"Confound it all!" replied the public functionary, scratching his head, "I think she may have been, or still may be, in all those places, one after another; but if I were you, instead of chasing her round from place to place, where she may or may not have been, I should go straight to La Flocelière, where your idiot is to take her to-day." "Then you would make a very poor bloodhound, my dear fellow. The only reliable information we have so far received is that given by the scamp who had the biscuit, and whom you examined here--" "But the others?" "I'll bet my general's epaulets against those of a sub-lieutenant that the others were put in my way by some shrewd fellows who saw and suspected our talk with the man about his biscuit. Let us begin the hunt, my dear sub-prefect, and confine our attention to Souday, if we don't want to make an utter failure of it." "Bravo!" cried the sub-prefect. "I feared I had committed a blunder; but what you say reassures me." "What have you done?" "Well, I have got the name of this mayor. He is called Courtin, and is mayor of the village of la Logerie." "I know that. It is close by the spot where we came near capturing Charette thirty-seven years ago." "Well, this man has pointed out to me an individual who could serve us as guide, and whom it would be well to arrest so that he may not go back to the château and give the alarm." "Who is the man?" "The marquis's steward. Here is a description of him." The general took the paper and read:-- "Short gray hair, low forehead, keen black eyes, bushy eyebrows, wart on his nose, hair in the nostrils, whiskers round the face, round hat, velveteen jacket, waistcoat and breeches the same, leathern belt and gaiters. Special points: a brown, retriever, and the second incisor on the left side broken." "Good!" said the general; "that's my oat-seller to a tee. Terrien! His name is no more Terrien than mine's Barabbas." "Well, general, you can soon make sure of that." "How so?" "He'll be here in a minute." "Here?" "Yes." "Is he coming here?" "He is coming here." "Of his own will?" "His own will, or by force." "Force?" "Yes; I have just given the order to arrest him. It is done by this time." "Ten thousand thunders!" cried the general, letting his fist fall upon the table with such a thud that the public functionary bounded in his chair. "Ten thousand thunders!" he cried again; "what have you done?" "He seems to me, general, a dangerous man from all I hear of him, and there was but one thing to do,--namely, arrest him." "Dangerous! dangerous! He is much more dangerous now than he was ten minutes ago." "But if he is in custody he can't do harm." "No matter how quick your men are they won't prevent his giving warning. The princess will be warned before we have gone a couple of miles. It will be lucky for us if you haven't roused the whole population so that I cannot take a single man from the garrison."