"
These objections were so sensible that the governor yielded. "So be it,"
he sighed, "I will try and be patient. But let me see the missive that
was enclosed in this bit of bread."
Lecoq could not consent to this proposal. "I warned M. Segmuller," said
he, "that there would probably be something new this morning; and he
will be waiting for me in his office. We must only examine the letter in
his presence."
This remark was so correct that the governor assented; and they at once
started for the Palais de Justice. On their way, Lecoq endeavored to
convince his companion that it was wrong to deplore a circumstance
which might be of incalculable benefit to the prosecution. "It was an
illusion," said he, "to imagine that the governor of a prison could be
more cunning than the prisoners entrusted to him. A prisoner is almost
always a match in ingenuity for his custodians."
The young detective had not finished speaking when they reached
the magistrate's office. Scarcely had Lecoq opened the door than M.
Segmuller and his clerk rose from their seats. They both read important
intelligence in our hero's troubled face. "What is it?" eagerly asked
the magistrate. Lecoq's sole response was to lay the pellet of bread
upon M. Segmuller's desk. In an instant the magistrate had opened it,
extracting from the centre a tiny slip of the thinnest tissue paper.
This he unfolded, and smoothed upon the palm of his hand. As soon as
he glanced at it, his brow contracted.
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