In response, he calmly said:
“I swear that I am innocent.”
M. Fauvel, much more disturbed and excited than his cashier, made a last attempt.
“It is not too late yet, poor boy,” he said: “for Heaven’s sake reflect——”
Prosper did not appear to hear him. He drew from his pocket a small key, which he laid on the table, and said:
“Here is the key of your safe, monsieur. I hope for my sake that you will some day be convinced of my innocence; and I hope for your sake that the conviction will not come too late.”
Then, as everyone was silent, he resumed:
“Before leaving I hand over to you the books, papers, and accounts necessary for my successor. I must at the same time inform you that, without speaking of the stolen three hundred and fifty thousand francs, I leave a deficit in cash.”
“A deficit!” This ominous word from the lips of a cashier fell like a bombshell upon the ears of Prosper’s hearers.
His declaration was interpreted in divers ways.