Monsieur Lecoq, v.1

e of it; for while those who managed to sleep were disturbed by frightful dreams of a police raid, thos

mediately began prowling about, eagerly listening and watching, and ready to take flight at the least sign of danger. At first they could discover no particular reasons for alarm. But l

sinking to the earth, sometimes rising to a height of four or five feet, at others remaining quite motionless, and the next second flying off like a ball. In spite of the place and the season of the year, the less ignorant among vagabonds believed the light to be some ig

hesitating between two courses, both equally reasonable, and both offering strong probabilities of success. He stood between two paths, that made by the two women on the one side, and that made by the accomplice on

followed them at a distance, he has seen them lock up his accomplice, and he is undoubtedly prowling round about the

anxious as an unsophisticated person who, having questioned a clairvoy

man, "to what would that lead? Perhaps to a

all its chances of failure, had chances of su

to follow the footprints of these two wo

as in some magic glass, the one the fruits, the other the glory of success. They hurried forward. At first it was only play to

tives, at times even effacing them. In many spots, either on account of exposure or the nature of the soil, the thaw had completed its work, and there were large pa

off the scent. Then it was that the lantern moved about so strangely. More than a dozen times, in spite of all their efforts, they would have lost the clue entirely had it not been for the elegant shoes worn by the lady with the little fe

t have been supposed. Probably they had considered this street too frequented, and too well lighted. They had only crossed

e well acquainted with the

n quitting the Rue de Patay, they had immediately turned to the right, so as to

he woman who wore the broad shoes, but that was all. Hereabout, moreover, the condition of the ground was not calculated to facilitate an exploration of this nature. There had been a grea

now might betray them? Did they take the middl

space as they had done just before, for on the oth

bsinthe, "we have our

he cold anger of a man who sees the object which he was about to seize disappear fr

cried suddenly, "

see nor divine anything! but he no l

id Lecoq; "what

ls of some carriage tha

centre of Paris. It was empty, and proved their salvation. They waited, and when it came nearer they hailed the driver. No doubt they promised him a handsome fa

companion. "Have we made any great pro

"Did you expect that the tracks made by the fugitives would

; b

you suppose that he will have forgotten that he took up two persons in the Rue du Chevaleret? He will tell us where he drove them; but that will not do us any good, for, of course, they will not have given him t

hen he added: "We must now go back to the Poivriere, and go q

get back to the Poivriere that he almost ran, Father Absinthe's thoughts were a

that his long years of service had not gained for him. In these cases he had not failed to accuse his superiors of injustice, and his fortunate rivals of gross flattery. In his opinion, seniority was the only claim t

cient reasons for what he had formerly regarded as favoritism. He secretly confessed that this newcomer whom he had

ey were obliged to proceed more slowly on account of the badness of the road, he deemed it a favorable opportunity to resume

uld have amazed Lecoq, if his mind had not been a hund

ten minutes ago you w

e the misfortune t

sfort

anged. It is evident that the wind is now coming from the south. The fog has disa

e falling now;

n a spirited horse. He sprang forward, and, adopting a still more

le, still more troubled by the replies of his young companion. A great misfortu

though he had but little more breath than was absolutely necessary to enable him to con

d forward, "you do not understand that our investigation, my success, and your re

O

suffice. If we declare to the public prosecutor that we have seen these footprints, he will ask, where? And what can we say? If we swear by all the gods that we have seen the footprints of a man and of two women, the investigating m

an i

ese perfect, clear, and easily recognizable footprints will prove the culprits' ruin. How can we preserve them? By

or he had merely held the lantern. But here was a chance for him to acquire a real and substantial right to

r man stopped short. "You

action of a man who has gained his revenge. "They invented a way

ecol

He said that the whole evidence depended on that mark alone, that it was worth more than ten years' ha

n, go

t told me all about it, and showed me the mold they obtained.

ience. "And how did they obtai

d water. When it becomes thoroughly softened, they heat it until it forms a liquid, of moderate cons

a person who has just heard a bad joke, or

found in all the manuals. It is excellent, no doubt, bu

N

e counseled me to pour melted lead

er word, they reentered the Widow Chupin's hovel. The first impulse of the older

young detective, "and bring me some water; gather togeth

a fragment of one of the broken bottles, and began scraping aw

he had thought of a way by which failure might possibly be averted-and he hoped for ultimate success. When he had accumulated some seven or eight h

he, "come and hold

it, and began his experiment, trembling with anxiety. He first sprinkled upon the impression a fine coating

f the impression. Thus, after an hour's labor, Lecoq possessed half a dozen of these casts, which might, perh

number of the footprints with the boxes and pieces of board which Father Absinthe had collected, thus placing them, as it were, b