Affairs had been for some time in this position, when, one fine morning,
Alphonse de Bellefonds was not to be found in his chamber when his
servant went to call him; neither had his bed been slept in. He had
been observed to go out rather late on the previous evening, but whether
he had returned nobody could tell. He had not appeared at supper, but
that was too ordinary an event to awaken suspicion; and little alarm
was excited till several hours had elapsed, when inquiries were
instituted and a search commenced, which terminated in the discovery
of his body, a good deal mangled, lying at the bottom of a pond which
had belonged to the old brewery.
Before any investigation had been made, every person had jumped to the
conclusion that the young man had been murdered, and that Jacques
Rollet was the assassin. There was a strong presumption in favor of
that opinion, which further perquisitions tended to confirm. Only the
day before, Jacques had been heard to threaten Monsieur de Bellefonds
with speedy vengeance.
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