"It is he I have found, Madame." And turning aside, Matthieu beckoned toward the corridor, and Monsieur Joubert entered. He was well known to Moira and saluted her, his brow troubled.
"Bon jour, Monsieur Joubert," she said, trying to control the beating of her heart and the labor of her breathing, for here she knew was to be the test of the worth of her discoveries. Everything that she believed, would stand or fall by the testimony of the people who had followed Jim Horton up the stair.
"Bon jour, Madame 'Orton," said the carpenter politely.
"Where were you, Monsieur," she began, "when you heard Monsieur Horton's cry of alarm?"
"In the court below, Madame. I was standing with Monsieur Lavaud, the pastry cook, at the angle of the wall just inside the Loge of Madame Toupin——"
"And when you heard the cries what did you do?" asked the girl.
"I waited a moment in fear and then with Monsieur Lavaud went toward the entrance."
"Were there some others there?"
"Oui, Madame. A number of persons came running into the court. They seemed to spring from the earth as if by magic."
"And were you among the first to rush up the stair?"