human
Asses! Idiots! That's what we are, muttered the old man.
gpt
For half an hour we were in that room, Gibelin and I, and we never found those holes.
human
They were covered by the sofa hangings.
gpt
I know, we shook those hangings, we pressed against them, we did everything but look behind them. See here, did _you_ look behind them?
human
No, but I saw something on the floor that gave me an idea.
gpt
Ah, what was that?
human
Some yellowish dust. I picked up a little of it. There. He unfolded a paper and showed a few grains of coarse brownish powder.
gpt
You see there are only board partitions between these rooms, the boards are about an inch thick, so a sharp auger would make the holes quickly. But there would be dust and chips.
human
Of course.
gpt
Well, this is some of the dust. The woman probably threw the chips out of the window.
human
The woman?
gpt
She helped Martinez while he bored the holes.
human
You think Martinez bored those holes? The man who was murdered?
gpt
Undoubtedly. The spirals from the auger blade inside the holes show plainly that the boring was done _from_ Number Six _toward_ Number Seven. Take the glass and see for yourself.
human
You're a fine detective, M. Paul, but I was a carpenter for six years before I went on the force and I know more about auger holes than you do. I say you can't be sure which side of the wall this hole was bored from. You talk about spirals, but there's no sense in that. They're the same either way. You _might_ tell by the chipping, but this is hard wood covered with thick enamel, so there's apt to be no chipping. Anyhow, there's none here. We'll see on the other side.
gpt
All right, we'll see,
human
You see, he went on,
gpt
Turn up all the lights, he said.
human
That's better, and he continued his search.
gpt
Ah! he cried presently.
human
You think there is no reason to say the holes were bored from this side. I'll give you a reason. Take this piece of white paper and make me prints of his boot heels. He pointed to the body.
gpt
Take the whole heel carefully, then the other one, get the nail marks, everything. That's right. Now cut out the prints. Good! Now look here. Kneel down. Take the glass. There on the yellow satin, by the tail of that silver bird. Do you see? Now compare the heel prints.
human
No, replied Coquenil,
gpt
he smiled,
human
Yes, here they are, nails and all, admitted Tignol admiringly.
gpt
I'm an old fool, but--but----
human
Well?
gpt
Tell me _why Martinez did it_.
human
Ah, that's the question. We'll know that when we talk to the woman.
gpt
Hah! I see! The sofa hangings were held back when the shot came, then they fell into place and covered the holes?
human
That's it,
gpt
And the man in Number Seven, the murderer, lifted that picture from its nail before shooting and then put it back on the nail after shooting?
human
Yes, yes,
gpt
Then this murderer must have _known_ that the billiard player was going to bore these holes, went on Papa Tignol half to himself.
human
He must have been waiting in Number Seven, he must have stood there with his pistol ready while the holes were coming through, he must have let Martinez finish one hole and then bore the other, he must have kept Number Seven dark so they couldn't see him----
gpt
A good point, that, approved Coquenil, paying attention.
human
He certainly kept Number Seven dark.
gpt
And he _probably_ looked into Number Six through the first hole while Martinez was boring the second. I suppose _you_ can tell which of the two holes was bored first?
human
I see, _that's it!_
gpt
What's it?
human
He bored _this_ hole first, said Coquenil rapidly,
gpt
What difference does it make which hole the man fired through so long as he shot straight and got away?
human
What difference? Just this difference, that, by firing through the left-hand hole, he has given us precious evidence, against him.
gpt
How?
human
Come back into the other room and I'll show you. And, when they had returned to Number Seven, he continued:
gpt
Take the pistol. Pretend you are the murderer. You've been waiting your moment, holding your breath on one side of the wall while the auger grinds through from the other. The first hole is finished. You see the point of the auger as it comes through the second, now the wood breaks and a length of turning steel shoves toward you. You grip your pistol and look through the left-hand hole, you see the woman holding back the curtains, you see Martinez draw out the auger from the right-hand hole and lay it down. Now he leans forward, pressing his face to the completed eyeholes, you see the whites of his eyes, not three inches away. Quick! Pistol up! Ready to fire! No, no, through the _left-hand_ hole where _he_ fired.
human
muttered Tignol,
gpt
Ah! said the detective.
human
Because it's too near the sideboard. I can't get my eye there to sight along the pistol barrel.
gpt
You mean your right eye?
human
Of course.
gpt
Could you get your left eye there?
human
Yes, but if I aimed with my left eye I'd have to fire with my left hand and I couldn't hit a cow that way.
gpt
You mean to say--
human
I mean to say that _this_ man, at a critical moment, fired through that awkward hole near the sideboard when he might just as well have fired through the other hole away from the sideboard. Which shows that it was an easy and natural thing for him to do, consequently----
gpt
Consequently, exulted the old man,
human
What do _you_ think?
gpt
I think, if I were this man, I'd sooner have the devil after me than Paul Coquenil.