“Yes, my friend, and very well too. I should certainly be chagrined to the last degree, if these two rascals escape, without having obtained complete satisfaction from them.”
“It seems to me that you know how to take care of yourself, and can do anything you please.”
M. Verduret shrugged his shoulders, and said:
“Did you not perceive the gaps in my narrative?”
“I did not.”
“That is because you don’t know how to listen. In the first place, did Louis de Clameran poison his brother, or not?”
“Yes; I am sure of it, from what you tell me.”
“There you are! You are much more certain, young man, than I am. Your opinion is mine; but what proof have we? None. I skilfully questioned Dr. C——. He has not the shadow of suspicion; and Dr. C—— is no quack; he is a cultivated, observing man of high standing. What poisons produce the effects described? I know of none; and yet I have studied up on poisons from Pomerania digitalis to Sauvresy aconite.”
“The death took place so opportunely——”
“That anybody would be convinced of foul play. That is true; but chance is sometimes a wonderful accomplice in crime. In the second place, I know nothing of Raoul’s antecedents.”