Lecoq, who started from his seat at the question.
"Now just look at my black ball there. I haven't thought of anybody
else, mark you, since yesterday; I haven't had a wink of sleep all
night for thinking of him. I must have him, and I will!"

"I don't doubt it; but when?"

"Ah, there it is! Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps in a month; it depends
on the correctness of my calculations and the exactness of my plan."

"What, is your plan made?"

"And decided on."

M. Plantat became attention itself.

"I start from the principle that it is impossible for a man,
accompanied by a woman, to hide from the police. In this case,
the woman is young, pretty, and in a noticeable condition; three
impossibilities more. Admit this, and we'll study Hector's
character. He isn't a man of superior shrewdness, for we have
found out all his dodges. He isn't a fool, because his dodges
deceived people who are by no means fools. He is then a medium
sort of a man, and his education, reading, relations, and daily
conversation have procured him a number of acquaintances whom he
will try to use. Now for his mind. We know the weakness of his
character; soft, feeble, vacillating, only acting in the last
extremity. We have seen him shrinking from decisive steps, trying
always to delay matters. He is given to being deceived by
illusions, and to taking his desires for accomplished events. In
short, he is a coward. And what is his situation? He has killed
his wife, he hopes he has created a belief in his own death, he has
eloped with a young girl, and he has got nearly or quite a million
of francs in his pocket. Now, this position admitted, as well as
the man's character and mind, can we by an effort of thought,
reasoning from his known actions, discover what he has done in such
and such a case? I think so, and I hope I shall prove it to you."

M. Lecoq rose and promenaded, as his habit was, up and down the
room. "Now let's see," he continued, "how I ought to proceed in
order to discover the probable conduct of a man whose antecedents,
traits, and mind are known to me. To begin with, I throw off my
own individuality and try to assume his. I substitute his will for
my own. I cease to be a detective and become this man, whatever he
is. In this case, for instance, I know very well what I should do
if I were Tremorel. I should take such measures as would throw all
the detectives in the universe off the scent. But I must forget
Monsieur Lecoq in order to