nd of mark which would
be made by a cord scraping against the wall! And look what a size this
chimney is! It's not only one Jacques Dollon who could pass out by it,
but two! But three! A whole army! Ah, ha, I believe I am on the right
track! Now for it!"

Fandor bent over and looked down the interior of the chimney; and, at
the risk of toppling over, he managed to reach something he saw shining
in the darkness of the opening; he drew himself up, radiant:

"By Jove! There are irons fixed in the walls of the chimney to climb up
and down by; and, what is more, they bear traces of a recent
passage--the rust has been rubbed off here and there!... Yes, it is by
this way Dollon has come out!... To whom else could it be an advantage
to use this as an exit from the interior of the Palais, on to the
roofs?"

Fandor was keen on the scent! Here, indeed, was matter for an article
which would bring him into notice--good business for a journalist!

"If Dollon had been alive," reflected Fandor, "it is evident that, once
on the roofs, he had a choice of three ways to escape: he could do what
I have just done, but the other way about; he could break a skylight,
jump into a garret, and lie hidden under the tiles, awaiting the
propitious moment when he could gain the corridors below and, mingling
with the crowd, slip unobserved into the street; or, he could hide among
the roofs, and stay there; or, he could search for an opening--one of
those air holes which put the cellars and drains in communication with
the exterior.... But I have come to the conclusion that Dollon is dead!
Then his corpse could only remain up here; or, it has been put down into
some place where nobody goes. The garrets of the Palais are so
incessantly visited by the clerks and registrars that no corpse could
remain undiscovered in any of them. Therefore, either Jacques Dollon's
corpse is somewhere on the roofs of the Palais, or there is some sort of
communication between the roofs and the drains--it is obvious!"

Evidently the next step was to search every hole and corner of these
same roofs. Armed with revolver and lantern, Fandor started on his tour
of investigation; but prudently, for he was now almost certain that
there were a number of accomplices involved in this Dollon affair.

To go carefully over the enormous roof of the Palais de Justice was no
light task! One has only to consider the immensity of this monumental
pile, its complicated architecture, the