"What the devil! Here I am drenched! What does that mean?"
The house surgeon reached the bed where the hopeless Josephine lay, white as a corpse, motionless. A large red blood stain was spreading on her sheet. Quickly the doctor uncovered the wounded woman and examined her.
"Fainted, she has only fainted!" And, silencing all comments, he called:
"Monsieur Juve! Monsieur Juve!"
The old woman who, a few moments before, had been dozing, now quickly sprang out of bed, and, tearing off her bandages, revealed the placid features of detective Juve.
"I understand everything except that I"m drenched to the bones,"
declared Juve, as he crossed to Josephine"s bed, oblivious to the amazement his appearance caused.
"That"s easily explained," said the house surgeon. "The girl was lying on a rubber mattress filled with water. One of the bullets punctured it."
"What damage did she receive?"
"A contusion on the shoulder. The murderer aimed badly owing to her rec.u.mbent position."
Juve beckoned to the officers.
"Your report? You"ve seen nothing?"
"Nothing."
"That"s strange," declared the detective. "I kept an eye on Josephine myself, thinking that a movement on her part would betray the entrance of Loupart. She made no sign; but, however Loupart may have got in, he can"t get out without falling into a trap. I have fifty men posted round the building. Now, the first point to clear up is the exact place from where the shot was fired."
"How can we get at that?"
"Very simply. By drawing an imaginary line between the spot where the bullet struck the mattress and where it went into the floor--extend this line and we find the quarter from where the shot was fired." A doctor came forward.
"M. Juve," he said, "that would bring us to the door of the staff"s room."
"Ah, it"s you, Doctor Chaleck! I"m glad to see you! You are quite right in your surmise. Do you see any objection to my reasoning?"
"I do. I came into the ward barely two seconds before the firing. No one was behind me and no one was walking before me."
Juve crossed to the door.
"It is from here that the shots were fired!"
And the detective added triumphantly as he stooped and picked up an object from the floor:
"And this backs up my a.s.sertion!"
He held out a revolver, still loaded in four chambers. "A precious bit of evidence!" He turned to the doctor:
"Can a stranger get into the wards by this door?"
"Utterly impossible, M. Juve! Only those thoroughly familiar with Lariboisiere can get into the ward through the laboratory. You must pa.s.s through the surgical divisions."
The detective seated himself at the foot of the sick woman"s bed and mechanically laid the revolver beside him. But scarcely had he done so when he sprang up. Upon the sheet was a tiny red speck left by the muzzle of the weapon.
"Ah!--that"s very instructive!" he cried. And as the others crowded round, puzzled, Juve added: "Don"t you see? The murderer ran his finger along the barrel to steady his aim, and as the barrel is very short, the bullet grazed the tip of his finger which extended slightly beyond it.
If I find anyone in the hospital with a wounded finger, I"ve got the murderer! Gentlemen, I am going to ask the director to issue orders for everyone within the hospital gates to pa.s.s before me. I reckon that in two hours at most the culprit will no longer be at large."
The attempted murder happened at three o"clock; about six o"clock, those who had first been examined by Juve had received permission to leave the hospital and were beginning to depart.
With a careless step Doctor Chaleck made for the exit by which he issued every evening from Lariboisiere. As he was about to pa.s.s out, a police inspector barred his way.
"Excuse me, sir. Have you a pa.s.s?"
"A pa.s.s?"
"Yes, sir; no one is allowed to leave to-day without a pa.s.s from M.
Juve."
The doctor looked at his watch.
"The deuce," he said. "I"m late as it is. Where am I to get this pa.s.s?"
"You must ask M. Juve himself for it. He is in the director"s private room."
"All right, I"ll go there." And Doctor Chaleck retraced his steps.
VIII
THE SEARCH FOR THE CRIMINAL
"It"s astounding!" declared M. de Maufil. "We have already examined nearly two hundred persons and found nothing."
"That may be," replied Juve, "but we may discover the culprit by the two hundred and first hand held out to us."
"There is one thing you forget, M. Juve."
"What is that?"
"If the culprit gets wind of our method of investigation, if he has any notion that you are inspecting the hands of all those who desire to leave the hospital, he won"t be such a ninny as to come and submit to your inspection."
Juve nodded approval of the comment.
"You are right; but I have taken means to obviate that difficulty."