XXVI.
Never would a stranger who should have suddenly come into Daniel'schamber, upon seeing Crochard's attitude, have imagined that thewretch was accused of a capital crime, and was standing there beforea magistrate, in presence of the man whom he had tried three times toassassinate.
Quite at home in the law, as far as it was studied at the galleys, hehad instantly recognized that his situation was by no means so desperateas he had at first supposed; that, if the jury rendered a verdict ofguilty of death, it would be against the instigator of the crime, andthat he would probably get off with a few years' penal servitude.
Hence he had made up his mind about his situation with that almostbestial indifference which characterizes people who are ready foreverything, and prepared for everything. He had recovered from thatstupor which the discovery of his crime had produced in him, and fromthe rage in which he had been thrown by the loss of his bank-notes.Now there appeared, under the odious personage of the murderer, thepretentious and ridiculous orator of the streets and prisons, who isaccustomed to make himself heard, and displays his eloquence with greatpride.
He assumed a studied position; and it was evident that he was preparinghimself for his speech, although, afterwards, a good many words escapedhim which are found in no dictionary, but belong to the jargon of thelowest classes, and serve to express the vilest sentiments.
"It was," he began, "a Friday, an unlucky day,--a week, about, before'The Conquest' sailed. It might have been two o'clock. I had eatennothing; I had not a cent in my pockets and I was walking along theboulevards, loafing, and thinking how I could procure some money.
"I had crossed several streets, when a carriage stopped close to me; andI saw a very fine gentleman step out, a cigar in his mouth, a goldchain across his waistcoat, and a flower in his buttonhole. He entered aglove-shop.
"At once I said to myself, 'Curious! I have seen that head somewhere.'
"Thereupon, I go to work, and remain fixed to the front of the shop, alittle at the side, though, you know, at a place where, without beingseen myself, I could very well watch my individual, who laughed andtalked, showing his white teeth, while a pretty girl was trying ona pair of gloves. The more I looked at him, the more I thought,'Positively, Bagnolet, although that sweet soul don't look as if he werea member of your society, you know him.'
"However, as I could not put a name to that figure, I was going on myway, when suddenly my memory came back to me, and I said, '_Cretonne_,it is an old comrade. I shall get my dinner.'
"After all, I was not positively sure; because why? Fifteen years make adifference in a man, especially when he does not particularly care to berecognized. But I had a little way of my own to make the thing sure.
"I waited, therefore, for my man; and, at the moment when he crossed thesidewalk to get into his carriage, I stepped up, and cried out, thoughnot very loud, 'Eh, Chevassat!'
"The scamp! They might have fired a cannon at his ear, and he would nothave jumped as he did when I spoke to him. And white he was,--as whiteas his collar. But, nevertheless, he was not without his compass, thescrew. He puts up his eyeglass, and looks at me up and down; and then hesays in his finest manner, 'What is it, my good fellow? Do you want tospeak to me?'
"Thereupon, quite sure of my business now, I say, 'Yes, to you, JustinChevassat. Don't you recall me? Evariste Crochard, surnamed Bagnolet;eh? Do you recollect now?' However, the gentleman continued to hold hishead high, and to look at me. At last he says, '_If_ you do not clearout, I will call a policeman.' Well, the mustard got into my nose, and Ibegan to cry, to annoy him, so as to collect a crowd,--
"'What, what! Policemen, just call them, please do! They will take usbefore a magistrate. If I am mistaken, they won't hang me; but, if I amnot mistaken, they will laugh prodigiously. What have I to risk? Nothingat all; for I have nothing.'
"I must tell you, that, while I said all this, I looked at him fixedlywith the air of a man who has nothing in his stomach, and who is bentupon putting something into it. He also looked at me fixedly; and, ifhis eyes had been pistols--but they were not. And, when he saw I wasdetermined, the fine gentleman softened down.
"'Make no noise,' he whispered, looking with a frightened air at all theidlers who commenced to crowd around us. And pretending to laughvery merrily,--for the benefit of the spectators, you know,--he said,speaking very low and very rapidly,--
"'In the costume that you have on, I cannot ask you to get into mycarriage; that would only compromise us both uselessly. I shall send mycoachman back, and walk home. You can follow quietly; and, when we getinto a quiet street, we will take a cab, and talk.'
