eave his _chump_ in the Place de Greve."

As Mlle. Michonneau seemed mystified, Gondureau explained the two
slang words for her benefit. _Sorbonne_ and _chump_ are two forcible
expressions borrowed from thieves' Latin, thieves, of all people, being
compelled to consider the human head in its two aspects. A sorbonne is
the head of a living man, his faculty of thinking--his council; a chump
is a contemptuous epithet that implies how little a human head is worth
after the axe has done its work.

"Collin is playing us off," he continued. "When we come across a man
like a bar of steel tempered in the English fashion, there is always one
resource left--we can kill him if he takes it into his head to make the
least resistance. We are reckoning on several methods of killing Collin
to-morrow morning. It saves a trial, and society is rid of him without
all the expense of guarding and feeding him. What with getting up the
case, summoning witnesses, paying their expenses, and carrying out the
sentence, it costs a lot to go through all the proper formalities before
you can get quit of one of these good-for-nothings, over and above the
three thousand francs that you are going to have. There is a saving
in time as well. One good thrust of the bayonet into Trompe-la-Mort's
paunch will prevent scores of crimes, and save fifty scoundrels from
following his example; they will be very careful to keep themselves out
of the police courts. That is doing the work of the police thoroughly,
and true philanthropists will tell you that it is better to prevent
crime than to punish it."

"And you do a service to our country," said Poiret.

"Really, you are talking in a very sensible manner tonight, that you
are," said the head of the department. "Yes, of course, we are serving
our country, and we are very hardly used too. We do society very great
services that are not recognized. In fact, a superior man must rise
above vulgar prejudices, and a Christian must resign himself to
the mishaps that doing right entails, when right is done in an
out-of-the-way style. Paris is Paris, you see! That is the explanation
of my life.--I have the honor to wish you a good-evening, mademoiselle.
I shall bring my men to the Jardin du Roi in the morning. Send
Christophe to the Rue du Buffon, tell him to ask for M. Gondureau in the
house where you saw me before.--Your servant, sir. If you should ever
have anything stolen from you, come to me, and I will do my best to