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M. de Panteloup, seized with a happy inspiration, shook hands with Ouaouaoua and pinned on his white robe the gold medal of La Capitale. Proceedings were, however, summarily brought to a stop at this point. The prefect of the police drove up and his men scattered the crowd in all directions.
After lifting his hand for silence he shouted the famous cry: "We are here by the will of the people, we shall not go away except by force." The crowd cheered, and with the voices mingled the barking of dogs. "Ladies and gentlemen," continued M. Panteloup, "you hear the wonderful police dogs of Neuilly, Turk and Bellone. They are coming to help us to scent out the mystery."
Gentlemen in frock coats then appeared on the scene and gathered round it. One or two were recognized and pointed out by the crowd. "There's M. Dupont, the deputy and director of La Capitale." A red-faced young man with turned up moustaches was pronounced to be M. de Panteloup, the general manager of the paper.
At that moment the powerful voice of M. de Panteloup was heard: "You are now going to hear an interesting speech by the celebrated archivist and paleographer, M. Anastasius Baringouin, who, better than anyone else, can explain to you the strange enigma of the Singing Fountains." An immense shout of laughter greeted the orator as he mounted the steps to the stage.
Finally when order was re-established M. Panteloup himself mounted the platform. "This fountain, ladies and gentlemen," he began in a powerful voice, "was built in 1836 at a cost of a million and a half francs. In the twenty-four hours its output is 6,716 cubic yards of water.
A murmur of approbation greeted the pretty prophetess as she appeared, but at the same moment a police officer followed by fifteen men pushed his way to the foot of the platform and ordered M. Panteloup to cease attracting a crowd. The latter, however, was equal to the occasion.
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