Balthazar was no longer willing to see any one, and would not even admit his children to the house.

Martha and Josette were dead.

The coachman, the cook, and the other servants had long been dismissed; the horses and carriages were sold.

Though Lemulquinier maintained the utmost secrecy as to his master's proceedings, it was believed that the thousand francs supplied by Gabriel and Pierquin were spent chiefly on experiments.

The small amount of provisions which the old valet purchased in the town seemed to show that the two old men contented themselves with the barest necessaries.