felt weary after the labors of the night, his head was burning, and
he shivered and his knees trembled. Perhaps, though he was by no means
sensitive, he felt the influence of the horrors that surrounded him, and
which seemed more sinister than ever in the bleak light of morning.
He began to ferret in the cupboards, and at last succeeded in
discovering--oh, marvelous fortune!--a bottle of brandy, three parts
full. He hesitated for an instant, then he poured out a glass, and
drained it at a single draft.

"Will you have some?" he inquired of his companion. "It is not a very
famous brand, to be sure; but it is just as good, it makes one's blood
circulate and enlivens one."

Lecoq refused; he did not need to be enlivened. All his faculties were
hard at work. He intended that, after a single perusal of his report,
the investigating magistrate should say: "Let the officer who drew up
this document be sent for." It must be remembered that Lecoq's future
depended upon such an order. Accordingly, he took particular care to be
brief, clear, and concise, to plainly indicate how his suspicions on the
subject of the murder had been aroused, how they had increased, and how
they had been confirmed. He explained by what series of deductions he
had succeeded in establishing a theory which, if it was not the
truth, was at least plausible enough to serve as the basis for further
investigation.

Then he enumerated the articles of conviction ranged on the table before
him. There were the flakes of brown wool collected upon the plank, the
valuable earring, the models of the different footprints in the garden,
and the Widow Chupin's apron with its pockets turned inside out. There
was also the murderer's revolver, with two barrels discharged and three