"It was possible if you went down on all fours," said Guerchard.
"On all fours?" said M. Formery.
"Yes; on all fours you could see her heels sticking out beyond the mattress," said Guerchard simply.
M. Formery shrugged his shoulders: "That screen looked as if it had stood there since the beginning of the summer," he said.
"The first thing, when you're dealing with Lupin, is to distrust appearances," said Guerchard.
"Lupin!" cried M. Formery hotly. Then he bit his lip and was silent.
He walked to the side of the couch and looked down on the sleeping Victoire, frowning: "This upsets everything," he said. "With these new conditions, I've got to begin all over again, to find a new explanation of the affair. For the moment—for the moment, I'm thrown completely off the track. And you, Guerchard?"
"Oh, well," said Guerchard, "I have an idea or two about the matter still."
"Do you really mean to say that it hasn't thrown you off the track too?" said M. Formery, with a touch of incredulity in his tone.
"Well, no—not exactly," said Guerchard. "I wasn't on that track, you see."
