"Let us continue," said he. "Do you still
persist in your statements, prisoner?"
"Yes."
"Very well; then I shall be forced to tell you that what you are saying
is untrue."
The prisoner's lips trembled visibly, and it was with difficulty that he
faltered: "May my first mouthful of bread strangle me, if I have uttered
a single falsehood!"
"A single falsehood! Wait."
The magistrate drew from the drawer of his desk the molds of the
footprints prepared by Lecoq, and showing them to the murderer, he
said: "You told me a few minutes ago that the two women were as tall
as grenadiers; now, just look at the footprints made by these female
giants. They were as 'dark as moles,' you said; a witness will tell
you that one of them was a small, delicate-featured blonde, with an
exceedingly sweet voice." He sought the prisoner's eyes, gazed steadily
into them, and added slowly: "And this witness is the driver whose cab
was hired in the Rue de Chevaleret by the two fugitives, both short,
fair-haired women."
This sentence fell like a thunderbolt upon the prisoner; he grew pale,
tottered, and leaned against the wall for support.
"Ah! you have told me the truth!" scornfully continued the pitiless
magistrate. "Then, who is this man who was waiting for you while you
were at the Poivriere? Who is this accomplice who, after your arrest,
dared to enter the Widow Chupin's den to regain possession of some
compromising object--no doubt a letter--which he knew he would find in
the pocket of the Widow Chupin's apron? Who is this devoted, courageous
friend who feigned drunkenness so effectually that even the police were
deceived, and thoughtlessly placed him in confinement with you? Dare you
deny that you have not arranged your system of defense in concert with
him? Can you affirm that he did not give the Widow Chupin counsel as to
the course she should pursue?"
But already, thanks to his power of self-control, the prisoner had
mastered his agitation.
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