o lay a complaint against Madame
la Comtesse----"

"Heh! What has she done?" asked the public prosecutor, looking
alternately at the lady and the magistrate.

"I have burned the record of the examinations," said the lady of fashion
with a laugh, so pleased at her high-handed conduct that she did not yet
feel the pain of the burns, "If that is a crime--well, monsieur must get
his odious scrawl written out again."

"Very true," said Camusot, trying to recover his dignity.

"Well, well, 'All's well that ends well,'" said Monsieur de Granville.
"But, my dear Countess, you must not often take such liberties with the
Law; it might fail to discern who and what you are."

"Monsieur Camusot valiantly resisted a woman whom none can resist; the
Honor of the Robe is safe!" said the Comte de Bauvan, laughing.

"Indeed! Monsieur Camusot was resisting?" said the public prosecutor,
laughing too. "He is a brave man indeed; I should not dare resist the
Countess."

And thus for the moment this serious affair was no more than a pretty
woman's jest, at which Camusot himself must laugh.

But Monsieur de Granville saw one man who was not amused. Not a little
alarmed by the Comte de Serizy's attitude and expression, his friend led
him aside.

"My dear fellow," said he in a whisper, "your distress persuades me for
the first and only time in my life to compromise with my duty."

The public prosecutor rang, and the office-boy appeared.

"Desire Monsieur de Chargeboeuf to come here."

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf, a sucking barrister, was his private secretary.

"My good friend," said the Comte de Granville to Camusot, whom he took
to the window, "go back to your chambers, get your clerk to reconstruct
the report of the Abbe Carlos Herrera's depositions; as he had not
signed the first copy, there will be no difficulty about that. To-morrow
you must confront your Spanish diplomate with Rastignac and Bianchon,
who will not recognize him as Jacques Collin. Then, being sure of his
release, the man will sign the document.

"As to Lucien de Rubempre, set him free this evening; he is not likely
to talk about an examination of which the evidence is destroyed,
especially after such a lecture as I shall give him.

"Now you will see how little justice suffers by these proceedings. If
the Spaniard really is the convict, we have fifty ways of recapturing
him and committing him for trial--for we will have his conduct in Spain
thoroughly investigate