‘Dear, dear,’ thought Dumas, ‘I fear the owner of the tank has Buffon on his side.’
Just then Joseph returned with the accused in one hand and the kitchen scales in the other.
‘You see,’ began the irrepressible valet, ‘these sort of creatures eat a lot. They need it to keep up their strength, and fish is particularly nourishing. Only see how strong sailors are, and they live so much on fish——’
His master cut him short.
‘How much did you say that tench weighed?’
‘Three pounds. The waiter asks nine francs for it.’
‘And Gazelle ate it all?’
‘Every bit except the head, the back-bone, and the inside.’
‘Quite correct, Monsieur Buffon had said as much. Very well—but still—three pounds seems a good deal.’
He put Gazelle in the scale. She weighed exactly two pounds and a half! The deduction was simple. Either Gazelle had been falsely accused or the theft had been much smaller than was represented. Indeed the waiter readily took this view of the matter, and was quite satisfied with five francs as an indemnity.