"I shall discharge him this very day," said he, "this very hour."
"It will be an act of charity," said M. Lecoq; "but confound his
obstinacy; it was so easy for him to simplify my task. I might be able,
by the aid of chance, to collect the principal facts--the errand, and a
woman being mixed up in the affair; but as I'm no magician, I couldn't
guess all the details. How is Jenny mixed up in this affair? Is she an
accomplice, or has she only been made to play an ignorant part in it?
Where did she meet Guespin and whither did she lead him? It is clear
that she made the poor fellow tipsy so as to prevent his going to the
Batignolles. Tremorel must have told her some false story--but what?"
"I don't think Tremorel troubled his head about so small a matter," said
M. Plantat. "He gave Guespin and Jenny some task, without explaining it
at all."