An enigma is before us; and it ought to be
solved."
"Oh!--we'll solve it, I am certain, sir," exclaimed Lecoq, who at this
moment felt capable of the most extraordinary achievements. Indeed,
he would have gone through fire and water for the magistrate who had
received him so kindly, and his enthusiasm sparkled so plainly 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
M. d'Escorval give you any orders? Have you obtained any fresh
information?"
"I don't think I have wasted my time," replied Lecoq, who at once
proceeded to relate the various facts that had come to his knowledge
since his departure from the Poivriere.
With rare precision and that happiness of expression which seldom fails
a man well acquainted with his subject, he recounted the daring feats
of the presumed accomplice, the points he had noted in the
supposed murderer's conduct, the latter's unsuccessful attempt at
self-destruction. He repeated the testimony given by the cab-driver, and
by the concierge in the Rue de Bourgogne, and then read the letter he
had received from Father Absinthe.
In conclusion, he placed on the magistrate's desk some of the dirt he
had scraped from the prisoner's feet; at the same time depositing beside
it a similar parcel of dust collected on the floor of the cell in which
the murderer was confined at the Barriere d'Italie.
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