Robelot made an effort; it was painful, with his broken jaw, to speak.

"I came to rob; I confess it."

"To rob—what?"

"I don't know."

"But you didn't scale a wall and risk the jail without a definite object?"

"Well, then, I wanted—"

He stopped.

"What? Go on."

"To get some rare flowers in the conservatory."

"With your cutlass, hey?" said M. Lecoq. Robelot gave him a terrible look; the detective continued: