place where the countess was found.

It was then nearly three o'clock. M. Plantat remarked that probably
no one had eaten anything during the day. Would it not be wise to
take something, he suggested, if the investigations were to be
pursued till night? This appeal to the trivial necessities of our
frail humanity highly displeased the worthy mayor; but the rest
readily assented to the suggestion, and M. Courtois, though not in
the least hungry, followed the general example. Around the table
which was yet wet with the wine spilt by the assassins, the judge,
M. Plantat, the mayor, and the doctor sat down, and partook of an
improvised collation.

V

The staircase had been put under guard, but the vestibule had
remained free. People were heard coming and going, tramping and
coughing; then rising above this continuous noise, the oaths of
the gendarmes trying to keep back the crowd. From time to time, a
scared face passed by the dining-room door, which was ajar. These
were curious folks who, more daring than the rest, wished to see
the "men of justice" eating, and tried to hear a word or two, to
report them, and so become important in the eyes of the others.
But the "men of justice"--as they said at Orcival--took care to
say nothing of moment while the doors were open, and while a
servant was passing to and fro. Greatly moved by this frightful
crime, disturbed by the mystery which surrounded it, they hid
their impressions. Each, on his part, studied the probability of
his suspicions, and kept his opinion to himself.

M. Domini, as he ate, put his notes in order, numbering the leaves,
marking certain peculiarly significant answers of the suspected
persons with a cross. He was, perhaps, the least tormented of the
four companions at this funereal repast. The crime did not seem to
him one of those which keep judges of instruction sleepless through
the night; he saw clearly the motive of it; and he had Bertaud and
Guespin, two of the assassins, or at least accomplices, secure.

M. Plantat and Dr. Gendron, seated next each other, were talking
of the illness which carried off Sauvresy. M. Courtois listened to
the hubbub without.

The news of the double murder was soon noised about the neighborhood,
and the crowd increased every minute. It filled the court, and
became bolder and bolder; the gendarmes were overwhelmed. Then or
never was the time for the mayor to show his authority. "I am g