M. Segmuller, after a few low-spoken words to the 
 smiling Coquet, took a seat near the fire-place, con-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 139 
 
 vinced that the moment had come for pushing the ex- 
 amination more strongly. 
 
 " So, Widow Chupin," he began, " you affirm that 
 you did not remain for a single moment with the people 
 who came to your saloon for refreshments ? " 
 
 " Not a moment." 
 
 " They entered and gave their order, you waited on 
 them, and you left them at once ? " 
 
 " Yes, my good sir." 
 
 " It seems to me impossible that you should not have 
 caught some words of their conversation. What were 
 they talking about ? " 
 
 " I am not in the habit of watching and playing the 
 spy over my customers." 
 
 " Did you not hear something? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 The judge shrugged his shoulders with an air of 
 commiseration. 
 
 " In other words," he remarked, " you refuse to iu^ 
 form the justice " 
 
 " Oh, my good sir ! " 
 
 " Allow me to finish. All these improbable stories 
 about leaving the room, and mending your son's clothes 
 in your chamber, you have invented, so that you could 
 say to me : ' I have seen nothing ; I have heard nothing ; 
 I know nothing.' If such is the system of defence you 
 have adopted, I warn you that it will be impossible for 
 you to sustain it, and that it will not be admitted by any 
 tribunal." 
 
 " It is not a system of defence ; it is the truth." 
 
 M. Segmuller seemed to reflect for a moment; then, 
 suddenly, he said : 
 
 " Then you have nothing to tell me about this 
 miserable assassin ? "
 
 i 4 o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " But he is not an assassin, my good sir." 
 
 " What do you mean by such an assertion ? " 
 
 " I mean that he has only killed others in protecting 
 himself. They sought a quarrel with him ; he stood 
 alone against three men; he saw very plainly that he 
 could expect no mercy from brigands who " 
 
 She suddenly checked herself, greatly embarrassed, 
 as if reproaching herself for having gone too far ; for 
 having given too much liberty to her tongue. 
 
 She might reasonably hope, it is true, that the judge 
 had not observed her indiscretion. 
 
 A brand had fallen from the fire down upon the 
 hearth ; he had taken the tongs, and his attention 
 seemed to be engrossed in the task of artistically ar- 
 ranging his fire. 
 
 " Who can tell me who can assure me that it was 
 not this man, on the contrary, who first attacked the 
 others ? " he murmured, thoughtfully. 
 
 " I can," declared the widow, stoutly ; " I can 
 swear it." 
 
 M. Segmuller looked up, intense astonishment writ- 
 ten upon every feature. 
 
 " How can you know that ? " he said, slowly. " How 
 can you swear it ? You were in your chamber when the 
 quarrel began." 
 
 Silent and motionless in his chair, Lecoq was in- 
 wardly jubilant. He thought that this was a most 
 happy result, and that but a few questions more would 
 be required to make the old woman contradict herself. 
 He also assured himself that the proofs of her sim- 
 plicity were increasing. Without a secret interest, the 
 widow would never have undertaken the defence of 
 the prisoner so imprudently. 
 
 " But you have probably been led to this conclusion
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 14* 
 
 by your knowledge of the character of the murderer, 
 with whom you are apparently well acquainted," re- 
 marked the judge. 
 
 " I never laid eyes upon him until that evening." 
 
 " But he must have been in your establishment 
 before?" 
 
 " Never in his life." 
 
 " Oh, oh ! Then, you can explain how it was that on 
 entering the bar-room, while you were sitting in your 
 room upstairs, this unknown person this stranger 
 should have cried : ' Here, old woman ! ' Did he merely 
 guess that the establishment was kept by a woman ; and 
 that this woman was no longer young? " 
 
 " He did not say that." 
 
 " Reflect a moment ; you, yourself, just told me so." 
 
 " I did not say that, my good sir." 
 
 " Yes, you did, and I will prove it by reading your 
 deposition to you. Coquet, read, if you please." 
 
 The smiling clerk at once found the passage, and in 
 his clearest voice he read these words, taken down as 
 they fell from the Widow Chupin's lips. 
 
 " I had been upstairs about half an hour, when I 
 heard someone call from below : ' Eh ! old woman ! ' I 
 came down," etc., etc. 
 
 " Are you convinced ? " insisted M. Segmuller. 
 
 The assurance of the old offender was sensibly dimin- 
 ished by this setback. But instead of discussing the sub- 
 ject further, the judge glided over it as if he did not 
 attach much importance to the incident. 
 
 " And the other men," he resumed, " those who were 
 killed ; did you know them ? " 
 
 " No, Monsieur, no more than I knew Adam and 
 Eve." 
 
 "And were you not surprised to see three persons
 
 i4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 entirely unknown to you, and accompanied by two 
 ladies, enter your establishment ? " 
 
 " Sometimes chance " 
 
 " Come ! you do not think what you are saying. It 
 was not chance that brought these customers, in the 
 middle of the night, to a saloon that has a reputation 
 like yours a saloon that is situated so far from any 
 frequented route, and in the midst of a desolate waste." 
 
 " I am not a sorceress ; what I say, that I think." 
 
 " Then you did not know even the youngest of the 
 victims, the man who was attired as a soldier, Gustave, 
 in short ? " 
 
 " Not at all." 
 
 M. Segmuller noted the intonation of this response, 
 and he added, more slowly: 
 
 " Certainly you must have heard allusion made to a 
 friend of this Gustave, a man called Lacheneur ? " 
 
 On hearing this name, the proprietress of the Poi- 
 vriere became visibly embarrassed, and it was in an 
 altered voice that she stammered : 
 
 " Lacheneur ! Lacheneur ! I have never heard that 
 name mentioned." 
 
 She denied it, but the effect that had been produced 
 was evident, and Lecoq secretly vowed that he would 
 find this Lacheneur, or perish in the attempt. Was 
 there not among the articles of conviction a letter from 
 him, written, as he had reason to believe, in a cafe on 
 the Boulevard Beaumarchais ? 
 
 With such a clew and with patience ! 
 
 " Now," continued M. Segmuller, " we will speak of 
 the women who accompanied these unfortunate men. 
 What sort of women were they ? " 
 
 " Oh ! some women of no account whatever ! " 
 
 " Were they richly dressed ? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 143 
 
 " Very miserably, on the contrary." 
 
 " Well, give me a description of them." 
 
 " They were my good Judge, I scarcely saw them. 
 They were large and powerfully built women, so much 
 so, indeed, that at first, it being Shrove Sunday, I took 
 them for men in disguise. They had hands like shoul- 
 ders of mutton, gruff voices, and very black hair. They 
 were as dark as mulattoes " 
 
 " Enough ! " interrupted the judge ; " I require no 
 further proof of your dishonesty. These women were 
 small, and one of them was remarkably fair." 
 
 " I swear to you, my good sir " 
 
 " Do not declare it upon oath. I shall be forced to 
 confront you with an honest man, who will tell you that 
 you are a liar ! " 
 
 She did not reply, and there was a moment's silence. 
 M. Segmuller decided to deal a decisive blow. 
 
 " Do you also affirm that you had nothing of a com- 
 promising character in the pocket of your apron ? " he 
 demanded. 
 
 " Nothing you may have it examined ; it was left in 
 the house." 
 
 "Then you still persist?" resumed M. Segmuller. 
 " Believe me, you are wrong. Reflect it depends 
 solely upon your deposition whether you go to the Court 
 of Assizes as a witness, or as an accomplice." 
 
 Although the widow seemed crushed by this unex- 
 pected blow, the judge said no more. Her deposition 
 was read, she signed it and went away. 
 
 M. Segmuller immediately seated himself at his desk, 
 filled out a blank and handed it to his clerk, saying : 
 
 " This, Coquet, is an order to be given to the keeper 
 of the prison. Tell him to send the murderer here at 
 once."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 To extort a confession from a man interested in pre- 
 serving silence and persuaded that no proofs can be pro- 
 duced against him, is certainly a difficult task ; but to 
 demand the truth from a woman; under similar circum- 
 stances, is, as they say at the Palais de Justice, " at- 
 tempting to make the devil confess." 
 
 After all, what had been gained by this examination, 
 which had been conducted with the greatest possible 
 care by a judge who knew how to manage his questions 
 as well as a skilful general knows how to manoeuvre his 
 troops and place them in the best possible positions. 
 
 They had discovered unexceptionable proof of the 
 Widow Chupin's connivance with the murderer, and 
 nothing more. 
 
 " That old hag knows all," murmured Lecoq. 
 
 " Yes," replied the judge, " it is almost certain that 
 she knew the people who came to her house the 
 women, the victims, the murderer all of them, in fact ; 
 but it is certain that she knew this Gustave I read it in 
 her eyes. I am also convinced that she knows this 
 Lacheneur this man upon whom the dying soldier 
 breathed vengeance this mysterious personage who 
 evidently possesses the key to the enigma. This man 
 must be found." 
 
 " Ah ! I will find him if I have to question each of the 
 eleven hundred thousand men who walk the streets of 
 Paris!" 
 
 This was promising so much that the judge, in spite 
 of his preoccupation, could not repress a smile. 
 
 " If this old woman would only decide to make a
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 145 
 
 clean breast of it at her next examination ! " remarked 
 Lecoq. 
 
 " Yes. But she will never speak." 
 
 The detective shook his head despondingly. Such 
 was his own opinion. He did not delude himself with 
 false hopes, and he had noticed between the Widow 
 Chupin's eyebrows, those furrows which betray the 
 senseless obstinacy of the brute. 
 
 " Women never confess," resumed the judge ; " and 
 when they seem to resign themselves to making a revela- 
 tion, it is only because they hope they have found a way 
 to mislead the examiner. Evidence will crush the most 
 obstinate man ; he ceases to struggle ; he makes a con- 
 fession. A woman scoffs at evidence. Show her the 
 sun, and she will close her eyes and reply : ' It is night.' 
 Men plan and combine different systems of defence ac- 
 cording to the social position in which they were born. 
 Women have but one system, whatever their condition 
 in life. They deny everything, and always ; and they 
 weep. When I push the Chupin with disagreeable ques- 
 tions, on her next examination, rest assured she will 
 turn her eyes into a fountain of tears." 
 
 In his impatience, he angrily stamped his foot. He 
 had many weapons in his arsenal ; but he could find no 
 weapon powerful enough to break a woman's dogged 
 resistance. 
 
 " If I only understood the motive that guides this 
 old hag ! " he continued. " But not a clew ! Who can 
 tell me what powerful interest commands her to be 
 silent? Is it her own cause that she is defending? Is 
 she an accomplice ? Who will prove to us that she did 
 not aid the murderer in planning an ambuscade? " 
 
 " Yes," responded Lecoq, slowly, " yes ; this sup- 
 position very naturally presents itself to the mind. But
 
 U6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 think a moment ; such a theory would prove that the 
 premises which you admitted, Monsieur, a short time 
 since were false. If the Widow Chupin is an accom- 
 plice, the murderer is not the person we have supposed 
 him to be ; he is simply the man whom he seems to be." 
 
 This argument was apparently convincing to M. Seg- 
 muller. 
 
 " What is your opinion ? " he exclaimed. 
 
 The young detective had formed his opinion. But 
 how could he, an humble policeman, venture to express 
 an opinion when a judge hesitated? 
 
 He fully comprehended that his position necessitated 
 extreme reserve on his part; and it was in the most 
 modest tone possible that he said : 
 
 " Why might not the pretended drunkard have daz- 
 zled Mother Chupin's eyes with promises of a brilliant 
 reward ? Why might he not have promised her money, 
 a large amount ? " 
 
 He paused ; the clerk had returned. Behind him was 
 a soldier, who remained respectfully upon the thresh- 
 old, his heels in a straight line, his right hand upon the 
 visor of his shako, palm turned outward, the elbow on 
 a level with his eye, in accordance with the ordinance. 
 
 " Monsieur," said the man, " the keeper of the prison 
 sends me to inquire if he is to keep the Widow Chupin 
 in solitary confinement; she complains bitterly on ac- 
 count of it." 
 
 M. Segmuller reflected for a moment. 
 
 " Certainly," he murmured, as if replying to an ob- 
 jection made by his own conscience ; " certainly, it is a 
 terrible aggravation of one's suffering; but if I allow 
 this woman to associate with the other prisoners, she 
 will certainly find some opportunity to communicate
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 147 
 
 with parties outside. This must not be; the interests 
 of justice and of truth must be considered first." 
 
 This last thought decided him. 
 
 " It is decided that the prisoner must be kept in soli- 
 tary confinement until further orders." 
 
 The soldier allowed his right hand to fall at his side, 
 carried his right foot three inches back of his left heel, 
 wheeled around and departed. 
 
 When the door had closed on the soldier's retreating 
 form, the smiling clerk drew a large envelope from his 
 pocket, and handed it to the judge. 
 
 " Here is a communication from the keeper of the 
 prison," he remarked. 
 
 The judge broke the seal, and read aloud : 
 
 " I feel compelled to counsel the judge to surround 
 himself with every precaution before proceeding to the 
 examination of the prisoner, May. 
 
 " Since his unsuccessful attempt at suicide, this 
 prisoner has been in a state of excitement that has 
 obliged us to confine him in a strait-jacket. He did not 
 close his eyes during the night, and the guards who 
 were watching him expected every moment to see him 
 become insane. Still, he has not uttered a word. 
 
 " When food was offered him this morning, he re- 
 jected it with horror, and I should not be surprised if it 
 were his intention to starve himself to death. 
 
 " I have rarely seen a more dangerous malefactor. I 
 think him capable of almost any desperate act." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed the clerk, whose smile had disap- 
 peared, " if I were in the place of Monsieur le Juge, I 
 would have the soldiers who brought him here come in 
 with him." 
 
 " What ! you Coquet, you, an old clerk make 
 such a proposition ! Can it be that you are afraid ? "
 
 148 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Afraid ! No, certainly not ; but " 
 
 " Nonsense ! " interrupted Lecoq, in a tone that be- 
 trayed his confidence in his great strength. " Am I not 
 here?"' 
 
 If M. Segmuller had seated himself at his desk, that 
 article of furniture would have served as a rampart be- 
 tween the prisoner and himself. He usually occupied 
 that seat; but after the fear evinced by his clerk, he 
 would have blushed to avail himself of the slightest pro- 
 tection. 
 
 He therefore took a seat by the fireplace, as he had 
 done a few moments before while questioning the 
 Chupin, and ordered his door-keeper to admit the pris- 
 oner alone. He emphasized the word " alone." 
 
 A second after the door was flung open with terrible 
 violence, and the murderer entered, or rather precipi- 
 tated himself, into the room. 
 
 Coquet turned pale behind his table, and Lecoq ad- 
 vanced a step, ready to make a spring forward. 
 
 But when he reached the centre of the room, the pris- 
 oner paused and looked around him. 
 
 "Where is the judge?" he inquired, in a hoarse 
 voice. 
 
 " I am the judge," replied M. Segmuller. 
 
 " No, the other." 
 
 "What other?" 
 
 " The one who came to question me last evening." 
 
 " He has met with an accident. Yesterday, after leav- 
 ing you, he fell and broke his leg." 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 " And I am to take his place." 
 
 But the prisoner was apparently deaf to the explana- 
 tion. A stupor had suddenly succeeded his frenzied 
 excitement. His features, which had been so distorted
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 149 
 
 with rage, relaxed. He became livid ; he tottered, as if 
 about to fall. 
 
 " Compose yourself," said the judge, in a benevolent 
 tone ; " if you are too weak to remain standing, take 
 a seat." 
 
 Already with a powerful effort, the man had re- 
 covered his self-possession. A flame, instantly sup- 
 pressed, flashed from his eyes. 
 
 " Many thanks for your kindness," he replied, " but 
 this is nothing. I felt a slight sensation of dizziness, 
 but it is over now." 
 
 " Is it long since you have eaten anything? " 
 
 " I have eaten nothing since this man " he pointed 
 to Lecoq " brought me some bread and wine in the 
 station-house over there." 
 
 " Do you not feel the need of something? " 
 
 " No and yet if you would be so good I would 
 like a glass of water." 
 
 " Will you not have some wine with it? " 
 
 " I should prefer the pure water." 
 
 They brought him what he desired. 
 
 He drained the first glass at a single draught; the 
 second he drank more slowly. 
 
 One might have supposed chat he was drinking in life 
 itself. He seemed to have been born again. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 Eighteen out of every twenty criminals who appear 
 before the judge are armed with a more or less com- 
 plete plan of defence, which they have conceived and 
 perfected in their solitary cells. 
 
 Innocent or guilty, they have adopted a role that com-
 
 i5o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 mences the instant they cross the threshold of that dread 
 room where the magistrate awaits them. 
 
 The moment of the prisoner's entrance is one in 
 which the judge must bring all his powers of penetra- 
 tion into play. 
 
 The attitude of the man as surely betrays his plan of 
 defence as an index-table reveals the contents of a 
 book. 
 
 But in this case M. Segmuller did not think that ap- 
 pearances were deceitful. It was evident to him that 
 the accused had not thought of feigning anything ; and 
 that the excited frenzy which marked his entrance was 
 as real as his present stupor. 
 
 At least, all the danger of which the keeper had 
 spoken was apparently over. The judge, therefore, 
 seated himself at his desk. He felt more at ease there, 
 and so to speak, more strong. There his back was 
 turned to the window, his face was half hidden in 
 shadow ; and in case of need, he could, by bending over 
 his desk, conceal his surprise, or any sign of dis- 
 comfiture. 
 
 The prisoner, on the contrary, stood in the full light, 
 and not a movement of his features, not the fluttering 
 of an eyelid would escape the attention of the judge. 
 
 He seemed to have entirely recovered from his indis- 
 position ; and his features had assumed an expression 
 of careless indifference, or of complete resignation. 
 
 " Do you feel better ? " inquired M. Segmuller. 
 
 " I feel very well." 
 
 " I hope," continued the judge, paternally, " that you 
 will know how to moderate your transports after this. 
 Yesterday you tried to destroy yourself. It would have 
 been another great crime added to many others a crime 
 which "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 151 
 
 With a brusque gesture, the prisoner interrupted 
 him. 
 
 " I have committed no crime," said he, in a rough, 
 but no longer threatening, voice. " I was attacked, 
 and I defended myself. Anyone has a right to do that. 
 There were three enraged men upon me. It was a 
 great misfortune, and I would give my right hand to 
 repair it ; but my conscience does not reproach me 
 that much ! " 
 
 " That much," was a contemptuous snap of his finger 
 and thumb. 
 
 " Yet I have been arrested and treated as an assassin," 
 he continued. " When I saw myself interred in that 
 living tomb which you call a secret cell, I was afraid ; I 
 lost my senses. I said to myself : ' My boy, they have 
 buried you alive ; and it is better to die, and that quickly, 
 if you do not wish to suffer.' Then I tried to strangle 
 myself. My death would have brought sorrow to no 
 one. I have neither wife nor child dependent upon me. 
 To prevent me from destroying myself after, I was 
 bled; they placed me in a strait-jacket, as if I were a 
 madman. Mad ! I really believed I should become so. 
 All night long the jailers were around me, like children 
 who are amusing themselves by tormenting a chained 
 animal. They watched me ; they talked about me ; they 
 passed the candle to and fro before my eyes." 
 
 All this was uttered with intense bitterness, but with- 
 out any display of anger forcibly, but with no attempt 
 at oratorical display; uttered, in short, as one's deep 
 emotions and convictions are always uttered. 
 
 And the same thought entered the mind of the judge 
 and of the detective at the same instant. 
 
 " This man," they thought, " is very clever ; it will not 
 be easy to get the advantage of him."
 
 i5* MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 After a moment's reflection M. Segmuller said : 
 
 " This explains your first act of despair in the prison ; 
 but later, this morning even, you refused the nourish- 
 ment that was offered to you." 
 
 The man's lowering face brightened suddenly on 
 hearing this remark ; he gave a comical wink, and finally 
 'burst into a hearty laugh a gay, frank, sonorous laugh. 
 
 " That," said he, " is quite another thing. Certainly, 
 I refused all they offered me, and now I will tell you 
 why. I had my hands confined in the strait- jacket, 
 and the jailer tried to feed me as a nurse feeds a baby 
 with broth. Ah ! no, I thank you. I closed my lips with 
 all my strength. Then he tried to force open my mouth 
 and push the spoon in, as he would open the mouth of a 
 sick dog and push his medicine down his throat. Devil 
 take his impertinence ! I tried to bite him ; that is the 
 truth, and if I had succeeded in getting his finger be- 
 tween my teeth, it would have stayed there. And only 
 because I have done this, they raise their hands to 
 heaven in holy horror, and pointing at me say : ' Here 
 is a terrible man ! a horrible rascal ! ' ' 
 
 He seemed to enjoy the recollection of the scene ex- 
 ceedingly, for he burst into another hearty laugh, to 
 the great amazement of Lecoq, and to the great scandal 
 of good Coquet, the clerk. 
 
 M. Segmuller also found it very difficult to conceal 
 his intense surprise. 
 
 " You are too reasonable, I hope," said he, at last, " to 
 attach any blame to these men, who, in confining you, 
 were merely obeying the orders of their superior offi- 
 cers, and who were only trying to save you from your 
 own violent passions." 
 
 " Hum ! " responded the prisoner, becoming serious 
 at once. " I do, however, and if I had one of them in
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 153 
 
 a corner But I shall get over it. If I know myself, 
 I have no more spite in my composition than a chicken." 
 
 " It depends only upon yourself how you are to be 
 treated ; be calm and they will never place you in a 
 strait-jacket. But you must be quiet and well-behaved." 
 
 The murderer sadly shook his head. 
 
 " I shall be very prudent hereafter," said he ; " but it 
 is terribly hard to stay in prison when one has nothing 
 to do. If I had comrades, we could laugh and chat, and 
 the time would slip by; but to remain alone, entirely 
 alone, in that cold cell, where one hears not even a 
 sound it is horrible. It is so damp there that the 
 water trickles down the walls, and one might swear that 
 the moisture was real tears, men's tears, issuing from 
 the stone." 
 
 The judge bent over the desk to make a note. The 
 word " comrades " had attracted his attention, and he 
 proposed to make the prisoner explain it later. 
 
 " If you are innocent," he remarked, " you will soon 
 be released ; but it is necessary to establish your inno- 
 cence." 
 
 " What must I do to establish it ? " 
 
 " Tell the truth, the whole truth : answer honestly and 
 unreservedly the questions I shall put to you." 
 
 " As for that, you may depend upon me." 
 
 He lifted his hands, as if to call upon God and man 
 to witness his sincerity. M. Segmuller ordered him to 
 drop it, adding: 
 
 " Parties who are accused do not take the oath." 
 
 "Indeed!" said the man, with an astonished air; 
 " that is strange ! " 
 
 Although the judge had apparently paid but little at- 
 tention to the prisoner, he had not failed to notice his 
 every movement. He had desired to reassure him, to
 
 i54 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 make him feel at ease, to quiet his suspicions as much as 
 possible; and he believed that this result had been at- 
 tained. 
 
 " Now," said he, " you will give me your attention ; 
 and do not forget that your liberty depends upon your 
 frankness. What is your name ? " 
 
 " May." 
 
 " What is your Christian name? " 
 
 " I have none." 
 
 " That is impossible." 
 
 A movement of the prisoner betrayed an impatience 
 which was quickly suppressed. 
 
 " This," he replied, " is the third time since yester- 
 day I have received that answer. What I told you is 
 the truth, however. If I were a liar, nothing would be 
 easier than for me to tell you that my name was Peter, 
 James, or John. But lying is not my forte. Really, I 
 have no Christian name. If it were a question of sur- 
 names, it would be quite another thing. I have had 
 plenty of them." 
 
 " What were they ? " 
 
 " Let me see to commence with, when I was with 
 Father Fougasse, I was called Affiloir, because, you 
 
 " Who was this Father Fougasse ? " 
 
 " The king of men for wild beasts, Monsieur. Ah ! 
 he could boast of a menagerie that was a menagerie. 
 Tigers, lions, paroquets of every color, serpents as large 
 as your thigh he had everything. But unfortu- 
 nately " 
 
 Was the man jesting, or was he in earnest ? It was so 
 hard to decide, that M. Segmuller and Lecoq were 
 equally in doubt. Coquet, while writing his report, 
 laughed.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ iSS 
 
 " Enough," interrupted the judge. " How old are 
 you ? " 
 
 " Forty-four or forty-five years of age." 
 
 " Where were you born? " 
 
 " In Brittany, probably." 
 
 In this reply M. Segmuller thought he discovered an 
 inclination to levity, which must be repressed. 
 
 " I warn you," said he, severely, " that if you go on 
 in this way your liberty will be greatly compromised. 
 Each of your responses is a breach of propriety." 
 
 The most sincere distress, mingled with anxiety, was 
 visible upon the countenance of the murderer. 
 
 " Ah ! I meant no offence, sir," he sighed. " You 
 questioned me and I replied. You will see that I have 
 spoken the truth, if you will allow me to tell you the 
 history of the whole affair." 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 " When the prisoner speaks, the prosecution is in- 
 structed," is an old proverb at the Palais de Justice. 
 
 It does, indeed, seem almost impossible for a culprit, 
 closely watched by the judge, to speak more than a few 
 words without betraying his intentions or his thoughts ; 
 without, in short, revealing more or less of the secret he 
 is endeavoring to conceal. 
 
 Even the most simple-minded of criminals under- 
 stand this, and those who are most shrewd, are gen- 
 erally most reserved. 
 
 Confining themselves entirely to the few facts upon 
 which they have founded their defence, they leave this 
 safe ground only when they are absolutely compelled to 
 do so, and then only with the utmost caution.
 
 156 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 When questioned, they reply of course, but always 
 briefly ; and they are very sparing of details. 
 
 In this case, however, the accused was prodigal of 
 words. He did not seem to apprehend that there was 
 danger lest he should cut his own throat. He did not 
 hesitate like those who are fearful of misplacing a word 
 of the romance they are substituting for the truth. 
 
 Under other circumstances this fact would have been 
 a strong argument in his favor. 
 
 " You may tell your own story, then," was M. Seg- 
 muller's response to the indirect request of the prisoner. 
 
 The murderer did not attempt to conceal the joy 
 which had been awakened in his heart by being allowed 
 to plead his own cause, in his own way. 
 
 The sparkling of his eyes, the dilation of his nostrils 
 revealed his satisfaction. 
 
 He seated himself, threw his head back, passed his 
 tongue over his lips as if to moisten them, and said : 
 
 " Am I to understand that you wish to hear my his- 
 tory?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then you must know that one day about forty-five 
 years ago, Father Tringlot, the manager of a travelling 
 company of athletes and acrobats, was going from Guin- 
 gamp to Sainte-Briene. He was making the journey in 
 two large carriages with his wife, his equipments, and 
 the members of his company. Very well. But soon 
 after leaving quite a large city named Chatelaudren, he 
 perceived something white lying by the roadside, near 
 the edge of a ditch. ' I must go and see what that is,' 
 he said to his wife. He stopped the horses, descended 
 from the carriage, went to the ditch, picked up the 
 object and uttered a cry of surprise. You will ask me 
 ' what this man has found ? ' Ah ! mon Dieu! A mere
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 157 
 
 trifle. He had found your very humble servant; then 
 aged about six months." 
 
 With these last words, he made a low bow to his 
 auditors. 
 
 " Naturally, Father Tringlot carried me to his wife," 
 he continued. " She was a kind-hearted woman. She 
 took me, examined me, fed me, and said : ' He is a 
 strong, healthy child ; we will keep him, since his mother 
 has been so wicked as to abandon him. I will teach him ; 
 and in five or six years he will be an honor to us.' Then 
 they tried to decide upon a name for me. It was in 
 the early part of the month of May, so they concluded to 
 call me May; and May I have been from that day to 
 this." 
 
 He paused, and looked from one to another of his 
 listeners, as if seeking some sign of approval. 
 
 None being forthcoming, he went on with his story : 
 
 " Father Tringlot was an uneducated man, and en- 
 tirely ignorant of the law. He did not inform the au- 
 thorities that he had found a child, and for this reason, 
 although I was living, I did not exist, for to exist it is 
 necessary to have one's name and birth inscribed upon 
 the mayor's register. 
 
 " When I became older, I rather congratulated myself 
 on this omission on Father Tringlot's part. 
 
 " I said to myself : ' May, my boy, you have no place 
 on any government register, consequently there is no 
 fear that you will ever be drawn as a soldier.' 
 
 " I had no desire to be a soldier ; no fancy for being 
 made food for bullets and cannon-balls. 
 
 " Afterward, when the age for conscription had 
 passed, a lawyer told me that I would make a great deal 
 of trouble for myself if I sought a place on the civil reg- 
 ister at that late day ; so I decided to exist surrepti- 
 tiously.
 
 i 5 * MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " And this is why I have no Christian name, and why 
 I cannot say exactly where I was born." 
 
 If truth has any particular accent of its own, as moral- 
 ists have asserted, the murderer had found that accent. 
 
 Voice, gesture, glance, expression, all were in accord ; 
 not a word of his long story had rung false. 
 
 " Now," said M. Segmuller, coldly, " what are your 
 means of subsistence ? " 
 
 By the discomfited mien of the murderer one would 
 have supposed that he had expected to see his prison 
 doors fly open at the conclusion of his last remarks. 
 
 " I have a profession," he replied, plaintively. " The 
 one taught me by Mother Tringlot. I subsist by its 
 practice ; and I have lived in France and in other coun- 
 tries." 
 
 The judge thought he had found a flaw in the 
 armor. 
 
 " Do you say you have lived in foreign countries ? " 
 he inquired. 
 
 " Yes ; during the seventeen years that I formed a 
 part of Monsieur Simpson's company, I travelled most 
 of the time in England and in Germany." 
 
 " Then you are a gymnast and an athlete. How is it 
 that your hands are so white and so soft ? " 
 
 Far from being embarrassed, the prisoner lifted his 
 hands and examined them with evident complacency. 
 
 " It is true that they are pretty," said he ; " that is 
 because I take good care of them and do not use them." 
 
 " Do they pay you, then, for doing nothing? " 
 
 " Ah, no, indeed ! But, sir, my duty consists in 
 speaking to the public, in turning a compliment, and 
 in making things pass off pleasantly, as the saying is ; 
 and, without boasting, I flatter myself that I have a 
 certain knack "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ i$9 
 
 M. Segmuller stroked his chin, according to his habit 
 when a prisoner committed some grave blunder. 
 
 " In that case," said he, " will you give me an exhibi- 
 tion of your talent? " 
 
 " Ah, ha," laughed the man, evidently supposing this 
 a jest on the part of the magistrate. " Ah, ha ! " 
 
 " Obey, if you please," insisted the judge. 
 
 The murderer made no objection. His mobile face 
 immediately assumed an entirely different expression ; a 
 singular mixture of impudence, conceit, and irony 
 played upon his features. 
 
 He caught up a ruler that was lying upon the desk, 
 and in a shrill falsetto voice, and with many flourishes, 
 he began : 
 
 " Silence, music ! And you, big drum, hold your 
 peace ! This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hour, the 
 moment, and the instant for the grand and only per- 
 formance of these great artists ; unequalled in the world 
 in their feats upon the trapeze and on the tight-rope, and 
 in other exercises of grace, suppleness, and strength." 
 
 " That is sufficient," interrupted the judge. " You 
 can speak thus in France ; but what do you say in Ger- 
 many ? " 
 
 " Of course, I use the language of that country." 
 
 " Let us see ! " commanded M. Segmuller, whose 
 mother-tongue was German. 
 
 The prisoner dropped his mocking manner, assumed 
 an air of comical importance, and, without the slight- 
 est hesitation he said, in very emphatic tones : 
 
 " Mit BewUligung der hochloeblichen Obrigkeit wird 
 heute vor hiesigcr ehremverthen Burgerschaft zum 
 
 erstenmal aufgefuhrt Genovesa, oder del " * 
 
 ' ' With the permission of the local authorities, there will now be 
 presented before the honorable citizens, for the first time Genevieve, 
 or the "
 
 160 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Enough," said the judge, harshly. 
 
 He rose to conceal his chagrin, perhaps, and added : 
 
 " We will send for an interpreter who can tell us 
 whether you speak English as fluently." 
 
 On hearing these words, Lecoq modestly stepped for- 
 ward. 
 
 " I speak English," said he. 
 
 " Very well. You hear, prisoner ? " 
 
 But the man was already transformed. Britannic 
 gravity and apathy were written upon his features ; his 
 gestures were stiff and constrained, and it was in the 
 most ponderous tones that he said : 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen : Long life to our queen, and 
 to the honorable mayor of this town ! No country, Eng- 
 land excepted our glorious England ! could produce 
 such a marvellous thing, such a paragon " 
 
 For a minute or two longer he continued in the same 
 strain. 
 
 M. Segmuller was leaning upon his desk, his face 
 bowed upon his hands. Lecoq could not conceal his as- 
 tonishment. 
 
 Only Coquet, the smiling clerk, found the scene 
 amusing. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 The keeper of the depot, a functionary who had 
 gained the reputation of being an oracle by twenty years 
 of experience in prisons and with prisoners a man 
 whom it was difficult to deceive had written to the 
 judge: 
 
 " Surround yourself with every precaution before ex- 
 amining the prisoner, May."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 161 
 
 And instead of the dangerous malefactor, the very 
 announcement of whose coming had made the clerk 
 turn pale, the prisoner proved to be a practical, harm- 
 less, and jovial philosopher, vain of his eloquence, a man 
 whose existence depended upon his ability to turn a 
 compliment ; in short, a somewhat erratic genius. 
 
 This was a strange mistake. But this did not cause 
 M. Segmuller to abandon the theory advanced by Le- 
 coq ; he had become more than ever convinced of its 
 truth. 
 
 If he remained silent, with his elbows propped upon 
 his desk, and his hands clasped over his eyes, it was only 
 that he might gain time for reflection. 
 
 The manner and attitude of the prisoner was re- 
 markable. 
 
 When his English " compliment " was ended, he re- 
 mained standing in the centre of the room, his counte- 
 nance wearing an expression half pleased, half anxious. 
 But he was as much at ease as if he were upon the stage 
 where, if one could believe his story, he had passed the 
 greater part of his life. 
 
 By the combined efforts of all his intellectual powers 
 and his penetration, the judge attempted to seize upon 
 something, even if it were only some indication of weak- 
 ness on his face, which in its mobility was more enigmat- 
 ical than the bronze face of the sphinx. 
 
 Thus far M. Segmuller had been worsted in the en- 
 counter. 
 
 It is true, however, that he had made no direct attack, 
 nor had he made use of any of the weapons which Lecoq 
 had forged for his use. 
 
 But he was none the less annoyed at his defeat. It 
 was easy to discern this by the brusque manner in
 
 i6a MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 which he lifted his head after a few moments of si- 
 lence. 
 
 " I see that you speak three European languages cor- 
 rectly," said he. " It is a rare talent." 
 
 The prisoner bowed, and smiled complacently. 
 
 " But that does not establish your identity," con- 
 tinued the judge. " Have you any acquaintances in 
 Paris? Can you indicate any respectable person who 
 will vouch for the truth of this story ? " 
 
 "Ah! Monsieur, it is seventeen years since I left 
 France." 
 
 " It is unfortunate, but the prosecution would not be 
 content with such reasons. It would be too easy to 
 escape the consequences of one's former life. Tell me 
 of your last patron, Monsieur Simpson. Who was this 
 man? " 
 
 " Monsieur Simpson is a rich man," replied the pris- 
 oner, rather coldly, " worth more than two hundred 
 thousand francs, and honest. In Germany he travelled 
 with a show of marionettes, in England with a collection 
 of phenomena, to suit the taste of the country." 
 
 " Very well ! This millionnaire could testify in your 
 favor ; it would be easy to find him, I suppose." 
 
 " Certainly," May responded, emphatically. " Mon- 
 sieur Simpson would willingly do me this favor. It 
 would be easy enough to find him, only it would require 
 considerable time." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Because at the present moment he is he must be 
 en route to America. It was on account of this journey 
 that I left his company I detest the ocean." 
 
 The intense anxiety that had stopped the beatings of 
 Lecoq's heart was dissipated. He breathed again. 
 
 " Ah ! " said the judge, very slowly.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 163 
 
 " When I say that he is en route," resumed the pris- 
 oner, " I may be mistaken. He may not have started 
 yet. But he had arranged all his business matters for 
 departure before we separated." 
 
 " Upon what ship was he to sail? " 
 
 " He did not tell me." 
 
 " Where was he when you left him ? " 
 
 " At Leipsic." 
 
 "When was this?" 
 
 " Last Wednesday." 
 
 M. Segmuller shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. 
 
 " Do you say you were in Leipsic on Wednesday ? 
 How long have you been in Paris ? " 
 
 " Since Sunday afternoon, at four o'clock." 
 
 " It will be necessary to prove that." 
 
 By the contracted brow of the murderer, one would 
 naturally have supposed that he was making a strenuous 
 effort to remember something. For about a minute he 
 seemed to be seeking something. He cast questioning 
 glances first at the ceiling, then at the floor, scratching 
 his head and tapping his foot in evident perplexity. 
 
 " How can I prove it how ? " he murmured. 
 
 The judge did not appear disposed to wait. 
 
 " I will make a suggestion to aid you," said he. " The 
 people at the inn where you boarded while in Leipsic 
 must remember you." 
 
 " We did not stop at an inn." 
 
 " Where did you eat and sleep, then ? " 
 
 " In Monsieur Simpson's large travelling-carriage ; il 
 had been sold, but he was not to give it up until he 
 reached the port from which he was to embark." 
 
 " What port was that ? " 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 Less accustomed to concealing his impressions than
 
 164 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the judge, Lecoq could not help rubbing his hands, so 
 great was his satisfaction. He saw that the prisoner 
 was convicted of falsehood " driven to the wall," as he 
 expressed it. 
 
 " So you have only your own affirmation to offer in 
 support of this story? " inquired the judge. 
 
 " Wait a moment," said the accused, extending his 
 arm as if to clutch a still vague inspiration, " wait a 
 moment. When I arrived in Paris I had a trunk ; it 
 contains my linen, which is all marked with the first let- 
 ter of my name. There are also some coats, several 
 pairs of pantaloons, and two costumes for wear when I 
 appear in public." 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 " On my arrival in Paris I took this trunk to a hotel 
 quite near the railway station." 
 
 He stopped short, evidently embarrassed. 
 
 " What is the name of this hotel ? " demanded the 
 judge. 
 
 " Alas ! that is exactly what I am trying to recollect. 
 I have forgotten it. But I have not forgotten the house. 
 I can see it yet ; and, if someone would take me to the 
 neighborhood, I should certainly recognize it. The peo- 
 ple at the hotel would know me; besides, my trunk 
 would prove the truth of my story." 
 
 Lecoq mentally resolved to make a tour of investiga- 
 tion through the hotels which surrounded the North- 
 ern depot. 
 
 " Very well," remarked the judge. " Perhaps we will 
 do as you request. Now, there are two questions which 
 I desire to ask. If you arrived in Paris at four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, how did it happen that by midnight of 
 the same day you had found the Poivriere, a haunt of 
 notorious characters, situated in a lonely spot, and
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 165 
 
 which it would be impossible to find at night if one was 
 not familiar with the locality ? In the second place, how 
 does it happen, if you possess such clothing as you de- 
 scribe, that you are so poorly dressed ? " 
 
 The man smiled at these questions. 
 
 " That is what I will explain to you," he responded. 
 " When one travels third-class, one is sure to ruin 
 one's clothing ; that is why, on leaving Leipsic, I put on 
 the worst clothing I had. When I arrived here, and 
 felt the pavements of Paris beneath my feet, I went wild 
 with delight. I became a fool. I had some money in my 
 pocket it was Shrove Sunday my only thought was 
 to make a night of it. I did not think of changing my 
 clothes. Having formerly found much amusement near 
 the Barriere dTtalie, I hastened there, and entered a 
 wine-shop. While I was eating a morsel, two men came 
 in and began talking about spending the night at a ball 
 at the Rainbow. I asked them to take me with them ; 
 they consented. I paid their bill, and we started. But 
 soon after our arrival there these young men left me and 
 joined the dancers. It was not long before I began to 
 weary of playing the part of looker-on. Vexed and dis- 
 appointed, I left the inn, and being foolish enough to 
 dislike to ask my way, I wandered on and lost my way 
 while traversing a large tract of unoccupied land. I was 
 about to retrace my steps, when I saw a light in the 
 distance. I walked straight toward it, and arrived at 
 that cursed hovel." 
 
 " What happened then ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I went in ; called for someone. A woman 
 came. I asked for a glass of brandy ; she brought it. I 
 sat down and lighted a cigar. Then I looked about 
 me. The interior was horrible enough to frighten one. 
 Three men and two women were drinking and chatting
 
 166 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 in low tones at another table. My face did not seem to 
 suit them. One of them rose, came to me and said : 
 ' You are a policeman ; you have come here to play the 
 spy on us; that is very plain.' I answered that I was 
 not. He replied that I was. I again declared that I was 
 not. In short, he swore that he was sure of it, and 
 that I had on a false beard. Thereupon he caught hold 
 of my beard and pulled it. This made me mad. I 
 jumped up, and with a blow of my fist felled him to the 
 ground. Misery ! In an instant all the others were 
 upon me ! I had my revolver you know the rest." 
 
 " And the two women, while this was going on, what 
 were they doing ? " 
 
 " Ah ! I was too busy to pay any attention to them. 
 They disappeared ! " 
 
 " But you saw them when you entered the saloon 
 what were they like ? " 
 
 " They were, upon my word ! two big, ugly creatures, 
 as tall as grenadiers, and as dark as moles ! " 
 
 Between plausible falsehood and improbable truth, 
 justice, human justice, and therefore liable to error, is 
 compelled to decide as best it can. 
 
 For the past hour M. Segmuller had not been free 
 from mental disquietude. But his doubts all vanished 
 when he heard the prisoner declare that the two women 
 were tall and dark. 
 
 In his opinion this audacious falsehood proved that 
 there was a perfect understanding between the murderer 
 and the Widow Chupin. 
 
 If the man had said : " The women were fair," M. 
 Segmuller would not have known what to believe. 
 
 Certainly, his satisfaction was great ; but his face did 
 not betray it. It was of the utmost importance that the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 167 
 
 prisoner should believe that he had succeeded in de- 
 ceiving the judge. 
 
 " You must understand how necessary it is to find 
 these women," said the judge kindly. "If their testi- 
 mony corresponds with your allegations, your innocence 
 will be proved conclusively." 
 
 " Yes, I understand that ; but how can I put my 
 hand upon them ? " 
 
 " The police can aid you these agents are always at 
 the service of prisoners who desire to make use of them 
 in establishing their innocence. Did you make any ob- 
 servations which might aid in the discovery of these 
 women ? " 
 
 Lecoq, whose eyes never wandered from the prison- 
 er's face, fancied that he saw the least shadow of a smile 
 on the man's lips. 
 
