The President dismissed the theory with a word.
"Pure romance!" he said. "And what about the murder of Dollon? I should like, further, to remind you that the fragment of map which, according to you, was the real reason for this man's death, was found on his body, and does not correspond in the least with the hole cut in the map you found in Gurn's rooms."
"As for that," Juve said with a smile, "the explanation is obvious. If Gurn, whom I charge with the murder of Dollon, had been content merely to abstract the real fragment, he would so to speak have set his signature to the crime. But he was much too clever for that: he was subtle enough to abstract the compromising fragment and substitute another fragment for it--the one found on the body."
"Perhaps," said the President; "that is possible, but I repeat, Gurn was in prison at the time."
"True! True!" said Juve, throwing up his hands. "I am prepared to swear that it was Gurn who did the murder, but I cannot yet explain how he did it, since he was in solitary confinement in the Santé."
Silence fell upon the court; Juve refrained from saying anything more, but a sarcastic smile curled his lip.
"Have you anything else to say?" the President asked after a pause.
"Nothing: except that anything is possible to Fantômas."
"Gurn, have you anything to say, any confession to make? The jury will listen to you."
"I do not understand a word of what the detective has just been saying," he said.
"You suggest that there shall be a supplementary investigation?"
"Mr. Solicitor-General, have you any application to make on that subject?" the President asked the Public Prosecutor.
"No," said the functionary. "The witness's allegations are altogether too vague."
"Very well. The Court will deliberate forthwith."
The judges gathered round the President of the Court, and held a short discussion. Then they returned to their places and the President announced their decision. It was that after consideration of the statement of the witness Juve, their opinion was that it rested merely upon hypotheses, and their decision was that there was no occasion for a supplementary enquiry.
And the President immediately called upon the Public Prosecutor to address the Court.