"
Proud of his new importance, the valet hastily left the room, his
self-complacency increased by the thought that he was to breakfast
with M. Isidore Fortunat, and would afterward share a fat
commission with Victor Chupin.
However, the magistrate had already resumed his dictation: "And at
this moment we have affixed bands of white tape, sealed at either
end with red wax, bearing the impress of our seal as justice of
the peace, to wit: In the aforesaid chamber of the deceased:
First, A band of tape, covering the keyhole of the lock of the
escritoire, which had been previously opened by a locksmith
summoned by us, and closed again by the said locksmith----" And so
the magistrate and his clerk went from one piece of furniture to
another, duly specifying in the report each instance in which the
seals were affixed.
From the count's bedroom they passed into his study, followed by
Mademoiselle Marguerite, Madame Leon, and the servants. By noon
every article of furniture in which M. de Chalusse would have been
likely to deposit his valuables or a will, had been searched, and
nothing, absolutely nothing, had been found. The magistrate had
pursued his investigation with the feverish energy which the most
self-possessed of men are apt to display under such circumstances,
especially when influenced by the conviction that the object they
are seeking is somewhere within their reach, perhaps under their
very hand.
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