"Thank you, madame, that will do." The Chief rose from his chair,
plainly intimating that the interview was at an end.


CHAPTER IV

He had other work to do, and was eager to get at it. So he left Block to
show the Countess back to the waiting-room, and, motioning to the porter
that he might also go, the Chief hastened to the sleeping-car, the
examination of which, too long delayed, claimed his urgent attention.

It is the first duty of a good detective to visit the actual theatre of
a crime and overhaul it inch by inch,--seeking, searching,
investigating, looking for any, even the most insignificant, traces of
the murderer's hands.

The sleeping-car, as I have said, had been side-tracked, its doors were
sealed, and it was under strict watch and ward. But everything, of
course, gave way before the detective, and, breaking through the seals,
he walked in, making straight for the little room or compartment where
the body of the victim still lay untended and absolutely untouched.

It was a ghastly sight, although not new in M. Floçon's experience.
There lay the corpse in the narrow berth, just as it had been stricken.
It was partially undressed, wearing only shirt and drawers. The former
lay open at the chest, and showed the gaping wound that had, no doubt,
caused death, probably instantaneous death. But other blows had been
struck; there must have been a struggle, fierce and embittered, as for
dear life. The savage truculence of the murderer had triumphed, but not