Lecoq, my lad, put the basket on
the table."
Gevrol at this moment returned from his expedition equally delighted.
"I am on the track of the man with the earrings," said he; "the boat
went down the river. I have obtained an exact description of the master
Gervais."
"What have you discovered, M. Tabaret!" asked the magistrate.
The old fellow carefully emptied upon the table the contents of the
basket,--a big lump of clay, several large sheets of paper, and three
or four small lumps of plaster yet damp. Standing behind this table, he
presented a grotesque resemblance to those mountebank conjurers who in
the public squares juggle the money of the lookers-on. His clothes had
greatly suffered; he was covered with mud up to the chin.
"In the first place," said he, at last, in a tone of affected modesty,
"robbery has had nothing to do with the crime that occupies our
attention."
"Oh! of course not!" muttered Gevrol.
"I shall prove it," continued old Tabaret, "by the evidence. By-and-by
I shall offer my humble opinion as to the real motive. In the second
place, the assassin arrived here before half-past nine; that is to
say, before the rain fell.
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