yes,
living, terrible, accusing, were removed, leaving behind them two empty
orbits, the Professor suddenly spoke with marvelous eloquence, flowing
and picturesque, as if he were speaking of works of art. And it was, in
truth, a work of art, this wonderful mechanism which he explained to his
students, who listened eagerly to each word. It was a work of art, this
eye, with its sclerotic, its transparent cornea, its aqueous and
vitreous humor, its crystalline lens, and the retina, like a
photographic plate in that black chamber in which the luminous rays
reflect, reversed, the objects seen. And M. Morin, holding between his
fingers the object which he was demonstrating, spoke of the membrane
formed of fibres and of the terminal elements of the optic nerve, as a
professor of painting or of sculpture speaks of a gem chased by a
Benvenuto.

"The human body is a marvel," cried M. Morin, "a marvel, Messieurs," and
he held forth for several minutes upon the wonderful construction of
this marvel. His enthusiasm was shared, moreover, by the young men and
Dr. Erwin, who listened intently. Bernardet, ignorant and respectful,
felt troubled in the presence of this renowned physiologist, and
congratulated himself that it was he who had insisted on this experiment
and caused a member of the Institute to hold forth thus. As for M.
Ginory, he left the room a moment, feeling the need of air. The
operation, which the surgeons prolonged with joy, made him ill, and he
felt very faint. He quickly recovered, however, and returned to the
dissecting room, so as not to lose any of the explanation which M. Morin
was giving as he stood with the eye in his hand. And in that eye an
image remained, perhaps. He was anxious to search for it, to find it.

"I will take it upon myself," Bernardet said.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE police officer did not follow the autopsical operations closely. He
was eager to know--he was impatient for the moment when, having taken
the picture, he might develop the negatives and study them to see if he
could discover anything, could decipher any image. He had used
photography in the service of anthropometry; he had taken the pictures
at the Morgue with his kodak, and now, at home in his little room, which
he was able to darken completely, he was developing his plates.

Mme. Bernardet and the children were much struck with the expression of
his face. It was not troubled, but preoccupied and