"The Devil has a sister," said Victorin, rising.
He saw the hideous stranger to the door, a creature called up from the
dens of the police, as on the stage a monster comes up from the third
cellar at the touch of a fairy's wand in a ballet-extravaganza.
After finishing what he had to do at the Courts, Victorin went to call
on Monsieur Chapuzot, the head of one of the most important branches
of the Central Police, to make some inquiries about the stranger.
Finding Monsieur Chapuzot alone in his office, Victorin thanked him
for his help.
"You sent me an old woman who might stand for the incarnation of the
criminal side of Paris."
Monsieur Chapuzot laid his spectacles on his papers and looked at the
lawyer with astonishment.
"I should not have taken the liberty of sending anybody to see you
without giving you notice beforehand, or a line of introduction," said
he.
"Then it was Monsieur le Prefet--?"
"I think not," said Chapuzot. "The last time that the Prince de
Wissembourg dined with the Minister of the Interior, he spoke to the
Prefet of the position in which you find yourself--a deplorable
position--and asked him if you could be helped in any friendly way.
The Prefet, who was interested by the regrets his Excellency expressed
as to this family affair, did me the honor to consult me about it.
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