"As I was sure I could catch him again, if he should try to escape, Iapproved the idea. 'All right. I understand.'"
The magistrate suddenly interrupted the accused. He thought it of greatimportance that Crochard's evidence should be written down, word forword; and he saw, that, for some little while, the clerk had been unableto follow.
"Rest a moment, Crochard," he said.
And when the clerk had filled up what was wanting, and the magistratehad looked it over, he said to the prisoner,--
"Now you can go on, but speak more slowly."
The wretch smiled, well pleased. This permission gave him more time toselect his words, and this flattered his vanity; for even the lowest ofthese criminals have their weak point, in which their vanity is engaged.
"Don't let your soup get cold," he continued. "Chevassat said afew words to his coachman, who whipped the horse, and there he was,promenading down the boulevard, turning his cane this way, puffing outbig clouds of smoke, as if he had not the colic at the thought that hisfriend Bagnolet was following on his heels.
"I ought to say that he had lots of friends, very genteel friends, whowished him good-evening as they passed him. There were some even whostopped him, shook hands with him, and offered to treat him; but he leftthem all promptly, saying, 'Excuse me, pray, I am in a hurry.'
"Why, yes, he was in a hurry; and I who was behind him, and saw andheard it all, I laughed in my sleeve most heartily."
Whatever advantage there may be in not interrupting a great talker, whowarms up as he talks, and consequently forgets himself, the magistratebecame impatient.
"Spare us your impressions," he said peremptorily.
This was not what Crochard expected. He looked hurt, and went onangrily,--
"In fine, my individual goes down the boulevard as far as the opera,turns to the right, crosses the open square, and goes down the firststreet to the left. Here a cab passes; he hails it; orders the driver totake _us_ to Vincennes. We get in; and his first care is to let downthe curtains. Then he looks at me with a smile, holds out his hand, andsays, 'Well, old man! how are you?'
"At first, when I saw myself so well received, I was quite overcome.Then reflecting, I thought, 'It is not natural for him to be so soft. Heis getting ready for some trick. Keep your eyes open, Bagnolet.'
"'Then you are not angry that I spoke to you; eh?' He laughs, and says,'No.'
"Then I, 'However, you hadn't exactly a wedding-air when I spoke toyou, and I thought you were looking for a way to get rid of meunceremoniously.' But he said very seriously, 'Look here, I am going totalk to you quite openly! For a moment I was surprised; but I was notannoyed. I have long foreseen something of the kind would happen; andI know that every time I go out I run the risk of meeting a formercomrade. You are not the first who has recognized me, and I am preparedto save myself all annoyance. If I wanted to get rid of you, thisvery evening you would have lost all trace of me, thanks to a littlecontrivance I have arranged. Besides, as you are in Paris without leave,before twenty-four hours are over, you would _be_ in jail.' He told meall this so calmly, that I felt it was so, and that the scamp had somespecial trick.
"'Then,' I said, 'you rather like meeting an old friend, eh?'
"He looked me straight in the face and replied, 'Yes; and the proof ofit is, that if you were not here, sitting at my side, and if I had knownwhe
re to find you, I should have gone in search of you. I have somethingto do for you.'"
Henceforth Bagnolet had reason to be satisfied.
Although the magistrate preserved his impassive appearance, Daniel andthe chief surgeon listened with breathless attention, feeling that theprisoner had come to the really important part of his confession, fromwhich, no doubt, much light would be obtained. Lefloch himself listenedwith open mouth; and one could follow on his ingenuous countenance allthe emotions produced by the recital of the criminal, who, but for him,would probably have escaped justice.
"Naturally," continued Crochard, "when he talked of something to do,I opened my ears wide. 'Why,' I said, 'I thought you had retired frombusiness.' And I really thought he had. 'You are mistaken,' he replied.'Since I left that place you know of, I have been living nicely. ButI have not put anything aside; and if an accident should happen to me,which I have reason to fear, I would be destitute.'