 " I remarked nothing," he said, coldly. 
 
 M. Segmuller had opened the drawer of his desk a 
 moment before. He now took from it the ear-ring 
 which had been found at the scene of the tragedy, and, 
 handing it abruptly to the prisoner, he asked : 
 
 " So you did not notice this in the ear of one of the 
 women ? " 
 
 The imperturbable coolness of the accused did not 
 forsake him. 
 
 He took the ornament, examined it attentively, held 
 it up to the light, admired its brilliant fires, and said : 
 
 " It is a very handsome stone ; but I did not notice 
 it." 
 
 " This stone," remarked the judge, " is a diamond." 
 
 " Ah ! " 
 
 " Yes ; and worth several thousand francs." 
 
 " So much as that ! " 
 
 This exclamation was in accord with the spirit of his
 
 1 68 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 role; but the prisoner had failed to assume a suitable 
 show of simplicity, or rather, he had exaggerated it. 
 
 A nomad like himself, who had, as he claimed, visited 
 all the capitals of Europe, would not have been so as- 
 tonished on hearing the value of a diamond. 
 
 . Still, M. Segmuller did not seem to notice the dis- 
 crepancy. 
 
 " Another thing," said he. " When you threw down 
 your pistol, crying : ' Come and take me,' what did you 
 intend to do ? " 
 
 " I intended to make my escape." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " Dame ! by the door, sir by " 
 
 " Yes, by the back door," said the judge, with freez- 
 ing irony. " It remains for you to explain how you 
 you who had just entered that hovel for the first time 
 could have known of this door." 
 
 For the first time the eye of the prisoner grew 
 troubled ; his assurance disappeared. But it was only 
 for an instant ; then he laughed, but it was a false laugh, 
 that poorly concealed his anxiety. 
 
 " What nonsense ! " he responded. " I had just seen 
 the two women go out by that door." 
 
 " Pardon me, you have just declared that you did not 
 see the departure of these women; that you were too 
 busy to watch their movements." 
 
 " Did I say that ? " 
 
 " Word for word ; the passage shall be read to you. 
 Coquet, read." 
 
 The clerk read the passage referred to, but the man 
 undertook to show that they had misunderstood his re- 
 mark. " He had not said at least, he did not intend to 
 say they had quite misunderstood him " 
 
 Lecoq was jubilant.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 169 
 
 " Ah ! my good fellow," he thought, " you contradict 
 yourself you are in deep water you are lost." 
 
 This reflection was the more just as the situation of 
 the prisoner was like that of a man who, without know- 
 ing how to swim, had advanced into the sea until the 
 water was above his chin. Thus far he had preserved 
 his equilibrium very well ; but now he totters soon he 
 loses his footing he sinks ! 
 
 " Enough enough ! " said the judge. " Now, if you 
 started out merely with the intention of amusing your- 
 self, how did it happen that you took your pistol with 
 you ? " 
 
 " I had it with me while I was travelling, and I did 
 not think to leave it at the hotel any more than I thought 
 to change my clothes." 
 
 " Where did you purchase it ? " 
 
 " It was given me by Monsieur Simpson as a 
 souvenir." 
 
 " Confess that this Monsieur Simpson is a very con- 
 venient personage," said the judge coldly. " Still, go on 
 with your story. Two chambers only of this murderous 
 weapon have been discharged, and three men were 
 killed. You have not told me the end of the affair." 
 
 " Alas ! " exclaimed the man, in saddened tones, 
 " what is the use ? Two of my assailants had fallen ; the 
 struggle now was an equal one. I seized the remaining 
 man, the soldier, about the body, and threw him down. 
 He fell against a corner of the table, and did not rise 
 again." 
 
 M. Segmuller had unfolded upon his desk the plan of 
 the saloon drawn by Lecoq. 
 
 " Come here," he said, addressing the prisoner, " and 
 indicate upon the paper the precise spot occupied by you 
 and by your adversaries."
 
 i?o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 May obeyed, and with an assurance of manner a little 
 surprising in a man in his apparent position, he ex- 
 plained the drama. 
 
 " I entered," said he, " by this door, marked C ; I 
 seated myself at the table, H, which is to the left of the 
 entrance; the others occupied this table, which is be- 
 tween the fireplace, F, and the window, B." 
 
 When he had finished : 
 
 " I must admit," said the judge, " that your asser- 
 tions are in perfect accord with the statements of the 
 physicians, who say that one of the shots must have 
 been fired at a distance of about a yard, and the other, 
 at a distance of about two yards." 
 
 The accused had triumphed; but he only shrugged 
 his shoulders and murmured : 
 
 " That proved that the physicians knew their busi- 
 ness." 
 
 Lecoq was delighted ; he felt that, had he been a judge, 
 he would have conducted this examination in precisely 
 the same way. 
 
 He blessed Heaven that had given him M. Segmuller, 
 in place of M. d'Escorval. 
 
 " This admitted," resumed the judge, " there remains 
 to be explained a sentence uttered by you when this 
 agent, whom you see here, arrested you." 
 
 " What sentence ? " 
 
 " You said : ' It is the Prussians who are coming ; I 
 am lost ! ' What did you mean by that ? " 
 
 A fleeting crimson tinged the cheek of the prisoner. 
 It was evident that he had anticipated the other ques- 
 tions, and that he had been prepared for them ; but that 
 this one was unexpected. 
 
 " It is very strange," said he, with ill-disguised em- 
 barrassment, " that I should have said such a thing ! "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 171 
 
 " Five persons heard you," insisted the judge. 
 
 Evidently he was endeavoring to gain time ; he was 
 hunting for an explanation. 
 
 " After all," replied the man, " the thing is very pos- 
 sible. It was a phrase that was often repeated by an 
 old soldier of Napoleon's body-guard, who, after the 
 battle of Waterloo, entered the service of Monsieur 
 Simpson." 
 
 This explanation, though rather slow in coming, was 
 none the less ingenious. At last M. Segmuller appeared 
 to be perfectly satisfied. 
 
 " That is very plausible," said he ; " but there is one 
 circumstance that passes my comprehension. Were you 
 freed from your assailants before the entrance of the 
 policemen? Answer me, yes or no." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then, why, instead of making your escape by the 
 door, whose existence you had divined, did you remain 
 upon the threshold of the communicating door, with a 
 table before you to serve as a barricade, your pistol di- 
 rected toward the police, holding them at bay ? " 
 
 The man hung his head, and they were obliged to 
 wait for his response. 
 
 " I was a fool," he stammered, at last. " I did not 
 know whether these men were agents of the police force 
 or friends of the men I had killed." 
 
 " Your self-interest would have impelled you to flee 
 from one as well as from the other." 
 
 The murderer was silent. 
 
 " Ah, well ! " resumed M. Segmuller, " the prosecu- 
 tion is of the opinion that you designedly and volun- 
 tarily exposed yourself to the danger of arrest in order 
 to protect the retreat of the two women who were in 
 the saloon."
 
 172 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Why should I have risked my own safety for two 
 hussies whom I did not even know ? " 
 
 " Pardon me. The prosecution are strongly inclined 
 to believe that you know these two women very well." 
 
 " I should like to see anyone prove this ! " 
 
 He laughed sneeringly, but the laugh was frozen upon 
 his lips by the tone of assurance in which the judge ut- 
 tered these words : 
 
 " I will prove this to you ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 These difficult and delicate questions of personal 
 identity are the bane of magistrates. 
 
 Railroads, photography, and telegraphic communi- 
 cation have multiplied the means of investigation in 
 vain. Every day it happens that malefactors succeed 
 in deceiving the judge in regard to their true person- 
 ality, and thus escape the consequences of their former 
 crimes. 
 
 This is so frequently the case that a witty attorney- 
 general once laughingly remarked and, perhaps, he 
 was only half in jest: 
 
 " This uncertainty in regard to identity will cease 
 only on the day when the law prescribes that a num- 
 ber shall be branded upon the shoulder of every child 
 whose birth is reported to the mayor." 
 
 M. Segmuller certainly wished that a number had 
 been branded upon the enigmatical prisoner before him. 
 
 And yet he did not by any means despair, and his 
 confidence, exaggerated though it might be, was not 
 feigned. 
 
 He thought this circumstance in connection with the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 17* 
 
 two women was the weak spot in the prisoner's plan of 
 defence the point upon which he must concentrate all 
 his efforts. 
 
 When he felt that his threat had had time to produce 
 its full effect, he continued : 
 
 " So, prisoner, you assert that you were acquainted 
 with none of the persons you met in the saloon? " 
 
 " I swear it." 
 
 " Have you never had occasion to meet one Lache- 
 neur, an individual whose name is connected with this 
 unfortunate affair ? " 
 
 " I heard this name for the first time when the dying 
 soldier uttered it, adding that this Lacheneur was an 
 old comedian." 
 
 He heaved a deep sigh, and continued : 
 
 " Poor soldier ! I had just dealt him his death- 
 blow ; and yet his last words testified to my innocence." 
 
 This sentimental outburst produced no impression 
 whatever upon the magistrate. 
 
 " Consequently," resumed the judge, " you are will- 
 ing to accept the deposition of this soldier? " 
 
 The man hesitated, as if conscious that he had fallen 
 into a snare, and that he would be obliged to weigh each 
 response carefully. 
 
 " I accept it," said he, at last. " Of course, I accept 
 it." 
 
 " Very well. This soldier, you must recollect, wished 
 to revenge himself upon Lacheneur, who, by promising 
 him money, had inveigled him into a conspiracy. A con- 
 spiracy against whom ? Evidently against you ; and yet 
 you pretend that you had only arrived in Paris that 
 evening, and that the merest chance had alone brought 
 you to the Poivriere. Can you reconcile such conflict- 
 ing statements ? "
 
 174 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The prisoner had the hardihood to shrug his shoul- 
 ders, disdainfully. 
 
 " I see the matter in an entirely different light," said 
 he. " These people were plotting mischief against I 
 do not know whom and it was because I was in their 
 way that they sought a quarrel with me, without any 
 cause whatever." 
 
 The judge's sword-thrust had been skilfully made, 
 but it had been as skilfully parried ; so skilfully, indeed, 
 that the smiling clerk could not conceal an approving 
 grimace. Besides, on principle, he always took the 
 part of the prisoner in a very mild way, understand. 
 
 " Let us consider the circumstances that followed 
 your arrest," resumed M. Segmuller. " Why did you 
 refuse to answer all questions? " 
 
 A gleam of real or assumed resentment shone in the 
 eyes of the prisoner. 
 
 " This examination," he growled, " will be quite suf- 
 ficient to make a culprit out of an innocent man ! " 
 
 " I advise you, in your own interest, to deport your- 
 self properly. Those who arrested you observed that 
 you were conversant with all the formalities, and with 
 the rules of the prison." 
 
 " Ah ! sir, have I not told you that I have been ar- 
 rested and put in prison several times always on ac- 
 count of my papers. I told you the truth, and conse- 
 quently you should not taunt me." 
 
 He had dropped his mask of careless gayety, and 
 had assumed a surly, discontented tone. 
 
 But his troubles were not ended, the battle had but 
 just begun. M. Segmuller laid a tiny linen bag upon 
 his desk. 
 
 " Do you recognize this ? " he asked.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 175 
 
 " Perfectly ! It is the package that was placed in the 
 safe by the keeper of the prison." 
 
 The judge opened the bag, and poured the dust that 
 it contained out upon a sheet of paper. 
 
 " You are aware, prisoner," said he, " that this dust 
 is from the mud that adhered to your feet. The agent 
 of police who collected it went to the station-house 
 where you had spent the preceding night, and he has 
 discovered between this dust and the earth which forms 
 the floor of the station-house a perfect uniformity." 
 
 The man listened with wide-open mouth. 
 
 " Hence," continued the judge, " it was certainly at 
 the station-house, and designedly, that you soiled your 
 feet in the mud. What was your object? " 
 
 I wished " 
 
 " Let me finish. Resolved to guard the secret of your 
 identity, and to assume the individuality of a man of the 
 lower orders of society of a mountebank, if you 
 please you reflected that the delicacy of your appear- 
 ance would betray you. You foresaw the impression 
 that would be produced when, upon removing the 
 coarse, ill-fitting boots that you wore, the officers saw 
 shapely, nicely cared for feet like yours ; for they are as 
 well kept as your hands. What did you do, therefore ? 
 You emptied upon the ground the water that was in the 
 pitcher in your cell, and then dabbled your feet in the 
 mud that had been formed." 
 
 During these remarks the face of the prisoner had 
 expressed, by turns, anxiety, the most comical astonish- 
 ment, irony, and at last a frank gayety. 
 
 At the conclusion, he seemed unable to restrain the 
 burst of merriment which prevented him from making 
 any reply. 
 
 " This is what one gets by searching around for
 
 i 7 6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 twelve or fourteen hours," he said, as soon as he could 
 speak, and addressing not the judge, but Lecoq. " Ah ! 
 Mister Agent, it is well to be sharp, but not so sharp as 
 that. The truth is, that when I was taken to the 
 station-house, forty-eight hours thirty-six of them 
 spent on the railroad cars had elapsed since I had 
 taken off my shoes. My feet were red, swollen, and 
 burned like fire. What did I do ? I poured some water 
 on them. As for your other suspicions, if I have a soft 
 and white skin, it is only because I take care of myself. 
 Besides, as is usual with most men in my profession, I 
 never wear anything but slippers on my feet. This is so 
 true, that on leaving Leipsic, I owned only one pair of 
 boots, and that was an old cast-off pair given me by 
 Monsieur Simpson." 
 
 Lecoq struck himself upon the breast. " Fool, im- 
 becile, idiot, that I am ! " he thought. " He was wait- 
 ing to be questioned in regard to this circumstance. 
 When this man, who is wonderfully shrewd, saw me 
 take this dust, he divined my intentions ; he has been 
 seeking for an explanation, and he has found it and 
 it is a plausible one any jury would believe it." 
 
 M. Segmuller was saying the same thing to himself. 
 But he was not so surprised nor so overcome by the 
 cleverness of the prisoner. 
 
 " Let us continue," said he. " Do you still persist in 
 your affirmations, prisoner ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Very well ; then I shall be forced to tell you that 
 you are saying what is untrue." 
 
 The prisoner's lips trembled very visibly, and he 
 faltered : 
 
 " May my first mouthful of bread strangle me, if I 
 have uttered a single falsehood ! "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 177 
 
 " A single falsehood ! wait." 
 
 The judge took from his desk-drawer the moulds of 
 the footprints, which Lecoq had made, and showing 
 them to the murderer, he said : 
 
 " You have told me that these women were as tall 
 as grenadiers; now see the footprints made by these 
 immense women. They were as ' dark as moles/ you 
 said ; a witness will tell you that one of them was a 
 small, very delicate blonde, with an exceedingly sweet 
 voice." 
 
 He sought the prisoner's eyes, found them, and added 
 slowly : 
 
 " And this witness is the coachman whose carriage 
 was hired in the Rue de Chevaleret by the two fugi- 
 tives." 
 
 This sentence fell upon the prisoner like a thunder- 
 bolt ; he grew pale, tottered and leaned against the wall 
 to keep himself from falling. 
 
 " Ah ! you have told me the truth ! " scornfully con- 
 tinued the pitiless judge. " Who, then, is this man who 
 was waiting for you while you were in the Poivriere ? 
 Who is this accomplice who, after your arrest, dared to 
 enter the Widow Chupin's hut to regain something com- 
 promising in its nature a letter, undoubtedly which 
 he knew he would find in the pocket of the Widow 
 Chupin's apron? Who is this devoted and courageous 
 friend who feigned drunkenness so effectually that even 
 the police were deceived, and placed him in confinement 
 with you ? Dare you deny that you have not arranged 
 your system of defence in concert with him ? Can you 
 affirm that he did not give the Widow Chupin counsel as 
 to the course she must pursue ? " 
 
 But already, thanks to an almost superhuman effort, 
 the man had mastered his agitation.
 
 178 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " All this," said he, in a harsh voice, " is a mere inven- 
 tion of the police ! " 
 
 However faithfully one may describe an examination 
 of this sort, it gives the reader no more idea of the scene 
 than cold ashes give the effect of a glowing fire. 
 
 One can note down the slightest word ; but one can 
 never portray the repressed animation, the impassioned 
 movements, the studied reticence, the intonation, the 
 glances full of hatred and suspicion which encounter 
 each other in short, the terrible anguish of a mortal 
 struggle. 
 
 When the prisoner reeled beneath the power of his 
 accusation, the judge trembled with joy. 
 
 " He weakens," he thought, " he yields he is mine ! " 
 
 But all hope of immediate success vanished when he 
 saw this redoubtable adversary struggle against his 
 momentary weakness, and arm himself for the fight 
 with a renewed and still more vigorous energy. 
 
 The judge comprehended that it would require more 
 than one assault to overcome such a nature. 
 
 So, in a voice rendered still more harsh by disappoint- 
 ment, he resumed: 
 
 " Evidently you are determined to deny evidence 
 itself." 
 
 The murderer had turned to bronze again. He must 
 have bitterly regretted his weakness, for a fiendish au- 
 dacity glittered in his eyes. 
 
 " What evidence ! " he demanded, frowning. " This 
 romance invented by the police^ is very plausible, I do 
 not deny it ; but it seems to me that the truth is quite as 
 probable. You tell me of a coachman, who was em- 
 ployed by two small, fair-haired women who can prove 
 that those women are the same who fled from this ac- 
 cursed hovel ? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 179 
 
 '"' The police officer followed their tracks upon the 
 snow." 
 
 " At night, across fields cut every now and then by 
 ditches, and up a long street, while a fine rain was fall- 
 ing and a thaw was beginning! That is very prob- 
 able!" 
 
 He extended his arm toward Lecoq, and in a tone 
 of crushing scorn, he added : 
 
 " A man must have great confidence in himself, or a 
 wild longing for advancement, to ask that a man's head 
 should be cut off on such evidence as this ! " 
 
 While the smiling clerk made his pen fly across the 
 paper, he said to himself : 
 
 " The arrow entered the bull's eye this time ! " 
 
 The reproach did indeed seem just ; and it cut Lecoq 
 to the quick. He was so incensed, that forgetful of the 
 place in which he was, he sprang up, furious. 
 
 " This circumstance would be of slight importance," 
 said he, vehemently, " if it were not one of a long 
 chain " 
 
 " Silence ! " interrupted the judge. 
 
 Then turning to the prisoner he said : 
 
 " The court does not use proofs and testimony col- 
 lected by the police until it has examined and weighed 
 them." 
 
 " No matter," murmured the man. " I would like to 
 see this coachman." 
 
 " Have no fears ; he shall repeat his deposition in 
 your presence." 
 
 " Very well. I am satisfied then. I will ask him how 
 he can distinguish people's faces when it is as dark 
 
 He checked himself, enlightened apparently by a sud- 
 den inspiration.
 
 x8o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " How stupid I am ! " he exclaimed. " I lose my tem- 
 per about these people while you know all the while who 
 they are. For you know, do you not, since the coach- 
 man must of course have taken them to their homes." 
 
 M. Segmuller saw that the man understood him. He 
 saw, too, that he was endeavoring to increase the shadow 
 of doubt and uncertainty that overhung the very point 
 upon which the prosecution was so anxious to obtain in- 
 formation. 
 
 An incomparable comedian, the man had uttered 
 these words with an accent of the most sincere candor. 
 But the irony was evident, and if he sneered, it was be- 
 cause he felt that he had nothing to fear from this 
 quarter. 
 
 " If you are consistent," remarked the judge, " you 
 will also deny the existence of an accomplice, of a 
 comrade." 
 
 " Of what use would it be to deny it, since you believe 
 nothing that I say ? You only a moment ago insinuated 
 that my former employer was an imaginary personage ; 
 what shall I say of this pretended accomplice ? Ah ! the 
 agents who invented him have made him indeed a faith- 
 ful friend. Not content with escaping them once, he 
 comes to place himself in their clutches for a second 
 time. These gentlemen pretend that he conferred first 
 with me, and afterward with the Widow Chupin. How 
 did that happen ? Perhaps, after they took him from the 
 cell in which I was confined, they shut him up with the 
 old woman." 
 
 Coquet the clerk wrote and admired. 
 
 " Here," he thought, " is a man of brain, who under- 
 stands his case, and who will have no need of the elo- 
 quence of a lawyer in pleading his cause before a 
 jury."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ iSi 
 
 " And after all," continued the prisoner, " wh&t are 
 the proofs against me ? The name Lacheneur, faltered 
 by a dying man, some footprints upon the melting 
 snow, the declaration of a coachman, a vague suspicion 
 on the subject of a drunken man. Are these all ? They 
 do not amount to much " 
 
 " Enough ! " interrupted M. Segmuller. " Your as- 
 surance is great now, but your embarrassment a mo- 
 ment since was even greater. What was the cause of 
 it?" 
 
 " The cause ! " exclaimed the prisoner, in a sort of 
 rage ; " the cause ! Can you not see, Monsieur, that 
 you are torturing me frightfully, pitilessly? I am an 
 innocent man, and you are trying to deprive me of my 
 life. You have been turning me this way and that for so 
 many hours, that I begin to feel as if I were standing 
 on the guillotine ; and at each word that I utter, I ask 
 myself if this is the one that will make the axe fall upon 
 my head. My anxiety and dismay surprise you, do 
 they, when I have felt the cold knife graze my throat 
 at least twenty times? I would not desire my worst 
 enemy to be subjected to torture like this." 
 
 He was, indeed, suffering terribly. His hair was 
 saturated with perspiration, and great drops of sweat 
 stood out upon his cheeks and rolled from his pallid 
 brow down upon his beard. 
 
 " I am not your enemy," said the judge, more gently. 
 " A judge is neither the friend nor the enemy of a pris- 
 oner; he is simply the friend of truth and of the law. 
 I am not seeking an innocent man or a culprit ; I merely 
 wish to arrive at the truth. I must know who you are 
 and I do know." 
 
 " Ah ! if the assertion costs me my life I am 
 May."
 
 i8z MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Who am I, then ? Some great man in disguise ? 
 Ah ! I would that I were ! In that case, I should have 
 satisfactory papers. I would show them to you, and 
 you would set me free, for you know very well, my 
 good sir, that I am as innocent as yourself." 
 
 The judge had left his desk, and seated himself by the 
 fireplace, only a couple of feet from the prisoner. 
 
 " Do not insist," said he. 
 
 Then suddenly changing both manner and tone, he 
 added, with the urbanity that a man of the world dis- 
 plays when addressing an equal : 
 
 " Do me the honor, Monsieur, to believe me gifted 
 with sufficient perspicuity to recognize, under the diffi- 
 cult role that you play to such perfection, a very superior 
 gentleman a man endowed with remarkable talent." 
 
 Lecoq saw that this sudden change of manner had 
 unmanned the prisoner. 
 
 He tried to laugh, but the laugh died in his throat 
 as mournful as a sob, and tears glittered in his eyes. 
 
 " I will not torture you any longer, Monsieur," con- 
 tinued the judge. " Upon this ground of subtle reason- 
 ing I confess that you have conquered me. When I 
 return to the charge I shall have proofs enough in my 
 possession to crush you." 
 
 He reflected for a moment, then slowly, and lingering 
 over each word, he added : 
 
 " Only do not expect from me then the consideration 
 I have shown you to-day. Justice is human, Monsieur ; 
 that is, she is indulgent to certain crimes. She has 
 fathomed the depths of the abyss into which blind pas- 
 sion may hurl even an honest man. To-day, any assist- 
 ance that will not conflict with my duty I freely offer 
 to you. Speak, Monsieur. Shall I send away this
 
 Can you not see, monsieur, that you are torturing me fright- 
 fully, pitilessly? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 183 
 
 officer of police ? Do you wish me to send my clerk out 
 of the room upon some errand ? " 
 
 He said no more. He wanted to see the effect of this 
 last, this supreme effort. 
 
 The murderer darted upon him one of those glances 
 that penetrate to the depths of one's inmost soul. His 
 lips moved ; one might have supposed that he was about 
 to speak. But no ; he crossed his arms upon his breast 
 and murmured : 
 
 " You are very frank, Monsieur. Unfortunately for 
 me. I am only a poor devil, as I have told you, May, 
 artist to speak to the public and turn a compliment." 
 
 " I am forced to yield to your decision," said the 
 judge, sadly. " The clerk will now read the report of 
 your examination listen." 
 
 Coquet read the deposition. 
 
 The prisoner listened without making any remark, 
 but when the reading was concluded he refused to sign 
 the document, fearing, he said, " some hidden treach- 
 ery." 
 
 A moment after, the soldiers who had brought him 
 there, led him away. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 When the prisoner had departed, M. Segmuller sank 
 back in his arm-chair, weary, exhausted, and in that 
 state of nervous prostration which so often follows pro- 
 tracted, but fruitless efforts. 
 
 He had scarcely strength to bathe his burning fore- 
 head and his glittering eyes in cool, refreshing water. 
 This frightful scene had lasted for seven consecutive 
 hours, at least.
 
 1 84 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The smiling clerk, who all the while had kept his place 
 at his desk, busily writing, rose, glad of an opportunity 
 to stretch his limbs and snap his fingers, cramped by 
 holding the pen. 
 
 Still, he was not in the least bored. These dramas 
 which had been unrolled in his presence for so many 
 years, had never ceased to afford him a half -theatrical 
 interest, increased by the uncertainty in which the de- 
 nouement was shrouded, and by the consciousness of 
 some slight participation in the affair. 
 
 " What a knave ! " he exclaimed, after vainly waiting 
 some expression of opinion from the judge or from the 
 detective ; " what a rascal ! " 
 
 Ordinarily, M. Segmuller accorded some degree of 
 confidence to the long experience of his clerk. He some- 
 times even went so far as to consult him, doubtless 
 somewhat in the same style that Moliere consulted his 
 servant. 
 
 But this time he did not accept his opinion. 
 
 " No," said he in a thoughtful tone, " that man is not 
 a knave. When I spoke to him kindly he was really 
 touched; he wept, he hesitated. I would have sworn 
 that he was about to confide everything to me." 
 
 " Ah ! he is a remarkable man a man of wonder^ 
 ful power ! " said Lecoq. 
 
 The detective was sincere in his praise. Although the 
 prisoner had disappointed his plans, and had even in- 
 sulted him, he could not help admiring his adversary's 
 shrewdness and courage. 
 
 He had prepared himself to struggle with this man 
 to the death he hoped to conquer him. Nevertheless, 
 in his secret soul Lecoq experienced that sympathy 
 which a. " foeman worthy of one's steel " always in- 
 spires.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 185 
 
 " What coolness, what courage ! " continued Lecoq. 
 " Ah ! there is no denying it, his system of defence of 
 absolute denial is a chef-d'oeuvre. It is perfect. And 
 how admirably he sustained the different role of buf- 
 foon ! Sometimes I could scarcely restrain my admira- 
 tion. What are all these famous comedians beside him ? 
 The greatest actors need the aid of stage scenery to sup- 
 port the illusion. This man almost convinced me even 
 against my reason." 
 
 " Do you know what your very just criticism 
 proves ? " inquired the judge. 
 
 " I am listening, Monsieur." 
 
 " Ah, well ! I have arrived at this conclusion either 
 this man is really May, artist for the paying of com- 
 pliments, as he says or he belongs to the highest rank 
 of society ; not to the middle classes. It is only in the 
 lowest ranks or in the highest, that you encounter such 
 grim energy as he has displayed, such scorn of life, as 
 well as such remarkable presence of mind and resolu- 
 tion. A vulgar bourgeois attracted to the Poivriere by 
 some shameful passion would have confessed it long 
 ago." 
 
 " But, Monsieur, this man is not the buffoon, May," 
 replied the young detective. 
 
 " No, certainly not," responded M. Segmuller ; " we 
 must, therefore, decide upon some plan of action." 
 
 He smiled kindly, and added, in a friendly voice : 
 
 " It was unnecessary to tell you that, Monsieur Lecoq. 
 Quite unnecessary, since to you belongs the honor of 
 having detected this fraud. As for me, I confess, that 
 if I had not been warned in advance, I should at this 
 moment be the dupe of this clever artist." 
 
 The young man bowed ; a blush of modesty tinged his 
 cheeks, but his pleased vanity sparkled in his eyes.
 
 186 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 What a difference between this friendly and benevo- 
 lent judge and that other, so taciturn and so haughty. 
 
 This man, at least, understood, appreciated, and en- 
 couraged him ; and it was with a common theory and 
 an equal ardor that they were about to devote them- 
 selves to a search for the truth. 
 
 These thoughts flitted through Lecoq's mind; then 
 he reflected that his satisfaction was a trifle premature, 
 and that success was still extremely doubtful. 
 
 This rather chilling thought restored his coolness. 
 
 " Monsieur, an idea has just occurred to me," he said, 
 calmly. 
 
 " Let me hear it." 
 
 " The Widow Chupin, as you undoubtedly recollect, 
 alluded to her son, a certain Polyte " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Why not question him ? He must know all the 
 habitues of the Poivriere, and would perhaps give us 
 valuable information regarding Gustave, Lacheneur, 
 and the murderer himself. As he is not in solitary con- 
 finement, he has probably heard of his mother's arrest ; 
 but it seems to me impossible that he should suspect our 
 present perplexity." 
 
 " Ah ! you are a hundred times right ! " exclaimed the 
 judge. " Why did I not think of that myself ? To-mor- 
 row morning I will question this man, whose situation 
 renders him less likely to have been tampered with than, 
 these parties. I will also question his wife." 
 
 He turned to his clerk and added : 
 
 " Quick, Coquet, prepare a summons in the name of 
 the wife of Hippolyte Chupin, and address an order to 
 the keeper of the depot for her husband ! " 
 
 But night was coming on. It was already so dark 
 that one could not see to write, and the clerk rang the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 187 
 
 bell and asked for a light. Just as the messenger who 
 had brought in the lamps was leaving the room, some- 
 one rapped. The door opened, and the keeper of the 
 prison entered with his hat in his hand. 
 
 During the past twenty- four hours this worthy officef 
 had been greatly exercised in mind on account of th 
 mysterious prisoner whom he had placed in secret cell 
 No. 3, and he came to the judge for advice. 
 
 " I come to ask if I am to retain the prisoner, May, 
 in solitary confinement ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I fear his attacks of frenzy, still I dislike to con- 
 fine him in the strait-jacket again." 
 
 " Leave him free in his cell," replied M. Segmuller, 
 " and tell the keepers to treat him kindly, but yet to 
 exercise a constant surveillance over him." 
 
 By the provisions of Article 613, although accused 
 parties are confided to the authority of the government, 
 the judge is allowed, previous to the trial, to adopt such 
 measures concerning them as he may deem necessary 
 for the interests of the prosecution. 
 
 The keeper bowed ; then he added : 
 
 " You have doubtless succeeded in establishing the 
 identity of this prisoner ? " 
 
 " Unfortunately, I have not." 
 
 The keeper shook his head with a knowing air. 
 
 " In that case, my conjectures were correct," said he. 
 " It seems to me more than sufficiently demonstrated 
 that this man is a malefactor of the worst sort an old 
 offender certainly, and one who has the strongest inter- 
 est in concealing his identity. You will find that you 
 have to deal with a man who has been sentenced to the 
 galleys for life, and who has managed to make his escape 
 from Cayenne."
 
 i88 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Perhaps you are mistaken." 
 
 " Hum ! I shall be greatly surprised if I discover that 
 I am. I must admit that my opinion in this matter cor- 
 responds exactly with that of Monsieur Gevrol, the 
 most experienced and the most skilful of our inspect- 
 ors. I agree with him in thinking that young detec- 
 tives are often over-zealous, and run after phantoms 
 originated in their own brains." 
 
 Lecoq, crimson with wrath, was about to make an 
 angry response, when M. Segmuller, with a gesture, im- 
 posed silence. 
 
 It was the judge who, with a smile, replied to the 
 keeper. 
 
 " Upon my word, my dear friend," he said, " the 
 more I study this affair, the more convinced I am of the 
 correctness of the theory advanced by the ' too-zealous 
 detective.' But, after all, I am not infallible, and I shall 
 depend upon your counsel and assistance." 
 
 " Oh ! I have means of verifying my assertion," in- 
 terrupted the keeper ; " and I hope before the end of the 
 next twenty-four hours that our man will have been 
 identified, either by the police or by some one of his 
 fellow-prisoners." 
 
 With these words he took his leave, and Lecoq sprang 
 up, furious. 
 
 " You see that this Gevrol already speaks ill of me ; he 
 is jealous." 
 
 " Ah, well ! what does that matter to you ? If you 
 succeed, you will have your revenge. If you are mis- 
 taken I am mistaken, too." 
 
 And then, as it was already late, M. Segmuller con- 
 fided to Lecoq's keeping the articles which the latter 
 had accumulated in support of his theory. He also 
 placed in his hands the diamond ear-ring, whose owner
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 189 
 
 must be discovered, then the letter signed Lacheneur, 
 which had been found in the pocket of the dead sol- 
 dier. 
 
 He gave him several commissions, and, after request- 
 ing him to make his appearance promptly on the mor- 
 row, he dismissed him with these words : 
 
 " Now go ; and good luck attend you ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 Long, narrow, low of ceiling, and pierced by many 
 small, numbered doors, like the corridor of a hotel, its 
 sole furniture an immense oaken desk, blackened by 
 age such is the galerie d 'instruction in the Palais de 
 Justice. 
 
 Even in the daytime, when it is thronged with pris- 
 oners, witnesses, and guards, it is a sad and gloomy 
 place. 
 
 But it is sinister of aspect at night, when deserted, 
 and only dimly lighted by the smoking lamp of the door- 
 keeper, who is waiting for the departure of some judge 
 whom business has detained later than usual. 
 
 Although Lecoq was not sensitive to such influences, 
 he made haste to reach the staircase and escape the echo 
 of his own steps, which resounded drearily in the si- 
 lence and darkness that pervaded the corridor. 
 
 On the floor below a window was standing open, and 
 the young man leaned out to ascertain the state of the 
 weather. 
 
 The temperature was much milder; the snow had 
 disappeared entirely, and the pavements were almost 
 dry. A slight haze, illujriined by the red glare of the 
 street-lamps, hung like at purple mantle over the city.
 
 190 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The streets below were gay and animated ; carriages 
 were rolling rapidly to and fro, and the pavements were 
 too narrow for the bustling crowd, which, now that the 
 labors of the day were ended, was hastening in pursuit 
 of its pleasures. 
 
 This spectacle drew a sigh from the young detective. 
 
 " And it is in this great city, in the midst of this world 
 of people that I must discover the traces of an unknown 
 person ! Is it possible to do this ? " 
 
 But this feeling of discouragement did not endure 
 long. 
 
 " Yes, it is possible," cried an inward voice. " Be- 
 sides, it must be done ; your future depends upon it. 
 What one wills, one can do." 
 
 Ten seconds later he was in the street, more than ever 
 inflamed with hope and courage. 
 
 To act as the servants of boundless desires, man has, 
 unfortunately, only organs of limited power. The 
 young man had not advanced twenty steps before he 
 realized the fact that his physical powers would not obey 
 the command of his will. His limbs trembled ; his head 
 whirled. Nature asserted her rights ; for two days and 
 nights Lecoq had taken scarcely a moment's rest, and 
 he had eaten nothing that day. 
 
 " Am I going to be ill ? " he thought, sinking down 
 upon a bench. 
 
 And he groaned inwardly, on recapitulating all that 
 he wished to do that evening. 
 
 Must he not (to mention only the most important) 
 ascertain the results of Father Absinthe's search after 
 the man who had recognized one of the victims in the 
 morgue; must he not verify in the hotels which sur- 
 round the northern depot the assertions made by the 
 prisoner; and last, but not least, must he not procure
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 191 
 
 the address of Polyte Chupin's wife, in order to serve 
 the summons upon her? 
 
 Under the power of urgent necessity, he succeeded 
 in triumphing over his weakness, and he rose, mur- 
 muring : 
 
 " I will go to the prefecture, and to the morgue ; then 
 I will see." 
 
 But he did not find Father Absinthe at the prefecture, 
 and no one could give any tidings of him. The good 
 man had not made his appearance there at all during 
 the day. 
 
 Nor could anyone indicate, even vaguely, the abode 
 of the Widow Chupin's daughter-in-law. 
 
 But he met a number of his colleagues, who laughed 
 and jeered at him unmercifully. 
 
 " Ah ! you are a shrewd one ! " all whom he met 
 said to him " it seems that you have just made a won- 
 derful discovery ! They talk of decorating you with the 
 cross." 
 
 Gevrol's influence betrayed itself everywhere. The 
 angry inspector had taken pains to inform each new- 
 comer that this poor Lecoq, crazed by ambition, per- 
 sisted in declaring that a low, vulgar fugitive from jus- 
 tice was some great personage. 
 
 But these jeers had but little effect upon the young 
 man. " He laughs best who laughs last," he muttered. 
 
 If he was restless and anxious as he walked up the 
 Quai des Orfevres, it was only because he could not ex- 
 plain the prolonged absence of Father Absinthe, and be- 
 cause he wondered if Gevrol, in his mad jealousy, would 
 not attempt, in an underhand way, to entangle all the 
 threads of this business still more. 
 
 At the morgue, he met with no better success. After 
 ringing three or four times, one of the guard who came
 
 i 9 2 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 to open the door informed him that the bodies had not 
 been identified, and that the old policeman had not been 
 seen since he left there early in the morning. 
 
 " This is a bad beginning," thought Lecoq. " I will 
 go and get some dinner that will, perhaps, change the 
 luck; and I have certainly earned the bottle of good 
 wine to which I intend to treat myself." 
 
 It was a happy thought. Some dinner and a couple 
 of glasses of Bordeaux sent new courage and energy 
 coursing through his veins. If he still felt weary, the 
 sensation was greatly diminished when he left the res- 
 taurant with a cigar between his lips. 
 
 Just at that moment he longed for the carriage and 
 the good horse of Father Papillon. Fortunately, a 
 fiacre was passing ; he hired it, and as the clock struck 
 eight he alighted at the square near the Northern depot. 
 He looked about a little first, then he began his search. 
 
 It must be understood that he did not present himself 
 in his official capacity. That would be a sure way of 
 learning nothing. 
 
 By brushing back his hair and turning up his coat col- 
 lar, he made a very considerable alteration in his ap- 
 pearance ; and it was with a very pronounced English 
 accent that he asked information concerning a " foreign 
 workman." 
 
 But vainly he employed all his address in questioning 
 parties ; everywhere he received the same response : 
 
 " We do not know such a person ; we have not seen 
 anyone answering this description." 
 
 Any other reply would have astonished Lecoq, so 
 strongly persuaded was he that the prisoner had only 
 related this incident of a trunk left at one of these hotels 
 in order to give a semblance of truth to his narrative. 
 
 Still he continued his investigation. If he noted upon
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 193 
 
 his memorandum-book all the hotels he had visited, i; 
 was only because he wished to make sure of the discom- 
 fiture of the prisoner when they brought him here to 
 prove the truth of his story. 
 
 At last he reached the Hotel de Mariembourg, on the 
 corner of the Rue de St. Quentin. , 
 
 The house was modest in its proportions ; but seemed 
 respectable and well kept. Lecoq pushed open the glass 
 doors, furnished with a spring bell, that opened into the 
 vestibule, and entered the office a neat room, brightly 
 lighted. 
 
 There was a woman in the office. She was standing 
 upon a chair, her face on a level with a large bird-cage, 
 covered with a piece of black silk ; and she was repeat- 
 ing three or four German words with great earnestness 
 to the occupant of the cage. 
 
 She was so engrossed in this occupation that Lecoq 
 was obliged to make considerable noise before he could 
 attract her attention. 
 
 As she turned, he said : 
 
 " Ah ! good-evening, Madame ; you are much inter- 
 ested, I see, in teaching your parrot to talk." 
 
 " It is not a parrot that I have here," replied the wom- 
 an, who had not yet descended from her perch ; " it is a 
 starling ; I am trying to teach it to say in German : 
 ' Have you breakfasted ? ' ' : 
 
 " What ! can starlings talk ? " 
 
 " As well as persons. Yes, Monsieur," said the 
 woman, jumping down from her chair. 
 
 Just then the bird, as if it had understood the ques- 
 tion, cried very distinctly: 
 
 " Camille ! Where is Camille ? " 
 
 But Lecoq was too anxious to bestow much attention 
 upon the bird.
 
 194 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Madame," he began, " I wish to speak to the pro- 
 prietor of this hotel." 
 
 " I am the proprietor." 
 
 " Oh ! very well. I was expecting a mechanic from 
 Leipsic, to meet me here in Paris. To my great sur- 
 prise, he has not made his appearance ; and I came to in- 
 quire if he was stopping here ? His name is May." 
 
 " May ! " repeated the hostess, thoughtfully. " May ! " 
 
 " He ought to have arrived last Sunday evening." 
 
 The woman's face brightened. 
 
 "Wait a moment," said she. "Was this friend a 
 middle-aged man, of medium size, of very dark com- 
 plexion wearing a full beard, and having very bright 
 eyes ? " 
 
 Lecoq trembled. This was a perfect description of 
 the murderer. 
 
 " Yes," he stammered, " that is a very good portrait 
 of the man." 
 
 " Ah, well ! Monsieur, he came here on the after- 
 noon of Shrove Sunday. He asked for a cheap room, 
 and I showed him one on the fifth floor. The office-boy 
 was not here at the time, and he insisted upon taking his 
 trunk upstairs himself. I offered him some refresh- 
 ments ; but he declined to take anything, on account of 
 his being in a great hurry ; and he went away after giv- 
 ing me ten francs as security for his room-rent." 
 
 " Where is he ? " inquired the young detective. 
 
 " Mon Dieu! Monsieur, that reminds me," replied the 
 woman. " This man has not returned, and I have been 
 very anxious about him. Paris is such a dangerous 
 place for strangers ! It is true he spoke French as well 
 as you or I ; but what of that ? Last evening I gave 
 orders that the commissioner of police should be in- 
 formed of the matter."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 195 
 
 " Yesterday the commissioner ! " 
 
 " Yes. Still I do not know whether the boy did the 
 errand. I had forgotten all about it. Allow me to 
 ring for the boy, and ask him." 
 
 A bucket of ice-water falling upon the head of the 
 detective, could not have astonished him more than this 
 announcement from the proprietress of the Hotel de 
 Mariembourg. 
 
 Had the murderer indeed told the truth? Could it 
 be possible ? Gevrol and the keeper of the prison were 
 right, then ! And M. Segmuller and he, Lecoq, were 
 senseless fools, pursuing a phantom. 
 
 All this flashed like lightning through the brain of 
 the detective. 
 
 But he had no time for reflection. The boy who had 
 been summoned made his appearance a big, over- 
 grown boy with a frank, chubby face. 
 
 " Fritz," demanded his mistress, " did you go to the 
 office of the commissioner?" 
 
