"Why, you are not so bright as I took you for. How far is it from Pierrefitte to St. Ouen?"
"About a league."
"And from St. Ouen to Paris?"
"As much."
"Well, if I had not found any one at Pierrefitte,—that is, if there had been an empty house there,—why, there also would have been a good job; not so good as in Paris, but still well worth having. I went back to the Chourineur, who was waiting for me at St. Ouen. We should have returned then to Pierrefitte, by a cross-path which I know, and—"
"I understand. If, on the contrary, the job was to be done in Paris?"
"We should have gained the Barrier de l'Étoile by the road of the Rivolte, and thence to the Allée des Veuves—"
"Is but a step; that is plain enough. At St. Ouen you were well placed for either operation,—that was clear; and now I can understand why the Chourineur was at St. Ouen. So the house in the Allée des Veuves will be uninhabited until the day after to-morrow?"
"Uninhabited, except the porter."
"I see. And is it a profitable job?"