"I should have liked very much to know more; but he would not tell meanything else concerning himself; and I had to give him my whole historysince my release. Oh! that was soon done. I told him how nothing I hadundertaken had ever succeeded; that, finally, I had been a waiter in adrinking-shop; that they had turned me out; and that for a month nowI had been walking the streets, having not a cent, no clothes, nolodgings, and no bed but the quarries.
"'Since that is so,' he said, 'you shall see what a comrade is.' I oughtto say that the cab had been going all the time we were talking, andthat we were out in the suburbs now. My Chevassat raised the blind tolook out; and, as soon as he saw a clothing store, he ordered the driverto stop there. The driver did so; and then Chevassat said to me, 'Come,old man, we'll begin by dressing you up decently.' So we get out; andupon my word, he buys me a shirt, trousers, a coat, and everything elsethat was needful; he pays for a silk hat, and a pair of varnishedboots. Farther down the street was a watchmaker. I declare he makes me apresent of a gold watch, which I still have, and which they seized whenthey put me in jail. Finally, he has spent his five hundred francs, andgives me eighty francs to boot, to play the gentleman.
"You need not ask if I thanked him, when we got back into the cab. Aftersuch misery as I had endured, my morals came back with my clothes. Iwould have jumped into the fire for Chevassat. Alas! I would not havebeen so delighted, if I had known what I should have to pay for allthis; for in the first place"--
"Oh, go on!" broke in the lawyer; "go on!"
Not without some disappointment, Crochard had to acknowledge thateverything purely personal did not seem to excite the deepest interest.He made a face, full of spite, and then went on, speaking morerapidly,--
"All these purchases had taken some time; so that it was six o'clock,and almost dark, when we reached Vincennes. A little before we got intothe town, Chevassat stopped the cab, paid the driver, sends him back,and, taking me by the arm, says, 'You must be hungry: let us dine.'
"So we first absorb a glass of absinthe; then he carries me straight tothe best restaurant, asks for a private room, and orders a dinner. Ah,but a dinner! Merely to hear it ordered from the bill of fare made mymouth water.
"We sit down; and I, fearing nothing, would not have changed places withthe pope. And I talked, and I ate, and I drank; I drank, perhaps, most;for I had not had anything to drink for a long time; and, finally, I wasrather excited. Chevassat seemed to have unbuttoned, and told me lots offunny things which set me a-laughing heartily. But when the coffee hadbeen brought, with liquors in abundance, and cigars at ten cents apiece,my individual rises, and pushes the latch in the door; for there was alatch.
"Then he comes back, and sits down right in front of me, with his elbowson the table. 'Now, old man,' he says, 'we have had enough laughing andtalking. I am a good fellow, you know; but you understand that I am nottreating you for the sake of your pretty face alone. I want a good stoutfellow; and I thought you might be the man.'
"Upon my word, he told me that in such a peculiar way, that I felt as ifsomebody had kicked me in the stomach; and I began to be afraid of him.Still I concealed my fears, and said, 'Well, let us see; go it! What'sthe row?'
"At once he replies, 'As I told you before, I have not laid up a cent.But if anything should happen to a certain person whom I think of, Ishould be rich; and you--why, you might be rich too, if you were willingto give him a little push with the elbow, so that the thing might happento him a little sooner.'"
Earnestly bent upon the part which he had to play for the sake ofcarrying out his system of defence, the prisoner assumed more and morehypocritical repentance, an effort which gave to his wicked face apeculiarly repulsive expression.
The magistrate, however, though no doubt thoroughly disgusted with thisabsurd comedy, did not move a muscle of his face, nor make a gesture,anxious, as he was, not to break the thread of this importantdeposition.
"Ah, sir!" exclaimed Crochard, his hand upon his heart, "when Iheard Chevassat talk that way, my heart turned within me, and I said,'Unfortunate man, what do you mean? I should commit a murder? Never! I'drather die first!' He laughed, and replied, 'Don't be a fool; who talksto you of murder? I spoke of an accident. Besides, you would not riskanything. The thing would happen to him abroad.' I continued, however,to refuse, and I spoke even of going away; when Chevassat seized a bigknife, and said, now that I had his secret, I was bound to go on. Ifnot!--he looked at me with such a terrible air, that, upon my word, Iwas frightened, and sat down again.
