hat there is another
dressing-room and then the bedroom occupied by M. Charles Rambert."

"Good. And the floor above: how is that arranged?"

"The second floor is exactly like the first floor, sir, except that
there are only servants' rooms there. They are smaller, and there are
more of them."

"What servants sleep in the house?"

"As a general rule, sir, the two maid-servants, Marie the housemaid and
Louise the cook, and also Herve the butler; but Herve did not sleep in
the chateau last night. He had asked the mistress's permission to go
into the village, and she had given it to him on condition that he did
not come back that night."

"What do you mean?" enquired the magistrate, rather surprised.

"The Marquise was rather nervous, sir, and did not like the idea of
anyone being able to get into the house at night; so she was always
careful to double-lock the front door and the kitchen door herself every
night. She went round all the rooms too every night, and made sure that
all the iron shutters were properly fastened, and that it was impossible
for anyone to get into the house. When Herve goes out in the evenings he
either sleeps in the village and does not return till the following
morning, which is what he did to-day, or else he asks the coachman to
leave the yard door unlocked, and sleeps in a room above the stables
which as a rule is not occupied."

"That is where the other servants sleep, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir. The gardeners, the coachman, and the keepers all live in the
out-buildings. With regard to myself, I have a small cottage a little
farther away in the park."

M. de Presles sat silent for a few moments, thinking deeply. The only
sound in the room was the irritating squeak of the clerk's quill pen, as
he industriously wrote down all the steward's replies. At last M. de
Presles looked up.

"So, on the night of the crime the only persons sleeping in the chateau
were Mme. de Langrune, her granddaughter Mlle. Therese, M. Charles
Rambert and the two maids. Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then it does not seem likely that the crime was committed by anyone
living in the chateau?"

"That is so, sir:--and yet I do not believe that anybody got into the
chateau; only two people had a key of the front door--the Marquise and
myself. When I got to the house this morning I found the door open,
because Mlle. Therese went out early with M. Charles Rambert to meet M.
Rambert, senior, at the station, and she open