"
M. Lecoq shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded:
"Let's see; did you ask what was the shape of the dirk bought by
Guespin? Was it long or short, wide or narrow?"
"Faith, no. What was the use?"
"Simply, my brave fellow, to compare this weapon with the victim's
wounds, and to see whether its handle corresponds to that which left
a distinct and visible imprint between the victim's shoulders."
"I forgot it; but it is easily remedied."
"An oversight may, of course, be pardoned; but you can at least tell
us in what sort of money Guespin paid for his purchases?"
The poor man seemed so embarrassed, humiliated, and vexed, that the
judge hastened to his assistance.
"The money is of little consequence, it seems to me," said he.
"I beg you to excuse me I don't agree with you," returned M. Lecoq.
"This matter may be a very grave one. What is the most serious
evidence against Guespin? The money found in his pocket. Let us
suppose for a moment that night before last, at ten o'clock, he
changed a one-thousand-franc note in Paris. Could the obtaining
of that note have been the motive of the crime at Valfeuillu? No,
for up to that hour the crime had not been committed.
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