"Then, all at once, he became as jolly again as before; and, whilst hekept pouring the brandy into my glass, he explained to me that I wouldbe a fool to hesitate; that I could never in all my life find such achance again of making a fortune; that I would most certainly succeed;and that then I would have an income, keep a carriage as he did, wearfine clothes, and have every day a dinner like the one we had just beenenjoying together.
"I became more and more excited. This lot of gold which he held upbefore my mind's eyes dazzled me; and the strong drink I had been takingincessantly got into my head. Then he flourished again the big knifebefore my face; and finally I did not know what I was saying or doing.I got up; and, striking the table with my fist, I cried out, 'I am yourman!'"
Although, probably, the whole scene never took place, except in theprisoner's imagination, Daniel could not help trembling under his cover,at the thought of these two wretches arranging for his death, while theywere there, half drunk, glass in hand, and their elbows resting on atable covered with wine-stains. Lefloch, on his part, stood graspingthe bedstead so hard with his hand, that the wood cracked. Perhaps hedreamed he held in his grasp the neck of the man who was talking socoolly of murdering his lieutenant. The lawyer and the doctor thought ofnothing but of watching the contortions of the accused. He had drawn ahandkerchief from his pocket, and rubbed his eyes hard, as if he hopedthus to bring forth a few tears.
"Come, come!" said the magistrate. "No scene!"
Crochard sighed deeply, and then continued in a tearful tone,--
"They might cut me to pieces, and I would not be able to say whathappened after that. I was dead drunk, and do not recollect a thing anymore. From what Chevassat afterwards told me, I had to be carried tothe carriage; and he took me to a hotel in the suburb, where he hired alodging for me. When I woke the next day, a little before noon, my headwas as heavy as lead; and I tried to recall what had happened at therestaurant, and if it was not perhaps merely the bad wine that had givenme the nightmare.
"Unfortunately, it was no dream; and I soon found that out, when awaiter came up and brought me a letter. Chevassat wrote me to cometo his house, and to breakfast with him for the purpose of talkingbusiness.
"Of course I went. I asked the concierge where M. Justin Chevassat livesin the house; and he directs me to go to the second floor, on the righthand. I go up, ring the bell; a servant opens the door; I enter, andfind, in an elegant apartment, my brigand in a dressing-gown, stretchedout on a sofa. On the way I had made up my mind to tell him positivelythat he need not count upon m
e; that the thing was a horror to me; andthat I retracted all I had said. But, as soon as I began, he becameperfectly furious, calling me a coward and a traitor, and telling methat I had no choice but to make my fortune, or to receive a blow withthe big knife between my shoulders. At the same time he spread outbefore me a great heap of gold. Then, yes, then I was weak. I felt I wascaught. Chevassat frightened me; the gold intoxicated me. I pledged myword; and the bargain was made."
As he said this, Crochard, surnamed Bagnolet, sighed deeply and noisily,like a man whose heart has been relieved of a grievous burden. He reallyfelt prodigiously relieved. To have to confess everything on the spot,without a moment's respite to combine a plan of apology, was a hardtask. Now, the wretch had stood this delicate and dangerous trial prettywell, and thought he had managed cleverly enough to prepare for the dayof his trial a number of extenuating circumstances. But the magistratehardly gave him time to breathe.
"Not so fast," he said: "we are not done yet. What were the conditionswhich you and Chevassat agreed upon?"
"Oh! very simple, sir. I, for my part, said yes to everything heproposed. He magnetized me, I tell you, that man! We agreed, therefore,that he would pay me four thousand francs in advance, and that, afterthe accident, he would give me six thousand certain, and a portion ofthe sum which he would secure."
"Thus you undertook, for ten thousand francs, to murder a man?"
"I thought"--
"That sum is very far from those fabulous amounts by which you said youhad been blinded and carried away."
"Pardon me! There was that share in the great fortune."
"Ah! You knew very well that Chevassat would never have paid youanything."
