you, sir, before the station-house, at the Barriere d'Italie, where the
murderer is confined, I noticed close by an individual whose appearance
was not unlike that of the man described by Lecoq. This man seemed to
be very intoxicated, for he reeled and staggered against the walls. He
tried to cross the street, but fell down in the middle of it, in such a
position that he would inevitably have been crushed by the first passing
vehicle."

Lecoq turned away his head; he did not wish them to read in his eyes how
perfectly he understood the whole game.

"Seeing this," pursued Gevrol, "I called two men and asked them to
aid me in raising the poor devil. We went up to him; he had apparently
fallen asleep: we shook him--we made him sit up; we told him that he
could not remain there, but he immediately flew into a furious rage. He
swore at us, threatened us, and began fighting us. And, on my word, we
had to take him to the station-house, and leave him there to recover
from the effects of his drunken debauch."

"Did you shut him up in the same cell with the murderer?" inquired
Lecoq.

"Naturally. You know very well that there are only two cages in the
station-house at the barriere--one for men and the other for women;
consequently--"

The commissary seemed thoughtful. "Ah! that's very unfortunate," he
stammered; "and there is no remedy."

"Excuse me, there is one," observed Gevrol, "I can send one of my men to