Victorien Sardou

“ Balthazar and Cornelius listened to this explanation with bated breath. But the former was not the kind of man to enthuse over a description of a theft, especially when he was the loser by the operation. What he wanted to know was where his medallion had gone; now that he knew how the thief had entered, he was anxious to know how he had gone out.
"Have patience," remarked M. Tricamp, following up his clue witn professional pride: "now that we know their movements, we must assure ourselves as to their temperament—"
"What nonsense! We haven't the time to bother our heads about such rot!" ”

“ I will add, however, that Christina always gave Cornelius a hearty welcome because he brought her interesting books. The young savant made a greater fuss over this little housekeeper than over all the painted beauties of the town. But it seemed as if the storm had paralyzed the young girl's tongue. She had declined to take her seat at the table, and, under the pretext of waiting on the two friends, she came and went, scarcely listening to what they had to say, replying only in monosyllables, and making the sign of the cross every time there was a flash of lightning. ”

“ Balthazar and Tricamp exchanged a knowing glance—while Cornelius, feverish with excitement, rushed into the study.
"He has gone mad!" grumbled M. Tricamp as he followed him with his eyes. "Will you permit me to give a drink of curacoa to my men? It is daylight now, and the air is somewhat chilly,"
"With pleasure. There is the bottle; let the men help themselves."
Tricamp then left the room. As Balthazar turned around, he perceived old Gudule still kneeling in the corner. A moment later he had rejoined Cornelius in the study. ”

“ Christina looked around her with such an air of innocence that no one believed in her guilt, excepting, of course, M. Tricamp.
"But do tell me what this all means?" asked she of the officer who locked the door after her. "Why don't you tell them who I am?" she continued, addressing Balthazar.
"Where have you been?" he demanded.
"I have been upstairs with old Gudule, who, you know, is afraid of the lightning. As I was very tired, I fell asleep in the arm-chair in her room. ”

“ Shortly after their supper, Balthazar turned round to ask her a question, but she was no longer there, having retired to her room. He rose from his chair, and approaching the door of her room, listened attentively; but as all was silent he was evidently convinced that the young girl was already fast asleep, for he returned to his place and sat down beside Cornelius, who was busily engaged filling his pipe.
"What's wrong with Christina to-night?" he asked, pointing to her room.
"Oh, it's the storm," replied Balthazar; "women are so timid!" ”

“ The poor child in her despair had thrown herself into the Amstel, but Petersen the night-watchman, like the brave lad that he was, had sprung into the water and pulled her out.
After she had been put to bed, and had received a visit from a physician, who prescribed plenty of rest and quiet, M. Tricamp approached the young men.
"As the young girl is not in a condition to be removed to-day, my men and I will retire."
"Why, has n't Cornelius told you? Christina is innocent and we know the thief."
"The thief!" exclaimed M. Tricamp, "and who is it!"
"Why, the lightning, of course!" ”

“ In a word, if you have a young housekeeper or servant you need look no further, for she is the guilty one!"
"Christina!" exclaimed the young men in one breath.
"Ah! So there is a Christina about the premises!" remarked M. Tricamp smilingly; "well then, Christina is guilty!"
CHAPTER VI.
Both Cornelius and Balthazar were pale as death. Christina! Little Christina, so good, so kind, so pretty, a thief—nonsense! And then they remembered her origin and the manner in which she was adopted. She was only a Bohemian after all! ”

“ Help! Stop thief!"
All the population turned out, and, in accordance with the custom, would have answered this call for aid with, "Fire! Here we come!" had not the first cry attracted a squad of policemen who were passing that way. They ran up to Balthazar's house, and M. Tricamp, the sergeant, realizing that a robbery had been committed, first cautioned him to make less noise, and then demanded that he and his men be admitted without further delay. ”

“ An out-and-out thief would never have left your room in such disorder; he would take more pride in his workmanship. Furthermore, the criminal is neither very strong nor very tall, otherwise he could have drawn himself up there without the aid of that knife and bit of wire."'
"But it must have required considerable strength to demolish that desk in that fashion."
"Not at all; a child, or even a woman—"
"A woman?" exclaimed Balthazar. ”