Crochard's hands twitched nervously. He cried out,--
"Chevassat cheat me! _cochonnere_! I would have--but no; he knows me; hewould never have dared"--
The magistrate had caught the prisoner's eye, and, fixing him sternly,he said good-naturedly,--
"Why did you tell me, then, that that man magnetized you, and frightenedyou out of your wits?"
The wretch had gone into the snare, and, instead of answering, hung hishead, and tried to sob.
"Repentance is all very well," said the lawyer, who did not seem tobe in the least touched; "but just now it would be better for youto explain how your trip to Cochin China was arranged. Come, collectyourself, and give us the details."
"As to that," he resumed his account, "you see Chevassat explained tome everything at breakfast; and the very same day he gave me the addresswhich you found on the paper in which the bank-notes were wrapped up."
"What did he give you M. Champcey's address for?"
"So that I might know him personally."
"Well, go on."
"At first, when I heard he was a lieutenant in the navy, I said I mustgive it up, knowing as I did that with such men there is no trifling.But Chevassat scolded me so terribly, and called me such hard names,that I finally got mad, and promised everything.
"'Besides,' he said to me, 'listen to my plan. The navy department wantsmechanics to go to Saigon. They have not gotten their full number yet:so you go and offer yourself. They will accept you, and even pay yourjourney to Rochefort: a boat will carry you out to the roadstead onboard the frigate "Conquest." Do you know whom you will find on board?Our man, Lieut. Champcey. Well, now, I tell you! that if any accidentshould happen to him, either during the voyage, or at Saigon,that accident will pass unnoticed, as a letter passes through thepost-office.'
"Yes, that's what he told me, every word of it; and I think I hear himnow. And I--I was so completely bewildered, that I had nothing to say inreturn. However, there was one thing which troubled me; and I thought,'Well, after all, they won't accept me at the navy department, with myantecedents.'
"But, when I mentioned the difficulty to Chevassat, he laughed. Oh, buthe laughed! it made me mad.
"'You are surely more of a fool than I thought,' he said. 'Are yourcondemnations written on your face? No, I should say. Well, as you willexhibit your papers in excellent order, they will take you.'
"I opened my eyes wide, and said, 'That's all very pretty, what you say;but the mischief is, that, as I have not worked at my professionfor more than fifteen years, I have no papers at all.' He shrugs hisshoulders, and says, 'You shall have your papers.' That worries me; andI reply, 'If I have to steal somebody's papers, and change my name,I won't do it.' But the brigand had his notions. 'You shall keep yourname,' he said, touching me on the shoulder. 'You shall always remainCrochard, surnamed Bagnolet; and you shall have your papers as engraveron metal as perfect as anybody can have them.'
"And, to be sure, the second day after that he gave me a set of papers,signatures, seals, all in perfect order."
"The papers found in your room, you mean?" asked the lawyer.
"Exactly."
"Where did Chevassat get them?"
"Get them? Why, he had made them himself. He can do anything he chooseswith his pen, the scamp! If he takes it into his head to imitate yourown handwriting, you would never suspect it."
Daniel and the old surgeon exchanged glances. This was a strong and veryimportant point in connection with the forged letter that had been sentto the navy department, and claimed to be signed by Daniel himself. Themagistrate was as much struck by the fact as they were; but his featuresremained unchanged; and, pursuing his plan in spite of all the incidentsof the examination, he asked,--
"These papers caused no suspicion?"
"None whatever. I had only to show them, and they accepted me. Besides,Chevassat said he would enlist some people in my behalf; perhaps I hadbeen specially recommended."
"And thus you sailed?"
"Yes. They gave me my ticket, some money for travelling expenses;and, five days after my meeting with Chevassat, I was on board 'TheConquest.' Lieut. Champcey was not there. Ah! I began to hope he wouldnot go out on the expedition at all. Unfortunately, he arrived forty-eight hours afterwards, and we sailed at once."
The marvellous coolness of the wretch showed clearly under his affectedtrouble; and, while it confounded Daniel and the old surgeon, itfilled the faithful Lefloch with growing indignation. He spoke of thisabominable plot, of this assassination which had been so carefullyplotted, and of the price agreed upon, and partly paid in advance, as ifthe whole had been a fair commercial operation.
