you never saw a man so vexed and so surprised. What made
me all the more determined in my refusal was that he offered me a good
round sum in payment for my trouble. This only increased my suspicion,
and I persisted in my refusal."

The shopkeeper paused to take breath; but Lecoq was on fire with
impatience. "And what then?" he insisted.

"Well, he paid for the wine and went away. I had forgotten all about the
matter until that man came in here just now, and after asking me if I
hadn't a package for him, which had been left by one of his cousins,
began to say some peculiar words--the countersign, no doubt. When I
replied that I had nothing at all he turned as white as his shirt; and
I thought he was going to faint. All my suspicions came back to me. So
when he afterward proposed that I should buy his clothes, I told him I
couldn't think of it."

All this was plain enough to Lecoq. "And this cousin who was here a
fortnight ago, what was he like?" asked he.

"He was a tall, rather corpulent man, with a ruddy complexion, and white
whiskers. Ah! I should recognize him in an instant!"

"The accomplice!" exclaimed Lecoq.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing that would interest you. Thank you. I am in a hurry. You will
see me again; good morning."

Lecoq had not remained five minutes in the shop: and yet, when he
emerged, May and Father Absinthe were nowhere in sight. Still, the young
detective was not at all uneasy on that score. In making arrangements
with his old colleague for this pursuit Lecoq had foreseen such a
situation, and it had been agreed that if one of them were obliged to
remain behind, the other, who was closely following May, should from
time to time make chalk marks on the walls, shutters, and facings of the
shops, so as to indicate the route, and enable his companion to rejoin
him. Hence, in order to know which way to go, Lecoq had only to glance
at the buildings around him. The task was neither long nor
difficult, for on the front of the third shop beyond that of the
second-hand-clothes dealer a superb dash of the crayon instructed him to
turn into the Rue Saint-Jacques.

On he rushed in that direction, his mind busy at work with the incident
that had just occurred. What a terrible warning that old-clothes
dealer's declaration had been! Ah! that mysterious accomplice was a
man of foresight. He had even done his utmost to insure his comrade's
salvation in the event of his being allowed to escape. What di