XXI
IN A PRISON VAN
In one of the rooms reserved for readers of La Capitale, Jérôme Fandor was gravely listening to Madame Bourrat's account of what had occurred at her boarding-house during the night. She had rushed off to tell him and to ask his advice.
"What you tell me, madame, is truly extraordinary!" said Fandor, with an air of profound astonishment....
"How did you discover that the police inspector who seized the trunk and carried it away was not a genuine policeman?"
"Why, through the arrival of Monsieur Xavié, the police inspector of our district! I know him.... There was no mistaking who and what he was; and when I told him that the trunk had been carried off the preceding evening, rather in the dead of night, he guessed everything...."
"And what did he say?..."
"Oh, he made us all come to the police station; and I can assure you that he looked far from pleased!"
"You must admit, dear madame, that his annoyance was not without reason!... The police were made fine fools of in this affair.... But afterwards?... Whom did he take back with him to the police station?"