hammers the provost's suspicions were aroused, and throwing himself on
Flessiere, he seized him round the waist from behind. Flessiere, unable
to turn, raised his arm and fired over his shoulder. The shot missed the
provost, merely burning a lock of his hair, but slightly wounded one of
his servants, who was carrying a lantern. He then tried to fire a second
shot, but Jausserand, seizing him by the wrist with one hand, blew out
his brains with the other. While Jausserand and Flessiere were thus
struggling, Gaillard threw himself on Villa, pinning his arms to his
sides. As he had no weapons, he tried to push him to the wall, in order
to stun him by knocking his head against it; but when the servant, being
wounded, let the lantern fall, he took advantage of the darkness to
make a dash for the door, letting go his hold of his antagonist.
Unfortunately for him, the doors, of which there were two, were guarded,
and the guards, seeing a half-naked man running away at the top of his
speed, ran after him, firing several shots. He received a wound which,
though not dangerous, impeded his flight, so that he was boon overtaken
and captured. They brought him back a prisoner to the town hall, where
Flessiere's dead body already lay.

Meanwhile Jean-Louis had had better luck. While the two struggles as
related above were going on, he slipped unnoticed to an open window
and got out into the street. He ran round the corner of the house, and
disappeared like a shadow in the darkness before the eyes of the guards.
For a long time he wandered from street to street, running down one
and up another, till chance brought him near La Poissonniere. Here he
perceived a beggar propped against a post and fast asleep; he awoke him,
and proposed that they should exchange clothes. As Jean-Louis' suit was
new and the beggar's in rags, the latter thought at first it was a joke.
Soon perceiving, however, that the offer was made in all seriousness, he
agreed to the exchange, and the two separated, each delighted with his
bargain. Jean-Louis approached one of the gates of the town, in order to
be able to get out as soon as it was opened, and the beggar hastened off
in another direction, in order to get away from the man who had let him
have so good a bargain, before he had time to regret the exchange he had
made.

But the night's adventures were far from being over. The beggar was
taken a prisoner, Jean-Louis' coat being recognised, and brought to the