Prasville opened all the drawers with the aid of false keys. Next, he
examined all the papers, while his companions took down the books from
the shelves, shook the pages of each separately and felt inside the
bindings.

"Of course, it's a paper they're looking for," said Lupin. "Bank-notes,
perhaps..."

Prasville exclaimed:

"What rot! We shan't find a thing!"

Yet he obviously did not abandon all hope of discovering what he wanted,
for he suddenly seized the four bottles in a liqueur-stand, took out the
four stoppers and inspected them.

"Hullo!" thought Lupin. "Now he's going for decanter-stoppers! Then
it's not a question of a paper? Well, I give it up."

Prasville next lifted and examined different objects; and he asked:

"How often have you been here?"

"Six times last winter," was the reply.

"And you have searched the house thoroughly?"

"Every one of the rooms, for days at a time, while he was visiting his
constituency."