ed was sown, and as the
evening passed, the wise old lady remarked that her son fell into moody
silences and strode about restlessly. And, knowing the signs, she left him
to his thoughts.

When bedtime came, Paul kissed her tenderly good night and then turned to
withdraw, but he paused at the door, and with a look that she remembered
well from the days of his boyhood transgressions, a look of mingled
frankness and shamefacedness, he came back to her bedside.

"Mother," he said, "I want to be perfectly honest about this thing; I told
you there is nothing that I could do against this man; as a matter of fact,
there is one thing that I could _possibly_ do. It's a long shot, with the
odds all against me, and, if I should fail, he would do me up, that's sure;
still, I must admit that I see a chance, one small chance of--landing him.
I thought I'd tell you because--well, I thought I'd tell you."

"My boy!" she cried. "My brave boy! I'm happy now. All I wanted was to have
you think this thing over alone, and--decide alone. Good night, Paul! God
bless you and--help you!"

"Good night, mother," he said fondly. "I will decide before to-morrow,
and--whatever I do, I--I'll remember what you say."

Then he went to his room and for hours through the night Ernestine,
watching by the patient, saw his light burning.

The next morning he came again to his mother's bedside with his old buoyant
smile, and after loving greetings, he said simply: "It's all right, little
mother, I see my way. I'm going to take the chance, and," he nodded
confidently, "between you and me, it isn't such a slim chance, either."

CHAPTER XXVII

THE DIARY

Coquenil's effort during the next month might be set forth in great detail.
It may also be told briefly, which is better, since the result rather than
the means is of moment.

The detective began by admitting the practical worthlessness of the
evidence in hand against this formidable adversary, and he abandoned, for
the moment, his purpose of proving that De Heidelmann-Bruck had killed
Martinez. Under the circumstances there was no way of proving it, for how
can the wheels of justice be made to turn against an individual who
absolutely controls the manner of their turning, who is able to remove
annoying magistrates with a snap of his fingers, and can use the full power
of government, the whole authority of the Prime Minister of France and the
Minister of Justice for his personal convenience an