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Victoire was sitting huddled together on a chair; Sonia stood beside her, talking to her in a low voice; and, keeping guard on Victoire, stood a brown-faced, active, nervous policeman, all alertness, briskness, keenness. "Hi! officer! come up here! Be smart," cried Lupin over the bannisters, in the husky, gentle voice of Chief-Inspector Guerchard.
Chief-Inspector Bodle at the same time, with two troops M.M.P., charged, and drove off the field a large force of Boers threatening our left flank. The guide had informed us that the road to the right of the hill was impassable, and that there was open and easy country to the left. This information was misleading.
He said that Chief-Inspector Guerchard was not at the Prefecture, that he was off duty; that he would send down two detectives, who were on duty, at once, and summon Chief-Inspector Guerchard with all speed. The Duke thanked him and rang off. "That's all right," he said cheerfully, turning to the inspector. "What time will M. Formery be here?"
The clothes of the Duke of Charmerace littered the floor; the kit-bag was open; and he was wearing the very clothes of Chief-Inspector Guerchard, his seedy top-hat, his cloak. He wore also Guerchard's sparse, lank, black hair, his little, bristling, black moustache. His figure, hidden by the cloak, seemed to have shrunk to the size of Guerchard's.
Tell him just this: 'You are unmasked. The notes did not catch fire. Come with me. And bring him up here." Despite his hesitation and his fear of exceeding his instructions from the head of the detective service, the chief-inspector was powerless to throw off the ascendancy which Renine had acquired over him. He left the room. Renine turned to Hortense: "Do you understand my plan of battle?"
"I shall not detain you for any length of time," said Renine, "and I will not even ask you to sit down. We have only a few minutes in which to settle everything. You know what it's all about?" "The sixty thousand-franc notes stolen from M. Guillaume. I have the numbers here." Renine ran his eyes down the slip of paper which the chief-inspector handed him and said: "That's right.
But Chief-inspector Blanchon, who has charge of the case, and the detectives who are guarding the house declare that, in accordance with Prasville's instructions, their watch is not relaxed for a moment, even at night; that one of them, turn and turn about, is always on duty in the study; and that no one, therefore, can have gone in."
The telephone bell rang; and he rose and went to it. He put the receiver to his ear and said, "Yes; it's I Chief-Inspector Guerchard." He turned and said to the Duke, "It's the gardener at Charmerace, your Grace." "Is it?" said the Duke indifferently. Guerchard turned to the telephone. "Are you there?" he said.
"Yes, monsieur le secretaire-general." "Did you see a gentleman and a lady go out?" "Yes." "Would you know the man again?" "Yes." "Then don't lose a moment, chief-inspector. Take six inspectors with you. Go to the Place de Clichy. Make inquiries about a man called Nicole and watch the house. The Nicole man is on his way back there." "And if he comes out, monsieur le secretaire-general?"
Write down: 'It was I who murdered M. Guillaume. Write, I tell you!" Leaning over the young man, with all his implacable force of will he compelled him to write, guiding his hand and dictating the sentences. Dutreuil, exhausted, at the end of his strength, wrote as he was told. "Here's the confession, Mr. Chief-inspector," said Renine. "You will be good enough to take it to M. Dudouis.