hat was doubtless very greasy; his wig stuck to it without his
noticing it, and left his head bare, showing his skull horribly
disfigured by a scar beginning at the nape of the neck and ending over
the right eye, a prominent seam all across his head. The sudden
removal of the dirty wig which the poor man wore to hide this gash
gave the two lawyers no inclination to laugh, so horrible to behold
was this riven skull. The first idea suggested by the sight of this
old wound was, "His intelligence must have escaped through that cut."

"If this is not Colonel Chabert, he is some thorough-going trooper!"
thought Boucard.

"Monsieur," said Derville, "to whom have I the honor of speaking?"

"To Colonel Chabert."

"Which?"

"He who was killed at Eylau," replied the old man.

On hearing this strange speech, the lawyer and his clerk glanced at
each other, as much as to say, "He is mad."

"Monsieur," the Colonel went on, "I wish to confide to you the secret
of my position."

A thing worthy of note is the natural intrepidity of lawyers. Whether
from the habit of receiving a great many persons, or from the deep
sense of the protection conferred on them by the law, or from
confidence in their missions, they enter everywhere, fearing nothing,