"What is your reading of the other message?" he asked, at last.
"My reading," answered Crochard, slowly, "is that, at the last moment, the Emperor, appalled at the possible consequences, decided to forbid the atrocity, to which he had, perhaps, been persuaded against his better judgment, or in a moment of passion."
"And if the message had not been delayed, La Liberté would have been saved?"
"Precisely that, sir."
Delcassé's lips were twitching.
"You may be right," he said, thickly; "you may be right; but it seems incredible. After all, it is merely guesswork!"
"You will pardon me, sir, but it is not guesswork," protested Crochard. "M. Lépine will tell you that, in a case of this kind, it must be all or nothing. Every detail, even to the slightest, the most insignificant, must fit perfectly, or they are all worthless. If I am wrong in this detail, I am wrong in all the others; if I am right in the others, I am also right in this. They stand or fall together. And I believe they will stand!"
The great Minister was gazing fascinated at the speaker; for the first time, he caught a real glimpse of his tremendous personality.
"You mean, then," he said, finally, "that if any details we may discover hereafter fail to fit this theory, the theory must be discarded?"
"Discarded utterly and without hesitation," agreed Crochard. "More than that—"