A candle, with a charred smoking wick, cast its flickering light
upon the same scene of disorder, revealing to view the rigid features of
the three victims. Without losing a moment, Lecoq began to pick up and
study the various objects scattered over the floor. Some of these still
remained intact. The Widow Chupin had recoiled from the expense of a
tiled floor, judging the bare ground upon which the cabin was built
quite good enough for the feet of her customers. This ground, which must
originally have been well beaten down, had, by constant use and damp,
become well-nigh as muddy as the soil outside.
The first fruits of Lecoq's search were a large salad-bowl and a big
iron spoon, the latter so twisted and bent that it had evidently been
used as a weapon during the conflict. On inspecting the bowl, it became
evident that when the quarrel began the victims were regaling themselves
with the familiar mixture of water, wine, and sugar, known round about
the barrieres as vin a la Frangaise. After the salad-bowl, the two men
picked up five of the weighty glasses ordinarily used in wine-shops, and
which, while looking as though they would contain half a bottle, are
in point of fact so thick at the bottom that they hold next to nothing.
Three of these glasses were broken, two were whole. All of them had
contained wine--the same vin a la Frangaise. This was plain, but for
greater surety, Lecoq applied his tongue to the bluish mixture
remaining in the bottom of each glass.
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