This careless manner was difficult for me at such a time. But
for his assurance that Madame Barras, was uninjured it would have
been impossible. I had a blind confidence in the man although
his expressions were so absurdly in conflict.
I started to go on toward the village, but as he did not follow I
turned back. Marquis was sitting on the flat stones with a
cigarette in his fingers:
"Good heavens, man," I cried, "you're not stopping to smoke a
cigarette?"
"Not this cigarette, at any rate," he replied. "Madame Barras
has already smoked it. . . . I can, perhaps, find you the burnt
match."
He got the electric-flash out of his pocket, and stooped over.
Immediately he made an exclamation of surprise.
I leaned down beside him.
There was a little heap of charred paper on the brown bed of
pine-needles. Marquis was about to take up this charred paper
when his eye caught something thrust in between the two stones.
It was a handful of torn bits of paper.
Marquis got them out and laid them on the top of the flat stones
under his light.
"Ah," he said, "Madame Barras, while she smoked, got rid of some
money.
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