Mouzon [laughing] Well, I don't say so, my dear deputy.
Mondoubleau. It's wonderful, your faculty of divination.
Mouzon. Wonderful—no, no. I assure you—
Mondoubleau. Now how did you come to suspect this Etchepare?
Mouzon. Well, you know, it is partly a matter of temperament. The searching for a criminal is an art. I may say that a good examining magistrate is guided less by the facts themselves than by a kind of inspiration.
Mondoubleau. Wonderful. I repeat it's wonderful. And this witness for the defence?
Mouzon. He may be a false witness.
Mondoubleau. What makes you think that?
Mouzon. Because he accuses the gipsies! Moreover, he had business dealings with Etchepare. The Basque, you know, still look on us rather as enemies, as conquerors, and they think it no crime to deceive us by means of a false oath.
Mondoubleau. Then you were never inclined to accept the theory of your predecessor?