"Now, Crochard," said the lawyer, "I cannot impress it too strongly onyour mind, how important it is for your own interests that you shouldtell the truth. Remember, all your statements will be verified. Do youknow whether Chevassat lives in Paris under an assumed name?"
"No, sir! I have always heard him called Chevassat by everybody."
"What? By everybody?"
"Well, I mean his concierge, his servants."
The magistrate seemed for a moment to consider how he should frame hisnext question; and then he asked, all of a sudden,--
"Suppose that the--accident, as you call it, had succeeded, you wouldhave taken ship; you would have arrived in France; you reach Paris; howwould you have found Chevassat to claim your six thousand francs?"
"I should have gone to his house, where I breakfasted with him; and, ifhe had left, the concierge would have told me where he lived now."
"Then you really think you saw him at his own rooms? Consider. If youleft him only for a couple of hours, between the time when you firstmet him and the visit you paid him afterwards, he might very well haveimprovised a new domicile for himself."
"Ah! I did not lie, sir. When dinner was over, I had lost myconsciousness, and I did not get wide awake again till noon on the nextday. Chevassat had the whole night and next morning."
Then, as a suspicion suddenly flashed through Crochard's mind, heexclaimed,--
"Ah, the brigand! Why did he urge me never to write to him otherwisethan 'to be called for'?"
The magistrate had turned to his clerk.
"Go down," he said, "and see if any of the merchants in town have aParis Directory."
The clerk went off like an arrow, and appeared promptly back again withthe volume in question. The magistrate hastened to look up the addressgiven by the prisoner, and found it entered thus: "_Langlois_, sumptuousapartments for families and single persons. Superior attendance."
"I was almost sure of it," he said to himself.
Then handing Daniel the paper on which the words "University" and"Street" could be deciphered, he asked,--
"Do you know that handwriting, M. Champcey?"
Too full of the lawyer's shrewd surmises to express any surprise, Daniellooked at the words, and said coolly,--
"That is Maxime de Brevan's handwriting."
A rush of blood colored instantly the pale face of Crochard. He wasfurious at the idea of having been duped by his accomplice, by theinstigator of the crime he had committed, and for which he wouldprobably never have received the promised reward.
"Ah, the brigand!" he exclaimed. "And I, who was very near notdenouncing him at all!"
A slight smile passed over the lawyer's face. His end had been attained.He had foreseen this wrath on the part of the prisoner; he had preparedit carefully, and caused it to break out fully; for he knew it wouldbring him full light on the whole subject.
"To cheat me, me!" Crochard went on with extraordinary vehemence,--"tocheat a friend, an old comrade! Ah the rascal! But he sha'n't go toparadise, if I can help it! Let them cut my throat, I don't mind it; Ishall be quite content even, provided I see his throat cut first."
"He has not even been arrested yet."
"But nothing is easier than to catch him, sir. He must be uneasy at nothearing from me; and I am sure he is going every day to the post-officeto inquire if there are no letters yet for M. X. O. X. 88. I can writeto him. Do you want me to write to him? I can tell him that I have oncemore missed it, and that I have been caught even, but that the policehave found out nothing, and that they have set me free again. I am sure,after that, the scamp will keep quiet; and the police will have nothingto do but to take the omnibus, and arrest him at his lodgings."
The magistrate had allowed the prisoner to give free vent to his fury,knowing full well by experience how intensely criminals hate those oftheir accomplices by whom they find themselves betrayed. And he was inhopes that the rage of this man might suggest a new idea, or furnish himwith new facts. When he saw he was not likely to gain much, he said,--
"Justice cannot stoop to such expedients." Then he added, seeing howdisappointed Crochard looked,--
"You had better try and recollect all you can. Have you forgottenor concealed nothing that might assist us in carrying out thisexamination?"
"No; I think I have told you every thing."
"You cannot furnish any additional evidence of the complicity of JustinChevassat, of his efforts to tempt you to commit this crime, or of theforgery he committed in getting up a false set of papers for you?"
