M. Mifroid became greatly interested, and begged him to repeat the story. “And when did this happen?” asked he. “It has not yet been reported to me.” “It happened several hours ago,” said Théophraste, “and it should have been reported by now.” M. Mifroid examined the plan for about five minutes, and after reflecting for a while, asked Théophraste a few questions. Suddenly he burst out laughing and said: “Why, what a difficult problem. I have solved it in five minutes. “You said there were five men at A and five men at B. It passes through B, but not A. You were at D, and because you did not see, it did not pass? Consequently, your train vanished. Well, I say the train exists between A and B, and must be somewhere between B and I, that is sure; the train is in the sandhill.” “I swear not!” said Théophraste. “I was at D expecting the train, and I did not leave the track.” “It can be nowhere else, for five men saw it pass B and the five men at A are equally certain it didn’t pass them. Therefore I say that as only you were at D it passed that point, and undoubtedly switched off on I, since it could not be otherwise. By a necessary chance, while the first cars of the train were engulfed in the sand hillock, which covered it up (imagine that the line H is too short for the engineer to have had time to avoid the accident), the yoke chain of the last car was broken, and so the last carriage was forced by the baggage car to descend as far as D, on the track, which was slightly up-grade, since it wrent into a sand hillock. Then after going down to H and back to D, you saw the carriage and Signor Petito in the doorway. Your Signor Petito opened the carriage door, perhaps to throw himself out, as soon as he was aware of the imminent catastrophe, and as the latter caused a shock, it closed the door on the head of your Signor Petito. “Now, having despoiled Signor Petito of his clothing, you walk into the fields to read his papers. When you return the carriage is no longer there. Now, then. Since there was a declivity, and since there was a wind, the carriage, after having rolled as far as H, is found on the line A—B, where the trainmen certainly have found it by this time. Do you understand now? Do you understand all except that you did not see the train pass D? You are deaf sometimes, M. Longuet?” “I have already had the honor of telling you so.” “Imagine that you were deaf while you were waiting for the train at D. You did not hear then?” “No, but I should have seen it.” “Already you did not hear it. That is much. Possibly you turned your head for three seconds. Three seconds, that is to say, one second and thirty hundredths longer than is necessary to see an express train of four carriages pass before you, which, being late, made 120 to the hour. M. Longuet, the train disappeared, or, rather, seemed to disappear, because you were deaf and turned your head for a brief space of time.”