The dense sound of gunshots came from the Boulogne Forest. Soon, two plainclothes patrolling forest guards cautiously approached the forest periphery, following the sounds of gunfire.
As police officers (forest guards are a type of police that belong to the judicial police and are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works) in the vicinity of the Boulogne Forest jurisdiction, they were obliged to enter the forest to inspect the situation. Such intense gunfire was definitely not from an ordinary hunting party, but they dared not rashly enter the forest. If hit by a bullet, their lives and livelihoods would be over.
After all, in the 19th century, the police did not have a well-established pension system, and there were numerous cases where the government was unwilling to pay compensation upon the death of a public official.
