Renaudin! (calling to one of the
subordinates, and pointing to the waiter) collar that man and tie
his hands behind him. Now, then, gentlemen, let us walk
upstairs!"
Every man and woman in the house was secured--the "Old Soldier"
the first. Then I identified the bed in which I had slept, and
then we went into the room above.
No object that was at all extraordinary appeared in any part of
it. The Sub-prefect looked round the place, commanded everybody
to be silent, stamped twice on the floor, called for a candle,
looked attentively at the spot he had stamped on, and ordered the
flooring there to be carefully taken up. This was done in no
time. Lights were produced, and we saw a deep raftered cavity
between the floor of this room and the ceiling of the room
beneath. Through this cavity there ran perpendicularly a sort of
case of iron thickly greased; and inside the case appeared the
screw, which communicated with the bed-top below. Extra lengths
of screw, freshly oiled; levers covered with felt; all the
complete upper works of a heavy press--constructed with infernal
ingenuity so as to join the fixtures below, and when taken to
pieces again, to go into the smallest possible compass--were next
discovered and pulled out on the floor. After some little
difficulty the Sub-prefect succeeded in putting the machinery
together, and, leaving his men to work it, descended with me to
the bedroom.
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