It seems as if their impressions
would last for years; but no, they speedily sink into the depths of the
past, and time obliterates their passage--just as the water of the
lake closes over and hides the stone, for an instant the cause of such
commotion. Thus it was that at the end of a fortnight the frightful
crime committed in the Widow Chupin's drinking-den, the triple murder
which had made all Paris shudder, which had furnished the material for
so many newspaper articles, and the topic for such indignant comments,
was completely forgotten. Indeed, had the tragedy at the Poivriere
occurred in the times of Charlemagne, it could not have passed more
thoroughly out of people's minds. It was remembered only in three
places, at the Depot, at the Prefecture de Police, and at the Palais de
Justice.
M. Segmuller's repeated efforts had proved as unsuccessful as Lecoq's.
Skilful questioning, ingenious insinuations, forcible threats, and
seductive promises had proved powerless to overcome the dogged spirit
of absolute denial which persistently animated, not merely the prisoner
May, but also the Widow Chupin, her son Polyte, Toinon the Virtuous, and
Madame Milner. The evidence of these various witnesses showed plainly
enough that they were all in league with the mysterious accomplice; but
what did this knowledge avail? Their attitude never varied! And, even
if at times their looks gave the lie to their denials, one could always
read in their eyes an unshaken determination to conceal the truth.
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