Tabaret. It
was the same story, with the same circumstances, the same abundance of
precise and conclusive details; but the tone in which it was told was
entirely changed. When speaking to the old detective, the young
advocate had been emphatic and violent; but now, in the presence of the
investigating magistrate, he restrained his vehement emotions.
One might imagine that he adapted his style to his auditors, wishing to
produce the same effect on both, and using the method which would best
accomplish his purpose.
To an ordinary mind like M. Tabaret's he used the exaggeration of anger;
but to a man of superior intelligence like M. Daburon, he employed the
exaggeration of restraint. With the detective he had rebelled against
his unjust lot; but with the magistrate he seemed to bow, full of
resignation, before a blind fatality.
With genuine eloquence and rare facility of expression, he related his
feelings on the day following the discovery,--his grief, his perplexity,
his doubts.
To support this moral certainty, some positive testimony was needed.
Could he hope for this from the count or from Madame Gerdy, both
interested in concealing the truth? No.
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