 " Yes, Madame." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " He was not in ; but I spoke to his secretary, Mon- 
 sieur Casimir, who told me to tell you not to worry 
 yourself, that the man would return." 
 
 " He has not returned." 
 
 The boy raised his arms, with that movement of the 
 shoulders which is the most eloquent translation of that 
 response : 
 
 " What would you have me do about it ? " 
 
 " You hear, sir," said the hostess, apparently think- 
 ing the importunate questioner would withdraw. 
 
 Such, however, was not the intention of Lecoq, and he 
 did not move, though he had need of all his self-posses- 
 sion to retain his English accent.
 
 196 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " This is very annoying," said he, " very ! I am 
 even more anxious and undecided than I was before, 
 since I am not certain that this is the man I am seek- 
 
 ; ing-" 
 
 | " But, sir, what more can I tell you ? " 
 
 Lecoq reflected for a moment, knitting his brows and 
 f biting his lips, as if he were trying to invent some means 
 of solving the mystery. 
 
 The fact is, he was seeking some adroit circumlocu- 
 tion by which he could propose that this woman should 
 show him the register in which all guests are compelled 
 to inscribe their full names, their profession, and their 
 residence ; but he feared to arouse her suspicions. 
 
 " But, Madame, can you not remember the name 
 which this man gave you ? Was it May ? Try to recol- 
 lect if that was the name May May ! " 
 
 " Ah ! I have so many things to remember." 
 
 " It would be a great convenience if each guest were 
 required to inscribe his name in a register, as is the 
 custom in England." 
 
 " But they do register," replied the woman. " I have 
 a book for that purpose, in which a whole column is al- 
 lotted to each guest. And now I think of it ; I could, if 
 it would oblige you, show you my book. It is there, in 
 the drawer of my secretary. Well, now ! what can I 
 have done with my key ? " 
 
 And while the hostess, who seemed to possess but lit- 
 tle more intelligence than her bird, was turning the 
 whole office upside down in her search for the key, Le- 
 coq scrutinized her closely. 
 
 She was about forty years of age, with an abundance 
 of light hair, and a very fair complexion. She was well 
 preserved that is to say she was plump and healthy 
 in appearance; her glance was frank and unembar-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 197 
 
 rassed ; her voice was clear and musical, and her man- 
 ners were pleasing, and entirely free from affectation. 
 
 " Ah ! " she exclaimed, " I have found the miserable 
 key at last." 
 
 She opened her desk, took out the register, which 
 she laid upon the table, and began turning over the 
 leaves. 
 
 At last she found the desired page. 
 
 " Sunday, February 2Oth," said she. " Look, Mon- 
 sieur: here on the seventh line May no Christian 
 name foreign artist coming from Leipsic without 
 papers." 
 
 While Lecoq was examining this record with a dazed 
 air, the woman exclaimed : 
 
 " Ah ! now I can explain how it happened that I for- 
 got this name May, and this strange profession 
 foreign artist. I did not write it myself." 
 
 " Who did write it, then ? " 
 
 " The man himself, while I was finding ten francs to 
 give him as change for the louis he handed me. You 
 can see that the writing is not at all like that in which 
 the names above and below are recorded." 
 
 Yes, Lecoq had observed that fact ; and it was an irre- 
 futable argument, as sure and as strong as a blow from 
 a cudgel. 
 
 " Are you sure," he insisted, " that this record is in 
 the man's handwriting; would you swear it? " 
 
 In his anxiety, he had forgotten his foreign accent. 
 The woman noticed this at once, for she drew back and 
 cast a suspicious glance at the pretended stranger. 
 Then defiance and anger at having been duped seemed 
 to take possession of her. 
 
 " I know what I am saying," she said, indignantly. 
 " And now this is enough, is it not ? "
 
 198 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Knowing that he had betrayed himself, and thor- 
 oughly ashamed of his lack of coolness, Lecoq re- 
 nounced his English accent altogether. 
 
 " Pardon me," he said, " if I ask one more question. 
 Have you this man's trunk in your possession ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Ah ! you would do me an immense service by 
 showing it to me." 
 
 " Show it to you ! " exclaimed the fair-haired hostess, 
 angrily. " What do you take me for ? What do you 
 want ? and who are you ? " 
 
 " In a half hour you shall know," replied the detec- 
 tive, realizing that further persuasion would be useless. 
 
 He hastily left the room, ran to the Place de Robaux, 
 leaped into a carriage, and giving the driver the address 
 of the commissioner of police for that district, promised 
 him a hundred sous over and above the regular fare if 
 he would make haste. As might have been expected 
 under such circumstances, the poor horses fairly flew 
 under the stroke of the whip. 
 
 Lecoq was fortunate enough to find the commissioner 
 at home. The detective made known his business, and 
 was immediately ushered into the presence of the magis- 
 trate. 
 
 " Ah ! sir," he cried, " will you assist me ? " 
 
 And in a breath he told his story. 
 
 When it was concluded : 
 
 " It is really true that they came to inform me of this 
 man's disappearance," said the judge. " Casimir told 
 me about it this morning." 
 
 " They came to inform you " faltered Lecoq. 
 
 " Yes, yesterday ; but I have had so much to occupy 
 my time. Now, my boy, how can I serve you ? " 
 
 " Come with me, sir ; compel them to show us the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 199 
 
 trunk, and send for a locksmith to open it. Here is the 
 authority a search-warrant given me by the judge to 
 use in case of necessity. Let us lose no time. I have 
 a carriage at the door." 
 
 " We will start at once," said the commissioner. 
 
 When they had entered the fiacre, which started off at 
 a gallop : 
 
 " Now, sir," said the young detective, " permit me to 
 ask if you know this woman who keeps the Hotel de 
 Mariembourg? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed, I know her very well. When I was 
 first appointed to this district, six years ago, I was not 
 married, and for a long time I took my meals at this 
 lady's table d'hote. Casimir, my secretary, boards there 
 yet." 
 
 " And what kind of a woman is she ? " 
 
 " Why, upon my word, my young friend, Madame 
 Milner for such is her name is a very respectable 
 widow (esteemed and much beloved in this neighbor- 
 hood), who has a very prosperous business, and who 
 remains a widow only from choice, for she is extremely 
 agreeable, and has plenty of suitors." 
 
 " Then you do not think her capable, for the sake of a 
 good round sum, of what shall I say? of serving 
 some very rich culprit " 
 
 " Have you gone mad ? " interrupted the commis- 
 sioner. " Madame Milner consent to testify falsely for 
 the sake of money. Have I not just told you that she 
 is an honest woman, and that she has a very comforta- 
 ble fortune ? Besides, she informed me yesterday that 
 this man was missing, so " 
 
 Lecoq made no reply; they had reached their desti- 
 nation. 
 
 On seeing her obstinate questioner reappear, acconi-
 
 200 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 panied by the commissioner, Mme. Milner seemed to 
 understand it all. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! " she exclaimed, " a detective ! I might 
 have known it ! Some crime has been committed ; and 
 now my hotel has lost its reputation forever ! " 
 
 It took quite a long time to reassure and to console 
 her ; all the time that was required to find a locksmith. 
 
 At last they went up to the room of the missing man, 
 and Lecoq sprang to the trunk. 
 
 Ah ! there was no denying it. It had, indeed, come 
 from Leipsic ; the little slips of paper pasted upon it by 
 the different railroad companies proved it. 
 
 They opened it and found the articles mentioned by 
 the prisoner. 
 
 Lecoq was petrified. With an almost stupefied air 
 he watched the commissioner as he locked everything 
 up in a cupboard and took possession of the key ; then 
 he felt that he could endure no more. He left the 
 room with downcast head ; and they heard him stumble 
 like a drunken man as he descended the stairs. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, was very gay that 
 year ; that is to say : the pawnbrokers' shops and the 
 public halls were crowded. 
 
 When Lecoq left the Hotel de Mariembourg about 
 midnight, the streets were as full as if it were noonday, 
 and the cafes were thronged with customers. 
 
 But the young man had no heart for gayety. He 
 mingled with the crowd without seeing it, and jostled 
 groups of people chatting on the corners, without hear- 
 ing the imprecations occasioned by his awkwardness.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 201 
 
 Where was he going ! He had no idea. He walked 
 on aimlessly, more inconsolable and desperate than the 
 gambler who has staked his last hope with his last louis 
 and lost. 
 
 " I must yield," he murmured ; " this evidence is con- 
 clusive. My presumptions were only chimeras ; my de- 
 ductions, the playthings of chance ! There only re- 
 mains for me now to withdraw, with the least possible 
 damage and ridicule, from the false position I have as- 
 sumed." 
 
 Just as he reached the boulevard, a new idea entered 
 his brain, startling him so much that he could scarcely 
 restrain a cry. 
 
 " I am a fool," he exclaimed, striking his hand vio- 
 lently against his forehead. 
 
 " Is it possible," he continued, " that I am so strong 
 in theory, yet so ridiculously weak in practice ? Ah ! I 
 am only a child, yet a novice, disheartened by the slight- 
 est obstacle. I meet some difficulty. I lose courage and 
 even the power to reason. 
 
 " Now, let me reflect calmly. 
 
 " What did I tell the judge about this man, whose 
 plan of defence so puzzles us ? 
 
 " Did I not tell him that we had to deal with a man 
 of superior talent with a man of consummate penetra- 
 tion, and experience a bold, courageous man, who 
 possesses an imperturbable coolness, and who will do 
 anything to insure the success of his plans ? 
 
 " Yes ; I told him all this, and yet I give up in despair 
 as soon as I meet a single circumstance that I cannot 
 explain at once. 
 
 " It is evident, then, that this prisoner would not be 
 likely to resort to old and hackneyed methods, and com- 
 monplace expedients. Ought I not to expect that it
 
 202 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 would require time, patience, and research to find a flaw 
 in his defence? 
 
 " Consequently, the more appearances are against my 
 presumptions, and in favor of the story told by the pris- 
 oner, the more certain it is that I am right or logic is 
 no longer logic." 
 
 The young man burst into a hearty laugh, and added : 
 
 " But to expose this theory at head-quarters before 
 Gevrol would perhaps be premature, and would win me 
 a certificate entitling me to admission into the lunatic 
 asylum." 
 
 He paused ; he had reached his lodgings. He rang 
 the bell ; someone opened the door. 
 
 He groped his way slowly up to the fourth floor ; he 
 reached his room, and was about to enter, when a voice 
 in the darkness called out: 
 
 " Is that you, Monsieur Lecoq? " 
 
 " It is I," replied the young man, somewhat sur- 
 prised ; " but who are you ? " 
 
 " I am Father Absinthe." 
 
 " Upon my word ! Well, you are welcome ! I did 
 not recognize your voice will you come in ? " 
 
 They entered, and Lecoq lit a candle. Then the 
 young man could see his colleague, and, good heavens ! 
 what a condition he was in ! 
 
 He was as dirty and spattered with mud as a lost dog 
 which has been wandering about in the rain and mire 
 for three or four days. His overcoat bore traces of fre- 
 quent contact with damp walls ; his hat had lost its 
 form entirely. His eyes were anxious ; his mustache 
 drooped despondently. He mumbled his words as if 
 his mouth were full of sand. 
 
 " Do you bring me bad news ? " inquired Lecoq, after 
 a short examination of his companion.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 203 
 
 " Bad." 
 
 " The people you were following escaped you, then? " 
 
 The old man nodded his head in the affirmative. 
 
 " It is unfortunate very unfortunate ! " said Lecoq. 
 " But it is useless to distress ourselves about it. Do 
 not be so cast down, Father Absinthe. To-morrow, be- 
 tween us, we will repair the damages." 
 
 This friendly encouragement redoubled the old man's 
 evident embarrassment. He flushed, this veteran, like 
 a school-girl, and raising his hands toward .heaven, he 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " Ah, wretch ! did I not tell you so ? " 
 
 " Why ! what is the matter with you ? " inquired Le- 
 coq. 
 
 Father Absinthe made no reply; he approached the 
 mirror and began heaping the most cruel insults upon 
 the reflection of his features therein. 
 
 " Old good-for-nothing ! " he exclaimed. " Vile sol- 
 dier! have you no shame left? You were intrusted 
 with a mission, were you not ? And how have you ful- 
 filled it? You have drank, wretch, until you drank 
 away your senses like an old sot, as you are. This 
 shall not be passed over thus ; and even if Monsieur 
 Lecoq forgives me, you shall not taste another drop for 
 a week. You shall suffer for this escapade." 
 
 " Come, come," said Lecoq, " you can sermonize by- 
 and-by. Now tell me your story." 
 
 " Ah ! I am not proud of it. I beg you to believe that ; 
 but never mind. Doubtless you received the letter in 
 which I told you that I was going to follow the young 
 men who seemed to recognize Gustave? " 
 
 " Yes, yes go on ! " 
 
 " Well, as soon as they entered the cafe, into which 
 I had followed them, the young men began drinking,
 
 204 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 probably to drive away their emotion. After drinking, 
 hunger apparently seized them, for they ordered break- 
 fast. In my corner I followed their example. The re- 
 past, the coffee and beer all took time. Two hours 
 elapsed before they were ready to pay their bill and go. 
 Good ! I supposed they would now return to their 
 homes not at all. They walked down the Rue Dau- 
 phin ; and I saw them enter a coffee-house or smoking- 
 room. Five minutes later I glided in after them ; they 
 were already engaged in a game of billiards." 
 
 He hesitated; it was not easy to tell the rest of his 
 story. 
 
 " I seated myself at a little table, and asked for a 
 newspaper. I was reading with one eye, and watching 
 them with the other, when a worthy bourgeois entered, 
 and took a seat beside me. As soon as he had seated 
 himself he asked me to give him the paper when I had 
 finished reading it. I handed it to him, and then we be- 
 gan talking of the weather. At last he proposed a game 
 of bezique. I declined, and we afterward compro- 
 mised on a game of piquet. The young men, you 
 understand, were still knocking the balls about. We 
 began playing, the stakes, a glass of brandy for each. 
 I won. The bourgeois demanded his revenge, and we 
 played two more games. Still I won. He insisted 
 upon another game, and again I won, and still I drank 
 and drank again " 
 
 " Go on, go on." 
 
 " Ah, here is the rub. After that I can remember 
 nothing neither of the bourgeois nor of the young men. 
 It seems to me, however, that I recollect falling asleep 
 in the cafe, and a waiter coming to wake me and tell me 
 to go. Then I must have wandered about on the quays
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 205 
 
 until I came to my senses, and decided to come and wait 
 upon your stairs until you returned." 
 
 To the great surprise of Father Absinthe, Lecoq 
 seemed rather thoughtful than angry. 
 
 " What do you think about this bourgeois, papa ? " in- 
 quired Lecoq. 
 
 " I think that he was following me while I was fol- 
 lowing the others, and that he entered the cafe with the 
 intention of getting me intoxicated." 
 
 " Give me a description of him." 
 
 " He was a tall and rather stout man, with a broad, 
 red face, a flat nose ; and he was very unpretending and 
 affable in manner." 
 
 " It was he ! " exclaimed Lecoq. 
 
 "He! Who?" 
 
 " The accomplice the man whose footprints we dis' 
 covered the pretended drunkard a devil incarnate, 
 who will get the best of us yet, if we do not keep our 
 eyes open. Do not forget him, papa; and if you ever 
 meet him again " 
 
 But Father Absinthe's confession was not ended. 
 Like most devotees, he had reserved the worst sin for 
 the last. 
 
 " This is not all," he resumed ; " and I wish to conceal 
 nothing from you. It seems to me that this traitor 
 talked with me about the affair at the Poivriere, and 
 that I told him all that we had discovered, and all that 
 we intended to do." 
 
 Lecoq made such a threatening gesture that the old 
 man drew back in consternation. 
 
 " Wretched man ! " he exclaimed, " to betray our 
 plans to the enemy ! " 
 
 But he soon regained his calmness. At first the evil 
 seemed to be beyond remedy ; then he discovered that
 
 206 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 it had a good side, after all. It removed all the doubts 
 he had felt after his visit to the Hotel de Mariembourg. 
 " But this is not the time for deliberation," resumed 
 the young detective. " I am overcome with fatigue ; 
 take a mattress from the bed for yourself, my friend, 
 and let us go to rest." 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 Lecoq was a thoughtful man. Before going to bed 
 he took good care to wind an alarm-clock that stood in 
 his room, setting the alarm at six o'clock. 
 
 " So that we shall not miss the coach," he remarked 
 to his companion, as he blew out the candle. 
 
 But he had not made allowance for his extreme weari- 
 ness, and for the fumes of alcohol with which his 
 friend's breath was redolent. 
 
 When the clock of Saint Eustache pealed forth the 
 hour of six the alarm-clock performed its duty faith- 
 fully ; but the shrill sound of the ingenious mechanism 
 was not sufficiently loud to disturb the heavy sleep of the 
 two men. 
 
 They would probably have slept some time longer, 
 if, at half-past seven o'clock, two vigorous blows of 
 the fist had not resounded on their door. 
 
 With one bound Lecoq was out of bed, amazed at 
 seeing the bright sunlight, and furious at the useless- 
 ness of his precautions. 
 
 " Come in ! " he cried to his early visitor. 
 
 The young detective had no enemies at that time, and 
 he could, without danger, sleep with his door un- 
 locked. 
 
 The door opened, and the shrewd face of Father 
 Papillon appeared.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 207 
 
 " Ah ! it is my worthy coachman ! " exclaimed Lecoq. 
 " Is there anything new ? " 
 
 " Excuse me, friend ; it is the old cause that brings me 
 here. You know the thirty francs those wretched 
 women paid me I shall not sleep in peace till I have 
 carried you free, until your regular fare would be equal 
 to that amount. You made use of my carriage yester- 
 day, one hundred sous' worth, and so I still owe you 
 twenty-five francs' worth of riding." 
 
 " This is all nonsense, my friend ! " 
 
 " Possibly ; but I am responsible for it. I have sworn 
 if you will not use my carriage to station myself and my 
 vehicle before your door for eleven hours. At two 
 francs and twenty-five centimes an hour, eleven hours 
 would release me from my indebtedness. We should be 
 even. Now, make up your mind." 
 
 He gazed at Lecoq beseechingly ; it was evident that 
 a refusal would wound him keenly. 
 
 " Very well," replied Lecoq ; " I will take your car- 
 riage for the morning, only I ought to warn you that we 
 are starting on a long journey." 
 
 " Cocotle's legs may be relied upon." 
 
 " My companion and myself have business in your 
 quarter of the city. It is absolutely necessary for us 
 to find the Widow Chupin's daughter-in-law; and I 
 hope we shall be able to obtain her address from the 
 commissioner of that district." 
 
 " Very well, we will go wherever you wish ; I am at 
 your orders." 
 
 A few moments later they were on their way. 
 
 Papillon, proudly erect upon his box, cracked his 
 whip ; and the vehicle tore along as rapidly as if the 
 driver had been promised a hundred sous as pourboire. 
 
 Father Absinthe alone was sad. He had been fof
 
 208 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 given, but he could not forgive himself that he, an old 
 policeman, should have been duped like some ignorant 
 provincial. If only he had not confided the secret plans 
 of the prosecution ! 
 
 He knew but too well that by this act he had increased 
 the difficulties of their task twofold. 
 
 Their long drive was not fruitless. The secretary of 
 the commissioner of police for the thirteenth district in- 
 formed Lecoq that the wife of Polyte Chupin, with her 
 child, lived in the suburbs, in the Rue de la Butte-aux- 
 Cailles. He could not tell the precise number; but he 
 described the house, and gave them some information 
 concerning its occupants. 
 
 The Widow Chupin's daughter-in-law was a native of 
 Auvergne ; and she had been bitterly punished for pre- 
 ferring a Parisian to a compatriot. 
 
 She came to Paris when about twelve years of age, 
 and obtained employment in a large factory. At the 
 end of ten years of privation and constant toil, she had 
 amassed, penny by penny, the sum of three thousand 
 francs. Then her evil genius threw Polyte Chupin in 
 her path. 
 
 She fell in love with this dissipated and selfish rascal ; 
 and he married her for her little hoard. 
 
 As long as the money lasted, that is, for about three 
 or four months, everything went on pleasantly. But as 
 soon as the last shilling was gone, Polyte left her, and, 
 with delight, resumed his former life of idleness, thiev- 
 ing, and debauchery. 
 
 After this he returned to his wife, only in order to 
 steal from her, when he suspected that she had saved 
 a little money. And, periodically, she uncomplainingly 
 allowed him to despoil her of the last penny of her earn- 
 ings.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 209 
 
 He wished to degrade her still more, for he hungered 
 even for the price of her shame ; but she resisted. 
 
 By this resistance, she had excited the hatred of the 
 old Widow Chupin hatred which manifested itself in 
 such ill-treatment that the poor woman was forced to 
 flee one night, with only the rags that covered her. 
 
 The mother and the son believed, perhaps, that star- 
 vation would effect what their threats and counsel had 
 failed to accomplish. 
 
 Their shameful expectations had not been gratified. 
 
 The secretary added that these facts had become 
 widely known, and that everybody did justice to the 
 worth of the brave woman. 
 
 Hence the sobriquet which had been given her 
 Toinon, the virtuous a rather coarse, but sincere 
 tribute to her worth. 
 
 Grateful for this information, Lecoq re-entered the 
 carriage. 
 
 The Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, to which Papillon 
 was rapidly conducting them, did not bear much re- 
 semblance to the Boulevard Maxelherbes. Was it the 
 abode of millionnaires? One would not suppose it. 
 One thing is certain, however: all the inhabitants 
 knew one another as they do in a village, and the first 
 person of whom Lecoq asked information concerning 
 Mme. Polyte Chupin, relieved him of all embarrass- 
 ment. 
 
 " Toinon, the virtuous, lives in that house on the 
 right," was the answer ; " on the upper floor, the door 
 facing you." 
 
 The directions were so precise that Lecoq and Father 
 Absinthe went straight to the room they were seeking. 
 
 It was a cold and gloomy attic room, of medium size, 
 and lighted by a small skylight.
 
 2io MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 A pallet of straw, a broken table, two chairs, and a 
 few plain kitchen utensils, formed the sole furniture of 
 the apartment. 
 
 But. in spite of the evident poverty, everything shone 
 with neatness ; and one could have eaten off the floor, 
 to use Father Absinthe's forcible expression. 
 
 The two officers entered, and found a woman en- 
 gaged in making heavy linen sacks. She was seated in 
 the centre of the room, directly under the window, so 
 that the light would fall upon her work. 
 
 At the sight of two strangers, she half rose, sur- 
 prised, and perhaps a little frightened ; but when they 
 explained that they desired a few moments' conversa- 
 tion with her, she gave up her own seat, to offer it to 
 them. 
 
 But Father Absinthe insisted that she should sit down 
 again, and he remained standing, while Lecoq took 
 possession of the other chair. 
 
 In a single glance Lecoq took an inventory of the 
 humble abode, and, so to speak, appraised the woman. 
 
 She was short, stout, and extremely ordinary in ap- 
 pearance. A forest of coarse, black hair, growing very 
 low on the forehead, and large black eyes set very close 
 together, imparted to her countenance something of the 
 patient resignation one sees in the faces of ill-treated, 
 animals. 
 
 Possibly, in former days, she had possessed what we 
 called the beauty du diable; but now she looked almost 
 as old as her mother-in-law. 
 
 Sorrow and privation, excessive toil, nights spent in 
 labor, tears and the blows she had received, had made 
 her complexion livid had reddened her eyes and made 
 deep furrows about her temples. 
 
 Still her whole person exhaled a perfume of native
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 211 
 
 honesty which had not been tainted, even by the foul at- 
 mosphere in which she had lived. 
 
 Her child did not resemble her in the least. He was 
 pale and puny in appearance ; his eyes burned with a 
 phosphorescent brilliancy; and his hair was of that 
 faded yellow tint that they call blonde in Paris. 
 
 One little circumstance attracted the attention of both 
 officers. 
 
 The mother was attired in a very old and faded calico 
 dress ; but the child was warmly clad in warm woollen 
 material. 
 
 " Madame, you have doubtless heard of a great crime, 
 committed in your mother-in-law's establishment," be- 
 gan Lecoq, gently. 
 
 " Alas ! yes, Monsieur." 
 
 Then she quickly added : 
 
 " But my husband could not have been implicated in 
 it, since he is in prison." 
 
 Did not this objection, which preceded suspicion, be- 
 tray the most horrible apprehensions ? 
 
 " Yes, I am aware of that," replied her visitor. 
 " Polyte was arrested a fortnight ago " 
 
 " Yes, and very unjustly, Monsieur. I could swear it. 
 He was, as is often the case, led astray by his compan- 
 ions, wicked, desperate men. He is so weak when he has 
 taken a glass of wine, they can do whatsoever they will 
 with him. If he were only left to himself, he would not 
 harm a child. One has only to look at him " 
 
 As she spoke she turned her red and swollen eyes to 
 a miserable photograph hanging upon the wall. The 
 picture represented a frightfully ugly, dissipated-look- 
 ing young man, with a terrible squint, a repulsive 
 mouth, only partially concealed by a faint mustache,
 
 212 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 and his hair carefully plastered down about the tem- 
 ples. This was Polyte. 
 
 Yet there was no mistaking the fact that this unfort- 
 unate woman loved him had always loved him ; be- 
 sides, he was her husband. 
 
 A moment's silence followed this act, which revealed 
 the existence of passion so clearly ; and during this si- 
 lence the door of the room was opened softly. 
 
 A man put in his head and withdrew it instantly, with 
 a low exclamation. Then the door closed again, the key 
 grated in the lock, and they heard hurried steps de- 
 scending the staircase. 
 
 Lecoq was sitting with his back to the door, and could 
 not see the face of the visitor. 
 
 And yet he had turned so quickly at the sound, and he 
 understood the whole affair so well that he was not sur- 
 prised at all. 
 
 Indeed, he did not feel the shadow of a doubt. 
 
 " It is he, the accomplice ! " he cried. 
 
 Thanks to his position, Father Absinthe had seen the 
 man's face. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " yes, I recognize the man who made 
 me drink with him yesterday." 
 
 With a bound the two men threw themselves against 
 the door, exhausting their strength in vain efforts to 
 open it. It resisted all their attempts, for it was of solid 
 oak, having been purchased by the proprietor of the 
 house from some one of the public buildings in process 
 of demolition, and it was furnished with a strong and 
 massive fastening. 
 
 " Help us ! " cried Father Absinthe to the woman, who 
 stood petrified with astonishment ; " give us an iron 
 bar, a piece of iron, a nail anything ! " 
 
 The younger man was making frantic efforts to push
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 213 
 
 back the bolt, or to tear the lock from the wood. He was 
 wild with rage. 
 
 At last they succeeded in forcing it open, and the two 
 men, animated by an equal ardor, dashed out in pur- 
 suit of their mysterious adversary. 
 
 When they reached the street, they made inquiries of 
 the bystanders. They could give a description of the 
 man, and that was something. Two persons had seen 
 him enter the house of Toinon, the virtuous; a third 
 had seen him when he ran out. Some children who were 
 playing on the street assured them that this individual 
 had run in the direction of the Rue du Moulin-des-Pres 
 as fast as his legs could carry him. 
 
 It was in this street, near the corner of the Rue de la 
 Butte-aux-Cailles, that Lecoq had ordered his coachman 
 to stop. 
 
 " Let us hasten there ! " proposed Father Absinthe ; 
 " perhaps Papillon can give us some information." 
 
 But his companion shook his head despondently, and 
 would go no further. 
 
 " What good would it do? " he asj<ed. " The pres- 
 ence of mind that made this man think to turn the key, 
 has saved him. He is at least ten minutes in advance of 
 us ; by this time he is far away, and we should not over- 
 take him." 
 
 Father Absinthe was livid with anger. He now re- 
 garded as a personal enemy this adroit accomplice who 
 had so cruelly duped him ; and he would have given a 
 month's pay to be able to lay his hand on the man's col- 
 lar. 
 
 " Ah ! this brigand does not lack assurance," said 
 he. " To think how he defies and mocks us ; and how 
 for the third time he has escaped us. Three times ! " 
 
 The young detective was at least as angry as his com-
 
 i4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 panion and his vanity was wounded besides ; but he 
 felt the necessity of coolness and deliberation. 
 
 " Yes," he replied, thoughtfully, " the man is daring 
 and shrewd ; and he does not sit down with folded arms. 
 If we are working, he also is bestirring himself. The 
 demon is everywhere. On whichever side I make an at- 
 tack, I find him on the defensive. It was he, my friend, 
 who made you lose the clew to Gustave's identity ; it 
 was he who arranged that little comedy at the Hotel du 
 Mariembourg." 
 
 " And now," remarked his companion, " now let the 
 general come and tell us that we are chasing phan- 
 toms." 
 
 This flattery, delicate as it was, did not divert Lecoq's 
 attention from the matter under consideration. 
 
 " Until now, this man has been in advance of us every- 
 where ; this fact explains the failures that have attended 
 all my efforts. Here, we arrived before him. But if he 
 came here, it was because he scented danger. There- 
 fore, we may hope. Let us return to the wife of this ras- 
 cal, Polyte." 
 
 Alas ! poor Toinon, the virtuous, did not understand 
 this affair. She had remained upstairs, holding her 
 child by the hand, and leaning over the bannister, her 
 eyes and her ears on the qui vive. 
 
 As soon as she perceived the two men leisurely as- 
 cending the stairs, she came to meet them. 
 
 " In the name of Heaven, what does all this mean ? " 
 she exclaimed. " What has happened ? " 
 
 But Lecoq was not the man to tell his affairs in a 
 corridor, tapestried, perhaps, with listening and curious 
 ears, and it was not until he had made Toinon enter 
 her own apartment and close the door securely, that he 
 answered hsr.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 215 
 
 " We started in pursuit of an accomplice to the mur- 
 ders at the Poivriere. He came in, hoping to find you 
 alone, but our presence frightened him." 
 
 " An assassin ! " faltered Toinon, with clasped hands. 
 " What could he want of me ? " 
 
 " Who can say ? It is very probable that he is one of 
 your husband's friends." 
 
 " Oh ! Monsieur." 
 
 " What, did you not tell me just now that Polyte had 
 some very undesirable acquaintance? But do not be 
 alarmed ; this does not compromise him in the least. Be- 
 sides, you can very easily clear him of all suspicion." 
 
 " How ? In what way ? Oh, tell me at once." 
 
 " Merely by answering me frankly, and by assisting 
 me you, who are an honest woman to find the guilty 
 party. Among all the friends of your husband, do you 
 know of none capable of such a deed? Give me the 
 names of his acquaintances." 
 
 The poor woman's hesitation was evident ; undoubt- 
 edly she had been present at many sinister cabals, and 
 had been threatened with terrible punishment if she 
 dared to disclose their plans. 
 
 " You rjve nothing to fear," said Lecoq, encour- 
 agingly, " and never, I promise you, shall anyone know 
 that you have told me a word. And very probably you 
 can tell me nothing that I do not know now. I have 
 heard much of your life already, to say nothing of the 
 brutality with which you have been treated by Polyte 
 and his mother. 
 
 " My husband, sir, has never treated me brutally," 
 said the young woman, indignantly ; " besides, that is 
 something which concerns only myself." 
 
 " And your mother-in-law ? "
 
 2i6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " She is, perhaps, a trifle quick-tempered ; but, in 
 reality, she has a very good heart." 
 
 " Then why did you flee from the Widow Chupin's 
 house, if you were so very happy there? " 
 
 Toinon, the virtuous, turned scarlet to the very roots 
 of her hair. 
 
 " I left there for other reasons," she responded. 
 " There were always a great many intoxicated men 
 about the house; and, sometimes, when I was alone, 
 some of them wished to carry their pleasantry too far. 
 You will probably say that I have a very solid fist, and 
 that I am quite capable of protecting myself. That is 
 true, so I could, perhaps, have borne it. But when I 
 was away, some of them were wicked enough to make 
 this child drink to such an excess that on my return I 
 found him as stiff and cold as if he were dead. It was 
 necessary to call a physician to restore him " 
 
 She suddenly paused ; her eyes dilated. From red she 
 turned livid, and in a choked, unnatural voice, she cried : 
 
 " Toto ! wretched child ! " 
 
 Lecoq looked behind him, and shuddered. He under- 
 stood it all. This child who was not yet five years old, 
 had stolen up behind him and was ferreting in the 
 pockets of his overcoat, had plundered them, had 
 rifled them of their contents. 
 
 " Ah, well yes ! " exclaimed the unfortunate mother, 
 bursting into tears. " It was always so over there. As 
 soon as the child was out of my sight, they took him to 
 the city. They carried him into the crowded streets, and 
 they taught him to pick people's pockets, and to bring 
 them all he could find. If he was detected they were 
 angry with the child, and beat him. If he succeeded they 
 gave him a sou to buy candy, and kept what he had 
 taken."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 217 
 
 She hid her face in her hands, and in an almost unin- 
 telligible voice she sobbed : 
 
 " And I did not wish my little one to be a thief ! " 
 
 But what this poor creature did not tell was that he 
 who had led the child out into the streets, to teach him 
 to steal, was its own father, and her husband, Polyte 
 Chupin. But the two men understood this perfectly; 
 and so horrible was the man's crime, and so despairing 
 the grief of the woman, that they were touched in the 
 very depths of their souls. 
 
 After that, Lecoq's only thought was to shorten the 
 painful scene as much as possible. Besides, the poor 
 mother's emotion was a sufficient guarantee of her sin- 
 cerity. 
 
 "Listen," said he, with affected harshness ; " two 
 questions only, and then I will leave you. Among the 
 habitues of the establishment was there a man by the 
 name of Gustave ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I am very sure there was not." 
 
 " Very well. But Lacheneur you must know Laehe- 
 neur ! " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I know him." 
 
 The young policeman could not repress an exclama- 
 tion of delight. He thought that he at least held an 
 end of the thread that would lead him to the light to 
 the truth. 
 
 " Who is this man ? " he inquired, with intense 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Oh ! he is not at all like the other men who come to 
 drink at my mother-in-law's saloon. I have seen him 
 only once; but I remember him perfectly. It was on 
 Sunday. He was in a carriage. He stopped near the 
 unoccupied ground and spoke to Polyte. When he went 
 away my husband said to me ; ' Do you see that c>ld man
 
 218 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 there? he will make our fortune.' I thought him a very 
 
 respectable-looking gentleman " 
 
 " That is enough," interrupted Lecoq. " Now it is 
 necessary for you to appear before the judge and make 
 your deposition. I have a carriage below. Take your 
 child with you, if you wish ; but make haste ; come 
 quickly come ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 M. Segmuller was one of those magistrates who cher- 
 ish their profession with an undivided love, who give 
 themselves to it, body and soul, devoting to it all the 
 energy, intelligence, and sagacity of which they are 
 possessed. 
 
 As a judge, he displayed, in the search after truth, 
 the tenacity and zeal of a physician struggling against 
 some unknown disease the enthusiasm of the artist 
 who is wearing out his very life in his devotion to the 
 beautiful. 
 
 Hence, it is easy to understand how deeply he had 
 become interested in this mysterious case which had 
 been confided to him. 
 
 He found in it all the elements that cannot fail to 
 awaken intense interest. The magnitude of the crime, 
 the peculiar circumstances attending it, the impenetra- 
 ble mystery that enshrouded the victims and the mur- 
 derer, the strange attitude assumed by the prisoner, all 
 served to make a profound impression upon his mind. 
 
 The romantic element was not lacking, furnished by 
 the two women, all traces of whom had been lost. 
 
 The extreme uncertainty of the result was another 
 attraction. Self-love never loses its rights; and M.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 219 
 
 Segmuller felt that success would be honorable in pro- 
 portion to the magnitude of the difficulties to be over- 
 come. And assisted by such a man as Lecoq, in whom 
 he had recognized a most valuable auxiliary, and a man 
 with a positive genius for his calling, he felt quite con- 
 fident of success. 
 
 Even after the fatiguing labors of the day he did not 
 think of freeing himself from the burden of his respon- 
 sibility, or of driving away care until the morrow. 
 
 He ate his dinner hurriedly, and as soon as he had 
 swallowed his coffee began to study the case with re- 
 newed ardor. 
 
 He had brought with him from his office a copy of 
 the prisoner's deposition; and he went over it again and 
 again, seeking some weak spot that might be attacked 
 with a probability of success. 
 
 He analyzed each answer, and weighed one expres- 
 sion after another. He sought some flaw in the armor 
 through which he could slip a question, which would 
 rend the whole structure of defence in pieces, like a train 
 of gunpowder. 
 
 The greater part of the night was spent in this work; 
 but that did not prevent him from rising long before 
 his usual hour. 
 
 By eight o'clock he was dressed, and shaved, had ar- 
 ranged his papers, taken his cup of chocolate, and was 
 on his way to the palace. 
 
 He quite forgot that the impatience, which pos- 
 sessed him, was not boiling in the veins of others. But 
 he soon discovered that fact. 
 
 The Palais de Justice was scarcely awake when he ar- 
 rived there. All the doors had not been opened. In 
 the corridors some of the door-keepers and a crowd of
 
 220 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 sleepy office-boys were changing their ordinary cloth- 
 ing for their official costumes. 
 
 Others, in their shirt-sleeves, were vigorously sweep- 
 ing and dusting the various rooms. Others were stand- 
 ing at the windows of the dressing-room shaking and 
 brushing the long black robes of the lawyers. In the 
 court-room some clerks were chaffing each other, while 
 they awaited the coming of the chief clerk, and the open- 
 ing of the bureaus of information. 
 
 M. Segmuller went to consult the attorney-general; 
 or the procureur imperial, as he is called in France, but 
 his office was empty. No one had, as yet, arrived. 
 
 Angry and impatient, he returned to his own office; 
 and with his eyes fastened upon the pendulum, caught 
 himself wondering at the slowness of its movements. 
 
 About ten minutes past nine, Coquet, the smiling 
 clerk, made his appearance, and was greeted with a 
 gruff " Well ! so you have come at last," that left him 
 in no doubt as to the state of his master's humor. 
 
 Yet Coquet had come much earlier than usual, for 
 his movements also had been quickened by curiosity. 
 
 He tried to make some excuse, but M. Segmuller cut 
 it short, with such a curt response, that he felt no desire 
 to continue the conversation. " Ah! " he thought, " it 
 is very evident that the wind is blowing from a bad cor- 
 ner this morning." 
 
 And so, bowing before the storm, he philosophically 
 put on his black silk sleeves, went to his little table, and 
 pretended to be absorbed in the task of cutting his pens 
 and preparing his paper. 
 
 But although he dared not show it he was very much 
 vexed. For the evening before, while conversing with 
 his wife, he had gained some new ideas in regard to the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 221 
 
 mysterious prisoner; and he was eager to impart them 
 to the judge. 
 
 But no favorable opportunity presented itself. M. 
 Segmuller, who was usually calmness personified, and 
 dignity par excellence, was transformed. He paced 
 restlessly to and fro, he sat down, he sprang up, he ges- 
 ticulated wildly, and seemed unable to be quiet for a 
 moment. 
 
 " The prosecution is evidently making no headway," 
 thought the clerk. " May's prospects are encourag- 
 ing." 
 
 At that moment this idea delighted him; he sided 
 with the prisoner, his rancor was so intense. 
 
 From half past nine to ten o'clock M. Segmuller rang 
 for his messenger at least five times, and each time he 
 asked him the same questions. 
 
 " Are you sure that Monsieur Lecoq has not been 
 here this morning? Inquire! If he has not been here 
 he must certainly have sent someone, or he must have 
 written me." 
 
 Each time the astonished door-keeper replied : 
 
 " No one has been here, and there is no letter." 
 
 The judge became more and more angry and impa- 
 tient. 
 
 " It is inconceivable! " he murmured. " Here I am 
 upon coals of fire, and that man dares to keep me wait- 
 ing. Where can he be?" 
 
 At last he ordered a messenger to go and see if he 
 could not find Lecoq somewhere in the neighborhood; 
 perhaps in some restaurant or coffee-house; told him 
 to go and find him and bring him there quickly; very 
 quickly. 
 
 When the man had gone, M. Segmuller seemed to 
 recover his composure, in a slight degree, at least.
 
 222 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " We must not lose valuable time," he said to his 
 clerk. " I was to examine the Widow Chupin's son. 
 I had better do so immediately. Go and tell them to 
 bring him to me. Lecoq left the order at the prison." 
 
 In less than a quarter of an hour Polyte entered the 
 room. 
 
 From head to foot, from his glazed cap to his gaudy- 
 colored carpet slippers, he was indeed the man of the 
 portrait upon which poor Toinon, the virtuous, had 
 lavished such loving glances. 
 
 But the picture was flattered. The photographer 
 could not fix the expression of low cunning that was 
 imprinted upon the face of the original, nor the impu- 
 dence that breathed in his smile, nor the mingled cow- 
 ardice and ferocity of his eyes, which always evaded 
 you. Nor could the picture portray the unwholesome, 
 livid pallor of his skin, the restless opening and shutting 
 of the eyelids, and the thin lips tightly drawn over the 
 short, sharp teeth. 
 
 It would be difficult for him to astonish those who 
 saw him by any act of violence. 
 
 For to see him, was to judge and to estimate his 
 worth. 
 
 When he had answered the preliminary questions, 
 told the judge that he was thirty years of age, and that 
 he had been born in Paris, he assumed a pretentious 
 attitude and waited. 
 
 But before proceeding to the real matter in hand, M. 
 Segmuller wished to relieve the complacent scoundrel 
 of some of his assurance. 
 
 He reminded Polyte, in very forcible terms, that the 
 judgment to be rendered in the affair in which he was 
 implicated would depend very much upon his behavior 
 and his responses during the present examination.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 223 
 
 Polyte listened with a nonchalant and even ironical 
 air. 
 
 In fact, he cared only the merest trifle for the threat. 
 He had made previous inquiries and had ascertained 
 that it would be impossible to condemn him to more 
 than six months' imprisonment for the offence for 
 which he had been arrested; and what did a month more 
 or less matter to him? 
 
 The judge, who read this feeling in Polyte's eyes, 
 cut his discourse short. 
 
 " Justice now demands some information from you 
 concerning the habitues of your mother's establish- 
 ment." 
 
 " There are a great many of them, M'sieur," re- 
 sponded Polyte, in a coarse, harsh voice. 
 
 " Do you know one among them by the name of 
 Gustave?" 
 
 " No, M'sieur." 
 
 To insist would probably awaken suspicion in 
 Polyte's mind, if he was really speaking the truth; so 
 M. Segmuller continued: 
 
 " You must, however, remember Lacheneur? " 
 
 " Lacheneur? It is the first time I have ever heard 
 that name." 
 
 " Take care. The police have means of finding out 
 a great many things." 
 
 The scapegrace did not flinch. 
 
 " I am telling the truth, M'sieur," he insisted. 
 " What interest could I possibly have in deceiving 
 you? " 
 
 The door opened suddenly, and Toinon, his wife, en- 
 tered with her child in her arms. 
 
