e afraid of, he can--impregnable in a defense of
absolute denial--brave all the attacks of justice.

Such was, at this moment, the situation of May, the mysterious murderer;
as both M. Segmuller and Lecoq were forced to admit, with mingled grief
and anger. They had hoped to arrive at a solution of the problem by
examining Polyte Chupin and his wife, and they had been disappointed;
for the prisoner's identity remained as problematical as ever.

"And yet," exclaimed the magistrate impatiently, "these people know
something about this matter, and if they would only speak--"

"But they won't."

"What motive is it that keeps them silent? This is what we must
discover. Who will tell us the price that has been promised Polyte
Chupin for his silence? What recompense can he count upon? It must be a
great one, for he is braving real danger!"

Lecoq did not immediately reply to the magistrate's successive queries,
but it was easy to see from his knit brows that his mind was hard at
work. "You ask me, sir," he eventually remarked, "what reward has
been promised Chupin? I ask on my part who can have promised him this
reward?"

"Who has promised it? Why, plainly the accomplice who has beaten us on
every point."

"Yes," rejoined Lecoq, "I suppose it must have been he. It certainly
looks like his handiwork--now, what artifice can he have used? We know
how he managed to have an interview with the Widow Chupin, but how has
he succeeded in getting at Polyte, who is in prison, closely watched?"

The young detective's insinuation, vague as it was, did not escape M.
Segmuller. "What do you mean?" asked the latter, with an air of mingled
surprise and indignation. "You can't suppose that one of the keepers has
been bribed?"

Lecoq shook his head, in a somewhat equivocal manner. "I mean nothing,"
he replied, "I don't suspect any one. All I want is information. Has
Chupin been forewarned or not?"

"Yes, of course he has."

"Then if that point is admitted it can only be explained in two ways.
Either there are informers in the prison, or else Chupin has been
allowed to see some visitor."

These suppositions evidently worried M. Segmuller, who for a moment
seemed to hesitate between the two opinions; then, suddenly making
up his mind, he rose from his chair, took up his hat, and said: "This
matter must be cleared up. Come with me, Monsieur Lecoq."

A couple of minutes later, the magistrate and the detective had reached
the Depot, wh