therefore, he is, at the present moment, in the comparatively
restricted space that lies before our eyes."

"I am sure of it."

"And you, mademoiselle?"

"Yes."

"And I, too," said Victor.

The deputy prosecutor exclaimed, with a leer:

"The field of inquiry is quite narrow. We have only to continue the
search commenced four hours ago."

"We may be more fortunate."

M. Filleul took the leather cap from the mantel, examined it and,
beckoning to the sergeant of gendarmes, whispered:

"Sergeant, send one of your men to Dieppe at once. Tell him to go to
Maigret, the hatter, in the Rue de la Barre, and ask M. Maigret to
tell him, if possible, to whom this cap was sold."

The "field of inquiry," in the deputy's phrase, was limited to the
space contained between the house, the lawn on the right and the
angle formed by the left wall and the wall opposite the house, that
is to say, a quadrilateral of about a hundred yards each way, in
which the ruins of Ambrumesy, the famous mediaeval monastery, stood