 On seeing her husband, the poor woman uttered a 
 cry of joy, and sprang toward him. But Polyte, step-
 
 224 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 ping back, bestowed upon her a terrible glance that 
 rooted her to the spot. 
 
 " It must be my enemy who pretends that I know, 
 anyone named Lacheneur ! I would like to kill the per- 
 son who uttered such a falsehood. Yes; kill the per- 
 son and I will never forgive it." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 Having received orders to go in search of Lecoq and 
 to bring him back, if he succeeded in finding him, RI. 
 Segmuller's messenger had started on his errand. 
 
 The commission was not at all disagreeable to him; 
 it afforded him an excuse for quitting his post, and also 
 a very pleasant little stroll through the neighborhood. 
 
 He went to the prefecture first, by the longest way, 
 however; but on arriving there, he could find no one 
 who had seen the young detective. 
 
 He then strolled leisurely through the restaurants 
 and through the drinking saloons in the vicinity of the 
 Palais de Justice, and living through its patronage. 
 
 Being a conscientious commissioner, he entered each 
 of these establishments, and having recognized several 
 acquaintances, he felt compelled to proffer and to ac- 
 cept certain courtesies at the rate of fifty centimes per 
 glass. But no Lecoq. 
 
 He was returning in haste, a trifle uneasy on account 
 of the length of his absence, when a carriage stopped 
 before the gateway of the palace. 
 
 He looked up, and oh, happiness! from this car- 
 riage he saw Lecoq descend, followed by Father Ab- 
 sinthe and the Widow Chupin's daughter-in-law. 
 
 His serenity of mind was instantly restored; and it
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 225 
 
 was in a very important tone that he delivered the order 
 for Lecoq to follow him without losing a minute. 
 
 " Monsieur has asked for you a number of times," 
 said he. " He has been extremely impatient, and he is 
 in very bad humor; and you may expect to have your 
 head snapped off in the most expeditious manner." 
 
 Lecoq smiled as he ascended the staircase. Was he 
 not bringing with him the most potent of justifications! 
 He was thinking of the agreeable surprise he had in 
 store for the judge, and he seemed to see the sudden 
 brightening of that functionary's gloomy face. 
 
 And yet the message delivered by the door-keeper, 
 and his urgent appeal that Lecoq should not loiter by 
 the way, was fated to produce the most unfortunate 
 results. 
 
 Expected, as he supposed, and urged not to delay, 
 Lecoq saw nothing wrong in opening the door of M. 
 Segmuller's office without knocking, and he obeyed 
 the fatal impulse that impelled him to enter in advance 
 of the poor woman whose testimony might be so de- 
 cisive. 
 
 Stupefaction seized him and held him motionless 
 when he saw that the judge was not alone, and when he 
 recognized, in this witness, whom M. Segmuller was 
 examining, the original of the portrait, Polyte Chupin. 
 
 Instantly he comprehended his mistake, and its con- 
 sequences. He did his best to prevent any communi- 
 cation, any interchange of thought between the hus- 
 band and wife. 
 
 He sprang toward Toinon, and, catching her rudely 
 by the arm, he ordered her to leave the room on the in- 
 stant. 
 
 ' You cannot remain here," he cried; " come, go! " 
 
 But the poor creature was entirely overcome, and
 
 226 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 trembled like a leaf. She could see and hear nothing 
 except her husband. To behold again this man whom 
 she adored, what happiness! But why did he recoil 
 from her? Why did he cast such withering glances 
 upon her? 
 
 She tried to speak, to explain ; but while she stood 
 there frightened and bewildered, Polyte's harsh con- 
 demnation pierced her brain like a rifle-ball. 
 
 Seeing this, Lecoq seized her about the waist, and, 
 lifting her as he would a feather, he carried her out into 
 the corridor. 
 
 The whole scene had not lasted more than a moment, 
 and M. Segmuller was still engaged in framing the 
 order, when he found that the door was already closed, 
 and that he was again alone with Polyte. 
 
 " Ah, ha! " thought Coquet, in a flutter of delight; 
 " here is something new." 
 
 But as these little diversions never made him forget 
 his duties as a clerk, he leaned toward the judge to ask: 
 
 " Must I take down the last words that were uttered 
 by the witness? " 
 
 " Certainly," responded M. Segmuller, " and word 
 for word, if you please." 
 
 He paused; the door opened again, to admit the 
 door-keeper, who timidly, and with a rather guilty air, 
 brought in a note, and again withdrew. 
 
 This note, scribbled in pencil by Lecoq upon a leaf 
 torn from his memorandum-book, told the judge the 
 name of the woman who had just entered his room, and 
 told briefly, but clearly, the information that had just 
 been obtained. 
 
 " That boy thinks of everything! " murmured M. 
 Segmuller.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 227 
 
 The meaning of the scene that had taken place before 
 his eyes a moment previous was now evident. 
 
 He understood the whole. 
 
 He regretted most bitterly this unfortunate meeting. 
 But whom ought he to blame for it? Himself himself 
 alone; his impatience, his lack of caution, which, as 
 soon as his messenger had departed, had induced him 
 to summon Polyte Chupin. 
 
 While he could not doubt the enormous influence of 
 this trifling circumstance, he would not allow himself 
 to be alarmed by it, and continued his task of endeavor- 
 ing to elicit some information from the sorry specimen 
 before him. 
 
 " Let us go on," he said to Polyte. 
 
 The scapegrace gave a careless sign of assent. Since 
 his wife had been taken from the room he had not 
 moved, and was apparently sublimely indifferent to all 
 that was passing around him. 
 
 " Was that your wife who came in just now?" de- 
 manded M. Segmuller. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " She wished to embrace you, and you repulsed her." 
 
 " I did not repulse her, M'sieur." 
 
 " You kept her at a distance; if you had any affection, 
 you would at least have given a look to your child, 
 which she held out to you. Why was it? " 
 
 " It was not a time for sentiment." 
 
 " You are not telling the truth. You simply desired 
 to attract her attention while you dictated her deposi- 
 tion." 
 
 " I I dictate her deposition ! I do not understand 
 you, M'sieur." 
 
 " Were it not for this supposition, the words you ut- 
 tered would be unintelligible."
 
 228 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 "What words?" 
 
 The judge turned to his clerk: 
 
 " Coquet," said he, " read the last remark you took 
 down, to the witness." 
 
 The clerk, in a monotonous voice, read: 
 
 " I would like to kill the person who dared to say that 
 I knew Lacheneur." 
 
 " Eh bien! " insisted M. Segmuller; " what do you 
 mean by that? " 
 
 " It is very easy to understand, M'sieur." 
 
 M. Segmuller rose. 
 
 " Enough of this prevaricating ! You certainly 
 ordered your wife to keep silence ; that fact is evident. 
 Why should you have done this? and what can she tell 
 us? Do you suppose that the police are ignorant of 
 your relations with Lacheneur of your conversation 
 with him when he, in a carriage, and in an unfrequented 
 spot, awaited your coming of the hopes of fortune 
 which you based upon him? Be guided by me; decide 
 to confess all, while there is yet time; do not pursue a 
 course which may lead you into serious danger. One 
 can be an accomplice in more ways than one." 
 
 It is certain that Polyte's impudence and indifference 
 had received a very severe shock. He seemed con- 
 founded, and hung his head, muttering some unintelli- 
 gible response. 
 
 Still, he preserved an obstinate silence; and the judge, 
 who had just employed his strongest argument, and in 
 vain, gave up in despair. He rang the bell, and ordered 
 the guard to conduct the witness back to prison, and 
 to take every precaution to prevent him from seeing his 
 wife again. 
 
 When Polyte had departed, Lecoq reappeared. He 
 was in despair.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 229 
 
 " To think," he repeated again and again, " that I did 
 not draw from this woman all that she knew, when it 
 could have been done so easily. But I thought that 
 you would be waiting for me, Monsieur, so I made 
 haste to bring her here. I thought I was acting for the 
 best " 
 
 " Never mind, the misfortune can be repaired." 
 
 " No, Monsieur, no ; we shall learn nothing more 
 from this poor woman. It is impossible to extort a sin- 
 gle word from her since she has seen her husband. She 
 loves him, with a blind and foolish adoration; and he 
 has an all-powerful influence over her. He has ordered 
 her to be silent, and she will be silent ' even unto 
 death.' " 
 
 The young man's fears were well grounded. M. 
 Segmuller saw this only too well, the instant Toinon, 
 the virtuous, again set foot in his office. 
 
 The poor creature seemed nearly heartbroken. It 
 was evident that she would have given her life to retract 
 the words which had escaped her in her attic. Polyte's 
 look had made her turn cold with horror, and had 
 aroused the most sinister apprehensions in her mind. 
 Not understanding his connection with the affair, she 
 asked herself if her testimony would not be a death- 
 warrant for him. 
 
 So she refused to make any response other than 
 " no " or " I do not know " to questions ; and all that 
 she had previously said she retracted. She swore that 
 she was mistaken, that she had been misunderstood, 
 that her words had been misrepresented. She declared 
 upon the most sacred oaths, that she had never before 
 heard the name of Lacheneur. 
 
 At last, when they pressed their questions too closely,
 
 3o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 she burst into wild, despairing sobs, pressing her weep- 
 ing child convulsively to her breast. 
 
 What could one do against this foolish obstinacy, 
 which was as unreasoning and blind as that of a brute? 
 M. Segmuller hesitated. Finally, after a moment's re- 
 flection: 
 
 " You may retire, my good woman," he said, kindly; 
 " but remember that your strange silence injures your 
 husband more than anything you could say." 
 
 She left the room or rather, she rushed wildly away 
 and the judge and the detective exchanged glances 
 of dismay and consternation. 
 
 " I said so before," thought Coquet; " the prisoner 
 understands what he is about. I would be willing to 
 bet a hundred to one on the prisoner." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 In a single word Delamorte Felines has defined pros- 
 ecution. A " struggle," he terms it ; and it is, in real- 
 ity, a terrible struggle between justice, seeking after the 
 truth, and crime, endeavoring to conceal it. 
 
 The judge of instruction, as he is called in France, 
 is invested with discretionary powers, and is responsible 
 only to the law and to his own conscience. 
 
 No one can hamper him, no one can give him orders. 
 Administration, police, armed force, are all at his dis- 
 posal. At a word from him twenty agents, or a hun- 
 dred, if need be, search Paris, ransack France, or ex- 
 plore Europe. 
 
 If he suppose that any person can throw light upon 
 an obscure point, he orders that man to appear in his 
 office; and he must come, if he live a hundred leagues 
 away. Such is the position.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 231 
 
 Isolated behind the bars, and probably in the solitary 
 cell, the man accused of a crime is, as it were, cut off 
 from the number of the living. No news from without 
 reaches him in the cell, where he lives beneath the eye 
 of his keeper. Of what is said, of what is passing out- 
 side these walls, he knows nothing. What witnesses 
 have been examined, and what they have said, he knows 
 not; and, in his doubt and uncertainty, he again and 
 again asks himself to what extent he has been compro- 
 mised, what proofs have been collected against him, 
 and what grave charges are ready to crush him. 
 
 Such is the position of the prisoner. And yet, in 
 spite of the fact that the two adversaries are so unequal- 
 ly armed, the man in the solitary cell not unfrequently 
 conquers. 
 
 If he is sure that he has left behind him no proofs of 
 his crime, if he has no antecedents to rise up against 
 him, he can, impregnable in a defence of absolute denial, 
 brave all the attacks of justice. 
 
 Such was, at this moment, the situation of May, the 
 mysterious murderer. 
 
 M. Segmuller and Lecoq, with mingled sorrow and 
 anger, were forced to admit this. 
 
 They had hoped that Polyte Chupin or his wife 
 would give them the solution of this vexed problem 
 this hope had been disappointed. 
 
 And the identity of the prisoner remained as prob- 
 lematical as ever. 
 
 " And yet," exclaimed the judge vehemently, " and 
 yet these people know something about this matter, 
 and if they would ' 
 
 " They will not." 
 
 " Why, what motive influences them? This is what 
 is necessary to discover. Who will tell us by what
 
 232 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 dazzling promises the silence of a scoundrel like this 
 Polyte Chupin has been purchased ? Upon what rec- 
 ompense does he count, since he is willing to brave real 
 danger by this silence? " 
 
 Lecoq did not reply, but his knit brows showed that 
 his thoughts were busy. 
 
 " There is one question which puzzles me more than 
 anything else; and if it could be answered we should 
 have made a long step in advance," he finally remarked. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " You ask, Monsieur, what reward has been prom- 
 ised to Chupin. I ask who it is that has promised him 
 this reward." 
 
 " Who has promised it? Evidently the accomplice 
 who has beaten us on every point." 
 
 At this homage to the skill and audacity of his op- 
 ponent, the young detective clinched iis hands, and 
 vowed vengeance against the man who had made him 
 a prisoner, only an hour before. 
 
 " Certainly," he replied. " I recognize his hand in 
 this. And now, what artifice has he used? We under- 
 stand the method by which he succeeded in gaining an 
 interview with the Widow Chupin. But how has he 
 succeeded in reaching Polyte, who is a prisoner, and 
 closely guarded? " 
 
 He did not utter his whole thought, but M. Segmuller 
 understood him, and seemed intensely surprised, and 
 even a trifle indignant, at the young man's suspicions. 
 
 " What can you mean? " said he. " You cannot sup- 
 pose that one of the employees has been corrupted? " 
 
 Lecoq shook his head with a rather equivocal air. 
 
 " I mean nothing," he replied; " I suspect no one. I 
 am merely in pursuit of information. Has Chupin been 
 warned yes or no? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 233 
 
 " Yes, of course." 
 
 " The fact is admitted then. So I presume we must 
 explain it by supposing either that there are informers 
 in the prison, or that Chupin has been allowed to see 
 some visitor." 
 
 M. Segmuller was evidently disturbed. He seemed 
 to be hesitating between two opinions; then, suddenly 
 making up his mind, he rose, took his hat, and said: 
 
 " I wish to have this matter cleared up. Come, Mon- 
 sieur Lecoq." 
 
 In two minutes (thanks to the dark and narrow pas- 
 sage that connects the depot with the Palais de Justice) 
 they entered the jail. 
 
 Rations had just been served to the prisoners, and 
 the head keeper, who had been engaged in superin- 
 tending the distribution, was now promenading in the 
 court-yard with Gevrol. 
 
 As soon as he saw the judge, he approached him with 
 great deference of manner. 
 
 " Undoubtedly, sir, you have come about the pris- 
 oner, May? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Since it was a question of a prisoner, Gevrol thought 
 he might approach without impropriety. 
 
 " I was just now talking to Inspector Gevrol about 
 the prisoner," pursued the keeper, " and I was telling 
 him that I had good reason to be satisfied with this 
 man's conduct. It not only has been quite unnecessary 
 to place him in the strait-jacket, but his mood seems to 
 have changed entirely. He has a good appetite; he is 
 as gay as a lark, and laughs and jests with his keeper." 
 
 The judge and Lecoq exchanged troubled glances. 
 
 This gayety might be assumed for the purpose of 
 carrying out his role as a jester and buffoon ; but might
 
 234 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 it not have come from a certainty of defeating his op- 
 ponents? or, who knows? perhaps, from some favor- 
 able news received from without. 
 
 This last supposition offered itself so persistently to 
 M. Segmuller's mind that he trembled. 
 
 " Are you sure," he inquired, " that no communica- 
 tion from outside can reach the inmates of the solitary 
 cells?" 
 
 The worthy keeper seemed to be deeply wounded by 
 the implied doubt. His subordinates suspected per- 
 haps the keeper himself! He could not help lifting his 
 hands to heaven in mute protest against such injustice. 
 
 " Am I sure? " he exclaimed. " Then you have 
 never visited the solitary cells or the secret cells, as 
 we call them. You have no idea, then, of the precau- 
 tions that surround them, the triple bolts, the grating 
 that shuts out the sunlight, to say nothing of the guard 
 who walks beneath the windows night and day. Not 
 even a bird could reach the prisoners in those cells." 
 
 Such a description could not fail to reassure the most 
 sceptical. 
 
 " Now that I am easy on that score," said the judge, 
 " I would like some information regarding another 
 prisoner a certain Chupin." 
 
 "Ah! I know a vile scoundrel! " 
 
 " He is, indeed. I would like to know if he received 
 any visitor yesterday?" 
 
 " It will be necessary for me to inquire of the clerk 
 before I can answer with certainty. Wait a moment; 
 here is a man who, perhaps, can inform us. He is on 
 guard at the entrance. Here, Ferrau, this way!" he 
 called. 
 
 The man hastened to obey the summons.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ *35 
 
 " Do you know whether the prisoner named Chupin 
 was in the reception-room yesterday? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, he was; I conducted him there myself." 
 
 " And who was his visitor? " inquired Lecoq, eager- 
 ly ; " a large man, was it not, very red in the face " 
 
 " Excuse me, Monsieur ; the visitor was a lady ; his 
 aunt, he told me." 
 
 An exclamation of surprise escaped the lips of the 
 judge and of the detective, and together they demanded: 
 
 " What was she like? " 
 
 " Small," replied the man, " with very fair complex- 
 ion and light hair; she seemed to be a very respectable 
 woman." 
 
 " It must have been one of the fugitives who escaped 
 from Widow Chupin's hovel," exclaimed Lecoq. 
 
 Gevrol laughed loudly. 
 
 " Still that Russian princess," said he. 
 
 But the judge did not appear to enjoy the pleasantry. 
 
 " You forget yourself, Monsieur," he said, severely. 
 " You forget that the sneers you address to your com- 
 rade also touch me! " 
 
 The general saw that he had gone too far; and while 
 he bestowed one of his most venomous glances upon 
 Lecoq, he mumbled his excuses to the judge. 
 
 M. Segmuller did not hear them apparently. He 
 bowed to the keeper, and motioned Lecoq to follow 
 him. 
 
 " Run to the prefecture," he said, as soon as they were 
 out of hearing, " and ascertain how and under what 
 pretext this woman obtained permission to visit Polyte 
 Chupin."
 
 236 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 Left alone, M. Segmuller returned mechanically to 
 his office, guided by force of habit rather than by any 
 volition of his own. 
 
 All his faculties were hard at work ; and so great was 
 his preoccupation that he, who was ordinarily the quin- 
 tessence of politeness, entirely forgot to return the salu- 
 tations which he received on his way. 
 
 How had this case, until now, been conducted? By 
 hazard, according to the caprice of events. Like a man 
 lost in the darkness, he had left his course to chance, 
 walking toward anything which, in the distance, seemed 
 to him like a light. 
 
 To travel in this way is a useless expenditure of time 
 and strength. He admitted this in recognizing the ur- 
 gent and pressing necessity of some definite plan of 
 action. 
 
 Since he had not succeeded in capturing the city by 
 a sudden attack, he was compelled to resign himself 
 to the methodical delays of a regular and protracted 
 siege. 
 
 And he decided to do this at once, for he felt that the 
 hours were fleeting all too fast. He knew that delay 
 only increased the uncertainty of success, and that the 
 investigation of a crime becomes more and more diffi- 
 cult, in proportion as one is removed from the time 
 when said crime was committed. 
 
 There were some things that might still be done. 
 
 Ought he not to confront the murderer, the Widow 
 Chupin, and Polyte with the bodies of their victims? 
 
 Such horrible encounters are sometimes productive 
 of unhoped-for results.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 237 
 
 More than one murderer, when _unsuspectedly 
 brought into the presence of his victim, had changed 
 color and lost his assurance. 
 
 There were other witnesses whom he could examine. 
 Papillon, the coachman ; the concierge of the mansion 
 on the Rue de Bourgogne, where the two women had 
 taken refuge for a moment, a Mme. Milner, the mistress 
 of the Hotel de Mariembourg. 
 
 Would it not also be advisable to summon, with the 
 least possible delay, some of the residents in the vicinity 
 of the Poivriere, and some comrades of Polyte, as well 
 as the proprietor of the Rainbow, where the victims and 
 the murderer had passed a portion of the evening? 
 
 Certainly, one had no reason to hope for any great 
 enlightenment from any particular one of these wit- 
 nesses, but each one might add his conjectures, express 
 an opinion, or be able to throw some light on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Coquet, the smiling clerk, acting in compliance with 
 the orders of the judge, had just finished drawing up at 
 least a dozen citations, when Lecoq reappeared. 
 
 " Well? " exclaimed the judge, eagerly. 
 
 Really, the question was superfluous. The result of 
 his expedition was plainly written upon the face of the 
 detective. 
 
 " Nothing always nothing." 
 
 " But how can that be? Do they not know to whom 
 the permission to visit Polyte Chupin was given ? " 
 
 " Pardon, Monsieur, they know but too well. We 
 find only a fresh proof of the infernal skill with which 
 the accomplice profits by every circumstance. The 
 permit that was used yesterday was in the name of a sis- 
 ter of the Widow Chupin, Rose Adelaide Pitard. The 
 card of admission was given her more than a week ago.
 
 238 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 in compliance with a request which was indorsed by 
 the commissioner of police." 
 
 The surprise of the judge was so intense that it gave 
 to his face an almost ludicrous expression. 
 
 " Is this aunt also in the plot? " he murmured. 
 
 The detective shook his head. 
 
 " I think not," he answered. " It was not she, at all 
 events, who was in the prison parlor yesterday. The 
 clerks at the prefecture remember the widow's sister 
 very well, and gave me a full description of her. She is 
 a woman over five feet in height, very dark complex- 
 ioned, very wrinkled and weather-beaten in appear- 
 ance, and about sixty years of age. The visitor yes- 
 terday was small, blond, and apparently not more than 
 forty-five." 
 
 " If that is the case," interrupted M. Segmuller, " this 
 visitor must be one of our fugitives." 
 
 " I do not think so." 
 
 " Who do you suppose she was, then? " 
 
 " The mistress of the Hotel de Mariembourg that 
 clever woman who succeeded so well in deceiving me. 
 But she had better take care! There are means of veri- 
 fying my suspicions." 
 
 The judge scarcely heard Lecoq's words, so enraged 
 was he at the inconceivable audacity and marvellous 
 devotion of these people who risked everything to pre- 
 serve the incognito of the murderer. 
 
 " But how could the accomplice have known of the 
 existence of this permit? " 
 
 " Oh, nothing could be easier, Monsieur. When the 
 Widow Chupin and the accomplice held their interview 
 at the station-house of the Barriere d'ltalie, they both 
 realized the necessity of warning Polyte. They tried 
 to devise some way of seeing him; the old woman re-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 239 
 
 membered her sister's card of admission, and the man 
 made some excuse to borrow it." 
 
 " Such is undoubtedly the case," said M. Segmuller, 
 approvingly. " It will be necessary to ascertain, how- 
 ever " 
 
 Lecoq's bearing was that of a resolute man, whose 
 eager zeal has no need of a stimulant. 
 
 " And I will ascertain," said he, " if you, Monsieur, 
 will intrust the matter to me. No aid to success shall 
 be neglected. Before evening I would have two spies 
 on the watch one at the Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, 
 the other at the door of the Hotel de Mariembourg. 
 If the accomplice attempted to visit Toinon, or 
 Madame Milner, he should be arrested. It would be 
 our turn then ! " 
 
 But there was no time to waste in words and in idle 
 boastings. He checked himself, and took his hat pre- 
 paratory to departure. 
 
 " Now," said he, " I must ask Monsieur le Juge for 
 my liberty; if he has any orders to give me, he will find 
 a trusty messenger in the corridor, Father Absinthe, 
 one of my colleagues. I wish to discover some fact in 
 regard to two of our most important articles of convic- 
 tion, Lacheneur's letter and the ear-ring." 
 
 " Go, then," responded M. Segmuller, " and good 
 luck to you ! " 
 
 Good luck! The detective, indeed, looked for it. If, 
 up to the present moment, he had taken his successive 
 defeats good-humoredly, it was because he believed that 
 he had a talisman in his pocket which would insure him 
 victory at last. 
 
 " I shall be very stupid if I am not capable of discov- 
 ering the owner of an article of such great value ! " 
 he said, referring to the diamond. " And when we
 
 2 4 o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 find the owner, we discover, at the same time, the iden- 
 tity of our mysterious prisoner ! " 
 
 The first step to be taken was to ascertain in what 
 shop this ornament had been purchased. To go from 
 jeweller to jeweller, asking: "Is this your work?" 
 would be a tedious process. 
 
 Fortunately, Lecoq knew a man who would be will- 
 ing to give him all the information in his power. 
 
 This man was an old Hollander, named Van Nu- 
 men, who, where jewelry or precious stones were con- 
 cerned, was without a rival in Paris. 
 
 He was employed in the prefecture in the capacity 
 of an expert in such matters. He was considered 
 rich ; but he was far more wealthy than people sup- 
 posed. Shabby as he always was in appearance, he 
 had a passion for diamonds. He always had some of 
 them about his person, in a little box, which he drew 
 out of his pocket a dozen times an hour, as a snuff- 
 taker brings out his snuff-box. 
 
 This worthy man greeted Lecoq very affably. He 
 put on his glasses, examined the jewel with a grimace 
 of satisfaction, and, in the tone of an oracle, said : 
 
 " That stone is worth eight thousand francs, and it 
 was set by Doisty, on the Rue de la Paix." 
 
 Twenty minutes later Lecoq entered the establish- 
 ment of this celebrated jeweller. 
 
 Van Numen was not mistaken. Doisty immediate- 
 ly recognized the ornament, which had, indeed, come 
 from his store. But to whom had he sold it? He 
 could not recollect, for it had passed out of his hands 
 three or four years before. 
 
 " But wait a moment," he added ; " I will ask my 
 wife, who has an incomparable memory." 
 
 Mme. Doisty deserved this eulogium. A single
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 241 
 
 glance at the jewel enabled her to say that she had 
 seen this ear-ring before, and that the pair had been 
 purchased from them by the Marquise d'Arlange. 
 
 " You must recollect," she added, turning to her 
 husband, " that the marquise paid us only nine'' thou- 
 sand francs on account, and that we had all the trouble 
 in the world in collecting the remainder." 
 
 Her husband did remember this circumstance. 
 
 " Now," said the detective, " I would like the ad- 
 dress of this marquise." 
 
 " She lives in the Faubourg St. Germain," respond- 
 ed Mme. Doisty, " near the Esplanade des Invalides." 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 While in the presence of the jeweller, Lecoq had re- 
 frained from any demonstration of satisfaction. 
 
 But when he had left the store, he evinced such de- 
 lirious joy that the amazed passers-by wondered if the 
 man were not mad. He did not walk, he fairly danced 
 over the stones, gesticulating all the while in the most 
 ridiculous fashion, as he addressed this triumphant 
 monologue to the empty air: 
 
 " At last," said he, " this affair emerges from the 
 mystery that has enshrouded it. At last I reach the 
 veritable actors in the drama, these exalted personages 
 whom I had suspected. Ah ! Gevrol, illustrious gen- 
 eral ! you wished a Russian princess, but you will be 
 obliged to content yourself with a simple marquise." 
 
 But this species of vertigo gradually disappeared. 
 His good sense reasserted itself, and the young man 
 felt that he would have need of all his coolness, all Iris 
 penetration, and all his sagacity to bring this expedi- 
 tion to a successful termination-
 
 a42 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 What course should he pursue, on entering the pres- 
 ence of the marquise, in order to draw a full confession 
 from her, and to obtain all the details of the murder, 
 as well as the murderer's name ? 
 
 " It will be best to threaten her, to frighten her into 
 confession, that will be the best way. If I give her 
 time for reflection, I shall learn nothing." 
 
 He paused in his cogitations, for he had reached the 
 abode of the Marquise d'Arlange a charming house, 
 surrounded by a garden ; and before entering the man- 
 sion, he deemed it advisable to learn something of its 
 interior and of its inmates. 
 
 " It is here, then," he murmured, " that I shall find 
 the solution of the enigma ! Here behind those rich 
 curtains crouches the frightened fugitive of the other 
 night. For what an agony of fear must torture her 
 since she has discovered the loss of the jewel ! " 
 
 For more than an hour sheltered beneath a neigh- 
 boring porte-cochere, Lecoq stood watching the house. 
 He wished to see the face of some inmate of the man- 
 sion. But his time was lost. Not a face showed it- 
 self at the windows, not a valet traversed the court. 
 
 At last, losing patience, he determined to make 
 some inquiries in the neighborhood. 
 
 He could not take a decisive step without having 
 some knowledge of the people he was to encounter. 
 He was wondering where he could obtain the desired 
 information, when he perceived, on the opposite side 
 of the street, a wine-merchant smoking on the pave- 
 ment in front of his shop. 
 
 He approached him, and, pretending that he had for- 
 gotten an address, politely inquired which house was 
 the abode of the Marquise d'Arlange. 
 
 Without a word, without even condescending to re-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 243 
 
 move his pipe from his mouth, the man pointed to the 
 house. 
 
 But there was a way of rendering him communica- 
 tive, and that was to enter his establishment, call for 
 something to drink, and invite the proprietor to drink 
 with him. 
 
 This the young man did, and the sight of two well- 
 filled glasses unbound, as by a miracle, the tongue of 
 the worthy shop-keeper. 
 
 One could not have found a better man to interro- 
 gate, as he had been established in that quarter for ten 
 years, and was honored by the patronage of most of 
 the residents. 
 
 " I pity you if you are going to the house of the mar- 
 quise to collect a bill," he remarked to Lecoq. " You 
 will have plenty of time to learn the way to the house 
 before you see the color of your money. You will 
 only be another of the many creditors who never let 
 that bell rest." 
 
 " The devil ! Is she so poor as all that ? " 
 
 " Poor ! Everyone knows that she has an income 
 of twenty thousand livres, without counting this house. 
 But when one spends double one's income every year, 
 you know " 
 
 He stopped short, to call Lecoq's attention to two 
 ladies who were passing one, rather more than forty 
 years of age, dressed in black ; the other, very young, 
 and still clothed in the garb of a school-girl. 
 
 " And that," he added, " is the marquise's grand- 
 daughter, Mademoiselle Claire, attended by her gov- 
 erness, Mademoiselle Smith." 
 
 Lecoq's head whirled. 
 
 " Her granddaughter ? " he stammered.
 
 244 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Yes ; the daughter of her deceased son, if you like 
 that any better." 
 
 " How old is the marquise, then ? " 
 
 " At least sixty ; but one would never suspect it. She 
 is one of those persons who will live a hundred years, 
 like trees. And what an old wretch she is ! She would 
 think no more of knocking me over the head than I 
 would of emptying this glass of wine " 
 
 " Pardon," interrupted Lecoq, " but does she live 
 alone in that great house ? " 
 
 " Yes ; that is, with only her granddaughter, the 
 governess, and two servants. But what is the matter 
 with you ? " 
 
 It was not strange that he asked this question, for 
 Lecoq had turned as white as his shirt. The magic 
 edifice of his hopes had crumbled beneath the weight 
 of this man's words as completely as if it were a frail 
 card-house constructed by some child. 
 
 " Nothing nothing at all," he responded, in an un- 
 certain voice. 
 
 But he could not endure this torture of uncertainty 
 any longer. He went to the house and rang the bell. 
 
 The servant who came to open the door examined 
 him attentively, then replied, that madame la marquise 
 was in the country. 
 
 Evidently he did him the honor of taking him for 
 some creditor. 
 
 But he insisted so adroitly, he gave him to under- 
 stand so explicitly that he did not come to collect 
 money, he spoke so earnestly of urgent business, that 
 the man finally admitted him to the vestibule, telling 
 him that he would go and ascertain if madame had 
 really gone out. 
 
 She was at home. An instant after the valet re-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 245 
 
 turned to tell Lecoq to follow him ; and after passing 
 a large and magnificently furnished drawing-room, he 
 conducted him into a charming boudoir, hung with 
 rose-color. 
 
 There, in a large reclining chair by the fireplace, sat 
 an old woman, large, bony, and terrible of aspect, load- 
 ed with ornaments and with paint. She was engaged 
 in knitting a stripe of green wool. 
 
 She turned toward the visitor just enough to show 
 him the rouge on one cheek ; then, as he seemed rather 
 frightened a fact flattering to her vanity she spoke 
 to him quite affably. 
 
 "Ah, well! young man; what brings you here?" 
 
 Lecoq was not frightened, but he was intensely dis- 
 appointed to see that Mme. d'Arlange could not be one 
 of the women who had visited the Widow Chupin's 
 saloon on that memorable night. 
 
 There was nothing about her appearance that cor- 
 responded in the least with the description given by 
 Papillon. 
 
 Then the young man remembered the small foot- 
 prints left in the snow by the two fugitives. The foot 
 of this marquise, which showed itself below the bot- 
 tom of her dress, was truly colossal in size. 
 
 " Well ! are you dumb ? " inquired the old lady, rais- 
 ing her voice. 
 
 Without making a direct response, Lecoq drew from 
 his pocket the precious ear-ring, and, placing it upon 
 the table beside her, he said : 
 
 " I bring you this article which I have found, and 
 which, I am told, belongs to you." 
 
 Madame d'Arlange laid down her knitting to exam- 
 ine the jewel. 
 
 " It is true," she said, after a moment, " that thin or-
 
 246 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 nament formerly belonged to me. It was a fancy that 
 I had, about four years ago, and it cost me dear at 
 least twenty thousand francs. Ah ! Doisty, the man 
 who sold me these diamonds must make a handsome 
 living. But I had a granddaughter to educate ! 
 Pressing need of money compelled me to sell them." 
 
 " To whom ? " inquired Lecoq, eagerly. 
 
 " Eh ! " exclaimed the lady, evidently shocked at his 
 audacity, " you are very curious, upon my word ! " 
 
 " Excuse me, Madame, but I am so anxious to find 
 the owner of this valuable ornament." 
 
 Madame d'Arlange regarded her visitor with an air 
 of mingled curiosity and surprise. 
 
 " Such honesty ! " said she. " Oh, oh ! And, of 
 course, you do not hope for a sou by way of re- 
 ward " 
 
 " Madame ! " 
 
 " Good, good ! There is not the least need for you 
 to turn as red as a poppy, young man. I sold these 
 diamonds to a great German lady for the nobility in 
 Austria have some money left to the Baroness de 
 Watchau." 
 
 " And where does this lady live ? " 
 
 " At the Pere la Chaise, probably, since she died 
 about a year ago. These women of the present day 
 a turn in the waltz, and a current of air, and it is all 
 over with them ! In my day, after each galop, young 
 girls swallowed a great glass of sweetened wine, and 
 sat down between two doors. And we did very well, 
 as you see." 
 
 " But, Madame," insisted Lecoq, " the Baron de 
 Watchau must have left heirs a husband, chil- 
 dren " 
 
 " No one but a brother, who holds a court position
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 247 
 
 at Vienna ; and who could not leave even to attend the 
 funeral. He sent orders that all his sister's personal 
 property should be sold not even excepting her 
 wardrobe and the money sent to him." 
 
 Lecoq could not repress an exclamation of disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " How unfortunate ! " he murmured. 
 
 " Why ? " asked the old lady. " Under these cir- 
 cumstances, the diamonds will probably remain in 
 your hands, and I am rejoiced at it ; it will be a just 
 recompense for your honesty." 
 
 If fate, to all Lecoq's other afflictions, had determined 
 to add that of irony, his cup of sorrow would, indeed, 
 be full. The Marquise d'Arlange inflicted upon him the 
 most exquisite torture when with every appearance of 
 sincerity, she expressed a wish that he might never find 
 the lady who had lost this costly jewel. 
 
 To cry out, to give vent to his anger, to reproach 
 this old woman for her stupidity would have afforded 
 him ineffable consolation. But in that case, what 
 would become of his role of honest young man ? 
 
 He forced his lips to display a smile ; he even stam- 
 mered an acknowledgment of her goodness. Then, 
 as if he had no more to expect, he bowed low, and 
 withdrew, overwhelmed by this new misfortune. 
 
 Owing to some strange fatality, or to the marvel- 
 lous skill of his adversaries, he had seen all the threads 
 upon which he had relied to guide him out of this 
 labyrinth, break in his hands. 
 
 Was he the dupe of some new comedy? This was 
 not probable. 
 
 If the murderer's accomplice had taken the jeweller, 
 Doisty, into his confidence, he would have told him to 
 reply to any inquiries by saying that he did not know
 
 248 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 to whom the diamonds had been sold, or that it had 
 not come from his establishment. 
 
 But this complication of circumstances proved 
 Doisty's sincerity at least. 
 
 Then the young man had other reasons for not 
 doubting the truth of the assertions made by the mar- 
 quise. A peculiar look, which he had detected be- 
 tween the jeweller and his wife was a sufficient authen- 
 tication. 
 
 This glance said very plainly that, in their opinion, 
 the marquise, in purchasing the diamonds, had en- 
 gaged in a little speculation, more common than peo- 
 ple suppose among women of the world. She had 
 bought on credit, to sell at a loss, profiting momentar- 
 ily by the difference between the sum she had paid on 
 account and the price she received for the jewels. 
 
 Lecoq was resolved to fathom the mystery that sur- 
 rounded the ornament; and with this object in view, 
 he returned to Doisty's establishment, and, by means 
 of a plausible pretext, succeeded in gaining a sight of 
 the books in which the proprietor recorded his sales. 
 
 On the year and the month that Mme. Doisty had 
 mentioned, the sale of these ear-rings had been record- 
 ed, not only upon the day-book, but upon the ledger. 
 The nine thousand francs paid by Mme. d'Arlange at 
 long intervals were also duly recorded. 
 
 How Mme. Milner might inscribe a false entry upon 
 her register, one could easily understand. But it was 
 absurd to suppose that the jeweller had falsified all his 
 accounts for four years. 
 
 The facts, therefore, were indisputable; still the 
 young detective was not satisfied. 
 
 He hurried to the Faubourg-Saint-Honore, to the 
 house which the Baroness de Watchau had occupied,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 249 
 
 and there he found a good-natured concierge, who in- 
 formed him that after the decease of that poor lady, her 
 turniture and her personal property had been taken to 
 an establishment on the Rue Drouot. " And the sale 
 was under the charge of Monsieur Petit," added the 
 obliging concierge. 
 
 Without losing a minute, Lecoq ran to the estab- 
 lishment of this auctioneer, who made a specialty of 
 rare collections of bric-a-brac. 
 
 M. Petit remembered the " Watchau sale " very 
 well ; it had made quite a sensation at the time, and he 
 soon found a long catalogue of the articles sold among 
 his papers. 
 
 Many jewels were mentioned, with the sum paid, 
 and the names of the parties purchasing ; but there was 
 not the slightest allusion to the accursed ear-rings. 
 
 Lecoq drew out the diamond which he had in his 
 pocket. The auctioneer could not remember that he 
 had ever seen it ; but this was no evidence to the con- 
 trary so many articles passed through his hands ! 
 
 But this much he could declare upon oath ; that 
 the brother of the baroness, her heir, had received 
 nothing not so much as a pin's worth of his sister's 
 effects ; and that he had been in a great hurry to receive 
 the proceeds, which amounted to the very pleasant 
 sum of one hundred and sixty-seven thousand five hun- 
 dred and thirty francs, after all expenses had been de- 
 ducted. 
 
 " So everything that this lady possessed was sold ? " 
 inquired Lecoq. 
 
 " Everything." 
 
 " And what is the name of this brother? " 
 
 " Watchau, also. The Baroness had probably mar- 
 ried one of her relatives. This brother, until last year,
 
 2 5 o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 occupied a very prominent diplomatic position. He 
 resides at Berlin now, I think." 
 
 Certainly this information would not seem to indi- 
 cate that these witnesses had been tampered with ; and 
 yet Lecoq was not satisfied. 
 
 " It is very strange," he thought, on regaining his 
 lodgings, " that to whichever side I turn in this affair, 
 I find Germany. The murderer comes from Leipsic, 
 Madame Milner must be a Bavarian, and now here is 
 an Austrian baroness." 
 
 It was too late to make any further inquiries that 
 evening, and Lecoq went to bed ; but the next morn- 
 ing, at an early hour, he resumed his investigations 
 with fresh ardor. 
 
 Now, there seemed to be only one chance of success 
 left : the letter signed by Lacheneur, which had been 
 found in the pocket of the murdered soldier. 
 
 This letter, judging from the half-effaced heading, 
 must have been written in a cafe on the Boulevard 
 Beaumarchais. 
 
 To discover in which cafe would be only child's play. 
 
 The fourth restaurant-keeper to whom Lecoq exhib- 
 ited this letter recognized the paper as his. 
 
 But neither he, nor his wife, nor the young lady at 
 the desk, nor the waiters, nor any of the guests present 
 at the time, had ever in their lives heard the three syl- 
 lables of this name, Lacheneur. 
 
 What was he to do now? Was the case entirely 
 hopeless? Not yet. 
 
 Had not the dying soldier declared that this Lache- 
 neur was an old comedian ? 
 
 Seizing upon this frail clew, as a drowning man 
 clutches at the merest fragment of the floating wreck, 
 Lecoq turned his steps in another direction, and hur-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 25* 
 
 ried from theatre to theatre, asking everyone, from the 
 porters to the managers : 
 
 " Do you not know an actor named Lacheneur? " 
 
 Everywhere he met with the same response, not un- 
 frequently enlivened by rough jokes. And very often 
 those whom he interrogated inquired : 
 
 " What sort of a looking man is your artist? " 
 
 What could he reply? All his responses were nec- 
 essarily limited to that phrase uttered by Toinon : " I 
 thought him a very respectable-looking man." This 
 was not a very graphic description, however. Be- 
 sides, it was rather doubtful what a woman like the 
 wife of Polyte Chupin meant by the word " respect- 
 able." Did she apply it to the man's age, to his per- 
 sonal appearance, or to his apparent fortune ? 
 
 Sometimes they inquired : 
 
 " What roles does your comedian play ? " 
 
 And the young man, in his ignorance, could make 
 no reply ; but this much he could have said with truth, 
 that this Lacheneur was playing a role now that made 
 him, Lecoq, wild with despair. 
 
 He next had recourse to a mode of investigation 
 which is generally the last resort of the police, but 
 which is generally successful, because it is so sensible 
 and simple. 
 
 He determined to examine all the books in which 
 the law compels the proprietors of hotels and lodging- 
 houses to keep a record of their guests. 
 
 Rising long before daybreak, and going to bed late 
 at night, he spent all his time in visiting the hotels, fur- 
 nished houses, and lodgings in Paris. 
 
 Vain search! Not once did he find the name of 
 Lacheneur that haunted his brain. Was there really 
 such a name ? Was it not a pseudonym, invented for
 
 25* MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 convenience? He had not found it even in the Alma- 
 nack Botlin, where one finds all the most singular and 
 absurd names in France those which are formed of 
 the most fantastic mingling of syllables. 
 
 But nothing could daunt him or turn him from the 
 almost impossible task to which he had devoted him- 
 self. His obstinacy amounted wellnigh to mono- 
 mania. 
 
