"Let me see the stuff."

Lambelle handed him the bottle.

"Have you any more of this in your laboratory?"

"Not a drop."

"If you wished to destroy this, how would you do it?"

"I should empty the bottle into the Seine. It would flow down to the
sea, and no harm would be done."

"See if you can find any traces of the dog," said the Minister. "I will
clamber down into the quarry, and look there."

"You will find nothing," said Lambelle confidently.

There was but one path by which the bottom of the quarry could be
reached. The Minister descended by this until he was out of sight of
the man above; then he quickly uncorked the bottle, and allowed the
fluid to drip along the narrowest part of the path which faced the
burning sun. He corked the bottle, wiped it carefully with his
handkerchief, which he rolled into a ball, and threw into the quarry.
Coming up to the surface again, he said to the mild and benevolent
scientist: "I cannot find a trace of the dog."

"Nor can I," said Lambelle. "Of course when you can hardly find a sign
of the building it is not to be expected that there should be any