“What are you doing here?” he said to Massin and Cremiere.  “We can’t leave the house and the property to be pillaged.  We are the heirs, but we can’t camp here.  You, Cremiere, go to Dionis at once and tell him to come and certify to the death; I can’t draw up the mortuary certificate for an uncle, though I am assistant-mayor.  You, Massin, go and ask old Bongrand to attach the seals.  As for you, ladies,” he added, turning to his wife and Mesdames Cremiere and Massin, “go and look after Ursula; then nothing can be stolen.  Above all, close the iron gate and don’t let any one leave the house.”

The women, who felt the justice of this remark, ran to Ursula’s bedroom, where they found the noble girl, so cruelly suspected, on her knees before God, her face covered with tears.  Minoret, suspecting that the women would not long remain with Ursula, went at once to the library, found the volume, opened it, took the three certificates, and found in the other volume about thirty bank notes.  In spite of his brutal nature the colossus felt as though a peal of bells were ringing in each ear.  The blood whistled in his temples as he committed the theft; cold as the weather was, his shirt was wet on his back; his legs gave way under him and he fell into a chair in the salon as if an axe had fallen on his head.

“How the inheritance of money loosens a man’s tongue!  Did you hear Minoret?” said Massin to Cremiere as they hurried through the town.  “‘Go here, go there,’ just as if he knew everything.”

“Yes, for a dull beast like him he had a certain air of—­”

“Stop!” said Massin, alarmed at a sudden thought.  “His wife is there; they’ve got some plan!  Do you do both errands; I’ll go back.”

Just as the post master fell into the chair he saw at the gate the heated face of the clerk of the court who returned to the house of death with the celerity of a weasel.

“Well, what is it now?” asked the post master, unlocking the gate for his co-heir.

“Nothing; I have come back to be present at the sealing,” answered Massin, giving him a savage look.

“I wish those seals were already on, so that we could go home,” said Minoret.

“We shall have to put a watcher over them,” said Massin.  “La Bougival is capable of anything in the interests of that minx.  We’ll put Goupil there.”

“Goupil!” said the post master; “put a rat in the meal!”

“Well, let’s consider,” returned Massin.  “To-night they’ll watch the body; the seals can be affixed in an hour; our wives could look after them.  To-morrow we’ll have the funeral at twelve o’clock.  But the inventory can’t be made under a week.”

“Let’s get rid of that girl at once,” said the colossus; “then we can safely leave the watchman of the town-hall to look after the house and the seals.”

“Good,” cried Massin.  “You are the head of the Minoret family.”

“Ladies,” said Minoret, “be good enough to stay in the salon; we can’t think of our dinner to-day; the seals must be put on at once for the security of all interests.”