 He was no longer subject to occasional outbursts of 
 anger, which were quickly repressed ; he lived in a state 
 of constant exasperation, which impaired the clearness 
 of his mind not a little. 
 
 No more theories, subtle reasoning, and ingenious 
 deductions. He pursued his search, without method, 
 without order, and much as Father Absinthe might 
 have done when under the influence of alcohol. 
 
 Perhaps he had come to rely less upon his own 
 shrewdness than upon chance to drive away the 
 shadows which he divined, which he felt, which he 
 breathed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 If one throws a heavy stone into a lake it produces 
 a very considerable commotion, and the whole mass of 
 water is agitated. But the great movement lasts only 
 for a moment ; the waves diminish in violence in pro- 
 portion as the circles enlarge, the surface regains its 
 smoothness, and soon no trace remains of the stone, 
 now buried in the depths below. 
 
 So it is with events that occur in our daily life, how- 
 ever momentous they may appear. It seems as if 
 their impression would endure for years nonsense! 
 Time closes over them more quickly than the water of
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ ^53 
 
 the lake ; and more rapidly than the stone, they sink 
 into the depths of the past. 
 
 At the end of a fortnight, the frightful crime com- 
 mitted in the Widow Chupin's saloon the triple mur-j 
 der which had made all Paris shudder, with which all 
 the papers had been full, was forgotten as entirely as 
 any commonplace assassination in the reign of Charle- 
 magne. 
 
 Only at the Palais de Justice, at the prefecture, and 
 at the prison, was it remembered. 
 
 The efforts of M. Segmuller and Heaven knows 
 that he had spared none had met with no better suc- 
 cess than those of Lecoq. 
 
 Close interrogations, skilfully managed examina- 
 tions, sharp questions, insinuations, menaces, promises, 
 all spent themselves in vain against that invincible 
 force the strongest man has at his disposal the force 
 of absolute denial. 
 
 One and the same spirit seemed to animate the 
 Widow Chupin, Polyte, Toinon, the virtuous, and 
 Mme. Milner, the mistress of the Hotel de Mariem- 
 bourg. 
 
 Their depositions proved that they were all in league 
 with the accomplice ; and that they all acted in obedi- 
 ence to the same policy. But what did this knowledge 
 avail ! 
 
 The attitude of these witnesses never varied ! It 
 might happen, sometimes, that their looks gave the lie 
 to their denials ; but one could read in their eyes their 
 unshaken determination to conceal the truth. 
 
 There were moments when the judge, overpowered 
 by a sense of the insufficiency of purely moral weapons, 
 almost regretted the overthrow of the Inquisition. 
 
 Yes, in the presence of these allegations, whose im-
 
 S4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 pudence almost amounted to insult, he no longer won- 
 dered at the barbarities practised by the judges of the 
 Middle Ages the rack which broke the muscles of its 
 victims, the red-hot pincers, and all those horrible tort- 
 ures which tore out the truth with the flesh itself. 
 
 The manner of the murderer was unaltered, or, if it 
 were, it was only because he played his part with 
 greater perfection each day, like a man who has be- 
 come accustomed to strange clothing, and who is no 
 longer made uncomfortable by it. 
 
 His assurance in the presence of the judge had in- 
 creased, as if he were more sure of himself, and as if he 
 had in some way learned that the prosecution had 
 made no progress whatever. 
 
 During one of his later examinations, he had vent- 
 ured to say, with something very like irony: 
 
 " Why do you keep me so long in the secret cells, 
 Monsieur le Juge ? Am I nerer to be set at liberty, or 
 sent to the court of assizes? Am I to suffer much 
 longer on account of the idea that has taken possession 
 of you (how, I cannot tell), that I am a great person- 
 age?" 
 
 " I shall keep you until you have confessed," M. 
 Segmuller had responded. 
 
 " Confessed what ? " 
 
 " Oh ! you know very well." 
 
 This strange man had then shrugged his shoulders, 
 and in that half-despondent, half-mocking tone which 
 was habitual to him, he had responded : 
 
 " In that case, there is no hope of my ever leaving 
 this accursed prison ! " 
 
 It was by reason of this conviction, undoubtedly, 
 that he seemed to be making preparations for an indefi- 
 nite stay.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 255 
 
 He had succeeded in obtaining a portion of the con- 
 tents of his trunk ; and he manifested an almost child- 
 ish joy in once more entering into possession of his 
 property. 
 
 Thanks to the money which had been found upon 
 his person and deposited with the clerk, he was able to 
 procure many little luxuries, which are never denied 
 prisoners who have not yet been tried for whatever 
 may be the charges against them ; they have a right 
 to be considered innocent until the jury has decided to 
 the contrary. 
 
 To pass away the time, he had asked for a volume of 
 Beranger's poems ; and as his request had been grant- 
 ed, he spent most of the day in learning the songs by 
 heart, and in singing them, in a loud voice, and with 
 considerable taste. 
 
 He pretended that he was cultivating a talent which 
 would be useful to him when he was again at liberty. 
 
 For he had no doubt of his acquittal ; at least, so he 
 declared. 
 
 He was anxious about the date of his trial, but was 
 not in the least anxious about the result. 
 
 He appeared despondent only when he spoke of his 
 profession. He pined for the stage. He almost wept 
 when he thought of his fantastic, many-colored cos- 
 tumes, of his audience, and of his sallies of wit, accom- 
 panied by bursts of noisy music. 
 
 In his demeanor he had become more frank, more 
 communicative, more submissive ; in short, a better 
 fellow. 
 
 It was with marked empressement that he embraced 
 every opportunity to babble about his past. He liked 
 to recount his adventures during his roving life with 
 M. Simpson, the showman. He had, of course, trav-
 
 256 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 elled a great deal ; and he remembered all he had seen, 
 and possessed an inexhaustible fund of amusing 
 stories, with which he entertained his keepers. 
 
 And every word, and even his slightest action, was 
 characterized by such naturalness, that the employees 
 of the prison no longer doubted the truth of his asser 
 tions. 
 
 The head keeper was more difficult to convince. 
 
 He had declared that this pretended buffoon must 
 be a dangerous criminal who had escaped from the 
 galleys, and who was for this reason determined to con- 
 ceal his antecedents. Believing this, he had left no 
 means untried to prove it. 
 
 For more than a fortnight May was submitted to the 
 scrutiny of members of the police force and detectives, 
 public and private. 
 
 Not one of them recognized him. His photograph 
 had been sent to all the prisons and police head-quar- 
 ters throughout the empire ; but not one of the officials 
 remembered May's features. 
 
 Other circumstances occurred, each of which had 
 its influence, and they all spoke in favor of the pris- 
 oner. 
 
 The second bureau of the prefecture found positive 
 traces of the existence of a foreign artist, named Tring- 
 lot, who was probably the man referred to in May's 
 story. This Tringlot had been dead several years. 
 
 Moreover, inquiries which had been made in Ger- 
 many revealed the fact that a certain M. Simp- 
 son was very well known in that country, having 
 achieved great renown as a circus manager. 
 
 Before so many proofs, the head keeper was forced 
 to yield, and he openly confessed that he had been 
 mistaken.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 257 
 
 " The prisoner, May," he wrote to the judge, " is 
 really and truly what he pretends to be. There can be 
 no further doubt on the subject." 
 
 This was done at the suggestion of Gevrol. 
 
 So M. Segmuller and Lecoq remained alone in their 
 opinion. 
 
 It is true that their opinion was worthy, at least, of 
 consideration, since they alone knew all the details of 
 the investigation which had been conducted with strict 
 secrecy. 
 
 But that mattered little. To struggle on against 
 all the world is always unpleasant, and not a little dan- 
 gerous, even if one is a thousand times right. 
 
 The " May affair " had become notorious among the 
 members of the police force ; and Lecoq was assailed 
 by rough jokes whenever he appeared at the prefecture. 
 Nor did the judge escape entirely. 
 
 More than one colleague on meeting him in the cor- 
 ridor, inquired, with a smile, what he had done with 
 his Gaspard Hauser, with his man in the Iron Mask, 
 with his mysterious mountebank. 
 
 Both M. Segmuller and Lecoq were afflicted with 
 the angry impatience every man feels when he is ab- 
 solutely certain that he is right, but has no means of 
 proving it. 
 
 They both lost their appetites ; they grew thin and 
 haggard. 
 
 " Mon Dieu!" exclaimed the judge, sometimes, 
 " why did Escorval fall ? Had it not been for his ac- 
 cursed mishap, he would have been obliged to endure 
 these perplexities, and I I should be enjoying myself 
 like other people." 
 
 " And I thought myself so shrewd ! " murmured the 
 young detective.
 
 258 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 But the idea of yielding never once occurred to them 
 Although their temperaments were diametrically op- 
 posed to each other, both men had sworn to solve this 
 tantalizing enigma. 
 
 Lecoq, indeed, had resolved to renounce all othef 
 claims upon his time, and to devote himself entirely 
 to the study of this case. 
 
 " Henceforth," he said to M. Segmuller, " I also con- 
 stitute myself a prisoner ; and although he will not see 
 me, I shall not lose sight of him ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 Between the cell occupied by May and the roof of the 
 prison was a loft, the ceiling of which was so low, that 
 a man of average height could not stand upright in the 
 room. A few straggling rays of sunlight peering 
 through the interstices of the wall relieved the dense 
 gloom but slightly. 
 
 In this unattractive abode, Lecoq, one fine morning, 
 established himself. 
 
 It was at the hour when the prisoner was taking his 
 daily walk, under the surveillance of two keepers, and 
 the zealous detective could, without restraint, proceed 
 to his work of installation. 
 
 Armed with a pickaxe, he removed two or three 
 stones from the floor, making a small aperture, and 
 then set himself at work to make another opening 
 through the timbers below. 
 
 The hole which he made was in the form of a tun- 
 nel. Very large at the top, it had dwindled to an open- 
 ing not more than two-thirds of an inch in diameter 
 when it pierced the ceiling of the cell below.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 259 
 
 The place where this aperture was made had been 
 chosen so skilfully in advance that it was in the midst 
 of some stains and patches of mould ; hence, it was im- 
 possible for the prisoner to detect it from below. 
 
 While Lecoq was at work, the keeper of the prison 
 and Gevrol, who had insisted upon accompanying him, 
 appeared upon the threshold of the loft, laughing and 
 sneering. 
 
 " So this is to be your observatory, Monsieur Le- 
 coq ? " remarked Gevrol. 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur." 
 
 " You will not be very comfortable here." 
 
 " I shall be less uncomfortable than you suppose. I 
 have brought a large blanket, and I shall stretch my- 
 self out upon the floor and sleep here." 
 
 " So that, night and day, you will have your eye on 
 the prisoner? " 
 
 " Yes, night and day." 
 
 " Without giving yourself time to eat or drink ? " 
 inquired Gevrol. 
 
 " Pardon ! Father Absinthe will bring me my 
 meals, execute any commissions I may have, and take 
 my place on guard, if necessary." 
 
 The jealous general laughed loudly ; but the laugh 
 was a trifle constrained. 
 
 " Well, I pity you," he said. 
 
 " Very possibly." 
 
 " Do you know what you will look like with your 
 eye glued to that hole ? " 
 
 " Say it ! You need be under no constraint." 
 
 " Ah, well ! you will look like one of those silly nat- 
 uralists who put all sorts of little insects under a mag- 
 nifying glass, and spend their lives in watching them." 
 
 Lecoq had finished his work ; he rose from the floor.
 
 260 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " No comparison could be more just, General," he 
 replied. " You have guessed it. To these natural- 
 ists, of whom you speak so slightingly, I owe the idea 
 I am about putting into execution. By dint of study- 
 ing these little creatures as you say under a micro- 
 scope, these patient and gifted men are enabled to dis- 
 cover the habits and the instincts of the insect world. 
 Very well. What they can do with an insect, I will 
 do with a man ! " 
 
 " Oh ho ! " said the keeper, considerably astonished. 
 
 " Yes, that is my plan, Monsieur," continued Lecoq. 
 " I wish to learn this prisoner's secret ; I will have it. 
 I have sworn it, and I shall have it, because, however 
 strong his courage may be, he will have his moments 
 of weakness, and then I shall be there. I shall be 
 there ; if his will fails him, if believing himself alone he 
 lets his mask fall for a moment, if he forgets his part 
 for an instant, if some indiscreet word escapes him in 
 his slumber, if despair elicits a groan, a gesture, a look 
 I shall be there." 
 
 The implacable resolution that vibrated in the young 
 man's voice made a deep impression upon the keeper. 
 
 For an instant he was a believer in Lecoq's theory ; 
 and he was impressed by the strangeness of this con- 
 flict between a prisoner, determined to preserve the 
 secret of his personality, and the prosecution, equally 
 determined to wrest it from him. 
 
 " Upon my word ! my boy, you are not wanting in 
 courage and energy." 
 
 " Although it is misdirected," growled Gevrol. 
 
 He made this remark very slowly and deliberately; 
 but in his secret soul he was by no means convinced 
 of its truth. Faith is contagious, and he was troubled,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 261 
 
 in spite of himself, by Lecoq's imperturbable assur- 
 ance. 
 
 What if this debutant in his profession should be 
 right, and he, Gevrol, the oracle of the prefecture, 
 wrong! What shame and ridicule would be his por- 
 tion ! 
 
 But once again he inwardly swore that this inexperi- 
 enced man could be no match for an old veteran, and 
 he added : 
 
 " The chief of police must have more money than 
 he knows what to do with, to pay two men for such a 
 nonsensical job as this." 
 
 Lecoq did not reply to this slighting remark. For 
 more than a fortnight the general had improved every 
 opportunity of making himself disagreeable so well, 
 that the young man doubted his power to control his 
 temper if the discussion were continued. 
 
 It would be better to keep silence, and to work and 
 wait for success. To succeed ! that would be revenge 
 enough ! 
 
 Moreover, he was impatient to see these unwelcome 
 visitors depart. Perhaps he believed that Gevrol was 
 quite capable of attracting the prisoner's attention by 
 some unusual sound. 
 
 As soon as they went away, Lecoq hastily spread 
 his blanket, and stretched himself out upon it in such 
 a position that he could alternately apply his eye and 
 his ear to the aperture. 
 
 In this position he had an admirable view of the cell 
 below. He could see the door, the bed, the table, the 
 chair ; only the small space near the window and the 
 window itself were beyond his range of observation. 
 
 He had scarcely completed his survey, when he
 
 262 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 heard the bolts rattle ; the prisoner was returning from 
 his walk. 
 
 He seemed in excellent spirits, and was just com- 
 pleting what was, undoubtedly, a very interesting 
 story, since the keeper lingered for a moment to hear 
 the conclusion. Lecoq was delighted with the success 
 of his experiment. He could hear as easily as he could 
 see. Each sound reached his ear distinctly ; he had 
 not lost a single word of the recital, which was amus- 
 ing, but rather coarse. 
 
 The guard departed. May walked across his cell a 
 few times, then took up his volume of " Beranger," 
 and for an hour or more seemed completely engrossed 
 in its contents. Finally, he threw himself down upon 
 the bed. 
 
 He remained there until the hour of his evening re- 
 past, when he rose and ate with an excellent appetite. 
 Then he resumed the study of his book, and did not 
 go to bed until the lights were extinguished. 
 
 Lecoq knew that during the night his eyes would not 
 serve him, but, for all that, he hoped that some tell-tale 
 word would escape the prisoner. 
 
 In this expectation he was disappointed. May 
 tossed restlessly upon his pallet ; he sighed, and one 
 might have thought that he was sobbing, but not a syl- 
 lable escaped his lips. 
 
 He remained in bed until very late the next morn- 
 ing ; but on hearing the bell sound the hour of break- 
 fast, eleven o'clock, he sprang from his couch with a 
 bound, and after capering about his cell for a few mo- 
 ments, he began to sing, in a loud and cheerful voice, 
 the old ditty : 
 
 ' Diogene 
 Sous ton manteau 
 Libre et content, je ris, je bois, sans gene"
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 263 
 
 He did not cease his singing until the keeper entered 
 his cell to bring him his breakfast. 
 
 The day differed in no respect from the one that had 
 preceded it, nor did the night. The same might be 
 said of the next day and of the days which followed it. 
 
 To sing, to eat, to sleep, to care for his hands and his 
 nails such was the life of the so-called buffoon. His 
 manner, which never varied, was that of a naturally 
 cheerful man, terribly bored. 
 
 Such was the perfection of this enigmatical person's 
 acting, that Lecoq, after six days and nights of con- 
 stant surveillance, had detected nothing decisive, nor 
 even surprising. 
 
 Yet he did not despair. He had noticed that, every 
 morning, while the employees of the prison were busy 
 in distributing the food of the prisoners, this man re- 
 peated his song of Diogenes. 
 
 " Evidently this song is a signal," Lecoq said to 
 himself. " What is going on there by the window that 
 I cannot see ? I will know to-morrow." 
 
 The following morning he arranged that May 
 should be taken on his morning walk at half-past ten 
 o'clock, and he then insisted that the keeper should 
 accompany him to the prisoner's cell. 
 
 That worthy functionary was not very well pleased 
 with this change in the usual order of things. 
 
 " What do you wish to show me ? " he asked. 
 " What is it that is so very curious ? " 
 
 " Perhaps nothing," replied Lecoq ; " perhaps some- 
 thing of great importance." 
 
 Eleven o'clock sounding soon after, he began sing- 
 ing the prisoner's song : 
 
 " Diogene 
 Sous ton manteau ^
 
 264 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 He had scarcely finished the second line, when a bit 
 of bread, no larger than a bullet, adroitly thrown 
 through the window, dropped at his feet. 
 
 A thunder-bolt falling in May's cell would not have 
 terrified the superintendent as much as did this inof- 
 fensive projectile. 
 
 He stood in silent dismay, his mouth wide open, his 
 eyes starting from their sockets, as if he distrusted the 
 evidence of his own senses. 
 
 What a disgrace ! An instant before he would have 
 staked his life upon the inviolability of the secret cells. 
 He beheld his prison dishonored sneered at. 
 
 " A communication ! a communication ! " he repeat- 
 ed, with a horrified air. 
 
 Quick as lightning, Lecoq picked up the missile and 
 held it up in triumph. 
 
 " I said this man was in communication with his 
 friends," he murmured. 
 
 Lecoq's evident delight changed the superintend- 
 ent's stupor into fury. 
 
 " Ah ! my prisoners are writing ! " he exclaimed, 
 wild with passion. " My guards are acting as post- 
 men ! By my faith, this matter shall be looked into." 
 
 He rushed toward the door; Lecoq stopped him. 
 
 " What are you going to do, Monsieur? " he asked. 
 
 " I am going to call all the employees of this prison 
 together, and inform them that there is a traitor among 
 them, and that I must know who he is, as I wish to 
 make an example of him. And if, in twenty-four 
 hours from now, the culprit has not been discovered, 
 every man connected with this prison shall be re- 
 moved." 
 
 Again he started to leave the room, and Lecoq, this 
 time, had almost to use force to detain him.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 265 
 
 " Be calm, sir ; be calm," he entreated. 
 
 " I will punish " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I understand that, but wait until you have 
 regained your self-possession. It is possible that the 
 guilty party may be one of the prisoners who aid in the 
 distribution of food every morning." 
 
 " What does that matter ? " 
 
 " Pardon ! It matters a great deal. If yom noise 
 this discovery abroad, if you say a single word about 
 it, we shall never discover the truth. The traitor will 
 not be fool enough to confess his guilt. We must be 
 silent and wait. We will keep a close watch and de- 
 tect the culprit in the very act." 
 
 These objections were so sensible that the keeper 
 yielded. 
 
 " So be it," he sighed. " I will be patient. But 
 let us see the missive that was enclosed in this morsel 
 of bread." 
 
 Lecoq would not consent to this proposition. 
 
 " I warned Monsieur Segmuller that there would 
 probably be some new developments this morning; 
 and he must be waiting for me in his office. I must 
 reserve the pleasure of opening this envelope for him." 
 
 The superintendent's face clouded. He would have 
 given a great deal could he have kept this affair a se- 
 cret ; but that was entirely out of the question. 
 
 " Let us go and find the judge, then," said he, de- 
 spondently. 
 
 They started, and on their way Lecoq endeavored 
 to convince the worthy man that he was quite wrong 
 to deplore a circumstance which would be of incalcu- 
 lable benefit to the prosecution. Had he, until now, 
 supposed himself more cunning than his prisoners? 
 What an illusion ! Had not the ingenuity of the pris-
 
 a66 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 oner always defied, and will it not always defy, the 
 finesse of his guardians? 
 
 But they had reached the office, and at the sight of 
 them, M. Segmuller and his clerk both sprang from 
 their seats. They read startling news in the face of the 
 young detective. 
 
 " What is it ? " demanded the judge, eagerly. 
 
 Lecoq's sole response was to place the precious mor- 
 sel of bread upon the desk. The judge opened it. 
 
 It contained a tiny scrap of the thinnest tissue-paper. 
 
 M. Segmuller unfolded it, and smoothed it upon the 
 palm of his hand. As soon as he glanced at it, his 
 brow contracted. 
 
 " Ah ! this note is written in cipher," he exclaimed, 
 striking his clinched fist violently upon his desk. 
 
 " We must not lose patience," said Lecoq, tran- 
 quilly. 
 
 He took the slip of paper, and read aloud the num- 
 bers that were inscribed upon it. They were as fol- 
 lows, separated by commas : 
 
 235, !5> 3, 8, 25, 2, 1 6, 208, 5, 360, 4, 36, 19, 7, 14, 
 1 1 8, 84, 23, 9, 40, n, 99. 
 
 " And so we shall learn nothing from this note," 
 murmured the keeper. 
 
 " Why not ? " responded the smiling clerk. " There 
 is no system of cipher which cannot be read with a little 
 skill and patience. There are some people who make 
 it their business." 
 
 " You are right," approved Lecoq. " And I myself 
 once had a knack at it." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed the judge ; " do you hope to 
 find the key to this cipher ? " 
 
 " With time, yes/'
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 267 
 
 He was about placing the paper in his breast-pocket, 
 but the judge begged him to examine it further. 
 
 He did so ; and after a little, his face brightened, and, 
 striking his forehead with his open palm, he cried : 
 
 " I have found it ! " 
 
 An exclamation of surprise, and possibly of incre- ! 
 dulity, escaped the judge, the keeper, and the clerk. 
 
 " At least I think so," added Lecoq, more cautious- 
 ly. " The prisoner and his accomplice have, if I am 
 not mistaken, adopted the system called the double 
 book cipher. This system is very simple. 
 
 " The correspondents first agree upon some particu- 
 lar book, and both obtain a copy of the same edition. 
 
 " What if one desires to communicate with the 
 other ? 
 
 " He opens the book hap-hazard, and begins by writ- 
 ing the number of the page. 
 
 " Then he must seek, upon that page, the words 
 necessary to give expression to his thought. If the 
 first word which he desires to write is the twentieth 
 word printed on the page, he writes the number 20; 
 then he begins to count one, two, three, until he finds 
 the next word that he wishes to use. If this word hap- 
 pens to be the sixth, he writes the figure 6; and he 
 continues in this way until he has written all he wishes 
 to communicate. 
 
 " You see, now, how the correspondent who receives 
 this mission must begin. He finds the page indicated, 
 and each figure represents a word." 
 
 " Nothing could be more clear," said the judge, ap- 
 provingly. 
 
 " If this note that I hold here," pursued Lecoq, " had 
 been exchanged between two persons who were at lib- 
 erty, it would be folly to attempt its translation. This
 
 268 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 simple system is the only one which has completely 
 baffled the efforts of the curious, simply because there 
 is no way of ascertaining the book agreed upon. 
 
 " But such is not the case here ; May is a prisoner, 
 and he has but one book in his possession, ' The Songs 
 of Beranger.' Let this book be sent for " 
 
 The keeper was actually enthusiastic. 
 
 " I will run and fetch it myself," he interrupted. 
 
 But Lecoq, with a gesture, detained him. 
 
 " Above all, Monsieur, take care that May does not 
 discover his book has been tampered with. If he has 
 returned from his promenade, make some excuse to 
 have him sent out of his cell again ; and do not allow 
 him to return there while we are using his book." 
 
 " Oh, trust me ! " replied the superintendent. 
 
 He left the room, and so intense was his zeal, that 
 he was back again in less than a quarter of an hour, 
 bringing in triumph a little volume in 32mo. 
 
 With a trembling hand, Lecoq opened to page 235 
 and began to count. 
 
 The fifteenth word on the page was 7; the third after, 
 was the word have; the eighth following that, was told; 
 the twenty-fifth, her; the second, your; the sixteenth, 
 wishes. 
 
 Hence, the meaning of those six numbers was : 
 
 " I have told her your wishes." 
 
 The three persons who had witnessed this display 
 of shrewdness could not restrain their admiration. 
 
 " Bravo ! Lecoq," exclaimed the judge. 
 
 " I will no longer bet a hundred to one on May," 
 thought the clerk. 
 
 But Lecoq was still busily engaged in deciphering 
 the missive, and soon, in a voice trembling with grati-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 269 
 
 fied vanity, he read the entire note aloud. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 " I have told her your wishes ; she submits. Our 
 safety is assured ; we are waiting your orders to act. 
 Hope ! Courage ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXllI 
 
 What a disappointment, after the fever of anxiety 
 and expectation that had held the witnesses of this 
 scene motionless and breathless ! 
 
 This short and unintelligible epistle afforded no in- 
 formation whatever upon the subject in which all pres- 
 ent were so deeply interested. 
 
 The light of hope which had sparkled in M. Seg- 
 muller's eye a moment before, faded ; and Coquet re- 
 turned to his former opinion, that the prisoner had the 
 advantage over his accusers. 
 
 " How unfortunate," remarked the superintendent, 
 with a shade of sarcasm in his voice, " that so much 
 trouble and such marvellous penetration should be 
 wasted ! " 
 
 Lecoq, whose confidence seemed unalterable, re- 
 garding him with a bantering air, replied : 
 
 " So Monsieur thinks I have wasted my time ! Such 
 is not my opinion. This scrap of paper undeniably 
 proves that if any person has been mistaken in regard 
 to the identity of the prisoner, it certainly was not I." 
 
 " Very well. Monsieur Gevrol and I may have 
 been mistaken ; no one is infallible. But have you 
 learned anything more than you knew before ? Have 
 you made any progress ? " 
 
 " Why, yes, Monsieur. Now that people know the
 
 7o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 prisoner is not what he pretends to be, instead of an- 
 noying and hampering me, perhaps they will aid to 
 discover who he really is." 
 
 Lecoq's tone, and his allusion to the difficulties he 
 had encountered, wounded the keeper. But precisely 
 because he felt the blood mount to his forehead under 
 this just reproof, he resolved to cut short this discus- 
 sion with an inferior. 
 
 " You are right," said he, sarcastically. " This May 
 must be a very great and illustrious personage. Only, 
 my dear Monsieur Lecoq (for there is an only), do me 
 the favor to explain how such an important personage 
 could disappear and the police not be advised of it ? A 
 man of rank, such as you suppose this prisoner to be, 
 usually has a family, friends, relatives, proteges, and 
 extended connections ; and yet not a single person has 
 lifted his voice during the three weeks that this May 
 has been under my charge! Come, admit that you 
 have not thought of this." 
 
 The keeper had just advanced the only serious ob- 
 jection that could be found against the theory ad- 
 vanced by the prosecution. 
 
 But Lecoq had seen it before. It had not been once 
 out of his mind ; and he had racked his brain to find 
 some satisfactory explanation. 
 
 Undoubtedly he would have made some angry re- 
 tort, as people are wont to do when their antagonists 
 discover the weak spot in their armor, had not M. Seg- 
 muller interposed. 
 
 " All these recriminations do no good," he remarked, 
 calmly ; " we can make no progress while these con- 
 tinue. It would be much wiser to decide upon the 
 course to be pursued under the present circumstances."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ *7* 
 
 Thus reminded of the present situation of affairs, the 
 young man smiled ; all his rancor was forgotten. 
 
 " There is, I think, but one course to pursue," he 
 replied, modestly ; " and I believe it will be successful 
 by reason of its simplicity. We must substitute a 
 communication of our own composition for this one. 
 That will not be at all difficult, since I have the key to 
 the cipher. I shall only be obliged to purchase a sim- 
 ilar volume of Beranger's songs ; and May, believing 
 that he is addressing his accomplice, will respond in all 
 
 sincerity, and will reveal everything, perhaps " 
 
 " Pardon ! " interrupted the keeper, " how will you 
 obtain possession of his reply ? " 
 
 " Ah ! you ask me too much. I know the way 
 in which his letters have reached him. For the rest, 
 I will watch and find a way ; never fear ! " 
 
 Coquet could not conceal an approving grin. If he 
 had happened to have ten francs on hand, he would 
 have risked them all on Lecoq just then. 
 
 " First, I will replace this missive by one of my own 
 composition. To-morrow, at the breakfast hour, if 
 the prisoner gives the signal, Father Absinthe will 
 throw the morsel of bread enclosing the note through 
 the window, while I from my observatory watch the 
 effect." 
 
 He was so delighted with this plan that he at once 
 rang the bell, and when the messenger appeared, he 
 gave him a ten-sous piece and requested him to go at 
 once and purchase some of the thinnest tissue-paper. 
 
 When he was in possession of the paper, which was 
 apparently exactly like that upon which the note was 
 written, he seated himself at the clerk's desk, and, 
 armed with the volume of Beranger's poems, he began 
 the composition of his missive, copying as closely as
 
 272 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 possible the forms of the figures used by the unknown 
 correspondent. 
 
 This task did not occupy him more than ten minutes. 
 Fearing to commit some blunder, he reproduced the 
 words of the original letter, with but little change in 
 the words themselves, but with an entire change of 
 meaning. 
 
 His note read as follows : 
 
 " I have told her your wishes ; she does not submit. 
 Our safety is threatened. We are awaiting your 
 orders. I tremble." 
 
 When this was completed, he rolled up the paper, 
 and enclosing it in the fragment of bread, he said : 
 
 " To-morrow we shall learn something." 
 
 To-morrow ! The twenty-four hours that separated 
 the young man from the decisive moment seemed a 
 century. What expedients he resorted to, in order to 
 hasten the slow passage of time ! 
 
 He explained to Father Absinthe clearly and mi- 
 nutely what he would have to do, and, sure of being 
 understood, and certain that he would be obeyed, he 
 went back to his loft. 
 
 The evening seemed long, and the night intermina- 
 ble, for he found it impossible to close an eyelid. 
 
 He rose at daybreak and saw that his prisoner was 
 awake and was sitting on the foot of the bed. Soon he 
 sprang up and paced restlessly to and fro. He was 
 evidently in an unusually agitated frame of mind ; he 
 gesticulated wildly, and at intervals certain words al- 
 ways the same words escaped his lips. 
 
 " What misery ! My God ! what misery ! " he re- 
 peated again and again. 
 
 " Ah ! my boy," thought Lecoq, " you are anxious 
 about the daily letter which you failed to receive. Pa-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 273 
 
 tience, patience ! One of my writing will soon ar- 
 rive." 
 
 At last the young detective heard the stir that al- 
 ways preceded the distribution of food. People were 
 running to and fro, sabots clicked noisily in the corri- 
 dors, the guards were talking loudly. 
 
 Eleven o'clock was sounded by the old clock; the 
 prisoner began his song : 
 
 " Diogene 
 Sous ton manteau, 
 Libre et content " 
 
 He did not finish the third line; the slight sound 
 caused by the fragment of bread as it fell upon the 
 stone floor made him pause suddenly. 
 
 Lecoq, at the opening in the ceiling above, was 
 holding his breath, and watching with all his eyes. 
 
 He did not miss a single movement of the prisoner 
 not so much as the quiver of an eyelid. 
 
 May looked first at the window, then all about him, 
 as if it were impossible for him to explain the arrival 
 of this projectile. 
 
 It was not until some little time had elapsed that he 
 decided to pick it up. He held it in the hollow of his 
 hand, and examined it with apparent curiosity. His 
 features expressed the most profound surprise. One 
 would have sworn that he was innocent of all com- 
 plicity. 
 
 Soon a smile appeared upon his lips. With a slight 
 shrug of the shoulders, which might be interpreted : 
 " Am I a fool ? " and with a rapid movement, he broke 
 open the morsel of bread. The sight of the paper 
 which it contained seemed to amaze him. 
 
 " What does all this mean ? " wondered Lecoq.
 
 274 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The prisoner had opened the note, and was examin- 
 ing, with knitted brows, the figures which were appar- 
 ently destitute of all meaning to him. 
 
 Then suddenly he rushed to the door of his cell, and, 
 hammering upon it with his fists, he cried: 
 
 " Here ! guard ! here ! " 
 
 A keeper came running, in answer to the summons. 
 Lecoq heard his footsteps in the corridor. 
 
 " What do you want? " the man cried, through the 
 opening in the cell door. 
 
 " I wish to speak to the judge." 
 
 " Very well. He shall be informed." 
 
 " Immediately, if you please. I wish to make some 
 revelations." 
 
 " He shall be sent for immediately." 
 
 Lecoq waited to hear no more. 
 
 He tore down the narrow staircase leading from the 
 loft, and rushed to the Palais de Justice to tell M. Seg- 
 muller what had happened. 
 
 " What can this mean ? " he wondered, as he went. 
 " Are we indeed approaching a denouement ? This 
 much is certain, the prisoner was not deceived by my 
 note. He could decipher it only with the aid of his 
 volume of ' Beranger ; ' he has not touched the book, 
 therefore he has not read the note." 
 
 M. Segmuller was no less amazed than the young 
 detective. Together they hastened to the prison, fol- 
 lowed by the clerk, who was the judge's inevitable 
 shadow. 
 
 They had reached the end of the galerie d'instruc- 
 tion, when they encountered the keeper, who was com- 
 ing all in a flutter, greatly excited by that important 
 word, " revelation." 
 
 The worthy official undoubtedly wished to make
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 75 
 
 known his opinion ; but the judge checked him by say- 
 ing: 
 
 " I know all about it ; and I am coming." 
 
 When they had reached the narrow corridor leading 
 to the secret cells, Lecoq passed on in advance of the 
 rest of the party. 
 
 He said to himself that by stealing upon him una- 
 wares, he might possibly find the prisoner engaged in 
 surreptitiously reading the note ; and that, in any case, 
 he would have an opportunity to glance at the interior 
 of the cell. 
 
 May was seated by the table, his head resting upon 
 his hands. 
 
 At the grating of the bolt, drawn by the hand of the 
 head keeper himself, he rose, smoothed his hair, and 
 remained standing in a respectful attitude, apparently 
 waiting for the visitors to address him. 
 
 " Did you send for me ? " inquired the judge. 
 
 " Yes, Monsieur." 
 
 " You have, I understand, some revelation to make 
 to me." 
 
 " I have something of importance to tell you." 
 
 " Very well ! these gentlemen will retire." 
 
 M. Segmuller had already turned to Lecoq and the 
 keeper to request them to withdraw, when a move- 
 ment from the prisoner checked his words. 
 
 " It is not necessary," May remarked ; " I am, on the 
 contrary, very well pleased to speak before everybody." 
 
 " Speak, then." 
 
 May did not oblige him to repeat the order. He 
 assumed a three-quarters position, inflated his chest, 
 threw his head back, as he had done from the very be- 
 ginning of his examinations when he wished to make a 
 display of his eloquence.
 
 27 6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " It shall be for you to say, gentlemen, whether I 
 am or am not an honest man. The profession matters 
 little. One can, perhaps, be the clown of a travelling 
 show, and yet be an honest man a man of honor." 
 
 " Oh, spare us your reflections ! " 
 
 " Very well, Monsieur, that suits me exactly. To 
 be brief, then, here is a little paper which was thrown 
 into my cell a few moments ago. There are numbers 
 upon it which may mean something; but I have ex- 
 amined it, and it is all Greek to me." 
 
 He handed it to the judge, and added : 
 
 " It was rolled up in a bit of bread." 
 
 The violence of this unexpected blow struck his visi' 
 tors dumb ; but the prisoner, without seeming to notice 
 the effect he had produced, continued : 
 
 " I suppose that the person who threw it made a 
 mistake in the window. I know very well that it is a 
 mean piece of business to denounce a companion in 
 prison. It is cowardly; and one is very likely to get 
 himself into trouble ; but a man must be prudent, when 
 he is accused of being an assassin as I am, and when 
 he is threatened with a great unpleasantness." 
 
 A terribly significant gesture of severing the head 
 from the body left no doubt whatever of what he 
 meant by an unpleasantness. 
 
 " And yet I am innocent," he murmured. 
 
 The judge, by this time, had recovered the full pos- 
 session of his faculties. He concentrated in one 
 glance all the power of his will, and, looking intently 
 at the prisoner : 
 
 " You lie ! " he said, slowly ; " it was for you that this 
 note was intended." 
 
 " For me ! Then I must be the greatest of fools, or 
 why should I have called you to show it to you ? For
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 277 
 
 me ? In that case, why did I not keep it ? Who knew, 
 who could know that I had received it ? " 
 
 All this was said with such a marvellous semblance 
 of honesty, his gaze was so frank and open, his voice 
 rang so true, his reasoning was so specious, that the 
 keeper's doubts returned. 
 
 " And what if I could prove that you are uttering a 
 falsehood ? " insisted M. Segmuller. " What if I could 
 prove it, here and now ? " 
 
 " You would be the liar ! Oh ! Monsieur, pardon ! 
 Excuse me ; I mean " 
 
 But the judge was not in a frame of mind to stickle 
 for nicety of expression. 
 
 He motioned May to be silent ; and, turning to Le- 
 coq, he said : 
 
 " Show the prisoner that you have discovered the 
 key to his secret correspondence." 
 
 A sudden change passed over the features of the ac- 
 cused. 
 
 " Ah ! it is this agent of police who has found it," he 
 said, in an altered tone. " The same agent who as- 
 sures me that I am a grand seigneur." 
 
 He turned disdainfully to Lecoq, and added : 
 
 " Under these circumstances, there is no help for 
 me. When the police are absolutely determined that 
 a man shall be guilty, it will be proved that he is guilty ; 
 everybody knows that. And when a prisoner receives 
 no letters, an agent, who wishes such to be the case, 
 knows how to send them to him." 
 
 There was such an expression of contempt upon the 
 prisoner's face that Lecoq could scarcely refrain from 
 making an angry reply. 
 
 He restrained this desire, however, in obedience to 
 a warning gesture from the judge, and, taking from
 
 278 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 the table the volume of Beranger, he endeavored to 
 prove to the prisoner that each number in the note 
 corresponded to a word on the page indicated, and 
 that all these words formed an intelligible whole. 
 
 This overpowering evidence did not seem to trouble 
 May in the least. After expressing the same admira- 
 tion for this novel system of correspondence that a 
 child would show for a new toy, he declared his belief 
 that no one could equal the police in such machina- 
 tions. 
 
 What could one do in the face of such obstinacy? 
 
 M. Segmuller did not even attempt to argue the 
 point, and retired, followed by his companions. 
 
 Until they reached the superintendent's office, he did 
 not utter a word ; then he threw himself down into an 
 arm-chair, saying: 
 
 " We must confess ourselves beaten. This man will 
 always remain what he is now an enigma." 
 
 " But what is the meaning of the comedy he has just 
 played? I do not understand it," said the keeper. 
 
 " Why," responded Lecoq, " do you not see that he 
 hoped to persuade the judge that the first note had 
 been written by me, in order to convince him of the 
 truth of my theory ? It was a hazardous project ; but 
 the importance of the result to be gained must have 
 emboldened him to attempt it. Had he succeeded, I 
 should have been disgraced ; and he would have re- 
 mained May without further molestation, in the eyes 
 of the world. But how could he know that I had dis- 
 covered his correspondence, and that I was watching 
 him from the loft above? That is something which 
 will never be explained, probably." 
 
 The keeper and the detective exchanged glances of 
 mutual distrust.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 279 
 
 " Eh ! eh ! " thought the director, " why, indeed, 
 might not that note which fell at my feet the other day 
 have been the work of this crafty fellow? His Father 
 Absinthe might have served him in the first instance as 
 well as he did in the last." 
 
 " Who knows," Lecoq was saying to himself, " but 
 what this worthy keeper has confided everything to 
 Gevrol? If he has, my jealous general would not 
 scruple to play me such a trick as this." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Coquet, " it is really a pity that 
 such a well-mounted comedy did not succeed." 
 
 These words startled the judge from his revery. 
 
 " A shameful farce," he said, " and one that I would 
 never have authorized, had I not been blinded by a 
 mad longing to arrive at the truth. It brings the sa- 
 cred majesty of justice into contempt to make her the 
 accomplice of such base subterfuges ! " 
 
 Lecoq, on hearing these words, became white with 
 wrath, and a tear of rage glittered in his eye. 
 
 It was the second affront within an hour. Insulted, 
 first by the prisoner, afterward by the judge. 
 
 " I am defeated," thought he. " I must confess it. 
 It is Fate. Ah ! if I had but succeeded ! " 
 
 Disappointment alone had impelled M. Segmuller 
 to utter these harsh words ; they were harsh and un- 
 just ; he regretted them, and did all in his power to 
 make Lecoq forget them. 
 
 For they met every day after this unfortunate inci- 
 dent ; and every morning, when the young detective 
 came to give an account of his investigations, they had 
 a long conference. 
 
 For Lecoq still continued his efforts ; still labored 
 with an obstinacy intensified by constant sneers ; still 
 pursued his investigations with that cold and deter-
 
 2 8o MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 mined anger which keeps one's faculties on the alert 
 for years. 
 
 But the judge was utterly discouraged. 
 
 " We must abandon this attempt," said he. " All 
 the means of detection have been exhausted. I give 
 it up. The prisoner will go to the Court of Assizes, 
 and will be acquitted or condemned under the name 
 of May. I will trouble myself no more about the 
 affair." 
 
 He said this, but his anxiety, the disappointment 
 caused by his defeat, the sarcastic remarks of his ac- 
 quaintances, and his perplexity in regard to the course 
 he had best pursue, so affected his health that he be- 
 came really ill so ill that he was confined to his bed. 
 
 Eight days had elapsed since he had left his house, 
 when one morning Lecoq called to inquire for him. 
 
 " You see, my good fellow, that this mysterious mur- 
 derer is fatal to us judges. Ah ! he is too much for 
 us ; he will preserve his identity." 
 
 " Possibly," replied Lecoq. " There is but one way 
 left to gain his secret : we must allow him to escape, 
 and then track him to his lair." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 This last expedient, proposed by Lecoq, was not of 
 his own invention, and not by any means new. 
 
 In every age, the police force has, when it became 
 necessary to do so, closed its eyes and opened the 
 prison doors for the release of suspected parties. 
 
 And not a few, dazzled by liberty and ignorance of 
 any espionage, betray themselves. 
 
