"So, if the murderer went out, he must have passed Joseph?"

"Yes."

"And the only persons who passed Joseph were the woman and this American?"

"Exactly."

"Too easy!" he muttered. "Too easy!"

"What do you mean?"

"That would put the guilt on one or the other of those two?"

"Apparently."

"And end the case?"

"Why--er----"

"Yes, it would. A case is ended when the murderer is discovered. Well, this
case is _not_ ended, you can be sure of that. The murderer I am looking for
_is not that kind of a murderer_. To begin with, he's not a fool. If he
made up his mind to shoot a man in a private room he would know _exactly_
what he was doing and _exactly_ how he was going to escape."

"But the facts are there--I've given them to you," retorted the commissary
a little nettled.

Coquenil shook his head.