"That does not follow."

"What do you mean?"

"There was no need for him to escape--if he was not there!"

"Not there!"

"Evidently, not. He could not have been there, if he were not found
there."

"But, what about the evidences of his presence?" asked the President.

"That, Monsieur President, is where we have taken hold of the wrong
end. From the time Mademoiselle Stangerson shut herself in the room
to the time her door was burst open, it was impossible for the
murderer to escape. He was not found because he was not there during
that time."

"But the evidences?"

"They have led us astray. In reasoning on this mystery we must not
take them to mean what they apparently mean. Why do we conclude the
murderer was there?--Because he left his tracks in the room? Good!
But may he not have been there before the room was locked. Nay, he
must have been there before! Let us look into the matter of these
traces and see if they do not point to my conclusion.

"After the publication of the article in the 'Matin' and my