ited
where you found it."

M. Plantat did not seem to be quite convinced yet.

"But there are the traces of a struggle in the sand," said he.

His companion made a gesture of protest.

"Monsieur deigns to have his joke; those marks would not deceive a
school-boy."

"It appears to me, however--"

"There can be no mistake, Monsieur Plantat. Certain it is that the
sand has been disturbed and thrown about. But all these trails that
lay bare the earth which was covered by the sand, were made by the
same foot. Perhaps you don't believe it. They were made, too, with
the end of the foot; that you may see for yourself."

"Yes, I perceive it."

"Very well, then; when there has been a struggle on ground like
this, there are always two distinct kinds of traces--those of the
assailant and those of the victim. The assailant, throwing himself
forward, necessarily supports himself on his toes, and imprints the
fore part of his feet on the earth. The victim, on the contrary,
falling back, and trying to avoid the assault, props himself on his
heels, and therefore buries the heels in the soil. If the
adversaries are equally strong, the number of imprints of the toes
and the heels will be nearly equal, according to the chances of the
struggle. But what do we find here?"

M. Plantat interrupted:

"Enough; the most incredulous would now be convinced." After
thinking a moment, he added:

"No, there is no longer any possible doubt of it."

M. Lecoq thought that his argument deserved a reward, and treated
himself to two lozenges at a mouthful.

"I haven't done yet," he resumed. "Granted, that the countess could
not have been murdered here; let's add that she was not carried
hither, but dragged along. There are only two ways of dragging a
body; by the shoulders, and in this case the feet, scraping along
the earth, leave two parallel trails; or by the legs--in which
case the head, lying on the earth, leaves a single furrow, and that
a wide one."

Plantat nodded assent.

"When I examined the lawn," pursued M. Lecoq, "I found the parallel
trails of the feet, but yet the grass was crushed over a rather
wide space. How was that? Because it was the body, not of a man,
but of a woman, which was dragged across the lawn--of a woman
full-dressed, with heavy petticoats; that, in short, of the countess,
and not of the count."

M. Lecoq paused, in expectation of a question, or a remark.

But the old justice of the peace did not seem