“ And as he is celebrated for his weakness for metals, his first move was to gather your gold and your silver; then he forced the steel lock of your portfolio and the iron lock of your secrétaire, and gathering together your florins, your ducats, and your jewels, he carried them off, leaving your knife as a memento of his little visit. From the study, he jumped into the room of this unfortunate child, dashing through; the woodwork and paper in his mad flight, and dropping the pearl in this drawer as he passed through here.—And if you want to know what has become of your medallion, look! ”

“ M. Tricamp opened his eyes in amazement, as he repeated:
"The lightning?"
"Why, naturally!" replied Cornelius; "you apply the study of psychology in your criminal researches, while I employ my knowledge of meteorology—that's the only difference in our methods."
"And you pretend to say that all this was caused by lightning?" demanded M. Tricamp, who was losing his temper.
"Why, all this is as nothing when compared with some of the capers lightning has been known to cut. How about the tack it tears up from the carpet and drives through a mirror without cracking the glass ”

“ Christina is unlike most girls of her age; she has a wise head and a loving heart, I assure you; she is certainly clever enough to admire and appreciate such a talented person as Mijnheer Cornelius Pump, who thinks nothing of lending her his rare books. ”

“ Then tell me who called here to-day."
"Oh, there was the postman—and a neighbor who called to borrow a pie-plate—and Petersen who came to ask something of Christina."
"Indeed! And who is this Petersen?"
"A neighbor, Mijnheer; a night-watchman; my master knows him well."
"Yes," said Balthazar, addressing the sergeant, "he is the poor devil who lost his wife a month ago, and his two little children are both sick. We help the poor fellow from time to time."
"And this Petersen was in the house to-day?"
"No, Mijnheer," replied Gudule; "he only spoke to Christina from the sidewalk." ”

“ Balthazar pointed to the massive door of the Study, which was provided with an old-fashioned brass lock, the likes of which are only found in the Netherlands at the present time.
Tricamp turned the key. Crick! Crack! It was evident that the lock had not been tampered with.
"And the window?" asked the officer, handing Balthazar the key of the study.
"The window was closed," said Cornelius: "we opened it when we called for assistance. Besides, Mijnheer, it has stout iron bars, and no one could possibly pass through there." ”

“ Balthazar and Cornelius looked at one another, in doubt as to whom he could possibly suspect.
"Now then, to sum up: it is a young woman; she must be young or she would not climb so well—petite, since she needed a wire to pull herself up with. Then, again, she must be familiar with your habits, for she took advantage of your absence to commit the felony, and she went direct to the drawer in which you kept your money, as she apparently did not bother her head about the others. ”

“ I claim that it is necessary to study the nature of the game in order to run it down. Now, all robberies differ more or less; and it is rarely that murders are committed in the same manner. For instance, two servant girls were accused of stealing their mistress's shawl. I discovered the criminal at the first glance. The thief had the choice of two cashmeres ”

“ M. Tricamp then ordered his men not to disturb the woman as she knelt there offering up a prayer to Heaven that Christina should not suffer for a crime committed by another.
CHAPTER IX.
"You see," remarked the agent of police, turning towards Cornelius, "that no one has called here whom we might have cause to suspect—neither the postman, the neighbor, or that fellow Petersen. It therefore remains between the old woman and the young girl; and, as I do not believe the old one is sufficiently active to perform gymnastics, I beg you to draw your own conclusions." ”

“ I can no longer distinguish between those who love me for my riches and those who love me for myself; there are so many who pretend to adore me that I am suspicious of them all; and I would rather throw my fortune into the Amstel than wed a man who would aspire to my hand through mercenary motives!'
"'Ah, mademoiselle,' I sighed ”

“ Now I am going to tell you my ideal of a husband. I would never accept the love of a man who had not cared for me previous to the death of my father. Ah! I would indeed be confident of that man's love, and I would return it to him a hundredfold!'
"'Then I am that man!' I cried out ”

“ And how about the package! The package she was seen to hand a man from out the window?"
"The man is here to answer that question himself!"—and a perfect Colossus entered the room.
"Petersen!"
"At your service. And the package contained some old dresses for my little children."
"Old clothes, that's excellent!" replied Tricamp, who was fairly boiling over with rage. "But how about the gold and the silver, the ducats and the florins, and the other jewels; where are they?"
"Zounds!" exclaimed Cornelius, striking his forehead ”