s sure of it, and that my beard was false.
So saying, he caught hold of my beard and pulled it. This made me mad. I
jumped up, and with a blow of my fist I felled him to the ground. In
an instant all the others were upon me! I had my revolver--you know the
rest."

"And while all this was going on what were the two women doing?"

"Ah! I was too busy to pay any attention to them. They disappeared!"

"But you saw them when you entered the place--what were they like?"

"Oh! they were big, ugly creatures, as tall as grenadiers, and as dark
as moles!"

Between plausible falsehood, and improbable truth, justice--human
justice, and therefore liable to error--is compelled to decide as best
it can. For the past hour M. Segmuller had not been free from mental
disquietude. But all his doubts vanished when he heard the prisoner
declare that the two women were tall and dark. If he had said: "The
women were fair," M. Segmuller would not have known what to believe, but
in the magistrate's opinion the audacious falsehood he had just heard
proved that there was a perfect understanding between the supposed
murderer and Widow Chupin.

Certainly, M. Segmuller's satisfaction was great; but his face did not
betray it. It was of the utmost importance that the prisoner should
believe that he had succeeded in deceiving his examiner. "You must
understand how necessary it is to find these women," said the magistrate
kindly.

"If their testimony corresponds with your allegations, your innocence
will be proved conclusively."

"Yes, I understand that; but how can I put my hand upon them?"

"The police can assist you--our agents are always at the service
of prisoners who desire to make use of them in establishing their
innocence. Did you make any observations which might aid in the
discovery of these women?"

Lecoq, whose eyes never wandered from the prisoner's face, fancied that
he saw the faint shadow of a smile on the man's lips.

"I remarked nothing," said the prisoner coldly.

M. Segmuller had opened the drawer of his desk a moment before. He
now drew from it the earring which had been found on the scene of the
tragedy, and handing it abruptly to the prisoner, he asked: "So you
didn't notice this in the ear of one of the women?"

The prisoner's imperturbable coolness of demeanor did not forsake him.
He took the jewel in his hand, examined it attentively, held it up to
the light, admired its brilliant scintillations, and said: "It