“Permit me to say that one thing mystifies me,” returned the justice. “More than one-half the peasants declare the young man innocent.”
“Just so, my dear justice. But nevertheless he is guilty.”
“And the gamekeeper’s wife herself has intimated that we must not believe him.”
“Yes, I know that. But she is driven to an extremity by her love for the unfortunate fellow. That is the most interesting part of the affair.”
“But, on the other hand, Bruno declares that Madame Barrau knows nothing that he did.”
“Of course. They are bent on shielding each other. That proves they are both guilty. Well, we must take them to Avallon.—Banastre, will you see to the conveyance? What time is it now?”
He consulted his watch.
“Ten minutes of four. We must be off in half an hour.”
Banastre went in quest of a vehicle for the prisoners, and the others waited for further developments.
Andoche wondered why the officers did not visit the scene of the murder, and so expressed himself.