"No! Ah, he is a clever one, and leaves no trace behind him that couldconvict him. But, strong as he is, if we could be confronted in court,I'd undertake, just by looking at him, to get the truth out of himsomehow."
"You shall be confronted, I promise you."
The prisoner seemed to be amazed.
"Are you going to send for Chevassat?" he asked.
"No. You will be sent home, to be tried there."
A flash of joy shone in the eyes of the wretch. He knew the voyage wouldnot be a pleasant one; but the prospect of being tried in France wasas good as an escape from capital punishment to his mind. Besides, hedelighted in advance in the idea of seeing Chevassat in court, seated byhis side as a fellow-prisoner.
"Then," he asked again, "they will send me home?"
"On the first national vessel that leaves Saigon."
The magistrate went and sat down at the table where the clerk waswriting, and rapidly ran his eye over the long examination, seeing ifanything had been overlooked. When he had done, he said,--
"Now give me as accurate a description of Justin Chevassat as you can."
Crochard passed his hand repeatedly over his forehead; and then, hiseyes staring at empty space, and his neck stretched out, as if he saw aphantom which he had suddenly called up, he said,--
"Chevassat is a man of my age; but he does not look more than twentyseven or eight. That is what made me hesitate at first, when I met himon the boulevard. He is a handsome fellow, very well made, and wearsall his beard. He looks clever, with soft eyes; and his face inspiresconfidence at once."
"Ah! that is Maxime all over," broke in Daniel.
And, suddenly remembering something, he called Lefloch. The sailorstarted, and almost mechanically assumed the respectful position of asailor standing before his officer.
"Lieutenant?" he said.
"Since I have been sick, they have brought part of my baggage here; havethey not?"
"Yes, lieutenant, all of it."
"Well. Go and look for a big red book with silver clasps. You have nodoubt seen me look at it often."
"Yes, lieutenant; and I know where it is."
And he immediately opened one of the trunks that were piled up in acorner of the room, and took from it a photograph album, which, upon asign from Daniel, he handed to the lawyer.
"Will you please," said Daniel at the same time, "ask the prisoner, if,among the sixty or seventy portraits in that book, he knows any one?"
The album was handed to Crochard, surnamed Bagnolet, who turned overleaf after leaf, till all of a sudden, and almost beside himself, hecried out,--
"Here he is, Justin Chevassat! Oh! that's he, no doubt about it."
Daniel could, from his bed, see the photograph, and said,--
"That is Maxime's portrait."
After this decisive evidence, there could be no longer any doubt thatJustin Chevassat and Maxime de Brevan were one and the same person. Theinvestigation was complete, as far as it could be carried on in Saigon;the remaining evidence had to be collected in Paris. The magistratedirected, therefore, the clerk to read the deposition; and Crochardfollowed it without making a single objection. But when he had signedit, and the gendarmes were about to carry him off again, and to puton the handcuffs, he asked leave to make an addition. The magistrateassented; and Crochard said,--
"I do not want to excuse myself, nor to make myself out innocent; but Ido not like, on the other hand, to seem worse than I am."
He had assumed a very decided position, and evidently aimed at giving tohis words an expression of coarse but perfect frankness.
"The thing which I had undertaken to do, it was not in my power to do.It has never entered my head to kill a man treacherously. If I had beena brute, such as these are, the lieutenant would not be there, woundedto be sure, but alive. Ten times I might have done his business mosteffectively; but I did not care. I tried in vain to think of Chevassat'sbig promises; at the last moment, my heart always failed me. The thingwas too much for me. And the proof of it is, that I missed him at tenyards' distance. The only time when I tried it really in earnest wasin the little boat, because there, I ran some risk; it was like a duel,since my life was as much at stake as the lieutenant's. I can swim aswell as anybody, to be sure; but in a river like the Dong-Nai, atnight, and with a current like that, no swimmer can hold his own. Thelieutenant got out of it; but I was very near being drowned. I could notget on land again until I had been carried down two miles or more; and,when I did get on shore, I sank in the mud up to my hips. Now, I humblybeg the lieutenant's pardon; and you shall see if I am going to letChevassat escape."
Thereupon he held out his hands for the handcuffs, with a theatricalgesture, and left the room.