"You got inside the house, then? Young man, she got inside the house!" said the Schoolmaster, with pride.
"To be sure I got in! Not finding Cocotte, I had made so much lamentation that I pretended I was quite out of breath; I begged the porter to allow me to sit down on the step of the door, and he very kindly asked me to step in, offering me a glass of wine and water. 'A glass of plain water,' I said; 'plain water only, my good sir.' Then he made me go into the antechamber,—carpeted all over; good precaution,—footsteps or broken glass cannot be heard, if we must 'mill the glaze' (break a pane of glass); right and left, doors with sliding bolts, which open by a gentle push from the top. At the bottom was a strong door, locked,—it looked very like a money-chest. I had my wax in my basket—"
"She had her wax, young man! She never goes without her wax!" said the brigand.
The Chouette proceeded:
"It was necessary to approach the door which smelled so strongly of the cash, so I pretended that I was seized with a fit of coughing,—so violent, that I was compelled to lean against the wall for support. Hearing me cough, the porter said,'I'll fetch you a morsel of sugar to put in your water.' He probably looked for a spoon, for I heard plate chink,—plate in the room on the left-hand; don't forget that, fourline. Well, coughing and wheezing, I reached the door at the bottom,—I had my wax in the palm of my hand. I leaned against the lock as though accidentally, and here is the impression; we may not want it to-day, but another time it may be useful."
And the Chouette gave the brigand a bit of yellow wax, on which the print of the lock was perfectly impressed.
"You can tell us whether this is the door of the money-chest," said the Chouette.
"It is, and there is the cash," replied Rodolph; and then said to himself, "Has Murphy, then, been the dupe of this cursed old hag? Perhaps so, and he only expects to be assailed at ten o'clock; by that time every precaution will have been taken."
"But all the money is not there," continued the Chouette, and her one green eye sparkled. "As I approached the windows, still searching for my darling Cocotte, I saw in one of the chambers (door on the left) some bags of crown pieces, in a bureau. I saw them as plainly as I see you, my man; there were at least a dozen of them."
"Where is Tortillard?" said the Schoolmaster.