aid,--

"I was present at Cocoleu's examination, and I noticed, on the contrary,
the amazement of the countess."

The doctor raised his shoulders, and said,--

"Certainly she said, 'Ah!' But that is no proof. I, also, could very
easily say, 'Ah!' if anybody should come and tell me that the mayor of
Sauveterre was in the wrong; and still I should not be surprised."

"Doctor!" said M. de Chandore, anxious to conciliate,--"doctor!"

But Dr. Seignebos had already turned to M. Magloire, whom he was anxious
to convert, and went on,--

"Yes, the face of the Countess Claudieuse, expressed amazement; but her
eyes spoke of bitter, fierce hatred, of joy, and of vengeance. And that
is not all. Will you please tell me, Mr. Mayor, when Count Claudieuse
was roused by the fire, was the countess by him? No, she was nursing her
youngest daughter, who had the measles. Hm! What do you think of measles
which make sitting up at night necessary? And when the two shots were
fired, where was the countess then? Still with her daughter, and on the
other side of the house from where the fire was."

The mayor of Sauveterre was no less obstinate than the doctor. He at
once objected,--

"I beg you will notice, doctor, that Count Claudieuse himself deposed
how, when he ran to the fire, he found the door shut from within, just
as he had left it a few hours before."

Dr. Seignebos returned a most ironical bow, and then asked,--

"Is there really only one door in the chateau at Valpinson?"

"To my knowledge," said M. de Chandore, "there are at least three."

"And I must say," added M. Magloire, "that according to M. de
Boiscoran's statement, the countess, on that evening, had gone out by
the laundry-door when she came to meet him."

"What did I say?" exclaimed the doctor.

And, wiping his glasses in a perfect rage, he added,--

"And the children! Does Mr. Mayor think it natural that the Countess
Claudieuse, this incomparable mother in his estimation, should forget
her children in the height of the fire?"

"What! The poor woman is called out by the discharge of fire-arms;
she sees her house on fire; she stumbles over the lifeless body of her
husband: and you blame her for not having preserved all her presence of
mind."

"That is one view of it; but it is not the one I take. I rather think
that the countess, having been delayed out of doors, was prevented by
the fire from getting in again. I think, also, that Cocoleu came very
opportun