Ganimard rushed through it and arrived just
in time to observe Baudru upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin de
Plates omnibus as it was turning the corner of the rue de Rivoli.
He ran and caught the omnibus. But he had lost his two assistants.
He must continue the pursuit alone. In his anger he was inclined
to seize the man by the collar without ceremony. Was it not with
premeditation and by means of an ingenious ruse that his pretended
imbecile had separated him from his assistants?
He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his head
rolling from side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredible
expression of stupidity on his blotched face. No, such an
adversary was incapable of deceiving old Ganimard. It was a stroke
of luck--nothing more.
At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus and
took the La Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann and
the avenue Victor Hugo. Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and,
with a nonchalant air, strolled into the Bois de Boulogne.
He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retraced
his steps. What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? At
the end of an hour, he appeared to be faint from fatigue, and,
noticing a bench, he sat down.
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