 All the prisoners are not, like Lavalette, protected
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 281 
 
 by royal connivance ; and we might enumerate many 
 individuals who, like the unfortunate Georges d'Etch- 
 erony, have been released, only to be rearrested, when 
 they have made a confession of guilt to those who had 
 wormed themselves into their confidence. 
 
 Poor D'Etcherony ! He supposed that he had elud- 
 ed the vigilance of his guardians. When he discov- 
 ered his error, and became aware of the mistake he had 
 made, he sent a bullet through his own heart. 
 
 Alas ! he survived this terrible wound long enough 
 to learn that one of his own familiar friends had be- 
 trayed him, and to cast in his teeth the insulting word 
 " traitor ! " 
 
 It is, however, very seldom, and only in special cases, 
 and as a last resort, that such a plan is adopted. 
 
 And the authorities consent to it only when they 
 hope to derive some important advantage, such as the 
 capture of a whole band of malefactors. 
 
 The police arrest, perhaps, one of the band. In 
 spite of his wickedness, a sense of honor makes him, 
 not unfrequently, refuse to name his accomplices. 
 What is to be done ? Is he alone to be tried and con- 
 demned? 
 
 No. He is set at liberty ; but like the falcon who 
 flies away with a thread attached to his foot, he drags 
 after him at the end of his chain a crowd of close ob- 
 servers. 
 
 And at the very moment when he is boasting of his 
 good luck and audacity to the comrades he has re- 
 joined, the whole company find themselves caught in 
 the snare. 
 
 M. Segmuller knew all this, and much more ; yet, on 
 hearing Lecoq's proposition, he turned to him angrily, 
 and exclaimed :
 
 a82 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Are you mad ? " 
 
 " I think not." 
 
 " A most foolish scheme ! " 
 
 " Why so, Monsieur ? After the assassination of 
 the husband and wife Chaboiseau, the police succeed- 
 ed in capturing the guilty parties, you must recollect. 
 But a robbery of one hundred and fifty thousand francs 
 in bank-notes and coin had also been committed. 
 This large sum of money could not be found ; and the 
 murderers obstinately refused to divulge where they 
 had concealed it. It would be a fortune for them, if 
 they escaped the gallows ; but, meanwhile, the children 
 of the victims were ruined. Monsieur Patrigent, the 
 judge of instruction, was the first I will not say to 
 counsel but to succeed in convincing the authorities 
 that it would be well to set one of these wretches at 
 liberty. They followed his advice ; and three days 
 later the culprit was surprised disinterring his booty 
 from a bed of mushrooms. I believe that our pris- 
 
 " Enough ! " interrupted M. Segmuller. " I wish 
 to hear no more about this affair. I have, it seems to 
 me, forbidden you to broach the subject." 
 
 The young detective hung his head with a hypocrit- 
 ical air of submission. 
 
 But he was all the while watching the judge out of 
 the corner of his eye and noting his agitation. 
 
 " I can afford to be silent," he thought ; " he will 
 return to the subject of his own accord." 
 
 He did, in fact, return to it only a moment afterward. 
 
 " Suppose this man was released from prison, what 
 would you do ? " 
 
 " What would I do, Monsieur ! I would follow him
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 283 
 
 like grim death; I would not let him go out of my 
 sight ; I would live in his shadow." 
 
 " And do you suppose that he would not discover 
 this surveillance ? " 
 
 " I should take my precautions." 
 
 " He would recognize you at a single glance." 
 
 " No, Monsieur, because I shall disguise myself. A 
 detective who is not capable of equalling the most skil- 
 ful actor in the matter of make-up is no better than an 
 ordinary policeman. I have practised only for a year 
 in making my face and my person whatever I wish 
 them to be, but I can, at will, be old or young, dark or 
 light, a man of the world, or the most frightful ruffian 
 of the barrieres." 
 
 " I was not aware that you possessed this talent, 
 Monsieur Lecoq." 
 
 " Oh ! I am very far from the perfection of which I 
 dream. I venture to engage, however, that before 
 three days have elapsed, I can appear before you and 
 converse with you for half an hour without being rec- 
 ognized." 
 
 M. Segmuller made no response; and it was evident 
 to Lecoq that the judge had offered these objections 
 in the hope of seeing them destroyed, rather than with 
 the wish to see them prevail. 
 
 " I think, my poor boy, that you are strangely de- 
 ceived. We have both been equally anxious to pene- 
 trate the mystery that shrouds this strange man. We 
 have both admired his wonderful acuteness for his 
 sagacity is wonderful ; so marvellous, indeed, that it 
 exceeds the limits of imagination. Do you believe 
 that a man of his penetration will betray himself like 
 an ordinary prisoner ? He will understand at once, if
 
 2 8 4 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 he is set at liberty, that this freedom is given him only 
 that we may use it against him." 
 
 " I do not deceive myself, sir. May will divine the 
 truth. I know that but too well." 
 
 " Very well ; then what will be the use of attempting 
 what you propose ? " 
 
 " I have reflected on the subject, and have come to 
 this conclusion : This man will find himself strangely 
 embarrassed, even when he is free. He will not have 
 a sou in his pocket ; he has no trade. What will he do 
 to make a living? But one must eat. He may strug- 
 gle along for a while, but he will not be willing to suf- 
 fer long. Days when he is without a shelter, and with- 
 out a morsel of bread, he will remember that he is rich. 
 Will he not seek to recover his property? Yes, cer- 
 tainly. He will try to obtain money ; he will endeavor 
 to communicate with his friends. I shall wait until 
 that day comes. Months will elapse, and, seeing no 
 sign of my surveillance, he will venture some decisive 
 step ; and I will step forward with a warrant for his ar- 
 rest in my hand." 
 
 " And what if he should leave Paris ? What if he 
 should flee to some foreign country ? " 
 
 " I will follow him. One of my aunts has left me a 
 small country property, that is worth about twelve 
 thousand francs. I will sell it, and I will spend the last 
 sou, if necessary, in pursuit of my revenge. This man 
 has outwitted me as if I were a child, and I will have 
 my turn." 
 
 " And what if he should slip through your fingers ? " 
 
 Lecoq laughed like a man who was sure of himself. 
 
 " Let him try," he exclaimed. " I will answer for 
 him with my life."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 285 
 
 Unfortunately, Lecoq's enthusiasm made the judge 
 all the colder. 
 
 " Your idea is a good one, sir," he responded. " But 
 you must understand that law and justice will take no 
 part in such intrigues. All I can promise you is my 
 tacit approval. Go, therefore, to the prefecture; see 
 your superiors " 
 
 With a really despairing gesture, the young man 
 interrupted M. Segmuller. 
 
 " What good would it do for me to make such a 
 proposition ? " he exclaimed. " They would not only 
 refuse my request, but they would give me my dismis- 
 sal, if my name is not already erased from the roll." 
 
 " You dismissed, your name erased after you have 
 conducted this case so well ? " 
 
 " Alas ! sir, everyone is not of that opinion. 
 Tongues have been wagging busily during the week 
 of your illness. My enemies have heard somehow of 
 the last scene we had with May. Ah, yes ! that man is 
 very clever. They all say now that it was /, who, with 
 a hope of advancement, imagined all the romantic de- 
 tails of this affair. They declare that there can be no 
 doubt of the prisoner's identity except those of my own 
 invention. To hear them talk at the depot one might 
 suppose that I invented the scene that took place in 
 the Widow Chupin's cabin ; imagined the accomplices ; 
 suborned the witnesses ; manufactured the articles 
 found in the dwelling; wrote that first note as well as 
 the second ; duped Father Absinthe, and mystified the 
 keeper." 
 
 "The devil!" exclaimed M. Segmuller; "in that 
 case what do they think of me? " 
 
 The wily detective's face assumed an expression of 
 intense embarrassment.
 
 *S6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Ah ! sir," he replied, with a great show of reluc- 
 tance, " they pretend that you have allowed yourself to 
 be deceived by me, that you have not properly weighed 
 the proofs which I have adduced." 
 
 A fleeting crimson tinged M. Segmuller's forehead. 
 
 " In a word," said he, " they think I am your dupe 
 and a fool." 
 
 The recollection of certain smiles that he had en- 
 countered in passing through the corridors, and of 
 divers allusions which had stung him to the quick, 
 decided him. 
 
 " Very well, I will aid you, Monsieur Lecoq," he ex- 
 claimed. " I would like you to triumph over your 
 enemies. I will get up at once and accompany you to 
 the palace. I will see the attorney-general myself; I 
 will speak to him ; I will plead your cause for you." 
 
 Lecoq's joy was intense. 
 
 Never, no, never, had he dared to obtain such aid. 
 
 Ah! after this, M. Segmuller might ask him to go 
 through fire for him if he chose, and he would be ready 
 to precipitate himself into the flames. 
 
 Still he was prudent enough, and he had sufficient 
 control over his feelings to preserve a sober face. This 
 was one of the victories that must be concealed, under 
 penalty of losing all the benefits to be derived from it. 
 
 Certainly the young detective had said nothing that 
 was untrue, but there are different ways of presenting 
 the truth, and he had, perhaps, exaggerated a trifle in 
 order to make the judge share his rancor, and make 
 him an earnest auxiliary. M. Segmuller, however, 
 after the exclamation wrested from him by his adroitly 
 wounded vanity after the first explosion of anger 
 regained his accustomed calmness. 
 
 " I suppose," he remarked to Lecoq, " that you have
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 287 
 
 decided what stratagem must be employed to lull the 
 prisoner's suspicions in case he is permitted to es- 
 cape." 
 
 " I have not once thought of that, 1 must confess. 
 Besides, what good would any such stratagem do? 
 That man knows too well that he is the object of sus- 
 picion and anxious surveillance not to hold himself on 
 the qui vive. But there is one precaution which I be- 
 lieve is absolutely necessary ; indispensable indeed. In 
 fact, it appears to me an essential condition of success." 
 
 Lecoq seemed to find so much difficulty in choosing 
 his words, that the judge felt it necessary to aid him. 
 
 " Let me hear this precaution," said he. 
 
 " It consists, sir, in giving an order to transfer May 
 to another prison. Oh, it matters not which one ; any 
 one you choose to select." 
 
 " Why, if you please ? " 
 
 " Because, during the few days that precede his re- 
 lease it is absolutely necessary that he should hold no 
 communication with his friends outside, and that he 
 should be unable to warn his accomplice." 
 
 This proposition seemed to amaze M. Segmuller ex- 
 ceedingly. 
 
 " Then you think that he is poorly guarded where 
 he is? " he inquired. 
 
 " No, Monsieur, I did not say that. I am persuaded 
 that since the affair of the note the keeper has re- 
 doubled his vigilance. But still, where he is now, this 
 mysterious murderer certainly receives news from out- 
 side; we have had material evidence unanswerable 
 proofs of that fact and besides " 
 
 He paused, evidently fearing to give expression to 
 his thought, like a person who feels that what he is 
 about to say will be regarded as an enormity.
 
 288 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " And besides? " insisted the judge. 
 
 " Ah, well, sir ! I will be perfectly frank with you. 
 I find that Gevrol enjoys too much liberty in the depot ; 
 he is perfectly at home there ; he comes and goes, and 
 no one ever thinks of asking what he is doing, where 
 he is going, or what he wishes there. No pass is nec- 
 essary for his admission, and he can make the head 
 keeper, who is a very honest man, see stars in the 
 heavens at midday if he chooses. And I distrust Gev- 
 rol." 
 
 " Oh ! Monsieur Lecoq ! " 
 
 " Yes, I know very well that it is a bold accusation, 
 but a man is not master of his presentiments, and I dis- 
 trust Gevrol. Did the prisoner know or did he not 
 know, that I was watching him from the loft, and that 
 I had discovered his secret correspondence ? Evident- 
 ly he did know this ; the last scene with him proves 
 it." 
 
 " Such is also my opinion." 
 
 " But how could he have known it ? He could not 
 have discovered it unaided. For eight days I endured 
 tortures to find the solution of this problem. All my 
 trouble was wasted. Gevrol's intervention would ex- 
 plain it all," 
 
 M. Segmuller, at the mere supposition, turned palo 
 with anger. 
 
 " Ah ! if I could really believe that ! " he exclaimed ; 
 " if I were sure of it ! Have you any proofs ? " 
 
 The young man shook his head. 
 
 " If I had my hands full of proofs I should know 
 enough not to open them. Would it not ruin my 
 whole future ? I must, if I succeed, expect many such 
 acts of treachery. There is hatred and rivalry in every 
 profession. And mark this, Monsieur I do not
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 289 
 
 doubt Gevrol's honesty. If a hundred thousand francs 
 were counted out upon the table and offered to him, he 
 would not release a prisoner. But he would rob jus- 
 tice of a dozen criminals in the mere hope of injuring 
 me, whom he thinks likely to overshadow him." 
 
 How many things these words explained ! To how 
 many unsolved enigmas did they give the key! But 
 the judge had not time to follow out this course of 
 thought. 
 
 " That will do," said he ; " go into the drawing-room 
 for a moment. I will dress and join you there. I will 
 send for a carriage ; I must make haste if I wish to see 
 the procureur-general to-day." 
 
 Usually very particular about the minutiae of his toi- 
 lette, this morning the judge was dressed and in the 
 drawing-room in less than a quarter of an hour. 
 
 As soon as he entered the apartment where Lecoq 
 was impatiently awaiting him, he said, briefly : 
 
 " Let us start." 
 
 They were just entering the carriage, when a man, 
 whose handsome livery proclaimed him a servitor in 
 an aristocratic household, hastily approached M. Seg- 
 muller. 
 
 " Ah ! Jean, is it you ? " said the judge. " How is 
 your master ? " 
 
 " Improving, Monsieur. He sent me to ask how 
 you were, and to inquire how that affair was progress- 
 ing." 
 
 " There has been no change in that since I wrote 
 him last. Give him my compliments, and tell him 
 that I am out again." 
 
 The servant bowed. Lecoq took a seat beside the 
 judge, and the fiacre started.
 
 290 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " That fellow is D'Escorval's valet de chambre," re- 
 marked M. Segmuller. 
 
 " The judge who " 
 
 " Precisely. He sent his man to me two or three 
 days ago, to ascertain what we were doing with our 
 mysterious May." 
 
 " Then Monsieur d'Escorval is interested in the 
 case ? " 
 
 " Prodigiously ! I conclude it is because he opened 
 the prosecution, and because the case rightfully be- 
 longs to him. Perhaps he regrets that it passed out of 
 his hands, and thinks that he could have managed the 
 instruction better himself. We would have done better 
 with it if we could. I would give a good deal to see 
 him in my place." 
 
 But this change would not have been at all to Le- 
 coq's taste. 
 
 " That stern and forbidding judge would never have 
 granted the concessions I have just obtained from M. 
 Segmuller," he thought. 
 
 He had, indeed, good reason to congratulate him- 
 self ; for M. Segmuller did not break his promise. He 
 was one of those men who, when they have once de- 
 cided upon a plan, never rest until it has been carried 
 into execution. 
 
 That very day he induced the authorities to adopt 
 Lecoq's suggestion ; and the details only remained to 
 be decided upon. 
 
 That same afternoon, the Widow Chupin received 
 her conditional release. 
 
 There was no difficulty in regard to Polyte. He, in 
 the meantime, had been brought before the court 
 under a charge of theft ; and, to his great astonishment,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 291 
 
 had heard himself condemned to thirteen months' im- 
 prisonment. 
 
 After this M. Segmuller had nothing to do but to 
 wait ; and this was much more easy to do, since the 
 coming of the Easter holidays gave him an opportu- 
 nity to seek a little rest and recreation in the provinces, 
 with his family. 
 
 He returned to Paris on the last day of the recess, 
 which chanced to fall on Sunday, and he was sitting 
 quietly in his own drawing-room, when a servant 
 who had been sent by the employment bureau to take 
 the place of one whom he had dismissed was an- 
 nounced. 
 
 The new-comer was a man apparently about forty 
 years of age, very red in the face, with thick hair and 
 heavy red whiskers strongly inclined to corpulence, 
 and clad in clumsy, ill-fitting garments. 
 
 In a very sedate manner, and with a strong Norman 
 accent, he informed the judge that during the past 
 twenty years he had been in the employ of literary 
 men a physician, and a notary ; that he was familiar 
 with the duties that would be required of him in the 
 Palais de Justice, and that he knew how to dust papers 
 without disarranging them. 
 
 In short, the man produced such a favorable impres- 
 sion, that although he reserved twenty-four hours in 
 which to make further inquiries, the judge drew from 
 his pocket a louis, and tendered it to him as the first 
 instalment of his wages. 
 
 But the man, with a sudden change of voice and at- 
 titude, burst into a hearty laugh, and said : 
 
 " Monsieur, do you think that May will recognize 
 nie?"
 
 292 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Monsieur Lecoq ! " exclaimed the astonished 
 judge. 
 
 " The same, sir ; and I have come to tell you that if 
 you are ready to release May, all my arrangements 
 have been completed." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 When a judge connected with the tribunal of the 
 Seine wishes to examine a person incarcerated in one 
 of the prisons, the following forms are observed : 
 
 He first sends his messenger with what is called an 
 order of extraction, an imperative and concise formula, 
 which we quote, in order to give some idea of the un- 
 limited power vested in the magistrates who are in- 
 trusted with the preparation of cases for the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 It reads thus : 
 
 " The keeper of the prison will give into the 
 
 custody of the bearer of this order, the prisoner known 
 
 as , in order that he may be brought before us 
 
 in our cabinet in the Palais de Justice." 
 
 No more, no less, a signature, a seal, and everybody 
 hastens to obey. 
 
 But from the moment of receiving this order to the 
 time that the prisoner is again consigned to the keep- 
 ing of the jailer, the superintendent of the prison is re- 
 lieved of all responsibility. Whatever may happen, 
 his hands are clean. 
 
 So the journey of the prisoner from the prison to the 
 palace is usually attended with an infinite number of 
 precautions. 
 
 They place the prisoner in one of the lugubrious
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 293 
 
 vehicles that one sees stationed every day on the Quai 
 de 1'Horloge, or the court of the Sainte-Chapelle, lock- 
 ing- him up carefully in one of the compartments. 
 
 This vehicle conveys him to the palace, and while he 
 is awaiting his examination, he is immured in one of 
 the cells of that gloomy prison, familiarly known as 
 " la Souriciere " the mouse-trap. 
 
 On entering and leaving the carriage the prisoner 
 is surrounded by guards. 
 
 En route he is also under the watchful eye of several 
 guards, some of them stationed in the passage-way 
 that divides the compartments, others on the seat with 
 the driver. 
 
 Mounted guards always accompany the vehicle. 
 
 So the boldest malefactors realize the impossibility 
 of escape from this moving prison-house. 
 
 The statistics show only thirty attempts at escape in 
 a period of ten years. 
 
 Of these thirty attempts, twenty-five were ridiculous 
 failures. Four were discovered before their authors 
 had conceived any serious hope of success. One man 
 alone succeeded in making his escape from the vehicle, 
 and he had not gone fifty steps before he was captured. 
 
 He accepted, boldly, perhaps, but not blindly, the 
 struggle that must ensue. 
 
 " But," thought Lecoq, " if he decides to incur these 
 risks he must be reasonably sure that he will succeed 
 in overcoming them." 
 
 Such a belief on the part of May was a grave subject 
 of fear for the young detective ; but it also gave rise to 
 a delightful emotion, He had an ambition beyond his 
 station ; and every ambitious man is by nature a gam- 
 bler.
 
 294 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 He felt that his foeman was worthy of his steel ; that 
 they had equal chances for success. 
 
 Lecoq's plan for allowing May to escape was child- 
 ish in its simplicity, as he himself confessed. It con- 
 sisted in fastening the compartment in which May was 
 placed very insecurely, on the departure of the carriage 
 from the depot, and in forgetting him entirely when 
 the wagon, after depositing its load of criminals at the 
 " mouse-trap," went, as usual, to await upon the quay 
 the hour for returning them to the prisoi). 
 
 It was scarcely possible that the prisoner would fail 
 to embrace this opportunity to make his escape. 
 
 All was, therefore, prepared and arranged, in con- 
 formance with Lecoq's directions, on the day indicated 
 the Monday following the close of the Easter holi- 
 days. 
 
 The order of " extraction " was intrusted to an intel- 
 ligent man, with the most minute instructions. 
 
 The prison-van containing the prisoner May would 
 not arrive at the palace until noon. 
 
 And yet at nine o'clock there might have been seen 
 hanging about the prefecture one of those old gamins, 
 who make one almost believe in the fable of Venus 
 rising from the waves, so truly do they seem born of 
 the foam and scum of the city. 
 
 He was clad in a tattered black woollen blouse, and 
 in large, ill-fitting trousers, fastened about his waist by 
 a leather band. His boots betrayed a familiar ac- 
 quaintance with the mud-puddles of the suburbs, his 
 cap was shabby and dirty; but his pretentiously tied 
 red-silk cravat must have been a gift from Tiis sweet- 
 heart. 
 
 He had the unhealthy complexion, the hollow eyes,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 295 
 
 the slouching mien, the straggling beard common to 
 his tribe. 
 
 His yellow hair was plastered down upon his tem- 
 ples, but cut closely at the back of the head, as if to save 
 the trouble of brushing it. 
 
 On seeing his attire, the way in which he balanced 
 himself upon his haunches, the movement of his shoul- 
 ders, his way of holding his cigarette and of ejecting a 
 stream of saliva from between his teeth, Polyte Chupin 
 would have extended his hand as to a friend, and greet- 
 ed him as " comrade " and " pal." 
 
 Il was the I4th of April ; the day was lovely, the air 
 balmy, the tops of the chestnut-trees in the garden of 
 the Tuileries looked green against the horizon, and 
 this man seemed well content to be alive, and happy it 
 doing nothing. 
 
 He walked lazily to and fro on the quay, dividing hi$ 
 attention between the passers-by and the men who 
 were hauling sand from the banks of the Seine. 
 
 Occasionally he crossed the street and exchanged a 
 few words with a respectable elderly gentleman, very 
 neatly dressed, and wearing spectacles and a very long 
 beard, his hands encased in silk gloves. This person 
 exhibited all the characteristics of a respectable, well- 
 to-do gentleman, and seemed to feel a remarkable curi- 
 osity in regard to the contents of an optician's window. 
 
 From time to time a policeman or one of the detec- 
 tive corps passed them on his way to make his report ; 
 and the elderly gentleman or the gamin often ran after 
 him to ask some information. 
 
 The person addressed replied and passed on ; and 
 then the two confreres joined each other to laugh and 
 say:
 
 * 9 6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Good ! there is another who does not recognize 
 us." 
 
 And they had just cause for exultation, and good 
 reason to be proud. 
 
 Of the twelve or fifteen comrades whom they had 
 accosted, not one had recognized their colleagues, Le- 
 coq and Father Absinthe. 
 
 For it was indeed they, armed and equipped for the 
 chase, for the pursuit whose chances and result it was 
 impossible to foresee. 
 
 " Ah ! I am not surprised that they do not recognize 
 me," said Father Absinthe, " since I cannot recognize 
 myself. No one but you, Monsieur Lecoq, could have 
 so transformed me." 
 
 But the time for reflection was past ; the time for ac- 
 tion had come. 
 
 The young detective saw the prison-van crossing the 
 bridge at a brisk trot. 
 
 " Attention ! " he said to his companion ; " there 
 comes our friend! Quick! to your post; remember 
 my directions, and keep your eyes open ! " 
 
 Near them, on the quay, was a huge pile of timber. 
 Father Absinthe went and hid himself behind it ; and 
 Lecoq, seizing a spade that was lying idle, hurried to 
 a little distance and began digging in the sand. 
 
 They did well to make haste. The van came onward 
 and turned the corner. 
 
 It passed the two men, and with a noisy clang rolled 
 under the heavy arch that led to " la Souriciere." 
 
 May was inside. 
 
 Lecoq was sure of this when he saw the keeper, who 
 was seated in the vehicle. 
 
 The carriage remained in the court-yard for more 
 than a quarter of an hour.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 297 
 
 When it reappeared in the street, the driver had de- 
 scended from his seat and was leading the horses by the 
 bridle. He stationed the carriage opposite the Palais 
 de Justice, threw a covering over his horses, lighted his 
 pipe, and walked away. 
 
 For a moment the anxiety of the two watchers 
 amounted to actual agony ; nothing stirred ; nothing 
 moved. 
 
 But at last the door of the carriage was opened with 
 infinite caution, and a pale, frightened face became vis- 
 ible. It was the face of May. 
 
 The prisoner cast a rapid glance around ; no one was 
 in sight. 
 
 With the quickness of a cat, he sprang to the ground, 
 noiselessly closed the door of the vehicle, and walked 
 quietly in the direction of the bridge. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 Lecoq breathed again. 
 
 He had been asking himself if some trifling circum- 
 stance could have been forgotten or neglected, and 
 thus disarranged all his plans. 
 
 He had been wondering if this strange man would 
 refuse the dangerous liberty which had been offered 
 him. 
 
 Foolish disquietude ! May had fled ; not thought- 
 lessly, but premeditatedly. 
 
 From the moment when he was left alone and ap- 
 parently forgotten in the insecurely locked compart- 
 ment, to the instant when he opened the door, suffi- 
 cient time had elapsed to give a man of his intellect 
 and clearness of discernment ample opportunity to
 
 298 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 analyze and calculate all the chances of so grave a 
 step. 
 
 Hence, if he stepped into the snare that had been laid 
 for him, it would be with a full knowledge of the risks 
 he must be prepared to run. 
 
 They were alone together, free in the streets of Paris, 
 armed with mutual distrust, obliged alike to resort to 
 strategy, forced to hide from each other. 
 
 Lecoq, it is true, had an auxiliary Father Absinthe. 
 But who could say that May would not be aided by his 
 redoubtable accomplice ? 
 
 It was then a veritable duel, whose result depended 
 entirely upon the courage, skill, and coolness of the 
 antagonists. 
 
 All these thoughts flashed through the young man's 
 brain with the quickness of lightning. 
 
 He threw down his spade, and, running to a police- 
 man, who was just coming out of the palace, he gave 
 him a letter which he held ready in his pocket. 
 
 " Take this to Monsieur Segmuller, at once ; it is a 
 matter of importance," said he. 
 
 The officer attempted to question this gamin who 
 was in correspondence with the magistrates ; but Lecoq 
 had already darted off in the footsteps of the prisoner. 
 
 May had gone only a little distance. He was saun- 
 tering along, with his hands in his pockets, his head 
 high in the air, his manner composed and full of assur- 
 ance. 
 
 Had he reflected that it would be dangerous to run 
 while near the prison from which he had just made his 
 escape? Or had he decided that, since they had given 
 him this opportunity to escape, there was no danger 
 that they would arrest him immediately ? 
 
 Nor did he quicken his pace when he had crossed the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 299 
 
 bridge ; and it was with the same tranquil manner that 
 he had crossed the Quai aux Fleurs and turned into 
 the Rue de la Cite. 
 
 Nothing in his bearing or appearance proclaimed 
 him an escaped prisoner. Since his trunk that fa- 
 mous trunk which he pretended to have left at the 
 Hotel de Mariembourg had been returned to him, he 
 had been well supplied with clothing; and he never 
 failed, when summoned before the judge, to array him- 
 self in his best apparel. 
 
 He wore that day, a coat, vest, and pantaloons of 
 black cloth. One, to see him, would have supposed 
 him a working man of the better class, off on a holiday 
 excursion. 
 
 But when, after crossing the Seine, he reached the 
 Rue Sainte-Jacques, his manner changed. His tread, 
 perfectly assured until then, became uncertain. He 
 walked slowly, looking to the right and to the left, 
 studying the signs. 
 
 " Evidently he is seeking something," thought Le- 
 coq; "but what?" 
 
 It was not long before he discovered. 
 
 Seeing a shop where second-hand clothing was sold, 
 May entered in evident haste. 
 
 Lecoq stationed himself in a porte-cochere on the op- 
 posite side of the street, and pretended to be busily 
 engaged lighting a cigarette. Father Absinthe thought 
 he could approach without danger. 
 
 " Ah, well, Monsieur ; here is our man changing his 
 fine clothing for coarser garments. He will demand 
 money in return ; and they will give it to him. You 
 told me this morning : ' May without a sou that is 
 the trump card in our game ! ' ' 
 
 " Nonsense ! Before we begin to lament, let us wait
 
 300 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 and see what will happen. It is not likely that the 
 shopkeeper will give him the money. He will not buy 
 clothing of every passer-by." 
 
 Father Absinthe withdrew to a little distance. He 
 distrusted these reasons, but not Lecoq who gave them 
 to him. In his secret soul Lecoq was cursing him- 
 self. 
 
 Another blunder; another weapon left in the hands 
 of the enemy. How was it that he, who thought him- 
 self so shrewd, had not foreseen this ? 
 
 His remorse was less poignant when he saw May 
 emerge from the store as he had entered it. 
 
 Luck, of which he had spoken to Father Absinthe, 
 without believing in it, had for once been in his favor. 
 
 The prisoner actually staggered when he stepped out 
 upon the pavement. His countenance betrayed the 
 terrible anguish of a drowning man when he sees the 
 frail plank which was his only hope of salvation torn 
 from his grasp. 
 
 He gave a peculiar whistle, which was the signal 
 agreed upon to warn his companion that he abandoned 
 the pursuit to him ; and having received a similar signal 
 in response, he entered the shop. 
 
 But what had taken place ? Lecoq wished to know. 
 
 The merchant was still standing at his counter. 
 Lecoq wasted no time in parleying. He merely showed 
 his card to acquaint the man with his profession, and 
 curtly demanded the desired information. 
 
 " What did the man want who just left here? " 
 
 The merchant seemed troubled. 
 
 " It is a long story," he stammered. 
 
 " Tell it ! " ordered Lecoq, surprised at the man's em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 " Oh, it is very simple. About twelve years ago, a
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 301 
 
 m^n entered my store with a bundle under his arm. 
 He claimed that he was a countryman of mine." 
 
 " Are you an Alsatian ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. Well, I went with this man to the wine- 
 shop on the corner, where he ordered a bottle of the 
 best wine ; and when we had drank together, he asked 
 me if I would consent to keep the package he had with 
 him until one of his cousins came to claim it. To pre- 
 vent any mistake, this cousin was to utter certain words 
 a countersign, as it were. I refused, shortly and de- 
 cidedly, for the very month before I had gotten into 
 trouble, and had been accused of receiving stolen goods, 
 by obliging a person in this same way. Well, you never 
 saw a man so vexed and so surprised. What made me 
 all the more determined in my refusal was that he offered 
 me a good round sum in payment for my trouble. This 
 only increased my suspicions, and I persisted in my re- 
 fusal." 
 
 He paused to take breath ; but Lecoq was on fire with 
 impatience. 
 
 " And what then ? " he insisted. 
 
 " Afterward the man paid for the wine, and went 
 away. I had forgotten all about the occurrence, until 
 this man came in just now, and asked me if I had not a 
 package for him, which had been left here by one of his 
 cousins, whereupon he uttered some peculiar words 
 the countersign, doubtless. When I replied that I had 
 nothing, he turned as white as his shirt ; and I thought 
 that he was going to faint. All my suspicions returned. 
 So when he proposed that I should buy his clothing 
 no ; I thank you." 
 
 All this was very plain. 
 
 " And how did this cousin look who was here a fort- 
 night ago ? " inquired the detective.
 
 302 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " He was a large, and rather corpulent man, with a 
 ruddy complexion, and white whiskers. Ah ! I should 
 recognize him in an instant ! " 
 
 " The accomplice ! " exclaimed Lecoq. 
 
 " What did you say ? " 
 
 " Nothing that would interest you. Thank you. I am 
 in a hurry. You will see me again ; good-morning." 
 
 Lecoq had not remained in the store five minutes ; yet, 
 when he emerged, May and Father Absinthe were no- 
 where to be seen. 
 
 But this did not occasion any uneasiness in Lecoq's 
 mind. 
 
 When making arrangements with his old colleague 
 for this pursuit the detective had endeavored to imagine 
 all possible difficulties in order to solve them in ad- 
 vance. 
 
 The present situation had been foreseen. And it had 
 been agreed that if one of the observers was obliged to 
 remain behind, the other, who was closely following 
 May, should make chalk-marks from time to time upon 
 the walls, and upon the shutters of the shops, whicn 
 would indicate the route to be followed, and enable his 
 companion to rejoin him. 
 
 So, in order to know which way to go, Lecoq had only 
 to examine the fronts of the buildings around him. 
 
 This task was neither long nor difficult. 
 
 Upon the shutters of the third shop above that of the 
 second-hand clothes-dealer, a superb dash of the 
 crayon told Lecoq to turn into the Rue Sainte-Jacques. 
 
 The detective rushed on in that direction, greatly dis- 
 quieted. 
 
 His assurance of the morning had received a rude 
 shock !
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 33 
 
 What a terrible warning that old clothes-dealer's 
 declaration had been ! 
 
 And so it was an established fact that the mysterious 
 and redoubtable accomplice had proved his marvellous 
 foresight by making every possible arrangement to en- 
 sure his companion's salvation, in case he was allowed 
 to escape. 
 
 The subtle penetration of this man surpassed the pre- 
 tended miracles of clairvoyants. 
 
 "What did this package contain?" thought Lecoq. 
 " Clothing, undoubtedly ; all the equipments of a com- 
 plete disguise, money, clothing, papers, a forged pass- 
 port." 
 
 He had reached the Rue Soufflot, and paused for an 
 instant to ask his way from the walls. 
 
 It was the work of a second. A long chalk-mark on 
 the shop of a watchmaker pointed to the Boulevard 
 Saint-Michel. 
 
 The young man hastened in that direction. 
 
 " The accomplice," he continued, " did not succeed 
 in his attempt in the case of the old clothes-dealer ; but 
 he is not the man to be disheartened by one rebuff. He 
 has certainly taken other measures. How shall I divine 
 them, in order to circumvent them ? " 
 
 The prisoner had crossed the Boulevard Saint-Michel, 
 and had then taken the Rue Monsieur-le-Prince. Father 
 Absinthe's dashes of the crayon declared this fact with 
 many eloquent flourishes. 
 
 " One circumstance reassures me," the detective mur- 
 mured ; " May's going to this shop, and his consterna- 
 tion on finding that there was nothing for him there. 
 The accomplice had informed him of his plans, but had 
 not been able to inform him of the failure. Hence, from 
 this hour, the prisoner is left upon his own resources.
 
 304 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 The chain that bound him to his accomplice is broken ; 
 there is no longer an understanding between them. 
 Everything depends now upon keeping them apart. 
 That is everything ! " 
 
 How much he rejoiced that he had succeeded in hav- 
 ing May removed to another prison. His triumph, in 
 case he did succeed, would be the result of this act of dis- 
 trust. He was convinced that this attempt, on the part 
 of the accomplice, had taken place the very evening be- 
 fore May was removed to another prison ; and this ex- 
 plained why it had been impossible to warn him of the 
 failure of one plan and to substitute another. 
 
 Still following the chalk-marks, Lecoq had reached 
 the Odeon. Here more signs ; but he perceived Father 
 Absinthe under the gallery. The old man was standing 
 before the window of a book-store, apparently en- 
 grossed in the examination of the pictures in an illus- 
 trated journal. 
 
 Lecoq, assuming the nonchalant manner of the loafer 
 whose garb he wore, took a place beside his colleague. 
 
 " Where is he ? " the young man asked. 
 
 " There," replied his companion, with a slight move- 
 ment of his head toward the staircase. 
 
 The fugitive was, indeed, seated upon one of the 
 steps of the stone stairs, his elbows resting upon his 
 knees, his face hidden in his hands, as if he felt the ne- 
 cessity of concealing the expression of his face from the 
 passers-by. 
 
 Undoubtedly, at that moment, he gave himself up 
 for lost. Alone, in the midst of Paris, without a penny, 
 what was to become of him ? 
 
 He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he was 
 watched ; that his every step was followed ; and he knew 
 only too well that the first attempt he made to inform his
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 305 
 
 accomplice of his whereabouts would cost him his 
 secret the secret which he held as more precious than 
 life itself, and which, by immense sacrifices, he had 
 thus far been able to preserve. 
 
 After contemplating in silence for some time this un- 
 fortunate man whom he could but esteem and admire, 
 after all, Lecoq turned to his old companion. 
 
 " What did he do on the way ? " he inquired. 
 
 " He went into the shops of five dealers in second- 
 hand clothing without success. Then he addressed a 
 man who was passing with a lot of old rubbish on his 
 shoulder ; but the man would not even answer him." 
 
 Lecoq nodded his head thoughtfully. 
 
 " The moral of this is, that there is a vast difference 
 between theory and practice," he remarked. " Here is a 
 man who has made the most discerning believe that he is 
 a poor devil, a low buffoon ; so much as he prated of the 
 misfortunes and the hazards of his existence He is 
 free; and this so-called Bohemian does not know how 
 to go to work to sell the clothing that he wears upon his 
 back. The comedian who could play his part so well 
 upon the stage, disappears ; the man remains the man 
 who has always been rich, and who knows nothing of the 
 vicissitudes of life." 
 
 He ceased his moralizing, for May had risen from 
 his seat. 
 
 Lecoq was only ten paces from him, and could see him 
 very plainly. 
 
 The wretched man's face was livid ; his attitude ex- 
 pressed the most profound dejection ; one could read his 
 indecision in his eyes. 
 
 Perhaps he was wondering if it would not be best 
 for him to go and place himself again in the hands of his
 
 3o6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 jailers, since the resources upon which he had depended 
 had failed him. 
 
 But, after a little, he shook off the torpor that had 
 overpowered him ; his eye brightened, and, with a gest- 
 ure of defiance, he descended the staircase, crossed the 
 open square and entered the Rue de 1'Ancienne-Com- 
 edie. 
 
 He walked on now with a brisk, determined step, like 
 a man who has an aim in view. 
 
 " Who knows where he is going now ? " murmured 
 Father Absinthe, as he trotted along by Lecoq's side. 
 
 " I know," replied the detective. " And the proof is, 
 that I am going to leave you, and run on in advance, to 
 prepare for his reception. I may be mistaken, however, 
 and as it is necessary to be prepared for any emergency, 
 leave me the chalk-marks as you go along. If our man 
 does not come to the Hotel de Mariembourg, as I think 
 he will, I shall come back here to start in pursuit of you 
 again." 
 
 An empty fiacre chanced to be passing; Lecoq en- 
 tered it and told the coachman to drive to the Northern 
 Railway depot by the shortest route, and as quickly as 
 possible. 
 
 He had little time to spare, so while he was on the 
 way he profited by the opportunity to pay the driver and 
 to search in his note-book, among the documents con- 
 fided to him by M. Segmuller, for the particular paper 
 that he wanted. 
 
 The carriage had scarcely stopped before Lecoq was 
 on the ground and running toward the hotel. 
 
 As on the occasion of his first visit, he found Mme. 
 Milner standing upon a chair before the cage of her 
 starling, obstinately repeating her German phrase, to
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 37 
 
 which the bird with equal obstinacy responded : " Ca- 
 milie ! where is Camille ? " 
 
 In seeing the rather questionable-looking individual 
 who invaded her hotel, the pretty widow did not deign 
 to change her position. 
 
 " What do you want ? " she demanded, in a rather 
 discouraging tone. 
 
 " I am the nephew of a messenger in the Palais de 
 Justice," Lecoq responded, with an awkward bow, en- 
 tirely in keeping with his attire. " On going to see my 
 uncle this morning, I found him laid up with the rheu- 
 matism ; and he asked me to bring you this paper in his 
 stead. It is a citation for you to appear at once before 
 the judge of instruction." 
 
 This reply induced Mme. Milner to abandon her 
 perch. She took the paper and read it. It was, in- 
 deed, as this singular messenger had said. 
 
 " Very well," she responded ; " give me time to throw 
 a shawl over my shoulder and I will obey." 
 
 Lecoq withdrew with another awkward bow ; but he 
 had not crossed the threshold before a significant 
 grimace betrayed his inward satisfaction. 
 
 She had duped him once, now he had repaid her. 
 
 He crossed the street, and seeing on the corner of the 
 Rue Saint-Quentin a house in process of construction, 
 he concealed himself there, waiting. 
 
 " Time to slip on my bonnet and shawl, and I will 
 start ! " 
 
 Mme. Milner had replied thus. But she was forty 
 years of age, a widow, a blonde, very pretty, and very 
 agreeable still, at least in the opinion of the commis- 
 sioner of police in that quarter, so she required more 
 than ten minutes to tie the strings of her blue velvet 
 bonnet.
 
 3o8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 At the thought that May might arrive at any moment, 
 Lecoq felt a cold perspiration issue from the pores of his 
 entire body. 
 
 How much was he in advance of the fugitive ? A half 
 hour, perhaps ! And he had accomplished only half of 
 his task. 
 
 The shadow of each passer-by made him shudder. 
 
 At last the coquettish mistress of the hotel made her 
 appearance as radiant as a spring morning. 
 
 She probably wished to make up for the time spent in 
 making her toilet, for as she turned the corner she began 
 to run. 
 
 As soon as she was out of sight, the young detective 
 bounded from his place of concealment, and burst into 
 the Hotel de Mariembourg like a bomb-shell. 
 
 Fritz, the Bavarian lad, must have been warned that 
 the house was to be left in his sole charge for some 
 hours, and he was guarding it. 
 
 He was comfortably established in his mistress's own 
 particular arm-chair, his legs resting upon another 
 chair, and he was already sound asleep. 
 
 " Wake up ! " shouted Lecoq ; " wake up ! " 
 
 At the sound of this voice, which rang like a trum- 
 pet-blast, Fritz sprang to his feet frightened half out of 
 his wits. 
 
 " You see that I am an agent of the prefecture of 
 police," said the visitor, showing his badge, " and if you 
 wish to avoid all sorts of disagreeable things, the least 
 of which will be a sojourn in prison, you must obey me." 
 
 The boy trembled in every limb. 
 
 " I will obey," he stammered. " But what am I to 
 do?" 
 
 " A very little thing. A man is coming here in a 
 moment ; you will know him by his black clothes, and
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 309 
 
 by his long beard. You must reply to him word for 
 word, as I tell you. And remember, if you make any 
 mistake, even an involuntary one, you will suffer for 
 it." 
 
 " You may rely upon me, sir," replied Fritz. " I 
 have an excellent memory." 
 
 The prospect of a prison had terrified him into abject 
 submission. He spoke the truth ; one might have asked 
 anything of him. 
 
 Lecoq profited by this disposition ; and with clearness 
 and conciseness he told the lad what he was to do. 
 
 When he had finished his explanation, he added : 
 
 " Now, I wish to see and hear. Where can I hide 
 myself? " 
 
 Fritz pointed to a glass door. 
 
 " In the dark room there, sir. By leaving the door 
 ajar you can hear, and you can see everything through 
 the glass." 
 
