there wasn't."

"Very well. But Lacheneur--you must know Lacheneur!"

"Yes, sir; I know him."

The young police agent could not repress an exclamation of delight. "At
last," thought he, "I have a clue that may lead me to the truth. What
kind of man is he?" he asked with intense anxiety.

"Oh! he is not at all like the other men who come to drink at my
mother-in-law's shop. I have only seen him once; but I remember him
perfectly. It was on a Sunday. He was in a cab. He stopped at the corner
of the waste ground and spoke to Polyte. When he went away, my husband
said to me: 'Do you see that old man there? He will make all our
fortunes.' I thought him a very respectable-looking gentleman--"

"That's enough," interrupted Lecoq. "Now it is necessary for you to
tell the investigating magistrate all you know about him. I have a cab
downstairs. Take your child with you, if you like; but make haste; come,
come quickly!"

XVI

The extreme uncertainty of the result was another attraction for M.
Segmuller's investigating mind. Given the magnitude of the difficulties
that were to be overcome, he rightly considered that if his efforts
proved successful, he would have achieved a really wonderful victory.
And, assisted by such a man as Lecoq, who had a positive genius for his
calling, and in whom he recognized a most valuable auxiliary, he really
felt confident of ultimate success.

Even on returning home after the fatiguing labors of the day he did not
think of freeing himself from the burden of responsibility in relation
to the business he had on hand, or of driving away care until the
morrow. He dined in haste, and as soon as he had swallowed his coffee
began to study the case with renewed ardor. He had brought from his
office a copy of the prisoner's narrative, which he attentively perused,
not once or twice, but several times, seeking for some weak point that
might be attacked with a probability of success. He analyzed every
answer, and weighed one expression after another, striving, as he did
so, to find some flaw through which he might slip a question calculated
to shatter the structure of defense. He worked thus, far into the night,
and yet he was on his legs again at an early hour in the morning. By
eight o'clock he was not merely dressed and shaved, he had not merely
taken his matutinal chocolate and arranged his papers, but he was
actually on his way to the Palais de Justice. He had quite forgotten
that his ow