“Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after our conversation in the prison de la Santé , you expected me at your house at four o’clock, exactly as I said I would go.”

“And your prison-van?” said Ganimard, evading the question.

“A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wished to make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without the concurrence of a number of unusual circumstances. However, I found it useful to carry out that attempted escape and give it the widest publicity. An audaciously planned escape, though not completed, gave to the succeeding one the character of reality simply by anticipation.”

“So that the cigar.⁠ ⁠…”

“Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife.”

“And the letters?”