 Without a word Lecoq darted into the room desig- 
 nated, for the spring-bell on the outer door announced 
 the arrival of some visitor. 
 
 It was May. 
 
 " I desire to speak to the mistress of this hotel," he 
 said. 
 
 " Which mistress?" 
 
 " The woman who received me when I came here six 
 weeks ago " 
 
 " I understand," interrupted Fritz ; " it is Madame 
 Milner whom you wish to see. You come too late ; she 
 no longer owns this house. She sold it about a month 
 ago, and has returned to her former home, Alsace." 
 
 The man stamped his foot with a terrible oath. 
 
 " I have a claim to make upon her," he insisted. 
 
 " Do you wish me to call her successor ? "
 
 3 io MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 In his place of concealment, Lecoq could not help ad^ 
 miring Fritz, who was uttering these glaring falsehoods 
 with that air of perfect candor which gives the Germans 
 such an advantage over people of the south, who seem 
 to be lying even when they are telling the truth. 
 
 " The successor will send me walking ! " exclaimed 
 May. " I came to reclaim the money I paid for a 
 room which I have never used." 
 
 " Such money is never refunded." 
 
 The man muttered some incoherent threat, in which 
 such words as " evident stealing " and " justice " could 
 be distinguished ; then he went out, slamming the door 
 violently behind him. 
 
 " Well ! did I answer properly ? " Fritz triumphant- 
 ly demanded, as Lecoq emerged from his hiding-place. 
 
 " Yes, perfectly," replied the detective. 
 
 And pushing aside the boy, who was standing in his 
 way, he dashed after May. 
 
 A vague fear almost suffocated him. 
 
 It had struck him that the fugitive had not been either 
 surprised or deeply affected by the news he had heard. 
 He had come to the hotel depending upon Mme. Mil- 
 ner's aid ; the news of the departure of this woman, who 
 was the confidential friend of his accomplice, might rea- 
 sonably be expected to terrify him. 
 
 Had he divined the ruse that had been played upon 
 him? And how? 
 
 His good sense told him so plainly that the fugitive 
 must have been put on his guard that Lecoq's first 
 question, on rejoining Father Absinthe, was : 
 
 " May spoke to someone on his way to the hotel." 
 
 " Why, how could you know that ? " exclaimed the 
 worthy man, greatly astonished. 
 
 " Ah ! I was sure of it ! To whom did he speak ? "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 311 
 
 " To a very pretty woman, upon my word ! fair and 
 plump as a partridge." 
 
 Lecoq turned green with anger. 
 
 " Fate is against us ! " he exclaimed with an oath. " I 
 run on in advance to Madame Milner's house, so that 
 May shall not see her. I invent an excuse for sending 
 her out of the hotel, and they encounter each other." 
 
 Father Absinthe gave a despairing gesture. 
 
 " Ah ! if I had known ! " he murmured ; " but you did 
 not tell me to prevent May from speaking to the pass- 
 ers-by." 
 
 " Never mind, my old friend," said Lecoq, consol- 
 ingly ; " it could not have been helped." 
 
 The fugitive had reached the Faubourg Montmartre, 
 and his pursuers were obliged to hasten forward and 
 get closer to their man, that they might not lose him in 
 the crowd. 
 
 When they had almost overtaken him : 
 
 " Now," resumed Lecoq, " give me the details. 
 Where did they meet ? " 
 
 " On the Rue Saint-Quentin." 
 
 " Which saw the other first? " 
 
 " May." 
 
 " What did the woman say ? Did you hear any cry 
 of surprise? " 
 
 " I heard nothing, because I was quite fifty paces from 
 them ; but by the woman's manner, I could see that she 
 was stupefied." 
 
 Ah ! if Lecoq could have witnessed the scene, what 
 valuable deductions he would have drawn from it ! 
 
 " Did they talk for a long time? " 
 
 " For less than a quarter of an hour." 
 
 " Do you know whether Madame Milner gave May 
 money, or not ? "
 
 312 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " I cannot say. They gesticulated like mad so vio- 
 lently, indeed, that I thought they were quarrelling." 
 
 They knew they were watched, and they were en- 
 deavoring to divert suspicion. 
 
 " If they would only arrest this woman and question 
 her," suggested Father Absinthe. 
 
 " What good would it do? Has not Monsieur Seg- 
 muller examined and cross-examined her a dozen times 
 without drawing anything from her ! Ah ! she is a cun- 
 ning one. She would declare that May met her and in- 
 sisted that she should refund the ten francs that he paid 
 her for his room. We must do our best," he continued, 
 with a sort of resignation. " If the accomplice has not 
 been warned already, he will soon be told, and we must 
 try to keep the two men apart. What ruse they will 
 employ, I cannot divine. But I know that it will be 
 nothing hackneyed." 
 
 Lecoq's presumptions made Father Absinthe trem- 
 ble. 
 
 " The surest way, perhaps, would be to lock him up 
 again ! " 
 
 " No ! " replied the detective. " I desire his secret ; 
 I will have it. What will be said of us, if we two allow 
 this man to escape us? He will not, I think, be visible 
 and invisible by turns, like the devil. We will see what 
 he is going to do now that he has money and a plan for 
 he has both at the present moment. I would stake my 
 right hand upon it." 
 
 At that same instant, as if the prisoner intended to 
 convince Lecoq of the truth of his suspicions, he entered 
 a tobacco store, and emerged, an instant afterward, with 
 a cigar in his mouth.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 313 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 The mistress of the Hotel de Mariembourg had given 
 May money; the purchase of this cigar proved it con- 
 clusively. 
 
 But had they agreed upon any plan ? Had they had 
 time to decide, point by point, upon the method to be 
 employed in evading the pursuers ? 
 
 It would seem so, since the conduct of the fugitive had 
 changed in more respects than one. 
 
 Until now, he>had appeared to care little for the dan- 
 ger of being pursued and overtaken ; but after his meet- 
 ing with Mme. Milner, he seemed uneasy and agitated. 
 After walking so long in the full sunlight, with his head 
 high in the air, he appeared to have been seized by a 
 sort of panic ; and he now slunk along in the shadow of 
 the houses, hiding himself as much as possible. 
 
 " It is evident that the man's fears are augmented by 
 reason of his hopes," said Lecoq to his companion. " He 
 was totally discouraged in the Odeon ; the merest trifle 
 would have decided him to surrender himself; now he 
 thinks he has a chance to escape with his secret." 
 
 The fugitive had followed the boulevard as far as the 
 Place Vendome ; he crossed it, and turned toward the 
 , Temple. 
 
 Soon after, Father Absinthe and his companion saw 
 him conversing with one of those importunate mer- 
 chants who consider every passer-by their lawful prey. 
 
 The dealer set a -price on an article, and May feebly 
 demurred ; but he finally yielded, and disappeared in the 
 shop. 
 
 " Pie has determined on a change of costume. Is it
 
 3H MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 not always the first impulse of an escaped prisoner? " re- 
 marked Lecoq. 
 
 Soon May emerged from the store, metamorphosed 
 from head to foot. 
 
 He was now clad in heavy dark-blue linen pantaloons, 
 and a loosely fitting coat of rough woollen material. A 
 gay silk 'kerchief was knotted about his throat; and 
 upon his head was a soft cap with a visor; this he had 
 perched rakishly over one ear. 
 
 Really, he was but little more prepossessing in his ap- 
 pearance than Lecoq himself. One would have hesi- 
 tated before deciding which of the two men one would 
 prefer to meet in the depths of a lonely forest. 
 
 He seemed content with his transformation, and ap- 
 peared more at ease in his new attire. There was evi- 
 dent suspicion in the glance he cast around him, as if he 
 were endeavoring to discover which persons among the 
 crowd were charged with watching him, and wresting 
 his secret from him. 
 
 He had not parted with his broadcloth suit ; he was 
 carrying it under his arm, wrapped in a handkerchief. 
 He had bought, but had not sold ; he had diminished his 
 capital, and not augmented it. He had left only his tall 
 silk hat. 
 
 Lecoq wished to enter the store and make some in- 
 quiries ; but he felt that it would be an act of imprudence 
 on his part, for May had settled his cap upon his head 
 with a gesture that left no doubt of his intentions. 
 
 A second after he turned into the Rue du Temple. 
 Now the chase began in earnest ; and soon the two pur- 
 suers had all they could do to follow their man, who 
 seemed endowed with the agility of a deer. 
 
 May had probably lived in England and in Germany, 
 since he spoke the language of these countries like a
 
 There was evident suspicion in the glance he cast around him.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 315 
 
 native; but one thing was certain he knew Paris as 
 thoroughly as the oldest Parisian. 
 
 This was demonstrated by the way in which he dashed 
 into the Rue des Gravilliers, and the precision of his 
 course through the multitude of winding streets that lie 
 between the Rue du Temple and the Rue Beaubourg. 
 
 He seemed to know this quarter perfectly ; as well, in- 
 deed, as if he had spent half his life there. He knew 
 all the public houses that had two outside doors- all the 
 by-ways and tortuous lanes. 
 
 Twice he almost escaped his pursuers ; once his sal- 
 vation hung upon a thread. If he had remained in an 
 obscure corner, where he was completely hidden, only 
 an instant longer, the two detectives would have passed 
 him, and his safety would have been assured. 
 
 The pursuit presented immense difficulties. Night 
 was coming on, and with it that light fog which almost 
 invariably follows the earliest days of spring. The 
 street-lamps glimmered luridly in the mist, without 
 throwing their light any considerable distance. 
 
 And to add to these difficulties, the streets were now 
 thronged with workmen who were returning home after 
 the labors of the day, with housewives purchasing pro- 
 visions for supper; and around every house its nu- 
 merous occupants were swarming like bees around their 
 hive. 
 
 May took advantage of every opportunity to mislead 
 the persons who might be following him. Groups of 
 people, collisions between carriages, he utilized them all 
 with such marvellous presence of mind and such rare 
 skill, that he often glided through the crowd without 
 leaving any sign of his passage. 
 
 At last he left the Rue des Gravilliers and entered a
 
 3 i6 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 broader street. Reaching the Boulevard de Sebastopol, 
 he turned to the left, and took a fresh start. 
 
 He darted on with marvellous rapidity, his elbows 
 pressed closely to his body, husbanding his breath, and 
 timing his steps with the precision of a dancing-master. 
 
 Stopping for nothing, without once turning his head, 
 he hurried on. 
 
 And it was with the same regular but rapid pace that 
 he went down the Boulevard de Sebastopol, that he 
 crossed the Place du Chatelet, and again entered the 
 Boulevard Saint-Michel. 
 
 Some fiacres were stationed nearby. 
 
 May addressed one of the drivers, and after a few 
 moments' conversation entered his carriage. 
 
 The fiacre started off at a rapid pace. 
 
 But May was not in. He had only passed through 
 the carriage, and just as the driver was starting on an 
 imaginary route which had been paid for in advance, 
 May slipped into another vehicle, which was standing 
 beside the fiacre he had hired first, and the carriage left 
 the stand at a gallop. 
 
 Perhaps, after so many ruses, after such a formidable 
 effort, after this last stratagem perhaps May believed 
 that he was free. He was mistaken. 
 
 Behind the fiacre which bore him onward, leaning 
 back upon the cushion to rest a man was running. It 
 was Lecoq. 
 
 Poor Father Absinthe had fallen by the way. Before 
 the Palais de Justice he paused, exhausted and breath- 
 less, and Lecoq had little hope of seeing him again, since 
 he had all he could do to keep his man in sight, without 
 stopping to make the chalk-marks agreed upon. 
 
 May had ordered his coachman to carry him to the 
 Place d'ltalie ; and had requested him to stop exactly ip
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 317 
 
 the middle of the square. This was about a hundred 
 paces from the station-house in which he had been in- 
 carcerated with the Widow Chupin. 
 
 When the carriage stopped he sprang to the ground, 
 and cast a rapid glance around him, as if looking for 
 some dreaded shadow. 
 
 He saw nothing. Although surprised by the sudden 
 checking of the vehicle, the detective had yet had time 
 to fling himself flat on his stomach under the body of 
 the carriage, though not without danger of being 
 crushed by the wheels. 
 
 More and more reassured, apparently May paid the 
 coachman, and retraced his course to the Rue Mouffe- 
 tard. 
 
 With a bound, Lecoq was on his feet again, and 
 started after him, as eagerly as a ravenous dog follows 
 a bone. He had reached the shadow cast by the large 
 trees in the outer boulevards, when a faint whistle re- 
 sounded in his ears. 
 
 " Father Absinthe ! " he exclaimed, surprised and de- 
 lighted. 
 
 " The same," replied that good man, " and quite 
 rested, thanks to a good fellow who was passing in a 
 wagon and who picked me up and brought me here " 
 
 " Oh, enough ! " interrupted Lecoq. " Let us keep 
 our eyes open." 
 
 May stopped before first one and then another of the 
 numerous saloons in that locality. He seemed to be 
 looking for something. 
 
 After peering through the glass doors of three of 
 these establishments, he entered the fourth. 
 
 The glass was not glazed; and the two detectives 
 looked through the panes with all their eyes. 
 
 They saw the prisoner cross the room and seat him-
 
 3i8 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 self at a table, where a man of unusual size, ruddy-faced 
 and gray-whiskered, was already seated. 
 
 " The accomplice ! " murmured Father Absinthe. 
 
 Was this really the redoubtable accomplice? 
 
 Under other circumstances Lecoq would have hesi- 
 tated to place dependence on a vague similarity in per- 
 sonal appearance ; but here probabilities were so strong- 
 ly in favor of Father Absinthe's assertion that the young 
 detective admitted its truth at once. 
 
 Was not this meeting the logical sequence, the mani- 
 fest result of the chance meeting between the fugitive 
 and the fair-haired mistress of the Hotel de Mariem- 
 bourg ! 
 
 " May," thought Lecoq, " began by taking all the 
 money Madame Milner had about her; he afterward 
 charged her to tell his accomplice to come and wait 
 for him in some saloon near here. If he hesitated and 
 looked in the different establishments, it was only be- 
 cause he had not been able to specify exactly which one. 
 If they do not throw aside the mask, it will be because 
 May is not sure that he has eluded pursuit, and because 
 the accomplice fears that Madame Milner has been fol- 
 lowed." 
 
 The accomplice, if it was really the accomplice, had 
 resorted to a disguise not unlike that adopted by May 
 and Lecoq. He wore a dirty old blue blouse, and a 
 hideous old slouch hat, really in tatters. He had rather 
 exaggerated his make-up, for his sinister physiognomy 
 was noticeable, even among the depraved and ferocious 
 faces of the other denizens of the saloon. 
 
 For it was a regular den of cut-throats and of thieves 
 that they had chosen for their rendezvous. There were 
 not four workmen there who were worthy of the name. 
 All the men who were eating and drinking there, were
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 319 
 
 more or less familiar with prison life. The least to be 
 dreaded were the loafers of the barrieres, easily recog- 
 nized by their glazed caps and their loosely knotted 
 neckerchiefs. The majority of the company present 
 were made up of this class. 
 
 And yet May, that man who was so strongly suspected 
 of belonging to the highest social sphere, seemed to be 
 perfectly at home. 
 
 He called for the regular dinner and a portion of wine, 
 and literally devoured it, gulping down his soup, and 
 great morsels of beef, and wiping his mouth upon the 
 back of his sleeve. 
 
 But was he conversing with his neighbor ? It was im- 
 possible to discern this through the glass obscured by 
 smoke and steam. 
 
 " I must go in," said Lecoq, resolutely. " I must get a 
 place near them, and listen." 
 
 " Do not think of doing it," said Father Absinthe. 
 " What if they should recognize you ! " 
 
 " They will not recognize me." 
 
 " If they do, they will kill you." 
 
 Lecoq made a careless gesture. 
 
 " I really think that they would not hesitate to rid 
 themselves of me at any cost. But, nonsense ! A detec- 
 tive who is afraid to risk his life is no better than a low 
 spy. Why ! you saw that Gevrol, even, did not flinch." 
 
 Perhaps the old man had wished to ascertain if his 
 companion's courage was equal to his shrewdness and 
 sagacity. He was satisfied on this score now. 
 
 " You, my friend, will remain here to follow them if 
 they leave hurriedly," added Lecoq. 
 
 He had already turned the knob of the door; he 
 pushed it open, entered, and taking a s?at at a table near
 
 320 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 that occupied by the fugitive, he demanded a chop and 
 a dram in a hoarse, guttural voice. 
 
 The fugitive and the man in the slouch hat were talk- 
 ing, but like strangers who had met by chance, and not 
 at all like friends who had met at a rendezvous. 
 
 They were speaking the jargon of their pretended 
 rank in life, not that puerile slang we find in romances 
 descriptive of low life, but that vulgar and obscene lan- 
 guage which it is impossible to render, so changeable 
 and so diverse is the signification of its words. 
 
 " What wonderful actors ! " thought Lecoq ; " what 
 perfection ! what method ! How I should be deceived if 
 I were not absolutely certain ! " 
 
 The man in the slouch hat held the floor ; and he was 
 giving a detailed account of the different prisons in 
 France. 
 
 He told the character of the superintendents of the 
 principal prisons, how the discipline was much more 
 severe in this institution than in some other, and how 
 the food at Poissy was worth ten times as much as that 
 at Fontevault. 
 
 Lecoq, having finished his repast, ordered a small 
 glass of brandy, and, with his back to the wall, and eyes 
 closed, he pretended to sleep, and listened. 
 
 May began talking in his turn ; and he narrated his 
 story (exactly as he had related it to the judge), from 
 the murder up to his escape, without forgetting to men- 
 tion the suspicions regarding his identity suspicions 
 which had afforded him great amusement, he said. 
 
 Now, he would be perfectly happy if he had money 
 enough to take him back to Germany. But he did not 
 possess it, nor did he know how to procure it. He had 
 not even succeeded in selling the clothing which be- 
 longed to him, and which he had with him in a bundle.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 321 
 
 Thereupon the man in the felt hat declared that he 
 had too good a heart to leave a comrade in such em- 
 barrassment. He knew, in the very same street, an 
 obliging dealer in such articles, and he offered to take 
 May there at once. 
 
 May's only response was to rise, saying, " Let us 
 start." And they did start, with Lecoq still at their 
 heels. 
 
 They walked rapidly on until they came to the Rue 
 Fer-a-Moulin, then they turned into a narrow and dim- 
 ly lighted alley, and entered a dingy dwelling. 
 
 " Run and ask the concierge if there are not two doors 
 by which one can leave this house," said Lecoq, address- 
 ing Father Absinthe. 
 
 The house, however, had but one entrance, and the 
 two detectives waited. 
 
 " We are discovered ! " murmured Lecoq. " I am 
 sure of that. The fugitive must have recognized me, 
 or the boy at the Hotel de Mariembourg has described 
 me to the accomplice." 
 
 Father Absinthe made no response, for the two men 
 just then came out of the house. May was jingling 
 some coins in his hand, and seemed to be in very ill- 
 humor. 
 
 " What infernal rascals these receivers of stolen goods 
 are ! " he grumbled. 
 
 Though he had received only a small sum for his 
 clothing, he probably felt that the kindness of his com- 
 panion ought to be rewarded, for May proposed that 
 they should take a drink together, and they entered a 
 wine-shop nearby, for that purpose. 
 
 They remained there more than an hour, drinking to- 
 gether, and left that only to enter a saloon a hundred 
 paces distant.
 
 322 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Turned out by the proprietor, who was closing his 
 store, the friends took refuge in the next one that re- 
 mained open. The owner drove them from this, and 
 they hurried to another, then to another. 
 
 And so by drinking of bottles of wine, in very small 
 glasses, they reached the Place Saint-Michel about one 
 o'clock in the morning. 
 
 But there they found nothing to drink ; all the saloons 
 were closed. 
 
 The two men then held a consultation together, and, 
 after a short discussion, they walked arm-in-arm in 
 the direction of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, like a 
 pair of friends. 
 
 The liquor which they had imbibed in such great 
 quantities seemed to produce its effect. They stag- 
 gered considerably as they walked ; and they talked 
 very loudly and both at the same time. 
 
 In spite of the danger, Lecoq advanced near enough 
 to seize some fragments of their conversation ; and the 
 words " a good stroke," and " money enough to satisfy 
 one," reached his ears. 
 
 Father Absinthe's confidence wavered. 
 
 " All this will end badly," he murmured. 
 
 " Do not be alarmed," replied his friend. " I do not 
 understand the manoeuvres of these wily confederates, I 
 frankly confess; but what does that matter after all 
 now that the two men are together, I feel sure of suc- 
 cess sure. If one runs away, the other will remain, 
 and Gevrol shall soon see which is right, he or I." 
 
 Meanwhile the pace of the two drunken men had 
 slackened a trifle. 
 
 By the air with which they examined the magnificent 
 residences of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, one would 
 have suspected them of the worst intentions.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 323 
 
 On the Rue de Varennes, only a few steps from the 
 Rue de la Chaise, they paused before the low wall that 
 surrounded an immense garden. 
 
 The man in the slouch hat now did the talking. He 
 was explaining to May they could tell by his gest- 
 ures that the mansion to which this garden belonged 
 fronted upon the Rue de Crenelle. 
 
 " Bah ! " growled Lecoq, " how much farther will 
 they carry this nonsense ? " 
 
 They carried it to assaulting the place. 
 
 By the aid of his companion's shoulders, May raised 
 himself to a level with the wall, and an instant after they 
 heard the sound of his fall in the garden. 
 
 The man in the slouch hat remained in the street to 
 watch. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 The enigmatical fugitive had accomplished his 
 strange, his inconceivable design so quickly that Lecoq 
 had neither the time nor the desire to oppose him. 
 
 His amazement at this unexpected misfortune was so 
 great that for ten seconds it deprived him of the power 
 of thought and of motion. 
 
 But he quickly regained his self-possession, and he 
 decided upon his course with that rapidity of decision 
 which is the good genius of men of action. 
 
 With a sure eye he measured the distance that sep- 
 arated him from May's accomplice, and with three 
 bounds he was upon him. 
 
 The man tried to cry out ; an iron hand stifled the cry 
 in his throat. He tried to escape, and to beat off his as- 
 sailant, but a vigorous kick flung him to the ground like 
 an infant.
 
 324 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Before he had time to think of further resistance he 
 was bound, gagged, lifted, and carried, half suffocated, 
 around the corner of the Rue de la Chaise. 
 
 Not a word, not an exclamation, not an oath, not even 
 a sound of scuffling nothing. 
 
 Any suspicious noise might have reached May, on the 
 other side of the wall, and given him warning. 
 
 " How strange ! " murmured Father Absinthe, too 
 much amazed to lend a helping hand to his younger col- 
 league. " How strange ! Who would have sup- 
 posed " ^ 
 
 " Oh, enough ! " interrupted Lecoq, in that harsh, im- 
 perious voice which imminent peril always gives to en- 
 ergetic men. " Enough ! we will talk to-morrow. I 
 must run away for an instant, and you will remain here. 
 If May shows himself, capture him ; do not allow him 
 to escape." 
 
 " I understand ; but what is to be done with the man 
 who is lying there ? " 
 
 " Let him be where he is. I have bound him se- 
 curely, so there is nothing to fear from him. When 
 the night police pass, we will give him into charge " 
 
 He paused and listened. Not far off, they heard 
 heavy and measured footsteps approaching. 
 
 " There they are now," said Father Absinthe. 
 
 " Ah ! I dared not hope it ! I shall have a good chance 
 now." 
 
 He had the opportunity he longed for, two police- 
 men, whose attention had been attracted by the group 
 they saw on the corner of the street, hastened toward 
 him. 
 
 In a few words, Lecoq explained the situation. It was 
 decided that one of the policemen should take the accom-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 324 
 
 plice to the station-house, and that the other should re- 
 main with Father Absinthe to cut off May's retreat. 
 
 " And now," said Lecoq, " I will run round to the Rue 
 de Crenelle and give the alarm. To whose house does 
 this garden belong? " 
 
 " What ! " replied one of the policemen, in surprise, 
 " do you not know the gardens of the Due de Sairmeuse, 
 the famous duke who is a milliormaire ten times over, 
 and who was formally the friend " 
 
 " I know, I know ! " said Lecoq. 
 
 " The thief must have fallen into a trap if he put his 
 nose in there. They had a reception at the mansion this 
 evening, as they do every Monday, and everybody in the 
 house is up. The guests have scarcely departed. There 
 were five or six carriages still at the door as we passed." 
 
 Lecoq darted away, more troubled by what he had 
 just heard than he had been before. 
 
 He understood now, that if May had entered this 
 house, it was not for the purpose of committing a rob- 
 bery, but in the hope of throwing his pursuers off the 
 track, and making his escape through the Rue de Cre- 
 nelle, which he might easily have done unnoticed, in the 
 bustle and confusion attending the departure of the 
 guests. 
 
 This last thought occurred to him on reaching the 
 Hotel de Sairmeuse, a princely dwelling, whose im- 
 mense fa9ade was brilliantly illuminated. 
 
 The carriage of the last guest was just issuing from 
 the court-yard, several footmen were extinguishing the 
 lights, and the Swiss, a tall and imposing man, dazzling 
 to behold in his gorgeous livery, was just closing the 
 heavy, double doors of the grand entrance. 
 
 The detective advanced toward this important person- 
 age.
 
 326 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Is this the Hotel de Sairmeuse ? " he inquired. 
 
 The Swiss suspended his labors to survery this auda- 
 cious vagabond who ventured to question him, then in a 
 harsh voice : 
 
 " I advise you to pass on. I want none of your jest- 
 ing." 
 
 Lecoq had forgotten that he was clad in the garb af- 
 fected by Polyte Chupin. 
 
 " Ah ! " he exclaimed. " I am not what I seem to be. 
 I am an agent of the secret service, Monsieur Lecoq. 
 Here is my card, if you will take my word for it ; and I 
 came to tell you that an escaped criminal has just scaled 
 the garden-wall of the Hotel de Sairmeuse." 
 
 " A crim-in-al ? " 
 
 The detective thought a little exaggeration would do 
 no harm, and perhaps insure him more ready aid. 
 
 " Yes," he replied ; " and one of the most dangerous 
 kind an assassin who has the blood of three victims al- 
 ready on his hands. We have just arrested his accom- 
 plice, who helped him over the wall." 
 
 The ruby nose of the Swiss paled perceptibly. 
 
 " I will summon the servants," he faltered. 
 
 And, suiting the action to the word, he raised his hand 
 to the bell-rope, which was used to announce the arrival 
 of visitors ; but Lecoq stopped him. 
 
 " A word first ! " said he. " Might not the fugitive 
 have passed through the house, and escaped by this door, 
 without being seen ? In that case he would be far away 
 by this time." 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 " But why ? " 
 
 " Excuse me ; I know what I am saying. First, the 
 door opening into the garden is closed ; it is open only 
 during grand receptions, not for our informal Monday
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 327 
 
 receptions. Secondly, Monseigneur requires me to 
 stand upon the threshold of the door when he is re- 
 ceiving. To-day he repeated this order, and you may 
 be sure that I have not disobeyed him." 
 
 " Since this is the case," said Lecoq, slightly reas- 
 sured, " we shall perhaps succeed in finding our man. 
 Warn the servants, but without ringing the bell. The 
 less noise we make, the greater will be our chance of 
 success." 
 
 In a moment the fifty valets who peopled the ante- 
 chambers, the stables, and the kitchens of the Hotel de 
 Sairmeuse were gathered together. 
 
 The great lanterns in the coach-houses and stables 
 were lighted, and the entire garden was illuminated as 
 by enchantment. 
 
 " If May is concealed here," thought Lecoq, delight- 
 ed to see so many auxiliaries, " it is impossible for him 
 to escape." 
 
 But it was in vain that the gardens were thoroughly 
 explored again and again ; no one was to be found. 
 
 The houses where the gardening tools were kept, the 
 green-houses, the summer-houses, the two rustic pavil- 
 ions at the foot of the garden, even the dog-kennels, 
 were scrupulously visited in vain. 
 
 The trees, with the exception of the horse-chestnut, 
 at the foot of the garden, were almost destitute of leaves, 
 but they were not neglected on that account. An agile 
 boy, armed with a lantern, climbed each tree, and ex- 
 plored even the topmost branches. 
 
 " The assassin must have gone out where he came 
 in," obstinately repeated the Swiss, who had armed 
 himself with a huge pistol, and who would not let go 
 his hold on Lecoq, fearing an accident, perhaps. 
 
 To convince him of his error, it was necessary for
 
 328 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Lecoq to place himself in communication with Father 
 Absinthe and the two policemen on the other side of 
 the wall, for the man who had taken the accomplice to 
 the station-house had performed his duty and returned. 
 
 They responded by swearing that they had not taken 
 their eyes off the wall, and that not so much as a mouse 
 had crossed it. 
 
 Until now, their explorations had been made in 
 rather a hap-hazard manner, each person obeying his 
 own inspiration; but they now recognized the neces- 
 sity of a methodically conducted search. 
 
 Lecoq took such measures that not a corner, not a 
 recess, should escape scrutiny. He was dividing the 
 task between his willing assistants, when a new-comer 
 appeared upon the scene. 
 
 It was a grave, smooth-faced gentleman, in the attire 
 of a notary. 
 
 " Monsieur Otto, Monseigneur's first valet de cham- 
 bre," the Swiss murmured in Lecoq's ear. 
 
 This important personage came on the part of M. le 
 Due (he did not say " monseigneur "), to inquire the 
 meaning of all this uproar. 
 
 When he had received an explanation, M. Otto 
 condescended to compliment Lecoq on his efficiency, 
 and to recommend that the hotel should be searched 
 from garret to cellar. These precautions alone would 
 allay the fears of Mme. la Duchesse. 
 
 He then departed ; and the search began again with 
 renewed ardor. 
 
 A mouse concealed in the gardens of the Hotel de 
 Sairmeuse could not have escaped discovery, so mi- 
 nute were the investigations. 
 
 Not an object of any size was left undisturbed. The
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 329 
 
 trees were examined leaf by leaf one might almost 
 say. 
 
 Occasionally the discouraged servants proposed to 
 abandon the search ; but Lecoq urged them on. He 
 ran from one to the other, entreating and threatening 
 by turns, swearing that he asked only one more effort, 
 and that this effort would assuredly be crowned with 
 success. 
 
 Vain promises ! The fugitive could not be found. 
 
 The evidence now was conclusive. To persist in the 
 search longer would be worse than folly. The young 
 detective decided to recall his auxiliaries. 
 
 " That is enough," he said, in a despondent voice. 
 " It is now certain that the murderer is no longer in the 
 garden." 
 
 Was he cowering in some corner of the immense 
 house, white with fear, and trembling at the noise 
 made by his pursuers ? 
 
 One might reasonably suppose this to be the case ; 
 and such was the opinion of all the servants. Above 
 all, such was the opinion of the Swiss, who renewed 
 with growing assurance his affirmations of a few mo- 
 ments before. 
 
 " I have not moved from the threshold of my door ; 
 and I should certainly have seen any person who 
 passed out." 
 
 " Let us go to the house, then," said Lecoq. " But 
 first let me ask my companion, who is waiting for me 
 in the street, to join me. It is unnecessary for him to 
 remain there any longer." 
 
 Father Absinthe responded to the summons. All 
 the lower doors were carefully closed and guarded, 
 and the search through the Hotel de Sairmeuse, one
 
 330 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 of the largest and most magnificent residences m the 
 Faubourg Saint-Germain, began. 
 
 But all the marvels of the universe could not have 
 won a single glance or a second's attention from Le- 
 coq. All his mind all his thoughts were engrossed 
 by the prisoner. 
 
 It is certain that he traversed the superb drawing- 
 rooms, an unrivalled picture-gallery, a magnificent 
 dining-room, with sideboards groaning beneath their 
 load of massive plate, without seeing a single object. 
 
 He went on, hurrying forward the servants who 
 were guiding and lighting him. He lifted heavy arti- 
 cles of furniture as easily as he would have lifted a 
 feather ; he moved the chairs and sofas ; he explored 
 cupboards and wardrobes, examined hangings, cur- 
 tains, and portieres. 
 
 No search could have been more complete. From 
 the court-yard to the garret not a nook was left un- 
 explored ; not a corner was forgotten. 
 
 After two hours of continuous work Lecoq returned 
 to the first floor. Only five or six servants had accom- 
 panied him on his tour of inspection. The others had 
 dropped off one by one, wearying of this adventure, 
 which had at first possessed the attractions of a pleas- 
 ure-party. 
 
 " You have seen everything, gentlemen," declared 
 an old footman. 
 
 " Everything ! " interrupted the Swiss ; " every- 
 thing! Certainly not. There are the apartments of 
 Monseigneur and those of Madame la Duchesse still 
 to be explored." 
 
 " Alas ! " murmured Lecoq ; " what good would it 
 do?" 
 
 But the Swiss had already gone to rap gently at one
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 33' 
 
 01 the doors opening into the hall. His interest 
 equalled that of the detectives. They had seen the 
 murderer enter ; he had not seen him go out ; therefore 
 the man was in the hotel, and he wished him to be 
 found ; he desired it intensely. 
 
 The door opened, and the grave and clean-shaven 
 face of Otto, the first valet de chambre, showed itself. 
 
 " What the devil do you want ? " he demanded, in 
 surly tones. 
 
 " To enter Monseigneur's room," replied the Swiss, 
 " in order to see if the fugitive has not taken refuge 
 there." 
 
 " Are you crazy ? " exclaimed the head valet de cham- 
 bre. " Where could they have entered here, and how? 
 Besides, I cannot suffer Monsieur le Due to be dis- 
 turbed. He has been at work all night, and he is just 
 going to take a bath to rest himself before going to 
 bed." 
 
 The Swiss seemed much vexed at this rebuff; and 
 Lecoq was presenting his excuses, when a voice was 
 heard, saying: 
 
 " Let these worthy men do their duty, Otto." 
 
 " Ah ! do you hear that ! " exclaimed the Swiss, tri- 
 umphantly. 
 
 " Very well, since Monsieur le Due permits. That 
 being the case, come in, I will light you through the 
 apartments." 
 
 Lecoq entered, but it was only for form's sake that 
 he walked through the different rooms ; a library, an 
 admirable writing-room, a charming smoking-room. 
 
 As he was passing through the bedroom he had the 
 honor of seeing M. le Due de Sairmeuse through the 
 half-open door of a small, white, marble bath-room.
 
 332 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Ah, well ! " cried the duke, affably, " is the fugitive 
 still invisible ? " 
 
 " Still invisible, Monsieur," Lecoq replied respect- 
 fully. 
 
 The valet de chambre did not share his master's good- 
 humor. 
 
 " I think, gentlemen," said he, " that you may spare 
 yourselves the trouble of visiting the apartments of 
 Madame la Duchesse. It is a duty which we have 
 taken upon ourselves the women and I and we have 
 looked even in the bureau-drawers. 
 
 Upon the landing the old footman, who had not 
 ventured to enter his master's apartments, was await- 
 ing the detectives. 
 
 He had doubtless received his orders, for he politely 
 inquired if they desired anything, and if, after such a 
 fatiguing night, they would not find some cold meat 
 and a glass of wine acceptable. 
 
 Father Absinthe's eyes sparkled. He probably 
 thought that in this quasi royal abode they must have 
 delicious things to eat and drink such viands, indeed, 
 as he had never tasted in his life. 
 
 But Lecoq brusquely refused, and left the Hotel 
 de Sairmeuse, reluctantly followed by his old compan- 
 ion. 
 
 The poor, disappointed young man was eager to be 
 alone. For several hours he had been obliged to exert 
 himself to the uttermost to conceal his rage and his 
 despair. 
 
 May escaped ! vanished ! evaporated ! The thought 
 drove him almost mad. 
 
 What he had declared impossible had occurred. 
 
 In his confidence and pride, he had declared that he 
 would answer for the head of the prisoner with his own
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 333 
 
 life; and the prisoner had escaped him had slipped 
 from between his fingers ! 
 
 When he was once more in the street, he paused 
 before Father Absinthe, and, crossing his arms, de- 
 manded : 
 
 " Well ! my old friend, what do you think of all 
 this?" 
 
 That good man shook his head, and in a serene un- 
 consciousness of his want of tact, responded : 
 
 " I think that Gevrol will chuckle with delight." 
 
 At the name of this, his most cruel enemy, Lecoq 
 bounded from the ground like a wounded bull. 
 
 " Oh ! " he exclaimed. " Gevrol has not won the 
 battle yet. We have lost May ; it is a great misfort- 
 une ; but his accomplice remains in our hands. We 
 hold this crafty man who has until now defeated all our 
 carefully arranged plans. He is certainly shrewd and 
 devoted to his friend ; but we will see if his devotion 
 will withstand the prospect of hard labor in the peni- 
 tentiary. And that is what awaits him, if he is silent, 
 and if he thus accepts the responsibility of aiding and 
 abetting the prisoner's escape. Oh ! I have no fears 
 Monsieur Segmuller will know how to draw the truth 
 out of him." 
 
 He brandished his clinched fist with a threatening 
 air ; then, in calmer tones, he added : 
 
 " But let us go to the station-house where he was 
 carried. I wish to question him a little."
 
 334 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 It was not daylight, and nearly six o'clock ; and 
 when Father Absinthe and his companion reached the 
 station-house, they found the superintendent seated at 
 a small table, making out his report. 
 
 He did not move when they entered, failing to recog- 
 nize them under their disguise. 
 
 But when they mentioned their names, the chief rose 
 with evident empressment, and extended his hand. 
 
 " Upon my word ! " said he, " I congratulate you on 
 your capture last night." 
 
 Father Absinthe and Lecoq exchanged an anxious 
 look. 
 
 " What capture? " they both asked in a breath. 
 
 "The individual whom you sent me last night so 
 carefully bound." 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 The superintendent burst into a hearty laugh. 
 
 " So you are ignorant of your good fortune. Ah ! 
 luck has favored you, and you will receive a very hand- 
 some reward." 
 
 " Pray tell us what we have captured ? " demanded 
 Father Absinthe, impatiently. 
 
 " A scoundrel of the deepest dye, an escaped con- 
 vict, who has been missing for three months. You 
 must have a description of him in your pocket Joseph 
 Couturier, in short." 
 
 On hearing these words, Lecoq became so fright- 
 fully pale that Father Absinthe, believing him to be 
 about to fall, extended his arms. 
 
 Someone hastened to bring a chair, and he seated 
 himself.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 335 
 
 "Joseph Couturier," he faltered, evidently uncon- 
 scious of what he was saying. " Joseph Couturier ! an 
 escaped convict ! " 
 
 The superintendent certainly did not understand 
 Lecoq's agitation, any better than he understood 
 Father Absinthe's discomfited air. 
 
 " You have reason to be proud of your work ; your 
 success will make a sensation this morning. You have 
 captured a famous prize. I can see Gevrol's nose now, 
 when he hears the news. Only yesterday he was 
 boasting that he alone was capable of securing this 
 dangerous rascal." 
 
 What irony could be more bitter than these compli- 
 ments, after such an irreparable failure. They fell 
 crushingly upon Lecoq, like so many blows of a ham- 
 mer, wounding him so cruelly that he rose, and sum- 
 moning all his energy, he said : 
 
 " You must be mistaken. This man is not Coutu- 
 rier." 
 
 " I am not mistaken ; you may be assured of that. 
 In every respect he answers the description appended 
 to the circular ordering his capture. Even the little 
 finger of his left hand is lacking, as mentioned in the 
 order." 
 
 " Ah ! that is a proof indeed ! " groaned Father Ab- 
 sinthe. 
 
 " It is, indeed. And I know another even more con- 
 clusive. Couturier is an old acquaintance of mine. I 
 have had him in custody before ; and he recognized me 
 last night as I recognized him." 
 
 After this, further argument was impossible ; so it 
 was in an entirely different tone that Lecoq remarked : 
 
 " At least, my friend, you will allow me to address a 
 few questions to your prisoner."
 
 336 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Oh ! as many as you like. But first, let us bar the 
 door and place two of my men before it. This Coutu- 
 rier has a fondness for the open air, and he would not 
 hesitate to dash out our brains if he saw a chance of es- 
 cape." 
 
 After taking these precautions, the man was re- 
 moved from the cage in which he had been confined. 
 
 He advanced smilingly, having already recovered 
 that nonchalant manner common to old offenders who, 
 when they are once in custody, seem to lose all feeling 
 of anger against the police ; like gamblers who, having 
 lost all, shake hands with their adversary. 
 
 He at once recognized Lecoq. 
 
 " Ah ! it is you who did the business for me last 
 night. You can boast of having a solid fist ! You fell 
 upon me very unexpectedly ; and the back of my neck 
 is still the worse for your caresses." 
 
 " Then, if I were to ask a favor of you, you would 
 not be disposed to grant it ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! all the same. I have no more malice in 
 my composition than a chicken ; and I rather like your 
 face. What do you wish ? " 
 
 " I should like some information concerning your 
 companion of last evening." 
 
 The man's face darkened. 
 
 " I really am unable to give it to you," he replied. 
 
 "Why?"' 
 
 " Because I do not know him. I never saw him 
 until last evening." 
 
 " It is hard to believe that. One does not take the 
 first-comer for an expedition like yours last evening. 
 Before undertaking such a job with a man, one finds 
 out something about him." 
 
 " I do not say that I have not been guilty of a stupid
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 337 
 
 blunder. I could murder myself for it. There was 
 nothing about the man to make me suspect that he 
 was one of the secret service. He spread a net for me, 
 and I jumped into it. It was made for me, of course ; 
 but it was not necessary for me to put my foot into it." 
 
 " You are mistaken, my man," said Lecoq. " The 
 individual did not belong to the police force. I pledge 
 you my word of honor, he did not." 
 
 For a moment Couturier surveyed Lecoq with a 
 knowing air, as if he hoped to discover whether he 
 were speaking the truth or attempting to deceive him. 
 
 " I believe you," he said, at last. " To prove it I will 
 tell you how it all happened. I was dining alone last 
 evening in a restaurant on the Rue Mouffetard. when 
 that man came in and took a seat beside me. Natu- 
 rally we began to talk ; and I thought him a very good 
 sort of a fellow. Apropos of, I know not what, he 
 mentioned the fact that he had some clothing which he 
 desired to sell ; and I, glad to oblige him, took him to 
 the house of a friend, who purchased them from him. 
 
 " It was doing him a service, was it not ? Well, he 
 offered me something to drink, and I returned the 
 compliment, so that by midnight I began to see double. 
 
 " He chose his time to propose a plan, which would, 
 he swore, enrich us both. It was to steal all the silver 
 from a superb mansion. 
 
 " There would be no risk for me ; he would take 
 charge of the whole affair. I had only to help him 
 over the wall, and keep watch. 
 
 " It was tempting was it not ? You would have 
 thought so, had you been in my place. Still I hesi- 
 tated. 
 
 " But the man insisted. He swore that he was ac- 
 quainted with the habits of the house. That Monday
 
 33 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 evening was a grand gala night there, and that on these 
 evenings the servants did not lock up the plate. After 
 a little I consented." 
 
