They came from the garden, the stables, the cellar, and the
kitchen. Nearly all bore marks of their calling. A young groom appeared
with his wooden shoes filled with straw, shuffling about on the marble
floor like a mangy dog on a Gobelin tapestry. One of them recognised
Noel as the visitor of the previous Sunday; and that was enough to set
fire to all these gossip-mongers, thirsting for scandal.
Since morning, moreover, the unusual events at the De Commarin mansion
had caused a great stir in society. A thousand stories were
circulated, talked over, corrected, and added to by the ill-natured
and malicious,--some abominably absurd, others simply idiotic. Twenty
people, very noble and still more proud, had not been above sending
their most intelligent servants to pay a little visit among the count's
retainers, for the sole purpose of learning something positive. As
it was, nobody knew anything; and yet everybody pretended to be fully
informed.
Let any one explain who can this very common phenomenon: A crime is
committed; justice arrives, wrapped in mystery; the police are still
ignorant of almost everything; and yet details of the most minute
character are already circulated about the streets.
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