I
have already refreshed their memories, and, when you confront them,
they cannot fail to recognize you."
His speech was dry and hard, with a tone of firmness and precision.
Danegre was trembling with fear, and yet he struggled desperately
to maintain an air of indifference.
"Is that all the evidence you have?"
"Oh! no, not at all. I have plenty more. For instance, after the
crime, you went out the same way you had entered. But, in the
centre of the wardrobe-room, being seized by some sudden fear, you
leaned against the wall for support."
"How do you know that? No one could know such a thing," argued the
desperate man.
"The police know nothing about it, of course. They never think of
lighting a candle and examining the walls. But if they had done
so, they would have found on the white plaster a faint red spot,
quite distinct, however, to trace in it the imprint of your thumb
which you had pressed against the wall while it was wet with blood.
Now, as you are well aware, under the Bertillon system, thumb-marks
are one of the principal means of identification."
Victor Danegre was livid; great drops of perspiration rolled down
his face and fell upon the table.
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