 A fleeting color tinged Lecoq's pale cheeks. 
 
 Are you sure that the man told you that the Due de 
 Sairmeuse received every Monday evening ? " he 
 asked, eagerly. 
 
 " Certainly ; how else could I have known it ! He 
 even mentioned the name you uttered just now, a name 
 ending in euse." 
 
 A strange, absolutely admissible thought had just 
 flitted through Lecoq's mind. 
 
 " What if it were he ? " he said to himself. " What 
 if May and the Due de Sairmeuse should be one and 
 the same person ? " 
 
 But he dismissed this idea, and despised himself for 
 entertaining it, even for a moment. 
 
 He cursed his inclination to look upon the romantic 
 and impossible side of events. Why was it surprising 
 that a man of the world, such as he supposed May to 
 be, should know the day chosen by the Due de Sair- 
 meuse to receive his friends ? 
 
 He had nothing more to expect from Couturier. 
 He thanked him, and after shaking hands with the 
 superintendent, he departed, leaning on Father Ab- 
 sinthe's arm. 
 
 For he really had need of a support. His limbs 
 trembled beneath the weight of his body; his head 
 whirled, and he felt sick both in body and in mind. 
 
 He had failed miserably, disgracefully. He had flat- 
 tered himself that he possessed a genius for his calling, 
 and how easy it had been to outwit him. 
 
 May, to rid himself of him, Lecoq, had only been 
 obliged to throw him a pretended accomplice, picked
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 339 
 
 dp by chance in a bar-room, as a hunter, who finds him- 
 self too hard pressed by a bear, throws him his glove. 
 And, like a stupid beast, he had been deceived by 
 this commonplace stratagem. 
 
 Father Absinthe was rendered uneasy by his col- 
 league's evident dejection. 
 
 " Where are we going? " he inquired ; " to the Palais 
 de Justice, or to the prefecture? " 
 
 Lecoq shuddered on hearing this question, which 
 brought him face to face with the horrible reality of his 
 situation. 
 
 " To the prefecture ! " he responded. " Why should 
 I go there ? To expose myself to Gevrol's insults, per- 
 haps ! I have not courage enough for that. Nor do 
 I feel that I have strength to go to Monsieur SegmuUer 
 and say : ' Forgive me ; you have judged me too fa- 
 vorably. I am a fool.' " 
 " What are we to do? " 
 
 " Ah ! I do not know. Perhaps I shall embark for 
 America perhaps I will throw myself into the river." 
 He had proceeded about one hundred feet, when he 
 stopped short. 
 
 " No ! " he exclaimed, with a furious stamp of the 
 foot. " No, this affair shall not end where it is. I 
 have sworn that I will have the solution of this enigma 
 and I will have it ! " 
 
 For a moment he reflected ; then, in a calmer voice, 
 he added : 
 
 " There is one man who can save us, a man who will 
 see what I have not been able to see, who will under- 
 stand what I could not understand. Let us go and ask 
 counsel of him ; my course will depend upon his re- 
 sponse come ! "
 
 340 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 After a day and a night like those through which 
 they had just passed, one would have supposed that 
 these two men must have felt an irresistible desire to 
 sleep. 
 
 But Lecoq was upheld by wounded vanity, intense 
 disappointment, and a hope of revenge which was not 
 yet extinguished. 
 
 As for Father Absinthe, he was not unlike those 
 poor horses attached to a hackney coach, and which, 
 having forgotten that there is such a thing as repose, 
 are no longer conscious of fatigue, and travel on until 
 they fall dead. 
 
 He felt that his limbs were failing him ; but Lecoq 
 said : " It is necessary," and so he walked on. 
 
 They went to Lecoq's humble lodgings, where they 
 laid aside their disguise, and, after breakfast, started 
 again. 
 
 It was to the Rue Saint-Lazare, a few steps from the 
 prison, that the two men repaired. They entered one 
 of the handsomest houses on the street, and inquired of 
 the concierge: 
 
 " Where is Monsieur Tabaret ? " 
 
 "Ah! he is sick." 
 
 " Very sick ? " inquired Lecoq, anxiously. 
 
 " It is hard to tell," replied the man ; " it is his old 
 trouble gout." 
 
 And with an air of hypocritical commiseration, he 
 added : 
 
 " Monsieur is not wise to lead the life he does. 
 Women are all very well, but at his age "
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 341 
 
 The two detectives exchanged a meaning glance, 
 and as soon as their backs were turned they began to 
 laugh. 
 
 They were still laughing when they rang the bell on 
 the next floor. 
 
 The buxom-looking woman who came to open the 
 door informed them that her master would receive 
 them, although he was confined to his bed. 
 
 " But the doctor is with him now," she added. 
 " Will the gentlemen wait until he has gone ? " 
 
 The gentlemen replying in the affirmative, she con- 
 ducted them into a handsome library, and invited them 
 to take a seat. 
 
 This man whom Lecoq had come to consult was 
 celebrated for his wonderful shrewdness, and his pene- 
 tration exceeded the bounds of possibility. 
 
 He was an old employee of the Mont-de-Piete, 
 where he held a position for forty-five years, just man- 
 aging to exist upon the meagre stipend he received. 
 
 Enriched suddenly by an unexpected bequest, he at 
 once asked for a dismissal, and the next day he began 
 to long for this very employment that he had so often 
 anathematized. 
 
 He endeavored to divert his mind ; he began to 
 make a collection of old books; he piled up huge 
 mountains of tattered and worm-eaten volumes in im- 
 mense oaken chests. Vain attempts! He could not 
 shake off his ennui. 
 
 He grew thin and yellow ; his income of forty thou- 
 sand francs was killing him, when a sudden inspira- 
 tion came to his relief. 
 
 It came to him one evening after reading the me- 
 moirs of a celebrated detective, one of those men of
 
 342 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 subtle perception, soft as silk, supple as steel, whom 
 justice sometimes sets upon the track of crime. 
 
 " And I also am a detective ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 It was necessary for him to prove it. 
 
 With a feverish interest, which dated from that day, 
 he perused every book he could find that had any con- 
 nection with such subjects. Letters, memoirs, reports, 
 pamphlets everything. 
 
 He was pursuing his education. If a crime was 
 committed he started out in quest of all the details, and 
 worked up the case by himself. 
 
 But these platonic investigations did not suffice long. 
 
 One evening, at dusk, he summoned all his resolu- 
 tion, and going on foot to the prefecture, humbly 
 begged employment from the officials there. 
 
 He was not very favorably received ; applicants are 
 numerous. But he pleaded his cause so adroitly that 
 he was charged with some trifling commissions. He 
 performed them admirably. The difficult step had 
 been taken. 
 
 He was intrusted with others; and he displayed a 
 wonderful aptitude for his chosen work. 
 
 The affairs of Mme. B , the rich banker's wife, 
 
 made him famous. 
 
 Consulted at a moment when the police had aban- 
 doned all hope of solving the mystery, he proved by A 
 plus B, by a mathematical deduction, so to speak, that 
 the dear lady must have stolen from herself. 
 
 He had told the truth. 
 
 After that he was always called upon for counsel in 
 obscure and difficult cases. 
 
 It would be difficult to tell the status he held at the 
 prefecture. When a person is employed, salary, com-
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 343 
 
 pensation of some kind is understood ; but this strange 
 man had never consented to receive a penny. 
 
 What he did he did for his own pleasure for the 
 gratification of a passion which had become his very 
 life for glory, for fame. 
 
 When the funds allowed him seemed to him insuffi- 
 cient, he plunged his hands into his own pockets ; and 
 the men who were working with him never left him 
 without carrying with them substantial tokens of his 
 munificence. 
 
 Of course, such a man had many enemies. 
 
 For no compensation, he worked as much and far 
 better than two inspectors of police. In calling him 
 " spoil-trade," they were not far from right. 
 
 The sound of his name alone almost threw Gevrol 
 into convulsions. And still the jealous inspector was 
 always alluding to an error of which this remarkable 
 man had been guilty. 
 
 Inclined to obstinacy, like all enthusiastic men, 
 Father Tabaret had once effected the conviction of an 
 innocent man a poor little tailor, who was accused of 
 killing his wife. 
 
 This had the effect of cooling his ardor very per- 
 ceptibly ; and afterward he seldom visited the prefect- 
 ure. 
 
 But in spite of that, he remained the oracle, like 
 those great lawyers who, having become disgusted 
 with practice at the bar, still win great and glorious 
 triumphs in their quiet studies, and lend to others the 
 weapons which they no longer desire to wield them- 
 selves. 
 
 When the authorities were undecided what course to 
 pursue, they said : " Let us go and consult Tirauclair."
 
 344 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 For this was the name by which he was known a 
 sobriquet derived from a phrase : 
 
 " II faut que cela se tire au clair," which was ever 
 upon his lips. 
 
 Perhaps this sobriquet aided him in the concealment 
 of his occupation, which none of his personal friends 
 had ever suspected. 
 
 His disturbed life when he was working up a case, 
 the strange visitors he received, his frequent and pro- 
 longed absence from home, were imputed to a very 
 unseasonable inclination to gallantry on his part. 
 
 His concierge was deceived as well as his friends. 
 
 They laughed at his supposed infatuation ; they 
 called him an old libertine. 
 
 But people never once suspected that Tirauclair and 
 Tabaret were one and the same person. 
 
 Lecoq was trying to gain hope and courage by re- 
 flecting upon the history of this eccentric man, when 
 the housekeeper reappeared, announcing the departure 
 of the physician. 
 
 At the same time she opened a door and said : 
 
 "This is Monsieur's room; these gentlemen can 
 enter now." 
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 On a large canopied bed, sweating and panting be- 
 neath his covers, lay the two-faced oracle, Tirauclair, of 
 the prefecture Tabaret, of the Rue Saint-Lazare. 
 
 It was impossible to believe that the owner of this 
 face, in which stupidity seemed always disputing with 
 perpetual astonishment, could possess superior talent, 
 or even an average amount of intelligence. 
 
 With his retreating forehead, and his immense ears,
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 345 
 
 his odiously retrousse nose, his tiny eyes and coarse, 
 thick lips, M. Tabaret presented an excellent picture 
 of an ignorant and stupid petty-proprietor. 
 
 When he went into the streets the impudent gamins 
 shouted after him ; but his ugliness did not trouble him 
 in the least, and he seemed to take pleasure in increas- 
 ing his appearance of stupidity, delighting himself with 
 the reflection that " he is not really a genius who seems 
 to be one." 
 
 At the sight of the two detectives, whom he knew 
 very well, the eyes of the sick man sparkled. 
 
 " Good-morning, Lecoq, my boy," said he. " Good- 
 morning, my old Absinthe. So you think enough of 
 poor Papa Tirauclair down there to come and see 
 him? " 
 
 " We need your counsel, Monsieur Tabaret." 
 
 " Ah, ha ! " 
 
 " We have just been as completely outwitted as if we 
 were two children." 
 
 "What! was your man so very cunning?" 
 
 Lecoq heaved a mighty sigh. 
 
 " So cunning," he replied, " that, if I were super- 
 stitious, I should say he was the very devil himself." 
 
 The face of the sick man wore a comical expression 
 of envy. 
 
 " What ! you have found a treasure like that, and 
 you complain ! Why, it is a magnificent opportu- 
 nity a chance to be proud of! You see, my boys, 
 everything has degenerated in these days. The race 
 of great criminals is dying out only their counterfeit 
 remains a crowd of low offenders who are not worth 
 the shoe-leather expended in pursuing them. It is 
 enough to disgust a detective, upon my word. No 
 more trouble, emotion, anxiety, and excitement.
 
 346 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 Now, when a crime is committed, the criminal is in jail 
 the next day. One might take the omnibus and go to 
 the culprit's house and arrest him. One always finds 
 him the more is the pity. But what has your man 
 been doing? " 
 
 " He has killed three men." 
 
 "Oh ! oh ! oh ! " said Father Tabaret, in three differ- 
 ent tones. 
 
 This criminal was evidently superior to others of his 
 species. 
 
 " And where did it happen ? " 
 
 " In a saloon, near the barriere." 
 
 " Oh ! yes, I recollect ; a man named May. The 
 murders were committed in the Widow Chupin's 
 cabin. I saw it mentioned in the Gazette des Tribunaux, 
 and Fanferlot 1'Ecureuil, who comes to see me, told 
 me that you were strangely puzzled about the pris- 
 oner's identity. So you are charged with investigat- 
 ing the affair ? So much the better. Tell me all about 
 it, and I will aid you with all my little power." 
 
 He suddenly checked himself, and lowering his 
 voice, said : 
 
 " But first do me the favor to rise ; wait when I 
 shall make a sign to you, open that door there, on the 
 kft, very suddenly. Mariette, my housekeeper, who is 
 curiosity itself, is there listening. I hear her hair rub- 
 bing against the lock go ! " 
 
 The young detective obeyed, and Mariette, caught 
 in the act, hastened away, pursued by her master's sar- 
 casms. 
 
 " You might have known that you could not succeed 
 at that ! " he shouted after her. 
 
 Though they were much nearer the door than Papa 
 Tirauclair, neither Lecoq nor Father Absinthe had
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 347 
 
 heard the slightest sound ; and they looked at each 
 other, wondering whether their host had been playing 
 a little farce for their benefit, or whether his sense of 
 hearing really possessed the marvellous acuteness 
 which this incident would indicate. 
 
 " Now," said Tabaret, settling himself more com- 
 fortably upon his pillows " now I will listen to you, 
 my boy. Mariette will not come back again." 
 
 On his way to Father Tabaret's, Lecoq had busied 
 himself in preparing his story ; and it was in the clear- 
 est possible manner that he related all the details, all 
 the incidents connected with this strange affair, from 
 Ihe moment in which Gevrol had forced open the door 
 of the Poivriere, to the instant when May had leaped 
 over the garden-wall at the Hotel de Sairmeuse. 
 
 While Lecoq was telling his story, Father Tabaret 
 was transformed. 
 
 His gout was entirely forgotten. 
 
 According to the different phases of the recital, he 
 turned and twisted upon his bed, uttered little cries of 
 delight or disappointment, or lay motionless, plunged 
 in a sort of ecstatic beatitude, like an enthusiast in clas- 
 sical music, listening to some divine melody of the 
 great Beethoven. 
 
 " If I had been there ! If only I had been there ! " 
 he murmured now and then through his set teeth. 
 
 When Lecoq's story was ended, his host gave vent 
 to his enthusiasm. 
 
 " It is beautiful ! it is grand ! " he exclaimed. " And 
 with just that one sentence : ' It is the Prussians who 
 are coming/ for a starting-point ! Lecoq, my boy, I 
 must say that you have conducted this affair like an 
 angel ! "
 
 348 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Do you not mean to say like a fool ? " demanded 
 the discouraged detective. 
 
 " No, my friend, certainly not. You have rejoiced 
 my old heart. I can die ; I shall have a successor. I 
 would like to embrace you in the name of logic. Ah ! 
 that Gevrol who betrayed you for he did betray you, 
 there is no doubt about it that obtuse and obstinate 
 general is not worthy to unloose the latchets of your 
 shoes ! " 
 
 " You overpower me, Monsieur Tabaret ! " inter- 
 rupted Lecoq, who was not yet wholly convinced that 
 his host was not mocking him ; " but, nevertheless, 
 May has disappeared, and I have lost my reputation, 
 before I had begun to make it." 
 
 " Do not be in such a hurry to reject my compli- 
 ments," responded Father Tabaret, with a horrible 
 grimace. " I say that you have conducted this inves- 
 tigation very well ; but it could have been done much 
 better, very much better. You have a talent for this 
 work, that is evident ; but you lack experience ; you 
 become elated by a trifling advantage, or you are dis- 
 couraged by a mere nothing; you fail, and yet you 
 persist in holding fast to a fixed idea, as a moth flutters 
 about a candle. Then, you are young. But never 
 mind that, it is a fault you will outgrow only too soon. 
 And now, to speak frankly, I must tell you that you 
 have made a great many blunders." 
 
 Lecoq hung his head like a school-boy receiving a 
 reprimand from his teacher. Was he not a scholar, 
 and was not this old man his master? 
 
 " I will now enumerate your mistakes," continued 
 Papa Tabaret, " and I will show you where you, on at 
 least three occasions, have allowed an opportunity for 
 solving this mystery to escape you."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 349 
 
 " But, Monsieur " 
 
 " Chut ! chut ! my boy, let me talk a while now. 
 With what axiom did you start ? With this : ' Always 
 distrust appearances ; believe precisely the contrary of 
 what appears true, or even probable.' " 
 
 " Yes, that is exactly what I said to myself." 
 
 " And it was a very wise conclusion. With that 
 idea in your lantern to illumine your path, you ought 
 to have gone straight to the truth. But you are 
 young, as I said before; and the very first circum- 
 stance you find that seems at all probable, you forget 
 entirely the rule that should govern your conduct. As 
 soon as you meet a fact that seems more than probable, 
 you swallow it as eagerly as a gudgeon swallows the 
 bait." 
 
 This comparison could but pique the young detec- 
 tive. 
 
 " I have not been, it seems to me, as simple as that," 
 he protested. 
 
 " Bah ! What did you think, then, when you were 
 told that Monsieur d'Escorval had broken his leg, in 
 alighting from his carriage ? " 
 
 " Believe ! I believed what they told me, be- 
 cause " 
 
 He paused, and Papa Tirauclair burst into a hearty 
 fit of laughing. 
 
 " You believed it," he said, " because it was a very 
 plausible story." 
 
 " What would you have believed had you been in my 
 place? " 
 
 " Exactly the opposite of what they told me. I 
 might have been mistaken ; but it would be the logical 
 conclusion of the course of reasoning I adopted at 
 first."
 
 350 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 This conclusion was so bold that Lecoq was discon- 
 certed. 
 
 " What ! " he exclaimed ; " do you suppose that 
 Monsieur d'Escorval's fall is only a fiction? that he 
 has not broken his leg? " 
 
 Papa Tabaret's face suddenly assumed a serious ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " I do not suppose it," he replied ; " I am sure of 
 it." 
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 Lecoq's confidence in the oracle he was consulting 
 was very great; but even Papa Tirauclair might be 
 mistaken, and what he had just said seemed to be such 
 an enormity, so completely beyond the bounds of pos- 
 sibility, that the young man could not hide a gesture 
 of incredulity. 
 
 " So, Monsieur Tabaret, you are ready to affirm that 
 Monsieur d'Escorval is in as good health as Father 
 Absinthe or myself; and that he has confined himself 
 to his room for two months to give a semblance of 
 truth to a falsehood ? " 
 
 " I would be willing to swear it." 
 
 " But what could possibly have been his object ? " 
 
 Tabaret lifted his hands to heaven, as if imploring 
 forgiveness for the young man's stupidity. 
 
 " And it was in you in you that 7 saw a successor, 
 and a continuator of my method of induction ; and 
 now, you ask me such a question as that ! Reflect a 
 moment. Must I give you an example to aid you? 
 Very well Suppose yourself a judge. A crime is 
 committed ; you are charged with the duty of investi- 
 gating it, and you visit the prisoner to question him.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 351 
 
 Very well. This prisoner has, up to that time, suc- 
 ceeded in concealing his identity this was the truth 
 in the present case, was it not? Very well. What 
 would you do, if, at the very first glance, you recog- 
 nize, under the disguise of the prisoner, your best 
 friend, or your bitterest enemy ? What would you do, 
 I say ? " 
 
 " I should say to myself that a magistrate who is 
 obliged to hesitate between his duty and his inclina- 
 tions, is placed in a very trying position, and I should 
 endeavor to avoid it." 
 
 " I understand that ; but would you reveal the true 
 personality of this prisoner (your friend, or your en- 
 emy, as the case may be), if you alone knew it? " 
 
 It was such a delicate question ; the answer was so 
 difficult that Lecoq was silent, reflecting. 
 
 " I would reveal nothing whatever ! " exclaimed 
 Father Absinthe. " I would remain absolutely neutral. 
 I should tell myself that others were trying to discover 
 his identity ; and they might do it if they could but 
 my conscience should be clear." 
 
 It was the cry of honesty; not the counsel of a 
 casuist. 
 
 " I should also be silent," replied Lecoq, at last ; 
 " and it seems to me that, in keeping silence, I should 
 not fail in the obligation of a magistrate." 
 
 Papa Tabaret rubbed his hands vigorously, as he 
 always did when he was about to present some over- 
 whelming argument. 
 
 " Such being the case," said he, " do me the favor to 
 tell me what pretext you would invent in order to with- 
 draw from the case without arousing suspicion ? " 
 
 " I do not know; I cannot say now. But if I were
 
 35* MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 placed in such a position I should find some excuse 
 invent something " 
 
 " And if you could find nothing better," interrupted 
 Tabaret, " you would adopt Monsieur d'Escorval's ex- 
 pedient ; you would pretend that you had broken some 
 limb. Only, as you are a clever fellow, it would be 
 your arm that you would sacrifice. It would be less 
 inconvenient ; and you would not be condemned to se- 
 clusion for several months." 
 
 " So, Monsieur Tabaret, you are convinced that 
 Monsieur d'Escorval knows who May really is." 
 
 Father Tirauclair turned so suddenly in his bed that 
 his forgotten gout drew from him a terrible groan. 
 
 " Can you doubt it ? " he exclaimed. " Can you 
 possibly doubt it? What proofs do you ask, then? 
 What connection do you see between the fall of the 
 judge and the prisoner's attempt at suicide ? 
 
 " I was not there, as you were ; I know the story 
 only as you have told it to me. I could not see it with 
 my own eyes ; but this is as I understand it listen : 
 
 " Monsieur d'Escorval, his task at the Widow 
 Chupin's house completed, comes to the prison to ex- 
 amine the assassin. The two men recognize each 
 other. Had they been alone, mutual explanations 
 might have ensued, and affairs taken quite a different 
 turn. 
 
 " But they were not alone ; a third party was pres- 
 ent Monsieur d'Escorval's clerk. So they could say 
 nothing. The judge, in a troubled voice, asked a few 
 commonplace questions ; the prisoner, terribly agitat- 
 ed, replied as best he could. 
 
 " After leaving the cell, Monsieur d'Escorval said to 
 himself : ' No, I cannot decide in the case of a man 
 whom I hate ! '
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 353 
 
 "He was terribly perplexed. When you tried to 
 speak to him, as he was leaving the prison, he harshly 
 told you to wait until to-morrow ; and a quarter of an 
 hour later he pretended to fall." 
 
 " Then you think that Monsieur d'Escorval and this 
 so-called May are enemies ? " inquired Lecoq. 
 
 " Do not the facts demonstrate that beyond a 
 doubt ? " asked Tabaret. " If they were friends, the 
 judge might have done the same exactly ; but the pris- 
 oner would not have attempted to strangle himself. 
 
 " But, thanks to you, his life was saved ; for he owes 
 his life to you. During the night, confined in a 
 strait-jacket, he was powerless to injure himself. Ah ! 
 how he must have suffered that night ! What agony ! 
 
 " So in the morning, when he was conducted to the 
 cabinet of the judge for examination, it was with a sort 
 of frenzy that he dashed into the dreaded presence of 
 his enemy. 
 
 " He expected to find Monsieur d'Escorval there, 
 ready to triumph over his misfortunes; and he in- 
 tended to say : 
 
 ' ' Yes, it is I. There is a fatality in it. I have 
 killed three men, and I am in your power. But, for 
 the very reason that there is a mortal hatred between 
 us, you owe it to yourself not to prolong my tortures ! 
 It would be infamous cowardice in you to do so ! ' 
 
 " But, instead of Monsieur d'Escorval, he sees Mon- 
 sieur Segmuller. Then what happens ? 
 
 " He is surprised, and his eye betrays the astonish- 
 ment he feels when he realizes the generosity of his 
 enemy, whom he had believed implacable. 
 
 " Then a smile mounts to his lips a smile of hope, 
 for he thinks, since Monsieur d'Escorval has not be- 
 trayed his secret, that he may be able to preserve it, and
 
 354 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 that he may, perhaps, emerge from this shadow of 
 shame and of crime with his name and his honor still 
 untarnished." 
 
 And with a sudden change of tone, and an ironical 
 gesture, Papa Tabaret added : 
 
 " And that is my explanation." 
 
 Old Father Absinthe had risen, frantic with delight. 
 1 " Cristi! " he exclaimed ; " that is it ! that is it ! " 
 
 Lecoq's approbation was none the less evident, be- 
 cause it was mute. 
 
 He could appreciate this rapid and wonderful work 
 of induction far better than his companion. 
 
 For a moment or two Papa Tabaret reclined upon 
 his pillows enjoying the sweets of admiration, then he 
 continued : 
 
 " Do you desire further proofs, my boy ? Recollect 
 the perseverance Monsieur d'Escorval displayed in 
 sending Monsieur Segmuller for information. I ad- 
 mit that a man may have a passion for his profession ; 
 but not to such an extent as this. At that time you be- 
 lieved that his leg was broken. How is it that you felt 
 no surprise that a judge, lying upon the rack, with his 
 bones in fragments, should take so much interest in a 
 miserable murderer ? I have no broken bones, I have 
 only the gout ; but I know very well that when I am 
 suffering half the world might be judging the other 
 half, and the idea of sending Mariette for information 
 would never occur to me. Ah ! a moment's reflection 
 would have enabled you to understand the reason of his 
 solicitude, and would probably have given you the key 
 to the whole mystery." 
 
 Lecoq, who was such a brilliant casuist in the 
 Widow Chupin's hovel, who was so full of confidence 
 in himself, and so earnest in expounding his theories
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 335 
 
 to simple Father Absinthe Lccoq hung his head 
 abashed and did not utter a word. 
 
 But he felt neither anger nor impatience. 
 
 He had come to ask advice, and strange to say, he 
 thought it quite right that it should be given him. 
 
 He had made mistakes, and when they were pointed 
 out to him, he did not become angry another marvel ! 
 and he did not try to prove that he had been right 
 when he had been wrong. 
 
 Meanwhile M. Tabaret had poured out a great glass 
 of tisane, and drained it. He now resumed : 
 
 " I need not remind you of the mistake you made in 
 not obliging Toinon Chupin to tell you all she knew 
 about this affair while she was in your power. ' A bird 
 in the hand ' you know the proverb." 
 
 " Be assured, Monsieur Tabaret, that this mistake 
 has cost me enough to make me realize the danger of 
 ever allowing the zeal of a well-disposed witness to 
 cool." 
 
 " We will say no more about that, then. But I must 
 tell you that three or four times, at least, it has been 
 in your power to clear up this mystery." 
 
 He paused, awaiting some protestation from his dis- 
 ciple. None came. 
 
 " If he says this," thought the young detective, " it 
 must indeed be so." 
 
 This discretion made a great impression on Papa 
 Tabaret, and increased the esteem he had conceived for 
 Lecoq. 
 
 " The first time that you were lacking in discretion 
 was when you were trying to discover the owner of the 
 diamond ear-ring found in the Poivriere." 
 
 " I made every effort to discover the last owner." 
 
 " You tried very hard, I do not deny that ; but as for
 
 356 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 making every effort that is saying too much. For 
 example, when you heard that the Baroness de 
 Watchau was dead, and that all her property had been 
 sold, what did you do? " 
 
 " You know ; I went immediately to the person who 
 had charge of the sale." 
 
 " Very well ! and afterward ? " 
 
 " I examined the catalogue ; and as, among the 
 jewels mentioned there, I could find none that an- 
 swered the description of these magnificent diamonds, 
 I knew that the clew was lost entirely." 
 
 " There is precisely where you are mistaken ! " ex- 
 claimed Papa Tirauclair, exultantly. " If a jewel of 
 such great value is not mentioned in the catalogue of 
 the sale the Baroness de Watchau could not have pos- 
 sessed it at the time of her death. And if she no longer 
 possessed it she must have given it away, or sold it. 
 And to whom ? To one of her friends, very probably. 
 
 " For this reason, had I been in your place, I should 
 have inquired the names of her intimate friends, which 
 would have been a very easy task ; and then, I should 
 have tried to win the favor of all the femmes de chambre 
 of these lady friends. This would have been only a 
 pastime for a good-looking young fellow like you. 
 
 " Then," he continued, " I would have shown this 
 ear-ring to each maid in succession until I found one 
 who said : ' This diamond belongs to my mistress,' or 
 one who was seized with a nervous trembling." 
 
 " And to think that this idea did not once occur to 
 me! " 
 
 " Wait, wait. I am coming to the second mistake 
 you made. What did you do when you obtained pos' 
 session of the trunk which May pretended was his? 
 You played directly into this cunning adversary's hand.
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 357 
 
 How could you fail to see that this trunk was only an 
 accessory to the comedy, that it could only have been 
 deposited with Madame Milner by the accomplice, and 
 that all its contents must have been purchased for the 
 occasion." 
 
 " I knew this, of course, but even under these cir- 
 cumstances, what could I do ? " 
 
 " What could you do, my boy ? Well, I am only a 
 poor old man, but I would have interviewed every 
 clothier in Paris ; and at last some one of them would 
 have exclaimed : ' Those articles ! Why, I sold them 
 to an individual like this or that who purchased them 
 for one of his friends, whose measure he brought with 
 him.' " 
 
 Angry with himself, Lecoq struck his clinched hand 
 violently upon the table by his side. 
 
 " Sacre bleu! " he exclaimed, " that method was in- 
 fallible and as simple as the day. Ah ! never while I 
 live shall I forgive myself for my stupidity ! " 
 
 " Gently, gently! " interrupted the sick man; " you 
 are going too far, my dear boy. Stupidity is not the 
 proper word at all ; you should say carelessness, 
 thoughtlessness. You are young what else could 
 one expect? What is far less inexcusable is the man- 
 ner in which you conducted the chase, after the pris- 
 oner was allowed to escape." 
 
 " Alas ! " murmured the young man, now completely 
 discouraged ; " did I blunder in that ? " 
 
 " Terribly, my son ; and here is where I really blame 
 you. What diabolical influence induced you to follow 
 this May, step by step, like a common policeman ? " 
 
 This time Lecoq was stupefied. 
 
 " Ought I to have allowed him to escape me ? " he 
 inquired.
 
 35 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " No; but if I had been by your side when, beneath 
 the gallery of the Odeon, you so clearly divined the 
 prisoner's intentions, I should have said to you : ' This 
 fellow, friend Lecoq, will hasten to the house of 
 Madame Milner to inform her of his escape. Let u* 
 run after him.' And when he had left the Hotel de 
 Mariembourg, I should have added : ' Now, let him go 
 where he chooses ; but attach yourself to Madame Mil- 
 ner ; do not lose sight of her ; cling to her as closely as 
 her own shadow, for she will conduct you to the ac- 
 complice that is to say to the solution of the mys- 
 tery." 
 
 " That is the truth ; I see it now." 
 
 " But instead of that, what did you do ? You ran to 
 the hotel, you terrified the boy! When a fisherman 
 has hold of the seme, and is ready to draw in the fish, he 
 does not beat the drum to frighten them away ! " 
 
 Papa Tabaret thus reviewed the entire course of in- 
 struction, remodelling it in accordance with his method 
 of induction. 
 
 Lecoq had, at first, had a magnificent inspiration. 
 In his first investigations he had displayed remarkable 
 talent; and yet he had not succeeded. Why? Sim- 
 ply because he had neglected the axiom with which he 
 started : " Always distrust what seems probable ! " 
 
 But the young man listened with divided attention. 
 A thousand projects were darting through his brain. 
 Soon he could restrain himself no longer. 
 
 " You have saved me from despair, Monsieur," he 
 interrupted. " I thought all was lost ; but I see that 
 my blunders can be repaired. What I neglected to do, 
 I can do now ; there is still time. Have I not the dia- 
 mond ear-ring as well as divers effects of the prisoner
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 359 
 
 still in my possession? Madame Milner still owns the 
 Hotel de Mariembourg, and I am going to watch it," 
 
 " And with what object, my boy? " 
 
 " For what object ? Why, to find my prisoner, to be 
 sure ! " 
 
 Had he been less engrossed in his idea, Lecoq would 
 have detected a slight smile in Tirauclair's thick lips. 
 
 " Ah, my son ! is it possible that you do not suspect 
 the real name of this pretended buffoon ? " 
 
 Lecoq trembled and turned away his face. He did 
 not wish Tabaret to see his eyes. 
 
 " No," he replied, " I do not suspect " 
 
 " You are tittering a falsehood ! " interrupted the 
 sick man. " You know as well as I do, that May re- 
 sides on the Rue de Grenelle-Saint-Germain, and that 
 he is known as Monsieur le Due de Sairmeuse."' 
 
 On hearing these words, Father Absinthe laughed 
 heartily. 
 
 " Ah ! that is a good joke ! " he exclaimed. " Ah, 
 ha!" 
 
 Such was not Lecoq's opinion, however. 
 
 " Well, yes, Monsieur Tabaret," said he, " this idea 
 did occur to me ; but I drove it away." 
 
 " And why, if you please? " 
 
 " Because because " 
 
 " Because you would not believe the logical se- 
 quence of your premises; but I am consistent, and I 
 say : " It seems impossible that the assassin in the 
 cabin of the Widow Chupin should be the Due de 
 Sairmeuse.' Hence, the murderer in the Chupin 
 cabin, May, the pretended buffoon, is the Due de 
 Sairmeuse ! "
 
 360 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII 
 
 How this idea had entered Papa Tabaret's head, Le- 
 coq could not comprehend. 
 
 A vague suspicion had, it is true, flitted through his 
 own mind ; but it was at a moment when his despair 
 at seeing his prisoner elude his grasp, as well as cer- 
 tain words uttered by Couturier, would furnish an ex- 
 cuse for almost any supposition. 
 
 But Father Tirauclair calmly in cold blood, so to 
 speak announced as an undeniable fact a suspicion 
 which he, Lecoq, had not dared to entertain, even for 
 an instant, in his wildest excitement. 
 
 The sick man could not fail to notice the amazement 
 of his visitor. 
 
 " You look as if you had suddenly fallen from the 
 clouds," said he. " Do you suppose that I spoke at 
 random like a parrot ? " 
 
 " No, certainly not, Monsieur ; but " 
 
 " Hush ! You are surprised because you know 
 nothing of contemporaneous history. If you do not 
 wish to remain all your life as a common detective, like 
 your friend Gevrol, you must inform yourself on this 
 subject." 
 
 " I must confess that I do not see the connection." 
 
 M. Tabaret deigned no response. Turning to 
 Father Absinthe, and addressing him in the most affa- 
 ble tones, he said : 
 
 " Do me the favor, my old friend, to go to my library 
 and bring me two large volumes entitled : * General 
 Biography of the Men of the Present Age.' They are 
 in the book-case on the right."
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 361 
 
 Father Absinthe hastened to obey ; and as soon as 
 he was in possession of the books, M. Tabaret began 
 turning the pages with an eager hand, like a person 
 seeking some word in a dictionary. 
 
 " Esbayron," he muttered, " Escars, Escayrac, Es- 
 cher, Escodica at last we have it Escorval ! Listen 
 attentively, my boy, and you will be enlightened." 
 
 This injunction was entirely unnecessary. Never 
 had the young detective's faculties been more keenly on 
 the alert. 
 
 It was in an emphatic voice that the sick man read : 
 
 " ' Escorval (Louis-Guillaume, Baron d'). Diplo- 
 matist and politician, born in Montaignac, December 
 3rd, 1769, of an old family of lawyers. He was com- 
 pleting his studies in Paris on the breaking out of the 
 Revolution. He embraced the cause with all the ardor 
 of youth. But, soon disapproving the excesses com- 
 mitted in the name of Liberty, he sided with the Reac- 
 tionists, counselled, perhaps, by Roederer, who was 
 one of his relatives. 
 
 " ' Commended to the favor of the first consul by 
 Monsieur de Talleyrand, he entered upon his diplo- 
 matic career with a mission to Switzerland ; and dur- 
 ing the existence of the empire he was intrusted with 
 many very important negotiations. 
 
 " ' Devoted body and soul to the Emperor, he found 
 himself gravely compromised by the Second Restora- 
 tion. 
 
 " ' At the time of the disturbances in Montaignac, he 
 was arrested on the double charge of high treason and 
 conspiracy. He was tried by a military commission, 
 and condemned to death. 
 
 " ' The sentence was not executed, however. He 
 owed his life to the noble devotion and heroic energy
 
 362 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 of a priest, one of his friends, the Abbe Midon, ture of 
 the little village of Sairmeuse. 
 
 " ' The Baron d'Escorval had only one son, who en- 
 tered upon the duties of magistrate at a very early 
 age/ " 
 
 Lecoq was intensely disappointed. 
 
 " I understand," he remarked. " It is the biography 
 of the father of our judge. Only I do not see that it 
 teaches us anything." 
 
 An ironical smile curved Father Tirauclair's lips. 
 
 " It teaches us that Monsieur d'Escorval's father 
 was condemned to death," he replied. " That is some- 
 thing, I assure you. A little patience, you will soon 
 know all." 
 
 He had found a new leaf, and he continued his read- 
 ing: 
 
 " ' Sairmeuse (Anne-Marie- Victor de Tingry, Due 
 de). A French general and politician, born at the 
 Chateau de Sairmeuse, near Montaignac, January 17, 
 1758. The Sairmeuse family is one of the oldest and 
 most illustrious in France. It must not be confounded 
 with the ducal family De ,Sermeuse, whose name is 
 written with an e. f 
 
 '' ' Leaving France at the beginning of the Revolu- 
 tion, Anne de Sairmeuse distinguished himself by his 
 brilliant exploits in the army of Conde. Some years 
 later he offered his sword to Russia ; and it is asserted 
 by some of his biographers that he was fighting in the 
 Russian ranks at the time of the disastrous retreat from 
 Moscow. 
 
 " ' Returning to France with the Bourbons, he be- 
 came quite famous by reason of the intensity of his 
 ultra-royalist opinions. It is certain that he had the 
 good fortune to regain the possession of his immense
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 363 
 
 family estates; and the rank and dignities which he 
 had gained in foreign lands were confirmed. 
 
 ' ' Appointed by the king to serve upon the military 
 commission charged with bringing to justice and try- 
 ing the conspirators of Montaignac, he displayed a 
 severity and a zeal that resulted in the capture and con- 
 viction of all the parties implicated.' " 
 
 Lecoq sprang up with sparkling eyes. 
 
 " I see it clearly now," he exclaimed. " The father 
 of the present Due de Sairmeuse tried to have the 
 father of the present Monsieur d'Escorval beheaded." 
 
 M. Tabaret was the picture of complacency. 
 
 " You see the assistance history gives," said he. 
 " But I have not finished, my boy ; the present Due 
 de Sairmeuse also has his article, that will be of inter- 
 est to us. So listen : 
 
 " ' Sairmeuse (Anne-Marie-Martial). Son of the 
 preceding, was born in London in 1791, received his 
 early education in England, and completed it at the 
 Court of Austria, which he has since visited on several 
 confidential missions. 
 
 " ' Heir of the opinions, the prejudices, and the ani- 
 mosities of his father, he placed at the service of his 
 party a highly cultivated intellect, unusual penetration, 
 and extraordinary abilities. A leader at the time when 
 political passion was raging highest, he had the cour- 
 age to assume the sole responsibility of the most ex- 
 treme measures. Obliged to retire from office on ac- 
 count of general animadversion, he left behind him ill- 
 will and hatred, which will be extinguished only with 
 his life.' " 
 
 The sick man closed the book, and with assumed 
 modesty, he asked :
 
 364 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 " Ah, well ! What do you think of my little method 
 of induction ? " 
 
 But Lecoq was too much engrossed with his own 
 thoughts to respond. 
 
 " I think," he remarked, " if th'e Due de Sairmeuse 
 had disappeared for two months, the period of May's 
 imprisonment, all Paris would have known it, and 
 
 " You are dreaming ! " interrupted Father Tabaret. 
 " With his wife and his valet de chambre for accom- 
 plices, the duke could absent himself for a year if he 
 wished, and all his servants would believe him in the 
 hotel." 
 
 " I admit that," said Lecoq, at last ; " but unfortu- 
 nately, there is one circumstance which overturns this 
 theory we have built up so laboriously." 
 
 " And what is that, if you please ? " 
 
 " If the man who took part in the broil at the Poiv- 
 riere had been the Due de Sairmeuse, he would have 
 disclosed his name ; he would have declared that, hav- 
 ing been attacked, he had only defended himself ; and 
 his name alone would have opened the prison doors for 
 him. Instead of that, what did the prisoner do ? He 
 attempted to kill himself. Would a grand seigneur, 
 like the Due de Sairmeuse, to whom life must be a 
 perpetual enchantment, have thought of committing 
 suicide ? " 
 
 A mocking whistle from Father Tabaret interrupted 
 the speaker. 
 
 " You seem to have forgotten the last sentence in 
 the paragraph : ' Monsieur Sairmeuse leaves behind 
 him ill-will and hatred.' Do you know the price he 
 might have been compelled to pay for his liberty? 
 No; no more do I. To explain his presence at the
 
 MONSIEUR LECOQ 365 
 
 Poivriere, and the presence of a woman, who was, per- 
 haps, his wife, who knows what disgraceful secrets he 
 would be obliged to betray ? Between shame and sui- 
 cide, he chose suicide. He wished to save his name 
 and his honor intact." 
 
 Father Tirauclair spoke with such vehemence that 
 even old Father Absinthe was deeply impressed ; al- 
 though, to tell the truth, he had understood but little of 
 the conversation. 
 
 He was now delighted and confident. 
 
 As for Lecoq, he rose, very pale, his lips trembling 
 a little like a man who had just taken an invincible 
 determination. 
 
 " You will excuse my hypocrisy, Father Tabaret," 
 he said, in an agitated voice. " I had thought of all 
 this, but I distrusted myself. I wished to hear you 
 say it." 
 
 Then with an imperious gesture, he added : 
 
 " Now, I know what I have to do." 
 
 Father Tabaret lifted his hands toward heaven with 
 every sign of intense dismay. 
 
 " Unhappy man ! " he exclaimed ; " do you think of 
 going to arrest the Due de Sairmeuse ? Poor Lecoq ! 
 Free, this man is almost omnipotent, and you, an in- 
 finitesimal agent of police, will be broken like glass. 
 Take care, my boy ; do not attack the duke. I would 
 not be responsible, even for your life." 
 
 The young detective shook his head. 
 
 " Oh, I do not deceive myself," said he. " I know 
 that the duke is far beyond my reach. But he will be 
 in my power again on the day I learn his secret. I do 
 not fear danger ; but I know, if I would succeed, I must 
 conceal myself I will conceal myself then. Yes, I
 
 366 MONSIEUR LECOQ 
 
 will remain in shadow until the day when I can remove 
 the veil from this mystery ; then I will appear in my 
 true character. And if May is really the Due de 
 Sairmeuse I shall have my revenge."
 
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