ter
midnight? Its bad name served the purpose of a bulwark. The most daring
vagrants did not drink there without some disquietude, fearing that if
the liquor caused them to lose consciousness, they might be robbed or
perhaps even murdered. Hence, if any one had been attracted to this
notoriously dangerous drinking-shop by the light that streamed through
the open door, it could only have been some very reckless person
returning late at night from the ball at the Rainbow, with a few sous
left in his pocket. But, even then, a single glance inside would have
sufficed to put the bravest to flight.

In less than a second the young police agent had weighed all these
possibilities, concerning which he did not breathe a word to Father
Absinthe. When, little by little, the excitement caused by his
successive hopes and disappointments, and by the accomplishment of the
experiment with the footprints had died away, and he had regained his
usual calm of mind, he made a careful inspection of the abode, and was
by no means satisfied with himself. He had experimented upon Father
Absinthe with his new system of investigation, just as an aspiring
orator tries his powers before his least gifted friends, not before
the cleverest. He had certainly overwhelmed the old veteran by his
superiority; he had literally crushed him. But what great merit, what
wonderful victory was this? Why should he boast of having outwitted
Father Absinthe, one of the least sagacious men in the service?

If he could only have given some startling proofs of his energy or
of his penetration! But, after all, what had he accomplished? Was the
mystery solved? Was his success more than problematical? When one thread
is drawn out, the skein is not untangled. This night would undoubtedly
decide his future as a detective, so he swore that if he could not
conquer his vanity, he would, at least, compel himself to conceal it.
Hence, it was in a very modest tone that he said to his companion: "We
have done all that we can do outside, now, would it not be wise to busy
ourselves with the inside of the house?"

Everything looked exactly in the same state as when the two men left the
room. A candle, with a charred smoking wick, cast its flickering light
upon the same scene of disorder, revealing to view the rigid features of
the three victims. Without losing a moment, Lecoq began to pick up and
study the various objects scattered over the floor. Some of these still
remained inta