Some minutes later he was crossing the hall of the Wandering Footsteps (as it is called), giving rapid, cordial greetings to all the barristers of his acquaintance--one never knew when they might impart a special piece of information which let an enterprising journalist into the know, or put him early on to a good thing--and finally reached the lobbies of the Law Courts proper. He was saying to himself as he went along:
"He is a good fellow, Jouet! The news is not known yet! He telephoned me first!"
His friend Jouet met him, with a warm handshake:
"You did not seem to be in a good temper at the telephone just now, although I was giving you a nice bit of information!"
"Yes," retorted Fandor, "but information which simply proved how much the administrators of justice, to which you have the misfortune to belong, can make egregious mistakes! When, for once, you succeed in immediately arresting the a.s.sa.s.sin of someone well known, and are in a position to bring into play all the power and rigour of the law, you are clumsy enough to give the fellow a chance of punishing himself, you let him commit suicide on the very first night of his arrest!"
Fandor had been speaking in a fairly loud voice, as usual, but, at imperative signs made by his friend, he lowered his tones:
"What is it?" he murmured.
His friend rose:
"What we are going to do, old boy, is to take a turn in the galleries!
I have something to say to you, and, joking apart, you are not to breathe a word of it to a soul--sh?"
"Count on me!"
Presently the two friends found themselves in one of the corridors of the Palais, known only to barristers and those accused of law-breaking.
"Come now!" cried Fandor, "your a.s.sa.s.sin has hanged himself, hasn"t he?"
"My a.s.sa.s.sin!" expostulated the junior barrister: "My a.s.sa.s.sin! Allow me to inform you that Jacques Dollon is innocent!"
"Innocent?" Jerome Fandor shrugged a disbelieving shoulder: "Innocent!
It is the fashion of the day to transform all murderers into innocents!... What ground have you for making such a declaration of innocence?"
"Here is my ground! I have just copied it out for you! Read!..."
Fandor hastened to read the paper handed to him by his friend. It was headed thus:
"_Copy of a letter brought by Maitre Gerin to the Public Prosecutor, a letter addressed to Maitre Gerin by the Baroness de Vibray._"
"Oh, it"s a plant!" cried Fandor.
"Go on reading, you will see...."
Fandor continued:
"_My dear Maitre_,--
_You will forgive me, I am certain of that, for all the inconvenience I am going to cause you; I turn to you because you are the only friend in whom I have confidence._
_I have just received a letter from my bankers, Messieurs Barbey-Nanteuil, of whom I have often spoken to you, who you know manage all my money affairs for me._
_This letter informs me that I am ruined. You quite understand--absolutely, completely ruined._
_The house I am living in, my carriage, the luxurious surroundings so necessary to me, I shall have to give it all up, so they tell me._
_These people have dealt me a terrible blow, struck me brutally...._
_My dear maitre, I learned this only two hours ago, and I am still stunned by it. I do not wish to wait for the inevitable moment when I shall begin to console myself, because I shall begin to hope that the disaster is exaggerated. I have no family, I am already old; apart from the satisfaction it gives me to use my influence on behalf of youthful talent, and to help forward its development, my life has no sense in it, it is without aim or object. My dear maitre, there are not two ways of announcing to one"s friends resolutions a.n.a.logous to that I now take: when you receive this letter I shall be dead._
_I have in front of me, on my writing-table, a tiny phial of poison which I am going to drink to the last drop, without any weakening of will, almost without fear, as soon as I have posted this letter to you myself._
_I must confess that I have an instinctive horror of being dragged to the Morgue, as happens whenever there is some doubt about a suicide. It is on account of this I now write to you, so that, thanks to your intervention, all the mistakes justice is liable to make may be avoided._
_I kill myself, I only; that is certain._
_No one must be incriminated in connection with my death, if it be not Fatality, which has caused my ruin. I once more apologise, my dear maitre, for all the measures you will be forced to take owing to my death, and I beg you to believe that my friendship for you was very sincere:_
_Signed:_
BARONESS DE VIBRAY."
"Good for you!" cried Fandor. "Here"s a go! What a pretty petard in prospect!... Jacques Dollon was innocent; you arrest him; he is so terrified that he hangs himself! Well, old boy, I must say you make some fine blunders on Clock Quay!"
"It is n.o.body"s fault!" protested the young barrister.
"That is to say," retorted Fandor, "it is everybody"s fault! By Jove! If you let innocent prisoners hang themselves in their cells, I am no longer surprised that you leave the guilty at liberty to walk the streets at their sweet will!"
"Don"t make a joke of it, old boy!... You understand, of course, that so far no one in the Palais has seen the letter! It has just been brought to the Public Prosecutor"s office by Madame de Vibray"s solicitor, Maitre Gerin. You came on the scene only a few minutes after I had sent up the original to the examining magistrate. The case is in Fuselier"s hands."
"Is he in his office?"
"Certainly! He should proceed with the examination relative to poor Dollon this morning."
"Very well then, I will go up. I shall jolly soon get out of this b.o.o.by of a Fuselier the information I need to make one of the best reports I have ever written. And you know, I am ever so obliged to you for the matter you"ve given me! But, mind you, I am going to put together a bit of copy that will not deal tenderly with our gentlemen of the robe--the lot of you! No, it is a bad, unlucky business enough, but it is even more funny--it is tragi-comedy!"
"For my part ..." began Fandor"s barrister friend.
"Yes, yes! Good day, Pontius Pilate!" cried Fandor. "I am going up to Fuselier.... We must meet to-morrow!"
Hastening along the corridors, Fandor gained the office of the examining magistrate.
Fandor had known the magistrate a long while. Was not Fuselier the justice who, with Detective Juve, had had everything to do with the strangely mysterious cases a.s.sociated with the name of Fantomas? In the course of his various judicial examinations he had often been able to give Fandor information and help. At first hostile to the constant preoccupation of Juve and Fandor--for long the arrest of Fantomas was their one aim--the young magistrate had gradually come to believe in what had seemed to him nothing but the detective"s hypothesis.
Open-minded, gifted with an alert intelligence, Fuselier had carefully followed the investigations of Juve and Fandor. He knew every detail, every vicissitude connected with the tracking of this elusive bandit.
Since then the magistrate had taken the deepest interest in the pursuit of the criminal. Thanks to his support, Juve had been enabled to take various measures, otherwise almost impossible, avoid the many obstacles offered by legal procedure, risk the striking of many a blow he could not otherwise have ventured on.
Fuselier had a high opinion of Juve, and his att.i.tude to Fandor was sympathetic.
Our journalist was going over the past as he hastened along:
Ah, if only Juve were here! If only this loyal servant of Justice, this sincerest of friends, this bravest of the brave, had not been struck down, Fandor would have been full of enthusiasm for the Dollon affair; for its interest was increasing, its mystery deepening! But Fandor was single-handed now! He had had a miraculous escape from the bomb which had blown up Lady Beltham"s house on that tragic day when Juve had all but laid hands on Fantomas!